Living the Dream

Welcome to Day 3 of the A to Z Challenge for this year. One of my biggest challenges as an author is promoting myself. I’ve never been one to blow my own horn. I’ve always preferred to stay in the background until I have a few drinks and can come out of my shell … at least for a short while. Most people don’t realize it, but the majority of teachers are introverts. We’re not comfortable in crowds and large groups, but when we’re at the front of a classroom, we don’t have to be ourselves. We can be anyone we want to be, including a confident person imparting knowledge and wisdom to others. I get that same feeling when I write.

Today’s post is for the letter C, and it stands for Challenge, Confidence, and Cocktails for You.

Most of the books I write are written in the third person with two viewpoints, occasionally three. My entire Cocktails for You series is my attempt to step out of that box and challenge myself to write in the first person, single point of view. This is a lot harder than most people realize since no one in the story, including the reader, can be aware of anything that the main character doesn’t know.

The first, second, and third books in the series, Tequila Sunrise, Champagne Cocktail, and Buck’s Fizz were short ones, but as I got comfortable with the genre, Romantic Comedy, and the first person POV, the stories got longer. The Tipsy Pig, Make Mine a Manhattan, Emerald Glow, Sea Breeze, It’s a Match, and the latest, Noelle’s Gambit are all full-length novels. The titles are taken from the names of popular cocktails, and in each book, I’ve included a reference to the drink and how it’s made.

Writing Romantic Comedy, which some label chick-lit, was a stretch for me for two reasons. The first, I don’t think of myself as particularly funny, and the second because that genre seems to require more sex scenes than romance suspense, historical, or paranormal books I usually write, although my Timeless Love series has several sex scenes.

In most of my books, I focus more on the action in the plot than on the sex or the romantic relationship. I’m not a prude, but I think people spend way too much time worrying about the sex lives of others when there are far more serious issues facing us these days. As well, in my daughter’s words, “Mom, it’s just weird reading sex scenes that your mother has written.” I can actually see that.

When I decided to try the first-person genre and Rom-Com, I did so at the urging of a friend and colleague who claims I can be hilarious. Tequila Sunrise did well, and I followed it up with the other books, confident that they would sell well. Sadly, they haven’t. Why? Because I suck at marketing. I’ve changed the covers, I’ve created Amazon ads, but I just don’t seem to be able to find the reading audience I need. So, now I’m trying a promotion with a reduced price. Will it work? I certainly hope so. At any rate, from now until April 9, the box set for Cocktails for You, the first five books in the series, is only 99 cents USD. Maybe I’ll pick up a few readers, and maybe I won’t, but what do I have to lose?

Here’s the blurb. If you decide to take advantage of the promotion, let me know. I would love your feedback.

A delicious smorgasbord of romantic comedies designed to make you laugh and brighten your day. Meet Kelly, Ronnie, Jewel, Sydney, and Robin, five women at a crossroads in life, each one searching to redefine themselves as only they can. Follow them as they blunder their way to falling in love and finding their own happily ever after.

Tequila Sunrise She left him in stitches before pulling a Cinderella and disappearing. Ten years later, she wants a second chance.

Champagne Cocktail She wrote a nasty letter to Santa, not expecting he would send a life-sized elf to her door with an offer she can’t refuse.

Buck’s Fizz She’s determined to control her own destiny and not be a bargaining chip in her father’s business empire.

The Tipsy Pig A socialite, a lone wolf, a snowstorm, and a pig with a taste for dandelion wine—the perfect recipe for disaster or romance?

Make Mine a Manhattan What’s an author to do when she’s hopelessly stuck in her latest novel and the deadline is eight weeks away?

Check out blog posts from other participants here: https://tinyurl.com/w54yupwe

Welcome to today’s blog post for the letter B. I’m not creating anything new today. Instead, I’m reposting a blog written last week because it beautifully covers a topic of great importance to me.

B is for Blending Truth and Reality with Fiction.

When fiction authors set out to craft their books, they have many decisions to make. Character names and occupations must be considered. The era or period of the story has to be examined for relevance. Next, the genre of the tale, be it historical, romance, suspense, paranormal, or any combination has to be determined, and finally the the location must be chosen. Those aren’t the only options the author has to consider. There’s the audience, the level of heat, whether or not it’s part of a series, and many other factors most readers don’t realize are part of the earliest conception of a book. But, in my opinion, while each one of those issues is important, research is the most critical aspect of those first few pages. Unless you set a book on an undiscovered planet in a distant universe, sooner or later, you will have to deal with truth and reality.

