Diane Bator's Blog, page 57

Rhobin Lee Courtright tells us about Constantine's Legacy and Angels Tread

Welcome to writer, blogger, and Round Robin Blog Fest creator and organizer, Rhobin Lee Courtright!

I'm a born Michigander, I've lived in Missouri and Colorado, but I'm back in Michigan. I love this state and love being closer to my siblings. I started teaching art and didn't even start writing until I was in my thirties. Now I see writing as painting with words and love it and teach it, too.












1. What would you say are your strengths as an author?My best strength is I am persistent, but I also have a vivid imagination, which is probably why I write science fiction and fantasy. I have recently done a historical, Constantine's Legacy, about the Carolingian Age. One thing I've learned is people remain the same, no matter what the age. Most people think it is the start of the Dark Ages, but it is far more than that. I'm also wanting to try a long-distance 40's romance.

2. How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?
I try to write something everyday, even if not part of a novel, but I'm easily distracted. I like creative non-fiction, too. However, family has to come first, and I am still working as an adjunct professor of writing. I just finished Angels Tread in January, so I'm also in a 'what to do next' mode.
3. Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?
Hopefully still alive and expanding my writing and able to work on all my other hobbies.
4. If you could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?Write fiction because you love to write it. As you write work on ways to improve it. Don't be disappointed because publishers don't swoop your writing up immediately, and certainly don't give up because of a bad review or people saying they aren't interested in your type of writing.
5. What would you consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?That my story enthralled them and they want to read another one.
6. What are you working on now?I'm working on the 40's romance mentioned above. I have a contemporary romance in the works (I may never get it finished), and I have ideas for another sci-fi and for another fantasy series.

I have two blogs:Rhobin Courtright at  https://www.rhobincourtright.com/p/scifi-books.htmlRhobin's Garden at https://rhobins-garden.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RhobinLeeCourtright/

Constantine's Legacy (released in August 2019) 
 Leonard must learn to be the Frankish warrior his father Radulf, the Dux Provinciae, demands. His difficult training is nothing compared to the dangerous deceptions he discovers.

Angels Tread is the 4th and last volume of the Black Angel Series. The heroine has multiple personalities. Jezlynn Chambers had been in the Alliance's elite Space Service Corps. Her service ended in disaster and she became a space pirate. Everything changed. Now she has found her love, a Space Service Corps captain, and the Alliance President has ordered her to serve as an ambassador for the Alliance with their recent enemy, the Khajari. More change and problems are inevitable.

Buy Constantine's Legacy 

Angels Tread - to be released in July 2020

Victoria Chatham is back with His Unexpected Muse

Welcome back to the lovely and talented Victoria Chatham!
Victoria Chatham’s tag line History, Mystery, and Love says it all. She is a history buff, especially of the Regency era, adds a little mystery into her novels and seals them with a loving happy ever after ending. She is active in her local writing community but when not writing enjoys the great outdoors, especially if it includes playing around with horses. She lives near Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
What would you say are your strengths as an author? Firstly, I mostly write historical romance, especially Regency romance so in the first place I write what mostly appeals to me. It is where I am happiest and think that automatically lends itself to stronger writing. Next, I would have to say characterization. All my heroines tend to be strong women in their way, or ways in which they can be, given the strictures of Regency society. I like to balance their characters with that of the men in their lives. Setting is also something I find fairly easy to write about, as is dialogue. My weakest component of writing is narrative, which is where I have to work the hardest to link my scenes together.
How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine? I try to write something every day. If I am actively writing a book, then I write every day, Monday to Friday and sometimes on the weekend depending on what I’m doing socially. At the moment, with most people in lockdown, I thank goodness I have something with which to fill my time and occupy my mind. I wouldn’t say I have a strict routine, maybe more an organized one. I like a clear desk, apart from a notebook and pen, and I do like to have complete quiet when I write.
Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer? In five years, I will be, unbelievably, 81 years old! I find it hard to comprehend the age I am now, but I would still expect to be writing something. To me, there is a huge differential between the number of years a person has under their belt and how they deal with that. Some people let themselves get old while others don’t give it a thought. I think I fall in the latter group. As long as I have stories to tell, I’ll just keep writing them.
If you could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be? I taught Introductory Creative Writing for several years and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of encouraging novice writers. My one piece of advice to every one of them was to keep writing, whether for their own satisfaction or ultimately publication. What would you consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?That they enjoyed it. I have a fan letter which I received after the release of my first Regency romance, His Dark Enchantress, which I framed. In part – you took me into a pub where I could see the beer stains on the tables and smell the tobacco smoke in the rafters.
What are you working on now? I have started a new series entitled Those Regency Belles. I’m moving away from lords and ladies and telling stories of slightly classy young ladies. The first is called Hester Dymock and will be released in September 2020. There may be a lord or two involved throughout the series, but I felt that for my heroines being untitled gave them a bit more scope as to what they may be able to do or get away with doing.



His Unexpected Muse: Berkeley Square series Book 3When Lady Olivia Darnley is seemingly abandoned by her mother, she accepts the assistance of a stranger, Lady Skeffington, who offers her a position as a companion, much to her son’s dismay.Lord Peter Skeffington is not at all pleased that his mother has chosen to not only take Lady Olivia under her wing, but her dog, too. Despite his reservations, he finds in Olivia a shared interest in books and begins to look for her daily until he faces the uncomfortable realization that he is in love with her.Still hurt by her mother’s disappearance and desperate to find her, Olivia relies more and more on Peter’s support but a shocking betrayal by the man she has come to trust and love, shatters her new-found happiness. Will Peter manage to overcome the rift that he has unwittingly caused between them? Will Olivia accept not only his apology but also his proposal of marriage? Is there a future for this apparently mismatched pair?
BUY LINK: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07V9SSQXW?tag=
At Books We Love: http://www.bookswelove.com/authors/chatham-victoria-romance-historical/On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorvictoriachatham/On Twitter: https://twitter.com/vchathamauthor

Round Robin Blog Fest May 2020

We have a new logo!! Thanks to Connie Vines for her hard work.

