Ellie Thornton's Blog, page 3

Honeycombs and Homecomings Sneak Peek

SNEAK PEEK - Honeycombs and Homecomings





I'm so excited because "Honeycombs and Homecomings" has been out for a three days now, has gotten the #1 new release banner and the best seller banner.



Yay!

To celebrate, I wanted to share a SNEAK PEEK with you today. Here it is:

Jo sat on the tall stool behind her booth, taking a quick breather before the lines picked up again. They did little special deals at the festival that they never did in their shop, like three packs of honey and you get to pick the three flavors you want all with a little discount, and samples of the face creams to try before you buy, and they also sold cute little carved spoons that had a beehive at the tip of the hilt. She’d found a wood carver a couple towns over and had gotten them at a steal of a deal.

A couple walked past, staring at the jars of honey on display, and Jo tensed. She just needed two minutes. Two minutes to rest her feet. The couple kept on walking and she sighed in relief. She closed her eyes and extended her feet out in front of her and twisted them around.

“Jo-Jo,” a man spoke to her, his tone rich and smooth like honey.

She froze, her heart thudding in her chest like the herd of ponies on the Appalachian trail. She didn’t open her eyes, only sucked in a breath. Only one person had ever called her Jo-Jo.

The table gave way a little as someone leaned their weight into it. “Take your time, I can wait,” he said.

The thudding of her heart skidded to a stop. She dropped her feet and opened her eyes, turning her gaze on the town runaway.

Cash Evans.

His hip was against her counter, his muscular arms crossed over his chest and the light from the hot dog stand across the way lit his honey hued locks like a halo. He looked good. Fantastic, in fact.

Blast him.

She forced her expression into one of apathy. It should’ve been easy. It’d been fourteen years since she’d last seen him.

She stood. “I’m Allie, actually, but nice try.”

He grinned, a grin that lit his face enhancing the halo-like glow from the hot dog stand.

“No, you’re not, you’re Jo-Jo.”

She batted her lashes and played dumb with the second person in her life who’d ever been able to tell her from her twin sister. Apparently, a decade and a half couldn’t change that. “Can I help you?”

He faced her, and she fought the urge to take a step back.

“How are you?” he asked.

She tilted her head. “I’m sorry, do I know you?” The southern accent slipped—just a little, though.

“Ha ha,” he said with exaggerated slowness.
She placed her hands on her hips and raised her brows, as if to say, well?

“Okay, I deserve that.”

"I should say so," she said.

***

Don't you just love meet-cutes? So fun.

You can grab a copy of "Honeycombs and Homecomings" today at: www.amazon.com/Honeycombs-Homecomings...

Fun Facts About Honeycombs & Homecomings

Fun Facts About Honeycombs & Homecomings

Honeycombs and Homecomings



He is looking for a new challenge in his life.

She wants the challenges to stop.

They just might be the answer to one another's problems.

So, this was the first novel I've written that was more romance than anything else. A lot of romance. Sooo much romance. It was a little intimidating, truth be told, but I was so happy with the end result.

Two Fun Facts

One - In the book, I mention a peach cobbler recipe. It's a real family recipe passed down from my grandpa on my dad's side. It's a recipe I've grown up with and love. I included the ingredients at the end of the book for everyone who buys the book.

Two - Cash Evans is based on a real-life person. My cousin, Ethan Stowell. Ethan is something of a celebrity chef in Seattle with 15 restaurants, each different with different cuisines. When I was coming up with a career for Cash, I thought of Ethan, and couldn't let go of the concept--hence celebrity chef, Cash Evans was born. I also named a supporting character after Ethan. (PS - I haven't told Ethan yet. Haha!)

Honeycombs and Homecomings comes out October 26th. You can preorder below.

PREORDER LINK:
https://www.amazon.com/Honeycombs-Hom...

About The Bristol Park Detective

The Bristol Park Detective



One of my favorite things about writing The Bristol Park Detective was creating two characters that were both potentially love interests AND bad guys. It really helped up the tension, which was super fun for me.

Check out this review:

"The characters are just right for a mystery, she delved into their lives just enough to get you invested but not too much to give away the intrigue. This led to it not being obvious who was a good guy or bad guy. Not just that, but just like a great writer, she made it hard for me to decide who I wanted to be a good guy and who I wanted to be the bad guy." - Amazon Reviewer

I love that review. It makes my heart so happy.

Grab your copy of "The Bristol Park Detective" today!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08...

Excerpt The Bristol Park Detective

I have an excerpt for you today from "The Heir of Thornfield Manor." Check it out!

“Elizabeth?” a low, concerned voice called through the dark.

Lightning struck, followed by an immediate clap of thunder as she whipped around. She caught her foot on the runner carpet and tripped.

The figure on the stairs rushed toward her, up the last couple steps, and caught her before she fell. She peered up and at this distance, even in the dark, could see the unmistakable merriment in Mr. Daley’s eyes. If it wasn’t him up here with Miss Gray, then who was?

Still in his grasp, she let her gaze flit down the hall again. She took a deep breath, the thunder clap still ringing in her ears.

