Shocktober! Ghosts and goblins are about, along with jack-o-lanterns, skeletons and festive decorations galore. Of course, the stores are already decked out with Christmas goodies, but I’ve never been one to rush into the holidays. Instead, let’s focus on the more important topics. A bit about writing, my latest work in progress, an interview with another talented author, and of course, music. Imagine how dull life would be without music.
Writing
As Captain Jack Sparrow once said “If
you were waiting for the opportune moment, that was it.”
A few months ago, Melissa, the creative genius
behind the Inkspell Publishing family, put out a call for a holiday
cookbook. But she wanted more than just
simple recipes. Melissa wanted a little story about the recipe itself, along
with a holiday tradition. This sounded
like something quick and easy, so I was able to put something together in an
hour or so. I sent it off and quickly
forgot about it.
Then a couple of weeks ago, I saw a notice from
Melissa. The cookbook was ready, with
more than a dozen authors contributing favorites to the work. This also includes a snippet from one of our
one books, giving readers a sneak peek into the stories.
It was a pleasant surprise to see the finished
product. A bigger surprise was to discover that I had top billing and my
contribution was the first one in the book.
In case you’re wondering, that’s not me and Melissa on the cover.
Work in Progress
It’s official. “The Wayward Path” book three in the Jefferson Chene mystery
series, has been accepted for publication with The Wild Rose Press. This is the same house that has released the
first two books. The papers have been
signed. Now comes the challenging
part.
I have to create the blurb, which will
adorn the back cover, choose an excerpt for the first page inside the cover to
hook the readers and share my thoughts about what the cover should look
like. All these steps and more need to be
completed before we get into the editing process. It’s all a part of writing. This is where the
valuable feedback from others comes in handy.
I don’t have a publication date as
yet. All these other steps take some
time. Now I must be patient. Which, as
the good Domincan nuns from my elementary school would be quick to agree, has
never been my strong suit.
Just knowing that Chene number three
has been accepted is encouraging. I’m
already getting idea for Chene number four.
When a friend asked me to describe how
I envisioned the cover for “The Wayward Path” the picture below came to
mind. It’s not exact but the image is a
good starting point.
The fourth book in the Jamie series has been
momentarily sidelined. But that doesn’t mean I’m not working on it. Rereading some of the earlier scenes I’ve written
has triggered some interesting verbal exchanges between Jamie and Linda and of
course, Jamie and Malone.
Ideas for another subplot continue to
percolate, which seems to be part of the mystique with Jamie’s stories. Maybe it has something to do with that
stubborn redhead.
While I’m awaiting feedback from the
editor on the Chene book,” I fully intend to resume working on Jamie’s story. This might be a pensive Jamie's picture.
Spotlight
Each month presents an opportunity to turn the spotlight on another
author or a memorable character. This is
a great way to learn more about new stories and the background of a great
writer.
With that in mind, let’s roll out the
fictional red carpet for this month’s guest, Isobel Reed.
Where
are you from?
I was born and raised in
London, England and could never bring myself to move away.
What’s
your ‘someday’ or dream vacation spot and why?
Someday I would love to travel
to South Africa and go on a safari.
What’s
your favorite thing to do for relaxation?
I’m a bit of a homebody so I
love spending time at home. There’s nothing more relaxing than curling up on
the sofa with a good book.
How long have you been writing?
English was my favourite
subject at school and I used to spend a lot of time writing short stories but I
never braved writing a whole book until recently. Now, I’ve written two, I’m
positively addicted – I don’t know what took me so long!
Are
you able to write full time or do you also have a job/career?
One day I would love to
write full time but for now I have a day job and I write my novels in between. Luckily,
writing is a big part of my job, so I still get to do what I enjoy even when
I’m not writing love stories.
Is there a particular genre that you write?
What led you there?
I write contemporary romance
books. Mostly because I’ve always been a bit of a hopeless romantic, that and I
regulary binge romance books and fell in love with the genre from a young age.
Do you use friends or family as characters in your work?
My friends are the best
inspiration, especially when I’m writing female leads.
What
is your favorite aspect or writing? Your least favorite?
Finding out what happens
next. Everyone writes differently, for me, when I start writing I usually only have
the first scene in mind and I go from there. I’m just as excited to find out
what happens when I write a story as I am when I’m reading one.
My least favourite thing has
to be proofing. I lose count of how many times I have read a book by the time
it’s ready to be published.
Do
you have any “must haves” with you while you’re writing?
I’ve learnt the hard way to
have a snack nearby. I often get lost in my writing and forget to eat, so when
it’s time to come up for air I’m normally “hangry”.
Is
there a common theme or item that appears in each of your work?
All my books so far are set
in small towns, it just so happens to be my favourite romantic backdrop despite
growing up in the city. I blame my love of Hallmark films.
Tell
us about your latest work:
My debut novel Torn was
released earlier in the year. Torn is Jenny and Jackson’s love story. Jenny is
a fiery war correspondent from London while Jackson owns a local construction
company in small town Texas.
How
did you decide on your story plot?
As a city girl myself I’ve
always romanticised small town living. It’s what inspired me to take a
character like Jenny and drop her into a small town in America and see how she fares.
Do
you have a favorite scene you’ve written? What makes it special?
My favourite scene is when
Jenny first meets Jackson. When Jenny finds him in her kitchen in the middle of
the night, survival mode kicks in and she ends up jumping on his back and
taking a few swings at him with a tennis racket.
