Weekly Drawing

It's Fun Friday at The Borrowed Book!

To enter:

Leave the time it took you to complete the puzzles in the comments section as well as your email address for notifying you if you've won. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry. RETWEET our Tweet, get two entries!

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FIVE entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. Enter all weekend long! Winners will be announced Sunday night at midnight.

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by James Callan and his newest release, The Heartbeat of a Novel.

 

How a Suspense Book Came About, by James R. Callen

When I read an old Texas folk tale about a wagon load of precious metal being pushed in a lake to hide it from the pursuing Mexican army, I knew I had to use that in a book.  But how?  I don’t write historical novels. What effect could an old folk tale have on people today? 

I had worked on an information retrieval as part of my dissertation in graduate school.  And that would be my link to get people in trouble today because of a long forgotten fold tale. And that would be the main conflict in the suspense novel which was eventually named A Ton of Gold.

When we are young, certain people can have an enormous influence on us. Sometimes this is for the good, but not always.  Our self esteem is, perhaps, most vulnerable. People can be made to think they are much better than they actually are. And they can be made to feel worthless.

We all know the power of the family. When the family is reduced because of untimely accidents, this power over our feelings of self worth can be heightened.

I took these three elements, and wove them together in developing the plot for A Ton of Gold.  An information retrieval program would recover the old folk tale regarding the treasure. Greedy and unscrupulous people would find out that a computer had found this and believe it must be true – the computer said it was. The protagonist, Crystal Moore, had lost her parents when she was seven. Now, someone is trying to kill her only living relative, the grandmother who had raised her. And in the midst of this, the man who had almost destroyed Crystal emotionally is coming back into her life. This time, he can ruin her career.

These provide plenty of problems for Crystal, a brilliant researcher in information retrieval. But just as steel must be subjected to immense heat to harden it, Crystal finds that life-threatening situations can make her stronger.  And sometimes things that seemed very important are just fly specks.

Crystal is helped in her journey by three very different and important persons.  Her boss is a former bull rider whose free spirit helps Crystal  take chances.  Brandi Brewer, Crystal’s street-wise housemate, has only a high school education. But she teaches Crystal many realities of today that one doesn’t learn in the universities. Most important for Crystal is her 76 year-old grandmother, who is not cowed by anyone, who clears the smoke and sees the true nature of things.

While A Ton of Gold involves murder, arson and kidnapping, it is the growth of Crystal that will cause

A Ton of Gold, (Oak Tree Press, 2013)

On Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions

the reader to cheer. Crystal goes through fire and the fire has released her true strength.

After a successful career in mathematics and computer science, receiving grants from the National Science Foundation and NASA, and being listed in Who’s Who in Computer Science and Two Thousand Notable Americans, James R. Callan turned to his first love—writing.  He wrote a monthly column for a national magazine for two years and published several non-fiction books.  He now concentrates on his favorite genre, mystery/suspense, with his sixth book releasing in Spring, 2014.

Check out his website, blog, and Amazon author page. While you're at it, you can connect with him on Twitter.

And, of course, don't forget to stop by tomorrow, when you can enter to win a free copy of A Ton of Gold! 

Did You Know? ~ Homemade Ink

This past weekend I was in Staples, one of my favorite stores. I spent a small fortune on ink for my printer. I also perused the pens, but couldn’t find one I liked. I’m persnickety about pens and only certain ones will do.

So, as I was researching a topic for today’s blog, I came across some recipes for ink. I thought about my visit to Staples and how easy modern technology has made my job as an author.  I can type a digital document on my computer, send it across the room to my wireless printer, and it will print it out for me neatly and without splotches. Mistakes are easily remedied.

But back in 1877, people used pen nibs/dip pens (or in a pinch, a feather quill). Pen nibs were metal tips with capillary channels, mounted on a handle or holder, often made of wood. The pens were dipped into ink and then writing commenced. Can you imagine writing a whole rough draft of a book with that method?

Here are some ink recipes from The Circle of Useful Knowledge (1877), by Charles Kinsley.