“I thought—” she stopped speaking. What was she going to say? That she thought he’d come up here with Miss Gray to have his wicked way with her? An angry pulse shot from her gut to the top of her head and down to her toes.

“What?” he asked. “What did you think?”

She stared from his grasp around her waist to his face and back again. This was too distracting. She tossed her head, sending her bangs out of her eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Hugging you.”

Her brows shot up. “I’m not a hugger.”

“I am.”

She huffed and pursed her lips, slightly surprised that they’d momentarily tilted up.

“You’ll get used to it,” he said.

She doubted that highly. Wait, what? Why would she get used to it? She put her hands on his chest and tried to step back. It seemed the appropriate thing to do, but he held tight. She shuddered.

“You were just telling me why you came up here?”

She could now make out the color in his eyes, could see the happy crinkles adorning the corners. She couldn’t look at him anymore and dropped her gaze to his cravat. “I thought I heard someone come up here.”

“You heard the crash?” His scanned the hall, his brow furrowing as he found the mess.

“You heard it too?” Her heart thudded in her chest. “Where were you? Where’s everyone else?”

“I was near the sitting room and only barely heard it. Everyone else is down the hall. I came up because I knew if you’d heard it, you’d come to check.”

Wait! Hold up. She pulled her chin back and pushed on his chest, only gaining an inch of space. “You figured I’d check it out? Why would you figure that?”

“It’s what you do. And getting attention is what Miss Gray does.”

Her face warmed. “Let go.” It’d be so easy to slam him face first into the carpet, but for some inexplicable reason, she didn’t want to; even though she kind of wanted to.

“No.” He tightened his grip. “I like having you in my arms.”

Her flush flared over the back of her neck and down her chest, and she was grateful for the dark. She tried to reason with herself. He’s just an actor. He messed around with Miss Gray. He’s a troublemaker. Ugh. The reasoning didn’t help, and she huffed. What was wrong with her?

He chuckled. “This is fun—watching you go through an entire spectrum of emotions. What to do? How to feel? How to act?”

She shivered, and her gaze dropped to his lips.

He leaned forward. “Should I kiss him? Or knee him in the groin?”

***

Read more here: https://www.amazon.com/Bristol-Park-D...

Writing the Bristol Park Detective

She's there undercover . . . and he knows it.

Even though this book is told strictly from the perspective of Detective Elizabeth Shea, one of the funnest parts about writing it was knowing that, even though Detective Shea is undercover, another character would have her and her cop status figured out almost right away, and that she wouldn't have him figured out.

I had to be really careful not to give away too much, because I wanted the reader to be just as surprised as she was. It was a fun practice for me.

The other fun aspect, was interweaving a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, even though very subtly, throughout. Some of my favorite scenes are when Detective Elizabeth Shea is in a similar situation to what Elizabeth Bennett would've been in. There's even one scene where, because of the our modern society, she does the opposite of what Elizabeth Bennett did, but probably what Lizzie would've wanted to do. It cracked me right up.

And thankfully the response has been a good one. Yay!

If you'd like to find out more, check it out, here: The Bristol Park Detective

Should Authors Blog? The Pros & Cons of Blogging

The 5 Pros & 5 Cons of Blogging as a Fiction Author

Should authors blog? This seems to be the million dollar question. It comes up in writing groups, at writers conferences and retreats, and in articles on writing websites.

It’s all over the place.

Everyone has an opinion, and I’m no exception. I have a very strong opinion about this, but an opinion is all it is. This is one topic that really has to be decided by the individual author. 

Below, I will give my arguments about whether ...

What is Head-Hopping and Should You Use it?

Have you ever heard of head-hopping before? If you haven’t, I’d bet you’ve seen it somewhere before. I see it all the time, but I’m a professional editor, so that’s to be expected. (Does that sound like a ringing endorsement for it?) So, what is head-hopping?

What is Head-hopping?

Head-hopping is when a writer jumps from one character’s perspective to another’s abruptly and without a clear delineation between the two, usually within the same scene without a scene break and sometimes within...

The 5 Ws of Setting Up a Scene

And Why They’re Crucial to Keeping Your Reader Engaged

You all know the 5 Ws: Who, what, when, where, and why—but did you know they’re important in gaining a reader’s trust when you’re setting up a scene. That without all 5, your reader may set down your book and never pick it up again? Did you know that setting up a scene so depended on these factors?

I’ll explain what I mean by this in a minute, but first, let’s d...

Perfectionism is Bad for Your Writing

Confessions of a Reformed Perfectionist 

Done is better than perfect.

Sheryl Sandberg

I’m sure you’ve all heard this phrase before. It’s a good one. And yes, it applies to many fields of use, and writing is no exception. Simply put, perfectionism is bad for your writing, especially if it keeps you from ever finishing. 

The realization that trying to be perfect was bad for my writing came years after having been a...

Branding Tips for Authors

Branding is something that authors often overlook, but it’s something that is so important, especially if you want to stand out in such a saturated market. So, I’ve compiled a list of branding tips for authors to really help you get a leg up. 

First, what is branding? 

According to the dictionary, branding is “the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design.”

But I like t...