Break-Up #It’s Six Sentence Story Thursday Link Up

Today, I’m trying a new feature. The object here is to write a story in no more and no less than six sentences. This week’s prompt word is “shower.” Here’s my contribution.

 

BREAK-UP

 

My phone rang while I was in the shower. With the water running, I didn’t hear it, but when I got out, I noticed Jake had called. This was it, I thought with relief. He would tell me the rumor about him being with another woman was false. But a minute later, tears rolled down my cheeks when I checked my voicemail and found his message. “Hi, I just called to say that I’m sorry, but you and I are done.”

***

Note: the song below also inspired the above story.

 

Now, it’s your turn. To learn how you can participate, click here. Alternatively, you can leave your six-sentence story in the comment field below. Any way you do it, I look forward to reading it.

 

By the way, from now until July 31^st, you can download My Ideal Partner and The Red Dress absolutely free from Smashwords as part of its annual summer/winter sale. Click here to visit my Smashwords author page.

Also, for those of you who use the National Library Services for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. Thank you for reading. Stay safe, happy, and healthy, and may you always have positive experiences.

New! The Red Dress

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

***

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Anthology Reflects on Middle Age #Thursday Book Feature

On Being 40(ish): Fifteen Writers on the Prime of Their Lives

Edited by Lindsey Mead

Copyright 2019

 

What Amazon Says

 

Fifteen powerful women and writers you know and love—from the pages of The New Yorker, The New York Times, Vogue, Glamour, and The Atlantic—offer captivating, intimate, and candid explorations about what it’s really like turning forty—and that the best is yet to come.

The big 4-0. Like eighteen and twenty-one, this is a major and meaningful milestone our lives—especially for women. Turning forty is a poignant doorway between youth and…what comes after; a crossroads to reflect on the roads taken and not, and the paths yet before you. The decade that follows is ripe for nostalgia, inspiration, wisdom, and personal growth.

 

In this dazzling collection, fifteen writers explore this rich phase in essays that are profound, moving, and above all, brimming with joie de vivre. With a diverse array of voices—including Veronica Chambers, Meghan Daum, Kate Bolick, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Sloane Crosley, KJ Dell’Antonia, Julie Klam, Jessica Lahey, Catherine Newman, Sujean Rim, Jena Schwartz, Sophfronia Scott, Allison Winn Scotch, Lee Woodruff, and Jill Kargman—On Being 40(ish) offers a range of universal themes—friendship, independence, sex, beauty, aging, wisdom, and the passage of time.

On Being 40(ish) reflects the hopes, fears, challenges, and opportunities of a generation. Beautifully designed, this is “a must read for anyone 40ish or beyond…Like a pep talk from your big sister, favorite cousin, and wise best friend” (Joanna Goddard, Cup of Jo).

 

My Thoughts

 

When I read an excerpt in this month’s issue of Reader’s Digest, I was intrigued, although my forties are long gone. I must admit I’d never heard of many of these writers. This made their insights all the more refreshing. Besides essays on topics related to being in their forties, contributors complete sentences like “The most important thing I learned in my forties is…” with thought-provoking responses. If you’re a woman who hasn’t reached your forties yet, this collection may serve as a sort of preview of coming attractions. If you’re past your forties, you can read this and reflect on your own prime of life.

***

By the way, from now until July 31^st, you can download My Ideal Partner and The Red Dress absolutely free from Smashwords as part of its annual summer/winter sale. Click here to visit my Smashwords author page.

Also, for those of you who use the National Library Services for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. Thank you for reading. Stay safe, happy, and healthy, and may you always have positive experiences.

New! The Red Dress

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

***

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From Wyoming to California #Open Book Blog Hop

This week’s question from blogger Stevie Turner is this. What elements of your life have you woven into your latest book? In The Red Dress, one of my characters, Jon, grew up in Wyoming but lives in California, where he does sound effects for movies. He’s based on my uncle, who has the same name, background, and occupation.

The following scene was inspired by a time when my late husband Bill and I visited my uncle and aunt in Valley Village. Here, Eve, my main character, gets to know Jon a little more.

***

In the kitchen, she found Jon at the stove. Ashley and Brenda were sitting at a nearby table,  eating.

“Hi, Mom,” said Ashley.

Jon turned from the stove. With a broad smile and a Southern drawl, he said, “How about some  fresh–squoze orange juice? I done squoze it myself.”

Eve laughed and said, “I didn’t know you were from the South.”

“I’m actually from Wyoming,” he said, reaching for a pitcher on a nearby counter. “I got bitten by  the film bug and ended up here.”

“And he’s tired of just doing sound effects for movies,” said Brenda. “He wants to get cast in a  new production of Gone with the Wind.”

“Now, you hush up, girl,” said Jon, again in his Southern accent.

***

Who is Brenda, and what is Eve doing in California? Read The Red Dress and find out.

By the way, from now until July 31^st, you can download My Ideal Partner and The Red Dress absolutely free from Smashwords as part of its annual summer/winter sale. Click here to visit my Smashwords author page.

Also, for those of you who use the National Library Services for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. Thank you for reading. Stay safe, happy, and healthy, and may you always have positive experiences.

New! The Red Dress

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

***

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My Amazon Author Page

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Leaning on the Everlasting Arms #Musical Monday

The song I’m featuring today was one I heard years ago on a radio drama my local NPR station was broadcasting. Entitled something like Night of the Hunter, it was about a killer disguised as a preacher. After he murders a widow, as he’s pursuing her children, he sings, “Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms.” The children manage to escape, and the faux preacher is apprehended.

I later learned the song sung by this villain is actually a hymn. I overheard it being sung during a church service at the nursing home where I worked. According to Dr. Crystal Grimes, whose lovely rendition I’m featuring today, this was a bluegrass classic. In her post linked to below, she plays the song on her liar, shares her first memories of singing it, and provides some background information. Enjoy, and may you always be safe and secure from all alarms.

 

Via Leaning on the Everlasting Arms #Music

 

By the way, from now until July 31^st, you can download My Ideal Partner and The Red Dress absolutely free from Smashwords as part of its annual summer/winter sale. Click here to visit my Smashwords author page.

Also, for those of you who use the National Library Services for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. Thank you for reading. Stay safe, happy, and healthy, and may you always have positive experiences.

New! The Red Dress

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

***

My Books

My Amazon Author Page

Facebook

Website

 

A Snowflake in July #Thursday Book Feature

How to Write Your Novel Using the Snowflake Method

by Randy Ingermanson

Copyright 2017

 

What Amazon Says

 

Are you writing a novel, but having trouble getting your first draft written? You’ve heard of “outlining,” but that sounds too rigid for you. You’ve heard of “organic writing,” but that seems a bit squishy to you.

Take a look at the wildly popular Snowflake Method—a battle-tested series of ten steps that jump-start your creativity and help you quickly map out your story. All around the world, novelists are using the Snowflake Method right now to ignite their imaginations and get their first drafts down on paper.

In this book, you’ll follow the story of a fictitious novelist as she learns to tap into the amazing power of the Snowflake Method. Almost magically, she finds her story growing from a simple idea into a deep and powerful novel. And she finds her novel changing her—turning her into a stronger, more courageous person.

How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method is a “business parable”—a how-to guide written in story form. It’s zany. It’s over the top. It’s just plain fun. Most important, it’s effective, because it  shows you, rather than telling you. You’ll learn by example how to grow your story idea into a sizzling first draft. before you write it.

 

My Thoughts

 

I tried the Snowflake Method online several years ago when I was stuck on a novel I was writing. I gave up after the first two or three steps, and my novel eventually became a short story. But when a fellow writer recommended the Audible version of the book, I figured it was worth a second look. I discovered that this is the best book on novel-writing I’ve ever read.

Unlike other such books that just give you information and instructions, How to Write Your Novel Using the Snowflake Method turns the tale of Goldilocks and the three bears on its head in order to explain this method. You may wonder if this book is for children, but I assure you, it’s for adults who are serious about writing novels.

After weaving his compelling story to illustrate the ten steps of the Snowflake Method, Randy Ingermanson outlines the steps and includes his own steps in this method that he followed when writing his tale. A PDF document containing the steps and his own Snowflake Method can be downloaded for free from his website here.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in writing a novel. I may try the Snowflake Method with a new novel before I write it.

***

By the way, from now until July 31^st, you can download My Ideal Partner and The Red Dress absolutely free from Smashwords as part of its annual summer/winter sale. Click here to visit my Smashwords author page.

Also, for those of you who use the National Library Services for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. Thank you for reading. Stay safe, happy, and healthy.

New! The Red Dress

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

***

My Books

My Amazon Author Page

Facebook

Website