Joanne Troppello

What Makes a Love Story Great?

Plain and simple, the formula for a romance novel is man meets woman and they fall in love. Of course, they run into various obstacles along the way, but there is always a happy ending. However, what sets a romance novel apart and makes it irrefutably memorable?

Think about one of the most dramatic love stories through the ages—Romeo & Juliet, young love of the forever kind. Yes, this story ended tragically, but it shows the ingredients of a great love affair. Even death could not keep them apart.

Let’s look at a more contemporary example, The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks. Two young people experience a passionate summer romance and life threatens to pull them apart. The heroine goes away to college while the hero enlists in the army. The hero wrote to her but she never received his letters and she thinks he doesn’t want to be with her. She gets engaged to a man from an affluent family and finally, circumstances bring the hero and his heroine together again. They marry and have a family, living a good life. Eventually the heroine has dementia and her loving husband stands by her, trying to help her remember the happy life they had. Even when she has lost her mental capacity, he stands by his wife. They die together in their sleep. Now that is a true testament of an everlasting love affair.

So how do you create such an unforgettable love affair that breaches the limits of the run of the mill romance novel? You start by thinking outside the box. The formula is the same, but you need to make the plot your own. I write inspirational romance, so I bring an element of faith into my stories. In my opinion, that adds the cement to hold the romance together. If a couple wants to weather the storms of life, they need a higher power to give them the foundation to succeed. I believe that foundation is God at the center of their relationship.

Now, I don’t want to get too preachy here—and I never do in my books either because I believe in real life. Not everyone believes the same way or has a strong faith in God, yet many people experience a great love affair in their lives. So, even if you don’t add an element of faith to your novels, you too, can write a memorable love story.

Your hero and heroine need to love each other unconditionally. That is real love. They love body, soul and spirit, every part of each other. A great love affair is one that begins in the realm of friendship or at least intellectual or emotional connection, before any inkling of physical intimacy enters the picture. Passionate connections are wonderful, but passion eventually fades. When it lessens, what remains? That agape, unconditional, love remains. It’s a love that knows no bounds. They overcome hurts and offenses and learn to forgive. It’s not about winning, but learning to compromise and serve one another’s needs first. A great love affair turns from friendship into a passionate love with your best friend. Physical intimacy obviously comes into play, but depending on the type of genre you write in, will determine the amount you show the readers.

Your novel may not span the length of your hero and heroine’s years like in The Notebook, but you need to convey the same sense of long-term commitment. Your readers must get the sense that your characters are in it forever. However, if you write a sappy romance novel, most readers won’t appreciate that and it won’t be a memorable love affair. In real life, we face problems. Make your novel real and add reality to your story. If you do that, it will be believable and readers will relate. Own your own story. If you believe the love affair you are creating, your readers will believe it too.

Currently, I’m enjoying the release of my newest book, Bella Lucia, and I’m busy making the rounds in my blog tour. I mentioned two great love stories—Romeo & Juliet and The Notebook. What is your all-time favorite love story?

Joanne Troppello is an author of romantic suspense novels.  She has published three books: Shadowed Remembrances, Mr. Shipley’s Governess and Bella Lucia. Currently, she is working on her new writing project, The Paradise Redeemed Series. Joanne is married and loves spending time with her husband and family. She enjoys interacting with readers at The Mustard Seed Blog.

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Jeanne Bannon

As a newly published author, there are many things I’ve learned about the publishing industry. The first thing is that we authors have to be crazy for wanting to be apart of the business in the first place. It’s incredibly hard to actually write a decent book and have it published. It’s harder still to find an agent - something I have not successfully done as of yet. However, fortunately, finding a publisher wasn’t as difficult as I’d thought it would be. Though my publisher is not one of the big guys. You have to have an agent to have an editor even take a look. My publisher, Solstice is a fast growing midsize publisher and a great stepping stone.

I did, however, think the process of being published would be much more glamorous. That there would be individual attention given to me as an author....not! I’ve learned that I am just one in a stable of authors; all of us in the same boat; trying desperately to get some attention for our newly published babies. I learned quickly that promoting and marketing my book is as big a job as writing it was. Publishers don’t do much marketing.

I also didn’t realize how incredibly hard it would be to get my book on shelves in bookstores. This is something I’m still struggling with. It’s much easier to convince local small bookstores to carry your book than the big chains. So most of my sales (about 90%) have been online through Amazon. I’ve also learned that ebooks out sell paperbacks and the royalties are higher - at least they are from my publisher. I’m glimpsing the future and the future is the ebook.

