C.D. Hersh's Blog, page 35
June 19, 2023
Tell Again Tuesday Writing Aids
6 Fun Must-Haves for WritersBy Leigh Goff
Writing or working from home is more than just you and your laptop. It’s the small world around you, too. Your writing environment plays an important role in your productivity and focus. I’ve been writing for over ten years and have found a few fun, yet necessary items that add to my comfort, stir my creativity, and get me in the writing mood. Whether you’re trying to achieve a specific word count for the day or put together the perfect outline for your upcoming novel, these are my . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:
June 15, 2023
Friday Feature Six Tips to Revise Your Writing
While we have been working in our (my wife’s) garden, between rainy days, cleaning up weeds, volunteer trees and leaves, we have been talking about cleaning up the two years’ worth of bird droppings and green mold from the railings and edges of our Trek decking. Our deck is a three-level beauty, designed by Catherine. The deck is a joy to sit on and a great place to entertain, but it’s a bear to clean. We have noticed the birds’ ‘gifts’ deposited on the railings and the mold creeping across the banisters, and meant to get out and take care of them, but other things got in the way. We got too busy, worked too hard, it got too hot to work on the deck, and we were just too lazy.
In retrospect, we should have paid more attention to what was happening, because we have let a minor job turn into a major one, once again. Oh, yes, we’ve faced this challenge before.
Last time we cleaned, we spent about five hours cleaning the railings and about two feet around the lower two decks, scrubbing, rubbing, and rinsing. We even cleaned some spots with a toothbrush! Then we cleaned the center of the two lower decks, the steps, and the balcony.
This cleaning exercise, that we have to do again, is a lot like revising a book—you have to take the time to get rid of all the crap you let accumulate. That’s every time you write.
We’re not saying our books, or even your books, are crap. We all write well, right? But it’s so easy to get lazy and let a lot of stuff slip in like passive voice, adjectives, groaning dialogue tags, purple prose, slow pacing, and way too much back story, until, like the railings of our deck covered in bird droppings, you can no longer see the beauty of your original creation. We don’t know about you, but we hate revisions and would rather do everything we can to get our books as clean as possible the first go around.
So, here are six tips we use to get the bird droppings out of our writing.
• Reread the previous days’ work. This not only gives a fresh look at your writing but also helps get back in the groove. If you’ve been away from a WIP more than few days you might even go back to the previous chapter. By revisiting each chapter, you get a head start on the small revision stuff.
• Write with grammar check turned on. You can set grammar check to highlight a lot of things, but the most important use we have found is to highlight passive writing. Having attuned yourself to those squiggle grammar check lines, the passive verbs are very clear to see. A glance tells where you need improvement in this area. Not every passive sentence can be revised into an active one, but many can and doing so will make your writing stronger.
• Do a search for “LY” on each chapter as you complete it. It’s amazing how many of those sneaky adjectives creep in.
• Look for long paragraphs. Too little white space on a page can often be a warning sign of heavy narrative, back story, or too much description.
• Check every page for tension. Donald Maas says we should have tension on every page. It doesn’t have to be bang ‘em up, slam ‘em up tension, but there needs to be something that keeps the story humming along.
• Do a check of dialogue. Are there too many “he saids” or “she saids.” Or are there too many lines with no dialogue or action tags? Have you gritted or laughed the dialogue? Teeth are gritted not words, and how in the world do you laugh words? We know we can’t.
These six items may seem like little steps toward revision, but sweating the small stuff now can make your major revisions easier. And who doesn’t want that?
What do you do as you write to help your revisions go faster?
Now here is a little about our paranormal series, The Turning Stone Chronicles .
Three ancient Celtic families. A magical Bloodstone that enables the wearers to shape shift. A charge to use the stone’s power to benefit mankind, and a battle, that is going on even today, to control the world. Can the Secret Society of shape shifters called the Turning Stone Society heal itself and bring peace to our world? Find out in the series The Turning Stone Chronicles.
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
June 13, 2023
Wednesday Special Spotlight Revision—The Hard Way
Several years ago, my husband and I worked for several weeks on removing path stones and laying a paver stone edging along the north walkway of our yard. Originally the path had square, concrete paver stones, set in the middle of beige gravel, to keep us from walking in a rather wet area. The area around the path was soggy dirt when we first built it. Recently, we decided to use the path stones elsewhere. They had become a trip hazard for me. Besides, I was tired of the scruffy look of the grass against the path edge.
