Marlow Kelly's Blog, page 16
September 4, 2015
Finding Gabriel by Rachel L. Demeter
Available at:
Momentum Website
Amazon Colonel Gabriel de Laurent departed for the war intending to die.
After a decade of bloodstained battlegrounds while fighting in Napoleon's army, Gabriel returns to the streets of Paris a shattered and haunted soul. Plagued by inner demons, he swallows the barrel of his flintlock pistol and pulls the trigger.
But fate has a different plan.
Ariah Larochelle is a survivor. Orphaned at twelve and victim to a devastating crime, she has learned to keep her back to walls and to trust no one. But when she finds a gravely injured soldier washed up on the River Seine, she's moved by compassion. In spite of her reservations, she rescues him from the icy water and brings him into her home.
Now scarred inside and out, Gabriel discovers a kindred spirit in Ariah – and feelings he imagined lost forever reawaken as he observes her strength in the face of adversity. But when Ariah's own lethal secrets unfold, their new love is threatened by ancient ghosts. Can Gabriel and Ariah find hope in the wreckage of their pasts – or will the cycle of history repeat again?
Perfect for fans of Gaelen Foley's Lord of Ice and Judith James's Broken Wing, Finding Gabriel features all the dark romance, searing passion, and historical intrigue of The Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables.
Excerpt:
“Look at me. Look at what you have saved.”
Gabriel released Ariah’s chin and tore away the bandage in a harsh movement. As his eyes bore into her own, pale moonlight fell upon the deformity, illuminating the twisted flesh and grotesque welts. The sight reminded her of a beautiful chateau . . . a stunning fortress situated along the coastline . . . one that had fallen into ruin and neglect. The skin was concave, destroyed, cavernous – a remnant of former glory. And the surrounding features – his burning eyes, the right side of his face, his powerful body – dwarfed the disfigurement with a striking beauty.
“Look at the monster you have created. Look upon my face, Ariah.”
She shivered at the sound of her name; slightly muffled from the injury to his mouth, it slid from his tongue with equal parts venom and hunger.
“I was supposed to die that night . . .” The last of his words ended in a choked whisper. His face fell forward in despair until his forehead was pressed against her own. He was impossibly close. And he appeared every gram a flesh-and-blood warrior – coarse and ruthlessly untamed. Sweltering heat radiated from his body and engulfed all five of her senses. She was suffocating. Visions of that long-ago night echoed in her mind until she could perceive nothing else. Ariah gave a shallow cry as she struggled to free herself once more.
“Don’t. Don’t leave me. Please.”
Her movements ceased. The words struck a chord deep inside her chest. She connected her gaze with his and was rendered speechless by the naked anguish in his stare. Regret and desire were etched in every line of his face – but what stole her breath was something entirely different. For the second time, it was neither anger nor resentment that radiated from his eyes, but a longing so intense that it nearly overwhelmed her: hope.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Rachel L. Demeter lives in the beautiful hills of Anaheim, California with Teddy, her goofy lowland sheepdog, and her high school sweetheart of eleven years. She enjoys writing dark, poignant romances that challenge the reader's emotions and explore the redeeming power of love. Imagining dynamic worlds and characters has been Rachel's passion for longer than she can remember. Before learning how to read or write, she would dictate stories while her mother would record them for her. She holds a special affinity for the tortured hero and unconventional romances. Whether crafting the protagonist or antagonist, she ensures every character is given a soul. Rachel endeavors to defy conventions by blending elements of romance, suspense, and horror. Some themes her stories never stray too far from: forbidden romance, soul mates, the power of love to redeem, mend all wounds, and triumph over darkness. Her dream is to move readers and leave an emotional impact through her words. Don't be a stranger! Rachel loves to connect and interact with her readers: Visit Rachel's Official Website: http://racheldemeter.net Stay in the loop with Rachel's Author Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/rldnewsletter Follow Rachel on Twitter: @RachelLDemeter Join Rachel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rldemeter Add Rachel on Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/RachelLDemeter
Extensive list of Links and Social Media Platforms
Official Site: http://racheldemeter.net/
Author Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/rldnewsletter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rldemeter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RachelLDemeter
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+RachelLDemeter/
Goodreads Author Profile: https://www.goodreads.com/RachelLDemeter
LibraryThing Author Profile: https://www.librarything.com/author/demeterrachell
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Rachel-L.-Demeter/e/B00IBKLO06
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/RachelLDemeter
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/RachelLDemeter/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/rachel-l-demeter/40/ba1/9aa
Rachel will be awarding a Momentum bundle of 3 romance titles chosen by the winner to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
September 2, 2015
A Short Post to Brighten Your Day
I haven’t posted on this blog in quite a while. I had a long, sad August where I dealt with the death of a loved one. I was in England away from my husband and children, sinking into despair.
Enter my Irish cousins, their genuine concern and affection coupled with their irreverence saved me from my misery. Their ability to laugh in the face of death gave me strength and reminded me how important laughter is to our well-being.
With that in mind I want to share one of my Pinterest boards with you. It is a collection of images I find funny. I hope they brighten your day.
Follow Marlow Kelly's board Funnies on Pinterest.
Enter my Irish cousins, their genuine concern and affection coupled with their irreverence saved me from my misery. Their ability to laugh in the face of death gave me strength and reminded me how important laughter is to our well-being.
With that in mind I want to share one of my Pinterest boards with you. It is a collection of images I find funny. I hope they brighten your day.
Follow Marlow Kelly's board Funnies on Pinterest.
July 31, 2015
Cover Reveal - Hit ’n Run Under Suspicion—Book 1
Check out Lori's Amazon page on 11th August to get your copy of Hit 'n' Run Lorna Tymchuk fights to overcome a past filled with neglect and abuse.
Determined to build a better life, Lorna has climbed the ladder to a success publish relations career on slippery rung at a time. But while on her way to an important meeting, a former lover crashes back into her life—literally—and she becomes embroiled in a police investigation that threatens everything she’s achieved.
Mitch Morgan doesn’t believe in coincides.
Mitch has spent five years trying to forget Lorna, only to run into her on his way to an undercover sting operation. Old feelings quickly resurface and passion reignites, but as his investigation unfolds, evidence suggests the woman he’s falling for might have ties to the very criminals he’s after.
When Mitch tugs any thread of his investigation, it seems to lead back to Lorna. Caught between his desire for the strong, curious beauty and the growing suspicions of his superiors, he must choose between trusting his instincts and following regulations.
Lorna finds herself entangled in a web of betrayal.
Whens he learns the nature of the investigation—and her role as a suspected spy—Lorna goes to dangerous lengths to clear her name and prove to everyone, including herself, she’s worth of the handsome, tenacious Mitch. With danger around every corner, Lorna is on the run for her life, but refuses to run from the past any longer.
She can find the evidence she needs, but at what cost?
Mitch now knows her secrets and must find her first and convince her she—and their love—are worth fighting for, before it’s too late.
Excerpt:
“And the driver of the hearse just drove off?”
The question of why bother to complete a report if the officer was just going to recap every point, by point, blinked like a neon sign behind her lids. “No, as I wrote, right here.” She pointed to another neatly printed line on the statement. “The man got out to see if I was okay. . .”
The policeman rested an elbow on the counter and smirked. “Nice of him.”
“I guess,” she agreed, forcing a lift to her lips, putting on her best salesman face. “Listen, the man left me his driver’s license. Said an emergency called him away.”
“Emergencies can happen in the funeral business, I imagine.” He lifted his gaze to meet hers, brow furrowed. ‘so, a polite runner then?”
Inhaling deeply, Lorna forged on. “I want to talk to you about that, actually.”
The constable stared, barely blinking, so she blurted. “It’s a fake.”
“What’s a fake?”
“The driver’s license,” she confirmed through tight lips.
“How would you know?”
“I didn’t recognize him at first with the beard and everything.” Oh, God, she was rambling. Get a grip. Lorna took a shaky breath. “I know–once knew–the driver I hit. His name is Mitchell Morgan, not Michael Ward as is written here. The picture on this license,” she said moving her own hand to cover the license on the counter, “is him, but that’s not his name. This,” she paused to tap the document with her fingernail, “is a fake.”
