The Adventure: CALEB'S DESTINY, by Carole Brown

Today:

Learn about a historical romance,  CALEB'S DESTINY.

Tomorrow:

Meet the author, CAROLE BROWN

Mr. Michael, Destiny Rose McCulloch, and Hunter have a mysterious history. Why were three fathers, all business partners, murdered under suspicious circumstances while on their quest to find gold? 

Hunter, who is Mr. Michael's ranch manager, is determined to find the answers and protect the precocious young lady who he suspects holds a key answer to his questions. 

Mr. Michael wants only to be left alone to attend to his property, but what can he do when Destiny refuses to leave and captures the heart of everyone of his employees? 

Destiny almost forgets her quest when she falls in love with Mr. Michael's ranch and all the people there. And then Mr. Michael is much too alluring to ignore. The preacher man back east where she took her schooling tried to claim her heart, but the longer she stays the less she can remember him. She only came west to find a little boy she knew years ago. A little boy all grown up by now...unless, of course, he's dead.

Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3egdd2q

The Adventure: SANDRA MERVILLE HART, The Story Behind the Story, part 2

Yesterday I shared how my Civil War romance, A Rebel in My House, was born. Today I’d love to tell you a bit about my current writing adventure with you. You’re welcome to come along, but strap in—it’s always a bumpy ride.

You see, I spend a lot of time in the Civil War era … while researching and writing my novels, that is. I have to research for months until I understand what the citizens and the soldiers endured. Then I’m ready to write the novel.

I’ve begun writing my next Civil War series. This one deals with the spying that went on during the war. My research has been a real eye-opener to these widespread and far-reaching effects of spying.

My three-book series is set in the capital cities of Washington DC (Union) and Richmond (Confederate). Book 1, Avenue of Betrayal, is set in Washington DC (commonly still called Washington City during the Civil War.) The number of Confederate sympathizers living mere blocks from President Abraham Lincoln shocked me.

Loyalties divided the best of friends—and even loving, close-knit families. My series will show the harsh realities of a country at war with its former citizens, igniting strong feelings and sparking tragedy. Historical figures will pop in here and there in these fictional stories.

I had planned a research trip to Richmond and Washington DC this spring before the country shut down. This has been postponed until the museums reopen. Though months of research have already birthed my story, this trip will add flavor and authenticity.

With a stack of research books nearby, I’ll keep writing Avenue of Betrayal. In the meantime, I invite you to read my other Civil War books—A Stranger on My Land, A Rebel in My House, and A Musket in My Hands.

  

About Sandra:

Award-winning and Amazon bestselling author Sandra Merville Hart loves to uncover little-known yet fascinating facts about our American history to include in her stories. A Musket in My Hands, a Civil War romance where two sisters join the Confederate army with the men they love, is 2019 Serious Writer Medal Fiction Winner and a 2019 Selah Award Finalist. A Rebel in My House, set during the historic Battle of Gettysburg, won the 2018 Silver Illumination Award and second place in 2018 Faith, Hope and Love Readers’ Choice Award. Her debut Civil War Romance, A Stranger on My Land, was IRCA Finalist 2015. Her novella Surprised by Love in "From the Lake to the River" is set during the 1913 flood in Troy, Ohio. Trail’s End in "Smitten Novella Collection: The Cowboys" is set in the wild cattle town of Abilene, Kansas. Not This Year, her nostalgic story in the "Christmas Fiction Off the Beaten Path," released in the fall of 2019.

Connect with Sandra on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, Amazon Author Page, and BookBub.

The Adventure: SANDRA MERVILLE HART, The Story Behind the Story, part 1

This is the “story behind the story” of how my Civil War romance set during the Battle of Gettysburg, A Rebel in My House, was born. 

Something drew me yet again to Gettysburg. I knew a story awaited me. My husband and I walked the battlefields. Ideas stirred when I found Tennessee troops with the brigade who began the fighting on the first day. Nothing solidified so I kept digging.

I discovered fascinating history at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at the Gettysburg Seminary Ridge Museum. Surely my story touched this place. After spending several hours wandering the museum and surroundings … nothing. I trudged on.

I explored Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center, Gettysburg Museum of History, Gettysburg Railroad Station, General Lee’s Headquarters Museum, and The David Wills House where President Lincoln stayed. I learned intriguing facts at the Jennie Wade House, Shriver House Museum, and “The Women of Gettysburg Tour,” an evening walking tour.

Ideas strengthened. My husband and I walked the town’s streets around the “Diamond”—the town square where women and children suffered a nightmare from which they didn’t awaken for many months. Then we spent another afternoon and evening at the battlefield.

Three Tennessee regiments fought the beginning battle on July 1^st. They didn’t fight again until they joined in Pickett’s Charge on the battle’s final day.  

