Tasty Spring Reading

 As someone who spent thirty years around television studios working as a TV  journalist, I have always been drawn to books featuring people who work in the television industry itself. That was what grabbed my interest when I heard about author D.V.  Stone's latest book, Rock House Grill.  Naturally, I wanted to know more about her and her new book.

 Donna is my guest today in My Writing Corner.  Welcome D.V.  Have you always  wanted to write fiction ?  

I always wanted to be a reader. Oh, I dabbled through the years, but nothing ever took. Then, one day about eight years ago, the time was right. I’d been laid-off from a job. The economy wasn’t great, and I was home for the first time since my son was born. It was a now or never moment. I haven’t looked back since.

What are the challenges of being a writer?

 Time. Finding the time to do everything I need to get done. I still work full-time outside the home. There’s a house to run and other obligations. 

Tell us about your road to publication. 

The road to publication has lots of potholes. My first two books are self-published. I’m not going to call them mistakes—but perhaps a leaning experiment. The stories are good. Editing? Not so much. Several times I’ve gone back and re-edited and released. Funny story is Rock House Grill, which was signed by Wild Rose Press, was done on a lark. I always considered myself a fantasy author. I took the NaNoWriMo challenge. In November, it’s 30 days, 50,000 words. Then I sat on it for a while. One day I pulled it out and began sending it to editors and publishers. My editor, Elf, will tell you what a mess it was, but Wild Rose saw something in it and has nurtured me and Rock House Grill. 

How do you come up with your characters? 

Usually, I have some idea of a plot, even if it’s only a line. Then I do research finding one I think fits the character. My favorite is when I write fantasy. Then I research not only the meaning, but then run the meaning through translators.

How do you come up with your plots?

 Sometimes it’s a picture. Sometimes it’s a song lyric. Often a random thought. And once, a name popped into my head, and I needed to give her a story. Gloriana’s book is in the editing/submission process.

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

As I mentioned above, NaNoWriMo was the spark. Since the time constraint was tight, the words write what you know was quite apt. I’m a former Emergency Medical Technician and restaurant owner. Not only did it come together it has spawned a series.

What are you working on now?

The second book of the Impact Series is titled Jazz House. I'm very exxcited about it. You'll see some familiar people but the new female main character has many secrets. 

That sounds like fun reading! What advice would you give to beginning writers?

Fear is your worse enemy. Do't let doubt hold hands with it. You may need to thick your skin, but if you have a story--tell it.

Great Advice. Let's learn more about Rockhouse Grill. Here's the blurb.

Aden House, successful but driven chef and TV personality, refuses to slow down. His life implodes one night, damaging him both physically and emotionally. He's rescued by a woman he thinks of as his angel.

Shay McDowell has rebuilt her life after her divorce. She juggles volunteer EMT duties and her job, while dreaming of becoming a chef. She finds her way to Rock House Grill and back into the life of the man she helped save.

Can love be the ingredient needed to survive the many obstacles they face?

All the ingredients are in place for some tasty reading. Here are the buy links.  

Available April 6^th, 2020

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rock-house-grill-d-v-stone/1136377617 

https://www.amazon.com/Rock-House-Grill-Impact-Book-ebook/dp/B084VCWRXR/  

How can readers get in touch with you?

Website
 Welcome to the Campfire Blog
Twitter
 Facebook
 Instagram

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

Cold Case = Hot Suspense

 One of the best parts of being a writer is that you get the opportunity to meet and get to know other writers. Talking with them about how they work and what they are working on can stimulate ideas and make you a better writer. One of the writers I met many years ago ago who has continued to inspire me as a writer is Donnell Bell, who also writes mystery and suspense like me. We've been to many writing conferences and worked together on various organizations over the years. I've always enjoyed reading her books and today she visits My Writing Corner to present her newest work, Black Pearl.   

Donnell Ann Bell began her writing career at the Colorado Springs Business Journal and Pikes Peak Parent Newsmagazine before turning to fiction. An award-winning author, including a two-time Golden Heart finalist, she is the author of Black Pearl, book one of a series, Buried Agendas, Betrayed, Deadly Recall and The Past Came Hunting, all of which have been Amazon bestsellers. Black Pearl is her latest release, and she’s back to work on book two of the series. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter or sign up to win books and prizes via her newsletter www.donnellannbell.com

What made you want to be a writer?

Truth be told, the nuns made me do it. I owe two Ursuline sisters my gratitude for recognizing I had a gift. When my classmates were writing about space aliens and Chips Ahoy cookies, I was writing about a drought-ridden town in which the residents were forced to load up their covered wagons and start over. Years later, I would guess I got the idea from Lizzie and the Rainman sung by Tanya Tucker. Those two nuns literally pulled me out of class and gave me permission to dream and tell stories. I wrote my first published novel based on a song by Tricia Yearwood and Don Henley, called Walk Away Joe. That book led to The Past Came Hunting my debut novel. Apparently, music influences me greatly.

What do you like best about your heroines/heroes? 
I write a cross between an alpha and a beta male. I cannot stand any male who bullies a woman. Then again, I don’t like a woman who bullies a man. I guess you could say I’m not a fan of bullies. But I love strong characters, compassionate characters. That includes my female characters. I was a volunteer victims advocate for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy dressed up in a Pillsbury dough boy-like suit had each of us volunteers come at him in “attack” mode in self-defense class. When it came to my turn, he kept yelling, “You’re such a girl!” The point, to make me Hulk-like angry. P.S. He made me angry, but he was so right about the “girl-part.”

The good news is I realize it and make my characters everything I’m not. My daughter was an All League softball catcher, and a team leader. I am in awe of her strength and poise under pressure. I rode with a female field training officer on a twelve-hour shift and we brainstormed my character. I talked with retired female police officers. That knowledge and those experiences enabled me to write my first female police officer protagonist – who I can tell you is a kick-butt heroine working in a male-dominated profession and everything I’m not. She possesses traits of some exceptional women I admire. I’m exceptionally proud of Allison Shannon, the character I created for my series.

Tell us where you got the idea for your latest book.
I lost my best friend growing up to violent crime. I would say in the back of my mind she’s always with me. Perhaps that’s why I write around the theme Suspense to Close to Home and why I always demand justice for victims. As an aside, although this book was fiction in every sense of the word, it was therapeutic to write.

What advice would you give a beginning writer?
Don’t be in too much of a hurry. One of the best things ever is to see your name on a book. But like the old slogan, I will sell no wine before its time, the same applies to published work. Make sure it’s ready. Study craft. Listen to beta readers and critique partners, and not just a family member who loves you, no matter what you write. Make sure the story holds up, not only in grammar and punctuation, but in content. Make sure you invest in an editor and proofer. Here’s an article I wrote for Romance University and Pikes Peak Writers that writers might find helpful. https://pikespeakwriters.blogspot.com/2015/03/tips-before-hiring-editor.html

Let's get the details on  that latest book, Black Pearl: A Cold Case Suspense

A cold case heats up when a 9-1-1 call puts police at a Denver murder scene pointing  investigators to the abduction of a Colorado teenager fourteen years before. The connection? A calling card--a single black pearl--is found on the newest victim. Is the murder a copycat? Or has the twisted killer, thought dead or in prison, returned to kill again?

The hunt for a multi-state killer is on and brings together an unexpected team: a Denver Major Crimes police lieutenanct; an FBI special agent who investigated the previous murders, a rooke FBI aent with a specialty in psychology; and the only living victim of the Black Pearl killer who is now a cop.

For Special agent Brian DiPietro, the case is an opportunity to find answers. For Officer Allison Shannon, the case will force her to face down the town that blamed her for surviving when another did not. And for both DiPietro and Shannon, it's a chance to find close on questions that have tormented them both for years. 

If you would like more information about Donnell and all her great books and the buy links, here is her website: https://donnellannbell.com/

Thank you, Donnell, for being my guest and bringing us your latest!  Any questions or comments for Donnell?

