Rachael Stapleton's Blog, page 13

Jillian Jacobs Cover Reveal: Fire’s Field The Elementals Series Book 2

Fire’s Field
The Elementals SeriesBook 2Jillian Jacobs
Book Description:
Bound by a dark enchantment, only an elemental flame can light the way.
Vengeance
Forged in rage and sorrow, a dark witch’s spell travels down her ancestral line to Violet Levina. Enchanted with the power of the entire Electromagnetic spectrum—microwaves, gamma rays, radio waves, Violet is cursed with limitless energy and the obligation to destroy an insidious creature composed of dark matter.
Justice
For over five hundred years, Flint has served as Fire, aiding Earth’s environment and its people as one of four Elementals. Yet only once in his long existence has he been burned. A flaming redhead ignites the embers of his heart, but he finds her resistant to the heat building between them.
Illumination
Knowing she must fulfill her destiny, Violet travels to her ancestral home in Ireland, accompanied by the fiery Elemental. Not fooled by his charms and brazen demeanor, Violet wishes only to shield him from the coming battle, but can’t deny the flames of desire flickering when she is at his side.
Love
While standing together against unrelenting adversaries, false friends, family betrayals, and an underlying seed of darkness, they must burn bright or the ruthless power behind the ancient spell will turn everything to ash.
With Flint as her beacon in a field of darkness, Violet will discover that love holds the most powerful magic of all.
Fire’s Field Prologue Excerpt:
They were coming for her.On the eve of her mother’s 25th birthday, a young witch fought back chills as the sounds of braying bloodhounds echoed through the forest. A single red stroke, mixed with the faintest purple, lit the darkening sky, as night, along with death, crept closer. At the banks of River Nore, Sorcha rocked back and forth, tears of innocence-lost escaping down her cheeks. Heart splintering, she searched her memory for a spell to ease her mother’s torment. With her hands locked in the fabric of her mother’s woolen dress, she chanted pleas to the Goddess Isis to hear her cries and heal her mother.To no avail.The only answer came in the form of the demon’s sickness dripping from her mother’s mouth in a sludge of grimy gray mud. Fear unlike anything she’d ever felt iced her heart, as once more she begged, swore her very life in exchange for the continued beat of her mother’s heart.A piercing pain shot through her overburdened mind as the beast fought to break through her mental shields. Weakened by her angst and un-tested youth, she left a crack exposed, and the beast slipped in. Squinting her eyes closed, her entire body shaking with the will to deny the sick beast entrance, she couldn’t prevent his foul words from seeping through. “Your mother paid for her defiance, for her inability to accept this gift only I could give her. Look at you simpering and shaking, if you weren’t so weak I’d use you, but no matter, I’ll be back.” Drained from holding back the tempest, Sorcha let loose true sobs for the loss of the deepest love of her life, her solid fortress during every storm, the lyrical voice singing away her nightmares. Ignoring her drenched skirts, she released all her torment against her mother’s breast, barely catching the beat of her mother’s weakening heart between each aching moan torn from the depths of her soul.No one came to her aid. No one soothed her broken spirit. The sounds of the hounds drew closer, their howls a mad cacophony in her surreal world. The yellow-glow from fire-tipped sticks, created a mystical glow in the woods before her. Snaps and cracks of branches reverberated across the forest as the frenzied townspeople advanced to accuse and convict one of their own—a witch.


About the Author:
In the spring of 2013, Jillian Jacobs changed her career path and became a romance writer. After reading for years, she figured writing a romance would be quick and easy. Nope! With the guidance of the Indiana Romance Writers of America chapter, she’s learned there are many "rules" to writing a proper romance. Being re-schooled has been an interesting journey, and she hopes the best trails are yet to be traveled.
Water’s Threshold, the first in Jillian’s Elementals series, was a finalist in Chicago-North’s 2014 Fire and Ice contest in the Women’s Fiction category.
Jillian is a: Tea Guzzler, Polish Pottery Hoarder, and lover of all things Moose.
The genres she writes under are: Paranormal and Contemporary with suspenseful elements.

