An Unexpected Second Act

Posted on March 2, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Mabry Hall sharing insights from her multi-act life and her novels: An Engaging End and A Regrettable Reunion.

Here’s Mabry!

As I prepared to guest on Joanne’s blog, I looked over the stories that have come before mine. So many of my fellow writers seem to have known since childhood that they wanted this career. Not I. It never occurred to me that I could spend my life making things up for fun and not get in trouble for it.

If I could have chosen my studies based on my interests, I’d have been an English or history major. In the interest of practicality, I became a nurse. As my mother said, I’d always be able to get a job wherever I moved. Within a month of graduation, I came to the stark reality that hospitals are open every day of the year. And at night. And on holidays. And as a new grad, it would be years before I moved my way into a semi-normal schedule. (Yes, I admit I should have faced these unwelcome facts earlier.)

I returned to graduate school and became a nurse anesthetist, which gave me much more job flexibility. I was able to work part time while raising our two sons, and I also had more time to read for pleasure. My attention span had dwindled since high school, and I found myself devouring historical romance novels rather than history tomes. It wasn’t long before I complacently said to myself, “I could write one of these.” It certainly wasn’t as easy as I thought, but four years later I’d completed three books and progressed to receiving encouraging personalized rejection letters from agents and editors. I promise you those are much better than form letters, but at the end of the day, I was still rejected.

I stopped writing and focused on my garden, sewing, and taking care of two, by now, teenage boys. I continued to work, and occasionally my husband would prod me to give writing another go. Two instigating factors prompted my return to the computer. The first was the end of my anesthesia career following a dramatic slip-and-fall in the operating room. Since I worked at a children’s hospital, I couldn’t even go to their emergency room. EMS came in, slapped on a neck brace, and scooped me off the floor onto a stretcher. I was wheeled through the front lobby to a waiting ambulance to the bemused interest of patients and family members. Truly a day to remember, and by the way, it was our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Needless to say, my husband did not take me out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate that evening.

As I pondered what to do with my untimely retired self, I became aware that I could now publish my books on my own. At my point in life, I wasn’t willing to spend months waiting for replies and requests for revisions to suit the taste of someone else. There’s a saying that if you aren’t a control freak before you go into anesthesia, you soon will be. I love the fact that I can write what I want, hire the editor that I want, select the cover that I like, and publish on my own schedule.

I love antique jewelry, so Annalee Wyatt, my protagonist, buys and sells it. This gives me excuses to create gorgeous Pinterest boards and do some serious window-shopping when I travel. I love the South and miss my childhood on my grandparents’ farms. I’ve recreated that experience for Annalee by having her inherit her family’s Goat Hill Farm. I’m even thoughtful enough to have her pasture land leased out to a neighboring farmer, so all she has to do is enjoy the view. The fictional community I created in northern Louisiana is populated by people who remind me of someone I like, or in the case of villains, someone I don’t like. Thank goodness the murders come totally from my imagination.

The most rewarding aspect of this new career comes when someone I’ve never met tells me that my books made her laugh and took her away from reality for awhile. With the state of the world these days, that almost qualifies as a public service.

Last July I underwent another reinvention when I became grandmother to a sweet baby girl. Much to my authorial surprise, Annalee’s best friend is pregnant in the book I’m currently writing. I began the first page, and poof, it was a done deal. Finally there’s one part of my life where I totally call the shots!

18 Karat Sold? Or 18 Karat Cold?

Blurb

Antique jewelry dealer Annalee Wyatt recently moved from Houston to Goat Hill, her family’s ancestral farm in Louisiana. Okay, admittedly she knows jack about farming and makes her living selling expensive baubles, but she’s returned to her roots and wants everyone, including the citizens of nearby Berryville, to be as enthusiastic about it as she is. Her goal of acceptance gets a boost when the scion of an old family pays her big bucks for an engagement ring. When his intimidating mother invites her to attend the ceremony, she really feels like she’s made it.

Unfortunately, “Happily ever after” turns into “Happy never again” when the young bride shockingly dies at the wedding reception. Soon Annalee is dealing with a grieving, hostile groom and unpleasant accusations regarding her honesty.

Though there seems to be no way to prove her integrity, Annalee can’t afford to give up. With the help of her hunky cattle-rancher neighbor and the town book club, she sets out to solve the mystery that threatens her reputation. It comes as a nasty surprise to find that her life is in jeopardy, too!

Blurb

Antique jewelry dealer Annalee Wyatt has settled into life on recently-inherited Goat Hill Farm, and gamely agrees to accompany her new boyfriend to his class reunion. Former football star Ryan Dawson shows up with his adoring wife and slides right back into his role as big man on campus. By evening’s end, he’s bragged to the guys, pawed the women, and generally convinced everyone he isn’t the great guy they remember.

No one is sorry to see him leave the party, but someone is angry enough to make sure he’s gone for good. Though short on detective skills, Annalee’s jewelry expertise pulls her into his murder investigation when an unusual brooch is found in the possession of the accused killer. Doubtful someone would commit murder for the small, salamander-shaped pin, she’s convinced there’s more to the story and can’t resist poking her nose into small-town secrets.

Join Annalee and her cohorts as they traipse through northern Louisiana and east Texas in avid pursuit of another 18 Karat Cold criminal.

