Missing Thea James by Author Cathy Elliott

As I celebrate the recent release of my new cozy mystery, A Stitch in Crime, I find myself missing someone. Missing my plucky protagonist, Thea James, even amid much mention of her exploits. Once, her thoughts and movements and loves and concerns filled my head. They kept me company as I wrote recorded her adventures in the daytime and later, when I teetered on the edge of dreams, I’d plan what she might do tomorrow. 

I was so drawn into Thea’s story, often I didn’t notice certain things. Important things. Like the night I rushed into the kitchen, cut up my favorite veggies – broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage – and arranged them in the steamer. I turned on the heat, covered the pot, and hurried back to my computer. To Thea. She was in the middle of a very bad situation, in need of immediate rescue. No one could help her except me. I had to write her out of that wrong. And be quick about it.

It took about forty-five minutes to move the story past that terrible part, allowing Thea a chance to escape, but I was focused. Determined. Single-minded, if you will. And finally managed to bring Thea through without real harm. Whew. 

I sat back in my chair, happy, relaxed, breathing deep sighs of satisfaction. But wait. What was that smell? Straightening up, I did the head-cock thing. The veggies!

Like a rocket, I zoomed back into the kitchen and turned off the heat. Picking up the pot with the steamer inside, I noticed it seemed extra light. When I took off the lid, I saw why. No water. I’d forgotten to fill the bottom of the pot with water for steaming. And forgotten to set the timer. Thea’s dilemma had consumed my thoughts so much that now I had no dinner to consume.

Turning on the water, I allowed some to accumulate in the bottom of the pot. It sizzled resentfully. Steam rose up through the vegetables, moistening them. Hey, they didn’t look all that bad. I forked through and realized they weren’t burned. True, they had a curious smoked fragrance, but I didn’t see any burned broccoli. Of course, the pot was black as soot. I sent up a “thank You” that I’d used one of my heavy-duty, All-Clad pots that I love so much just for this reason. To accommodate my absent-minded, culinary skills. Especially on deadline.

What a relief. I’d saved Thea and the pots had saved dinner. A little butter, sprinkle of lemon pepper (my new favorite seasoning), a bit o'cheese, and it became a blackened feast. Okay, in truth, only the pot was blackened, but the dish had the hint of the old campfire about it, without the roasted marshmallows. Not bad.

Thea and I had many such side trips. Where her world seemed more real at times than mine. It certainly invaded most everything I did, everywhere I went, and every conversation. At Bible study, I’d admire the quilt on the back of a sofa and think, “I bet that would be a good quilt to put in the Blocks on the Walk Quilt Show.” I’d find out the details and make a note to self. At dinner with friends, someone would tell a funny story about a relative or say something in a way I’d never heard before. “Do you mind if I use that in the book?” I’d ask, writing it down. 

Thea and I had a close relationship for some time and I enjoyed every companionable moment. Not thinking about her is an adjustment. It feels a bit like empty-nest-syndrome. And maybe I’m taking too much time to say “goodbye.” I need to do so pretty soon. Once she is settled in the hearts of new readers, living out her story, maybe then. 

After all, many other characters are waiting, vying for their worlds to be created. For their stories to be told. I think it’s almost time to open the door and welcome them inside. I’ll wave to Thea as she goes and give her a high-five, knowing she’ll be okay.

Cathy Elliott is a full-time writer in northern California whose cozy mysteries reflect her personal interests from quilting and antique collecting to playing her fiddle with friends. She also leads music at church and cherishes time with her grandchildren. Cathy’s other plot-twisting works include Medals in the Attic and A Vase of Mistaken Identity.

Website & Occasional Blog - www.cathyelliottbooks.com

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/cathyelliott10/

Facebook – Author Cathy Elliott cathyelliottbooks.com

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Getting to Know Author Elizabeth Camden

Thanks for asking me aboard! I’m thrilled to be talking about Beyond All Dreams, as this book has a very special place in my heart because the heroine is a librarian, which is my job when I’m not a writer.