Wow, it's been a long couple of months BUT at least I had more time to be part of this blog tour than if I'd been busy at my work office full time instead of working from home! One great thing about all the changes and upheavals we've all faced, it that the arts and entertainment sector is getting a real boost as far as keeping us all occupied. I've even been able to publish a new book in the midst of things. Release date is June 1st for Drop Dead Cowboy!


Today's question to the authors is:  All books go through multiple edits. What have you learned are your problems, and what irks you about editing?

I've learned I am passive, repetitive, and wordy. LOL!

Okay, that was the short answer. In truth, like all writers I've come a long way from using mistakes like having hands reaching for objects instead of the character reaching for things. My characters don't roll their eyes in every third paragraph anymore. I've also cut back on my usage of "that" and about a zillion "-ly" words. Yup, those were bad habits. So was my severe overuse of exclamation marks!!!

That's not to say I never use any of those things. When I'm writing in the heat of the moment, all bets are off. Then I put the book aside for a while and when I dig into edits....



Lots of red ink!!

Sometimes those chicken scratches help to clean up the manuscript and tighten up the story.

Sometimes I write copious new sentences only to cross them all out later.

Always editing!





One of the things that helped to shape my writing style, is reading Robert B. Parker. He uses concise language, as well as leaving most of the finicky details to the reader's imagination while weaving a great story.

Repetition is another nemesis. I tend to repeat phrases or words several times on the same page. Sometimes even in the same paragraph. While writing the draft, I tend to write first and think about the grammar later, trying not to edit as I go. Word program usually catches spelling typos, but not always, especially if they're real words or the right word but wrong spelling.

Making sure names and titles are consistent through the entire manuscript is another thing that can cause issues. I've been editing my novel and discovered at one point Jack was called Jake. Hm, forgot to change that a couple times. That's when the Replace features come in handy. I did kick myself though considering this was a second edit. Oh well!

One of the best memories of when I first started writing was of my editor at the time who used to nag me about my use of exclamation marks. Where a single exclamation mark used sparingly in a novel has much more impact and looks far more professional, my first novel was riddled with them. To the point my editor would send me emails that looked like this:

Please!! Stop using so many exclamation marks!!!!! I am sending this back!! Fix it!! I don't want to see another exclamation mark in this or any other copy!!!

I got the hint. I can't even write an email without hearing her voice in the back of my head.

I can't wait to see what editing issues our other authors have dealt with!

And now off to see what my fellow bloggers have to say about humor in their writing...

Skye Taylor Beverley Bateman 
Dr. Bob Rich 
Connie Vines 
Anne Stenhouse  
Margaret Fieland 
A.J. Maguire  
Victoria Chatham 
Judith Copek 
Rhobin L Courtright 

Rick Collins shares his novels A Run of a River and The Providence of Basketball

Welcome to author Rick Collins!
Rick Collins is a retired English teacher from Simsbury Connecticut.  He has coached track and field, football, and basketball in Connecticut for the last 36 years.  He was named the Connecticut Track and Coach of the Year, New England/New York Region I Coach of the Year, and Finalist for the National Coach of the year in 2010.  His extensive background in the classroom and on the athletic field has given him insights to the joys and challenges of being a student athlete.  He lives in Simsbury with his wife, Betsy, and is the loving father of his daughter, Hannah, and his son, Sam.  He is also owned by two cats, Fitzgerald and Autumn.
 My life outside of writing has been, up to recently, all about teaching middle school and elementary aged kids as well as coaching high school sports.  Almost all of my ideas for my books have had some genesis in my teaching or coaching.  For example, a friend of mine in high school and his mother and sister fled from domestic violence.  That was a poison that had to come out and it is reflected in my first book, It Emptied Us.  I grew up in a very white town.  My second book, The Providence of Basketball is a fictional narrative a hot-shot white kid facing his own racism while spending a week in inner-city Providence.  My most recent book, A Run of a River is about how a town, in order to save its reputation, ignores the reality of having a pedophile youth sports coach living in its midst.  So as you can see, my life as a writer isn’t truly divorced from my experiences as a teacher, coach, and my own personal experiences as an athlete.

I’m working on a story called “Lovely Rita’s Misplaced Heart”.  It’s about a young girl sold into domestic slavery here in the U.S.  She falls in love with a young man who has lived well past his “expiration date” because of a heart defect.  When the school she is attending during the day (when she isn’t slaving for the family who has purchased her) finds out she is a slave, the family sells her down the line.  Her boyfriend, racing his own mortality, tries to find her before she is swallowed into sex slavery. 
The most difficult thing I’ve written is really the entire book, A Run of a River. I was targeted by a pedophile coach when I was very young, so getting into the mind of the pedophile and trying to present him as a monster grooming his prey was very painful. I was lucking in that he never was able to physically assault me, but some of my friends were not so lucky. I definitely bled writing that book.
My first three books come from personal experiences, so I didn’t do that much research.  My next book, Lovely Rita’s Misplaced Heart, is requiring some significant research focusing on domestic and sex slavery.  Rita, one of the main characters, comes from Ghana so I have had to do extensive research on the African domestic slave trade into the U.S. as well as the political and social makeup of the country.
In terms of my influences as a writer, well it all started with J.R.R. Tolkien who was the first author I dug into.  Up to that point, I think my freshman year in high school, I was pretty much a jock.  Tolkien opened my mind to new worlds and fantastic characters.  Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels helped me internalize some of the darker sides to the human character, and I love how John Grisham and Jennifer Weiner tell their stories.
I had a teacher, Christine Parker, who taught creative writing in high school.  She once played “Songbird” by Fleetwood Mac in class and asked us to write an emotional story inspired by the song.  I wrote about a young wife waiting for her ship’s captain husband to return from the sea. She paces a widow’s walk all the way until she was an old woman, desperately hoping for his return.  Of course, he never does.  She left quite a mark on me.

