Interview with Christian Romance author Caryl McAdoo
Posted: September 9, 2019 Filed under: Books, Christian fiction, Fiction, Interview, romance, Western, Writing | Tags: Author Interview, Author Profile, Christian fiction, Texas Tears, Thanksgiving Books and Blessings, western romance, Writing to be Read 6 Comments
As we seek out Christian fiction, I’m reviewing two books from the recently released Thanksgiving Books & Blessings collection – a gathering of Christian western romance, authored by six Christian fiction authors. I have the privilege of reviewing two books from this collection; book two: Mail-Order Misfire, by Davalynn Spencer, last Friday, and book three: Texas Tears, by Caryl McAdoo. In addition to reviewing these Christian western romances, I’m pleased to be interviewing both authors. Last Monday, Davalynn was my guest, and today I have the pleasure today of chatting with the author of Texas Tears and founder of the Thanksgiving Books & Blessings collections, Caryl McAdoo. Please give her a big welcome.
Caryl: Hey, Kaye! It’s great being here with you, and I want to thank you again for this opportunity. I love meeting new bloggers who enjoy reading!
Kaye: It’s great to have you here. To start, can you share a little about your author’s journey? How did you come to be a Christian fiction author?
Caryl: My husband Ron and I wrote a three hundred eighty-five page novel by HAND back in the late 1980s. We paid to have it transcribed and sent it to New York! Again and again and again . . . rejections were aplenty! So in 1993, the Lord led us to a writers’ workshop where we were mentored and learned the craft of writing creative fiction.
That took six years before the first book was published in 1999. For the next nine years, we contracted an average book a year, all with smaller publishers. Then we met a New York agent at an East Texas Writers’ Conference. She said to write her a “Christian historical romance” set in the 1800s and she’d sell it. We did, and she did! To Simon and Schuster’s Howard Books Imprint! We thought we had arrived. That was our tenth title to be published, VOW UNBROKEN, and also where my dearly beloved’s name was removed from the front cover. First the agent then the editor at S&S said one author’s name was best, and female’s preferred for the genre.
So though we were Christians most our lives and our first ten titles were “clean” for the most part. It was our agent who caused us to write our first ‘Christian’ book. And we still write them all together—that’s why I have such strong heroes. We love discussing the story’s plot and about the characters. I adopted the tagline “Praying my story gives God glory!” and that’s exactly what I do! It’s a joy writing clean novels with no cursing and no on-scene intimacies!
Plus, I love the “community of Christian authors and readers. It is such a blessing and honor to serve God’s Kingdom on earth by writing.
Kaye: When did you know that you wanted to become an author?
Caryl: Well now, that goes WAY back to 1962 when I was in the 7th grade and wrote a homework essay on what I’d be doing in the year 2000. I was twelve then and would be fifty in 2000. I wrote about being an “intergallactically” famous author rocketing from planet to planet autographing books! But what can I say? The space program let me down!
Kaye: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
(image of HEARTS book cover)(image TEARS book cover)
Caryl: Most of the time, I’m marketing! After Simon and Schuster, I learned about “Indie publishing” or putting my own stories out, so that same year in the fall of 2014, I became a hybrid author—published traditionally and independently with HEARTS STOLEN. I LOVE releasing my own books!Simon and Schuster took almost two years to get VOW UNBROKEN to market. Since I went Indie, I’ve released THIRTY-SIX titles! That’s in five years!I guess after marketing, I mostly play games! Ron and I play a game called Quirkle almost every day at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.We’re very competitive and keep all the scores and stats and know who won the most games for the month and had the most points accumulated.We also play bridge Thursday nights and once a month on Tuesday at our bridge clubs, and there’s a couple who comes to our house every Friday night to play,too. We take turns fixin’ dinner. One night a week is planned or dinner and games at my son’s, usually Farkle.
Kaye: What is the biggest challenge of writing Christian fiction?
Caryl: Hmm . . . I guess I’d have to say getting the stories out there to the readers. To me, there’s no challenge in the actual writing. In the beginning there was — understanding point of view! POV was not easy to grasp, but once you’ve got it, you’ve got it! An author’s good understanding of POV is why readers feel like they are right there IN the story WITH the characters; why they love the characters so much.There was a LOT of other stuff to learn, but it was easy to get. After writing as many books as I have now, the writing isn’t really a challenge. I’d say it’s fun and rewarding, exhilarating!
Kaye: What is the biggest joy of writing Christian fiction?
Caryl: Working with so many awesome people! Readers and authors and promotion folks, the whole nine yards! I get to write awesome stories that help people learn to forgive, stop worrying, not be fearful, watch the words they say . . . doing all these things cause one’s life to be more peaceful. If they get the principles down,they will find they have more joy, too. What a blessing to affect lives in such a positive way!
Kaye: You write in several sub-genres of Christian fiction: both historical and contemporary romance, Biblical fiction, and mid-grade/young adults. Which is your favorite to write in? Why?
