I'd like to introduce you to one of my friends, who is a renown author with The Wild Rose Press, Shirley Goldberg. I recently read her Middle Ageish, loved it, and highly recommend it. Shirley: 8-Minute Man, A Short Story

Vincent abandons his comfort zone for one very long afternoon.

No, this isn't my little guy, but I was in the mood for dog company and a friend lent me his doggie.  He's trained to bring in the mail. Do you remember when we used to write letters?

This month brings Vincent starring in 8-Minute Man, his own short story. He's a romantic although you wouldn't think so, not upon first meeting him. Grab my short story and enjoy a holiday treat that isn't fattening.  Download to your device of choice.                     Yes, I'd like to read 8-Minute Man!    If you have any problems with downloads, the folks at Book Funnel will be happy to help. (Book Funnel is a book delivery service that blocks all sorts of viruses and fungi from appearing on your computer or tablet.)  Feel free to email me should Vincent's story prove elusive. If you're not happy, he's not happy. And neither am I.

Guess the release date of my new rom com, Eat Your Heart Out. A story of two foodies who sauté, banter, and dance around each other.  Everyone who correctly guesses the date will get one entry into the draw. Bonus entries (following Shirley on Facebook and Book Bub) will up your chances to win. Runs now through January 13, 2021               Enter the Giveaway Here It's optional to follow me on Book Bub or Facebook. But if you follow me on Facebook, be sure to put “Eat Your Heart Out” in the comments.  As you may have guessed, Eat Your Heart Out won't release until 2021

Now for a few more fun bits. I'm watching The Queen's Gambit, and I don't know about you, but I'm finding it more fun than humans should have. My sister raved over it and bought a chess set.  Get back into chess mode with this interview with Harry Melling and Moses Ingram! And there's Bridgerton, historical romance that's part Gossip Girl, part Downton Abbey, only more sexy. Courtesy the great Julia Quinn. If you aren't familiar with her work, check out this tidbit. Even the trailer is swoon-worthy.   Daphne Bridgerton, played by Phoebe Dynevor, the eldest daughter of the powerful Bridgerton family, makes her debut onto Regency London’s competitive marriage market.  The closest thing to online dating for its time.

In these quiet, year-end days, I’m grateful for the special people in my life. Family even though they’re far away, friends to chat with when I’m a little blue, frequent walks to clear my head.  Evenings after work is done, I'm loving all the new books out there waiting to be discovered. And movies and series on the flickering screen–I can't be alone in this appreciation––mostly because they take me away from the pressure of the larger world. (As you may have guessed from the above suggestions.) And thanks to a lovely reader's contribution, I have a name for the heroine in book 3 in the Starting Over series.       Happy New Year and hurrah for 2021!

 

2021

 

2020’s building collapsed on our backs and we are pushing out of our way great weights to dig out and see the light. And we will.

It’s that time again for resolutions. I will offer one writerly one.

All habits are initially pleasurable whether they are good or bad. For instance smoking is pleasurable until cancer consumes those who smoke and there are some on their death bed who need a smoke. To form a habit the experts say you have to be at it for 21 days straight, at the end of which you will receive sufficient reinforcing pleasure to continue. To break a habit the same period applies and during the breaking you will feel pain (a longing for those time wasting habits you so enjoyed).

Some of us have used the trauma of 2020 to not write. Resolve to move on. But how can we, when we have established bad writing habits? And what are these habits? For one, not writing every day means there is insufficient pleasure in the craft and insufficient practice to become better. Pleasure is measured in many ways. Feedback is a big way for writers, whether it be from a critique group or writing partner or just knowing you are off your game. Try to find your way back. If you don’t serve the master of writing every day, you will not write your best. In order to do this you must establish the habit by going at it for 21 straight days or until you notice that you must write or you’ll feel wrong. Establish time limits for drafts. Tell Alexa to set an alarm. Make a routine and stick to it, no matter what other “oh, I have to do this or that" enters your mind. Susan Elizabeth Phillips sets 2 hours in the morning when she’s at her best for creating new scenes. The rest of the day is a mix of other writerly tasks and her personal life. If your characters jump into your mind at an infrequent interval, you won't get to know them with any intensity. If you don't know them, your readers won't either.

Look around, what do you do in place of writing to fill up the day. Other pleasurable habits. Squash them or relegate them to a harmless time of day if you are serious about your craft.

This advice only works if you consider yourself a full time or nearly full time writer, because other jobs are important if you want to eat.

2021 will be a year of liberation.

 

The final rose

 A moment in time

Tayshia Adams and Zac Clark got engaged on the finale of the Bachelorette. Yes, you say, that's nice. But it was more than nice. To watch the two of them interact with their expressions of love, happiness, and acceptance was unusual. The proposal was a master class for artists and writers in feelings, as shown on their faces, with their bodies, and through their words. Sean and Catherine of seasons past came close when they rode off on an elephant. BTW, Sean and Catherine have three children together. Tayshia wants five.

Apparently the fantasy sweets are (also) an intense way to get to the truth of a relationship. Tayshia and Ivan spent their whole night talking about how the marriage could work, but for one problem, Ivan may have been chosen rather than be rejected. He's an agnostic (doesn't know if there is a God). She's Christian. He said he would not object to her taking the kids to church but he would also express how he believed.

