M.J. Compton's Blog, page 54

Summer is Upon Us–Guest Author Linda Bradley

Today’s guest author, Linda Bradley, talks about summer.

Maggie Abernathy and I have a few things in common so our feelings about the summer months are quite similar. Maggie Abernathy is a school teacher and so am I. We both love summer days! It’s the time to rejuvenate, hide-away, and spend the days enjoying the summer sun. Summer is her favorite season. It’s my favorite season, too.

Maggie Abernathy lives in the suburb of Grosse Pointe in Michigan. It’s a charming place with a quaint village where one can shop, visit the library, or get a bite to eat. Maggie is lucky enough to live near the lake. It’s a place I know well, as it was my home for many years.

For Maggie, she spends quite some time tending her garden. She loves peonies, lilacs, and her tomatoes.

She becomes quite fond of the pooch that her mother left on her doorstep. Bones can be a rascal, but he’s lovable.

Maggie’s pastime is taking photographs. After she develops them, she paints them, something that she dreams about publishing someday. She loves cows.

Maggie Abernathy is a cancer survivor and so am I. After being diagnosed with breast cancer, I put my blinders on, went through two surgeries, and radiation. It prodded me to write Maggie’s story.  I’ve been cancer-free for three years and I suspect Maggie will not have another bout of this trying disease. Several readers wanted to know if my debut novel, Maggie’s Way was autobiographical. Not really. Although we shared the experience of cancer and the same occupation, everything else is fictional. So I imagine, if I were to meet Maggie on a summer day at the beach, our conversation might sound something like this:

Me: May I pet your dog?

Maggie: (Smiles.) Absolutely, but I wouldn’t ask him to tend your garden.

Me: (With a chuckle.) Why is that?

Maggie: Let’s just say he likes tomatoes.

Me: I love his floppy jowls.

Maggie: He is kind of cute. My mom gave him to me. I suspect as a lesson. (Peers out over the lake and watches a young girl splash at the shore. The girl’s feet are covered with sand and her hair is damp.) Guess she didn’t want me to go through cancer alone.

Me: I’m sorry to here that. Been there done that and it sucked. I hate my tattoos.

Maggie: (With a grin) Sure does, but I’ll be okay. (Young girl runs over to where we stand and peers up at us.) Hi Chloe.

Chloe: Hi Maggie. I see Bones is behaving today. Good dog! (She pats his head and nuzzles her face close to his.)

Maggie: Yes, it’s a good day.

Me: It’s a great day with the sun. Summer is my favorite season.

Maggie: It’s my favorite season, too. My name is Maggie Abernathy.

Me: I’m Linda Bradley. Nice to meet you.

Chloe: I’m Chloe. Maggie’s not my mother, but I wish she was. She lives next door to me. I’m kind of like that kid that’s always around.

Maggie: (Smiles at Chloe.)

Me: You too must be good friends.

Chloe: (Shades her eyes and squints into the sun as she stares at Maggie.) I think we are. Are we good friends Maggie?

Maggie: Yes, we’re good friends.

Chloe: When do you think that happened cause I thought maybe you thought I was too much of a pest.

Maggie: Not sure, kiddo. Friendships are like magic. Sometimes they just happen.

Me: Kind of like a midnight wish on the wings of a summer fairy sprinkling her fairy dust over the people that love summer the most.

Maggie: (Smile grows bigger.)

Me: You do believe in fairies, don’t you?

Maggie and Chloe: (In unison) I do. (They share a quiet giggle and Chloe reaches up to hold her hand.)

Me: It was nice meeting you two. Enjoy the day. (I bend down and pat Bones’ knobby head.)

Maggie: (Nods) You, too.

Me: See you around. (I wave and walk away.)

Chloe: (Her voice trails into the breeze) She was nice. Remind me to make a wish on the summer moon tonight.

