What A Writer Knows or Not

Pamela Tracy here… and I'm an author.

I'm thinking you're thinking, "Dah!"

Well, this morning, this writer was doing  helping her ten-year-old with his language arts homework and figuring out the meaning of seven vocabulary words.

1. plot
2. climax
3. rising action
4. falling action
5. conflict
6. resolution
7. exposition

Really, I thought I knew!

I almost volunteered to speak to her class.

Then, helping my son, I had to match the meaning to the words and it took me 10 minutes when I thought it should take 1 second.

So, here are the definitions.  See how you do?

___ information and description given at the beginning of the story, including setting or time period
___ events that make up a story; occur in a sequence
___ wraps up or concludes the story OR can be seen as a cliffhanger
___ events that wrap up the story
___ the inciting events that lead up to the climax; build from the conflict
___ the problem that moves the story forward
___ highest point of tension or interest in the story.

Go ahead, post your answers.  I'll give the correct answers later tonight.

Pamela has a book out in December

She also has a November Thanksgiving short story  that will be featured at eHarlequin November 7th.

Grateful for a lot of things!

What Were You Doing Last Night

Pamela Tracy here, and I was probably doing what many of you were…

Moon Watching

What's really cool about our neighborhood is the throwback feature.  We've got a gang of boys who do everything together.  My son is the one at the left, blue shirt, sitting down.  This is the beginning of the evening.

Kids loved last night because the end of play time on a school night is usually 7:00.  We didn't end last night until almost 8:00

Hubby grumbled a bit, something about supper being REALLY late and something about a football game..

Still, he dragged out his telescope and let all the kids look through the lens. 

We parents were sitting behind the kids, on lawn chairs, one of the benefits of a cul de sac neighborhood.

This isn't my street.  My photos didn't come out this well.  But, this is another AZ neighborhood with a gorgeous mountain in the background. 

Apparently, one of the cool features of last night's moon was the size.  It was the biggest (closest to the Earth) of the year.

Then, the biggest moon of the year coincided with an eclipse that turned it red.   Which is what earned the cry, "WOW."

God is truly Amazing.

Available December 2015

By the way, what did you think of last night's moon?

Capitol K-9 Unit continuity

Hi there, Terri Reed stopping in to let you all know that last month the first book in the Capitol K-9 Unit released from Love Inspired Suspense.  The second book released yesterday in ebook and next Tuesday in print.
We're super excited about this series set in the nations capitol.

Here's the line up the book in the  Capitol K-9 Unit  Below I've posted the covers for the first five books. We're still anxiously awaiting the cover reveal for book six!

Also there is a short story connected to the Capitol K-9 Unit that you might enjoy.  We're up to chapter five this week.

Dangerous Justice, March-April 2015 FREE online read

Here's the link Harlequin website .  Each Monday a new chapter will be posted for a total of eight chapters/eight weeks.

Someone is after Capitol K-9 Unit tech guru Fiona Fargo, and they'll stop at nothing to keep her from decoding the secrets of Washington, D.C.'s elite. She knows Officer Christopher Torrance and his canine partner Dutch will keep her safe, but he's the last colleague she wants dogging her heels. Spending time with him might reveal her secret crush on him. But with killers determined to silence her forever, she'll have to put aside her fears and accept his help. Chris has secrets of his own, and a failed engagement makes him leery of moving forward with any woman, even the beautiful Fiona. As they hunt for the killer, they'll find that love can break any barrier.

The novels

Protective Instincts, March 2015, Shirlee McCoy

Duty Bound Guardian, April 2015, Terri Reed 

 Trail of Evidence, Lynette Eason, May 2015

 Security Breach, June 2015, Margaret Daley

 Detecting Danger, Valerie Hansen, July 2015

 

Proof of Innocence, Lenora Worth, August 2015 

Goodreads Giveaway for June book

Terri Reed here, hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.  A weekend to remember and honor our fallen soldiers.

We had most of my husband's side of the family here for a BBQ.  It was a fun and relaxing few days. My daughter came home from college and that is always a blessing.  

Over at the Craftie Ladies of Romance a couple of our authors shared pictures of their military parents. http://craftieladiesofromance.blogspot.com 

How did you spend your three day weekend?

Next week my June book from Love Inspired Suspense releases.  To celebrate and to thank readers, I'm doing a Goodreads giveaway for 5 autographed copies of this book.  

Here's the link to enter. https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/92327-undercover-marriage

THE BABY MISSION 

An illegal adoption ring—using kidnapped babies—has to be stopped. To gather the necessary evidence, U.S. marshal Serena Summers goes undercover—as a married woman desperate for a baby. Her "husband" is her own partner, U.S. marshal Josh McCall, whom Serena blames for her brother's death. How can she act like a loving wife when she has to constantly fight her feelings for a man she isn't sure she can trust? The closer they get to unraveling the dark web of deceit, though, the more being Josh's undercover wife means putting her life—and future—in his hands. 

Writing REALLY Writing

Pamela Tracy here, and I'm rewriting four synopsi.  So, if you want to picture what I look, picture wrinkled papers everywhere (with a cat stretched out on top of them), empty soda cans to my right, my hair all awry, and me with a pained expression on my face.

Writing isn't easy.

