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A Writer’s Garden–Through the Garden Gates with Gail Kittleson

07 Friday Aug 2015

Posted by Catherine Castle in A Writer's Garden, Through the Garden Gates

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

A Writer's Garden, Arizona garden, Catherine Castle blog, Gail Kittleson, Queen Annes Lace

Where the Wild Things Grow

IMG_3648About a week ago, I lopped off the Queen Anne’s Lace that grew taller than me this year. Iowa’s great rains this spring and fall made for extraordinary growth in everything from field corn to flowers. But those wonderful thunderstorms we’ve had really laid the Queen Anne’s Lace low…over some other flowers doing their best to thrive an/or make a national growth record, too.

Don’t you love the lace? These delicate “weeds” populate our ditches, but I wanted some as background for my other blossoms this year. I’m thinking next season, they might fit better in the hollyhock bed behind the garage, our alley brighteners.

Right now, I’m in Arizona, where great mountain rains have made for lush growth, also.

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Pin oaks prosper, tall pines float the sky, and elk galore munch their way across our yard.

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My husband spotted a tiny cactus growing out of a crack in the soil. We’ll see if it survives and still holds its place in this world when we return in late December.

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When we get home in a couple of weeks, I wonder what the Queen Anne’s Lace will be like…will they have sprouted again, from the six-or-so inches I left above the ground.

As with plants everywhere, we’ll see.

About the Author:

gail

Gardener/writer Gail Kittleson has been gardening just about everywhere she and her husband have lived, including Senegal, West Africa. Her favorite thing about gardening is the survival of plants over harsh Iowa winters, the anticipation of new growth, and eating fresh salads. When she’s not gardening she’s writing memoir and women’s historical fiction novels and teaching a creative writing class. You can learn more about her at http://www.gailkittleson.com

 

 

Want to read more about Gail’s gardens? Click here to see her other garden posts.

Wednesday Writers Welcomes Back Best-selling Author Anita Higman

29 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by Catherine Castle in books, Guest Authors, Wednesday Writers

≈ Comments Off on Wednesday Writers Welcomes Back Best-selling Author Anita Higman

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best selling author Anita Higman, book excerpt, Catherine Castle blog, Summer's List, Wednesaday Writers

Summer's List front coverWednesday Writers is welcoming back best-selling, award-winning author Anita Higman who will be telling us a bit about her newest book Summer’s List,  a real-life four-legged character in the book, and  a peek into what inspired this book. Don’t forget to read the excerpt below her post for a sneak peek.

When I read a novel, it’s always intriguing to know which elements are purely from the author’s imagination and which parts spring from real life. Well, in my new novel, Summer’s List, one of my characters—a sweet little Chihuahua mix named Laney—is indeed taken from real life. This little dog was considered a love-gift from God since she helped my daughter-in-law get through a painful season in her life. It was a true joy for me to add this beloved dog to my story, and my hope is that readers will enjoy this additional character. In fact, the experience was so much fun, I’ve decided to add another true-life pet to my next novel.

Another popular behind-the-scenes question is, “How did this story come about?” I guess you could say that it all started with the Little Golden Books. I remember those little gems with great fondness. My mother read some of them to me when I was little, and I recall especially loving the fairytale ones. Now as an adult, looking back, I believe they had a profound effect on me. Especially Cinderella. I have been told my novels read like modern-day fairytales, and I am hoping my newest book will have that same fun feel to it. There are no glass slippers, but the story does come with two wicked stepbrothers, a golden-hearted hero, a princess-style heroine, of course, the all-important happily-ever-after. I hope you enjoy the story!

Summer’s List

By Anita Higman

Life and love keep going awry for Summer Snow, until her grandmother sends her on an unexpected adventure with one Martin Langtree—a kind and quirky young man from Summer’s past. With Laney the Chihuahua along for the ride, a childhood friendship is rekindled, a romance is sparked, and mysteries are solved in one magical Texas summer. Will Summer strike out on love again, or will things finally go her way?

 Excerpt

 Chapter One

The engagement ring was stuck—just like her life. Summer glanced toward the heavens and sighed the sigh of love gone awry. Again.

Martin, where are you now, and what would you think of me? Here she was, thirty-three years old, and still floundering in every part of life that mattered. In Martin’s fanciful vernacular, he’d probably say that her life had gone the way of monsters. How true. And so went the mental ramblings of Summer Snow as she continued to twist Elliot’s engagement ring on her finger, trying to pull it off. She looked across the table at her fiancé and said, “Honestly, Elliot, you don’t need a wife. What you need is a good PR person.”