Bio

Mabry Hall is a Southerner who writes what she knows, except for the murder part. She’s traveled the globe but always comes back happy to be with the friendly and quirky people who populate Louisiana.

Where to find Mabry…

Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Follow me on Instagram @18karatcold

Joanne here!

Mabry, thanks for sharing your journey and insights. Best of luck with all your creative endeavors.

Be Ruthless!

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome award-winning, Soul Mate author Sofie Darling. Today, Sofie shares insights from her writing journey and her debut novel, Three Lessons in Seduction.

Here’s Sofie!

Today, I’d like to talk about my journey to publication. In 2015, my friend and critique partner, Kate Ramirez, won the Writers’ League of Texas’ Manuscript Contest in the romance category. Her win gave me good incentive to finish the book I was working on and enter the contest the following year, even though I was somewhat hesitant to do so.

I’d entered a contest before—that’s right, one contest—and it didn’t go anywhere. I took this “failure” as confirmation of my deepest fear that my writing wasn’t connecting with anyone, even though my critique partners were telling me differently. But they liked me. What did they know?

Still, in 2016, I entered the WLT’s Manuscript Contest, and I won . . . to my utter and complete surprise.

In addition to the WLT win, I received a pitch session with the agent who selected my entry as the winner. We had a good chat, and she requested the full manuscript. Ultimately, she passed on it, but she did give me some good advice. In regards to getting the manuscript ready to send to her, she looked me straight in the eye and said, “Be ruthless.”

Buoyed with a bit more confidence after the win and full request, I moved past my fear of contests and entered two more. I finaled in both, and in two categories in one. While this led to conversations with editors, I was still having no agent luck. I made it pretty far down the road with another agent, but she, too, passed.

The process of querying agents and either getting rejected or ignored led me toward a bold decision: I researched every single romance publisher who accepted direct submissions from authors and submitted to all of them. Out of the twelve publishers I queried, I received five requests for more material. Within five months, I’d connected with an editor who was truly enthusiastic about my work and had a signed contract with a publisher.

I still think about the agent’s words, “Be ruthless.” It applies to the writing, of course—adverbs can be pesky little irritants—but it also applies to the career of the writer. It wasn’t until I decided to take my fate as a writer into my own hands and stop waiting for an agent—any agent, please!—to accept me as a client that I was able to forge the beginning of the career I’d been dreaming about for years.

The path toward publication is going to look different for every writer, and my journey won’t be the right fit for everyone. In retrospect, it’s clear that conquering my fear and taking those first few steps was the most difficult part of the process. Each step forward on the path toward publication was easier than the last as my confidence grew, and with the release of Three Lessons in Seduction last fall, my dream became reality!

Blurb

Paris, September 1824

Lord Nicholas Asquith needs his wife. Too bad he broke her heart ten years ago.

Can he resist a second chance at the love he lost?

When Mariana catches the eye of the man at the center of an assassination plot, Nick puts aside their painful past and enlists her to obtain information by any means necessary, even if it means seducing the enemy agent.

Even if the thought makes his blood boil.

Only by keeping his distance from Mariana these last ten years was he able to pretend indifference to her. With every moment spent with her, he feels his tightly held control slipping . . .

Can she trust the spy who broke her heart?

Mariana spent the last decade forgetting Nick. Now she has the chance to best him at his own game, an opportunity she can’t resist, even as her view of him begins to shift. Increasingly, she wants nothing more than to seduce her own husband . . .

It’s only a matter of time before mad passion ignites, a passion never convincingly extinguished. A passion that insists on surrendering to the yearning of the flesh and, quite possibly, of the heart.

Excerpt

“A girl like you is a girl one could marry,” he murmured. They were heedless and dangerous words that fell from his lips, and he couldn’t understand why he spoke them.

“A girl like me?”

“You.”

“One could marry?”

“I.”

“Careful,” she whispered into the space between their lips. It was the only space that mattered in the universe. “I might hold you to such words.”

“I might hope you do.”

Again, words fell from his mouth of their own accord, and he’d proposed to her. There had been no biting it back.

And he hadn’t wanted to.

At least, not for another five seconds.

He’d proposed to Lady Mariana Montfort, a girl he didn’t know.

That wasn’t precisely true.

In the ways that mattered, he knew her.

Buy Links

Amazon | Audible

Bio

Sofie spent much of her twenties raising two boys and reading every book she could get her hands on. Once she realized that she was no longer satisfied with simply reading the books she loved, that she must write them, too, she decided to finish her degree and embark on a writing career. Mr. Darling and the boys gave her their wholehearted blessing.

When she’s not writing heroes who make her swoon, she runs a marathon in a different state every year, visits crumbling medieval castles whenever she gets a chance, and enjoys a slightly codependent relationship with her beagle, Bosco.

Where to find Sofie…

10 Interesting Facts About Diana Rennie

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Wild Rose Press author Cat Dubie to the Power of 10 series. Today, Cat shares ten interesting facts about Diana Rennie, the protagonist of her latest release, The Queen of Paradise Valley.

Here’s Cat!

