Hooking the Reader and Setting the Tone of the Story By Connie Vines #Hooking your reader, #ChapterOne, #Romance novels,

 Chapter One: Hooking the reader and setting the tone of the story

Chapter One, page one, has to hook the reader and set the story's tone. 

In some ways, the opening chapter has to work harder than any of the others. Chapter One is the one most writers agonize over the most. 

Begin at the point the story actually starts – or even after it’s started.

I like to begin with dialogue, followed by action. 

Make sure the opening sets the tone for the rest of the novel. 

Easy-peasy. 

Except when it isn't.

Tanayia--Whisper upon the Water. (historical YA novel). It was my first award-winning novel. I was also honored with a lifetime achievement award for my work on behalf of Native American Children.

While the use of a prologue is usually discouraged, it was a simple way to transport a reader into the past.

1868

The Governor of New Mexico decreed that all Indian children over the age of six be educated in the ways of the while man.

Indian Commissioner, Thomas Morgan, said, "It is cheaper to educate the Indians than to kill them".

1880, Apacheria, Season of Ripened Berries.

  

Isolated bands of colored clay on white limestone remain where the sagebrush is stripped from Mother Earth by sudden storms and surface waters. Desolate. Bleak. A land made of barren rock and twisted paths that reach out into the silence.

A world of hunger and hardship. This is my world. I am Tanayia. I was born thirteen winters ago. We call ourselves N'dee, the People. The white man calls us Apache.

On the lighter side.  "Who doesn't love a cowboy?"

Chapter One

Charlene hadn't told Rachel that she'd fixed her up with a cowboy, much less Lynx Maddox, the "Wild Cat" of the rodeo circuit.  Rachel sighed. She should have known. After all, Charlene only dated men who wore boots and Stetsons.

If you like your romance Cajun style, you'll enjoy this mix of short stories. 🐊

"Marrying off Murphy." Like all Cajun fairy tales, it began harmless enough. A match-maker 

 promises to turn a stuffy professor into a charming prince. So, why does the confirmed bachlorette suddenly wish she was dressed for the ball?

"Love Potion #9"  Watch what happens when you mix a traditional Creole woman with a fun-loving Cajun man and throw in a Voodoo Love Potion--stand back! The Louisiana Bayou ain't never gonna be the same!

"A Slice of Scandal". A producer finds herself embroiled in a mystery as hot as her Bayou Cooking Show. When an undercover cop-turned-chef shows up and dishes up more heat than a bottle of Louisiana hot peppers.  Can she prove her innocence before the real killer finds her? Or, will she become the main course in a murder trial?

"1-800-FORTUNE" Garlic hangs from the rafters, but this sexy Loupe Garou isn't looking for trouble or a cure for what ails him. What's a law-abiding werewolf to do when a gypsy woman shows up with mischief on her mind?  

To purchase or for sample reads of my novels:

BWL (publisher's site)  https://www.bookswelove.com/

AMAZON: Kindle, audio, print. (Canada or USA)

Or at your favorite online bookseller.

Happy Reading,

Connie

 

The Art of Creating Fictional Settings By Connie Vines #BWLPublishing, #Connie Vines, #Native American Stories, #RomCom

 Creating Fictional Settings for My Stories.

                                                                        

I often use "Real Places" as a setting for my stories. Which was a breeze for me to write. 

While I may 'rename' a town in a story, I'm blending towns I've visited/resided in to create a fictional town. 

Which isn't precisely a fictional setting.

This is also true in my historical novels and short stories. Although my characters may be fictional, the time and place are accurate, which keeps my readers immersed in my fictional reality.

My heroine may have a personal preference. However, the norms for that time and place will be structured. 

I wrote "Tanayia--Whisper upon the Water" while serving on the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) for Title IX and X Indian Education Programs. I participated in evening cultural programs, including Powwows, tribal history, food, culture, and storytelling.

My friend, Linda Baugley (Iroquois/Seneca/Cayuga), is an artist and oversaw the pottery and craft classes. (Connie's adept at bead work, making frybread, and seeing to the horses.) 

I was assigned to oversee the PreK group's pottery-making table. Linda selected a lopsided bowl as "the best" work of art. I gave one of the 4-year-olds a pat of encouragement, and she ran to have her photo taken. (To this day, no one knows I was awarded  the best example of pottery in the PreK group.) 😉

The photo above is at a classroom event with Jacques Condor (Abenaki-Mesquaki tribes). Each student participated by sharing his/her favorite legend.

This was the same year my novel was chosen for the curriculum of the "Gifted and Talented Program," and as a Book-of-the-Month Read for the North Eastern Library System.

While it is not always easy to immerse oneself deeply into a culture.

A writer can always create a fictional world.  

Other Worlds

World-building is a technique used by Science Fiction writers and may be used by Paranormal writers.

Charts and diagrams, rules, norms, kingdoms, alternate dimensions...

I have a tendency to "fixate" (like a four-year-old). 🤣  

Not to an unhealthy extent, but to a chronic degree that is noticeable.

My children would rearrange a shelf with my knick-knacks...and wait...or hide my favorite pen...

This is why writing in multiple genres suits me.

Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow

It was written as a RomCom because I have nightmares. Yes, I watch the black and white Classic Universal Monster Movies. However, I get upset if I watch Bambi and the Dancing mops in "Fantasia" and the talking trees in The Wizard of OZ have the same effect.

My Zombie, Meredith, was a vegan. Now she consumes dried beef jerky.

When I wrote the "Gumbo Ya Ya" anthology, I listened to New Orleans Jazz and Cajun music, prepared Cajun and Creole meals, and more. Since my husband's family lived in Louisiana, I was familiar with its history and geography.  

In other words, I managed to control myself. I did not arrange another family vacation. (Having been chased by an alligator during a prior visit to a swamp probably put a damper on my adventurous streak.) 

Instead, I created a lively cast of characters for your enjoyment. 

Let the good times roll!

Happy Reading 📕📗📘

Connie

Connie's Books:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/connie-vines

https://www.amazon.com/Books-Connie-Vines/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/205731.Connie_Vines

https://books.apple.com/us/author/connie-vines/id624802082

Or at your favorite online book seller