When widowed Nicole decided to step back into life in beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico with Richard, a young, handsome British actor who professed his undying love and devotion to her on a daily basis, she mistook his boundless enthusiasm for her as little more than youthful impetuousness. She had no idea where their relationship would take her physically or emotionally. She would find herself in many dazzling international locations, putting her own life on hold, simply to be with him. She had no concept how strong her commitment to him would grow and to what extent she would go to protect him and ensure his safety and well-being. And she certainly had no idea the depth of his devotion to her, an unlikely but undeniable love that would span continents and a decade of their lives, entwining them closer and closer, while his career, their families, and other relationships pulled…

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe;
She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.
She fed them all broth without any bread;
Then whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed.
~Mother Goose, The Dorling Kindersley Book of Nursery Rhymes (2000)She took them from the woods, and she took them from dells, from hamlets and homesteads and across the wide world, she found young orphans, those abandoned and left on their own, and gave them a home. And all she asked for was a little piece of their soul in payment…Whoever said nursery rhymes were harmless?

Lolah

A very creepy shorter story, excellently written

This is a terribly chilling take on the Old Woman in the Shoe rhyme. Whilst it’s a standalone shorter story, you’re best reading it after the Charming series, and that truly isn’t too great a chore as the…

on Live Write Thrive:

Let’s get to basics on writing fiction. And that’s your setup in the first few pages. Readers will often stop reading before they finish the first page of your story. While this has always been true, in this fast-paced age that foments impatience, it’s even more true.

If a writer doesn’t deliver what a reader hopes for on that first page, it’s going to be tough to convince the reader to stick around for the whole chapter—let alone the whole book.

We’ve been looking at all the things needed on a first page of a novel or short story. And while it’s not a hard-and-fast rule that all these elements have to show up on page 1, the more elements a writer includes, the better.

This, of course, is going to vary a lot. And if a writer is starting with a prologue or some scene…

on Go Into the Story:

20 writing tips which actually are quite smart… because they work!

Continue reading HERE

Don’t Tell Me the Moon Is Shining; Show Me the Glint of Light on Broken Glass – Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)

I first read this quote, attributed to Anton Chekov, in a Creative Writing Workshop back in 2002. To me, it epitomizes the principle of Show, Don’t Tell, and in fact, I love it so much that I included it as an epigraph at the beginning of Moonlight & Misadventure: 20 Stories of Mystery & Suspense. The thing is, Chekhov didn’t write it, at least not quite as succinctly. According to Quote Investigator, this expression was constructed as a summary of the instructions Anton Chekhov gave to his brother, who had literary ambitions, in a letter written in May 1886:

In descriptions of Nature one must seize on small details, grouping them so that when the reader closes his eyes he gets a picture. For instance, you’ll have a…

The dismembered body of a young woman is found, each grisly part discovered separately by a member of the community. Detectives Joe Leverette and Philip Marsden are assigned the case, but the outlook is grim, with eerie dreams and hooting owls putting their witnesses on edge.
When Carole Sage joins the team, the police are eager to use her gift of ‘second sight’ to gain an advantage. Will the young sensitive help crack the case, or will she become the murderer’s next victim?

Book Lover 222

Highly Suspenseful, Well-Written Murder Mystery

This highly suspenseful, well-written murder mystery opens with a grizzly, horrific murder that gives nightmares to several people not related to the murder in any way. Likable, believable characters draw the reader into the nightmare, while the baffled but competent police work feverishly to stop the killer before he kills again. I highly recommend this book. Ms. Drewa, write…

Damian Bishop thought he found love once, but he was wrong. Suffering one heartbreaking loss after another, he’s done with men. Sure, it’s lonely sometimes, but he’s got a good job, great friends, and a cat. What more does he need?

Kiel Nice feels the same. Why settle for one man when the sexy firefighter can have any man he wants?

Fate, and their friends and family, have other plans for these two. There’s only so many times they can be thrown together before the chemistry between them becomes too much to ignore. And maybe just maybe the thing they’ve always been most afraid of? Maybe this could work.

This is the final novel in the Nice Ink series. It’s a 70K word novel with no cheating and a guaranteed HEA despite a few bumps along the way. Although it’s part of a series, each book follows a different couple…

Stubborn Mariah Hollander has not had a smooth life; some events that affect her happened before she was even born. But she survived it all, and she has the scars to prove it.
After being in an abusive relationship, Mariah is not sure what kind of man she will attract next and is afraid to test the waters.
Then she meets the intense and equally stubborn Dr. Marcus Alexander and the sparks that fly between them cannot be ignored.
Marcus has issues of his own, and they threaten to ruin his chances to be happy with Mariah, the only woman he has ever loved.
Marcus is convinced Mariah is the only woman he can fully and safely open his heart to, but Mariah must convince herself that she deserves Marcus’, unconditional love.

Amazon Customer

I fell in love all over again

I first read this book a while ago and…

Children will enjoy reading and hearing about the silly antics of a puppy still learning how to be a good listener. This story is about Riley, a cute, little, rescue puppy who gets into all sorts of predicaments.

#ASMSG, #iartg, #bookboost, #bynr

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