Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Wednesday - Hook A Marriage Takes Two #MFRWBookHooks #MFRWAuthor #Medical romance

A Marriage Takes Two

Join the other riters who are on this blog hop .. Good reads ahead  http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com






BLURB:
 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?

EXCERPT:
Two hours of pep talks, a dozen whispered mantras, and five sets of calming breaths, failed to settle Carrie Graham’s acute case of nerves. Get a grip, she told herself. She was going to see Tony, childhood defender, teenage ego booster, and the one person who’d always listened. Besides, she’d already eliminated every other candidate for the position.

Who are you kidding?

Myself?

From the moment she’d been presented with her current dilemma, he was the only possibility. All she had to do was convince him… But could she?  Sure Tony listened, but he didn’t talk about his problems, or his feelings.

The fading light of dusk made her slow the car in order to read the street signs. She’d planned to leave the apartment at noon, but the short nap after her night shift stretched until late afternoon.
She made the final turn into Fourth Street in a small West Virginia town established in the days when coal mining dominated the area. She shook her head. Rundown houses and boarded storefronts were the norm along the town’s main street. Why was Tony practicing medicine in this end-of-the-road place?

She hadn’t seen him for years, not since several months after his marriage, an event that had shaken her life. His wife hadn’t understood the friendship, or Tony and Carrie’s mutual interest in medical mysteries. With a flash of anger, Carrie recalled the night that woman stormed into the hospital cafeteria and spewed jealous accusations.

Carrie’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. She’d been embarrassed, hurt, and angry enough that she’d walked away from her best friend.

She’d heard rumors Tony’s wife had taken off for greener pastures. At least that’s what the hometown gossips said. Not that Carrie believed in gossip, especially after the news of her inheritance brought the tongue-waggers out in force.

She slowed the car to a crawl. Waves of panic lashed against her momentary calm. The place in her head where she’d filed his address was empty. She braked. The paper with the directions fluttered from the dashboard. She bent and grabbed them.

One glance was enough to retrieve the forgotten data. She eased off the brake and cruised the street. Half the houses were missing numbers. What now? Then at the foot of the dead end street, she saw the ones she’d memorized displayed in shiny brass on a massive gray house that looked like the setting for a Gothic novel.

A broad lawn fronted the house. The tailored grass stood in contrast to the tangles on either side.

“This is the place.” She gulped a breath.

MY PLACES:

 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com


BUY MARK:

http://www.bwlpublishing.ca/authors/lane-walters-janet-romance-fantasy-usa/


Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Tuesday's Writer's Tip - Bringing the Characters on Stage #MFRWauthor #Writing #Characters

 Now that you know where your story is set and what's going on, you need to bring the characters on stage. Make them realistic. I once wrote a story with a park bench as the main character. Needless to say, this didn't work but it was an exercise in writing that failed. You need to show your characters as you bring them on stage in a realistic way. Put some details into the description of the person you are introducing. Think of how you see a new person in your space and try that. Susan looked at the short dumpy woman and wondered what the woman wanted.

Show the new character in action. Mildred stomped across the room and glared at Susan.

Bring your characters on stage one at a time. The reader can become completely lost when you bring the characters on in a mob scene. I often have this problem because often my characters are part of a series and they're getting together for some reason. I know who they all are, but in the opening scenes bring them on stage one at a time with a bit of action and description before you move to the next character.

Monday, December 18, 2017

Meandering on Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWAuthor #Poem #Writing #Christmas Tree

Meander 1 - Poem - Complaint From a Sick bed

Who would have ever thought
My knees would be rubbery knaves
Who would refuse to go the way
I wished they would go.
Who would have ever thought
Am ankles would quiver and quake
When up I try to get
I would like a can of spray starch
To firm up my resolve

Meander 2 - Decorating the Christmas Tree - The decorating has begun and I look at the large box of ornaments to put on the branches of the Christmas tree. I have put at least fifty on the tree and there are hundreds to go. I wonder how many days this will take. There are 10 days until Christmas. I sure hope I will finish in time. When the effort is finished and the lights are on, the tree will look wonderful and soon there will be four more ornaments to place. There are seven dragons but I can only find six. I'll keep looking since I'm sure they are there.

