Titanic and Me and the 1997 Movie and how my Irish grandmother helped me write my Ship of Dreams story by Jina Bacarr
February 11, 2023 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Titanic, Writing tagged as historical fiction, historical romance, romance', ship of dreams, Titanic
Can you believe it’s 25 years since James Cameron’s TITANIC film hit the theaters?
And guess what, it’s back in theaters this weekend!!
I’ve seen all the Titanic films — even the one made in German — but the 1997 film is an event to be enjoyed over and over again.
So I have a question, will you go back to the in-person theater and see it again?
OR: enjoy it once more in your own home?
I’d love to know how you feel about seeing it again in the theater.
Jina (dressed as a Titanic First Class lady)
——————–
And if you can’t enough TITANIC, check out THE RUNAWAY GIRL — my Titanic love story starring Ava O’Reilly, my Irish heroine.
I had no problem writing an Irish heroine.
When I was a little girl, I lived with my Irish grandmother for a while and I remember sitting at the big, wooden table with her as she added flour, milk, and herbs to leftover mashed spuds for potato cakes, or wound her blue rosary beads around her gnarled fingers while she spun tales about life in Ireland. Grand times they were, and a lovely thread woven through the quilt of my childhood.
Meet Ava O’Reilly, in THE RUNAWAY GIRL, a girl who wants to better herself by reading books but it’s forbidden to the servants in the grand house in Ireland where she’s in service.
Then when she’s wrongly accused of stealing a diamond bracelet, she escapes.
To the Titanic.
And every tale I’d heard at my grandmother’s knee, every book I’d read, every film about the ship of dreams I’d watched over and over again became the fodder for telling my own story about the Titanic.
Based on my girlhood and love of books.
And the sea.
And yes, romance, too.
And how an Irish girl makes a daring choice on that fateful night when the Titanic hits an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. that changes her life forever…
Super Romance Sale now until February 15th on #Kobo #Audiobook THE RUNAWAY GIRL is $9.99 AUDIOBOOK
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/the-runaway-girl-2
Two women hold the keys to his heart. Only one will survive that fateful night…
When Ava O’Reilly is wrongly accused of stealing from her employer, she has no option but to flee Ireland. The law is after her, and she has only one chance at escape – the Titanic.
Aboard the ship of dreams, she runs straight into the arms of Captain ‘Buck’ Blackthorn, a dashing gentleman gambler who promises to be her protector. He is intrigued by her Irish beauty and manages to disguise her as the maid of his good friend, the lovely Countess of Marbury. Little does he realise, that the Countess is also in love with him.
As the fateful night approaches, tragedy strikes further when Ava is separated from Buck, and must make a daring choice that will change her life forever…
A sweeping historical romance set aboard the Titanic, from the author of Her Lost Love (Christmas Once Again).
Praise for Jina Bacarr:
‘A delightful holiday romance that has all the charm of a classic Christmas movie. Christmas Once Again is perfect for anyone who loves a holiday romance brimming with mistletoe, hope, and what ifs.’ Andie Newton, author of The Girl I Left Behind
‘A breathtaking holiday romance that is sure to stay with you long after reading’
‘A mesmerizing holiday romance that is sure to sweep you off your feet and take you away to another place, another time.’
‘A fabulous book you won’t want to miss’
THE RUNAWAY GIRL e-book, print and audio book:
Imperfect Date-#DumpsterFireLove
February 10, 2023 by Tari Jewett in category Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett, Writing tagged as #dimpsterfirelove, imperfect date, new releaseWhat happens when a girl meets a guy over a literal dumpster fire? #HeartsAblaze. My latest story in the #HermosafortheHolidays series released Tuesday in the Imperfect Date collection with a total of 22 stories by some amazing authors!
The story was really fun for me to write. It was great to be back in my make-believe Hermosa Beach with all of the characters that I now feel are my friends. The hero in this story is Rob Greer, who you might remember from #12DancingSantas. I had so many people ask me for a story for Rob, that when the opportunity came up to write for this collection, I thought it was Rob’s turn.
I had so much fun writing this story! And just an insiders note. Knight, Cassie’s dog, is really our family pet, Knight. He’s been gone for a few years and I miss him terribly, so this was a way to spend some time with him again. There’s a scene in the book from real life. When we got Knight, we lived in Wyoming and he had lots of open space. We brought him to California where we lived in a townhouse for a few years with no yard. I won’t tell you anymore, but the scene is both funny…and a little sad, and I had to include it in the story.
Here’s the Blurb for #DumpsterFireLove.
