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Saturday, January 27, 2018

#WeWriWa - ROMANCE REKINDLED: Dumpster Diving


Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors where authors share an 8 - 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other authors. You can find them here

Thanks to everyone who found my post last week after I forgot to sign up.


I'm sharing the last snippet from my new release, ROMANCE REKINDLED, a romance with a little mystery.  Next weekend, I'll begin sharing snippets from my WIP, a romantic suspense.

Setup for this week's snippet: Abby and her daughter, Bethany, arrive at the jail to get her mother, and they meet Mother's boyfriend. Now his son shows up. Finally, we get answers as to why the two were arrested for theft and trespassing.

To keep within the guidelines, this snippet has been edited from the original. Please excuse the rogue commas.

The old man walked slowly forward--from his grimace, arthritis must be taking its toll on his bones, “Sam, my boy, you didn’t need to come.”
“Sure I did, Dad, now why were you arrested?”
“We-ell, Flo here fell into a dumpster behind the bakery—she was trying to get one more loaf of bread.”
“Bread?” Abby exclaimed, “you were dumpster diving for bread? Is that why you're selling the house because you need food?”
"Oh, Mom," Bethany clung to her grandmother’s hand, “Getting food for yourself isn’t the reason for taking the bread out of a dumpster, is it, Gram?”
“No, Bethany dear, the bread isn’t for me,” Flo sighed, “It’s for the birds—that stingy Duncan won’t give me the stale bread, so I had to take it out of his trash bin, that's why that awful deputy arrested us for trespassing.”
“I don’t understand how you ended up in the dumpster, too, Dad.”
His mouth twisted, and red crept up his neck, “I was trying to help her out and . . . well, Flo doesn’t know her own strength.”
She grinned up at Sam, “I’ve been taking classes at the Senior Center, using the machines in the equipment room, and now I can lift fifty pounds.” She raised her arm and made a muscle--Abby just groaned.



Abby Ten Eyck likes her life the way it is. She runs a successful business, has a well-adjusted teenage daughter, and has managed to keep men at bay since her divorce fifteen years ago. Just before Christmas, she’s hit with change. Her mother decides to sell the family home. Then she’s arrested, with an unknown man. Could this new man in her mother’s life create more upheaval? Or could his handsome son be just what Abby needs to revive her dormant feelings?

Sam Watson embraces transition from frenetic Wall Street to a small Michigan resort town. His health is worth moving close to his dad who seems over the moon in love. But it’s the daughter of his father’s girlfriend who fascinates him. Abby Ten Eyck reminds him of his driven self. He must help her slow down before she burns out. Like he did.

ROMANCE REKINDLED is available at:

Amazon  ~  Amazon UK  ~  iBooks  ~  Kobo  ~  Smashwords  ~  Nook  





Thursday, January 25, 2018

Setting by JQ Rose and a #NewRelease + #Giveaway

I'm happy to welcome J.Q. Rose back to my blog. She's here to tell us about her latest release, and she has a give-away.



Setting
Thank you, Diane, for hosting me today. I’m happy to be here to meet and visit with your readers. Anybody ready for spring yet? Reading is a great escape from the gray, cold weather while we wait for spring flowers to pop up.

Then how about a free e-book to a lucky commenter? Pick one of my mysteries from BWL Publishing. My latest release is Terror on Sunshine Boulevard, but if you’ve read that or enjoy romantic suspense, then choose Dangerous Sanctuary or Deadly Undertaking. Click here to find out more about each one. BWL Publishing Author Page http://bookswelove.net/authors/rose-j-q/

Winner will be announced tomorrow (Friday) night after 10 pm. Please leave your email address in the comment.

Note on Friday: And the winner is: Darcy Flynn. J Q Rose will be in touch, Darcy.

I follow the old adage to write what you know. That’s why I chose the settings I did in those three books. Dangerous Sanctuary setting is a church. Deadly Undertaking setting is a funeral home. (Yes, my family was in the funeral business.)



