Susanne Matthews's Blog, page 109

Y Is For Yellow

It’s come down to the second last letter of the alphabet. Today’s A to Z Blog Challenge  blog entry is about the letter “Y”. I thought I’d pick a lighthearted topic today and blog about the word “yellow”.  Most of us associate the word with the color, but there are literally hundreds of shades and variations of yellow, and each has a fancy designer name associated with it. We have sunshine, maize, mustard. lemon, just to name a few. 

In Color Psychology, “yellow inspires original thought and inquisitiveness. Yellow is creative from a mental aspect, the color of new ideas, helping us to find new ways of doing things. It is the practical thinker, not the dreamer. Yellow is the best color to create enthusiasm for life and can awaken greater confidence and optimism. The color yellow loves a challenge, particularly a mental challenge.” If you’d like to know more, check out yellow.

Yellow is also the color of spring, at least it is in Eastern Canada, where the dandelions bloom wild all over the place. The flowers look nice for a short period of time–that is unless they take over your lawn and turn it into weed heaven. There are other yellow spring flowers I far prefer– daffodils, tulips, yellow irises and crocuses, but the dandelions last the longest, and my allergies hate them with a passion.

Yellow is a color associated with the heat and the sun. It’s usually the color of happy faces and good times, but yellow, like many words has a dark side. When things age and fade, especially things that are white, they tend to yellow. This is especially true of teeth. Remember those sweet pearly white baby teeth? It takes time, effort, and bleach to keep them that way as a adult. Everyone likes the sunshine, but no one likes yellow teeth. Back in the sixties, I remember a cute commercial where the native maiden turned away from the big, strong brave because he had yellow teeth. The jingle went,”You’ll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.”  I guess bleaching teeth has been around a lot longer than people remember. 

Another negative side of yellow is its connotations of cowardliness. The lion in the Wizard of Oz claims he “ain’t yellow.” The term yellow-belly is an archetypal American phrase originating in England. Apparently, people from the fens were said to have yellow bellies like eels–not a popular thing I bet. 

Finally, and probably the least pleasant aspect of yellow is a form of xenophobia I blogged about yesterday.  The Yellow Peril, sometimes referred to as Yellow Terror  was a term which originated in the late 1800′s to describe Chinese immigrants who came to work in Canada and the United States. Many worked in homes as servants—who can forget Hop Sing, the cook on Bonanza? Many of these men were responsible for the construction of the trans-continental railways in both countries. Referred to as coolies, they were treated abominably by people in both countries.  The Tunnels of Moose Jaw will explain what was definitely not one of the brighter moments in Canadian history. The  fear that the mass immigration of Asians would threaten so-called white wages and standards of living was unfounded and irrational, but fear makes people do terrible things.

The term was later associated with the Japanese during the mid-20th century, due to Japanese military expansion, and eventually extended to all Asians of East and Southeast Asian descent. During WWII, the fear the Japanese  would attack and wage wars with western societies and eventually destroy them was rampant. Look how we responded to that threat. Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some people say the  Orient won in the long run–how many of us drive Japanese cars, own Japanese technology or wear clothing made in China. Have our cultures been destroyed because of it? Not really, changed , yes, because many products once made here are made there, but the Yellow Races aren’t top blame for that–corporate greed is. Think about that the next time you go bargain hunting. 

Don’t forget to check out the other belg entries in today’s A to Z Blog Challenge.

 

PERSONAL OPINION ONLY: Xenophobia–The World Suffers From It

Good morning, we’re definitely down to the short strokes in the A to Z Blog Challenge. Today’s letter is  “X”, not an easy letter to blog about. There’s no point in talking about scientific words like xylem, the woody part of stem of a plant that carries water, or xenon, a gas. There’s little reason to discuss x-ray, a medical procedure we’ve probably all had. Of course there’ s xylophone, another name for a musical instrument simplified from the glockenspiel, an instrument popular in kindergarten rhythm bands around the world. Finally X, XX, XXX, is a common way of designating sizes and movie ratings. 

I’m going to climb up on my soap box this morning and opine. These are my opinions only, endorsed by no one but myself. They are not meant to offend anyone, just supply food for thought. What I’d like to talk about is Xenophobia. What is it? It’s an irrational fear of foreigners and foreign races–but not just fear. It includes a deep-seated contempt as well as hatred for foreign races. We’ve all heard Muslim extremists who swear they won’t rest until every last infidel is dead. No tolerance, no understanding allowed. Sadly, it’s what’s at the bottom of all the problems plaguing humanity. Xenophobia has morphed into an ideological war where God, Allah, Yahweh, or whatever name you chose to give the deity, has been blamed for this all encompassing hatred. 

