A Weekend Writing Adventure

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

This past Saturday, I had a blast leading a workshop at a retreat for Hospice Niagara Volunteers.

Hospice Niagara is a fabulous organization that provides compassionate care, hope, and encouragement to residents of Niagara with life-limiting progressive illnesses, as well as support to their caregivers, families and those who grieve their deaths.

Of the more than 350 volunteers with Hospice Niagara, 80 attended the retreat. And as the comedian who opened the event for us noted, with the majority of those volunteers being women, it’s a great place for retired single men to meet women…ur, volunteer. 😀

The theme for the retreat was about Inner Growth – stretching oneself to try and learn about new things. So…with the help of my daughter…

writers workshop b

I took my group of about twenty participants on a whirlwind tour of my journey from know-nothing newbie to published author, (which as it turned out, inspired some of the memoir writers in the group to do some revising to incorporate more fiction techniques into their writing). Then I coaxed everyone (well…almost everyone) into unleashing their imaginations as we brainstormed the plot and characters for a collaborative mystery story.

We had a riot, exploring motives and methods for…ur…killing off someone at the retreat–fictionally, of course.

We tallied an impressive list of suspects among the attendees. My secret suspicions that one person in our midst was CIA turned out to be not far off, as he later admitted to me that he was a former federal investigator.

Guess whose number I now have on speed dial? 😉

As part of my demonstration of how writers use seemingly incidental events as red herrings or secret reveals, my daughter wowed the participants with her acting talents

We also talked about how eccentric characters add so much to the texture of a story and searched the room for a few.

Finger Knitting

Enter Barb, our finger knitting lady–a topic for a whole other blog!

We also decided Barb would make a wonderful sleuth, since she loves to read mysteries, especially yours truly’s. How can I not admire her taste? 😆

As a bonus, I’m writing the story we brainstormed and sending it to the participants and my newsletter subscribers (click here to not miss it).

The faint of heart will be happy to learn that to keep the story short, our sleuth needed to solve the mystery at the event, so I opted to not allow our would-be murderer to actually succeed. That way the paramedics can truck off the victim to the hospital, as of yet unaware of the cause for his near-death condition, so we can dispense with the police getting in our sleuth’s way with all their rules and regulations.  😎

You can learn more about my talks and workshops on my Invite Sandra Orchard to Speak at your Event page.

Here’s a clip from this past weekend’s event (right click to open in a new window to allow time to load

Your Turn: What kind of topics would you like to hear an author talk about?

Readers’ & Writers’ Dream Auction Ends Soon

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

The American Christian Fiction Writers Association is hosting an online silent auction with over 70 items worth checking out!

Link to ACFW

If you are an aspiring writer, you won’t want to miss the amazing deals on everything from manuscript and proposal critiques from multi-published authors and agents to mentoring sessions with illustrious icons of the industry like Michael Hauge.

Readers will also find some tempting book bundles, some that actually include a Kindle to read them on!

But hurry, because bidding ends in 24 hours–9 pm Monday, April 5th, Eastern Daylight Savings Time.

Click here to check out the item list

Happy Easter

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard
I wish you all a blessed Easter as we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection.

Serenity-Sunset

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

Attention Aspiring Love Inspired Writers!

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

The Love Inspired Editors have just announced a new fast-track pitch opportunity. You can find all the details here:

http://community.harlequin.com/forumdisplay.php/105-From-Blurb-to-Book

You will need to sign in to the Harlequin community to see the info and take part in the discussion with editors/ask questions.

Here’s the Timeline copied from their post:
ROUND ONE
March 16 – SHOW US YOUR STUFF. Submit the 100 words or less blurb and first page of your inspirational romance, romantic suspense or historical romance manuscript to Blurb2Book@harlequin.ca starting today.
April 3 – All entries must be in house. The editors will review the entries over the next ten days and choose the teams.

ROUND TWO
April 13 – REEL US IN. Editors will announce which entries will be joining a team and which editors will be mentoring each team. The authors on the teams will be invited to submit their proposal by May 1 to the email box.
May 1 – All proposals must be in house. Editors will review the submissions from their team over the next 2 weeks and narrow down the ones that seem most promising to move on to the next stage.

