BWL New Releases April 1st

 

https://www.amazon.com/Watched-Eden-Monroe

Strong, handsome male lead Shay McGregor is a man on the move, riding the rails in beautiful Eastern Canada during the Great Depression. Widow Rietta Nicholson is finally free from her marriage to a bad man and now struggling to run the family farm on her own. Then she’s introduced to Shay, a tall, dark stranger new in town and looking for work. There is immediate chemistry between the widow and the hired man, but murder and mayhem await on Cherry Orchard Farm. Stalked by an unseen assailant, neither Rietta nor Shay is safe in this wild ride of romantic suspense. Can they even survive the night?

Editorial Review by S. Peters Davis

The story begins in 1932, when Rietta Nicholson finds out her husband’s car, with him

inside, was discovered submerged in the Kennebecasis River. The realism of the

characters and their daily lives throughout the story held my attention to every detail.

The fear, anger, love, labor, etc., throughout their relationships, presented a colorful,

suspenseful mystery, and a thrilling ending. An unputdownable read.

https://49thshelf.com/Contributors/M/Mossop-Charles

In 1792, Ned Creel, a bondservant in a wealthy household, is forced to flee after an ill-advised dalliance with the daughter of the house. Arriving in London, he survives as a pickpocket and petty criminal, but is quickly caught up in the anti-monarchist republican movement inspired by the American and French Revolutions. Driven by his own desire for revenge against the landed gentry, Creel is used and manipulated by the revolutionaries, and drawn ever further into a web of blackmail, deception, espionage, and murder, reaching into the very heart of the Royal Navy as it wages war with France. He attempts to extricate himself, but instead is dragged more deeply into the mire by his own hatred and greed. Infiltrated by double-agents, the republican conspirators are relentlessly pursued by the British Government and the First Lord of the Admiralty, and Creel finally realizes he must leave England if he hopes to escape the hangman.

 Editorial Review, By JD Shipton

 Mossop delivers. The characters, the settings, the vernacular, the intrigue, all expertly worked together in this thoroughly enjoyable period piece. I’ve read the big names of Imperial British period fiction, and I’m here to tell you that Mossop should be counted among them. 

Out of money and out of luck, Emily arrives in Castor Alberta during a raging blizzard. With no place to go, she finds refuge in an abandoned restaurant on the corner of Main Street and 51 Avenue. Jessie’s Café has a long and storied past, but all Emily is interested in is getting out of the storm. However, the spirit of the building and its ghosts have other things in mind for their visitor. Cold and starving, Emily slips through time to find a much friendlier reality than the one currently surrounding her.

 https://www.bookswelove.com/shop/p/night-at-the-legislature

Out of money and out of luck, Emily arrives in Castor Alberta during a raging blizzard. With no place to go, she finds refuge in an abandoned restaurant on the corner of Main Street and 51 Avenue. Jessie’s Café has a long and storied past, but all Emily is interested in is getting out of the storm. However, the spirit of the building and its ghosts have other things in mind for their visitor. Cold and starving, Emily slips through time to find a much friendlier reality than the one currently surrounding her.

EDITORIAL REVIEW by Victoria Chatham

Jessie’s Café is a real place in Castor, located in Central Alberta. The building today is in a sad state and looks as though it could collapse at any moment. The infamous shed in Bell’s novel is still there in all its shabby glory. Jessie’s Café changed hands numerous times over the years, giving Bell a great cast of characters to work with. She has also woven in historical events that present-day citizens of Castor are sure to remember.

The thread that binds it all together is the story of Emily, her dog Miley, and Ruairi, an Irishman from whom we learn the traditions of May Day and something of the Irish troubles. That these three are time travellers adds a paranormal aspect to the story. Anyone who enjoys stories involving time travel, mystical happenings, and historical events will enjoy this book. I recommend it as a highly entertaining read.

 

 

https://www.bookswelove.com/authors

Some prophecies are meant to save the world. Hers might destroy it. Adelina wakes in a land of dying magic, her name the last piece of herself the gods didn’t take. Hunted for a prophecy she doesn't understand, Adelina is thrust into a kingdom teetering on ruin—caught between the only friend who doesn’t fear her, and a king who would burn the world to control her. But she’s not the only one fate has marked. Scattered across the realm are others—strangers bound to her prophecy by forces unnamed. A haunted warrior fleeing a blood-soaked lineage. An assassin. An orphan. A witch torn between duty and her own destructive nature. As their paths converge, so too does a reckoning that will reshape the world—or end it. None of them wants a part in the prophecy binding them. Least of all Adelina. But the longer she walks this strange realm of twisted magic and mad kings, the clearer it becomes: there is no escaping destiny. And what begins as one girl’s search for freedom and identity soon threatens to unravel the veil between two realms.

