Basket of Hope - Book Review

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This is a unique and captivating love story

*****

This was a fabulous read! I was easily caught up in this paranormal historical romance. Each page drew me closer and closer to Kara and Machias, and held me captivated to the end.

Although I’ve read other romances containing a distressed girl pining for a man she can’t have, Basket of Hope isn’t your run-of-the-mill story. It is loaded with interesting twists, and fabulous imagery that draws you in and keeps you invested. A story that can do that is truly unique. (Unique is what paranormal is supposed to be, right? LOL) I love this tale and its vivid characters.

Kara is a beautiful and innocent scullery maid who secretly pines for Machias, heir to the kingdom. She feels lowly and wonders why she even entertains the thought of being with such a man of status, but a small hope still lingers within her heart.

The All Hallows Eve Ball approaches and Machias is to chose a mate from a variety of prominent ladies.  Kara’s hopes wane. Her dreams for love will be gone forever… unless something magical happens.


Basket of Hope
by J.M. Powers

~Nic

Don't Be a Man

Today, I received pre-edits from one of my editors. I didn't even know what pre-edits were, and truth be told, it freaked me out. Yes, I could have emailed my editor with the things I didn't understand, but I wanted to figure them out myself. (Okay, I admit it; I didn't want to look stupid.)

Double space manuscript--already done.

Italics for interior thought--Like this

Black text only --Why would anyone use another color?

I checked those off right away. (Made me think I was actually doing something other than avoiding the needed changes.)

I knew I was in trouble when I came upon these:

No singular character ellipses-- Uhh…

No spaces between periods in ellipses--"That makes no sense--without spaces they would be a solid line. Right? " (I actually said this out loud, causing my teenage daughter to look at me weird--well, weirder than usual.)

I slammed on the brakes and started designing a website. Though I never created one, it seemed easier than pre-edits. Then, I remembered my deadline. So, I decided to skip the ellipses issue and move on.

Good or preferred vs. Common usage: refer to CMOS section 5.202

My heart began to ellipse … (do those ellipses have spaces? I'll never look at them the same.)

After regaining sanity, I decided to Google CMOS.

Chicago Manual of Style. Oh. I knew that. I panicked for no apparent reason.   (The M in J.M. Powers now stands for melodramatic.)

Feeling a bit sheepish, I emailed my editor. She graciously explained everything I didn't understand. My sigh of relief was probably audible over cyber space, because she shot me another email while I scanned the list of things to do. She said to break each task down, and resist the urge to look at the next thing on the list. Oh.  Following her lead, I finished everything in one night.

 There are many turns in the road to publication. Today, I learned something new. If I quit acting like a man and ask for directions, it will make this trip a whole lot easier. Oops, I think I just bumped into an ellipse. (Oh, and they do have spaces--just don't put extra ones in there.)

Author note: For those men who do ask--sorry J
Summer

WooHoo!

I have some awesome news I couldn't wait to share with my Wenches and our amazing followers :)

After a gruelling search, I found a publisher for my story Escaping Normal. 

Total-E-Bound Publishing are taking on board my story which is set to release in November.  If you get time, check out their website, they have some amazing authors on board. 

But for now, here is a small tagline for my story that I hope will entice your interest for November ;)

Escaping Normal is about chasing dreams, finding nightmares and combining both to create the ultimate escape from normal.

Pxx

ARC Review Wanted Series #2 --Vodka shots

ARC Review

Wanted 2-Vodka Shots

Marteeka Karland

Changeling press

                Though Vodka shots is a second in a series, the back-story worked seamlessly into the dialogue and narrative, so I had no trouble following the story. Marteeka Karland did what every author should. She captured me from the first paragraph of this book and sent me reeling into her space fantasy. This book has everything a reader would want: Intrigue, action filled with descriptive scenes, amazing sex, love and most of all, believable characters. Now let me tell you all little about this book.

                Dmitry is furious that his woman, Karri betrayed him, and even upon finding out she did so to save her five-year-old daughter, it doesn’t snuff out his fiery hurt and anger. Upon finding her, Dmitry wants Karri to pay for her deception, and upon finding himself alone with her, they have angry, yet consensual sex. Which by the way, is written tastefully, and so full of emotion, it took me for a ride as well.

