BookingIt

Cheryl Linn Martin's newest book just released! Menehunes Missing is another action-packed mystery for the younger reader featuring the kids of the Hawaiian Island Detective club, Leilani, Maile and Sam. And sometimes Leilani's pesky little brother, Kimo. If you have middle schoolers who love to read, I highly recommend this series! Cheryl also has a very cool website , kid-friendly with great Hawaiian factoids and games. Do you buy your children books? As a kid, what was your favorite genre for reading? Any guess as to what a Menehune is?

After some internal conflicts of my own, I came to a great realization. "Should" and "Want" can be two different things...and boy, can they fight!! Is your story lacking conflict? Does it feel lukewarm? Do your characters seem a little too happy to be interesting? Take a look at what your protagonist wants (goal). Now, take a look at what the protagonist SHOULD want. Are they different? If you can make what the protagonist SHOULD DO come into conflict with what the protagonist WANTS TO DO, then you'll have immediate tension in your story. Have you ever experienced this in your life? Did you choose to go with principle or emotion? What about your main character?

Beware of fire...it can burn. I feel like that song by Alicia Keys except I'm not sure I'm as competent as the heroine in the song. If I'm not careful, I might go up in flames! LOL Here's what's going on: 1. Love Inspired Historical bought a second book from me!!! I'm SO excited but I also have some revisions to do for the story. 2. I have two articles to write. Articles make me feel like I might suffocate. I don't know why but I just work through it, even if I turn blue. 3. I'm working hard on my WIP. Loving it but am sweating trying to get in 1k a day. 4. Before the end of 2013 I'll be indie/self-publishing a contemporary romance. Trying to get the cover, editing, etc. done has added some poundage to my plate. So, all in all, this 2013 is going beautifully. I feel like I'm on a roll but I don't want to get too much friction going because that could lead to a spark which might lead to me running away from the computer, hair on fire.

Today is an interview with my critique partner, Linda Glaz , who is also a wonderful writer, amazing literary agent and one of the best people you'll ever meet. :-) I'm so excited that her debut novel just released from Heartsong presents! I decided to do an interview with her hero, who is a charming yet wounded kind of guy. With Eyes of Love She has the perfect life…or so she thought Barbara Richardson is living a charmed life. Perfect family, beautiful voice, wealthy fiancé. But when she realizes her soon-to-be husband only values her for her pretty face, her life is suddenly in turmoil. Then a handsome young man comes to her rescue when she's stranded in a storm on Christmas Eve. And the world suddenly seems full of possibilities…. Unlike her former fiancé, Jackson Judge loves Barbara for everything she is, inside and out. But how could so lovely and talented a woman ever love a scarred monster like him? All he can see, shut away in his room, are his wounds from