Cats & Purses = Fun Reading!

Meeting and discovering new writers is always fun. That is another one of the many reasons I enjoy writing this blog so much. The different stories about the authors are as fun as the new books they introduce. This week's featured author is Wendy Kendall. She tells us she has a passion for purses (always near and dear to my heart since my mother absolutely loved purses) as well as writing.

Wendy is a blogger, editor, speaker, project manager and she's also a syndicated columnist.  You can catch her her exciting author interviews on her two You Tube Podcasts  --A Novel Talk and Kendall & Cooper Talk Mysteries. She is also a mother of two sons, Alex and Brad. 

Her new cozy mystery Kat out of the Bag is the first book of the In Purse-Suit Mystery Series, and it introduces us to a wonderful new heroine, Katherine Watson, who is an international purse designer/sleuth. Let's hear more about her book and Purrada Cat who is featured in her mystery.

Celebrated international purse designer Katherine Watson hosts a gala for her Purse-

onality Museum. She never expected the next day's headline to read: 'Murder at the Gala Premiere.' But after a dead body is found during the event, that's exactly what happened. Working to solve the murder, Katherine matches wits with local cop Jason Holmes and his K-9 partner, Hobbs. Although Holmes and Watson disagree often, they discover an undeniable attraction building between them. But they'll have to put their feelings on hold and focus on solving the murder, before Katherine becomes the killer's next knock off.

Sounds like an engrossing book that might be great for , right? Let's get an excerpt

           “There's an officer nearby. We'll alert him. Hold the line.”

             Katherine was worried by the operator's monotone. Did she understand the urgency? Katherine watched in disbelief as the shadow figure moved toward the shed attached to the waterwheel. Too late, she thought to get a picture after the person disappeared inside the shed.

            “Oh no,” Katherine muttered. She spoke into the phone, “Hurry. I think it's the killer, maybe looking for something left behind? Hello?” Had the operator hung up?

            “Yes, the officer is on the way. Please stay on the line.” The operator's voice now sounded bored.

            A sharp ray of light from inside the shed cut through the darkness. The light jumped around. Sweat collected on Katherine's upper lip as she imagined the killer looking through her things for something, maybe critical evidence. Fear gave way to irritation at the invasion. Irritation gave way to anger. Someone had to stop that killer from removing whatever incriminating thing so critical it had driven a return to the scene of the crime. Katherine wanted to scream. Where were the police? Maybe MJ was right about them. She pressed against the French doors. The light in the shed went out. Her breath caught in her throat. The silhouette walked out of the shed toward the alley leading to the maze that burrowed throughout Bayside and beyond.

            Katherine spoke gruffly and fast, “Hello. Where's your officer? The suspect is getting away.”

          “Ma'am, please stay calm and hang on the line. They're on the way.

Okay! Don't you just want to read on? This is a book that might be a great way to spend those summer hours reading! If  you would like to know more about her books or get in touch with Wendy, here are the links:

Website: wendywrites.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WendyKendallMysteries/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Twitter: @wendywrites1

Instagram: @wendyekendall

Thank you, Wendy, for being my guest today and introducing us to your new book.  Any comments or questions for Wendy?

           ”

A Long, Fruitful Journey

Every writer's story is unique to that person, and that is one of the reasons I love to talk to different writers and find out how they got started, how they succeed and what they love about becoming a writer. It's one of the reasons I enjoy this blog so much, because i not only love to find out about the different books coming out, but I also like hearing those wonderful, individual stories.  Today's guest in My Writing Corner is author Barbara Kroon and her personal story touched me because I not only love writing conferences, but I have also always been interested in writing stories with a sports backdrop.  

 Welcome, Barbara! Please tell us about your road to publication and your new book

Trap Play. 

Writing and publishing turned out to be a longer journey than I expected. Soon after I began work on Trap Play, I began meeting with a writer’s group in Portland, Oregon. The group is small, four to six writers. We work on mysteries, YA adventure, memoir, and literary fiction. We meet every week—thanks to Zoom, we’ve been able to continue that schedule despite coronavirus. Group members are expected to bring five to ten pages to our meetings, and so I did my best to have new or rewritten pages each week. That pressure to produce and the weeks of “draft, critique, rewrite, critique, tweak” became my process for writing Trap Play. Once I felt satisfied that I had a solid first draft, each group member took a copy home and did a complete read-through. A month later, we devoted meeting to discussing the draft, identifying what needed clarification, what was missing, and/or what perhaps could be eliminated.