                Kari is truly sorry for hurting Dimitry, but she feels justified for what she did. Dmitry has a need, so primal and true when it comes to Karri. Quite an issue with a man who wants to punish and hate the woman who left him without a word. I’ll let you read the book to discover how the two of them deal with all that hot steamy emotion brewing between them.

                The battle scenes were so descriptive I could see the expressions of their faces, feel the heat of the lasers, and gasp when I thought they were at a point of defeat. Even the scene where two vodka shots were upon the bar was imaginative—Marteeka adds a bit of intrigue there when Dmitry sees what’s really in his shot glass… Yeah, your eyebrow rose on that one, didn’t it?

                I hope to see more of Hawk, Dmitry’s partner and friend, in the next of this series. Good god, he is HOT. Like any other reader who delves into the pages of this book, it leaves me wanting to discover the new relationship Hawk is embarking on at the end of this book.

                More than learning more about the characters,  I especially want to read more of this author’s style of writing. Marteeka Karland gets right into the action, taking the reader along on the adventure into space.

                Vodka shots is a fitting name, as its high quality goes down smooth and warms your body. This book is strictly adult content, so be ready to be singed with the heat of the love scenes and reality of the human emotion in this sci-fi read. (Marteeka Karland also created the cgi cover art on this book.)

Summer

The Perfect Environment

I’m a scatterbrain. I have piles of books all over my house. Empty mugs in the weirdest places. Mounds of ironing. Pens. Notebooks. Highlighters.  Random items in randomer places. But my desk is immaculate. To me, anyway.

For the last few weeks I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus. Returning to work after three years has thrown me for an emotional loop and I’m trying once again to find the balance. Today I tried to get back into the swing of things, write a few blog posts and open up my WIP. But first my desk needed a serious sorting out.

In my writing absence, my desk became a dumping ground for ‘I’ll sort out later’ stuff. Correspondence, books, receipts, Lush wrappers…it was a mess. When I’m writing, I need everything just so. No more than one mug at a time, scribble notebook and pen handy, official WIP notebook to the side and a lip balm. Don’t ask, the lip balm helps me focus between writing stints. Plus it’s a chocolate one. Yum.

To anyone apart from me, the before and after shots of my desk don’t look all that different. It is still cluttered, still a few notebooks lying around and open books at points of reference I need to remember. But it’s organised clutter. It’s my clutter.

So I want to know what your writing environment is like. Can you do it anywhere or do you need complete and utter isolation – no music, no people, no nothing? Or does everything have to be absolutely perfect? Whatever it is, I want to know about it. Writers are an incredible species. We all have the same drive but completely different habits.

Pxx  

Show Don't Tell

As writers, we’ve undoubtedly heard “show don’t tell” countless times. Right? So, just how do we show? By describing the scene to the reader, rather than informing them what is there.

Involve the reader’s senses. Informing readers ‘the food is tasty’ or ‘the young rabbit was scared’ is flat writing. Describing the tasty food or the scared rabbit is showing:

1. The ripe, sun-warmed cherry tomatoes exploded in my mouth making my jaws pucker.

2. I found a trembling, injured bunny beneath the dewy morning glories.

This involves the reader and they become part of the scene.

Show things in the scene that aren’t written in the words. I didn’t have to tell you the rabbit was young and scared. I showed you the rabbit was young [bunny] and scared [trembling].

As another example (and for fun creativity) I asked my fellow wenches to join me in re-creating the following flat scene by showing. Please join us in the comments section by putting your own spin on the facts—without changing them.

I climbed the tree and looked over the fence into Neal’s back yard. My suspicions were correct. Molly was there. She was in the pool, swimming naked. Neal was smiling. As my heart broke, they laughed. It was cold outside, but neither seemed affected by the mountain air. Actually, things were getting downright steamy. Just when I thought my night couldn’t get any worse, my spying antics were exposed when my cell phone rang loudly. I was mortified.

