My Word for 2016

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Joanne Guidoccio

2015 was a busy and productive year. Two of my novels, A Season for Killing Blondes and The Coming of Arabella were released within months of each other. In between edits and promotion, I started several new projects. By the end of the year, I had six storylines in various stages of completion and had succumbed to another bout of writers’ block. While many of my author friends can juggle several manuscripts at one time, I find my creative energy weakened whenever I throw too many irons in the fire.

The solution is a simple and straightforward one: Select one of the storylines and focus my time and attention on its completion. And say NO to new projects, regardless of how tantalizing they may appear.

For that reason, I am selecting FOCUS as my word for 2016.

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FOCUS ♦ MESSA A FUOCO ♦ CONCENTRER ♦ FOKUS ♦ FOCO

Have you selected a word for 2016?

10 Inspiring Quotations for the New Year

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Joanne Guidoccio

Setting New Year’s resolutions can be daunting. If you struggle with this task why not draw on the collective wisdom of these poets, authors, and leaders.

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1. Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous New Year by believing. Believe in yourself. And believe that there is a loving Source – a Sower of Dreams – just waiting to be asked to help you make your dreams come true. Sarah Ban Breathnach

2. The New Year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.” Melody Beattie

3. Each year’s regrets are envelopes in which messages of hope are found for the New Year. John R. Dallas Jr.

4. For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice. T.S. Eliot

5. Maybe this year…We ought to walk through the rooms of our lives not looking for flaws, but for potential. Ellen Goodman

6. Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress. Charles Kettering

7. We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day. Edith Lovejoy Pierce

8. And now we welcome the New Year. Full of things that have never been. Rainer Maria Rilke

9. Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, ‘It will be happier.’ Alfred Lord Tennyson

10. Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right. Oprah Winfrey

Happy New Year!

Spotlight on Cotillion Ball Saga

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

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All the drama and challenged loyalties of the pre-Civil War era come to life as the warmhearted Fitzpatrick daughters carve out their own lives and find true love. Settle in to enjoy these three tales of independent, passionate, and strong American heroines!

The Tempestuous Debutante: The smart choice says Jasmine Fitzpatrick should choose to charm the Viscount of Foxborough at this season’s Cotillion, but it’s the noble’s stable boy, Parr O’Shaughnessy, who may hold the key to her heart.

Blinded by Grace: Grace Wagner has been in love with Halwyn Fitzpatrick since they were teens, but now she needs a husband to inherit the trust her father has left for her. Will Halwyn’s new glasses help him see her in a new light, or will she take control and propose herself?

The Duplicitous Debutante: Writing the popular Harry Hawk dime novels as F.P. Elliott, Rosemary Fitzpatrick is too busy hiding her female identity from her new publisher, Henry Cooper. But Henry is not the typical Boston Brahmin nor the typical publisher. When her deception begins to unravel at the Cotillion Ball, will Henry be able to forgive her, or has deceit cost her the man she loves?

Bio

beckylower Amazon best-selling author Becky Lower has traveled the country looking for great settings for her novels. She loves to write about two people finding each other and falling in love, amid the backdrop of a great setting, be it on a covered wagon headed west or in present day small town America. Historical and contemporary romances are her specialty. Becky is a PAN member of RWA and is a member of the Historic and Contemporary RWA chapters. She has a degree in English and Journalism from Bowling Green State University, and lives in an eclectic college town in Ohio with her puppy-mill rescue dog, Mary. She loves to hear from her readers at beckylowerauthor@gmail.com. Visit her website at http://www.beckylowerauthor.com

The Mermaid and the Woodcutter

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

I discovered the following artwork and fable on my Internet travels.

Enjoy!

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A woodcutter had been hard at work all day, cutting down trees to sell for firewood. It was nearing sunset, but he wanted to cut down one last tree before going home for the night. Coming across a sturdy elm that grew beside a deep pool, he set to work. But he was so tired that, after a few strokes, his ax slipped out of his hands and fell with a splash into the deep black water.

“How could I be so careless!” the woodcutter cried. “I’ll never see my ax again!” And he stood by the water in despair.