ROUND THREE
May 15 – SEAL THE DEAL. Editors will announce which team members will be going on to the final round. Qualifying authors will be invited to submit their complete manuscript. Authors who are not moving on will privately receive personalized feedback. Authors who are moving on will have until July 15 to submit their full manuscripts.
July 15 – All entries must be in house. Editors will review the submissions from their team and decide next steps (reject, request a revision, or offer a contract). By the end of 75 days, decisions will be made to contract, send a revision letter or reject each of the stories. All authors who submit full manuscripts will receive notification of our decision within this time frame.

Final Results!

August 30 – We will announce the results in a blog post that wraps up the pitch, shares our thoughts on the highs and lows, highlights any sales and gives stats on the results for the full manuscript submissions.

Sound exciting? If you think you could rock this pitch, get ready to show us your stuff. Read our team bios, the info on formatting guidelines, the inspirational success stories and the blogs on what each line is looking for and how to write an amazing blurb and first page, then start those books. Be sure to follow the guidelines for Love Inspired, Love Inspired Suspense and Love Inspired Historical. Only one entry per author, please. Deadlines are tight, so keep writing while you’re waiting to hear back. And if your book is complete now, don’t forget to tell us in your email. You never know. We might want to pounce on your book right away. Ready, set, GO!

The More Things Change…

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

The crazier I get! How’s that for a twist on the old axiom?

ID-100218357- Crazy Woman
Okay, I apparently turn blonde and beautiful, too. 😉

In our house, if the kids don’t clean their room, they have to live with the mess, dust bunnies and all.

How about in your house?

Well, most of us keep a lot more clutter hanging around on our computers and Facebook has decided to be a merciful parent and clean our rooms for us–at least the cyber room holding all the pages we’ve liked.

Now, if we don’t regularly interact with a page we’ve liked, not only will they remove it from our news feed, they’ll remove us as a fan of the page. 🙁

[Update: Now, I’m not sure what to believe, but contrary to the explanation that circulated over the weekend, today I read that Facebook’s purge was only of deactivated accounts, which makes perfect sense, and doesn’t feel nearly so Big Brother. Although the reality about news feeds I address below still applies.]

All that to say that once I got over the sinking feeling that a crowd of readers suddenly decided they didn’t like me and then learned about Facebook’s new policy, the implications to unwitting fans started to sink in.

If the reason you liked my Facebook page was to ensure you don’t miss news of new releases, or to hear about giveaways, or specials, or freebies I come across from time to time, please occasionally pop by and like a post so that you’ll be sure to see the most popular posts in your news feeds. ID-10088174-sign posts

If you liked my page for the more personal updates or to interact about current writing projects, such as helping me flesh out characters, pick names and titles, that kind of thing, you probably won’t notice any change if you post the occasional comment or like the occasional post. (And my apologies that you might’ve already seen a version of this explanation on FB)

By the way, those comments have been incredibly helpful and inspiring. Thank you!!!

If Facebook gives you hives, and you don’t want to miss reminders about new releases, please subscribe to my Sandra Orchard newsletter, which I put out for new releases or big news (3-4 times/year at the most). The bonus bribe,  uh deal, with that is I will send you a link to a couple of free novellas I’ve written exclusively for my subscribers, and I always give a book away to a randomly drawn subscriber in each newsletter.

Of course…you may need to keep an eye on your spam folder or, in the case of gmail, that folder they regulate a lot of mass emails to. 😕

 

Crazy woman image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Signposts image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Reading & Writing Romantic Suspense

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard
HQN Quiz RS

For the next two weeks, Harlequin is hosting a Romantic Suspense Event.

