Partners in Crime

 Find me on the BWL site!

 

Writing can a lonely business. Book promotion need not be, if you have a partner in crime! I have partnered with many of my favorite fellow authors over the years.

Currently, I've teamed up several times with fellow BWL author Eileen O'Finlan, who lives in Western Massachusetts, driving distance from my Vermont home.

Together we:

*    Share the load on presentations-- half the work, 

      twice the fun!

*    Share expenses and driving on book tours

*    Advise each other  on writing and promotional         tips  that work

*   Go to conferences and enter awards contests           together. 

    (I'm happy to report that both of us have several winning books)

*   Are each other's biggest fans!

Lately we've found a link between our latest novels...the fascinating research we've encountered about New England witches and vampires. We developed presentations complete with projected power points and are taking it on the road throughout our area. Along the way we've had enthusiastic audiences and have even met a direct descendant of Salem witch trial victim Rebecca Nurse.

So, extend your friendship with fellow authors and put your wonderfully creative heads together. Find your partner in crime!

The Most Difficult Part of Writing a Novel By Connie Vines. #BWLAuthor, #MFRW Author, #writing, #Plot

 For most writers, the most challenging part of writing is right here. It's the beginning, the opening. It's finding an idea, the first words, and the first sentence. 

Most writers...

Does this include me?

Of course not. 

The most challenging part of the writing process is deciding upon the ending. 

A romance novel usually ends with a happily-ever-after. So how difficult can it be?

Remember the series of novels called "choose your own adventure"? Each story had the possibility of three endings?

This is how my mind works. Can't I be happy with the ending I just wrote? It's a beautiful ending. Apparently not.

I will confess I sit, stare, ponder, and often whine. If I change the ending of my novel, my revisions will snowball. If I don't make the changes, will my readers feel cheated?

So far, so good. Sleep deprivation has worked in my favor. 

Except in my current WIP, I need help with character names. I never had a problem with character names before. Never. Never ever. 

Names are the first thing that has popped into my head until now.

Chanel is listening to me complain.

 

I renamed the heroine twice. My hero still has no name. I call him Guy. Hopefully, he'll reveal his name to me soon. Why? Because, as I've shared before, my dreams always have a musical score. The current wrap-around song, playing all night and every night, is the 1964 version of My Guy.

I would like to give my BWL Insider Blog readers a peek into one of the characters in the story.

Gavin, one of my pups, will have a small part in my Christmas release.

He's excited, and I'm excited. Hopefully, readers will adore his grumbly personality as much as I do.

I was interviewed on a fellow BWL author's blog last week. It's a Christmas in July event.  Please stop by J.Q. Rose's blog... There are cookies and secrets...lots of secrets.

https://www.jqrose.com/2023/07/recipes-n-reads-series-christmas-in.html

Please visit my publisher's website for my novels: https://bwlpublishing.ca/vines-connie/

Facebook:

Canada: Connie Vines, Author

USA: Author Connie Vines

Twitter and Instagram

My personal blog: http://mizging.blogspot.com/

Remember, I love to hear about your pets (with a photo) and a 

favorite Christmas/Holiday recipe.

Happy Reading,

Connie 

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

 links!

Beginnings

 

My novel Ursula's Inheritance was just short-listed for  Laramie Award
honoring Americana fiction.

My novel Missing At Harmony Festival was just short-listed for an MM Mystery Award.

                                                   find my BWL books here!

        Bring all your intelligence to bear on your beginning. --Elizabeth Bowen

January is a month for new beginnings. For writers, it may mean the start of a new novel. Here are some thoughts on beginnings...

Beginnings hold the promise of what's to come in the rest of the novel: the promise of being worth a reader's time and the engagement of her attention and imagination.

I advise my writing students to not worry too much about where a novel begins.  Find a point that interests you and plunge in. But after the first draft is complete, take another look at the beginning, and ask:

1. Does your beginning introduce the story, characters and establish a dramatic premise (what the major conflicts are)?

2. Does your beginning establish what kind of story this is (science fiction, mystery, romance, YA)?

3. Does it plant the reader firmly in time and place?

4. Does it contain conflict?

5. Does it set your tone and style?

6. Does it show your choice of viewpoint?

7. And always, always, always: is it essential?

Based on the answers to these questions, it may be wiser to start the book in another place, or perhaps work on that first chapter until it answers all seven questions, and of course...sings!