The sun sank low on the horizon as I stood alone on Cemetery Ridge reflecting over the expansive field crossed by Pickett’s Charge on July 3, 1863. Though the land is peaceful once more, it still tells a story. My imagination soared while the sun disappeared.

I had to tell what the townspeople endured. What if a Gettysburg seamstress fell in love with a Confederate soldier? What if they both made promises to loved ones? Some promises are impossible to keep …

About Sandra:

Award-winning and Amazon bestselling author Sandra Merville Hart loves to uncover little-known yet fascinating facts about our American history to include in her stories. A Musket in My Hands, a Civil War romance where two sisters join the Confederate army with the men they love, is 2019 Serious Writer Medal Fiction Winner and a 2019 Selah Award Finalist. A Rebel in My House, set during the historic Battle of Gettysburg, won the 2018 Silver Illumination Award and second place in 2018 Faith, Hope and Love Readers’ Choice Award. Her debut Civil War Romance, A Stranger on My Land, was IRCA Finalist 2015. Her novella Surprised by Love in "From the Lake to the River" is set during the 1913 flood in Troy, Ohio. Trail’s End in "Smitten Novella Collection: The Cowboys" is set in the wild cattle town of Abilene, Kansas. Not This Year, her nostalgic story in the "Christmas Fiction Off the Beaten Path," released in the fall of 2019.

Connect with Sandra on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, Amazon Author Page, and BookBub.

The Adventure: JPC ALLEN, pt. 2 of "How to Describe Characters in Show Don't Tell"

How to Describe Characters in Show Don’t Tell

CONTINUED FROM THURSDAY

The "handle" is Terence O'Neil looks likes Rae's idea of a professor, which invites the reader to think of their idea of a professor. Then I add some specific traits.

Another candidate for Rae's father is the sheriff, Walter R. Malinowski IV: “He was one of the few people I'd met who made me feel short. Close to six-six, with biceps bulging like pumpkins under a rumpled button-down shirt, he could easily become the next Thor if he grew out his blond crewcut and added a beard.”

The "handle" is that he looks like Thor. Blonde crewcut and his height and bulging biceps are the specific traits. Readers are reminded that Rae is tall--maybe inheriting that feature from the sheriff if he's her father?--and that she likes superhero movies.

The last candidate is Jason Carlisle, a businessman and a member of the wealthiest family in the county. “Besides being fashionable enough for a runway, Jason had dark brown hair, gel sculpting every strand in place, and soft brown eyes that held a warmth I wanted to wrap myself in. If he was a few inches taller and more muscular, he'd make a perfect Superman.”

The "handle" is Superman. Specific traits are hair color, eye color, and being fashionable. Rae has brown eyes, so she notices that trait. Her description also shows that she likes the man.

Throughout the story, I dribble in reminders of the characters’ appearance. When Terence O'Neil is nervous, he rubs his beard. When the sheriff appears suddenly at an abandoned house, "his massive frame" fills the doorway.

In a future post, I’ll tell you about the sequel I’m writing about Rae and the relatives, friends, and enemies she discovers in Marlin County, Ohio. If you’d like to meet Rae and solve the mystery of her mother’s attack and her father’s identity, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, my blog, or Goodreads, then comment here. I’ll enter you in a drawing for a hard copy of Christmas fiction off the beaten path and announce the winner on May 29. If you win, you’ll get five more off-beat Christmas stories, including “Crystal Christmas” by Michelle!

*****

JPC Allen started her writing career in second grade with an homage to Scooby Doo. She’s been tracking down mysteries ever since. A former children’s librarian, she is a member of ACFW and has written mystery short stories for Mt. Zion Ridge Press. Online, she offers writing tips and prompts to beginning writers. She also leads writing workshops for tweens, teens, and adults, encouraging them to discover the adventure of writing. A lifelong Buckeye, she has deep roots in the Mountain State. Join the adventure on her Facebook, Instagram, or Goodreads.

The Adventure: JPC ALLEN, "How to Describe Characters in Show Don't Tell"

How to Describe Characters in Show Don’t Tell

One of my favorite novels is The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. And one of the reasons I like it so well is that the main character Ponyboy describes his older brothers and the members of his gang in great detail. In fact, a good chunk of chapter one is devoted to their descriptions. I've always liked getting vivid pictures of the characters in the first few pages. It makes the story come alive to me. But The Outsiders was written over fifty years ago. Today, those kinds of lengthy descriptions would be considered poor writing.

When I wrote my YA mystery short story “A Rose from the Ashes” for the anthology Christmas fiction off the beaten path, I was faced with the problem of how to describe characters in "show don't tell" without slowing down the story. I also had to describe them from the deep point of view of my main character (MC), nineteen-year-old Rae Riley. Those descriptions would not only tell readers how characters looked but something about how my MC saw them.

