Sister Wars

I realize I haven’t blogged much lately but that was because I’ve been busy writing my next novel, Most Highly Favored Daughter! So I wasn’t being a complete slacker! Most Highly Favored Daughter is my new romantic suspense, and it examines the sibling rivalry between sisters, Cara and Sophia Hawthorne.

I’m taking a different approach to publication this time, which I think will be beneficial for both of us. Amazon has launched a new program called Kindle Scout. If a book is selected for the program, (which mine was) people can log on to Kindle Scout and nominate it, and then if the book is selected by Kindle for publication, everyone who nominated the book will receive a FREE copy! There may be no free lunch, but there are free Kindle copies!

If you haven’t nominated Most Highly Favored Daughter yet, I’d really appreciate it if you would do so now by clicking HERE. Go ahead, I’ll wait for you to come back.

Thanks. So let’s talk about sisters. When I was pursuing my writing degree, I did a study on the sister relationship, and this was one of the things that inspired me to write this book. Both sisters in the novel compete for the affection of their father. Sisters get worked up over many things—some small and some large.

Recently, I was at tea party hosted by a good friend and tea aficionado. Her younger sister was also at the party. After all the delicious treats were consumed and we were sipping the last from our tea cups, the conversation turned to how the sisters used to fight when they were younger. We all got a good laugh over their story of battling over the last Pop-Tart and how the older sister smashed it into the younger one's face in a fit of rage.

It seemed that everyone there who had a sister had some story from the “sister wars.” Fortunately, everyone there also shared that in their adult years, they enjoyed close relationships with their sisters. That is good because during my studies of sisters, I learned that the relationship between sisters will most likely be the longest relationship you will ever have.

In Most Highly Favored Daughter, the Hawthorne sisters face problems and battles that are much worse than waging war over a Pop-Tart. They face deadly circumstances. Fortunately, most of us don’t face such dire situations.

Do you have any stories from the sister wars?

Let's Kick off Summer!

Welcome to Summer!

CAPE CURSED FREE JUNE 9, 10 & 11

I don't know about you, but this is my favorite time of the year.  I love waking up to birds singing and it remaining light outside until nearly bedtime.  Another thing I love about summer is reading.  I've found some great books over the years during this time of year.  Outlander, one the books I read during the summer years ago, will soon be a mini-series.

There's nothing better than sitting under a shady tree or sitting in a beach chair with the rhythm of the surf to keep you company while you enjoy a great book.  

In celebration of summer, my novel Cape Cursed is FREE from June 9-11 in the Kindle store.  It is set at the beach and is filled with hot romance and chilling suspense.

Download it now before it is no longer free, then sit back, relax, and be transported to the beach as you read Cape Cursed.  Click here to begin your download.

Cape Cursed Makes Landfall-The Name Game

Welcome back on this last day of the Cape Cursed book launch!

Bliss Sherman is the female lead of Cape Cursed and Parker Swain is her male counterpart.  When I write a book, I take great care and have a lot of fun naming my characters.  One of my other novels, A Shepherd’s Song, is an allegory and all the main characters’ names have a tie-in.  I’m offering a $10 gift certificate to the OBX store to the first person who comments on this blog and can correctly tell me the significance of the characters’ names in that novel.

I came up with the name Bliss Sherman for the female protagonist in Cape Cursed because I wanted a first name that would imply beauty and happiness, and for the last name, I gave her Sherman.  I’m not from the South, but I know that the name Sherman still riles the blood there.  I wanted Sherman to denote how Bliss was coming to this beach and turning everyone’s life upside down much like the Civil War’s General Sherman did. 

I love how Southerners like to use surnames for first names.  I thought the name Parker for the male protagonist would imply something being stationery and reflect Parker’s view that the lighthouse should not be relocated.  It also reflects how Parker and his family have been fixtures on the cape for decades.  Swain is an old-fashioned word for a male suitor.  I thought would make a great last name for a romantic lead.

If you had to come up with the name for a character in a romance novel, what would it be?  I will send a bookmark to all who leave a response. 

Don’t forget to enter the raffle and tell your friends too.

Thanks for dropping by.

Janice

It's Finally Here! Cape Cursed Makes Landfall Today!

The watches have come down and the warnings have gone out!  Red flags snap in the wind as the black storm clouds gather and roll ashore.  The roaring surf pounds the beach, as the rain, like silver darts, pelts your face.  The blowing sand stings your legs while the wind shrieks in your ears so loudly no one could hear you if you screamed. 

Prepare yourself now because Cape Cursed is making landfall, and you have no means for escaping this Category 5 of a romantic suspense novel.   Cape Cursed, my new novel, barrels in packing a surge of suspense that knocks you off your feet and a blistering romance that sweeps you up and carries you away.  Cape Cursed is now available in paperback from Amazon and digitally in the Kindle and Nook Stores and at Smashwords.

Here’s a bit about the novel:

Inspired by the actual relocation of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse in 1999, Cape Cursed is set on the fictitious Outer Banks location of Cape Destiny, North Carolina.  Bliss Sherman comes to the cape determined to make a name for herself and her new firm by accomplishing an incredible engineering feat—moving the Cape Destiny Lighthouse inland before it's swallowed by the Atlantic Ocean. 

