Writing a Novel Like Planting a Garden By Connie Vines

Writing a novel is a lot like landscaping. 

You start with an empty lot. You see the potential. You also see the weeds, uneven ground, and iffy soil. (With a novel, this is when you tell yourself the options are without limits.)

With a garden, you must decide where there is direct sunlight and evaluate the soil. (outline, research.). Then comes planting many seeds-- more than is needed for a healthy garden.

Step one: Preparation

Only some of the seeds I plant will take root. Some will be healthy, others weak. It takes 4 - 6 weeks for the seeds to grow. (This is the character development and information-gathering time in a novel.) and aside from watering and daily soil monitoring, I must walk away.

Tomato plants: one may be removed 😞

When I return, the plants have taken root, and the leaves are visible. Now begins the thinning process--removing sickly plants, moving sturdy plants, and supporting weak plants. This will occur several times, allowing an interval between each pruning/thinning (editing). Some will need to be more robust (fleshing out characters). Others will appear strong and healthy, but my harbor issues that could undermine the entire crop (story).

Rose Garden #1

I can't play favorites when it comes to gardening. I may love one plant more than another. However, it must be removed if it's not meant for this world (my novel). A hard decision, but it's necessary for the best harvest.

The Fragrance 😘👼

I also keep a notebook titled: My Story Garden.

In this garden, I grow seeds of a story. Some of them are lines of dialogue, while others are scenes. I plant them in my garden when they first come to me, and they stay until I decide it's right for a particular story. Pet peeves, fears, goals, and dreams.

Connie's Story Garden 

Thank you for stopping by 😀,

Connie

Click here for my author page and my social media, and buy

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How Cowboys say "I Love You" By Connie Vines #How Cowboys say I Love You, #Cowboy Romance, #Sexy Cowboys

For some, it's the cowboy hat and boots, a sexy smile, or how they look in tight jeans. Romance novels often portray them as mysterious and confident with a bad-boy streak. In movies, they are rugged, hard-working heroes who ride off into the sunset at the end of the day.

Who hasn’t done a little dream walking about the cowboys of yesteryear driving cattle across the plains, a lawman with a silver star pinned to his shirt, or today's rodeo cowboy, or the cattle rancher down the road and sighed? There’s something about a man in boots, denim, and a cowboy hat that makes a woman’s heart increase speed and her mouth dry, isn't there?

🤠  🐴

Is it their manners, sense of justice, or the fact they take off their hats and say, “Thank you, Ma’am”? 

Or is it the swagger of the rodeo cowboy after he picks himself up off the ground?  The easy way a rancher leans over the corral fence taking stock of his herd, with one foot resting on a rail.

There’s something about cowboys.

A cowboy doffs his hat and opens a door. They respect women. 

When I lived in the Texas panhandle, I often heard the old saying: "Texas is hell on women and horses."

Fathers still teach their sons the way of the old West and remind them there was a time when women were few and far between.  And it's still a privilege to have a female to cater to and cherish. 

🥰💕

So, how does a woman know if a Cowboy is in love?

• An invitation to a Barn Dance.
• He Cooks dinner.
• Buys you a pair of cowgirl boots. 
•  A gift of  Turquoise jewelry.
•  Or the old-fashioned way.  He gets down on one keen and proposes.

Why not snuggle under the covers with one of my Cowboys?

Lynx Maddox

Brede Kristsensen

With a dangerous reputation for taking chances and tempting fate, Lynx Maddox has one goal in life -- to win the coveted Sliver Buckle Rodeo Championship. 

But when he sets eyes on lovely Rachel Scott, he becomes determined to capture her heart as well.

"A worthy addition to anyone's book collection"  Under the Covers Book 

 

"A rare find. A must-read!" Book Museum

"Instant Action/Sizzling Attraction!  This book kept pages turning, and a box of tissues close at hand."

Trouble is something hard-edged rancher, Brede Kristensen, knows all about.  A widower with a rambunctious young daughter,  a ranch to run, and an ornery cook who has just run off. Yet, amid a violent storm, he finds an injured woman. 

A woman who can't recall her name or her past. But Brede vows to protect her from harm. 

What he hadn't bargained for was her laughter and gentleness finding a way into the lonely corners of his heart.

https://bookswelove.net/vines-connie/

LYNX

Brede

MY Website and social links

My Blog

Wishing you a holiday season filled with warmth,  joy, and gingerbread kisses!

(Remember, BWL ebooks are still on sale)

Connie

Writing During Vampire Hours -- Secrets Writers Keep By Connie Vines #Writing Tips, #NightOwls, #Cowboys, #Western Romance, #Fantasy

⏰🦇🌙 

Vampire Hours?