When we laid the gravel path, it looked trim and neat. Of course there wasn’t much grass along the curving edge, so neat was to be expected. After seeding the lawn, and being lax in trimming the edge (it’s hard to run a weed whacker along gravel), we lost lots of ground to creeping rhizomes, which required a lot of hard digging to remove.
As we began digging up against the plastic paver edge and pulling hunks of matted grass up, two thoughts came to my mind:
• What you originally envision isn’t always the best thing.
• We should have laid the path this way and saved ourselves a couple of weeks of hard labor redoing the walkway.
This, we say, is why you think a project through and let it simmer before you start making major changes. It’s also the reason you don’t send your articles, books or any other written work out to an editor as soon as the ink dries on the paper. You need to take time to make sure you’ve thoroughly revised it.
Stories change over the period it takes to write them … it’s the nature of the beast. Even if you have what you believe to be the best plotted synopsis or chapter graphs, it’s amazing how many errors and problem you will find in your manuscript when you let it rest after you write The End. We’re not recommending you wait years (like we did with the pathway) before pulling out your book for revision, although we have done that with a couple of things and discovered the book wasn’t as good as we thought. Boy, was that an eye opener! We are, however, suggesting you give yourself at least a week before rereading, revising, and routing your work to an editor.
Ask yourself these questions when you look at your work again:
• Have I made any amateur mistakes: misspelled words, bad grammar, incorrect punctuation, the wrong word count or slant for the target market?
• Do all of my scenes have a beginning, middle and an end? Are they necessary to the story?
• Are my words weak? Do I have too much passive voice, too many repetitious words, too many adverbs?
• Do I have too much back story? Is it an info dump or sprinkled through the pages?
• Do I have enough conflict? Every scene needs conflict. If it doesn’t have conflict then get rid of it.
• Have I tied up all the subplots?
• Have I missed any elements I started with but eliminated or changed along the way? Perhaps I dropped a character from the story and he shows up later, or the story was set in Chicago and changed it to Cincinnati halfway through. Are my characters’ eyes and hair still the same color?
• And, last, but not least—is this piece the best I can possibly make it? Will it hold up to the test of time?
Our pathway didn’t hold up to the test of time. We didn’t create the best thing we possibly could for that spot, hence our need to redo it. When we began installing the path, we didn’t see creeping grass, an impossible edge to trim, and paver stones that created big stumbling blocks, and as a result we ended up with a huge revision of the path.
Lessons learned?
Number one: Expect change. The only constant in life is change.
Number two: Think it through—completely through—before you begin, and any revisions you have to make will be a lot easier.
That applies to books as well as home projects.
Do you have any revision stories that you could make easier with a bit more thought?
Thinking of change, our paranormal romance series is about folks who use magic to shape shift, and it is not the ordinary animal shape shifting. We think readers will be surprised. Amazon reviewers have called the story line “totally unique,” and “a book that keeps you turning the pages to the end.”
InDtale Magazine review said “The Promised One” takes paranormal and turns it on its ear, taking shape-shifting to a whole other level. The bad guy perspective is particularly unique and fun, and the characters three-dimensional. . .”
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
June 12, 2023
Tell Again Tuesday Legalize of writing
When Your Publishing Contract Flies a Red Flag: Clauses to Watch Out ForBy Victoria Strauss
After the excitement of a “yes” from a publisher comes the job of assessing your publishing contract.
Facing down ten pages of dense legalese can be a daunting task, especially for new and inexperienced writers, who may not have the resources to hire a literary lawyer, or have access to a knowledgeable person who can help de-mystify the offer terms.
And it is really, really important to assess and understand those terms, because publishing contracts are written to the advantage of publishers. While a good contract should . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:June 8, 2023
Friday Feature Collaborative Writing
Lots of people we know look at us as collaborative writers and say, “I don’t know how you two do it. I’d kill my spouse if I had to work with him/her.”
Well, we’re both still alive and healthy and love working together.
So what’s our secret? For the inquisitive minds who want to know, here are a few reasons why our writing partnership works.
