Beginning of Forever by Terri Rochenski: Promo Post

 

Beginning of Forever is actually a story written by Terri Rochenski that has been published in an book titled, Christmas Magic (Still Moments Publishing, 4 December 2012).

Synopsis:

When Wayne Edwards moves to town, Lillian Davis experiences stirrings she thought were long dead. Guilt ridden over betraying her deceased husband and the feelings Wayne inspires, Lillian reluctantly lets him in. Secrets of the past – an old promise emerges, but will it threaten their forever?

Short Excerpt:

I rubbed my fussing son’s back and stumbled down the hall to grab the phone. “Hello?”
“Mrs. Douglas?”
A glance at the clock and my stomach clenched. Ronnie was an hour late for our Christmas Eve dinner. “Y-yes?”
“There’s been an accident.”
Through Steven’s heightened cries and the ringing in my ears I heard my husband’s name and Anna Jacques hospital.
This isn’t real. I need to wake up.
“Mrs. Douglas?”
I swayed and slumped to my knees on the linoleum floor, struggling to keep Steven in my grasp.
The floor is cold. I’m not dreaming.

About Terri:

Terri started writing stories in the 8th grade, when a little gnome whispered in her brain. Gundi’s Great Adventure never hit the best seller list, but it started a long love affair with storytelling. Today she enjoys an escape to Middle Earth during the rare ‘me’ moments her two young daughters allow.

Where to Find Terri and her Book:

Facebook
Goodreads
My Blog
My Website
Twitter
Google +

Purchase Your Copy of Christmas Magic:

Amazon

Smashwords

Still Moments Publishing

 

 

 

How Not to Write Fiction: 3 Big Mistakes To Avoid

I wrote this short article a few years ago for Suite101.com, but have since edited it and made it less Suite101.com-friendly and more reader-friendly.

*****

Books are enjoyable to read. However, they are not enjoyable if they are bogged down in description or when flashbacks prevent the story from moving forward and rob the readers of their ability to emotionally connect with the characters. Sadly, some authors, especially aspiring authors, get into these habits when writing fiction. The three biggest mistakes are author imposition, overuse of flashbacks and over description.

Author Imposition

Author imposition is when the author uses their voice to tell the story. There is a time and place for author imposition, and that is when the novel follows the life of the author, told through the author’s eyes. In stories like that, it is okay when the author imposes him or herself on the story narrative and dialogue. After all, he or she is the main character in the novel. However, when a book is completely fiction, the author needs to butt out and let the story write itself and the characters develop as they would in reality.

“I told you so,” Emily said emphatically. This sentence is a perfect example of author imposition. A reader can easily feel Emily’s emotion when reading her words, “I told you so”, on their own. The word ‘emphatically’ at the end of the sentence is the author’s way of telling how Emily felt after she just expressed herself in the sentence.

The sentence should best be written as, “I told you so,” Emily said. If a reader can’t feel Emily’s emotion based on those four words, then the author needs to go back to the drawing board. Bodily gestures and facial expressions are also excellent ways to convey a character’s emotion.

Overuse of Flashbacks in Fiction

While flashbacks can help a story move forward, too many flashbacks can actually hinder the story and character development. Readers do not need to know about every character’s life story. They don’t even want to know about the main character’s entire life story, unless the story evolves around the main character’s life. Novels that begin with a character walking down a busy street, reminiscing about childhood memories does not tell readers anything about that character.

Over Description in Fiction

Description is central to fiction, but too much of it can severely hinder the beat of the story. Try reading this sentence: The tiny, furry, brown, kittens jumped onto the big, green, cashmere sofa. This adjective rich sentence is so easy to trip over. There is no reason for most of these adjectives.

The tiny, brown kittens jumped onto the big sofa. This sentence is concise and it gives the reader a clear image of the kittens jumping onto the sofa.

Over description robs a fiction book of its vivacity and personality, so avoid it.

When writing fiction, all authors should be aware of author imposition, flashbacks and description. They should use flashbacks only if the flashbacks serve to move the story forward and should be judicious in their descriptions of characters, events, building and streets.

 

Destiny Road by Melissa Wray: My Review

Destiny Road is about a sixteen year old girl Jessica, who is building up to making a most important decision. One that will affect the rest of her life. It is a story of decision, growth and acceptance.

Jessica is sixteen when she meets Bill for the first time. Six months later she is moved away by her mother, to begin a new life, away from what she knows. Away from the man she is just realising she might have wanted in her life all along, her biological father. So begins Jessica’s journey of living with the choices made by herself and those around her.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

My Review:

This was a really great book. Very emotional and true to life. Jessica is torn when she makes the decision to leave her mother, who she’s lived with all her life, to live with Bill, the father Jessica barely knows. She believes that she has betrayed her mother, yet is constantly plagued with the question all children in this kind of environment ask: Why did Bill leave my mother? Wray does such a wonderful job of portraying these emotions.

Jessica eventually does get an answer to this question and all the pieces fit the puzzle. Along her own journey to healing, Jessica meets a boy, Luke. As they get to know each other, Jessica discovers a side to Luke that will make her own problems seem minute.

There were a few times, when reading this novel, a scene ended abruptly and a new one started. For example, after her first visit with Bill, Jessica goes to a bonfire party with her friends, Dempsey and Claire. Chapter 11 ends with Claire letting off steam after getting into an argument with her boyfriend. This is one example of a scene that could have been flushed out more to include the argument for more tension building.

Also, before Jessica moves in with Bill, she makes a friend: Mandy. Mandy and her become close, but then the moment, Jessica moves in with Bill, Mandy disappears. Although these kind of things happen in reality, it would have been nice to have Jessica keep in touch with Mandy, given how close their friendship developed in the first half of the story.

Great story, though. I look forward to reading more novels by Melissa Wray.

To learn more about Melissa Wray and her novel, Destiny Road, visit her blog at http://www.melissawray.blogspot.com.au/
her author page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Destiny-Road-By-Melissa-Wray/407031252661034
You can purchase your copy of Destiny Road on Amazon.com, and on Barnes and Noble.