Joyce T. Strand's Blog, page 30

FIRST LOVE BLOG HOP, Gothic, and Much-More Author Tammie Clarke Gibbs

Tammie Clarke Gibbs, Author
ISLAND OF SECRETS Welcome Tammie Clarke Gibbs - FIRST LOVE BLOG HOP, Gothic and much-more author. Gibbs’ time travel gothic romance, ISLAND OF SECRETS, has been a Kindle Bestseller in three categories for sixteen consecutive months. She also has written more than a half-dozen books across many genres—romance, historical, and “how to.”
Gibbs describes herself as an “entrepreneurial diva”, and started her first business just two weeks after high school graduation. Today she is a realtor in Southern Georgia, when she isn’t writing.
To learn more about the FIRST LOVE BLOG HOP click the link at the end of this article. Win a Kindle, visit 29 authors, and much more.

Q:  You write books in multiple genres – suspense, gothic, romance, historical, or time travel. Why? Which genre do you prefer? Why?
Tammie Clarke Gibbs:I love to write in genres I like to read and no matter what era a good suspense is always an exciting read. And when it comes to the romance, I believe that all good books have a love story somewhere. I guess I don’t prefer one so much over the other, but I do enjoy a time-travel story and my gothic/time travel has by far been my best-selling book.
Q:  Who is your favorite hero/heroine from all of your books? Who is your favorite villain? Why?
Tammie Clarke Gibbs:That’s a hard one. I love Lila and Shane from Island of Secrets. Not sure why, but their story just has a timeless quality.  As far as Villains go it’s hard for me to name names because in my books you may not know exactly who the villain is until the very end. I’ll just say that the villain in Keeping Secrets is something else.
Q: What do you do to make readers care about your characters?
Tammie Clarke Gibbs: I’m not sure I do anything in particular. Most of the readers who enjoy my books say my characters are well-rounded and believable despite their sometimes unbelievable circumstances or setting. All I can say is, most of my characters take over and tell me their story so if they come off as real, well I’ll let you draw your own conclusions. Perhaps I’m just a medium for history’s untold stories.
Q: Do you write purely for entertainment? Or are you trying to tell your readers something?  
Tammie Clarke Gibbs: I’m getting asked that particular question a lot lately. I don’t set out to tell my readers anything in particular. I think most authors tend to leave traces of themselves scattered across the pages of their stories. I write hoping that I will provide my readers with a story they can experience and enjoy.
Q: Why are you a writer? 
Tammie Clarke Gibbs:I believe that a writer writes. For some writers, their talent emerges in different ways. There are plenty of awesome writers that are merely using their talent within the scope of their chosen professions. I think being merely a writer, even a good one, is different than being a novelist much in the same way being a marketer is different. I’m a novelist because these stories come to me, and I’ve been blessed with the ability to tell stories in a way that is enjoyable to others.
Q: When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?
Tammie Clarke Gibbs: I was discovered by my English teacher in the eleventh grade while taking a short story class. It changed the direction of my life.
Q:  Tell us something about yourself.
Tammie Clarke Gibbs: You could say that I’m an entrepreneurial diva. I started my first business just two weeks after High School graduation and have since owned a balloon business, a magazine publishing company, a design and marketing company and now I’m a Realtor.  I love wearing the different hats of a business owner and I’ve learned many things that have helped me in the new world of publishing from my previous business experiences.  I love horseback riding, reading, watching Vampire Diaries and I’m very involved in my church.
About Tammie Clarke Gibbs
Author of the Kindle Bestselling Gothic, ISLAND OF SECRETS, Tammie Clarke Gibbs employs a visionary style mixing genres and crossing boundaries. Her eclectic writing style mirrors her entrepreneurial business experience where she's known for wearing at least a dozen different hats.
Ms. Gibbs is a native of South Georgia where she lives with her husband, son and a very spoiled Maltese.
ISLAND OF SECRETS
His Uncle was an eccentric determined to prove she existed. Everyone thought the man was crazy.
Shane Alexander was determined to prove to the world that his family wasn't crazy... That HE wasn't crazy.
It was working...Until he made one mistake...that would change his life forever...and force him to question his own sanity.
Something was missing from Lila Fitzpatrick's life...So doing a friend a favor...and pretending to be someone else for a day seemed like a good idea at the time.
Then she finds a warning note...from hundreds of years BEFORE she was born.
And then if that wasn't bad enough...She met HIM...TWICE!
For centuries a force has kept them apart...But, will Love be enough to finally keep them together...Or will history repeat itself?
A Time Travel- A Love Story filled with Suspense-A Mystery that will keep you guessing til the end...
KEEPING SECRETS
Malden Grove, Illinois has no idea the trouble headed it's way... 
A daughter hell-bent on avenging her father....A handsome stranger with secrets of his own....
A case of mistaken identity and a situation that has them both KEEPING SECRETS in a town where everyone is interested in everybody else's business.
Book One-Undercover HeroesHistorical, Western, Romantic SuspenseAnniversary Edition-originally titled "The Counterfeit"

LINKS to:Purchase sites ISLAND OF SECRETSAmazon Barnes and Noble
KEEPING SECRETSAmazon Barnes and Noble 
 Facebook Fan Page  Website Blog Book trailer link   Goodreads page Twitter address:  https://twitter.com/tammiegibbs


CLICK HERE 29 Authors - 47 Books - everything from Romance to Horror
Visit their blogs, Facebook pages, make comments and/or buy books to earn entries into the Grand Prize Giveaway!
Lots of prizes to be won - on the main blog as well as the participant's!
Come by every day and see the Daily Spotlight for your chance at an easy entry!

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Mystery Author Nancy Wood

Nancy Wood, Author
DUE DATEWelcome to mystery author Nancy Wood. As a career technical writer, Nancy turned to fiction as an antidote to help buttons and user documentation. She lives in Santa Cruz, Calif – known for its Boardwalk and quirky politics. She produced Shelby McDougall in the first book of a series, DUE DATE, as an amateur sleuth who becomes a surrogate mother to help pay off her college debt.
In the following article, Nancy offers tips on how to create a compelling amateur sleuth. Her insight into the challenge suggests a truly interesting character in her own Shelby McDougall.

Creating a Compelling Amateur SleuthBy Nancy Wood
When I was writing DUE DATE and developing my protagonist, Shelby McDougall, I thought a lot about the term “compelling amateur sleuth.” What did that mean exactly? I knew my character had to be likeable and sympathetic. She also had to be believable.
So, I did some research. First, I looked up the word compelling, defined as: “having a powerful and irresistible effect; requiring acute admiration, attention, or respect.” Then, I thought about the characteristics of an amateur: someone who’s new at something, inexperienced, unskilled. Add to that the notion of crime-solving, and it’s an interesting contradiction: How does someone who’s an inexperienced detective solve a crime that the experts can’t? And how does that stay within the realm of belief?
Finally, after weeks of background stories and plotting, I got to work. But, every so often, I’d sit back and inventory. Would readers accept a very pregnant surrogate mother as an amateur sleuth? Was my character, Shelby McDougall, trusting enough to stumble into a crime, but smart enough to see under the surface? What would motivate her? And how would she solve it?
Here are the guidelines I came up with as I wrote, based on simple advice I found, of all places, in an eHow.com post, not a site you'd typically go for writing advice! I’ll just give the overview here; I don’t want to delve into specifics and spoil it for those of you who haven’t read DUE DATE.
·      Shelby had to be irresistible: nuanced, layered, funny, and insightful, yet a bit naïve.·      In addition to being irresistible, Shelby had to be likeable. Readers would have to have a reason to keep reading. ·      She had to be smart enough and persistent enough to solve the crime. Yet, on the flip side, she had to be innocent enough to get involved in the crime in the first place.·      She had to have a compelling reason to stay in the investigation. Either she had to be the primary suspect or someone close to her had to be a suspect. ·      She had to have a special skill that helped her.·      She had to have a weakness to make people resonate with her. She couldn’t be arrogant or snooty.·      The crime had to be set up so that it didn’t require DNA or fingerprints or police labs to solve. The clues had to be available to everyone; yet only Shelby, with her smarts and persistence, would be able to piece them together.
I had an extra layer of complexity when writing DUE DATE: I wrote it from a first-person point of view, so that Shelby had to discover all the clues on her own. On the one hand, this gave me the opportunity to introduce only clues that she would know. But this was equally limiting, as the clues couldn’t be too obvious. They had to be fuzzy and open to interpretation, so that the reader wouldn’t get too frustrated by Shelby’s inability to see what was right in front of her.
In the second book in the series, which I’m working on now, Shelby’s grown up a bit and is much more wary. It’s several years later, and she’s pulled back into the same type of crime she experienced in DUE DATE, with many of the same characters. But she’s still an amateur, and because this book is also from the first-person point of view, I’m struggling with some of the same challenges. But the end is in sight, and I’m hoping that this version of Shelby is as compelling and irresistible as her earlier self.
Nancy Wood Nancy Wood lives in Santa Cruz, California, where she has made writing her career. For many years prior to her move to Santa Cruz, she made her living as a technical writer, working in software documentation. Laid off from her job about six years ago, she set up her own shop. Now, she is writing and is a business consultant, enjoying grappling with words and sentences.
DUE DATE, published by Solstice Publishing, came out at the end of May 2012. Wood started it about six years ago, and is now working on the second book in the Shelby McDougall series.
DUE DATE Surrogate mother Shelby McDougall just fell for the biggest con of all—a scam that risks her life and the lives of her unborn twins. Shelby McDougall, recent college graduate, is facing a mountain of student debt and carting a burden she'd like to exorcise. A Rolling Stone ad for a surrogate mother offers her a way to erase the loans and right her karmic place in the cosmos. Within a month, she's signed a contract with intended parents Jackson and Diane Entwistle, relocated to Santa Cruz, California, and started fertility treatments.
But Jackson and Diane have their own secret agenda, one that has nothing to do with diapers and lullabies. With her due date looming and the clues piling up, Shelby must save herself and her twins, and outwit those who wish her ill... She learns the real meaning of the word “family.”
LinksWeb page Facebook 
Twitter: @NancyWoodAuthorPurchase links:      Amazon             Kindle             Paperback       Barnes and Noble             Nook and Paperback        Solstice Publishing        Smashwords 

