Author Jina Bacarr–Romance Makes the World Go Around!!
November 17, 2022 by Jann Ryan in category Writing tagged as historical romance, time travel
I started out working as a reporter writing articles for a travel magazine based in Beverly Hills and then as a columnist for a computer magazine where I wrote about technology ‘Sweet Savage Byte’, as well as writing for academia, radio commercials and PR copy for a local AM/FM station. I’ve also had three plays produced in Malibu and I worked for a time writing scripts for children’s and daytime TV before publishing nonfiction books about Japan, and then later fiction.
Jann: You have an amazing writing career. How did it get started?
Jina: I’ve always written, having grown up with my Irish grandma who inspired me to write – a fine woman who was never without a story on her lips or a rosary in her hands… blue or white or green beads fastened together by her nimble fingers into a holy circle. I’d sit at her feet, holding my crayons in my left hand and coloring in my ballerina book or playing with my paper dolls, all the while making up stories of my own.
My first writing job was an article about the uniqueness of European bathrooms called ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Loo’. After college, I was torn between working part time as an illustrator for Frederick’s of Hollywood or working as a reporter for a travel magazine. I needed to pay the rent, so I wrote articles under different names and never looked back.
Jann: Why romance, time travel and World War 2?
Jina: Romance makes the world go round no matter what century you’re in… time travel because I spent a lot of my childhood in museums. The voices of the past speak to me through 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. World War 2 because I love the clothes, the sophistication, the Victory Red lipstick… the drama and power of the women who helped win the war. They were feminine and daring and strong… and fell in love with brave pilots. Who doesn’t love a guy in a sheepskin leather jacket and aviator sunglasses?
Jann: Historical romance readers look for accuracy from the author. What are your favorite sources for research and how much time did you spend on research. Do you research before, while you write a first draft or after?
Jina: Re: doing research, I love the joy of finding old books or films produced during the time I’m writing about; e.g., there is an enormous amount of material from the 1930s and 1940s, both first person accounts published during the war as well as films. Newsreels, but also home movies shot by participants on both sides. I have a wonderful ‘coffee table’ book that’s filled with scenes of Paris during the Occupation, as well as detailed timelines both in print and on the Internet that help me in setting up scenes so I can drop my characters into the historical moment, then turn them loose and see what they do. They always surprise me!
I research during all phases of the writing process… from creating the characters to researching the weather on a certain day to the phases of the moon (I have RAF landings in France that depend on moonlight). I never hesitate to check a date or place at any time, right through the proofreading.
Jann: Your new historical, The Orphans of Berlin, is described as Heartbreaking and based on a true story. How did you find the story this book is based on?
Jina: It’s based on the Kindertransport, the children’s transport. It’s well documented in films and books… I was fascinated by a documentary featuring an American couple who orchestrated a Kindertransport at a time when the US limited immigration, making it impossible for German Jews escaping death at the hands of the Nazis to come to America. I discovered that Jewish children from Germany and Austria and other European countries were sent to England and also to France by their desperate parents. Since I write about Occupied France, the story took off from here.
I also write about a personal journey in The Orphans of Berlin related to my American heroine (all is revealed in the acknowledgements).
Jann: What major conflicts do your leading characters in The Orphans of Berlin, Kate Alexander and the Landau sisters, have to work through?
Jina: Kay Alexander is a debutante albeit a reluctant one. It’s a life chosen for her by her society mother, but Kay is determined to be her own person in spite of her mother’s domineering ways. Kay has to work through the delicate balance of finding her independence, yet never giving up hope her mother will see her as an individual. She loves her mom and is proud of her heritage, and wants to use her fortune to help others.
Rachel is twelve when we meet her, a time in the Jewish religion when a girl becomes an adult. We follow Rachel through the trials and tribulations every girl faces growing up: her maturing body, feelings for boys, seeking independence from her parents whom she adores, and yearning to be her own person. What makes all this so difficult is that Rachel faces the trials of impending womanhood in a time when the Nazis set about destroying her world of tradition and ancient culture… and also taking on the duty to keep her younger sisters safe in a dangerous time.
Jann: I understand there is a handsome British pilot. What can you tell us about this character?
