Spotlight on Cerian Hebert

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to feature Soul Mate author Cerian Hebert’s writing journey.

Here’s Cerian!

cerian61516sm (2)I’m sure my journey to become an author is similar to many writers. I was twelve, living in the country, always looking for some kind of adventure with my friends. My first story came to me while exploring an unoccupied property in the neighborhood. We were certain it was haunted, and when gusts of snowy wind seemed to follow us wherever we went, it only reinforced our beliefs. What a great idea for a book series—three kids who solved mysteries and battled ghosts and ghouls.

It helped that I had an author in the family. Well, not a fiction writer. My father published a book about hood ornaments for classic cars. But I figured, as a twelve-year-old would, I had connections. My dad’s publisher would definitely work with me. Ah, the naivety of youth.

As I got older I left the mystery solving kids behind because I had discovered BOYS and horses. I started reading Harlequins and Bertrice Small bodice rippers, so that’s where my writing took me. My best friend and I—a fellow horse nut—worked together to write our first horse story, even after she moved down to Louisiana from New Hampshire. This was over a decade before the internet and email. We’d have to mail the story back and forth to each other so we could add to the story.

All the stories I wrote in those early teen years still sit in notebooks stored away in bins. They might never see the light of day, but they’re all a part of my journey and I won’t give them up.

When the internet became a thing I finally started writing for real, as often as I could. By then I was a wife and mother and I had a mundane job, so I had to steal writing whenever I could. My first published book came out in 2007 when I was in my forties. It was actually a book I’d started when I was sixteen. My characters changed a bit since the original, but Finally Home was a romance revolving around horses, and was always a favorite.

I still write about horses, and small town romance, whether it be in New Hampshire or South Dakota, but I’ve also written stories about ghosts and goddesses, and I’ve dipped my toe into erotic romance with a still unpublished book that won first place in a writing contest earlier this year. My dream and ultimate goal is to write a fantasy romance with plenty of magic, and mythical creatures.

I now have ten books published, and I have many many more in various stages of completion. Several of my books have sequels, and I hope one day I’ll actually finish them. Everyone loves a book series. My latest release, The Staying Kind, combines romance with horses and small town heroes and heroines.

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Blurb

Rio Presley isn’t looking for a place to fit in when she finds a job at a stable in New Hampshire. Travis Lithgow isn’t expecting to discover a drifter taking up residence in his hunting cabin and working for his aunt. Just back from a tour in the Middle East, he’s rebuilding his relationship with his rebellious teenage daughter. He’s sure Rio’s presence in their lives won’t make things easier, but he admires Rio’s strength facing the adversities in her life.

As Rio fights the urge to get back on the road before she becomes too comfortable with her newfound love of horses, her feelings for Travis become stronger than the need to flee. Both he and his aunt are offering Rio everything she’s ever been afraid to want, but staying could bring her past crashing into the happy life she’s begun to build.

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Where to find Cerian…

Website | Facebook | Twitter


Happy Birthday Dalai Lama!

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Today, the Dalai Lama celebrates his 81st birthday. The recipient of numerous awards, among them the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, he continues to inspire us with messages of non-violence and universal compassion.

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Here are ten of my favorite quotes from His Holiness…

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.

Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.

In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.

Someone else’s action should not determine your response.

Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

Anger or hatred is like a fisherman’s hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it.

I always say that people should not rush to change religions. There is real value in finding the spiritual resources you need in your home religion.


Serendipity Can Happen At Any Time

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

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“You might want to shelve that manuscript…or song…or artwork.”

Many of us have heard that advice from well-meaning parents, teachers, and mentors. While it is often given with the best of intentions, sometimes that advice should be ignored, and if it has been followed, it should be revisited.

Serendipity can happen at any time.

Continue reading on the Sisterhood of Suspense blog.


One Special Moment

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m thrilled to welcome back Wild Rose Press author Nina Barrett. Today, Nina shares a special moment in her writing journey and latest release, Renegade Heart.

Here’s Nina!

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In the back of my head, I hear the Beatles singing about a long and winding road that led me here . . .

Yes, it’s been hard and discouraging, but right now I am remembering one special moment. School had begun that fall. I’d returned energized from my first time at the Antioch Writers’ Workshop, but still shy, still having trouble identifying myself as a writer.

