Starting Over ~ CELEBRATE!

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Linda Barrett

CELEBRATE! — A five story anthology plus a novella of holiday stories from six award-winning authors, all members of On Fire Fiction.

The celebration continues with my friend and guest author for today: ROGENNA BREWER. I’ve known Rogenna for a long time. We go back to our early days in the business, writing Superromance for Harlequin Books. So I can tell you with assurance that Rogenna is a great author with a very interesting background.

How interesting, you ask?

In her own words: “From a Navy Vet to romance novelist. Not just a job, thirteen years of Navy SEAL research.”

Well, somebody had to research those SEALS! Rogenna served in the U.S. Navy for thirteen years before turning her hand to writing. Oops…I skipped a step or two. While in the Navy she served in the Chaplain’s office where her duties included operating the base library. Which once again proves that all writers start out as readers!

She also met and married her husband while serving her country. As she says, “The best part was that brief period of time when I outranked him.” (Hey, makes perfect sense to me 🙂

As for the holiday she’s chosen to celebrate in the anthology…? I bet you can guess, but here’s what she says:

4th of July seemed like the most natural backdrop for my military romance. Opposing forces, Navy Chaplain Lindsey Alexander and aircraft carrier Captain Doug Reese, deny the sparks of the May/December…er…September romance (nineteen years isn’t THAT big of an age difference) until the fireworks start to fly.”

STORY TITLE: One Star Spangled Night

FIRST LINES: Hat in hand, he stood in her office doorway. From spit shined shoes, up military creases, to the eagles pinned on khaki collar points, he commanded attention. The rank of captain gave him the authority to demand it.

First line discussion: I feel some conflict coming on. Who is this guy in her office? Why is he there? I have a feeling she wasn’t expecting him.

Rogenna’s book, ONE NIGHT IN RENO, (Navy SEAL, anyone?) is also available now. How about that adorable cover? I love it.

Check out Rogenna’s books and cover designs (yes, this woman has conquered a THIRD career) at: www.rogennabrewer.com.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. You’ll meet the author of the stand-alone novella at the next edition of Starting Over. Hope to see you then.

POST A COMMENT AND YOUR NAME WILL BE ENTERED INTO MY AUGUST CONTEST. THE PRIZES ARE A CHOICE OF ONE OF THE SELECTIONS BELOW AS WELL AS A $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO AMAZON OR BN. YOUR CHOICE.

Starting Over ~ CELEBRATE!

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Linda Barrett

CELEBRATE! A five story anthology plus a novella about holidays we celebrate throughout the year. All written by the award-winning authors of ON FIRE FICTION.

We’re continuing the celebration with my long-time friend, BARBARA MCMAHON, who I met way back when we both wrote for Superromance. At last count, over sixteen million copies of her books have sold in fifty different countries in twenty-one different languages. I am so impressed! She wasn’t always a writer. No, indeed. She began her working life in a much for glamorous profession: a flight attendant for an international airline. Well, okay. Maybe it sounds more glamorous than it really is. She worked very hard at that job, but soaked up lots of background for her books. To Barbara, however, there’s no place like home, and her favorite story locale is the American West. She’s written numerous books with cowboys as heros and plans more for the future.

So which holiday did Barbara choose to highlight? THANKSGIVING! This is what she said:

“I chose Thanksgiving as it’s one of the most American of holidays celebrated in the United States. While the official holiday was set in the 1940’s, America has a long history of celebrating by giving thanks–from the days of Jamestown and Plymouth to soon after the Revolutionary War. It’s always been a favorite of mine. I love turkey, dressing, and lots of pies for dessert!

Thanksgiving is a time for families ot gather together to celebrate harvest, another year, give thanks for all their blessings, and enjoy each other’s company. In Love With All The Trimmings, however, the family reunion planned might not be as joyful as initially anticipated when two sisters vie for the affections of the same man.”

STORY TITLE: Love With All The Trimmings

FIRST LINES: “I’m coming home for Thanksgiving!” Juliana felt her heart drop. “You’re coming here?” she squeaked.

Uh-oh. I’m thinking there’s trouble in River City. The first sentence has an exclamation point, so speaker is excited and happy. Juliana…not so much. Don’t you just love a story when the conflict starts on Page One, Paragraph One?

