Stephanie Burkhart's Blog, page 86

Welcome Guest Author - Cindy K. Green

STEPH: Author Cindy K. Green is a fellow Book Spa Author. I've read some of her work including "A Funny Thing Happened on the way to your Wedding" and "The Heart Never Lies." Cindy, Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi Steph! Thanks for having me today. Here's a little bit about me. I'm Cindy K. Green, author, teacher, maid, mother, wife and accountant. I have degrees in history and education and taught middle school up until about six years ago. Now I stay home and homeschool my two boys. I was born in California and now live in North Carolina out in the country about a ½ hour from Raleigh . I've been married for 15 years. I'm published in several genres: Inspirational, historical, western, contemporary, young adult and suspense. Those are also the genres I like to read. I spend my (non-existent free time) reading, watching period dramas and doing my best to keep this house one step away from becoming a disaster area.

STEPH: Cindy, you've written a variety of genres from inspirational, young adult, and western. Do you have a preference? Do you have thoughts on writing multiple genres?


CINDY: I love writing in several genres because I love reading in all those genres. My favorites are suspense and historical, but I can easily get inspired to write in so many others. What's great about writing in so many genres is that the writing stays fresh. You follow the inspiration. If something isn't working, you can switch to something else. On the other hand, it can take a little while to get into that frame of mind and word for different genres. For instance, if you're writing a romantic suspense and then switch to a historical. It takes practice to get it right, but it's a lot of fun too.

STEPH: Which book do you want to talk about today? Or do you want to share a blurb on a couple of books?

CINDY: I'd love to share something about my Young Adult story, Struck by Conscience, and a little bit about my Christmas book, All I Want for Christmas.

Struck by Conscience:
I, Charisma Mansfield, do solemnly swear that… I never asked to be popular. I never asked to be voted Prom Queen. I definitely never asked to have an invisible pixie perched on my shoulder whispering her opinions into my ear 24/7. But of all the things I never asked for, this is the worst one yet—when brooding but gorgeous Heath Ruvelas (my next door neighbor and the guy I used to be best friends with before jr. high) rescued me from drowning in the school pool. My already bizarre life would never be the same.

All I Want for Christmas:
Best Friends or True Love? Only Santa Knows.

Kathryn Graham hates Christmas. She hates the snow, the decorations, the whole nine yards. Nick Pringle on the other hand can't get enough of the season. He may be her best friend and fellow writer at Redburn Weekly Magazine, but sometimes his exuberance gets on her very last nerve. Now they've been assigned to cover the orphan toy drive story. It's just a puff piece not the serious journalism Kathryn hopes for, but maybe—as Nick says—there are no old stories just new angles.


Nick Pringle has been in love with Kathryn practically since the day they met. When he realizes that she's lost her Christmas spirit, he figures he's just the guy to help her find it again. He enacts a plan to send her anonymous gifts from Secret Santa, but will any of this really make a difference in her? Will she ever see him as anything more than her smart-aleck partner even after their passionate kisses? Then again maybe he'll get what he wants for Christmas after all.

STEPH: What was the inspiration behind the book?

CINDY: For Struck by Conscience, I wanted to write a teen story about the popular girl. In so much of teen fiction, the popular girls are made out to be the villains. I decided to write a story about a popular girl who wishes she wasn't so popular. She sees how pointless it all is as her senior year is coming to an end. On top of that she has a secret that has everything to do with the invisible fairy she carries around 24/7.

In All I Want for Christmas, the book has a Lois Lane/Clark Kent type of relationship. They're great together. Lots of fun and everyone knows they should be together. Throw in a Secret Santa and a little bit of jealousy and you have my book in a nutshell. I had a great time writing this one. The first draft wrote in a record six days.

STEPH: What's next on the horizon for you? Any upcoming releases?

CINDY: In January, the sequel to my best-selling historical western, The Heart Never Lies, will release with Champagne Books. It's titled, Listen to Your Heart and it is a continuation of the first story.