“How can you be sure?” His murky brown eyes met hers, clearly skeptical.
She glanced at the picture again, the tips of her fingers still touching the edge of the laminated surface. How could she explain the fact she would never be able to forget Mitchell Morgan’s midnight-blue eyes? Those same expression-filled eyes with just a hint of mischief couldn’t be disguised. “I’m sure.”
About Lori:Turning passion into words in print is a dream come true for Lori Power.
From Radio host (best job ever!), DJ, news reporter to newspaper journalist, like many author’s, Lori has been writing most of her life.
In writing, Lori has discovered a truism: everyone has a great story to tell. All you need to do is listen. Over the years, with all the people Lori has meet previously and daily, both professionally and personally, with an ear to the ground, readers can often find these ‘character’s’ fictionalized in Lori’s stories.
Lori’s first novel “Storms of Passion” was published by Wild Rose Press under their Champagne line, in 2014 and received a 5-star Author’s Favourite seal of approval in 2015.
Collaboration is important to improving one’s craft and as such, Lori is an active member of the Romance Writers of America, TransCanada Romance Writers, The Alberta Romance Writers Association and belongs to both a Critiquing group and a Beta Reading weekly group.
Lori looks forward to continuing to find the good story; hashing out a scene, having fun with a character and writing the story she would love to read.
Social Media Contact Links:
www.marinerwrites.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718000068
https://twitter.com/mpbenefitsinc
https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=30067445&trk=hp-identity-photo
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31466340
https://plus.google.com/u/0/112290861058090803392/posts
https://www.pinterest.com/lori1545/
https://www.thunderclap.it/my
http://www.marinerwrites.com/novel.html
http://www.limitlesspublishing.net/?s=lori+power
July 29, 2015
Pioneering Journalist Nelly Bly
In my story, A Woman of Love, Annabel is the abused wife of Lord Elliott Peters, but before her marriage she was a widow who successfully ran her late husband’s narrow boat business. (A narrow boat is a narrow barge used in the 19th century to transport goods on English canals and rivers.)Is this realistic? Could a widow in this era legally run a business? Yes, this is seen in the extraordinary life of reporter Nellie Bly.
Nellie was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in Cochran's Mills, Pennsylvania on 5th May 1864. Her father, the founder of Cochran’s Mills, was a landowner, judge and businessman. Unfortunately, he died without a will, when Elizabeth was six years old, leaving the family destitute.
At the age of fifteen Elizabeth attended the Indiana Normal School. Her plan was to become a teacher and help support her mother, but she was forced to quit the school after a year due to lack of funds. She moved with her mother to Pittsburgh where the pair ran a boarding house.
Her lucky break came when she read an article in the Pittsburgh Dispatch written by Erasmus Wilson. The column stated that women belonged in the home employed in domestic tasks, such as sewing, cooking and raising children.
Elizabeth, who was never one to back down from a fight, wrote an angry letter to the newspaper. She understood that many women had to work to support themselves, and their families. Her rebuttal so impressed the paper's managing editor, George Madden, that he offered her a job, giving her the pen name – Nellie Bly
Nellie championed women’s issues. She posed as a sweatshop worker to expose poor working conditions. Then she wrote an article calling for a reform of the state’s divorce laws, but the newspaper editors did not appreciate her investigative, cutting-edge journalism and moved her to the newspaper’s women’s page where she was expected to write about fashion and flower shows.Nellie left the Pittsburg Dispatch and headed to New York in search of a meaningful position. After a futile six months, she finally managed to get an interview with John Cockerill, editor of the New York World newspaper. He asked her to write a piece about the mentally ill housed at Blackwell’s Island, a large institution in New York City. (Now Roosevelt Island)
She accepted the challenge, going undercover as a woman with amnesia. She lived in the facility for ten days until lawyers for the New York World had her released. Her newspaper articles about her experiences included stories of cruel beatings, ice cold baths and forced meals of rancid food. Her story caused a sensation with the public and politicians alike. A grand jury was called to look into the conditions on Blackwell’s island, which quickly led to reforms.
In the years that followed she went on to expose corruption and injustice, revealing shady lobbyists, the way in which women prisoners were treated by police, and the inadequate medical care given to the poor. Given her upbringing it seemed natural for her to identify with the poor and the disenfranchised.
In 1889 she took a whirlwind trip around the world in an attempt to prove and beat Jules Verne’s 1873 novel Around the World in Eighty Days. Travelling by ship, train and burro she finished the journey in 72 days and was hailed as a celebrity.
At the age of 30 she married industrialist Robert Seaman, he was 70 years old at the time. She gave up journalism and devoted her life to him and his business, the Ironclad Manufacturing Company, until he died ten years later. After his death she took over running his business, and held several US patents; one for a milk can, and another for a stacking garbage can.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t a great businesswoman; the company went bankrupt due to financial mismanagement and embezzlement. Impoverished, she began writing for the New York Evening Journal. She travelled to Vienna in 1914 where she watched as World War I unfolded. She visited battlefields, and the trenches and sent back articles to the Evening Journal.
In 1919 she returned to New York and was forced to sue her mother and brother for the return of her house. She started writing for the New York Evening Journal again. This time she wrote an advice column. She was now in her fifties and perhaps she was happy to let someone else do the undercover work.
She died of heart disease and pneumonia in 1922, and was heralded as the best reporter in America.
Although Nelly wasn’t much of a businesswoman she was determined, and didn’t shirk the responsibility of running a business. She also tried to improve the lives of her workers, altering their pay from piecemeal to salary and providing them with recreation centers.
It is in her work as a journalist that she comes into her own. It is through the efforts of women like Nellie Bly that we enjoy the freedoms they have today.
July 24, 2015
A Lady of Good Family by Jeanne Mackin
I am grateful to have the very talented Jeanne Mackin here today to share her impressive research.
I hope you enjoy her post as much as I did.
Historical research
When I was researching my first historical novel I found a volume of memoirs written by Marie Antoinette’s seamstress…and it had never been translated into English! I read French well enough to be able to read these memoirs, but it was so exciting to me, to hold a book published more than a hundred and fifty years before and realize I was one of the very Americans who may have read it.
That’s what historical research means to me: exploration and discovery. I don’t think of it as a dry and dusty duty but almost as a form of vacation, a way to travel to different times and places, and sometimes those places I travel to are well-off the beaten path. When I began researching my most recent novel, A Lady of Good Family, I began by reading more memoirs and biographies of my characters – Edith Wharton, her sister-in-law Mary Cadwalader Jones, and Edith’s niece, Beatrix. Thankfully, all three women were writers of various types and there is plenty of material. But once that reading was finished, I began to explore garden history, since Beatrix Farrand became of the most famous professional gardeners of our country.
Gardens fascinate me, as they fascinated Beatrix, and historically they offer much to the investigator willing to explore those library shelves: colonial gardens, English country house gardens, public gardens, secret gardens…they all have their own purpose, they own style and methods. In a way, gardens maintained over several generations, as some are, become their own type of library, full of experiences, discoveries, history. Who planted that tree, and why? How did those daffodils end up planted so far from the main garden? I turn over some earth and find a child’s marble buried there from decades before I wonder if that child, now grown old, ever wonders where that marble disappeared to!
Gardening and historical research, you see, have much in common. They both raise questions and ask us to look for answers, or even just more questions.
Available at:
Amazon
B&N
Raised among wealth and privilege during America's fabled Gilded Age, a niece of famous novelist Edith Wharton and a friend to literary great Henry James, Beatrix Farrand is expected to marry, and to marry well. But as a young woman traveling through Europe, she already knows that gardens are her true passion. How she becomes a woman for whom work and love, the earthly and the mysterious, are held in delicate balance is the story of her unique determination to create beauty while remaining true to herself.
Excerpt:
1920
Lenox, Massachusetts
My grandparents had a farm outside of Schenectady, and every Sunday my father, who worked in town, would hitch the swayback mare to the buggy and take us out there. I would be left in play in the field as my father and grandfather sat on the porch and drank tea and Grandma cooked. My mother, always dressed a little too extravagantly, shelled the peas.
