Cardinal Song

Apr27

Many Faces of Cheri G's avatarMany Faces of Cheri G

I’ve spoken on more than one occasion of the importance of music in my relationship with my late husband.  It was an integral part of our family life, and the value and meaning of certain songs and lyrics haven’t stopped simply because he’s not physically here to share the moments with me.

There are times when I’ll hear a new song, or finally, actually hear the lyrics of a song I’ve known forever, and the tears will flow because I truly believe A is communicating with me in a way that is certain to get my attention.  This morning was one of those occasions.

My commute was spent almost entirely in tears, mostly the steady, silent ones that seem to come out of nowhere and simply fall endlessly.  (To be honest, I prefer these to the ugly, sobbing cries that make driving a bit difficult…)  It started, strangely enough, with…

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#RRBC “Springtime” BOOK & BLOG BLOCK PARTY!

Apr26

kimwrtr's avatarKim's Musings

Welcome to the #RRBC SPRINGTIME BOOK AND BLOG BLOCK PARTY from Asheville, North Carolina, USA!

During the month of April, The Rave Reviews Book Club (RRBC) is throwing a book and block party. You can get the lineup here. You may may win lots of prizes!

Anyone can be eligible to win a prize. To have a chance at winning, just leave a comment on the appropriate blog on the day it goes live and RRBC will randomly select a winner. The winners will be shown on the lineup page next to the blog listed. Lineup here. To be eligible to win my prize, just leave a comment on my blog today (April 26, 2017).

***

Here’s What I’m Giving Away Today:

1 ($20) Amazon Gift Card 

# of Winners for this stop:  1

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ABOUT KIM

Kim Cox is an author of Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Suspense and Paranormal. She lives…

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This entry was posted on April 26, 2017. 2 Comments

Things I’ve Learned

Apr26

Featured Image -- 5690

Things I’ve learned since publishing my first book and this list isn’t all inclusive. 

  1. Some vanity publishers and small presses don’t have your best interests at heart. Hence my first costly mistake and I mean thousands of dollars.

  2. Most charge for editing, other packages, etc that many first time authors don’t have the money for. Yes – I paid them and in return I received unsalable books. Boxes of them. A lot of boxes.

  3. Once burned (like I was) you may feel like giving up. Don’t do that! 

  4. My first book, a memoir, When Angels Fly, is under revision number five, and from five different professional editors. With each successive editor I became more depressed as each one kept finding errors. This fifth time is the last one, the final edit, and my editor is a wonderful actress, voice coach, and screenwriter who lives in NYC, and she is doing my audible for When Angels Fly which is on sale for FOUR more days at .99 cents! By the way, her name is Paula Slade. Look her up as she is simply wonderful!

  5. I had two negative reactions when some people found out that When Angels Fly became an Official New Apple E-Selection winner. My book wasn’t good enough (due to the poor editing) to be a solo medalist, but the multiple messages, life-affirming messages, were such that it was selected as an official selection – this doesn’t mean a solo award winner. Because the editing was poorly done, one person in a noted book group was appalled to find it as an E-Selection, and she ridiculed my “atrocious” book. That hurt! Like I said, I wasn’t a solo medalist because my book wasn’t good enough. The E-Selection was due to the powerful messages, hope, loss, life-affirming events, and how it helps others in the situations that I was in.

  6. I have found that illustrated children’s books are a favorite of mine both in narrative and illustrations. 

  7. I have found many great friends by being an author. You all know who you are. 

  8. It is beneficial to read all the blogs you can as you learn so much! 

  9. One must read as much as they write as you will only get better by doing so. 

  10. One star reviews are simply that. Don’t take it personally or give up!

  11. My faith in God has lifted me from the depression I was in over my first book. Now I’m at 14 books with two more works in progress. 

  12. If you only take away ONE thing from this post let it be – Never Give Up! 

    #RRBC #IAN1 #CR4U #ChildhoodCancer #Cancer #faith #love #God #abuse #PDF1 #WhenAngelsFly #Christian #AwardWinning #BestSeller #FeatureFilm #NewApple #CircleOfBooksRingsOfHonor

 

This entry was posted on April 26, 2017. 5 Comments

How Do I Write A Perfect Opening Line?

Apr25

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know's avatarWriting your first novel-Things you should know

first-linesSo how do I write the perfect opening line? I know it has to be great. I know it has to grab the reader and pique their interest from the get go, but I haven’t been able to locate a magic formula.

To be honest, I don’t think there is one. What I’ve observed, is great opening lines come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common. They get your attention or leave you wanting to know more.

Strategies for writing the perfect opening line:

Get an emotional response from your reader. Use strong words that elicit surprise, laughter, anger, shock….

  • “They say when trouble comes close ranks, and so the white people did.” Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
  • “It was the day my grandmother exploded.” Iain Banks, The Crow Road

Leave the reader wanting to know more…

  • I have lived more than a thousand years. Ann…

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The Old West’s Most Interesting Woman

Apr25

Xina Marie Uhl's avatar

People are sometimes surprised to find out that I never studied writing formally. Instead, I majored in history – both for my undergraduate and graduate degrees. Why? Because history is nothing but stories. And you know the saying: truth is stranger than fiction.

So it is that while researching mountain men for one of my freelance projects I came upon the story of an amazing woman in the Old West: Stagecoach Mary. This 6 foot tall, 200-lb woman picked up and moved into Montana at the age of 52 years. There, she first worked for the Jesuits and next for a convent, where she chopped wood, dug holes, tended as many as 400 chickens, and grew vegetables for the nuns. Though she was devoted to the nuns and their Indian students at the mission, she was well known to have “the temperament of a grizzly bear.” She smoked, swore, and…

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