My friends are a blessing.
Lately, there have been many Facebook memes that express our relationship.
And when we do go on a road trip
We sometimes do play in the creek. Still.
And you know what keeps us friends?
We don’t share those photos on social media.
Yes, I still read my daily horoscope. I even save some of the “better” ones.
I keep the best one on my desk at Day Job.
9/21/10
It’s hard to imagine you lacking imagination. Actually, it’s impossible to imagine. So now, don’t worry–there’s no need to imagine you lacking imagination, because you’re so imaginative. You just won’t have time for anything else (like imagining lacking imagination). You’re fielding great ideas left and right, and the ones you like you’re holding on to. You’ll implement them all in good time. Yes, all in good time.
Have you ever read your horoscope and just loved it?
Today I’m pleased to welcome author Julie Doherty.
MJ: The first full week of October is National Great Books Week. As a reader what do you consider three essential elements of a great book and why?
JD: Great books have the perfect balance of interesting characters, a fascinating plot, and superb writing. Great books also teach us something. They take us on a journey, let us slip into someone else’s skin, and allow us to lose ourselves in other realms when our real worlds are less than satisfying.
A book goes from great to sublime when it does all of this with lyrical sentences containing just enough detail for readers to envision the scene. Too much description spoils the journey for me. It’s a bit like someone sharing vacation photos. I’m interested at first, but the moment you start pointing out the details of every photo, I’m going to pray a fire alarm goes off.
MJ: If you didn’t write, what would be your creative outlet?
JD: It definitely wouldn’t be dance. I have two left feet. I’ve been a singer, a calligrapher, and a canine artist.
MJ: Other than writing, what would be your dream job? Why?
JD: I experienced my dream job for exactly eight hours back in the nineties when the City of Harrisburg needed temporary help transcribing Civil War letters, some from a general to his wife. *fans self* I can’t describe how privileged I felt to touch those letters, let alone read their contents.
MJ: Describe your ideal/dream writing space.
JD: A room with a locked door and no telephone within earshot.
MJ: What do you love most about your WIP hero?
JD: His determination to regain custody of his son. I also love that in spite of horrific emotional trauma, he has retained his sense of humor.
MJ: What do you least like about your WIP heroine?
JD: Her low self esteem. Who could blame her, though? I mean, her husband left her sitting in the fertility clinic while he was out impregnating a twenty-something airhead. It takes a while to recover from that.
MJ: What genre is your current WIP?
JD: Contemporary romance with elements of fantasy.
MJ: How did you come up with your hero and heroine’s names?
JD: I chose names that fit their personalities.
MJ: How did you choose the setting for your current WIP?
JD: Since my heroine (Ann McConnell) owns the farm where my second novel takes place (SCATTERED SEEDS, releasing today, woot!) I had to set my WIP in Pennsylvania. She unearths a gold torc there and embarks on a journey to Scotland to research its origins. Most of the story takes place on the Isle of Iona and around the Oban/Taynuilt area.
MJ: And can you share a bit of this WIP?
JD: I’m tentatively calling this one SCENT OF FOREVER.
With birds chattering in the trees above her, Ann stared at the footprint of her ancestors’ cabin. Time had reduced its log walls and roof to ruddy banks around a flagstone floor. Only the hearth and part of the chimney wall remained upright. The rest of it lay in a heap, just like the pieces of her life.
She would repair the chimney—starting today—but her dismantled world? That would take a different kind of mortar.
MJ: Love the title! I understand you have a book being released today.
JD: Yes, SCATTERED SEEDS is available through Amazon.
MJ: And how can readers stay current with you?
Social media links:
AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Scent-Soul-Julie-Doherty-ebook/dp/B00SZ0SKUE
BOOK TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBuB3WC3FGU
GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/532434.Julie_Doherty
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/SquareSails
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/juliedohertywrites
WEBSITE: http://www.juliedoherty.com
MJ: Thanks again for joining me today, and good luck!
I don’t usually have guests on Sunday, but my friend Joanne Guidoccio has a book coming out later this week (June 12), and, as today is National Red Rose Day, Joanne’s heroine wanted to share a bit about her relationship with red roses.
Happy National Red Rose Day!
5 More Days!!
MJ, thanks for participating in the Countdown to A Season for Killing Blondes.
