Nancy LaRonda Johnson's Blog, page 2

International Authors' Day Blog Hop

I am a writer. I consider myself to be a writer, and love the craft and art of creating lives and situations, and finding plot solutions that seem to come from the deep recesses of my imagination.
 
I’ve recently started working on another novel, after having published one already, Anticipation of the Penitent , and a book of poetry and stories, Salted With Fire . This new novel is different than my previous writings, in that it’s more of a character study and a mystery.
 
The most difficult part in writing this novel is creating the five characters. I can be a very private, shy person. It takes a lot of trust-building for me to really open up to people, so much so that making deep connections with others is a challenge for me. Thus, the question is how can I, someone who finds real life relations so difficult, create genuine connections between the five characters in my book? What does that mean, to have real connections? How will these characters interact and share in true fashion when I can’t even think of one person I can fully open up to?But then, that’s the magic of writing, isn’t it? We don’t have to be who we write to make wonderfully authentic stories and lives in fiction. I don’t have to be a serial killer to create a compelling sociopath. I don’t have to be married to write about the trials and joys of marriage. I don’t have to be white to have white folks as main characters in my book. To succeed in writing this new novel, I have to believe in myself, my skills and my love of creating true characters and situations. (Even with sci-fi and paranormal, reality has its place.) I’ll hold on to this, knowing what I’m capable of. Writing is magic to me, a true gift of God, of which I will continue to develop. For as I said, I am a writer and consider myself to be one, in love with the craft and art of writing. * This post is in response to Debdatta Dasgupta Sahay, avid reader and blogger. She is also the initiator of International Author's Day, which is yet to be recognized as a genuine day celebrating the uniqueness and creativity of writers. Thanks Debdatta for organizing this each year and for your push for a day specifically for us writers! a Rafflecopter giveaway ');

Blogging Days Gone Indefinitely... or at least until retirement!

You can get news on the writings of Nancy LaRonda Johnson by going to her website at:

http://www.nancylarondajohnson.com 



You can also check out previous posts!

Giveaway Winners!

I am happy to announce the winners of the International Authors’ Day celebration and the Authors' Cave Blog Day festival giveaway!
Below are the winners, whom I have emailed individually.
$10 Amazon gift card                 
Brandi Dagwa
Copies of Anticipation of the Penitent
1. Courtney Whisenant2. Theresa Crocker Jones3. Brandi Dagwan4. Summer Laird Grinstead5. Lori Franklin Hopkins
Copies of Salted With Fire
1. Stacey Price2. Lori Franklin Hopkins3. Courtney Whisenant4. Kendika Burkeshire5. Margo Bonds Collins 
Thanks to everyone for participating these past two author events!

Authors' Cave Blog Train Festival!

There’s another authors’ celebration afoot. After the fun times of International Authors’ Day, there’s now the Authors’ Blog Train, started by the amazing Ginger Gelsheimer of Book Review Depot and Authors’ Cave. Check out these two wonderful writers’ sites for this Grand Launch Festival the celebration with giveaways, scavenger hunts and contests. Be sure to enter the Giveaway below!
For this post, I’m celebrating three authors: Pam Funke, Claudette Alexander and Joe DeRouen.

Pam Funke


Pam Funke is the proud grand-daughter of a pastor and has spent the majority of her life in the church. She loves serving God and living a Christian life. She is a Christian author who enjoys writing many different things. Her love of reading and writing led her to write for the enjoyment of others. Besides reading and writing, she enjoys photography, cooking, painting, drawing, scrap-booking and anything creative actually.

Pam Funke has written six books, including A Valley Experience and the Apocalypse series books. You can find out more about her and enter her giveaway to win a Kindle Fire by clicking here. 
Claudette Alexander
Claudette Alexander is obsessed with love and romance. As a teenager growing up in St.Lucia she was fascinated with the Mills and Boon series and always envisioned some Prince coming down some mountain to rescue her heart.
Her first novel SUNRISE FROM AN ICY HEART: A MEMOIR is about her transformational journey into womanhood, her relentless search to find a special kind of love, the joys and headaches of raising loving sons and her fight to remain among the land of the living. In addition it envelopes all that is special about St. Lucia, its people, culture, and beauty. You can find out more by clicking here.

Joe DeRouen
Joe DeRouen was born in Carthage, Illinois, and currently lives in Rogers, Arkansas with his artist wife Andee, their son Fletcher, and their cats Lucky, Milo, and Camptown. Joe is a freelance writer and a substitute teacher at Benton County School of the Arts. In addition to writing, he enjoys purchasing (and occasionally watching) copious amounts of Blu-Ray discs, listening to music, playing video games, and collecting Mego action figures from the 1970s. Small Things is his first novel. Threads, the sequel to Small Things and the second book in the trilogy, was published in October of 2013. You can write to Joe at Joe@JoeDeRouen.com or visit his website by clicking here.
Thanks Ginger for putting on this grand event!
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International Authors' Day Celebration

