10 Favorite Dream Quotes

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Wild Rose Press author Christine Grabowski to the Power of 10 series. Today, Christine shares her dream quotes and her debut novel, Dickensen Academy.

Here’s Christine!

I released my debut novel, Dickensen Academy, last month. Without giving away the premise, the book deals with multiple variations of the meaning for dreams.

Today, I’m sharing my favorite dream quotes. (Some of these are used in so many places, the original author is unknown.)

1 – A dream is a wish your heart makes when it’s fast asleep. ~ Cinderella

2 – Cherish yesterday. Dream tomorrow. Live today.

3 – Don’t dream your life, live your dreams.

4 – Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. Dreams are Forever. ~ Tinkerbell

5 – If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse. ~ Walt Disney

6 – All of your dreams can come true, if we have the Courage to pursue them. ~ Walt Disney

7 – Dream as if you could live forever… Live as if you only have today.

8 – Dreams don’t work unless you do.

9 – It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

10 – If you work hard, your dreams may become your reality. ~ Josh from Dickensen Academy

Blurb

Dickensen Academy isn’t a typical boarding school. The faculty is hiding an unbelievable secret within their fine arts program. When Autumn Mattison receives an invitation to attend the high school, she yearns to escape her overbearing father yet remains reluctant to leave her mother and brother. Her doubts fade away when a vivid dream convinces her she belongs there.

Away from home, Autumn discovers a unique school environment that awakens her creative potential, and her new friends become like a second family. However, as she uncovers more about the dark side of the school and struggles with its curriculum, she questions whether Dickensen Academy is truly where she belongs.

When tragedy strikes, Autumn must learn to believe in her own power and stand up to her greatest fear or risk having her memories destroyed to protect the school’s secrets. Caught between secrets and dreams, can she find her true self?

Book Trailer

Bio

After graduating from the University of Washington, Christine earned her MBA at the University at Albany. She honed her technical writing skills in marketing and consulting but attributes the creative part of the process to her passion for reading.

She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA).

When she isn’t reading or writing, Christine can often be found running, skiing, or hiking. She lives in Newcastle, Washington, with her supportive husband, two avid teen readers, and their energetic wheaten terriers.

Where to find Christine…

10 Fruitcake Tidbits

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome author Vicki Batman. Today, Vicki shares interesting tidbits about fruitcake and her latest anthology, Whispers of Winter.

Here’s Vicki!

Since my story, The Great Fruitcake Bake-off, is in a holiday anthology, Whispers of Winter, I thought I’d share ten tidbits about fruitcake. I know many of you are naysayers and some are devotees. I love it. My favorite is chocolate dipped—tastes like candy!

1. The name “fruitcake” originated in the 1500’s.

2. Fruitcake goes way back, to Roman times.

3. Early ingredients included pomegranate seeds, raisins, and pine nuts.

4. The British added dried fruits in the 1400s.

5. The Victorians served the cake at tea time.

6. Mail order fruitcakes began in 1913.

7. Alcohol makes the cake edible for many years.

8. Manitou Springs, Colorado, hosts the Great Fruitcake Toss on the first Saturday in January.

9. 47 percent of people received a fruitcake as a gift and threw it away.

10. An ornate multi-tiered fruitcake was at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

FMI

https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Cakes/Fruitcake.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruitcake/
https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/fruitcake3.htm/
http://www.creatinghistory.com/history-of-fruitcake/

Logline – The Great Fruitcake Bake-off

When a five-time champion Samantha Greene teams up with her new neighbor, Dixon Roberts, for The Great Fruitcake Bake-off, they discover baking a prize-winning entry is complicated, bad guys are plotting to take the crown, and first prize isn’t just about a ribbon.

Excerpt

“I’m not entering this year.” I pinned an unbreakable stare on Bethany, my co-worker and long-time friend who lived in the same apartment complex as me. Standing firm, I crossed my arms. “Period.”

We’d arrived early for work and were piddling over coffee in her cubical like we always did before diving into the nuts and bolts of company business. She rolled her eyes in the “I’m so not believing this” fashion and tweaked the Santa garland decorating her cube’s walls. “Why not, Samantha? You should be proud to be the five-time winner of The Great Fruitcake Bake-off. You’re a-a”–her words trailed off as she searched the ceiling for the ultimate in descriptive–“legend.”

I dropped my arms to twitch my black skirt in place, then I tucked my shoulder-length hair behind my ear. I let loose a long exhale, “Is being a legend in the fruitcake world a good thing?”

“What’s your point?” Bethany asked.

“Alright already, it’s exhausting. Finding the perfect recipe, then bake and exhibit it. The tension comes close to killing my holiday enjoyment. Besides”-–I shoved my finger in her direction—-“shouldn’t the love be spread? Shouldn’t somebody else win the Bake-off?”