Once I finished the edit that addressed my group’s suggestions, I thought my manuscript was ready to get to an agent. The group had given me an idea of the steps involved in finding representation and encouraged me to attend writers’ conferences, so I registered to attend the Pacific Northwest Writers’ Association’s annual conference in Seattle, and the Willamette Writers’ Conference in Portland, Oregon. To be honest, as I headed for Seattle, I was hopeful that I would find an agent and be done with that part of the process.

Silly me. Once I showed up in Seattle, it didn’t take long to see that I wasn’t ready. I had only the vaguest of idea of how to pitch my novel, I had no idea of how to write a successful query letter. The good news, the conference had great information on query writing and pitching. So just to gain some experience, I pitched my book. I got a few nibbles and some really helpful feedback.

I spent the next year editing and polishing my manuscript. And when the PNWA conference came around on the calendar, I signed up again. This time, several agents asked for pages. Ironically, an editor I did not pitch to turned out to have the most influence on my book.

Melissa Singer is a senior editor with Tor Books. Like the other agents and editors at the conference, Melissa gave a talk about what she wanted to see in a manuscript. She was terrific. Afterward, I approached her and thanked her for her great suggestions. “Send me your book,” she said. I said my book wasn’t what Tor published. She said, “Send it to me anyway.”

It took five months for her to get back to me—amazingly quick considering she was receiving in excess of 300 manuscripts a week in queries. Her email comments were so thorough, it was clear she had read my whole my manuscript. She praised the structure, praised the villain, praised the writing…and very kindly, very gently, said my hero was boring.

Melissa Singer was soooooooooo right. The good news about fixing that boring hero was that I had written Trap Play in three points of view. So, I only had to rework the chapters I had written from my hero’s point of view. It took five months. And the result of that rewrite is a more interesting and complicated hero.

Year three and I was back at PNWA. By this time, I had a really good pitch plan and I knew how to make the most of the conference. In total, I pitched to five agents and to four editors. Every one of them asked to see some part of my book. During my pitch, one editor immediately asked for the whole manuscript.

When I returned home from the conference, I wrote “requested query” letters to the agents and editors I’d met and included whatever part of my manuscript they had requested, plus the extra information their company submission requirements identified. Once I was finished with those queries, and in case all nine of the conf people rejected my manuscript, I spent one day a week for several weeks querying other agents who were seeking suspense thrillers.

The PNWA conference was in September. In early December, I heard back from Ally Robertson, the editor who had asked to see my whole manuscript. Ally emailed me on behalf of Wild Rose Press, saying they were interested in publishing Trap Play but… The selection committee felt that the manuscript needed another touch from an independent editor (meaning not Ally, because Ally would be working with me at the press if they took the book). Ally recommended independent editor Tammy Jeffers, who did a splendid pass-through of my manuscript. When Tammy pointed out a chapter near the middle of the book which seemed to stall the action, I got the message loud and clear: drop that chapter. After all, she knew more about story than I did. I sent the revised manuscript back to Ally and four days later I had my contract with Wild Rose Press.

How do you come up with your characters?

The Ben Leit series was born out of my interest in football. I started out thinking I would write about incompetent officiating and the damage that players suffer because of it. I made a bunch of starts on my story which went nowhere. Then, finally, I took a different angle for the story. Think of starting the story as finding a loose thread on a sweater. I took hold of that loose thread and pulled. The sweater unraveled and out popped Ben Leit, his murdered father, and the question of what the killer was like and why had the killer had targeted Ben’s dad.

It seemed logical to me that the killer murdered Ben’s dad in order to hide an earlier crime, something where the threat of exposure might be serious enough that the killer would do anything to prevent it coming to a prosecutor’s attention. ‘Serious crimes’ left me thinking about the corporate messes I’d encountered during my law firm days. And the idea of a corrupt corporation left me thinking about the power struggles that can go on inside large organizations. And that led me to (surprise) a second protagonist: Mimi Fitzroy.

Two protagonists meant I needed to build a real contrast between Ben and Mimi. Where Ben is a big, physical man, suffering from everything life has stripped away from him (career, his father, and the possibility he’ll die in roughly ten years thanks to his head injuries), Mimi is tiny, exceedingly smart, and she has sacrificed an academic career to satisfy the demands of a father who doesn’t understand her, doesn’t appreciate her, but is completely comfortable with using her talents and abilities to make himself into an even bigger wheel. To make things worse, he is stepping down and putting Mimi’s lifelong enemy is his place as corporate CEO.