Elliot smoothed a crimp in the linen tablecloth. “You’d think a five-star restaurant could have wrinkle free linens.” He emitted a slow breath that strangled itself into a groan. “Now, no more talk of leaving me, my pearl. You’re going to make the perfect senator’s wife. You’re articulate. You’re beautiful. You can hold a smile for hours.” He grinned. “With a few tweaks, you could be my Summer Eleanor Roosevelt. And with you by my side I now have an eight point lead over my opponent,” he added in his pretend British accent, the one he used when he was kidding around. “Come on. You know I’m joking.”

“Right.” Summer’s wry expression made him laugh.

A waiter came by—bristling with pomp—and refilled Elliot’s goblet with Pellegrino.

Then he whirled off amidst the live harp music, which floated around them as did the scents of fine cuisine and French perfume—and the smell of money—old money.

Elliot turned his attention back to her. “Seriously now, you will be part of this noble endeavor to represent the great state of Texas.” He raised his hands as if addressing the masses. “It gives me the chills to think about it. I can almost hear the theme music from “Chariots of Fire” revving up in the background. Don’t you hear it too?” He tilted his Harvard-educated head to dramatize his point.

No matter how green-eyed and Greek-angled Elliot was or how much he could make her laugh, the hour of reckoning had come. “As much as I care about you,” Summer said, “I don’t have the chills, and I’m sorry to say that I don’t hear the music.”

Her fiancé’s eyes dimmed, and he placed his hand over his heart as if she’d pierced him through.

“Please, Elliot, anything but that look…that Bambi’s-mother-has-been-shot-in-the-meadow look.”

He chuckled. “Good one.”

The ring finally loosened its hold on Summer’s finger, and it sailed upward and then plopped into Elliot’s personal patty of Lone Star shaped butter. “Sorry.” Invariably, when she got nervous, crazy stuff happened. Today it was merely the butter, but if she married Elliot, it would mean embarrassing herself—and Elliot—in front of the media. It could happen. It would happen. But that wasn’t really the reason she had to give his ring back. She curled up her toes in her high heels. “And I’m sorry I can’t be everything you and your voters want me to be. Truly.”

He retrieved the diamond ring and wiped it off. “I just want what every man wants, my sweets…a woman who looks like you do, and a woman who’s also so totally into me that she’s willing to give up her whole life to meet all my needs.” Elliot’s twinkle was back.

“Cute, but I refuse to be moved this time by your sense of humor or your silver tongue.”

“Ouch.” He squeezed his wedge of lime into his Pellegrino.

A spray of juice hit her eye, which made her twitch for a moment.

Elliot didn’t seem to notice, so he bulldozed forth, “You think I’m trying to change you, but I’m not. Well, I just have that one tiny demand.”

 

 

5_016About the Author:

Best-selling and award-winning author, Anita Higman, has been writing for thirty years and has forty books published. She’s been a Barnes & Noble “Author of the Month” for Houston and has a BA in the combined fields of speech communication, psychology, and art.

Anita and her husband are building a storybook home in the woods and plan to move there by the end of the year. A few of Anita’s favorite things are good movies, fairytales, traveling, gardening, exotic teas, and brunch with her gal friends.

Please check out Anita’s latest novel, Summer’s List, through Moody Publishers. Feel free to drop by her website at www.anitahigman.com or connect with her on her Facebook Reader Page at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAnitaHigman. She would love to hear from you!

 

To learn more about Anita and her other books check out her interview on  Wednesday Writer posts.

 

A Writer’s Garden–Through the Garden Gates with Gail Sattler

23 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by Catherine Castle in A Writer's Garden, Through the Garden Gates

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

A Writer's Garden through the garden gates with Gail Sattler, Catherine Castle blog, crabapples, Guinea Pig lawnmower, strawberries, Summer Garden Update, tomatoes

Gails tomatoes

 

Here it is mid-summer and I have an update on my gardening efforts. Unfortunately my tomatoes in the back are not doing well, but the ones I put in a planter in the front where they the scorching heat of the day are doing very well. I hope to have some delicious salad additions quite soon.

 

 

Gails crabapple tree

 

In the back, my crabapple tree had been trimmed in the late spring, and now it his heavy with crabapples that look like they will be ready in a few weeks. If anyone has some good recipes for what to do with them, please post them. 🙂

 

 

Gails strawberry garden

 

 

 

My strawberries in my ex-sandbox turned garden continue to do well, we had some delicious berries this spring, here is a photo of how much the plants have multiplied.