“Oh, by golly, Sam.” Bethany’s hands covered her eyes. A few seconds passed, then she clasped them to her chest, inhaled, and composed her annoyance before saying, “We’re talking fruitcake here. It’s not groundbreaking like-like the Declaration of Independence. Or the Pyramids.”

Social Media Links

10 Little Known Big Apple Seeds About NYC

Posted on October 9, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m thrilled to welcome author Missye K. Clarke to the Power of 10 series. Today, Missye shares interesting (and little known) facts about New York City and her novel, Jersey Dog.

Here’s Missye!

As my McGuinness/Pedregon Casebooks are set in New York City and bits of New Jersey—NYC’s also known by The City That Never Sleeps, The Big Apple, Metropolis, or Gotham to those of you in Rio Linda :)—I thought I’d share these Ten Little Known Big Apple Seeds About NYC with you. And as I’ve lived in this town two-thirds of my life, there’s even a few fun facts I didn’t know. Buckle up for some neat fun, mystery fans and lovers everywhere!

10. Up until 1957, the postal system in NYC used a pneumatic network to deliver mail around the five boroughs–more or less rendering the deliveries not seeing the light of day until they reached address destination–or lots of dead letter mail in the Address Unknown bins, I’m sure.

9. Though I don’t know this from personal experience, I’ve always wanted to try this. But I lived this through Casper and Logan in Jersey Dogs when they did it. If you entered the NYC subway system and never left, it’s so vast you can travel it for three days to a week straight without breaking a connection.

8. New York City has more people than 39 of the 50 U.S. states do.

7. The city’s tap water has tiny shrimp called copepods in it. Explains why I always thought that water was disgusting! >.<

6. Remember the PONY sneakers? I do–but I always thought it was just a word, like Pepsi or Nike or Xerox. If you don't remember them, it's probably because it's a regional/Northeast/NYC thing. Turns out, PONY's an acronym for Product Of New York. Now we know! (courtesy: http://www.pony-us.com)

5. The Flatiron Building—the odd one on 23rd Street and shaped like a triangle—isn't solely admired for its architecture. It has a wind tunnel causeway near it that a constant breeze comes through–and which lifts women’s skirts. Back in the day when it was risqué for any part of a lady's legs be shown, men gathered there to get free peeks of something they shouldn't. To this day, men still gather outside to watch the fun, weather permitting. (Don’t blame them for gawking—if anything, blame Mother Nature for taking advantage of city layout! 😀 )

4. Ah, NYC brownstones. Aren’t they gorgeous? Before you get all nostalgic for one, not all are what they seem. The ones with blackout windows and no address numbers on the doors are fake fronts. Instead, they’re there to hide the city’s subways maintenance and ventilation shafts.

3. Only one homicide happened on 9/11. To date, it remains unsolved.

2. Madison Square, Union Square, Washington Square, and Bryant Parks, all located in Manhattan, were once cemeteries. (Considering my Casebooks narrator’s name's “Casper”? 🙂 ) . . . Boo! Spooky!

1. Never mind spooky, let’s talk creepy: NYC buries its unclaimed bodies on a spit of land off the Bronx coast called Hart Island. Almost 1 million bodies have been buried there since 1869—and this island is not open or accessible to the public.

Bonus: Adjusted for inflation, a NYC hotdog vendor must pluck up almost $325,000 grand yearly for a permit if they wish to do business near The Pond of the Central Park Zoo. This zone is one of 20 of the most expensive places to run and operate a hotdog cart. Now you know what your $25 bucks shelled out for a loaded dog, a hot soft pretzel, and cold Coke is really going for!

I hope you enjoyed these fun NYC facts. Everyone should see Gotham once in their lives—and for those of you living there, play tourist for a day or a weekend. Either way, you’ll have a wonderful, helluva time!

Some facts courtesy of Buzzfeed and Museum of the City of New York (MCNY.org).

Blurb

Two adopted cousins. Two mysterious prostitutes. And a biologic father wants both sons dead.

Casper’s and Logan McGuinness’s junior year opens with a bloodstained, unexpected contact and an eerie text coming to pass. While Enzo and Angela de Francisci’s stubbornly refuse to explain the boys’ biologic parents’ backstories, the cousins dig into their pasts in stealth, only to unravel a sordid history meant to stay unknown and bigger than they realized. The first of several attempts on the boys’ lives reveals a desk clerk’s true identity, and conversations with a former john, lands Casper and Logan on the streets of New York and respite from a former madam. Through an intricate tale of loyalty, humor, first love, and discovering trust and sacrifice, Jersey Dogs Casper and Logan venture into the personal and collective unknown to stop a brutal killer and a network of thugs from fulfilling a murderous to-do list—and learning to trust one another so they’ll stay two steps ahead of alive.

