This has been a tough year for many of us, financially and otherwise. But certainly there have been bright spots that we can look back on and draw strength from, which will help us to enjoy a happier Hanukkah, Christmas and New Years.
For me there have been some landmarks this year. My husband and I finally signed with an agent/manager. We performed at the prestigious star-studded Silver Spur Awards, entertaining and rubbing elbows with such delightful people as Lou Gossett, Jr., Wilford Brimley, Bo Hopkins, and Bo Svenson. Of course, the biggest landmark for me was finally, after umpteen years, publishing my first novel, The After School Murders. Sales for my book are finally starting to move, and I love it when people say, "I can't wait to read it!" Still Rick and I are far from reaching many of the goals we've set for ourselves. We struggle as so many do to stay afloat and keep moving ahead. But we are encouraged as opportunities continue to present themselves.
Rick and I are fortunate in that this is always a busy and very enjoyable party season--and sometimes it even brings work. But as the holidays approach I am especially aware of those who are not enjoying good health or have lost loved ones this year. I just heard of a friend, a fellow performer, who is fighting for his livelihood and his first love after suffering a stroke and losing the use of a hand; his beloved pet died shortly after he sustained the stroke. Another friend had to cancel her annual Christmas party because her elderly husband is very ill. My sister Wanda has been in and out of the hospital with problems the doctors aren't quite able to deal with. Another friend lost his mother right around the Thanksgiving holiday. I am glad to be able to reach out and offer comfort to them and to pray that God in his love and mercy will lift them up.
Because this is a season of remembering great miracles, let us all turn to God for help in our present circumstances, whatever they may be; and let us also pray for others in pain and in need. God is love personified, and he is greater than all our human frailties and limitations. In Messiah Y'shua (Jesus) our creator has provided for all that we need, and we only need to reach out to him in faith. Of course, it is best to give him everything in our lives--our successes, our failures, our shortcomings--and to give him full sway in all that concerns us. His love toward us is great, and to trust in his love is a wonderful thing.
My prayer for you, and all of those who have connected with me online, is that God will bring you the miracles you need in your life now and in the year ahead. That he will open your eyes to see the doors that lead to his blessings and to give you understanding when he closes doors to the things not beneficial.
All of God's best to you at this season and in the coming year!
www.evansandrogers.com
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Duty Called -- Had to Answer
Life often deals a strange hand. We don't always know what is going on until things play out.
Some of my plans this past week have interrupted the flow of my life as an author and I have had to rise to a rather unpleasant occasion that, if it goes the direction it is likely to, it will just take up more time for no good reason. Thus the lateness of this blog.
But on to more pleasant things. This week a wonderful video was posted on Facebook by an old friend from high school. Just recently I saw her for the first time in years at our high school reunion. Then when she posted the video and said it was by her cousins, I discovered that her cousins are also mine because the music was by my cousin's family up on Lancaster. Yes, life is pleasantly peculiar.
My new book, The After School Murders, is finally beginning to sell, and I am very pleased. Not only am I looking forward to a serious career as an author, I am looking for people with whom I can really share my imaginary world with in a more detailed fashion. When an old friend read an earlier version of the trilogy (it was one book then) she used to call me up and ask all kinds of questions which I was delighted to answer. She, too, fell in love with my characters and wanted to know more about them. That's what I want, only multiplied. I've written something that can be a happy escape to which readers will return again and again.
But I do have ideas for other books apart from The War This Side of Heaven series. One idea I am toying with would be a non-fiction book designed to help writers and other creative types with their blockage of creativity. I never get writer's block and I know why. If this is something you'd be interested in reading about, please let me know.
The other idea I'm kicking around is a Gothic romance novel set in California just after the turn of the last century or in the 1920's. Lots of fun and scandalous history here in politics and entertainment, and lots of historians whose brains I can pick, not to mention the people who are old enough to remember some of those days and/or knew the people. One friend of mine started his film career in silent films! Another has worked at Paramount Studios since 1928. It's nice to know people who know where the bodies are buried. Would you like to read such a story?
Well, duty yet demands my attention and I must comply . . . or must I?
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Living My Dream
Now that my first book is on Kindle, sales are starting to happen. It's tough to build an audience from the ground up, no matter what you've got to offer. Those who love the genres of Mystery and/or Romance have no idea who I am and whether or not I can write at all, and then write well enough to give them the entertaining escape they are paying for. Not many will take a chance on an unknown.
But as I said, sales are starting to happen which is the real part of living the dream. Not just the selling of the book to make money, but the sharing of what is between the covers. I love sharing the characters and the stories in my books and want others to become just as attached to them as I've become. An old friend of mine is one of the few who has read the entire trilogy in an earlier (unpublished) stage and she became an addict just like me. I've greatly enjoyed our conversations about the stories and her questions, and I hope that others will react as she did.
As a romantic, I have selected the age-old idea which is the teenage dream of so many girls--the strikingly handsome and wealthy older man who is the object of school girl crushes and the desire of many grown women. That's David Conrad, French and music teacher. He even has a tragic past that he keeps carefully hidden (a theme of mystery which runs through all three books). Now as a lover of mysteries since childhood, whom have I made the heroine but a teenage girl detective! This is Janette West, the "if I knew then what I know now" version of myself who always gets her man--in more ways than one. Yes, she's seventeen going on forty and has an inside track that her peers and all the older women don't have, which puts her up close and personal with her gorgeous hunk of school teacher. (Oh, boy!) The supporting cast includes various classmates and faculty members, amongst whom are a serial killer (book one only), a detective club (Janette's friends) and some jealous females that don't care for the relationship between Janette and her Mr. Conrad. Later on in book two, Man Trouble, I throw in an oddball sort of love interest with a handsome and rather buff Catholic priest who is taking a detour from tradition in his search for deeper truth. He shows up at Janette's church around Christmas time. What a present, huh? He digs her Indian motorcycle, amongst other things. Let's find out just how badly he wants to stay celibate.
So there's plenty of romantic fun, adventure and a trail of mystery in the stories I've created. If what I've written here is entertaining to you, it is doubtless that you will enjoy The After School Murders and all the books in The War This Side of Heaven trilogy and series. It's fun stuff. Let's share it together.
But as I said, sales are starting to happen which is the real part of living the dream. Not just the selling of the book to make money, but the sharing of what is between the covers. I love sharing the characters and the stories in my books and want others to become just as attached to them as I've become. An old friend of mine is one of the few who has read the entire trilogy in an earlier (unpublished) stage and she became an addict just like me. I've greatly enjoyed our conversations about the stories and her questions, and I hope that others will react as she did.
As a romantic, I have selected the age-old idea which is the teenage dream of so many girls--the strikingly handsome and wealthy older man who is the object of school girl crushes and the desire of many grown women. That's David Conrad, French and music teacher. He even has a tragic past that he keeps carefully hidden (a theme of mystery which runs through all three books). Now as a lover of mysteries since childhood, whom have I made the heroine but a teenage girl detective! This is Janette West, the "if I knew then what I know now" version of myself who always gets her man--in more ways than one. Yes, she's seventeen going on forty and has an inside track that her peers and all the older women don't have, which puts her up close and personal with her gorgeous hunk of school teacher. (Oh, boy!) The supporting cast includes various classmates and faculty members, amongst whom are a serial killer (book one only), a detective club (Janette's friends) and some jealous females that don't care for the relationship between Janette and her Mr. Conrad. Later on in book two, Man Trouble, I throw in an oddball sort of love interest with a handsome and rather buff Catholic priest who is taking a detour from tradition in his search for deeper truth. He shows up at Janette's church around Christmas time. What a present, huh? He digs her Indian motorcycle, amongst other things. Let's find out just how badly he wants to stay celibate.
So there's plenty of romantic fun, adventure and a trail of mystery in the stories I've created. If what I've written here is entertaining to you, it is doubtless that you will enjoy The After School Murders and all the books in The War This Side of Heaven trilogy and series. It's fun stuff. Let's share it together.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
New Ideas -- Expanding Horizons!
Right now I'm working to get The After School Murders up on Kindle. I hope to have it up by next week (November 12th). Although it's designed to attract lovers of mystery and suspense, I do hope that those who love romance will give it serious consideration. The series is loaded with love triangles and I've created some yummy characters in David Conrad (introduced in book one) and Teddy Molloy (introduced in book two) that the ladies will certainly enjoy.
Though I must confess that I am deeply attached to the characters in The War This Side of Heaven, a new idea began to form in my brain that harkens back to my days of reading one Gothic romance after another and watching countless hours of Dark Shadows. Although I will be editing the next book, Man Trouble, for release next spring (hopefully), I kind of dig this new idea a lot and will be working to develop it for all of the ladies out there who love a juicy ROMANCE novel. Hmmm, which era should I choose?
I'm also considering a project for writers and other creative people who struggle with dry periods of creativity. Everyone talks about writer's block and with some it's a serious thing. For me, I find that any dry periods I encounter last only a few minutes, and I believe I know the reason why. I'm considering writing a short book that will show others how they can prime the pump of their own creativity and keep the ideas coming. Is that something you'd be interested in? Let me know.
Now, what do Patty Hearst, JFK, Cornell Wilde, Salvadore Dali, Mark David Chapman, and Charlton Heston all have in common? Her name is Dorothy Kann and she's my mother-in-law. Dorothy is in her 90s and yesterday my husband and I made some serious effort to get info out of her for a book that will include her biography, her art work and her poetry. Dorothy was and still is quite an artist and has done some interesting portraits--such as Patty Hearst. She's also dated some interesting men. And the stories that go with the art--well, you'll just have to read the book. I'll post some of the photos of her on Facebook when I get a moment to scan a few. She was quite fetching in her day. I may even challenge you to guess which one is Dorothy and which is her twin sister Lucille.
Well, duty calls. I must take care of non-creative stuff. Your comments are appreciated, so don't be shy.
Till next time.
Sharon
Though I must confess that I am deeply attached to the characters in The War This Side of Heaven, a new idea began to form in my brain that harkens back to my days of reading one Gothic romance after another and watching countless hours of Dark Shadows. Although I will be editing the next book, Man Trouble, for release next spring (hopefully), I kind of dig this new idea a lot and will be working to develop it for all of the ladies out there who love a juicy ROMANCE novel. Hmmm, which era should I choose?
I'm also considering a project for writers and other creative people who struggle with dry periods of creativity. Everyone talks about writer's block and with some it's a serious thing. For me, I find that any dry periods I encounter last only a few minutes, and I believe I know the reason why. I'm considering writing a short book that will show others how they can prime the pump of their own creativity and keep the ideas coming. Is that something you'd be interested in? Let me know.
Now, what do Patty Hearst, JFK, Cornell Wilde, Salvadore Dali, Mark David Chapman, and Charlton Heston all have in common? Her name is Dorothy Kann and she's my mother-in-law. Dorothy is in her 90s and yesterday my husband and I made some serious effort to get info out of her for a book that will include her biography, her art work and her poetry. Dorothy was and still is quite an artist and has done some interesting portraits--such as Patty Hearst. She's also dated some interesting men. And the stories that go with the art--well, you'll just have to read the book. I'll post some of the photos of her on Facebook when I get a moment to scan a few. She was quite fetching in her day. I may even challenge you to guess which one is Dorothy and which is her twin sister Lucille.
Well, duty calls. I must take care of non-creative stuff. Your comments are appreciated, so don't be shy.
Till next time.
Sharon
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Ready to move into more
NOW THAT THE first book in The War This Side of Heaven is on Amazon and my big commitment to the Silver Spur Awards is over, I can breath much easier and focus on other things.
But one thing I managed to do in the midst of all the mayhem of the past few weeks is to write a great short story based on Book Two: Man Trouble. It's call "Heart of a Man in Love" and its written from the viewpoint of David Conrad, the chief love interest. Stories of love and romance are seldom written from the viewpoint of a man, and that's one of the things I like about it. I tested it on a man (my husband) and he really enjoyed reading it. So I invite both ladies and gentlemen to read the story. You can find it on this site:
http://www.ebookmall.com/author/sharon-evans
http://www.ebookmall.com/author/sharon-evans
Once you've read it, please vote for the story, and if you like, leave a nice review. Both the vote and the review will be a big help to me.
I will eventually write more short stories based on the series, but I need to do some serious picking at Book Two, not to mention getting Book One--The After School Murders--onto Kindle.
Well, back to the salt mines. Until next time.
Sharon
But one thing I managed to do in the midst of all the mayhem of the past few weeks is to write a great short story based on Book Two: Man Trouble. It's call "Heart of a Man in Love" and its written from the viewpoint of David Conrad, the chief love interest. Stories of love and romance are seldom written from the viewpoint of a man, and that's one of the things I like about it. I tested it on a man (my husband) and he really enjoyed reading it. So I invite both ladies and gentlemen to read the story. You can find it on this site:
http://www.ebookmall.com/author/sharon-evans
http://www.ebookmall.com/author/sharon-evans
Once you've read it, please vote for the story, and if you like, leave a nice review. Both the vote and the review will be a big help to me.
I will eventually write more short stories based on the series, but I need to do some serious picking at Book Two, not to mention getting Book One--The After School Murders--onto Kindle.
Well, back to the salt mines. Until next time.
Sharon
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
So Very Excited!
There are a number of reasons that I am especially happy and excited right now. First of all, I just can't get over the cover that I created for the second book in my trilogy. It makes me so thankful to God for my talents and my heritage--in this case, what I learned from my father. He was a graphic artist, and all of us kids used to spend time (back then it was more like "doing time") at his shop. Sometimes I was there all by myself answering the phone and I would get bored to tears. But then there were times when daddy would show me how to do things. It was the most fun when we could go to work with him and help out.
The other reasons have to do with all of the people who are excited about my book(s) and are willing to help me to promote it. Some are people that I've only met online. Others are family and old friends, and new friends, too. I've done a guest blog for Trish Jackson and now a lady I met on Link In named Vivienne Diane Neal has asked me to submit a blog on her site: http://oneworldsingles.blogspotcom. It will appear on August 20, 2012 beginning at 12 a.m
When people reach out to bless someone in seemingly small ways, it is not a small thing. We never know how much it can mean to encourage someone in their endeavors, or to utter a few words that point them to something that will elevate their circumstances. For me, the kindness that people show make the evil in the world seem less powerful and life even more worth living.
So here is a word of thanks to all of you who are coming along side of me, to support and just to be my friend and share some of the things we both enjoy. I have many new friends through Facebook and Linked in, and it's more fun than ever. Thank you all. And may the best of God's blessings fill your lives to overflowing.
The other reasons have to do with all of the people who are excited about my book(s) and are willing to help me to promote it. Some are people that I've only met online. Others are family and old friends, and new friends, too. I've done a guest blog for Trish Jackson and now a lady I met on Link In named Vivienne Diane Neal has asked me to submit a blog on her site: http://oneworldsingles.blogspotcom. It will appear on August 20, 2012 beginning at 12 a.m
When people reach out to bless someone in seemingly small ways, it is not a small thing. We never know how much it can mean to encourage someone in their endeavors, or to utter a few words that point them to something that will elevate their circumstances. For me, the kindness that people show make the evil in the world seem less powerful and life even more worth living.
So here is a word of thanks to all of you who are coming along side of me, to support and just to be my friend and share some of the things we both enjoy. I have many new friends through Facebook and Linked in, and it's more fun than ever. Thank you all. And may the best of God's blessings fill your lives to overflowing.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Romance Ramble: Writing Romantic Mysteries by Guest Author Sharon ...
Romance Ramble: Writing Romantic Mysteries by Guest Author Sharon ...: The Mystery in Romance Can a teenaged girl find happiness solving crimes and driving older men crazy? Find the answer to this and ot...
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
The War This Side of Heaven and Me
Here I am, finally about to be published. My first book, titled The After School Murders, should be released in September of 2012. But although it is my first book and the event is monumental in my life, as it would be with any other writer, it means much more to me on a deeply personal level. What will be shared with the release of this book is the precious world of fantasy that I've been living in for decades, and the people in it that I have grown extremely familiar with and fond of.
In The After School Murders (book one of The War This Side of Heaven series), you are introduced to Janette West, the heroine, and her friends in the Amateur Detective’s Guild. Here also is the hero, David Conrad, who gradually becomes her love interest. The love relationship gels in book two, Man Trouble, and Conrad’s competition (a Catholic Priest) also comes along. The setting of these stories is a place that must be seen: New Mexico. And yes, it is in the United States. At this point in time in 1968-69, Albuquerque is a large town that has yet to become the bustling city it is today, still having some of the quiet, rustic Southwestern charm of old Route 66.
The characters in The War This Side of Heaven, and much of what they go through, are a reflection of my life in reality and my life in the world of fiction through books, radio, television, movies, and my active imagination as a child. This is the writer writing not only of what she knows, but of what she loves, and detective fiction has been a passion for me since I first learned to read. With myself being a singer, songwriter, and musician, I have made Janette West the same. Also, having lived in Albuquerque and having an appreciation for the unique culture and beautiful landscape there, I share that culture and landscape throughout the series. But the names of my hero and heroine reveal some very early influences of western film and television on my life. See if you can guess where their names came from.
For those who have fallen in love with Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre as much as I have, you will find small elements of this beloved story in my book. And for those who enjoy Raymond Chandler, Earl Stanley Gardner, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and other fine writers of detective fiction, you’ll have fun with the humor, the mystery and the suspense in The War This Side of Heaven series.
So all you who love the thrill of suspense and the tasty titillation of romance, school is about to begin–and it’s killer. Look for The After School Murders on Amazon–and get another copy for your teacher.
© 7/31/2012 Sharon Evans
www.facebook.com/thewarthissideofheaven
Web site coming soon!
In The After School Murders (book one of The War This Side of Heaven series), you are introduced to Janette West, the heroine, and her friends in the Amateur Detective’s Guild. Here also is the hero, David Conrad, who gradually becomes her love interest. The love relationship gels in book two, Man Trouble, and Conrad’s competition (a Catholic Priest) also comes along. The setting of these stories is a place that must be seen: New Mexico. And yes, it is in the United States. At this point in time in 1968-69, Albuquerque is a large town that has yet to become the bustling city it is today, still having some of the quiet, rustic Southwestern charm of old Route 66.
The characters in The War This Side of Heaven, and much of what they go through, are a reflection of my life in reality and my life in the world of fiction through books, radio, television, movies, and my active imagination as a child. This is the writer writing not only of what she knows, but of what she loves, and detective fiction has been a passion for me since I first learned to read. With myself being a singer, songwriter, and musician, I have made Janette West the same. Also, having lived in Albuquerque and having an appreciation for the unique culture and beautiful landscape there, I share that culture and landscape throughout the series. But the names of my hero and heroine reveal some very early influences of western film and television on my life. See if you can guess where their names came from.
For those who have fallen in love with Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre as much as I have, you will find small elements of this beloved story in my book. And for those who enjoy Raymond Chandler, Earl Stanley Gardner, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and other fine writers of detective fiction, you’ll have fun with the humor, the mystery and the suspense in The War This Side of Heaven series.
So all you who love the thrill of suspense and the tasty titillation of romance, school is about to begin–and it’s killer. Look for The After School Murders on Amazon–and get another copy for your teacher.
© 7/31/2012 Sharon Evans
www.facebook.com/thewarthissideofheaven
Web site coming soon!
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