Cape Hatteras relocation from the National Park Service.

Bliss, who has struggled with dyslexia, discrimination, and betrayal by her ex-husband and former business partner, Jonathan, faces her greatest challenge when she falls in love with the handsome, mysterious descendant of the lighthouse keepers, Parker Swain, who vehemently opposes moving the lighthouse.

When Bliss is viciously attacked, she begins to wonder if the curse that is rumored to be attached to the lighthouse may be true.  Who is sabotaging the move?  Who is trying to ruin her?  Who wants to kill her?  When all clues point to Parker, she dismisses her suspicions, deciding to trust him and her heart, but as the evidence mounts against Parker, she begins to doubt not only herself and her heart, but Parker. 

Can she trust her judgment?  Can she trust Parker?  Most importantly, when she is trapped inside the lighthouse with him during a hurricane, can she trust Parker with her life? 

I chose September 1 to release the books because that date is the peak of hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean, and I hope Cape Cursed will be the peak of your reading season. 

This book, for those of you who have read my other novels, (by the way, thank you!)—St. Anne’s Day and A Shepherd’s Song—is a bit different.  Unlike St. Anne’s Day, which was a romantic comedy, and A Shepherd’s Song, which was a heartwarming Christmas story, Cape Cursed is a romantic suspense in the style of Mary Higgins Clark. 

Since Cape Cursed is set on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and I’m so fond of that stretch of beach, I’m raffling a $25 gift certificate to the OBX store to celebrate the book’s release.  This online store has everything from jewelry and T-shirts to stunning beach photographs and books.  The raffle concludes at midnight on September 3.  So don’t forget to enter.

Outer Banks-Photo by S. C. Miller 

As usual, if you’ve read Cape Cursed or any of my books, please post a review wherever you purchased the book and on Goodreads if you are a member.  The more reviews, the more these sites suggest the book to people browsing for a new read. 

Also, if you like my books, please spread the word to your reading friends and family.  I truly appreciate it.  I love hearing your reactions to the stories, and I also love meeting you.  I have a few events scheduled for the fall.  If you are interested in having me come to your book club, library, ladies group, etc., please email me.  There is no fee and we always have a good time!

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend & Enjoy Cape Cursed! 

Tag--I'm It!

Thanks, Lily Silver, for tagging me for The Next Big Thing Blog Hop.  Lily has a new book The Rock Star Next Door .  It is a modern fairy tale, and who doesn't need a good fairy tale?

The Next Big Thing originated on the She Writes site, as far as we could work out, and is designed to raise awareness of our work, or work in progress. We do that by answering ten questions about it. We graciously thank the person who nominated us, and tag five other authors whose work could well be that NEXT BIG THING.

Lily's book was featured in the Thanks for Great Book Blog Hop & Fall Book Release event that just concluded.  Click here to read more about it.

Now, it's my turn to answer the questions and tag five more writers.  So far, I've struck out on tagging anyone.  If you are interested, please contact me.  It's really not hard and a great way to spread the word about your NEXT BIG THING.

My latest novel, A Shepherd's Song, also debuted during the Thanks for Great Book Blog Hop, but since we are talking about the NEXT BIG THING, I'm going to preview the next book that will come out.

What is the title of your next book?

The title of my next book, which will come out in late spring, is CAPE CURSED. 

I just love the cover my designer created.  

Where did the idea come from for the book?

For more than 20 years, my family has vacationed on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Some years ago, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was moved inland--a major engineering feat--to save it from the encroaching Atlantic Ocean.  I wondered what would happen if a  Yankee girl's company came to the Outer Banks to move a beloved lighthouse?  Thus CAPE CURSED was born.

What genre does your book fall under?

CAPE CURSED is a romantic suspense.  

 Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Bliss Sherman is the heroine and she is half Korean.  No Asian/American actresses came to mind so I googled some.  Sonia Couling best exemplifies the beautiful woman I see in my mind when I think of Bliss.  

Parker Swain is the handsome descendant of the lighthouse keepers.  He's blond, soft-spoken and a Southern gentleman.  Tim McGraw would be a good one or Matthew MConaughey.  

Nancy Klempner is Bliss's faithful assistant.  She's an athletic, blonde, older woman.  If we could frump up Nicollette Sheridan, she'd be perfect.


What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When beautiful Bliss Sherman arrives at Cape Destiny to move the cape's beloved lighthouse, she faces an even greater challenge when she falls in love with the handsome, mysterious descendant of the lighthouse keepers, Parker Swain, who is vehemently opposed to her moving the lighthouse and who may be trying to kill her.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? 

I'm a control freak.  I like self-publishing.

 How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

In all honesty, I' don't know. I've lost track.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 

I'd say it compares to the seaside moodiness of du Maurier's classic Rebecca.  

 Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Strangely, one of the former secretaries where my husband's worked inspired me.  She was  very possessive of the company, even though she had no vested stake in the organization, other than being a regular employee.  Nancy is Bliss's assistant and is devoted to the company much as my husband's co-worker was.  

What else about your book might pique the reader interest?

The Outer Banks is a very romantic as well as treacherous place.  It is called the Graveyard of the Atlantic.  I wanted to capture the romance and danger of that stretch of coastline. 

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to contact me if you'd like to be THE NEXT BIG THING.