Sadly, I’ve come to realize that I will not be able to quit my day job and write full-time, at least not in the near future. But even with all these lessons learned, the biggest lesson of all was that I realized that I write because I love to write. That I will not stop writing because it brings me so much joy.

Blurb

Lola’s not pretty. Lola’s not popular. Lola wishes she could disappear … and then one day she does just that...

For seventeen-year-old Lola Savullo, life is a struggle. Born to funky parents who are more in than she could ever be, Lola’s dream of becoming a writer makes her an outsider even in her own home. Bullied and despised, Lola still has the support of her best pal Charlie and Grandma Rose.

Not only is she freakishly tall, Lola’s a big girl and when forced to wear a bathing suit at her summer job as a camp counselor, Lola’s only escape from deep embarrassment seems to be to literally vanish. Soon after, she discovers the roots of her new “ability”.

Slowly, with Charlie’s help, Lola learns to control the new super power. The possibilities are endless. Yet power can be abused, too…

Then, when tragedy strikes, Lola must summon her inner strength, both at home and at school. She has to stand up for herself, despite the temptations and possibilities of her newfound super power.

A coming-of-age story that will warm the heart.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter Three

I always leave Grandma Rose’s apartment with a smile on my face and an ache in my heart. I wish my mother were like her. How lucky for my mom to have such a wonderful, almost normal, mother. I’m stuck with a parent in an ever-present state of adolescence, whose life’s mission is to desperately hang onto what’s left of her looks. My mom, with her rat’s nest of hair stacked high on her head, dyed cherry red with chunky blonde highlights and dark brown lowlights, and extensions thrown in for good measure. A woman can’t ever have too much hair, she’s forever saying. Giving me her version of what passes as parental advice. I prefer Gran’s words of wisdom – “extensions make a woman look trampy” and “dye your hair only when the white comes in.” It seems more dignified, because I think a woman can have too much hair.

Dad’s just as bad, with his funky jeans, Ed Hardy T-shirts, pointy-toed boots, pierced ears, tattoos and a soul patch. He’s going to be fifty next year, for God’s sake. The thought makes me cringe. I live with dim-witted middle-aged teenagers.

Gran tells me all the time it’s not what’s on the outside that’s important and I know she’s right. I suppose I’m a bit of a hypocrite, since I’m always complaining about my weight or my height, or the fact I don’t have a boyfriend. But I’m supposed to be obsessed with fitting in and with my looks; after all, I’m the teenager.

It’s only a ten-minute walk home from Gran’s. I tilt my face toward the sun, soaking in the warmth of the spring day as I make my way along familiar streets. When I approach the park on the corners of Whiteside Avenue and Moorehouse Drive, I stop dead. Sudden dread causes the beat of blood to fill my ears.

There are three boys and a girl – Nino Campese, Tyler Campbell, his girlfriend Julia and Jon Kingsbury. They’re seniors like me and even though we’ve known each other since kindergarten, once adolescence hit and separated the weak from the strong, the cool from the nerd, I became prey. I was hunted by those better looking, and with more attitude, simply for their entertainment.

I plunge my hands into the pockets of my jean jacket and hang my head. Taking large quick steps, I tread quietly. They’re talking and laughing and the foul scent of cigarette smoke wafts past me in the breeze. From the corner of my eye, I spot Julia and Tyler sharing a butt as they cling together under the large plastic orange slide. Nino’s holding court and Tyler’s laughing at something Nino has said and Jon, well Jon just stands there, looking bored.

Why is he with them? My heart sinks. I thought Jon was different.

Tyler’s eyes flicker my way; immediately I pick up my pace.

“Hey!” someone yells.

I don’t answer.

“Where do you think you’re goin’, ya fat cow?” Nino hollers, as he jogs up beside me followed by Julia and Tyler.

“Home,” I say, not stopping.

Nino jumps into my path. “Where’s your girlfriend, Savullo?” He sneers and spits a snotty gob at my feet.

“Lesbo freak,” Julia chimes in and flicks a butt at my face.

It bounces off my chin with a burning sting. I glare down at her with her hawkish nose and eyes that are too close together. “Get out of my way,” I growl through gritted teeth and try to step around them, but Tyler grabs my elbow, his fingers bite into my flesh and a small groan escapes me.

“We’re not done talkin’ yet, hippo,” he snarls.

I yank free. Tears sting my eyes and the heat of anger and embarrassment reddens my face.

“Leave me alone!” I scream and push. Tyler’s tall, but skinny and I manage to knock him on his ass. But as soon as I take a step, Nino and Julia are on me.

“Leave her alone,” Jon calls. He hung back from the action and is still standing by the orange slide.

