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TWO BITES TOO MANY BY DEBRA H. GOLDSTEIN—A REVIEW BY VERONICA JORGE

September 22, 2019 by Veronica Jorge in category Book Reviews by Veronica Jorge, Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as A Sarah Blair Mystery, Book reviews, cozy mysteries, Debra H Goldstein, Two Bites Too Many

a cat and a dog looking at a glass of liquid

Debra H. Goldstein strikes again! With the pen that is. Her new cozy mystery, TWO BITES TOO MANY, Book 2 of her Sarah Blair Mystery Series, reunites the reader with the twins, Sarah and Emily.

We first met the twins in Debra’s debut cozy mystery novel, One Taste Too Many, (reviewed by this writer in the January 22, 2019 post). Emily, a chef, was accused of poisoning her sister Sarah’s ex-husband. The twins combined wits and skill to find the real killer.

In TWO BITES TOO MANY , Sarah’s receptionist job at Harlan’s law office is going well. The town is bustling with activity as the bank, town council, businesses and residents share ideas and lock horns debating rezoning plans. The battle lines are divided between those who want a more upscale Main Street and those who want the town to remain as is. In the midst of this tug of war is Sarah’s sister. Emily’s culinary career is on the rise and she’s awaiting news on the bank loan that will turn her dream of opening a gourmet restaurant into a reality. Her hopes get crushed when the bank officer denies the loan.

The twins’ mother, Maybelle, a formidable woman and a substantial client of the bank, takes it upon herself to champion her daughter’s cause. Unbeknownst to Emily, Maybelle confronts Lance, the bank president and leading town council member. When Lance turns up dead, the prime suspect is . . . Maybelle!

It appears that the killer has used the confusion caused by ambitious bankers, disgruntled relatives and residents, varying town factions, and chefs competing with each other to be the best, to create the perfect recipe for murder.

Sarah and Emily plunge into a frantic investigation and race against time to uncover the truth and save their mother from a murder charge.

A cozy mystery with just the right amount of intrigue, suspense and humor, TWO BITES TOO MANY is engaging and entertaining. Debra will keep you guessing, and reading, to the end.

If mystery is not your genre of choice, not to worry, Two Bites Too Many is a good story that will satisfy every taste. So go ahead, grab the book and take a bite or two!

Sarah Blair Mystery Series

A Sarah Blair Mystery

ONE TASTE TOO MANY

TWO BITES TOO MANY

THREE TREATS TOO MANY

FOUR CUTS TOO MANY

FIVE BELLES TOO MANY

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That Special Time of Day…

September 20, 2019 by Meriam Wilhelm in category A Bit of Magic by Meriam Wilhelm tagged as challenge, coffee, life choices, reflection

There’s a certain time of the day when the world slows down and you can’t help but wonder.

I experienced one of those times last month as my husband and I walked the beaches at sunset on Marco Island, Florida. As warm breezes gently reorganized the clouds in the sky, pelicans skimmed the waters in search of their dinner and children raced along the shoreline squeezing one last ounce of fun out of the remnants of their day, I wandered and I wondered.

Looking up into the sky, it was almost as if someone unexpectedly tapped me on the shoulder and asked me, Hey! Have you done everything that you ever wanted to do, needed to do in this lifetime—and have you done it well?

It’s funny how such a grand sunset can make one feel so small. It’s not like I don’t see sunsets at home all the time, I do. I live at the beach. But somehow, this one felt different. Instead of leaving me with warm and mellow feelings, this fiery red sky sent out a challenge—Wake up! Live a little more. Laugh a little more. Challenge yourself to try something different. Be the best person you can be. See the good in others. Stop whining about the petty things. Tell your friends and family how much you love them.

Wow! That was some unsettling sunset, and the best thing that could have happened to me. It made me stop and think and I felt somehow rejuvenated, convinced that I would not forget all that I had been inspired to do.

But by the time I sat in the airport for five hours waiting for a long overdue flight, watched two women get into a weird cat fight over who was looking at who, got on an airplane where nothing seemed to be working, moved from carousel to carousel in search of my misplaced luggage and finally collapsed in my bed at four a.m., I had forgotten everything. Until this morning, when I pulled this picture up and started thinking. I’ve got a lot to do before the sun sets tonight. I think I’ll start with a cup of hazelnut coffee and tell my husband that I love him.

I hope you too find an inspiring sunset of your own.

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Writing The Dreaded Book Blurb by Jenny Jensen

September 19, 2019 by Jenny Jensen in category On writing . . . by Jenny Jensen tagged as Blrubs, clickbait, Marketing, writing

A popular post from our archives.

The Dreaded Book Blurb | Jenny Jensen | A Slice of Orange — Cartoons by John Atkinson, www.wronghands1.com

Writing The Dreaded Book Blurb

Every author faces this last crucial challenge. You’ve already spent untold hours researching, writing and editing your book. Your title hits just the right poetic note. You’ve gone several tense rounds to find the perfect cover. All that remains is the book blurb, the opening salvo in the promotional war. This is the first (and sometimes only) chance to grab a reader and compel them to buy the book. And so, like click bait, you need to lure your reader with an honest but irresistible snap shot.

It’s an Art

It’s an art, this writing of a synopsis that isn’t a synopsis, this sell copy that isn’t an ad. And for something that isn’t a science there are strict rules: you have to be honest – no misleading the reader. No spoilers or why bother to read it – which can be tough since the spoiler is often the most exciting part of the story. Keep it at 200 words or less and don’t make it one run-on paragraph. Use the proper keywords for your genre. Reveal something about the antagonist – readers like to know if they can root for the hero. This isn’t the place to relate the entire plot but you have to provide the zeitgeist, the feel of the tale. No easy task.

