Judy Nickles's Blog, page 13

Book Videos

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Where Is Papa's Shining Star?
Finding Papa's Shining Star
The Showboat Affair
Dancing with Velvet
The Face on Miss Fanny's Wall

Leave a comment telling me which is your favorite and be eligible to win a PDF copy of that book.

Character Interview: Sgt. Dale McCord of "The Face on Miss Fanny's Wall"

TWP:  Welcome to The Word Place, Officer
Dale McCord.




DM:  That’s Sgt.
McCord.




TWP:  Excuse me, Sgt.
McCord. I understand you’re working on an investigation at Miss Fanny’s, the
bordello-turned-museum in Cedar Bluff.




DM:  I can’t talk about
an on-going investigation.




TWP:  How about Tessa
Steele? Can you talk about her?




DM:  It depends on
what you want to know.




TWP:  You’re dating?




DM:  We’re good
friends. We see each other when we can.




TWP:  Is the
relationship going anywhere beyond friendship?




DM:  Possibly.




TWP:  She indicated to
us that you’re opposed to her finding out why her great-grandmother was one of
Miss Fanny’s ‘girls’.




DM:  Not at all. I
think her genealogical research is just fine, but I’ve advised her to stay away
from the museum until we get the current situation cleared up, and she…




TWP:  She isn’t
cooperating.




DM:  She’s a grown
woman, but she’s acting like an impulsive adolescent.




TWP:  Maybe she just
doesn’t like being bossed around.




DM:  I’m giving her my
best professional advice because I have a personal concern for her safety. She
refuses to understand that--or she’s just ignoring it.




TWP:  So she’s
involved in the ‘situation’ you mentioned?




DM:  There may be
several situations, and yes, she could be involved in one of them. She just
needs to be patient, and when things get straightened out, she can go on with
her research.




TWP:  I’m sure you
have her best interests at heart.




DM:  Yes,I do, and she
needs to understand that. If she can’t respect my wishes--or at least, my professional
judgment--then we don’t have much chance at a deeper relationship.




TWP:  Does she
understand that?




DM:  I think Tessa
understands what she wants to understand. That’s my pager. I’ve got to go.




TWP:  Well, thanks for
stopping by. I hope everything works out, both for your investigation and for
you and Tessa.




Read the first chapter of The Face on Miss Fanny’s Wall  at my website.




Buy Links





Champagne Books

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Questions, Questions...About NaNoWriMo

What is the working title of your book?



In the Books



Where did the idea come from for the book?



I was leafing through a wonderful travelogue of Ghost Towns in Texas and found a picture of an old college which has fallen into ruin. I always think, "If walls could talk..."



What genre does your book fall under?



Definitely romantic suspense--and perhaps historical since it's set in the 1880s.



What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?



Well, that's a tough one since I don't go to movies and watch the "oldies" on dvd/vcr. So, at the risk of people not knowing who I'm talking about, I think I'd choose Ann Blyth to play Ruth, the eager music student on scholarship and Pat Boone to play her love interest, Alec Marshall.



What is a one-sentence synopsis of your story?



Ruth and Alec are eager for an education at the new Belle Plain College--and also interested in getting to know each otehr better, but someone doesn't want them to be more than just classmates.



Will your book be self-published or represented by an agent?



Since I'm going to try the waters of 'indie publishing' in 2013, I'll say it will be self-published.



How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?



It took two weeks to write 20,000+ of the worst drivel I've ever written! I made the decision to scrap everything--which, of course, meant not finishing NaNoWriMo--and start over when I've had time to think about my characters and develop the plot the way it should go.



What other books would you compare your story to within this genre?



That I can't answer.



Who or what inspired you to write this book?



I always enjoy the NaNo Challenge, and this was my 6th year. The first year I didn't finish due to the terminal illness of a dear cousin-sister. The next year I did finish--somewhere she was threatening me if I didn't! I also finished in 2009, 2010 and 2011, but this year it seemed pointless to continue--what I wrote was BAD, folks. It's redeemable, however.  



But it was the photographs of those crumbling walls of Belle Plain College which really inspired me...and wondering about the stories of the young people who inhabited them during its brief life from 1881-1892.  And someday, I'll go back and let them tell me about themselves...their hopes, their dreams...and yes, their secrets!



