Tag: new book alert

Posted in backstory, Thoughts, writing inspiration

Research or Going Down the Rabbit Hole

Posted on by Sherri

Research for The American are Coming!

I love to do research. I can’t help it. it Is one of my guilty pleasures. I’m a nerd. Always have been. In school when we’d get the chance to go to the library to do research, I’d get so caught up in the search I sometimes forgot what I was searching for. Finding new things along the way is part of the joy of doing the research. The problems are going off in another direction than the one you intended or getting so lost in the research you forget about the writing, and the biggie, wanting to put everything you discovered into your story. I mean, when you find out really cool things it’s difficult not to include them in your story. BUT… while it might be interesting and maybe even important to know that Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show had a second female sharpshooter or that he hired over one hundred Sioux to work in his show even while there were still Indian Wars going on, all of this information is important and helps me as a writer understand my story’s time period and politics, how much of it is really necessary for the story itself.

It has taken me years to feel confident, and I say that with a laugh because I’m not really confident that I’ve reached the point where I know what I’m doing, but I’ve taken the classes and done the research and tried to immerse myself into the time period. Developing the character, the atmosphere and the series is important. I hope that when you read The Americans are Coming that you experience life in a traveling show, (I researched the history of the circus in America, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and travel in the 1890s), that you get a feel for Winnie’s life as a performer and a member of the show family, I hope you enjoy piecing together the clues and puzzling out the mystery, but I above it all, I hope you read the story and not see the work that has gone into it only the entertainment that it offers.

For a list of the books, YouTube videos and blogs I used to research this book, here are the ones I’ve compiled so far, and they are by no means the full list. I also have references from people such as HCRW president: Cyn Hayden who gave me information on steamer ships, my granddaughter: Hailey Miesse and her mother, Brandi Lupton who aided me with my horse research, my husband David who helped with many miscellaneous questions (he’s a great research assistant), and my local librarians: Denise Toler and Robina Norman who answer weird and bizarre questions at odd times during the day (and sometimes at night).

Books:

Buffalo Bill’s America by Louis S. Warren

Wild Women by Autumn Stephens

A Victorian Lady’s Guide to Life by Elspeth

Gangway! Sea Language Comes Ashore by Joanna Carver Colcord

The Great Tours: England, Scotland, and Wales The Great Courses by Professor Patrick N. Allitt, Emory University

The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in the Wild West from 1840-1900 by Candy Moulton

The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England from 1811-1901 by Kristine Hughes

Eyewitness Visual Dictionary The Visual Dictionary of Ships and Sailing

Reader’s Digest America’s Forgotten History

Audiobooks:

Battle for the Big Top by Les Standiford

Unmentionable by Therese Oneill

The Hidden History of Holidays by Hannah Harvey

The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum

Stephen Fry’s Victorian Secrets

The Life and Times of Prince Albert by Patrick Allitt

The American West: History, Myth and Legend by Patrick Allitt

YouTube Videos/Channels:

Absolute History https://youtu.be/xyUOBM0UNQk

Weird History https://youtu.be/XnvPauD-Wto

Joe Scott https://youtu.be/3M6e6TG7nDA

all of this information is important and helps me as a writer understand my story's time period and politics, how much of it is really necessary for the stuff itself.
Posted in my books, Thoughts

What Attracts You?

Posted on by Sherri
What appeals to you?

Book Covers and Cover Designs

What attracts you? Like anything else from choosing a spouse to picking out a new outfit, the first attraction is what we see. Book covers are the same. We reach for what appeals to us visually? The pretty ones get chosen first. Isn’t always the case? Not with people maybe, we’ve all met those characters who didn’t attract us at first but whose personalities pulled us in, but let’s face it, we don’t often get that option with books. With a book, we are choosing it based on book reviews, personal recommendations, or its cover. Online you have a thumbnail view amid a crowd of similar books. In a book store you might have more time to choose. You can look inside but first you have to pick up that book.

What makes you pick up the book?

So, what catches your eye? Is it color, a sexy man-chest, an embracing couple, fire and smoke, or something else entirely? I have a friend who doesn’t like the cartoon-looking covers, they turn her off immediately. I like them. Two different mind sets. Two different opinions. I adore Penny Reid’s Winston Brother series covers. They look like cross-stitch. Now, at first, they did make me hesitate. I expected something sweet and old fashioned, but after hearing an interview with the author I realized the cover was misleading. I tried my first Bearded Romance and was hooked. So, do I love the covers because I know the stories and associate them with her series, or have they grown on me? Would I like this same style on someone else’s stories?  

