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Story Ideas by Kat Martin

December 17, 2020 by in category Guest Posts tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
woman using a typewriter with crumpled up paper around her and a cup of coffee next to her. Title of the post Story Ideas and author Kat Martin are place over the image.

People often ask how I come up with ideas for my novels.  Sometimes I have no answer—it just seems to pop into my head.  Best guess, the kernel of an idea probably came from a newspaper or magazine article or something I saw in a movie.  It was probably just so far back I don’t recall.

Before I started to write THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL, Brandon Garrett’s story, the third book in my Maximum Security Series, I had decided to set a book in Colorado, maybe even a new series.  I ran across an article about the Army Chemical Weapons Depot near Fort Carson and started thinking…  wouldn’t it make be interesting if someone stole chemical weapons from the depot?  I wonder if it could be done?  How would the good guys catch the thieves?  And so off I went on a story that turned into The Ultimate Betrayal

Having written over 70 novels since I began way back when, it’s harder and harder to come up with fresh ideas.  I do a lot of research for my books.  This novel, set around a military base, was particularly difficult.  Lots of stuff I didn’t know.

In the story, when investigative journalist Jessie Kegan’s father, a colonel in the army, is accused of treason, Jessie is determined to clear his name.  Reluctantly, she turns to former Special Ops soldier, Brandon Garrett, her late brother’s best friend–a true heartbreaker, according to her brother. 

With danger coming from every angle, time is running out and the game being played is deadly.  Working together, Bran and Jessie must risk everything to solve the riddle and confront the threat–before it’s too late.

I hope you’ll give THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL a try and if you like Bran and Jessie as much as I did, you can also find them in THE CONSPIRACY, Maximum Security book #1 and THE DECEPTION, book #2.

Till next time, happy reading and all best, Kat 


THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL

Kat Martin

When investigative journalist Jessie Kegan’s father, a colonel in the army, is accused of treason, Jessie is determined to clear his name.  Reluctantly, she turns to former Special Ops soldier, Brandon Garrett, her late brother’s best friend—a true heartbreaker, according to her brother.

With danger coming from every angle, time is running out and the game being played is deadly.  Working together, Bran and Jessie must risk everything to solve the riddle and confront the threat—before it’s too late.

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Kat Martin Bio

Bestselling author Kat Martin, a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, currently resides in Missoula, Montana with Western-author husband, L. J. Martin.  More than seventeen million copies of Kat’s books are in print, and she has been published in twenty foreign countries.  Fifteen of her recent novels have taken top-ten spots on the New York Times Bestseller List, and her novel, BEYOND REASON, was recently optioned for a feature film.  Kat’s latest novel, THE ULTIMATE  BETRAYAL, a Romantic Thriller, will be released in paperback December 29th.


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The Book Review that touched my heart by Jina Bacarr

October 10, 2020 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sometimes, you get it right….

When I saw this review of my Titanic love story THE RUNAWAY GIRL, it tugged at my heart.

Yes, it’s a wonderful 5 star review, but more importantly, my story has captured the interest of a young girl who wasn’t much of a reader beforehand. 

Amazon Review:

Crystal E. Rose

Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2020

My daughter has not read the whole book yet but likes it. She likes the romance part. She is not much of a reader and I always see this book in her hands.
 
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Wow. What sets my kettle brewing is that this young girl has discovered the joy of reading through the eyes of Ava O’Reilly, my intrepid Irish heroine who flees to America for a new life when she’s wrongly accused of stealing a diamond bracelet.
 
I wonder…
 
Will my book go on her keeper shelf as she gets older?
 
Will she look back on it fondly when she’s plowing through college textbooks and remember the joy she found ‘reading for fun’?
 
Will she grab the dog-eared copy off the shelf in a moment of needing a hug when her romantic life isn’t going so well?
 
Will she re-read it wrapped up in a cozy blanket, holding her hot cocoa? When her eyes tire easily and her hands hurt from arthritis, but her heart soars to once again walk the decks of the Titanic with Ava and remember when she was young?
 
I hope so.
 
Not because it’s my story, but because we never forget the books that touched our hearts when we were young and introduced us to new worlds and changed our lives.
 
And if my story set this young girl on a lifelong love of reading, then I couldn’t be more pleased. 
 
It doesn’t get better than that.
 
Jina
 
 
 

————–

 

THE RUNAWAY GIRL

Two women hold the keys to his heart. Only one will survive that fateful night…

When Ava O’Reilly is wrongly accused of stealing from her employer, she has no option but to flee Ireland. The law is after her, and she has only one chance at escape – the Titanic.

Aboard the ship of dreams, she runs straight into the arms of Captain ‘Buck’ Blackthorn, a dashing gentleman gambler who promises to be her protector. He is intrigued by her Irish beauty and manages to disguise her as the maid of his good friend, the lovely Countess of Marbury. Little does he realise, that the Countess is also in love with him.

As the fateful night approaches, tragedy strikes further when Ava is separated from Buck, and must make a daring choice that will change her life forever…

A sweeping historical romance set aboard the Titanic, from the author of Her Lost Love (Christmas Once Again).