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Young Adult Author Felicia Tatum

Felicia Tatum, Author
THE WHITE AURA Young Adult (YA) Author Felicia Tatum joins us today.  Her recently-released fantasy romance novel THE WHITE AURA—the first of a trilogy— tells the story of a young sorcerer who falls in love with a 17-year-old. Unfortunately due to a curse on his family he cannot approach her – other than in her dreams.
In addition to being a published author, Ms. Tatum is also a mother, a cat-owner, and a graduate student. Although she can’t knit, she can “kinda” paint.


Q: How would you describe your new novel, THE WHITE AURA? Do you consider it a romance or a fantasy or a fantasy romance? Why?
Felicia Tatum: I would consider it a fantasy romance. It has the fantasy element but it’s also a love story.
Q: What inspired you to write THE WHITE AURA?
Felicia Tatum: My daughter inspired me to start writing again, and then I had a dream about this story.
Q:  Why is your novel special?
Felicia Tatum: Well, my novel is special to me because it’s my dream come true! I’ve always wanted to write a book and here it is. I hope that everyone who reads it finds it special for some reason or another.
Q: What makes a hero/heroine? What makes a villain?
Felicia Tatum: I think the key to all three is to make them seem like someone the reader could know in their everyday life.  Someone that the reader knows personally, or through a friend, or maybe just that clerk at the gas station. They have to have faults and good qualities, even the villain.
Q:  How do you convince your readers to care whether your heroine and hero get together?
Felicia Tatum: I created Olivia and Scott and wanted readers to care about them as people. Once they know the characters and care what happens, the romance aspect just kind of works.
Q:  Do you write largely for entertainment, or do you also try to deliver a message?
Felicia Tatum: I write for entertainment in this series. I have a lot more ideas for future stories that would have a message.
Q: Who are your target readers? What are they looking for?
Felicia Tatum: YA is the main target audience. I think they are just looking for a good story that can suck them in. I know that’s what I look for when it comes to fantasy stories. So I tried to create a world others would want to visit.
Q: What tips would you give to others considering a career in writing?
Felicia Tatum: Write, even if you think it sucks. Connect with other authors and just research as much as you can.
Q: When you’re not writing, what do you do? Hobbies? Sailing? Knitting? Standup comedy? Feed the cats? Favorite music?  Favorite authors? Do you have a muse? Pet the cats?
Felicia Tatum: Well, I’m a single mommy to a little girl and a cat. We like to hang out and go to the library often. I’m also in grad school, so that keeps me busy. I don’t know how to knit, unfortunately. I can paint though! Kinda…
About Felicia Tatum
Felicia Tatum was born and raised in Tennessee. At age twelve, she realized her love of writing but it wasn't until age 25 that she acted on her passion. THE WHITE AURA is her debut novel and the first in a trilogy. She loves to read, write, cook, and do fun things with her daughter. 

THE WHITE AURA
How do you live with the gut clenching truth that the one you love will die if you meet them? Twenty-year-old sorcerer Scott Tabors is learning how. After seeing seventeen-year-old Olivia Whitehead outside of a coffee shop, his heart will never be the same. He longs for her, he wants her, and he knows she will be his. They are heart mates. …but due to a curse on his family, he can’t meet her. Not yet.  So for now, he visits her in her dreams. Her dreams where he can tell her everything but his name.
Olivia Whitehead is a typical junior in high school. She and her best friend are having the time of their lives, but she can’t help but notice the changes happening to her.  Especially the changes in her heart after she begins dreaming about a mysterious dark haired young man. But what will happen when the school heartthrob decides he wants Olivia? Will she realize the dream man is real or will she move on?
Links
Amazon B&N SmashwordsAuthor Web PageFacebook Twitter: @sassybrunette55Goodreads 

TIps: Fun Family Writing Exercises

Joyce Strand, Editor
Strand's Simply Tips
Author, ON MESSAGE & OPEN MEETINGS
As I have said before:  writing can be fun and even therapeutic.  Not only can writing itself be fun, but learning to write provides an opportunity for family entertainment. 
I have offered some Fun Family exercises in previous articles. The concept is to provide ways in this fast-paced world to hone writing skills—no matter what the age—and have fun with the family doing so. You can view the previous exercises here and here1.
Following are some new Fun Family writing exercises. Enjoy!
·      Each member of the family is to write a page or two of dialogue of a conversation that you imagine two or more strangers are saying at a restaurant where you are enjoying a meal. The family should choose the people –discreetly, of course – even if it’s at McDonald’s. To make it more interesting, choose a genre, i.e., the dialogue is to tell a mystery, create a fantasy, deal with aliens, relate a romance, scare some zombies, or solve a life problem. Assign roles and then read the dialogues aloud.
·      Write a paragraph describing a store where you bought something. Be sure to mention how the store smelled, what kind of sounds you heard, along with a physical description of the building. Tell why you bought the item. Read aloud your description to see if your family can guess which store – or type of store—you’re describing.
·      Describe a new place you recently visited for the first time. Start with your first impressions of the place. Were you surprised at its appearance? Did it make you remember a forgotten experience? Were you afraid, intimidated, excited? Next describe the physical attributes of the location as an explanation of why you felt the way you did. Conclude with an explanation of how you felt when you departed the location. Were you still afraid, intimidated, excited? When you complete this description, read it to the family to see if they can guess the location.
·      Describe what happens at your house when you get an unexpected call that some friends are planning to drop by. As a family, do you quickly scurry to pick up? Or, is your house always neat, but you wanted to finish just one more chore? Does everyone help? What do you do? Be sure to share your description with the family to see if they concur with your account.
·      Write a paragraph describing a relative outside of your immediate family. Remember to recall more than just physical attributes: does he/she talk slowly or in staccato? Walk fast, talk with a mouth full of food, arch an eyebrow, laugh with a snort? Read your paragraph to the family to see if they can identify the person. Oh, and don’t be too negative!
·      Write a paragraph about how you wake up in the morning. Does Mom have to shake you? Do you need to push the alarm multiple times on Snooze? Do you wake up before everyone else? If so, what do you do? If you have siblings, do you help get them up? Do you like waking up? How do you feel when you wake up?
I hope you enjoy these latest suggestions for Fun Family writing exercises. You can easily accommodate your own situation by changing some of the requirements. Or, if you have other suggestions, please leave them as a comment so that we can all enjoy them.

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: "The 'Me' In Our Work" by Southern Poet and Novelist Damon Ferrell Marbut

Damon Ferrell Marbut, Author
AWAKE IN THE MAD WORLD

Welcome Southern poet and novelist Damon Ferrell Marbut. His first published novel, AWAKE IN THE MAD WORLD, is an entrant for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. One reviewer describes it as “a coming of age novel that showcases so many of the issues of twenty and thirty-somethings in America today.” 
In the following article, Mr. Marbut explores the significance of "write what you know." He adds the value of comprehending “why” authors write. Why do we do what we do? And why is it relevant that we do so? 



