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Susan A. Royal

~ If you could read my mind

Susan A. Royal

Monthly Archives: August 2018

Author #SummerRead Exchange-Julie Howard

31 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by Susan A. Royal in Interview

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Author #SummerRead Exchange, Crime Times Two, July Howard, Wild Crime Series

author-summer-reads-exchange_2

 

julie howard

Today I’m happy to continue my Author SummerRead Exchange with Julie Howard. Join me for a glass of ice tea and we’ll get to know Julie better. (Love the background of your bio picture!)

Julie Howard is the author of the Wild Crime series. She is a former journalist and editor who has covered topics ranging from crime to cowboy poetry. She is a member of the Idaho Writers Guild and founder of the Boise chapter of Shut Up & Write. Learn more at juliemhoward.com.

Julie has agreed to do answer some of my quirky questions. These are the ones she picked.

  1. How often do you write?

Every day! I don’t feel quite right if I don’t pound out a few words. Sometimes, those words are a blog or implementing a marketing plan. Most of the time, though, I make sure I’m writing one of my stories – either a short story (I love writing flash fiction) or my latest novel. I love disappearing into my characters’ world and joining them on their journey. When I emerge, sometimes many hours later, I’m charged up for the rest of my day.

For me, blogging is a great way to get my creative juices flowing. I get to enjoy my stories all over again.

     2. Are you a plotter, a pantser or some combination of both?

Writing mysteries turned me into a plotter. I figured I needed to know who the culprit was before I started so I could lay the clues chapter by chapter. I’m big on writing outlines, but I always let myself wander off the path a bit along the way. In my first book, “Crime and Paradise,” I wandered so far off the path that I ended up changing who the murderer was! Most writers will tell you that you have to let your characters lead the story, not the other way around. So I’ll set my characters in motion, give them a setting, and then let them tell the story.

That makes sense. I start out being a pantser, but if I don’t do some plotting, it makes more work in the end. An outline works good for me, even if I only outline part of the story at a time.

     3.  Name an author or authors who never fail to inspire you.

I’m an equal opportunity reader, meaning I read everything from biographies to science fiction to historical fiction and everything in between. To me, good writing and good stories come in all packages. At the end of the day, though, I always come back to the classics. John Steinbeck, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, George Eliot, Henry James, Edith Wharton. I just finished rereading Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness about the Congo and it just about ripped my heart out. There’s a reason these authors stand the test of time.

 Absolutely!

     4. Describe one of your favorite characters and tell us who you patterned them after and why.

I really love the daughter of the main character in my Wild Crime series. Jamie is five years old, sassy and smart. She questions authority, stands up for herself, has endless energy and loves her younger brother to pieces. This is a girl who you just know will grow up to be a strong woman. I’m sure I’ll cry when I finish the final book and have to say goodbye to her. She’s really gotten under my skin.

How interesting it must be to watch her character develop throughout the series.

     5.  What is the best compliment you ever received as a writer?

“I’m looking forward to your next book.” When people say this to me, it gives me a rush of adrenaline.

     6.  What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?

When I’m not writing, I spend time with family, reading or, as often as I can, I head to the mountains. Give me pine trees, give me a crooked path, give me the sound of a nearby creek – and I’m in heaven. Fortunately, I live in Idaho where it’s easy to indulge myself.

perf5.000x8.000.indd

Blurb from “Crime Times Two” (coming Fall 2018):

Meredith knows three things: First, the man in the library begged her to help him. Second, he was afraid of his wife. Third, now he’s dead.

While the evidence first points to a natural death, Meredith is certain there’s more to discover. People are tight-lipped in this small mountain village, and the man’s wife isn’t talking either. Then a second death occurs, with remarkable similarities. It’s time to talk about murder.

As a slow-burning relationship heats up in her own life, Meredith struggles with concepts of love and hate, belief and suspicion, and absolution and guilt. Nothing is clear cut…

She must decide: Is guilt, like evil, something you can choose to believe in?