A Run of a River
Chief Louise Consola, the chief of police for the idyllic town of Beaumont, Massachusetts, must unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of one of her best friends. As she unearths clues, it becomes clear that her friend’s death is part of a terrible secret that has been kept hidden for decades. Can Louise put an end to the evil that ravages her town and still protect those who have carried the secret? And can a town ever be washed clean from its terrible sin?


Purchase link for A Run of a River  https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rick+collins+a+run+of+a+river&crid=39UAU6459C065&sprefix=rick+collins%2Caps%2C144&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_4_12






The Providence of Basketball
Tim decides to spend a week with his grandparents in the inner city of Providence, Rhode Island. His friends suggest this might not be a good decision, but he goes anyway with the idea he can spend his time playing basketball at the court in the Cranston Street Projects. He is befriended by Marcus, the best basketball player in the projects. But Marcus and his sister are in danger from Pele, the drug dealer on Cranston Street. Tim is thrust into danger when a rival drug dealer, Raja, tries to take Pele's turf. He survives a drive by murder, but it is clear that Raja cannot leave witnesses. In the course of hiding out, Tim comes to realize that his preconceptions about being black in the ghettos of the inner city are completely off-base. He begins to understand that he has his own racist ideas. Can Tim survive being hunted and change the way he thinks about black people?
Purchase Link The Providence of Basketball
https://www.amazon.com/Providence-Basketball-Rick-Collins-ebook/dp/B07WXTD4B7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2KQJMFZN4LZ64&dchild=1&keywords=the+providence+of+basketball+rick+collins&qid=1587847964&sprefix=rick+collins+the+pro%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-1

The Rick Collins Page on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/RickyCollins25/?modal=admin_todo_tour
Rick Collins on Blogger:https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blogger.g?blogID=6282341472602467828#allposts
Rick Collins on Twitter:https://twitter.com/home

Gilda Wright Mysteries and Sandstone Cove

Welcome to Sandstone Cove!
Hey all! It's me again!While I've been busy promoting other authors, working from home and keeping busy during self-isolation with editing and the like, I decided this week I would do something a little different.
I did this interview years ago with another publisher and decided to update and share it here.Since the original interview, my Gilda Wright Mysteries have been republished by BWL Publishing and have had a facelift! First a little background...
The History


The original first book (now Dead Without Honor) was first titled Death of a Jaded Samurai. I loved the title and the cover BUT it didn't have an impact on the target market of my then publisher. SO.... we renamed and changed the covers.





They were cute and very...pink... but still didn't catch on with their target market.In fact, my publisher decided perhaps I should pull them from the shelves and start over. 
Somewhere else. 
I was upset for about ten minutes before I reached out to the publisher of my Wild Blue Mystery series who was happy to take them.
The stories got a re-edit and new covers then were released once more in 2018.I'm much happier with both the covers and the stories AND have been able to reach out to more martial arts minded people. 



The Questions
Where is the real Sandstone Cove located?

    My fictional town of Sandstone Cove is based very loosely on a larger town along the shores of Lake Erie called Dunkirk, New York. The shoreline and layout of the town was exactly what I needed for my little town (although I certainly modified the basic map to become Sandstone Cove!)   

 
 I was also inspired by a photo I cut from a magazine years ago of a log on the beach that has become Gilda's "thinking place" and her usual meeting place with Fabio, her police officer friend.





Is there a real Café Beanz?    Yes, there is, but with a different spelling. They use Beans. I found it purely by accident in Barrie, Ontario. I haven't been inside yet, but it's on my bucket list!    My version of Café Beanz is a little deli-style cafe that serves sandwiches and soups for lunch and several kinds of coffees and teas. It's based on the old 50's style diners, but modernized in colors and textures. Along with Happy Harvey's, Beanz is one of the hubs of Sandstone Cove.
What kinds of coffees do your main characters drink?     Gilda's favorite all time drink is a latte with cinnamon and chocolate curls (and wine in the evenings when the mystery solving gets her down!)     Mick loves a "double-double" as we call them in Canada, coffee with two milk and two sugar.     Marion takes her coffee hot, strong and with a little milk.     Razi and Kane are both tea drinkers. Green preferably.     Thayer and Fabio, the police officers Gilda has often had to deal with, love their coffee. Thayer takes his black. Fabio prefers to mix it up a little bouncing between coffee to lattes.
How did Happy Harvey's Hangover Hut come about?     Happy Harvey's Hangover Hut wasn't the place to go if you had a hangover, more like if you were in desperate search of the means of one. A glorified, tiki-infested liquor and convenience store, Happy Harvey's was owned by Happy—no one had ever called him Harvey—a seventy-year-old man who'd become disillusioned with retirement. He was also one of Gilda's good friends.     Sometimes ideas will just pop into my head and I have no idea where they came from. Happy Harvey's was one of them. I combined my love of the tropics with a local convenience store run by an older man who wasn't afraid to be a little different. Happy is one of Gilda's main supporters and cheerleaders who lets her know what's on his mind and will happily give her both advice and a bottle of wine from time to time.
How did you become interested and learn about karate and other martial arts?    Writing a martial arts-based series was in the making, ever since my ex-husband and kids started karate and Brazilian jiu jitsu classes. All four of them became Black Belts and I was actually a Karate Mom for about 6 years before I started working at the martial arts school and began my own training. Due to life getting in the way, I stopped training at blue belt in Goju-Ryu karate, but the Gilda series lives on. One part of training I enjoy, was helping our instructors at self-defence courses we did at local schools. At one high school, we were in lock down after a teenager from another school came in and stabbed a student. It was very sad to see the kids so calm because this happens at least once per semester. Most students were very grateful for us coming in to give them an option to deal with the bullies. One day, that incident may become a whole new Gilda mystery.    Aside from training and self-defence courses, I helped to run the school and rewrote the school's karate manual and Black Belt grading information packages.  Who are Gilda and Mick based on?    While I still worked at the karate school, my kids called me Gilda. Aside from that, Gilda and I led very different lives. Gilda is a young, single woman who is protected by a well-known bookie, has a best friend who is a 9-1-1 operator, and is surrounded by strong, handsome men, and chaos.     I am a middle-aged--gulp--divorced woman who is protected by two cats, surrounded by kids, laundry, great friends, and...of course...chaos.     My two senseis actually argued about who was Mick, Gilda's love interest. In truth, neither of them actually were, but it made for a few giggles around the front desk when people speculate!     As for Marion...      Like Gilda, I had a good friend at the school who trained and earned her second degree black belt. She's my strength and kept me going when there were days I wanted to give up. While she's no Marion, I would love for Marion to become more like her as the series goes on.
Writers are always sitting and working. How do you get any exercise?     Mostly by keeping up to my three grown sons!      I had to stop training due to knee and back issues. These days, I'm a walker, not a runner. Lately, bad weather and Covid have made even that difficult. I went through a bad period where I had to start life over and stress had literally crippled me. Recovery has involved walking and yoga. The best yoga classes are the ones we did outdoors near my instructor's swimming pool!     The best part for me as a writer, is I always seem to find inspiration for my books while on walks, in classes, and so on. While my body is distracted and my mind can wander.     My mind is in writer mode 24/7.
"Dead Without Glory" starts off with Gilda meeting Kane Garrick while he trains on the beach with a sword. Where did that idea come from?           At martial arts seminars, some of our students have been lucky enough to train on the beach at sunrise or sunset. I've never been one of them, but I combined that experience along with my oldest son's love of sword fighting and kendo to create Kane who is a total free-spirit.           Who will Gilda choose:  Kane or Mick?     Gilda started to work for Mick after breaking up with her former boyfriend Jason Thayer in spectacular fashion - she threw him into a large bag of coffee beans after catching him with his latest fling and split his head open! Karate and learning how to defend herself in a more empowered way seemed like a logical next step.     Just when she and Mick take the next step and start to develop a romantic relationship, along comes Mick's long time friend and colleague, Kane Garrick. Kane has eyes for Gilda, but is it because she's Mick's new girlfriend or do his flirtations run much deeper?     Okay, readers, who would you choose and why?
How do you picture your main characters look?
  Gilda Wright is the receptionist at martial arts school. She is an avid karate student, runner and trying to master yoga. Fresh-faced and stepping out on her own after a disastrous relationship with Jason Thayer.(Portrayed here by Rachel Bilson)




