Greetings! Hope this Friday finds you well. And tick free. Let me tell you, it’s been tickapalooza at the Fox household these past few weeks. The city girl in me rails against the creepy crawlies. Especially when it’s me they’re likin’.
What happened to walking my dog on the nice clean sidewalk in a spiffy sub-division where everyone’s lawn is mowed regularly? Ohhhh, yeahh. I gave it up to move to the country. Did you know there are no sidewalks in the country? Somehow I overlooked that tiny detail. Sure, I could stay on the lawn, but then Lucy doesn’t get nearly the exercise she needs. And honestly, neither do I.
So I walk her on a path in the woods. It’s beautiful, it’s quiet, and right now it’s working its way up to the lush and green it’ll be later in the summer. I made it myself. A few days work with the pruning tools and the mower, and pronto, perfect dog walking place.
However, it’s got ewwy live things! Can you hear the city girl screaming from where you are? This week I stepped on a snake. The walking your dog head up, looking forward scanning the horizon for dangers thing totally failed me. I should have been looking down. The only thing about it that scared Lucy was me yelling like a banshee. I suppose at this point I should say it was a small snake. Maybe about two feet long and not much bigger around than a Sharpie marker. But I swear, at first glance it had anaconda proportions.
Although, when I got home and investigated the snake, it’s a rough green, which spends most of its time in trees. Screwed, I tell ya. I can't walk looking up and down at the same time. And Lucy totally disagreed witht the threat level. She just stepped over it, and kept on walking. Don’t suppose I could get lucky and the snake would eat the ticks? No? It figures.
Well, Lucy is giving me googly-eyes, and pacing the room. Oh, now she’s barking too. Must mean it’s time to go see if we can give some more ticks a first class dog ride. Right into the house.
Have a lovely weekend!
Friday, May 17, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
The Nuance of Emotion
Lately, I’ve been studying ways to make my books richer, deeper, and hopefully connect better with readers. One of the things I’ve been working at is showing varied emotion.
When you write a story, especially in a romance, everything leads you to the drama of the black moment. The point about three-quarters of the way through when all seems lost for the heroine. It’s as if she’ll never reach her goal now. We know more often than not, she’ll find a way to get through this moment and ultimately to the HEA. If it sounds formulaic, it is. We romance readers not only know this, we expect it.
But what helps your heroine or hero move through all of those chapters leading up to the black moment? And why does the reader care? It sounds simple. It’s just emotion. The reader empathizes with the characters. Yes, I hear you about the plot, but bear with me. We’re talking delicate tree leaves here, not a redwood trunk.
It’s easy to hit the high notes of emotion. Anger, passion, jealousy, love. But using too many of these too often, can actually make a reader really not like your story. Okay, for what it’s worth, it’ll make me not like your story. If you’ve read for any length of time, you’ve probably come across a book where every time something doesn’t go the heroine’s way, she gets mad. Or jealous. She’s not usually a teenager, so as a reader, I’m not buying into it. Nor am I wasting my precious time to finish it.
I don’t know about you, but in real life, I don’t always have the energy to get mad. Or the situation doesn’t really warrant all that emotion. I get irritated, embarrassed, disappointed, or frustrated. Those feelings are way different than when someone’s got a good mad on. And how they appear to the reader is very different as well. There are both verbal and non-verbal ways to show (notice, I didn’t say tell) these emotions. Dialogue usually comes to mind first, then character action or reaction. But don’t forget things like body language. As humans we give subtle hints or make unconscious movements, and possibly go through physical changes when we feel certain emotions. Think about them. Feel them. Live them.
Put them on the page. Share them with your reader. You’ll both be glad you did.
When you write a story, especially in a romance, everything leads you to the drama of the black moment. The point about three-quarters of the way through when all seems lost for the heroine. It’s as if she’ll never reach her goal now. We know more often than not, she’ll find a way to get through this moment and ultimately to the HEA. If it sounds formulaic, it is. We romance readers not only know this, we expect it.
But what helps your heroine or hero move through all of those chapters leading up to the black moment? And why does the reader care? It sounds simple. It’s just emotion. The reader empathizes with the characters. Yes, I hear you about the plot, but bear with me. We’re talking delicate tree leaves here, not a redwood trunk.
It’s easy to hit the high notes of emotion. Anger, passion, jealousy, love. But using too many of these too often, can actually make a reader really not like your story. Okay, for what it’s worth, it’ll make me not like your story. If you’ve read for any length of time, you’ve probably come across a book where every time something doesn’t go the heroine’s way, she gets mad. Or jealous. She’s not usually a teenager, so as a reader, I’m not buying into it. Nor am I wasting my precious time to finish it.
I don’t know about you, but in real life, I don’t always have the energy to get mad. Or the situation doesn’t really warrant all that emotion. I get irritated, embarrassed, disappointed, or frustrated. Those feelings are way different than when someone’s got a good mad on. And how they appear to the reader is very different as well. There are both verbal and non-verbal ways to show (notice, I didn’t say tell) these emotions. Dialogue usually comes to mind first, then character action or reaction. But don’t forget things like body language. As humans we give subtle hints or make unconscious movements, and possibly go through physical changes when we feel certain emotions. Think about them. Feel them. Live them.
Put them on the page. Share them with your reader. You’ll both be glad you did.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Monday Motivation
Ah, it’s frickin’ Monday, again. Yep, that’s pretty much how I feel about it. Some days the words don’t come easy. Or in my case, they don’t come at all.
I came across something that helped to motivate me though. It can be used in lots of situations, but in this case, I think it works well for writers.
Isn’t it awesome? It helped me get over the Monday blues, and get my butt in gear. Reminding me that my success, or failure, depends on me. Have a great week!
I came across something that helped to motivate me though. It can be used in lots of situations, but in this case, I think it works well for writers.
Isn’t it awesome? It helped me get over the Monday blues, and get my butt in gear. Reminding me that my success, or failure, depends on me. Have a great week!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Life with Lucy #12
However, we had company recently, and the paramount things they wanted were for her to shake hands, and roll over. Who would have thought? Not us, apparently. Now she’s learning how to roll over. Have you ever tried to teach a dog to roll over? It’s not as easy as it sounds. For kicks, try to photograph it while you’re doing it. Fuhgeddaboutit. Not happenin’.
When she gets a little better at it, and I have another set of hands to take photos, I’m sure she’ll be happy to get me to post some pics. In the meantime, Lucy and I wish you a fun weekend!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Through Heart-Shaped Glasses, Our Group Blog Opens Today!
I'm excited to announce the debut of a group blog that's been in the works for some time. Eleven spectacular authors, and you-know-who, have come together to share our writer's world with you.Today is the first post of our brand new blog:
Through Heart-Shaped Glasses
From suspense to sweet or sinfully erotic, or in the past, present or future...we write to entertain our readers. From aspiring to multi-published, we are romance authors, seeing life through our own heart-shaped glasses. Enjoy the view!
Everything from romance, novels, life and family and writing will be shared through our eyes...yes, we're romance writers...we look at life through our very own pairs of heart-shaped glasses.
I'll still be blogging regularly here so don't worry. My day at THSG will always be on the 19th. And we'll be taking guest bloggers on the 1st and the 15th of every month.
The theme for May is "Firsts" and with 12 ladies...you never know what you're going to get...from first dates to first contracts to that first time at a conference, you're bound to find someone to connect with, laugh with or cry with.
Let's not forget, there's Blog Swag to be had. Every month one of our authors will be sponsoring our blog swag gift. Any comments during the entire month are entered to win a $10 amazon e-card - chosen at random on June 1st.
Come on over and welcome us to the blog world!
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Life with Lucy #11
Hi, everyone. It’s me, Lucy. I’m so excited. My world opened up in a big way this week. There’s this place outside Mom calls a deck. I’ve never been on a deck before. It felt funny on my feet. When Mom first brought me outside on it, I was afraid to leave the door. I barely sat down I was so scared. I shivered. I didn’t want to go out there.
Since the weather has warmed up, Mom and Dad go outside to use this thing they call a grill. It smells like meat. Yum! I don’t want to stay in the house by myself, so I had to go outside with them. The grill smelled so good, I did take a few steps toward it. Then I backed up because I wasn’t sure about the deck.
Every day Mom takes me out there. Some days, well, okay, most days, she bribes me with treats. Don’t look at me like that. Who in their right mind turns down a cookie?
The other day a bird landed on the edge. I was so curious about the bird, I forgot about the deck. I ran over to sniff it, and it flew away! Then I was stuck. I was far away from Mom and the only way to get to her was to walk. I was very careful. Slow steps. Tiny steps. And you know what? I got there. Close to mom. She gave me a cookie.Every day I practiced walking on the deck. Every day it got better. Now it’s a wonderful place.
Did I tell you I don’t have much hair? The sun feels so good. I think I’m a summer dog. I like to just laze about in the sun. The deck is a great place to do that. And the smells! Its high enough, the breeze brings everything my way. And I can watch everything in the yard from up here. You should try it. It's nice!
It’s been fascinating to watch Lucy work through her fear. She reminds me not to be afraid of what I want to accomplish, especially with my writing. And that it all starts with baby steps. But we have to take those steps to get where we want to go. Even if they are scary sometimes. No one can do it for us. We have to want it bad enough to take the risk.
Every day is truly an adventure. Sometimes they don’t come with fanfare, they arrive in silence, bit by bit, and then one day, there you are. Where you always hoped to be.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Ten Quickies with Author D'Ann Lindun
Today it's our pleasure to welcome author, D'Ann Lindun to Fox Tales. She's been kind enough to answer our ten quickies questions so we can get to know a little bit about her. We're also featuring two of her latest releases, A Cowboy to Keep and Sunny Days Ahead. So let's get moving.
A COWBOY TO KEEP
When Laney Ellis’ husband is killed by a bull, she is left alone to run their small cattle ranch and raise their son, Justin, on her own. One thing she is determined her son will never do is ride rodeo bulls. But that is the dream Justin holds dearest—to be exactly like his dad, the onetime Colorado State High School Rodeo Champion.
After his rodeo career peaks and begins to slide, Cody Utah opens a bull riding school. Although attracted to his next door neighbor, he steers clear. Cody has heard rumors Laney trapped her husband into marriage by getting pregnant in high school. The last thing Cody wants is children. His mother was a drunk, and he doesn’t know who his father is.
A bull's hooves turned Laney’s world to dust; bull riding gave Cody a life worth living—can they find common ground?
Doesn't this story sound like a great read? If you enjoy a cowboy read, you should check these out. Before we get to the next one, here's our Ten Quickies from D'Ann.
Ten Quickies for Fox Tales
1. Mountains or Beaches? Mountains! I do live in the Colorado Rockies!
2. Early Morning or Late Night? Late night. I’m a night owl
3. High Heels or Sneakers? Sneakers
4. Summer or Winter? Summer! Dear God, please let it come soon!
5. Wine or Chocolate? I don’t drink and I don’t really like chocolate
6. Pen or Laptop? Old school desktop.
7. Sports Car or Motorcycle? Pickup!
8. Gold or Silver? Gold
9. Appetizer or Dessert? Appetizer
10. Kindle or Paperback? Both! Depends on the mood.
SUNNY DAYS AHEAD
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| BUY IT HERE |
When Laney Ellis’ husband is killed by a bull, she is left alone to run their small cattle ranch and raise their son, Justin, on her own. One thing she is determined her son will never do is ride rodeo bulls. But that is the dream Justin holds dearest—to be exactly like his dad, the onetime Colorado State High School Rodeo Champion.
After his rodeo career peaks and begins to slide, Cody Utah opens a bull riding school. Although attracted to his next door neighbor, he steers clear. Cody has heard rumors Laney trapped her husband into marriage by getting pregnant in high school. The last thing Cody wants is children. His mother was a drunk, and he doesn’t know who his father is.
A bull's hooves turned Laney’s world to dust; bull riding gave Cody a life worth living—can they find common ground?
Doesn't this story sound like a great read? If you enjoy a cowboy read, you should check these out. Before we get to the next one, here's our Ten Quickies from D'Ann.
Ten Quickies for Fox Tales
1. Mountains or Beaches? Mountains! I do live in the Colorado Rockies!
2. Early Morning or Late Night? Late night. I’m a night owl
3. High Heels or Sneakers? Sneakers
4. Summer or Winter? Summer! Dear God, please let it come soon!
5. Wine or Chocolate? I don’t drink and I don’t really like chocolate
6. Pen or Laptop? Old school desktop.
7. Sports Car or Motorcycle? Pickup!
8. Gold or Silver? Gold
9. Appetizer or Dessert? Appetizer
10. Kindle or Paperback? Both! Depends on the mood.
SUNNY DAYS AHEAD
Sunny Jamieson craves a normal family so much she has gotten pregnant by the wrong man—twice. Neither was the man she thought he was, and she is alone and about to give birth in an ice storm.
Garrett Pike wants nothing more than to have a boy of his own to follow in his footsteps. When he returns home from the rodeo circuit and finds his wife in bed with a ranch hand, he needs to distance himself from his angry memories and accepts a job offer in Black Mountain, Colorado. On the way, his truck breaks down in a blizzard, landing him at the home of a pregnant woman and her kids.
Garrett and Sunny bond when she gives birth. Garrett realizes he doesn’t have to be the biological father of a child to love one, and Sunny knows she’s found the man she’s been seeking. Together, they can create the family they’ve both been longing for.
AUTHOR BIO:
Falling in love with romance novels the summer before sixth grade, D’Ann Lindun never thought about writing one until many years later when she took a how-to class at her local college. She was hooked! She began writing and never looked back. Romance appeals to her because there's just something so satisfying about writing a book guaranteed to have a happy ending. D’Ann’s particular favorites usually feature cowboys and the women who love them. This is probably because she draws inspiration from the area where she lives, Western Colorado, her husband of twenty-nine years and their daughter. Composites of their small farm, herd of horses, five Australian shepherds, a Queensland heeler, nine ducks and cats of every shape and color often show up in her stories!
You can find her here:
http://dlindunauthor.blogspot.com/
http://www.amazon.com/DAnn-Lindun/e/B008DKL9TU
Now I'm in the mood for boots and hats. I'll have to give these a try. Thank you for spending the day with us, D'Ann. We wish you much success with your books!
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Garrett Pike wants nothing more than to have a boy of his own to follow in his footsteps. When he returns home from the rodeo circuit and finds his wife in bed with a ranch hand, he needs to distance himself from his angry memories and accepts a job offer in Black Mountain, Colorado. On the way, his truck breaks down in a blizzard, landing him at the home of a pregnant woman and her kids.
Garrett and Sunny bond when she gives birth. Garrett realizes he doesn’t have to be the biological father of a child to love one, and Sunny knows she’s found the man she’s been seeking. Together, they can create the family they’ve both been longing for.
AUTHOR BIO:
Falling in love with romance novels the summer before sixth grade, D’Ann Lindun never thought about writing one until many years later when she took a how-to class at her local college. She was hooked! She began writing and never looked back. Romance appeals to her because there's just something so satisfying about writing a book guaranteed to have a happy ending. D’Ann’s particular favorites usually feature cowboys and the women who love them. This is probably because she draws inspiration from the area where she lives, Western Colorado, her husband of twenty-nine years and their daughter. Composites of their small farm, herd of horses, five Australian shepherds, a Queensland heeler, nine ducks and cats of every shape and color often show up in her stories!
You can find her here:
http://dlindunauthor.blogspot.com/
http://www.amazon.com/DAnn-Lindun/e/B008DKL9TU
Now I'm in the mood for boots and hats. I'll have to give these a try. Thank you for spending the day with us, D'Ann. We wish you much success with your books!
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