L.A. Sartor's Blog, page 23

Grand Finale For Prince Of Granola Book Tour

On Tour with Prism Book Tours
Book Tour Grand Finale for Prince of Granola By L.A. Sartor
We hope you enjoyed the tour! If you missed any of the stops you can see snippets, as well as the link to each full post, below:
Launch - Author Interview
What do you hope readers take with them after they’ve read it?

That an adverse past event doesn’t have to always color your future in a negative way. That love is a great healer and that love eventually wins, if you let it. That’s why we read romances. For that emotionally satisfying Happily Ever After scene.

Because I truly believe an HEA is what we all want. And I believe people can change for the better. That hanging on to old anger, hurts, and slights aren’t helping you move into a healthier place where you be open to finding happiness and love. Wow, that was a bit deep, but that’s what I think. What about you? Too much moonbeams and sunshine?

Guess what character says that?

Katie's Clean Book Collection - Excerpt
“I think you’re making a mistake. There is nothing wrong with the chocolate. We’re in a crowded market—it’ll take some time to build a following. This isn’t a problem like last year’s issue.”

The issue Melissa so coyly referred to was the launch of their new soy milk flavor that had garnered scathing reviews. A first for Prince Organics. And the last. He’d admitted publicly that the fault was his, and it was. He’d been too busy and allowed the sourcing of the flavoring to be less than consistent.

He’d delegated.

Melissa Fontaine, his director of marketing, had objected to the coconut-soy launch, and she’d been right.

This time she was wrong.

Deal Sharing Aunt - Excerpt
“So, as you make your way in the world, don’t be a part of the status quo …”

Drew Hopkins tuned out the commencement speaker’s voice as a flock of swallows flew overhead at Stanford’s stadium.

She envied their freedom on this warm June morning, wishing she had the ability to fly away from all the responsibilities that kept her mired in the morass of financial statements and sales charts that had been her life for the past fourteen years at HH Chocolate. She was part of the speaker’s status quo, and not by her own choosing.

Rockin' Book Reviews - Review
"I love visiting other places by reading a great story with an awesome setting such as this one. Once I started reading I couldn't put the book down...

I highly recommend this book to other readers. It has a great story line, romance and plenty of drama to keep you interested."

Colorimetry - Excerpt
It has to. Maria must come back to me. She must understand that this is my way of saying I was a fool. I’m giving up my life’s work to get my family back again. It will be worth the loss to regain the love. Señor Cam turned away from the view of his harvest’s bounty to look at his sister, wishing she’d forgive him as well. At fifty years of age, only the smallest of lines graced the corners of her eyes. Her profile was strong, her nose straight, her teeth even and white. As she turned toward him, obviously feeling his stare, her brow knitted together over her deep brown eyes.

Isabelle was a lovely if somewhat matriarchal woman who deserved love and a family of her own. Perhaps at her age a family was too much to ask for, although she cared deeply for little Armando. But she wasn’t too old for love.

She’d lost one love but surely there was another man she could love as much as she’d loved her Paolo.

Nicole's Book Musings - Excerpt
“Here for surfing?”

She glanced down at her linen capris, then back up to him with what she knew was a wry expression twisting her lips. She didn’t look like she was here for surfing, did she? Her pants, a once-crisp black big shirt and her favorite espadrilles didn’t feel like surfer attire to her. But then she’d never really been around surfers except those seen at the cinema, so what did she know?

Anyway, surfing wasn’t her adrenaline fix. Scuba and skydiving were her choices for physical and mental challenges. “Ah, no.”

He raised his shoulders in an exaggerated shrug. “High-end clothes don’t automatically rule you out of wanting to ride the waves. We get all types of people in all sorts of clothes. You come here one kind of person and leave another. Promise.”

Mello & June, It's a Book Thang! - Excerpt
Drew knew she wasn’t the only CEO invited to the sale of the plantation. But seeing Robert Prince dressed so casually in shorts and a dark green polo shirt, looking for all the world like he belonged here, created an anxious knot in her throat.

The fact that his jaw appeared to be tightly clenched and his brown eyes burned with competitiveness only increased her heartburn.

Drew fought to keep her nerves under control as she extended her hand to the señor, a man she’d guess to be in his midsixties, shorter than either herself or Robert. A wide smile creased his deeply tanned and weathered face. Yet his brown eyes startled her as she glimpsed a quickly hidden sadness deep within his gaze.

Reading Is My SuperPower - Excerpt
Robert had planned well, arriving in San Jose yesterday and driving over the old highway today, taking his time, getting the feel of the area. But the older compact car had no air conditioning and the humidity must be a hundred and ten percent, far greater than the thirty percent he was used to in Boulder, Colorado.

Now, nearing the noon deadline, sitting in the deep shade on Señor Camerillo’s covered veranda, Robert gratefully accepted the cold coffee the señor’s sister handed him. The glass sweated, sending rivulets of moisture down its sides. It took all of Robert’s self-control not to press the glass against his temple and cool off a bit more, but as his host looked totally unaffected by the weather, Robert took his cue from him.

He tried to smile his thanks at Isabelle Camerillo, but she turned to go back inside the villa as soon as she’d handed him the glass. It didn’t take a genius to realize that for some reason the woman disapproved of his being here.

Wishful Endings - Excerpt

“Come out to the terraza when you’re ready,” the older woman suggested and left the room.

Unable to wait another minute to shed the sweltering jumpsuit, Drew entered the bathroom, automatically closing the adjoining door.

Adjoining? No way.