Bio and Links

Missye K. Clarke is a lifelong Big Apple fan, even though she and her family reside in central Pennsylvania (cost of living and lack of forestry drove them out for greener pastures).

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Email

The Road to Self-Publication

Posted on October 5, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome author Ryan Jo Summers to the Power of 10 series. Today, Erin shares insights from her self-publication journey and her latest release, September’s Song.

Here’s Ryan!

“September’s Song” is actually my second self-published book, but the reasons behind each one, and the processes along the way, are vastly different.

In July 2017 I took my WordPress blog series and created a book and offered it to the public. It was a non-fictional account taken almost directly from the blog journal that chronicled the first two years with my adopted collie, Ty. The reason was simply to share the story of our successes and failures to a wide audience and offer encouragement to other pet owners struggling with a severely traumatized pet.

I used Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) for that project because it was free, (which fit my budget), it was easy and almost mistake proof, and the system walked me through each step. For simple projects like blog to book, cook books, memoirs, etc.… I would recommend KDP. I used my own photo I took for the cover, so I had no outward expenses. Each sale is pure profit, which in turn a percentage is donated back to the rescue where I adopted Ty from.

Now, this past year I was feeling gusty and decided to take one of the manuscripts I’d been shopping around and self-publish it myself. I felt up to the challenge. First I selected a script that was well received by beta readers and agents, but turned down because it was hard to niche. Then the work really began.

# 1—Timing. I selected October 5th as my targeted release date. I needed something tangible I could strive for. I picked then because it happens to be my birthday and it seemed like a good present to reward myself with. Starting about April or May I started collecting downloads and printed them out from various sources on marketing, promo timelines, self-publishing checklists, and more. I thought I’d have about 6 or 7 months to put this altogether. I’d done Ty’s Journey with KDP in about a month, so this should be plenty of time to build up excitement. Reality… I have barely read any of those downloads. The 6-7 months of timing sounded good in theory but lacked in practicality. In May I left my full time security job to work full time in pet care and devote more time to my writing endeavors. I was completely unprepared for the pet care to require more time over the summer than my 45-55 hour a week security job had! Plus I took on a couple of computer-driven side jobs that dipped into my time. So I ended up feeling like a stumbled through the six months of preparation to release this book. But here is what I did:

# 2—I hired an editor to take the beta-read manuscript and give it a good final editing. I found a gentleman through contacts who used to edit for the Chicago Times as a journalist. It was costly and slow-going, but he made some great points I might not have noticed. Simple stuff really, but things that helped with sentence flow and syntax items. The drawback was he didn’t particularly care for the subject matter. Being a magazine journalist, he wasn’t well-read in fiction. Though he came highly recommended, and our initial phone call was over two hours long, in the end he wasn’t the right editor for this book. Lesson learned.

# 3—While the editor had the manuscript, I worked on a cover. I bought a limited trial through Shutterstock and bought some photos for the background and front image. It was fairly inexpensive and I also used my ten-photo trial to nab some pictures I think I might be able to use later. Then I bought a program called Book Creative to take those photos and background to make a front and back cover. It was a fairly easy process, and not terribly expensive. Edits were by far the biggest expense I’ve put into “September’s Song”.

# 4—Fine tuning the blurb, keywords, tagline, etc… I sent a sample out of a blurb and tagline to a Facebook group and asked for suggestions. A few good points came up and I tweaked the blurb. That process was free and well worth the two or three weeks I waited for everyone to respond. A publishing house I belong to has a list of keywords. I combed the list, looking for everything that described this story. Time consuming but worth it to find words I’d have never thought of.

# 5—Research. I didn’t want to return to Kindle KDP for this book, so I searched around at various platforms that allow writers to self-publish. This was massively time-consuming and required copious notes. Actually I didn’t wait until step # 4 to do this, I started even before the editor, but I made my final choice about now. I went with Lulu.com. There are pros and cons with every platform, and I read reviews of authors who went with each one, why they were happy or not. I looked at costs to create, return on investment, avenues where the books would be available and in what formats. There is just an endless amount of information to wade through when looking for a self-publishing option. I reached the conclusion there is no perfect self-publishing avenue and each one is a trial and error. We can only research and make the best education decision we can.

# 6—Final revisions. Once I had the edited manuscript back from the editor, I had to go through with my fine toothed comb and make corrections that I agreed with, do a couple more read-throughs, (and still found two tiny errors everyone had missed).

