There is a third element needed to write novels. Again, I'm inspired by John Gardner.
With Words and a love of them, constantly turning them around, you can become a poet. Creating pictures in short expositions of turning words and their meaning.
With People, you can master short stories for they are an incident in a life. They can become character stories giving pictures of a single moment in a person's life.
But to write a novel, you need a story. For a story must have a reason to keep the reader turning pages. There must be a progression shown. How does a character move from that initial incident is important. To keep repeating the same argument over and over does not a story make. Each incident needs to lead forward heading to some kind of conclusion.
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Monday, March 30, 2020
Meandering on Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Reading #Thoughts #Writing
Meander 1 - Reading - Still rereading Anne McCaffrey's Pern series. Have maybe a dozen to go. Really enjoy these books'
Meander 2 - Thoughts - I have so much admiration for the governors of the states who are handling this Corono virus bit. They are doing what needs to be done with little help from the feds. Wish there could be a real coming together. I have fears that the number of those infected will continue to grow and we haven't seen the peak. Also I'm wishing that I could get in there and help but my nursing license ahs been gone for maybe 30 years. My experience with the modern practice of nursing is nil.
Meander 3 - Writing - Continuing to work on my current WIP and hopefully I;'ll reach the June deadline. Not hopefully, I will.
Meander 2 - Thoughts - I have so much admiration for the governors of the states who are handling this Corono virus bit. They are doing what needs to be done with little help from the feds. Wish there could be a real coming together. I have fears that the number of those infected will continue to grow and we haven't seen the peak. Also I'm wishing that I could get in there and help but my nursing license ahs been gone for maybe 30 years. My experience with the modern practice of nursing is nil.
Meander 3 - Writing - Continuing to work on my current WIP and hopefully I;'ll reach the June deadline. Not hopefully, I will.
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Sunday's Book Healwoman #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Fantasy #Romance
Born under a dark moon, Norna has to battle rumors that she is tainted by evil and unworthy of being anything more than a servant. Discarded by her mother, she runs away from her aunt, a priestess who wants her to enter the temple.
Instead, Norna chooses to be a Healwoman, and a chance encounter with a novice hoping to be a priest helps her discover she has talents of water, air and fire at her disposal. With these gifts she is called on to battle treachery and attempts to prevent the promised prophecy of the god and goddess. As she battles evil powers, she loses her heart to Shandor, the man she met when her journey first began. She must come to grips with Britha who plots against her. Shandor has his own enemy Vorgan. When the pair of foes unite, the battles begin.
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2014
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Rosemary Morris
Enthralling Fantasy Fiction Page Turner
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 22, 2018
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
honey monster
Give it a chance
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2014
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Susan Lloyd
Brilliant read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2014
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Saturday's Blurbs feature Books by Alana Lorens #MFRWAuthor #Romance #Suspense #New Mexico #New Orleans
SECRETS IN THE SAND
After a run
of bad relationships, Lily Pearl Evans has finally become an independent woman.
In the New Mexico desert town of Chaparral, she works for herself, sets her own
rules, and is determined no man will hold her back again.
Gene Nicholas worked for more than a decade to achieve his dream to be a doctor. Wanting to share his gifts with those less fortunate, he leaves south Florida to volunteer for Doctors Without Borders in Mexico.
When Gene provokes a showdown with the local Mexican drug cartel, he becomes a man with a price on his head. On the run, he ends up on Lily’s doorstep–a mystery man forced to conceal his past to protect them both. With the cartel’s dangerous web drawing tight around them, can Lily and Gene survive a drug lord’s revenge?
Gene Nicholas worked for more than a decade to achieve his dream to be a doctor. Wanting to share his gifts with those less fortunate, he leaves south Florida to volunteer for Doctors Without Borders in Mexico.
When Gene provokes a showdown with the local Mexican drug cartel, he becomes a man with a price on his head. On the run, he ends up on Lily’s doorstep–a mystery man forced to conceal his past to protect them both. With the cartel’s dangerous web drawing tight around them, can Lily and Gene survive a drug lord’s revenge?
VOODOO DREAMS
When her big trial goes bad, corporate attorney Brianna Ward
can’t wait to get out of Pittsburgh. The Big Easy seems like the perfect place
to rest, relax, and forget about the legal business. Too bad an obnoxious–but
handsome–lawyer from a rival firm is checking into the same bed and breakfast.
Attorney Evan Farrell has Mardi Gras vacation plans too.
When he encounters fiery and attractive Brianna, however, he puts the Bourbon
Street party on hold. He’d much rather devote himself to her–especially when a
mysterious riddle appears in her bag, seeming to threaten danger.
