Monday - Janice Seagraves is Visiting and Talking About Her recent works of fiction #MFRWAuthor #fiction #romance

 . Tell me about your latest release or the book you wish to feature? Genre?

I’d like to talk about three of my paranormal romance books, if that’s alright.

Weather Witch about a woman who can control the weather set in Rengency England.  This story was originally published in a short story collection as Pheromone’s Song which is still available.

In Regency England, Lord Godfrey negotiates for a wife, when Meredith, the weather witch, storms in she provides Godfrey with interesting possibilities, but will she embrace a chance to let go of her past and find happiness for her future?

Year of the Cat is about Jared Catterick, a werecat. I had this idea about a werecat and only had bit and pieces to the story. I slowly built it up and it also ran in a short story collection. After I received my rights back, the characters let me know that their adventures were far from over, so I lengthened the original story into a book.

Morgan isn’t expecting romance when she accompanies her friend for a week of skiing, but when she meets Jared, all bets are off.
Haunted by the loss of his parents, werecat Jared Catterick earns his keep working for the Catclaw Clan. Jared has secrets that he doesn’t mind sharing with a special lady, and he hopes Morgan is that special someone. When his past and present collide it’s worse than he imagined, and he’s forced to fight for his life.

Empath’s Ranch about brother and sister Max and Gwen Dréville. Both are empaths in the same family. I plan on adding to the Empath’s series with Empath’s curse. It’ll be about Gwen and Author’s daughter and her romance.

Finding love is hard when your family has psychic gifts you have to hide. Just ask Max and Gwen Dréville. Max talks to animals. Falling for the local dairy farmer's daughter was probably not his best plan. Then there's Gwen. Will she let handsome playboy Arthur Castiel seduce her, or will she turn her gift on him, tossing him into a nightmare of his worst fears? Three related short stories of the Drévilles.

2. Where did the idea arise?

I love paranormal romance books and I’m starting to write books of my own into that genre. The ideas take a while to germinate. I get a hint of something; a dream, something I read, or a talk I had with my husband or daughter, and then it must marinate in my brain for a few months or maybe even years before it’ll take root and grow into a story.

3. How much research was involved? Did you stay on point or be distracted by wanting to look at just one more thing?

I do a ton of research. I don’t use everything I find during my research since that would be overwhelming and an information dump. So, I just use enough that it sounds like I know what I’m writing about.

4. How long did you take to write the book?

Each book takes its own time. Some only take a month for the first draft and others take a bit longer. And revising the stories can take a year or three. NaNoWriMo was a great influence on me cranking out a rough draft in a month, but I’ve since suffered from writer’s block after losing two family members. Two years later, I’m writing again, but it’s slow going.

5. Now a bit about you. How long have you been writing? What is your Sun Sign?

I started writing at age twenty. Just a bit here and there. Then when I was in my forties, I decided to write with an eye toward publication. I’ve been writing for forty-three years.

I’m a Taurus. Stubborn and goal motivated.

6. Do you write in a number of genres or stick to one?

I write mostly in the romance genre with various subgenres. I'm currently working on four different series. Chronicles of Arcon is a science fiction romance, Dragon Magick is a fantasy series the first one Dragon Mirror has been published and I’m already working on the next one in the series, Empath's ranch is a paranormal romance and the next one will be Empath’s Curse. I have a new series that’s called Magic Surge, an urban fantasy series, but it hasn’t been published yet. It’ll have three books in all, two are finished and I am working on a third.

7. Where on the internet can you be found?

Janice Seagraves website: https://janice-seagraves.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaniceSeagravesAuthor

X Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaniceS39484

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/janiceseagraves5/

Friday - Reed Stirling is visiting and talking about his latest release #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #New Release #Sejour Saint-Louis #Fiction #Literary

 

LATEST RELEASE —

Séjour Saint-Louis:

Montreal in late nineteenth century, a gifted young poet falls victim to madness.

Today, a struggling father is driven to drink over the intransigence of his music-obsessed teenage son. An equally conflicted wife and mother threatens separation.

What connects these two worlds?

The Victorian fountain in Square Saint-Louis, a series of seemingly random incidents in the city, a bronze bust on a white plinth, and a school reunion where myth, art, and mysterious e-lixar fuse into dramatic reflections of family dynamics. Through mirroring, resolution proves possible.

 

“Stirling does it again, entertaining the reader with a parade of engrossing characters. Through a complexity of allusion simple truths are revealed. Contemporary, relevant, challenging, Séjour Saint-Louis is fused with ambiguity and subtle humour.”