# 7—Formatting. Oh how I hate formatting. Once I had a clean copy, free of errors and exactly how I wanted it, now I had to format the document to Lulu’s specifications. Line by line, page by page, (330+ pages) it was tedious work. But it will make for a nicer looking book. So I sucked it up and formatted the script. I added a dedication page at this time too. Something else important I’d been chipping away at.

# 8—Creating/ pricing. Finally, I sat down at Lulu.com and walked through the process of creating the book. First, the ebook. It was completely free and really only took around 3 hours or so to do. I selected a free ISBN, had to convert my word doc to a pdf, which became an epub when it was finished. I uploaded my cover. I set my price and marketing selections and Wham… one book ready to go. So far it’s only available on Lulu.com and iBooks, but it should be available on all the regular channels soon. That was easy. Next…the paperback. There were a few more choices to make, mostly in design. Again, a lot of decisions and uploading. It helps to have a clear vision in your head before you reach this stage. Again I took another ISBN because each format needs its own number. I’m guessing this is a Lulu thing since it never applied to my other releases with the same ISBN across multiple formats. But they’re free, so whatever. Downside is I had to order a print proof (at my cost of $7.60) to be certain the book is exactly like I want it before it goes to Amazon/ B& N/etc.… It’s currently up at Lulu now in paperback, but I’m still waiting for my copy to arrive. So that will be a slower process. Live and learn.

# 9—Releasing. Now that they are both created and released and available at least somewhere, I wish I had started the previous step a little sooner. Not that it matters really. Now it’s just waiting to see when Amazon, B& N and the others accept it or if I’ll have to make modifications to be accepted. It sounds like the eBook is a done deal and just needs time to Que. The paperback first has to arrive, I need to read it and be sure it’s 100 percent okay-dokey. Then it still takes time to go through that Que. If it had to be out by a certain time, this could be a problem, fortunately it’s just my impatience shining through.

# 10–Etc. Cetera promo! Since I never got around to reading those stacks of downloads, I just handled promo the best I could on my time schedule and budget. First, I purchased a blog tour, then the company shut down. Bummer. Next I started lining up visits on every blog I could think of. I get so many emails and Facebook postings and such—like I’m sure everyone does. And every one that offered any kind of promotion I grabbed it. Most are free or low cost. I sent out queries and racked up a nice list of people willing to highlight me. Some were at a fee or giveaway too. But I’d been pinching my budget dollars all year in anticipation of throwing it all on this release. I also am a huge fan of Canva and use it for so much of my promotional graphics. So I designed a “Coming soon” graphic and pinned it on top of all my social media sites. Then I made it a point to post something, anything regularly so people would see my name on their feed, and see the pinned graphic to get to the new post. Tricky?? Naw, just finally understanding how that stuff works. Basically my promo plan has been to throw a big net over any source of promo that I can afford and see where it leads. Probably not the best plan ever, and I’d hoped to have something more solid before now, but with my crazy work schedule, it’s the best I can do. Maybe by next year things will settle down personally, and it will still be a new enough release I can focus on other avenues.

Someday I hope to do another self-release. There is a non-fiction manuscript, about 50,000 words that I’d like to see out there. So what would I do differently? Give myself a full year instead of 6-7 months. I’d read those stacks of downloads first. I’d use a different editor and maybe another self-publishing platform too. Mostly it’s just to compare platforms. Beyond that, I wouldn’t really change much. The biggest thing is it’s amazing how much time it takes to self-publish. Ty’s book was easy to fit into my schedule in a few weeks, last year, so I was fooled into thinking this year would be just as easy. I definitely needed more time to plan the promo before creating.

One final thought, something important to think about when self-pubbing… belonging to a traditional house comes not only with a team of experts to do much of these things, but the support of other authors to network with, celebrate with, commiserate with and bounce ideas off of. Going solo not only drops all the responsibility into the selfer’s shoulders, it also removes the author network.

Blurb

Ivey London who lost her military husband, tried to move on with their son, her Alzheimer’s mother, and a boss attracted to her. She finds him alive and amnesiac five years later. Armed with inexpiable abilities, he is pursued by a forceful group determined to reclaim him. Ivey is just as determined to keep her late husband. Together, they uncover what happened to him, who is after him, and search for how to reclaim what they once were–husband and wife.

Excerpt

“No, that’s okay. I can do this by myself.” She spun around, blinking. Picking up the paring knife again, she began peeling. She gasped as his arms gently encircled her waist and his breath fanned her bare neck. His lips nuzzled her ear and she closed her eyes. His hand took the knife from her fingers and she leaned into his touch.

“Keegan,” his name came out in a throaty rumble as her eyes slid closed.