Mick Williams  5'10" tall, a very solid 190 lbs, black hair; muscular; 3rd degree black belt goju-ryu karate; black belt in jiu jitsu; 1st degree black belt tae kwon do; kickboxing; MMA trainer and coach.Mick runs the original Yoshida Martial Arts school then owns the shiny new Phoenix Martial Arts School later on.
(Portrayed by a younger Pierce Brosnan)




Kane Garrick 6 feet tall; long, blond hair; turquoise eyes; broad chest; thick, muscular build; 3rd degree black belt goju-ryu karate; black belt jiu jitsu, trained for over 10 years in Japanese sword fighting and Japanese Jiu Jitsu; has an Australian accent although not Australian due to his childhood upbringing.Kane is a weapons expert. Gilda first meets him while he practices with a sword on the beach near her house. 
 (Portrayed here by Chris Hemsworth) 
The Books

Book 1:  Dead Without HonorGilda Wright thinks she's landed a dream job managing a karate school. Sure, her boss, Sensei Mick Williams, is almost as demanding as he is sexy, but Gilda is inspired by the strength of people around her and hopes to absorb some of that into her own life. But when Gilda finds the body of one of the instructors, laying in the dojo with a sword through his chest, suddenly Gilda must find her own inner strength and fast! The police see everyone as a suspect, including her boss, and it's up to Gilda to find out what really happened. She follows the clues of the missing scroll of the Four Possessions of the Samurai down a deadly path, filled with lies, deceit, and poisoned ninja stars! If she doesn't watch her step, she just may become the killer's next sparring partner. 
Book 2:  Dead Without GloryGilda Wright's life seems to finally be on track. Her love life is looking up with her hot boss, Mick, and she's planning and promoting a grand opening extravaganza for his new martial arts school. But things go awry when their special guest referee for the opening's exhibition match is found dead on the beach. To make matters worse, the school's sexy new weapons instructor, Kane Garrick, stands accused of his murder. In spite of her promise to Mick and nearly everyone else in town to not get involved, Gilda—a.k.a. the Brunette Sherlock—wades into danger one more time. The only question is, can Gilda catch a killer before the killer catches up to her?                                    
Book 3: Dead Without PrideGilda Wright steps in to help Kane Garrick find a way to deal with the New Age shop he is stuck with and doesn't want, until a pretty psychic comes to town and refuses to leave Kane alone. As the psychic's predictions of doom and gloom begin to come true--including one about the murder of a well-known person in town--Gilda begins to wonder if the psychic's involvement in both her predictions and in Kane's life are actually a mere coincidence or if he's being set up.
Book 4: Dead Without ShameOnce more, Gilda considers leaving the karate school to work for her friend Happy (no one has ever called him Harvey). When three men rob Happy Harvey’s Hangover Hut killing the woman at the front counter, Gilda is stunned to think that could have been her. Was this a mere robbery, or does someone have a vendetta against Happy, including his good friend Gary del Garda? The evidence keeps piling up while both her mother and another karate instructor come to town bearing secrets that may cost Gilda the life she loves in Sandstone Cove.
Where to find me (Here, obviously!)Website:  http://penspaintsandpaper.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/dibatorFacebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Diane-Bator-Author/263599617046736?ref=hlBWL Publishing:  https://bookswelove.net/bator-diane/

Karen Grose discusses The Dime Box

Welcome to first time author Karen Grose!  I had the pleasure of meeting Karen at a writing event before we went into self-isolation for Covid-19 and bought a copy of her novel. See my review at the end of the interview!
Karen Grose was born in Canada and lives with her family in Toronto. After a long career in education, she turned her attention to writing. The Dime Box is her debut novel and she’s currently working on her second. When she isn't writing, she works in the EdTech sector and walks her high-strung French bulldog, Ruby, on the boardwalk of Lake Ontario. Connect with her online: @kgrose2 or at karengrose.ca