I have been blessed with two careers, both of which I deeply love. As a lifelong reader and bibliophile, perhaps librarianship was a natural career choice for me. I could think of no other job where I could spend an entire day cocooned within a library, buying books with other people’s money, and getting paid to perform fascinating research. I earned my master’s degree in Library Science from Indiana University and have been gainfully employed as a college librarian ever since. 

But the temptation to write my own novel was always there as well. I love a terrific romance story, especially if set in an interesting historical period. The road to publication was a little longer and a lot bumpier than I expected, but after around five years of trying, my first novel was published in 2011. They say that you tend to be proudest of things that are hard to earn, and this is certainly true for me. I’ve heard stories of people whose first manuscript is accepted for publication, but I wouldn’t trade my five years of struggle and slogging through the wilderness for anything in the world. For a start, it made me a much better writer. It made me humble, grateful, and also a little paranoid…which is a GOOD thing if you are a writer. I know rejection will always loom just around the next corner if I don’t keep my quality up.  

People have often asked me if I have any plans to quit my work as a librarian and become a full-time writer. Frankly, I don’t! I love being a librarian, and every day I am enriched by the variety of people I encounter and the interesting questions I’m called on to research. All of this helps nourish my writer’s soul with fresh angles and originality.

I wrote five novels before I decided to give in to temptation and feature a librarian as the heroine. Beyond All Dreams is about a librarian who stumbles across a baffling mystery of a ship that disappeared at sea. The ship and the entire crew has never been heard from again, but Anna begins to suspect the government knows what actually happened to the ship. The setting is at the Library of Congress in 1898, and when the government stonewalls her attempt to learn more about the missing ship, Anna turns to a charismatic congressman for help. As the two of them begin piecing the mystery together, they become embroiled in secrets much bigger than they ever imagined. 

Washington D.C. is a terrific place to set a historical romance, simply because there were so many women who worked for the government in the late 19^th century. I prefer to have my heroines working in professional positions, so Washington is rich with possibilities for me. Of course, there were plenty of restrictions against female workers dating fellow-government employees, so that adds another wonderful layer of tension for my characters. 

Most of all I wanted to write a thrilling, deeply romantic and heart-pounding love story.  The nature of the plot force Anna and Luke to resolve their own wounds from a difficult past before they can forge a lasting relationship.  It is a deeply emotional story, but I tried to inject notes of subtle humor, hope, and inspiration throughout the novel. 

Elizabeth Camden is a research librarian at a small college in central Florida. Her novels have won the coveted RITA and Christy Awards. She has published several articles for academic publications and is the author of four nonfiction history books. Her ongoing fascination with history and love of literature have led her to write inspirational fiction. Elizabeth lives with her husband near Orlando, Florida.

Website:

http://www.elizabethcamden.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethCamden

Pinterest Page for Beyond All Dreams:

http://www.pinterest.com/elizabethcamden/beyond-all-dreams/

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Why I Wrote "Healer of Carthage" Video by Author Lynne Gentry

Why I wrote Healer of Carthage: Video

Social media links: 

Website: https://twitter.com/Lynne_Gentry 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Lynne-Gentry/215337565176144 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lynne_Gentry 

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/lynnegentry7/ 

Lynne Gentry has written for numerous publications. Her newest novel, Healer of Carthage, is the first in The Carthage Chronicles series. She is a professional acting coach, theatre director, and playwright with several full-length musicals and children’s theater curriculums to her credit. An inspirational speaker and dramatic performer, Lynne’s first love is spending time with family.

Review:

Dr. Lisbeth Hastings experiences a tragic accidental death of a small child under her care and the hospital places her on a forced two week probation. She uses this time to visit her father, Lawrence Hastings, who is an archeologist, at his current dig in Aquaba Pass in the Sahara Desert.  This was the same location where her mother, who was a medical doctor, disappeared 23 years ago in the maze of underground caverns. 

 Investigating a particular cave called the Cave of the Swimmers, Lisbeth touches the glyphic red swimmers on the wall triggering the cave floor to open up under her feet dragging her down. Even though she leaps to grab hold of the edges, she continues to fall through the dark opening. As she tumbles downwards, she hears water thundering below. She awakens from the fall and does not recognize where she is. Being jerked upwards, Lisbeth realizes she is no longer in Aquaba Pass but in a slave block being sold as a slave.  Somehow, Dr. Lisbeth Hastings has time warped to 300 A.D. Carthage. How will she survive in this time period and will she find a way back to the 21^st century.

Lynne Gentry provides an entertaining look into the past. She creates the life settings of those who lived in Carthage in 300 A.D.; and skillfully depicts the immoralities, the misuse of power of those in Roman authority, the disregard of human life in the arenas, the hate for Christians and their beliefs, lack of medical knowledge to treat those suffering from the plague, and the inequality of women during that time. 

I enjoyed reading “Healer of Carthage” and I look forward to reading more from The Carthage Chronicles series.

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A Visit With Author Sarah E. Ladd

Hello, and welcome to the second day of 2014!

Today we get to talk with Sarah E. Ladd, author of historical romances.

1.  Have you always wanted to be a writer?   On some level, I have always written.  When I was young, I mostly wrote short stories and poems.  It wasn’t until I was out of college that I wrote my first full-length novel.

2. Are you a plotter, pantster, or a combination?  I am a card-carrying plotter.  For a brief period of time I thought I might be a pantster, but I quickly saw the error of my ways!  As backwards as it sounds, not having my plot clearly laid out makes me more anxious than creative.  I like having a roadmap to follow, and it is within those boundaries that I feel the most creative.  But that is not to say that I haven’t been surprised when I was writing!  There have been several times when I was working on a scene and realized the plot I had just didn’t work or didn’t make sense for the character. 

3. Do you write full time, or do you work it in alongside a full-time job?  I do work outside of writing – I have worked in marketing and strategic brand management for more than 10 years now. 

4. What do you do to get past writer’s block?  I get moving!  When writer’s block strikes, I have to walk away from what it is I am working on.  Either I go for a walk, do some laundry, read – anything to give my mind a break.  I find ideas start flowing again when I least expect them to!

5. How do you get your best ideas?  By daydreaming.  I like to take walks, so I let my mind wander when I do.

6.  Do you write every day?  No, not every day. Like I mentioned earlier, I work outside of writing, and I have a family, so there are days when I don’t open my manuscript.  But even on the days I don’t write, I usually do a couple of writing related tasks, such as social media updates, chatting with writing friends, jot down scene ideas, etc.

7.  Do you like to listen to music when you write? Yes!  But I can’t listen to anything with words – they distract me.  So I listen to a lot of classical music or movie soundtracks while I write or work on writing projects.  For example, as I write this I am listening to the soundtrack of Emma (2009 BBC version).

8. Do you have any rituals you go through before you start writing? I always grab a cup of coffee or hot tea, especially during the winter months!  I get some music going, and if it is at night, I like to light a candle or two.

9.  Do you have any pets?  Do you own them or do they own you? Yes, I have a 2-year-old Golden Retriever names Sam.  He kinda runs the show some days! But he is a faithful writing companion --- he always sits by my chair or my feet when I write.

Sarah E. Ladd received the 2011 Genesis Award in historical romance for The Heiress of Winterwood. She is a graduate of Ball State University and has more than ten years of marketing experience. Sarah lives in Indiana with her amazing husband, sweet daughter, and spunky Golden Retriever. Connect with her online!  Visit her website, like her on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter.

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow and enter to win a copy of Sarah's latest release, The Headmistress of Rosemere!

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Stuart Brannon's Final Shot: A Work of Love for the Late Stephen Bly

When my three sons and I determined to finish the novel my late husband Stephen Bly began, we had quite a challenge. Could a committee create fiction? We had the passion to find out.

Janet and Stephen Bly

We started with 7,000 words, a one-page synopsis, and a list of character names. We had four months to do the research, craft the rest of the story, and turn in the manuscript of 77,000 words. 

Then we divvied out the 1905 research.  