Hot Mystery for A Cold Day

We're in the heart of winter here in Colorado and it's the time when you want to curl up with a good book to spend the day because there's are foot of snow outside and the streets on our block are barely passable. What better way to do that than with a wonderful mystery! Today's guest in My Writing Corner, is J. L. Delozier who has a new mystery out that sounds like a just the sort of  book to enjoy on the snowy day. 

Jennifer says she sent made her first story submission written in pencil on lined  notebook paper. Let's find out more about her. 

Tell us about how you got started. 

I wrote short stories in junior high school and took a creative writing class as an undergraduate. After that "write a novel" hovered at number one on my bucket list. When I finally decided to take the plunge, I prepped by reading Stephen King's On Writing and then just went for it.

What do you hope readers get from your books?

Escapism, pure and simple. As a physician, I see enough bad things in everyday life to ever want to write nonfiction. 

How do you write your stories? 

I'm a punster, so the characters develop themselves as the story flows. That sounds touchy-feely, but it's truly how I write. 

Where do you get ideas?

 Often from snippets of overhead conversation, whether that be in person or via the radio or television. For Con Me Once, the idea came from an old GQ article on the "real-life superhero community", specifically a man named Phoenix Jones. The article made me ponder the psychology behind the need for these (mostly) men to dress up in home-made costumes and patrol their neighborhoods. It also made me wonder what would happen if they go embroiled in some heavy shit, and voila! Con Me Once was born. 

As a former Las Vegas resident, the location of the book grabbed my attention. Let's hear more about Con Me Once:

When Frak Lambda, a bumbling superhero wannabe, witnesses a mob hit gone wrong, he ends up running for his life.  Enter the mysterious Keira, whose secret academy claims to turn wannabes like Frank into real heroes. Frank knows a con when he sees one. But desperate for an escape, he joins three other recruits for training in Las Vegas. Against the backdrop of a thousand spandex-clad cosplayers, Keira's true agenda--a multimillion-dollar heist from her mobster brother--is exposed. With their lives and a fortune at stake, Frank and his team of misfits fight to become the heroes they always wanted to be. 

Tell us about your next book What are you working on now?.

 My WIP, working title The Photo Thief, is my first mystery with a significant paranormal element and also my first to mix POV characters: one 1st person, and one 3rd person. It’s been a challenge, to say the least, but hopefully it’ll be worth it. The plot centers around a young adult with a seizure disorder who “hears” old photographs collected by her great-grandfather speaking to her. They ask her to solve their murders—and that of her own mother.

Thanks for introducing us to your books and your writing. 

Here's the buy link:

Con Me Once

For more information about Jen, here is her contact information:

  

 www.Facebook.com/jldeloziermd   

www.Twitter.com/jldelozier

Learn more at: www.jldelozier.com

Shop and read reviews at: www.Amazon.com/author/jldelozier and www.Goodreads.com/jldelozier 

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

A Note to the Wise

Recently I was cleaning out my office area and found a whole pile of notebooks. They had all been used and when I started going through them I realized each one had notes from various lectures, conferences and workshops I’d attended. There were others with a variety of stories I was either working on or wanted to start. A few others had notes where I was developing ideas into stories or plots. In looking them over, I got to thinking about notes in general and came up with what I considered a trio of suggestions when it comes to notes:


Take Notes

Make Notes

Bake Notes


Okay, very cute but what does it all mean?

The first is self explanatory. It only makes sense that when you attend a workshop, you should take as many notes as possible on what you learn at conventions or talks or anytime you have the opportunity to hear a writer talk. Listen to how they got to working on their stories or books and make notes for yourself. You can pick up some good suggestions just from hearing how the process works. I always carry around a notebook in my purse so I am ready to take notes at any time and wherever I am. If I get a story idea, or see something I want to know more about, I’m ready to write it down so I don’t forget later.

Making Notes might also be self explanatory but it doesn’t relate to the first idea. Make notes whenever you have an idea, no matter where you are. Make notes on whatever piece of paper you have handy. You never know if that idea will come again.  I haven’t had many an idea disappear totally from  my brain when I tried to write it down later. As a result,  I now write down whatever idea I come up with as soon as possible.  I have bank withdrawal slips with ideas written on the back, but that’s why I keep that notebook in my purse. It’s works well  for those crazy ideas that might pop up when I might be out and about.