Philosophical Sources: The “Me” In Our Workby Damon Ferrell Marbut
Write what you know.
It’s true. In writing seminars and workshops, or if you weren’t “trained” in this manner, it’s still a common expression that carries with it, in my opinion, considerable importance. Even writers of paranormal, fantasy, etc. can still apply this write what you know standard to a significant portion of their book(s). This is what makes it initially work, I believe: lending a work its validity by giving it your honesty as a writer.
Rarely, though, is the notion of whyyou are writing what you’re writing the curiosity that follows. Without affording one’s self more than just a series of moments to think this through, the risk exists of condemning the work to stand without enough of the author him/herself. And without knowing exactly why one is writing what one is writing, a book may succeed on some levels but will—and I do not doubt this at all—ultimately fail the author, as it will not be his/her best. Not asking this crucial why will limit the impact of the gift given the reader, which is a person’s work, a creation that may or may not best explain who the person is, as well.
As writers, we don’t ask ourselves this question to doubt why we’re sitting in front of the computer, to doubt our commitment as well as our sacrifices once we’ve hopefully come to term with how we define both. Commitment is sitting there, morning after morning, or night after night, and Sacrifice is something we all must come to terms with. What part of life gets less attention for the work? Finances, exercise, sleep, companionship? What are you willing to sacrifice so that this continues to embody the core of your drive as a complete person and not just a creative person? Or, perhaps you’re writing because it’s an exhilarating activity, or cathartic, or a challenge. Whatever the reason, if you are spending consistent time in front of the computer, there is a deeper meaning beneath it.
“Writers,” no matter how they define themselves, are similarly creating something to represent who they are as a person. Some audiences read to lightly escape the realities of their emotionally-exhausting lives, while others look to be devastated by a beautiful story because it feels incredible to celebrate the fleeting nature of life and beauty and love and human nature and death, all without it being too real. Audiences seek certain books because of how they linger, for how they charge the brain and nerves and surface of the skin. Books should involve full-body reactions and should never be discounted as “guilty pleasures” or “no-brainers.” Audiences select the books they read for a reason. And so as writers, a philosophical obligation exists in us before we commit, before we make the sacrifices, and that obligation manifests itself in the question why. Why am I doing this?
I stopped asking myself this years ago because my writer friends and I moved all around the country and began our own walks toward various creative or academic lights. I used that separation as my excuse to stop asking, and for a long time I didn’t reflect on the reason that conversation had disappeared from my life in general. But today, in thinking of it, it’s simply because I know I cannot stop. I can’t. I gave up law school for this. I lost job opportunities and more financial comfort for this. I made my family think I was ditching them for a notepad, for years, and I was. I became isolated and sometimes drank too much, and then I learned the value of travel and engaging the world around me and started valuing myself because I valued my thoughts and how I expressed them on the page. It’s a life-saving art form, for myself and others like me. I can’t stop because I don’t know any better anymore. I don’t like what my mind wants to do when I’m not writing. I’m never happier than when I’m on a project, which has thankfully been constant for almost ten years now.
And sometimes, I concede, it’s an absolutely terrifying idea to consider who we are as individuals. I remember the sleep-deprivation at work in graduate school after staying up all night reading and writing poems with friends on their couches or mine. But those were the talks we deemed so vital to the understanding of our work, we chose against logic for immediate passion. And when the talks grew so athletic by repetition, or one friend moved away, and then another, we realized there was still that pervasive, churning, all-encompassing why of what we were doing that never left us when we left ourselves. I loved every second of it. I love and need it, still.
My old friends from that moment in our shared lives, when we were developing as creative thinkers, are now my slightly older colleagues. We look back at that era as necessary to where we’ve now landed as individuals in the aftermath of all that romantic and fiery thinking. But we still retain a collective sense of curiosity concerning why we do what we do. The truth is that you, I, we, they are all bound by this obligation as writers to explain ourselves in one way or another, willfully or with a fight. We inject ourselves into our characters and have far more voices speaking on our behalf than we sometimes recognize. Every person, fictitious or real, is seeking to resolve something in their existences. And so, whether we see it or not, our characters tell our story as their creator. I think about that often. I don’t think of my legacy or being respectful to the audience’s desire for my story’s outcome, or how many books I’ll sell or what awards I’ll win.
I consider what truth I’m learning about myself as I write.
AWAKE IN THE MAD WORLD
Book Blurb
“I hadn’t thought of it, in real truth. I hadn’t thought about love because when I was at work, I didn’t think, I am at work. I hadn’t thought, when I was at the grocery store, I am at the store. We just are where we are. We’re in what we’re in.”
Pete Rattigan is a frustrated young newspaper journalist caught up in uncertainty of the post-graduate “real world”. One night, one seemingly minor encounter sparks a philosophical journey which leads him to discover that in the most beautiful or even cruel moments of life, the power of friendship explains the power of the universe. And that perhaps there is no such thing as chance. With force, humor and sensitivity Damon Ferrell Marbut presents his debut, AWAKE IN THE MAD WORLD, which frees its audience to believe again in the wildness of the young American heart, how it beats just to prove that it will always survive and succeed on its own terms.
Excerpt
After a steady diet of threshold thoughts and staggered steps in and out of the surf, I realized my pants were wetting at the tailored lines, and I decided to make way to my car and drive through Orange Beach just east and visit Perdido Pass briefly so I could let the pants dry and drop off something I’d carried with me a very long time. And due to the most recent move from Midtown to Knox’s, I still had it in the car, the large rock I’d acquired during a skim-boarding-excursion-turned-drinking-bout in high school, a near-decade prior, where I’d fully had that first good fleeting love in a moment with a girl named Tate Bonifay, a memory that was so sweet for such an extended time I couldn’t enforce even the rules of my own heart, to let the past be past, but it was time to forget the patience and allure of that young flash in time, to put the sign of such memory to bed back across the jetties where it had lain for a long time before a heavy youthful heart like mine had come along and told my hands to take it and keep it and maybe later sublimate my resolve.I drove over the Key bridge against the tumid sun and crept into the narrow parking strip alongside the sand’s reach down toward the rocks’ stretch into the Gulf. The dunes, I could see from the bridge, had blown down from worsening storm systems and beach erosion, and had turned into something only recognizable to locals who had been around enough to see its demise for what it was. I jumped them when they were once twenty feet tall, as Bonifay sprawled up top with Billy and Patrick. She had sat like a football player, confident in her wear, sipping a beer like a mother emancipated from child watch, staring into the sun, curly long hair, a boarder’s attitude. Where had I, that kid, gone, too? The dunes were leveled like tables after a decade and were still beautiful, but lacked the luster of young people sweating in nascent love onto the sand that soon might forget them. I took off again alone on the beach and made it through the seemingly horizontal wind tunnels which tugged my lone body toward the result of what was cresting and crashing down at the shore. If I remembered correctly, the rock had been about ten yards down the rock row in the water, and so without self-doubt and a cigarette stub in my pocket, I negotiated the moist rock pilings down to a fair estimate, and sat on a heavier, dryer monolithic entity in the shade of a generous cloud between me and the sun. I was freezing at that point, but not confused, not in any mood to deliver a eulogy for that which was defecting from my custody, a memory of a beautiful girl I had carried around too long.
Author BioDamon Ferrell Marbut is a Southern poet and novelist. Originally from Mobile, Alabama, he now lives and writes in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he is working on a new novel. AWAKE IN THE MAD WORLD , his first published novel, is an entrant for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He is a featured reader at the 10th Annual Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans, May 2013.Links
Purchase links:Amazon Paperback Kindle 
Facebook Goodreads Twitter: @dfmnolaWebsite

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Author C.J. Sullivan

C.J. Sullivan, Author
WINGS OF THE DIVIDED, Book 1 DIVIDED TRILOGYAuthor and native Texan C.J. Sullivan recently launched WINGS OF THE DIVIDED, Book 1 THE DIVIDED TRILOGY – a story about a fallen angel who comes to earth to create chaos. However, everything changes when he hears a violin playing. 