Tell us about your life outside of writing.I’m a mom, an educator and learner, and live here in Ontario. I enjoy sports and the outdoors, and split my time between Toronto and spending time at our cottage in the Kawarthas. I enjoy cooking, but I’m not very good at it. The same goes with gardening.
Do you have a work in progress?I’m writing my second novel now. Untitled at this point, I’m through the first messy draft and am digging deeper. It’s the story of an every day normal family who lives a block away from where a man is shot in broad daylight in his driveway. Except the family may not be exactly normal. They have a few ugly secrets.
What was the most difficult section/piece you ever wrote? What made it difficult?That’s a great question. As a new author, I’m always curious to hear what those with more experienced would say. For me, it was two things.While the process of writing the first messy draft is really exciting, I found it difficult when a specific scene didn’t flow the way it needed to. But I’ve learned as drafts evolve, I can go back to those tricky scenes and write them with the detail, colour and depth they need. Writing my second novel now, I keep this top of mind.I really enjoy writing complex and compelling characters. They evolve as the writing evolves. It’s fun when they begin to jump off the page and reveal their quirks, strengths and flaws. I found it a lot easier to write a character I admire, or believe in. Greta is a strong, feisty female protagonist. Her story is one of resilience, heartache and triumph. I fell in love with her and I hope you did too. However, it’s much harder to write a character, using show, don’t tell, when the character is dark. In the case of The Dime Box, I had to dig deep to evolve Ian, to ensure a reader felt chilled as they got to know him.What sort of research do you do for your work?Set in Ontario, The Dime Box is the story of a young woman accused of murdering her father. Though purely a work of the imagination, Greta’s story is inspired by the students I had the privilege of serving in the Scarborough Board of Education, the TDSB and at TVO. I’m also interested in social issues we need to take action for everyday to build a more inclusive and just society. Poverty, marginalization, gender, domestic violence, the search for identity, adoption, and how we, as a society, define family. These themes are interwoven into the novel. Through them, the characters in the novel are forced to face significant moral dilemmas and make difficult decisions.
The foundation of the book reflects two of Canada’s finest pubic institutions-the justice and the education system. As a teacher, I could draw on my experiences, as well as tap into the expertise of my colleagues. However, my limited knowledge of the justice system was a gap needed to be filled. Luckily, I have a friend who works in the system and he was able to answer my fire hose of questions. I’m grateful for the experts who made sure I represented these two public institutions accurately in this novel.
Which books and authors do you read for pleasure? Is there an author that inspires you?There is something amazing about the feel of a book in our hands and getting lost in a good story. Whether writers self-publish, go indie, hybrid or publish traditionally, I’m in awe of the amazing artistic talent out there.
Some of my favourites include: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and The Shining by Stephen King.
Books I recently enjoyed: The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, Just Mercyby Bryan Stevenson, The Woo Woo by Lindsay Wong, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and Becoming by Michelle Obama.
Up next are: Crow Winter by Karen McBride, The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead and Immigrant City by David Bezmozgis.
Was there a person who encouraged you to write?I’ll be forever grateful to my Grade 11 and 12 English teacher, Mrs. Brown. A firecracker with a great sense of humour and passion for literature, she had the perfect blend of high expectations, and a kind and nurturing heart. She inspired the whole class to write, telling us she believed everyone has a story to tell. Though it was years ago, I often still think of her encouragement as I write.
I’m also forever indebted to the many people who read early drafts of The Dime Box. All acknowledged in the back pages of the novel, they kept me motivated when I didn’t think I could push through the twenty-seven drafts it took to get to the end. As I wrote, I learned a lot from my editor, Adrienne Kerr. She’s remarkable. When someone with her expertise tells you where a novel is strong and where it falls down, it can only get better. I believe every story needs an editor and a great editor makes every great story better. Canadian author Lawrence Hill was also a mentor. He taught me a lot of the power of storytelling and the craft of writing itself.

The Dime Box
Buried secrets lie closest to the heart. Greta Giffen barely escaped being murdered by the man she grew up with. She’s not sure who Ian is, or who she is, but she’s determined to find out. When she bolts from their secluded cabin in northern Ontario and flees to Toronto, her new life comes at a price. Ian dies under suspicious circumstances and a veteran detective believes eighteen-year-old Greta has the perfect motive.A prime suspect in a tense police investigation, Greta finds it hard to make Detective Astra Perez believe the details of her dark and appalling story. Digging deep into her sordid history and forced to face the people from her past in a new light, Greta struggles to accept the secrets that have haunted her since childhood. Still, Detective Perez remains doubtful. And until Greta herself confronts the disturbing evidence in front of her, she will never truly escape that cabin in the woods.



Where to Buy
The Dime Box can be picked up at Amazon, Indigo/Chapters, Barnes and Noble, Walmart and Waterstones, as well as from your local independent bookstore. It can be bought as a paperback or for an e-reader. Direct links are all on my website.   Website and other links to your social media pages
Twitter: @kgrose2LinkedInWebsite: karengrose.caGoodreads: Facebook
My Review of The Dime Box I was fortunate to get to meet Karen at an author event and loved her excitement and infectious smile! I just had to read her book because the cover and blurb had me hooked.
Greta Giffen is an eighteen-year old with secrets that Detective Astra Perez must interview to draw out details to solve a murder. The story winds and builds, ebbing and flowing until Perez - and the reader - finally learn the whole truth. While I guessed bits and pieces, Grose's writing and imagery kept me on the edge of my seat. Just when I thought I knew what was coming next, she threw in a whole new twist.If you love a good mystery, this is a great debut novel!

Judith Gonda talks about Murder in the Secret Maze

Escape with a Writer Sunday welcomes Judith Gonda!

