Blog

Darlene Fredette and her New Release

Darlene resides on the Atlantic Coast of Canada where the summers are too short and the winters are too long. An avid reader since childhood, Darlene loved to develop the many stories coming to life in her head. She writes contemporary romances with a focus on plot-driven page-turners. When not working on her next book, she can be found with her husband, her daughter, and her yellow Labrador. Darlene’s favourite pastime is taking summer day trips to the Valley to soak in the small-town feel. Author Interview: Beverley: Which genre or genres do you write or prefer to write? And why? Darlene: I write contemporary romances on the sweeter side. I like focusing on the relationship between the hero and heroine. I also enjoy mixing a few twists and turns into the plot. Beverley: Who influenced you the most in deciding to become a writer? Darlene: I wasn’t really influenced by anyone in particular. I love reading, so one day in my teens, I picked up a pencil and plotted the story spinning in my head. Beverley: What gets your creative juices flowing? Darlene: This is going to sound crazy, but my answer is housework. While cleaning the house, a new story will suddenly come to life in my head, or ideas on a current story will work its way through a difficult scene. Beverley: Do you have a favorite cartoon character? Why? Darlene: My favorite cartoon character is Snoopy. I love dogs! Snoopy is adorable. I can draw him, ...
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Darlene Fredette and her New Release

Darlene resides on the Atlantic Coast of Canada where the summers are too short and the winters are too long. An avid reader since childhood, Darlene loved to develop the many stories coming to life in her head. She writes contemporary romances with a focus on plot-driven page-turners. When not working on her next book, she can be found with her husband, her daughter, and her yellow Labrador. Darlene’s favourite pastime is taking summer day trips to the Valley to soak in the small-town feel. Author Interview: Beverley:Which genre or genres do you write or prefer to write? And why? Darlene: I write contemporary romances on the sweeter side. I like focusing on the relationship between the hero and heroine. I also enjoy mixing a few twists and turns into the plot. Beverley: Who influenced you the most in deciding to become a writer? Darlene:I wasn’t really influenced by anyone in particular. I love reading, so one day in my teens, I picked up a pencil and plotted the story spinning in my head. Beverley: What gets your creative juices flowing? Darlene:This is going to sound crazy, but my answer is housework. While cleaning the house, a new story will suddenly come to life in my head, or ideas on a current story will work its way through a difficult scene. Beverley: Do you have a favorite cartoon character? Why? Darlene:My favorite cartoon character is Snoopy. I love dogs! Snoopy is adorable. I can draw him, and I...
Deleting Scenes

Welcome to summer and our group blog. It’s another interesting topic this month. Marci Baun came up with it, Deleting scenes: Do you ever delete scenes? When and why do you delete them? And what do you do with them? Do you save them? Or just toss them? Yes, I delete scenes. Earlier when I was writing one of my fantastic scenes and when I read it over it added nothing to the story. I knew I couldn’t leave it in, but it was so great. I put it in a folder so I could use it later or even in another book. I never did reuse it. I still delete scenes. These days it’s usually part of a scene., usually part of a scene. I find myself writing into a corner and I may not find my way out, so I cut it and start over. I hit writer’s block and when I go over the scene, I try to write I find I’m trying to make my characters do something that goes against their personality and beliefs. So, I cut the scene and go back to where the character wants me to go. When I cut them now, they get tossed. I’ve learned if they get cut they probably aren’t that good. When I’m writing a scene there are some things a good scene needs. The setting needs to be clear to the reader at the beginning. The scene needs to share important information to the reader about...
B.D. Storey and his New Release

Bob grew up in a pretty typical Southern household. An Army brat, he was born in Germany and spent his formative years moving around the country from post to post, never going to the same school twice until his father’s retirement. A typical teenager of the 70’s, he spent hours playing baseball, tennis, band, and dumping hard earned quarters into his favorite arcade games. He retired from the Air Force in 2000 and began working in the technology department of a local sheriff’s office, where he will soon retire. A lover of both PC and console games, Bob has spent many hours immersed in the lands of role playing and make-believe with friends and family. This is where his love of writing took off as he and his online friends spent hours writing epic tales of fantasy, love, and adventuring. Oh, and dragon slaying. One can’t forget that. He is married to his best friend and love of his life, Pam. They live on their small ranch/farm in Clarksville where Pam keeps him busy with the multitude of chores that come with having three horses and four cats. He has three great kids who are the lights of their life. Fate Takes a Hike This book is a result of a challenge I set myself in July of 2020. I’ve always been a puttering kind of writer. Small stories here and there, usually a result of some game I was playing or some small moment that caught...
Addison Brae and her New Release