[Your web browser does not support frames or is currently configured not to display frames. However, you may visit the related page.] Website: www.jillianjacobs.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GreenMooseProd
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jillian-Jacobs/737689872920933

Looking for a New Book Boyfriend ... Let's Get Irish with Chapter Twenty-Two

Happy St. Patricks Day! I thought today we could celebrate all things Cullen O'Kelley.
Favourite Drink: Pint of Guinness
Career: Architect
Area of Expertise: Castle Restoration
Hair Colour: Ginger



Excerpt from Chapter Twenty-Two
Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire
Buy Now

Shivering, I started up the stone path to our front door. I’d loved Cullen’s Tudor-style house from the first visit—it reminded me of Snow White’s cottage with its steeply pitched roof and massive chimney thrusting skyward. My favorite part was the diamond-paned windows, all of which were dark now, except Cullen’s study, which seemed to emit a faint red glow. I quickened my pace, focusing on the lighted window. He was home. He must have been dropped off, though, since his Landrover wasn’t in the drive. Probably one too many pints. My stomach tightened the moment I shut the door and called for him…Only silence answered. I took out my cell and quickly shot him a You home?message. Eyeballing the bottle of shiraz on the counter, I slipped off my shoes and pulled the French doors open, taking in the scent of sweet vanilla and honeysuckle from the gardens. No more bad thoughts. I was letting my imagination run away with me. I needed to get ready for my dinner date—an entire evening alone with Cullen. My heart leapt at the thought.
I stopped by the study, which was on the way to the bedroom. Cullen loved this room. It was decorated with masculine oil paintings of ships and battle scenes. Bookshelves lined the back wall behind his desk, surrounding a large marble fireplace which shed a dying glow. So that was why it seemed a little brighter than the rest. Cullen must have left in a hurry today.I switched on the desk lamp and gazed across the room at his shelf full of books. Vehicles, mechanics, architecture: all things that reminded me of Cullen. All except for one on spirituality. This was an odd coincidence. How had Ann’s book gotten here? Had Cullen unpacked my box? I walked over to the shelf and picked it up, running my hand along the cover before opening it. The edges were earmarked and smudged. This wasn’t my copy. Why would Cullen have a book written by Ann Switzer? Had he come across it and saved it for me? I tried to think of whether we’d ever talked about Ann and how my uncle Velte had attacked and murdered her grandmother at the Switzer farm. I couldn’t recall the discussion ever happening. I put it back and turned away, looking at Cullen’s desk; it was massive and dark, like my feelings at the moment. I hated to invade his privacy, but I couldn't ignore my intuition.The drawers extended down both sides, almost—but not quite—reaching the clawed feet. The top was clean, unlike the surface of my old desk—which was always piled high with papers and half-drunk cups of coffee. I grasped the knob on the top left-hand drawer. Locking drawers now, are we?My eyes darted back to the bookshelf, then wandered along the walls which were painted a pale, buttery yellow. This room which I normally found cheerful and pleasant felt like it was closing in on me. My heart sped up. Maybe it was time to open Nick’s letter. I tried the next drawer down. Inside, there was nothing but a notebook and a few pens. I was stalling. I moved the notebook and—bingo—found a letter opener but as I reached for it, the hair on my arms prickled. A familiar address stood out to me, written on a little blue matchbook. Gripping the desk’s lip to steady myself, hands shaking, I pulled the memorable little matchbook out. I closed my eyes, banishing the sight of Nick’s flat number from my mind. “It’s not possible,” I whispered numbly, shaking my head. I reached into my purse and pulled out Nick’s envelope, grabbed the opener, and tore in. My stomach churned and my hands shook. Sophia,I know you told me to stay away and you’re probably rolling your eyes right now but please leave Ireland. I swear I’m not writing this to fight with you or to be spiteful. You’re being fooled and if you don’t wake up before it’s too late, you’ll be dead. I realize I’m the last person you want to hear this from, but it’s true. I hired a private investigator and this is what he found…My tears spilled onto the page as I glanced at the investigator’s notes scrawled below. I could make out key words like mentally unstable. It was so messy, I could hardly focus. Handwriting was clearly a lost art, but then again I was crying so hard my vision was blurred. “Sophia? Ye home?” Cullen’s voice floated up the stairs and down the hall.My heart was pounding violently. Desperately I tried to control my tears as I made quick work of folding the paper in half but not before noticing the words raped and accused of murder. I used my sleeves to dry my tears.“Yes,” I called back, trying to make my voice sound as normal as possible. “You didn’t respond to my text.”I looked down at my phone, blinking, and felt completely caught off guard. “I’m just on the phone in the study.”“It’s almost dinner time. Shouldn’t ye be after gettin’ ready?”“Yep, I will in just a moment.” Cullen’s footsteps receded. The house was suddenly very still. I let out my breath and reached for the phone. 


