Guest Blogger: Andrea Thome, Author of House of Belonging

Renowned chef Laina Ming walked away from the culinary spotlight and an unhealthy relationship—one that still haunts her a year later. She’s trying to start fresh in the Rocky Mountains, opening a concept restaurant on the banks of the Roaring Fork River, where she hopes she’ll be able to express her passion for food and bury her heartache.

Horse rancher Logan Matthews moved to Aspen to be near his sister and her husband, grateful for his newfound family. Since a chance meeting with Laina the previous summer, Logan’s been enchanted. But she doesn’t want anything to do with him—which makes her all the more appealing.

Despite Laina’s efforts to protect her heart, Logan has been on her mind, too—and he has a way of turning up in the most unexpected places. Can they learn to trust one another and finally find the sense of belonging they’ve both been searching for?

DEFYING GENRE 

BY ANDREA THOME

I love writing. More than I love most things—with the exception of my family and travel—both of which play a huge part in my writing. There is nothing better than taking readers on a journey to a place that is special to me, or introducing them to characters that have the potential to make them contemplate more deeply their own life choices.

What I don’t love about being an author is the need to have my work “categorized,” so that it neatly fits into one specific genre. Each of my three books—Walland, Seeds of Intention and House of Belonging— have been classified as “romance novels,” but I hope and believe that they are so much more.

I’m very fortunate to have recently had the first book in my award-winning Hesse Creek Series selected for a traveling exhibit of books, art, and music called The TRIO Project. Walland was one of about a dozen books paired with a songwriter and a visual artist, each of whom created a corresponding song as well as a piece of art that were inspired by reading the book. The TRIO exhibit will travel to independent bookstores across the South throughout 2019. (You can see the art created for Walland by Robert Oren Eades and hear the song written and performed by Sarah Aili on my Facebook page, linked below. If you live in the South, I hope you’ll check my website for dates and stores that I’ll be visiting during the year. Please come and say hi!)

The kickoff to this very special traveling exhibit was in late January in Charleston, South Carolina. During my short opening remarks, I made reference to the fact that my books—while they are love stories—don’t fit within the confines of the genre that most people associate with “romance.” In short, they aren’t bodice-rippers. As I told the audience that night, “They're more fifteen shades of taupe, than Fifty Shades of Grey.”

The women in my books don’t need saving. They’re already enjoying rich, complex lives, so they aren’t actively looking for anyone to complete them. My female characters are confident and strong while maintaining a vulnerability that just so happens to leave the door open to invite love into their lives. The men in my books aren’t brooding or angry. They are thoughtful and kind, with quiet strength and a depth of character that is much more attractive than the forceful affection found in many (but not all!) romance novels, at least in my humble opinion.

Can a book can be sexy and classy at the same time? I think so. I believe that we all could use a little more love and light in our lives these days. If you’re looking to read stories that will take you on a journey to the moody Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, or to the cozy-but-ultra-chic Rocky Mountain town of Aspen, while also leaving you feeling hopeful about love—then the Hesse Creek Series is for you. When I’m pressed to describe my books for blogs such as these, I always say that they are destination love stories. I’m grateful to readers who choose to take the journey with me. I hope you’ll enjoy reading Walland, Seeds of Intention, and House of Belonging as much as I’ve loved creating them. My gratitude for readers, bloggers and reviewers knows no bounds. Thank you for considering my work.

Peace and Love,

Andrea Thome, Author

http://www.andreathome.com
http://www.facebook.com/andreathomeauthor
http://www.twitter.com/andreathome
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To purchase The Hesse Creek Series: http://www.andreathome.com/purchase/
Whenever possible, please purchase from an Independent Bookseller. To find one near you, click the IndieBound link on my website’s purchase page under the book of interest.

TRIO LIVE EVENT—Page 158

Wake Forest, NC

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

ANDREA THOME is a former broadcast journalist, having covered both sports and news during her career. In her novels, she explores some of her favorite travel destinations, from the foothills of the Smoky Mountains to the Colorado Rockies, painting rich backdrops that become characters themselves. Thome lives in Chicago with her husband—a retired Hall of Fame baseball player— their two children, and two spoiled cats. She spends her spare time traveling and pursuing her other passions—photography and environmental advocacy. The Hesse Creek Series can absolutely be read as stand-alone novels, but are best enjoyed in order, as a series. See a sampling of her photography and learn more about her books at www.andreathome.com.

Guest Blogger: Elizabeth Collums, Author of Passengers

During the Great Irish Famine the Ewing family made their way from their rural cottage to the village of Highland Way. Annie, the oldest daughter was left to care for her mother and younger sister after her father left to find work in Dublin.

A mysterious letter arrives from America forcing Annie, Lily, and Katy into a harrowing journey. The hand written note not only will expose deep secrets, it will also challenge the strength and fortitude of the Ewing women, leading each member into their own soul searching voyage.

Follow this extraordinary passage that begins in Ireland and leads each woman to uncover their own courage and truths in this new world.

