Sunday Snippets: Topic: Villain(s) 9/18/2016

A change of pace this Sunday this Sunday.  Instead of a snippets from my featured novel, "Brede".
I thought I post a writing topic.

One of the most important characters in a story, the person we love to hate.  The 'villain'.

Villian

noun

1.

a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted towickedness or crime; 

scoundrel.

2.

a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency 

in the plot.

My personal faves (if you can label a villain as such): 

White Witch from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C. S. Lewis

The White Witch is a beautiful, proud, and cruel villain who has made herself Queen of Narnia against the wishes of all who live there. It is because of her that it has been always winter and never Christmas for the last 100 years. If anyone tries to rebel against her, they are sure to be found and captured by her spies, at which point the rebel will be imprisoned or turned to stone. She is also the witch who wages war against Peter, Lucy, and their Narnian army.  (She still frightens me).

Jane Eyre was really is like a Cinderella story in some ways, with plenty of villainy for our heroine to cope with as she proves herself a princess.  (Skillfully written, this novel is a favorite of mine).

Darth Vader, Star Wars. The Wicked Witch of the West. The Wizard of Oz.

Do I write these type of villains?  

No. ( I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.). Usually, villains in my novels are people who did not start out as evil; if the villain is evil, she/ he is mostly off stage (remember Meerkat Manor gives me nightmares).

In my YA novel, Whisper upon the Water, Sister Enid, did a great deal of good before her focus changed.  Since this was a YA novel (Dream Real Award Winner, National Book Award Nominee, and Frankfurt eBook Finalist), which deals with Native American issues, I was careful not to make the evil a racial focus.  Instead, Sister Enid and the circumstances where a product of the times: ignorance and fear, which became hatred.

The Purpose of Villains.

In my opinion,the villain can be worth more than the hero. I say this because the villain, or antagonist, serves many purposes. In his or her simplest form, the villain is a foil to the protagonist. The values and goals of the hero are contrasted and challenged by the villain. 

The villain and the hero both play different roles in the plot. While the villain initiates and develops the conflict, the hero finds the solution.  In many novels and stories, the villain is far more complex than the hero. What led them to choose his or her path?  A hero may have "greatness thrust upon him," but a villain leads a life of isolation. What I mean to say is that no matter how difficult it gets for the hero on his or her journey, Good will always be there for support. In contrast, the villain chooses Evil —a path he or she will walk alone. 

The antagonist and villain figures of fiction and real life teach us more about ourselves than the hero. In the villain we identify our best and worst qualities by either disagreeing with the villain's actions or attempting to comprehend the vile deeds he or she commits. 

It must be emphasized that heroes and villains are interchangeable and far from black and white, but in their most stereotyped forms, they contrast. A hero may struggle, but his or her values are strong and unwavering. A villain, like Darth Vader, may switch to the Good side. 

Villains provide fiction with entertainment, plot and philosophical depth. In many ways, it is the villain that defines the hero - chooses him. 

Happy Reading,

Connie 

Please visit the other wonderful writers who participate in our weekly blog hop:

http://mizging.blogspot.com/ Ginger Simpson

 http://triciamg.blogspot.com/Tricia McGill

/http://yesterrdayrevisitedhere.blogspot.com/ (Juliet Waldron)

Sunday Snippets by Connie Vines #sundaysnips&stuff

It's another beautiful Sunday morning.  

Today I'd like to share another  snippet from my Rodeo Romance, "Lynx".

Page 51:

Blinking irritably at the heavy, burning sensation in his eyes, compliments of a sleepless night invaded by erotic dreams of Rachel, Lynx crawled from bed the following morning and staggered to the rear of the camper.  He managed to perk a strong pot of coffee before peering into the refrigerator.  A quart of milk with an expiration date of six days past, a mummified tomato, and a cardboard container holding a two-day old hamburger stared back at him.  The heavy scent of bacon, pancakes, and eggs from next door provoked a rumble of hunger from his stomach.  He needed food.  It only went to reason, Running Springs, being a small town, possessed one cafe--"The Round-Up" where Rachel worked.

With a resigned shrug, Lynx showered, shaved, and got dressed.

