Fun Friday – Writing Maxims & Real Life

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

You’ve no doubt heard the saying that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. 

Not so when the goose is a novelist and the gander is her alter-ego–mom, wife or employee!

Today on the American Christian Fiction Writer’s blog, I’m sharing how one simple trick can make an author’s novel come alive.

Start late. Leave early. 


Great advice for a novelist who wants to create page turning suspense. 

Not so great advice for how to win that new promotion at work, or your daughter’s undying affection when she’s playing in the championship game or making her ballet debut. 



Your Turn: Do you have any maxims you try to live by?

Write Off the Deep End

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Pay attention. There will be a test. There will be prizes.

Shades of Truth has officially released and it should be in stores by the weekend!!!

What does that have to do with writing off the deep end?!

Allow me to introduce my fellow Wodians. So named for our writing group: WODE–which stands for Write Off the Deep End.

Readers and writers alike often ask me about my writing process. These ladies are a big part of it. Once a month we get together to offer each other feedback on what we’ve written or to brainstorm new story ideas.

The group “found me” a few years ago after my RWA magazine was delivered to the wrong house. (Divine redirection!) The recipient was so excited to find another writer in our community that she hand-delivered the magazine and invited me to the next WODE meeting.

She has since become a treasured critique partner. Remember the grocery store murder discussion from January? That was with her. 🙂

In honor of the positive impact WODE has had on my writing career, I used the “word” WODE in Shades of Truth.

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to find the location and email me the page number (and book version). 🙂 In June, I will draw from a hat the name (of all correct answers) and they will receive a $25 gift certificate for their favorite book retailer.

Your Turn: Do you have a special friend or group with which you share a common interest or hobby or pursuit?

Blog Tour Announcement

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard
Today, I’m a guest at Lyn Cote’s blog Strong Women, talking a bit about the ministry behind the real Hope Manor, which inspired my fictional youth detention center in Shades of Truth

And

This week…I’m the featured author at American Christian Fiction Writers. 

I had fun with one of the questions on the interview–and would like to hear your answers? 

Your Turn: What’s one piece of trivia that most people people don’t know about you?

Talking about the Blame Game

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Since Shades of Truth has hit Ebook readers nationwide…

and I know this because it actually appeared in the top 20 on 2 Kindle bestseller lists on Friday, yee!!…

I’ve decided to ask a reader question from the back of my book, today.

The hero, Ethan Reed, is working undercover in a youth detention center to ferret out the person who’s recruiting residents for a drug ring.

In his youth, Ethan did time in a similar facility, and based on that experience, he remarks that residents always claim incidents are never their fault.

We talked about this tendency in our Sunday School class yesterday morning. That is, we talked about how all sin begins with self-deception.

Self-deception such as:
~saying everyone is doing it or
~it can’t be wrong when it feels so right or
~I’ll just do it this once or
~I can always ask God to forgive me later or
~saying you can’t help it, it’s not your fault, because of A, B, or C

Whereas, true repentance is marked not only by an admission that yes, you did wrong, but an absence of rationalization for it, as well as a genuine sorrow about doing it (not just about getting caught!), and the desire to make restitution to any offended party.

So here’s the question: When you make a mistake in your life, do you tend to blame someone else or do you take responsibility? Since this is an intensely personal question, perhaps share an example of how doing one or the other (in your younger days!) had positive or negative repercussions and what you learned from that experience.

NEWS:

If you’d like to read an interview with my hero, you’ll find it here: http://craftieladiesofromance.blogspot.com/2012/03/shades-of-truth-interview.html

And there’s a giveway going on this week for a signed copy of SoT here: http://www.anitamaedraper.com/author-memories.html

Jury Duty Anyone?

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

It’s finally happened. I figured it would one day.

Eventually the town had to work it’s way through the alphabet, and now my turn to do my civic duty has arrived…maybe.

