Was it age or was having the mystery explored that caused the problem? I'm not sure but back to the beginning I go. Then I will start the Regency story I began probably 20 years or more ago. Thi story was put aside when I was taking courses to finish my BA in Nursing. I found this and several other starting outlines for other stories when sorting out my file cabinet. So now it's off and running with romance on my mind.
I have two books on the drawing board. One is the Horror Writer's Demise. A start of a mystery series. The heroine does research for college professors. She has a five- year old son and no man in sight. The hero is a police detective. He also has a five year old son. His wife died two years ago. His sister takes care of his son. The heroine's mother does this for her grandson.
The second is a Regency historical. Actually book two of a three book series about three sisters who have spent part of their life in India. This is the beautiful sister. he loves cloth and designing clothes. Her beauty makes her rather stuck on herself. She marries the son of an earl but he is not the heir. In a carriage accident, her face is cut and she becomes a recluse. Her husband returns to his playboy's life. Then he receives a blow to his ego and h sees what has become of his wife. He must change and bring her into society again.
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My next book now has five hundred words completed Plus all the words from the directions. I keep hoping I'll follow all perfectly. But we all know there are no books that are perfect The Horror Writer" Demise is a mystery. The heroine trips over the body and falls on the porch. As his identity is unknown. Talk about what you know. The Horror Writer's demise has mystery after mystery and in discovery he finally becomes more complex. The publisher has his social security number and The detectives wonder if the dead man is in Witness Protection. With luck, they find at least the SS no is but not the man. Finding out what happened becomes a real puzzle. The heroine using her researching skills and a program aides a hand. What will they fine when they reach the end?
Figuring how to follow the clues that aren't overt was a fun trip. Will the killer be unmasked? What trouble will Val and Kyle encounter? While this is a mystery series, there will also be a romance. During the stories left to tell, the hero and heroine will journey from attraction to love.
The heroine Valentina Hartley goes to the Writer's House to attend a seminar. With a name like hers, she should write a romance.
I'm also looking at some Regencies I was working on when Gemstones was written. They were shoved away since other things came into being and were found with the great cleaning of writer's file cabinet. One has six chapters written. The second has a long working synopsis done and the third just an idea. Looks like I'll be busy.
I am finishing up the last of a fantasy series story though I have no idea what I'll do with it but being the writer I am since there are fifteen chapters rough drafted, I must finish this. Then I'll decide if and when Keltoi will appear.
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So there's a bit of work ahead and I'm slowly gathering the words to put all together.
St. Patrick's Day is well celebrated in Rockland County with a parade and many activities. Dance competitions and of course food, singing, too.
While I can claim an Irish heritage, it's not a green one but an orange one. Never bothered me when I was younger but often received comments, some not so nice. I had an orange jumper I wore on St. Patrick's Day. Wore it to Duquesne U located on a hill over looking Pittsburgh. Mt English class contained most of the basketball tea,, a powerhouse in those day. I recieved laughter and the shaking of heads but also an invite for coffee. With seven escorts the day was great.
I also had the chance to visit the town where my Irish ancestor left to come to the un Bellenahinch. I'm sure I've spelled this worng. A town built on a hill but pretty.
. Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write?
My favorites to write are the villains. I think this is because I want my villains to be on the wrong sideof life but not too far. I rather like those villains who with different events in their lives could be heroes.
3. Heroes. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the man you want every reader to love? Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?
Since I usuallyuse astrology to create my characters. I hit my books on the subject and look at the Sun, Moon and Rising signs and toss together bitsd from both. Naming my characters is as much a part of creating a character as their physical, emotional and nature are. Theyalways com after I have the idea for a book. The idea is always first when I write.
4. Heroines. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or imagination create the woman you want the reader to root for? Do they appear before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?
Heroines are created the same as heros. They also come after the idea and the plot.
5. Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal. How do you choose one? How do you make them human?
Love villains. Sometimes they aren't really bad butsomethign they stand inopposition to the hero or heroine in a story. Giving themsomething that makes them seem good helps set them up. My favorite villain loves his mother, and is helpful to others. Unfortunately some of his good traits become obsessive.
6. What is your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?
My latest release is Iced Tea and other short stories. The characters are a mixture of people rather than singletons.
7. What are you working on now?
I'm currently working on Keltoi a romantasy and the sixth book of a series. Have no idea what i'll do with it when done. an researching the start of a new mystery series. The Horror Writer's Demise.
9. Who are your favorite authors?
There are probably too many to mention. I am a reader with 2000 plus books in my Kindle library, not to mention the books that surround me in almost every room of my house.