Caryl: Without a doubt, my favorite is the historical romance genre. I love the stories of falling in love and the gentler times of bygone days. Folks worked hard, and families stuck together back then. Women were more modest, and children had plenty of time to be kids. Most of the time, Father went to work and earned the income that housed and fed the family while Mother stayed home to keep the house, cook, and care everyone. Children helped out, too. They felt no entitlement and didn’t resent their chores. It was what was expected. They didn’t have air conditioning back then or so many of our modern-day conveniences, but they had each other and shared so much that the younger generations today have no concept of. Those adventurous souls who left hearth and home to settle the new lands in the West were a rare breed indeed.
Kaye: Texas Tears is your most recent novel, featured in the Thanksgiving Books & Blessings Collection. What can you tell me about that story?
Caryl: It’s a continuation of my Cross Timbers Romance Family Saga, book three, and there’s a big Thanksgiving dinner surprise at the end. Set in 1845, the Texas Congress is deciding whether to join the Union or remain a Republic, thus the“Texas tears.” Plus there’s this one handsome Prince Charming kind of fellow and two best friends both think they love him . . . more tears. It’s a romance and there’s a happily ever after for at least one of the young women.
Kaye: What is the Thanksgiving Books & Blessings Collection and how did you get involved in the project?
Caryl: Back in 2013, I planned a multi-author Facebook party I called the Thanksgiving Books & Blessings Bash, inviting some of my author friends to participate. That’s my favorite holiday of the year. I did that every November following until last year in 2018.
Since it was the event’s fifth anniversary, I wanted it to be special, so I came up with the collection idea and asked the authors that year to write a Thanksgiving story. I had nine that first year, and so this will be the second year for the collection. I’m so excited about having Mary Connealy, Samantha Bayarr, Allison Pittman, Davalynn Spencer, and Liz Tolsma joining me this year! It’s going to be so special! We’re all writing stand-alone novels or novellas with Thanksgiving playing a big part in the story. Readers loved the idea last year, and this year is already surpassing all my expectations. I suspect it will grow every year as I plan on keeping it going!
Kaye:What do you think is the most important element that makes a Christian story?
Caryl: To my way of thinking, all Christian stories will be free from on-scene intimacies and cursing. But what makes it ‘Christian’ is at least one character, maybe several, who live their lives seeking God, His Word and wisdom. I try to include themes such as dealing with fear or worry, the value of forgiveness, responding in love when hurt or disappointed instead of anger or bitterness.
This all makes for some great conflict. In TEXAS TEARS, one of the young heroines has a wonderful character arc, from being self-centered and prideful to caring for others as much as herself. So without being preachy, Godly principles are lived out through my folks.
Kaye: In addition to being an author, you also teach creative fiction. Tell me a little about that. How did you get into it? Why do you find it fulfilling?
Caryl: Well, that aspect of my daily activities came from receiving so much help and mentoring as a new writer. I want to give back, help others on their writing journey to be successful by sharing what I’ve been so privileged to learn. We all pretty much make the same mistakes when we first start.
I determined that from editing professionally for eleven years. I put out a great help a few years back in STORY & STYLE, The Craft of Writing Creative Fiction, told in an easy to understand conversational format with tons of examples. It helped me to not repeat the same things over and over.
Writing creative fiction is different from every other kind, and it can be learned. The same tools—Point of View (POV), scene and sequel, active versus passive, where to open a story to hook your reader, and a satisfying third act, bring the story to an end readers will love and remember.
But the writer must be a storyteller first, and that, I believe, is a gift. And every writer must be willing to rewrite. One of my favorite sayings is ‘Only God writes in stone, the rest of us rewrite!” I googled that one day to quote its originator, and dear Google gave me the credit. I think it might actually have been my husband.
Kaye: How many different series do you have published? Tell me a little about them.
Caryl: I have the two historical romance family saga series, Texas Romance and the Cross Timbers Romance, plus the historical collections I’m in: Lockets and Lace, Prairie Roses (covered wagon stories), Gold Diggers, and Thanksgiving Books & Blessings we’ve already discussed.
As a reader I always loved family sagas and I find I enjoy writing those just as much. I come to love the folks in them. It’s so hard to leave them behind. When my patriarch of Texas Romances passed in book eight, COVERING LOVE, I wept through the writing and the reading at my writers’ workshop!
That series has ten titles, but then there are six extras (so far) I call “Companion Books” with more tales of either ancestors or descendants. And I’ve started the new Cross Timbers that TEXAS TEARS is book three. I have a Red River Romance series of contemporary stories.
The Generations is my Biblical fiction series that so far covers from Adam to Abraham in the generations of God’s book. I love reading Biblical fiction that bring those old familiar characters to life, but am adamant that the fictional story does not deviate from the Bible’s. I mean how dare anyone think they can improve on God’s stories!
Kaye: You are pretty prolific in your writing. How many books have you released in 2019?
