If Nora Can Do It, So Can We!!!

Hello, Gorgeous!!!!

Welcome to NYC, Financial District, downtown, Wall Street, the maze...
This is about as far away from my typical "Main Street" stories as you can get.

Or is it???

Change it up. Shake it up. Mix it up.

AND RUN, DO NOT WALK TO AMAZON RIGHT NOW AND GET "TRY, TRY AGAIN" FOR FREE, MY FIRST INDIE BOOK, A LOVELY STORY OF AN OLD LOVE LOST... AND MAYBE... JUST MAYBE... RE-FOUND.
DOWNLOADED TO YOUR KINDLE OR LAPTOP!!!!!!!! 

Allow me to mention this part again:

FREE!!!! 

CLICK HERE!!!!!!

And then come back and we'll talk about why a small-town gal like me likes to play in big city venues from time to time!!!

*****

All those adages mean one thing: Most humans  dislike change and grow stale in their thinking so mixing it up... embracing change... helps our mental and emotional development as people and authors.

GET YOUR GROOVE ON!!!

:)

Way back in the day when I studied Nora's way of doing things....

I discovered two things:

1. That you can tell a story and re-tell a story, the trick is to tell it differently each time. (Think of how many versions of Cinderella "rich prince falls in love with poor girl/nanny/serving girl/school marm/tutor, etc.)

And then there's this:

2.  Big cities are just small towns on 'roids.

(As a big Yankee fan I must desist dwelling on the word "steroids"... SIGH....)

So if you're a small-town girl like me who's thought of telling a big city story:

Just do it!

The components are the same... Hero, heroine, family, possible dog or cat, neighbors, friends, conflict, conflict, conflict.  Only instead of a small town (which I love!!!!!) you can tuck the book into a Boston neighborhood. A Big Apple borough. A Philadelphia section like Mount Airy or Germantown... Did you know that Philadelphia police were required to live within the city limits until two years ago? And they lobbied to be able to move to the 'burbs if they wanted to... and then got their wish after more than 60 years of required city living. And guess what? Only 3% have moved. The same thing happened when teachers were allowed to move out of the city proper...

Only in that trend, the younger teachers overwhelmingly settled within city neighborhoods that make you feel like you've walked into a fifties movie... neighborhood shops, butchers, florists, groceries, pharmacies, tailors, bakeries.... A setting ripe for story-building!

Most of us don't "see" cities as they once were, thriving groups of neighborhoods watching out for each other, working together, building a "climate".

But even if those types of neighborhoods have declined in the last thirty years, they're not GONE... And revitalizing them can be as simple as you at your keyboard!

Some folks say the words "the city" as if city = BAD!!!! DON'T GO THERE!!!!!  But think of rebuilding a city like Detroit... Baltimore... Cleveland. Or the smaller cities (ripe for neighborhood rebuilding) like Rochester, Albany, Allentown, etc.

Oh, my friends... how much you miss if you don't play in the city from time to time!!! I love going to the big cities, feeling the flavor of the community, eyeing the diversity (NYC and Philly are great for this! I love Cleveland... Detroit... St. Louis!!! And I think every city in the U. S. should go to Omaha, Nebraska and study what it is that they do so right and do it so well!). I people watch as they mill around, listening...

Learning...

Okay, eavesdropping. But I haven't been arrested YET, so that's good!!!!

Seeing this:

Became the basis for a very special secondary character in "Red Kettle Christmas", (Book One of Love Finds You in the City at Christmas, October 1, 2013)  my upcoming Christmas novella with Summerside Press.

The Jewish bagel maker, Arnie Mencher, began as an incidental character in the book's opening, but his presence... and the sensibility of a Jewish bagel maker in post World War II Manhattan... shaped the book's motivation because Arnie came to a new land one generation before family and friends were systematically killed by a wretched regime.

So his story became reflective of the story and character arcs for the hero and heroine... his moral premise... and the changing times... helped shape theirs.

I understand the concept of branding. But I also comprehend the lapse in creative flow if you do too much repetitive action! So when the chance to write a New York City/Manhattan historical came up, I was delighted to be asked!!!!

Available October 1, 2013 at stores everywhere, CBD.com and Amazon.com

Again with the New York City!!!!  SWEET!!!!!

And just this week I was asked to be part of the Love Inspired 2014 Continuity "Big Sky Centennial"... So now I get to write a WESTERN!!!!!

YIPPEE KI YI YAY!!!!!  YEEEEEE  HAAAAAWWWWWW!  ;)

"Say Yes to the Brand"... but don't be afraid to challenge yourself or think outside the visual perimeters. (Note how cleverly I disguised saying "think outside the box"... You're welcome.)

Okay, here's your task for today as I'm traveling from upper NY to NYC....

 Tell me how you've busted loose. What have you done to not only make your dream come true, but to polish the star that carries you toward success... How have you "broken out" and did it help?

Coffee's on!!!! And I'm looking forward to chattin' with youse long distance as long as my phone behaves, LOL!

I've got Nuts 4 Nuts here for you... and breakfast sandwiches from the cart on lower Broadway... and juice from the Juice Bar. Jump in... AFTER YOU GO DOWNLOAD "TRY, TRY AGAIN", OF COURSE!

Here is another Link to Try, Try Again!!! Just in case you missed the first one.

And feel free to re-tweet me if you can... post the freebie on Facebook... let the world know that for the next five days, this delightful Ruthy story will be theirs, free for the asking! And yes, please leave a review on Amazon if you have time. I hope you love this book like I do, but I'm tough.... And looking forward to your honest thoughts!!!

(She quakes at the thought of pretending to be tough but NO ONE IN SEEKERVILLE SEES THIS!!!)

Author Bio: Love Inspired author Ruth Logan Herne lives in a farmhouse in upstate New York where every time she fixes one thing, two others break... She bosses everyone around except Tina Radcliffe because she's too smart to do THAT.

She's married to a very patient man who is watching two of their grandsons as she types this, she's got six, no SEVEN children (she stole one from her sister when she wasn't looking... Oops!!!!), two dogs, several cats, chickens and no small amount of farm vermin running amok!!!! She loves God, romance, her family, coffee and chocolate and puppies!!!! Visit her here in Seekerville or catch up with her antics HERE!!!!