I chose a Florida retirement community for Terror on Sunshine Boulevard because that’s where my husband, Gardener Ted, and I spend winters. We have either been RVing in FL or living in the senior park for many years and met a lot of wonderful characters. How could you not write about them? Throwing them together results in a story alive with humor and drama.

We think of the winters as a getaway from our home responsibilities in Michigan. There’s something fun to do every day. It’s kind of like attending summer camp in the winter!



I don’t participate in all the activities, but I do many of them in the book—except I am not a golfer. You must realize the book is fiction and what happens in the book may or may not be made up. You’ll have to decide what’s true and what isn’t. I’m not telling….



I chose this setting because I love the idea of a fun winter of golf, pickle ball, pool parties and dances juxtaposed against the death and fear blanketing the community. The murders yank the fun out from under people who have worked all their lives to enjoy the good things in life. I love the contrast of the bright fun-in- the- sun feeling with the darkness of murder and mystery.  Even the title includes the opposing views—terror and sunshine.

Excerpt: Terror on Sunshine Boulevard by J.Q. Rose

Scene—Gloria joins a group of women at her exercise class.

Gloria noted several circles of women around the room. A flashback to eighth grade when her clique of classmates stood in the hall before class. Memories danced through her mind of best friends, gossip, and popularity contests. Odd how things were still the same nearly fifty years later.

 “Good morning, everyone.” She smiled widely as she greeted her friends. But instead of the usual happy chorus of “Good morning Gloria,” her friends in the circle weakly smiled with the acknowledgement of her presence. Silence fell over the group. Everyone’s eyes lasered in on her. Gloria felt uncomfortable. What were they waiting for?

Finally her friend Pamela asked, “Well, are you going to tell us about George McDonnell?” Her voice a higher pitch. “Did Jim hear anything yet?” Pamela’s voice ratcheted even higher.

Gloria turned to face Pamela. “No, I haven’t heard anything. Why? Is he sick?”

“No, he’s dead.” Rosemary, Pamela’s best friend, waited a beat for Gloria to absorb the news. “Jim’s one of the first responders for the park. Wasn’t he called to the scene yesterday?”

“Uh, no. We were gone all day.” The unexpected news slammed her like a wild pickle ball, nearly knocking her off her feet and stinging her heart. George was younger than she was for Pete’s sake. He couldn’t be dead. That was incomprehensible to her. She and her husband had just visited him last week. He was a healthy man for his age. Tears stung her eyes when she remembered how excited he was about a fishing trip he’d planned.

Pamela gave her an understanding smile, flashing her perfect teeth—all her own—and touched Gloria’s back.
***
Back of the Book:  Rescuing a naked woman lying in a geranium bed or investigating mysterious murders are not the usual calls for first responder Jim Hart. He expects slip and fall accidents or low blood pressure emergencies in his retirement community of Citrus Ridge Senior Community and Golf Resort. The ghastly crime scenes turn the winter time fun into a terrifying season of death and mystery when the authorities cannot track down the predator responsible.

Jim and his wife Gloria could escape the horror and grief by returning to their northern home, but concern for their friends and residents keep them in Florida. With the entire community in a dither over the deaths, the Harts participate in the normal winter activities of golfing, dancing, and pool parties with their friends to distract them from the sadness and loss.

Can Jim and Gloria work with the authorities to discover who or what is killing the seniors on Sunshine Boulevard and stop the increasing body count?

Tagline: Rescuing a naked woman lying in a geranium bed? Investigating mysterious murders? These are not the usual calls in a Florida retirement community for volunteer first responder Jim Hart.

Terror on Sunshine Boulevard is available for purchase at these digital booksellers.
Universal Link for major online retailers: https://books2read.com/u/4XoN8e

About J.Q.
After writing feature articles in magazines, newspapers, and online magazines for over fifteen years, J.Q. Rose entered the world of fiction. Her published mysteries are Deadly Undertaking, Dangerous Sanctuary, and Terror on Sunshine Boulevard released by Books We Love Publishing. Blogging, photography, Pegs and Jokers board games, and travel are the things that keep her out of trouble. She spends winters in Florida and summers up north camping and hunting toads, frogs, and salamanders with her four grandsons and granddaughter.

