Writing the Holiday Short Story
October 18, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Ages 2 Perfection Online Class, Online Classes tagged as Aged 2 Perfection Online Class, Carol L. Wright, Marianne H Donley, Writing the Holiday Short Story
Writing the Holiday Short Story
Presented by: Marianne Donley & Carol L. Wright
Date: November 6 – 17, 2023 (two weeks)
Pricing: A2P Member fee: $15 Non-A2P Member fee: $25
About the Workshop:
From Hanukkah Goblins to Ebeneezer Scrooge to Bad Santa, holiday stories run the gamut from heartwarming tales that enhance the celebration, warm the heart, and knit generations together, to those that highlight the frazzled nerves, generational conflicts, and dark humor that holidays sometimes bring to the fore.
With such a broad canvas, holidays give authors enormous range for storytelling, but there are still some elements that holiday stories nearly always share. This class will help you sort through the holiday frenzy to tell your story in a way that will leave your readers wanting more.
About the Presenters:
Marianne H. Donley, a retired teacher, now writes short stories, funny romances, and quirky murder mysteries. Her stories have appeared in a variety of anthologies, journals, and magazines. She also owns and manages the multi-author blog, A Slice of Orange. Marianne is a member of Bethlehem Writers Group, Music City Writers, Sisters in Crime, and Charmed Writers. You can follow Marianne’s various social media at: https://linktr.ee/mariannehdonley
Carol L. Wright writes mysteries and more. Her debut traditional mystery, Death in Glenville Falls: A Gracie McIntyre Mystery, was a finalist for two international book awards. Her short stories have appeared in award-winning anthologies and literary journals, and some of her favorites are collected in her book A Christmas on Nantucket and other stories. You can learn more at her website: https://CarolLWright.com
Together, Marianne and Carol teach both in person and online classes. They organize and judge a yearly short story contest. And just to keep busy, they have also edited six anthologies and are working on the seventh.
2 1 Read moreNew from Penny Reid
October 6, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Writing
★★Cover Reveal★★
All Folked Up, an all-new small town romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Penny Reid, is coming July 23, 2024 and we have the amazing new cover and blurb!
★ ★Reserve your copy TODAY★ ★
★★Blurb★★
Isaac has never been what he seems.
Rumor has it that gruff, brooding, and solitary man-of-mystery Isaac Sylvester is back in town, and the only thing folks in Green Valley know for certain is that this prodigal son’s motives are as elusive as he is. He’s been spotted loitering near the old Townsen farm, hanging around the Hill’s homestead, and glaring menacingly from the edges of The Donner Lodge’s parking lot. What this hometown-hero-turned-criminal wants, no one knows. Nor can they stop talking about it.
Hannah’s last night as an exotic dancer might just be her most memorable.
Hannah Townsen has often been a subject of local gossip. Folks shook their heads when Hannah’s daddy ran out on her momma; folks blessed her heart after Hannah’s momma had that tragic accident; and folks really talked up a tizzy when Hannah became an exotic dancer in order to pay off her parents’ debt and put food on the table. But now, ten years after being dubbed as a hometown-stripper-with-a-heart-of-gold, Hannah has seemingly—and finally—fallen off the gossip mill’s radar.
That is, until the enigmatic Isaac Sylvester shows up at Hannah’s retirement party wanting so much more than a private dance . . .
‘All Folked Up’ is the third book in the Good Folk series and is a full-length, small town, contemporary romantic comedy novel.Pre-made Post for Instagram:
All Three Books in the Good Folk Series
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Linda O. Johnston Featured Author
September 29, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as cozy mysteries, Dogs!, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Linda O Johnston, mysteries, romance'
Linda O. Johnston enjoys writing, romance, puzzles, and dogs.
A former lawyer, Linda is now a full-time writer and has published 57 books so far, including mysteries and romantic novels. She has written several cozy mystery series including the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries and Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink, and the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mysteries and Pet Rescue Mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. She also writes romances for Harlequin, including Harlequin Romantic Suspense. Writing as Lark O. Jensen, her latest release is Bear Witness from Crooked Lane Books. No matter what name she uses, nearly all Linda’s current stories involve dogs!
In addition to blogging for A Slice of Orange on the 6th of every month, Linda blogs at Killer Hobbies, Killer Characters, and Writerspace. Linda was interviewed by Jann Ryan, you can read all about it in Linda O. Johnston—Mysteries, Romantic Suspense and So Much More!
Linda enjoys hearing from readers. Visit her website at www.LindaOJohnston.com or friend her on Facebook.
A Few of Linda’s Many Books
Book Cover Contest
September 27, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Contests tagged as cover contest, OCRW
As part of the October Celebration of Romance event, OC Romance Writers is holding its 2023 Cover Contest.
Entry is open to both OC Romance Writers MEMBERS and NON-MEMBERS! Many categories to win in:
- BUY IT NOW AWARD (Best Cover)
- MOST ROMANTIC COVER
- SEXIEST COVER
- BEST TITLE AWARD
- BEST IN GENRE
DEADLINE TO SIGN UP AND SUBMIT YOUR COVER: Saturday, September 30, 2023 by midnight PDT
Submit your book cover today! https://ocromancewriters.org/2023-cover-contest/
Spotlight on A. J. Scudiere
September 20, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as AJ Scudiere, Bad Name, First Book in Series, Pre-order, The Hangman's Shadow Series, thriller
A born nerd, AJ was excited that her birthday fell on the first day of school many years. As an adult, she continued on this geeky path, still loving school. She now holds Psychobiology, Neuroscience, and Forensic degrees.
AJ was that kid, the one librarians held books for and waived the parental approval to check out books from the adult library. By the age of seven, AJ had read and loved Christine, Cujo, Carrie, the Amityville Horror and a ton of other things she should never have gotten her hands on. It explains a lot.
The author of 30+ books and a USA Today Bestseller, AJ has won 15 Best Suspense/Best Fiction of the year awards. Her work is gritty and always walks the edge of reality.
Pre-order The First Book in AJ’s The Hangman’s Shadow Series
BAD NAME
Jesse Nash just lost her daughter.
Georgia Dunham desperately needs to find her mother.
Jesse is on her couch with a bottle of whiskey…she’s supposed to be on the trail of a killer. Can Georgia convince her to take on yet another case when she can’t even handle what she has? Jesse may be the only one who can find the elusive Sin.
Cindy Baker might be able to help. But Cindy has seen more lives than she’s lived and isn’t even willing to open the door.
Troubled pasts come back to haunt them. Twisted cases lead to uncertain futures.
Book Two in The Hangman’s Shadow series IN THE TEMPLE
IN THE TEMPLE will be out sometime in 2024. Cover reveal coming soon!
Featured Books
BRUISED SPIRITS
It's 1924 and Daisy Gumm bands with friends to help Lily Bannister, whose abusive husband nearly killed her.
More info →
DEAD BLOW
Rainy will have to dig deep and use all the tools in her box to both defend herself and the people she's just learning to love.
More info →
DARK WINE AT MIDNIGHT
To save humanity, a reluctant spy must convince a handsome vampire to trust her, despite the dark secrets each carries, and the mutual attraction they can’t resist.
More info → 
