Writer Wednesday Archives | Page 8 of 19

Writer Wednesday: Meet Sara Ackerman

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Margaret — No Comments ↓

We’re back from New York City in time for Writer Wednesday! WAHOO! Did you miss us last week? We missed YOU!

Today I’m so pleased to welcome Sara Ackerman, writer of Regency romance. DOUBLE wahoo!

Thank you so much for joining us, Sara – now let’s all settle in with a cool glass of lemonade, since we’re officially into summer, and learn about Sara and her latest release, Little White Lies.

Which type of romance do you love most and why?

Historical romance is my favorite. I enjoy stepping into another period to experience life and romance from days gone by.

Name two things people don’t know about you.

I speak three other languages besides English: French, Spanish and Italian.
Before I chose teaching as my major, I was enrolled to be a classical pianist.

What fellow romance author do you recommend reading, and why?

Rose Lange is a contemporary romance writer with Soul Mate Publishing. She writes spicy, engaging novels with relatable characters. Her first novel, Gracie’s Plan, was a fun read, and I am eagerly awaiting her second novel, On a Gamble.

What is your favorite romance book of all time, and why?

Impulse and Initiative by Abigail Reynolds. It’s an alternative retelling of Pride and Prejudice which asks the question, “What if Mr. Darcy did not give up on Elizabeth when she refused his first proposal and actively courted her instead?”

A Bit on Little White Lies:

Amelia Westby always tells the truth, a terrible curse in a society that values little white lies. When she meets Tavis McGuire, she finds a way to escape the scrutiny of London’s jaded ton. Tavis is passionate and caring, offering Amelia a chance at a new life, but when a dangerous secret threatens to destroy their happiness, Amelia must break her curse or lose the man she loves. After his brother’s death, Tavis McGuire returns from the continent to inherit the Earldom of Stanton, an estate near financial ruin. To save his home and clear his family’s name, he becomes embroiled in a dangerous game of espionage. When his investigation leads him to a beautiful woman who holds information he needs to catch a traitor, Tavis must decide whether to honor his duty to his country or to follow his heart.

Little White Lies can be purchased at:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Wild Rose Press

A Bit on Sara:

Sara is a teacher by day and a writer by night. Little White Lies is her debut novel. She lives in southern Wisconsin with her husband, two children and their menagerie of animals.

Want to Connect Further with Sara? Find her here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saraeackerman/
Twitter: @saraackerman
Website: seackerman.com

Thanks for being here, Sara! Wishing you the best in your writing endeavors. 🙂

Writer Wednesday: Meet Mariana Gabrielle!

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Margaret — 6 Comments ↓

It’s the first Writer Wednesday of June, and today we’re privileged to bring you Mariana Gabrielle, author of historical fiction and Regency romance that offers second chances for scarred souls. Isn’t that lovely? Because who doesn’t like a second chance?

Mariana is also a member of the Bluestocking Belles, which she describes on her website as “a wonderful group of eight Regency Romance authors working together to bring our readers new books and advance the historical romance genre in general (Regency, in particular), and also to raise awareness of “bluestockings” around the world.” (Plus, they’re just a heck of a lot of fun – come find them on Facebook!)

Read on to learn a little about Mariana and her writing . . . Continue reading Writer Wednesday: Meet Mariana Gabrielle!→

Writer Wednesday – Meet Angela Scavone!

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Margaret — 2 Comments ↓

It’s Writer Wednesday, and you know what that means! We’ve got an amazing author – in this case, romance writer Angela Scavone – with us to share a bit about themselves and their latest book.

Because we love authors! They give us their hearts on a page, and we soak it up and come begging for more.

Angela has no author photo to share with us, so I’m giving you this cute doggy. But she DID have stuff to say about writing and her newest release, A Journey Home, so read on! Continue reading Writer Wednesday – Meet Angela Scavone!→

Writer Wednesday: Meet Kishan Paul!

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Margaret — 11 Comments ↓

Wait, what? It’s Wednesday again? HOORAY! We love Wednesdays, because that means it’s #WriterWednesday, and I get the opportunity and blessing to introduce you to another amazing writer.

Today, Kishan Paul joins us. Kishan is a romance author who’s wonderfully supportive of other authors (like me!). She dishes up romance and more in her novels and in her great newsletter (so consider signing up!).

