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Love, Forever FREE Sampler

Why did I Begin to Write? By Connie Vines #Round Robin #08/18/2018

This month’s topic sent me down memory lane.

Yes, like most novelists, I penned stories at a young age, had the ferreting instincts of a seasoned reporter, and possessed a quirky way of looking at life (my writer’s voice).  I know it annoyed my family, friends, and teachers.  However, when anyone needed unbiased information, or a detailed replay of an event which had taken place in the long-ago-past, I was, and I still am, the go-to person.

As I’ve written before, I grew up in a nomadic, career naval family.  Attending an average of three schools per year, made me an observer of people.  So, it was only natural for me to have the building blocks for future fictional characters stored away in my subconscious. Knowing the life of a reporter was not a career for me (calls at 3:00 AM to drive to who-knows-where and see who-knows-what), I decided to write for magazines and other publications instead.

When my children were young, I wrote for Jr. Medical Detective, Humpty Dumpty Magazine, religious publications, and I had a column featuring writing-tips.

I joined Romance Writers of America when a close friend of mine (Thank you, Shirlee), suggested I attend a meeting in Orange County where her sister was co-president of the chapter.  This was during the ‘golden-age’ of romance writing.  I attended talks, workshops and screen writing classes—wonderful training grounds for genre fiction.

This is what brought me into the world of writing a 55.000 + word novel. 

I still write short-stories and novellas, but the challenge of plotting a novel is something I enjoy.  The opening hook, character motivation, plot-twists are exciting, even though the mental energy often results in sleepless nights. Still, the characters continue to speak to me.  I am compelled to tell the story.

My first romance, under a pen-name, was published by Kensington Publishing under the Precious Gems imprint. We, Precious Gems, have kept in touch over the years.
We also have a blog titled, “Gems in the Attic” that we each contribute to (my blog is the 1st Monday of each month).  Currently, nine of us have an eBook sampler titled “Love, Forever” downloadable for FREE.

https://www.amazon.com/Connie-Vines/e/B004C7W6PE
https://books2read.com/ap/n720JR/Connie-Vines


Please visit the other members of our Round Robin Blog and read what each one has to share!


Happy Reading!
Connie

Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1ke
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com
Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com
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New Release: Romance Sampler: Love, Forever

Free Download!

Amazon.com

This sampler collection of romance first chapters by established, award-winning, and bestselling romance authors is guaranteed to whet your happily-ever-after appetite and send you running back to Amazon to download the full novels to your hearts' content! This eclectic mix of sweet to steamy reads has you traveling from the past to the future, with historical, time travel, paranormal, contemporary, western, and futuristic romance beginnings. And we hope you will not stop at the beginning--and that you download and enjoy every one! 

Here is a sneak peek at the stories in Love, Forever: 

HEAT LIGHTNING (Book 1, Outlaw Ridge, Texas) by Joan Reeves 
Contemporary Romance. Amnesia stole her memory--her life! What Tessa doesn't remember may be the death of her. 

BREDE, (Rodeo Romance, Book 2) by Connie Vines 
Romantic Suspense. Trouble is something hard-edged rancher, Brede Kristensen, knows all about. A widower with a rambunctious young daughter, a ranch to run and an ornery cook who has just runoff, Brede doesn't need another problem. Yet in the midst of a violent storm, he finds an injured woman with no memory of her past--or the man who tried to kill her! 

FINDING MERCY (Return to Welcome #1) by Bonnie Edwards 
Contemporary Romance. Mercy Talbot left Welcome on a high, but she's returned a broke failure. She's messed up her career, love, and family ties. Now, she's found love and a new family. When her career is reborn, will she leave the man and child who've opened their hearts to her? 

TIME AND AGAIN by Nancy Fraser 
Time Travel/Romantic Suspense. Will Kate and Matt's accidental trip to the future bring them back together? Or, tear them even farther apart? 

THE GINGERBREAD HEART by Liz Flaherty 
Sweet Romance. Widowed Cass Logan has done her time as a caregiver. But when her boss, mystery-writer Eli Welcome, needs surgery, Cass is faced with following her heart...or walking away. 

ALL OF MY HEART by Sophie Jacobs, Book 1, A Harbor Falls Romance 
Contemporary Romance. Happy-go-lucky Suzie Hart has a perfect life and a secret. All goes well in her small town world until that secret rides up to her doorstep on a badass Harley and tosses her not-so-perfect world into some kind of big, bad tumble. 

KENTUCKY BLUE BLOODS by Jan Scarbrough 
Contemporary Romance. It's up to Reggie to save what's left of her family homestead and her proud Kentucky heritage. But when Parker shows up to collect his horses, all bets are off. Reggie's never been a gambler and Parker despises losing. But when Kentucky blue blood tangles with British blue blood, are they willing to take a gamble on love? 

ANORA'S PRIDE by Kathleen Lawless 
Western Historical romance. Anora King didn't plan to pretend she was married, but her new neighbors in Boulder Springs jumped to that conclusion. Jesse Quantrill is shocked to find himself lusting after a married woman. And wouldn't a romance between them be the town's biggest scandal ever? 

TWO DAYS UNTIL MIDNIGHT by Lynn Crandall 
Paranormal romance. A bird-shifter. A reclusive billionaire. A project that brings them together. A deadly curse that threatens to separate them forever. 

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE SEXY KIND by Karen Kelley 
Romantic Comedy. Mala didn't plan to crash land on Earth. She only wanted to sneak in for a few days and maybe find a man--a real one, but she encounters more than she bargained for with the town sheriff. 

NIGHT KISS by Maddie James 
Time Travel/Paranormal Romance. Claire Winslow vacations on an East Coast barrier island, content with her life and her potential future--until the illusion of a man walking the misty shore haunts her. Then one kiss--a beautiful, soulful, stolen kiss in the night--and her life changes forever.

How Do You Handle Violence/ Danger in a Story? By Connie Vines #RR #07/21/18

How do you handle/use violence, or any type of danger, in your stories?

Rhobin thank you, once again, for this month’s Round Robin topic.

The definition of Violence (dictionary.com)

• ·         swift and intense force:
• ·         the violence of a storm.
• ·         rough or injurious physical force, action, or treatment: to die by violence.
• ·         an unjust or unwarranted exertion of force or power, as against rights or laws: to take over a government by violence.

The definition of Danger (dictionary.com)

• ·         liability or exposure to harm or injury; risk; peril.
• ·         an instance or cause of peril; menace.
• ·         Obsolete. power; jurisdiction; domain.

Since I view reading in a way to relax, to solve a mystery, or learn what motivates people/humanity/etc., I am always selective in how, to what degree, I insert danger/or any degree of violence into my stories.

I am more inclined to have suspenseful elements in a story.  However, in a historical novel, including YA, there is a certain amount of violence which was part of life during any given time period.  I do not go into graphic detail but I can’t erase or change historical facts.  In my current release, Tanayia—Whisper upon the Water, set in 1880s Indian Territory, my heroine’s band is murdered and she in the only survivor (historical fact).  She is taken hostage and escapes (historical fact) only to be taken to a Native American Boarding School.  

My heroine is resourceful and a survivor.  My readers travel with her.  They clear for her; cry for her; and learn from her.  In the epilogue, Tanayia receives her hard-won happy-ending.

I strive to given my hero and heroines an upbeat ending, or at the very least, hope for a brighter future.

Please stop by and see what the other member of this month’s members of Round Robin have to say:

Connie

Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1i2

Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com

Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/

A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/

Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea

Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/

Anne de Gruchy https://annedegruchy.co.uk/category/blog/

Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com

Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/