Second Chance Romances
October 19, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Ages 2 Perfection Online Class, Online Classes tagged as Aged 2 Perfection Online Class, Deborah A Bailey, second chance romances
Second Chance Romances
Presented by: Deborah A. Bailey
Date: November 7 – 18, 2023 (two week)
Pricing: A2P Member fee: $10 Non-A2P Member fee: $25
About the Workshop:
Second chance romance is a popular trope that covers a lot of situations. A chance to make up after a split. A second chance at love for “older” heroines. Another chance for love after heartbreak or trauma. Second chances come in many forms and readers love to experience them. Learn how to build your character’s backstory and make their second chance extra satisfying for your readers.
- What kind of second chance does your character desire?
- Determining the risks and rewards for your characters.
- Healing from trauma and loss—identifying the obstacles to love
- Building a backstory—why is your character in this situation?
- Make the reader care—how they can become invested in your character’s journey
About the Presenter:
Deborah A Bailey has presented various writing workshops for SavvyAuthors.com and the Sayreville Public Library, including topics such as Writing Your Book in First Person POV, Creating Intimate Scenes Without Going All the Way and Introduction to Self-Publishing.
Her science fiction and paranormal romance novels include suspense, a bit of mystery and a lot of romantic heat. Her short stories have won awards from the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference and have been published in US1 Magazine and the Sun and are included in, Electric Dreams: Seven Futuristic Tales.
Website: https://dbaileycoach.com/brightbooks
0 0 Read moreWriting the Holiday Short Story
October 18, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Ages 2 Perfection Online Class, Online Classes tagged as Aged 2 Perfection Online Class, Carol L. Wright, Marianne H Donley, Writing the Holiday Short Story
Writing the Holiday Short Story
Presented by: Marianne Donley & Carol L. Wright
Date: November 6 – 17, 2023 (two weeks)
Pricing: A2P Member fee: $15 Non-A2P Member fee: $25
About the Workshop:
From Hanukkah Goblins to Ebeneezer Scrooge to Bad Santa, holiday stories run the gamut from heartwarming tales that enhance the celebration, warm the heart, and knit generations together, to those that highlight the frazzled nerves, generational conflicts, and dark humor that holidays sometimes bring to the fore.
With such a broad canvas, holidays give authors enormous range for storytelling, but there are still some elements that holiday stories nearly always share. This class will help you sort through the holiday frenzy to tell your story in a way that will leave your readers wanting more.
About the Presenters:
Marianne H. Donley, a retired teacher, now writes short stories, funny romances, and quirky murder mysteries. Her stories have appeared in a variety of anthologies, journals, and magazines. She also owns and manages the multi-author blog, A Slice of Orange. Marianne is a member of Bethlehem Writers Group, Music City Writers, Sisters in Crime, and Charmed Writers. You can follow Marianne’s various social media at: https://linktr.ee/mariannehdonley
Carol L. Wright writes mysteries and more. Her debut traditional mystery, Death in Glenville Falls: A Gracie McIntyre Mystery, was a finalist for two international book awards. Her short stories have appeared in award-winning anthologies and literary journals, and some of her favorites are collected in her book A Christmas on Nantucket and other stories. You can learn more at her website: https://CarolLWright.com
Together, Marianne and Carol teach both in person and online classes. They organize and judge a yearly short story contest. And just to keep busy, they have also edited six anthologies and are working on the seventh.
2 1 Read moreFishing Trip Projects
October 15, 2023 by Renae Wrich in category WritingEvery fall my husband goes on his annual fall fishing trip with his dad. They head up north to brave the first chill of fall in hopes of catching walleye, perch and whatever else tugs on their line.
This fall fishing trip has become not only a tradition for my husband, but also for me. You see, I have a tendency of using the fall fishing trip to start projects. Not just any projects, these are the projects that I wouldn’t otherwise tackle. Painting, reorganizing, and ripping shelves off of walls. Don’t ask me why! it’s not that I can’t do these projects with my husband present. It’s just that I feel some weird desire to be like, “Look at this awesome thing I did while you were gone all weekend!”
It’s also worth noting that I do not properly plan out these things. It typically starts with me ripping a shelf off a bathroom wall or impulsively deciding to paint a bedroom.
I guess it’s fair to say that what I tackled this year wasn’t something that I could have planned to do, but I’m SO GLAD I did it.
I FINISHED my first draft of the next Mac and Cheese, Please, Please, Please book. It’s sooo fun!! I’ll be working again with Winda Mulyasari, the illustrator that I partnered with on my first children’s book.
After two years of working on this book, this feels like a MUCH larger accomplishment than a freshly painted bathroom.
0 0 Read moreJina Bacarr October Featured Author
October 14, 2023 by Jina Bacarr in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Boldwood Books, Featured Author of the Month, historical romance, Jina Bacarr, New relaase, Sisters at war
About Jina Bacarr
I discovered early on that I inherited the gift of the gab from my large Irish family when I penned a story about a princess who ran away to Paris with her pet turtle Lulu. I was twelve.
I grew up listening to their wild, outlandish tales and it was those early years of storytelling that led to my love of history and traveling.
I enjoy writing to classical music with a hot cup of java by my side. I adore dark chocolate truffles, vintage anything, the smell of bread baking and rainy days in museums. I’ve always loved walking through history—from Pompeii to Verdun to Old Paris. The voices of the past speak to me through carriages with cracked leather seats, stiff ivory-colored crinolines, and worn satin slippers. I’ve always wondered what it was like to walk in those slippers when they were new.
You can follow Jina on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest
Goodreads
Bookbub
Jina also has a column here on the 11th of every month: Jina’s Book Chat.
Jina’s newest novel, Sisters at War, is available now.
A Few of Jina’s Other Books
Tonight
October 13, 2023 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as Diane Sismour, loss, poem, tonight
Tonight
by diane sismour
tonight wasn’t to end this way.
i imagined her saying, no.
to turn away a life together, but she hadn’t.
we celebrate with champagne; the bubbles make her happy.
light as air, she calls her soul, springing to the music.
her red dress flares as a tulip, cupping her body.
tonight wasn’t to end this way.
skinny dipping in the neighbor’s hot tub. snowflakes melting
above us, her skin glistening whiter than the crystals,
shimmering in the streetlight at my touch.
tonight wasn’t to end this way.
her skin soft next to mine, paler than the moon waning above.
her soft snores vibrate my heart as a violin stroked gently.
tonight wasn’t to end this way.
singing a melody meant for our child. a hand on her still small belly, her scent a blend of ocean and oils smoothed over her limbs warm and tan.
tonight wasn’t to end this way
her robe covers translucent skin, stretched and thin. stomach
bulging, tight and still. no kicks, no movement, monitors
peeping, wires attached to places I kissed this morning.
tonight wasn’t to end this way
if only she had said, no, to hear me say goodbye.