Meander 3 - Writing - I'm going to have to draw back on my latest WIP. There is a large problem in the chapter outline and a new complication that has snuck in but it's important to the hero's development and I have to figure how it will be worked in. I will manage this in time so I'll start looking at the seven chapters already blocked in and see where changes should be made.

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Sunday's Book - Murder and Mint Tea #MFRWAuthor #Cozy Mystery #Hudson Valley

Murder and Mint Tea (Mrs. Miller Mysteries)

Katherine is a retired nurse and a retired church organist. The small Hudson River village where she lives in her Victorian “Painted Lady” makes her the neighborhood matriarch. Along with her Maine Coon Cat Robespierre, she guards friends and families. When amoral Rachel moves into the first floor apartment of Katherine’s house, trouble erupts. The murder weapon is one she recognizes and makes her fear for her friends and family. Finding the killer becomes her goal.

 Editorial Review Murder and Mint Tea is a gem in its genre, combining the voice of a classic American whodunit with that of a traditional British detective novel. Murder She Wrote meets Miss Marple in a beautifully crafted tale that makes the reader want to reach into the pages and dispense justice to the villainess themselves. ~ Writer Gail Roughton

"4 stars! Murder and Mint Tea is an intriguing tale, rick in atmosphere and characterization. There has seldom been a villain as nasty as Rachel Rodgers, and she is so believable and instantly recognizable, that most people will be cheering on her murderer. Katherine Miller is a delight - thoughtful without being rash and a determined tea drinker as well!" Romantic Times Magazine -- Romantic Times Magazine

"Murder and Mint Tea is an engaging and cleverly plotted mystery. Author Janet Walters uses all the traditional touches of a classic British "cozy" and with her own unique voice, transplants them to this side of the Atlantic. Katherine's Victorian home, her garden and her always present mint tea create an atmosphere of warmth and security. Rachel's sleazy displays and her outrageous behavior make for a character who readers will love to hate. The contrast adds to the richness of the plot. Not only is this story intricately plotted, it is rich in characterization. Before Murder and Mint Tea becomes a "whodunit" it's a "who's gonna do it." Each and every character has an understandable reason for wanting Rachel dead. By the time she's murdered, the reader will feel like all the suspects are old friends. Murder and Mint Tea is a thoroughly enjoyable read that will keep you guessing to the last page." -- MysteryBuff Magazine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.




February 25, 2001
Format: Diskette


June 19, 2000


Saturday, December 16, 2017

Saturday's Blurbs featuring Books by Sandy Carlson #MFRWauthor #Fantasy #Mackinac Island

1. War Unicorn: The Ring by S. L. Carlson

Aldric is content working in his family’s apple orchard—or as content as a fourteen-year-old-boy can be doing chores and dreaming up new magic—when he digs up an antique ring and releases a rude spell-bound unicorn. She claims she belongs to the king, but after her long imprisonment, she can’t tell Aldric which king that might be. Aldric promises to take her to the capital, and suddenly a simple three-day trip becomes an adventure.

War is building on his country’s borders, and even with the help of Aldric’s new friend Iggy, and Gwen, the general’s daughter, it’s going to take all the military sword training, courage, and magic Aldric has to find the unicorn’s rightful king. Promises will be made, the bonds of family and friendship will be tested, with a war which changes everything.

Can an apple farmer and one rude war unicorn save the country from the approaching enemy?

WAR UNICORN Print: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1773627201/
WAR UNICORN Ebooks: http://books2read.com/u/3Ro6jp


2. The Powder Horn of Mackinac Island by Sandy Carlson

Arianna’s family bought a souvenir shop on Mackinac Island, where no motor vehicles are permitted. They thought it a perfect place to become rich-rich-rich for a special surgery procedure for Arianna’s paraplegic brother, Luc, and safe enough for him to have mobile freedom.

