“WHEN YOU’RE STUCK, AND SURE YOU’VE WRITTEN ABSOLUTE GARBAGE, FORCE YOURSELF TO FINISH AND THEN DECIDE TO FIX OR SCRAP IT - OR YOU WILL NEVER KNOW IF YOU CAN.” -~JODI PICOULT
THE INKEEPER'S HOUSE by Elizabeth Bromke tells the story of Greta Houston, trying to rebuild some sort of life since her recent break-up, one that proved opposites may attract but don't always mesh well in reality. At the insistence of her brother, Greta moves back to their small home town, landing a job as an English teacher until she can get a foundation under her feet. She doesn't count on that being in the form of an inn or the house that goes with the dated business.
Luke Hart is the football couch who believes if there is someone for him out there (and he is skeptical), he just hasn't found her yet.... until he and Greta meet in passing at the local cafe. Sparks fly yet at the time, neither realize the impact those sparks will have on their lives. With the death of Luke's grandmother he takes on the brunt of the responisbility of not losing the inn nor the home from his childhood. Everyone in their circle of friends has the perfect solution to both of their problems. Luke wants to keep the house but needs an overnight caretaker on sight and Greta is in need of a place to hang her hat and grade papers. The solution is perfect.
While I did enjoy the story, I felt as if there were more words than necessary to tell the story. Either there needed a secondary character arc or more of a dark moment for the main characters rather than rehashing the same issues.
That said, Ms Bromke has a good premise and I'm anxious to read more in the Hickory Grove series to watch this author grow. I'm giving THE INKEEPER'S HOUSE...
You can purchase your copy by clicking on the title anywhere in this post.
You will find Ms Bromke at her WEBSITEas well as searching for her on Twitter, IG, and Facebook.
(she doesn't provide links on her website) and on her Author Page on Amazon.
Today, I want to shine the spotlight on a Mickee Madden. I first came across Ms. Madden in 1995 when I picked up a copy of her book, EVERLASTIN.
The cover had a holographic tone and the blurb on the back only added to the intrique and desire to read:
1843 - Lachlan Baird brings his bride to the house he'd built especially for her. But the honeymoon is cut short when Lachlan is murdered. Now Lachlan haunts the house that brought him death instead of happiness.
1994 - Beth Staples, who has spent her life catering to others, takes a well-earned vacation. In a magnificent mansion in Scotland, she meets the man of her dreams. But her dream man is a ghost! Can a sensible modern woman and an irresistible seductive spirit find happiness together? With a little trust, a lot of love, and a few twists of fate, anything is possible.
The book came back to the forefront of my TBR pile last week when author, Morgan Wright, asked if we read books more than once. Everlastin is one I've ready many times. With the author's name in mind, I did a search on Amazon. I wanted to buy a copy for my sister... the one who always seems to donate/ lose books I lend her and I wasn't taking the chance with this favorite book.
Before we talk about the books, here's what I found on the author. While I couldn't locate a website, I did find her on Goodreads and Smashwords.
Her bio:
Born in 1951, I've been writing since I was thirteen, and it remains as exciting to create works as it was all those years ago. I've been married almost 50 years to a terrific guy, have three children, six grandchildren, and a great-grandson due in August. I subscribe to a life of reading, 'riting & rockhounding. I'm usually behind a camera, so finding a photo of me is rare.
From what I see, Mickee Madden got the rights back to this one (origianlly with Pinnacle) plus has written others in the series.
If you love a good highland romance with a bit of time travel and a ghost for a hero as much as I do, you'll love the Everlastin' series. While I could order the remaining five books for my kindle, I'll be forking out the dough for the paperbacks to sit on the shelf with their original.
Are you surprised? I'm not. When Bob is home, it is what it is.
I did get to work on the Social Media a bit by organizing my files and getting my head in the right direction of what needs to go up and when. I've added my time-table cheat card back into my planner so that when I do post to SM, they are at the optimum times. Whether those times have adjusted since a lot of people are working from home or not, I don't know. I'd love to hear from you.
In the mean time, here's a link to the cheat card I use (from Pinterest) by mommiedaze.com
The other thing I really need to do before I can move forward on etsy projects is getting the work table cleared off. I was 'almost' there when Bob came home. From there, any time in the studio was spent working on the collabs I'm in.
I've already set my Q1 plan for the rest of this quarter and hope to have the kanban board up by the end of the week. I'm a very visual person so having the board up with all the sticky notes to move around as I accomplish things is super important to me... just as soon as I unearth the kanban board from the January Junk Journal supplies.
I'll talk more about my Kanban board plan on Friday.
Tomorrow, I want to introduce you to an old love and see if I can discover what the author of said love has been up to.
Well, last week was pretty much a bust for me. With Bob home, I really don't have a head for business or writing. I used to have a time in the morning between my getting up at 5 a.m. and Bob at around 8 a.m. This trip home he's been getting up either with or before me. With him home, I'm also going to bed later so I'm waking up later. I've lost my 'me' time in the morning but that's okay. I see so many stories of women who've husbands have died unexpectedly. I don't want to be one of them then wishing I'd spent more time with them. You can't turn back time.
With that behind me, my Top 3 for this week will pretty much be the same... and hopefully have time to execute at least part of them.