Judith Gonda is a mystery writer and a psychologist who grew up in Connecticut, London, England, and the San Francisco Bay Area. She was trained as a developmental psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and continued her education as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California where she also taught and worked as a research associate and met her husband, an architect and professor, there. They moved to Champaign-Urbana where she was an assistant professor at the University of Illinois. She moved back to LA to work as a jury consultant at a leading litigation consulting firm before opening her own jury consulting firm with a colleague. Her passion has always been figuring out what makes people tick, whether through conducting psychological research, applying psychology to legal issues, or examining motives and relationships in writing her mystery novels. She has two adult daughters, one a landscape architect and interior designer, and the other a screenwriter and producer, and two rescue Pomeranians, a.k.a. daughter surrogates, named Izzy and Ollie. All provide inspiration for her stories. She's represented by Dawn Dowdle, Blue Ridge Literary Agency.
1. Tell us about your life outside of writing. Thanks for having me on your blog, Diane! Outside of writing, I'm obsessed with rescue dogs. I have two rescue Pomeranians, who both turn eight this year. I got Izzy four years ago from a small rescue group who saved her from a Craig's List giveaway. Her owner had died and his family couldn't keep her. And, apparently, she never had a name before being rescued! Her owner just whistled to get her attention so the rescue named her Whistle. She's a wild child (I think she was kept outdoors mainly) and weighs in around nine pounds. Loves to chase squirrels. She is super loyal and a tad possessive if she thinks her mama's being at all threatened, i.e., when my husband dares to linger near my home office (aka the Pom lair) to ask me a question. I adopted my other little one, Ollie (she weighs five pounds), a year and a half ago. I found her through a different rescue organization that saved her from the shelter the day she was turned in. She had a bad case of kennel cough and a luxating patella but it was love at first sight. Both dogs were silent for about the first month or two we got them, but once they acclimated, they haven't kept quiet since. But despite their barking, they both are the sweetest and most easy-going little creatures ever!
2. Do you have a work in progress? Yes, I do. I'm working on the second book in the Tory Benning Mystery series featuring California landscape architect Tory Benning. The working title is MURDER IN THE CHRISTMAS TREE LOT. Tory is the president and principal designer at Benning Brothers, her family's landscape architecture firm and nursery. The holiday season is the nursery's most profitable time of year, in large part due to their popular Christmas tree lot, but when someone wearing a Santa Claus suit is the last person seen with a temperamental local food truck owner who then turns up dead in their Christmas tree lot, the consequences of being naughty or nice take on a whole new meaning, not only for the victim but for Tory's business.
3. What was the most difficult section/piece you ever wrote? What made it difficult? I always find writing a synopsis of a book challenging because it is so difficult to consolidate around three hundred pages into just two. It's the most difficult part of writing for me but probably the most valuable because it forces you to think through your plot. I write one version before I write the book for my agent and editor to approve. After I've finished all of the revisions on the book I update the original synopsis because even though I work with a loose outline, some of the plot details often change as the characters take on a mind of their own and steer the story off the original path a little bit.
4. What sort of research do you do for your work? I visit locations that have inspired my settings frequently and talk to people whose occupations appear in my books. I follow a lot of real crime stories in the news on various outlets, mainly online. I also pride myself on my Googling skills and, in fact, my main character, Tory Benning, also considers herself an excellent online researcher and it's one of the skills she uses to solve crimes. I'm trained as a research psychologist and I consider myself a thorough, persistent, and determined researcher of information related to all aspects of my stories. Even if I don't specifically use some of the information I find in the book, it still informs my stories and characters.
5. Which books and authors do you read for pleasure? Is there an author that inspires you? I adore Sue Grafton's books featuring Kinsey Milhone. I've started to reread the series. I love her dry humor. I'm also a fan of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum for some of the same reasons. I'm inspired by Charles Dickens and J.K. Rowling because they both weave intricate stories with heart and humor that are also brilliant social commentaries.
6. Was there a person who encouraged you to write? Yes, as a matter of fact there is a specific incident when I lived in London and went to a very small private school for a while, kind of like a one-room school house. My teacher told me that it would be a crime if I didn't become a writer. I must have been around thirteen at the time. Decades later, ironically, I'm a crime writer.Thanks again, Diane, for having me on your blog!

Murder Secret Maze California landscape architect Tory Benning knows the lay of the land, but she'll have to dig through the clues to unearth a killer...
After a whirlwind romance and a glorious wedding at the luxurious Hotel Santa Sofia, Tory Benning is ready to let down her hair, slip into her dancing shoes, and celebrate---until she discovers that her newly minted husband has vanished. The police suspect cold feet and second thoughts are behind Milo's disappearance, but Tory's certain he's met with foul play. And since she designed the plush resort, she knows every nook and cranny of the grounds and adjoining secret maze, and wastes no time delving into her search.
As clues begin to emerge that Milo may have taken his last breath in the maze, Tory steps up her sleuthing, even as she learns she's the prime suspect of a cop with a chip on his shoulder and is squarely in the sights of a menacing stalker. And when a second body is found on the grounds, Tory fears she's up against a killer determined to silence any and all who get in the way.
Not to be deterred, Tory forges ahead, navigating a case with more twists and turns than the maze itself, until the labyrinth of clues leads her to shocking revelations about her husband, her family, and the identity of a killer who's dead set on making her the next victim...
Book buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Secret-Maze-Benning-Mystery/dp/1950461386/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=judith+Gonda&qid=1581377809&s=books&sr=1-1
Here are the links to my website and social media pages: www.judithgonda.cominstagram.com/judithgonda/instagram.com/torybenning/ (my main character Tory Benning's account)www.Twitter.com/JudithGondaJudithGonda.blogspot.comwww.facebook.com/JudithGondaAuthor/https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomjudith_gondawww.pinterest.com/judithgonda/