GUEST POST

What I wanted to be when I grew up was never addressed in my house. My dad was gone a lot as a truck driver trying to scratch out a living for us so my mom was my only companion. I called myself an unaccompanied minor long before that phrase was popular. Because, you see, physically she was in the house, but mentally she was in her own world. Maybe she still had an emotional hangover from The Great Depression that she often dwelled on or it could have been the dark cloud of the Vietnam War that overshadowed any thought of dreams or celebrations in our home. My mom worried for years that my brother would be drafted and then she stayed in a deep depression when he was and then she didn’t want to let him go when he came home alive and well. She was so consumed with bitterness of the past and worry of the future she didn’t make room for living her life much less mine.

So, I made every feeble attempt behind my closed bedroom door to reach for my own stars with my dog, Pete, and every stuffed or plastic creature I owned. Public speaking? No problem. I had spent countless hours practicing my very own interview with Johnny Carson in front of my dresser mirror. Sewing? No problem. I taught myself how to sew by making clothes for my dolls. Writing? Again no problem. Whatever the teachers assigned, I did double what they asked for. My room was my sanctuary. However, nothing my parents did or didn’t do could keep me from putting my best foot forward to get out and on my way.

I think so often how sad for my mom that she spent most of her life looking down and missed out on the journey. That’s what life is. One event after another. I’ve had more than my share of making stupid decisions, as well as experiencing personal triumphs. I’ve been married, had children, grandchildren, widowed and emptied nested. I’ve worked at jobs ranging from cleaning houses to postal work. And it’s been the most colorful, aggravating, heartbreaking, joyous, challenging, earth shaking, blessed life I could’ve ever imagined. And I have never been alone. God always sent the right person at the right time, as long as I was looking up.

My bucket list is long. Publish my book, travel to Ireland, United Kingdom, see penguins and pandas up close and personal, learn how to ride a horse, master a pottery wheel.....and the list goes on and on. I don’t ever want to forget to dream, learn, explore and yes, I still play make believe. Every time I look in the mirror, I still see that little girl from the reflection of this sixty-one year old, young woman.

ORDER YOUR COPY OF PASSENGERS HERE

Ann C. Purvis, chose to publish her first novel under her birth name, Elizabeth Collums; this is her true roots and where she has drawn from many of the experiences she wrote about. She lives in Denham Springs, Louisiana and enjoys DIY projects. She has two daughters, a step daughter, son-in-law, two amazing granddaughters, and her dog Daisy.

Facebook Address: https://www.facebook.com/ann.purvis.754
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18639299.Elizabeth_Collums

Guest Blogger: Avery Daniels, Author of Spiked

Julienne, a poisoned Private Investigator with her business card on his body, an MI5 agent taking a liking to her, and her heart on the line.

Julienne needs only three things: successfully pull off a last minute wedding relocated to her resort, work out things with her stubborn ex- boyfriend, and solve the murder of a private investigator found with her business card on his dead body. The wedding she can handle, but it comes with a flirtatious brother of the bride from Britain who manages to give Mason the idea she has moved on, and the dead PI was playing with fire before he was poisoned leaving a myriad of suspects. Two suspects are part of a scandal waiting to explode and nobody wants to be in the middle of the fallout.

Can Julienne wade through the various suspects while coordinating the wedding and dealing with a handsome amorous guest before her rival on the local paper exposes her connection and thus damages her and the resort's reputation? Will she and Mason find their way to each other?

Thoughts on Poisons Popularity in Mysteries

In my third Resort to Murder Mystery, Spiked, I delve into poison as a murder weapon. Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime, used poison as a weapon for over thirty murder victims in her novels. She used Strychnine in “The Mysterious Affair at Styles.” Cyanide was employed most often by Christie and appears in “The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side,” “And Then There Were None,” “A Pocketful of Rye,” and “Sparkling Cyanide.” Arsenic was used in “4:50 From Paddington.” Christie also used thallium, taxine, coniine, bacillus anthracis, phosphorus, monkshood, belladonna, physostigmine, morphine, and even basic sleeping pills.

That isn’t even touching on the poisonous plants and flowers we often find in our gardens. Besides Poinsettias, there are a number of common plants and flowers that are deadly to animals and humans. This makes it convenient as a murder weapon besides adding an ominous edge to the everyday sight of such lovely flowers as Larkspur, Morning Glory, Lily of the Valley, Daffodil, Azalea, Hydrangea, and Oleander – all of which are toxic to animals and to some degree to people.

As murder weapons go, poison is for the cunning murderer. In my case I needed a weapon that would throw a timeline completely out the window. What better method than poison which allowed the deadly dose to be administered and then the killer secures an alibi for the actual time of death? Besides there being a wedding my main character is coordinating, with a plethora of flowers everywhere.

But there is the saying that I allow to be repeated in the book that women tend to use poison. What I found was that isn’t entirely or all together true today. Historically poisoning was pretty common and that fact caused kings to employ “tasters” to eat samples of their food to ensure it was safe for the ruler to consume. Even the Greek philosopher Socrates was sentenced to death by hemlock for heresy. The Borgia family of the Middle Ages was notorious arsenic poisoners.

But today, men and women, statistically speaking, use guns primarily for murder. Poison is actually used in one-half of one percent of murders. In a Washington Post article that goes into the weapons that men and women use to kill, they state that women are only seven times more likely to use poison than men even with the overall low occurrences.