Lynx stopped short when he walked across the threshold of the cafe, his gaze riveted to the woman whose image had kept him up all night--Rachel.

He felt like hell, and he looked like hell, and to compound his ire, she sat at the end of the counter looking refreshed.  At five in the morning, she should have looked a little haggard!

Her silky hair was pinned at the nape of her neck in some type of complicated braid.  
She looked up at him when the bell over the door jingled, and she managed a smile.  "Good morning," she said cheerfully, rising to her feet.  

To read more of "Lynx" or "Brede" Rodeo Romance, Book 2.  Click on the book covers, or visit my website:  www.novelsbyconnievines.com

download now at Amazon.com



Please stop by and read the Sunday Snippets of the authors participating in our weekly Blog Hop, too!

Happy Reading,

Connie



http://triciamg.blogspot.com/
http://yesterrdayrevisitedhere.blogspot.com/
http://mizging.blogspot.com/

Snippets for Brede next week!

Sunday Snippets #12/6/2016

Welcome to Sunday Snippets!

Today I will take a snip from my Rodeo Romance, Book 2, Brede.

"You saved my life," she said.

He raised a hand to her hair and stroked its softness.

"Do you realize how close you came to dying?"

"No," she whispered.  Yet she did know how close she'd com to death--she saw the truth in the stark expression on his face.

She'd felt his strength, his determination.  He'd been the one who'd pulled her back from the edge of death and willed her to survive.


Please stop by and visit my fellow Sunday Snippets authors.

Remember Bred is on sale of 99 cents this month!

Be sure and Hop to these Sunday Snippets Blogs:

Juliet Waldron

Trisha McGill

(Ginger Simpson should be back next week.)

See you next Sunday,

Connie

                                    Remember to stuff those eReaders with BWL Holiday Bargains!                           

KOBO               Smashwords          AllRomance       Amazon      barnes and noble

Sunday Snippet #11/15/2015

Fall has arrived in SoCal!  With the promise of El Nino to take the edge off our drought worries, I found myself baking with several items available at local farmers' markets, or if you live in a rain rich region, you make have these vegetables and fruits in your backyard.

My featured novel this month, "Brede", is set in New Mexico.  To honor the bounty of this diverse state, I have posted two delicious recipes that you may wish to try this winter.  Both are simple, filling, a good for you.  As you know, Brede's mystery woman isn't know for her culinary skills.  However, sandwiched between her dramatic failures, she does manage to turn out a tasty meal or two!  

Pull out your slow cooker (I know you have one somewhere in your cupboard) and prepare these Fall treats!

Carrot and Coriander Soup

Root vegetable, such as carrots, are great for slow cooker soups.  Their earthy flavor becomes rich and sweet when cooked slowly over a gentle heat and goes perfectly with robust herbs and spices, and their texture becomes beautifully smooth when pureed.

Serves 4
1 lb carrots, preferably young and tender
1 tablespoon. sunflower oil
3 tablespoon butter / low fat margarine
1 onion, chopped
1 stick celery, plus 2 -3 leafy tops
2 small potatoes, peeled
1 1/2 pints/ 3 1/4 cups boiling vegetable stock
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
1/4 pint/ 2/3 cup milk
salt and ground black pepper

Trim and peel carrots and cut into chunks.  Heat oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan and fry onion over a gentle heat for 3 - 4 minutes until slightly cooked. Do not let it brown.

Slice the celery and chop the potatoes, and add them to the onion in the pan.  Cook for 2 minutes, then add the carrots and cook for an additional minute.  Transfer the fried vegetables to the ceramic cooking pot.

Pour the boiling vegetable stock over the vegetables, then season with salt and pepper.  Cover the pot and cook on low for 4 - 5 hours until the vegetable as tender.

Reserve 6 - 8 tiny celery leaves from the leafy tops for the garnish, then finely chop the remaining celery tops.  Melt the remaining in a large pan and add the ground coriander.  Fry for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the aromas are released.

Reduce the heat under the pan and add the chopped celery tops and fresh coriander. Fry 30 seconds, then remove from the heat.  Ladle the soup into a food processor, blender, or use an immersion blender (or a potato masher if you wish like a few veggie pieces).  Using the same pan, stir in milk and heat until piping hot.  

