Erica Vetsch's Blog, page 138

Making the Most of Your Setting

by Mindy Obenhaus
Stories are comprised of different elements. Characters, plot and setting being the main three. Yet every writer writes differently. Some start with plot. Others start with characters and then create a plot that will generate the most conflict possible. However, there are times when a writer is so inspired by a setting that they just have to write a story about it. That’s what happened to me. The first time my mother-in-law introduced me to Ouray, Colorado, I knew I had to use it as a setting for a story. The town was so beautiful and unique that I wanted to tell everyone about it. Six books later, I’m still singing the praises of my most favorite place.
How do you make setting an integral part of your story?
A writer’s first instinct might be to throw in loads of description. But if you’ve spent any time here in Seekerville, you know that won’t fly. We cannot wax poetically for paragraphs on end because editors do not like that and, frankly, it can get boring. And rule number one is don’t bore the reader.
So whether your setting is a real place or simply lives in your mind, here are a few ways to make the most of it without beating readers over the head.
Give at least one character a job or hobby that is unique to your setting
Is there something about your setting that makes it different from other places? Ouray is the Jeeping Capital of the World. It’s also America’s ice climbing capital. Yes, that's really me.So, naturally, I’ve incorporated a hero and a heroine who’ve owned Jeep tour companies into my stories. I’ve also had an avid ice climber and mountain guide. And then there’s Ouray’s rich mining history, which still goes on today, allowing me to have a hero who was a miner.
During the gold rush, Ouray, population 1000, was a thriving mining town that boasted more than 10,000 residents whose legacies still live on in the abundance of historic homes and other buildings, making it ripe for bed-and-breakfast owners and restoration projects.
Think about your story. Are there any jobs or hobbies unique to its setting?
Setting can create limitations
Ouray is a tiny town with one grocer, a hardware store and no drive-thru restaurants. It’s a minimum of thirty minutes to the nearest fast-food restaurant, supercenter, home improvement store and hospital. That means that when my self-reliant heroine has a flat tire on her motorcycle and needs a plug to fix it, but the hardware store is all out, she’s stuck.
Yet while these limitations may force the writer to be more creative, the good news is that they can also create conflict for our characters. Like when the clerk at the hardware store suggests our heroine check with the Jeep tour company across the street, where she would be forced to ask our hero, the one man she does not want help from, to help her out.
Ask yourself, does my setting present any limitations?
Put your setting to work for you
When I was writing my first book, The Doctor’s Family Reunion, I knew that something potentially dangerous was going to happen to one of my characters. I researched diseases and ailments until I was blue in the face before I finally decided what should be wrong with them. But when I told my husband, he said, “Well, that’s silly. Why not use your setting?”
Talk about a V8 moment. Here I was trying to contrive something that would put my character in danger, when I could have that danger grow organically out of my setting. Which, in the end, made a much stronger story.
Here’s an example. The main highway that leads in and out of Ouray can be very scary to drive even in the best of conditions, with its harrowing curves and sheer drop-offs. But that drive can be downright treacherous during a winter storm. And what if they close the road, which often happens. Then our character is either trapped in Ouray or forced to find an alternative route that could take them someplace unexpected or make them miss the flight they really have to be on.Going back to your manuscript, how can your setting wreak havoc with your characters?
Get to know your setting
Whether your setting is real or fictitious, you owe it to yourself and your readers to learn everything you can about it. What makes it special? If it’s a real place, how do locals view things versus how visitors see them? Learn what they might do or where they might go.
In Ouray, while all the tourists are flocking to Yankee Boy Basin, the locals might head to some little known place like Silver Basin. Had it not been for my friend Brandy who owns a Jeep tour company in Ouray, I might have never discovered Silver Basin.
Have you taken the time to get to know your setting?
Setting is an important part of any story and can be a powerful tool. With a little thought and planning, or research and exploration, you can make the most of your setting, putting it to work for you in ways you might never have imagined. And in the end, your story will be better for it.
Now it's your turn. What’s your first step in creating a story? Plot, characters or setting? Do you take the time to think about your setting?


Three-time Carol Award nominee,  Mindy Obenhaus , writes contemporary romance for Love Inspired Books. She’s passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren at her Texas ranch. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com

You Gotta Have Faith

 with guest blogger Tracey Lyons....
I’d like to start this post by thanking Ruth Logan Herne for inviting me on the Seekerville blog. This is a talented group of authors and I’m honored to be here today. 

Faith and me.



I’ve had more than one reader ask me why I write what I write, and since I write romance, for the most part my answer is I write romance because I believe in the happily ever after. Over the past few years I’ve segued from writing sweet romance to the Christian/Inspirational genre.  While on a trip to the Christian Fiction Readers Retreat last summer, my roommate Carrie Turansky asked me what brought me to the Christian market. The answer wasn’t as easy as I believe in the happily ever after. I still write about that in my books but woven into the story are elements of my characters’ faith journey. 

My journey to writing Christian fiction came after another friend suggested that my books had an inspirational tone to them. I’ve always been quiet about my faith. So writing about it in my books presented a bit of a challenge for me.  I thought long and hard before I decided to take the leap of “faith” to become a Christian author. The last thing I wanted to do was to present something that wasn’t true to who I am. I grew up as a Methodist in a very small town in upstate New York. But when I married I converted to Catholicism. For me, though, being a Christian author isn’t necessarily about what religion you were raised in or even what you practice as an adult. When I thought about Carrie’s question I realized my stories are not about being one thing or another. You see I had a grandmother who was a firm believer in God, the Bible and family. She didn’t attend church and that was okay by me. She hosted weekly Bible studies in her home and instilled her faith in every member of her family. (Her husband, my grandfather joined his church when he was well into his senior years. Our family, totaling thirty-three members at that time, filled the front half of that church to be with him as he celebrated his faith.)


