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Author

RELEASE DAY: “Plan Cee”

March 8, 2017 1 Comment

“Plan Cee” by Hilary Grossman

Blurb: Would you abandon your present for a second chance at your past?

Cecelia Reynolds has spent most of her life trying to forget the commitment-phobic man who broke her heart. It wasn’t easy, but eventually she did it, or so she thought…

As Cecelia and her husband gather for a friend’s wedding, her perfect world is thrown into complete turmoil. Even though it’s been twenty years since she last laid eyes on Keith Emerson, all it takes is one glance for her to feel emotions she thought were long gone. When Keith ends up officiating the ceremony, she quickly realizes his message of love is directed at her, not the happy couple. But can she believe him?

We live our entire lives thinking we know ourselves. But do we ever really?

As secrets and lies cause Cecelia’s world to spin completely out of control, she is forced to seek advice from the most unlikely ally. In the process, she must confront the demons of her past and the events that shaped her into the woman she is now. Will she finally learn the real meaning of love, friendship, and family?

While this book is a sequel to Plan Bea, it also reads as a standalone.

**Get your copy of “Plan Cee” now!: Amazon

“Plan Bea” by Hilary Grossman

Blurb: We live our entire lives thinking we know those closest to us. But do we ever really?

On the outside, Annabel O’Conner has it all – the perfect husband, two adorable children, an amazing job, and a mother from hell! Just when she gives up trying to regain her overbearing mother’s love, an unexpected call turns her world around and makes Annabel question everything she believes about her life. 

Could falling in love give a cold, stubborn, and selfish woman a second chance to open her heart back up to her family?

Beatrice Buchanan has spent more years than she can remember distancing herself from everyone close to her. She barely has a relationship with her grandchildren. The only time she manages to have a one way conversation with her daughter is during her weekly fifteen-minute commute to the nail salon. When Bea meets Walter on a cruise she realizes there may be more to life than designer clothes, killer handbags, and impressing the ladies at her posh country club.

As the mother and daughter duo team up to plan “Long Island’s wedding of the year” they confront the secrets and lies that have defined them. This humorous emotionally honest women’s contemporary fiction novel will tug at your heartstrings and the twist ending will shock you.

“Although a light read, the subject matter was very sad at times and I found myself choking back tears, but in a good way! It was so authentically heart wrenching yet often very funny too. The characters were so well fleshed out and three dimensional – no one was perfect and no one was fatally flawed – like real life. I thought the twist was genius!”

– Meredith Schorr Best Selling Author

**Get your copy of “Plan Bea” now!: Amazon

*****

**GIVEAWAY**

**Click HERE for your chance to win a $25.00 Starbucks Gift Card!

*****

**About the author: By day, Hilary Grossman works in the booze biz. By night she hangs out with her “characters.” She has an unhealthy addiction to denim and high heel shoes. She’s been known to walk into walls and fall up stairs. She only eats spicy foods and is obsessed with her cat, Lucy. She loves to find humor in everyday life. She likens life to a game of dodge ball – she tries to keep many balls in the air before they smack her in the face. She lives on Long Island.

**Contact Hilary: Blog   Facebook   Twitter   Instagram

Filed Under: Plan Cee-Release Day Tagged With: Author, Books, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance, Hilary Grossman, Plan Bea, Plan Cee, Release Day, Women's Fiction

INTERVIEW with Beth Albright, author of “Stardust in Dixie”

April 8, 2016 1 Comment

INTERVIEW TOUR

BethAlbrightPic**About author, Beth Albright: Beth Albright is the author of the award-winning, best-selling series The Sassy Belles, and the nationally best-selling series In Dixie. After spending nearly 15 years as a talk radio host in talk radio, acting as a principal character on the soap opera, DAYS OF OUR LIVES, owning her own acting school and children’s theater, and raising a son who was a nationally ranked figure skater, Beth returned to her roots; storytelling. “In the south, we are good at stories. We hold them close like fine diamonds, polish them up like precious silver, and we hand them down like a priceless heirloom to our young with the hope that they will tell our stories for us when we are buried beneath the red clay of home.” Except from Southern Exposure, Tales From My Front Porch. (Beth’s Memoirist book of essays.)

It’s just what we do down south, pass on our stories,” she says.

Though Beth has had a remarkable career, literally from New York City to Hollywood, she has never forgotten where she came from, and what she loves: The Deep South!

Beth is also a screenwriter, a voice-over talent for commercials, and a nationally known speaker and emcee. Beth lives with her TV producer husband, award winning promotions and branding executive, Ted Ishler. Her son, graduating with Distinction from Berkeley in the top 10%, is on his way to graduate school in the fall.

**Contact Beth: Website   Facebook   Twitter


INTERVIEW

Describe yourself in five words: Loving, tenacious, cuddly, ambitious, sassy.

Tell us about your writing/editing/publishing process: I learned not long ago from my dear friend Robyn Carr that I am a pantster—not a plotter. I write by the seat of my pants. I have tried in vain to write with an outline or even bullet points on a legal pad and it is useless. I love getting into the heads of my characters and feeling their story unfold. I have so many “ah ha” moments this way! The outlines always make me feel so trapped. I really hate them so much! So I just sit down and meld into one with my heroine and write for hours. She is telling me the story and sometimes I can’t write fast enough! I listen and see the surroundings and feel as though I am out of my own body and into the story living it right along with her. I write with a word count goal for the day—usually 3-4 thousand if I can. Toward the end that number increases naturally because I know exactly what I want to say. It takes me about 2-3 months and when I am done, I have a margarita! (and a bubble bath—usually at the same time!) I take a few days off then begin editing—which for me means decorating and smoothing, adding in things and descriptions I want to make sure I include. After my smoothing and decorating are done, usually 7 LONG days, I hand it over to my proofers and then edit from their notes one more time. I do one last read of the entire manuscript and smooth it out some more then turn it in to my formatter. And have another margarita, of course!

Hard/paperbacks or eBooks?  I LOVE the feel of a book in my hands. Paperback or hardback. I say this while I have both an iPad AND a kindle fire! I am trying to convert—but actual books are my friends. I love seeing the bookcases filled and over-flowing, and stacks of them on my furniture.

Salty or sweet? I love sugar, but salt is my go-to taste for snacks. Olives, pickles, salty margaritas…J And of course I love sweets, salty caramel, salty chocolate…

Where do you get ideas for your books and how do you come up with their titles? Ideas are lurking everywhere! I get about 5 or 6 ideas a day! I had two just before bed last night and they kept me up for hours! Every person I see, every gate I pass, every old house— stories, stories everywhere! I also draw on my real-life, especially my past growing up down south in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was my original inspiration to write—homesickness, perpetual homesickness! The women represent the women who raised me after my dad died suddenly in a car crash when I was only four years old. They were and always are my inspiration. They are hilarious and strong and oh, so sassy! The titles are always wandering around in my head, many times before stories pop up so I have a list of them I keep in case I need them.

Do you consider social media a help or a hinder? It can be both if not used well and I am still learning! Every author uses social media these days and there are SO many sites!! But if I don’t use them I won’t reach any readers. It is just a fact of the world we live in. I am a Facebook girl, and am barely starting Twitter—now I learned I need to be using Instagram and Pinterest, which I am, sparsely….Lord help me. It barely leaves me time to write! I like it for the simple reason that it keeps me connected with my readers—my favorite part of writing!

If you could meet any author who would it be? Zelda Fitzgerald, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. I am such a fan of the ex-pats in Paris I want to know them all! A living author I would love to sit and chat with in person is Kristin Hannah. She is not just a writer, she is a wordsmith—stringing words together like threads of a fine silk scarf. I want to be that kind of writer.

Do you keep up with anyone from Days of Our Lives? I wish I could say yes, but I don’t. I knew several so well and called them friends but I left due to complications in early pregnancy. I was so into my own life and really never wanted to return to Hollywood. I had a stroke, and my son came home on a heart monitor and I had moved back to Alabama to be near my family for the birth so I didn’t keep up with anyone. Most of the ones who were on with me have all moved on as well.

