I hear a lot about the need to “slow down the pace” of our writing, and I know that especially applies to me. I am definitely not one of those who spends too much time on descriptions and backgrounds. Anyone who’s read my books knows I like to throw the reader right smack-dab into the action from the opening page. As a result, I get a lot of drama going on, which is great for the reader—to a point. But readers can get worn out with too much action and need a break on occasion. And so I’ve learned to slow things down and intersperse my heavy-action scenes with breathers, enabling the reader’s adrenaline to return to normal…until the next action scene, of course. Recently, however, I had an interesting writing experience that took me beyond the occasional breather to an entirely new dimension of slower-paced writing. That doesn’t mean I took a lot longer to complete my manuscript; it does mean that I realized we authors can create character depth and compelling stories without run-for-your-life chase scenes and near-death experiences on every other page. A couple of years ago my agent, Tamela Hancock Murray, suggested that some of her…
I’m waving a huge hello to the gang at Fresh Fiction! It’s wonderful to be here with you. Thanks for inviting me back to blather on a little bit and celebrate the release of my newest novel, CHANGING LANES. You know, I answered an interview question earlier this week about the significance of the new book’s title: CHANGING LANES. Specifically, the interviewer wanted to know if I could change anything about my past, would I? I quickly responded that no, I wouldn’t. But since I hit the Send key on that interview I’ve given the question a lot of in-depth thought. Guess what? My answer is still the same. Sure, I joked about a poor hair choice I’d made (and trust me, there have been thousands), but as far as life goes, I love where I am today. Fifteen books later, am I glad I took a risk and gave up my marketing career to try my hand at writing fiction? Yes! And, although years of infertility left my husband and I battered and bruised, our decision to adopt was the most wonderful lane change of all. Today, I look at my beautiful seven-year-old and know every moment of struggle…
Traveling to research a trip is such fun. For those of you who don’t get out enough or far enough south, come along with me on this trip to Louisiana I took with my sister last fall. We started from my parents home in a little town called Arkadelphia, Arkansas, early in the morning. The sun was just coming up as we hit the interstate headed toward Texarkana. That was the easy part, then we cut around Shreveport and drove south into bayou country. After a long few hours of traveling we were in bayou country where the roads paralleled cannels and cypress trees towered out of the water. We stopped along the way at a mom-and-pop joint for a yummy taste of Shrimp Okra Gumbo and continued south to our first stop, the farthest point south, Grand Isle, a small patch of islands connected to the mainland by bridges. We were thinking vacation spot and, to some, it is. The beaches were eh, but it seemed the fishing was what people come for. The houses were on stilts, 8-10 feet above the ground (think hurricanes and storm surges). But you won’t find a better sunset than what we found…
My name is Jeff Horton, and I am a novelist. I say I am a novelist and not an author because an author can be someone that writes about anything including novels, historical biographies, travel guides, etc., while a novelist is an artist, a painter if you will. Imagination is the paint and the keyboard the paintbrush. I enjoy writing because for me it is pure creativity. From my imagination proceeds people, places, sights, sounds, and events which have never really existed. For me, writing a novel is sort of like watching a movie. I start writing with an idea of what I’m after, but the story truly takes on a life of its own as I write, often taking me in a direction I never could have imagined it going in before. The end result is that I have no idea how the story is going to end myself until I have finished the first draft. Even then, the story can morph as I make my way through a series of inevitable revisions where the rough stone is cut and chipped away at, before being polished into what I consider to be a work of art. When I write,…
My first book, TO MY SENSES, has been called a romance by some and more than a romance, a love story if you will, by others. Is there a difference between a romance and a love story? I believe that difference is in the eye of the reader. For some, a romance novel may follow a set of circumstances that promise the inevitable happy ending, but a love story often takes the reader on a much different ride. It engages the reader on a deeper level with emotionally charged characters and poignant, life-altering choices. Romances may bring a comforting conclusion, but a love story does not because, as many of us know from experience, love is never predictable. Some romances may be forgettable, but a great love story will live on in the reader’s memory for many years to come. Why are love stories so engaging? Perhaps it is because of the nature of love itself. Love changes us, and can alter our direction in life, as Nicci Beauvoir was awakened by David Alexander’s love in TO MY SENSES, or Pamela was transformed by Daniel’s love in my novel, BROKEN WINGS. Such great love can act as a sudden wind…
