Zara West's Blog, page 6
June 15, 2022
C. Becker Writes Romantic Suspense
Please welcome romantic suspense author C. Becker. She is here today to share her writing life. Thank you for having me on your blog today,...
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May 18, 2022
J. Arlene Culiner Writes Stories of the Imagination
J. Arlene Culiner is a fellow Wild Rose, and the author of mysteries, narrative non-fiction, and romance. She has a new release to tell us...
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May 11, 2022
Meet Author Patricia McAlexander
Patricia McAlexander writes thrillers with romantic cores and psychological twists. She is here to tell us about her writing inspirations and her new book release
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April 27, 2022
Meet Romance Author Lori Matthews
Author Lori Matthews writes high action, high stakes thrillers. Come learn more about her newest books and series.
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March 16, 2022
Christina Strigas writes Vampire Romance
Love those vampires? Meet fellow Wild Rose Christina Strigas. A poet and novelist, she has just published a gothic vampire romance.
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March 10, 2022
Judy Kentrus has a Boxed Set for You
Romance author Judy Kentrus talks about her author life and her new release in the boxed set Season for Love.
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February 16, 2022
Susie Black’s Cozy Mysteries
Wild Rose author Susie Black writes humorous cozy mysteries. She is here today to share her background in the garment industry which is the setting for her debut.
Welcome Susie…
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I was born in the Big Apple but now call sunny Southern California home. Like the protagonist in my Fashion & Foul Play Mystery series, I am a successful ladies’ apparel sales executive. I began telling stories as soon as I learned to talk. Named Best US Author of the Year by N. N. Lights Book Heaven, I am an award-winning, cozy mystery author now telling all the stories from my garment industry experiences in humorous mysteries.
I read, write, and speak Spanish, albeit with an accent that sounds like Mildred from the Mid-West went on a Mexican vacation and is trying to fit in with the locals. Since life without pizza and ice cream as my core food groups wouldn’t be worth living, I am a dedicated walker to keep my girlish figure. A voracious reader, I am also an avid stamp collector. I live with a highly intelligent man and have one incredibly brainy but smart-aleck adult son who inexplicably blames his sarcasm on an inherited genetic defect.
What interesting jobs have you had?
My ladies’ apparel sales career started accidentally when my sales rep dad needed help at a trade show. I wrote so many orders, that dad offered me a job as a sub-rep traveling the deep southern states. I moved from Los Angeles to Atlanta and was the ONLY female sales rep traveling in that region of the country. I had to outperform my male competitors and prove myself every day to an industry that doubted a woman’s ability to do the job or last more than a season. I proved all the doubters wrong, and broke every glass ceiling.
How have those jobs affected your writing?
From the beginning of my career, I kept a daily journal that chronicled the interesting, quirky, and often challenging people I encountered, as well as the crazy situations I got myself into and out of. My journal is the foundation, prime research tool, and source of all I write.
As a female who has succeeded in a historically male-dominated industry, it was important to me to write about the apparel business from a woman’s point of view. Things rarely turn out the way you think they will. But I am living proof that things do happen for a reason. Life is indeed a circle. I got into the rag biz because I was destined to write about it.
How did you choose the genre you write in?
I came to write in the cozy mystery genre because I love solving puzzles. My parents would certainly confirm I have always asked a lot of questions, and I am naturally curious (some narrow-minded people say I am nosy…go figure…LOL). So, writing mysteries was the natural next step for me to take.
The bonus is that it was an excellent way to knock off some people on paper who I would have loved to eliminate in real life and still not end up in prison. Extremely therapeutic. I highly recommend it.
Can you tell us about any other upcoming books, series, or writing plans?
Book number two in the series is with the editor now and fingers crossed, will be published this spring. Books three and four in the series are written, but have not been edited or submitted for consideration yet.
I have written a coming-of-age story loosely based on how I got into the apparel business that my publisher has shown interest in. We are in talks right now as to the best way to introduce this story.
