Jazz Era Mystery

     Set at the end of the Roaring Twenties, Rumer Haven's Coattails and Cocktails is a murder mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie with multiple suspects and a red herring or two that keep the reader questioning characters' motives. Actress Lottie Landry's romance with co-star Noble raises objections from her former guardian, Ransom. His wife is suspicious. Undertones and relationships among the characters provide conflict and tension. For a quick entertaining read, I recommend Coattails and Cocktails. See Reading Alley for additional reviews on this book.

Creating Conflict on Multiple Levels

Every plot revolves around conflict, but that conflict shouldn't be black and white. That is too predictable. Someone needs to be hurt by what is going on, and someone also has to benefit. In some situations that is one and the same character. A book I'll always remember from high school was A Separate Peace by John Knowles. What if the person you care about most, the person who is your best friend, is also the person you envy most? Could that driving envy cause you to hurt the person you admire and long to be? How would you live with yourself after that?

Once you create the main conflict of the story, you have to choose a protagonist caught in the middle, one who faces the hardest challenges and toughest choices. There should be both personal and external conflict that drive the plot. As the story continues the challenges should increase in personal cost to the protagonist. This is what keeps the reader's interest captured and compels him to discover how the conflict is resolved.

Don't Forget to Visit Southern Writers Magazine During Sept. and Oct.

_ <a href="http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/index.html"><img src="http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/uploads/7/3/4/4/7344228/9256041.jpg"></im

www.southernwritersmagazine.com/index.html

Article in Southern Writers On Line Magazine

Dear Writer and Reader Friends,

I have an article in Southern Writer's Magazine's Sept./Oct. issue. It available on-line or in hard copy. The article is a concise overview of the various marketing techniques I've learned over the past 3 years since the suspense novel Hiding came out followed by the inspirational romance Abbey's Tale. If you are like me and feel like you've been learning how to market your books by the (excuse the cliché) seat of your pants, there are some useful suggestions that I've picked up along the way so far.
So happy reading at Southern Writers Magazine.

http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/index.html


Yours,
Kim

In The Moment a new contemporary romance

From the author of A Heart of Little Faith, Miriam’s Surrender, and Addicted to Love, Jennifer Wilck has  a new mesmerizing romance In The Moment.

Blurb:

Cassie Edwards, a former foster child, purchases an 1870s Victorian

mansion, the one home from her childhood where she felt like part of a

family. She’s spending her summer lovingly restoring it, with dreams of

one day raising a family of her own here. Rayne Tucket, a

photojournalist, is haunted by the death of his best friend in Afghanistan,

a death he thinks is his fault. He survives day to day. Forever is not in

his vocabulary. Swearing off photography, he answers an ad for a

handyman—mindless, no emotion involved. As the two of them

renovate her house, can Cassie show Rayne that love is strong enough

to heal all wounds.

About the author

Jennifer started telling herself stories as a little girl when she couldn’t sleep. Her

favorite stories are those with smart, sassy, independent heroines and handsome, strong, slightly vulnerable heroes.

Links

https://www.facebook.com/Jennifer-Wilck-201342863240160/

https://twitter.com/Wilck

https://www.jenniferwilck.com

http://jenniferwilck.blogspot.com

https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/5219-in-the-moment.html?search_query=jennifer+wilck&results=4

 Amazon: https/www.amazon.com/Moment–Jennifer–Wilck–ebook/dp/B073XYRMG7/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1503063949&sr=8–

2&keywords=jennifer+wilck

Barnes & Noble: https/www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in–the-moment–jennifer–

wilck/1126972509?ean=2940158847929

 

Teachers,

If you haven’t heard of http://www.teacherspayteachers.com , this is a good resource for you as a professional. I allows teachers to share and make a little extra cash with the activities and materials they have developed themselves.

I was an English teacher for over 25 years primarily high school but also two years in middle school before I started publishing fiction and non-fiction of my own.  Some of the activities used in my creative writing class are available at the website. Tired of coming up with journal topics? Check out Jivin’ Journal at www,bit.ly/TpTJournal for new ideas. Add script writing and satire to your curriculum with Getting in the Act at http://www.bit.ly/TpTDrama. And in October introduce students to eerie tales and ghost stories with The Twilight Tone at http://www.bit.ly/TpTtwilight

Set up your own store and share your ideas with other teachers too!

The Link – it’s elementary!

JULY 29, 2017 / KMCDERMOTTAUTHOR / EDIT

I continue to learn how to market books by talking to other authors and attending conferences. Readers need a quick way to click on a short link and access your book. The solution is a site like Bitly.

How does it work?  Go to Amazon, Nook Books, your publisher’s site or any other place on the internet that sells your book. Find the exact page where your book is listed. Then copy the long URL at the top of that page. Paste it in Bitly and enter the long link where the website will give you a short link. Use it in tweets, on Facebook, or any other social media where you market your books. You can even customize your short links so they are easy to remember.

How does this help sell books?  All the customer who reads your tweets, etc. has to do is click on the link to immediately be transported to the purchase place. Quick and easy for everyone.