#Amazon #Kindle #Bestseller #Timetravelromance #CurseofthePurpleDelhiSapphire #CullenOKelley #IrishBookBoyfriend #Excerpt #Mystery #Author #Amreading #writingtips #solsticepublishing

Editing Hell: Eight Easy Tips To Strengthen That Story

Do you underestimate how much time goes into a book? Most people do. That's why it's nice to receive feedback on the writing, in addition to the story line. Today I received the highest compliment from a fellow author/editor Brody Lane Gregg who reviewed my book.

"For a small indie book, the editing was superb. Being an editor myself, I often look for those areas. The only thing I saw was some grammar issues here and there, but I believe your choice of phrasing was purely style-related, so definitely not errors in any way. It's not an easy thing to accomplish (no errors). My book was both professionally edited before submission to publication, and as an editor myself, checked multiple times, and I still believe I have 3 or 4 small errors in it." Brody Lane Gregg


Let’s just pause and bask in that glow!

This means the world to me. Do you know why? Let me tell you—it’s because after being dissatisfied with the final editing on my debut novel—I put my second book under a magnifying glass. Not literally of course, but in addition to my usual editing avenues: writers group, beta readers and my editor—I stepped up my game. No one cares more about my edits than me! So even after all the edits were said and done, I did two more sweeps and I found a ton of things that I was not happy with. Don’t get me wrong I adore my editor. She is the best, and I am grammatically challenged as you can probably tell from my blog posts, but many of the issues were stylistic and I decided that while they made it under the radar mechanically, they were slowing/dragging my scenes/plot down. Getting this compliment really validated the fact for me that I took that extra time to be an anal retentive pain in the behind. Sometimes good things are worth working for and sometimes you just need to hurry up and get it done…now back to writing Book 3.
Now here are some great tips from Ali Luke who says quality editing is the one key factor that separates mediocre writers from good ones. I happen to agree!
#1: Don’t Edit While You’re Writing

You’ve probably heard this one time and time again: don’t stop to edit while you’re writing. It’s great advice, though many writers find it hard to stick to.

It’s fine to pause and correct a typo, or restart a sentence, while you’re creating the first draft – but don’t keep going back to delete whole sentences or paragraphs.

If you really struggle to write without editing, try Write or Die, which forces you to make forwards progress by deleting your words if you stop typing for too long.

#2: Put Your Work Aside for a Few Days

Try to build extra time into your writing schedule, so that you can let your work sit before editing. With a short piece like a blog post, a day away from it – or even a few hours – is enough. If you’ve written a whole novel, try to put it aside for at least a week or two before starting the editing process.

By doing this, you make it easier to see your work afresh. You’ll come up with new ideas, and you’ll find that you can spot chapters that don’t fit, plot holes, inconsistent characterization and other big-picture problems.

#3: Read Through in a Different Format

Physically turning your words into a different format can help you spot problems or mistakes more easily. You might want to print out a blog post before editing it, or transfer your novel manuscript onto an e-reader device.