According to the Urban Dictionary:

When someone keeps vampire hours, they are awake all night and sleep all day. They are unreachable by phone, text, or social media during daylight hours when the rest of their friends are up.

While I do not sleep all day...  

"I don't 'rise' from my bed at sunrise, either.  😎. 

🌞 vs. 🧛

The conventional wisdom is that morning people are high achievers and go-getters, while late risers are lazy. But what if going to bed in the wee hours is actually an advantage?

🕯  On the school site before 7:00 a.m. was my day job (my-oh-my was that torture.) until I recently retired.

The Wonder Years

Staggering into the kitchen, adjusting the curtains so that I was not blinded by the sunrise. And wondering how I was going to get through the day on 4 or maybe 5 hours of sleep.

Wondering: Would I wake up if I spent my lunch break in the car and fell asleep?  

Wondering why I could only write at night? Life would be simpler if I could write during my lunchtime. Le Sigh.

Admissions

While I don't broadcast to the world, I write until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning; nothing goes unnoticed when you live in the burbs. 😎 

Everyone is up at sunrise going to work or working in his/her front yard. 

I wear sunglasses at 10 a.m. when I check the mail. No one 'sees me' until an hour or two before sunset when I sit on my front patio with a cup of coffee. 

They all seem to go to bed (all lights out between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m.) not long after sunset.

My sweet neighbor across the street said, "Whenever I get up at night, your lights are still on..."

"I know..." 😉

🦇 Writing should never be a race to the finish. It should be an extended immersion in a hot tub or a relaxing meditation. Good writers write at night because it's devoid of distraction, there's nothing else left to do in the day, and there's no one else to hurry to.

🦇Bursts of inspiration like this at night frequently within the creative community. Writers, artists, and inventors throughout history have all said they've been most inspired during night-time— think of Tennesee Williams. He spent so much of the night writing he would be found asleep in his bed the next morning, still wearing the same clothes as the day before (source: Williams' notebooks). (Connie doesn't do this.)  

📖📱💻

Do you have a favorite time you like to read?

Please visit my website/blog. Remember my books are on sale at Smashwords, too.

Happy Reading, everyone.

Connie Vines

XOXO

Website: https://connievines-author.com/

Blog: http://mizging.blogspot.com/

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It's National Chocolate Candy Day! Celebrate by Leaving Sticky Hand Prints Everywhere! By Connie Vines

 NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CANDY DAY is today. 

 For Chocolate Devotes, this is a Jackpot day, second only to Valentine's Day!

December 28th!

National Chocolate Candy Day offers an opportunity for us to polish off the last of the specialty candies we received as gifts. Celebrated on December 28th, the day points us to the truffles and chocolate oranges tucked into stockings. 

Remember to check those boxes of candy that may or may not have guides to help us choose cream-filled or ganache.  

The word “chocolate” comes from the word “xocoatl” or “chocolatl.” Mayan “school” means hot or bitter, and the Aztec “atl” means water. Chocolate comes from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia and grows in Mexico, Central America, and Northern South America. The earliest known documentation of using cacao seeds is from around 1100 BC.

But before it was ever made into a sweet candy, it was ground into a beverage. In ruling class society, the beverage was used for medical purposes. 

In 1828, Dutch inventor and chemist, Coenraad Van Houten, developed a way to produce chocolate in solid form. His hydraulic press made it possible to remove the cocoa butter from the cacao. His invention leads to producing a powder opening the way for the first chocolate confections. It’s thanks to Van Houten we can enjoy the variety of chocolates we do today. 

Chocolate Facts

Whitman’s produced their first box of chocolate in 1842.

In 1847, British chocolate company J.S. Fry & Sons combined cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and sugar producing the first edible chocolate bar.

The invention of the conching machine by Rodolphe Lindt in 1879 ushered in mass production of the creamy treat.

The first chocolate Easter egg was made sometime in the early 19th century. In 1875 John Cadbury introduced his first chocolate egg.

When Allied troops stormed the beach of Normandy on D-Day, part of emergency rations and in soldiers’ packs included the D ration bar designed by Hershey Chocolate company for the U.S. Army.

Americans consume 12 pounds of chocolate each year (5.4kg per person). 

Australians consume 32kg of chocolate person person per year.

The British consume an average of 11kg per person per year (3 bars a week).

Canadians eat an average of 6.4 kilos of chocolate a year, which, based on an average bar size, is at least 160 chocolate bars per year, per person.