I have also mapped out a second series about an investigative reporter who reveals secrets about a powerful politician and loses her job and is exiled to a small town in the California desert. This series is only in the planning stage right now, with no manuscripts completed yet.
Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
Everything in my books in this series is based on real life experiences. All of the characters are based on real people, and the central characters are all strong, successful women like ones I know who have beaten the odds and broken the glass ceiling. Holly Schlivnik, the main character, is based on me with some poetic license taken, of course.
All my stories take place in the fast-paced ladies’ Los Angeles apparel industry. The premise behind my debut cozy, Death by Sample Size, is that apparel-industry-buying office exec Bunny Frank is so universally disliked that when she is murdered, it isn’t a question of who wanted her dead, but a question of who didn’t.
In real life, there was a real person the Bunny Frank character is based on, and while many in the apparel industry would not have minded had she been rubbed out, she managed to live out her days and die of old age.
Death by Sample Size: A Hilarious Whodunitby Susie Black
Everyone wanted her dead…but who actually killed her? The last thing swimwear sales exec Holly Schlivnik expected was to discover ruthless buying office big wig Bunny Frank’s corpse trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey with a bikini stuffed down her throat. When Holly’s colleague is arrested for Bunny’s murder, the wise-cracking, irreverent amateur sleuth jumps into action to find the real killer. Nothing turns out the way Holly thinks it will as she matches wits with a wily murderer hellbent for revenge.
Available from AMAZON | B&NLearn more about Susie Black
Named best US author of the year by N. N. Light Book Heaven, award-winning cozy mystery author Susie Black was born in the Big Apple but now calls sunny Southern California home. Like the protagonist in her Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series, Susie is a successful apparel sales executive. Susie began telling stories as soon as she learned to talk. Now she’s telling all the stories from her garment industry experiences in humorous mysteries.
She reads, writes, and speaks Spanish, albeit with an accent that sounds like Mildred from Michigan went on a Mexican vacation and is trying to fit in with the locals. Since life without pizza and ice cream as her core food groups wouldn’t be worth living, she’s a dedicated walker to keep her girlish figure. A voracious reader, she’s also an avid stamp collector. Susie lives with a highly intelligent man and has one incredibly brainy but smart-aleck adult son who inexplicably blames his sarcasm on an inherited genetic defect.
Looking for more? Reach her at mysteries_@authorsusieblack.com
Susie Black would love to hear from you. Post your questions and comments below.The post Susie Black’s Cozy Mysteries appeared first on Zara West Romance.
January 19, 2022
Karen Guzman Writes Women’s Fiction
Women’s Fiction differs from romance in that a happily ever after is not guaranteed, but a deeply emotional story is. Wild Rose author, Karen Guzman, has just published a lyrical novel about two women struggling to make sense of their lives.
Welcome, Karen. Can you tell us more about yourself and your writing?
Is writing something that comes easy to you or not?
Writing comes pretty easily to me. But that isn’t to say I don’t struggle and wrestle for the “right words” sometimes. Especially when it comes to describing nuanced mood states! Sometimes the right words are a gift that comes to me; other times I’ve got to hunt for them.
How did you choose the genre you write in?
I write literary fiction and women’s fiction. I didn’t choose my genre. I think genres choose authors. We gravitate naturally to the material and the voice that capture the narratives we want to share.
Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?
Right now, Andre Dubus III is in my head big-time. And it’s all for the good. While I’ve been influenced by many authors over the years, the most recent novel I read was Dubus’ utterly amazing Gone So Long. Dubus impressed me in every way, a contemporary master at work. I liked his dad’s short fiction, too, years ago!
Can you tell us about any other upcoming books, series, or writing plans?
After publishing two novels, I am now working on a short story collection. Two of the stories are being published this year in Gargoyle Magazine, a terrific literary magazine in the Washington, D.C. area. I’m excited to be forging ahead on this new project, going shorter is a challenge, and it’s refreshing to me after the long narratives.
