C.D. Hersh's Blog, page 16
September 12, 2024
Friday Feature Eleven Rules for Brainstorming
At a loss for a topic to write? Try brainstorming ideas. Here’s some rules to follow that we’ve found to be very helpful.
1. Everything is fodder for an idea, no matter how bad it might sound at first. If you tweak it enough, you might be able to use it.
2. Two heads, or even three are better than one.
3. Invite a non-writer to participate. They might have a different take on the subject.
4. Ask “what if…” , then ask it again, and again.
5. Set the first five thoughts aside. They were the easiest to come by so they may not be the best solutions. Come back to them after a while, see #6 and 11
6. Don’t permanently delete a brainstorming thought. You never know when it might come in handy for something else.
7. Keep good notes. Scribbled shorthand, or half written sentences might not mean much if you don’t get writing right away.
8. Make sure you have snacks, and water on hand. All that thinking and talking makes one hungry and thirsty. Besides, feeding your brainstorming participants is only polite since you’re picking their brains.
9. Ask why? Why would he do that? Why doesn’t the idea work? Why can’t the sky be green?
10. Think outside the box, turn it upside down, on its side, or dissemble it to find new solutions and ideas.
11. Reread what you already have. The solution to the problem may already be hidden in those pages.
Now when you finish brainstorming settle into a comfy chair and check out our books on our book page, under the menu at the top of the page or on our Amazon Author Page
September 10, 2024
Wednesday Special Spotlight COVER REVEAL for STELLA MAY
Acclaimed romance author Stella May is elated to announce the cover for her soon to release novel New Life, Book Three in the Rostoff Family Saga!
Here’s the blurb and an excerpt to pique your interest.
In a kingdom held together by secrets and lies, the truth could heal—or destroy.
BLURB
The queen is dead. But the damage Elizabeth Rostoff leaves behind to lives, hopes, and relationships lives on.
Seven years ago, Peter Rostoff severed all ties with his family—including his sister, Kat.
But at his father’s insistence, he reluctantly returns for the funeral worn thin by his FBI position and burdened by a secret shame. But mostly by one haunting mystery—why the woman he loved like a mother disappeared…
All those years ago, Natasha Sokolova thought abandoning Dmitry Rostoff and the children she’d come to love as her own was the right thing, the only thing, to do. Resurfacing after Elizabeth’s death isn’t the healing experience she’d prayed for, but a gut-wrenching discovery of yet more secrets, and news that could destroy her for good.
Kat Rostoff lives in a bubble filled with her doting father and a mentor that helped mold her into a world-renowned artist. Yet nothing can fill the empty space, and a vague sense of guilt, left behind by the mother figure she barely remembers, and the brother who fled Paris seven years ago without looking back.
Four lives, set on diverging paths with only a glimmer of hope for reconciliation. But will the queen’s evil reach out from beyond the grave to destroy it for good?
Amazon Buy Link
Stella May is the penname for Marina Sardarova who has a fascinating history you should read on her website.
Stella writes fantasy romance as well as time travel romance. She is the author of ‘Till Time Do Us Part, Book 1 in her Upon a Time series, and the stand-alone book Rhapsody in Dreams. Love and family are two cornerstones of her stories and life. Stella’s books are available in e-book and paperback through all major vendors.
When not writing, Stella enjoys classical music, reading, and long walks along the ocean with her husband. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband Leo of 30 years and their son George. They are her two best friends and are all partners in their family business.
Follow Stella on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
September 9, 2024
Tell Again Tuesday Love appears 2,191 times
Shakespeare’s wife was named Anne Hathaway
The actress Anne Hathaway is well known for starring in hit films such as Les Misérables, The Princess Diaries, and The Devil Wears Prada, but what’s less well known is that she was named after the wife of famed playwright William Shakespeare.
Lebrecht Music & Arts/ Alamy Stock Photo
That Anne Hathaway was born in 1556, and grew up on a large farm in the village of Shottery, England, about a mile and a half away from Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon. William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway were married in 1582, after which Anne. . .
