Interview with Author Stacy S Eaton – New Release “Whether I’ll Live or Die” – Must read!

Today we have a wonderful interview with International Bestselling Author Stacy S. Eaton, who has just released her 3rd book!

How would you describe Whether I Live or Die to someone who has not yet read it?

“Whether I’ll Live or Die” is an intense emotional drama dealing with the subject of Domestic Violence.  During the story you will walk with Amanda as she goes through several abusive relationships at a young adult age.  Her life will be anything but sweet and loving.

You will also meet Officer Nicole Nolan who deals with domestic violence through the legal aspects of her job.  Knowing how to deal with victims of abuse is touchy for her and she does all she can to help the victims she encounters.

A final showdown will intertwine the destinies.

Which came first, the title or the novel? 

They actually came at the same time. I believe the title defines a novel, and when you have a good solid plotline, the title should reflect that. The title for this one was born at the same time as the plotline, in that 30 minute drive.

What was the hardest part of writing your book? What is the easiest?

“Whether I’ll Live or Die” is a very intense novel dealing with domestic violence. There were times when I would write scenes and have to get up after a paragraph and walk away from the computer. The emotions were raw at times, and anger or pain would well up in me and I would need a break.

I also wanted to make sure that I showed the emotions and the pain as authentically as I could. It was important that I portray Amanda (the young victim) in the correct light and show the strength that Nicole (the Police Officer) has to have in order to deal with everything that happens.

The easiest part of the whole story was the plot line. It came to me in about thirty minutes while I was driving.  When I got home, I sat down and wrote the first two chapters and then the last. I knew exactly where I wanted this story to go, it was putting the words to the emotions that was the hard part.

Is this story based on an actual investigation you were involved with?

Well, that’s a yes and no. WILoD is the story of Amanda and Nicole.  Amanda is a young girl who craves love and finds herself drawn into abusive relationships one after another. Nicole is a strong control driver police officer who deals with the legal issues of domestic violence in her job. While no particular part of this book is 100% real, there are moments in this book that are taken right out of the past. Whose past? Too many to actually name Mike.

Domestic Violence is a very serious problem in our society. The actors have such a mental and physical control over the victims that they fear their lives and feel that they can never get out.

So, while you will see a whole lot of real life incidents, they are twisted and turned to get the message across for this book.

What gives you inspiration for your book(s)?

Life… Everything in life inspires me. People in my life inspire me. Seeing the emotions that people put out there and the adventures they experience inspires me. I use them all to make stories real. I use a lot of my knowledge from my job to bring a realistic view to my plot lines. Many people have told me they weren’t into vampires, but the realistic police work in my series has changed their minds! Lol… I love to hear that!

What do you think makes a good story?

I am all about twists.  I don’t want to know what is coming at the end of the book. I want to be surprised. Most romance novels all end the same… happily ever after… but if you look at life, seldom does it end that way. In my novels, I may end them happily ever after, but the twists that come in the story are surprising and most readers will not see them coming.

The My Blood Runs Blue series is a good example of that. In the first two books, I throw so many twists in them that people were amazed at the ending results. I know quite a few people who were not happy with the ending of My Blood Runs Blue, book 1 of the series. There were many people who told me that they wanted to other man to win, but I promised all those people that eventually he will get what he truly deserves. It will just be filled with some series twists before he gets there.

Whether I’ll Live or Die doesn’t have the kind of twists that I normally put to my stories, but this was a different journey. This one needed to explain the pain and frustration associated with abuse.

You have two other novels published besides Whether I’ll Live or Die, what are they about?

Currently I have a series called “My Blood Runs Blue” where I have two of the four books published. Now that Whether I’ll Live or Die is published I am working on the third book in the series.

This series is very different from my new book. It is a paranormal suspense series where I bring police and vampires together. There is a lot of police procedural stuff in them and made the vampires more human than many novels out there. While so many paranormal books target young adults, this series is for the mature ones, well young and heart mature ones!

