Tag: relationships

Posted in my books, Thoughts

Reading as a Writer

Posted on by Sherri

It takes a lot to get me into a story now. It’s like a magician who knows how the illusion is done, you cannot unsee the process. While I find the behind the scenes work fascinating, there are times when I just want to enjoy the story. I think that’s why I enjoy audiobooks so much. With audiobooks I can just listen and enjoy, I don’t see the mechanics as much as when I’m reading myself.

When I first started writing I had no clue what I was doing, I just wanted to tell a story. I miss those times. Genesis talks about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, once you know the truth, you cannot unknow it. It’s the same for a writer. As a novice, my inexperience allowed me to be fearless and experiment with things a more knowledgeable author would balk at because “it just isn’t done.” But as I learn the rules and expectations of each genre, I find myself hampered by reader-expectations. Even as a reader, it is difficult to truly enjoy a book without seeing how things come together.

Does knowing how the book comes together ruin the story?

I wonder sometimes when I have friends and fans read ARCs of my books and use their suggestions to improve the books if they too lose something. Does knowing how the book comes together ruin the story for an ARC or Beta reader? Am I ruining the experience by asking them to read the unfinished product?

What do you think? Does knowing how the stories are made ruin the experience or does it give you more insight?

My recent reads.

What are you reading? Besides craft and research books, here are a few of the books I’ve read or listened to recently:

The Hookup Plan by Farrah Rochon

Mischief by Amanda Quick

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

The Breakup Artist by Erin Clark and Laura Lovely

Deadly Travel by Kate Parker

Sweetwater and the Witch by Jayne Castle

Home for Halloween by KB Davenport

Spy Season by Golden Angel

Flames, Flirts and Festivals anthology by TNRC writers

I like to read diversely and find inspiration from every genre. While my first love is historical romance or suspense, a well-written story no matter the genre can entertain, inspire and fill the well. For me, reading is about refueling, relaxing and self-care because it is my way of unwinding. What are some ways you unwind and relax?

https://books2read.com/u/b6zzRW

Seventeen-year-old Winona aka Winnie Applegate is a trick rider and archer in Colonel Bill Dexter’s Wild West Extravaganza. Her first act was throwing knives with her younger brother, Riley, who likes to invent things. He especially likes when things that go boom.

When a mysterious benefactor offers to bring their show to England, a series of sabotages turns deadly, and Riley becomes a suspect. To protect her brother, Winnie teams up with a lady Pinkerton agent and Harry McDonald, the young man she believes she is destined to marry.

Secrets and sins come to light as it becomes apparent that it isn’t just the show they are trying to sabotage. The saboteurs are trying to stop the Applegates from reaching England.

The Americans are Coming is An Applegate Mystery, the first in a new Victorian Era Mystery Series.

Winnie is more comfortable throwing knives than knowing which fork to use. She prefers boots and britches to ballgowns and dancing slippers. Will England be prepared for the arrival of the Applegate family?

Posted in Uncategorized

One of My Favorite Authors Reese Ryan

Posted on by Sherri

Secret Heir Seduction by Reese Ryan

There was a time I thought Harlequin Romances were passe`. I believed billionaire romances were not my style. Reese Ryan has defied all my beliefs. Y’all know I’m a fan. Even tropes and genres I thought I didn’t like Reese has showed me my error. The truth is a good story is a good story and that’s what Reese Ryan gives us again and again.

Secret Heir Seduction starts right off with the action. Darius Taylor-Pratt is a self-made man, he started his activewear company Thr3d from a dream and hard work. Learning he is the secret heir to a billionaire turns his world sideways. Learning who his father is only half the surprises he’ll face in the first few pages. It’s what I really love about this story, within a few pages we’ve learned who Darius is, some of his backstory and we’re thrown into his drama, and by chapter two we’ve met Audra, his former lover and boy oh boy do sparks fly. If that doesn’t make you want to read this book, then let me tell you they are one sexy couple in a town of sexy couples. Reese Ryan has peopled her story with secondary characters who add spice and diversity to the setting and story. We get a little taste of several other romances and family dramas going at the same time giving us a rounder view of the town of Royal.

