Candace Colt's Blog: Keep showing up and shining out!, page 3

Tis the season of love!

How about giving BEWITCHING ANDIE some love?

The first book in the Baga Shores Series, BEWITCHING ANDIE, was nominated for the
2022 Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewer’s Choice Award in the ROMANCE/PARANORMAL/FANTASY/WITCHES &
WIZARDS category.

I was flattered by the original review, but to be nominated for the annual award was an unbelievable honor.

There's stiff competition, but your vote will help Andie's second chance at love story make it to the winner's circle!

The last day to vote is February 12.

I know Andie would love you back!

Sign up if you haven't already (and I highly recommend this group for all you PNR readers). Then vote for Andie.

It's that simple.

Andie and I thank you so much for your time!

https://paranormalromanceguild.com/20... Bewitching Andie

Do me a favor!

I know we are all slammed during the holiday season, so here's an important self-care suggestion.

Take a nice long deep breath in. Hold it for a few seconds and slowly exhale. A couple more would be great. Just settle into the moment. This moment. Not the next one or three back.

Please do this for yourself at least five times today. Your central nervous system will thank you for it.

You have a lot going on in your life, so remember what they tell you in the safety briefing on an airplane. Put the mask on yourself first before helping others. Breathing intentionally is a beautiful way to ground and calm down. Even if it's for a minute, then tackle all the 10000 things on your to-do list and take care of the people who rely on you.

Pinky promise you'll keep doing this?

Baga Shores is the perfect setting for my small-town romance series!

I’ve always been a sucker for a good beach town. There’s something about the ocean air and the feel of warm sand between my toes that makes me feel at peace.

When I started writing my book series, Baga Shores Romance, I knew I wanted to set it in a beach town. But which one? There are so many fantastic beach towns around the world to model after. Here’s why I chose the one I did.

I live in a small coastal town on West Florida’s Gulf of Mexico, about 25 miles from Tampa. Its unique laid-back vibe makes it the perfect setting for my series.

I’m a history nerd, so when I found out the Tocobaga Indians once lived in this area over 1000 years ago, choosing my fictional town’s name was obvious: Baga Shores!

Baga Shores is full of magic and romance; I knew my readers would fall in love with it as much as I have.

Here, seafood is fresh and succulent. Baga Bagels are made daily. The local coffee shop roasts its beans in-house. Restaurants cater to all preferences, from pizza and burgers to sushi and sirloin.

With water all around, conditions are perfect for kayaking, paddle boarding, boating, snorkeling, and simply lazing around. There are boutique shops and gift stores galore. And big-box shopping is a short hop across the W. D. Goodfellow Causeway to Tampa.

But here’s a big difference. Though 12,845 citizens call it home, the best guess is that half of them are Ordinary humans.

The others? Let’s say they are anything but ordinary!

Consider one of Baga Shores’ best-known and beloved residents, Miriam Pennywick Tanner, or Mimi as she prefers, a descendant of a long line of witches. Mimi is the family matriarch with a significant role in the series.

With her sharp blue eyes and skin smooth as that of women half her age, though her actual age is anyone’s guess, and tall stature, she projects a Vogue supermodel image. Her soft silver hair hovers over her shoulders, and she’s always dressed to the nines.

Mimi and her late husband built their house in Baga Shores decades ago as a place to raise their large and unique family. Soon, their home became a welcoming refuge for misunderstood magicals worldwide, including some fascinating guests.

Consider the eighteenth-century colonial time traveler who accidentally came through the portal to current times and became enamored by television. Even after Mimi found a way to help him return home, he delayed his trip back for an extra two weeks to binge-watch Outlander.

Then there was a time a shifted male coyote appeared on the back deck, hungry, smelly, and stark naked. Mimi had her hands full with that one. The first order of business was introducing him to a hot shower. Next was learning table manners, as eating off the floor is frowned upon in Mimi’s house!

In BEWITCHING ANDIE, Mimi’s divorced granddaughter comes home for help raising her seven-year-old son. To her delight, Mimi discovers the boy is an emerging wizard. But she has her hands full trying to convince her granddaughter that the ancestral gift is a cause for celebration.

There’s so much more about Mimi that I’d like to share with you, and BEWITCHING ANDIE—Baga Shores Romance Book 1 is a great place to start!

You’ll get to know Mimi’s free-spirited daughter, Rhea, her granddaughter Andie, and great-grandson, Sam. And I can’t leave out the hero, swoon-worthy Brett Austin, Andie’s childhood friend who she never imagined she’d ever see again, let alone fall in love with.

The most unforgettable character is Rhea’s familiar, wise-cracking, and fiercely loyal feline, Alika, who can out-talk anybody on Earth or beyond.

Andie and her son finally find a place where they belong with Mimi and the other members of the Baga Shores community. By coming together and using their magic, they can make Sam’s life better.