Often, it’s useful to take a look at your work in its published form (or as close to it as you can get). If you’ve got a blog post, for instance, you might use your blog platform’s “preview” function to check it out. If you’re writing an email newsletter, you could test it by emailing it to your own account. Sometimes, you’ll notice problems that didn’t stand out before, such as too many short/long paragraphs or glaring typos.

#4: Edit for Structure and Content First

Too often, writers start their editing by polishing up every sentence – and then end up cutting out huge chunks of their material later. It’s much more efficient to do your big picture editing first: that means looking for:
Chapters or sections that need to be cut out – perhaps they’re too advanced for the piece, or they’re a tangent to the main point
Missing information that you need to add in, like a whole new section or chapter
Scenes or sections that need to be radically revised

Major cuts, additions and rewrites need to happen before you start digging down into the individual sentences and words.

#5: Cut Out 10% of Your Words

Once you’re broadly happy with the shape and flow of your piece, it’s time to cut. Most writers over-write: we use more words than we need, and we weaken our argument or story in the process.

Do a word-count for your whole piece, and try to cut 10% of the words. If you’ve written an 800 word blog post, for instance, aim to cut it to 720. Look out for:
Repeating the same point several times – unless you’re deliberately doing this as a rhetorical device, it’s probably unnecessary. Trust that your reader will get it the first time.
Wishy-washy phrases like “in my opinion…” or “it is my belief that…” Occasionally these are warranted; often, you can simply cut them out.
Unnecessary adjectives. Don’t tell us “John said loudly” if you can say “John shouted”.

#6: Use Spell-Check – but Use Your Eyes Too

Always run your work through a spell-checker. That might mean using a browser plugin, or simply writing in Word or another word processing program so that you can check for red wiggly lines.

Don’t rely on spell-check to catch everything, though. Some errors will slip through – missing words are a common one, as are homophones (words that sound the same but are spelt differently, like “which” and “witch”). Sometimes, spell-check will pick up on words that are actually correct – mine has some bizarre ideas about “its” and “it’s” – so don’t blindly follow every suggestion.

#7: Read Your Piece Backwards (or Slowly)

It’s tough to proof-read your own writing: by this final stage of editing, you’re so familiar with the words on the page that mistakes just slide past you. One trick for better proof-reading is to read backwards from the end of the piece.

If you find reading backwards too awkward, then try reading s-l-o-w-l-y. That might mean running a pencil along each line as you read, or increasing the font size so that you don’t see so many words at a time on your screen.

#8: Let it Go

Finally, to edit well, you need to eventually stop! If you find yourself taking commas out and putting them back in, or rewriting the introduction one way then changing it back, then you’re done: it’s time to put your work out into the world.

If you’re like most writers, you’ll never feel entirely confident about your work.You’ll have a nagging sense that it could still be better. But perfection is an unattainable target – so settle for good enough. Even if a few imperfections remain, a published piece is infinitely more useful to your readers than a piece that sits on your hard drive forever.
Do you have a great tip for editing? Add it in the comments below…

Don't forget to check out Beyond the Skyline by Brody Lane Gregg.


Alex Lane is a hardened criminal. A misfit. A freak. When he is released from a juvenile detention center at the age of eighteen, he doesn’t know what he will do with his life. Alex does not want to return to a life of crime, but he is not sure how to change. A criminal is all he has ever been. And thus he begins his journey. Alex finds himself living with his brother and his family, a family he does not know. He also finds friends who eagerly accept him into their group of misfits. On the outside, everything seems to be going his way, but inside, Alex struggles to leave his criminal life behind. He struggles with change and with the realization that in a life absent of crime, he must give up control. He must learn that there is more to living a normal life than just choosing not to be a criminal again. Much more.
#writingtips #editingtips #amwriting #amediting #BrodyLaneGregg #BeyondtheSkyline #Authorspotlight #mystery #adventure #ficiton #bookreviews #Indieauthor #Indiebooks #Solsticepublishing

Ask the Author

Video Author Interview Live from my Living Room & You Get To Be The Interviewer

I'm going to try something next month. A video interview so you can see me as well as hear my voice.

