Spotlight Interview: Helen B. Henderson, Featured Author By Connie Vines #AuthorInterview, #BWLPublishing, #Spotlight, #Fire and Amulet, #Dragon Shifter Romance

Today's Spotlight Interview is with author Helen B. Henderson

Welcome to Dishin' It Out!

Helen Thank you for appearing on my Friday Spotlight Interview

Please tell us about your latest release

Helen:  Fire and Amulet is a twist of a dragon shifter romance. Trelleir is a true dragon whose magic allows him to take on human form. The last of his kind, he longs for companionship. However, his only friend is not only a human female but a slayer. Sworn to kill all dragons, including him.

Summoned by the village council, Deneas is sent on a quest to kill any and all dragons, and cannot return without proof of her success. Finding the mythical creature and avoiding its deadly talons and fire are not her only problems. Another slayer follows with orders to kill her. As she retraces her slain mother's footsteps, Deneas learns the world is not what it seems.

Connie: What was the inspiration for this story?

Helen: I’ve always wanted to fly, either in the bright blue sky or the star-filled universe. The daughter of an airline flight engineer, I learned my numbers and letters helping update manuals and reading the instrument panel of an old Constellation. As a child lying in the grass of our New Jersey farm, I would identify airplanes from their silhouette or tail logo and watch clouds drift across the sky. At one time I studied aviation and considered a career as a pilot, so it is not surprising that I’ve written several works that feature creatures who play tag with the clouds. The latest tale to take to the skies is Fire and Amulet.

Connie: What would you like to see more/less of in the genre(s) you write?

Helen: As an author, I have to say less so there is less competition. As a reader, and to be fair to my readers, my answer has to be definitely more.

It turns out that I am a romantic at heart. And, I also like to travel amongst the stars and worlds of imagination. Although there are subclassifications to the fantasy and romance genres, a book can get misclassified when the fantasy and romance are equally balanced.

The problem is greater when considering a series. Windmaster meets the qualifications of romantic fantasy. The romantic expectation of boy meets girl, are torn apart, and then getting together is fulfilled in the setting of an epic quest. Then consider the next book in the Windmaster Novels, Windmaster Legacy. It can’t be a romance as Captain Ellspeth and the Archmage Lord Dal have already met and committed to each other.

The problem if the two books are listed in different genres is that it is harder for a reader to find them as a series because the entire series won’t necessarily be together.

Connie: What, in your opinion, makes a good writer?

Helen: I personally like well-defined characters, lots of action, and interesting settings or worlds. To be a good writer is one who can blend those things into a story that takes me out of my real-time and place and allows me to journey with the characters.

Connie: Do you have a favorite paragraph/line of dialogue in this novel?

Helen: One of the lighter moments involves Deneas’ summons before the village council. She was exercising in the garden when the town bully struts up and demands she accompany him. He threatens to forcibly carry her to which Deneas offers the equivalent of “make me.” Karst’s response follows.

Excerpt:

Without a word, Deneas spun and walked into the house.

She knew the leering Karst followed close behind, but refused to give him the satisfaction of acknowledging his presence. Mentally counting his steps, she waited until she figured he was on the doorstep. A backward kick slammed the door in his face. In the same movement, she spun and dropped the wide plank into the lock brackets.

Karst’s grunt from outside told her that the door stopped at the edge of his nose. This time Deneas allowed her to smile free rein.

Connie: Why did you choose this location for your novel?

Helen: I started writing the tale during summer and the 100-degree heat translated to the desert sand dunes around Deneas’ home village of Darceth.

Connie:  If you were forced to live the rest of your life as one of your characters, who would it be?

Helen: This is a loaded question. Although I tend to write happy endings, characters’ lives are complicated (and in a fantasy world that can mean anything from being wounded in a sword battle to spending time in a dungeon. Then there are the special characters such as the dragon soul twins of the Dragshi Chronicles or the magical equines that slip into the majority of my books. At the moment I think I would like to spend time as one of the horses Trellier befriended. The thought of freedom of responsibility and going where I want is alluring.

Connie: What are your hobbies? Do any of your characters share your hobbies/interests? Do any of your hobbies play a part in your novels?

Helen: I've dabbled in various types of handcrafts over the years. Painting and photography also sneaked in, especially during my time as a correspondent when I had to provide the photographic images to accompany the articles. Time restrictions and arthritis have reduced the amount of time devoted to them as has the amount of time, effort, and energy given to my role as a caregiver.

