June Featured Author: Denise M. Colby
June 14, 2019 by Denise M. Colby in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Christian Historical Fiction, Denise M Colby, Marketing, Social Media, writing
Denise M. Colby loves to write words that encourage, enrich, and engage whether it’s in her blog, social media, magazine articles, or devotions. With over 20+ years’ experience in marketing, she enjoys using her skills to help other authors. She treasures the written word and the messages that can be conveyed when certain words are strung together. An avid journal writer, she usually can be found with a pen and notepad whenever she’s reading God’s word. Denise is writing her first novel, a Christian Historical Romance and can be found at www.denisemcolby.com
She’s a member of RWA, OCC/RWA, Faith, Hope & Love Chapter of RWA, ACFW (where she is a semi-finalist in the Genesis contest Historical Romance Category), OC Chapter of ACFW, and SoCal Christian Writers’ Conference (where she will be teaching two workshops in June – Brand and SEO Marketing for Your Website).
In addition to Denise’s column The Writing Journey on A Slice of Orange, you can read some of her magazine article here.
Denise M. Colby’s Books
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Creating a Setting for Your Cozy Mystery by Carol L. Wright
June 13, 2019 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as BWG, Carol L Wright, cosy mysteries, cozy mysteries, Setting, writing
This month on From A Cabin in the Woods, we are featuring editor and author, Carol L. Wright.
Carol L. Wright escaped a career in law and academia for one in writing. She loves writing her Gracie McIntyre cozy mysteries where, unlike in life, justice always prevails. The first in the series, DEATH IN GLENVILLE FALLS, was a finalist for both the 2018 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award and the 2018 Next Generation Indie Book Award. She also writes short stories in many genres that have been published in a variety of literary journals and award-winning anthologies. She is married to her college sweetheart, and they live in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania with their rescue dog and clowder of cats. Find out more on her website, and on Facebook at Carol L. Wright, Author.
Creating a Setting for Your Cozy Mystery
Carol L. Wright
When we think about the setting for a cozy mystery, Murder She Wrote’s Cabot Cove or Agatha Christie’s St. Mary’s Mead often come to mind. Indeed, the term “cosy,” as the Brits spell it, was coined to describe Dame Agatha’s mysteries. Following these examples, most cozy writers choose a closed community as the backdrop for their murder. But, there is much more to a memorable setting for a cozy than being located in a small town.
Once, only British settings were deemed appropriate for cozies. As recently as twenty years ago, some said cozies had to be set in England or in New England. But Jessica Fletcher travelled widely, and even Christie set some of her mysteries on an isolated Indian island (And Then There Were None) or at an exotic hotel (A Caribbean Mystery). Many readers, in fact, love to learn about new places while trying to solve a mystery—so long as those places aren’t too off-putting. Harsh settings are usually reserved for harder-edged fiction.
With the idyllic small-town disappearing in the modern world, it’s not necessary to recreate a Cabot Cove. Since part of a cozy setting is the feeling of comfort and normalcy, you can set your mystery any place you wish, so long as you give your readers a feeling of familiarity. Anything from an ancient castle to a city neighborhood, a ski lodge to a desert island, a vacation resort to an Amish community will work just as well. Almost any place will do where people are thrown together and know (or get to know) each other.
Real or Fictional
But, should your setting be real or fictional? Both have their challenges.
If you use a real place, you need to be familiar enough with it to be sure you don’t get it wrong. Residents of that place must be able to imagine your story on the familiar streets of their home. You can’t place an event at the intersection of 15th Avenue and 26th Street in Manhattan, for instance, since anyone familiar with New York would know that would put you somewhere in the Hudson River. Such errors take readers out of the story and cause them to question the rest of your “facts.” It might even cause them to give up on your book altogether or leave (yikes!) a bad review.
Besides accuracy, when using a real setting you need to beware of potential libel if you use real businesses or real people’s names—or even substitute fictional names but do not sufficiently conceal the real entity upon which it is based. You might think that a business owner would love to have the free publicity of being in your novel, but not all would—especially if they’re to be associated with a murder. If they believe your novel casts them in a false light, they can sue. Even if you won a lawsuit, it would cost you so much to defend it that you would regret using real names/businesses. If you must use real people or businesses, get a written release from them. For more on this, see: How to Use Real People in Your Writing.
The Details
The other option, of course, is to use a completely fictional setting. If you do, you will need to provide all the details of the terrain, climate, and culture of the place to allow your readers to become immersed in your fictional universe. Think about Carolyn Hart’s Broward’s Rock Island, SC, or my own Glenville Falls—a college town nestled in Western Massachusetts. While each is within a known region, the towns, their businesses, modes of transportation, and traditions are creations of the authors.
Even fictional settings can reference real places in a general way. In my Gracie McIntyre mysteries, I mention UMass-Amherst, Springfield, and Boston, MA, but the action of the story occurs in my fictional town of Glenville Falls. In Sherry Harris’s Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries, that happen to be set in the area where I grew up, her town and the name of the nearby Air Force Base are fictional, but she mentions surrounding towns, roads, and landmarks. Reading them gives me a feeling of being back home. Done well, incorporating real places can help sales to the area’s current and former residents—especially if you do book signings there.
Back Ground Characters
Another part of the setting is your background characters. These are definitely NOT the folks who will drive your plot, kill your victim, or solve the crime. They’re the person who takes orders in the coffee shop, the mail carrier who delivers the threatening letter, or the security guard who lets people into the gated community. If the location of your story were a room, these characters would be the furniture.
As with any room, you want your furniture to add color, interest, and comfort to the setting. One character might have a colorful accent (pillow?) or mode of speech. Another could give the sleuth a place to rest and think a bit. Another could shed some light on the story. While these characters might serve a small role in the plot, they then go on about their fictional lives, unconcerned with what is happening in the rest of the novel. Still, they leave behind their imprint on your readers’ sense of place.
Once you have your setting—both the room and the furniture—you have the cozy world in which to spin your tale or your series. And, if, like me, you’re a “pantser”—one who writes by the seat of your pants rather than plotting everything out in advance—you might well be surprised to find that some of the lovely setting you’ve created ends up changing your story in ways you never anticipated.
What do you look for in a cozy setting? What are some of your favorite cozy settings?
Books by Carol L. Wright
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New Chapter By Denise M. Colby
June 12, 2019 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Family, Graduation, New Chapter, writing
Books are written with chapters. Some books organize thoughts and points by chapter. Others are just continuing the story either from a different POV or a new plot twist, which makes us want to continue reading, wondering what will happen next.
Our lives are a little like this as well.
Some can be really long chapters and some can be short. A lot depends on what we are doing in the middle of the chapter and our control over whether we are starting fresh or not. Sometimes a new school year can be a new chapter, sometimes a new semester, or sometimes it’s changing schools or graduating. All these stages in life can be a new chapter.
All three of my boys have new chapters this year – they are graduating something.
The oldest had his a few weeks ago from the Community College he has been attending. And today we celebrate the other two – my youngest graduates 8th grade, while my middle son graduates high school. Both on the same day. It’s been a bit nuts the past few weeks. Lots of lasts, lots of goodbyes, lots of getting things ready for the next year, whether it was math placement tests, or turning in paperwork for college. It has been so fun to be on this journey with them, but I’m also very excited to turn the page and see what happens next.
At my age it’s a lot easier to reflect back and know what an exciting time this is for all three of them. They can do anything they put their minds to. Many doors will open and some will close. It will be up to them to make it all happen. And it’s interesting to see how quickly something can change or an opportunity presents itself.
Kind of like our characters do in the books we write.
It makes me think about my writing and somehow trying to put that same expectancy on the page. So that when we read we can’t put a book down because we are excited for what’s around the corner and we don’t want to miss it.
I sort of forget how flexible we all were when we were younger. Not so set in routine and order. Maybe that’s something I should keep in mind when I’m working on my book.
Happy Graduation boys. Mom is super proud of you!
0 0 Read moreChristmas in June…seriously? by Jina Bacarr UPDATED
June 11, 2019 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as Boldwood, Boldwood Books, books, England, London, romance, time travel, women's fiction, writing, WW2
Can’t wait to tell you about my exciting new adventure with this fab publisher!
I’m sitting here at my computer with thoughts of sugar plum fairies dancing in my head…
Hearing jingle bells as I type.
And drinking hot coffee with a cinnamon stick.
No, I’m not lost in the Twilight Zone. I’m traveling back in time to the holiday season during WW 2…
I can’t reveal all…yet.
More as it happens…
Jina
PS I’ll update the page as I get more news.
UPDATE: Tuesday June 18, 2019 is the day the publisher will be making a formal announcement re: their upcoming books!!
I’ll be able to reveal my story then…stay tuned.
2nd UPDATE:***************June 18, 2019 PDT
I’ve been on London Time for days and this is my first chance to update my post…Yes, London. Like in William and Kate, Harry and Megan — because I feel like an American royal! My new publisher is London-based BOLDWOOD Books.
It’s so exciting to be a part of this new adventure.
So hold tight and I’ll give you all the fab details.
————-
Here’s the scoop about Boldwood Books with all their wonderful authors…including me!
Amazing…
I feel like an American royal!
My first book with Boldwood is a WW 2 Christmas story about love lost and time travel…what if you could go back in time and save the man you love from being killed on a secret mission in France?
My heroine, Kate Arden, gets that chance.’
Kate travels back in time aboard a magic Christmas train
More on “Christmas Once Again” and the amazing Boldwood Books next month!
2 0 Read moreMom & Son Inc.
June 9, 2019 by Tari Jewett in category Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett tagged as 1st books, book covers, indie publishing, sons
Hermosa Promenade
When our children are small, I think most of us fantasize about who they’ll be when they grow up. What they’ll look like, will they look like you? Or be entirely their own person? What kind of personality will they have? Will they be funny? Smart? Laid back or driven?
It’s the same with writing. When I start a story I wonder what it will look like when it’s done? What will the reader see? Will my intention come across? After all, our stories are our babies too!
Well, I’ve had the incredible, and unexpected experience of combining those two things. I’ve been working on books with my oldest son, Gerrod. I’m writing them, and he’s doing the artwork for the covers.
Hermosa Beach Clock
As you know, my first book, #PleaseSayYes, released last year in a boxed set. And I loved the cover. I thought it was adorable. But, when I got my rights back, and released it this February by itself, I wanted a new cover. I wanted something that said, not just romantic comedy, but Hermosa Beach romcom. I wanted something custom. But I couldn’t justify the expense.
And then Gerrod, my oldest son, approached me. He’s gone back to school, for digital graphic design, and asked if he could have a shot at my book covers. I was surprised, because I know my books aren’t the kind of thing he reads, and it’s not the kind of artwork he would normally choose to do, but I was also 
thrilled at the opportunity to work on a creative project with my son.
I also knew that being creative means not just doing what you want to do, what you know best, but stretching yourself into other areas. I wrote advertising and press releases for car products, television commercials for water purification companies, and so many other writing projects that had nothing to do with me, but that required creativity and artistic skill.
We are however both new to this, and learning together could be a good thing or a bad thing. I didn’t want my writing project to cause friction between us.
So, of course, we dove into this project head first.
I gave Gerrod some photos of Hermosa Beach, and sent samples of other romcom covers that I liked, in order to give him an idea of where I wanted to go. He used what I’d given him to digitally hand draw sample scenes for me. It was rough at first, and more than a couple of times when the stress of the project, a death in the family, and other things got in the way I wanted to walk away. I’m sure he considered it as well, although regardless of what happened, he stayed on track, worked with me, and tried to give me what I wanted.
We argued about a few details here and there, but generally he agreed it was my book, and he did whatever it took. EXCEPT for when it came to my name. He felt that my handwriting was unique in itself and 
should go on the book. I, disagreed, and on this issue he dug in. Eventually, I relented, and the more I saw it on the cover, the more I liked it. (You can tell me what you think.)
But ultimately, I had the last say, I wanted him to sign his work. I was thrilled with the final product. On the post in the bottom right hand corner, you’ll see GGG. Those are Gerrod’s initials. They’re also on the back, bottom right hand corner by the helicopter!
Once book one was done, book 2, which will be released in just a few weeks, and book 3 coming in October, were a breeze to complete! I’m not supposed to share yet, but I just can’t help myself! I hope you like the cover for #FireworksintheFog as much as I do! But, you’ll have to wait to see book 3, Haunted Hermosa.
Bottom line, proud mama moment, and so thrilled to be sharing this experience with my son. We’re learning about the process together, and learning to work together as two artists, not mother and son.
So, they grow up, and become their own people, and sometimes, if you’re very lucky, who they are as an individual, and who you are as an individual are able to find a common ground, a special place that the two of you can share.
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