Common Ink

To 1 gal. boiling soft water add ¾ oz. extract logwood; boil two minutes, remove from the fire, and stir in 48 grs. bichromate of potash, and 8 prs. prussiate of potash. For 10 gals. use 7 ½ oz. logwood extract, 1 oz. bichromate of potash, and 80 grs. prussiate of potash; strain; 6 cents should buy the first, and 25 cents the last.

Black Copying Ink

Take 2 gals rain water, and put into it gum arabic ¼ lb., brown sugar ¼ lb., clean copperas ¼ lb., powdered nutgalls ¾ lb; mix, and shake occasionally for ten days, and strain; if needed sooner, let it stand in an iron kettle until the strength is obtained. This ink will stand the action of the atmosphere for centuries.

Red Ink

In an ounce phial put 1 teaspoonful of aqua ammonia, gum arabic size of 2 or 3 peas, and 6 grs. Of no. 40 carmine; fill up with soft water, and it is soon ready for use.

Yikes! That’s a lot of work, and I, for one, am really grateful for my computer and printer, not to mention pens that already contain ink.

For the curious, here is information about the ingredients:

I'm not sure what bichromate or prussiate of potash is, but I think it was somehow obtained by leaching wood ashes and processing that with metal.

Extract of logwood is a purplish-red natural dye obtained from the Logwood tree. The logwood tree is a spiny tropical American tree (Haematoxylon campechianum) in the pea family. The extract is obtained from the dark heartwood.

Copperas is also known as green vitriol and it is an iron sulfate.

A nutgall is a nutlike swelling produced on an oak or other tree by certain parasitic wasps. It’s also called gallnut.

Aqua ammonia is a solution of ammonia.

Carmine is a pigment of a bright-red color obtained from the aluminium salt of carminic acid, which is produced by some scale insects, such as the cochineal scale and the Polish cochineal.

Gum arabic, also known as acacia gum, chaar gund, char goond, or meska, is a natural gum made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree.

Two Aids in Creating Memorable Characters by Author James Callan

My book on character development, Character: The Heart of the Novel, was published by Oak Tree Press in 2013. The main theme of the book was: Create memorable characters. Here are two ways to help in that endeavor.  

If you’re writing fiction, you need to use metaphors and similes.  Why?  Because you need to develop memorable characters, characters that your readers can hardly wait to tell their friends about.  “You’ve got to read this book. You’ll (love, hate, laugh at, cry about, want to marry, want to kill—pick one) this character (supply name here).” 

What do I mean by metaphors and similes in fiction, and how do they work? 

“John had big ears.”  That’s not going to make John memorable. “John had large ears.”  Nope. No better.  “John had huge ears.”  A tiny bit better.  “John’s ears looked like weather balloons attached to his head.”  That’s a simile. You are comparing two things which are dissimilar items, such as comparing ears to weather balloons, and using the word “like” or “as.” Which description are you going to remember?  Sure, it’s a gross exaggeration, but it gets the idea across and in a way that will be remembered.

“Wally’s hand was a catcher’s mitt.”  That is a metaphor -- the comparison of two things that are in general not alike, without using “like” or “as.” The reader knows this guy didn’t really have a catcher’s mitt for a hand. But the reader knows very clearly, this guy had big hands, exceptionally big hands. Your reader will remember that feature about him. You, the author, can use that fact later in the book to good advantage. And guess what?  The reader will remember.

“Her eyes were like sapphires cut to catch the light and sparkle.”  Simile. (Her eyes were like…) “His eyes were lasers, the kind that could cut through steel.” Metaphor.  (His eyes were …)  “He was only five feet tall, but his feet were as big as a seven foot giant’s.” Simile.  Her passion was as deep as the ocean. Simile.  His ego was an aircraft carrier. Metaphor. His wealth was like the Empire State Building, and his charity was a mustard seed. Simile and then metaphor.

Can you overdo the use of metaphor and simile? You most certainly can. They should be like the habañera: not used on everything, and not used too much. (Simile.)  But these are important tools for the writer. Don’t ignore them.

Remember, one of your goals is to develop memorable characters.  Similes and metaphors can help make a character memorable.

