Posted in my books, promo

Titanium Blue

Tobias Anthony “Tar” Roberts returned from Afghanistan with a chip on his shoulder and missing half his leg. Some of his men weren’t as lucky, they didn’t come home at all. Pain in his body and his soul had him self medicating with pain pills and alcohol. He pushed his family away because it hurt too much to feel anything. When Jenna left to help her parents, he was relieved. When she didn’t return he sank deeper into depression until he reached his darkest moment.

Loving Tar was never the problem. Jenna fell in love with him nearly the first moment she met him but their whirlwind romance, early pregnancy and his deployment wasn’t conducive to a strong relationship. When he returned from Afghanistan he pushed her away. She had to protect her baby. Her father’s heart attack was just the excuse she needed to runaway.

Tar is back and he’s willing to do whatever he has to, even move to Leeward, to get his family back.

Excerpt from Titanium Blue

The stench of steaming crabs slapped him in the face as soon as he slid from the jeep. Tar gagged and considered getting back in and driving off. “God, I hate this place,” he grumbled. Leeward was the toe jam of eastern North Carolina, not the place to raise his son. He stretched, rubbing his knee above the rim of his artificial leg. The ride from Lejeune had been long. He was stiff and there’d been too much time to think. He wiped his sweaty palms on the legs of his pants. His stomach churned. The odor of seafood scraps broiling in the sunshine did little to soothe his mind or his stomach. I need to get Jenna and Toby away from here.

Tobias Anthony Roberts, known to his friends and fellow recruits as Tar, sighed. It wasn’t the first time he’d wondered when his life had gone to shit. He clenched his jaw, glaring at the manila envelope lying on the passenger seat. The bright white address label glowed against the orangey color of the envelope. Tar licked his lips, wishing for something cool to quench his thirst. Jenna wanted a divorce.  He shouldn’t be surprised. They’d not lived together for almost two years.

A flash of dark red hair caught his attention. He watched his wife through the cracked glass of the huge front window. Mac’s really let this place go to hell. Tar noted the peeling and powdering paint, the drooping gutters and broken concrete. He’d heard in rehab Mac had suffered another heart attack. The first one had been the excuse Jenna used for leaving him. She would have found another if it hadn’t happened.

A hot wind pushed sand across the parking lot. His heart raced and fear clogged his throat. It took a great deal of concentration and deep breathing to remind himself it wasn’t the smell of raw sewage, petrol and exotic spices mingling with unwashed bodies assaulting his nasal passages, but the aroma of grease, newly turned earth and the local crab house still in production even though it was early October. The damn season should be over. When would it cool off? The reality burned away the waking nightmare. You’re not in Afghanistan. He repeated it over and over until the feeling passed.

I shouldn’t have come. I’m not ready to be a husband or father again. Jenna passed the window, smiling at a customer. Like the first rays of sunlight when you’d been too long in the dark, her smile lit up the room. The pain, not to his eyes but to his chest, reminded him of why he’d come. You may not get a second chance. The jeep chimed, reminding him he’d not shut the door. You’re draining the battery, idiot. He considered climbing back into the jeep and riding back to Camp Lejeune.

Coward. He could face Afghan soldiers but the prospect of confronting his hundred and twenty-pound estranged wife left him shaking in his boots. Well, his Reeboks at least. He was processing out of the Corp. Would she care? Would it matter? Once a Marine, always a Marine! Tobias Anthony Roberts was no coward! He could handle one little five-foot-eight redhead. He swallowed the lump in his throat. He hoped.

https://books2read.com/u/bzWOrq

Posted in Thoughts, writing inspiration, Writing tips

Following Other Authors (part 2)

Again, I paraphrase Neil Gaiman when I say, I’ve learned to write this novel. When I was writing Roxy’s Betrayal, I had to rely heavily on what I’d written in the previous book, Janie’s Secrets because they shared a parallel timeline. I had no idea how difficult this idea would be. First, I’m not a plotter/outliner. I write by the seat of my pants, also known as being a pantser. That is not to say that I don’t plan or research or have an idea of where I’m going with the story beforehand, I do. It is one of the things that insulted me about the craft book I purchased which said pantsers have no idea where they are going with their story.