One of the best questions I get from readers, bloggers, and other authors, is, “Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?” Ha. No. If you even knew what I was like growing up, the fact that I’m doing this now would blow your mind! I was definitely one of those students that didn’t read the books that were mandatory reads in school, I was also one of those students that failed the first half of one of their English classes in high school because I was … err … am absolutely awful at grammar! But the thing that makes everyone laugh the most, is that I was one of those students that failed out of a Creative Writing course in college. It wasn’t that I didn’t do the homework, or that I didn’t try, I was just really terrible. The professor told me I wouldn’t have a career in writing, and I thought that was just fine because I didn’t want to be a writer anyway. I’d just needed that class for my major, unfortunately. Needless to say, when I published my first novel, my entire family didn’t believe me. I got practically the same reaction from…
Popular novelists use pseudonyms to write romance novels, and romance novelists use them to write erotica. But when I wrote What A Mother Knows, it was my real name going on the cover. So naturally, when I wrote the big love scene – okay, sex scene – I worried about what my daughters would think. The story is about a mother’s quest to find her daughter, so already it hits close to home. At first, I was more concerned with how the girls might judge the daughter’s part. Then I realized I was working even harder to get the mother’s part right, to make her believable and sexy, all at the same time. It wasn’t just the romance that worried me, it was the fact that there are some undeniable similarities between us. Sure, Michelle is taller and thinner, but her desperate need to protect her daughter? That’s all me. So when it was time to write the big love scene, I started to sweat. I wanted to make it as hot as possible, but my daughters will read it as soon as it comes out. I wanted to go crazy, but there was important plotting to be done amid…
From Mary Ting author of Crossroads Saga: CROSSROADS, BETWEEN and BEYOND. I started walking in circles around him, engrossed by his wings. His shirt was torn on the back. From where the wings protruded out, there were long slits to form an upside-down V. He was beautiful, his wings were beautiful, and I was even more in awe of him. Perhaps my reaction embarrassed him, as he quickly closed them. It was amazing how they completely disappeared without a trace of their existence remaining. Even his shirt showed no sign that it had been torn to allow such a phenomenon. “May I please take a look again? For me, please?” I pleaded. “You’re not freaked out?” He looked utterly astonished. “Should I be?” I wondered why he felt embarrassed about his precious gift. “I thought it might freak you out. Something not by human standards.” I leaned closer and placed my hands on his shoulders. “I’m not freaked out. I think you are amazing just the way you are. I wouldn’t want you to be any other way,” I said tenderly, trying to sound convincing with my words and through my body language. His eyes were still steady on the…
In the earliest days of man, when the saber toothed tiger stalked its prey, another predator came into being. This creature was two-legged, and walked upright, but could also fly, having bat like wings that stretched above it at a span of twelve feet, or more. So starts DETOUR TO DUSK, by Linell Jeppsen. Although this novel takes place now, in the high woods of Washington State, everything that drives the plot line has its origins in ancient history. Think of the giant Pterodactyl…The vampires in my novel are quite large, standing 6’5 to 8 ft. tall. They are strong and physically perfect. They also have gigantic leathery wings, which match their hair color and skin tone. Raul, David and Lael are among the “Old Ones.” David is gorgeous, with long golden brown hair and fierce eyes like an eagle. His sister, Lael is very pale, with dark red hair and eyes as blue and shiny as sapphires. Even Raul, the villain of this story, is beautiful, with long blond hair that he keeps in dread-locks that fall past his knees and mesmerizing, black eyes. In the late 1600’s, a new vampire comes into being, the first of his kind….
One of the questions an author hears most is, “Where do you get your ideas?” and for a book about a hero who has very nearly sold his soul, that curiosity is understandable. (Don’t worry, with Lady Vivian’s help, Darius wins it back, and then some.) The usual answers I’ve heard or given are: I read widely in the historical period original sources. I take stories that aggravated me in some particular, and tweak them so they become satisfying to me. I read the classics (or watch movies), and then ask myself, “What if….?” until something germinates with that whiff of possibility about it. Those answers are not inaccurate, but they are incomplete, at least for me. I’d met Darius Lindsey in an earlier book, THE VIRTUOSO, wherein he was a secondary character with a strong sense of loyalty toward the hero. Darius popped up again a book about his sister Leah’s romance with Nicholas Haddonfield, and once more, Darius’ protective, responsible streak was much in evidence. And yet, this dude was miserable. I didn’t know what he got up to off the page when he stayed out until all hours, or disappeared to ride across the countryside, but I…