Happy Tuesday! It isn’t raining today, but it isn’t snowing either, so I’ll take the win.
The last six letters of the alphabet are the hardest ones for me to write about, but today’s letter is U, and I can share some thoughts in a Did You Know that understanding what readers want is an author’s biggest challenge. Why? Because what they want to read and what you want to write aren’t necessarily the same thing.
It would be so much easier if there were some way to convince my muse that this week, she would write a book guaranteed to be a best seller because thousands and thousands of readers were out there screaming for more books in the rom com genre, or the paranormal genre, or in any of the genres I’m comfortable writing, but the truth is that I always seem to be one step behind. In essence, I have yet to figure out exactly what it is that readers want to read when they want to read it. To be fair, there are certain subgenres that I won’t touch simply because I have no expertise or interest in those types of novels. I have a small but devoted following who will eagerly snatch up and read whatever I release, but I can’t seem to write that one book that will allow me to break into the mainstream and make my name a household word.
We all have dreams, but sooner or later, we have to accept that they might not be achievable. I would love to see one of my books made into a movie, but that probably won’t happen. Maybe I’m not meant to. Perhaps I should simply be content to remember that I write what I want to write. I write the story the characters screaming in my head demand that I write. Writing is a release for me, one I enjoy. What more do I need to understand?
Welcome to the last Tuesday Tales post for the month of April, and the last one from Finding Melinda. Next week, I’ll be starting a new book. This week our word prompt is BRIGHT. I’m a few words over 400. Enjoy.
After a surprisingly deep and dreamless sleep, Melinda awoke to a beautiful Saturday, the perfect kind of day for a football game. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was only seven, and yet she was invigorated. Was it because of the game or the company she would keep?
She got out of bed, padded to the kitchen, and made herself a cup of coffee. Following her daily routine, she went out onto the balcony to enjoy the bright morning sun and her first cup of coffee of the day. Leaning back, she felt the twinge of her most recent bruise, thanks to the stone that had struck her last night.
After dinner, she and Marc had discussed countless reasons why she might be in the danger she was in, but while all of them were plausible, none really made sense. Perhaps it was time to put things into perspective and examine what she knew to be fact rather than continue to speculate.
She was Melinda Crites, a thirty-year-old teacher. Her adoptive parents were dead, but she had two loving siblings who still considered her part of their family. She had no idea who her father was, whether or not he was even alive, but the man had contributed Basque ancestry to her through his DNA. Her biological mother had been the victim of a hit and run accident and had died, but only after giving birth to fraternal twins, herself and Darcy, children separated at birth like hundreds of others for the sake of some psychologist’s research into the development of twins raised apart. Unfortunately, those involved with that scandal were dead. God would be the one to see they got their just desserts. But she was luckier than many. Thanks to the DNA kit Danny had given her, she’d learned the truth about herself, and while the discovery had been painful at the time, she was slowly getting to know who she was. She was still the old Melinda but discovering her roots had given her a new purpose in life.
Meeting Darcy, her twin brother, had been one of the most satisfying experiences ever. Not only did they look alike … right down to the Basque nose and the shape of their eyes, but they also liked the same things. She’d been surprised when he’d cocked his head the way she often did. The best part had been that sense of wholeness she’d felt, almost as if the missing part of her she’d always imagined there had been found. But that didn’t explain why someone was after her, why someone wanted her to stop looking for the truth.
That’s it. Stay safe, and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.
Happy Monday! It’s raining here, but green bits and buds are showing everywhere, so it looks like spring is officially here! I hope you had a great weekend. This is our last week together this year. I hope you’ve enjoyed my posts in the 2023 challenge.
Public service announcement first! For the second time during this year’s blog challenge, I get to announce a book’s birthday. Today, Atonement is available in e-book format and free to read with Kindle Unlimited.
The Did you know? for today’s letter T concerns the tone of a novel. Did you know that, in a novel, tone refers to the mood created by the author’s choice of words and the way the text creates and emotional response in the reader? The best known literary tones are: airy, comic, condescending, facetious, funny, heavy, intimate, ironic, light, modest, playful, sad, serious, sinister, solemn, somber, and threatening.
The tone is also the way the author’s approaches the topic, and like the mood can be identifies by examining the setting, the individual characters, the details that may seem irrelevant in the moment but come back with a vengeance, and the words chosen. The author’s hope, at least this author’s, is that by doing so, the reader will feel more connected to the story.