Blurb: Kit McCauley can hardly believe her eyes. Of all men, she believed Beau to be true blue and not one to step out with another woman behind her back. Sparks fly and secrets are revealed which just might be the undoing of her upcoming wedded happiness.

Beau Tucker thought he'd left his past East of the Mississippi . When a stranger from Chicago comes looking for him, his world spins out of control. He has to listen to his heart and decide where he belongs.

My YA story is the first of a three part series. Book two is entitled: Sold My Soul to a Frog.

STEPH: Do you have a certain process to develop your characters? Do you cast your characters? Do you use mini biographies?

CINDY: I do try to understand my characters a bit before I start writing them. I'll do a basic physical/emotional description and give them some background and motivation in the book. I don't go into too much detail. I let them reveal themselves in the writing. I don't usually cast my characters with famous stars or anything.

STEPH: Are you a plotter or a panster?

CINDY: I figure I'm somewhere between a plotter and a pantser. I write up a little plot and character descriptions before I start writing but it's not overly detailed. I find that if I plot too much it kills my creativity.

STEPH: How long, generally, does it take you to write a story? Do you self edit or use a beta reader?

CINDY: It depends. I've written entire novels in four weeks and it's taken me several months just to write a short story. If I'm inspired and have the freedom to write I can finish very quickly. On average, it takes me three months to write a novel and a couple weeks for something shorter. I am the quintessential editor. It must come from years as a teacher—that and being a history major in college. That was all writing, research and editing, editing, editing. I do use a beta reader too in my critique partner who is another author at White Rose Publishing.
STEPH: Do you have any hobbies you'd like to share with us?

CINDY: When I have free time I love to read, take photographs, do some scrapbooking and even make fan videos for my favorite period dramas.


STEPH: You know I'm a Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" fan, right? Team Edward or Team Jacob?

CINDY: My sister is a huge Twilight fan, and she and I usually see eye to eye on just about everything especially in pop culture. I, however, haven't really been impressed by Twilight. I find the writing in the books a little lackluster and Bella a bit boring. I'm harsh I know. As for Edward or Jacob. I think Rob Pattinson has done a terrific job playing Edward in the films and I am Team Edward all the way. In the books, there is something intriguing about Edward and that's what keeps me reading. Hope I didn't step on anyone's toes.

STEPH: Share any buy links or book trailer links you want. It's gush about Cindy day. hehe

CINDY: You can learn more about me and my books at my website and my blog, Facebook and Twitter. I also have a Teen Fiction blog and I just started a Homeschooling blog. Join my newsletter by sending an email to newsletters@cindykgreen.com. Buy my books at White Rose Publishing, Whimsical Publications and Champagne Books. Many of them are available on Amazon too. Visit my YouTube page for my book trailers. I hope to have a new one up for Struck by Conscience soon.

http://www.youtube.com/user/CindyGree...

Christmas Contest! This starts today and goes through the festive season. There will be three winners. One October 30th. One November 30th and the last one December 21st. To enter: view the book trailer for All I Want for Christmas and email me at contest@cindykgreen.com. In the email, list at least one gift that Kathryn received from her Secret Santa. Enter each month for a chance to win. What will you win? A pdf copy of my best selling historical western from Champagne Books, The Heart Never Lies, as well as some Bath & Body Works goodies and a special chocolate treat—specifically the kind of chocolate my heroine in All I Want for Christmas craves each and every day. If you already own The Heart Never Lies, I'll send you a copy of the sequel, Listen to Your Heart, when it releases in January.

Thanks for having me today, Steph!

STEPH: Thanks for Popping in!

Book Review Friday - White Tiger

I just want to gush a little about Vijaya Schartz, her novel, White Tiger, and it's award winning cover! hehe. I always wanted to read this story, but it got put on the backburner with all my other stuff I had to read. I wanted to read it because I like sci-fi/speculative/futuristic type stories. Boy did Vijaya deliever. This story had me riveted. I was anxiously looking forward to reading it and hated it when I had to put it down.