As you know by now, the villain is killing to prevent Ben’s dad from exposing blackmail, arson, securities fraud, and nearly a decade of antitrust violations… I needed a villain who was smart enough to commit the underlying crimes, clever enough to manipulate the people around her, and physically capable of accomplishing the seductions and fights the story required. That led me to the villain’s backstory, most of which is tragic and barely suggested in the book, but which was important for me to work through.

How do you come up with your plots?

I talked above about the connection the Ben Leit series has to my fondness for football. What may not be clear is that the Ben Leit books are not about the game of football, but rather, about the long-range consequences of head injury caused by helmet-to-helmet collisions. Those injuries hang like a ghost in the Trap Play story. Trap Play is about power, greed, and what it means to be a hero. The second book in the Ben Leit series (working title The Beek) is about revenge. Again, with that undercurrent of the impact of brain injury on the family of the injured player.

But not everything I’m working on is connected to sports. I’m also working on a literary novel.

The Truth of It (working title) involves three generations of a once-affluent family, a Ponzi scheme, and lawsuit brought by the victims of the con artists. Portia’s discovery of her husband’s lie about a Ponzi scheme and that he has lost all their money is like the tree falling on your roof. In the process of fixing your roof, you discover that the house has been falling apart for years. The more you fix, the more you find is rotten.

Chronologically, The Truth of It begins with that Ponzi scheme. But the arc of the story rides on the idea of deceit—how the deceit of the con game leads to a string of lies that damage three generations of a family.

Tell us about your latest book.  What made you write it?

I started out writing as a poet. One of the things poets do is work out their concerns on the page. Since I kept getting so annoyed with the officiating at our team’s games, like any poet, I decided to write around the subject and see where it took me. Writing around bad officiating led took me to a whole bunch of questions. What happens to the guys who are forced out of the football game (and their really, really big-deal careers) because of those head injuries we read about? What if one of those guys with a head injury discovered the loss of his career and even the possibility that he had CTE was not the worst thing that happen to him? What if someone he loved was murdered?

How did you decide on the sports background?

Add it up. (1) America’s sense of heroism certainly extends to its athletes. (2) I’m interested in exploring the ideas of heroism. (3) Sports are wonderfully physical and you need a sense of the physical in suspense/thrillers.

But as I’ve said, sports is simply a background for the action in Trap Play. The story focuses on the protagonists’ willingness to risk their lives in order to expose a murderer. It has something for pretty much anyone: a former football hero, a brainy computer geek, and a power-hungry former beauty queen.

What advice do you have for beginning writers?

1.    In particular (and maybe first of all), read “Save the Cat! Writes a Novel.” The strategies and advice in those pages will likely save you weeks, months, maybe even years of wasted time.

2.    Read well-written books, including ones in your genre (if you’re doing genre writing). Then re-read them and pay attention to how the author has put them together.

3.    Attend classes or symposiums, and the nearest writer’s conference—all those venues will help you get going and hopefully give you a chance to connect with other ‘young’ writers.

4.    When you begin your book, think about your characters and what they would do in a particular circumstance and why. That way, your story is driven by what your characters want and what’s blocking them from achieving their desires.

5.    Connect up with a group of writers who meet regularly. You can get a lead on groups in those classes, symposiums and conferences I mentioned above. And a word about writers’ groups: you will grow more as a writer if you steer toward groups that actually give you the bad news and don’t simply pour on the praise. It may be difficult at times to get that tough love, but your work will grow and improve because of it.

6.    When you think your book is ready, send it to an independent editor and ask them to give it a hard look. Consider their advice seriously.

7.    Don’t let rejection get you down. But do listen to those agents, editors, beta readers and others who talk with you critically about your book. Remember, your job is to keep your reader engaged.

What is you next project?

I’m mid-way through book two of the Ben Leit series (The Beek). When I complete a first draft (I expect to finish that first draft by this fall), I will let it rest for a few months and shift back to my literary novel (The Truth of It).

How can readers get in touch with you?

http://bdaviskroon.com/

Here are the links to her books:

BUY: Amazon also available at Nook, KOBO,

Thank you, Barb, for being my guest.  Any comments or questions? 