To celebrate the publication, I’m giving away a $25 Amazon gift card. Click here to enter the drawing!
When protagonist Gilda Greco isn’t dealing with four unsolved murders, she enjoys celebrating National Red Rose Day. But she doesn’t limit herself to honoring roses on only one day of the year. Since winning the $19 million lottery, Gilda has implemented several new rituals, among them treating herself to a weekly bouquet of red roses.
“An extravagance,” her mother clucks.
Penny pinching Uncle Paolo shakes his head. “For the cost of all those roses, you could fly to Italy and back during high season and still have money left over.
“Now that’s extreme self-care,” Cousin Sofia whispers loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.
But Gilda is undeterred.
She ignores these comments from well-meaning (and meddling!) relatives and focuses on three special memories of her favorite flower: a Valentine’s Day rose, a beautiful song about a rose, and a recent “red rose” dream.
She never did learn the identity of her mystery admirer, but it didn’t really matter. Gilda was between boyfriends and convinced she was the only senior student at Sudbury Secondary who was unattached on Valentine’s Day. That single perfect rose elevated her spirits and kept her afloat for the rest of February.
When her disastrous one-year marriage fizzled, she found solace in music and played The Rose by Bette Midler over and over again. So much so that she had to replace the album three times.
As for the “rose” dream, read about it in this short excerpt from A Season for Killing Blondes…
Carlo wore a black tuxedo. He carried an enormous bouquet of red roses and offered them to me.
“They’re so beautiful, Carlo.” I started to count them. “And so many of them.”
“Twenty-nine to be exact.”
“Twenty-nine?”
“It’s the number of years that we have been apart.”
“How thoughtful and romantic of you—”
I woke up to the incessant ringing of the telephone.
Darn! Only a dream.
Blurb
Hours before the opening of her career counseling practice, Gilda Greco discovers the dead body of golden girl Carrie Ann Godfrey, neatly arranged in the dumpster outside her office. Gilda’s life and budding career are stalled as Detective Carlo Fantin, her former high school crush, conducts the investigation.
When three more dead blondes turn up all brutally strangled and deposited near Gilda’s favorite haunts, she is pegged as a prime suspect for the murders. Frustrated by Carlo’s chilly detective persona and the mean girl antics of Carrie Ann’s meddling relatives, Gilda decides to launch her own investigation. She discovers a gaggle of suspects, among them a yoga instructor in need of anger management training, a lecherous photographer, and fourteen ex-boyfriends.
As the puzzle pieces fall into place, shocking revelations emerge, forcing Gilda to confront the envy and deceit she has long overlooked.
Watch the trailer here.
Buy the book here:
Amazon (Canada) – http://is.gd/t0g1KZ
Amazon (United States) – http://is.gd/jADjPp
Amazon (United Kingdom) – http://is.gd/8mknFJ
Amazon (Australia) – http://is.gd/r843iX
Kobo – http://is.gd/BpO9gY
About Joanne
In high school, Joanne dabbled in poetry, but it would be over three decades before she entertained the idea of writing as a career. She listened to her practical Italian side and earned degrees in mathematics and education. She experienced many fulfilling moments as she watched her students develop an appreciation (and sometimes, love) of mathematics. Later, she obtained a post-graduate diploma as a career development practitioner and put that skill set to use in the co-operative education classroom. She welcomed this opportunity to help her students experience personal growth and acquire career direction through their placements.
In 2008, she took advantage of early retirement and decided to launch a second career that would tap into her creative side and utilize her well-honed organizational skills. Slowly, a writing practice emerged. Her articles and book reviews were published in newspapers, magazines, and online. When she tried her hand at fiction, she made reinvention a recurring theme in her novels and short stories. A member of Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Canada, and Romance Writers of America, Joanne writes paranormal romance, cozy mysteries, and inspirational literature from her home base of Guelph, Ontario.
Where to find Joanne
Yes, it’s true! I officially have a cover for And Jericho Burned, which is being released February 11, 2015. I love this cover!
Lucy Callahan will do anything to save her sister, even if it means marrying a stranger. Even if that stranger is an undercover government agent out to destroy the cult holding her sister hostage. Even if that stranger is a . . . werewolf.