What are you working on now besides the next book in the series?

I am also working on several other novels. I have a contemporary romance that I would like to finish. I have the fourth book in the series to complete too. One of my favorite projects to work on is a new guardian angel novel. I have let a few people read for first 15 chapters of this and they are really enjoying it.  It’s a fun novel to work on.

I have so many other projects that I would like to jump into, but with my full time police job and family it makes it very hard to find the time.

Thank you Wendy for allowing me to visit your blog and your readers! I always love to visit new places!

Connect with Stacy on her website, Twitter, her blog, Facebook, and Goodreads.

View the video trailer on Youtube!

Whether I’ll Live or Die is available on Amazon and Barnes&Noble

“It sounded so simple in theory; ready… aim… fire… but what actually transpired was so much more.”

Officer Nicole Nolan holds the gun steady in her hands, knowing that life will be forever altered once she pulls the trigger. Her position as a small town police officer is to protect those who cannot protect themselves. It is her job, her career and her life.

Amanda stands where protection does not exist. With several failed relationships behind her, Amanda turns a blind eye to the possessiveness Josh displays in order to sooth her desperate need to be loved. As the mental abuse turns violent, Amanda must deal with the denial and embarrassment of being a victim once again. With her emotional and physical health siting on the edge, she must fight to regain control of her life.

A gripping story with one final destination, but will it be life or death?

[Guest Post] Five Tenents of Novel Writing by Dina Santorelli

My Five Tenets of Novel Writing

By Dina Santorelli

Anyone can start writing a novel. But anyone can’t finish one. It takes a lot of work, determination, commitment and guts. Every Sunday, I offer writing tips on my blog, Making ‘Baby Grand,’ lessons I learned on the road to publication for my first novel, Baby Grand. But if I were to select five of the most crucial tenets of novel writing—the five “musts” of getting it done—they would be the following:

1. You must make time to write. If you’re going to treat this book as a hobby or something you’ll get to “one of these days,” trust me, it’s never going to get written. You need to take your novel off the back burner of your life and make it a focal point, just as you would anything else that’s important to you. Does this mean that you may lose sleep in order to work on your novel? Spend less time with your family? Miss some outings with friends? Yes, yes, and yes. And you should, if working on your novel is important to you. So create a schedule that meets your needs. I wrote 1,000 words a day to finish Baby Grand and am now doing the same as I finish my second novel, In the Red. That works for me, allowing me to feel like I accomplished enough writing for the day while allowing me to spend time with my family. For you, it might be 500 words a day, or maybe just one hour a day. Whatever schedule you create, stick to it. No excuses.
2. You must know that it’s going to be hard. Self-doubt will plague you every step of the way. Every. Step. I can’t do this. I’m a horrible writer. What was I thinking? It’s awful, but you have to fight through it and keep in mind that it happens to all of us. No matter how awful you think your writing is or your book is going to be in the end, just keep going anyway. You’ll be glad you did. As I like to say, “Bad writing is better than no writing.” Bad writing you can fix. No writing is just no writing.
3. You must believe in your vision and not worry about your audience. I’ve come across people who tell me they’d love to write, but they don’t think anyone would find what they have to say interesting. I ask them if they find it interesting. And if the answer is yes (it always is), I tell them to write it. Because if they write it with passion, I’ll want to read it. If you write about what drives you, what makes you laugh, what’s meaningful to you, that’s what makes compelling reading. And you won’t have to worry about finding an audience. Your audience will find you.
4. You must read, read, read. As often as you can. Particularly the genres that you like to write. Reading will expose you to all sorts of styles and opinions, will open your mind and your heart, will make you more knowledgeable, inform your sensibilities and help you find your place in the literary cosmos. In short, it will make you a better writer. Case closed.
5. You must never give up. If you want to be a writer — I mean, really want to be a writer — you should never give up. When I advise aspiring writers that they should never quit and never take no for an answer, I always think of my husband — my level-headed, pragmatic husband — who has said, “Dina, be serious, you can believe and believe and believe, but, the truth is, not everyone is going to become a successful novelist.” My answer to that? Well, somebody will. And who’s to say it won’t be him? Or her? Or me?