 

 

THE IDEA —

Inspiration for this novel arose from seeing the bust of the young poet Émile Nelligan in Square Saint-Louis in Montreal and listening to buskers in the same area.

 

RESEARCH —

Observations of how troubled sons and authoritarian fathers sort things out fit perfectly with Nelligan’s personal history, which I researched on line and found sufficient for dramatic and historical purposes. I also read in both French and English certain thematically relevant poems written by the young poet. Actually visiting sites in the city helped me create atmosphere: street, park, Irish bar, or the Hotel Nelligan in Old Montreal.

 

TIME TAKEN —

                Given the time and the travel involved in doing the research, it took approximately nine months to write Séjour Saint-Louis.

I have been writing serious fiction since retiring in 2000. My birth date places me in Aries’ domain.

 

GENRE —

I attempt to write literary fiction that entertains while being socially relevant.

 

 

 

 

Find me at the following:

 

reedstirlingwrites.com

reedstirling@gmail.com

http://bwlpublishing.ca

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/bookswelove

Amazon Author central: https://authorcentral.amazon.comgp/home

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday's Guest - Featuring Heather Greenis #MFRWauthor #fictional elements #characters

JW - We all know there are six elements of fiction. Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. I believe the first five lead to the sixth which for me is plot. What's your take on this?

HG - I normally begin with the plot. I work around it.

Most mysteries begin with murder scene and the author unravels the mystery behind the who.

My imagination took me in a different direction with my most recent novel, DONE. I didn't begin with gruesome scene. It doesn't begin with the discovery of a body.

The who, why, when and finally where fall into place.

 JW - How do you create your characters? Do you have a specific method?

HG - My characters are developed through the 'what'  The villain has to suit the crime. I have to make him or her believable, but deplorable. Or at the very least disliked, depending on the plot. The level of education has to suit the character.

JW. - Do your characters come before the plot?

HG - That depends on my initial idea. My inspiration.

When I wrote The Natasha Saga - I began with the character Natasha. The plot for the entire saga evolved around her character.

While working on 'Done' I began with a specific scene, the end of the story, and wrote characters to suit the plot.

JW - Do you know how the story will end before you begin? In a general way or a specific one?

HG - So far, in my writing, I know the ending. It gets modified but basically I write around the initial idea.

My original idea for The Natasha Saga ended with Book 1. Natasha's Dream. My husband read it and said, you can't end it there. So it grew…and grew… and grew and became a continuing saga.

Natasha's Dream, Natasha's Diary, Natasha's Hope, and Natasha's Legacy.

My latest project DONE did not end the way I initially intended. Another ending had more impact. The basic plot remained the same

JW - Do you choose settings you know or do you have books of settings and plans of houses sitting around?

HG - Homes are based on places I have visited.  In the saga, William and Keeghan's home is similar to our current home. Their property was inspired from a bed and breakfast we stayed in while visiting British Columbia. It was a beautiful ocean-front piece of property.

The main home in Done is a based on a friend's home with some changes of course. My grandparents' home inspired the villains house.

I think it's easier when an author can picture an actual setting in their mind.

The outdoor setting is based on a walking trail we use daily with our dog. It isn't quite as secluded, but we can truly see for kilometres.

JW -  Where do you do your research? On line or from books?

HG - The Saga had an historical element so I found myself looking up dates for inventions. Cars, gas lighting, wars, clothing, etc.

Done is not historical so I went on line for specific terms or information to keep it legit. I also speak with people who have knowledge in the field.

JW - Are you a draft writer or do you revise as you go along and why? Do you sketch out your plot or do you let the characters develop the route to the end?

HG - I try to draft my plot but then my imagination takes over with 'something shiny'. Wouldn't if be cool if… Or, oh, this would be better if…

My mind is rather active. Like most artists, I'm always thinking of ways to make it better. Or developing a new plot in my mind

JW - Where can we find you on the net?

http://heathergreenis.weebly.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Heather-Greenis-1056075634413221

http://heathergreenis.blogspot.ca

https://twitter.com/heathergreenis

How She Does It - Smoky Zeidel

We all know there are six elements in writing fiction and often fact. Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. I believe the first five lead to the sixth which for me is the plot. What's your take on this?

I worked as a freelance journalist for years before making the leap to fiction, so I'm well-aware of the Five Ws. "Colonel Mustard murdered Miss Scarlett last Saturday evening in the library with a candlestick after he caught her kissing Professor Plum," tells the who, what, when where, how, and why, and is how a journalist would start off a story about this. Journalism gives the facts, and "how" is a fact--in this case, with the candlestick.