Strangely compelled to follow the riddle’s clues, Brianna is
pulled deeper into the twisted schemes of a voodoo priest bent on revenge. To
escape his poisonous web, she must work with Evan to solve the curse. But is
the growing love they feel for each other real? Or just a voodoo dream?
CONVICTION OF THE HEART
Family law attorney Suzanne Taylor understands her clients’
problems–her own husband left her with two babies to raise alone. Now that
they’re teenagers, her life is full. The last thing she wants is the romantic
attentions of a police lieutenant, no matter how good-looking.
Lt. Nick Sansone is juggling the demands of a new promotion
and doesn’t need complications either. But when he sends a councilman’s
battered wife to Suzanne for help, he realizes he wants to connect with the
lovely, prickly lawyer on more than a professional level.
They are soon confronted with a different battle when the
abused woman’s husband threatens retribution. The powerful, well-connected
councilman can damage both their careers–not to mention hurt those they love.
Can they bend enough to admit they need each other in a time of crisis? Or will
a husband’s revenge take them down before they ever get a chance?
Friday, March 27, 2020
Alana Lorens and Lyndi Alexander Is visiting and talking about Who She Was Before #MFRWAuthor #Romance #Suspense #Fantasy
1. What were you before you became an author? Did this influence
your choices as a writer?
I started off as a journalist in south Florida, working a small
daily called the South Dade News Leader. Then for some crazy reason, I decided
to become a lawyer, and registered for law school as a single mom of two girls,
ages 3 and 5. (I know, right?!) After
that, I practiced family law for 30 years, in Florida, then Pennsylvania. Several of my books feature lawyers as
heroines, so I’d say that expertise came in handy.
2. Are you genre specific or general? I don’t mean major genres
but subdivisions or romance, mystery or paranormal.
One of the things I’m proud of is that I don’t write to a
romance “formula.” My stories come to me on a range of topics, so I have
romance, romantic suspense, suspense/thriller. Fantasy, sci-fi, and back to
sci-fi romance. And a paranormal mystery! The romances are under Alana Lorens,
the fantasy/sci-fi under Lyndi Alexander
3. What is your latest release?
TENDER MISDEMEANORS, a romantic suspense, came out March 18 from
the Wild Rose Press. Here is the story:
Caryn Orlane has law enforcement in her blood; her father was a cop, and his
father, too. She's a federal agent in northwest Montana, protecting the old
forests and keeping the peace.
Levi Bradshaw also believes in protecting the forests, but has a
very different MO. He's the leader of a group of eco-warriors, determined to
save the trees of the Bitterroot by legal—and illegal—means.
When they meet in the woods at gunpoint, their encounter ignites
a spark of interest, despite operating on opposite sides of the law. When their
worlds turn on them, they only grow closer. If they don’t work together, can
either survive?
And buy links:
4. What are you working on now?
A ménage a trois story with a man, a woman and a gender-swapping
alien traveling in dangerous space. https://lyndialexander.wordpress.com/works-in-progress/
5. Do your reading choices influence your choice of a writing
career?
Probably. For years I read gothic romances and then Victoria
Holt, Jane Aiken Hodge, Dorothy Eden, so romantic suspense is firmly embedded
in my brain. Same with sci-fi—Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke and so on. Now I’m
reading A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, studying how to create
such compelling characters.
6. Where can we find you?
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alana-Lorens/e/B005GE0WBC/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Email: contact@alana-lorens.com
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Thursday's Fifth Scene Toth's Priest #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Paranormal #Alternate History #Ancient Egypt
Amara held her eyes tightly closed. Aromas, not the
familiar ones of garlic and car exhausts filtered through her senses. Spices,
floral scents, all strange added tension and fear to her spirits. She touched
the surface beneath her. Hard but some kind of padding. The cloth covering her
body had a bit of a rough texture. And the sounds were odd.
She opened her eyes and held in a scream. Where was she
and who were these people staring at her? Dark hair with streaks of gray. One
had more gray than black. Skin tanned by the sun. Two wore some kind of kilt. A
woman had a band of cloth covering her breasts. A man sported a collar like
necklace. The older man wore a white robe that left his arms bare.
Was this a hallucination fostered by the spicy red liquid
the ole woman had asked her to drink? She grasped the thin covering and sorted
through her memories.
The phone call. The escape across city roofs. The
brownstone where she’d been offered an escape. The horoscope wheel had spun her
into darkness. Somehow she had landed here. Where was here?
She dared another look at the three. Nothing changed. Her
forehead wrinkled. She almost recognized their clothes and that necklace.