Diana Rennie is the flawed heroine of my Historical Western Romance, The Queen of Paradise Valley. Her story is loosely derived from the old Western TV series The Big Valley. What if, I mused, the lovely daughter was the complete opposite of compliant, easy-going, sweet? What if she’s stubborn, argumentative, not afraid to cuss when necessary? What happens when she meets her match? [Hint: sparks, flames, explosions…]

The Big Valley Cast

I’ve read many romances where the tortured hero is saved by the love of a woman. This book attempts the opposite, with a strong hero battling his own flaws. Can these two save each other?

10 interesting facts about my protagonist:

1. Diana started piano lessons when she was six years old, after her mother brought her to a concert featuring the music of Chopin and Liszt. She loved playing and practiced for several hours a day. Music helped her cope, with loneliness, with her self-absorbed mother, with the knowledge that, after he had the son he wanted, her father sent her to live with her mother in New York.

2. She received her first pet when she was nine, a small terrier she named Ludwig [after Beethoven, of course]. How she loved that pup! But she wasn’t allowed to keep him long because her mother complained he yipped, he smelled, he made her sneeze [though she was rarely home.] Heartbroken, Diana gave Ludwig to the family of one of the servants.

3. When she was 15, Diana began a four year program at the Bennington Music Academy. At the urging of her piano teacher, she planned to continue her studies in New York, her goal and dream to become a concert pianist playing in the great music halls of Europe.

4. By the time Diana was 19, her mother was flitting from lover to lover, from wine to morphine pills. Her addictions soon caught up with her, and she died from mistakenly taking too much belladonna. Stunned, hurt, lost for a time, Diana became determined to live as she had planned. Angry at the strictures “society” imposed on her, she defied convention by attending concerts with her mother’s last lover, a handsome Spanish count. The scandalous behavior had tongues wagging, telegraph messages flying. A few days later, Diana received a letter from her father’s solicitor with a firm request to appear at his Colorado ranch.

5. Diana inherited her father’s flaxen hair, blue eyes, stubbornness, pride, sometimes volatile temper, and a propensity for holding anxieties and worries inside. [She had already learned to conceal her insecurities and fears]\

6. She did not inherit her mother’s buxom figure or flighty behavior; if she inherited anything from her mother it was a latent tendency to rely on medicine [drugs] to alleviate her internal and external pains, a tendency that would nearly cost her everything.

7. Diana’s father gave her a graceful black Half-Arabian colt named Paladin. She loved him fiercely, almost as much as she loved her newfound father and the glorious Paradise Valley ranch. A new ambition took root — to learn everything she could about the ranch, the people who worked there, and the father who had only sent her away because her mother had to insisted a ranch was no place to raise a girl.

8. A mere four months after Diana was reunited with her father, a tragic riding accident ended his life. She was devastated, inconsolable for months. Then she pulled herself together, determined to run the ranch in the same manner her father did, and keep it successful as a continuing tribute to him. There would be no room in her life for a man, any man. Ever.

9. Diana adopted a black pup from a litter drop by one of the ranch dogs. At the same time she took delivery of a beautiful white Steinway grand piano, ordered by her father as a gift. She vowed to keep it pristine and never play it. Ever.

10. Due to an unfortunate incident when she was a young witness to a gory carriage accident in New York, she developed a severe phobia at the sight of human blood.

Blurb

Diana Rennie, daughter of a wealthy rancher, attempts to persuade mystery man Del Russell to leave his grievances behind and forgive her father for past mistakes. Her careful plan goes awry and results in a shotgun wedding and a prison sentence for Del.

Four years later, Del is back in her life with a vengeance—back for his rightful share of Diana’s ranch, back to prove he isn’t the criminal she thought he was, back to finish what the two of them started years ago in a passionate daze. And he isn’t going anywhere, no matter what beautiful, treacherous Diana does or says to try to get rid of him.

Buy Links

Amazon | The Wild Rose Press | Barnes & Noble | Chapters/Indigo

Bio

Cat Dubie has traveled the world in books. She has traveled back in time and into the future in books. Her keen interest in history determined the nature of her books, and the first Historical romance novel she read, settled the genre.

After working for various levels of government, she retired and now lives in the beautiful province of British Columbia, where she indulges in her need for creating stories about romance, adventure, passion, mystery, love …

Where to find Cat…

Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Science Fiction at a Snail’s Pace

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Guelph author and screenwriter Cindy Carroll. Today, Cindy shares her writing journey and new release, The Princess Prophecy.

Here’s Cindy!

I want to thank Joanne for hosting me today! I’m super excited about my new release and my continuing journey as an author.

Like most writers I knew for a long time that I wanted to write. My favourite assignment in English class was writing short stories. When I was in grade six I started my first trilogy about three astronauts who travelled to other planets and met interesting aliens. Back then, I modelled the characters after myself, my cousin, and our favourite singer. He happened to also be a soap opera star, so his name in the stories was Noah. I wrote the first story in grade six and the other two in grade seven. I had the same English teacher both years, so she got to read the entire trilogy. She commented on my love of science fiction after the third story. The science fiction affection didn’t stop at the written word. I loved scifi movies and television shows. I watched all the scifi I could and some of those obscure shows that no one has heard of would come back later to inspire The Princess Prophecy.