So why is it so popular in murder mysteries if not that popular in modern life? Because we often take for granted our food and drink (typically the method to slip a toxic dose) and poison throws tension into the rest of the book as people eye their own meals. Plus the timeline becomes sketchy for pinpointing a killer. And, it is often convenient to acquire without drawing attention, such as purchasing rat poison at a hardware store or picking some lovely plants from your garden, making it ideal for a mystery novel.

Pick up a copy of Spiked at...

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Spiked-Resort-Murder-Mystery-III-ebook/dp/B07KX62LVD

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130039945

iBooks/Apple:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1447792496

Kobo:  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/spiked-14

Avery Daniels was born and raised in Colorado, graduated from college with a degree in business administration and has worked in fortune 500 companies and Department of Defense her entire life. Her most eventful job was apartment management for 352 units. She still resides in Colorado with two brother black cats as her spirited companions. She volunteers for a cat shelter, enjoys scrapbooking and card making, photography, and painting in watercolor and acrylic. She inherited a love for reading from her mother and grandmother and grew up talking about books at the dinner table.

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/Avery-Daniels

BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/avery-daniels

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AveryDanielsAuthor/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/My_AveryDaniels

Newsletter:  http://eepurl.com/c2DgfT

Guest Blogger: Hope Waters, Author of Twelve Days

Zoey Blake is having a perfect holiday season. Finals are over and it's time to head home for Christmas, but when she wins the Hartbreakers True Love contest to join them on their tour, she has a chance to follow her favorite band for twelve days -- and twelve steamy nights.

Mackenzie has been a player since and joining Hartbreakers has only edged up his game, that is until he meets Zoey. She's turned his world upside down and only she can make it right. Now all he has to do is convince her to stay with him forever. For a guy like Mack, that shouldn't be too hard but it's gonna take all he has and twelve days to win her true love.

PURCHASE HERE!

Character Interview – Mackenzie Hart

Hi! Today, in our virtual studio, we have the creator of the Hartbreakers vocal group, Mackenzie Hart. Let’s all give him a round of applause.

(claps from our virtual studio audience)

Mack: Thank you! I’m happy to stop by…your…virtual studio. Wait, how did I get here?

Me: That’s not important. Let’s get started with the interview. How did you get all the guys of Hartbreakers together?

Mack: Uh, well, I’ve been singing since I could speak and when my high school vocal group went our separate ways after we graduated, I decided to get another one going. I met Gabe at an audition and it just took off from there.

Me: That’s so cool. Oh my God, I love Gabe.

Mack: Yeah, all the girls like him. Hell, I like him too.

Me: (mouth drops open) you’re my hero.

Mack: Thanks, I think. Next question?

Me: Oh (shuffles note cards) how do you come up with your songs?

Mack: We have had the privilege of working with some of the best songwriters and producers in the business. We’ve had some great ideas that have been shaped and molded into the songs you hear on the album.

Me: Do you have any tidbits about new music from Hartbreakers?

Mack: Our next stop after the Twelve Days tour is a small break for the holidays — and this is the first year we’ll be home for Christmas — then we’re headed for Europe. After all that, we’re headed into the studio to record our next album.

Me: That’s so awesome. Change of direction. Favorite place you would like to take a date?

Mack: I’d love to take a girl out to dinner and then…I love walking on the beach so I’d take her there and hold her hand…

Me: (swoons) I’d love that.

Mack: (nods) did you have another question?

Me: Yes…um… (shuffles note cards again) do you get along with the other guys?

Mack: Oh yeah, we’re like brothers, or at least what I imagine having a brother is like because I’m an only child. We fight sometimes, which is understandable because we’re around each other practically 24/7, especially Brad and Gabe. Their fights can be legendary.

Me: Gotcha. Last, but definitely not the least, what do you think about the contest where a group of girls is going to come on tour with you for twelve days…and twelve nights and have the ultimate fan experience?

Mack: We’re pretty excited about it. The concerts are going to be amazing. We love our fans and are looking forward to giving the winners a great ride.

Me: (raises eyebrows) a great ride?

Mack: Uh… yeah, you know, like on the tour bus… like their tour bus. The winners get their own tour bus and we’ll be on our tour bus. (nods) yeah.

Me: (nods with wide eyes) yeah, that sounds really awesome.

Mack: so… are we good?

Me: Yes.

Mack: You’re not going to ask about whether I’m wearing boxers or briefs?

Me: why would I ask about that?

Mack: We always get that question. I don’t know. I don’t make the rules.

Me: No, I don’t want to know about your underwear.

Mack: Great. Now, how do I leave?

Me: We’re in a virtual realm. We can’t leave.

Mack: Oh. Well I guess we’re stuck here then.

Me: Yup. Good times.

Thanks to The Book Connection for asking Mack and I to stop by. Take care and be excellent to each other!

Hope Waters has been writing romance for over thirty years, traveling the globe but finally finding true love and now lives in Florida with her family.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website Address: http://www.hopewaters.net

Twitter Address: http://twitter.com/HopeWatersBooks

Facebook Address: http://www.facebook.com/HopeWatersBooks

Guest Post: Bembridge House, A well-preserved Queen Anne Victorian by Janet Elizabeth Lynn, Co-Author of Slick Deal

On the eve of the New Year, 1956, oil tycoon, Oliver Wright dies suspiciously at a swanky Hollywood New Years Eve party. Some think it was suicide.