 EDITORIAL REVIEW by Victoria Chatham

The landscape of Ava Vienne’s The Prophecy of Ash and Ikarus is populated by magical and mystical beings, from searchers to assassins and witches. The protagonist, Adelina, falls from one world into another, where her arrival prompts a price on her head for whoever finds her first.

We see Adelina’s growth along the way as she deals with betrayals and bloody battles. But is she strong enough to deal with Ikarus, her nemesis and will she ever return to her home? Fans of fantasy are sure to find this an engrossing read.

https://www.amazon.com/Woke-Dead-Pine-County-Book-ebook/dp/B0GSCKCG1W?ref_=ast_author_mpb

Sergeant CJ Jensen is adjusting to life as a new homeowner in Pine County when the Sheriff’s Office receives a call about a bar patron who never woke up after a night of sleeping it off in a local establishment’s back room. In the process of death notifications, CJ and Pam learn of his connection to one of the most notorious criminal Pine County families, a drug smuggling operation and his own past life transgressions. How does a Beaver Dam fit into this mystery and will Riley be successful at another undercover assignment?

Praise for Skidded and Skunked – “I never expected the twists and turns in this book. It seems D.L Dixen has seen some things in her former life before becoming an author. I couldn’t put it down! Super easy read that will keep you reading and waiting for what will come next!” – J.R.

Editorial Review by S. Peters Davis
Book number 13 in the Pine County Mystery Series drew me along until the very end, including the Epilogue. CJ Jensen, Pam Ryan, Sandi Maki, Riley Sanders, Floyd Swenson, and the rest of the characters, established or new to the series, made quite a stirring story of murder, drugs, domestic abuse, money laundering, and more, with the sheriff’s department’s personal lives included as well. The main characters drive the adventure throughout, with more interesting facts about each introduced along the way. An addictive series to read, I’m so looking forward to book number 14.

Life is a Bown of Cherries by Eden Monroe

  

https://www.amazon.ca/stores/author/B07531KPL4

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEdenMonroe/

https://edenmonroeauthor.com

https://books2read.com/Watched

“Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries” or so says the song (lyrics by Lew Brown and music by Ray Henderson).

Well … sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t, and the latter is all too true on the ill-fated Cherry Orchard farm — the setting for the romantic suspense novel, WATCHED:

“Strong, handsome male lead Shay McGregor is a man on the move, riding the rails in beautiful Eastern Canada during the Great Depression.

Widow Rietta Nicholson is finally free from her marriage to a bad man and now struggling to run the family farm on her own. Then she’s introduced to Shay, a tall, dark stranger new in town and looking for work.

There is immediate chemistry between the widow and the hired man, but murder and mayhem await on Cherry Orchard Farm. Stalked by an unseen assailant, neither Rietta nor Shay is safe in this wild ride of romantic suspense. Can they even survive the night?”

Incidentally, Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries was written in 1931 at the onset of the Great Depression, and the setting for WATCHED is 1932.

In any event, be they sour or sweet, metaphor or not, cherries are an enormously popular fruit and my favourite by the way. But there’s so much more to cherries than just their visual appeal. According to harryanddavid.com, cherries are actually a “fleshy drupe,” a stone fruit that is soft on the outside with a rock hard pit waiting inside:

“Coming from the genus prunus, the sweet cherry goes by Prunus avium, meaning ‘wild cherry.’ This species is also known as a sweet cherry, bird cherry, or gean. The sour variety is known as Prunus cerasus.

“Some 1,200 varieties of cherries exist worldwide, but you really only need to know the major ones. The Bing cherry is America’s most popular type of sweet cherry; the Montmorency is the most popular sour cherry.”

And perhaps the most showy of all are maraschino cherries, a perennial favourite.

