Every year my long-time writing group has an annual retreat.
We work hard, with lots of workshops and critiquing being held throughout the weekend. But there is also some time available for socializing, getting to know each other better, partying, and selfies!
I'm not photogenic - never have been - and hate having my photo taken, but still my friends come up and snap selfies with me in them. (Insert sad face here.)
So when I saw this stamp set from Art Impressions, I just had to have it! It is totally representative of my friends, both at retreat and at our regular meetings.
Instead of using Copics this time, I decided to watercolor this image. It's been quite a while since I did any watercoloring, and I can see I need some practice!
Before I close, I want to let you know that my romantic suspense novel, Running Scared, is on sale for just 99 cents. Go here to check it out!
Thanks for stopping by. Til next time,
Links:
My website: www.cheryl-wright.com
Blog: www.cheryl-wright.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cherylwrightauthor
Make sure you join my Facebook page as I run regular giveaways for followers!
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Picture Perfect Selfies - by Cheryl Wright
Multi-published author, Cheryl Wright, former secretary, debt collector, account manager, writing instructor, and shopping tour hostess, loves reading. She writes romantic suspense, contemporary romance, and the occasional comedy.
She lives in Melbourne, Australia, and is married with two adult children and has six grandchildren. When she’s not writing, she can be found in her craft room making greeting cards.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Location, Location, Location by Jamie Hill
I like to set my books in real cities because I believe readers relate to places they know, live, or have visited. My cop series is set in Wichita, Kansas, which is a large enough city that they probably have plenty of crimes and good cops to solve them. Actually, around the time I was writing the first book, Family Secrets, the BTK killer had just resurfaced in Wichita and was soon apprehended. I added a mention of him, a "Did you work on that BTK case?" type of thing, for a touch of realism. But that's as far as I went with him. His crimes were horrible and touched the people of Wichita deeply. I didn't want to remind them too much.
I asked several people from the Wichita area about neighborhoods, locations by the river, various aspects of the city that I could include. I tried to steer clear of actual addresses because I didn't want a reader saying, "That's my address in Wichita!" And that's the very reason I make up business names, Like Moe's Diner and Sister Theresa's Shelter. If I wanted to make Sister Theresa the bad guy (or nun, so to speak) in the end, I didn't want the real Sister Theresa saying, "Hey now!" So while the story is set in Wichita and a few of the main streets are mentioned, as well as neighborhoods, the rest is purely fictional. Recently a reader told me she was from Wichita and while I changed the names, there was indeed a diner and a shelter like the ones I wrote about, and she could picture them as she read.
Mission accomplished.
My Witness Security series is set in Topeka, but the city won't play a major role. These people are in hiding and generally aren't going to be out doing the town. They'll also be traveling to other locations, in the first book they went to Chicago. Book two takes the characters to LA. Both towns I've visited and hopefully am able to capture their essence.
I took a different tactic with my Blame Game series, creating a fictional town for the characters to live in. I had a certain real town in mind and gave the fictional town of Marshall features of that place I knew well, but I had the freedom to jiggle them around as I desired. What I like about a fictional setting is as long as I'm consistent, I can create any details I want. No one can write me and say, "Excuse me, Fifth Street never intersects with Prospect Blvd." In my fictional town, maybe it does.
Find the first book in each of my series' here:
Family Secrets, A Cop in the Family: http://amzn.com/B004478IN6
Pieces of the Past, Witness Security: http://amzn.com/B00K5XAGY2
Blame it on the Stars, The Blame Game: http://amzn.com/B00EOA5G3I
Jamie Hill
Labels:
Jamie Hill,
Kansas,
novel locations,
romance,
romantic suspense,
Topeka,
Wichita
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
The Mystery Lady by Diane Bator
The Mystery Lady is the second book in my Wild Blue Mysteries series with Books We Love. Oddly enough, Lucy Stephen was created while looking out my bedroom window and watching vehicles drive by. While I'm lucky enough to not have had a stalker, it did create that aura of "what if" that always plagues a writer. So Lucy became a mystery writer who was dragged into solving a murder.
Lucy's stalker, aka Danny Walker from The Bookstore Lady, becomes a victim of being hired by the wrong person at the wrong time. Unable to prove Lucy's guilt, he sets out to save the lives of Lucy and her children.
Enjoy the excerpt!
Come join the adventures of the Wild Blue Detective Agency in the Wild Blue Mysteries.
Both The Bookstore Lady and The Mystery Lady are available through Books We Love!
You can also find me at my website Pens, Paints and Paper and my blog!
Enjoy the excerpt!
Chapter 2
Lucy
Lucy Stephen twisted her wedding rings around her finger and
shoved aside all thoughts of writer’s block to focus on her bank statement.
She’d never considered writing about murder and mayhem, until the past couple months
when her husband had given her a steady supply of material. During their eleven
year marriage, she’d strived to be the best wife and mother she could, which didn’t
stop Roger from leaving her alone with three kids in a neighborhood full of
lecherous men, and other assorted lunatics, while he moved in with Cynthia.