Check the seasoning, then serve garnished with the reserved celery leaves.





Pumpkin and Banana Cake

Rather like a cross between a carrot cake and banana bread, the luscious cake is an excellent  way of using some of the scooped-out pumpkin fresh after making Halloween pumpkin lanterns.  A cream cheese topping provides a delicious contrast with the dense moist cake. 

Serves 12

2 cups of self-rising flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of salt
10 tablespoons/ 5 oz. of light brown sugar
3/4 cup/3 oz. pecans or walnuts, chopped
4 oz. pumpkin flesh, coarsely grated
2 small bananas, peeled and mashed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup/1/4 pint sunflower oil

For the topping

1/4 cup/2 oz. 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup/ 2 oz. soft cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup/ 4 oz. confectioners' sugar.
pecan halves, to decorate

Line the base and sides of a deep 8 inch round bake tin or souffle dish with baking parchment.  Place an upturned saucer or metal pastry ring in the base of the ceramic cooking pot, then pour in about 1 inch of very hot water.  Switch the slow cooker to high.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt (or just dump it all in a bowl like I do).  Stir in the sugar, chopped nuts and grated pumpkin until thoroughly mixed.  Make a slight hollow in the middle of the dry ingredients. 

In a separate bowl, combine the bananas, eggs, and sunflower oil, then stir into the dry ingredients.  Turn into the prepared tin and level the surface. 

Cover the tin with a pieced of buttered foil and place into the slow cooker.  Pour sufficient boiling water to come just over halfway up the sides of the tin.

Cover the pot with the lid and cook on high for 4 - 4.5 hours, or until the cake is firm and skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Carefully remove the cake from the slow cooker and stand the tin on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.  Turn out and leave to cool completely, then peel off the lining paper.

To make the topping, put the butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat until blended and smooth.   Sift in the confectioner's sugar (I do sift here) and beat again until smooth and creamy.  Thickly spread the topping over the top of the cake and decorate with pecan halves.  Chill in the refrigerator for a least 1 hour before serving to allow the topping to harden.


I hope you try and enjoy these delicious recipes.  Remember "Brede" Rodeo Romance, Book 2 is 99 cents during the month of November.

Stop by and see what everyone else is talking about this week's Sunday Snippets!

Happy Reading,

Connie

http://yesterrdayrevisitedhere.blogspot.com/  Juliet Waldron  

http://mizging.blogspot.com/       Ginger Simpson

http://triciamg.blogspot.com/  Tricia McGill

bookswelove.com

Sunday Snippets

Today's Sunday Snippet is the final snip from "Lynx" Rodeo Romance, Book 1

Rachel awaken slowly with first light.  She felt Lynx's body along the length of hers, keeping her warm. His arm rested across her waist and his steady breath brushed her nape.  For a moment, Rachel felt like she belonged to this Texas cowboy.

Then the hazy feeling of sleep left her mind, and she remembered.  Today was their scheduled trip.

Lynx was taking her to Texas.

Rachel thought of all the arguments she'd had with herself about meeting his family.  Whe hadn't won one yet.  And she was still afraid of going.

Perhaps she could continue to fool Lynx, making him think she was sure of herself but she couldn't fool herself any longer.  It was time to get up and make some double-strength coffee.  Courage in a cup.

Reaching for her robe, she slipped out of bed.

Glancing at Lynx. . .

Thank you for stopping by my blog today.

Please visit the other Sunday Snippets of these participants:

http://yesterrdayrevisitedhere.blogspot.com/

http://mizging.blogspot.com/

http://triciamg.blogspot.com/

http://romancingscifi.blogspot.com/

http://authorjamiehill.blogspot.com/

Connie

Stop by next Sunday for snippets from my Sassy and Fun Fantasy Series--just in time for Halloween!

My Favorite Time and Place to Read? How About Writing Time? #Round Robin

Life keeps getting busier, and finding time to complete daily tasks is difficult, but I always, always find time to read.

This month’s question:

What is your favorite time and place to read? How about writing time? Do you have to make time?
Do you have a ritual or is your plan helter-skelter? What's your method?