Plot, on the other hand, is what happens in a story. It goes beyond the journalistic approach of "Just the facts, ma'am." Plot embellishes on all five of the Ws and the how as well. Plot would tell about the deep love Colonel Mustard had for Miss Scarlett, how they fell in love, how and why they quarreled, why she cheated on him. It would tell what sent Colonel Mustard over the edge and made him murder the love of his life. If plot didn't embellish like this, you wouldn't have much of a short story or novel. You would have a news story.


I don't take this journalistic approach to writing. I prefer thinking the elements of great fiction are creating a great beginning that grabs the reader in the first few sentences, character development, setting, creating compelling dialogue, mastering point of view, and, yes, creating an interesting and intricate plot. You don't have to be a great journalist to write a novel. You have to be a great fiction writer, have a great imagination, and master these elements I've mentioned--and that just skims the surface. This is one of the reason so many bad books are out there. People think that just because they can create a sentence, they can write a book, and it just isn't so. Writers need to study their craft, just like a great musician has to study his or her craft to create a great piece of music.




1. How do you create your characters? Do you have a specific process?


I pretty much let my characters develop themselves. I create characterization charts with the basic information about them before I start, with things like their hair and eye color, pets, kind of car, etc. Details you can easily forget, and authors do forget. I get really annoyed when I'm reading a book and someone's Honda suddenly turns into a Toyota because the author has forgotten what kind of car their character drives.


But beyond those basic, external traits, I let my story dictate what kind of person the character is. Characters need to grow during a book. They need to learn things about themselves and the characters with whom they interact, and for me, this can only happen if I let them take the lead.


2. Do your characters come before the plot? Do you sketch out your plot or do you let the characters develop the route to the end?


I normally have a rough idea of what the plot will be to a story, but I like to let the characters take the lead. On the Choptank Shores began as a much different book than the one I ended up with, for example, because I let the characters tell me what their story was. I didn't force them into the wrong story. It's a better book because I listened to what they had to tell me.

3. Do you know how the story will end before you begin? In a general way or a specific one?


The first scene in On the Choptank Shores is actually the very last scene I wrote. I had to know how the story ended before I could know how it began. So I guess I would rephrase your question and ask, do you know where your story will begin before it ends? I don't know other authors who write this way, but it's what works best for me.

4. Do you choose settings you know or do you have books of settings and plans of houses sitting around?


In both On the Choptank Shores and The Cabin, the settings were dictated by the stories. The former book would not have worked had I placed the characters in aManhattan condo, for example. The peach orchard on the Choptank River in Maryland is the only place this story could have taken place, because the setting was integral to the story. It was like a character in the story. In The Cabin, the story could not have been set any other place than where it is set, on a route for the Underground Railroad. It couldn't have been in Colorado, or Canada, or Great Britain.

5. Where do you do your research? On line or from books?


Both. Most of my research, though, has come from my experiences. I spent every summer during my childhood at my aunt and uncle's peach orchard that was the setting for On the Choptank Shores. I could use it because I had experienced it. But I had to go to the library to research what sort of undergarments women wore in the 1920s. No bras back then, for example. Women wore bust confiners.


I'm working on two more novels currently, and both evolved from my own experiences one way or another. I find living a full and active life is the best research an author can do.

More of My Way -- Rough draft

Once I have my six points planned it's time to begin. I start a rough draft feeling sick. Don't ask me why but I know I am never going to get the story down. I take the chapter sketch and then begin with sort of an outline. Then I begin. After doing the opening paragraph about ten times. This is a delaying tactic. My object is to get the story down as fast as I can. This draft is done partly in pen and partly on the computer. Some people do a book in a month and have a lot of pages. I do the rough draft in a day per chapter so my time varies. This is writing only a mother could love. Seriously, there is some dialogue, some stage direction and whole scenes done in one short paragraph or even a single sentence. I might write, they make love her viewpoint or they make love his viewpoint. She finds the body. There is a magical confrontation. Much depends on which genre I'm working on. There are no emotions, very little motivations. This draft probably ends up at about one quarter to one half of the book. Not many people work this way, but it works for me. I must know where I'm headed before I can made the story and the characters work.
The book I'm coming close to finishing began this way to the consternation of my critique group. I've never read them rough draft before. This story also had several changes, sort of major ones, during the rough draft. My hero had an older nasty brother. He remained the same. He had a younger sister who was supposed to be the new pharaoh's wife. Somewhere during the rough draft I knew this wouldn't work. He had to have a younger brother who would not be the pharaoh but something different in another book. This story also started out to be just a single book but during the rough draft this became a trilogy. At the end of the process I had about 25000 words of what looks to end up between 75000 and 80000 words. What I began with is not what I started with but I knew there were other drafts to do where all the problems would be solved.