If you followed me long enough, you might know I’m part of an on-line community called The Critters. It’s a forum that provides critiques and where writers new and seasoned band together to help one another. And boy, didn’t they helped me along the way. They have a Tour I can’t go with (time is such a precious commodity, and I’m afraid I have little to none left), but as they all have great stories, what I can do is to show you all their works. So, once a month, we’ll be touring with The Critters!
Mistletoe in the City (Handmade for Christmas Book 3) by Amber Daulton
Krista Hartley never expected the unrequited love of her life, the irresistible Derek Weston, to work as the groundskeeper at the apartment building she just moved into. They barely spoke in high school but now, three years after graduation, they tore at each other’s clothes and jumped into bed together at every opportunity. After all, how could a hot-blooded woman say no to a sexy man with an eyebrow ring, a dragon tattoo and a deadly swagger?
A Christmas miracle drew Krista back into Derek’s life. He kissed her for the first time under mistletoe, pampered her with romantic candlelight dinners and memorized every inch of her delectable body with his tongue. He refused to let his dream girl slip through his fingers again but then another woman threatened their whirlwind romance. Hurt once before, Krista broke off their relationship and then Derek made a drunken mistake that could destroy their love forever. With just days to Christmas, he vowed to win back her heart and trust, and prove his innocence once and for all.
Story 3 in the best-selling series, Handmade for Christmas.
Love in the Key of C by Daryl Devoré
Collapsing in front the biggest department store in the city on one of the busiest days of the holiday season was not how Giselle imagined her day. Cold and hungry, she trudged through her daily existence wondering if she’d ever find happiness again.
Teenagers. Ethan loved working with them and turning their raw musical talent into something beautiful and rewarding, but that didn’t fill the black void in his soul.
Like fate, the songwriters’ muse nudged Giselle and Ethan together. But can Giselle overcome her fears and can Ethan get past the darkness that surrounds him, so they can find love?
Writer’s Inspiration
One question writers get asked, “Where do you get your inspiration from?”
Most of the time I’m stuck for an answer. Stories just come to me.
Another question is, “What was your playlist for this book?”
I don’t have playlists. I write in silence. Distractions distract me. I’m a bit ADD. Oh, look a chicken. Is there chocolate?
My publisher put out a call for Christmas shorts. Short novellas that focus on the holiday season. I thought it sounded like a fun idea.
But it was mid-Oct and I couldn’t get into the Christmas spirit – heck it wasn’t even Canadian Thanksgiving yet. The grass was green. The flowers were still in bloom.
So I popped on my head phones and listened to Christmas music – not just any Christmas music – Trans Siberian Orchestra. If you’ve never listened to them – give it a go. Wow – their take on Christmas music is phenomenal. One song in particular – Carol of the Bells. (Technically, its name on the album cover is Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24.) To catch a listen – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6FhOb7-1dg
The story behind their version of the song – On Christmas Eve, a lone man challenges the war playing music on the rubble of the destruction of his city – Sarajevo. When you listen to this song, you can hear the beauty and then the destruction – the jarring rock music wonderfully portraying the bombs and chaos.
In my story, Love in the Key of C, the rock music is Giselle’s life. It’s a mess. Not the life she’d planned and something she was truly embarrassed about.
Giselle, is you or I. No one special, but life kicked her down once too often. There by the grace of God go I – that line wasn’t the basis for the story – the music was – but it does help understanding.
The story follows the same structure of the song – calm – chaos – calm – chaos then resolution. All in under 10,000 words.
So for once, I can answer two interview questions –
“Where do you get your inspiration from?”
Trans Siberian Orchestra’s Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24
“What was your playlist for this book?”
Trans Siberian Orchestra’s Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24
A Right to love by Liza O’Conor
Jacko, a gypsy with a great love for stealing, rescues a suffragette from Bedlam. Upon returning the elderly woman to safety, he meets her blue-stocking daughter. Alice has decided she prefers managing her estate farms over London society. She is resigned to never marry until the handsome and surprisingly wealthy man with a dark past and several identities steals her heart.
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MacKade ~ V.V. Strange 