Jina: Max Hamilton-Jones is a daring pilot from a tough, English upbringing in Blackpool in Northern England. He grew up around airplanes and joined an air circus when he was a teenager. He has a fierce sense of protecting the innocent and uses his flying skills to fight in Spain before WW2… he’s an avant-garde artist who captures human foibles with his amazing sketches featuring slices of life. He loves beautiful woman and sees into the soul of his models with his pen… he’s sexy, witty, and protective of Kay and Rachel and her two sisters. I love that.
Jann: Are you working on something now that you can share with us?
Jina: I’m writing my fourth book about the Holocaust in Occupied France… this time I’m tackling the subject of rape during the war: how many cases were never reported and the stories of these Frenchwomen lay buried in the shadows.
I want to shine a light on one such story…
Jann: You’re a multi-published author, is there a character in one of your books whose personality most matches yours? If so, which book and character and why?
Jina: Aye, it’s Ava O’Reilly, my Irish heroine from Queenstown in The Runaway Girl, my story about the Titanic. Ava pokes her nose where she shouldn’t, is outspoken with her opinions, and is filled with colorful, witty phrases. Of course, Ava speaks her mind; me, I write it down in stories, but there’s a lot of Ava in me.
Jann: Where can we get your books?
Jina: Readers can find my books published by Boldwood Books at Amazon US, UK, CA, AU, and international Amazon sites, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, and in the UK, in brick and mortar stores, The Works and Waterstones.
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jina.bacarr/
Twitter https://twitter.com/JinaBacarr
Blog https://jinabacarr.wordpress.com/
TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@jinabacarrauthor
The Orphans of Berlin
Jann: What’s your all-time favorite book?
Jina: Time and Again by Jack Finney
I love exploring the science behind traveling through time, the whys and what ifs. Mr Finney made me believe in time travel. I love his wit, his passion for the lady he loves in his time travel novel, his historical accuracy and gripping detail that put you there.
A true gentleman and a scholar for any time.
[I wrote two novels about time travel: Her Lost Love – WW2 on the home front where a lonely woman goes home on a magic Christmas train to save her fiancé who died in the war; and Love Me Forever – a female re-enactor goes back to the Civil War dressed as a soldier and meets her double, a Confederate spy.]
Jina, its been great to have a peak into your writing world. You write amazing stories. Good luck on The Orphans of Berlin. Have a wonderful holiday season.
Some of Jina’s Books
(Click the cover for more information. Hover over the cover for buy buttons.)
A Review of Well Acquainted by Laney Hatcher:
November 16, 2022 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight
Review
Well Acquainted
Laney Hatcher
- ASIN : B0B7W36RY7
- ISBN-13: 978-1959097235
- Publisher: Smartypants Romance (October 27, 2022)
- Publication date : October 27, 2022
Well Acquainted is the second novel in Laney Hatcher’s London Ladies Embroidery series from the Smartypants Romance Out of this World Penny Reid Book Universe.
Widowed doctor, Eliza Morgan’s past comes crashing into her medical clinic when Nicolas (aka Silas Viso an acclaimed actor) brings young Angelica for evaluation. It’s a toss up who is more surprised, yet it’s clear from page one that they still love each other. But there are so many complications: Their shared tragic past. Angelica and her mother. Eliza’s father. Nicholas’ family. Even their professions, a “lady” doctor and an actor—both not quite proper for the time—stand in their way.
Nicolas, ever charming and sure of himself, still wants a life with Eliza. She’s much harder to convince.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Well Acquainted. It was lovely seeing Elizabeth and Nico translated to historical London. Ms. Hatcher was very clever with the plot of her re-imagined story. She developed significant reasons for the characters to act as they did—even the villain—that was true to the time period.
If you enjoy Penny Reid’s Knitting in the City series and also love historical romance, then Well Acquainted should be on your reading list. You won’t regret it.
I received a copy of Well Acquainted from Laney Hatcher and Smartypants Romance in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Well Acquainted, an all-new swoony second chance historical romance from Laney Hatcher, is LIVE in Kindle Unlimited!
‘Well Acquainted’, a Penny Reid Universe Reimagining, is a full-length historical romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #2 in the London Ladies Embroidery series, Smartypants Romance Out of this World, Penny Reid Book Universe.