Throughout the rest of school I wrote stories here and there, when I had time. In high school I even took a creative writing class. Of course, I was also an avid reader. I loved a variety of different genres and would go through at least a book a week. Sometimes more. I read one of Dean Koontz’s books in a day. Even though I knew books were written by authors, it never occurred to me that I could decide to be an author. That I could write things and send them out into the world for publication. It took a visit to my cousin one summer to turn that light bulb on. She had a typewriter out and I asked what she was doing. She said she was writing a book. My mind exploded with the possibilities and I’ve been writing for publication ever since.

It hasn’t been an easy road. Back then I wanted what most writers wanted. A New York publishing contract. I didn’t even care how much the advance was, though I was hoping for life changing money. I submitted to publishers, and agents. Until 2013 I was still chasing that dream. Then a friend introduced me to self publishing. I haven’t looked back since.

The Princess Prophecy took forever to write by self publishing timelines. The initial idea, a cross between The Princess Diaries and Out of This World (a scifi show from the 80s), sparked in June, 2015, but the book didn’t see the light of virtual bookshelves until a few weeks ago. What took so long? The story was basically written over a year ago. I’d been fiddling with the cover for months, never quite happy with what I’d come up with. Then there was the fear. All other stories (save a few short stories) had been published under super secret pen names. It’s a whole different ball game when you’re publishing something under your own name. But, I squashed down the fear, finished the edits and put it out into the world. With a shiny new cover that I’m in love with.

I just hope the next book won’t take as long to set free.

Blurb

An ancient throne. An unknown prophecy. A reluctant princess controls the fate of the world…

Sophie thinks she’s a typical college freshman. She spends her days making friends and coping with classes, until her whole world changes forever. A group of strange men try to kidnap her, and the only thing that saves her is a long-lost friend who’s sworn to protect his princess…

Nathan tells Sophie that she’s not only half-alien, but she’s royalty on another planet. To make things more complicated, she’s forced to go to that planet to take the throne… or her entire kingdom will suffer.

As Nathan helps her train for her second life, she can’t help but fall for him. But when their ship comes under attack, she wonders if any of them will survive the journey.

Bio

Cindy is a member of Sisters in Crime and a graduate of Hal Croasmun’s screenwriting ProSeries. Her interviews with writers of CSI and Flashpoint appeared in The Rewrit, the Scriptscene newsletter, the screenwriting Chapter of RWA. She writes screenplays, thrillers, and paranormals, occasionally exploring an erotic twist. A background in banking and IT doesn’t allow much in the way of excitement so she turns to writing stories that are a little dark and usually have a dead body. She lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and two cats. When she’s not writing you can usually find her painting landscapes in oil, playing video games (Sims 3 and Sims 4 are favourites), or watching her favourite television shows marathon style.

Where to find Cindy…

Spreading Love Will Change The World

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome award-winning author Kathryn Jane to the Power of 10 series. Today, Kathryn shares an inspiring and timely post about a much-needed shift in our world.

Here’s Kathryn!

In light of the horrible event in a high school last week, I am here to talk about how each and every one of us can have an impact on the change we need in our world.

My Power of Ten, is all about love.

Many years ago, when I was taking a creative writing class in university, my instructor remarked on one of my submissions… “Another good piece, but why do all your stories end up about love?” This was meant as a criticism. She wanted to see more angst and suffering in my stories, more fantasy-like qualities, wanted them to be grittier, without happy endings.

Fast forward thirty-plus years to when I started writing novels after decades of not writing anything.

I sat down to write a mystery, and a love story happened on the page. I wrote a second novel, and again, in the swirl of suspense and mystery, two people found each other and fell in love.

And now I believe.

I believe that love is the strongest and most powerful emotion/entity in life. Yes I say entity because to me it is one.

Back to the Power of Ten. Here’s my list of ten simple ways you can manifest more love in your life, spread it to others, and change the world, one person at a time.

1. Gratitude – before you go to bed at night, think of just one thing you’re grateful for—it can be a simple as a pretty blue flower you saw on a roadside, or the fantastic burger you had for lunch, or the co-worker who had your back when you had to take an important phone call.

2. Kindness to others – can be a simple as holding a door for someone, or reaching something down from a high shelf for another shopper at the grocery store.

3. Kindness to self – cut yourself some slack, because perfection is highly overrated—maybe today you don’t have to do all the chores on the list, or maybe you could take a walk instead of answering all your emails, or you could just sit and stare out the window, listening to the purring cat in your lap.

4. Compassion – compassion for others (or lack thereof) is how we connect with the world outside of ourselves. When you see someone at the big box store who is wearing something you think is appalling, consider why they are doing that which you think is outrageous. Is it just them expressing their individuality? Bravo! Is it them trying to put one foot in front of the other and buy groceries for their family with almost no money in their pocket, or is this how they look after they’ve heard devastating news, or lost their job, or…. We don’t know what another person could be going through and NO ONE has a right to judge another. At any time, for any reason. Period.

5. Concern – be concerned about other’s situations. If you notice someone who seems unhappy, or in a dangerous/dubious/uncomfortable situation, reach out a hand or call help for them.

6. Interest – Show interest in the people you are with. Put away the phone and talk to people, interact. Ask about their day, their family, where they got the cute shoes…

7. Listen – Listen to what others are actually saying, not what you think they are saying. Hear their words, don’t just try to get your answer ready.