Muslims, Christians, Jews have a great many things in common. They all honor the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, also called the Books of Moses, and yet, for reasons I have never understood, hate one another. Terrible crimes have been committed in the name of religion–including the Crusades and the Inquisition, the witch trials that raged across Europe and in America. Sadly people hate others because of the color of their skin,and the beliefs they have. The Holocaust is an example of xenophobia at its worst, as was the genocide in Rwanda, the atrocities in Bosnia and Yugoslavia,  Apartheid in South Africa, the Klu Klux Klan’s torture of African-Americans in America–even the circus freak shows of the 19th and 20th centuries where the “Wild Man of Borneo” and “African Pygmies” were on display in human zoos are examples of this disease.  During WWII, thousands of Japanese American and Canadians were locked up in camps no better than concentration camps  for the simple reason they had Japanese ancestry.  Sadly we see the potential for this happening again in the recent Russian”Ukraine difficulties in the Crimea.

Today, for good or ill, racial profiling is a prominent factor in everything from traffic stops for violations and searches in airports. Deep down, many of us know it’s wrong to treat people like that, but fear is irrational. Unfortunately, fanatics have shown us they will go to any lengths to achieve their ends–innocent people are simply collateral damage. Nine-eleven was proof of that. Our world is not a safe place to be. It’s hard to argue with irrational beliefs and fears. I’m guilty of being xenophobic myself at times. I get decidedly uncomfortable when a woman in a burka approaches me in a store or on the street. I don’t understand why she would even wear such a thing, but my fear stems from the fact that i don’t know who’s under that cowl and mask–and I’m pretty damn sure it isn’t Batman.  Hollywood has probably contributed to my fears, but what can I say? Will this fear ever go away? I don’t know. In the meantime, I’ll do what I can to stem my fear, to try and be tolerant of others, but it can’t be one-sided. I can try to stem my fear and mistrust, but there’s nothing I can do to stem theirs. Let’s hope, someday, we can all live together in love, peace, and understanding, but we have a very long way to go before that’ll happen. 

Don’t forget to check out the other entries in the A to Z Blog Challenge.

 

Door Closed? Open the Window.

Today’s blog has nothing to do with the A to Z Blog Challenge. I thought it would be a good time to clear the air about my writing career, and where things sit for me at the moment. Many of you know by now that I’ve lost not one but two publishers in the last six weeks. Entranced shut its door and put the book I had with them back into the “to be sold” pile. When Front Porch Romance announced that it was shutting its doors due to the publishers ill health, it left six books without a home–two of them consigned to the “to be sold” pile and four others tossed into limbo.

At this moment in time, while the  ebook versions are no longer being sold, there are  paperback copies of Holiday Magic, The Perfect Choice and The Captain’s Promise available. Once the copies are gone, the books, as they sit now, will be gone forever. I’m not sure what I will do with these books. Will I self-publish them, or will I look for a publisher willing to reissue them? I’m not sure. Either way, I will definitely do something with them before the end of the year. Most likely, I will revise them and reissue them under new titles, so watch for that. I promise to make enough changes by adding information that if you bought the first book, you’ll buy the new one just to see what’s new.

I do want to thank everyone who purchased one of my FPR books and provided reviews or had me as a guest on their blogs. While it hurts to know these books will no longer be available, it reassures me to know that while they loved, they were enjoyed and loved by those who read them. They will continue to be displayed on Goodreads because, on Goodreads, once a book has been published, it never disappears. That’s reassuring to me because it lets me remember that people values them. I will take note of the comments made and use them to make improvements to the story and satisfy my harshest critics. 

In the meantime, I’ll continue to write and release books with my other publishers–Sweet/Secret Cravings and Crimson Romance. Fire Angel, In Plain Sight and Just For The Weekend are available wherever ebooks are sold. Grand Slam, my Misty Matthews co-effort, is available too, for those who like a quick read–at only 16,000 words, it’s a snippet of a story, complete in itself, but it’s only a moment in time. It’s a novella, a short story. Come July 14, 2014, Echoes of the Past will be available too.

Being an author is a life of ups and downs. At the moment, I’m down, but I won’t stay that way. I wish Madison Connor improved health and happiness. To all my FPR and Entranced fellow authors, I wish success in whatever path you choose to follow. Don’t give up your dreams of becoming an author. That bestseller may be the next book you write. 

Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How

Good morning, on another dismal, cold, wet Saturday morning, the last one in April. Let’s hope May brings better weather. My  A to Z Blog Challenge topic for today consists of the five w’s–who, what, where, when. why, and their buddy, how. These six questions are the backbone of any good story. No matter what kind of story you’re writing, answering these questions is absolutely essential.