Dina Santorelli is a freelance writer/editor who has written for many print and online publications, such as Newsday, First for Women and CNNMoney.com. She served as the “with” writer for Good Girls Don’t Get Fat (Harlequin, 2010) and most recently contributed to Bully (Weinstein Books, September 2012), a companion book to the acclaimed film. Dina is the current Executive Editor of Salute and Family magazines for which she has interviewed many celebrities, including James Gandolfini, Tim McGraw, Angela Bassett, Mario Lopez, Gary Sinise and Kevin Bacon. You can follow Dina on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and on her blog. Baby Grand, her first novel, is available on Amazon.

In Albany, New York, the governor’s infant daughter disappears without a trace from her crib at the Executive Mansion. Hours later, newly divorced and down-and-out writer Jamie Carter is abducted from the streets of Manhattan. Jamie is whisked upstate, where she is forced by her captor, Don Bailino, an ex-war hero/successful businessman, to care for the kidnapped child in a plot to delay the execution of mobster Gino Cataldi – the sixth man to be put to death in six years by hardliner Governor Phillip Grand. What prevails is a modern-day thriller about family ties, loyalty, murder, betrayal, and love that’s told in deftly interweaving narratives that follow the police investigation of the missing Baby Grand, the bad guys who took her, and the woman who found the strength to protect her.

[Guest Post] Sexy Sleuthing –Only the Sassy Need Apply

Today I am pleased to welcome best-selling author Amy Manemann!

Sexy Sleuthing –Only the Sassy Need Apply

My heroine in the Deadly Series (Investigative Reporter Taci Andrews) doesn’t wield a gun, nor does she drive a flashy car. She doesn’t have a full time boyfriend, and other than a few personal friends, has no social life whatsoever. So, what makes her considered a Sexy Sleuth? Simple. She has a sassiness about her that draws you in and leaves you wanting for more. And, as hot fireman Tony Parsons can attest to, she is pretty damn sexy when she’s in sleuthing mode.

While Taci doesn’t wield a gun (let alone know how to use one) she has a biting sense of humor that’ll cut you to the quick. Her car may be a Honda Civic that seems to spend more time in the repair shop than on the road, but at least it occasionally manages to get her to work on time. As for the boyfriend avenue, Tony Parsons would easily fit that bill if he wasn’t all hell bent on keeping her out of trouble.

So what are the requirements for Sexy Sleuthing, you might ask? Let me introduce you to Sexy Sleuthing 101:

1. Never let the bad guys see you squirm, even when they’re holding you at gunpoint.

2. Learn diversionary techniques, they come in handy when you need to escape said bad guys.

3. You’ll need to drive a nondescript car that’ll be good for tailing, but something you won’t miss too much if it gets parked next to a building that suddenly explodes.

4. Definitely flirt with hot firemen, even when they’re determined to get in the way of you doing your job.

5. Definitely get up close and personal with said hot fireman. You know, for the sake of job research.

And the most important rule of Sleuthing 101:

6. Always (and I can’t stress this enough) have a bag of Double stuffed Oreos on hand for that occasional emergency. Said emergencies would include (but are not limited to) broken hearts, meddling mother’s, annoying suck up brothers, friends with hyperactive children or just overall sexual frustration with a relationship that isn’t really a relationship. You know, the usual stuff.

So there you have it, Sexy Sleuthing 101 as told by investigative reporter, Taci Andrews. Now that you know the requirements, are you ready to join the Sexy Sleuthing ranks?

International best-selling author, Amy Manemann, is the author of Deadly Reunion and Deadly Science, the first two books of the Deadly Series (Taci Andrews Mysteries). She resides in her hometown along the Mississippi river with her husband and their two children, where she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, writing, blogging and interviewing authors to feature on her website. Amy is also a site administrator for the World Literary Cafe.