Tone doesn’t necessarily remain constant in my novels, and Atonement is a perfect example of that. Depending on the scene, you could find yourself laughing, shuddering, or going through a wide range of emotions, that will hopefully keep you invested in the story
Here’s the blurb:
Although she was raised in an alleged haunted house by a Wiccan priestess, Anca Cole, a bartender with a degree in psychology, refuses to believe in magic, demons, ghosts, curses, or anything remotely supernatural. There’s a logical explanation for everything. When her aunt has an accident, Anca rushes back to Salem, arriving home to realize that things aren’t what she expected. The family ghost exists and insists it’s time for Anca to accept and fulfill her destiny. With help from Dr. Walt Tanner, the man who broke her heart, a couple of unusual cats, and an ancient parrot, Anca sets out to discover the truth about Cole Cottage and find the key to saving the future. This fight may have started more than three hundred and fifty years ago, but the war ends now. Unless she and Walt can find what was lost, evil will prevail and destroy any chance they may have at a future together. Can their love overcome centuries of hatred, jealousy, envy, and greed, or will they be doomed to stay apart forever?
Grab your copy today, and if you read it, please be kind and leave a review. Check out the free preview to whet your appetite.
As a child, I dreamed of becoming a ballerina, but those dreams were never to be–short, fat, and asthmatic do not a ballerina make. But I have always admired their dedication and willingness to truly suffer for their art.
Here’s the Blurb: The dance is everything, or is it? Brandi Alexandra Jameson’s entire life has been dedicated to ballet. When an accident she believes was caused by a crazed stalker fan leaves her close friend and dance partner dead and herself barely able to walk, she’s lost, adrift without a future. Jarrett Sullivan has spent most of his life in love with the petite red-headed brunette he met when he was in first grade, acting as her protector throughout school, but just as he was ready to make his move, she left Victoria for the National Ballet in Toronto. He’s followed her career, and now that she’s back home, he jumps at the chance to get to know her the way he always wanted to. Brandi remembers Jarrett, the boy she idolized, and when the man wants to have a relationship with her, she’s thrilled. But that joy turns to horror when she learns the truth about a poster, and believes he’s just another fan and that it’s Alexandra, the dancer, he wants, not Brandi, the broken woman. Fleeing her family and Victoria, she runs to the only friend she has hoping to heal her broken heart. Discovering Brandi may have misunderstood the situation, Jarrett is frantic to find her and straighten out the mess, but will she be willing to listen and give him a second chance?
Here’s a review from an Amazon reader:
I love it anytime a novel, especially a romance one, triggers a sound to start playing in my mind; and this happens to be one of these times. The song which I heard this time happens to share the almost the same title, “Forever and for Always” by Shania Twain’; just read the lyrics to the song to get what I’m referring to as it pertains to Susanne Mathews’ novella In your arms I can still feel the way you Want me when you hold me I can still hear the words you whispered When you told me I can stay right here forever in your arms And there ain’t no way I’m lettin’ you go now And there ain’t no way And there ain’t not how I’ll never see that day Cause I’m keeping you Forever and for always We will be together all of our days Want to wake up every Morning to your sweet face, always Mm, baby … …In your eyes (I can still see The look of the one) I can still see The look of the one who really loves me (I can still feel the way that you want) The one who wouldn’t put anything Else in the world above me (I can still see love for me) I can Still see love for me in your eyes (I still see the love)… The author has made sure to include just the right amount of conflict to make the storyline interesting; and has developed the characters to a point where her readers can complete their visualization on their own. For allowing her readers to step into Brandi’s shoes I’ve given this novella 5 STARS.
Why not check it out for yourself?
See you tommorrow for more from The A to Z Blog Challenge 2023
Here we are again, with Mother Nature having a hot flash, but I’ll take it. Today’s Did You Know seals with series. Did you know that according to a number of promotion websites, books in a series sell better than standalone books?
When I first started writing, all of my books were standalone. Since I couldn’t imagine writing one book let alone others, that made sense.
Over the years, I’ve come to realize that there are different types of series out there.
For example, four of my series are linked by theme rather than character. In the Mystic Adventures series, as Shakespeare once said, there are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. The Mythic Adventures series is a blend of paranormal suspense and psychic romance. Walk through stories filled with myths, ghosts, gods and goddesses, reincarnation, and past life experiences, as our heroes and heroines battle unknown forces to find love and their happily ever after.
In my All for Love book series, falling in love isn’t always easy, and for the couples in these books, the road to happiness is often complicated and filled with misunderstanding that can last days, weeks, months, years, or even decades. But in the end, love triumphs.
Some of my Cocktails for You series books are shorter than others. It’s Happy Hour! Cocktails for You are romantic comedies, limited to a moment in time for our heroes and heroines, designed to make you laugh and brighten your day.
My Winter Weddings series combines the Christmas holidays and winter where couples overcome difficulties to fall in love and eventually wed at the most magical time of the year.
Finally, my Vengeance is Mine series is a series of fast paced suspense thrillers where heroes and heroines fight to save lives and put an end to those who seek revenge, not justice.
