Tag Archives: Joanne Guidoccio

Introducing Fantasy Hen Lit!

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

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I’ve come across a lot of discussion lately about genre definitions. The debate has grown from writing in multiple genres to writing across genres. A fellow Soulie, Sandra Harris, got me to thinking about this with her post Cross Genre – Why Has It Taken So Long? and S.C. Mitchell wrote here about adding superheros to romances.

Today, we talk with Joanne Guidoccio, author of Between Land and Sea, for her take on the pros and cons of blending fantasy and romance:

“You’ll have to explain what that means.”

“I don’t think the hens will like it.”

“Huh?”

From the start, I knew there would be problems when I combined genres. Unlike other fantasy and science fiction writers, I did not want to focus exclusively on the out-of-world elements. Instead, I wanted to write the kind of fantasy I could actually sit down and read. I am one of the few people on this planet who could not read past Chapter 1 of the first Harry Potter novel, and I avoid books that feature werewolves, vampires, witches, and other dark creatures.

Continue reading on Kathy Bryson’s blog.

Trailer Tuesday–Sara Furlong Burr

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to the Trailer Tuesday series!

Today, I am pleased to feature a trailer from Sara Furlong Burr.

After focusing much of her adult life on her family and career as a paralegal, Sara found the voices in her head becoming unrelenting and she returned to her true passion: writing.

Enigma Black is the first book in her New Adult Dystopian series. Loosely inspired by George Orwell’s 1984, the novel also includes superheroes. Vendetta Nation was just released last month.

Interesting tidbit…

When Sara was in elementary school, she wrote her first novel about a group of friends who won a trip to Hawaii. It was entirely on notebook paper and amounted to around ninety pages.

Enjoy!

Where to find Sara…

Amazon: http://is.gd/eBXeKU

Blog: http://sarafurlongburr.blogspot.ca

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EnigmaBlackKindle

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarafurlong

Career Incarnations and Beyond

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Sarah Hegger talking about launching her second act at age 40.

Here’s Sarah!

Sarah Hegger

Briefly describe your first act.

I must have a real fondness for rejection, because I started out life as an actress. I did some stage work and a couple of really B grade TV bits and pieces (the names of which will go to the grave with me) before I drifted into doing market research and public relations to make ends meet. I then moved to London with the vague idea of trying to make it big on the West End stage. Instead, I had a seriously good time working in an advertising agency for a couple of years.

I came back home to South Africa and met my husband. We were engaged within weeks and married six months later. I have drifted after him as what is known as a trailing spouse for the last fourteen years. We have lived in over ten homes in that time. Other than a career in packing up and moving on, I was a stay at home mom until my 40th birthday.

What triggered the need for change?

Having dabbled here and there with various forms of writing in all my career incarnations, I was one of those people who always said I wanted to write a book. When my girls got that bit older, I found myself with more time on my hands. I also met my good friend, Kim, over lunch on my 40th birthday and found a mutual desire to write a romance novel. At that time, I was still mumbling what I wrote beneath my breath. People can get a peculiar look on their faces when you tell them you are a romance writer. Kim and I formed a pact to get on with it and actually get it done.

Since then, I have completed four manuscripts. One of which, should never see the light of day again, two contemporary romances and my debut published novel, a medieval romance, due for release in Spring 2014.

Where are you now?

I am a firm believer in taking the advice I was once given, which is to move on to the next project. I am wrestling my way through the England of King John as I tackle another medieval. Next, I have another contemporary begging to be let out of my brain.

Do you have advice for anyone planning to pursue a second act?

I don’t think it’s ever too late to do that thing you always wanted to do. Most of the most interesting people I know are second, third and even fourth acters. Our children do as we do and not as we say, and I realized that if I wanted my girls to be the sort of women who went after what they wanted and lived the sort of life that would fulfill them, the best thing I could do, is live that life for myself.

Any affirmations or quotations you wish to share?

My oldest daughter reminded me of this one.

“Do. Or do not. There is no try.” YODA, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

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Blurb from The Bride Gift (To be released in Spring 2014)

It’s 1153 in the period dubbed ‘The Anarchy’, King Stephen and Empress Maud are not the only ones embroiled in a fierce battle of the sexes.

Determined to control her own destiny, wilful Helena of Lystanwold has chosen just the husband to suit her purposes. But, when her banished guardian uncle attempts to secure her future and climbs through her bedroom window with a new husband by a proxy marriage, she understandably balks. Notorious warrior Guy of Helston is everything Helena swore she would never marry; a man who lives by the sword, like the man who murdered her sister.

This marriage finally brings Guy close to his lifetime dream of gaining lands and a title. He is not about to let his feisty bride stand in his way. A master strategist, Guy sets out to woo and conquer his lady.

Against a backdrop of vengeance, war and betrayal, Guy and Helena must learn to forge a united front or risk losing everything.