To this day I think about my grandmother and her words of wisdom. Her faith carried through to me. Her faith in love, her faith in family, her faith in God. When I write my stories and breath life into the characters, the people and worlds I create, I guess I’m weaving a bit of my life in each of those books. Over the past two years I’ve met a lot of very talented Christian authors who are leaps and bounds ahead of me when it comes to writing these types of books. Every time I put my words on a page it is my hope that my faith grows stronger. Just as my characters are on a journey, l believe I am taking a journey along with my readers. 


Writing has always been a dream of mine. Over the past eighteen years I’ve been blessed with trusted friends, a wonderful agent who believes in me even when I don’t and a wealth of stories that keeps my mind busy. But the one thing that is a constant is my faith in God, family and the belief that I am doing what I was born to do; writing stories filled with love, and hope. 

Wishing you all many blessings. Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by Seekerville today.

I’d love for you to share your thoughts on someone who was instrumental in guiding your faith. Please feel free to leave a comment in the comment section below. 

Ruthy note! Tracey is giving away a copy of "The Heart of an Agent" to one lucky commenter today.... Leave a comment about someone who was instrumental in guiding your faith.... or maybe someone who inspired you to be who you are, or a better person... and we'll tuck your name into the drawing!

Former Pinkerton spy Lily Handland has always dreamed of a quiet, safe life, free from chasing criminals and putting herself at risk. So when the opportunity to invest in a failing Great Camp in the Adirondacks comes to her attention, she quickly jumps at the chance.
Filled with grief, widower Owen Murphy wants to run away from it all. Though he’s worked hard to forge a future for himself, his guilt has kept him mired in the past. But all that changes when a headstrong, mysterious woman shows up at Owen’s door. Together, as Lily and Owen restore the beauty of the Great Camp, he begins to finally see a future. But will learning about Lily’s past destroy it all?
website www.traceyjlyons.com
facebook https://www.facebook.com/TraceyJLyonsAuthor
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/traceyjlyons

When God Closes a Door

By Guest Miralee Ferrell, Publisher, Mountain Brook Ink





I wear a lot of hats, and it keeps me juggling to remember which one I should be wearing and where I laid it down, LOL! At my age, I should think of retiring, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon. I love what I do too much to quit.
So what do I do? I’m a wife of over 40 years, mom to two awesome grown and married kids, grandmother, horse lover/rider, gardener, writer, publisher, and very recently, an author with a made-for-TV movie. That doesn’t sound like much, does it? First, my writing: I started in 2005 when the Lord dropped a word into my heart via a visiting pastor who prayed and told me he believed I should be writing and it needed to be published. The idea had never occurred to me before that, even though I was a prolific reader and enjoyed letter writing. Fiction was the furthest thing from my mind. Fast forward a few months (after praying), and I had several magazine articles written and accepted for publication, and an 80,000-word book written. That book released October of 2007 and was the first of 25 in the 11 years since then—historical romance, contemporary, and middle-grade horse novels. 
In 2013 I discovered that things were changing at David C Cook. I’d had 6 books release with them, and one more yet to release, when they made the decision to discontinue fiction. They published my final book, but that was it. I was without a home, and a bit shocked, as I loved my time there and had hoped to continue. But when the Lord closes a door, He often opens a window. We don’t have a lot of time here, but that closed door led to starting a publishing company for other disenfranchised authors who’d lost their home. That was my first thought, then I started realizing many houses were closing their fiction doors. There was excellent fiction being written by debut authors that might never find a home. I expanded my vision, and Mountain Brook Ink (MBI) was born. A close personal friend, Kimberly Rose Johnson, lost her publishing home a couple of months prior to my starting MBI, when Heartsong closed their doors. She graciously decided to take a chance with me. Now, 4 years later, she has 7 books with MBI and a new contract for three more. We have several authors who took a chance on us that first year, and they’re still with us. We’re so grateful and thankful for God’s blessings along the way.