What’s a day like on your world? BUSY! I have a million things swirling in my mind so I get up and get going. I am a list maker so I make my lists in the mornings. I call my mom before I start anything else. She is homebound in Alabama and I miss her so!  I plan supper for my family then I work on promotions, social media, blogs, website etc…then write. I stop and make a decent dinner nearly every single night (I have spoiled them beyond belief.) I do laundry and straighten up so when everyone gets home, it all feels in control so they can get calm and switch gears and get ready to eat. After dinner we all clean again—(I am a total OCD clean freak) and I may write again into the wee hours after they are doing their own evening things, sometimes after they go to bed. Some days I have to get out so I run around and shop and dream and make notes and do what my agent calls, “fill the well.” I need to find a way to make a living shopping!! Especially at make-up counters!

Do you have any writing rituals? I have a chair in my bedroom that is so deep and I love to write on my laptop sitting there. My cat wraps herself around my head on the cushion and rubs her head against mine. If she licks me, especially on the cheek while I’m writing, I know that book will make a best-seller list. I know, I am crazy, but I do have superstitions!

Every author must have (a): Pet! Writing is a lonely life. I was a radio talk show host forever. I love talking and I love people! I do miss that world. So if I didn’t have my dog and cats I would be nuts. They are my company and my friends as I create my worlds. They always agree with me and offer unconditional love all day long. I cannot imagine working without them around my head and at my feet.

What are you working on right now? Having just released my new book, STARDUST IN DIXIE, book 4 in my IN DIXIE series, I am working on my preparations to attend the fabulous Barbara Vey Readers Appreciation Weekend in Milwaukee at the end of the month. Then I will be heading to my beloved Alabama for a huge book release party and Kentucky Derby Hat competition! That book party will be a doozy, complete with mint juleps! After that, I will be working on a fabulous cookbook, “Southern Comforts, A Southern Girl’s Guide To Cooking & All Things Southern.” That comes out this fall. After that, my Christmas novella will be out at Thanksgiving to end this current series, A Christmas Wedding In Dixie.


AUTHOR INTERVIEW TOUR

**Click HERE to see more stops on Beth’s interview tour!

Filed Under: Beth Albright - Interview Tagged With: Author, Beth Albright, Books, Interview, Stardust in Dixie

The Key To My Heart

July 14, 2014 1 Comment

TheKeyToMyHeartCoverPic

“The Key to My Heart” by Nikki Lynn Barrett

Blurb:

One dream fails, a passion burnt out…

With no set plan and a desire to find a passion, Blaine Grant hightailed it out of Harmony’s Echo a year out of high school to find herself. Finding a passion didn’t come as easily to her as it did for others she knew. Now, Blaine has come home for good with mistakes she’d like to forget, but the past doesn’t want to forget her. Everyone thought she’d been selfish to not come back when she was needed the most, but Blaine never let anyone know the emotional hell she went through.

Another dream is just beginning to see the light…

Randy Hughes has always been the shy guy until he discovered his love of music. It wasn’t until joining the band that he grew out of his shyness. The oldest sibling and the only boy, he’s pressured by family expectations to set a good example. He’s the one who takes everyone in when they need it, and he’s the one whose own dreams are ignored. Now that big things are happening for the Baby Stetson band, Randy has to decide how to handle his family when his dreams are on the line…

A friendship is changing.

One spur of the moment, impulsive move leads Randy and Blaine into a dire situation that may bring them together, or pull them apart, just when he’s finally able to gather the courage to tell Blaine how he’s felt about her all these years…

Revisit the characters you’ve come to know in small town Harmony’s Echo, as more changes settle upon them.

Excerpt of “The Key To My Heart”

They still set the Ferris wheel in the perfect position. From the top you could see the whole town of Harmony’s Echo.

As soon as they were secure, their hands connected once again. Neither said a word, just exchanged a smile. For a split second, Blaine wondered what was up with her. She felt like … Hell, she felt like a teenager. Young, carefree, finding that one guy to make her heart flutter. The one guy she never, ever expected to feel that way about. Changes were in the air, and now those changes included new feelings for Randy.

Slowly, they were lifted in the air, coming to a jerky stop here and there to let other passengers on.

“I’ve always loved the view up here,” Blaine mused softly as they went higher. “I used to be afraid of how high we were. Every little squeak made me think we were going to fall. But then I looked over, saw the whole town and I forgot everything else.”

“Blaine Grant, actually afraid?” Randy teased. “I always thought you were a bit fearless.”

She faced him. “Me, fearless? You’re kidding, right?”

He shook his head. “Nope. I really did.”

“You’re crazier than I thought,” she blurted. Fearless. Ha. Funny. One of the biggest fears she had was never finding her place in the world. Silly, maybe. Stupid, possibly. It was one she’d never really expressed to anyone, which was why she pushed to hard to find something she was good at and could turn into a passion. Surrounded by family and friends who knew what they wanted early, like Jameson and Avery with their music, Blaine felt a little left out.

“What would a beautiful, headstrong, confident woman like you have to fear?” Randy squeezed her hand. Was it her imagination, or did he scoot even closer to her?

She licked her lips, all too aware of how her body reacted to him.

Her mouth worked against her brain, and once again, she blurted out another truth she never wanted to admit to anyone. “Not finding where I belong.”

The words hung in the air. Randy blinked, but for what felt like an eternity didn’t say anything. The wheel moved again, taking them higher. Breaking the tension, she stared down, wondering how many more cars were left to fill with riders before this thing went into full swing. The people walking below were so tiny, they reminded her of ants scurrying around in an ant farm.

“Where do you want to belong?” Randy finally asked.

“What’s with the philosophical responses?” Blaine shot back, totally caught off-guard by what he’d asked. What got her the most was how she didn’t know the answer.

Randy shrugged. Thankfully he didn’t seem offended. “I’m the oldest of a bunch of sisters. I tend to ask a lot of those kinds of questions.”

“And they still go to you for advice?” She cracked a smile.

“Maybe I trap them. Kind of like how you’re all the way up here with me and no way out, and now you have that question in your mind.” Randy reached across and brushed her hair away from her face.

“When did you become so evil?” Her voice came out hoarse. Blood rushed to her ears. All she could think about were his lips. So sexy. So … Oh God, what was happening to her? Was she starting to fall for Randy Hughes?

“Apparently the same time you’ve not been fearless. We’re seeing sides of the other we haven’t before.”

Wasn’t that the truth?

“We’re totally missing the view.” But she never took her eyes off Randy’s face.

“We could always ride again.”

Yeah. They could. And right now, she could lean over and…

Holy hell. Randy beat her to it. His lips crashed over hers. Blaine’s sigh caught in her throat as she closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around Randy’s neck and kissed him back.

TheLoveAndMusicInTexasSeriesButton

“The Key To My Heart” is a standalone novel set in the series, but you’ll learn about the other characters featured in this story as well. “Baby Stetson” is book one, featuring Avery and Lucas, and book 2 is “The Melody In My Head,” which is Jameson and Melody’s story.

“Baby Stetson” is currently part of the Pasisonate Kisses boxed set with nine other authors and available for 99 cents. “The Melody In My Head” is currently $1.99!

**Buy “The Key To My Heart”: Amazon   Barnes & Noble

NikkiLynnBarrettPic**About Nikki Lynn Barrett: I’m an avid lover of books. I’ve been writing as far back as I can remember, completing my first “book” by fifth grade in one of those one subject spiral notebooks. I have a passion for music, photography, jewelry and all things creative. I live in Arizona with my husband and son, but dream of being somewhere much colder and stormier. For now, I’ll have to live that life through my characters and stick it out with the summer heat.

**Contact Nikki: Email   Website   Facebook   Facebook Chat Group – Nikki’s Book Nook   Nikki’s Book Stormers – Street Team   Goodreads   Twitter

Filed Under: The Key To My Heart Tagged With: Author, Book feature, Books, Chick-Lit, Nikki Lynn Barrett, Release Day, Romance, The Key To My Heart, The Love And Music In Texas Series

Chick Lit Goddess Changes

February 18, 2014 Leave a Comment

Changes for Chick Lit Goddess has come once again, but this is a good thing, folks!

