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A Month of Happily Ever After

July 12, 2024 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as debut novel, Denise M. Colby, romance

Writing a romance is all about the happy ever after. As a reader, I love the “ah” at the end when the two characters are finally together. Where they learned something new about themselves, opened their heart, and found the one that completes them.

That said, a happily ever after at the end of our novels doesn’t necessarily mean the hero and heroine get married at the end of the book. They could be newly engaged. The couple could decide they are now in a committed relationship. Or they could say I love you for the first time. There are so many options, that it really is the character journey that determines what fits best for our endings.

Personally this past month has been filled with happily ever afters. One fiction, one real life.

The Fiction Happily Every After

The first one was my debut novel, When Plans Go Awry, released in early June. Luke and Olivia’s story is not so much a will they/won’t they (although they didn’t know they would, we did). But the how were they going to figure it out and end up together.

I won’t give away what happens to them at the end, but it’s been so well received and I have found it so much fun to talk with readers about the characters and the town of Washton, like they were real people. Having these discussions has made me feel the happily ever after my characters feel, and that has been so motivating for me as a writer.

Here are several review statements. Also last month I shared information about the launch activities and launch party held in my honor.

When Plans Go Awry review quote Denise M. Colby

When Plans Go Awry review quote girlfriends guide to books instagram account

The Real Happily Every After

The second example and the real life one, is that my middle son found his happily ever after and married his sweetheart the last weekend of June. A beautiful ceremony, beautiful couple, and a wonderful day filled with love, laughter, family, and friends. With lots of planning before hand, everything came together perfectly.

And I now have a daughter in the family. It’s been so fun to have a front row seat watching them grow and bond as a couple and plan their future life together.

Family wedding party before the happily ever after — Before the wedding

the happy couple bride and groom — Before the wedding

The Magic of Cinderella

As a little girl the story of Cinderella was my favorite. She has a fairy Godmother, she finds her prince (or the prince finds her), and they all live happily ever after. I now know that life is not as simple as that and that those endings are a moment in time where the couple is happy together. But they are still my favorite stories to read.

A story has to end somewhere, why not have it end happy. We all want that hope, love, and joyful feeling when we realize we are in a committed relationship and someone loves us just as much as we love them.

There’s something about escaping in a story where the ending is just that. And that is what I love to read and love to write.

Here’s to many more stories of happily ever afters in our lives. Both fiction and real life.

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My Debut Novel When Plans Go Awry Releases June 4, 2024

May 12, 2024 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Debut Author, debut novel, Denise M. Colby, new release, When Plans Go Awry

The time is finally here! I’m so excited to announce my debut novel, When Plans Go Awry, launches on Tuesday June 4, 2024. I have a pre-order link on Amazon for the digital version. If you are interested in an actual book, Amazon does not allow pre-orders (which I find absolutely frustrating). Anyway, you’ll be able to snag it for the special pre-order price of $3.99, if you order now. Click on the book cover to take a peek.

Book Cover for Denise M. Colby's Debut novel When Plans Go Awry

Debut Novel and Author Things

As I mentioned in my Debut Author Book Launch Checklist post, I’m learning all the variety of things needed to launch oneself as a debut author (and for a any new book debut). I’ve been busy creating author and book accounts at Amazon, Fictionfinder and GoodReads, building a new logo, and getting everything ready for my launch team.

For my logo’s, I wanted to focus on the one-room schoolhouse theme, since that’s the setting for my books. I seem to use this word a lot, but it’s so true. Excited for how these came out.

I have loved partnering with my family to launch my debut novel. My son, Kyle, drew the one-room schoolhouse. He also drew the map I included in my book. My husband drew the journal shown at the beginning of each chapter.

For so long I was building my platform without a book to promote. I’m finding it so fun to finally have a book cover to include in all my author accounts. Here’s my new Facebook author cover.

Also for my debut novel, I’m partnering with Silver Dagger Book Tours and she created this lovely blog banner from my book cover. If anyone runs a book blog and is interested, I’ve included the link here where she is taking signups still to participate.

The blog banner for debut novel When Plans Go Awry for Silver Dagger Book Tours

Launch team for When Plans Go Awry

My launch team fun for my debut novel, When Plans Go Awry, begins this next week. I’m so looking forward to this. It’s not too late to join us. Click on this link to signup. When Plans Go Awry Launch Team Application.