One thing that stood me in good stead was already having my foot in the publishing door. Romantic Times knew my name from reviewing my books, so we were able to have our authors’ books reviewed. Christian Book Distributors (CBD) carried all my books, so after working with their sales rep for a couple of years, they decided to carry all of MBI’s books. We put our books into Ingram, meaning our books can be purchased at any book store that uses Ingram/Spring Arbor as their distributor, including brick-and-mortar stores and online. I also have a strong sales background, as that’s what I did in my ‘former’ life “BW”—before writing. I understood the need for a publicist, but I couldn’t afford to hire someone with the know-how to get the books out there. I decided I needed to put out feelers and see if I could find a young, ambitious, go-getter who wanted part-time work and was willing to be trained. The Lord sent me Nikki. I spent the first year training her to understand all things publishing—thankfully, she had already worked promoting authors via social media and building websites and blogs. That was a huge step up. I added the rest, and it’s been fantastic.Nikki works closely with our authors, adding them to our website, rotating the new releases on our home page, sending out a large number of press releases, sending the books to Romantic Times, Publisher’s Weekly, and Library Journal for possible review. She sets up Facebook release parties, blog tours, guest appearances on a number of blogs, as well as writing training articles, helping authors understand how to set up an author page on Amazon and Bookbub, and emphasizing the importance of a newsletter. We purchase ads on a variety of spots when a new book releases, help our authors build reviews, and so much more. It’s a never-ending journey to discover what works, and we do our best to put those tools in our authors’ hands.
One of our accomplishments that’s brought us a number of new authors and agents is the Lord’s work in connecting me with a Hollywood producer. That was a miracle—the producer had read three of my Love Finds You books. They were making the Love Finds You movies at the time and wanted to expand. That didn’t end up happening, but because she loved my work, she asked me to work on a made-for-TV project where I’d write the book and they’d make the movie. I was given a three-sentence synopsis and Runaway Romance grew from that. She and I brainstormed on the phone a couple of times, and I added an additional thread to the book that didn’t make it into the movie.As we built a trust relationship over the past three years, she allowed me to pitch an occasional book. So far, they’ve optioned three of my other books (one is in development and should be filming this summer) and two by my authors, Kimberly Rose Johnson and Angela Ruth Strong. We’re praying those come to the screen, as well. Yes, I wear many hats—we hire a graphic designer, but I give input on covers. I work directly with our authors—training/coaching, answering questions. I do a lot of editing and proofreading, troubleshoot, go to conferences, acquire new fiction, upload books to online vendors...and so much more. It’s a lot of work, but we’re putting out exceptional fiction, which is a reward all its own.We’ve had several of our books final or win awards, and our little company has been represented at four different west coast writer’s conferences, as well as gaining visibility with several agencies. One agent made the comment that we’re the best small press available to authors today. I honestly don’t know if that’s true, but it was a kind thing to say—I’m guessing there are other small presses that are just as good or better, and possibly this agent hasn’t come in contact with them yet. So, I’d love to know—have you ever wanted to write a novel? Are you writing one now? Do you have one finished—or maybe two or three, and don’t know what to do with them? Do you have a plan worked out, or are you hoping something will ‘just happen?’ Trust me, that’s not likely. The best advice I can give you is educate yourself. Go to writer’s conferences. Get involved in a strong critique group. Don’t simply hope. Work. Study. Show yourself a workman who need not be ashamed. Hone your craft. Find ways to make it shine. Purchase a Christian Writer’s Market Guide if you’re writing for the Christian market, and study it. Start small. Submit to magazines or online publications first and grow your resume. Get a social media presence going, especially a newsletter, as that’s critical to landing a contract. And most of all, write a good story—one that makes your heart sing, and one you know the Lord has given you to write, and you won’t go wrong. 
Miralee is offering a signed print copy of Runaway Romance to one winner today! Please let us know in the comments if you'd like to be entered (U.S. entrants only for this giveaway).

Author Bio: Miralee Ferrell is a best-selling, award-winning author of Christian fiction with 21 books in both historical and contemporary in print. She’s a certified lay counselor as well as the publisher at Mountain Brook Ink. She loves country living in the Pacific NW with her husband Allen, her two dogs, two cats, and eleven chickens. You can find out more about Miralee at www.miraleeferrell.comJoin her Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/82316202888/Follow her on Bookbub (this really helps authors!) https://www.bookbub.com/authors/miralee-ferrellFollow her on Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2HDSDfuSaveSave

Weekend Edition

  


If you are not familiar with our giveaway rules, take a minute to read them here. It keeps us all happy! All winners should send their name, address, and phone number to claim prizes.  Note our new email address and please send your emails to Seekerville2@gmail.com






Monday: Sharee Stover was our guest and the winner of her debut novel Secret Past is Caryl Kane. 
Tuesday: Georgiana Daniels visited and took on Seeker Erica Vetsch in a head-to-head interview. Besides being the CLEAR winner, Georgiana is gifting a copy of her latest release, Shadows of Hope, to one commentor, and that person is: Dorcas Annette Walker! Congrats Dorcas! Email us with your mailing deets, and we'll get your book to you ASAP!
Wednesday: Melanie Dickerson continued her series Conflict and Tension Part 3, When to Resolve Conflict. Jessica Fortenberry is the winner of a copy of your choice of The Beautiful Pretender or The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest.
Friday: Pam Hillman and friends Patricia Bradley, Stephenia McGee, and Janet Ferguson shared tips from their recent Brainstorming Retreat. Winner of an ARC of Pam's June 2018 release, The Road to Magnolia Glen is Nicki Chapelway.


Monday:  Help us welcome guest Miralee Ferrell, author as well as Publisher of Mountain Brook Ink! Miralee will be giving away a signed print copy of Runaway Romance, her book that is also a made-for-TV movie! Be sure to drop by to hear how Miralee has experienced God closing a door but opening a window.
Tuesday: Tracey Lyons will be our guest.
Wednesday:  Mindy Obenhaus will be talking setting and how it can impact your story.  Friday: Do you love foreign settings? Our guest today, Donna Wichelman, is one of the best at weaving setting into her delectable novels. Donna's debut book, and the rest of the Waldensian series, is set in Europe. Can you only imagine? Donna will be discussing Find The Story Within The Story with us today. 






Spring is here! Flowers are blooming, snow is melting, and the smell of flowers in the air!

Look at the last column - right smack in the middle - and what do you see? Audra Harders's Second Chance Ranch is one of the books featured in the special spring promotion by CelebrateLit! 
What's more fun than to welcome spring in with a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card or 25+ books?! Don't miss you chance to win! Enter here:  https://promosimple.com/ps/cc16/spring-multi-author-giveaway






Pam Hillman is excited to announce that RT Magazine gave The Road to Magnolia Glen  4 1/2 Stars & Top Pick!




