4T Olio

New Orleans Nobody 99¢ preorder.
Regular $2.99.
Get it before the price goes up!

An April Fools joke turns deadly for Mo Gaffney. Only the visiting New Orleans grandmaster can save her.

New Orleans Nobody 99¢ preorder. Regular $2.99. Get it before the price goes up!

In honor of the upcoming holiday, here's some April Fools fun...

ha ha ha

April Fools, Doc!

Just a little April fool's prankery

3T Writing Tidbit

This is another in my 25 Ways You're Losing Readers (and what you can do about it) series.


Are you losing readers to confusion?

"Tease your reader."

I'll be frank. I don't get it when writing gurus say that. When I write under the influence of "tease" it comes out vague.

Do you have this problem? Do readers say your story is vague or muddled?

How can they say that? You've been teasing them. Don't readers want to be surprised?

Well, yes. Readers want to be surprised. But they want to understand clearly what the mystery is, first.

Let's take a hypothetical murder mystery then compare it to a popular television show.
Hypothetical Mystery: Murder! Look, there's a bunch of clues. Some of them point vaguely at some suspects. Ooh, let's sneak around getting more clues and more suspects. And it's all dark and moody and then suddenly the killer strikes again, but closer! Isn't that mysterious and exciting? LOL.

One of the most endearing television mystery series was Castle. It featured Nathan Fillion as bestselling author Richard Castle doing research ride-alongs with hard-nosed but beautiful NYPD detective Kate Beckett. There was a formula I gleaned from the show that is quite useful.

Murder! Look, there's a clue. Clue One leads us to Suspect A. We interview Suspect A and show how Clue One means A's the killer. But twist, Suspect A says, I didn't do it, I have an alibi (or no motive or no means). But I happened to overhear Suspect B talk about Clue Two. We interview Suspect B and show how Clue Two means B's the killer. But Suspect B also has an alibi... You get the picture.

This is a simple example of how to have a mystery with surprise revelations but still be perfectly clear.

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits. Click here to see all 25 Ways You're Losing Readers.

2T Repeat Performance

In December 2016, the lovely Magical Musings crew decided it was time to close down their blogging shop. I had three wonderful years with them. This is another of those posts.

photo credit: Hailie Ciomperlik via photopin (license)

Why Princess Might Be the Career Choice for You--originally posted June 22, 2016.

As part of my Cin Wikkid: April Fools For Love book tour, I was asked many Princessly questions. Build your perfect prince or princess was popular. It made me realize my idea of royalty was more Shrek than Disney. But I'm a traditionalist in some ways.

Top 5 Princessly Necessities

Sparkly Tiara. Seriously, these things rock. A hat that glitters and is a nice nest egg for retirement? Where do I sign up?

A handsome prince. Or an ogre prince, but the key point is, this is your soulmate. Seriously, this guy loves you enough to hack apart impenetrable sword-sharp thorns or brave a whole new world or change from a beast into a man. If that isn't true love, what is?

Adventure. From flying carpets or canoes or exploring creepy old castles, being a princess means new experiences. Well, unless you have really, really long hair, in which case you're locked in a tower. It's only a real problem if you make the mistake of starting the pectin diet on the wrong day (beware the door-to-door fruit saleslady) or are the victim of a shoddily manufactured spinning wheel. But Princesses Are Resourceful!* You’ll find a way out of any difficulty by The End.

photo credit: The Britannia State Coach via photopin (license)

No cooking or cleaning! You'll have an army of servants to do all that, or at the very least strangely musical animated household items.

Stylish transportation. Although the new BMW hypercar has a lot to recommend it too.

What about you? If you changed careers, what would it be? Would Princess be on your list?

From award-winning bestselling author Mary Hughes comes a fairytale romance with a twist.

THE WRONGED DAUGHTER Cinderella hungers to escape from under Widow Wikkid's grinding thumb. But to snare a plum job at Prince Industries, Cin desperately needs her degree, and she can't wrap her mind around tax accounting.

Then scarred but sexy Rafe Montoya ignites her imagination with his brilliant tutoring—and, as they work together in his cozy apartment, he sets her body on fire. She thinks he's the one for her, until he starts pushing her to attend Gideon Prince's marriage-mart ball.

THE HANDSOME PRINCE Rafe is really Gideon Prince, head of Prince Industries. He must name his bride by his April first birthday or suffer the loss of his family fortune.

Rumors say he's still single because women love his money and looks, not him. Is he lonely or just another duplicitous tycoon?

THE GLASS SLIPPER TEST Hopefuls flock to Prince's birthday ball, but only the woman who is kind, wise, and generous will win his heart. Is it Cin, or will her stepmother, as she always does, snatch the prize for her own daughters?

And on the night of the ball, when Cin discovers Rafe’s true identity, can she even accept his final test?

Warning: Rags-to-riches fairytale meets the texting generation. Stepsisters who are a blush-brush shy of a full makeup set, and a ball gown built like a tank. Contains material intended for mature audiences. Reader discretion advised.

For anyone who has ever been persecuted or hidden their light under a bushel.

Kindle | Kindle UK

March 1T Status Update

I'm at 60K for Night's Bliss first draft, through the Crisis and into the Climax. I took a few weeks out to finish up New Orleans's Nobody for the April Fools For Love 2020 group. Found out recently we won't be doing it this year  

Since I have the story done (just a few brush up edits), I'm going to go ahead and release it anyway.Now available for preorder with the special price of 99¢!

An April Fools joke turns deadly for Mo Gaffney. Only the visiting New Orleans grandmaster can save her.

The reason the blurb is so short is that I'm studying for the third of three comprehensive exams for my schoolwork. Brushing up on class material I haven't seen for nearly two years is lots of fun. Well, not exactly, but it is good to go over the material again knowing what I know now.

4T Olio

More Imgur...

Much cuteness...

Oh deer !

All done for the day...

No more walkies please

More cuteness...

meow

Dog: I help, right...?

Lemme give you company while you fix the car hooman.

It be your own people

3T Writing Tidbit--One reason readers might be bypassing your book

More blurb help...

I'm on several mailing lists for cheap/free ebooks (it's not an addiction, honest!) Anyway, I was going through one of them the other day and clicked on several "See More." But each time I read the full blurb, I returned to the newsletter instead of buying.

Why?

The blurbs promised action, adventure, magic...all the things I like in a read. But the main character, the highlight of the story?

Might as well have been a brick.

As a reader, I want to connect with the main character, not just in your book, but in your blurb.

How can I do that? Remember your character is a person. Pretend you're at a party, and you want to get your character together with a friend. You really want your friend to like this person.

How would you introduce the character to your friend? Would you say she's smart? Or would you say she's a college grad, or better yet a Stanford PhD? Would you say she's kind? Or would you say she volunteers at the local pet shelter where she's absolutely taken with one animal everyone else hates, the crotchety old wolf? (See the plot starting to weave in here?)

Point being, don't genericize. One way to make your character memorable--and clickable--is by giving her real, touchable/quantifiable assets.

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.

2T Repeat Performance

In December 2016, the lovely Magical Musings crew decided it was time to close down their blogging shop. I had three wonderful years with them. This is another of those posts.

What's in a name...? A Blurb Fit for Royalty -- Guest Remi Bond--originally posted June 16, 2016.

Please welcome guest Remi Bond, whose release Surprise for Three: Leap Year, along with S.L. Carpenter's Chasing Dreams: Leap Year, leaped into reader hands February 29!

The first thing a reader sees of an author's book is the cover or title. I think Surprise for Three is a good, engaging title, and with SL Carpenter's artwork, you know the cover is going to be superlative.

But the next thing a reader sees is the "tag" and "blurb", the hook line plus the three or four paragraphs that set up a promise as to what kind of ride the story will give.

I wrote what I thought was a good blurb, but for this first menage, was it good enough?

So I handed it over to The Blurb Queen, a professional. Oh, my, am I glad I did! Here's the before and after, paragraph by paragraph, for your reading pleasure.

TAG
Before: (none)
After: Will she dare to take a leap this bold?

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

Before: Annaliese loves Ransom, but she's too shy for him, and knows it. So in farewell, she throws him a Leap Year birthday party—with a surprise. Sure, she doesn't get his heart a-pumping, but the beautiful exotic dancer popping out of the cake will.

After: … she's not daring enough for him Annaliese loves Ransom, but has given up on winning his heart. It hurts too much to watch him with other women, so she’s leaving town. In farewell, she throws him a Leap Year birthday party—with a surprise. She may not get his heart a-pumping, but the beautiful exotic dancer popping out of the cake will.

THE RICH PLAYBOY

Before: Ransom craves the adrenaline rush extreme sports and kinky sex give him. His heart belongs to Annaliese, but he’d make her miserable as her lover. He can only hope his hot blood cools before another man sweeps her away …and then the giant cake is wheeled in.

After: … he's too much of a risk-taker for her Ransom’s heart belongs to Annaliese, but he’s convinced he’d make her miserable, since he craves the adrenaline rush of extreme sports and kinky sex. He can only hope his passion for her matures before another man sweeps her away … and then the giant cake is wheeled in.

THE INJURED SEAL

Before: Jack's home from war for good and looking for a sweet woman to settle down with. When a relative maneuvers him into a pirate costume to swing his sword for some rich woman's birthday party, he spies sweet Annaliese and knows she's the one he wants. But she loves another…

After: THE WOUNDED WARRIOR … she's just what he's looking forJack is home from duty as a Navy SEAL and on the hunt for a sweet woman to settle down with. When a relative maneuvers him into a pirate costume to swing his sword for some rich chick's birthday party, he goes along as a favor. Then he spies sweet Annaliese watching his moves and knows she's the one.

(Wrapup)

Before: When the exotic dancer bursting from Ransom's birthday cake turns out to be a well-muscled pirate, it's a surprise for three.

After: A LEAP YEAR LOVE TRIANGLE … can they make it last? When Jack sees the way Annaliese looks at Ransom, he’s ready to back away … until Ransom invites him to a private after-party for three. Can Annaliese overcome her shyness to share passion with not one, but two hot men?

WARNING

Before: This story contains material intended for mature audiences. Reader discretion advised.

After: Warning: This story contains hot ménage and demonstrations of affection between two alpha heroes and one heroine.

Don’t miss your chance to get in on this sexy celebration—get your copy of Surprise for Three today!

Here are the finished products:

Chasing Dreams: Leap Year by S.L. Carpenter

Michelle has reached a crossroads in her life just as the year offers her an extra day – February 29th. Walking away from an empty relationship and striking out on a new path is reviving feelings—both scary and wonderful. A train trip home offers time to think about her future, and what the Leap Year might bring. It also offers her a good looking drunk, passed out in her sleeping compartment.

Josh is mortified that he crashed in the wrong compartment, but fascinated by the woman who let him sleep and even covered him with a blanket. Their meeting seems pre-destined, as does the passion sparking between them.

But they both have pasts, and sometimes the past can leave a long shadow across the future. Michelle and Josh will have to come to terms with where they’ve been before they can really set off on the ultimate adventure…chasing their dreams.

Amazon | Amazon UK

Surprise for Three: Leap Year by Remi Bond

Will she dare to take a leap this bold?

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR … she's not daring enough for him Annaliese loves Ransom but has given up on winning his heart. It hurts too much to watch him with other women, so she’s leaving town. In farewell, she throws him a Leap Year birthday party—with a surprise. She may not get his heart a-pumping, but the beautiful exotic dancer popping out of the cake will.

THE RICH PLAYBOY … he's too much of a risk-taker for her Ransom’s heart belongs to Annaliese, but he’s convinced he’d make her miserable, since he craves the adrenaline rush of extreme sports and kinky sex. He can only hope his passion for her matures before another man sweeps her away … and then the giant cake is wheeled in.

THE WOUNDED WARRIOR … she's just what he's looking for Jack is home from duty as a Navy SEAL and on the hunt for a sweet woman to settle down with. When a relative maneuvers him into a pirate costume to swing his sword for some rich chick's birthday party, he goes along as a favor. Then he spies sweet Annaliese watching his moves and knows she's the one.

A LEAP YEAR LOVE TRIANGLE … can they make it last? When Jack sees the way Annaliese looks at Ransom, he’s ready to back away … until Ransom invites him to a private after-party for three. Can Annaliese overcome her shyness to share passion with not one, but two hot men?

Warning: This story contains hot ménage and demonstrations of affection between two alpha heroes and one heroine.

Don’t miss your chance to get in on this sexy celebration—get your copy of Surprise for Three today!

Amazon | Amazon UK

What about you? Does a polished blurb make a difference?