Sullivan considers compelling characters a critical part of a great story. She believes that expanding on traits about a character as a story develops encourages readers to keep reading by creating mystery and anticipation. In the following article she offers insight into how to make us empathize with characters.
Creating Compelling CharactersBy C. J. SullivanCreating compelling characters is an essential part to writing a great story. It's also one of my favorite parts about the writing process. As a writer, you want people to fall in love with your protagonists, as well as seriously dislike and/or fear your antagonists. Many people who have read my book WINGS OF THE DIVIDED have commented on how much they adored my characters. There are a number of things I did to help the good guys, bad guys, and everyone in between really come to life. So how do you get a good idea for a good character? You can base them on characters from your favorite movies and books but put your own personal spin on them. You can also base them on people you know, including yourself. It's fun to create a mixture sometimes. For instance, aspects of that mean boss at work, plus characteristics of that jerk back in high school, plus hints of your annoying cousin all could wrap up to make one cool villain! Some authors advise writers to avoid filling out a character chart. They say it's juvenile, but I disagree. I have found that character charts can be a great help, especially with main characters. Character charts are basically a series of questions that help you flesh out your good guys and bad guys. Some example questions from a chart: What is his/her hair length and color? What is his/her body type? What is his/her birth order? Who is his/her best friend? What is his/her type of humor? What are his/her hobbies? What are his/her phobias? Discovering all the little details about this person will create the depth you need. As you're writing your story, really try to get into your character's head. Imagine yourself in his/her body, feeling the heartbeat, listening to the sound of his/her voice, feeling the underlying motivation for why the character is driven to do the things he does. Always ask yourself why your character is acting a certain way. Is your female villain threatening to kill the male protagonist because she is secretly in love with him, but he won't return her affections? Or is she after him because she's jealous of his great achievements and can't stand knowing someone is better than she is? Characters who do things for no reason aren't convincing, but those who have a believable reason are relatable and three-dimensional. Another thing I do is reveal my characters slowly throughout the story. Think of your closest friends. Did you know everything about them the day you met them? Or did they slowly reveal their secrets to you over time? By gradually showing more about a character as the story goes on, you create mystery and anticipation and give readers encouragement to keep reading. As your readers continue deeper into the tale, they feel rewarded, almost as if they are getting to know a real person.Author Bio C.J. Sullivan is the author of WINGS OF THE DIVIDED, Book 1 in THE DIVIDED trilogy. She holds a BA in English and a minor in Communication, and she taught high school English and Debate before getting married and moving to the Dallas Metroplex.Sullivan is a native Texan who appreciates both the quiet simplicity of the state's countryside and the exciting color of its major cities. When she's not lost in the world of her angels, she reads every genre of literature, watches and re-watches cult classic movies, and obsessively de-clutters and redecorates her house. She lives with her husband, Drew, and her dachshund, Kaiser. WINGS OF THE DIVIDED  Book Blurb  Fallen angel Laphelle has been sent on a mission to modern-day Earth, along with two of his comrades, to start fresh chaos behind the scenes. But everything changes when he hears the sound of the violin one fateful night. The heavenly music stirs thoughts of his life before the Fall, a time he does not consciously remember. Confused and intrigued, he begins to spiral out of control when he discovers he can actually play the violin with stunning talent. This unknown skill, along with the surprising relationship he develops with the violin’s owner, pushes him to question his role in the war of good and evil.

An emotional, character-driven adventure, at times humorous and fun, and at others dark and horrific, WINGS OF THE DIVIDED is the first book in an epic trilogy that explores the sacred bond of friendship, the universal power of music, and the question of redemption.

Excerpt
In this scene, the angels of light Gidyon and Noam have just arrived on Earth, but they are being pursued by the relentless angel of darkness, Laphelle.
Gidyon felt his stomach lurch as he looked back. The sleek black sword in Laphelle's pale, long-nailed grip had a wavy blade that weaved like a wicked black flame frozen in time, shining like polished glass. A black snake with oval rubies for eyes protruded from the weapon's guard and twisted around Laphelle's hand and up his arm, the fangs latching into his bicep as he gripped the dark handle.    The dark angel flapped his black-feathered wings, those once-sacred appendages that now defined his Fallen identity, and he soared after his prey."Noam!" Laphelle shouted as two more figures emerged from the gate behind him. "Don't let that coward tell you what you can and can't do!"The dark angel grinned wickedly, the sharp tips of his canines glinting in the moonlight. His ash blond shoulder length hair whipped back with the speed of the wind; the black crystal on a leather strap around his neck flew back as if it were holding on for dear life. The blond rogue's silken, tailored black suit blended into the velvety night, the fitted jacket fastened by silver latches below a V of bare ashen chest."Come back and fight me!" he said. "To arms, you wretched deserter!"Don't look at him. Don't look at him.    Gidyon spotted the little cathedral first. He turned to Noam, who had to be fighting with all his might to ignore Laphelle's challenge."There!" Gidyon said.Noam turned to the church and nodded, and like gulls dipping into the ocean, the angels of light took sharp dives for the sanctuary's wooden doors.Gidyon glanced back, couldn't help himself. The smile vanished from Laphelle's face, his icy blue eyes widening with rage."Putrid PAWNS of the ALMIGHTY!" he shouted, raising the sword. "Don't you DARE!"But the angels of light ignored his threats. They entered the safe sanctuary and quickly shut out the night.Inside the church, Gidyon stood with his ear pressed to the closed door. Once he was certain Laphelle was not going to be a fool and try to enter the holy building, he began to turn around, releasing his anxiety with one big deflating breath. He raised his brows when he saw a man—Max Edenton, so he read from the man's mind—facing them on the aisle, his human eyes widening like full moons. Noam turned his head to the side in a curious gesture.  Then Max fainted.                         LinksWINGS OF THE DIVIDED on Kindle 
WINGS OF THE DIVIDED on Nook 
Blog
Twitter: @cjsullivan53
Goodreads 
Facebook 

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: British Author Julia Hughes