Connect with Amy through her website www.amymanemann.webs.com or blog www.amymanemann.webs.com.

Guest Post: Bestselling Author Bonnie Trachtenberg

Welcome Bonnie Trachtenberg, best selling author of Wedlocked and the new release Neurotically Yours!

Writing From Your Life

I was just a teen when wanderlust took me in its grasp. This fact is somewhat surprising given my sometimes nervous nature, but it was as if a stronger, more purposeful force had infused me with the courage to follow this unlikely inclination. When I graduated college, my itchy feet finally got moving. I left my comfortable New York nest and moved to Los Angeles. There, I immediately commenced the existence I had desired—a life filled with…well, life!

I started from scratch with a new house, new job, new friends, and completely new experiences. At the time, I didn’t know what impelled me to this drastic change, but as the years went by, the reason crystallized. Having grown up in a happy, sheltered home with relatively normal family and friends surrounding me, my life had been blissfully ordinary. It was not the stuff of books or movies. It lacked drama and excitement—and deep down, I knew that wouldn’t make for fascinating copy.

I yearned to meet all kinds of interesting people from all parts of the country and the world. I needed to chase my whimsical dreams no matter where they took me, explore my career options, have my heart broken, and grow as a person—away from the comforting arms of my parents. I was going to be a writer, and I needed all the inspiration, knowledge, and experience I could muster if I was going to be a really good one.

Having launched my second book just days ago, I confirm that my instincts were right. Both of my novels are romantic comedies chock full of those wild, enthralling life experiences I’ve collected. The first, Wedlocked, is based on my first brief, disastrous marriage and subsequent honeymoon in hell. My second, Neurotically Yours, details many of my bizarre encounters out on the dating scene for almost two decades. Today, my brain is a seemingly endless reservoir of colorful memories, real people, and true circumstances, all ready to be tapped for fictional use—just as I unconsciously intended.

My greatest compliments are from readers who tell me my characters seem so genuine, the emotions so relatable, and the dialogue immensely engaging. I firmly believe that much of the reason for this is that my stories are not merely conjured up from my imagination; I’ve lived and breathed them. And now my life truly is an open book.

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Bonnie Trachtenberg is the award-winning, bestselling author of Wedlocked: A Novel and Neurotically Yours: A Novel. She writes a monthly relationship and advice column for LoveaHappyEnding.com. Bonnie was senior writer and copy chief at Book-of-the-Month Club and has written seven children’s book adaptations. She has also written for three newspapers and penned countless magazine articles. She lives on Long Island with her husband, four cats and a dog.

Connect with Bonnie online:

Website

Relationship Column

Twitter

Facebook

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And grab Neurotically Yours now at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

 

Website: http://www.BonnieTrachtenberg.com

Relationship column: http://loveahappyending.com/editor-bonnie-trachtenberg/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/writebrainedny

Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/BonnieTrachtenberg

Bio (if you need)

Bonnie Trachtenberg is the award-winning, bestselling author of Wedlocked: A Novel and Neurotically Yours: A Novel. She writes a monthly relationship and advice column for LoveaHappyEnding.com. Bonnie was senior writer and copy chief at Book-of-the-Month Club and has written seven children’s book adaptations. She has also written for three newspapers and penned countless magazine articles. She lives on Long Island with her husband, four cats and a dog.

Q&A with Beth Elisa Harris, Author of Vision and the new book Soul Herder

Today I bring you an interview with Beth Elisa Harris, author of VISION and the  new sequel SOUL HERDER.

Q: Where did the idea come from for the VISION trilogy?

A: About ten years ago, we discovered some family history from Colonsay, an island off the coast of Scotland. We learned about our clan and others. From there my imagination took over. I’ve always been fascinated with the power of the sixth sense and human connection. The trilogy was because I needed the time to tell Layla’s story over a period of time and the spans large periods of time.