“Where am I? Who are you?” She hated the tremors in her
voice and the fear she felt positive showed.
The oldest of the three spoke. The garbled sounds had no
meaning. “I don’t understand.” Frustration gathered and accelerated her fear.
The urge to flee was strong.
The elderly man stared into her eyes can captured her
gaze. She couldn’t blink of turn her head. Warmth and friendliness washed her
fears away. He placed his hands on her head with his thumbs above her eyes.
“Who are you? Why am I here/” She needed answers. She
wanted to escape, to return to her known world.
If you accept, you
can never return.
An insidious wave of pain crept into her head. The bones
above her eyes ached. Would they shatter? She screamed. Her body convulsed. She
gasped for breath. The pain continued. Was this death? Had she failed before
she began?
Slowly the pain ebbed. Her eyes widened. The sounds the
others made were words she could understand.
The woman slid an arm beneath Amara’s shoulders and
shifted her into a sitting position. The cover slid. She grabbed the edge.
Naked. Her clothes were gone. Where? How?
“Drink this.” The woman held a cup to Amara’s mouth. “This
will refresh you.”
Amara smelled mint and cautiously tasted. She braced for
another displacement in time and place. When nothing happened she took a larger
drink. The warm liquid eased the dryness of her throat.
The elderly man stepped closer. “I am Siti, at present the
chief priest of Toth. Welcome to the Two Lands. You have been awaited and have
traveled far to reach us.”
Amara wondered if he knew the truth. “Where am I?”
“In the temple
of Toth
She closed her eyes. Her head ached from the rocks of
information tumbling in her thoughts. Though a heated breeze bled, she felt
chilled. Was she capable of fulfilling their expectations? She knew nothing
about this Two Lands. She’d asked for a rescue from an intolerable situation.
There was no return to that time and place. Was this life any better than what
she’d left behind?
“I don’t understand what I can do.”
The elderly man patted her hand. “You will learn. Seshat
and Kamen will be your teachers.” He stepped back. “Kamen and I will await you
in the common room. Seshat will help you.”
The men left. Seshat Helped Amara sit on the edge of the
bed. For a moment she felt dizzy. The room shifted. She feared she would fall.
Finally she stood and wrapped the sheet around her body. She surveyed the small
room. Unlit torches were on the walls. The bed was elevated above the stone
floor. A pottery basin and pitcher stood on a small table. A backless stool
stood near shelves filled with piles of white cloth.
“Would you like to bathe?” Seshat asked.
“Yes.” Amara thought of a tub of steaming water, soap and
shampoo. She stepped to the floor. Her knees nearly buckled.
Seshat slipped an arm around Amara’s waist. “I’ll help you
walk. You slept for days.”
Amara’s unsteady gait gradually became even. She and her
companion walked down a hall where torches burned and lit the way. The bathing
room shocked her. No tub, just tables where attendants poured water over men
and women. Seshat showed Amara how to apply cleansing cream.
Amara lay on the table. An older woman mixed steaming
water with cool and poured a stream over Amara’s body and her hair.
After using a cloth to dry herself Amara gasped and held
the towel closer because of the men in the room. She averted her gaze and
listened to Seshat show her how to wrap the breast band, and done the
breechcloth and kilt. The older woman produced a comp and Amara combed her hair
and braided it in the single one word by the older woman. Amara sat on a stool
and laced the sandals with a strip protecting her skin. She fastened the
leather belt with a sheath and pouch around her waist.
They left the bathing room and walked to the common room
where the two men waited. Amara filled a plate with cheese, dates and melon.
She sat on one of the backless chairs and set the food on a small table.
While she and Seshat ate, the elderly man spoke. “Today
your training will begin. Kamen will hone your fighting skills and teach you
weapons.”
Amara straightened. “I have studied unarmed fighting for
years.” She thanked her father who had begun her training before her fourth
birthday. “Why should I learn to use weapons?”
“They may be needed,” Kamen said.
“I have fought against those with knives, clubs and …” She
found herself unable to say guns. “I have won those battles.”
The elderly priest clasped her hand. “Kamen will test you
and decide. Seshat will guide your development of the few powers she can teach.
The learning of the others will have to wait.”
What did he mean? “How long do I have before I must
perform this rescue?” She felt inadequate for she knew nothing about this land.
Once again the voices of the old women filled her thoughts.
“An ancient Egypt
“There will be time for you to learn,” Siti said. “Come
with me. There is a place you must visit.”
He led her into the garden. Amara breathed in the mingled
scents of flowers. The mentors followed. When they reached a double line of
massive columns, the pair sat on a bench.