So settle in with a cup of tea (and a blanket, if you’re here in Virginia – it’s cold and rainy. Again.), and enjoy learning a bit more about Kishan and her books!

What inspires you to write?

Inspiration comes from many different places for me. Books and movies are the main culprits. The more emotional it is the better and music has that effect on me too. Sometimes it’s just the simple act of driving down a road with no one to talk to and no good music to listen to.

Which type of romance do you love most, and why?

I am a sucker for a good romantic suspense. Books that make my heart race and leave me saying ‘One more chapter’ are my crack.

Name one interesting thing you learned in researching/writing your last book:

A symptom of a brain bleed is bruising under the eye and blood in the ear.

Name two things people don’t know about you:

I’m really goofy and find humor in the craziest things.

When there’s a painful scene in my stories, I have to heal with my characters if that makes sense. I need to see that they’re okay before my heart can stop aching. So those painful scenes are the ones where I’m lost to the world until my characters are in better places.

A Bit on The Second Wife:

If you want to live, you must let go of the past…

Twenty-eight-year-old psychologist, Alisha Dimarchi, is abducted by an obsessed client and imprisoned in his Pakistani compound for over two years. Forced to change her name and live as his second wife, her life is filled with trauma and heartbreak. Thrust into a world of violence and oppression, Ally must fight not only to keep herself alive but to protect the lives of the people she now considers family. At night, she retreats into her memories of the only man she has ever loved—a man she believes no longer loves her.

Thirty-four-year-old handsome surgeon, David Dimarchi, has spent the last two years mourning the disappearance of his wife. After a painful and isolated existence, he begins the process of healing. It is then he is visited by a stranger, who informs him that Ally is very much alive and needs his help. In a desperate attempt to save her, David enlists the help of a mercenary. Together they find themselves in the center of more than just a rescue mission. Will he be able to reach her in time, and if he does, will she still want him?

Excerpt from The Second Wife:

Ally’s lungs were cement blocks heavy in her chest. Unable to breathe, she lay curled in a ball on the floor, gasping for air, drenched in sweat.

Waiting.

The panic attacks had started after Nasif’s first night away and progressively worsened each day. She wanted to pretend it was because he wasn’t there to distract her. But she knew better.

Sayeed would be here soon.

The gnawing voice in the back of her head wouldn’t stop reminding her of the hell his arrival would bring. As the day grew close, the voice became louder, urging her to do something. But there was only so much she could do locked away in a concrete box.

Unable to shut out the images or find a way to escape, hopelessness would again choke her, triggering another panic attack. Funny thing was, those episodes she spent struggling for air gave her a little hope. Maybe this one will kill me.

Something she knew better than to believe. After all, she’d spent her career teaching clients that panic attacks were typically non-life-threatening.

While this morning’s episode subsided, she stayed on the floor, slick with perspiration, staring at the ceiling.

He said Sayeed would be here in fourteen days.

Ally crawled beside the bed and dug under the mattress until her fingers wrapped around a thin, wooden pencil. After dragging the frame away from the wall, she slid between the headboard and concrete and sat on the floor. She added another tally mark to the twelve already there. Praying she’d counted wrong, she tapped the back of the eraser against each line and counted again. The end result was the same; Nasif had left thirteen times already. Her pencil slipped out of her shaky fingers and fell to the floor.

One more day.

Images of Sayeed, violating her, flooded Ally’s thoughts. Her chest tightened and her body chilled. Time was running out. Her breathing became labored and a cool sweat beaded across her lip.

“No.” She covered her ears and shook it all away.

Whatever happens, I will survive.

Find The Second Wife here:

Amazon | Barnes And Noble | iTunes | KOBO

A Bit About Kishan:

From daring escapes by tough women to chivalrous men swooping in to save the day, the creativity switch to Kishan Paul’s brain is always in the “on” position. If daydreaming stories were a college course, Kish would have graduated with honors.

Mother of two beautiful children, she has been married to her best friend for over seventeen years. With the help of supportive family and friends, she balances her family, a thriving counseling practice, and writing without sinking into insanity.