“I don’t know what we used to do, Ivey, but I can tell you miss it bad. I’m willing to try and be your husband again, if you’ll help me.”

Hot tears stung her eyes. She swallowed hard. “So many times you said I was unforgettable. I…I guess–.”

The comment died unfinished, and his fingers reached down and caressed her back. Electric jolts shivered along her spine.

“Don’t push me away, Ivey. Let me be in each part of your life.”

Her breath hitched. This should be easy. Just tell him how they used to cook, what his favorite foods were, what they shared, how they made wonderful love. And miraculously all his memories will reappear. Except it hadn’t worked yet.

From the distant reaches of her mind, Ivey heard the phone ringing. Before she could pull herself away from the counter, it stopped. Assuming Jory answered it, the whole episode passed from her mind. Right now, Keegan took all her focus.

His fingertips trailed lazily up and down her back, igniting tiny fires in their wake.

“Keegan….I….” Words failed her. Heart beating frantically like a wild bird locked in a cage, her mind surrendered.

He gently turned her around, cupping her chin and tilting her up. Drawing a husky breath, he lowered his lips to hers, winding his fingers in the tangle of her hair. Her arms moved to encircle his waist, slipping under his shirt to feel the raised scars and corded muscles. A guttural moan escaped her.

Finally, having lost all concept of time, she pulled apart. Noble, he would not go further with a woman he did not remember making love to. She might respect his intention and restraint, but the unmet need was also killing her. Pulling in a shaky breath, she ended the kiss, stepping away and picking up the paring knife again.

She ran her tongue over her lips, more to steady herself, and rested one hand on the counter for balance. “I can work on this if you want to go see what Jory and Mom are doing.”

Keegan stiffened, hesitated and studied her. For a chilling moment, she hoped he ignored her request and lifted her bodily to carry her away to the bedroom. Then a darkness entered his eyes, a sadness that cut into her chest.

“Yes. Of course.” Spinning, he exited, leaving her alone with the ghosts of what had been.

Damn, damn, damn.

Buy Links

Lulu | iTunes | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Bio

Ryan Jo Summers writes romances that blur the lines of subgenres. She mixes contemporary with time travel, Christian, suspense, sweet, and paranormal like blending a fruit and yogurt smoothie. Her non-fiction works have appeared in numerous trade journals and magazines including ‘WNC Woman Magazine’, ‘Critter Magazine’, ‘Journey Devotions’, and ‘Vet Tech Journal’. She is a regular contributing author for the ‘Asheville Pet Gazette’.

Her hobbies include baking, crafts, gardening, enjoying nature, and chess/mah-jongg/word-find puzzles. She pet sits/dog walks when she’s not busy writing and she fosters homeless pets for area animal rescues.

She lives in a century-old cottage in North Carolina with her own menagerie of rescued pets and way too many houseplants. “September’s Song” is her second self-published work, the first one being the chronicles of the first two years with her adopted PTSD rescue collie.

Media Links

10 Interesting Facts about Lake Superior

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Amazon International best-selling author Judy Penz Sheluk to the Power of 10 series. Today, Judy shares interesting facts about Lake Superior and her latest release, Past & Present.

Here’s Judy!

Earlier this year, I established my own publishing imprint, Superior Shores Press. As a traditionally published author, it was a decision I thought long and hard about, but after three years and three books, I felt ready to take the plunge.

Deciding on a name for the company was actually pretty easy. Although our main residence is in New Tecumseth, Ontario, we also own a cottage on Lake Superior, not far west of Sault Ste. Marie. Yes, it’s a long drive (7 ½ hours), but as you can see from the pictures, it’s a perfect writing retreat.

Sunset at Judy’s Cottage on Lake Superior

Gibbs Sheluk Enjoys the View

The first book released under the Superior Shores Press imprint is Past & Present, Book 2 in the Marketville Mystery series. And now, here are 10 interesting facts about Lake Superior.

1. Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes, shared by Ontario to the north, Minnesota to the west, and Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the south.

2. The Ojibwe name for the lake is kitchi-gummi or gichi gami, meaning great sea or great water. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the name as “Gitche Gumee” in The Song of Hiawatha, as did Gordon Lightfoot in his song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

3. According to the University of Wisconsin, the Objibways believe Lake Superior is protected by Nanabijou, Spirit of the Deep Sea Water.

4. The average depth of Superior is about 500 feet. The deepest point in Lake Superior (about 40 miles north of Munising, Michigan) is 1,300 feet (400 meters) below the surface.

5. Superior holds about 3,000 cubic miles of water— enough to fill all the other Great Lakes plus Lake Erie three times over. Its volume is second only to Russia’s Lake Baikal.