Maggie’s Fork in the Road Amazon Link
Maggie’s Way Amazon Link
Maggie’s Way at Schuler Books
Maggie’s Way on B/N

Linda’s inspiration comes from her favorite authors and life itself. Her women’s fiction highlights characters that peel away outer layers of life to discover the heart of their dreams with some unexpected twists and turns along the way. Her writing integrates humor found in everyday situations, as well as touching moments, thus creating avenues for readers to connect with her characters.

Linda has an Associates Degree in Interior Design and a Master’s Degree in Reading and Language Arts with undergraduate work in Elementary Education and Fine Arts. She wrote and illustrated a children’s book titled, The Hunter for her Master’s Degree. Linda is a member of RWA, as well as the Greater Detroit Chapter of RWA.

Linda has two grown sons, lives with her husband, and rescue dog in Royal Oak, Michigan.

Follow Linda on social media:

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It’s Not a Picnic without Them

Every city has it’s local delicacy. My hometown has salt potatoes. No summer picnic, barbecue, or event is complete without them.

And what, you may ask, are salt potatoes?

They a small, new potatoes boiled in highly salted water and served drenched in melted butter.

And how did this divine creation come to be?

In the late 1800’s Syracuse was the American capitol of salt mining. (Which is why I often wonder if the term “back to the salt mines” is universal or something local.) Syracuse is still called “The Salt City.” Salt was “mined” by boiling off the water from the salt-water marshes around Onondaga Lake. The Irish workers would bring their substandard, undersized potatoes and boil them in salted water for their lunches.

This is why I named my fictional baseball team, the Syracuse Saltboilers.

There you have it.

P.S. The next Syracuse Saltboilers romance comes out on July 26.

 

 

How to Keep Your Characters from Getting Bored

July is National Anti-Boredom month. I recently asked author Carole Ann Moleti what her characters do to fight boredom.

Liz and Mike Keeny are far from bored during the summer months. The Historic Barrett Inn is full of guests. Liz and her beloved housekeeper Mae are busy attending to them-as well as to little Eddie. Mike is fisherman, so he takes full advantage of the warmer days to nab some striped bass and flounder for the local restaurants.

On top of that, the ghosts haunting the Inn are always more riled up in the summer months and the painful anniversaries of their traumatic last years have the specters buzzing and their hosts struggling to contain them. And this year, they have Category 5 Hurricane Edward on the way. Is it just coincidence he’s named after sea captain Edward Barrett? Mike and Liz don’t think so. When the evacuation order comes, do they stay or do they go?

Breakwater Beach: Book One in the Unfinished Business Series

Available in e-book, print coming Fall 2016  http://amzn.to/1VfwnZR

Blurb:

Liz Levine is convinced her recently deceased husband is engineering the sequence of events that propels her into a new life. But it’s sea captain Edward Barrett, the husband that died over a century ago, who has returned to complete their unfinished business. Edward’s lingering presence complicates all her plans and jeopardizes a new relationship that reawakens her passion for life and love. What are Captain Barrett’s plans for his wife, and for the man who is the new object of her affections?

Excerpt:

Mike tipped his hand in salute and went out to his truck. “Morning,” he said to Mae who was getting out of her van.

“Good morning’ to ya, too,” she replied, looking at him askance. “Come along, lassies, still plenty to do.”

Mae looked at Liz standing in the doorway wearing Mike’s sweatshirt. Her eyes traveled from Liz’s hair, still damp and caked with mud and sand, all the way down to her bare feet.

“Ehh . . . a change in plans, girls. We’ll start downstairs today. First, polish the woodwork and then clean all the fixtures. Then upstairs, after the missus has time to get dressed.”

Mae herded them out of the foyer then followed Liz upstairs, smiling like she was about to solve the crime of the century. “From the looks of ya, that was one wild night on the beach. Now ya best be hoppin’ into the tub after passin’ me the nightie. I’ll soak it and get that mud out before it’s ruined. I’ll freshen the big guy’s sweatshirt, too.”

“It was nothing like that, Mae.” Liz couldn’t bear the thought of having to explain this to another person she knew from another life.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not passin’ any judgment. To be honest, I’m relieved. Ya took my advice. There’s nothin’ wrong with livin’, Liz.”