The Swiss were the top consumers per capita, with each person eating an average of almost 12 kilos a year. That is 26 pounds! Wow!! 

When someone says 'chocolate' this is what my mind locks onto:

Who doesn't remember, and still love, this classic "I Love Lucy" episode filmed at See's Candy? 

If you love chocolate, you may wish to join in on the celebration.

HOW TO OBSERVE #ChocolateCandyDay

There are so many different kinds of chocolate candy. 

What’s your favorite? 

Do you enjoy a piece or two or three? 

Do you have leftovers? 

How do you plant on celebrating National Chocolate Candy Day this year?

Are you hosting a family/ Social Distancing chocolate candy party? This is the perfect way to taste and sample all the varieties. A way to discover new favorites. 

Or how about a Zoom tasting event--that's one way to gauge the effects of a 'sugar rush' on your family, friends, and co-workers.

Here's a little known candy fact.  

Did you know the center of a Butterfinger Candy Bar contains melted Candy Corn, peanut butter, and finely chopped salted peanuts?  Yep.  I always ignore the Candy Corn during Autumn , 'cos I don't like/or eat candy corn (or so I thought) Butterfinger Candy Bars happen to be one of my faves!

I'm not a fan of marshmallows but this recipe is delicious. I pour it into a large Thermos and it will stay hot all day!  Perfect for an chilly outdoor adventure or sitting in front of a blazing fireplace.

I love to share jokes with my grands.

I've listed my favorites: 

1. What kind of candy is never on time?

ChocoLATE

2. What do you call Chewbacca when he has chocolate stuck in his hair?

Chocolate Chip Wookiee.

3. Why did the donut visit the dentist?

He needed a chocolate filling

4. I heard a joke about chocolate bars and it wasn’t that funny. So I just snickered…

5. What do you call stolen cocoa?

Hot chocolate

6. What is an astronaut’s favorite chocolate?

A Mars bar

 I hope your New Year is filled with blessings, joy, and a Reader chocked full of BWL novels!

Happy Reading and Happy National Chocolate  Day,

Connie

MY BWL Author Page

LYNX Buy link

BREDE Buy link

Tanayia Buy link

Here-Today-Zombie-Tomorrow

Watch for my new 2021 releases:

Life Keeps Getting More Complicated--Why I don't Like Puzzles by Connie Vines

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While we are all hunkered down during the Pandemic, everyone is discovering hidden strengths, honing new-skills, discovering new hobbies, or in my case--discovering tasks they really, really dislike.

Adulting is difficult and tiring, even in the best of times.
Now, we--well, me anyway, are entering a new dimension--frustration.

When I leave my home, masked, gloved, and careful to observe social distancing--I can't decide if I'm slightly agoraphobic, feral, or simply confused because I'm in the great out-doors.

Did I lock the door?

Did I turn off the oven?  Since I wasn't cooking this morning, odds are the answer is, yes.

I'm concerned about others during these uncertain times.  I worry about family, friends, and those with pre-existing medical conditions.  I also recall, in a time before vaccines were perfected for measles, whooping cough, mumps, and chickenpox.  My parents spoke of  families self-quarantined when a loved one contracted the deadly virus, polio.

Somehow, we are emerged from those difficult times and I trust we will again.

So, I'm blogging, writing, baking, and visiting with my youngest grandson, a second-grader, who is being home-schooled.

Of course, I wish to be supportive.  I listen as he pencils Mandarin characters and explains what he's learned.  At his age, I was fascinated with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs so we 'share' information.  He also loves puzzles.  I have no problem looking at puzzles online, finding the puzzles he wants--those with zillions and zillions of pieces.  Mount Rushmore--with 4-presidents faces carved in the granite, The San Francisco Bridge over the blue bay and fog-engulfed sky, and other challenges.  Which I happily give to him with a joyous heart.

Sweetie that he is, my grandson is worried that I'm sad, "Grammie, I don't have a puzzle".

Well, I didn't have the heart to tell him that I really, really don't like puzzles.  Oh, I understand the concept.  Find the corners, then fill in the boarders, separate by color then by 'what you think it is: nose, eye, snowman's hat'--whatever.

Perhaps, because I'm the eldest of five-siblings, I'm unfamiliar with the concept of 'personal space'.
My Barbie dream-house couch was stepped and broken by brother number 1, about two-seconds after I pulled it from the box.  My sister (at the age of 4), would systematically pull out every Oreo cookie from the package, eat the frosting and skillfully reassemble the cookie before placing it back in the package. Brother number 2 and brother number 3 would race to the door whenever the doorbell rang.