In my latest novel, Listen to the Stones, to be released later this spring, I used the location as my primary focus. I visited the Standing Stones of Calanais on the Isle of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The stones fascinated me. Looking at them and listening to the guide, my imagination soared. The marbling in the stones, the designs that looked like pictograms, and the positioning of the stones as if some were guarding a pathway while others seemed to be discussing things had all kinds of ideas floating through my head.

When we went to the souvenir shop, I purchased a book on the stones and their excavation. Within its pages were theories on the stones’ provenance. The fact that they predated Stonehenge and that there were many such circles in the Hebrides and the Orkneys, as well as in the UK fascinated me as much as it must have Diana Gabaldon who used a similar stone circle for Outlander books. Several Outlander books and items of television memorabilia were available in that souvenir shop. Whereas she saw the stone circles as a portal to the past, a doorway for time travel, I see them as a magical place. One of the theories about the stones was that they were the people living on the island who were turned to stone when they refused to accept Christianity … a little like Lot’s wife being turned into a pillar of salt for looking back. That’s the idea I chose to explore. Then came the research to give credibility to my vision.

I spent countless hours examining every article I could find on the Standing Stones and everything relating to them. That’s where I came across information on magic, witchcraft, and Druidism, which led me to the dark side of Scottish history and Edinburgh. I discovered many things about the city. This is one of the sites I found particularly interesting. While I knew that witch persecutions had been plentiful, I had no idea that a city existed beneath the city that boasted Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile. Unfortunately, the tour we had booked in Edinburgh as part of our cruise was canceled due to bad weather, but if I ever get the chance to return, you can bet I’ll be checking this out. https://www.visitscotland.com/info/tours/underground-city-of-the-dead-8b8d6efc

Another site that intrigued me was https://www.teamthomastravels.com/post/visiting-the-world-s-most-haunted-cemetery-a-complete-guide-to-greyfriars-kirkyard-edinburgh This site is dedicated to Greyfriars Kirkyard, considered to be the most haunted cemetery in the world and the place where JK Rowling found the names for the characters in her Harry Potter novels. I recalled seeing a Disney movie called Greyfriars’ Bobby years ago, so I knew about the faithful little dog, but everything else was a surprise.

It was challenging to decide how to incorporate all of these fascinating facts into the story to make it part of a cohesive whole. Choosing to make my main character the pure soul hidden for eons to protect her from a greedy, power-hungry wizard who was nothing more than a spoiled child who became an entitled adult, I let her take a trip on her way home and visit some of the places I’d seen as well as find a few I hadn’t.

Since my novel is a contemporary paranormal, I needed to create the myths involved. I combined many Irish, Scottish, and English folktales, myths, and legends I’d read to create a race of elemental giants, who could control the elements of air, fire, water, and earth. Once again, my research provided the basis for my myth. The mysterious skeleton found in Glastonbury, which some people believe to be the legendary King Arthur, gave me that little bit of reality I needed for my imaginary race. After all, every fantasy has to start somewhere. https://www.visiontimes.com/2021/10/14/mysterious-giant-of-glastonbury-abbey.html

And there you have it. How I blend fiction with truth and reality. If you would like a sample of the way I do this, check out Book 1 of the Timeless Love series, Beneath the Ashes.

You can read more posts in the A to Z challenge. Check out blog posts from other participants here: https://tinyurl.com/w54yupwe

Finally, the post published yesterday, titled Tuesday Tales, contains an excerpt from Listen to the Stones.

Welcome to April and this week’s Tuesday Tales. Our word prompt this week is QUICK. I’m continuing with Listen to the Stones, my Contemporary Paranormal Romance Suspense.

“Excuse me for showing up unannounced like this. My condolences on the death of your great-uncle. I’ve been out of the country and just recently heard of Angus’s death.”

The professor’s warm, friendly voice filled with admiration and surprise caressed her, raising goosebumps that had nothing to do with cold or fear.

She swallowed the conflicting emotions.. “Thank you. Did you know my great-uncle well?”

“Not as well as I would’ve liked. I’ve stayed here a few times, which brings me to why I’m here. I have a slight problem that I hope you can solve.”

“Of course. If I can help, I’d be happy to. Any friend of my great-uncle’s is a friend of mine.”

Her cheeks heated once more. What was wrong with her? It was one thing to find the man attractive, but quite another to spout outrageous lies to keep him here. How could a friend of Angus’s be a friend of hers? She hadn’t even known the man existed. Besides, minutes ago, she’d fancied herself attracted to James. How fickle could she be?