Julia Hughes, Author
THE GRIFFIN CRYER
British author Julia Hughes joins us to discuss her just-released fantasy THE GRIFFIN CRYER -- a story about a griffin and his rider accidentally called to our world by a teenage girl. Julia has also written a series of stories about the Celtic Cousins -- two Welsh cousins living in London who frequently encounter Detective Crombie of the Metropolitan Police in their adventures.
Originally from London, Julia has a muse called Tinker, a healthy respect for all animals--even the creepy crawly ones, likes Peter Pan (the boy who refuses to grow up!), and selects her favorite novel of today - Diana Norman's "The Morning Gift.” 
Q: Why do you write fantasy?
Julia Hughes: This is my first foray into writing fantasy; although in my opinion all fiction involves some form of fantasy! I've always been captivated by the idea of parallel universes, and the idea that maybe in one of those parallel universes, the twin of our world exists. In THE GRIFFIN CRYER on "Ella-Earth" evolution has taken a different path, and mythological creatures exist.
Q: How do you make your fantasy world believable? Characters? Back-story? How important is suspense?
Julia Hughes: Nearly all of the action in THE GRIFFIN CRYER takes place in our world: the griffin and his rider are accidentally summoned into this universe by an ordinary teenage girl. Frankie's reaction to the sudden appearance of a griffin is probably the same as mine would be: she screams and runs away. The Rider is from another dimension – so he is an alien – but he is very human. Having worked hard to become a griffin rider, he has a little too much pride in himself. He is scared – he needs to find his griffin and get back home – but he's not going to show his fear – especially not to a schoolgirl.
For me, that's the key to making any work of fiction believable – to populate any world, fantasy or modern day New York, with flesh and blood characters. There's a little back story dropped in here and there; for example, the Rider isn't of noble birth, and therefore shouldn't be riding griffins – we learn that Frankie's brother has been in a coma for almost three years, and also that visitors between our two worlds were once common. But I try to keep any back story to a minimum, and place the story in the here and now.
Suspense in any story is everything; without the reader wanting to find out what happens next, even if it's to find out if Cinderella does get her prince, pages probably wouldn't get turned!
Q: What makes compelling characters? What do you do to make us care about your characters?
Julia Hughes: As a reader, I need to empathize with a character, before caring. The people you'll meet in my stories are down to earth, ordinary everyday folk, dealing with extra-ordinary life changing events. For example: Detective Crombie's on a diet, and thinks his biggest problem is deciding what to have for lunch. Moments later, he's on the trail of a missing elephant, and then comes face to face with an alligator. Who stole the elephant? How did an alligator end up in the bathroom of a London apartment? And why are the mandarins of Whitehall protecting one of London's biggest villains?
Q: Do your characters push you around and make you write what they want? Or are you in control?
Julia Hughes: I get to know my characters before I begin writing; I also know the challenges they're going to face, and I know how they're going to react to those challenges. Hopefully characters will grow during the story – they'll man up, and do what has to be done – but I never allow them to step completely out of character. Now and then one of them will surprise me; I never imagined Wren would fall so hopelessly in love with Carrie in "A Ripple in Time."
Q: What makes a hero/heroine? On the flip side, what makes a villain?
Julia Hughes: In my opinion, the biggest hero in literature is lawyer Atticus Finch. In "To Kill A Mockingbird" he endured the wrath of friends and neighbours to do the right thing. Maybe that's the answer – a hero or heroine is someone prepared to do the right thing, against all odds. Conversely, villains are prepared to sell their own grandmothers if it means getting their own way. I always find charming well-mannered villains the scariest – I'm thinking in particular of Hannibal Lecter in "Silence of the Lambs."
Q: Who are your target readers? What are they looking for? One of your reviewers said “It is not often I would say that a book appeals to everybody but I would make an exception in his case.” Do you agree?
Julia Hughes: I hope to target readers who aren't afraid to use their imagination, who are looking for pure escapism, yet with the story grounded in reality. I'd like for my readers to think "Yes, that's pretty wild, but it could happen!"
When a reader enjoys my stories so much, that they actually take time to write a review to tell others, I'm thrilled to pieces. Yes, I do agree, with those very kind words! I'd like to think of my stories being enjoyed by the whole world. But in truth, not everyone's going to agree – and that's fine too. Luckily Amazon allow sampling before buying, and I'd urge everyone to make their own minds up, not just about my books, but other books; there's a lot of undiscovered talent out there – surprise yourself and try something different and new!
Q: If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?
Julia Hughes: If I couldn't write, I guess I'd be crazy. I'd be walking around muttering to myself and anyone else who cared to listen.
Q: Tell us something about yourself, e.g., do you like to read? Eat? Go to plays? What’s your favorite holiday, book, author, character, play, movie, celebrity? What do you do when you’re not writing? Do you have a muse? Do you like dogs or cats? What's your favorite charity?
Julia Hughes: My favorite charity is the RNLI – now those men and women are real heroes in my eyes – putting out to sea to risk their lives rescuing strangers. Funded entirely by charitable donations, the lifeboat crews and lifeguards of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution have saved at least 140,000 lives at sea since 1824.
The muse is called Tinker, and she always gives good advice.
I have a healthy respect for all animals, even the creepy crawly ones – and I'm very grateful that some wonderful horses, dogs and cats have deigned to share my journey.
I'm absolutely head over heels in love with Rafael Nadal, the tennis player from Majorca, which incidentally is one of my favorite holiday destinations.
My favorite play is "Peter Pan" – it's got everything – including of course, the boy who refuses to grow up.
Choosing a favorite book, or author is incredibly difficult. I'm going to plump for Diana Norman's "The Morning Gift.” The main character Matilda is a well born Frenchwoman, and contemptuous of anyone below her own perceived status – especially the English. Matilda is aghast when her husband, an Englishman, gives her an island for her "morning gift.” She regards this English custom of a husband rewarding his wife for a pleasurable wedding night as crude. Then the nastiest civil war in English history breaks out, and Matilda is forced to revise her whole outlook on life. However, ask me again tomorrow about my favorite book, and I might give a completely different answer!
More About Julia Hughes by Julia Hughes
I'm originally from London, a little place called Notting Hill, born when the world was the street where you lived. To give you an idea, only three people down our road actually owned a telephone and bath night was a weekly event. Until you've had a strip down wash at the kitchen sink, you don't know you're living!
Like Scout, I can't recall not being able to read, and the world of Narnia quickly became a favorite. In the closing pages of 'The Last Battle' C S Lewis tells his young audience "you cannot begin to imagine the adventures they had." (Or words to that effect). I took this as a personal challenge. While I could never hope to emulate Lewis's work, I've had fun trying.
That's really how I think of myself, a reader who enjoys writing the sort of books I'd want to read. Now with Amazon's help, I'm sharing those stories - something I never imagined in my wildest dreams and it's the best feeling in the world.

THE GRIFFIN CRYER Synopsis (Talon Publishing)
Frankie Shaunessy's friends are out of this world!
It's an easy mistake to make - instead of whistling and calling for her dog, fifteen year old Frankie accidentally summons a griffin and his rider from another world. The Rider is tall, blond and extremely rude. On the other hand, Balkind is the sweetest, most lovable griffin Frankie's ever met, and Frankie is determined to help The Rider and his griffin find a way back to their own world. 
Dealing with parallel universes, disgruntled warriors, and hungry griffins is the simple part of Frankie's life. At school, Frankie learns friends can become enemies, teachers aren't always right, and the boy of your dreams can be all too human. 

Purchase Links
Amazon US
Amazon UK


THE GRIFFIN CRYER Excerpt
Last night, while calling her dog, Frankie accidentally summonsed a griffin and its rider from another dimension. Dog and griffin flee from each other. This is Frankie's second encounter with the Rider, he has retrieved her missing dog, and wants something in return ….A man sat outlined against the brow of Six Acre Meadow, a large black dog by his side. Frankie stumbled towards them, clutching at the stitch in her side. By the time she reached the top of the hill and stood over him, all the furious insults she'd rehearsed on the nightmare jog here were useless. Instead she glared down at him, struggling to catch her breath. Bally's tail thumped, but he made no attempt to cease worrying at the mammoth bone he held down with one paw. Finally Frankie managed: 'That's my dog.' Calmly unscrewing the lid from a bottle of water, the stranger took a couple of swigs, then offered it to Frankie. After a moment's hesitation, she swiped the bottle from him, tipped her head back, and chugged down. 'Where's my griffin?' the man asked.Frankie clutched the now empty bottle, longing to chuck it at his head and snatch up Bally and run. But somehow she doubted his temper had improved any since last night. 'Please – I don't know your name – but please – let me have my dog back. Please – it'll break my mum's heart.' 'Get me back my griffin and you can have your dog.''I'll call the police.' He shrugged, looking completely unconcerned. 'Call for my griffin, and you can have your dog back.' Frankie gave a sigh of surrender, and tossed the empty bottle neatly into his opened rucksack. 'If I call your …griffin – and it doesn't come, will that satisfy you?' He nodded. 'If you call with all your heart, and Balkind doesn't answer, you may have your dog back.' Call with all your heart. Frankie knew without asking what this meant. Inflating her lungs, and placing her hands either side of her mouth, she summoned up a cry from the heart. 'Balkind!' The sound flooded the meadow. Frankie sucked in air and called again. 'Baalll-kind.' She could feel two pairs of eyes on her, watching intently, Bally's ears were pricked. Before calling for the third time, Frankie took a couple of steps away from her audience, and focussed on projecting her cry across the village, across the lakes, across the country if needs be. 'Baaaalllll-kiiiiinnnnnd!' Frankie glanced behind her. The blond head nodded approval. 'That'll do.' Of course it would: Any griffin within a hundred miles would have heard that.

Links
Website: Julia Hughes Talon PublishingTwitter: @Tinksaid 
Other Works by Julia Hughes
The Celtic Cousins Series
Rhyllann and Wren are two Welsh cousins, living in London. Rhyllann's a typical teenager with a passion for girls and flying aeroplanes. His life would be perfect if it wasn't for Wren, aka, The Prince of Geeks. 
In A RAUCOUS TIME  Wren insists he knows where the lost treasure of King John, buried for almost 1,000 years, can be found. Can the cousins find the treasure before the quasi-religious gang known as the "Brotherhood", or worse still, Detective Crombie of the Metropolitan Police, finds them?
 Purchase Links:Amazon US Amazon UK


In A RIPPLE IN TIME  Wren's dreams collide with those of a young woman sailing to America exactly one hundred years ago, and so averts RMS Titanic from sinking, and history is rewritten. To save his own life, and prevent the world from descending into chaos, Wren must travel back in time to ensure the Titanic meets her fate.
 Purchase LinksAmazon USAmazon UK


In AN EXPLOSIVE TIME, Detective Crombie is hunting a missing elephant. He isn't too surprised when the trail leads to the door of the Celtic Cousins, whom he's convinced are intent on making a career out of being the bane of his life. Then an alligator turns up, hotly pursued by one of London's biggest villains, and Crombie finds himself in need of a miracle to save his daughter's life. Will the Celtic Cousins finally repay Crombie's faith in them?
Purchase Links  
Amazon USAmazon UK

