Just a small selection of posts I have enjoyed over the last week and I hope you will head over to enjoy in full. Thanks Sally.
Pete Springer shares some of the lessons that might not be in the curriculum but which are vitally important for a child to learn. Kindness, empathy, friendship are attributes that will stand them in good stead as they progress through school and college, at work and in relationships.
Greetings Storytellers! Diana here today. Since recently posting about Writing First Chapters, I thought it might be interesting to post about the last ones.
First chapters get a lot of attention because that’s where we hook our readers and hopefully leave them salivating for chapter two. What’s the point of worrying about a book’s ending if we can’t get them past the first twenty pages?
However, the last delicious memory of our stories, the chocolate we leave on the reader’s pillow is the ending. We want them to savor our stories long after the glorious reading feast! The way our tales end will have a significant impact on how readers remember them, and whether they’ll return for more or recommend them to others. For that reason, it’s important to toil over our endings just as we do our beginnings.
The number of chapters required for an ending varies…
Hi SEers! Denise here to talk about something I do a lot of—reading.
I have always been impressed when I run across a beautiful passage that stays with me after I finish the book. Now, as a writer, I note things I like—or don’t. It is not only something I enjoy but a learning experience.
I know writers are limited on time, but when I encounter an author who doesn’t read, I’m puzzled. How can you improve your writing if you aren’t paying attention to what works and doesn’t? How do you stay current if you aren’t reading what is out there?
In the last couple of years, I’ve increased my reading from twenty-five to a hundred books a year. My primary focus is reading as many good indie authors as I can. I’m amazed at the creativity in this group.
Lieutenant Commander Gerald L. Pait was born in Hamlet, North Carolina, in May 1946. He was a self-described free-range kid living in a small rural railroad town where everyone knew everyone. He joined the Navy right out of high school and found himself on the open bridge of a diesel submarine in a north Atlantic storm several months later. Before he completed his thirty-year career, Jerry worked his way up to leading sonar technician on his diesel sub and then graduated to nukes where he ultimately became Chief-of-the- Boat before being awarded a commission for his outstanding service. Ashore, he managed test missile launches for the entire east coast submarine fleet and coordinated NASA’s down-range space shuttle launch recovery efforts, climbing to the rank of Lieutenant Commander before he finally retired to a civilian position where he continued to serve the Navy’s and NASA’s needs.
Please leave Linda a comment below, or along any leg of the tour to be in the running for one of her awesome prizes!
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LOVE YOUR CHARACTERS: GIVE THEM A SERIES
I didn’t intend for my story to be a series. I’d read the stats about wider sales, greater interest, etc. when an author writes a series, but I didn’t think along those lines until I’d finished editing the last chapter. Suddenly, I was thrilled. This was a sexy, intriguing mystery and I could end it in such a way that it could be the beginning of a series.
You don’t know (well, you probably do) the times that I’ve had to say goodbye to characters I absolutely loved. The author had made them smart, good-looking, cool, compassionate people who I’d invested time in and who I considered friends. I could see the…
The tale of The Neon Houses was born from a comment that people were losing interest in reading. It was stated that decades from now we’d need to hold Reading Night at the Park for citizens who couldn’t read.
That idea simmered until it developed into a whole society of have-nots. Once the plot got rolling, Author Linda Mims couldn’t stop until she’d finished the novel.
Linda Mims resides in a popular suburb 30 miles south of Chicago with her husband and dog, Alexis. There, she’s working on the next in the “A Kennedy Circle Mystery” series. When she’s not writing, Linda can be found testing new recipes, tending her prize winning gardens, and tweeting author support for an indie writing community that she belongs to.
Thank you, Mr. Geez, for letting me stop off at your place on my Saddled Hearts blog tour. Your support is much appreciated.
Because this story is set on a ranch in Texas, it’s not unusual to have critters around. Raccoons, opossums, armadillos, and snakes, just to name a few, roam the pastures.
In Saddled Hearts, Colt Layne gets bit by a rattlesnake inside his pickup. Needless to say, that’s not a place a snake would wander into on its own. Someone had to have put it there. But who? Take a look.