As a child it was hiding beneath my covers with a flashlight long past my prescribed bedtime.  Today, it more of a snatch of time here and there.  While preparing dinner (e-reader/ iPad /paperback on the counter), 10:30 p.m. wrapped in a woven throw on the couch listening to Slacker Radio on my iPad (when I should be sleeping), or with a grand-baby snuggled in my lap.  Reading is a pleasure, an escape, a way to share stories with others.

I make time to read, I make time to go to the gym, and I make time for family and friends.  These day-to-day activities weave, in my opinion, the fabric of a well-balanced and enjoyable life.   

Writing Time—the second part of today’s blog topic.

My method of writing?

I make it a practice to study the master of successful fiction.  Hemingway never wrote a treatise of the art of writing fiction.  He did, however, leave behind letters, articles and books with opinions and advice on writing.  Some of the best of those were assembled in 1984 by Larry W. Phillips into a book Ernest Hemingway on Writing.   While I do not rigidly follow these steps, I always keep them in the back of my mind.

1: To get started, write one true sentence.  One simple declarative sentence. 

·       Charlene hadn’t told Rachel that she’d fixed her up with a cowboy, much less Lynx Maddox, the “Wild Cat” of the rodeo circuit.

(Lynx, Rodeo Romance)

·       “You and Elvis have done a great job on this house,” Meredith said as her older sister led the way downstairs toward the kitchen where the tour began. “Sorry I couldn’t get over, until now, but I’ve been sort of. . .well, busy.”

(Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow) Sassy & Fun Fantasy Series.

·       Audralynn Maddox heard her own soft cry, but the pain exploding inside her head made everything else surreal, distanced by the realization that someone had made a mistake.

(Brede, Rodeo Romance Book 2)

My exception:  my YA historical novel is told in the first person.  Since the novel focuses on the emotional and life altering events of a young girl, I used historical facts and events to form the plot of my award-winning novel,  Simple declarative sentences are applied to the Prologue and Introduction.  However, emotional impact was needed to make the story ‘real’.

·       Prologue: The Governor of New Mexico decreed that all Indian children over six be educated in the ways of the white man. 

Indian commissioner Thomas Morgan said: It was cheaper to educate the Indians than to kill them.

1880, Apacheria, Season of Ripened Berries

Isolated bands of colored clay on white limestone remained where the sagebrush was stripped from Mother Earth by sudden storms and surface waters. Desolate. Bleak. A land made of barren rocks and twisted paths that reached out into the silence.

A world of hunger and hardship.  This is my world. I am Tanayia.  I was born thirteen winters ago. My people and I call ourselves “Nde” this means “The People”.  The white men call us Apache.

(Whisper upon the Water, Native American Series). 

2: Always stop for the day while you still know what will happen next.  I find this to be a key for me.  When I do not follow this step I find myself flirting with writer’s block the next day.

3: Never think about the story when you’re not working.  I carry this to an extreme, I do not talk about my work-in-progress.  The only exception being when I have research questions or trying to plot a continuing series.

4: When it’s time to work again, always start by reading what you’ve written so far.  The only problem, I am sooo tempted to make revisions.  For most part I beat back the urge (with a stick, if necessary ;-).  Otherwise, I’d never progress beyond chapter one.

5: Don’t describe an emotion–make it.  Watch and listen closely to external events, but to also notice any emotion stirred in you, or others, by the events and then trace back and identify precisely what it was that caused the emotion. If you can identify the concrete action or sensation that caused the emotion and present it accurately and fully rounded in your story, your readers should feel the same emotion.   When I am uncertain as to whether I’ve conveyed too little, or too much (insert: whiny), I ask my BF and fellow BWL writer, Geeta Kakade.  Geeta is the master of writing emotion (just ask Debbie Macomber).  

6: Use a pencil.  A mechanical pencil, please (multiple selection of refill sizes and colors available online).  I do not like to conduct an unproductive search for a pencil sharpener—or heaven forbid, be reduced to whittling a semi-acceptable point with my dull paring knife.

7: Be Brief. To quote Hemingway:  It wasn’t by accident that the Gettysburg address was so short. The laws of prose writing are as immutable as those of flight, of mathematics, of physics.  Therefore, I revise ruthlessly, use strong verbs, and avoid adverbs, and always, always step away from the keyboard when it is time to type: The End.