Some of my readers have told me that this falling in love with more than one person is unnatural. Well, it is because people don't invest, in general, in multiple serious relationships at the same time. The show created that. Think about it this way. You having nothing else to do for months but focus on a possible marriage partner. Compare that to the average person, who has to multi-task his or her life every day. They may date once or twice a week, but certainly less frequently than on the show.

When you focus on love, love is what you get.

The odd world of ABC's Bachelorette

 You'd think the ABC franchise of Bachelors, bachelorettes, and Paradise would have disappeared until the world got back to something resembling normal. For 2020 they couldn't save Paradise, but this fall they found a safe way to do the Bachelorette.

I know some of my readers do not like the show. You don't have to. I like to say I watch it for the dialogue. Try this, "my grandmama said worrying is like a rocking chair. You go back and forth but go nowhere." But for me it's more. I just love the show. Bear with me.

So ABC could no longer take the contestants all over the world like the Amazing Race. So that aspect was lost. But, this meant that the contestants had more time for each other (in theory). Enter Clare Crawley, a 39 year old woman who knows what she wants. She immediately falls in love with a guy named Dale. They get engaged and leave the show early. This has never happened. ABC, searched for a quick replacement to fill out the remainder of the season. How could this work for whomever said yes?

Enter Tayshia Adams, the most gorgeous bachelorette I have ever seen. The remaining men from Clare's shortened season practically fell on the floor when she sauntered into their lives.

Tayshia, an exotic mix of Mexican and black isn't just pretty, she had finely honed qualities any man would want in a wife. And all the men rapidly went crazy. She wowed me. She has  a mix of empathy, as if she had a doctorate in psychology, an ability to bring out intimate details from the men, a sense of humor, compassion ("I don't want to hurt anybody"), caring, and a great capacity for love, and she's so feminine.

In spite of being restricted to one resort (quarantine), this young lady is now my favorite Bachelorette. If you haven't watched the show it will air tonight and next week as she is down to four men. Since the season was cut a bit short, I predict a little chaos will occur around the finale. Oh what a lucky man or men??

Funny story about her. Her very conservative dad told her when she appeared in a previous Bachelor season not to wear a bikini. Obedient to her daddy she wore a two piece that was not flattering, but she'd look good in a paper bag. Well, this season, she must have worn down her dad because she put a bikini on and it was lights out for the men. Don't get me wrong. Her strongest feature is her deep love for her fellow human beings.

A journey to traditional publishing

A journey into traditional publishing

My new novel, Cinnamon & Sugar, is being published by The Wild Rose Press with a full release on Jan 18, 2021. On Amazon it shows that you can pre-order. Once I found this out, I posted on Facebook. That, apparently, was enough to move it to position #250,000 with a hi so far of 800,000 on the best seller list. Look at this oddity in context. There are something like 7,000,000 books offered on Amazon, correct me if the number is higher. So what does this variation in numbers mean? I don’t know yet, maybe 20 or 30 sales?? I know that the average book sells 6 copies, lol. Don’t be that guy or gal.

Oh how to avoid that, yuk. You see, for me, I have no choice. When I was caretaking my daughter Lani, who passed away last year, I read the manuscript to her. She cried, it being right up her alley. She marched for women’s and civil rights. She made me promise to find a publisher and use the royalties to help my grandchildren. All royalties will go to the grandkids. So that’s why I have no choice. I must be successful, lol. Seriously, I know some of my author friends struggle with finding a traditional publisher. I’ll suggest that you find a cause coincident with the theme of your book. And if it is simply about love, celebrate it with all the passion you have. It helps to have someone pushing you. In my case, I have an angel.

https://www.amazon.com/Cinnamon-Sugar-RW-Richard-ebook/dp/B08PMPC9S8

Meet the heroine of my story as I see her. Alicia Bloom. Young and gorgeous, a valedictorian and poet who cannot go to college, being held back by her fosters. So she runs away and immediately finds herself in a world of hate in which she becomes the target of a homicidal maniac, just because she talked back to him. Just because she's black. Genre: new adult, interracial romance, probably rated PG.

 

 

 

 

Can you tell a book by it's cover?

I presented a possible cover to my critique group for critiquing. I won’t go into what they said but for one thing. “What is the story about in five words?” asked a non-romance author.

What five words? Give me a break, but it worked. I blurted it out, “It’s about prejudice.” Okay, that's three. Do I get extra credit?

The cover I showed for my about to be released novel, Cinnamon & Sugar is below:

So, looking at this, my son-in-law said when I asked how he felt about it, he said, "Well, it's a romance novel, right?" He thought it was typical for romances and therefore it's just a cover and ok.

That got me thinking about people who never read romances. My thoughts went to the movie Casablanca. "Our feelings don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.... Where I go, you can't follow.... Here's looking at you, kid..." (from memory, and aren't the greatest all like that. We remember. It's seared into our brains.)

Rather than shrug your shoulders at a person who doesn't "do" romance. Speak up, so I did. I said the story is about prejudice." I explained. Now I'm not sure he'll read it, but because his deceased wife, my daughter, loved the first draft. He probably will. And at the end when I finish with a Martin Luther King quote, “I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.” He'll say, yes, this really was about prejudice. And maybe he'll remember some lines from the story.

So this brings me back to romance in general. I'll just stick my neck out there and suggest that any good novel, no matter the genre, needs at least two intertwined stories, both with purpose and goals.