When I asked my friend, Susan McIntyre about doing the cover of my book, I showed her the picture I had in mind and before I knew it, she’d painted it. I loved it. As I finished the book, I realized as much as I loved the picture she’d painted, it did not reflect the character in the story. My character, seventeen-year-old half-Lakota, Winnie, was not as sophisticated. While not exactly innocent, Winnie had the hopeful outlook of the young and invulnerable. She was also not completely white. I wanted to honor that. Looking through Deposit Photos I found some lovely Native American women, but they were too old (in their twenties), and the girls were too young. I sent pictures of my granddaughter who is half Cambodian to Sue and asked if she thought she’d represent the Native American character. I thought the representation was beautifully done and hope that by using a woman of color it honors and not detracts from the Native American.

As I was doing the research for this book I was surprised by the number of Native Americans, many Lakota, who performed in the wild west shows. Some of whom were considered prisoners of war and had to have special permission to travel off the reservations. But that is not today’s topic. I will return to this another day.

For me, it was important to honor the history and the character, but does this cover sell books? You have to admit the artwork is stunning, but does it tell the story? Does it represent the book? While I was brought to tears as soon as I saw the picture and it wasn’t even finished, after I really looked at it, I wasn’t sure if it fit the story. The character felt too young. The book, while it has a young protagonist, Winnie is seventeen, it wasn’t YA (young adult genre). But after preparing the cover and putting it on the book and sitting with it a while, I realized the artist had captured the essence of the story, Winnie’s hopeful innocence and undefeatable outlook.

https://books2read.com/u/b6zzRW

Will the cover sell the book? That remains to be seen. But I believe people will pick it up, especially in print and look at it and that’s the first step in attracting a buyer, and that is the job of the cover. Like pretty wrapping paper on a package or a sharp-dressed man (or one in a kilt) we often check out the package first and before discovering what they have to offer.

What do you look for in a book cover? Have you ever bought a book just for the cover? Show me. I’d love to see what got your attention.   

Posted in promo, Story, writing inspiration

The Making of a Novel

Posted on by Sherri

The Making of The Americans Are Coming

The making of The Americans Are Coming didn’t just happen overnight. In fact, this book has been simmering for several years. I have taken countless classes through Romance Writers of America and my local group, Heart of Carolina on everything from Horses in Literature to Writing a Historical Novel. I have also been focusing more on the cozy mystery aspect of writing. I have really enjoyed following YouTube Author, Jane Kalmes aka Fiction Technician. Jane had a mystery writers’ course recently I really wanted to take but with my responsibilities with the Pamlico Writers’ Group and the Heart of Carolina, the timing didn’t pan out. But I am really thinking about taking it the next time she offers it.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXiBaSKGlgEFoRW_gKpvF8Q

The kernel of an idea came about thanks to my husband, actually his grandfather. In our home that burned David had a whip that once belonged to his grandfather who’d been a performer in a wild west show. When I heard the story, I knew one day I’d write a character who was a performer in a wild west show. Incidentally, David’s grandfather did an act where he snapped quarters tossed in the air with his whip.

Winnie’s name took several metamorphoses. I originally planned to name her Willowmina but since I used Willow in my contemporary story, Willow’s Retreat, I did not want to confuse myself more than normal. Keeping my characters’ names straight is almost as bad as keeping my children’s names straight. Unfortunately, readers don’t like it when you call the role in a story. My kids probably don’t like being called by the other’s names either but oh well.

Winnie, a nickname for Winona, and Harry her love interest were inspired by good friends I’ve known since my childhood, the parents of one of my dearest friends and school mates. They also became close with my youngest son when he began working with Mr. Harry at the museum. Our backyards connected and so much of our lives intertwined. They always seemed to have a good time together and made being around them fun. I couldn’t think of a better couple to inspire my young sleuths.