His death is soon followed by threats against the rest of his family.

Private Investigator Skylar Drake and his partner Casey Dolan are hired by an L.A. gangster to protect the family and solve Oliver’s mysterious death.

Clues lead them to Avalon, on Santa Catalina Island, a Hollywood movie star playground.

A high profile scandal, mysterious women, treason and more deaths complicate matters, putting Drake and his partner in danger.

Twenty-three miles may not seem far away but false identity and corruption on this island could squash their efforts to answer the question—How in the world can a dead man commit suicide?

Bembridge House,

A well-preserved Queen Anne Victorian

My husband, Will Zeilinger and I co-write the Skylar Drake Murder Mystery series, a hardboiled series that takes the reader to 1950s Los Angeles and other areas of the west. Our new book, SLICK DEAL, begins News Year's Eve 1956 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The first murder and clues lead to Avalon, Catalina.

It was vital that we find the right house for the Wright Family, a long time resident of Long Beach, and Pasadena with a summer house in Avalon. Their wealth affords them mansion type homes in the three cities. The Wright "summer cottage" as they call it, is a three story mansion situated in the heart of Avalon. Since their house rivals the Wrigley Manor on the hills overlooking Avalon, we had to find something to go by. We searched for Victorian mansions and found the perfect place, Bembridge House in Long Beach. While researching the house, we discovered the last owner and last of the family line was murdered on the property. How apropos!

We took a tour of the house during the holiday season. The house had a parlor, sitting room, formal dining room, morning room and a music room. Perfect for various scenes in the book. And...a carriage house, perfect for intrigue.

The house was built in 1906 by Stephen and Josephine Green. He was one of the founders of City National Bank, a wealthy businessman who came to Long Beach from Seattle. Green planted exotic shrubs and flowers around the house, he also built an aviary for his collection of foreign birds and a barn where he kept Shetland ponies.

Thomas Rankin purchased the house in 1918 following Green's death. The house remained in the Rankin family for more than 80 years. After the death of Thomas Rankin, the house was inherited by his children, Dorothy Bembridge and Neil Rankin.

Dorothy Bembridge was a musician and a Long Beach school teacher until her retirement in 1968.

Bembridge lived in the house starting in 1918. In 1969, the house was threatened with demolition when the City of Long Beach sought to expand the adjacent Drake Park. Historical preservationists lobbied to save the structure, and eventually won. The Long Beach Cultural Heritage Committee designated Bembridge House as a Long Beach Historic Landmark in 1981.

In 1999, at age 89, Bembridge was strangled at the house. Her body was found in the backyard. Daniel William Borunda, a 51-year-old man who had done odd jobs for Bembridge and had spent time in prison for burglarizing her home in 1990. He was convicted of Bembridge's murder and sentenced to 60-years-to-life in prison. Borunda was released from prison in October 1999, a few weeks before the murder. Police asserted that the motive was burglary and revenge.

We of course used our literary license and moved the Bembridge House to Catalina Island for the story.

Website: Janet Elizabeth Lynn www.janetlynnauthor.com
Website: Will Zeilinger www.willzeilingerauthor.com

Go to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Slick-Deal-Sklyar-Drake-Mystery/dp/198641728X

Published authors Will Zeilinger and Janet Lynn write individually until they got together and created the Skylar Drake Mystery Series. These hard-boiled tales are based in old Hollywood of 1955. Janet has published seven mystery novels and Will has three plus a couple of short stories. Their world travels have sparked several ideas for murder and crime stories. This creative couple is married and live in Southern California.

The next Skylar Drake Mystery, fourth in the series, SLICK DEAL will be available April 16, 2018 and yes...we are still married!

Guest Blogger: Robert Parker, Author of A Wanted Man

Title: A WANTED MAN
Author: Robert Parker
Publisher: Endeavour Press
Pages: 307
Genre: Crime Thriller

It’s down to fathers and fatherhood.

Ben Bracken, ex-soldier, has just got out of Strangeways.

Not by the front door.

With him, he has his ‘insurance policy’ – a bag of evidence that will guarantee his freedom, provided he can keep it safe – and he has money, carefully looked after by a friend, Jack Brooker.

Rejected by the army, disowned by his father, and any hopes of parenthood long since shattered, Ben has no anchors in his life.

No one to keep him steady. 

No one to stop his cause…

The plan: to wreak justice on the man who had put him in prison in the first place. 

Terry ‘The Turn-Up’ Masters, a nasty piece of work, whose crime organisation is based in London.

But before Ben can get started on his mission, another matter is brought to his attention: Jack’s father has been murdered and he will not rest until the killers are found.

Suddenly, Ben finds himself drawn in to helping Jack in his quest for revenge.

In the process, he descends into the fold of Manchester’s most notorious crime organisation – the Berg – the very people he wants to bring down…

This action-packed and fast-paced story will keep you turning the pages. Manchester is vividly portrayed as Ben races around the city seeking vengeance.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon

Writing from your gut

by Robert Parker

You need to have guts to be a writer, even right from the start. When you first sit down to write a story, it can be quite daunting. There are millions of books out there, telling you exactly how you should do it, ranging from how you should lay things out, to what pens you should be using, to what word processor is the best. You end up with a bucket-full of decisions to make before you even get to the actual important bit – the story.

