Early Christmas Present!!!

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

This week I got my first glimpse of the cover of the second book in my Undercover Cops series. It release in March 2012 and appeared on Amazon this week for preorder!

What do you think?

I’m thrilled. Love the colors.

The book centers around a youth detention center called Hope Manor that is surrounded by farmland. I like how the artist has captured the mood.

Now, any writers reading this…if you’d like an early Christmas present…

The final gift package on the fundraiser for Sandi Rog blog goes up today  at noon Mountain Standard Time TODAY. And it’s a doozy. For as little as a $5 donation, you could have a chance to win…

PACKAGE 15: Writing 3 ($125+249=)—Open to international participants!
A free Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild Webinar and a 2500 word critique by a guild member (http://www.christianwritersguild.com/) AND a Fiction Writing Master Course by Janice Thompson. 

This is a gold mine of information! Ten lessons– each presented in video, audio, and print format so you can interact with the material in whichever way suits you best–cover every imaginable facet of fiction writing, from plotting, point of view, and characterization to theme, genre, common mistakes, and what to do with that manuscript once you’ve typed “The End.”


Don’t dilly dally, because it closes Saturday noon.


Your Turn: What do you think of the cover? How does it make you feel? What does it make you think the book will be about?

How to Make the Most of Email Irritations

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

This past weekend, I apparently sent myself an email about a great deal on Rolex watches.

Imagine my surprise!!!

When I’ve gotten this sort of junk mail from a real friend’s email address, I’ve always told them that their email has been hacked. Well, this week I learned that’s not necessarily so.

According to my internet provider, since the email didn’t come from my computer. I don’t have a virus.

I’ve been spoofed.

Now, here’s the scary part. If someone gets such an email from me and blocks the sender because it’s clearly spam…they could be blocking me from ever being able to email them from that address again!

These guys are deviously clever.

Why am I telling you all of this?

Well, first of all, I thought it was intriguing. Something one of my characters should have to deal with at some point. Don’t you think?

Good fiction is all about conflict. Imagine the conflict if the heroine is sending the most important email of her life to her editor or agent or future hero, and doesn’t realize they’ve blocked her address because some creep is tarnishing her good name selling watches or pharmaceuticals or who knows what else?!

Second, I wanted to warn you to be careful about blocking senders when you get spam. If someone you know is listed as the sender, even if you know he or she didn’t really send it, s/he will be the one cut out of your email box, not the real sender.

Third, to protect yourself, discourage your friends from “forwarding” you jokes etc. Or urge them to use BCC, i.e. blind carbon copy so that your email address doesn’t wind up on a bunch of computers of people you don’t know. Eventually, the forwarded email will return to the originator, who is likely a spammer farming email addresses.

Oh, there is definitely a story in this…next book 🙂

Your Turn: What is the most bizarre or irritating or scary email, social media, or computer-related situation you’ve had to deal with?

Lakeside Reunion – Character Interview

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

A couple of Mondays ago we talked about how the hero of Lakeside Reunion had to sacrifice a future with the woman he loved to do the honorable thing. Today, I’m excited to be able to bring him here to answer a few questions his choice raised for me.

But first allow me to introduce you to his creator, debut author, Lisa Jordan. I first met Lisa online through My Book Therapy and then later in person at ACFW conferences.  What a thrill it has been for us to see our debut novels come out with Love Inspired within months of each other. 
 
Heart, home and faith have always been important to Lisa Jordan, so writing stories that feature both comes naturally to her. Happily married for twenty-two years, Lisa and her husband have two young adult sons. When she isn’t writing or caring for children in her in-home childcare business, Lisa enjoys family time, romantic comedies, good books, crafting with friends and feeding her NCIS addiction. Visit her at www.lisajordanbooks.com to learn more about her writing. 
 