Another type of series is one that has recurring characters. I have three such series. In the first, The Punishers: There are two worlds in New Orleans, the mortal realm and the underworld populated by immortals, the undead, and other preternatural characters. The detectives of NOPD’s Paranormal Investigative Squad follow up on crimes involving the underworld, and when those crimes spill over into the mortal one, look out!
My second series featuring some of the same characters is The Canadiana Series is a two book series loosely based on my own ancestry that deals with the early settlement on New France and the difficulties encountered by those who chose to make Canada home.
By far my best selling series in one name The Harvester Files. Top investigators try to stop a madman and his followers from murdering millions and imposing their fanatic beliefs on others. Just when you think it can’t get worse, it does. There’s always a new Harvester waiting to pick up where the other left off!
Why not look at the sample from Book one, The White Carnation
He’s watching, waiting… The last person disgraced reporter Faye Lewis wants back in her life is Detective Rob Halliday, her former fiancé, the man she blames for ruining her career and breaking her heart. But when she discovers her best friend’s mother murdered, she doesn’t hesitate to call him. Breaking up with Faye after she unjustly accused him of sabotaging her career was a crippling personal blow for Rob, but he coped by burying himself in his work. For the past year, his team has been hunting the Harvester, a serial killer who ritualistically murders new mothers and vanishes with their infants. What Rob doesn’t need is another case, especially one involving his ex-fiancée. But, when the killer’s newest victim resembles Faye, all bets are off. When Faye is assaulted in her own apartment, Rob realizes that not only are these cases connected, Faye may be the key to finding the elusive killer, providing Rob can keep her out of the maniac’s hands. Realizing her vulnerability, Faye agrees to set aside their past to work the case together, but the more they investigate, the more complex the situation becomes. The mad man has an agenda, one that involves Faye. Can they catch the Harvester before he finds Faye and reaps another prize?
Here we are again, slowly wending our way through the last nine letters of the alphabet, some of them the least used letters of all. Today, the focus is on the letter R. Did you know that getting reviews is one of the biggest challenge an author faces these days?
Writing and editing a book has always been the most intriguing part of my career as an author. Once the book is finished and formatted, it goes to be published. Then comes my least favorite job, promoting it. I suck at promotion. I’ve tried several different things, but inevitably, they fall short of the mark.
The one aspect of promotion though that is completely out of my hands is getting a reader to review the book once they’ve finished it.
Reviews don’t have to be complicated. If you like a book, say so. Even if you didn’t like it, say so. Bad publicity is better than none at all. But don’t just say, this is crap. Explain yourself. An author can’t fix an issue if they don’t know it exists.
Giving a book one star without leaving a review is like going to a doctor and being told you’re going to die without an explanation.
If you’re going to take the time to review, please don’t spoil it for other readers by giving away too much of the plot or the ending. As a writer, I strive to keep the reader guessing. Saying something like I knew the butler did it from page one, ruins the story for potential readers.
But the absolute worst are, you guessed it, fake reviews. Those reviews are usually posted by trolls, people with nothing better to do than create havoc and try to ruin an author for God alone knows the reason.
The next time you read a book, please consider taking a few minutes to review. The more reviews a book has, the better its chances of getting noticed by readers and Amazon.
I’m back in the groove. I finished Finding Melinda yesterday, making the deadline with a day to spare. LOL Today’s letter is Q and I’ve chosen to do my Did You Know about Quitting.
Sooner or later, we are all quitters. Not me, you say? Then you are indeed rare. I can honestly say, I’ve quit lots of things in my life, some I regret, others I don’t. The first thing I recall quitting was a job as a chambermaid in a hotel. That’s when I learned that people could be pigs–those renting the rooms as well as the touchy-feely guy who was my boss. I lasted one day.
Over the years I started and quit several hobbies and sports, some because my interest waned, or they became too expensive to maintain, others because my body failed me. Arthritis can be a terrible thing. I had to stop Curling and scrapbooking because of sore, swollen Joints. There may be many more things old age will force me to quit, but until I have to, I intend to keep going.
The one thing I haven’t quit, despite disappointment at times, is writing. As long as I have ideas, I’ll continue., I may slow down a little, but as long as I can do it, I intend to persevere.
What about you? What’s the one thing you do that you won’t quit?
I knew it would happen eventually. I didn’t get a chance to post yesterday. Would you believe I got my days of the week mixed up? I have a calendar of activities on my desk, but for some reason, my brain was stuck on Monday when it was actually Tuesday. One of the biggest hurdles I face as a full-time author these days is the opportunity to write what I want to write when I want to write it.
Yesterday’s letter was O and for me, O stands for all of the opportunities that I’ve had as a writer, those that have worked for me and those I’ve lost.