The closest my characters have come to having a hobby similar to mine is Captain Ellspeth. She played a flute, composed music, and was a gifted artist with pen and paper. Among Lord Dal’s skills was working with wood.

Connie: Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?

Helen:  A few thoughts about me and my writing. 

My writing crosses genres and reflects the contrasts of my heritage as well as that of my Gemini sign. I describe myself as a tour guide to the stars, the Old West, and worlds of imagination. Yes, I do travel in time, at least via research, re-enactments, and archaeological digs.

I love to hang out with mages, ride magical equines, and fly with dragons.

A final thought. I love to hear from readers. If you choose to write to me at helenhenderson.author@gmail.com, please put the title of one of my books in the subject line so I’ll know you’re not sending spam.

I hope readers will consider Fire and Amulet. More of my works, including the Windmaster Novels, can be found on my website listed below.

Thank you for having me.

It was my pleasure.  

Thank you for sharing your newest release with us!

Find Sales Sites for Fire and Amulet at Books2Read https://books2read.com/fire-and-amulet/ 

Find Helen online at:

Website:  https://helenhenderson-author.blogspot.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/HelenHenderson.author

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/history2write

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/777491.Helen_Henderson

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Helen-Henderson/e/B001HPM2XK

Happy Reading, Everyone!

Connie

Lucinda Race--Guest Blogger, "The Matchmaker and the Marine"!

As a life long fan of romantic fiction Lucinda spent hours reading novels and dreaming of one day becoming a writer. As life twists and turns, she started writing nonfiction articles but longed to turn to my true passion, romantic fiction. After developing the story line for The Loudon Series, it was time to start living my dream.  -- excerpt from GoodReads.

Let's welcome, Lucinda Race as our guest blogger this week!

Lucinda is introducing us to the hero of her lasted release, "The Matchmaker and The Marine"

Character interview The Matchmaker and The Marine. 

Adam Bell is in his late thirties – he had to retire from the Marines after a serious injury in Iraq and he’s a very old soul.

He had a wonderful childhood growing up in the country fishing and just having fun. After he returned from Iraq his girlfriend, Anita, broke up with him and he discovers she really wasn’t the woman for him. But it still leaves a scar on his heart.

He is intensely passionate about his friends and family and gladly lends a helping hand to all. He has a kind and generous heart. Adam’s biggest fear is letting someone, a woman, get close to him and be rejected again. The scars he carries are physical and emotional after returning from his final tour of duty. If you asked Adam what was his best and worst things that ever happened to him, he would say the day he took his oath to become a Marine and the day he had to retire from the Marines. Semper Fi.

Something I was surprised to learn is that Adam has a soft spot for kittens and there are a few tender scenes in the book that shows just what a big softie he really is.

If I had to describe Adam in one word it would be, steadfast.

Melinda Phillips is a widow in her late thirties. She moved to the small town of Chester several years after her husband passed away. She wanted the intimacy of a small town where she could remain on the perimeter of life. She’s had a difficult time moving forward as her husband was what she believed, her once in a lifetime love. Effectively, she has closed her to heart to letting anyone close so she won’t have to deal gut wrenching pain again. Melinda’s strong desire to help people find love is coupled with her training as a therapist and her finely honed intuition.

Melinda would tell her the best day in her life was falling in love with her late husband and the worst was the day he died. She has been stuck in limbo for a long time.

I was pleased to learn that underneath Melinda’s cool facade she is really longing to fill her life with love which is why she chose to surround herself with couples and weddings. At heart, Mel is a romantic. When I think of Melinda Phillips the one word that comes to mind is, authentic.

Thank you Lucinda Race for guest blogging today at "Dishin' It Out"!

I've ordered my copy of "The Matchmaker and the Marine" and look forward to reading your latest romance novel!  

Visit Lucinda's website

Why did I Begin to Write? By Connie Vines

Why did I begin to write? 

I, like most writers, am asked this constantly.

I don't mind, people are naturally curious.

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 Romance Writers of America's local Chapter.  This was during the ‘golden-age’ of romance writing. Fabio was the must have cover-model of the day, "Romancing the Stone" was the must-see at the movie theaters.   I attended talks, workshops and screen writing classes—wonderful training grounds for genre fiction. And was mentored by wonderfully talented and nurturing published romance novelists.

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, “Romance Gems” that we each contribute to (my blog is the 13th of each month).

