Tag Archives: Joanne Guidoccio

Dealing with Dialogue Tags

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Glancing back at some of my earlier work, I cringe at my use of “said bookisms” such as roared, admonished, exclaimed, queried, and hissed. I was trying to avoid overusing the word “said” and searched for suitable alternatives. I realize now that substituting those words made it sound like I enjoyed using my thesaurus. Instead, I was annoying the reader and drawing attention away from the dialogue.

From different workshop facilitators, I’ve learned that I don’t have to interpret the dialogue, or worse, tell the reader how the words are said. If the dialogue is strong enough, “he said” and “she said” will do. Like other parts of speech—the, is, and, but—that are used several times on each page, “said” is invisible and allows the reader to concentrate on the action and dialogue.

Continue reading on the Sisterhood of Suspense Blog.


Top 10 “Behind-the-Scenes” Facts About Betting On Love in Vegas

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Soul Mate author Stacy Hoff. Today, Stacy shares ten behind-the-scene facts about her new release, Betting on Love in Vegas.

Here’s Stacy!

Here are my top ten “behind the scenes” facts for my latest release, BETTING ON LOVE IN VEGAS.

1. My husband and I traveled to Las Vegas twice during our marriage (in the “before kids” era). We strolled up and down the Strip in awe of the many hotels. Since we grew up in New York City, we’re used to gawking tourists. It was odd for us to have the tables turned; we were probably the biggest gawkers in Vegas.

lasvegasstrip1

2. My husband and I ate at lots of hotels’ buffets. The feasts were heaven for our taste buds, but hell on our waistlines. We convinced ourselves that the weight we gained in Vegas would stay in Vegas. (Unfortunately, not the case.)

3. The Vegas Strip is an easy place to get around. There is a monorail system, plus buses and taxis. But the best way around is walking. Most of the hotels put on an elaborate street show, free to view. My favorite show was the Bellagio hotel’s “dancing” fountains. The water show was mesmerizing. I loved the fountains so much they appear multiple times in my story.

4. Of course, we wandered inside all the hotels, too. Walking through each hotel took us hours because there was so much to see. We saw everything from circuses (Circus Circus), to recreations of cities and countries (Caesar’s palace, New York New York, Paris, Monetcarlo), to pirate ships (Treasure Island). Being New Yorkers for most of our lives, New York New York hotel was our favorite.

5. BETTING ON LOVE IN VEGAS is my first go-around writing a book series from the very start. I decided on creating three stories, each being a stand-alone, yet connected by characters, industry (resort hotel construction), and soap-opera drama. The name of this new series is BUILDING LOVE.

6. The inspiration for my BUILDING LOVE series came from my childhood, watching the TV show “Dallas.” I hope people find my version of family secrets, lies, and scandals (with lots of steamy scenes) similarly addictive.

7. While the first two books of my BUILDING LOVE series are complete, book three is currently being written. It’s a fast writing pace to keep up. I don’t sleep much.

8. I chose a fun location for each of these stories. Book two (to be released October, 2017) takes place in the Caribbean. Book three takes place in Madrid, Spain. My trip to the Caribbean was about four years ago. My trip to Madrid just a few months ago.

9. I write best when I’ve actually visited the area I’m writing about. I’ve also been the to locations in my other books, such as the Everglades (DESIRE IN THE EVERGLADES, DESIRE series Book #1), Saratoga, New York (JOCKEYING FOR YOU), and Hartford, Connecticut (LAWFULLY YOURS).

10. The only place I have not personally visited is the Arctic Circle’s Gates of the Arctic National Park, in Alaska. For DESIRE IN THE ARCTIC (DESIRE series, Book #2), I binged watched Alaska realty TV shows, and visited New york City’s American Museum of Natural History to see taxidermy versions of the animals I needed for my story.

bettingonloveinvegas1800-2

Blurb

Catherine “Cat” Warner has problems. The profits from her inns are down. The pressure from her parents is up. Her love life is non-existent. But Cat did manage to get the attention of tough, powerful, gorgeous hotel magnate Ty Orland. Unfortunately, his interest in her is for all the wrong reasons. Instead of wanting Cat, this debonair CEO only wants her land—a parcel he desperately needs for his next big development deal. Too bad, it’s not for sale. A people pleaser by nature, Cat knows to stand strong. If she caves in to the demands of this sexy, alluring man, it will be her own neck on the line.

Ty Orland has a lot of things going for him. Success. Power. Respect. Unfortunately, he’s also got an old chip on his shoulder and a new financial nightmare. His development deal is going down in flames—and fast. His only way out is if Cat sells him her strategically located parcel. But romancing the land from her is not easy when love gets in the way. The woman is as beautiful as she is beguiling. And Ty no longer knows which prize is more valuable.

buynow

Bio

stacey_cartoon_v2-2Stacy Hoff is a contemporary romance author, as well as an attorney. She has practiced law for over two decades, primarily handling contracts. Romance novels have always been her secret passion. She writes her romantic stories until the wee hours of the night. Stacy lives in New England with her husband and two boys.

