Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. I hope you all had a lovely Valentine’s Day. This post marks the beginning of a new story called Sea Breeze. This is picture week, so I selected one that fits with the initial incident in the story, why the main charcter left home so abruptly and without proper planning. Here’s the image I chose. As always, our picture prompt posts are limited to 300 words!
“Fine. Go back to the scene of my greatest humiliation, the place that killed your father, but don’t come back crying to me when it crushes the life out of you and breaks your heart and leaves you with nothing as it did me.”
Her words devastated me, and with the wine I’d drunk loosening my tongue, I responded to her attack with a volley of my own. “So I’m nothing? Just a humiliation? Fine. If you don’t want me, not that you obviously ever did, why should I stay here? I might as well leave now.”
In the wake of that statement, I turned on my heel and left the room, her “Ungrateful child. You’re a taker just as he was,” chasing me up the stairs.Tears streaming down my cheeks, I entered my room, pulled out my new suitcases and packed up my meager belongings. My father hadn’t been the man she’d described, nor had he been killed. The man had died a hero, rescuing two children who’d been caught too far out when the infamous tides on the Bay of Fundy had come in. In the process, he’d inhaled a lot of water, and while everyone thought he was fine, seven hours later, the forty-year-old man was dead. Secondary or “delayed” drowning happens when someone inhales water into the lungs, which causes edema or swelling of the little air sacs inside them. That swelling can happen hours or even days after the initial water incident, and the person dies because those swollen air sacs prevent oxygen from getting into the bloodstream. I’d been five at the time, the same age as that of the kids he’d saved.
That’s it. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales
Sometimes we need to make changes. This year, I made a few changes of my own, I lost twenty pounds, and believe me, that wasn’t easy. Then, I got new glasses, permed my hair to give it lift and body, and recently decided to wash away the gray and colored my hair the way I used to twelve years ago. I also decided to bite the bullet and learn more about promotion.
I recently took a course in self-promotion using Amazon Ads and discovered that people do indeed judge books by their covers. When readers are looking for a book, they will use keywords to generate a list, then when Amazon provides the titles in the genre and area they’re interested in, it’s the cover first and blurb next that makes them decide to buy and read a book. If all the stars align, it works well; if they don’t, then changes have to be made. All of my books available as ebooks are in Kindle Unlimited.
While the author’s name alone will generate some sales for them, the cover is the ticket. The second thing I’ve learned is that readers like books in series. Books can be linked in series in several ways. They can have the same charcters, the same setting, or the same theme.
For example, my Harvester Files, The White Carnation, The White Lily, The White Iris, and The White Dahlia have similar covers and titles and should be read in order to get the most out of the series. The covers are dark, and eerie, befittng the stories. If you look closely, the covers have two men and two women on them, depicting the main “hunter” in each story.
Each book, while an individual strory, contains recurring characters, but what links them is the fact that in each book, the detectives are on the hunt for a vicious serial killer, each of them controlled by a cult leader with his own plans for the future. In each book, the team gets one step closer, the titles are explained, and someone gets a happily ever after. Writing thrillers takes a lot out of an author, so I generally add a few lighter stories in between.
Among my lighter pieces are my contemporary romances. Here are five of my six Cocktails for You series books, Tequila Sunrise, Champagne Cocktail (a Christmas book not pictured), Buck’s Fizz,The Tipsy Pig, Make Mine a Manhattan, and Emerald Glow, These books can be read in any order. The first three books are novellas, shorter than the later ones. The seventh book, Sea Breeze is currently being written, and will be available in paperback in early March, with the ebook out in the fall. The eighth, Pumpkin Spice will be available in paperback in August and in ebook in October These books, all based on a particular cocktail, are written in the first person, the only series of mine that is. They are contemporary romantic comedies, some sweet, others spicy. Each is a slice of life for the heroines as they search for and find their Mr. Rights. While some get happily ever afters, each gets a happy for now! Unlike my darker suspense novels, the plots are shorter and more linear. If you’re looking for a feel good story, then these are the books for you.