To make it fun I thought I'd let you guys choose the questions. I know I have a ton of questions I would ask authors about my fave books, usually about the characters and places but this is your choice so lay 'em on me. You can either write them below or message my blog/website.

#Author Interview #Video #videoauthorinterview #podcast #webchat #Q&A #AskRachael #Asktheauthor

Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire Dream Soundtrack & Character Theme Songs

Today I made a guest appearance at the beautiful Marissa Campbell's Cover Reveal FB Party and as promised here is the Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire Dream Soundtrack & Character Theme Songs Guest Blog I did for Auggie Talks during my Tour. Enjoy!

We asked Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire’s author Rachael Stapleton to imagine her dream soundtrack for Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire then we asked her to tell us what song she saw playing the first time her main characters appeared on screen, here's what she told us.
R: Music plays an important role in everyone’s life. We all have musical memories that help us identify our teen years, our twenties, and today? If I had to choose a soundtrack to fit my novel, this is what I would choose. The funny part is I can't listen to music at all when I write. So these songs are chosen at random and out of order.
Sophia Marcil would be played by Minka KellySophia’s song has to be – Once Upon a Dream by Lana Del Ray Favorite Indulgence: Shiraz, Chocolate & Books









Cullen O’Kelly would be played by Alex-O-LoughlinCullen’s song has to be – Galway Girl by Steve EarleFavorite Indulgence: Guinness, Sophia & Architecture Magazines







The Stalker I won’t reveal the identity but I will say it would be a toss-up between Polly Wants a Crackerby Nirvana and Living Room by Tegan and SaraFavorite Indulgence: Sweet Killarney Pipe Tobacco, Whisky & Spying




Leslie would be played by Isla FisherLeslie’s song would be – All the Small Things by Blink 182Favorite Indulgence: Vodka, Men & Books



Temple of Indra Series: Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire Dream Soundtrack
1.       Laid James2.       Little Red Corvette Prince3.       Serial Killer Lana Del Ray4.       All the Small Things Blink 1825.       Used To Love Her Guns and Roses6.       Die Die Die, My Darlings The Misfits7.       Young and Beautiful Lana Del Ray8.      Once Upon a Dream Lana Del Ray9.       Born to Die Lana Del Ray10.   Whiskey in the Jar The Dubliners11.    Galway Girl Steve Earle12.    Love You ‘Til The End The Pogues13.    Ghost Ella Henderson14.    Something in the Water Carrie Underwood15.    Book Club Arkells16.    Never Thought This Would Happen Arkells17.    Take Me To Church Hozier18.   Rape Me Nirvana19.    Polly Wants a Cracker Nirvana20. Living Room Tegan and Sara
21. Kiss With a Fist Florence and the Machine
22. Ghost Depeche Mode

Are there any other new releases on the horizon?
I have a short story—a prequel to how Sophia and Cullen met called DINNER IN THE DARK that was just released Solstice Publishing’s Valentine’s Day Anthology, The Food of Love. There are several delicious recipes in it including mine for Dill Pickle soup. http://www.amazon.com/The-Food-Love-S...

Thank you for joining me today. One final question, where can my readers purchase your book(s)?
U.S Paperback KindleCanada: Paperback Kindle 

Knitting Together the Perfect Mystery: How Writing a Novel is Like a Ball of Yarn

After all of the marketing I've been doing lately, it's tough to just back into the flow of writing and it got me thinking about my process. If you are a knitter, or in my case grew up with a knitter (my Mama) you may have noticed colorful balls of yarn around the house, or most likely you've seen a yarn skein. 
You may have even attempted knitting or just played with the string a time or two as a kid–only to realize that while sometimes the string unwinds smoothly—at times it can really catch. As writers, the same thing can happen, metaphorically speaking, with our stories. In my case I see all of my stories when I first begin as a giant ball of yarn. Sometimes I can sit down and go for chapters and chapters with no snags, unwinding the story like a perfectly formed ball of yarn.

