Tuesday's Inspiration - More From Bird By Bird - Am I done? #MFRWauthor

 Anne Lamott always makes me chuckle. She equates finishing a book to tucking all the legs of an octopus and not letting them go. I hear this so often. "I think I'm finished with my book but how do I know?" I'm not sure there's an answer that suits everyone.

There are some questions to ask yourself. Are there any loose ends someone will find? I did this once to a friend who left a loose end that troubled me. The book was already published but when she had a chance to re-publish the book she got rid of that loose end. Have the characters reached a satisfactory ending? This is easy when writing a romance that finds the hero and heroine in each other's arms. In a mystery, the answer is two fold. Has the hero or heroine found justice and has the villain recieved that justice. There are a dozen other things to look at to make sure the story is over.

I usually tell people this. "When I feel like I'm going to vomit if I have to look at the story again I know it's done. It may not be perfect but perfect doesn't happen."

How about you? Do you have a special reason that tells you the story is completed and it's time to start a new adventure?

Meandering On Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #Poetry

Meander 1 - Poem - Health Hazard

I'm not looking for Prince Charming.
He's dangerous to my health.
Love strikes with viral suddenness
And grips you in the gut.
There's lasitude when he is gone
Plus loss of appetite.
Fever by night and chills by day
The price is very high.
Another great discovery
Is when you find the prince
You kiss him and he changes fast
Into a slimy frog.
Who wants to be responsible
For metamorphosis?
From frog to prince or prince to frog
I'll let me change themselves.

Meander 2 - Lately I've been added to several Facebook groups I did not choose to join. Why other people would do this bothers me. I will select the groups I join. I don't need others to make a decision for me. I'd like to unjoin these but I don't want to hurt someone's feelings. I really would like to unjoin these groups but I won't but I also won't put any nores up on them,

Meander 3 - Writing. These days it's more like typing. I have to finish typing Wizards of Fyre to send it off to publisher between the first and tenth of next month. I also would like to send off Seducing the Chef. It at least is typed. Waiting for a cover there. I am doing a little writing between typing stints and really wish I could sit at the computer for more than a half hour at a stretch. Typing Seducing the Photographer. Have the Innkeeper to go and will soon have The Doctor to join this plus Kat's book. I'll get this all together soon.

Sunday - My Book - Rekindled Dreams Moonchild Book 2 #MFRWauthor #medicalromance

 Rekindled Dreams - available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, All Romance Ebooks, and other outlets.


Returning to Fern Lake after ten years for the funeral of his cousin and teenage enemy, Simon Parker learns his high school sweetheart is nine months pregnant and seven months divorced from his cousin. Their meeting is complicated by her labor and driving her to the hospital. An attempted cheek kiss lands on her mouth and those old feelings resurface.

Dana Collins responds to the kiss but Simon walked away ten years before when she refused to go all the way. In those ten years he has never tried to reach her. Her marriage to his cousin lasted less than two years and she knew she’d made a mistake.

Can this pair put the past aside and let the embers of an old love be rekindled?

Reviews:

5 starsA story of immature love, heartache, and heartbreak.

By Roseanne Dowell on January 4, 2014

Format: Kindle Edition

Can Simon Parker right the wrong and pain he caused Dana Collins? When he drives her to the hospital to deliver her baby, the attraction is still there between them. Can Dana learn to trust Simon again? Will her ex husband’s twin sister complicate their lives? If I say more I’ll give away the entire book. Ms. Walters weaves a tale of a dysfunctional wealthy family, compassion, and love.

4.0 out of 5 starsReunion romances are my favorite kind of stories

By Kat Taylor on July 23, 2014

Format: Kindle Edition

Reunion romances are my favorite kind of stories. The chemistry sizzled from the beginning and never lets up. Nice escape for a summer night. 

Saturday's Blurbs features Books by Elf Ahearn #MFRWauthor

A Rogue in Sheep’s Clothing is available only at Amazon.com. There is a special promotion going on until the end of January, so you can download it for less or something.

In Lord Hugh Davenport’s opinion, women of the ton perpetually hide behind a mask of deception. That’s hard for Ellie Albright, the daughter of an earl, to swallow—especially since she’s disguised herself as a stable hand to get back the prized stallion her father sold to Hugh to pay a debt. If Hugh learns her true identity she’ll lose the horse and her family will go bankrupt. Somehow, though, losing Hugh’s affection is beginning to seem even worse.