Currently, I'm working on an anthology, set in New Orleans, tilted Gumbo Ya Ya, to be released by my publisher BWL Publishing, Inc. August, 2020.  The 2nd in my Sassy and Fun Fantasy novella, Bell, Book, and Gargoyle, will be released, October 2020.

Books 3 and 4 of my Rodeo Romance series will be available in early 2021.  After all, what woman doesn't love a cowboy?

Happy Reading!

Connie

Our summer mini-heat wave turned into several cold, windy, and surprisingly rainy days.

While I'm composing this blog post, I'm indulging in teapot of Early Grey English Tea.
One lump of sugar, no milk, please.

My ebooks are on sale!  It's a BIG, BIG SALE at Smashwords!

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/vinesbwl

Also available at these find online vendors:

  Books 2 Read

Bookswelovepublishing

Walmart.com

Amazon.com

Liz Flaherty, Author and Guest Blogger!!

Liz, welcome to Dishin' It Out!

 Liz Flaherty is a USA Today bestselling author. She's also a popular Harlequin author noted for her heartwarming and wholesome romance novels, and she is rapidly becoming a hybrid author with her indie published romances.



It’s funny how some things change as you get older. Not all things are funny, of course—memory, hearing, joints, anyone?—but things in writing. In stories.


In my early days of reading and writing romance, not only did I need a Happily Ever After (which I still do), I needed it to be in the four-bedroom, two-bath house with a picket fence and a cat on the porch. And kids. Because that was, for the most part, my life. And I liked it. I liked it a lot.

Then I got older. My heroines did, too, and I met up with Women’s Fiction and had to concede that there was a new love in my reading life. I couldn’t get enough of reading about women whose stories were told differently. They fell in love and lived happily ever after, but their journeys were about much more than that. Their heartaches were about more than unrequited love. They were taking care of elderly parents, trying to raise teenagers without going completely mad, hoping to have more money than month―at least sometimes.

Were they all this way? No. But a lot of them were, and suddenly there were heroines I could identify with. My friend Nan Reinhardt laughs at me because I’m exhausted and bored by reading about rich people, but the truth is—just like when I wanted that happy ending to have the house, fence, cat, and kids—I want to put myself in the heroine’s place.

Even when I write and read Women’s Fiction, though, it always crosses over to romance. They are, actually, the same thing to me.

Enter Carol, who is a beautician. She owns her own shop, the Clip Joint, in Peacock, Tennessee. She’s not rich, tiny, or beautiful. But she’s a wonderful friend. A loving daughter. A generous person. Her life isn’t what she intended or even hoped for, but it’s good.

And then one day in the cemetery, Steven Elliot rides in front of her old Pontiac on a bicycle, and that life is changed forever.

I hope you like The Healing Summer.

BLURB:

It’s a summer romance--what happens come September?

When Steven Elliott accidentally rides his bike into Carol Whitney’s car at the cemetery, the summer takes on new and exciting possibilities. Long friendship wends its way into something deeper when their hearts get involved. Feelings neither of them had expected to experience again enrich their days and nights.  But what happens when the long summer ends? When Carol wants a family and commitment and a future, Steven isn't so sure. He’s had his heart broken before—can he risk it again?

Excerpt:

There had been other “hook-ups,” both during break-up times and since Promise’s death, but he had never given serious thought to waking up with anyone he slept with—at least, not on a consistent basis. No one ever asked or expected him to be faithful. No one called him her boyfriend. No one admitted they had to pee like a racehorse—it was as if the women he’d been with didn’t have bodily functions other than orgasm.

Not that exclusivity was a problem. It wasn’t at all. 

“I don’t need you to fall in love with me or promise me lifelong loyalty or any of that. I don’t even expect you to consider our relationship a…well, a relationship, but I’m not much into that kind of adventure, either.” She grinned sheepishly. “I know I sound like a prude, but so be it.”

He knew she was no prude. She was exciting and sexy and so much fun he sometimes he went days on end thinking he might actually be able to live without Promise. Not just exist, but live, with a large part of his heart intact.

“I want to be your boyfriend,” he said. “No class ring—I hocked it to buy beer when I was a freshman in college. But we’ll sit together at all the Little League games and the Cup and Cozy and I’ll even buy—if I have any money. When you’re taking care of Reese and pretending you’re not, I’ll pretend right along with you. What do you think?”

“I think you have your eye on my Mustang.”