Connect with J.Q. Rose online at
J.Q. Rose blog http://www.jqrose.com/
Books We Love Author Page http://bookswelove.net/authors/rose-j-q/







Monday, January 22, 2018

Updates: Writing, Reading, Babies, and Movies


Is it just me or are the days flying? We're already beginning the fourth week in January. And a very productive three weeks it's been. As I wrote in my Insecure Writers' Support Group post on January 3rd, my goal for 2018 is to release three full-length novels: a brand new Alex O'Hara mystery (the 4th and as yet untitled), The Spy: An Outer Rim Novel (a science fiction romance), and Unpredictable Nature (a romantic suspense)--the last two had been started but never completed.

As you can see by the little progress widgets (on the right), I've made quite a bit of progress on the Alex O'Hara PI mystery. My intent had been to start with Unpredictable Nature, since it was the farthest along, but the words just flowed for the mystery. In fact, I didn't want to stop. That is such a good feeling. Like when a runner hits her stride. (I have to guess on the feeling, since I've never been a runner.) Then, my free-lance editor offered a bargain (a deal I couldn't refuse). To take advantage, I selected the romantic suspense, again because it was the closest to being done. 

The funny thing about the romantic suspense is that I began that story in 2003. In those days, I saved my work on 3.25 floppy discs. Remember those? Well, that was two desktop computers and three laptops ago. That was the first (and only) story I've ever written out of order. Normally, I write from beginning to end. Not this one. I wrote scenes as they hit me. Never again! Trying to make sense of where the scenes went took a chunk out of last week. But--ta da--I think I found everything and put them in some semblance of order. Now comes the "fun" part. Revising and editing, making transitions, filling in the holes. And . . . adding 32,000 words (about 64 single-spaced pages). That's all. LOL 
The idea for Unpredictable Nature started with a Girl Scout camping trip. I never enjoyed camping, probably because I don't have good memories of family camping trips we took when I was a young teen. Dad thought it would be great fun to drive north past the Soo (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan) into the wilds of Canada. We tent camped along a deserted lake--sleeping bags, cookstove, the whole shebang. Talk about primitive. In fact, before we could enter the wilderness, Dad had to sign in with the rangers (I assume). Twenty-some years later, I was a Girl Scout leader and had to take my troop camping. Despite my aversion to camping (I really hate bugs and dirt), I learned the basics and ended up enjoying many outdoor experiences. At least, we had pit toilets (outhouses) and cots in platform tents. 

So I thought wouldn't it be fun to write a story about a man who hates the outdoors (except for golf courses and swimming pools) and has to help chaperone his daughter's camping trip. Even worse, primitive camping. I knew exactly how he felt when he learned he had to "go" in the bushes. "What do you mean no toilets?"

Starting in February, I'll start posting snippets from Unpredictable Nature for Weekend Writing Warriors (WeWriWa). That means one last snippet from Romance Rekindled next weekend.

One the homefront: the twins are growing like crazy. Both boys have gained three pounds in three months. Daughter-in-law went back to work after the new year, and we've been helping out by babysitting once a week. I'm not sure how DIL keeps up. You get one baby fed, and the other is demanding his turn. One sleeps, and the other is awake. It's constant. I thought because my two were a year apart it was like having twins. No way! Nothing is like having twins. After a day of taking care of the twins and Toddler Girl, I need a nap. A Rip Van Winkle nap. Almost.

