We’ve been poking around on Mary’s blog for ideas of what to share, and came up with two things: a tip and a snippet.
The tip is for you writers out there. I don’t know about you, but I get intimidated by the idea of writing synopses. I’m told that others are too. One of the best articles on the subject is over at Writing World, edited by the awesome Moira Allen (took a class from Ms. Allen a few years ago and she is absolutely fantastic). The article is “Writing a Synopsis from the Ground Up” by Dee-Ann Latona LeBlanc.
In it, Ms. LeBlanc counsels you to write a one sentence synopsis, then a one paragraph one, then one page. I tried doing it her way, grumbling quite a bit, and to my surprise by the time I got to the one pager, it was easy-peasy.
Now for the snippet:
Neal found a parking spot near the soccer field where Felipe said to meet him. His russet long-sleeved T-shirt and gold hoodie looked good against his skin and Sasha admired his profile. “You set?”
Neal nodded. “Ready when you are.”
Sasha gazed out at the grass, full of cavorting children, their mothers and relatives, and something else.
Jaguars.
A whole lot of jaguars, as a matter of fact…
“Doc?”
“Are you sure about this?”
Neal frowned and let go the door handle. “Why?”
“There are a lot of jaguars in the field.”
Neal surveyed the lawn from where they sat, a thoughtful expression on his face. “You think it’s too many?”
“You’re asking me?”
Neal shrugged. “I’m fine either way. They’re not going to pick a fight with me in the middle of the day in a major public park.”
“You sure about that?”
Neal snorted. “No. There are no guarantees. But I am pretty solid on it.”
“Okay. That doesn’t reassure me at all.”
“Either get out or don’t. Your call.”
Sasha let his eyes follow random movement in the park. A little girl chased a ball almost as big as her torso, laughing and carrying on. Her brother, judging from his identical facial structure, waited as she raced after it, stubby legs pumping. Not much bigger than the little girl, his haughty, watchful expression made it seem like he had decades on her. She chased it down and carried it back, a gleeful expression on her face.
That, more than any earlier assurances from the jaguars, made him willing to get out of the car. “All right.”
Now, a question for you: what’s your favorite dish to bring to a barbecue?
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Tiger Tiger coming July 23
When you grab a tiger by the tail, sometimes he bites back.
Chicagoland Shifters, Book 2
Veterinary trauma surgeon and animal empath Sasha Soskoff has found everything he ever wanted with his new partners Neal, Steve and Carlos. Life feels as safe and secure as it can be among a group of ex-Marine tiger shifters. Until a homeless man is found, gruesomely mauled and murdered, near Neal’s BDSM club.
When it’s determined a rogue tiger did the deed, the jaguars’ accusing eyes turn toward Sasha’s lovers. The precarious balance of peace tips dangerously toward war.
Neal knows damned well none of his tigers committed the crime. Someone must be in Chicago without his knowledge or permission, and they’d better find him fast before uncertainty and conflict rip the tight-knit band apart from the inside.
As Sasha struggles to heal the stress fractures forming among his tiger family, he begins to wonder if his dreams of a home, and love, were too good to be true. And it’s precisely that moment the killer strikes at the heart of the tiger clan—Sasha himself.
Product Warnings
This continuing story contains more hot man-on-man and men-on-more-men ménage action than you can shake a cat at.
For author and textile artist A. Catherine Noon, it's all about the yarn, both metaphorical and literal - spinning a yarn, knitting with yarn, weaving, sewing, painting, sharing stories and good times over a cup of coffee with dark chocolate. She teaches creative writing, creative expression and textile arts.
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Thank you, Mary, for hosting Rachel and I today. We're thrilled to be here!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting! The tip is great, and love the snippet! There's just something about Sasha and Neal gazing out at that field full of jaguars and bantering that tickles me.
DeleteI loved the bantering when we did it. It was a lot of fun. There's a lot to play with, between them being jaguars and hostile to the tigers because they're different cats, and also with the gang interest vs. ex-military. Lots of fun. :)
DeleteI will have to try Ms. LeBlanc's method for writing a synopsis. Personally, I find them harder to write than the novel:)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite dish to bring to a BBQ would be pasta salad.
Thanks for sharing today, ladies.
Ooh, yum. I love pasta salad. Yummy stuff!
DeleteThanks for stopping by, and for leaving a comment. I appreciate it!
Good advice and great read! I'm looking forward to this book.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to say my mom's sugar cookie recipe is what I like to make for cook-outs. They are a sweet, soft morsel of nostalgia.
Okay, ~stamps foot~, now I want sugar cookies! :) You can come to my cookouts anytime. Yum!
DeleteThank you for stopping by and leaving a comment! I really appreciate it!
Loved the tip.I will agree that they are a pain to do. Arghhhh... Hope our readers enjoy the story as much as we did writing it.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, Rachel. They sure kicked our butts, huh? (Of course, we aren't supposed to admit that, being big, professional author people, huh?). :)
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
Thanks to you both for sharing the great tip and terrific snippet. The main characters' playfulness really comes out, but also the sense of danger. Really deft, great writing. Loved reading it :)
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for release day July 23!
Oh, Mary, thank you so much for that! I love that article and have used it for all my synopses since I found it. I credit it for helping us sell EMERALD FIRE and I'm using it to write a syno for a book we're pitching to a new house this month. (Eep!)
DeleteI'm so pleased you liked the snippet. TIGER TIGER was a lot of fun to write and we're really enjoying the characters. We're working on the next one in the series, which will focus on one of the other characters that readers have met.
Happy writing!