Tag Archive | reading

Author Confessions: Gnomebody But You (Book Release)

Nov10
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Author Confessions: Gnomebody But You (Book Release)

Sooo, life has been crazy in my world and some days I’m barely treading water with all I’m trying tt juggle and technology doesn’t always help me like I’d hoped it would.

For instance, I thought, wrongly, that my Christmas novella, Gnomebody but You, was releasing December 1st.

I was wrong. It comes out TODAY!

Here’s the back page blurb:

Love and trouble are brewing at TrueSpark Trucking… Tali Shadowgrace just wants a fresh start. After escaping an abusive ex, she’s moved to a new state, landed a job at TrueSpark Trucking, and is almost convinced she’s safe. But trust? That’s another story. Especially when it comes to men.

Enter Puck Bellpepper—yes, Puck—a man with three non-negotiables for a relationship: she must be shorter than he is, willing to tolerate his twin sister Quincia, and, most importantly, share his faith. When he meets Tali and discovers she works with Quincia, he starts to think his prayers might’ve been answered. (Even if her name does sound like a cartoon villain.)

But when strange “accidents” start plaguing TrueSpark, Puck’s determined to get to the bottom of it…and spend more time with Tali. Is her ex back for revenge? Or is someone else stirring up chaos? With sabotaged trucks, a meddling twin, and a Christmas party that reveals all, Puck and Tali must figure out: Can love bloom when danger’s lurking? And will Tali ever believe that a man like Puck, a gnomebody as sweet as he is quirky, is exactly who she needs?

A whimsical Christian rom-com with a dash of suspense, faith, and holiday magic—perfect for fans of:

  • lighthearted romance,
  • quirky characters, and
  • love stories where the hero’s name is literally Puck Bellpepper.

WHY GNOMES? 

This is a question I often ask myself. I love the gnomes and resisted collecting them for years. I’m not gnome-wild, mind you but since I’m on the short side and my husband isn’t super tall and wears a short beard… well, you get my affinity for gnomes!

The challenge for me was that gnomes, while fictional, are considered to be mischiouvous creatures. They can be considered magical which I don’t believe in because of my faith in Jesus Christ and my publisher won’t go for anything like that. So I decided to try to have fun with the silly names gnomes can have but set aside the unsavory aspects of them that don’t jive with my faith, and create human gnomes. I get to write stories of real life people with a heaping side dish of whimsy.

The hard reality of life can be lightened with the silly names and gnome-like characters and that made them fun to write. And Christmas is a perfect time for a little bit of whimsy, don’t you think?

MY WONDERFUL PUBLISHER

My Editor-in-Chief was willing to give this risky recipe a shot. While there may be nothing new under the sun, there were no inspirational gnome romance stories I could find, much less Christmas ones. Who knows, maybe gnomes will be the new Amish fiction explosion! LOL! An author can wish. I’m grateful that I was given the freedom to try something new and fresh in the world of Christian publishing.

I hope you’ll purchase the book! I have a vareity of other Christmas novellas. I’ll list them below by catagory.

If you enjoyed I’ll be Gnome for Christmas, you’ll probably love Gnomebody but You!

My publisher created a wonderful book trailer for it which you can see here:

OTHER CHRISTMAS NOVELLAS:

All are available in Ebook format. Some can be purchased directly from me in print but they are not offered online in that format with the exception of Operation: Camoflague Christmas.

Historical (Prairie):

Fragile Blessings (I have print copies)

Historical (Regency)

Gabriel’s Gift

The Doctor’s Daughter

A Husband for Christmas (audiobook https://amzn.to/47qOGpI)

Jingle all the Way

Contemporary:

Sugar Cookies and Street Lamps

Pixie’s Almost Perfect Christmas

A Slam-Dunk Christmas  (A spin-off of Whitney’s Vow)

A Tangled Christmas (A spin-off of Whitney’s Vow)

Military (with DeeDee Lake):

Operation: Camouflage Christmas prequel to the Rules of Engagement series (I have print copies)

Gnomes

I’ll be Gnome for Christmas  (I have print copies) 

Gnomebody but You (I hope to have print copies soon) 

WHAT ABOUT 2026?