As I write this on Sunday morning, I'm already working on the blog posts for February. Bob hasn't gotten up yet. For my AuthorTube, I am going to run an introduction video then plan to post there at least once per week for now. Some of those videos I will be able to batch and schedule.
A couple of things I'll be talking about early on are Sarra Cannon's scheduling your writing time as well as the business side using the CEO Strategy Planner for Creative Entrenpreneurs by Alexis Giostra. While Alexis is more about the business side of writing, Sarra's will help me get (and stay) on track. I just need to pull them out more than once in a blue moon and USE their proven methods.
I'm going to link both of the videos below so that you can check them out.
Sarra Cannon - (HeartBreathings Channel for writers) -
I will be talking about my Writing Schedule this week then next week, after Bob has gone back to work, I can be a bit more detailed when it comes to the business side of what I need to be doing. Really, the two planners work in tandem to hopefully get my writing and business back on track for a successful 2021.
I hope you'll join me on this journey.
This week, I'm starting something new.
Each week I'll as you a question. A Blog IS Social Media yet the Social part is lost if there isn't any interaction. I hope you'll join the weekly discussion.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
Do you schedule in or have a specific writing time? Share your journey, tips and tricks with the rest of us...
While searching for Writing Tips to share, I came across this post on Literary Hub. Rather than 1 tip, I'm sharing this tip that seems to come up a lot - though shared in various forms, then encourge you to read the article for yourself.
1. Neglect everything else.
It starts with a simple fact: If you’re not making the time to write, no other advice can help you. Which is probably why so many of the writers I talk to seem preoccupied with time-management. “You probably have time to be a halfway decent parent and one other thing,” David Mitchell, the author of Cloud Atlas, told me. That can mean mustering the grit to let other responsibilities languish. As he put it in short: “Neglect everything else.”~from Joe Fassier - Literary Hub
While I don't agree you should 'neglect everything else', I do believe you need to set priorities and schedule time as if making a doctor's appointment.
Over the years, I've learned I am a night time writer when it comes to fiction. I can write short items, such as blog posts all day long. I consider them a warm up as I'm multi-tasking around the house doing necessary chores. By 4 p.m. I'm ready for food then I can work on fiction for a couple of hours before bed. (yes, I go to bed that early! But I'm up by 5 a.m.)
If you do not know when your best writing time is, try doing word sprints at various times throughout the day. Give yourself several sprints to see if the words build or they just don't seem to move. Soon you'll discover if you're a morning person who can put your word goal to the page then have the rest of your day for other things, or if you need that elite focus that comes from having the day-to-day stuff out of the way so you can really get into your story.
Regardless of when, you do need to make the choice to either write or binge-watch netflix. Only you can choose which to neglect.
This book is as good, if not better than the first book in the Garrett Family Saga. I'm not sure why this is called Book 2 when there have been three other books between Book 1 and this one - all of them featuring those drool-worthy Garrett men. Number in series aside, this book is a keeper.
I find my most opportune time to curl up with a book without trying to multi-task is run a nice soaking tub of water, a little bath salts and I'm good for at least thirty minutes. Not with this book. I read for 90 minutes, long after the water had begun to chill.
In FOREVER MY COWBOY, Cade Garrett is devastated by the death of his sister and her husband. But Garretts step up in a crisis and that's what he plans to do when his very young neice and nephew need a new family to raise them, not realizing his sister's will states otherwise.
Jennifer LaChance is all city girl free-falling on hard times. The death of her ever-supportive brother and sole family member, Jason, leaves her with no family or friends. All she has left is a house in a small Texas town and two children to raise. What she doesn't need is the big cowboy with the surely disposition, but as you'll soon see, sometimes you have to take the hand your dealt and make it work.
June Faver has a unique way of creating great conflict, using the strength of her supporting characters to help move the story along at a comfortable pace.
You can order your copy of FOREVER MY COWBOY by clicking on the link above.
You'll find June Faver on the following social media streams:
This week's Author Spotlight is a bit unusual... The picture is a characture of the author. While I'm sure this is very true-to-life, I've never come across one before on an author's page.
I was intrigued by her books. She describes them on her website as Sugar and Spice romances. I've purchased LOVE WALKS IN... the first book in the Bliss Cove series. (of which there are five so far)
Clicking on the title link will take you to Amazon where you may purchase her books.
You can learn more about Nina Lindsey on her other social media streams:
I don't know about you but I find it hard to believe we have knocked out the first month of 2021. Seriously, where does the time go?
I did well on my challenges last week. I wound up not traveling for the interview. Too wet and dreary. I am not a cold/ wet weather person. Advetnures With Purpose will be coming through again late summer when weather will be nicer and I'll have more of an idea of where I want the story to go.
Here is my plan for this week:
I also would like to get my Q1 Kanban board set up. If you don't know what that is, I'm linking Sarra Canon's video below.
This will be Bob's first full week home but other than a trip to drop my car off at the garage, I think we're home all week so I can accomplish the things I need to.
After having shone the spotlight on June Faver last week, I received my pre-ordered copy from Amazon. That is my current read. I hope to have a review posted on Wednesday.
In the mean time, FOREVER MY COWBOY is available for purchase on Amazon.
Tomorrow I turn the spotlight on another artist I think you'll enjoy.