Q: What can readers expect from SOUL HERDER?

A: In VISION, readers are introduced to Layla, her family, her boyfriend and learn about her history. Her Clear abilities—the profound capacity to read thoughts and predict events through dreams—create danger and geo-political interest and bad things happen. She has a unique relationship with her mom and with a woman from Colonsay that blows the lid off life as she knows it. She discovers her connections and why she can no longer have a normal life. In SOUL HERDER, Layla is transformed. Without giving the story away, it’s a game-changer. Layla goes from isolated bookworm to a significant global citizen almost overnight. My hope is when readers finish SOUL HERDER they will recognize this is a story about transformation, connection, power, and fulfilling destiny. The geo-political component adds complex dimension but most important, Layla is not the same girl who left Portland the previous year. There is also tons of action in SOUL HERDER including an intense battle scene.

Q: What can we expect in the final book and is there a release date?

A: WRITTEN IN TIME will conclude the trilogy and go further back in history to unveil how Layla’s prophesy came to be. It will also reveal origins of the Bane revenge for power and land. ‘Nuff said! We are aiming for a release toward the end of the year. It’s ambitious—two in one year, but I have other projects I’m working on and I really want to have the full trilogy out there for readers why I turn my attention to other partially written books. As much as I love the story and characters, it will be time to say goodbye after the third and final. I am sure I will cry as I did with the others!

Q: Tell us about a typical day as an author.

A: First thing I do is check emails and social media to see if there are any hot or issues to tend. Then I either work on whatever book I’m writing, or I’m editing or formatting. I write well in the morning through noon, and prefer minimal conversing during that time. After that, I work on what seems most pressing. I don’t need inspiration or a particular place or a particular song playing to write. I don’t get writers block. I just need require time, and maybe some caffeine!

Q: What inspires you to tell stories?

A: Yikes! Well, when I was just learning to speak, my mom used to tell the story of how I would not leave her alone to use the restroom. She would hear me breathe under the door and I would beg her to let me in so I could tell her a story. So, the inclination started early. I am not sure where the inspiration comes from—people always ask me how I ‘come up with this stuff’ and I can only respond by saying ‘it just does.’ I can create a story around just about anything—the challenge is determining if that story can be expanded to a book and an interesting one people will want to read. I want interesting things to happen to my characters. I admire fearless story-telling, when authors go to a place others dare to tread. I can handle dark places, but give the reader something that is redeeming, that inspires or connects in some way. Otherwise, I think it’s a let-down and a negative experience. Fiction has the power to uplift and change people. I can finish a book and be a little sad, but I don’t want to be angry or feel the situation didn’t resolve well.

Q: In your blogs, you talk a lot about the business of writing. Is being an author worth the time spent on the business side of the industry?

A: Ideally, I think most authors, if given a choice, would opt to write all day. The business side is unglamorous and requires a ton of daily attention, but it’s necessary to connect with readers, grow sales and promote your work. There is no way around it, unless you are not trying to make a name for yourself and earn a living. So, yes it’s worth the time and energy and effort, because selling books allows you to continue writing. It’s all connected.

Q: What is the most difficult part of the writing process for you?

A: Honestly, I agonize over every word, sentence and paragraph. I lay in bed re-phrasing something I’ve written and can’t relax until I’ve made the change or at least jotted it down so I remember. There are countless ways to say something. Then I consider how the character speaks. Is it true to their speech pattern and vocabulary. When you write a series, the voices become second nature because you know the characters well. In the VISION trilogy, Layla grows, matures and changes through the books, so her voice evolves. Stuart, on the other hand, is steadfast, although in SOUL HERDER we see more of his thick dialect influenced by years of living in proper times!

Connect with Beth further on her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Be sure to check out both

Vision and Soul Herder!

