Sorting it out…
June 10, 2022 by Tari Jewett in category Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett tagged as Moving, sorting, writingAll I want to do is write, but at the moment, it feels like real life is moving much faster than the plot of a good book. In between editing my holiday romcom, we’ve been moving, getting our primary residence ready to go up for sale (it went live yesterday), spending as much time as possible with our new grandson, doing physical therapy for both of my knees, and planning a celebration of life for my stepfather, who we lost in April. Hmmm, I’m going to have to switch that around. I think I’m editing in between all of my other responsibilities. I find myself creating piles of items to keep, donate, or discard all day. And not just with belongings, with aspects of my life.
What moves with me? What will I keep? Books, old writing, sewing, favorite cooking items, old photos, and special keepsakes. Ideas that are swirling in my head for the next story, the next article, the next adventure on the page. My new healthy lifestyle. And then of course there are family and friends I’ll miss, but keep close through social media, phone, and hopefully in person.
The donate pile- a few books that I think I can live without (this pile was much smaller than it probably should have been). Sewing items that I know I’ll never use (again this pile should be bigger) and lots of items from the kitchen and throughout the house that I never use, are outdated or don’t fit with our new home or life. And tons, AND TONS of clothes that no longer fit me. Seriously, tons of clothes, woo hoo!!
Trash is a kind of interesting thing. Some things are easy to throw away, broken storage containers, old bills, devices that no longer work, and the ratty old shoes that have slowly shuffled to the back of the closet…well, except that one comfy pair that should go in the trash but I just can’t get rid of…and there you go, some things are much harder to throw away. The book I’ve read so many times the cover is falling out and pages are loose. I could get a new copy, but this is the original copy of Christy, by Catherine Marshal that I read back in 6th grade, and 7th, and when I had nothing to read in my first apartment, and years later when I missed the story, and I’m probably due to read it again now. And anything that my children created. I know can’t keep all of it…I can’t, right? Can I? Maybe I can. And sometimes even ideas for stories that never happened. Time to give them up. I think.
What about you? Is life moving quickly? Do you feel the pressure to do things you have to do over things you want to do? And what stays in your keep pile? What are you willing to pass along? What finally makes it to the discard pile? I’m hoping to slow down and take a breath soon, but for now…back to work!
Read an Excerpt of THE LAST MILE by Kat Martin
June 9, 2022 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as Kat Martin, new release, New York Times Best Selling Author, The Last Mile
THE LAST MIILE
Kat Martin
EXCERPT
Twenty minutes later, after weaving their way through traffic, they pulled up in front of Abby’s borrowed apartment.
“I won’t be long,” she said and cracked open her door.
Gage caught her arm. “Now that the papers are signed, I’m in charge, remember?”
“Yes, but—”
“The problem that existed last night hasn’t changed. Just because you put the gold back in the bank doesn’t mean you’re safe. There’s been at least one attempt on your life, and if the guy at the museum was the same man, he might be willing to take you by force, coerce you into giving him the map.”
A thread of unease slid through her. “So what would you suggest? I have work to do, same as you.”
“If you want this venture to succeed, at this point, you have two options—I can put a guard on your door 24/7 or you can stay at my place.”
“You can’t be serious.” Superman, ha! The man was dictatorial and overbearing. How was she going to put up with him for what could end up being weeks?
But what if he was right? Was it possible the man who’d attacked her knew where she was staying? Had he followed her to the museum last night? Would he come after her again, try to force her to give him the map?
“My apartment building’s extremely secure,” Gage was saying. “It’s big enough that you’ll have all the privacy you need, and it won’t be for long. As soon as everything’s ready, we’ll be leaving for Arizona.”
The chunk of gold was back in the bank, the map in the safe in Gage’s office, but she and Gage were the only ones who knew that. Abby looked into Gage’s stern features and knew he wasn’t going to back down.
“So what’s it going to be?” he said.
“If you hire a guard, I’ll be paying for half of it. I’ll stay at your place. And you’d better remember–I still have my gun.”
Gage grinned, then threw back his head and laughed.
*
Gage wasn’t laughing when Abby opened the door to the apartment and the interior looked as if a bomb had gone off.
“Oh, my God!”
Easing her behind him, he walked into the living room. The sofa was overturned, the cushions sliced open, pictures had been jerked down from the walls, the backs ripped off. Kitchen drawers had been pulled out and dumped, cabinets opened, the contents spilled on the floor.
“Stay right here.” For once, Abby didn’t argue. She was clearly in shock at the nightmare she had stumbled into.
Gage checked the rooms, making sure the intruder or intruders were gone, then returned to the living room. “Take a look around, see if anything’s missing.”
Big golden eyes flashed to his face. “You think it was him? The guy who broke in before?”
“What do you think?”