But then comes more decisions, more and more books about what story decisions to make, what structures your story should adhere to, what direction your character needs to go. You can be so bogged down in the whole fear of the thing that you can forget the sheer joy of what you are doing. You are creating. You are making something. You are letting your mind build something that only you can decide how it will end.

But how can you make the right decisions and just enjoy the moment? Well, chances are, you’ve already got a fair idea.

Every single day we inhale fiction of some kind, whether it be in the books we love so dearly, the TV shows we binge on Netflix, or even that daft little story behind Candy Crush Saga. And the end result of this is, whether we like it or not, that we get a sort of schooling in drama, in terms of what works and what doesn’t. We develop an ear for it, just through immersing ourselves in it.

So, when you sit down to write your story, just go for it. Don’t be bound by formula or fear of doing something different. Write what feels right to you, and more often than not, if it feels right it usually is right.

I used to get so hung up on whether my characters and situations were too hokey, too contrived, too silly. I used to worry about making decisions for my characters, and whether their dialogue was corny. But then I learned to trust my gut and see what came out at the other end.

When I sit to write, I have the barest skeleton of where I’m going, but absolutely no roadmap. I set up a scenario, and usually have an idea for a scene I want to get to – but no initial thought of how to bridge the two. Then I start writing, let the words flow and the characters develop, and before long the story is making decisions for me, the characters are deciding what they should be doing organically, and you’re away. So much of the time, if you write from your heart and gut, I’m convinced that:

1) you will have a great time.

2) you will write something that in some sense works.

The important thing is to do it. Just let the shackles go, trust your instincts, write your story and go for it.

Forget fear.

Once you’ve got those words on the page, those chapters all done, nobody can take that from you. You did it! Chances are, it won’t be perfect - but you’ve still got your story. You can change things any time you like, but what you can’t change is a story that doesn’t exist. You can’t polish something that just plain isn’t there. But you do have something you can work with. 

It’s OK to have a detailed plan, but’s also OK to not have one, and it’s OK to wing it. But whatever way you approach it, just go for it. Write, have fun, enjoy the sheer happiness of creating something and be proud of what you’ve achieved when you’ve written it. And when you look back at what you did, I bet you sit there and say ‘you know, some of this ain’t half bad’. And that’s a start. You can work with that.

Trust yourself. Deep down, even though you might not feel it, you’ve got a fair idea of what you’re doing. Those guts you showed to write in the first place? Listen to them.

Robert Parker is a new exciting voice, a married father of two, who lives in a village close to Manchester, UK. He has both a law degree and a degree in film and media production, and has worked in numerous employment positions, ranging from solicitor’s agent (essentially a courtroom gun for hire), to a van driver, to a warehouse order picker, to a commercial video director. He currently writes full time, while also making time to encourage new young readers and authors through readings and workshops at local schools and bookstores. In his spare time he adores pretty much all sport, boxing regularly for charity, loves fiction across all mediums, and his glass is always half full.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

Guest Blogger: Mary Elizabeth Briscoe, Author of The First Signs of April

Wounds fester and spread in the darkness of silence. The swirling reds, oranges, and yellows of fall’s foliage dance alongside Mary-Elizabeth Briscoe like flames as she tears through the winding back roads of the Northeast Kingdom, Vermont. Desperate to outrun memories that flood her mind, no matter how hard she rolls her motorcycle’s throttle, she cannot escape them.

Shut down and disconnected, Briscoe has lived her life in silence in order to stay alive. Her grief is buried, and shame is the skin that wraps around her bones—but then, following the brutal murder of a local teacher, she is forced as a grief counselor to face her lifetime of unresolved sorrow. Will she finally be able to crack the hard edges of her heart and allow in the light of truth so real healing can occur?

What Happens in This Space of Mine

One of the things I like most about writing is its solitary nature. So, to ask me to discuss my writing habits and process is a bit like peeking into my sacred writing world. But, okay, I am willing expose the truth of what happens in this space of mine and what doesn’t.

My habits are less than disciplined I’m afraid. Sometimes days pass without a single word written. I often talk about how I need to be writing, but there are times it takes a good deal of shutting out the rest of the world enough to settle into my writing space-both literally and figuratively. In fact, just in the short time I’ve been writing this I’ve taken the dog out, graded assignments for a course I’m teaching-you see where I’m going. I’m often easily distracted. I do carry a journal and a pen everywhere I go because great ideas seem to hit at the oddest of times and places. So, my writing space can be anywhere, though I’m partial to a window seat and of course my office and desk. Once I get into my own groove, which includes setting the intention for my writing, some quiet instrumental music in the background, and occasionally staring out a window, I am able to find inspiration either through force of will or opening to it from within and I begin.

Unlike most people, I still prefer to write long hand. As a therapist who has used therapeutic writing in my work with clients, I know the benefits of writing in this manner. Besides, I’m a “technophobe” so I dread using the computer. Once I begin to put pen to paper, my words flow almost effortlessly and can carry me along for hours. There’s an adrenaline rush that comes and lifts my spirits and excites me with the passion that I have for this work. These are the moments that keep me coming back. I crave it and once I can settle myself into the rhythm its like nothing else I have ever known and I can’t wait to spend time with my characters, my stories my ideas.