Also available in ebook and print: http://amzn.to/1RNz7ce

The Widow’s Walk: Book Two in the Unfinished Business Series

Mike and Liz Keeny are newlyweds, new parents, and the proprietors of the Barrett Inn, an 1875 Victorian on Cape Cod, which just happens to be haunted. By their own ghosts. The Inn had become an annex of Purgatory, putting Mike, Liz, and their infant son in danger. Selling the historic seaside bed and breakfast was the only answer, one that Liz and her own tortured specter refused to consider. Were they doomed to follow the same path that led to disaster in their previous lives? Was getting out, getting away, enough?

Coming in 2017: Storm Watch 

Read more at  http://bit.ly/1Pr1y1x

Blurb:

Mike and Liz thought they’d gotten control of the specters haunting the Barrett Inn. But things get very complicated when they’re the ghosts from your past life. The Category Five Hurricane bearing down on Cape Cod appears to be headed directly for them–or has it been spawned from inside them?

Excerpt:

Either it was age or too much on his mind, but forgetting your morning routine was like getting lost in your own back yard. Mike was in the parking lot before he realized he’d forgotten to stop for tea. There was some water and soda aboard the Whaler-warm of course-some stale snacks too. The sun peeked through a bank of puffy white clouds, giving the hint of a beautiful day to come. But to the west, a dark expanse rolled over itself like a giant octopus, its tentacles undulating, slapping the shit out of the cottony sky. “Damn ghosts.”

  Bio

Carole Ann Moleti lives and works as a nurse-midwife in New York City, thus explaining her fascination with all things paranormal, urban fantasy, and space opera. Her nonfiction focuses on health care, politics, and women’s issues. But her first love is writing science fiction and fantasy because walking through walls is less painful than running into them.

Books One and Two in the Unfinished Business series, Carole’s Cape Cod paranormal romance novels, Breakwater Beach and The Widow’s Walk, were published by Soulmate. Book Three, Storm Watch, is expected in 2017.

Urban fantasies set in the world of Carole’s novels have been featured in Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Seers: Ten Tales of Clairvoyance, Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft, and Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires. Her award winning non-fiction, which ranges from the sweet and sentimental to edgy and irreverent has been published in a variety of literary venues.

Links

Subscribe to Carole’s Newsletter and get a free ebook:  http://eepurl.com/bfNver

Amazon author Page: http://amazon.com/author/carolemoleti

Twitter: http://Twitter.com/Cmoleti

Website: http://caroleannmoleti.com

Facebook author page https://www.facebook.com/CaroleAnnMoletiAuthor/

Google Plus: plus.google.com/103609323247390103301

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomCmoleti

Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/caroleannmoleti/

 

 

Snarky Sunday: Christine Hart

To non-moms, I’m that annoying person posting too many kid pics on Facebook. Does everyone care that my kids are at the park, again. Of course not.

To other moms (of littles) I’m one of those people who unabashedly cherry-picks each photo session for the moments where one or both children are happy and clean – preferably doing something I find clever or cute.

Does my four-year-old throw a fit ending in tears and stomping at the drop of a hat? Oh, he’s the master. And that kid on the playground everyone’s frowning at for being too rough? Also my son.

Does my one-year-old spend her time trying to circumvent my will so she can eat soap and climb bookcases? Yeah, her breath smells like shampoo and my shelves have been gutted unless they’re higher than three feet.

So next time you see a smiling cherub on my Facebook or Instagram feed, think of it this way … sure, I’m needlessly sharing gratuitous adorableness with my friends and family. But I’m also investing in my mental health. So that next time I have to fish poop out of bath water or scrub spaghetti off the ceiling, I have public reminders of what they’re like at their best.

Christine’s new release, In Irina’s Cards, is available at Amazon.

Christine Hart writes from her suburban Burnaby home staring at North Vancouver’s iconic Coast Mountains. She loves writing about places and spaces with rich history and visually fascinating elements as a backdrop for the surreal and spectacular.