 

Adding Animals as Characters

JULY 28, 2017 / KMCDERMOTTAUTHOR / EDIT

Animals make engaging characters in novels like Bailey, the black lab who helps the protagonist, Jeremy McKetcheon, a lighthouse keeper. Well-known for their swimming skills labs have helped drowning humans. This is what Bailey does in Abbey’s Tale(bit.ly/AbbeysTale) when he helps pull Abbey to the boat.

In the suspense, thriller Hiding (bit.ly/Daphnewin), an adorable Bermese Mountain Dog, Jolle, lives in the Alps and hikes with Serge and Teresa as they explore the summits. His name means “play” in French, and his antics are amusing.

In Suspicion, the coming sequel to Hiding, the official little pug Winnie (named after Churchill not Pooh) helps run the British book shop in London  where is clicking feet patter up and down the rows of novels.

Just like animals add pleasure to our lives in reality, they add pleasure in fiction!

Additional Writers Groups for Authors

JULY 18, 2017 / KMCDERMOTTAUTHOR / EDIT

As a new author at great way to get your books out to the public is to join various facebook groups for authors and post in them. For e-books go to:

1. Kindlemojo
2. My Kindle is Starving

For Christian Inspirational Fiction try:

1. Christian Fiction and Non-Fiction
2. Christian Book Reviews
3. Review Seekers

For children’s books look at:

1. Books Go Social Children’s Books
2. Children’s Book Reviews and Promos

For mysteries try:

1. Mystery We Write Authors and Readers
2. For the Love of Books
3. Bookaholic Cafe

How Can You Write about Places You’ve Never Visited?

JULY 5, 2017 / KMCDERMOTTAUTHOR / EDIT

Take a cyber vacation. While I had been to Paris before I wrote Hiding, I had never been to Monte Carlos or Breil sur Roya. How could I make these locations authentic in my book? The answer is research, fun research. I used travel brochures, tour websites, lots of photographs to read, visualize and learn about the places that my characters would be traveling.

In the process, I got to “visit” exotic places. I learned, for example, that Jacques Cousteau’s Marine Museum and Center are in Monte Carlos. I learned how Grace Kelly was killed on the winding treacherous road to the city. I learned that one of the popular gambling casinos was build to resemble the Paris Opera House. It was a mini-vacation for me and for the my readers when it was worked into the book. So authors, take your mini-vacation via cyber space and recreate it for your fans.

Tanie de la Cantera by Suzy McCall

When her mother is abandoned by her father, a small girl lives with her grandmother on meager earnings. As the grandmother ages, she can no longer raise the child whose mother has undertaken a dangerous journey to reach the United States. This moving story based on the true lives of women and children in Honduras is written by a missionary who has lived there for more than 25 years. The book helps us understand the desperation of immigrants from Central America and sympathize with their plight. Although the title is Spanish, the book is written in English and the cover was designed by one of the children at the LAMB Mission. It is available at www.amazon.com Highly recommended reading.

Free Copy of Abbey's Tale

Chance to win a free copy of Abbey's Tale, historical romance set in Boston and Maine in 1869. A daring rescue at sea brings them together. A unique love keeps them together in spite of obstacles tearing them apart. 

Jeremy returns from the Civil War emotionally and physically scarred. He retreats from the world on a remote island as a lighthouse keeper and never expects to find love and acceptance.
Until he rescues a blind woman from drowning. Abbey can "see"
the hero in Jeremy that he cannot see himself.

Between now and July 20th, all new subscribers to www.kmcdermottauthor.wordpress.com will be entered in a drawing and one will be chosen to receive a signed paperback of the the novel.

Christine B. Clark, Canadian Author

JUNE 22, 2017 / KMCDERMOTTAUTHOR / EDIT

CB Clark is the author of three romantic suspense novels published by The Wild Rose Press. My Brother’s Sins and Cherished Secrets were published in 2016, and Bitter Legacy in June, 2017. CB has always loved reading, especially romance, but it wasn’t until she lost her voice for a year the she considered writing her own romantic suspense stories. She grew up in Canada’s Northwest Territories and Yukon. Graduating with a degree in Anthropology and Archaeology, she has worked as a n archaeologist and an educator. She enjoys hiking, canoeing and snowshoeing with her husband and dog near her home in the wilderness of central British Columbia.

Interview

When did you first know you wanted to be a writer? I’ve always loved reading and writing. Ten years ago, I lost my voice for a year due to a botched operation. With time on my hands and a serious case of boredom setting in., I decided to combine my two loves and attempt to write a romantic suspense. That first book took me a full year, but the feeling of euphoria when I finished was so great, I’ve never stopped writing.

How do you get ideas for your fictional characters? My hero and heroine in my       stories  are a composite of traits culled from books, movies, and real people I meet. Once I have a the general idea of a main character’s physical appearance and internal conflict, I flesh her or him out by developing their backstory, and figuring out what makes them tick.

Do you outline you plots ahead of time or fly by the seat of your pants? I’m definitely a panster. That’s part of the fun. I start with the germ of an idea and a first sentence and go from there. Some days writing is a wild, rollercoaster ride with ideas coming hot and heavy; other days, it’s like waking in mud. I love not knowing what’s going to happen next and letting my character writer their own stories. Of course, that means a lot of revising when I’m finished.

Christine’s books can be found at http://www.thewildrosepress.com