I slam a shoulder into Julia’s face and hear a crunch as my bulk meets her nose. Blood spurts and the purple blur of manicured nails flash past, as she whips a hand to her face.

She gazes up at me in surprise. “You broke my nose, you bitch!” Then she looks at Tyler with eyes that say “you better do something about this.”

My heart beats so hard, the swishing of blood in my ears is a roar. They’re swearing, yelling and threatening me, but panic has taken over as adrenaline pushes into my veins, and I make out nothing coherent.

I turn and try to run back the way I’d come. But another hand is on me, biting the flesh of my upper arm through the fabric of my jacket. Then a fist smashes into the back of my head. “You’re nothin’ but a fat dyke.”

My knees smack the gritty concrete as my legs buckle, and deep heaving sobs erupt from me. Why do they hate me?

“Where the hell did she go?” Nino asks, his voice laced with astonishment.

“Holy shit!” Julia and Tyler exclaim at the same time. “What the…?”

Slowly, I pivot and look at them. They’re turning in circles, searching for me.

Jon is with them now. “She’s gone,” he whispers in wide-eyed disbelief.

“What? How?” Nino asks.

I creep away on elastic legs.

What Reviewers Are Saying

This is a great book for teens. The voice and style are perfect for the target audience. As an adult, I enjoyed the story of an overweight girl who learns to love herself, and I was touched by how she came to grips with a totally understandable need for revenge. The story moves along at a good pace, the secondary characters are interesting and believable. The touches of humour were a lot of fun. I think teens with self esteem or body image issues would find this book comforting. Highly recommended.

~Author Sheila Dalton

Bio and links

I’ve worked in the publishing industry for over twenty years. I started my career as a freelance journalist, then worked as an in-house editor for LexisNexis Canada and currently work as a freelance editor and writer.

I’ve had several short stories published and won first place in the Writes of Caledon Short Story Contest. My novels, The Barely Boy and Dark Angel were finalists in the 2010 and 2011 Strongest Start Contests. One of my short stories “Thom’s Journey” is part of an Anthology entitled A Visitor to Sandahl and is available at Amazon.com.

Invisible, my debut novel, is about a teenage girl who isn’t happy with herself and wishes she could disappear. And one day she does. Invisible is available on Amazon, Smashwords, and the Solstice Publishing website.

When not reading or writing, I enjoy being with my daughters, Nina and Sara and my husband, David. I’m also the proud mother of two fur babies, a sweet Miniature Schnauzer named Emily and Spencer, a rambunctious tabby, who can be a very bad boy.

Links:

Twitter: @JeanneBannon

FB author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeanne-Bannon/182120961844916

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/user/jbannon4398

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Jeanne-Bannon/dp/1466368756/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318029462&sr=8-1

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/88217

Solstice Publishing: http://www.solsticepublishing.com/products/Invisible-%252d%252d-Print.html

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12586579-invisible

www.jeannebannon.com

Kay Springsteen Tate

Lingo Logistical Limbo:

Using the Contraction in Historical Fiction

I love reading historical romance. It’s comforting to think about the timelessness of love and how the era might be different but the emotions remain the same across the ages. Writing an historical novel sounded interesting but the amount of research involved was always daunting. Then I wrote a Christmas story, part of which was set in present day Afghanistan in a war zone, a place I’ve never been, and I realized I do a fair amount of research no matter what I write. So, together with my co-author, Kim Bowman, I set on the journey that would take me back in time.

Finding information on nobility lineage, customs, geographic locale and street names, foods and meals, carriages and horses, and basically everything from furniture, carpets, and draperies…We had fun sailing along in our research and it’s all right at a fingertip and a mouse click.

And then it happened. Our first real snag. Our heroine simply could not get on our hero’s last nerve. Why? Because our story is set in 1813. The word “nerve,” as in someone getting on one’s nerves, was not used in such a context until the early 1900s. Did you know that a heroine cannot subject a hero to a “tirade” (a volley of words) – or at least it couldn’t be called that – before 1801? Because the word didn’t exist in common language. Enter our dilemma. How to figure out which of our wonderful story-telling words could be used to tell A Lot Like a Lady without leaving the period and making the language too modern.

Enter the most wonderful subject of study in the world. Etymology. Etymology is the study of historical linguistics, which is basically studying language for signs of changing as it evolves through the centuries. This includes things like grammar usage and variations of words and different usages for the same words. A good etymology dictionary will give the verified, also known as the attested, use of a word when it made it to common language, and will expand about when the word was used in certain contexts. This reference should be the best friend of every historical author. How else would you know that when someone falls in 1810, you wouldn’t ask her if she’s “all right”? You would ask if she has injured herself. Now, it can be painstaking to look up all the important words, but I promise you it’s worth it in terms of developing a believable story.