We're trying out Netflix. After a few years of Amazon Prime, I'm ready to switch. It was so disappointing to find shows/movies I wanted to watch only to find out that they're available but at a cost. So, we'll see how Netflix goes. I've already binge-watched Father Brown (love that show) and just discovered Shetland, a Scottish detective series set in the Shetland Islands. I'm fascinated by the scenery and, of course, the twists and surprises in solving mysteries. I consider it research. LOL



Reading: I'm hooked on Anna Hackett's Phoenix series, science fiction romances featuring brothers and cousins named Phoenix. Adventure and Romance. Right up my alley. I read before bed. Too many nights, I've read well into the wee hours.



That's it for this Monday. I hope you have a great week. Tomorrow, I'll be on Connie Bretes' blog sharing a funny incident.






Sunday, January 21, 2018

#WeWriWa - ROMANCE REKINDLED: That Man


Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors where authors share an 8 - 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other authors. You can find them here

I'm sharing excerpts from my new release, ROMANCE REKINDLED, a romance with a little mystery. Abby and her daughter visit her mother in jail.

To keep within the guidelines, this snippet has been edited from the original. Please excuse the rogue commas.

Mother bounded off the cot with the agility of a much younger woman—all those classes at the Senior Center must be paying off. “Abigail Louise, what are you doing here?”
Abby fisted her hands on her hips. “What are you doing in jail? And who is that man?”
That man rose more slowly than Mother had. He looked to be about her age, or slightly older, and a little taller with a head of thick, gray hair and a weathered face that had seen a lot of sun. When he reached Mother’s side, he placed his arm around her waist. Around her waist! How dare he?





Abby Ten Eyck likes her life the way it is. She runs a successful business, has a well-adjusted teenage daughter, and has managed to keep men at bay since her divorce fifteen years ago. Just before Christmas, she’s hit with change. Her mother decides to sell the family home. Then she’s arrested, with an unknown man. Could this new man in her mother’s life create more upheaval? Or could his handsome son be just what Abby needs to revive her dormant feelings?

Sam Watson embraces transition from frenetic Wall Street to a small Michigan resort town. His health is worth moving close to his dad who seems over the moon in love. But it’s the daughter of his father’s girlfriend who fascinates him. Abby Ten Eyck reminds him of his driven self. He must help her slow down before she burns out. Like he did.

ROMANCE REKINDLED is available at:

Amazon  ~  Amazon UK  ~  iBooks  ~  Kobo  ~  Smashwords  ~  Nook  




Monday, January 15, 2018

#NewRelease ONEY, MY ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY by @DianaLRubino & @PiperHuguley

Instead of my Monday Morning Musing, I'd like you to know about a new release from my friend Diana Rubino and her co-author Piper Huguley It sounds fascinating.

ONEY, MY ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY
by Diana Rubino and Piper Huguley

Oney’s Story…

Teenaged Oney Judge was Martha Washington’s ‘favorite servant.’ Oney and Martha both longed for freedom, but in very different ways. Martha hated being confined to the president’s house, forced to entertain politicians and foreign diplomats. Oney hated being someone else’s property, forced to do labor and wait on her owners day and night.

After President Washington served one term as president, he wrote his farewell speech. He and Martha started packing for their retirement at Mount Vernon, but it was not meant to be. He was elected again—unanimously. He did not want to serve another term, but gave in under pressure.

Martha had no say in it whatsoever. But as she hosted her tea parties and levees, she became close friends with several forward-thinking women, such as Abigail Adams and Judith Murray, feminists of the time. Their radical ideas rubbed off on Martha—education and job training for women to be self-supporting instead of depending on husbands. By the end of George’s term, she experienced a steep character arc. She even changed her attitude toward slavery. When Oney escaped at age 20, at the end of George’s final term, Martha was very resentful: “She was more like a child to me than a servant.” The Washingtons knew that she’d escaped to Portsmouth, New Hampshire and made several attempts to recapture her. But in a sudden act of lenience, Martha gave up on Oney and let her remain free. During her husband’s presidency, Martha complained, “I am more like a state prisoner”, so perhaps she put herself in Oney’s place and realized she deserved liberty, too.