6. The surface area of Lake Superior (31,700 square miles or 82,170 square kilometers) is greater than the combined areas of Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire.

7. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum approximates 6,000 ships and 30,000 lives lost in Lake Superior shipwrecks. Thanks to Gordon Lightfoot, one of the best known is the Edmund Fitzgerald, which lost her entire crew of 29 men on Lake Superior November 10, 1975, 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan.

8. Because of its location north of Lake Huron, which was discovered first by Brûlé, the lake’s name comes from the French word lac supérieur, which means “upper lake.”

9. The lake is about 350 miles (563 km) in length and 160 miles (257 km) in width. If straightened out, the Lake Superior shoreline could connect Duluth and the Bahama Islands.

10. In the summer, the sun sets more than 35 minutes later on the western shore of Lake Superior than at its southeastern edge.

About Past & Present

Sometimes the past reaches out to the present…

It’s been thirteen months since Calamity (Callie) Barnstable inherited a house in Marketville under the condition that she search for the person who murdered her mother thirty years earlier. She solves the mystery, but what next? Unemployment? Another nine-to-five job in Toronto?

Callie decides to set down roots in Marketville, take the skills and knowledge she acquired over the past year, and start her own business: Past & Present Investigations.

It’s not long before Callie and her new business partner, best friend Chantelle Marchand, get their first client: a woman who wants to find out everything she can about her grandmother, Anneliese Prei, and how she came to a “bad end” in 1956. It sounds like a perfect first assignment. Except for one thing: Anneliese’s past winds its way into Callie’s present, and not in a manner anyone—least of all Callie—could have predicted.

Bio

Judy Penz Sheluk is the Amazon international bestselling author of the Glass Dolphin Mysteries (The Hanged Man’s Noose; A Hole in One) and the Marketville Mysteries (Skeletons in the Attic; Past & Present). Her short stories appear in several collections.

Judy is also a member of Sisters in Crime International, Sisters in Crime – Guppies, Sisters in Crime – Toronto, International Thriller Writers, Inc., the South Simcoe Arts Council, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she serves on the Board of Directors, representing Toronto/Southwestern Ontario.

Find her at http://www.judypenzsheluk.com.

Find Past & Present in trade paperback at all the usual suspects, and on Amazon Kindle for an introductory price of $2.99 (reg. $5.99) and Kindle Unlimited.
Buy Link: http://authl.it/afj

Honoring Grandma Moses

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

Born this day in 1860, Anna Mary Robertson Moses was the third of ten children. As a child, she attended a one-room schoolhouse that is now the Bennington Museum in Vermont. She took art lessons at school and was encouraged by her father at home. At a later age, she wrote, “I was quite small, my father would get me and my brothers white paper by the sheet. He liked to see us draw pictures. It was a penny a sheet and lasted longer than candy.”

As a young wife and mother, Moses applied creative touches to her home. She used house paint to decorate a fireboard, created beautiful quilted objects, and made embroidered pictures of yarn for family and friends.

At the age of 76, she developed arthritis and was forced to abandon embroidery. She turned to painting, focusing on episodes of farm life she had experienced firsthand. A prolific painter, she created over 1,500 canvasses in three decades. She was “discovered” in her eighties.

Here are ten of my favorite quotes from Grandma Moses:

A strange thing is memory and hope; one looks backward, and the other forward; one is of today, the other of tomorrow. Memory is history recorded in our brain, memory is a painter, it paints pictures of the past and of the day.

I like to paint something that leads me on and on into the unknown, something that I want to see away on beyond.

I’ll get an inspiration and start painting; then I’ll forget everything, everything except how things used to be and how to paint it so people will know how we used to live.

A primitive artist is an amateur whose work sells.

People should take time to be happy.

Life is what you make it.

If I hadn’t started painting, I would have raised chickens.

I look back on my life like a good day’s work. It was done and I am satisfied with it.

Even now I am not old. I never think of it, and yet I am a grandmother to eleven grandchildren.

I would never sit back in a rocking chair, waiting for someone to help me.

Happy National Grandma Moses Day!

10 Trail Riding Tips

Posted on August 27, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome award-winning Soul Mate author Sally Brandle to the Power of 10 series. Today, Sally shares essential trail riding tips and her latest release, The Hitman’s Mistake.

Here’s Sally!

You’ve always dreamed of meandering on a woodsy trail on a calm, trusty steed? Well, me too. I’m living my childhood dream of every pony girl—four decades later. It all started with a Living Social coupon to a local equestrian center. For the last six years my gelding, Lance, and I have shared a treasured trust in one another while trotting trails. A shout out to Vanessa Kuhlman, owner of Highpoint, who teamed me with a wonderful four-legged teacher and friend.