“Nah, it’s too little—hurts my knees—though I probably look good in it. Not as good as I do on a motorcycle, but not bad. I’ll be an excellent boyfriend.” He lifted her hand, turning the chain he’d given her round and round. “Boyfriends give charm bracelets.”

“Well, since you did give me the bracelet and I love it, it’s okay with me if you’re my boyfriend. For the summer anyway.” She leaned in to kiss him, her hand on his shoulder, and he caught her wrist just to touch her. He loved her skin.

“You don’t think I’ll stay in Peacock, do you?” He held her gaze.

“No.” But she didn’t seem unhappy—not even a little bit sad. “You’re too—I don’t know—intense, maybe. You move too fast. No one does that here. You know that. Besides, you’ve been gone too long. Other than a few weeks some summers and the awful time while Promise was sick, you haven’t actually lived here since you left for Vanderbilt. And I don’t think you’ve wanted to, have you?”

She was right—until this summer, he hadn’t wanted to come back here. But that was before finding Miss Abigail’s. Before Jamie Scott died.

Before Carol.

“Dillon was away for years,” he said. “He didn’t even come and visit after his folks retired to Arizona, and look at him now. You couldn’t pry him off Lawyers Row with a crowbar.”

Carol shook her head. “Dillon came home and found Grace. Had she not been here, he wouldn’t be either.”

But you’re here. Steven didn’t say the words out loud. He was startled to have even thought them.

She checked the clock on the oven. “It’s time for me to go. I told Grace I’d pick them up at ten. When are you guys leaving?”

“As soon as everyone kisses his wife goodbye. I’ll follow you into town and kiss you at the same time so you won’t feel out of place or anything.”

She went to the sink, rinsing the coffee carafe and their cups and draping the dishcloth neatly over the sink divider. “That’s really big of you. You’re not going to throw your cell phone away or anything like they did in that movie, are you?”

He picked up her suitcase to follow her out the door. “Nope. Why? Are you going to worry about me?”

“Heavens, no.” She opened the Mustang’s trunk for him. “I’m not your mother.” She gave a little toss of her ponytail. “I’m your girlfriend.”


Bio:

Retired from the post office and married to Duane for…a really long time, USA Today bestselling author Liz Flaherty has had a heart-shaped adult life, populated with kids and grands and wonderful friends. She admits she can be boring, but hopes her curiosity about everyone and everything around her keeps her from it. She likes traveling and quilting and reading. And she loves writing.




Find her at: lizkflaherty@gmail.com and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorlizflaherty/ and Twitter: https://twitter.com/LizFlaherty1




Buy links: 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X8DGPM6/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i6

B & N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-healing-summer-liz-flaherty/1133411458

Google Books: https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Healing_Summer.html?id=kj64DwAAQBAJ

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-healing-summer

I'm blogging at Romance Gems today!

Remember, it's Friday the 13th-- a good day for romance!

Find out why.

The Rafflecopter and March give-a-way is in full swing, too.

Don't miss out

Writing Around You Day Job by Connie Vines

It’s a 5:00 world, at least that is what the popular “Vogues” song from yesteryear (1965) tells us.  In 2003, the song was reborn via the movie, “Big Fish”.

Up every morning just to keep a job
I gotta fight my way through the hustling mob

Sounds of the city pounding in my brain
While another day goes down the drain
(Yeah, yeah, yeah) but it's a five o'clock world when the whistle blows
No-one owns a piece of my time

As most writers know, writing hours are made after you complete your day job.  You time is also doled out in little snippets while watching your child’s water polo practice, Harp recital, or while boiling pasta for the evening meal.

For those of us who may find writing until 1:00 AM and having the alarm set for 5:00 AM a bit fatiguing.  It seems we are keeping good company.

Some of these stories you may be familiar with, others may come as a surprise.
He may be a renowned author of over 50 novels, but Stephen King wasn't always a full-time writer — his time as a high school janitor helped inspire the novel Carrie. King originally threw the first draft of the story in the trash, but his wife Tabitha fished it out and told him to keep going because she wanted to know how it ended.

Before she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee worked as an airline reservations clerk in New York. She eventually quit when her friends helped support her financially so she could finally write full time.

He's a well-known author now, but before Nicholas Sparks wrote The Notebook, he worked odd jobs, including selling dental products over the phone.