Praise for Jina Bacarr:

‘A delightful holiday romance that has all the charm of a classic Christmas movie. Christmas Once Again is perfect for anyone who loves a holiday romance brimming with mistletoe, hope, and what ifs.’ Andie Newton, author of The Girl I Left Behind ‘A breathtaking holiday romance that is sure to stay with you long after reading’

‘A mesmerizing holiday romance that is sure to sweep you off your feet and take you away to another place, another time.’

‘A fabulous book you won’t want to miss’ https://youtu.be/S-33oEM4DlI

THE RUNAWAY GIRL e-book, print and audio book:

THE RUNAWAY GIRL
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Apple Books
Buy from Barnes and Noble
Buy from Kobo
 
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This book is incredible a truly remarkable story, Sylvie diary, notes photo's and recordings are inspiring. the real story of glamourous Sylvie Martone has to be solved and told. She will never be forgotten.
I loved it
 — Booklover B 

 

 

https://twitter.com/BoldwoodBooks/status/1315245890874093569

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Meet the unsung heroine of publishing: Miss Proofreader by Jina Bacarr

September 11, 2020 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , Ode to my Proofreader My proofreader has the eye of an eagle and patience of a saint, No matter what I write, she swears not to faint Through missed commas, wrong tenses, and a lost full stop or two She carries on in spite of, through and through But what I never expected when I sent my m/s off with a sigh Was that parts of my book would make her cry… ——— Last month I wrote about the copy edits and mentioned that I sent my Paris WW 2 historical novel is off to the proofreader! Oh, my, I had no idea I’d make her cry… I actually stopped in the middle of proofreading my manuscript when she sent it back to me and shed a tear or two myself, I felt so bad for upsetting her. My first thought was… I had to change the scene, make it happy, not have this lovely professional proofreader stop her work because my characters made her cry. How dare they! I was totally surprised how much this affected me. It’s okay for me to bawl my eyes out when bad stuff happens to my heroine, but I think we writers live in a bubble and don’t know realize how much the stories we tell affect our readers. They’re just as invested in the story as we are. And for that I thank you for allowing my stories to touch your soul, wrench your heart, and send you on a journey to a place far, far away, but bring them home, nourish them, cheer with them cry with them when you let our characters come into your life. And yes, my proofreader did finish her proofreading on time (with a tissue or two in tow).
————– THE RUNAWAY GIRL Two women hold the keys to his heart. Only one will survive that fateful night… When Ava O’Reilly is wrongly accused of stealing from her employer, she has no option but to flee Ireland. The law is after her, and she has only one chance at escape – the Titanic. Aboard the ship of dreams, she runs straight into the arms of Captain ‘Buck’ Blackthorn, a dashing gentleman gambler who promises to be her protector. He is intrigued by her Irish beauty and manages to disguise her as the maid of his good friend, the lovely Countess of Marbury. Little does he realise, that the Countess is also in love with him. As the fateful night approaches, tragedy strikes further when Ava is separated from Buck, and must make a daring choice that will change her life forever… A sweeping historical romance set aboard the Titanic, from the author of Her Lost Love (Christmas Once Again). Praise for Jina Bacarr: ‘A delightful holiday romance that has all the charm of a classic Christmas movie. Christmas Once Again is perfect for anyone who loves a holiday romance brimming with mistletoe, hope, and what ifs.’ Andie Newton, author of The Girl I Left Behind ‘A breathtaking holiday romance that is sure to stay with you long after reading’ ‘A mesmerizing holiday romance that is sure to sweep you off your feet and take you away to another place, another time.’ ‘A fabulous book you won’t want to miss’ THE RUNAWAY GIRL e-book, print and audio book:
THE RUNAWAY GIRL
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Apple Books
Buy from Barnes and Noble
Buy from Kobo
BONUS this month: meet Daisy in my Boldwood Books 1st anniversary video!
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Why copy edits keep me up at night by Jina Bacarr

August 11, 2020 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

copy edits done and gone

every comma, typo, everything wrong

fixed and buttoned up nice and tight

trying so hard to get it all right

now to sleep perchance to dream in bliss?

no…tossing & turning, wondering, what did I miss?

——————

My Paris WW 2 historical novel is off to the proofreader!

——————-

Once upon a time in Hollywoodland far, far away, I wrote tons of scripts for kids’ TV shows. I remember one show I was hired to work on where my script was considered the ‘hallmark’ of the series — it had all the elements they wanted in each script and they used it as a ‘sample’ to show other writers they brought on what they wanted.

Wow.

Yes, it was cool. Simple, right? Give them a good script, get a paycheck, grab another assignment.

Oh, no, my innocent ones.

It wasn’t at all like that. I met with the producers (seasoned pros) every day for two weeks until we hammered out the characters, the plot, subplot, theme… met with the toy company so I could see what the ‘toys’ looked like. Wrote an outline — a detailed outline — three times.

Got more notes. Wrote the script… rewrote it.

Then another meeting that went something like this: ‘You got the story down… characters good… ‘ say the producers. ‘But change the big action scene to include…………’

‘Why?’ I ask.

‘Because the toy company wants to introduce this …………. toy in the episode.’

