Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Just a little tidbit from Rumer. #newrelease #MFRWhooks

This section below comes from the end of chapter one of my new book, Rumer.  I think it expresses some of the desperation my heroine faced in dealing with the end of one part of her life.

Tugging at her stained blue flannel pajamas with little yellow ducks, she wondered if any man would think they were sexy. They were a gift Luke and Maddie had bought her for Mother’s Day, and they were comfy. Hurriedly, she tore them off, and searched through her dresser for something silky and more grown up. The only thing she could find was a black full slip she would normally wear to church under one of her dresses.

Rumer assessed herself again, and thought much better. The black slip had thicker bra-like straps, but the silky fabric flowed softly over her breasts and hips. It had a little split on the right side, and a little strip of lace encircled the hem. She sprayed a little cucumber melon body spray on her skin; turned the radio on to one of her favorite jazz stations, and lit some vanilla scented candles. 


Here's more on Rumer.


Rumer Wilson married the love of her life ten years ago, has two beautiful children, and what she believes is a wonderful life to prove it. But, does anybody ever control love? Her world spirals into an unfamiliar place of uncertainty for everything she holds dear, when her husband falls in love with a woman hiding secrets.

Sebastian Ortiz has loved many women. Rumer is a means to an end. He doesn’t want to hurt her, but he needs her – for revenge on the man who hurt his sister – the sister he’s protected from harm his whole life.
Neither Rumer or Sebastian could imagine what comes next…





Monday, January 20, 2014

A discussion with myself about #writing.

I haven't been a published author for many years.  When I see my books in book stores, or listed on online book sellers, it inspires me to continue to do what I do.  And, hopefully, continue to grow and become a better story teller with each adventure I create.

As a reader, I've fallen in love with Historical Fiction.  So, naturally, I guess, I've decided to take on this challenge as a writer, too.  Historical fiction is a completely different animal from contemporary fiction.  Being true to my characters in every way: dialogue, clothing, social norms, etc. takes a lot of thought, and is nothing like contemporary fiction.  With Contemporary Fiction, I can easily read a newspaper article, or watch a news broadcast to get an idea of how my heroine can challenge or push the boundaries.  With Historical Fiction, I can do some of the same, but because of a much smaller network of support, and challenges with technology staying within the boundaries of what could and would be done can be a challenge of its own, especially if you're not writing Science Fiction.

I think my love of fiction (all genres) influences my writing.  Some of my pieces may be more mainstream, or Women's Fiction in their read and feel.  Where as my current work-in-progress would definitely be classified as Romance.  It is extremely interesting to me when I finish writing a piece, and I sit back to read it to determine which publishers to pitch.  It is even difficult :-)

But, I don't believe I could write any other way.  And I grow as an author, I become even more solid in my hybrid style of writing.  It's the story I love to tell.  I love writing stories about a woman's journey.  A story that tells how she moves from where she is when the reader is first introduced to her to where she will stand when the story has been told.  My stories don't always necessarily have a love interest introduced, immediately, and that's on purpose.  Sometimes, my women need to grow into themselves before they're ready to find love.  Or, at least before they can recognize it.

Because of my love of many different types of stories and styles writing, my writing process involves reading a lot.  I like to keep myself open to all sources of information as possible pieces to a story I want to tell. I'm a true pantser, so I keep a lot of notes, that eventually evolve into a loose story structure that gets tweaked time and time again, as I tell the story.

Writing is such a personal journal journey for every author.  We all tell our stories in different ways, and have many ways of accomplishing our goal of completing a story.  I enjoy the art of story telling.  For me creating the story, it's one of my favorite parts of writing.  Talking to readers who enjoy the stories I tell is another favorite.

If I didn't write, I'm not sure what I would be doing,  Maybe music, or some other form of creative expression.  Some form of story telling.

What about you?  What's your process as a writer?

To find out more about the writing process of some of my friends, visit their blogs:

Brien Michaels
Chelle Cordero
LaVerne Thompson



Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Something new by #AngelaKayAustin!

I really love this one!  Okay, so I say that about all of my books, but check out the free sample on Amazon, and you tell me what you think.


Rumer Wilson married the love of her life ten years ago, has two beautiful children, and what she believes is a wonderful life to prove it. But, does anybody ever control love? Her world spirals into an unfamiliar place of uncertainty for everything she holds dear, when her husband falls in love with a woman hiding secrets. 

Sebastian Ortiz has loved many women. Rumer is a means to an end. He doesn’t want to hurt her, but he needs her – for revenge on the man who hurt his sister – the sister he’s protected from harm his whole life. 

Neither Rumer or Sebastian could imagine what comes next...




Wednesday, January 8, 2014

What do you use to help develop your characters? #writing

Recently, I read a great article in the Romance Writers Report.  It was one writer's take on how he flushes out his characters.  

I usually keep one of those old fashioned composition pads (you remember the ones you used in college) to do a rough sketch of my story, which eventually becomes a more detailed story structure.  Then I start looking at my main characters and create a character profile for each.

That profile usually contains character basics: age, ethnicity, height, weight, etc.  It also includes things like job, education, relationships, and life motivations.

As I build out my motivation, and characters begin to come to life for me, the pieces flush out more.  I begin to see how the characters fit together to create the puzzle of my story.  If one character is ex-military, and another always dreamed of being military, but wasn't...how does that affect their relationship?  What is the back story on both that shaped each character's opinions/feelings of the military?

What do you use to help you build out your characters and your story?

Saturday, January 4, 2014

What are you #reading?

I always read more than one book at a time.  Not sure why.  But, I think it follows my "mood."  Sometimes I feel like a nice Romance.  Other times, I want something more suspenseful.  And still at other times, I want something completely different.

One of the books I'm reading at the moment is Patricia Falvey's "The Yellow House."  I haven't finished this book, and if you follow me on Goodreads you may have seen some of my update on this book and others.

My heart broke for Eileen within the first handful of pages, and as I turn each page, I find myself disliking one of the other characters more and more.  I am hoping that the character can be redeemed at some point (for me.)  But, with the things that have happened to Eileen so far, I am not sure if I can forgive this other character.

I am so excited about how this one will end!

Click here for more about Patricia Falvey's "The Yellow House."

Have you read this book?  What do you think?  No spoilers, please :-)

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

What are you NOT doing for the #New Year?

So, we've all made our New Year's Resolutions.  We're joining gyms, giving up smoking, eating less, etc., etc.

We all do it every year.  Some of us stick with it, and some of us don't :-)  But, at least we try, right?

My question to you isn't what is on your list, but what isn't.

My list looks like this:

-I'm not going to say, "I will write more."  Why?  Because I am.
-I'm not going to say, "I will join a writing group."  Why?  Because I have.
-I'm not going to say, " I will read more."  Why?  Because I am.

Of course there are all kinds of things I need to do, these are just some of the ones I don't.  What have you crossed off your list for 2014?