Today's blog and others that I will post on Saturdays, will introduce you to Janette West, the heroine of my trilogy and ongoing series, The War This Side of Heaven. This edited tidbit from The After School Murders is from the very beginning of the first chapter. With the recent release of the second book in the series, Man Trouble, look for The After School Murders to be available at a discount, particularly on Kindle.
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1968:
Apprehension gave way to awe as I made my way through the small but growing crowd very early that first day of school. The definite sound of my high heels on the linoleum tile echoed the growing confidence in my heart. Up the stairs and down long hallways, people I’d known for years looked at me without recognition—and smiled! It was almost like being invisible.
There was Mr “Heavy on the Onions” Garcia, the Algebra teacher, unlocking the door to his room. The very mention of my name made the hair on the back of his neck stand to attention. As I walked by, he offered a pleasant smile and said good morning. The question in his eyes said that he wondered who I was.
Reaching the stairwell a few feet away, I released the laughter I held back.
Oh, man! This is gonna be fun!
Upstairs to the third floor of the main building was my first class of the day, French III. Walking briskly, I managed to be the first student to arrive. Instead of the lady I’d known from previous years, a man stood at the blackboard writing his name at the top: Monsieur Conrad. He was a new one, at least to me. Brushing chalk from his hands, he turned to reach for the jacket on the back of his chair when I caught his eye. He did a double take and then unabashedly surveyed me from head to toe.
Obviously Monsieur Conrad assumed I was an adult—as did everyone else. But it was no wonder. The makeup alone must have added ten years or more to my brown-eyed baby face. Then there was my outfit: a gorgeous deep burgundy, three-buttoned silk suit that perfectly hugged my 34”-22”-36” figure. The tailored jacket had pale gold fabric on the deep cut open collar and the cuffs of the 3/4 length sleeves. The unadorned straight skirt had a hemline, which ended two and a half inches below the knee with a kick pleat in the back. My jewelry was gold toned Aurora Borealis earrings with matching necklace. Long, cream colored gloves graced my hands and forearms. My medium brown complexion, darkened by the summer sun, made the coffee colored stockings almost invisible on my legs, except for the seams up the back. Wearing simple dark brown leather pumps with slender ankle straps, the two-inch heels gave my petite, five foot one and a half inch frame a nice little boost. And naturally my hair had to go with all the rest. Thick and black, it was permed straight and trimmed to about three inches past shoulder length, curled and pompadour-ed in front, then down in back for a typical 1940’s do.
Although this teacher certainly liked what he saw, it wasn’t a lecherous look he gave me. More than anything, his expression showed pleasant surprise. For in this era of beads, fringe, plastic mini skirts, plastic flowers, and polyester double knit, my clothes were a serious departure from the latest fashion, even for adults.
Slowly slipping into his suit coat, he focused on my face and hair with interest and curiosity. Then pulling the garment into proper alignment with his body, Monsieur Conrad smiled slightly broader and stepped closer. His nostrils flared as they caught my perfume: roses.
“May I help you?” he asked in a deep, warm baritone voice that almost buckled my knees.
“No, I don’t think so,” I replied pleasantly and took my usual seat, front-row center.
I checked him out, too, but was more discreet. A well tailored three-piece, charcoal gray pinstriped suit, white monogrammed shirt, dark blue tie, gold stickpin, and shiny black leather shoes were the clothes that made this man. The man was even better. Close to six-foot tall, medium build, nice broad shoulders, medium blond hair—slightly wavy, perfect white teeth set off by evenly tanned skin, classic Caucasian facial features, and blue-gray eyes behind rimless glasses. And no wedding ring!
“This is French II and III,” he went on, still trying to convince me of being in the wrong place.
“Mais oui. Je sais bien, Monsieur.”
With my casual acknowledgment of the facts, he realized I was a student. Monsieur’s color deepened with embarrassment and he looked me over again in disbelief before sputtering, “Uh—tres bien, Mademoiselle. C-comment vous appellez vous?”
“Je m’appelle Janette. Janette West.”
My reputation had certainly preceded me. At the sound of my name he gasped and the smile quickly faded and his blushing color faded to ashen. Again he looked me over, then finally exhaled. Though not as wide or genuine, the smile returned shortly. The color took a little longer. At last he said,
“Enchanté, Mademoiselle. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Sunday, October 25, 2015
I'm Baaaaack! New book and busy, busy life
Some things must go by the wayside, like writing a regular blog. How can the artist work on his craft if he must constantly promote and involve himself with social media, email lists and whatnot? With all the modern technology and time-saving conveniences of this present age, we have much less time to relax and enjoy life than we did 30 or 40 years ago. And it's not about to get any better.
But now, here I am again, an entertainer (www.evansandrogers.com) as well as the mother of a new non-profit organization (www.Dreamville.org) and giving the blog a try, while I prepare to start a new job. With the soon release of the second book in my series (in about 5 days), I want to reach out and let my online friends know to look for it. This new book is my husband's favorite in the trilogy. I think my favorite is the third book, but I have certainly enjoyed them all.
The title of the new book is Man Trouble. In this one, my heroine, Janette West, has her hands full with all kinds of adventures. Then on top of that, the man who is her teacher, David Conrad, seems to have far more than an academic interest in her. In the beginning she figures she can handle it, while she subtly digs for clues to whatever secret the man is hiding. Before she knows it, though, she falls in love with this middle aged playboy and is terrified of the consequences of involvement.
But that's just one of her men. Aside from a couple of young ones from her peer group, she gets introduced to another older man, and just in time for the holidays. A handsome blond beefcake by the name of Teddy Molloy blows in from Chicago and shows up at the church house one evening in December. In his late twenties, he is also out of her league age-wise, but that doesn't put her off. After a rough introduction, the two find some good common ground and quickly grow into a tight relationship. There's only one big obstacle to the two getting even better acquainted. Molloy happens to be a Roman Catholic priest.
So here we have one lovely teenaged girl (yes, "teenaged" is a proper word, just like "middle aged," which also closes with a "d") who has two very attractive older men who have greatly attached themselves to her, and she to them. While she doesn't think of it as a triangle, once the men discover each other, war breaks out. And while all this is going on, here comes the setup for uncovering and solving the mystery in David Conrad's past.
I've had lots of fun writing these books, and the fun will always continue, whether I have the time to blog about it or not. Take a look at the new trailer that I've created for Man Trouble on You Tube. It's there along with the others in the series, The After School Murders and Heart Of A Man In Love. The link to the video is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta0XpOxMUAk
I do hope that you'll like the video and that you'll pick up a copy of Man Trouble--either paperback or on Kindle. You will certainly find some very good entertainment in its pages. I made sure of that.
But now, here I am again, an entertainer (www.evansandrogers.com) as well as the mother of a new non-profit organization (www.Dreamville.org) and giving the blog a try, while I prepare to start a new job. With the soon release of the second book in my series (in about 5 days), I want to reach out and let my online friends know to look for it. This new book is my husband's favorite in the trilogy. I think my favorite is the third book, but I have certainly enjoyed them all.
The title of the new book is Man Trouble. In this one, my heroine, Janette West, has her hands full with all kinds of adventures. Then on top of that, the man who is her teacher, David Conrad, seems to have far more than an academic interest in her. In the beginning she figures she can handle it, while she subtly digs for clues to whatever secret the man is hiding. Before she knows it, though, she falls in love with this middle aged playboy and is terrified of the consequences of involvement.
But that's just one of her men. Aside from a couple of young ones from her peer group, she gets introduced to another older man, and just in time for the holidays. A handsome blond beefcake by the name of Teddy Molloy blows in from Chicago and shows up at the church house one evening in December. In his late twenties, he is also out of her league age-wise, but that doesn't put her off. After a rough introduction, the two find some good common ground and quickly grow into a tight relationship. There's only one big obstacle to the two getting even better acquainted. Molloy happens to be a Roman Catholic priest.
So here we have one lovely teenaged girl (yes, "teenaged" is a proper word, just like "middle aged," which also closes with a "d") who has two very attractive older men who have greatly attached themselves to her, and she to them. While she doesn't think of it as a triangle, once the men discover each other, war breaks out. And while all this is going on, here comes the setup for uncovering and solving the mystery in David Conrad's past.
I've had lots of fun writing these books, and the fun will always continue, whether I have the time to blog about it or not. Take a look at the new trailer that I've created for Man Trouble on You Tube. It's there along with the others in the series, The After School Murders and Heart Of A Man In Love. The link to the video is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta0XpOxMUAk
I do hope that you'll like the video and that you'll pick up a copy of Man Trouble--either paperback or on Kindle. You will certainly find some very good entertainment in its pages. I made sure of that.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Long Overdue Update
My life in entertainment has taken up much of my time, lately, and the loss of my sister Wanda Coleman last November has affected my writing somewhat. Suddenly I have lost what some people may call a muse. While writing I would often think to myself, "What would Wanda say about it?" That has been a way of policing myself and making me reach higher regarding what I put in print. Wanda, the unofficial poet laureate of Los Angeles, had won numerous awards for her writing, including an Emmy and a Guggenheim. I can still police myself with that thought, of course, but now it doesn't carry the threat that it once did. If you had known my outspoken sister, you would probably understand.
I am happy to have released another book and a video to go with it. The book is a short story based on the full length trilogy, and the title is Heart of a Man In Love. It is about love from a man's viewpoint, and this particular man is hiding a colorful past--and present, all of which he knows he must let go of in order to have the girl he wants. The video is on You Tube.
Since my last post I've been to Huntsville, Alabama on a business trip, helping my hubby, and we've both fallen in love with the South. That was last year. This year we had the pleasure of being booked in Baltimore, Maryland, to entertain at the International Al Jolson Festival. We've been booked at several festivals this year, and it's a lot of hard work and fun. But I am also working on getting done with my seconded full length book in The War This Side of Heaven trilogy. The title is Man Trouble and my heroine does have her hands full with older men and others closer to her own age. And that man with the shadowy past is clouding her judgement to the point that he's getting harder and harder to resist. What's a girl to do? Get a copy and escape to 1968 and adventure in the Land of Enchantment.
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www.sharonevansauthor.com
I am happy to have released another book and a video to go with it. The book is a short story based on the full length trilogy, and the title is Heart of a Man In Love. It is about love from a man's viewpoint, and this particular man is hiding a colorful past--and present, all of which he knows he must let go of in order to have the girl he wants. The video is on You Tube.
Since my last post I've been to Huntsville, Alabama on a business trip, helping my hubby, and we've both fallen in love with the South. That was last year. This year we had the pleasure of being booked in Baltimore, Maryland, to entertain at the International Al Jolson Festival. We've been booked at several festivals this year, and it's a lot of hard work and fun. But I am also working on getting done with my seconded full length book in The War This Side of Heaven trilogy. The title is Man Trouble and my heroine does have her hands full with older men and others closer to her own age. And that man with the shadowy past is clouding her judgement to the point that he's getting harder and harder to resist. What's a girl to do? Get a copy and escape to 1968 and adventure in the Land of Enchantment.
###
www.sharonevansauthor.com
Saturday, October 12, 2013
New Book Trailer!
Take a look at my new book trailer. It took a bit of doing, but I like the way it turned out. I hope you will enjoy it.
I hope that all of my friends are doing well. Things are slowly moving forward for me while others seem to be at a stand still. It helps to have something to look forward to, as well as having good things to keep you busy.
I will soon publish my short story, Heart of a Man in Love. It will be on Amazon, of course. Eventually I'll also get around to formatting it for Kindle. I've added some good stuff to it, extending it quite a bit with more dialogue and detail. Short stories are not really that easy to write. Not for me, anyway, but I did enjoy the challenge and plan to keep trying my hand at it.
The second book in The War This Side of Heaven trilogy is not likely to get published this year as planned. I'm much too picky, and there is still much to work on in Man Trouble. At last I may have someone who is willing to help me with editing. She's a delightful new friend of mine in Arizona. She and her husband are retired and she loves to read. She read The After School Murders and is looking forward to the next book. I just may let her take a look at some of it. Feedback from others before publishing is so important and yet can be so hard to get.
Well, it is late now and I really should be going to bed. I wanted to post this because I'm so happy and excited about the new trailer. Thanks for staying in touch.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Happy, Happy Holidays!
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
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
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.
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