Please note: A trajectory is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. Hence, a complete trajectory is defined by position and momentum, simultaneously.

Which means:  Connie, walking the the door to greet her date, was in the trajectory path.

And to add to the daily chaos: 

We had two dogs residing in the household.  My sister's well-behaved Lab/Shepard mix.

And my AKC champion purebred miniature poodle. Smart, trainable, loving, and master of Covert-Ops.

Jacques, ate marbles, crayons, and snagged biscuits to hide under couch cushions..

I hope I've brightened you day with my blog post :-).

I'm thrilled to share my "cover-reveal" for my next BWL release:

an anthology for women who like romance Cajun style

BWL LINK  Visit BWL site for my releases and much more!

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How to Design a Fictional Town or City by Connie Vines

Why would a writer design a fictional town or city?

Many writers use actual towns and cities in their fiction, but there are some writers who opt to create their own towns and cities. Stephen King is known for the fictional Maine towns he creates in his fiction. There are various reasons a writer might choose to create a fictional town or city rather than use a real location. The primary reason may be because the content of the story might not be flattering, and the writer, out of respect for the real communities, may create a fictional location to set the story. Fictional settings also require less research. If you're writing about a real place, readers familiar with that town or city will be critical of details that aren't exactly right. Creating a fictional town or city allows you a wider range of flexibility.

So, how does a writer create a fictional town or city that will convince readers they are visiting a real place?

The first step is obvious.  Find a name for your town or city. Come up with a name that sounds like the name of a town or city. Check maps to ensure the town doesn't exist in the state where you will set the story. If it does, your readers will assume you're writing about the actual town. You can use the name of a real town, just locate the town in a state other than where it exists. Consider names for your fictional setting that are similar in sound or spelling to real places.

I created Running Springs, Montana in my first Rodeo Romance in this manner.  Running Springs is a city in the mountains of southern California.  I placed my town in the Bitter Route Valley of Montana.  The larger towns were towns I visited so those details were familiar to anyone living Missoula.

Draw a map of your town or city. It doesn't have to be detailed, but a map will help you write about your town or city as if it's real. You will know what happens if you head east on Main Street or west on Third Avenue. You will know where your residential sections are, where the dangerous part of town is and what businesses are in town. These are details that will help you bring your fictional setting to life for your readers. 

Populate your fictional town with people that give the town character. Create the types of businesses you'd expect to find in a town of the same size and in the same part of the country as your fictional town. If your town is in a state like Wyoming or Montana, chances are good there will be a farm supply store, if not in your town, then at least a nearby town.

Base your fictional town or city on real places to help you gain your bearings and structure, but avoid using specific landmarks that will give away your model town or city. If a landmark is important to the plot of the story, create a similar fictional landmark.

Locate your fictional town or city near a recognizable real-life city to help give your readers an anchor that will make your fictional town or city seem more real to them. In my Fun & Sassy Fantasy Series my anchor cities are in southern California.  Each city is easily recognizable to my readers.
Sensory details are a must.  What flowers grow on the hillsides of the Montana mountains in the spring?  What does a tack and saddle shop smell like?  The sound of cowboy boots clicking on a weather-beaten stair case?  What does a belting hail storm feel like?

Don’t forget the regional foods and everyday expressions. 

Does you heroine reach for a can of soda, coke, or pop?  Sweetened or unsweetened ice tea?

Details count. 

After all your fictional town is a living element in your story.  Your fictional town has played a part in defining your hero or you heroine.

If the author is very skillful the reader will feel as if she/he has visited this fictional town, or believes this town is a real town. . .somewhere.

What is your take on fictional cities?

Happy Reading,

Connie


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How Do You Establish a Story? By Connie Vines

 How do you establish a story?  What is your most unusual story?


I, like most of the writers I know, are involved in workshops, plotting groups, and or online classes.  Many of these are workshops sponsored by my local Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers, (past and present) are excellent in content and easy of application.

Christopher Vogler’s workshop “The Writer’s Journey” was a 2-day event which was designed for screen writers.  While I have ghost-written a screenplay, which was adapted for the small screen oversees, this is not main focus.  I have, however, applied what I leaned in this workshop to plot/outline my novels, novellas and expanded the W-plotting guide for my short-stories and anthologies.

And, of course, no writer’s library would be complete without out a physical copy and video version of Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”.  His work goes into detail about the art of storytelling and why we, as humans are hardwired (same say it's in our DNA) to accept and expect the ‘myth’.

During my term on The International Chapter of Romances Writers, I taught online classes on character development and plotting.  I, as I’ve blogged about in the past, plot my stores in 3-chapter clusters due to story flow, pivotal-points, dark-moment, etc.  Revisions are simpler for me this way because I can to insure my story’s pacing remain even. 