BEWITCHING ANDIE, is a heartwarming, small-town story that’s sure to delight readers.

Who put the Baga in Baga Shores?

The Baga Shores Romance Series title is a hat tip to the Tocobaga Indians. Chances are you’ve never heard of them. They once lived in the northern part of Tampa Bay.

Image source: Tocobaga Indians of Tampa Bay (usf.edu)

Now don’t break out in a cold sweat! I promise not to fasten my school teacher hat on too tight and scare you away! And there won’t be any tests.

At one time or another through history, it seemed that everyone wanted to claim this odd-shaped piece of land called La Florida. Any and everywhere a ship could drop anchor; somebody got the bright idea to stab a flag in the sand and claim the place for the king or queen back home. (Sorry, no selfies from those days, nor were these ultra-modern cruise ships!)

These were not gentle, family-friendly excursions, either—no air-conditioned SUVs equipped with Wi-Fi to entertain the kids in the back seat.

There were no multi-lane interstates like I-95 or I-75. No I-4 or I-10.

No Wawa or McDonalds.

In the 1500s, the men schlepped their belongings, swords, boots, and uniforms through some foul territory to travel from one place to another. I can’t imagine wearing metal explorers’ helmets through the mosquito and alligator-invested marshes!

Next time you’re driving across this state, either east to west or north to south (as you sit in our lovely dead-stop interstate traffic), take a good look out your window. A large portion of Florida is still primitive. They walked through that stuff, people!

The 1500s were busy times for the conquistadores like the Portuguese and Spaniards, who took turns invading and raiding. Hardly any part of the Florida coastline was overlooked.

We’ll never know who the first joker was who started the rumor that gold was here for the taking, but once the story got out, it went viral—as best it could back in the day! Remember, at the same time, all of the Caribbean, Mexico, Central, and South America were ripe targets, so the place was hopping with explorers.

 Among the many different tribes in La Florida, the conquistadores encountered the Tocobaga tribe.

The best estimates are that this tribe lived north of Tampa Bay from 900 to the 1500s. Let that sink in a second. 1100 years ago!

Before that is anyone’s guess as they probably migrated from the north.

Tampa Bay has a fascinating history. If you’re familiar with football, Tampa is home to the Buccaneers. No accident in that name!

I’ll tell you about that another time.

Meanwhile, back to the Tocobaga.

In 1528 a Spanish explorer named Panfilo de Narvaez arrived in the bay area and has happened, time and again, brought European disease along with the always elusive quest for gold. De Narvaez wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, so to speak, and managed to lose most of his crew before arriving.

Image Source https://www.thoughtco.com/biography-o...

That said, within a hundred years, between the disease his men gifted to the tribe and the ensuing violence that resulted from the endless quest for wealth and riches, the Tocobaga died out.

And that stinks because these people were amazing!

*** TO BE CONTINUED***

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A gift to writers!

Writer friends, I don’t know about you, but I have a less-than-organized method of tackling a new story idea. Or, I should say, I used to have a disorganized approach. Kerry Evelyn’s workbook HOW TO BINGE-WRITE YOUR NOVEL (available on Amazon) puts everything you need to create and finish your story in an organized and do-able format.

Many readers have no idea what goes on behind the scenes for an author to create a story. Many writers, especially beginners, aren’t aware of everything they should be doing to make a story work. You do not want to find out your story is missing something from an editor, agent, or worse, from reader reviews.

How many times have we writers hit a brick wall with a story? It starts strong (we think), then it sags somewhere in the muddy middle. Then we don’t know what to do with it. Do we plow through to “the end”? Or do we throw in the towel and fuggedaboutit?

Without giving everything away, here are her 5 steps using her road-trip analogy:

1 Plan your trip!

2 Pack your car!

3 Get on the road!

4 Start driving!

5 Arrive and unpack!

Let me take one of these steps and elaborate on one aspect of getting on the road—worldbuilding.

Step 3: Brain Dump, Organize, Plan (Get on the road!)

If you’re writing a story set in a fictional town, describe it. Where’s it located? What are the street names? Stores? Markets? Restaurants? Any quirky characteristics like a special naming configuration for a business?

Did you create a whole new world for a sci-fi book? Write it all down—names, places, technology, customs, language, etc.

What if you’ve written a paranormal story? You better write it all down. How else will you keep track of the reasons why a shape-shifting falcon will have a hard time flying in a snowstorm? (I made that happen in a book and almost forgot that a falcon’s wings can ice up!)

Is your book set in a different century? Write it all down…

I think you get the idea. Put it all down. Add to it as you need to. Use this information to create a map of your setting. Or a vision or Pinterest board. Will you use every little detail? Probably not. Do you need all these details? Probably so.

See the beauty in this strategy? A writer can get it all on paper in one spot. (Okay, in your computer if that’s your preference.) Then it becomes the master story bible and a reference to go back to over and over.