 What else about this  book might pique the reader's interest?  



Visit my website and click on the NaNoWriMo tab to read a more complete synopsis and see the cover I designed.



Thanks, Pat, for tagging me! This was fun and inspires me to want to finish this story--someday! 

Character Interview: Tessa Steele of "The Face on Miss Fanny's Wall"

TWP:  Today we welcome
Tessa Steele to The Word Place. Tell us a little about yourself, Tessa.




TS:  I’m a librarian
at an elementary school in Cedar Bluff, Arkansas.
It’s a town with a history.




TWP:  What kind of
history?




TS:  Well, it’s on the
Missouri
border, so it saw a lot of fighting during the Civil War--mostly guerilla
warfare. Afterwards it was a pretty rough place, and it had a very famous
red-light district, which is what’s getting me into trouble right now.




TWP:  Wait a minute!
You’d better explain that.




TS (giggles): The only ‘house’ left is now a museum, and
during spring break before my senior year in college, some friends and I
visited it. On the wall in one room are pictures of some of the ‘ladies’ who
worked there, and I recognized one.




TWP:  Should I ask?




TS:  My
great-grandmother, Hallie Reynolds Steele. Nobody in the family knows anything
about here before she married my great-grandfather Merritt, who ran a newspaper.
She’s sort of a mystery, but I’m dying to know how she ended up working in one
of those places.




TWP:  What are you
doing to find out?




TS:  I’ve gotten into
genealogy. You know, hunting your ancestors for a family tree.




TWP:  Have you found
out anything?




TS:  More than someone
wants me to, I think, but I’m not giving up. That’s the other part of the
problem.




TWP:  Which is?




TS: I’m dating a state police officer, Dale McCord, and he
happens to be in charge of an investigation focusing on the museum.




TWP:  What’s going on?




TS:  Dale won’t tell
me anything except to stay away from there. It really makes me mad. I’m a grown
woman, and he doesn’t have any right to order me around.




TWP:  Maybe he’s
worried about you getting into a dangerous situation.




TS:  I can’t imagine
what could be dangerous at the museum. Of course, one of the docents is a
little creepy, but…




TWP:  It sounds as if
you should listen to Dale.




TS:  I’m going to find
out about my great-grandmother, that’s for sure, and not even Dale McCord is
going to stop me!




TWP:  Good luck
then--but be careful.




Read the first chapter of The Face on Miss Fanny’s Wall at
my website.




Buy Links




Champagne Books

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Character Interview: David Levinson, Finding Papa's Shining Star

TWP:  Welcome, David. You're Annie Ashley's husband, right?



DL:  Yes and no.



TWP:  That's an interesting answer.



DL:  Yes, we're legally married. No, we don't live as husband and wife. It's impossible when I'm in Israel, and she's in New York. It's almost like we're having a long-distance affair!



TWP:  How did that happen?



DL:  During the war, I was in a German concentration camp. Long story, but the time I spent there gave me time to reflect on my Jewish roots which I hadn't taken too seriously before that. After the war, I searched for any remaining family members left in Europe and didn't find many. Eventually, I became interested in the quest for Israeli statehood. Annie's father was Jewish, but she didn't share my enthusiasm.



TWP:  Alan Ashley was Jewish?



DL:  No, her biological father, Albert Rycroft--born Rycovski to Russian immigrant parents. Annie was raised in the Episcopal Church, but I think her biggest objection to embracing her Jewish roots is her resentment toward her father. Apparently he promised to reunite with her, but he never did.



TWP:  Annie suggested you knew more about that than you're willing to tell.



DL:  Willing but unable.



TWP:  What about this child she says you want her to raise?



DL:  Chava. She's five and completely shattered by the death of her mother Rebekah. She doesn't remember her father who died fighting for Israel's survival. And, she lost the only 'grandfather' she ever knew--he made the decision to send her to Annie.



TWP:  And he was...



DL:  Albert Rycroft, but I can't say anymore about that.



TWP:  All right. So why doesn't Annie want Chava?  She says the two of you lost a child...



DL:  During the war while I was overseas, Annie miscarried our son. But it all goes back to her father, and her resentment of him. She refuses to consider that he made the best decision for her when he let the Ashleys adopt her.