When Arianna and Luc discover they can travel back in time to 1793, they meet an ancestor and return to their time to search for the treasure marked on their engraved antique family powder horn. But plans change when Luc finds he can walk there—in the past—and is reluctant to return to the present. Arianna must choose between the treasure and her brother.


POWDER HORN Print https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542593271
POWDER HORN Ebooks:  https://www.books2read.com/u/3L9V75


THE TOWN THAT DISAPPEARED by Sandy Carlson

Just how many homes and friends does a kid have to lose in twelve years? Driven from his neighborhood during the Chicago fire of 1871, Adrian and his parents move to the Michigan wilderness where his father lands a job at the sawmill. The town is called Singapore - as if a name could make a tiny pit of a town into a great seaport.

Only his best friend, big R.T., keeps Adrian level, even though R.T. does have that habit of speaking in animal dialects.

Just as Adrian starts to feel Singapore is his home, he discovers the moving sand dunes along the Lake Michigan shore are slowly burying his town. He tries to stop it, but how can he fight both man and nature?


TOWN Print: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1481877488

Friday, December 15, 2017

Friday's Guest Sandy Carlson - Who She Was Before #MFRWauthor #Fantasy #Unicorns

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

Before I was a writer, I was first a storyteller. I wasn't much of a reader as a kid because I liked making up things and to be able to see the reactions of my "audience" (i.e., siblings, cousins, friends), and adjust my story to their emotional reactions. I didn't start actual writing down of stories until my early teens.

If, however, you meant what real-life job(s) I had to support my love of storytelling-writing, it was varied through the years, but mostly, I was a school teacher. Did teaching influence my writing? (Ooh, the true stories I could tell, but dare not.) Did those other dozen part-time jobs influence my writing? (Can you sense my head nodding a vigorous yes?) The fact of continually working with and alongside of people certainly influences my writing, no matter what the actual job, especially for plot and character. 
  

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. 

It's funny how I've always wanted to focus on writing for kids from the get-go, but it's my adult NF or humor articles, especially pre-blogging days, which were readily published. I've since published several historical fiction books for kids (reader ages 8-12), and now have been focusing on sharing my love of fantasy (reader age 10-14, through adult). Oh. And then there's that memoir I've been working on, which didn't at all start out as a memoir but seems to have developed into just that.

Short answer: General
Little longer short answer (by the hours spent and stories plotted): Fantasy for older kids



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

I didn't really start reading like crazy (i.e., for pleasure) until I was an adult. My all-time favorite authors are C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Their fantasy-adventure tales and well-developed characters have definitely influenced me, but so has a zillion hours spent outdoors, gardening, hiking, encountering many an animal in the wild, and then reading about them later.

  
4. What's your latest release? 

War Unicorn: The Ring was published October, 2017 by Books We Love Publishing



5. What are you working on now? 


I'm doing a series following War Unicorn. I'm now on my third book in the series. There are other stories sitting in pots on the back burners of my large cast iron writing stove, which sometimes get things tossed in (ideas, characters, plots) and then turned up to simmer...or not. There is also that memoirs thing.



6. Where can we find you? 
  
You can find my social media links and more at www.sandycarlson.com
Yes, the S in S. L. Carlson stands for Sandy. 

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Thursday's Third Scene - Romancing The Nurse #MFRWAuthor #Contemporary romance #medicine

Blake turned his head to hide a grin. So Ms. Prim and Professional was human after all. The stain of color that darkened her brown skin pleased him. She seemed every bit as aware of him as he was of her.

Maybe he should tell her he had no intention of leaving Hudson View, but he wanted to see if he could break through her stiff exterior. Ms. Ginny Barr was one fine woman. He inhaled her subtle perfume. In the past, he'd met and dated beautiful women and had appreciated them the way any man would. His intense and potent reaction to Ginny Barr surprised him.

