Janice Hanna's Blog, page 19

Now THAT’S Amore!

Oh my! How exciting!

I haven’t talked much about my upcoming Weddings by Bella book, That’s Amore, but it’s time to begin! The book releases on November 4th, after all! I’d better get to it, right?!

For those who’ve been wondering, That’s Amore is really, truly a Bella book, written from her point of view. This is the first time I’ve released a true “Weddings by Bella” story since Fools Rush In, Swinging on a Star and It Had to be You. Why come back with a new Bella story now? Because my readers have asked for more stories from her point of view, and I couldn’t resist!

In this wacky new tale, Bella and DJ move (temporarily) to Splendora Texas to open a new wedding facility. Of course, some crazy things happen along the way! You’ll see many of the characters you’ve grown to love, and meet a few new ones, too! So, look for That’s Amore, which releases in e-book format on November 4th. It’s going to be a blast!

Weddings by Bella. . .and more!

Howdy, readers!

One of my sweet readers asked me today about the order of my Bella books. She’s excited about the upcoming release of That’s Amore but knows there are several books ahead of that one in the series. She wants to read them all in order, so she doesn’t miss a thing. I don’t blame her! Missing out on the details is no fun at all!

With that in mind, here’s my best suggestion for getting the full Bella/DJ story:

 

 

Start at the very beginning! The “Weddings by Bella” series!

Fools Rush In

Swinging on a Star

It Had to be You

Next, read the “Weddings by Design” series!

Picture Perfect

The Icing on the Cake

The Dream Dress

A Bouquet of Love

Then, if you’re as excited as I am about my newest book, read: 

That’s Amore (coming in a few weeks!)

THEN, if you want to fill in the blanks, you might read:

Star Collide

Hello Hollywood

The Director’s Cut

Those last three books are briefly mentioned in the Bella books (and vice-versa). They’re all loosely tied together.

If you have any questions, just leave a comment and I’ll do my best to respond! Until then, happy reading!

What a Girl Needs: This New Book!

Many years ago I stumbled across a book by a new-to-me author. The book was titled What a Girl Wants. The author, Kristin Billerbeck, was taking the Christian market by storm with her breezy chick-lit style. I bought the book and took it with me to jury duty in downtown Houston. I’d been dropped off for jury duty, thinking I’d be there all day. Turns out, the jury was dismissed and I had NO way home.

I decided to take a city bus to the farthest north end of Houston then get one of my daughters to pick me up. Thus began what I lovingly call my “Calgon, take me away” journey with Kristin Billerbeck. It all started when I got so wrapped up in the story that I ended up on the wrong bus. I didn’t realize it because I had my nose in this amazing book, but I was headed west instead of north. I figured it out, but didn’t stop reading until I got to the next stop, at which point I couldn’t figure out how (or if) I’d ever get home.

Long story short, it took me hours and hours to get home that day, and all because I was SO distracted with this lovely book, which I never stopped reading, even for a minute! I couldn’t give it up long enough to figure out what part of town I was in! Kristin’s writing style was/is light, breezy, cheeky and totally “me.” I understood this style of writing because I’d written in much the same vein (with little success).

After (finally) arriving home that day I made up my mind: If Kristin Billerbeck can write light-hearted, relevant, quirky, fun, somewhat irreverent stories, perhaps I can try my hand at it again. So, I did. Bella was birthed, in part, because I garnered the courage by reading Kristin’s books. Years have passed, but I owe a l-o-t to my now-friend, Kristin. More than anything, she taught me to be myself, (though she didn’t even know she was teaching me). I know that many other authors found their voice through Kristin, as well.

NOW (DRUM ROLL) she’s come out with a FOURTH book in Ashley Stockingdale’s journey: What a Girl Needs. You betcha, I bought it ASAP and can’t wait to read it. Trust me when I say you’ll fall in love with this character and get caught up in her journey. You can thank me later for the recommendation. Right now just hop on over to amazon and pick up this new book. While you’re at it, you might want to start with the first book, What a Girl Wants. Yes, I know. . .SO much to read and so little time. What are you waiting for? Get to it!

World Blog Tour

Hi friends!

I’m so excited to join the World Blog Tour. My friend Bonnie Leon extended the invitation and I gladly said “Yes!” Here’s a little more about Bonnie:

Bonnie Leon is the author of twenty novels, including the recently released Where Eagles Soar and the popular Alaskan Skies series.

She enjoys speaking for women’s groups and teaching at writing seminars and conventions. These days, her time is filled with writing, being a grandmother and relishing precious time with her aged mother.