Are there certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with?
I always seem to include elements of the longing for spiritual connection and the quest for a transcendent connection in my work. Even when I don’t set out to, they sneak in there! Arborview is a very spiritual book. It’s just my natural inclination. I’m drawn to these issues, and find them incredibly moving and relevant.
Arborviewby Karen Guzman
Ellen Cahill’s financial future rides on the success of her new pastry shop. A bruising divorce has drained her bank account, along with her spirit. A man enters her life promising love, but Ellen, haunted by the past, questions whether she can pull off this new beginning. College student Rosa Escamilla has her own culinary dreams–and a difficult mother who’s dead set against them. Rosa won’t be deterred. She scrapes up the money to enroll at a prestigious culinary school, setting out to prove everyone wrong. When hidden betrayals by the people they love most surface for both Ellen and Rosa, can they overcome the blows they never saw coming on the road to where they want to go?
Available from AMAZON | B&N | WILDROSEStay in touch with Karen Guzman
https://www.instagram.com/kagauthor/
https://www.facebook.com/kgwriter/
https://twitter.com/kguzman_author
www.amazon.com/author/karenguzman7
Karen would love to hear from you. Post your comments and questions below.The post Karen Guzman Writes Women’s Fiction appeared first on Zara West Romance.
December 15, 2021
Joan Ramirez Writes About Love
Author Joan Ramirez has written a wide range of books. Today she shares a new romance with us written under her pen name J. L. Regen.
Welcome, Joan…
Do you ever experience writer’s block?
I never, THANK GOD, have writer’s block. My problem is the opposite. I’m bubbling over with ideas and need time to write tons more books.
What other genres of novel do you love to write?
Regarding genres, I’ve written nonfiction, contemporary romance, leadership for adults and YA, and a handbook for emerging entrepreneurs.
Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
My travels will be influencing my upcoming historical suspense series starting in occupied Paris of WWII. They are based on 75 years of my beloved uncle’s war memorabilia from his service in Italy.
What research do you do for your novels?
For my historical novels, I have my own mini-library and spent countless hours pouring over WWII information. It has been a revelation and is keeping my uncle alive in my heart.
Can you tell us about your featured book?
My romance novel, Secret Desires by JL Regen, is a heartwarming book of hope, based on a real-life story. It is about taking chances on love.
Any special news you have about your books?
I’m excited to tell you that Secret Desires is now in French. Find it here:
https://books2read.com/u/mq1q7d
Secret Desiresby J. L. Regan
Nothing in Margo Simmons’s life comes easy. She can’t claim the inheritance on a condo apartment her uncle has left to her until she is gainfully employed in a job for a year. She meets the man of her dreams but anguishes over a loving relationship because he is still emotionally tied to his deceased wife.
With great difficulty, she becomes the guardian to a recently orphaned child she had been tutoring. Margo evolves from an insecure, newbie elementary teacher into a woman determined to fulfill the secret desires locked in her heart.
Secret Desires is now available for purchase in French!!!!!
Available from AMAZONLearn More About Joan Ramirez/J. L. RegenWhen I’m not writing, I offer consulting services, editing, ghost writing and communication training. I’m now open for business online–group and individual.
Learn more at jlregenenterprises.com and at joansbookshelf
Joan Ramirez is waiting to hear from you. Post your comments and questions below.The post Joan Ramirez Writes About Love appeared first on Zara West Romance.
November 17, 2021
History Inspires Author Susan Leigh Furlong
Today I welcome fellow Rose, Susan Leigh Furlong. She talks about how family history inspires her historical romances.
Is there an event in your life that affected you as a writer?