Amara gawked. The towering columns resembled trees, plants
and even flowers. They appeared to have risen from the ground as a single piece.
How had the seamless carvings been accomplished?
Siti beckoned. “Come.”
Amara pointed to the figures seated next to some of the
pillars. “Who are they?”
“Priests of Toth who spend hours copying the scrolls or
writing letters, contracts and proclamations for others. Many leave here to
serve in other temples or in towns and villages where they read and write for
people who don’t have the skills.”
A cream colored dog strolled toward them. Amara had never
seen such a graceful canine. The animal’s large eyes brimmed with intelligence.
The dog reached her side and sat. She touched the smooth and silky coat. “Who
are you?” she asked.
“Toth Ka, the avatar of the got,” the priest said.
With a flurry of wings a huge brown and gold hawk landed
beside the canine. A gray cat appeared. “What are they?”
Siti smiled. “The hawk Is Horu Ka and the cat Bast Ka.
They have come to welcome you and to bestow the blessings of the Three in you.”
A frown creased Amara’s forehead. Did he mean they were
sacred animals or something more? Confusion filled her thoughts. All in this
place was new and strange. Though the cat and the hawk were familiar, the dog
was new to her.
“What is the dog’s breed?” she asked.
“A saluki. His entire breed is honored by the priests of
Toth for they are ----- hounds. Toth Ka is more.”
Though curious, se didn’t ask what made this one special.
There was too much to learn and to understand.
The dog licked her fingers. The hawk took flight and
landed above a distant doorway. With feline grace the can moved toward the dark
space. The saluki walked at Amara’s side along the stone path.
Her companions vanished. Amara halted in the wide doorway.
Aromatic scents from lit torches revealed statues at the rear of the long
narrow room. Two men and a woman stood behind a long table. Their heads were
those of the animals Siti called avatars. She stepped closer and realized the
three were statues.
Siti touched the first man. “Toth, the lord of wisdom.” He
moved to the second. “Bast, bringer of mercy.” He reached the third. “Horu,
lord of justice.”
Amara wasn’t sure she understood. How could a god be part
human and part animal? She rubbed her arms to ward off a chill. Her world had
changed in more ways than she could imagine. Would she adapt or go mad>
She turned to the priest. Siti offered his hand. “You will
learn to accept what is new and strange.”
She sighed. “I pray you are right.”
“Come.” He led her to where Seshat and Kamen waited.
“What now?” she asked.
“Your training will begin with tests of what a priestess
or priest of Toth should know. You will have lessons in reading the scrolls and
in writing the language.” Siti turned to Seshat. “She is yours for the first
test.”
Seshat led her to the garden and a small pool of clear
water. White tiles lined the edges. There is the scrying pool though in need,
even a pot of water will do.”
Puzzlement caused Amara's brow to wrinkle. The scene
looked exactly like the photograph she’d seen. The saluki appeared at the edge
of the pool.
Seshat knelt and motioned for Amara to join her. “Clear
your thoughts and watch the surface. I will show you the face of the one you
will rescue.” She blew across the water causing the surface to ripple.
A face formed. The young man appeared to be her age. His
dark hair was pilled back and perhaps braided. His skin was tanned by the sun.
His eyes were brown and warm. He was handsome and appealing.
“His name is Namose,” Siti said.
Without warning another face appeared. Amara’s hand
covered her mouth. The man’s sallow skin and his lean face projected cruelty.
His obsidian eyes held anger and evil. Amara gasped. She would never forget
that face.
“Who?” She barely forced the word from her lips.
“A priest of Aken Re, a god alien to this land. He is the
one who took Namose.”
Amara memorized the face with a nose reminiscent of a
vulture’s beak. She looked up. When her gaze returned to the pool, the image
was gone.
My Places
Buy Mark
http://bookswelove.net/walters-janet-lane/
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Wednesday The Leo Aquarias Connection #MFRWHooks #BWLAuthors #Eomance #Medical
Join the authors at #MFRWHooks here http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com For some great excerpts. Mine is from The Leo Aquariou Connection
BLURB:
The nurses stare as he exits the elevator on the Pediatric Unit. “Enter the handsome doctor.” Those are Doctor Caleb Winstone’s words as he steps off the elevator. Though he’s embarrassed, this Leo doctor rolls with the punches.
He’s returned home to join an older doctor in the practice. Before long he learns the new nurse manager of the unit is a woman he knows. Of all the women in the world, she is the la
He’s returned home to join an older doctor in the practice. Before long he learns the new nurse manager of the unit is a woman he knows. Of all the women in the world, she is the la
st one he wants to see. How can he manage to work daily with her? Before the day ends, he discovers his mother has decided who he should marry and the woman is quite willing. Not for him.