Before we dive into the character questions, here’s the back cover blurb for Lakeside Reunion:
 
Bed-and-breakfast owner Lindsey Porter prays she won’t run into Stephen Chase when she returns to Shelby Lake.Five years ago, the cop jilted her to marry another woman, and Lindsey fled town. But no sooner does she hit city limits than Stephen pulls her over for a broken taillight. Despite the past, he’s still able to stir up Lindsey’s old feelings for him. Now a widower and single dad, Stephen recognizes a second chance when he sees one. And he’ll do anything to make Lindsey trust in God and take a risk for love—again.Read an excerpt of Lakeside Reunion
 
Now, Stephen, you chose honor over love. Why?
I screwed up. Big time. I had to man up and face the consequences of my actions. What happened affected many people I loved, but I had to do the right thing, even if it meant giving up Lindsey.
 
What would you have missed out on if you had chosen Lindsey?         
I missed the first two years of Ty’s life. If I had married Lindsey, I would have become a weekend dad, and I didn’t want that. Tyler didn’t deserve that either. He was already losing his mother. The poor guy needed some security in his life.
 
And Bethany … she was a great person who didn’t deserve what happened to her. She was one of the kindest, gentlest people I’ve had the privilege to know. She loved Ty with all her heart. He’s a great kid, mainly because of her.
 
How did you feel when you saw Lindsey for the first time?
Like someone had just stepped on my chest. Man, she looked amazing. She was so close, yet so far away, you know?
 
What regrets do you have over hurting Lindsey?
I loved Lindsey. That never changed. But I had to do what was right for Bethany and Tyler. I was all they had. Breaking my engagement was one of the toughest things I had to do, especially since she was grieving her father’s death.
 
How did you grow to care for Bethany?
Bethany’s gentle personality made it easy. We were strangers when we got married, but as we talked, our relationship grew into a deep friendship. She was my wife, and I loved her. I will always cherish her memory and honor it for Ty.
 
Why is your job so important?
I’m a cop. I catch bad guys. But it’s more than that. I screwed up in the past. Being a cop showed I could do something right and honorable. Lindsey’s father was my mentor and believed in me. I couldn’t let him down.
 
What’s the hardest thing about being a single parent?
What’s not hard about it? You have to do everything yourself. Thank God I had my family to lend a hand or else Ty and I may have lived on chicken nuggets or mac and cheese. He deserved so much more. I do my best, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like enough. I miss having a partner to share his accomplishments or cute stories with. I hate having to juggle work, his school events, and making sure someone is always there for him.
 
What life lesson would you share with someone else?
God’s grace is a free gift—it’s up to you to accept it or deny it. Plus, life’s hard, but you don’t have to go it alone. Lean on family and friends, but most of all, lean on God. His shoulders can take it and wants to walk alongside us every day. 
 
Stephen and Lisa, thanks so much for joining us today and being so open with your answers. Lisa do you have anything you’d like to tell my readers? 
 
 
Yes, for the past month-plus, I’ve been holding a scavenger hunt to promote my Lakeside Reunion release. Also, blog commenters on my blog hop (like today) will be put in a drawing for fun prizes—breakfast basket, Love Inspired Authors basket, autographed copies of Lakeside Reunion. (U.S. addresses only, I’m afraid.) 
 
There are still a couple of days left to get in on the scavenger hunt. Visit my Lakeside Reunion Contest page for more information. For those participating…the token for this blog is a home-cooked meal.
Your Turn: Do you have any questions for Lisa or Stephen? 

Special Notice: Tomorrow at noon Mountain Standard Time, the For Canadians Only gift basket will go up on the fundraiser for Sandi Rog blog. The basket open to International for the 2500 word critique from the Christian Writer’s Guild will be on Friday. Be sure to stop in every day. These baskets are worth hundreds of dollars and feature everything from chocolates, crafts, hand-knitted items, jewellery, scrapbooking supplies to books. 
 

 

Reach Out this Holiday Season

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Imagine you’re a mom of four, living with MS, still readjusting to life in the states after years spent abroad, and finally seeing a dream come true. The book you’ve researched for years and poured your soul into is finally, today, being released into the world. After all the struggles of moving, of helping children acclimate, of learning a new city, of juggling motherhood and family and writing, you get to celebrate the realization of a dream.

And on that same day, your doctor tells you to come in right away–you you have stage 4 T-cell lymphoma, possibly caused by the medication you’ve been taking for MS.

This is what happened to Sandi Rog on November 1, 2010. For the last year, Sandi has endured chemo, radiation, and a bone marrow transplant, with the hope of destroying this aggressive cancer. And then, just a few weeks before the release of her second book, new tumors were discovered near her spine that show the cancer has not succumbed the way we had all hoped.

So now, in the face of the holiday season, the Rog family finds themselves settling in for another year of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual battle as Sandi faces more treatments–one of which holds much promise but is not covered by insurance. As you can imagine, the financial cost of fighting cancer can be overwhelming, and that’s why we’re hosting this fundraiser.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:
Donated items such as books and ornaments and a wide assortment of other items have been added almost daily to the fundraiser site. These will be available for you to win starting today, November 25th at noon MST.

To purchase a raffle “ticket”, donate $5 at GiveForward.com. (If you wish to enter the drawings for donated items, be sure NOT to mark your donation as anonymous or to hide your donated amount!) Every $5 you donate will purchase you one raffle ticket.

The fundraising site will post two awesome gift “baskets” per day. To enter the drawing for a basket, leave a comment on the post. Want to enter more than once on the basket you really want? In your comment, note how many “tickets” you’re spending. They’ll be able to track through GiveForward.com how many tickets you purchased.  

They regret that most items are only able to be shipped to US addresses. HOWEVER, there will be a special for Canadians Only Gift Basket. As well, Aspiring Writers from anywhere in the world will not want to miss the opportunity to win a 2,500 word critique from the Jerry B Jenkins Christian Writer’s Guild.  I’ll keep you posted on those important dates.

Note that, once your ticket has been spent, you won’t get it back if you don’t win. (Just like a raffle with physical tickets–once you enter it in a drawing, your ticket is gone.) The comments will close at noon the next day; comments left after that time will not be counted. We’ll use Random.org to choose the winner and will post their name the next day. Read yesterday’s post at the fundraiser site for more detailed instructions.

Your donation is not tax deductible. This is strictly a sacrificial, out-of-the-goodness-of-your-heart donation.

HOW TO PURCHASE A RAFFLE TICKET:
Be sure to have your credit card info available. Click the GiveForward.com button and enter your info there. (Note that if you want to purchase more tickets later, you will need to reenter your information at that time as GiveForward.com does not store payment info.) Donate as much or as little as you want, and every $5 increment will get you an entry toward the gift basket of your choice. GiveForward.com will keep track for us of names and email addresses, so we’ll be able to contact you if you win.

We know times are hard for everyone. The economy is in the tank, folks are losing their jobs, and Christmas is probably going to be a lot less materially-focused this year for many people. But, for most of us, the Rogs fall under the “it could be a lot worse” category. Every donation helps. So please prayerfully consider how you might help, and help spread the word to help keep the Rogs afloat as Sandi fights for her life.


HOW TO BID WITHOUT A DONATION TO SANDI:
To keep things legal, they have to allow an option for people to enter the raffle at least once without making a purchase. If you wish to bid on a gift basket, leave a comment that states your name, email address so we can contact you if you win, and the phrase “entering without purchasing a bid”. 
~Alison

Happy American Thanksgiving!

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends. And a quote of the day from Monday’s Walk Right In Ministry’s blog post The Power of a Thanksgiving Love Story:

“He is teaching us that there is a privilege and grand adventure in how life unfolds when it is wrapped within the power, love and grace of Christ’s presence.”

No matter whether you are in a valley or on a mountaintop or somewhere in between at this moment, may each of you feel wrapped in God’s love in a special way today.