Caryl: Seven, and it was almost overwhelming! I believe all of them were over fifty-thousand words, but four of them are full length novels (around ninety to a hundred twenty-five thousand words). If it was just the actual writing, no problem, but being an Indie, I deal with editors and proofreaders — making their corrections and considering their suggestions, getting graphic artists to get the covers done, the formatting of the book’s interior, uploading to publish at Amazon, then the marketing with ‘Cover Reveal’ and ‘Launch’ events, and always on-going promotion.
Kaye: How big a part does networking play in the success of Christian writers?
Caryl: Huge. Christian authors for the most part all help one another. It’s beautiful how there’s so little jealousy and infighting in the community. The large majority want to see the others succeed as much as we want to be successful ourselves, so it just makes everything run so smoothly. And in God’s economy, everyone involved in any project or endeavor walks away blessed.
Kaye: What is your greatest writing accomplishment to date?
Caryl: There is one novel, my first ‘Companion Book’ that went back to the ancestors of the family first met in book nine MIGHTY TO SAVE, the Harrises, who I love. Its title is THE BED WARMER’S SON. One reader says it is her favorite all-time book of all the ones she’s read. Many called it the best of the best or my Magnum opus or my piece de resistance. I love the story, too, and have been thrilled at its reception!
Kaye: What’s next for Caryl McAdoo? What can your readers look forward to seeing from you in the future?
Caryl: Well, I’m planning five new titles in 2020. One for each of my collections — Prairie Roses, Gold Diggers, and Thanksgiving Books & Blessings, a special year as the authors will all set their stories in the Civil War era—and the Sweet Americana Sweethearts’ collection lockets and Lace, plus an extra story LEAVIN’ TEXAS for the Cross Timbers Romance Family Saga series. That one is coming in January. I’ve just passed the sixty thousand word mark writing that one.
Caryl: Thank you so much again, Kaye for inviting me to share with your readers! I so appreciate the opportunity and would like to offer a GIVEAWAY for them! For one of those commenting, I’ll send a print copy of either family saga’s book one—VOW UNBROKEN or GONE TO TEXAS, winner’s choice—AND—an eBook of the same to a second winner, so readers in other countries can win, too! (Print books to U.S. only please)
Please answer this question to enter: How many books do you prefer in a series like mine and how many is too many? (if there is such a thing)
Thank you so much Caryl for joining me here and sharing with my readers. This has truly been a fun interview. I hope everyone will be sure to take part in the giveaway by responding to her question. You can learn more about Caryl McAdoo and her many books on her website or on her Amazon Author page. And don’t forget to pick up your copy of Texas Tears today, too.
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“Mail-Order Misfire”: Christian romance from the 2019 “Thanksgiving Books & Blessings” collection
Posted: September 6, 2019 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Christian fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, romance, Western | Tags: Book Review, Christian fiction, Davalynn Spencer, Mail Order Misfire, Western, western romance, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
Mail-Order Misfire, by Davalynn Spencer is a Christian western romance that will touch your heart. The story is well-crafted and entertaining, with well-developed characters that you can invest in, and setting details accurate to time period for authenticity. You’ve got to love young Gracie as she takes on the role of matchmaker for her unsuspecting father. It expertly portrays the Christian values of the historic west with a flare that draws you into the story and won’t let go.
Etta Collier is recently widowed and desperately looking for a way to get out from under the predatory banker who wants to claim all that her William left behind in this world, including her! A well-intended letter from young Gracie Stidham requesting a mail-order bride for her father and mother for herself, provides the only answer in sight, so she packs a bag and leaves her previous life behind, setting off for Lockton, Colorado with hope in her heart, as well as a fear of what might lie ahead. The results are a true love story as Etta, Gracie and her father Burn, who is both the preacher and the sheriff, come to terms with the rather awkward situation her arrival stirs and learn to love one another.
Mail-Order Misfire is a thoroughly engaging western romance that emphasizes Christian values without being ‘preachy’ in the least. An well-crafted example of Christian fiction that I give five quills.
Mail-Order Misfire is book two of the newly released Thanksgiving Books & Blessings Collection, available now on Amazon.
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Interview with Christian Romance author Davalynn Spencer
Posted: September 2, 2019 Filed under: Author Profile, Books, Christian fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Interview, romance, Western | Tags: Author Interview, Christian fiction, Davalynn Spencer, Mail Order Misfire, romance, Thanksgiving Books and Blessings, Western, western romance, Writing to be Read 5 Comments
September’s theme on Writing to be Read is Christian fiction. To start things off today, it’s my pleasure to interview western Christian romance author Davalynn Spencer. Her writing career came as a journalist covering the rodeo circuit, after marrying a man who made a living as a rodeo bullfighter and following the rodeo circuit became a way of life for her. Her son has followed in his father’s foot steps, so she has two guys out in the arena facing off with the bulls, and she has become an award winning author with seventeen published books. She is also one of the authors with a book in the newly released Thanksgiving Books and Blessings collection. Be sure to catch my review of her contribution, Mail Order Misfire on Friday. But for now, let’s welcome her and find out what the writing world is like from her unique point of view.