A yellow barn stood tall and broad against a cornflower blue sky. A row of red hollyhocks in front of the barn stretched to the sky, each flower on the stem as silky and round as the skirt on Thumbelina’s ball gown. In the field next to the barn, daisies danced in the breeze. My namesake flower.
I saw it still, the yellows and red and blues glowing against my closed eyelids. The field was my first garden and I was absolutely happy in it. We usually are, in the gardens of our childhood.
When I opened my eyes I was on a porch in Lenox, a little tired from weeks of travel, a little restless. My companions were restless, too, weary of trying to make polite conversation as strangers do.
It was a late-summer evening, too warm, with a disquieting breeze stirring the treetops as if a giant ghostly hand ruffled them. Through the open window a piano player was tinkling his way through Irving Berlin as young people danced and flirted. In the road that silvered past the inn, young men, those who had made it home from the war, drove up and down in their shiny black Model T’s.
It was a night for thinking of love and loss, first gardens, first kisses.
Mrs. Avery suggested we try the Ouija board. Since the war it had become a national obsession.
“Let’s,” I agreed eagerly.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Jeanne Mackin ‘s latest novel, A Lady of Good Family, explores the secret life of gilded age Beatrix Jones Farrand, niece of Edith Wharton and the first woman professional landscape design in America. Her previous novel, The Beautiful American, based on the life of model turned war correspondent and photographer, Lee Miller won the CNY 2015 prize for fiction. She has published in American Letters and Commentary and SNReview and other publications and is the author of the Cornell Book of Herbs and Edible Flowers. She was the recipient of a creative writing fellowship from the American Antiquarian Society and her journalism has won awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. She lives with her husband, Steve Poleskie, in Ithaca.
A Lady of Good Family is available at Barnes and Nobles, Amazon, and other bookstores.
www.jeannemackin.com
jeannemackin1@twitter
LINKS:
https://twitter.com/jeannemackin1
https://www.facebook.com/JeanneMackin...
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/36613.Jeanne_MacKin
http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Good-Family-Novel-ebook/dp/B00OQRL57U
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-lady-of-good-family-jeanne-mackin/1120624847
Jeanne will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2015/05/vbt-lady-of-good-family-by-jeanne-mackin.html
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I hope you enjoy her post as much as I did.
Historical research
When I was researching my first historical novel I found a volume of memoirs written by Marie Antoinette’s seamstress…and it had never been translated into English! I read French well enough to be able to read these memoirs, but it was so exciting to me, to hold a book published more than a hundred and fifty years before and realize I was one of the very Americans who may have read it.
That’s what historical research means to me: exploration and discovery. I don’t think of it as a dry and dusty duty but almost as a form of vacation, a way to travel to different times and places, and sometimes those places I travel to are well-off the beaten path. When I began researching my most recent novel, A Lady of Good Family, I began by reading more memoirs and biographies of my characters – Edith Wharton, her sister-in-law Mary Cadwalader Jones, and Edith’s niece, Beatrix. Thankfully, all three women were writers of various types and there is plenty of material. But once that reading was finished, I began to explore garden history, since Beatrix Farrand became of the most famous professional gardeners of our country.
Gardens fascinate me, as they fascinated Beatrix, and historically they offer much to the investigator willing to explore those library shelves: colonial gardens, English country house gardens, public gardens, secret gardens…they all have their own purpose, they own style and methods. In a way, gardens maintained over several generations, as some are, become their own type of library, full of experiences, discoveries, history. Who planted that tree, and why? How did those daffodils end up planted so far from the main garden? I turn over some earth and find a child’s marble buried there from decades before I wonder if that child, now grown old, ever wonders where that marble disappeared to!
Gardening and historical research, you see, have much in common. They both raise questions and ask us to look for answers, or even just more questions.
Available at:Amazon
B&N
Raised among wealth and privilege during America's fabled Gilded Age, a niece of famous novelist Edith Wharton and a friend to literary great Henry James, Beatrix Farrand is expected to marry, and to marry well. But as a young woman traveling through Europe, she already knows that gardens are her true passion. How she becomes a woman for whom work and love, the earthly and the mysterious, are held in delicate balance is the story of her unique determination to create beauty while remaining true to herself.
Excerpt:
1920
Lenox, Massachusetts
My grandparents had a farm outside of Schenectady, and every Sunday my father, who worked in town, would hitch the swayback mare to the buggy and take us out there. I would be left in play in the field as my father and grandfather sat on the porch and drank tea and Grandma cooked. My mother, always dressed a little too extravagantly, shelled the peas.
A yellow barn stood tall and broad against a cornflower blue sky. A row of red hollyhocks in front of the barn stretched to the sky, each flower on the stem as silky and round as the skirt on Thumbelina’s ball gown. In the field next to the barn, daisies danced in the breeze. My namesake flower.
I saw it still, the yellows and red and blues glowing against my closed eyelids. The field was my first garden and I was absolutely happy in it. We usually are, in the gardens of our childhood.
When I opened my eyes I was on a porch in Lenox, a little tired from weeks of travel, a little restless. My companions were restless, too, weary of trying to make polite conversation as strangers do.
It was a late-summer evening, too warm, with a disquieting breeze stirring the treetops as if a giant ghostly hand ruffled them. Through the open window a piano player was tinkling his way through Irving Berlin as young people danced and flirted. In the road that silvered past the inn, young men, those who had made it home from the war, drove up and down in their shiny black Model T’s.
It was a night for thinking of love and loss, first gardens, first kisses.
Mrs. Avery suggested we try the Ouija board. Since the war it had become a national obsession.
“Let’s,” I agreed eagerly.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Jeanne Mackin ‘s latest novel, A Lady of Good Family, explores the secret life of gilded age Beatrix Jones Farrand, niece of Edith Wharton and the first woman professional landscape design in America. Her previous novel, The Beautiful American, based on the life of model turned war correspondent and photographer, Lee Miller won the CNY 2015 prize for fiction. She has published in American Letters and Commentary and SNReview and other publications and is the author of the Cornell Book of Herbs and Edible Flowers. She was the recipient of a creative writing fellowship from the American Antiquarian Society and her journalism has won awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. She lives with her husband, Steve Poleskie, in Ithaca.
A Lady of Good Family is available at Barnes and Nobles, Amazon, and other bookstores.
www.jeannemackin.com
jeannemackin1@twitter
LINKS:
https://twitter.com/jeannemackin1
https://www.facebook.com/JeanneMackin...
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/36613.Jeanne_MacKin
http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Good-Family-Novel-ebook/dp/B00OQRL57U
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-lady-of-good-family-jeanne-mackin/1120624847
Jeanne will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2015/05/vbt-lady-of-good-family-by-jeanne-mackin.html
a Rafflecopter giveaway
July 22, 2015
Worlds Collide by Anne Ashby
Hi, thank you Marlow for inviting me to join you today. I’m looking forward to responding to any comments by your readers.
For those of you who may have read my first book “Worlds Apart” you’ve already met Justin Titirangi, the hero of my new release “Worlds Collide”. He was the heroine’s Kiwi friend who helped Raven straighten out her feelings about Greg. “Worlds Collide” is Justin’s story. It’s a story I long anticipated writing but it took me some years to figure out where Justin wanted to be and what he wanted to say. His first priority was to dispel the possibility of him being gay, an assumption made by many of my readers. I guess this happened because there was a random query in “Worlds Apart” of him ‘discovering his feminine side’ while he was helping Raven decide her fate. There had never been any thought of Justin being gay, as I knew one day I would find his story to tell.
Justin is an ordinary, hard working bloke. He runs maintenance at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC and enjoys hanging out at a local youth centre mentoring teens. He’s yet to encounter social snobbery. But a visit to Connecticut soon shows him how the other ‘half’ live. Shocked to discover his unassuming housemate comes from a mega wealthy background, Justin bemoans spending Thanksgiving with the family who do little to welcome his presence. But the presence of the daughter of the house makes the weekend bearable.
