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Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Tuesday's Writer's Tip - 2 looks at Plot #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #writing #tips #plot #tragedy #comedy

We've all seen the masks signifying tragedy and comedy. These are two types of plots. They're not as we always see the, Tragedy plots are more physical and comedy are those of the mind. These are two basic plots and to look at them gives one an idea of what kind of plot they're setting into words.

Tragedy of physical plots are those that pit might and power against each other. Comedy plots often show two or more people matching with and coming up with a story. But these two forms of plot have many variations. So when you're writing your story, you need to isolate just what form your story will take.

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Monday, November 21, 2022

Meandering on Monday with Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #reading #writing #thoughts

Meander 1 Reading = In the past week, I've been reading a number of books. The Shattered Cage by Jessie Payne - the third in a series and a fantasy. Kayla's Cowboy by Nancy M Bell - a romance where I learned about dressage and bull riding, A Bright Darkness by J C Kavanagh - The third book in a trilogy about the dream world. Looking for Snowflakes by Eden Monroe a romance and a cute white miniature poodle. All the books were great in a different way. Though two are fantasies, they are totally different. The other two are romances and also with different stories.

Meander 2 - Election is over and things weren't as bad as they could have been. They're also not as good as hoped for. We will live with this and see what will come next. Hopefully some of the crazies will get their acts together and look at the people of the country and not themselves and their nasty ideas.

Meander 3 - Writing - moving ahead slowly with Keltoi but I like the way the writing is going. Hopefully the rough draft will be finished by the end of December and the revisions will be easy.

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21st Century Marriage of Convenience

Sunday, November 20, 2022

Sunday's Book features A Marriage Takes Two #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #romance #medical

” This is medieval.” That’s Carrie’s response to the reading of her grandfather’s will. The money will allow her to provide for her ill mother and give her the chance to give up one of her full time jobs as a nurse. The money won’t be hers until she marries. This creates a dilemma. She has no time for dating and doesn’t know who would marry her until she thinks of her former best friend, Tony. But can she ask him? Two months later time is running out and she decides to take the plunge.

Three years ago, Tony and his wife divorced. Last year he obtained custody or their child. When Carrie asks him to marry her he decides since this won’t be a real marriage, he can accept. Years ago, he loved Carrie but never said anything to her. Now burned, he doesn’t believe in love. To help her uncomplicate her life he agrees.

Can Tony and Carrie get past the reason for the marriage and find love and make a home for his son?

Carol B

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 16, 2016

Verified Purchase

Fun, easy to read with just enough conflict to keep it interesting. Will read more of Ms. Walters books.

Rosemary Morris

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 28, 2018

What does the future hold for Carrie? She is not sure whether Tony, her ‘childhood protector’, ‘teenage ego booster’, the one person who always listened to her, will help her.
Years ago, Tony’s wife, Marilyn spread false accusations about Carrie, a nurse, in the hospital cafeteria. Embarrassed and angry Carrie walked away from Tony, her best friend. Since then, Marilyn has left Tony and their son Chad, who reacted by behaving badly.
Tony has never forgotten, Carrie, his first love. When she asks him to marry her to fulfil the terms of her grandfather’s will, although he has reservations he agrees to help her. However, with a rebellious child to deal with and an uncertain relationship they have much to resolve.
Ms Lane-Walters has written a romantic novel about a marriage of convenience with many twists and turns that held my interest from beginning to end.
A Marriage Takes Two contains explicit sex.

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Saturday, November 19, 2022

Books by Mikki Sadil are featured at eclecticwriter.blogspot.com on Saturday's Blurbs #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Murder #Macchiatos #Civil War

I think my most favorite of my own books are "The Freedom Thief" , "The Return of the Freedom Thief', and my newest book, "Murder and Macchiatos." I have been enthralled by the Civil War since I was a kid and first learned about it in school. I had a brother who was 12 years older than I, but however unlikely, we were very close. He was killed in WWII. He taught me a lot about family closeness, and when I began to learn about the Civil War and how it destroyed families who had different philosophies, it just seemed unreal. So when I started to write, I wanted to write about that War but I wanted to do it right. So, in doing research to know exactly what I was talking about, my husband and I took a two week barge trip down the Ohio and up the Mississippi Rivers, visiting small towns on those rivers which were active in the War but never talked about in history books.

