Loyalty

A friend of mine posted this on her Facebook this weekend. Apparently, someone dumped this adorable dog off on the corner. He has been waiting for over a week (sometimes in the pouring rain) for his owner to come back.

Heartbreaking.

The good news is the local animal shelter is attempting to capture him (he runs away each time they try) and adopt him out.

I love dogs, cats, and all God's creatures. Praying his next home is a good one!

Getting To Know You.....

In Celebration of our recent release, Tales of Summer Romance. We're going to be taking a few posts to introduce the authors behind FictionFlurry. Today we're interviewing Susan Gee Heino.

FF: How long have you been writing?

I've been writing since before I could read. I'd sit at the kitchen table scrawling out stories, forcing my poor mother to spell out every word for me. In college I studied creative writing in its various forms, and discovered playwriting. After graduating with a degree in Theatre, I had several plays produced at small theatres here and there, and then moved into writing drama for church productions. Always my dream was to publish a novel, though, and in 2003 when my children were small I turned my focus toward that. I joined Romance Writers of America and worked very hard to educate myself and slowly move toward my goal. I had six completed manuscripts before I finally made my first sale in 2008.

FF: What genre do you write in?

I adore stories with happy endings about people who discover that life is better if we can learn to love. I write romance. Specifically, my first published novels have been set in the English Regency time period, but I do have some other projects in the works so hopefully I'll be expanding my scope a little in the near future.

FF: Tell us a little bit about your story in the anthology.

The story I have included is "The Sister Solution" and it is set in the Regency time period. If you're not familiar with this, just think of Jane Austen. Her works were published during the English Regency (1811-1820), so think Mr. Darcy in a starched cravat and Lizzy Bennet with a scuttle bonnet. I just love that time period and all its social strictures. This is one of the elements I've capitalized on in my story. It was very much a man's world back then and women had few options if they wished to better themselves. Basically, if a girl was not blessed to be born with a fortune, the best she could hope for was to marry well. And that, of course, would never happen if her family members were prone to scandal. This is Lizzy Courdray's dilemma as my story opens. With her father deceased and her mother behaving quite shockingly, how is poor Lizzy to look after herself and her flighty younger sister? What's to become of them if their reputation in town is dreadfully ruined?

FF: Are you currently working on a novel?

Yes, several! I just turned in the forth novel in my current Regency series and I'm in the brainstorming process for the next. Also, I'm polishing a contemporary-set romance that I just love and my agent is getting ready to start shopping it. And as if that's not enough, I've got a really fun YA thriller series that I'm working on, as well. My agent is very excited about this and is stalking me to get it finished up so she can shop that, as well. I'm a busy gal!

FF: Best/worst advice you've received?
I've gotten lots of "best" advice over the years. Depending on what stage I was at in my writer's journey, different things have turned the light bulb on for me. One of the really brilliant things I picked up a long time ago was, "Don't write the boring parts." It seems like this ought to be intuitive, but believe me, I really want to write the boring parts. It's a constant battle in my brain: Is this scene really necessary? What does the reader learn about these characters? How does this build the conflict or the tension? Trust me, even the funniest/sexiest/most tragic scene is wasted paper if it does not move the story along and help develop your characters.

What's the worst advice I've gotten? That's hard to say, since I tend to filter this out and toss is aside so it doesn't take up space in my already too-cluttered mind. I think some of the worst advice is the stuff people love to tell beginning writers: "Don't use words like was and that." "Avoid all adverbs." "Write only what you know." And the very worst, "Hardly anyone ever gets picked up by the big New York publishers. You might as well give up now."

Susan Gee Heino Bio Information: In 2008 I was honored to win Romance Writers of America’s coveted Golden Heart ® Award in the Regency Historical category. My winning manuscript sold at auction and I signed a two book deal with Berkley Publishing. MISTRESS BY MISTAKE was published in 2009 and became a national bestseller.

DAMSEL IN DISGUISE followed in 2010 and I signed another two book contract. Now this summer TEMPTRESS IN TRAINING has just hit shelves and PASSION AND PRETENSE will release in April, 2012. I live in rural Ohio with way too many pets, my very supportive husband, and my two adorable (and frighteningly creative) children.

I love to hear from readers! You can contact me through my website at www.SusanGH.com or check out my neglected blog at www.susangeeheino.blogspot.com.

