Titles for my latest Dangerous Journey novel.

Over the last few months, I’ve worked on the 4th book in my Dangerous Journeys series. The title? None as yet.

Anne McPhail, doctor and genealogist vacationing in the Spanish village of Setenil, risks her life to save a child. An arms cartel kidnapped Naomi to pressure her grandfather, an Israeli cabinet minister, into voting to extend the settlements. The cartel’s goal: to foment war and increase the sales of its arms to both sides.
The story begins 16 days before the vote and 18 days until Anne leaves Spain.

Titles

1.The Child in the Plaza
2.Running
3.The Ransom
4.The Child on the Terrace
5.Naomi’s Donkey
6.Saving Naomi
7.Journey with Naomi
8.Rescuing Naomi
9.18 Days
10.Eighteen Days
11.Sixteen Days to the Vote
12.Sixteen Days
13.A Child as Pawn
14.The Red-haired Girl
15.Race to Italy

16.Abduction from Spain
17.Abduction from Setenil
18.The Spanish Rescue

Which title would you prefer? You can vote below.

A May Morning

Spring: the leaves popped on the Manitoba Maples along the creek back; serviceberry bushes bloomed white together with the spirea;  daffodils, mine at any rate, ended yesterday; the hummingbird returned last weekend, a few days early; the red-breasted grosbeaks returned to the feeder.

A long, harsh winter left some ornamental bushes bereft of leaves. My gorgeous Vibernum “Shasta” has growth only at the base, but the branches are green when I scrape them so I have hope. No hope for the Purple Smokebush and the Blue Mallow, I’m afraid.

Most of the roses and clematis have survived except for a little beauty—Blue Sprite clematis—that appears to be gone. But one’s never sure with clematis and it was buried deep so it may come along.

At the local nursery—Hills—I found two hybrid tea roses on their own root! I couldn’t resist and bought four: 2 dark red Royal William and  2 pink Royal Kate. They are supposed to be disease resistant and have a strong fragrance.

Writing: I’m within sight of the end of my first draft of my new Dangerous Journeys mystery with Anne McPail. This time she’s in Spain, her life endangered by her concern for a mysterious little girl.

Ontario is in the midst of an election. I see the Conservative Party is trying to position itself as the party of hope. Hope, as demonstrated by planning to eliminate 100,000 civil service jobs. A mythical number, neatly dissected by an editorial in the Globe and Mail. Hudak appears to pull these numbers from an imaginary hat. How many civil servants do you know? I can count at least three, not including the teachers, hospital workers, doctors, nurses, firefighters, police and whomever else the party fears to cut. That leaves social service, and labour and the environment, all unnecessary from its collective point of view. The ones I know are not at the top, not even managers, but workers who are on the wrong side of senior and likely to be cut first. Hope? Not too much. Read the editorial here. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/editorials/can-tim-hudak-win-election-by-100000-job-cuts/article18629579/#dashboard/follows

That’s about it for this Sunday in May.

 

 

Debut Suspense Novel from Stone Patrick

Stone Patrick’s debut novel, The Fallen Body, takes us to the heartland of Texas, to the fictional small town of Marlinsville, and young lawyer Taylour Dixxon. She focuses her practice on civil law but yearns for the big case. No one tells her to be careful what she wishes for.

One day, she meets Sarah Baines, a woman from New Jersey, befriends her and invites her to dinner. This is Taylour’s last peaceful moment for many weeks. The Texas Rangers burst in and arrest Sarah for the murder of her husband.

Taylour takes the case and before the murder is solved, finds herself saddled with a charming nephew, Spencer, almost loses her home and her life at the hands of the Russian mobster, Roman Danshov, and falls in love with Texas Ranger Philip Davidson. A wild ride, to be sure.

 

I enjoyed this densely-plotted debut novel, with its varied cast of characters.

Taylour, a feisty young woman at the beginning of her career, struggling with aggressive clients, and a Texas Ranger who distracts her from her work, deserves another outing. I hope Patrick has something more planned for her.

Spencer, my favorite 23 year-old going on 17, arrives with a show of adolescent bravado, but grows up during the novel time, and demonstrates his bravery at the conclusion.

Like many debut novels, The Fallen Body would benefit from a professional edit. However, if you enjoy romantic suspense and don’t demand foul language, explicit sex scenes or gratuitous violence, but want a book to keep you turning the pages, try The Fallen Body.

Watch for an interview with Stone Patrick on Wednesday, May 7.

The Fallen Body is available from Smashwords at the following link:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/402747?ref=tayman0522

 

ec·o·nom·ics: a simple twist on normalcy by Kersten L. Kelley

Today’s guest blogger is Kersten L. Kelley whose new book ec·o·nom·ics: a simple twist on normalcy 

reveals the role economics plays in our lives, from social movements to football. ‘m delighted to have her here today to tell us about herself and her approach to economics

Kersten L. Kelly is a self-published author of narrative non-fiction and semi-fiction books. She grew up in Munster, Indiana, and currently works in a sales role based out of Chicago, Illinois. She started writing at an early age and graduated from Indiana University with a dual Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Communication & Culture. She then went on to earn a Master’s in Business Administration from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She has a passion for learning, teaching, and writing as well as international travel in her spare time. This book is her first piece of published work.

Kersten:Kersten L. Kelley

When I first started writing as a kid, I never dreamed that I would be able to compose an entire book and actually publish it. The process seemed overwhelming and a massive undertaking, as it most definitely was. I began the writing process, and I found that I was writing little excerpts about economics that really interested me. Usually, I would encounter something in my life and think how economics played a large role in it. The majority of the time, these things seemed like they were unconnected to the naked eye. In particular, my interest in economics blossomed during my college years when I actually started studying it for my degree.

I love economics, and I majored in it during my undergraduate work at Indiana University. As a student, many of the examples in my textbooks were irrelevant and made the subject one that many students did not enjoy. I wanted to change the negative connotations associated with the topic. I wanted to make it something that people understood and relished learning about. I want to shed light on economics as a topic for the average reader. I want them to realize that economics is not just graphs, charts, and theories. It can be applicable in almost any situation. The theories that I explain in the book are developed with multiple examples that readers can relate to. Purchasing gasoline is one of them, and education is another. It is amazing how economic theory can help to explain both.

I liked the ability to argue my opinions, compile them in a written publication, and have readers be able to communicate with me via my website and through reviews. There has been nothing more rewarding than working for a year to create a publication that people can pick up and read. I like the idea that someone else can read what I wrote and discuss it with others. I wanted people to be able to learn from what I wrote, so I took the chance and created the book.

The book is a unique compilation of examples of pop culture, history, social media, business, sports, and education all explained through an economic lens. It uses current market trends and examples that can be applicable and enjoyable for anyone. It is written in a narrative non-fiction format so it flows easily and does not read similarly to a textbook. Economics is part of daily life, and this book challenges readers to question how and why people make decisions by adding a simple twist on normalcy.

Kersten’s website   http://www.theeconomicsbook.com

Kersten’s book on Amazon http://preview.tinyurl.com/9jkmlvv 

Thanks for visiting, Kersten and all the best wishes for your writing career.

Guest Blog—Kersten L. Kelley

On Sept. 5th Kersten L. Kelley will stop by on her blog tour to discuss her new book. economics: a simple twist on normacy.

Publishing and still waiting, cont.

The proof copy is in the mail! Now I’m waiting on Canada Post. In the meantime, I’m sending out a few queries to Canadian agents for another novel, HIDDEN. This one isn’t in the Dangerous Journeys series although the protagonist is well-travelled by book’s end. Below is a very short synopsis:

Bella, a young Toronto doctor, leaves her narrow life, bounded by her condo, her addiction meetings and her volunteer work at a refugee centre, to save her immigrant clients from a gang of imported thugs from Chechnya. The next three weeks take her from Toronto to Rome to Venice to Dubrovnik, finally bringing her face to face with a killer in a toolshed in Toronto.

Writing synopses is one of the more difficult tasks for a novelist. One needs to write more than one: one for the jacket and then a series for different agents and different publishers. There isn’t uniformity in the publishing world.

And then there is something else called the “pitch”. This is a very short, 20 second sentence that can be blurted out to agents or publishers at conferences, at lunch or in the elevator. It seems strange to me that a decision on whose work to read can depend on a practiced sentence, possibly not even written by the speaker.

Another item is “the hook”, a brief description of some aspect of the work that sets it aside from others and can capture the reader.

All this for the business of writing.