TROUBLED SPIRITS is available now!

My paranormal novella, TROUBLED SPIRITS, is available now from Amber Quill Press. Here’s the synopsis:

When widow Laura St. Clair loses her eight-year-old son to a rare disease, she’s lost everything and has no desire to live without him. Desperate, she tries to reach the spirit of her son with a Ouija board she finds in his room amongst his favorite toys.

Laura is stunned when she actually makes contact with something. But what is it...a friendly spirit, or an evil one? Can the mysterious entity truly bring her news of her son? And if so, what will it expect from her in return?

***

To find out more, or to get your own copy, here’s the place:

http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/2247-Troubled-Spirits.aspx

Please check it out, and enjoy!

If you feel so inclined, I'd love to have you visit the following links and vote for my covers. You don't have to register, and you can vote once a day.

http://ratebookcover.com/a-port-in-the-storm/

http://ratebookcover.com/the-midnight-zone/

http://ratebookcover.com/since-all-is-passing/

http://ratebookcover.com/fatal-fortune/

http://ratebookcover.com/lady-of-the-two-lands/

http://ratebookcover.com/practical-passion/

http://ratebookcover.com/observant-oracle/

Whether you vote or not, have fun looking at my gorgeous covers.

Thanks!

Fifty Percent Off Sale at Amber Quill Press

For those who like sales, here's an Independence Day sale you won't want to miss! All e-books at Amber Quill Press that aren't already discounted, are 50% off all week.

Thus you can buy a copy of my books PRACTICAL PASSION or LADY OF THE TWO LANDS for 50% off. And my book SINCE ALL IS PASSING is already discounted to 99 cents!

As if that weren't enough, my new short story, A PORT IN THE STORM, a contemporary romance, is **FREE.** Yup, you read that right, free.

To check out my books, go here: http://www.amberquill.com/store/m/28-Elizabeth-Delisi.aspx and see if something takes your fancy!

Guest Author Kim Cox

Please help me welcome guest blogger, author Kim Cox. Kim’s book, GET OUT OR DIE, is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, etc. Here’s the blurb:

Since the news of her first case, Lana Malloy's Private Investigating/Mediator business is booming. At one pro-bono job, Lana helps a widow communicate with her late husband and learns of a frightening new ability she wasn't aware she possessed--an ability that could give the spirit the upper hand if she's not careful.

Lana struggles for control when she encounters the angry ghost who doesn't want to leave, and who doesn't want the occupants of the house to stay. Will Lana be able to control the situation, or will the ghost sense he can overtake her? Does she have other abilities she can rely on to save her?

Tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to become a writer?

I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with my husband, who is a chainsaw artist. We have three dogs, two Westies (West Highland White Terriers): Scooter (Male) and Harley (Female), and one Yorkie/Maltese mix: Candi (also Female). I have two sons and two grandsons.

I think many things have inspired my writing, from my dad always telling his stories when I was a child, to my love of reading in my late teens to early twenties. Whatever I'm doing, there are circumstances, what-ifs and characters popping into my head, vying for my attention. Writing is an outlet for my odd and sometimes morbid imagination.

Tell us what GET OUT OR DIE is about?

GET OUT OR DIE is the second novella in the LANA MALLOY PARANORMAL MYSTERY series. Lana Malloy is a psychic private investigator who is on a mission to help the dearly departed, even when they don’t realize they need help.

In the first novella, HAUNTED HEARTS, Lana sets out to solve her first case—the twenty-year old cold-case and double murder of her great aunt and her great aunt’s fiancé. If she succeeds, they’ll spend eternity together; if she can’t, they’ll be stuck as Haunted Hearts. With the help of the ghosts and a new love interest, she is able to find the murderer.

In GET OUT OR DIE, the success of Lana’s first case has spread throughout the local Charleston area and her business is booming. At one pro-bono job, Lana helps a widow communicate with her late husband where she learns of a frightening new ability—an ability that could give the spirit the upper hand if she’s not careful.

Soon after, she encounters an angry ghost who doesn’t want to leave, and who doesn’t want the new occupants of the house to stay. Will Lana be able to control the situation, or will the ghost sense he can overtake her? And if that isn’t stressful enough, Tony is pressuring her to set a wedding date. Will she marry Tony, or will this dangerous case make the decision unnecessary? Will other abilities surface to save her?

