Meriam Wilhelm Author of the Month
March 7, 2020 by marianne h donley in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Featured Author of the Month, Meriam Wilhelm, Witches of New Moon Beach
Meriam Wilhelm Author of the Month
The one thing I know, after all my years as an elementary school principal, is that there is magic everywhere and in everyone. While I miss those enchanting moments with kids, I have always wanted to let my imagination run wild as I seek out my own magic and write about it. When I retired, I started to write my first books, a series called The Witches of New Moon Beach and inspiration wasn’t hard to find.
I have lived in Redondo Beach all my life, and New Moon might have more than a passing resemblance to my hometown. Every day I walk on the path that runs along the beach, sometimes with my sisters, but most often with my thoughts as I plot my next book.
I am long married and mom to three great grown kids. When I’m not writing or walking on the beach, you’ll find me sewing, reading or traveling and taking pictures.
Website: www.meriamwilhelm.com
Whales and More by Linda O. Johnston
March 6, 2020 by marianne h donley in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Linda O Johnston, Rest, whales, writing breaks
Travel has been on my mind a lot lately. Among other trips, last year I took an Alaskan cruise with friends and family, and went on some really great small tours from the ship. I hope for more cruises in the near future.
But this year—at the end of last month—I took a wonderful whale watching bus tour down Baja.
During the days, we mostly got to observe the Baja landscape, which was largely desert and mostly uninhabited. We saw it from the bus, and we also took brief hikes to look more closely at the plant life. We spent nights at different, but similar, hotels.
One day we also drove through an amazing, large bird sanctuary—osprey nesting on tops of poles, cormorants, herons, egrets and more. Loved that.
But the expedition was all about the whales!
Hey—can you guess that I love animals? Dogs especially, but I really enjoy wildlife, too.
No writing on this tour. Most times when I travel I bring a laptop along, but there was no time or location where I could work. But the break was worth it
We had three inlet tours of approximately two hours each, plus time on the water getting into those inlets, on small pangas in the water—open boats that seat about ten people. Of course we all wore life vests. Two tours were out of San Ignacio, and one off Guerrera Negro. We saw whales most near San Ignacio. They were gray whales who’d migrated to that area for the winter; summers they spend off northern areas like Alaska—though I don’t think I saw any during our Alaskan cruise. And in the winter, these whales mate and have babies, which we sometimes saw—although baby whales are huge, too.
And guess what! The whales were also people watching. They came over to the pangas to meet us—and let us pet them. Some people also kissed them. Gray whales have barnacles all over their back—and lice within them, too. But feeling the soft, rubbery skin of these huge and friendly animals? Amazing!
So now I’m back home and working on some Harlequin Romantic Suspense books that were on temporary hold before. Of course I enjoy writing them. But my mind is also working on determining a way to use what I saw on the whale tour in a story or two or more.
TWO PLANNING MONTHS IN
March 5, 2020 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed
Happy March. Get ready for it… because yes, I am going to say something very familiar…”I can’t believe this is the beginning of the end of the first quarter of a new decade”. That was a mouthful?
Let’s get started.
How did I do last month? Come si, come sa. The second month of planning hasn’t gone as well as I would have liked. At the same time it wasn’t as bad as I thought either. I got sick and that sort of effected my schedule. I have a simple but strict morning routine. I wake up at 6:30, slap the snooze button two or three times, thank God for another day, have quiet time or devotional, tend to a little personal business, grab a pre-workout snack, and go to the gym for an hour or more depending on how I feel. Then I come home eat some protein and get to work.
Unfortunately, sometimes I get a little distracted after eating and before heading to work. Heading to work, is me going down the hall to my office and putting my butt in the chair for a few hours. I researched successful people and their routines getting ideas for myself. What I came up with was six hours a day to operate both of my businesses. However, I seem to always end up working longer.
The first quarter of the year is always a little busy for me because I’m doing buying for my lingerie store. This is something that happens twice a year. There are other mini buys throughout the year, but twice a year I go on buying trips for a few days. These require me to be removed from writing, If you’re not familiar with buying season, it’s like going to RWA or RAM twice a year with more food, wine, less sleep and lots of walking.
When my mother and I return from a buying trip we need to decompress and enter the next phase, catalog review and placing orders. For clarification, this is like writing and publishing a dozen books in two weeks. Since I’ve been a published writer only once did I release a book during this time. I made a note to never do that again. This is where the planning part comes into play.