The Freedom Thief is about a 13, almost 14 year old boy living on a slavery plantation in Kentucky. His best friend is a young slave boy who is crippled. When Ben McKenna learns that his father plans to sell Josiah, even though Josiah's mother Bess and father Jesse will still be on the plantation, Ben decides to arrange an escape for all three. The time for the escape came before Ben could make any real plans, as the slave buyer was coming the very next day. That night, Ben took his friend Josiah, and his parents Bess and Jesse, and they embarked on an escape journey filled with danger, fear, and not really knowing what was coming next. The only thing Ben really knew was that he and his friends had to find the Ohio River, and he had to, somehow, get them across that river into the safety that lay beyond. Every step of the way they were met with hostility, deception and dangerous situations. They are plagued with fear, hunger, and exhaustion, often on the run from slave hunters and their dogs...dogs that seem to be able to follow their scent no matter what they do to disguise it. Hidden barns, tiny attic rooms, cellars full of rotting fruit and vegetables were often their only means of safety. Sometimes they were given the luxury of a ride in the bottom of a wagon or in a casket on a glass-enclosed horse-drawn hearse, but treachery seemed to all around them all the time, and neither Ben nor the slaves were sure that someday, they might find the safety and freedom of the Ohio River.

The Return of the Freedom Thief: When Ben McKenna finally returns home after getting his friends to safety, he is met with anger and hostility from his parents and two older brothers. Only his grandmother, a not-so-secret Abolitionist, is happy to see him. Shortly after his return in 1861, the Civil War begins and his two brothers go off to join the Confederate Army. Soon after, Ben realizes he can no longer stay at home with parents who are still hostile to him, so he decides to become a spy for the Union Army. His grandmother helps him by sending him to a friend of hers in Lexington who has secretly organized an espionage ring, which Ben joins. His first mission is hampered by a young girl who suddenly appears and refuses to leave his side. When he realizes he really can't get rid of her, he is afraid his spy future will be compromised, but Puck becomes a staunch ally and help by pretending to be his sister, and helping him in his activities. Finally, however, his missions become so dangerous that he must leave Puck behind, as he embarks upon a journey already deeply mired in danger, deceit, and deception. Every move he makes, every decision, is a constant threat to his well=being, and he often wonders if he will ever return home, as he begins to realize, perhaps too late, that his own survival is not guaranteed.

Murder and Macchiatos: Law professor Peyton Ashford has just inherited an ancient barn that has been in her family for over a hundred years. She and her District Attorney husband, Cooper, remodel it into a Books and Brews Bistro...a place to enjoy speciality coffee drinks and check out the books in the library part...and also into beautiful living quarters upstairs. During the last part of the construction a body is found buried in the back part of the barn. When Peyton finds out that it is a great-uncle that she has not seen since childhood, and who has been murdered in the exact same way that her great-great grandfather was killed 100 years ago, she is determined to find the murderer and the reason behind the murder. The local sheriff has a history with Peyton, not a pleasant one, and has refused to investigate the murder, so Peyton and her two best friends, Willow and Kylie, decided to investigate themselves. Before they can really get started, three mysterious men, a missing teen girl, an angry and very competitive fellow law professor, and a strange, vengeful woman all combine to make what might have been "just" a simple murder the most baffling crime the small, historical whaling town of Dauphin's Cove has ever seen.

All three of these books can be found at Amazon, under Author Mikki Sadil, and on Smashwords, also under Author Mikki Sadil.

They are also sold at Barnes and Noble.