Following on the heels of my Harvester Files series is the Vengeance Is Mine Series. On His Watch, Fire Angel, In Plain Sight, No Good Deed, and Secrets and Lies, are all standalone stories that can be read in any order. These books are linked by the theme. In each book, the antagonist is out for revenege, and it’s up to the protagonist to keep the heroine from meeting the fate the villain is intending for her. These books are complex novels, with disturbing story lines designed to keep you on the edge of your seat. In each book, the hero and heroine face what seem to be insurmountable odds as they deal with injuries that change them in some way. dealing with imperfect heroes who will do whatever they can to protect the women they’ve come to love. A disgruntled FBI agent, an arson investigator, a blind pianist, a washed up police detective, and a high school principal–unlikely heroes who prove that good and love do triumph in the end.
While writing those books, I wrote lighter contempoaray romance to cleanse my soul. After my ad course, I realized these books needed a makeover and i gave them one, carefully examining what made these books a series, From that examination came my newest series An All For Love Book, which links some of my contemporary romances together. The books are Just For the Weekend, Wedding Bell Blues, The Blue Dragon, Forever and Always, and Same Time Next Year. What links these stories are their themes–each is a second chance at love story, complicated by secrets that could destroy their relationshps. Here’s the series blurb: 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.
These books can be read in any order, and they are all looking good in their shiny new covers and revamped blurbs. The sixth book in the series, Royal Flush is available in paperback only for now, but the ebook is on pre-order, with its release date set for the end of May. The seventh book, Trouble With Eden will be available in paperback in April and as an ebook in August.
I have other collections available, some hoistories and other holiday romances. You can find links to all of these and more books on my website. https://mhsusannematthews.ca/
If you have read one or more of my books, take the time to review them on Amazon. Reviews make a huge difference to the life and popularity of a book.
Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. Hard to believe we’re less than a week away from Valentine’s Day! Do you have plans with your significant other? This week’s word prompt is STOOP. This is the last post from this story. Next week, I will have something new to share with you! How do you like the cover? Seeing my characters always makes writing about their adventures easier. Enjoy!
She was out on the stoop, waiting for Kyle when she realized she’d forgotten to put her brown contact lenses back in. Wearing them all day made her eyes sore, and she’d taken them out when she’d showered, hoping to give them a break. Before she could retrace her steps, Kyle’s Porsche turned the corner. Maybe he wouldn’t notice that her eyes were more green than brown tonight. If he were color blind, and one in twelve men were, it wouldn’t be an issue. The car slid to the curb before she could do anything.
Kyle got out of the vehicle and came over to her, carrying a box of chocolates.
“These are for you.” He extended the gift toward her.
She stared at the box. No one had ever given her candy. She swallowed the sudden emotions threatening to choke her.
“Thank you. That’s so nice of you. I love chocolate. It’s my fatal weakness.” If her smile were any wider, it would split her face.
“I’m glad that I ‘chose wisely.’ These are maple creams made with syrup from our trees. Ben tells me they’re delicious. You’ll have to give me your opinion.”
“I will. Let me run them upstairs so that they don’t melt in the car. I won’t be long.”
She rushed up the stairs and opened her door, the one closest to the street, placed the chocolates on the table inside, and relocked the door. Should she have opened the box in front of him, offered him one? She was at a loss here.
“Thanks again,” she said. “No one’s ever given me chocolate before.” She smiled, unable to tamp down her happiness.
“I find that hard to believe. Sweets for the sweet as they say. By the way, you look great,” he said. “Your hair down like that suits you, but I can see that style probably isn’t practical at work. Ready for action and adventure?”
“Definitely … and hungry, too. Where did you plan to feed me? Not at Veggie Planet I hope.” She made the same face she had when she hadn’t liked one of the beers the other day. “Not a fan.”
Kyle laughed. “No, the adventure will all be in the movie. I’ve got something with a little more atmosphere in mind for dinner.” He opened the passenger door for her. “Ever been in a Porsche before?”
