Take My Advice by Bea Tifton

Yesterday I was repotting a plant I’d just bought. I gently massaged the roots before I put them in the dirt. The thought flickered through my mind that I wasn’t sure who had first told me to do this. I thought about all the things I knew how to do and where I had learned them. The practical living things. And that led me to advice. 

Advice comes from so many sources, people we love, people we hate, strangers, advertisers. Do this. Don’t do that. Buy this. Avoid that. We’re bombarded. And, I am willing to admit, I’ve given my fair share as well, both solicited and unsolicited. 

I had a friend who lost her mother. She said the thing she missed most was picking up the phone and asking for advice. Her mother just seemed to know so much about so many things. My mother and I are very close. I hope we have many years left, but I know I will bitterly miss her when the time comes to say goodbye. And one of the reasons is her no nonsense advice and her exhaustive realm of knowledge. How do I get this stain out? What do you think I should plant in that corner of the yard? The purple shirt or the burgundy one? 

When I started teaching my mentor gave me the best teaching advice I ever received. “Say yes whenever you can, but mean it when you say no.” That’s good advice for any area of life. 

I’ve gotten great advice that I didn’t follow. When I was in my 20s I worked as a clerk in a medical library.  The librarians thought I had an affinity for the work and tried to convince me to go to library school. Nope. I was sure I wouldn’t like it and I didn’t want to go to grad school. Fifteen years later? Yep. Masters in Library Science and a profession I love.

Sometimes good advice comes from complete strangers. Here’s a sampling of some words of wisdom that have helped me.

Don’t overstay your welcome:

“Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.”  Benjamin Franklin

Be who you really are:

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Oscar Wilde

And the most important advice of all:

“Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction.” – Cowboy Proverb.

Have you ever gotten some great advice? Spectacularly poor advice? Given some? Leave a comment below.

Being True to the Character by Paty Jager

Back before there were any buzz words or political correctness, I wrote my first novel. It was a mystery with a Chinese American lawyer as the main character's love interest and a neighbor in a wheelchair who was a computer whiz. At the time I didn't think about writing these characters as having to know everything I could about being a Chinese American or living in a wheelchair.

I wasn't trying to add diversity to my writing. It was just how I see the world. I embrace everyone, no matter their ethnicity, handicap, or gender. The world is made up of many different people. Why shouldn't they all be read about in books?

I have two mystery series with Native American or American Indian, as they prefer to be called, main protagonists. I enjoy learning more about their culture in order to make the characters ring true in the books.

And that is the same reason I used a sensitivity reader for my latest Silver Dollar Saloon historical western romance. Freedom, the heroine in the book is a Black woman. While I understand a good deal about the struggles from reading books, I wanted to make sure that her feelings rang true to her upbringing and the times.

While the sensitivity reader praised some of the reactions and emotions I gave my character, she still had to give me a lesson in how my character would interact with others. The three pages my reader sent me on history and how certain scenes in my book were from my perspective rather than my character's, helped me create a better, true to the character, book.

So far the reviews on the book make me feel good about my decision to pay for a sensitivity reader. And that she also is a writer, helped her to show me where I needed to change things. She understood the story and helped me make it better.

Have you ever used or been a sensitivity reader? Do you think they help enhance a story?

Here is the blurb for Freedom book 3 in the Silver Dollar Saloon series.

Their dreams brought them together. But will violence tear them apart?

Freedom longs to be out of the Silver Dollar Saloon, with a family of her own. When a white man promises marriage and children, she takes the biggest risk of her life, and follows him to the wilds of Montana Territory. Where he shows his true nature.

Water Runs Fast, a Crow off the reservation, comes upon a white man whipping a brown-skinned woman. After stabbing the white man and riding off with the woman, he realizes she is the woman from his visions. The one who pledged to help him and his people survive in the white man’s world.

On the run from the tragedy, the two grow close. Together, they begin a life as husband and wife. But will they have their chance at a life together, or will they hang for murder?


Universal link: https://books2read.com/u/mlawnB

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 40 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest / Bookbub

photo source: Deposit photos.

The Best #Movie Lines Evah! #authors #readers

Welcome to Smart Girls Read Romance. We're happy you stopped by today. 
 
Several things make a movie great; cinematography, characters and memorable lines said at just the right time. These lines tend to stick with us for years after the movie is first released.

• "I'll be back." ~ Terminator
• "As you wish." ~ Princess Bride
• "Here's looking at you kid." ~ Casablanca
• "I'll have what she's having." ~ When Harry Met Sally
• "Show me the money." ~ Jerry Maguire

But what makes a movie line great? Researchers from Cornell University have done a study to see what makes a good line go from normal to having the qualification of Best Movie Line Ever. They created a quiz that they had used to see what other people remember or consider memorable lines. You can take it here and see what you get. I took the test and got 9 out of 12 which is the score the average person achieved. We'd love to hear how many of you were able to recognize, leave a comment below.

NOTABLE POINT: The more general the quote, the easier it is to remember. It called for the phrases to have a generality that enabled it to be used in a situation outside the movie set. There were three qualities that the researchers noted as a common ground for all quotes.

1. Use of personal pronouns in a quote.
2. The quote used “a” and “an” instead of a definite article like “the”.
3. The ability to avoid past tense.

via GIPHY


The above three qualities give the quote a generality that was needed to embed the quote in your mind.

Is it the same with book lines?

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling left us with: “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie gave us: “All children, except one, grow up.”

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien caught us with: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”

Do you have a favorite book line or movie line you'd like to share? We'd love to hear it in the comments below. Maybe you'll even find one in my new book I Spy a Demon that's part of A Darker Shade of Evil anthology releasing on September 24th.

About I Spy A Demon:

When twins Cecily and Calder Sizemore’s parents are killed in a car accident they are taken in by Gus and Mae Frost. Raised like family by the Frosts, Cecily’s feelings for their son, Marcel, evolve into anything but sisterly as the years pass.  

Cecily always knew something was amiss in the Frost household. Little things belied the calm, peaceful ambiance Mae did her best to portray. Calder tried to warn her things were not as they appeared, but she didn’t want to believe him. But when Calder begs her to leave Des Moines, start a new life away from the secrets, away from the Frosts and away from Marcel, she follows his advice and shatters her heart in the process.

Now she’s been called home for her beloved brother's funeral. There's more to the story than meets the eye. Discrepancies in how Calder died lead her to believe it wasn’t a car accident. And she's not returning to Minnesota until she uncovers the truth. 

She’ll have to face Marcel again—the boy who stole her heart when she was eight, the man whose very presence turns her blood to liquid fire, and the man who walks the earth as if he owns every piece of it. He’s always played his cards close to his chest, but this time, he’s underestimated her dogged tenacity. She’ll find out what really happened to Calder, even if it’s her last act in life. 

PREORDER A DARKER SHADE OF EVIL NOW AND RECEIVE 13 FREE BOOKS! Send your proof purchase to Muffy muffy@muffywilson.com and she'll send you the page link to download 13 FREE BOOKS!

 PRE-ORDER HERE TODAY 

Trusting My Voice

Taps microphone - Tap Tap Tap
"Is this thing on?"
Winces at the feedback.
"Oops.. sorry..."

I'm a study in contradictions. I love to sing but getting up in front of an audience makes my stomach churn... and that's always been a thing.
It was infinitely easier to dance in front of an audience than speak or sing.
Something about my voice added an extra layer of intimacy, one that came closer to revealing my heart.

And isn't that a frightening thing? Showing your heart to someone else?
Stagefright is no joke... who wants to perform something and then have silence afterward? Or a smattering of applause?
It's not so much about feeling appreciated, at least for me.. it's a validation of sorts.

My son is a much better performer than I am. He finds it easy to crawl into a character and 'be.' When I see him perform, I get chills... Honest to goodness, head to toe, chills.

In his senior year of high school, his second year acting, he earned the right to represent his school at the State Shakespeare competition. He had to perform a monologue and a sonnet for the competition and when I went to see him compete I had not seen him perform the two pieces.  He didn't want me to see him ahead of time, but that day when he got up on stage and performed a monologue by a young man about to die, the whole theater was hushed and then a sonnet about hopeful love through pain the air around me held a different charge.

How amazing it was to feel as though I had seen TWO DISTINCT CHARACTERS come to life before me. All in one person.

Writing books is like that for me. Now, I won't pretend to be as talented or skillful as his performace, but I do love the thrill of feeling as though I can bring characters to my readers. Hoping to bring them to life. Living, breathing, flawed, hopeful messes of people into my book.

But this 'voice' thing... finding a way of writing that is 'mine.'

That's tough. There are rules. Lots 'n lots of rules. Danging this and run on that... oh, and Oxford commas that Oxford doesn't even use anymore.
Beyond the rules there's voice.
And it's far too much like singing to be a coincidence.

Pitch, speed, texture, pacing. It's the reason why you can tell the difference between certain singers. That note, that vibration, etc that is all their own.  Like the difference between Freddie Mercury and... well, anyone else.

Now, I'm not saying I'm going to be the Freddie Mercury of romance! That's too heavy a burden!

What I want to be... is me. I want readers to pick up a book and 'hear' how much I love romance. To feel how much I root for the underdogs and the broken. To taste tears and yes, joy. To scent fear, and yes, hope in the air. And... sometimes... to see things before the characters and then mentally shush them in the right direction.

It's a lot, I know, but hey... it's my dream!

I think I'm getting there. There are more and more times that I read through a book right before I submit it as a finished product and think.. yes, that sounds like ME.

Not quite to the point of it feeling like second nature, but the key is to keep going.

And me, I'm over here, sitting at my desk, working at it!

Focused by Carolyn Hector

Focused

By

Carolyn Hector 

Hi Everyone! The last we spoke... school was getting ready to start. I'm down to four boys in the house. I'm getting organized and staying focused.
I'm down to four boys in the house but at least they're all at the same school this year. These fellas certainly aren't too happy with it.



These next few months are going to fly by! Did you know there are 110 days left until Christmas? Let the holiday countdown begin! I can't wait to start carrying my bag around. Oh wait.. I may have to update this bag. I have another Christmas book coming out. My book is A Tiara for Christmas follows Niobia Bryant's Christmas with the Billionaire. Can I tell y'all that Niobia is BRILLIANT and I'm so honored have my name near hers! Check her out. These books are kicking off the holiday season just right though.


So now I need to know one thing....

So a little about my book, A Tiara for Christmas, this is the final book in the Once Upon a Tiara series. This last book brings Kimber Reyes to full circle. We met her in The Bachelor and the Beauty Queen. And now she's all grown up with a story of her own. 

A TIARA FOR CHRISTMAS

Kimber Reyes has been good all year—and she’s ready to be a little naughty. Back in Southwood, Georgia, to help her aunt with a beauty pageant, she’s reconnecting with former bad boy Dario Crowne. Her other mission: track down the mysterious designer of beautiful pageant tiaras. Dario is guarding secrets—and his heart. But unless he reveals both, the perfect Christmas gift might slip through his fingers…

This will hit your Friends to Lovers trope and a bit of Cyrano. I had a lot of fun torturing these two meant-to-be lovers. I hope you'll enjoy reading them. 

While we're on the topic of full circle, I'm at the end of my contract with my books. It's time to crank out more and stay.. what's that word I use with my kids.... focused!

This is going to be my last blog with Smart Girls Read Romance. I've enjoyed getting to know all of you. I hope I didn't scare you off with my stories.

XOXO

Carolyn

Summer Bounty by @JacquieRogers

Summer Bounty
Plus remodeling and books.

by Jacquie Rogers

August was a busy month and September promises to be even busier!  That's how it goes when you live in a rural area and have such wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables.  After years of living in the city, I just can't get enough of all the vine-ripened peaches and such.  I apparently forgot what good food tastes like.

This month, my daughter and I canned a bunch of peaches, plus we froze peach nectar which we'll make into peach butter.  Yum.  We also canned 22 pints of stewed tomatoes.  I'm tellin' you, they're delicious.  I'll be picking the rest of the tomatoes tomorrow. (Um, today.)

Stewed tomatoes ready for the pressure canner.

I must be obsessed with food this month because Mr R and I found a new favorite place to eat--Alejandra's in Marsing, Idaho.  If you're ever in the area, this is a great place for Mexican food.  Mr R had a chili relleno and I had chili verde.  Nom nom!

You can't go wrong eating at Alejandra's!

Between all that, we're getting the master bathroom remodeled.  We now have a new shower--the best we've ever had--that'll serve us well into our old age.  It's an awesome shower.  Also a new toilet and a new sink that's huge with a kitchen faucet.  I love it.  Bathroom sinks should be useful for something other than rinsing your toothbrush.  And cultured marble countertop.  It's flat-out gorgeous.  I'd post pictures but it seems a little tacky. LOL.

Speaking of books... Were we speaking of books?  Well, folks like us think about books all the time so we probably were.  Anyhow, every once in a while we need a new dress, and books are the same.  I'm thinking about changing the cover on Have Wand - Will Travel.  So what do you think?

Old cover <------------------------------> New cover

I really like the new cover but I'm a bit reticent because the hero dresses in all black.  On the other hand, I think it's an awesome cover so I'll be forgiven.  The cover designer for the new one is Steven Novak.

Be sure to read my latest duet with the fabulous Caroline Clemmons, Orphan Train Brides.  This one is about two women who were orphans and adopted from the orphan train by an abusive couple.  Caroline wrote Merry's book, A Family for Merry, and I wrote her sister Polly's book, A Family for Polly.  See how they planned to save five orphans who'd surely have been put in dire situations, and in the process the sisters find true love.  Oh wait, that was a spoiler.  Oh wait, they're romances, so of course there's a Happily Ever After.

Orphan Train Brides is available now in

Kindle or Print

Check out Caroline's post for more info on this duet and also the other duets that we've written together.  And guess what?  One more is in the works.  

Happy reading!  I hope you enjoy reading Merry's and Polly's stories.  They both have fun adventures that you won't want to miss.  Also, please consider posting a review--you'll have our undying gratitude! 

Jacquie's Website | Amazon author page | BookBub

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Honey Beaulieu - Man Hunter series

Hearts of Owyhee series

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

By Caroline Clemmons

Happy Labor Day! Labor Day celebrates the millions of men and women who are in the U.S. workforce. This holiday is also the traditional end of summer celebration. Even though our temperatures are still hot here in North Central Texas, leaves are falling from the trees. If you are one of the many who has today off work, I hope you are enjoying the day doing what you love.

Writing is what I love and that's what I'm doing today.  Most writers work every day, rain or shine, holiday or not. I work in a tiny office the family calls my pink cave because...well, it's pink and I tend to hibernate there.

Actually I have a large
flat monitor.

There are several good things about my office:

1. My commute is only a few steps from the bedroom

2. My office is close to the kitchen for Cherry Dr Pepper refills

3. I can work in my pajamas or old sweats or odd long skirts if I want to—and I do.

My daily assistants, a.k.a. the cats, sometimes try to help. Cozy but I’d rather they didn’t. Sebastian wants to sit on my left arm. He's fascinated by my cell phone. He weighs twenty-one pounds and it’s hard to type with him laying on my arm. In addition, he wants me still with no fingers moving. Needless to say, he soon becomes disgusted and leaves his post.  He also doesn’t like for me to stay up late, which I do. I think he may be channeling my late mom.

Sebastian supervising the household.

Max is our Manx cat. Often he is content to sit beside my keyboard and that’s fine. It’s when he wants to play with my fingers that I mind him being in my office. Then, he tries to bite my fingers to keep them still. Or, maybe he wants me to move over so he can write his own book. You never know with cats.

Max ready to pounce on my fingers.

Jasmine is content checking on me occasionally. When it’s mealtime, she calls her special little yip and leads me to the kitchen. I mean it, she does not meow. She yips almost like a dog but not at all like a cat. She's very sweet and affectionate even if she's a little shy. 

Jasmine offering critique.

From my feline assistants and me, have a safe and happy week. 

By the way, if you're looking for an entertaining book to read this week, let me tell you about AN AGENT FOR MAGDALA, The Pinkerton Matchmaker Series book 37. It's set briefly in Denver and Santa Fe but mostly in San Antonio, Texas. I love visiting San Antonio and hope you'll love reading about old San Antonio in 1871. A lot has changed and a lot is still the same. Twenty-two 5-star review. Only $2.99 or free in KU. It's also available in paperback.


Buy link:  https://www.amazon.com/Agent-Magdala-Pinkerton-Matchmaker-Book-ebook/dp/B07V3G4QHY

The cover is by Virginia McKevitt, who has done beautiful covers for the entire series. This cover model has the hair I'm sure I was intended to have. Sigh. No such luck.