We like each other and respect each other—a lot. Respect is paramount in any working relationship.
We’ve been together more years that we’ve been apart. As a result, we know each other very well.
We have complimentary talents and we recognize that. Donald is a great idea and plotting person, and Catherine is good at the technical part of writing, the grammar, spelling, punctuation, and etcetera.
We laugh a lot when we’re working together, even if it’s a serious scene. Nothing brings people together like laughter.
We plot our stories in detail, but still allow room for the characters to take us to unexpected places. When they do what we haven’t planned, both of us have to sign off on what has happened before it makes it into the book.
We’re willing to throw ideas, scenes and whole sections of each other’s writing out. There are no sacred cows in our partnership.
Our methods of collaborative writing are fluid. Sometimes we create using a totally collaborative effort, literally writing together line-by-line (we’ve created a number of our plays using this method). We might revamp something one of us has created as a solo writer, or we might work with one of us functioning as the major writer and the other as editor. Changing things keeps our interests up and our egos in check.
And last, but certainly not least, we keep the lines of communication open. Writing is usually a solo job, but when you’re working with someone else, you have to let them know how you feel about what’s being plotted, written, and critiqued. If you don’t, then you can stifle the creative flow as well as the collaborative relationship. When we plot and one of us throws out a hasty, “I hate that idea!” (and we’ve done that) there are no hurt feelings on the part of the other person. We will ask for clarification as to why, and the protesting party must come up with a reasonable excuse, but we never get upset, want to quit working together, or get a divorce over it.
We can’t speak to the writing methods of other co-authors, although we have read that some write opposing chapters or each take a point of view, something we haven’t tried yet. However, as a married couple and co-authors, we do feel we bring something unique to the table—a spark we hope will take us a long way on our writing journey. A spark that enriches our personal relationship. For us, that’s enough reason to work together as C.D. Hersh.
Have you ever co-authored something? What worked for you in that relationship?
Following is a sample of our collaborative writing. An excerpt from The Promised One, the first book in our Turning Stone Chronicles Series.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
June 6, 2023
Wednesday Special Spotlight Time for Tea and Scones
In our Turning Stone Chronicles paranormal romance series the Keeper of the Stone, an ancient Scottish man named Eli McCraigen, serves an ever-present cup of tea and scones when serious matters need to be discussed. You’ll see him in every book brewing his tea and serving scones or biscuits of some sort. Our character most likely does this because tea is a breakfast ritual at the C.D. Hersh house.
Catherine loves a good cup of Scottish tea and drinks either a robust cup of Scottish or Irish Breakfast tea every morning. Her Scottish and Irish teas of choice are Taylors brand, imported from across the pond. Donald prefers something with a bit more flavoring and brews a cup of Bigelow Carmel Vanilla tea. Most of the time we have high-fiber toast with our morning tea, but today we wanted to share an authentic Scottish recipe–scones (which when pronounced correctly rhymes with gone).
Catherine got the recipe a number of years ago from a lovely Scottish lady named Rhoda, who immigrated to America at the end of WWII after she fell in love with an American G.I.
We hope you’ll enjoy Rhoda’s scones!
Scottish Scones 2 c flour3 t baking powder
2 T sugar
6 T shortening
½ t salt
2 ½ c buttermilk
The Promised One (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 1) that has Eli serving his tea and scones.
Alexi thumbed her cell phone off and shoved it into her pocket. “Rhys should be here in a couple of minutes. Are you sure we need to do this?”
Eli took the screaming teakettle off the stove and poured boiling water into a ceramic teapot. “Aye. We have tae make sure he’s included. We need him.” He dropped three tea bags into the water and set on the lid. “He may not be a shifter, but he has a gun and, unless I miss my guess, isnae afraid to use it. Besides, going off and doing things on our own, without keeping him informed twill only push him away. Tae get him tae accept who he is we need tae draw him in.”
She lined the three mugs on the counter next to the scones Eli had prepared. “I don’t know. He’s been very resistant.”
“So’s a salmon in a bear’s mouth. All that flopping about after he’s been caught is for naught. But if he’d heeded the shadow on the water he might have stayed in the stream.”
“So your strategy is to keep Rhys in water?”
“‘Tis tae make him see the shadow, lassie. That’ll keep him alive and hopefully coming tae our side.”
