Happy, Healthy and Productive 2025!!

 I wish you all much writing time and many stories and novels published. May you accomplish whatever it is that's on your "to-do" list for this year!!

I'm going to start this year off with a little different approach to help you understand your characters...an interview with them. I love doing these, so today, you will meet Jenna Kastle from "Unanticipated Consequence - a Second Chance".

1. Please introduce yourself to our readers. Where do you fit into the story? What should we know about you?

I’m Jenna Kastle, owner and Marketing Director of a New York Advertising company, First & Foremost.  When we first meet, I’m on my way to give a presentation to a Boston based architectural firm that’s looking for a new marketing campaign.

Ten years ago, I became engaged to my college sweetheart. He enlisted in the Air Force after graduation where his first tour was Afghanistan. He was a fighter pilot. I hadn’t heard from him for six weeks when he called, broke our engagement… no reason given.  He shattered my heart. I left Boston for New York where I started my own marketing company and here I am returning to Boston for the first time to give this presentation.

I think you should know that I’m tough but have a soft heart. The other thing you should know is that I don’t think I ever stopped loving him.

2. What do you think about the author? Tell us everything. We want to know.

What I love about Judi is that she writes like a painter. By that I mean, you can see and feel everything around you as you read my story. She lets you see Boston at Christmas and Vermont with its iced over lake. Someone once said, you are actually in her character’s shoes. She knows and understands her characters inside and out. She places me in an untenable situation where I unexpectedly come face to face with the man who  broke my heart. She of course creates him as irresistible as ever even ten years later – tall, dark and handsome as they say. Throughout this book, she creates a whirlwind of situations, which drive me crazy - loving him, hating him and loving him again. She forces us together even though I fight her at every step. Nevertheless, she wins because she’s the author. When you experience her story, you will never want to put this book down. You and I will know each other very well.  I overheard someone tell her it was her best story yet. I loved being her main female character.

What’s truly amazing about Judi is her background; her degrees are in mathematics and physics with advanced degree in Computer Engineering, not fiction writing. But she has studied her craft well at FAU and worked with author Heidi Jon Schmidt at 24 PEARL STREET, Provincetown, MA. She does that with everything she tackles. 

3. What are your feelings about this story?

As I said earlier, this is a story that you don’t want to put down and you also don’t want it to end. My character is challenging because I try to stay away from Brett but Judi throws us together constantly. She tosses in a little intrigue with a new character who seems interested in me but also seems interested in Brett’s business. Of course, he has a character interested in him, a French woman. I’m not happy about that situation. The many twists and turns, up and downs, keep you turning pages for sure.

4. How do you feel about being a character in this book?

As I said earlier, I loved being Jenna in this story. I’m multi-faceted, tough, soft, smart, crafty… all the things a reader wants to see and feel in a character. And I love the face-off with Brett. And Judi also has another male character, Luke, my current boyfriend… well, maybe you should read that part.

5. What do you see in your future? (No spoilers please!)

Will I get back with Brett? That’s a very hard decision for me to make because trust has been broken. Can I ever trust him again? I don’t know.

6. Is there Sequel /another book in the future? Will you be part of it?

There will be no sequel. When this story ends, it’s over. BUT, I do know Judi has just finished the draft of a new story with a new character, Sabrina. Now she would make an interesting interview… or maybe her ancestor would too.

7. Say a movie producer comes knocking. What actor/actress would you want to play you and why?

Well, I’m hoping that a movie producer comes knocking. I originally was in the published novella, Broken Christmas Promise. A producer was interested in my and Brett’s character interaction but the novella didn’t really tell our entire story. Their guidance was to write a more involved story so Judi wrote this book in order to tell our entire story.

Who would I want to play me? I would really have to have guidance with that. There are so many wonderful young female actors who could take on my part – Hailee Steinfeld, Chloe Moretz, Sophie Turner… I can’t wait to see who plays me!

Thank you Jenna. I enjoyed this time together very much.

Thank you...so did I.

Let me know if you enjoyed this interview and I'll do another...maybe Sabrina from my new novel, "Treacherous Waters".

Again - Happy and healthy new year.

Till, Judi

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!

 

Happy holidays to you all!  I wish good success, health and fortune for you all in 2025!  

I haven't had much time for writing with the holidays almost upon us - shopping, wrapping and readying the house for the days to come!  I love this time of year... not the cold winter winds but a little snow and cheer is always  welcome.  Snuggling down with a good book or a memory-filled old Christmas movie is always enjoyable. Such a special time.

I continue to receive wonderful reviews on "Broken Christmas Promise" - https://mybook.to/qzJc

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"Loved it!
What a great heartwarming love story! I found myself lost in her pain and with tears running down my face. I definitely recommend reading this book !!"