As an English teacher, among the things I taught were the elements of plot–setting, initial incident, rising action, crisis, climax, falling action, and resolution. Students would read a short story or a novel, and find all of these elements so we could study the piece of literature. While I’m sure the estates of countless writers thrive on the royalties they receive from all the books sold to schools, colleges, and universities, I wonder sometimes if the authors meant for their works to be analysed that way. I think of my own novels for example. While there is definitely too many hot scenes in Just For The Weekend, both Fire Angel and In Plain Sight are clean enough to be read in school, but would they stand the test of a teacher tearing into them? I’d like to think so. There are more than enough examples of figurative language in them, I’d like to think my characters are well developed–at least my critics think so, and, there are enough sub-plots going on to keep everyone happy. If my books were to be the books studied, how would they stand up?  In the plot outline, would they even make it past the setting and initial incident? 

I decided I’d put Fire Angel to the test by examining it the way I did as an English teacher, and I decided I’d share some of that with you by answering the 5′w’s and the h, without giving the story away.

WHO? Main characters:  Alexis Michaels, fire investigator; Jake McKenzie, profiler 

WHAT? (Initial Incident) People have died because of an arsonist. Jake and Alexis have to stop the arsonist

WHERE? in the town of Paradise, Ontario

WHEN? modern day, late November

WHY? The Fire Angel uses arson as a weapon to kill people. Each fire he sets has a higher body count than the previous one. He seems to be targeting specific individuals, but a lot of innocent people are dying too.

HOW? The Fire Angel kills using different sophisticated arson methods. Alexis and Jake must figure out how he does it and why. Once they know when he’ll strike again and where, they can find him and stop him before who knows how many others will die. 

Well, I guess I covered my bases, and if by some miracle, the book ever ends up as a teachable, I know the kids won’t be whining, but it doesn’t have … Want to read more? Fire Angel is available from most ebook distributors and Amazon. Fire Angel

Check out the other  A to Z Blog Challenge entries. See you all back here on Monday. 

Vision: Making a Blind Character “See”

Well, we’re winding down to the end of this marathon blog. Today’s letter on the  A to Z Blog Challenge  is the letter “V” as in vision. When I wrote Fire Angel, I did a great deal of research not only on fire and arson, but also on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  It was while reading about PTSD that I discovered Conversion Disorder, the new terminology for psychosomatic illnesses. As a teacher, I’d learned over the years people could indeed make themselves sick, and no matter how real the illness seemed, when the tests results came in, there was nothing wrong with them. That made no sense. If there was nothing wrong with Mary, why was she sick to her stomach so often? 

I’m old. The times I grew up in are vastly different than those we have today. Children didn’t have the plethora of rights they have now. For the most part, they did what they were told–they went to school, did their chores and homework, played outside, were polite, and if they wanted adventure, they read or went to the movies. I was 10 before we even got a television set, and there were only four channels. I saw the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show on a 14 inch screen, in black and white–no stereo sound system. 

In those days, you had to be really sick, aka at death’s door, to miss school. If Mom didn’t think you were sick enough, she’d pack you off to school with the admonition, “it’s all in your head.” 9 out of 10 times, you made it through the day just fine. Staying busy usually helped and when you got home, if you still felt sick, you were sent to bed. Chances were you’d be right as rain in no time. 

It came as quite a shock to realize she might have been right. I think back to Mary and realize her tummy troubles always presented themselves when she has a  test of some sort. We have a name for that now. Her upset stomach was an avoidance mechanism. But, she was really sick–I witnessed her retching. Well, according to Conversion Disorder, a person can exhibit physical symptoms of a disease even if they don’t have it. In other words, it’s all in their heads. 

People with Conversion Disorder can have the same symptoms people with the illness have–they can be sick as if they have ulcers, limp, as if they have sore bones or muscles, and even have asthma attacks. They can be blind, deaf, even fully or partially paralysed, and there is no physiological reason for the disability. So, what causes it? Fear, guilt, anxiety, and other emotional issues are to blame. People with Conversion Disorder can be cured, but it takes patience and understanding. They need to realize what’s making them the way they are, and want to get passed it. 

In In Plain Sight, my hero Nick suffers from Conversion Disorder brought on by deep seated guilt–misplaced guilt at that. Nick is seriously injured in the car accident which killed his wife. He recovers from his injuries in every way but one–he’s blind. Doctors run tests, but nothing can account for his blindness. Nick refuses to believe its “all in his head.”