Suzanna Rollins is an Aquarian and now the guardian of her half-brother who was badly injured in a car accident. She takes the position as nurse manager of the Pediatric unit for several reasons. One is the move from the city re-unites her with college friends, the Grantley Gang. The other is for the excellent Rehab Center. On the day of her arrival, she encounters Caleb. What is he doing here and why? Can she work with the man she fell in and out of love with the night he offered her less than marriage?
Caleb’s interest in helping her half-brother gives them more together time than they imagined.
Suzanna Rollins is an Aquarian and now the guardian of her half-brother who was badly injured in a car accident. She takes the position as nurse manager of the Pediatric unit for several reasons. One is the move from the city re-unites her with college friends, the Grantley Gang. The other is for the excellent Rehab Center. On the day of her arrival, she encounters Caleb. What is he doing here and why? Can she work with the man she fell in and out of love with the night he offered her less than marriage?
Caleb’s interest in helping her half-brother gives them more together time than they imagined.
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
Walters demonstrates her knowledge of hospitals to make the story real, but does so skillfully without slowing down the read. For Dr. Caleb Winstone returning home means more than a new job and an awkward encounter, it also means his parents incessant demands for him to marry the woman of their choice. Nurse Practitioner Suzanna
Rollins hopes the move will help her brother whose healing from a car accident. To me some unresolved issues cost it a star, but it is still a worthwhile read and I recommend it and the other books in the series.
Rollins hopes the move will help her brother whose healing from a car accident. To me some unresolved issues cost it a star, but it is still a worthwhile read and I recommend it and the other books in the series.
Excerpt:
As Caleb Winstone rode the elevator to the fifth floor of
Eastlake Community, the familiar aromas shouting hospital engulfed him. Though
slightly different than the scents of his last placement, they smelled of
coming home. Exhaustion threatened to swamp him but he had places to visit and
things to accomplish before he sought sleep.
The indicator flashed five. The doors parted and he
stepped out to face the nurses’ station. A half dozen women stared and
collectively sighed.
“Enter the handsome doctor.”
Gasps and giggles greeted him.
Caleb felt his face heat. Had he really said that? He
considered a strategic retreat but the elevator doors had closed. Though he’d
been called handsome often enough, he had no reason for the blatant
announcement.
A burst of male laughter interrupted his swirling
thoughts. “Hello, Caleb. You certainly know how to make an entrance.” A tall
blond man rounded the end of the desk and offered his hand,
“Alex Carter, good to see you again.”
Alex clasped his hand. “Are you in town for good?”
“Looks that way. I’ve joined Joe Grogan’s practice.” Caleb
grinned. “Blame my announcement on jet lag. Arrived this morning from London where I spent three
months studying respiratory diseases in children.”
“Have you been home?”
Caleb shook his head. “Came straight here. Decided to
complete the paperwork and get my parking pass and then go to the office before
I go home. I’m meeting Joe at one thirty at the office. Actually, I’m in no
hurry to reach the stone mansion.”
Alex nodded. “Are they still upset over your career
choice?’
“Naturally. They equate my straying from the financial
sphere as a betrayal like they did when I chose swimming over football in high
school.”
“Shame. Let me introduce you to today’s crew. Alex walked
to the desk.
The nurses smiled. Were they hiding laughter? He felt sure
his appearance and words would make the rounds.
Alex grinned. “Ladies, this is Caleb Winstone the newest
addition to our staff. He’s joining Dr. Joe and vying for the handsome doctor
award.”
Caleb shook his head. Years ago Alex had been a tease. His
first wife’s behavior had soured him. The second marriage had brought a welcome
change. “I’ll get you.”
Alex mentioned name after name until they reached the tall
brunette at the end of the desk. Her lab coat marked her as the unit’s nurse
manager.
“Caleb, Jenessa Bradshaw, acting nurse manager. Her
husband is Director of Nursing.”
“Glad to meet you,” Caleb said. “Sorry about the grand
entrance.”
She laughed. “You said what we were thinking.”
“Don’t encourage him,” Alex said. “Half the girls in high
school followed him around.”
“The other half followed you.” Caleb turned to Jenessa.
“Why are you just acting nurse manager?”
“Our newly hired one was to start two months ago but a
family emergency intervened. She’s starting on Monday.”
“She must be special.”
“She is. She’s a nurse practitioner.”
My Places
Buy Mark
http://bookswelove.net/walters-janet-lane/
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