Round Robin Blog Fest April 2022

 

Another month, another blog fest! 

This week's topic is: How much reading do you do, both for pleasure and for a work in progress?

I used to read a great deal in pretty much any genre I could get my hands on. As a kid, summertime was spent riding bikes, mowing lawn, or reading. Even when I had kids, I spent time reading – mostly bedtime stories – but also grown up books when I had the time.

As I got more into writing books, most of my reading time has been spent on writing/reading/editing my own books. Then I rediscovered the joy of a good bedtime story!

My bedtime reading is generally only a chapter or two, depending on the book, but I’ve been able to start pulling books off my TBR pile that have been there for years. I’ve also discovered new finds in the bookstore to enjoy rather than just learn. So far over the past few months I've read about:

· women who became empowered by riding motorcycles

· a book about becoming a full-time author

· the Heroine’s Journey as opposed to the Hero’s Journey

· The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho

· The Department of Sensitive Crimes by Alexander McCall Smith

· And a few other obscure books on various topics!

I've also been able to start reading a friend's new book to give a review. It's always fun to read something totally new that hasn't even hit the shelves yet! 

In general, my reading time for pleasure is usually around 15 to 20 minutes a day.

Social media reading time…that I’ve actually cut back in favor of getting other things done.

Length of time for editing and work in progress reading depends on how close my deadline is or what new book I have on the go! Currently, I have one book I’m writing the first draft of and a second one I need to edit. If I have a slow day at work, I’ll do a little during quiet moments. I also like to get a lot done during Write-In meetings as well. Those two hours can fly by when you’re working hard on a new book!

Join our gaggle of talented authors to find out what they’re reading!

Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/ 

Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/ 

Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog 

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea

Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-2yB 

Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.com

https://books2read.com/The-Conned-Lady

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!

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Heather Haven http://heatherhavenstories.com/blog/
Victoria Chatham http://victoriachatham.blogspot.ca
Dr. Bob Rich https://bobrich18.wordpress.com/rhobins-round-robin/ 
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com
Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com

Round Robin Blog Tour Feb 2014

We're back on another Round Robin Tour! February's topic is about heroes,  what you like in reading, what you write, your favorite, whatever!  What type hero(s), traits, personality, in particular always  draw you into the story? Has it changed with time? And do you write this type of hero? 

Ironically enough, I had this very discussion with my 18 year old son the other day. Not only is he a voracious reader and a fellow writer, he's also a fan and loves my heroes! He loves their humor, their tenacity, and how they always try to do the right thing. 

The types of heroes that draw me in (and fill my books!) are strong men with a moral compass that sometimes keeps them on the fringes, yet they don't hesitate to be the good guy and save the day. Most of my heroes are dedicated to their friends and families, although a couple come from backgrounds where their sense of family was challenged by abuse or neglect.

Handsome, ruggedly or otherwise, also springs to mind.

They also have a great sense of humor that keeps them grounded and gets them through some unsavory events in their lives. Leo Blue, one of my favorite characters in the Wild Blue Mysteries series, will reveal more--much more!--of him and his background in The Bakery Lady coming out later this year.  

Passion is required. Passion for their work, their loved ones, their beliefs, whatever. There has to be something that riles them up and makes them do the things they do. Leo, for example, is passionate about righting wrongs, which is why he becomes a private detective. Of course, he also becomes passionate about sugar cookies thanks to a certain young woman, but I'll cover more about that in The Bakery Lady!

Brilliant or blinded by passion, I love a hero who is entertaining, dedicated, and easy on the eyes.

And now off to visit the lovely Marci Baun to find out her favorite type of hero! 

Be sure to check out the many other blogs on the tour and find out what kind of heroes make their knees weak!! 
Fiona McGier at http://www.fionamcgier.com

Geeta Kakade at http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/

Diane Bator at http://dbator.blogspot.ca

Marci Baun at http://www.marcibaun.com/

Lynn Crain at http://lynncrain.blogspot.co.at/

Beverley Bateman at http://beverleybateman.blogspot.com/

Ginger Simpson  at http://mizging.blogspot.com

Connie Vines at http://connievines.blogspot.com/

A.J. Maguire at http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/

Rhobin Courtright at http://rhobinleecourtright.com/

THE BOOKSTORE LADY IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM!! WATCH FOR THE MYSTERY LADY, COMING THIS SPRING FROM BOOKS WE LOVE!!

Keeping Busy

For me keeping busy never seems to be an issue. I always have a ton of creative or other things to work on. If it's not the housework, laundry, etc, it's the writing, painting or my part-time job. Even come evening when I'm supposed to relax, my hands are busy with crossword puzzles or making notes for the next day.

So how does someone like me relax? According to my massage therapist, I don't. I need to do more things for myself and spend some time doing things that ease the knots in my neck. For example, the other day I went cross country skiing with one of my kids. Sure I felt like I was going to die going up those hills and today I have some achy muscles but it was a good pain. I sweated so much my clothes were soggy when we got home.

My other form of relaxation is reading. I love to read but the more I learn about writing, the more I find I start to critique people like Janet Evanovich, Dean Koontz, and all the others who grace my shelves. I find myself studying their words instead of just enjoying them. Then I rap my knuckles and read on. Enjoyment, not tearing down their work, should be my focus.

I have a good friend who does a lot of editing for me and I edit for her. I have to say she's much better at it than I am so far! I have to start off with a thorough reading before I actually edit and I know she does the same. To see how well it flows for one then to nitpick. It's can be therapeutic to pick other people's work apart. Especially when you know they won't take your criticisms the wrong way.

When I get her edits. I take it with a sense of grace. Punch a punching bag a couple of times and curse under my breath. Then I go on and edit. Suddenly I find I like my novel a whole lot more once the nitpicking things have been pointed out. And I can relax....