I grin, say nothing. Remember rent is due. ‘You got it.’

In the end, it was a great episode with an emotional connection between the hero and his father and lots of action, but it didn’t just happen. All those meetings, notes paid off. It was a team effort and I learned back then that’s what makes good scripts. And good books.

The team.

Copy edits are a big part of that team.

Yes, I cringe, freak out, yell, and cry when I see those ‘comments’ on the right side of the page, but I’m so grateful for the time, skill, dedication, and heartfelt emotion the copy editor puts into her work. She knows this is my ‘baby’, yet it’s her job to find everything that ‘doesn’t’ work.

So a big THANK YOU to my copy editor on my Paris WW 2 historical coming out in October (cover reveal soon!) for putting up with my mistakes and asking the hard questions so I get it right.

You done good, kid.

—————

Blog tour coming up Oct 27 – Nov 2 already filled up except for one spot Yay!!


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THE RUNAWAY GIRL

Two women hold the keys to his heart. Only one will survive that fateful night…

When Ava O’Reilly is wrongly accused of stealing from her employer, she has no option but to flee Ireland. The law is after her, and she has only one chance at escape – the Titanic.

Aboard the ship of dreams, she runs straight into the arms of Captain ‘Buck’ Blackthorn, a dashing gentleman gambler who promises to be her protector. He is intrigued by her Irish beauty and manages to disguise her as the maid of his good friend, the lovely Countess of Marbury. Little does he realise, that the Countess is also in love with him.

As the fateful night approaches, tragedy strikes further when Ava is separated from Buck, and must make a daring choice that will change her life forever…

A sweeping historical romance set aboard the Titanic, from the author of Her Lost Love (Christmas Once Again).

Praise for Jina Bacarr:

‘A delightful holiday romance that has all the charm of a classic Christmas movie. Christmas Once Again is perfect for anyone who loves a holiday romance brimming with mistletoe, hope, and what ifs.’ Andie Newton, author of The Girl I Left Behind ‘A breathtaking holiday romance that is sure to stay with you long after reading’

‘A mesmerizing holiday romance that is sure to sweep you off your feet and take you away to another place, another time.’

‘A fabulous book you won’t want to miss’ https://youtu.be/S-33oEM4DlI

THE RUNAWAY GIRL e-book, print and audio book:

THE RUNAWAY GIRL
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Apple Books
Buy from Barnes and Noble
Buy from Kobo
 
 
 
BONUS this month: meet Daisy in my Boldwood Books 1st anniversary video!
 

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To sleep or not to sleep… why I stayed up till dawn every night to finish my book by Jina Bacarr

June 11, 2020 by in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’ve worked nights a lot.

On late night radio.

In a U.S. Army service club

Dancer/Singer/Cocktail waitress.

Theatre productions.

Yeah, a lot. But you’d think as a writer I could choose to work the day shift. I tried, really tried, but my brain seems to be wired to work late.

So here I am at 3:36 a.m. writing my Slice of Orange Blog for this month. I don’ t know if it’s because of the lovely quiet, the comforting shades of night that envelop you like a cozy blanket, or the two pots of coffee, but I’m a night writer.

What’s your favorite time to write? Day, night?

Leave me a comment and it will be fun to see who writes when. But the bottom line is,

WE WRITE.

And that’s all that matters.

Jina

PS — I just finished my Paris WW 2 historical fiction story. Wow, what a challenge.

I adore Paris… I remember as a kid visiting the City of Light with my parents.

I never forgot seeing buildings around the city that still had bullet holes in them from the German Occupation.

I remember wondering what it was like in 1943 if you were a Resistance fighter… now I know. My book is about a brave woman who was.

Merci.

————–

THE RUNAWAY GIRL

Two women hold the keys to his heart. Only one will survive that fateful night…

When Ava O’Reilly is wrongly accused of stealing from her employer, she has no option but to flee Ireland. The law is after her, and she has only one chance at escape – the Titanic.

Aboard the ship of dreams, she runs straight into the arms of Captain ‘Buck’ Blackthorn, a dashing gentleman gambler who promises to be her protector. He is intrigued by her Irish beauty and manages to disguise her as the maid of his good friend, the lovely Countess of Marbury. Little does he realise, that the Countess is also in love with him.

As the fateful night approaches, tragedy strikes further when Ava is separated from Buck, and must make a daring choice that will change her life forever…

A sweeping historical romance set aboard the Titanic, from the author of Her Lost Love (Christmas Once Again).

Praise for Jina Bacarr:

‘A delightful holiday romance that has all the charm of a classic Christmas movie. Christmas Once Again is perfect for anyone who loves a holiday romance brimming with mistletoe, hope, and what ifs.’ Andie Newton, author of The Girl I Left Behind ‘A breathtaking holiday romance that is sure to stay with you long after reading’

‘A mesmerizing holiday romance that is sure to sweep you off your feet and take you away to another place, another time.’

‘A fabulous book you won’t want to miss’

THE RUNAWAY GIRL e-book, print and audio book:

THE RUNAWAY GIRL
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Apple Books
Buy from Barnes and Noble
Buy from Kobo
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