Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten Nordic Skis

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 18 Comments

Farley here,

January is here, and Kristina and I are hitting the nordic trails. The first problem…the crowds. Wag, Wag, Wag.

Farley Nordic Skiing

The second problem. Going up hill, Kristina is so slow I have to bury my head in the snow while I wait for her.  Can’t say I like the ice chunks in my eyes, but it’s worth cooling my head.

Farley Nordic skiing 2

Downhill is a rush, but Kristina says she’s not coordinated enough to take a photo when where going that fast. Maybe she should get a go pro 🙂

Woof Woof

P.S. if you haven’t read DESCENT or BLAZE yet, she’s getting some awesome reviews. Here’s her latest review for DESCENT by Author Judy Penz Sheluk:

A great debut mystery novel! The location of Stone Mountain Ski Resort in British Columbia is so well drawn, I could almost see my breath puff out in the cold, and the protagonist, Kalin Thompson, a rookie head of security, is entirely believable. Add to the mix a sexy boyfriend and an interesting cast of characters and you’ve got yourself a winning combination. Thoroughly enjoyable!

All dogs love to be read out loud to, so if you want to do some reading for your dog, you can get the books at:

myBook.to/Descent

myBook.to/BLAZEbyKristinaStanley

 

Write Better Fiction: Scene Naming

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Feedback iconToday on Write Better Fiction we’ll cover NAMING A SCENE. Write Better Fiction is a process to help you critique your own manuscript and give yourself feedback. This will help you improve your novel so you’re ready to submit it to an editor. Check the bottom of this post for links to previous Write Better Fiction articles.

Last week I wrote about the action in a scene. Maybe it seems odd I chose to fill out the action before naming the scene, but I have a strategy for this.

Did you find it hard to describe a scene in three sentences or less? Well, naming a scene is harder, but it help you hone the scene.

Scene NamesNow I’m going to ask you to use one word to name the scene. If you must, you can use two. I confess this sometimes happens to me.

Some writers list scenes with numbers only and that’s fine. For me, the exercise of naming the scene makes me narrow down what the scene is about. Since I already have the scene action defined in one to three sentences, the scene name might already exist somewhere in those words.

The Scene Name column is connected to the Purpose of a Scene column, and will help you discover what the scene is really about. The purpose of the scene is another place to look for hints on what to name your scene. At this point you may want to re-evaluate the purpose of the scene in case you’ve changed your mind based on the scene action and naming the scene.

The names of the scenes might give you insight into the theme of your novel.

Your challenge this week is to name each scene in your novel. Then let me know if this helped you focus your scenes.

I critiqued DESCENT and BLAZE using the techniques I’m sharing in Write Better Fiction, and I believe this helped me sign with a publisher.

Previous blog posts on Write Better Fiction:

Please me know in the comments below how you name your scene? Is it important for you to have a scene name?

Thanks for reading…

Mystery Mondays: Elinor Florence on the Mystery Genre

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

This week on Mystery Mondays we welcome Elinor Florence. I met Elinor about a year ago, and since then we’ve been sharing our writing and publishing experiences over lunches.

Here’s what Elinor has to say about genres and her debut novel, BIRD’S EYE VIEW.
Bird's Eye ViewMy wartime novel Bird’s Eye View isn’t a classic murder mystery – although I have seen it shelved in the Mystery section of one bookstore – but rather, a whole series of mysteries.

You see, in my novel the serial killers are the Nazis, and my detective is an aerial photographic interpreter. Rose Jolliffe is an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Like Sherlock Holmes, she uses her magnifying glass to study aerial photographs for clues, trying to outwit the enemy.

Along the way, she tackles a number of baffling mysteries:

  1. When the Allies bomb an important railyard behind enemy lines, why don’t the aerial photographs taken the next day show any damage?
  2. Is that charming French village real, or is it an elaborate camouflage created by the Germans to disguise an aircraft factory?
  3. Most importantly, what is the secret revenge weapon that Hitler says will win the war — and where on earth is it?

Rose examines aerial photos to the point of exhaustion (since there was no colour film, she is literally studying fifty shades of gray), striving to solve these and other mysteries – painfully aware that her failure will cost thousands of lives.

She is suffering from personal strain as well. Her brother Jack is flying a Spitfire, and she fears for him every day. She is in love with her commanding officer, who unfortunately already has a wife. And she is desperately homesick for her farm on the Canadian prairies. She keeps in touch with the home front through a constant flow of letters from her parents and her best friend, June.

Bird’s Eye View is the only novel ever written in which the main character is a Canadian woman in uniform. I find that very sad, considering that there were fifty thousand of them in World War Two alone. They were just as patriotic and dedicated as the men, but we know little about them. I wanted to shine a light on women’s contribution to the war effort.

To create my characters, I drew heavily on my own family. My mother lived through the war as a teenager in Canada, and her home town of North Battleford, Saskatchewan was an air training base. Her beloved elder brother was killed in the war. My father served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, as did my uncles. So I had access to a gold mine of personal anecdotes.

I was also intrigued by that fascinating but little-known branch of Allied Intelligence called photo interpretation. During the war hundreds of trained interpreters studied the aerial photos brought back from Europe – literally spying on the enemy from the sky. I read as much as I could about the subject, and travelled to both England and Germany for my research. Every incident in the book is based on fact.

Since the book was published a year ago, I’ve received hundreds of positive comments. People often tell me that my book enlightened them about our own Canadian history, especially the role of women. One former bomber navigator told me that he combed my book looking for errors and couldn’t find any – that was music to my ears! Others tell me that my book moved them to tears. Touching people’s hearts is always a good thing.

By far the most typical comment, however, is this: “I couldn’t put it down!” That’s the best compliment of all.

Elinor Florence PhotoElinor Florence is a career journalist who grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan, a former wartime airport. She wrote and edited daily newspapers and magazines across Western Canada, including Reader’s Digest. Married with three grown children, she now lives in the mountain resort of Invermere, British Columbia. Bird’s Eye View is her first novel. It’s available through bookstores or online from Amazon, and as an ebook. Order it here: http://www.amazon.ca/Birds-Eye-View-Elinor-Florence/dp/1459721438/ref=sr_1_1_twi_1_pap?ie=UTF8&qid=1429642038&sr=8-1&keywords=Birds+eye+view

Thanks for reading…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten Holiday

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

Farley here,

It’s January now, and I’m dreaming about all the fun I had over the holiday.

I made a new friend but forgot to ask his name.

Farley and pal

 

I played with an old friend, Finn.

Farley and Finn with Stick

And I opened every present under the tree. Talk about ripping good fun!

Farley opening gits

Woof Woof

Write Better Fiction: Scene ACTION

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

Welcome the 2016 kickoff of Write Better Fiction. It’s the start of a new year, maybe you wrote your manuscript during November, took a break for the holidays and are ready to get to work.

But what to do? How about self-critiquing your manuscript?

If you missed the first three blogs in this series, you might want to check them out before reading this one.

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I need a systematic method for critiquing my novels, and I’ve used this method for all my novels. To prove to you it works, here is what Todd Barselow, senior editor at Imajin Books, said about DESCENT.

“My life would be so much easier if all the manuscripts that crossed my desk were as clean as yours.”

Now that I have your attention, today I’ll explain how to use the ACTION column.

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I keep this entry short. Use only one to three sentences to describe what happens in the scene. If you can’t describe the action in three sentences, maybe too much is happening in the scene, and it could be broken into two or three scenes. A scene with too much happening might confuse or exhaust the reader.

Once you’ve written the action for every scene in your novel, review the entire column and look for repetitions. Repetitions, unless written for a purpose, can be boring to the reader.

For example, your protagonist is hit by a car. In three different scenes you fill in the action, having your protagonist tell another character about the incident. Do you really need to have this happen three times? Could you summarize if the other character needs to know this information?

The action column helps me write a synopsis. After I’ve completed this for the manuscript I cut the column, save it to a word document and start writing a synopsis. It’s only a beginning, but it gives me a framework. And we all know how hard it is to write a synopsis.

Your challenge this week is to articulate the action for each scene in your novel. Please me know in the comments below how you evaluate the action? Do you have a question you ask yourself about action?

I critiqued DESCENT and BLAZE using the techniques I’m sharing in Write Better Fiction, and I believe this helped me sign with a publisher.

Thanks for reading…

Voices From the Valleys $0.99 USD

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

Tis the season for a sale, fa la la la la la la la…

Do you want to check out what British Columbian writers have in common? Have a hankering for Canadian fiction? Now’s your chance to read some Canadiana.

Voices From the Valleys is on for $0.99 USD.

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Deirdre Hunting Season is the first short story in Voices From the Valleys.  I’ve included an excerpt below it you’d like to try before you buy…

VOICES FROM THE VALLEYS – Stories & Poems about Life in BC’s Interior

Amazon.com  Amazon.ca  Amazon.co.uk

– 308 pages, 51 contributors, short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. All net proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders. The print version includes drawings and photos of BC.

This anthology for charity features entertaining short stories, fascinating memoirs, and thought-provoking poetry by 50 talented BC writers, depicting life in every region of the interior of British Columbia, Canada, from the ’50s to today.

Peruse the pages and you’ll find stories about challenging experiences in remote areas, experiences with BC’s deer, bears, moose, and other wildlife; harrowing experiences with forest fires, humorous people-watching stories, touching memoirs, tales of tragic incidents, stories about relationships, and funny-only-in-hindsight true stories.

You’ll find beautiful, thought-provoking poetry about early ranching life, rock climbing, a beloved motorcycle, the loss of orchards, prospecting, experiences with forest fires, encounters with wildlife, and other special moments from various regions in BC.

***

Deirdre Hunting Season

by

Kristina Stanley

 

Artemis

Goddess of hunting, wilderness and wild animals.

Grants strength to others.

 

Due to the shortage of deer in the area, our community restricted deer hunting to bucks with four point antlers. The doe in the area needed more males. Well, so did I. I was forty years old, and my buck just married a doe half his age.

The hard part … In our small town nestled in the valley between the Rockies and the Purcell Mountains of south-eastern British Columbia everyone knew everyone. I did the books for half a dozen businesses on Main Street and was known as the accountant with the cheating husband. That’s me. Failure at marriage extraordinaire. I’m a rule follower. I do good deeds. I volunteer. I’ve never even received a parking ticket. So what happened in my life surprised me.

The day mother nature blew the leaves off my tree, I came home unexpectedly. We’d hired a local company to clean our air ducts, and the guy doing the work was supposed to come the following day. He called and asked if I could meet him a day early. I rushed home, even though I was busy, unlocked the front door and headed toward the back of the house. I’d told him I’d leave the kitchen door open for him.

Fifteen years of marriage pin-holed to one moment. A naked woman standing in my kitchen, leaning against my sink, drinking water from my glass…

Here is where you can find the rest of the story and many others:

VOICES FROM THE VALLEYS – Stories & Poems about Life in BC’s Interior

Amazon.com  Amazon.ca  Amazon.co.uk

MYSTERY MONDAYS: 2016 Kicks off with Cheryl Kaye Tardif

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

To celebrate a new year of Mystery Mondays,  Cheryl Kaye Tardif will share a bit of E.Y.E OF THE SCORPION. But first, here is what she has to say on the future of fiction.

A Mystery Qwickie™ with an Eye on Vengeance and Salvation

 Cheryl Kaye Tardif FBLaunching Imajin Books’ new Imajin Qwickies™ imprint, international bestselling author Cheryl Kaye Tardif introduces us to her E.Y.E. Spy Mystery series with Book 1, E.Y.E. OF THE SCORPION…

Many readers are looking for shorter reads, something they can read on a bus, train, plane etc., and finish in one or two sittings. Qwickies™ are the perfect solution. Shorter than a full-length novel, but longer than a short story or novelette, novellas offer more depth of character and plot.

In my mystery novella, E.Y.E. OF THE SCORPION, I introduce readers to an older, wiser female protagonist, one who is divorced, has given up a career as a Vancouver police officer and has become a private investigator. Eileen Edwards is still grieving the loss of her son when she’s given the daunting task of locating a street kid named Zipper. But all is not as it seems, and the case proves to be difficult, especially keeping the boy alive. As with all mysteries, there are twists and turns, and a huge revelation that will blow your mind. At least, that’s what I’m hoping for.

The challenge with writing a Qwickie is to start off with action right away and keep the pace moving “qwickly,” so that readers feel compelled to keep reading until the end. I believe my characters really add to keeping the pace hot and always moving forward. Of course, as with every good mystery, you’ll find some bad guys who only seek vengeance, and a protagonist whose life changes dramatically in the end.

Salvation is found in odd ways and with an unusual pairing of young and old. I have fallen in love with three of the characters, Eileen, Zipper and Alfie. All three have been searching for something that has eluded them. Will they find what they’re looking for? I hope you love them as much as I do.

E.Y.E. OF THE SCORPION Description:

EYE of the Scorpion front medWhen Eileen Edwards, a former-cop-turned-PI, is given the task to find a missing street kid named Zipper, she has no idea what she has let into her life. Not only did the boy witness a murder, he’s now being hunted by at least one motorcycle gang. Finding Zipper is the easy part; keeping him alive is the challenge.

As a killer prowls the streets of Vancouver looking for the kid, Eileen discovers that Zipper not only can’t remember what he saw, he’s also hiding a shocking secret. With the assistance of Constable Larry Norman from Eileen’s old Gang Task Force unit, she helps to expose a ruthless killer, and in the process, Eileen learns that sometimes one must let go of the past in order to move forward.

Here’s a sneak peek:

Chapter One

The Grim Reaper often came knocking when it was unexpected. That was something Eileen Edwards had figured out years ago. So when the phone on her desk rang at just after eight in the morning on Sunday, February 8th, she knew it wouldn’t be good news.

“Call from Law-ree Nor-man,” the androgynous call display voice told her.

Constable Larry Norman was a detective in Vancouver’s Gang Task Force—and her former partner.

Eileen picked up the phone and grimaced as a twinge of pain shot through her right hand. “Sorry I can’t come to the phone right now. Please leave your name and—”

“Really, Eileen? Is that the best you can do?”

“—after the beep. Beeeep.”

There was a slight pause. Then Larry said, “You done?”

She sighed and adjusted her reading glasses. “I hope this is a crank call.”

“I need a favor. I need you to find a street kid named Zipper.”

“You do know this is Family Day weekend and my first weekend off in forever.”

“But you’re already up and working anyway,” Larry said.

Eileen leaned back in the chair and glanced across the room. The white letters on the glass door of the office reminded her that E.Y.E. Spy Investigations had bills to pay. “How do you know? Maybe you woke me.”

Larry chuckled. “You’re in your office. I can hear your printer gasping for breath in the background.”

She glared at the hefty, aging machine that was busy groaning and vomiting up paper like Linda Blair puking up pea soup. Maybe the printer needed an exorcism. Papers scattered on the floor told her she’d forgotten to extend the catch tray again. Another sheet shot out, and she caught it before it hit the floor with the others.

“You know, you should really trade that antique in for a modern printer,” Larry said. “Maybe one built after 1990.”

“It works fine. Now what’s so important about this Zippy kid?”

“Zipper.”

“What did he do—kill someone?”

“No, the opposite. We think he witnessed a murder.”

Continue reading this mystery Qwickie at http://getBook.at/EYEScorpion

 Question for Readers: What do you think about Qwickies or novellas? Are there benefits to a shorter read?

*****

Born in Vancouver, BC, Cheryl Kaye Tardif is an international bestselling suspense author who currently resides in Kelowna, BC. Her most popular works include: CHILDREN OF THE FOG, SUBMERGED, DIVINE INTERVENTION, DIVINE JUSTICE, DIVINE SANCTUARY, THE RIVER and WHALE SONG. Represented by Trident Media Group, she is published by various publishers in the US, Canada, Germany, Turkey and China. Cheryl is also the owner of hybrid publishing company, Imajin Books.

http://www.cherylktardif.com

http://www.imajinbooks.com

http://www.imajinqwickies.com

THE BIG THRILL Interviews Kristina Stanley

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

For an exciting start to the new year, exciting for me anyway, THE BIG THRILL magazine published an interview of me.

THE BIG THRILL is published by The International Thriller Writers. It is an honorary society of authors, both fiction and nonfiction, who write books broadly classified as “thrillers.” This would include (but isn’t limited to) such subjects as murder mystery, detective, suspense, horror, supernatural, action, espionage, true crime, war, adventure, and myriad similar subject areas.

Here’s the start….

Blaze by Kristina Stanley

BLAZE CoverKristina Stanley, former director of security at a ski resort, is the author of the Stone Mountain Mystery Series.

She loves to write about remote locations, and living in North America, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean fired up her imagination, but it was after she moved to a small resort town that the transient community, consisting of people from all over the world, inspired her to write about the day-to-day drama of living in an isolated mountain resort.

In July 2015, Stanley published Descent, introducing readers to Kalin Thompson, a big-city woman who moves to Stone Mountain Resort hoping a drastic change to her life will help her recover from the death of her husband. She gets more change than she expected. Kalin arrives as the human resources manager and after only months on the job she’s thrown into the role of security director.

BLAZE is the second book in this series…

For the rest of the review head to THE BIG THRILL The online publication of international thriller writers.

For one more day only, DESCENT is on sale for 0.99 USD and BLAZE is on sale for 1.99 USD.

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Happy Holidays.

 

 

OTTAWA REVIEW OF BOOKS: DESCENT

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

The Ottawa Review of Books is dedicated to posting reviews on the best in established and emerging Canadian fiction writers. So lucky me, they reviewed DESCENT. Here’s a sneak peak of what Jim Napier had to say…

December 31, 2015

Reviewed by Jim Napier

Canadian writer Kristina Stanley has drawn on her personal experience for the latest in her Stone Mountain Mystery Series, Descent. The story follows Kalin Thompson, the head of human resources at a ski resort high in the mountains of British Columbia. Only four days earlier Tom Bennett, the director of security, had suffered a heart attack, and despite immediate medical care he died shortly afterwards. Impressed with Kalin’s handling of the situation the owner of the resort, Gavin Reed, calls her into his office and asks her to take over Bennett’s role.

Several world-class racing teams are at Stone Mountain training for upcoming competitions. A racer on one team, Steve McKenzie, ascends the hill to take a practice run. The surface is hard, making the speeds intentionally fast.  But on his way down one of his boots releases from its binding, and McKenzie crashes, his head slamming hard into the ice-packed surface…

For the rest of the review see:  The Ottawa Review of Books 

DESCENT is on sale for 0.99 USD for a short time only. BLAZE is on sale for 1.99 USD.

And don’t forget Imajin Books as all their books on sale for the holiday week.

paperback ebook sale 2015

Thanks for reading…

Happy New Year #Book #Sale

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 1 Comment

Happy New Year. We start our year at -25 degrees Celsius, which calls for more hiding by the fireplace. Even Farley wants to stay cozy at home.

We’ll wait until the sun comes over the peaks before heading out for a walk in the snow. Farley will wear booties to keep his paws from freezing.

Imajin Books are still on sale. Now is your chance to grab a copy of DESCENT at 0.99 USD and BLAZE at 1.99 USD. The sale ends soon.

eBook Sale 1

I wish you the best for 2016.

Thanks for reading…