Found Another Painting

Yes, I found another beautiful painting.  This one at a yard sale in Australia.  I very rarely ever go to yard sales, but my husband and I were visiting our daughter in the spring and he spotted  a yard sale in the neighbourhood so we popped over for a look.  (Plus, I'm an avid Antiques Show watcher, and I've always wanted to find a painting at a yard sale - bonus!)

My daughter's Mother-In-Law, Barbara, was with us.  She picked up the oil painting first and my little heart went pitter-pat.  I waited to see if she was going to take it.  She put it back.  I snagged it quickly, asking her if she was sure she didn't want it.  She didn't.  My son-in-law had been telling me he was going to buy a painting in the next little while, and here it was, a gorgeous painting that would look great in their living room.

The painting is from the Sandy Creek Gallery and the artist is Shirley Docking.  Barb and I are avid Googlers so the minute we got home we both opened our laptops and started Googling to find out about the artist.  Barb found the information first. Unfortunately, the lady who painted this gorgeous work of art was murdered in Sandy Creek by an infamous Australian killer.  Not something I expected to find and not quite the kind of provenance I was hoping to attach to this painting.  You might not be able to tell in the photo but Shirley Docking used mixed mediums in this artwork.  Oils and acrylics.  The acrylics give dimension to the tree bark making it look very real.  A true Australian outback scene.

This painting has found a home where it will be treasured for its intrinsic beauty.  I think, somewhere, Shirley will be happy that her work of art has found a happy home.

NEW RELEASE

I'm soooo happy to tell you all that my newest book, Black Moon Awakening has just released.
If you like werewolves and shifters and a bit of a spy premise check out the free reading samples available at on-line locations.

BLACK MOON AWAKENING....  She could receive a death sentence for just talking with him, so why did she yearn for his touch?

VOICE

The concept of voice is something new authors have a hard time grasping.  What is voice?  How do we find ours?  How do we cultivate it?

Have you seen the tv program ‘The Voice’?  Aptly named for the topic of my blog.  I’d actually never seen this show until the last couple of weeks.  Now I’m quite enjoying it.  It’s interesting that we get to watch the judge’s faces during the blind auditions while they listen and try to decide if they’re hearing a voice they’ll want to represent.

I had a light bulb moment when one singer came out and started singing with a voice somewhat like Melanie singing “Brand New Key,” but not really —A voice that is hard to describe with a unique twist all her own.  I watched the judge’s expressions perk up one after another.  Voice!  Recognizable as something the audience would be drawn to, but significantly different enough to be very unique in the marketplace.  I’ll be following the show to see how she fares out in the competition because I find her uniqueness very compelling.

Isn’t that what we strive for as authors?  Of course we’re born with our voice, but how many of us trust it enough to give it the freedom to find its way in the writing biz.  Some people spend most of their time trying to sound like someone else.  And they even compare themselves to other authors when pitching their book.  This is not something I’d ever do.   Why?  Because I don’t want to sound like someone else.  And I’m not afraid to let my muse loose in my writing.  <G>  I want to be like this mysterious, marvelous, strangely compelling singer — I'd like to be completely unique but with an essence or element to my writing that feels familiar, and recognizable, and something my readers are looking for.

When I saw those judges faces and heard that voice, I knew exactly how to describe "Voice" to writers. 

REVIEW of WHAT SHE DOESN'T KNOW

My Review: Smitten With Reading Christi Snow

There is a whole history in this book that neither you nor the heroine knows and that makes this book so much fun to read. Raven is the heroine of this novel and she is looking for her dead husband who tried to kill her. Something just isn't right about his death and she can't hide out in her house any longer, so she decides to take action. That action leads her to Sloan, her husband's look-alike cousin, although she doesn't realize that they are related, and a mystery about her life that she doesn't remember.

And I don't know what else to say about this book without giving something away. Before the book even starts, you are given a poem (which is just gorgeous) that plays into the story line of the entire novel.

On an Island

In an Ocean

Lies a Castle

Heart's Devotion

King and Queen

And Golden Princess

Behold their Realm

With Guarded Interest

Beyond the Sea

Beyond the Wall

A Name that Doesn't Suit

At All

The Key Becomes

For those who Seek

The Answer to its own

Mystique

I just love it and I really enjoyed the entire story! There is great suspense here and the basis for a gorgeous romance. There are several mysteries here. First, the questions about what happened to Raven's parents? Is her husband really dead? Why doesn't she remember a huge chunk of her life including Sloan? How does the Protectorate and the treasures they protect come into it all? Who's the mysterious stranger on the island? What is Raven not remembering? It's all really very good!

If there is one complaint that I have about this book, it's that the author didn't compound on the romantic story line and sexual tension more. All the elements were there and what is there was really good...I just wanted more. More in the way of sexual tension and more in the way of the HEA. I am thinking that this may be the beginning of an ongoing series with these two characters though. If that's the case, then I completely agree with how much the author put in this one. The door is definitely there for Sloan &amp; Raven to create a partnership going after the American Protectorate and if that's the case, I can't wait until the next book!

Foray into Self-Publishing

Well, I did it.  I dared to step into the fray.  I thought about it long and hard before I took the step.  So many of my friends were on-board and doing very well.  Luckily, I found a wonderful lady who edited my book.  A general edit -- an overview, rather than a line edit -- that's what I requested.  Plotholes, timelines, etc.   She was wonderful.  Her name is Nancy Cassidy and her webpage is http://www.theredpencoach.com/home/ 
Next, I had a cover done.  And, is it a great cover!  I love it.  It was done by Kim Killion at Hot Damn Designs  www.hotdamndesigns.com/    Kim, took my suggestion for the bookcover to a whole new level.  It really does tell the reader what the story is about in a single glance.

Now, I'm lucky enough to have a friend who offered to format the document for me to get it online.  Thanks Rik!   Rik is one of Mark Coker's formatters.  You can find him online at Smashwords or at his website. www.rikhall.com/ 

Thing is, my friends were all ahead of me and talking about formatting and tweaking, and doing this and that.  I felt out of the loop.  I needed to know what it was they'd done.  I needed to do it for myself to understand the process. 

This experience has led me to understand that there is a mini techie lurking inside me.  LOL  I loved figuring it out and doing it for myself.   That said, my friend Norah Wilson shared umpteen messages with me to smooth the process out.  She's got several books online and is a Pro.   She's also a master marketer.  We all ask Norah for advice.  Thank you, my friend!

Next, I'm back to working on a requested book.  One that is three quarters finished and calling out to me.  After that, another self-pubbed book?   You bet!

SUNFLOWERS ARE FOREVER

This summer my husband and I were dropping off some things to our local Salvation Army.  As you might guess, I have more books than the average person, so I was glancing around to see if I could donate a few when I spotted a bookshelf.  My gaze immediately gravitated to what was sitting on the top of that shelf!  A painting.  A painting with sunflowers and a stack of books piled on a table.  It felt like a gift for me -- and me alone.  I couldn't get across that room fast enough to snatch up my beautiful little find that cost me a whole $3.00. 

When I got home, I immediately hung my newfound treasure on my office wall. Then I set out to find the artist and ask if she still paints.  Much to my amazement I was able to find her.  I learned that the painting I bought is one of only three paintings she did for an arts class in University. She doesn't paint any longer.  I hope my interest and love for her art has changed her mind, one never knows.  But I look at my lovely little painting every day, and appreciate what she created in that class.

New TV Series Grimm

Did you like the Brothers' Grimm?  Who was your favorite character?
There's a new tv series "Grimm".  If you haven't seen it yet and you like dark fantasy, I recommend you give it a try.  It's a police procedural, a definite draw for those of us who like cop shows with a little something, something added in.  The hero is a Grimm, a monster hunter who hunts down creatures that only he can see.  It's an interesting premise. 

Maybe I like it because my vampire hunter series (Jess Vandermire Vampire Hunter) is also a police procedural with vampires.  I think it adds extra interest when there's a secondary story running parallel to the paranormal elements.

If you've found a new TV show that really good, I'd love to hear about it.