Friday, July 27, 2018

Tempting Friendship by Patricia Josephine

I'd like to welcome Patricia Josephine to my blog today. I love it when I learn the characters in a book are based on actual people. Take it away, Patricia.


Real Life Inspirations in Tempting Friendship

When it comes to my writing, I enjoy slipping little details from my real life into the story. It may be a name for a character mentioned in passing or somewhere the main character went that I’ve been to. They’re like little Easter eggs that people in my life may recognize. Here are seven that I slipped into Tempting Friendship.

Gerry the beer snob.
Okay, so my husband isn’t exactly a beer snob, but he likes to try different beers and judge them. He would get along with Gerry great because they could discuss the different flavors of beer and he could trust Gerry to give him a good recommendation. Also, it’s a joke between hubby and I that any spilled alcohol is alcohol abuse.

Grand Taqua Falls
GT Falls is a mash up of Grand Rapids, where I have family, and Tahquamenon Falls which is a huge waterfall and tourist trap near me. Other things in GT Falls that I pulled from real life is 28th Boulevard. There’s a street in Grand Rapids called 28th Street and it’s so busy that any construction has to be done at night. My grandma used to live on Hazel Street, and my last job was on Spruce Street.
The Crown’s Inn
The restaurant is based on one I worked at called Weber’s Rustic Inn, but Adira’s office is based on the office at my last job, Penny’s Kitchen. It was tiny and cramped with a filing cabinet that had stuff piled on it.
Rum and Light Coke
No, I’ve never heard of a customer saying this, but working in restaurants since I was 18 I have heard some pretty weird requests. Like the fish tastes too fishy. That did actually happen. Cajun spice is too spicy. A friend once asked for pasta primavera without the veggies. That’s the point of the dish. Otherwise, you’re just having alfredo. Then there’s the customers who order an item and when you bring it out say, “I didn’t order that.” That one happened a lot.
Quinn and Gerry wanting to kick customers out.
That happened to me a lot during summer time. Restaurants are crazy busy where I live then because of tourists, and after four hours of non-stop cooking, you just want them all to GO AWAY. More than once I begged waitresses to make it stop or to lock the door. If I was cranky, I’d swear about customers.
Keane not wanting to no-show.
You know what really sucks? When your coworker doesn’t show up for their freaking shift! Yeah, there’s a reason Keane doesn’t do it because I’ve had it happen to me countless times and would never dream of doing it to another person. You’d think this would just happen with slackers, but no, I once had a professionally trained chef no-show.
Quinn and Keane
I had real people in mind when I was imagining them. Youtubers, Liana Kerzer and Jeff Holiday where kind of who I pictured when writing. Of course, when it came to the cover, I couldn’t find a model with long dread locks and no shirt, so I had to make do.

Other Easter eggs are Geralt is a reference to The Witcher games, as is Witch Hunter 3, GTA, and Street Rage are references to real games.

I hoped you enjoyed learning about the Easter eggs I threw in the story.





At first, Quinn isn’t impressed by Keane. He’s cocky and has sex on the brain. The polar opposite of her. Despite their differences, something blossoms between the two. 

Never one to take things seriously, Keane is an incubus coasting through life without a care. When he meets Quinn, her lack of reaction to him piques his interest. No human has ever been able to resist him. 

As Keane and Quinn struggle to understand what is going on between them, something sinister rocks their world. Young incubi are vanishing, and Keane's friends go missing. Someone is after his kind. When Quinn is kidnapped, Keane must uncover who is behind the abductions and get to her before it's too late.

Buy:

Amazon      Smashwords       Kobo     iTunes    B&N


About the Author

Patricia never set out to become a writer, and in fact, she never considered it an option during high school and college. She was more of an art and band geek. Some stories are meant to be told, and now she can't stop writing.

She writes New Adult under the name Patricia Josephine and Young Adult under the name Patricia Lynne.

Patricia lives with her husband in Michigan, hopes one day to have what will resemble a small petting zoo, and has a fondness for dying her hair the colors of the rainbow.

Social Media Links:
Website:        Twitter           Facebook            Google+                 Newsletter                      Goodreads   

AmazonAuthor Page             Smashwords 


My kids are really picky about their beer so I appreciate a character like Gerry. And people not showing up for work is the worst. Do any of these character remind you of anyone you know? Did you ever recognize a location in a story as somewhere you've been?

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

The Light of Redemption by Natalie Damschroder


Today's Wednesday guest post is my good friend, Natalie Damschroder. Learn a little about how her writing process and how her latest novel came about. After you meet Natalie, please visit me today at Diane Burton's blog where I'm sciencing again. I just invented that word.

Thank you so much, Sue, for having me as your guest today!

This is the release day for my second superhero book, The Light of Redemption. I’m always looking for a twist on common themes or ideas, and for this book, it was a small-town superhero. Most of us know superheroes as fighting crime in big cities, and that was the case in my first book, The Color of Courage. In that book, the twists were that 1) my heroes operated as a team and weren’t anonymous; 2) the heroine’s superpower is seeing emotions rather than something physical.

Something for Readers

I had the title for my new book before I had the story. That is EXTREMELY unusual for me! I struggle with titles. The Color of Courage took me 45 minutes with a thesaurus after the book was completely written and revised. I knew The Light of Redemption would be the second book before I finished writing the first one. I decided to give the light to Harmony Wilde, a librarian in the town of Pilton, Ohio, which exists only in my imagination but right next to the town where I went to college. She uses her ability to manipulate light to help protect the people in her town (mostly from each other). The redemption was a need given to Conn Parsons, one of those big-city superheroes who’s had it rough and has come to town to hide…I mean, retire. His presence blows up Harmony’s life, both figuratively and literally.

Something for Writers

One thing I learned writing this book was to trust myself, and that’s advice I’d give to any writer who might be struggling with a story. I set this aside many times, sometimes deciding I wasn’t coming back to it, for various reasons mostly relating to things out of my control. But my creative center (muse, inspiration, drive, whatever you want to call it) just refused to let me. Whenever I read through the book to re-orient myself, I found it to be much stronger than I remembered. Not lacking room for improvement, of course! :) But ready to be deepened and tightened and fulfilling. I hope the result is that people will be entertained and happy when they finish the last page.

The Light of Redemption

Harmony Wilde is a unique kind of superhero. She operates as Eclipse in a small town in Ohio instead of the big city, on her own instead of on a team, and in near-complete anonymity. For the most part, she’s satisfied with using her ability, manipulating light, to bust drug dealers and prevent drunk drivers—until Conn Parsons comes to town.

Conn has been a superhero all over the world. Dissatisfied with the little bit of good she can do in comparison, Harmony asks Conn to train her. He refuses, feeling responsible for superhero and civilian deaths in big-city incidents. He doesn’t want to risk the same thing happening here. But the attraction between them is hard to fight, and so is her determination.

Then small-town problems get bigger, and it looks like both Eclipse and Conn are being targeted by CASE, the Citizens Against Superhero Existence, who are responsible for those city disasters. When her town seems destined to become collateral damage and the stakes get personal, Harmony must tap undeveloped powers and convince Conn to work with her to stop their mutual enemy. The only problem is that when they succeed, it may give Conn the redemption he needs to move on, away from Pilton…and away from Harmony.


About Natalie Damschroder

Natalie J. Damschroder is an award-winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance, with an emphasis on romantic adventure. She has had 25 novels, 7 novellas, and 16 short stories published by several publishers, most recently with Soul Mate Publishing, Entangled Publishing, and Carina Press. She recently debuted her Fusion Series, a young adult paranormal adventure series, with Full Fusion, as NJ Damschroder. Learn more about those books here.


Natalie grew up in Massachusetts, and loves the New England Patriots more than anything. (Except her family. And writing and reading. And popcorn.) When she’s not writing, she does freelance editing and project management. She and her husband have two grown daughters, one of whom is also a novelist. (The other one prefers math. Smart kid. Practical.)


 Do titles come easy to you, writers out there? What is your favorite super power? Ever use real towns in your stories?

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

The Cowboy & the Showgirl by Heidi Hormel


It's Wednesday Guest day and I'm thrilled to have multi-published author Heidi Hormel visiting today. Learn a little bit about her book, about her, and maybe some writer's wisdom. 