Alive was good. So was on their side. She rubbed the frown creases between her eyes. Worry deepened the two lines more every day.
“Dinna be afeart. I have a plan.”
That was good, because she was fresh out of ideas. The doorbell rang. Alexi answered it and ushered Rhys into the kitchen.
Rhys eyed the scones and teapot. “Tea party, for me?” He took a scone and bit into it. “I’m not easily swayed by sweets, old man.”
“Yer actions would say different, laddie. But ‘tis for me. I’m an auld man, set in his ways, and ‘tis tea time in Scotland.”
Now if your scones are ready and tea brewed how about checking out our series.
Our books are on our book page, under the menu at the top of the page or on our Amazon Author Page
June 5, 2023
Tell Again Tuesday Dreams write stories
Life &Writing Tools: Dream A Little DreamBy Susan Hanniford Crowley
There are many authors myself included that dream of their books before they write them. Being aware of your dreams is not only a writing tool but a life tool as well.
1. Dreams teach us things.
2. Sometimes they are just for letting off steam.
3. Often we will try out things we want to do.
4. Remember the past. Sometimes seeing an important detail we forgot.
5. Dream of possible futures.
6. Learn things.
7. Restudy things. When I was in college, I would read a chapter from a textbook, then go immediately to sleep. Those words were the last my mind saw in the waking world. My mind would restudy throughout the night. I still got a good night’s sleep. How did I do in college with my waking studying plus dream studying? I did very well.
The trick is in capturing your dreams . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:June 1, 2023
Friday Feature A Visit with Rhys Temple
Moderator: Today we are talking with Rhys Temple, the hero in The Promised One (The Turning Stone Chronicles)
Rhys: Hello.
Moderator: Are you ready to answer some questions?
Rhys: Fire away.
1. Moderator: Was it difficult working with Alexi Jordan while falling in love with her?
Rhys: Difficult? No, I wouldn’t say it was difficult, especially with the way she looks and moves. Working with her was easy as we seemed to fit together very well, and as our love grew, going to work got easier each day. Things only became difficult when I found out about her secret and the Turning Stone Society.
2. Moderator: Did you suspect that Alexi had feelings for you?
Rhys: There were some signs, hints you might say, over the years. Alexi has a very intense way of looking and reacting when she is interested in something. I could see that appear in her when the other women in the office made any overtures toward me. Gladys said Alexi really went at a couple of the women when they were deciding who was baking my birthday cake. Glad I wasn’t in the squad-room for that.
3. Moderator: Were the consequences of admitting your love worth the risk?
Rhys: Yes. But the risks just keep coming with loving Alexi. Each book brings more and more risks to our relationship and our lives in the shifter world. I have to say though; if you don’t take a risk on love then I’m sure you are going to miss out on a lot. Took me some time to understand that.
4. Moderator: How long have you known you loved Alexi?
Rhys: Ha! Everyone seems to ask that question. Of course, she looked great from the beginning, so I was attracted. But it was her drive, determination and, I think, dedication to the police work that really drew me in. If I have to pick a specific point that would be about a year after we started working together. There was a murder case, about a dock-worker, where she didn’t wait for me to get to her location before she charged in. For some reason something told me to go around to the back side of the warehouse to enter. That put me behind the guys who had tied Alexi up and were going to use her as a hostage. I was able to take one of them down but the other one almost stabbed me in the back. Even tied up, Alexi was able to block the knife, but she got sliced on her arm. From that point on I realized I loved her.
5. Moderator: What’s next for the two of you?
Rhys: At this point we’re just trying to keep the family together and the rogue shifters from taking over the world. To say more would give away too many spoilers.
Moderator: Okay, now that Rhys has answered some questions from us, what question would you like to ask him?
In the first book of the series, THE PROMISED ONE, the partnership between Rhys and Alexi has been described as extremely powerful and one that hits you immediately from the beginning of the book. So here is a brief excerpt that shows that partnership.
Tucking his gift under her arm, she started to leave.
“Hey.” He pointed at the other gifts. “Aren’t you going to add yours?”
“Nope. I’ll give it to you later, when we’re alone.”
“Ooh. Something special. Mineral or animal?” His right eyebrow raised, his smile growing.