Thank you for visiting my blog today.  For upcoming releases, contests, and links to interviews, recipes and more! Visit my website: www.novelsbyconnievines.com

Please take a moment to visit, and comment, upon view other writers participating in this month’s Round Robin Blog.

Happy Reading,

Connie Vines

A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Geeta Kakade http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/
Margaret Fieland http://www.margaretfieland.com/blog1/
Skye Taylor  http://www.skye-writer.com/
Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Rita Karnopp  http://www.mizging@blogspot.com
Rachael Kosnski http://the-doodling-booktease.tumblr.com/
Helena Fairfax  http://helenafairfax.com/
Heidi M. Thomas http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com/
Ginger Simpson http://www.cowboykisses.blogspot.com/
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com/

My Novel, Lynx, Rodeo Romance is only 99 cents!

http://bwlpp.blogspot.com/2014/09/99-cent-sale-lynx-by-connie-vines-with.html

Sign up for the BWL contest and more!

Round Robin Blog, May 24, 2014, SETTINGS

What is the most inspiring, romantic, or dangerous setting you ever read or written?

Round Robin Blog with Connie - #RndRbn May 24, 2014

Welcome to another Round Robin Blog event, held 

once a month and hosted by Rhobin Lee Courtright.  

This month's topic:

What is the most inspiring, romantic or 

dangerous setting you ever came across 

while reading or imagined while writing?  

Do you have a preference for a certain time 

and place for a story?

Rhobin comes up with some great topics for

discussion, and this one gave me pause (hence

my posting on Saturday morning rather than late, 

late on Friday night).  While my current two series are westerns (historical YA andcontemporary 

 romance), I do write in multiple genres, and with a wide range of settings. 

Book 2 of my Rodeo Romance Series (Brede) is romantic suspense, set in New Mexico.  

When I have an idea for a new story, it begins with with dialogue.  The only way to explain this is 

to say, "It is like someone is including you in a private conversation".  Not a whisper, exactly, 

more of a casual 'coffee shop' conversation.  When a close fried places her hand on your 

shoulder to give you a clue in on what's going on around you. Even though my characters 

drive my stories, I am a pragmatic writer. 

I write a backstory, outline and include chapter summaries, motivation, and the computer 

equivalent of 3 x 5 cards to to develop my scenes.  My research is time consuming :-), 

I interview, I read the local newspapers, I vacation in the area (umm, sounds a bit like stalking) 

and I post photos in my office, cook regional foods and listen to the music my characters 

would have save to his/her iPhone.

 The result of my 'dangerous' setting(s).  My YA histoical novel Whisper upon the Water delves 

into one dark area of American history.  The treatment of Native Americans, and that of their

children, after the Indian Wars.  The setting is dangerous for my heroine, and many of the children 

who lived with their tribes/bands and were forcibly relocated to government run 

boarding schools. All across the western plains (especially in the Dakotas) is still place, 

on and off of the reservations, where life is. . .often unsafe . . .

Brede, Rodeo Romance Book 2, is a suspense novel.  I was visiting a descrated ruin in 

New Mexico when I was involved in the Title 9 program and serving on PAC committees 

involving Native American Affairs.  The times were troubling and often deadly.  

This became the driving force for this current release.

I don't wish for my readers to think my novels are filled with 'darkness'.  

Lynx, Rodeo Romance Book 1, is filled with humor, rodeo action, and smoking hot cowboys!

My education series (YA and children's short-stories)  Medicine and Magic in Ancient Egypt 

and A Candle in the Dark, are informative and draw children into, and, help children experience 

'every day life' hundreds, if not thousands of years ago.

Fall of this year will provide my readers with new adventures:

My Cajun Anthology, My Zombie (think "War Bodies" minus chomping), novella, 

and hopefully, Book 3 of my Rodeo Romance (with a ChickLit slant) titled, Rand.

My current releases are available on Amazon. 