Catch a Romance!

While summer may be vacation time, this year is very different than others. Instead of going off to relax with several good books, I am finishing up edits on a new Romantic Suspense as well as keeping a watch on the current books that are coming out. This week I am welcoming to My Writing Corner  author Gabbi Gray. I have to admit her new book caught my attention because of its setting.  

 She tells us she lives surrounded by trees, raccoons, deer and other woodland creatures 

on a mountain in beautiful British Columbia. (okay, one of my absolute favorite spots!) She says she lives on a mountain where her fur baby chin poo "keeps her safe from nasty bears."

While she works for the government by days, she says she spends her nights writing gay romances.  She also says that while she firmly believes in happy endings, she likes to make her characters "suffer before finding their true love." Of course, I wanted to know more about her writing.

What are some of the challenges of being a writer?

My biggest challenge is focus.  I have Attention Deficit Disorder and, as the expression goes, I see squirrels everywhere.  Actually sitting down and doing the work of a writer is tough for me.  I participate in writing sprints to get the words on the paper, but struggle with editing and, eventually, marketing.  I’ve discovered that being a writer is so much more than just putting words to paper.

 Tell us about your road to publication. 

I’ve had a very bumpy road to publication.  I started writing my first book in university in 1996.  I still have plans to finish that book.  The year 2012 was tough for me, and I decided I needed to focus and take my writing seriously.  From there I haven’t looked back.  I just finished writing my fourth gay romance and hopefully it will be published next year.

 How do you come up with your characters?

The past few books have been for a call from a publisher.  One was set in a small town in Vermont where one character had to come from the town.  I knew I wanted to write a gay romance and from there, for reasons I still can’t explain, I came up with a dead black Civil War soldier ghost who haunts the local cemetery.  The visitor had to be a gay man who could see a ghost.  Who better than a history professor dedicated to telling the stories of the dead?  The next book had to involve ice cream and the beach.  I wanted to set it in my city of Vancouver, Canada and that led me to question what are the major industries?  That leap was to the film industry and the book is my take on the big film star and the unknown person.  Again I made it a gay romance and had my ice cream story.

 How do you come up with plots?

Usually I start with characters and let them guide me through.  I’m a pantser who writes romance so I start with my two main characters, the happy ending, and then I go from there.  How I get there is always a mystery.

 Tell us about your latest book.  What made you write it?

Catch a Tiger by the Tail is a romance about two men who fall in love on the sound stage

during the production of a film.  I wanted both characters to have tragic backstories so even though I call the book my fake-boyfriend age-gap gay rom-com, there is some weight to those characters.  Throw in tiger tail ice cream (orange cream with black licorice), and I had the makings of a story.

 What advice do you have for beginning writers?

Perseverance.  It took me eight years to get published.  I kept writing, kept taking classes, kept striving to improve.  These days self-publishing is a valid alternative to traditional publishing, to be sure.  I wanted the community of writing with a publisher and was very lucky to find The Wild Rose Press who have published three of my books – including one that was written way back in 2014.  Hang in there and keep working toward your goal.

 What are you working on now?

I had the opportunity to return to that small town in Vermont.  A beloved character is a gay man, and I knew I wanted to write his happy ending.  I’m hopeful the publisher will contract the book.  Beyond that I have several projects vying for my attention.  I can’t sit on my laurels and, to be blunt, I can’t not write.  It’s part of me – a part I will always treasure.

Let's learn more about  Catch a Tiger by the Tail 

Thomas Walsh knows the number one rule in the film industry. Don't get involved with the talent. But resisting the urge to take the big screen to the bedroom can be hell when the lead actor on the set looks good enough to eat...one slow lick at a time.

Peter Erickson's latest role as a gay man hits a little too close to home. He's still in the closet and secretly grieving the death of his lover. Then an enchanting production assistant catches his eye, and he's surprised by the instant attraction that stirs more than his wounded soul.

When the two men are caught on camera in a very intimate pose, both Thomas and eter are afraid they've caught a tiger by the tail. 

Sounds  great!  Where can readers buy your book?

Amazon US:  https://amzn.to/3cKUTOv

Amazon CA:  https://amzn.to/2XKTelO

KOBO:  https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/catch-a-tiger-by-the-tail-6

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/catch-a-tiger-by-the-tail-gabbi-grey/1137046121

iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/catch-a-tiger-by-the-tail/id1517323369

Publisher: https://www.thewildrosepress.com/books/catch-a-tiger-by-the-tail

How can readers get more information about you and your work?