Please join me tomorrow for an extra-special post.

Blog Hoppers looking for…

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Lisa Jordan’s Character Interview for Lakeside Reunion will be posted Monday, November 28th.

My apologies for the schedule change, I didn’t realize that I was part of the official hop. You’ll be able to find the token you’re looking for here on Monday.

In the meantime, I invite you to read today’s post from Suzanne Hartmann on choosing character names. You might also be interested on this earlier post based on Lisa’s book: What-would-you-give-up-for-love?

Naming Characters in Peril: Fast Track Thriller #1

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Have you ever wondered where authors come up with names for their characters? 
Suzanne Hartmann never really thought about it until she started writing fiction and had to name her own characters. Since her debut novel just released, and my daughter got us thinking about names on Monday, I invited Suzanne to share how she came up with the ones for her characters.

Before she does, let me tell you a little about Suzanne.
She’s a homeschool mom of three who lives in the St. Louis area. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Composition & Linguistics from Western Illinois University. To relax, she enjoys scrapbooking, reading, and Bible study. She began writing fiction when her children were young, and four of her short stories were published in a Milliken Publishing reading workbook. PERIL: Fast Track Thriller Bk. #1 is her debut novel.
On the editorial side, Suzanne is a contributing editor with Port Yonder Press and operates the Write This WayCritique Service. Through her blog, Write This Way, she has become known as an author who can explain writing rules and techniques in easy-to-understand terms. Her popular Top 10 series of articles formed the basis for her e-book on the craft of writing, Write This Way: Take Your Writing to a New Level
Take it away Suzanne…
Thanks for having me Sandra. First let me give you some background about the book so you can see how the characters fit in.
PERIL: Fast Track Thriller #1
A top secret agent with enhanced strength must use her extraordinary abilities during several high-profile assignments, from the White House to NASCAR tracks, while escorting the first Muslim king to convert to Christianity. When unwanted publicity threatens to expose her, she herself becomes a terrorist target, with danger surrounding her on all sides.
VIEW THE BOOK TRAILER 
And now, how I created their names:
MAIN CHARACTERS
Lady Anne – For some reason, I just always knew what this character’s name was. I never really had to think about it.

Stuart Jackson – Like the character himself, his name is a compilation. I wanted the character to be an average NASCAR driver, so I gave him characteristics similar to a number of well-known drivers. I continued that by giving him first and last names that are similar to well-known drivers.

Joanne Van der Haas – When I first created the stories I eventually combined together to create The Race that Lies Before Us, they were “what if” stories about me. What if I were in this situation? What if I could do this? What if I had this type of job? So I came up with a name that is similar to my own name.

King Ahmad – I wanted a common Arabic name, one that wouldn’t necessarily be associated with a particular country since I made up a fictional postage-stamp country for him. So I did an on-line search for Arabic names and picked one.
OTHER CHARACTERS
Neil Van der Haas – I envisioned blue-eyed, blond-headed Neil to be of Dutch descent, so I gave him parents who came to the U.S. from the Netherlands. For his given name, I came up with a Dutch name, Nels, that could be easily converted to an English name. For his last name, I came up with a Dutch-sounding name that is similar to the Dutch last name of a penpal I wrote to for years.

Troy Collins – I combined the name of two towns I’ve lived in: Troy and Collinsville.
Ambassador Bainsworth – The ambassador is a self-centered person, so I wanted to give him a name that seemed like it needed “the third” or something like that added afterwards.
John Blaszczyk (blaschik) – John is Stuart’s pilot, and always good for a little humor. Since he has such a generic first name, I thought it would be funny to give him a last name that no one can pronounce. So I did a search for Slavic surnames

Stuart’s sister – Although she’s not a character in this book, when I needed to mention Stuart’s sister, I wanted to give her a name. So I came up with a name that starts with “st” like Stuart’s does.
Please take a short hop to visit with the main characters from PERIL and see if their names fit them. I have created fictional interviews for each to introduce you to the characters and the brand new novel they star in. Click this link: CHARACTER INTERVIEWS
Your Turn: Writers, what techniques do you use to name your characters? Do you have any funny stories about how a character came to be named or “told” you what his or her name was?