And starting at 12:01 PM EST today, if you hop over to their Facebook page, you can take their quiz to find out which series is your perfect read for a chance to win a full year’s subscription!
Of course, I hope you’ll choose the series I write for:
Love Inspired Suspense.
LIS Books Collage

Then join us next week at the Love Inspired Suspense forum at Harlequin.com for a variety of discussions:

      Mon will be the continuity and favorite dogs/hero dogs.
Wed will be characters you’d like to see/character name suggestions.
      Fri will be suspenseful settings/settings you’d like to see.
[I’ll add links here once their live]
OR…

IF YOU HAVE A HANKERING TO WRITE ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

Read on…
First of all, if you aspire to write a romantic suspense, it’s important to understand that it is not simply a romance with a suspense thread. Romantic suspense readers want both a satisfying romance, and a suspense plot that is complicated enough that she won’t easily figure it out or, worse, become annoyed with your characters when they don’t.

So make it your goal to write a novel that is 100% suspense AND 100% romance–two strands of a rope inseparably intertwined throughout the story.

My editors want the danger to be evident from the start, ideally from the first line, or paragraph, definitely before the end of the first page.

For Love Inspired Suspense, both the hero and heroine need to be introduced and connected to the suspense within the first chapter. In single title romantic suspense, depending on chapter lengths, you might introduce the heroine and suspense plot in the first chapter, the hero and his connection in the second, each with clear goals, and bring them together in the third, perhaps clashing over opposing goals or opposing means of reaching the same goal.

I personally prefer to see both the hero and heroine introduced, and if possible to meet, in the first chapter. But either way, jumping right into the suspense is key. If you spend the beginning writing set-up or only writing about the romance, you will lose your reader before the suspense starts.

Although not essential, I also personally like to keep the bad guy a mystery to both my reader and my hero and heroine. That means, I tend not to include scenes in the villain’s pov (point of view)  unless they are anonymous or ambiguous and invite more questions than they answer. To me, keeping the villain a mystery adds more interest and tension to the plot, since the reader will only see things unfold from the hero and heroine’s viewpoint, and therefore share their emotional reactions to what’s happening on the page. Moreover, it keeps the romantic tension center stage, instead of detouring to a few pages where the hero and heroine might not even be on the page.

What is essential, however, is that the heroine be in jeopardy throughout the novel, and that both the hero and heroine have a stake in the outcome.

Let me repeat that another way.

The suspense plot shouldn’t simply be something the hero and heroine stumble into, which thereby puts them in danger, until they find a way out. It shouldn’t be a situation with which they have no personal connection other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Not that that can’t make a compelling story. My Daphne DuMaurier Award winning manuscript was a compelling read to the readers, agents and editors who gave it high scores. However, publishers turned it down precisely because the hero and heroine had no personal stake in the outcome of the jeopardy they’d happened into…well, besides getting out alive.  😀

There was tons of romance. There was lots of suspense of the “oh, no, what’s going to happen next?” variety, and the two were tightly intertwined. But aside from survival, the outcome of the suspense plot had no personal consequences to either of them.

Do you understand the difference?

Another important thing to keep in mind as you devise your suspense plot is to play fair with your reader. You can’t pull a convenient explanation or twist out of the blue; you have to set it up first.

Details are the key to setting up suspense and having fun with the reader. As a writer you leave all kinds of toys on the floor in a scene, use them.

But keep in mind that you can’t slow down for many home and apple pie romance scenes or deep spiritual introspection or discussions in the middle of a fast-paced suspense. They’re fine in a straight romance. But need to be utilized sparingly in romantic suspense.

Lastly, don’t wrap up your suspense too early and leave the reader with only the romance to support the end of the book. Or vice versa.

Remember the image of the rope. Romantic suspense readers want both romance and suspense all the way through the novel. And… inspy readers want to also see a satisfying spiritual growth or realization in the characters.

Being forced together via the suspense plot, forges a positive change in the hero’s and heroine’s characters; growth that must take place before the romance can culminate in a happy ending.

Read that last paragraph again.

It is the bare bones blueprint of how the essential elements of a romantic suspense are inextricably connected.

Your Turn: I hope this brief overview has provided a better grasp of areas of your story that might need some attention. Feel free to ask questions. I’ll be happy to try to answer them.

Finding Inspiration

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

For the past week, I’ve been in dream-up-a-new-story mode. This one is for the Love Inspired Suspense line. Since people often ask me how I come up with ideas, I thought I’d share some recent examples with you.

Ideas for snippets of scenes come from anywhere and everywhere; from a conversation at the dinner table; an interesting character I see while out and about; an intriguing news article or this gorgeous sight outside my office window this morning:

Sunrise on SnowThis particular image got me thinking that my heroine should see this the morning after a particularly traumatic evening to renew her hope. Then again…

You know what they say about red sky in the morning?

Shepherds heed warning.

That goes double for characters in my books. 😉

The original idea for the story I’m fleshing out right now actually started in 2011, while visiting a critically ill friend when her male nurse paid a visit. He was pretty handsome and so we had fun dreaming up a story featuring him.

His role has changed over the years, as the story ruminated in the recesses of my computer (ur mind). But that was the seed.

Story ideas often spring from what-if questions, too.

In this case, we asked: What if the bad guys go after the wrong woman?

It makes for lots of potential dicey situations, which my editor always loves to see. 😀

And…from the beginning, we planned to include a dog in a key role in the story.

That idea came about during a creative exercise I did for writer’s block, in which you choose three random words then write a few sentence vignette that incorporates them.

I liked the vignette so much, that at this point, it is still part of my opening scene.

Since I had so much fun with Rusty, Zach’s son’s dog in Identity Withheld, I’m looking forward to discovering this new dog’s personality. The inspiration for Rusty came from a newsletter subscriber who told me about the crazy things her childhood dog used to do and from an adorable Golden Doodle I met while out walking.

I haven’t settled on the particulars for my newest dog character. I’m thinking Ranger sounds like a fun name and I’m thinking a Blue Heeler (Australian Cattle dog) might fit the bill.

They’re courageous, watchful, protective of family, distrustful of strangers, high energy. Sounds perfect for a suspense don’t you think.

Of course, my Bella thinks she should be the model for the character:

BellaAwardShe is after all an award-winning actor. Even it was only in my daughter’s film for schdue southool.  😉

I personally think she’s been watching too much Due South and has illusions of grandeur. 😎

Your Turn: Any suggestions?

A Romance Story for your Valentine’s Day

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

open+heart

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

For the past two weeks on the Craftie Ladies of Love Inspired blog, we’ve been sharing a collaborative, seat-of-our-pants serial historical romance for our readers. You can begin reading by clicking here.

And then click on “newer posts” beneath the post to see subsequent installments in the story, which culminates with today’s post…I think. 😉

Interview with Nancy Mehl, author of Deadly Echoes

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

I’m delighted to be joined today by popular romantic suspense and mystery author, Nancy Deadly EchoesMehl, to talk about her newest release, Deadly Echoes, and a special contest she has going on to celebrate its release.

What inspired you to write this particular novel?

 

Actually, I’d been thinking about jealousy and competitiveness. Why sometimes we feel threatened by someone else’s success, looks, or possessions. I was wondering what causes us to compare ourselves to others in the first place. Jealousy is like a slow poison that can work its way into every area of our lives if we open the door to it. It weakens us and steals our joy. I believe a lack of knowing who we are in Christ makes us susceptible to the green-eyed monster. Addressing this problem inspired Deadly Echoes.

 

My main character, Sarah Miller, was orphaned at a young age. Her sister, Hannah, was adopted, but Sarah wasn’t. Even though her life has turned out well, She’s never lost her belief that Hannah was adopted because she was prettier and more worthy of love. Sarah would never admit to being jealous of Hannah. She truly loves her sister, yet she lives under Hannah’s shadow, accepting a false reality based on her own feelings of inadequacy. As my story unfolds, Sarah will not only have to deal with threats from the outside, she will have to look inward and deal with her own demons.

Very intriguing. Tell us a little bit about yourself: How did you start writing? What has kept you writing?

I started writing when I was 45. I’d thought about it off and on, but one day I finally decided to give it a try. It didn’t take long for me to discover I loved writing novels. After a few years, I went before the Lord and asked Him if this was something He actually wanted me to do. I didn’t want to spend years doing something that wasn’t His will for me. He answered me in the affirmative, and I’ve been writing ever since. When things get tough, I fall back on my belief that I’m called to write.

Inspiring! Do you have a favorite or “life” verse? Why that one?

 

I have to mention two different verses. Of course, all the words in the Bible are special to me, but Jeremiah 29:11 is a verse that conveys a truth I try to build into every story I write. (For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.) It’s so important for people to realize that God is interested in them – that He has a wonderful plan for their lives. The devil would love for us to feel as if we have nothing special to offer, but that just isn’t true. God has filled each one of us with gifts and callings. We are unique in the Kingdom, and no one else can take our place.

 

The other scripture that means a lot to me is Psalm 37:5. (“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will bring it to pass.”) God has used this verse in my life to encourage me to quit worrying about my career, my finances, the future, etc. I used to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders, but now, I’m learning to cast my care on God and trust that He will take care of every situation. I believe He will work everything out in His timing and in His way. What a relief! I’m still learning, and sometimes He has to remind me again when I start to slip, but thanks to Him, I’m making progress!

That’s great, and so reassuring. Can you tell us about your next book?

 

The next book in my Finding Sanctuary series is Rising Darkness. This is a special story to me because I’m actually bringing back a character from my Road to Kingdom series. Sophie Wittenbauer was a troubled teenager back in Kingdom, Kansas. I always felt that her story needed to be finished, and I’m happy I can finally do that for her.

 

After Sophie left Kingdom she worked hard to make something out of her life. Now she’s a newspaper reporter. She recently stumbled across some information that could lead to an incredible story. The kind of story that could launch her career as an investigative reporter. However, to uncover the truth she must travel to Sanctuary, Missouri. When she discovers there is a Conservative Mennonite community living there, she almost scraps her plans. Being around people that remind her of her past in Kingdom is the last thing she wants. But the desire for fame and fortune drive her to ignore her fears and go to Sanctuary.

Once there she runs into a face from the past. Jonathon Wiese is the pastor of a nondenominational church in the small town. Sophie is mortified at seeing him again. She’s thought about him almost every day, and her feelings for him are just as strong as they ever were. Thankfully, he doesn’t make the connection between the sophisticated woman she’s become and the dirty uneducated teenager she used to be. As she tries to deal with seeing him again, she begins to uncover clues that could lead to finding a notorious criminal who vanished years ago. But before she can find him, he seems to have found her. Sophie will not only have to face her love for Jonathon, but also the very real fear that she will never leave Sanctuary alive.

Oh, that’s cool. I loved the book covers for that series. They were the inspiration for my Port Aster Secrets series.

Readers you can learn more about Nancy Mehl’s contest by clicking the book image above or the link here.

Nancy Mehl

Nancy Mehl lives in Festus, Missouri, with her husband, Norman, and her very active puggle, Watson. She’s authored twenty books and just finished a new series for Bethany House Publishing. The first book in her Finding Sanctuary series, “Gathering Shadows” was released in May of 2014. The second book, “Deadly Echoes” became available in February. The third book, “Rising Darkness will release late in 2015.

You can learn more about Nancy through her Web site: www.nancymehl.com. She is part of The Suspense Sisters: www.suspensesisters.blogspot.com, along with several other popular suspense authors. She is also very active on Facebook.

Have a great week everyone! I’ll be back on Valentine’s Day to share a special serial read.

Taking God at His Word

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

This week I’d like to share with you a devotional I wrote for Novel Crossing, a wonderful online community for Christian fiction readers.

It opens with a quote from Tom’s beloved father in Deadly Devotion: “Sooner or later almost every one of us come up against a side of God that’s hard for us to accept.”

You can read the full post here: Taking God at His Word with Sandra Orchard

I hope you have a wonderful week. I hope to write “The End” on the manuscript for the first book in my next series by the end of it. Your prayers would be most appreciated!   🙂