As the story came together, Winnie became half Lakota and as I began describing her appearance, I used my granddaughter Phalha to help me get an image of the character. You can see a slightly younger version of the character and Phalha in the original artwork painted by Susan McIntyre. Sue used photos I had of Phalha to create the cover of the book. While Phalha is half Cambodian, not Lakota, looking at pictures of Lakota women, I felt she closely resembled them and gave me a more personal connection to the character.

Since I am not a horsewoman, I needed expert advice to help me flesh out my character as Winnie is a trick rider and caregiver to the animals. I turned to another of my granddaughters, Hailey. Hailey is an accomplished horsewoman who trained her horse Cooper whom others felt was untrainable. Not only did she train him, but she’s won countless awards with him. Hailey answered all of my crazy questions and she inspired much of Winnie’s relationship with her horse and the other animals.

My grandsons Psi and Jack were great about helping me with Riley and Harry, inspiring looks as well as some of the fun things they do from the inventions to their reactions. My husband and my sons were also on hand to answer questions about ‘would this work?’ It’s great to have people around who know things or are willing to research them. My husband has become my accomplice on many of my adventures from helping me plan my murders to planting evidence. If our family decides to turn to crime, it could be bad…really bad.

A lot of research went into this story but I’m sure I didn’t get everything just right. I mean sometimes you have to bend things to get the story to work the way you want it to work.

I am so thankful for my friend Cyn Hayden who gave me information on steamer ships for that one little piece I needed to make the story believable. The ending wouldn’t work without it.

I am also thankful for my local library and the women who work there: Robina Norman, Denise Toler and Myra Shields. These ladies are great at finding things I cannot find online. They are my research assistants, my Beta readers and proofreaders. I cannot thank them enough for always supporting me. They have hosted my book signings and even suggest my books to patrons.

I have several Beta readers who make the story better, stronger, less filled with errors. I said less errors, not error-free, I still manage to get a few of those, sorry. Everyone who reads and gives me feedback, everyone who reviews the stories, they all help me make a better story and I appreciate all the love and support, the encouragement and the occasional kick in the butt I need to get these stories done.

The cover design is by my friend and fellow Pamlico Writers’ Group member, Sue McIntyre. Sue is the author of a memoir, Outside Heaven: An Afghanistan Experience and she is also an artist in residence at the Lemonade Gallery in Washington. She has done two paintings for me for this novel. The first based on a photograph I sent her with just a few ideas. I loved it but as I was finishing The Americans are Coming, I realized I needed to represent the main character better. Since she was half Lakota, an obviously white woman would not be representative. I also wanted the first book to give more of the feel of the wild west show. Using photos of my granddaughter, Sue did a lovely job of depicting Winnie.

https://books2read.com/u/m2dKP6

While she is younger on the cover than in the story, I still feel it is a great depiction of what the beginning of the series is about. Winnie isn’t exactly innocent, her life even before joining the wild west show was hardly easy, nor was she protected from the harshness of life. But Winnie’s outlook is one of hope and love. Everything she does from trying to solve the murder to breaking up her father’s relationship with one woman and pushing him into a relationship with another, is about love and hope for the future.

The Americans are Coming is a murder mystery, but it also has romance, family drama, friendship and a view into living together harmoniously with diverse characters. Fiction should entertain but it should also make you feel something. I hope when you finish this book you feel the connection and understanding I was trying to convey. Happy reading, y’all.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGN94H4F

Print books are suppose to arrive today but they won’t have this cover. If you want books with Sue’s original artwork, they are available at Amazon, and I hope to have them available elsewhere very soon.

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-americans-are-coming-3

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-americans-are-coming-sherri-lupton-hollister/1142368992;jsessionid=EA734F1B7C7C7CCC42A62D5D2AA34625.prodny_store01-atgap02?ean=2940166302335

https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6443589675

https://www.thalia.de/shop/home/artikeldetails/A1066449310

https://shop.vivlio.com/product/9798215340196_9798215340196_10020

Posted in Uncategorized

Release Day Tomorrow

Posted on by Sherri
https://books2read.com/u/3n5BWR

Trent’s Melody eBook goes live tomorrow. I enjoyed writing this story and discovering who Trent and Melodie are. They both have broken pieces and a shared past. It took several years for them to find the courage to try again but together they are stronger than they are alone. Seeing the beauty of two people coming together and finding their strengths and allowing their person to help them through their weaknesses, that is romance whether in a book, movie or real life.