Alexi laughed. “Just embarrassing.”
“For you or for me?”
“I’m not telling.”
Sidling close to her, he backed her against the wall. “Come on. Just a hint,” he said, a purr in his tone as he placed his hand on the wall next to her shoulder and moved into her personal space with the ease of a lover. One of his famous melt-the-girl looks smoldered in his gaze. The golden flecks in his green eyes lit up like fireworks. Hot fireworks.
Enjoying his closeness and the raw sensuality emanating from him, she lingered for a minute, then slowly moved away. Standing this close she could get burned, and she wasn’t ready to play with fire . . . not yet. She shook her head. “Not a chance.”
He crossed his arms, obviously irked that she hadn’t succumbed. “My irresistible charms work on everyone else. Why not you?”
Oh, if you only knew. She had to fight to resist him. She flashed him a smile. “Because I’m special. And I’m your partner. Keeping your back safe is more important than getting you on your back.”
He laughed, a deep, throaty, and utterly sexy sound.
She locked her knees to keep from melting into a puddle.
“I like the sound of that.”
Of course you would. She felt her face flame.
The series is a paranormal romance about folks who use magic to shape shift, and it is not the ordinary animal shape shifting. We think readers will be surprised. Amazon reviewers have called the story line “totally unique,” and “a book that keeps you turning the pages to the end.”
InDtale Magazine review said “The Promised One” takes paranormal and turns it on its ear, taking shape-shifting to a whole other level. The bad guy perspective is particularly unique and fun, and the characters three-dimensional. . .”
The series is to be five books with the first four already out on Amazon. Here is a little more about the series, each book and links to them.
TITLE: The Turning Stone Chronicles
GENRE: Urban fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
HEAT LEVEL: Sensual
Three ancient Celtic families. A magical Bloodstone that enables the wearers to shape shift. A charge to use the stone’s power to benefit mankind, and a battle, that is going on even today, to control the world. Can the Secret Society of shape shifters called the Turning Stone Society heal itself and bring peace to our world?
Find out in The Series The Turning Stone Chronicles
Book one of the chronicles titled “The Promised One” available on Amazon
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.
Book two of The Turning Stone Chronicles titled “Blood Brothers” available on Amazon.
When Delaney Ramsey is enlisted to help train two of the most powerful shape shifters the Turning Stone Society has seen in thousands of years, she suspects one of them is responsible for the disappearance of her daughter. To complicate matters, the man has a secret that could destroy them all. Bound by honor to protect the suspect, Delaney must prove his guilt without losing her life to his terrible powers or revealing to the police captain she’s falling for that she’s a shape shifter with more than one agenda.
The minute Captain Williams lays eyes on Delaney Ramsey, he knows she’s trouble. Uncooperative, secretive, and sexy, he can’t get her out of his mind. When he discovers she has a personal agenda for sifting through all the criminal records in his precinct, and secretly investigating his best detective, he can’t let her out of his sight. He must find out what she’s looking for before she does something illegal. If she steps over the line, he’s not certain he can look the other way for the sake of love.
Book three of The Turning Stone Chronicles titled “Son of the Moonless Night” currently available on Amazon.
Owen Todd Jordan Riley has a secret. He’s a shape shifter who has been hunting and killing his own kind. To him the only good shifter is a dead shifter. Revenge for the death of a friend motivates him, and nothing stands in his way . . . except Katrina Romanovski, the woman he is falling in love with.
Deputy coroner Katrina Romanovski has a secret, too. She hunts and kills paranormal beings like Owen. At least she did. When she rescues Owen from an attack by a werebear she is thrust back into the world she thought she’d left. Determined to find out what Owen knows about the bear, she begins a relationship meant to collect information. What she gets is something quite different love with a man she suspects of murder. Can she reconcile his deception and murderous revenge spree and find a way to redeem him? Or will she condemn him for the same things she has done and walk away from love?
Book four of The Turning Stone Chronicles titled “The Mercenary & the Shifters” available on Amazon.
A desperate call from an ex-military buddy lands a mercenary soldier in the middle of a double kidnapping, caught in an ancient shape shifter war, and ensnared between two female shape shifters after the same thing … him.