New Release from Emerald Barnes! Read Me Dead

Today we have Emerald Barnes, author of Read Me Dead.  She is here to introduce her character Christian Miller.  He was one of her favorites!

I hope that this little introduction into his mindset will leave you wanting more!

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My name is Christian Miller, and Alexia Wheaton is the love of my life.

Her parents died when she was only ten.  It’s haunted her ever since.  Now, the secret she’s been carrying has finally come out, and she’s terrified.  To be honest, so am I.  I can lose her at any moment.

When she first told us her secret, my immediate thought was only of protecting her, and when her twin brother writes her off because she kept this secret, she needs someone, and I plan on being that someone.  But Landon, our best friend, tries to swoop in and take her away from me.  And he succeeds.

But I never stop fighting for her, and I never stop loving her.  I will protect her.  No matter the cost.

Come April 25th, you can see how our story ends.

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More about the book:

Alexia Wheaton’s problems go beyond picking a dress and a date for homecoming.

For seven years, Alex has lived with a painful memory – her parents’ horrific murder. As the sole witness, she has kept quiet to protect herself, but when the local newspaper reveals her secret, Alex is plagued with fear that her parents’ murderer will soon find her – and silence her forever.

Alex is catapulted into a race against time to save her own life and bring her parents’ murderer to justice.

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www.emeraldbarnes.us

www.facebook.com/fanpageforemeraldbarnes

(Like and you could win a free book!)

www.twitter.com/emeraldbarnes

Happy Birthday to Me and a g1ft for you

Today is my birthday. I like gifts, but I can never decide what I want so this year I’m going to give! Today only, my first book, Come the Shadows, is free at the community website Worldliterarycafe. To access the gift you simply need to complete a free registration on the site. Enjoy!

Actually, I am also going to ‘gift’ something to myself. For several reasons, I have been unable to write in nearly a month. It’s not writer’s block – in fact I’m at the BEST part of book 3, just before the climax. My gift to myself is that this weekend I *will* write and I will get ever-closer to finishing that first draft. I had hoped to bring the third book out at the end of March but that’s not realistic now. New goal is the end of April, early May at the latest. I’m more than ready to have this trilogy complete and start the next book, which is actually the FIRST book I started, two years ago. The plot of which is very lightly referenced in Come the Shadows… 🙂

It’s #teasertrain Thursday! Hope on board with Shades of Gray!

Excerpt from Shades of Gray by Andy Holloman

He reserved his Sunday nights for the most important person in his life—his six-year-old daughter Lucy. These nights were referred to as the Sabbath and he always observed. On more than one occasion, he had mentioned his Sunday night dinners with Lucy were the source of good luck for the upcoming week. Tonight, however, would end any further mention of the delight he took in these evenings.

Lucy had always chosen the location for their dates, and, the familiar ching-ching-ching-ching rattle of dollar bills being exchanged for golden tokens falling from the change dispensers rang in John’s ears. The clanging of bells from the game machines and the flashing lights reminded him of Las Vegas. They were, however, quite far from Sin City as they slipped into a booth at the Chuckie Cheese in Raleigh, North Carolina. Parents hurried past them, chasing small children. Older children stuffed chains of small white tickets into the counting machine so they could collect a prize worth ten cents after spending ten dollars to collect the tickets from games of skill like pinball, skeeball, whack-a-mole, and pop-a-shot. No doubt casino owners the world over would sell their soul for similar odds.

She reached across the table and pulled on his sleeve.

“Daddy? Are you thinking about what kind of pizza to get?”

He sighed. “I’m not thinking about anything except how perfect a little girl you are. You pick the pizza tonight.”

“Well I want a pizza with double cheese and nothing else on it like that gross stuff that you like.” She smiled and studied the menu. As if she would order anything else.

He removed his glasses and pushed his thinning blonde hair back from his eyes. He wiped the lens clean with his tie.

“Daddy, Nana told me that I should help you watch what you eat so you don’t get any fatter.”

“Hmmm, so my mom told you that?”