Bonnie and her husband, Greg, live in Southern Oregon. They have three grown children and eight grandchildren.

You can find bonnie at https://www.bonnieleon.com

Last week Bonnie posted on the blog tour. Make sure to stop in and see what she has to say about her place in the writing world and what her writing life looks like.

As part of the tour, each writer was given four questions – the same four questions. Here’s how I answered mine.

What are you working on?

I just turned in my first book in a new series for Revell. Every Bride Needs a Groom is a hoot! It’s about a small-town girl (from Fairfield, Texas) who wins a contest to receive a free wedding dress at a high-end dress shop in Dallas. Her journey is filled with speed-bumps. Of course, it’s a romance. Of course, it’s funny! I’m also waiting for That’s Amore to release in a couple of months. My Weddings by Bella readers talked me into this one, for sure!

How does your work differ from others in its genre?

My writing voice is more “chatty” than most. I write primarily in first person and break a lot of writing rules. So far it hasn’t come back to bite me. I would also add that my stories are mostly wedding-themed and involve a l-o-t of culture clashes.

Why do you write what you do?

My four daughters all got married within four years of each other (between 2004 and 2008). I played the real-life role of mother of the bride four times over! Writing pros say “Write what you know” so I write about weddings. I guess there are a lot of readers out there who love wedding stories. They (my readers) have been very supportive and encouraging.

How does your writing process work?

Oh boy. I always hesitate to answer this question. I’m SO A.D.D. I’m a popcorn-style writer (all over the place). I try to plot the stories initially, but rarely write them in order. I’ll dive headfirst into whatever scenes I feel inspired to write then piece them together.  It’s a fun way to write (and very inspirational) but would probably drive other writers crazy! Also, I’m a night owl, so a lot of my writing gets done in the wee hours.

Thanks so much for spending time with me. I’ve enjoyed my stop on this tour!

Now it’s my turn to hand off the blog tour baton to my good friend, Ann Wilds. (I’m also sharing a picture of the two of us together, taken at a recent church banquet.) If you haven’t met Ann yet, you don’t know what you’re missing! She is multi-talented and a wonderful, godly friend. Ann provides inspirational thoughts on Facebook at her reader’s page Lessons for the Journey. You will also enjoy her inspiring blogsite: Walking the Wild Path.

Here’s a little more about Ann: 

Ann Wilds is a Christian freelance writer and speaker with degrees in Psychology and Counseling. She loves to apply Biblical truths to daily life. Her hope is that you will find something in her writing that touches your life and helps you grow more fully into the person God created you to be.

Make sure you travel to Ann’s blog: Walking the Wild Path in one week to continue on this World Tour. Until then, happy reading!

Free on Kindle: The Wedding Caper

Today I want to share a blog interview about my mother-of-the-bride cozy mysteries, “The Bridal Mayhem” series.

Janice, can you tell us a little about this series?

Sure! The Bridal Mayhem series was birthed (partly) out of my own experience! I have four daughters and they all got married within four years of each other. The first two weddings (in 2004) were only four and a half months apart! What a crazy period! Shortly after that one of my editors approached me and asked if I’d ever written cozy mysteries. I had not, but was perfectly willing to give it a try! In the writing biz they tell us to “write what you know” and I knew weddings! I’d been mother of the bride twice in a row, after all. So, I mapped out my story ideas with Annie Peterson, mother-of-the-bride, as the reluctant sleuth, solving crimes on her way to the wedding(s).

Sounds like fun! So, these books released a few years back? If so, why are you just now talking about them?

They released in print form between 2005 and 2007 and then released in eBook form with Spyglass Lane. Recently, the rights reverted back to me (the author) and I was given the opportunity to create new covers and upload them to kindle. I’m offering the first book free for a week to stir up interest in the whole series.

Can you tell us about the first book? 

Of course! The first book is The Wedding Caper. It’s free on kindle this week (September 9th – 13th). In that story, both of Annie’s daughters get engaged, one right after the other. So, it’s weddings times two! At about that same time, $25,000 goes missing at the bank where Annie’s husband, Warren, works. She begins to suspect him of stealing the money to pay for their daughters’ weddings! Of course, she knows nothing about crime solving, but sets out to figure out whodunit before daughter #1’s big day. Did Warren take the money to pay for the weddings? Read The Wedding Caper to find out: http://amzn.to/1rUUI9T!

 

So, this is a series? What are the other books about?