Next on the Round Robin Circuit is:

Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/

This is the line-up of authors participating in today's Blog Event!
* Lynn Crain at http://lynncrain.blogspot.co.at/
* Anne Stenhouse athttp://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com
* Diane Bator at http://dbator.blogspot.ca
* Geeta Kakade at http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/
* Connie Vines at http://connievines.blogspot.com/
* Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/
* Beverley Bateman at http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
* Ginger Simpson at http://mizging.blogspot.com
* Margaret Fieland at http://margaretfieland.com/my_blog 
* Fiona McGier at http://www.fionamcgier.com
* Rhobin Courtright at http://rhobinleecourtright.com

Heidi Thomas at I http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com/ 

My Interview @ Books We Love

Dear Readers,

It’s 2014 and an unexpected 73⁰ here in SoCal!   Let’s all settle in at the Books We Love Blog.  I’ve tuned into SlackerRadio.com on my iPad.  New Orleans Jazz is blasting, a mug of Starbucks' Christmas blend coffee with a dash of leftover (nonalcoholic) eggnog is at my elbow, and I’m ready to rock!

BWL: Why did you choose the genre you write in? Is it your favorite to read, or another reason?

CV:  Western Contemporary Rodeo Romance is an action-paced, yet down-home genre—one of the reasons it appeals to me.  I was blessed in living both a rural and urban--somewhat nomadic life-style during my childhood.  I enjoy the sport of rodeo and when my children were young, Pro Rodeo events were included in our vacations.  My father is from Texas, competing in bronc riding during high school years.  As you can see, my familiarity with the sport is one reason I include Western Romance in the genres I write, however, it is not the only reason.  For those of you who have visited the Western states, you know how intensely rugged the geography can be; and have encountered the strong-minded and independent thinkers (both men and women) that this type of remoteness fosters.  Just placing individuals such as these in a room together creates memorable heroes and heroines, don’t you think?

Look at Lynx Maddox and Rachel Scott; Brede Kristensen and Amberlynn.  The mountains of Montana, the remoteness of New Mexico, and the state of Texas & its cowboys--these are the real-world settings that my readers remember and write to me about.  Lynx and Brede are the heroes that my readers fall in love with.

BWL: Describe yourself using 5 words.

CV:  Curious. Friendly. Complex. Reflective. Witty. 

BWL: What might a reader be surprised to learn about you?

CV:  (I still can’t believe I did this!)  Mr. Theodor Geisel (Dr. Suess) requested to read my short-story, twice.  And I refused. Twice. (What can I say? It was junior in high school, and I didn’t wantanyone reading what I wrote).

BWL: What was your favorite book as a child or young adult?

CV:  Jane Eyre.  My favorite quote, “I do not think, sir, you have any right to command me, merely because you are older than I, or because have seen more the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience.”  Delightfully spunky, our Jane!

BWL: What super power would you like to have and how would you use it?

CV:  Healing.  Not only could I heal minor injuries like cuts and bruises, but I could also help ease the pain of people suffering from serious illnesses. Cancer, Alzheimer’s, and AIDS would all be history.

BWL: If you could go back in time for one day, which time period would you like to visit?

CV:  47 BC, Alexandria, Egypt. Before Julius, Caesar ordered the ships in the harbor set on fire. At that time the Library of Alexandria held over half a million documents from Assyria, Greece, Persia, Egypt, India and many other nations.  Over 100 scholars lived there to lecture or translate.  I can’t even begin to comprehend all the knowledge that was lost. Plus, getting a glimpse of Cleopatra would be a real perk!

BWL: Choose one person, living or dead, you’d like to share a meal with.

CV:  Nigella Lawson.  She is a delightful television personality, has lived a very interesting life --and I’d really like to know how she comes up with so many ways to prepare green peas.

 

BWL: Name one thing you’d like to change about yourself if you could.

CV:  Quit being a night owl.  (Going to sleep at 11:30 or 12:00 and getting up at 5:30 AM is nuts!)

BWL: What’s one genre that interests you, but you’ve never tried to write?

CV:  Epic.  The idea of a celebrating the exploits of a hero appeals to me, yet my ability and the attention span to produce a 404k novel eludes me. 

BWL:  Thanks Connie!

Please come back over the next couple of days to read excerpts from Connie's BWL titles. Find her books here:  http://bookswelove.net/vines.php