8. Support – offer support. Ask the question “What can I help you with right now.” “What can I do to help you get through this?”

9. Empathy – is not sympathy. Here’s a fun way to learn the difference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw

10. Help – In helping others, you help yourself. It’s true! Try it.

My latest book, Into The Sunrise, is about a woman who could have been broken by the events in her life, but she found her way through, found a way to spread love and help others thrive, and found far more than just the love of her life.

Blurb

Dusty thought love was simple, and all about good sex…until she found the real thing and discovered the universe wasn’t ready to give her fairy dust or a happy ending. At least not yet.

Soul destroying questions and equally stunning answers have Dusty digging deeper than she ever thought possible, and when she discovers her Self, in an entirely foreign landscape, she begins anew, more determined than ever to achieve her lifelong dream.

If you love stories about women who pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and get on with living no matter what life tosses in their path, this book is for you.

Buy Links

Print | Kindle

Bio

Author Kathryn Jane writes the kind of stories she loves to read. The fast-paced kind filled with love, life and adventure along with a smattering of special abilities. She dearly wants to be the perfect combination of Nora Roberts, and Kay Hooper when she grows up!

Kat fills her non-writing time with rescuing cats, painting rocks, and walking on the beach not far from her Pacific Northwest home. She’s blessed to have a charming prince who bakes bread from scratch, and knows to not interrupt while characters are being created. He and his beloved mutt are also adept at staying out of the way of the feline diva who guards the writing cave.

Where to find Kathryn…

Website | Facebook | Twitter

The Art of Reinvention

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have multi-published, award-winning author Claire Gem sharing her leap into a spectacular second act.

Here’s Claire!

The day I turned fifty years old, I had what could be described as the perfect life. I was healthy and happily married to the same man since I was twenty. My kids were all healthy, successful adults. I’d recently landed a fantastic job at Tufts University in the field I’d been working in all my life – scientific research – and was making more money than I ever dreamed. My 35-hour workweek was Monday through Friday, no weekends or holidays. I was the manager and had free reign to redesign the department any way I saw fit.

Still, something was missing.

It took me the next four years—and many thousands of dollars—to find out what that something was. I wanted to be a writer. It was an activity I’d always enjoyed, but I’d never taken the time to develop the skill. Being the scientific, logical thinker that I was, I decided I needed to go back for a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing. I needed to learn “the right way” to become a writer.

Now, don’t get me wrong: The time I spent earning my degree at Lesley University was enlightening, enriching, and motivating. But honestly? I don’t think I had to spend an exorbitant amount of money to “validate” my writing talent. I’d already gotten that validation, almost forty years earlier, when I was in the seventh grade. I just hadn’t believed in that advice, or in myself, enough.

My English teacher, Nancy Prather, taught heavy on the essay skills and was equally scorned by all her students. That included me, until the day she called me up to her desk waving my latest essay like a flag, a serious expression on her face. I was terrified.

“Miss DelNegro,” she began, and none too quietly. “You have produced a rather impressive piece of writing here for a girl your age.”

I blinked. The way she said it—almost accusingly, I wondered . . . was that a good thing, or a bad one?

Miss Prather saw the confusion that was apparently written all over my face. “What I’m saying, my girl, is that you have a natural talent for writing.” She thrust the paper at me and issued a stern command. “No matter what you choose to do with your life, remember this: You are a writer. Don’t let this natural ability go to waste.”

Oh, if only I’d believed her. Turns out my writing ability was not only a talent, but also critical to my state of balance, of well-being. To be fulfilled, and completely happy, I had to be writing.

Still, at fifty years old with not a single piece of published writing to my credit, I needed additional validation: those three little letters—MFA—behind my name. And I’m sure those letters did catch the attention of the editors to whom I submitted over the next few years. But I still had enough rejection letters to paper my office before my first novel, Phantom Traces, was accepted by SoulMate Publishing in 2013. That was five novels, two short stories in anthologies, a memoir, a writer’s resource book, and numerous literary awards ago.

Today, at sixty, I still work by day in scientific research. But my dream—to be a full-time writer—is right around the corner. Yes, it’s been a hard-earned dream. Dedication and focus. Many midnight hours and long weekends at the keyboard. But I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

Is fifty too old to reinvent your life? Is sixty? Hell, no. Does it seem crazy to some of my family, friends, and colleagues that I yearn to leave the security of a dream job to become a writer? Sure does. But the ones who truly know me see that I am now what I was not ten years ago. Complete.

And I will say it to the world, as well as to Nancy Prather, wherever she is now: I was born to be a writer. I am a writer.

It’s never too late to reinvent yourself into what you were born to be. Everyone has a secret passion. A gift. Figure out what yours is, and don’t let anything stand in your way. Go for it.

Bio

Strong Women, Starting Over
~Redefining Romance~

Claire is a multi-published, award winning author of five titles in the genres of contemporary romance, supernatural suspense, and women’s fiction. She also writes Author Resource guide books and presents seminars on writing craft and marketing.