I have been blessed to find my person. That one person in the world who makes me stronger and helps me be me. I don’t have to pretend when I’m with my husband, he sees the real me and still likes me and I like him. It’s not enough I think to just love and desire each other, though I think that’s a big part of life and romance but sharing a connection that runs deeper. This weekend, I spent time with a couple who really brought out the best in each other. They balanced one another. He taught her to play, and have fun, she showed him that being serious wasn’t boring. Like the fictional couples we adore, sometimes opposites attract but their also has to be a key element that links them together. For my friends and my husband, it is a generosity of spirit, an innate kindness.

In Trent’s Melody, Trent is vulnerable but still strong. He is kind but often tries to hide it. He is afraid to love and open himself up to hurt but along the way he knows, he’s not happy alone so why not take a chance? Life is about taking chances, doing things that scare us. That’s what shows us were alive. I drove down a mountain, climbed a tower, and am scheduled to do some public speaking (my real fear.) I continue to push myself and my characters into uncomfortable situations because I want to continue to grow and learn.

I hope you will read Trent’s Melody and I hope you enjoy it as much I love writing it. The print book is available through Amazon. I have signed copies available upon request. Ebooks are available at most retail locations online and through many libraries. If you have trouble finding any of my books, just contact me and I’ll help you out. Thank you again for being a part of my author journey and taking a chance on me.

What the readers are saying…

Funny, sexy, heart-wrenching, and exciting! K B Davenport

In the latest entry in the Harrell Family Chronicles series, Hollister’s signature thrills, romance, and slice-of-life drama are ever-present. Trent’s Melody is at turns funny, sexy, heart-wrenching, and exciting. Main characters Trent and Melodie are facing down a complicated history. With so much guilt and regret behind them, they struggle to find the good in each other and in themselves.

As always, Hollister manages to provide deeply human drama with peppered comedic relief. There are lots of steamy, romantic moments as well. I really enjoyed the reality series element, as I’m a big fan of home renovation shows. It also gives the characters some interesting stakes beyond their relationships.

The familiar faces from Hollister’s other books in the Harrell Family Chronicles series are nice to see. There’s a sense of family and community in this series that reminds me of my hometown and all the antics that come with it. Fans of suspense and spicy romance will love Trent’s Melody!

Brenda Mayo Jones says…

This book will grab you from the beginning!  You get to meet Trent and Melodie who had a past.  A past that includes death, music and hometown renovations!  You find out how people can put their past behind them and rekindle their love on an entirely new level.  One that is more mature.  As with most of her books, there is romance, intrigue, a stalker and a couple coming to terms with their differences and learning how to make the best of each other come out in the end!  Wonderful story with everything you enjoy in a suspense and romance book all rolled into one!

Marni Graff calls it a compulsive read!

New thrills and chills w/body heat: betrayal takes a back seat to a stalker bent on revenge, when a reno competition brings singer/songwriter Trent back into writer Melodie’s life. But what if her heart and body send a different message? A compulsive read 

Trent’s Melody is $2.99 but all the others are on sale for 99c through May 31st!

Trent’s Melody https://books2read.com/u/3n5BWR

Christmas Inn at Teach’s Island https://books2read.com/u/br1XwY

Roxy’s Betrayal https://books2read.com/u/mKd6p9

Janie’s Secret https://books2read.com/u/31eDKv

Willow’s Retreat https://books2read.com/u/4Aj2Kq

Posted in my books, promo

Willow’s Retreat

Posted on by Sherri

Willow wants to repair the relationships with her husband and sons. When someone from her past threatens her family, she doesn’t have time to waste.

Dr. Willow Rider may not be a good mother or wife, she is an awesome psychiatrist. It is time she takes her own advice. She must face the ghosts of her past to make way for the future. Will she mend or family or move on without them?

Rider Harrell has no intention of coming out just yet. He likes things just the way they are. He’s well thought of in the community, on his job and he loves being a volunteer firefighter. When his cousin dies, he becomes the target of his former aunt’s revenge. It’s not enough that she tells the world he’s gay but she makes everyone believe it was his fault Bobby died. When the town of Leeward and the volunteer fire department is targeted, everyone blames Rider. It soon becomes evident that the whole Harrell family is in jeopardy.