Other works
THE BRIDLE PATH
"What does any thirty something single woman wish for most?" THE BRIDLE PATH is a short sweet fairy tale romance for us grown ups, set in the county of Cornwall. Two years after being orphaned in a horrific car crash, twelve year old Sebby remains silent and zombie-like. His aunt and guardian Matilda hopes that a new home in the tranquillity of the Cornish countryside will help restore his health.
Purchase Links  Amazon USAmazon UK

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Historical Romance Author Grace Elliot

Grace Elliot, Author
HOPE'S BETRAYALHistory enthusiast and author of historical romances Grace Elliot joins us today to talk about her newest novel HOPE’S BETRAYAL – a story about a heroine caught smuggling by the Captain appointed to stop it. Although the two begin to appreciate one another, the choices presented to the couple are not simple:  it is a love where either Hope betrays her own kind, or Captain Huntley is court-marshaled.
A veterinarian by day, Grace is inspired to write by the prodding of one of her five cats.  She also has two teenage sons, a husband and “bearded dragon” looking on.  She is committed to providing her readers with escape, and her addiction to history enables her to offer unique settings to enhance the romance. 
Q: What led you – a true cat aficionado-- to write historical romances? I’ve been a cat-lover all my life, and I write mysteries, which seems more in keeping with the feline mystique.
Grace Elliot: What a good question! The answer lies in that although my cats are not my direct inspiration, they encourage me to write. Let me elaborate. My house is ruled by five cats but one in particular, Widget, is my 'writer's cat.'  Whilst sitting on an old sofa with a laptop on my knee, Widget snuggles up against my leg. This does great things for my concentration because when I get up for a comfort break, she pinches the warm spot and looks hurt when I try to reclaim the seat.  As a result I've learnt not to fidget or get up unnecessarily, since a disapproving look from a cat is indeed a humbling thing.
Q:  How important is the history part of your romances? Could you have the same plots in a modern setting?
Grace Elliot: History is vital to my romances because of the tension generated by characters rebelling against the social norms of the 19th century.
It's always fascinated me to ponder how regency women reacted to the restrictions of a male dominated world. How would I react if society dictated my role was solely to please my husband and breed children? Put it this way, it wouldn’t be long before I exploded in one way or another. And that's what happens to my heroines when events push them over the edge and they realize they are as capable as their male counterparts at taking control.
So in short, no I don't think the plots would work in a modern setting - besides, it's the escapism of recreating the past that is the main motivation behind my writing. 
Q:  What do you do to make your characters compelling? What do you do to make your readers care whether your heroine and hero get together?
Grace Elliot: Characters are key. 
I aim to make my characters a bit different from those inhabiting traditional regency romances. For instance, in HOPE’S BETRAYAL the heroine is a smuggler and the hero is the naval captain sent to stamp out all illegal activity. But this doesn’t mean that Hope Tyler, as a smuggler, is a 'romantic' heroine, far from it, she is a gritty, determined character who has been forced into breaking the law in order to provide food for her family. And when Captain George Huntley captures her, she challenges his bigoted views on smuggling, pointing out that the tea his mother drinks and the lace on her dress, are all courtesy of the smuggling trade.
As to making the reader care, that lies in the simmering sexual attraction between characters with irreconcilable differences.
Q:  What makes your romances special?
Grace Elliot:  I write for escapism; this means I picture a scene and imagine myself there to soak up the sights, sounds and smells. My aim is to write the sort of page-turning historical romances that I love to read, and only readers can say if I have succeeded or not - but I live in hope of this making my romances special.
Q:  Are your books largely for entertainment, or do you also try to deliver a message?
Grace Elliot: My books have themes, for instance EULOGY’S SECRET is about not judging appearances, whilst HOPE’S BETRAYAL considers the price of morals, but that aside, the novels are meant to be absorbing historical romps with engrossing characters and addictive plots. I would equate my books to a glass of red wine; something to make you feel warm inside on a cold winter's night (with a cat on your lap, of course!)
Q: What tips would you give to others considering a career in writing?
Grace Elliot:  My attitude is encompassed by the saying; "The harder I work, the luckier I become." In other words, writing is hard work and few authors get instant success (if ever!) Only write if the thought of not doing so leaves an empty void in your soul - because if your main motivation is to become rich and famous, then frustration surely awaits.
Q: When you’re not writing, what do you do? Feed the cats? Hobbies? Sailing? Knitting? Standup comedy? Feed the cats? Favorite music?  Favorite authors? Do you have a muse? Pet the cats?
Grace Elliot: History is a big part of my life. I live a short distance from London and love visiting to explore the lesser known spots, back alleys, hidden courts and the like. It's amazing how much history there is even in something simple like a street name, or a building, and I love taking photos to find out more about them later. My current obsession is with pubs (!) named after royalty - it's amazing how many there are named after the Prince Regent …I feel a blog post coming on. That aside, my cat obsession is a big part of who I am, as is reading. I also jog short distances and am rather partial to curry.
About Grace Elliot
Grace Elliot leads a double life as a veterinarian by day and author of historical romance by night. Grace believes intelligent people need to read romance as an antidote to the modern world. As an avid reader of historicals she turned to writing as a release from the emotionally draining side of veterinary work.
Grace lives near London and is addicted to cats. The Elliot household consists of five cats, two teenage sons, one husband, a guinea pig - and the latest addition - a bearded dragon!
About HOPE’S BETRAYAL
One wild, winter's night two worlds collide.
Known for his ruthless efficiency, Captain George Huntley is sent to stamp out smuggling on the south coast of England. On a night raid, the Captain captures a smuggler, but finds his troubles are just beginning when the lad turns out to be a lass, Hope Tyler.
With Hope as bait, the Captain sets a trap to catch the rest of the gang. But in a battle of wills, with his reputation at stake, George Huntley starts to respect feisty, independent Hope. Challenged by her sea-green eyes and stubborn loyalty Huntley now faces a new threat - his growing attraction to a sworn enemy. But a love where either Hope betrays her own kind, or Captain Huntley is court-marshaled, is not an easy destiny to follow.
Buy LinksHOPE’S BETRAYAL is FREE on Amazon Kindle until 9th December 2012!Amazon USAmazon UK HOPE’S BETRAYAL
Excerpt


Lass Not a Lad.- Captain Huntley Makes a Discovery About his Prisoner.
Alone with his prisoner the Captain set to work, his face all harsh angles in the lamplight. First to stem the bleeding. Working with deft hands, he pulled the bloodstained scarf from the felon's head. Surprise registered, as he noted the delicate ears and elegant neck. The boy’s hair gleamed like polished-coal in the lamplight; tied back in a pony tail, black-as-the-devil’s  heart. Huntley reached for a rag to wipe blood from the boy's eyes and cheek. Soft skin emerged from beneath the clotted mess. The boy was young…a round face with pointed chin, a tipped nose …and lips, softly parted and provocatively plump….just ripe for kissing. A flush of heat warmed Huntley's cheeks. What was he thinking? Wiping his sleeve across his eyes he forced himself to continue. He bathed the laceration, cleaning away sand and blood. Something about this lad had stirred deep emotions and the captain didn’t like it one little bit. He glanced toward the door, not wanting to be alone with the smuggler and these strange feelings he stirred. “What the devil's taking that wench so long?”The fire was crackling nicely now, steam rising from the lad's clothes. But it wasn’t warm enough; cold could kill every bit as much as blood loss."Hell's teeth, do I have to do everything myself?”With rising irritation, Huntley set to stripping the lad of his wet clothes. He peeled back the patched jacket, twice its weight with water, and dropped it to the floor. A patched and frayed shirt, sticky with blood, clung to the lad’s lean frame. Huntley tugged the shirt-tail free of the lad’s sodden breeches and off over his head, with the result that the Captain's pulse raced alarmingly.“Get a grip, man.” Huntley muttered.The lad had unexpectedly slim shoulders, a silver stiletto strapped to his thin upper arm. “Naughty.”Unsheathing the knife he held the elegant blade toward the firelight; a finely crafted weapon of silver filigree over an ivory handle— a lady’s weapon, and obviously expensive.“Who did you steal this from, then?” Placing the stiletto safely out of reach, he turned back to the table. Stripped of his shirt, it seemed the lad had broken ribs, for his chest was strapped. The bindings were soaked and must come off. Shifting the unconscious lad into a sitting position, balancing him against his shoulder, Huntley unwound the bandages. As he lay the lad back down on the table, Huntley was suddenly struck by the peculiar shadows playing across the boy’s chest. A flush of blood heated his cheeks. That explained a lot!  Huntley’s mouth dropped open; he threw back his head and laughed aloud with relief. “Tis not a lad….but a lass!"Alone in the scullery with a half-naked girl…no, not a girl, for she had the soft curves of a woman. Huntley took a step back. The sense of relief was overwhelming, that it was a woman who had excited his body so. He looked around for someone to share his astonishment, but the maid had not yet returned.In his experience women were tiresome, wearisome creatures that sapped the spirit and drained the mind, but he studied this one with interest. Dark lashes lay brushed against her cheek, an almost catlike tilt to her closed eyes. Her skin was clear, fresh, and unblemished. Her face was wide, round even, but with a pointed chin and a nose turned up at the end. In all he decided, she was beautiful with the stubbornness of a mule and fragility of a china doll. She had been a worthy advisory on the dunes; agile, brave and resourceful and it thrilled him to the core. Lost in thought, Huntley shrugged off his outer coat and covered her over, then removed himself to a respectable distance. Nothing had changed, he told himself. She was a felon and would pay the penalty demanded by law. And if Huntley felt uneasy at the prospect he suppressed the emotion, it was just that he had to get used to the notion of interrogating a woman.
Other Works by Grace Elliot
EULOGY’S SECRET 
Greed, prejudice and a stolen identity. In the four weeks since her guardians’ death, Eulogy Foster has lost everything. Penniless and alone she seeks the help of her estranged brother, Lord Lucien Devlin. But Devlin throws Eulogy onto the streets and the mercy of a passing stranger, Jack Huntley, who becomes an unlikely ally. As Eulogy seeks the truth behind her birth, she is drawn into the world of art and artists, where her morals are challenged and nothing is as it seems.