This is a second chance love story. If you like hot, sexy, characters with deep emotional scars and strong ethics, then you’ll love Reese Ryan’s stories. Each book becomes my new favorite, but I think this one will be hard to beat.   

Posted in inspiration, Thoughts

What a Decade!

Posted on by Sherri

The end of a decade. As we prepare to ring in the new year and the new decade, I find myself looking back over the past ten years. So much has happened in such a short time.

After winning the Ann Peach Award in 2009 and joining Romance Writers of America, I started truly thinking about being a published writer ending the last decade on a creative high.

In January 2010 we lost our home to fire. While this was mind-numbingly devastating it wasn’t the worst that could have happened. It may seem that this decade started with tragedy but with every bad blow we were also given a blessing.

The night after the fire I went with my daughter-in-law to the hospital, it was the last chance she’d have to tour the hospital before our grandson Harley was born. My son, and her husband (at the time) was stationed overseas and trying his best to get home before the birth of his son. We lost nearly everything in that fire, but we walked away with our lives and a few short weeks after, we gained a grandchild.

When I think of all we lost, it’s not the Christmas presents we haven’t replaced that fill me with regret but those items that can never be replaced: the horse whip that belonged to my husband’s grandfather from his time in the wild west show, or the quilt his maternal grandmother made, my baby sister’s baby shoes, my children’s baby books, photo albums and high school annuals.

But both sons who were living with us at the time, are still alive. The youngest whose room was in flames had to leap from his bed to the stairwell, became a firefighter. Our other son has always been someone we could call if we needed anything. The fire was devastating but many blessings came out of it.

We stayed a few months with my parents. It was stressful at the time. I wasn’t sleeping good. I was having nightmares and the added stress of trying to conform to someone else’s schedule made it more difficult. Adding to the stress was the fact that my daughter-in-law wasn’t happy living in such a rural environ with two small children. She was ready to get back to Savannah and her life and friends. I was thankful for the time with my family but there were days I was barely functioning.

Our community were a great asset to us. People brought us clothes, household goods, and money to help us during this time. Moving into our present home that spring was thanks in large part to the physical help of my sister-in-law and her family and to the financial help of our friends, family and community. With each blow there has been a blessing, most times the blessings have outweighed the trauma.

On New Year’s Day 2011, my dad was found dead in his bathroom. The EMTs believed he suffered an aneurism and died suddenly. His death was followed by the birth of our granddaughter Ava. My son calls the day of the funeral, he’s not going to be able to be a pallbearer, he’s on his way to the hospital with his wife. He tried to convince us that as soon as she had the baby, he’d come to the funeral, but I knew my daddy would prefer he stay with his wife and child.

In the spring of 2011, Mom, my youngest son, oldest grandson and myself went to Savannah to visit. We spent a week with my Army son and his family. We explored downtown, Tybee Island and went on a ghost walk. I want to go back again.

Late in the season, we had our first hurricane. It was the first since my daddy died and I insisted my mom come stay with us. It didn’t seem all that bad, it was down to a category one. Hurricane Irene destroyed my parent’s home with flood waters and devastated our community. We had several rescues the night of the hurricane, our niece and her family and a couple of friends. When mom and I went to check on her place I was shocked to see the damage. The tide waters had been pushed ashore through two high tides, flooding even the church which was on the highest piece of land in the community.

My sons came with a generator and began helping us sort through the salvage in Mom’s house. The fire was easier, there was nothing left to sift through. This loss was probably harder than any other because everyone was going through something at this time and there was no one to offer comfort. Everyone was overwhelmed and exhausted.

Just when we’re returning to some sort of normal, later that year, my mother, who was living with us at the time, fell and broke her hip. 2011 was not a very good year for us but we did get a new granddaughter.

2012 Vietnam Homecoming with my father-in-law and started writing articles for the Pamlico News. My first stories were interviews of Vietnam Veterans and their families. I was also able to follow my youngest son around the track for track and field and use my role as reporter to promote my community and special interest. Many of the stories I covered while writing for the paper inspired my fiction.

