Saturday, June 30, 2012

Writing Tip From Jessica Tornese

Enjoy this writing tip from Author Jessica Tornese:

When writing, don’t be concerned with the little details, and stopping to constantly redo the few paragraphs you’ve written. Just write until all the important stuff is out of your head. You can always go back and edit- but get out the initial plan first. You’re going to have to rewrite anyway, but I find that my initial basic outline is the best one!




Fifteen-year-old Kate Christenson is pretty sure she’s about to experience the worst possible summer at her grandparents’ rural farm in Baudette, Minnesota. Without cable, cell phones, or computers, she is headed for total isolation and six tedious weeks of boredom.
Until the storm.
A freak lightning accident has Kate waking up in 1960.
But she is not herself. She’s the aunt she never met but has eerily resembled her entire life.
Thrust into living a dirt-poor, rural farm existence, Kate struggles to make sense of her situation - a boyfriend with a dark side, a “townie” who steals her heart, and the knowledge that 1960 is the very summer her aunt drowns in the local river.
But was the drowning an accident or a suicide… or something much worse?

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Eugene Meese On Memorable Secondary Characters


Eugene Meese on memorable secondary characters



            Think Law & Order You know, NBC’s long-running “ripped-from-the-headlines” crime drama. Most of its more than 400 episodes began innocuously, with people in set-pieces or walk-and-talks. Until one of them discovered, or became, a body. One of the show’s under-appreciated strengths was that those characters, whose screen time rarely lasted beyond the opening credits, were convincing. Hardly more than sketches, really, but oh, what sketches – drawn with nuance and a fine attention to detail. Detail. That’s the key. Real people wearing, doing and saying real things and, if used as well as they were on L&O, moving the story.




A late-night phone call yanks J.T. Stringer from a fitful sleep and drops the veteran newspaper columnist into the middle of a domestic dispute between a woman caller, Adrienne Ward, a single mother he wrote about years before, and “Vince,” her boyfriend. “He’s here!” she whispers, terrified. ”He won’t...”

Then the line goes dead.

Stringer heads out into the night, to learn what happened. Later, cowering in her home, still shaken, she tells him. For some reason she can’t go to the police.

When Vince’s body is discovered a couple of days later, suspicion immediately falls on Adrienne.

Stringer sets out to clear her.

His unofficial inquiry parallels and confounds the official police investigation and sets him on a collision course with his good friend Det. Sgt. Frank Zakariasen. No matter. The old reporter is on the story now. He has to follow it... wherever it leads.

It’s a twisted tale of murderous rage, biker intimidation, drugs, corruption and betrayal – with an ending as surprising as a sudden gunshot.

Monday, June 25, 2012

COOL OFF WITH AN ICE COLD SUMMER DRINK! Part One

Welcome everyone,

It's time for some summer fun. Check out these great summer time drink ideas by our authors. Vote on the drink that sounds the best to you in the comment box.  One lucky voter picked at random will win the ebook of the author they chose.  Good Luck and Enjoy some of these drinks!!!

To Win we need to know how to get you the free book. When you vote please include your email address, twitter ID or Facebook page so we can email or message you a discount code to download your  free book from Smashwords.

This is Round One: We had so many wonderful entries that we will run this contest again with different authors and different drinks. Stay tuned for Round Two.

We will give prizes away for every round!!!

#1 Kate Marie Collins


Smurf Blood:

 1 part Blue Hawaiian Punch
 1 part lemon/lime soda of choice
 1 part vodka

Mix together, chill before serving.




For the orphaned elf, Arwenna, life had treated her kindly. Her human foster parents raised her well, preparing her for life as a cleric of the God, Silas. The illusion shattered when she was convicted of treason by the Paladins of Silas and executed.

Death wasn’t the paradise she expected. Tortured by demons, the layers of lies that had clouded her mind began to peel away. She’d been tricked into betraying Senyan, a man she thought she loved. Her skills had been used to bind the Demon Lord, Corse, to him. She was never intended to serve Silas. Arwenna bore the mark of a Daughter of Hauk.

Would Hauk give her the chance to stop Corse from fully manifesting in the world? And would she be able to save Senyan from the abyss she helped send him to?


#2 Jim Baugh

The famous rum drink that is consumed throughout the book HOOKED
This is the real deal.
In a double insulated tumbler, large, fill with ice cubs.
*Add two to three ounces of amber rum, Mont Gay is good.
* Fill with DIET tonic water, not regular.
* Squeeze one lime slice into glass and garnish with lime and cherry
* Splash of cherry juice.
Then, find a beach soon and stay there. Also a good summer read like HOOKED. Keep you laughing and wishing you brought he entire bottle.


“HOOKED” is based on the true-life story of Virginia outdoor television producer Jim Baugh. Jim Baugh Outdoors TV is one of Americas most diverse and entertaining outdoor programs and has been in syndication since 1989.



“HOOKED” is a hilarious look behind the scene stories of filming a southern outdoor TV show. From the Chesapeake Bay to Key West these on location excursions will make your sides hurt with laughter. A cast of sea faring characters full of color and humor. From the docks in Gloucester Virginia to the Atlantic Ocean and a boat load of jolly swashbuckling Pirates. The stories and characters in “HOOKED” are timeless and span a period of over forty years.



In contrast, “HOOKED” also explores the solemn drama of dealing with divorce, death, and mental illness.



The story also delves into the totally crazy insane world of mid-life on-line computer dating. This is a hilarious look at dating in the computer world after 25 years of solid marriage. These “Dating” stories are contemporary, racy, scary, cheerful, timeless, and based on true events. Anyone who is old enough to date will soon relate to “HOOKED” as the comical reference for dating in the new millennium.



This adult romantic comedy story also relates to the power and testament of faith.


#3 Frank Allan Rogers

1. Pour a shot (or two) of Crown Royal into a big glass of ice-cold lemonade.
2. Drink it.
Don't bother stirring this drink. I don't know why but it tastes better unmixed (is that a word?) I think this is called a Lemon Crown. After the 2nd drink, you won't care. After the 3rd, you won't remember anyway.

Can a man from the 21st century survive in 1847? Murdered on his birthday, August Myles finds crossing over is nothing like he’d ever heard, read, or imagined, and learns he has not earned a ticket to Paradise. In a grand experiment, the members of the Divine Council gave August another chance. Or did they?
With all the limitations of a mortal, he is sent back in time with an impossible mission - an adventure filled with triumph and tragedy, courage and fear, sex and violence, happiness and heartbreak - a grueling journey on the Oregon Trail. And with all the needs and passions of a mortal, August must also battle the advances of two gorgeous women during long months and close encounters. One woman just wants to seduce him. Another falls in love. But for August Myles, carnal knowledge is forbidden.
Is there no justice?



#4 Mary Collins
Bahama Mama

1 shot Malibu coconut run
1 shot vodka (optional)
1/4 shot banana liquer (If you want more you can add to taste but you don't wanna overpower the rum or vodka)
4 oz. orange juice
4 oz pinapple juice
few drops of grenedine.
Pour over ice in tall glass. Beleive me, you'll get addicted.

After her husband leaves her for a younger woman, Erika is slow to open her heart to another man. But when she finds the sexy neighborhood gardener standing shirtless on her doorstep, she decides to give love another chance. Unsure of herself after being out of the dating game for so long, Erika takes it slow, only to have her sister swoop in and steal him away. For the second time, her heart is broken. She sells everything and moves to an island where no one knows her. Thinking she has left her past behind, she gets a call that changes her life. Her ex-husband has been in an accident.
When he wakes up thinking he’s still married to Erika, her real trouble begins.


#5 Nancy Curteman
Calypso Cooler


2/3 cup orange juice
2 T. lemon juice
1/3 cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/3 cups water
1 (6 oz) can frozen lemonade concentrate
3 cups ginger ale

Mix together the orange juice, lemon juice, banana, sugar, and water in a blender.
Pour into a refrigerator tray and freeze to mushy stage. Spoon into glasses
and fill with lemonade made by diluting the concentrate with ginger ale rather
than water. (serves 8) Add rum if desired.

When corporate trainer Lysi Weston attends a conference in Sydney, Australia, g’day turns into a very bad day after her Harlem-born colleague, Grace Wright, stumbles on the battered body of a childhood friend. Determined to sniff out the murderer, Lysi embarks on a labyrinth of trails that lead her to suspect a womanizing cop, a suave Black businessman and a voyeur who videos his victims.
Handsome Detective Maynard Christie tolerates Lysi’s meddling in his case until it jeopardizes his investigation. He orders her to stay out of his way, a directive she ignores. Both irritated with and attracted to her he begins to long for the quiet life on his Outback sheep station.
What Lysi does not anticipate is Grace succumbing to the charms of the prime suspect. A second homicide leads Lysi to an unexpected rendezvous with the murderer who is set on eliminating the last piece of incriminating evidence–Lysi Weston.



Saturday, June 23, 2012

Summer Fun At Solstice Publishing

Hi Everyone,

We have lots of fun and excitement planned at Solstice. Stop by this blog for daily writing tips, weekly contest and give aways.

Tons of fun and free stuff!!!!

If you aren't following us on twitter we would love to see you there as well.

@solsticepublish