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February! How did that happen? Seems like just a blink ago, we were settling
down for the Christmas holidays. Now we’re
racing through the second month without a look in the rearview mirror. Progress
is actually happening. As Dr. Amy Cuddy says ‘small
steps can lead to big changes.’ I’ll run with that.
Meanwhile, it’s time for my thoughts
on writing, an update on my latest efforts and news about an absolutely crazy
virtual event. There’s also an interview
with author Chloe Holiday, and music. There’s gotta be music.
Here we go!
Earlier this month, I participated in a book event at the local library. They pulled out all the stops to make this special. More than 20 authors were in the house, staged in different rooms. There was a small jazz band performing, food and even prizes. Yes, food and music in a public library! Who would have believed it? Nearly 200 people visited that night, which was remarkable for a three hour session.
One lady stopped by my table and after
looking at all seven books, raised a quizzical eyebrow at me. “You just make
this stuff up.”
I gestured around the room at the
other nine authors. “Everyone in here writes fiction. So in a sense, yes, we
make it up. The stories come from our imagination.”
She glared at me. “Just what I
thought!”
“But you should know, there’s a fair
amount of research that goes into my work. I can’t speak for everyone here, but
I’m always researching things to include in my books.”
Now I had her. She picked up The
Wayward Path. “What did you research in
this one?”
“I interviewed a woman who trains
human remains dogs and used that information to open the book. I also talked with
an old friend who is an expert on the Civil War. He also participates in
reenactments.”
She put the book down and asked about others. I explained that over the course of the
books, I’ve interviewed people who work in technology, law enforcement, the
medical profession, a yoga instructor and a firearms expert. There were others but she didn't want to hear it.
“But you still make things up!”
I agreed. She bought a copy of Devious
and moved on.
Research is important to my work. It’s
part of weaving an intriguing, believable story. I want details that will be accurate for
everything I’m writing. Sometimes I can get that information on the internet. Or
I may know someone who knows someone and that leads to expert information. Many people like to share the details from
their careers or hobbies.
But in the end, we do make things
up. How the characters interact, how the
conflicts are resolved, what happens next to the main characters and the
secondary ones, are all a result of the authors imagination.
That’s why they call it fiction.
In addition to work on the next book,
I contributed to a new promo system called Shepherd. This one’s a little different. Authors are encouraged to list five books
that they enjoyed that could have influenced their work.
Since I write the two different
series, I put together favorites for cozy mysteries (that would be similar to
the Jamie Richmond books) and one for contemporary mysteries.
Here are the links so you can check
them out.
https://shepherd.com/best-books/contemporary-cozy-mysteries
https://shepherd.com/best-books/contemporary-mysteries
**
My efforts on the crime novel slowed,
but the story continues to evolve. I’ve added some new scenes, fleshed out a couple
more characters and added a twist here, a twist there. Progress.
Slow steps but now that football season is officially over, I may be
able to spend more time with Leo and the other players. Fortunately, Leo is much more patient than Jamie.
Nothing specific on a title yet, but
that doesn’t worry me. Inspiration is liable to hit me like a lightning bolt
from Zeus. When it does, I’ll be ready.
Virtual Book Festival
This event has got to be
one of the funniest things I’ve ever been a part of. On any given night 20 or more authors appear
on the Zoom screen. Usually two of them will read short scenes from one of their books. Later in the show, autographed
copies of those books will be awarded to prize winners. After the readings, we all
dive in to the ‘investigation’. It’s shifted now to a murder mystery.
The interactions with the suspects and
the sleuths is hilarious. There has been so much laughter in these interrogations
that it’s impossible to keep a straight face. Diana, the ringleader/moderator has almost fallen from her chair at the shenanigans. You can also watch the recordings from previous
sessions on YouTube by clicking on the links for each day’s featured authors.
The craziness will continue until
February 27th. The last day
of the month will be a wrap up, revealing the final part of the whodunit and
awarding the grand prizes and other goodies. So even if you can only pop in
occasionally, it’s definitely a fun time.
Click on the link to register and
learn more about the ‘case’.
https://www.pagespromotions.com/2023-mystery-game.html#/
It was a golden
opportunity to get to know more about her.
Tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
I spent years in a crazy busy
profession, and suddenly retired because of a family member’s illness. This
entailed a move to another state, and with the real estate market at the time,
I was apart from my spouse while he readied the house for sale. I developed a
terrible case of insomnia from worry and separation at the same time I’d
suddenly gone from no time at all to lots of unscheduled hours.
I read ravenously, indulging in a beloved pastime that had been “back-burner” for way too long, and to distract myself from family concerns. Some of the stories were wonderful, but some…weren’t. The more I read, I thought, “Maybe I could do this.” That’s how my first novel came about, fueled by a sleep-deprived mind.
Do
you ever imagine of your novels being made into a movie or television series?
I suspect most people do, in their manic moments.
I’m no different, but mine would take a high budget, with the flying and
underwater scenes, and foreign locations.
Any
favorite actors you’d cast in the lead roles?
No,
though of course, there are many I love. It’s because by the time anything is
ever made into a movie, the “it” actors are decades older.
What
is your writing process? For instance, do you do an outline first? Do you write
the chapters in sequence?