So, my habits are less than ideal I suppose, but I manage to make it all work for myself, and produce and that’s all that matters in the end.

Mary-Elizabeth Briscoe is a licensed mental health counselor currently on sabbatical from her private psychotherapy practice in northeastern Vermont. She currently spends her time between Cape Cod, Vermont, and Ireland. She has a masters degree in clinical mental health counseling from Lesley University and is a licensed clinical mental health counselor and a Certified Trauma Professional. She has been a lecturer for Springfield College School of Professional and Continuing Studies St. Johnsbury, Vermont campus. She has contributed to Cape Woman Online and Sweatpants and Coffee magazine. This is her first book.  Visit her website, her Facebook, and on Twitter.

Link to the book:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34014139-the-first-signs-of-april

Link to book on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2x3hZ1n

Guest Blogger: Marilyn Meredith, Author of A Cold Death

Deputy Tempe Crabtree and her husband answer the call for help with unruly guests visiting a closed summer camp during a huge snow storm are trapped there along with the others. One is a murderer—another a ghost.

How Tempe Has Changed

by Marilyn Meredith

When the series began Tempe Crabtree knew little about her Indian heritage. She didn’t grow up on the reservation and all she knew about being a Native American came from stories her grandmother told her. These stories play an important part in a couple of the mysteries.

When she went to high school she was made fun of for being an Indian by some of the other students, and shunned by the Indian kids who lived on the reservation.

Her friend, Nick Two John, is the one who gradually teaches her about what it means to be an Indian and some of the Bear Creek Indian legends. Many of these legends are also a basis for plots. Her feelings about her heritage and all it means change throughout the series.

As time goes on, she has reached out more and more to Indian mysticism and spirituality to help her solve the mysteries that confront her, despite her pastor husband’s objections.

What hasn’t changed is her willingness to risk her life to help others. Her strength has remained consistent throughout.

While writing this, I realize that I probably should have had her appearance change a bit—but hopefully the reader will use his or her own imagination to see Tempe with natural changes as she’s aged. To be honest, I see her in my mind’s eyes as the more mature woman that she is today.

What is your opinion about how much a series character should change?

Marilyn

Anyone who orders any of my books from the publisher‘s website: http://mundania.com

can get 10% off by entering MP20 coupon code in the shopping cart. This is good all the time for all my books, E-books and print books.

On Kindle:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074XNP87Z

Marilyn Meredith’s published book count is nearing 40. She is one of the founding members of the San Joaquin chapter of Sister in Crime. She taught writing for Writers Digest Schools for 10 years, and was an instructor at the prestigious Maui Writers Retreat, and has taught at many writers’ conferences. Marilyn is a member of three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and serves on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She lives in the foothills of the Sierra, a place with many similarities to Tempe Crabtree’s patrol area. Webpage:  http://fictionforyou.com Blog:  http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/ and you can follow her on Facebook.

Contest: Once again I’m going to use the name of the person who comments on the most blogs on my tour for the next Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery—which may be the last in the series.

Tomorrow I’ll be here:

https://amymbennettbooks.com/

My Journey as an Author

Guest Blogger: What to do if You Have Just Decided to Write a Book by Brenda Berg

So, you’ve just thought of a brilliant idea for a new book. You may have had this idea a couple of weeks ago, and it’s been brewing in your mind. You’ve been trying to think of how the story can start and end and all the other twists and turns that will happen in the middle. But come on, if writing a book was easy then everyone would be doing it. Whether you’re writing fact or fiction, here’s a list of things you need to know now so you can make your career as an author as successful as possible.

Remain Quiet and Collected

The first thing you may want to do is to run outside and scream from the rooftops about your new idea. Kind of a eureka moment. However much you feel the urge to do this, at this stage of your career, don’t. Friends and family, despite meaning well can put a lot of pressure on you. It’s fine to tell a few people about your idea but don’t advertise what you’re doing. That stage is later when you have something to show them.

Be Real

I’m not saying that your idea isn’t the next big hit and they’ll be making films about you and your successes in years to come. However, until that time comes, you have to keep your feet on the ground. It’s very rare that the first publisher you go to will love your idea and front you a few million to keep you going. Writing is hard work, and initially, you’ll get very little money back. Statistics show that over 6,000 books are published around the world every day, so you’ll need to work hard to make yours stand out from the next.

Create Your First Draft

Now that your head is screwed on and your feet are on the ground, you can set about writing your book. Aim for the first draft. From start to finish, write your book once all the way through, chapter by chapter. You can be sure they’ll be bits that you want to change as you go, feel free to do so, but this will simply be the foundation of your work. If you can, seek the help of professional writers, such as the ones at State of Writing. They’ll be able to help you plan your work as well as providing you with tips if you get stuck.

Continuously Rewrite

When your first draft is complete, you need to go back through several times to rewrite. It may pay at this point to take a break for a week and let your ideas collect before reading through again. You may want to change the story in place or bulk up some characters. This is easily the most time-consuming part of the process. Some writers may even go through their work more than 50 times.