If you’re a follower of mine on Twitter, the feed from WordPress will no longer be coming from @ILA121209, but rather now from @ChickLitGoddess. Also, they will no longer be fed from my personal “friend” Facebook page, but rather from my Isabella Louise Anderson – Author “LIKE” page. If you subscribe to CLG by email, then you’re in the clear, but for those of you who aren’t, be sure to make the changes in order to keep up with Chick Lit Goddess!

Want to know what else is new?

Something else that’s new is Chick Lit Goddess now has its own like page, (YAY!). Why?, you ask. Since I’m now an author I’m trying to keep my CLG promotional work separate from my own WIP. These changes allow the authors, books, and reviews that I feature greater chance to be seen to more people. 🙂

Have a great rest of your night, family, friends, and followers!

Filed Under: Isabella Tagged With: Author, Books, Chick Lit Goddess, Chick-Lit, Isabella Louise Anderson, Women's Fiction

Laura Chapman

January 31, 2014 3 Comments

LauraChapmanPic

Author, Laura Chapman: Laura Chapman found a way to mix her love of romance and humor as a women’s fiction author and blogger. A 2008 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Laura studied journalism, English and history. She traveled across the United States as a writer/photographer before settling into a career in communications. She also maintains Change the Word, a blog devoted to promoting women’s fiction and documenting her experiences as a writer.

Born and raised in Nebraska – in a city, not on a farm – she is a devoted fan of football, British period drama, writing in bars and her cats, Jane and Bingley.

INTERVIEW

Describe your writing style in five words: Quirky. Humorous. Romantic. Hopeful. Representative. (I hope!)

When did you want to know you wanted to be a writer? I can’t pinpoint a moment. I’ve always loved stories and knew I wanted to tell them. The first book I remember writing was in first grade. It was pretty much a plagiarized version of a Halloween song we sang in music, but it was fully illustrated.

During writing your book, “Hard Hats and Doormats”, describe your writing/editing/publishing process: It was definitely a process. I spent almost two years thinking about the story and developing the characters before I started. Then, I wrote the first 50,000 words during National Novel Writing Month in 2010. I finished the first draft a few months later and went through about four more drafts over the next three years.

During editing I removed and added several scenes, tightened up the text, changed the POV, and gave the story more focus. Some of the edits came from suggestions from beta readers and editors, and others were ones I felt needed changing the longer I spent with the story.

After a couple of years of unsuccessfully querying editors and publishers, I finally found the right home for my story with Marching Ink in August. Publishing went smoothly thanks to Samantha. She guided me through the process and shouldered the heaviest parts of the load. At the same time, she gave me the opportunity to have a voice in everything from the cover design and editing to the marketing and promotion. Working with her was a dream and made this process enjoyable.

Hard/paperbacks or eBooks? I love reading paperbacks when I’m in need of reading for comfort. When I’m reading for work – or back when I did book reviews – I preferred eBooks. For some reason they help me concentrate better. I think I’ll always prefer a physical book to eBooks, but my limited bank account and shelf space disagree.

What inspires you to write? The stories constantly brewing in my head.

Who is your favorite author? I have lots of favorites, but Nora Roberts is the one I admire most. She’s able to meld creativity with efficiency to be highly productive and prolific. I wish I had her dedication and stamina. I also have mad respect for my girl, Jane Austen. The lady was the original women’s fiction writer, and she managed to write timeless pieces that still reach readers more than 200 years later.

Where do you get your ideas for story lines? Everywhere. Sometimes I’ll hear a phrase or see an image that inspires me. The idea for Hard Hats and Doormats started when I saw the jumbled pile of maps, hard hats, steel-toed boots, and flip-flops littering my rental car floor. I do a lot of my heavy thinking while I’m driving and cooking.

What is something about you that people would be surprised to know? In high school I played several musical instruments. The oboe was my main instrument, but I also regularly played saxophone, English horn, piano, and percussion. I spent about half of high school planning to be a music teacher and professional performer.

How has the social media helped your career as an author? It connects me with fellow writers who give me support and readers who can talk books with me.

Coffee or tea? Both. I drink coffee first thing in the morning, or if I need a boost later in the day. Hazelnut is my favorite flavor. I drink tea throughout the rest of the day – usually English breakfast tea. I also have an unhealthy addiction to Diet Dr. Pepper and Diet Pepsi. Basically, my body runs on caffeine, and I’ll feed that need however I must.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given? Treat others the way you’d want them to treat the people who matter most to you. Usually, you want better for your loved ones than you do for yourself, and you should always strive to give your best to others.

What are you working on at the moment? In addition to promoting my debut novel, I have a couple of projects in the pipeline. I’m finishing up a round of edits on my second novel – a modernization of Jane Austen’s Persuasion – and the first draft of my third novel. Both are chick lit with plenty of romance and dry comedy. I also have a list of future project ideas I’m anxiously looking forward to writing.

GUEST POST

Five Dos and Don’ts During the Writing Process

Do: Keep good notes and documentation. Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, it’s a good idea to keep track of everything you do. That could be keeping a journal or jotting down comments on a Post-it note. It will help you refocus on where you need to pick up next when you have to take breaks. At the same time, it’s a good record to have to keep track of your journey.

Don’t: Feel like you have to stick to your original plan. I’m a plotter by nature, but that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to veer off the path if a better idea comes along. For example, Hard Hats and Doormats contains several scenes I never expected to pen when I carefully outlined the first draft. At the same time, I nixed a few before I even wrote them.

Do: Save and back-up your files. Your computer is one spilled latte away from turning on you. Save your novel to a flash/external/Internet drive – or all of the above. If you think losing a sock is a bummer, imagine losing half of your novel.

Don’t: Spend too much time on social media. I love Facebook and Twitter like crazy, and they serve their purposes. But they’re also one of the biggest distractions out there. Schedule time to devote to your social media platforms and focus on your other tasks the rest of the time. This is easier said than done, but it’s a nice goal to have.

Do: Carry a notebook, pen, or some other writing instrument with you at all times. You never know when inspiration will strike, and you’ll be annoyed or angry with yourself if you forget your beautiful idea, because you couldn’t find a pen.

Don’t: Stay at the party after you’ve outstayed your welcome. Sometimes, we writers fall in love with our characters and hate to say good-bye to them. I’ve heard a few writers mention that you should start your story as late as possible and end it as soon as possible to maximize the impact it has on readers or viewers if you’re a screenwriter or playwright. The ending to Hard Hats and Doormats comes sooner that I thought it would when I sketched out the plot. I cut out the original final scene after the second draft, and I never wrote the epilogue, because it made the story better. That being said, I’ve read and enjoyed many epilogues – there isn’t a hard, fast rule for every story.

Do: Draw inspiration from other sources, like your favorite books, movies and songs. Personally, I feel myself most motivated to write something awesome after I finish reading a beloved book or watching a favorite movie. I get to the end, and I’m like, “I want to do that. I want to write something that leaves someone saying, ‘Hell yeah.’” I also draw a lot of inspiration from music. Not only do I create playlists for each of my books – which I add onto and remove from throughout the process – but I’ll often listen to a song on repeat to help me get through a scene. If I’m writing something sad, a tearjerker will put me in the right mindset. If I need to get through a more technically challenging scene, I stick to instrumental music, because there aren’t any words to distract my thoughts. (I’m listening to “Songs for Sienna” as I’m writing this post.)

Don’t: Be too critical of yourself or others. It’s good to have guidelines and expectations, but everyone needs a break sometimes. The more you stress and worry, the harder – and less enjoyable – the process becomes.

Do: Be kind to the other writers and readers you meet along the way. Pay it forward whenever you can, whether that means beta-reading, participating in a launch party, or offering a friendly word of support. Someday, someone will do the same for you, and it will mean the world.