The challenge in writing the book was in giving Nick vision–not curing his conversion disorder, but in letting him “see” although he was blind. As a writer I rely heavily on description, but where Nick was involved, I had to rely only on 4 of the 5 senses–taste, touch, smell, and hearing. He couldn’t see the roses on the table, but he could smell them, perhaps touch the velvety petals. 

Here’s an excerpt of Nick’s reaction to meeting Mindy. 

Nick sat with his back to the keyboard listening to Misty’s footsteps as she hurried out of the theater. What had just happened? His hand pulsed with heat and energy. He hadn’t imagined that jolt of electricity through his body, the flash of lightning that had illuminated his darkness. He’d been struck mute, unable to utter a sound. He’d shaken more than his fair share of hands, and no one had ever affected him that way. Had she felt it, too? She’d sounded flustered before she’d left so abruptly.

Without sight, it was harder to judge someone’s initial reaction, but she’d let him hold her hand a second longer than necessary, and he’d felt her pulse race almost as fast as his. Hell, he was still breathing heavy, and all he’d done was shake her hand. He stared into the black void in front of him as he had every waking moment of his life since the accident. He’d come to hate the blackness that surrounded him, but just for a moment tonight, when he’d touched her, there’d been light.

Her voice! She had a wonderful voice, an angel’s voice, the kind of voice that belonged on Broadway, not in some small-town theater production. She must have had vocal training. He hadn’t been kidding; she could out-sing more than half the so-called divas out there today… He continued to listen to her sing because she touched his soul, that part of him he’d thought as dead and lost as his vision.

He wondered fleetingly what she looked like. Her voice had carried into the hall where he’d been standing with Micah before they’d entered the room. He knew from her quirky comments that she must be short since she didn’t think the pink stripes made her look taller. A smile crossed his face at her sense of humor when he remembered the way she’d compared herself first to a cabana and then a clown; he figured that possibly she was on the more voluptuous side, curvier than Becca had been. He had always liked women with a little meat on their bones, but he’d been mesmerized by Rebecca, and it hadn’t been until much later in their relationship that he’d realized what a cruel, self-centered bitch his wife had been.

Interested in knowing more about Nick’s vision? Check it out. In Plain Sight is available at most ebook distributors. It can also be purchased in paperback.  

Kobo   Amazon    Barnes & Nobles  

Don’t forget to visit the other A to Z Blog Challenge entries today. 

 

 

Look Who Stopped By Today: Eva Lefoy

My guest this morning is Eva Lefoy, author of Rekindling the Flame, released by Secret Cravings Publishing, one of my publishers. Eva is hosting me on her blog this morning, so this is reciprocity at its finest. If you like your reading hot and spicy, check this one out. You won’t be disappointed. 

About the Book:  

Sometimes love needs a second chance.

Travel and work take a toll on Marcy and Paul’s marriage, bleeding the passion out of a once loving relationship. One day, Paul decides he’s had enough. He takes Marcy on a weekend trip to rekindle their romance and won’t take no for an answer.

Marcy’s sick and tired of Paul’s constant travel and the wedge it drives between them. Depression skyrockets her weight, so she’s surprised when Paul wants between her thighs all weekend – over and over again. Can she put aside her fears and reach for what she wants so badly before this second chance at love slips right out of her hands?

TAGS: erotic romance, erotica, interracial, BBW, married couple 

Rekindling the Flame is available now at All Romance Ebooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-rekindlingtheflame-1482899-149.html

 

 

Author Bio and Contact:

Eva Lefoy writes and reads all kinds of romance, and is a certified Trekkie. She’s also terribly addicted to chocolate, tea, and hiking. One of these days, she’ll figure out the meaning of life, quit her job, and go travel the galaxy. Until then, she’s writing down all her dirty thoughts for the sake of future explorers.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eva-Lefoy/344907072265234 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Eva_Lefoy 

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/elefoy/

Blog: http://writery.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

Utopia? Utter Nonsense

Hello to those who’ve faithfully followed my crazy mind through the alphabet days. After nearly boring you to tears yesterday, I’ll be brief today. We’re down to the nitty-gritty. Day 21 of the  A to Z Blog Challenge is reserved for the letter “U”, not an easy letter to blog about, but strangely the topic jumped out at me right away, Utopia. According to Wikipedia, Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system derived from the 1516 book by Thomas More. I actually read that book in my first year of university–in English, thank goodness, not in the original Greek, and two things remain true about it: it was reasonably short, and full of utter nonsense. 

Utopia is supposed to mean the perfect place. Some people say it’s a synonym for Eden, Paradise, or Heaven on Earth. That may be true, but from what I can see, we have a long way to go before we’ll see Utopia in this lifetime. The easiest way to see it is in works of fiction, but even there, there’s always a serpent of some sort in paradise. My first novel, Fire Angel, was set in Paradise, a community I created in Northern Ontario. I specifically chose the name because under the beauty of the place lay an evil force–the Fire Angel who killed at will.

In More’s Utopia, you didn’t have a perfect society–you had a different one, but a society still morally flawed. In the guise of being the perfect place, it was to me, simply an example of an early version of communism–no one owned anything, everyone owned everything, and it was commonly shared. Everyone dressed the same, ate the same food, learned the same things–no rich, no poor, no unemployed–sounds great right?  Wrong. Sounds boring! So what if gold was devalued for its citizens by using it for the chains on the slaves and the chamber pots, the governing bodies, and make no mistake they had some, still used it to trade with other lands–they even used it to incite foreign wars–how was that right? More’s Utopia condoned slavery; in fact, each household had two slaves, either foreigners or Utopian criminals. While any kind of sexual immorality was severely punished, women were subservient to men–had to look after the households and confess their sins to their husbands monthly. No! Not my idea of paradise.

More’s Utopia is complex. That link will bring you to a synopsis and explanation of the book. If you want to read it, you can get it on Kindle. Just think, will  my books still be for sale five hundred years after I’m dead? Utopia is different for everyone. What suits me as the perfect society might not suit someone else.  I can’t even describe my Utopia because like everything else in my life, it evolves and changes everyday. 

Don’t forget to check out the other  A to Z Blog Challenge entries today.

Look Who Dropped By Today: Tara Mills

Today, we’re here to help Tara tell you about her new release, In Love and War.  

 About the Book:

Sometimes love really is worth fighting for, but picking your battles isn’t so easy—especially when lives are at stake. 

Personal tragedy and the loss of both parents at a young age made Ariela Perrine cross self-sacrificing hero types off her datable list. But Ariela is literally swept off her feet when an accident brings her face to face with an unforgettable pair of blue eyes, a playful smile, and an overly affectionate dog.

Oh yes, journalist Dylan Bond makes her sizzle, but dare she risk it?  After all, he’s just returned from covering conflicts around the globe. With his assurance he’ll be handling domestic stories from now on, Ariela’s weak resistance crumbles and their relationship intensifies at a dizzying speed. Then an unexpected phone call lures Dylan back to Iraq and he falls off the radar. His disappearance will test them both in ways neither expected. Will it bring them closer or destroy their fragile peace forever? 

 

Excerpt to tease your appetite: 

“Please, come in.” Ariela grabbed her sweater off the hook on the wall and slipped it on, feeling a little underdressed in her pajamas.

What on earth was he doing here, and how had he found her? Not that she was complaining. Oh no, far from it. He’d made a startling impression on her earlier today. When he’d smiled at her, she could have sworn his brilliant blue eyes were dancing like fairies at a midsummer frolic. Odder still, when he spoke she’d imagined butterflies circling her head. She’d heard tinkling bells. At the time, she hoped it was because of the knock on her head. Now she wasn’t so sure. Just looking at him again was doing crazy things to her mental and physical circuitry.

The guy entered the apartment and gaped at the furniture right out of the sixties. Very familiar with this reaction, Ariela laughed.

“Yeah, I get it. The Jetsons meet Beetlejuice, right? Probably not the décor you’d expect two interior designers to have.”

He shook his head, still blinking as he took it all in.

Overlapping the edges of her unbuttoned sweater, she hugged herself, painfully aware she wasn’t wearing a bra. “Well, there’s a simple explanation. When you’re cash poor and starting a business with next to nothing, you can’t exactly go wild in your own apartment right off the bat. We’re still living with the furniture we had during college, courtesy of Uncle Henry and Aunt Rose—with a few freebies thrown in to make it really eclectic.”

She gestured to their space-age teal sofa. “Please, have a seat. Appearances aside, it’s actually quite comfortable. Can I get you something to drink—juice, tea, coffee maybe?”

 Anything, anything at all?

Turning, he flashed a little dimple. “No thanks. I’m fine.”

He’d get no argument from her.

They sat down and he looked pained when she settled into the bright tangerine-colored armchair. Understandable. It did clash jarringly with her pajamas—pastel balloons floating across a soft pink background. The poor guy blinked several times, seemingly trying to handle the color overload. Biting her lip so she didn’t break out laughing, Ariela tucked her feet up and gave him a slow, curious smile.

He sat up straight, recognizing his cue. “Right. Sorry. I suppose you’re wondering why I’m here.”

“It crossed my mind,” she admitted.

“I didn’t get a chance to give you that business card before they carted you away.”

“Oh, and you brought it to me? That’s so nice of you. Thanks.”

He peered at her intently, more serious now. “How are you?”

Even though she didn’t know him, there was something in his expression that made her believe he could be trusted, and more importantly, he wouldn’t have asked about her if he didn’t honestly want to know. The naked concern radiating out of his deep blue eyes transformed his handsome face into something miles beyond devastating.

“I have a mild concussion.” Why was she blushing?

The corner of his mouth curled up a smidgen. “Headache?”

She felt her warm cheeks flare hotter. What was wrong with her? “Not anymore.”

“Good.” He broke into a full-blown smile and settled back on the sofa, apparently satisfied.

Still reeling from the power of his smile, Ariela shifted uneasily in her chair. “I have a confession— I can’t remember your name. It’s really bugging me.”

His head dropped back and he laughed. “Dylan Bond.”

She brightened. “Like in Bond, Dylan Bond?” She’d remember it now.

His eyebrows flicked up in amusement. “Something like that.”

“Dabbles in international intrigue?” She was toying with him, but it was fun.

He flashed a sexy-assed smile. How many kinds did the guy have? “I’m comfortable being in the middle of the action, but I’m back to working domestically again.”

Say what? Ariela’s eyebrows rose so high she felt her hairline shift. “I think I need a translation. What is it you do?”

He had a great laugh. “I’m a journalist. I just finished a stint in Iraq, but I’m back now. It’s nice not having to deal with body armor and helmets.”

Looking skeptically back at him, she assumed he was putting her on. “Is that right?”

“Actually, yes.” He shifted onto one butt cheek and pulled out his wallet. A second later, he handed her a press pass from a recent event. “I’m working out of my house now—mostly covering the political side of the war.”

She read the pass, her doubts dissolving. “You actually live around here?” She handed the card back and he put it away.

“Sure, why not?”

Shrugging, she said, “Well, Lewiston isn’t exactly Washington DC.”

“With the internet and a telephone, you can stay connected from pretty much anywhere. Still, I do plenty of traveling and Washington is only a two hour drive. I can be there and back before Max even notices I’m gone.”

“Max?”

His blue eyes were dancing again. Hello tinkling bells. “My retriever.”

“Ah yes, I remember him now.”

Dylan grinned. “He’s probably the reason you woke up wanting a wet wipe.”

She laughed and his smile deepened. That dimple of his was growing on her.

“Listen,” he said, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. “How about going out with me sometime? We can do something gentle—bumper cars maybe?”

She waited for her retreat mechanism to kick in. It was strangely silent. “Here I was, hoping you’d suggest hang gliding or bungee jumping.”

“Anything you want. I’m flexible.”

Another perfect smile flashed at her and Ariela’s heartbeat spiked. “Sure, why not?”

“Good.” He stood and pulled the business card out of his front pocket. “Here, before I forget.”

Ariela unfolded her legs and reached for the floor with her bare feet. When she rose he was right there with the card. Taking it, she noticed he was taller than she’d initially thought. She supposed that made sense. How well can you judge anyone’s height when you’re on your back?

She walked him to the door. Opening it before she could, he turned and asked, “When?”

“When what?” She watched his eyes move as he took an unabashed tour of her face.

“When can I take you out?”

The birds in her stomach were back, fluttering away. Good thing they were keeping the noise down. “Whenever?”

Dylan gave her a meaningful look, full of promise. “Expect a call.”

Ariela closed the door behind him and fell against it. If she hadn’t locked her knees, she would have been a puddle of melting woman on the floor. As Dylan’s footfalls faded out and the back door shut, she pressed a hand to her excited heart. Something told Ariela that she was in for a wild ride with this one. Hell, just sitting in a quiet room with Dylan was exhilarating. Now she knew it wasn’t just the concussion. There was far more at play here. Scary.

She was about to find out whether Dylan’s hands were capable and steady on the wheel, because he was already in her driver’s seat. She knew it, and judging by the look he gave her on the way out, he knew it too. Suddenly the Beatles were singing Drive My Car in her head.

Buy Links: 

 Amazon

About the Author:

In Tara’s words, she’s “a pampered wife, mother to three fantastic sons, one super daughter-in-law, and proud nana.

I write the stories I like to read. Life is difficult. Love makes it bearable.”

Learn more about her at:  Tara Mills Romance  for more great reads and a quirky blog. She’s also on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Tropes and Ideas and Themes, Oh My!