Kerry’s method combines her years publishing success into an easy-to-follow format. She shows how a busy mom and wife like her can finish a book, and so can you!

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Will I see you @ a reader’s event soon?

Candace @ a recent readers’ con

What’s so special about these events, you ask?

Well, of course, meeting new-to-you authors. Talking to writers about their books. Gift shopping ideas. Buying a book from an author who will sign it especially for you. And the upbeat vibe. Writers love interacting with readers. I write sweet contemporary paranormal romance and I got an excellent story idea during a chat with a reader at a recent event. That idea developed into a character in my book “Familiar Blessings: Book One in the Magic Potter Series.”

If you haven’t read Familiar Blessings yet, here’s the general story line.

~~~

Tired of being hounded by the greedy dead, gifted medium Dr. Theodosia Blessing, the wonder-child of historians around the world, yearned for anonymity. After renouncing her magic, she reinvented herself as Theo, the potter. She returned to her hometown of Cat’s Paw Cove, Florida, where she lives with her familiar, a mind-reading tortoiseshell cat named Aloysius. Former Army Ranger Ethan Cooper was content to live a reclusive life in his cabin in North Carolina. But as Christmas draws near, he agrees to repay a debt to an old man whose wise counsel brought him out of war’s dark shadow. Ethan accepts one last mission: to track down Theo. Ethan appears unannounced on Theo’s doorstep with an envelope containing the old man’s letter. If what it says is true, the reluctant medium, skeptical Ranger, and wiseacre cat must travel back to 1720 to save a young boy from the gallows.

~~~

I won’t spoil the plot for you. But I will tell you that after that chance meeting with someone at an event, I came home and brainstormed the whole story about a medium, her ghost clientele, and traveling back in time.

I’d love it if you were the one to give me the next great story idea!

Catch up with me at (20+) Candace Colt, Author | Facebook and www.instagram.com/candacecolt5344videos and sign up for my newsletter for a free read at https://bit.ly/CandaceColtNL And if you are on Goodreads, follow me there!

Next time I’m in your neck of the woods, will I see you for a chat?

~~ C

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Meet me @ Books at the Beach Convention!

Meet me Candace Colt at the Books at the Beach Romance Convention and Author Book Signing October 23rd from 1-4 at the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort! You’d think that would be an “out-of-the-box” cinch to prep for this. Wrong! I’m in the midst of handling 1000 details. What to wear. What to give away. Books to sign and sell! I’ll be signing Saturday the 23rd from 1 – 4 PM. Admission to the signing is FREE. I’d love to meet you in person!!!

And while I’m on the subject, sign up for Candace Colt’s Newsletter

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I love the color blue!

Especially when it’s the color of a super hunky hero!

Nuar: A Scifi Alien Warriors Romance by Cassandra Chandler. Everything you want in an action romance!

Harbor, Kansas is the perfect setting for the good-guy space aliens to “harbor”. Once I lived in a small Missouri town so I could identify with the setting right off the bat. Good choice! Earthling Lian Wei is just trying to do her thing without additional drama. Yeah. Like that’s going to happen! Nuar “drops” into her agricultural research greenhouse, and into her life. And what’s a scifi alien story without a good space battle for dominance in the universe? And how about saving an entire species from extinction? Are you ready for a compelling page turner that will have you cheering for the good guys and also wanting more! Don’t worry. This is the first of a series. There will be more!

5 out of 5 stars!

Check out her other books About – Cassandra Chandler (cassandra-chandler.com)

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2021 InD’Tale RONE Award Finalist!

Abigail Sharpe, Kira Nyte and I were thrilled to chosen as a finalist in the 2021 InD’Tale Magazine Rone Award for FESTIVITIES & FELINES: A Holiday Anthology.If you’ve read the book, you remember my story MULTIPLE BLESSINGS. Thomas Hudson, PhD, and Casey Blessing (with the help of a magical cat and a ghost) set out to find the cause of the mysterious lights that appear every Winter Solstice.Although we didn’t win this year, we are still mighty proud of this book! Thanks to all who voted for it to win!Thank you so much for your support!

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2021 InD’Tale RONE Award Nominee!

 

Abigail Sharpe, Kira Nyte and I are so excited to be nominated for the 2021 InD’Tale Magazine Rone Award for FESTIVITIES & FELINES: A Holiday Anthology.If you’ve read the book, you remember my story MULTIPLE BLESSINGS. Thomas Hudson, PhD, and Casey Blessing (with the help of a magical cat and a ghost) set out to find the cause of the mysterious lights that appear every Winter Solstice.To advance to finalist status, WE NEED YOUR VOTE!  You must subscribe to InD’tale Magazine, but it is EASY and FREE! It’s a great publication that supports indie writers.Reviews. Interviews. Articles. Good stuff.(Did I mention FREE?)Reader voting is May 17 – 23 2021Here’s the subscription link  https://indtale.com/user/registerThank you so much for your support!