Baking Notes  has nothing to do with cooking. It had to do with what to do with those  ideas or notes once you have them written down. Don’t just let them sit there and gather dust like I did with my notes.  Take them to the next level. Think through all those notes you make and then think about where you might want to take them. Taking all those notes at a conference don’t mean anything if you don’t do something with them once you get home I found some great ideas I had forgotten about because I went to a conference, came home all fired up, remembered what I had been told for a week or so and then let go of everything I learned.  But on the other hand, if you try using some of those ideas and putting them into practice even a few times then you’ll get more out of the notes you’ve made. Even if the ideas don’t work for you as presented, other things might stick and it might improve your output, your outlook or your overall  writing.

Don’t just write it down those ideas either, use them.  Don’ t just keep making notes on ideas. Try them out somehow. Play with them and make use of them. Perhaps they will send your current story into a new direction. Perhaps they will help you figure out what you want to do with a future story. But if you put them into action or expand them, you’ll be better off in the future.

At least you won’t just be stuck with a bunch of notes in a notebook that you can’t remember , either where you got them or what you intended to do with them. So if you are going to make notes, or take notes, then be sure to bake those notes!

Life as Research

         Beginning to write a new book is always a fun project, but then to me the process is ongoing. As I writer, I have discovered that you never know when you will get a new idea for a story, and it's important to keep your mind open at all times.  Some of my story ideas began back in my childhood, from just a line I got from my mother when she told us about the first time she met my father. 
She was very young, but she always said that she knew she would marry him some day and she told her cousins that. I used her exact line in my romance, Home Fires Burning.   "I'm going to marry that boy some day."

      That always stayed with me and I found that as I began writing, just paying attention to events, comments and locations were all learning opportunities and could someday be used in books. My life was one big research project for writing fiction.

        When I was working as a journalist in TV and as a public relations writer, my assignments often began the same way – with research. Whether it was reading over newspaper articles or viewing past stories on a subject, I always knew that when you set out to write about a subject you needed to gather as much information as possible. And if you were writing about a person, you needed to know as much as possible about that person.

That didn’t change when I began writing fiction. The subject matter was important, but even more critical was getting to know the characters involved. If I was going to make those fictional characters move or react in the way I wanted I needed to know everything possible about them. I always say in my classes that it is easier to writer about your mother or husband than it is to write about a total stranger. You know how they might react to a situation or a setting while you would have no idea how a stranger might react. That is why I always recommend getting to know characters first, as soon as writers begin plotting their novels. The best story in the world will seem flat if the characters are flat.

And what is the best way to get to know someone? Talking to the person, of course. We’ve all heard of the benefits of interviewing our characters. We’ve even received question lists and formulas that can help us. But too often these questions don’t go far enough. We need to dig deeper. I always recommend, not just questioning someone, but spending time with that person.  If I can’t afford to spend a few hours a day hanging out with that person, how am I going to make it through the necessary weeks I will spend with that character as I get their story down on paper?

But how does that interview process work? If you’ve never done an interview, (even of your characters) how can you go about it? I actually still employ some of the processes I used when I was actively interviewing people as a journalist – whether it was over a new building project or a down home story about life on the farm. There were some things I learned to do on an interview BESIDES just asking questions. The key was to not only listen but to observe.

Here are some things you can consider as you do your character interview:

Where are you doing it? And how makes that decision – you or the character. Well, it is all up to you, but think about it. If your character is a business woman, perhaps you want to do it in her office. If she is a stay at home mom, you might choose her house or you might do it in a park as she watches the kids.

If you are doing it at the person’s house, then by all means, be nosy and curious. Now I am not saying I used to look in people’s bathroom cabinets when I did interview in homes, but as a writer you can. Think about the setting where this person lives. Is it an elegant home with everything in a perfect place? Does it look like the living room was professionally decorated? That will tell you something about this person – and it’s something YOU might be able to use in your story. Something you might not have considered otherwise. How will others see your character? Like you are him or her now? The same is true of the person’s office. Is it neat and tidy or are there personal objects all around like a bat and ball in the corner or pictures of your interview subject on the ski slopes? Is it in a tenth floor corner office with a stunning view or a cramped cubbyhole in a trailer on a construction lot? See it in your mind so that you can describe it later in your book.

