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Book Review: One Taste too Many by Debra H. GoldStein A Review by Veronica Jorge

One Taste Too Many | Debra Goldstein | A Slice of Orange

One Taste Too Many (A Sarah Blair Mystery)

First in a new series!

by Debra H. Goldstein

Kensington Publishing Corp. 2019 ISBN 9781496719478

They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. It’s also an effective way to take him out—permanently!

Every clue points to Emily, a chef on the rise, and it doesn’t help that the dead man is Bill Blair…her twin sister Sarah’s ex-husband. Throw a third woman into the mix, Jane, the woman Bill was seeing who claims that Bill’s family inheritance belongs to her, including Sarah’s cat, and you’ve got a recipe for murder.

In the midst of a major Food Expo and fierce, (shall we say deadly?), chef competition aspiring careers will be made or broken. Emily’s lawyer Harlan, and Peter the police chief, all life-long friends, match evidence and wits to discover the identity of the real murderer and get Emily off the hook.

In One Taste Too Many, Debra Goldstein will put your sleuthing skills to the test. If you think you can run with the best of the pack; whether Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Agatha Christie, or Jessica Fletcher of the television series, Murder She Wrote, Debra will throw you for a loop each time you think you’ve solved the case.

Intriguing and entertaining, you will bury your nose in the book trying to pick up the scent of each new clue. But like a sophisticated recipe, you won’t be able to guess the secret ingredient. And like the expert storyteller that she is, Debra will keep you turning the pages until she reveals the culprit. It’s not who you think!

A Sarah Blair killer recipe| Write from the Heart | A Slice of Orange

P.S. I tried the killer recipe included at the end of the book (‘killer’ as in taste, not the one that did poor Bill in. That’s why I’m still here). I didn’t get it to come out the way it was supposed to, but it’s light, refreshing, and delicious. And if I might add…one taste is to die for!

See you next time on February 22^nd.

Veronica

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My Kingdom for the Right Home

January 20, 2019 by Meriam Wilhelm in category A Bit of Magic by Meriam Wilhelm tagged as magic, Something new, The Witches of New Moon Beach, Witches

If you’ve read any of my books, you know that I write about witches—nice witches thrown into every day dilemmas where their magic sometimes is and sometimes is not very helpful. Recently, I’ve had a new story buzzing around in my head, just ready to pop out. I can see my characters and yes, they have paranormal powers, in fact they’re all witches. I may throw in a warlock or two, although I’m not yet sold on that inclusion. I have a sense of where I want to take my characters, what conflicts they’ll meet along the way and even who my villains might be.

But I thought I’d try something different this time, something I’ve never done before. I thought I’d start with a house. Not just any house, but a place with its own personality. A house capable of hosting all sorts of exciting, mystically challenging; paranormal activity. The exact house to function as the hub of my story.

With this in mind, I went in search of the perfect abode for my witches to call home and that’s where I ran into my own dilemma . . . which house to choose? I combed various neighborhoods, searched the internet, looked through real estate sites and visited a historical site or two on a quest to find the right domicile. Once committed to a place, I think the rest of my story will naturally unfold itself.

I’m down to four houses scattered throughout Europe and the U.S.A. and I would love your input. Not only which house would you choose, but why? I chose each house for a different reason and I’ll be curious to learn which house captures your imagination.

The Witches of New Moon Beach Boxed Set | Meriam Wilhelm | A Slice of Orange

One more thing, if you are curious about the stories I’ve written, you can find The Witches Of New Moon Beach in a new boxed set right now on Amazon and Smashwords. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Oh, and those of you who have been following my travels/struggles towards my sixty-fifth birthday – I’ve managed to complete every goal but one. I sadly have not lost my twenty pounds. However, not one to give up, I’m still working on it, including walking 45 minutes a day!

Happy New Year to you all and I can’t wait to hear from you!

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SELF INFLICTED WOUNDS by Jenny Jensen

January 19, 2019 by Jenny Jensen in category On writing . . . by Jenny Jensen tagged as credibility, editing, Editors, self-publishing, typos

The Indie Revolution is the most exciting innovation since Google; it’s more refreshing than the demise of the mullet. It’s such a grand opportunity! It’s so… democratic. Anyone with the passion and discipline to write down the stories that live in their head can offer their work to the world. There are no subjective, judgmental, economic barriers blocking the way. Every avid reader can troll the newest book offerings looking for that next great discovery. When I find a fresh new voice with an exciting sense of drama, fascinating characters and a unique tale to spin it’s like winning the lottery (at least I imagine it is, having never won myself).

And we all know what they say about opportunity—it’s something to make the best of. That’s why I am so amazed how many Indie books contain errors of the sort that any good set of editorial eyes would have found and corrected. It’s a message to me, the reader, that I’m not important enough to make the book right. Or worse, the author thinks so little of me that I’ll accept any error, that I won’t notice or care.

How can I not care when DCI Stewart, ruggedly attractive in a wry funny way (this narrative already has me considering Book Two) has just gone through XXI chapters of intriguing madness to finally find the decisive evidence and as he lifts the shredded ribbon from the debris of the broken vase he cries, “Waa La!”. What!? Waa La? I’m out of the moment now, jerked rudely from the mounting tension. DCI Stewart is no longer clever or ingenious; he’s an idiot. Give the poor man a “Viola!”. I can’t bear to look at any more.

It’s a different kind of awful when the whip smart heroine finally descends the grand staircase to face her treacherous half siblings and the room falls silent, “the rustling tool of her elegant gown the only sound”. This instantly conjures hysterically unintentional images. Yikes, it’s toile. I want to scream. The story has lost all credibility. I can’t get my reading mojo back. Why didn’t this author care?

It’s one thing to accept a typo or two, even a few missing prepositions are forgivable (just remember all those reviews that say it would have been a 4 star except for the typos) but it’s a lot to ask your audience to overlook faulty word choice, a change of voice in mid-chapter, a glaring hole in the timeline, a nonsensical plot point or character traits that shifts mid stream.

Such errors are forgivable in any draft—that’s where the author gets the story down and who cares if a character proclaims it’s a “mute point”. Under the fresh, critical eye of an editor it will become a moot point. This is the stage where an objective eye sees what the writer has missed by staring so long at the trees. Maybe the story arc lags, maybe the narrative or characters are inconsistent, a good editor and the writer can fix it. Doesn’t the writer want it perfect?

Indie publishing is such a golden opportunity and writing a good book requires so much personal investment to get to a good draft it’s sad how many writers just blithely publish, warts and all. Take the extra step and work with an editor. Your book and your readers are worth it. We editors can to save you from shooting yourself in the foot.

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GUTS

January 15, 2019 by Rebecca Forster in category The Write Life by Rebecca Forster tagged as choices, writing

A few days ago my mom had a lunch, an affair to show off her Christmas decorations before she started taking them down. There were seven of us munching on layered Jell-O salad, finger sandwiches, and clam chowder. Over coffee, one of the ladies said:

“Tell us again how you started writing.”

I won’t bore you with the story, but my start involved a dare, a lot of hours of butt in the chair, no expectation of ever getting published and absolute terror and self-doubt once my first book went to contract.

When I was finished with my tale, she said: “Wow, that took guts.”

I wanted to tell her that, no, writing my first book didn’t take guts, staying in the industry did. If you’re reading this, and you are writing, you qualify as gutsy.

Every day you make decisions that will change the course of your career: you dig into your own pocket for advertising and public relations, are faced with tough demands from publishers and hard creative choices. Currently, there is a decision many of you will face and that is whether or not to sign a traditional publishing contract that contains a morality clause. Such clauses are included by houses like Simon & Schuster and Penguin Putnam and, if enforced, will void a contract (often asking for advances back and always removing books by the offending authors) because of past, present or future behavior that they consider immoral. ‘They’ – the judge and jury – are the publishers or public outcry on social media or anything that, in the publisher’s opinion, makes your work less saleable.

Morality clauses were nothing new, but in years gone by there were strict codes of morality based on widely accepted public mores and religious guidelines. In this day and age a moral transgression can be determined by a fashionable whim, a person who frivolously points a finger, or a trending Tweet. Today Oscar Wilde would not be considered immoral, yet in his time he was arrested and jailed for homosexuality. Still, his work was published and it was the public that decided whether or not to read it.

There are many questions about clauses like this, not the least of which is this: does such a clause infringe on free speech? Even more concerning is tying morality to salability, a bottom line, money. This space is too small for such a big debate, but here’s my bottom line: a publishing contract is a rare thing and, when offered, it will take guts to reject it because of a morality clause. It will also take guts to accept it and live with the knowledge that you, personally, and not just your work, could be deemed immoral at any time for any reason.

There’s a lot to think about in 2019 and one of those things is to ask yourself if you have the guts to be a writer.

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Resolutions for Writers

January 13, 2019 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group

From a Cabin in the Woods is please to have Jodi Bogert as guest author this month.

Jodi Bogert | From a Cabin in the Woods | A Slice of Orange

Jodi Bogert is a member of the Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC. In 2016, she graduated from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Professional Writing and blogs original content and freelances. Her future goals for her career include with publishing more short stories and a debut novel.

Resolutions for Writers

Jodi Bogert

The beginning of the New Year means setting goals. These goals can be taking either a new direction in life or working on something that people always aspired to finish. For writers, resolutions typically revolve around starting the first draft of that big novel they dreamed of publishing.

More often than not, this resolution is a recycled goal from the previous January and the one before that. The reasons writers never get around to the first draft can vary. There is too much to do and few hours in the day or the writer’s heart was not in it. However, if the story idea is enough to create a book, and the writer has the drive, anything is possible. Following a few steps, the writer will find it easier to carry out the project.

Step 1: Plan out everything

A writer will spend a lot of time thinking about a good idea. So many thoughts go through one’s mind it’s easy to lose track and become overwhelmed. The best way to begin a new novel is to create a basic outline. Writing every plot point, character trait, and other details can help organize thoughts and provide a visual aid. A writer can also use this outline as a tool throughout the process. They can look at it again and decide which parts of the story needs to be added or eliminated.

Step 2: Break it into chunks

When writing the first draft, too many writers work for hours on end, never giving themselves and the project a chance to rest. Frustration and stress quickly build up, and the writer will find it easier to quit. Gradually writing the first draft is the smarter way to go forward. Setting up a daily quota of pages or words to will develop the project at a steady pace. The writer will learn to take things slowly, going back to make sure everything in the story reflects absolute perfection, or as perfect as a first draft can be.

Step 3: Asking for help

One big mistake that writers make is not getting other people involved. A writer cannot do it all alone. At this point, they are the only one who has spent time on the project, from conceptualizing the idea to writing out the first few chapters. Using other people’s eyes is essential because they are unfamiliar with the story and more likely to find mistakes and pick out plot lines or characters that are not working out. The writer should always listen to their inner voice, but the opinion of the audience can help take the project where it needs to go.

Step 4: Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite!

When the first draft is finally taken out of the writer’s mind and put down on paper, the process is still far from over. Completing a novel takes an immense amount of time and effort. Putting away the first draft for a time is what the writer needs to do, giving the writer time to think about what they want to change in the next draft. Looking at a first draft with fresh eyes also brings numeral mistakes forward that the writer might have overlooked.