Kaye: Your book Mail-Order Misfire is a part of the Thanksgiving Books & Blessings collection. What can you tell me about that book?
Davalynn’s son in the arena
Blog: https://davalynnspencer.com/subscribe/
Website: https://www.davalynnspencer.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDavalynnSpencer
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/davalynn-spencer
Twitter: https://twitter.com/davalynnspencer
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5051432.Davalynn_Spencer
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/davalynnspencer/boards/
Amazon Author: https://amazon.com/author/davalynnspencer
CAN: http://christianauthorsnetwork.com/davalynn-spencer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davalynnspencer/
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We’re Sleuthing Out Mysteries in August
Posted: August 26, 2019 Filed under: Books, Fiction, Mystery | Tags: Broomsticks and Burials, Death Among Us, Gerald Darnell, Gilly Macmillan, Lily Webb, M.L. Rowland, Murder Mystery, Murder on the Horizon, mystery, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
What comes to your mind when someone says mystery? For me, I think of Agatha Christie, the queen of cozies, or maybe the Sherlock Holmes of Arthur Conan Doyle stories. The first murder mystery is said to be written by Edgar Allen Poe, The Murder in the Rue Morgue. But the mystery genre overflowed into the crime fiction genre, and cozy mysteries featuring amateur sleuths who put the puzzle pieces together in an unofficial capacity began to take center stage in the mystery genre.
This month I’ve been learning right along with you. As a youth, I lavished in the cozy amateur sleuth mysteries of Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. In my teens, I was fascinated and maybe a little haunted by The Hound of the Baskervilles with its hints of paranormal. As I grew older, I found that I enjoyed the Dr. Allen Gregory series, by Stephen White, and the Alex Delaware series, by Jonathan Kellerman, which are cozies with a touch of psychological thriller to them, but by that time, Stephen King had already stolen my heart as favorite author and I was veering more toward horror, so admittedly my experience and knowledge in the mystery genre is limited although much of what I read has some kind of mystery element to it. My one attempt at writing it resulted in my paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets, which you can get free when you sign up for my newsletter.
When we come across a mystery, there’s something in the human mind that just won’t let us let go of unanswered questions, so we automatically start trying to put the pieces together to bring a conclusion that makes some resemblance of sense. We can’t seem to help ourselves. So it shouldn’t be surprising that Agatha Christie is the number one all time best selling author in history. I mean, who doesn’t love a good whodunit or locked room mystery?
However, as with all genres, this one has changed with the times. Contemporary mysteries include detective novels that cross over into the crime fiction realm, such as the Carson Reno Mysteries of Gerald Darnell, suspense mysteries such as those of my “Chatting with the Pros” author guest, Gilly Macmillan, murder mysteries like Murder on the Horizon, by M.L. Rowland that take us into the world of search and rescue, and paranormal mysteries like Broomsticks and Burials, by Lily Webb, that lead us into the world of fantasy or folklore. We even find mysteries in short fiction form, as are found in the murder mystery anthology Death Among Us. Mysteries today seem to delve into the realms of other genres or sub-genres, creating an interesting mix of stories. The cozy is alive and well, but it is found in a vast array of variations that weren’t available in the days of yore.
August has been an educational and entertaining adventure into the world of the mystery genre. I hope you’ll join me next month too as I delve into Christian fiction when my “Chatting with the Pros” author guest will be Christian inspirational author Angela Hunt, and I will also be interviewing murder mystery author Gerald Darnell. My Christian fiction book reviews will include two Christian romances in the Thanksgiving & Blessings collection, Texas Tears, by Caryl MacAdoo, and Mail-Order Misfire, by Davalynn Spencer. It looks to be a good line-up and I’m excited to be moving into September with this exploration of the Christian fiction genre. Until then, happy writing!
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Writing for a YA Audience: The Truth about Libraries
Posted: August 21, 2019 Filed under: Books, Fiction, Libraries, Reading, Writing, Writing for a YA Audience, Young Adult | Tags: Jordan Elizabeth, Libraries, Writing for a YA Audience, YA, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction Leave a comment
“This looks great!” The young woman picked up my book from the table at the craft show. She read the back and took a free bookmark. “I’m going to look for this in the library.”
I let her know which of the local libraries had the book. Smiling, she left for the next table.
Across the aisle, a woman sold beeswax lip balm. She shook her head at me. “That’s a horrible thing for her to say to you. She should have just bought it.”
Was it a horrible thing, though?
I hear from at least one person at every book signing I do that they’ll look for my books in the library. I hear from other authors that it happens to them too. It might sound like a bad thing. The author isn’t getting a sale.
