Category: Books

Debt and a book update

I told my husband I was going to email Bill Gates and tell him if he wrote me a check for $150k it would get us out of debt. On our own it will be years before that happens and I figured Gates wouldn’t even notice the cash was gone.

Consider: $150,000 vs $136,500,000,000.

My biggest problem is finding a way to contact him directly. Any of you know his email or cell phone number for a text? I hear he is philanthropic.

I  have an update on my contemporary fiction “Anchor Bay”. I reached a stopping point, where my research and information, leaning heavily toward law enforcement details (I have a wonderful friend, a retired Lieutenant in the Tucson Police Department who provides information,) where things stalled. I needed that scene, the pivotal scene, the driver that would push the plot forward.

To my joy, I found it in my notes from months ago. A random interaction described as a possible scene, which worked perfect  in this place. A strong plot and character development scene. WOO HOO!!

Cheers!

-N

How Publishers Can Make A Difference

If you are like me you love an actual printed book, however I don’t want it if trees are being destroyed and the process is producing and dumping waste. Check out this article about positive efforts in publishing.

Cheers!

-N

https://www.greenmatters.com/news/2017/09/15/1vvQRq/publishing-sustainable

Book Progress

I have got a lot of work happening on my new book and I’m having a great time writing. Here is the synopsis of the story:

                Anchor Bay – Stormy Love

               Lily Brighton was widowed the same day her husband delivered the divorce papers. T

om Chambers ex-wife is an alcoholic who doesn’t understand that the concept of divorce means she is on her own.

Plus something suspicious is happening out in the bay that may be related to the theft and graffiti happening up and down the Maine coast.

I’m at the point where I am trying to come up with a cover idea so I can do some early marketing of the book. When I get a bit closer to finishing the first draft I am going to start Instagram and Facebook author pages. These will connect me with readers and followers so I get the word out about new books, promotions and special contests. I am curious if any of you lovely blog followers are authors who have done things like this and what was the best tool you found?

One thing I am blessed with is an incredibly supportive husband who understands when I say “wait, I’ve got to work” while I’m sitting at my computer. He is cool when I have music or YouTube playing in the background, or when I am talking out loud to myself.

So this little blog is an update, a request for information and sharing a little more about me.

Cheers!

-N

 

Mysterious and fantastic words

I love words!

There are some words used to express perplexities that are often beyond the daily walk of our life. Some of these words are fanciful, some are distinct in the way they work our imagination.

What do you picture when you hear vanished, abyss, summit or abandoned? Do you imagine a ghost ship or an explorer? What about paranormal, telekinesis, singularity or heliopause? Aren’t those the coolest words and fun to say out loud?

Bottomless, crevasse, wall cloud, and epicenter: let your mind wander to the place these words will take it. What do you see or feel when discovering the substance of their meaning?

I remember in 8th grade reading a story about the famous ballerina Isadora Duncan. It said that she was riding in a convertible car while wearing a long red scarf. When I read the words “the long scarf wrapped around the wheels of the car, snapping her neck and killing her instantly”, I gasped. As you can see those words have never left me.

Another time the words of a book seized me was while reading “Unbroken” about the life of Louis Zamperini as a Japanese prisoner of war during WWII. I felt those words physically and the relief I felt once I finished it was profound. It is a tremendous book but I can never read it again.

I read the book “The Exorcist” and once I finished it I told my sister I never wanted to see the movie and watch any of it on the screen – and I never have.

Books, magazines, Kindle, Nook, anywhere words exist to convey the thoughts of another human into readable form attracts me.

I read a lot.

Daily.

Cheers!

-N

Contemplation

I’m sitting here, reading a Melissa Foster book, rounding out a day that started yesterday with rain and then snow ❄.  Its cold outside, but my glass of cabernet savignon is warming me.

The book is sexy, the temperature is 40°, and I’m looking at my sleeping German Shepherd Millie curled up on the couch. Also watching my polydactyl calico cat Cleo curled up dozing in the rocking chair.

Snow is low on the mountains, and the clouds are low in the sky. There is a hard freeze warning for our area which means I will have to cover the outdoor plants that are vulnerable.

I’m enjoying my solitude. I have times when being alone and quiet gives me comfort. I think with age we find these times exceptionally valuable.

So to all you lovely folks waiting for inspiration – gaze at the stars, listen to the soft breathing of a sleepy puppy, and relish the complexity of a good wine.

Cheers!

-N

 

My annual summer in southern Arizona rant

It’s July in Southern Arizona and I have reached my breaking point.

108 degrees today. It may be a dry heat but it is still hot! I laugh when I hear, “Albany is roasting in dangerous 96 degree heat!” Okay, so I’m told, “yeah, but they have humidity.”

Heat index equation temp/humidity = how it feels.

96 with 50% humidity = 108 (Albany)

108 with 20% humidity = 109 (Tucson)

BOOM! we win.

During monsoon season here in SoAZ we can have the following equation: 108/40% =137

Cry me a river, Albany. Granted that humidity level lasts for a few hours at a time then will drop back down to 20 or 30% but we were still feeling it here, and it does it almost daily. Do you know how hot every surface in a car gets when it is 108 degrees? People keep oven mitts in their cars so they can touch the steering wheel.🔥 Forget trying to sit on leather seats while wearing shorts! 🤬 The vehicle paint manufacturers had to come up with different paint so new cars don’t have the painted surfaces faded and peeling after a year. OK, so you stay inside during the snow – well we stay inside during the hot.

We had fires in the mountains next to us nearly all of June, with hot shot crews climbing all over in that heat fighting fires. I’m sure they figured they were in hell.

But it’s a dry heat.

But it’s still damn hot!

When hubby retires I hope we will downsize a bit – sell this place, and move to cooler climes. I’m thinking Ogunquit, Maine. My work: blogging, writing, voice-over can all be done from home so I can go anywhere as long as I have internet.

Fiction/children’s/biographies
Non fiction

I just need a space big enough for my books.

I love my books. This is not all of them.

Nothing in here is newer than 1950.

Hubby said a small house with books on all the walls. That works for me.

So – it’s time for a rain dance. I look forward to October. I keep doing my thing and enjoy hearing from you lovely followers.

Cheers!

-N

A modern Christmas Carol.

 

Any story that uses my most favorite holiday story Dickens, A Christmas Carol is bound to be good.

This wonderful story uses this theme of past, present and future to weave a story of redemption (sort of.) Verity is her longsuffering self where Ellis’ mother is concerned, but she reaches her breaking point when she is insulted for the last time.

This leads to the discovery (with the help of few family ghosts) of the anamosity and apathy in his family, and why his mother is the witch she is. Frankie stirs things up, a friend who gave Verity her pet skunk Lucy shows up but in not so fleshly form.

It’s fast, funny, and gives readers a great holiday treat.

 

I received this as an advanced reading company for an unbiased review.

 

Cheers!

-N

Meet Mitch and Amanda at a special price

Greetings all!

Tomorrow my very first ebook entitled Blame It On Whiskey will be discounted for seven days! Everyone come meet these two interesting people and read their story.

The tale is set in the late 1800’s, and begins with a twist.

There is lots of history, a fair dose of romance, plenty of action, and you might learn a bit of Spanish in the process of reading this story. So a question…what would you do if you came face to face with a band of Apache warriors who have escaped from captivity?

Synopsis:

It is June 1886.

A handsome, rugged man and a beautiful, self-assured woman try to resist the temptation of vague and erotic memories from a night of whiskey fueled passion, while they deal with beginning a life with a complete stranger.

These two proud, confident individuals are thrust into a set of bizarre circumstances including a face-saving wedding farce, a kidnapping, epic storms and Apaches.

 

For a short time only at $ 0.99 on Amazon. Click the link below.

A Season of Learning

I am in a season of learning.

My desire right now is to discover learning opportunities. Webinars, podcasts, you tube videos, ebooks, wherever I spot something I want to know more about I am jumping on it. As I was starting this blog I had at least six tabs open on my laptop with various searches, emails, and a PowerPoint presentation on script reading ready for my perusal. I had my cell phone next to me and a notepad with a mechanical pencil at the ready.

In my home growing up there wasn’t any emphasis on learning. School wasn’t made any kind of priority. I can’t even remember my parents asking if I had homework or making me sit down and do my homework. It seemed if I liked what I was doing that was good enough for them. There were no parent/teacher meetings about my progress, no issue made of my grades, and if my folks wanted to take off for a trip to Texas they thought nothing of taking us out of school to go, and no worry about textbooks or concern about missed assignments while we was gone.

My middle sister had what we know now as a learning disability-ADHD and probably dyslexia. School was a nightmare for her, she was held back in first grade as much for her behavior as her lack of understanding. She had no idea how to be a student. My youngest sister and I were pretty good in school from nothing more than being natural learners. I do wish my parents had put greater emphasis on our school work. It might have been because we were military brats who moved every three years including overseas until my father retired, but I knew of other kids like me who achieved success in school.

Why didn’t they notice I loved writing stories and plays and encourage my talent? Why didn’t they find someone to help me with math when they saw I struggled?

My husband’s experiences were the opposite of mine and fortunately this motivated us to promote the importance of learning and school to our kids. They both went on to college and university.

So now, after years of wishing I had attended college, I am drawn to all sorts of learning. My love for history has directed much of my writing-it’s a joy to do historical research for my stories. I adore books. Geology and meteorology fascinate me and I can have meaningful discussions on these topics. My curiosity is strong and my desire to know more has given me the drive to seek out opportunities. I love challenging my brain, and hope this season is a long one.

Cheers!

-N

 

Is it a romance novel?

Well…I guess it has romance.

It’s a question I get when I’m asked about two of my books. How do I explain it is a genre mix? My books have good, well researched history of dress, speech, locale, conveyance, and real historical figures merged appropriately into the setting of my books. That is of huge importance to me as a HistNerd.

Yep, made that one up!

That being said, I do incorporate the human side. Family, love, struggle, conflict, all the parts of who humans become as we live. Yeah, there is sex. However it is not erotica by any stretch. I don’t do gratuitous in any media I access. But my stories are sexy. I love sexy people; what they think, how they move, how they speak, the way they touch. Sexy is fun. However these two stories are set in a time when there was no deodorant, shampoo, washing machines, toothpaste, and tampons. Women had body hair, men had even more. You get me right?

I don’t avoid these things in my historical writing. It’s how it was.

The settings are fleshed out to give the reader easy access to the time period. With language it is important to be precise in order to drive the reader into the feel of a relationship. I do describe dress both male and female, as well as room decor to pull out who the people in the story are and what their lives are like. Are they rich? Do they have servants and how many servants would this person have in their lifestyle of the time period? Do they struggle to feed their children? Do they have to work and what would that work look like. It is a disservice to readers to give 2018 attitudes to women and men of the 1880’s.

Likewise forcing the language of the 21st century on 19th century characters diminishes the powerful effect of the communication of people of that time. They wrote letters, they kept journals, and they read newspapers, all part of human interaction and understanding. I love it!

So when you read about two proud individuals who are forced into a farce of a marriage, they still adhere to the standards of the day. When you read of a woman who is used by a man to gain favors and blackmail, she is a victim, but in the time there would be no rescue for her.

I am a mixed genre author and reader.

Cheers!

-N