C.D. Hersh's Blog, page 6
May 12, 2025
Tell Again Tuesday Self Publishing
Two Bites of the Apple on Kindle VellaBy Anne Brown
If you’re considering self-publishing and wanting to maximize potential income, do yourself a favor and take a peek at Amazon’s Kindle Vella platform.
If you haven’t already heard about Kindle Vella, it’s a place where you can serialize your novel over an extended period, instead of publishing one whole story all at once. Instead of chapters, you are publishing “episodes,” much like a television series.
This isn’t a new concept. Serialized novels first popped up as early as the 17th century and really took off in England during the 19th century when novels were published episodically in newspapers and magazines.
This allowed poorer overworked readers to enjoy stories that would have been too expensive for them to read as leather-bound volumes. In the modern era, Kindle Vella readers are . . .
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May 8, 2025
Friday Features New time travel book
Not a time travel novel
Many readers love time travel stories! Just take a look at the success of books and movies like Outlander and The Time Traveler’s Wife. In these stories, the author shows the characters traveling back and forth in time.
The characters, not the readers.
Wouldn’t it be cool if an author could make you the time traveler?
That is my goal in my new historical romance series, “Daughters of the Duchess.” I take my readers back in time to 15th C. Flanders, to the court of Duke Philip III of Burgundy. As an earnest student of medieval history, I’ve been studying the period for decades. I feel like I lived there, 500 years ago in the region they now call Belgium and the Netherlands.
Here’s a brief peek at Book One.
A flawed, proud lady. A man with scars—inside and out. A love neither saw coming.
At a spring festival in Burgundy, a proud, disabled maiden and a disillusioned horse master are thrown together by duty. Neither expects the spark. Can two wounded souls learn to trust love?
Eva of Utrecht, at just shy of sixteen winters, had accepted her fate. She knew no nobleman, no knight of honor would ever ask for the hand of a child born out of wedlock, especially one swept aside by a powerful Burgundian Duke. Especially one who, born with a club foot only partially corrected by the healers, had been left with an uneven gait. She would remain a seamstress, a tailor’s daughter, until some man—a local craftsman, or mayhap even a commoner—grew lonely, pitied her, and took her for a wife.
If ever.
A missive from the Duke himself, however, could signal a change. A glimmer of hope sparked in Eva’s chest.
~~~
As he unsaddled his lord’s sweaty horse, anger and resentment rose in Mathieu’s chest. He was no escort, no lowly courier to be sent on missions such as these. He was a squire, the ostler and falconer here at Coudenburg. And he had many preparations to oversee at the castle for the festival—”
“Mathieu. Do not despair. This mission is no common task, but one the Duke honors you to complete. The lady you must retrieve is a very special one, indeed.”
A lady. Harumph. Probably just another one of the Duke’s mistresses.
Buy Link eBook
Paperback & Audiobook coming soon!
Bio
Gemma St. Claire is an award-winning author of romantic fiction, dedicated to crafting stories that resonate with readers, with unforgettable characters and tantalizing plots.
Her passions are writing, romance, and history, particularly the Middle Ages. Let Gemma take you on romantic journeys, back in time to when castles were called “home,” and chivalry was alive and well.
Join Gemma’s Time Travelers here:
Hit the No pledge button and you’re on board!
May 6, 2025
Wednesday Special Spotlight Cowgirls in Kitchen
Hi everyone! Time for another edition of Vintage Recipes here at “Cowgirls in the Kitchen”! Oh, golly, I had a lot of trouble deciding what recipe to feature today–so guess what? I had to include more than one! I think you will enjoy all of these and they are for very different types of “eating pleasure”, but none of them are hard to make (you know my rule about having to be something easy if I make it!)
This first one is one my best friend’s mom used to make sometimes when we were all over at her house and hungry. I had never had these before, and I begged my mom to make them, but with my dad’s work schedule, we rarely had leftover mashed potatoes, which is a key ingredient for these . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:May 5, 2025
Tell Again Tuesday The Writing Craft
Writing Tips 40 Experts Wish They’d Known as BeginnersBy Jerry B. Jenkins
How I wish I had known as a teenager what I know now!
At 19 I worked full-time as a sportswriter for a daily newspaper.
I loved my job, but I was ambitious and wanted to see if I could sell a story to the Features editor. I worked hard on one, on my own time, and submitted it with photos.
The editor’s response crushed me.