The next few years were a blur of babies, weddings, separations, divorces and graduations. Blake graduated from Pamlico High School. Dustin got his master’s degree from East Carolina University. Aries graduated from Pamlico Community College. My in-laws, Wayne and Verna’s celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary 2014

.

In the past ten years we’ve been blessed with Trinity whose big sister Alijah came along when her mom married into the family. Sophia, followed in close succession by two sisters, Sabrina and Carol to parents Chris and Shannon also married in this decade. Conner whose brother Cody and sister Hailey joined the family just ahead of him, along with their mom Brandi who married my soldier son, Jason, who is now a civilian. We have another Brandy, making three Brandies for one family (my niece Brandy informs me she was the first and our first baby girl), and a Sherry (spelled with an I) but then I do work at the ABC store. What does ten years look like? Well, coming into this decade we had five grandchildren, only one a granddaughter, and at the close of this decade we have 20 grandchildren, standing about half and half. The third Brandy in the family just gave birth to a handsome little boy, Jessie David and he was greeted by big sister Sylvia who is two and half years older but rules the roost. Our youngest son, Blake married Katelynn Scott and they have two boys Elijah and Kaysen.

I met Louise Penny at a book signing in Fearington Village when I went on a girls’ trip with Marni Graff and friends.

Became chairperson for the Pamlico Writers’ Group in 2015.

2016 I had my first stories published in a book, the Pamlico Writers’ Anthology, “A Carolina Christmas,” and had my first book signing.

Published my first book in 2017, “Chrome Pink” and had my first solo book signing.

Went to my first Comicon in 2017. I even dressed up. We had a lot of fun.

In 2018 I published my second book, White Gold and in 2019, I’ve published two books, Titanium Blue and Evergreen Crystals. I’ve also had two novellas published with The New Romance Café anthologies, Love in Bloom and a historical in Kisses and Other Scandalous Pastimes.

Gave my first writer’s talks in 2019 and published my fourth book.

So much more has happened in the past ten years. We’ve lost good friends. Buried friends and husbands of friends, my great aunts and a few cousins. We’ve gained weight, lost weight, turned gray and turned loose. Some of us aren’t as mobile as we were before but those that are left keep marching on. As difficult as the first of this decade was, I still believe it’s been a good one. I miss my dad and friends who have passed on. I mourn them but life goes on and I don’t think they would want us to stop living.

As 2020 peers around the edge of 2019, I’m working on my next novel, Red Steel which is part of the Leeward Files series and a bridge for my new series, The Harrell Family Chronicles. I’ve also had a historical series on the back burner for years I want to start working on. It’s going to be a busy year but I’m looking forward to it. I plan to spend as much time as possible with grandchildren and family, writing and reading good books, and just enjoying each day. Remember we are not guaranteed tomorrow, the past is done, today is a gift that is why it is called the present. Have a happy new year.

May your 2020 be amazing!

Posted in audio books, Book Review

What Doesn’t Kill Her by Christina Dodd

Posted on by Sherri

What Doesn’t Kill Her by Christina Dodd Narrated by Vanessa Johansson

When your whole life is built on a lie and you are living a constant nightmare it is difficult to trust anyone, even the man you love. For Kellen Adams, the person she trusts the least is herself. A year-long memory gap, a nightmare and a seven-year-old daughter she never knew threaten to undermine the fragile foundation she has built after running off to join the military.

Someone wants her dead and is willing to go to great lengths to see that it happens, but Kellen Adams isn’t easy to kill. But she has a vulnerability. Though she has tried to avoid getting close to her daughter, when the little girl shows up on a job, she discovers quickly how easy it would be for someone to get to her through the child. After surviving the job, she starts planning a wedding and if she survives, she might live to see her happy ever after.

This is an awesome story, I want to go back and read the rest of the series.

