Jennifer Bray-Weber's Blog, page 32
December 7, 2016
Pearl Harbor
In lieu of Hump Day Kick Start, I wanted to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
December 7th 1941, the day that will live in infamy. Though he was not there, it was a day my grandfather remembered well, as his life, like the lives of so, so many, was forever changed.
On this day, my grandfather, Master Sergeant W.V. Bray, and his wife were at a cinema in downtown Houston, Texas. In the middle of the show, the movie was shut off and the lights brought up to announce the attack on Pearl Harbor. As you can imagine, his liberty was over. He had been on medical leave, recovering from injuries he sustained during a fatal airplane crash on the Laughlin air force base outside of San Antonio. Therefore, he was not immediately sent overseas. Instead, he was stationed on Matagorda Island off the Texas coast where he oversaw the crash boats, boats used to rescue survivors of sinking ships torpedoed by German U-boats in the Gulf of Mexico. His assignment didn’t last too long—well, at the very least until March of ’42 because my dad was born in December of that year. He was deployed to the Pacific at the start of the Guadalcanal Campaign in August. This was the start of his many Pacific campaigns during WWII as well as later during the Korean War. In the end throughout his career, my grandfather survived eight plane crashes, two air raids (one of which had him hiding, unbeknownst to him, in an ammunitions shed and the other being buried alive in sand after a bomb strike), and, the worst of all for him, the occupation by Japanese paratroopers of their tiny island airbase in the Leyte Gulf where he hid in the jungle for days. He was truly a remarkable man and my hero.
For more information on Pearl Harbor:
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor
http://pacificwarbirds.com/interesting-pearl-harbor-facts/
http://www.encyclopedia.com/places/united-states-and-canada/miscellaneous-us-geography/pearl-harbor
Remember Pearl Harbor
December 6, 2016
Link of the Week – Holiday Contests
Holidays contests are under way! Here is your chance to nab you some goodies.
I am running a Goodreads contest for a free paperback copy of Dead Man’s Kiss.
The blurb:
Forced to make a bargain…
One drunken night in Cuba lands Captain Valeryn Barone in a life or death situation. To escape the gallows, Valeryn must agree to a bargain only a fool would make: Escort the tempting and tenacious niece of his captor across the Caribbean or lose his ship, his crew and his life! The caveat? The beautiful Spanish woman must remain untouched for the entire voyage.
Determined to get what she wants…
Catalina Montoya will stop at nothing to get what she wants—even when trouble is certain. Sent to live with her uncle after a scandalous affair, Catalina intends to concentrate on her dream to become a renowned naturalist. She never expected her uncle would send her with a notorious pirate to further her studies. Worse, she never expected to want the devilishly handsome pirate more than anything else.
It’s a battle of wills…
Now Catalina only has 8 weeks to seduce Valeryn and collect her specimens before he returns her to her uncle. And Valeryn has 8 weeks to secure his redemption. Except neither would be that lucky. Not when ruthless enemies threaten to destroy them at every turn. Can Valeryn save those that foolishly depend on him? Can he resist Catalina’s heart? Does a dead man walking even have a chance?
Enter the contest below!
Dead Man’s Kiss
by Jennifer Bray-Weber
Giveaway ends December 15, 2016.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Goodreads Book Giveaway
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/212767-dead-man-s-kiss
But that’s not all! The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood is having a Ruby Cookie Exchange. Not only can you collect luscious cookie recipes, you could win a grand prize of a $150 gift card! Plus, there are opportunities all along the hop to win more prizes. Yours truly is participating! You can stop by my website starting the 8th for a chocolatey treat plus a $10 Amazon gift card. www.jbrayweber.com
November 30, 2016
Hump Day Kick Start – Pool Gaming Edition
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or ju st a visual treat.
Is it Wednesday already? With the holidays and shopping crazy deals behind us, I give you today’s sexy prompt.
Who are they and what’s going on? Socialite not quite understanding how placing a bet on the game works? A hypnotist who successfully fleeces old men with old money and their young wives by playing high-stakes pool? Are they double-agent spies seducing each other for intel before the next tournament? Maybe she was losing so bad, she decided to distract him. Could she be performing a bank shot? *wink, wink* Sure hope that stiletto doesn’t put a rip in the table’s felt.
Balls, sticks, pockets, even chalk, I’m sure you can come up with something. Tell me a tale or caption the pic.
November 29, 2016
Link Of The Week- Accountability!
We all have problems from time to time to achieving our goals. Here’s a terrific site to help you do just that!
“stickK was formed by combining personal experience and scholarly research. Our story began at Yale University a few years ago when Dean Karlan (Economics Professor at Yale and Co-Founder of stickK) came up with the idea of opening an online ‘Commitment Store’.”
The Commitment Contract concept is based on two well known principles of behavioral economics:
1.People don’t always do what they claim they want to do, and
2.Incentives get people to do things
November 24, 2016
November 23, 2016
Hump Day Kick Start – Cookbook Classic Edition
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or ju st a visual treat.
It’s the Thanksgiving holiday for Americans. Many of us will be in the kitchen today. So how about a fun prompt?