Now, a mermaid happened to be nearby, and heard the woodcutter’s lamentations. Quick as thought, the creature appeared before him and asked him what was wrong.

“I’ve lost my only ax in the water,” the woodcutter groaned. “I can’t afford to buy another, and now my children will go hungry. What can I do?”,” the mermaid replied, and she dived to the bottom of the pool. When she came back to the surface, she held in her hand an ax made of pure gold.

“Is this the ax you lost?” the mermaid asked the woodcutter.

“No, that one isn’t mine,” the honest man answered.

The mermaid dived again to the bottom of the pool and came up with a shining silver ax. “Then this one must be your,” she said.

“No, that one’s not mine, either,” sighed the woodcutter. “Mine was just a plain iron ax with a wooden handle.”

For the third time the mermaid dived to the bottom of the pool, and this time she came up with an old, worn iron ax.

“That’s the one!” cried the woodcutter joyfully. “How can I ever thank you?”

“My friend,” said the mermaid, “your honesty deserves a reward. Take all three axes home with you, and your children will never go hungry again.”

When the delighted woodcutter reached home, he told his family what had happened.

Now, the woodcutter had a brother who, when he heard the story, said to himself, “Why should my foolish brother have better luck than me? Tomorrow I’ll try the same trick, and I’ll come home wealthy too!”

The next day the woodcutter’s brother went to the same pool and promptly threw his ax into the water. Immediately he began weeping and wailing, calling on the mermaid to help him. The mermaid appeared and, diving to the bottom of the pool, brought up a golden ax. “Is this the one you lost?” she asked.

“That’s the one!” the woodcutter’s brother cried.

But the mermaid let the golden ax fall back beneath the water.

“For your dishonesty,” she said, “you’ll have no ax at all. “And then she vanished, leaving the woodcutter’s brother poorer than ever.

Today marks the end of the Mondays for Mermaids series. Thanks for following!

Review from Ryan Jo Summers

Posted on December 26, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

Received a lovely 5* review of The Coming of Arabella from Ryan Jo Summers.

Molte grazie!

Dreams Can Come True

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have The Wild Rose Press author Debra St. John sharing a lifelong passion for writing and her latest release, Christmas at the Corral.

Here’s Debra!

Act One

I’ve been an avid reader since I was a little girl. My favorite days were trips to the library. Each and every time I headed right toward those wonderful yellow books in the mystery section to get my Nancy Drew fix. I wanted to be Nancy. Or at least hang out with Nancy. Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, and Laura Ingalls Wilder were also early favorites. And although I devoured the printed word, I wasn’t one of those kids who scribbled stories. I was content to read them.

Then in high school I discovered romance. I purchased a subscription to Harlequin American. Oh the joy when those four silver books arrived each month. It took less than a week to read through them, and then the waiting began for another month. Such a lesson in patience. It was then the niggle to do some writing started to nudge me. I even tried my hand at writing some romance during my high school days. However, having no actual experience with romance, the attempts were pretty lame. And quite amusing to look back on now. But the desire to write a romance ‘someday’ always lingered in my mind.

Act Two: Scene One

Fast forward quite a few years. That dream to write was still there, but that’s all it was. Just a dream. I never did anything about it. Never really knew how to do anything about it. Then one New Year’s Eve out at our favorite bar, a friend was snapping pictures. She commented she was going to use one on her ‘inspiration’ board. I asked her what she meant, and she said she was a writer. As the conversation progressed I learned she belonged to a writers’ group. I perked up. She took me to my first meeting of the Chicago-North RWA chapter, and I was hooked. I joined the chapter and soaked in as much knowledge as I could. Took advantage of my first critique session with a fast beating heart and sweaty palms. Submitted to some contests. Won a few. Over the years held the positions of secretary, manuscript chair and president for the chapter.

But still, I wasn’t really doing anything to actually get myself published. I had one manuscript finished, but other than a pitch (and eventual rejection) to an editor at a local conference, my dream was still that.