Already only a step away from being snagged in her own web of lies, Ellie’s deceit threatens to spin out of control when Hugh’s mother invites Ellie and her sisters to a house party. Now Ellie has to scramble to keep Hugh from knowing she’s the stable girl he wants to marry, while simultaneously trying to win his trust as herself. Can she keep her costumes straight long enough to save her family? And even if she does, will it be worth losing his love?

Friday - Elf Ahearn - Who She Was Before #MFRWauthor

So I have this sleeper published in 2013 that is still climbing Amazon’s rating chart, which is why I’m back on the promo slog. The book is titled A Rogue in Sheep’s Clothing, and as of this writing it’s #62 in Victorian romance. It actually takes place during the Regency, but since it’s an intense “page turner,” (according to the critics) I guess they figured readers of Victorian novels would find it more acceptable. Here’s what I’d like, though; to reach #1 in all romance, okay? Okay. That said, I’ll get to the Q&A part of this posting.

1. What were you in your life before you became a writer? Did this influence your writing?

 A Rogue in Sheep’s Clothing features a magnificent stallion named Manifesto, so it’s not off topic to note that I was a horse as a child. I whinnied, I pawed the ground, I walked, trotted, cantered and galloped, and in the spring when violets bloomed, I grazed on the lawn. My father was a college professor and once a year he’d lecture about evolution and how humans came to walk upright. He spiced this oration with an anecdote about me continuing to crawl on my hands and knees though I was well past toddlerhood. Obviously I was a horse lover, and I was lucky enough to have my own pony, Bettikins, who was a far cry from Manifesto. Though she was chubby where Manifesto is sleek, and it was hard to get her to gallop, while Manifesto is a racer, she taught me the behavior of horses. Being a horse, however, taught me how to live in another’s skin, and I use that skill with every character I write.

2. Are you genre specific or general? Why? I don't mean genres like romance, mystery, fantasy etc. There are many subgenres of the above.

So far, I only write romances taking place during the Regency in England. They’re my sister’s favorite books, and she got me into this romance writing gig, so… But I do love writing historical novels. I’m an old soul and I think the Regency suits me. Plus, I love that my heroines can’t press a button on their cell phone and get the police to help them out of a dire situation. They also have to deal with horses, which makes me very happy. 

3. Did your reading choices have anything to do with your choice of a genre or genres?

My reading choices had NOTHING to do with my choice of genre, I’m ashamed to say. I’d scarcely read a romance before my sister suggested I write them myself. It’s been a joy to discover so many marvelous female voices. Frankly, romance writers are awesome!

4. What's your latest release?

Right now A Rogue in Sheep’s Clothing is the only book available. My second novel in the series, Lord Monroe’s Dark Tower, is in my total possession, and I don’t want to re-release it until I’ve done some rewriting. The love story sucked, if you’ll pardon my potty mouth.

5. What are you working on now?

I just finished the third novel in the series, which is titled A Duke in the Rough, and I’m searching for a publisher. Hopefully one that will print the whole series.

6. Where can we find you?

My Website is http://elfahearn.com/

And A Rogue in Sheep’s Clothing can be found on Amazon—just click the link.

Thursday's Opening Scene -- Code Blue by Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #medicalsuspense

Code Blue

Prologue

He crouched in the cemetery that embraced three sides of the hillside parking lot across from Bradley Memorial Hospital. A massive family marker shielded him yet allowed him a clear view of the steps, the street and the door of the Emergency Room. Dark clouds slid across the surface of the moon. Lights, set high on poles around the perimeter of the lot sent finger shadows groping among the cars.

The watcher straightened and edged from behind the granite marker. White puffs of vapor from the shallow, rapid breaths he took coalesced around his face. He held his body as rigid as a tombstone. As he waited for the evening nurses to end their tour of duty and hurry across the street to their cars, his narrowed eyes focused on the brightly-lit hospital entrance. Every night for a week, he had watched while excitement and anticipation had circled like a swarm of hornets. Would she come tonight?

"I'll never leave you." When he was eight, Mommy had said the words that had become his litany. That broken promise had brought him here.

He stared at the steps. When would Susan come?

When Mommy was a patient, Susan had been her favorite nurse. He had liked Susan, too, but she hadn't stopped those other people from hurting Mommy. His shoulders tensed.

"I'll never leave you. They'll have to kill me first."

The night Mommy died was etched into his memories. On that dreadful night, he had begun his plan to make them pay.

Mommy would be unhappy about what he meant to do. To her, nurses were special and Susan more wonderful than the rest.

He rocked from his heels to his toes. The last time he had disobeyed, Mommy had threatened to tell everyone how bad he was. He had promised her he would be good. His hands curled into fists. Sometimes he wanted to feel the heat of accomplishment so much he felt sick.