Remember dear writers: In literature as in life, no one gets a second chance to make a good first impression!

From Memory to Action Helen Henderson

 

Windmaster Legacy by Helen Henderson
Click the cover for purchase information

Organizing old photographs, cleaning out family papers, or sorting boxes of ephemera all can bring on reminiscing. To me the word "reminisce," means to think, talk, or write about remembered events or experiences. A favorite cartoon I used to carry with me to book signings of my local histories dealt with memories and reminiscing. An author researching a book interviews all the old-timers in town. All said nothing exciting happened in the area. Until the book is published and at the signing, the same old-timers change their story. Now each one had a legend or story that should have, and would have been included, if the old-timers had only told the author. Fiction writers can have this same problem of "Why didn't you?" But, it may result more from an ending or why a character acted a certain way than a missing piece of history.

Although at least one dictionary uses the word "pleasant" to describe a reminiscence, In the 1990s, psychologists Lisa Watt and Paul Wong classified reminiscing into six types. Sometime reminiscing can be pleasant, some negative, or used to transmit history, values, or culture from one generation to another. In fiction, when a character reminisces, it can be a way to introduce their backstory, evince an emotion or to show the true personality of the character. If a memory has become obsessive, the character will act using that memory or emotion as a filter. But, for the reader to understand he needs to know the background. 

The snippit below is an example of how a memory impacts a character's action. Which is fortunate as the unnamed youth of this battle in Windmaster, returns in Windmaster Golem. This time as an experienced, skilled fighter, and friend to the man who saved his life.

Dal closed the distance to Ruaridh’s fragile protection. He lunged forward and knocked the sword from the soldier’s hand. Beneath the askewed helmet, Dal saw frightened eyes within a pale face.

He could not be more than sixteen turns, Dal realized. “Unless you want to join him, I suggest you leave.” The hope that flickered across the youth’s face brought a memory of another boy who stood disarmed before a superior warrior. He heard Telarim the Red’s words again, as if for the first time. I might as well use Telarim’s technique. “Return to your home,” Dal ordered the youth. “If in two turns you still want to soldier, find Telarim the Red. Tell him Lieutenant Dal sent you. Telarim will teach you well if you’re willing to learn.”

To purchase the Windmaster Novels: BWL

Now that you have the result of a character's youthful memory, next month a few of my own triggered by the season. As a teaser, an image from that time.

 ~Until next month, stay safe and read.  

Find out more about me and my novels at Journey to Worlds of Imagination.
Follow me online at Facebook, Goodreads or Twitter .

Helen Henderson lives in western Tennessee with her husband. While she doesn’t have any pets in residence at the moment, she often visits a husky who have adopted her as one the pack. 

Dig Deeper by Helen Henderson

Windmaster Legacy by Helen Henderson
Click the cover for purchase information

A question I have been wrestling with lately is how to make a character real. Reference books on characterization offer various tips, then it is in the author's hands. I remember reading the western novels by one of my father's favorite authors. After a while I realized the author had fallen into a rut. Each lead male character had the identical physical description down to hair color.

A novel notebook or series bible helps me keep the characters straight from book to book and within a series. Although cover images are not always selected until the work is completed, a practical reason to reuse the same hair color is the availability of cover models. You don't want to write a character with an unusual hair color, then find out that there is no suitable cover shot. Editing an entire novel to just change hair color wastes time and increases the possibilities of error. And that doesn't even include the possibility of a character getting mad at me as their creator and refusing to cooperate in telling the story.

My favorite part of a character is their backstory. The character's past and how their experiences, culture, and family all blend together to not only form the individual's personality, but also how they will react to a given circumstance. What can be a challenge is not putting everything I know about a character into a story. To create mystery while allowing the reader to use their imagination in a blending of the writer's and the reader's vision, details need to be sprinkled like a fine spice rather than giving the reader an encyclopedia.