We're celebrating the reissue of our very own Ruthy, Ruth Logan Herne's The First Gift with a new cover. Join the Takeover or the Bookstagram Review Tours with JustRead Publicity Tours! No blog needed! Click on the image for more info.






Where Does Your Novel's Conflict Come From? by Janice Hardy at Fiction University.


Guideposts Writers Workshop Contest  HOW TO ENTER: Submit an original, unpublished true first-person story of 2,000 words or fewer, typewritten and double-spaced, about an experience that changed your life. Show us how faith made a difference. Or you can ghostwrite for someone else. It’s required that you also include a cover letter that tells us about yourself and your life experience. Send your entry and cover letter by June 10, 2018, to Guideposts Writers Workshop, 110 William Street, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038 or submit the story and cover letter via e-mail it to  wwcontest@guideposts.org . Winners will be notified by mid-August 2018. Please note: We acknowledge winning entries only. Writers who have attended previous Guideposts workshops are not eligible. (Via Guideposts website)
As noted, deadline is June 10th, 2018. (Entrants should visit the link and watch the brief video clip).
Declaration of Indie-Dependence by James Scott Bell 

Comparisonitis Or “Everyone Else Is Better Than Me” by Joanna Penn Keeping Your Focus by CJ Myerly from Learn How To Write A Novel

Planning a Successful Brainstorming Retreat

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by Pam Hillman
A couple of weeks ago, I got together with a group of other authors for my first ever brainstorming retreat.
Best.Time.Ever!
Janet W. Ferguson, Patricia Bradley, Stephenia H. McGee, and I all live in Mississippi, and we were scheduled to go to a book signing at a library, so I reached out to them to see if they’d be interested in scheduling a retreat at the same time. To my delight, all three were ready to brainstorm a new project, so it was perfect timing for all of us.
Now, before I get to the nuts and bolts of what worked for us, let me say I had the most fun at this retreat than anything I’ve ever done in the writing world. If you get the chance to go to a brainstorming retreat, do. If there’s not one in your area, or you can’t travel a long distance to one, then reach out to your circle of friends and organize one yourself.
So, how do you go about that…
Hostess - Someone needs to be “in charge” of your retreat. In this case, since it was my idea, I took the reins. We figured out when and how long all of us could meet, and I built our schedule around that. I booked the venue, prepared the schedule, and then … uh … tore it all up at the last minute. But for a really good reason. (Read on to find out…)
Central Location - While a retreat at some far-flung location that requires two days of air-travel might be on all of our bucket lists, scheduling, cost, time, and exhaustion factors in for some of us. Or at least it does for me.
Everyone in our group lives in Mississippi. While Pat had to travel the farthest, she was going to be in the area for the book signing, so didn’t travel “extra” for our retreat. So, search for a central location to minimize everyone’s travel time and expense. 
Keep it Simple - Originally, I looked at booking a cabin at a local park. But since the cabins at that location require you to bring your own bedding, we opted for a hotel instead. Since there were only four of us, it worked out beautifully. (And their continental breakfast was exceptional!)
Be Flexible - Remember how I said I planned the retreat, booked the venue, and created the schedule? Well, 24 hours before the retreat, I had to cancel. Why? My 2nd granddaughter decided to make an appearance on the exact day of the retreat. But all was not lost. Since there was no airfare involved, and our small group was flexible, we shifted from the day before the book signing to two days after. The hotel rebooked us, and that was that. Su-weet!
Piggybacking Another Event - If you’re thinking of planning a retreat before or after another event as we did, consider carefully which one is the most exhausting. For instance, as stated above, our retreat was originally scheduled for the day before and morning of our book signing. I used so much brain power during our brainstorming that if I’d gone from there to the book signing, then had a two hour drive home, I would have been comatose. 

Four and no more - Okay, maybe you can have a few more than four, but be careful of having so many people that the ideas are coming at you faster than you can think. Also, if there are 7-8 (or more), it’s going to be hard to get through that many sessions without everyone becoming exhausted, so either you’ll need to allow extra day(s) or break into two or more groups. Bottom line, four worked perfectly for us.
Schedule - The hostess should create a tentative schedule and run it by the group. Our group could only meet from 2 pm until 10 am the next day. I originally scheduled 1 1/2 hours for each session, but we quickly realized that our natural rhythm leaned toward 2-3 hours for each story idea.
We got through four ideas in 20 hours, only breaking 2 hours for dinner, 7 for sleep, and 1 hour for breakfast. I don’t advise that tight of a schedule! Ha! I don’t know about the others, but I was exhausted. Ideally, two full days with two sessions on each day, some time to relax over lunch and dinner, and time to get a good night’s sleep for the next day is critical.
Share Ideas Ahead of Time - The sessions will go smoother if you share everything you know about your story with the other brainstorming partners ahead of time. Don’t worry if what you have is vague or even if it’s open to change. Just give everyone something to hang their hats on. We shared genre, time period, location, and as much of the characters and plot as we’d figured out. Plus some. :)
Internet Access - One of the things you might not think is important to a brainstorming session is internet access. I certainly didn’t think we’d use it at all. But Janet was a whiz at researching historical and relative people/places/events that took our story ideas to a new level.
Friends and Partners - Read your partners’ existing work, or at the very least have a working knowledge of what they write. Historical romance? Romantic suspense? Women’s fiction? Light and fluffy, or dark and sinister? The more you know about their style, the better you’ll be at brainstorming their stories. And vice versa.
Mix of Genres - And in that vein, we brainstormed two historical and two contemporaries. While it’s not a hard and fast rule to mix genres when brainstorming, flipping from one to the other kept our creative juices flowing.
What Else? - Load up on snacks, drinks, coffee, and comfortable seating. And a few blankets or throws for those who are easily chilled. (Not mentioning any names, but her initials are SHM!) Pat brought an artist’s sketch pad and markers. When we got stuck on my hero’s GMC, she pulled out the paper, and we were off and running again.
And Last - Don’t stress. Pack light. Fly/drive “ugly” as my friend Robin is fond of saying. Wear sweatpants and flip-flops. Pull your hair up in a ponytail and forego the makeup if you like. But bring on the story and your thinking caps!
So, there you go. That’s how we did it. Now it’s your turn. Have you been part of a brainstorming retreat? Please share your tips, techniques, and any advice on things to avoid.