Book Review: ARC Swim The Fly

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Templar Publishing (1 Jun 2011)
• ISBN-10: 1848774532
• ISBN-13: 978-1848774537

Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Coop and Sean, always set themselves a summertime goal. This year's? To see a real-live naked girl for the first time. But this mission impossible starts to look easy in comparison to Matt's other challenge: to swim the 100-yard butterfly and impress the gorgeous Kelly West.

I was recently given the opportunity to receive an advanced review copy of Swim the Fly by Don Calame. The blurb spoke of a YA novel for boys, full of laughs and surprising heart. I found a lot more in this book; a complex message hidden beneath glib dialogue and teenage drama.

This book is a must for any lover of the genre. It is a sure hit for boys, with characters they will no doubt be able to relate to and situations familiar. For the female persuasion, the book is a unique chance to peer into the inner workings of the teenage boy. And ladies, this is an invaluable opportunity.

The character of Matt is a sweet one, sincere if not a little misguided. With friends, Coop and Sean, Matt goes through a summer of firsts. The first girl he gets seriously interested in, the first strains of a previously unstrained friendship, the realisations that sometimes the truth is the better way, and of course, the determination to spot their first naked girl.

This book was reminiscent of American Pie. Horn-dog teenage boys and a sure-to-be catastrophic pact makes the story comic gold. I laughed out loud numerous times during this read, caught myself wrinkling my nose in disgust and inching closer to the pages as the male psyche had me intrigued.

It answered a lot of the age-old questions about boys: do they really think about sex THAT much? Are they really THAT disgusting? Do they really think THAT’S what it takes to get a girl? The answers are endless, but heed this warning well, not all the answers are ones we want!

What surprised me about this book was the big, beating heart at its centre.  I was warned about the softer side, but being primarily a book about three teenagers determined to get their first glimpse of a naked girl, I figured, hot soft could it be? Turns out, pretty soft. There was no mush, but a softer side nonetheless. It isn’t shoved in your face, more like lies underneath the surface, gently whispering what you realise you actually knew all along.

No matter your age or sex, you will go on a journey of discovery with Matt as he figures out not everyone will react the way you expect them to, and how to look beyond what was in front of you all along.

The hair-brained and disastrous schemes will have you rolling around in your seat, the cringe-worthy moments making you feel so mortified it was as if it was happening to you. But the happy moments will light a little warm fire in your belly that not even a thug like Tony Grillo can put out.  


Pxx

The Computer is mightier than the Sword

As a modern day writer, we sometimes might use a pen or pencil to scribble our musing down, but mostly I think we use our computers. So it's important to take care of the tools of our trade. Here are a few things I do to speed up my computer. If you’re like me, as you write you find a million reasons to surf the Internet. Sometimes they are even valid reasons, like research... anyhow, one of the side effects of all this poking around can be a slowing down of your computer’s speed. I’m going to walk you through a few things that may help.

Start at the start button (the bottom left corner on your screen)

Click on ‘Control Panel’

Click on ‘System and Security’

Click on ‘Administrative Tools’

Click on ‘Free up disk space’

This will run quickly or slowly, depending on how long it’s been since you’ve done it. When it has finished a small window will open up. Under ‘files to delete’ put a check mark in ALL of the boxes, don’t worry, it won’t delete anything important even if it is checked off, it just deletes the garbage stored in your computer.

After you check everything off, Click on ‘Clean up system files’

Again, this may go quickly or slowly depending on how much stuff is there. When it is done configuring, the same box will come up again, click okay, then another box will appear and ask if you are sure you want to delete all the files, say yes!