My
first novel came from a desire to write a STEM heroine in an action story, and
because of a misdelivered postcard for a scientific conference in Boston. That
one just sort of bubbled out—but it was two novels shoved together, not one.
The experience taught me that some sort of a plan is best, so now I do a rough,
skeletal outline before I jump to the fun part—writing. As I go along, more
ideas come to me, so I go back and add in details and hints to previous
chapters. I generally go in order, but there are times I’m on fire to write a
certain pivotal scene, and for those I jump ahead to “get it out of my
system" and revisit them later.
Tell
us a little bit about the characters in your latest book.
Desire in
Deutschland is about a young military policeman, newly
stationed in Germany, and a Kaiserslautern girl who runs across him after a
soccer game. It’s a spicy insta-lust, crossed-wires, culture shock story, and
was lots of fun for me to write, since we were stationed in Germany for three
years. I never did THAT in a castle ruin, though!
Do the characters all
come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?
The heroes and heroines are
usually first, as a “what if” idea—what if the hearing loss a woman struggles with
every day is an asset during an underwater excavation? What if a commander’s
apparent dislike for the hero hid something much more nefarious? Many of the
side characters develop more as I write—my goal is to make them fun and
memorable, too. I incorporate past experiences for that touch of authenticity,
so many of my characters are military, medical, pilots, etc.
Sometimes,
it’s all at once. For my first published novel, Helios, I was stuck on
what to write, so I drew tropes and character types out of a bowl, which got me
Rich Foreign Alpha Male, Repressed Young Woman, Workplace/Travel Romance. For
the All-American Boy series, each story had to have “Boy” in the title—but at
first, it seemed like all the good ones were taken! I wracked my brain, and
came up with A Boy & his Dog (about an ex-military bomb tech trying
to reunite with his former K-9 partner) and Fly Boy (about a crop duster
and a woman reluctantly teaming up to saver her family orchard).
What is your latest book about?
One smoldering
look from the sexy American draws Birgitte across the cultural divide into
passion she never dreamed of...
Never
again. University
student Birgitte Schumacher swore off men, after an American GI seduced her,
then left Germany for good. But when she runs into a sexy military policeman on
the streets of Kaiserslautern, he just might be her ruin.
Can you share an
excerpt too?
Sure! Here, Birgitte is taking Lee on a tour of the local castle ruins:
What Lee needed was
more time around this woman, with her sexy accent and cheerfulness. “I’m glad
you were available. I was tempted to just stay in today.”
Lee frowned, picking
apart the words. “My inner… pig dog?”
“Yes, your inner pig
dog. You don’t say this? It’s the thing that makes you want what you want, even
if it’s a bad idea.”
Lee laughed. “I’ll
remember that one. German is more fun than I thought, with all those words
strung together.” He watched the road curves ahead, instead of staring at her
legs the way his pig dog wanted.
Down, boy.
Lee smiled. My innerer schweinehund is
strong. Very strong.
What’s the next project
you’ll be working on?
I generally
juggle two or three at once—one first draft, one in revision, and sometimes a
final polish on yet another. Right now I’m working on revisions for No Easy
Match, a story about a transplant surgeon recruited to start a program in
the Caribbean, and a first draft for a story about a pool shark and a college
woman.
Include buy links,
cover art and a picture of you. Please
attach the photos in jpeg to the email.
You can find more about
Chloe and hers books on the following links.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BKYF66TS
Universal book link (it’s wide!): UBL: https://storyoriginapp.com/universalbooklinks/747fa55e-5ed8-11ed-80c2-3f4c5b771926
Check it out on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63163565-desire-in-deutschland
It’s available in audio, too!
AUDIO: Universal
link: https://storyoriginapp.com/universalaudiobooklinks/417a5f70-7cc7-11ed-a724-ef92dfdad290
Direct from the author via Gumroad
& BookFunnel: https://chloeholidaywriter.gumroad.com/l/ojzqg
Audible: https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Desire-Deutschland-Passport-Pleasure/dp/B0BQCRL4WM/
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/desire-in-deutschland
Chirp: https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/desire-in-deutschland-by-chloe-holiday
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/desire-in-deutschland-chloe-holiday/1142600179
BingeBooks: https://bingebooks.com/book/desire-in-deutschland
Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/612918643/Desire-in-Deutschland
Libro FM https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781952775178
Audiobooks.com https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/desire-in-deutschland/650585
Storytel: https://www.storytel.com/se/sv/books/3663973
Music
Variety is the
spice of life. That’s especially true when it comes to music. I’m constantly
rediscovering talented artists from the past who pop up on Spotify, Pandora or
YouTube.
Anita Baker is
the latest example. This songstress has ties to Detroit, where she was known
for her soulful ballads. During the
height of her career, she captured 8 Grammy Awards and had 4 platinum albums. With
a three octave vocal range, Baker has always wowed her audiences. After taking a break to raise her family and
enjoying a brief retirement, Baker has undergone a comeback. She is also touring across the country this
year.
Here’s my top five favorites.
Caught Up in
the Rapture: https://youtu.be/Oz-b86LZ21c
Sweet
Love: https://youtu.be/2w6udgiojlE
Same Ole
Love: https://youtu.be/e1aSkJ7HNxA
Giving You
the Best: https://youtu.be/8lbJgOJIS_8
Body and
Soul: https://youtu.be/7IwIUYSE5Tg
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