But then one day after school I heard two of my friends talking in the room next door and I gathered up all my courage, went next door and started out through something like “I have something to tell you. I went to the writers’ workshop this summer at Antioch because um, I write and I know a lot of people probably would like to be a writer . . .”

I’m getting teary right now thinking about it, but I can still see their faces – surprise, shock and then the words – that’s wonderful, can we read your stories? And I knew they meant it. And they liked them and wanted more, even through the years when my submissions had the instincts of homing pigeons.

But the call came and they probably still don’t realize that I might not have hung in there waiting for it if not for the encouragement they have gave me that day.

My third release, Renegade Heart came out on April 27th.

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Blurb

As if Vegas didn’t have excitement enough, December brings the National Finals Rodeo to the city. Heading the Imperial Hotel’s participation as a host hotel, Kerstin Hennepin is rushing to a meeting when a fall sends her tumbling into a stranger’s arms and he’s in no hurry to let her go.

Jake Aaron is a troubleshooter for the rodeo Or maybe he’s just plain trouble. Their attraction is instant and one close encounter leads to another, but Jake comes with plenty of questions. True he’s busy handing the offstage antics of rowdy rodeo contestants, but does his job also include romancing a young barrel rider and carrying a concealed weapon?

With the finale of the Finals approaching, Kerstin needs answers. But when her search for the truth reveals more is going on behind the scenes than on the arena floor, she and Jake are squarely in someone’s cross hairs.

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Where to find Nina…

Amazon | Goodreads


Happy Summer!

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

summer-solstice-clipartLonger days and shorter nights…Today marks the start of the summer solstice.

The term “solstice” is derived from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still). The sky at noon does not appear to change much during the solstice and its surrounding days. The rest of the year, the Earth’s tilt on its axis—roughly 23.5 degrees—causes the sun’s path in the sky to rise and fall from one day to the next.

Here are ten of my favorite “summer” quotations:

Summer’s lease hath all too short a date. ~ William Shakespeare

Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.
~ Jenny Han

And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine … it’s summertime! ~ Kenny Chesney

Summer is the annual permission slip to be lazy. To do nothing and have it count for something. To lie in the grass and count the stars. To sit on a branch and study the clouds. ~ Regina Brett

Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability. ~ Sam Keen

Summertime is always the best of what might be. ~ Charles Bowden

I love how summer just wraps its arms around you like a warm blanket.
~ Kellie Elmore

There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart. ~ Celia Thaxter

The summer night is like a perfection of thought. ~ Wallace Stevens

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Film Review – Me Before You

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’ve been closely following the Assisted Death conversation in Canada and the federal government’s struggle to draft a bill that would address the concerns of Canadians facing this dilemma. While I have my own opinions, I like to think that I’m open to other points of view.

I approached Me Before You, the film adaptation of Jo Jo Moyes bestselling novel, with some trepidation, wondering if the tone would be too depressing.

Thankfully, my fears were short-lived.

I immediately fell in love with the main characters: Emilia Clarke, who plays Louisa Clark, the small town caregiver and companion to Will Traynor (Sam Chaflin), a wealthy young banker whose entire world collapses when he becomes paraplegic and wheelchair bound.

Sparks fly as Louisa attempts to cheer the mournful Will with her chattiness, effervescent spirit, and brightly colored clothes and shoes. Eventually, she breaks through his icy reserve and an unexpected relationship blossoms.

The storyline is an engaging one. So many delightful moments ensue as Louisa discovers subtitled films, pesto (green gravy), and Mozart. In turn, Will enjoys his foray into Louisa’s life when he visits and meets her family on the occasion of her birthday. The distribution of gifts is hilarious.

A kiss under a tropical thunderstorm, dance floor adventures, and dreams of Paris can only hint at a fairy tale ending…

Bring lots of tissues!!


Spreading My Wings

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Judy Alter sharing her amazing journey from full-time, stay-at-home mom to full-time professional publisher and author.

Here’s Judy!

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“I’ve taken care of others long enough. It’s time to take care of me.” Astonishing words from the father of four children, ages six to twelve. Followed by, “I’ll take the kids, the house, the whole package except you.” Terrible cruelty from the man I’d been married to for seventeen years and had risked family connections to marry. For the past twelve years I’d been a full-time stay-at-home mom, grabbing free time to write when I could, entertaining lavishly at everything from big dinner parties to children’s birthdays. And this was how my first act was going to end?