Round Robin Blog Fest April 18

     
Welcome back to another Round Robin Blog Fest!I would wish you a happy spring but it's snowing here and seems much more like December! Spring seems to have passed by us for this week. On the upside, it makes sheltering in place (aka self-isolation) much easier. Like everyone else, I've struggled to keep a sense of humor through all of this. Gawking at the craziness of the world as we watch and wait to see what happens next. The only thing that can really get us through, is a sense of levity.
Today's topic is:  How easy or difficult do you find including humor in your writing and/or have you ever incorporated a true life humorous event in your own life or the life of someone you know in a book you were writing? (Thanks to Skye Taylor for this one!)
I'm funny. My acting teacher told me so.Actually, what she said was, "You're naturally funny. You don't have to act funny."Translation, I had to rein it in a bit.Just as I was learning to do that, acting class was cancelled due to some epidemic that was taking over the world. Naturally, I went back to writing novels and started to work on a script!
That said, I definitely find it easy to add humor into my writing. The best part is the ability to use funny situations from real life into my stories. For example, in my Wild Blue Mysteries, there are many scenes taken from real life. From Christina's gingerbread house collapse to situations involving Lucy's kids. My own kids were sometimes transcribed into the computer.
In my Gilda Wright Mysteries, there is a blend of reality and fiction, especially during the yoga and karate scenes. I studied karate for four years so some things were just too funny not to use!
I love to use comedy in my murder mysteries to lighten the mood and keep things from getting too dark, particularly since I tend to write cozies. I throw in a few one-liners for levity even when things are at their worst, but I tend to shy away from the slapstick.
From reading other books, I've learned that slapstick in a novel can become unrealistic and corny. Like my teacher said, "You don't have to act funny." I've stumbled across books with pages of Keystone Cop type comedy and find it makes the story lose credibility. What could have been a solid protagonist, suddenly becomes a bumbling cartoon character. 
Like many writers, I've been known to hear great lines on television and out in public. It's not a crime to use them. One of my favorites is still, "I'm a drinker with a writing problem." I actually used it in my first novella, Murder on Manitou.
And now off to see what my fellow bloggers have to say about humor in their writing...
Skye Taylor 
Beverley Bateman 
Dr. Bob Rich 
Connie Vines 
Anne Stenhouse  
Margaret Fieland 
A.J. Maguire  
Victoria Chatham 
Judith Copek 
Rhobin L Courtright 

Happy Easter from Escape with a Writer Sunday!

HAPPY EASTER, EVERYONE!!I decided to do something a little different this weekend. Usually, I feature a single author for my readers to learn about. Today, I want to thank all of you. To the authors for being a part of this blog.To the readers for hopefully checking out some new-to-you authors.My warmest wishes for a Happy Easter to you all!
Buying our books and leaving us reviews is a part of what keeps us all writing. That and it's in our blood. We can't imagine a world without books, stories, and writers. As much as we love to hate reviews - especially those trolls who drop a one-star review loaded with negativity for no other reason than they can - those reviews are a necessary part of bringing our books to the attention of other readers.
So is word of mouth!
If you enjoy a book, tell your friends, tell your mom, heck tell the WORLD! We love to see posts and reviews from people who truly enjoy what we do. Even if we didn't write your all-time favorite novel, try to say something nice.
In this time of being sheltered in place or self-isolated, books are a large part of how we can enjoy the world and explore without stepping outside our front door. 
So. This Easter here is a special gift for everyone. A list of all of my Escape with a Writer Sunday authors with their links so you can check out their books. Plus a couple of bonus authors who will appear soon!
Please visit our sites. Buy our books. Show us all some love by following us on social media, Goodreads, and places like Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Wherever you find out books!
Stay safe and healthy!
Love, Diane BatorBWL Author
Escape With a Writer Authors *for a little extra, click on the Books We Love (BWL) Author links as well! 
Tanya Agler
Mohan Ashtakala (BWL Author)Marci Baun 
Katherine H Brown
Rita Chapman Victoria Chatham (BWL Author)
Rhobin Lee CourtwrightDevon Delaney
Judith Gonda
Karen Grose
Joan Havelange  (BWL Author)Helen Henderson (BWL Author)Winston Kincade
Diane Scott Lewis (BWL Author)
Joanie MacNeil (BWL Author)
Robert Marsh 
Tricia McGill  (BWL Author)
M.J. Moores Eileen O'Finlan   (BWL Author)Maggie Petru
Vijaya Schartz   (BWL Author)
Reed Stirling  (BWL Author)
Karla Stover  (BWL Author)
Skye Taylor 
J.M. Tibbott
Juliet Waldron   (BWL Author)
Janet Lane Walters (BWL Author)
Stuart West Victoria LK Williams

Katherine H. Brown talks about Rest, Relax, Run for Your Life and Pastries, Pies, and Poison

Escape with a Writer Sunday welcomes Katherine H Brown!
Katherine Brown is a wife, mom, and Texas author, lover of books and weaver of words. Katherine fell in love with books as a child and started “making” her own out of paper stapled between cardboard for book covers. She has written children’s books, poetry, and currently enjoys planting clues for her characters and readers in her two cozy mystery series. Katherine’s favorite place to travel is the ocean and she will tell you that Blue Bell Chocolate Chip ice cream or a Haggen Daaz chocolate shake is hands-down the best ice cream ever. Her love of chocolate and desserts led to the characters in her first cozy series owning the Ooey Gooey Goodness Bakery.
The questions:1.    Tell us about your life outside of writing.
When I’m not writing (or sometimes when I’m supposed to be writing), I enjoy reading and sewing. I’m not a skilled sewer, but thanks to YouTube I did teach myself to quilt in 2019. I also love doing just about anything with my wonderful husband Patrick, whether watching TV, working on a home improvement project, or enjoying all you can eat steaks at Texas de Brazil.
I am blessed to do my writing at home and be a stay-at-home mom which means there’s plenty of cooking and cleaning going on in my day-to-day as well. We live in the country; I enjoy the quiet and the beauty of nature without stores and buildings and houses everywhere you turn.
2.     Do you have a work in progress?
Several; many more than is good for me! It never fails that in the middle of one work in progress, I suddenly have random ideas for another book or completely different series. I have notebooks and word documents full of notes and brainstorming thoughts.