Here’s the truth –borrowing your book from the library isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it’s a great thing. That person is reading your book. That’s what all authors want: someone to read the book. Someone who borrows a book from the library has a limited time to keep that book in their possession, so they’re actually going to read it in a timely fashion. If you buy a book, it might sit on your shelf unread for years. That person who just read your book is hopefully going to leave a review. Bad or a good, a review always brings attention to the book online.
The reader is going to talk about your book in person too. They’re going to tell all of their reader friends. Those friends will hopefully buy or borrow your book. The buzz about your book is growing.
The more people who take your book out from the library, the longer the library will keep your book in circulation. They will also order your other books, because hey, you’re a popular author.
For everyone who says you don’t get a sale when someone borrows your book, keep in mind that the library did order your book originally. Most libraries will be willing to have you autograph their copy and host a book signing. Libraries are an author’s bosom buddy.
Jordan Elizabeth is a young adult fantasy author who is often at her local library participating in workshops or browsing the titles. You can connect with Jordan via her website, JordanElizabethBooks.com.
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Chatting with the Pros: Interview with bestselling mystery author Gilly Macmillon
Posted: August 19, 2019 Filed under: Author Profile, Books, Chatting with the Pros, Fiction, Interview, Mystery, Suspense, Writing | Tags: Author Interview, Chatting with the Pros, Gilly Macmillan, mystery, Suspense, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
My “Chatting with the Pros” author guest this month is a New York Times bestselling mystery author with books translated in over twenty languages. Her success as a writer may have come as a surprise, but I’ll let her tell you about that. She currently has five published mystery/suspense novels, and is working on the sixth, I believe. Let’s see what she has to say on the writing of mysteries. Please help me welcome UK author Gilly Macmillan.
© Céline Nieszawer/Leextra
Kaye: Can you tell me about your author’s journey? How did you get to where you are today?
Gilly: I started to write when I was over 40 and I challenged myself to do 1000 words a day until I had finished an entire book. I faithfully recorded my word count each day until it was done. I polished the first three chapters and send them to a few agents. Two rejections followed swiftly, one agent didn’t reply but the fourth one I sent it to was interested enough to offer me representation. She and I worked on the book together for a year before she submitted it to publishers, and we were lucky enough to sell it very rapidly and in over 20 territories! The rest has followed from there. I write a book a year and try to keep things fresh, compelling and thrilling for myself and my readers.
Kaye: When did you know that you wanted to be an author?
Gilly: For many years I didn’t have a burning desire to write, I think because I was busy doing other things and life got in the way, but once my youngest son started school full time I wanted to see if I could challenge myself to write a novel. The idea sort of came out of the blue but perhaps it wasn’t that surprising because at that point I had been an obsessive reader for 35 years. I had a small window of opportunity before having to get a proper job, so I took it.
Kaye: Why do you write mystery? Why not romance, or western, or horror?
Gilly: I read very widely, but mystery books have always been a favorite, so I write what I would like to read.
Kaye: What element do you think is the most important in a mystery story? Why?
Gilly: That it creates an impulse in the reader to turn pages. This can come from great characters, a thrilling set up, tons of action or an intriguing plot, but it must be there.
Kaye: What is one thing your readers would never guess about you?
Gilly: I have no idea! I’m a fairly straightforward person so there’s probably not much they couldn’t guess.
Kaye: (So, there’s no mystery to the mystery author? Hmmm.) What is the biggest challenge in writing mystery for you? Why?
Gilly: Plot. I don’t plan ahead when I write and creating a well-paced, complex and intriguing plot is always my biggest challenge, especially as I like to keep things within the realms of believability.
Kaye: What is the most fun part of writing mystery? Why?
Gilly: I love creating new characters and devising a challenging scenario for them. It intrigues me to explore how ‘regular’ people might behave if placed in extreme situations and pushed to their limits.
Kaye: Your most recent release is The Nanny. What can you tell me about it?
Gilly: When her beloved nanny, Hannah, left without a trace in the summer of 1988, seven-year-old Jocelyn Holt was devastated. Haunted by the loss, Jo grew up bitter and distant, and eventually left her parents and Lake Hall, their faded aristocratic home, behind.
Thirty years later, Jo returns to the house and is forced to confront her troubled relationship with her mother. But when human remains are accidentally uncovered in a lake on the estate, Jo begins to question everything she thought she knew.
Then an unexpected visitor knocks on the door and Jo’s world is destroyed again. Desperate to piece together the gaping holes in her memory, Jo must uncover who her nanny really was, why she left, and if she can trust her own mother…
Kaye: What is your biggest accomplishment to date in your writing career?
Gilly: Making bestsellers lists! It’s a dream come true!!
Kaye: Of all of your books, which one is your favorite? Why?
Gilly: I love them all for different reasons, but I think my favorite is my debut, What She Knew, because that was the book that launched my career and I put a lot of heart into it.
Kaye: How do you keep tension and suspense in your stories, so that readers will keep the pages turning?