I was headed to Paris for a buying trip and thought since I had done everything for the book, it would be a piece of cake to complete the end of the blog tour while I was gone. I figured the time difference would work to my advantage. This was a major case of poor planning. The first couple of days were spent fighting jet lag and show fatigue followed by me trying to finish up posts for the blog tour. Needless to say, the launch didn’t do as well as I expected. My saving grace was a the BookBub ad I had during that period which got me a lot of sales.
I said all of that to say February was a real planning test and I didn’t score an A, but I didn’t fail either. So here a few highlights.
Plan: I didn’t finish my book.
Reality: I was going for a small novella, but it’s more like a small novel. I’m currently at 39,000+ words, plus I have a twist I really like. I’m about 7,000 words from the end. I’m trying not to do a cliffhanger, but it looks like that may not happen. I promised my readers I wouldn’t do a cliffy, but if I did, I wouldn’t let too much time pass between books. Upside, I have a cover.
Plan: I haven’t booked any newsletter ads.
Reality: I thought I’d turned off my Facebook ad for A Southern Gentleman Two, but it was still running. This mistake got me sales. And a chain of strange dialog about the ad. I really need to post about it. In a nutshell, the way the ad was written has made over a hundred people believe it’s a post about a real couple.
I did make an ad schedule for the rest of the year which I which goes into effect tomorro. I also have an ad budget. I’ll update you later on how that’s going.
Plan: I haven’t posted to my reader group as regularly as I want to.
Reality: I’m working this. Upside, I did a mini course on using Instagram and have seen a major boost in engagement and a few new followers. I also noticed a few sales related to some of my posts.
Upside, because of my new Instagram posting schedule, I’m posting to Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr almost daily. Next on my list is Pinterest.
Plan: New covers for my Alex Chronicles Series.
Reality: I have created three sets of covers and still haven’t found the ones I like. However, I have until the end of the month to make a decision.
Plan: Update my newsletter
Reality: This was on my list for March, but I did it in February. I visited Lauren Layne’s website and saw her newsletter. I fell in love with it, so I developed my version. I like it and hope my readers do as well. Another change I made which ties in with my newsletter is my logo. I was motivated to make a change after seeing my friend Saharra K Sandhu’s new logo. I now have a logo I like.
Summary: I’ve done 24 things, but I still have thirty five things left for this quarter. I know it sounds like a lot. However, I know some of those won’t be done because they relate to a book I pushed to later in the year. And a few are admin related [i.e., setting up ads, switching my lead magnet, updating my website, reviewing my schedule, etc.]. Those are things I need to sit down and take a couple of hours and clear off my planner.
To summarize February…it’s better than last year. I see a plan for the rest of the year I can implement. I also know, I’ll be way ahead of the game next year.
Next month, I’ll summarize my first quarter and tell you which planning tools have worked so far.
Have a great month and happy spring.
How to Finish Your Book and Keep Your Day Job: Log Line Formula
March 3, 2020 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger tagged as Day Job, Log line formula, Writing while working
Writing a book is a work of love.
However, things get in the way, i.e. work. We all dream of the day when we can make enough money to survive by writing. Until that day comes (if it ever does), we need to keep our full-time jobs. We wrote and published our first five books working full time.
This year we’d like to share a few jewels that worked for us during those hectic days of working and writing.
To get started with a new story, we used a log line formula that worked well. Even before you outline your story, write your log lines and make it specific. The formula is Setting, Protagonist, Antagonist, Conflict, Motivation and Goal. Once you are satisfied with the Log Lines keep them in front of you the whole time you’re coming up with your outline. It will keep you focused on the story.
For example:
DESERT ICE
In 1955, The hunt for a missing Marine and stolen diamonds (Goal) lead Private Eye Skylar Drake (Protagonist) to Las Vegas (Setting) where a crime boss (Antagonist) forces him choose between the right and wrong (conflict) side of the law before it’s too late.
GAME TOWN
Private Detective, Skylar Drake (Protagonist) stumbles onto the murder of the mother of a famous Hollywood family (Setting) where he meets the perfect woman but suspects she could be involved (Conflict). He must solve the murder (Motivation) and keep the high-profile family from becoming front page news (Goal) in a city where the forbidden is accepted and games played are for keeps.
Now this does not mean you can’t add to or subtract from your log lines as you write. It simply means the log lines help keep you focused on the main idea for the plot and/or characters. We also made an in-depth character study of the main and secondary characters for reference when writing dialogue.
Keep up the good writing.
Wolfhounds, Holidays, and Weird Dreams: An Interview with Frances Amati
March 2, 2020 by Jann Ryan in category Jann says . . . tagged as anthologies, Frances Amati, Holiday Stories, new release, wolfhounds
Today we’re chatting with Frances Amati and learning how wolfhounds, holidays, and weird dreams work into a journey to publications.