Although I don’t outline my stories, I know a few things about my story and main characters before I start writing my first draft. I know some of my character’s backstory, I know or have an idea of how I want the plot to end or the climax of the story. Much of this I figure out in my fast draft. Which in truth is very much like an outline but in a story form. I call it my skeleton. I write the story as quickly as I can without much detail then I go back and add flesh, feeling, all that stuff that makes it come alive.

With most stories I start with a character or a scene, an idea that has come to me like a seedling. From there I ask questions, shed a little light on it. Some stories come to me whole, I just have to write them down, others I have to work at to find what makes all its pieces and parts fit together. Roxy took a little more work. Not only was I writing Roxanne’s story with a parallel timeline to Janie’s story. I had to figure out how she was going to meet and fall in love with Jorge, an accused murderer. Why they were trying to rescue Janie’s daughter and why they didn’t just ask for help.

I wrote several scenes as they came to me but had a difficult time bringing everything together. The bigger the series gets the more difficult it becomes to mesh each story into the next. I want to layer the family dynamics, their past hurts and future relationships, define their roles inside the family as well as give them a fun sexy romance with some suspense and drama.

I had Roxanne as part of Janie’s Secrets and there is even mention of her in Red Steel, but she was just an elusive idea not completely developed. Until I finished Janie’s Secrets, I really didn’t know who Roxanne was. As I started my fast draft for Roxy, I began to realize I’d misunderstood her. This is where backstory helps to flesh out the character. It is one of the great points in Lisa Cron’s Story Genius. That without backstory there is no story.  

Each novel requires a little different process. Now, if you are like the amazing Sarra Cannon, you may have discovered what works best for you to find your muse and productivity. Her methods change very little during the process of writing her novels. She has a master plan and is able to stick to it.

For me, I’ve been developing my plan as I go. Chrome Pink was written with everything thrown in and then whittled down. Titanium Blue was planned with sticky notes and written during my first NaNoWriMo, at least the first version. My middle son and his wife were great resources during this writing. White Gold was also done with sticky notes to help plan it. Evergreen Crystals was another difficult novel because I wanted to write a true romance with their happy ever after, but I couldn’t do it without killing people, so, I let my dark side out and had fun with it. I’m beginning to think I’m a little scary, I blame it on my children. Red Steel was a lot of research, but I actually carried around a small notebook and wrote down ideas, often texting my firefighter son about what this would look like if it exploded. I really want to go to some of their training exercises. Janie’s Secrets was a recycled story with a few additions. Now I’m working on the brothers’ stories. My problem is, I know Remy’s story but it’s not time to tell it yet. I know Seth’s story, but he needs seasoning. I know Trent’s story, but should he come next or should I work on Cole’s story. As I started working on Trent’s story, ideas for Cole came to me, I’m attempting to write both books in tandem but deciding which one will come first will be interesting. I don’t know if I want another parallel timeline, but I may cross timelines.

There are so many ways to tell a story so how can there be only one way to write them?

Posted in contest

Giveaway ~ Drawing October 25th

The Leeward Files Giveaway— Don’t forget to use the hashtag The Leeward Files #theleewardfiles in order to be added to the drawing. The drawing is Sunday, October 25th. You have to use the # in order to be a part of the drawing.

If you follow me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sjlhollisterwriter , Twitterhttps://twitter.com/Jeanelia1964 or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/suspenseshewrites/, you simply have to post a picture, meme or GIF with the hashtag #theleewardfiles to be included in the drawing.

Social media has no responsibility in this giveaway it is solely an author contest.

The Leeward Files Trilogy is a compilation of the first three books in the Leeward Files series: Chrome Pink, White Gold and Titanium Blue.

Leeward is the fictional small town in eastern North Carolina. The town appears idyllic but dark secrets lurk just beneath the surface. It is experiencing a bit of new growth as community development grants filter in and the town begins to rebuild. A new art gallery opens in the old, abandoned shopping mall, down town is flourishing with little shops, cafes and museums but everything is built on a house of cards and they will all come crashing down once the truth is revealed.

Chrome Pink is a suspense thriller with a little romance and women’s fiction. Rae Lynne Grimes, a rape survivor is accused of killing her dates and must prove her innocence but the only way to do that is put herself in the path of a killer. She has to learn to trust herself and believe she is worth loving. Logan Birdsong is the first man who has gotten past her defenses, but can she trust a man who works for her worst enemy?