After a successful career in mathematics and computer science, receiving grants from the National Science Foundation and NASA, and being listed in Who’s Who in Computer Science and Two Thousand Notable Americans, James R. Callan turned to his first love—writing.  He wrote a monthly column for a national magazine for two years, and published four non-fiction books.  He now concentrates on his favorite genre, mysteries, with his sixth book releasing in Spring, 2014.

COME BACK FRIDAY FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY OF CHARACTER: THE HEARTBEAT OF THE NOVEL.

Website: www.jamesrcallan.com

Blog: www.jamesrcallan.com/blog

Amazon Author page: http://amzn.to/1eeykvG

Twitter: @jamesrcallan

Historical Romance Book Review ~ The Dancing Master

About the Book

"Finding himself the man of the family, London dancing master Alec Valcourt moves his mother and sister to remote Devonshire, hoping to start over. But he is stunned to learn the village matriarch has prohibited all dancing, for reasons buried deep in her past.

Alec finds an unlikely ally in the matriarch’s daughter. Though he’s initially wary of Julia Midwinter’s reckless flirtation, he comes to realize her bold exterior disguises a vulnerable soul–and hidden sorrows of her own.

Julia is quickly attracted to the handsome dancing master–a man her mother would never approve of–but she cannot imagine why Mr. Valcourt would leave London, or why he evades questions about his past. With Alec’s help, can Julia uncover old secrets and restore life to her somber village…and to her mother’s tattered heart?

Filled with mystery and romance, The Dancing Master brings to life the intriguing profession of those who taught essential social graces for ladies and gentlemen hoping to make a 'good match' in Regency England."

Amber's Review

The Dancing Master is an intriguing dance from beginning to end, with spins and flourishes and a few dips. I love that each of Klassen's books that I've read so far has been unique, drawing off of her passion for Jane Eyre and Jane Austen books, but sharing characters and themes that are very much her own. Her latest is a bit quirkier in some regards than her others, but the overall rhythm is enjoyable.

The hero and heroine - Alec and Julia - brought to mind Mr. Knightley and Emma from Jane Austen's Emma. (Well, at least the movie version with Gwyneth Paltrow, as I confess I haven't read the book.) Alec is very much an upstanding man, with a devotion to his family and a fondness for Julia, despite the need to correct her on occasion. Julia is often self-centered, craving attention and lacking a Mr. Woodhouse to shower her with a father's love. But she does have a dear friend who has quiet lessons to impart (with an apt name, I might add), and a vulnerable soul waiting to be understood and to come to terms with her need to give understanding in return. Just like with Emma, I confess to getting frustrated with Julia and loving Alec all the more for being such a dear and devoted gentleman.

Yet Klassen's unique twists make the story very different, as well. There's a large cast of characters, a good dose of mystery to lend a somber mood, and some perspective from Julia's mother to add more heart. Alec's fight to find a way to do what he loves, as well as the mother-daughter lessons, resonated with me.

I confess the quirkiness of the premise was at times off-putting or just a little strange to experience. And the ending... This is possibly spoiler-y, so beware, but the ending felt a bit like How the Grinch Stole Christmas to me. It's certainly cute (and goes along with the ending of the Emma movie, in the sense of wrapping up everything thoroughly), but it's also sort of jarring with its "dahoo dores," "everyone's happy now" sort of feel. It is clever, though, and fun, if a bit more whimsical like a storybook.

While perhaps not my favorite of Klassen's books that I've read with its village inhabitants and their interesting behaviors, The Dancing Master is still another great Austen-esque read.

*With thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion, to be shared during the Litfuse Publicity blog tour.*

Extras

• You can buy the book now on Amazon!

• This review was posted at Seasons of Humility on January 18th for the Litfuse Publicity blog tour. Click HERE to read that post and view the author bio and related links. (Note that the contest has already ended.)

Winners!!

Good morning, BB fans! Thanks to everyone who participated in our "puzzling" Friday giveaway! Keep all those facebook and Twitter notifications, coming!

This week's winner is: 

Emily Kopf (zerina147 at gmail dot com ) - Betrayed by Lillian Duncan.

Congratulations, Emily! Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book.

Max'ism...everything I've learned about God by watching my daschund

Max’ism:  Get off the Dock

Matthew 14:25-32 

Max isn’t built for swimming. With his long, barrel-like body and short, stumpy legs, he’s like log set adrift on the waves, even when I support him with my hand firm under his belly. But he absolutely cannot stand when we are in the pool and he isn’t. So he sits on the dock and whines, every once in while dipping his paw in the water and drawing it back out.

I tried to get him to jump in one day, when everyone else was splashing around. He came oh, so close, but backed out at the last minute. Frustrated, he laid his head down and just stared at the rest of us, out there having fun without him.

So it is with the Lord. He beckons to us, urging us to join Him where He is. And we sit on the dock, watching as others who have found the courage to trust Him have fun without us. Can it be that we are so foolish as to not believe that the One who created heaven and earth also has the power to keep us from sinking? Is it really that we have not learned to fully trust Him?

If the miracles of God’s love and care are not enough to draw us the Lord, what would it take, I wonder, to get us to finally take the plunge? 

Matthew 14:25-32

²⁵ Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

Weekly Drawing

It's Fun Friday at The Borrowed Book!

To enter:

Leave the time it took you to complete the puzzles in the comments section as well as your email address for notifying you if you've won. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry. RETWEET our Tweet, get two entries!

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FIVE entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. Enter all weekend long! Winners will be announced Sunday night at midnight.

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by Lillian Duncan and her newest release, Betrayed.

A Chat with Lillian Duncan

Today we continue our visit with Lillian Duncan, author of stories of faith mingled with murder & mayhem. Lillian is a multi-published writer who writes the type of books she loves to read—suspense with a touch of romance. Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word. Lil, tell us a little about your newest release, Betrayed.

Betrayed is the second book in my Sisters By Choice series and will be released in January 2014. In Deception, the first in the series, there is a terrorist. I kept wondering what kind of woman could be married to a terrorist and not know it. Betrayed answers that question. It is Maria’s story and her struggle to get past the betrayal of her husband and create a new life for her daughter.

What’s the setting for Betrayed?

Most of the story takes place in or around a small fictional town in Ohio called Sunberry. Coincidentally, we have a small town in Ohio called Sunbury that is very similar to the fictional setting!

Yes, I've been there! It's a nice little town. Does the title of the book have to do with Maria's betrayal by her husband?

In part, yes. But as the story continues, Maria begins to believe she’s been betrayed yet again. But by whom?

Is Betrayed the first book you published?

No, I’ve published several others in the past few years, including Deception and Pursued also published by Pelican Book Group along with a novella, The Christmas Stalking.

I read Pursued and enjoyed it. What's the history of this latest title?

I had actually written much of Maria’s story in Deception, but it was taken out of that book. Maria wasn’t happy about that and begged me to write her story, so I did.

That's funny! But I completely understand. What do you hope readers will take away from Betrayed?

Bad things happen to all of us. How we react to those things will determine the quality of our future. We can make the choice to stay in the past and be angry and bitter, but a much better choice would be to forgive and move on with our own life.

Does Betrayed have a theme?

Beauty for ashes is a phrase that comes up several times throughout the book and I consider it the theme. It comes from Isaiah 61: 3. A second theme is about honoring God with our choices and our actions even in the midst of a crisis.

You say this is the second book in a series, Sisters By Choice. What's the connecting theme for the series?

This series definitely has romance in it, but I also wanted to explore the strong bonds that form between women—through blood or through the choices we make. Each story focuses on a relationship between two women that becomes as important to the story as the romantic plot.

The first in the series, Deception, focused on the broken relationship of identical twin sisters, Patti and Jamie. The lesson was to not waste time arguing with those you love—you may not get a second chance to repair that relationship. Betrayed focuses on two strangers bonding and becoming friends as they face a crisis together. One of the characters teaches Maria about how to honor God by her actions even in the most horrible of circumstances.

What is your writing process?

I am not an outliner. I wish I were—it seems easier to me. But my mind doesn’t work that way. I never know what is going to happen in my story on any given writing day. It’s as if my mind is a movie screen and I watch that day’s events and then I write it.