TWP:  What will happen to Chava?



DL:  I'll take her back to Israel with me. My brother Daniel and his wife Shelli will give her a home. They'll be good to her, but Annie's her blood...Rebekah was Annie's cousin. Annie needs Chava as much as Chava needs her, but what she needs even more is to find herself...to find her Papa's shining star. That's what he called her: my best little girl, my shining star. 



TWP:  Do you think it will happen?





DL:  I don't know. I adore Annie, and we could make a good home for Chava and maybe even give her some brothers and sisters. But I can't predict what Annie will do. I never could.



TWP:  Well, we'll hope for the best for all of you.



Read the first chapter of Finding Papa's Shining Star at my website.




Buy Links



  The Wild Rose Press


Amazon

Character Interview: Annie Ashley

Character Interview:

Annie Ashley

Finding Papa’s Shining Star




If you missed the interviews with Alan Ashley and Lenore Seldon of Where
Is Papa’s Shining Star? be sure to read
them in previous blogs to put this interview in perspective.







TWP:  Welcome to The Word Place, Annie Ashley. You started
life under another name, I believe.




AA:  I was born Roberta Annette Rycroft.




TWP:  How did you become Annie Ashley?




AA:  It’s complicated. Basically, my parents
divorced, and my mother remarried. Her husband sent me to his sister, Lenore
Seldon, when…well, when things weren’t going well. When she married Alan
Ashley, they adopted me, and I took the name Annette Lenore Ashley. Roberta was
my biological mother’s name, and I didn’t want anything to do with her.




TWP:  What was life like with the Ashleys?




AA:  Idyllic. I had the best of everything. We
loved each other.




TWP:  You married during the war, right?




AA:  It was one of those hasty wartime things.




TWP:  So it didn’t work out?




AA:  It did, and it didn’t.




TWP:  Children?




AA:  I lost a child.




TWP:  I’m sorry. What do you do now?




AA:  After my parents’ deaths, I became the head
of Ashley Enterprises. Now David--that’s my husband--has turned up again and
wants me to raise the five-year-old daughter of my cousin.




TWP:  You don’t seem enthusiastic about that.




AA: I’m just not
sure I can do it.




TWP:  You had good parental role models in the
Ashleys, didn’t you?




AA:  Yes, but…Chava needs two parents, and David
and I…he has a business in Israel,
and I have responsibilities here.




TWP:  What happened to your biological parents? Did
you ever see them again?




AA:  Roberta Rycroft either committed suicide or
was murdered shortly after I was sent North. I don’t really care. Papa--Albert Rycroft--disappeared. He said
he’d come for me…for Bobbie, his shining star…but he never did. He never did, but he promised...




TWP:  Is he still living?




AA:  I’m not sure. I think so. David knows, but he
won’t tell me anything. He knew Papa--Albert Rycroft in Israel.




TWP:  So what’s next for you?




AA:  I have a business to run. A lot of people
depend on me for their livings. David says I need to get in touch with who I
was…find Papa’s shining star…but she doesn’t exist anymore.




TWP:  You’re sure about that?




AA:  I’m not sure of anything except that my
schedule says I have a business meeting in fifteen minutes, so I have to go.




TWP:  Well, thanks for stopping by The Word Place
today. Good luck.




Tomorrow:  David Levinson,
Annie’s husband




Read the first chapter of Finding Papa’s Shining Star at my website.




Buy Links




The Wild Rose Press

Amazon

Spring Cleaning in December

Back in the summer, I left Facebook and haven't regretted it. It was a good marketing venue, but it also had some disadvantages which made me decide I could do without it. Twitter seemed a better, less time-consuming road to travel, but the problem was, I didn't really know how to use it. So I've been learning.

The result is that I unfollowed a lot of people, mainly because I don't read what they write, and they don't read what I write, so we really weren't interacting for anyone's benefit.



After some research, I discovered writers in my own genre(s) and groups/organizations which both instruct and help promote books, so I did some following there. The response has been great with a lot of those people/groups returning the follow.



 It's sort of like not going into a hardware store to buy lingerie. The sales folks might really want to help you out, but what can they do? And you can't help them out by paying them for what they don't have. Maybe that's a poor analogy, but it works for me. I want to be able to learn from/buy from/support those I follow.