Dana Windley, the diva in White Gold, is a vivacious woman who with a little more coffee and a few more sequins could probably take over the world. While organizing a local beauty pageant two of her contestants go missing. When she discovers them being forced to turn tricks at a local mall, Dana is determined to rescue them. With he help of North Carolina SBI agent Jake Monroe and her friends, Dana uncovers a sex trafficking ring. Clues lead them back to the cold case that brought Jake to town, and even more secrets. A multi-cultural romantic suspense.

Jenna and Tar Roberts are estranged and on the verge of divorce in Titanium Blue. This second chance romance suspense thriller brings former Marine, Tobias Anthony Roberts aka Tar back to his family. His leg wasn’t the only thing he lost due to the war in Afghanistan but losing his family was his own fault. Now, back in Leeward as a Police officer, Tar is determined to get his family back, but his second chance is threatened when their son, Toby goes missing. Is Tar once again to blame for ripping his family apart? Will they ever have their fairy tale life?

If you haven’t read the first three books of the Leeward Files series, you have missed how family isn’t always about blood, it’s the ones who are there to love and support you. For Rae Lynne, Dana and Jenna, these three best friends since middle school are closer than family.

The community of Leeward is much like the one I grew up in with less murders. Each year a beautiful young woman does events to promote breast cancer awareness as well as bring attention to other forms of cancer in the community. She celebrates the survivors and recently, she became a cancer survivor.

Each year we put on a fossil festival to bring more commerce and tourists to our community. Fundraisers such as the fossil festival beauty pageant are held to help pay for different attractions, games and rides. With our main source of revenue coming from the phosphate plant, our leading attraction the fossil museum, everything centers around fossil especially sharks’ teeth.

Another event is our annual 5K run to honor our veterans and our veteran’s breakfast.

Our community comes together to raise money for our school, our churches, people in need and things we believe in like finding a cure for cancer or supporting our veterans. This is small town America but like any other place on earth there is a dark side, drugs, alcohol abuse, sex trafficking, prejudice, bullying, rape and murder, and unfortunately a thousand other crimes and immoral behaviors. I use a lot of these bad things to and escalate them to make my stories more interesting but too often they are closer to the truth than we want to believe. But I prefer to focus on the good and show how the blue-collar worker can be the hero in the story, and how average people can have their happy ever after endings.

If you like suspense thrillers with a little romance, strong female characters, blue-collar heroes and heroines set in a small town, then come visit Leeward, who knows, you might like it.

Posted in backstory, my books, Thoughts

Don’t Worry, I Still Believe in Happy Endings

Don’t Worry Be Happy

I believe in happy endings.

While I can’t quite call myself a romance writer, I still believe in happy ever after, or happy for now. Okay, maybe happyish. Since I like to blow things up and kill people off (usually the bad guys), not everyone is going to have their happy ending. Well I’m usually happy about it. I’m having way too much fun thinking of new ways to make trouble.

My mom said recently, “I didn’t know you had such a dark side.” Truth is I’m a nice person, except to my characters and I’m a pretty happy person. I work at being happy. It’s not always easy. Sometimes life really sucks, and it is too easy to get mired down in what is wrong. Over the years I’ve had to give myself pep-talks, allow myself to have a brief pity party and then get on with living. I’ve had to deal with unpleasantness and realize I’m stronger than I ever believed. I’ve had to decide to be happy and sometimes I’ve had to fake it until I felt it. That’s not saying I don’t have my blue days, my crying jags, my broken-hearted moments, I just choose not to live there and some days, like battling the characters in my stories, it’s a real fight to find my happy. But having a job where you can kill off the bad guys, blow things up and not have to worry about getting your hands dirty is pretty therapeutic.

road accident car crash on an city road highway

Mom also mentioned she wished I’d write some “nice” stories. Don’t get me wrong, my mom has become one of my biggest fans, she often proof-reads my stories before I publish them. She has a great eye but she’s at an age where she likes up-lifting stories of hope and faith. I get that but that’s not where I am in my own journey. I think for me, writing the Leeward Files has allowed me to get out some of the darkness that has touched my life either in reality or through contact with others. To keep all of that hate and anger bottled up can destroy a person, like my character Phil. He is so twisted by what was done to him that even though he is trying to do what is right, he goes about it in very wrong ways. It’s not that Phil doesn’t know right from wrong, he just doesn’t see why it should matter if the results are good.