Friday, November 18, 2022

Friday Mikki Sadil is talking about being a Panster or a Plotter #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Panster #Plotter #Plot

1) I am basically a pantster. For my most recent book, a cozy mystery titled Murder and Macchiatos, I was a little bit of both. For the first time in my writing career, I actually laid out a very basic outline...which I changed at least a dozen times during writing. Can't say I like outlining! I hated it in school, which is probably why I don't like it now.

2. Usually, the plot. I will get a vague idea of a story line, then over time I develop it in my head. Sometimes it turns out to be a feasible story to begin plotting, and occasionally, it doesn't. If it does, then I start thinking about the kind of characters that would go with this particular idea, and begin developing them...at least, the basics...in my head. When I finally start writing, they just seem to develop fully by themselves as I go along. I once woke my husband up talking aloud. When he asked me what was wrong, I told him, nothing, it's just one of my characters talking to me. He grinned, said "you writers are all crazy," and went back to sleep. But that's the way my characters seem to develop themselves...with a little help from me.

3) I am working on the second book of the cozy mystery series, "starring" Peyton Ashford, professor of law. The working title is "Murder, Morning Glories, and Mochas", but that will probably change by publishing time...or...maybe not!

4) No, I don't have anything or place that I use constantly in my books. That is probably because I write in several different genres. My first book was a contemporary novel about friends and enemies among 13-14 year old girls; the second and third books were historical, about a teen ager who lived on a plantation in Kentucky with slaves, how he did not believe in slavery as his parents and brothers did but not his grandmother, and how he arranged the escape of a young slave boy and his parents. The second book dealt with this same young man, a little older now, becoming a spy for the Union Army after the Civil War began. The next book was about an eleven year old girl with a 160 IQ, in high school, who was always getting into trouble, and especially when she finds an ancient book of Indian magic. The fifth book was a paranormal, about a sixteen year old girl just discovering her psychic and magical abilities. And now my current book is my first mystery and my first adult book.

5). Until my illness hit, I wrote everyday. Sometimes for several hours, sometimes just for a short while, but every day without fail. Hoping to get back to that routine soon!

6) You can find me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/AuthorMikki Sadil/

On Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Mikki-Sadil/e/B0013PQGMA

On BWL publishing: www.bwlpublishing.ca/authors/sadil-mikki-ya-historical-suspense-usa

And, if you put "author mikki sadil" into Google, all of my books, short stories and articles will come up

7) My most favorite author is James Patterson, who is the number one author in the world. He is a mystery writer, and is fabulous! I have over 40 of his books, and still have not begun to make a dent into the number of his books I would still like to own and read. It would be very difficult to talk about a specific book, since all of his...believe it or not...are so different and yet so compelling. But one of the best is "The President is Missing", which he co-wrote with President Bill Clinton. Another which will keep you guessing to the very end is "The Murder House."

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Thursday at eclecticwriter.blogspot,com Janet Laen Walters is talking about writing Gemstones #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Regency #romance #Jewels #India

O really enjoy reading Regency romances so I decided to write one. Actually, I had four friends I considered turning into lives. I began Gemstones with tons of research, and an idea. I wanted to bring the heroine from India where she lived with her father and sisters. Her mother had died ane as the oldest of three girls, Nicola became their guardian. The sisters were interesting to develop but where to find a hero and a reason for them to travel to England. Then the idea of a greedy uncle who was partner to Noclla's father occurred. Also there was the grandmother whose daughter had run away and married a man heading to India. The hero was a relative of the grandmother. Thus the story began.

Writing this book allowed me to explore India in books and also gems. Connecting a gem to a statue from India was good. Also allowing the heroine to have explored Indian mythology was another plus in developing the story. The conflict with the hero is partially based onher knowledge which is only book learning, not the experience the hero believes. The book was a fun one to write but the three other books in what was to be a series all encountered glitches in developing the story lines.