She reopened the door a crack, wide enough to glimpse an opened suitcase on the bed. It had to be RP’s.

Her day just got considerably worse.

Teatime and Books - Excerpt
Robert watched as Drew, garbed in that ridiculous jumpsuit, followed Isabelle up the steps to the hacienda. Just before disappearing into the house, his nemesis hesitated, turned, and gave him a brief, provoking smile.

The furrows on his brow deepened. If this continued for four days, he’d have a permanent set of ridges.

How was it that the one person he avoided whenever possible was here now, after the same plantation?

It was ridiculous that Señor Camerillo would think of selling his rare cacao beans to HH Chocolate. They weren’t in the same league as Prince Organics. Or for that matter, any other gourmet chocolate company.

And don't forget to enter the giveaway below, if you haven't already...
Prince of Granola (Plantation of White Treasure #1)

by L.A. SartorContemporary Romanceebook, 229 pagesMarch 25th 2018

Cacao – long a symbol of wealth, love, and power – now the center of a powerful rivalry.
The fabled Costa Rican Plantation of White Treasure, source of the rarest form of the cacao bean, is up for sale. Though two fierce competitors have been invited to bid on it, only one can win.

For Drew Hopkins, purchasing the plantation is the perfect solution to escape a life she never wanted.

For Robert Prince, it’s the perfect route to revenge.

Drew, the founder’s daughter and now CEO of HH Chocolate, heads a company whose sales are waning. Robert, CEO of Prince Organics, a man driven by excellence, despises everything and everyone labeled Hopkins.

But it wasn’t always that way.

Will their forced proximity at the lush and exotic plantation rekindle old flames or will it fan the fires of antagonism?
Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│ Kobo
About the Author
I started writing as a child, really. A few things happened on the way to becoming a published author … a junior high school teacher who told me I couldn’t write because I didn’t want to study … urk … grammar. I went to college, moved a few times, came home and found the love of my life (that is another novel worthy story, but for later), and got married.

We were super busy with our respective careers, mine a custom jewelry business with my mom, who was also teaching metalsmithing at the time, and my husband a crazy law career. We had two fur babies, Fudge (and briefly her brother Smudge, but sadly he didn’t live very long) and Two. Our cats would sleep with us and when they’d stretch out to their full length, we’d end up sleeping on the edge of the mattress.

I have always been a voracious reader and one night after throwing a particularly bad book at the wall (even putting a small ding in said wall), I realized that I could do better. I told my husband, and he said go for it. I called Mom and she revealed the junior high teacher story and she told I’d been writing all the time up to that point.

That blew me away. I didn’t remember any of it. But I started writing again, nearly the next day, pen and paper, learning, making mistakes, winning contests, nearly getting an agent, becoming disenchanted with the publishing industry and moving away from novel writing to screenwriting, getting a contract for a script and doing really well in screenwriting contests.

But none of that was making me much money. After numerous scary robbery drills I wanted to move away from my bank job (yes, this is many years later and a lot of stuff in between) and write full time for the green stuff.

My husband told me repeatedly that independent publishing was becoming a valid way to publish a novel and people were making big dollars. I didn’t believe him even after he showed me several Wall Street Journal articles. I thought indie meant vanity press.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I started pursuing this direction seriously, retired from the bank and hit the keyboard, learned a litany of new things and published my first novel. My second book became a bestseller, and while I’m not rolling in dough, I’m absolutely on the right course in my life.

So if you have a dream, pursue it as hard as you can. Life can get in the way, but never give up.

Please come visit me at www.lasartor.com, see my books, some pictures, some screenplays and sign up for my mailing list. I have a gift I’ve specifically created for my new email subscribers. And remember, you can email me at Leslie@LeslieSartor.com.

Website │Blog │ Goodreads │ Facebook │ Twitter │ Pinterest │Bookbub │ Amazon

Tour Giveaway


- US PRIZE PACK: $25 Amazon Gift Card and book one in the Star Light, Star Bright Series, BE MINE THIS CHRISTMAS NIGHT (winner has choice of print or ebook)

- INT PRIZE PACK: $25 Amazon eGift Card and an ebook of book one in the Star Light, Star Bright Series, BE MINE THIS CHRISTMAS NIGHT

- Ends April 4th
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Class Flash Featuring Classes From Laurie Schnebly Campbell

As always, I'm thrilled you bring you Laurie's classes. She rocks. 
online: FROM PLOT TO FINISH
(April 9-20) writeruniv.wordpress.com/classes
            A continuation of the March process open solely to people who've taken PVM online or in person at some point, this no-more-than-30-people group gets you plotting a brand new or already-begun book (using your completed 14-point worksheet) from start to finish. No need to prepare a new story idea, character bios, goal charts or anything else, because you'll see how to plot an entire book -- and actually have it ready to type -- by the end of this hands-on workshop.

blog: YOU'RE DRIVING ME CRAZY
(April 20) writersinthestormblog.com
            Some people just strike sparks. How can that work for your book?

online: RELATIONSHIPS BY ARISTOTLE: MYERS-BRIGGS
(May 7-18) https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/AriRel/info
            Myers-Briggs relationships haven't changed much since the days of ancient Greece. Aristotle identified personality types for different types of people who, even though their descriptive names have changed, still embody those who wind up in your novel. Naturally, each type has intriguing and attractive elements that make readers want to know this person, as well as some problematic issues that'll keep the conflict coming...and going...and coming...

blog: PERFECT PITCH
(May 16) romanceuniversity.org
            Musicians envy people with that gift, but it's equally important for writers.

blog: SELLING WITHOUT BRAGGING
(May 30) seekerville.blogspot.com
            How can you interest people in your work without being all Me-Me-Me?

online: PERFECTING YOUR PITCH
(June 3-14) https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/PerPitch/info
            Are you pitching your work at a conference? In an email? By phone, by letter, by chance if you run into someone browsing for a good book? The techniques will be slightly different for each situation -- and while writers tend to feel more anxiety when pitching face-to-face, it's useful to have a plan of action for every possible scenario. Whether you're pitching an agent, editor, interviewer, publisher or regular reader, learn how to make it a good experience for you both!