When I start a new story I usually have a clear picture of the main character in mind and what obstacle he/she will face, but anything goes after that. If I’m writing and start to feel bored—then I kill someone or blow something up. And that way it’s a surprise to me and to my readers.

Love it! Next time I'm bored, I'll try blowing up something. Do you know who the bad guy is when you begin your story?

Not usually. Most of the time I have several characters who it might be and as the story comes to a conclusion, I am surprised right along with my readers. Betrayed was no exception. I wasn’t sure who it was until the very end.

Many people don’t think of murder mysteries and suspense novels as Christian fiction. What do you say to them?

I can certainly understand their point of view. Some readers might find my stories a bit too graphic or edgy, and that’s ok, I understand that. I would say my readers are those who like traditional suspense and mystery novels but are tired of all the explicit language and sex scenes that aren’t necessary to a good story.

I don’t promote or glorify violence in my stories, but I show characters experiencing the natural consequences of their bad choices and actions.

Then what makes your stories Christian fiction?

They always have an element of faith in them. How that plays out depends on the individual plots of each specific story. My main characters are always on a spiritual journey, though some may be further along than others.

Incidentally, Christian fiction has changed dramatically over the past ten years. Other than erotica, readers can find their favorite genre as Christian fiction as well as mainstream fiction. There are Christian fiction books out there for every book lover—historical; romance; regency; science fiction; even horror novels.

If Betrayed were made into a movie, who would you like to see play your main characters?

Oh, I can see Angelina Jolie playing Maria. In Deception, Maria was a bit of a wimp, but life has changed her. She’s tough now—like Angelina. I think Mark Harmon, better known as Gibbs, would make the perfect male lead.

What are you working on now?

I have a devotional blog POWER UP WITH GOD’S WORD: Secrets For a Better Life, at www.PowerUpWithGod.com. I was diagnosed with bilateral brain tumors this past year and so many of the devotions focus help others who are facing a crisis—physical or spiritual.

Along with that, I'm in the process of rewriting the third book in The Sisters By Choice series, Redemption. I’m also working on a new mystery novella series, Deadly Communications. It features a crime-fighting speech pathologist. Having been a speech pathologist for almost 35 years, this story was so much fun for me to write.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

My website is www.lillianduncan.net and I have a devotional blog at www.PowerUpWithGod.com. My blog is Tiaras and Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com. I’m also on Twitter as @LillianDuncan and on Facebook.

Thank you, Lil, for taking the time to speak with us today.
My pleasure, Yvonne! But may I add one more thing?

Of course! Have at it!

To celebrate the release of BETRAYED, I’m giving away a virtual gift basket at Tiaras & Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com. It includes a copy of my books, SERENITY SPRINGS, OHIO; DARK ALLEYS; and GEESE MATE FOR LIFE.  Along with the books, a $25 Amazon gift card is included plus a few books from some writer friends. To enter the contest, simply hop on over to Tiaras & Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com and leave a comment on the post titled CELEBRATION! Winner will be chosen and announced on February 14.

Great! Thanks for sharing that.

Readers, in addition to the above opportunity, don't forget to stop by The Borrowed Book tomorrow, when you can enter to win a free copy of Betrayed!

Did You Know? ~ Cashews and Poison Ivy

Cashews are one of my favorite kinds of nuts. I’ve been known to consume copious quantities of them if I’m left alone with an open can. So I was surprised to discover that cashew trees are botanically related to poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac. 

The tree produces the same urushiol oil as its green, leafy relatives. Lest anyone stop buying and eating cashews because of childhood memories of red, bubbly, torturously itchy poison ivy rashes, I’ll explain why my favorite nut is just fine to eat despite its nasty kinfolk.

The cashew tree produces what is called a cashew “apple.” It looks really weird, as you can see from the picture. At the bottom of the apple is a kidney-shaped protrusion called the “fruit” that encases the cashew “seed” which we call a nut. It's like the fruit exploded and it's insides came out.

That kidney-shaped shell around the cashew is what contains the urushiol oil, which is why you will never see an unshelled cashew in the grocery store. The shell can cause anything from skin irritation to a severe allergic reaction in people susceptible to urushiol oil. If the shells are burned, the smoke can cause lung irritation, just like the smoke from burning poison ivy.

The cashews you buy in the store are never raw, even if the packages say they are. A majority of the time the shells are steamed to remove the fruit to avoid pieces of the shell lingering amongst the delicious nuts. So if that can you buy says “raw” cashews, they aren’t. It just means the cashew has been steamed, but not roasted.

As you can see, the top of the cashew apple looks a little like a red, yellow, or orange pepper. This part of the apple is also edible and is often made into juice that has a sweet, nutty taste like the cashew nut.

Cashews are grown in tropical places throughout the world such as Brazil, Vietnam, and India. Unless you live very close to one of those places it's likely you'll never see a whole cashew apple because they're soft and juicy, and don’t ship well.

So the next time you open a can or jar of cashews, take a moment to be grateful that you don't have to don gloves and remove the shell.   

3 Steps to Publication--Guaranteed! by Author Lillian Duncan

All stories have a beginning, a middle, and end. If you want to get published you need to write the BEST BEGINNINGS, MARVELOUS MIDDLES, and EXPLOSIVE ENDINGS. 

Succeed with these three easy steps and you’ll have a contract before you know it. OK—maybe they aren’t all that easy to master. It took me years to learn the writing craft and I’m still learning! 

BEST BEGINNINGS for any novel, but especially mystery/suspense starts with action—action—and more action! Today’s mystery/suspense readers don’t have time or patience for characters sitting and pondering life’s heavy questions. They want action! 

Best beginnings have someone doing something interesting and it can’t be a dream or a nightmare. Why not? Two reasons—first, it’s tricking the reader into believing something is happening that’s not. And more importantly, many editors/publishers list novels starting with a dream as one of their pet peeves. 

Why risk irritating them on the very first page.

So, the writer’s first task is to hook the reader. The key is to arouse the reader’s curiosity so they will want to turn the page to see what happens next. In Betrayed, I started with a prologue that shows my main character, Maria as she struggles to stay alive in order to keep her daughter safe. No back story, no introduction, no pondering. She’s on a yacht and her terrorist husband is out to kill her. Here’s a brief excerpt from it, let’s see if it piques the readers’ curiosity: 

No way off. No way to escape. No way to get to her daughter. Why had she ever thought a yacht was a good idea for a benefit? Maria Hammond pushed her way through the throngs of partygoers towards the exit. She had to get off this yacht and get to Layla before Raymond did.

So, is that enough to pique the reader’s curiosity?

Once you’ve written your best beginning, it’s time to tackle the hard part—avoiding the sagging middle syndrome. But how? Here’s a few ways to ensure MARVELOUS MIDDLES. 

Introduce a new character. If they have a secret—even better! In BETRAYED, I have a police officer, who obviously has a secret, but I keep the reader guessing until the last third of the book what the secret is.  

Add a ticking time bomb to the original problem. By a ticking time bomb, I mean add a time limit to whatever’s going on, such as not only is the child missing but she needs her medicine.

Add a red herring, give the reader several choices for the murderer. This one is crucial as far as I’m concerned for mystery/suspense readers. We love to figure out who the bad guy is. It makes us feel smart!

Avoid all that back story you are dying to write. No matter how much you love it—it doesn’t move the story forward. Readers want to know what’s happening now, not what happened in the past!

Whew! Now you’ve got your best beginning and a marvelous middle, so on to that EXPLOSIVE ENDING that will wow that editor and have them clamoring for your manuscript. 

One of the keys to creating an explosive ending is to resolve all the story plots, not only the major one. Readers have invested time and emotion in your story. Don’t cheat them by leaving them hanging.

Many books actually have two endings—mine usually do. Often the crucial resolution scene (stopping the murderer—rescuing the damsel in distress) happens in the next to the last chapter and the final chapter is used to tie up all the other story lines with a happy little bow. Nothing wrong with that. It’s a good plan. 

And there you have it, three steps to publication—guaranteed! BEST BEGINNINGS + MARVELOUS MIDDLES + EXPLOSIVE ENDINGS = Great Story (and a book contract). Now, get busy writing.

Lillian is a multi-published writer who writes the type of books she loves to read—suspense with a touch of romance. Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word.