“Yes, but she said it was for your own good and that when I told you this, you would understand. She told me that you used to be a skinnier and that wherever you went, pretty ladies would always smile at you.”
“I will tell her Daddy. You don’t have to worry. But she did say that now you look more like you are sixty instead of forty-four.”“Seems like I better have a little chat with your Nana. She needs to understand that I’ve been working hard to be a good dad and take care of my business and that maybe it is OK to let other things slip a little.”

“Wow! Now I know that I need to talk to my mom.”

“Daddy, you don’t …’

“It’s OK sweetie, your nana is just looking out for me. I know she just wants me to take care of myself so I can take care of you.”

She looked up at him from the menu, dark eyes twinkling. “Daddy, when are we going on another big boat trip? You remember how you said that we could go again and Wanda and Tonya could go with us? When can we go again?”

He shook his head, leaned forward and took her small hand in his.

“Sweetie, you’ve been asking me the same question three times a day since Wanda and I got back from the last one a few weeks ago. I’m not sure if we are going to go again right away.”

“I just have to wait and see if it’s necessary to go again, sweetie. Wanda and I got a lot of work done on the last trip, so we probably won’t go

again.” She pulled her hand away and sat back against the seat, turned her head to the side and crossed her arms.

“You said I could go again, Daddy! Remember, you did! It’s not fair.”

“What’s not fair, Lucy?”

“You and Wanda didn’t even take me and Tonya last time.”

“Look, I know how much you like Tonya but you don’t have to be on a cruise ship to have fun playing with her. We can meet her at a park, or McDonald’s or some other place to play.” He watched her uncross her arms and put her hands back on the table. She didn’t reach for his hand.

She spoke without looking up. “Daddy, umm, do you think that you could marry Wanda?” He closed his eyes and tilted his head to the ceiling,  smiling. “If you and Wanda got married then I could have a mommy and Tonya would be my sister.” She gave him a pleading smile. John was used to the question. He called it the “mommy test.” It was not a difficult test to pass. Lucy’s only requirements were: She had to like the potential mommy and the candidate had to be female.

Buy Shades of Gray now on Amazon

Guest Post: Writing While Ill

Today’s guest post is by Andrea Buginsky, author of The Chosen and My Open Heart.

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Writing While Ill

When you’re not feeling well, there’s really nothing you want to do. You certainly don’t want to work. So what do you do when you have a writing assignment deadline fast approaching while you’re not feeling well? Simple: You take care of yourself, and work when you can. It may mean asking for an extension, or using some much-needed time management skills, but if you take things step-by-step, you can get the work done.

1. For starters, make a list of all the work you have to get done and include the deadline. Then, start with the projects due the earliest. Can you request an extension on them? If so, then problem solved! If not, then you need to take them one-by-one and slowly work on them when you’re feeling up to it.
2. If you have a laptop or tablet, you can take your work to bed with you. Work for a little while, and then take a break. Keep your work on your nightstand so you can pick it up and work on it at any time, such as between naps.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Whether it’s your editor, a fellow writer friend, or your spouse, ask for some assistance. You need to do the writing, of course, but a trusted friend or companion can edit for you, send and track emails, answer phone calls, and send out mail.
4. Use the time wisely. While you’re sick, it’s a great time to catch up on your reading, even new or old writing books you’ve been wanting to take a look at. Use your downtime to hone your skills and review.

Most importantly, take care of yourself. This is the most important thing you can do. If you simply are too ill to do the work, explain that to your editor. They’re human, after all. They should understand that sometimes life just gets in the way. Then, lie back, relax, and take care of yourself.

You can work through your health issues and take care of yourself even with your busy writing career. The most important thing is that you take care of yourself so you get better and feel better soon. Then, you can focus on getting back to work.

Andrea Buginsky is the author of “The Chosen,” a YA fantasy, and the newly released “My Open Heart,” an autobiography of growing up with heart disease. Both books are available from Solstice Publishing and on Amazon.