In addition to her undergraduate degree in writing and literature, her background also includes corporate communications and design. She is a current member of the Federation of BC Writers and SF Canada.

When not writing, she has a habit of breaking stuff and making stuff – in that order – under the guise of her Etsy alter-ego Sleepless Storyteller. She shares her eclectic home and lifestyle with her husband, baby daughter and preschool son.

Follow Christine on Facebook.

 

Follow Christine on Facebook.

 

Six Degrees of F. Scott Fitzgerald

The local newspaper recently ran an article about an old apartment building that is scheduled to be demolished. Apparently F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in the building when he was a child–around the turn of the last century.

He’s not the only author to darken those halls.

Imagine my surprise when I looked at photos of building the article referred to as 501 Catherine Street and discovered it was the same building in while I lived when I first went out on my own: 735 East Willow Street.

Let me give you a tour.

I lived on the third floor, in apartment 9. In the above photo, the two windows on the third floor of the brown brick section were my bedroom.

 

 

 

 

 

In this photo, two of the three windows on the front of the building (the painted-red section) were my living room.

(The third window belonged to a vacant, burned-out apartment my roomies and I once tried to explore.)

There were many wonderful things about this apartment:

The ancient Norge gas stove that worked like a charm (oh, how I wish I still had that stove!)

The cat loved sitting on the counter. And yes, that is a Pink Floyd “Dark Side of the Moon” poster hanging behind the stove. It’s possible F. Scott’s mom cooked his meals on that stove.

The wide pine-plank floors that gleamed like honey when the sun poured through the windows.

 

The rooftop access–we essentially had a private third floor terrace.

We would leash the cat out there so she could get fresh air. We could also keep an eye on our cars. (Mine was the dark blue Firebird next to the yellow VW Beetle.)

Other photos:

Yes, that’s the Tolkein Mural hanging on the sloped ceiling over the sofa. And yes, I sat on that sofa with my mom’s portable typewriter and pounded out dreadful attempts at novels.

I’m not sure it’s visible in this photo, but even when I lived in the building, it was falling apart. The landlord had someone come in and bolt the facade of the building to the wood floor with steel bands. We tried to cover the bands with a black and white area rug.

Import stores were my favorite place to shop.

My great-grandmother’s blue willow dishes dressing up the table for a dinner party.  And yes, I still have that round blue Panasonic transistor radio (hanging over the calendar).

On the right side of this photo, you can see my grandmother’s Aunt Jemima cookie jar.

Two photos I don’t seem to have are of the stairs going up to the roof and the Milton Glaser Bob Dylan poster hanging on the bedroom door.

I sometimes dream I’m living in that apartment again.

It’s a shame something wasn’t done to save the building a long, long time ago.

 

Purse Project with D.R. Grady

Thank you MJ for helping me unearth…uh…discover the treasures in my purse!

Here’s my current purse. I got this on sale for the season – a creamy white St. John’s Bay crossbody bag. I have two requirements for a purse. It must be a crossbody, and it must have tons of pockets! This one fits my requirements. I do change my purse out for fall/winter and spring/summer.

What’s inside:

The two outside pockets contain my keys and my phone.

Inside  the main compartment you’ll find a few other essentials. Regular sunglasses for when I wear my contacts and prescription sunglasses for when I’m wearing my glasses. Lip balm, phone and glasses cleaner, and eyedrops. Oh, and my wallet. I bought this one a few years ago and still really like it. The back slot of this wallet is perfect for carrying my author business cards and I do hand them out!

Next up is a hodge podge of other “essentials.” I’m usually thankful for these when I need them. As a writer, I would be horrified to not have pen and paper, and the stylus comes in handy sometimes. Hand cream is a year round must. A Leathermen because you need scissors sometimes, cuticle stick, stain and hand cleanser, a nail file, and Advil.

The second picture shows the pile of coupons that are usually in my purse. They’re there to taunt me when I leave the store, purchased the item, and forgot to use the coupon…(eye roll)

I’ve only ever used the umbrella once. I still it carry it everywhere…. The Five Crowns cards are a favorite that I also forget about unless a family member reminds me. I like to keep at least one snack in my purse. It helps quell chocolate withdrawal crankiness. (big smile)

The stevia drops are a must because I’m addicted to coffee and iced tea. They live in the back pocket with some tissues and cough drops.

