Goodreads Giveaway for Over Maya Dead Body

Over Maya Dead Body releases in one month and that’s exactly how much time Canadian and American members of Goodreads have to enter this 5-copies giveaway. Enter here: 

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/218368-over-maya-dead-body

In this final instalment, Serena is trying to vacation, without much success.

I, on the other hand, scarcely let “work” distract me while enjoying a much anticipated thirtieth anniversary celebration vacation with my husband last month. But…I’m back at the writing now and brimming with new story ideas.

Of course…I also have a month of missed time with my grandchildren to make up.  😛  

Goodreads Giveaway for Another Day Another Dali

Yes, I’m back! And ecstatic to have all my grandsons safely at home in time to celebrate my youngest daughter’s wedding next weekend.  🙂

So…if you’re reading between the lines, yup, life is still crazy busy around here.  😉

sandra_orchard_baby
This little guy was born almost 12 weeks early at 1 lb 14 oz!

But ooohhh so good!

Another Day Another Dali, the second instalment in my Serena Jones Mysteries series, releases October 18th

another-day-another-dali_pre-order_-oct-18

And to celebrate, my publisher is sponsoring a Goodreads Giveaway of 5 copies open to members in the US and Canada, so…

If you’re part of the Goodreads book club, hop on over and enter by clicking here.

I’d love it if you’d help me spread the word too. This giveaway has already been going on for a couple of weeks and I only just clued into it!

Here is a twitter blurb that I think will work for those on twitter (ducking head, because I’m not on it): Love #mysteries? Check out Sandra Orchard’s #Goodreads #Giveaway #AnotherDayAnotherDali @RevellBooks bit.ly/GR-ADAD

With everything going on in our family these past few months, marketing hasn’t exactly been on my radar. But thank you once again to all of you who have been praying for my grandsons these past few months. We couldn’t be happier with how they are both thriving.

Have a great week!

 

How to Choose a Book Title…

Taking a bit of a tangent from “Conversations about Characters” today to give you another glimpse into the book publishing process, and invite you to participate!

I am currently writing my fourth Love Inspired Suspense, which has a working title of Finding Home.

I love this title, because it perfectly suits both the external plot and the spiritual theme of the story.

Unfortunately, a Love Inspired book came out in August with that exact title.

So… although my editor hasn’t asked me yet, I know that it’s only a matter of time before I need to provide alternative title suggestions.

Image courtesy of Vlado / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Unfortunately… titles don’t grow on trees. So I’m hoping you can help!

My editor will want a title that gives a sense of the suspense, but avoids words such as death, murder, homicide, killer, deadly, lethal etc. since they’ve found that titles with those words don’t seem to sell well in Love Inspired Suspense.

And I trust my editor’s judgement implicitly. If it had been up to me, my debut novel would have been called Shades of Gray, and most of you probably know where that title has gone!

So what do you say? Interested in brainstorming with me?

In a nutshell the book is about: In the face of mounting threats, a grieving granddaughter fights to hold fast to the family farmhouse she’s inherited, but can her childhood-crush-turned-cop neighbor help her find her way home?

You can see from that description where I got the Finding Home title. The heroine used to visit her grandparents’ farm in the summer as a child, before her parents split and she moved too far away. The house is the only place she’s ever felt truly at home and loved. But someone wants her out. She’s not sure who, and she’s not sure why.

Your Turn: Any ideas? If you can’t think of any, please share book titles that immediately hooked you. Sometimes the setup of a title helps me springboard into new ideas.

P.S. The Goodreads Giveaway for Critical Condition ends tonight.

Does Writing Have to Hurt?

As a follow-up to my “Day in the Life of a Writer” post from two weeks ago, I’ve invited an aspiring writer to chime in on the process today.

 Before I introduce her… if you’re reading this blog via email or a feeder, and don’t see the huge giveaway gadget on my sidebar…I want to let you know that Critical Condition is up for a Goodreads giveaway until Sept 18th. Click the link to enter (you must be a member of the Goodreads book lovers community)

Amy Leigh Simpson is the completely exhausted mother of two of the most fearless, rambunctious, and adorable toe-headed toddler boys in the Midwest. She writes Romantic Suspense and loves to take readers on a spirited journey of finding grace and redemption through stories that are equally inspiring, nail-biting, and hilarious–and maybe a little saucy!

Take it away Amy…

Most writers have had a long love affair with books. They are dreamers who have been creating and molding their characters and their story world since grade school.

I wish I had caught the bug early, but sadly, I am one of those rare few who didn’t sprout from infancy glued to the pages of the classics. In fact, I’m pretty sure I hadn’t read a book cover to cover until college. There, now ya’ll have some dirt on me!

In college I studied Sports Medicine. I was even accepted into a highly competitive Doctorate of Physical Therapy program where I had to intern for two semesters at a PT hospital.

I ended up declining the program but a lot of what I write for Romantic Suspense draws from my first hand knowledge of trauma and recovery.

If any of you have ever received physical therapy you can attest to those excruciating beginnings when you felt like an ant scaling a mountainside—when every inch felt like a mile. Ever feel like that as a writer?

It’s a wonder more doctors aren’t evangelists. After working in a rehabilitation center for a year—even as a believer—it was so painfully clear how miraculous the healing process is. But like everything else it takes work.

Sure we might start out with a great idea, enough determination to wrangle a bull, and perhaps even a hearty portion of natural talent… but that’s not enough to create a masterpiece. Seeing your PT everyday isn’t enough to heal you. You have to fight through every snail-paced step until you have the strength and freedom to run.

Similar to doctors, we writers have to be chronic students. Digging deeper into the plot, the motivations, the dark moments to expose the wounded parts of our stories. Then we can go to work on them! Tweak, whittle, fine-tune until our writing muscles are weak with exhaustion. But those words, refined by something akin to fire, will be strong enough to make a difference.

For the writers in the group, I encourage you to keep fighting through those tedious therapy sessions. Believe in your stories enough to push through the pain.

Here are some tips from today’s PT:

1. Set realistic goals and keep your eyes forward. If you keep starting over at the beginning you’ll always be that far from the end. You can do another lap once you’re finished!

2. Push yourself but don’t overdo it. It’s a lot harder to pick someone up off the floor than it is to simply slow down.

3. Take time to recuperate. Intervals of rest are essential for progress!

4. Don’t give up! You might fall but Someone is always there to catch you.

Your Turn:
Writers: How have you been giving your novel a workout? Readers: What things in your life require the most exercise? Were the results worth the effort?

Check out Amy’s blog about life, lit, and the love of writing at http://writersbreakroom.blogspot.com/

What’s in your Heart?

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!