Stacy’s full-length contemporary romance novels are: JOCKEYING FOR YOU, LAWFULLY YOURS, DESIRE IN THE EVERGLADES (DESIRE series #1), and DESIRE IN THE ARCTIC (DESIRE series #2). BETTING ON LOVE IN VEGAS (BUILDING LOVE series #1) will be released 3/22/17. Book #2 in the BUILDING LOVE series will be released October, 2017.

Where to find Stacy…

Amazon | Twitter | Author Website | Publisher Website


Movie Review: The Case for Christ

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Set in the late 1970s and early 1980s, “The Case for Christ” is the film version of Lee Strobel’s best-selling book about his transition from outspoken atheist to devout Christian.

Mike Vogel delivers an excellent performance as the award-winning journalist (Strobel), who prides himself on a facts-only approach to life. That approach is challenged when his wife Leslie (Erika Christensen) responds to the friendly overtures of Alfie (L. Scott Caldwell), the nurse who saved their daughter from choking. After visiting Alfie’s church, Leslie starts reading the Bible and attending more services.

Alarmed at his wife’s “cult” involvement, Lee launches an investigation into Christianity, determined to disprove one of the main tenets of the faith: the resurrection of Christ. He consults with historians, theologians, archaeologists and medical experts throughout the country, hoping to find evidence that will support his hypothesis. While engrossed in his theological research, Lee becomes careless and loses objectivity while reporting a police shooting incident.

Lee’s personal life also suffers. Conversations become heated, and tensions escalate as Leslie takes distance from Lee. While visiting an out-of-town expert, Lee misses the birth of his second child. When his estranged parents visit, Lee picks a fight with his father (Robert Forster), who appears wounded and frustrated as he leaves his son’s home.

I would have liked to have seen more of Faye Dunaway. She played a cameo role as a psychologist who provides the perfect quip to Lee’s argument that 500 eyewitnesses could have been delusional when they claimed to see Jesus after his death. She replied, “That would have been an even bigger miracle than the Resurrection.”

A thought-provoking movie that addresses the existence of God.


Happy Take a Chance Day!

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

In celebration of Take a Chance Day and Poetry Month, I am sharing one of my favorite poems about risk-taking.

To Risk

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool,
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out to another is to risk involvement,
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.

To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.

To love is to risk not being loved in return,
To live is to risk dying,
To hope is to risk despair,
To try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.

He may avoid suffering and sorrow,
But he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live.

Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom.

Only a person who risks is free.

The pessimist complains about the wind;

The optimist expects it to change;

And the realist adjusts the sails.

William Arthur Ward


And Another Sneak Peek…

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

For the past two Fridays, I have shared parts of the prologue of Too Many Women in the Room. You can read Part I here and Part 2 here.

Here is Part 3 of the Prologue:

He cleared his throat. “That was some dinner conversation.” In the end, he hadn’t even sat at the table. The collective venom had driven him away.

They continued running, saying nothing. His heart beat faster and his mouth went dry. His senses were on full alert. There was danger here. And he needed to get away. He could turn around and race toward his car. But what if she followed? This was ridiculous. He was allowing himself to be rattled by a middle-aged woman who meant absolutely nothing to him. A woman he would steer clear of in the future.

It would be a good idea to get away for a while. Check out conferences and take an extended holiday. Escape from those unrelenting March winds and below-normal temperatures and bask in some sunlight. Georgia or Florida and maybe a Caribbean island. He’d have to borrow on his Visa, but it would be worth it. One month. That’s all he would need, and this animosity would blow over.

He slowed his pace and she matched his speed. He circled and turned around. She followed. Anger rose in his throat. “What the hell do you want?”

No words. Only a fixed gaze and a flash of silver at her side. The faint smell of onions and garlic assaulted his senses. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, all the while watching her every movement. His eyes traveled around the deserted field. Not a soul. And that was the appeal of running close to the midnight hour.

This is not how he had planned his demise, not by a long shot. Despite the age gap between them, he had hoped to survive his wife and take on a full-time paramour, maybe even two. If only he had known. If only he could go back six hours.

Fascinated, he stood still, hypnotized as she approached and raised the knife.

Buy Links

Amazon (Canada) | Amazon (US) | Kobo | Indigo | The Wild Rose Press



Stumbling Onto Success

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

dancing1

“If you stumble, make it part of the dance.”(Author Unknown)

When I came across this quotation on my Pinterest travels, I immediately pinned it and within minutes, others were repining and liking it. I also shared this message with my friends, many of whom tend to fixate on each snafu in their lives, often ignoring the bigger picture.

I recall one friend who spent almost an hour listing everything that had gone wrong at a recent event she had chaired. When I read the glowing write-up in the paper, I couldn’t believe it was the same event. No mention was made of the last-minute menu changes or frantic scramble to replace the emcee who had come down with the flu. Without realizing it, my friend just kept stumbling on and everything turned out for the best.