Frances Amati writes fantasy/paranormal and contemporary romance. A member of the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America, she has been a finalist twice in the prestigious Orange Rose Contest and three times in the California Dreaming Conference’s Hooker Contest. Her first short story, Heart Hound, was published in the OCC-RWA Anthology Romancing the Pages.
Her debut novel, The Christmas Present, the first installment in her contemporary Holiday Hearts Series released November 29th, 2019 and is available in Kindle or print-on-demand on Amazon. The first of her fantasy/paranormal series is slated for release in spring of 2020. You can find her at www.francesamati.com or on Facebook at @FCAmati.
A full time Senior Property Manager for a real estate services firm, this mother of three grown children and “Nonna” to five darling grandchildren, keeps her sanity with large doses of humor and frequent reality checks administered by her Irish Wolfhounds. Her close-knit family inspires not only many of her characters but is an integral part of the support system that keeps her afloat in windswept ocean of activity. An avid traveler with various hobbies, Frances currently resides in Huntington Beach, California with her seventeen-month-old Irish Wolfhounds puppies, Valhalla and Valkyrie, who remind her that love is what we make it.
Jann: Tell us about your journey to publication.
Frances: I wouldn’t be a published author without my son, Evan and my Irish Wolfhound, Handsome. But that’s not really the place to start. I’ve always been close to my kids—and humor is a huge part of that. Thus my “dream” life is a running joke in my family. The narrative is “Don’t tell us you had a weird dream. Just tell us you had a dream; we’ll know it’s weird.” Stories, whether in dreams or daydreams, have always been a part of me. So, when my son Evan was preparing to leave for university, he threw me a challenge. “I’ll go to college and while I’m gone this year, you should write a book.” More, I think, to keep me out of his hair than anything else.
Through Handsome, I had met Alexis Montgomery. We were becoming good friends and spending considerable time together as she mentored me in the ways of wolfhounds. Laughingly, I recounted Evan’s challenge and she latched on like a moral eel. I hadn’t known she was a writer. She invited me to a meeting of her writing “group.” To be honest, that first time I didn’t know what I was attending, or even what OCC or RWA were. That was 2010 and I never looked back.
When OCC put out the call for short stories to be published in a fund-raising anthology, Alexis and Janis Thereault, my other new writing pal, encouraged me to submit—so I did. Heart Hound was selected and published in Romancing the Pages. I was excited, but also at a loss. Growing up in a blue-collar home where creative arts were considered fanciful pastimes, I had to get past my own limiters. The success of being selected threw me because I felt untrained and unprepared. A situation utterly “at odds” with my natural tendencies to always be prepared. But Alexis and Janis encouraged me so I started writing. So much so, that I now have bits and pieces of so many different stories tucked into journals all over my house. But I needed to learn.
I was heavy on craft sessions at conferences and meetings—and I went to plenty of them. I took a writing class with Louella Nelson. There is just so much to learn and everyone is always pushing more at you. Honestly, it was almost so overwhelming I thought I’d never get anywhere. Plus, you’re in the ring with talented people who have degrees in fields designed for this pathway. But the OCC motto kept popping up—and I kept on going. Not to mention I think Alexis would have dragged me back in chains if I tried to walk away. But that is what good friends do for you.
The one thing I repeatedly took away from meetings and conferences was to have a stockpile of material to release systematically over time when you were getting started. By then, I felt that my path was going to be through self-publication. Thus, my stockpiling commenced, but it is slow going. My day job is time consuming, eating up anywhere from forty-five to sixty or more hours a week. That ties right in with my mortgage holder who, for some strange reason, really likes my house payment on time. And let’s not forget those Irish Wolfhounds—someone has to keep them in the royal pampered style to which they have become accustomed.
The Christmas Present (TCP) is the first installment in the Holiday Hearts Series and my very first self-publication (Thank you Amazon!). I have two books written in my fantasy series that are in the editing process now. I also have a series of children’s books called The Adventures of Handsome and Marlo in the works. They are about a wolfhound and his new friend, Marlo, a mouse. And yes, Handsome is very much based on my wolfhound of the same name. I’m looking for an illustrator for those as they are destined for picture books. I am excited to continue down the road in front of me. If there is one thing to take away from this interview, it is that dreams are never too old or too dead to be revived and lived.
Jann: Your debut contemporary romance novel released on November 29, 2019—The Christmas Present. How did that feel?