As our first First Lady, Martha Washington evolved from a  grandmotherly wife and homebody to an outspoken champion of women’s rights. She provided freedom for her slaves at her death.

While living in Portsmouth, Oney married a sailor, Jack Staines, and had three children. She outlived her husband and children, and lived her remaining free life in Greenland, New Hampshire. Somewhat of a local celebrity, she lived in poverty, but the locals supported her and she took in sewing to supplement her meager income. She declared in an 1847 interview, “I am free now and choose to remain so.”

An Excerpt from ONEY, MY ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY

The hour finally came—while they ate dinner.

Nothing heavied my heart—not remorse, not guilt, not sadness upon fleeing my master and mistress. Raw thirst for freedom overcame all that. I walked straight past the Washingtons and out that door. When I shut it, I left them—and my forced bondage— behind me.

I tore through the muddy streets in pouring rain. Gasping for breath, soaked to the skin, my heart slamming in terror, I glanced behind me, again and again. No one pursued me—yet. I dreaded and expected pounding footsteps, a clap on my shoulder. But, I asked myself, who would chase me through the driving rain? No, it is not possible, I affirmed—they didn’t even know I’d left the kitchen.

At the Jones house I slowed and caught my breath. When Absalom opened the door, I staggered inside, laughing, sobbing, gulping for dear life.

I spent the night pacing the attic room, hands clasped. “I beg of you, dear God, walk beside me on this journey. See me through this safe. Don’t let them capture me. I only want to be your servant, no one else’s.”

As daybreak nudged away the darkness, I fell to my knees, weary with fatigue. “Thank you, dear God, for ending my final night of bondage.”


Serendipity at Work

In May 2014, popular romance author Brenda Novak had her annual auction for diabetes—authors donate books, critiques, etc., and people bid on them, similar to Ebay. I donated one of my other books, and I also donated a free manuscript critique. An author named Piper Huguley won the critique auction, but the auction ended and I never heard from her. I thought oh, well, she doesn't want it after all. About 3 months later, she wrote me and sent me her story, A CHAMPION’S HEART, to critique. It's a romance about an African American girl, set in rural Georgia in the 1910s. Very moving and powerful story. I loved it. It was published in 2016 by Liliaceae Publishers.

I'd been wanting to find an African American author to go over my Oney novel, but never looked for anyone. I thought of asking one of my grade school classmates, but just didn't get to it...well, one day I decided to ask Piper.

Right after I asked her, she wrote back and said she'd be happy to help. Then I went on Facebook and saw that Piper just posted that her mother passed away that morning. So I sent her a message of condolence. Then she wrote this back to me:

And I appreciate your kind comments about my mother. You see, I see your request as "heaven sent" for I think I told you about how my mother told me about Oney. I know that she would want me to work on anything, do anything to forward that story. So, even in the midst of a difficult time, I look forward to helping you--something I really didn't expect after you had helped me so much. Thank you for that.

I don't remember her telling me that her mother told her about Oney. I've heard so many stories about people who pass away, and send 'signs' etc. to their loved ones, this was just too strange to be coincidence. Piper helped me a great deal with Oney’s story and became my co-author. We dedicated the book to her mother.


Purchase ONEY:

About Diana and Piper:

Diana Rubino writes about folks who shook things up. Her passion for history and travel has taken her to every locale of her stories, set in Medieval and Renaissance England, Egypt, the Mediterranean, colonial Virginia, New England, and New York. Her urban fantasy romance FAKIN’ IT won a Top Pick award from Romantic Times. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Richard III Society and the Aaron Burr Association. When not writing, she runs CostPro, Inc., an engineering business, with her husband Chris. In her spare time, Diana bicycles, golfs, plays her piano and devours books of any genre. She spends as much time as possible just livin' the dream on her beloved Cape Cod.