That’s it. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales
Good morning! It’s hard to believe that it’s already February. My January was messed up when we went into lockdown again, but what really disrupted my life was Omicron. Yup, three vaccines and I still got it, but I wasn’t severely ill. I had a bad head cold and a post-nasal drip cough. Since I’m an asthmatic and immunosuppressed. it could’ve been a lot worse than it was. Thank goodness for vaccines. I’ll take as many as they want to give me. My 94 year old mother has just had her fourth! Sadly, my daughter’s friend’s mother, who is my age, also got sick, but unlike me is unvaccinated. She is still in the hospital and if and when she recovers will require supplemental oxygen for the rest of her life. Yes. People have choices. Sadly, they don’t all make the right one.
This month’s blog question is an easy one for me to answer. February 2 question – Is there someone who supported or influenced you that perhaps isn’t around anymore? Anyone you miss?
The person who supported my writing career and is no longer with us is my father. He passed away in 2019, at 91, after a fall. My dad was a fun-loving man with a great sense of humor and a wonderful imagination. When I was a child, he used to tell me wild stories about the adventures of Tarzan or Jungle Jim. Since I was a picky eater, while he described hair-raising situations, I would gobble up all my dinner.
When I wrote my first book, he couldn’t brag about it enough. He read it and his praise gave me the courage and incentive to write another, and then another. He enjoyed all of my books but his favorite was On His Watch.
Just before his fall, Dad convinced me to try my hand at writing a paranormal detective story. He enjoyed books about vampires and the supernatiral, but also loved detective/police procedural stories. I’d just started the first book when he had his accident. On the good days in the hospital before pneumonia set in, I would talk about the developing plot line, and he would smile, nod his head, and say “that’s going to me a good one.” When he died, I was devastated but determined to finish his book. The Punishers are a team of immortals who work for the NOPD to protect New Orleans’s immortal and mortal populations from rogue vampires, witches, bokurs, demons, and whatever else I throw at them. They consist of a rakshasa who can assume the shape of a tigress, a peredhil, a half-elf who wields a magic sword, a vampiress, and a shape-shifting bear. With the help of a Vodun priestess, a witch, and other supernatural creatures, they keep New Orleans safe.
Paranormal/fantasy
There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t think of my dad. This year, I’ll add book three to the series.
Wow! It’s the end of January already. Lots has happened in the first month of the year. While I’m triple vaxxed. I still came down with COVID 19. I wasn’t severely ill, although the cough did linger a few weeks. Glad that was all there was to it. Thank goodness for the vaccines.
Welcome to this week’s edition of Tuesday Tales. I’m contiuing with Royal Flush, my contemporary romance. Our word prompt this week is RUNNING.
Enjoy!
“I think you’ll like this place. It’s very popular with the tourists. It’s on a couple of microbrewery tours. If you want to, you can go inside and have a look at the brewery, but it would be rather warm in there today.”
“Maybe another time.”
They stood at the closed patio gate, waiting for the host or hostess.
“Hi, Pearl,” the hostess said, her broad smile visible through her transparent mask. “Long time no see.”
“It’s been a while, Melody,” she agreed. “I like your mask. It looks like the place is busy today.”
The redhead eyed him as if he were a slab of meat, and she was starving. “I haven’t seen you around here,” she purred, standing straighter, allowing her tight t-shirt to strain across her chest.
Seriously? The girl was barely legal. Besides he was quite happy with the one he was with.
“I haven’t been around. Table for two?”
Melody, as Pearl had called her, got the message, shrugged, and showed them to a table near the creek, the sound of the running water all but obscured by the music coming over the speakers.
“What’ll you have?” she asked, not quite ready to give up on him.
He turned to Pearl, “What do you suggest?”
“How about two samplers?” she asked. “You get to taste the six brews on tap for five dollars and then choose the one you liked best for a full pint afterward.”
“Sounds good,” he answered, smiling at the waitress to take the sting out of his rejection of her. He wanted his beer today, and if she weren’t happy with him, that could affect the service.
“Nice place. Come here often?”
Pearl shook her head. “No. Melody used to work at the diner with me. Apparently she figures the tips are better when alcohol’s on the menu. I was here for the first time a few weeks ago with Maggie and Dwayne for Blair’s husband David’s birthday.”