Frances: How did it feel? So often things in my life have ended up being anti-climactic. This was not one of those times—even though I feared it might be. It was amazing!
Throughout the process, but monumentally more as I neared the end, was the trepidation that the long haul of writing, editing, along with all the details and prep of publishing would overshadow the actual accomplishment. However, when I hit that “Publish” button on KDP my heart leapt into my throat. This was REAL and happening NOW. There I was, sitting at my dining room table, sending texts to my family, my critique partners and close friends; all the while I kept glancing at my laptop screen thinking “I did THAT.” Even now, when I look at the Amazon page or a print copy, I almost can’t believe it. But what has made this experience even more amazing is the support and feedback I have received. So many people have given me unsolicited and wonderful feedback. People I respect professionally and whose praise is all the more meaningful because it isn’t easily earned. It beats back that little demon of self-doubt who likes to beat me up.
Jann: Let’s talk about The Christmas Present, Book One in the Holiday Hearts Series. Who are these two amazing characters, nature photographer, Alexandria Marsh and playboy Declan Ruaidhri? How do they find their HEA?
Frances: Originally, this was supposed to be a novella for publication in a Holiday anthology with my critique partners, Alexis Montgomery and Janis Thereault. But somewhere along our planning curve all three stories diverged to different life paths. TCP was actually written four years ago. I pitched it to a few houses at different conferences, and it was requested several times. But it’s not a typical holiday story and honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about putting it with a house—it didn’t fit the “profile” and I wasn’t willing to make the significant changes to storyline. To me, no matter your beliefs, Christmas is about faith and the grace of forgiveness.
In The Christmas Present, Alexandria and Declan must renew their faith in themselves and allow the grace of forgiveness to free them from the past. To not live in the present can be a serious detriment to one’s happiness. The weight of past baggage can drown you in a sea of regret and worry. Alexandria carries a burden born from her strong protective tendencies, and to find the solution she must forgive her own choices, own them and have faith in herself and her family. Declan’s encumbrance is wounded pride and family duty. Each sees the other’s problems more clearly than their own. In seeking to assist one another, they find the blessings of solving their own internal issues. Finding love along the way never hurts.
Jann: How many books are you planning for this series and when do you plan for Book Two to be available?
Frances: While all the books will have characters in common, each novel stands alone and is based on a different holiday. Currently, I have four additional stories plotted out around Valentine’s Day, Easter, Independence Day and Thanksgiving. So, a total of five. Every story resonates with a different “theme” related to its holiday association. For example, Easter, to me, is a time of hope and re-birth—which is part of both the hero and heroine’s journey in this story. I anticipate that Book 2 will be released early in the summer of 2020.
Jann: You also have a fantasy/paranormal series to coming out this year. What can you share with us today about the series?
Frances: In my mind, this series is where creation and the big bang meet. I haven’t finalized the series name yet, nor the titles of the first two books, which are complete. Part of the backstory is that the original solar system of the universe is peopled by super beings. Since the beginning they have watched over developing worlds, protecting them from the dark forces of the cosmos. But the fight between good and evil, dark and light, has gone on since the creation of the universe. This fight has taken its toll on the protectors and twelve of the most powerful warriors in the universe have been entombed—alive but in a state of crystalline stasis. They can only be awoken by another of their kind. The hunt is on for the mysterious thirteenth—the lost offspring of one of the warriors—who may be hidden here on Earth. Or maybe it was on Andar, or that other planet? The search for the missing warrior takes a rogue crew of hunky aliens into the heart of danger, and the peril of losing their hearts.
Jann: For our lovers of animals, introduce us to your Irish Wolfhounds.
Frances: You may be sorry you asked me this one. LOL. My Irish Wolfhound story is magical in my eyes, and without this journey I would not be an author today. I have always loved to read. As a child it was an escape from the life I was born to. When I was eight or nine, I read a story with a girl who had a wolfhound. He was her best friend, her protector, and the one who loved her above all others. I told my mother I wanted one. Not being an animal person, she said no, not only to a wolfhound, but to any pets. Mind you, I actually had no idea what they looked like—there was no internet back then. I only knew they were huge and loved you to no end.
Time passed, I grew up, left home, married and had a family. Like so many childhood dreams thoughts of an Irish Wolfhound fell to the wayside. Years passed, my children were adults, I was divorced and living alone. My heart reminded me of my childhood dream—and now we have the internet. Photos of majestic hounds called to me like nothing ever had in my life. I found referrals from the National Club website and spoke to a woman who referred me to Alexis Montgomery, president of the Southern California Irish Wolfhound Club. Although not a breeder for profit, she knew many people in the wolfhound community and invited me over to meet her. In hindsight, I think it was more of an interview to see if I was worthy of consideration.