Piper Huguley is a two-time Golden Heart ®finalist and is the author of the “Home to Milford College” series. The series follows the building of a college from its founding in 1866. Book #1 in the series, The Preacher’s Promise was named a top ten Historical Romance in Publisher’s Weekly by the esteemed historical romance author, Beverly Jenkins and received Honorable Mention in the Writer’s Digest Contest of Self-Published e-books in 2015.

Her new series “Born to Win Men” starts with A Champion’s Heart as Book #1. A Champion’s Heart was named by Sarah MacLean of The Washington Post as a best romance novel selection for December 2016.

She blogs about the history behind her novels at http://piperhuguley.com. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and son.


Connect with Diana and Piper:

Twitter: @DianaLRubino

Twitter: @PiperHuguley


Saturday, January 13, 2018

#WeWriWa - ROMANCE REKINDLED Mother's in Jail and She Has Company


Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors where authors share an 8 - 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other authors. You can find them here

I'm sharing excerpts from my new release, ROMANCE REKINDLED, a romance with a little mystery. With her teen daughter insisting on accompanying her, Abby goes to the jail to spring her mother.

To keep within the guidelines, this snippet has been edited from the original. Please excuse the rogue commas.

Clutching each other, Abby and Bethany staggered into the police station. The wind off Lake Michigan made the door hard to open and even harder to close behind them, before they stomped their feet on the mat to rid the snow and ice.
“Abby, Bethie,” Rose, the dispatcher, insisted on thinking her daughter was still the toddler she used to babysit, “Sorry to call you out on such a nasty night.”
Though she liked Rose, Abby didn’t have time for polite chit-chat as she scanned the room, expecting to find her mother sitting at one of the deputy’s desks, “Where’s my mother?”
A blush flooded Rose’s face, “Deputy Dawson locked her up.”
“In jail? My mother’s in jail?”
“Mom, don’t go ballistic on Auntie Rose, it’s not her fault.”
“No, it’s that dang Deputy Dawg—wait until I get my hands on that idiot—where is he?”
“Now, now, dear, listen to Bethie,” Rose led them down a beige hall to the jail, two cells complete with steel bars, a narrow cot and a stainless-steel commode in each. Mother sat on the edge of the cot—and she wasn’t alone.
“Who are you?” Abby demanded of the old man sitting next to Mother, holding her mother’s hand!



Abby Ten Eyck likes her life the way it is. She runs a successful business, has a well-adjusted teenage daughter, and has managed to keep men at bay since her divorce fifteen years ago. Just before Christmas, she’s hit with change. Her mother decides to sell the family home. Then she’s arrested, with an unknown man. Could this new man in her mother’s life create more upheaval? Or could his handsome son be just what Abby needs to revive her dormant feelings?

Sam Watson embraces transition from frenetic Wall Street to a small Michigan resort town. His health is worth moving close to his dad who seems over the moon in love. But it’s the daughter of his father’s girlfriend who fascinates him. Abby Ten Eyck reminds him of his driven self. He must help her slow down before she burns out. Like he did.

ROMANCE REKINDLED is available at:


Monday, January 8, 2018

A New Year




First an apology. When I started this blog, I faithfully blogged every Monday--musing about current events, either personal or world-wise. In 2017, I dropped the ball, especially the past few months. As happens with many of us, "life" happened. In a good way. The main reason I haven't blogged is I was having too much fun to write about it. Fun, in the form of family. If you've read my blog, you know about my immediate family (children and grandchildren) finally living close by. This Christmas was chaotic and fun. I loved it.

2017 is gone. 2018 is here. I love that January 1 is the start of a new year, but it's also a chance to begin again. So we didn't keep all the resolutions we made last year. We can start over. I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted to in 2017, but . . . Here's the disclaimer. I competed and published two books and wrote two short stories. For me, that was a big deal. I'm proud of that. I didn't expect to accomplish that much. Last year, I was invited to join another group blog (Pandora's Box Gazette--an online magazine) where I have a monthly column on Family Life. Added to Paranormal Romantics (where I blog once a month) and The Roses of Prose (where now I'll be blogging twice a month), and my own Weekend Writing Warrior contributions, I blog between 10-12 times a month. And I enjoy that.