Leave a comment for a chance to win an ARC of The Road to Magnolia Glen, Book #2 in my Natchez Trace Novel series. Click Here to Pre-Order

Conflict and Tension Part 3, When to Resolve Conflict

Melanie Dickerson here. Have you ever started a story thinking you had this amazing conflict that would keep your readers enthralled until the end of the story, only to realize early on that it’s not feasible to keep this conflict going for the whole story? You don't want the story to get boring. 
I used to panic when this would happen, but I realized something. Rather than dragging out a problem beyond believability, why not just let that conflict be resolved—and add a new conflict?

Crestock.com
I try to let my conflicts resolve themselves in a believable amount of time. I don't want the story to drag, and it will if there isn't enough believable conflict. The trick is to make sure there are other conflicts that will take prominence as soon as that other conflict, or problem, is resolved.
For example, in one of my favorite movies, Penelope, starring Christina Ricci and James McAvoy, Penelope’s parents hide their daughter from the public, since she has the nose and ears of a pig, as they search for a society blue-blood to marry her and break the curse. This tension of hiding keeps the viewer wondering what will happen if and when people see Penelope's "disfigured" face. But this is resolved partway through the movie when Penelope runs away from home and her photograph is plastered all over the media. She immediately becomes a media darling, beloved by the public. 

crestock.com
But there is another conflict that takes that one’s place—the bad guy begins dating her and she gets engaged to him. We knows he’s only doing it as a publicity stunt to repair his reputation--and the hero, who's really in love with her, knows that too. This is a huge point of angst for our hero and heroine, both of whom we have grown to love. There are also other conflicts that were started in the beginning that carry over. So even though one of the main sources of conflict is resolved, there are still plenty of unanswered questions and unresolved conflict keeping us engaged in the story.
In my book, The Beautiful Pretender, which is a Princess and the Pea /slash/ Beauty and the Beast mash-up, the heroine is an imposter. She’s not the daughter of an earl, as the hero supposes, but is actually just a maidservant. In my mind the climax would come when [spoiler alert] the hero chooses the heroine from all the other marriageable daughters of dukes and earls and other nobles—and immediately discovers she has been using a false identity. All manner of sparks will fly.

crestock.com
The problem was that about halfway through the story, I realized the plot would soon start to grow boring if I tried to drag out that "climax/black moment" scene until the end. There were only so many scenes I could write about the hero “testing” the young ladies to see who was the most noble, building up to the moment when he would choose a wife. So I did a bit more brainstorming, even getting my editor on the phone to brainstorm with me. I realized I still had a lot of loose ends that would need to be tied up, not to mention more time for the hero and heroine to fall in love and resolve the conflict caused by her deceiving him.
I went ahead and had the big scene almost two-thirds of the way through the story—too early to be a true “climax/black moment” scene, which the reader was already expecting anyway. However, the reader would not expect me to let that scene come with a third of the story left. This is tricky. On the one hand, I surprised my reader. But on the other hand, I couldn't let that last third of the book be boring because all their questions had been answered. So I created lots of danger, which had already been building and was foreshadowed earlier. Also, my hero and heroine had not declared their love for each other, and the obstacles keeping them from marrying were as great as ever.

crestock.com
I allowed my villains to wreak havoc, making the conflict stronger than ever. The heroine was stranded in the woods where wolves were lurking and the hero had to save her. The villain took over the hero’s castle, and he and the heroine spent several hours hiding from him. This led to lots of lovely scenes of danger and angst and longing. It worked well, I think, because that book has the highest ratings of any of my other books on sites like Amazon and Goodreads. I was able to resolve that major conflict—revealing the heroine’s true identity to the hero and everyone else in the story—because there was plenty of other conflicts to deal with, including the fall-out from the revelation.
I seem to have a lot of stories with characters who are using false identities. In The Noble Servant, both the hero and the heroine are hiding their identities, for different reasons. I was not quite sure when I wanted this to be revealed. The question keeping the reader reading was: When will the hero and heroine discover the true identity of the other? I decided to answer that question fairly early, since I didn’t want to drag it on so long that it lost its tension. But there were lots of other questions to take its place. Will the villain discover that the hero is still alive? Will he see him and kill him? Will the hero and heroine find proof of the hero’s identity so he can resume his rightful place? Why does the villain think the heroine has something valuable enough to kill over? And what is that thing? And there are lots of other questions, hopefully not least of which is, Will the hero overcome his fears about falling in love, fall in love with the heroine, and marry her? (Of course, we know he will, since this is a romance, but hopefully the reader desperately WANTS them to fall in love, and wants to see HOW this lovely event will come about.)