Laurie's Bio:
Laurie Schnebly Campbell loves giving workshops for writer groups about "Psychology for Creating Characters," "Making Rejection WORK For You," "Building A Happy Relationship For Your Characters (And Yourself)" and other issues that draw on her background as a counseling therapist and romance writer.

In fact, she chose her website (www.BookLaurie.com) so people would find it easy to Book Laurie for programs.

But giving workshops -- for students from London and Los Angeles to New Zealand and New York -- is just one of her interests. During weekdays, she writes and produces videos, brochures and commercials (some of which feature her voice) for a Phoenix advertising agency. For several years she would turn off her computer every day at five o'clock, wait thirty seconds, turn it on again and start writing romance.

It finally paid off. Her first novel was nominated by Romantic Times as the year's "Best First Series Romance," and her second beat out Nora Roberts for "Best Special Edition of the Year." But between those two successes came a three-year dry spell, during which Laurie discovered that selling a first book doesn't guarantee ongoing success.

"What got me through that period," she says, "was realizing that the real fun of writing a romance is the actual writing. Selling is wonderful, sure, but nothing compares to the absolute, primal joy of sitting at the computer and making a scene unfold and thinking 'Wow! Yes! This is great!'"

After six books for Special Edition, she turned her attention to writing non-fiction -- using her research into the nine personality types to help writers create plausible, likable people with realistic flaws. Her other favorite activities include playing with her husband and son, recording for the blind, counseling at a mental health center, traveling to Sedona (the Arizona red-rock town named for her great-grandmother, Sedona Schnebly) and working with other writers.

"People ask how I find time to do all that," Laurie says, "and I tell them it's easy. I never clean my house!"

Laurie welcomes email from readers—send her a "Hello!"




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Prince Of Granola Book Tour and Rafflecopter

I decided to try something new to promote the launch of my latest book, Prince Of Granola and used Prism Book Tours and a rafflecopter Prism created to draw in new readers that will hopefully turn into fans.

 

On Tour with Prism Book Tours
Book Tour Launch for Prince of Granola By L.A. Sartor
Author Interview
What is your motivation behind PRINCE OF GRANOLA? Why did you want to write it?

Chocolate was the motivation. Specifically, dark chocolate.

Kidding, sort of. I watched an Anthony Bourdain show about a rare white cacao bean and the struggle to find it. Bingo. A novel seed was planted.

Then what happens you ask? You find the story. My story didn’t start out as a reunion story, but sure ended up that way. And I think it’s partly because recently there has been all sorts these types of stories on the news, in the paper, and on social media.

Most of these new stories have satisfying endings. But as a writer, you have to ask yourself the next question. WHAT IF? So, what if this story wasn’t a happy reunion? Or at least didn’t begin that way? Ah, now you have a story that can be written. All because of that first glimpse of finding that rare white cacao.

I wanted to write Prince of Granola because it’s about healing old wounds. We’ve all been through stretches of rough emotional times, some of our making, and some because of other people’s actions. And we carry those wounds with us, sometimes forever.

But occasionally, a lightbulb goes off, and if we’re open to whatever epiphany hit us, we can approach the entire situation in a new light. Other times it takes a sledgehammer to make a person realize whatever happened is in the past and it’s more important to move forward in the relationship and be in the present than live in old hurts.

Can you guess which character takes each path?

What do you hope readers take with them after they’ve read it?

That an adverse past event doesn’t have to always color your future in a negative way. That love is a great healer and that love eventually wins, if you let it. That’s why we read romances. For that emotionally satisfying Happily Ever After scene.

Because I truly believe an HEA is what we all want. And I believe people can change for the better. That hanging on to old anger, hurts, and slights aren’t helping you move into a healthier place where you be open to finding happiness and love. Wow, that was a bit deep, but that’s what I think. What about you? Too much moonbeams and sunshine?

Guess what character says that?

Do you have a favorite scene that you can share with us?

Only one? Kidding aside, I think one of my favorites is Drew and Robert’s first walk up to the waterfall. On the damp and leaf covered path, Drew is “looking around with fascination at the intense green of plants and trees that seemed prehistoric in their size and shape, some with deeply ridged bark and even some with ominous curled leaves. A scent of something floral highlighted the subtle dankness of rotting timber and foliage. There was no doubt she was out of her element. But the newness of the experience rushed through her, filling her with a joy she hadn’t experienced in years.” In this scene Drew and Robert let their guard down long enough for us to learn about their past, and what they miss in each other and in their current life.

To me, it brought the conflict into sharper focus, and I hope my readers will wonder how on earth they’re ever going to regain that sense of kinship.

If you could sum the book up in one sentence, what would you say?

The past shapes the future, ll Drew and Robert let it destroy theirs, or use it to build a new partnership?

Share something about you that is unique - maybe about how/where you write... or favorite snack foods?