 Something for Readers

As a child, my family rented a Winnebago and drove from Pennsylvania to Maine and back. This was back in the day when seat belts were just a nuisance and not a safety feature, so my sister and I were able to roam around the RV. I remember that trip fondly (not sure about my siblings) and have always been fascinated by the economy of RVs -- how so much can be fit into such a small space. Maybe that’s why I wanted to force my hero and heroine into sharing an RV (the old-style kind), not those new fangled ones with the TVs, microwaves and the walls that expand. I also attribute my recent fascination with Tiny Homes (it’s all HGTV’s fault ) to the early Winnebago travel. I’ve even thought about moving from my current locale to one of these Hobbit-sized abodes (then I remember I have cats and litter boxes). Still, I do dream of living efficiently and clutter-free in a Tiny Home. What about you? Tiny? Or Windsor Castle? Which is your dream home?

Something for Writers

I recently read the late Alice Hoffman’s The Rules of Magic. (She’s also the author of Practical Magic.) In this book that delves deep into how love shapes our lives, I found this passage that made my little writerly heart sing:

“Writing itself was a magical act in which imagination altered reality and gave form to power.”

Although this next quote isn’t strictly about writing, it still made me shiver with authorial delight:

“‘Anything whole can be broken. … And anything broken can be put back together again. That is the meaning of Abracadabra. I create what I speak.’”

In the case of writers, we create what we write.

Blurb for The Cowboy & the Showgirl

Opposites attract when a bull-riding cowboy gets roped into helping a Vegas showgirl on the run from a marriage in name only.
Val Summers needs to get away from Vegas fast before her almost-bridegroom tracks her down and his missing money. She’s got everything handled until she realizes she’d stowed away in the wrong rodeo cowboy’s RV.
Cisco Santos is a bull rider trying to rebuild his career, not save a damsel in distress, but he’s certainly not going to let some goons take the money out of her hide. On the lam together, they end up stuck in a snowstorm. By the time the snowplows dig them out, they’re a lot more than traveling companions.


Ebooks:


 About Heidi Hormel

A former innkeeper and radio talk show host, Heidi Hormel has always been a writer. She spent years as a small-town newspaper reporter and as a PR flunky before settling happily into penning romances with a wink and a wiggle.

While living in the Snack Food Capital of the World, Heidi has trotted around the globe from forays into Death Valley to stops at Loch Ness in Scotland.

She has published five books in the Angel Crossing, Arizona series with Harlequin Western Romance. To sign up for her newsletter or to read more about her books, visit
or follow on:
 Facebook  and Twitter.

Thanks, Heidi. Any RV people out there? Can you imagine being trapped in a snowstorm in one? Do you know where the Snack Food Capital of the World is located? 


Monday, July 16, 2018

Happening This Week

Where to start? First of all, I have a guest post at Paranormal Romantics. Thank you, Diane Burton for inviting me. If you've been following my mini-tour, you can guess that I'm talking about science again. Please stop by and share your opinions.

This coming Wednesday, Heidi Hormel will be on this blog as part of my Wednesday Author Spotlight plan. Are you into the RV life? Please stop back and read what Heidi has to say.

This Thursday is IWSG Twitter pitch party. Read the rules first and then use this #IWSGPit. You still have a few days to get your pitch ready.

This a a great article posted by Anne R. Allen back in June about some scams directed at desperate writers. Take a look.

Here's a quick little post from Penny Sansevieri on using blogging to promote your writing. She says some very sensible things.

I think Killjoys is returning this Friday night. I hope so. It really ended on a cliffhanger. The 100 and Salvation are not disappointing this season. Both are really tense and so many characters are stuck with no good decisions.

 "It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." J.K. Rowling

Today is another day of brutal heat, but we had some rain yesterday so my grass has a chance to survive. Good day to stay inside and hit that elliptical and write. Still keeping up with my 1,000 words per day.

Are you giving the pitch party a try? Any one try to scam you lately? Getting any writing done?

Friday, July 13, 2018

Guest Posting

Please visit me today over at Chrys Fey's blog where I'm posting about how the end will come. Not zombies, though there is a weird section of the population that seems to waiting for that with anticipation.