So, it’s time to dish about your own stories, or about the stories you’ve been reading. Are you making sure you’re not dragging your conflicts out too long, afraid of resolving them too soon? Are you making sure you have enough different conflicts so that resolving one of them (perhaps unexpectedly and thus delighting your readers) doesn’t defuse too much of your lovely conflict and tension? And as a reader, do you ever get delighted by a conflict that gets resolved sooner than you thought, only to be replaced by more lovely conflict? Do tell. One lucky commenter will win a copy of your choice of The Beautiful Pretender or The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest .


And I can't help getting excited about The Orphan's Wish, releasing on June 26. Aladdin and Kirstyn . . . sigh. Available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, and all the others.  I nearly forgot to mention, The Noble Servant is $1.99 today! Get it while you can! 

One on One with Georgiana Daniels

Hey, Seeker-villagers! Erica Vetsch here. I am thrilled to host my good friend, Georgiana Daniels, on the blog today. Georgiana has a brand new book out called Shadows of Hope, and as someone who has been privileged to read it, I can say, you will not walk away from this story without taking a hard look at your faith and asking some hard questions about what you would do if you were in her characters’ shoes.

Here’s what I had to say about the book: “Georgiana Daniels is a courageous writer. She emotionally takes you to places other authors rarely dare, making you care about her characters while eagerly turning pages. Just when you think you can’t bear the tension and heartache a moment longer, she shows you the true beauty of God’s love. Because she braves taking her characters to the very brink of emotional destruction, the redemption story shines even brighter. Shadows of Hope embroils its characters in an impossible situation that only God could unravel and heal, and only Georgiana Daniels could deliver such a story so fearlessly.”
(As a former critique partner of Georgiana's, I can say that I read her work through my fingers, wincing and laughing and thinking "Oh, no, she wouldn't!" just before she did!) Georgiana and me at an ACFW Conference GalaGeorgiana and I have been on this writing road for more than a decade together. We met on the blog circuit, noticing that we read and commented on the same blogs, and struck up a friendship. We joined a critique group together, and we laughed and cried and cringed and celebrated our friendship and our writing, even after we no longer critiqued each other’s work.
Georgiana and me in Sedona, AZ. 
We’ve had some good times, and I am so happy Georgiana’s here today to share about her new book and about herself. I thought, rather than the same-old, same-old interview questions, I would borrow an idea from another blogger….my bloggy friend Charity, who did one of the most hilarious interviews I have ever participated in on her blog ATransparentMom. You can read our encounter on her blog here: https://atransparentmom.com/2015/08/25/face-off-with-erica-vetsch/

I thought it might be fun to interview Georgiana in the same vein, and then answer the questions myself and then let you score us with best answer in the comments! (Winner gets virtual chocolate that is delicious and calorie free!...also we’ll throw some virtual confetti and give you a virtual tiara….obviously all prizes worth striving for!)
From Flickr Creative Commons
No changes have been made.
https://bit.ly/2qU76cQ 

Georgiana: First, I want to say how much I appreciate getting to hang out with you lovely ladies today! Much has changed since the last time I was here, but the warmth and friendship are the same. You’re all the best!


1. What is the one thing you remember about when we roomed together at the ACFW Conference?
G: It all depends on which time. The first time we roomed together, the thing I will always remember is when we both realized we felt the same way about something but we’d each been too chicken to speak up. Then we roared until big tears—oh, the tears—were rolling down our faces! That’s when I knew I had a friend for life. I do hope we can room together again one day! There’s much more trouble to be had.

E: I remember rooming in Dallas together and getting absolutely NO sleep! We talked and talked and talked and then it was suddenly 3 am! Then we’d be up and at ‘em by 7 the next morning, and do it all over again the next night. And the last night was the night of the ‘sick out’ by American Airlines pilots, and we were on the phone at 5 am trying to get you a flight home! I think we maybe got 12 hrs of sleep the entire weekend!

2. What song is most likely to get stuck in your head on continuous loop?

G: Whichever song is featured in our youngest daughter’s latest play. Currently “I Like to Move It” is on my mental loop, and now I’m convinced that I do, in fact, like to move it. On a sad note, it’s not such a good song for when I’m reading historical novels…it doesn’t match. Do you ever get ear-worms that don’t match what you’re reading? Pure torture!

On no…there it goes again! What have you done to me?

E: LOL! You’re welcome! For me, it will be a song I only hear part of in a store or in the car on the radio, and I have to go to Youtube and listen to the whole thing before it will get out of my head!!!! At the moment, it's Ed Sheeran's Perfect. Sometimes it's Passenger's Let Her Go. Obviously coffee shop music features largely in my life.

3. What is your guilty pleasure tv show?

G: Ancient Aliens! I once asked on Facebook if it could be used as homeschool history with the caveat I was asking for a friend. I get the feeling people knew it was for me. So yeah, the truth is out there. I was asking for me. Because Mondays.

E: My guilty pleasure tv show used to be Survivor, but now, thanks to another writing friend, it’s The Amazing Race. We watch it at the same time and text each other our impressions. What is it about that show? I usually wait a couple weeks to get to know the players, then pick my team. And I also pick the team I like the LEAST…who inevitably seem to win. Obviously, I need to watch several more seasons so I can perfect my technique!