And I must admit that a good etymology dictionary can be the historical author’s best friend for another reason. At one point, Kim and I found we had limited ourselves and our work sounded extremely stuffy and stilted. We had fallen into the trap of thinking an historical fiction must have limited use of contractions.

Indeed, we were very much in error.

When we looked up certain contractions in the etymology dictionary, we were quite astonished to learn they had been about since around the 17th Century. In fact, contractions were around much earlier than that but the apostrophe was not invented until the middle of the 17th Century. So sometimes the lack of contractions in the written word had more to do with the printers having no sign or symbol to notate them than the fact that they didn’t exist. But if you’ve read Shakespeare, then you know it’s full of contractions—even ones from words we no longer use today. Having said that, Beowulf comes to mind. It is one of the oldest pieces of written history around (dated between the 8^th and 11^th centuries), thankfully having survived being damaged in a fire in the 1700s. And it is FULL of the contraction o’er (over). For example:

High o’er his head they hoist the standard, a gold-wove banner; let billows take him, gave him to ocean. …swiftly thus the lifeless corpse was clear devoured, e’en feet and hands.

Even in such classics as Don Quixote and Wuthering Heights, contractions were used.

“You’d better let the dog alone,” growled Mr. Heathcliff in unison, checking fiercer demonstrations with a punch of his foot.  ~Brontë, Emily: Wuthering Heights Published 1847

“Didn't I say so? worse luck to my line!” said Sancho.  ~Miguel de Cervantes: Don Quixote Published in English 1612/1620.

 

“What’s gone with that boy, I wonder? You Tom!”

“Well, I know. It’s jam—that’s what it is. Forty times I’ve said if you didn’t let that jam alone I’d skin you. Hand me that switch.”  ~Mark Twain: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Published 1876

“Wo-ho!” said the coachman. “So, then! One more pull and you’re at the top…”

Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities Published 1859

Hallelujah! We were back in business and our characters wouldn’t have to sound like they were constipated.

Granted, contractions were not used as much as we see it in today’s fiction, but there is no reason to omit them when writing an historical just because it feels too modern. In doing our research we conducted a test of sorts by picking a few historical and reading through them. One in particular had no contractions. Kim and I couldn’t read past five pages. The language was stilted and choppy and it didn’t feel natural. One thing about human nature is that the easiest path is most often the one taken, and it truly is easier to say can’t as opposed to cannot.

And, while we agree that the nobility may have tended to use more formal speech, especially in public, I know of no 200-year-old people with whom I might confer to determine the truth of this, and the only record of speeches from those times was…the formally written one. As an author, it’s really a matter of preference and characterization how any of the people in an historical novel are depicted. If the story is historically accurate, and a writer prefers to use more contractions than not, that would be his/her choice. The most important thing is to make sure that a particular word existed and in what context it was used during the era being written about.

Kay Springsteen is the author of five full length contemporary romance novels: Heartsight, Operation: Christmas Hearts, Lifeline Echoes, Elusive Echoes, and Heartsent. She collaborated with Kim Bowman to write her first historical fiction work, A Lot Like a Lady, which is scheduled for release in March 2012.

Find out more about Kay at http://kayspringsteen.wordpress.com/  and on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kay-Springsteen-Author-of-Romance/143469035711422

J. Gunnar Grey

I’ve recently learned something disturbing about myself, or maybe it’s about my writing. Ya ready? Here it is, the Big Reveal.

I have trouble writing anything that doesn’t include at least one gun going off.

*crickets*

Nobody’s surprised but me, huh? Okay, let’s back up and try this again.

I love paramilitary adventures. The realistic military stories are good, too, but there are just so many confining regs. For me, it’s more fun to play around the rules and let the good guys and gals do things their own way. Paramilitary invites more twists and turns, more adventures going off half-cocked, and humor that isn’t black comedy or anti-military. (I admire the real military too much for mockery.)

But paramilitary stories need guns. And not just little bitty guns that fit in someone’s pocket or down a corset. Spy adventure guns just don’t cut it for me. When discussing caliber, size matters. I want big guns, nasty guns, guns with bullets that rip through armor plating and smash out the other side. I wanna see the hero go diving behind a desk that won’t stop the bullet and roll to get away, you know what I mean?

Oh, yeah, baby. Size matters. First Cav artillerymen in Korea, admiring bazookas.

*crickets*

Okay. Once more, with feeling.