Back in the administrative tools click ‘Defragment your hard drive’

Click on ‘Analyze disk’ (this may take a while)

When it’s done click ‘Defragment disk’ (again, this may take a while, um, a long while if it hasn’t been done for a long time)

Okay, now that this is done, open up your Internet and go to the top right corner and look for ‘Safety’. Click on it then in the drop down menu click ‘delete browsing history’

I check off everything except ‘form data’ and ‘passwords’ (I like being signed in automatically lol) once you’ve checked off the other stuff click ‘delete’. This gets rid of tracking cookies and browsing history (a list of everywhere your mouse has taken you) and stuff that sites like to send to your computer to sit in storage there (I'm sure there's a reason, but I sure don't know what it is)

I recommend you do the first half - freeing up disc space and the defrag - with everything on your computer shut off. (no word docs or email things open) I further recommend you run through this process twice, it should go much quicker the second time, if it doesn’t, run it a third time. Sometimes when the defrag is not done regularly it takes a couple runs through to get everything as it should be.

This should help your system speed up some. A little something extra besides just depending on your security system to do everything. Your computer is a big part of what you do as a writer. From communicating with your publisher, to marketing yourself and your book, and even research (playing on Facebook if you prefer...) So like I said earlier, take some time to take care of one of a writers valuable tools.

Ed and the Passive Voice

Let me introduce you to a friend who knows passive voice intimately. His name is Ed. Okay, he isn’t really a person, and undoubtedly isn’t a ‘he’, but Ed is my friend—our friend.

I’ll get back to Ed in a minute. First, I want to show you what passive voice is. The following paragraph is riddled with it:

The missing child case had been solved by Jack Long, the Police Chief. Two-year-old Savannah Smith was discovered after several hours of probing beneath the debris covered waters of Copsey Lake. He had located her. She had been sleeping in the back seat of her mother’s car.

Did you feel alienated or distracted while reading that?

The next paragraph gets the same information across, but in active voice:

After several hours of probing beneath the debris covered waters of Copsey Lake, Police Chief Jack Long solved the missing child case. He discovered two-year-old Savannah Smith sleeping in the back seat of her mother’s car.

Whew! This sounds much better, doesn’t it? Now I’ll refer back to Ed.

Verbs ending in “-ed” (Ed) help identify passive voice. Locate verbs ending in “-ed” (solved, discovered, located.) If these verbs are preceded by a form of the verb “to be” (are, was, am, been has been, have been, had been, will be, will have been, being) you are likely using passive voice. There are some exceptions to the “-ed” idea, but they are easy to detect.

Example:

“The case was solved by Jack.” –passive

“Jack solved the case.” – active

When we write a sentence where the subject is receiving the action, rather than being or doing, we are using passive voice.

Quirks of Querying...

Querying is a part of a writer's life, and in my opinion the toughest part. Rejection is unavoidable, but knowing that does not make it easier.


Here is my experience with the process of querying--and how it led to publication of not one, but two books.

After jumping the hurdle of finishing a novel, I learned how to write a query letter. Polishing it to perfection, I applied suggestions from an editor friend. I even sent it to Marla Miller for a critique. After making a list of agents in my genre, I began sending out submissions.

Rejections came in many forms, from a NO, scribbled in the corner of my letter, to an encouraging note to keep trying.

Each time, I took another look at my query letter, tweaking it before sending out the next batch. Still, I found rejections in my mailbox--eventually expecting them to be there.

That is when I decided to switch things up. I stopped querying agents and began submitting directly to publishers. This took a great deal of research. I needed to find ones who accepted new authors--sans an agent. I read about how e-books are booming, and decided to look into that option. Agents are good to have, but are not a requirement for many publishers, especially in the growing field of independent or "indie" publishers.

I researched each publisher before submitting. Again, this takes time. I suggest you check each one through predators and editors, absolute write and writers beware. Next, personalize each query. What do I mean by this? Let me tell you what I did.

I took the extra time to visit each publisher's site, familiarizing myself with how they work, about their staff and the overall "feel" of their company. With the information I gleaned, I mentioned something personal about their site in my query letter. There was a particular site that didn't accept my genre, but I loved their attitude so much, I had to let them know what they were doing right.

They are the ones who not only offered me a contract, but also started a new line and expanded because I risked going against the rules. Now, I am not suggesting you go willy-nilly with your submissions. I'm saying, think out of the proverbial box. I knew I wanted this publisher, and in the end, they wanted me.

One week later, another publisher accepted a different book. Again, an independent publisher liked how I personalized my query.