If you are doing your interview in a coffee shop, is your character easily distracted by others? Does he or she nod to people or does she totally tune out the chaos around her. If you are having lunch with your character what does she order and does she cut her meat into little piece before she eats it? Okay, these may seem like extreme things to be paying attention to, but these are some of the little things you can keep in your head as you write. How would your character react if she is meeting a stranger in a coffee shop – someone she needs to get information from to solve the mystery or if she is meeting the hero for a coffee date.

Think about how your character might sound on the phone. Does being on the phone make her nervous and it is obvious she wants to get off and be finished with you? Think about who that person at the other end of the phone might be. How does their voice sound? Certain or hesitant?

Again, these are all little things, but as a journalist I was always observing and paying

attention to every detail possible. I still do that as a writer. We all need to pay attention to details because they can make a difference in how you write that character in your story. Those little details set us all apart, not just as writers, but as people, so including those small details make a difference.

            
             What about the questions for the interview? That is another area where it helps to pay close attention. I always came into an interview with a list of at least 5 to 7 questions.  But once the person began to speak, I not only took notes on what they were saying, I was writing down additional questions or posing them in my head to ask later. As you interview your characters, you should keep that in mind too. That’s why I mention that we all can get a list of overall questions to ask our characters from writing classes. 

            
             But… as you ask those questions and write down the answers, consider going off script. Think of other questions that might pertain ONLY to this character, something that might not be on that prescribed list. Look for the unusual, the unique and the quirky. Those can be some of the best answers and can make your characters stand out.

            
              And mainly, listen to those answers. Write them down and when you are stuck at a place in your book where you don’t know what might happen next, it can pay to go back and look at your interview. You might find some answers there.

Romance in the Old West

As someone who has always lived in the western part of the United States, I have been a fan of stories set in that part of the country all my life. I've always particularly enjoyed western stories. Even my books are set in the West. So naturally when I heard about author, Susan Payne's Mail Order Bride series, and her latest book, I wanted to know more.  Susan is my guest in My Writing Corner today.

        Callie St. Michaels, an orphan from New York, felt her only hope for the future was to leave her sous chef position in St Louis.  Finding a job as cook for a group of ranch hands in Sweetwater, Kansas, seemed both prophetic and serendipitous.  She can continue to practice her recipes while feeding a sizable number of hungry men.  Everyone is happy with the outcome except for one man – Seth Harrison, the owner of the ranch and Callie’s employer. 

Callie bonds with her new home – her possibly forever home if the man living in the big house can see her as anything besides a lame woman too young to be doing the job she was doing.  But she was growing to love the ranch, the people who lived there and, she feared, the man who was her boss.

Seth isn’t sure why, but he feels uncomfortable around the young woman his attorney hired as the ranch hands’ cook.  She hasn’t said anything improper, or is unable to do the work required, or is off-putting in any manner.  In fact, she is well liked by all the other employees including his own housekeeper.  So why does he get so unsettled around her?

Susan was kind enough to answer a few questions for us.  Have you always wanted to write fiction? 

I have always had ‘stories’ in my head.  Possibly like young children have imaginary friends, I had whole stories flowing.  When they were finished, I sometimes thought of the characters as if they had moved away and we couldn’t play any longer but I knew who they were and they knew me.  Later I realized I had added to their lives.  They became adults, parents and had children I would take pride in as if I had something to do with their growth and life.  Now before you write me off as more than a little odd, I do know they are fictional but like Jo in Little Women or Dopey in Snow White – these people, their foibles, wants and desires are known to me.

·       What are the challenges of being a writer?

      To leave a character hanging or longing when my own husband needs dinner or my children need counsel.  I don’t put off the real for the fictional but must wear a different hat for a while.  My stories are my escape just as I hope they are for my readers.  I want my readers to find solace or humor or a feeling of comradeship with the characters I write about. Take away some information, knowledge or wisdom without feeling they have been preached at.   

