The Importance of Support

My guest today is Carol Warham, whose debut novel was published earlier this month. She explains how important 'SUPPORT' has been to her:

I have recently had the pleasure of ‘appearing’ on a few blogs, answering questions about myself and my first novel RESOLUTIONS. Most of the questions have centred around where the idea came from and how it developed. This would be followed by a discussion about my ‘journey’ to publication.

It occurred to me that one of the main things a writer, or would-be author, really needs never entered into the questions, or not as fully as I felt it should. One of the things I recognised as most important to me was support. The support of family and friends is, of course, important and probably taken for granted at times. When we are tapping away at the keyboard late at night or at any odd times of the day, we quite possibly are forgetting those around us.

However for me the main support has come from other writers. The writing groups on social media have been invaluable. Many writers have been generous with their advice, information and suggestions. Others have supported by hosting me on their blogs and offering reviews. It is hard to describe how much this means to a new author, it has been overwhelming. You are bolstered up by a whole community, including other new writers and some very well-known ones. It is a delight to belong to such a caring and supportive group of people.

I am especially indebted to those I’m proud to call my special friends. These are the writers that I now know personally, and am able to meet up with on occasions.

They have been there for me every step of the way. They have never grumbled when I’ve distracted them from their own writing and deadlines. Every time I have sought advice, on any subject, it has been freely given. My grammar and punctuation have been corrected, and suggestions have been made to overcome lengthy sentences and ‘clunky’ passages.

Sometimes I’ve been given a kick up the proverbial, when suddenly the ironing or even cleaning the windows has looked so much more interesting than sitting at a key board.

I have been encouraged and praised during those times when I felt the whole book was totally rubbish and I was a failure as a writer. Believe me, those times came frequently. If it wasn’t for my friends, the manuscript would have been in the virtual bin many times.

Carol with Paula and Awen at 'Costa Coffee'

When I’ve been stuck as to which way to go or what was needed in taking the story forward, the suggestions have flowed into my inbox. At other times we’ve discussed them over endless cups of coffee or Harry Ramsden’s fish and chip lunches.

Without this community and certainly without my friends I would never have been in the happy position of having my first novel published, by Tirgearr.

So, would you please join me in a round of applause or raising a glass to Paula and Awen.

P.S from Paula: Coincidentally, Facebook has just informed me that it is four years today since Carol and I first became 'friends' - which is an example of how an online connection with a 'stranger' can become a very special friendship in 'real life'.   


RESOLUTIONS was published by Tirgearr Publishing on 9th August 2017. It is available as an e-book through Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords and Nook.

Carly Mitchell returns to the small town of Yeardon in Yorkshire almost a year after running away on her wedding day. Now she wants to try to make amends with Steve, his family, and the townspeople who had prepared a huge party to celebrate her New Year’s Eve wedding.

She intends to stay only for a few days at the Resolution Hotel, owned by Steve’s parents. However, her plans change when Steve’s father is taken ill, and she feels obliged to step in and help with running the hotel. This also means having to deal with Steve’s antagonism since he has never forgiven her for humiliating him.

A further complication comes in the form of Ben Thornton, the local doctor, to whom Carly feels an immediate attraction. They enjoy getting to know each other and falling in love, until a famous model from Ben’s past arrives in the town, and stays at the hotel.

Steve attempts to get his revenge on Carly by driving a wedge between her and Ben, and by threatening to reveal what he knows about Ben’s troubled past unless Carly leaves town.

The resolution lies in Carly’s hands as she struggles between wanting to flee from the town again and wanting to stay with the man she has grown to love.

Carol's contact details:

http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Warham_Carol/index.htm

Blog:  https://carolwarham.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/carol_warham

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolwarhamauthor/

In the Moment

Jennifer talks about her next release...

I’m nine days away from my next book release, which is exciting and stressful at the same time. Exciting because, hey, it’s a book release! Stressful because I have a lot going on in my life and this is one more thing to add to the to-do list. But it’s a good problem to have and I’m not complaining.

The book, In the Moment, is special to me, because it was inspired by a beautiful house I toured a town over from me. I love touring old houses. I love the architecture, the lifestyle and thinking about the people who lived there. When I saw that a Victorian mansion was for sale, and that there was an open house, my girls and I jumped at the chance to see it. We wandered through every floor except for the basement, a converted wine cellar which was blocked off because apparently a deer had gotten inside through the outside entrance—wonder if she preferred white or red? The main floor had gorgeous moldings, wainscoting, fireplaces, floors and stained glass windows. The kitchen and powder room had been modernized and our jaws dropped as we wandered from room to room. The two upper floors were bedrooms. While the second floor had also been renovated—while keeping the charm and look of the time period—the third floor had not, and you could see the original wood planked floors in the servants’ quarters. It was a fascinating history lesson.