He smiled, his teeth minus the pointy canines flashing white through full lips similar to James’s. He even had a dimple but on his right cheek rather than his left.

“That’s a great relief. I have a room reserved here until early January. I’ve retired from the university, but archeology is an addiction that’s hard to kick. I’m hoping you’ll let me study the stones on your property. A friend made the reservation for me and … well, it doesn’t take effect until October 21—two days from now. My ferry across the Minch was booked for today, and I couldn’t change that. I’d planned to stay in town, but there are no rooms available. I was hoping to throw myself on your mercy and see if you could put me up early.”

Marina sensed he wasn’t being honest with her, but whatever his reasons were, she would gladly give him his room early. Like James, the man intrigued her. Perhaps he’d broken up with his girlfriend and found himself quite literally stranded on the island. A gorgeous man like that, especially one with such a colorful background, essentially Indiana Jones in person, would have the ladies crawling all over him. She suppressed the quick twinge of jealousy at the idea and nodded.

That’s it. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

Happy April Fool’s Day! Welcome to the first post in this year’s A to Z Blog Challenge. I hope you’ll join me each day as I work through the alphabet and give you a glimpse of my everyday life, joys, and struggles as an author. Please feel free to follow my blog and comment on my posts.

My first post will be concerning the latest complication for independent writers like myself. A is for Artificial Intelligence. There are several different types of AI available for writers. Most have a free version, but many also offer a paid subscription that’s supposed to be better. Among those most often quoted are Copy Al, supposedly the best one, Rytr, ChatGPT, Word tune, and Write Sonic.

While some authors claim that using AI simply enhances their own writing, I’m not sold on it. At the moment, there are too many unknowns and contradictory points that make it something to be avoided–at least until publishers and the reading public come to a consensus. I find it hard to believe that a computer can replicate the emotions and effort I put into my books. Do they do all the research I do to ensure that the factoids I add to the stories are as accurate as can be? Do they live and breathe the characters the way I do? Can they convey the nuances of a plot as it forms inside my head and transfer it into the story?

I have trouble believing it can when a grammar program can’t even identify context. But, people are using the software to generate books at an incredible speed. In a matter of hours, they produce a book that takes me weeks and sometimes months to create. The more books you have out, the better the odds are that you’ll get recognized, but surely the quality of the book makes a difference, too? My books may take longer to write, but I pour my heart and soul into each one. Unfortunately, while I was in competition with thousands of books written by indie writers, that number has grown exponentially thanks to the AI-assisted authors. Does it matter to the reader if the book is written with AI? Honestly, I don’t know, and that’s also a big part of the problem.

In the end, it means that it’s harder for me to find a reading audience for my works, which results in reduced income and that “Is it worth the effort?” feeling. But, I love to write, and so I’ll continue slogging along and hope that someone will find my books and escape from life if only for a few hours. Of course, leaving a review would be helpful too, but more about that in a later post.

Come back tomorrow for my post on the letter B.

Check out blog posts from other participants here: https://tinyurl.com/w54yupwe

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. Mother Nature gave us another quick blast of winter late last week. Luckily, I hadn’t put away my boots and snowscrapers. Still, it’s technically spring in the Northern Hemisphere, so things are bound to settle down sooner or later.

Our word prompt this week is SILVERY. Since this is the last post for March, with Easter celebrated by some this weekend, it’s a fitting time to spice up the story. I’m continuing with Listen to the Stones, my Contemporary Paranormal Romance Suspense. The plot thickens.

Rather than leave Raven with James, Marina picked up the kitten and went into the vestibule. She turned on the light, filling the room with a silvery glow. Opening the door, the smile on her face froze in place.

She stared at the stranger, a strong sense of déjà vu filling her. She knew this man, had known him for eons. She blinked, the image of them in bed vanishing as quickly as it had come. Her cheeks burned.

He was as tall and broad-shouldered as James, but his dark auburn hair was cut short, and his beard was little more than scruff although it suited him. The most remarkable thing about him was his hazel eyes that shone gold in the weak light, reminding her of the man at Heathrow. Above his right eye, he had a scar similar to the one Harry Potter was said to have in Rowling’s books.

She smothered a giggle. Talk about an overactive imagination. As if he were a cursed child who’d grown into a wizard.