So you think your love life is a #dumpsterfire…
Cassie Harper’s first day as a teacher starts with a dumpster fire, her longtime boyfriend dumps her, then she’s kidnapped by a couple of her new colleagues who insist they’re trying to protect her. Now the whole town has her set up with the hunky fireman who put out the dumpster fire.
Rob Greer is on his way home from work when he spots a dumpster fire at Beachwood Elementary School. The new teacher, is trying to put it out with her water bottle. She’s cute, and he’d love to ask her out, but when a photo of them putting out the fire together goes viral, things get complicated.
Can a dumpster fire set two hearts ablaze? Will social media fan the flames, or dampen the embers? Only chocolate, wine…and new girlfriends can help her now!
This story and all of the stories in the book are a perfect way to spend your Valentine’s week! Hope you’ll check out Imperfect Date!
Hope you have a little romance in your Valentine’s week (you can always find it in a book)!
Do You Need More Time for All Your Goals? by Kitty Bucholtz
February 9, 2023 by Kitty Bucholtz in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz, Writing tagged as It's Worth It, Kitty Bucholtz, Online Class, Planning, time management, writing, Writing Plans
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Every year, when I write down all of my goals, the list contains enough stuff to last several years. And after I trim it down to the essentials, it’s still almost definitely more than I can accomplish in the next 12 months. But I always want to try! Haha!
Do you have a lot on your mind and in your heart to do in 2023? I’m with you, friend! But there’s a saying attributed to the famous American businessman, Peter Drucker: “You can’t improve what you don’t measure.”
So let’s work together and both achieve more this year than we did last year! We’ll write down our goals AND how we’re going to measure them. As we keep track, we can look for ways to improve what we’re doing — and get more done.
And not just “stuff.” If you’re looking for someone to help you get off the couch and clean the house every Saturday, there are better people out there to help you with that. 😉 I’m talking about looking at the next 10-12 months and focusing on the most important things to you — finishing and publishing one or more books, helping your daughter plan her wedding, gain some muscle and lose some fat, do something from your bucket list.
I teach a class that’s helped hundreds of writers over the last two decades to get more writing done. Going the Distance: Time and Project Management for Writers. And with my new and improved version, we’ll look at my WHOLE PATH System to working on your whole life, not just writing in a vacuum.
The class will be online and self-paced, so you don’t have to show up at a certain time. But as a bonus, I’ll offer 4 live Q&A sessions during February and March. If you can’t make it live, you can send me your question and I’ll answer it so you can watch the recording.
Now is the time to get focused on what’s most important to you. And starting February 20, you can get the help you need to write more with less stress and more peace and joy this year!
I’ve created a couple short videos on my YouTube channel to help you in the meantime. The first is Easy Planning for the 3 Most Important Things in Your Life, and the second is Micro- vs. Macro-Planning. I hope you find them useful and encouraging!
And I hope to see you in class! 😀
Featuring Kidd Wadsworth, Author of the Month
February 7, 2023 by Kidd Wadsworth in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Featured Author of the Month, kidd wadsworth
Kidd Wadsworth writes to bring to life our magical, fire-breathing world. She believes we are super heroes. It’s time we put on our capes.
You can read Kidd’s monthly column, Infused with Meaning, here on the 25th of every month. More information about Kidd is found on her website, make sure you take the time to read her “about me” section.
A selection of books that include Kidd’s short stories.
Still Groundhog Day?
February 6, 2023 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as distractions, edits, recurrence, writing
It’s now the second month of 2023. Do things keep recurring to you, as they do with me—kind of an ongoing Groundhog Day, even though that was four days ago this year.
But as I’ve mentioned before, it’s another busy year for me. At the moment, I’m working on edits for two of the books I’ll have out later this year. Edit, after edit, after edit. Yes, a recurrence of edits, though they’re for different stories.
And then I have more books to write, and at the moment they’re all in series that have already begun. Yes, another similar, but different, recurrence in my writing.
Hey, though. I like them all, and that’s just the way things are for me now. Different, yet in some ways recurring.
That, plus my puppy Roxie just had her first birthday, and I love paying attention to her and our older dog Cari. Distractions from my writing? Definitely, as I’ve mentioned before. But happy ones. And delightfully recurring ones.
How about you? What recurs in your life and your writing?
~ Linda
Some of Linda’s Books
Featured Books
MY FRIEND JACKSON
Can Jasmine untangle her life and reclaim her identity, her life—her soul?
More info →
SHADOWS AT DAWN
Jax and Mindy have to put aside their overwhelming attraction, but if they live through this, all bets are off…
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