I’ve been summoned to appear for a jury panel, which means that I may or may not be chosen to sit on a jury. The suspense writer in me is intrigued by the possibility. The practical-can’t-sit-for-more-than-an-hour-or-my-back-goes-into-spasms side of me is a tad apprehensive.

I can’t complain about the timing. I have no looming deadlines, and despite all the crime I write about in my fictional town set in this region, we don’t have any upcoming trials that would go on for weeks on end…at least none that I know about.

So…I’m excited about the opportunity to experience the process, watch the people and take lots of notes for future books!

Your Turn: Have you ever been called to jury duty? If so, how was it? If not, would you want to be? 

P.S. I emailed my newsletter last night. If you’re a subscriber and don’t see it in your inbox, please check your spam. If you’d like to be added to my subscriber list, there’s a link on the right side bar below the Goodreads giveaway (which btw ends early Sunday)

Today & Tomorrow’s Book Tour Stops: 

Fri Mar 2

read an excerpt from Shades of Truth
talking about love & romance
Sat Mar 3
View my work space & process ~ pics

Image courtesy of: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

10 Character Lessons from a Special Guest

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Hi Bella here. I’m the furry one.

My mistress is exhausted because she spent yesterday entertaining little miss, so… I volunteered to do this post.

I saw that my kissing cousin, Simba, did one for Kav last week, and have wanted to try my paw at it ever since.

Then I saw that a little dog was even at the Oscars, and actually spoke. People are finally realizing that we have lots of important lessons to teach! 

Now you’ve probably read some version of these lessons around cyberspace before, but honest (cause I can’t even cross my toes to tell a lie like all my mistress’s heroes do in their undercover work) I really live this stuff.

#1 Eat with gusto and enthusiasm…rubber boots, hubcaps, vinyl siding…it’s all good!

#2 No matter how often you’re scolded, run right back and be friends. Guilt trips are for cats.

#3 When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

#4 When a loved one comes home, run to greet them.

#5 Delight in the simple pleasure of a long walk.

#6 Be obedient…when it’s in your best interest.

#7 Avoid biting when a growl will do.

#8 Romp and play daily and take plenty of naps.

#9 Never pass up the opportunity for a joyride.

#10 When someone is having a tough day, sit close by and nuzzle them gently…and offer to write their blog. “grin”

Your Turn: How’d I do?

Oops, my mistress said I need a better question than that. How about…

What have you learned from a dog, or cat (since I know not everyone likes my species, but c’mon…
my mistress’s cat sits on the couch and waits for me to walk by so it can swat me. What’s with that?

I’m a good dog. I don’t lie on the couch. I, um, took a bite out of it once, but I’ve NEVER lied on it. lain? laideded? I can’t figure out your grammar. Anyway, thanks for reading this far. Hope you have a woofing good day!

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Welcome to my first newsletter of 2012. I hope you are enjoying a healthy and joy-filled new year.

I’m thrilled to report that my year is shaping up to be amazing!!!

Here’s the story… Way back in June of 2010, three months before Love Inspired contracted me to write my Undercover Cops series, my agent sent a three-book proposal to a number of trade-length publishers. And…

Last week one of them made me an offer!!!

I’m not shouting this from the rooftops, yet, because I haven’t signed the contract, but my agent said it would be okay to share that much. Yee! I received the news on the day before my son graduated from his apprenticeship training so we had a wonderful weekend of celebrating together.

This happened a week after this amazing article appeared in the paper:

 I couldn’t have prayed for better local promotion for my upcoming release. God has been blessing my writing in so many ways!

NOW IT’S TIME TO GIVE BACK
but first let me clarify, because I know I confuse people when I start giving away books before the book actually releases. 

Shades of Truth will hit American and Canadian bookstores (including Walmarts, grocery stores etc) around March 13th and will be on the shelves until they’re sold or until early April, whichever happens first. Bookstores will order in copies upon request as long as they are still available.

But… the novel is available NOW from Harlequin. Click Here to order at 20% off, and use coupon code FREESHIPAFFO to receive free shipping until Mar 31st.

GIVEAWAY # 1
From now until March 4th, I have a giveaway going on at Goodreads open to residents of Australia, Great Britain, Canada and US. If you’d like to enter, the link is: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/21413-shades-of-truth  For those not familiar with Goodreads, it’s a home for casual readers and bona-fide bookworms alike. Users recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they’ve read and would like to read, find their next favorite book, form book clubs and much more.
GIVEAWAY # 2
The winner of this newsletter’s giveaway of a copy of Shades of Truth is
Please email me your mailing information or if you prefer an Ebook that will work, too.
MORE GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITIES
Over the next few weeks, I will be touring the blogosphere to promote my newest release. Sometimes my blog hosts give away a book to commenters. The schedule of the tour is on my blog page: http://www.sandraorchard.blogspot.com/p/blog-tour-for-shades-of-truth.html
I’m giving away a copy on the March 4th spot for sure.
FUN CONTEST FOR THE CAREFUL READER
I belong to a writing group called WODE (Writers Off the Deep End). They challenged me to include our name in my novel. So I did. If you find “WODE” in Shades of Truth, email me your name, the page number, and the version of book (regular print, True Large Print, Ebook version etc).
I’ll be drawing a name from everyone who writes in and will announce the winner in my June newsletter. The winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to the book retailer of their choice.  
UPCOMING BOOK SIGNINGS
 This is a photo of Eva Maria Hamilton at my debut book signing. 
Eva is from Ancaster (only 45 minutes from where I live) and her Love Inspired Historical, Highland Hearts, debuts in March. So… we’re doing a couple of book signings together. 
Saturday, March 17th  2 – 4 pm
@ Coles in the Limeridge Mall in Hamilton 
and on
Saturday, March 24th  1 – 3 pm
@ Heritage Christian Bookstore in the Grantham Plaza, St. Catharines
as I did at last year’s signings, I will have a basket of books that will go to one lucky visitor

 Thanks so much for sharing this writing journey with me. If there’s something you’d like to see in the next newsletter, please let me know. In the meantime, I wish you all the best and invite you to continue to connect between newsletters at: Conversations About Characters or on Facebook

Feel free to forward this email to someone who you think might enjoy it. If you received this email from a friend and would like to subscribe, click here.

What’s in your Heart?

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

I’m blogging over on the International Christian Fiction Writers blog today.

I hope you’ll stop by and say hi! Of course, because it’s in a different time zone, it doesn’t go live until 7 am EST.

A recipe from Shades of Truth is also being featured today on The Yankee Belle Cafe

AND…did you notice the new widget on my sidebar? This week I’m having a giveaway on Goodreads for my March release. It’s open to residents of the US, Canada, Australia and Great Britain, although you have to join Goodreads to enter if you’re not already a part of the community of readers.

Have a great day!

Fun Friday – What would you do…?

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Since reading Nipped in the Bud last weekend, a question has plagued me all week…

 

What would I do if someone threatened me with a gun? 

We see this happen all the time in TV shows and movies. The person with the gun usually gives the victim some compelling reason to come along quietly. Often a loved one is threatened if they don’t cooperate. Similarly the character in Nipped was presented with a couple of very compelling reasons to stall, but part of me was screaming at her to…well…SCREAM.

Unless there are other bad guys who have my loved ones this minute, I’m thinking this is between you and me, buddy. And I will not go gentle into that good night.

If there are people around, I’m going to scream, “Gun. Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot.”

Then I’m going to run like a mad woman. Most people really aren’t that good a shot. Chances are they’re not going to hit me, let alone kill me. Chances are even better that they won’t want to draw anymore attention to themselves so they’ll slink away and wait for another opportunity.

Of course, that’s where the being petrified for your loved ones ramps up to hyper mode.

But c’mon if I let him shoot me, how do I know he wouldn’t then go off and shoot them anyway?

Your Turn: You’re at an outdoor event, or a mall parking lot with other people around, and someone threatens you with a gun. What are you going to do?