4. What is your favorite memory of fourth grade?

G: It certainly wasn’t my bell bottom pants! The sad thing is, I’m having a really hard time remembering 4th grade. How embarrassing is that? Let’s see…I had just had a baby sister, just changed schools, and had ginormous cheeks. I’m going with baby sister.

E: A baby sister is a cool thing to get in 4th grade. My favorite memory of 4th grade was when Mrs. Cunningham stood in front of the class and asked who had ‘accordion-pleated’ the filmstrip? And she unrolled a beautifully zigzagged roll of plastic. Someone had sat in the back of the classroom (where we were allowed to watch filmstrips…with the accompanying red plastic square record as long as we had our work done and wore the headphones) and frame by frame folded the filmstrip into a little stack. …There went our filmstrip privileges for the rest of the year. FYI, it wasn’t me! 

5. What fashion trend do you wish would return?

G: The 80’s, the 80’s, anything from the 80’s! Except those Richard Simmons shorts. Those were a bad idea. But what I really miss is having giant hair! Did you have the big bangs that curled over your forehead like a tsunami? Man, I sure did. I was really tall in the 80’s.

E: YES! Bring back the giant hair! I rocked those bangs, and the big curls, and the side-ponytail. And the banana clip. If we could only bring back the banana clip…I still have big hair, even without the hairspray and hot rollers of the 80s. As my son likes to say, “Mom, sometimes your hair OWNS you!” He's such a brat. lol!

6. Salty or sweet snacks?

G: Salty—just like me.

E: Ha! Ha! Salty? You? No!!
Is it wrong of me to say both? I love mixing my snacks…M&Ms with potato chips, Raisins with peanuts. That’s probably why I like Kettle Corn so much! Anybody else like mixing their snacks?

7. Favorite thing about church?

G: Aside from the obvious—GOD!—I love being with His people. Is there anything more wonderful than fellowship? We can see how much He loves us by the people He gives us to journey with.

E: YES! Me too! The people! My little church has the most hilarious, generous, fun people who love Jesus and want to be more like Him. Also, at least one hysterically funny thing happens every week at church, which has us rolling and keeps things lively. What more could you ask?

8. What is your secret talent?

G: I’m supposed to have a talent? Now you tell me! Evidently it’s a well-kept secret, even from me.

But here’s something few people know: I was 2nd runner up in the 1990 Miss Arctic Circle Pageant. For the talent competition I played the piano. I want to say it was a Chopin piece, but I’m certain that if it was I didn’t do it justice! I was never that good and only played for fun.

I was always better at clarinet, and when my kids are getting salty they call me Squidward.

E: Cheeky girls! LOL! I had no idea about any of that! Miss Arctic Circle? Piano? Clarinet? Where have you been hiding these facts??? I want a picture of you in a pageant with tsunami hair!

My hidden talent…hmmm…is it possible that I’ve asked a question that I have no answer to? Okay, I’ll fess up to being able to play the piano. I took lessons for 10 years, and I learned to play Beethoven, Chopin, Bach, Rachmaninoff, etc. But I never learned to play hymns. I’m scared someone will ask me to play in church sometime!

9. What unpublished story do you have in your stash that you really hope sees the light of day someday?

G: Ooooo, I love this question, but it’s tough to answer because there are just so many—unpublished stories, that is. Plus I’ve tried All The Genres. You’ve read most of the stories, I think—chick lit, suspense, romance.

I’m going to go with Honey Do, Inc. because I like how the heroine didn’t figure out which man she was truly in love with until the end. Or maybe Shadows of Alaska where no one (including me!) knew who the villain was until the end. Wait….I’m sensing a theme.

E: Um, yes, that used to drive me crazy…I kept thinking “How can she be so adept at keeping readers in the dark about who the bad guy is, or who the heroine will chose?” And all the time it was because you didn’t know yourself!!! FYI, Honey Do, Inc. is my favorite!

For me, my unclaimed treasure is Drums of the North Star, a story set in Minnesota during the Dakota War of 1862. The hero is a missionary to the Dakota, and the heroine is his fiancée, and when she’s kidnapped by the people he’s come to serve, he has to decide if he’s out for revenge or repentance.

10. What one piece of writing advice to you have for those seeking publication?
G: Run for your life! Mostly kidding….but be ready for all the hard parts. When it came to being prepared for the hard parts, I was clueless.

In light of that, my real piece of advice is to write because you love to write, not only because you’re seeking publication. Also, pursue other areas of interest that will grant you immediate success. It’s good to have something that will give you a quick win on days where writing isn’t going as planned. For me it’s knitting. I can make things—pretty things, all the things—even when my writing life gives me a swift kick.

E: Excellent advice! I would add, build your community of support. Without my writing friends (like YOU, Georgiana!) I don’t know if I would’ve had the fortitude to keep on in this business when things got hard, or gotten the information I needed to make some choices, or been able to celebrate successes with people who really know what the writing journey is all about.

11. BONUS QUESTION: What are some words or phrases that you have USED TO DEATH in a manuscript, that your critique partner had to cull for you over and over???

G: Apparently I have chosen to block it out! For some reason I can remember other people’s really well: leather (cough, cough), peered (cough, cough).

Oh, wait! In Shadows of Hope I seemed to have a penchant for the word “peeled.” Everyone was peeling things, like Tristan peeling the glasses off his face and such. Thankfully it was caught and changed. Mostly.