Her supernatural suspense, Hearts Unloched, won the 2016 New York Book Festival, and was a finalist in the 2017 RONE Awards. Also in 2017, her women’s fiction, The Phoenix Syndrome, was a finalist in the National Reader’s Choice Awards, and her contemporary romance, A Taming Season, was a Literary Award of Merit finalist in the HOLT Medallion Awards. Her latest release, Spirits of the Heart, was a finalist in the 2017 “I Heart Indie Awards.”

Creating cross-genre fiction she calls “supernatural suspense,” Claire loves exploring the paranormal and the unexplained, and holds a certificate in Parapsychology from the Rhine Research Center of Duke University.

A New York native, Claire has lived in five of the United States and held a variety of jobs, from waitress to bridal designer to research technician—but loves being an author best. She and her happily-ever-after hero, her husband of 39 years, now live in central Massachusetts.

Claire is available for seminars & media interviews & loves to travel for book promotional events.

Where to find Claire…

Joanne here!

Claire, I’m in awe of your achievements. Thanks for sharing your inspiring reinvention story.

Absorbing the World Through Stimulation of the Senses

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Wild Rose Press author Gary Guinn. Today, Gary shares the highlights of his ongoing road trip and his two novels, A Late Flooding Thaw and Sacrificial Lam.

Here’s Gary!

Mary Ann and I are about half-way through a two-month road trip, and we might decide to make it three. We bought an old Safari Trek RV (Safari Treks are a whole story in themselves) and decided to head for warmer weather and places where cedar allergies are not an issue. And we wanted to see some of the country we’d never seen before. We’ve traveled about 2,500 miles. We’ve refueled our love for New Mexico, fallen in love with parts of Arizona, and finally arrived in our idea of heaven—Padre Island National Seashore, where we have no phone service, no wi-fi, and no worries.

I was concerned, before we set off, about driving an RV all day and then trying to write in the evening. But the problem solved itself in an unexpected way. For several reasons, I’ve never been an early morning writer. Didn’t think I ever would be. On this trip, I wake up at six o’clock, and Mary Ann sleeps till eight. I spend the two hours of silence sitting between our two dogs on the sofa writing, getting more done than I would in two hours at home in my study. If good writing comes, at least in part, from absorbing the world through stimulation of the senses, I may be a better writer when I get home.

Here are just three things about this trip we will remember.

The sky at Aguirre Spring Campground. I thought I knew the night sky before Aguirre Spring, but I didn’t. In fact, I didn’t have a clue. The overwhelming breadth and depth of black backdrop. The startling number and the brilliance of the constellations. On a good night in my small-town home, I can identify several constellations. When I stepped out of the RV the first night at Aguirre Spring, I couldn’t restrain a groan of pure wonder. Constellation after constellation, distinct and bright, sometimes overlapping, more than I could have imagined. The experience redefined the word awe for me.

The Cactus RV Park in Tucumcari. Nothing fancy. Right on the main road. No good places to eat nearby. But it was like stepping back into the 1950’s. Surrounded by what must have been one of those early highway motels, now defunct and shuttered, we almost had the feeling we were intruding on the lives of those people who stopped there fifty or sixty years ago in their Ford or Chevy or Plymouth or Chrysler. There would have been a central, tree-lined courtyard, where the people sat to cool off in the evening and watch the kids play, having casual conversation with strangers. It’s all now just sandy slots for self-contained RV’s, and not many of those. A bit of a haunted place.

And finally, this little slice of Heaven, the Padre Island National Seashore. Mary Ann and I love the ocean, and we try to get to its shore as often as we can. It has a magical effect on us. When we first smell the brine in the air as we approach the coast, the stress begins to melt from our shoulders down our backs. When we catch our first glimpse of the water, it’s like an electromagnet with the drawing power growing as the current increases. And finally, when we walk on the sand—well, when we walk on the sand, a kind of joy rises in us and we can’t help laughing. This time, when our aging lab-mix, Seamus, ran out onto the beach, he was like a puppy again. A puppy who didn’t know which way to turn first, who couldn’t contain all the sensual stimulation hitting him.

We understood. We felt the same way.

Blurb – Sacrificial Lam

When English professor Lam Corso receives a death threat at work, he laughs it off. A liberal activist teaching at a small Southern conservative college, he’s used to stirring up controversy on campus. It’s just part of the give and take of life. Even when violently attacked, Lam is convinced it has to be a mistake. He can’t imagine anyone who would want to kill him for his beliefs.

When his home is broken into and his wife’s business vandalized, Lam is forced to face facts. The police can’t find a single lead. Lam’s wife—a passionate anti-gun crusader—is outraged when Lam brings a gun into the house for protection. Left to their own devices, Lam and Susan must examine their marriage, faith, and values in the face of a carefully targeted attack from an assailant spurred into action by a different set of beliefs.

What will it cost to survive?

Blurb – A Late Flooding Thaw

Henry and Walter Bass struggle to escape the shadows of their alcoholic father, their reclusive mother, and the prejudice of the small town of Delaney. When Walter marries Emma Sinclair, the only child of one of Delaney’s oldest families, tragic events are set in motion that change the lives of everyone involved. Each character in the drama that follows must struggle with the shadows of the living and the dead. In the violent world of Pentecostal religion, grace offers hope, but the failure of love brings destruction and the sins of the fathers curse the lives of the sons and daughters.