After my basic story is plotted, my character sketched out and motivation defined, I need to add depth to my character and strength my conflict.  I fine the series of writer’s reference books by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi, of Writers Helping Writers fame, a must-have reference.  However, I also rely on ‘unconventional’ conflict generation.  Astrological signs are great form of conflict.  (Remember I have always worked odd-jobs—some jobs more ‘odd’ than others, to support my writing habit.)  One of my ‘temp’ assignments was for a local (and semi-well known) astrologer.  I already had knowledge of astrology but he explained charting/predictions/ and conflict due to…well, you get the general idea.  I have found this immensely helpful when my characters come from a similar background which can make ‘conflict’ a stretch.

I applied astrology (though it is never an element in the novel itself) to “Lynx” Rodeo Romance, Book 1.  Rachel is an Aquarius and Lynx is a Leo.  Opposites in the Zodiac, but like all opposites there is attraction/conflict/ and a heart-felt story line.

If a reader is looking for the ‘astrological elements of my character development’ she/he will find them.

Question #2 What is my most unusual story? 

Unusual
 Meaning: not habitually or commonly occurring or done.
synonyms:  uncommon, abnormal, atypical, unexpected, surprising, unfamiliar, different;
remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others.

All of my stories fall under this umbrella, though for different reasons--depending on the series/setting.

My novels are set in areas I am familiar with, either by residing or vacationing in the area.  In 'Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow," my novel is set in Forest Falls, CA.  Since it is about an hour from our home we dove up the mountain and ate at the restaurant, toured the small town and hiked to the falls.  We also spent the next day at Big Bear Lake.

I mentioned in earlier blog posts, my ties to Native American Culture and the west.

My current release “Tanayia—Whisper upon the Water” is a historical YA novel with a Native American heroine and a setting in a boarding school in the 1880s.  The story reads like a young girls’ diary but is written in the 1st person, narrative.  Once Upon a Romance Reviews calls my 1st person narrative filled with raw emotion-- the reader is standing on the hill top beside Tanayia and living in her world --from Prologue to Epilogue.  Book 2 is a must!

Thank you for stopping by to read my post here at BWL.
If there is a topic you'd like me to write about in the future, please let me know.

Connie

**Apache Bread

1 c. white cornmeal
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. red pepper
1 c. boilng water
1/2 c. bacon drippings
green cornhusks

Mix dry ingredients, add boiling water and bacon drippings.  Form into small rolls and wrap in green corn husks.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Makes 12 individual breads.

** A Taste of Native American Culture by Connie Vines

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Whose's Story is it Anyway? by Connie Vines

point of view (POV)

• noun
• a particular attitude or way of considering a matter.
• "I'm trying to get Matthew to change his point of view"
• synonyms: opinion, view, belief, attitude, feeling, sentiment, thoughts; 
• More (in fictional writing) the narrator's position in relation to the story being told.

It’s almost impossible not to have committed to a POV by the end of the first paragraph.

Since I write in multiple genres, my point of view seems to remain the same within a specific genre. 
My YA/Teen/Tween stories and novels are told in the first person.  For me this is the most personal for the reader--meaning a reader is intimately involved in the story and steps into the main character’s mind.  The reader experiences emotions intensely, because he/she becomes the character.  And since few YA/Teens/Tweens are familiar with a ‘none-tech’ world, this is the best way to expose them to history/a new setting, etc. 

The single POV helps the story unfold in a way to allow the reader to understands life from an 1890 character.  No reaching for a cell phone, or grabbing a pizza for dinner!

When I write in first person, I do not change point of view of view.  I rely on dialogue or the main character’s observations to keep the reader aware of changes in plot etc.

The opening from my current release, Tanayia: Whisper upon the Water, Native American/First People Series, Book 1

1880, Apacheria, Season of Ripened Berries

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

A world of hunger and hardship.  This is my world.  I am Tanayia.  I was born thirteen years ago.  My people and call ourselves “Nde” this means 
“The People”. The white man calls us Apache. 


Second person point of view is far more challenging for me. I find if an author uses second person in literature, he/she does so to engage the audience more and to make them part of the story and action or possibly make a thematic point about the characters. Second person is much more common in nonfiction, especially self-help books and business writing.

Benefits: Speak directly to/about the reader, teach him or her something.

Examples

• "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go." (Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Random House, 1990).

• Think back to when you were a kid and read Choose Your Own Adventure books. Weren’t those fun? You got to be the main character and decide where the story went. Well, those were all in 2nd person.