Don’t: Take yourself – or the process – too seriously. There will be moments for hunkering down and focusing, but make sure you don’t get too focused on the destination that you forget to enjoy the ride. Find something to laugh at – even if it means being the butt of your own joke. I always figure if you can’t laugh at yourself on occasion, you shouldn’t laugh at anything else. If you can keep your sense of humor through the tough moments, you’ll be better when you come out on the other side.

Hard Hats and Doormats“Hard Hats and Doormats” by Laura Chapman

Blurb: Lexi Burke has always been a stickler for following rules and procedures. As a human resources manager for a leading Gulf Coast chemical company, it’s her job to make sure everyone else falls in line, too.

But after losing out on a big promotion–-because her boss sees her as too much of a yes-woman––Lexi adopts a new policy of following her heart instead of the fine print. And her heart knows what it wants: Jason Beaumont, a workplace crush who is off limits based on her previous protocol.While navigating a new romance and interoffice politics, Lexi must find the confidence to stand on her own or face a lifetime of following someone else’s orders.

Who says nice girls have to finish last?

EXCERPT

Chapter One

Alexis Burke @theLexiBurke

Can a person refer to employees as Jackass 1 & 2 in an official report? Asking for a friend. #HRProblems #ThisIsMyLife

The universe keeps telling jokes and I’m the punch line. #IHaveProof

Okay, seriously. When did this become my life? Can I get a mulligan? #ObscureGolfAnalogyForLife

In kindergarten Sunday school, Lexi Burke imagined Hell as a fire-ridden, hate-filled pit below Earth’s surface. On a mighty throne of blackened steel and skulls, Satan preyed on the souls of the damned for eternity.

Twenty years later, she discovered a new version of Hell. It was a windowless conference room on an oil platform off the coast of God-only-knew-where Texas in the middle of May. The devil took form in two men, both middle-aged and madder than a hornets nest. Despite the sweat building on her neck, she shivered.

When did babysitting old guys become my job?

How mad do hornets get, and what does their nest have to do with it?

Where did I come up with that analogy?

Solving those mysteries had to wait. Casting a glance at the figures gathered around the badly chipped table, she considered the situation at hand. The two men, their union reps, and a team of local managers were going yet another round in their verbal sparring without a semblance of resolution. The representatives wanted the men to go back to work. The managers wanted to give them pink slips.

As the HR manager assigned – albeit at last-minute – to the investigation, she wanted to keep everyone from killing each other. Not an easy task, considering the two men under investigation already gave murder their best shot.

According to the initial report, the incident happened over the weekend. The men engaged in a particularly heated discussion about college football. The man to her right apparently took offense to the one on her left using derogatory names to describe his beloved team.

She grimaced at the list of profanities. Three or four of them merited HR intervention on their own. Then again, others struck her as downright creative. Note to self: Use “dag nab ass backwards pile of swamp waste” in a sentence later today.

The fight escalated when Mr. Right expressed his displeasure by raking his broken glass across Lefty’s face. A few days later, the wounds swelled red and blotchy. Her stomach churned when she examined their faces closely.

His opponent fared no better. Lefty managed a couple of solid jabs with a shard from a shattered plate. His cheek and eyebrow were held together with the help of twenty-two stitches.

How did these men still have jobs? Surely trying to kill your co-worker violated the Employee Code of Conduct. But because they had no previous violence on their records, the company’s agreement with the union guaranteed them the right to an investigation – this investigation.

“I told ‘em to back off and leave my Tigers alone,” Idiot Number One shouted. “But he started waving around his God-damned glass. I had to grab hold of something to protect myself. A man’s got a right to defend himself and his pride.”

“What the hell are you talking about, son?” Moron Number Two chimed in. “You were the one bent outta shape in the first place. He’s pissed because my Hogs’ll beat the hell out of this pussy lover’s team next year.”

Hogs? Tigers? Did these men seriously put their jobs and lives on the line over the Arkansas and LSU football teams? Did Lexi have to take team allegiances into consideration when she hired new employees to avoid catastrophe? Were SEC fans this torn up about football year-round?

Will we have full-on riots come September?

She struggled to recall the last two football seasons, but nothing came to mind. In her early days at Gulf America, she’d spent most of her life adjusting to the heavy travel schedule of a field HR representative. Current events, sports, and anything unrelated to HR dealings never entered her mind. She instead concentrated on getting through each day, never mind remembering what happened in the rest of the world.

What kind of fights should she expect when the Big 12 schools in Texas started beating up on each other in the fall?

God help us all.

Pulling her shoulder-length brown hair off her neck, she longed for a breeze. Not the kind from men yelling at each other, but a real, honest-to-God breeze.

She sighed and stared back at her notes. Even if the investigation proved the men deserved firing, she wouldn’t make the decision. Her worthless boss would be using whatever recommendations she gave him.

Dale seldom left his office during the work day. Unless he heard an ice cream truck. Then he raced out the door with a dollar in hand. Why bother leaving for something important–– like his job–– when he had minions like her to do his dirty work in the field? He reserved his energy to sweep in at the end when he took credit and – by all appearances – saved the day.

This time, he didn’t even have the courtesy to make his decision before dawn. In her eagerness to please – the department had a promotion up for grabs – she overlooked the faux pas that sent her straight to hell. Sure the Assistant Regional Director job would be more work, but it came with a healthy salary increase and less travel. And at twenty-four, she’d be the youngest director at headquarters.

The shouts escalated.

Is a promotion worth this?

Another realization hit Lexi like a ton of bricks. Damn, another random metaphor. This dispute would have long-term implications impacting more than her chances of promoting within the company. The safety department would surely ban glass cups and plates from company premises before the end of the week. The idiots had proven breakables were a liability Gulf America would no longer risk.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of one man knocking his coffee mug to the floor. Damn. Another dish casualty. The shattered mug brought Lexi’s attention back to the present. One of the local managers sent her a silent plea. Clearing her throat, she filled her lungs with the heavy air weighing on her chest.

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” she began, in her sweetest drawl. A Midwesterner by nature and nurture, she spent the past two years cultivating her fake accent. It was useful in tense situations like this one. “I appreciate you sharing your perspectives. I’m sure both of your teams value loyal fans like you. But I need you both to take a few deep breaths and listen to what I say.”

She politely glared at the men. Their chests rose up and down in suppressed fury, but their mouths stayed shut.

“Violence is never the answer. It has no place in the sports arena or at work. Remember, you come from the same conference. Y’all should treat each other with the mutual respect your fine teams deserve.”

She paused for dramatic effect. She used a variation of the speech at least a dozen times in the past month alone. In her experience, a few well-timed beats of silence struck fear into the hearts of men better than a million words.

After giving her words room to settle uncomfortably, she continued. “Y’all need to treat each other respectfully. Not only because you’re co-workers and conference mates, but because you’re both good men with families who depend on you. Consider how you’d want someone to treat the people you love most. That’s how y’all should treat each other.”

The men had the good grace to bow their heads in shame. She mentally patted herself on the back for not flinching when she said “y’all.” Three times. When she moved to Texas after college, she swore she would never pick up the strange jargon.

It only took a month for the Southern slang to find its way into her vocabulary.

Sensing the men had finished their moaning, Lexi nodded at one of the managers to begin his end of the investigation. Leaning back in her chair, she scribbled on a copy of the report. She bored easily when her mind wasn’t constantly engaged. Doodling helped her maintain some focus on a situation without actively paying attention. As an added bonus, writing on paper gave everyone else the illusion she was busy.

On this day, she found paying attention to the investigation exceptionally difficult. Her afternoon meeting back at Corporate Headquarters would determine her future with Gulf America.

She made a note to dust off the training video about respectful language. More than likely, the oil rig’s crew would moan about having to sit through thirty minutes of bad acting. They’d also likely ignore the message, but she had to try.

For the men, she added a few suggestions for her boss to consider. They at least needed anger management counseling. Offering them a buyout in exchange for early retirement would satisfy the union and the company.