Barbara’s book, I’LL TAKE FOREVER, is also available now. A contemporary romance involving a DEA agent looking for cover in a small town–and finds Jenny’s house. Jenny cannot believe that anyone in her town would be involved with drugs. To learn more about Barbara, link to her website: www.barbaramcmahon.com

As always, thanks so much for stopping by. Next time at Starting Over, you’ll meet an author who’s also a cover designer. Hope to see you then.

POST A COMMENT AND YOUR NAME WILL BE ENTERED INTO THE AUGUST CONTEST. THE PRIZES ARE A CHOICE OF ONE OF THE SELECTIONS BELOW AS WELL AS A $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO AMAZON OR BN. YOUR CHOICE.

Starting Over ~ CELEBRATE!

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Linda Barrett

CELEBRATE! — A five story anthology plus a novella about holidays we celebrate throughout the year. All written by award-winning authors of On Fire Fiction.

I love presenting this series of posts to you because my writing friends are some of the greatest people I know. Always willing to listen and give advice. Never afraid to ask for it either. Just as with other friends, these are relationships based on trust. I’ve known most of these gals for many years, and I can say without hesitation that they work hard and love creating stories. When they get emails from their readers…well, that’s the whipped cream on the cake 🙂

I’m very pleased that my guest today is Debra Salonen, a California girl whose very first published book was released about the same time mine was. We met each other at what was our very first

Deb Salonen

writers conference in July 2000. Turned out we had the same editor! One of the qualities I admire about Deb is her ability to turn off the stress. Hiking and yoga are her secrets. Another quality I admire is her willingness to try something different with her writing. She came up with an adorable but naughty four book romantic comedy series for the “55 and better” generation called Screw Senility which sets a very different tone from the traditional romances she’d been writing. This is hot! But she still managed to give her heroine a happily ever after!

What holiday did Deb choose for her story? CHRISTMAS! Here’s the story behind the story in Deb’s own words:

Kindness gets to me every time. Maybe that’s because my mother, Daisy Bagby Robson, was one of the kindest women I ever met. I have numerous memories of her generosity, including once when she decided I wasn’t using my bike anymore, so it should go to a poor child I’d never met. As I recall, I reacted as any spoiled baby-of-the-family might. I threw a fit. She patiently described this other child’s circumstance as it compared to mine…in other words, she guilted me into agreeing.

I wish I could say I instantly became as giving and generous a my mom, but that would be a lie. Still, the memory stuck, and when my children were very young, I wanted to share the essence of this memory in a way that might teach and entertain. I wrote “My Christmas Angel.” Longhand, on lined paper. I read it to them every Christmas for a few years, then tucked it away in my files.

A year ago, my daughter asked me, “Didn’t you write a Christmas story once? Where is that? I’d like to read it to Daisy (my granddaughter).”

Ah…life comes full circle…courtesy of epublishing. I pulled out the story and read it. And, as happens with writers, I immediately wondered what happened to Abigail and Dickie–the little children in the story. Why…they’d be thirty-some years old by now. All grown up. With children of their own…and so the story begins.

STORY TITLE: My Christmas Angel

FIRST LINE: “Read me your story, Mommy. Please. Before you go. Plee…ase.”

Oh, yeah. I recognize that ploy…and I bet you do, too. One more story, Mommy. Another glass of water. Someone doesn’t want to go to sleep. Someone doesn’t want his mom to leave. In the next paragraph, we quickly learn about young Ben and his divorced mom who was on her way to a holiday party given by her ex-sister-in-law. Deb Salonen manages to draw us into the lives of these two lovely people very quickly and we want to know what happens next.

What’s next on Deb’s writing agenda?

“I’m back at work on my next project: a 3-book romantic suspense series called K.A.B. (Karma’s A Bitch) Investigations.”

Find out more about Deb Salonen and her books at: www.debrasalonen.com

This is the cover of Book 4 in Deb’s Screw Senility series. Adorable, no?

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. You’ll meet another of my author friends at the next edition of Starting Over. Hope to see you then.

POST A COMMENT AND YOUR NAME WILL BE ENTERED INTO MY AUGUST CONTEST. THE PRIZES ARE A CHOICE OF ONE OF THE SELECTIONS BELOW AND A $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO AMAZON OR BN. YOUR CHOICE!