My Ghostly Encounter

No, I haven't strayed into the paranormal world. Not yet anyway.

What I have done is to hire myself out as a ghostwriter. This was a new experience for me, and I did it for a number of what I thought were good reasons:

 1) The freelance company who acted as a broker for my services was new to me and I wanted to test their practices.

2) The job was small enough (8000 words)

3) It was within my wheelhouse, being a historical romance.

I'm proud to say I turned the job in before the deadline, the client loved it, and has asked me to consider a longer work. Always, it's the mark of a job well done if the client wants to hire you again.

So, why am I hesitating? This job paid me better than some of the books I've written, so the money associated with it is not the issue.

I won't even go into the amount of my own work that needs to get done and sent off to various publishers, agents, etc. Not to mention the promotional work that comes with each new release, of which there will be three by the end of the year.

My hesitation comes from this sweet little story I wrote for the client. I can never attach my name to it, or claim it as my own. All rights have reverted to the client. It's no longer mine.

It's like sending your kid off to school for the first time and have them never return home to tell you how their day was.

Before I take on another ghostwriting job, I need to answer the question of whether I can live with the anonymity. Can I live with the fact I might write the next bestseller, but someone else will claim it as theirs? And take all the royalties? Would I be better off focusing on my own career rather than provide one for someone else?

It's the nature of a ghostwriter to remain in the background. I'm just not sure if that's where I belong.

Turkey or Ham?

For most of my life, I've preferred Thanksgiving over Christmas.

My preference began when I was a kid, one of five. Food was always scarce, except on Thanksgiving. For one day, we could eat as much turkey,  stuffing, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole as we wanted. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Christmas was a far different affair. We didn't have much extra cash for a ton of gifts like my friends were given every year, and I always felt we were the house on the block that Santa forgot.

However, this year I have managed to write two Christmas themed novellas, which will be releasing as the season nears. One is a contemporary, set in Lobster Cove, ME, as part of Wild Rose's popular lineup of stories centered around this fictional town. The other one is a historical set in Regency England. They were both extremely fun to write, they both feature romantic love stories, and have made me believe I may have been wrong all these years.

Rather than focus on the food, or on the lack of gifts, I should have been focused on the significance of the day. Thanksgiving may be in celebration of the pilgrims surviving in the new world, but Christmas is steeped in religion. Engagement rings are a staple gift at Christmas. Who ever would give an engagement ring at Thanksgiving? Mistletoe is another iconic symbol of Christmas. Thanksgiving offers a wishbone from the turkey. Not quite the same.

I have written a love story centered around Thanksgiving, don't get me wrong. I think any day when two people find each other is special, regardless of the trappings. But when it comes to writing a novella, I'll take Christmas over Thanksgiving any day of the week. I'll take ham over turkey.

I hope you'll enjoy my novellas. If your taste runs to contemporary, Love's In The Cards is for you. If you happen to love historicals, A Regency Yuletide will tempt you. I don't think you can go wrong with either story. Here's a little something about each one.

Love's In The Cards

Christmas used to be Penny Beedle’s favorite holiday. But a messy breakup with a country star on Christmas Eve years earlier, and a botched wedding last Christmas Eve have tainted Penny’s outlook about the holiday. But she has to suck it up, since she and her sister now own a greeting card store, and this is their crazy selling season.

Del Madison has loved Penny since kindergarten. Now he’s been commissioned by a big greeting card company for a line of Christmas and Valentine’s cards, as long as he comes out from behind his alter ego and unveils himself to the public. He chooses Penny Beedle’s shop for the big reveal. If he plays his cards right, he just might be able to have Penny be part of his life.

If Del plays his cards right, he just might make Christmas a holiday Penny can enjoy once again.

A Regency Yuletide

After a disappointing season in London, Sophie Davenport returns home without a marriage proposal. No sooner does she settle back into her country life than she learns her uncle has arranged for her to marry the local Vicar’s son, a respectable and utterly forgettable man. He’s returning home immediately after the Christmas holiday and they will wed. She sets about making this last Christmas with just she and her mother memorable.

Jeremy Wyatt agrees to help his friend Thomas and his love, Emma, as they chase to Scotland to marry at Gretna Green before her father comes after them. What he’s really doing is avoiding heading to his parents’ home, where he’s set to be married out of obligation, not love. They get close to the border before their carriage gets hopelessly mired in the mud from the incessant rains. Jeremy sets off to find shelter for them, and knocks at the door of the first house he comes to.

Sophie forms a bond with Jeremy right away. However they’re both spoken for, so despite the sparks they ignite in each other, they have to maintain their separate paths.

But love and mistletoe have a way of upsetting even the most well-laid plans.

Welcome Historical Author Marin McGinnis

I'm so pleased to be able to host today's guest, Marin McGinnis. Marin and I are chapter mates at NEORWA and we both write historical romances, so we always have a lot to say to one another, and there's never enough time at our meetings. So here's a chance for us all to get to know her a bit better. Marin writes for Wild Rose Press, and has just released her second book. Take it away, Marin!

Thank you for having me here today, Becky!

Tell me about your new release.

My second novel, Secret Promise, tells the story of Edward Mason (long lost brother of the heroine in my first book), and the sweetheart he left behind. It is reminiscent of the Odyssey, although it takes Edward a lot less time and fewer adventures to get back home to his lady love.

How does the release fit into your series, if it is a series?

Secret Promise is a sequel to Stirring Up the Viscount, and answers a few questions left open in that book.

What one thing do you hope readers enjoy in the particular offering?

I loved writing this book (except when I didn’t, somewhere in the middle!), and fell a little in love with my characters. Anna and Edward were childhood sweethearts, separated by circumstance (and perhaps just a wee bit of villainy), and through it all remained true to each other. I hope that readers will enjoy their story.

What do you have planned next?

I am currently working on a longer novel set exclusively in England in 1851, completely unrelated to the first two books. I do, however, have two more stories in the hopper featuring the Tenwick family from Stirring Up the Viscount, so we’ll see more from them eventually!

Blurb:

Falsely imprisoned as a blockade-runner during the American Civil War, Edward Mason yearns to go home. But when after seven years he finally returns to England, the life he expected is gone. His parents are dead, his home destroyed, his father’s legacy stolen, and his girl—his girl is now the single mother of a child Edward never knew.

Abandoned by the man she loved and disowned by her family, Anna Templeton has learned to stand on her own two feet and make a home for her son. Now the successful owner of The Silver Gull tavern, she's not about to put their happiness in the hands of the one man who let her down so badly.

Edward is determined to regain Anna’s love and be a father to his son. But when a series of suspicious accidents threaten him and those he loves, he must stop the man responsible, or lose everything.

Buy links:    The Wild Rose Press

                  

                  Amazon

                  B&N

                  Kobo

Excerpt:

“Good day, sir. What can I get you? We have a very good cottage pie today.”

Edward frowned. “Aren’t you a bit young to be working in a public house?”

“Oh, I don’t work here,” the boy said. “Me mam’s the owner, and Molly didn’t come to work today.”

“Molly?”

“The barmaid, of course.” His tone held a hint of derision, as if he thought Edward an idiot for failing to know who Molly was.

“Of course.” Edward was amused. “Well, then, I suppose I shall have the cottage pie, and an ale. And perhaps I could have a word with your mother, when she has a moment?”

“What do you want her for?” The boy’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“I used to live here, many years ago, and would like to speak to someone about…” Edward broke off as a woman emerged from the kitchen, carrying two plates piled with food. She had fiery red hair and a lithe figure, and moved easily through the tables. After setting one of the plates before a man sitting near the bar, she turned and scanned the room. Her gaze alit on the boy first, and she smiled. Then she spotted Edward. All color drained from her face, and the remaining plate slid from her hand, shattering on the stone floor.

“Mam!” The boy raced to the woman and clutched at her skirts, but Edward was unable to move.

“Anna,” he whispered.

About Marin:

Clevelanders are tough, a bit cynical, and just a little crazy, and Marin McGinnis is no exception. When she's not chasing after big dogs or watching tweens skate around hockey rinks, she is immersing herself in romantic tales of years gone by. She lives in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, with her husband, son, and two standard poodles.

You can find her hanging out at marinmcginnis.com, on her group blog at throughheartshapedglasses.com, on Twitter @MarinMcGinnis, Facebook at facebook.com/MarinMcG, Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12256384.Marin_McGinnis, or Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/marinmcginnis/

Special Guest Caroline Warfield

I am so pleased to once again feature my friend and fellow blogger, Caroline Warfield. She has a new book coming out this month especially for all you Regency fans. Here's Caroline!

Becky Lower and I are partners at History Imagined. When we realized we have new books coming out this month, we thought it might be fun to compare notes by answering the same four questions. Becky’s answers will appear on my blog tomorrow.  http://www.carolinewarfield.com/authors-blog/

My answers are here:

Tell me about your new release:

Richard Hayden, the Marquess of Glenaire, strides through life putting loyalty and duty ahead of everything. He never creases his jacket or puts a foot out of place. He views love as a maudlin sentimentality. When an uncharacteristic indiscretion with an attractive woman occurs in Dangerous Weakness,, he knows his duty. He makes the world’s worst proposal since Darcy insulted Elizabeth Bennett.  Lily Thornton refuses to be Richard’s problem to solve, and so she informs him. Her refusal to let him take care of her baffles him. My goal with the book was to bring two stubborn people to the point they could rely on each other, but these two were more stubborn than usual. She runs pretty far. When he runs after her, he has no idea what he’s about to get himself into: dishonest fishermen, friendly stevedores, disbelieving ambassadors, and slave-trading pirates.