 

Excerpt from “Crime Times Two”:

 

Jowls quivered under the man’s weak chin, and Meredith noted the stained and frayed shirt of someone who spent a lot of time alone in dark rooms, sending out a better version of himself into the virtual world. His eyes were anxious and beseeching at her as though she should have a clear understanding of him and his life.

Somehow, over the past hour and a half they’d been sitting next to each other – him playing video games and sharing his life story and her ignoring him the best she could – she had become his confessor and friend.

Meredith gave him what she hoped was an impartial-though-quasi-friendly smile. She reached for her purse and papers and rose from her chair. “Well. Nice talking with you.”

The man was lost in his own train of thought and seemed only slightly aware that Meredith was leaving.

He shook his head, morose.

“To make a long story short,” he summed up, “I think my wife is trying to kill me.”

 

https://www.facebook.com/juliemhowardauthor

http://juliemhoward.com

https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Paradise-Julie-Howard/dp/1509216456 (book)

It’s been great having you visit, Julie. I hope you enjoyed my blog as much as I enjoyed yours!!

A #SummerRead by Kris Bock for the Romance and Suspense Reader

24 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by Susan A. Royal in Interview

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Author #SummerRead, Kris Bock, Mad Monk's Treasure, romance, Suspense

author-summer-reads-exchange_2

Today’s another hot summer day in Texas and I’m ready for it. I’ve got all the ceiling fans going ninety to nothing, and a big pitcher of tea in the fridge. Sit down, kick off your shoes and join me for a visit with author Kris Bock. I’m a fan of Mary Stewart and Barbara Michaels, so I’m really eager to hear more!!

Kris, tell us a little about yourself. 

Kris Bock cover banner png 851x315

Who is your ideal reader?

 

My romantic adventures should appeal to fans of “lighter” romantic suspense, along the lines of Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, and Nora Roberts. In fact, Roberta at Sensuous Reviews blog said, “Counterfeits is the kind of romantic suspense novel I have enjoyed since I first read Mary Stewart’s Moonspinners, and Kris Bock used all the things I love about this genre.”

You’ll find plenty of action and a sweet love story, but not the gritty violence and explicit erotica of some modern romantic suspense. I also tried to bring the New Mexico scenery to life – gorgeous sunsets, dangerous monsoon storms, and everywhere you turn a plant or animal that wants to scratch, bite, or sting you. Armchair adventure travelers are welcome!

 

Does your real life show up in your writing? In what ways?

 

My historical novels for children don’t use a lot of real life experience, since they are set in different cultures, hundreds or thousands of years ago. Of course, I assume that people haven’t changed that much – the seven deadly sins are pretty relevant today – so I draw on my understanding of people and my general experiences with emotions. For example, in The Well of Sacrifice, the main character idolizes her older brother and is envious of her prettier sister. She’s at an age where she thinks the adults should take care of things but is realizing that they don’t always do what’s right. I think those aspects resonate with kids today, even if you’re talking about a pre-Columbian Mayan setting with a very different culture and lifestyle.

 

Real life experiences often give me ideas for my adult novels, written as Kris Bock. What We Found is a mystery inspired by finding a dead body while hiking. Someone in law enforcement said that people often don’t report crimes they stumbled across. That got me thinking – Why? What reasons would you have for not calling the police? The book also includes falconry, based on experiences I’ve had hanging out with a falconer.

 

Whispers in the Dark follows a young archaeologist who stumbles into danger as mysteries unfold among ancient Southwest ruins. That was inspired by a trip to Hovenweep National Monument some years ago. I loved that setting and had to use it in a book!

 

I had an idea for a series about treasure hunting adventures in the Southwest, so I read up on some lost treasures. In The Mad Monk’s Treasure, two friends search for the Victorio Peak treasure – a heretic Spanish priest’s gold mine, made richer by the spoils of bandits and an Apache raider. Their experiences in the desert are based on my experiences hiking in New Mexico, though they get more danger and drama.

 

What writing projects are you currently working on?