The Places

I toured the Oregon coast, from Seaside to Astoria to study the sights, smells and sounds and historical details: law enforcement, the layout of the town sites, the Salt Works Lewis & Clark memorial, razor clams and the Gearhart golf course. I also learned all I could about gray whales, snakes and wild horses. Even discovered the rare presence of a cougar.

I ventured to Fort Clatsop, where explorers Lewis and Clark wintered in1805 and scanned their journals. I investigated the Portland Lewis and Clark Centennial celebration of 1905. 

We all listened over and over to the audio of the original Stuart Brannon Series, to know Stuart Brannon as close as a brother and the substance of his Arizona ranch life.  

Each of the sons probed at least one other topic. Choices included Europe and assassinations. England's weddings and royalty. Goldfield, Nevada with its mining and labor unions. Panama and the canal project, with connections to France, Nicaragua and Colombia. 

The controversy and intrigues of the Panama Canal project formed a large part of the plot. “I’m going to make the dirt fly,” President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed. And he did. It's alleged he supported a revolution that pressured support of that project when Congress balked. Then, there was the war to win against malaria and yellow fever, as well as gold to be mined.

The Tillamook Head promontory near Seaside was a late addition to our landscape scheme, to substitute for the island off the coast of Oregon we'd chosen, that we discovered couldn't exist. No islands anywhere, only rock outcroppings.

The People

We settled on the Clatsop tribe for the Indian characters.

We gathered biographies on famous golfers and historical persons, such as Theodore Roosevelt, Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill Cody and W.C. Fields.

We needed to know about orphan farms and Roosevelt’s Rough Riders.

We also had to study horse behavior, to determine Brannon's interaction with an out-of-control Tres Vientos.

Gearhart pioneer Narcissa Kinney died before our story begins, but her presence permeates the city. For one thing, she made it a dry town, which it remained more than seventy years after her death. 

Narcissa also brought culture in the form of a 200-acre Gearhart Park that included an auditorium for traveling circuit speakers and fiery orators, Broadway hits and bands such as John Philip Sousa's. Inspired by the Chautauqua movement, more than four hundred cities across the country sponsored these same events. President Theodore Roosevelt called them, “the most American thing in America.”

Narcissa’s husband, Marshall Kinney, instigated the links golf course on the north side of Gearhart. My husband loved playing on the grass-covered dunes so much he determined to set a story there. Gearhart Golf Links opened circa 1892 and ranks the second oldest course in the west. 

The Products and Inventions

We found ads about cigars and cigarettes, clothing styles and golf equipment in old newspapers. We had to learn western genre basics like types of guns and knives, about flashlights and lawnmowers, telephones and walking sticks. In our study of trains, we uncovered railroad land controversies. We searched out transportation, such as motor cars and boats, bicycles and fire trucks. We wondered if 1905 autos had horns. Found out a few did.

The main story begins on a train. The railroad opened up more tourists for the seacoast village of Gearhart, Oregon, tucked between crashing surf and Pacific forests. 

The Culture and Events

We delved into the artwork and books, plays and music, crimes and diseases and also the politics of 1905. We studied the Spanish-American War, especially the U.S.S. Maine explosion in the Havana, Cuba harbor.

Creating a story like Stuart Brannon's Final Shot begins with facts, the truth in fiction.

Stephen Bly (1944-2011) was a Christy Award winning western author of 106 fiction and nonfiction works.     

Janet Chester Bly has authored and co-authored with Stephen Bly 31  nonfiction and fiction books, including Awakening Your Sense of Wonder, Hope Lives Here, The Heart of a Runaway, The Hidden West Series and The Carson City Chronicles. She lives at 4,000 ft. elev. in Winchester, Idaho. 

Russell Bly is married to Lois, father of Zachary and Miranda (married to Chris Ross), and grandfather of 1-year-old Alayah. He is manager of Deranleau’s department store in Moscow, Idaho.

Michael Bly is married to Michelle and is Director of Business Operations for Inland Cellular in Lewiston, Idaho.

Aaron Bly is married to Rina, father of Keaton and Deckard. He’s Manufacturing Supervisor for Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories in Lewiston, Idaho.

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