Vanessa Johansson is a fantastic narrator adding her own dramatic reading to an already wonderful story. Being a fan of audiobooks, it is truly important to find the right narrator for your story, Vanessa gives Kellen the voice that rings true to character.  

Posted in audio books, Book Review

An Audible Original

Posted on by Sherri

How To Date Your Dragon by Molly Harper, narrated by Amanda Ronconi & Jonathan Davis  (An Audible Original)

This is the first of the Mystic Bayou Series. I am so thrilled to find this series on Audible. While I’m not a big paranormal romance reader, I fell in love with the charm and quirky characters in this book and can’t wait to listen to the next one.

Molly Harper has written a delightful community in the best place in the world for strange and supernatural characters, the Louisiana bayous. I didn’t just fall in love with Sheriff Bael Boone and Dr. Jillian Ramsay, but with the whole town of Mystic Bayou and all the strange and wonderful characters that give it charm.

Ms. Harper is quirky, funny and down right evil in a good way when it comes to the love/hate relationship between Sheriff Bael and his boss, the mayor, Zed Berend, but she does a wonderfully believable job of switching gears when the two men have to deal with murder. As Dr. Jillian observes, Zed’s actions during the investigation and his ability to work cohesively with the sheriff explains why he is mayor. The two men make a great team.

Jillian and Bael struggle to find the right path between human and Majick. While Bael wants to make her part of his treasure, Jillian has worked too hard to give up her dreams of being an anthropologist. Can they have it all? Well this is romance and Mystic Bayou, hold onto your hat and get ready for a bumpy ride.

Narrators Amanda Ronconi and Jonathan Davis breathe life into these wonderful characters, making their words and actions dance and sway to the rhythm of a Zydeco band.

If you like sassy and sweet with a lot of heat, you need to read this series. I know I am.

Posted in Book Review

Review of A Song for Julia

Posted on by Sherri

A Song for Julia (Thompson Sisters) by Charles Sheehan-Miles Narrated by Jack Wallen, Alana Rader

I discovered Charles Sheehan-Miles through an author Takeover on Facebook. I’m so glad I did, A Song for Julia was a remarkable young adult romance. Crank and Julia seem like a typical opposites-attract romance, but as we learn more about the characters, we see they complete each other. The two are strong and independent even though they are broken, they are doing just fine alone. Okay, maybe not fine but they are surviving. Survival isn’t the same as living and coming alive is what happens when two people who belong together, find each other. Burdened by their individual pasts, these two battle their attraction with passion, clashing and attracting each other in equal measures. As their friendship and romance grows these two very unique characters give each other the tools needed to fight their own demons. A true team, this young couple become partners and together, share a strength not often seen for years. Their desire to put each other’s needs and desires above their own is a love marked by maturity that unfortunately often only comes after having heart ache.

A young adult romance with the addition of other relationships and how the impact their lives. The differences between their two sets of parents, their interaction with their siblings, and their friendships with others all play a part in this dynamic love story.

If you love music, romance and hope after tragedy A Song for Julia is a great choice.

The narrators did an awesome job portraying the characters and adding another element to the story. My love for audiobooks continues.

Posted in Creekside Cafe, interview

Chatting with Miranda Jameson

Posted on by Sherri


I’d like to welcome my new friend, author Miranda Jameson to Creekside Café. I started doing these interviews to help cross-promote my own books as well as introduce other authors to my friends and readers. Thank you for joining us here at my virtual café.

Miranda: Absolutely, Sherri! It’s all about networking. I’m Indie published. It’s not an easy choice, but for most newish authors, trad publishing isn’t an easy choice either. These days, no one does your marketing and networking for you unless you’re an established name. 

Michael Anderle, a highly successful Indie author, advises Indies to ‘Patterson the s@** out of your career’ – referencing James Patterson’s excellent marketing skills! Now, I might not be Pattersoning (haha – invented a new word) but for better or worse, I have control over my own publishing journey. 

Sherri: I think most of us who are indie published or as you say, traditionally published but not yet a big name, have learned to get creative to let readers know we’re here. So, what interesting things have you tried to promote and market your books? Anything you want to share with our readers?