That’s everything! I try to keep what’s in there fairly light. I add a bottle of water if I’m going to be away for a while.

The Dragon Chronicles Book 3: Healing

 Ewain Douglass and Marissa Mays are dedicated healers who work together, and live together, in tight confines. Too bad they set sparks off each other. They might struggle to remain professional to each other, but they’re working on it. Then the enemy sets his sight on the unmated, and targets Marissa with a vengeance.

Meanwhile, Lindy and Alex, the dragon and her controller, are still seeking to learn all they can about their abilities and their future. They tremble once they learn the identity of an enemy no one wants to face. One only the dragon has a chance to defeat.

The dragon has called her allies together and many have come. Paranym soon becomes crowded with the family members of family members. A war for their very lives looms.

Ewain and Marissa don’t have time to declare it on each other.

Available at Amazon.

D.R. Grady lives with her husband near Hershey, PA. She adores chocolate, laughing, collecting bags, books, and shoes, and writing stories that resonate with others.

Website: www.drgradybooks.com

Twitter: @drgradybooks

Amazon  Author page

Faceboook Page: D.R. Grady

Google+:  D.R. Gradybooks

 

National Smile Power Day with Author Ryan Jo Summers

Today is National Smile Day. The significance of that got me to thinking.

A smile can be one of the most quickly observed feature on a person, alongside eyes and hair (according to studies and polls). Personally, I’ve always been self-conscious of my smile. All my school pictures show more of a forced grimace as the photographer tried in vain to get me to flash my pearlys. There are few photos in existence that show me truly grinning. Blame it on years of coffee and tea or blame it on my malformed choppers, it’s just not something people will notice about me immediately. Well, perhaps the lack of a big, beaming smile.

That being said, how does it transcend to my characters? Writing romance, there has to be a quick, initial attraction and eyes and hair only go so far. I tend to believe the heroines will notice a smile—or lack of a smile—before they can tell what the hero ate for breakfast or shampoo he showered with.

With few exceptions, my heroines are strong, independent women. They are successful business owners and career gals. They don’t need no stinkin’ man! They might, however, want one if he has a pleasant, heart-racing smile. My heroes are normal guys. They tend to come from blue collar occupations, are devoted to family and their lady love, and oftentimes are lower than the heroine in the pay scale. So what does he have to offer her?

Well, himself of course! Some of my ladies find themselves stuck in some precarious situations and the hero comes riding to the rescue, armed with a disarming smile to quickly earn her trust. Some ladies are content in their station in live and when ‘this guy’ shows up to interrupt her status quo, his charming and polite smile can melt her defenses.

Of course, there are also the other kind of smiles, you know the kind: sardonic, strained, mocking and others. I am guilty of using those in both real life and print, because I tend to be sarcastic and stressed a fair bit of the time. (No, really, it’s true) And I enjoy using a less-than-adoring smile between characters (not necessarily the main h/ h) to create some cool tension.

Used properly, a smile can irritate, upset, cause dread, warm the heart, establish trust, and cement bonds or a host of other emotions. Smiles are a catalyst to create an emotion—positive or negative. Think about that next time you meet someone and flash ‘em a grin.

**

Tossed together by happenstance, fleeing for their lives and falling in love under the Caribbean sun as paradise turns deadly.

New York Fashion designer, Piper Kincaid, just wanted a pleasant visit with her cousin down in Florida. That was before she and handsome beach bum, Kade Wyatt, become the targets of a
gang of robbers and killers.
     Kade simply wanted some fish for his pet seagull. Now he and the lovely exec from out of town are caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse. He’s busy concentrating on Piper when he should be focusing on keeping them alive. 
     Fleeing for their lives aboard Kade’s houseboat, ‘The Hightide’, they experience risk, surprises, mystery and romance during the Great Caribbean Boat Chase. However, the biggest surprises are waiting for them back at port.