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My found treasure isn't gems or cash. My daughter was here for a few days and she nagged me a bit about clearing out the file cabinet. We did sort out a few things like a number of wills done years ago, contracts from pulblishers no longer in business. That's when i found the treasures. The rough draft of a Civil War historical novel I may or may not have written or I could have been editing it for a friend. I'll investigate this more. Then there was the background work, the blurb for myself and notes on a Regency Romance. I do know i wrote this one. That's when I stopped this search. Now there are three more drawers with multiple folders still to be looked at. I'm not sure whatever treasures I'll find but I now have a future project that's all outlined and chapter synopses in hand. Once I put the new book going well, I'll work on this Regency. I also found a hint to a third regency - Margaret - Spices. Not much but I think more will come once I search my computer brain.
The Regency Title is Silks.
But now it's back to work on The Horror Writer's Demise.
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Today as I was working on making peanut blossom cookies with the Hershey's Kisses on each one, my thoughts turned to missing my husband very deeply. The reason. He always took the foil off the Kisses and for the past three years, my granddaughter who took over the chore is living around the corner now. That's one memory. But another seems so vivid. I was about eight years old and I was sent to buy the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, My father was a steelworker and as happened frequently, the stieelworkers were on strike so money was tight. My fahter worked for a friend's store and took his pay in presents for his children.
I had five dollars. My friend went with me and with his wagon so we could bring the tree back. Now to get to the place where the VFW sold trees, we had to either cross the railroad tracks or go the long way. We managed to carry the wagon down the steps and off we walked the ten blovks to the slot whre the trees were sold.
Most of the trees had been sold but there was one my friend's uncle had held back. The tree was beautiful and between eight and nine feet tall. They did saw off the end and removed a few branches but our trip home was a horror story. The wagon was maybe four feet long and the tree hung over front and back. When we reached the house, my father and uncle came to carry the tree inside.
My father looked at me. "Couldn't you find a smaller one."
"They were ugly." I didn't know then about Charlie Brown Christmas trees. He hadn't appeared yet. With struggles they put the tree in the stand and set ii in acorner. My dad laughed. "We're only decorating the front. There aren't snough lights and decorations for the whole tree."
That's this year's Christmas memories. The tree one came about when my granddaughter felt sad because we're now using an artificial one.
May every one have great memories of Christmas and build new ones for next year.
I'm funny this way, but I need to have a title before I can begin the book. I knew the dead man was a horror writer. A number of titles flashed in my thoughts. Finally I decided on the Horror Writer's Demise. Not sure why that stuck in my head. Then the planning for the book began.
Setting became the Hudson Valley and one of the places there was a house that had been turned into a place where writers and other people involved with the arts couldrent a space where they could write. There once was such a place not far from where I live. Not sure if it still exists.
Te Characters came next - Not all of the but they will either increase of combined in versions of the story. The heroine is Valentina Heartley. With a name like that she thinks she should writea romance, especially since there have been no good ones in her life. She does research for professors, attorneys and authors. Her interest is Dane Grant, a local detective and widower. Theyboth have five year old sons. She has a mother who helps her and he has a sister.
What happens next will be my taking these two characters and writing a synopsis of the story. For good or not, I organize my stories completely. At present there are a few questions I need to answer before I can start writing.
That's how I work and the system has evolved over the years since 1968 when I soldmy first story.
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Lately, I've had no incidents when people questioned my age and my ability to be independent. Then my granddaughter reminded me of an incident from a few months ago when I left the hospital and went to a rehab center for a few days.
She went to the nurse's desk to ask a question and suddenly found herself being asked questions about her grandmother. She told them to go ask Gran. The nurse smiled. "You're ehre so you can answer. We wouldn't want to confuse your grandmother."
My granddaughter answered as best as she could since there are things she doesn't know. The nurse assurred ehr she would come and find the answers from me if they were needed. She never came and she never asked me any questions.
So once again, there are unanswered questions. The only good thing was that I was able toleave rehab almost a week before they predicted I should stay.
What these Joy of Aging posts have shown me is what I'll write about next. Actually, I have four projects waiting. One is to finish Keltoi,the last installment of the Moon Rising series. I may have to publish it on my own but that's all right.
There is a new, I'm not sure if it's a series since there are only two mysteries that have appeared in my thoughts. The heroine is Valentina Hartly and she thinks with her name she should write a romance. She attends a session put on by published authors and as she's leaving, she stumbles over a body. She learns this is the Horror Writer who had been coming to be one of the speakers. A second idea for this heroine involves stolen snuff boxes.