Bio

Gary Guinn taught literature and creative writing at a small private college for more than thirty years. His short fiction and poetry have been published in literary magazines and anthologies. His first novel, A Late Flooding Thaw, was published in 2005, and his second novel, Sacrificial Lam, was released March 3, 2017. He loves traveling, dogs, and brewing beer.

Where to find Gary…

Website | Amazon | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Spotlight on Marian Lanouette

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Amazon best-selling author Marian Lanouette. Today, Marian shares her inspiring journey and upcoming release, All the Deadly Lies.

Here’s Marian!

I’d like to thank Joanne for hosting me today. She gave me an interesting assignment to post briefly about my writing journey.

When I first started writing, I, like every other author, wanted the New York publisher, and the New York agent. Did I get them after many letters, inquiries, or form letter rejections? I did, but it took me nine years to get there.

I was offered a contract from a small press immediately after completing my second book. Naturally, I was thrilled that someone wanted me and my stories. The publisher and I worked together to put out the Jake Carrington series. But Jake didn’t splash into the large pool like I wanted him to. That was no fault of mine or the publisher’s. I had expected more than they offered and as with any book, it’s up to the author to promote it, and themselves. And more important, to have your next book ready to keep your readers captivated.

After the contracted time period I took my rights back and decided to journey into the ocean of self-pub authors. I met with some success. Jake Carrington and his crew were well received and I was now making a living at something I loved with a passion–Writing.

Along the way I’ve met some great authors like Joanne, and readers alike. I’ve been out and about at readings, libraries, and conferences all while learning the business. It’s been a thrilling expedition and even today I still continue to learn.

So nine years later…I met my NY publisher/editor Michaela Hamilton at Kensington, and agent Doug Grad from the Doug Grad Literary Agency, in the same night. Needless to say I was off the wall when I was offered a four book deal from Michaela for Jake’s series. I think and hope (fingers crossed) that readers of the series will be as excited for Jake and his new journey as I am for him and myself as well as welcoming new readers to the series. We look forward to many years of working together with this team and can’t wait to see what’s around the next corner.

Blurb

Homicide detective Jake Carrington takes murder personally…

The victim was bludgeoned, stripped, and left for dead. Shanna Wagner deserves justice—and there’s no better cop than Lieutenant Jake Carrington to find her killer. The brutality of the crime reminds Jake of his sister’s murder seventeen years ago, and the remorseless man responsible, now up for parole.

Then another woman is killed—and Jake goes dangerously close to the edge. He’ll have to face his personal demons and focus his formidable skills if he hopes to stop a vicious murderer from striking again—and hold on to his career, and his life . . .

Buy links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Where to find Marian…

Sometimes It Just Takes Courage

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have author D.R. Grady sharing her writing journey and latest release, The Nerd Who Spied Me.

Here’s D.R. Grady!

I knew I wanted to be a writer from the first moment I learned that by combining words you got a sentence and sentences a paragraph and then – wow, a story! The story teller within me awoke—a magical moment in my young life.

However, I’m a practical person, and I knew becoming an author who could support herself with her art probably wasn’t in my immediate future. So I opted to study Biology at college and graduated with a B.S. in Biology. This led to a series of jobs after college, and I did manage to support myself with my lab skills.

I did not, however, write. The stories were there, piling on top of each other, but I didn’t have a computer at the time, and buying one wasn’t cheap then, so I worked and saved and ignored my muse.

Over the course of a few years, and after making rent, student loans, and a car payment, I finally had saved enough money to buy a computer. A massive desktop that I couldn’t believe I finally owned!

For the first year or so I used it to keep in touch with friends via email, and I started a file for all those books in my brain. Then I changed jobs and moved a couple of times and life got busy. I kept up with email, but no writing.

One day I mentioned to my boss at the time how I had this idea in my head that kept niggling. He encouraged me to start writing the story. And he and a work colleague both urged me to attend my first Romance Writers of America local chapter meeting.

That took more courage than I thought I had, because I had convinced myself all the writers there were multi-published senator’s wives who lived in their dream homes with dream careers and… I was daunted. After much support from my fabulous boss and colleague, I finally mustered the courage and attended my first meeting.

And found people just like me!

Not a senator’s wife in sight (who are probably lovely people, by the way). I instead met plenty of other authors who were just trying to build a career writing books they loved and that they hoped others would love too. I finished that first book and many more since.

Since then, I’ve just seen my twentieth book published, The Nerd Who Spied Me! I continue that idea file and have replaced that first computer several times. (: All it took was courage to take that first step!

Blurb

Cian Hunter is tasked with the impossible: find Verity Wellington and bring her home safely. His survival is not guaranteed.

Everyone in their business knows Verity is perfectly capable of getting herself home, since she’s the gut-them-first-and-ask-questions-later type of operative. She also has the advantage of knowing where she is, which would be helpful.

He accepts the assignment, aware two operatives are better than one when dealing with the nebulous factions who lurk in the shadows. Plus, the chance to get close to Verity to see if his attraction to her is more than a fleeting interest is too good to pass up. Provided she doesn’t gut him first.

Cian is confident in his secret operative abilities, despite wishing to leave them behind. However, his relationship goals leave something to be desired. If he can figure those out… he might stand a chance of getting them both home alive.