Finalizing: Part One

Let’s say you’ve gone through your story 100+ times. You’ve read it through and maybe even had a family member or friend read it through and they love it. Great, it’s time to start finalising your work. To start with, you’ll want to edit and ensure all the grammar is correct. You can do this yourself or promote the help of a professional service, such as UK Writings. This will allow you to refresh your skills as a writing, picking up on grammar mistakes that you may have forgotten about or developed bad habits of using, a common practice that many of us writers fall into.

Finalizing: Part Two

The second step of ensuring your content is ready for the primetime is ensuring that no aspects of your work are plagiarised. This is essential as, even if not deliberately, you may have accidentally copied someone else’s work. This is a copyright violation and, if not completed, you may find yourself with an expensive legal battle. One of the most popular websites among writers is Plagium and Academized that ensures this task is free of plagiarism and carried out to a professional level.

Finalizing: Part Three

The third and final part of finishing your work is proofreading. After all the other checks have been completed, one final proofread is essential to make sure everything is ready for the public eye. Again, you can do this yourself, but it’s highly recommended that you invest in a professional service, such as Write my paper. It’s extremely difficult to proofread work that you’ve written because the mind tends to read what it thinks should be there, sometimes missing mistakes. A second pair of eyes is always recommended. Once this has been completed, your book is ready for the public eye! Good Luck!  

Guest Blogger: F.M. Meredith, Author of Unresolved (Rocky Bluff P.D. Series)

Rocky Bluff P.D. is underpaid and understaffed and when two dead bodies turn up, the department is stretched to the limit. The mayor is the first body discovered, the second an older woman whose death is caused in a bizarre manner. Because no one liked the mayor, including his estranged wife and the members of the city council, the suspects are many, but each one has an alibi.

Copies may be purchased from Book and Table by emailing bookandtablevaldosta@gmail.com with a 10% discount and free shipping.

Books may be ordered from all the usual places as well.

One of My Favorite Characters in the Rocky Bluff P.D. Series

Cheryl asked me to tell about my favorite character in this series, but instead, I wanted to tell you about a fairly new character that I’m growing fond of, the new Chief of Police, Chandra Taylor.

Chandra, the second African American on the RBPD, came to Rocky Bluff from the San Francisco Police Department. She knew her chance of advancing beyond lieutenant were nil. Though the small beach town of Rocky Bluff certainly didn’t compare to San Francisco, it didn’t take long before Chandra began to enjoy her job, the police officers who worked under her and the community itself.

In A Crushing Death, Chandra’s life was threatened by a man she’d arrested in the past and Detective Milligan and his wife, Officer Stacey Milligan, not only protected her but became friends in the process.

When the mayor is murdered and the other members of the city council all become suspects, Chandra finds herself attracted to the man who has become the new mayor, Devon Duvall. Whether or not this attraction will develop, of course, depends upon Devon’s innocence.

It’s always fun for me as an author, when new and interesting characters become a part of the Rocky Bluff series. I hope that readers will enjoy this new twist as well.

F. M. Meredith lived for many years in a small beach community much like Rocky Bluff. She has many relatives and friends who are in law enforcement and share their experiences and expertise with her. She taught writing for Writers Digest Schools for 10 years, and was an instructor at the prestigious Maui Writers Retreat, and has taught at many writers’ conferences. Marilyn is a member of three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and serves on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She lives in the foothills of the Sierra. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/

Guest Blogger:Ken McGorry, Author of Ghost Hampton

Lyle Hall is a new man since his car accident and spinal injury. The notoriously insensitive Bridgehampton lawyer is now afflicted with an odd sensitivity to other people's pain. Especially that of a mysterious young girl he encounters outside a long-abandoned Victorian house late one October night. “Jewel” looks about 12. But Lyle knows she’s been dead a hundred years. Jewel wants his help, but it’s unclear how. As if in return, she shows him an appalling vision—his own daughter's tombstone. If it’s to be believed, Georgie’s last day is four days away. Despite Lyle’s strained relations with his police detective daughter, he’s shocked out of complacent convalescence and back into action in the real world.

But the world now seems surreal to the formerly Scrooge-like real estate lawyer. Lyle’s motion in court enjoining the Town of Southampton from demolishing the old house goes viral because he leaked that it might be haunted. This unleashes a horde of ghost-loving demonstrators and triggers a national media frenzy. Through it all strides Lyle’s new nemesis in high heels: a beautiful, scheming TV reporter known as Silk.

Georgie Hall’s own troubles mount as a campaign of stationhouse pranks takes a disturbing sexual turn. Her very first case is underway and her main suspect is a wannabe drug lord. Meanwhile, Lyle must choose: Repair his relationship with Georgie or succumb to the devious Silk and her exclusive media contract. He tells himself seeing Georgie’s epitaph was just a hallucination. But a few miles away the would-be drug lord is loading his assault rifle. Berto needs to prove himself.

My First Ghosts by Ken McGorry

For all of us, I think, our “first ghost” harks back to some of our earliest memories. Especially if you have older siblings keen to rattle you for being their spoiled little brother. Still, my first ghost memories are pretty benign. “Casper the Friendly Ghost,” a cartoon, actually comes with a peppy, kid-friendly theme song.