With her work done, she turned over her notes to doodle a picture. She drew two donkeys. One held a glass, the other a plate. Leaning back in her chair she admired her work, both the drawing, and the much more relaxed atmosphere in the conference room.

Damn she was good.

**Contact Laura: Website   Blog   Facebook   GoodReads   Twitter

**Click HERE to watch the book trailer of “Hard Hats & Doormats”

**Buy “Hard Hats and Doormats”: Amazon — Print & eBook   Barnes & Noble – eBook   Kobo – eBook   Marching Ink – Print

**Click HERE to enter to win a prize package of Lexi’s favorite things!

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Filed Under: Laura Chapman Tagged With: Author, Books, Chick-Lit, Five Dos and Don’ts During the Writing Process, Guest Post, Hard Hats and Doormats, Interview, Laura Chapman, Women's Fiction, Writing

Jackie Bouchard

May 14, 2013 16 Comments

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About author, Jackie Bouchard:  Jackie Bouchard used to write reports, newsletters, and presentations as part of her work as a Market Intelligence Analyst. While she loved the writing part, it was the trapped-in-the-corporate-hamster-wheel part she could do without. So she began working on a novel in her spare time. Eventually she scampered free of the hamster wheel, and now focuses on writing full time.

Her work has been published in San Diego CityBeat magazine and the San Diego Writers, Ink’s anthology, A Year in Ink, Vol. 3. Her first novel, What the Dog Ate, is a dog-friendly romantic comedy.

Jackie’s mission in writing is to bring her readers smiles, laughter, and the ability to forget about their troubles for a while, whether via her novels or her blog Pooch Smooches. She started the blog when her fifteen-month-old puppy, Abby, was diagnosed with bone cancer and had to have her leg amputated. Not an easy subject to keep light and humorous, but Abby lived on three legs with such gusto and grace for the remaining fifteen months of her life that she taught Jackie much about facing adversity and living in the moment.

Now Jackie mainly blogs about Rita, her rescue pup from Mexico. With Jackie being American, her husband a Canadian, and Rita from Mexico, they show that these NAFTA arrangements really can work out. Jackie and her husband have lived on both coasts of the U.S., Canada and Bermuda. They now live in San Diego.

INTERVIEW

Describe your writing style in five sentences:  I get a little idea (e.g. a dog eating some panties that don’t belong to his married momma) and dive in. I’m not a plotter – I like to come up with some characters and a situation and see what happens. If I know too much about where the story is going, it’s not fun for me. I like to discover where the story leads, just as the reader will. My method leads to lots of revising, but I’m one of those odd writers that enjoys revising.

When did you love for dogs begin?  Oh, gosh, it started back before I can even remember. My dad brought a beagle puppy home when I was only about two or three so, other than when I was away at college and when I lived in Bermuda, I’ve always had a dog.

Walk us through your writing/editing/publishing process:  I’m not a “write every day” gal. I sometimes take big breaks away from my writing—partly because once I start, I have a hard time stopping. Not much else gets done when I’m writing/editing because I get so sucked in to it. The bummer is that since I don’t plot, I often go off on tangents with my stories and a lot of stuff ends up on the virtual “cutting-room floor.” But I figure, it’s all good. Even the stuff that doesn’t make it in helps me work out who my characters are, back-stories, etc.

As I said before, I really like editing. I edit a lot as I go along, reading over the previous day’s work before I start writing each day. I’m actually trying to break myself of that habit, and instead just sit down and start writing new stuff first, because otherwise I can get so caught up in the search for the “perfect” words, that I often end up with nothing new written at the end of the day! Okay, I said I “like” editing – but I really love it. I get a dorky little thrill out of finding the perfect verb or cutting away any words that aren’t absolutely necessary. It’s a wonder I ever finish anything!

As for the publishing process, I have an agent, and we did try to find a traditional publisher for What the Dog Ate, but it was back in early 2009, after the market crashed. Not great timing. I tried to move on and started working on two other books, but my “first baby” was always in the back of my mind. In early 2012, I was having dinner with my agent and she suggested that I self-publish the book, so I did.

Who or what inspires you?  That’s a tough question for me, actually. There’s no one single thing or person that inspires me, but lots of people inspire me every day: my hubby, because he works so hard; my self-pubbed writer friends (especially lots of the Chick Lit Goddesses) because I see them achieving lots of great things; my dogs because they understand how to live in the present and not fret about tomorrow. And me, too! I inspire me – I want to be the best I can.

How do you come up with the titles of your books?  I don’t really have one set way. What the Dog Ate came out of a brain-storming session way back when it was just a short story I wrote for a beginning creative writing class. My agent wanted me to change it because she worried people would think it was a mystery, but we tried and couldn’t come up with anything else. What the dog ate is really what the book’s about – the whole way through.

For another book I’m working on, I thought of the title and the first line before anything else. I started writing based on those two wee tidbits. The title is a riff on a popular movie title, but I’m not ready to share it yet. **attempts to wink coyly; flubs it** [never been good at being coy.]

For my next release, I’ve been using the working title Just Only Jane, but I’m still trying other titles on for size. (In fact, I just attempted a brain-storming session today… but nothing grabbed me). Just Only Jane is a riff on one of my favorite books from when I was a kid, Just Only John. Since Jane is such a loner, I thought it fit, but… I’m still searching for something that might be more perfect.

What are you reading right now?  I’m reading The Love Dog by Elsa Watson, (if you like Chick Lit and dogs, check out Elsa’s books), and I’m also reading Save the Cat! (Funny – just realized I’m reading a cat and a dog book at the same time. I do love cats, even though I’m a certified dog person, but I’m allergic to them!) Anyway, Save the Cat! is technically for screenwriters, but it’s helpful for novelists too.

How did you celebrate when your first book was published?  Showered. Put some makeup on. I think I even washed my hair! No seriously – this is pretty boring, but What the Dog Ate was published just before my birthday, so the “hooray, I’m published” celebrations got rolled into the usual birthday celebrations: a lunch date with cocktails and cake with my sisters, lunch with my girlfriends, a nice dinner with the hubs.

Hard/paperbacks or eBooks?  I love a “real” book, but I read tons more books on my iPad now. For one thing, my hubs likes to sleep in on the weekends, so when I wake up early, I can hang out in bed with my iPad and read without turning the light on and bugging him. I used to love to own books. I had tons of them and would buy them all the time. But we live in Southern California where there’s fire danger pretty much every year. One year we had to prepare to evacuate (although luckily we never did actually evacuate!) and I realized how little of my “stuff” I really cared about. After that I stopped buying a lot of hard-copy books. Now, if we ever have to evacuate, the iPad will be one of the first things in the car!

You knew you were a writer when…?  I used to write very bad poetry as a kid, and I was very into all the arts. But as I grew up, I realized I was also a very practical person. I wanted to have a good job that would pay the bills. Since I liked numbers (yes, I like words and numbers, both!) I ended up majoring in Accounting. I liked my career(s) for a while, but eventually ended up feeling like a creative person trapped in a practical person’s body. I didn’t seriously start to write until about seven years ago, and even then I was just looking for something to do at night to keep busy because my hub’s work is very demanding and he works late most nights. Because I wasn’t clutching a pen from a young age, and because I don’t write every day, and because I’m not traditionally published, I often had a hard time thinking of myself as a “true” writer…until I came across this quote from Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Diaz a few years ago and realized, hey I am a writer!

“…in my view a writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, because everything she does is golden. In my view a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway.” ~ Junot Diaz

Where is your favorite place to write?  I need quiet to write, so I do most of my work at home at my desk. I have a lovely view out my window and it’s very calm and peaceful. (Except for when my neighbor is standing on his roof naked – but luckily that only happened once!)

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?  This is the moral from Just Only John, the book I mentioned above, which I still own – and it works for writing as well as life in general: “Be yourself, because somebody has to and you’re the closest.”