My post is about how society will crumble if a pandemic strikes, a quick and deadly virus. Not need to comment here. Give me your thoughts over at Write With Fey. You might give me an idea for my next book.

Thanks to all of you who have been following along on my mini-blog tour for Exile's Savage Lady.


Monday, July 9, 2018

Rolling Onward, July Style

What a weekend and start to the week. The terrible heat has lifted for the short term, and the relief is so welcome. It's so nice to sleep with the windows open at night. I know it's only the beginning of July and it will return, but it feels like lovely June weather today and for a few more days to come.

Today I'm guest posting on Christine Rains' blog. I'll hope you'll stop by while I talk a little more about putting the science in science fiction. Much thanks to Christine for letting me take over her blog while she's suffering on the beach! LOL. I'm sure she's having a great time.

Spent a lot of time reading over the past week as well as writing. I dove into Justin Cronin's trilogy that started with The Passage. I had only read the first when it first came out in 2010. Not sure why I didn't finish it before but I'm glad I finally did. It is a horror-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it kind of series so a lot of people die. A lot of people step up and become heroes too. In case you haven't heard, one of the networks is making The Passage into a series. I think for this fall. Hopefully, this link will take you to the trailer. Right now, this is the fall show I'm most excited about.

Despite all the writing I'm getting done, I'm still spending some time working on my craft. My local writers' group had a writer of cozy mysteries give an hour workshop on putting mystery into your story. It was very interesting. Next weekend, I'm taking an online course on making your characters come to life.

Still keeping up with my 1,000 words per day though I missed three days in a row on the elliptical. Too many visitors to the homestead. Lots of deer in the backyard. The fawns are really growing fast. Sometimes they walk right by the porch when I'm sitting there reading.

Could you stop over at Christine's blog for me? Any new fall shows you're looking forward to? (The return of Football doesn't count.) Have you done anything lately to work on your writing craft? Has the infernal heat let up for you?


Tuesday, July 3, 2018

IWSG: Hot July 2018

It is hot outside. This makes about a week straight with the heat index above 100. Whew. A good time to stay inside and visit a lot of blogs for this months IWSG blog hop. Hope you'll join this amazing group the first Wednesday (except Tuesday this month because of the 4th) of every month as we support each other in good times and bad. Find the entire list of participants here. And thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh, the brainchild behind this great idea.

Today's optional question:
What are your ultimate writing goals, and how have they changed over time (if at all)?

I think most of us start in this business thinking we're going to published by one of the big publishing houses someday, go on a signing tour, and see our books in every brick and mortar store in the world. It didn't take me long to be disabused of that notion. This business is difficult. I'm happy with my romance publishing career even if I'm with a small press. I still have the goal of getting one of my fantasy novels with a big publisher. I'm not giving up that dream.

"The only way to do great work is to love what you do." Steve Jobs

I have a guest post up over at The Whole Shebang Site where I talk about the science part of science fiction as it relates to my latest series, Survivors of the Apocalypse. I'm promoting the publication of the last book in that series, Exile's Savage Lady. I hope you'll stop by and leave a comment. I really want those ladies to have me back again sometime.

Speaking of promotion, I'm opening up my blog for my fellow writers to promote their work. Every Wednesday except for the first one of the month, I'll have a guest. If you're interested, please email me and I'll send you the details. sgourleyauthor at gmail.  I have dates into January of next year.

Some fun facts from The Old Farmer's Almanac;

A group of eagles is called a convocation. 

At 12:47 EDT on Thursday, Earth reaches aphelion, which is the point in its orbit farthest from the sun.  (Why is it so hot if we're far away?)

First two episodes of Salvation have been great. Somehow they keep making the stakes higher. Except for my other current favorite, The 100, TV is really barren of entertainment right now. 

Still keeping up my average of 1,000 words per day on my new WIP. Also, still keeping up with the elliptical at least four days per week. I'm trying to do two days in a row and then one day of rest. I keep cranking up the resistance. My legs feel sore but strong. I'd still rather jog, but my knees scream if I do.

Happy Fourth to my friends in the US of A. Hope you get to spend it cooking out with family and friends. Those are my plans.

Is it hot where you are or can you tell the sun is far away? Are your writing dreams still alive? Did you visit The Whole Shebang?