My main job is writing books. While I enjoy blogging, that isn't adding to my stories. So I needed to examine what I want to accomplish in 2018. As I wrote for Insecure Writers Support Group last week, my goal is to finish three books. Two are already started, one new--a total of about 170,000 words. I nearly stopped before I got started. That's a lot of words. So, I broke that down into a more manageable goal, a minimum of 500 words per day (about one page single-spaced). Easy peasy. The harder part was choosing which book to go with first. 

The Spy (4th in my Outer Rim series): I'd already written almost 11k words. 

Unpredictable Nature (a romantic suspense): I wrote this book several years ago, and I finished it. I think. I just can't find all of it. I know that must sound weird. That story was written on two desktop computers ago. Back in those days, I kept copies of my work on 3.5" floppy disks. I'm still looking through those floppies, trying to find that story.

Untitled (4th in the Alex O'Hara PI mystery series): as of Jan. 1, not started but thought about a lot.

It makes sense to finish the book that's closest to being done. Right? Hah! That Alex O'Hara story just won't let me go. So, last week, I started writing. I've already 6700 words. I love when the words flow, as they've been doing for almost a week.

On the right side of this blog, you'll see my progress graphic for each book. Having declared my intentions, you can hold me to it. LOL I won't be offended if you ask about my progress (or lack of).

Have a great week. Come back next Sunday for Weekend Writing Warrior where I post 8-10 sentence snippets from my new release Romance Rekindled.  

If you're interested, here's my blogging schedule:

Each weekend: Weekend Writing Warrior, here
Each Monday: here
1st Wednesday: Insecure Writers Support Group, here
3rd Wednesday: Pandora's Box Gazette
13th of the month: Paranormal Romantics 
16th & 30th of the month: The Roses of Prose 

   
  

Saturday, January 6, 2018

#WeWriWa - ROMANCE REKINDLED: Arrested?


Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors where authors share an 8 - 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other authors. You can find them here

Sorry for being AWOL the past 2 weekends. With so many family/friends events, I knew I wouldn't be able to visit. I hope you enjoyed the holidays. Now it's back to work.

I'm sharing excerpts from my new release, ROMANCE REKINDLED, a romance with a little mystery. I'm picking up where we left off, with Abby getting a call at 2 am from the police dispatcher, saying her mother had been arrested.

To keep within the guidelines, this snippet has been edited from the original. Please excuse the rogue commas.

Oh, dear God, what had Mother done? “Arrested—for what?”
“Trespassing on private property and theft.”
Ever since Mother dropped the bomb yesterday about selling the house, Abby had worried about her. But trespassing . . . and theft?
“I’ll be right down.”
“Uh, Abby, Florence doesn’t want you to come—in fact, she didn’t want me to call you.”
“Not come?”
“I knew you’d want to know, this isn’t an official call—she says she’s saving her one phone call for someone important.”
Someone important? That sure puts me in my place.





Abby Ten Eyck likes her life the way it is. She runs a successful business, has a well-adjusted teenage daughter, and has managed to keep men at bay since her divorce fifteen years ago. Just before Christmas, she’s hit with change. Her mother decides to sell the family home. Then she’s arrested, with an unknown man. Could this new man in her mother’s life create more upheaval? Or could his handsome son be just what Abby needs to revive her dormant feelings?

Sam Watson embraces transition from frenetic Wall Street to a small Michigan resort town. His health is worth moving close to his dad who seems over the moon in love. But it’s the daughter of his father’s girlfriend who fascinates him. Abby Ten Eyck reminds him of his driven self. He must help her slow down before she burns out. Like he did.