 

 

 

Gails lawnmower

And my last photo is of a little helper we have recently acquired. His name is Ignacious – Iggy the Piggy – a guinea pig. A month ago our local news station had a feature about a retired couple living in West Vancouver, BC who hadn’t run their lawnmower for about 6 years. Instead, they have 6 or 7 guinea pigs who go out into the back yard every day and not only mow the grass, but they fertilize it, too. So we put our new guinea pig in the back yard, protected by a little cover to keep him save from predatory birds. We still need to use the lawnmower, but he loves to help keep the lawn in shape.

If you want to make any addition comments or email me a recipe instead of posting it here, please email me from my website – www.gailsattler.com

Gail Sattler and tomatoGardener/writer Gail Sattler has only been gardening a few years, but has fallen in love with growing. Her favorite part of gardening is seeing new buds in the spring, and watching in the summer as the tomatoes grow larger, then redder, than they were the day before.

When she’s not gardening she is either at her day job, or at band practice, or writing tales of sweet and inspirational romantic comedy.

You’re invited to see more about Gail at her website at www.gailsattler.com.

 

Wednesday Writers Welcomes Christina Kirby

22 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by Catherine Castle in Author interviews, books, Romance, Wednesday Writers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

author interview, Catherine Castle blog, Christina Kirby, romance, Running Home, Warm Springs Trilogy, Wednesday Writers

 

CK_RunningHome200x300Today Wednesday Writers welcomes Christina Kirby to the blog. Christina, please tell the readers about the book that is being showcased today.

Running Home is the second book in my Warm Springs Trilogy and picks up one year after book one. It will allow readers to find out more about Jenny Fillmore and what happened to her after the traumatic events in book one, but unlike book one, Running Home is contemporary romance, not romantic suspense. You can read this one at night without leaving the light on. 😉

 

How did you come up with the concept for this book? As I was writing the first book in The Warm Springs Trilogy, I realized how much more I could do with the characters. I chose Jenny because she was fun and definitely deserved her happy ending after what I put her through in book one.

What are you working on now? Do you have a release date for this book?

I am working like crazy on the final book in The Warm Springs Trilogy. It’s set for release in October and I want more than anything to give the fans a satisfying ending.

Do you write in more than one genre? If so, why?

I do for the same reason I read different genres and watch movies from different genres. Sometimes I’m in the mood to go down a different path. It keeps life interesting. I never want to be pigeonholed into one type of writing. I like a good story, but I don’t need the same type of scenario every time. (Aside from the love story – all good stories need a little love.)

Some writers like quiet when they write, others want music. Which one are you?

I love music, but when I write in need quiet. Considering I live with two little boys, quiet is a rare thing in my house.

Do you revise on paper or on the computer?

I might be old-fashioned in the way I edit, but the truth is, I do a better job if I print it out to give it a once over. When I finish my first draft, I always print out the entire book and read all the way through it. After I reach the editing process with my editor, I only print out a section if it needs a fair amount of work. Typos and such I just fix on the computer.

What’s the worst technical difficulty or disaster you’ve ever had as a writer?

I’m a total non-techy when it comes to computers and social media and have experienced a number of flubs, including wiped out discs, crashed computer drives where I lost 50 pages I’d just written, improper blog setups that caused me to lose my web name address.

I can really identify with you on that. I’ve experienced some of the exact things!

What’s the first book you ever remember reading as a child?

The first book I remember from childhood is The Boxcar Children. My first grade teacher read it aloud to my class and I remember not being able to wait for it to be that time of day. It’s amazing how a great book can pull you in and set your imagination free. I will also say that The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was a favorite from early on.

What’s the book you are reading now?

I’m usually reading a book for book club or critiquing a book for my CP, but lately I’ve had a chance to choose one off of my TBR (to be read) shelf. I’m a third of the way through The Book of Life – it’s the last book in the All Souls Trilogy. So far, so good.

What’s the first book, in the genre you write in, that you remember reading?

I distinctly remember reading Montana Sky by Nora Roberts. There’s something magical about the way she writes. It makes me wonder how many people she’s inspired over the course of her amazing career.

I love going to the movies. Do you? If so, what was the most recent movie you’ve seen?

I am a movie fanatic. There I said it. I love movies. The most recent one I’ve seen in the theater is Avengers: Age of Ultron, but Inside Out comes out in a week and I have two kids so…

Do you have an all-time favorite movie that has stuck in your mind or that you’d watch over and over?

There are too many movies to name that have stuck with me, but my favorite movie is      Ever After. I watch it every time it’s on. Every. Time. You can ask my husband. He’s     seen it more than a few times. (Oops!)

What’s your favorite television show currently running? Favorite show of all time?

The Walking Dead and Reign – two totally different shows, but I can’t choose between the two.

Quickies:

Favorite food? chocolate chip cookies or my mom’s spaghetti

Favorite singer or band? Bastille

Favorite season? Fall

Favorite flower? Tulip

Favorite color? Blue

Mug or teacup? Neither – water bottle

 

It’s been a pleasure having you here today. As you say goodbye, can you leave the readers with an encapsulation of your life’s philosophy? (a quote, a Bible verse, a precept you live by or have tried to instill in your children?)

“She believed she could, so she did…” – I saw this on Pinterest and it spoke to me.   Believing in yourself is truly important.

 

 

Running Home

by

Christina Kirby

Small town beauty queen, Jenny Fillmore, is a survivor. In the wake of having been kidnapped by a madman, she’s managed to put her life back together, complete with a successful career and a serious boyfriend. But, when her first love returns and hires her as his real estate agent, old wounds are torn open, making Jenny question whether or not she has the life she wants. It turns out broken hearts don’t heal so easily and old desires don’t always fade with time.

Professional baseball player, Adam Hamilton, didn’t expect a career ending shoulder injury. Thrown a curveball in his prime, he returns home to Warm Springs and the one woman whose heart he broke to pursue his sports dream. But, earning Jenny’s forgiveness won’t be easy. What he and Jenny once shared was real, but she’s moved on. With the new man in her life, time isn’t on Adam’s side.

Excerpt

Jenny smoothed a hand over her navy skirt and tucked a loose hair behind her ear as she waited to meet her new client. After speaking with his assistant several times to setup a schedule that would work for everyone, it was finally time to meet the man himself.

She glanced around her office where they’d be meeting before she took him out in her freshly washed Lexus SUV. Everything was in place. There were no loose papers strewn around or files left open on the back counter.

A partially open drawer caught her attention at the bottom of one of her filing cabinets. She moved to close it and found it was stuck. She knelt down on the carpet and tried to push it again, but it still wouldn’t budge. “Close, you stupid–”

“That’s my Jennifer. Still talking to herself after all these years.”

Jenny’s hand froze at the same time a flush of heat surged through her body. A fire she hadn’t felt since the last time she’d been with him, the owner of the deep voice. A voice she’d know anywhere. Adam.

“Here,” he knelt beside her, “let me give you a hand.”

“I don’t need your help,” she shook her head, but he didn’t seem to care. He lifted the drawer and pushed, and it closed like the traitor it was. Damn drawer.

Adam took a step back from her, but it did nothing to dissipate his scent. His aftershave hung in the air and with it a flood of memories of the two of them, together, crashed down around her. Memories it had taken her years to repress because forgetting was impossible.

Keeping her back to him, she tugged her skirt back into place and did her best to calm her nerves. How dare he show up at her office out of the blue? It wasn’t fair and it hadn’t given her a chance to prepare a suitable insult.

She took a deep breath. There was no need to overact. All she needed to do was find out what he was doing there and get rid of him.

She turned. “So, are you just passing through?”

“Not exactly.” He sat down in one of her office chairs, his tall frame filling the space.

Unsure what else to do and not wanting to be rude in her place of business, she sat down, more than aware that three different people from the office had walked past her door in the last thirty seconds. Word must’ve gotten out the great Adam Hamilton was in the building.

Gritting her teeth, she smiled. “Why, exactly, are you here, Adam?”

“I’m your ten o’clock.” He grinned, held his hands out in a ‘here-I-am’ gesture, and laughed when her mouth fell open.

“You?”

“Yes, I believe we’re supposed to go see some houses this morning.”

She blinked twice. “Wait, why are you looking for a house here?”

“I like it here.” He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world and smiled again, the same smile that had gotten her out of her clothes more than a few times when they’d been younger.

“But, you live in Atlanta.”

“Not for long.” He leaned the chair back on two legs, like he used to do when he was seventeen.

“Wait, but,” she pressed her palms flat on her desk, “does this mean you’re moving back here?”

“That’s my plan.”

Adam in Warm Springs, indefinitely. The words swirled around in her head like a tornado, tearing apart every other thought, until he was all she could think about. How was she supposed to live in the same town with him again? It was too small for the both of them.

If you enjoyed the excerpt you can get Christina’s book at Amazon

headshotAbout the Author:

 Christina Kirby holds a degree in Public Relations from Auburn University. She worked in banking for four and a half years before deciding to become a stay at home mom to her two sons. Moving every couple of years because of her husband’s job, Christina has had the opportunity to meet all kinds of people and live in many different states. Fortunately, writing is something she can take with her no matter where she lives. Christina is an avid reader of romance, young adult and anything having to do with pop culture. She also knows a copy of Entertainment Weekly and a chocolate chip cookie can cure anything.

Find her on:

Twitter: @CKirbyWriter  FB  Goodreads  Pinterest

Sign up for her newsletter on her website

 

Wednesday Writers–Jennifer Slattery Sometimes It Takes a Hurricane

11 Wednesday Feb 2015

Posted by Catherine Castle in Author Catherine Castle's blog, books, Wednesday Writers

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Catherine Castle blog, Christians helping in crisis, contemporary romance, Hurricane Katrina, Jennifer Slattery, Missional Rmance, Wednesday Writers, When Dawn Breaks

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Jennifer Slattery is back on Wednesday Writers today. Jennifer visited last year. If you missed her earlier posts featuring her other books you can click here and here. This time she’s talking about hurricanes, which is quite appropriate as a hurricane is the inciting incident in her newest book When Dawn Breaks.

 

 

Sometimes it Takes a Hurricane

After all the times my first impressions have been shattered, you’d think I’d learn. It certainly shouldn’t have taken a major catastrophe, but it did.

When we first moved to the deep south of Louisiana, with it’s mammoth churches filled with formally attired patrons, I thought for sure everyone around me was shallow. Overly formal. Dare I say… stuffy? Coming from shorts and flip-flop wearing California, where worship leaders could serve barefoot without anyone batting an eye, I found this new environment odd. I was accustomed to a much more laid back atmosphere. Formal choir? Had never seen one, except maybe on television.

But here I sat, listening to one of the best preachers I’d encountered, surrounded by starch, nylons, and suits and ties.

I felt a lot like my hero, Jonathan Cohen from When Dawn Breaks did when he attended church with his southern sister. And if asked about my casual attire, I’d respond much like he did when asked the same, “I thought we were here to see Jesus, not for a fashion shoot.”

Of course, no one asked me a thing. In fact, I was shown nothing but kindness and hospitality, often with the inclusion of a five-course meal. (If you’ve never been invited to dinner by a true southerner, you’re missing out!)

Needless to say, my initial misjudgments began to fade, even if I did continue to feel a tad out of place.

But when Katrina hit, it was all hands on deck as everyone scrambled to deal with the biggest catastrophe many of us had encountered in our lives.

And those “stuffy” Christians… they turned out in droves. In fact, they were the first ones to respond, ready to help their broken, fallen man. Any misjudgments and false assumptions that might have continued to linger were torn to shreds. In their place grew a deep admiration as I watched the love of Christ pour through these precious, fancy dressed men and women.

I learned something that day, something I knew all along but had somehow allowed myself to forget. To quote our Heavenly Father:

“Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT).

Can you relate? It’s funny how easy it is to judge that which feels foreign or different to us. Aren’t you glad God looks deeper? May He help us to do the same.

 

headshot2013About the Author:

Jennifer Slattery writes soul-stirring fiction for New Hope Publishers, a publishing house passionate about bringing God’s healing grace and truth to the hopeless. She also writes for Crosswalk.com, Internet Café Devotions, and the group blog, Faith-filled Friends. When not writing, Jennifer loves going on mall dates with her teenage daughter and coffee dates with her handsome railroader husband.

Visit with Jennifer online at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud. 

Her debut novel, Beyond I Do, is currently on sale at Amazon for under $4 (print and kindle version)! You can get that here: amazon.com/Beyond-I-Do–

 

When Dawn Breaks:

As the hurricane forces Jacqueline to evacuate, her need for purpose and restitution propel her north to her estranged and embittered daughter and into the arms of a handsome new friend. However, he’s dealing with a potential conspiracy at work, one that could cost him everything, and Jacqueline isn’t sure if he will be the one she can lean on during the difficult days ahead. Then there are the three orphans to consider, especially Gavin. Must she relinquish her chance at having love again in order to be restored?