“Marasca is a type of cherry originating from Dalmatia, and the largest yields come from the city of Zadar. These cherries are a variety of classic Morello cherries. They are small in size and have a dark red to blackish color. The flavors are floral, acidic, and slightly bitter due to the stone in the center of the fruit.” (tasteatlas.com)

Fresh cherries of any kind are always in demand in (a short) season, and it is estimated (harryanddavid.com) that in the United States alone, an average of 2.6 pounds of them are consumed per person in a variety of forms every year. In the United States’ Washington State, Oregon and California are among the top sweet cherry producers (90%) and Michigan accounts for 74% of sour cherry production, (harryanddavid.com). However the king of cherry-producing (and consuming) countries is Turkey.

Ahhh, there’s nothing better than a bowl of cherries, unless it’s two bowls of cherries, and it’s Bing for me. I could eat my weight in them.

 

 

Late season Bing cherries

 

The wonderful news is that cherries, aside from being succulently delicious, are also nutritional. “Cherries are a superfood and are rich in antioxidants, fiber, minerals, and vitamins A, C and K. They also have anti-inflammatory properties that may help combat gout, arthritis, diabetes, and cancer.” (harryanddavid.com)

The pits are well, the pits, and not edible. “No!” says harryanddavid.com. “Cherry pits contain trace amounts of amygdalin, a chemical compound that the body converts to the poison cyanide. However, you don’t need to truly worry if you swallow the pit whole, as the chewing process is what triggers the chemical conversion. Still, chomp on enough of them, and the risk goes up. So just, don’t.”

Not just a treat for the palate, cherries can be found in countless products, including skin care according to healthshots.com:

“Looking for ways to make your skin glow naturally? Start by including cherries in your beauty routine. There are many cherry benefits when it comes to your skin health. These small-sized fruits are packed with essential nutrients such as vitamins A, C, and K, as well as potent antioxidants like anthocyanins, which can address a multitude of skin concerns, from combatting free radical damage to promoting collagen production. So, if you’re dealing with acne, looking for natural glow, or just want to keep your skin looking youthful, the humble cherry might be the answer you’ve been searching for…”

While most cultivated cherries are derived from ancestral stock, wild cherries still abound throughout the northern hemisphere, and some suggest perhaps they are more nutrient dense than their cultivar cousins. And if wild cherries are good for us, they are also a high-energy food for common foragers such as deer, foxes, bears, squirrels and raccoons, and dozens of bird species. They also spread the seeds.

Says motherearthnews.com about eating wild cherries: “Cherry fruits generally mature in late summer, so if you’re hiking around these bushes in late summer, there will invariably be fruit on the bush. Some will be ripe enough to taste. Most people — like my hiking students — can look at the fruit, and guess that it is edible.

“However, I strongly urge you to never assume any wild berry or plant is edible simply because you subjectively think “it looks edible.” That can be a quick way to get sick, or die. Never eat any wild plant if you haven’t positively identified it as an edible species.”

Cherry blossoms in general are gorgeous, and I’ve always been partial to those of wild cherries — especially the chokecherry.

Chokecherry blossoms

And for anyone, like myself, who wondered why ornamental cherry blossom trees don’t bear cherries: “Simply put, cherry trees are fruit trees; cherry blossom trees are flowering trees.” (harryanddavid.com)

And tart cherries? Says prevention.com: “‘Tart cherry juice became a hot topic in 2023 as the main ingredient in the viral ‘sleepy girl mocktail.’ But the benefits of tart cherry juice may go beyond helping you get a good night’s rest. ‘I often recommend tart cherry juice, especially for individuals looking to improve recovery after exercise or manage inflammation,’ says Caroline Susie, R.D., L.D., Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.”

Speaking of cherries, we can’t help but wonder if George Washington actually chopped down his family’s cherry tree. He did not, according to mountvernon.org:

“This iconic story about the value of honesty was invented by one of Washington’s first biographers, a traveling minister and bookseller named Mason Locke Weems.”

Finally on the subject of cherries, festivals abound worldwide in honour of this luscious fruit. Which begs the question, what location is considered the cherry blossom capital of the world? According to cherryblossom.com, that honour belongs to beautiful Macon, Georgia (March 20-29, 2026):

“Each March, Macon becomes a pink, cotton-spun paradise as hundred of thousands of Yoshino cherry trees bloom in all their glory…”

And the celebration of cherries continues.

 

March 20-29, 2026

Each March, Macon becomes a pink, cotton-spun paradise as hundreds of thousands of Yoshino cherry trees bloom in all their glory. Originally a sleepy southern town, Macon has now become a bustling center of beauty and international friendship.