There are three things you need to know about Lady Eliza Morgan:
1. In addition to being a busy physician, she’s an accomplished seamstress.
2. She’s the victim of a broken heart.
3. The man who shattered it is the one man she can never have.
Some things are better left in the past, but Eliza has spent years running from hers. When the man who upended her life re-enters it in the most unexpected way, Eliza must decide if reacquainting herself with Nicolas is worth the heartache. He’s charming and irritating and makes her realize there is so much more than the life she’s been living. But first she must confront her painful past if she and Nicolas have any hope for a future.
Grab your copy TODAY!
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3cOZios
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3BzbfJ0
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3OEmp25
Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3cPYBeH
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3A46QeM
Audiobook: Coming this winter!
About Laney Hatcher
Laney Hatcher is a firm believer that there is a spreadsheet for every occasion and pie is always the answer. She is an author of stories that have a past, in a language of love that’s universal. Often too practical for her own good, Laney enjoys her life in the southern United States with her husband, children, and an incredibly entitled cat.
Find Laney online
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3HkhbFE
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laney.hatcher/
TikTok: https://bit.ly/3CwREcY
Website: https://laneyhatcher.com/
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3EHkQeN
Pinterest: https://bit.ly/32G5BG8
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/laneyhatcher
Connect with Smartypants Romance
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Tari Lynn Jewett: Featured Author
November 14, 2022 by Tari Jewett in category Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett, Featured Author of the Month tagged as #Charmed Writers, #FireworksintheFog, #HeromsaForTheHolidays, #PleaseSayYes, Love and Mud Puddles, romantic comedy, Tari Lynn Jewett
Tari Lynn Jewett lives in Southern California with her husband of nearly thirty years (also known as Hunky Hubby). They have three amazing sons, a board game designer, a sound engineer and a musician, all who live nearby. For over fifteen years she wrote freelance for magazines and newspapers, wrote television commercials, radio spots, numerous press releases, and many, MANY PTA newsletters. As much as she loved writing those things, she always wanted to write fiction . . . and now she is.
She also believes in happily ever after . . . because she’s living hers.
Tari’s newest title is Love and Mud Puddles, available now for pre-order. The book will be released on November 30, 2022.
Hannah loves her accounting job, the condo that she purchased herself, and her best friend Melinda. What she doesn’t love is baking. To be fair, she’s never tried. But when her cousin shames her into bringing homemade cookies to the family Christmas Eve celebration, she begins a quest to make the perfect holiday cookie.
Paramedic Josh also occasionally teaches kids’ cookie baking classes at his family’s bakery. When a beautiful accountant mistakenly signs up for a children’s holiday baking class, he realizes immediately that she’s in the right place.
Can this local hero help to save Hannah’s Christmas? Or will it all go up in smoke?
Tari’s other Books
Tips for Writing for a Contest by Carol L. Wright
November 13, 2022 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as Barb Goffman, BWG, Carol L. Wright, Short Story Award, Writing contests, writing tips
It’s always exciting to enter a writing contest—at least until it comes to the actual writing.
Since I both write for submission and run the annual Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story award competition, I’ve developed a few tips for writing to a theme, keeping within the word count limits, and what to avoid. I hope these might be of help.
And we’re making a special announcement at the end!
When writing to a theme:
- Write a new story instead of trying to wedge thematic elements into an existing story. It shows.
- Don’t write the first thing that comes into your head. It popped into a hundred other heads, too. You don’t want to be competing with a hundred other stories similar to yours.
- Brainstorm to find a fresh slant on the theme. Writing something from a slightly different angle will help your story stand out.
- Be creative with your title. Too many entries will use the theme in the title. You want your title to be unique.
Staying within word limits:
- Start with your protagonist in the middle of action. Hook readers immediately.
- Refer to, but don’t overly explain backstory. You can imply an unhealed wound or past conflict between characters, but in a short story, the reader does not need to know the details unless they have a direct relationship to the current plot.
- Keep descriptions pithy. A few words can paint a picture.