Melody delivered the wooden slabs on which sat six two ounce glasses of beer. “The dark one’s the stout, the one at the opposite end is the wheat beer. The others are numbered and can be ordered by the number. It’s Happy Hour, so you get whichever pint you would like for half-price.”
“Thanks,” Kyle said.
Melody nodded and went off to serve someone else.
That’s it. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales
Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. This week our word prompt is ROCK. I’m continuing with Royal Flush, my contemporary romance.
“I hope you don’t mind, but yesterday I asked Maggie when you wrapped up for the day.” He grinned. “If you aren’t too tired, I thought we might grab a drink and finish our conversation. There is someplace in town that sells cold beer, right?”
She chuckled, secretly pleased he’d thought enough to ask and wanted to spend more time with her, but determined not to let him know it.
“There is, but I wasn’t aware we had a conversation to finish,” she parried, playing the coquette even though she wasn’t particularly skilled at it.
He covered his heart with his hands. “Ouch! That hit the bullseye. I’m mortally wounded.”
She fought to keep her laughter in check. “Sure you are, but since I’m thirsty, you can buy me a beer at The Brew Shack. Their patio runs along the creek, separated from the water by a low, rock wall. It’s in the shade at this time of day and guaranteed to heal all mortal wounds.”
He grinned and offered her the crook of his arm. “In that case, lead on. I’m not sure I remember where it is.”
“It’s only been open a couple of years,” she explained, putting her arm through his and walking along the sidewalk with him, secretly cherishing the smiles on the faces of those they met, with their “Hi, Pearl” and “Welcome back, Kyle,” as if they approved of them as a couple. The prince and the pauper—if only they knew the truth!
She loved every inch of this town, even though it was as different from what she was used to as night and day. Hollywood Boulevard and Rodeo Drive had far less appeal for her than Main Street. They walked by Aunt Ida’s Quilt Shop, closed on Tuesday so that the woman could play bridge. Next to her store was The Blushing Bride and Groom, a “by appointment only” wedding boutique since each of the garments Agnes Getz sold was handmade. On the corner of Main and Colchester stood Martin’s Antiques and Collectables.
“Have you ever been in there?” she indicated the place. “They have some truly unusual items.”
“Yes. A couple of times. I think every kid who grew up in Forest Falls went down there on a dare at one time or another. A lot of them think the place is haunted. What about you? Have you tempted fate yet?
That’s it. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales
Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. Since our prompt is a picture, we’re limited to 300 words. I’m continuing with Royal Flush, my contemporary romance. Here’s the picture I chose.
Pearl liked finishing at three. It gave her time to explore the area before calling it a night. She’d picked up a used bike—only three gears—and often rode down to the creek as the locals called it. It was actually a small tributary off the Winooski River. There was a spot where a lot of the locals went swimming, and on a hot day like this, a swim sounded inviting. Maybe she’d been a small town girl in another lifetime, but as much as she would love to stay here, eventually, reality would intrude, her father’s mercenaries would find her, and she would have to go home.
Going into the breakroom, she stuffed her dirty apron into the laundry hamper, removed her uniform and hung it in her locker, slipped off her loafers, shoving the footies she’d worn inside a baggy and then into the side pouch on her messenger bag. After spritzing herself with a lightly fragranced body spray, she dressed in walking shorts, a sleeveless blouse, and sandals. She removed her hairnet, yanked the elastic from her hair and brushed out her curls before scraping them back into a high ponytail. She’d toyed with the idea of getting it cut short, but since she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had it short, it might not be a good idea. Grabbing her messenger bag and sunglasses, her mask still in place, she headed home for the day.
Finding Kyle sitting on the bench outside the diner was a surprise. He stood as the door closed behind her. She removed her mask and smiled.
“Fancy seeing you here,” she said. Was he waiting for her? The tiredness from moments ago vanished.
That’s it. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales
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Rachelle Ayala – Preying Heart: He’s a reclusive survivalist. She’s on the run for her life. He takes her in on one condition: that she never leaves his property.
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J.L. Campbell – Taming Celeste: One woman’s quest to outrun her past leads her into the dangerous world of software piracy.
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Nancy Radke – Keeping Tatum Safe: What happens when two people with false identities fall in love?