Pitch line: They’re confident in their secret operative abilities, but maybe not so much in their relationship goals.

Excerpt

“Thanks for playing nice with my family.” He whispered this to Verity as Chrissy flitted into the kitchen to get them both a beverage. Jay followed, to “help” her. Cian guessed.

Jay tagged along to steal a smooch or two.

“I have no reason not to.”

Her logic was faultless.

“I’m still thankful for the effort.”

She didn’t snort but did eye him as though sorting through the various means she had of offing someone—as though deciding which to use proved challenging.

It sent all of his blood fleeing from his brain. His eyes dipped to her lips.

“Don’t even think about it.” Her warning came a second too late.

“Sorry, already did.”

“You’re not sorry,” she scoffed. “I will eviscerate you in your sister’s living room.”

“That’s not nice.” More blood pumped from his brain. This was not going as well as could be expected. He couldn’t seem to drag his gaze from those pouty lips.

One side of those delectable treats rose in a snarl. “Don’t even think about kissing me, Hunter.”

He, in usual form, ignored her warning. Wrapping one arm around her waist, he yanked her against him. Then he melded their lips because he had to know.

“You are in such big trou—” Her words halted because his mouth blocked them and he ran his tongue over the seam of her lips. She gasped, and he pressed the advantage, using any and all available.

A groan escaped his throat and meshed with hers.

Buy Links

Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Smashwords |
Createspace – Coming Soon!

Bio

D.R. Grady lives with her husband near Hershey, PA. She adores chocolate, laughing, collecting bags, books, and shoes, and writing stories that resonate with others.

Where to find D. R. Grady…

Joanne here!

Thanks for sharing your inspiring journey. Best of luck with all your creative endeavors.

All About Japanese Robots

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Wild Rose Press author Linda Nightingale. Today, Linda introduces Japanese robots and shares her latest audiobook releases, Love for Sale and Morgan D’Arcy: A Vampyre Rhapsody.

Here’s Linda!

This may seem to fly off the pages of science fiction, but it’s a hot new research field and making rapid progress.

At the Toshiba booth at the Consumer Electronics show, Chihira Aico, a life-sized robot in a pink party dress with pearls, stood like a mannequin, perfectly still—at first. Suddenly, the android began to gesture wildly.

“I can be a news reader, consultant or cheerleader!” She threw her arms up and squealed, “I can get excited!”

Chihira is a new concept for a life-like android. Her creators intend to make her seem even more expressive when interacting with humans. By adding additional motors to her joints, engineers are refining her movements to make them appear fluid while programmers work on her language processing, improving her communications skills and responsiveness. The ultimate goal is for the robot to read human behaviors and emotions, then mimic them, thereby appearing human herself.

This complicated piece of hardware has over 40 motors in her joints to coordinate her body’s movements. Fifteen tiny air pumps on her fact control the blinking of her eyes and the opening of her mouth as she speaks. Toshiba developed Chihira under the direction of Hitoshi Tokuda, the project leader. Osaka University performed the muscle research, building on previous work on prosthetic limbs.

On-lookers thought Chihira was creepy. What do you think?

A hi-tech hotel in Japan, Nagasaki prefecture’s Henn-na Hotel, opening in July will employ ten robots at the check-in counter as receptionists. If you think these humanoid androids are creepy, you might think twice about visiting this hotel. They can establish eye contact and respond to body language.

When I wrote Love For Sale, my sci-fi romance from The Wild Rose Press, I didn’t know about the Japanese life-like robots. In fact, Love for Sale was inspired by Tanith Lee’s immortal Silver Metal Lover. I don’t find robots creepy but extremely interesting. I’d love to interact with a human-like android.

A recent Pew report entitled, “A.I., Robotics, and the Future of Jobs,” suggests that while it might be some time before we see a robot takeover of our workforce, we’ll be having sex with them sooner than we think. Hum. Interesting. Would you find a sentient being programmed to love you disturbing?

Love For Sale is about Christian and March. March is a disenchanted dreamer. Christian is her dream man, but…inside he’s all circuits and wires while outside he is perfectly human and programmed to love her unconditionally.

Love for Sale and Morgan D’Arcy: A Vampyre Rhapsody have been released as audio books. Both are read by a woman with a lovely British accent and are enchanting to listen to.

Audible Samples/Buy Links

Love for Sale | Morgan D’Arcy: A Vampyre Rhapsody

Bio

Born in South Carolina, Linda has lived in England, Canada, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta and Houston. She’s seen a lot of this country from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer, having bred, trained and showed Andalusian horses for many years.

Linda has won several writing awards, including the Georgia Romance Writers Magnolia Award and the SARA Merritt. She retired from a career as a retired legal assistant, just joined the Houston BMW Club, and the stars in her crown—two wonderful sons. In a former life, she must have had to walk everywhere because today she is into transportation with fine taste in expensive horses and hot cars! She likes to dress up and host formal dinner parties.

Where to find Linda…

Note: Visit and look around Linda’s website. There’s a free continuing vampire story. On her blog, you’ll find interesting guests and prizes.

Giveaway

Leave a comment below – You could win a sterling silver Texas charm.