For the rest of the blog go to:September 5, 2024
Friday Feature The Promised One
Blurb for—The Promised One (The Turning Stone Chronicles)
In the wrong hands, the Turning Stone ring is a powerful weapon for evil. So, when homicide detective Alexi Jordan discovers her secret society mentor has been murdered and his magic ring stolen, she is forced to use her shape-shifting powers to catch the killer. By doing so, she risks the two most important things in her life—her badge and the man she loves.
Rhys Temple always knew his fiery cop partner and would-be-girlfriend, Alexi Jordan, had a few secrets. He considers that part of her charm. But when she changes into a man, he doesn’t find that as charming. He’ll keep her secret to keep her safe, but he’s not certain he can keep up a relationship—professional or personal.
Danny Shaw needs cash for the elaborate wedding his fiancée has planned, so he goes on a mugging spree. But when he kills a member of the secret society of Turning Stones, and steals a magic ring that gives him the power to shape shift, Shaw gets more than he bargained for.
EXCERPT:
The woman stared at him, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. “Return the ring, or you’ll be sorry.”
With a short laugh he stood. “Big words for someone bleeding to death.” After dropping the ring into his pocket, he gathered the scattered contents of her purse, and started to leave.
“Wait.” The words sounded thick and slurred . . . two octaves deeper . . . with a Scottish lilt.
Shaw frowned and spun back toward her. The pounding in his chest increased. On the ground, where the woman had fallen, lay a man.
He wore the same slinky blue dress she had—the seams ripped, the dress top collapsed over hard chest muscles, instead of smoothed over soft, rounded curves. The hem skimmed across a pair of hairy, thick thighs. Muscled male thighs. Spiked heels hung at an odd angle, toes jutting through the shoe straps. The same shoes she’d been wearing.
The alley tipped. Shaw leaned against the dumpster to steady himself. He shook his head to clear the vision, then slowly moved his gaze over the body.
A pair of steel-blue eyes stared out of a chiseled face edged with a trim salt-and-pepper beard. Shaw whirled around scanning the alley.
Where was the woman? And who the hell was this guy?
Terrified, Shaw fled.
The dying man called out, “You’re cursed. Forever.”
If this piques your interest, then settle into a comfy chair and check out our books on our book page, under the menu at the top of the page or on our Amazon Author Page
September 3, 2024
Wednesday Special Spotlight Alcohol and English
What in the world, you ask, does that mean?
It’s hard.
Hard liquor can make you dizzy. Trying to figure out the English language can make your head spin too. English is hard for newcomers to the language and hard for many of us who’ve been speaking it all our lives—especially if you’re looking into the definitions of homonyms and paradoxically phrases.
We can’t take any credit for today’s blog. We found it buried in a file of interesting writing emails we had saved from 2005. We don’t know where it came from so we can’t give the original author credit. It’s just one of those things that floats around on the internet that we thought was worth keeping. After reading it, we’re sure you’ll agree that English can be a screwy language … and don’t depend on your grammar check to fix it.
Here are a few gems to consider.
• The bandage was wound around the wound.
• The farm was used to produce produce.
• The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
• We must polish the Polish furniture.
• He could lead if he would get the lead out.
• The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
• Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
• At the Army base, a bass was painted on the head of a bass drum.
• When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
• I did not object to the object.
• The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
• There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
• They were too close to the door to close it.
• The buck does funny things when the does are present.
• A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
• To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
• The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
• After a number of Novocain injections, my jaw got number.
• Upon seeing the tear in the painting, I shed a tear.
• I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
• How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Screwy pronunciations can mess up your mind! For example, if you have a rough cough, climbing can be tough when going through the bough on a tree!
We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm goes off by going on and you drive on a parkway and park on a driveway.
Do you have a favourite crazy English paradox, homonym (words that sound alike but have different meanings), homophone (a type of homonym that sounds alike and has different meanings, but has different spellings), homograph (words that are spelled the same but have different meanings), or heteronym (a type of homograph that is spelled the same and has different meanings, but sounds different)? If so, write them down for us and we’ll be right grateful that we’ve learned something from your learned contribution.
Now that the English lesson is over settle into a comfy chair and check out our books from the links below.
We would love for you to try our Turning Stone Books on our book page, or on our Amazon Author Page
September 2, 2024
Tell Again Tuesday Sex and story
How to Write Sizzling Sex Scenes Despite the Fear of SizzlingBy Rebecca Anne Nguyen
As a reader, there’s nothing that hooks me faster than a great love story—especially if that love story is accompanied by a pitch-perfect sex scene. But as a writer working on my debut novel, crafting my own sex scene turned out to be more challenging than I could have predicted. I struggled so much, in fact, that I considered scrapping the sex altogether. There was just one teensy, tiny problem: without that scene, my plot would completely fall apart.
The sexual tension between my two main characters had been simmering for 200 pages and all roads—and every plot point—led to sex. I had to give them the night . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:August 29, 2024
Friday Feature Celebrate Fall
It’s almost that time of year again. Nothing is more refreshing than a vivid blue sky accented by fiery leaves of the hard woods, yellows of the aspens and some maples, and various reds of the underbrush. Many shades of orange and yellow are accented by the dark greens of spruce and pines. Autumn is foliage showing off and we love it. It’s nature’s last hurrah before the settling of wintertime and rest.
The flower gardens are looking a bit seedy (they have cause as they are making next year’s seeds.) Have your Hibiscus, Rose of Sharon, Obedience Plant finished? Sunflowers are nodding their heavy heads with birds and rodents feasting on the bounty of oil rich seeds. For relief we turn to a plant we nicknamed, MUM, but it is so not mum as it speaks with rich fall colors on a plant that stays tidy and easily tucked into existing gardens. Chrysanthemum has been shortened to mum; the real name almost forgotten.
Are mums perennial? Do they survive the freezing temps and come back next year. The answer is . . . maybe. Indeed, the plant is cold hardy at least to agricultural zone 4/5. So why have so many gardeners been disappointed when the mums succumb to the cold? Might be from too much love? Actually, mums are fairly tough plants that need little attention to thrive. The problem is a shallow root system. Simply put, it cannot stay in the ground during frost heaves which come and go with a changing temperature.
Give it up. You aren’t about to run out every time a warm day and a frost freeze night happens. It’s probably many more nights than you suspect. Mulch is the best remedy. A good mulch will cut down on the possibility of the shallow rooted plant being thrust out of the ground and left high and dry to die.
Two other remedies: Stick a pot or two of your favorite colors in a corner of the garage and give a sip of water occasionally. It might work; worth a try.
Next is treat the low-cost mum plant like an annual and don’t worry about it. Just buy new next year.
I’ve done all of the above with various successes. I refuse to give up new and different colors, so I buy every year. I, also, cover my favorite yellows with solid mulch and try to remember to trim until the 4th of July. (Otherwise, they grow leggy and unattractive.) I’ve been known to pot up an unusual color I want to try and save and tuck it into a corner of the garage. It works maybe half the time. I don’t get upset with failures, as I remember mums are not expensive and I can replace them as autumn approaches. It’s a lovely plant; indulge and enjoy.
Here’s a look at one of my cozy mysteries to warm your heart: MURDER AT THE LOOKOUT, 4TH in the Detective Kevin Fowler series.
When is it not fun to be a blonde?
What happens when a blond beauty hits town like a tornado stirring up memories and causing turmoil? Detective Kevin Fowler and his wife, the former Beverly Hampton, owner of the local newspaper, are settling into blissful married life. Although Beverly is sanguine over the demand on Kevin’s time by the good people of Hubbard, she is more than dubious when his duties include the escort of a drop-dead gorgeous female from his past.
There is some concern over the persistent vandalism of residential mailboxes, but an infamous arsonist has decided peaceful but dull Hubbard would make a great place from which to operate. He brazenly locates down the block from the detective and his wife.
What bait and tackle shop in the village has a dual purpose? Kevin ponders why two goons have invaded town shooting at and attempting to kidnap and murder three women. A state patrolman, aptly nick named Rooster, teases Fowler at the riotous scene of a traffic accident where the press, not the police, wins the day.
Another mystery and adventure with a satisfying ending unfolds in peaceful Hubbard, New York, small-town Americana, where Detective Kevin Fowler keeps an ever-vigilant watch.
Emma Lane is a gifted author who writes cozy mysteries as Janis Lane, Regency as Emma Lane, and spice as Sunny Lane.