She was a talented science-fiction writer and awarded the MacArthur Fellowship — but before her success as a writer, Octavia Butler worked as a potato chip inspector. She also worked as a dishwasher and a telemarketer, using these day jobs to support her writing. And they really were day jobs, because Butler would get up at 2 a.m. to do her writing before going in to work! Amazing.

She's known as a mystery novelist; Agatha Christie was once an assistant apothecary. She reportedly knew a lot about poisons, which was no doubt helpful as she created the characters of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Just goes to show that you never know what knowledge will come in handy later.

Bram Stoker wrote Dracula while working as the manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London, imagining Henry Irving, a famous actor and owner of the theater, playing the vampire himself.

So how about you?  What is/was your day job(s)?

Does your day job get your creative ideas flowing?

I work in the field of education, students, staff, and events give me ideas—or at least creative thoughts.

Sometimes, after a long day. It will take me five minutes to write a sentence.
Five minutes of staring into space until the idea of writing an opening line about how long it took me to think of an opening line popped into my head.

In the grand scheme of things, five minutes isn't all that long. But for a writer, five minutes for nine words can add up.

Writing takes time. A whole lot of time.

I always imagined I'd write my first book in a vacation hideaway overlooking the beach or cabin in the Grand Tetons.   Unfortunately, most first-time authors won't get to live out this literary fantasy.
In fact, circumstances will most likely be the opposite: writing during off-hours, scribbling notes in public, enjoying less sleep than you'd like and slowly losing your mind while trying to maintain personal relationships a full-time job and run a household.

Say you've finally found a quiet hour to yourself. You know you should write, but you're tired from work and are only on season four of “Game of Thrones.” What were once simple choices become tormenting tests of will power and resolution.

As George Orwell famously stated, “Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness.”

In his book “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft,” Stephen King shared a similar though more concise sentiment: “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”

So how do I stay on track to reach my deadline?
I’ve learned to say “no.”

I also participate online instead of driving to Orange County Romance Writers or L.A.R.A. monthly meetings; I sign-up for online classes.  I miss interacting with other writers, and my plotting group, but talking isn’t going to write my novel.

This doesn't mean you have to say no to everything, but writing is always going to require compromise.

A large part of writing for me is preparing my environment. I like to have a cup of coffee by my side, music playing. I prefer to write from 8:00 to 11:30 PM every other day. On Fridays I write until 2:00 AM, Saturdays after the gym and running errands.  I’ll write for a few hours, then spend time on other tasks, until about 8:00 PM I will write until 10 or 11:00. (though is writing until 2:00 this morning). 

Sunday, unless I have a blog post due/or am on a deadline, I do not write.  I may edit my week's work in the evening but that is the extent of my writing.  This is family time for me.

Remember: If you keep waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect time, you’ll never get anything done.

Pencil in you time to write on your calendar, or task journal.  Honor that time like you do all of your other commitments.

You may find your day job fits in quite nicely into your novel.  After all, if you have life experience, no research in needed.

Happy Reading and Writing,

What Do I Read?

What do I read?  This is the topic for this month's Round Robin discussion.

In my case, the questions should be, "What don't I read?

I read anything and everything within my line of sight.  If you show be a book, magazine article, odds are, I will ask if I can 'see' (meaning hold it so I can see the print).  If it is interesting, I will probably walk away absorbed.  Later, I will return the item.  I will apologize and offer you something  (pen, pencil, bookmark, perhaps a cookie).

However, this is not what Robin had in mind, I assume, when this topic was posted :-).

I never read a novel in the genre I'm currently writing.  This is because I read for enjoyment.  When I am working on a historical novel, I'm researching--therefore working.  This is way I do not read historical fiction during that time frame.

Right now I'm working on a contemporary novel and a fantasy novella.  So, I'll probably re-read Jane Eyre, or some historical time period via the Internet.  Victorian era, is likely or my personal fave, Ancient Egypt.

I enjoy print books and ebooks.  I can't quite get into the audio books.  I do have an old Kindle that does text-to-voice.  It is a robotic sound, but I do not find it distracting.  If I wish for sound effects, I'll turn in a movie or television show.  I do enjoy Podcasts--though this probably doesn't fall under the topic of reading :-).

I did peek at Dr. Bob's post and amended mine.  Dr. Bob doesn't write romance because of the 'romantic myth'.