 

 

 

Report from a Living Fossil

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 "I don't want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it's like, 'Hey, keep this thing alive, even though, like no one cares about this anymore.'," Chalamet said... "All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there."

This young actor just let us all know that although he works as an actor, in a craft that's been around, in western tradition, since before the Greeks, he doesn't have much sense of history. He doesn't have respect for opera or ballet, either, despite his quickly tacked on semi-retraction. 

What he said saddened me, as I grew up enjoying both art forms and with a healthy respect and regard for these somewhat hoary artistic expressions. I confess that I have cried buckets of tears over both, exactly like any devotee of afternoon soaps or B movies. I have DVDs of opera and ballets and have sat before them, blissed out, for hours. I take offense exactly because I am a fan, but also because I know about the years of training, discipline, and self-sacrifice that goes into the making of these stellar singers and dancers, who bravely shoulder the work required by these jewels of western tradition. 

Ballet and opera grew out of entertainments which once thrilled rich and poor alike. This is particularly true in the case of opera. When people in the street whistled and sang Mozart's tunes, the Maestro noted in his letters that he knew he had a hit. Without copyright laws, sadly, he never got the royalties, of which modern pop singers are assured. 

Of course, what Chalamet said is a fairly typical young person's take on two artistic traditions which have been around a good deal longer than he has. Still, I must acknowledge that I have been unable to convince any number of descendants and/or friends to become fans. My opera friends are all old, like me; it's sad but true.

I just went to a movie theater and watched the Metropolitan Opera's Tristan and Isolde, with fabulous singers. I've heard the "greatest hits" from the opera since I was child, but I have never before experienced the five hours it takes. When I was a kid, Wagner was exciting, loud,  colorful, a gigantic heart-thumping, aural fireworks display. The Ring saga--yes, the same Northern myth that inspired Tolkien--The Ring saga was all that, better than Marvel comics, complete with a world-cleansing apocalypse at the end. 

When I became an adult, musically I turned back, before Beethoven, toward the Baroque, toward Bach, Mozart, Telemann and Vivaldi, and from there into polyphonic church and folk music. Wagner became a rather over-the-top self-promoter with fascistic (more-than) tendencies. His personal life, his opinions, his music, seemed pompous, exhaustingly patriarchal. Then, nearly extinct being that I now am, I sat through those five hours of Tristan & Isolde, along with white-haired others of my kind. 

I can't say I went full circle. I was, however, bowled over by the totality of the work, despite the fact that the opera is a downer, ending in a round-robin of death. Tristan and Isolde begin as haters, because he's killed her husband to be and then fooled her into saving his life. Isolde asks her servant to give them both a draught of poison, so that she drink with Tristan and fool him into killing himself. Bonus! She will end her personal grief by dying. Instead, the faithful servant, assigned a heart-breaking task, gives them both a love potion, and they fall into a blazing passion. This briefly changes the flow of events, but ends by destroying them and everyone around them, exactly as in Isolde's savage, original intention. 

This tale is one of human dysfunction in the extreme, but don't pretend it couldn't happen. Just look at the self-destructive madness in the world around you! The lyrics, drenched in Nietzchean philosophy and Wagner's sex addiction, are sauced over with sweeping music--self-referential, yet endlessly evolving and swelling. It's voluptuous, ecstatic, and it left me in a fog of reflection and emotion for days. Yes, opera may be dying, but with my fuses well and truly blown by attending this one, I am still going to call it ART.

~~Juliet Waldron

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Adding Sensory Details to your Story By Connie Vines #BWL Blog, #Perfume #CustomPerfumes #Creating the Perfect Fragrance, #RoseGarden

 In past posts, I've shared many of my interests: my family, gardening, pets (past, present), my nomadic childhood, and my "careers". However, I seldom mention my background in perfuming.

Of course, sensory details (all of the senses) are important--a critical key in the "realisum" of your story.

I am not a chemist. However, I am a trained fragrance consultant.

This is a science. A client's pH level is determined, and fragrances are selected based on this (and, of course, personal preferences).  

 An author (including a fiction writer) is heavily involved in research and personal experiences. Some good; some negative.

In Gumbo Ya Ya (anthology), my story is set in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

My first story involves a newly created perfume — an unexpectedly developed "Love Potion". 😉💖

While I love the premise and the characters in my story, love potions (thankfully) are not real.