Website: https://gabbigrey.com/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/gabbi-grey

Facebook (page): https://www.facebook.com/AuthorGabbiGrey

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorgabbigrey/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GabbiGrey

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/gabbigreyauthor/

Thank you, Gabbi, for being my guest!  Any comments or questions for Gabbi?

Stormy Danger

For just about every published author, there is a different tale on how he or she got to that goal of seeing a book he or she authored for sale to readers. It's always fascinating to hear not only that story of getting a book published, but what makes a person want to write fiction in the first place.  Asking that question is always one I pose to writers who visit My Writing Corner. It's fascinating to hear not only how a writer gets started but what drives him or her to tell a fiction story. Over the years I've discovered as many different stories about writing as there are stories. 

Today's guest in My Writing Corner brings us another wonderful tale. My guest is Patricia McAlexander who writes both fiction and nonfiction. Welcome, Patricia! 

Have you always wanted to write fiction?

     Yes—I always loved writing stories. In first grade, we learned to read with Dick and Jane books. At home I wrote a similar series named Jean and Jerry. In later grade school years, my younger sister and I co-authored stories, each of us “playing” with different characters. And in high school my friends read short novels that I’d written. But when I became a college teacher, I abandoned fiction for academic publications. Now I’m returning to that old love.  

What are the challenges of being a writer?

Perhaps getting inspired, but once I am inspired, the challenge then is getting back into the real world. And once the story is completed, the challenge is editing it: making sure facts are correct, the sentences are clear, and the style “works.”

Tell us about your road to publication.
After I retired, I was going through old papers and found an early story I'd written about a young woman in a hurricane. I turned it, with major changes, into Stranger in the Storm. I submitted Stranger to The Wild Rose Press. Editor Kaycee John thought it had potential, gave helpful advice that I took--and my next draft was accepted. I feel very lucky that for my first publication of fiction, I decided to go the small press route with Wild Rose. 

How do you come up with your characters?
Most of them are composites of people I have known or of myself, with a big dose of imagination.

How do you come up with your plot?
I am what they call a "pantser" which I guess comes from the idea of flying by the seat of your pants. It's as though I am reading my own story and wondering how it will turn out. Of course I do think ahead, asking what would happen if this were real, what would that character do? But even that is like reading my own story. 

Tell us about Stranger in the Storm. What made you write it? 

As I said, I found an old story I’d written. It intrigued me and I revised it. That story—and Stranger—are set on the Great Sacandaga Lake in upstate New York where my parents had a summer cottage. That setting made the story very real for me. The blurb (in this blog) tells the basic conflict. A young woman writer leaves an abusive relationship to stay in her parents’ cottage on the lake while they are traveling in Europe. A hurricane strikes, and a handsome stranger rescues her when her car becomes stuck as she goes for supplies. After her earlier relationship, she hesitates to trust anyone—and this is made more problematic because her rescuer has a twin brother who is an escaped felon in the area.

After she discovers the abusive side of his personality, Janet Mitchell leaves Jack Dexter, the professor who swept her  off her feet. Will she discover the same darkness n Wes, the handsome young man who rescues her during a hurricane?

Years ago West Corbett vowed not to get romantically involved again, fearing anyone close to him might be harmed by his brother William, a born criminal. Now as he weathers the storm with Janet, their mutual attraction becomes clear. Can he keep that vow--even though he knows William is on the loose and may be headed directly for them?

 What are you working on now?

I am finishing up a novel about my ancestors who came from Baden (a state now part of Germany) in 1850 to farm in New York State

·       

     What advice do you have for beginning writers?

Writing and publishing your writing are not easy, but if you have that spark of inspiration and belief in your work, keep going even when the going gets tough.

How can readers get more information about you and your books?

Website:   https://patriciamcalexander.weebly.com

Facebook: facebook.com/patriciamcalexanderwriter/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PatMcAlexWriter

  Buy Links

:    books.apple.com/us/book/stranger-in-the-storm/id1510438000?ls=1
    Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Storm-Patricia-McAlexander-ebook/dp/B087Z3PR6C

    Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stranger-in-the-storm-patricia-mcalexander/1136954997

Thank you for being my guest.  Any questions for Pat?

Save those Settings!