Now, they accepted my book on its own merits, but the fact I got to "know" them, made my query stand out. I just had to give these pointers to my fellow writers. You are welcome to follow my road to publication at jmpowersromance.blogspot.com. Call me your tour guide if you wish. I will point out all the sights on this journey… come along for the ride and learn with me.

(Author note: You can read more comments from readers on Marlamiller.com)

Gobble or Nibble?

Books are like a big, fat, gooey slab of cake. Maybe covered with cream. Thick cream. Cream so thick it’s a desert in itself. Maybe some ice cream, too. Oh, maybe it’s a hot chocolate fudge cake and the fudge is melting…okay, I’ve sufficiently given myself a serious cake craving, so I’ll get to the point.

You have that delicious cake in front of you. Do you dive right in, devour it as fast as your jaw can work…or do you take your time? Do you take small, delicate bites and draw out the experience as long as physically possible?

I asked one of my fellow wenches this question, and she told me it depended on the author. Stephen King she draws it out, so as not to miss anything, but Nora Roberts she gobbles whole.

I can’t deny that when reading a seriously, seriously good book, the urge to read so fast my eyeballs smoke is tempting. But the better the book the slower I want to go. The better the book the harder going slow is. I have conflicting emotions with wanting to make the experience last as long as possible, but needing to know what happens right now.

One of my favourite authors is Richelle Mead, and in particular her Georgina Kincaid series. Georgina is a succubus by night and a bookstore worker by day. She adores books, especially works by Seth Mortensen. In fact, she loves his books so much she only allows herself to read five pages a day, so she can make it last. After all, you only get to read a book for the first time once.

You only get to read a book for the first time once…

That is my mantra when I’m reading. How often do I live by it? Not as often as I’d like. Depending on the book, and the day, I can polish off a book in hours. One more chapter then I’ll turn out the light kind of books.

Sometimes when I finish I feel like I cheated myself out of something special. That I shouldn’t have rushed and the experience was over far too quickly.

However, I don’t beat myself up for long. If I’ve fallen in love with the book, I know I’ll re-read it. Some people find this bizarre. A lot of people I know won’t re-read a book the same way they won’t watch a movie twice, because they already know what’s going to happen. But re-reading something is like getting to fall in love with your husband all over again. How could you not adore that? Some of my favourite books I’ve read dozens of times. It’s because I re-read that my husband doesn't go made when I buy so many new books.

I’d love for you to tell me how you read. Devour or small nibbles?


Pxx

Review You!

A dozen links to get your book reviewed, oh, and the last one links you to one-hundred other review sites. No matter what your genre, there will be a place that fits your book perfectly.

http://nightowlreviews.com/nor/

http://goteroticromance.blogspot.com/

http://www.Amazon.com

http://booklistonline.com/

http://allreaders.com/

http://www.theromancereader.com/

http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/for-authors/

http://paranormalromance.org/BookReviews.htm

http://whippedcream2.blogspot.com/2010/04/heart-of-maze-by-rain-chapman.html?zx=13ad76d1ab8a3a3a

http://joyfullyreviewed.com/reviews/Feb10/heartofthemaze.rc.html

http://www.shvoong.com/

http://www.onlinecollege.org/2009/09/15/100-best-blogs-for-book-reviews/

Once you become a published author, you have to figure out how to get people reading and buying your book. Sending your book out for reviews is a fantastic way to generate a buzz about your book. If you have writer type friends who are of the published variety, chances are they have a blog of some sort. Exchange a review with them. An I’ll-show-you-mine-if-you-show-me-yours sort of deal, only with this one you can keep your shirt on. This will expose both of your respective books to new readers and everybody is a winner.

On a side note, as you click through these links you may come across a book review. My book review to be specific. **smiles winningly** Feel free to read it before you explore the site to find where to send your book for review. Also, many of the ones on this page deal with the romance genre; however, the final link will offer every other genre a chance to be read.

So be brave, you’re a published author. Get out there and pound the information highway for ways to bring your book to the world.

Rain

Any Witch Way - YA Book Review

Any Witch Way, by Annastaysia Savage, is a charming YA story infused with humor, magik, and battles between good and evil.