Don't get me wrong.  There are times when the words like lightning bolts streak from my fingers to the page and I set back and think to myself "I'm brilliant."

Then,  there are many, many, many times when I'm staring at my screen, thinking "What do I put next?  Whose pov should it be in?  Is my heroine tstl?"

Writing isn't easy.  Then, why do I do it everyday?

Raising my eight year old isn't easy.  Yesterday, not only did I drag him across the pool and into a secluded corner to put the fear of MOM into him, but when we got home he had to write sentences (GASP)

I love him more than I ever knew was possible.

Writing this new proposal isn't easy.  My heroine keeps telling me "I don't want all these issues!"  And I keep telling her, "If you don't have all these issues, you'll be a very short book!"

Haha

In the Romance Writers Report this month, there's an article called "The Last Word" by Laura Drake.  I thought it the best article in the whole magazine.  She put a quote by Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture.  The quote was just what I needed to hear.

"The brick walls are there for a reason.  The brick walls are not there to keep us out.  The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.  Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough.  They're there to stop the other people."

Wow.

 

Brain Health

Terri Reed here talking brain health.  Recently my Pilates instructor gave me a copy of an article she'd found in a health and fitness journal about this topic.  This article stated multi-tasking is not healthy for our brains, it actually contributes to memory loss.  It is better to be in the moment and concentrate on one task at a time.  As someone worried about my memory and the hereditary disease of Alzheimer's,  I have been trying to take this advice to heart.  I have to confess I'm not good at focusing.  I'm juggling too many balls in the air,  but I'm am working on staying focused.  Lists help me.  Each morning I make a list of the tasks I need to do for that day.  Some days I get through them all, some days I roll a task over to the next day.  Doing this helps me to stay in the moment, focused and gives me a sense of accomplishment.  

What about you?  Do you make lists? Or try to keep track of everything in your head?

I found this article on the Harlequin reader service website.  I printed off the list of tips to delay and even prevent dementia and tacked it to my wall.
I hope you find it interesting and helpful.

http://simplybooksextra.readerservice.com/simplybooksextra/2012/09/keeping-your-brain-healthy/

 My October release has hit the shelves!

Do No Harm

As a trauma surgeon, Dr. Brenda Storm saves lives every day. But someone wants her dead.  It starts with the anonymous delivery of poisoned cupcakes.  Now the hospital has hired a bodyguard to protect her 24/7.  At first, Brenda doesn’t think too-handsome Kyle Martin is the right for the job.  Then she discovers his harrowing background—and that Kyle will do anything to keep her safe.  With every attempt on her life, she’s more drawn to the strong and silent man who risks his life for hers.  But their growing feelings could put them both in harm’s way.

DAD IN TRAINING AND HOW IT CAME TO BE.

September. Where did it come from? I'm still looking for summer and it's nearly autumn. Greetings from Gail Gaymer Martin, an LI author since 1999 when I sold my first novel, UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR. Whew! That was exciting.

But then every book is exciting. DAD IN TRAINING is a special book to me, and I loved writing it. I grew up with dogs and cats in my life and, until a few years ago, rotated my pets between two dogs and a cat to two cats and a dog, then one dog and one cat, then one cat. My pets tend to live into their 20s so they become family to me, and the heartbreak of losing them is difficult. But my animals have left me with wonderful true stories that I've been able to weave into the Man's Best Friend series. In fact the second book, GROOM IN TRAINING, acknowledges my dog Jinx whose true story plays out in that book.

The idea to write a series about dogs began after the death of our daughter, Brenda, three years ago. We suffered the horrendous emotion of losing a tremdnousl daughter to ovarian cancer, but from her death, we learned so many wonderful things about her we might have never known. Learning them, we could grasp those things and hang on, and we know that she's out of the world of suffering and I think she's in heaven taking care of dogs that need obedience training. (Chuckling here).

Brenda loved animals, first fostering dogs and training them to be adoptable, and later owning two border collies of her own. They participated in agility and flyball, and she delighted in her pets. A series on traiing and adopting dogs seemed so appropriate to write in memory of Brenda.

This photo was taken during her chemo treatments, hugging her two border collies--Nike and Miranda--and wearing a sweatshirt with Miranda look-alike image.

Check out this eharlequin link to read the full Story Behind the Story DAD IN TRAINING

http://community.eharlequin.com/content/story-behind-dad-training-gail-gaymer-martin

In February 2010, you can enjoy Steph's story in GROOM IN TRAINING and in July, BRIDE IN TRAINING will finish the Man's Best Friend Series. If you're an animal lover or not, I hope you enjoy these three novels from Steeple Hill Love Inspired

Time for sorting things out...

Autumn is always a time to take stock in things. I've sorted out drawers and closests. (Still have a ways to go.) And I've checked through my bookshelf and donated books that I know I won't read and no longer have room for. In the process I found a LOT of reference books on writing and just blogged about two of my favorites on the CRAFTIE Ladies of Suspense blog. I also pulled out my crock pot and started reviewing some recipes to help me get through my writing schedule. I've posted a recipe at the CRAFTIE Ladies of Suspense blog as well, so make sure you pop on over and check it out.

We're still having our monthly contest. Read a post in September, make a comment on the blog and you'll be entered in a drawing to get all 4 Love Inspired Suspense books for the month of September.

Many blessings,
Lisa Mondello