I love World War II adventures set in Europe. Yeah, I know. The Nazis were evil, utterly and despicably evil, and the German Army, the Wehrmacht, was ferocious. That’s what makes them such wonderful bad guys — and such interesting good guys. The ones who weren’t despicable, evil, and ferocious had to battle themselves, their consciences and beliefs and honor, from the first bullet to the last. The choices they made had the potential to change the face of the world. And if they made a mistake, that last bullet was their own. These adventures were real. They meant something.

German paratroopers, the Fallschirmjager, with a Tiger II during the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes. Drool.

And they always included guns. Give the German Army credit, they had some of the best guns. Their 88mm field artillery was feared by every army that went against them. When fired at a distance of two thousand yards, over a mile away, their high-explosive rounds could still penetrate most armor plating before exploding. And when mounted on a Tiger II, the tank weighed sixty-eight tons.

*crickets*

Listen, you’re not going to convince me. Every book needs a firing gun. Well, maybe not Jane Austen, although some Brown Bess muskets might liven up a ball or two, masquerade or otherwise. Rewriting Emma with a hostage situation, now there’s a challenge. Mr. Knightley coming to the rescue with a fowling piece. Oh, yeah.

Honestly, how would we get by without the smell of gunpowder in the morning? It’s as necessary as coffee, right?

*STOMP*

Got that bugger. He was getting awfully noisy.

Anyways, all this is to explain my problem. See, I’m writing a Regency. I’m putting the heroine aboard a Royal Navy frigate, without telling the captain, and sending them out against a French Navy marauder.

It’s a Regency.

Battle of the Nile by Thomas Luny.                                                                   Can’t you just smell the gunpowder?

But, me being me, it’s got guns.

A lot of guns. Big guns, too.

You’ll love it. Trust me.

Wehrmacht Major Faust has a dangerous secret: he likes England. But it’s May 1940 and his Panzers are blasting the British Army off Dunkirk’s beach, so he keeps his mouth shut even though it hurts. When the Waffen SS try to murder their English prisoners of war, Faust helps the POWs escape. Now it’s treason, with his neck on the line.

Then a friend gets him drunk, straps him into a parachute, and throws him out over Oxford during a bombing run. He’s quickly caught. Because he helped type the battle plan for the invasion of England, Faust cannot allow himself to be broken in interrogation. Two German armies depend on it. But every time he escapes, someone rapes and murders a woman and the English are looking for someone to hang. He’s risking disaster if he stays, someone else’s life if he runs, and execution by the Gestapo if he makes it home.

Major Stoner, professor turned British intelligence officer, sees three possibilities. Faust perhaps was joyriding in that bomber, as he claims. Or he’s on a reconnaissance mission for the German invasion. Or he’s a spy. Stoner must break Faust to learn the truth, no matter how it strains his old heart. He must save England, and his granddaughter.

Their battlefield is confined to a desktop. Only one of them can win. Someone must break. Someone must make a Deal with the Devil.

http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=662249&mode=product&product=3465734

Jennifer Comeaux

Forbidden love is one of my favorite types of love stories–the hero and heroine fighting their feelings because they know they shouldn’t have them. I love the stolen glances, the awkward pauses, the fleeting touches that linger in the characters’ minds and hearts. These moments have such tension and can pull the reader right into the scene. What are some of your favorite stories of forbidden love? Let me know in the comment section below!

In my novel LIFE ON THE EDGE, the heroine Emily is a pairs skater, an Olympic hopeful with her partner Chris. Emily and her young coach Sergei develop feelings for each other, a big no-no in their sport. The U.S. skating federation does not approve of a relationship between a skater and coach because of the professional and ethical issues that could arise. But Emily and Sergei continue to be drawn toward each other. How long can they deny their feelings?

Following is an excerpt from LIFE ON THE EDGE. Sergei is attending a dinner party at Emily’s house, and they’ve spent the last few hours talking alone on the terrace.

The wind picked up, rustling the trees and sending my empty cup skittering over the table. Sergei snatched it and noticed the time on his watch.

“Oh, wow, it’s two thirty. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stay this late.”

“No worries. I can sleep till noon tomorrow.”

He rose from his chair, stretching his arms. “Do you think they all killed each other downstairs?”

“My guess is they played so hard they passed out at some point. That’s been known to happen.”

I got up and smoothed my skirt. I’d kicked off my sandals hours ago, and the weathered wood of the patio was cool under my bare feet.

Sergei took a step toward me. “Thanks again for the great meal. And the even better company.”

“You’re very welcome. I’m so glad you came.”

I stood on tippy-toes to give him a quick hug, but Sergei’s strong arms held me against him, enveloping my small frame. His body exuded warmth. I closed my eyes and breathed in the woody scent of his cologne. We’d shared plenty of hugs at competitions, but this felt so different, like we belonged nowhere else but in this embrace.