Find out with the release of GET OUT OR DIE on July 1st.

There will be four more books in this series: The Wedding Crasher (September 2015), Christmas Cruise (November 2015 tentative release date), Demi's Serial Case and Haunted by Her Past (both are planned for a 2016 release, starting in May).

If you were casting the movie version of GET OUT OR DIE who would you choose for the leading roles?

I've actually been thinking about this a lot lately.

For Lana Malloy, I would choose Angie Harmon - Detective Jane Rizzoli from Rizzoli & Ilse television. I also have a picture of Madolyn Smith Osborne (as she appeared on Urban Cowboy, portraying the other woman with John Travolta) is on my characterization notes for her.

For Tony Calabria, I would choose a young Andy Garcia.

For Great Aunt Lucy (plays a small part in this book) – a younger Betty White. Lucy has a recurring role in the books.

For Ellie Ramsey – younger Sally Field.

For Dan Ramsey – young Ryan O'Neal.

For Adam Kelley – Patrick Dempsey (one of my favorite actors).

For Dave, the accountant – I see a comedian, perhaps Jim Gaffigan, although overweight with beard and mustache.

For Demi Lancaster (Lana's best friend and police detective) - Gabrielle Union. Demi Lancaster is a recurring character.

Are you an outliner or do you write by the seat of your pants?

I'm a little of both. I started out as a seat of my pants writer, but as I've gotten older, I have a hard time remember the simplest things such as eye or hair color. Plus, I'm a visual person, so images help me see what they look like.

Generally, I start with an idea of the story and the characters and I write two to three chapters, sometimes more. Then I go back and map it out by writing a little about each chapter or a synopsis, and I do a Characterization sheet where I list appearance (along with photos), traits and characteristics, and family and background. I also research things that I need for the book such as location, medical information, psychic information, ghosts, serial killers, etc.

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?

I've always been a type of Jane of All Trades, Master of None. I've held jobs as a textile worker in different capacities (knitter, spinner, quality control, dye house tech, sewing machine operator, scheduler and production planner), a waitress, a cashier at a convenience store and fast food restaurant, maid, and my very first job was in an ice cream parlor. I've taken courses in cosmetology, nursing, accounting, teaching, medical office, office systems, and web technologies. I would have to say I would be either a teacher or a technology geek in a field such as Web Design. I need some type of creative outlet. I can't see myself as doing one thing forever, but can do multiple things at once. Right now, I dabble in Web Design and I create cover art for my books. I have created the four completed covers for the LANA MALLOY PARANORMAL MYSTERY series.

Tell us about a hidden talent you have that most people don’t know about?

I guess my hidden talent is being able to adjust, adapt and learn any job set before me. I catch on easily.

What’s your favorite comfort food?

Lemon pepper chicken wings or pizza. Oh, and strawberry ice cream if it has bits of strawberry in it. I also love spaghetti and lasagna, almost anything Italian.

What’s your favorite non-writer-related website?

I can't think of any off the top of my head, but probably somewhere to shop. I hate shopping and do as much as I can online.

To find out more about Kim Cox and her book, visit these links:

Kim Cox Author's Site

Two blogs: Kim's Musings (includes book reviews) & Kim's Author Support Page (page dedicated to supporting other authors, some original posts and some reblogged)

Find Kim at the following Social Sites:

Facebook

Twitter

Google

Goodreads

Pinterest

Linkedin

Also, please join my Newsletter and be the first to find out about Kim's new releases, giveaways, and prizes.

OBSERVANT ORACLE Now Available for Pre-Order

OBSERVANT ORACLE, a short Lottie Baldwin mystery story, is available now for pre-order: http://tirgearrpublishing.com/…/Delisi…/observant-oracle.htm Reserve your copy now!

Observant Oracle By Elizabeth Delisi

Who murdered the Cheyenne State University student? Can deputy sheriff Harlan Erikson solve the case quickly enough to keep his fiancée, impulsive psychic Lottie Baldwin, from snooping on her own?

Guest Blogger: David O’Brien

Please help me welcome guest blogger, author David J. O'Brien. David’s new book, The Ecology of Lonesomeness is available from Tirgearr Publishing.

Here’s the blurb:

Kaleb Schwartz isn't interested in the Loch Ness Monster. He'd enough cryptobiological speculation about Bigfoot while studying the Pacific Northwest forests. He's in Scotland's Great Glen to investigate aquatic food webs and nutrients cycles; if he proves there's no food for any creature bigger than a pike, then so much the better.

Jessie McPherson has returned to Loch Ness after finishing university in London, hoping to avoid the obsession with its dark waters she had when younger and first discovered lonesomeness. She knows any relationship with a scientist studying the lake is a bad idea, but something about Kaleb makes her throw caution to the depths.

When Kaleb discovers Jessie's lonesomeness refers not just to the solitude of the loch, he's faced with an ecological problem of monstrous proportions. Can he find a way to satisfy both the man and the scientist inside himself, and do the right thing?

Tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to become a writer?

Well I was born and raised in the suburbs of Dubin, Ireland, and studied science in UCD. I have a degree in Environmental Biology and a PhD in Zoology. I studied deer, one of my favourite animals. I still dabble in deer management, but for money I mostly teach. I met a girl during my doctorate who was on her Erasmus year in UCD, and I went to Madrid when I was finished instead of going off to continue academia. I found I liked teaching and teach science and English now in Pamplona, where we've ended up.

I started writing poetry when I was a teenager. I was given a little notebook and I just started scribbling in it - an addiction to stationary started me off, I suppose!

I always liked reading, but I didn't write any stories until I was around sixteen. One of them was very long, and I kept expanding it. Over the course of a few years it became my first novel, Leaving the Pack. I think my style of writing is better suited to novels than to stories. I can condense ideas in poems, but once I have a character or two, it takes me a lot of time to really get to who they are, and it seems a waste to just give them a story when so many deserve a novel.

Tell us what The Ecology of Lonesomeness is about?

It's about the urge to find wonder in our natural world, to rewild our environment with the animals and forests that they should have, and would have if it weren't for people killing and cutting them. It's also about the need to find companionship and love, and taking chances on relationships which might seem doomed when only viewed logically, with the head rather than the heart. The balance between keeping secrets and revealing ourselves to loved ones, and trusting someone with secrets is also a theme, and how much we are willing to sacrifice of our own life-plans and ambitions in order to hold on to love.

If you were casting the movie version of The Ecology of Lonesomeness, who would you choose for the leading roles?

I wish I knew more of these young actors and actresses that are in their twenties. If Kelly McDonald were still in her twenties, she'd be perfect as Jessie. In fact, I thought of Kelly McDonald's voice when I wrote Jessie's dialogue. Carey Mulligan has got the right looks - with black curly hair, if she could pull off the accent,.

As for Kaleb, well, Nicholas Hoult would be around the right age and build - blue eyes, tousled dirty-blonde hair.

Are you an outliner or do you write by the seat of your pants?

I try to be an outliner, but I tend to write scenes as they pop into my head and then try to stitch them together later. Most of it fits into the general outline of beginning middle and end that I have in my head, but often the middle is a swamp of quicksand and mush that I have to whack my way through with a machete before it makes sense. A few scenes never fit, like jigsaw pieces that belong to a different puzzle and are in the wrong box. So they get put away into the slush file. Then I make pieces that do actually fit properly instead.

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?

I think I'd be a teacher with lots of free time to go hiking and do more gardening. But really, I can't imagine myself not writing something, especially poetry, which I still (have to) do.

Tell us about a hidden talent you have that most people don’t know about?

I don't know if it is a talent, but I'm a good listener and, just like my characters in this novel, I can keep a secret, forever.

What’s your favorite comfort food?

Comfort, as in after a long night, would be diet coke and macdonald's quarterpounder and fries. It's a left-over from my youth, when I worked in a restaurant for a summer at the age of sixteen. I hardly ever eat there now, except when I am in Ireland on holiday. In Spain the food options are much better. As a diabetic, I have too much guilt to really enjoy the Ben and Jerry's ice cream that would be nicer...

What’s your favorite non-writer-related website?

I really like Upworthy.com. It gives snippets and links to videos that the traditional media usually ignore regarding social justice and science and other more quirky stuff. The idea is that it spreads links to stuff that was uploaded to the Internet to edify us, for a good reason. I have it on my Facebook feed and I often share the stories.

To find out more about David and his book, visit these links:

Tirgearr Author Page: http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/OBrien_David/index.htm

Website: https://davidjmobrien.wordpress.com/

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/David-J.-OBrien/e/B00M60M6Y0

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidJMOBrien

Practical Passion

Check out my post about PRACTICAL PASSION, my spicy romance that's available now:
http://aqpauthors.blogspot.com/

You'll find an excerpt, and a little about how I came up with the characters.

I hope you enjoy it!

Writing the Romance Novel Workshop

Do you yearn to write a romance? If so, you need to know what sets romances apart from other types of fiction. The "Writing the Romance Novel" workshop from Writer's Digest University explores the specific factors that make up the specialized world of romance. I teach this course, and have a session about to begin.

The workshop consists of six one-week sessions. Each session will include online lectures and textbook reading assignments, along with a writing assignment to be submitted to the instructor for private review. In addition, work will be posted each session for group review and feedback. You will:

*    Learn how the hero of an action novel differs from the hero of a romance
*    Master the tricky business of putting your hero and heroine together and keeping them together-yet-apart until the story's close
*    Create the sexual tension that will have your readers turning the pages late into the night
*    Discover what conventions must be followed and what rules can be broken for readers to embrace your work

My next session begins on May 28. For more information, or to sign up for my course, go here:

https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/writing-the-romance-novel

Hope to see you there!

PRACTICAL PASSION Now Available

Come check out my latest from Amber Quill Press, PRACTICAL PASSION.
http://www.amberquill.com/sto…/p/2188-Practical-Passion.aspx

Here’s the blurb:

Julie Preston worked hard raising her younger sister Emily after their parents died, and creating a career. She gave up simple pleasures like love and relationships. So when a friend drags her to a singles bar, Julie’s ready for anything. She meets a gorgeous guy and they spend several passionate hours together. There’s real chemistry there, but Julie regretfully sticks to her promise: a one-night stand, no strings.

When Julie hires a tutor to help Emily pass English, she’s shocked to find he’s the man from the bar. Seeing him in her house makes it hard to keep her hands off him, but he isn’t looking for a long-term relationship since he’s a singles bar patron. Right?

How many miles can Julie jog before she gives in and jumps him?

Available now from Amber Quill Press in their Amber Heat imprint: http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/2188-Practical-Passion.aspx 

I hope you’ll check it out!

Sale!!!

LADY OF THE TWO LANDS, my time-travel romance set in ancient Egypt, is on sale for 99 cents for the next couple of weeks. Now’s your chance to snag a copy! Go here for more info:

http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/136-Lady-Of-The-Two-Lands.aspx

A-Z Reflections Post

This year is my very first time doing the A-Z Blog Challenge. It’s been a true challenge to come up with a blog topic for each letter of the alphabet, then write something for the chosen topic. I’m proud of myself that I didn’t miss a letter!

What did I get out of it? I stretched my mind, I pulled out my hair, I blogged on a regular basis, I connected with some lovely people who visited my blog, and met others through visiting their blogs.

Also, I find the regular writing of anything, any topic, helps to firm up my previous more random schedule. I hope it will allow me to do lots more writing.

Wish me luck!

Z is for Zilch

In trying to find something to write about for Z, the final entry in this year’s A-Z Blog Challenge, I came across lots of interesting words. I was amazed to find there were lots more “common” words than I expected, given my experience two days ago with X. ;-)

What surprised me the most was the several words meaning “Nothing” that started with Z. For instance, there’s “Zero,” “Zip,” and “Zilch.”

Zero is an easy one as it expresses the concept of “Nothing” in mathematical language.

Zip is a little more difficult to determine why it means “Nothing.” Zip can mean fasten a zipper…which is named for the sound it makes when closing it. Zip can mean fast, which also implies a zipping sound as the fast creature dashes past. Zip can also mean Zest (another Z word), zipping up your world.

The origin of “zip” meaning “zero” is unknown, but probably first used around 1900. How it came to represent such a different thing from the definitions above is a mystery.

Zero and Zip are used in this scene in The Three Amigos, one of my favorite movies:

As an aside, if you’ve never seen “The Three Amigos,” do yourself a favor and watch it. It’ll keep you laughing out loud for the entire movie. One of my top ten favorites!

Okay, back to Z. The words Zip and Zero are all well and good, but there’s a more colorful synonym for “Nothing”: Zilch.

I love the sound of that word. It sounds like something Tim Curry would say.

I remember the first time I heard the word Zilch. It was the title of a song on the Monkees’ album, Headquarters. Check it out here:

So the next time you find yourself tempted to use one of those Z words, don’t go for the boring ones. Use Zilch, say it like Tim Curry, and amaze your friends!

Y is for Yarn

Finding a “Y” word was simple. I love to knit, and crochet, so what else could Y be but Yarn?

If you read my entry for “Q,” you’ll already have some idea of the wild things yarn can be made from. Different fibers have different qualities: soft, scratchy, smooth, fuzzy, brightly dyed, natural color, thick, thin, bumpy, warm, cool, hand wash only, machine wash. Those are off the top of my head; I’m sure there are more.

In order to choose the proper yarn, you need to choose your project first. You can make almost anything, including sweaters, hats, scarves, gloves, baby clothes, stuffed animals, shawls, mittens, socks, cowls, fingerless mitts, iPod or Kindle covers, afghans. If you can imagine it, you can knit it!

Well, almost anything. Anyone remember Lurch, from the Addams Family? He loved to play the harpsichord. On one episode, the harpsichord was taken away for some reason. Morticia tried to distract him by teaching him how to knit. She said, “Lurch what would you like to knit first?” Lurch said, “A harpsichord.” No, I don’t think you could knit THAT.

If you’re lucky enough to be a knitter, you know how seductive a new skein of yarn, new needles, or a new pattern can be. Here are a few of my finished projects.

For anyone who does knit or crochet, if you haven’t already, go to www.ravelry.com  and sign up. You’ll have access to patterns, forums, designers, yarns, books…it’s knitting nirvana. Look me up as delisi . See you there!

X is for Xerus

There aren’t many words that start with X. Lots of words SOUND like they start with X, but really, they start with EX. Nevertheless, I’m determined to find an X word!

Unfortunately, a lot of them are things like this:

Xylan, noun.

1. the pentosan occurring in woody tissue that hydrolyzes to xylose: used as a source of furfural.

Got that? <eye roll>

So my first consideration is that the X word start with X, not EX, and the second consideration is that the word be understandable by the average person.

The third consideration was to avoid the most common X words, like xylophone.

Finally, I came across something that fit my “rules,” that made me pause and then do a Google search. The new X word had the biggest cuteness factor of any X word, and the only one I’d want to see in person!

Xerus:

An African ground squirrel of the genus Xerus, having spiny fur, very short ears, and a long tail, and including the species X. rutilus of northeastern Africa and X. erythropus of western and central Africa.

Sooooo cute! So that’s my new X word, Xerus.

You all can go with Xylan if you want; just don’t expect me to explain the definition to you.

W is for Write, Write, Write

Many people imagine the life of a writer is glamorous, well paid, and easy. Reality is pretty far from these ideas.

Glamorous? Well, maybe if I sat down to the computer every morning wearing a ball gown. Or if people mobbed me when I went out, clamoring for my autograph. But I don’t see that happening any time soon. I will say, though, that one of the bank clerks knows me by name when I walk in. Hey, that’s something, right?

As to being well paid…perhaps if I were Stephen King. But for me, an average royalty check is between $3-7. Might buy me a cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts. Maybe a donut, too! Hah.

What I want to know is, why does the bank clerk know my name? Are they all laughing at my teeny checks when I’m not listening?

As for being easy: show of hands here. When you were in high school and your teacher said, “I want you to write a paper,” how many of you jumped up and down in excitement? Hands? Anyone?

That’s what I thought. Writing is hard work. First, you have to have a topic (for non-fiction) or a plot line (for fiction). You need to do research and figure out how you want things to progress.

Next, you sit down with your idea and start writing. In addition to using your creativity until your brain starts smoking, you also need to have excellent spelling and grammar skills. It used to be a publisher would shepherd a writer along, fixing mistakes and problems. Now, there are a million would-be writers for every editor. (Do you like my 100% accurate figures?) So your manuscript has to be as perfect as possible BEFORE you turn it in.

Once you’re done with a first draft, you go through it word by word and fix what you did wrong, close holes in the plot, make sure there is continuity (like, is your hero called Dave in chapter one and Dan in chapter two?) When you think it’s perfect, you go through it again. Or, if you’re lucky enough to have a first reader or critique partner, you redo it based on the suggestions of your writing buddy.

Next comes researching the markets, finding out which publishers would be a good fit for your manuscript. Once you’ve chosen the most appropriate ones, you find out their submission  requirements and submit your manuscript.