Most folks would recognize these two but for the sake of creativity tell me who they are in your story. What is going on? Is this her first time to make him a meal? Is she worried about how to cook a feast for his extensive family? Had she already burned the turkey and is scrambling for a recipe using only bologna? Could she have finally decided on a recipe with ingredients calling for milk, only, uh-oh, he just drank the last of it? Maybe she’s pretending to read the cookbook, but instead, is reading a super sexy and highly entertaining romance novel. And he’s eating carbs because he will need his energy and soon.
You know the drill. Tell me a tale or caption the pic.
November 22, 2016
Link Of The Week- A Getaway!
“The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow is an incubator for creative thought. Writers can come here to find their stories. Not only the stories they come here knowing they want to tell, but the stories beneath that. The stories that have an even greater need to be told.”
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The Writers’ Colony residency program is open to writers of every genre, artists and composers for short or long term stays. Quiet, sequestered, inspirational – and affordable – our individual writing suites are designed to make your stay productive. European style gourmet meals are served Monday through Friday in the WCDH dining room, where guests can share time with other resident writers from around the globe. Get away and write!
**** Rates are $75 per night, including food, and a one-time $25 cleaning fee.
November 16, 2016
Hump Day Kick Start – Corner Edition
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or ju st a visual treat.
I love everything about this prompt.
Tell me about these two. Aside from real life, who are they? Assassins? Body guards? Expert jewelry thieves? Fashion police? What is going on here? Notice the way they are looking at each other. Has she trapped him with a seductive challenge? Could he be angry at her for showing up at the party, causing a stir, during his stakeout? Has he called it quits and she’s having none of it? Is she showing him a rip in her stocking? Not letting him pass until he says the secret password?
What’s your take? Tell me a tale or caption the pic.
November 15, 2016
Link of the Week – Body Language
I have a confession to make. I happen to really enjoy the blog Art of Manliness. There is always some interesting articles and tips. Last week, an article was posted that I think is useful for everyone, including authors—How To Use Body Language to Create a Dynamite First Impression. For writers, it is often important to use a character’s body language to get actions, reactions, and emotions across to the reader. How someone stands, sits, moves, and the expressions they wear are communicating signals about themselves. This articles explains what the body language is saying from head to toe. Very useful for pen monkeys.
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2016/11/09/use-body-language-create-dynamite-first-impression/
November 10, 2016
“Till Death Do Us Part”
Melissa Ohnoutka is an author of romantic suspense and a close friend and writing buddy of MuseTracks. In honor of her latest release Sinful Secrets, we’ve asked her to be our guest. Because she scares us. And we love her. Take it away, Melissa!
“Til Death Do Us Part”
What a wonderful vow between two lovebirds on their wedding day. A promise to spend the rest of their lives together, giving and sharing all they have till the end.
That is unless you’re male, and about to marry a Black Widow.
I had no idea how far back cases of women serial killers went until working on my latest book, Sinful Secrets. For example, Belle Gunness from the early 1900’s was a real piece of work. Mysterious infant deaths. Heart attacks. Meat grinder accident in the kitchen. Weird disappearances. Yeah, she had issues all right. This six-foot, two hundred eight pound woman is suspected of murdering 25 to 49 people on her farm in La Porte, Indiana. The bodies, along with bones and personal items were unearthed on the farm after a fire. A fire? Really? Something sounds fishy here to me. LOL Wonder who collected the insurance on that one.
Women who kill for the sole purpose of financial gain, or even sympathy from others, are scary on so many levels. Think about it. They could be your neighbor, the sweet little lady down the street that makes cookies for all the kids after school. Or how about that new girlfriend someone you know, or love, just started dating. Talk about make you paranoid! And these Black Widows don’t just limit themselves to killing their husbands either. Oh, no. Their victims included children, the elderly, anybody who got in their way. Geesh… No one is safe.
So why do they kill? After scouring the internet for character traits to use with my female villain, I discovered women serial killers rarely kill for power, or the mere sick thrill of the kill. There were a few, but most have a more sensible approach to their madness.
Sympathy—the need to feel loved and accepted.
Money— a huge temptation too great to ignore.
Or revenge—never piss a woman off. LOL
Links in case you’d like to do your own research:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wicked-deeds/201501/why-some-women-kill-again-and-again
http://crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/tp/Black-Widow-Killers.htm
Boy, this research has given me such great material for future book villains. But today I’d like to share my newest release with you. A big thank you to the ladies of Musetracks for letting me visit!
Blurb:
Everyone has secrets. Some are deadly.
Event planner Joanna McNamee is scrambling to ensure her father’s company Christmas party goes smoothly, but one disaster after another has her convinced someone is trying to sabotage her career. With the help of a man from her past who she’s still not sure she can trust, she puts the pieces together and realizes her business is the least of her problems—a cold-blooded killer is out to destroy her father and take her as his prized possession.
The last thing Deputy Ryker Kane expects is for a simple truck hijacking to throw him back into the middle of the Black Widow case he’d been forced to abandon, not to mention right into the arms of the sweet woman he’d let walk away ten years earlier. When he finds Jo Jo kidnapped and drugged, he has to use all his wits and skills honed from years as a detective to save them both. Despite the secrets between them, Ryker’s bound and determined to give them a second chance at love.
Buy Link:
http://entangledpublishing.com/sinful-secrets/
Find out more about Melissa and her books:
