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)

Celebrate Mother's Day The Cowboy Way by Connie Vines #Sunday Snippets

Today's world is one of online purchases, mass produced greeting cards, and restaurants.

There was a time when life was simpler.  Moments were savored, celebrations heartfelt and home made.

A time when a cowboy came home with a bouquet of r remember of fresh flowers that he had picked off of the side of the roads.  He did that several times a week.  His wife loved it.  She felt special because he had taken the time to stop to pick them and there’s nothing like having fresh flowers around your house to liven it up.  

This is also a wonderful tradition to begin in a family--for a father to pass on down to his son, or his daughter.

Or if your cowboy knows his way around the kitchen or a camp fire, breakfast will be on the Mother's Day horizon.

Cowboy Hash Skillet
Recipe type: Breakfast
Prep time:  15 mins Cook time:  25 mins Total time:  40 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
3 large potatoes, washed and cut into ½ inch cubes (it's up to you if you want to peel them, I didn't because it gives it a more rustic look)
1 medium green pepper, diced
1 medium red pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 lb. chorizo sausage, casings removed
4 large eggs (one egg for each skillet hash)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

In a large skillet, cook the potatoes with 2 tbsp. of olive oil for 5-7 minutes until they start to get soft and the outsides are starting to brown. Then add in the green pepper, red pepper, and small onion. Cook until they're soft.

Add in the chorizo and cook until the meat is thoroughly cooked through and veggies are completely soft, about 10 more minutes. Make sure to mix and stir all the ingredients together so they get coated with the spicy chorizo. Salt and pepper, to taste.

While the chorizo is cooking with the veggies, cook an egg sunny side up or however you like it. I cooked mine sunny side up because I liked the runny yolk atop of the hash. Set aside.

Once all the veggies and chorizos are done cooking, plate them in a large bowl or individual skillets (if you have them). Top the hash with your eggs.

Enjoy!


 Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Hop over to each of my friend's blogs and see what they have to say.

Janet Waldron

Ginger Simpson

Trisha McGill

Interview with Professional Bull Rider Lynx Maddox

Connie: Today’s rodeos feature the most skilled cowboys and cowgirls. They show off their roping, riding, and many other talents to the world. Being a rodeo cowboy, especially a bull rider, is a dangerous occupation where the only the strongest and smartest will take home the victory.
I’d like to welcome, Lynx Maddox, one of rodeo’s top bull riders, to Sunday Snippets today.

Lynx: “I’d like to thank all of the Sunday Snippets readers for logging on for my interview.”

Connie: “For the readers who aren’t familiar with PRO rodeo cowboys who support community projects for worthy causes. Lynx, you were at the Fairgrounds this weekend to support and build awareness for projects to prevent domestic violence, isn’t this correct?”

Lynx: “Yes. Dan and were at the Snake River Stampede last week where a local band helped collect donations to support a newly built women’s shelter.”

Connie: “I know you are reluctant to brag. . .but virtually all former and current world champions have competed at the Stampede at one time or another. However, few are as generous with donating their purse winning as readily as you are.”

Lynx: “Now, I wouldn’t say that. Everyone does what he or she can to help contribute to these worthy causes. . .be it in dollars or in time. . .Weren’t we gonna discuss the sport of bull riding?”

Connie: ”Yes, Wildcat, we are. According to the ABBI guidelines for judging bull riding, based on five categories: buck, kick, spin, intensity, and degree of difficulty. All of which sound extremely uncomfortable for the rider. Would you mind explaining what this all means?”

Lynx: Dry chuckle. “‘Buck’ refers to the height achieved with the front feet and shoulders as a bull begins each jump of a trip. Technically correct bulls will complete this action by kicking their hind legs, however not all will kick, and that is a separate category from buck. Bulls that “get in the air” and get their front feet a foot or two off the ground as they peak and break over get the most credit in the buck category. Another consideration is the number of jumps they complete during the course of the trip. Still another factor can be how much ground they cover.”

Connie: “I know the ‘Kick’ refers to the extension and snap of the hind legs at the peak of each jump. But I don’t know the determining factors for scoring.”

Lynx: “Again, the score is determined by how high and how hard the bull kicks, how much vertical body angle he achieves as he kicks, and whether or not he kicks each and every jump. Additionally, bulls that kick at the peak of each jump instead of waiting until their front feet reach the ground deserve more credit in this important category.”

Connie: “So at any time, a bull rider can find himself falling under one of the massive animals?”

Lynx: “Well, I reckon so, but that is not the aim of the rider. . .”

Connie: “Sorry, but. . .”

Lynx: “Heard about what happened–”

Connie: “In Cheyenne, Wyoming? Yeah.”

Lynx: “The ‘Spin’.” Takes a sip of coffee. “Also referred to as the speed category, spin is the most difficult to assess if a bull is only ridden for a jump or two. In this situation, a judge must assume that the amount a bull was spinning (or the number of rounds) would have continued at the same rate for eight seconds. For this reason, it is important, in order to achieve high marks in the spin department, to “turn back” or begin to spin as early as possible so that more time is spent spinning than covering ground.”

Connie: “The ‘Spin’ is assessed the same way?”

Lynx: “Basically yes.”

Connie: “The final category is ‘Degree of Difficulty’. Difficulty equals painful, I take it?”

Lynx: “Naw. By the end of the ride most bull rider’s bodies are numb.”

Connie: Smothering a laugh. “Please continue.”

Lynx: “There are a number of factors that can occur in a bull’s trip that elevate the degree of difficulty, and it is important to note that the bull that does everything else right automatically has a high degree of difficulty for that simple reason. Therefore, just because a bull is honest and doesn’t use tricks to get a rider off, he shouldn’t be penalized in this category for doing things right. Having said that, there are those elements of a trip that some bulls employ that make them harder to ride than bulls that don’t. These things don’t necessarily make a bull better, and again it should be mentioned that the most desirable methods of increasing degree of difficulty are by doing the core elements (buck, kick, and spin) well. Furthermore, the bull that is using time and energy performing some of the trickier elements generally associated with degree of difficulty is usually losing ground in some other area. The most generally defined elements of this category are: drift or fade, accomplished by a bull covering ground as he spins; moving forward in the spin; belly roll; drop; direction change; and lack of timing.”



Connie: “Lynx, thank you so much for taking time from your packed schedule to explain the element of rodeo to those of us here at Sunday Snippets. You make bull riding sound like everyone’s nine-to-five job. But we all know that isn’t true. Rodeo is a very dangerous sport.”

Lynx: “I can’t deny that fact.”

Connie: “Where are you off to tomorrow?”

Lynx: “Tonight. After I wrap things up at the Fairgrounds, I’m driving up to Running Springs, Montana.” Rising to his feet, he tips his hand and exits the booth.

Connie: speaking over the canned music, ‘The Yellow Rose of Texas,”Thank you, Wildcat. Let’s all thank Lynx Maddox for stopping by today.”

Lynx is 99 Cents at Amazon.com (Kindle).

Remember to stop by and visit these wonderfully talented who are members of the Sunday Snippets Blog Hop!

Ginger Simpson

http://triciamg.blogspot.com/

"All Great Writers Begin with a Good Leather Binder and a Respectable Title." by Connie Vines #Sunday Snippets

"All great writers begin with a good leather binder and a respectable title," Johnny Deppp (speaking as J.M. Berrie) said to Peter in the film "Finding Neverland".

When I teach workshops, or am a guest speaker at local literary events, I am often asked, "Have you ever met a real-life character?

Living in SoCal, and due to the nature of my work, I do come in contact with actors, writers, public speakers, and others involved in the entertainment industry.  However, the person who was 'bigger than life' was not someone involved in the entertainment industry.  This person is someone who provided inspiration for the Lynx Maddox, the hero in the first book in my Rodeo Romance Series.

I often 'freelance' when I am working on a novel for better insight into a character, to learn a particular skill or obtain inside knowledge (slang, general impressions, etc.) that only someone living that life-style would know.  Sometimes all it takes is a conversation with the owner of a small town Nebraska cafe.  I might be invited into her kitchen where a family recipe is divulged, or local gossip is shared.  Another time, I'll serve on committee and strike up conversation with a person whose humanitarian work takes her to Romania.