Here’s
the back cover.
Jenny
is lost. She was sure that dedicating her life to being a war correspondent was
enough. She didn’t need a relationship, she didn’t want a family and spending
only a few weeks a year back home in London wasn’t a big deal. That was until
it all went wrong. That was until she watched her friend die in her arms. That
day changed everything.
So
what’s a girl to do? Run away, that’s what. Luckily, running is what Jenny does
best. The small town of Portamaine, Texas is everything she thinks she needs to
get her head sorted. It’s safe, it’s quiet and no one is shooting at her.
Little did she know that bullets were the least of her problems when Jackson
barges his way into her life. One awkward first encounter and several run-ins
later, she’s doing her very best not to succumb to his southern charm, but her
traitorous body has other ideas.
Jackson,
a local construction worker gave up on love a long time ago. So when a brunette
beauty launches herself at him and manages to get in a few punches, even he’s
surprised by his reaction to her. There’s no doubt she’s trouble but he can’t
seem to keep away.
This
sounds intriguing. Let’s check out an
excerpt:
She lay still and tried to listen
out for something else. This time she heard a creak. She started to panic and
her mind was racing, bursting with questions. Could it be a burglar? Did they
think the place was empty? Did they see her arrive?
Trying to be as quiet as possible,
Jenny slowly rose from the bed and frantically looked around the room for
something to protect her.
“Why didn’t I buy a gun? I should
have bought a gun. Who goes to America and doesn’t buy a bloody gun?” she
mumbled to herself.
Grabbing a tennis racket, she
tiptoed down the stairs while trying to listen out for more noises. A strange
jingling was coming from the kitchen. Someone or something was in there.
In the dark she could make out a
figure standing by the backdoor next to the kitchen countertop. At first glance
it looked like a man. Her heart started racing. Suddenly feeling very alone and
unprepared, she tried to remember all those self-defence classes she’d been
forced to take but her mind went blank. There was no time. She leaped on top of
the figure and unleashed the racket to any body part she could reach.
“What the hell!” the man yelled.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“Get out of my house!” Jenny
screamed back. “The police are on their way!”
The stranger managed to grab the
racket out of Jenny’s hands and threw it as far as he could across the floor.
Dodging Jenny’s fists, he swung her around to get her off his back. She pushed
back, and losing his balance, they both toppled to the floor. His heavy chest
lay on top of hers, both of them gasping for air.
“Who the hell are you?” The man
searched her face for clues.
Adrenaline turned to rage. “Me? Who
the hell are you? And why are you in my kitchen in the middle of the night?”
“Your kitchen? This is my aunt’s
house! Who the hell are you? Other than some crazy ass lady beating me with a
tennis racket!” he said furiously.
Jenny’s muscles untensed. “Your
aunt? Your aunt lives here? Um, what’s her name?”
“Yeah, this is my aunt’s house. Her
name is Harper, Charlotte Harper. Now who the hell are you?”
“Fuck.” Jenny pushed him off her
and stood up. She turned on the light and caught sight of what appeared to be a
very good-looking man. Realising she hadn’t made the greatest first impression,
she felt herself shudder.
Still out of breath, Jenny started
to explain, “Charlotte rented out her house to me, for the next few months. She
said she was going to visit some family in Florida. Did she not mention it?”
The look on his face changed; he’d also
realised his mistake. “She did mention something to that affect, but I didn’t
realise she would be renting out the house.”
He went silent. Jenny started to
get annoyed. Why was he not explaining what he was doing there or apologizing
for scaring her?
“So perhaps a sorry? Sorry for
scaring the shit out of me maybe?” she said, annoyed.
Shocked, he cried out, “Me?! Which
one of us was just beaten with a tennis racket?” Visibly irritated, he grabbed
his keys and headed towards the door. “You’re lucky, I’m not the one calling
the cops darlin’.” With that, he slammed the backdoor and made his way into the
night.
“Excellent, already making friends
Jenny.” She inhaled sharply and skulked back up to her room.
What’s
next?
I’m currently writing book
two of a three-part series. Book one in the series will be published by
Inkspell Publishing in December 2022.
You
can find out more about Isobel at the links below. Thanks for stopping by.
Website: https://www.isobelreed.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorIsobelReed
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091ZM6RXJ
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/torn-reed-isobel/1139622937
Apple: https://books.apple.com/gb/book/torn/id1566802299
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/torn-191
Music
Smokey Robinson just keeps on going. Lately he’s been cropping up on various music
feeds on my system.
Robinson started the group The Miracles while still in
high in Detroit. It was h is influence with friend Berry Gordy that led to the
creation of Motown Records. For over four
decades, Robinson has continued to write, sing and produce songs. He remains a vice president with Motown and
pursues his passion of discovering and producing new talent.
Robinson has won multiple Grammy awards for his
efforts with the Miracles and as a solo artist.
He had also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the
Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. Robinson was
recognized by the Kennedy Center as well.
Here’s my top five hits:
Ooo
Baby Baby (duet with Ayra): https://youtu.be/DTX6slXs32E
Cruisin’: https://youtu.be/WlzY6cWpoMQ
Really Got A Hold On Me: https://youtu.be/AdDnqSFYXFs
Second That Emotion: https://youtu.be/KI_0tQdEA5k
Being With You: https://youtu.be/0P2a6aLDkkM