Then I catch a snag. One of my scenes is caught up with another.  Maybe the piece of yarn I'm currently pulling is overlapping another piece or maybe it's a huge tangled mess buried at the heart of the story.
What do you do? 
Do you keep pulling and risk tangling further? Sure. Sometimes that can work, but more recently while working on the Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire I learned to go into the centre of the skein to search for the root of the tangle. There I can pull on the surrounding threads until the one I'm caught up on, shakes loose. 
While this process can be tedious, for me it’s necessary, to make sure my story unfolds in a smooth and timely fashion. And it's better than the alternative—which as every knitter knows—is to cut.

How do you see your writing process?
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#writingprocess #amwriting #knitting #ballofyarn #writingislikeyarn #untanglingthestory #writingtips #writerstips #writerlytips #mystery #fiction #books #templeofindra #curseofthepurpledelhisapphire

We Are All Winners!

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the the Book Blog Tour hosted by Bewitching Tours in celebration of my latest mystery adventure, Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire.


The 10 Winners have been contacted! Thank you to all of you who followed the tour from beginning to end! I was thrilled and delighted to chat with you--your comments were an inspiration to me. I hope you'll continue to follow my Blog as well as my Facebook page. Please don't forget to subscribe to my website to get advance news about my next book release, The Keeper of the Book as well as my upcoming appearances and contests. 
Thank you again. I hope each and every one of you fall in love with my series and with Sophia and Cullen. Don't forget Please leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.
#BLOGTOUR #WINNERS #CURSEOFTHEPURPLEDELHISAPPHIRE #CONTEST #FREEBOOK #GIVEAWAY #TEMPLEOFINDRA #BEWITCHINGBOOKTOURS #BOOKREVIEWS

Review of Shattered Shells: Third novel in Author Francene Stanley's Paranormal Moonstone Series

Touching Story Written From The Heart
Shattered Shells is the third novel in the paranormal Moonstone series set in the seaside village of St. Ives. In this book, the protagonist Liliha continues to alter lives with the use of her moonstone—an ancient Egyptian ring that merges her with the minds of those in turmoil. Through positive and rational thinking, Liliha is able to enable people to save themselves. My first thought when reading the book was that Author Francene Stanley who is an amazing person, has a gift for creating broken and flawed characters.


Liliha is a woman buried deep in grief. She's lost her husband, her daughters are living far away and her loneliness permeates the air like a bad smell. This becomes even more evident as she attempts to help an equally broken young girl, Ellen, get back on her feet—placing her in the path of a pimp and a crook who would like nothing more than to do Liliha harm. As she awakens with no memory in a hospital, she realizes the ring is gone. Dun Dun Dun!

Can I just start by saying I love this author’s imagination. She goes to places where I myself love to go—magical heirlooms that offer up psychic powers and force people to play detective. How could I resist that premise? The difference is she truly writes from the heart and I feel this series is best suited to those who love and adore women’s literature. I myself tend to reach for paranormal, adventure, mystery and thrillers but I tend to shy away with anything that has too much feeling and this one had me feeling emotions all over the place! Great Job Francene! I do recommend reading the first two books in the series first to gain a richer understanding of the story as a whole.
#bookreview #authorbookreview #paranormal #womenslit #womensfiction #emotionalread #FranceneStanley #writtenfromtheheart #moonstoneseries #shatteredshells

Stuck in the Research Mudbog: Rachael Stapleton tells us when to spin our wheels and when to get pulled out?

Final Tour Stop: Feb 23rd Fang-Tastic Books Sometimes, you just can’t avoid research—it’s like driving through mud. Actually I’m reminded of Burketon Hills, a thrilling and muddy place my Dad used to take me where 4x4 trucks with oversized tires would climb dunes and play in the mud. Much like currently writing the third book in my Temple of Indra series except now I am the monster truck spinning my wheels and flinging dirt. The message behind both mud bogging and research is the same—drive through enough of it, and you’re probably going to get stuck. With research tires spinning, historical wars flying and forward progress on your novel halted, what is a writer to do?