A DEAD MAN’S DEBT  
A story of blackmail, duty and an unexpected love.
After publically humiliating a suitor, Miss Celeste Armitage is sent from the Ton in disgrace and resolves never to marry. But when she finds a sketch book of nude studies and discovers the artist is her hostess's eldest son, Lord Ranulf Charing, she finds herself dangerously attracted to exactly the sort of rogue she is sworn to avoid. Nothing is as it seems. Lord Ranulf's life is a facade and he is being blackmailed over his late brother's debts.





CAT PIES 
A series of short essays on feline historical trivia (non-fiction) 
Did the Victorian's really eat cat pies?Who invented the cat flap? Do black cats bring good or bad luck? Why did Victorian veterinarians have such a bad reputation?Is cat-gut really made from cats?How did cats win a battle?

Links
Twitter: @Grace_Elliot
Blog: Fall In Love With HistoryFacebook                        Amazon author           

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Fantasy Author Susan Leigh Noble

Susan Leigh Noble, Author
DESTINY, Book 3 of The Elemental
Welcome to Fantasy Author Susan Leigh Noble. She has just published DESTINY, Book 3 of her series The Elemental – whose main character Lina is counseled by Tosh, her telepathic cat. Lina herself can start fires with mere thought. In DESTINY she must find a lost scepter to save her land.
A big San Antonio Spurs basketball fan, Susan lives in Texas with her husband, two children and – as you might have guessed given her telepathic cat character -- three cats.  She is also an active community and school volunteer.




Q: In a fantasy world, what pulls in your readers? Characters? Back story? Suspense? How important is believability?
Susan Leigh Noble: I think with all stories, at least for me, it is the characters that pull me in. If I care about the characters, I want to continue reading.
I also believe that if you are creating a fantasy world, you need to make everything as believable as possible. You need to establish rules for your magic. By this I mean set a consequence of using magic because otherwise your magician would be all powerful and then what would be the conflict in your story? They need to have some weakness as in using magic drains them or is so dangerous that a simple mistake could kill them.
And when you create a world with mythical creatures such as telepathic cats and dragons, then your characters shouldn’t find anything odd about seeing them (unless they perhaps are rare). If your characters accept these then your reader will too
 Q: I admit I’m a cat-lover. I have two who keep me in line. However, neither of them is telepathic, although they certainly appear to know it all. When you write about Tosh and your other characters, how do you make them credible and compelling? What makes your readers care about your characters?
Susan Leigh Noble: I grew up with cats and find it very easy to have them as characters in my story. I chose to make them telepathic, so they could have a bigger role, but I am certainly glad none of my cats have that ability. I can just imagine them nagging me to feed them now - and I mean right NOW .
I think part of what makes any character believable is the details. With cats, even telepathic ones, you need to add cat-like behavior; they rub their cheeks on your hand or flip their tail in anger. And with all characters - cats, humans or dragons - you have to have bad qualities as well as good. And I think it is the recognizable insecurities and frailties that connect readers to the characters.    
Q: Do your characters push you around (I’m sure Tosh does. Even if telepathic he’s still a cat) and make you write what they want? Or are you in control?
Susan Leigh Noble: Oh, I think every author likes to think they are in control just as every cat owner likes to believe that too. But we all know the truth. Actually, I never really consider myself in control of my characters but like to just let the story unfold.
Q: What makes a hero/heroine? And on the flip side, what makes a villain?
Susan Leigh Noble: A hero/heroine is someone who goes through the conflict, whether it is an internal struggle or a physical feat. I think a true hero/heroine is someone who puts others first.  On the other side, and this is a very stereotypical answer, the villain is usually self-absorbed and only seeking to please themselves. He or she seeks to gain something for him/herself without caring about others. Of course, there are all sorts of variations on both heroes and villains and that is part of the fun of creating these characters and writing their stories. 
Q: As a parent, you write about the need for balance between pursuing your writing and other interests and participating in your children’s lives. What would you advise the busy parents who also want to be writers?
Susan Leigh Noble: My advice would be to get used to writing whenever you have free time, whether that means getting up early or waiting to write when the children are in bed at night. I find that carrying a notebook in my purse allows me to jot down story ideas or plan out chapters while waiting to pick up the kids from school or while my son is at his karate class. You have to be willing to find the time to write and realize that writing a novel will take longer than if you could devote all your time to it.  
Q: Tell us something about yourself, e.g., do you like to read? Eat? Go to plays? What’s your favorite holiday, book, author, character, play, movie, celebrity? What do you do when you’re not writing? Do you have a muse? What's your favorite charity? If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?
Susan Leigh Noble: Wow that is a lot of questions. I do love to read but honestly don’t find a lot of time lately between my own writing and taking care of the kids. I am a big San Antonio Spurs basketball fan, so I also try to find time to watch the team, though I usually also use that time to organize my files or go through all the paperwork the kids bring home from school. (Yep, I’m always multi-tasking.)
I guess my favorite holiday is Christmas. I love all the decorations and music and the fun of buying and receiving gifts. It is just such a happy time of the year. But I have a hard time picking out other “favorites” such as movies, books, and authors because I just love so many things that it is difficult to pick a favorite. I certainly couldn’t tell you, which was my favorite child or cat. 
About Susan Leigh Noble
Susan Noble has always loved dragons and magic so it is no wonder that she became an author of fantasy novels. As a cat lover, she also had to throw in a telepathic cat to the mix in her The Elemental trilogy.
When she isn't writing, Susan is an active volunteer in her neighborhood and at her children's schools. She lives with her husband, two children and three cats in Texas
About DESTINYBook 3 of The Elemental
Destroying Quietus should have stopped the destruction to the Land. But it hadn't. Slowly, the barren areas continue to grow destroying everything in their path. None of Lina's Elemental powers can repair the damage while the Land remains contaminated by magic.
But there is an ancient scepter created by a Learner that they believe will lift this magical barrier. Before Lina can claim it, the scepter is stolen. Now Lina and Val must race to find the scepter and end the destruction to the Land once and for all.
Excerpt DESTINY
A loud crashing sound behind her caused Lina to whirl around. A third Gunn entered the clearing. Val ran to confront it with Cole right behind him.
Cole swung at the beast. His battle ax bounced off its thick hide. The Gunnswung at him, but the guard danced out of the way. Val worked his way behindthe beast as Darnel distracted it by shooting an arrow into the beast'svulnerable neck.  
"Watch out!"
The call came from behind her. Lina swung around in time to see the Gunnopen his mouth to spew his deadly poison right at Drake. Without a thought,she sent a swift wind toward him, directing the poison harmlessly toward theground. She didn't see Royce running to Drake's aid. The poison hit the manin the face and shoulder.
Royce screamed. It was a gut-wrenching cry of sheer agony. Lina watched inhorror as the green liquid melted away his skin. Royce clawed at his face ashe fell to his knees. Suddenly, the horrible sound of his scream died awayas he fell to the ground.
"No!" Lina cried, falling to her knees in disbelief. Tears streamed down herface as she looked at the lifeless body on the ground; the body of the manshe had killed.
Other Books by Susan Leigh Noble
SUMMONED Book 1 of The Elemental
At the age of four, Lina discovered she could start fires with a mere thought - a trait which had died out long ago. Cautioned by her telepathic cat, Tosh, she kept this Elemental power a secret to avoid being an outcast. That was easy to do growing up in the remote grasslands of Zena.
Now as an adult, she had no plans to leave her beloved homeland. So when a strange urge compels her to travel north to an unknown destination, Lina resists this unnatural feeling. But her plans to stay in Zena are taken out of her control when she is kidnapped by gypsies and wakes in a foreign land.