ROMANCE REKINDLED is available at:


Wednesday, January 3, 2018

#IWSG and Chrys Fey's Flaming Crimes Blogfest


It's the 1st Wednesday of 2018. Happy First Insecure Writers Support Group Day of the year. IWSG is the brainchild of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. And thanks to this month's awesome hosts:  Tyrean Martinson, Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Megan Morgan, Jennifer Lane, and Rachna Chhabria!


January is named after the Roman god Janus. Note that he has two faces, one for looking back and one to look forward. Isn't that what we do at this time of year? We look back at what we've accomplished and look forward to what we want to do this year. 

In 2017, I wrote two novels and two short stories. The novels were published, one in April (The Case of the Meddling Mama) and the other in early December (Romance Rekindled). One short story became my entry into The Rose of Prose Holiday Collection. The other is a free gift for subscribers to my newsletter. Considering I had houseguests (Son & his family) for two months, I'm proud of what I accomplished.

So what about 2018? My plan is to finish a romantic suspense (needs 20k words) and write two more novels (together 150k). That is such a daunting goal. Then I broke it down to the number of words I needed to write per day. Thanks to my handy-dandy calculator, 170k words divided by 360 days (I figured I'd need a few days off) means I need to write 475 words per day. Now that doesn't sound daunting at all. Yesterday, I wrote 779 words. I'm ahead of my goal already. (I didn't write on Jan. 1; one of my free days.)

This month's optional question: What steps have you taken or plan to take to put a schedule in place for your writing and publishing?

I just told you part of my plan, writing at least 475 words/day. That is as far as I've gotten in my plan. I need to set up the months I want to have each story completed so I can line up my editor and cover designer. I also need to get Romance Rekindled into print, something left over from last year. 

How about you? Have you set forth your plan for 2018?

Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today. 

And now the 2nd part of today's post. Chrys Fey is one of our members and I'm happy to participate in her Flaming Crimes Blogfest. 



Prompt: What is something ridiculous you would save if there was a fire?

Chrys said what I write about shouldn't be something that everyone would save--family photos, passport and other documents, etc. It should be something that means something to me but that others would think ridiculous. I've had over a month to think about this. Did I? Nope. As I look around my living room/dining room/kitchen, I see my nutcracker collection on top of bookcases, the china cabinet, curio cabinet, and the kitchen cabinets. With over a hundred, I have a lot to choose from. My eyes keep going to the ugliest nutcracker I've ever gotten. My decision is made.



So why would I take that? Every year, Hubs works hard to find an unusual nutcracker, one I don't have in a thirty-plus year collection. Last year, he found the wolf. (I think it's a wolf.) I would take that one because it represents not just my collection, but it represents all Hubs' efforts to find that different nutcracker each year.
 





Series: Disaster Crimes #4
Page Count: 304 
Digital Price: 4.99 
Print Price: 16.99
Rating: Spicy (PG13) 

BUY LINKS:

BLURB: Beth and Donovan are now happily married, and what Beth wants more than anything is a baby. Her dream of starting a family is put on hold as fires burn dangerously close and Donovan becomes a victim of sabotage.

Donovan escapes what could've been a deadly wreck. Their past enemies have been eliminated, so who is cutting brake lines and leaving bloody messages? He vows to find out, for the sake of the woman he loves and the life they're trying to build.

Amidst a criminal mind game, a fire ignites next to their home. They battle the flames and fight to keep their house safe from the blaze pressing in on all sides, but neither of them expects to confront a psychotic adversary in the middle of the inferno.

Their lives may just go up in flames…



About the Author: Chrys Fey is the author of the Disaster Crimes Series, a unique concept blending romance, crimes, and disasters. She’s partnered with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group and runs their Goodreads book club. She’s also an editor for Dancing Lemur Press.

Author Links:


Diane's note: I've read all of Chrys' Disaster Crimes books. They are riveting. Beth and Donovan have survived so many disasters. Each time, I'm on the edge of my seat hoping they'll make it. I can't wait to read this one.

Here's a list of others who are participating in Chrys Fey's Flaming Crimes Blogfest: