I saw a question last week: “What advice would you give to your younger novelist self?” I have a couple pieces of advice, but I’ll only share one.
“Don’t worry about what someone else thinks.”
Worry about what your mother, your minister, your high school chums from way back when think changes your writing. Rather than writing their truth, write yours.
Tess Carmichael has a great life. She has a trendy condo, works with her best friend, and viewers are flocking to her TV cooking show…but she needs every advertiser she can get to keep that show afloat. She’s busy running her company. By taking Tess Carmichael Cooks…and So Can You! to the Chocolate by the Sea festival on the Washington coast, Tess hopes to attract more viewers…and more advertisers.
Dax Molino inherited his family’s boutique chocolate firm and its reputation for quality. After years of poor management, he needs a visibility boost to get Isadora Chocolates back on top. For Dax, a weeklong appearance on Tess Carmichael Cooks…is an unavoidable distraction.
As they test each other’s wits…and patience… on and off the set, will they mold their own success or reinvent themselves…together?
Available on Amazon.
The beginning of the year is always a time to commit to doing better, whether it’s exercising more, being a kinder person, taking time to smell the roses… Sometimes, we need a little nudge…a little inspiration. I’ll admit to getting mine from my family and my wonderful author friends at Romance Writers of America. I also find inspiration in books, reading — fiction or nonfiction — about how people overcame their challenges, both big and small.
That’s the idea behind this free, ebook giveaway. More than 50 authors are participating. Check out their work. Download all or any. Here’s the link, and have a WONDERFUL 2019!
Naughty or Nice? A bit of both? the 2nd Annual HOliday Romance Bookstravaganza giveaway lets you have both. This book giveaway has some really nice guys, and some real bad boys, too. Sweet romances, AND tales with lots of spice.
50 authors came together for this special deal, so you can download any or all now till January 5, 2019. Simply Click and take your pick:
https://books.bookfunnel.com/holidaybookstravaganza/5q1bu6slb6
Now till December 8, you can download sweet, free Christmas romances. This is a great, no-risk way to experience authors who just may become your new favorites. Here’s the link:
https://claims.prolificworks.com/gg/E7uVsGFkdUeyBPapQvsb
With Thanksgiving peeking just around the corner, I’m thinking of ways to show my gratitude to you, my readers. I’m planning some great book giveaways now that will introduce you to some new-to-you authors and show off some of my own work. Stay tuned!
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In fact, if you’d like to subscribe to my Beach Reads newsletter now to learn about new books from me, and sometimes from authors I think you may like, click here. I promise not to deluge you with info because, frankly, I’d rather be writing other things.
Cordially,
Gail Harkins
There’s myth out there that novels should use small words. Never send the reader scurrying for the dictionary. It’s not hard. Plenty of short, accessible words are available, so a writer with a vivid mind need never feel stifled.
Recently, however, I ran across a book that soars with words writ large and sprinkled into conversation with delight. My pastor back in the 1970s called them “$2″ words. The book is called The Cemetery of Forgotten Books by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.”…a waiter of such decrepitude…” “We must celebrate this ephemeral event.” The words are understandable, but they’re not the words that appear regularly in conversations, either. You doubt this? Think when was the last time you or your significant other described an event as ephemeral or a waiter walking decrepitly?
English is a rich and vibrant language. Embrace the wealth of words as writers and as readers. And, if you occasionally press your ebook app for definitions, celebrate! You probably learned something that will enrich your speech hereafter.
I’m reading Shadow Play, by Karen L. Abrahamson, in the just-released bundle called Heart’s Return. My reaction? Wow!
I am, admittedly, early in the story, starting chapter four. What blows me away is the use of setting as a character.
The first in this collection of books, Shadow Play opens in a bar in the capital of Cambodia with two dangerous men. One we think of as a fixer. The other? Well, the verdict is still out. He seems like he once had brushes with those circles and today, is about to be sitting on top of the world…if the fixer doesn’t meddle.
Chapter two shifts to the daughter, slogging through the monsoon-washed streets of Phnom Penh and, later, the Foreign Correspondent’s Club. The deluge, the sights, smells and sounds are amazingly vivid. They set the mood, yes, but they also resonate in ways that help drive the story along at a brisk pace. Don’t believe me? Read it.
This 1,100+ page collection of eight books is available at Amazon, Kobo, and other ebook sellers.
8 Tales of Romance
Forty-four percent of Americans are afraid of commitment…to long-term phone contracts. For personal relationships, the number is higher — 57%.
Strangely, the two have a lot in common. Complaints about phone carriers sound a lot like complaints about significant others:
#1: Expensive (25%)
#2: Unreliable (e.g. my calls drop a lot) (10%)
#3: Unpredictable (e.g. my bill changes from month to month (9%)
#4: Possessive (e.g. they locked me in a contract) (9%)
#5: I can’t trust it (e.g. they have hidden fees) (9%)
That’s something to think about when choosing a mate or, for that matter, a phone service provider.
This Valentine’s Day survey was conducted by VoIP service provider Ooma [http://www.ooma.com].
Beach Reads... 