Where to find Sarah…

Website: http://sarah-hegger.squarespace.com

Blog: http://sarahhegger.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahheggerauthor?ref=hl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahHegger

Joanne here!

Thank you for sharing your inspiring journey, Sarah. The Bride Gift sounds absolutely delicious. I’m putting it on my 2014 TBR list.

Second Chances

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Becky Lower talking about “Do Overs” and her latest book, Blame It on the Brontes.

Here’s Becky!

beckylowerWhen you were a kid and something didn’t go as planned, wasn’t it great to be able to yell “Do Over” and fix whatever the problem had been? If only the big flubs in life were so simple to fix.

That’s what second chance romances are all about. The heroes and heroines are usually a bit older than standard fare romances. This isn’t their first rodeo, and they have lived long enough to have some flubs and skeletons in their closets. If you made the wrong choice with a lover from long ago and have always regretted it, or if someone in your past did you wrong and put you off from trying a new relationship, second chance romances are tailor-made for you.

In my book, Blame It On The Brontes, there’s a lot of trouble in the Bronson household, and it’s not just between the women and their men. It’s also a tale about three sisters, whose childish behavior during a family crisis twenty years prior had serious ramifications on where their lives are today. Their mother, in her infinite wisdom, crafted her will so the sisters would have to confront their self-imposed demons in order to gain control of the family fortune. They have to come back to their childhood home and live together for one year.

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The story is a three-act structure, with each sister getting her moment to shine. Charlotte and her long-time love, Gray, haven’t been able to mend the rift that happened long ago, when, in a moment of desperation after her father’s funeral, she called off her engagement to Gray unless he quit being a fisherman, since the sea had taken her father. Charlotte thinks Gray took the opportunity to sleep with Annie, her younger and vivacious sister. Annie has been encouraging that thinking for years.

Emily’s husband was killed while serving on the USS Cole. Her next relationship ended in failure, after she invested five years with the man. So, she’s come home to lick her wounds and act as referee between her sisters. What she doesn’t count on is her childhood friend being all grown up and studly.

Annie is a twice-married stage actress who never quite made it out of the chorus line. She knows Charlotte was responsible for getting rid of the love of Annie’s young life, and she has tormented Charlotte for years, letting her think the worst of Gray. And of Annie. What Annie really wants is the love of her sisters, which she used to have when they were younger. And a good man to be beside her.

So, if you’re in the mood for second chance romances, grab a book in this sub-genre and settle in for a good read. You might just be inspired to yell “Do Over.”

Bio

As is the case with most writers, Becky Lower began to write stories as soon as she could figure out how to put pen to paper. Her career got off to a rocky start, though, because she was a defiant teenager. A Journalism teacher in high school told her she should become a writer, so she went in a totally opposite direction, majoring in International Studies for her first two years of college, nearly flunking out in the process. It wasn’t until she switched over to an English/Journalism major that her grades improved. So, she owes a much-belated thank you to Mr. Tanner, who actually did know what he was talking about.

Today, Becky lives in an eclectic college town in Ohio with her puppy-mill rescue dog, Mary. She uses her love of history as an excuse to roam around old graveyards and Civil War battlefields, and to spend large chunks of time watching old westerns when she’s not writing romances.

Where to find Becky…

Website: http://www.beckylowerauthor.com

Amazon: http://is.gd/qhIkUY

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeckyLower1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beckylowerauthor

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/authorbeckyl

Joanne here!

I love reinvention stories and the Brontes. This book is at the top of my TBR list. Thanks for dropping by, Becky.

Trailer Tuesday–Patti Tingen

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to the Trailer Tuesday Series!

Today, I am pleased to feature an uplifting book trailer from Patti Tingen.

In A God for All Seasons, Patti provides us with hope and encouragement–month by month, season by season–as she reflects on her own spiritual journey.

Enjoy!

Where to find Patti…

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Patti-Tingen/e/B009N5Z3UU

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PattiTingenAuthor

Trailer Tuesday–Rose Vanden Eynden

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to the Trailer Tuesday series!

Today, I am pleased to feature a trailer from Soul Mate author Rose Vanden Eynden.

Author of three best-selling books on a variety of metaphysical topics, Rose also entertains and inspires us with her fiction. Her ultimate goal is to help all of us recognize our own Divinity and joyfully express it in our lives.

In Merlyn’s Raven, Rose skillfully weaves legend and romance together in fifth-century Wales.

Enjoy!

Rose’s Website: http://www.vandeneynden.biz/index.html

Stop Overthinking Everything!

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

breast cancerI’ll organize my cancer.

That’s the first thought that came to mind when Dr. McGillivray started talking about my treatments. As she spoke, my well-developed left brain itemized all the tasks that had to be completed over the next ten months. And of course, everything had to be done perfectly and by me. That’s how I had survived during the first fifty years of my life. Or more precisely, the first forty-nine years, seven months and seven days.

Continue reading on Sandra Dawes’ blog.