Miranda: It isn’t easy being Indie. It’s a 24/7 job. I made many mistakes, learned a LOT, and became part of the awesome Indie writing community. I received a tonne of help and guidance and try to pay that forward. This year, I plan to boost my marketing beyond organic growth. I have enough books out for a better return on investment. It’s daunting, but doable. 

Sherri: Miranda and I met through the New Romance Café readers and writers’ Facebook group. It’s great to have a supportive and fun online group. 

Miranda: Yes, we met in the Romance Café, of course! It’s a friendly, virtual place where the virtual cake and coffee have 0 calories. Working on our joint project has been great fun. 

Sherri: I’m so excited about the anthology. You and Andi have put in so much work to see this project come to fruition. What are you plans for the future?

Miranda: I have four books planned this year. The first two – Zephyr and Deimos – will complete my Empaths of Venice trilogy. The third one will loop back to before my Warriors’ Council trilogy – and hopefully lead new readers to those books. This story will be set on the Western Front during WW1, so there’s a fair bit of research to do. Its hero and heroine are the two characters in my Love in Bloom story. Henri and Ysabeau appear as supporting characters in all my books. My readers love them and wanted their story. This is another good thing about being an Indie – having direct conversations with readers. 

I like mixing history into my paranormal romances; after all, if you live hundreds of years, you’ve witnessed seismic world events. The last book this year – London Symphony – will be part of my spin-off PNR series set in the 1940s. All my books can be read as standalones, but the stories, events and characters are connected. Readers love cameo appearances by their favourite characters from the other books. 

Sherri: History with the paranormal, that makes sense to me and makes me want to read your books. I too, love history, something I shared with my father. What or who has influenced your writing?

Miranda: Well, I was born in England, grew up in India immersed in stories of gods, goddesses, elephant-riding princes and bejeweled princesses. I studied in both countries, and now live permanently in England. My home is in North Yorkshire, a beautiful part of England steeped in history (which I love).

Like any writer who has read thousands of books, my writing must be an amalgam of all of them – good, and bad. I would encourage every writer to read. You always learn new ways to tell a story better.

Sherri: Have you always been a writer? 

Miranda: Yes, always, but never with any serious intent. It tended to be a clandestine thing. I’m quite a private person and putting my work out there makes me feel exposed and rather vulnerable. After all, writing is a window into a writer’s head. Good reviews take me by surprise because I secretly think my writing is crap! Imposter syndrome – moi?

Sherri: We share the same affliction. It’s exciting when someone likes your work but it’s also a bit surprising and terrifying. I suffer from what if the next book isn’t as good. I try to quiet the voices in my head with creating characters who are more confident, stronger and smarter. Writing is a way for me to speak my mind. I could no more stop writing as stop breathing. What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

Miranda: Creating worlds. Sounds grandiose, doesn’t it, but that’s what writers do. It’s as close to magic as it’s possible to get. Writing is my solution for coping with life’s challenges. It’s also about control. My stories are one place where I get to decide what does or doesn’t happen. Characters become real. Their stories clamour to be told. When I finish writing a novel, I get a real slump because I miss my people!

Sherri: That’s why I write sequels or if you prefer, series. I like bringing characters back for an ovation. Unfortunately, there are also the not so fun things about being a writer. When you start working towards getting something published or sending it to a contest, you are no longer writing for your own pleasure, you are writing for an audience and there are certain expectations between a reader and writer. I suffer the bobble head syndrome. I mean really, how many times can someone nod their head before it rolls off into oblivion. And I reuse the same words and phrases…

Miranda: Oooh! Those gluey glue words. ‘Just’ – why does it pop up everywhere? And what’s with the ‘really’? Delete. Delete! Repeat phrases are something I have to keep my eye on. Thankfully, they get banished during editing. I’m a loose plotter. I have a direction the story has to go and I know the end. I plan plot points and pinch points, but things may change and it’s usually for the better.

