From Coffee to Shipwrecks: Modern Research Floats My Fictional Boat

Every morning when I fire up my computer, and fire up my brain with coffee, aka life’s elixir, I’m thankful to be living in this modern era. Not only for the electricity to power the computer and the coffee maker, and let’s not forget indoor plumbing, but most especially for the instant connection to the entire developed world. 

At no time am I more thankful than when I’m brainstorming a new book, and my brain is filled with ideas and overflowing with questions. Sure, I make stuff up for a living, but if one of my characters has a certain profession, I can’t invent what they do during an average day on the job. 

Which brings me to my current project, a future book in my MacLeod’s Cove series in which a large component of the plot will be maritime archaeology. What do I know about maritime archaeology? Absolutely nothing. 

Back in the olden days of my childhood/teenage-hood/young adulthood when working on a school project, I’d flip through the set of encyclopaedias sitting pride of place in the living room. If they weren’t adequate, I’d trudge to the town library and pour through research materials to find the answers.

Now, thanks to the wonders of science, all the information I need is at my fingertips in the virtual encyclopaedia, aka, the internet.

In less than an hour it became clear that Dr Eliza Steadman, my heroine, will be one busy lady as she searches for a historical shipwreck near MacLeod’s Cove. But I needed details, some insider knowledge to add spice and colour to my blank pages, so back I went to tapping the keys and clicking the mouse.

The first thing my expert needs to do is comb through records and archives and maps to define the search area. Then she needs to obtain proper permits and authorizations from both provincial and federal authorities before conducting any exploration. 

She will of course get all the permits and authorizations she’ll need, because fiction.

But then there are the logistics, like hiring a boat and a captain. I write romance. Bonus points if the captain is perfect hero material. Mike Boudreau ticks all the boxes.

Okay, I’ve got her in some kind of boat (I’m still working on that detail) with a hunky captain, bobbing in the ocean. How can she detect things on the ocean floor? *tap click scroll* Aha! Her mentor and old family friend comes to the rescue and loans her a magnetometer for detecting metal objects under the water. Isn’t he a nice guy? Well …

Not clear sailing yet, though, because even if she locates the wreck, she must follow the legal requirements for reporting the discovery, and they are many. And even then, there’s no guarantee she can do anything with the discovery. There are lots of regulatory and legal stuff to navigate. 

Now, remember, I’m at the starting point of this book so I have no idea what’s going to happen between Eliza and Mike. My research opened all sorts of possibilities. Will this become another Oak Island mystery? Will the hardship and turmoil of yet another failure convince Eliza to change careers? Will an angry local person sabotage her research vessel? I can’t wait to find out!

Luanna Stewart is a Canadian author who has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. She spends her days writing many flavours of romance, torturing her heroes and heroines before helping them find their happy-ever-after. But when she’s taking a break from wreaking people’s lives, you can find her pulling weeds, baking something delicious, or enjoying a cup of tea whilst completing a craft project. Enjoying (most of the time) an empty nest, she lives in Nova Scotia with her patient husband and a yard full of voracious deer. 

Website ~Bookbub ~ Instagram

Life has been Good to Me by Paty Jager

This month is about being thankful. There is so much in my life that I am thankful for. My husband, my family, my friends, my health, my pets. 

My husband has always been supportive of my writing and hasn't balked when I say I'm going to the coast for a week to write, or I'm going to Montana to research, or I want to travel to Europe for a month. He just says if you can make it happen, go ahead. He knows that I am happiest when I'm writing. He acknowledged it early in our married life before I had even realized it. He has even been indulgent in my need to have horses in my life. 

I will help my family in any way I can, and they me. I have a good rapport with cousins, siblings, nieces, nephews, and in-laws. I've gained respect for and from my mother-in-law. I am proud of my children, now grown adults with families who I like to be around. My oldest daughter and a granddaughter recently joined me on my trip to Europe. They let me have the best bed and room at the places we stayed and watched out for me. My granddaughter pulled me onto the train when we nearly missed it and my daughter kept us safe as we walked around the countries. 

My friends... where to start- I have the couples and women I met through my children's years in grade school. Some I've lost touch with but I remember fondly. Others I've stayed in touch with. Then the members of the Salem chapter of Romance Writers of America. I've again lost touch with some and maintain relationships with others. And the writers I met at National RWA conferences. So many that I met, admired, and grew to know. Through writing, I have met so many in-person and online people who have enhanced my life in ways they may never know. Then there are my closest friends. The ones I go to for advice and commiseration when something upsets me. 

I'm lucky to only have to take vitamins and herbs to keep my health in check. I'm still able to ride a horse, go for walks, and keep up with my grandchildren. Many of my friends and family aren't so lucky. 

Having pets helps to keep me going. I love watching Nia run and play outside and in. She is our entertainment most of the time. She and Harlie bug me every morning until I'm ready to go out and feed my horse and the cats in the shop. they love their walks and so do I. The animals keep me getting outside no matter what the weather is like and that is good for me. 

I am most thankful for the ability to tell a story well enough that people want to purchase my books. When I first started writing, I never dreamed others would want to read what I wrote to entertain myself.

Right now I have a new book in my Spotted Pony Casino Mystery series out- 

Down and Dirty

Book 6

Spotted Pony Casino Mystery

The Spotted Pony Casino’s head of security, Dela Alvaro, receives a late-night call that takes her to a deserted walkway along the river. After confronting a woman babbling about love and bodies being buried, Dela stumbles over a corpse and discovers her knife covered in the victim’s blood.

Dela and Tribal Detective Heath Seaver find themselves working with FBI Special Agent Quinn Pierce when the murder seems to be connected to a drug cartel. Dela nearly becomes the victim of a hit-and-run while someone is trying to frame her for the murder.

Proving her innocence has Dela interviewing past acquaintances and members of a drug cartel, all while trying to decide if the woman she met the night of the murder is truly crazy … or the killer.

Buy link:   https://books2read.com/u/bagQ66

And I'm proud to say I have a story in the Windtree Press Anthology- Imagine 

Imagination. It is a word that conjures up so much and can cover so many emotions. In this collection of nine unique stories and a poem, you will cross centuries, hang in suspense, chuckle and perhaps even laugh, and wonder did the character imagine that or not. Dari LaRoche starts this anthology with a poem that explores what sparks the imagination as it moves between conscious thought and the sublime, reflecting the beauty that surrounds us.

In Metro Takes a Road Trip, Susie Slanina returns to the adventures of a dog named Metro discovering new places and talents. In The Watching Game, Lisa de Nikolits crafts a story that explores invisible friends, suspense, and the power of suggestion. Diana McCollum’s story, Son-ja’s Journey, explores the story of a lost child who wanders into a Native American tribe’s camp and is raised as one of their own.

Pamela Cowan’s story, Mars, moves away from earth to outer space in her futuristic tale with a twist about a young man coming of age. Back on earth, Mary Vine provides a story of romance, suspense, and humor in Grandma Harper’s Imagination. Maggie Lynch pits fantasy against reality in Sky Painter, as a young girl develops unusual talents.

Another Life, by Paty Jager, provides a conundrum for the reader to unravel whether a battered wife and a dead husband is a tale of delirium or truth. In Project I.M.A.G.I.N.E. Anna Brentwood and Colton Long pen a cautionary tale of artificial intelligence that begins in the 1980s. Kimila Kay closes out the anthology with Rattlesnake Ravine, a suspense novella that plays with imagination versus truth and the consequences of having to choose only one side.

buy link https://books2read.com/u/booxnR

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of murder mystery, western romance, and action-adventure. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters.

Website: https://www.patyjager.net

Blog: https://writingintothesunset.net/
Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2IhmWcm

photo: by Paty Jager of the Steens Mountain

Peaceful, Grateful, Thankful by Judith Ashley

Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, soul nourishing romantic women’s fiction with light paranormal elements. My stories show you what life could be like if you had a place like The Circle where you are unconditionally accepted, supported and loved. And where, with this support, you make choices to overcome the darkest nights of your life to choose love and light.

Initially when you see those three words “Peaceful, Grateful, Thankful” you may not see them as I do, see how intertwined they are, see how they can transform even the most challenging circumstances.

As my Aunt Helen shared with me on her 100^th birthday, “Life happens. It has ups and downs. Take it as it comes and you’ll be happier.” And because of the theme this month, I’ll add, You’ll be more at peace.

How do we transition from a traumatic event to peace? For me it hasn’t been an overnight process. Some experiences have taken months and years to come to terms with (and in case you’re wondering, that isn’t peaceful).

When I first became involved with the work of Dr.William Glasser, I took the time to review major life events that I saw as negative.

Why? Because a major foundation of his work centers on personal responsibility as a way to empower ourselves. In other words, if whatever is wrong in my life is because of someone, something else, I have no control of making anything different. I’m stuck.

Courtesy of Deposit Photo

The secret to this self-assessment is to be neutral, to ask the question, “What would be different if I took responsibility for what happens in my life now?” So instead of “I can’t because X happened or Y is a barrier.” My question is “Even though X happened, how can I move forward with my life to find joy, success, healthy relationships, etc.?”

This focus provides me with the opportunity to become the problem-solver in my own life.

The second question I asked myself was “What is the gift this experience provided for me?”

Putting those two questions together “What is the gift?” and “How can I move forward?” was critical to my creating a way forward in my life.

Even in my 8^th decade I can see the gifts various challenging life events gave me. I have a greater empathy for people and thus I can relate to people who also have had a similar challenge.

I worked in a jail. I know what the clank of the cell door sounds like. Yes, I had the keys and I could leave and the visceral impact of the door closing is still with me.

Courtesy of Deposit Photo

I’m survivor of domestic violence. I know the fear, the sense of vulnerability, the terror that comes from the physical, mental, emotional, financial and sexual abuse of someone who purports to love you. And I know, because of when I was raised, that resources are not always available to you…and if they are, they don’t always seem safe. In my case, I did go to the police station where I was told that I “belonged” to my husband and should go home.

My level of empathy, of compassion when talking to women who have survived domestic violence is different that someone who has only studied it in graduate school. Not that that they can’t be compassionate or even empathetic, they don’t know of it on a visceral level as I do.

The health issues I’ve had and are still, at times dealing with? Again, my level of compassion, of empathy is at a deeper level than someone who has always been healthy.

Factor into that Dr. Glasser’s Basic Needs (Love, Belonging, Personal Power, Power Over, Freedom, Fun and Survival) and I’ve another level of understanding about their struggle.

Another example: I’ve had on-going issues with vestibular problems since an automobile accident in 1992. I’ve been called a malingerer because I didn’t have the words to explain my symptoms and the medical professionals I saw didn’t think my accident was that severe. I also do not get vertigo. However, put me in a busy visual environment (think strobe lights, overhead fans, lots of people milling around, conversations) and I can lose my bearings, need to sit down, become confused. My biggest trigger is visual noise which is definitely a symptom of a vestibular diagnosis but unless you specialize in the condition, you may not know about it. It’s way down the list of symptoms.

So back to “Peaceful, Thankful, Grateful” Did you think I’d wondered off into the ether? Not surprising because sometimes I do…

Like most people on this earth, challenges are a part of our lives. For some people they are part of their daily lives.

Courtesy of Deposit Photo

How do we move from challenges to Peaceful? We first have to work our way through Thankful and Grateful. As I shared above, because I lived through traumatic events I have been able to be more effective in working with other people in similar circumstances, I’ve been able to use my life experiences in teaching Dr. Glasser’s concepts.

And because I’ve been able to do those two things (and several others), I am Thankful because it makes me a better instructor, a more compassionate neighbor, a more empathetic friend, a more understanding parent, grandparent and great-grandparent. For that I’m Grateful.

When I experience being Thankful and Grateful in my life, I find I’m Peaceful.

And that is my goal. To live a life of peace and joy.

It comes back to my Aunt Helen’s words “Life happens. It has ups and downs. Take it as it comes and you’ll be happier.” And as I added “You’ll be more at Peace.”

In my Sacred Women’s Circle series, my heroines find peace in the sanctuary of their sacred circle and in their personal and circle spiritual traditions. I do recommend you rely on your Core Values and Spirituality to find your peace. Your mental, emotional and physical well-being will be well-served.

Learn more about my books, workshops and training on my website JudithAshley.net.

You can find my books at your favorite e-book vendor as well as through Windtree Press. Print books are available at Jan’s Paperbacks in Hillsboro, OR and Arte Soleil in Portland, OR. Get the addresses from my website. And be sure to ask your library if you’d prefer to read my books through that resource.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshley.net

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2024 Judith Ashley

Autumn

by Author Diana McCollum 

There is no time like autumn. Colorful leaves dressing up the trees, pumpkins on front porches and decorations for Halloween gracing the front of homes in anticipation of trick or treaters.

I always decorate my porch. We live far from other homes so we're lucky if we get 4-6 trick or treaters. But that doesn't matter, I still love to decorate and it brings a smile to my face when I walk up to our front porch.

.

Sunrises seem to be more spectacular than other times of the year

We get more visits here from our neighbors, the turkeys.

Fuit on trees can still be found.

I can't forget the flowers of fall, one of my favorites is mums.

I hope you all enjoy autumn as we slide past Halloween and Thanksgiving and into winter.

What is your favorite thing about autumn?

(All pictures taken by Diana McCollum-in and around Paradise, CA)

Interview with Sourcebooks Executive Editor Deb Werksman

 Deb Werksman is the Executive Editor of Sourcebooks, Casablanca imprint. We are excited to have her here today to tell us about what's happening in the industry The good news is submissions to Sourcebooks do not require an agent.

1/ Can you tell us how you got your start in the book publishing business? What were some of the highlights of your career years?

I started publishing a political satire magazine in 1989 called THE QUAYLE QUARTERLY (A Watchful Eye on the Vice Presidency) and started doing books and calendars in 1990. In 1992 I switched to humor and women’s interest and gift books, and Sourcebooks became my distributor. In 1998 I sold the press to Sourcebooks and came on board as a nonfiction and gift book editor. In 2003 I started acquiring fiction, and in 2007 we launched our romance imprint, which has been my focus ever since.

 

2/ Who were some of the authors you helped get published?

I’m excited that we are the print publisher for Lucy Score (and so many others in our Bloom imprint), and Carolyn Brown and Sharon Sala have been publishing with us for many years. We’ve just acquired books by Jill Shalvis, Lauren Blakely and Pamela Kelley. I’m excited about the international bestselling authors we’ve acquired recently who we’re translating into English: Mercedes Ron, Alice Kellen, Elisabet Benavent and Joana Marcus who is a Wattpad sensation, among many others who we’ll be bringing to US audiences for the first time.

 

3/Why an independent publisher? Has Sourcebooks remained female owned? Is that important to you?

The entrepreneurial environment here is extraordinary, as is our culture of Growth Mindset. Dominique Raccah is our owner and we’re agile because we’re independent. I think the whole Sourcebooks experience is what’s important to me, all my colleagues, and to our authors especially. Teamwork and collaboration and agility are important in this overcrowded marketplace.

 

4/Books and readers expectations have changed over the years. What are some of the tried-and-true tropes that continue to attract readers?

The romance category continues to be the trailblazers, and the tropes remain strong—enemies to lovers, second chance at love, friends to lovers, etc. Fans just want fresh takes on the tried-and-true stories and the reading experience that they crave.

 

5/ What are some of the changes you have seen in the publishing world over the years? Any predictions of where publishing is heading next?

Authors as entrepreneurs is one of the huge changes, and of course big changes in the retail space too. The mass merchants (Target, Walmart) are increasing space for BookTok authors and Barnes & Noble has worked hard to make each store more like an independent bookstore with really passionate booksellers serving their communities of readership. Readerships have also fragmented along all kinds of lines—where people buy their books, what formats they prefer, etc. The biggest changes can be summed up as movement away from gatekeepers and towards what readers want.

 

6/ What kinds of stories are you buying and what storylines are selling better than others?

I’m buying New Adult, dark romance, contemporary and small town and romcom, and romantic women’s fiction. Cozy romantasy, romantic suspense (or strong suspense element), LGBTQIA+. My colleagues are experts in Romantasy, and that’s super hot right now.

 

7/the words high concept   stories are what publishers say they seek. What does high concept mean to you?

To me high concept means a hook I can sell with in 2-3 sentences, that has appeal to a broad readership.

 

8/Are you accepting unagented submissions?

Yes!

 

9/ Any predictions as to where publishing is heading next?

I think we need to watch readers and see what they’re doing, what they want, what life experiences they want to read about. It’s all about readers and fandom and that’s only going to get stronger.

 

10/ Changing directions. What do you do for fun?

Yoga and knitting, and when audiobooks made it possible to read (listen) and knit at the same time that was life-changing. Now if I could only figure out how to read, knit AND do yoga all at the same time…

 

12/ Before you leave us, are there any words of wisdom for those who continue to write and would prefer to be published traditionally?

I know it’s been said a million times, but the most important thing is to write the best book you can, and to figure out your own schedules/rhythms/processes that work for you for your writing. You’re going to need to market, whatever way you choose to publish, so be sure to start thinking about where your strengths lie in that domain, and start doing what you need to do to get comfortable and happy connecting with readers.

 

13/ What’s next for Deb Werksman?

I’m ecstatically happy acquiring for Sourcebooks—what’s next is to expand my horizons and make as many authors successful as I possibly can!

 https://www.sourcebooks.com/

New Life to an Old Series

Fall is finally here in Central Oregon. The leaves are turning and pumpkins are popping up everywhere. And my latest fall fav are pumpkin spice pancakes! Do you have a favorite fall

food or drink?

 

I've been hard at work on two new books, I’m Dreaming of a Snowside Christmas, the third book in the Vermont Christmas Romance—the Murphy Clan series, and From the Farm to the Table Alpacas, book seven in the From the Farm to the Table series. I hadn’t planned to write more books in the series, especially 10 years later, but it turns out that these books are doing well, so I decided it made sense to write book seven. 

 

And I'm so glad I did. Alpacas are the most adorable creatures, and I had so much fun photographing and writing about them. They are like big stuffed teddy bears, and I just wanted to cuddle them the whole time I was there. Plus, they're so cute with they’re little front teeth they showed me every time I turned around.

 

I learned a lot about alpacas. I had no idea they'd only been in the United States since 1982, that they prefer to be in packs, and they are native to South America. In South America they not only harvest the fleece, but they use them for meat. At Crescent Moon Ranch where the book is set, they only use the alpacas for show and for the fleece.

 

Another fun fact is Farmer Scott, owner of the ranch names all his alpacas. He sees them in the pasture and knows them by name. And he has over 200 alpacas on his ranch. I’m lucky to get my kids names in order, and I only have two!

 

Farmer Scott also has over 100 babies every year. If you think an adult alpaca is sweet their babies are absolutely adorable.

 

As I said, I’d planned on a six book series. But after I finished the alpacas I came up with several more ideas to give the series a new life. Other books could include: goats, chickens, sheep, herding dogs and possibly insects. There are so many crops in the agriculture field that I have endless options, so I thought, why not tap into that?

 

I guess the moral to this blog is, even when you think something is complete you might be surprised to discover it's not.

 

From the Farm to the Table Alpacas

Did you know when alpacas make a cluck or click sound they’re being friendly? Thirty-five-year veteran photojournalist Kathy Coatney (specializing in agriculture) introduces second and third-graders to the amazing world of alpacas. Children will learn about raising these lovable animals on Crescent Moon Ranch with photographs and easy-to-read text from Farmer Scott. 

 

The From the Farm to the Table series is designed for second and third grade readers, each book highlighting second grade vocabulary words. 

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