Saturday, June 25, 2016

Round Robin Blog Fest June 25 2016


Welcome back, dear readers! 
I've been away from the Round Robin Fest as well as from blogging for a little while now due to life's misadventures, but I'm back and writing again!

This month's Round Robin question is:  How emotionally involved are you in reading or writing some scenes?

Yesterday I had a friend, who is also a fan!, tell me how much she loved my books except for one thing - they're too short! An avid reader, she went on to say how she got so caught up in my characters and the story that she couldn't put the book down and was disappointed when it ended.
Way back in a high school psychology class, I had to write a paper on the central nervous system versus the peripheral nervous system and used writing as an example of how to describe each. I use my brain, a part of the central nervous system, to create the work. When I re-read and edit, I use my peripheral nervous system since my hands sweat, my heart beats faster, and my body twitches in response to what I have read. This allows me to build a scene as though I am the character I've written and make the story more real to my readers.
As a writer, I also get caught up in the emotions of my scenes and characters. My palms would sweat when I wrote about Lucy and her ex-husband's relationship in The Mystery Lady as well about Katie's life with Maddox in The Bookstore Lady:

She’d never awakened in a motel room alone and naked before. Someone had always taken her home. Usually Maddox. She pushed that thought out of her head and splashed water on her face. In the mirror, her skin seemed almost green in the bad lighting. Someone had beaten her, probably Maddox, judging from the bruise on her cheek and the cut on her lower lip. Probably from the diamond he wore on his pinky.
Beside the toilet, bright blue fabric speckled with purple spots along the hem hung over the shower rod. Her favorite dress. The one she wore yesterday. At least she thought it was yesterday. She fingered the spots and fought off a wave of dizziness.
Blood stains. Whose blood?
 (click on photo to order!)

In The Mystery Lady, Lucy becomes paranoid when she spots a car parked on her street for several days then strange men in her neighbourhood. Her concern for the well-being of she and her children actually left me a bit on edge and I found myself peering out the window a few times as well!

Roger always said she’d make a good writer because she was such a drama queen, but maybe she was a drama queen because she was a writer. In truth, her mood was more about Roger and her deep down reluctance to let her kids go with him for the week. Normally, she’d probably have a hard time staying mad at someone like Clancy.
“Look, sweetheart.” He chuckled. “You go back to whatever it is you do all day and have fun with your kids. I’ll pad my tools with bubble wrap so you can relax.”
 “You are such a jerk.” She snapped.
“That’s quite an observation considering you just met me. Maybe you should give me a chance to actually be a jerk before you accuse me of such a heinous crime.” He toyed with a wrench.
Fondled? Stroked? Darn her writer’s brain. What was wrong with her? Lucy blew out a frustrated breath then rolled her eyes and stomped away. “Men.”

 (click on photo to order!)



One of my favourite characters in the Wild Blue Mysteries series is Leo Blue. I find it easy to put myself in his place to see what he sees and think what he thinks. Leo looks at life a little differently than most, which makes him a lot of fun to write and  great foil for Danny since he will say and do pretty much whatever he wants.
The scenes with Leo and Christina in The Bakery Lady were some of my favourite (and steamiest!) to write. I allowed my emotions to run wild and tried to take inventory as I wrote to capture the moment as realistically as I could. In fact, one of the best ways for me to develop a scene, is to write a rough draft then go back and "feel" the emotions and "live" the scene in my head. Here's one example:

Leo clenched his hands at his sides to keep from reaching out to push back the damp hairs off her neck for a better view of the butterfly. “You’re right, she is cute. And funny.”
She spun around and knocked a steel bowl full of cookie cutters off the counter. The bowl clanged on the painted concrete floor and rolled toward the oven while the cookie cutters clattered to the white tile floor. Her freckled elfin face was dusted with flour, some of which rose off her lips as she huffed. When she glared at Clancy, her eyes reminded Leo of the slate gray-green Himalayan Mountains at sunset. Her red lips shone like the juicy flesh of a watermelon. He’d forgotten how much he liked watermelon.
 (click on photo to order!)

 I find that the more I write, the more emotional my writing becomes as I become more connected to my characters and learn more about them. Currently, I am working on a new book in the series, The Painted Lady, which should be ready for release in 2017.

 All three of my Wild Blue Mysteries are available through Amazon & BWL as well as at Coles/Chapters/Indigo in Canada by special order!

On that note, let's move along to Beverley Bateman  and see how emotionally involved she gets in her writing!




Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Just a quick update...

After all that's happened in my life lately, I've decided it's high time I get back into my real work: Writing. I can't say I've actually had writer's block. I've had more like life block. Between work and illness, I tucked myself away into a cave and only came out to eat and go to work. Lately, however, the medications have made a huge difference and I've decided there has to be more and better.
So here I am again.

This spring I've sold my house and plan to move at then end of July with only one kid in tow. my youngest who is still in high school. My oldest is on his own. My middle son is going away to college. I'm downsizing and setting up the little office space I'd dreamed of for so long! 
I won't have to feel like I'm hiding in a closet or unable to hang my book covers on my walls. 
I won't feel like I have to give up my dream.
I will push forward no matter how much money I make or how many books I sell.
I won't stop writing or doing what I love to do.

After writing 6 books, none of which have become bestsellers, I'm still determined to write because I LOVE TO WRITE and because I have stories to tell and a gift to share. Recently the people I now work with discovered I'm a writer so now I have a whole new group of fans and they have reignited my enthusiasm. No more hiding. No more shame.

6 Books??? Wow. 
Wild Blue Mysteries:  The Bookstore Lady, The Mystery Lady & The Bakery Lady
Gilda Wright Mysteries:  Can't Keep a Brunette Down, Hardheaded Brunette, & Life is Better Brunette -- as well as a short Gilda story in Killer Beach Reads!

Stay tuned, fellow readers - and writers - big things are in store!
As I get back into doing what I love, I will be starting a newsletter. I will be doing more blogging. I will be writing more novels. 
All of this while I raise my kids, work crazy hours, move, and keep trying to regain my health after being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Writing has been a huge part of that recovery. I journal, I'm studying to become an empowerment coach, and I am working on a new novel, or two, or three....

Either way, I'm NOT GIVING UP!


Watch for new blog posts:
June 25:  Round Robin Blog Fest, right here!!
July 3:     BWL Blog post @ Books We Love 
And for photos of my new office space coming in August!!

Escape With a Writer Has MOVED!

  You can find all of the latest and greatest releases, interviews, and books at: https://escapewithawriter.wordpress.com/