International Authors’ Day is the brilliant idea of Debdatta Sahay of b00k r3vi3w Tours. It’s a day (or a few days) to celebrate indie writers. This new yearly event is from Monday, July 14th to Friday, July 18th. Be sure to check out the other authors below, and enter the Giveaway.
For this celebration, I thought I’d write about a less thought of requirement for writers.
To be a writer, it is imperative to read. Reading gives you ideas of what you’d like to write. You are also able to develop your own writing style by learning what it is about  others’ works that moves you. I read various types of books, but my favorites are those which develop intriguing characters and intricate plots, even if the characters and plots are true stories! Some of my favorite authors are Octavia Butler, Michael Connelly and Stephen King. My favorite books include the Holy Bible, Unbroken and Mama Day .
I can’t end this day of celebrating authors without talking about my own books. My first book, Anticipation of the Penitent , is about a serial killer and his mother. Here’s the one-liner: How far would a mother go to save her son when his father is Satan?
My second book, Salted With Fire , is a book of short stories and poetry, and includes color photos. Here’s the one-liner: Black magic, murder, insanity… humor, honor and devotion – any story, or life direction, can lead you to a path of growth.
I’ve completed writing my third book, Anticipating Dawn, which is in the editing phases. It’s my second novel, and is about the relative of a serial killer who tries to make amends for the wrongs of the serial killer, and about a gay Christian searching for acceptance. Here’s the one-liner I have so far: Two best friends raised as brothers in a small Christian town share a devastating piece of history… one is the son of a serial killer, while the other is the gay son of the only surviving victim.
Thanks for coming by! Be sure to check out other wonderful indie writers and enter the Giveaway by clicking the links below.



'); a Rafflecopter giveaway

Just in time for Mother's Day

The Kindle version of Anticipation of the Penitent is on sale for .99 cents until May 16th! 


Trapped by the devil, Alezea bears Satan’s son and knows her life will never be her own. She is the mother of Thomas, a man reared by Satan to be a killer of life’s most innocent – little girls. Alezea lives detached from the horrors committed by her son and from her domination by the entity who uses her as he pleases. Until she meets Martha who shows her a way out. Alezea will now risk her very soul to free Thomas from his father. The fight to save her son will either redeem Alezea or destroy her forever.
Rachel knows Thomas’ history, yet she believes her presence can transform him. Her belief in Thomas might send her fully into the devil’s realm or provide an opening for God’s miracles in both of their lives. In a scheme to continue his father’s line, Thomas may ruin his alliance with Rachel or rend himself from the dominion he was born to hold. The impulse to contrive his future takes Thomas to new heights in his lifework as a killer and pushes him toward maturity, while forcing him to encounter the astonishing truth of his heritage.
Anticipation of the Penitent depicts the battle between good and evil in one family until it is rendered to its destined completion. Only then will it be known whether Alezea succeeds in her struggle for a life free from Satan’s control.  

Don't forget... Get your copy today!!  

WRiTE CLUB is back!

I tried out for DL Hammons' WRiTE CLUB last year, but didn’t make the cut. No worries… I’m giving it another go, and thanks to a dream I had when I took my mother to Reno earlier this week, I’ve got just the story! Because of the rules of WRiTE CLUB, I can’t talk about my story. Everything is judged anonymously.
To participate in this free contest, you must write a story or poetry of no more than 500 words, and enter by May 31st. 
I hope that you'll enter and be a contender… and that I'll knock you out! :)
Check out the rules and learn how to enter here .

New & improved Book Trailer - Anticipation of the Penitent

Z is for Zero Count

Zero Count
I was planning on doing an “Epilogue” of sorts to my serial short story for the last day of this A to Z Challenge, entitled “Zero Count.” But things got too busy, and I didn’t want to cheat the story with something that was not worthy to be a part of it. 
In essence, however, this is still a “Zero Count” post, since I have nothing to post about, and after today, there’s no more counting of days and letters for this challenge. 
I hope everyone has had a wonderful time during this challenge. If you weren’t involved, consider joining in next year on April 1st. You can always check out the rules and when to join at this website. It’s open to anyone with a blog!
Thanks Arlee Bird and everyone who helped out! Here they are:
Alex J. Cavanaugh:  Alex J. Cavanaugh Stephen Tremp:  Author Stephen Tremp
Tina Downey: Life is Good
Damyanti Biswas:  Amlokiblogs
Jeremy Hawkins:  [Being Retro]
Nicole Ayers:  The Madlab Post
M. J. Joachim:  M. J. Joachim's Writing Tips
Heather M. Gardner:  The Waiting is the Hardest Part
AJ Lauer:  Naturally Sweet
Pam Margolis:  An Unconventional Librarian
God Bless! 
I've got to eventually figure out when I'll get back to blogging, how often, and about what... well I know about what - anything - there's never a lasting theme here! :)

Y is for Yip! Yippy! Yipperooooo!

Yip! Yippy! Yipperooooo!
We’re on Y, and you know what that means! It means we’ve got one more day for this A to Z Challenge before it’s all over!!
Oh, but wait.... That means they’ll be no more A to Z Challenge! L What could be sadder than that? Guess I’ve just got to hold in these challenging alphabetically inclined posts until next year’s A to Z Challenge.
I can’t wait! J