Sherri: You mentioned this earlier and I say it to beginning writers all the time, if you want to be a good writer you must first be a reader. Learning what works and what doesn’t by reading other people’s work, developing good techniques and learning the craft of writing, these are important skills that take time to build. What do you think is your greatest strength as a writer? 

Miranda: As for strengths, that’s hard to say. I’ve learned to trust my gut and perhaps that’s a bonus. If my gut tells me a scene isn’t working, it isn’t. I dump it and begin again. I try to create pictures in readers’ minds without miring them in long paragraphs of description. Sight, scent, sound – all those things add layers and make the scene immersive. One reviewer said she felt she was really living in the alternate reality I’d created. Another loves the ‘feels’ in my stories. I like my romances to be romantic. My characters struggle internally, however confident they appear on the outside. Their happily ever afters come with meeting someone who makes them feel right, whatever their flaws. It’s not about feeling ‘completed’, it’s about finding a person who encourages you to be yourself, and loves you despite everything.

Sherri: Yes, anyone can love the beautiful, perfect character but show me the person who loves the recovering addict, the person who is scarred whether inside or out by life’s trials, the person no one else has bothered to really see, that’s real romance. I can’t wait to read your books. 

Who are some of your favorite authors or your favorite genres?

Miranda: I prefer historical and paranormal romances. Probably because I love history, and I love the possibility of powerful, magical beings living alongside us. For historical, I’ve recently discovered Sarah McClean and, through the Romance Café, Lara Temple and Tabetha Waite. As for paranormal, I’ve read all the usual suspects – Larissa Ione, Nalini Singh, J R Ward, and recently, I.T. Lucas. And let’s not forget Anne Rice. Apart from reading romance, I’m a huge fan of mysteries, and historical whodunnits. I blame an early addiction to Agatha Christie. My list of favourite authors is unbelievably long, but if I ended up on a desert island with only two books, I’d want a poetry collection (including Keats and Elliot), and the complete works of Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Sherri: Wow, the time has just flown by. I hate to bring this visit to an end but I should get back to work on my novel and it sounds like you have a schedule to keep. If you ever get to North Carolina, please look me up. 

Miranda: I have never visited the United States. Can you believe it? It’s a big gap in my travels I hope to fill in the future. Especially since most of my current readers reside in North America. I’d love to see the famous autumn (fall) colours, and I’ve always wanted to visit San Francisco. I’m also a fan of Ina Garten’s cooking shows and enjoy her visits to California’s Napa Valley. Ideally, I’d hire one of those huge RVs and tour around.

Sherri: Now that sounds like an adventure. Let me know when you go visit Ina Garten, I’d love to tag along. 

For those of you who’d like to know more about Miranda or buy her books, here are the links to do just that. 

Miranda’s Bio:

Miranda Jameson grew up in India immersed in stories of gods, goddesses, elephant-riding princes and bejewelled princesses. She firmly believes there is magic all around us if we only take a minute to look.

She now lives in North Yorkshire, England, where she translates her passion for art, history, mythology and travel, into writing action-packed paranormal romances with all the ‘feels’.

 She loves honourable badass heroes with undiscovered depths, and smart dauntless heroines who can save themselves. 

When not clicking away on her laptop, she runs mum’s taxi service and the bank of mum. In other words, she’s got kids. Coffee, gin, and good friends, keep her sane.

Here are my links:

The Warriors’ Council trilogy

Gabriel – https://books2read.com/u/bwqYJ9

Javier – https://books2read.com/u/4NZGBW

Rafe – https://books2read.com/u/4XRKJN   

 

The Empaths of Venice trilogy

Alexis – https://books2read.com/u/m2xvkd

 

Warriors’ Council World prequel novels

Berlin Nocturne – https://books2read.com/u/31OxWa

Berlin Nocturne is also available as a bonus when you sign up to for Miranda’s Inner Circle monthly newsletter https://mirandajamesonbooks.com/

Paris Prelude – https://books2read.com/u/ba0zJy

 

Follow Miranda Jameson on Facebook for updates, sneak peeks, and offers – https://www.facebook.com/mirandajamesonwriting/