He frowned. Some vague memory of having seen her before arose. No way, he thought. If he'd met her, he would have pursued the acquaintance. He planned to do just that, but not today. Her wariness intrigued him; her coldness presented a challenge.

After they returned to the nurses' station, he smiled. "Thanks for the tour. I'm looking forward to our next meeting."

Frost gathered in her eyes. She walked away. Instead of leaving, he leaned against the counter and watched the sway of her hips. Once she vanished, he headed to the elevators. Before going to the office and a meeting with his father's partners, he wanted to stop in Coronary Care.

Four days ago, the call from Mrs. Connor, the family's housekeeper, had accelerated his plans to leave the university. Though he would have welcomed another year as part of a prestigious team, his father's heart attack had made Blake realize he and his father needed each other.

Blake had been an infant when the Marshalls had adopted him. He'd grown up in a white home. As for his birth parents, he'd never asked questions or entertained curiosity about them. His adoptive parents had given him love, security and education. Unlike so many adopted children, he had never rebelled.

Not like Susan, and she hadn't had adoption as an excuse. From infancy, his blonde, green-eyed sister had fought every rule and restriction. When their mother died, Blake had been in his last year of medical school and too involved in building his career to have time for Susan. She'd chosen the wrong friends and the wrong activities. Three years ago, she'd become a runaway and a year later had died. For months, Blake's guilt had been a hot flame. Even now, the remains lay like embers waiting to flare again.

He paused outside the door of the cardiac unit and calmed his emotions. His father had never blamed anyone but himself for not being there for Susan, and Charles Marshall had understood Blake's need to immerse himself in surgery.

After pushing the door open, he strode past the desk and stopped in the doorway of his father's room. How old and drawn he looked, Blake thought. Funny how he'd always imagined his father as ageless.

Charles Marshall opened his eyes. "I thought you'd be in surgery. I had a knee on this morning's schedule."

"Greg suggested I take today to look things over and settle in." Blake recalled the hint of anger in

Greg's voice when he heard Blake's plans to remain in Hudson View. "Tomorrow, there's a knee replacement and a hip pinning. I'll scrub on them."

"What do you think of the ortho unit?"

"She's nice."

Charles Marshall laughed and the patina of age vanished from his face. "The unit, not the coordinator."

"It works." Blake stared at the wall. What had that woman done to him?

The older man leaned back against the pillows. "Speaking of Ginny Barr. Didn't I tell you she was the best thing to happen at Hudson View for ages?"

"She seems to be in control of the unit." The blatant admiration in his father's voice alarmed Blake. Just what was going on?

"Is that all you're going to say. Ginny's bright and she's gutsy. She's risen through the ranks and has a number of projects in the works for improving patient care. Since I'm knocked out of action, I hope you'll lend her your support." He winked. "She's a lovely woman."

A protest rose in Blake's thoughts. Then he saw the grin on his father's face. Blake shook his head. There was no way he would let his father play matchmaker. He could handle the situation on his own. For some reason, the prim Ms. Barr didn't like him, but she offered a challenge he couldn't resist.


 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

http://www.bwlpublishing.ca/authors/lane-walters-janet-romance-fantasy-usa/

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Wednesday Hooking The Doctor's Dilemma #MFRWBookHooks #MFRWAuthor #Medical romance

The Doctor's Dilemma



Today, I'm joining other MFRW Authors for #MFRWBookHooks with The doctor's Dilemma a sweet romance.
Find the other authors and their books here  http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com

Blurb:
Take one doctor who’s made a career of temporary positions and avoiding commitment. Add a nurse who dreams of security and a settled life. Stir in infant twins bequeathed to him by his dead foster sister. Pour them into a small Texas town that wants the doctor to stay. 

To Dr. Neal McKay, it’s a prescription for a dilemma.