You can find Andrea on Facebook, Twitter (@andreabuginsky), the World Literary Café, and Google+

 

 

Guest Blog: Once Upon A Time, There was Time…

Today’s guest post is from International Best Selling Author Stacy S. Eaton. If you love police, vamps, and romance she’s got the books for you!

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Once Upon a Time – There was Time…

By Stacy S. Eaton

In my kitchen hangs a sign, “Once Upon a Time, There was Time” and underneath of that is a clock. The clock always says 2:06. It never changes because the battery died. I find this rather suitable for now, and have no desire to add a fresh one to make the hands start moving. In my world it is perpetually 2:06, but is that am or pm? Who knows? All I know is that every time I look at it, I feel like my deadline is 2:10 and I’m racing to make it.

In my office hangs another clock, once again the battery is dead, but this one makes even more sense to not tick. The numbers are all jumbled in a lump and the clock face reads “Whatever”. Which is also rather true, because does it really matter what time it is in the world of a writer? I don’t think so.

For Christmas I got a new clock, not sure why I like clocks so much, maybe it is because I am trying to find one that will actually stop time as the battery dies so I can get more done without losing another minute or hour or day. Anyway, this new clock, it’s a writer’s clock! Forever and ever it goes around touching on words like Write, Toss, Retrieve, Start Over, Adult Beverage, Write, Submit and Revise ending at Publish. Wouldn’t that be nice if that is where it actually ended?

Alas, that is not the end, and time still ticks by. Nowhere on that clock does it say marketing. If it did, I think the clock would begin to speed forward and we would see just how much time we actually spend on just that, Marketing.

In the world of a writer, we spend countless hours lost in the voices of our mind and the marks on the papers in front of us. I know that I can easily get lost in a scene and glance at my clock one thousand words later and see two hours has past. It seemed like I had just sat down and started writing, and the scene I just wrote only lasted fifteen minutes in paper time, yet two hours have gone by. Amazing…

When it comes to editing, I find that time speeds up even faster. As I sift through red mark after red mark from my copy editor, and fix and click and approve and remove, the seconds fly by and the hands spin around and around at a speed that amazes me.

Come the time to publish that book, it always seems that we do our best to try and push back time. To stop it or slow it down just a little bit, because we have set a date and we want to meet that deadline, but it’s just not perfect yet, so we push back time and have to adjust our clocks.

Once our book hits the market, it’s a mad dash to get it out there; to tell everyone about it, to shout it from the rafters of the Facebook pages and to tweet our fingers to the bone. We blog it, we post it, we share it, we pimp it and we glance back at the clock to see days have now flown by and we still feel like we aren’t doing enough. So we share it more, blog it more, tweet it into cyberspace and start to pimp ourselves to get the word out. The clock, well…. It just keeps moving forward.

Through all of this, the writing, the editing, the publishing and the marketing, it is obvious that my sign in my kitchen is true, “Once Upon a Time, There was Time”. Because when all of this is said and done, who has time to do anything else, like work on that next story?

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The busy life of Stacy Eaton

Currently she works full time as a Police Officer for a small township is Southeastern Pennsylvania. While her current position is that of a patrol officer, she spend a lot of time doing investigations and crime scene processing. Forensics is something she loves and she takes her job seriously. It is not just about proving who is guilty, it is also about proving people are innocent.

She is also a wife to a Police Officer and with their constant schedules life can get very hectic at home. She has been blessed with two children, a son who is currently in the United States Navy and is very proud of him for what he is doing and for serving his Country. Her daughter is a priceless princess who loves to help market her books to teachers and other parents while she is at school and church. She is also working on a book too.

When she is not working the job that currently pays all the bills she works on her business. Yes, she has her own business too.

In her spare time… she writes.

Find Stacy online at: Her Website ~  Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

My Blood Runs Blue and the sequel Blue Blood for Life are both available on Amazon Kindle!