New book in THREE days! A MATCH (NOT) MADE IN HEAVEN

Coming February 1 from Mt. Zion Ridge Press:

Excerpt #2:

When we were loading our haul into Reggie’s SUV, my phone rang. I turned it around to show her the display, which read Match. She gave me a thumbs up.

“Dinah, honey, it’s Gertie,” she crooned when I answered. “Sweetheart, I have a match for you. Isn’t that great?”

“It sure is. Umm, how come Zach is having you call me?”

This was the first time Gertie had called me. For some reason, little prickles of warning raced up and down my spine.

“Oh, honey, this has nothing to do with the job matching. I’m talking about the matchmaking service. I found a nice young man who really wants to meet you.”

“Gertie --”

“And the timing is just perfect, what with it being New Year’s tomorrow.”

“Gertie, I don’t --”

“He wants to take you out for New Year’s Eve. So can I give him your phone number?”

“Gertie!”

This time, I got through, stopping the flood of words. My volume made some icicles break off the awning of the store.

“Is that a yes?” she said, after a couple seconds of silence.

“Gertie, I did not sign up for matchmaking. Just the job matching.”

Reggie’s eyes got wide and she mouthed, “matchmaking?” She grinned and continued loading the back of the SUV.

“But honey, don’t you want to go out with a nice young man for New Year’s? Start the year off right. Falling in loooove!” she crooned, and ended on a giggle. 

I had the feeling this nice little old lady with her eye-watering taste in clothes had already started in on the New Year’s champagne. Then again, I suspected she could get a buzz from non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice.

Off the Bookshelf: FORTUNATELY THE MILK, by Neil Gaiman

I learned about this book while taking Neil Gaiman's writing course in Masterclass.

Fun!

Basic premise: A father goes to get milk for his children's breakfast, comes back late, and spins a fantastical, ridiculous tale to explain why.

And quite often, he is saved from disaster and certain death because, "fortunately, the milk" was in the way, or was conveniently there in his hand to use in some odd way.

Major silliness abounds, with pirates and a balloon and a dinosaur and other oddities. And all the while, the father says no thank you to adventure, because his children are waiting for milk so they can eat their cereal. The "voice" in which the story is told is so matter-of-fact even when time travel and a talking dinosaur are involved. Great fun.

I know I'm not quoting accurately, but C.S. Lewis once said something about good books being the ones you can enjoy equally as a child and later when you're an adult. This certainly belongs on that list. Get it, Gaiman fans.

Coming in 10 Days! A MATCH (NOT) MADE IN HEAVEN

Coming February 1 from Mt. Zion Ridge Press:

Excerpt:

“Welcome!” A little silvery, wrinkly lady dressed all in neon orange popped up from behind the tall counter when I stepped inside the old Dog House building.

I had to stop calling it that, because it no longer looked like the hot dog stand. The counter in the middle of the room cut it in half, with a half-dozen chairs and a low coffee table on one side and two desks on the other. I saw two doors behind where the grill used to be. One was marked “restroom” and the other hung open enough to see a table and several folding chairs -- I assumed it was a conference room.

“Welcome to A Match Made in Heaven!” She clapped her hands and beamed at me. “Oh, sweetie, I know it’s hard finding the love of your life, but with our help --”

“Aunt Gertie,” a man said, stepping out of the restroom. He dried his hands on a paper towel. From the restrained frustration in his voice, I had the feeling he had hurried out to stop her. “We’re not a dating service.”

Whew! I was on the verge of panic, considering the thoughts I had when Mr. Phillips gave me that card.

“Yes we are. You let me set up my program and you said I could give all the romance help I wanted,” Aunt Gertie retorted, sticking her bottom lip out. On her it looked cute.

Off the Bookshelf: THE CORONER, by Jennifer Graeser Dornbush

Audiobook

I was lucky enough to meet Jennifer Dornbush on the Seymour Agency writers cruise last February. The lady knows her stuff when it comes to forensics and writing it accurately in fiction. When I saw her novel offered on the Daily Deal at Audible, I had to grab it.

Just wish I had listened to this book SOONER!

Dr. Emily Hartford is on her way up in her career and personal life, surgery resident, engaged to an incredible guy on her birthday -- but part of her "birthday present" includes a call from the small town where she grew up. Where her estranged father has just had a heart attack. And where the boy she left behind, Sheriff Nick Larson, is dealing with the death of a high school girl.