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Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Meet one of the Three and Three - Warrior #MFRWHooks #BWLAuthor #Coming release #fantasy

Join the authors at #MFRWHooks here http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com for some great excerpts. Mine is found at eclecticwriter.blogspot.com from Seppal TBR in December

Blurb:

In Seppal, the prophecy has been heard and the Three and Three are awaited.

Excerpt

The land suddenly grew familiar. That gnarled okala tree marked the start of the clan’s windsteed pasture. An eagerness for home burst free. Months had passed since she’d last been with people. Strangely, she hadn’t missed the noise and chatter of the clan but memories flashed in her thoughts. She had been the chosen one this year to ride with the king stallion. Pride filled her thoughts.

The emptiness of the huge grassy expanse troubled her. Where was the rest of the herd? There had been twenty-four mares, nearly a dozen foals, ten older colts and fillies. She had expected to be surrounded and greeted by the herd.

Moments later. She stumbled over the reason for her uneasy feelings. She nearly fell atop a mare sprawled on the ground. The animal’s throat had been slashed and the body bore dozens of whip marks. The king stallion bugled a mournful cry.

“No.” Amara’s shouted denial rose to blend with the windsteed’s cry. Tears gushed from her eyes.

The six yearlings clustered around her. She stroked each one in an attempt to offer comfort she didn’t feel. “Why?” Her voice rose in denial.

With slow steps, keeping on hand on the king stallion’s side, they walked toward the home camp. The evidence of the slaughter became total. Once or twice she saw bodies of men who had been stomped until they were unrecognizable. Who had done this?

Tears streamed from her eyes making the world seem misty. She feared what she would find when she reached the camp. Suddenly she didn’t want to see. She halted. The king stallion strode at her side and urged her forward. She leaned against his firm body until the spate of tears ceased.

She drew a deep breath and kept her eyes half-closed. She prayed to find someone who still lived. The yurts had been overturned and smashed. The burden beasts had been slaughtered. Several had been butchered. Clouds of flies rose in clouds as she named the dead.

She bent and touched the hand of one of the fallen. No more than two days had passed since the slaughter. There was no way she could bury the bodies. The needed grave would be larger than a thirteen-year-old girl could dig.

Among the dead she discovered strangers. Their black uniforms told her who had sent them. The priestesses of the Mistress of the Dark Moon

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Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Tuesday's Writer's Tip Do As I Do or Not #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Writing #Plot

Do as I do or not, is the question. What's really important is to find your own way of plotting and writing your book. Before I began this long and rocky career as a writer, I read every book I could find on writing. At least, I had a bit of sense about this. I didn't try every writer's advice about how to do this. What I did was take a bit of this and a bit of that from other people's books on writing. Then I began to write and as the rejections came in, I found another book of writing advice to read but I also continued to write my stories. The very first book I finished had seventeen revisions as I learned from books and editors about how to write a story.

So as I give writing advice, do what I did and take a bit of this and a bit of that method and find your own way. I truly believe as many writers as there are yesterday, today and in the future, each writer has to find the way that works for them. If you find a little grain in these bolgs, I'm happy for you. That's the way I devised my way and how you will find yours.

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Monday, November 14, 2022

Today at eclecticwriter.blogspot.com Meanderine on Monday is featured #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Reading #Writing #Thoughts

Meander 1 - Reading - Have finished re-reading Cherruh's Foreigner series and really wish there were more than 21. I really enjoy these stories.

Meander 2 - Thoughts - Election is over but not all the results are in as yet. The deluge wasn't as drastic as some predicted and for that I am glad. Do feel there are some dumb older people in this country, especially those in my age group. Thank heavens I have my husband's pension to live on and not just Social Security which will be gone if a certain party has their way. There are also some other things that will be gone if those people have their way. All I can do is hope for better things to come.

Meander 3 - Writing - Am moving forward with the rough draft of Keltoi. This draft always takes the longest to complete. Have reached Chapter 4 out of 15,

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