I have two Christmas novellas in the works already for next year but might still want to add a Gnome-themed one! We’ll see. I  think Puck’s sister, Quincia Bellpepper deserves to find love too. Do you have any suggestions for a fun holiday Gnome title? I’d love to hear your ideas!

REVIEWS 

As always, a simple review on Amazon goes a long way to helping an author as well as telling your friends (whether in person or via social media) about books you enjoy. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising for an author!

Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoy Gnomebody but You! 

Author Confessions: Too Much Heart

Sep23
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Author Confessions: Too Much Heart

I’ve been talking about a lot of words but the past few posts were about verbs. Let me spend some time talking about the most overused word I’ve found (and have used in my own writing) in romantic fiction.

Heart.

Her heart raced.

She treasured it in her heart.

Her heart sped up.

Her heart ached.

Because emotion is often centered in our heart, authors tend to focus on that alone when they describe scenes. However, there is an entire body that can react to emotion and the book The Emotion Thesaurus can be helpful regardless of whether the emotion is love, jealousy, anger, loneliness… I highly recommend any author purchase that book and the companion pieces on positive and negative traits.   They are valuable resources. Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have some more in the series that I just ordered and look forward to having on my bookshelf as resources.

Let’s try some different ways to say the examples above:

“Her heart raced.” Let’s try this instead: She couldn’t catch her breath.

“She treasured it in her heart.” How about: She closed her eyes to capture the moment.

“Her heart sped up.” Maybe instead: She placed a hand on her chest in a futile attempt to calm herself.

“Her heart ached.” Perhaps this: Tears welled in her eyes and she blinked back the tears.

Caveat:

You don’t have to eliminate every instance of the word heart in your prose. Especially when a character is speaking or perhaps texting or writing something. We often tend to use the word heart, but there is an entire physical and emotional body of description to draw on to add depth and color to your story and keep the reader engaged. Avoid writing with too much heart, at least in terms of words. I hope your efforts to put words on the page are filled with an overflowing passion for your work-in-progress.

Author Confessions: Weasel Words

Aug5
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Author Confessions: Weasel Words

Do you have any weasel words in your speech? I go through phases at times where a certain word pops up more often than others. For instance, a few years ago I seemed to be continually surprised at God’s work in fashioning my relationship with my boyfriend (now husband), Ben. I was often heard to say “Seriously?”

This was so automatic that when he proposed, and I realized what he was doing, that was the first word out of my mouth! Seriously? Followed by “Get on with it then!” A funny memory. Of course, I said yes.

Some people have weasel words or phrases almost as a tick or space holder. “I know,” or “Um,” or “Ah,” This can be annoying to a listener when used too often.

As writers we often have weasel words that can creep into our stories. These words don’t really add anything to the story and often are not necessary or can be substituted with something else.

This is not an all-inclusive list:

Just

That

Suddenly

Very

Every

Some

Most

But

OK/Okay

Different genres might have their own as well. Since I work mostly with romance, I find that heart is often way overused in the books when there might be a variety of other ways to express the emotion going on in the “heart” of the character.

As a writer of Regency romances I found the phrase “a bit” would often creep in and was easily deleted without changing anything of value in the sentence or paragraph.

These are simple little words and every author has a favorite. As an editor, if a word keeps popping up over and over and doesn’t need to be there I might flag it for the author or delete some of them. Trying to police these words can be hard because we often don’t even realize we’re reading them. It’s not that you have to get rid of every instance of these words and sometime they are appropriate, hence this becomes a judgement call and subjective.

OK is an interesting one. Pelican Book Group has a house rule where we use OK instead of okay in our stories. What amazes me is how that stands out so much when going over a text. It can become a bug-a-boo or weasel word as well and sometimes as authors we need to find other ways to express what is going on in the narrative or dialogue.