Then there’s “Topper,” the 50’s sitcom with Leo G. Carroll. Again, the ghosts were fun – George and Marion Kerby, formerly well-off, now dead, they remain the sophisticated and fun-seeking married couple they were in life. They’re carefree and never get old. And they have a ghost-pet, a big old Martini-drinking St. Bernard. Anyway, as a kid prone to asthma and bronchitis, I had lots of sick days I could spend with the family’s black-and-white TV and reruns such as “Topper.” I learned that there were two ways to go through life all dressed up: stuffy and bankerly, like Cosmo Topper, or stylish and mirthful like the Kerbys.

Soon after, I encountered “A Christmas Carol,” the regularly televised 1951 version of the Dickens classic starring Alastair Sim. There, finally, were at least two unhappy ghosts, quite capable of evoking fear and dread. The first was Jacob Marley. The name still can trigger a frisson. The miserable ghost of Scrooge’s former partner, over-acted by Michael Hordern (sorry, Michael!), definitely left a youngster with the impression that there was a lasting penalty for a life not well lived. Much later in the film, we see Dickens’s version of the Grim Reaper: a specter in a black, hooded robe who points a boney finger at – Scrooge’s own headstone (triggering Sim’s chance to over-act).

Someone once said, “If you’re going to steal, steal from the best.” I hope some of you will take a look at Ghost Hampton and forgive a couple of thefts that start things off – a former partner (he’s alive, but his role is part George Kerby, part Jacob Marley) and a headstone bearing a disturbingly premature inscription.

As for me, I’m aiming for George Kerby in the afterlife. Well-groomed and styled and really enjoying death to the fullest. After all, I have a wife and two sons to haunt.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Ken McGorry has been writing since third grade. (He learned in first grade, but waited two years.) He started a school newspaper with friends in seventh grade, but he’s better known for his 23 years as an editor of Post Magazine, a monthly covering television and film production. This century, he took up novel-writing and Ghost Hampton and Smashed are examples. More are in the works, like the promised Ghost Hampton sequel, but he’s kinda slow.

Ken lives on Long Island with his wife and they have two strapping sons. There are dogs. Ken is also a chef (grilled cheese, and only for his sons) and he enjoys boating (if it’s someone else’s boat). He has a band, The Achievements, that plays his songs (try https://soundcloud.com/ken-mcgorry). Back at Manhattan College (English major!), he was a founding member of the venerable Meade Bros. Band. Ken really was an employee of Dan’s Papers in the Hamptons one college summer, and really did mow Dan’s lawn.

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Guest Post: My Spring Reading Habits by Jill Kemerer, Author of Her Small-Town Romance

Thrilled to have author Jill Kemerer with us today. Jill and I met at the Books & Such blog, the blog of Books & Such Literary Management.

Cozy Lake Endwell, Michigan, seems the perfect place for Jade Emerson's new T-shirt shop—and perhaps a fresh start. After a lifetime of letdowns, she is finally ready to face the future on her own. So when local wilderness guide Bryan Sheffield offers to help Jade overcome a past trauma, she warns him they will remain strictly business. But soon, with the help of Bryan's big, complicated family and a boisterous St. Bernard named Teeny, Jade's frozen heart begins to thaw. Now Jade wonders if she can return the favor, bringing a little happiness to a man who has long kept his own sorrow under wraps…

Interested in purchasing Her Small-Town Romance? Purchase links available at http://jillkemerer.com/books/her-small-town-romance/.

My Spring Reading Habits by Jill Kemerer

I’m a seasonal reader. Well, let me rephrase that. I read all year, but my habits change with each season. When spring comes around, I want my nonfiction helpful, bright and optimistic, and I want my fiction fun, light and romantic.

In the winter I gravitate toward cookbooks with comfort foods or thick biographies, but in the spring I’m all about tea parties, birds and gardening. I also have three Love Inspired contemporary romances on my nightstand!

Spring is the perfect time to fantasize about road trips. Maine, Vermont, the Grand Canyon, Napa Valley, Wyoming, Mackinac Island, anywhere in Virginia—I check out books so I can dream about them.

Will you catch me reading a Christmas novel in the spring? Highly doubtful. What about a much-talked-about critical favorite novel with a reputation for being sad or disturbing? Maybe in the fall. Maybe not. I just know I won’t be reading it in the spring!

Here are a few goodies on my current list:

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

The phrase art of stress-free gets me every time. Plus, I like books that motivate me to get more done. Win-win!

Her One and Only by Becky Wade.

I am SO excited for Becky Wade’s new novel! This is the fourth book in the Porter Family Novel series, and I’m more than ready for it. Becky writes contemporary Christian romance, and her books are heartwarming, funny and amazing. I could go on and on!

The Coast of Maine by Carl Heilman II

This is a photography book, and oh, the beauty! If I can’t go to Maine in person, I can at least go there in my dreams.

What are your reading? Do your habits change with the seasons?

Thank you, Cheryl, for letting me be your guest today!

Jill Kemerer writes Christian romance novels with love, humor and faith for Harlequin Love Inspired. Jill loves coffee, M&Ms, fluffy animals, magazines and her hilarious family. Visit her website, jillkemerer.com, and connect with Jill on Facebook, Twitter and sign up for her Newsletter!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJillKemerer

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/jillkemerer

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/f3YzL