Pre-order price for eBook is 99 cents.

Buy Links:

Books2Read https://books2read.com/u/mgEra7

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/willow-s-retreat

Posted in event, my books, News, promo

New Book Launching Soon!

Posted on by Sherri
Thanks to my daughter-in-law, Brandi Lupton for finding a friend willing to share a photo with me for my upcoming cover! Thank you Linda and Lee Major, and Flame for allowing me to use your image!

Every time I think I have learned what it means to be an indie author I discover there is something else I didn’t know, didn’t do correctly or forgot. Of course it doesn’t help that I’m often publishing in the middle of the night because I have to go to work at my bill-paying-job the next day, or I have this amount of time to write or learn how to do something, let’s write. Too often I feel there are only a few hours in the day I can devote to being an author and I have to divide them into writing, editing, marketing, publishing, etc.

Being an indie author is much like any other small business owner. As the owner everything falls to you and until you make money you can’t afford to hire others to take up some of the slack. So, you juggle all of the jobs that have to be done and too often you find out the hard way what you don’t know. For me, it’s marketing. I don’t want to go around shouting buy my book, buy my book! But please, buy my book!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JCJFND6

But how else do you market if you don’t shout out here’s the book buy it? I don’t know. I just want to write. I take classes both online and in person. I belong to several writers’ groups, and I study what I see others doing. But while money is a problem, it is also the limit of time. How best to spend my time as well as my dollars?

In writing this new book, Willow’s Secrets many of you will be surprised that it is Book One of The Harrell Family Chronicles. This is because of one of those things I didn’t know. When I finished The Leeward Files series with Book Five Red Steel, I thought it could also serve as my Book One for The Harrell Family Chronicles, B-U-T it doesn’t show up that way and if I want new readers who may start at the new series, I need a new number one that would begin the series in such a way as to let readers know enough of what happened before but not bog them down. If they are interested enough they might want to go back and read the first series but if not, they could just wander through the new one. UGH! The things I do to myself.

If you have followed me for any length of time, you know I’m basically a pantser. I write by the seat of my pants, heck, I live by the seat of my pants. With six sons and my husband, no matter how many plans I make, I often have to adjust them. It was difficult at first and then it just became my normal.

About The Harrell Family Chronicles new book, Willow’s Retreat, I didn’t want to interfere with the stories that were already published but felt I needed an origin story. I looked to the older adults to give me what I needed to write book one. Willow’s retreat combines the loves and marriages of the three Harrell brothers who inherited the farm from their father: John, Charlie and Robert, told from the points of view of John, his wife Willow and their son, Rider.

Book Description

The farmer and the psychiatrist. Willow and John should have never met, much less fallen in love, but they did. Thirty years later their relationship is in limbo. When her nephew dies in a tragic fire, Dr. Willow Rider knows she has to repair her relationship with her husband and sons before it’s too late. She is a terrible mother and an awful wife but she’s an awesome therapist. Can she take her own advice and save her family?

Saint John, the oldest of the Harrell brothers has sacrificed everything to ensure his family’s happiness. Isn’t it time he grabs his own happiness? He is willing to do anything for a second chance with Willow, even take her crazy bet. But as he makes the same stupid mistakes, he pushes her farther away.

When a motorcycle club believes the only thing keeping them from gaining control of the local sex trafficking cartel is the Harrell family, they are their town come under attack.

Willow and John’s second chance at happiness may go up in flames as they find themselves at war with the Steel Marauders.

Cover Reveal August 1st

Events:

Cover Reveal Sunday, August 1st, 2021

Book Launch Tuesday, August 24th, 2021

Book Blog Tour Tuesday, August 24th – Thursday, August 26th, 2021

If you would like to be a part of the Blog Tour you can sign up here. (Just click on the link)

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_vMRf6jxhPtlcTvdChhmrj8u-yn_N7b8EMJc5_8HuUODVNQ/viewform

Or Follow Bed and Books on Facebook!

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://m.facebook.com/groups/426514417901287?ref%3Dbookmarks&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1627072471181000&usg=AFQjCNHcWovWRROUCNdsaQpQeqzF_5kyZg

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Pre-Order Links:

US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099R578N8

UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B099R578N8

AUS https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B099R578N8

CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B099R578N8