How does an author decide how to get rid of weasel words?  Three questions can be asked to help make that decision:

  1. Will my sentence make sense without it?
  2. Does it sound natural? Sometimes in dialogue it might be better to keep it.
  3. Do I need it? Does it improve or hurt your writing ?

Always go with what is best for your story.

Weasel words are subtle and sneaky but something every author needs to watch out for so that our stories can be as clean and readable as possible. Not always an easy job to do but one that must be done. In speech or in writing, what words tend to be your most used weasle words?

Author Confessions: Is It Wrong to Read Inspirational Romance?

Jun24
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Author Confessions: Is It Wrong to Read Inspirational Romance?

Believe it or not there are some churches that would never promote, encourage, or support that I write Christian romances. They don’t even need to read it. They believe that it leads women to unrealistic expectations in marriage or perhaps that the values in the book don’t reflect the more narrow legalistic values that the church proclaims as godly.

Either way, they won’t consider it a good thing, but I do know that some women who are in those churches will read semi-erotic books by secular authors. Wouldn’t you prefer that they read a book that is clean and doesn’t titillate? Aren’t there values in Christian-authored books that transcend the romance part as well?

It was a surprise to my husband, but not to me, when he was telling a pastor he admired about how great my writing is. Yet I know another Christian female author who had sat in that church when that very pastor had condemned the kind of work she was writing out of obedience to God and in a way to honor God with her gifts. Needless to say, she left that church but it was like a slap in the face to her.

Now, before you tell me I’m saying all Christian romance is right to read, hear me out. I have a friend who was in a sex-less, difficult marriage to an unbeliever. She avoided Christian romance novels, and all romance novels. It hurt too much. I would never condemn her for her choice. If God says don’t read it, even if it is fine for most people, then don’t. Obeying God should always be primary, but that doesn’t make it universal. I was in a similar situation and those books held out the truth that there was a standard for men that was more than what I had. Now when I was free to look for that I set my sights higher than I had when I was younger and didn’t believe I deserved that kind of love. I don’t deserve anything to be honest but I believed that there were good and godly men out there and I praise God that He brought me a great guy who loves the Lord and treats me with respect and love. He isn’t perfect, but he’s perfect for me.

Not all Christian books are created equal, whether fiction or non-fiction and we should always be discerning. I’ve seen some exceptionally popular, best-selling books cause great damage in the church and in the lives of individuals who have read them. I’m not going to name book titles. You might disagree with me and select others books you strongly disagree with. If that is true for non-fiction it can be equally true for fiction as well. We need to be discerning as we read as believers. Sure, open the book, step on in and relax and enjoy the story, but don’t check your brain at the door.

The reality is every book has a human author at various stages of sanctification and growth in their own Christian walk. That will translate to the page and the underlying theology which is behind their story.

So, is it wrong to read inspirational romance? It definitely is not a sin unless God tells you not to read that. But as with movies and other media content we take in during our days, we need to be discerning. I believe authors are held as accountable as any pastor or teacher out there for the content they produce and we should never seek to lead anyone into sin or promote sinful practices, but some theology can be far more subtle and we need to be careful.

Those church leaders who “ban” Christian romance are not giving their women enough credit to have the brains to discern what is real and what is not. Who knows, maybe the story will convict them to be more godly as women and wives? The hope of any Christian author would be to leave their reader on a more solid encouraged place before the cross of Christ. Maybe entertained, but hopefully encouraged and uplifted and maybe even challenged in their own faith as a result. I know I wanted books I wouldn’t be ashamed of my children picking up and hopefully the characters would give them godly role models to follow in their own walk. So far none of my children have read my books but maybe someday? And if not my kids, maybe those of others will be blessed.

 

What’s Your Favorite Flavor?

Jun30
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Image courtesy of debspoons / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of debspoons / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? My oldest son is pure vanilla. My daughter loves cherry and my middle son love Reece’s ice cream.

Hubby will eat about anything. I don’t think he has a favorite.

I love a mint chocolate chip but have been known to enjoy butter pecan or praline ice cream at times. Because ice cream messes with my asthma, it’s a few and far between treat…and it better be the best there is when I do have it.

Now if you asked me about favorite popsicle flavor I would be all over the board. I love cherry but also root beer and banana!

Our reading tastes are as varied and diverse as our taste for cool deserts in summer. For instance, I love a good romance, but I’m not as keen on southern romances and avoid Amish. I’m a fan of western historical and Regency time period. I have friends who love WWII fiction. Others who love thrillers or mysteries. I love a good romantic suspense but not a pure suspense. Women’s fiction is great but not my “go to” kind of thing.

Reviews can reflect more the taste of the reader than the quality of the book. Let’s face it. I’m not a fan of Stephen King but that doesn’t mean he is a poor writer. He’s not. He’s brilliant and has carved out a career for himself. Nicholas Sparks has a following too but while I’ve read him, he’s not my fave either. Now personally, I won’t do reviews on books like that if I don’t absolutely have to. “Have to” is when I’ve been given a free copy and in return write a review–good, bad or indifferent about it. As an author (or even a reader looking at reviews to decide whether you want to read the book), take that into account as you read the especially negative ones. My favorites are those who got a free copy of a Christian book and then take issue with the faith element. Um, duh? It was clearly stated that there was going to be an inspirational component! Yeah, not all readers are as smart as you and me.

Editors and Agents have preferences too! Sometimes a book could be well written but just not quite what we prefer. At Prism Book Group we will often ask another editor to read it to see if they want to take it on. Sometimes we just don’t have the time though. It is hard to say no to a great story, but sometimes we have to because it has to be a favorite, not just dessert for the sake of ice cream.

Even publishing houses have their flavor. I had friend say, “I don’t have a Bethany House voice.” I had to stop and think about that because I do read a lot of Bethany House authors and I think that writer is correct. There is a particular kind of voice they like. But another publisher may not. And you may not either. I’ve had friends read a book I raved about and been disappointed. It wasn’t their flavor! And that’s okay.

Editors and Agents don’t like to give rejections, but let’s just face it. If I don’t love your story as much as you do, then you do not want me to do the editing job on it. It’s hard work to edit a book but I like to enjoy my work and if I have a less than thrilled attitude going in, no matter how hard I try, I can’t guarantee I’ll be bringing my best game to your project. Not that I wouldn’t try. I would. But you want your editor or agent to be a champion for your book, to cheer you on, encourage you to make it the best. You need to know we aren’t being nasty when we give you those edits, but we are trying to polish your book, make sure its flavor is the best it can be, so the right readers can enjoy it too.

What is your favorite flavor–of ice cream or novel?

 

The Crash of the Loose Train of Thought

Mar31
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Image courtesy of Tom Curtis / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Tom Curtis / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I have come off some busy crazy weeks just dealing with my primary job of being a mom.

It’s kind of sad that when your kids are babies we try so hard to get them to talk. To say “momma,” and “dadda” and then later to “use their words” instead of throwing a temper tantrum to get what they want.

My kids are older now. I’m tired of hearing their words.

It’s exhausting! They want to be fed all the time. This is especially true for my nine year old daughter who I suspect is hitting a growth spurt. I think she eats nonstop from the moment she gets home from school to bedtime. “Mom. I’m hungry,” are words I hear too often.

“So? You’re hungry? Didn’t I just feed you?”

“Yes, but I’m hungry again.”

Of course it is never for leftovers in the fridge. It’s always something that requires me to get up and prepare it for her.

I swear if tragedy comes upon this family, my kids will starve to death rather than get their own food, or refill their water bottles.

What kind of kids am I raising?

So why am I telling you all this?

Because life is full of what a friend of mine once called “the dailies.” The daily stresses we all have to deal with. Throw in demanding children, head lice (yeah, really), science fair projects, regenerating laundry pile and financial worries and the dailies begin to feel too much.

My pastor talked on Sunday about how we have an adversary as we seek to persevere in our faith. Ironically, as he finished his message that was when the adversary whacked me upside the head. Depression is a vicious weapon when aimed at a weary soul. The message?

“Would anyone even miss you if you weren’t here?”

Sounds a bit like “It’s a Wonderful Life,” doesn’t it? Ouch. My heart cracked as my brain sped into overdrive reciting all the things I do to use the gifts God has given me to honor and glorify him. As if my value is tied up in that?

Why would the enemy think he can use that line of attack? Because fellow believers have used it too, only with subtle changes in wording. The enemy doesn’t have to work too hard sometimes to defeat me.

So my day was spent spinning my wheels. I journaled a prayer, tried to watch a movie and couldn’t write. I repeatedly fed my kids. I gave up all attempts at productivity and sat down to read a novel. I started it the day before and struggled to set it aside. I read the last 300 pages of it. Done. Finished. LOVED it.

I wish my heart had a reset button. My computer has a reset to a previous version of a backup. If it gets corrupted, I can reset it and maybe lose some data but overcome perhaps another more damaging issue.

I prayed. I journaled. It wasn’t until I lost myself in the adventure, courage and perseverance of faith of someone else (yeah, fictional people, but still) that my heart recalibrated.

I’m still tired, but not as beaten down as I was earlier. The power of great fiction can be used by God in so many ways we often never realize. What an honor it is to be part of the business of putting stories like that into the hands, and hearts, of readers. Maybe it’s a selfish thing though, because I get the blessing of those words before the general public does.

I guess my train of thought is back on the tracks now. Whew!

 

 

What the Author Really Meant Was. . .

Feb24
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Image courtesy of Feelart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Feelart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In college, I remember dissecting stories for their deeper meanings. Comparing and contasting Shakespeare plays. Did he really mean for the fools to always be the wisest in the whole story?

I do think that a lot of what an author experiences in real life, from people, places, events, hurts, challenges, dreams and joys, finds their way into the pages of their stories. The fact is though that some of what a reader might see as a theme may have never crossed the mind of the writer.

I wrote a story and someone told me how cool my symbolism was with some of the physical aspects of the story to the emotional challenge of the character. I was impressed. “Sure, yeah. I meant to do that.”

In reality, it was unconscious. I had no clue I had written that way.

Part of communication isn’t only what the writer or speaker says, but how the reader or listener interprets those concepts or images. As much as the writers brings everything about themselves to their story, so to does the reader. For that reason alone, every story is going to have some people who love it. The tale resonates with something deep inside them. For others, it will be a miss and not enjoyable. It’s not the author’s fault or the reader’s either. It just is.

You might like chocolate ice cream and I prefer mint chocolate chip. It’s a preference and matter of taste.

So enjoy whatever story you are reading. Go ahead and ask yourself what the story’s theme and concepts are, but don’t do that with the idea of trying to really “get” at what the author was really saying. Do it for what the story revealed to you, about you. Your needs, met or unmet. Your dreams, passions, preferences.

Then find those authors who have a style that your relate best to. And enjoy the story and the journey it takes you on. When a story does not appeal though, don’t bash the author in reviews etc, without admitting it’s a personal preference. Unless there are serious issues with the story and research etc, there’s no need to belittle the hard work of an author because you don’t like their style or subject matter.

Nicholas Sparks is a great writer. I prersonally don’t like crying every time I pick up one of his books. Stephen King is also a phenomenal writer and in reading his bio/book on writing, I can see why he writes the subject matter he does. I don’t read those books because I don’t like that kind of thing.

When you do love a author, do them a favor and let them know. Give them a review on the bookseller sites (Amazon, Goodreads, B&N . . .) or even send them an email or letter or message on facebook. Unless you are a writer, you cannot have any idea of the hard work it takes to write, revise, edit, find a agent/publisher/editor and get that book to print. While making money is nice–face it, we all need it to live–writer’s need to know that you appreciated their hours, days, weeks, months and years of labor to bring that story to you. It can be a frustrating and fatiguing process and only those who really love it and are called to this can persevere. So a pat on the back can help. Especially if you like them and want them to write more stories for you to enjoy.

Thank an author today. Who are your favorites to read?