Taste, touch, and smell are grounding elements of any good story. A reader is familiar with the taste/scent of a cup of coffee or tea. The scent of freshly cut hay, the sound of a dog barking. The scent of a sea breeze.

Or, the fragrances wafting from a rose garden.

Connie's garden photo, 2023

Connie's garden roses 2023

Connie's Rose Garden 2023

Roses are my favorite flowers in my garden. 

The fragrance of a rose is a complex symphony of volatile organic compounds, a blend of a sweet, floral base accented by notes of fruit, spice, and even earthy undertones. 

Long ago, men of rank had their mattresses filled with dried rose petals.

Rose notes may vary considerably from one to another, depending on where the rose was grown and who extracted its essence. 

To quote, Sawyer, Odorgraphia, 1892

It has been noticed that previous to a storm, or atmospheric disturbance, the odor of the rose seems strangely increased; this may be by reason of the oxidizing influence of the ozone in the atmosphere, or it may be that our perception faculties are sharpened at such a moment.

Around the world, rose essence has been used to flavor both sweet and savory dishes, and it was an important ingredient in early ginger ale recipes.

Simple Recipe for Rose Hip Tea:

4 (8 g) Rose Hubuscuis tea bags.

4 cups hot water

4 cups cranberry juice, chilled

1 lemon, sliced.

Add tea bags to hot water; steep for 10 mins. Add remaining ingredients and chill. Add ice to chilled glasses. 

Excerpt |Teaser  "Love Potion #9"  Gumbo Ya Ya by Connie Vines

“Don’t shake your finger at me, Simone Basso. I know what I’m doing.” Persia Richmond said, filling a half-ounce bottle with perfume. The warm scent of spice, magnolia, mimosa, and a hint of something unnamed and mysterious wafted across the narrow processing room.

The fragrance was New Orleans; culture at its most upscale moments and Mardi Gras at its naughtiest! A smile of supreme joy curved her mouth, and success warmed her soul.

Persia had dreamt of creating a signature fragrance since her grandpapa began her tutelage in perfuming.

 “I’ve done warned you and warned you about messing with love potions!”

 “You worry too much, Simone,” she replied, rearranging her test tubes. “This is a perfume. Nothing more, nothing less.“

Simone’s brightly turbaned head caught Louisiana sunlight streaming through the perfumery’s large display window as she rested her hands on her ample hips. “Menterie. It’s a love potion.” 

 “I’ve extracted essences from bayou plants before, and you didn’t object.” 

“You be using flowers then. Not that root!  That root be from a voodoo love-plant!”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Simone. There’s no such thing as a voodoo love-plant!”   Persia glanced at the shavings of the rust-colored root she’d placed in a circular dish for processing. “This root is almost identical to cinnamon bark.”

“Then why you not be using cinnamon bark?” 

Persia cast a cautionary look toward the showroom doorway. Mindful of the clients, Persia lowered her voice. “You know as well as I that every major perfuming house used cinnamon bark or vanilla as a fragrance base last year. Do you want me branded as a knock-off perfumer?  If that happens, not only will we lose the shop, but I won’t even be able to land a job developing scented toilet paper.”

Simone shivered when Persia pressed on. “’This is our breakout fragrance. “That’s why it’s so important that this perfume be unique, beyond comparison. Love Potion #9 is going to blow away the competition.”

“Sugar-cakes,” Simone said, eyeing the glass bottle and its shimmering contents with misgivings. “It’s gonna do more than that! You have no idea what that root can do to folks.”

Dabbing a piece of cotton with perfume, Persia slipped it inside her bra and tucked the fragrance sample into her purse. “The ad campaign breaks next month. We can argue about this tomorrow.  Tonight I plan to get a head start on our local promo.”

“Bayou country means nothing but trouble for you.  If your grandpapa was still alive—“

“I don’t want to talk about grandpapa or the bayou right now,” she snapped, “Chardonnay sets trends in this city,” she reminded Simone. “What better way to showcase our product than for me to model it at her party?”  

                                    #

After being escorted into the Dubois’s foyer by the butler, her host turned from a cluster of his guests to greet her. 

“Persia,” Jean-Paul exclaimed, kissing her briefly on each cheek in old Creole fashion. “So good of you to come. Ummm, you smell delightful, my dear.”

 She smiled. “Grandpapa always said perfume is like a rousing concerto. The bouquet is made up of notes: the top note, the first impression, the mid note piques one’s curiosity, and finally, the base note.  The final note is the fragrance’s lasting impression.”  