Since I didn’t have a spare couple of million dollars lying around to purchase and continue the updates, I decided to write about the house instead. It is now the main setting of In the Moment and I enjoyed revisiting the house through pictures as I wrote. And I worked really hard on the cover with the cover artist—I wanted to convey the tone of the book and include the house—I think she did a great job!

The book releases September 1, but is available for pre-order now. Here’s the blurb:

Cassie Edwards, a former foster child, purchases an 1870s Victorian mansion, the one home from her childhood where she felt like part of a family. She’s spending her summer lovingly restoring it, with dreams of one day raising a family of her own here. Rayne Tucket, a photojournalist, is haunted by the death of his best friend in Afghanistan, a death he thinks is his fault. He survives day to day. Forever is not in his vocabulary. Swearing off photography, he answers an ad for a handyman—mindless, no emotion involved. As the two of them renovate her house, can Cassie show Rayne that love is strong enough to heal all wounds?

And here’s a brief excerpt: The intimate closeness made her stomach flutter. The proximity of their bodies, the rush of the water, and his feathering touch on her lips made her dizzy. She gripped his arms for support. He grasped her waist, staring deep in her eyes.

He was going to kiss her. She knew it. His pupils dilated. Time slowed. The rushing water pounded around her. She opened her mouth, as much to drink in air as to get ready to kiss him back. His eyes narrowed, focused on her lips. She leaned toward him. Their wet bodies pressed against each other. Her breasts tingled, and her stomach heated at the contact. She wanted this to go on forever, but at the same time, she wanted him to hurry up and kiss her so their lips could finally meet. At the last possible second, he pushed away.

She stood there, confused and aching.
“I’m not the staying kind, Cassie.”


She frowned. “What do you mean?”


“A woman like you needs a man who’ll stay forever. My time here has an expiration date.”


She ducked under the water. When she came up, she pushed her hair out of her face. “I know you’re leaving. You don’t have to, though.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Why?”


“Because I have a promise to keep.”

“What kind of promise?”


“The unbreakable kind.”

Here are buy links:

The Wild Rose Press: https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/5219-in-the-moment.html?search_query=jennifer+wilck&results=4

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Moment-Jennifer-Wilck-ebook/dp/B073XYRMG7/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1503063949&sr=8-2&keywords=jennifer+wilck

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-moment-jennifer-wilck/1126972509?ean=2940158847929

Please let me know what you think!

Ana's Editing Progress

Ana muses on her editing progress.

I'm going through Stormy Hawkins for the fourth, and, I'm told, final time. And, I'm still finding things to change.

I've fixed all the formatting things: Oxford commas, two hypens instead of an em-dash. I learned that 'blonde' is used only to refer to a blond-haired woman.

This morning, I re-read my first sex scene to be sure that what I changed last night still makes sense. (The sentence where they roll over so she's on top got edited out somehow in the first three rounds of edits.)

Now I'm checking a later love scene that ends with misunderstanding. I realized, in last night's read-through, that I could bolster the scene's twist by adding in a reference to a pivotal scene at the story's midpoint, a recollection of dialogue between the heroine and a minor character that propelled the heroine into chasing after the hero she's just rejected.

This addition never occurred to me before, but I feel 99% certain I need to add it. This means I will have to do another read-through, but that's the way it goes. The SoulMate editor says what I send back is IT.

So I have a question for you more experienced authors: Does the debate to tweak things ever end?

Roadblocks and Detours

Debra is facing a dilemma.

Believe it or not, this is the last week of summer vacation for me. I'm really trying to figure out where the time went. I mean, wasn't it just June for Pete's sake? I feel like I've had a fairly successful writing summer in that I made quite a bit of progress on my WIP and I've been trying to get myself out there more by making regular use of my Twitter account, visiting other blogs, and even put my Fourth of July book on sale for the month.

However, as everyone knows, the writing road is not always a straight one. It's often filled with roadblocks and detours. And I had plenty of those this summer, too.

I started really getting serious about my writing in the middle of June. Before that there had been a long, long, dry, dry spell. I'm talking like time measured in almost a year, not months. But I started grooving again and was really pleased with the progress I was making on my WIP. I wasn't necessarily aiming for a particular word count each day, just making sure that I sat down and wrote something. Most days, I was recording anywhere from 500 to 2,000 words. Not too shabby. I was pretty pleased and well on my way toward meeting my goal of finishing this story over the summer.

And then, BAM. Roadblock. In the middle of July I got sick. Bronchitis, laryngitis, and pink eye. Fever. Chills. Hacking cough. You name it. In the middle of summer!! It was awful. I was totally down for the count. I literally laid on the couch for ten days, not having the energy or motivation to do anything else except watch tv. (I had a mega "The Office" marathon. I think I watched three or four entire seasons.)

But eventually I started feeling better and got back into a normal routine...although believe it or not, I still have a lingering cough and a slightly scratchy voice...and was once again making progress. I'd lost a bit of momentum, but still felt I could meet my goal of finishing my 65,000 word story. From there I planned to print it out so I could do several rounds of edits, send it to a couple beta readers to gather their opinions and insights, and then send off a query to a new (for me) publisher.