The third idea involves a nurse practitioner who specializes in the aging population. She has joined the practice of two young, handsome doctors. Suddenly, the elderly start dying and she begins to suspect one or both of her partners. She lives with three friends, who are also nurses with different specialties.
The fourth thing on my plate is something I found in my files. The outline for a Regency novel. "Silks is the second book in the series that began with Gemstones. Who knows why I was diverted from writing this back then. Most likely, I had a dozen other books wanting to be told.
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A short time later, the admitting nurse arrived and put a band on my wrist. A red band. Being curious, I asked why? She said "This is because you are in danger of falling."
I frowned. "I've never fallen."
She said "You're eighty seven and in the age range of people who are in danger of falling."
My frown grew deeper. "I've never fallen in the past twenty-five eyars. Maybe longer but it's not something I think about."
She just shook her head.
I stood up and started walking.
"Where are you going?"
"Outside. It's a lovely evening."
"You must sit in the whelchair."
Not only did I have to sit, I had to wear a seatbelt while in the chair. "WHY?"
"You are of the age group where falling is possible. You must be protected."
I managed to tolerate this for eight days. I had been scheduled to stay there for two weeks. I proved to the physical therapists that I could walk up and down stairs and walk with a walker so they discharged me early.
I am now home with my computer, the stiars to the second floor and all the other things I enjoyed. Every day, I wait for the time I fall. so far I'm proving they're wrong. At least my family and friends trust me.
The adventure began on my birthday when I turned eighty seven. I arrived with my son at the emergeny room. After giving my name and date of birth, the interviewer turned to my son. "Just what is your mother's complaint?" Son replied. "Don't ask me. She can tell you." The woman frowned but I went into the tale about how I felt. "Take a seat and we'll call you."
A short time later, I was taken to a room where someone asked many questions, drew blood and then doctors entered the room. The lead doctor, asked a question. "Do you want to live?" "Yes," I nswered. I wan set up for an ememgency dalysis treatment. So far things went well until they look out the special catheter for the dialysis. I lost a lot of blood and this meant a consent. Now came the Joy of Aging incident.
The doctor came into the room. "Can you give me the phone numbers for oneof your children?" "Why?" I asked. "I need to get a phone consent for a blood transfusion." "Why?" I asked. "You can't have a transfusion without consent." "Why can't I give the consent." I've been waiting for this moment for days. "I'm eighty-senen years and five days old." He looked at me and said "You're not senile." I smiled but my thoughts took in his graying hair and I didn't say but thought. "It'll happen to you soon."
This is my first Joy of Aging post. There may be more as the process continues.
I tossed this idea around for a bit and knew I really didn't know enough about politicians on the national level of government or even the state area. Put the idea aside for a time. Slowly, I began to think about the mayor of Katherine's town. Yes, I decided. Let's think this over. So I thought and went from her being the mayor's friend and his political rival being the victim of the crime. That didn't suit me. So I put the idea aside.
As I was falling asleep one night, I heard this voice speak. "What do you mean there'll be no Halloween Parade this year." These words began to form other ideas. The COVID epidemic has been declared over in the acute phase. What if the mayor decided not to start the tradition of the Halloween parade now people could move about. This brought to mind Katherine's neighbor and friend, the one with children and foster children. She would certainly be upset about no parade since her children always dressed for the parade and theyhad won a contest one year.
Slowly the ideas came together and I've outlined the plot for Murder and Iced Tea with some new and many old characters. The overweight mayor has a token wife, one daughter who avoids him and a son who thinks father is always right. The mayor also has a friend who acts as a bodyguard. This cast of characters is slowly forming scenes in my head. Someday the book will be written.
All this thought gave me an idea for another mystery series. But that's for another day.
Just what does this mean. Think of the plot of your story being like planning a trip using a road map. There is a starting place. Why are the characters in this particular place? What do they plan? How does the plot and setting effect their decisions and directions.
Once the characters have set off on their way toward the goal they have selected, you come to the middle. This may be where the characters remain on the road or perhaps take a side trip of two. The middle of the plot shows the decisions they make and what changes those decisions may cause.
The end of the journey shows they have either succeeded, failed or changed their initial goal. This includes the crisis, the moment of decision and then the characters leave the plot, happily My Places
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or sadly but always the road ends in a satisfactory way.
