Survive and Thrive . . . novels for women

September 3, 2015 darlenedeluca Guests Charmaine Gordon, excerpt, new book, strong women, women's fiction, writing

Hello, friends!
As I mentioned last week, I’ve met so many interesting people in the world of writing and publishing. To me, it’s always fun to meet new authors, and learn about their journey. Today, I have the pleasure of introducing you to Charmaine Gordon, author of women’s fiction and romance, and her newest work, When Double Becomes Single Again. Welcome, Charmaine!

Darlene,
Thanks for inviting me to your blog today. As strangers we are starting from scratch and that’s often a good thing. If we were in a bar, we might say “Come here often?” but no we’re in outer space, both authors who write about women who survive and thrive. If you don’t survive, you’re in big trouble and yet many women are too weak to stand up and make a life for themselves after a drastic situation has happened. I’ve been there and it’s a scramble to put on make-up, dress well, go to work and keep your head up. I recall when my first husband died suddenly, the psychologists on the radio talked about men liking younger women. I looked in the rear view mirror to see an attractive woman-ME-and decided I was okay and not to worry. A year later, I married a sweet guy and we’re happy together. At 84 that’s a stretch.

I often wonder where a story comes from. For me. I sleep write and stories blossom but in the case of When Double becomes Single, this story is part of my real life-at least the beginning. I cried a lot and eased up as the heroine learned to become single after being married about thirty five years. She talks to him at night the way many widows do, her dogs keep her company and she works the business they started when they were young. Eventually she blossoms. That’s where my heart sings. And not to worry, there is an HEA.

Excerpt: When Double Becomes Single Again

Chapter 1
The touch of her husband’s lips on hers warmed Sharon Michaels all the way home from the hospital. Remembering his whispered I love you before she left released a cascade of tears. She groped in her bag for a tissue, found none and used the sleeve of her good winter coat as a blotter. Mac would fix Barry. Their favorite doctor always knew the magical potion to apply. Even when Fred, their difficult teenager now in his thirties, started using marijuana and refused to stop, Mac knew what to do. Tough Love was the prescription. No driver’s license and other privileges allowed until he straightened out. So Barry’s bad cough should be easy like the croup. Hmm. Fred still held a grudge against us. Get home and go to sleep.

Exhausted after hours visiting with her husband at Community Hospital in Suffern, New York, Sharon stripped and pulled on flannel pajamas. Too tired to shower, she brushed her teeth, washed her face and slipped under the comforter on this chilly night. The phone rang. She picked it up. Mac Bloom, the family doctor said something she couldn’t quite hear.

“Crisis? Is that what you said? What do you mean crisis? I left him at the hospital about an hour ago. We kissed and said I love you the way we’ve always done for thirty six years.”

Their doctor for many a long time sighed. She heard urgency and sadness in his voice. “Sharon, is anyone at home with you?”

About Charmaine . . .
Charmaine Gordon writes books about women who Survive and Thrive. Her motto is take one step and then another to leave your past behind and begin again. Six books and several short stories in three years, she’s always at work on the next story. The books include To Be Continued, Starting Over, Now What?, Reconstructing Charlie, Sin of Omission and The Catch, and her series of Mature Romances, The Beginning…Not the End, including the stand alone novellas, She Didn’t Say No and Farewell, Hello and her most recent series, River’s Edge Stories where the town motto is Kindness to Strangers.

“I didn’t realize at the time while working as an actor in NYC, I’d become a sponge soaking up dialogue, setting, and stage directions. I learned many tools of writing during the years watching directors like Mike Nichols and actors including Harrison Ford, Anthony Hopkins, and Billy Crystal. And would you believe, I was Geraldine Ferraro’s stand-in leg model, my first job giving me entrée into all the Unions needed to work. When the sweet time ended, I began another career and creative juices flowed.”

Where to find Charmaine…
Facebook
Twitter
Website

Purchase on Amazon

A rainbow of roses

July 30, 2015July 31, 2015 darlenedeluca This and That colors, romance, roses, writing, yellow

I don’t consciously try to put something about myself in my books, but in my upcoming contemporary romance release, Her Greatest Risk, the heroine does share my taste in roses – yellow is our fave.

Yellow happens to be my favorite color, so I suppose that I like yellow roses is no surprise. To me, they are the cheeriest of roses – and flowers in general. Summer is my favorite season. I love bright, sunny days. And yellow is the color of sunshine! (Yeah, I think there’s a pattern.)

When I decided that Jennifer should prefer yellow roses also, it got me to thinking about the official “meaning” of various rose colors, so I did a little research. Compiled from a number of online sources, the general consensus seems to be:

Red: love, romance
Yellow: friendship, delight
Light pink: grace, warmth, appreciation
Bright pink: gratitude, admiration
Peach: cheer, modesty
Lavender: enchantment, splendor, love at first sight
White: purity, honor, everlasting love, sympathy
Orange: passion, pride, enthusiasm

Peach comes in a close second in my line-up, but I have to say, I wouldn’t object to receiving roses in any of these lovely colors! 🙂

Images to Tell Your Story

July 24, 2015 darlenedeluca A Writer's Life, This and That, What's New Images, Inspiration, Marketing, Pinning, Pinterest, writing

So, I’m pinning now. You know what pinning is, yes? It’s right up there with texting and googling – new words for new phenomena of our time. I resisted Pinterest for a couple of years because I knew it would suck me in. And it has.
Can’t say I understand it all yet – why some pins have conversations and comments, why you can message some people and not others, how some boards become ‘community’ boards, etc. But I’m plodding along, discovering as I go.

So far, I’ve managed to set up 27 boards in just a week or so. The more I peruse the site, the more potential boards I think of. Have to say it feels a little narcissistic – lots of people have boards titled ‘My Style,’ ‘My Wishlist,’ ‘My Funny Bone,’ etc. – and that’s part of the fun. It’s your personal catalog, a picture book all about you and what you like! It’s a library and a shelving system and a cyber file cabinet. Kind of cool, actually. For me, it’s a little bit marketing, a little bit catalog shopping, and just plain fun.

I’m finding the site inspirational from a writing standpoint. Not just for ‘words of wisdom’ but for potential book settings and architectural features, details that I might want to weave into a setting or character description sometime. I’m also finding ways to visualize my books. I’ve found images for Dana’s lost ring, and Megan’s farmhouse, and Claire’s lemon bar recipe. I’m hoping these boards will give readers a little more insight into my books’ settings and characters – to really bring them to life, and perhaps spark more interest in them.

Too early to tell whether it will ever translate to additional book sales, but I’m connecting with people – like-minded people who love books, and bookish things, who enjoy a good cup of tea and many other things I do, including decorating sugar cookies. (Boy, has the site raised the bar on that one for me!) People who I’ve never met are liking and re-pinning my pins – people who before had probably never heard of author Darlene Deluca. And that’s a good thing.

Come join me!

Find me on Pinterest

At the Scene of the Crime

July 3, 2015 darlenedeluca A Writer's Life, This and That experiences, robbery, writing

The other day there was a thread going around on Facebook that asked authors to share a unique event in their life, some little tidbit that had happened to them that was noteworthy and out of the ordinary. Well, I lead a rather ordinary life that goes along in a pretty normal trajectory. I couldn’t think of anything to add offhand, so I moved on.
But yesterday I was in the bank conducting several transactions, and recalled that a couple of years ago in that same bank, I was part of a real live robbery! Ha! Surely that’s pretty unusual. Have you ever been in a bank robbery?

It was an interesting experience. I was sitting at a desk getting some papers notarized so that my son could participate in some trip or activity. I saw the guy enter the bank, and I remember noticing him and thinking, “why is he wearing that heavy coat?” It was a mild day that only called for a light jacket – not a bulky winter coat. Well, I didn’t jump to the conclusion that he must be a robber hiding a gun under that coat. I mean, really, who does that? Here I was in the small branch location of my local bank in my safe little suburb.
So the guy walks up to the teller, and at this point his back is to me, but I swing around and look when he starts barking at the teller. Clearly he has an issue. Did I think, uh-oh, this guy is a robber, this guy is pointing a gun at the teller? No, indeed. I’m sitting there thinking, “what is this guy’s problem?”!!

I exchange a what-the-heck glance with the gal helping me, but we continue with our business transaction. A couple of minutes later, the guy looks around. Yes, makes eye contact with us, then moseys on out the door. At this point, the bank employee in the next office leaps from her chair, dashes across the lobby and locks the doors, then breathlessly exclaims, “we’ve been robbed!”
Um, yeah, a little light bulb suddenly flashes in my head. Yikes! I’d just witnessed a bank robbery – could potentially have been in danger had things gone badly. I’d seen the clues, but failed to make the connection. As it happens, I was the only customer in the bank at the time.
Here’s a little fact I didn’t know about a robbery: No one can leave the scene until the FBI arrive. Yep, I was trapped in the bank. Why? Because I could have been an accomplice in there as a ploy to distract the bank personnel during the heist. Really.

So, they close everything down, call the police, and the FBI, and the main branch, and in only a few minutes, the place is swarming with people. Have to say it was a little spooky to be questioned by the police and FBI agents. And what was really interesting was trying to recall all the details about the guy and what had happened. It’s amazing what can escape you when you aren’t consciously paying attention. I gave my statement, and after about forty minutes was allowed to leave, luckily still in time to pick the kid up from school. Of course I repeated the story multiple times that day, as others were in awe. My son’s friends were particularly keen to hear the details. For a bit, I was practically a celebrity! 🙂 And I think I’ll be forever known at the bank – the customer who witnessed the robbery!

Oh, for a crystal ball!

May 15, 2015 darlenedeluca A Writer's Life crystal ball, looking ahead, writing

I’m about ready to finish up a new contemporary romance. It’s always fun to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s also a challenging part of the writing process – figuring out if the story is really “done,” and then moving on to the agony of writing an intriguing cover blurb, choosing an eye-catching title, and creating an appealing cover.
But while that story is being scrutinized by critique partners and beta readers, I’m looking ahead to what’s next. I probably have ten stories in various stages of development – everything from a basic concept to a solid 75,000 words. Some are romance, some are general fiction, some women’s fiction, and one or two are actually non-fiction. The dilemma is, I want to write them all! Unfortunately, time demands that I choose.
Oh, for a crystal ball. Which concept is strongest? Which is most likely to strike a chord with readers or find its way to an influencer? And significantly, which one will come together most organically with words and ideas flowing as I sit at my computer?
My most recent published work is a women’s fiction, and I’m committed to a third book in that series. Charge ahead with that or take a break? The novel that’s attracting the most attention right now is my contemporary romance Something Good that was published last year. Keep the momentum going, and follow up with something similar to appeal to that same audience?
Last night, I sat down and read through several of the manuscripts I’ve started, and have to say, I feel pretty good about all of them. I can see potential in the stories and characters. I can see tension and conflict, and developing relationships. On one hand, that’s exciting because I know I can keep at this. On the other hand, it’s frightening and immobilizing because I can see about ten years’ worth of work waiting to be done!
My solution? Take a break. Go do something else, and hope that inspiration will strike, as usual, when I’m working in the yard or cleaning the house. Hoping that some of those characters will whisper in my ear and nudge me in the right direction! 🙂