As social media, Twitter should be mutually beneficial for everyone.



Since deciding to concentrate on Twitter, I've noticed that the number of visits here at The Word Place have increased. I don't get many (if any!) comments, but people have been here and, hopefully, have taken away some useful information. I've also seen more visits to my website and a better 7-day traffic average than before. 



My next task is to work on LinkedIn. Like other venues, I joined because it was (supposedly) a must-do, and I did it in too much of a hurry to really learn the entire scope of its inner workings. So it's back to the drawing board.



It's a crazy time of year for spring cleaning...but it's gotta be done!

You Can't Judge a Book...

...by its cover. Not true. It's usually the cover of a book which attracts one first, then the blurb. If both are a go, we buy the book. So a book cover IS important.



I've been blown away by the covers designed for my novels by several terrific graphic artists:  Rae Monet ( The Shiningstar Books ), Tina Lynn Stout ( The Showboat Affair and Dancing with Velvet), and Trisha FitzGerald ( The Face on Miss Fanny's Wall ). See the sidebar of the blog for a look at the covers. But these were all traditionally-contracted books.(I was unable to find websites for Tina Lynn and Trisha.)



When it comes to "indie publishing", an author has to go it alone or find an affordable graphic artist to design the cover of her dreams--never forgetting that the cover can hook a reader faster than the blurb, because it's what the reader sees first in most cases. 



As I dabble my toes in the waters of indie publishing (come 2013), suitable covers for The Penelope Pembroke Cozy Mystery Series are high on my lists of first-things-first. I may have a good product, but no one will unwrap unattractive packaging to find it. 



I am, by necessity, limited by my budget. So what will I do? Go it alone, or find the tried-and-true? Here are three links I'm looking at to help make a decision. 

 

: http://www.publishyourownebooks.com/design-ebook-covers/#ixzz23dAyBeTl










: http://www.publishyourownebooks.com/images-and-artwork-for-ebooks/#ixzz23dBgDEd8




http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/0...





 

Character Interview: Lenore Seldon

 Character Interview: Lenore Seldon

Where Is Papa’s Shining Star?




TWP: Today we welcome Lenore Seldon, administrative
assistant to Alan Ashley who was with us a few days ago. Tell us about
yourself, Miss Seldon.




LS:  There’s not much
to tell. I graduated from business school and worked ten years for retired
Judge Arthur Sutherland until his death.




TWP:  Then you went to
work for Alan Ashley, right?




LS: Not right away.




TWP:  Can you explain
that?




LS:  I’d rather not.
Those intervening years aren’t pleasant to remember.




TWP:  But now you have
a good job.




LS:  Yes.




TWP:  What is it like
to work for one of the most prominent entrepreneurs in America--and
one of the wealthiest and most eligible bachelors?




LS:  I’m grateful for
employment. So many don’t have work. The Depression, you know.




TWP:  Right, but back
to Alan Ashley…he’s quite handsome.




LS:  He’s my employer.




TWP:  Can’t he still
be good-looking? Have there been other men in your life?




LS:  Not really. I was
engaged briefly to the boy next door, but he died in France during the war.




TWP:  And Alan Ashley
lost his eyesight in the same war.




LS:  Yes, but he
manages very well.




TWP:  He says you’re a
great help to him.




LS:  I do my best.




TWP:  Since you live
in, you must spend a lot of time with him outside of the workplace.




LS:  I don’t know how
it happened, but we have breakfast together and then dinner every night.
Sometimes after dinner I read aloud to him, or we listen to music. But I’m
well-chaperoned. His housekeeper Mrs. Swane lives in. And I’m going to get my
own place when I get a bit ahead.




TWP:  He won’t like
that.




LS:  It’s for the
best.




TWP:  Is he easy to
get along with?




LS:  For the most
part. He still bears some bitterness about the loss of his sight…but mostly
because it was the reason his fiancée broke their engagement.




TWP:  Have you met
her?




LS:  Briefly. It was
unpleasant to say the least. However, she’s very beautiful…very elegant.




TWP:  Do you see your
working relationship with Alan Ashley transitioning into something more
personal?




LS:  Oh, no, it can’t!
I have…responsibilities.




TWP:  Can you share
what those responsibilities are?




