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A fascinating mystery…

Hello Again by Brenda Novak is a fascinating mystery weaved into a chilling romantic suspense novel.

The paperback was a gift and it certainly sounded like something I would like to read.

Blurb:

SHE CAN MAKE SENSE OF A COMPLEX CRIMINAL MIND.

Evelyn Talbot, a psychiatrist at a maximum-security prison in Alaska, studies some of the world’s worst serial killers. But she’s about to meet her most elusive patient at Hanover House yet: Dr. Lyman Bishop, AKA the Zombie Maker given his fondness for performing ice-pick lobotomies on his victims. A brilliant cancer researcher, Bishop is either the most cunning psychopath Evelyn has ever encountered―or he is wrongly convicted.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A CRIMINAL CAN SEE INTO HER OWN?
When a new ice-pick fatality occurs, it seems Bishop really was wrongly convicted. Except…Evelyn has a personal connection to the victim and that suggests the killer may be someone from her own past: Jasper Moore, her high school boyfriend who tortured her and left her for dead when she was only sixteen. Jasper also murdered three of her friends―and was never caught. Is he trying to send a message with this copycat crime? The only thing Evelyn knows for sure is that if Jasper is on her trail, she might not be able to escape again . . .

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The Writer’s Tag

Huge thanks to J.W. Martin for this tag! If you do anything after reading this post it should be checking out his!

https://www.jwmartin.com/the-writers-tag/

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What genres, styles, and topics do you write about?

I write primarily adult contemporary romance and dark erotic thrillers, but there are elements of romance, suspense, mystery, paranormal phenomenon, unhealthy paranoia, love, and drama in all my stories. They are written for ages 18+ and each touches on a variety of important topics.

How long have you been writing?

A long time. Haha. I co-wrote my first novel in grade four. It was a fantasy-thriller. But seriously, writing has been a life-long passion of mine. I’ve always had a diary, journal or book of poetry that I added to when I was growing up. After a brief period of “life experience” (going off to college, falling in love, marriage and the birth of two little aliens that have a striking resemblance to my husband and I), I starting writing my first series. It was in 2011 when I started considering posting my fictional works for publication.

Why do you write?

To keep my sanity. It has always been my emotional release. It’s a cost-effective form of therapy for me. It’s a way to express happiness, release sadness, direct anger, exact revenge without harming any one (except perhaps your fictional characters). You should really try it sometime. It can help you come to terms with your feelings, among other things. Who knew you could rework all that energy into fictional stories that people might actually like to read? I certainly didn’t, or I would have tried it much earlier in life!

When is the best time to write?

For years it was at night after the kids went to bed. Now they stay up until all hours of the night, so I try to squeeze in half an hour every day over my lunch hour and a couple nights a week, if I’m lucky. Saturday used to be my go-to day for writing, but my daughter’s competitive dance team practices are out of town every Saturday. From September to December she danced from 9-5. Yes, that’s 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. She also dances two other nights of the week. At least now that the Nutcracker performance has ended, I will find some reprieve. Plus, I do have a car pool partner. That still means I’m stuck in Windsor for the better part of every other Saturday… sometimes more.

What parts of writing do you love and hate?

I love…

  • Brainstorming;
  • Writing first drafts;
  • World Building; and
  • Blurb writing. (“Back cover book blurb writing???” you ask. Yes! I love it!)

I hate…

Hate is such a harsh and unnecessary word in my vocabulary, but for the sake of answering this question…

  • Self-editing;
  • Researching;
  • How little time I can dedicate to writing; and
  • My uninspiring shared work space. (I need to work on this one the most. It’s an inspiration killer!)

How do you overcome writer’s block?

I don’t get writer’s block because I currently feel like I don’t write near enough. I only write when I’m inspired by events, ideas, or sprinting over lunch. Now that I outline my stories, it’s become easier to stay on track when I do finally sit down to write.

Like J.W. said, distraction blocks are another animal entirely–like You-tube, Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, needy children, my husband, his toys, my mother… I could go on. Lol.

Are you working on something at the moment?

Yes. At the moment, I’m finishing the last chapters of my NaNoWriMo project, titled Perfectly Ruined, which happens to be the third and final book in the Destiny Series. It’s set in a fictional town in Northern Ontario where a country boy has returned to his hometown after a failed relationship only to find himself unexpectedly wrapped right up with a new girl. A firefighter, a city girl, and a country road. It’s a small town romance with a hint of heat… contemporary romance at its finest.

What are your writing goals this year?