  Tell us about your road to publication. 

      Like most writers I was an over-night success after years of putting words on paper.  As I wrote earlier, I always had stories going but I never put them to paper until I was over forty.  Then my life became very busy with five children and husband who I worked beside.  We did amazing things together that I know will keep the nurses in the old folks’ home laughing.  Even I have trouble listing everything we did.  Everything but write.  Then things calmed down and I joined a local RWA chapter.  So many talented women that I talked myself into not trying since I knew I would never be as good as they were already.  I would never catch up.  I was wrong about myself.  I rejoined when I was over sixty-five and wrote five years before getting enough nerve to send anything in to be published.  I was under contract in less than a month.  So see, I was an over-night success.

   
           How do you come up with your characters?

   

      Hmmm, if you promise not to think I’m nuts, I don’t come up with my characters.  It’s more like they are there waiting for me in my mind and jump out fully grown and formed.  Usually coming to me as couples with both telling me some of their story.  How they felt, how they met, what their problems are.  I often feel like a stenographer trying to keep up with their words and descriptions.  But they stay until I do know what they want and need and then it gets all put down.  Often not as I thought it would end – although I can only think in romantic terms and they always end in happily ever after.  After all, that’s why they come to me.  To help them reach that warm, cozy place even if there is blood, sweat, and tears getting there.

   

    How do you come up with your plots?

–   Sometimes I hear or read about a place or activity and then someone will visit me from that place.  The smallest thing can set me in the desert hearing a mother curse the ever-blowing sand as she buries her child or a man wracked with remorse for taking his family into the wilderness and unknown.  Not all are angst filled but it is the reality of my character’s world that everything was far from safe.

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

     Harrison Ranch is the first of a series of a fictional Sweetwater, Kansas.  Callie came to me.  An adult orphan who was trying to make it in a man’s world while her strengths and worth were diminished by the men surrounding her.  She only had herself – and the words of the Sisters of St. Michaels Founding Home in New York City – to make her way.  She not only makes it she helps bring others along with her.  I like her.  She’s got grit and inner courage and vulnerability that she never uses to make others feel sorry for her.  She’s a little bit of several women I have known.  Women who did fight every step of the way to end higher than anyone would have thought.  This is really Callie’s story and I’ve simply put it into print.

What are you working on now? 

      

       More historical with westerns in the forefront.  I find people who helped our country grow had to be so strong mentally and physically it seems beyond what a simple human could do.  Despite Daniel telling Emily he wasn’t the kind to marry, she was so in love with him she couldn’t help herself.  An independent woman working as a telegrapher with the railroad, she didn’t need a husband to make her life worthwhile.  But she did need a husband for the child she was carrying.  Daniel refused to marry her and knowing it was over between them she accepted Daniel’s father’s proposal of marriage in his son’s stead.  Her job and the accompanying room would be gone as soon as her employer realized she was unmarried and with child. Emily needed to make a decision.  The best decision for her child.  Nothing runs smoothly and these three will need some guidance along the way.

       

     What advice do you have for beginning writers? -

      Don’t hesitate to write if it’s in you to put stories down.  Even short ones.  I love flash fiction.  Stories of 500 to 750 words or so.  Many people ask me where should they start a story.  Start where ever you find it – you can always add onto it in either direction as you go along.  Things the reader needs to know or you merely want them to know.  Even professionals argue about where a story begins.  The main point is to put it down – on a note pad, computer, edge of the book your reading.  Where ever you can find it again.  If there are stories in you, they will come out.  Just don’t wait as long as I did.  You don’t want to end up with – “I will write a book” on your bucket list.

      How can readers find your book?

https://www.amazon.com/Harrison-Ranch-Macgregors-Order-Sweetwater-ebook/dp/B082L64NRF/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=harrison+ranch&qid=1576519188&s=books&sr=1-1

How can readers get in touch with you?

http://authorsusanpayne.com

Thank you, Susan, for being my guest and introducing us to Harrison Ranch!  Do you have any questions for Susan?