Lance and I assisted or ponied riders on frequent trail rides, and here’s what I’ve learned. I’m far from an expert, but I pride myself in paying attention. I’ve ridden stable horses in Spain, Ireland, Mexico, and most Western states. Horses are kind, intelligent creatures allowing us to ride them. Enjoy the blessing!

1. Do your homework on area stables offering rides. View online comments about the owners/guides, horses, and terrain you’ll be riding on. Honor the weight limits and find the right fit for your comfort level. Please consider a lesson first. At a minimum, watch a couple of You Tube videos on basic riding cues and horsemanship or go to a site like Hay-net.co.uk for tips.

2. Be honest with your ability—to the point of underselling your accomplishments.

3. Go prepared if the stable doesn’t list requirements on their site. Long pants, long sleeves, sunglasses, sunscreen, boots with a low heel, and a pocketful of mini carrots are my standard equipment. Yes, I carried boots and breeches to Hawaii for my birthday trail ride on Ziggy.

4. Arrive about fifteen minutes early and absorb the barn vibe. It should be calming. If you have kids with you, remind them that quiet voices and slow movements are mandatory around horses. When you’re given the okay, you greet a horse by walking in from the side and letting them smell you first. Horses are prey animals. If approached from behind their natural instinct is to kick or flee. Stable horses should be calm, but don’t assume.

5. Ask first about giving treats and where your horse prefers to be petted. The guide will show you how to flatten your hand to offer a carrot. If the mounts aren’t fully tacked, offer to help groom. The quicker you form a bond, the better your ride will be.

6. You’re in the saddle. Don’t be shy voicing a concern if the stirrup length doesn’t feel comfortable. If you can’t do a one-handed stop, ask, and then do a couple circles utilizing the technique. If something unusual happens on the ride, you need to know how to implement your emergency brake. Scratch your horse’s withers and complement him throughout the ride.

7. Sit up straight and relax. Keep your reins to where they’re not pulling on the horse’s mouth. Been to a dentist recently? Well, your horse has much worse than a rubber dam in his mouth. Most horses are trained for leg cues. If you want to move to the left, you push him with your right calf. Need to stop, lean slightly back, and say whoa. I’m non-violent, but there were a number of customers at the stable I truly wanted to whack for reaming on their horse’s mouth.

8. Enjoy the sights, smells, sounds, and energy of riding in the woods. Take deep breaths of fresh air. I prefer early morning or dusk. It’s magical in the fall when you pass through a field glistening in sunlight with spider webs adorning tall, dry grass.

9. No ride’s guaranteed to be without incident. 99.9 percent of the time they will be, but, if you do slip off, relax (as much as possible ), tuck, and roll to the side or back end. You don’t want to fall forward and under hooves. I try to remember basic moves of head down and hands in. Hopefully you’ll be unhurt and can get up and mount again.

10. Have the guide take photos enroute or after you’ve returned and the big grin plastered on your face won’t leave. Give your horse plenty of scratches, praise, and carrots-if it’s okay. Ride again!

Blurb

After Miranda Whitley stops crooked cops from assassinating a prominent Seattle judge, she’s next on the hit list, and her survival depends on the buff FBI Agent she’s had one awkward encounter with. But can she find him in time?

The last person Grant Morley expects to discover on his annual supply run to a Montana mountain hermit is alluring Miranda Whitley, nearly dead from a bullet wound in her side. An accidental witness or the cold-blooded accomplice to would-be assassins?

Miranda must convince Grant of her innocence, evade the killers intent on preventing her testimony, and fight her unwanted attraction for the agent…an attraction which seems to be mutual. Fortunately, love thrives in Emma Springs. If you love sizzling chemistry, Montana’s mountain landscape, and fast-paced action, then you’ll love Sally Brandle’s galloping thriller, The Hitman’s Mistake.

Excerpt

Setting: Our heroine’s pruning indoor plants in the lobby of Seattle’s Justice Building after hours.

***

Squeaks from her mom’s old pruning shears echoed in the large, vacant room. She pulled another uneven limb of the Chinese Elm closer to her face and squinted. While she clipped, a peppery fragrance released from the wood.

A twig grazed her cheek, making her flinch. She brushed the neckline of her purple T-shirt with the back of her hand.

The place threw off the vibes of an abandoned morgue. Chill. She released the limb, let out a long breath, and grabbed a lop-sided branch from overhead. Tonight, even a rude prosecutor’s voice rupturing the tranquility would be welcome.

Not happening this late, but Ike would be descending in the elevator any minute. Hopefully in a better mood than when she’d watered the jade plant in his judge’s chambers earlier. He’d been tense, without the fatherly banter he doled out when she visited him and his wife, Shirley.