Want to connect further with Kishan? Find her here:

Website: http://kishanpaul.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KishanPaulAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@kishan_paul
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kishanpaul
TSU: https://www.tsu.co/kishanpaul
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1JQBudd
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9855660.Kishan_Paul
Sign up for her newsletter at: http://mad.ly/signups/119110/join

Thanks so much for joining us, Kishan! It was a delight having you.

Writer Wednesday: Meet Susan Mary Malone

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Margaret — 11 Comments ↓

Welcome back to Writer Wednesday, my favorite day of the week.

Today, we take a break from the romance writing world to welcome Susan Mary Malone, author of literary fiction and editor of numerous works.

I hope you enjoy this chance to get to know Susan and her work a little bit better!

What inspires you to write?

Just about everything, really. I can see a bent, elderly man shuffling with a cane, and my imagination runs to:

What was his life like when young, strong, and in full vigor?
Did someone love him once?
Does someone still?

And then a fictional world comes to life.

Which type of genre do you love most, and why?

Literary Fiction, for sure. It’s what I love to read, and what I write. It’s the stuff about what makes people tick, making some sort of sense (however chaotic) of this crazy experience we call life.

Name one interesting thing you learned in researching/writing your last book:

My latest novel is a myth within a myth. As Paula listens to that myth told on the rickety otherworldliness of Diana’s porch (who is known as the white witch of Sociable), she first thinks it’s silly.

But the story of Vasalisa won’t leave her, and weaves through the plot, as Paula begins to understand the essence of it—that true guidance via the intuition lives within all of us.

Name two things people don’t know about you:

1) I’m actually quite an introvert. Even though I’m often speaking or out doing authorly things (I gave the keynote at the East Texas Writers Conference in April 2016), I have to watch for not just staying home with my dogs all the time!

2) I’m a true Poly wonk. I love, love, love the study of politics. It contains within it who we are as a people. This is so deeply ingrained in me that my ideal date would be with Chuck Todd! (Apologies to his wife.) But what a fabulous thing to sit down with him of an evening and ask, “What did you learn today, honey?”

What fellow literary fiction author do you recommend reading, and why?

Oh, dear—do I have to narrow it to one? Lol. Okay, if forced . . . I’d have to say Norman Maclean. Truer, deeper, more beautiful prose I have never known.

And good to note that he taught college literature for decades before penning A River Runs Through It (he was in his 70s when it was published).

Writing to such a level takes a long, long time . . .

What one piece of advice do you wish you’d had when first starting out?

That would circle back to the previous question. All writers tend to want success to be quick, painless (laughing here!); the genius within us recognized early on.

But again, I’ve never read more beautiful prose than Maclean’s—which took decades and decades to perfect.

Settle in. Keep working on your craft. No matter what.

What’s your favorite novel of all time, and why?

A River Runs Through It, in such a tiny span of space, goes straight to the depths of what love means to us, of how we can love people without understanding them. And does it in the most breathtaking language . . .

A Bit on I Just Came here to Dance:

Paula Anne Fairbanks understands all about the unexamined life. And she likes hers that way—until her world gets ripped smooth apart.

Running from reality, Paula falls under the mythological yarns being spun on Diana Maclean’s porch. Surely Paula’s own choices aren’t to blame for the summer of insanity she spends under the spells of Diana…who is, after all, known as the White Witch of Sociable, Texas.

I Just Came Here to Dance, a modern allegory, waltzes atop the line between the creative and the crazy, the sacred and the maligned. Through myths it weaves together the multi-layers of personal Self with that of the collective whole. And finally, Paula Anne and the townsfolk learn the simplest of truths: that the fire’s ashes produce wisdom and courage, just as the stories say.

A Bit on Susan:

Texas native Susan Mary Malone has published two novels, co-authored four nonfiction books, and written many short stories.

Her happiness is fiction, wine, and Labrador Retrievers, the latter of which she raises, trains, and shows. Literature is her love.

In addition to writing, she edits; fifty-plus Malone-edited books have sold to traditional publishers, and one of them was made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame film (while another is in production).

Her stories revolve around the passions and purpose, the myths and meaning of women’s lives. Which often involves wine. She does, however, try to keep the Labradors out of that.

Want to Connect Further With Susan?

Blog: www.susanmarymalone.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/susanmarymalone
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SusanMaryMalone

Thank you for joining us, Susan! It was a delight to learn more about you.