Excerpt:
Streams of people eddied around Nora Harte, the pile of luggage and the double stroller. She scanned the faces of the crowd. A babble of voices filled the air. In an impatient rhythm, she tapped her foot against the floor.
Where is he?
Since Thursdays were almost a universal doctor’s day off, the trip had been scheduled for today. He knew the flight number and the time of arrival. The plane had been on schedule.
She groaned. The simple baby run had become anything but easy.
The loudspeaker crackled. “Would passenger Nora Harte pick up one of the courtesy phones?”
When the words blared a second time, with a start, Nora realized the message was for her. Yeah, right. She stared at the three suitcases, one diaper bag and the pair of car seats. She would need the arms of an octopus to fulfill the request.
What had kept Dr. McKay from the meet?
One of the twins puckered his mouth and added his screams to the cacophony in the baggage claim area of the Dallas airport. Nora crouched and stroked the baby’s cheek. “It’s only a minor delay. We’ll be out of here soon.” At least, she hoped they would.
The strident voice issued the command again. “How?’ she asked. The logistics of the move defeated her. She couldn’t abandon the babies or the luggage to search for a phone. She’d been deputized to deliver Molly and Todd Jamison to their guardian and she took this duty seriously.
The sight of a man in a gray uniform pushing an empty luggage cart solved the problem. “Sky cap, over here.” She used the voice that had parted crowds on busy New York City sidewalks. The one she hadn’t used since she’d moved upstate.
“Take these bags and the infants.”
“Don’t load babies on the cart, ma’am.”

“Sorry. I know that. I meant the infant seats. I have to answer the phone.”

https://twitter.com/JanetL717

 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

Buy Mark
http://www.bwlpublishing.ca/authors/lane-walters-janet-romance-fantasy-usa/

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Tuesday's Writer's Tip - More on In the Beginning of the Story #MFRWauthor #amwriting #openings

 Here's more on beginning your story. Remember, the reader wants to be entertained and there are some questions you should address in the beginning.

Where are you? The reader needs to have a sense of where the story is taking place and this is fairly easy to establish with some words. The city sidewalks burned hot enough to fry an egg. This gives you a sense of where the characters are and even the season of the year. Through out the opening scene bits of the scenery, the time and the place can be woven in.

Who are you? This is the character who in this opening scene is focusing on. The reader needs to get a sense of this person. So let's continue with the above The City sidewalks burned hot enough to fry an egg. Sally Stevens danced along trying to take as few steps as she could. The cracked soles of her shoes couldn't take much more of this. Now we have a person to focus on,

What's happening? This element needs to be shown as well. So let's put this in the opening. The city sidewalks burned hot enough to fry eggs. Sally Stevens danced along trying to take as few steps as she could. The crackes soles of her shoes couldn't carry her much further. Her breath came in rapid pants. She had to reach her aunt's house before her father caught her.

So now we have something to interest the reader to continue to read on. The opening here gives the reader information but also raises questions.


 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

http://www.bwlpublishing.ca/authors/lane-walters-janet-romance-fantasy-usa/

Monday, December 11, 2017

Meandering On Monday With Janet Lane Walters #MFRWAuthor #Poem #Snow

Meander 1 - Poem - Birthday

A Year has passed since yesterday
And yet, I feel no change.
There is no sense of wisdom grown
Or age upon my brow.
No sudden burst of maturity
Has come into my soul.
The calendar has lost a leaf.
Another year is gone.
Wisdom is an accumulatiom
Of living daily moments.
And age is but a matter
Of spirit growing cold.

Meander 2 - Snow 0 We are having the first snow of the season. So far, the roads are just wet and not covering with white but they promise the snow will continue through the afternoon. I hope they are wrong. Tomorrow I want the roads to be clear so I can see my grandchildren in the Nutcracker.

Meander 3 - Writing - The story continues to go well. I'm blocking in Chapter 9 and found some things I needed to alter. Won't know if the alterations will change the beginning until I reach the end. The Leo/Aquarius Connection is a good story.


 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

http://www.bwlpublishing.ca/authors/lane-walters-janet-romance-fantasy-usa/