Regardless of who and what he was, he was a magnificent specimen, just like James, but it was the sense that she’d seen him before that confused her. If she’d met this man, she would never have forgotten him. Raven who kept her distance from James, hissing at him if he came close to her, purred loudly, reminding her to speak.

“Please, come in. It’s not a fit night for man or beast. What can I do for you, Mr.?”

The man stood on the stoop staring at her. The stunned look on his face reminded her once more of the man she’d seen at Heathrow. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it, and tried again.

“I’m sorry. I’m Dr. Jerome Morrison.”

Relief flooded her. No wonder she’d reacted so strongly to him. Just his picture had enthralled her, and here he was in the flesh. Hadn’t she wanted to meet him? It seemed as if Scotland really was a magical place where dreams came true.

“Of course! That’s why you look so familiar. I saw your picture when I toured Urquhart Castle. I’m Marina Fraser, by the way. I was sorry to hear that you’d retired.” She blinked. “Why are you here?”

He stared at her a second or two longer then seemed to pull himself together.

“Lady Fraser, you aren’t at all what I expected.”

That’s it. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. Time is streaking by. This week, our word prompt is MARK. I’m continuing with Listen to the Stones. And the plot thickens. Enjoy!

Raven chose that moment to introduce herself. She jumped down from the couch, tumbling ass over tea kettle, before approaching Maeve, and rubbing against her legs.

It was odd how the animal stayed away from James but seemed to befriend everyone else.

“Look at you.” She turned to Marina. “What’s her name?”

“Raven. We found her huddled against the building when we arrived.”

Maeve reached down to pick up the kitten. She opened the animal’s mouth and smiled.

“’Tis an unusual name for a kitten. I doubt she’s more than ten weeks old. She weighs about a kilo and still has her baby teeth. She’s not one of our cats. None of our queens have kittened yet, although when Mab disappeared last week, I thought she might have, but she was back within a couple of days as pregnant as ever.”

Marina cocked her head. Queen Mab? It had a familiar ring to it.

“You call your pregnant cats queens? I’ve never heard of that.”

“Aye. It’s the term given to an unspayed female cat, especially when she’s expecting kittens. As to the provenance of this wee one, we do have a few feral ones in the area, but eventually, those are adopted by one of the locals. I’ll wager someone from town dropped it off as soon as it could leave its mother.” She shook her head. “It’s not the best way to get rid of unwanted kittens, but we see it often enough, especially black ones. The fools don’t understand the role cats play in keeping the mice and rats at bay.” She held it up and smiled. “You’re a special kitty, aren’t you?”

Marina frowned. “What do you mean?”

 James stood back with his arms crossed. He reminded her of a pouting child who wasn’t getting the attention he wanted.

“See that wee, white mark on her chest?” She turned the kitten so that Marina could see the spot. “She’s Cat Sith and belongs to the fairies, most probably a gift from them to welcome you home and keep ye safe. She may be tiny, but she’ll have powers of her own.”

She set the cat down.

That’s it. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. Our word is SWALLOW. I’m continuing with Listen to the Stones.

The woman shook her head. “The electrical is working just fine at my place and even in the little but and ben we fixed up for our granddaughter.”

Marina cocked her head. “But and ben? What on earth is that?”

The woman grinned. “I forgot you’ll not be aware of the meaning of many of our terms. My granddaughter has come to learn the trade, but she wanted some privacy. The laird let us renovate one of the outbuildings we no longer use. It’s just two rooms and a bathroom, but it suits her well. She’s decorated it to suit her personality. She found an old one and converted it into a sofa bed.”

“I see. Are there many of these but and bens on the estate?”

“Nay, but there’s a croft that sits empthy and has for almost thirty years. “Twas where you lived wiith your parents before…” She sopped speaking as if afraid she’d said too much. “And you say the electricity is out? Have you checked the power box? Brian was replacing lightbulbs yesterday, but most of those are in the guest wing. Let me check the power box—”

“Wait!” Marina interrupted the woman. “Who are you?”

The woman laughed and smacked herself in the forehead. “Ach! What an idiot I am. I’m Maeve MacIsaac. I’m the housekeeper here. My husband, Donald, is your estate manager. My daughter Anya works with me while her husband Brian Lennox is your handyman.” The woman stopped speaking and stared at her. “I knew your mother and considered her a friend. Your resemblance to Alice, your grandmother is startling. Your eyes are so like hers … and your father’s, of course. I was just a wee thing when she passed, but the whole estate mourned her loss. It tore the heart out of your grandfather and his brother who blamed the man for her death.”