Gilly: I work hard to come up with characters that I hope will be relatable and intriguing and then place them in a compelling situation, which subsequently evolves in a threatening, challenging or terrifying way. At the end of every day of work, I ask myself: will this turn pages? If the answer is ‘no’, I start over and do it again until I’m happy that both tension and suspense are maximised.
Kaye: Is there a common theme running through your books?
Gilly: I like to take a person or people who are in a relatable situation and make something very dramatic or difficult happen to them. A mother with a missing child, for example, or a teenager who has made a fatal mistake in her past which threatens to derail the new life her mother has carefully reconstructed for her, or perhaps a little girl whose nanny disappeared overnight without trace or explanation and reappears thirty years later in very mysterious circumstances. I love to explore dynamics within families, especially the parent child bond.
Kaye: What are you working on now? What is next for Gilly Macmillan?
Gilly: I’m working on a novel that feels like a journey into psychological horror. The main character is a female crime writer. That’s about all I can say for now!
I want to thank Gilly for sharing her craft today. I think it is fascinating that she can plot as she writes. When I try and do that, I find myself exploring avenues that lead to dead ends and have to backtrack a lot. You can learn more about Gilly Macmillan and her books on her website and Amazon Author page.
You can catch the monthly segment “Chatting with the Pros” on the third Monday of every month in 2019, or you can be sure not to any of the great content on Writing to be Read by signing up by email or following on WordPress.
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“Murder on the Horizon”: A classic cozy in a contemporary setting
Posted: August 16, 2019 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Mystery | Tags: Book Review, M.L. Rowland, Murder Mystery, Murder on the Horizon, Search and Rescue Mystery, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
Murder on the Horizon, by M.L. Rowland is a cleverly crafted murder mystery set in a rural resort town 100 miles east of L.A. For Grace Kinkaid, aiding in an evidence search out in the blazing desert sun is all in a day’s work. But when the Timber Creek Search and Rescue Team turns up a pair of severed hands, her view of her rural resort town and the surrounding area is about to change. Her curiosity and circumstance lead her toward the answers, and she won’t stop until she learns the truth, even when she herself becomes a target.
I truly enjoyed this story. Rowland made me feel as though I knew Gracie and her friends, and she drew me into the story, causing me to keep the pages turning. In addition to being a good mystery, it addresses social issues such as prejudice and bigotry which are so prominent in today’s world. I give Murder on the Horizon five quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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A children’s picture book literary tasting
Posted: August 14, 2019 Filed under: Books, Children's Books, Classics, Fiction, Growing Bookworms, Reading, Stories | Tags: Beatrix Potter, Children's Books, Children's Stories, Classic Children's Literature, Dr. Suess, Growing Bookworms, Korky Paul, Richard Scarry, Valerie Thomas, Writing to be Read 41 Comments
This month on Writing to be Read, I thought it would be fun to do a children’s picture book literary tasting to give readers an opportunity to sample short extracts from some wonderful children’s picture books. Interesting toddlers and small children in books and the written word lays the foundation for future readers and there is nothing like a great picture book to entice them into the book world.
Imagine you are at a picnic and the snippets in this post are delicious and varied food items.
The wonderful Dr Seuss
Dr Seuss’ delightful rhyming verse picture books are the perfect reading material for small children and beginner readers. There is a lot of benefit to the sound and word repetitions in these books which is comforting and confident enhancing to children in this age and learning bracket.
Dr Seuss also includes messages about friendship, environmental friendliness and sharing in his books which can’t go amiss.
I see his books as the hamburgers at the picnic.
“And then I got mad.
I got terribly mad.
I yelled at the Lorax, “Now listen here, Dad!
All you do is yap-yap and say, Bad! Bad! Bad! Bad!
Well, I have my rights, sir, and I’m telling you
I intend to go on doing just what I do!
And, for your information, you Lorax, I’m figgering on biggering
and BIGGERING
and BIGGERING
and BIGGERING,
turning MORE Truffula Trees into Thneeds
which everyone, EVERYONE, EVERYONE needs!“
From The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. You can purchase all of Dr Seuss’ books here: Dr Seuss Amazon US
The creative Richard Scarry
Richard Scarry is an amazing artist and children’s book author. He is know for his brilliant artwork personification where pigs, dogs, hippos and other animals wear clothes and take the roles of humans in his fantasy world. His books are aimed at a variety of age groups from toddlers to young children and teach them about a variety of things such as their ABCs for the youngest age group to What do people do all day?, Cars and trucks and things that co and A day at the airport. My boys loved these books and listened to me read them over and over again.
Richard Scarry books are the French fries at the picnic.
““Ho! Ho! Ho! And who are you?” asks a
great big fellow in red trousers. Mr Frumble
explains that he needs his skipickledoo
repaired so that he can get to the North Pole.
“Ho, ho, but you ARE at the North Pole!