To learn more about Lillian and her books, visit: www.lillianduncan.net.  She also has a devotional blog at: www.PowerUpWithGod.com  as well as her personal blog, Tiaras & Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com 

Come back Friday for a chance to win a copy of Lillian's newest book, right here at The Borrowed Book.

AND

To celebrate the release of BETRAYED, Lillian is giving away a virtual gift basket at Tiaras & Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com. The virtual gift basket includes a copy of my books, SERENITY SPRINGS, OHIO; DARK ALLEYS; and GEESE MATE FOR LIFE.  Along with the books, a $25 Amazon gift card is included plus a few books from some of her writer friends. To enter the contest, simply hop on over to Tiaras & Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com , leave a comment on the post titled CELEBRATION! Winner will be chosen and announced on February 14.

YA Book Spotlight and Review ~ The Afterlife of Lizzie Monroe

About the Book

"If Shane Davis had it to do over again, he wouldn't have gone out that night. He wouldn't have burned down the church. And he sure wouldn't have taken the annoying dead girl home with him.

Now that Shane has her, he has no idea what to do with her. He can't release her into the 'wild' because people will recognize her (being a hundred and fifty year old town 'legend' will do that). He can't send her away because she can't take care of herself yet. And she can't stay because if people find her, they'll know he burned the church. Being eighteen now, Shane definitely doesn't want that fact coming out.

Unbeknownst to Shane, someone has figured out the girl's secret and will do anything to get it for himself...even kill the girl who isn't so immortal after all."

Amber's Review

This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2014 - that cover and blurb won me over, and I figured it would be a fun story. It is! The premise is very intriguing and clever. There's some Civil War history lightly woven in, and while I sometimes got frustrated with the flashback scenes because I wanted to get back to the contemporary plot line, they added to the sense of mystery and made the contemporary scenes all the more compelling.

Even though a lot of the book takes place in one setting due to Lizzie's inability to move around for a while, I found myself completely engrossed in the story. I liked that the absurdity of the situations made it interesting to observe how Lizzie and Shane would deal with each other and all the problems they had to face. Here's a "mostly" dead girl from Civil War days lying on a modern young band-member's bed, trying to figure out her past and face the 21st century while preparing herself to walk again... Yeah, you know you're curious. ;) The romance (yes, it's there!) was sweet and intriguing, despite the awkwardness of it all. And I really can't resist a hero who calls the heroine "darlin'" or "sweetheart."

I confess that there were elements that didn't completely charm me. Sexual innuendos run rampant throughout the story... So while the content isn't explicit at all, the behaviors alluded to are obvious just the same. Lizzie's initial perception of her surroundings and situation, as well as of modern clothing, would make a reference or two from her understandable - it's more Shane and his sister going off about how things might appear that felt a little too much for me. There are also references to smoking, arson, and the like, just as a heads up. 

Beyond that, though, there were some grammatical errors that made the manuscript feel not-completely-polished, and some of Lizzie's thoughts and flashbacks didn't always feel entirely authentic to her time period. And where the story ends up... Well, I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. Some parts were thought-provoking and made me genuinely curious as to what choices the characters might make and why. And then some parts seemed too convenient or contrived. In a way the story's wrapped up neatly, and in another, there are some twists that leave a lot of questions unanswered. Also, the cause of Lizzie's "immortality" feels incongruous with her past and the message of the story.

But given all of that, this was still a story I didn't want to put down - utterly engaging, which is definitely a treat! The target audience has to be a unique one, appealing to those who love different YA stories that are edgy but relatively "clean" with a faith message mixed in. While there were some issues that bugged me, I ultimately enjoyed The Afterlife of Lizzie Monroe and its quirky hero and heroine.

*I purchased a copy of this book and was not required to write a review. This is my honest opinion.*

About the Author

"Kelly Martin is a bestselling author of four young adult/Christian novels: Crossing the Deep, Saint Sloan, The Deception of Devin Miller, and Big is Beautiful. Saving Sloan, the Saint Sloan sequel, will come out in early 2014. The first of the Hindsight series, Out of the Blue, comes out in February 2014."

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