Young Sadie wishes she had a normal life. Her classmates tease, taunt and bully her, giving her the nickname “Crazy Sadie” because she still thinks her mother is alive after a tragic car crash three years earlier. Her foster parents think she’s nuts too.

I just wish I were a normal kid. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. ~Sadie

Her grandmotherly neighbor, Mrs. Felis (who puts catnip in her tea among other strange things) seems to be her only friend. She listens to Sadie without judging her, shares her tea and gives the warmest hugs. When Mrs. Felis gives Sadie a gift for her thirteenth birthday, things begin to change. She enters a magikal world that guarantees she will be anything but normal.

Stifling a nervous giggle, Sadie took in the reality of her situation. She was about to have a conversation with a troll before beginning her magikal lessons and, probably the craziest thing of all, she was a witch. ~excerpt

  

I enjoyed this magikal, lighthearted yet sensitive story of a young girl’s coming of age. If you can’t take pleasure in a tale riddled with gnomes, elves, a knitting circle of ghosts, and wood nymphs drunk on pumpkin wine—well…then you’re not normal. ;)

*The spelling of magik is intentional, as it is spelled this way in the book. ;)

Valediction

She turned her face unto the sun,
clamoring to ease the chill.
Her soul iced with the clutch of grief
while tears paid the Reaper's bill.

She ran her hand over the soil
blanketing the earthen grave.
His blood had soaked the battle ground
for the lives at home he saved.

A stately flag of his homeland
draped the chiseled, grey headstone.
She bowed her head and prayed for strength
to bear their future alone.

With ev'ry beat, her wounded heart
yearned for his loving embrace.
Her smile and comfort, now extinct,
etched anguish upon her face.

Swallowing grief, she stood to go;
The chubby hands warmed her own.
Finding survival through the loss,
she led their young twins back home.

~JM Powers~Author

I Dreamed A Dream

I’m often been curious how ideas are born. I remember reading an interview with Stephen King when I was about eleven or so and began my ever-long obsession with the man’s writing. He said something that I thought couldn’t possibly be true. His ideas come from dreams.

For a writer like King, I thought this was a pretty flaky way to go about writing stories. What if you didn’t have a very good dream? What if you had an amazing dream but then woke up before you could find out how it ended? What if you stopped dreaming altogether?

I didn’t think it was possible to write what you dream. Until I started. As of present, there is very little I haven’t written that wasn’t, in part at least, shown to me in a dream. Sometimes it is just a conversation. Other times it is whole scenes. Rarely, but most wonderfully, it is the full concept, completely laid out for me. But I know everyone is not like this. Not everyone has their ideas handed to them by the Sand Man.

As a writer, I consider myself a creative person. It came in handy as a child when it was time to worm my way out of something, or explain why I was four hours late. Of course, I usually embellished way too much and hindered myself rather than helped. But I can’t imagine being so creative that I could sit down one day and just imagine up an entire world. To make up characters and plot lines and intriguing scenarios.

When I dream and I think a story can be made of it, I usually have a massive head start on what’s going on and who is who. Sure, I add characters and situations but to start entirely from scratch? With zero help? Um, scary!

So congrats to the writers who do this – I admire you all, seriously.

But I’m curious, so please, please tell me – where do YOUR ideas come from?


Pxx

Rainy Days and Mondays - The Journey

Each writer has their own way of approaching writing. Some write the entire manuscript before returning to the beginning just to start  it all over again. Some edit as they go. I tend to be in the second group of writers.

Every day, as I sit down to add to whichever project I am working on, I start by rereading what is already there to put myself back in the moment I left off in. This is where I tend to find things that require changing. All of the extra commas come out, the tense changes, odd phrasing or head hopping. This isn’t to say I am able to catch all of the strange little foibles that fill my writing. That is where a great writing buddy comes in.

My fellow Wenches keep my writing in line and push me to finish when I falter. My husband (who is not a reader at all) gets treated to excerpts which require a male point of view and as an added bonus, reading these bits out loud usually helps me to find the places that stumble in my writing. I highly recommend reading your work aloud, even if it is only to the family pet or an empty room. You’ll find and rectify the things your mind autocorrects as you read in your head.