Soft taps came from a few feet behind her. She tilted her head.

Footsteps? From the stairwell? Miranda released her grip, and the tree limb sprang free. She swung her head and watched the branch skim the fly of the trousers on the man now towering over her right shoulder.

Not Ike. She froze.

“What in the hell? Oh, didn’t see you there—” he sidestepped, and her cup scrunched in protest under his big boot. The lid popped off and the double shot of Kona glugged into a mocha-scented pool.

He jumped to avoid the puddle. “Damn energy conservation put you in the shadows. Sorry, I nailed your coffee.” His swinging backpack missed her nose by inches.

She twisted her body and scooted her butt until her shoulder jammed against a carved pot.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“It’s okay,” she mumbled, keeping her head lowered to avoid further contact with the bag-wielding klutz wearing black trousers. Must’ve been him she’d glimpsed a few minutes ago, while the elevator doors had closed on the floor below Ike’s.

“I’ve never been attacked by a branch. Must say, you deployed it well,” the deep voice announced. He stopped directly in front of her.

His hiking boots made her size-nine high-tops appear dainty.

Not the shoes of a snobby lawyer or a lost, post-trial pimp trying to find his way out of the building. Still, the flailing branch served him right for sneaking up on her. “I didn’t hear you.”

“And I shouldn’t text and walk,” he said in a lighter, almost sexy tone. “I’m Grant.” He dropped his pack and stuck out his hand.

An FBI tag printed ‘GRANT MORLEY’ hung from the bag.

She peered from under her cap’s brim and gulped.

Him.

Agent of Interest. Her heart took off at a gallop.

Buy Links

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)

Reviews & Interview

Tome Tender | USA Today Interview | Haynet Review

Bio

Multi-award winning author Sally Brandle weaves slow-burning romance into edgy suspense stories. Sally left a career as an industrial baking instructor to bring to life stories of women who learn to trust their inner gifts. Her rescue Aussie is her companion during long spells of writing, bouts of tormenting weeds in her garden, or afternoons spent riding on the wind with her twenty-eight year old Quarter Horse. Sign up for her newsletter at http://www.sallybrandle.com for a free segment of her latest book, The Hitman’s Mistake.

Where to find Sally…

Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads

Honoring Aretha Franklin

Posted on August 16, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

Aretha Franklin has passed away at the age of 76. A talented pianist with a powerful voice, Ms. Franklin is considered one of the best-selling musical artists of all time. She achieved commercial acclaim and success with such songs as “Respect,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” and “Spanish Harlem.”

The recipient of many accolades—among them 18 Grammy Awards and 112 charted hits—she also earned the “Queen of Soul” title and stood as a symbol of black empowerment during the Civil Rights Movement.

One of the truly amazing voices of our time!

My favorite quotations from Aretha Franklin:

I sing to the realists. People who accept it like it is.

Music does a lot of things for a lot of people. It’s transporting, for sure. It can take you right back, it’s uplifting, it’s encouraging, it’s strengthening.

Never take the music for granted…whether you have a hit or not.

Sometimes, what you’re looking for is already there.

People really don’t have to give you anything, so appreciate what people give you.

It really is an honor if I can be inspirational to a younger singer or person. It means I’ve done my job.

My faith always has been and always will be important to me.

Every birthday is a gift. Every day is a gift.

Be your own artist, and always be confident in what you’re doing. If you’re not going to be confident, you might as well not be doing it.

Being a singer is a natural gift. It means I’m using to the highest degree possible the gift that God gave me to use. I’m happy with that.

My favorite song …

Honoring Amelia Earhart

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

Born this day in 1897, author and aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart was the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. For this flight record, she received the United States Distinguished Flying Cross.

Ms. Earhart continued to set record after record demonstrating that women could aspire to the same heights as men. And even more amazing she was able to transform her hobby into a career going on to become an author, lecturer, poet, and airline industry vice-president.

A powerful role model, she continues to inspire girls and women of all ages.

My favorite quotations from Amelia Earhart:

Everyone has oceans to fly, if they have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?

Never interrupt someone doing something you said couldn’t be done.

Some of us have great runways already built for us. If you have one, take off! But if you don’t have one, realize it is your responsibility to grab a shovel and build one for yourself and for those who will follow after you.

There’s more to life than being a passenger.

Never do things others can do and will do if there are things others cannot do or will not do.

Preparation, I have often said, is rightly two-thirds of any venture.

The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one’s appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship.

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do.

A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.

Decide whether or not the goal is worth the risks

Happy National Amelia Earhart Day!

Happy Birthday Dalai Lama!

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Joanne Guidoccio

Today, the Dalai Lama celebrates his 83rd 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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