Guest author D.V. Stone

No man or woman is an island. When I signed up with The Wild Rose Press I started meeting great writers under the TWRP umbrella. Today I'm honored to introduce you to D.V. Stone. I think you'll find her take on writing unique and thought-provoking.

So here she is:

Hi Bob{{waving}}

Thank you for hosting me today. I’m a former EMT, and in an author’s chat one night, the theme was ABC’s of writing. A, for others, was art, author, ARC.  My mind went in a different direction. A for me is Airway. The same with the B for Breathing and C for Circulation. Old EMT’s don’t die; they just retire.

To me, the airway is the book, breathing the words and circulation the pacing. You need all three (and other things) to create a dynamic story. Let’s break it down.

Airway =  This would be the basics. What is the manuscript about? Who are the characters? It would be like a tag line. For instance, in Rock House Grill’s is

One man’s choices. One woman’s impact

Here’s a couple of others I’ve used

Can a celebrity chef and an EMT with dreams mix it up in the kitchen?

Or

Two lives on a collision course.

Breathing =  is what keeps us alive. It’s oxygen being brought in, feeding the body, and then what isn’t used is expelled. To me, this would include style, grammar, punctuation. What is the author’s voice? Is the book urban and gritty? I’ve read books whose prose is almost poetic in the use of language. What about dialect? Is it from the UK where the words don’t necessarily mean the same thing? Whose point of view is the story told in? What is superfluous and needs to be cut?

Circulation = Pacing is so important. Like a heartbeat, your novel needs pacing. In the body, if your beat is to slow (bradycardia) or to fast (tachycardia), it’s dangerous. Also, an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) is a problem. The opening needs to be strong, but so does the middle and end. If your story is too slow taking off, it will not keep the reader engaged. The same applies to long lags between action, emotion, intrigue. I would hate for someone to get tired of waiting for something—anything to happen. A good healthy heartbeat has rests in it as well. This is the time to get to know the characters and the world you’ve built. Try to balance the highs and lows, and don’t forget the rests.

Rock House Grill as a novel has a certain beat to it. Rainbow Sprinkles, is a novella where the pacing is a little different. Everything had to happen faster, but not seemed rushed.

Thanks again for the opportunity to be on your blog. I hope these thoughts are informative and entertaining and your readers find their own story heartbeat.

[Bob: They certainly are. Thank you so much.]

Here's our guest author's blurbs, excerpts, and links:

One man’s choices—One woman’s impact

Rock House Grill

Aden House, successful but driven chef and TV personality, refuses to slow down. His life implodes one night, damaging him both physically and emotionally. He’s rescued by a woman he thinks of as his angel.

Shay McDowell has rebuilt her life after her divorce. She juggles volunteer EMT duties and her job, while dreaming of becoming a chef. She finds her way to Rock House Grill and back into the life of the man she helped save.

Can love be the ingredient needed to survive the many obstacles they face?

Excerpt

“Easy, you’re going to be okay.” A soft voice eased through the chaos around him. The owner of the voice grabbed his arms and held them in a firm but gentle grip. “I’m right here with you. You are not alone.” “Can hardly m-move.” His voice slurred. “C-can’t see anything.” “You’ve been in an accident. I’m an EMT with the ambulance squad,” the velvety voice calmly explained. “You can’t see well because we’re under a tarp. Hold still, okay?” “‘K.” A small light flickered at the edge of his vision. It shone into a bag next to him. Penlight. “You’re restrained to a board. It’s to keep your head from moving and causing more injury.” She continued to talk to him. The voice reached down somewhere inside him, calming and peaceful, so he focused on it. A glow from spotlights on the outside lit whatever covered them. The shadow gave the woman the appearance of a halo—like an angel.

Hi, my name is D. V. Stone. I am a multi-genre author of two independently published books. Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar is a fantasy romance. Agent Sam Carter and the Mystery at Branch Lake is a mid-grade paranormal. Recently, Rock House Grill was released by Wild Rose Press. Rainbow Sprinkles a novella is coming out on July 8^th. I also host Welcome to the Campfire and A Peek Through the Window, both  weekly blogs. Here’s a little more about me.

Born in Brooklyn, D.V. Stone has moved around a bit and even lived for a time on a dairy farm in Minnesota before moving back east. Throughout her wandering, she always considered herself a Jersey Girl. She met and married the love of her life, Pete—a lifelong Jersey Man, and moved this time to Sussex County.  They live with Hali, a mixed breed from the local shelter and their cat Baby.

D.V.’s career path varied from working with the disabled to become a volunteer EMT, which in turn led to working in hospital emergency rooms and then in a women’s state prison. After a few years, she took a break from medicine and became the owner of Heavenly Brew, a specialty coffee shop in Sparta NJ, and a small restaurant in Lafayette. Life handed some setbacks, and she ended up back in the medical field, but this time in a veterinary emergency hospital. 

“Thank you for taking the time to read about me. Each time you open the pages to one of my books, I hope you’ll be swept away by the story and find encouragement in your own life, never to give up on hope.”

D.V. Stone

Buy Links

Amazon           Barnes & Noble          iBook’s      Google Books      Kobo

https://www.dvstoneauthor.com/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084VCWRX

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088FCBLNG

Other Books by

D. V. Stone

Rainbow Sprinkles

After the storm come the rainbows.

Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar

One foolish thought. One brutal act. Instead of a peaceful alliance––war.

Agent Sam Carter and the Mystery at Branch Lake

A Mid-grade paranormal

Contributing Author

Australia Burns