She lives in Western New York where winter is snowy, spring arrives with rave reviews, summer days are long and velvet, and fall leaves are riotous in color. At long last she enjoys the perfect bow window for her desk where she is treated to a year-round panoramic view of nature. Her computer opens up a fourth fascinating window to the world. Her patient husband is always available to help with a plot twist and encourage Emma to never quit. Her day job is working with flowers at Herbtique and Plant Nursery, the nursery she and her son own.
Look for information about writing and plants on Emma’s new website. Leave a comment or a gardening question and put a smile on Emma’s face.
Stay connected to Emma on Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to check out the things that make Emma smile on Pinterest.
August 27, 2024
Wednesday Special Spotlight Believe it or not?
This week while riding on a boat in the middle of the lake we saw a semi-truck coming toward us. Yellow lights flashed on top of the cab and the deep-throated horn bellowed for us to move out of the way. We looked at each other and said “How can semi-truck be out on the lake?” Then we steered our boat out of the direct path as it barreled toward us.
Do you believe it, or not?
Sometimes things we see can’t be explained. Sometimes things happen that can’t be explained.
We could spend a thousand words trying to describe this phenomenon, and you still might not believe us. So, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Here is the semi-truck heading directly for us on the water.
Do you believe us now? Are there still some skeptics out there? How about another thousand words, via a picture?
Now you can see it is possible. Here’s another thousand words to show some of the details.
If a semi-truck can travel on water, perhaps shape shifters are real. We would love for you to try our Turning Stone Books on our book page, or on our Amazon Author Page
August 26, 2024
Tell Again Tuesday Write for the reader
Designing for Reader ExperienceBy Cathy Yardley
I’ve mentioned reader experience in a previous post. It’s something I work on with my coaching clients, and it’s something I consciously use in my own novels. I got the term, and the concept, from UX – a tech term for User Experience, which goes far beyond “make it pretty and put the buttons here.”
While “designing” may sound sterile and soulless – tech tends to call to mind the glossy, edgeless, minimalist white of Apple products or the calculated, scientific heartlessness of AI – it truly isn’t.
Because . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:August 22, 2024
Friday Feature a Paranormal World
Today we’d like to tell you a little bit about the paranormal shape shifter world we created for our series The Turning Stone Chronicles.
We started brainstorming our book on a long road trip. A sign, entitled Turning Stone, was the impetus for the series name, The Turning Stone Chronicles. We decided we were going to go with shape shifters in part because we like paranormal books and because the title of the series lent itself nicely to shape shifters. We briefly considered vampires—after all they shift into bats—but ditched the idea because Catherine didn’t think she could sleep at night if we wrote a vampire book. They’ve always scared the life out of her—no pun intended.
While talking about what our shifter world would look like, Donald suggested we do
something different. Typically, a shape shifter has one alternate form—an animal, which is more often than not a wolf. Donald remembered a class he’d taken in college where they talked about the three parts of the human psyche, the id, ego, and super ego. He suggested we take that concept, a tri-personality aspect, and tweek it a bit for our books. Consequently, our shifters have the ability to shift into other human forms, as well as an animal form.
As we talked about how the shape shifting elements were going to differ in our books, we 
began to wonder about the clothing question our characters faced when they turned into an animal. Catherine had done some were-animal research earlier that revealed hiding humans’ clothes, when they have shifted into an animal, prevents them from turning back into humans. That makes shape shifters susceptible to easy capture, in our opinion, so we decided to eliminate that problem by adding magic rings to the mix—the Turning Stone rings, carved from an ancient bloodstone by Celtic druids. Because of the magic in the rings, when our characters shift into animals their clothing, the ring, and anything else on their person is transformed, too. However, that is not the case when they are shifting into another human form, which makes for some interesting scenes in the book.
We’ve had a lot of fun designing a new and different shape shifting world, developing
interesting rules for our tri-personality shifters, and discovering who and what each character’s alter ego and animal ego are. We like to listen to our characters and let them give us clues about their other personalities. Here’s a hint about the secret Turning Stone Society shape shifters—it’s a zoo out there.
Do you like shape shifter stories? What’s your favorite were-animal? What animal do you think you would be if you had a Turning Stone ring?
Amazon buy links:The Promised One (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 1)
Blood Brothers (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 2)
Son of the Moonless Night (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 3)
The Mercenary and the Shifters (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 4)