Read a free, 36-page excerpt here:

You can buy a copy here:

On Amazon:

On Barnes and Noble:

On CBD:

 

Wednesday Writers Welcomes Michelle Griep

28 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by Catherine Castle in Blog, books, Catherine Castle author, Guest Authors, Wednesday Writers

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Brentwood's Ward, Catherine Castle blog, Dining in the Regency Era, Michelle Griep, Regency Romance, Wednesday Writers

Brentwood's Ward Cover Peek Wednesday Writers Welcomes Michelle Griep today. Michelle, author of historical romance Brentwood’s Ward, will be talking about Fine Dining in the Regency Era. Some of the tasty dishes they served reminded me of the delicacies my heroine Sister Margaret Mary had in my book. None sound very appetizing to me. Thanks for being here today, Michelle.

 

What’s For Dinner?

Fine Dining in the Regency Era

Guest post by Michelle Griep

Frozen pizza is a great go-to meal when you’ve endured a frazzled day of work, errands and carpooling—but not if you lived in early nineteenth century England. Dinner wasn’t just a meal. It was an event, especially when combined with a ball.

The punch table would sustain you for awhile as you swirled through dance after dance, but eventually everyone’s tummy would start growling. It wasn’t uncommon for “dinner” to be served around midnight, when you’d enter a sparkling dining room, candlelight glinting off silver and crystal. But your contemporary appetite might be a little squelched when you find out what might be served . . .

Meat Pies

Who doesn’t like a good chicken potpie? That depends upon your definition of good. Meat pies served in the 1800’s didn’t just have a crust slapped on top. They had an entire bird head and wings sticking out.

Baby Eel Gelatin

What kind of cartoon bubble does that bring up in your mind? If it makes you go, “Eew!” then you’re right on track. Baby eels look like big worms, and you’d see their little eyes staring at you because I’m not talking cherry Jell-O—they’d be served in a clear gelatin. Add a little jiggle to that when the dish was spooned out and you might not be as hungry as you thought.

Golden Sweetmeats

No actual meat involved in this one, but as for the gold, 24 karat baby. Picture a delicious, chocolaty truffle, just the right size to pop into your mouth. Now add in a golden coating—of real gold. I don’t know about you, but personally, I like to wear my jewelry, not eat it.

Oysters on the Half Shell

Okay, so this one isn’t so strange, and is still considered somewhat of a delicacy even today. But it wasn’t for the hero in my new release, BRENTWOOD’S WARD. When Nicholas Brentwood, a street-wise lawman, is faced with a plate of raw oysters in a dining room, surrounded by those who are used to such fare, he’s forced to man-up and let them slide down his throat. It’s a dinner scene he—and the reader—is not likely to forget.

And that’s only one of his adventures . . .

There’s none better than NICHOLAS BRENTWOOD at catching the felons who ravage London’s streets, and there’s nothing he loves more than seeing justice carried out—but this time he’s met his match. Beautiful and beguiling EMILY PAYNE is more treacherous than a city full of miscreants and thugs, for she’s a thief of the highest order…she’s stolen his heart.

As for me, I’m pretty thankful that some of yesteryear’s dishes are no longer in vogue, because I’d much rather sit down to a meal that doesn’t include feathers, heads, or precious metals.

 

Michelle Griep HeadshotAbout the Author

Michelle Griep’s been writing since she first discovered blank wall space and Crayolas. She seeks to glorify God in all that she writes—except for that graffiti phase she went through as a teenager.

She resides in the frozen tundra of Minnesota, where she teaches history and writing classes for a local high school co-op. An Anglophile at heart, she runs away to England every chance she gets, under the guise of research. Really, though, she’s eating excessive amounts of scones.

 

Follow her adventures at her blog WRITER OFF THE LEASH or visit michellegriep.com, and don’t forget the usual haunts of Pinterest, Facebook or Twitter.

 

Hymn Heaven

27 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by Catherine Castle in Blog, Catherine Castle author, Hymn Heaven

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

blog about hymns, Catherine Castle blog, Hymn Heaven, hymns, I Come to the Garden, I'll Fly Away

IMG-20150126-00464

I’m in Hymn Heaven.

Recently, we changed churches, for reasons I won’t mention here. We came from a large multi-campus megachurch where even the traditional service had become mostly choruses driven by guitars and drums with a praise team that had to sing so hard to overcome the miked instruments (really, who needs to mike drums?) that they were often flat—when you could hear them over the instruments.

For several years now, we’ve been coming late to service and staying out in the foyer until the music was finished, because the decibels often got to earsplitting numbers that hit me physically. Consequently, I’ve missed out on the part of worship I love the most—the singing.

Don’t get me wrong, I think all instruments can praise the Lord as well as all styles of music. In fact, there are lots of great choruses I love to sing, and we sang plenty of those at my former church. But when there’s no joy left in the singing there’s a loss in worship for me.

The old hymns are part of my Christian heritage, but I also love them for their words. The verses of hymns tell a story that modern choruses don’t and can’t when you are merely repeating the same phrase a bazillion times.

This Sunday, at our new church—where only an unmiked organ and piano accompanies the congregation— we sang I’ll Fly Away.

I leaned over to my best friend sitting next to me and whispered, “Do you know how long it’s been since I sang this song?” She smiled and nodded and raised her voice louder in praise.

The song transported me back to Grandma Cat and Poppy’s little country church in Sand Gap, Kentucky, where I could hear the twang of Kentucky voices singing to the accompaniment of the old foot bellow organ. Not only did the music of the song lift me up, but the memories of my grandparents lifted me, and I sang with such joy, letting the music and memories flow over me in praise.

We’ve also sung the first song I ever performed as a solo—I Come to the Garden—at least three times in the four months I’ve been attending. Memories of my dad and Poppy teaching me this song at age 6 to sing at Poppy’s church flooded back the first time we sang the song at our new church. I particularly remember going over and over a jump in the notes because I couldn’t get it right. By the time we’d finished practicing, I knew the song by heart.

I Come to the Garden, also known as In the Garden, was my dad’s favorite song and probably mine, too. I think of him every time I hear it. Doesn’t matter if it’s me singing the song, Elvis, or a congregation: it brings back precious memories each time.

Music has great power and evokes emotions in all of us. I’ve missed the hymns of my childhood and am immensely enjoying rediscovering them again.

What about you, do you have a favorite old hymn?

Wednesday Writers Welcomes Carole Brown

14 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by Catherine Castle in books, Wednesday Writers, writing

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

article about the writing craft, Book Excerpt from With Music in Their Hearts, Carole Brown, Catherine Castle blog, historical fiction, Villiany in Books, Wednesday Writers, With Music in Their Hearts

CaroleAug14 (14) croppedToday Wednesday Writers is welcoming Carole Brown. Carol will be doing a post today on Villainy in Books and has also provided us with an excerpt from her latest book With Music in Their Hearts.

Welcome, Carol.

 

 

What helps Make a Great Book?

I know few books that don’t have some kind of “bad” guy/gal between its pages. If an author specializes in mystery, suspense, thrillers and sometimes even romance, there’s usually a villain in there somewhere. So the question is: what makes a great villain?

Here’s a few ideas I have:

Characterization. A very important item is deciding what type of personality/temperament your villain will have.

  1. Sanguine: Likeable, runs on feelings, friendly which makes him feel important.
  2. Choleric: decisive, opinionated, strong-willed, independent
  3. Melancholy: analytical, gifted, perfectionist, secretive and emotional
  4. Phlegmatic: easy going, hard to get to the point of rage. Cool to the point of coldness, hides emotions and has a sense of appreciation for the arts.

These don’t mean that “normal” people can’t relate. But to a degree, the villain’s personalities go that extra degree beyond normal to create a personality that bends toward wrong.

Vocation. Why would a career make a difference? In my debut novel, The Redemption of Caralynne Hayman, the bad guy wasn’t a minister and didn’t set himself up as one. But he was the leader and expected total obedience by not only the members but the minister too.

  1. What kind of vocation makes sense and/or adds flavor to his personality and the story plot?
  2. How will it affect him and the reader?
  3. Will it make him more secretive? Be a good cover for his activities?
  4. Contrast nicely/interestingly with the protagonist’s vocation?

Looks. Should all bad guys/gals be ugly, deformed and/or mean? Of course not. In With Music in Their Hearts, the main bad person is good looking, has a great job and an outwardly pleasant personality. Only by taking a deeper look, do we see the narcissism and self-centeredness in his character. Then there’s also a man who works with him who, although not exactly ugly, is unkempt and slovenly. His pushiness and sneers make him unattractive and hard to like.

Final Notes: There are many avenues and trails to follow as you analyze your character. It’s for you to make sure, as a writer striving for depth, reality and interest in him, to develop these villains in ways that your readers will love to hate. Don’t make them totally loathsome. Again, in my debut novel, Elder Simmons borders so closely to total loathsomeness that the reader will wonder if there can be a redeemable quality. Yes, there is, minute that it is.

He enjoys and cares for roses immensely. Mentioned briefly in the book, but it is there. He also insists that the husbands care for their families materially.

How can studying and writing about the villain’s characterization in your book make it a great book? My opinion is, to have a great protagonist you have to have the contrast and balance of a great (albeit) villain. He provides the necessary problem/trial/test to bring out the best in the protagonist, to prove to the reader that yes, she or he can prevail over the circumstances. Yes, they can grow and improve and repent and love and endure. Their character stretches and grows and expands to greater depths and widths so that we, as a reader, acknowledge that if they can do it, we, in a similar circumstance could do the same. We identify in our own life situations with the characters and while cheering them on are assured the strength we need is there, if we but look.

Write on, author. Enjoy and sympathize, dear reader.

 

Thanks, Carole.

 

 

With Music in Their Hearts

 WMITH Bk Cover small-Modified earrings

Excerpt from Chapter One

. . .

A vehicle’s tires spinning gravel behind him warned him he’d not lost the black car. Slowing. Creeping. Engine purring. Only a few feet separated him from the car and making a sudden decision, he jogged around the corner and hugged the building trying to put distance between it. The car’s tires squealed as the car sped up. The driver took the corner, gravel crunching and spinning into the air.

They must have spotted him for the driver braked, throwing the passenger forward. Tyrell flung himself at the car and grabbed for the door handle.

The window slid down.

Something tugged at his arm.

And the handle tore from his grasp as the car accelerated.

The seemingly belated, reverberating crack of a gun vibrated the air around him.

The car spun around a far corner, and Tyrell reached up to rub his stinging arm. The sticky wetness drew his attention.

Blood. He saw the tear in his coat sleeve, the minute traces of blood oozing.

He’d been shot?

Why would they—whoever they were—want to shoot at him? It was a scratch, and they’d been close enough to kill him if they’d wanted to.

They didn’t want to. What were they after? A scare tactic? To warn him away? From what? Perhaps all this was a coincidence, a figment of his active imagination.

No sign of the car. Satisfied he was rid of them, he entered the hotel. At the reception desk, he filled out the necessary papers, climbed the stairs, and headed down the hallway.

At the far end, a red-haired woman inserted a key into the lock.

Was she the same woman who’d been in the recruitment office? That hat . . . He called out, “Hey, lady.”

She glanced his way, her luxurious hat tilted at just the right angle to hide one side of her face. With a flip of her plaid skirt, she shoved open her door and disappeared inside.

Tyrell hesitated at his own door, next to her’s, but inserted his key and entered. Inside, he switched on a light then as quickly flicked it off. He stepped to the window.

And drew in a breath as if he’d been sucker-punched.

Down below, across from the hotel, the streetlight reflected off a long, black Oldsmobile. Standing beside the car staring up at the hotel, stood Ben Hardy.

His cousin and best friend.

About the Author: Carole Brown not only has her award winning (Laurel Award finalist, Selah finalist; Genesis semi-finalist) debut novel, The Redemption of Caralynne Hayman, available for purchase now, but also a companion book called West Virginia Scrapbook: From the Life of Caralynne Hayman, filled with tidbits of information about West Virginia, quotes, recipes from West Virginia and from Caralynne’s life, pictures and discussion questions for the novel.

November, 2013, the first book in her mystery series, Hog Insane, released. It’s a fun, lighthearted novel introducing the characters, Denton and Alex Davies.

Releasing November, 2014, is the first book in a new WWII romantic suspense series: With Music In Their Hearts. Three red-headed sisters. Three spies. Three stories.

Besides being a member and active participant of many writing groups, Carole Brown enjoys mentoring beginning writers. She loves to weave suspense and tough topics into her books, along with a touch of romance and whimsy, and is always on the lookout for outstanding titles and catchy ideas. She and her husband reside in SE Ohio but have ministered and counseled nationally and internationally. Together, they enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, the simple life, and did she mention their grandsons?

Connect with her here:

Personal blog: http://sunnebnkwrtr.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaroleBrown.author

Twitter: https://twitter.com/browncarole212

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sunnywrtr/boards/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5237997-carole-brown

Stitches in Time: http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/

Barn Door Book Loft: http://www.barndoorbookloft.net/

 

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