novel

Feeding Time

March 29, 2016 by admin

This is the time of year when garden tasks are more of the geeky variety. I’m testing soils and making up batches of fertilizer for each of my garden beds. Some need a lot, some just a little. It’s feeding time. It’s a time of listening…to what the garden needs, to Mother Nature’s whims of rain or sun, and to my own energy levels as I reconnect with “spring muscles.”

I didn’t always understand the importance of this time. A relatively new gardener, I wanted the showy plants but didn’t like taking the time to feed the ground.

Yet when the ground is properly fed and composted, the plants grow better, it’s easier for the beds to retain moisture in the dry season, and the food I harvest is healthier. By taking time to test the soil and give each bed the foundation it needs, I will have greater abundance in the end.

I’m taking the same approach to my writing. Today is the official release date for What She Knew (though I had to make it live sooner to do a Goodreads giveaway). For months I have worked behind the scenes, getting industry reviews, setting up advertising, etc. Soon the blog tour will begin. I didn’t do this with the last novel. Hopefully with this one I will find a way above the noise and find some readers…but in any event, I have fed the soil, and the results are starting to bear fruit.

Hyacinths: blink and you miss the flowers.

Here’s to spring and to feeding time!

The Goodreads giveaway for What She Knew goes on until April 1, so it’s not too late to sign up! Also, to celebrate the paperback release of What She Knew, I’m offering the Kindle version FREE through April 1!

What She Knew eBook Release + Free Book Offer! #freebooks #freebies

February 26, 2016 by admin

It’s time to celebrate! Pop that champagne cork!

The Kindle version of What She Knew goes on sale this Monday, February 29! US Review of Books says: “What She Knew is a wonderful balance of a human-interest tale, romance, and history, all wrapped up in a riveting thriller.”

The release date for the paperback version is March 29.

But wait…there’s more!

The Foreign Language of Friends, my first novel, will be free on Amazon Kindle from February 29 through March 4. FLOF can be found here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CPAX3GQ

The Foreign Language of Friends was a finalist in the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and a gold medal winner in the 2011 eLit Book Awards.

When four women meet in a foreign language class, their different backgrounds make them unlikely friends. In fact, at first they don’t get along at all! Yet as each faces a major life challenge, they will have to learn to lean on one another. Ultimately, the foreign language each needs to learn is: friendship.

I hope you’ll share this special promotion with all your friends!

Happy New Year! #IWSG #amwriting

January 6, 2016 by admin

It’s the first Wednesday again, and time for the next monthly installment for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. This is where we writers provide support and encouragement to each other. Join us!

Thank you to this month’s co-hosts: L.G. Keltner, Denise Covey, Sheri Larsen, J.Q. Rose, Chemist Ken, and Michelle Wallace. And of course, a special thanks goes to our fearless founder and leader, Alex J. Cavenaugh! I hope you’ll visit their blogs in appreciation for their contributions to our merry band of writers.

***

January 2, 1996…twenty years ago. My then-husband and I woke up with the flu. Since we were both sick, there was no one to take care of us, and it was a nasty bug.

Three days later, he went back to work, still ailing but better. For me, though, the story was different. I didn’t get well. Day after day, week after week, month after month, I woke exhausted, my body alternating between freezing cold and burning hot, my lymph nodes swollen, my digestion disrupted.

The eventual diagnosis of CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome) didn’t help, as the cause is unknown and the path to treatment unclear.

During the months in bed, I had a lot of time to think. All my life I had wanted to be a writer but always let life get in the way. Now, with my brain addled and little ability to concentrate, I wondered: was it too late? Did I squander my chance?

I don’t often “bargain” when I grieve, but this time I did. Make me well, God, and I won’t forget.

I was one of the lucky ones. Eventually, I did get well…and I didn’t forget my promise. In 1997 I found The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, which helped me get started. In October 1999 I published my first book, When a Grandchild Dies: What to Do, What to Say, How to Cope (the link is for the 15th anniversary edition).

The life changes that resulted were extraordinary, and here I am all these years later, proud to be a novelist who has completed her second novel and sent it off to industry reviewers. There’s another novel in draft form, and I am swimming in ideas for more books.

More than anything, writing has made me more whole, more authentic, happier. As a side note, when I met my current husband, I gave him a copy of When a Grandchild Dies…it made him want to get to know me better.

It took a debilitating illness for me to wake up and live. It took that moment in time, twenty years ago, when I no longer had the choice to ignore who I really was. Every day that I can write, that I do write, is a remarkable gift. Yes, writing is hard. Yes, it’s frustrating sometimes to find readers. Yes, reviews can be upsetting.

But to be writers who do not write…that is a tragedy.

My hope for you, my fellow writers, is that 2016 brings you joy, peace, health, and a wealth of ideas to explore. May you find readers who resonate with your words. May you look self-doubt and insecurity in the eye and say, “Thanks. I’m doing this anyway.”

How was your 2015? What are your dreams/goals/plans for 2016? Do tell!