Her current thoughts lay scattered like the nacho crumbs that
littered the hardwood floor. No wonder her shorts were getting tight, she ate
cheap junk food every time she called to ask Roger for money.
She compared the statement to the balance in her chequebook
and willed the numbers to increase exponentially. They refused to budge.
Clutching her resume reluctantly, she sighed. As much as she wanted to make a
living, the meager amount she earned writing didn’t pay the mortgage or feed
and clothe her kids. She needed to make the flying leap to get a real job
before school started, but the thought of leaving her kids to go to work every
day made her palms sweat.
For the past eleven years, the kids had been her entire
world. Her kids and her writing. With Roger gone, she was alone in a strange
town. Who would look after her kids while she worked? Who’d cut the crusts off
Shawn’s peanut butter sandwiches and make sure Gina didn’t wait too long to go
to the toilet?
She wiped away a tear. Getting emotional wasn’t going to
help. If things didn’t turn around soon, she’d have to call her parents for a
loan to get her through and listen to them plead with her to move back to
Seattle.
The screech of metal on metal came from outside the window
and grated on her nerves as it had the entire afternoon. One of her neighbors was
outside tinkering with his truck. She tucked her lower lip between her teeth to
stifle a scream. Already on the verge of a complete breakdown, the noise pushed
her closer to the edge with each passing minute. She reached up and clutched
her hair with both hands.
“Mom,” Shawn, her middle son, called up the stairs. “Dad’s
on the phone.”
She winced. A second phone sat on her desk, ringer off. Normally,
she was thrilled to talk to other grown-ups, any other grown-ups, just not Roger
Stephens. She still harbored a few hard feelings, more like a truckload after
he’d left her.
From what she’d learned, Cynthia Mathias was not only rich,
but a dozen years older than Roger. Lucy wasn’t surprised when they broke up
less than two months later. When Cynthia died, however…
Lucy shuddered. No one deserved to be raped and bludgeoned
by an intruder while alone in her penthouse apartment. She’d read every news
clipping she came across trying to make sense of Cynthia’s murder. At least
with the kids around for the summer, Lucy was never alone and the odds of such
a crime happening to her seemed remote.
When Roger had brushed off her concerns after Cynthia’s
death, Lucy assumed they’d parted on ugly terms. Since Cynthia’s husband was a
multi-millionaire, their breakup was probably over money. Roger didn’t have
enough cold, hard cash to keep up Cynthia’s lifestyle, or her appearance.
“Mom,” Shawn shouted again. “Phone.”
“I got it.” Keeping the enthusiasm out of her voice when she
did answer the phone was easy, her husband aroused emotions she’d rather not
deal with. She choked back the anger, careful not to say anything stupid.
“Hey, sweetie.” Roger only called her nice things when he
was drunk or wanted something. Mid-afternoon on a Wednesday, drunk was probably
out. “How’s everything going?”
Lucy cringed and her stomach clenched. “Fine. Why?”
“Wow, don’t sound so suspicious. Did I catch you writing or
something?” Roger chuckled then coughed and cleared his throat. “I’ll cut to
the chase, Luce, I want to take the kids next week.”
“What?” Lucy fumbled the phone and let her resume waft to
the floor. She hated the way he called her Luce. She was definitely not “loose”.
Another loud screech of metal on metal from outside made her flinch and clench
her fist. “Have you been drinking? The only reason you usually call is to say
you can’t see them.” Leaving her to sop up the tears and patch their broken hearts.
“I’m sure that’s the way it seems. I do have to make a
living after all.” He hesitated. “Anyway, I’d like to take the kids on vacation
next week.”
She sucked in a breath and waited for the punch line. When
one didn’t come, she pinched her leg. Nope, not dreaming. “For the whole week?
Are you serious?”
Roger snorted. “Of course I’m serious. Tanji and I will pick
them up Sunday and take them to the cottage for a few days.”
Like they had last summer when they were still a family only
this time his new girlfriend would replace her. She swallowed back the hurt. “This Sunday?”
Roger hesitated then suddenly seemed more relaxed. He must
have taken a few deep breaths. “Yes. I figure they should have a little
vacation time after all the crap we put them through.”
We? Lucy’s face
burned. He’d put them through all the
crap and, now had the nerve to thrust part of his guilt on her. “Right. You’re
going to take the kids, dump them with your parents and parade your new
girlfriend all over the beach.”
Tanji was girlfriend number three, or was it four? At least Cynthia’s
death hadn’t seemed to affect his libido much.
Labels:
Diane Bator,
The Bookstore Lady,
The Mystery Lady,
Wild Blue Detective Agency,
Wild Blue Mysteries
Prolific author, Editor, Associate Publisher, and Book Coach. Also mom of three grown ups and two fur babies.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
MAKE LOVE NOT WAR - MARGARET TANNER
THE TURBULENT SIXTIES - I WAS PART OF IT
At the risk of revealing my age, I have to say the 1960’s
was my time. Mini skirts, stilettos (I’ve bunions to prove it), beehive hair
dos, I couldn’t quite manage that, although I did tease the life out of my hair
and regularly put in coloured rinses, French Plum or Rich Burgundy, were the
colours I favoured. I can remember when the Beatles made their first visit out
to Australia .
