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

Zoomers

We are all part of the Zoom phenom. My critique group had to go that route. Although I have 21 members, only four show up for weekly Zoom meetings. Anybody interested, please contact me. There's no charge.

Zooming and the like, Covid, strange politics (like not wearing a mask), non-violence, and other current problems are grist for the writer's mill,  For romances it's simple. Boy meets girl on Zoom and you write the rest. Any fiction could use these new problems and don't be surpirsed when you see one on the NYT best seller list.

No matter what trope new or old you use all stories must have a purpose. Not that you bang people over the head with it. Since stories are put together around characters, all characters must also have a purpose. Try this test: write down the names of every character and put next to them their purposes. The more you write about a character the more the purpose shifts. And bravo to you if your character does a 180. In real life people change and so should your characters. Otherwise, where's the drama. Your reader will say so what if all he/she gets is slices of life. This happened, I was emotional. That happened, I was emotional. How about, this happened, and character x saw the light. He's now able to let love into his life. Or, she's able to see through the smoke screen left by the antagonist, after leaving self-doubt behind.

In my current novel set for release in 2021 by The Wild Rose Press, I write about two kids wanting to go to college, both held up for different reasons. Both, surprised that their best shot at college lies in each other as two strangers who would never had met. They must both confront  changes to their purposes. until their purposes merge into one.

a Covid tip for writers

You can stream just about anything these days. Ever want to visit a normal service at a synagog, church, or temple. To hear and see the sermon. Want to go to Comic-Con but couldn't afford it? How about virtual vacations? Anytime you're writing and the need to really get into the details of a scene at some place you've never been and have little from TV, then search for video or streaming.

Writing a scene requires precision. One mistake can sink you in the eyes of some readers. And some of them yelp about it in their reviews. be there, you're at home anyway. Before Covid, some writers who make enough $$$ take tax-deductible trips to the location(s) in their novels. Sit back and watch. Some places have security and won't let most in. But have you tried a virtual approach?

Reflections & guest Tricia Hopper Zacher

Today I want you to consider the matter of charm in a story. They say if you show a gun in the first chapter it best be used later. I call that a reflection. Here's my idea: never have a singular reference of importance in a novel. Always reflect upon it or show it in a different form later in the story. For instance, the poem I showed last week had a veiled reference early in the book. Readers like closure and tidying up loose ends. This week I present a work by one of my critique group partners. Tricia Hopper Zacher is a brilliant author who employs all the tools of the craft and puts her heart into her stories. I'm sure anybody who likes women's fiction will love this story:

Tricia Hopper Zacher: The "What Ifs" of Writing

I am often asked how come up with my story ideas. In Many a Sudden Change the story started with a simple "what if" from my daughter. One day while enjoying an afternoon together the conversation veered toward her autistic son and the challenges of raising him. She asked, "What if" something happened to her and her husband, who would take care of him?

In my mind, there was no question. I knew I would be willing to take on the responsibility. But, would every grandmother? At the time he was still very young, and a handful, often prone to raging fits. He was a big boy and very strong. Raising him was not for the faint of heart. The challenges would need to be balanced with love and acceptance.

In my book, Many a Sudden Change, the grandmother Clarice does not feel capable of raising her grandson Eric on her own when her daughter dies, nor does she understand his special needs. She convinces herself it would be best to contact his estranged father in hopes he will want to raise the boy.

So that's how I started. Stay tuned to find out how the character of Matthew, the father, turned out to be a Marine serving in war-torn Afghanistan.

The book is already available on Amazon in paperback and for those of you who read ebooks it is available for pre-order and will launch on July 19th.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C4V3BKF?pf_rd_r=2KRQKVFWMPW0N5TSEQPX&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee

Infusing your story

Do you have that run-down feeling? Is your prose wimpy, lifeless? Aside from informal interior thoughts of the most personal kind what can you do to perk it up?
Try poetry or song.
It would not be the first time a suiter springs poetry on his heroine or visa versa, but if well written it will convey more in a stanza then might be offered in a whole scene, because poetry unveils the heart and depth of feeling. At the very least you offer charm. A bit of magic never hurt a manuscript.
Be careful, though when offering recognizable songs subject to copyright. Do it right or offer a legal glimpse at the lyric or song. (homework here, for those interested.)
Here's a poem I'm fond of from my upcoming novel to be released by The Wild Rose Press. It's about a shuttered, neglected black teenager, locked in her room.

“Black Magic Rose.

Black Magic Rose, pressed in a book dark.

No sunlight to warm, no space to breathe.

No soil to nurture, no wind, no bees.

No garden of friends, just dying memories.

   

Black Magic Rose, the book opens.

She kisses the rose, a tear falls,

Throws away the rose. Closes the book.

With no love, Black Magic Rose dies.

   

To bloom again, in rich sunshine.

Nurturing soil, wind, bees, garden of friends.

Living memories and new ones abound.

A boy picks Black Magic Rose.”

Odds & Ends

I couldn’t decide what to post this week so I present snippets:

·        1. On the news, I witnessed U.S. Veterans talking to students about heroism. The message across their speeches was the same. Care for the other is heroism. A Viet Vet told of a Vietnamese soldier who covered him on incoming and lost his life. I thought of a simpler thing. When I walk my three-year-old grandson, I pull up my mask when people approach (usually somebody crosses the street.) I was showing them I care about them, even though I’m probably healthy. We all can be heroes if we just save one life by our good example.

·        2.  ABC is airing dramatic summaries of their first two seasons 18 years ago. Many of us have not seen how this iconic and highly rated (Nielson) show got started and perhaps how they improved. Spoiler alert: marriage and kids (later) resulted from the first season of The Bachelorette. Over the years the women have done better than men at picking mates. Are men just dolts?

·        3. The best romance novels have two main points of view because both the man and the woman* are involved in solving the problems they confront in both their inner & outer lives. Guess what, in the end, they must agree, lol. *guy/guy or gal/gal etc.

·        4.  According to Romance Writers of America 9% of romance novels are guys. Is it true that guys rather watch football than make love? Try this at home, if ever we see another football game. Actually, I can’t distract my wife when the NFL is on. 
      
      Tom Hanks talks with a kid president about heroes:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=tom+hanks+talks+to+a+ikid+president&docid=608006956174347113&mid=641658CA8357CFC29A48641658CA8357CFC29A48&view=detail&FORM=VIRE