Soon it becomes obvious these two are from different worlds. Not only are they from different countries with different cultures, they are also millions apart financially. But as Justin and Nicole get to know each other better, gradually they realize these differences need not keep them apart. Perhaps there is a chance for them to become a couple.
But a taniwha will change that. Nicole cannot understand or accept the hold this spiritual entity has over Justin. She cannot believe an unknown cultural phenomenon has the power to destroy everything she has dreamed of. Their different cultures, different worlds, suddenly collide.
I have been remiss in not acknowledging in the dedication page of this book, the assistance of my friend Aroha, a lovely Maori Kuia (venerable older lady) who helped me understand the impact the presence of a taniwha could hold. Without her guidance as I scribed the black moment for “Worlds Collide” I doubt I could have successfully shared its cause.
While many countries share what they consider a common language – although slang idioms can highlight some differences – there are often other cultural distinctions which might slip by unnoticed. This is what happens to Nicole. She refuses to believe money is of any consequence to their chance of a lasting relationship and sees little other difference between herself and Justin. The arrival of the taniwha shows her just how wrong she can be.
Available at:
Amazon
B&N
TWRP
Although a secret dread lays buried deep inside New Zealand tradesman Justin Titirangi he appears content. He enjoys his life in Washington DC. He never dreamed a casual invitation to attend Thanksgiving with a friend's family would impact his life so disastrously. Previously untouched by social snobbery, he's blasted with both barrels.
Nicole Campbell is ashamed of how she'd treated her brother's friend, but is smarting from the demise of a long term relationship. She never expects to see Justin again anyway. A need to escape her smothering parents but without ready funds, Nicole temporarily moves into her brother's house in DC, unaware Justin also lives there.
Sparks fly when Justin and Nicole come face to face but will they manage to control the blaze before it engulfs them both?
Excerpt:
“Justin?” The whispered voice coming from behind the door, as it crept open, wouldn’t have woken him had he been asleep. It would normally have filled him with anticipation, but now...
“Are you all right? I heard—Justin?”
The last thing he needed right now was Nicole rushing to his side, bending over him, showing him the enticing curve of her breasts as she reached for him.
“Justin, what happened?” Her hands ran over his naked chest, her gaze darting all over his body. A shiver ran through him. Only a wimpy shiver. It appeared he wasn’t capable of any other reaction despite her closeness, her ministrations, and her loving touch. “Are you hurt?”
For a moment he relished her touch, before reality struck him. With a disgusted groan, he pushed her away and stumbled to his feet only to sink onto the side of his bed, fearing his legs wouldn’t hold him upright.
“I’m fine,” he croaked through dry lips. “I’m sorry I woke you.”
Justin stiffened as she sank down beside him.
“What’s happened?”
“Nothing.” His fingers wouldn’t stop twitching. He clenched them tight, rather than let her guess his weakness.
“Justin? Something’s wrong.” Her fingers scalded a path across his icy forearm. He shuddered, wishing he could slip his arms around her. Wishing he could fall onto the bed with her, and forget. Wishing they could be together, now and forever.
A groan escaped his lips as his body refused to respond to the picture springing into his mind for all of a second. But that dream wasn’t possible. Not anymore. He mustn’t even consider the depth of his feelings for this woman. Now he had only one choice.
He had to push her out of his life.
About Anne:
Anne Ashby grew up in a very small coastal town in Southland, New Zealand. An eagerness to travel, fostered by her mother, led her to join the Royal NZ Navy where she enjoyed a very satisfying career. She has travelled extensively and lived in Singapore and Maryland USA. Anne likes to bring something of her beautiful country to romance readers everywhere by using New Zealand as the setting for most of her clean/sweet contemporary stories. If not set in NZ, Anne has kiwi characters filling her books. Anne has a keen interest in genealogy, an obsession for rugby and a definite dislike of housework. When not reading or writing, Anne finds plenty to occupy her time with her family commitments and her role as the National President of the Royal NZ Navalwomen's Association. She currently lives in Auckland with her husband and one of their four children. She's blessed to have her four grandchildren living close by.
Social Media Sites:
www.anneashby.com
www.facebook.com/AuthorAnneAshby
www.twitter.com/AuthorAnneAshby
For those of you who may have read my first book “Worlds Apart” you’ve already met Justin Titirangi, the hero of my new release “Worlds Collide”. He was the heroine’s Kiwi friend who helped Raven straighten out her feelings about Greg. “Worlds Collide” is Justin’s story. It’s a story I long anticipated writing but it took me some years to figure out where Justin wanted to be and what he wanted to say. His first priority was to dispel the possibility of him being gay, an assumption made by many of my readers. I guess this happened because there was a random query in “Worlds Apart” of him ‘discovering his feminine side’ while he was helping Raven decide her fate. There had never been any thought of Justin being gay, as I knew one day I would find his story to tell.
Justin is an ordinary, hard working bloke. He runs maintenance at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC and enjoys hanging out at a local youth centre mentoring teens. He’s yet to encounter social snobbery. But a visit to Connecticut soon shows him how the other ‘half’ live. Shocked to discover his unassuming housemate comes from a mega wealthy background, Justin bemoans spending Thanksgiving with the family who do little to welcome his presence. But the presence of the daughter of the house makes the weekend bearable.
Soon it becomes obvious these two are from different worlds. Not only are they from different countries with different cultures, they are also millions apart financially. But as Justin and Nicole get to know each other better, gradually they realize these differences need not keep them apart. Perhaps there is a chance for them to become a couple.
But a taniwha will change that. Nicole cannot understand or accept the hold this spiritual entity has over Justin. She cannot believe an unknown cultural phenomenon has the power to destroy everything she has dreamed of. Their different cultures, different worlds, suddenly collide.
I have been remiss in not acknowledging in the dedication page of this book, the assistance of my friend Aroha, a lovely Maori Kuia (venerable older lady) who helped me understand the impact the presence of a taniwha could hold. Without her guidance as I scribed the black moment for “Worlds Collide” I doubt I could have successfully shared its cause.
While many countries share what they consider a common language – although slang idioms can highlight some differences – there are often other cultural distinctions which might slip by unnoticed. This is what happens to Nicole. She refuses to believe money is of any consequence to their chance of a lasting relationship and sees little other difference between herself and Justin. The arrival of the taniwha shows her just how wrong she can be.
Available at:
Amazon
B&N
TWRP
Although a secret dread lays buried deep inside New Zealand tradesman Justin Titirangi he appears content. He enjoys his life in Washington DC. He never dreamed a casual invitation to attend Thanksgiving with a friend's family would impact his life so disastrously. Previously untouched by social snobbery, he's blasted with both barrels.
Nicole Campbell is ashamed of how she'd treated her brother's friend, but is smarting from the demise of a long term relationship. She never expects to see Justin again anyway. A need to escape her smothering parents but without ready funds, Nicole temporarily moves into her brother's house in DC, unaware Justin also lives there.
Sparks fly when Justin and Nicole come face to face but will they manage to control the blaze before it engulfs them both?
Excerpt:
“Justin?” The whispered voice coming from behind the door, as it crept open, wouldn’t have woken him had he been asleep. It would normally have filled him with anticipation, but now...
“Are you all right? I heard—Justin?”
The last thing he needed right now was Nicole rushing to his side, bending over him, showing him the enticing curve of her breasts as she reached for him.
“Justin, what happened?” Her hands ran over his naked chest, her gaze darting all over his body. A shiver ran through him. Only a wimpy shiver. It appeared he wasn’t capable of any other reaction despite her closeness, her ministrations, and her loving touch. “Are you hurt?”
For a moment he relished her touch, before reality struck him. With a disgusted groan, he pushed her away and stumbled to his feet only to sink onto the side of his bed, fearing his legs wouldn’t hold him upright.
“I’m fine,” he croaked through dry lips. “I’m sorry I woke you.”
Justin stiffened as she sank down beside him.
“What’s happened?”
“Nothing.” His fingers wouldn’t stop twitching. He clenched them tight, rather than let her guess his weakness.
“Justin? Something’s wrong.” Her fingers scalded a path across his icy forearm. He shuddered, wishing he could slip his arms around her. Wishing he could fall onto the bed with her, and forget. Wishing they could be together, now and forever.