I have always been an avid reader of all types of books, mystery, epic, suspense, historical, biography, etc., but I refused to read romance. I always looked down my nose at that genre until I won a copy of Jude Deveraux’s Velvet Song from a local bookstore. I loved it! I started reading more romance, historical and contemporary, and never looked back. I also have written children’s stories, historical non-fiction, skits, and full-length plays, but now I write almost exclusively in the romance genre, and I love it!f
Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published
Several years ago I wrote In Her Shadow, a romance inspired by actual events in my grandparents’ lives. My grandmother died when my father was four years old, leaving my grandfather with three small children to raise while he worked for the railroad twelve hours a day, seven days a week. Since daycare was unheard of then, he went through a series of housekeepers, but often left the children to fend for themselves. This prompted me to write about a widower in the early 1900’s with two small children who hires a housekeeper from an ad in the paper. They fall in love, but complications arise when his former wife’s family seek to destroy our hero and forcibly take custody of the children. I really enjoyed adding the true facts/touches from my family history that no one knows but me.
Have you written non-fiction or children’s books? How has that influenced your fiction writing?
Arcadia Publishing published two non-fiction books of mine with 200 antique photos in each about the history of my small town in Ohio in 2012 and 2014. I had been writing historical articles for the local newspaper about tidbits and people I found in the local history museum files, and this led me to write and direct two plays about the town, presented by local actors in script-in-hand style. I wandered through hundreds of old photos, most unlabeled, and read handwritten family histories. I always knew I loved history, but I learned I love doing the research even though old books, etc. make me sneeze and cough, but Google has been a great help for that. I now wander around historical eras looking for odd/interesting facts as starting points for my plots. I also use my travels to Scotland to envision the actual settings and the cultural aspects. On one trip I even got to visit a castle that belonged to my long ago Scottish ancestors! You can’t make this stuff up, but you can write about it!
What is your favorite chapter to write and why?
One of my favorite parts of my books is the last chapter that lets the reader know what happened to the characters after the story ended. Whenever I read a book, I am always curious as to how the rest of the characters’ lives would go, and I like to think that my characters have lives beyond the chapters I write. In Steadfast Will I Be, we find out that Robin and Suannoch led full lives and had many children and grandchildren. In By Promise Made we learn what happened to each of the Countryside Players and the child, Mary. After the adventures in Keeper of My Dreams, the Haliburtons find ways to recover from their experiences with the pirates and build strong family ties.
What would one of your characters say about your writing a book?
Hugh Cullane from By Promise Made would probably have the most to say. He’s a glib, charming, full-of-himself rogue who would expound on my words. He’d say things like “Ye ne’er used the words ‘extraordinarily handsome’ when ye described me and ye should. Ye need to add more about the scores of lasses who fall for my incredible charms. Overall, I am a man like no other!”
Hugh’s sister, Leena Cullane from Keeper of My Dreams, would say, “I have a brother named ‘Hugh,’ but he has a face that warthogs would envy. We all love him, but as for him being a man like no other, we all say, ‘Praise the Lord for that!’ “
Keeper of My Dreams by Susan Leigh FurlongGunpowder and love, both explosive.
A gun can kill. A heart can save.
Reid Haliburton, a skilled gunsmith, wants to control who uses his revolutionary handgun until a vicious pirate decides the gun will be his. The price of refusing is Reid’s life and those of his three young sons. Reid’s only chance to save his sons is to send them away and face the pirate’s wrath alone.
Leena Cullane Adair is stunned to find three lads hiding in her cart, and, although she only met their father a week ago, he holds her heart and her dreams, and she will do whatever it takes to keep him and his sons alive.
Susan Leigh Furlong’s Books are Available fromAMAZON | B&N | BOOKS2READ Learn More about Susan Leigh Furlong
Website https://www.susanlfurlong.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SusanLeighFurlong/
Twitter https://twitter.com/FurlongLeigh
Email: SusanLeighFurlongwriter@gmail.com
Sussan Leigh Furlong would love to hear from you. Post your comments and questions below.The post History Inspires Author Susan Leigh Furlong appeared first on Zara West Romance.