- Use contractions, compound words, or hyphenated words. These count as only one word each
- Do not use ellipses to show pauses or gaps. They are correctly typed as: space-dot-space-dot-space-dot-space. Unfortunately, each dot counts as a word! Use dashes instead. Some word counters count words connected by a dash as one word!
- Simplify verbs. For example: she left, instead of she was gone or she had departed. You could even have a one-word sentence: Gone!
- Use vivid verbs. It eliminates the need for adverbs or adjectives. For example: the storm raged instead of the storm was blowing strongly.
- Use the words you need, but not one word more. Remember, the word limit is a maximum, not a minimum or a target word count. No contest judge wants to read a story that appears to be padded with extra words.
- On the other hand, if the contest calls for stories of up to 5000 words, a very short story, e.g. 500 words, will not be competitive. You cannot do the world building or character development in a few words that you could accomplish with more words.
Contest Don’ts:
- Don’t flatter judges in a cover letter. They know it’s just designed to butter them up and can seem annoying.
- Don’t email the contest runner with questions that are answered in the call for submissions. Really annoying.
- Don’t argue with the rules, break the rules, or ask for exceptions to the rules. The rules are there for a reason and have to be applied consistently to be a fair contest.
- Don’t complain that winning stories aren’t as good as yours. All judging is subjective—and you cannot be objective about your own work.
- And definitely don’t ask for names and email addresses of judges so you can complain to them!
Now for the announcement:
The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable announces its 2023 Short Story Award competition will be open from January 1 through March 31, 2023.
The theme is Season’s Readings. We are seeking stories of 2000 words or fewer that relate to the holiday season from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.
Cost to enter: $15
Winners receive:
- First Place: $250 and publication in the upcoming anthology, Seasons Readings: More Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales. Anticipated publication: Fall 2024
- Second Place: $100 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable online literary journal
- Third Place: $50 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable online literary journal.
Our guest judge for 2023 is multi award-winning short story writer and professional editor Barb Goffman. Be sure to read her interview in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Winter 2023 issue, coming out on January 1.
You can get all your questions answered on our website: http://bwgwritersroundtable.com/short-story-award-2/. I hope to be reading your story soon!
Good luck—and happy writing!
~ Carol L. Wright
My Work In Progress, Applying My 2022 Focus Word
November 12, 2022 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Denise M. Colby, Word of the year, workI love the play on words with the term Work in Progress for my 2022 focus word. With my word being “work” this year, I, myself am a work in progress. Just like what us authors call our current manuscript, work in progress (WIP).
I have found this word to be a great word to focus on. The word work can mean many different things, and I have focused on the noun.
Exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; productive or operative activity
My favorites have been the synonyms for the word work. These highlight what I wanted to focus on this year.
Interestingly, for my manuscript work in progress, I have been able to focus on digging deeper into editing, reviewing each chapter with my critique partners and learning through editing their work as well. I also have entered additional contests and participated in classes and online learning. With the limited time I’ve had, I feel I have continued work on my manuscript and have made progress.
My Personal Work In Progress
Personally, I am always a work in progress, but especially this year my focus has been on my health. Even with a significant car accident earlier in the year that put me in physical therapy for many months, I have made great strides in my health. I’m sleeping better, I have more energy, and I can eat a larger variety of foods again.
It has taken a daily commitment to build new habits in both of these work in progress areas. Sometimes it’s been challenging. Sometimes I wonder if I would ever get better (both in my writing and my health). But as days have become weeks, and weeks, months, I do see progress. The best complement I received recently from a dear friend; they could see how much healthier I look. And as I reflected on those words, I realized I do feel healthier and happier.
Creating Fun with my word, Work
I like to make my word each year fun and memorable and find all sorts of quotes and verses with that word in it. The last few years, I get to the end of the year and I haven’t posted as much as I wanted to about my word. That too, seems to be a work in progress. And then it becomes a mad dash to do just that. So bear with me as I share these quotes and verses related to my word work.
I hope they inspire you in your own work in progess, whether it is your writings or your personal life.
Denise M. Colby loves to write words of encouragement blog posts. She also loves to write about her word of the year she chooses each year. She created a page on her website on her 2020 word, courage, a blog post about her 2021 word, wisdom. She started 2022 sharing why she chose the word, work
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