My Approach to Writing 
by Lisa April Smith-2012

I’m often asked at book events, “Are you ever stymied by writer’s block?” And I am delighted to reply that I've never experienced writer’s block. I think the reason for that has to do with my concept of work. When I was at IBM I didn't ask myself if I was in the mood to do something. I looked at the tasks at hand, prioritized them and got to it. In the process of constructing a book, I have many varied ways to be productive. Editing. Plotting. Incorporating my latest epiphany. Creating a calendar so that I know how old characters are during the time frame of the story. I maintain a separate file that has the physical appearance, ethnicity and traits of every significant character.

Except when we’re traveling, five to six days a week, I’m at my desk about 7:00 am and quit between 1:00 and 2:00. But whether I’m at my desk or not, I’m never entirely off. If I’m on a plane, or driving, or watching reruns of 30 Rock, or shopping for groceries, my brain involuntarily generates ways for improving the book. Some people call it drive, discipline or dedication. Personally, I think it’s a sign of a compulsive disorder.

I chose suspense/mystery as my genre for one critical reason: to keep my readers involved and turning the pages far into the night. Try to estimate the number of book, movie and television plots that average American adults have encountered by the time they’re thirty or forty. It has to number in the tens of thousands. That makes for a jaded audience. With suspense, while my readers are busy looking for clues and guessing what surprises await them, they are also being charmed, dazzled, entranced, amused, aroused, outraged and entertained by my characters. Sure, that’s a challenge. I work hard at avoiding clichés in language, characters and plots.

Given my choice of genres, it might surprise people to learn that I start with characters and then develop my plot – one that will test my protagonists in fresh ways, while remaining true to their personalities. For example, in Exceeding Expectations, I saw Jack Morgan as a complex person with diametrically opposing attributes. Conman and devoted father. Appealing rascal who would never knowingly hurt someone. Jack has no problem bending the law, particularly when he can rationalize that by doing so, he is protecting his daughters. So I fabricated a childhood for him that could produce those traits. The son of an uneducated, hard-drinking widower, the youngest of four brothers all reluctantly raised by the sole female in the household, his overworked older sister. As a man, he is so unused to compassion or tenderness in others, that when experiencing these emotions for the first time – seeing a helpless newborn about to be abandoned – it changes him forever.

I love weaving words into stories; placing invented people into invented problematic situations. My goal is not only to entertain, but to touch, transport and meaningfully move my readers. And when I succeed, it’s produces a high that no drug can match.

Lisa had modeled, sold antiques and plumbing & heating, taught ballroom dancing, tutored, designed software and managed projects for IBM. But her passion is writing suspense with sizzle. For more about Lisa April Smith, her books and upcoming projects, visit her website.

Online Dating Inspired Click: An Online Love Story
By Lisa Becker-2012

Lasso the Stars by L.L Nielsen
February 2, 2012 by Tate Publishing
Paperback, 260 Pages
Review Copy

In Lasso the Stars, we are introduced to main character Dina, a woman who recently diagnosed with terminal cancer is living out her last few months with her sisters at the family's old country farmhouse. Although death is inevitable and pain cripples her body and thoughts, Dina has come to terms that her life is ending. Over the course of her duration at the farmhouse, she reflects on her life, the good and not so good memories that shaped her outcomes, her downfalls and most important her missed opportunities  Thinking she has none left, thinking that the farmhouse will be the last of her adventures, Dina is unprepared to meet a man, to experience love and get that last chance at happiness.

When Gil a random stranger enters her life in the form of a western cowboy, we the readers know he is an angel sent to help her make peace with the final days of her life and guide her into the transition of death. Dina however doesn't put the pieces together until much later, until after shes fallen in love with him, and against all odds he has fallen in love with her in return.

Although the subject matter in this book is sad, Nielson did a great job celebrating the life Dina had rather than leading us through a dark depressed road of terminal illness. Had the book been filled with sorrow, I doubt I could of finished it. The romance while unbelievable in a real world sense, carried an undertone of fairy tale like joy and I can see the appeal in a feel good romance for those readers looking for something moving yet light. I also loved the ending of the book, I think the author showed writing strength and uniqueness by presenting death as a new beginning and not letting death become painful and the motivating factor of her book.

My draw backs to the story would have to be the spiritual elements. I personally believe in angels and practice faith, I just don't believe in them the way Nielson presented it, and sometimes that factor took away from the story. Reminiscent of the movie City of Angels, I had a hard time comprehending an all powerful immortal giving up the goods for a human woman, or becoming  a cowboy that says y'all and utters hillbilly twain for the duration of the novel, trivial for the most part but still a factor for me as a reader. The sex between the couple kind of creeped me out and even for sappy and happy I think the story would have worked better had Gil remained her friend, her companion and her guide without the physical aspect. That factor aside, and a tad bit of the dialog being awkward could not out weigh the poetic displays of nature, kindness and love encapsulated in this moving story. Overall I really enjoyed experiencing the read and the last chapter.

Rating

Recommended to adult readers who enjoy heart felt sappy romance. Contains: Death, Angels and mild sexuality.

3/5-Romance (with a touch of paranormal)
Thanks to Publisher and TLC book tours for my review copy.

Its time for Mini~Reviews, where I talk about a bundle of books Ive read. Short, to the point and just enough to give you the goods....

Twenty Weeks by Melissa Hamling
August 8, 2011 (Indie Pub)
Free download for Kindle

Welcome to the blog Ulrica, please tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a San Francisco writer and a labyrinth guide.

What inspired you to write An Uncertain Age?

Right after the events of September 11th, I began working on a short story about a man and woman who meet serendipitous on the Eurostar. When friends read the story, they always wanted to know what happened next. So I began to wonder myself. Sometimes the unknown is its own inspiration.

If you could pick a song that fit the mood of your book what would it be and why?

The characters in the book have different songs associated with them. For Justine, one would be “The Sea”, by Morcheeba (from Big Calm). It has a dreamy quality, which fits her mood, her sense of longing. For Miles, I’d say Carmina Burana, the medieval poems that were set to music by Carl Orff. Certain of these songs are full of bittersweet passion. They’re also connected to the philosopher Abélard, who is Miles’s idol. The character of Dara has her roots in India. I would think of her strange sad story as I listed to the eclectic music of Krishna Beats. Mesmerizing...

What are your three favorite books?

Virginia Woolf’s The Waves, Mating by Norman Rush—both for their heightened language—and anything by Alice Munro.

What would you like readers to walk away with after reading your book?

I would hope that readers are left with a sense of possibility. Justine’s search leads her into a dark night of the soul, yet she does arrive at a place of knowing.

Can you share any future plans?

I try not to talk of things unwritten. Just superstitious, I guess. Although I do have an idea floating around.

Ulrica Hume is an award-winning writer and labyrinth guide. One of her short stories was selected by the PEN Syndicated Fiction Project and broadcast on NPR. Her work has appeared in the San Francisco Examiner,Poets & Writers Magazine, The Bloomsbury Review, and most recently, The Huffington Post. She was a finalist for the D.H. Lawrence Fellowship, and a runner up in Stand Magazine’s International Short Story Competition in Britain. An Uncertain Age is her debut novel. Find out more at ulricahume.com

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
November 6, 2012 by Harper
Hardcover, 436 Pages
Review Copy

Dellarobia Turnbow is a restless farm wife who gave up her own plans when she accidentally became pregnant at seventeen. Now, after a decade of domestic disharmony on a failing farm, she has settled for permanent disappointment but seeks momentary escape through an obsessive flirtation with a younger man. As she hikes up a mountain road behind her house to a secret tryst, she encounters a shocking sight: a silent, forested valley filled with what looks like a lake of fire. She can only understand it as a cautionary miracle, but it sparks a raft of other explanations from scientists, religious leaders, and the media. The bewildering emergency draws rural farmers into unexpected acquaintance with urbane journalists, opportunists, sightseers, and a striking biologist with his own stake in the outcome. As the community lines up to judge the woman and her miracle, Dellarobia confronts her family, her church, her town, and a larger world, in a flight toward truth that could undo all she has ever believed.

Nobody can deny the power of Kingsolver's beauty to detail and her exquisite writing that weaves social and political commentary into entertaining fiction that makes you stop and ponder. Flight Behavior is certainly a book I wanted to love and I had high expectations considering my fondness of The Poisonwood Bible, however Flight Behavior lost its story in the muck of preachy environmentalism and pointing the finger at you stinky cretins who don't believe in global warming. What could of been an actual powerful story got lost in liberal propaganda with no facts to back it up.At times lengths of conversations, drawn out yacking about Americans consumption of natural resources equaling the end of the world as we know it drove me to near insanity.

I hate over the top political slants from either side and every character seemed to represent a point the author was trying to get across, whether the emphasis was about global warming or caring for others, Kingsolver made it adamant to slip in a rant, a taunt or life lesson she could preach to the reader about. Even her use of provocative character Dellarobia, the bitter middle aged house wife looking for adventure couldn't save the overall surface drivel dished out to the unsuspecting reader. The story while clever in writing was bent to Kingsolvers aggressive approach teaching us to save the world...er, trees..butterflies,   I mean the community of people living in this fictional Tennessee. Those things being said along with my deep disdain for all things global warming, I have to give credit where credit is due and that being the talented way the story was presented, in a sense it was genius, I mean a woman teetering with infidelity, a mad-type scientist who predicts dooms day by the butterflies, it screams dystopia, even though its not, even though it felt like a trick.

Overall not my cup of tea, but many readers who love drawn out literature will jump at this one.

2.5/5- Contemporary Fiction
Thanks to Harper and TLC Book Tours for Review Copy

Taking Chances by Molly McAdams
October 16, 2012 by William Morrow (Harper)
Kindle- 432 Pages
Review Copy

Harper has never known anything outside of military life, her father a high ranking marine has lived by the code. He also has lived ignoring his daughter after her mothers death and let most of her guidance and upbringing be dominated by other marines, needless to say Harper has always been surrounded by men, ones who looked out for her and protected her from doing stupid things. Her best friends have always been marines and Harper never got to much into the girly thing, never dated, never wore makeup or fancy clothes. She's always been pretty and far from dorky but has lived a very sheltered life, knowing about the world but a little unprepared for it. When the chance to escape that life offers itself through college, Harper doesn't hesitate to move and fly across the country to sunny California to do it. Scared but thrilled she seeks out this new life with a sense of adventure.

From almost day one her life changes, she meets her roommate Bree, puts on her first application of makeup and attends her first college party. Its exasperating to finally have freedom and independence in such a rush but its also exciting and a breath of fresh air. Its no surprise that iimmediately there is guy drama when she meets bad boy Chase and semi-bad boy but good guy Brandon, both who spark a reaction from her but only one openly pursues her. When Brandon and Harper begin dating (even with her hidden feelings for Chase) its magic. Brandon is so love with Harpers smile, her kindness and wants to be super serious (like marriage serious) and Harper while madly in love with Brandon wants all of that too, but cant seem to take things to the next level, due to the intense feeling she gets around Chase.

Chase feels the same for Harper but has kept his distance not wanting to be the cause of more problems, due to the fact that Brandon lives in his house and knows that Chase has feelings for his girl. Even worse is finding out a marine from Harpers past has followed her to try and win her over too, it seems the more he hides the worse it gets and Harper is all sorts of confused due to the overwhelming feelings she has for Chase. Those feelings eventually do take over and launch Harper and Chase into a decision that not only changes them and Brandon, but Chase's family as well. What seems beautiful and right becomes a tragedy none of them could have ever expected. As the characters walk through fire, love will be tested, hearts will be broken, and the strength will shine for some as the true meaning of loyalty, friendship and forgiveness is explored in a world were pain and second chances are no stranger.

Love, hate, love, hate, love, hate.......

That's the type of reaction I had with this book. While I loved some parts, I hated others and when I first started reading this my immediate response was "way to Beautiful Disaster" and I love that book, I just don't want to reread it from another authors viewpoint, so at first I was having some issues attaching to the story in general. After 100 pages or so and getting deeper into the plot I could see the slight differences and twists McAdams was throwing around and once I got used to her style and seeing where the story was heading I was able latch on and enjoy the rollercoaster that was coming. What I didn't expect was being on that rollercoaster and getting hit by tree and thrown off it, because rarely does a book make me gasp audibly like the way this one did. When the shocking twist came, I actually had to go back and reread the paragraph four times, I thought my mind was playing a trick, I thought NOOOOOO, this couldn't possibly be the twist, this isn't what the author intended right......RIGHT? To my shocked readers heart and the journey into these characters life, I realized this was the mangled outcome the author did surely intend and I was pissed!!!!

This story shook me up and twisted my emotions, I had a wonderful and terrible time getting to know and love the world McAdams created. All the same though, the writing itself frustrated me with its too many endings and too many crammed in issues during the last hundred pages. The dialog at times seemed to transition awkwardly and I felt sometimes disconnected from Harpers sheer immaturity and the over the top plot scenario that three gorgeous guys all wanted her and each was willing to turn his life inside out for this Helen of Troy dimwit. Yet at other times the writing was so fantastic, the characters were like little friends that I wanted to come live with me, and Harper showed amazing strength and vulnerability that made me love her. In the end, Taking Chances was just that, a chance at reading a moving, frustrating and overall break your heart and put it back together again story.

Rating

Recommended to readers 18 and up. Contains: Violence (mostly male on male and boxing) strong language, drinking/drug use and graphic sexuality.

3/5- New Adult-Contemporary
Thanks to William Morrow for Review Copy

Setting the Scene

Losing It by Cora Carmack
December 5, 2012 by William Morrow Paperbacks
eBook- Kindle
Review Copy

So this book is all about that pesky little thing people like to call virginity. Or so for Bliss is that thing that's weighing on her as a 22 year old who has yet to find Mr. Right. Determined to hurdle herself over that milestone, Bliss along with her carefree friend who is no stranger to one night stands, dress up in revealing clothes and go out clubbing in search of the guy who will finally free Bliss of her so called tragedy.

Sounds like a great plan (not) but fate proves that Bliss can't get into it, her brain wont turn off the pros and cons of taking such a huge step and shes uncomfortable in the bar and in the clothes. Eager to get it over with but scared and annoyed all the same shes ready to give up and go home, that is until she meets Garrick, a British heartthrob sitting alone in the bar reading Shakespeare. Could a guy really be reading in a bar and is that really a sexy accent to boot? Bliss is dumbfounded and mesmerized by his eyes and his voice, she cant believe her luck and it doesn't take long for her misconceptions to get thrown out the window as the two move faster than the speed of light into a sexual encounter. Its sparks and instant chemistry, something she's never felt before, and so Bliss takes him home, but is terrified of the process (hmmm, bringing home a guy you've known for 10 minutes might be hard to get naked with when your insecure about sex in the first place) and the fear of facing rejection leads to a disastrous but hysterical end to the night. Humiliated is putting it lightly, but mortification describes the next morning when she walks into her theater class and sees the new teacher, you guessed it...........the naked dude who was in her bed, none other than that sexy British guy Garrick!


Talk about awkward!  At first due to the circumstances, Bliss and Garrick try and avoid each other but finally confront the situation and attempt to keep things as a teacher/student relationship. However undeniable chemistry, unfinished business and the fact that they live in same building gives them constant opportunities to run in the same circles. Both of our characters are falling in love and Garrick is finding it harder and harder to resist the beautiful girl that taunts his dreams. Seeing her out and thinking of her with another guy drives him crazy and knowing he cant do anything about it makes it worse, because if he pursues something more it could possibly bring consequences, like rumors and even job loss. But painful days of not being together and a spark that wont fade bring them closer to making that choice that could undo them.

For me virginity and sexual relationships are anything but pesky issues or what do people like to say..."just a right of passage"....I think sex is something to be valued and a very important choice, one that many young adults make with no common sense, for the couple in this story the age made a huge difference and even with its sexy appeal, I liked how Carmack made the issue important to her main character and really did make her choice of taking that step meaningful. Instead of a sleazy and forgotten one night stand, there was true romance built upon. For that aspect Losing It was easy to like in terms of readability. What keeps me from a higher star though, is how similar I found it to Slammed by Colleen Hoover....( the tragic sweet romance of Will and Layken, only this would be the R rated version and we just trade poetry for theater)....and being that Slammed is one of my favorite books from this year, it was hard not to compare the two. I was constantly sizing up Garrick to Will, who were pretty much the same character only Will would come out as the more gentlemanly persona and not the guy who tried to bag the chick on the first night......I was also comparing the overall progression of the couples relationship which had a lot of the same central issues that at times seemed so similar I was scratching my head a bit.

Of course there were differences and I was able to see them in the development of Bliss and her dynamic of friends, the independent living and college aspect surrounding her and not to mention the whole virginity thing. I saw in this story a beautiful potential for a long lasting relationship and while I had some issues with the "dramatic plot fillers" and predictability to the tee, overall I really enjoyed the writing style and felt like dancing Bliss style when I read the end.

Rating

Recommended to readers 18 and up and contains: Graphic sexuality, strong language, drinking and mild violence.

3/5- New Adult- Contemporary Romance
Thanks to Publisher for Review Copy

Thanks, for having me on the blog, Tina!

About my book:

"...fantasy with a side of sigh-worthy romance." —The Fiction Enthusiast

Solena, a young healer with a generous heart, is desperate to heal her dying grandfather. When she ventures into hostile territory to find a rare herb, she finds out just how much she’s risked when she’s captured by the enemy and accused of being a spy.

As a soldier, Rundan has struggled all his life to please his father, a ruthless army commander, but when he’s ordered to take the beautiful trespasser to the royal courts, where she’ll be summarily tried and executed, he’s plagued by the most inconvenient desire to protect her.

Though terrified and anxious to escape, Solena is confused by the handsome young soldier who cruelly captures her and then displays uncommon kindness. When he risks his own life to save hers, she discovers she may have risked more than her life… she may have lost her heart.

Quotes:

“A thoughtful artistically woven tale that delves into the complexities of the human heart. Goldfinch understands the frailties of the soul and draws readers in with her subtle romantic touch. Readers will be enchanted and wanting more!” —Jennifer Cervantes, award-winning YA author of Tortilla Sun

“The Language of Souls is a wonderful romance/fantasy novella, which is both sweet and sensual at the same time. The lush and wondrous setting springs to life off the pages. I loved Solena. She is smart and spunky, but it is her kindness and empathy that make her such a wonderful character.” —Erin Cashman, author of YA supernatural fantasy, The Exceptionals

Now available in digital format on most devices (including Kindle, Kobo, iTunes, Nook, Smashwords). And the print edition is scheduled for release this month!

Three random facts about me:

I love cupcakes. (And I blog about them in a series called “Three Things & a Cupcake,” where I post yummy pictures of cupcakes and chat with other YA authors about their writing, new releases, hobbies, whatever,….)

I can’t cook or garden. (At least not very well. It’s all sort of like voodoo to me. I live in fear that my husband will come home from a business trip and I will have inadvertently killed ALL his lovely orchids. ;))

My favorite holiday is Christmas. Our tree was up the day after Thanksgiving. Almost all my decorations are out & I got a good head start on my shopping. Ho, ho, ho! Bring it on, Santa! (Or am I feeling a little too confident?? What if I've forgotten something/someone…? Oh no! LOL)

** To enter please fill out the Copter!!

Thanks & good luck!

Lena

Please stop by & visit me at www.LenaGoldfinch.com – where I blog, have chatty interviews with other YA authors, and post drool-worthy pictures of cupcakes.

Despite the title, this is not a kid’s book. It’s aimed at the older YA/adult reader, but having said that, it is about a boy called Jabin and there are most definitely pirates, really mean nasty ones.

(CC) Pirates-Great Beyond

A couple of reviewers have remarked on the level of violence. I've tried not to describe it in graphic detail, but I've not pulled any punches either. Violence is frequently sanitized; the reality is brutal and vile.

Sex is implied rather than described, but again, there is some harsh reality.

Hello?

Was that the sound of feet running away? Is anyone still out there?

In the hope someone is still reading/listening I’ll try to explain the why (see motive).

BTW, there’s a lot of fun stuff as well, at least there is if you enjoy a little action adventure and some dastardly political plotting. And there is, of course, the usual beautiful slave girl and lots of soldiers… I like soldiers.


I wanted and needed to write about self-esteem and how it can be taken away from children and just how damaging that can be. I hate bullies and I hate what bullying does to the victim.

I don’t just mean the school yard thug, I mean the adults who unknowingly or deliberately undermine a child’s confidence in themselves.

Yes, you’re right, I’m writing from experience. You can end up like an old fashioned tea cakes, a crisp shell of shiny chocolate on the outside, but marshmallow on the inside. And it takes very little to break the shell and expose the softness within.

These days my chocolate shell is re-enforced by a wonderful husband and two great kids, but I’ve not forgotten how the centre was made, or who was responsible, but love is the greatest of all repair kits.

It’s hard to tackle stuff like this in the present without having to deal with a lot of very grim reality, but set on an imaginary world sometime in the future, I felt I could deal with it all and a few other things like religious and political intolerance.

And I also wanted to write a rip roaring adventure story full of adventure and soldiers because I thought it would be a lot of fun..

The book has “scific” tags, as well as “fantasy”, but if you like your Sci-Fi packed full clever techno stuff and your fantasy full of magic and really cool clothes, it’s not going to deliver, but I can offer you a “ripping yarn” where the baddies are bad and the good guys win…eventually.

I fell in love with my first soldier outside Buckingham Palace. He was a Coldstream on guard and I was four.Later I fell in love with reading and writing and then with scific and tales of high adventure. Later still I married a military historian and he conducted me on guided lecture tours around many a battlefield and many a museum Despite this, or maybe because of it, I never lost my love of all things military or of adventure stories."Jabin and the Space Pirates" is a result of all this. Other published work includes a short story in a SFX Pulp Fiction Anthology and a Dr. Who story published by Big Finish.