A child who grew up during the Great Depression might handle money differently than one who knew only an abundance of opportunity. One might reuse items until they are no longer functional and put money away for lean times. The other who never knew hard times or went without, might never have two cents in their pocket because they spend everything they have and trust there will always be more.

A lot of considerations went into creating the archmage, Lord Dal. A chieftain's son, magic cost him the possibility of leading his clan. Yet he retained knowledge obtained during his formative years. A talented horseman and skilled swordsman helped him obtain a position in a mercenary unit, but a natural ability to lead helped him rise through the ranks. These same skills aided him after his powers asserted themselves and he eventually became archmage, head of the School of Mages, and responsible for all those with powers. In response to the totality of his experiences and background, duty, honor and loyalty were ingrained into his personality.

       Part of a character is his friends. In the case of Lord Dal,
a long-time friend is the head stallion of the falaire herd, Tairneach.

While not all characters receive a detailed physical description, follows is Lord Dal's. In Windmaster Legacy, he is in his early thirties. Even though men from the M’twan Mountains run to long in the leg, Dal is a full head taller than many of his kin. The scars on his forearms from practice blades and actual battles tell of his experiences as a mercenary.

Dal's black hair is short on sides and falls to just below shoulder in back. Besides his muscular frame which hints at his true strength, one of the first things many people notice about him are his light brown eyes that tend to sparkle with an internal amusement.

I hope you've enjoyed this deeper dig into Lord Dal.

To purchase the Windmaster Novels: BWL

~Until next month, stay safe and read.  

Find out more about me and my novels at Journey to Worlds of Imagination.
Follow me online at Facebook, Goodreads or Twitter. 

Helen Henderson lives in western Tennessee with her husband. While she doesn’t have any pets in residence at the moment, she often visits a husky who have adopted her as one the pack.

When Your Novel Takes a Wrong Turn

 

                                     Please click this link for book and author information

I'm a believer in plowing through a novel's first draft without pausing to revise along the way. When I start writing a book, reaching 'the end' is a daunting prospect. Since reworking existing material is easier than tackling a blank page, it can become an avoidance tactic. It might also be a waste of time if I discover I have to delete or radically rewrite a scene after I know what the whole story is about. 'Write and revise later' worked for my first four books. It didn't for my current novel-in-progress.

My first problem with the process occurred when a scene I wrote fell flat and I felt a need to revise it before moving forward in the story. This happened again a few scenes down the road. In one case, my point of view detective narrator needed a partner for the scene. I threw in a random police officer, but found he added nothing to the story. I went back and made him a 'she.' To my surprise, sparks flew between her and my detective, who is at a crossroads in his life. Their romance has become a subplot in the novel and a key aspect of his personal story arc. 

I tell myself that modifying my usual approach and following my instinct to jump in and revise comes from having a few novels under my belt; that I now know earlier in the process what a story needs to avoid more complicated revision later. How's that for self-justification? 

Around the manuscript's 3/4 point, I realized that a number of scenes in the third quarter would work better if they were set in different locations. This time I stuck with my usual approach since most of the other material would remain the same. Instead of revising the scenes, I made an outline for the changes I plan to make. They will move a critical plot point earlier in the story, but I think the outline can deal with this change. Revising the wayward scenes would have benefits, but I really want to finish the first draft this spring.   

Then, a few chapters later, a long scene fell completely flat, when the story should be building to a thrilling climax. I puzzled over what to do and decided I'd taken a wrong turn at the 3/4 mark. I had shifted the story focus to a character who is much talked about but hadn't made a personal appearance in the novel. I assumed that since my main characters cared deeply about him, readers would too. But I think readers only engage with the characters they meet in the literary flesh. This might be one reason they tend to be less interested than the writer in characters' backstories. 

My solution to this problem will be to go back three chapters, to the point where I veered off track. I'll revise most of the scenes and cut the 2,000 word flat scene. Ouch. But I need to know what happens in these chapters to figure out my characters' paths to the climax and denouement.  

Each novel has its own journey. This work-in-progress has gone in directions I didn't expect, in terms of character development, subject matter, and writing process. I've found it a challenge to adapt, without steering off course.