Fatal February - A Review

"It's John Grisham in spiked heels." Was the quote from another reviewer. As a fan of John Grisham I was too curious to let this review request go by. When I review a book I look at it in three different levels. First, the opening line...does it draw me in? The second thing I look at is the characters...do I care enough about them to keep reading? Finally, I look for plot and how the characters are woven into the plot.

Fatal February is written by Barbara Levenson. It is set in Miami-Dade, Florida, the author has lived in Florida and has experience as a prosecutor and and with the circuit courts. This experience shows throughout the entire book.

Now...onto the review. The opening line was fantastic. I immediately wanted to know more. Her
lead character Mary Macgruder Katz was a fun and intelligent woman. I found myself cheering for her throughout the whole book. The plot was nicely woven, and even surprised me a little in the end.

If you want a good mystery, filled with fun characters, that is an easy read, I would highly recommend Fatal February.

Contests and Conferences

It's that time of year again. Writer's conferences are starting to advertise their dates, classes they offer and what publishers and agents will be available. Many of these conferences also offer a writing contest. Question is, are conferences and contests worth it?

In my opinion I think the answer is a definite yes!

When researching a conference a writer should consider the following: Cost of conference, classes offered, contacts you can make...both agents, publishers and fellow writers. Do your research, it will pay off. Big conferences offer great classes, but don't ignore the smaller conferences, they also have a lot of excellent classes and the smaller size increases your chances of speaking directly with industry professionals.

Writing contests are another way to gain exposure for your writing. If you are already published consider what added exposure this will give your book. If you are still-to-be-published, try to enter the contests that have agents and editors as the final judges. It's a great way to get your work in front of professionals.

Writing Goals - 2011

You can't escape it....we are on the brink of a new year. Looking over the past year are there any particular writing accomplishments you are proud of? Any new goals you would like to set?

Here at FictionFlurry we have started a encouraging one another by emailing our daily word count and posting it on our Facebook page.

If your not a friend of ours stop by and check out our progress. My personal writing goals are as follows: Write every day...even if it's just a paragraph. Finish my third novel entitled The Generation, attend one writer's conference, read more...both fiction and writing craft books.
Some dream goals: Nab that publishing contract, obtain literary representation.

How about you? What are your writing goals?

Writing Suspense

I love reading and writing suspense novels. There's nothing more satisfying to an author than to hear those magic words, "I couldn't put your book down, I just had to finish it!"

Even if you don't write in the suspense genre, you can benefit from these tips from James Scott Bell to take your fiction to the next level.

1. Create a character your readers will care about. Then...put them up a tree, throw rocks at them, and get them back down.

2. What is your main character's biggest fear? Make them face it.

3. When you find that a scene is moving slow...bring in a man (or woman) with a gun. When a character shows up with a gun, action always follows.

What are some of your favorite writing tips?

Miscellaneous Monday - Craft Writing Books

How many books on writing fiction do you own? Do you read them? I must confess, I have acquired quite a collection, thinking that each will possess that little secret needed to push my writing to the next level.

The truth of the matter is, books on writing are meant to be a help in your writing, not replace it. I have been writing fiction for a little over eight years, and the best tip I have ever received on writing from a writing book is......well....to write. We can improve our writing skills by simply writing. Even if it's only one page a day, it will keep your skills sharp.

That being said, here is a list of my top five favorite writing books. Please comment back and share a few of yours.

Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell

Writing For The Soul by Jerry Jenkins

On Writing by Stephen King

Self Editing by James Scott Bell

Hooked by Les Edgerton

Happy Writing!

Writing Tip Wednesday - Keeping Motivated

Today is writing-tip Wednesday. The day of the week where we offer a bit of writing advice. Although we are all on various parts of our writing journey, we have all found that we can learn from each other.

Today I am going to focus on motivation. Sometimes it's hard to sit down everyday and complete an entire chapter, or write that synopsis. Whatever large project that might be hanging over your head, the task becomes easier if you break it down into small segments.

I received this writing tip at a writer's conference that I attended in Philadelphia. It's called the nifty-two-fifty! Each day write 250 words. When you break it down, it's really only one page. Multiply your nifty-two-fifty by the number of days in the year and you will have a 365 page novel completed in one year.

Good Luck, and happy writing!