Well first off let’s talk about whether or not research is really necessary for your book. In my opinion, yes, although the amount depends on what genre you’re writing. Historical fiction and tech-based science fiction being quite reliant on research but really even mainstream fiction requires research at times. Getting into the mind of cops, killers, and the opposite sex doesn’t come naturally to all of us.
My series hinges on reincarnation and time travel of a sort which technically feels a lot like historical fiction because two of my main characters go back to where it all began to rescue one of their own. Here are some of the tabs open on my browser this morning Wallachian Revolution of 1848, The Politics of Witchcraft Studies, Romanian Folklore and Haunted Romania. Need another coffee? Me too.
I thought I knew enough about Romania to set a fictional backdrop there, after all I watched Dracula, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf and Transylvania 6-5000. Tee hee! Unfortunately, as I pour over the historical facts and political strife that was the Danubian Principalities, I realize this place has undergone a lot of war and finding the right time period is going to be a challenge.
Why don’t I just abandon this setting? Great idea! How much easier would it be to just pick a new setting for my book, Prague, Austria, Hungary—oh wait I did that in Book One and it was also full of political strife,  besides would you leave your once shiny new toy truck stuck in the mud? Me neither. I’m a Taurus and that makes me as stubborn as a bull.  I would love to take a trip to Transylvania to visit the fifteenth century Corvinești Castle that is northwest of the Carpathian Mountain range and situated by the river Zlasti. Wouldn’t that shake something loose?  From the pictures, it’s an imposing building, with forty-three rooms, two balconies and two bridges supported by four massive stone pillars. I could do some in-person research on the torture chamber, no, it’s not the red room of Fifty Shades, it’s even worse. Gasp! I could learn about the Hunyadi era when many people were brutally tortured and killed within the castle walls, brutally beaten, hanged and decapitated.  The funny thing about research is a lot of the stuff I learn doesn’t even wind up in my story. But it still informs my writing. This is part of the job and it’s the reason you should not shy away from it. So here is my advice for when your virtual truck gets hung up on a rock or you flood that magnificent engine that is your brain?

Rock It OutAs soon as you get stuck, you need to come to a complete stop, go in reverse, and get back where you started from—solid ground—so head back to your notes. To do this you need to be organized ahead of time. If you didn’t write an outline before then take the time and do it now. Start with the hook. This is a one-sentence summary of your novel. Something like this: “An architect travels back in time to save his wife.” The sentence will serve you forever as a ten-second selling tool. This is the big picture and can be used in online pitch contests. Some hints on what makes a good sentence: Shorter is better. No character names. Which character has the most to lose in this story? What does he/she want to win. Now expand that sentence to a full paragraph describing the story setup, major disasters, and ending of the novel. Ideally, your paragraph will have about five sentences. One sentence for backdrop and story setup, one sentence each for your (3) disasters, then one more sentence to tell the ending. Note: This is not the back-cover copy for your book. This paragraph summarizes the whole story. Your back-cover copy should summarize only about the first quarter of the story.

Add TractionPlace dry, solid objects beneath the edge of the tire in the direction you want to go (forward or reverse). Some drivers like floor mats or sticks, I like characters. Characters are an intricate part of any novel. For each of your major characters, write a one-page summary sheet that tells: name, a one-sentence summary of the character’s storyline, what he/she wants (motivation), what does he/she want (goal), what’s preventing him/her from reaching this goal (conflict), what will he/she learn, how will he/she change (epiphany). Once you’ve created characters, take your four-page synopsis and make a list of all the scenes using a spreadsheet that you’ll need to turn the story into a novel.