Third person point of view. Third person is most often used in novels. Many readers prefer third person because it is so popular. It can work from the omniscient viewpoint of the author telling the story even to informing the reader what the character or different characters are thinking. While I’ve read many novels using this viewpoint, I find myself not quite as involved with the characters themselves.

I write my Contemporary/ Romantic Suspense/ Paranormal in third person in a character’s limited viewpoint. Here a character tells their story through their own viewpoint and senses. It tells what they say, see, hear, feel or taste, and even what they think. Different characters’ viewpoints can be used, but a clear demarcation is used to show when the narrative switches from one character to another. I like this method because it remains very intimate to the reader, but allows easy change between characters, too, unlike first or second voice.

Opening scene: Lynx, Rodeo Romance, Book 1

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 signed.  She should have known.  After all, Charlene only dated men who wore booth and Stetsons.

Rachel Scott cringed at the very thought even as her gaze took in the breadth of Lynx Maddox’s chest, his broad shoulders, and dark green eyes that scanned her with blatant masculine approval.

A snippet from: Brede, Rodeo Romance, Book 2

Brede couldn’t seem to stop watching and worrying about Kate.  Even though she was trying to hide behind the menu, he sensed her tension.  He had to grip the edge of the table to keep from taking the menu out of her hands and looking into those wide green eyes again, just to catch a glimpse of whatever it was he saw when she looked at him.  But he wasn’t going to do anything rash.  Not now, not ever.  He wasn’t going to take her back to the ranch—not even if Caldwell retired and it meant eating peanut butter sandwiches from here to eternity.

He might gnaw his tongue off trying to keep silent, but he wasn’t going to ask her to say.


For a change of pace: Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow, A Sassy & Fun Fantasy

Since her sister was contemplating the contents of a tin filled with Danish cookies, Meredith found herself cataloging the events that led up to her ‘accident’.

A charter member of the SoCal Arts Association, she’d been participating in the annual Zombie Walk Festival in Long Beach when it ‘happened’. . .



What point of view is your favorite?  Do you enjoy reading a novel with multiple points of view?

Music, Dance, and Food are the heart of a culture.

One way to slip into a main character's world is to taste a food that is part of his/her every day life.
Since rationing was instituted on Indian Reservations during the 1800s, fry bread became a staple of Native American life.

Here is a way to sample one of Tanayia's meals that is still a part of everyday life for many Native Americans.

Quick and Easy Native American recipes for Fry Bread.  

When I operate a Fry Bread stand during my school visitations or Native American Culture classes, I take liberties and offer a short-cut version.  I top the hot bread with either powdered sugar or honey.
Open 1 can of large biscuits from you grocery's cold case.  (Do not use flaky-type or Southern with butter.)  Pat the biscuit dough to form a small pancake, poke a hole in the center with your index finger.

 Heat oil (I like a good grade vegetable oil).  Fry a few seconds until golden brown.  Turn with cooking thongs.  Cook second side, remove to drain on paper towels.  Toss into a paper bag willed with 1/2 a cup of powdered sugar and shake.  Place on a paper plate and enjoy while still warm!

During Powwow, however, I used the tried-and-true recipe with the option of a Navajo Taco offering beef instead of lamb.

What You'll Need: a large bowl

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups​ all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup water

Directions:
In a medium bowl, mix together the salt, baking powder, and flour.
Mix in the oil and water.
Form the dough into a ball and pat between hands until you have the size you like (pancake size) not quite as thin as tortilla.. Poke a hole in the center of each flattened circles with your index finger.
Fill a large frying pan with about 3/4-inch of shortening or lard and heat the oil.
Fry the breads for a few seconds on each side until they are golden brown.
Set the breads on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
When warm, the breads can be covered in powdered sugar, like a powdered doughnut. Do this by placing the fried bread in a bag filled with a 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. Give the bag a quick shake to cover the bread with sugar and remove the bread.

Or top with cooked beef (or chili), lettuce, onion, tomatoes, your favorite taco items.

Happy Reading,
Connie

Links to to my novels:

Amazon.com

Smashwords:

scribd

Barnes and Noble:

Amazon. UK

BWL Publisher's website

Realistic Ending vs. Happily Ever After Endings by Connie Vines

How do you want a story to end? Should it have a fairy tale ending? A hopeful ending? Or do you like stories with more realistic endings—even if the protagonist doesn’t come out ahead and the villain doesn’t get his?