It was May of 2009 when Alexis met me at her front gate with her female, Wunjo and Wunjo’s two one-year old male puppies, Bear and Handsome. All three dogs welcomed me warmly. When Alexis invited me in to sit and talk Irish Wolfhounds, Wunjo and Bear wandered off around the yard. But Handsome followed me into the house. When I sat down on the loveseat he jumped up beside me and using his paw, pulled me up against his chest. For perspective, I am 5’9” and when I sat next to him, my head barely reached his neck. He was a big boy who bent and licked my face before laying his head on top of mine and cuddling me against his chest. I fell in love that very moment. But as he was Alexis’s dog, with a show career and breeding plans laid out in front of him, I knew I could only love him from afar.
Alexis was true to her word. Welcoming me into the IW community, she put me in touch with responsible breeders and I was on the waitlist. She invited me to the Irish Fair, fun matches and countless events and walks. Then one day when we were going to take Bear and Handsome for a walk on the beach, she dropped the bomb on me. “I know you want a puppy, but would you consider taking Handsome?” I don’t cry easily, but in that moment, I was overwhelmed with emotion and could barely speak, much less function.
I couldn’t believe my ears. But she laid it out clear enough. I still remember the hitch in her voice. “That damn dog is so in love with you, he isn’t happy unless he is with you.” His happiness was paramount to her. So finally, five months after our “meet-cute”, Handsome came home to be my forever heart hound. My heart was full. Or so I thought. That was October of 2009. Two years later, Phira, a female from Bear’s litter joined us and we were a pack of three.
I lost Handsome in April of 2015 and I still cry over him. Phira crossed over in February of 2018. I will mourn them always. But life moves on and in September 2018, one of Bear’s granddaughters, Jaegar gave birth. Having asked her to give me a boy, she naturally had all females: Valhalla and Valkyrie. I was only planning on one and Hala came home in December 2018, but Valkyrie joined our family in July of 2019. The sisters love each other and are boon companions. Being the same age and closely bonded they are a handful, but worth every moment.
Hala is a wheaten with black tips and Valkyrie is a gray brindle. But those aren’t the only differences. Hala is a goof—she makes funny faces and is an absolute gladiator at play. Affection and loyal, but very independent. She adores my six-year-old grand-daughter, Evelyn, and I have found them curled up together on the dog bed more times than I can count.
Valkyrie is an absolute cuddle-bug. She will curl up in your lap—she makes herself fit—for hours if you are willing. But make no mistake, this little girl can gladiate with the best of them. And willful…I think her picture is next to the word in the dictionary.
Right now, they are around 130 pounds at seventeen months of age. They still have some growing to do. But both are clever, strong and determined—like my heroines. They are a big part of my life, so naturally they will find their way into my written world.
Jann: What’s your favorite movie?
Frances: This one is easier than it used to be. I Am Dragon. It’s a Russian movie I found a year or two ago. I don’t normally care to have the television on while I am working, but for some reason I wanted something on in the background. I figured a movie in Russian would do the trick. I don’t remember what I had intended to do, but I never got to it. I was enthralled. The cinematography and music are so incredibly beautiful. And the story! The courage to love against all odds. Loving enough to sacrifice for the benefit of one you love. I bought it and have watched it probably fifty times. There is something about it that just grabs me in a most visceral way.
Jann: If a spaceship landed in your backyard and the aliens on board offered to take you for a ride, would you go? Why or why not?
Frances: Oh, yes. I have wanted to go into space as long as I could remember. To move through the cosmos, to see a nebular cloud, experience other worlds, a trip around the sun. It would be amazing. Well, at least as long as I wasn’t on the menu for dinner. Hopefully, when they show up I will either be between wolfhounds or able to take them with me. LOL
Jann: What’s the best writing advice you ever received? What’s the worst?
Frances: The best? Never quit. Simple. Easy. Straight forward. The worst? “The rule is….” Every great book I’ve ever read breaks one rule or another. Rules box you in, limit you. You have to produce a great product—that is the end game. But there has to be room for creativity and play. Once, while I was still a newbie at my day job, I asked a previous supervisor about a form to complete this mundane task. She responded that she didn’t particularly like to be in a box. I agreed—I don’t want to live in a box either. But I do believe we have to know where the box is and how it functions so we can effectively live outside it.
Frances Amati’s Books
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