My biggest work in progress is one that I hoped to finish in 2019, but got caught up in my cozy series instead. It is a bit of a mystery or YA (I probably won’t know until I’ve finished writing it) and features a sweet librarian who gets a visit from a mysterious stranger that is going to change her life and unlock her past, perhaps her future, too.

Aside from that one, I want to begin a paranormal cozy mystery series soon. I actually fell into that one on accident playing around with designing book covers one day and after a few hours, I had five of the cutest covers ever and absolutely zero stories to go with them. Writers get distracted by the pretty, shiny objects, what can I say?

If readers continue to enjoy my newest cozy series, the Adventures of Gladys, then I will also begin book three of it soon.
3.   What was the most difficult section/piece you ever wrote? What made it difficult?
If you don’t mind, I’m going to answer that two ways. In terms of getting words on paper, one of the most difficult books that I’ve written is book 1 in the Adventures of Gladys series, Bonbon Voyage, in that I sat down to the keyboard often, but no words came. No scenes flowed. My head and hurt weren’t in it, I was exhausted and producing nothing, and I couldn’t figure out why because I had been so anxious to start writing it. Turns out, I was suffering from extreme fatigue, getting up every morning with no energy to face the day; it was the first sign of my pregnancy! Thankfully, once I made it out of the first trimester, my writing picked back up enough for me to finish the book and be happy with how it turned out.

Another piece that was difficult for me was an emotional rollercoaster. I wrote a book about my divorce, with fictional names and places under a pen name so as not to hurt anyone in real life, that came straight out of the pages of my journal from that time period. I didn’t write the book until 7 or 8 years later, happily remarried and at a wonderful place in my life. To read my words, my heartbreak, my confusion, to see myself at that weak and low point as I transferred all of the pain from page to laptop, it was hard. I typed and cried and cried and typed. But it was a nice release, a final letting go. It hasn’t sold any copies, but that doesn’t bother me. I think it was something I just needed to do for myself.

4.    What sort of research do you do for your work?
You’ve seen the jokes, right? “Don’t mind my search history; I’m really a writer, not a serial killer.” It’s true. I’ve researched everything from smuggling to poisons, spas, resorts, towns, you name it. And don’t even get me started on how many name meanings and symbolisms sites that I’ve perused for hours. Usually, that research is all for inspiration and ideas; I write fiction and I prefer to keep the people and places in my books strictly fictional as well. It’s more fun for me to get to make up all of the details. Still, when I want something to resonate with a reader, I do a little checking around first before embellishing or spinning for my book’s purpose. For the Ooey Gooey Bakery Mystery series, I would often have an idea for something (example: watermelon pie) and then research recipes to see if it had ever been done and how.

I tried to convince my husband that multiple spa trips and treatments could serve as research for one of my books, but unfortunately, our budget didn’t agree with my plan. We did get to go to one spa as a vacation resort freebie together and, as it was my first experience with one, it inspired a lot of the scenes in Rest, Relax, Run for Your Life.

On the other end of the spectrum, as an author, I also do research on marketing and advertising. It is my goal to do more of this type of research in 2020 now that I have several books out in order to get all of those books in front of readers who might enjoy them. I love writing for its own sake and the joy it brings me; however, I do want to be able to contribute to my family with the work I love as well and I can’t do that if I don’t sell books.

5.    Which books and authors do you read for pleasure? Is there an author that inspires you?
I love to read cozy mystery, paranormal cozy mystery, historical fiction so a few of my go-to authors are:Joanne Fluke, Amy Boyles, Jana DeLeon, Julie Klassen, and Karen Whitemeyer. I’m inspired by each of them in different ways. The first three because they continue writing books in their series (we are talking 15+, 20+ books) and their writing is still fun and fresh. The others because their Christian historical fiction books are beautifully written and they do a wonderful job of capturing God’s love and grace amidst the lives of relatable characters.
6.   Was there a person who encouraged you to write? My parents always praised and encouraged my writing as a child. They were always impressed and nurtured my love of books, taking me to the library or bookstore when I got older and had gift cards to spend. They buy and read all of my books and continue to brag on me.
As an adult, my husband and I couldn’t be on more opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to the type of book we like to read, yet he is fully supportive of all my efforts. When I told him that I was ready to quit my office job to write and be a stay-at-home mom, he said to do it. We made a plan and paid off some debts and within a year I had my dream come true. He promotes my books to people he knows and is proud of every one of my accomplishments even if that accomplishment is writing a paragraph, simply making progress on a book, or making twenty-dollars a month which isn’t even covering the cost of book cover design.
I am grateful for such a family and support system.

Website and other links to your social media pages.www.katherinebrownbooks.comAmazon Author Page
Facebook Author Page
Instagram
BookBub
Goodreads

Rest, Relax, Run for Your Life https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P1P5N2K
Best friends
A bakery.
What could be better?
How about a trip to the O Heavenly Day Spa?
Piper and Sam couldn’t believe their luck, winning the contest and getting a free spa weekend. But when mysterious notes start turning up everywhere, they can’t quite relax. And when Piper is kidnapped, she begins to wonder if her luck has run out.






Pastries, Pies, and Poison  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RMZV1T7
Lipstick and lies, pastries and pies, plus a little poison thrown in the mix.
Best friends, baking, and a body count - what's not to love?
Piper and Sam are excited to cater their first large event for a corporation’s weekend wellness retreat in a nearby town.
You know what that means? Road trip!

Piper thought it sounded like the perfect opportunity to clear her head of men. With things left unresolved with Griff, plus an old friend popping back into her life, her mind and heart are in worse shape than a batch of burnt cookies.

Unfortunately, the weekend goes pear-shaped in a hurry. A man is dead and everyone at the retreat is a suspect.
Can Piper get out of this new pickle and solve the mystery in time to salvage the retreat and the catering job? Will Sam heed the warning to stay out of the police investigation? And will the Ooey Gooey Bakery survive the weekend without them?