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Act Two: Scene Two

Finally, it just hit me one day. I decided I either needed to get serious about the whole getting published thing, or just forget about it. I asked a published friend about her small press publisher. She wasn’t too keen on them as she hadn’t had a great experience, but said she’d heard good things about a new small press: The Wild Rose Press. I checked out their web-site, liked what I saw, and submitted what they asked for. Within three months my dream came true! I was offered a contract for my first book: This Time for Always. That was in 2008. Since then I’ve written ten other books for them and have one pending contract right now. Over these last seven or so years I toyed with the idea of writing for a ‘bigger’ name publisher, even getting a request for a full from Harlequin. I never heard back, but to be honest, I didn’t try too hard to follow up.

For me, writing is still a hobby. Yes, it’s a thrill to see my name in print on the cover of a book, and I would be lying if I said it wouldn’t be a bigger thrill to have my name on a Harlequin book (because that’s how my dream started), but I’m content and more than happy with the status of my writing career. I love writing for The Wild Rose Press whose owners, editors, cover artists, and marketing staff are a joy to work with. A small press fits my needs. I have a full-time career that I love, which means writing at this point in my life takes a back seat. I have other priorities and responsibilities that come first. And I’m okay with that. I enjoy writing. I do it when I can. There’s no expectation to write so many books in a year: I contract one book at a time.

Will I ever be a New York Times Bestselling Author? Probably not. But you never know…maybe there’s an Act Two: Scene Three still to come. As long as I never stop dreaming, anything is possible.

So, dream big. And don’t be afraid to work hard and reach for those dreams.

Favorite Quotation

“When you put your mind to a certain thing, it can happen. The biggest thing is nothing is impossible. All it takes is imagination.” – Michael Phelps

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Blurb

Maggie Pearson has no time in her busy life for love, but an immediate attraction draws her to a mysterious stranger at The Corral, a local bar. However, any romantic feelings are ruthlessly squashed when he accuses her of having an affair with his brother.

As a divorce lawyer, Van Rawlings has seen the ugly side of marriage too many times to believe in love. But having gotten off on the wrong foot with Maggie, and genuinely contrite over his faux pas, he offers to help her with an upcoming Christmas charity dinner. The more time they spend together, the more he realizes he’s never met anyone like Maggie, who gives so generously of her time.

Can Maggie and the magic of the season help Van believe again? In Christmas and in love.

Buy Links

Amazon | The Wild Rose Press

Bio

Debra St. John has been reading and writing romance since high school. She always dreamed about publishing a romance novel some day. Her dream came true when she started writing sultry contemporary romance with sexy heroes and spunky heroines for The Wild Rose Press. Although she’s a country gal at heart, she lives in a suburb of Chicago with her husband, who is her real life hero.

She is the author of The Corral Series, which includes her debut release, This Time for Always, a Champagne Rose and Rosebud bestseller at The Wild Rose Press. This Can’t Be Love and This Feels Like Home complete the series. Christmas at The Corral is the first book in the Holidays at The Corral spin-off series. Valentine’s Day at The Corral and Fourth of July at The Corral are coming soon.

Her holiday stories are A Christmas to Remember, An Unexpected Blessing (Thanksgiving), and The Vampire and the Vixen for Halloween.

One Great Night, Family Secrets, and Wild Wedding Weekend round out her bookshelf.

Where to find Debra…

Facebook | Website | Heroines with Hearts

Joanne here!

Debra, thanks for sharing your writing journey. I’m impressed by the number of books you’ve written in seven years. Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2016.

In 25 Words or Less…

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

13857160_s After completing my novel, I attended a number of workshops where the facilitators stressed the importance of a hook or logline.

What is a hook/logline?

Very simply, it is a concise sentence that answers the question: What is your novel about? An effective logline provides enough interest to prolong the conversation with a prospective agent or publisher, encourages readers to pick up the book, and creates tweetable buzz.

At first, I found it a daunting task. How could I possibly condense 69,000 words into 25 words or less?

Continue reading on Marilyn Meredith’s blog.

Mermaid Wisdom

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

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mermaidquote

advice from a mermaid

10 Leprechaun Tricks Revealed

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m thrilled to welcome Soul Mate author Kathy Bryson to the Power of 10 series. Today, Kathy reveals several leprechaun tricks and chats about her latest release, Fighting Mad.