 

To celebrate the release of her debut novel, Suzanne is giving away a Kindle to one lucky winner!
The contest runs through the end of her blog tour (Dec. 16). She will announce the winner on Sat. Dec. 17.

To enter, click here: WIN A KINDLE

What’s in a Name?

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

I’m delighted to share a guest post (geared to writers) from my youngest daughter Jennifer. She is a college-student, freelance writer, and aspiring novelist.

Whether it’s a person, place, thing or the title of your story, don’t underestimate the power of the name. The name can reveal.

Candy, the prostitute, is just that, a prostitute. Ashley is the young girl torn from innocence, forced into prostitution, and in search of true love.

A name can foreshadow. When your hero enters the city Sheol, translated to mean grave or hell, we know danger waits.

A well thought-out name rounds the hero and reveals something of their character or purpose.

Borrowing from an example in my screenwriting class, in the Hitchcock film Psycho, the sign of Bate’s Motel draws the heroine toward her murder. Likewise kind motel owner, Norman Bates is the worm on the hook – the bait.

Take a second look at your character and place names. What can they reveal about your hero? Can they up the suspense through foreshadowing? Trigger a reaction in your heroine? Or sign the death certificate of your villain? Show us your world through names.

Thank you, Jennifer. You’ve given the writers here lots to consider. 

I spend a lot of time trying to get my characters’ names just right. I try not to have them start with the same letter to avoid confusing the reader. I try not to have them all sound the same like Hayley, Bailey and Kayley, because, well, it’s just too funny. I favor single syllable names for my heroes with G or K sounds. Not sure why!

I often look up the meanings of names. But I never thought of using a play on words such as Bate-bait. Although readers have pointed out some unintentional connections. Such as laud meaning to praise, and how Emile Laud is all about being esteemed.

Your Turn: Readers, what’s the most memorable name you’ve come across in a story or movie and why? Writers, how do you choose names for your characters? Share your favorite and why.

Milestones!

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

We celebrated my daughter’s 19th birthday this past week.

In one more year, I won’t have any teenagers left in my house, and I’m kind of sad about that. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my kids’ teen years.

Of course, my eat-everything-in-sight puppy will likely have graduated to the teenager stage by then!

Ugh, she’s already baying come-hithers to all the local coyotes.

But I digress.

We’ve enjoyed a few fun milestones this past year, starting with the birth of our first grandchild. Children milestones come fast and furious…first smile, first belly laugh, first tooth, first word…

I’m still trying to coax my grand daughter to say that all-important “Nana”. According to my baby book, I said it at 7 months so I’m thinking it’ll happen any day now!!!

Of course, the release of my debut novel was a huge personal milestone for me this year. Next year I’m looking forward to another biggie–our 25th wedding anniversary!

We still haven’t decided how to celebrate that one. Any suggestions?

Your Turn: Have you celebrated any milestones recently? How do you celebrate important milestones?

P.S. Please join me Monday, for my daughter’s insightful guest post on what’s in a name. Whether you’re a writer or a reader or an expectant mom, it’ll make you look at names in a whole new light!

A Change of Heart

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Monday we talked about what we’d give up for love.

Because of fear, both Ginny in Deep Cover, and Lindsey in Lakeside Reunion, ask the police officers they love to give up their jobs before they’ll marry them.

Of course, every diehard romance reader longs for the hero to choose love over anything else. But what of the heroine?

She needs a change of heart, too. Right?

Your turn: Can you share an example of how you embraced God instead of clinging to fear? Are you struggling with this very thing, now? How might we pray for you?

GIVEAWAY OF DEEP COVER this week on Noelle Marchand’s new blog Today features an interview of the heroine.