In this particular case, I was attending school and working as a part-time 'appointment only' fragrance consultant in a exclusive perfumery.

Enter: one cowboy. 

From outward appearances he was of average height, a bit on the lean side (but well toned), dark-haired, green-eyed, early-to-mid thirties; just an average man.  However, there was an unmistakable 'aura' of energy when he entered the room.  His drawl resonated, his expressions were intense (but not threatening): a lifted eyebrow, a smile pulling a the corner of his mouth.  After a couple of minutes, I discovered he wasn't average at all--I'm not talking about wealth, personal fashion sense, or anything tangible--he just claimed all your attention without really doing anything.  I found this completely amazing.  (And no, it wasn't love at first sight! He was shopping for his wife's birthday gift and purchased a designer fragrance and art glass).

I wondered what it would be like to have a hero who's personality was 'a force of nature'.  And, so, Lynx Maddox was born!
.
Connie

Sunday Snippets 12/20/15 #SundaySnippets

For today's Sunday Snippet is from "Brede" Rodeo Romance Book, 2.
This is my Romantic Suspense and this snippet features my heroine, who left for dead, has no memory of the trauma--or who she is.

"Remember your name and everything else should fall back in place." Her head pounded and her chest felt tight.  Physical excursion brought on a coughing spell and she wondered if crawling across the room might not have been a better course of action.

All of her discomfort receded into the background when she found herself standing in front of the bathroom mirror.

She was staring at a woman's reflection.  She touched the cold glass with her fingertips, as if the contact could trigger a forgotten memory.

Surely, the tall, thin woman sporting a nasty purple bruise on the side of her face had a name.

She ran her trembling fingers through her shoulder-length dark read hair and traced the cut above her left eyebrow.

Funny, she never imagined she'd be so attractive.  She swallowed and did a second take.

How could this possibly be real?

If this was really happening to her, she'd be short and average looking; that was how fate was, fickle and capricious.

Instead, she found the woman before her possessed an almost hypnotic beauty, intense and alluring.  Was it also they type of beauty that kept women at arms' distance?  She glanced at the bruise that marked her cheek and jaw.  But what about the men?

Did her looks bring out the best or worst in the men she encountered in life, or had a jealous boyfriend been the one who injured her?

She looked into the green eyes shadowed with fatigue, and her entire being filled with sorrow and hopelessness.  Something terrible had happened, but she was terrified that the perpetrator would come back and hurt her again.  Or maybe, this next time, he'd succeed in killing her.

If you have enjoyed this snippet and find out how the story end, please click through to you fave ebook vendor.

Also, please visit my friends blogs and enjoy more snippets.

Happy Reading!

Connie

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

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

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


KOBO                          Smashwords             AllRomance     Amazon.com           Barnes&Noble

Sunday Snippet November 29, 2015

For today's Sunday Snippet I'd  like to share the transcripts from a podcast interview I gave when "Lynx" Rodeo Romance debuted at my publisher,  BWL, Ltd..

Connie: Today’s rodeos feature the most skilled cowboys and cowgirls.  They show off their roping, riding, and many other talents to the world.  Being a rodeo cowboy, especially a bull rider, is a dangerous occupation where the only the strongest and smartest will take home the victory. I’d like to welcome, Lynx Maddox, one of rodeo’s top bull riders, to today.

Lynx:  “I’d like to thank all of the romance readers and Rodeo fans for  logging on for my interview.”

Connie:  “For the readers who aren’t familiar  with PRO rodeo cowboys who support community projects  for worthy causes.  Lynx, you were at the Fairgrounds this weekend to support and build awareness for projects to prevent domestic violence, isn’t this correct?”

 Lynx:  “Yes.  Dan and  were at the Snake River Stampede last week where a local band helped collect donations to support a newly built women’s shelter.”

Connie:  “I know you are reluctant to brag. . .but virtually all former and current  world champions have competed at the Stampede at one time or another. However, few are as generous with donating their purse winning as readily as you are.”

Lynx:  “Now, I wouldn’t say that.  Everyone does what he or she can to help contribute to these worthy causes. . .be it in dollars or in time. . .Weren't we gonna discuss the sport of bull riding?”

Connie: “Yes, Wildcat, we are.  According to the ABBI guidelines for judging bull riding, based on five categories:  buck, kick, spin, intensity, and degree of difficulty.  All of which sound extremely uncomfortable for the rider.  Would you mind explaining what this all means?”

 Lynx: Dry chuckle.  “‘Buck’ refers to the height achieved with the front feet and shoulders as a bull begins each jump of a trip. Technically correct bulls will complete this action by kicking their hind legs, however not all will kick, and that is a separate category from buck. Bulls that “get in the air” and get their front feet a foot or two off the ground as they peak and break over get the most credit in the buck category. Another consideration is the number of jumps they complete during the course of the trip. Still another factor can be how much ground they cover.”

Connie: “I know the ‘Kick’ refers to the extension and snap of the hind legs at the peak of each jump. But I don’t know the determining factors for scoring.”

Lynx: “Again, the score is determined by how high and how hard the bull kicks, how much vertical body angle he achieves as he kicks, and whether or not he kicks each and every jump. Additionally, bulls that kick at the peak of each jump instead of waiting until their front feet reach the ground deserve more credit in this important category.”

Connie: “So at any time, a bull rider can find himself falling under one of the massive animals?”

Lynx: “Well, I reckon so, but that is not the aim of the rider. . .”

Connie:  “Sorry, but. . .”

Lynx: “Heard about what happened–”

Connie:  “In Cheyenne, Wyoming?  Yeah.”

Lynx:  “The ‘Spin’.”  Takes a sip of coffee.  “Also referred to as the speed category, spin is the most difficult to assess if a bull is only ridden for a jump or two. In this situation, a judge must assume that the amount a bull was spinning (or the number of rounds) would have continued at the same rate for eight seconds. For this reason, it is important, in order to achieve high marks in the spin department, to “turn back” or begin to spin as early as possible so that more time is spent spinning than covering ground.”

Connie: “The ‘Spin’ is assessed the same way?”

 Lynx:  “Basically yes.”

Connie:  “The final category is ‘Degree of Difficulty’.  Difficulty equals painful, I take it?”

 Lynx:  “Naw.  By the end of the ride most bull rider’s bodies are numb.”

Connie: Smothering a laugh.  “Please continue.”

Lynx: “There are a number of factors that can occur in a bull’s trip that elevate the degree of difficulty, and it is important to note that the bull that does everything else right automatically has a high degree of difficulty for that simple reason. Therefore, just because a bull is honest and doesn’t use tricks to get a rider off, he shouldn’t be penalized in this category for doing things right. Having said that, there are those elements of a trip that some bulls employ that make them harder to ride than bulls that don’t. These things don’t necessarily make a bull better, and again it should be mentioned that the most desirable methods of increasing degree of difficulty are by doing the core elements (buck, kick, and spin) well. Furthermore, the bull that is using time and energy performing some of the trickier elements generally associated with degree of difficulty is usually losing ground in some other area. The most generally defined elements of this category are: drift or fade, accomplished by a bull covering ground as he spins; moving forward in the spin; belly roll; drop; direction change; and lack of timing.”

Connie:  “Lynx, thank you so much for taking time from your packed schedule to explain the element of rodeo to us .  You make bull riding sound like everyone’s nine-to-five job.  But we all know that isn’t true.  Rodeo is a very dangerous sport.”

 Lynx: “I can’t deny that fact.”

Connie: “Where are you off to tomorrow?”

 Lynx:  “Tonight.  After I wrap things up at the Fairgrounds, I’m driving up to Running Springs, Montana.”  Rising to his feet, he tips his hand and exits the booth.

Connie: speaking over the canned music, ‘The Yellow Rose of Texas,”Thank you, Wildcat.  Let’s all thank Lynx Maddox for stopping by today.”


Now hop on over and visit my other Sunday Snippet Pals:

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

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

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


Don't forget to come back next week for more Sunday Snippets.

Remember to stuff those eReaders with BWL Holiday Bargains!  

bookswelove.net

Or Shop Here

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Sunday Snippet #11/22/2015

This Sunday’s Snippet is from my Contemporary Romantic Suspense novel, “Brede”.

“My head hurts,” she whispered. A sharp, throbbing pain embedded itself in the center of her left temple.  She touched her raw fingertips to the tender area, and tried to grasp a fleeting memory. . .of what, she wasn’t certain. 

At that moment, a man leaned over her.  His eyes reminded her of the ocean; soft blue water reflecting through frosted crystal—sad, lonely eyes.

                The warmth from the blankets seeped into her chilled body, but the sound of the pounding rain sent terror crawling through her.  She bolted upright, her heart thumping so card she couldn’t catch her breath.

                “Lie back down,” the man instructed. “You’ve had some sort of accident.”

                Pain lanced through her body and her head.  Beneath the wave of pain, she heard the concern in his deep voice, and pressed an unsteady hand to her forehead.  “Accident?”  Her fear receded, but didn’t go away completely.  An accident explained the sharp, pain embedded in her left temple and radiating down the side of her jaw, but it didn’t explain what she was doing here.  Here?  Where was she? And who was this man standing over her?

To purchase this novel click on my blog links visit:

my website home page:  http://novelsbyconnievines.com

http://www.amazon.com/Brede-Rodeo-Romance-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00DRPHILY

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/brede/id673408077?mt=11

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22Connie%20Vines%22?Ntk=P_key_Contributor_List&Ns=P_Sales_Rank&Ntx=mode+matchall

Happy Reading,

Connie 

Please stop by and read the snippets this month's Blog Hop members have posted!

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

http://triciamg.blogspot.com (Tricia McGill)
http://yesterrdayrevisitedhere.blogspot.com/  (Juliet Waldron)  

Inspiration for Writing By Connie Vines Sunday Snippets #6

It 

It hardly ever fails. Just when you sit down to write, no matter how long you’ve been waiting for the chance, you suddenly feel like doing anything else.

Check Facebook. Bake cookies. Scrub the stovetop.

Part of it is being tired. I know. Most of us are writing in the lean moments between the full-time job, school, cooking, cleaning, child-rearing and, life.

 If you wait to feel like writing, you never will. If you wait for inspiration to find you, it never will. 

You must make it happen.

Some writers swear that publicly committing to a deadline is the way to start.  I find this approach creates instant writer's block.

1. Blogging 

Commit to posting on a weekly on one blog, monthly on another.  I love to beig a guest blogger on a friend's blog and being interviewed on others.

2. Meet regularly with other Authors

Meeting regularly with a writer’s group or a critique partner.  I also judge writing contests, including the Rita's, Golden Heart, and local contest. You may wish to sign up for NaNoWriMo or the 3-Day Novel contest. 

3. Keep a favorite book close 

Is there a particular book that always gives you the urge to put pen to paper? A how to write reference book that gets you fored up to write? Keep it close to your writing space and read a few pages when you sit down to write. 

3. Develop a routine

 Choose the same time to write every day. Listen to the same type of music, drink the same type of tea/coffee/wine. In time, the sensory repetition will help to trigger that writing urge in you.

4.  Get your sleep, exercise, and drink a cup of coffee

I’ve heard some people need 8 hours of sleep per night, but personally, I function on 6 hours of sleep, 7 if I am fighting a cold. And when you’ve had a full night’s rest, caffeine doesn’t just resuscitate your zombie self – it makes you want to write and create and be generally brilliant. I decrease my coffee consumption throughout the week (e.g. four cups (during the day) Monday, down to a one cup on Friday.  I go to the gym two days during the week and both days (before I sit down to write) on the weekends.

6. Visualize the finished piece

Or visualize the book cover.  Visualizing the finished product is very powerful. Do you want to be  working on this book for the next decade? Or do you want to hold the hardcover/paperback or eBook edition in your hands? 

Personal vows

Fall in love with your heroes and create heroines you'd like as best friend. Create a sense of time and place, and, make your readers jump feet first into your story!  Most importantly, have a great time. If you love your story, so will your readers.

Happy reading,

Connie

Please visit all the members of our Sunday Snippets Blog hop.

http://mizging.blogspot.com/

http://www.jamiehill.biz/

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

http://triciamg.blogspot.com/

Sunday Snippets #2 ~ Gumbo Ya Ya by Connie Vines~ #SundaySnips

Thank you Ginger for including me once again in Sunday Snippets.
As promised last week, I've included the final two snippets from my Cajun anthology.  Gumbo Ya Ya--for women who like romance Cajun!  Five stores, five times the fun.

Ooooh, La La!

A Slice of Scandal

“Hey, now, ‘dis key lime pie’s like de one I serve at my restaurant. Simple to make and good ta eat!  Key limes perk up de mouth and makes you hoppy.”

Producer/Director, Julia Kincaid focused on her monitor and adjusted the mike of her headset. “Camera One, tighten that head shot.”  She watched as the camera feathered over the chef to capture the best angle. The camera should have loved Franklin. His height was average, his black hair, short and curly and his skin took on a polished bronze color under the harsh camera lights, but the camera didn’t like Franklin. There was something about his eyes: like dark agate, forbidding and expressionless that was difficult to erase.  

“Okay. Now hold it, while Chef Franklin pulls the second pie from the refrigerator. Follow him back to the island. Good.”

When the chef stood on his mark, Julia said,  “Cue the music. Okay, Two, scan the

audience. Back to Franklin.”

“It’s best to serve ‘dis chilled, a twist of key lime on the top. And, boy-oh, boy, does dis taste gooood!”

“Camera Two, pan the audience. . .focus on the pie. . .Camera One, close-up on the chef. . .Hold it.”

Julia heard the studio audience applause.

“Now, pull back. He cuts the pie. . .he puts it on the plate. . .now wait for the whipped cream and. . .okay . . .he’s got the fork. He’s taking a bite.”

The studio audience uttered a collective sigh.

“Let’s call it a day. . .” Julia said, pulling off her headset and allowing it to dangle around her neck. “Hey, hey, what’s he doing, now?” she asked. “This is where he says goodnight. What’s he doing?”  Snagging the mike that was clipped at her waist she barked, “Someone cue Franklin. He’s off his mark.”  It was times like this she questioned her sanity at trading a career in Hollywood daytime T.V. for that of the Good Eats Network in Orlando, Florida.

“What’s going on now? Why’s he grabbing his throat?”

From her left she heard J.D. groan. “Damn, Julia. Harvey’s gonna boil all of our carcasses in a stockpot for this one!  Franklin must be hitting the booze again. Jeeze, look at him!  Franklin’s spitting out the pie. Hell, there go the show’s ratings.”

1-800-FORTUNE

(T.A.R.A. Award, Paranormal) 

The moon was full tonight; huge in the sky, a brilliant iridescent orb that stared down at the earth. Enza felt the conscious energy feather over her as she removed the silk cloth protecting her Tarot cards.

            There are seventy-eight cards in a Tarot deck. Four suits of fourteen cards each. Swords, Cups, Wands and Pentacles, and twenty-two picture cards called the major arcane, the mysteries.

            Enza’s mother had told her she would learn to associate the picture cards with people she knew, and during her travels, she had met nearly all of them.

            The Juggler was a boy she’d loved and lost. The Hanged Man ran a mission on Canal Street, The Pope ran numbers for the Wiseguys. Of course, she’d married the Fool in an arranged gypsy marriage. Enza didn’t know where he was today, but she was certain he was still a fool. She’d never met Justice, nor had she ever met the Devil.

            She knew mean people, lairs, schemers, and cheats. But it takes more than being mean to make a person the Devil. The Tarot’s Devil is a special horror. He is the genius of evil. He is willful and proud, vengeful, greedy and cruel. The card also had another meaning. Yes, the Devil can come after you, but you can also go to the Devil. The Tarot is very clear in its meaning.

            Not for spells and chants are you damned but for the ordinary abuse of extraordinary things.

            Enza glanced out the window and into the moonlight washing across the cobblestone street outside the French Quarter. The Roma, through they traced their roots back to ancient Romania, never considered themselves twenty-first century gypsies.  They displayed no red palms upon the carts they set up on Canal Street nor did they dabble in the black arts--they followed the old rules, and the old ways.  Even though they prescribed to the art of making love potions and arraigning marriages, they did not cheat or scheme for excessive monetary gain.

             Clients who came to Enza purchased customized charms, scents, and herbal remedies.  In the past, Enza’s clairvoyant abilities amounted to parlor tricks; harmless indulgences, an innocent way to pass an afternoon for a tourist, but all of that had changed at Winter Solstice.

            Enza shuffled the cards, mentally saying a protection prayer, then extracted ten cards, placing them face down to form the ancient Kabalah Tree of Life on the table.

            She turned the first card face-up. 

            The Moon.

            Enza knew that the Moon was the unluckiest card in the entire deck, worse than Death.

***

Please stop by and visit the other authors participating in this event.

Happy Reading!

Connie

Tricia McGill

Jamie Hill

Vijaya Schartz

Ginger Simpson

Pinterest and the Tech Savvy Writer

Unfamiliar with Pinterest?

Pinterest is a social bookmarking site where users collect and share photos or images of their favorite events, interests, and hobbies. One of the fastest growing social media networks online, Pinterest is the third largest social networking site, behind only Facebook and Twitter.

What can Pinterest for you as a writer? Pinterest is the virtual "bulletin board". A bulletin board where readers gain a glimpse into you, the writer. In photos of your book covers, links to your blog/podcasts, or post your calendar of upcoming events,your readers get to know you. You can also save images to  a board. 

These images could include pictures of a place in the world where you have set previous novel(s) as well as your most recent novel, or works-in-progress.

You may also have private boards, for your eyes only. On these boards you can post inspiration for your work-in-progress. And pictures of items: clothes, scenery, houses, etc. –– that relate to your book. Refer to this board when you have an attack of writer's block, need inspiration, have lost your way along the slippery path to 'the end'.

Tech challenge?  Here's how you get started:

• Register@ Pinterest.com. You will need a Facebook or Twitter account. (The site will import your friends from these social networks.)
• Receive an invitation to join by clicking the red button on Pinterest.com.
• Decide on a topic for each of your boards.
• Give it a name that is both descriptive and intriguing.
• Pictures for your boards can come from your personal collection, those found on the Internet, or those from someone else's board this is called a "re-pin". This 're-pin'links back to the person you borrowed the picture from. This sharing is what turns Pinterest into a social site, taking it to a higher level than that of online scrapbooking.

You can now link your pinned images to your Facebook page, fan page, website, blog, Twitter, publishers page, whatever social media sites you currently have.

Just as you would friend-users on Facebook, find people's boards to follow. Mention your Pinterest Board on a regular basis, once again linking it to other network sites.

Remember Pinterest does not host conversations. Visual images are the only connection. Make certain you updated your boards on a regular basis. This can be once a week or twice a month – – whatever fits into your schedule.

Pinterest is like any other social networking site. It involves a certain amount of effort and time to start up, commitment to keeping it up, and willingness to promote your latest release.

Looking for a Pinterest board to follow?

Follow me: novelsbyconniev

www.pinterest.com/novelsbyconniev/

Happy Pinning!

Connie

Candid shot from my iPhone: Bono at dinner after the OC preformance.  You know what will happen after a day spent at Disneyland! 

Connie’s Adventures with (yet another set of) Contact Lenses

During the past week, friends, family and co-workers, seem to continually pose the question, “Why don’t you just wear contact lenses?”  The tone of the question ranges from sympathy, pity, non-comprehension, and blatant exasperation as each person watches me maneuver my heavy tri-focal eyeglass lenses to match-up with the computer screen, Excel print-out, or focus on a person face.

Why?  Ah, the question seems simple; the answer obvious-to innocent bystanders, and those blessed with 20/20 vision.  Little do they know my past history: the unexpected tumble down steps because I couldn’t distinguish the steps from the solid brick surface, a toddler playfully patting my face and sending a contact to the floor of supermarket, allergic reaction to the lenses (leaving a suction cup ring on the scalar, and then there was the time a dear friend said, “just try the blue contacts.”  That little episode with the blue contact lenses creeped me out for six months.  Why?  Since I have med-brown eyes with a lovely touch of hazel, I am used to seeing expression in my eyes.  Blue eyes are great—my husband has light blue eyes, so this isn’t an anti-blue eyes thing.  However, when I looked in the mirror to see blue eyes staring back at me. . ..but then I’d forget and jump when I walked past a mirror or spent time wondering if I looked like a little like a seal-point Siamese cat.

Okay, it’s almost a decade later, everyone says with the disposable type of lenses, I will be just fine.

Since I’ve been extremely myopic since birth, my biggest challenge seems to be dealing with using ‘readers’.  For those either nearing or over the age of forty, the terminology is familiar and an expected change.  While I, who has always removed my glasses and held the document, menu, etc. the distance of six-inches from my nose to read, this is decidedly odd and challenging.
Last week I carried a purse, inside were the usual items plus one set of prescription sunglasses and my eye glass case.  Tomorrow I will carry said purse with the above items, plus a tote with contact lens solution, eye drops, a small case, and two sets of ‘readers’ because Foster Grant, apparently doesn't manufacture, or Rite Aide doesn't stock -2.25 ‘readers’.

Whereas before when I took my glasses off, I would braille the furniture or squint until I located the needed item.  Now I wander around the house searching for my ‘readers’.  Oh, and my husband says I look younger, and I should have headaches from eyestrain.  He also says, “Do you know you that bite of pasta fell off your fork, again. Better check your lap.”  Apparently, I am required to wear ‘readers’ while dining too.

September Round Robin Topic: Abandoned Buildings

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Ah, the perfect soon-to-be Halloween topic: abandoned buildings.

www.novelsbyconnievines.com 

Since I reside in SoCal, Hollywood--past and present, provide ample inspiration for the creative mind (my mind, anyway).

Hollywood Roosevelt, 7000 Hollywood, Blvd., 

Legend has it that the ghost of Marilyn Monroe still haunts the hotel. “There was a famous mirror in the lobby where people would take pictures and claim they could see Marilyn’s reflection above them." This full-length mirror once hung in Monroe’s poolside suite, and then in the lobby where it has since been removed. On the 9th floor, you can hear the late actor Montgomery Clift—who lived in suite 928 for three months while filming From Here to Eternity—practicing on his trumpet. “Guests have asked the hotel staff to tell the person in the next room to stop playing in the middle of the night. But the room was actually vacant.” 

 Lights and faucets are known to turn on and off on their own and the switchboard gets calls from vacant rooms.

Culver Studio, 9336 West Washington Blvd., Culver City, Los Angeles.

The studio complex where such legendary Tinseltown films as Gone with the Wind and Raging Bull were filmed was built in 1918 by silent movie pioneer Thomas Ince. Ince died in 1924, after falling ill on newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst’s yacht during a star-studded cruise and dinner, celebrating Ince’s 42nd birthday. While the official cause of death was listed as heart failure, legend has it that Ince was actually shot and killed by a jealous Hearst, who was supposedly aiming at (and missed) Charlie Chaplin, who had eyes for Hearst’s mistress Marion Davies. Some say Ince’s ghost still shows up for work at his beloved former studio, and can be seen and heard walking through walls and criticizing management.

And, my personal favorite, The Comedy Club.

Before this popular Sunset Strip comedy club appeared on the scene in 1972, it was Ciro's restaurant, one of Hollywood's hippest clubs during the 1940s and 1950s. Its owners had a close affiliation with the mob and the building still has peepholes in the upper walls of the main room that once allowed mobsters to see who was coming and going. Mickey “The King of the Sunset Strip” Cohen used the club as his base of operations. “West Hollywood was a gangster-run place with gun fights in the streets. The basement of the club was where they would take care of problem people. There is still a hole in the stairway that fits a gun, to shoot anyone going up or downstairs.” 

employees have claimed to hear voices, cries and even snarls coming from the basement. “After years of denying the ghost stories, the Comedy Store is now embracing its past and even started tours of the haunted basement."

How about you?  Do have an abandoned building story of your own to tell?

Watch for my Sassy and Fun Fantasy series.  "Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow" will be available on October 1st!  My book trailer will be on my web site, YouTube and Vimeo next week!

Visit Rachael Kosnski  to read her Round Robin blog. http://the-doodling-booktease.tumblr.com/