 

               

Eccentric (Quirky) Writing Habits? Yes, I Have a list. By Connie Vines #BWLAuthors Blog, #MFRWAUthor, #WritingTips

Most authors, of course, have personal eccentric writing practices. Fueled, no doubt by his or her personal muse. 

Agatha Christie munched on apples in the bathtub while pondering murder plots, 

Flannery O’Connor crunched vanilla wafers.

Vladimir Nabokov fueled his “prefatory glow” with molasses.

Then there was the color-coding of the muses:  Alexandre Dumas, for decades, he penned all of his fiction on a particular shade of blue paper, his poetry on yellow, and his articles on pink; on one occasion, while traveling in Europe, he ran out of his precious blue paper and was forced to write on a cream-colored pad, which he was convinced made his fiction suffer.

 Charles Dickens was partial to blue ink, but not for superstitious reasons — because it dried faster than other colors, it allowed him to pen his fiction and letters without the drudgery of blotting.

Virginia Woolf used different-colored inks in her pens — greens, blues, and purples. Purple was her favorite, reserved for letters (including her love letters to Vita Sackville-West, diary entries, and manuscript drafts. 

Lewis Carroll also preferred purple ink, but for much more pragmatic reasons: During his years teaching mathematics at Oxford, teachers were expected to use purple ink to correct students’ work — a habit that carried over to Carroll’s fiction.

So how do my little eccentric (or never before mentioned) writing practices measure up?  Is my personal muse quirky, dull, or out of control?

Since my quirks are normal for me, I had to think about this for a bit.

• I always drink coffee that is part of my current ‘setting’.  When my setting is New Orleans I mail-order my coffee from my favorite spot. If I'm writing a story where the season is more than a backdrop, like my current novel, I drink flavored coffee.  At the moment, it is Pumpkin Spice (Starbucks limited blend). 🎃

Café du Monde.  I have my cup and saucer, and a portable mug when I am writing outdoors.   I have a blue coffee pot and matching tin cup when I am writing westerns (yes, the coffee is VERY strong and black).  And of course, a Starbuck cup, Disneyland/ Club 33 mug, or Snoopy (Peanuts) mug when my novels take place in SoCal.

• My music and my menu planning also is linked to my settings.  All within the range of normal.  Though I have more than my fair share of coffee mugs and cups.

• I listen to diction videos on YouTube so that I am not relying on my memory for the sound of a Cajun accent, Texan’s drawl, etc.

• I visit areas on Google Earth and Zillow.  Even if I have lived or vacationed there, I may have forgotten an interesting ‘something’ I can insert into dialogue, or find a way to describe a scene.

• I talk to myself.  Oh, not simple little sentences.  I’m talking about a two-way conversation: “Do you think that might work?”  “No.  Would you do that?” 

 “How about. . .”  This is about the time my husband walks by to find out who’s on the phone, or if I’m asking him a question.  The dog even pokes her head in from the doorway to see what’s going on.  I’m guessing this is not in the  ‘normal range.

• When I write, my workspace is in perfect order.  I have colored folders/pens/notebooks that match and are exclusive to the story I’m working on at the moment.

• I never enroll in an online class when I’m writing—it’s guaranteed writers’ block.  I never talk about my WIP . Why? If I talk about it I think I've added that 'tidbit' to my story.  Then I find myself reading through my draft over and over wondering where the scene went!

• If I'm writing a contemporary story, I only read historicals or fantasy novels. I never read in the same genre I'm writing

💖Whatever story I’m am currently working on is always my favorite.

• I survive on 3 hours of sleep when I am deep in a story.  I know I drink coffee, but I seem to run the story in my mind when I sleep too.

• I also pick up the quirks of my heroines.  I have several friends who are in theater and said it’s a bit like ‘method acting’. 

Fortunately, I’m back to my state of normal a couple of weeks after typing THE END.

I believe all of these little quirks are part of a writer’s voice.  It is what we, as readers, look for in a story.  

Hopefully, it is what my readers, enjoy about the novels, short stories, and novellas that I write too.