I plot by the rules of "The Hero's Journey". (Dr. Joseph Campbell).  I can't say I believe in the Cinderella and the happily ever after, in a true sense, either.  What I do like is the 'magical' emotional world of a romance.  The need for emotional fulfillment is what a romance novel offers (though mine often deal with social issues).  When a woman works full-time while raising her family, married or unmarried, she is often emotionally worn-out.  Reading a romance or gentle fantasy novel (unlike an action/suspense/horror novel) will refill her emotional cup (fill and emotional void).  Providing her with the emotional re-charge to face the world the next day/ after a 30-lunch, etc.

Positive thoughts.

Sometimes we need to believe the world is/will be a kinder place, a simpler place, or a place with beautiful book covers (had to toss in my personal pet-peeve), to get us through a rough-spot, or give us a moment of inner piece.

I believe reading fiction provides a recharge.  Life can be so draining, physically and emotionally.

What harm is there in enjoying a happily-ever-after?  After all, you have spent several hours with your new-found friends, and you wish them well.

Happy Reading,

Connie

Please Blog Hop down the list and read what these wonderful authors have to say!

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Anne de Gruchy https://annedegruchy.co.uk/category/blog/
Heather Haven http://heatherhavenstories.com/blog/
Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog 
Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com
Heather Haven http://heatherhavenstories.com/blog/
Fiona Mcgier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Dr. Bob http://wp.me/p3Xihq-11v
Kay Sisk http://www.kaysisk.com/blog
Skay Taylor http://www.askyetaylor.com/blogging_by_the_sea/view/542
Rachel Kosinki http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
Anne de gruchy https://annedegruchy.co.uk/category/blog/https://annedegruchy.co.uk/category/blog/

Everyone Wants to Write a Book by Connie Vines #Round Robin

Topic for January: Everybody wants to write a book, but most do not. 
Writing is hard work. What got you started, and what helps you get through a complete story?

How many times have you heard someone say, “Someday I’m going to write a book?”  Many a time, I’m certain.  However, most do not.

Why? Because writing is hard work.

What got me started?  Like most children, I loved reading, drawing, and listening to the oral family history spoken by my grandparents.  I also like to write stories (not particularly good stories) but for a second grader I did have a handle on the concept of plotting.  Thinking back, I unnerved adults with my pointed interview questions, and thoughts about the meaning of life and life-after-death vs death-after-death.  Picture:  Tuesday Addams wearing glasses and constantly grumbling about receiving yet, another stupid doll instead of a filling cabinet for her birthday.

When, exactly, did I start and complete my first novel?

While I wrote short-stories, nonfiction articles for publication during my twenties, I didn’t get serious about completing a novel until thirties. My children were in school and I worked part-time.  That gave me a block of free time to write (vs the scribbling on 3 x 5 index cards when I was cooking dinner or a note pad during a child’s 1 hour nap).  I was serving on my church board when the choir soloist told me her sister was a co-president of the Orange County Chapter of RWA (Romance Writers of America).  At the time, I hadn’t every thought of writing a romance.  I wrote for the YA and middle school market and dabbled in historical fiction, but Shirlee convinced me that the networking and workshops would be beneficial to me.  She was correct.

Attending monthly meetings/workshops, exchanging rough drafts with my critique members during lunch, and input from the multi-published members gave me the confidence to persevere.  It also made me crawl out of bed after my husband left for work (at 3:00 in the morning) and write before getting my children off to school.
I also discovered that I couldn’t give up my YA stories while I found my footing in a new market.

“So, what did Connie do?”  you ask.

I work two novels at once—which I still do to this very day.

Crazing making?  Yes!

Writing romance isn’t easy.  Strong, well-developed characters, good plot (and multiple sub plots), sharp dialogue, and emotion—lots of emotion.

Writing is addictive.  The story unfolds, the characters present themselves, and away the writer goes—into a new Universe.

What makes me complete my novel/story?

The best way for me to describe the feel is I am driven to finish the story.  Native Americans say the story chooses the Storyteller.  It the Storyteller’s responsibly to bring the story to life.

Happy Reading!

My Rodeo Romances (Lynx and Brede) are on sale this month (click on my Amazon Author Page link).
Everyone needs a little Zombie Valentine Romance, don’t they?  Free Read: “Here today, Zombie Tomorrow” on Amazon.com


Stop by each Round Robin participants’ blog.  Everyone has a tale to tell.

Connie

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com
Heather Haven http://heatherhavenstories.com/blog/
Dr. Bob Rich http://wp.me/p3Xihq-SK
Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/
Victoria Chatham http://victoriachatham.blogspot.ca
Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com