After what seemed like both an eternity and a split second, Sergei pulled away, his hands brushing down my back. He glanced downward and gestured to the door.

“I can let myself out.”

My head bobbed weakly. “Okay. I’ll see you Monday.”

“See you.” He held my gaze a moment longer than necessary. Then he was gone.

I stood paralyzed, listening to the blood pulse in my ears. My heart beat so fast I thought it might pound out of my chest. I couldn’t have imagined the electricity I’d felt in Sergei’s arms. It was too real. And I had no idea how I could ever forget it.

LIFE ON THE EDGE is available on:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Life-on-the-Edge-ebook/dp/B006T89A4Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1325724001&sr=1-1

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/life-on-the-edge-jennifer-comeaux/1108128017?ean=2940013689534&itm=1&usri=jennifer+comeaux

Astraea Press: http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=662245&mode=product&product=8347323

You can find me on the web here:

Author Website: http://jennifercomeaux.blogspot.com

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5368434.Jennifer_Comeaux

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/jennifercomeauxauthor.com

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/#!/LadyWave4

Lisa Orchard

Hello, my name is Lisa Orchard and I’m guest-blogging today for Seriously Reviewed. I would like to thank them for giving me the opportunity to introduce my debut novel, “The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer.” It’s a Young Adult Mystery and will be available from Amazon in March.

I have been asked what motivated me to write this story. First of all, I love mysteries, and as a young girl couldn’t put them down. I wanted to bring that same feeling of anticipation and joy to other young girls.

I also wanted to write a story about a strong female lead. A girl who is a nonconformist and thinks for herself. One that bases her decisions on her own set of values and her own inner moral code. A character so strong, that when the odds are stacked against her she perseveres and wins in the end.

My lead character, Sarah, is not perfect, but she is a strong girl who strives to right the injustices she sees and help victims who cannot help themselves. She is virtuous, even though she’s rebellious and mischievous at the same time.

As a young girl, the stories I seemed to remember the most are the ones that taught me a lesson. I wanted to write a story like that. One that teaches a lesson the reader can learn right along with the characters. The lesson embedded in this story is a basic one; “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” However, I feel it’s one that needs to be emphasized. I’ve written this story, so the young teen can come to this conclusion on her own, because we all know—you can’t “tell” a teenager anything.

Please read the blurb below describing the story and an excerpt from my first chapter. The book “The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer” will be available from Amazon in March.

This book opens in a small town in Michigan where fifteen-year-old Sarah Cole is stuck spending the summer at her Aunt and Uncle’s with her sister, Lacey. She’s not happy with the situation until she befriends a girl named Jackie. The three girls stumble upon the ruthless murder of a reclusive neighborhood woman. One of the officers investigating the crime believes the girls are responsible for her death. Fearing that this officer will frame them for the murder, the girls organize their own detective squad. They become the Super Spies and start their own fact-finding mission.  The Super Spies can’t understand why anyone would want to murder the “Cat Lady” until they start digging into her past and discover a horrible crime that happened thirty years ago. They uncover a connection between the two crimes and attempt to bring this information to the police, only to be reprimanded for meddling in the inquest. Not only are the girls upset by the admonition, but they also struggle with the fact that their exuberant investigating could provide a legal loophole allowing the killer to go free. To make matters worse, the police don’t even believe them. Frustrated by this turn of events, the Super Spies realize it’s up to them to snare the Cat Lady killer.

            Below is an excerpt from my book.

Alarm bells rang in Sarah’s head—this has to be out of character for someone who never leaves their home. She turned back and whispered to the other girls. “Hey!”

Jackie poked her head out. “What?”

“The storm door’s open.”

“So?”

“So…what do I do?”

“Duh…Ring the door bell.”

Sarah shrugged and pushed the doorbell. It let out an irritating buzz and she had the feeling it had been broken long ago and never fixed. She dashed down the stairs.  The cats scattered, alarmed by the sudden activity. Reaching the shrubs, Sarah hid with her sister and Jackie.

            Gasping for breath, Sarah waited for a reaction from the old woman. Her heart pummeled her ribs and she pressed her hand to her chest to calm it.

After a few minutes, Sarah started to pace. “Well…nothing’s happened.” She peeked out from behind the shrub and saw the screen door hanging ajar. “I bet she’s not even home. I’m going to try again.”

Jackie shrugged. “Be careful, remember she’s a witch.”

Sarah shook her head, and then peered out from behind the shrubs. Once again, she climbed the stairs. She was braver this time and it didn’t take her as long to make it to the door.