A groan escaped his lips as his body refused to respond to the picture springing into his mind for all of a second. But that dream wasn’t possible. Not anymore. He mustn’t even consider the depth of his feelings for this woman. Now he had only one choice.
He had to push her out of his life.
About Anne:Anne Ashby grew up in a very small coastal town in Southland, New Zealand. An eagerness to travel, fostered by her mother, led her to join the Royal NZ Navy where she enjoyed a very satisfying career. She has travelled extensively and lived in Singapore and Maryland USA. Anne likes to bring something of her beautiful country to romance readers everywhere by using New Zealand as the setting for most of her clean/sweet contemporary stories. If not set in NZ, Anne has kiwi characters filling her books. Anne has a keen interest in genealogy, an obsession for rugby and a definite dislike of housework. When not reading or writing, Anne finds plenty to occupy her time with her family commitments and her role as the National President of the Royal NZ Navalwomen's Association. She currently lives in Auckland with her husband and one of their four children. She's blessed to have her four grandchildren living close by.
Social Media Sites:
www.anneashby.com
www.facebook.com/AuthorAnneAshby
www.twitter.com/AuthorAnneAshby
July 18, 2015
Love’s Battle- Angela Hayes
Hello Marlow, thank you for having me on today. I’m excited to be here.
Before I introduce my debut novel, Love’s Battle, I wanted to touch a bit on the research that went to writing this romantic fantasy.
When I was first seriously considering trying to make writing my career, I came across a piece of advice that I strive to achieve every time I pick up my pen. ‘If you can take the fantasy out of your story and it still works, it’s not fantasy, but reality.’ While writing Love’s Battle and now as I’m working on her sister’s stories, this is the standard I strive to achieve. A seamless blending of fantasy within reality.
To do that I spent a lot of time choosing and identifying a few well-known historical figures and events throughout the course of the Howard girls’ eleven lives.
Their story begins when I had them fathered by Cinaed mac Alpin, Scotland’s first credited king. They then graced the presence of Mary, Queen of Scots, were ladies in waiting to King John’s wife, Isabella. Were muses for and painted by Raphael, hung as witches in Massachusetts during the hysteria of 1692, and like the phoenix, they rose again a lifetime later to play pivotal roles within Roosevelt’s White House. Only time will tell how many important events they will have influenced during this life time.
Love’s Battle- Angela Hayes
"If love isn't worth fighting for, what is?"
Available at:
Amazon
Amazon Uk
The Wild Rose Press
Barnes and Noble
All Romance Books
Itunes
Love Howard has more than a knack for matchmaking. Born from a forbidden passion and a twelve-hundred-year-old promise, she and her sisters can literally see true love. And while Love has no problem bringing other couples together, her own romantic life could use a little help.
Danton DeAngelo has always been well grounded in reality. So it throws him for no small loop when the woman he’s fallen for believes that she’s been reincarnated eleven times and can actually see true love.
Now Danton is faced with the biggest decision of his life. Accept Love for who she really is, or walk away from her forever
EXCERPT
The hand Love pressed to her brow was visibly shaking. “There’s something I need to tell you. I just need you to keep an open mind.”
“What is it? Are you sick?” Danton asked.
“No, I’m not sick.” Her voice trembled on a forced laugh. “It’s something else. Something I‘ve been trying to prepare you for. This would be so much easier if you believed in magic. If you could believe that what I’m about to tell you is the honest truth.”
Turning, Love opened the iron chest, the hinges groaning with the effort as specks of rust littered the floor. From its depths she pulled out a clear plastic bag that she held tight to her chest, eyes closed, before handing it to a confused Danton.
“This is my tartan, my plaid. Before it faded and was dinner for the moths, it was once patterned in checks of green, gray, and brown. The purple and white stripes that ran through the hem identified the wearer as part of the royal family.” Love tapped the plastic, her finger pointing out where each color should be. “It was a gift from my father. The first and only time my sister’s and I met him, he was on his deathbed, we were eighteen. A week later our mother died in the same moment he drew his last breath.” Needing the extra air Love drew a breath of her own. “That day was the thirteenth of February, eight-hundred and fifty-eight AD. My father was Cinaed mac Alpin, crowned king of the Picts and Gaels. He was Scotland’s first king.”
“Eight- hundred and fifty-eight?” That couldn’t be right, she was only twenty-five. “Don’t you mean Nineteen-eighty-seven?”
“No. I was born for the first time in Scotland during the middle of the ninth century.”
About Angela
A married mother of two, I split my time between bringing characters to life by computer, and yarn to life with needle and hook. You can find me at www.authorangelahayes.blogspot.com where I help connect readers and the author’s they love.
Other places you can find me:
https://twitter.com/imahayes
www.pinterest.com/imahayes
http://www.manicreaders.com/AngelaHayes/
www.amazon.com/author/angelahayes
https://www.goodreads.com/author_angelahayes
Before I introduce my debut novel, Love’s Battle, I wanted to touch a bit on the research that went to writing this romantic fantasy.
When I was first seriously considering trying to make writing my career, I came across a piece of advice that I strive to achieve every time I pick up my pen. ‘If you can take the fantasy out of your story and it still works, it’s not fantasy, but reality.’ While writing Love’s Battle and now as I’m working on her sister’s stories, this is the standard I strive to achieve. A seamless blending of fantasy within reality.
To do that I spent a lot of time choosing and identifying a few well-known historical figures and events throughout the course of the Howard girls’ eleven lives.
Their story begins when I had them fathered by Cinaed mac Alpin, Scotland’s first credited king. They then graced the presence of Mary, Queen of Scots, were ladies in waiting to King John’s wife, Isabella. Were muses for and painted by Raphael, hung as witches in Massachusetts during the hysteria of 1692, and like the phoenix, they rose again a lifetime later to play pivotal roles within Roosevelt’s White House. Only time will tell how many important events they will have influenced during this life time.
Love’s Battle- Angela Hayes
"If love isn't worth fighting for, what is?"
Available at:
Amazon
Amazon Uk
The Wild Rose Press
Barnes and Noble
All Romance Books
Itunes
Love Howard has more than a knack for matchmaking. Born from a forbidden passion and a twelve-hundred-year-old promise, she and her sisters can literally see true love. And while Love has no problem bringing other couples together, her own romantic life could use a little help.
Danton DeAngelo has always been well grounded in reality. So it throws him for no small loop when the woman he’s fallen for believes that she’s been reincarnated eleven times and can actually see true love.
Now Danton is faced with the biggest decision of his life. Accept Love for who she really is, or walk away from her forever
EXCERPT
The hand Love pressed to her brow was visibly shaking. “There’s something I need to tell you. I just need you to keep an open mind.”
“What is it? Are you sick?” Danton asked.
“No, I’m not sick.” Her voice trembled on a forced laugh. “It’s something else. Something I‘ve been trying to prepare you for. This would be so much easier if you believed in magic. If you could believe that what I’m about to tell you is the honest truth.”
Turning, Love opened the iron chest, the hinges groaning with the effort as specks of rust littered the floor. From its depths she pulled out a clear plastic bag that she held tight to her chest, eyes closed, before handing it to a confused Danton.
“This is my tartan, my plaid. Before it faded and was dinner for the moths, it was once patterned in checks of green, gray, and brown. The purple and white stripes that ran through the hem identified the wearer as part of the royal family.” Love tapped the plastic, her finger pointing out where each color should be. “It was a gift from my father. The first and only time my sister’s and I met him, he was on his deathbed, we were eighteen. A week later our mother died in the same moment he drew his last breath.” Needing the extra air Love drew a breath of her own. “That day was the thirteenth of February, eight-hundred and fifty-eight AD. My father was Cinaed mac Alpin, crowned king of the Picts and Gaels. He was Scotland’s first king.”
“Eight- hundred and fifty-eight?” That couldn’t be right, she was only twenty-five. “Don’t you mean Nineteen-eighty-seven?”
“No. I was born for the first time in Scotland during the middle of the ninth century.”