Can you tell us about any of your upcoming projects?  I mentioned Just Only Jane above. The manuscript is “finished” (are they ever really finished??) and my agent is reading it at the moment. **reaches for bottle of whiskey; chews at fingernails**

I’ve already sent it out to my betas, and my sis is copy-editing it for me right now (she’s awesome!). However, I still haven’t managed to write a decent blurb for it, so bear with me while I try to say what it’s about it under 2000 words!

It’s the story of Jane, a 38-year-old loner, who’s just lost both her husband and her dog to cancer. She’s sadder about the dog though… but no one knows. She’d been about to tell her husband that she wanted a divorce, but then he got sick. Now, she’s free to move from Philly, where he dragged her six years ago, back to her home town of San Diego, where she dreams of picking up her old routine with her two life-long best friends. But, with no job to return to, she’s roped in to helping at her uncle’s B&B in small town Prescott, Arizona for a few months. On her way there, she finds a stray dog at a rest area, but she’s determined not to let this mutt creep into her heart. Can Jane keep her sanity while trying to get back to San Diego? Or will she lose it with the “annoying ass-hats” (a.k.a. guests) at the B&B? Maybe a little of both…

**Contact Jackie:  Website   Facebook   Twitter   Email: jackie@jackiebouchard.com

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**Buy Jackie’s book, “What the Dog Ate”, on Amazon!

Filed Under: Jackie Bouchard Tagged With: Author, Chick-Lit, Guest Interview, Jackie Bouchard, What the Dog Ate, Writers

Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

May 8, 2013 Leave a Comment

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About author, Carolyn Ridder Aspenson:  Rarely can you find Carolyn without a book, or her Nook with her. Reading for her has always been an escape, a way of discovering a world different than her own. Throughout her education, her teachers encouraged her to nourish her muse and she did, often to the neglect of her mathematical genius, which clearly left and found another human before long division in fourth grade. Her math skills still suffer today. She traveled the journalism route in college but never felt the connection and finally opted out of writing as a career in general. Carolyn never gave up writing for fun. She wrote to express herself, to understand her feelings and to let the muse have her say. The invention of the Internet allowed Carolyn and her muse to write things others could read and with that, she eventually began freelance writing through various avenues. She currently writes for several local papers and magazines in the Atlanta area and finally took the dive into self-publishing with her debut novel, Unfinished Business An Angela Panther Novel. Carolyn wrote her first novel to honor her mother – she felt the need to let her mother’s voice live on and wrote the book as a way to handle her grief. Her first novel has only been out for a week and she hopes someone other than friends will buy it. Carolyn is already working on the second book of the series. Carolyn is a mother of three with a husband she refers to as her ‘hottie hubby’, two dogs and a cat who thinks she’s the queen of the house.  Carolyn, however, disagrees.

INTERVIEW

Describe your writing style in five words:  Can I phone a friend?

When did you know you were a writer?  That’s a tough one. I thought I was a writer when I started writing for a website about ABC soap operas, (here’s a plug) http://www.allmywriters.com. Then I thought I was a writer when I started to get paid for doing marketing pieces for a promotion company. Once I started freelancing for the papers here in Atlanta and saw my first front-page article, I decided I was a real writer but when I published my book, I thought I was a writer too. Looking back, I think being a writer isn’t determined by someone purchasing your work or by the fact that you’re paid to write something specific. I think being a writer is something you finally feel inside, it comes with the accomplishment of something important in your own world…in your own opinion of yourself. For me, I’m not entirely sure that’s happened. I am overly critical of myself and my own accomplishments and in that drive to improve, I think I feel I’m never good enough or just out of reach of my goal, because my goal keeps changing. A psychiatrist would have a field day with me.

Who is your favorite author?  I have a few. My favorite author is Robert Parker, who passed a few years ago. He is the author of the Spenser series. Some might remember the TV show Spenser For Hire (I’m dating myself here, I know!) Close seconds are Harlan Coben and Robert Crais.

Walk us through your writing/editing/publishing process:  Oh boy. My writing process is still ‘undecided’. Some days I don’t write at all and some days I spend the entire day writing. With my book, I was so critical and unsure of myself I wrote and rewrote for six months and then one day I stopped and didn’t start up again for almost a year. The restart lasted about three months and throughout the entire process I re-read and edited almost daily. I’m hoping to NOT do that as much with the second book. I did hire a professional editor for the clean up and she told me she should have given me a discount because there wasn’t much to clean. I suspect my second book will be messier. I published through a great program that distributes the book to other outlets and it was easier than I expected. I’m still searching for a publisher or agent who will think I’m worth a shot.

If you’re not reading or writing, then you’re probably…:  at my son’s lacrosse game or practice or sadly, cleaning. I’m OCD about cleaning. It’s a curse.

Where do you get your ideas?  The ideas in my first book come from my personal experience of losing my mother and what I would ‘like’ things to be like for me now. I also researched teenager issues because I didn’t want to use anything about my kids issues (they all have them!) and have them whine at me about it. I also have some great friends who have wonderful senses of humor to bounce ideas off of, who added a lot of fun to my story.

What is your favorite word?  Probably. I love that it’s almost committing but not quite. My second favorite word is ‘duck’ and that’s because when I text, my phone always autocorrects a very inappropriate swear word to it. I know use it instead of the real swear word and it instantly makes me feel better. Probably I should use it more in my writing, too.

How did you come up with the title of your book, “Unfinished Business”?  I used an Italian phrase in my book and it means “Unfinished Business” and it clicked for me. Apparently it’s clicked for other writers also because it’s the name of several books, so I added the “An Angela Panther Novel” to it just in case.

Hard/paperbacks or eBooks?  I have a paperback on Amazon however I’m rethinking how I got it there because I’m not comfortable with the process costs.

Where do you want to be five years from now?  On the top of the NY Best Seller list. If that means I have to stand on a paper with the printed list on it, then that’s what I’ll do, but I’d prefer my name actually BE on the list. At the top.

What is the best advice you’ve been given?  “Finish the book.” During my hiatus, (which was actually more of a “duck, it. I give up” time, really) I had a dream that my mother and I were sitting in her old kitchen, drinking coffee. She looked at me and said, “You need to finish the book before you move out of your house.” I took that two ways – finish the book and repair the crap that needs repair in your house because you’re going to move soon. I’m still working on repairing the crap, but so far we have no plans to move. She might know something different, however.

Can you tell us about any of your upcoming projects?  I’m already working on book two of the series and hope to have it done in a timely matter, by the end of the year.  In the first book, Angela’s life changes in a huge way. In book two, it changes again and she works to change it back. She’s also working to help her best friend find proof that her husband is cheating on her. To do that, she’s got to enlist the help of her mother, who by the way is dead.

BOOK FEATURE

Unfinished BusinessBook blurb “Unfinished Business; An Angela Panther Novel”

When Angela’s mother Fran dies and comes back as a ghost, Angela’s ordinary life turns into a carnival show, starring both Angela and her nosy, dead mother.

It seems Fran’s got some unfinished business on earth and she’s determined to get it done, no matter what.

When Fran returned, she reignited her daughter’s long suppressed psychic gift, one she neglected to mention to Angela, and now Angela sees ghosts everywhere. And they won’t leave her alone.

Fran can’t help but stick her transparent nose where it doesn’t belong, making Angela’s life even crazier.

Now Angela has to find a way to keep her old life in tact and help the dead with their unfinished business, all while trying to keep her dead mother out of trouble.

And it’s a lot for one woman to handle.

**Click on the links below to watch trailers of “Unfinished Business; An Angela Panther Novel”

Trailer one and Trailer two

CHAPTER ONE

The air in the room felt frigid and sent an icy chill deep into my bones. Searching for comfort, I lay on the rented hospice bed, closed my eyes, and snuggled under Ma’s floral print quilt. I breathed in her scent, a mixture of Dove soap, Calvin Klein Eternity perfume and stale cigarettes. The stench of death lingered in the air, trying hard to take over my senses, but I refused to let it in. Death may have taken my mother, but not her smell. Not yet.

“You little thief, I know what you did now.”

