S.C. Mitchell's Blog, page 17
January 12, 2016
Romance Weekly – Firsts
Welcome to the romance Writers Weekly blog hop, where every week a great group of romance writers answer questions and accept challenges. Diverse in what we write, we are unified in the quest to bring you, the romance reader, a very happy ever after.
You can join us daily on our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RomanceWritersWeekly/
If you’ve just hopped over from Xio Axlerod’s blog,or are stating your hop here, welcome to a day of firsts.
And don’t forget to check out Xio’s amazing Falling Stars:
Today on our blog hop Brenda Margriet provided our topic: Let’s talk about “Firsts.” Everyone can choose their top three “First” memories and write about those (they don’t have to be on the list here). Some suggestions are: First book you remember reading (or being read to you). First romance novel you fell in love with. First “big” trip (eg. out of country, out of state/province, without parents). First love/kiss. First pet. First Christmas/other holiday (eg. when you were a child, after you were married, after your first child.)
So lets dive in. Here are my three “firsts.”
My first book love:
My early years were spent with my nose in a comic book most of the time. I loved stories, but was not much of a fan of words without pictures. Until I stumbled upon Robert E. Howard’s Conan series about the age of fourteen. Suddenly I had no trouble drawing the pictures in my mind. It’s what started my love of reading.
My first Romance:
You never forget your first romance. Mine was Enchanted by Nora Roberts. My wife handed it to me after checking it out at the library and said, “You might like this.” Boy did I ever.
My first published book:
Cover created in Microsoft Paint. A self-publishing experiment. It had it’s issues, but it was all mine. It still is. And if you’d like a copy, I’ve got it up for FREE today. New cover, and a bit more editing: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0077T6F06
Thanks for joining me today. Four your next hop on the blog tour, check out Leslie Hachtel’s blog at: https://lesliehachtelwriter.wordpress.com/
December 18, 2015
RWW Holiday Countdown – Norski Cookies
My post on the RWW blog:
We are getting so close to the end of our Holiday Countdown, and I’m sure many of you have already sent in your entries. If you haven’t, then today’s clue will certainly help. Feel free to jump down to the clue at the bottom if you’re not into cookies. (Okay, who’s really not into cookies???)
I have a fair amount of Viking in me thanks to grandparents from the Scandinavian countries. It’s one of the things that inspired my novel, Son of Thunder, based heavily on Norse Mythology. One of my fondest memories of the holiday season is consuming mass quantities of these three amazing cookies.
If you haven’t yet discovered krumkake, sandbakkels, and rosettes, you are missing out on three of the greatest delights of the holiday season. Unfortunately they all require special equipment, so it’s not something I can just whip up on a whim, but my…
View original post 590 more words
December 17, 2015
Thoughts for Thursday: All I Want for Christmas
A thought for Thursday from the Romance Writers Weekly:
Thoughts for Thursday: All I Want for Christmas…
My needs are simple really
…as we head into whatever you wish to call the year-end season, I want to see 139.9 on my scale. Really. That’s it. I started my Weight Stagnation Journey at 185. And like the Toothpaste Conundrum, these last 15 pounds are going to last for-fricking-ever.
So this summer, after a lot of injuries (sadly nothing cool like skiing… just too much mousing and too much tablet) and time off due to same, I found an additional 16 pounds festooning my backside.
Ok. I didn’t find it. I earned it. The easy way. I ate my way to my bonus 16 pounds.
My Christmas present to me
…is NOT to “give [myself] a break“over the holidays as my well-meaning friends have advised me. Quite the contrary. My present to me is to stop rewarding myself with gustatory delights (Nutella cupcakes, anyone?).
View original post 1,227 more words
December 8, 2015
Cover Reveal – Jackson Stiles by Jo Richardson
Today I’ve got a cover reveal for my good friend Jo Richardson:
Jackson Stiles
Road To Redemption Series #1
by Jo Richardson
Publication Date: June 2016
Cover Design: Mayhem Cover Creations
Genre: Romance/Action
Jackson Stiles is used to having bad days, but they’ve been especially bad since a certain tabloid reporter seems to have it out for him.
Emma Green doesn’t mean any harm. She simply sees it as her duty to report the misdeeds of certain Private Detectives who charge too much in a society where people need more superheroes and less villains; something even Jackson has convinced himself he deserves to be called, deep in his gut.
When the two of them realize they’re investigating the same suspicious circumstances, Emma makes Jackson an offer he only wishes he could refuse. But can the man who trusts no one allow the one woman he can’t stand help him get to the bottom of a murder he feels responsible for?
Exposed and unsure, these two unexpected allies come together to unmask the mysteries cloaked in plain sight while uncovering secrets within each other. A lost soul and a seeker of truth travel down the road to redemption and discover more than they bargained for.
Other Books by Author
(Click for more information and to purchase)
DreamCast
A movie fanatic, a writer of stories, a lover of life.
I grew up in Maryland with four siblings, three parents and an endless number of cousins within the vicinity – but it was too cold up North for this thin blooded girl. So today, I live in Florida with my two girls and a husband that shares my same sense of humor and basic take on life as we know it.
Life is too short to put dreams on the back burner.
I write both contemporary and paranormal stories that include mystery, suspense, humor, action, romance, and anything else I can think up.