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If any of 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
May 30, 2023
Wednesday Special Spotlight Problem Birds or Lines
With the coming of spring in our area the birds have returned to build nests and roost. We love watching the birds in our back yard. In fact, we’ve planted enough bushes and trees to have a mini-sanctuary for birds. The problems come when they don’t build their nests where they are supposed to. Much like those pesky lines that appear in your first draft when you are trying to get the thought into the manuscript.
Anyway, back to the birds for a moment.
We have a lovely little covered balcony just outside our dining area that has our two chairs, bistro table, and ceiling fan for the warm days with no breeze. The ceiling fan is the problem right now. Or is it the birds?
Really, it’s the birds because they don’t stay in the bushes and they keep trying to build a nest on the fan. Have we mentioned we like to watch the birds? Just not that close and personal. Plus, have you ever noticed what happens when birds come in for a landing? They almost always make a mess. And we’re not talking about the grass, straw and strips of material they carry for building their nests. But we digress.
For the past several weeks we’ve been trying to convince the birds the fan is not a nesting location. However, the only thing that seems to discourage them is to run the fan constantly. Not something, we want to have going when we’re not at home. And if we aren’t home to chase the birds away they keep building nests.
The solution? Not sure at the moment, but the two best ideas we’ve found is to wrap the fan like the fruit tree growers do to keep birds off or to screen in the balcony. Not sure we have time for the second solution and we’re just starting to search for netting for an immediate solution.
Neither of our solutions are easy ones. Fortunately, when you get bad lines in your WIP you can easily fix those by reworking the lines. Here are a few bad lines courtesy of the annual Lyttle Lytton Contest:
-“Agent Jeffrey’s trained eyes rolled carefully around the room, taking in the sights and sounds.”
Wow eyes that can hear and move on their own.
-“It was a beautiful night, and the full moon glew like it had never glown before.”
Incorrect spelling make this hard to understand but seems they’ve never seen a bright moon.
– “Ooo la la!” whispered Larry in French.
Is this really English or just a phrase we’ve borrowed from the French.
– “She had the kind of face that made you want to say, ‘Hey, look at your face!’”
Not the best of lines to say to a woman.
– “BOOM!” said the bomb very loudly.”
Wow, a talking bomb. AI is really taking over.
– The explosion threw-up the dirt as if it had a bad stomach.
Not the image we’d want to leave a reader with.
I’m sure you have never written any lines as bad as those above. But also we’re sure you have written lines that were changed several times because they didn’t hit the right mark.
Keep those pesky lines you write in their proper location just as we trying to keep the birds where they belong, because the alternative isn’t a pretty picture.
Here is a little more about our series.
The series is to be five books with the first four already out on Amazon.
TITLE: The Turning Stone Chronicles
GENRE: Urban fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
HEAT LEVEL: Sensual
Three ancient Celtic families. A magical Bloodstone that enables the wearers to shape shift. A charge to use the stone’s power to benefit mankind, and a battle, that is going on even today, to control the world. Can the Secret Society of shape shifters called the Turning Stone Society heal itself and bring peace to our world?
Find out at The Turning Stone Chronicles Series page
The series is a paranormal romance about folks who use magic to shape shift, and it is not the ordinary animal shape shifting. We think readers will be surprised. Amazon reviewers have called the story line “totally unique,” and “a book that keeps you turning the pages to the end.”
InDtale Magazine review said “The Promised One” takes paranormal and turns it on its ear, taking shape-shifting to a whole other level. The bad guy perspective is particularly unique and fun, and the characters three-dimensional. . .”
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
May 29, 2023
Tell Again Tuesday Imperfection in writing
Learning to Live Alongside Your Imperfect Draft NovelBy Lucy Mitchell
Today I am going to talk about something which I am starting to get my head around.
Note: I’ve not nailed this yet but I am trying.
So, I am talking about – the ability to coexist with your imperfect draft novel and be at peace with all its flaws. You can go about your daily life and not be plagued or tortured by your draft novel sat there with it’s saggy middle, flat ending and cast of chaotic characters. You can even smile naturally at your imperfect draft novel. There’s no gritting of teeth or sleepless nights. You don’t delete it, quit writing it or quit writing altogether because of it. You accept it needs work and you learn to live with it. For me this is a next level writer mindset.
We get obsessed with . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:
