Two Characters, Two Christmas Trees

By Sandra Nachlinger

I’ve been thinking about ways to show characters’ personalities and priorities without “telling” and here’s something I came up with for the holiday season.

Lorraine stood in the foyer, arms crossed over her chest, and studied the Christmas tree. A Swarovski star topped the white-flocked spruce and almost touched the twelve-foot ceiling. Porcelain angels clad in the palest pink gowns seemed to flit among the boughs between glistening Waterford snowflakes and opaque Lalique orbs. To complete the creation, strands of pearls draped from branch to branch, illuminated by thousands of tiny clear lights. She nodded and smiled. Pierre had outdone himself this year. Worth every penny he charged.

Jenny sighed, plugged in the vacuum cleaner, and ran it beneath the tree. More needles every day! Meowser seemed to think she’d brought the evergreen into the living room as his personal playground. She jiggled a string of lights until they came back on and straightened the garland the kids had made from construction paper. With a sigh she bent to pick up a papier mache Santa her son had made many years before, then placed it near a branch that held a star cut from a tin pie plate. She nodded and smiled. The tree held so many memories—a priceless journal of the family’s past Christmases. Worth all the mess.

What do you think? Which Christmas tree appeals to you?

Here’s wishing you and your loved ones a happy holiday season and a joyous 2017.

Bluebonnets for Elly - A Sweet Contemporary Romance

I.O.U. Sex (Co-authored with Sandra Allen) - A Spicy Baby-Boomer Romance

  

Setting As A Character by Suzanne Rossi

Hi, everyone.

I just want to take a moment to wish you all a wonderful Memorial Day and say thank you to the men and women in our armed forces. You do a great job and I appreciate it.

The two things that drive a good book are characters the reader can relate to and like, along with a plot that takes us on a journey around each and every bend of the story. Some authors are character oriented, adjusting the plot to fit the characters' actions. Occasionally, characters take on a life of their own and go with it. Not much the author can do except follow. Other writers structure the plot so that the characters must act and react to the situation. Both are effective, although as authors we must make sure one doesn't overtake the other. A great plot with weak characters is as unsatisfying as great characters following a weak plot line.

But there's one other thing that can drive both--the setting. Believe it or not, the setting of a story can project both elements of character and plot.

For instance, in my first book, Along Came Quinn, I set most of the story in Guatemala. I took a city girl, hooked her up with an adventurer (yes, opposites attract), and off they go to Central America to search for lost treasure. If this sounds a lot like Romancing the Stone, it is. I love that movie, and while my story is similar, it does have a nice plot twist.

At any rate, back to the setting. Have I ever been to Guatemala? No, and I'm not likely to go anytime soon. If you are going to use an exotic place but have never been there, then do extensive research. Find out the political atmosphere, tourist spots, food, rural life, the weather, the language(s) spoken, the customs of the people, and the flora and fauna. I'll bet I had close to fifty pages of notes in a folder by the time I finished. I used, perhaps, two pages in the story.

In Nearly Departed, I invented a dilapidated Antebellum mansion as the catalyst to bring my hero and heroine together. I set the story in Northern Mississippi, a locale I know. The house became as much of a character as Cybil and Max, not to mention the ghosts inhabiting it.

My book, Deadly Inheritance, was set on a Caribbean island that I imagined as a cross between Jamaica and Barbados. I used the size, food, and location of Jamaica, but since I had vacationed one year in Barbados, I utilized the physical features and the people. It was a blend that worked well. I had one reader tell me they felt like they were there the whole time. Always a good thing to hear.

At one point in time, I worked first as a dealer of blackjack and roulette, then later as a floor supervisor at a casino in Tunica, Mississippi. It became the setting for Death is the Pits. I brought my personal knowledge of how casinos are run (as opposed to should be run--there was a difference), the gamblers I have known, and how the games are played to this story. Adding a couple of bodies along the way was just plain fun.

For The Good Twin, I adopted my brother-in-law's lake house in North Central Illinois as one of the houses in the book. I'm not sure if it was really a character, but the ambiance was what I wanted to achieve. The real lake area works well as my fictional one for the suspense of prowlers in the woods, and intruders by water.

So, the next time you pick up a book, pay attention to the setting. Do you feel like you're there with the characters? Is it a place you might like to visit? Can you identify with it in some way--your hometown, your favorite relative's home or city, or where you currently live? If so, then the author has done his or her job.

Before I let you go, I want to celebrate by sharing with you the blurb and cover of my next book, Killer Conference. It's the second book of a series I call The Snoop Group. Book #1 was A Novel Death. I don't have a release date yet, but will let you know when I do.

"Anne Jamieson and her critique partners are once again thrown into murder and mayhem while attending a writers conference. Anne starts to believe she is a dead body magnet when she finds obnoxious agent, Carmella Radcliff, stabbed to death in the ladies room. This brings Detective Gil Collins onto the scene. Anne was hoping for a relationship when he was the lead detective on an earlier case she helped investigate, but lies and secrets drove them apart. The Snoop Group as they have named themselves, decide to assist again, but then, a second agent is killed. The conference offers a long line of suspects and motives. Was it the best-selling author? A disgruntled editor? An angry agent? An attendee whose work was rejected? Or someone else? Time is running out and the conference will only last so long. Amid the commotion, can Gil and Anne rekindle the spark from months ago before the murderer claims Anne as a third victim?"

One more thing. May marks my first anniversary as a member of this blog team. I want to thank Caroline Clemmons for inviting me to join such wonderful authors. I've loved participating and look forward to a long relationship with them and the readers of Smart Girls Read Romance.

Thanks to all, and I'll see you again next month.

Suzanne Rossi

DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!

How do you keep a story interesting? Historical fiction is pretty straight forward. There might be a villain or a struggle to survive in a hostile environment. Science Fiction tends to be similar to a space western. Someone is always conquering galaxies. Then there is straight suspense. Murder, theft, mayhem. Seems like a lot to work with, but you have to keep your readers guessing.

A television series may keep the fans on edge by killing off favorite characters. Think Game of Thrones. I'm still upset over Ned Stark's violent demise. No, I didn't read the books. I tried but they are huge and the paperbacks have tiny, tiny print.

Unless you're actually writing a series of book, you don't have the time to develop beloved characters. I remember a well known romantic suspense author saying she upset some of her readers when a dog was badly injured.  No one gave her grief about the kid in danger, but don't hurt the dog.

An author walks a tight line by endangering a well known character. I suppose an author of a long running series might get tired of a character. Even Agatha Christie didn't care for Poirot. She was quoted as wondering why she ever "invented this detestable, bombastic, tiresome little creature?"

Ms. Christie did kill him off  eventually and an obituary was even printed in the New York Times. Since this was in 1974, I have no idea how her fans received this turn of events.

It's scary. You risk losing a reader if you've developed a fictional character and suddenly they are gone. Does this development make sense? Is it really necessary?  Does it take the protagonists in a different direction? Be ready to answer these questions and convince your readers you haven't lost your mind.

New Release: JEWEL OF SOLANA Romantic suspense

My third novel releases this month, Jewel of Solana (Jan 22, 2016), and it’s still an incredible and nerve wracking

Click here to preorder

experience. Just as much as my first release.

This novel took me forever to finish. Having a baby in the middle of the first draft tends to put a major dent in the writing time (although it’s a fantastic excuse!) But for a sequel in a trilogy, I had hoped to have it released sooner.

Nevertheless, I’m so excited to share these characters with the world. To see if people love them as much as I do. That’s the quasi-terrifying part. As much time as I’ve spent with these characters in my head, listening to their stories and struggling to put them on paper, of course I want the world to love them as much as I do. Particularly the hero. He’s on the Autism Spectrum (Asperger's), and his quirks, mindset and analytical thinking processes are very personal to me. Raising a child on the spectrum myself, it’s important that people see these truly special individuals for their gifts, their sweetness, and their incredible desire to be liked. Accepted. Just like the rest of us.

If you’re interested in reading a romantic suspense, set in a tropical and exotic location to get you out of the dreary, winter doldrums, please pick up Jewel of Solana. The second in the Royals of Solana trilogy. You don’t have to have read the first one, Prince of Solana, to understand the story. In fact, if you enjoy Jewel of Solana, you’ll love the first one just as much. (Secret tip: it will be on sale starting Jan 15^th for only 99 pennies!)

Jewel of Solana (2^nd in the Royals of Solana trilogy from Wild Rose Press)

Romantic Suspense, Full length novel by Susan Sheehey

Release Jan 22^nd, 2016

Preorder now (purchase links below)

Princess Alanna Peralta escapes a brutal attack on her island home after a vicious cartel assassinates her family. To save the royal bloodline and family legacy--the priceless necklace Luna de Azul--she conceals her identity and boards a mega-yacht...Into the arms of a brazenly handsome engineer, who might be her guardian angel--or the devil in disguise.
Gabrial Flynn can't look anyone in the eye. Until an obsidian-haired beauty begs for help. Committed to a solitary life at sea, he's shocked to be captivated by the woman's exotic, espresso eyes, and further amazed when she seems intrigued by his eccentricities.
With danger at every turn, Alanna and Flynn discover the limitless reach of the cartel's power. Flynn must decide how much he trusts her not to betray him. As danger closes in, Alanna is torn between sacrificies--her life, family legacy, and country...or her heart.
 

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Susan Sheehey writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and women's fiction. Follow Susan at www.SusanSheehey.com, on Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads and Amazon.

SOMETIMES, THE BEST PLOT IDEAS ARE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

By Brenda Daniels

I've been enjoying a PBS show called Genealogy Roadshow. They travel all over the United States talking to various people who come to them with questions about their family history. Usually there is one relative who mysteriously disappeared or a family legend that sounds too fantastic to believe.

One family discovered an ancestor who was a ship captain and privateer in the early 1800's. He had skirmishes with the French and lost a ship to them. Having his ship stolen apparently made him mad enough to seek permission from the American government to become what was technically, a pirate. Essentially, the U. S. government granted him permission to act as a privateer. Any ship deemed an enemy could be attacked and their cargo seized. He was, apparently, a very successful one.

I personally have a great-great grandfather who was last seen leading some horses down a road. He disappeared, never to be heard from or found again. Our family periodically dreams up theories of what happened to him. I suspect he just decided to create a new life in another state. One theory has him stealing the horses and falling in with bad company.

There are so many stories in our own histories. Characters truly amazing and waiting for a writer to come along and bring them to life.

Have you based a character on an ancestor? Have you used an event from your family history as a plot in a story?

Sometimes, the best plot is the one buried deep in your family's story.

Playing Dress-Up

As a little girl, one of my favorite ways to spend a rainy day was playing dress-up with my friends. My mom had a box of clothes, shoes, and jewelry that she’d bring down from the attic, and with my friends Nancy and Michele we'd transform ourselves into glamorous, grown-up women. With hats, gloves, shiny dresses, even high-heeled shoes and jeweled necklaces, we’d spend an afternoon on the covered porch creating imaginary, sophisticated versions of our young selves. What fun we had!

Now that I’m a writer, I can play dress-up again – with my characters. In almost every scene, there’s an opportunity to dress my characters however I want. Fancy, plain, sexy, demure, fashionable, dowdy – each garment selection tells a little bit about the character. That’s so much fun!

Here are a few wardrobe examples from BLUEBONNETS FOR ELLY:

• When Elly turned to dust the table top, Marybeth Bagley sidled up, her flowered dress so severely tailored that she reminded Elly of an upholstered sofa.

• [Elly] started out the morning in sweatshirt and jeans, but as the day warmed and her physical activity increased, she’d pared down to T-shirt and cutoffs. Now she wished she’d dressed a little better.

• Here’s Elly’s wardrobe (same scene as above) from Derek’s point of view:

Derek stared in his rearview mirror and took another look at Elly as he left the driveway. That tight T-shirt fit her like a coat of paint, and when she bent to pick up the shovel and he’d caught a glimpse of pink panties cupping her butt, he was pretty sure his mouth fell open.

• Jeanette shrugged out of her leopard-print jacket, draped it over the sofa’s arm, and lounged against the cushions, as if she intended to stay a long while. A red bra strap slipped down her arm, and she tugged it back into place. 

Three different characters with three different ways of dressing – uptight Mrs. Bagley, casual Elly, and slutty Jeanette. I had great fun dressing them for their parts. Maybe those years playing dress-up with Michele and Nancy have served a useful purpose after all. All I know is that playing dress-up is still fun.

Bluebonnets for Elly is available in paperback and ebook formats from

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sweet Cravings Publishing, and other online publishers.

Characters: Our Best Friends

Website | Pickle Barrel Gazette

Does anyone not
love these characters?

Characters are everything to me.

Whether reading or writing, the first thing that has to happen for me to enjoy the book is I have to fall in love with the characters.  I love to love the good guys and love the hate the bad guys.  I want to fondly remember them months later, and regret that there's no more book left to read.

Why is that? Maybe it's the emotional investment we put into stories.  Characters push us along the emotional path much more easily than other story elements.  Settings, sights, sounds, and smells can tug at us, but unless we truly care about the characters' well-being, their victory over whatever obstacles they face, we scan the pages, skipping ahead until the characters (especially the main protagonist) finally hook us and we absolutely must read on.

I can manage to read a book all the way through without falling in love, but I won't enjoy it all that much.  Writing, though, is different.  Writing is a much slower process.  Even if pearls of inspired prose fall from my brain to the computer without any effort in the brain department (wouldn't that be nice!), it takes a whole lot longer to type and edit a story than it does to read that same story for pleasure.

A writer spends a lot of time with her characters.  I spend anywhere from three to six months on a novel and at least a week or three for short stories with my characters.  A reader might spend four to eight hours for a novel.  Big difference.  So if a writer doesn't love her characters, she's in for a long, tough haul.

My current project is one where I got lucky.  Caroline Clemmons and I brainstormed over the phone and we both came away with characters nearly fully formed that we both loved.  That's because we're writing a duet, Mail-Order Tangle.  Caroline's book (yes, they're both full books) is titled Mail-Order Promise and mine's Mail-Order Ruckus.  

Cover reveal!

(Unless Caroline already did...)

Do you like it?

This story starts with a mail-order bride (Ellie, Caroline's character), who brings her older sister Laura (my character) with her to Texas.  Things don't go precisely as planned, however.  Cousins Kage and Matt Johanssen make sure of even more complication.

Caroline is writing Ellie and Kage's story, set in Texas.  I'm writing Laura and Matt's story after he leaves for Owyhee County, Idaho Territory.

If you'd like to meet one of the characters, zip on over to Romancing The West.  I'm participating the Meet My Character Blog Tour thanks to Karen M. Nutt.  The character I introduced is Miss Laura Dickerson, heroine of Mail-Order Ruckus.

We haven't talked publicly about this project much because we both had so much on our schedules that we wanted to make sure we could get it done.  At this writing, we're both hovering or past the three-quarters mark so yes, it's a go.  Yay!

And you know what?  We both love, love, love all our characters.  I wouldn't have a problem hanging out with them even after the books are done.  It absolutely has to be that way!

When you read a really good book, do you think about the characters for days and weeks, even months, after you've read The End?

Hearts of Owyhee series

Amazon Author Page

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