The Leeward Files has become a labor of love. Most of you who have read the series know it is loosely based on my hometown of Aurora, North Carolina. My town is dying. I love this town and would love to see it revitalized. There is so much potential here. When I look at this town, I see what it could be. I see Leeward without all the murders and sex trafficking. We really don’t need all of that here. The town is surrounded by water, the Pamlico Sound, the Pamlico River and South Creek border the peninsula. Farmland and forest still dot the landscape. The community, while not perfect, is like a big extended family. When we lost our home to fire people came together to help us, people we didn’t even know. When the backside of town flooded during Irene, people worked together to rebuild. Every day I am inspired by the people and beauty of this place, yet down town is dying. We have no grocery store. Windows are being smashed out. People are leaving. Houses are sitting vacant. Burned out homes are being allowed to sit as eyesores because no one can afford to have them torn down. When I imagine what I’d do if I won the lottery or managed to snag a movie deal, I’d have to fix up this town I love. I’d love to bring back some of the beauty and charm and make it a place people would want to come to. Anybody got a winning lottery ticket I could borrow? How about a movie deal, I’ve got some great books that would make awesome movies, and I know a town where we could film it! I’m just saying, I know a guy…

In my series, The Leeward Files, Evergreen Crystals was to be my happy ever after story for my previous heroines: Rae Lynne from Chrome Pink, Dana from White Gold and Jenna from Titanium Blue. The three best friends have found the loves of their lives and plan to settle down. Jenna and Tar plan to stop their divorce and try to be a family again. Rae and Logan are expecting a baby and she has agreed to marry him even though she terrified she might ruin his life. Jake is feeling the pressure to propose to Dana with both of her best friends getting married but is that the right course for them? Not everyone has to get married and have babies to have a happy ever after. I really thought Evergreen Crystals was going to be my sweet romance story. It is romantic, it’s sexy but I couldn’t resist killing somebody and causing trouble and well, it still has a happy ending. Don’t worry, be happy. Now as for the next books…he, hee, heee, I did tell you I’m having too much fun blowing things up. Well, let’s just say, the next three books are giving me a lot of therapy.

So, if anyone goes missing or if there is a mysterious fire, it wasn’t me. I prefer to do my crimes on paper, it’s less messy that way. If you like suspense thrillers with strong romantic elements set in a small southern town, check out my Leeward Files Series and thanks for stopping by.

Posted in event, News, promo

Back Where It All Started

Join me Tuesday, June 18th, 2019, 7 pm at the Hazel Guilford Memorial Library. Back to where it all started.

I have been writing since I was a kid. I remember writing my first romantic story in fifth grade. I wrote short stories, poems, skits and plays for church and school but my passion has always been fiction, namely romance.

As a teenager, I had a short story published in the Pamlico News, later I became a reporter for the paper, writing up the local happenings. Even with all the writing I was doing, I had boxes full of notebooks in the bottom of my closet, under my bed and stacked on shelves in my tiny office, I shared very little of my writing.

It was only after becoming friends with Alice and Robina Norman, that I became brave enough to share some of what I’d written. Their encouragement gave me the boost to start thinking of doing something more with my passion.

I took classes with Stephan Horvath at Pamlico Community College, took classes by mail, sent off short stories and essays to contests, attended two Romantic Times Readers and Writers Conventions, joined Romance Writers of America and Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, as well as Writers Read NC and Pamlico Writers’ Group. I would still be hiding my work in boxes if not for the support and encouragement of my family and friends.

When Robina and my husband, David teamed up to push me out of my comfort zone, I should have known I’d never be the same again. While I miss those days of writing for my own pleasure, the feeling of accomplishment that comes from seeing your idea in print is priceless.

The support of this community has been humbling. It has meant so much to me to be able to thank each of you for your continued support. I hope you all will join me at the library for another book signing. I’ll share with you my plans for the next part of the Leeward Files and my upcoming Holiday book, where most of the characters get there happy ever after and a few only get a “the end.”