What She Knew is now available for pre-order! I hope you’ll take a look. *

Why I Write Romance — by Special Guest Toi Thomas #itslikethefullmoon #IndieBooksBeSeen

November 11, 2015 by admin

Today I welcome Toi Thomas to my blog! I “met” Toi through the Insecure Writers Support Group, and she has just finished a blog tour to promote It’s Like the Full Moon (written under the name Glorie Townson). Today she joins us on a special post-tour stop.

If you want to visit the other tour stops to learn more about Toi, click here for a complete list. The giveaway is over, but the fun continues!

Greetings Nadine and readers. I’m so happy to be here today talking about why I write romance. The desire to pen tales of romance stemmed from my misunderstanding of the genre. I was baffled by the overwhelming appeal of this genre and figured the best way to understand it, would be to conquer it.

It’s Like the Full Moon is my first foray into contemporary romance as a writer, and even my readership of the genre is fairly young. For as long as I could remember, romance as a genre seemed to be overly simplified into either erotic, dramatic, and or naïve subplots mashed together to bring “the boy and the girl” into each other’s arms at the end. While this is true for some stories, I soon realized just how wrong I was in my narrow-minded assumptions.

Romance is more than the stuff that happens to bring upon a happy ending; it’s the journey of love and the discovery of all the different paths people can take to find it. To be able to tell the story of how people overcome the obstacles of life in order to share themselves with someone else is no easy task and is in many ways a great responsibility. Writing romance is a platform for relationship therapy and self-discovery.

While the entertainment value of these stories is unquestionable, the deeper meaning and the ability to connect to reader’s baser instincts is an empowering experience. Some people never develop a passion for politics, never comprehend the appeal of superpowers, never feel invested enough to track clues in hopes of solving the crime, and so much more, but everyone on some level identifies with love and the pursuit of it. Romances take these pursuits and focuses them on uniting soulmates, kindred spirits, convenient companions, bold lovers, and more.

I write romance because it gives me a chance to tell the world that making love is worth ending all other pursuits and battles; and for those fortunate enough to freely pursue happiness, hopefully romance is part of the package.

Rebecca has just turned thirty. She’s happy living a perfectly comfortable and predictable life. She’s even ready to marry her long-time boyfriend whenever he finally gets around to asking her. But all that changes when her best friend whisks her away to Italy for a much-needed vacation.

In the midst of site seeing and finally letting loose, Rebecca manages to catch the eye of a young English tourist; but doesn’t let it go to her head. By the time she’s back in the States and back in the arms of her long-time beau, Rebecca has already forgotten about Peter, Paten, Paul…whatever his name was, that is until he shows up at her brother’s cabin in the woods.

A life of normalcy, routine, and stability gets turned upside down as Rebecca decides whether or not she’s truly ready to get married. And if so, who is the one she’s really meant to be with?

This book is currently available for Pre-order as an ebook through Amazon.com and as a paperback direct from the author. Be sure to pre-order your copy at its reduced introductory rate and save your receipt number to earn extra entries into Glorie’s cool giveaway.

Pre-order Kindle | Pre-order Paperback | add to Goodreads

Bedspreads and Novel Writing: It’s the Little Things

July 10, 2013 by admin

A few weeks ago I got it in my head that I wanted to knit a bedspread. I don’t know why. These notions just sort of show up, and I either wait for them to pass or jump on them. Usually I jump on them and am sorry later as I ask, “What did I get myself into this time?”

So, of course, I’ve jumped in. Again. I’ve given up the quest for self-improvement in favor of self-acceptance, so all I can do is shake my head, smile, and say, “Yep, that’s what I do.”

After some searching, here’s the pattern I settled on. It’s easier than it looks, because I’ll make a lot of little pieces that I then sew together. Of course, making a lot of little pieces can get tedious. I started knitting the little colored strips…80 of them for each of 13 colors. I don’t like doing math, but I can tell you, that’s a lot, and those pieces represent just part of the quilt.

It’s no coincidence that I’m revising a novel at the same time. Without boring you with all the little details, it feels much the same as working on this quilt. There is the whole that is the ultimate goal, which I’m reaching by working on thousands of little, tedious pieces.

I’m reading The Wonder of Aging: A New Approach to Embracing Life After Fifty by Michael Gurian. Based on what I’ve read so far, it would appear that this new approach to quilting, writing, and life is a reflection of my age and current stage of life. I’m okay with taking time to work on the little details. Yes, I’d like to write books faster than I do, but I’m more interested in writing better. Eventually I’ll have enough of those little pieces done to put them together in one of the rings. Eventually I’ll read through a draft and say, yes, this one’s ready to go to the editor, because I’ve done my best.

It seems curious and paradoxical to want to slow down the process. There is so much to write! So much to get done! Sometimes it feels maddening to become more deliberate, more thoughtful, less action-oriented. Yet somehow, I suspect, I will get more done. My drafts may go more slowly, but I will need fewer of them (I hope). In the end, I hope to have a beautiful heirloom quilt and a beautifully written book to share.