He gulped a breath. Tonight the heat would blossom and he would feel powerful again.

Susan was like Mommy. She would tell. He chewed on his lower lip. Her death would free him to still the people who had hurt Mommy on that dreadful night.

His smile became a grimace.

He had trusted Susan but she had failed to keep Mommy safe. Though he wished to see the others dead, Susan had to be first. He had laid his plans carefully, and while he had considered all the things that could go wrong, days had become weeks and then months.

The bright lights across the street caught his attention and stirred his hopes. She had to come tonight. He wanted to be free.

His hand brushed Mommy's tombstone. He pressed his fingers against the engraved letters of her name. He cocked his head and listened to the whisper of the wind.

"Nurses give so much to others. Someone should take care of them."

Mommy's husky voice thrummed in a corner of his mind. Her face appeared. Tears spilled from her eyes. He shook his head. Why should he listen to her when she had left him?

Sometimes at night when he slept in her bed, he caught a glimmer of her presence. For fleeting moments, the scent of her perfume brought her to him.

He squared his shoulders. Since he was eight and Daddy died, Mommy had watched him carefully. One day, her vigilance had wavered. The neighborhood bully had fallen from a tree and broken his neck. That awful boy shouldn't have torn up Mommy's flower garden.

Mommy had liked the candy and the other presents he had given her every time he disobeyed. He groaned. Who would like his presents now?

Where was Susan? Waiting made him anxious. She had to come so she would be just like Mommy.

He saw her. Hazel eyes, sad eyes, Susan's eyes, Mommy's eyes. Brown hair swirled to hide her siren smile. He reached for her, but she vanished into the darkness of the night.

The chill November wind flowed across his nape. He jammed his hands into the pockets of his black leather jacket and touched the weapon he had brought.

The sound of leather scuffling against asphalt caused him to turn and scan the parking lot. When he saw no one, his gaze returned to the hospital entrance.

Someone dashed across the street. A flash of white showed beneath the woman's dark coat. He held his breath. Susan had come. It had to be her. A rush of anticipation built to a peak. She was here. The nurse ran up the steps beside the cemetery.

A darting shadow startled him. With stealthy movements, a dark-clad figure edged between the cars. The nurse paused beside a battered tan sedan. A hand stretched to grasp the purse that dangled from her shoulder.

"Susan, watch out." A bellow proclaimed his rage. If she was attacked, he should be the attacker.

Mommy wouldn't like that. "A good boy never hurts a woman." She had never guessed what he had done, not even when he had given her the tri-colored bracelet she had always worn.

"No," he shouted.

The dark figure fled and nearly tripped over the single strand of chain that separated the parking lot from the cemetery.

The watcher smiled. Mommy would be proud of him. He couldn't wait to go home and tell her what he had done tonight.

A shrill scream rose. From her? From him? He bit his lower lip and clenched his hands. He stared at the woman he had thought was Susan. She wasn't, but she had been in Mommy's room the night she died. Intent on completing what the mugger had begun, he stepped toward the chain. What was he thinking about? He couldn't, not tonight. Susan had to be the first. He returned to Mommy's grave. Her voice rode on the wind.

"What will become of you when I'm not here to look after you? I'll never leave you. They'll have to kill me first."

But she was dead and they had killed her.

"Mommy, don't leave me. You promised you would never go."

The nurse ran to the steps. She shouted and waved to the group of women who hurried across the street. He slid deeper into the shadows. Car doors slammed. Engines roared. He waited until most of the cars had left the parking lot before he went to his own. As he drove home, he wondered why Susan hadn't come.

Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Craftsmanship Part 4 #MFRWauthor #amwriting

Sometimes showing motivation for a character's particular action can't be done at that point. There can be ways around this. This happens when the viewpoint character isn't the one performing the action. Allow the person through whose eyes the scene is being shown be the one to speculate on what happened. "I wonder if she's thinking about being betrayed before. Those are harsh words." "Is he experienceing pain? that why he's saying those hurtful words?" Now those speculations may or may not be right but they allow the reader to join the speculation and to recall the other reveals about the character being viewed.

Another way when motivation would make for an awkward bit is to have one of the characters ask a question. This will allow the character to provide an answer that hits on motivation. "I won't go to the dance with him." "Why?" She thought marcy was head over heels about Bob. "I'm just his second choice and I'll never be second to anyone." Shows a lot about the character and motivations.