Here’s Kathy!

kathybryson Fighting Mad came out this week – the 3rd in my series of leprechaun love stories.

It’s been an interesting experience trying to let the world know about leprechauns. They didn’t worry too much about me revealing their secrets because they knew that no one would take me seriously. In fact, they snickered – a lot!

Here’s what people don’t understand about leprechauns:

1. Leprechauns are not little, green men. The name comes from luch-chromain, meaning ‘son of Lugh.’ Since Lugh was the Celtic god of war, leprechaun are actually soldiers, fully grown warriors.

2. Leprechauns are not homicidal though. As any soldier will tell you, the job’s really more so you don’t have to fight. As Murphy explains the boxing matches in his pub to Carla, “How would we get corporate sponsorship if we were just a bunch of thugs?”

3. Leprechauns are not solitary creatures. They like a good party as much as the next person. From spontaneous dance-offs to friends gathering, their world is full of “sean nós singing and dancing. Something to do around the pub of an evening.”

4. They are handsome devils. Carla may want to be a responsible parent, but around Murphy, she’s “every bit of the giggly teenager my own child wasn’t, a tongue-tied, stammering mess. It was ridiculous, but seriously, you’d have to be dead not to notice Murphy. He was a damn fine man.”

5. But leprechauns don’t always have the ‘gift ‘o gab.’ Murphy might admire Carla, but when it comes to expressing his feelings, she “can’t have it both ways. Either I’m Irish and can talk, or I’m a man and I can’t.”

6. They get a bit miffy about their reputation even while closely guarding it. They’ll be the first to tell you “we’re not shamrocks and wee men. You should know the difference.”

7. But they keep the myth going for the sake of the gold. “What better way to hide it than to become a joke, a story nobody takes seriously?”

8. Leprechauns take their responsibilities seriously. Carla may waver over her attraction to Murphy, but for her, “he got me a car, he fixed my booth at the Farmers’ Market, he made my kids breakfast, he was even nice to Jinx!”

9. And they’re fiercely loyal. In fact, Carla has to protest, “You keep trying to protect me. You keep telling me what to do, what’s right, what’s wrong. You have got to stop that!”

10. But leprechauns are open to new ideas. When called to war, they fall back on their number one strength and “renegotiate the terms of our alliance.”

No, no matter how much I rant and rave about this secret order that controls most of the world’s money, it’s an uphill battle against popular preconception. It’s the leprechauns’ greatest trick. If they can’t fool you into forgetting the gold, they’ll charm you into giving it back!

Fighting Mad #2b Final (small) copy (2)

Blurb

Laid off from her job at the bank, Carla turns to her friends for support only to find they’re more concerned about their jobs. The one person she can count on is local bartender Murphy, but what kind of example is that to set for her daughters? Having learned the hard way, Carla’s not depending on any man, even if he is cute, charming, very kind, and some kind of leprechaun?

Murphy is used to sneers. Clurichauns are the redheaded stepchildren of the leprechaun world and then there are the late-night throw-downs at his bar. What he wants, however, is to protect the dainty little mom who ogles him when she thinks no one’s looking. He knows she’s fighting overwhelming odds, but she’ll need more than bravery when the conflict between the King and Queen of the Fairies becomes outright civil war!

Bio

Kathy Bryson knew she wanted to be a writer when she finished reading through her school and local children’s libraries. She honed her writing skills on marketing brochures, websites, and several unfinished manuscripts before going into teaching and finishing award-winning books with all the stuff she enjoys most – from coffee to love to Shakespeare! Kathy lives in Florida where she caters to the whims of spoiled cats and wonders what possessed her to put in 75 feet of flower beds.

Where to find Kathy…

Blog | Facebook | Google+ | Twitter

Up for Another Award

Posted on December 17, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

thecomingofarabella_200x300 (2) Thanks to everyone who voted for The Coming of Arabella in last week’s Creme dé la Cover Contest. I won and will receive a 1/4 page ad in the February issue of InD’Tale Magazine.