I remember the day when I first saw the electronic version of Murder and mInt Tea. Wow, I thought. We made it. The search for an editor had taken a few years of sending the mss out and being rejected, mostly kindly but sometimes not. I had discovered electronic publishing and found a publisher. Then came the fun of promoting and also looking for reviews.
The first review was rewarding. I don't know the name of the magazine any longer but I do remember the first few words. Move over Miss Marple and Jessica Fletcher, Katherin Miller is in town. That really gave me chills since I enjoyed both of the above sleuths.
Murder and Mint Tea is either loved or hated by the readers. Though there are more favorable reviews than unfavorable, I enjoy reading both once. This book has earned me money every year for those twenty-five. I've not kept a running total but I've been pleased.
Katherine and Robespierre ahve gone on to enjoy other visits and there's one more she's toying with. Not sure when she'll give me the murderer so I can write the book. Here's a hint. The victim is the town's mayor. COVID has lessened but he decides the village won't have their Halloween Parade this year as well as the COVID years. Needless to say there are many people who don't like his decision.
So once again, happy anniversary to Murder and Mint Tea. Twenty-five years and still counting. One little bit of information, Katherine retired from the hospital at sixty-two. If she existed in reality, she would now be sixty-seven the age I'll be on my next birthday.
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The time had come to look into the file cabinet to see what filled several dozen folders. I needed a new book to write and my mind wasn't running to what was sought. I pulled a stack of folders and carried them to mmy study. In the first pile I removed, I found two partial manuscripts. One was a Regency and the other was called Home Caring, a medical romance. As I studied the pages, I began to wonder. Where had this come from and why was this only a partial manuscript.
Much thought later. I remembered how the story came about and how it had been abandoned. I'd published a book with a NY publisher in an older romance series. That book did very well with a nice advance and a royalty or two. I had started Home Caring to add to the series. Except, that line was ended and I had no idea what to do with the story. This was before I encountered electronic publishing. I set that manuscript aside and went on to write other nurse/doctor romances for another publisher who refused all of them. Then I discovered electronic publishing and was busy sending out a volume of manuscripts to several publishers. Home Caring rested in the drawer.
The second thing was, I had no idea why I'd started the Regency or why i stopped writing. Perhaps I'll look at it again since it's acompanion to Gemstones. There are still more things in those files that I'll look at another time.
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Excuse number 2 is Christmas stockings. This year I have 17 to fill for an expanding fmily. The real problem is they must go out after Thanksgiving to make sure they arrive on time. Most of them will be sent out of state.
Excuse Number 3 is I've started plotting the last of the Moon Rising series - Keltoi and when I'm in that zone I lose hours and hours. The plot goes to bed with me and I often wake up with scenes ready to fit into the story. Once the plot is in line and it's almost done, I'll begin writing the story. That's the part I love, too. Next month I'll be back to my orderly self.
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Seppal tells the story from two points of view, a bit different from the others in this series but that's the way the story came to me. As always, there are the Three and Three and their talismans, a sword , a staff and a wand. Was interesting to take this story just with two characters. Not to worry. There will be six viewpoint characters in Keltoi but the format is a bit different too.
Does your idea factory make you change your pattern of writing? I find this happens seldom but I always listen.
Can't wait to see Seppal on line and the cover for this series Moon Rising are always interesting. Must get back to work. Chapter 1 is written but I must type it in, along with little comments as to where I need to explain or make slight changes.
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I have a collection of Dragons, probably fifty or so and they're of many kinds. Four of my stories have dragons featured. Dragons of Fyre, Wizards of Fyre and Children of Fyre are part of a series. Only the first of the series has no dragons. Then there is my favorite dragon, the Amber Dragon found in the collection . The Amber Chronicles. Sort of based on the Princess and the Frog but the princess is the one enchanted. She becomes a small, fat amber dragon. She must find a prince to kiss her to break the spell. A fun story to write.
I decided I'd show a few of my collection here.
That's all but i hope you all have dragons or something to inspire your writing. Now I must return to my work in progress and whip it into shape. No dragons in this one,
The cover shwon is of a book that's free almost everywhere except one place as far as I know. Temple of Fyre is a sensous fantasy that was fun to write, especially thinking of the fyrestones of many colors that had magical uses. The four books in the series were great to write. Dragons of Fyre is probably my favorite but than I have a great fixation with dragons having many kind from a small jade dragon to what is a light that's about fifteen inches wide and two feet long. This was once a decoration in a restaurant in town. Out of business now but my granddaughter bought the light as a birthday present. She didn't buy the four foot lego dragon, I'm glad.
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