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  An old friend of mine is one of the few who has read the entire trilogy in an earlier (unpublished) stage and she became an addict just like me.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.

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