After 12 years away, Emily has to go home, where some things haven't changed, and other things have in a big way. She picks up with old friends as if she never went away, and the pain and silence surrounding her mother's death are still standing between her and her father. Budget and time considerations and small town politics push Emily into agreeing to fill in for her father, the coroner, to handle the girl's autopsy. This starts an avalanche of discoveries and changes in her life, and the lives of those around her. The simple autopsy turns into a murder investigation. Emily is forced to face things about herself and the town and people she left behind -- and her life is set on a rapid course of changes.

I know TV is filled with crime scene and forensics shows, with a coroner as a vital part of the cast, but ... dang, this would make a great TV show.

February 1 title: A MATCH (NOT) MADE IN HEAVEN

So. what's MATCH about?

Dinah doesn't want a new man in her life, after her current boyfriend seriously blew their first Christmas together -- and became her ex-boyfriend. She has to find a new church and job, after being fired from her position as church secretary (and dealing with the church politics fallout). Then there's the suitor who insists they are perfect for each other, despite the fact she never filled out a profile at "A Match Made in Heaven." 

The worst part in all this is that the man running the job matching service seems to be interested in her, not her profile -- but he doesn't do anything about it.

What's a good church-going girl to do when everything seems to go from wrong to weird, and the crazy old lady who insists on helping her find true love doesn't know the meaning of "No!" or "Not ever!"?

Off the Bookshelf: HOW TO WRITE A CHILDREN'S BOOK, Institute of Children's Literature

This handy little book of guidance comes from my Alma Mater -- I took the 2-year correspondence course from the Institute of Children's Literature back in the "old days" -- when correspondence courses were handled through snail mail. I started at the end of my senior year of high school and got my first rejection letter while still taking the course.

Everybody needs a refresher course in the basics, in what they know -- or think they know. Reading books by people who have been doing it longer than you is always helpful, and when it comes to writing, there's always something to learn, a new perspective through someone else's eyes.

Chapters include:
Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
How Old is Your Reader?
Writing Basics
Plotting a Great Story
What Editors Wish Writers Knew
Jan Fields' List of Five Good Tools that Can Get You Into Bad Trouble
Checklists. (especially helpful: Organization; Character and Settings; Sentence Structure; Mechanics)

Some of this information is presented as Q&A, so you get an idea of the questions other writers are asking too.

Very useful. No matter what you know or how much you think you know, it's always good to KEEP LEARNING.

Coming Title: A MATCH (NOT) MADE IN HEAVEN

Just in time for Valentine's Day ...

Or maybe not ....

My February 1 release from Mt. Zion Ridge Press launches a new, humorous romance series:
THE MATCH GIRLS

The Match Girls: Six church girls who become friends as they deal with a wacky old lady, armed with a computer program, who insists on helping them find the love of their lives -- whether they want one or not!

Want to learn about this particular title?

Stay tuned!!!!

Off the Bookshelf: SILVER WOVEN IN MY HAIR, by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

Kind of appropriate to start off the new year with a fantasy novel!

Thanks to Janeen Ippolito and H.L. Burke of Indie Book Magic, who discussed and recommended this book a number of episodes ago. Not sure which. I bought the book (Thanks, A Libris!) and it's been sitting and waiting for months to be read.

Thursey is a Cinderella, with the requisite mean, ugly stepmother and nasty stepsisters and being forced to do all the work while her sisters go man-hunting. BUT there are differences. They run an inn, her father is missing after a devastating war rocked their kingdom, and Thursey is a bookworm. Well, she loves to read, and she loves stories, and when she hears a wonderful story told by a traveler who comes to their inn, she writes it down and illustrates it. And she keeps her books hidden from the Uglies, because lowerclass people who can read could be accused of evil magic.

Yes, there's a handsome prince, and she is given a gorgeous gown and provided transportation to the ball, but .... well, her "faerie godmother" is actually a fat traveling monk, and the dress comes from her dear friend, the goatherd, and just like in the Disney version, the Uglies find the dress on the eve of the ball and shred it. But magic does prevail.

This is a fast read, a delightful way to pass a cold winter night. You might just see yourself in Thursey, and your heart will be touched by her friends and how she gets her father back, even as his death is finally confirmed. Lovely. Thanks, J and H, for the recommendation.