In red pencil at the top of the first page, he’d scribbled:
“Great pictures. Bad story.”
Humiliated, I forced myself to approach his desk.
“Sir,” I said, “could you tell me what’s wrong with this so I can fix it?”
“Sure, Jenkins,” he said. . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:May 1, 2025
Friday Features Cinco de Mayo
Many people believe Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day. Nope, that is actually September 16. May 5 celebrates the Battle of Puebla which was Mexico’s victory over France in 1862. Another interesting fact – Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo more than the people in Mexico.
I met a wonderful lady in the Hispanic aisle when I was shopping for these ingredients. Lydia literally took me by the hand and taught me a great deal in just a few minutes especially about tortillas and refried beans which I’m sharing with you. I am thankful for Lydia and the time she spent with me.
MENU
Guacamole & Tortilla Chips
Beef Tacos
Flour Tortillas
Rice with Tomatoes and Onion
Refried Beans
Mexican Beer – Corona, Dos Equis, Modelo, Tecate
Guacamole
This dish can be made hours in advance of your dinner and stored in the fridge.
2 lg. ripe avocados
1 tbsp. (15ml) onion, chopped fine
5 drops Tabasco sauce
1 med. tomato, peeled and chopped
⅛ tsp. (.60ml) cumin
⅛ tsp. (.60ml) garlic powder
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Cut avocados in half. Lift out pits and save. Scoop out avocado from shell and place into a glass bowl. Mash with a fork. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Taste for seasoning and adjust to suit you.
Place guacamole into a serving dish. Bury at least one pit into the dip. This helps keep the avocado from turning black. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve with tortilla chips.
Photo by The BlackRabbit on Unsplash
Beef Tacos
1 lb. (500g) 90% lean ground beef
½ med. onion, chopped
1 cup (250ml) canned tomato sauce
2 tsp. (10ml) chili powder
½ tsp. (2.5ml) garlic powder
½ tsp. (2.5ml) dried oregano
½ tsp. (2.5ml) paprika
½ tsp. (2.5ml) ground cumin
½ tsp. (2.5ml) cayenne
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 220° F (100°C).
Brown beef in a large skillet set over medium heat. Be sure to stir and break up clumps. Stir in onion and cook 3 – 4 minutes.
Pour tomato sauce over meat mixture. Sprinkle on spices. Stir well. Cook 5 – 8 minutes longer, stirring often.
Pour into an ovenproof dish. Set in oven until ready to serve.
Flour Tortillas
1 package store bought flour tortillas
When you return home open the package, separate tortillas and lay directly onto your kitchen counter for 10 – 15 minutes. Restack tortillas, wrap lightly in a paper towel. Replace them in their original package, seal, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Heat a flat skillet over medium heat. Lay in a tortilla and warm for a minute or so. Turn. Fold tortilla in half. You now have a perfect taco shell.
Lay shells on a plate and serve.
Rice with Tomatoes and Onion
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
1 med. onion, sliced thin
2 cups (200g) rice, not instant
2 cups (450ml) chicken stock, not broth
2 cups (450ml) water
14½ oz. (411g) can diced tomatoes
Heat oil in a large saucepan set over moderate heat. Swirl oil to coat pan bottom. Add onion. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes or until onion is transparent but not brown.
Pour in rice. Stir well for 2 – 3 minutes to coat all the grains. Do not let the rice brown or the dish will be bitter.
Stir in stock, water, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Cover pan and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes or until rice absorbs all the liquid.
If need be, keep rice warm in a low oven until you’re ready to serve.
Refried Beans
1 can refried beans*
2 strips bacon
Scoop beans into a microwaveable bowl.
Fry bacon until crisp. You want to render as much fat out as possible. Eat the bacon (no joke) and then stir the rendered fat into the beans.
Depending on how powerful your microwave is, heat for 1 – 2 minutes before serving.
* Buying canned beans is much easier than using dried pinto beans for this dish and probably better tasting. Be sure the can reads Authentic Refried Beans. La Preferida is the brand Lydia recommended. She was right. It was delicious as it has bits of bean in it instead of just being a heavy paste.
May you enjoy all the days of your life filled with good friends, laughter, and seated around a well-laden table!
Sloane
May you enjoy all the days of your life filled with good friends, laughter, and seated around a well-laden table!
Sloane
Sloane Taylor is an Award-Winning romance author with a passion that consumes her day and night. She is an avid cook and posts new recipes on her blog every Wednesday. The recipes are user friendly, meaning easy.
To learn more about Taylor go to her website. Stay in touch on Blogger, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Taylor’s cookbooks, Hot Men Wear Aprons, Date Night Dinners, Date Night Dinners Italian Style, Sizzling Summer, and Recipes to Create Holidays Extraordinaire are released by Toque & Dagger Publishing and available on Amazon.
April 29, 2025
Wednesday Special Spotlight Friends
Yes, we all want to have friends, but sometimes you have to hit delete.
Take the time to look at those friend requests. If something feels off, click delete.
Ever since we were wee tots, the notion that we had friends was intoxicating. Pals, buddies, chums, mates: whatever you call the folks with whom we share an affinity, the mere thought of them evokes feelings of warmth and happiness, ebullience and high spirits. With friends, what could go wrong?
Well, today, a lot. I’m talking here about certain Facebook friends. You know, the ones whose pictures you barely look at, before gleefully clicking on their Please Be My Friend- requests, all in the hope of adding another notch on your friend-list belt, which, of course, proves to everyone in cyberspace just how popular you really are.
But here’s the thing. We need to be careful whom we clutch to our electronic bosom. When I first began the considerable task of building my platform – that heady combination of social media accounts that today, as much as solid writing, determines whether an agent, editor, or publisher will sign an author to a contract – I didn’t pay any special attention to the folks who wished to befriend me.
Then, I started getting odd messages from men. “Saw your picture and had to contact you. What a lovely smile!” one bearded gentleman exclaimed. “How sweet!” was my initial thought. Then another mentioned something about “cuddling” and still another bemoaned his status as a divorced man, saying he was “lonely.”
After a few of these overtures, I started taking my time. I’d actually check out my possible friend’s page and I noticed a few similarities. First, their postings were woefully slim. In many cases just a few photos, which might show them in uniform – admit it ladies, uniforms are sexy – or with small children and/or cuddly little dogs. Some claimed to have attended school in exotic locales like Budapest or impressive places like West Point. Others offered that they could think of no better way to spend an afternoon than shuttling between farmers’ markets, or sipping wine, or watching a romantic sunset. It was a quick glance at the About section that showed all of these online admirers had but a handful of friends – or none at all – and little or no background information that finally had my spidey senses tingling.
So, who are these electronic suitors? Scammers in many cases, who are after your personal information in an attempt to steal your identify. Or people who want to befriend you, then share a sob story to convince you – kindhearted soul that you are – to part with some of your hard-earned cash.
The logical response is to only friend people you know. But for authors, and other people doing business on the Internet, that’s not possible. We are trying to build a clientele. What can we do? Slow down. Take a breath. Then click on your possible new friend’s page. Ask yourself, does something feel off? Once you’ve look at a few of these requests, you’ll catch the pattern. While they might look damn cute in that uniform, go ahead and click delete. You’ll be glad you did.
Here is a brief peek at Anne’s latest release.
Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to the Graves Registration Service where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?
Praise for Your Forgotten Sons
“Although a defty crafted work of original fiction, “Your Forgotten Sons” by Anne Montgomery is inspired by a true story. An original and inherently interesting read from start to finish, “Your Forgotten Sons” will prove to be an immediate and enduringly appreciated pick.” Midwest Book Review
“This was a quick, riveting read that really challenged me to think differently about our servicemen and women, especially those who take on the jobs that don’t get heroically depicted in the media or news…I really highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a different take on American history. I left it with a newfound appreciation for the unsung heroes.” Bekah C NetGalley
“This is the truth. It’s gritty and painful and bittersweet – and true. When you think you’ve read every perspective of WWII, along comes Bud to break your heart.” Bridgett Siter Former Military Reporter
“Anne Montgomery writes a strong story and I was hooked from the first page. It had a great concept and I enjoyed that this was inspired by a true story…It was written perfectly and I was invested in the story. Anne Montgomery has a great writing style and left me wanting to read more.” – Kathryn McLeer NetGalley
Available at Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and Kobo
Anne Montgomery has worked as a television sportscaster, newspaper and magazine writer, teacher, amateur baseball umpire, and high school football referee. She worked at WRBL‐TV in Columbus, Georgia, WROC‐TV in Rochester, New York, KTSP‐TV in Phoenix, Arizona, ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, where she anchored the Emmy and ACE award‐winning SportsCenter, and ASPN-TV as the studio host for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Montgomery has been a freelance and staff writer for six publications, writing sports, features, movie reviews, and archeological pieces.