To include a bit of personal history: Anton Lada was my granduncle.  (My personal blog, Dishin' It Out, features him in my "Random Thoughts, Scattered About" Monday.

Arkansas Blues by Anton Lada & Spencer Williams for your listening pleasure 🎵🎹🎤

Happy Reading!

Connie

My Places:

Dishin' It Out Blog

.instagram.com/connievines_author/?hl=en

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

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Rodeo Romance Series and Sassy and Fun Fantasy Series
by Connie Vines

Writing During Fire-Watch, Power-Outages and More! So, How's Your October? By Connie Vines

 I'm certain you've heard all about the terrible fires we are have in the states of  California, Oregon, Washington, and now in Colorado.

I reside in southern California and we have been on Fire-Watch for months.  While the current fire and suburban evacuation area is only 8 miles away, I don't foresee it reaching where I live.. The Santa Ana winds, with 80 mile wind gusts will, unfortunately, return again this weekend.

Power has been shutdown when the winds are gale force to ward off equipment failure which can, and has, led to a brush fires. I've been without electricity and and phone service for several days.  This is why my post blog post is going live at this odd hour of the day.

And here is my October Blog Post 

Even though I save my manuscripts in three different places on my computer, including the Cloud and Drive, when the power goes down not everything you've written is saved, slightly saved, or even recoverable.

After reality sets in. . .and the shock wears off, sort of. . .I devise a plan.  Not a particularly a good plan, I admit, but a plan, none-the-less.

1. Write a scene in cursive writing on a large note pad, college ruled.  

2. Skip lines so you can make adjustments, comments, etc.

3. Do not write on the back of the page because you will need to add additional notes.

4. Grab your sets of multi colored markers (and probably the taped crayons that belong to your grand children) to make stars or numbers and arrows that link all for your notes and additions together for easy (ha ha) reference.

5. Read each scene into your iPhone Note App.  Title your scene. 

6. Go on to the next scene. So on, and so forth, until you complete a chapter.

7. When the power resumes, run to the PC.  Set up a new doc in Word.  Type as quickly as possible while reading from you iPhone notes into this new document.  "For heaven sake woman, don't worry about spell check! Just type."

And so, this has been my October. Along with ash falling from the sky and landing on everything.

I know I am Blessed to be healthy and my home, and my family members homes, still intact. However, the air quality is horrendous. Opening a door or going outside means wearing goggles, heavy-duty face mask, a hat and clothing you will toss in the washer.  And care must be taken when walking outside.  Ash, leaves, tree branches, etc. are everywhere.

I always like to include a recipe for my readers.

Pumpkin Detox Smoothie

Pumpkin is rich in beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, which help protect our eyes and skin.

In a blender, combine 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup milk of your choice (mine: Organic 2% milk), 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 med. orange, peeled; 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice; and a handful of ice. Blend until smooth. Serves 1.

Left over pumpkin puree can be saved in a air-tight container for 3 days in the refrigerator.  Or measured and frozen in 1/2 cup measurements.

Perfect for a Halloween Read!

Link to BWL Website and purchase links! to my books :-)

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

My author website:https://connievines-author.com/

My Blog: https://mizging.blogspot.com/2020/09/intuitive-and-subtle-themes-in-my.html

A million words by J.S. Marlo

J. S. Marlo BWL Author Page

A few weeks back, I was in Calgary for When Words Collide. During the three-day conference, I attended many workshops and chatted with many authors, publishers, and readers. During an interesting conversation with a fellow author, she asked me how I started writing, where I learned the craft, how many books I wrote before I landed my first publishing contract. She had read somewhere that a writer should have written at least a million words before considering herself ready to write a decent book.

A million words? That sounded like a lot of words, so I reflected on the path I followed, the twisted path that led me to become a published author.

I scribbled as a teenager, but my real journey started fourteen years ago when I began writing stories for fun and posted them for free on the Internet for others to enjoy. In four years, I wrote twenty-nine stories. I cringe when I reread some of them. Most of the plots were good, but the writing was...awful, atrocious, brutal, especially in the early stories. By the time I wrote the twenty-ninth, I had improved by giant leaps and bounds. I felt ready to tackle my first "real" novel.

That first novel "Salvaged", which took nine months to write, must not have been too shabby since it won a writing contest and I was offered my first publishing contract. From there I ended up publishing many more novels, but it didn't stop that conversation about a million words from following me home this week. Had I been ready or simply lucky, or maybe a bit of both?

To answer that question, I decided to comb through these twenty-nine free stories. The shortest one was 1,013 words, and the longest 128,982 words. Four of them were above 100,000 words. They average 46,818 words per story for a grand total of...1,357,732 words. I was shocked I'd written way over one million words before I "started" writing for "real".

One of my former editors asked me once why I wasted four years writing stories for free. At the time, I didn't have an answer, except maybe "it was fun". Writing this post today made me realize I didn't waste my time writing these stories. Without knowing it, I was practicing my craft, testing what worked and didn't work, honing my skills, finding my voice...

Thanks to these 1,357,732 words scribbled for no other reason than pure enjoyment, I became an author.

Happy reading!

JS

 J. S. Marlo's Website

Casting your Characters by Connie Vines

Casting your characters.

In Hollywood the studios hold casting calls. 

The ‘closed' sessions (actors who are being seen have been invited to audition) is the pool your block-buster movies directors/producers/writers use as a casting tool.

Perhaps your novel doesn’t’ feature a superhero.  Your story does, however, have an amazing cast of characters.

Right?
Perhaps not at the moment. . .but soon.

Let’s go back to the superhero/blockbuster movie as an example. 

No role in Hollywood is more scrutinized, and few can offer the type of onscreen immortality (or notoriety, depending on how the movie turns out). Michael Keaton's casting in 1989's Batman inspired nerd outrage before the Internet was a thing. Angry message board comments plastered the web when Heath Ledger was announced as the new Joker, and Ryan Reynolds' first outing as Deadpool in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine appeared to have doomed the character's big screen prospects forever. But they all prevailed.

Hollywood miscasts:

Forget the stilted dialogue, the insipid love story that dominates the second movie or Jar Jar Binks and let's talk about the real problem with the 'Star Wars' prequels -- Hayden Christensen. His turn as Anakin Skywalker comes off as bratty, petulant and completely lacking in menace.

Of all the actors who've played Batman over the years, George Clooney is one of the most perplexing.  His performance in 1997's 'Batman & Robin' effectively killed the franchise until Christopher Nolan came along in 2005 with 'Batman Begins.'

When casting your characters, you need to examine everyone who auditions for a part in your upcoming novel.

Does he/she fit the part? Or is he/she a miscast?

Part to be cast: a genie.   I have decided to hold and ‘open casting’ call.

My first actor: This genie is female and appears to be middle-aged. She is a little short and is a bit pudgy.  She has dark brown eyes, dark red skin, and wavy white hair in a short ponytail.  She wears a short-sleeved tunic, a mid-length skirt, and a pair of earrings.  She lives in a biscuit tin and is fond of sweets.

Actor number two: This genie is male and appears to be rather young. He is short and is quite thin.  He has pastel orange eyes, yellow skin, and straight light brown hair worn mid-length.  He wears no shirt, a pair of mid-length trousers, and too much jewelry.  He lives in a brass lamp and grants your wishes... but not the way you wanted them.

Actor number three: This genie is male and appears to be rather young. He is tall and is quite muscular.  He has black eyes, light brown skin, and wavy dark blue hair wrapped underneath a turban.  He wears a long-sleeved tunic, a pair of long trousers, and a pair of wristbands.  He lives in a Chinese lamp and likes a cup of hot tea.

Of course, the perfect genie would depend on the premise of your story, the plot twists you have in place, and your interaction between characters.

If my story had a suburban setting with children who needed to be minded/guided, my choice is
actor #1.


Am I looking for an ‘evil/trouble-maker?  Actor #2 would be perfect.

Perhaps I’m looking for an unlikely romantic lead for a comedy. . .actor #3 wins the casting call.

Music. 

Cue the music. 

Every blockbuster has a dedicated theme song!


Happy Reading,
Connie Vines

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