Contests, prizes, readings and books for sale. Come join me where it all began, at the library.

Posted in Prompts

Pamlico Writers’ 1K Challenge

Running at Sunset
A possible scene for Titanium Blue

The setting sun bathed the land in shades of rose. Jenna loved this time of day. She’d forgotten how peaceful it felt to stretch her legs and push her body, breathing in the cool, crisp autumn air. The holidays would soon be upon them and she might not have another chance to run like this. She missed running.
After working at the café and juggling being a single mom, most nights it was all she could do to stay awake past Toby’s bedtime. She lengthened her stride, pouring out the tension and stress of the past weeks. Tar was back. Her heart stuttered in her chest and she blinked back tears. She wasn’t fooling anyone with her denials, especially not herself. Jenna was still in love with her husband. Why did love have to hurt so much? When did I become a coward? He’d battled his addiction to pain medicine. She could see in his clear topaz eyes that he wasn’t using.
When her husband had returned from Afghanistan minus his lower leg, he’d shut her out. He’d almost pushed her out the door. I should have stayed and fought, she thought, listening to the tap of her feet on the pavement. She focused on landing lightly on her toes, barely letting her heel touch before pushing off again. Pine and cedar mingled with the heavy dew bringing the scent of the river, briny and laden with the threat of rain. The smell of the marshlands a unique essence she couldn’t describe, a combination of mud and brackish water, life and death, the ancient past and the future. She ran down the lane to the marina, filling her lungs with the life-giving force of the Pamlico. Steps, heavy and consistent behind her, alarmed her, turning she sighed in relief and longing as her husband ran towards her.
“You’re running again?” She stared down at his space-age looking leg.
Tar nodded, running in place beside her. “The new leg is designed for running—titanium.”
She smiled and fell into step beside him. “Are you going to run in the Veteran’s Day Five K?”
Tar darted a glance her way. “I didn’t know there was one.”
Jenna nodded, her pony tail brushing against her neck like a lover’s caress, her cheeks pinkened with desire and she was thankful for the glow of the setting sun staining everything with its rosy tint. “The town uses it to raise money for the Veteran’s Memorial in the park and the Veteran’s brunch.”
Tar’s dark brow raised, and a smile hovered on his handsome face. “Another of Dana’s projects?”
Jenna nodded. “She’s roped me into helping but I told her I wanted to run. I swear that girl could talk a grizzly bear into giving piggy back rides.”
Tar snorted. “I’ve managed to stay under her radar.”
Jenna laughed an idea coming to mind. “She’d love to honor some of the local veterans…”
Tar shook his head.
Before he could protest, she said, “It wouldn’t be a big deal. Maybe you and some of your buddies would start the run?”
“Are you talking about wounded vets?” There was a harshness in his voice.
“No, not just. I think it would be great to have each era represented. My dad and some of the older guys are talking about walking. They don’t want to be up in front because they know they’ll be slower. If you have some guys that are runners, it would be great if they could start the run…” her voice trailed off.
Tar visibly relaxed, letting go of the chip on his shoulder. Jenna let out the breath she’d been holding unaware she’d been doing so. Desire and fear, love and anger, all warred inside her. They’d been the perfect couple before he’d lost his leg. At least, she and all their friends had thought so. She blinked back tears aware of the strain of the past few minutes.
“I’ll ask some of the guys I know,” Tar’s deep voice interrupted her thoughts. “It would be an honor to lead the run.”
Jenna stared at him. Her attention off the road, she stumbled. Tar’s big, callused hands kept her from falling on her face.
“Whoa, be careful.”
Resuming her pace, Jenna found her voice. “Thanks, for catching me and thanks…”
“You know I’m putting myself in Dana sights,” he said shaking his head. “A smart Marine knows, you should never volunteer for a dangerous mission.”
Jenna frowned. “Is there such a thing as a smart Marine?”
He growled.
Jenna increased her speed.
Laughing, Tar chased her.
As the sun set deepened from pink to purple, Jenna became aware of her own deepening feelings. Could she risk loving this man again? As they ran in companionable silence, she let the thought seep into her heart like the cool, damp air into her lungs. Maybe they deserved a second chance.