I opened my eyes and searched the room, but other than my Pit Bull, Grey Hound mix Gracie, and me, it was empty. Gracie sensed my ever-so-slight movement, looked up from her spot next to the bed, sniffed the air, and laid her head back down. I saw my breath, which wouldn’t have been a big deal except it was May, in Georgia. I closed my eyes again.

“I know you can hear me, Angela. Don’t you ignore me.”

I opened my eyes again. “Ma?”

Floating next to the bed, in the same blue nightgown she had on when she died, was my mother, or more likely, some grief-induced image of her.

“Ma,” I said, and then laughed out loud. “What am I saying? It’s not you. You’re dead.”

The grief-induced image spoke. “Of course I’m dead, Angela, but I told you if I could, I’d come back. And I can so, ta-da, here I am.”

The image floated up in the air, twirled around in a few circles and floated back down.

I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to right my brain or maybe shake loose the crazy, but it was pointless because when I opened my eyes again, the talking image of my mother was still there.

“Oh good grief, stop it. It’s not your head messing with you, Angela. It’s me, your Ma. Now sit up and listen to me. This is important.”

As children we’re conditioned to respond to our parents when they speak to us. We forget it as teenagers, but somewhere between twenty and the birth of our first child, we start acknowledging them again, maybe even believing some of what they tell us. Apparently it was no different when you imagined their ghost speaking to you, too. Crazy maybe, but no different.

I rubbed my eyes. “This is a dream, so I might as well go with it,” I said.

I sat up, straightened my back, plastered a big ol’ smile on my face – because it was a dream and I could be happy the day my mom died, in a dream – and said, “Hi Ma, how are you?”

“You ate my damn Hershey bars,” she said.

“Hershey bars? I dream about my dead mother and she talks about Hersey bars. What is that?”

“Don’t you act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, Angela,” she said.

“But I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ma.” I shook my head again and thought for sure I was bonkers, talking to an imaginary Ma.

“Oh for the love of God, Angela, my Hershey bars. The ones I hid in the back of my closet.”

Oh. Those Hershey bars, from like, twenty years ago, at least. The ones I did eat.

“How do you know it was me that ate your Hershey bars? That was over twenty years ago.”

The apparition smirked. “I don’t know how I know, actually. I just do. I know about all of the stuff you did, and your brothers too. It’s all in here now,” she said with a smirk, and pointed to her slightly transparent head.

She floated up to the ceiling, spun in a circle, and slowly floated back down. “And look, I’m floating. Bet you wish you could do that, don’t you, Angela? You know, I’d sit but I tried that before and fell right through to the damn basement. And let me tell you, that was not fun. It was creepy, and it scared the crap outta me. And oh, Madone, the dust between your two floors! Good Lord, it was nasty. You need to clean that. No wonder Emily’s always got a snotty nose. She’s allergic.”

“Emily does not always have a snotty nose,” I said, even though she did.

The apparition started to say something, then looked at the bed. “Ah, Madone, that mattress. That was the most uncomfortable thing I ever slept on, but don’t get me started on that. That’s a conversation for another time.”

Another time?

“And,” she continued, “I hated that chair,” she said while pointing to the chair next to the bed. “You should have brought my chair up here instead. I was dying and you wanted me to sit in that chair? What with that uncomfortable bed and ugly chair, my back was killing me.” She smiled at her own joke, but I sat there stunned, and watched the apparition’s lips move, my own mouth gaping, as I tried to get my mind and my eyes to agree on what floated in front of me.

“Ah, Madone. Stop looking at me like that, Angela Frances Palanca. You act like you’ve never seen a ghost.”

“Ma, I haven’t ever seen a ghost, and my name is Angela Panther, not Palanca. You know that.” My mother always called me Angela Palanca, and it drove both my father and me batty. She said I was the closest thing to a true Italian she could create, and felt I deserved the honor of an Italian last name. She never liked Richter, my maiden name, because she said it was too damned German.

“And that recliner of yours was falling apart. I was afraid you’d hurt yourself in it. Besides, it was ugly, and I was sort of embarrassed to put it in the dining room.” I shook my head again. “And you’re not real, you’re in my head. I watched them take your body away, and I know for a fact you weren’t breathing, because I checked.”

Realizing that I was actually having a discussion with someone who could not possibly be real, I pinched myself to wake up from what was clearly some kind of whacked-out dream.

“Stop that, you know you bruise easily. You don’t want to look like a battered wife at my funeral, do you?”

Funeral? I had no intention of talking about my mother’s funeral with a figment of my imagination. I sat for a minute, speechless, which for me, was a huge challenge.

“They almost dropped you on the driveway, you know.” I giggled, and then realized what I was doing, and immediately felt guilty – for a second.

Ma scrunched her eyebrows and frowned. “I know. I saw that. You’d think they’d be more careful with my body, what with you standing there and all. There you were, my daughter, watching them take away my lifeless, battered body, and I almost went flying off that cart. I wanted to give them a what for, and believe me, I tried, but I felt strange, all dizzy and lightheaded. Sort of like that time I had those lemon drop drinks at your brother’s wedding. You know, the ones in those little glasses? Ah, that was a fun night. I haven’t danced like that in years. I could have done without the throwing up the next day, though, that’s for sure.”

Lifeless, battered body? What a dramatic apparition I’d imagined.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes and considered pinching myself again, but decided the figment was right, I didn’t want to be all bruised for the funeral.

There I sat, in the middle of the night, feeling wide awake, but clearly dreaming. I considered telling her to stay on topic, seeing as dreams don’t last very long, and maybe my subconscious needed my dream to process her death, but instead said, “This is just a dream,” because I was trying to convince myself this apparition wasn’t real.

She threw her hands up in the air. “Again with the dreaming. It’s not a dream, Angela. You’re awake, and I’m here, in the flesh.” She held her transparent hand up and looked at it. “Okay, so not exactly in the flesh, but you know what I mean.”

This wasn’t my mother, I knew this, because my mother died today, in my house, in this bed, in a dining room turned bedroom. I was there. I watched it happen. She had lung cancer, or, as she liked to call it, the big C. And today, as her body slowly shut down, and her mind floated in and out of consciousness, I talked to her. I told her everything I lacked the courage to say before, when she could talk back and acknowledge my fear of losing her. And I kept talking as I watched her chest rise and fall, slower and slower, until it finally stilled. I talked to her as she died, and because I still had so much more to say, I kept talking for hours after her body shut down. I told her how much I loved her, how much she impacted my life. I told her how much she drove me absolutely crazy, and yet I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

So this wasn’t Ma, couldn’t possibly be. “You’re dead.”

The figment of my imagination shook her head and frowned, then moved closer, and looked me straight in the eye. I could see through her to the candelabra on the wall. Wow, it looked dusty. When was it last dusted?

“Of course I’m dead, Angela. I’m a ghost.”

I shook my head, trying hard not to believe her, but I just didn’t feel like I was sleeping, so God help me, I did.

My name is Angela Panther and I see dead people. Well, one dead person, that is, and frankly, one was enough.

**Contact Carolyn:  Website   Email:  carolynridderaspenson@gmail.com   Facebook   Twitter

Filed Under: Carolyn Ridder Aspenson Tagged With: Author, Carolyn Ridder Aspenson, Chick-Lit, Guest Feature, Guest Interview, Unfinished Business; An Angela Panther Novel, Writers

Toni Aleo

January 24, 2013 1 Comment

ToniAleo

About author, Toni Aleo:  My name is Toni Aleo!  (and I’m a total dork!)  I am a wife, mother of two and a bulldog, and also a hopeless romantic.  I have been told I have anger issues, but I think it’s cause of my intense love for hockey!  I am the biggest Shea Weber fan ever, and can be found during hockey season with my nose pressed against the Bridgestone Arena’s glass, watching my Nashville Predators play!  When my nose isn’t pressed against the glass, I enjoy going to my husband and son’s hockey games, my daughter’s dance competition, hanging with my best friends, taking pictures, scrapbooking, and reading the latest romance novel.