 

I’m about to submit a mystery about a former war correspondent who returns to her childhood home after an injury and uncovers a mystery at the Alzheimer’s care unit where her mother resides. It’s intended to be the first in a series with the same main character.

Twitter-MadMonk

 

Excerpt from The Mad Monk’s Treasure

 

Erin wheeled the bike around the front of her house and mounted. At the corner, she paused and looked both ways. The long frontage road was dangerously narrow, with a cement wall on one side and a ditch on the other. Fortunately, traffic was normally light, and at this time of day the road lay empty. Erin pushed off, still grinning from her find. She rode on the right side, by the ditch, instead of facing traffic, because it was just too frightening to ride alongside the wall when a car passed.

 

She’d gone a block when she heard the hum of a car engine as it pulled out from a side street behind her. She rode along the very edge of the pavement, even though the car would have plenty of room to pass her without oncoming traffic.

 

Erin glanced over her shoulder. The black SUV 20 feet behind her hadn’t bothered to pull out into the road at all. Jerk. When would drivers learn to share the road with bicyclists? Erin pulled onto the two-foot wide gravel strip between the pavement and the ditch. She couldn’t stop without risking a skid, but she slowed so the SUV could pass.

 

The engine roared. Erin glanced back again.

 

Black metal bore down on her. Her heart lurched and the bike wobbled. This guy was crazy! She whipped her gaze forward, rose up in the seat, and pumped the pedals with all her power, skimming along inches from the ditch. He was just trying to scare her. She’d get his license plate and—

 

She felt the bumper hit her back tire. The bike seemed to leap into the air, and she went flying. The dried mud and weeds of the ditch seemed to rise up to meet her.

 

She didn’t even have time to scream.

Kris Bock desert

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance with outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. In The Skeleton Canyon Treasure, sparks fly when reader favorites Camie and Tiger help a mysterious man track down his missing uncle. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town.

 

Fans of Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, and Terry Odell will want to check out Kris Bock’s romantic adventures. “Counterfeits is the kind of romantic suspense novel I have enjoyed since I first read Mary Stewart’s Moonspinners.” 5 Stars – Roberta at Sensuous Reviews blog

 

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

 

Kris Bock’s Newsletter signup

Kris Bock website

Kris Bock Blog: The Southwest Armchair Traveler

Kris Bock’s Amazon page

Kris Bock on GoodReads

Kris Bock on Facebook

Kris Bock on Twitter

Kris Bock on Pinterest

Kris Bock on Instagram

This has been fun, Kris. My thanks to everyone for stopping by. I’m over at Kris’s blog today, https://swarmchairtraveler.blogspot.com/2018/08/royal.html Please stop by there as well! 

 

 

What kind of editing do I need? by Kerri Miller…

18 Saturday Aug 2018

Posted by Susan A. Royal in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

on Utopian Editing site:

You’ve written something. You’ve poured all your skill, creativity, and time into it. You’ve made sacrifices to reach the finish line, and you can now congratulate yourself on a job well done.

But what’s next?

You know that something needs to happen between the completed draft and publication. Trouble is, you aren’t quite sure what. There are so many types of editing:

  • Developmental (substantive) editing
  • Fact-checking
  • Line editing
  • Copyediting
  • Proofreading
  • Formatting

How are you supposed to know what services you need? 

Continue reading HERE

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Writing An Agent Submission Letter

09 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by Susan A. Royal in Uncategorized

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Short and sweet…good information

Helen Glynn Jones

img_3729After seven days of writing about an otherworldly weekend away with The Silent Eye, it’s back to reality with a rather prosaic thud – this post is all about crafting the agent submission letter.

I’ve written before about submitting your manuscript to agents – while I don’t consider myself by any means an expert, I have had a bit of experience in sending the things out. I also attended a workshop some time back at Bloomsbury, where a couple of London agents shared their idea of a perfect submission letter, and several other agents have commented that my submission package stood out from the others (although no-one has taken me on board as yet – boo-hoo).