Marina swallowed her shock. “I don’t understand. Why would Great-uncle Angus do that?”

“That’s right. You probably don’t know about the sorrows. Sadly, we’ve had more than our fair share. Let me check the power box and once I have that fixed, I’ll make us a nice cup of tea.”

That’s it. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

Welcome to this year’s A to Z April Challenge Blog. As I did last year, this year’s blog will focus on aspects of writing. Last year, I wrote about the various literary devices, and how I used them in my writing. This year, I intend to focus on other areas of the craft, including finding ideas, creating a voice, writing the story, editing and re-editing, marketing, and all the other minutia of growing as an author.

The one thing I’ve learned in my career is that the writing part is actually the easiest, the marketing is by far the hardest, and like the writing environment itself, I’m constantly changing and evolving. When I first decided I wanted to be a writer, there were no computers. I typed my poems and short stories on a manual typewriter, eventually moving up to an electric one, and then later an old Commodore 64 with a dot matrix printer. Needless to say, I never finished anything particularly terrific back then, although I did write children’s stries for our local newspaper.

Life got in the way of my goal to be a published author. I went to university, graduated, got married, started a family and enjoyed the luxury of being a stay-at-home mom for ten years, where I read voraciously in what little spare time I had, never giving up on the idea of being a writer myself. Once the children were all in school, , worked as a teacher, primarily focused on English and literacy.

In the last ten years of my teaching career, I decided to try my hand at writing again and was selected to write and create educational material for the Ministry of Educaction. I loved it and when it was over, I decided to try my hand at writing fiction. By now we had computers and the Internet. I retired in 2010 and found a website for weekly flash fiction. From that, I decided to try my hand at writing a book. I found a call for romance suspense novels and wrote my first book. I sent it in. It didn’t make the cut. Was I discouraged? Damn right, but then a friend convinced me to submit to a new publisher. I did. They rejected the first manuscript but were willing to look at it again if I revised it. I made the changes they wanted and published Fire Angel in April of 2013.

My original idea for the book came from a series of unexplained and unsolved arson cases in our area. To this day, the police have never charged anyone with the crime that saw farmers lose not only their barns and outbuildings but several heads of catttle.

In my story, I envisioned a pyromaniac with a grudge and two people who’d never quite been a couple in the past, but both with their own baggage. When they meet again, those sparks fly, but there’s someone out there using fire as a weapon and it’s up to them to find him and stop him before someone else dies. I submitted the book, edited it according to instructions, and while the book did well for me, it wasn’t the story I’d wanted it to be. Why? Becauser the published only allowed for two points of view–the hero and the heroine. Added to that, there needed to be more romance than suspense.

Long story short, after several nasty experiences with traditional publishers, I was able to cut my ties and get my rights back. That’s when I decided to only publish my work myself. I found a cover artist and she designed a new cover for the book.

Having written and published several books since 2013, I revised the manuscript of Fire Angel, and made it part of a set with a common theme. This time, as I’d originally intended, I included the Fire Angel’s point of view, giving his reasoning, and allowing the reader a peek inside his deranged mind. I added more suspects, just to make it harder for the reader to identify the villain, a bit more detail to the arsons themselves, and gave the book a far more detailed and satisfying ending. While there was more suspense than romance, I found the story to be so much better than the original one, with a definite psychological component that truly showed how people can be shaped and twisted by their environment. But, when all is said and done, love can overcome any obstacle.

During the month of April, I will be blogging daily to give you more insight into my life as an author. Hope you’ll come along for the journey.

You can check out other bloggers and their themes here: https://tinyurl.com/mv4nhbmj

Welcome to the March IWSG Blog post. February was a rough month for me, but looking forward to better days.

March 6th question: Have you “played” with AI to write those nasty synopses, or do you refuse to go that route? How do you feel about AI’s impact on creative writing?

This is an incredibly touchy subject these days. The only AI that I have played with is Grammarly, and I find it frustrating since it doesn’t understand nuances and meaning. It also occasionally messes with my voice. When that happens, I dismiss the suggestion and don’t use it. Within a few minutes, I’ll quit the program. In fact, there are times when its suggested corrections are just plain wrong. I’m content with Microsoft Editor.

My cover artist now uses AI in her designs, and I’m okay with that, but at this point in time, I have no intention of using AI in my writing. There is too much as yet unknown about AI and creative writing. I’ll reserve judgment until all of the quirks have been worked out.

That’s it. Short and sweet this month.

Find more opinions here.

https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html