She huffed out a breath at the sarcasm in his voice. “Well, hell’s bells. Tammy’s going to kill me.”
Amusement eased some of his tension. “Don’t worry, we’ll clean everything up before she comes back.”
Gage followed Abby on a tour of the apartment, including the bedroom and bathroom, both of which had been very thoroughly searched.
Abby sighed as they returned to the living room. “It’s hard to tell for sure, but I don’t think anything’s missing.”
“He was looking for the map, same as before. Does he also know about the gold?”
“I don’t know. They were both in the old wooden box, which was sealed when I got it. But the map was mentioned in the will. King’s attorney called everyone together for the reading, anyone who received a gift. That included several museums, who had representatives there. So there are a number of people who know about it.”
“You need to make a list—anyone who was at the reading, or might know about your grandfather’s bequest.”
She glanced around and nodded dully. “Okay.”
“In the meantime, I’m bringing in reinforcements. We need to get this place cleaned up.” Taking out his cell, Gage phoned Maggie. Half an hour later, a cleaning crew arrived and Abby put them to work alongside her.
Gage pitched in and they made fairly quick progress. There were items that needed replacing. After an explanatory phone call to her friend and a lengthy apology, Abby left a check for repairs on the counter.
Though the afternoon was shot to hell, Gage couldn’t help feeling relieved that he had insisted on coming with her. Or that Abby would be staying at his place tonight.
Whoever was after the map wasn’t giving up. Gage needed to look at Abby’s suspect list. He wanted to find this guy before they set off on what was already certain to be a dangerous journey.
By late afternoon, the work was finally completed, the cleaning crew gone, the apartment restored as much as possible. Abby had packed several suitcases, casual clothes as well as gear suitable for the trip into the desert. Anything else could be purchased once they got to Arizona.
“You ready?” Gage asked. The suitcases were loaded. The digital cards had been stolen from her cameras but fortunately she had extras and the cameras hadn’t been destroyed.
“I’m ready.” She looked tired for the first time since he’d met her, her expression glum. She put her hand on his arm, as if to steady herself.
Gage caught her shoulders. “Everything’s going to be all right. We still have what we need to find the Devil’s Gold, okay?”
Abby slowly nodded. “You’re right. I just…I didn’t expect anything like this to happen.”
“It’s been a long day. Let’s go home.”
Abby looked up at him. “I don’t really have a home anymore so I guess your place will do.”
She looked so forlorn, Gage leaned down and kissed her forehead. It was a very un-Gage-like thing to do.
The Last Mile
Kat Martin
Kensington
May 31, 2022
978-1496736802
Rebecca Forster June Featured Author
June 7, 2022 by Rebecca Forster in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Best Selling author, Finn O'Brien Thrillers, Josie Bates Thrillers, Rebecca Foster, The Witness Series, thrillers
Rebecca Forster marketed a world-class spa when it was still called a gym, did business in China before there were western toilettes at the Great Wall and mucked around with the sheep to find out exactly how her client’s fine wool clothing was manufactured. Then she wrote her first book and found her passion.
Now, over twenty-five books later, she is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author and writes full-time, penning thrillers that explore the emotional impact of the justice system. She earned her B.A. at Loyola, Chicago and her MBA at Loyola, Los Angeles. Rebecca has taught the Business of Creativity at the University of California Long Beach Writers Certificate Program, UCLA and UC Irvine extension. Married to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, she is the mother of two grown sons and spends her free time traveling, sewing, and playing tennis.
To learn more about Rebecca, check out her website.
The Finn O’Brien Thrillers
Rebecca’s Single Title Thrillers
The Witness Series
Calmer Days of Writing…?
June 6, 2022 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston
Calmer Days of Writing…?
If you saw my blog here last month, you’ll know that May was pretty busy for me. I had two new books published.
That meant I spent a lot of time letting people know about them, publicizing them mostly in social media, including a blog tour. And yes, an interview here, on A Slice of Orange.
Those two books? Well, of course I have to mention them again: BEAR WITNESS, my first Alaska Untamed Mystery for Crooked Lane Books, under my first pseudonym, Lark O. Jensen, and GUARDIAN K-9 ON CALL, the second in my Shelter of Secrets series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense.
They’re still available, in case you’re interested. 
But now that it’s June? Well, guess what? I’m busy writing. I’ve got another book coming out this year, plus I’m on several deadlines.
Hey, that’s a writer’s life. Calmer days of writing? Well, yes and no. But at least I keep on going!
How about you? If you’re a writer, this will probably sound familiar: your own works being published, whether traditionally or by you, and needing to let the world know about them whichever way they get out there.
And if you’re a reader, well… enjoy what we’re doing! And that includes all writers who are undoubtedly also readers.
Happy June, everyone!