Winch ItIf you plan to drive through mud on a regular basis, it is probably wise to outfit your truck with some sort of winch. Even if you don’t have a winch, a friend’s Hi-Lift jack can be used to pull the vehicle free. Likewise a good writers group can come in handy. Sometimes we need a little help from our writer friends. Take your prep work with you and talk it out. I can’t count how many times I've been rescued by Yvonne, Susan, Marissa, Lora, Connie and Ann.

Last But Not Least—Pull It OutOftentimes, the best and quickest way to get your truck unstuck is to have another truck simply pull you out. Which means get back to writing and worry about the historical accuracy, names of places, people and dates, during the rewrites. The truth is I love to research. I could spend years delving into castle architecture alone just to write a thriller that hinges on one small and obscure architectural fact. I would live in research land forever but at a certain point, you need to just write. That is why I’ve put a rule in place. I allow myself to research during two phases: the idea phase and the rewriting phase. In between, research is a distraction.

Here are some of the great sites offering research advice that I live by.http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/mystery-novel-writing-5-faqs-on-how-to-do-excellent-research-for-your-novelhttp://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/how-to-research-your-novelhttp://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/snowflake-method/   
  

Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire: Last Stop This Monday

Well, this book blog tour has been a blast everybody! Thank you to Roxanne at Bewitching Book Tours for arranging it and all of her affiliated sites for hosting me. I'd also like to thank my publisher, Solstice Publishing and all of their amazing authors for joining in! I feel blessed to have toured around so many great blogs meeting a ton of potential new Sophia & Cullen fans.

Join me Monday for my last stop "Stuck in the Research Mudbog" on Fang-tastic, where I'll be blogging about book research and what to do when you get stuck in it. If you missed any of my interviews or guest posts, please feel free to click below and catch up. I will re-post all contest to my own website but the links below are your last chance to enter the Rafflecopter contest. On Monday, there will be 10 Winners chosen at random to receive the first book in my Temple of Indra Series.

I'd also like to take a minute to thank all of my Facebook and Twitter followers and supporters. Your likes, shares and tweets mean so much to me. 
I'd especially like to thank my Aunts: Sharon, Karon, Sharlene, Nancy and Doreen. I think one or all of you have commented, liked and or shared every piece of content I've ever posted. You make me smile. How could I ever fail when I have such a loving and supportive family. xo




Book Blog Tour Stops, Dates, LinksJanuary 28 Interview & Contest AnnouncementHelen Alexander Blog 

January 29th Character Interview with Sophia MarcilMarie Lavendar I Love Romance 
January 30th InterviewS.C Alban Blog
February 3rd InterviewMargo Bond Collins' Blog on All Things Writing February 4th Celebrating New Release & Leslie's Character Reveal A. B. Funkhauser, Author 

February 5th Dreaming up Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire’s All Star CastThe Blissful Blog of Susanne Matthews February 6th Books, Bestsellers & Breaking Into the Business InterviewBeyond The Skyline BlogFebruary 9 InterviewPenny's Taleshttp://www.pennyestelle.blogspot.ca/F... 9 Review
Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock https://pratr.wordpress.com/
February 10 SpotlightMommabears Book Bloghttp://www.mommabearsbookblog.blogspot.com
February 11 SpotlightDeal Sharing Auntwww.dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com
February 12 Character InterviewEclipse Reviewswww.totaleclipsereviews.blogspot.com
February 13 InterviewAuthor Karen Swartwww.authorkarenswart.blogspot.com
February 16 Guest blogAuggie-Talk http://www.auggietalk.com
February 16 SpotlightJodie Pierce's Ink Slinger's Blogwww.jodiepierceauthor.blogspot.com/
February 17 InterviewThe Creatively Green Write at Home Momwww.creativelygreen.blogspot.com
February 18 SpotlightBooks N Pearls http://booksnpearls.com/blog

February 18 Author InterviewOut of Control Characters
February 19 SpotlightFictionZeal.com http://www.fictionzeal.com
February 20 SpotlightMore Romance Pleasewww.moreromanceplease.blogspot.com
February 23 Guest blogFang-tastic Bookswww.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com

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