Thank you

I just want to say thank you to all my author friends for their support. I have been on this unpublished journey for over twelve years. If not for my writer friends, I wouldn’t have stuck it out and made it to see the day I could say I have a debut novel!

Yippee!

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Debut Author Book Launch Checklist

April 12, 2024 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as book launch, Debut Author, debut novel, Marketing for Authors

As a new debut author, it’s amazing how once you get the green light to publish, there are so many little details for an author to complete. And quickly. I’m in the process of building a debut author checklist to help me keep track of everything. One is specific to book launch, while the other is for a debut author overall.

blog header with title debut author book launch checklist by denise M. Colby with laptop graphic on right side

I’m sure there are lots of helpful lists out there. I’ve seen many posts and emails related to this over the years. I’ve even taken lots of notes during workshops. But it’s sooo different when you are finally in that moment yourself.

So I’m compiling my own list and would love to have input from all the other authors who are part of this blog. Please share lists you use or your own ideas in the comments below. And keep reading to see if I’m missing anything.

Book Launch Checklist

Your book is being published, and you have a date. Now what? Here’s what I have experienced so far with my first book, When Plans Go Awry, launching June 4, 2024.

Cover design
Announce cover reveal in newsletter and social media
Sign up for some blog interviews close to book launch date
Back cover copy
Send file out to authors to write endorsements
Final edits
Final inside matter – map, dedication page, acknowledgements, author’s note, endorsements, author bio
At the end of the book include a link to sign up for newsletter
Teaser for next book
Galley Proof
Update facebook header with new book cover
Book page on your website
Book page on your publisher website
Book page on GoodReads (and link to author page)
Pull quotes from book to create graphics

Are there other things you do with each book? Since I work full time and my son is getting married the same month my book launches, my husband and I agreed a book launch manager would be beneficial for my first book since I wanted to do an official launch team. Additional tasks for this include:

Recruit people to be a part of book launch team (with google form for signups)
Identify giveaways for book launch members (see my rooster below)
Create content for book launch members to use
Create special content for members

Debut Author Checklist

I’ve been working on this journey a long time and even though I’ve established my website and social media, I’m finding my debut author checklist is long for all the things I still want to do. Of course working on Book 2 is on the list, but there are other things that need to happen so I can maximize this first book launch.

Create an author GoodReads page (this is a bit of a process without an ISBN number, but it is possible. I was able to get this built and link my book page together) Need to have this account use the email that you use for your website
Newsletter set up – build newsletter list
Update website pages where needed (make sure all references to previous book titles or content have been updated)
Create a new updated logo (my son is designing one for me)
Create Amazon Author page
Booksweeps account
Bookbub account
Fictionfinder account
Take new head shots
Post a lot on social media to generate buzz and gain momentum

Again, I’m sure there’s things I’m missing and I would love to learn what others have done or wish they would’ve done in the very beginning. Let’s hear it! Post in the comments below.

All-in-all, I’m enjoying this new stage of my writing journey, even though it’s all new for me and feels a bit never-ending. This year I chose the word grow as my focus word. As you can see from the list above, I am growing in lots of knowledge on how to be a debut author and manage a book launch.

If you are interested in joining my book launch team, I’d love to have you. Sign up on my book launch team google form. And have a chance to win the stuffed rooster.

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Spotlight on Gunnysack Hell by Nancy Brashear

March 25, 2021 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as debut novel, Gunnysack Hell, Nancy Brashear, Psychological Thrillers, Suspense

Spotlight on Gunnysack Hell

“There’s more to fear in the desert than scorpions and rattlesnakes.”

It’s the summer of 1962, middle of the Cold War, and the O’Brien family has moved off-grid to the Mojave Desert in Southern California. After all, the desert has to be a safer place to raise a family than the crime-ridden city, and there they can build a new future. But evil also stalks dusty desert roads, and eight-year-old Nonni finds herself harboring a terrible secret: Only she can identify the predator who has been terrorizing the community.

And he knows where she lives.

Excerpt

Gunnysack Hell

Nancy Brashear

I read this morning that Donald Fricker was granted parole after serving twenty years in prison. Once I saw his name in print, the decades disappeared in the flick of a newspaper page. My childhood flooded back to eight-year-old me, too scared to identify him and save my family.