A couple of girls I worked with were lucky enough to get tickets to their
concerts, (we hated them, of course), they came to work the next days minus
their voices, and stayed that way for about a week, because they had screamed
so much.
We used manual typewriters in those days. One original and
four copies of everything we typed. I don’t know how many blouses I ruined
because I got ink on the sleeves from changing the typewriter ribbon or the
black stuff off the carbon paper.
During this time the Vietnam War loomed in the background.
The Australian government introduced conscription. It was in the form of a
ballot, or the death lottery as many called it. All twenty year old males had
to register, their birth dates were put into a barrel and a certain number were
drawn out, and those young men had to report to the army and subsequently many
of them were sent to Vietnam .
This of course caused severe bitterness and division in the community, and even
though the government denied it, was subject to abuse and unfairness. Rich men
kept their sons at university so they didn’t have to go. Conscientious objectors were thrown into
prison. Only sons were called up, yet families with two or three eligible males
didn’t have any of their boys called up.
I only had one brother, and I can clearly remember my father
(a World War 2 veteran) vowing, that if his son got called up, he would protest
on the steps of the parliament with a placard on his back.
There were protests marches, anti-war demonstrations, and
things often turned violent. Not that I went to any of the protest marches, but
a cousin of mine did and got trampled by a police horse. A very turbulent time
in our history and I was right in the middle of it.
My novel, Make Love Not War, from Books We Love, has been reduced to just 99 cents on Amazon for the month of September.
BLURB: MAKE LOVE NOT WAR
Make love, not war was the catch cry of the 1960’s. Against
a background of anti-war demonstrations, hippies and free love, Caroline’s life
is in turmoil. Her soldier brother is on his way to the jungles of
I am an award winning multi-published Australian author. I love delving into the pages of history as I carry out research for my historical romance novels. I pride myself on being historically correct. Many of my novels are inspired by true events, with one being written around the hardships and triumphs of my pioneering ancestors in frontier Australia. Outside of my family and friends, writing is my passion.
Monday, September 1, 2014
THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF TIME TRAVEL (and of the author who writes about it) by Shirley Martin
In doing research about Pittsburgh history, I found
what an important part the city played in the French and Indian War. (mid
1750s-early 1760s.) I read about Pontiac's Rebellion, an offshoot of the
French and Indian War, and how if affected Fort Pitt (present-day
Pittsburgh.) And here, I thought, was a story in the making, "Dream
Weaver," a time travel romance.
Gwen Emrys has been having recurring dreams of an
isolated cabin in the woods and a tall, dark stranger who lives there. She wonders what is causing these
dreams. On a hunch, she visits a restored village near her
home. And there, she is flung back in time, back to this same isolated
cabin. . . and to the tall, dark stranger.
Christian is as shocked as Gwen when she appears at
his doorstep. Where did this oddly-dressed woman come from? When
he questions her, she tells him she's from the year 2014. She must be
crazy, Christian figures; she's got maggots in her head. Or--she's a spy
for the French. He doesn't know which, but he intends to find out.
Soon, Gwen realizes that she is stuck here in the
18th century for the rest of her life. And soon, she realizes why she was
sent back in time--she must save Christian's life in the coming Indian
Rebellion. She failed him once before. She can't fail him again. So, "Dream
Weaver" also deals with reincarnation.
It's not easy for a contemporary woman to adjust to
life in the 18th century, a hard life on the frontier. But Gwen realizes she has
no choice, for by now, she is deeply in love with Christian and can't imagine
life without him.
Much research went into writing "Dream Weaver,"
especially Pontiac's Rebellion and how it
affected Fort Pitt. There are also all the aspects that
comprise a historical novel--dress, food, life on the frontier.
Since Christian is a doctor, I read as much as
possible about medicine in the 18th century. In my research, I found that
the doctor at Fort Pitt died shortly before the Rebellion,and I found no mention
of what doctor replaced him. With much soul-searching and upon the advice of
other writers, most notably best-selling author Jo Beverly, I gave the role to
Christian.
While the Indian tribes attacked Fort Pitt, a
smallpox epidemic raged there. This is a historical fact that demanded more
research. And here I came upon another historical fact--the commandant at Fort
Pitt purposely gave the Indians blankets infected with smallpox. Germ
warfare in the eighteenth century.
Despite all the research, "Dream Weaver" was fun to
write. I came to care for Gwen and Christian as I have for my
other heroines and heroes.
"Dream Weaver" is available in both ebook and
print. Unfortunately, time travel romances are not as popular as they were
during their heyday about fifteen years ago. Let's hope their popularity
returns.
This is the link for the ebook and paperback on Amazon:
Print copies are available by request at all bookstores and online at Amazon, Barnes and
Noble and Books A Million.
Find Shirley Martin's titles here: http://bookswelove.net/martin.php
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