If you have a few minutes, pick up a copy if you haven't read it...only in Kindle and audible format.

I'm hoping to get to work on my two in-process sequels...Jack and Jamie and Sabrina and Nick...love how these two couples work together and it seems that the readers do too.

That's all for now... happy holidays and may these days bring you clarity, calmness, love and beautiful memories.
Keep on writing!
Judi

Happy Thanksgiving ALL!

I'll try to keep this note short and sweet! Hopefully you are able to take a breath and recall all the things that you are thankful for. Me - I'm thankful for everyone who is or was in my life. They all play or played a part in who I am... my husband, my parents, sisters, friends, even old boyfriends...and everyone who has made me who I am today. I have a good life; not that there haven't been many sad times- losses that made me feel like I couldn't live through them. But life moves on even when you don't want it too. And here I am...stronger, tougher, more charitable, more loving all because of these people...and animals...who entered my life 💗

I'm also thankful for my current life...as an author. Never did I think this would ever happen. And yet here I sit with ten traditionally published novels! My current book has received such wonderful reviews! It was a book I never thought I'd write but actually loved doing all the research and character development for it. I'm also a lover of time travel even though this travelling back happened through the main character, Sabrina, reading her ancestor's journal.

I'm also thankful for all my readers who leave such wonderful reviews...I'm forever thankful for you.

Well, I have to return to my cooking and cleaning!! Please enjoy this very sweet family day! I'll return in December to tell you about the two sequels I'm working on.

Thankfully yours,

Judi

 

 

JUST RELEASED!

 

Treacherous Waters - https://mybook.to/50ZBKq

Well, here it is, the product of the last book club's inspiration and the story they wanted! I never thought I'd be writing about pirates - female pirates at that. Yet, here she is - the Black Witch - well know in the Bahamas in the 1600's.

The plot thickens with intriguing twists as we delve into the story of the Black Witch, a captivating beauty and beloved daughter of a major shipping company owner in the Bahamas. Known to many as Lady Sabrina Harcourt, her true identity as the Black Witch remains a well guarded secret. 

She encounters Lord Christopher Stone, the owner of a shipping company as well. Both of them are captains of their own ships. He charms her for awhile and then vanishes.  I then bring her descendant into the story again... and she ends up being pretty interesting. I utilize the ancestor's journal to guide her descendant. And as always, there is a man enters the story ... an FBI agent.

When i reached the end of the manuscript I didn't want either story to end... so there will be sequel!! That's all I'll say.

I'm also working on the next Oyster Point Mystery! Jack and Jamie still getting into trouble and I brought back a few of the characters from the other books. So maybe in 3 or 4 months that one might be ready to go. I usually work on two books at the same time 😉

Planning on a bit of traveling the next few months so I maybe back in October... we shall see.

Keep writing... enjoy!

Till,

Judi

Submitted another novel!

 

Treacherous Waters... She was gorgeous, young, fearless and unbeknownst to most, she was the pirate called the "Black Witch"; she also was the ancestor of Sabrina Harcourt-Stone, a wealthy heiress in the shipping industry who knew virtually nothing about this ancestor until...

I have been working on this novel for months and FINALLY, I submitted it to  my publisher on July 3rd. 

I'm not one to write about pirates and scoundrels but I wrote you last time that at my April Book Club, the group was very interested in the story I was really just fooling around with.  Well, in the end, I decided to write it. But, I ended up with two stories developing at the same time... the 1600s love story and the today's ancestor who becomes roped into working with an FBI agent on a smuggling and money laundry scheme in the Bahamas. I loved the characters - Sabrina and Nick - and when I came to the point where I normally type THE END - I added "Or is it?"  I'm going to do some research on their next case together... I have an expert who I'm hoping will spend some time with me explaining how he works.  That's about all I can say now until I formulate the story a bit more.

I'm also writing the next chapter of Jack and Jamie's life, the Oyster Point Mysteries. I've developed a few pieces of the story so far but still haven't found a cold case that Jamie could sink her teeth in. So - more work in that area.

I wish you a wonderful 4th of July weekend! May we all remember how much this freedom has cost.

Keep writing and I'll try to be back soon!

Till...

Judi

Another Successful Book Club

I'm so pleased with the response from the latest Book Club - I chose "Dark Secrets" for this one! The promo was perfect:

"Join our author Judi Getch Brodman on Thursday, April 11th at 7PM in the Ocean Club for a unique opportunity to delve into the intricate storyline of Dark Secrets (Mystery, romance and fashion rolled up together into an edge-of-your-seat Paris adventure!). 

Discover how she crafts her stories and where her creative ideas begin. Gain insight into her journey as an author. This conversation with Judi offers a glimpse into the mind of a talented writer and the world she creates in her captivating novels. And, at the end, she might even give you a glimpse into her upcoming novel."

 The group was large, engaged and had wonderful questions. I love when they provide insight into the characters... love them or want them gone! In this case, Philip should be gone. The setting descriptions also hit a homerun with the group - the cities of Paris and Boston as well as the countryside descriptions. So again, I'm very pleased with their response.

Two questions that always come up is, "How do you chose your story?" and then "How do you build your story as well as the characters?" The first question is easy to answer... in this case it was an article that I read about an apartment in Paris that had been closed for 70 years until the owner died. The photos of the inside with the items discovered were breathtaking, so I knew I had to build a story around this treasure of an apartment. And for the most part, that's how my stories start - an article about a place, a murder, serial killers, etc. Although I have written stories that have been in my mind and heart for awhile, such as "The Looking Glass Labyrinth" -- one of my favorites and my readers as well. It combined the town of my childhood summers, Wellfleet, with a chance to go back in time. It was a joy to write... researching the 1800s and the characters. If you haven't read that one, please do... tell me how you feel about it.  The reviews were terrific.

Anyway, back to the second question, "How do you build the story and the characters around it?", is not so easy to answer. I really can't tell you how I came up with the Dark Secret novel around this article. I'm sure I knew I needed a male and female character... I always do. My first draft had Brielle as a spoiled young woman who I didn't even like 😖 So I needed to rewrite her as a woman who had a story... a tough story, a hard life... and who didn't want anything to do with Paris, in fact hated it and had never traveled there. Brielle appeared. She wanted nothing to do with Paris, a city that she felt had stolen her mother.  The backstory begins... her mother left when she was a child, never wrote and never came back. How does she meet Jacques I ask? Maybe she could inherit the apartment? Jacques could handle the will? All of this just happens as I sit there writing... I really don't know how. And I'm a "pantser" not a "plotter" - no outline, I write by the seat of my pants, letting the characters tell their story.

At the end of the discussion, the group wanted to know what I was working on now.  I currently have a time travel pirate story with a twist as well that I'm writing... told partially by the woman pirate's descendant. But there's a mystery in the Bahamas she has to help solve! I'm almost at the final draft so it should come out in less than six months!.  I'm also working on the third Oyster Point Mystery with Jack and Jamie. This story started when someone asked if I had ever killed off a character... hold on to your seat with this one.

Well, hopefully that catches you up a bit on my writing. On a personal note, we lost a very dear longtime friend of my husband... a world renown oncologist. We flew to Washington DC to be with the family as he was honored.

Seize the day as they say!

Keep writing,

Till, Judi

"Unanticipated Consequence - A Second Chance" RELEASED!

 

Well, it was a job getting this book released - publisher had trouble with copies and formats and so it felt like it took forever. But finally - last week it was released.  Now it looks like the format is still incorrect!  ARGH!! Here's what I said before (I think) and related at the beginning of the novel... 

"Unanticipated Consequence A Second Chance is an outgrowth of my well-received novella/eBook, Broken Christmas Promise, published at the end of 2019.

Feedback from a production company stated that the setup of the story was terrific but because it was written as a short novella, it was lacking the kind of “complex and layered romance that the modern market demands.”

Therefore, after rethinking what they had said, I had to agree –I hadn’t told the entire story of Brett and Jenna’s love, heartbreak and ending in the novella. I had written a simple love story, but theirs was not so simple."

I'm thrilled it will be out in time for the holidays!  
https://mybook.to/Unanticipated_Conseq

Now, I working on an interesting take of a female pirate. When In Ireland I toured Grace O'Malley's castle outside of Westport including the remains of dungeons in the basement. I've never thought of writing this kind of story until when answering a question about what I was working on now, I told a Book Club group I was fooling around with a female pirate story.  They became very excited and had many questions about where and when, etc. So here I am working on that manuscript and enjoying it.  

I'm also starting my 3rd Oyster Point Mystery. Let's see what trouble Jack and Jamie can get into next.

I'm scheduled for hold another Book Club in April; these are so much fun! The August one was terrific as well. I can post that one if you'd like to see it.  It's up on YouTube. 

On a very sad note, I lost a very dear friend of mine, We met the first year of college and were roommates after we graduated.  It's hard to say goodbye to life-long friends. It was unexpected. She was on a trip to Greece, a trip of a lifetime as she called it, and suddenly died.  I had lunch with her right before she left. We joked because I was flying west to Seattle and she was flying East. We couldn't wait to meet after our trips. I think I'm still in shock... can't really believe she's gone. Life is hard sometimes...

Well, that's about all I have to report at this point.  Holidays are coming fast so I wish you peace and joy as you hopefully gather with family.

We'll talk next year.

Till - Judi