Social Media Links
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/JRRichardsonFics
Twitter – @JoFictionFreak
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/JRRIchardson
Website – http://jowrites.weebly.com
Google + – https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JoWriter/posts
A Stroll Down Nostalgia Lane
It is a wonderful life because there’s still time to get in on the fun and prizes:
Originally posted on Romance Writers Weekly:
Greetings, everyone! So today I thought I’d share one of my favorite holiday movies and why it still strikes me to the heart. If you haven’t seen It’s a Wonderful Life yet, well, shame on you. Amend that immediately. My dad and I would watch it together every Christmas growing up, and I can still hear him laugh at particular scenes. It is one of those movies that has imprinted on me in a way that has molded my outlook on life, no kidding. As a lover of all literature and movies that are riddled with heartfelt themes, It’s a Wonderful Life contains just about all of them. Alert! Spoilers ahead…
1) Romantic Love:
The love story between George Bailey and Mary Hatch is a perfect example of “meant to be.” George spends his entire life saving money and planning for the day he’ll finally leave Bedford Falls and see the…
View original 867 more words
December 1, 2015
RWW Holiday Countdown and GIVEAWAY
Originally posted on Romance Writers Weekly:
Happy Holidays! Or at least, we here at Romance Writers’ Weekly hope that they are. But we know what it’s like to be moms, dads, daughters, sons, workers… you name it, we have it covered. It doesn’t matter which hat you’re wearing, December can be the most stressful and busiest time of the year.So we’ve decided to have some fun in among all the chaos. From December 2nd we’ll be posting once a day about Holiday traditions, songs, stories and movies, to remind ourselves of how much fun it can be. To make it sweeter still, we are going to have a treasure hunt buried in each post, giving you a chance to collect all the clues and a chance to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card. Plus there will be daily prizes to win, so make sure to read each blog!
To keep up with the posts…
View original 173 more words
November 26, 2015
Thoughts for Thursday… Why I Love Winter by Carrie Elks
Originally posted on Romance Writers Weekly:
There’s something about the seasons and the passing of time that seems like a gift for a writer, and although I love all the seasons I think that winter is my favourite of all. Here are a few reasons why.
1. Seeing your breath in the air
Credit: DepositPhotos
When the weather changes and the air around us turns cold, one of the first things I notice is the way my breath turns to vapour as I exhale. It reminds me of when my children were little and we’d pretend to be dragons while waiting for the school bus. As a writer it’s a beautiful thing to describe, the soft swirling clouds that escape from our lips. Absolutely wonderful.
2. The first fall of snow
As a child there was nothing more magical than the first snowfall of winter. It was extra special when it came early – in late November…
View original 622 more words
November 24, 2015
Romance Weekly – The view from my window.
Welcome to the romance Writers Weekly blog hop, where every week a great group of romance writers answer questions and accept challenges. Diverse in what we write, we are unified in the quest to bring you, the romance reader, a very happy ever after.
RWW also has a website with its own blog, a newsletter, and can be found on Facebook, and Twitter (@RWWBlog).
If you’ve wondered in from Jo Richardson’s blog post or are just starting your hop here with me, get set for some interesting views.
Our challenge today comes from Betty Bolte who asks: Our surroundings influence our mood and view of the world as much as setting in any story. What is the view outside your window, or what would you like the view to be?
Ah, the view from my office window:
A pretty conventional, Ozzie & Harriet kind of neighborhood. Most houses built in the 1960’s.
Does it inspire my writing? You wouldn’t think so at first glance.
But one of the best aspects of speculative fiction is finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. That house across the street has had workmen in and out of it for the past month. Are they doing some major remodeling…or building a command base in the basement. Maybe a mad scientist is constructing a lab right across the street from me. Explosions, shambling monsters, maybe a flying saucer landing in the back yard…I wouldn’t be surprised. But that’s just the way my head works. In any case, we’re a prime target for a zombie invasion.
I don’t know if I need anything special in the view from my window to inspire my writing. maybe the complete normalcy of it all helps keep me grounded, though I do wonder what kind of stories i would be writing if the view out my office window looked more like this.
Yeah, that might be cool…
Find out what’s lurking outside Kristi Rose’s office window as the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop continues at: http://www.kristirose.net
And check out her amazing The Girl He Knows (No Strings Attached Book 1)
Dining at the Blind Horse
Today I’m over on the Spice Aisle blog site talking about an incredible evening:
Stop by at: http://spiceaisleromance.com/2015/11/incredible-dining-at-the-blind-horse/
November 19, 2015
Thoughts for Thursday – Why Writing is Not a Career for Wimps
Originally posted on Romance Writers Weekly:
Writing is one of the hardest professions I know. Okay, there are tougher ones… police officer, firefighter, even teachers, but all in all, writing a novel, a short story, even a magazine article is hard work. It’s harder than hard. It can be absolutely terrifying and emotionally draining. Then to have it printed? Holy crap! You’ve just put your most personal thoughts, emotions, gut reactions, dreams, aspirations, desires, needs (I could go on) out there. Way out there… in a big wide world full of people who will read what you wrote! Now your written words are available to all sorts of scrutiny, comment and horribly enough, even to ridicule.
Your mind whirls with questions. Is my writing good enough? Could I have done more? Does the dialogue flow? Are my characters likeable? Was it ready for people other than family or that special someone in my life, to read?…
View original 361 more words