These days it is difficult to travel or to go anywhere, and that only brings in the wanderlust even more than normal. Having already given up one trip to the California coast this year, I am longing again to visit some of my favorite places.  Unfortunately, that can’t happen so I am taking my characters in my books there instead.

 In the past I have done blogs on my southern Colorado roots, where I am setting my current stories, but recently I have also been going through some of my old manuscripts that I want to finish.  One is set in beautiful Vancouver, B.C. My last trip there was last year, and while I don’t’  know when I’ll be going again, it will give me great joy to pick up one of my old manuscripts set there and start working on a story to take me back to visit, even if it is only in my mind.

 Settings can be critical to any story.  Another that I am working on is set in a remote section of the Northwest where there are limited routes to travel. That can be a great idea for a getaway or if you want to hide from someone, but if an old boyfriend is stalking the heroine, she’ll have a tough time trying to elude him once he learns her whereabouts.  I’m looking forward to tossing in a ghost to help her escape!

That brings me to the point of this. Location can be every bit as important as characters in developing your story, so don’t shirk on the details and use it just as you might use a villain or a hero.  A snowstorm can strand travelers, but it can also provide some undivided time where  two lovers can work out the obstacles that have been keeping them apart.

 To me, bringing in the setting and making the reader feel the location is critical to making any story work. But how can you get that into your work if you haven’t been to a location?  There are always pictures you can find online or in magazines. Find ones that you can relate to as you write your story and then use them to transport your writing brain to that location.

  Recently I was going through old postcards and ran across one of a beachfront hotel. Immediately I began remembering the time around the pool, the early morning walk along the misty beach on a spring morning. Within moments I was writing down those sensations for future use. I am not going to be using it anytime soon, but when I start working on my northern Washington story, I’ll have the description available.

 I did the same when I visited the Northwest several years ago for the story I mentioned above. I spent a whole afternoon, just studying and then writing down the various sensations and things I was seeing and hearing. The smell and sound of the ocean were other sensations I made note of for future use. I even stopped as I drove around the seawall just to hear the sounds so I could use that in a story about the heroine bike riding along walking path.

 \Now you don’t have to visit all the locations you want to write about, but when you are in a location, writing down the various senses associated with it can be useful as you call them up later. Wherever I travel, I do that. A writer can be working, even when on vacation.

For more information on my books, please visit:

http://rebeccagrace.com

or email me at

RebeccaGrace55@gmail.com

Thanks for joining me today!  Any questions?  Please ask!

 

Cooling off with Summer Romance

With the summer heat fully upon us, it is time for something to cool us off, and why not look to ta sweet world of ice cream!  When mixed with hot summer romance, the result can be filled with fun. 

My guest today in My Writing Corner is author, D. V. Stone. She is the multi-genre author of two independently published books. Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar is a fantasy romance. Agent Sam Carter and the Mystery at Branch Lake is a mid-grade paranormal. Recently, Rock House Grill was released by Wild Rose Press. 

She also hosts  Welcome to the Campfire and A Peek Through the Window, both weekly blogs. She was born in Brooklyn, but she has moved around  and even once lived on a dairy farm in Minnesota before moving back east. Throughout her wandering, she says she still always considered herself a Jersey Girl. Eventually, she met and married the love of her life, Pete—a lifelong Jersey Man, and moved to Sussex County. They live with Hali, a mixed breed from the local shelter and their cat Baby.

Welcome, we have a few questions for you. 

How did you get your  start  as a published author?

Almost nine years ago, I was laid off from my job due to a downturn in the economy. I admit, initially there was some wallowing and self pity. But after a few weeks, instead of it being a curse, the layoff turned into a blessing. I’d always loved reading and finally I had the time to do what I’d dreamed of, becoming an author. Aimhirghin, Kingdom at a Crossroad is still a work in progress. Everything I didn’t know about writing I learned with this book. Then a few months later I wrote Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar, another fantasy romance. Felice was my first independently published book. Since then, I’ve learned so much and have been contracted with Wild Rose Press.

Tell us how you come up with characters?

There are a variety of ways. I try to pick names that will reflect something about the character. I’ve spent hours researching names and the meaning of them. Then, especially with fantasy, I’ll run them through a translator enabling me to find more “exotic” sounding names. But honestly, with Rainbow Sprinkles the main character's name was just rolling around in my mind. Gloriana. Then I wanted to give her a simple surname and decided on Jones.