It was May of 1962. My family had recently moved to our new home, our grandparents’ one-room homestead cabin in the California high desert with tarpaper and chicken-wire lining the walls. It never occurred to me to ask my father why we had moved from our three-bedroom suburban home by the beach to “off the grid.”

All I knew was that we used kerosene lanterns, the chemical outhouse under the tall water tank, a wood- burning stove, and an old-fashioned ice-box that our father replenished daily with a big block of ice from Jolly’s Corner.

Tessa, my six-year-old sister, and I walked home alone, every school day, from the bus stop, a mile and a half down an isolated dirt road.

That’s when it happened, the thing that changed our family. I’ll never forget that day. I protected Tessa even though I broke all of my promises to Mama I’d made just the night before. To walk directly home from the bus stop, not to talk to strangers, and to stay away from open wells.

That afternoon, when the bus’s hissing air brakes signaled our stop, we leapt from the bottom step onto the dirt shoulder of the road.

I picked the perfect stone from the side of the road. It had to be small and round, with no sharp edges, and light enough to kick all the way home.

Tessa followed on my heels, talking my ear off, and stepping on the heel of one of my tennies. “Gave you a flat!”

“Back off!” I glared at her. Mama said those shoes were like gold, and we were to protect them. I gave the rock a punt and forged ahead.

Oblivious to things going on out there in the desert, we were lulled into a sense of safety and routine. Like Eve, we didn’t feel the danger around us until it was too late to escape. Instead, I should have been paying attention to the truck following us slowly.

Down the deserted road.

Yes, this is our story.

My story.

Endorsement:

“I can’t recall the last time I was so impressed with someone’s writing style. It’s pure genius! Gunnysack Hell, told through the various family members’ point of view, takes the readers down a tunnel filled with mystery, thrills, and excitement. This masterpiece is not to be missed.”
~L. C. Hayden, Award-winning and best-selling author, http://www.lchayden.com/
(The Harry Bronson Thriller Series, When Memory Fails as seen on NBC and ABC, and others)

Nancy Brashear lives in Orange County, California, with her husband, Patrick, and their rescue dog, Goldie, where her grown children and seven grandgirls have supported her writing adventures. A professor emeritus in English, she has published short stories, poems, academic articles, textbook chapters as well as website content and writing projects with educational publishers. Gunnysack Hell is her debut fiction novel and was inspired by a true-crime event. And, yes, she did live off-grid with her family in a homestead cabin in the Mojave Desert when she was a child.

Read Jann Ryan’s interview of Nancy.

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Author Nancy Brashear debuts her Psychological Thriller!!

March 2, 2021 by Jann Ryan in category Jann says . . . tagged as debut novel, Gunnysack Hell, Nancy Brashear, Psychological Thrillers, Suspense

We’re here today talking to author, Nancy Brashear, about her debut psychological thriller novel. Gunnysack Hell has received fantastic reviews. So let’s see what all the excitement is about.

Jann: Tell us about your journey to publication?

Nancy: I’ve always loved to write. I vividly remember the experience of writing a poem about sitting in the fog on a bench and searching for just the right word to express a specific feeling when I was only about-eight-years old. In more recent times, as a professor in Education and English, I’ve published many academically-related writings along with occasional short stories and poetry. However, Gunnysack Hell is my first full-length published novel, and I’ve had to learn much about the craft of writing longer works of fiction to get this debut novel published.

Jann: Gunnysack Hell made its publication debut in February. How did it feel?

Nancy: It felt great! I signed my contract with The Wild Rose Press in April of 2020 (with a big thanks to Ally Robertson, my editor, for being my advocate and steward), and, now, less than a year later, it’s been released world-wide. It’s been exciting to introduce my “baby” to the world during the pandemic, and I’ve gotten a lot of support from my writing communities, especially my critique group, Serious Scribblers.

Jann: How long did it take for you to write this story?

Nancy: I began writing Gunnysack Hell when I was working at a more-than-fulltime job and had to set it aside. Once I picked it back up in calmer times, I worked on it, on and off, for about three years including taking it through beta readers, multiple edits, and the publishing process. I’ve learned a lot through this process about how to write, polish, and publish a book. I have a few other projects backed up in the pipeline waiting for the same treatment—but on a quicker timeline!

Jann: Will you give our readers the premise of the story? I understand the idea for the book came from a childhood stint in the desert.