Book two (Gone with the Groom) offers readers a rollicking good time! In this story, Annie’s future son-in-law goes missing two weeks before the big day. Does he have cold feet, or are there more sinister forces at work? In book three (Pushing up Daisies) a local florist passes away shortly before daughter Candy’s big day. Can Annie figure out who would want to murder a florist before her daughter’s wedding day? In book four (The Perfect Match) the local dating service goes up in flames. Annie’s in the thick of it, trying to figure out whodunit. In book five (Catering to Disaster) over 120 wedding guests end up with food poisoning after a wedding. Did the caterer slip up have they all been sabotaged?

 

There are five books in the series?

So far! Book six (Don’t Rock the Boat) is currently being written. In this story, Annie and her best friend Sheila are on a Caribbean cruise. An onboard bride goes missing just before her big day. Does she have cold feet? Has someone thrown her overboard? Did she re-board the ship after a recent excursion ashore? Annie has to figure this out so that the bride can have her big day!

 

You used your personal life experiences for this story?

In part! As I said, I was mother of the bride four times over, so I know what it is to be in that frenzied state of mind in the weeks leading up to your daughter’s wedding day. And though I’ve never solved a crime (to my knowledge) I enjoyed doing so through my characters. And speaking of characters: Annie’s best friend Sheila (wacky, crazy, colorful, fun) was based on my own BFF, Kay Malone. My sweet Kay passed away in May of 2013 from pancreatic cancer. The Wedding Caper is dedicated to her memory. As I mentioned above, The Wedding Caper was written in 2005, long before Kay’s cancer diagnosis. I was stunned—when reading back through the story—to see that one of the characters is battling pancreatic cancer. I’d forgotten all about that. Ironic and bittersweet, for sure.

 

Thanks for being with us, Janice. Any last thoughts?

Don’t forget to laugh. Life is hard, but laughter brings healing. I try to remember that when I’m having a tough day: there’s always something to laugh at, even if it’s through the tears.

www.janiceathompson.com

Facebook: Janice Hanna Thompson

Twitter: booksbyjanice

 

Weddings by Bella poll

Monday Madness: Love Thy Neighbor

A Bouquet of Love

Culture Clash Alert!

It’s Monday and things are stirring on this end! I’m so excited about the release of my latest book, A Bouquet of Love. It’s a wacky story about a Greek family that moves to Galveston Island and sets up their gyro/sandwich shop (literally) across the street from Parma John’s. A clash of cultures begins as the Greek Papa gets into it with Uncle Laz. The two men try to outdo each other as the story progresses. Here’s the official blurb:

Cassia Pappas has found herself in a nearly impossible situation. She wants to spend her time immersed in her new job at a Galveston Island floral shop, arranging blooms and brightening occasions with her lovely creations. But her huge Greek family–especially her father–has other ideas. They’ve all relocated to Galveston to open up a new family restaurant location on the Strand–directly across the street from the Rossis’ popular pizza place–and they want Cassia’s full participation. 

To make matters worse, as Cassia is trying to develop a strong professional relationship with Galveston’s premier wedding coordinator, Bella Neeley, her own father is intent on stealing all of the Rossi family’s faithful customers. Not exactly the best way to get into Bella’s good graces!  Still, at least Alex, that hot delivery guy from the nursery, is always hanging around the flower shop . . .

POW! BAM! CRASH!

As I thought through the issues in this book, I realized that most of my novels have a “culture clash” theme. The Greeks bicker with the Italians. The Irish don’t get along with the Italians. The Italians don’t always see eye to eye with the folks from Splendora. The Presbyterians don’t get along with the Methodists. On and on it goes, people from one culture/lifestyle trying to figure out how to get along with people from another culture/lifestyle. Whatever happened to Love Thy Neighbor, for Pete’s sake? Why can’t we all just get along?

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“Stay on YOUR side of the street! You hear me?”

After thinking about this for a while, I decided the time has come to blog about this topic. I’m going to be popping in every Monday to chat about the culture clashes in my various books (primarily the Galveston stories). I’m calling this Monday Madness because we’ll be discussing the crazy/chaotic things people do when they clash!

Tell Me a Story…

In the meantime, I invite you to leave a comment with a story of a culture clash in your own life. It doesn’t have to be one ethnic group versus another; it could be any sort of clash. It has to have a happy ending, though. If you leave a comment I will enter your name in a drawing for a free copy of A Bouquet of Love (or That’s Amore, which releases in November). Hopefully we won’t end up in a brawl like many of my characters!

Let’s get this show on the road, folks! Who has a funny story about a clash that started badly but ended well?