Upon the Tide now available at Amazon.





Ryan Jo Summers is a North Carolina author who specializes in writing romances with a twist. Love stories blended with inspirational, paranormal, suspense or time travel–or several at once. She also writes non-fiction for regional periodicals. Ryan’s dad is a songwriter and his aunt wrote poetry so she claims she came by her writing skill honestly. Apparently it’s in the genes.

 

Her hobbies include bird-watching, houseplants (50 ish and growing), poetry and yard work. She loves to gather with friends, hike in the forest with her dog, paint ceramics and canvas and work on wiggly word find puzzles. She lives in a 1920 cottage with a menagerie of pets. Living in the mountains, she dreams of the shore and frequently uses the water as scenes for her stories.



More about Ryan Jo can be discovered at:
Website
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Loving Day: Getting Political

I try to avoid controversy/politics in my author persona.

Today, I make an exception.

Today is Loving Day, which may not be precisely what you think.

On June 12, 1967, the US Supreme Court struck down laws in 16 states which forbade “interracial” marriages. The defendants in the case were Richard  and Mildred Loving, a black man married to a white woman, who were arrested because their marriage was illegal in the state in which they lived.

Their surname was appropriate to the situation.

I am a romance author.
I believe in love.
Love should not be legislated.
The person you love is none of my business.
I am happy for you because you’ve found love.

 

 

Best Friends

Today is National Best Friends Day.

I’ve had many friends over the years. I’ve stayed in touch–or gotten in touch again, thanks to social media–with many of them. I’ve been blessed with wonderful people in my life.

For the past 15–and that’s an estimate–years, my best friends have been members of my writing community. My tribe. They’re the ones who understand the frustration. The joy. The women who respect my process and who share their processes as we all muddle through this thing called writing books.

An author’s best friends respect her need for solitude. Respect her need for last minute brainstorming. Her need to celebrate the victories and mourn her setbacks.

During interviews, I’m often asked what advice I would give to aspiring authors. My opinion on this never changes: find your writing community. Find your tribe. Find your best friends.

Killing Your Darlings with Author Janis Lane

“You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair—the sense that you can never put on the page what’s in your mind and heart.”

“Come to it any way but lightly. Let me say it again. You must not come lightly to the blank pages.” Stephen King

In my opinion there’s nothing more terrifying than facing those blank pages. There’s also nothing more exciting. I have learned to flash my vocabulary in the first write, but after I read Mr. King’s memoir on writing, I learned how sparse should be my identifying adverbs or adjectives. It hurt, but limiting those modifying words forced me to strengthen my nouns and verbs. It’s an exercise in discipline. Not particular fun, but necessary.

Where do those wonderful words go?

A particular florid paragraph can be saved. (I looked up the definition of florid. When I read ostentatious, I got excited. I love big words.) I tuck them into a file called “little darlings.” Don’t know who coined the phrase, but we all know what it means. Occasionally I check them out. You never know when those pearls that dropped from my mind will come in handy. They never have, but you never know, and it makes me feel better that they weren’t completely wasted.

Meanwhile, and hopefully, the dialogue is strengthened and to the point. It feels brutal, but after all, it’s no more than getting a hair cut. Grooming your manuscript is a necessity.

WHISPERS of DANGER and LOVE

When Cheryl realizes her new next-door neighbor is someone she loved as a young girl, she immediately puts the brakes on her emotions. Never again would she allow the gorgeous hunk of a man to break her heart.

Ruggedly handsome Detective David Larkin isn’t used to pretty ladies giving him a firm no. He persists, even as Cheryl fights her own temptations. The two struggle to appreciate each other as adults, even as they admit to deep feelings from their childhood.

Available on Amazon.com

Janis Lane lives in Western New York near a small town on a few picturesque acres with her ever patient husband. They own and operate a small herbtique which keeps their days busy and interesting during the summer months. She writes Cozy Mysteries as Janis Lane and Regency Romance as Emma Lane.

Follow Janis on social media:

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