A romance / mystery writer asks, “Have you spoken to the voices in your head recently?”

Hi all, I'm Reggi Allder a writer of romantic suspense and contemporary novels. Today I'm happy to introduce guest blogger Lois Winston. Lois writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, and non-fiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name.

Have You Spoken to the Voices in Your Head Recently? by Lois Winston

With apologies to Rick Castle, there are two kinds of folk who sit around listening to the voices in their heads—schizophrenics and mystery writers. I’m the kind that doesn’t talk back. Usually.

I say usually because every once in a while it becomes necessary for me to argue with one of those voices, otherwise known as my characters. They can be very demanding. If they don’t like the direction I’ve taken a story, they let me know—quite vociferously. I’ll be sitting at my computer, typing away, when all of a sudden my heroine will absolutely, positively refuse to take part in the next scene. As a matter of fact, she’ll most likely stamp her foot down so hard that she gives me both a whopping headache and a royal pain in my butt.

When this happens, I have no choice but to listen. You see, the problem with those voices in my head is that they’re unionized. If one refuses to budge, they all line up in solidarity, effectively shutting down my muse. Not listening means staring at a blinking cursor for hours on end. Since the blinking cursor is the bane of any writer’s existence, it behooves me to pay attention when the voices threaten to go on strike.

So there I was the other day, forced to listen to my heroine as she tossed one monkey wrench after another into my plot. “You’re taking the easy way out,” she screamed at me. “I demand more conflict! Another red herring! One more plot twist!”

When I’m doing something wrong, my characters are not shy about letting me know it. They’re the little niggle of doubt that erupts into a giant roar when I ignore them and keep traveling down the wrong plot road. But sometimes I can be just as stubborn because I think I know better, and I’ll start arguing. Big mistake. They outnumber me, so they’re a lot louder. Eventually I have no recourse but to give in and write the story their way.

That’s when I hear, “You’ll thank us in the end.”

And you know what? They’re always right.

Lost in Manhattan

by Lois Winston, writing as Emma Carlyle

One by one members of the Montgomery family have died in tragic accidents. Photographer Sarah Montgomery is the last surviving member of the aeronautics dynasty. After the death of her beloved grandfather, she accepts the fact that her husband never loved her and initiates divorce proceeding. On the way home from the lawyer’s office, Sarah is hit by a cab. Days later she awakens in the hospital and has no idea who she is.

Industrialist Trent Caldwell harbors guilt over his wife’s death. A passenger in the cab that struck Sarah, he now feels responsible for her injuries. When no one steps forward to identify the woman in the hospital, he arranges for his housekeeper to care for her in his home. Seeing in Sarah someone who just might draw Trent out of the darkness he’s succumbed to since his wife’s death, she sets about playing matchmaker.

But the Montgomery family deaths weren’t accidents. Someone harbors a deadly secret and using skills perfected as a youthful IRA operative, has systematically eliminated the family out of a need for revenge. Realizing Sarah’s true identity, the assassin now has one more kill to make in order to fulfill a promise made long ago.

Buy Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008P0B8M6/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B008P0B8M6&linkCode=as2&tag=loiswins-20

Barnes & Noble:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lost-in-manhattan-emma-carlyle/1112253135?ean=2940015020359

Kobo:http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/Lost-in-Manhattan/txhEy9lUqU-8pkLPvGmw0g?MixID=txhEy9lUqU-8pkLPvGmw0g&PageNumber=1&s=RSJXfV58HkW9QkK3GDRgIA&r=2

iTunes:https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lost-in-manhattan/id847640726?mt=11

Bio:

Award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, and non-fiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry.Visit Lois/Emma at www.loiswinston.com and Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog, www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com. Follow everyone on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Anasleuth.



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If you like strong males, determined women, mystery and romance
please check out my books on Amazon

Money Power and Poison  
Be careful what you wish for. You might get it.   

Shattered Rules 
Does love always deserve a second chance? 

Romance Books to Read at the Beach + 5 Safety Tips for Protection from the Sun

               Looking for a summer love? How about a classic romance?

When you hit the beach or the shore bring a book with you. Here are five great classic romance novels available in print or as eBooks. Let them take you away from the world of responsibly and transport you to a place far away from everyday life. 

    Tell me No Lies by Elizabeth Lowell published 1986. Priceless artifacts are smuggled from China into the U.S. An international crisis is brewing and a thief must be caught. One woman is the key to understanding the events. If you like this book try Lowell’s series Amber Beach, Jade Island and Pearl Cove. As a writer of romantic suspense I enjoyed these books. Hot.   
  
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon published 1991 and published in the U.K. under the title “Cross Stitch. Plot? This book is too long for a synopsis. I’ll just say it’s a great read, 20^th century, 18^th century, Scotland, historical romance, science fiction; it's one of the best.
 
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen published 1813. This tells the story of the Bennet family, the father, a country gentleman, his wife and five daughters. Each daughter needs a suitable husband. The main character is Elizabeth Bennet. As the book opens an appropriate gentleman moves nearby and the excitement begins. Read this book and understand why readers love Mr. Darcy. Sweet.

  
 Jane Ayre by Charlotte Brontë published 1847. This book follows Jane from childhood to her life as a governess at Thornfield Hall with its dark secrets and her relationship with the mysterious Mr. Rochester. I first read this in high school and still love it. Sweet.

  
 Gone with the Wind by Margret Mitchell Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel.  A southern bell struggles during the time of the US civil war in the 1860’s. This is also a great 1938 movie. I plan to read this book for the first time this summer. Sweet.

5 Summer Safety Tips

1. Stay out of the sun during the hottest time of the day 10 am to 4 pm.

2. Wear sun block and reapply every few hours or if you go into the water.

3. Do not use sun block on babies under six month of age and keep the babies in the shade

4. Remember to protect your eyes from the sun. If you use sun glasses be sure they are UV protected and if you can wear a hat.

5. Drink lots of water to stay hydrated.

Hope you will check out my books on Amazon.

Money Power and Poison Can love win against the odds?

 

ShatteredRules Does love always deserve a second chance?

www.reggiallder.com

Come back next week when I will have guest blogger.    

Please leave a comment and tell me your favorite romance novel.

Romance, Jane Austen and My Favorite Teacher

 On vacation this week. See you again on June 11th. Thanks
Hi, I'm a writer of romantic suspense and contemporary romance, please share this blog with your friends and follow me. Thanks.

My work in progress has a teacher as one of the main characters. That got me thinking about my high school English teacher. I had moved to a new school and didn’t know any of the faculty. I’d have avoided this man had I known he was considered tough and gave lots of homework. Everyone said he had no sense of humor, never smiled and was to be avoided at all cost. But I learned that too late. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss. : )

In a day of long haired, casually dressed teachers, he wore his hair in a buzz cut and always dressed in a white dress shirt, bow tie and sports jacket and slacks. His shoes looked military with a spit polish shine that glistened in the overhead electric light. An ageless man, he wasn’t young or old.

During class he rarely looked directly at us. While he lectured, he paced back and forth in front of the room his head down and his hands clasped behind him. That whole year, I don’t remember him smiling. The kids were right about that and he did assign mega homework.

When he spoke about the novels he assigned there was fire in his voice and a depth of enthusiasm that was contagious. He talked about the plot and the feelings of the characters as if they were real. Even kids who didn’t like to read got caught up in the emotion. As we discussed the books he gave us a chance to express our ideas, even unpopular ones. I was surprised that kids who never spoke up in class were taking part by the middle of the year. He never suggested our opinions were wrong or right only that we should respect other opinions.

The two of the books he had us read stick in my mind even today. Cry the Beloved Country by South African author Alan Paton published in New York City in 1948 is a story about Apartheid life in South Africa back in the day. At seventeen I was faced with issues I wasn’t aware existed until that book. I remember it sparked lively uncensored debate in the classroom and I heard the name of Nelson Mandela for the first time.

The other book needs no introduction for any romance reader, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen January 1813. My very male English teacher wanted us to read Jane Austen. He didn’t think of her as a romance writer but as an observer of society of her day and that’s true. Though the love stories in her novels can’t be denied and I could argue that it's the reason her books still sell today. Of course I fell madly in love with her novels and read as many as I could get my hands on. But Pride and Prejudice is still my favorite.

Even now I think it strange that a gruff, unsmiling man would be the person to introduce me to Jane Austen. I wonder if he was as bad-tempered as he seemed. Did he have a softer side he hid from teenagers? Whether he did not, I’m grateful to him. Who knows how long it would have been before I discovered the Jane Austen without him. I hope he knew he made an indelible impression on me and the rest of the class.

Jane Austen’s books are still available. Her other novels include among others:

Sense & Sensibility

Persuasion

Northanger Abbey

Hollywood has made many films about teachers and the school experience. Check out these classics:

Stand and Deliver 1988

Staring Edward James Olmos, Lou Diamond Phillips, Estelle Harris.

A math teacher inspires his would be dropouts students to lean calculus. This based on a true story.

Up the Down Staircase 1967

Staring Sandy Dennis from a Bel Kaufman best-selling novella. It’s about a new teacher’s first job teaching in a racially mixed school with needy kids and little support from the administration.

Please remember to check out my books on Amazon

Money Power andPoison

Can love win against the odds?

Five star review: " A mystery novel thrill ride.Fast-paced, plot-driven conflicts and characters that you can't tear yourself away lift it from an  ordinary story to a darn good read."  

Why would business woman Kathryn Carlyle poison a man she only met once? Reporter Holt Rand needs a scoop and won’t stop until he gets answers. But when he meets Kathryn, his life is changed forever. Kathryn is drawn to Holt but how can she trust a man who's using her to further his career. Will a killer let her live long enough to find out?

You tube Money Power and Poison

Shattered Rules

Does love always deserve a second chance? 

Workaholic FBI agent Brick Larson loves his job. He doesn’t need personal relationships. The last thing he wants is to get involved with the younger sister of his ex-fiancé. But to defend the United States that’s exactly what he’ll do.
When Kelly Shaw was a teenager she secretly loved Brick and would have trusted him with her life. That was years ago. Can she trust him with top secret information now? Will she live long enough to find out?

You tube Shattered Rules video

Hope you will come back again next Wednesday.

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