It’s Day 20 of the A to Z Blog Challenge, and today’s blog is a rewrite of a blog I posted on the Goodreads Misty Matthews Site four months ago. I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to repost it, with a few minor changes, and just knew today was the day. Without further ado, I give you the letter “T”–Tropes and Ideas and Themes, Oh My!

Have you see the movie, The Wizard of Oz?  Picture Dorothy and the scarecrow, arm and arm, going down the yellow brick road. Now, repeat “Tropes and Ideas and Themes, Oh My!”  to the tune of Lions and Tigers and Bears.  Feel the magic? Feel the tension? Feel the excitement? If you do, you’re where  writers  find themselves every time they begin a new book or a sequel to another one.   

Romance Novel Recipe

Writing a romance novel is a lot like baking a cake. You need to gather the ingredients first and then follow the recipe. Every romance novel ever written follows a formula, a recipe, if you like. 

Step one: Boy meets girl
Step Two: There is mutual attraction
Step Three: something/someone prevents them from acting on their feelings OR something/someone interferes with their first Happily Ever After
Step Four: black moment occurs when all hope of them coming together seems lost
Step Five: somehow they overcome the black moment and love prevails
Step Six: they live happily ever after OR in some cases happily for now 

So, if this is the basic formula, how does a writer follow it and yet create a unique story to grab the attention of the readers? That’s where tropes, ideas, and themes come in. 

A literary trope is the use of figurative language. Since the mid-nineteen seventies, tropes have also come to mean a commonly recurring literary device, motif, or cliché. The most common tropes include: synonyms, antonyms, hyperbole, alliteration, metaphors, euphemisms, metonymy, synecdoche, and the list goes on. (For a complete list with definitions, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_o…)

In literature, a theme is the central topic of the text. There are two aspects to theme.
The first is basically what the reader thinks the work is about. Every reader approaches a book differently. As surprising as it may sound, a reader can take something away from a book which wasn’t what the writer intended at all–think of those high school English teachers–do you really think Shakespeare wanted people to read all of those things into his plays? Unless you can actually ask William yourself, you’ll never know. 

As a reader, your understanding and appreciation of the story is based on your own personal experiences. That’s why people like some books and not others. That’s why a book can get a one star rating on Amazon or Goodreads from one reader and a five star rating from another. It all boils down to life experience. The saying, “You are what you eat,” is only partly true. “You are the result of absolutely everything that has ever happened to you–good and not so good.” Someone who has been betrayed by the person they loved will understand the pain of betrayal better than someone who hasn’t.  Someone with a hair-trigger temper who reacts badly in emotional situations will empathize with a heroine doing the same, while someone who approaches all situations calmly will be turned off and may never even finish the book. An optimist will see hope where hope seems lost, while a pessimist will say, they never had hope in the first place. 

The second part of theme revolves around the author’s take on it. When a writer pens, or in today’s case keyboards, a novel, the primary point is to entertain–to help the reader escape reality for a short time. Why? We all need a break. Since authors are human, like readers, their life experiences impact their work. Intentional or not, most novels have a message. In romance novels, that message is usually “Love conquers all”, but there are other things to be considered. For example, in a case where one of the characters has been betrayed, the author might be saying: “Trust, once lost can be earned again, but it takes time and effort.” Or in the case where a heroine runs away rather than confront a situation, the author could be saying, “It’s okay to back away and nurse your wounds, but sooner or later, you have to confront the truth.” In a suspense novel, the message might be love and perseverance can overcome evil. In the end, since we’re talking romance, the final message will be, “Love wins every time.”

Bound up in theme is the idea or concept central to the story. This can usually be summed up in one word—love, hate, death, betrayal, fear, regret, loneliness, etc. In our day and age, these themes have come to include things like coming of age (most often seen in YA and NA stories), nostalgia (remembering the good old days of one’s youth, but for many, those memories are tainted by bad ones), humans in conflict with one another (war stories or stories of returning soldiers haunted by what they’ve seen and done, quite common today when so many come home suffering from PTSD, abusive relationships, unwanted or unexpected pregnancies, unbridled ambition, greed, jealousy, envy, stalkers, and the list goes on.), humans in conflict with Mother Nature (surviving tornadoes, snow storms, hurricanes, near drownings, wild animals, fire, etc.), and, since it’s the twenty-first century, we now have humans at the mercy of science and technology (fast cars, motorcycles, computers, engineered viruses, and chemical warfare.) The list grows longer yet if you add paranormal and science fiction to the theme. 