I’m Santa Bear and these are all my helpers.”
Welcome!””
From The Night Before the Night Before Christmas! by Richard Scarry. You can buy all of Richard Scarry’s books here: Richard Scarry Amazon US
The artistic Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter wrote beautiful stories about the trails and tribulations of the small animals she had as pets and also studied during holidays to Scotland and the Lake District. The most famous of Beatrix Potter’s books is The Tale of Peter Rabbit. My personal favourites are The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, which features a hedgehog, and The Tale of Two Bad Mice, which features two naughty mice, Tom Thumb and his wife, Hunca Munca.
The Beatrix Potter books are the delicious cake at the picnic.
“Hunca Munca tried every tin spoon in
turn; the fish was glued to the dish.
Then Tom Thumb lost his temper. He put
the ham in the middle of the floor, and hit it
with the tongs and with the shovel – bang, bang,
smash, smash!
The ham flew all into pieces, for underneath the
shiny pain it was made of nothing but plaster!”
From The Tale of Two Bad Mice by Beatrix Potter. You can purchase all of Beatrix Potter’s books here: Beatrix Potter Amazon US
The fun Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul
Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul have teamed up to create the Winnie the Witch series of children’s picture books which feature a sweet and unconventional witch called Winnie and her sardonic cat named Wilbur. Winnie likes black and eats funny foods like batburghers, but Winnie has a heart of gold and is always trying to do nice things to impress and entertain the “little ordinaries” who attend the local primary school. Unfortunately, Winnie’s attempts to do conventional things always ends in disaster and Wilbur has to try to bail her out of her debacles. My son, Michael, and my two nephews loved these books and I read them many times to an attentive and fascinated audience. These books are more modern and include references to technology in the form of computers and mobile phones which appeals to modern children.
I see the Winnie the Witch books as the sweet and tempting cupcakes at the picnic.
“Winnie turned around, and there behind her
was a great crowd of people. They were
running along the road towards her house.
***
They crowded into her garden
They took off their coats, their
hats, their boots, their gloves,
and their scarves.
***
They sat in the sunshine
They walked on Winnie’s flowers
They put orange peel on Winnie’s
grass. They paddled in Winnie’s pond.”
From Winnie in Winter by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul. You can buy all their books here: Valerie Thomas Amazon US
I hope you have enjoyed this literary tasting. See you next month.
About Robbie Cheadle
Hello, my name is Robbie, short for Roberta. I am an author with five published children’s picture books in the Sir Chocolate books series for children aged 2 to 9 years old (co-authored with my son, Michael Cheadle), one published middle grade book in the Silly Willy series and one published preteen/young adult fictionalised biography about my mother’s life as a young girl growing up in an English town in Suffolk during World War II called While the Bombs Fell (co-authored with my mother, Elsie Hancy Eaton). All of my children’s book are written under Robbie Cheadle and are published by TSL Publications.
I have recently branched into adult horror and supernatural writing and, in order to clearly differential my children’s books from my adult writing, I plan to publish these books under Roberta Eaton Cheadle. I have two short stories in the horror/supernatural genre included in Dark Visions, a collection of 34 short stories by 27 different authors and edited by award winning author, Dan Alatorre. These short stories are published under Robbie Cheadle.
I have recently published a book of poetry called Open a new door, with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.
Find Robbie Cheadle
Blog: https://bakeandwrite.co.za/
Blog: robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com
Goodreads: Robbie Cheadle – Goodreads
Twitter: BakeandWrite
Instagram: Robbie Cheadle – Instagram
Facebook: Sir Chocolate Books
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Interview with mystery author Gerald Darnell
Posted: August 12, 2019 Filed under: Author Profile, Books, Fiction, Interview, Mystery, Writing | Tags: Author Interview, Carson Reno mysteries, Gerald Darnell, Murder Mystery, mystery, Writing to be Read 4 Comments
My guest today has made a career from a single mystery series. He must be doing something right. His Carson Reno Mystery series consists of 18 books and still going strong. He was awarded the 2016 Indie Author Crime Master “Best Thriller/Suspense/Murder Mystery Author” for book 18, Lack of Candor. Let’s find out how he’s done it. Please help me welcome mystery author Gerald W. Darnell.
Kaye: Can you tell me about your author’s journey? How did you get where you are today as a writer?
Gerald: I began writing in college, but nothing serious. After college I published a couple of articles for outdoor magazines and then joined the working world. I retired after 30 years in the computer industry and wrote my first non-fiction book (which I had been working on for about 15 of those years). It is mostly a bio about my life Don’t Wake Me Until It’s Time to Go. My Carson Reno series started after that – and 18 books later…here we are.
Kaye: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Gerald: Anything outdoors. I have a boat, and when I’m not riding I’ll be fishing.
Kaye: You describe what you write as “Fiction for Fun”. Can you clarify for my readers just what you mean by that?