Unique, huh? I have a horrible time writing without a view. Facing a wall creates an internal wall that seems to block my flow. Sure, I can write for a short period of time with no view, but I really need natural light and an outdoor scene in front of me. When the weather is warm, I love to write outside on my laptop, but as I live in Colorado and we have a real winter, I can’t do any writing outside in the cold.

Five Secrets With Multi-Published Author Amanda Cabot & Her Latest Release ~ A Borrowed Dream

  I'm so pleased Amanda Cabot is with us again. She's written...well...a lot of books, you'll find out how many in her post below.  And I love how she chooses her character's names.  Read on.
From the time I was seven, I dreamt of being a writer.  You know how dreams are – not all of them come true, but that one did.  At current count I have more than thirty novels, eight novellas, four technical books, and dozens of technical articles that I describe as cures for insomnia to my credit.  

For more years than I’m going to admit I was a director of Information Technology for a major multinational corporation, a job that included collecting a gazillion – well, maybe a few less than that – frequent flyer miles, spending countless nights in hotels, and eating so many restaurant meals that fine dining quickly lost its appeal.  Now I’m a fulltime writer of Christian romances, living happily ever after with my husband in Wyoming.    Hi, Amanda, please tell us Five Secrets we may not know about A Borrowed Dream but will after today!

1) A Borrowed Dream was not my working title for this book.  I’d called it Stolen Dreams, but after the titling committee decided that the first book in the series should be named A Stolen Heart, it was obvious there would be no more stealing in this trilogy.  Instead, we’re borrowing. 


2) When one of my writer friends saw the draft of the cover art, she pointed out that the books looked like antiques, not ones that a schoolteacher would be using for her classes.  I agreed and added a couple paragraphs here and there in the book to explain why Catherine was carrying those particular books.
3)   Do you ever wonder how an author chooses characters’ names?  The villain in A Borrowed Dream, Sherman Enright, got his name from two distinctly not villainous characters in old TV shows.  Sherman was a secondary character in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, and Enright was the amiable sergeant in McMillan and Wife.
4) A music box plays a small but key role in this story.  Why a music box?  Why not?  After all, who doesn’t love music boxes?
5)   A Borrowed Dream is my thirty-fifth novel.
Blurb :There is no such thing as an impossible dream . . .
Catherine Whitfield is sure that she will never again be able to trust anyone in the medical profession after the local doctor’s treatments killed her mother. Despite her loneliness and her broken heart, she carries bravely on as Cimarron Creek’s dutiful schoolteacher, resigned to a life where dreams rarely come true.
Austin Goddard is a newcomer to Cimarron Creek. Posing as a rancher, he fled to Texas to protect his daughter from a dangerous criminal. He’s managed to keep his past as a surgeon a secret. But when Catherine Whitfield captures his heart, he wonders how long he will be able to keep up the charade.
With a deft hand, Amanda Cabot teases out the strands of love, deception, and redemption in this charming tale of dreams deferred and hopes becoming reality.
Buy:Amazon | Barnes & Noble |  Christian Book Distributors
Find Amanda:Website | Facebook  | Twitter | Blog




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New Release By Me, L.A. Sartor ~ Prince of Granola

I'm so excited to announce the release of my 7th book, Prince Of Granola.
Cacao – long a symbol of wealth, love, and power – now the center of a powerful rivalry.
The fabled Costa Rican Plantation of White Treasure, source of the rarest form of the cacao bean, is up for sale.
Though two fierce competitors have been invited to bid on it, only one can win.
For Drew Hopkins, purchasing the plantation is the perfect solution to escape a life she never wanted.
For Robert Prince, it’s the perfect route to revenge.
Drew, the founder’s daughter and now CEO of HH Chocolate, heads a company whose sales are waning.  Robert, CEO of Prince Organics, a man driven by excellence, despises everything and everyone labeled Hopkins.
But it wasn’t always that way.
Will their forced proximity at the lush and exotic plantation rekindle old flames or will it fan the fires of antagonism? 

And if you'd like to be a part of my mailing list, I send out a newsletter about 4 times a year filled with sales, new releases and freebies!! Please sign up  here .




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Screenwriter Robert Gosnell ~ The Hero In The Well

 Multi-produced screenwriter Robert Gosnell brings us his wisdom from the trenches (err...office) of a working screenwriter.  This bit of advice is priceless, and I laughed after I read it.
The Hero In The Well
In the 1950's and 1960's, Western-themed movies and television shows ruled. During that time, let's say there existed a hypothetical Western TV series.
Now, on this hypothetical Western TV series was a head writer, who was busy writing an episode for the upcoming week. In the midst of writing the script, the head writer got a phone call from home; a family emergency.
The head writer informed the producers that he would have to leave, and the writing staff would have to finish the script. The writers set to work, but were immediately faced with a problem.
At the point where the head writer stopped writing, the show's hero was stuck in the bottom of a well. The writers thought and thought, discussed and argued, but could not find a way to get the hero out of the well.
Days went by, the deadline for production was near, and the script was only halfway finished. All because no one could find a way to get the hero out of the well.
Finally, their backs to the wall, the producers called the head writer and told him he had to come back to work, post haste.
The head writer returned. Everyone gathered anxiously around him, as he sat down at the typewriter and wrote....
"After getting out of the well..."
The lesson here is simple: don't block yourself.
Write past it. Finish the story, then come back. In the rewrite process, you'll find a resolution. Maybe, you'll explain it away in a line.
"It's a good thing that old miner came by, and heard my calls for help."
Maybe you won't explain it, at all. He's a hero. Any old hero can get out of a well. I see this option all the time.
Or maybe, when you go back, you'll realize that the hero didn't have to be stuck in that well, in the first place.
But, don't block yourself. Finish your script. In the end, rather than having an unfinished script, you'll have a finished script with a single issue that needs addressing.
That's a lot easier to deal with.~ Robert

