"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

 Well, I'm back!  I know, I know... I always say that! 😉 I've been very busy with a number of things. First, I'm a gardener and my back flower garden had been taken over by hordes of invading weeds. Then there was the invasion of the bunnies and the resident gopher. This last winter was a weird one with very cold days followed by very warm days and NO snow cover.  I lost a lot of my favorite plants through the heaving process. So I decided to have some help in choosing the best flowers for my environment. I'm still waiting for the plan but am excited to have this done. My other gardens are doing so well... here's an example of my daylilies!  I adore them. 

Then, I have two WIPs (works-in-progress) going on -- the rewrite of "Broken Christmas Promise" which I'm adding, deleting, editing and revising!! I'm almost there... maybe another month or so. So watch for the full story of Jenna and Brett to appear. Not sure of a title yet, as always.

I'm also making so headway with the pirate story!  Might finish that one and have it published by Christmas. A good stocking stuffer!!

I'm also in an art show this month...So I have been PRETTY busy!! 

I can't believe that I have actually written eight books and have two in the works.  Please let me know with a review if you enjoyed them!!

Back to one of my tasks 😉😉

Keep wring and enjoy the summer!

Judi

WRITING IN THE MODERN AGE advice - shared with you

It's been awhile so I'm going to try to catch you up on my activities! 

First, my ‘Romance Over 50’ - One Summer Night - has done extremely well and feedback has been awesome. One reader wrote:

“I read your latest in one long sitting. Totally grabbed me! I love that you were able to move into another genre for the Over 50 readers. As always blown away by your writing: so fluid and the dialogue so realistic. Loved Jason. Looking forward to more.”

 https://mybook.to/OneSummerNight

Next, I was invited to facilitated a book club last week using "She's Not You" my first novel.

https://mybook.to/Shes_Not_You

I made it more about the writing process and everything that goes into writing a book – learning to write well, taking classes, doing research and knowing your genre.  The questions from the group were thoughtful and relevant to writing. We talked about where I find my ideas. I mentioned that I was working on a fun story right now – about a woman pirate.  They loved that idea so I guess I better put some time and effort into that. They had questions about that era and where it was set – great questions.

Then, my sequel to “She’s Not You” – “Treat Me Nice” – another Elvis title, has also been well received.

“The author certainly can capture your attention and keep your interest. Her words create a visual image throughout as if you were really in the characters shoes. It’s the second In the series and when your done you know you want more and you know there will be more.  Even if you haven’t read her earlier book with these characters (She’s Not You) you can easily jump into this one and connect . The authors plot creativity and ability to translate into words amazes me. I couldn’t put the book down. If I didn’t need sleep and a short respite for my eyes I probably would have finished it in one day rather than 1 1/2. Can hardly wait to hear there will be another book from this author soon.”

I have another book club coming up in August on the sequel so excited about that.

Finally, my five pieces of writing advice can be found in the Spring 2023 Writing in the Modern Age blog - https://writinginthemodernage.weebly.com/blog-posts/writmodage-advice-from-writers-ten-year-anniversary-multi-author-special-spring-event

I kept it simple…

1.       Be dedicated to your writing,
2.       Learn to write well,
3.       Work on the words that best tell your story and make your characters come alive,
4.       Create interesting three- dimensional characters, and
5.       Do your reseach!!

Right now I have one full draft completed which I put aside so that I’ll read it later with fresh eyes and I guess, I’ll be writing about lady pirates. 😄

Keep writing,
Till, Judi

Links:
https://tinyurl.com/JudiGB
https://judigetchbrodman.wordpress.com/

An just an update on my #over50romance... it is doing great. 

top five pieces of advice (or tips) for a new writer

 

I was asked to offer five pieces of advice for new or experienced writers which will be published on another blog.  When I finished, I thought I might give this advice to my own readers so here we go...

First, you need to want to write... to be dedicated to your writing. Writing is hard work; good writing is almost impossible. It is time consuming and isolating.

Second, you need to learn to write.  What does that mean? Join writers group, listen to other writers and learn from them, from their writing and from the constructive criticism of your peers. I joined one early on and learned so much from them all. I will be forever grateful to this group. I also took an encouraging creative writing class.  The professor encouraged me to continue my writing because I had, as she called it, a unique voice and writing process.