I hit on a combination of mentioning a few key traits and then a "handle", a description to sum up that character. I learned this technique from Michelle. As the story progressed, I'd dribble in reminder descriptions to help readers "see" the characters.

In "A Rose from the Ashes" from the anthology Christmas fiction off the beaten path, Rae is trying to uncover the identity of her father and if he was the attacker who tried to murder her pregnant mother twenty years before. Her late mother said only three men could be Rae’s father. I had to make those three male characters distinct individuals. Perhaps more than other MC's, Rae notices the physical traits of the men because she's looking for connections to her own characteristics.

I introduced one that is a professor this way: “Terence O'Neil was my idea of a professor. Over sixty, balding with a closely cut black and white beard covering cheeks that shook when he talked. He even smoked a pipe.”

The "handle" is Terence O'Neil looks likes Rae's idea of a professor, which invites the reader to think of their idea of a professor. Then I add some specific traits.

CONTINUED ON FRIDAY

*****

JPC Allen started her writing career in second grade with an homage to Scooby Doo. She’s been tracking down mysteries ever since. A former children’s librarian, she is a member of ACFW and has written mystery short stories for Mt. Zion Ridge Press. Online, she offers writing tips and prompts to beginning writers. She also leads writing workshops for tweens, teens, and adults, encouraging them to discover the adventure of writing. A lifelong Buckeye, she has deep roots in the Mountain State. Join the adventure on her Facebook, Instagram, or Goodreads.

The Adventure: with author CINDY THOMSON: My Current Scribing Adventure, pt. 2

CONTINUED from Thursday:

And that brings me up to today. I just finished a new novel, one I worked on for nearly two years. When it’s polished and the book proposal is ready, I will seek out a new publisher. I could publish it myself, but I would like the support a big publisher can offer (having experienced that earlier with my traditionally published books). Maybe I’ll get another agent at some point. Or maybe not, who knows?

The publishing life is filled with ups and downs. Once I realized that, it was a little easier to go with the flow. In today’s environment, there are lots of possibilities for writers. While competition is tough, there are still plenty of readers out there. Traditional publishers, small presses, indie publishing, blogs, magazines … so many opportunities await.

One thing I’ve noticed while quarantining and observing social media posts from others is that this time of slowing down has sparked creativity in many people. Baking, painting, gardening, sewing, crafting, writing, making music … I hope you are doing something to get connected to your creative side because everyone has one. Do you agree? Keep on creating!

Bio: Known for the inspirational Celtic theme employed in most of her books, Cindy Thomson is the author of six novels and four non-fiction books, including her newest, Finding Your Irish Roots. A genealogy enthusiast, she writes from her home in Ohio where she lives with her husband Tom near their three grown sons and their families. 


PRIZE DRAWING:

Anyone who comments on either post Thursday and Friday AND comments on any post at http://cindyswriting.com/blog/ will be entered in the drawing to win this nifty bookmark, to be held May 22.

Web site: http://www.cindyswriting.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cindyswriting

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cindy-thomson

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cindyswriting

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/cindyswriting

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/cindythomson

The Adventure: with author CINDY THOMSON: My Current Scribing Adventure

Hello!

I’m happy you stopped by to hear my wee tale. I call it my current adventure because after almost twenty years of writing for publication (not counting the years I just made up stories just for my own amusement) I have learned that the writing journey is ever changing.

For me, it started with my interest in researching my family roots. I started as a teenager collecting names and dates from the oldest family members at family reunions and by writing letters. I wish now I had asked for more stories along with those names and dates. Stories are the most interesting part. I was fortunate to find someone who had traced one branch of my family back to 1771 when the family came to America from Ireland. I was hooked. Why did they come then? Why did they leave one daughter behind in Ireland? What was America like when they came and why did they keep pulling up roots and relocating across the new country? I couldn’t find all those answers other than what the reasons likely were for anyone living at that time. So … I made it up! That was my first adventure into writing fiction, a story that has never been published but led to other things.

I eventually found an agent and then a publisher for my first book. At the same time I co-authored a baseball novel that was published by a university press, a completely different experience than publishing novels. Then my fiction publisher wanted no more fiction. They did, however, publish a non-fiction book I wrote. After that I busied myself by writing a ton of genealogy articles for magazines. Then obtained a new agent, then a new publisher and two published novels. Yay, right? But then one book by that publisher was canceled. Eventually my new agent left me and I went on to self-publish several new books (including the one that the publisher had canceled, which some readers have said was my best novel thus far!)

If this sounds like I was doing a lot, remember it’s over twenty years!