So, how do you structure the all-important letter? (I say all-important because it’s the first opportunity you have to make an impression, and we all know how important first impressions are). Well, here are…

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Everyone interested in time travel, meet here yesterday

02 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by Susan A. Royal in Uncategorized

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bluebird of bitterness

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A Hot #SummerRead by Brenda Sparks for the Paranormal Romance Reader

01 Wednesday Aug 2018

Posted by Susan A. Royal in Interview

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Alpha Pair, Brenda Sparks, Paranormal Romance, SummerRead

author-summer-reads-exchange_2

August is here, and if you’re like me, one of your biggest concerns is finding something to do indoors and out of the sun. So, turn down the AC, grab a cold drink with lots of ice and settle into a comfy chair with Brenda Sparks new paranormal romance

ALPHA PAIR

Alpha Pair cover large size

How strong is the blood that binds? Tatiana Bolovich is a beautiful femme fatale with a haunting history. Having recently discovered the brutish Demetri Romanoff is her heartmate, she spent the past year avoiding him, but the Fates have other plans.

Demetri commands every situation. A strong, valiant warrior he’s used to being in control, that is until he is kidnapped by demons. Forced to endure unspeakable experiments at the hands of his enemy, the Alpha discovers just how out of control life can get.

Summoned by the Alpha Council, Tatiana grudgingly helps track Demetri down, promising herself that she will disappear from his life forever once the job is done. But matters of the heart are not so easily ignored. Will she give him a chance to prove himself, or will she deny her nature and slip away into the night?

 

Buy Links:

Amazon: mybook.to/AlphaPair

Wild Rose Press: https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/5985-alpha-pair.html?search_query=alpha+pair&results=2

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/alpha-pair/id1403818041?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/alpha-pair-brenda-sparks/1128881136?ean=2940162103929

 

Billowing Flames

The Alpha swung a leg over the motorcycle and tugged on his helmet. “You coming anytime this century, woman?”

Tatiana pulled her helmet down over her dark hair, the blunt ends sticking out from under it like twigs in a nest.

“Hold your horses, Romanoff.” She straddled her bike.

Demetri shifted the bike from its stand and rousted the thing with a kick of his booted heel. He gunned the throttle. “My horses want to go,” he called over the roar of the sports bike.

Tatiana started the motorcycle she borrowed from Marcus with a push of a button. The black beast growled to life. “Well, what are we waiting for then? I bet I can get to the counseling center before you.”

The howl of her engine made further conversation impossible when she revved the machine.

They tore off down the gravel drive, the bikes fishtailing. Bits of gravel spit out behind them. Demetri gunned his engine and took the lead. He flashed her a brilliant smile when he passed, making it almost worth being second place. But not quite.

As they rounded out of the gated fence onto the road, Tatiana cut under him to regain the lead.

He shook his head. Life will never be dull with you, tigress warrior. You are a fierce competitor, but then so am I.

I’m delighted to have you today, Brenda. Thanks for joining me during Hot SummerRead. Good luck with Alpha Pair. It sounds like my kind of escape! 

brenda white background sitting crop square (2016_11_26 02_57_06 UTC)

Born in Virginia, Brenda Sparks now resides in the Sunshine State.  Balancing her professional commitment to the local school district with her writing is challenging at times, but writing suspenseful paranormal romances is a passion that won’t be denied. Her idea of a perfect day is one spent in front of a computer with a hot cup of coffee, her fingers flying over the keys to send her characters off on their latest adventure.  Brenda loves to connect with readers.  Please visit her online or stop by her website to say hi.

Author Links:

Website: http://brenda-sparks.com/index.html

Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/forBrendaSparks

Twitter Handle: @brenda_sparks https://twitter.com/brenda_sparks

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/BrendaSparks   

Facebook Author Page : http://www.facebook.com/brenda.sparksauthor.1

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

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Brenda-Sparks/e/B00B7AJBBQ/ 

Blog: www.brenda-sparks.com/blog

Thanks so much for stopping in for a visit, Brenda. Come back anytime!!

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