About Angela
A married mother of two, I split my time between bringing characters to life by computer, and yarn to life with needle and hook. You can find me at www.authorangelahayes.blogspot.com where I help connect readers and the author’s they love.
Other places you can find me:
https://twitter.com/imahayes
www.pinterest.com/imahayes
http://www.manicreaders.com/AngelaHayes/
www.amazon.com/author/angelahayes
https://www.goodreads.com/author_angelahayes
July 10, 2015
Hearts Akilter by Catherine E. McLean
Today’s guest, Catherine Maclean, has a background in journalism, editing, creative writing and as a writing instructor. She has graciously agreed to share her expertize with us. Oh and don’t forget to visit Catherine’s website (http://www.catherineemclean.com/) to enter to win a $25 gift card as part of the book launch.
How Hard Can It Be To Learn Point Of View And Viewpoint?
A couple of years ago, author and writing instructor Tim Esaias calculated there were 9,720 variations of Point of View (POV) and Viewpoint. I've seen the calculations. He's right.
It's also a fact that POV and Viewpoint are the most critical aspects of storytelling. So, if there's one piece of advice I would shout— no yell— to novice writers, it is to stop writing and take the time to read about, learn, practice, and master— yes, MASTER— Point of View and Viewpoint.
Why go to all that trouble? Because mastering POV and Viewpoint means fixing ninety percent of the problems in a manuscript. Doing so also means readers will turn the pages because they are engrossed and enjoying the story.
The second piece of advice, but which I would whisper to a novice writer, is the secret to comprehending POV and Viewpoint is realizing they are two separate things (despite the "experts" using the terms synonymously). Here are the simple and straightforward definitions:
POINT OF VIEW is the Storytelling Narrator at work relating the story to the reader. It answers the question: Through whose eyes is the story (or the scene) being observed?
Did you notice the words "narrator at work?" That's because when a reader reads, they hear a voice coming off the page, which is the "narrative voice." That voice will often be the story's "focal character," also known as the protagonist. Yet that narrator's voice could be the author's, one of the other major story characters, the story's storyteller (the voice-over guy), or omniscient (as either "god" or the "fly-on-the-wall"). In all instances, that Storytelling Narrator has a "very distinct voice" due to their diction, vocabulary, and syntax, which the reader hears when reading the story.
VIEWPOINT is how that narrator characteristically filters information and sensory perceptions, either consciously or unconsciously, while observing what's happening.
That narrator is highly opinionated. They can be accurate or inaccurate. Their judgment may be subjective or objective, or it may fluctuate between the two extremes. This makes the narrator of the story or scene open-minded or closed-minded, ethical or unethical— a coward or a hero.
Which means the narrator's opinions about other people, and how the narrator deals with those people in any given situation, will be compounded by the narrator's biases and personal prejudices. For example: Characters A, B, C, D, and E look at a glass of water on a table. Because the five can see that glass, they will report what they observe— they will narrate— but look HOW they relate what they observe:
A - "It is half full of water." (Optimist)
B - "Don't be an idiot, it's half empty." (Pessimist)
C - "That's just a glass with water in it." (Realist)
D - "Why do you humans concern yourself with a glass containing water?" (Baffled Alien Being)
E - Marsha couldn't believe the conversation had deteriorated to analyzing a glass of water. (Omniscient)
Each of the examples has a distinct voice because the writer conveyed the narrator's voice onto the page. If you didn't hear the differences that means you need to cultivate a better inner ear, which is another reason to master POV and Viewpoint.
Talent will take a writer only so far. It is craft that enhances and liberates talent. Best of all, craft can be learned. So, take the time to master POV and Viewpoint. Your readers will appreciate it.
Hearts Akilter By Catherine E. Mclean Love, vengeance, attempted murder, and a bomb...No reason to panic.
Available for Pre-Order Now
Amazon
Nook
The Wild Rose Press
When a medical robot insists he's having a heart attack, Marlee Evans, a pragmatic maintenance technician, has every reason to panic. There's a bomb inside him. Since Marlee can't risk the bomber discovering she's found the device, her only option is to kidnap Deacon Black, an unflappable bomb expert, and secretly convince him to disarm it. Things go slightly awry when Deacon sets a trap for someone who is trying to kill him, and inadvertently captures Marlee instead. Instantly intrigued by her refreshingly forthright and gutsy attitude, he's smitten. Unfortunately for Deacon, Marlee recently hardened her heart and swore off men, especially handsome ones with boy-next-door grins. But as Marlee and Deacon attempt to identify and prevent the bomber from detonating the device, they discover that love may be the most explosive force of all.
Excerpt:
The bomb. Right. Dismantle the bomb. In this lift? No, that was insane. “Marlene, if the bomb goes off accidentally—”
“It’ll blow the station to kingdom come?”
He nodded.
“Not to worry.”
She said that with such nonchalance that he found himself speechless. He cleared his throat. “Why not? Did you snatch the portable Bomb Disposal Unit, too?”
“Better.”
“What’s better than a BDU?”
“Garbage incinerators.”
“What?” He glanced out into the darkness beyond the lift.
Giant machinery stood silhouetted and veiled in shadows. “Where are we?”
“Deck forty-three, Ring D zero three. Relax. Don’t panic. They once accidentally incinerated a torpedo in number four, over yonder.”
She pointed to the left. “Nobody heard or felt it explode, and there wasn’t even a drail’s worth of damage done to the incinerator, or anything else.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“It happened three years ago. I was there, a deck above.
Never mind.”
Henry manipulated his finger appendage, grabbing and briefly tugging the shirt sleeve of Deacon’s good arm. “Marlee would never lie about anything so important.”
“Does she lie about unimportant things?” He instantly regretted his caustic remark.
“I do not know.” Henry spun sideways, facing Marlee. “Do you lie about unimportant things, Marlee?”
“I have been known to tell a white lie now and then to spare someone’s feelings, but on the whole—” She looked away from Henry.
As her blacker than black eyes met his gaze, Deacon felt pinned to the wall.
About Catherine E. McLean
Besides Catherine being a wife and mother, she has ridden and exhibited Morgan Sport Horses. She's an avid clothing and costume designer, an award-winning amateur photographer, a 4-H leader, and a Red Hatter who loves bling.
She lives on a farm nestled in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains of Western Pennsylvania. In the quiet of the countryside, she writes fantasy, futuristic, and paranormal stories where a reader can escape to other worlds for adventure and romance.
Her short stories have appeared in hard-copy and online anthologies and magazines. Besides having two novels published, soon to be released is her lighthearted fantasy/sci-fi romance HEARTS AKILTER. Catherine also gives writing workshops, both online and in-person. A schedule is posted at http://www.writerscheatsheets.com/workshops.html
Catherine's website for writers is http://www.WritersCheatSheets.com and she blogs at http://writerscheatsheets.blogspot.com/
Hub Website: http://www.CatherineEmclean.com
Connect with Catherine at: http://www.catherineemclean.com/contact-me.html
How Hard Can It Be To Learn Point Of View And Viewpoint?
A couple of years ago, author and writing instructor Tim Esaias calculated there were 9,720 variations of Point of View (POV) and Viewpoint. I've seen the calculations. He's right.
It's also a fact that POV and Viewpoint are the most critical aspects of storytelling. So, if there's one piece of advice I would shout— no yell— to novice writers, it is to stop writing and take the time to read about, learn, practice, and master— yes, MASTER— Point of View and Viewpoint.
Why go to all that trouble? Because mastering POV and Viewpoint means fixing ninety percent of the problems in a manuscript. Doing so also means readers will turn the pages because they are engrossed and enjoying the story.
The second piece of advice, but which I would whisper to a novice writer, is the secret to comprehending POV and Viewpoint is realizing they are two separate things (despite the "experts" using the terms synonymously). Here are the simple and straightforward definitions:
POINT OF VIEW is the Storytelling Narrator at work relating the story to the reader. It answers the question: Through whose eyes is the story (or the scene) being observed?