E: LOL, Leather! Yep, that was me. Everything was leather…leather buggy seats, leather blotter, leather wing-back chairs…Okay, peered was mine, too…Everyone was peering into, over, and around everything! LOL I seem to choose a different pet word or phrase for each story I write. It’s so funny later, but when I get edits back, I am smacking my forehead and wincing! 
Thanks for visiting with us at Seekerville today, and for letting me put you through this ridiculous interview! :) Such a good sport!

Georgiana: Thank you so much for inviting me to Seekerville! I have long admired you lovely ladies. And this is the most fun I’ve had in a long time!

So, there you have it, the silliest, most fun interview format ever. Now it's your turn!
Give us your thoughts, answer one or more of the interview questions yourselfScore us on who you think answered the questions betterLet us know your thoughts of Georgiana’s new book, Shadows of Hope! (Blurb below)Leave us a comment and you’ll win all the virtual prizes, PLUS you'll be entered to win a copy of Shadows of Hope for yourself! 
About the author: Georgiana Daniels resides in the beautiful mountains of Arizona with her super-generous husband and three talented daughters. She graduated from Northern Arizona University with a bachelor's degree in public relations and now has the privilege of homeschooling by day and wrestling with the keyboard by night. She enjoys sharing God's love through fiction and is exceedingly thankful for her own happily ever after.





About the Book: A story of hope in the aftermath of inconceivable betrayal and broken dreams

What if. . .
. . .you struggled with infertility but unknowingly befriended your husband’s pregnant mistress?

What if. . .
. . .the woman you were seeing behind your wife’s back gets pregnant, threatening your job and marriage?

What if. . .
. . .your boyfriend never told you he was married and you discover you’re pregnant?

Crisis pregnancy worker Marissa Moreau suspects her husband is cheating, but little does she know how close to home her husband’s infidelity hits. College student Kaitlyn Farrows is floundering after a relationship with her professor leaves her pregnant. Soon she lands a job and a support system at the local pregnancy resource center and things seem to be turning around. But when Marissa and Kaitlyn become friends, neither one knows they share a connection—Colin, Marissa’s husband and Kaitlyn’s former professor. When their private lives collide, the two women must face the ultimate test of their faith and choose how to move forward as they live in the shadows of hope.
If you absolutely can't wait to get your hands on a copy, you can purchase your copy by clicking HERE. 
Best-selling, award-winning author Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. She’s a transplanted Kansan now living in Minnesota, and she married her total opposite and soul mate! When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum and cheering on her Kansas Jayhawks and New Zealand All Blacks. You can connect with her at her website, www.ericavetsch.com where you can read about her books and sign up for her newsletter, and you can find her online at https://www.facebook.com/EricaVetschAuthor/ where she spends way too much time!

Give Away & Interview with Mesu Andrews: Isaiah's Daughter Blog Tour

Anne here. Shout out to all our faithful CCC readers!
I had agreed to host Mesu before we decided to close down CCC. So please follow the link to my new blog site to join up with Mesu this week!

https://onmydirtroad.blogspot.com

Give Away & Find Anne's New Blog: On My Dirt Road...

Dear CCC followers, I'd love it if you stopped by my new author blog that is now linked to my author website. Come by this week, follow the blog, make a comment, subscribe to my website newsletter for a chance to win a give away! See you there! Anne's new blog: On My Dirt Road...

-------------Blog post by Anne Love-





Writer of Historical Romance inspired by her family roots. 





Nurse Practitioner by day. 





Wife, mother, writer by night. 





Coffee drinker--any time.

Find me at: www.anneloveauthor.com



Find me on:FacebookFind me on: PinterestFind me on: GoodreadsFind me on: TwitterFind me on: Instagram
Old posts at: Coffee Cups & Camisoles

The Time Has Come ...

Dear faithful readers of Coffee Cups & Camisoles ...

it's with fulfilled and yet bittersweet hearts that we share that Coffee Cups & Camisoles is closing up blog. It's been a five-year run, first beginning with Anne and Jaime, then we added Erica, and finally, Gabrielle joined our foursome.

We've seen ALL FOUR OF US PUBLISHED. We've celebrated many new releases with you. We've shared many stories, many heart-feelings, and most of all, we have met YOU!!

So, what happens next?

We're not going anywhere, not really. We're just re-establishing our online "hangouts".

Anne will be around online and you can find her here: www.anneloveauthor.com




Find me at: www.anneloveauthor.com


Find me on:FacebookFind me on: PinterestFind me on: Goodreads
Find me on: Twitter
Find me on: Instagram

Gabrielle will be around online and you can find her here:

Gabrielle's Facebook
Gabrielle's Books on Amazon
Gabrielle's Books on Goodreads
Gabrielle's My Website
Gabrielle's  Newsletter

Erica will be around online and you can find her here:
Erica's GoodreadsErica's Books on AmazonErica on Instagram Erica's Facebook PageErica's NewsletterErica's Pinterest BoardsErica's TwitterErica's WebsiteShe's also blogging at seekerville.blogspot.com on the 22nd of each month, at http://www.hhhistory.com/ on the 10th of each month,  and at www.novelrocket.com quarterly on the 3rd of the month. 
Jaime will be around online and you can find her here:

Web site: www.jaimejowright.com 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jaimejowright
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaimejowright 
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/jaimejowright 
Instagram: www.Instagram.com/jaimejowright 
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/13916081.Jaime_Jo_Wright


Thank you all for five wonderful years!!!!