LS:  No. No, I can’t,
and if thinks this interview will get him the personal information I have a
right to withhold…




TWP:  Nothing like
that, but be honest. Aren’t you the least bit interested in him, woman to man?




LS:  I can’t be. You
don’t understand. He’d never understand either. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to
excuse me. I must transcribe some notes into Braille before his meeting
tomorrow morning.




TWP:  All right. We
understand. Thanks for stopping by.






To learn more about Where Is Papa’s Shining Star?, visit my
website where you can see a video trailer and read the first chapter. Where Is Papa’s Shining Star? is
available in print and as an eBook from The Wild Rose Press and Amazon.

Character Interview: Alan Ashley

Character Interview:  Alan
Ashley

  Where Is Papa’s Shining Star?




TWP:  Thank you for making time in your schedule
for The Word Place, Mr. Ashley.




AA:  What is it you’d like to talk about?




TWP:  You lost your vision serving in the trenches in France during World War I. Has it been difficult, given your disability, to run a major
company like Ashley Enterprises?




AA:  Yes, but then I have many good people around
me who serve as my eyes.




TWP:  Your administrative assistant, Lenore Seldon,
is one of them.




AA:  That’s right. She’s exceptionally intuitive.
She knows what I need before I do.




TWP:  An interesting statement. Tell us something
about her, if you don’t mind.




AA:  She knows her job and does it well and
faithfully. What else can I say?




TWP:  What is she like outside of work?




AA:  She lives in--well chaperoned by my
housekeeper, Mrs. Swane, who raised me from the time I was two. Because of
that, I’ve been able to teach her to use the Braille writer, something my former
assistant was never able to master. It’s made all the difference in my ability
to be less dependent on the eyes of others.




TWP:  I meant, what is she like as a person?




AA:   She’s
well-educated…cultured…kind…but there’s something about her…something
mysterious…




TWP:  Mysterious?




AA:  I shouldn’t have said that. It doesn’t
concern me.




TWP:  No?




AA:  Well, perhaps it does. To be honest,
I find myself attracted to her.




TWP:  And how does she feel about you?




AA:  It’s difficult to tell. She keeps her distance.
She disappears every Saturday morning and returns late on Sunday evening. She
says she has ‘responsibilities’, but she doesn’t elaborate.




TWP:  Family?




AA:  Perhaps.




TWP:  Or, if I might be so bold, a lover?




AA: No!
Absolutely not! Her moral character can’t be questioned.




TWP:  I wasn’t questioning her character, only the
mystery that surrounds her.




AA:  It’s puzzling, I’ll admit. I’ve tried to draw
her out, but she keeps her own counsel.




TWP:  It seems you might consider her more than
just an employee.




AA:  I…I suppose I do. When I returned from the
war, my fiancée broke our engagement because I was blind. She said she couldn’t
marry ‘half a man’. Lenore…Miss Seldon…doesn’t seem to look on me that way.




TWP:  Is the beautiful? Oh, I beg your pardon, I…




AA:  My housekeeper says she’s quite attractive,
though when she came she was too thin…and rather shabby.




TWP:  She’d come from less than optimal
circumstances.




AA:  It’s happened to many during this crushing
Depression. Mrs. Swane says her appearance has improved with regular meals and
the security of employment.




TWP:  Where do you see your relationship going?




AA:  I didn’t say there was a relationship,
although…




TWP:  Perhaps we should move on.




AA:  An excellent suggestion. In fact, my
schedule, which Miss Seldon prepares daily in Braille, tells me I have another
appointment in five minutes.  However, my
secretary has agreed to give you a tour of Ashley Enterprises. I
believe Miss Seldon is in accounting this morning, so you might meet her if you go there.




TWP:  Thank you for your time and candor, Mr.
Ashley. I’ll make it a point to meet Lenore Seldon. A woman of mystery always
intrigues a writer.




To learn more about Where Is Papa’s Shining Star?, visit my
website where you can see a video trailer and read the first chapter. Where Is Papa’s Shining Star? is
available in print and as an eBook from The Wild Rose Press and Amazon.




MONDAY:  Lenore Seldon speaks with us--reluctantly. 



Leave a comment today and Monday and be entered in a drawing for a free PDF copy of the book!