Third, after I said all that, anyone can write, string words together. You can sit down, write 50K words and feel as though you have a book.  Well, you don't, not one that a publisher will touch.  When I said above, "good writing is almost impossible", I meant it. Good writing comes after many drafts, much editing and many revisions. This is where your story comes alive... here you polish it by working on words that best tell the story and fit the character, by making dialogue meaningful (this is very important), removing errors and misspellings, and by creating a story that will capture the reader. 

Fourth, create interesting, three-dimensional characters. I learned this from a workshop I took given by a writer whose books I loved. No one wants to read a story with ‘flat’ characters. You, as the writer, need to know their backstories, what’s in their ‘bag of rocks’ that they carry with them, what their secrets are… what’s in that box under their bed. You may not put all that information into the manuscript, but you will use it as you write, trust me, and your characters will come alive.

Fifth, do your research! If you are writing a time travel back to the 1800s, know what it was like to live in that time. One of my favorite books, “The Looking Glass Labyrinth”, was a time travel back to 1804. As I wrote, the story evolved into a mystery within a mystery with a beautifully layered romance. I won’t say much more except that I spent hours and hours doing my research on sea captains and their trade routes, on how women were educated and treated culturally, the fashion and family dynamics. The research fascinated me and although I didn’t use it all, I felt I knew my characters well enough to tell this beautiful story.  Remember, your readers are smart, and if you make errors in history or anything else, they’ll notice, put the book down and not trust your story telling ever again.

I could go on and on but I was asked for only five points. My advice to all, enjoy the process of creating and writing! I’ve passed my love, my passion for writing, on to two of our little ones, eleven and nine, who wrote every word of their first book, Two Mice and a Train, and I published it. What a huge accomplishment for them!  May their imagination fire many more. One of the keys to their writing was that they are both avid readers and LOVE stories.

Therefore, I hope the advice that I’ve learned along the way helps you to become a better writer.

Keep writing…
Till,  Judi

So I hope this advice that I learned along the way will help you!

NEW RELEASE - "One Summer Night"

 I'm so happy to have this book released!  I LOVED writing it, something I never thought would happen. Why? First I don't write pure romances. If you've ever read any of my novels, they are mysteries with what I call a 'splash' of romance. So when my publisher said they were starting a new category of books, Romance Over 50, and asked if I would write one, I said yes, but wasn't really sure how it would turn out.

Young love is always written about... boy meets girl, falls in love with girl, loses girl for some reason and finds her again and wins her over in the end. It's a recipe, but in an older romance, I wasn't expecting all the complications that come into a life over fifty - divorce, a grown child, and in this case, a profession that's dependent on the MC being able to write about the feelings of new love, the depth of love that one can feel, of being in love... something she hadn't felt in years.

My mysteries always require lots of research... a crime, a criminal, his mindset, how is he cornered and caught, how does the suspense rise, etc. but the over fifty romance had a different set of challenges, life challenges -- balancing a family, career, a know-it-all mother, a lost love, a cheating husband, the shame of his escapades and the feelings surrounding a divorce, the self isolation.  I invested about six months writing it and when I finished, I really liked it.  I was even happier when my publisher's editor said, "It is a good story and deserves a good readership." and he never remarks on the stories.

I think the back cover says it all:

One Summer Night Blurb

A cheating husband, a contentious divorce, and a hollow meaningless mausoleum of a house bring best-selling romance author Isabella Randall to a cliff-side cottage in the quaint Cape Cod fishing village where she had spent all her happy young summers with her grandparents.

Since the divorce, her writing spigot had run dry not allowing a single drop of love to flow into a new romance. Her agent and publisher are pushing her to release a book in the coming year before her readers move on. With deadlines looming, she imagines being back here in this quiet writer’s haven; she can clear her mind, dig deep to find those romantic feelings again and write.

Yet this so-called peaceful town causes her summer to take one unexpected twist after another—a bike accident, a hospital visit, her cheating ex pursuing her, and…him.

Isabella never expected that in returning here, she would come across a lost piece of her young life. She now stands on a precipice—does she forget the past and take the leap with him or retreat back to her safe solitary life? 

So, now I'm returning to the full story of Jenna and Brett who I introduced to you in "Broken Christmas Promise" a few years ago.  I received great feedback on the novella from the 2020 Book Pipeline Adaptation; they said they loved the premise but thought the novella didn't carry the story far enough or make it layered and complicated.  So I've rewritten it and am now spending time revising and editing!

That's All I have time for today... keep writing,

Till,
Judi