Linda O
IS THERE A DIFFERENCE…UPDATED
June 5, 2022 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed
Happy June. I’m prepping for a new release in a week so I thought I’d modify a post from 2018. When I read it, I was reminded of the relevance of the topic. I have to be honest, I guest blogged a few days ago at Delilah Devlin and I used this post. I’m repeating it…more like updating it because it’s relevant to my upcoming release.
I want to talk about the preconceived notions people have about Christian, Inspirational or Faith based books. When someone hears a story has one of the three aforementioned tones, they immediately shut down thinking the story is going to be sweeter than cotton candy dipped in chocolate and covered with gum drops.
There’s CIF [Christian, Inspirational, Faith] fiction that falls into that description and there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s written extremely well and packs a message for the reader. However, it’s the misconception that all CIF books are like that which provokes a closed mind to experiencing some really great stories. [I swear I’m not preaching.]
When I decided to start writing, I’d dabbled a little in high school and college. Even so far as to writing a couple of plays. I found them later and felt they’d be a good base for a barbecue fire. When I read them again, I realized, although they were poorly written, they had a few things in common. The characters were all Christians in real life situations. Let me explain. In a lot of CIF books, the story centers around the church with conflict between the pastor, the board, the choir director, pastor’s family and some evil person not affiliated with the church. There’s nothing wrong with those books. I’ve read a few and like them, however, they weren’t the kinds of stories I wanted to tell.
I have always loved God, fashion and cute guys. I liked “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Bergdorf Blondes,” “Elements of Style” and “The Debutante Divorcee.” These were characters I could relate to. The books are filled with the most incredible fashion and very handsome men. The only thing they didn’t have was a faith theme. It was reading these books that it occurred to me, why not write a book with similar content, but add a little CIF to it.
My first attempt at writing a book sounded very much like ChickLit. I was fine with it until my beta readers ripped it to shreds. After a lot of re-writes, I finally had a book I was pleased with. Problem was, it wasn’t considered acceptable. Every traditional editor I approached had the same response, “Christians don’t act like that, Christians don’t care about designer clothes, Christians are happy being upper middle class at best, Christians don’t get challenged, tempted, have racy dreams or wicked thoughts, Christians only have sex for procreation and on special occasions. And there is no way a Christian would get divorced, commit adultery, fornicate, swear, drink wine or dance”.
Needless to say, I was stunned at the comments because I know a lot of Christians that have experienced and or faced a few of those things. So I set out to write books for “my people.”
I spoke with an author friend and told her what I had been experiencing with the traditional publishing machine and she suggested I consider going indie. I wasn’t too sure the indie world was for me, but it was. The indie publishing world allows me to tell the stories I want to tell.
It ticks me off when I hear people say no one will read books about Christians [or people of other religious or faith beliefs] in real life situations. I want to read about “my people” dating, regretting, marrying, divorcing, falling in love, wearing designer clothes, traveling and being pursued by wealthy men. I don’t want my heroine to be naive and deceived by an evil protagonist whose only objective is to steal her virginity or corrupt her. What about the sexy, fun Christian girl who works hard and falls for her boss, or divorces her cheating husband or who used to be a little slutty and is now in love with God struggling not to slip back into her old ways. These are great stories and if they’re written well, you can take the CIF elements out and they’ll still be great stories.
My next book is part five of an office romance. The Good Girl series starts out sweet and sassy and escalates to a hot romance. For those expecting a tame romance, this isn’t it. As the series moves forward, so does Gabriella and Phillippe’s relationship. The cover of Part Five reminds me of a scene from the book. Without giving too much away, I’ll say this, Gabriella and Phillippe get what they want. The question is, “What do they want?”.
Since I began writing, my books have gone from being classed as steamy, Christian fiction to Contemporary Romance with faith and heat. My books range in heat from sweet to very sensual/steamy. Personally, I don’t see where they are that hot, but some readers feel otherwise. I’ve even gotten reviews that called one of my books soft porn. Needless to say, that didn’t set well with me, but I had to consider the source. If a reader buys one of my books expecting a sweet Christian romance, they’re in for a surprise.
I recently had to amend my relationship with my editor. We have been working together since I started indie publishing. The reason had to do with the very descriptive sexual content.
Although most of my characters are Christians, I don’t want their passion or desire to be watered down. Here’s a startling fact, Christians like sex. I know it’s hard to believe. Smile. But it’s the truth and that’s why I have chosen to include open door sex in my books. Let me clarify, I only include sex scenes when I feel they are relevant to the story. I also like to share my characters thoughts and reactions to situations. If either of the protagonist are having a lustful thought or are pissed off, I include it. These little nuances make my characters appear real and relatable.…just like in traditional romance.
So back to the original question, IS THERE A DIFFERENCE? Not really, just different levels of intensity and personal preference.
Tracy’s Books
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