CONTINUED Friday

PRIZE DRAWING:

Anyone who comments on either post Thursday and Friday AND comments on any post at http://cindyswriting.com/blog/ will be entered in the drawing to win this nifty bookmark, to be held May 22.

Bio: Known for the inspirational Celtic theme employed in most of her books, Cindy Thomson is the author of six novels and four non-fiction books, including her newest, Finding Your Irish Roots. A genealogy enthusiast, she writes from her home in Ohio where she lives with her husband Tom near their three grown sons and their families.   

Web site: http://www.cindyswriting.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cindyswriting

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cindy-thomson

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cindyswriting

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/cindyswriting

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/cindythomson

THE ADVENTURE: Entry 1, Day 2

So, what have I done so far to fix all the glitches and contradictions and just plain, "Why did I write THAT?" instances in my Commonwealth Universe books?

The goal is to go through 1 book each week.
So far it's been kind of fun, because I haven't read some of these books in years. Like, 15 or more.

I started with my first Commonwealth books published: The SUNSINGER series.
Young Adult, maybe even qualifying as Middle Grade.
When I told my publisher what I was doing, she very logically said, "Don't you think you should start at the BEGINNING, the chronological order of events in the series?"

Hmmm, she's partially right. But the thing is, the moist recently published Commonwealth books are the furthest back in Commonwealth history. I KNOW what they say, but I can't really remember what I said in the SUNSINGER books. And that's where the contradictions have grown. I didn't make notes when I wrote them because at the time I didn't PLAN to have a Commonwealth Universe, just 10 books about an orphan boy who gets to grow up on a small starship and become a hero.

Here's a big, important lesson, folks: TAKE NOTES
Be organized. Make lists of people and terminology and places and historical events you made up. You might just need to remember and use them someday.

I didn't. So that's why I'm reading through all my books and making big changes.

So far I've read, and fixed, and made notes on:
SUNSINGER
SPACER'S CREED
DEAD WORLD
THE LADY AND THE ORDER

I'm establishing standards for terms. For instance, in one sub-set of books, months were lunes and weeks were quarters, in another sub-set they were lunars and quars, in another I left them months and weeks. See the problem? Consistency is vital for survival!

The little fixes need to start with SUNSINGER, the references to historical events that are different from what actually happens in the books about those events. It's kind of fun. Kind of a headache. But I think we'll all be happier when I'm done. (Not gonna confess to some really big, stupid mistakes I need to fix. If nobody has asked me about them yet, I'm not going to tell you what they were!)

If YOU have read a Commonwealth Universe book, and you had some questions about a person or event or terminology or detail of history, please write to me and ask. Who knows? You could help me fix a glitch, or might even give me an idea for a new story.

Just post in the comment section, and I'll get it!
Thanks!

Introducing: THE ADVENTURE

Welcome to THE ADVENTURE

Hopefully ... this will be a weekly feature, talking about what's going on with writers, writer friends, communities, events, whatever. The focus is on BOOKS!

Thursday and Friday each week, I'll invite a writer to talk about a new book, a work-in-progress, something that has challenged them, maybe offer you a chance to get a book or another goody related to their newest title. Sky's the limit -- and we're just getting started, so we'll figure it out as we go along and learn what works, what is a smashing success, and what falls faster than a lead balloon ....

And if I can't get someone to contribute in any particular week ... sorry, gang, you're stuck with ME!

(cue: evil laughter ..........)

So today ... just to get things going ....

I'm on a HUGE adventure.
Readers (and someone my publisher assures me is my biggest fan) have commented on a few ... umm ... glitches. Inconsistencies. Contradictions. Face it: MISTAKES.

Yeah, readers have found mistakes in some of my Commonwealth Universe books. A statement about places or people or "historical events" in one book is contradicted or just doesn't quite mesh up with a statement about the event or people or whatever in another book. Or, as has happened when I finally sit down to write an entire BOOK about an event mentioned in two or three sentences, in a book I wrote maybe 10 years before ... well, they don't quite fit. Maybe you can blame Human memory (mine, and the characters relating the event) and we all know how people rewrite personal history to make themselves look better, or make someone else look bad.

SO HERE'S WHAT I'M DOING:

I'm going through every single published Commonwealth Universe book and novella -- over 25 -- and I'm taking notes, I'm creating a "guidebook" and establishing standards and making sure that the history of a planet or the rise of technology or a family tree or other bits and pieces are written down and organized, and I'm making changes in the books as I go through each one.

Reading the existing books will help me "get up to speed" to start writing Commonwealth Universe books again. Because face it, those of you who have actually read any of them ... there are some big holes in the timeline. Over 25 books published now, with over 50 planned by the time I'm done. Yeah, lots of holes to fill in.

More on the big project tomorrow!