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Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. Only a few days into the new year and it feels a lot like the old one. This week’s word prompt is STICKY.
Kyle Stapleton leaned against the back of his stool. He really should’ve made an effort to come back sooner. Ten years. How could he have let time slip away from him like that? Family mattered. It was a damn shame that was a lesson he hadn’t learned in time.
He raised his cup to his mouth and washed down the last forkful of pie, his gaze on Pearl as she poured coffee into the deputy’s mug. There was something about her … He wiped his sticky lips with the napkin and continued admiring the waitress. Since the man had his back to him, he couldn’t see his face, but he could read her body language. It was a very nice body at that—slim but not too slim with just the right amount of cleavage and curves. She was tall, with a great pair of legs, too. The man had said something that had made her stiffen her spine. Bad news?
A few moments later, the deputy stood and turned toward him. Kyle recognized Randy Walker the second he laid eyes on him. At six foot two, more muscled and slightly more portly than he’d been in high school, the man was the epitome of a small town lawman. His starched shirt hugged his broad shoulders, and even if the buttons strained a little across the midriff, he still looked fit and dangerous, not the sort of man he would want to tangle with. The razor-sharp crease in his pants suited the mirror-like shine on his boots. Obviously, Randy took his job seriously and dressed to prove it.
The deputy hadn’t put on his mask and his broad grin as he approached was all Kyle needed to confirm that his former teammate had recognized him. He stood, a welcoming smile on his face.
“Reckless Randy! Fancy seeing you here dressed like that,” he said. “Given the way you behaved in school, I would’ve expected to find you sitting on the other side of the bars.” Randy laughed and rubbed his bald head. “No one’s called me that in years. If I hadn’t married Rachel, you might’ve been right, but she tamed me. Now, I’m a devoted father and husband as well as a hard working pillar of the community. I noticed that fancy leather jacket of yours in the mirror. Who else other than a pimp or a big city lawyer would be wearing something like that in the middle of June?”
That’s it. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales
Welcome to the first blog post for the IWSG for 2022. I’m sure many of you, like me, hoped that things would be back to some semblance of normal by now, but Mother Nature and her friends the COVID 19 virus variants still have us by the short hairs. Christmas and New Year’s Eve were once more disrupted, and for many the emotional strain of worrying is taking its toll. For my New Year’s resolution, I made a decision to focus on one positive thing each day. Today’s positive? The Christmas decorations have been taken down and the cleaning ladies are here to restore order to the house.
Each month I try to respond to the topic question presented. This month the January 5 question is- What’s the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to overcome it?
As Frank Sinatra sang, “regrets I’ve had a few,” but who hasn’t? The biggest one has to be getting involved with small traditional publishing houses, two of which ended up being run by crooks, while another couldn’t handle the time and costs and had to fold. She did things properly, and I didn’t lose any money. Unfortunately, the main publisher I was with, the one where things were really going well, screwed us all by selling out to one of the big boys. You would think that would be a good thing, but the big company only wanted one thing, and that was to destory the smaller one along with the writers in its stable. I went from healthy quarterly cheques to infintesimal amounts, the books ridiculously priced and absolutely nothing done to promote them. I tried promoting them myself at my expense, but since they took the lion’s share of the royalties, it wasn’t worth it. Some of the writers were able to bounce back and find other publishers, many just stopped writing, and that was a great loss.
When I was given the option of getting my rights back, and believe me, that was easier said than done with the unscrupulous publishers, I did, but the old “once bitten, twice shy” adage was never far from my mind. One by one, I revised and edited each of my previously published books and then self-published them. All I can say is thank goodness I didn’t have to rely on my writing to support me, since the climb back up into the marketplace was a long, slow one. Gradually, I wrote new material and self-published it, but it’s taken me five years to get my groove back. My sales and pages read improved greatly in 2021, the numbers surpassing my best ones in the early years, and I’m hoping that trend continues.
So, what did I learn? Not to trust traditional publishing. It’s as simple and as complex as that. I refuse to submit any of my books to any house ever again. Will I regret this? Maybe in the long run, but for now, no one is cheating me out of anything, and I’m comfortable with that.
Living the Dream 