It seems to me that these days, time goes by so much faster than it used to, and I accomplish much less each day than I want to. I’m not a young woman and my body isn’t as strong and flexible as it should be. The only one to blame for that, is me since I didn’t take the best care of myself when I should have. I lost opportunities to stay strong and healthy.
Opportunity knocks for everyone, but if you don’t answer in time, you lose the chance to do whatever was best for you. Sometimes, you make a mistake and choose the answer the wrong door, wasting time on something that will never turn out the way you hoped it would. We’ve all had jobs that weren’t what we expected, taken trips that were disappointing, met people who failed to live up to their reputations, and in my case, invested time and effort into books that failed to reach their potential and my expectations. In racing language, I backed the wrong horse.
And that brings me to today’s letter P. Did you know that in life, perception is everything? Perception is theability to give meaning to something though your senses and your mind, specifically cognition, understanding, recognition, and appreciation of something based on moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities. Synonyms include insight, intuition, and discernment.
As an author, perception is also the ability to select ideas and create plots that have meaning and value, that will entertain and satisfy the needs and wants of the reading audience. And therein lies my problem. My perception of things is based on my life experiences, my moral beliefs and upbringing, my social conventions and responsibilities, and these days, those seem far away from what society perceives, wants, and expects. When I started writing, I was instructed to write what I knew. Had I done that, the book would’ve been short and boring. Instead, I chose to use my imagination, do some research and then, use the memories I had of the places I’d been to create my works, but I still have my high hurdles and limitations.
The downside of perception is that we often see what we want to see and not what is really there in front of us. We see ourselves differently from the way we are. We fail to see the goodness in us and focus on our shortcomings. This year, my goal is to try to be less judgmental of myself. To value what I’ve done and what I hope to do, but mostly to see myself as a winner, not an also-ran.
Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales the blog where a select group of authors share their works in progress with you. This week our word is DIRT and the scenes are limited to 400 words.
I’m continuing with my romance suspense, Finding Melinda. Good news, folks. We have a cover.
“This is amazing.” Marc leaned against the fence that kept the visitors safely away from the rushing waters.
Melinda nodded. “Essentially, this marks the spot where the Rideau River and the Rideau Canal diverge. The Hog’s Back was created when they built the canal, back in the early nineteenth century. Back then, there were rapids in this area that were about two thousand feet long with a six-foot drop. They were actually navigable by canoe, but Colonel By, the canal’s architect, needed to damn the river to divert water into the canal. You can imagine how much dirt and stone he needed to move to accomplish that. The original rapids are actually pretty much under the dam, and when he diverted the water, the amount left for the river created this.”
He chuckled. “Beautiful and smart.”
She laughed. “You said that last night.”
His gaze found hers. “I meant it then, and I mean it now.”
She swallowed, uncomfortable with the smoldering admiration in his eyes.
“You don’t have to flatter me. You’re my twin brother’s best friend. That makes you mine, too.”
Marc turned and pulled her into his arms. “I’m kind of hoping I can be more to you than I am to him.” He bent his head and kissed her, but this kiss wasn’t the innocent one he’d given her last night. She gasped, and he took advantage of her mouth’s slight opening to slip his tongue into it, filling her with sensations unlike any she’d felt before. She could stay like this for the rest of her life.
“Ouch.” She pulled away and jerked around, the sizeable stone that had struck her in the back just below her neck now lying at her feet.
“My God, are you okay?” Marc reached for her once more, turning her away from him. “At least, you aren’t bleeding.”
The sound of children giggling drifted over to them.
“Peter, that’s enough. Now, get up here,” the woman called.
No doubt the boy had been tossing stones into the water, and one had gone amiss.
Mark released her and bent down to pick up the rock about the size of a baseball. “I have half a mind to go after Peter and give him a damn good lecture on the danger of throwing rocks.”
“Don’t! I’m fine. I’ll probably have another bruise,” she joked, “but I’m resilient. Can I see that?”
That’s it. Stay safe, and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.
Welcome back to the letter N. In my writing, length has always been an issue because I like complicated plots. Did you know what the difference between a novel and a novella is?
Both are works of fiction with developed characters, a plot, and action with some degree of realism. While a novella is longer than a short story, typically is short than a novel, which usually contains about 200 pages. Novella’s average thirty to fifty thousand words.
I don’t write many novellas although I do have a couple in my Cocktails for You series.
Tequila Sunrise and Buck’s Fizz are novellas. Short books that can be read quickly.
Unlike most of my novels, these are written in the first person.
My longest books tend to be my historical romances or my paranormal and suspense novels. Atonement due out next Monday is my longest book to date. I envy authors who can crank out 50 k novels withyout blinking an eye, but sadly, that doesn’t seem to be my style.
You can check out novels and novellas in this boxset.
Living the Dream 