Realistic Endings vs. Happily Ever After Endings

While some would consider me a witty, yet realistic introvert, they would be surprised to learn that I’m a big fan of the fairy tale ending. Sure, I like my mysteries and crime shows and novels, an occasional Disney movie, and I overdose on Hallmark Chanel movies. Who doesn’t? But I prefer at least a hint of happily-ever-after endings. Yes, my historical novels are very realistic.  Still, I must always have a glimmer of hope and the chance of a happily-ever-after ending. . .somewhere in the future.

I have to care about the characters. I will forgive problems with plot and storyline if I just have to know what happens to the characters.

To make me care, the characters have to be genuine, authentic, real. I have to know they are, in many ways, like me. We all have our commendable qualities and those we’d rather keep hidden from the world. As writers, our characters have to be the same. Otherwise, the reader won’t be able to relate and will too easily dismiss them.

Realistic? Yes. Dark and defeated? Definitely not. 

Not even in my paranormal or hard-scrabble historical stories. 

Turn Off the Lights, But Leave the Door Open

Christy Harkin said, “The difference between writing for adults and children is this: You can lead children into a dark room, but you must leave a door open.”

I actually prefer that open door myself—or at least a distant pinpoint of light. 

Action adventure. Suspense. Drama. In all of these genres, the moments we can take a breath—maybe even laugh a little—help us prepare for the intensity to come. These moments must be skillfully crafted. They can’t boot the reader out of the story altogether.

Maybe the protagonist’s best friend cracks a joke when he’s nervous.

Maybe the evil antagonist has a soft spot for kittens (Hellboy).

Maybe an unjaded, innocent child plays a key role in the story (Remember the original and the reboot of the t.v. show “V”?).

Maybe the protagonist grew up surrounded by love and laughter, moves back into her family home and is reminded of those memories everywhere she looks.

Even the most sobering, the most depressing story can have its upbeat moments and a positive yet realistic ending.

Can our stories be believable and realistic yet sprinkled throughout with positivity? Yes, I believe they can.

PRACTICE

Spend ten minutes and write an intensely dark scene. List three or four ways you can shine a light into the darkness. Choose the most believable and write for an additional five minutes, bringing the light to bear.

Post your scene in the comments area and take the time to share some positive comments with your fellow writers/readers.

Now.

How do you craft a happy ending?

Your readers want your protagonist to get what they set out for, but if everything is miraculously, flawlessly perfect by the end, it may all seem a bit too good to be true. Create an ending that is positive but has a bittersweet edge, or simply reflects the struggles and sacrifices your protagonist had to make to get there. If you look to some of the endings of celebrated books, while they may be considered happy, there is usually something that keeps them from being entirely perfect, and that’s why readers root even harder and are even happier that the hero of your story got what they deserved in the end.

Tie up any loose ends

There is nothing worse than ending a book and going ‘is that it?’ If there are lots of unexplained elements to your book, or lots of parts to your story that remain open ended, you run the risk of frustrating your reader, no matter how pleasing your ending is. Tie up any loose ends before you finish your story - unless it’s part of a series that is in which case leaving them on a cliffhanger can be intriguing!

Keep it simple

Of course, the build up to the end of your story can be full of drama and tension and maybe even a twist or two. But when it comes to writing the actual ending don’t over complicate things. If you throw in distractions or suddenly add another element or layer you’ll only distract the reader, and this will make your ending seem weaker and take away from it somewhat.

Don’t use a cop out

Make you're ending thoughtful and meaningful. If your protagonist is in an impossible situation at the end of your book, think carefully about how to get them out of it. If they suddenly wake up and ‘it was all a dream’ or a magical unexplained force or character suddenly saves the day, your reader will feel cheated, and despite having resolved anything they won’t appreciate the way you’ve done it.
Don’t force a happy ending

If a happy ending doesn’t feel right, don’t force one just because you think it will please your readers. Write an ending that suits the style and content of your story, not all books have to have happy endings after all!

Snippets from my all my novels and novellas are available at BWL, Publishing and my website.  www.novelsbyconnievines.com

https://books2read.com/u/b6rj10  (link to purchase)

Lynx, Rodeo Romance, Book 1 

She moved to make a fresh pot of coffee, offering him an unobstructed head-to-toe view.  He recognized the sassy, denim western shirt and was grateful for the ruffled blouse that concealed the rising curves of her breasts.  He knew she had curves, he had felt everyone of them yesterday when he held her in his arms.  Today he wanted no visual reminder of how lush her body really was.

Rachel returned and refilled his mug, and Lynx paraded his thoughts and a different direction.  “What are you doing working the early shift?” he asked.