 I guess what I’m trying to tell you in my roundabout way is that the writing may be a solitary journey, but the rewrites do not have to be and should not be done alone. When you are the only one reading and reviewing your work, the view can tend to become myopic. So, whether you are part of the first group, who creates the full manuscript before doing any rereading, or the second group, find yourself some people you can trust to tell you the truth. As nice as it is to hear that each word from your pen is solid gold, it is far more helpful to have someone point out where the work stumbles.

If there is no one in your life to tell you when you are abusing your right to use commas, you can do as I did and join a writers group. For myself, there was nothing available to me locally so I turned to the internet. A group called FanStory.com became my home away from home. It is also the place I met my fellow Wenches. The feedback and the lessons I learned there are what brought my writing to the level where it could become published. This doesn’t mean I write flawlessly the first time, every time, far from it. But a writers group is a wonderful place to test your wings and explore new writing genres.

Try to toughen your skin and be open to helpful advice. It’s easy to become offended by someone who is telling you that your perfect brain child suffers from some bad habits. Take a deep breath and don’t respond right away. Give the advice a chance to settle and see if it is something that really will improve your work. You may not always agree, but more often than not, the new set of eyes see a lot more clearly than your love blinded ones.

Just remember, you may take the first steps alone in the caverns of your imagination, but you will find tremendous joy when you retrace those step and shine light on them with someone you trust. Someone who will lovingly help you polish the images you have created to perfection.

Rain :)

My Memoir is Published

I'd like to share a link with you, but first let me tell you why.  

Writing about the death of a loved one is a very difficult thing to do. It took me over two decades to finally sit down and pen a memoir about the loss of my mother. The process was taxing, yet surprisingly cathartic. Reliving the memories of those days brought me to tears, but also helped me revisit the warm, happy moments shared.

Now my memoir is published. The Summer of '82, is featured on the homepage of The Cuckleburr Times, An online magazine created for writers, by writers. I'd love for you to take a look. If you leave a comment on their site, I'll do a happy dance for you and send lots and lots of virtual hugs. :)

Thanks, fellow wench-ies and -os!

Wench Nic

(aka C.E. Hart)

Beach Trees--ARC Review

Blurb: From the time she was twelve, Julie Holt knew what a random tragedy can do to a family. At that tender age, her little sister disappeared-never to be found. It was a loss that slowly eroded the family bonds she once relied on. As an adult with a prestigious job in the arts, Julie meets a struggling artist who reminds her so much of her sister, she can't help feeling protective. It is a friendship that begins a long and painful process of healing for Julie, leading her to a house on the Gulf Coast, ravaged by hurricane Katrina, and to stories of family that take her deep into the past.

The Beach Trees, by Karen White

The Beach Trees is written with emotion, polished with amazing descriptive scenes, and takes the reader into a world of survival. Julie struggles with her guilt over her sister's disappearance, but continues her search while starting a new life as guardian of, Beau, a child belonging to her dead best friend, Monica. Julie packs up her life, straps little Beau into his car seat and moves to Monica's hometown of New Orleans.  The descriptive landscape of life after hurricane Katrina is so vivid, I could nearly smell the earthy smell of the town. The characters throughout the story are well developed. I love the way this story carries the reader onward, always rooting for Julie to discover her inner demons, and finally settle down.

The way the author delves into two different people's past-- Beau's newly discovered great-grandmother, Aimee Guidry and the main character Julie--the transitions are seamless.  Though the story goes from present day to the past several times, I was able to travel with the characters. This talented author tied all the lives together in imaginative ways. Secrets unfold throughout the story, but only enough to peak my interest and pull me deeper into the plot.  I was a bit sad at the last page. I found myself missing the characters when I closed the book.  I highly recommend The Beach Trees. If I could rate it with ten stars, I would.  
~*~Summer Wench

Wednesday Wonderings: What Makes A Leading Man

As a writer of romance, there are a few must-have factors: a girl, a boy and falling in love. For my books at least. It can be a mix of any two people that the writer feels inclined to have do the dance of love.

