SOON…VERY SOON

One of the biggest highlights for an author is when she can write THE END at the bottom of the last page. Friday night, I did just that. It’s like having a baby only your friends don’t give you showers.

A charismatic and popular priest, Father Michael Dunne is brutally stabbed to death in the confessional. The Seattle Catholic Community is stunned and in mourning for a cleric who served not only the people in his parish but many in the Northwest’s burgeoning homeless and drug-addicted communities.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS

There are many gifts of Christmas including a gracious, giving attitude by many people. Individuals dig deep into their pockets to buy toys for disadvantaged children. Others drop coins into the Salvation Army red kettle. Still others donate turkeys and canned goods to area food banks. Don’t you wish we could keep this warm, caring attitude for the whole year?

We also take special care to find just the perfect gift for our loved ones. If you have a book lover in your life and are looking for just the right book, I’d like to share the books I have authored with you. Hopefully, you’ll find one that sparks your interest.
Seattle homicide detectives, Nick Winston and Pat Strom, search out crime in the underbelly of the Emerald City. This time, a serial killer is murdering lesbians in the Northwest’s most gay-friendly city. Winston and Strom are called to the apartment of University of Washington student, Kylee Harris. The provocative young woman is slaughtered in her bed, and the killer leaves behind a grisly clue that shocks even the most cynical detectives. https://www.amazon.com/Kiss-Girls-Make-Them-Die-ebook/dp/B06XBR46LV/ref

No More “Happy Ever After”

How many times have you heard people say, “I’m going to write a book one day?” I muttered that phrase to myself many times. I’d sit down with a legal pad in hand and start writing about love gone wrong because as a teenager that’s usually the case. Later in my thirties when I  was a bit more serious about actually finishing a project, I took a seminar sponsored by Harlequin Books and wrote copious notes about “the formula.” All romance books have guidelines about when the lovers meet, how quickly they fall in love, what obstacles they face in their relationship, and how the book should end. I tried. I really did. 

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

 Publishing is a carnivorous business. The competition is keen and it’s a struggle to get your material noticed among the hundreds of thousands of books published yearly. One thing has become crystal clear since I became an author-I’ve learned that I need help and lots of it. I rely on my friends to give me feedback and yes, to help promote my book when it’s done. The Beatles said it so well, “I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends.”

One of my best friends is Sandra Nachlinger, a talented writer and terrific editor. She is the first person I turn to when my book is complete. She has an awesome editing eye and catches many mistakes in my raw manuscript.

It’s her other gift that I wanted to share with you today. Sandy has penned two romance novels and I asked her how her journey to successful author began. “I wrote my first love story in elementary school. It takes place on Halloween, and the heroine receives a kiss as the happy ending. I’ve written short stories and articles for magazines for many years. My first book (I.O.U. Sex) was co-written with my best friend Sandra Allen in 2010.”

I.O.U. Sex is such an intriguing title. I had to know how the two Sandras came up with that title. Sandy chuckled when she explained, “The idea for my first book came from my high school diary. I’ve known my I.O.U.Sex co-author since 8th grade, and we nearly died laughing when we read my high school diary. Reminiscing about our high school boyfriends and speculating about their current whereabouts led to the book’s premise.”

I was curious and asked Sandy if she had ever considered contacting her high school boyfriend. I found mine in Fairbanks, Alaska. Her eyes sparkled and she gave me a big grin. “You wouldn’t believe how many people have asked if I.O.U. Sex is based in reality! No, my co-author and I did not track down our high school boyfriends, and we certainly didn’t hook up with them. But we had a lot of fun imagining what would happen if our characters did that.” Pour a glass of wine and settle in for a charming, funny, bittersweet saga.

https://www.amazon.com/I-O-U-Sex-Sandra-Nachlinger-ebook/dp/B004CFAPA4/

Sandy followed her initial novel with Bluebonnets for Elly. “My second book is a more traditional sweet romance with a younger hero and heroine. It was picked up and released by Sweet Cravings Publishing (an imprint of Secret Cravings Publishing). Unfortunately, like many smaller presses recently, they went out of business. I then re-released it as a self-published novel. Although bits and pieces of people I’ve known appear in Bluebonnets for Elly, the plot and characters are purely imaginative. However, I spent many summers at Lake Texoma (the book’s setting) and the nearby small town of Pottsboro, Texas. They definitely inspired my depiction of the area where Elly and her grandmother live.”

https://www.amazon.com/Bluebonnets-Elly-Sandra-Nachlinger-ebook/dp/B01C7KMBN4

Sandy stays busy with a blog of her own called Writing With a Texas Twang and writes articles about a variety of subjects. She often introduces her followers to books that she has recently read and recommends. If you’d like to take a look, here’s the link: https://SandraNachlinger.blogspot.com