Rachel poured herself a mug of coffee, frowning at his question.  Grabbing the sugar container, she poured a long stream into her coffee and stirred.  “I couldn’t sleep. So I came in early.”

“Join the club.” He watched her take a sip of her coffee.

Her gaze flew to his, and he smiled, a measure of wicked satisfaction rushing through him at the telltale flush sweeping across her cheeks.  He waited in anticipation for her response, but before she could reply, they were interrupted.

Charlene came around the corner, her arms full holding a platter containing his breakfast, Tabasco sauce and a bottle of catsup.  Sliding the platter onto the counter, she said, “Nothing like a good meal to take the orneriness out of a man.”  She cast him a smile before sitting down the bottles.  He grinned at her, and Charlene blew him a kiss.

Lynx reached for his fork.

Charlene tossed her head, her blonde mane of hair tumbling around her shoulders.  “Give Lynx a chance,” she hissed as she walked past her friend. “I bet he’s stubborn, but I have a feeling he can be awfully sweet.”

“Sweet” wasn’t a word Rachel would use to describe the tall Texan.  “Sexy,” “tough,” “arrogant,” and maybe “charming.”  “Sweet? Never.  “I doubt it,” she said.

Charlene chuckled, and then glanced at Lynx.  “Coward.”  She tossed the word at Rachel before snagging a cup of coffee and heading back to the kitchen.

Was she a coward?  Rachel glanced at Lynx’s bent head, the thick pelt of hair glistening under the lights.  His hands were strong and capable, and oh-so-gentle, her heart reminded her.

With a soft sigh, the sweet memory of Lynx’s touched drifted through her mind leaving her achy and empty inside.  Was she throwing away her chance at happiness with both hands? She wondered.  Why was she thinking of that now?  Shaking off the sensation of loss.  Rachel glanced out the window at Lynx’s dusty red truck.

He’d be leaving soon.

Still, her heart overflowed with an indescribable feeling as she looked at Lynx.  It was a shattering realization that frightened her—Lynx Maddox had found a way into her heart.

Coming attractions:

Bell, Book, & Gargoyle, Sassy and Fun Fantasy Series, Novella 2

Why does the doorbell always ring at the worst time?

With on hand trying to hold her hair on top of her head and the other stretched across the vanity, reaching for her hairbrush, Sybil Shayne frowned into the mirror as the door chimes echoed through her high-rise apartment.

“Oh, for the love of Max Factor,” she mumbled around a mouthful of hair pins, trying in vain to twist a stray lock of hair that insisted in obstructing her line of vision. Just one minute more and she’d have this pinned. . .

The peal of the doorbell as replaced by determined knocking.  Whoever was out there wasn’t giving up.  “Okay, okay.  I’ll be right there!”

Jabbing one final pin into her hair and fumbling with a can of hairspray, she managed to fill her tiny bathroom with the sticky mist, before bounding down the hallway.  Once she reached the living room, she screeched to a halt and forced herself to walk slowly.  Think poised, she reminded herself.  She did have a reputation to maintain.  This could be one of her clients on the other side of the door.
Hand on the doorknob, she actually jumped when the doorbell sounded again.

Lipsticked smile firmly in place, she jerked open the door.

An attractive, dark-haired woman carrying a bundle of some sort, shouldered her aside and stepped inside the apartment. “Sib, shut the door.  Hurry-up. I think someone may have followed me!”

Without though, Sybil automatically followed her best friend’s orders.  Sliding the deadbolt lock into place for good measure.  “What do you mean, you’re being followed” Standing on tiptoe, she glanced through the peephole to the outside hallway.  “I don’t see anyone.”

After marching over to the floor-to-ceiling window, Pippa yanked the gauzy curtains closed.  “Turn off the lights!  Never mind, hold her.” She said shifting the firmly wrapped blanket into Sybil’s arms.

“She’s heavy,” she warned before darting through the apartment, snapping off lights like a wild woman.

Pippa was right this bundle was heavy.  “What kind of puppy do you have, a St. Bernard?  I feel like a holding a chuck of cement.”

“No! Don’t put her down.  She’s not a puppy.  Just keep holding her.  Magdalena is her name by the way.”

“Not a puppy?” Sybil asked, alarm widening her eyes, and causing her voice to rise an octave or two.
“Pippa what are you up to now?”

+++

I hope you have enjoyed my article and the snippets.
I hope everyone has enjoyed a wonderful Holiday Season. 

I am looking forward to 2018. 

Happy New Year!

Connie

https://books2read.com/u/mKJEa5

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/483144?ref=draft2digital

LINKS:
https://books2read.com/u/b6rj10