A Lovely Review

I just stumbled across this review of The Dream Dress on amazon. Totally humbling. I’d like to thank this lady, but (other than her first name, Norma), don’t know who she is. To ALL of my readers/reviewers, bless you!

The Dream Dress

5.0 out of 5 stars The book of my dreams!, March 6, 2014

This review is from: Dream Dress, The (Weddings by Design Book #3): A Novel (Kindle Edition)

I can only give this book five stars. Well too bad, because I am giving this book more than a trillion. It is the greatest book ever. If you haven’t read the Bella series, please!!!!!!!!!!! GO BACK AND READ THOSE TOO! Along with every other book Janice Hanna Thompson have ever written! She is just that brilliant. I know that you probably are wanting to know if you should even get close to buying this book and you have doubts and all, but I am telling you to throw those away in the trash. I do not care what you say, BUY THIS BOOK. Give it a chance. If you enjoy romance and just love to laugh your head off, don’t even think twice. Scroll up now, and click BUY. And that is a demand. Thank you. This is an amazing book and if I dare but hear anybody think that it was horrible, ugh. Whatever, go somewhere else. This is the GREATEST book. Thank you for writing such a great book Janice Hanna Thompson. AMAZING. Keep it going. Also, if you like sewing… please I do not even need to finish that sentence. Like I was saying, just… scroll up! Thank you and have an amazing day… reading this book. 

NOTE TO NORMA: Norma, I’ve put this review on my website as a “Thank you!” If you happen to see it, just know that it made my day! (((HUGS)))

Attention, all Novelists!

For those aspiring novelists out there…I thought it might be fun to share the Table of Contents from my book Writing and Selling the Great American Novel, which is now selling on amazon for $8.99.

SECTION ONE: WRITING THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL

CHAPTER ONE: CREATIVITY

Getting Creative About Being Creative

Writing with Both Sides of the Brain

CHAPTER TWO: GETTING STARTED

In the Beginning the Writer Set Goals

Themes, Style and Voice

Understanding the Genres

CHAPTER THREE: CHARACTERIZATION

The Four Personalities

The Pandora’s Box Approach

The Witness Stand

CHAPTER FOUR: POV (Point of View)

POV Defined

Various Points of View

CHAPTER FIVE: PLOTTING

Plot Shots

Backstory Blues

The Role of Conflict

Stop, Drop and Roll (Adding the Crisis Scene)

Seven Secrets to Creating the Perfect Ending

CHAPTER SIX: EDITING

Show, Don’t Tell

Common Fiction Mistakes

Turn On Your Self-Editor

Building Your Writing House

CHAPTER SEVEN: SPECIAL ADDITIONS

Adding Romance

Adding Humor

Adding Mystery Elements

Adding Inspirational Elements

SECTION TWO: SELLING THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL

CHAPTER ONE: THE ROAD TO PUBLICATION

Plotting Your Writing Career: Twelve Steps to Success

What Industry Pros are Saying about Goal Setting

CHAPTER TWO: POLISHING & PREPPING

Joining a Critique Group

Hiring a Pro to Edit Your Manuscript

The Conference Experience

CHAPTER THREE: BRANDING & PLATFORM

Branding

Ten Tips for Creating Your Brand

Taglines

CHAPTER FOUR: SUBMITTING/PITCHING YOUR BOOK

Query Letters and Book Proposals

Sparkling Proposals

Elevating Your Elevator Pitch

Dealing with Rejection

Finding and Working with an Agent

CHAPTER FIVE: MAKING THE SALE

Making the Sale: The Process

Open Sesame/Opening the Publisher’s Door

Eight Things NOT to say to an Editor

Author-Editor Relationships

CHAPTER SIX: MARKETING & P.R.

Got Moxie?

Working with Your Publisher to Market Your Book

Please With a Tease (Using Social Media)

You. . .a Public Speaker!

Speak Up

Show Me the Money!

CHAPTER SEVEN: SELF-PUBLISHING

The eBook Craze

Self-Publishing/Print

CHAPTER EIGHT: LIFE AFTER PUBLICATION

100 Tips for Maintaining a Killer Platform

Sustaining a Lucrative Writing Career

Tax Tips for Writers

Double Your Word Count in Two Weeks

Roller Coaster Writing

My granddaughter

Hi everyone!

I’ve been on a writing sabbatical but have popped back in to post this sweet video of my granddaughter, Jenna Reese. Many of you prayed for her before her delivery. She’s 3 1/2 months old, weighs 7 lbs, 12 oz. and is doing great!