Then you wait. And wait. And wait. Fortunately, in this electronic age, you don’t wait as long as with the snail mail era. But every day seems like an eternity.

If you’re accepted, you go through more editing, cover art, checking the proof, then getting the final book in your hot little hands. I confess, THIS part is really fun!

Then comes marketing. I’m not a social animal…most writers aren’t. So marketing can be agonizing, but it must be done. I actually did several book signings, and while they are stressful, it’s also interesting to see who wants to read what you write.

And then, before you know it, it’s time to start all over again with the next book.

Are we having fun yet?

V is for Vase

When you see a floral arrangement, what do you see? What catches your attention? No doubt it’s the color of the flowers, the size of the flowers, the scent of the flowers.

Not the vase.

And how many times have you heard someone say “lips like a rose” or “as simple as a daisy” or “heavenly scent of a gardenia”?

But nothing about the vase.

Let’s think about it, though. How  would you create that lovely display, if not with the vase? How long would the flowers last without the water-filled vase? How would the flowers manage to stand upright and beautiful without the vase?

Like a loving parent, the vase cradles the flowers, holding them up, nourishing them, allowing them to enjoy every last minute of their beauty. The vase exists without the flowers, but the flowers don’t last long without the vase.

Why then would you be the flower?

I’ll be the vase. :-)

U is for Uh-Oh

When you hear someone say “Uh-oh,” you look around to see what went wrong. Because “Uh-oh” is a kind of admission of guilt, that the speaker did something wrong and everyone else is about to find out about it.

Generally right after you say “uh-oh,” you look like this:

Depending on how serious the infraction is, how likely it is to cause anger or get you a lecture, you may look like this:

There are other words or phrases that can be used to express the same general situation, such as:

Oops

Oh my gosh

Geez

or the ever popular, Crap.

So what does this have to do with me today?

Oops, I’ve mislaid my notebook and I really need it. Where could it be?

Oh my gosh, I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find it. Did someone break in and steal it?

Geez, after a wasted half hour, here it is right next to my computer, where I’d have to be blind to not see it.

Crap, my brain is on vacation and went without leaving a forwarding address!

T is for Throwback Thursday

I’m on a busy schedule today, so I thought I’d post something from the Wayback Machine for Throwback Thursday. Here’s a blog post I wrote back in May of 2013, about how I became a writer. Enjoy!

MY PATH TO BECOMING A WRITER

By Elizabeth Delisi

Like many authors, my path to becoming a writer began with my mother reading to me and my sister every night. We looked forward to it so much—it was one of our favorite times of day. Mom read us longer books as we got old enough, like “Black Beauty” and “Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates.”

So by the time I was in first grade, I was already primed. One day, a little girl in my class decided to write a story instead of doing her spelling assignment. The teacher praised her effort and read her story to the class. Intrigued, I raised my hand and said I wanted to write a story instead of doing my spelling, too. Unfortunately, my teacher said, “No.” Undeterred, I wrote a story anyway; but I also did my spelling assignment.

Fast-forward to middle school. With a burgeoning interest in boys, I decided to write a book about a girl and her boyfriend. Wish fulfillment, I guess. I actually wrote forty or fifty pages before giving up. I don’t know what happened to my first attempt at a novel; perhaps lost in a move. I’m sure it was tedious, but it would be nice to have it!

In high school, when one of my teachers would say, “I’d like you to write a paper,” everyone groaned. Everyone except me, that is. I was delighted, as I knew not only was writing fun, but also I knew I’d get a good grade. A win-win situation!

One of my high school English teachers praised my writing and urged me to consider it as a career. Up till then, I’d enjoyed writing and known I was good at it, but hadn’t considered it as a potential job. She put that thought in my head, and it’s never left.

College brought a lot more writing. In particular, I remember enjoying very much two papers I wrote: one about the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten, and the other about the American religious group, the Shakers. I even made a “Shaker Pie” from an original Shaker recipe to go with that paper. Who says writing isn’t fun?

In my twenties, I focused mainly on writing short stories. I was working full-time and married, and didn’t have much time to write. I figured it was better to write something I could finish in one or two sessions, rather than a story that would take ages to complete. That’s also when I started submitting for publication, garnering an impressive number of polite rejection letters.

On or about age thirty, I decided to try writing a romance novel. I started out thinking it would be easy, but boy, was I wrong. It took a lot of effort, planning, writing and rewriting. Oh, and there was no computer back then…I was writing on a typewriter, so rewriting usually meant retyping, at a minimum, all the pages to the end of the chapter. No “delete” button!

When I was working on my romance, the rest of the world disappeared. I’d look up and find hours had passed without me noticing. I’m sorry to say, I even forgot to pick up my kids from school one day until they called and said, “Mom? Are you coming to get us?”

Oops.

From there, my story becomes more mundane…read, read, read. Write, write, write. Submit, submit, submit. Until one day, oh joy of joys…an acceptance letter! (Well, in a sign of the times, it was an acceptance e-mail.) And the rest, as they say, is history.

Writing will never make me rich, but it’s been a wonderful part of my life since childhood, and I’d never want to give it up. It gives me great joy to do, and even more, hearing from readers that they liked my stories. And that’s what counts, right?

S is for SINCE ALL IS PASSING

The letter S gives me an opportunity to tell you about another book of mine, SINCE ALL IS PASSING. It’s a little different from my other books in that it’s more a suspense with a little romance, than romance with something else. ;-)

Blurb:

When Marie Kenning witnesses the kidnapping of a child, she relives the horror of the death of her own child and husband.

Officer Chris Whitley takes on the case—and an interest in Marie—but evidence quickly indicates the child is dead.

Days later, Marie stumbles across the kidnapper and his very-much-alive victim. Unable to convince the man she loves of the truth, Marie sets out alone on a dangerous cross-country mission to save the child.

Excerpt:

…All the windows in the motel were dark except for the room right across from hers. Shadows played on the curtain; one large, one small. Marie wondered if they, too, were having trouble sleeping.

The light went out in the room across the way. Disappointed, Marie was about to let the curtains fall back into place when the door to the room opened. A man emerged, carrying a small child in his arms. The child appeared to be struggling, but he held her in a firm grip.

The man walked to a dark car and opened the passenger door. He turned to shove the youngster inside and as he did, Marie caught a glimpse of the little girl’s face, revealed by the pale moonlight. Her mouth dropped open in shock. It was Rebecca!

Marie’s mind stumbled, trying to make sense of what her eyes were telling her. Could it really be Rebecca? It had been five long days since the kidnapping, and she’d imagined the child’s face before. Was this just another bad dream? Pinching her cheek, she stared at the car. It was hard to tell in the watery moonlight, but it appeared to be a dark-colored Mustang.

The man strode around to the driver’s side. He opened the door and Marie was galvanized into action. She couldn’t let him get away again! She had to stop him, and do it right this time.

Not bothering to grab her robe, she unbolted the door and jerked it open. Tripping over the well-worn welcome mat, she staggered toward the car.

Receding red taillights mocked her. “Stop!” Marie cried, her bare feet slapping the wet pavement as she pursued the Mustang already shrinking into the distance. “Come back!”

It was too late. Rebecca was gone again...

***

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R is for Raining Cats and Dogs

Raining cats and dogs is what it was doing yesterday, and all night long. The rain made me think of the expression, which made me wonder where the phrase came from originally.

After doing a little research, I find no one know for sure; but the best guess is in 17th century England, if the rain were heavy enough, it would flow down the filthy streets, carrying along dead animals. Eeuwww.

That in turn made me wonder where other colorful phrases came from. So I did a little more research and found these:

Beat Around the Bush: This most probably evolved from hunts where there were men specifically employed to beat the bushes with a stick, thus flushing out the birds for others to shoot. Thus the bush-beaters never get to the actual point of the hunt: killing the birds.

Under the Weather: This one is tougher. But it might come from travel by ship, when stormy weather made passengers seasick. They would head below decks where the rocking sensation wasn’t as strong. Thus, they were forced under (the deck by) the weather.

Off Your Rocker: This seems to have come from the days of electric trolleys, and the difficulty the motorman would have getting the contact wheel reconnected with the overhead wire when it had come disconnected, since once it was disconnected, it would no longer function.

Take It With a Grain of Salt: It’s possible this phrase goes all the way back to Pliny the Elder, who recommended taking a grain of salt as an antidote for poison.

What other expressions or idioms can you think of, and how did they originate? A fun avenue of research when you need a pleasant break.