QUIETUS Book 2 of The Elemental
The Learner Ben Dar had been destroyed by the reluctant use of her powers. In the shadow of his fallen fortress, she had learned the truth – that she was the center of a thousand-year-old prophecy claiming the rebirth of the Elementals – an ancient race dedicated to caring for the Land.
Now Lina and those with traces of Elemental power train in the mountains of South Point in the hopes that they can defeat this unknown danger to the Land. Will her powers be enough to stop the destruction of her homeland?


THE SEARCH 
For over a thousand years, telepathic cats known as STACs have faithfully searched for those wit power over the elements looking for the one foretold to save the Land. None have questioned their duty to fulfill this ancient task. 
But when Tosh’s latest charge is murdered because of his Elemental powers, Tosh considers abandoning The Search. Will a glimpse of the future destruction be enough to change his mind?
Links to Author
Blog Facebook Twitter - @SusanLeighNoble
Purchase Links:Amazon Author page THE SEARCHSUMMONED QUIETUSDESTINY 

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: "Rooting a Story Firmly in the ‘Where’" by European Romance Novelist Hannah Fielding

Hannah Fielding, Author
BURNING EMBERS
European romance novelist Hannah Fielding  brings us a novel that truly “transports  you to another place," as described by one reviewer.  Her novel BURNING EMBERS is set in 1970s Kenya and incorporates the backdrop of the newly independent country. In the following article, she highlights the relevance of setting and shares some tips on how to use setting to enhance a story.

Prior to becoming a full-time author, Hannah reared two children and ran her own business renovating rundown cottages. Today she and her husband spend half their time in Kent and the rest in their home in the South of France.

Rooting a Story Firmly in the ‘Where’By Hannah Fielding
I have always been a writer who pays keen attention to setting; to describing carefully sights and sounds and smells and tastes and textures. Since childhood I’ve loved writers who really paint a scene in your mind, and I knew when I started writing romance that I wanted to transport my readers to the time and place in which I situate the story. Place holds such power to colour a story, and I believe any story must be firmly rooted in the ‘where.'
I have written several novels now, and vivid setting is a common factor across each. From Andalucía, Spain to Venice and Tuscany, Italy to Alexandria, Egypt – these are books born of my travels; of poking around in back streets and cafes; of meeting locals and exploring landscapes – and, of course, of reading extensively on cultures.
For my debut novel, BURNING EMBERS, a passionate tale of the love between a young photographer coming to Kenya from England and an entrepreneurial plantation owner, I chose newly independent Kenya, Africa, as the setting. I had travelled to Africa as a young woman, and fallen in love with the people and the wild landscapes. I knew this would be the perfect colourful backdrop to a vivid and sultry love story with an undercurrent of danger and superstition. I chose to situate the action in 1970, because this was a pivotal time in Kenyan history, with new crashing up against old and a good deal of insecurity, and this offsets the development of the main character, Coral, from naïve girl to mature woman.
Here’s an extract from Coral’s first impression of the port of Mombasa:
Coral turned her attention to the gigantic cranes swiveling in the air. They reminded her of steel-fanged dragons on the lookout for their next victim as they lifted and lowered their strange cargoes bound for new shores. It was clear that the port was flourishing these days. Coral had kept up with the news in Kenya and knew that while the president, Jomo Kenyatta, was criticized by some for his increasingly autocratic governing of the country, Kenya was at least reaping the economic benefits of increased exports and aid from the West. A vision of a new Kenya seemed to be constructing itself in front of her eyes. And then, farther away to the right, where the marshy green belt of grassland sloped down gently toward the ocean, she saw an age-old scene. Magnificent, half-naked, ebony athletes went to and fro, some carrying on their shoulders and others on their heads, heavy loads brought in by rowing boats from larger vessels anchored off shore.
Such description is typical of my writing, and it seems to appeal to readers, for many of the reviews of the book mention the exotic setting and the sense that the book offers an escape in transporting the reader to another world and another time.
Tips on Setting

If you’re a writer looking to develop the setting of your novel, you may find the following tips helpful:·      Think carefully about what setting best matches the themes of your story. Don’t be afraid to be different – an unusual, exotic setting is appealing to the reader.·      If at all possible, visit the key locations in the book. Second best is to talk to others who have been there and to read extensively on the place – both books and online. Don’t forget to look up images too; a Google Image search can be very useful.·      Write to appeal to all the readers’ senses, so they can really imagine scenes.·      As well as broad brush strokes that convey a scene – green grass, a blue sky – look for small, interesting details. What unusual colours stand out, for example?·      Don’t just describe the permanent aspects of a setting; also think about transitional details, such as weather and the angle of sunlight.·      People are interested in people, so make people part of your setting descriptions.·      Connect characters to settings. So instead of describing a place and then a person, weave the two together by considering how the person affects the place, and vice versa. ·      Go for walks often, in both urban and natural settings, and practise being mindful: aware of small details in the setting. Use walks as inspiration for writing practice, and soon you’ll find that you instinctively describe well.
More About Me

I grew up in a rambling house overlooking the Mediterranean. My half-French half-Italian governess Zula used to tell the most beautiful fairy stories. When I was seven we came to an agreement: for each story she told me, I would invent and tell her one of my own. That is how my love of writing began.Later, at a convent school where French nuns endeavoured to teach us grammar, literature and maths, during lessons which bored me to tears I took to daydreaming and wrote short romantic stories to satisfy the needs of a fertile imagination. Having no inhibitions, I circulated them around the class, which made me very popular among my peers.
After I graduated with a BA in French literature from university, my international nomadic years started. I lived mainly in Switzerland, France and England, and holidayed in other Mediterranean countries like Italy, Greece and Spain. Once I met my husband, Nicholas, I settled in Kent and subsequently had little time for writing while bringing up two children and running my own business renovating rundown cottages.
Then, when my children few the nest, I created room in my life for writing once more. Now, my husband and I spend half our time in our Georgian refectory in Kent and the rest in our home in the South of France, where I write overlooking breathtaking views of the ocean.My first novel, Burning Embers, has been a work in progress for many years. It is set in Africa - my homeland - and is inspired by travels to Kenya. I am currently working on books set in Spain, Italy and Egypt, which is a wonderful excuse to travel often and drink in passionate cultures and beautiful landscapes.
Book blurb: BURNING EMBERS 

Coral Sinclair is a beautiful but naive twenty-five-year-old photographer who has just lost her father. She's leaving the life she's known and traveling to Kenya to take ownership of her inheritance – the plantation that was her childhood home – Mpingo. On the voyage from England, Coral meets an enigmatic stranger to whom she has a mystifying attraction. She sees him again days later on the beach near Mpingo, but Coral's childhood nanny tells her the man is not to be trusted. It is rumored that Rafe de Monfort, owner of a neighboring plantation and a nightclub, is a notorious womanizer having an affair with her stepmother, which may have contributed to her father's death. Circumstance confirms Coral's worst suspicions, but when Rafe's life is in danger she is driven to make peace. A tentative romance blossoms amidst a meddling ex-fianc, a jealous stepmother, a car accident, and the dangerous wilderness of Africa. Is Rafe just toying with a young woman's affections? Is the notorious womanizer only after Coral's inheritance? Or does Rafe's troubled past color his every move, making him more vulnerable than Coral could ever imagine? Set in 1970, this contemporary historical romance sends the seemingly doomed lovers down a destructive path wrought with greed, betrayal, revenge, passion, and love.
Links
Website Twitter @FieldingHannah Facebook   Goodreads   Book trailer Purchase