Addison Brae lives in Dallas, Texas on the edge of downtown. She has been writing since childhood and continues today with articles, video scripts, and other content as an independent marketing consultant. Addison enjoys traveling, collecting interesting cocktail recipes, reading, jogging in her neighborhood park, sipping red wine, binge-watching TV series, vintage clothing, and hanging out with her artistic other half and their neurotic cat Lucy. Character Interview Beverley: What’s your name and where did you grow up? Gillian:Hey. I’m Gillian Davis from Sugar Creek, Missouri, outside of St. Louis. If you’ve never heard of it like most people, it’s a little town outside of Kansas City. Beverley: During what time period does your story take place? Gillian:My story in Becker Circle and Dark Energy, Return to Becker Circle is current. Luckily all of the craziness in my life happened before the pandemic hit. The outcomes may have been entirely opposite if the timing was different. Beverley: What’s your story/back story? Why would someone come up with a story about you? Gillian:I worked hard to graduate early from Harvard last December then start over in Dallas with a good accounting job and my own apartment in Becker Circle. I’d be happy anywhere but Sugar Creek after Mom’s death and losing Dad to the bottle. Then there’s what my ex did on my last birthday. Boston’s not big enough for both of us. They say Becker Circle is the “it” place to live. I call it home now, but the...
Update on Me

Summer is here and so is climate change apparently. Out here we’re setting records for high temperatures and forest fires. In other areas, they’re having torrential rains, winds, and tornadoes. How’s your summer going? I hope you’re managing whatever weather you have. I‘m doing a little writing. I’ve finally set some goals. I’m editing and rewriting my latest WIP. It’s in a rough draft. I don’t have a title yet but I’m trying a few different ones. The two I’m working with at the moment are SHE SAW SHE RAN… MURDER UNLEASHED.I’m open to suggestions. If you check out my website for July, you’ll find an excerpt from the book there. https://www.beverleybateman.com/Scrolldown, it’s under the picture of the wolfhound, one of the main characters. I’d love to hear any comments. I also just posted the Wednesday question on https://www.facebook.com/WordbyWordWomenWould love to hear your answers.
The Climatarian Diet

Are you interested in the environment? Have you heard of the Climatarian Diet? I hadn’t and when I read this article I thought I’d share it. It came on a Weight Watchers letter. It was written by Ashley Linkletter. Changing eating habits to be more climate-friendly is not only good for the environment and for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it can also have an overall positive effect on our health. Choosing locally grown produce, fewer packaged items, and better-quality meat, eggs, and dairy are all habits that can lead to weight loss or maintenance as well as contributing to an overall feeling of nutritional wellbeing. What makes the climatarian diet so appealing is its lack of firm rules, which means you can incorporate as few or as many of the following suggestions as you would like. - Eliminate or reduce the consumption of beef and lamb. Cattle that have been raised for milk, meat, or manure are responsible for roughly 65 percent of livestock emissions of greenhouse gases. If you’d still like to enjoy beef, buy it less often and look for local, organic options that come from reputable farms with a focus on animal welfare. - Choose sustainable seafood, meaning it comes from an abundant, well-managed source. Look for the Ocean Wise Canada label wherever you buy seafood or browse the online directory for recommendations on buying in-season, responsibly harvested fish and shellfish. - Opt for locally grown, seasonal produce whenever you can. Signing up for a weekly CSA (community supported agriculture) box...

Update – FYI

If you’re checking for Dr. Bob Rich (and free books) – scroll downOr check out the permalink at https://beverleybateman.blogspot.com.au/2017/06/heroes-or-protagonists-with-dr-bob-rich.htmlIt will be up until July 1st when he’ll announce the winners of the books. And is you’re interested in the Fringe Festival workshops, you can still access them at http://selfpublishingadvice.org/indie-author-fringe-june-2017-agenda/ ...
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Sylvia Hubbard on Heroes and a New Book

This week we’re going to find out a little about author Sylvia Hubbard. June’s theme is ‘Heroes’ so Sylvia will be talking about heroes. She’ll also tell us a little about herself and her writing, and answer some fun questions.Detroit Author & Founder of Motown Writers Network, Sylvia Hubbard has ...
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Kelli Wilkins on Marketing and her new Book

This week we’re going to find out a little about author Kelli Wilkes. Kelli will be talking about marketing. She’ll also tell us a little about herself and her writing, and answer some fun questions.Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 19 ...
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Update on the ALLIE Fringe Festival

I’ve been asked to post on the ALLIE Fringe Festival so here’s a few highlights. The second workshop I attended, and for me, the most interesting was Instafreebie Explosion. I had never heard of Instafreebie. It explained how to add thousands of targeted readers to your email list. I’ve learned ...
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