Where did you get the idea for your latest book?

When Wild Rose Press sent out a call for a “beach read”, something short and fun. Immediately my thoughts turned to my past history owning an ice cream and grill. It’s a tough business and the profit margin can be tight for new owners. I also wanted a “seasoned” character. A second chance at romance. So Rainbow Sprinkles was born and a short while later also contracted. I love the story and the cast of characters including a recalcitrant basset hound named Fred and Sadie in memory of my two bassets.
Retired and widowed Gloriana Jones is forging on with the plans 
she and her late husband dreamed of--bringing joy and happiness, one ice bream at a time, to Lake Unami. But bad weather is drowning her dream. A trip to Upstate NY is bittersweet for Nathan James. He is excited to see his first granddaughter but without his wife, he is lonely.
When his car breaks down, he heads to the only light he can see, an ice cream shop. With aid from a heavenly source, electricity sparks, but will the two weather the summer storms and find love a second time? Or will their hopes and dreams melt away.

Sounds like a perfect story for our summer reading!  Thanks, D. V. for being my guest today. And if you would like to learn more about D. V. and her books, here is here contact information:

Website 

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Hit the Wall? Try a Writing Partner

My road to publication taught me so able lessons, but one of the biggest was that if you run into a problem getting published, why not reach out to other writers? This can be done in so many ways and it doesn’t have to be non-fiction or fiction – it can be both. Shortly after running into obstacles getting my short stories published, I met a group of other writers who wer ehaving the same problems. We decided we would go together and put all our stories into an anthology. Suddenly we had a publisher and all our stories ended up getting published. We did the same with a second anthology.  For a few of us, things worked out even better. We had novels we wanted to see published and since the anthology publisher was fairly new, the editors were looking for authors. Several of us ended up getting our first books published with Wings ePress. 

What I learned from that experience was to look beyond just the traditional world, but I also learned the value of working with other writers. We all had one story we had to write for our anthologies and we all critiqued and edited each other’s work. The critiquing, the editing and the feeling we were all in it together was more than just valuable. It helped improve my writing. That experience not only led to valuable writing friendships, but also put me on the road to getting more books and stories published.


Several years later, I met Sue Viders. Sue was already the author of a very popular writing book with several other writers, and I felt privileged when I became her critique partner. We soon found we enjoyed not only writing fiction but she wanted to write another non-fiction book on writing. A partnership was formed and we have never looked back. 

We began with a book on creating characters and moved on quickly to two on plotting and then

another on villains. Our next book will be a series of writing tips addressing the different types of authors. Like our other books, it will soon be available at Amazon.com

As Sue and I worked together, we discovered we liked the way the other author wrote fiction, and we decided to try our hand at writing a fiction novel together. Immediately (because that is the only way

 Sue works – she sees a job and she wants to do it --  we began working on a plot using our Plotting Wheel and putting together the characters using the various sheets we had developed together.

Sue was anxious to begin writing and before long we began developing our ideas into actual scenes and bringing our characters from charts to life.  What we enjoy about writing together is that our ideas spark interest from the other person so whenever we hit a dry spell, one or the other can supply the spark to get things moving again. When we both hit a wall, we brainstorm, just tossing out ideas to the other and before long, the problem is solved and we move along.  

All of this is a long way of saying that if you’re stuck for an idea or a writing partner, look around you. There may be other would-be writers out there looking for someone to work with. Find the person who might have other strengths and weaknesses different from yours. Years ago, I worked with a male co-author who was great at coming up with plot twists and characters, but he hated dealing with the mechanics. Together, we both loved writing dialogue and we would toss dialogue back and forth at each other and type it all up into character conversations. It was not only fun, but we were able to get the stories written faster. 

Writing with a co-author can be helpful in other ways too. Let’s face it, there are days we don’t feel like writing, but working with a co-author can help you get over those days of inaction. Let the other person carry you and then you can turn around and carry them when they are hitting a blank spot.

When it comes right own to it, writing a book is hard work. Sometimes writing with someone else can get you moving forward, so look around. Is there someone you know who might want to try to get a story written? Offer to help. Get their help, and most of all, keep writing! 

Our newest book on villains is now available on Amazon.com, where you can also find all our writing books for authors.

If you have any writing questions, please email me at RebeccaGrace55@gmail.com, or visit our

website at  www.writethatnovel.net