She looked inside, her heart lurching in her chest. She tiptoed to the picture window and peered through it. Gasping, she ran back to the entryway. Pulling it open, she lunged inside.

Sarah stared, unable to tear herself away.  Shock ran through her body like an electrical current as she eyed the scene before her. The crumpled form of the Cat Lady lay on the living room floor, just inside the door. No life flickered in the old woman’s staring eyes. Her mouth gaped open in a silent scream and her hands were up around her head as if she were warding off blows. Turning away from the Cat Lady’s body, Sarah gagged as the coppery scent of blood assaulted her. There was blood splattered everywhere, on the wall, on the carpet and under the Cat Lady’s body.

Suddenly, Sarah’s throat constricted and she gasped for breath. Fearing she would faint, she stumbled back out the door and collided with Jackie and Lacey on the porch.

Jackie grabbed Sarah’s arm and shook her. “What are you doing? Are you crazy? I never said to go inside!”

Sarah didn’t speak—she just stared blankly at the porch.

Jackie shook her again. “Are you under the Cat Lady’s spell?”

Lacey whimpered. “Hey, Sarah…can you hear me? Sarah?”

“She’s under the Cat Lady’s spell,” Jackie said waving her hand in front of Sarah’s eyes.

“Oh my---,” Sarah moaned and clutched Jackie’s arm.

“What is it?” Jackie shook her again. “Speak…say something!”

“Th-th-the C-C-Cat Lady, sh-sh-she’s,” Sarah stuttered.

“She’s what?” Jackie demanded.

“Sh-she’s dead.

Again, my book will be available in March. It can be found on Amazon.com. If you’re interested in following me, my website can be found at www.lisaorchard.com. You can also find me on Twitter—my twitter identity is lisarochard1.

Patricia Kiyono

Most of the time I'm quite self-motivated. I get up every day and write a "to do" list and manage to get most of the items checked off by the end of the day. But like most women, there are not enough hours in a day to get all the things done that I would like to do. Some things, like exercise, need a push from outside sources in order to make them a priority. Last summer it took a facebook post from a high school friend wanting to form a walking group that finally spurred me to make exercise a regular part of my routine.

I decided to examine the challenges that motivate me to get other things done to exercise my brain. Goodreads has now become part of my life through my association with writers. I spotted the reading challenge there. I realized that as I've begun writing more, I've read less and less. And that bothers me because I need to keep up on what's out there. Besides, I want to support my fellow writers. So I signed on to assure that I read on a regular basis. It's easy now with ebooks. I have some on my laptop, some on my ipad, and some on my iphone. There is absolutely no excuse to "just sit there". I can read anywhere, at any time.

In my writing life, other challenges motivate me. I use a website called 750 Words to make myself write every day. If I don't get 750 words written by 9 am Eastern time, I get an email reminder. And if I skip a day, my calendar on the website has a "hole", or a square with no X in it. That bothers me enough to start writing again, wanting to get that uninterrupted writing streak longer and longer.

Both of my writing groups issue a yearly challenge that urges us to "get that book done". We pay money to the treasury for each book we want to finish in that calendar year and then when the book is finished, we send a copy of the last page to the coordinator. At the Christmas party, the names of all who completed the challenge are put in a hat and a name is drawn. The winner gets half the pot, and the treasury gets the other half. Last year the winner of one writing group got over $100!

Another writing challenge that just began this month is Winter NaNo. Modeled after the National Novel Writing Month (NaNo) challenge in November, this puts the contest in a month in which women are not as stressed about family holidays. We pay $5 to accept the challenge to write 32K in 28 days. It's a doable challenge and I've accepted it three years in a row. The first year of Winter Nano, I wrote a story taking place in Greece, where I had vacationed the previous year. Prior to the challenge, I did a little plotting and a few character sketches, and on the first day I went to work. After the month was over I had a good start on the story. I worked on it some more and then put it away. Other projects called me!

Then last year I got my foot in the door with Astraea Press. I had such a great experience with my first novella, The Legacy, that I decided to take out my Greek Island story and dust it off. Instead of the full length novel I had planned, I tightened it up to novella length and submitted it. Aegean Intrigue, released on February 2, is the result.

Blurb:

Someone has been stealing priceless Greek artifacts and it's Alex Leonidis' job to uncover the thief. His prime suspect is beautiful archaeological graduate student, Francie Vasileiou. His plan is to join in an archaeological dig and catch her in the act. All he has to do is keep his mind on his job, and not on the way his lovely suspect warms his heart. He's learned the hard way not to trust fragile-looking women who seem to need his help.