Much like what happened with many well-known inventions that were accidents stumbled upon by sloppy, distracted, and temperamental professionals.

Fried to a Crisp

As head chef at Carey Moon Lake House in Saratoga Springs (1853), George Crum catered to a wealthy clientele. One day, a customer complained about his potatoes and sent them back to the kitchen several times, suggesting they be cut thinner and fried longer. Crum lost his temper and decided to get back at the customer. He cut the potatoes extra thin, fried them until they were crisps, and salted them. To everyone’s surprise, the customer asked for a second helping. The news spread quickly about these Saratoga chips which later become known as potato chips.

saratoga1

All Covered in Goo

In 1879, chemist Constantin Fahlberg was experimenting with new uses for coal tar. He became so engrossed in his research that he forgot about his supper. Hungry and tired, he rushed out of the lab, forgetting to wash his hands. While eating, he noticed that his bread tasted unusually sweet. When he wiped his mustache with a napkin, he found the napkin tasted sweet as well. Curious, he stuck his thumb in his mouth and tasted more of the sweetness. He returned to the laboratory where he tasted every beaker and dish until he found the one that contained saccharin.

artificial-sweeteners.jpg

Unwashed Dishes

In his haste to leave for a long overdue vacation, Alexander Fleming did not bother washing any of the dirty petri dishes stacked up at his workstation. When he returned from his holiday, he discovered that most had been contaminated. While dumping the dishes in a large vat of Lysol, one dish caught his eye. The dish was practically all covered in colonies of bacteria, except for one area where a blob of mold was growing. After close examination, he saw that the mold had blocked the bacteria from growing. He concluded that this mold—later called penicillin—could be used to kill a wide range of bacteria.

penicillin2

Movie Review: The Zookeeper’s Wife

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Based on the bestselling book by Diane Ackerman, this movie chronicles the efforts of Antonina Zabinski, brilliantly played by Jessica Chastain, and her husband Dr. Jan Zabinski (Johan Heldenbergh) to save 300 Jews during WWII. They ran a covert operation in which Jews were smuggled out of the Warsaw ghetto and into their basement hideout, where they were hidden in cages and tunnels. Later, they were transported to safety.

While Dr. Zabinski fits the profile of a classic resistance fighter, Antonina demonstrates a different kind of heroism. Each day, she had to ensure the German soldiers surrounding the zoo didn’t suspect their operation. She was also forced to cultivate an uneasy relationship with Lutz Heck (Daniel Bruhl), the chief zoologist for the Nazi regime.

Antonina took her rescuer role several steps further, helping her guests survive emotionally, with their dignity intact. Each evening, after the soldiers left the zoo, she would sneak them into the house for piano concerts, dinner, and conversation.

Jessica Chastain delivers an Oscar-worthy performance, capturing the essence of Antonina—from her Polish accent to her intuitiveness. Some of my favorite scenes involve Antonina interacting with the animals: nursing lion cubs and bicycling alongside a young camel.

Director Niki Caro and cinematographer Andrij Parekh have succeeded in recreating the authenticity of the period, meticulously attending to all details from the bombings to the ghetto conditions to the effects of war on the zoo animals.

A must-see film!


Another Sneak Peek…

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Last Friday, I shared the first part of the prologue of Too Many Women in the Room. You can read it here.

Here’s Part 2 of the Prologue:

He forced himself to slow down and hoped she would catch up, maybe even overtake him. Before making a move, he wanted to get a lay of the land. No point putting on the moves if she didn’t measure up. Though lately, he’d been less discerning.

Twenty years ago—heck even ten years ago—women in their twenties and thirties returned his winks and smiles, often boldly and with no qualms about what followed. But turning fifty-five had brought those encounters to a virtual standstill, and he had tired of the chase. Was this a harbinger of what old age would look like?

Within seconds, a flash of black appeared at his side. He counted to ten and then gave her a sideways glance. A frown replaced the smile.

Definitely in shape, but she had always taken care of herself, not allowing an extra morsel of food to cross her lips and sticking to a daily exercise regimen. Her face…well, her face showed the passages of time. And tonight, without a trace of makeup, she appeared older than her years. Forty-five. No, fifty. More than fifty. He struggled with the math and gave up.

Head-to-toe black did nothing for her. Once upon a time he would have volunteered that information, but tonight he hesitated. He couldn’t be sure how she would react, especially after the debacle at dinner. He tried to recall what she had said, but nothing came to mind. Perhaps she had said nothing at all. It would be like her to hide behind her passive-aggressiveness.

He forced a smile. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

No response, just a constant gaze and an expressionless face that was starting to worry him. He tried to look away but couldn’t escape those odd-colored eyes. A muddy green with hints of amber. Had she worn contacts in her younger days?

Buy Links

Amazon (Canada) | Amazon (US) | Kobo | Indigo | The Wild Rose Press