Also, the cover won EPIC's award for best sci-fi/futuristi...

Tuesday Genre Writing - POV Narration

POV in a Romance Novel

Point of View Narration can be a bear to tame, but once that is accomplished, it will make a reader's connection that much deeper to the author's characters.

Point of View narration (POV) is simply, the vantage point the reader observes the novel from. The way a character experiences an event through their thoughts and feelings in the novel is known as perspective. The most successful POV narration (for a romance) include a first or third person narration.

First person n...

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The Set up: Katherine and Matthias meet.


The door squeaked open. Katherine peeked over the top of her book. A tall, muscular man walked in wearing a white button-down shirt and holding his blazer. He paused, as if surprised to find her, and then began to quietly walk toward the window. He moved with wolf-like prowess, his long legs taking cool, calculated steps as his unusual eyes surveyed her. Katherine bit the inside of her lip, returning his measured perusal with one of her own. His s...

History Saturday - Octoberfest celebrates 200 years!

Can you believe it? Germany's world famous beer festival is 200 years old. But it wasn't always a beer festival. Trust me. *grin*

So what was the even behind Octoberfest? Simply, a wedding.

Crown Prince Ludwig (who later became King Ludwig I of Barvia) married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on 12 October 1810. Weddings were a big deal back then and the crown prince's? A very big deal. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities which included a horse race. The fes...

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STEPH: I'd like to welcome fellow Desert Breeze Author, Carie Lawson the blog today. Carie, congratulations on your latest release, Beyond Summer. Can you tell us a little about it?

CARIE: Beyond Summer is the story of Zane McCord, a dedicated father who mistrusts anyone with a pretty face, and Carly Peterson, the beauty queen who becomes his son's nanny. Carly glides into Zane's life with her two daughters and changes Zane's mind about beauty, until her past catches up with her.

STEPH: D...

Wednesday Scoop from the Publishing World

Isn't that a cute picture? A Kindle and a iPad making friends? *grin*

I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported me on my recent blog tours. In July, I went on a blog for my novel, 'Destination: Berlin,' then in August I went on a blog tour for "The Giving Meadow." I enjoyed the tours very much, but I am a bit pooped. *grin* so I'm going to take a break and try to get back to my own blog schedule. I hope to get out a little bit on some of my other blogs I'm affliated with and I'l...

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Jennifer Hartz is a fellow Desert Breeze Author. Her book, Future Savor Book One: Conception will be released tomorrow! Welcome Jennifer!

STEPH: Congratulations on your release of Future Savior Book One: Conception. Can you tell us a little about it?

JENNIFER: First of all, Stephanie thanks so much for having me on your blog. The Future Savior Series is the byproduct of a ridiculously long commute. I have an hour and a half drive… one-way. That's three hours in the car! One day, while ...

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I'd like to welcome fellow Desert Breeze author, Danielle Thorne to the Moonlight. Welcome come, Dani!

STEPH: Can you tell us about your latest release, BY HEART AND COMPASS?

DANI: I'd love to, Stephanie. Thanks for having me this week.

BY HEART AND COMPASS is about stepping out of your comfort zone and truly following your heart. Whether it's love, trust or the opportunity to chase adventure, most people hold back because of that niggle of doubt that tells us dreams can't come true. In this adv...

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I'd like to welcome fellow 4RV Author, N.A. Sharpe to the blog today. Ms. Sharpe is the author of "If Fishes were Wishes."

Ms. Sharpe's Bio:

N.A. Sharpe was born in Wilmington, Delaware and attended the University of Delaware studying Psychology and Elementary Education. She is a single mom and currently lives in central Florida with her son and two dogs, Scooter (a Yorkie) and NaNu (a Morkie).

Throughout high school and college, she volunteered in the elementary school system, and, after rece...