Gerald: Sure. I use real places with semi-real characters (reflections of my friends or people I know) and tell a story that didn’t happen – but could have.
Kaye: In your Carson Reno Mystery series each book is a stand-alone mystery, yet you claim they have character continuity across novels. How do you accomplish that?
Gerald: While the core characters might grow (as my writing grows) they change very little from book to book. And each new book has enough new characters to keep any reader’s attention.
Kaye: Your latest book, Lack of Candor, received the 2016 Indie Author Crime Master award for best author in thriller/mystery/suspense category. Can you tell me a little about that book?
Gerald: It is set in 1962 with most of the story taking place in and around Memphis, Tennessee. A Sergeant with the Memphis Police Department is found dead only hours before his scheduled testimony before a grand jury. Was it suicide or was it murder? What was he going to testify about? A handwritten note left by the Sergeant and addressed to the District Attorney disappears. What was in the note? Was it a suicide note with information regarding his pending testimony or something else? A woman claiming to have information related to his planned testimony comes forward and seeks protection.
Carson is hired to look into the matter and provide protection to the mysterious woman, but protection from whom? The situation gets out of hand quickly, and Carson finds himself in trouble with most everybody involved. A dark cloud hangs over the truth, as he tries to determine the ‘good-guys’ from the ‘bad-guys’ from the ‘bad good – guys’.
This old fashion crime story takes Carson Reno and his crew on a complicated adventure, where it seems that no one is looking for a solution.
Kaye: What is the biggest challenge in writing mystery for you? Why?
Gerald: My time period (early 60’s) has its own challenge. Limited transportation, no cell phones, no CSI type of stuff to solve these crimes. Old black and white solutions to whatever Carson is involved in.
Kaye: What is the best part of writing mystery for you? Why?
Gerald: I’ll answer that by referring to what I tell other writers or wanna’be writers. Don’t write to get rich, but to enrich others.
Kaye: What time of day do you like to do your writing? Why?
Gerald: No particular time, but I prefer the evenings with a little ‘libation’ for inspiration.
Kaye: How do you decide on your titles? Where does this come in the writing process?
Gerald: Titles are always first and I have NO idea where they come from. My friends constantly ask the same question – wish I had a catchy answer.
Kaye: Of all of your books, which one is your personal favorite? Why?
Gerald: I have two and they are my most popular and best sellers – ‘Dead End’ and ‘Murder and More’. I like the stories and I guess my readers do too.
Kaye: Many of the events in your stories are inspired by real life events. What was the strangest or most unusual inspiration you’ve ever had for a story?
Gerald: ‘Dead End’ involves a chase scene in a rural Arkansas area where I spent many years when I was younger. The snow, the dirt roads, the mud, the outdoor part of me enjoys that.
Kaye: There are 18 Carson Reno books, one book in your Jack Sloan series: Concrete Jungle, in addition to your autobiographical book, Don’t Wake Me Until It’s Time To Go. So, is Carson Reno on the way out and Jack Sloan on the way in? Or is there more Carson in the future?
Gerald: More Carson and maybe a little more Jack. A work in progress.
Kaye: What are you working on now? What is next for Gerald W. Darnell?
Gerald: ‘The Disappearance of Robin Murat’ and it will be out before the end of this year (I hope). No spoilers, but a big part of the story takes place in New Orleans – one of my favorite cities. A great place for mystery and ‘bad-guys’.
I want to thank Gerald for chatting with me today and sharing his experiences and advice. You can learn more about Gerald Darnell and his books at the links below.
Website: www.geraldwdarnell.com/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NQRPXMW/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i5
Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4521276.Gerald_W_Darnell
Lulu.com Spotlight: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/geralddarnell
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geralddarnell
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“Broomsticks and Burials”: A paranormal cozy that’s fun to read
Posted: August 9, 2019 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal | Tags: Book Review, Broomsticks and Burials, Lilly Webb, Paranormal Mystery, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
Broomsticks and Burials, by Lily Webb, is a paranormal mystery cozy and a really fun read. Once you buy in to a magic place that only those with paranormal talents can see, the rest comes easy.
Zoe Clarke is an out of work journalist, and when she gets an offer to work on the newspaper in Moon Grove, she can hardly refuse, even though it requires her to pull up stakes and move to a town she’s never even seen on a map. Right away she notices something different about Moon Grove. Maybe it’s the anchorman who transforms from a wolf to show her around that tips her off, but she worries she may not be right for the job. After all, she has no paranormal talents, so she shouldn’t even be able to see Moon Grove. Or does she?
When she finds that her predecessor was murdered, creating the opening for her, she starts looking into the mysterious circumstances even though several people warn her off, a broken broomstick at the scene her only clue. But, once she gets started, the plot thickens and she just can’t stop until the mystery is solved and she’s discovered that she belongs in Moon Grove more than she ever could have imagined.
Broomsticks and Burials is a light-hearted cozy mystery that’s fun to read. I give it four quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