A lot of the writers I work with find this daunting and ask for help, which I am happy to provide. I think it’s difficult for the writer to step far enough away from their work to pick out the enticing, salient points and present them with the tension and intrigue that make for a successful blurb. To the author, all story points are important. I get that, but as an avid reader I know what works for me in a blurb. It’s not how much is said, but how compellingly it’s said.

An Example

I start with a deconstruction approach. It’s possible to distill any story down to bare bones. In his book Hit Lit – Cracking the Code of the Twentieth Century’s Biggest Bestsellers James W. Hall provided the most distilled example I’ve ever seen. This is a beloved tale that we all know intimately: “A young girl wakes in a surreal landscape and murders the first woman she sees. She teams with three strangers and does it again.” It’s short, accurate and intriguing but would it sell the book?

I wouldn’t distill it down that far but it makes a great beginning. What if we knew something about the young girl – an orphan, a princess, a refugee? And what about the surreal landscape – gaping desert, oozing swamp, forbidding mountains? Then the three strangers – female, male, older, menacing, kindly? Is all this murdering spurred by necessity, thrills, defense, the three strangers or is it unintended manslaughter? And finally, what is the young girl up to – revenge, enlightenment, finding a way out of the surreal landscape? Flesh out those points, add some genre keywords, reference any kudos and you could turn those original 24 spartan words into a 160 – 200 word blurb that would peak curiosity and entice the shopper to buy.

If you can step away from the totality of your story and deconstruct the plot to the primary elements, then present those elements in a provocative way you can create an effective selling tool with your book blurb. BTW, that book Hall described? The Wizard of Oz.

Jenny

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White Space by Kidd Wadsworth

September 18, 2019 by Kidd Wadsworth in category Infused with Meaning by Kidd Wadsworth tagged as emotions, writers

Death is the absence of life. It is the white space on a painting, an empty hospital bed, a silent room, a closet of clothes. Death is the extinction of a species of only one. I closed my eyes. I woke, and he was gone. They took his body in the night. They came for the bed and the wheelchair by noon. We reduced his life to a photo and two columns in the newspaper. We sang his favorite songs. We spoke, “he was good friend, a wonderful father and an average golfer.”

Emotion is the currency of all good writers. But what if there is no emotion? What if death brings not regret, or anger, or longing, or even peace, but rather echoes? Did he call my name? I turned my head. Was that him, walking into his office?

Where is the salty taste of my tears? I become white space.

Can someone please tell me how to feel?

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Once Upon an Enchanted Forest

September 16, 2019 by A Slice of Orange in category Spotlight tagged as anthologies, Bethany Adams, Charissa Weaks, pre-orders, romance, witchcraft

Including stories from Award-Winning, New York Times, and USA Today Bestselling Authors

The autumnal equinox is a celestial event that brings together harvest and celebration, symbolizes magick and transformation, and welcomes a balance of light and darkness. It’s a time when those who honor the changing seasons rest and reflect.

Or reap what they’ve sown.

Once Upon an Enchanted Forest, a collection of adult fantasy romances, features ten novelettes centered around one of the most enchanting preternatural beings of the ages: the witch. With lovers, magical forests, and witchcraft, our stories are sure to warm your nights and your dark little heart.

About our collection:

In the aftermath of a deadly Harvest Moon festival, the valley’s Witch Collector and a voiceless diviner venture into Frostwater Wood—a forest transformed into a dangerous, ever-changing maze—in hopes of saving their king from certain death.

Desperate to escape her village, cobbler Rhianne braves the enchanted wood to find the Witch and her matchmaking loom. But when the loom weaves her a highborn match, the Witch flies into a rage that will set Rhianne’s fate on fire.

After a drunken man falsely claims his daughter can spin straw into gold, a peasant woman—accused of witchcraft and facing death at the hands of the Mad King—must manage the impossible with no more than a wooden spindle and a prayer—and perhaps the aid of a dashing Fae she never saw coming.

In a place called Wolfswood, Rosaline, a talented hunter, must face cursed and deadly creatures on the night of the autumnal equinox if she’s to save her people—and the woman she loves.

When a wounded sorcerer infiltrates the boundary protecting her home, Thalia, Queen of the Dryads, must choose whether to trust this foreigner who’s quickly claiming her heart or uproot the seeds of affection growing between them and send him away.

After a fatal accident places a village in grave danger, Yula, a young woman with unpredictable magick, is guided by a handsome knight on her quest to find the only person who can help her—the legendary and evil Dark Queen.

In a time of war, a witch possessing healing powers, is tasked with saving the life of her wounded king, all while trying not to lose her heart to his brutish right-hand man.

A young man struggling with his own identity journeys to a modern-day witch living in a lonely forest garden, and is presented with an unexpected connection and a tantalizing choice.

In an enchanted garden deep in the heart of London, the elven scout Tarah guards the portal to her realm, a boring task after so many centuries. But when a dragon awakens in the countryside, searching for his stolen hoard, life becomes anything but mundane—especially when the dragon decides that Tarah might be the greatest treasure of all.

This anthology also includes a new story from the brilliant Juliet Marillier, author of the Sevenwaters Trilogy and many other historical fantasy novels, including Beautiful, an Audible Exclusive, and her coming release, The Harp of Kings.

Now, sit back and let us tell you a tale. Welcome to The Enchanted Forest.