Nancy: My story was inspired by a true-crime event in my family when I was young and our family lived in my grandmother’s homestead cabin in Apple Valley. A predator who had been terrorizing our desert community stopped my sister and me when we were walking home, a mile and a half down an isolated, dirt road. Needless to say, this led to a lot of drama in our family!

Jann: Why multiple points of view?

Nancy: It didn’t start out that way. I began writing this story from a 3^rd person POV, focusing on the young girl, Nonni. About a third of the way in, I discovered she had her own story she wanted to tell in 1^st person. However, after I made this conversion, I discovered that her limited perspective was too restrictive to tell a full story. Other characters were bursting with their own secrets. In the long run, I think it made for a much richer story to have rotating 1^st person POVs—but it wasn’t an easy task for me to accomplish, and it took a lot of rewriting to get it right.

Jann: Which character has the biggest arc?

Nancy: Although there are several adult characters in the novel, Nonni, the older child, probably experiences the most dynamic growth in this thriller, which was definitely not written for children. Through her personal epiphany, the truth will set you free, she emerges a much wiser young woman who finally finds her “voice” and can finally take action.

Jann: In your acknowledgment you mention your mother, Peggy Powell. Do you mind sharing with us today about her and how she inspired you?

Nancy: Although my mom had a challenging childhood, throughout her life, she fully embraced the idea that life was an adventure, even the gruddy parts, and, with a little faith, you could get through anything. This attitude embodies Claire, the mother in Gunnysack Hell. At my website (www.nancybrashear.com), my free prequel short story, “Dare to Wish Upon a Star,” is based upon Claire, as a ten-year-old living in Santa Ana with her mother, a singer in a 40s girl-band who also runs a boarding house out of a Victorian mansion. This backstory was also inspired by my mom’s young life, and provides insight into Claire’s personality.

Jann: What motivated you to write Ready or Not, A Creepy, Retold Fairytale for Grownups?

Nancy: I enjoy writing twisty things with elements of psychological suspense, and this short story for adults was inspired by “Hansel and Gretel.” At this point, I’m planning to continue this series with short-story retellings of “Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Little Mermaid.”

Jann: What’s next?

Nancy: I have a couple of rough draft novels completed, awaiting some tender, loving care. Probably the next one out will be Love on the Fly, a psychological thriller about a flight attendant who becomes agoraphobic after losing part of her family in a mysterious housefire. That’s all I’m saying for now.

Jann: What’s the best thing about being an author?

Nancy: I love letting my mind run wild as I create the interior landscapes of characters and put them into impossible situations in which they have to use all their resources to survive.

Jann: How can we learn more about you and your writing?

Nancy: Please sign up for my newsletter and blog (author interviews, reviews of books for children and adolescents, and other topics) at my website; follow me on social media! Email me if you’re interested in featuring Gunnysack Hell in your book group (as a SoCal-based thriller) and/or would like to do a Zoom author talk with me.

Email

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads

Pinterest

Jann: What sound or noise do you love?

Nancy: Bird songs (lots of them in our back yard)

Jann: What sound or noise do you hate?

Nancy: People chewing.

Jann: What profession would you hate to do?

Nancy: Politician

Jann: What is the one thing you have never been asked, but you wish someone would?

Nancy: What it was like to live in a UFO commune, as a child, for six months

Jann: What‘s on your To-Be-Read pile?

Nancy: The psychological thriller, You Should Have Known, by Jean Hanff Korelitz (the novel that inspired the short Netflix series, The Undoing)

Jann: Favorite song?

Nancy: “I Can’t Stop Loving You” by Ray Charles

Jann: What is the craziest thing you have ever done?

Nancy: I taught for a month in Zimbabwe during a period of deadly civil unrest, and my family and I were almost kidnapped on our return to the airport afterwards.

Jann: If you could travel back in time with whom would you like to meet and why?

Nancy: I’d like to meet Christopher Wren (1632-1723, distantly related) and talk to him about his contributions as an architect in the rebuilding 52 churches in London after the Great Fire of 1666, his anatomical and autopsy work, and his connection to other events that happened in Great Britain during those years. (And my son’s name is Christopher Wren Brashear.)

Thank you Nancy for your time here today. It’s been an adventure getting to hear about Gunnysack Hell and your exciting life. Stay well!!

Enter new Rafflecopter drawing (ends March 7) by following Nancy Brashear on Amazon to enter (and meet new authors and their books, too): Enter Here.