Francie wants to get her PhD and become an archaeologist, like her famous father. The sudden invitation to participate in a dig on the beautiful Greek island of Paros is a wonderful opportunity. She has no time for distractions like Alex, the handsome Project Director. Experience has taught her to stay clear of handsome, charismatic Greek men.

On the shores of the Aegean Sea, Alex and Francie work together, searching for treasures from Greece's past. While pursuing their goals, they discover some of the truths they had believed to be carved in stone may have been flawed.

Iris Blobel

I assume when people hear of Australia their minds wander off to beautiful beaches, sunshine, surfing and maybe even the Great Barrier Reef! Yes, I understand, that was what I always dreamt of before moving here ... only to find out there's a different side to this vast country.
I live near Melbourne, and yes we have beaches, and yes we have the surf and the sunshine, but mainly during summer to enjoy. It's more like the European climate here. And yes it can get cold in Winter. Our Winter! And then one year I went even further south, even colder: Tasmania - the tiny isle just south of Australia. Okay, fair enough, it's a large island and comparable to the size of Scotland or West Virginia. Tassie’s got beaches, mountains, history, adventure AND ghosts! As they say, the rest is history - I wanted to include this beautiful spot in my next story. And what goes along better with dreams than Ireland? It was the obvious choice for the other side of the world, because most of all I love it. Anything Irish! But it also made sense, because the Irish have Shamrocks, Leprechauns, Lucky Charms, Fairies and so much more.

 So I would like to take you on this journey. This journey about a dream, which takes a young Tassie girl to Ireland. Yet it's not only about Hollie's literal dream, but also about the dreams we all have in life, the dream we're living or we would like to live. It's about the dreams we talk about, but we won't do anything about, because life seems to be too demanding. Or sometimes just the "daydreaming" after reading a really nice story! That's what I like most. And the dream to meet "Mr Perfect", apologies, of course "Mrs Perfect" as well. Only sometimes to let go of the dream that "Mr Perfect" is indeed perfect, but doesn't quite look like the "man of our dreams", you know, the don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover idea.

 So do you fancy some dreaming?

Would you travel around the world to uncover the reason for your dreams?
Hollie Anderson does.


A young woman from Tasmania who lives on a farm just outside Launceston, she has got good looks, likes her job and loves to hang out with her friends. She should be happy, right?



But it’s a recurrent dream that throws her daily life into chaos and takes her on a journey to Ireland. While on her quest for answers she meets Sam in Dublin under unusual circumstances and both women, so different in many ways, find out they have one thing in common - and it changes their lives forever.

Iris Blobel

I assume when people hear of Australia their minds wander off to beautiful beaches, sunshine, surfing and maybe even the Great Barrier Reef! Yes, I understand, that was what I always dreamt of before moving here ... only to find out there's a different side to this vast country.

I live near Melbourne, and yes we have beaches, and yes we have the surf and the sunshine, but mainly during summer to enjoy. It's more like the European climate here. And yes it can get cold in Winter. Our Winter! And then one year I went even further south, even colder: Tasmania - the tiny isle just south of Australia. Okay, fair enough, it's a large island and comparable to the size of Scotland or West Virginia. Tassie’s got beaches, mountains, history, adventure AND ghosts! As they say, the rest is history - I wanted to include this beautiful spot in my next story. And what goes along better with dreams than Ireland? It was the obvious choice for the other side of the world, because most of all I love it. Anything Irish! But it also made sense, because the Irish have Shamrocks, Leprechauns, Lucky Charms, Fairies and so much more.

So I would like to take you on this journey. This journey about a dream, which takes a young Tassie girl to Ireland. Yet it's not only about Hollie's literal dream, but also about the dreams we all have in life, the dream we're living or we would like to live. It's about the dreams we talk about, but we won't do anything about, because life seems to be too demanding. Or sometimes just the "daydreaming" after reading a really nice story! That's what I like most. And the dream to meet "Mr Perfect", apologies, of course "Mrs Perfect" as well. Only sometimes to let go of the dream that "Mr Perfect" is indeed perfect, but doesn't quite look like the "man of our dreams", you know, the don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover idea.

So do you fancy some dreaming?

Would you travel around the world to uncover the reason for your dreams?
Hollie Anderson does.

A young woman from Tasmania who lives on a farm just outside Launceston, she has got good looks, likes her job and loves to hang out with her friends. She should be happy, right?

But it’s a recurrent dream that throws her daily life into chaos and takes her on a journey to Ireland. While on her quest for answers she meets Sam in Dublin under unusual circumstances and both women, so different in many ways, find out they have one thing in common - and it changes their lives forever.