Did you notice the words "narrator at work?" That's because when a reader reads, they hear a voice coming off the page, which is the "narrative voice." That voice will often be the story's "focal character," also known as the protagonist. Yet that narrator's voice could be the author's, one of the other major story characters, the story's storyteller (the voice-over guy), or omniscient (as either "god" or the "fly-on-the-wall"). In all instances, that Storytelling Narrator has a "very distinct voice" due to their diction, vocabulary, and syntax, which the reader hears when reading the story.
VIEWPOINT is how that narrator characteristically filters information and sensory perceptions, either consciously or unconsciously, while observing what's happening.
That narrator is highly opinionated. They can be accurate or inaccurate. Their judgment may be subjective or objective, or it may fluctuate between the two extremes. This makes the narrator of the story or scene open-minded or closed-minded, ethical or unethical— a coward or a hero.
Which means the narrator's opinions about other people, and how the narrator deals with those people in any given situation, will be compounded by the narrator's biases and personal prejudices. For example: Characters A, B, C, D, and E look at a glass of water on a table. Because the five can see that glass, they will report what they observe— they will narrate— but look HOW they relate what they observe:
A - "It is half full of water." (Optimist)
B - "Don't be an idiot, it's half empty." (Pessimist)
C - "That's just a glass with water in it." (Realist)
D - "Why do you humans concern yourself with a glass containing water?" (Baffled Alien Being)
E - Marsha couldn't believe the conversation had deteriorated to analyzing a glass of water. (Omniscient)
Each of the examples has a distinct voice because the writer conveyed the narrator's voice onto the page. If you didn't hear the differences that means you need to cultivate a better inner ear, which is another reason to master POV and Viewpoint.
Talent will take a writer only so far. It is craft that enhances and liberates talent. Best of all, craft can be learned. So, take the time to master POV and Viewpoint. Your readers will appreciate it.
Hearts Akilter By Catherine E. Mclean Love, vengeance, attempted murder, and a bomb...No reason to panic.
Available for Pre-Order Now
Amazon
Nook
The Wild Rose Press
When a medical robot insists he's having a heart attack, Marlee Evans, a pragmatic maintenance technician, has every reason to panic. There's a bomb inside him. Since Marlee can't risk the bomber discovering she's found the device, her only option is to kidnap Deacon Black, an unflappable bomb expert, and secretly convince him to disarm it. Things go slightly awry when Deacon sets a trap for someone who is trying to kill him, and inadvertently captures Marlee instead. Instantly intrigued by her refreshingly forthright and gutsy attitude, he's smitten. Unfortunately for Deacon, Marlee recently hardened her heart and swore off men, especially handsome ones with boy-next-door grins. But as Marlee and Deacon attempt to identify and prevent the bomber from detonating the device, they discover that love may be the most explosive force of all.
Excerpt:
The bomb. Right. Dismantle the bomb. In this lift? No, that was insane. “Marlene, if the bomb goes off accidentally—”
“It’ll blow the station to kingdom come?”
He nodded.
“Not to worry.”
She said that with such nonchalance that he found himself speechless. He cleared his throat. “Why not? Did you snatch the portable Bomb Disposal Unit, too?”
“Better.”
“What’s better than a BDU?”
“Garbage incinerators.”
“What?” He glanced out into the darkness beyond the lift.
Giant machinery stood silhouetted and veiled in shadows. “Where are we?”
“Deck forty-three, Ring D zero three. Relax. Don’t panic. They once accidentally incinerated a torpedo in number four, over yonder.”
She pointed to the left. “Nobody heard or felt it explode, and there wasn’t even a drail’s worth of damage done to the incinerator, or anything else.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“It happened three years ago. I was there, a deck above.
Never mind.”
Henry manipulated his finger appendage, grabbing and briefly tugging the shirt sleeve of Deacon’s good arm. “Marlee would never lie about anything so important.”
“Does she lie about unimportant things?” He instantly regretted his caustic remark.
“I do not know.” Henry spun sideways, facing Marlee. “Do you lie about unimportant things, Marlee?”
“I have been known to tell a white lie now and then to spare someone’s feelings, but on the whole—” She looked away from Henry.
As her blacker than black eyes met his gaze, Deacon felt pinned to the wall.
About Catherine E. McLeanBesides Catherine being a wife and mother, she has ridden and exhibited Morgan Sport Horses. She's an avid clothing and costume designer, an award-winning amateur photographer, a 4-H leader, and a Red Hatter who loves bling.
She lives on a farm nestled in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains of Western Pennsylvania. In the quiet of the countryside, she writes fantasy, futuristic, and paranormal stories where a reader can escape to other worlds for adventure and romance.
Her short stories have appeared in hard-copy and online anthologies and magazines. Besides having two novels published, soon to be released is her lighthearted fantasy/sci-fi romance HEARTS AKILTER. Catherine also gives writing workshops, both online and in-person. A schedule is posted at http://www.writerscheatsheets.com/workshops.html
Catherine's website for writers is http://www.WritersCheatSheets.com and she blogs at http://writerscheatsheets.blogspot.com/
Hub Website: http://www.CatherineEmclean.com
Connect with Catherine at: http://www.catherineemclean.com/contact-me.html
July 6, 2015
Kilted For Pleasure by Melissa Blue
Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK
Barnes and Noble
iTunes
Kobo
ARe
Smashwords
Callan Baird used to laugh more than he frowned, but that was before his wife died. Now his life is duty, debts and a general apathy for anything else. And then Victoria Burke burst into his life. She's everything he wants to corrupt.
Victoria has two choices: agree to a grouchy, sexy Scotsman's extortion or call her boss to explain why she can't do her job. Since she's spent the last three years rebuilding her career as antique appraiser, and this one commission could make or break it, the decision is a no-brainer. Except everything about Callan is complicated.
He sees no problem turning their work relationship into a sexual one. She refuses to break her boss' no-fraternization rule. He's the one thing she wants and the one thing she can't have. He's had his one great love, and doesn't want a replacement. His heart doesn't agree, because she's everything he desires.
Callan will have to let go of his past if he wants Victoria to be in his future.
Excerpt:
The door swung open. A shirtless man glowered at her, but that description couldn't quite encapsulate him. Her smile faltered while she lost a few IQ points at the full brunt of him. Shadows deepened the grooves around his mouth and eyes. Wind creeping in through the open door whipped his dark auburn hair into disarray. He was broad in the shoulders, solid in the torso and thighs. Every sinew in his tall frame inspired an itch in her palms to touch, caress, explore all of him. He fit into the scenery—stark mountains and moors.
The furrows that hinted above his brows practically promised brooding—complete with a money back guarantee. His blue eyes narrowed. “Which Baird sent you?” His thick burr rolled the “r” in a way that prickled her skin.
He definitely seemed to know Ian and Tristan. Ian was her boss. Tristan was her boss' brother who ran the sales division. To say they were like night and day was an understatement. “I'm—”
He scoffed, cutting off her speech with the abrupt sound. “Ian,” he guessed with pinpoint accuracy. “Tristan wouldn't have sent a lamb to slaughter.”
Her spine stiffened. A lamb would have curled up when she had mistakenly authenticated a forgery three years ago. A sheep would have willingly let the world put a hand over her eyes while it slit her throat to bleed out from shame, guilt and mortification. One simply didn't recover from the kind of screw up she'd made, but Victoria had found employment, convinced her boss to send her to Scotland, alone, for an all expense paid commission of a castle. This was her first job oversees for the Bairds and it damn sure wouldn't be her last.
Victoria Burke was no one's goddamn lamb.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Melissa Blue’s writing career started on a typewriter one month after her son was born. This would have been an idyllic situation for a writer if it had been 1985, not 2004. Eventually she upgraded to a computer. She’s still typing away on the same computer, making imaginary people fall in love.
Where to find me online:
http://www.themelissablue.com
https://www.facebook.com/themelissabl...
July 3, 2015
Lilly Langtry - A Notorious Victorian Woman
I thought it would be fun to continue my posts on scandalous Victorians. So today I’m reposting an article I wrote for talented author Gini Rifkin.
