Writer's moments
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A Touching Review
I’m always so excited when someone reads my books and loves them. It’s an author’s greatest wish to touch readers on a visceral level. I don’t have have to tell you that in the romance genre, that’s sometimes difficult to accomplish. We’re entertaining our readers, taking them into a fantasy for a short time, and always, always giving them a happily-ever-after. Yesterday, Becky Condit of Mrs. Condit and Friends Read Books reviewed Sex and the Widow Miles, the second book in my Women of Willow Bay series. Her review included a personal story about how she related to the heroine, Julie Miles, because she too lost her husband to a…
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8-Sentence Sunday
Here we go, kids…still in the beginning of Novel 3 in the Women of Willow Bay series (this book seriously needs a title!), and still in Captain McGuire’s POV… Three years later, multimillionaire Salvatore “Sonny” Todaro salvaged the boat, towed it to Chicago, and had it refitted as his own personal yacht. He renamed her Caroline Howe to honor his mother. Now, she was luxurious again, with staterooms outfitted for the ultimate comfort of Todaro and his friends and family. But the Caroline Howe had another mission—the refit had included state-of-the-art diesel engines that sent the boat moving swiftly over the Great Lakes, and for several years, she’d carried an…
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8-Sentence Sunday
Weekend Writing Warriors are busy on new stories and because I am a warrior, here’s another snippet from Novel 4 in the Women of Willow Bay series. Continuing from where we left off last week, we’re still in 1933 with Captain Frank McGuire… It’s not like an extra day or two was going to make or break Todaro. Hell, the man had more money that he could ever spend in several lifetimes. Besides, it was probably the last trip he’d ever make if Roosevelt did as he promised and signed the Twenty-First Amendment next month. Maybe Todaro was worrying about losing this source of income, trying to get in a…
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8-Sentence Sunday
It’s time again for a snippet from my current WIP. This time I’m switching to a scene from the fourth Women of Willow Bay book–yeah, I’m working on two at once and no, neither one has a title yet. This one is a little different in that it contains a bit of suspense. Setup is 46-year-old Sophie Russo has always been a summer resident of Willow Bay, coming up every summer of her life with her grandfather who owned two cottages on the Lake Michigan shore. Sophie is a quiet, shy freelance editor, who has been caring for her sick grandfather for the last two years. Her beloved Papa Leo…
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8-Sentence Sunday
Can you believe it’s a new 8-Sentence Sunday? Where is the time going? I’m deep into Book 3 of the Women of Willow Bay series–Sarah’s as-yet untitled story. I’m open to suggestions by the way. Setup is the same as last week–Sarah is closing up La Belle Femme, the resale shop she manages at a women’s shelter in Chicago. A mysterious limo has been parked outside each evening for the past couple of days and she and Mack, the nightwatchman are wondering… “Yup,” Sarah returned the smile—Mack was a sweetheart. She switched off all the lights except the can lights over the front window and locked the register as he…
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8-Sentence Sunday
Annnndddd…we’re back with a new Weekend Writing Warrior’s 8-Sentence Sunday post. I’ve decided to take you all along as I start my new Women of Willow Bay novel, so who knows where we’ll end up. This week, I’m giving you the first 8 sentences of the new book. So here’s the setup: We met our heroine in Sex and the Widow Miles–she’s Sarah Everett, the woman who ran the Chicago resale shop in the battered women’s shelter where Julie volunteered. Remember tough little red-headed Sarah, who went toe-to-toe with a gun-toting abuser? Six years ago, she escaped her abusive husband and ran away to Chicago, where she now manages the…
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Big Doings!
Great stuff going on this week! I had a blast talking to the amazing Lani Diane Rich over at StoryWonk this week. Our interview is here. Grab a cup of coffee and come on by for a listen. The chat starts about 20 minutes into the podcast, but start at the beginning because Alastair is always fun and interesting. In other news, I’m guest blogging at Lynne Marshall‘s blog today–a like-minded author who also writes older heroines. Come by and check out both our books and join in the conversation about whatever happened to Baby Boomers and jeans.
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I’m Being Interviewed!
In anticipation of the release of the first two (count ’em, two!!) novels in The Women of Willow Bay series, I’m answering questions from Liz Flaherty over at Word Wranglers. Come on by and talk to me!
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Weekend Writing Warriors 8-Sentence Sunday
It’s Sunday and you know what that means! Time for another snippet from one of my novels. So we’re still with Carrie in ONCE MORE FROM THE TOP, and she’s still reeling after discovering that the man who’s haunted her dreams for so long is suddenly in Willow Bay. In this scene, she’s sitting in the local coffee shop reading the paper a couple of days after seeing Maestro Liam Reilly for the first time in sixteen years. Of course the big news in the Arts and Entertainment section is…you guessed it… The headline jumped out at her as she shook the Record-Eagle open to the Arts and Entertainment section,…
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Butterflies and Nervous Knots…and Fair Warning
It’s less than a week now before the first two new novels in the Women of Willow Bay series release, and do I need to tell you I’m a basket case? My heart is in my throat and in my socks and then in my throat again. I’m not sleeping much as my brain races through all the things on my list. This feels completely different from how I felt when Rule Number One released, probably because this time, it’s all on me. Indie publishing is uncharted and very scary territory, but it’s exciting and challenging. I’m terrified, yet truly confident that this is the right path for me and…