Then, just when I thought I was on the right path again...FORK IN THE ROAD. I was aiming for a 65,000 word novel. I've been so used to writing novellas, that writing a full-length was a bit of a challenge for me this time around. It was going to be stretching it to reach that 65K, but I was confident I could do it. And then I looked at the submission guidelines for the publisher I was considering. Turns out they want novels 85,000 to 100,000. (Now, yes, granted, this is my fault for not checking sooner. Although I swear I did check once upon a time and it said 65,000. But maybe I was just thinking of my current publisher. Who knows?) To say I was discouraged was an understatement. I lost any and all motivation to write and let the mss sit once again. Eventually (about a week later) I got over myself and sat down to finish the darn story.

Anyway, now I'm faced with a dilemma, and I'm not sure which direction to go. My story is for all intents and purposed finished. There's a beginning, a middle, and a happily-ever-after ending. It's at 63,000. There are a few scenes I'd like to add to here and there, which will bring me to what I thought was the magic number of 65K. I can still follow those first two steps. Polish it up. Get a few beta opinions. And then submit it to my current publisher (that I really, really love...don't get me wrong.)

But I'd envisioned something a bit different for this one. Stepping out of my comfort zone and putting myself and my story out there. Just to see what happens. But to do that, I'm going to need to add at least 20,000 words to my story. That is A LOT of words. I mean, it's an entire novella. This wouldn't simply involve adding or extending scenes, this is adding a whole ton of content. Not just extending the story, but going back to various places in the middle and creating new scenes, chapters, and interactions.

I don't know if I have it in me. I know I won't have the time to write like I have been. Like I said, I'm back to school next week. I'd love to think that since I'm back in a writing routine, I'll at least be able to clock something each night. My writers' group is doing this great challenge, too, which is wonderful motivation. It's the 90 words for 90 days challenge. (#CN90wordsfor90days) Starting August 1 and going through October 31, the idea is to write at least 90 words everyday. There's a chance for a prize at the end for those who accomplish it. It's definitely helping me to stay motivated at the moment, let me tell you. I'm I'm still averaging about 1200 words per day at this point, so the 90 I can do standing on my head...most days.

But, like I said, I'm stuck trying to figure out which direction to take with this book now. If I go one way, it's super exciting to think I might be close to finishing it. If I go another way, it's super daunting to think about creating so much more plot. At this point I don't need to rush...even though summer is over, I can take my time in attempting those additional 20,000 words. But come December it will be a year since I've had a release. And who knows how long the process will take, if I even would get a contract from this new publisher, to get this book in print.

I'm stuck. I honestly don't know what to do. Any thoughts? Advise? Sarcastic comments? Smart aleck remarks? Any and all would be appreciated.

For now, I'm going to get out my lap top and clock those 90 words right now.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

Two down (or up?), seven to go!

Paula’s novels are being re-released – gradually!

Last April, I received the shock news that my publisher, Rebecca J. Vickery, was closing down due to ill-health. Of course I understood why she had (very reluctantly) made this decision but I was still devastated. I’ve been with her for over 5 years, and she and her team have been the most supportive and friendly people any writer could ever wish to work with.

My major problem, of course, was what to do with my books. Several people encouraged me to self-publish them, but for various reasons I didn’t want to do that. My first reaction was to try a British publisher and I sent two books to them. However, when I discovered it could take up to a year for each one to be re-published, I withdrew them. No way was I going to wait for up to nine years for all my books to go online again!

To cut a long story short (including three months of uncertainty - and despair at times), I was over the moon when, with Rebecca’s help, I linked up with a new publisher. It was still a sad day when all my books were taken down from Amazon on July 19th, prior to being transferred to their new home with Fire Star Press, an imprint of Prairie Rose Publications, but I received a wonderful welcome from Cheryl, Livia, and Kaye.

They decided to re-publish my Irish novels first, as the ‘Mist Na Mara’ series. Anyone who has read the novels will know exactly what Mist Na Mara is! A flurry of activity followed, and I’m thrilled to report that the first two books in the series went back up online yesterday, with stunning new covers designed by Livia.

The cover of the third in the series is already done, and the fourth will follow. My other five books will be phased in after this – and at least it has given me the opportunity to do some re-editing – I can never resist tweaking and tightening, although without changing any of the actual stories.

So I am entering a new chapter in my writing life. I will always be grateful to Rebecca, who became a friend as well as a publisher (and we’ve both said we will continue to keep in contact) – and I look forward now to working with Cheryl, Livia, and Kaye.

My books are currently featured on the Fire Star Press blog https://firestarpress.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/new-release-irish-inheritance-and-irish.html (please pop in and leave a comment for me!)

and if you find my photo on the Prairie Rose website and click on the Q&A, you’ll see my answers to Livia’s interesting questions: http://prairierosepublications.com/