Click here for the original Post
What does socialite and actress Lillie Langtry have to do with my novella, A Woman of Love? Nothing. My character, Annabel, is driven by love, whereas Lillie seems to be motivated by celebrity and money. So why write about her, and why would you want to read about her life? Because she was notorious. Her lovers were princes, lords and the cream of English society and when society was done with her she reinvented herself. I suppose I should start at the beginning.
Lillie Langtry was born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton on 13th October 1853, on the Island of Jersey. (For those of you who have never heard of Jersey, it’s an island in the middle of the English Channel.) She was the youngest of seven children, and by all accounts a tomboy. This is not surprising when you consider she had six older brothers. Her father was the rector and Dean of Jersey.
In 1874, Lillie met and married 30 year-old landowner Edward Langtry. He was wealthy enough to own a yacht and Lillie wanted an escape from her island home. The pair moved to London. Soon after their arrival they were invited to a reception by one of her father’s friends, Lord Ranelagh. She wore a simple black, figure-hugging gown, which was a stark contrast to the flamboyant gowns worn by the other women. (This was before Coco Channel invented the “little black dress.”) She caused a sensation. The dress showed off her natural beauty. Among the guests were artists Frank Miles and Everett Millais, both asked if she would sit for them. Their sketches and portraits of Lillie were sold as postcards and were a sell-out success.
It was not long before news of the beautiful young, and witty Mrs. Langtry grew, reaching the attention of Edward, the Prince of Wales. Edward, son of Queen Victoria and married to Princess Alexandra, was a well-known philanderer. He arranged an intimate dinner party where Lillie was seated next to him while her husband was sat at the opposite end of the table. And so began her affair with the Prince of Wales, which lasted three years. The prince even built a love nest for them in the Bournemouth area.
The affair was over by 1880. Some say she insulted him in public and refused to apologize, others say that her husband threatened to divorce her and cite the Prince and the Earl of Shrewsbury as her lovers in the divorce petition. Whatever the reason the relationship cooled.
By this time, Lillie was living well beyond her means; especially considering her husband had never been as wealthy as she had been led to believe. With creditors closing in she was forced to sell her possessions to avoid bankruptcy.
Lillie now began an affair with the handsome Prince Louis of Battenberg. She was also seeing a childhood friend, Arthur Jones, at the same time. She became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Jeanne Marie, in Paris on 8th March 1881. To this day the question of paternity is still unresolved. Letters Lillie wrote to Arthur, discovered in 1978, suggest the child was his.
After the birth of her daughter, she realized she needed to find employment, so she took to the stage. Although, she wasn’t a great actress her charm and stage presence guaranteed a full house. It is known that the Prince of Wales supported her acting efforts by going to her shows and encouraging his friends to do the same.
In 1882 she started her own stage company, and announced that they were going to tour the United States of America. Her tour was an enormous success and while critics condemned her acting ability, she played to sold-out houses.
She was now with wealthy industrialist Freddie Gebhard. The staggering profits from her tour and her relationship with Gebhard, a man who was not shy about sharing his wealth with her, encouraged her to repeat her stage tour of America. In the meantime, Gebhard showered her with gifts, there was a railcar made to her own design, costing a million dollars, a town home in New York, and trips to Europe.
In 1887 she became an American citizen and divorced Edward Langtry. Free of her husband and independently wealthy she decided to return to England. Her relationship with Gebhard faded and in 1895 he married another woman.
In 1899 she married Gerald de Bathe, by all accounts the marriage wasn’t a close one, and although they both lived in Monte Carlo they only saw each other at social gatherings.
Lillie died alone in Monaco in 1929, and was buried in Jersey.
Initially, I found it hard to empathize with Lillie. Yes, she was a survivor who was able to recreate herself, but she seemed so calculating. Was she a social climber? With the exception of Arthur Jones, the men she chose were rich with the social status to match. Was Arthur the love of her life? I really don’t know enough about him to decide.
Once Lillie became independently wealthy she could have chosen any man rich or poor. Was Arthur married, or worse, dead by then? Is that why she continued to seek out men from the upper class even though they never made her happy?
In the end she died rich and alone. A tragic figure, who I believe was never truly happy.
Click here for the original Post
What does socialite and actress Lillie Langtry have to do with my novella, A Woman of Love? Nothing. My character, Annabel, is driven by love, whereas Lillie seems to be motivated by celebrity and money. So why write about her, and why would you want to read about her life? Because she was notorious. Her lovers were princes, lords and the cream of English society and when society was done with her she reinvented herself. I suppose I should start at the beginning.Lillie Langtry was born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton on 13th October 1853, on the Island of Jersey. (For those of you who have never heard of Jersey, it’s an island in the middle of the English Channel.) She was the youngest of seven children, and by all accounts a tomboy. This is not surprising when you consider she had six older brothers. Her father was the rector and Dean of Jersey.
In 1874, Lillie met and married 30 year-old landowner Edward Langtry. He was wealthy enough to own a yacht and Lillie wanted an escape from her island home. The pair moved to London. Soon after their arrival they were invited to a reception by one of her father’s friends, Lord Ranelagh. She wore a simple black, figure-hugging gown, which was a stark contrast to the flamboyant gowns worn by the other women. (This was before Coco Channel invented the “little black dress.”) She caused a sensation. The dress showed off her natural beauty. Among the guests were artists Frank Miles and Everett Millais, both asked if she would sit for them. Their sketches and portraits of Lillie were sold as postcards and were a sell-out success.
It was not long before news of the beautiful young, and witty Mrs. Langtry grew, reaching the attention of Edward, the Prince of Wales. Edward, son of Queen Victoria and married to Princess Alexandra, was a well-known philanderer. He arranged an intimate dinner party where Lillie was seated next to him while her husband was sat at the opposite end of the table. And so began her affair with the Prince of Wales, which lasted three years. The prince even built a love nest for them in the Bournemouth area.
The affair was over by 1880. Some say she insulted him in public and refused to apologize, others say that her husband threatened to divorce her and cite the Prince and the Earl of Shrewsbury as her lovers in the divorce petition. Whatever the reason the relationship cooled.
By this time, Lillie was living well beyond her means; especially considering her husband had never been as wealthy as she had been led to believe. With creditors closing in she was forced to sell her possessions to avoid bankruptcy.
Lillie now began an affair with the handsome Prince Louis of Battenberg. She was also seeing a childhood friend, Arthur Jones, at the same time. She became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Jeanne Marie, in Paris on 8th March 1881. To this day the question of paternity is still unresolved. Letters Lillie wrote to Arthur, discovered in 1978, suggest the child was his.
After the birth of her daughter, she realized she needed to find employment, so she took to the stage. Although, she wasn’t a great actress her charm and stage presence guaranteed a full house. It is known that the Prince of Wales supported her acting efforts by going to her shows and encouraging his friends to do the same.In 1882 she started her own stage company, and announced that they were going to tour the United States of America. Her tour was an enormous success and while critics condemned her acting ability, she played to sold-out houses.
She was now with wealthy industrialist Freddie Gebhard. The staggering profits from her tour and her relationship with Gebhard, a man who was not shy about sharing his wealth with her, encouraged her to repeat her stage tour of America. In the meantime, Gebhard showered her with gifts, there was a railcar made to her own design, costing a million dollars, a town home in New York, and trips to Europe.
In 1887 she became an American citizen and divorced Edward Langtry. Free of her husband and independently wealthy she decided to return to England. Her relationship with Gebhard faded and in 1895 he married another woman.
In 1899 she married Gerald de Bathe, by all accounts the marriage wasn’t a close one, and although they both lived in Monte Carlo they only saw each other at social gatherings.
Lillie died alone in Monaco in 1929, and was buried in Jersey.
Initially, I found it hard to empathize with Lillie. Yes, she was a survivor who was able to recreate herself, but she seemed so calculating. Was she a social climber? With the exception of Arthur Jones, the men she chose were rich with the social status to match. Was Arthur the love of her life? I really don’t know enough about him to decide.
Once Lillie became independently wealthy she could have chosen any man rich or poor. Was Arthur married, or worse, dead by then? Is that why she continued to seek out men from the upper class even though they never made her happy?
In the end she died rich and alone. A tragic figure, who I believe was never truly happy.