My second act followed fast upon the end of the first and was, my brother said, “a remarkable case of reinventing myself.” I became a working mom, a full-time professional publisher, and an author. It didn’t all happen that fast, and I had some lucky breaks along the way.

The first thing I did was to find employment outside the house. I took the job of coordinator of community classes at my alma mater, Texas Christian University. From then on serendipity played a part in my career. I shared an office with a man who was slated to become director of TCU Press when the current director retired in a few months. One day, this man looked at me and asked, “Would you like to be editor of TCU Press?” That was my job interview. Yes, thank you very much, I’d like that. In earlier jobs I’d done a lot of PR and editing, and it seemed like a natural.

I was editor for four or five years and loved it. I liked working with the authors, and I loved shaping words. I didn’t always agree with my former office-mate about the manuscripts we acquired, but in general I was happy. And I never wanted to be director, didn’t want all that responsibility.

But when my former office-mate left to take a better-paying job at another university, I couldn’t wait to be named director. I had the requisite Ph.D. so I’m not sure what the holdup was, but it was almost a year before the appointment was official. I served as director for twenty-plus years, and it turned out to be the perfect job for me. I had enough freedom to raise my children the way I wanted. I met authors not only in the office but at conventions and meetings and came to regard several major Texas authors as good friends.

I was trying to boost my own writing at the time, and I found the two interests didn’t conflict at all—they worked together. I published, I won awards, the press won awards. We were producing good and attractive books and people in the region began to notice.

I worked past retirement and finally retired at 71 to pursue my own writing. By then I was well enough known on the regional literary scene that people bought my books, and my writing took off if not like a rocket at a fairly respectable speed. Maybe that is my third act?

What have I learned from this? Find your passion in life—don’t quit or turn back until you’ve discovered the one thing that you really love. For me, it was books and words. And spread your wings—get to know people in your profession, speak up, present talks, make yourself heard.

If I had stayed married I don’t know what would have happened, but I doubt I would have the four wonderful children I do today, and I doubt I would have had as satisfying and rich life. God is good.

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Blurb

Chicago, from swampland to host of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition, as lived by two leading historical figures: tycoon and hotelier Potter Palmer and his activist wife Bertha Honoré Palmer who fought for women’s rights and help for the poor. A story of love, major historical events, class warfare, intrigue, a forbidden love interest, and murder. A history of Chicago’s colorful Gilded Age.

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Where to find Judy…

Website | Blog | Amazon | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Joanne here!

I agree with your brother – this is a remarkable reinvention story! Best of luck with all your literary endeavors, Judy.


Remembering Mr. Hockey

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

gordiehowe1Yesterday, Gordie Howe, a.k.a. “Mr. Hockey,” passed away at the age of 88. Gifted on the ice and humble off it, he’s considered one of the greatest hockey players of all time.

Born in the small farming town of Floral, Saskatchewan, he put on a pair of ice skates at the age of four years. He played in an organized league and had a tryout with the NHL’s New York Rangers at age fifteen but failed to impress. A year later, a Red Wings scout discovered Gordie Howe and two years after that, in October 1946, he scored a goal in his NHL debut in what proved to be the start of one of the game’s most prolific careers.

He went on to become a 23-time All-Star, won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player six times, and led the league in scoring six times.

Over his professional career, Gordie Howe played a remarkable 2,421 games, including playoffs. He is second on the NHL’s all-time goals list with 801, behind Wayne Gretzky with 894, and fourth on the points list with 1,850.

My favorite Gordie Howe quotes…

You’ve got to love what you’re doing. If you love it, you can overcome any handicap or the soreness or all the aches and pains, and continue to play for a long, long time.

I always tell kids, you have two eyes and one mouth. Keep two open and one closed. You never learn anything if you’re the one talking.

There’s always something in the game you wish you would have done different. That’s why players improve, because they learn from what they did before. They might have been guessing before, but now they know.

You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you gave—win or lose.

Age has nothing to do with it. Heck, I played until I was 52 so I could play with my sons, Mark and Marty. In fact, at 52, I was leading scorer on the team until Christmas before they benched me.

My philosophy is never start talking about ‘if,’ ‘and,’ ‘but’ or the past, because 90 percent of what follows will be negative.

Love this oldie-goldie recorded by Big Bob and The Dollars in 1963: