My story The Yuletide Bride wasn’t written with a sequel in mind. So how did I create one? A minor character in the first story intrigued me. Malcolm showed wit in the first story, character growth, and insight into his sister and her bagpipes. I liked him. An awkward unmarried teamster, albeit light on his […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Terri Luckey offers a peek at an outtake scene
Free ebook offer! Read to the end to find it. To write a great scene, I’ve found it really important to know my characters. How are they going to react to a situation I throw them in? To write it, I want to experience it through their eyes, but not just see it. Feel it. […]
Behind the Scenes: How Author Gail Kittleson chose the title for her WWII tale
Choosing a title can drive an author a tad crazy. My recent women’s fiction went through a few. It started out as A Time for Flowers because of my heroine’s World War II victory garden. Addie’s down-the-country-road neighbor offers pithy advice along with her flower starts, so I liked the emphasis. As time passed, an […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Janet Sketchley and the wonder of flying
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by flying. On commercial flights, I try for a window seat, and take-offs and landings are the best parts. (I did let out a roller-coaster squeal one time when the plane dropped into an air pocket, but we’d just come from a Six Flags amusement […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Terri Wangard in a WWII Flying Fortress
Here’s how to make World War II come alive in your mind: ride in a Flying Fortress like I did. My World War II series Promise For Tomorrow features three navigators who fly in B-17s, the Flying Fortress. You may have seen them in movies like Memphis Belle, where the men speak to each other […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Sandra Orchard finds it takes a village to raise a character
It takes a real-life village to raise a child character. For my character Serena Jones, a plucky FBI agent on the trail of a hot painting in A Fool and His Monet, it took a couple of FBI agents; a friend who is single; a retired police officer; a longtime resident of St. Louis; and […]
Behind the Scenes: Tell us about what’s behind YOUR work
Our Behind the Scenes blog post today is by you, in the comments. Please tell us about the inspiration for one of your stories! We’ve got people waiting to read all about it!
Behind the Scenes: Author James R. Callan brings a tale of buried treasure to relevance in modern Texas
Years ago, I did some research in information retrieval while working on a Ph. D. in mathematics. Later, I left technology behind and began to write. As I scanned ideas for plots, the thought of using informational retrieval in a book popped up often. Several years ago, I read an old Texas folk tale about […]
Behind the Scenes: What’s it like to be blind? asks author Mary L. Hamilton
An orange sunset. Blue sky. Green grass. No doubt, you’ve already created an image in your mind from each of these three phrases. But imagine being blind from a very young age, not knowing the difference between orange, blue and green. All your life, you’ve been told the sky is blue. So when you undergo […]
Behind the Scenes: Author H.L. Wegley hikes a canyon and envisions a war there
Easter weekend, 1988—our car rolled across the flat, Central Oregon desert on Highway 97. Suddenly, the earth dropped out of sight. Why, I couldn’t tell. But, on the return trip, what I saw there stole my breath—a miniature Grand Canyon carved in the desert floor by the Crooked River. I hadn’t a clue that after […]