I love to read romance novels, to experience over and over again the first blossom of love with characters I have grown to care about. (Actually, I am in the middle of one such blossom and eager to devour more *cough* Rain, write more *cough*). 

In my movie choices I’m not such a softie. I prefer explosions and gore and chainsaw-wielding maniacs. There is something that I can’t connect with in romance movies they way I can with books. Maybe it’s because I’m a writer first and everything else second. To be a good writer, we have to be a great readers. And so if books were food, I’d be clinically obese.

To get to my point, what is the one thing that holds any romance novel together? The deciding factor that will make or break your opinion of the book? To me (and probably a lot of other women) it’s the leading man.

So What Makes A Leading Man?

When it comes to men, everyone is different. But let’s not get confused between love and lust. For lust, the tastes aren’t so different. Give a girl something pretty to look at and we’re happy. But to make us fall in love...that takes some work, and some serious writing skill. Because at the end of the day, that is what we are asking our readers to do – fall in love. There aren’t many romance picture books, to give you a glossy image of the hunk gracing the pages. There aren’t movie clips to see how they move or sound bites to hear them whisper sweet nothings to the heroine.

For me simple things can make the romance turn sour. Saying the leading man has a hairy chest, or too in touch with his feminine side, or seriously arrogant, can be a turn off. So how can writers keep everyone happy?

In short...they can’t. Because we don’t come from a cookie cutter mould with pre-fixed settings on who pushes the right buttons. What we can do is try our best to make the romance as real as possible and our hunks as dreamy as dreamy can be.

Pxx

Rainy Days and Mondays - Beware the Repeat

When writing your story, take careful note of how often you start sentences with the same word. If your main character’s name is Simon, it is not necessary to start each sentence about him with his name. At the same time, you don’t want to start each sentence with ‘he’ or ‘his’ either. It is possible to convey to the reader who the paragraph is about without starting with these words - although you do want to have the characters name towards the beginning of the paragraph.

Example

Simon turned and rose from his crouched position. His lips formed the word danger to his companions, but no sound passed them. He motion for them to follow through the rising mist. His senses opened. He strained to hear or see any sign of the beast they tracked. He had glimpsed its form through the trees earlier and now feared it was heading for the nearby village. Simon’s heart ached as he thought of his beloved sister Emily. He thought of the terrible damage done to her, body and soul, by the foul animal she mistakenly called husband. Simon’s need for vengeance raged through him. He would put an end to its mockery of life. It would be dead before it could continue its blood-fuelled rampage.

Simon turned and rose from his crouched position. The word danger formed on his lips, but no sound reached his companions. He motion for them to follow through the rising mist. Senses open and straining to hear or see any sign of the beast they tracked. Earlier, he glimpsed its form through the trees and now feared it was heading for the nearby village. His heart ached as he thought of his beloved sister Emily. Thoughts of the terrible damage done to her, body and soul, by the foul animal she mistakenly called husband. Need for vengeance raged through him. There would be an end to its mockery of life. It would be dead before it could continue its blood-fuelled rampage.

Okay, the first paragraph has 126 words, the second 121. So it doesn’t take much in the way of extra or fewer words to eliminate all of the he, he, he, his, his, Simon, Simon’s. For me, the flow of this paragraph is much easier to follow with the varying sentence starters.

You should also be aware of this with paragraph starts. Look through your story or novel. See if there are paragraphs within close proximity to each other that start with the same word. Especially if it is an unusual word like ‘incidental’, sometimes, it can leave the reader feeling as though they have lost their place and returned to the previous paragraph. It’s important to keep the flow of reading going, and having a reader stop to check their place interrupts this.

One more thing about repeats, when describing something, like a storm or a race, it is easy to use the object you are describing frequently. More so if it is something unique. This makes it even more important to be aware of the words you choose. And don’t forget to make certain all of your characters don’t grin with delight or their eyes don’t all twinkle mischievously. Use your thesaurus. It will open up a whole new world of verbal delights for you.

Rain :)