Kristina Stanley

Two Questions For Choosing A Point Of View Character and Style

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 1 Comment

When writing a series, choosing both the point of view characters and point of view style are HUGE decisions an author must make.

AVALANCHE is the third book in the Stone Mountain Mystery Series and was released in June 2016. When I first started writing the series, I thought I was writing a standalone novel. Of course my characters took over, and now I have a series.

Early on, I decided to write in close third person from multiple points of view. Little did I know, that once I made that decision, I would have to stick to that for the rest of the series.

The second question in Top 3 Story Editing Questions For Fiction Writers was “Who has the point of view?”

Here are two questions to ask yourself when you begin your novel. And when you ask these questions of yourself, don’t assume you’ll be writing a standalone novel. You just never know.

1. Do you plan to switch POV characters?

If you’re going to have multiple POVs in your novel, it’s important to let your reader know this early on in the story.

It could be jarring for a reader to get half way through a novel, and the POV is ripped from underneath their feet and a new character steps in.

Changing POVs in the first few chapters will warn the reader this is your style, and hopefully, they’ll enjoy your book more. They’ll expect different characters to have their say, to drive the novel, and to provide surprises. They won’t get so attached to one POV character that they can’t bear the change and toss the novel aside.

2. What POV type will you choose?

When you choose the type of point of view to write from, consider what it will take to be consistent for an entire novel or several novels.

  • If you chose first person, do you stay in first person? Do you reference anything the first person character can’t possibly know?
  • For third person, are you writing third person, third person limited, or omniscient? Once you make the choice, it’s important to be consistent and only change the style if you make a conscious decision to do so.

For the second book in your series, follow the same POV pattern you used in the first. Your readers will expect a similar style and voice in the second and following books.

Books I’ve Read and Recommend on POV

The Power of Point of View by Alicia Rasley

Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card

Characters, Emotions and Viewpoint by Nancy Kress

How Fictionary Can Help You With POV Characters

If you’ve written your draft from multiple points of view, Fictionary will help you make sure you’re making the best use of the POV characters.

When thinking about which character should have the POV in each scene, ask yourself:

  1. Who is in the scene and who is just mentioned?
  2. Who is the best choice for the POV character for the scene?
  3. What is the POV character’s goal for the scene?

Who Is In The Scene?

In Fictionary, you can visualize who is in each scene and who is mentioned. Seeing your character names will help you decide if you’ve chosen the best POV character for the scene.

Who did you choose for a POV character and what is the goal?

Here is an example of how to answer these 3 questions using my novel DESCENT. The characters in the scene are shown above. The point of view character is Kalin Thompson (she’s also the protagonist), and her goal is to search the ski-tuning room.

Evaluate each scene to ensure the reader will understand the answers to the 3 questions. You can show, tell, or imply the answers. It’s up to you to find the right balance. The more important the event, the more you should show the reader what’s happening. The less important events can be told quickly, so the reader can move on to the good stuff.

Balance The Point Of View Characters

To help you visualize the balance of your POV characters, Fictionary shows you how many POV scenes each character has, the order they have the POV, and the percentage of POV scenes compared to other characters.

Below you can see Kalin Thompson has the most POV scenes (good because she’s the protagonist), Ben has the next (also good because he’s her love interest) and so on. The initials on the bottom show you the order. The green means a character has had 3 scenes in a row where he/she is the POV character.

Fictionary is a proud sponsor of the National Novel Writing Month Now What Months.

To encourage you to finish your novel and get published, we’ve partnered with FriesenPress and are hosting a contest together.

Grand Prize

One lifetime Fictionary subscription and a $1999 FriesenPress Publishing Package.

Additional Prizes

$200 annual Fictionary subscription for 3 lucky writers!

Check out the details and enter the contest.

Winners are chosen at random. No purchase necessary.

Entrants accepted until February 18th, 2018.

Ensure The Purpose of A Scene Is Engaging Your Readers

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 12 Comments

A great scene makes your reader feel an emotion.

What Is A Scene?

A scene is a section of your novel where a character or characters engage in action or dialogue. You can think of a scene as a story with a beginning, middle, and an end.

Usually, you’ll start a new scene when you change the point of view character, the setting, or the time. You may start a new scene if the scene your working on is too long to fit the structure of your manuscript.

Fictionary will take you through the process of evaluating each scene in your novel.

The Purpose of a Scene

The first question in my post Top 3 Story Editing Questions For Fiction Writers was “What is the purpose of a scene?”

I’d like to share my thoughts in more detail.

The purpose of the scene must relate to the overall story. If it’s not driving the story forward, then ask yourself what is the point of including the scene in your novel.

Here are some examples of the way the purpose of a scene can drive the story forward. You can choose one of these to define your purpose or come up with your own definitions.

  • Build suspense
  • Character development
  • Character Introduction
  • Climax
  • Establish mood
  • Establish setting
  • Inciting Incident
  • Intensify Conflict
  • Move the story forward
  • Plot point 1
  • Plot point 2
  • Resolution (after climax)

How Purpose Of A Scene Helps With Other Elements Of Fiction

I articulate the purpose of the scene early in my story editing, so I can address other elements of the scene and test if they are in line with the purpose.

Let’s say you fill out the list of objects in a scene. You can weigh the objects against the purpose of the scene and see if there is a way to use them to further the purpose. This goes for revelations, tension, conflict, weather, etc. Basically, every scene element can be tested against the scene purpose.

After you whittle down the purpose of a scene to a few words, one of three things will happen.

  1. You’ve got the purpose nailed, and you understand why this scene is included in your novel.
  2. You have a weak purpose, but there is still some value in the scene.
  3. You have no idea what the purpose is.

So you’ve got the purpose nailed. Yay! Move on to the next scene.

If the point of the scene is weak, see if you can take what is important in a scene and move it to another scene, then delete the weak scene. You can also enhance the scene to give it a stronger purpose.

If you can’t articulate the purpose of a scene, think about removing the scene.

 

The Fictionary Finish Your Novel Contest.

Fictionary FYNC

Fictionary is designed for the serious author who wants to produce a high-quality manuscript.

To encourage you to finish your novel and get published, we’ve partnered with FriesenPress and are hosting a contest together.

Grand Prize

One lifetime Fictionary subscription and a $1999 FriesenPress Publishing Package.

Additional Prizes

$200 annual Fictionary subscription for 3 lucky writers!

Check out the details and enter the contest.

Winners are chosen at random. No purchase necessary. Entrants accepted until February 18th, 2018.

Fictionary is a proud sponsor of the National Novel Writing Month Now What Months.

Ensure The Purpose of A Scene Is Engaging Your Readers

Farley’s Friday: Cookies at the Hardware Store

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Farley here,

Life is good. Not only am I welcome in the local hardware store, everyone talked me and told what a great dog I am! Seriously, at least 5 different people stopped to pet me.

Farley at Hardware Store (1)

Then when it was time to leave, this nice lady gave me a cookie.

And I didn’t have to do any tricks. I like her.

Woof Woof

Conquer Your Story Edit and Finish Your Novel (NaNoWriMo Guest Blog)

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

Conquer Your Story Edit and Finish Your Novel

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Fictionary, a 2018 “Now What?” sponsor, is a breakthrough tool for editing fiction. Today, author and Fictionary co-founder Kristina Stanley shares her editing expertise, as well as the details of the Fictionary Finish Your Novel Contest:

“Tell me a story!” your reader demands. “I want to feel happy, sad, frightened. Take me to a new world and make me care about what happens.”

That’s a big ask of a writer. How do you go from the first draft of your novel to a story that works and captures readers? Think about some of the best novels you’ve read. What do you remember?

Read More…

Mystery Mondays: 2018 Call For Authors

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 1 Comment

Promoting Reading – Promoting Authors

Mystery Mondays began in July 2015. Authors from many genres who write with a hint of mystery have told you about their books, answered your questions about writing, and shared their thoughts with you. Every Monday, you’ve be introduced to another author and maybe discovered someone you’re not familiar with.

Are you interested in guest blogging?

I am now accepting guest blog requests for 2018 starting on February 29th. If you’re interested contact me here.

If you’d like to participate, here’s what you need to qualify:

  • you are a published author – traditional or Indie or any other way that I don’t know about,

OR

  • you are about to publish and have a launch date within a week of blog post,

AND

  • you want to promote other authors and spread everyone’s successes,
  • you write novels with a hint of mystery,
  • you are willing to engage in the comments section when readers comment on your post.

All I ask from you is that you follow my blog, comment on author’s posts and help share via Twitter and Facebook.  If you’re interested send me a message via my contact page.

The Requitements:

You’ll have to send me your bio, back text of your novel, author photo and book cover.

I’d like you to write something about yourself, your novel, your research, a writing tip or a publishing tip. Please keep in mind I am a family friendly blog.

I do reserve the right to edit anything I think might be inappropriate for my audience, which I will discuss with you first. I think anything under 700 words is great, but it’s your book so up to you.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you and sharing your novel with the Internet world.

Mystery Mondays: Lisa de Nikolits on Chasing Her Muse

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

It’s always a pleasure to host Lisa de Nikolits on Mystery Mondays. Not only is she a Canadian author, her enthusiasm and happiness always comes through. She’s got a great story to share with you today.

Over to Lisa…

When the Muse Beckons, Chase Her!

by Lisa de Nikolits

My husband and I ended a rather harrowing 2017 with a lovely trip to Australia to visit my family. We finished the trip with four days in Auckland and it was all wonderful. The weather was great, it was marvellous to see my family – and I wrote thirty five thousand words of a new book!

I hadn’t planned on writing a thing. In fact, I had a few books with me; Wonder Valley by Ivy Pochon (who I had met at Bouchercon, we were fellow speed-daters), The Glass House by Louise Penny, Random by Craig Robertson (who I also met at Bouchercon), Now We Are Dead by Stuart MacBride and Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly.

I also planned on reading some Australian and New Zealand fiction. In particular, I wanted to read a bunch of short stories as I’m trying to hone my skills in this area.

But what happened was this… we drove up to Blueys Beach, which is a few hours north east of Sydney, in the Pacific Palms area. It’s a spectacular stretch of coastal scenery and there are three beaches, all very close to the house my sister rented for us; Blueys Beach, Boomerang Beach and Elizabeth Beach.

BoomerangBeach01

My sister (wisely) had decided we’d take the trip one week before all the schools let out and so the area was really quiet. So much so, that at certain times, we had the beaches to ourselves. And on the day that we went to Boomerang Beach, there was no one around at all.

And, just to mention how amazing the flora and fauna is in Australia! The birds shout and screech – Australian birds do not make pretty sounds – some of those guys sounded like they were throwing up! And the cicadas were a wild and noisy chorus in the trees, so there was a cocophonic clash of sounds coming from the blue gums trees.

And the Australian flora is so different to ours, it’s dry and yet it’s succulent, there are bursts of magenta bougainvillea flowers, and yellow flowers bigger than my hand, with bright red stamens, and there are palm trees of all kinds. The whole place is lush and dense and every time I visit, I marvel at it. And, despite the fact that I lived in Sydney and have been back five or six times since I left in 2000 to come to Canada, I never cease to admire the intensity. And, no matter how many times I visit, I always see it afresh and I’m always thinking about how to potentially use it in a story.

The Occult Persuasion and the Anarchist’s Solution, (which will be published by Inanna Publication in 2019), is set in Sydney and I thought I was done with using Australia as a location, but apparently not!

My husband and I walked up a steep hill to get to Boomerang Beach. Not a person was to be seen. We got to the beach entrance which was set high on a hill, it was a small opening set between two hedges. I had a stone in my shoe and I urged my husband to go ahead, I’d catch up. And, left alone, on the side of the road, I thought what if a bus came along now and offered me a ride? And what if I was an unhappily married woman who wanted to escape from my life – who would ever see me go? No one would see me. I would vanish into thin air. Hmmm… who was that woman and whose bus did she get into? A cult! What kind of cult? What kind of bus? Where were they going? Already the wheel of ideas was in full spin!

BoomerangBeach02

I left the road and walked down the steep, sandy stairs to get to the beach. Still, not a soul around. In front of me lay the most incredible beach of rocks and aqua waters, it was wild and magnificent with rock cliffs to the one side and a beach stretching for miles to the other. What rocks! Huge boulders with patches of rust of them, strange discolorations and striations, and there was a whole field of these alien-looking sculptures.

Hmm…. I thought again. And then, the husband could be accused of her murder! Wrongly, of course, but that could be great. The police might think that the husband did it by dashing her head on the rocks and throwing her into the waves. Come high tide, no one would be the wiser. And why would he kill her? Had she disgraced him? What was the story of dissent between them? So much to think about!

When we got back to the house, I got out my notebook, just to jot down a few ideas. But then I thought, no, don’t just write down the idea for the story, start writing the thing itself. You’re here now, you won’t recall the ideas with the same intensity that you have now.

As a result, I started writing and three notebooks later, I had what I thought was a respectable start to a story, of (I thought) about fifteen thousand words.

I wrote by hand. I had an iPad with me with a separate keyboard but I didn’t feel like typing. That would feel too much like being at work! But putting pen to paper, with the fantastic summer breeze blowing on me, that was relaxing and enjoyable! I wrote and wrote, waiting to run out of story but it didn’t happen! It was going so well that I wrote in the Auckland airport, waiting for the plane to come home and I wrote the whole way back, apart from one short sleep.

I had to input the story when I got home – I must admit, there are only two parts of the writing process I really dislike – inputting copy and updating self-edits from hard copy. I grumble a lot when I have to do it!

It took me a good week solid, to type the story in, but in the end, I had just under thirty five thousand words of an extremely weird story. I’d love to carry on writing it but first I have to finish my self edits to Rotten Peaches which will be coming out in Fall 2018. I hate to leave a story when it’s going so well but Rotten Peaches takes priority. I hope that my brain will use the time to keep working on Boomerang Beach in the background, and I’m going to trust that it will!

So you see, stories can pop up at any time in any place and I urge writers or would-be writers, that when the muse beckons, chase her! Chase her immediately because she can be fickle and even if you end up scribbling in poor handwriting, you’ll get a story!

Thank you for having me as guest today, Kristina and I hope your readers will have enjoyed the post!

 

 

Bio:

LisaNFLT01BWOriginally from South Africa, Lisa de Nikolits has lived in Canada since 2000. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Philosophy and has lived in the U.S.A., Australia and Britain. Lisa lives and writes in Toronto. Previous works include: The Hungry Mirror (2011 IPPY Awards Gold Medal for Women’s Issues Fiction and long-listed for a ReLit Award); West of Wawa (2012 IPPY Silver Medal Winner for Popular Fiction and a Chatelaine Editor’s Pick); A Glittering Chaos (tied to win the 2014 Silver IPPY for Popular Fiction); The Witchdoctor’s Bones launched in Spring 2014 to literary acclaim. Between The Cracks She Fell was reviewed by the Quill & Quire, was on the recommended reading lists for Open Book Toronto and 49th Shelf. Between The Cracks She Fell was also reviewed by Canadian Living magazine and called ‘a must-read book of 2015’. Between The Cracks She Fell won a Bronze IPPY Award 2016 for Contemporary Fiction. The Nearly Girl was published in 2016 and No Fury Like That was published in 2017, with Rotten Peaches coming in 2018 and The Occult Persuasion and the Anarchist’s Solution coming in 2019. All books by Inanna Publications.

“Lisa is the author of seven impressive novels, each of them marked by her wild creativity and memorable characters. No Fury Like That is a genre bending literary thriller, wickedly funny with a brainy narrative.”

– Open Book Toronto

Lisa has a short story in Postscripts To Darkness, Volume 6, 2015, and flash fiction and a short story in the debut issue of Maud.Lin House as well as poetry in the Canadian Women Studies Journal (Remembering, 2013, and Water, 2015). Her short stories have also appeared on Lynn Crosbie’s site, Hood and the Jellyfish Review. She has a short story coming out in the anthology PAC’HEAT, a Ms. Pac-Man noir collection and a short story in the Sisters In Crime anthology, November 2016, The Whole She-Bang 3. Lisa is a member of the Mesdames of Mayhem and has a short story in the antholgies Thirteen O’ Clock and Thirteen Claws.

 

No Fury Like That

NoFuryCoverLisa de Nikolits is one of my most fascinating discoveries of Canadian literature. Her writing is fresh and attractive, but deep in ideas and thoughtful provoking.

No Fury Like That is a brilliant psychological exploration of human soul questioning our certitudes about the world: De Nikolits knows how to combine the oppressive atmosphere of Beckett or Kafka with the contemporaneous form of the thriller-narrative, always with a touch of humor and sensibility. And of course, with an extraordinary capacity to capture the essence of human emotions. —Miguel Angel Hernandez, Escape Attempt

Don’t dismiss No Fury Like That as a light, entertaining read. There are nuances to Ms. de Nikolits’ writing that could be missed with such a viewpoint. This book is really about second chances that we may never get the first time around on our trek along Eternity’s Road.

—James Fisher, The Miramichi Reader 

Afraid to die? Worse is yet to come! Julia, a ruthless business woman, suddenly finds herself in Purgatory not remembering if she has died, or how. Left with no choice but to make friends with other lost souls, she never dreams she will not only become their saviour but also an avenger. In this brilliantly written book you will be holding your breath when Julia realises she should have made things all right at the primary crime scene where it all started – Earth. —Suzana Tratnik, author of Games with Greta

No Fury Like That is de Nikolits at her best. She has taken the question, “What if you had a second chance?” and has given her imagination free rein to answer it. The result is a novel full of colourful characters who grapple with their lives, their deaths, and what it is to be human. By the final page the reader has not only witnessed Julia Redner’s metamorphic journey, but has also taken a personal step forward. —Liz Bugg, author of the Calli Barnow Mystery Series

A smart, satisfying read that’s laced with humour, peopled with quirky characters and moves along at a fast clip. Readers will root for its plucky heroine, hoping she’ll get a shot at a second chance. Another spellbinder from Lisa de Nikolits! —Rosemary McCracken, author of the Pat Tierney mysteries.

Imagine if characters from The Devil Wears Prada got trapped in Sartre’s play No Exit, where ‘hell is other people’. —John Oughton, author of Triangulation.

 

Links:

https://www.inanna.ca/catalog/no-fury/ (Inanna Publications)

http://www.lisadenikolitswriter.com (Author website)

https://www.facebook.com/lisa.denikolits

https://www.facebook.com/lisadenikolitsauthor/

http://bit.ly/2AzDAf6 (Goodreads)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisadenikolits/

https://www.instagram.com/lisadenikolits/

https://mesdamesofmayhem.com

 

Mystery Mondays: Val Tobin on the value of Beta Readers

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 11 Comments

This week on Mystery Mondays, I’m thrilled to host author Val Tobin.  Val has a great process for working with beta readers and editors.  Over to Val…

The Value of Beta Readers

by Val Tobin

I recently came across some writers who don’t use beta readers or who limit their beta readers to one trusted person. This puzzles me. I value my beta readers. Not only do I have a core group I can send my manuscript to, but I always recruit one or two new readers each time.

In his book On Writing, Stephen King mentions he writes for an ideal reader: his wife. She’s the first one to read his work when he’s ready to open the office door and share his creation with another human being. He values her feedback and wouldn’t consider not having her input on the raw material.

In my case, my ideal reader is my mother. She’s always the first beta to read my manuscript. I don’t pass it along to anyone else until she’s read it through. While Mom isn’t a professional writer, she’s an avid reader, a creative personality, and a talented artist. When she gives me feedback, I listen carefully.

Some might wonder if she’s biased – I’m her kid, after all – but anyone who knows her knows she speaks her mind. Once the story has passed through the trial-by-Mom fire and survived, I can hand it out to other betas.

This list typically includes a professional novel writer or two; a friend with a PhD in psychology who used to be a prison guard, a parole officer, and an air force pilot (not in that order); a couple of avid readers; my sister, who has a degree in human biology; and any experts I might enlist.

The experts vary depending on what I’ve written, and they might read just a small section that pertains to their area of expertise. For example, The Experiencers includes a scene with a hypnotherapy session, so I asked a hypnotherapist to read that particular chapter and provide feedback. I wanted to make sure the scene was credible.

While I welcome and appreciate feedback from my betas, this isn’t writing by committee. Some of their suggestions don’t fit my story goals. What I look for in the high-level feedback is where readers get bored or where they sense something off. This lack could be in missing or extraneous scenes, incorrect pacing, faulty characterization, too sparse or too verbose description, vague setting, or off-key tone, but most readers won’t recognize that – they’ll simply point out the part that stalled them, and I’ll take it from there.

If multiple betas point out the same issue, then I will change it. This is why it’s important to me to have more than one beta reader. Sometimes one person might have an issue with something that others deem to be a strength. For example, a sex scene in A Ring of Truth was described as gratuitous by two betas but considered necessary by four others when I asked them specifically about the scene.

In my own mind, the scene was necessary. It served as a way to traumatize a character who had been cavalier about sex up until this point. The situation forced him to evaluate how he views women and relationships, but the revelations didn’t all come in a flood as soon as the scene occurred. He had to grow into the epiphanies. The trauma provided the impetus to change.

Could I have toned it down? Faded to black and still created the trauma? Sure, but it wouldn’t have had the same impact. When writing the scene, I tried to strike a balance between graphic and too subtle, but it had to provide at least a small visceral hit or the point would be lost.

In this instance, the scene remained as is until my editor got to it. He asked me to shorten it and I did. Someone reading with the eye of a professional editor carries more weight, and when he provided valid reasons to reduce the word count there, I made the modifications. The betas alerted me to the possible issue, I evaluated their feedback and made a judgement call, and my editor provided the professional-level feedback required to give it the final polish.

After its release, one reader who reviewed A Ring of Truth nailed the purpose of all the sex scenes in the story when he/she wrote “Sex is a weapon, a tool and a healing.” It’s gratifying when readers get it.

In my opinion, this illustrates exactly why beta readers are invaluable. They don’t exist to tell a writer what to do but to help a writer polish a story. When you’re the creator of the story, you’re too close to it. Readers will point out inconsistencies you miss. They provide an invaluable service, and those who volunteer are thrilled to be part of the process.

Who is Val Tobin?

val-tobin-author-profile-1000x667Val studied general arts at the University of Waterloo, then went to DeVry Toronto to get a diploma in Computer Information Systems. She worked in the computer industry as a software and Web developer for over ten years, during which time she started to get serious about energy work and the paranormal and occult.

In October 2004, Val became a certified Reiki Master/Teacher. She acquired ATP® certification in March 2008, in Kona, Hawaii from Doreen Virtue, PhD.

Val started work on a bachelor of science in parapsychic science from the American Institute of Holistic Theology in March of 2007 and received her degree in September 2010. After obtaining her master’s degree in parapsychology at AIHT, Val has set her sights on the PhD, which she’ll pursue as time and finances permit.

At the end of October 2008, Val returned to Kona, Hawaii to complete the Advanced ATP® training and in April 2010 to take the Spiritual Writing workshop and the Mediumship Certification class. Val wrote freelance for content site Suite101 and was Topic Editor for Paganism/Wicca and Webmaster Resources at Suite.

A published author, she contributed a story to Doreen Virtue’s Hay House book Angel Words. Her novels are available from various retailers in both e-book and paperback.

The Valiant Chronicles

box set 1x3 28nov2017Three Exciting Novels in one box set from Award-Winning Author Val Tobin:

The Experiencers

Not killing her might be the death of him.

Black-ops Assassin Michael Valiant questions his agency’s motives when he’s ordered to silence a group of UFO enthusiasts who look less like terrorists than they do housewives and nerds. Michael finds himself running for his life and dragging his intended target along with him.

Can he save them both, or will the Agency and the aliens find them first?

A Ring of Truth

Some heroes come disguised as monsters.

To ensure her daughter’s safety, Carolyn Fairchild has surrendered to the Agency and the aliens. In retaliation, Michael Valiant, Agency assassin, has gone rogue. He’s made his way to the Northwest Territories to find the alien base in the Valley of the Headless Men. But time is running out, and the abductees are scheduled to be terminated. Who will survive the rampage?

Earthbound

Nothing says bad day like waking up dead.

Who killed Jayden McQueen? Why? How?

In her quest to find answers, Jayden sets in motion events that propel humanity towards a future already written. But just because events appear inevitable doesn’t mean you shouldn’t fight them. Does it?

Earthbound is #23 on the 50 Best Indie Books 2017 Award list from ReadFreely.

Contact Information

Website: www.valtobin.com

Blog: bobandval.wordpress.com

Twitter: twitter.com/valandbob

Facebook: www.facebook.com/valtobinauthor/

Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/Val-Tobin/e/B00KC5S69K

Smashwords Author Page: www.smashwords.com/profile/view/valtobin

Farley’s Friday: Too Many Homes

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 11 Comments

Farley here,

Humans like to visit each other over the holidays and things get a little crazy.

Over two weeks, I lived in 5 different houses – and only one of them had a dog!

The best part – Kristina brings my dog bed everywhere, so I have somewhere soft to sleep. The extra treats from the families we visit are good too.

The worst part – I’m never sure if my humans are coming back when they leave me alone in a house. What if I they left me? I can’t believe they would, but it’s hard not to worry. I speak to Kristina with my eyes, sending her a message every time she goes somewhere, and so far it’s working. She knows to come back.

Any tips on how to ensure your human comes home?

We’ve finally settled again, and I got play time on the beach.

Farley On Beach

Like a faithful human, Kristina has brought me on all her travels.

Woof Woof.

P.S. Thanks to all those who asked about me. I was too busy traveling to write my posts.

Researching Tarot for Skeletons In The Attic by Judy Penz Sheluk

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

Judy Penz Sheluk on Tarot

Judy Penz ShelukIf you’ll pardon the pun, tarot was never in the cards when I began writing Skeletons in the Attic. I knew I’d have a protagonist, Calamity (Callie) Barnstable, who would be thrust into the position of finding out what happened when her mother disappeared thirty years earlier. I knew she’d be a fish out of water, a big city Toronto woman heading to Marketville, a town she described as the sort of place a family with two kids, a cat and a collie moved to. I even knew there was a scheming psychic, Misty Rivers, ready to take on Callie’s assignment if Callie turned it down. But my original thinking was more along the line of a crystal ball and tea leaves. Tarot? Not on the radar.

And then one day I walked into a quirky little gift shop attached to a large natural foods store. Among the crystals, crosses, and tie-dyed t-shirts there was a section on tarot. I found myself inexplicably drawn to the vibrant images on the Rider-Waite deck. What can I say? I walked out of the store that day with a deck of tarot cards and a book on how to read them, followed by countless trips to my local library to find out more. [Readers of Skeletons might recognize the setting of the gift shop in the book; in the novel it’s called Sun, Moon & Stars, a fictitious name.]

To say that I was naïve might be putting a gloss on things. Several sample readings, online research and how-to books later, I was no further to being an accomplished tarot card reader than I was ready to become an astronaut.

And that’s when I knew it would work. While searching the house she inherited from her father, Callie would find five tarot cards, and those cards, in addition to a basic understanding of the principles behind them, would be a matter of individual interpretation.

If you’re the curious sort (and if you read mysteries, you must be), these are the cards that Callie found:

Tarot1) III: The Empress

2) IV: The Emperor

3) VI: The Lovers

4) The Three of Swords

5) XIII: Death

What did they mean, and how do they impact Callie’s investigation? Ah…you’ll have to read (or listen) to the book to find out. The good news is it’s available in all e-book formats (Kindle, Kobo, Nook, GooglePlay, iBooks), trade paperback, and audiobook. Now go ahead, and pick a card… any card…

 

Skeletons CoverWhat goes on behind closed doors doesn’t always stay there…

 

Calamity (Callie) Barnstable isn’t surprised to learn she’s the sole beneficiary of her late father’s estate, though she is shocked to discover she has inherited a house in the town of Marketville—a house she didn’t know existed. However, there are conditions attached to Callie’s inheritance: she must move to Marketville, live in the house, and solve her mother’s murder.

Callie’s not keen on dredging up a thirty-year-old mystery, but if she doesn’t do it, there’s a scheming psychic named Misty Rivers who is more than happy to expose the Barnstable family secrets. Determined to thwart Misty and fulfill her father’s wishes, Callie accepts the challenge. But is she ready to face the skeletons hidden in the attic?

 

Find out more about Judy and her books at http://www.judypenzsheluk.com.

 

Find the book at all the usual suspects, including the publisher, Barking Rain Press.

 

Mystery Mondays: “Not Your Typical Christmas Story” by Author Debra Purdy Kong

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

Today we host Debra Purdy Kong. Debra’s new Evan Dunstan mystery novella, A Toxic Craft  is out, and I’ve already bought it. The first in the Evan Dunstan series is Dead Man Floating  which I loved, so I couldn’t wait for the second in the series to come be released.

Here’s the exciting news. Both books are on sale right now by Imajin Books! Give yourself a Christmas preset 🙂

Now, over to Debra…

Not Your Typical Christmas Story.

by Debra Purdy Kong

Two of my favorite Christmas movies are A Christmas Story and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Both moves portray the funnier aspects of pre-Christmas angst and obstacles until the big day arrives and everything turns out okay.

Although our family’s Christmas trees never caught fire as it does in Christmas Vacation, they did fall over a few times when we owned a lot of cats. My father eventually learned to anchor the tree to the wall. We also had our share of more serious Christmas troubles, but things did turn out okay, for the most part.

I wasn’t thinking of past Christmas challenges or those movies when I came up with the idea for my second Evan Dunstan mystery novella, A Toxic Craft. In fact, it wasn’t until I’d finished the final edits that I fully realized how much I’m drawn to Christmas fun and silliness.

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000447_00049]

In this second novella, Evan’s feisty grandmother is in charge of a seniors’ Christmas craft fair, being held at the campus where Evan works as a security guard. Things don’t run smoothly as the rivalry between her friend Flo and another knitter, Cora, threatens to become violent. It’s up to Evan to keep things under control. But he soon learns that those seniors have secrets and spicier lives than he thought possible. It’s almost more than he can deal with, particularly when those he cares about might be covering up a crime.

Does a Christmas tree catch fire in A Toxic Craft? Well, like any Christmas package, it’s Imajin Dead Man Floating Qwickiebest to open it and find out what’s inside! To that end, both A TOXIC CRAFT and Evan’s first adventure DEAD MAN FLOATING, are now on sale for only $.99 on Amazon! You can find them at:

http://getBook.at/AToxicCraft
myBook.to/DEADMANFLOATING

Thank you, and Happy Holidays to all!

Who Is Debra Purdy Kong?
Debra Purdy Kong, 2016

Debra Purdy Kong’s volunteer experiences, criminology diploma, and various jobs, inspired her to write mysteries set in BC’s Lower Mainland. Her employment as a campus security patrol and communications officer provide the background for her Evan Dunstan mysteries, as well as her Casey Holland transit security novels.

Debra has published short stories in a variety of genres as well as personal essays, and articles for publications such as Chicken Soup for the Bride’s Soul, B.C. Parent Magazine, and The Vancouver Sun. She assists as a facilitator for the Creative Writing Program through Port Moody Recreation, and has presented workshops and talks for organizations that include Mensa and Beta Sigma Phi. She is a long-time member of Crime Writers of Canada.

Look for her blog at http://writetype.blogspot.ca More information about Debra and her books is at www.debrapurdykong.com You can also find her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DebraPurdyKong & Facebook: www.facebook.com/debra.purdykong

Be the first to know when Debra Purdy Kong’s next book is available! Follow Debra at https://www.bookbub.com/authors/debra-purdy-kong to receive new release and discount alerts.”