Rosewood Short - Part 5

 

 

Rosewood Short – Part 5

 

            “How’s Florida?”

            Jeremy Carver had managed to secure a slot among Jess’s very slim ranks of favorite people.  She didn’t have to force smiles or put on airs for him. Jade Haley’s very best friend could read people as well as he read horses; he elevated her inn’s great room to something worthy of a Regency gentleman’s library, the leather upholstery, bookshelves, even the fire on the grate, accessorizing his enviable gorgeousness. Tonight, he was in jeans and a deep brown sweater that brought out the ochre tones in his eyes, his hair soft and gleaming, long fingers curled around a brandy glass.

            “Hot,” he said with a little frown. “Muggy. Too many mosquitoes.” His nostrils crinkled. “I always hated the beach.”

Forever-Inspiring Movies in No Particular Order: The Magnificent Seven

Without question, the two best ways for a writer to improve her craft are reading and writing. You study as you read. And your practice as you write. While there's no right or wrong speed when it comes to writing - life gets in the way, after all - the people who preach that you must spend years perfecting one manuscript are blowing such smoke. Writing takes practice. Every single thing you write helps you hone your skills.

You know what else helps? Watching movies. Not just passively, but actively. Watching movies. It's a study in movement and facial expression. Film provides all these fantastic spacial references. If you can sketch a scene you want to write in your mind, apply movement, really see it, you can help your audience see it while reading. Watching movies has helped me create a database of mental artwork that I can put into words on paper. Film also gives a medium in which you can really study speech patterns; the cadence of words; the rhythms of conversation. I say, if you work in fiction, study all fiction, and put what you learn to good use.

The Magnificent Seven

 

Pics aren't mine. Don't sue me.

 

This scene, the first five minutes, are worth watching alone. Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen running the hearse up the hill is one of those moments that will continue to inspire my writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Sale Update

The first weekend sale is closed. Next weekend, Better Than You and Fix You will be 99 cents, and it's building up to the end of the month release of Made for Breaking.

Rosewood Short - Part 4

 

 

 

Rosewood Short – Part 4

 

            “Don’t think so hard about it,” Chris advised. “Just look at my glove – right here, where the ball needs to go – and your hand’ll send it there. Yeah, just – there.” The baseball hit the leather covering his palm with a satisfying smack and he closed the gloved around it. He hadn’t even had to reach that time, zero weight resting on his bum leg. His doctor wouldn’t have recommended this sort of extracurricular PT, but to hell with the guy. It was a cool, bright afternoon and Tyler was fast giving up soccer in favorof his new favorite sport – Chris’s personal favorite – baseball. The kid was eleven now, and shedding that little boy awkwardness in favor of real athleticism. He was growing faster than they could comprehend, lanky and awkward and hurtling toward his teen years.

            Tyler grinned. “Better?” he asked.

            “Much.” Chris tossed the ball back, surprised and pleased when Tyler caught it without effort.

Rosewood Short - Part 3

* And don't forget about Keep You and Dream of You on sale for 99 cents tomorrow, kicking off the month of weekend sales!*

 



 

 

Rosewood Short – Part 3

 

The weather had turned cool, and damp, heavy clouds smothering the atmosphere. All the late summer lake traffic had died away, and the fall/winter season was starting for the inn. Jess had only two couples staying with them, both composed of retirees, neither of which seemed inclined to take of advantage of any of the downstairs amenities. Her husband and brothers had taken over the game room, ringed around the poker table in a portrait apropos given the heavy wood paneling and antique light fixtures. The room was swimming with cigar smoke, undercut with a sweet note of whiskey. They each had their own laugh: low, dark, sinister snatches of male voice. Jordan had little lines at the corners of his eyes that hadn’t been there before the twins had come along. Tam was doing so well at work that he’d relaxed, and he was wearing his hair too long in the front again, jagged black spikes across his forehead. Mike was starting to look more and more like Dad – a well-dressed version of Dad in Ralph Lauren everything. And Walt, after all this time, looked like he actually enjoyed everyone else’s company.

A Month of 99 cent Weekends

I just posted a new event on my Goodreads page:

A Month of 99 cent Weekends.

 

 

 

 

Keep You was released August 25th of last year. A year ago. Holy...wow. I get caught up in writing and forget about the big picture. It's been a year since I shared my first novel, and even if I get bummed by the hurdles, it's important to step back and look at the blessings of that year. It's been a year of novels, and I want to say thanks in the best way I know how.

 

All month, each weekend, I'll feature one of my books for just 99 cents (Kindle download versions). I'd set them as free, but unfortunately, that didn't work. Amazon can't take a cut of nothing, you know? So I hope that anyone who's been on the fence, or anyone who hasn't had a chance yet, will take advantage of these sales. The first one starts this Saturday, August 3rd.

 

On sale Aug. 3rd and 4th: Keep You and Dream of You. 99 Cents!

Rosewood Short - Part 2

Rosewood Short – Part 2

 

            “…all hopped up on pain meds – ”

            “Good. This’ll be less painful.”

            “Ben.” Jess’s voice had taken on that crisp, no-nonsense quality that meant she was uncomfortable. “I’m serious. If you’re just here to give him a bunch of bullshit…”

            Chris didn’t know if “hopped up” was appropriate, but his head was full of cotton. He could feel his knee – all the mangled, taped-together pieces of it – throbbing, its pulse stronger than that of his heart, as insistent and steady as a drumbeat. But the meds had taken the sharp edges off, blurred the line between bearable and excruciating. And they made it almost impossible to dwell on the embarrassment of injury, the inconvenience of this latest surgery, and the agony of his big brother’s company.