Adverbs are useful tools but used too often muddy the prose. They can become a habit that forms a patters. We've all seen this in dialogue where each character's speech goes something like this. He said laughingly. She sad sadly. He asked hurriedly. You get the picture. Sometimes using one of those ly words is what's needed

So one of the main partsof craftsmanship is being able to find ways to show the characters' motivations in various ways. That took me a long time to learn though sometimes I managed to do this without thinking. Ialso fell for the adverb trap but I've learned to use this like a bit of seasoning.

Tuesday's Inspiration - Bird By Bird - Plot Treatment #MFRWauthor

I'm still delving in Anne Lamott's book for inspiration and just finished reading the segment on Plot Treatment. This brought to mind my first few efforts in writing novels. I certainly whipped through knowing I had the characters and the idea and knew where I wanted the book to go. That first draft turned into a lot of taking wrong turns and never quite reaching the end of the story. Then an editor sent me this word of advice. You have many elements to make a good story but you really need a road map to decide not where you're going but how you're going to get there.

The interesting thing was we were planning a trip and got one of those trip planners by AAA and suddenly I knew what I had to do. This plan for the three day drive was broken up into segments.

So later I set down to write what I called the chapter synopsis. I looked at this like my telling the story. There was littleor no show in the story. When I finished I had about 20 pages that had a lot of words written there but this was a plan of the story from beginning to end. I've used this plan ever since then and it certainly makes writing the books easier.

My advice is if you're having trouble figuring where your story is going or should go, try writing a chapter plan. You may not use all that's in those pages. You may have to tear it apart at some point in the story and change what goes in the chapters but doing this might just inspire you when you sit there and don't know where you're going. You may find a plan sends you speeding to the end.

Meandering On Monday With Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #Poetry #writinglongeviety

Meander 1 - Poem

Carpe Noctum

My love, your frost-kissed head of hair
Holds more appeal than untinged locks.
Though myne seems young, if you look close
You find tracts of an artist's brush.
My body's taut and so is yours
From dieting and exercise.
Oh come before arthritis ice
Settles in our aging joints and
We become as the winter's sun
Heading for the longest night.
Let us flare in one small fire
Make a warm night off season.
Mildly reminiscent of the
Bonfire days seized in our youth.

Meander 2 _ Writing longeviety. I have now become my 48th year of becoming a published author. Granted there were months and even years when I didn't publish being entangled in other affairs like a return to nursing and other things that seemed important at the time. I remember the first sale with the same wonder as I do each new one. Hopefully there are a few more years so I cn finish all the stories that need to be written or revised,

Meander 3 - My writing is going slowly but it's going. I am working on the fourth of the six novellas and am quite frustrated. I would like to see them published again but they are still up at 2 sites. I don't see why the publisher doesn't take them down there when she has at the other three or four places. Typing the changes into Wizards is going slowly also. There's soo many little and big ones that must make sense. So I slog.

Sunday - My Book - Shattered Dreams - Moonchild 1 #MFRWauthor #medicalromance

Shattered Dreams - Available at most venues

Torn apart years ago by lies and threats, Rafe Marshall returns to town and confronts Manon Lockley. She has been told he died on the night he stood her up for their senior prom.

When she faints, Rafe catches her and realizes he hasn’t stopped loving her. Manon carries anger and now grief that wasn’t real. Rafe wants her in his life, but she doesn’t want to talk about what happened in the past. She can’t be sure if her father or someone else told lies about Rafe and she doesn’t want to know. Can Rafe persuade her to listen? Not without a battle.

Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsInteresting romance mystery

ByDeborahTOP 1000 REVIEWERon June 15, 2014

Format: Kindle Edition

Manon gets stood up on prom night by her boyfriend Rafe to then be told he's dead, twelve years later he walks back into her life and she doesn't know what to do or think, has everything for the last twelve years been lies, why did he leave and who told her he was dead. Rafe has always loved Manon, the accident left him with scars and gaps in his memory to finally fully get his life back he needs to talk to Manon and by sorting out the past he can then move on with his future hopefully with her.
This was an interesting book which starts with the twelve year anniversary of Rafe's death and together we discover what actually happened all those years ago.

The story of the death of young love and the birth of adult love. It is the in between that gets you. Also the knowledge that you can't stop real love.

ByReaderon October 15, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

i liked this story, it was okay and had potential to be better if the characters were more developed and the conflict less forced. A man she thought dead walks into her office and she doesn't want to find out how that was possible, really? She is willing to accept she is still attracted to him but she doesn't want to find out how he could still be alive? She was a little juvenile, holding a grudge from when she was seventeen and the guy stood her up because he was ran off the road but only accepts it when it's convenient for