Kindness counts… ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author http://www.4writersandreaders.com
I’m honored to welcome guest author Kim Cox who is here today to tell us about her new book. She’ll also give us insight into writing a series. Read on to find out all about it and discover how to enter Kim’s giveaway to win a gift card or eBook, too! ~Bette A. Stevens http://www.4writersandreaders.com
Writing the Series: Style & Profile
Books so far: ALL THIS TIME and BEFORE WE WED, and coming in 2018, FOR THE DEFENSE
ALL THIS TIME, book one, was supposed to be a stand-alone, simple marriage of convenience, best friends, short contemporary romance. I’m not sure why but I can’t write a book in just one genre thus the romantic suspense and paranormal mystery books I’ve written. Short stories, yes, I can make it happen, but it just doesn’t happen in my novels. At least, not so far. I have a couple of other romance books in mind, so we’ll see what the future holds on that score.
The first book has four strong female characters and somewhere near the end of writing book one, I decided to make it a series, giving two of the other females their own books. Since Sarah started dating Jon near the end of book one, she was chosen for the next book. However, I came up with the storyline for book three before book two’s story came to me.
Before I could write book two, BEFORE WE WED, I had to figure out the storyline for these two characters. Normally, for me, the story comes to me first and then I find my characters. The reason it came to me the other way this time was because I was using characters from the first book.
So, the what ifs started. Jon Clayton owned a body shop so what if he’s arrested for some type of crime. What type of crime could he be involved in? He owned an auto shop, so what about letting him get arrested for stealing stolen goods and running a chop shop (slang for stealing cars or car parts and selling them off).
Okay, I do watch a lot of cop shows but this came from someone I knew once who was arrested for this. I didn’t know him personally or well, but he was the dad of a girl I went to school with. I remember how devastated she and her family was over his arrest. They’d had no idea.
Then I had to come up with where to start the book. Then I thought how awful it would be if they were getting married when he was arrested. After that was decided, the title of BEFORE WE WED just came to me.
Book 3, FOR THE DEFENSE is Lynsi Patterson’s and Jaxon Montgomery’s story. They first meet in book 2 when Lynsi finds a lawyer to represent Jon. The storyline for this story came from a news article I read about a woman who’d been wrongly incarcerated for something like twenty years, but was being released because a witness, one that’s testimony convicted her, was found to have lied about everything. It came out after the witness died that she’d lied.
So, I thought, what if there was more of a reason than someone lying but there was someone who’d paid her to lie and who didn’t want the truth coming out. This someone is willing to do what it takes to keep the secret, even murder again.
Now I’m thinking about writing two more books in this series, sort of spin offs from book two. One of the two books would be about Kate and Liam Roberts’ witness protection. The other would be Kara Martin Lewis (Sarah’s twin) finding love again and her small Georgia inn. I haven’t made up my mind yet, so stay tuned.
I have so many books I want to write that I’m not sure I’ll have time to write the others already planned and write those two new ideas that came to me recently while writing BEFORE WE WED.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Just as Sarah Martin and Jon Clayton say their vows, the police crash the wedding to arrest the groom. Jon is terrified and Sarah is heartbroken. Thankfully, their friends support them emotionally and help find Jon an excellent attorney.
When evidence of John’s guilt is found, he swears he’s innocent. But how can he prove it? As if an arrest and pending trial aren’t bad enough, his ex-wife refuses to let him near their seven-year-old son, and has their shared custody agreement rescinded as part of his bail agreement. But when Jon-Jon is injured, Jon breaks the agreement and his bail is revoked.
Sarah sees strange men in Jon’s business one night. One follows her home and attacks her. When Jon finds out, he pushes her way to protect her, but it doesn’t deter her loyalty to him or the attacker’s determination to killer her. Will the enemy get to her?
Is Jon truly innocent, and does he have no idea how the damaging evidence found its way into his business? Are there more sinister people involved? Will Sarah find the evidence she needs to clear him, or will she find out he’s fooled them all? If someone else is framing Jon, who is it and what are their motives?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An author of Mystery, Suspense, Paranormal, and Romance, Kim Cox lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with her chainsaw artist husband, their West Highland White Terriers, (Scooter and Harley) and an adopted Yorkie/Maltese mix (Candi). She’s also a mother and grandmother.
Kim is published in novels, short stories and articles. Her published works consist of Romantic Suspense Novels, a Paranormal Mystery series, and short stories.
Besides writing, cover design, and publishing, Kim presently works a full-time position outside the home as MIS Specialist for a Workforce Development company.
She is a graduate of Writer’s Digest’s Writing to Sell Fiction and NRI’s Fiction Writing, and has associate degrees in the fields of Office Systems Technology and Web Technologies.
Go to Kim’s Readers List and visit her at the following sites:
- Website: http://www.kimcoxauthor.com
- Blogs: Kim’s Musings, Kim’s Author Support Page
Social Media locations:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimcoxauthor
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/KimCoxAuthor
- Google: https://plus.google.com/+KimCoxAuthor/posts
- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/kimcox
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kimwrtr/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimwrtr
Follow the tour:
https://4willspublishing.wordpress.com/upcoming-events/style-profile-blog-tour-kimcoxauthor-rrbc/
“Kim is hosting a giveaway, where FIVE lucky winners will receive one of the following prizes: (1) ebook copy of “ALL THIS TIME” and a $10 Amazon Gift Card or (4) ebook copy of ALL THIS TIME.”
“To enter Kim’s giveaway, simply leave a comment anywhere along the tour!”
“The tour sponsored by 4WillsPublishing.wordpress.com.”
[Explore Bette’s Blog]
I’ve just finished reading Mae Clair’s mystery “Eclipse Lake” and have Sally Cronin’s story collection “What’s in a Name?” on my TBR. You’ll want to heck out these awesome authors and get reading! ~Bette A. Stevens http://www.4writersandreaders.com
I usually read in bed at night and pass out after one or two chapters. One book can easily take a whole month to read. Not so while on vacation. Here are two more reviews of blogger books that I read during my trip to Colorado. Enjoy.
Eclipse Lake
by Mae Clair
A blend of mystery and romance with strong characters.
Eclipse Lake is one part cozy mystery and one part romance. The story focuses on Dane Carlisle, a teenage lost-cause who grew up and turned his life around to become a multi-millionaire. He returns to his hometown with his adopted son, hoping to make amends with his older brother. But memories of the teenage Dane persist, and the discovery of an old skull raises more suspicions about his past. Set against Dane’s dark history and the current turmoil is his fairytale romance with a spunky photo-journalist who’s in town shooting pictures…
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Dog Bone Soup by Bette A. Stevens
06
27
17
New review for DOG BONE SOUP!
Thanks to talented author Cathleen Townsend for a lovely surprise! By the way, friends, DOG BONE SOUP is currently on sale for only 99c/99p thru June 30, 2017 ~Bette A. Stevens http://www.4writersandreaders.com
Dog bone soup was the meal Shawn hated most at his house. Not only because the soup was weak and thin, but because they had to eat like this to put money away. And they had to hide it, too, since if Shawn’s dad got wind of it, he’d take it and blow it on liquor and women.
Shawn worked whenever he could, after school, Saturdays, and summers. His mom worked any housecleaning job she could find, too, and it still wasn’t enough for them to shake the specter of poverty that haunted them and made them a mockery in town. No matter that they were hard-working and sober. Shawn’s drunken father, in and out of trouble, made Shawn a constant target for derision at school.
This is a classic coming-of-age story, about a young man searching for a way to escape his home town. You can read the Look…
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PURE TRASH (Historical Fiction) by Bette A. Stevens
#FREE eBook June 27 through July 1, 2017
Grab a copy of this must-read prequel to the author’s novel DOG BONE SOUP today at Your Amazon http://amzn.to/1T5tMAZ today!
From the Reviews
Pure Trash—A Nostalgic Gem!
“A nostalgic gem – I was swept away from the first paragraph and thoroughly enjoyed this skillfully written short story. This author knows how to paint mind-pictures and flavour them with taste, smell, and sound.” ~WJ Scott, Children’s Author, Fairy Dust.
A Compelling Story
Book summary
PURE TRASH (Historical Fiction/Ages 10-adult) In this short story adventure set in New England in the 1950s, two young boys set out on a Saturday adventure you won’t want to miss! Experience the joy of a carefree Saturday and the blistering pain of feeling not quite good enough as you hop on a bike and ride into town with two delightful young boys who find adventure at every turn. Shawn and Willie Daniels live in the woods with no indoor water or plumbing. Dad spends most of his hard-earned money on beer. Prejudice, class division, alcoholism, poverty, injustice, and bullying are cleverly woven into this 1950s adventure short. PURE TRASH is the short story prequel to DOG BONE SOUP, Stevens’s début novel DOG BONE SOUP.
About the author
Inspired by nature and human nature, author Bette A. Stevens is a retired elementary and middle school teacher, a wife, mother of two and grandmother of five. Stevens lives in Central Maine with her husband on their 37-acre farmstead where she enjoys reading, writing, gardening, walking and reveling in the beauty of nature. She advocates for children and families, for childhood literacy and for the conservation of monarch butterflies—an endangered species (and for milkweed, the only plant that monarch caterpillars will eat).
Stevens is the author of AMAZING MATILDA, an award-winning picture book; The Tangram Zoo and Word Puzzles Too!, a home/school resource incorporating hands-on math and writing; and PURE TRASH, the short story prequel to her début novel, DOG BONE SOUP—coming-of-age story and family drama set in 1950s and 60s New England.
- FIND more of Bette’s Books at http://www.Amazon.com/author/betteastevens
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Book Promo – DOG BONE SOUP by Bette A. Stevens – ONLY 99¢ / 99p for a Limited Time
True-to-life Americana
“DOG BONE SOUP is a fascinating literary study of poverty and family dysfunction in the 1950s & 1960s. It is written in a fast-flowing, entertaining style that kept my turning pages, one after another.
“Despite the odds stacked against them, two brothers—Shawn Daniels and Willie—manage to survive, escaping the rants of a drunken abusive father and the hardships of rural life, cutting out on daily adventures and misadventures to the likes of Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry. DOG BONE SOUP is about making the best of what you have. It’s a story about survival, struggle, and the human spirit—rising above it all. As with all great literature, it is underscored with life lessons particularly memorable to this generation…” –Frank Scozzari, author
Grab a copy today!
DOG BONE SOUP by Bette A. Stevens
Literary/General Fiction
Sale dates through June 30, 2017
Sale price of book: $0.99 (Regularly $3.99)
BUY THE BOOK
- DOG BONE SOUP on YOUR AMAZON http://bit.ly/1HGpCsZ
About the author
Inspired by nature and human nature, author Bette A. Stevens is a retired elementary and middle school teacher, a wife, mother of two and grandmother of five. Stevens lives in Central Maine with her husband on their 37-acre farmstead where she enjoys reading, writing, gardening, walking and reveling in the beauty of nature. She advocates for children and families, for childhood literacy and for the conservation of monarch butterflies—an endangered species (and for milkweed, the only plant that monarch caterpillars will eat).
Stevens is the author of AMAZING MATILDA, an award-winning picture book; The Tangram Zoo and Word Puzzles Too!, a home/school resource incorporating hands-on math and writing; and PURE TRASH, the short story prequel to her début novel, DOG BONE SOUP, a Boomer’s coming-of-age story set in 1950s and 60s New England.
- Find out more about the author and her books at http://viewauthor.at/BetteAStevens
Thanks for purchasing, reading and reviewing DOG BONE SOUP; and for sharing this Book Promo post for DOG BONE SOUP on your media sites.
“MEET THE AUTHORS”
Authors Richard Rensberry (GOBLIN’S GOOP ) and Mary Rensberry (I AM SPIRIT, the ABCs of an Ideal Spirit) are with us today to share a bit of their personal story and to tell us about their latest books. So, let’s get ready to meet the authors! ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author http://www.4writersandreaders.com
Welcome Richard and Mary Rensberry. It’s a pleasure to have you with us today. Tell us a little about your family life how it fits into your writing life.
Our lives have always been rooted deep in family. I was one of nine children born and raised on a farm in Northern Michigan. I am an uncle, great uncle and great, great uncle many times over. Mary was born and raised in Texas in the city and also on a ranch in the country. She is the mother of two morally sound and positive adult children. Family values was one of the integral connections that brought Mary and I together. We now have three thriving grandchildren and can’t wait for more. Both of us believe that strong family values is one of the major driving forces in building strong and ethical communities. You will find strength of family inherently woven throughout our collaborative children’s books as well as our own individually authored books.
How long have you been writing and how do you work together OR do you?
I (Richard) began writing at the age of twelve and had created my first poetry chapbook by the age of fourteen. Later in life my poetry appeared in small journals like the Midwest Poetry Review and Touchstone Press. In 2013, Mary and I formed QuickTurtle Books®. We have since collaborated on writing and publishing several children’s books as well as offering editorial advice on each other’s independent works. Both of us value and respect each other’s critical input and helpful insight. Mary is definitely my muse and inspiration. For her, I am her editor and often times, color coordinator. She knows how to work the internet more than I and I know how the smaller parts fit into the whole, if that makes sense.
While we are both authors, passionate about writing, we draw from different backgrounds for the materials in our books. Mary’s background for years was teaching children and she tucked away her desire to write so that she could help others with the basics of learning. Her writing career began around 2009 with ideas of writing followed by a book self-published on Blurb entitled, Fowl Art in 2010 then Listen: Listen to YourSelf in 2011. So Mary has been writing for a shorter length of time but is definitely just as passionate about the works we do not only together but on her own.
Can you give us a brief synopsis of the books we are featuring today?
Mary’s current book, I AM SPIRIT, the ABCs of an Ideal Spirit, made its début the first of this year. It is about being “spirit-filled”and the capabilities and potentialities we all have as the divine lives within us. This was written on the heels of Christmas Christmas Everyday published in 2016 for children of all ages with the simple message that giving and sharing can be done each and every day of the year and not only during the Christmas season. Mary is actively following up the Everyday Series book with a children’s version of I AM SPIRIT for 6-9 year olds due to be out in less than a year.
Mary was prompted to write I AM SPIRIT, a spiritual book with universal messages, due to the prevalent attitude in society that we are at the effect of life itself, that we are only a body. She adheres to the viewpoint that television and the media have capitalized on this erroneous idea of being a body with their prescription drug advertisements, sexual innuendoes & escapades, all materialistic in nature.
My brand new children’s picture book GOBLIN’S GOOP is a modern-day take on the Battle of Jericho. It is an environmentally friendly book swarming with bugs and goblins from the Evil Empire of Monsanto. Like most of our children’s books, GOBLIN’S GOOP, is thoughtfully illustrated and written in verse and rhyme. It is for children five years old and a bit older. Mary formulated the idea and I ran with it, being prompted by the GMO grains that have polluted our organic seed bank even here in the Amish Country. I guess I should add that adults should and could benefit greatly by reading it, too.
Can you give us a favorite line from each of the books?
A favorite line from Mary’s book I AM SPIRIT, would be “I AM observant,”
This line is chosen out of the 26 simple messages because ‘LOOKING’ and being observant is a lost art in today’s world. People see what they want to see verses what is really out there in the environment. When you are able to really look and confront the environment, then that ’s when something can be done about it.
One of my favorite couplets from Goblin’s Goop, is “Crickets came screeching with fiddles and bows. Mosquitoes came blowing their notable nose.”
The rest of the book follows the same lively pattern and rhyme.
What’s the hardest part about writing?
The hardest part for Mary is writing words upon words. She likes a simple message as life to her is simple and can be put down in simple language. Other than that…the hardest part about writing is the marketing aspect. It is difficult to get our books in front of enough people to create the effects we are trying to create. This interview is an opportunity and promotional avenue to help do so and we thank you, Bette and the readers, for the privilege to be here.
How can readers get copies of your books?
Readers can find and get copies of all our books from Amazon by just typing one of our names into the search box. Links to our books are also available at: http://richardrensberry.com and http://maryrensberry.wordpress.com. Autographed copies can also be ordered directly from us by contracting us at: maryandrichard@quickturtlebooks.com
What’s the best piece of advice you can give to new authors?
The best piece of advice we can give to new and unknown authors is to understand that writing is just a small part of being a successful author. We write for about three months out of the year and the remainder of the year is spent on the marketing and technical aspects of the business. Be prepared for not being well enough prepared to sell your books.
The best piece of advice Mary can give to new authors is don’t give up: Be persistent. Find out what you are passionate about and then find the audience for the topic being written about. Develop relationships with your family, friends, and those online, too.
What’s next on the agenda for authors Richard and Mary Rensberry?
I just completed my new adult travel book called CITY SLICKER’S GUIDE TO THE AMISH COUNTRY. It is a look into the nature and commerce of North Eastern Michigan’s Amish Country of Fairview, Comins and Mio, our home. I am currently at work on a new children’s book about the AuSable Railroad built and operated locally by a couple just down the road. I am seeking the help of a local illustrator to begin the project. We are also looking for someone to take over the marketing aspect of our projects.
What’s next for Mary is putting I AM SPIRIT into paperback and Kindle format while continuing with the children’s book on that subject. Look for our latest books at the beginning of 2018.
Richard and Mary, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you better and to learn more about your writing and your books. It’s been a pleasure!
FIND THE BOOKS
- I AM SPIRIT, the ABCs of an Ideal Spirit https://www.amazon.com/Am-Spirit-ABCs-Ideal/dp/1940736218
- GOBLIN’S GOOP https://www.amazon.com/Goblins-Goop-Mr-Richard-Rensberry/dp/1940736226
[Explore Bette’s Blog]
LOVE is what it’s all about… Keep shining! ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author http://www.4writersandreaders.com
So very happy! ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author http://www.4writersandreaders.com
Bette A. Stevens, Maine Author 
Written
on 07/01/2017