How does the release fit into your series?

Richard appears in both of my previous books. He usually casts himself in the role of rescuer even if his sister and his friends would, like Lily, prefer to manage their own lives. Because he always wants to be in charge, I decided he needed a few lessons. I wanted to bring him to the point he was barefoot, in rags, and begging for help. If ever a hero needed his suit shredded and his hair mussed, it’s this one. It turns out he’ll do anything, even that, to protect the woman he loves.

What one thing do you hope readers enjoy in the particular offering?

As much as it was fun bringing him down a peg, I hope the readers see the heart underneath the façade of the Marble Marquess. When Richard realizes he has a family, the concept stuns him. I hope readers, like Lily, come to understand his fundamental need to care for and protect those he loves.

What do you have planned next?

A secondary character that appears in all three of my Dangerous books, Will Landrum, the Earl of Chadbourn, will appear as the hero of a holiday novella in Mistletoe, Marriage, and Mayhem, an anthology published by the Bluestocking Belles. That story is called “A Dangerous Nativity.”   

All of the Dangerous books include children, and they are all clamoring for their own stories to be told. I am in the process of imagining those stories and matching them with worldwide events that took place in the early years of Victoria’s reign.

Here's the blurb for A Dangerous Weakness: 

If women were as easily managed as the affairs of state—or the recalcitrant Ottoman Empire—Richard Hayden, Marquess of Glenaire, would be a happier man. As it was the creatures—one woman in particular—made hash of his well-laid plans and bedeviled him on all sides.

Lily Thornton came home from Saint Petersburg in pursuit of marriage. She wants a husband and a partner, not an overbearing, managing man. She may be “the least likely candidate to be Marchioness of Glenaire,” but her problems are her own to fix, even if those problems include both a Russian villain and an interfering Ottoman official.

Given enough facts, Richard can fix anything. But protecting that impossible woman is proving to be almost as hard as protecting his heart, especially when Lily’s problems bring her dangerously close to an Ottoman revolution. As Lily’s personal problems entangle with Richard’s professional ones, and she pits her will against his, he chases her across the pirate-infested Mediterranean. Will she discover surrender isn’t defeat? It might even have its own sweet reward.

And a snippet: 

 “We will marry of course,” he told her. “Quickly, but not so abruptly as to cause comments.” He walked toward the door, expecting her to follow.

“I beg your pardon,” she called out to him. “We will what?”

He turned on his heel. “Miss Thornton, you will be the Marchioness of Glenaire. That is far from ideal, and the difference in our state will no doubt cause talk. We will have to endure it.”

“Why?” she demanded. “Why this ‘far from ideal’ demand? Has Lady Sarah refused you?”

“Don’t be coy, Miss Thornton. You have led me into folly at every step. After last night I have no choice. I shall have to marry you. My family—”

“Your family would have kittens if I married you, which I will not.”

“You have respectable, if not the highest, breeding, you will show to advantage when properly dressed, and you will do well as a diplomatic hostess. My family, I was going to say, will have to deal with it.” He stalked away. “So will you.”

“I will not,” Lily shouted after him.

Buy links (Kindle only)

US http://amzn.to/1L8IDXp

UK http://amzn.to/1JYxerM

Canada http://amzn.to/1NwQmMt

Euro http://amzn.to/1PrxeAQ

India http://amzn.to/1hdwC6C

Aus http://bit.ly/1NikayC

Find out more about Caroline here: 

Caroline Warfield has at various times been an army brat, a librarian, a poet, a raiser of children, a nun, a bird watcher, an Internet and Web services manager, a conference speaker, an indexer, a tech writer, a genealogist, and, of course, a romantic. She has sailed through the English channel while it was still mined from WWII, stood on the walls of Troy, searched Scotland for the location of an entirely fictional castle (and found it), climbed the steps to the Parthenon, floated down the Thames from the Tower to Greenwich, shopped in the Ginza, lost herself in the Louvre, gone on a night safari at the Singapore zoo, walked in the Black Forest, and explored the underground cistern of Istanbul. By far the biggest adventure has been life-long marriage to a prince among men.

She sits in front of a keyboard at a desk surrounded by windows, looks out at the trees and imagines. Her greatest joy is when one of those imaginings comes to life on the page and in the imagination of her readers.

Caroline’s social media

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Email Caroline directly                                    warfieldcaro@gmail.com

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She can also be found on

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Caroline’s Other Books

Dangerous Works    http://amzn.to/1DJj0Hi

Dangerous Secrets   http://tinyurl.com/ph56vnb