EXCERPT:
At a little after one, Colt headed to the ranch house for a quick lunch and to clean up before going to town.
The hairs rose on the back of his neck when he bounded down the steps to his pickup. He stopped and glanced around. Nothing appeared to be out of place.
“You’re gettin’ a little too paranoid, cowboy,” he muttered.
He opened the door and slid onto the seat the exact moment he heard it. To anyone raised in Texas, the sound of a rattling tail of a deadly rattlesnake was unmistakable.
“What the hell?” Colt glanced down at the floorboard at the same time the snake uncoiled to strike. He bolted out of the truck at lightning speed, but not before the snake bit into the fleshy part of his thigh.
“Goddammit!” He yelled as he grabbed the snake by the neck and flung him onto the ground. Before the viper could recoil, he ground a boot heel into its neck, crushing it.
A burning sensation spread across his upper thigh, and he stumbled.
I’ve never been bitten by a snake, thank goodness, and I hope none of you have. If you watch Yellowstone, you’ll remember the scene where Rip takes the igloo cooler down to the river with the snake inside and opens it in Roarke’s face. I still shiver when I think about it. Let’s talk about snakes!
BOOK BLURB:
Colt Layne owns the Layne Horse Sanctuary. He lives an idyllic life between caring for the animals and playing music with his band. That is until a stranger appears with unreasonable demands. When someone murders the man, Colt is arrested. He’s been framed, but by whom and why?
He needs to talk with his deceased grandfather. But that’s impossible. Or is it?
Sage Coventry is gifted with the ability to communicate with the deceased. Skeptical but desperate, when Colt consults with her, he gets more than messages from beyond the grave as she breezes into his heart with sweet patchouli fragrance and tempting lips he longs to kiss.
The race against time to clear his name and save the ranch launches them on a mission that brings shocking revelations.
Over the next few weeks I will be sharing my reviews for books I posted between July and December 2021.
Good books deserve to be showcased on a regular basis and I hope that it might entice you to either move the books up your groaning TBR’s or add the books to its burden!
This is my review for Joan Hall…and her short story. House of Sorrow: Legends of Madeira
About the short story
Ruth Hazelton is over the moon when her husband Lee agrees the nineteenth-century Victorian in Madeira, New Mexico, is the perfect home for them. While he starts his new job as police chief, she sets about unpacking and decorating.
But it’s not long before Ruth needs more. She becomes a fixture in the community, making time for everyone, volunteering, hosting events—she’s every bit the social butterfly her husband is not. Through her friendships, she learns…
Hello again, Gang. Craig with you once more on this Happy Haloween. This is one of my favorite holidays, as if you hadn’t guessed. I happened to draw this slot on the calendar and struggled with what to post.
We’ve had posts about horror, mystery, suspense and more over the years. I even trotted out my old joke on one of them. “How do you write suspense… I’ll tell you later.” Old jokes are still fun. Seriously.
I don’t really expect a lot of traffic today, but I’m going to lace up my boots and share something anyway. (The lovely Lisa Burton might draw a few readers.) This may be the big takeaway here: There is always another way to look at something. Writers should try to exercise this part of the imagination.
While we’ve read what I mentioned above, we haven’t really delved into the other side of this…
Hello S.E. friend, Gwen with you today, and I’m going to begin with a question. Why do you write?
This question became front and center for me when I learned of Western writer C.J. Petit. Do you know of him? He’s published over ninety books, has thousands of very positive reviews, and all but one of his kindle books sell at 99 cents.
In his own words, Petit explains that he began writing in 2016, “just before Christmas … I had no intention of letting anyone read it. The reason for even starting the book was just to keep my brain from turning into mush.”
Petit had retired from the Air Force, then worked as a computer tech for seventeen years, when he was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer of his throat and lymph glands. The treatment that ensued left him unable to eat, drink, or talk. That’s when he…
Marcia Mearacelebrated Thanksgiving with some brilliant funnies….here are one or two to whet your appetite and head over to enjoy the rest.
Debby Gies shares her November writer’s links with some very helpful information and advice for authors and bloggers…
Stephen Geez Blog 