When she can, Anne indulges in her passions: rock collecting, scuba diving, football refereeing, and playing her guitar.
Learn more about Anne Montgomery on her website and Wikipedia. Stay connected on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.
April 28, 2025
Tell Again Tuesday Old or Young authors
The Benefits of Publishing OlderBy Milo Todd
As the years go by, the average age of debut authors seems to get younger and younger. There’s plenty of reasons why this is great: the YA genre embracing authors who are the ages of their characters, the removal of societal assumptions that younger people can’t contribute to art in a meaningful way, the increase in opportunities for younger writers to access helpful resources, etc.
Conversation about this reality would stop there if two things didn’t start to emerge from this trend: . . .
April 24, 2025
Friday Feature Plotting on the Parkway
It’s getting kinda antsy at the C.D. Hersh household, because we’ve got book number five in The Turning Stone Chronicle series to finish plotting plus another in our Haunting of Garnoa Road Ghost series. We do our best plotting on the road and we don’t have any upcoming trips. Our paranormal romance series was conceived on a looong cross country trip after we saw an exit road sign for a place called Turning Stone, New York. A bit of brainstorming and a series was born.
Plotting on the road makes the time go faster for Donald, who drives, and keeps Catherine (who writes the notes in longhand a lot of the time) from seeing all the crazy drivers tailgating us and zipping between semi-trucks and our safety zone. Nothing drives Catherine nuttier than watching an F-150 Ford with a full RV cap try to squeeze into a space that barely fits a smart car, without giving us a signal! She truly believes all the imaginary braking with her right leg, while in the passenger seat, contributed to her arthritis and future knee replacement. Fortunately, we aren’t considering traveling anywhere near the Jersey Turnpike where everyone drives like maniacs, although we think quite a few drivers we’ve encountered must have had lessons from a Jersey driving school.
So what’s the point, you ask?
Here’s a few things we’ve learned during our loooong drives:
• Aging knees don’t like being cooped up in a car. Imagine that.
• It’s really hard to read plot notes written months ago while driving on a bumpy interstate.
• It’s even harder to write on a bumpy interstate road.
• Catherine should really transcribe her notes as soon as we stop.
• Especially when words written while driving on the buzz strips on the shoulder of the road make her notes look like an EKG reading.
• The new flash stick recorder we got works better than the old fashioned pencil and paper, although it does allow Catherine to still see all the nutso drivers, and when Donald transcribes the notes they’re not always coherent. Catherine’s a blonde. BTW, she’s writing this, so don’t take offense, ladies.
• We like plotting almost better than writing—or maybe it’s the traveling we like.
• Donald plots very well—most of the time. However, Catherine always has to throw a few suggestions out the car window. Isn’t that what a collaborator is for?
• We need more road trips because we have more books left to write.
• Writing with a collaborator is fun!
How and where do you plot your books? Or do you travel—oops, write—by the seat of your pants?
April 22, 2025
Wednesday Special Spotlight Quotes for Writers
Everyone has some rule or principle they live by. Here are a few we’ve found that apply to writers. Maybe you’ll find one that appeals to you.
• Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any—Orson Scott Card
• It is perfectly okay to write garbage–as long as you edit brilliantly—C. J. Cherryh
• Books aren’t written, they’re rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn’t quite done it—Michael Crichton
• Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good—William Faulkner
• The greatest rules of dramatic writing are conflict, conflict, conflict—James Frey
• The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do—Thomas Jefferson
• I try to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose—Stephen King
• All the information you need can be given in dialogue—Elmore Leonard
• Tell the readers a story! Because without a story, you are merely using words to prove you can string them together in logical sentences— Anne McCaffrey
• There’s no such thing as writer’s block. That was invented by people in California who couldn’t write—Terry Pratchett
Which one of these would you choose to live by as a writer?
April 21, 2025
Tell Again Tuesday Newsletters
Ready for a Newsletter That’s Yours? Switch from Substack to WordPress.comBy Rob Pugh
If you’ve been running a newsletter on Substack, you might be feeling some growing pains. Maybe you’re watching those 10% fees eat into your revenue as your subscriber base grows. Perhaps you’re hitting the limits of Substack’s customization options. Or you might be concerned about truly owning your content and audience data.
Whatever the reason for exploring alternatives, . . .
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