"The Blue Collar Screenwriter and The Elements of Screenplay"  is currently available at:
Amazon digital and paperbackCreateSpace 
Barnes & Noble
SmashwordsFind Robert at:
Website (with information on classes)
Email




BIO: A  professional screenwriter for more than thirty years,  Robert Gosnell has produced credits in feature films, network television, syndicated television, basic cable and pay cable, and is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of Canada.
Robert began his career writing situation comedy as a staff writer for the ABC series  Baby Makes Five .  As a freelance writer, he wrote episodes for  Too Close for Comfort  and the TBS comedies  Safe at Home  and Rocky Road .  In cable, he has scripted numerous projects for the Disney Channel, including Just Perfect, a Disney Channel movie featuring  Jennie Garth. In 1998, he wrote the  Showtime original movie,  Escape from Wildcat Canyon , which starred Dennis Weaver and won the national "Parents Choice Award." Robert's feature credits include the Chuck Norris/Louis Gosset Jr. film  Firewalker , an uncredited rewrite on the motion picture  Number One With A Bullet  starring Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams, and the sale of his original screenplay  Kick And Kick Back  to Cannon Films. Robert was also selected as a judge for the 1990 Cable Ace Awards, in the Comedy Special category.
In 1990, Robert left Hollywood for Denver, where he became active in the local independent film community. His screenplay  Tiger Street  was produced by the Pagoda Group of Denver and premiered on Showtime Extreme in August of 2003. In 1999, Denver’s Inferno Films produced the action film  Dragon and the Hawk  from his script. In 2001, Robert co-wrote the screenplay for the independent feature  Siren  for Las Vegas company Stage Left Productions. His feature script  Juncture  was produced by Front Range Films in March of 2006. 
Robert  is a principal member of the Denver production company "Conspiracy Films." He is frequently an invited speaker for local writers organizations,  served on the faculty of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference in 2002, and in 2007 was chosen to participate as a panelist for the Aspen Film Festival Short Screenplay Contest. Robert regularly presents his screenwriting class "The Elements of Screenplay," along with advanced classes and workshops, in the Denver area.
Additionally, he is a frequent contributor to this blog. 

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Mental Can Openers and Writer's Hash ~ I'm Not Clowning Around Here

Another great post from Brad. And as usual, he ties it all together in the most entertaining way. Why else call the blog what I call it :)
Writers share something with those traveling circuses and carnivals of yesteryear. Then you paid for a ticket and were promised a memorable experience. Whether it was a Tunnel of Love, the dizzy action of the Octopus ride, or the drama and tension of the high wire act, traveling circuses tried to provide something for everyone. Clowns, magicians, the bizarre, the impossible; all were part of the sawdust-and-popcorn entertainment a century ago. Writers charge for a book and promise an experience.  We simply call the rides and acts, genres. Romance comes in books, not boats. Tension from a thriller’s high-stakes, not high wires; humor from characters, not clowns.  Like circus acts, genres must deliver.  If you read thrillers, you want to be thrilled. Mysteries should offer a perplexing puzzle. Romances should render that back-and-forth relationship tango.  Readers choose the genre for its specifics.
This expectation presents a challenge. Solomon pointed out that there was nothing new under the sun. Every genre has its clichés. It was a dark and stormy night; the butler did it; they all lived happily ever after.  How do we offer something new?
Details, my friends.  The devil may be in them, but so is our answer. We know in a romance the boy and girl will find each other after various trials. So what if they find each other via letters on a pen-pal site?  And what if, while “graphically” attracted to each other, they physically work in the same shop, constantly rubbing each other the wrong way? Voilá, a couple of changed details and you got, “The Shop Around the Corner.” 
Or take a murder mystery.  A victim is killed and the detective must solve the crime. But what if the victim is forced to become his own detective?  A slow poison given to an accountant that can’t be stopped gives him 24 hours to solve his own progressing murder?  Change this one detail regarding the detective and presto, the movie “D.O.A.”
With my own genre, fantasy, castles are an oft-used setting.  They are known to be winter cold. The kitchens could get hot when the ovens were going.  I have a castle.  I could use fireplaces in most rooms and the kitchen staff could carry hand fans. But why not have some fun with magic?  It’s a fantasy, people want the unusual.  I put my palace over caves and fault lines.  Why not stick a couple of cranky frost giants in a room under the castle and have them blow their frosty breath up various shafts to cool the castle? Winter heat is provided by flame sprites who spit their little fireballs up the same shafts. The castle mages make their living producing magic candles. So let’s have one large candle, cut it in half, and when the upper portion is lit, the lower portion’s wick catches fire as well, no matter the halves’ distance.  Need heat? Cold?  Light your candle and down below the corresponding half ignites near the shaft. telling the occupants to send up fireballs or frost.
Of course, when our castle friends switch over from cooling to heating, there's always difficulty. Cold versus hot, giants versus sprites; more trouble than any HVAC man has ever had to deal with. But to find out about that you will have to read my upcoming book, “Riddley Bundleforth and the Banshee's Bell.”
As authors, we should find details to change, creating more experiences for our readers.  Boy meets girl? Why not girl accidentally purchases boy when she mixes an Uber ride for Uber date?  The butler did do it, but the butler is an interplanetary alien doing a sociological study on why murder disturbs humans.  Instead of a fantastic sword that can defeat all enemies, how about a bewitched sword that takes every shield as a personal insult, attacking it mercilessly, while the hero is dragged by the hilt?  As authors, let’s steal a page from P.T. Barnum and fill our pages with “The Greatest Show on Earth.”









~ Brad





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Author Spotlight Featuring Dena Netherton's Latest Release ~ Haven's Hope

Please welcome Dena Netherton and her latest book in The Hunted series. Take it away Dena.
 Thanks for hosting me, L.A. 

Why does a man (or woman) stalk another person? Almost every week I read about another person who had to flee a stalker. I see true life programs on TV about the tragic consequences of stalking, and shake my head in perplexity.
Why would a man persist in following and harassing a woman who has unequivocally said, “Leave me alone!” Is the stalker crazy? Evil? Obsessed?
Often the stalking victim is ashamed to admit what they’re going through. Or too frightened or intimidated. Sometimes a stalker has been known to threaten the victim’s loved ones, too.
If you were being stalked, would you go to the police, or would you keep quiet to protect your family?
In Haven’s Hope , Haven has escaped her stalker, has reunited with her widowed father, but has not told him about being kidnapped and held prisoner by Dade Colton in his wilderness cabin. Dade has threatened to hurt or kill anyone she tells about him, and she wants to shield her father from danger. Haven returns to college to finish her music degree. But then she learns that Dade is still trying to find her.
Dade has convinced Fiona, a lonely waitress that he loves her and wants to marry her. If only she’ll help him with his ‘problem.’  He tells Fiona that Haven took something of value from him and he wants to get it back. Fiona is desperate for love and is willing to believe anything Dade says. She has no idea Haven is Dade’s past victim. Dade plans to have Fiona gather information about Haven so he can ambush and re-capture her.
Excerpt:“Dade laid a three by five photo on the table. “See this girl?”
Fiona wanted to snort. Yes, she could clearly see her. The champagne she’d just sipped burned her stomach. The woman in the photo was blonde and pretty. Why would Dade carry around a picture of another woman? She’d better be his sister or first cousin.
“She’s my problem. She took something from me, and I want it back. Then everything will be perfect and I can get on with my big plans.”
Leaning over, he shoved the photo closer so Fiona could get a better view. “Memorize that face, Fiona. It’s the face of an evil woman, a thief.”
Fiona tried to pull the photo over to her side of the table. She hadn’t worn her glasses today, and the photo looked a little blurry. But he wouldn’t let go. His knuckles turned white where his fingers pressed the photo against the table. Dade’s eyes held a look that made her shiver.
“Man, if you hate this girl, there must be a good reason.” Fiona hated her already. Had she taken money, property? Humiliated him in some way? Beautiful women were the worst. “She must be a real piece of work.”
“You could say that.” He downed his glass of champagne in one big swallow. “And I thought, since you’ll have some free time on your hands once you move in here with me, maybe you could do me a favor.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Go to the School of Music and park in the front. It’s where the girl—Haven parks. She’s a student there. She comes and goes through the lounge entrance. Hang out there and wait for her. Then, when she leaves, follow her, see where she goes.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes. All I want is information. Don’t try to talk to her yet. Don’t mess this up. I need you to do this perfectly.”
“So things will be perfect in Issaquah again?” She sneered at the beautiful girl in the photo.
“Exactly.”
Blurb:Beautiful and talented Haven Ellingsen is about to discover that evil doesn’t take a holiday. 
Haven Ellingsen has escaped the man who relentlessly hunted her in the Cascade Mountains. But when an old friend from her dangerous past shows up unexpectedly to warn her that Dade Colton is determined to recapture her, Haven makes the only safe decision: to go into hiding once more. But where? Whom can she trust? If only she could tell someone about her tragic secret. But Dade’s threat to kill anyone who helps her would put that person’s life in jeopardy, too.

Dr. Petter Eriksen saves lives every day at Mercy Hospital Emergency Department. Driven by guilt after the accidental death of his little sister, he can’t believe in a good God. But when a beautiful and mysterious young woman moves into the cabin on his uncle’s Christian Retreat, Petter wonders if her love and simple faith have the power to shatter the barrier he has erected around his heart? And can he save her from a madman?

Sometimes you hide; sometimes you stand and fight.
To Buy:  Amazon
Bio:Dena Netherton was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She studied music and theater in the Midwest and in Colorado and taught music for thirty-five years. As well as her love of good books, hiking, playing the piano, road trips, and people-watching, she is passionate about story-telling as a means to share her faith while entertaining her readers or listeners. Book one of The Hunted Series, Haven’s Flight , released in April of 2017. Haven’s Hope (book two) continues Haven’s exciting, suspenseful story, adding romance and more fascinating characters.




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Author Spotlight Featuring Candee Fick's New Release ~ Focus On Love

It's always a treat to have Candee here to introduce her latest book. Take it away, Ms. Fick :)
Thanks for hosting me L.A.
What if you had to choose between two career paths?
Elizabeth (Liz) Foster grew up loving photography and dance lessons. When circumstances at home fell apart, she set aside one dream to pursue musical theater. But now she’s met a handsome photographer and things are changing. Can she have both dreams again or will she need to choose?
I had a lot of fun getting to know Liz during the brainstorming process for Focus On Love. At first, I thought she was a free-spirit who felt stifled by the rules and expectations of her family and left them behind. So, I paired her with a freelancer who cut back on his travel in order to fit into his family’s routine, hoping that together they would learn to find balance. What I found instead was a greater metaphor about life and the multiple facets of love.
Excerpt:About a hundred feet from the front doors, she spotted the tall cowboy exiting a large truck parked nearby, and her stomach whirred like her fast-action shutter.Of course, it had to be nerves about showing her pictures to the Sheridans in front of the professional photographer—nothing to do with how handsome he was.Ryan grinned as his long stride brought him quickly to her side. “Fancy meeting you here this morning. Liz, right?”Liz tipped her head in a semi-curtsy. “I’m looking forward to seeing your pictures.”His eyebrows rose. “Pictures? Does that mean you’re the other photographer?”Uh-oh. “I thought you knew that.” Liz slapped a hand against her forehead. “Of course not. Mr. Sheridan didn’t mention my name.”“Well, if you’re as talented with a camera as you are on the stage, then this might be a wasted trip.” The laugh lines around his eyes deepened along with his smile, stirring her heart in unexpectedly delicious ways until heat rose in her face.Perfect. Now her complexion might match her hair color.“Don’t make me wonder whether you need your eyes examined. I’m not star material.” Liz shook her head. “Not to mention, I’ve seen your website.”“Really? Checking me out?” He reached the front door and held it open for her.“Curiosity.” She cleared her throat and gestured toward the area where they were to meet. “But I’m still not sure why you would give up professional gigs for this.”Mr. Sheridan appeared in the doorway of his office. “You’re right on time.” He stepped forward to shake Ryan’s hand. “I can’t wait to see what the two of you have come up with.”Liz preceded Ryan into the office and felt the warmth of his large hand on her back as he guided her to the closest chair. Such a gentleman. His mother must be so proud of him.“So who’s going to go first?” Mr. Sheridan swiveled his office chair as he looked from one to the other.Her stomach clenched with a sudden wave of nerves. “The professional.”“No, ladies first.” Ryan settled back in his chair with folded arms.“Okay.” She took a deep breath for courage before handing over her flash drive. As Mr. Sheridan plugged it into his computer, she whispered a prayer of sorts that God would help her boss to like the pictures ... or at least not hate them. That would be humiliating.Mr. Sheridan turned the monitor so all three could see the screen, and once the program loaded, he began to scroll. A few moments later, he whistled. “Dani was right.”“Dani?” Ryan leaned forward and propped his chin on a hand as he studied the screen.“My roommate is the one who told him I—”“These are amazing pictures.” Mr. Sheridan clicked the mouse to enlarge one shot of several laughing actors gathered around the onstage piano.Mrs. Sheridan entered and stopped just inside the door. “Wow. Mr. Callahan, you really are a professional.” Ryan chuckled. “Thank you, ma’am, but Liz took these.” He winked in her direction. “She certainly has talent.”
To Buy: Amazon (Print) | Kindle
The Blurb:Free-spirited Elizabeth Foster turned her back on her father’s photography business to pursue musical theater, but with a one-show contract, she’s a few weeks from unemployment forcing her home. Meanwhile sought-after photographer Ryan Callahan has put his career on hold to help his sister’s family while her husband is deployed, but the promise of a bigger assignment could lure him away from building a family of his own. If given the choice, what dreams would develop? Or will they learn to focus on love instead?
Bio:Candee Fick is a multi-published author in both fiction and non-fiction. She is also the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. When not busy with her day job, writing, or coaching other authors, she can be found cheering on the home team at sporting events, exploring the great Colorado outdoors, indulging in dark chocolate, and savoring happily-ever-after endings through a good book.
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Author Spotlight Featuring M.S. Spencer's New Release ~ The Pit and the Passion: Murder at the Ghost Hotel

Don't you love the title of M.S. Spencer's new release? I do. It creates all sorts of "wants-to-know." 
Thanks so much, L.A., for letting me talk to your readers about my new cozy mystery The Pit and the Passion: Murder at the Ghost Hotel. Set on Longboat Key, Florida, it takes place on the spot where John Ringling began building a luxurious hotel in the 1920s. Left to slowly disintegrate over the decades, it inevitably came to be called the Ghost Hotel.
 Blurb:
At midnight, in the darkness of a deserted hotel, comes a scream and a splash. Eighty-five years later, workmen uncover a skeleton in an old elevator shaft. Who is it, and how did it get there? To find out, Charity Snow, ace reporter for the Longboat Key Planet, teams up with Rancor Bass, best-selling author. A college ring they find at the dig site may prove to be their best clue.
Although his arrogance nearly exceeds his talent, Charity soon discovers a warm heart beating under Rancor’s handsome exterior. While dealing with a drop-dead gorgeous editor who may or may not be a villain, a publisher with a dark secret, and an irascible forensic specialist, Charity and Rancor unearth an unexpected link to the most famous circus family in the world.
 Paris is featured in many of my books because I have a soft spot for it. In The Pit and the Passion: Murder at the Ghost Hotel , I contrive to send my hero Rancor Bass off to Paris in pursuit of his editor. He lands himself in jail, which gives our heroine Charity Snow a chance to see Paris for the first time. In fact, due to his misadventures, Charity—who’s never been out of Florida—gets to travel a LOT.

Excerpt: April in a Paris JailCharity dropped the phone. After picking it up and waiting for the panicky breaths to slow, she said as calmly as she could, “Before I shell out any more money, you need to answer a few questions, mister.”“Fire away. It’s funny—here in France I’m allowed not one but two phone calls.”“I presume your first one was to the American embassy.” “That’s next on my list. This may come as a surprise to you, but I so longed to hear your voice that I decided to check in with you first. Get the money ball rolling, as it were.” “It’s always about money, isn’t it?”
“Well, in this case, it’s pretty crucial. The French police may be enlightened as to telephone communications, but not so much about accommodations. So what do you say?” “I say, get on the horn to the embassy without ado.” He was silent for a minute. Finally, he said gently, “Don’t you want to hear what happened?” “Let me guess. You were caught in flagrante delicto with a beautiful fugitive from justice.” “Not at all. My heart is true. I’ve been faithful to you even if you don’t deserve it.” Charity decided to let that pass—and maybe revisit it later at her leisure. “Tell me then.” “Well, said beautiful fugitive managed to turn the tables on me. I found her, but instead of consenting to come along quietly, she screamed bloody murder. In a performance worthy of Sarah Bernhardt—you know who she was, don’t you? The greatest actress of her age. The Divine Sarah. Why, her Tosca was emulated by thousands of would-be swans. I—” “What did she claim?”
“Who? Oh, Isabella? That I—Rancor Bass, author of eleven wildly acclaimed books—had stolen her manuscript! The gall of the woman.” He subsided into incoherent rumblings. “And?”
“And since this is France, the gendarmes refrained from asking any searing questions for fear of injuring the nymphette’s fragile sensibilities. They swallowed her line without so much as a tittle of qualm and arrested me. It’s appalling, really. These chaps are totally sexist. Chauvinist dinosaurs…” “What do you want me to do?”
“Well, I’d love the money as soon as you can send it. How’s that done nowadays? They used to say ‘I’ll wire it,’ but I’m pretty sure technology has moved on. No matter, that was five hundred if you recall. I guess I can exchange it here—ooh, I just thought of something. It’s euros, isn’t it? Not francs. What a shame…this Eurozone crap has got to stop. It’s ruining all the color and spice of Europe. Did you know French farmers can’t sell cheese that isn’t pasteurized? Criminal.” “Rancor? Have you by any chance not eaten in a while?” “What? No, la bonne femme—that’s ‘wife’ to you Yankees—of Monsieur le Brigadier Dumont provided me with a cheese omelet and a Picardie glass of a refreshing Sancerre. Her name is Antoinette. A very warmhearted woman.” I’ll bet she is. “All right, then why are you babbling?” “I think it’s the cell walls—so close, so confining. They’re beginning to get to me. Did I ever mention I have claustrophobia? I’m trying to fend it off with logorrhea.” “Logo…what?” “Logorrhea. It’s like diarrhea except with words rather than…well, you know.” Let’s just skip on ahead. “All right, I’ll see about the money. Who do I send it to?” “My lawyer—a Monsieur Carotte. Hang on, let me find his email address…here it is. CarotteatAubergineCarotteAsperge-dot-com. That’s all one word. Do you want me to spell it?” “No, I’ve got it. Wait—you have a lawyer? Why do you need me?” “He was assigned by the judge. He doesn’t care about me the way you do, Charity. In fact, he actually hooted when I suggested he bail me out. Like a hyena, not like an owl. Most unsettling.” “How do you know he won’t keep the money?”
“Oh dear, I hadn’t thought of that. Just a minute.” From a distance, she heard a dialogue in rapid French. Rancor came back on the line. “The officer has kindly offered to take custody of the funds. Send it to Brigadier Raoul Dumont, in care of the Commissariat de Police, eighth arrondissement, one Avenue du General Eisenhower, Paris, 75008. Got it?”“All right. I’ll do it first thing tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow! Can’t you do it tonight? It’s not exactly Shangri-La here.” What time is it there?”
More French. “Dumont informs me it is three o’clock in the morning. So it’s tomorrow.” “Well, it isn’t tomorrow here. You’ll get the money when you get it.” When he didn’t answer, she said sweetly, “Do call me when you get out.” “Will do,” he whispered his voice tight. “You’re a saint. I’ll be at l’Hôtel Paris, 13 rue des Beaux Arts, Paris 75006. Number is 33-1-44-41-99-55.” “Hotel Paris? Where’s that? By the train station?”
“No, dear. That’s Hôtel de la Gare. It’s always Hôtel de la Gare. L’Hôtel Paris is one of the most famous of all French hostelries. I’m shocked you don’t know this.” “Rancor, I’ve never been to France. I’ve never even been to New York.” “Why, you sad, pathetic creature. While I still have you on the line, I shall tell you more. All kinds of famous people have rested their weary heads on the silken sheets of l’Hôtel, the most eminent being Oscar Wilde. I believe he breathed his last bon mot there. So naturally, it’s the most suitable hotel for a wielder of clever phrases such as I, don’t you think? Plus, it’s a five-star and really rather special. Did you know its rooms are classified Mignon and Bijou? That tells you how precious it is.” Not having any response to this little speech, she said goodbye and hung up. An hour later, money having been sent and receipt confirmed, she went to bed, resolved to force the little reptile to confess just how he managed to bunk in a five-star hotel and yet still had to borrow bail money.

Buy:Wild Rose Press | Amazon | iTunes |Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Bio:Although M. S. Spencer has lived or traveled in five of the seven continents, the last thirty years were spent mostly in Washington, D.C. as a librarian, Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter, editor, birdwatcher, policy wonk, non-profit director, and parent.
After many years in academia, she worked for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Department of the Interior, in several library systems, both public and academic, and at the Torpedo Factory Art Center.
Ms. Spencer has published eleven romantic suspense novels, and has two more in utero. She has two fabulous grown children and an incredible granddaughter. She divides her time between the Gulf Coast of Florida and a tiny village in Maine.
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