Help! One of My Characters Has Hijacked My Blog!

May 30, 2012 by admin

Don’t mind the banging sounds. Nadine’s not hurt or injured. I just wanted a turn to speak, so I put her in a closet for a while. No, not that kind of closet, mind you, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I’ll let her out sooner or later. I just have a few things to get off my chest.

I’m Claire Malone, and I’m the official bitch in The Foreign Language of Friends. I’m the least favorite character for most readers, but Nadine is especially fond of me because she needed my energy to write the book. She found me entertaining. I make her laugh, she says. After today, she might change her mind, but oh, well. I’ve never cared much what people think.

I’m the one who came to her first in a sort of vision, after she went kayaking on the west side of Vancouver Island. Yes, I know, in The Foreign Language of Friends we’re kayaking in Costa Rica, but she had to move us. After all, we meet in a foreign language class, and there aren’t too many places to practice Spanish in British Columbia. I have to wonder about those visions, though. She and I both used to work in the energy industry. She wrote contracts and worked with lawyers like me. Now she’s a flaky novelist who just wants to hang out in her garden and watch rainbows. I don’t know what the hell to do about her. Hell, I bet she’s in that closet right now thinking about how she’s going to blog about this experience!

It was her idea to tip my kayak, mainly because she was so scared it would happen to her. She knew I could handle it, and she wanted to see what would happen. And you think I’m evil for throwing her in a closet for a while? Do you have any idea what it’s like to be upside-down in the water, trapped in one of those damned skirts that they put around you? Not to mention the mess that incident made of my hair.

She even gave me a heart attack, one that threatened to ruin my career. I’m 55, Nadine is 53, and her grandfather died of a heart attack at 56. You do the math.

I suppose she had a point, though. I was pretty hard-driving in those days, working too much and sleeping too little. Those jackasses at the office didn’t appreciate me. They keep calling me about consulting jobs, though. Ha! I guess that cute little Barbie doll lawyer they hired to replace me didn’t work out so well, after all. Serves ’em right. A few wrinkles and gray hair doesn’t mean I’m ready to be put out to pasture.

I wasn’t always so tough. Once upon a time I was on the mommy track with the perfect husband and two little girls. A drunk driving accident took care of that, though, and I had to take care of my children. I went back to school at night. Didn’t see them much for a while, but they turned out okay, with only a minimum of resentment.Anne, bless her heart, is just like me. Heather is the nice one. I guess she picked up some sort of recessive gene. I certainly didn’t raise her that way.

Did I mention that I’m going to be a grandma? No, that’s not in the book. That came later. Nadine doesn’t want me to talk about what happened next, but can you blame me for throwing that in? I may be a tough co-worker and boss, but I’m an old softie with my girls, and maybe Nadine will show that side of me in the next book. You just never get the full truth in the media, though. She may decide that’s not good for drama.

Some of you have been concerned about Julia, especially with the assault. Nadine didn’t want to write about it too much detail, and the verdict is mixed as to whether that was a good decision or not. She was afraid it would take the story in the wrong direction. I have to say, I think it was pretty clear that Julia wasn’t all right. She wasn’t sleeping well, and she didn’t want to talk to the rest of us about how much she was struggling. If it’s any consolation, she hasn’t gotten over it yet. She’s got a long way to go, in fact. I don’t think Nadine would mind my saying that. I also think Nadine has a sadistic streak. Julia’s a lot nicer than I am, and looked at all that Nadine heaped on her — and any woman who’s intimidated by those gorgeous, perfect little Parisian women.

Mickey? Ellen? We don’t keep in touch much these days. Julia’s the one who holds us all together, and I’m still not very good with the girlfriend thing. Ellen’s plenty strong, and Mickey — well, Mickey is a mess, but she’s the type of kid who ends up landing on her feet in spite of herself. I don’t worry about her. Much.

Nadine told our story because she was lonely. When she left her corporate job, her friends stopped making time for lunch with her. She started to think about all the ways that women get separated from their friendships — me with work, Ellen by taking care of her parents, and Mickey having her every move controlled by her parents. I confess that I didn’t care for Julia at first because she was one of those ladies who lunch. It never occurred to me that we would have anything in common, let alone become the best of friends. I guess even a cranky old lawyer like me can learn a thing or two. Don’t expect me to change too much, though. I won’t let Nadine do that to me. She’s the one in the closet, and I’m in charge now.

Happily, the people at the Next Generation Indie Book Awards thought we were interesting enough to give Nadine a finalist award in the Chick Lit category. I just have one problem with that. I’m not a chick, a girl, or your honey, sweetheart, or darling. I’ve had a great life and some success. I raised my daughters on my own and put myself through school. I’ve held my own with the toughest guys. I’ve earned every white hair on my head. I’m a woman. Got it?

Now, excuse me, I’ll go let Nadine out of the closet.