 “It’s good to see that you are carrying on his work,” Jean-Paul said, cupping her elbow and leading her toward the ballroom. “He would be so proud of you.”

 “I’ve tried hard to fulfill his dreams, Jean-Paul.”

“I know you have. And you will. Your grandpapa always said you were a natural for the industry. I believe he said you have the nose for the fragrance.”

“I should. He spent a lifetime tutoring me. I could probably identify more fragrances than there are plants in the bayou.”

Jean-Paul stopped as they wandered into the grand ballroom filled with New Orleans polite society. He drew her fingertips to his lips. “I must remain here to greet the guests, so I’ll turn you over to my wonderful wife,” he added. “I know how much you hate being away from the city. Even so, Persia, don’t stay away so long.”

“I promise.” Jean-Paul was her grandfather’s dearest friend, and for a moment, as the warmth of his love surrounded her, it was as if her grandfather was near. The disquiet she felt at being so close to the bayou faded away as she turned toward Chardonnay.

Chardonnay gave Persia a friendly hug and looped her arm in hers. Persia always admired Chardonnay’s thick black hair and expressive green eyes. It wasn’t envy, but rather an appreciation of the woman’s ability to cause a ripple of excitement without ever saying a word.  “I was so worried after you and that Cajun broke up,” she said, “but it’s so good to see you’ve recovered. And now, look at you! Your shop is all the talk of New Orleans. Tell me what magic you have worked with those flowers of yours this time?”

Before Persia could get past describing the perfume’s signature bottle, the melodious bells chimed, signaling dinner.

                                                              #

To purchase Gumbo Ya Ya and my other novels, visit the links below.   

"Lynx" Rodeo Romance, Book 1, is also available in audiobook via Amazon.com

Happy Reading!

Connie Vines 

Please post your favorite flower and perfume in the comments section.

Shop:

https://www.bookswelove.com

My novels are also available at online book sellers :)

Including:

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Connie-Vines/author/B004C7W6PE?

What is an author's voice - by Vijaya Schartz

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Unknowingly, what we usually like about an author is the voice. But voice is not style, or grammar, or the way an author strings the words together. Voice is more personal. It’s the way authors look at the world and how they share their own perspective with the reader.

It’s not just the words they use, but the subtle details they point out for you to notice. It’s the small things they describe that reveal so much about a character. It’s how they set the mood for a scene, the details they choose to describe when they introduce the setting.

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Let’s consider the master. Stephen King mastered the spooky genre, because he knows how to manipulate the reader. There are so many odd things in the haunted house, but he will describe everything as simple and ordinary… except for one tiny little detail, almost insignificant, but very disturbing. It could be a stopped clock, a drop of blood on a rug, a faint smell that doesn’t belong, a weird or unfamiliar sound.

Depending on the particular genre of your novel, these details will vary.

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I remember as a very green writer decades ago, submitting short stories to magazines. One editor who liked my story gave me some feedback that always stayed with me. My protagonist opened a closet to grab a pair of boots, and the editor mentioned I had missed a golden opportunity to define that character for the reader.

The editor wanted to know what else was in the closet. It would tell her what kind of person the protagonist was. Surf boards and roller skates? Warm shawls and sweaters? Tennis racquets? Military uniforms? Work uniforms? Cocktail dresses, Sports teams memorabilia? Was it neat or messy? I never forgot that simple comment and learned so much from it.

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Over the years, I have learned a lot about my writing from editors and readers. Knowing what you write also can help in promoting your work. I'm a positive, happy person, a problem solver, and it reflects in my novels. I write tight and make no apology for it. Straight to the point. And all my books are fast reads.

I was accused once of being too wholesome in my novels. I take it as a compliment, as this was my goal. At the end of my novels, I want the readers to feel good about the resolution, the characters, and about themselves. Justice has been served, the villains have been punished, and the universe is a safer and better place... for now at least.

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My heroes and heroines are not perfect, but they thrive to be better. They are brave, sometimes fierce, willing to face overwhelming odds against a higher power, willing to sacrifice themselves to save innocent victims. I do not kill my protagonists at the end. My novels are upbeat, fast-paced, action-packed, sometimes epic. And if you shed a tear or two, don't worry, it will all be worth it at the end.

Happy Reading!

Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Kick-butt Sci-fi Heroines, cats, romantic elements

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