I have a slight Disney and Harry Potter obsession, I love things that sparkle, I love the color pink, I might have been a Disney Princess in a past life…probably Belle, and did I mention I love hockey?

INTERVIEW

Welcome back, Toni! Since your last interview, what you been up to?  What havent’t I been up to is the real question!! Things have been insane. I finished Blue Lines and thank goodness HOCEKEY IS BACK!

Congratulations on being published by Random House! How did you find out?  Well it is the craziest thing. I remember being a dinner and I got an email on my author account and it was from the publisher but I thought it was fan mail and I was like, I’ll get to it when I get home because I didn’t want to be rude and type out a response, so I didn’t even read it all. Well I get home, and I read it and I swear I screamed so loud, running through the house telling my husband that RANDOM HOUSE WANTS TO PUBLISH ME! It was insane. I found out at the end of September that they wanted me and signed the contract in December.

What did you do to celebrate?  We had a big party and it was so great. All my friends and family celebrating my accomplishment. It was a blessing.

You recently finished “Blue Lines.”  Can you tell us a little bit about it?  I am seriously excited about this book. It will be different from the other three in the fact that the Hero will not be chasing the Heroine. He will be running from her while she tries to convince him that she is a sure bet. It is going to be great.

Who and/or what motivates you to write?  Hockey, my husband, and Shea Weber. 🙂

Are you characters and/or events in any of your books based on real life?  Yes, all of it. Lol. My friends read my books and some get mad, while others laugh so hard they can’t breathe. People aren’t safe around me. I get inspiration from everything.

Walk us through a day in your life:  Well, I wake up, get my kiddos off to school, come home, clean, run errands and then write. On special days, I get to go watch my daughter dance, my husband play hockey, my son play whatever sport he is doing at the time, and then of course, I go to as many Nashville Predators games I can get too!

You’re a huge hockey fan, but have or would you ever incorporate other sports into your books?  I don’t know. I like to write about what I know. I know hockey, so I don’t think I’ll ever stray into another sport. Now I do plan to completely leave the sport behind one day and write something different, but for right now, I am happy with my little hockey romance.

What author(s) would you like to meet?  Rachel Gibson, Richelle Mead, Kristin Higgins, Julie James, and Nora Roberts. They are all my heros 🙂

How do you come up with the titles of your books?  By complete luck. I sit there and think of the book and then hockey terms and by the grace of God, they come to me! Lol.

If you weren’t an author, what would you be?  A nurse. I quit my job as a nurse to become a full time author.

Tell us about your upcoming projects:  Well I am about to start writing book 5, Breaking Away from the Assassins Series, but I also will start a new adult series with the first booked called Rush of Love. I am pretty excited, scared and nervous for the new genre but excited.

Additional comments by Toni:  Thanks so much for having me!!

**Contact Toni!:

Toni Aleo

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**Click HERE to read my review of “Taking Shots” and to read my first interview with Toni!

Filed Under: Toni Aleo Tagged With: Author, Books, Guest Interview, hockey, Nashville Predators, sports, Toni Aleo

Martha Reynolds

August 28, 2012 23 Comments

Bio of Martha Reynolds:  She’s a graduate of Providence College and studied at the Universite de Fribourg in Switzerland. Martha returned to Switzerland numerous times and is always looking forward to her next trip. Recently, she ended an accomplished career as a fraud investigator (many stories to tell!) and now writes full-time. Martha and her husband, and their little dog Bonnie, live in Rhode Island, never far from the ocean.

Q & A with Martha Reynolds

Describe yourself in five sentences:  I’m living proof that it’s never too late to pursue a dream. Even when I was doing something I didn’t like, I always tried to do it well. When I stopped looking for the perfect man, I found the right man. I inherited my mother’s propensity to gain weight, and (fortunately) my father’s sense of humor. I have an older sister and a younger sister; yep, classic middle child.

Tell us about your books:  My debut novel is “Chocolate for Breakfast.” It tells the tale of a young woman who spends her junior year of college in Switzerland. Yes, I spent my junior year in Switzerland! And I lived in a tiny room. And during that year, my father died unexpectedly. Other than that, my life was pretty boring, so I decided to make up a story about a young woman named Bernadette. Her year in Switzerland was much more riveting! ‘Bernie’ makes adult decisions and the rest of her life is really characterized by those decisions. I always said that even if only my friends and family read my books, I still didn’t want them to suck. From the feedback I’ve received so far, I’m very pleased.

What is the writing/editing process like for you?  I write freely for as long as it takes, not worrying about spelling, grammar, punctuation. I just write everything that’s in my head. Every thought, every idea that relates to the work in progress. I have used an Excel spreadsheet to sketch out my characters. That’s just so I stay consistent on things like birthdays, anniversaries, favorite colors, etc. When I begin to edit, I slow way down.  In the case of “Chocolate for Breakfast,” it took about six months for the editing. I did some of it, then turned it over to my editor, Teresa Kennedy. She didn’t think my original ending worked (she was right), so I completely rewrote it, and I think this ending works very well.

Hardback/Paperback or eBooks? Why?  Chocolate for Breakfast is an e-book only. Because it was my first effort, I’d overspent my budget on editing, formatting, and the gorgeous book cover. I wouldn’t have gone with hardcovers anyway, as I think they’re overpriced and most people I know don’t read them. I have had some people ask for the paperback version of this book, and I feel bad that it isn’t available to them, although there’s a free Kindle app that enables anyone to read a book on their computer, or even their phone.

If you could write anywhere, where would it be?  Easy question – Switzerland. By the lake in the summer, high in the mountains in a cozy chalet in the winter. As long as I have some solitude.

What are you reading right now?  I just finished “Girl Unmoored” by Jennifer Gooch Hummer and am about to start “Where We Belong” by Emily Giffin.

For an author, how important is social media?  For me, it’s everything. I don’t know what I would do to market my book without it. For the past year and a half, I’ve worked on building my platform through Twitter, Facebook, my Facebook writer page, LinkedIn, and my blog. Twitter friends retweeted information about my book, Facebook friends shared the Amazon link – I’m very grateful to all of them. And I’ve learned so much about publishing and marketing from the writer blogs I subscribe to. (sorry, I know I ended that sentence with a preposition, but writing ‘the blogs to which I subscribe’ sounded way too stuffy!)

What authors do you admire?  Oh, there are so many! Flannery O’Connor, Claire Cook, Tonya Kappes, Amy Tan, the late Maeve Binchy. Just so many wonderful writers! And, of course, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner. Harper Lee. Kathryn Stockett. Stop me, I’ll just keep going.

How did you celebrate your first book being published?  Just a quiet dinner out with my husband, then screaming it all over the internet 🙂

Tell us about your daily routine:  I wake up around 7:30 most days. Two cups of coffee and usually a power shake (almond milk, banana, protein powder, and frozen fruit), then it’s upstairs to write. I try to write for at least three hours each day. The afternoon is spent with household chores and reading, catching up on e-mail, blogs, etc. I’m usually up until 11:00 at night, and may do more writing, if I’m inspired. And now I always keep a notebook with me, because there are words, phrases, thoughts that must be written down!

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?  Probably “to live your life without regret.” My husband has helped me to see that more clearly, and it’s really because of him that I’m writing full-time.

Can you tell us about any of your upcoming projects?  I’m writing a novel now about a high-school reunion. There’s a lot of angst that accompanies a reunion, especially after so many years. Ghosts from the past can haunt a person for decades, and I’m tapping into some of that.

**Contact Martha:

Blog: marthareynoldswrites

Email: MarthaCFE@gmail.com

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**GIVEAWAY**

To enter to win a FREE Kindle download by Martha Reynolds, please leave a comment telling us what your favorite kind of chocolate is, along with your email address!  A winner will be picked on Friday, September 7th!

Filed Under: Martha Reynolds Tagged With: Author, Book giveaway, Books, Chick-Lit, Giveaway, Guest Interview, Isabella, Martha Reynolds, Random, Writing

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