Some themes  look at cross-cultural issues  and historic concepts. When I was teaching English, I was astounded to find so many similarities in the mythos of cultures that couldn’t possibly have exchanged ideas. In the first book of the Bible, we have creation and then the great flood. Look at the myths associated with the Amerindians, and any other culture with a rich mythic history, and you’ll find similarities. Every culture had a great flood. Is it because of something people call a universal consciousness, or was it simply a primitive culture trying to explain the end of the ice age? Sibling rivalry? Look at Cain and Abel, Loki and Thor, the Greek gods—Zeus, Poseidon, Hades. Greed? Look at King Midas. Betrayal? Samson and Delilah. Infidelity? David and Bathsheba. Unexpected pregnancy? Mary and Joseph. You get the picture.

We trace many of the themes in today’s literature to the works of William Shakespeare, who relied heavily on the Classics for his ideas. Think Romeo and Juliet—two young people whose families are enemies fall in love. In the play, the results were tragic. Now, think of Titanic. Two young people who shouldn’t be together because of the circumstances of their births, fall in love and tragedy separates them in life, but they are together again in death. The theme is basically the same, but how the author uses the ideas, how he or she blends them together is what makes the story. Think of stories of twins switching places and you have Twelfth Night from Shakespeare and The Parent Trap from Disney. The same but different. How many movies deal with the same theme? Armageddon and Deep Impact are movies dealing with an asteroid hitting the earth—same theme different story. Mirror, Mirror, and Snow White and the Huntsman same theme, same story, different approach. I could go on, but you get the point. Themes aren’t new. They’ve been around for eons. No one can copyright them. They are universal. 

Theme, together with a plot, setting, and characters forms the skeleton on which the romance formula is developed, and the tropes brought to life to create voice and style. The romance author must pull all these themes, ideas and tropes together into a well-written plot, with rising action that draws the reader in, crises that have them pulling for the characters, a climax that takes their breath away, and a resolution that makes them sigh. If they start to read and fall in love with the characters, so much the better. 

Don’t forget to check out today’s other  great A to Z Blog Challenge entries.

Look Who Dropped By Today: Kristen Hope Mazzola

 

 

Kristen joins me today to talk about the cover reveal for her new book, Falling Back Together. 

Falling Back Together (Crashing #2)

by   Kristen Hope Mazzola

ETA: May 20, 2014

Cover Artist:  Cover it! Designs

 

 

“I don’t know if it’s fate, coincidence, or my curse, but I’m still breathing, and my breaths are for you.”

 Mags McManus is far from a normal woman in her mid twenties. Being a war widow, a business professional, and a brokenhearted train wreck only skims the surface of the layers of who Margret McManus truly is. Waking up in a hospital bed, alone and confused, Mags once again has to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart. With her best friends by her side, Mags slowly starts to learn the answers she so desperately longs for. But is everything going to continue to spiral out of control? Or is there a light at the end of this dark, twisting tunnel where all the broken pieces can finally fall back together?

A portion of all royalties from Kristen’s Crashing Series are donated by the author to The Marcie Mazzola Foundation.

 **18+ for sexual situations, cursing, and adult content.***

{{ Please note: this is the second book in the Crashing Series, and should be read after Crashing Back Down }}

 

 Mark to read on Goodreads

 

Also by Kristen Hope Mazzola:

Crashing Back Down (Crashing #1)

Publication: November 4th 2013

 

Crashing Back Down is Kristen Hope Mazzola’s debut into the literary world. It is a New Adult Novel, with hints of contemporary romance and thriller.

About the Book: 

 Mags McManus has just become a war widow in her mid-twenties. Her late husband, Randy, left for the Army right after their wedding. Instead of celebrating his homecoming and living in marital bliss with her soulmate, Mags finds herself living in constant agony. Dealing  with the guilt of still living without Randy, are Randy’s best friends and parents.

 Rising from the ashes of this tragedy, Mags starts to learn how to love and trust again, finally being able to find happiness. But sometimes things really are too good to be true and again Mags learns how cruel the world can be as she crashes back down.

 Buy Links:

 

Goodreads | Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)| Amazon (Canada) | Amazon (Australia) | Barnes & Noble| CreateSpace | Smashwords

 Click here to read the first chapter of Crashing Back Down!

 

About the author:

 Hi! Thanks for dropping in…

You want to know more about me? Well, let’s see…

I am just an average twenty-something following my dreams. I have a full time “day job” and by night I am author. I guess you could say that writing is like my super power (I always wanted one of those). I am the lover of wine, sushi, football and the ocean; that is when I am not wrapped up in the literary world.

Please feel free to contact me to chat about my writing, books you think I’d like or just to shoot the, well you know.

 

Website | Amazon | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | YouTube | Spotify

 

Falling Back Together

by Kristen Hope Mazzola

Giveaway ends July 01, 2014.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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