For 2018 my goals include:

  • Being true to myself and respecting the entire industry and readers everywhere… I’m publishing my books wide again (Although Amazon pulled a fast one on me, and of all books for them to auto-renew in Kindle Unlimited, re-enlisted Twisted for another 90 days. So, yeah. My January 1 perma-free plans went out the window real fast. Back to the drawing board for me!);
  • Publish 3 novels (one is written, one is almost complete in rough draft, and the other is up in the air until I sit down and hammer out my entire year (scheduled around my family priorities).
  • To complete number two above, I think I just decided which series should come next. To finish and submit a book to a certain publishing company. My ultimate goal has always been to be published by a certain renowned company and get into bookstores worldwide. I’ve started the perfect three book series that I expect is just what they’re looking for. It’s three Canadian romances with alpha heros and quiet, misunderstood heroines. Book two is more complete than book one, but I have a feeling this series will practically write itself once I lay out my plan with this amazing strategy I’ve discovered. It works for me like a charm EVERY time.

That’s all, folks. I’ve not tagged any writing buddies, because I don’t want to pester any one, but I’d love to hear your answers. Answer away and leave the link to your post in the comments or PM me privately if you don’t want everyone to know all your business. Me, I’m an open book. Any questions, ask away!

Fun fact about this post: I started writing it while sitting in the dentist office waiting room while my daughter got her teeth cleaned. I didn’t know how else I would find the time! My house is undergoing serious renovations right now and my writing space has been compromised. My family is practically living out of our hallway. Lol. The floors in my dining room, living room and kitchen are in the process of being ripped out and refinished. That probably doesn’t sound like much, but when your house is as old as mine there are a lot of layers to be removed, and nails in cement are always fun. Oh yes, removing baseboard heaters, even more fun.

It only took me three weeks to finally find a quiet 5 minutes to wind up this post. 🙂

Again, in case you missed it, here’s J.W.’s post: https://www.jwmartin.com/the-writers-tag 

Liebster Award🌟2017

Okay, so Author J.W. Martin nominated me for the 2017 Liebster Award, and since he pointed out that I don’t do this kind of thing, I’m totally going to do it. It’s been years since I’ve done something like this, but it’s not going to stop me now. Thanks for the opportunity, JW!  Without further ado… let’s get to it.

Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you. Boom, done.

2. Answer the 11 questions they gave you.

3. Nominate 11 blogs.

4. Give them 11 questions to answer.

J.W.’s Questions:

If you could have lunch with any author, who would you pick?

Stephen King. He fascinates me. I’ve read his book On Writing and I know he credits a lot of his success to persistence and life experience and pure dumb luck, but just to sit in his presence would be an honour.

What made you start blogging in the first place?

I wrote a book–a trilogy actually. Can you believe that was my first step?!  When I started to consider my publishing options, I read a few blogs that caught my interest. I was in the process of absorbing knowledge on WordPress and I thought, hey, wouldn’t it be cool to document my progess? That’s how I got started with blogging back in 2012.

What’s the best post you’ve ever written? (in your humble opinion)

Oh jeez. I don’t know. I know which posts get the most traffic on my blog. I’d say the best posts I’ve written have not been published. Is that a fair answer? I have hundreds of posts I’ve written about the writing process, publishing and marketing, that I never get around to editing or posting.

Favorite stand-up comedian.

I can’t say I really have one. It’s not the type of thing I frequently watch, although I really enjoy comedy. I always get nervous going to comedy shows in person though, because I hate having the spotlight shining on me and I’m afraid the comedian is going to ask me a dumb question and I’ll have the perfect comeback come to me about five minutes after the opportunity has arisen. So, yeah. Comedy, I love. Stand-up comedy, not a super fan.

Name a hyped author you’ve never read and don’t plan on reading.

Hmm. When there’s a hyped author, I like to give them a chance and see what it is that’s got everyone’s panties in a twist. Having said that, sometimes I have to put books down. That’s a new skill I picked up a year or two ago, and I’ve been a much happier reader since.

So, to answer the question…

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My Non-Resolution

I don’t even know if my title makes sense and I don’t feel like Googling it right now, so I won’t. To clear up any confusion, let me tell you what I mean. 🙂 🙂

It’s the time of year when everyone seems to be setting goals and striving to meet them. Many of us are thinking up some fantastic New Year’s Resolutions to boost our spirits and light a fire under our asses. Lucky for me, I started my goal of eating healthier last month and so I can strike that from my list of unsuccessful New Year’s Resolutions.

Pop is the Devil. << no really, it is.

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