Let's Talk Turkey!

Sandra here and if you’re like me, you’re getting ready for the big turkey dinner. And probably trying to write NaNoWriMo at the same time. So I’ll make this short and sweet.

Preparing to write a novel is very much like preparing for the big dinner.

1.     Make a list of ingredients you need.

·      Turkey

·      Stuffing

·      Yams

·      Green bean casserole

·      Cranberry sauce

·      Pumpkin pie

Write an outline of the elements of your story:

·      Characters

·      Main conflict

·      Setting

·      Minor characters

·      Romance

·      Resolution

·       

•  Prepare the turkey
• Write the first draft

3.     Prepare the stuffing

Edit first draft and fill in strong action words

4.     Prepare the Yams

Embellish the emotional elements

5.     Prepare the green bean casserole

Embellish the setting. Bring it alive.

6.     Add the cranberry sauce

Spice up the romantic tension.

7.     Bake the pumpkin pies

Resolve the black moment and get to the happy ever after.

8.     Decorate your table

Gather photos for an enticing cover

All of these preparations take time, but good planning and steady progress result in a wonderful meal and a terrific romance novel.

Finally, gather all the family and friends and pray. Its time to thank the Lord for all His blessings and inspiration.

Please comment and share a wonderful recipe or something you are thankful for this wonderful day of thanksgiving and be eligible for a surprise package of Seeker books.

I am thankful for my Seeker sisters and all the Seeker Villagers out there. Your encouragement has meant so much to me over the years.

Recipe for Yams:  

Ingredients: 

2 cans cut sweet potatoes

1 can apricot halves

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Drain sweet potatoes and apricots but save ½ cup of the juice from each.

Place in greased baking dish

Combine brown sugar, cornstarch and juice in a saucepan and boil.

Pour over sweet potatoes and apricots.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. 

My two novellas that were out with the Seeker collection are now available in print copies which do make lovely stocking stuffers or gifts for a teacher or friend. They are available now on Amazon.com in case you need to shop early for Christmas.

Debbie fell in love with surfer, David Martin. Against her parent’s wishes, she married her first love. Would the help of an angel and the influence of the Christmas season bring forgiveness and redemption?

Elena Delgado loves her father’s new business partner, Stephen Edwards, and wants marriage and a family. As they work together, will Stephen notice her? Or is he still in love with the fiancée who left him?  

Sandra Leesmith writes sweet romances to warm the heart. Sandra loves to play pickleball, hike, read, bicycle and write. She lives in Arizona with her husband and during the hot summers, she and her husband travel throughout the United States in their motor home where she enjoys the outdoors and finds wonderful ideas for her next writing project. You can find Sandra's books here on Amazon. Three of Sandra's most popular books are also audiobooks at Audible.  

You can read more posts by Sandra here.

Best of The Archives: Setting Your Scenes

Sandra here to talk about setting. But before I get started, I want to honor our Veterans and thank them for their service to our wonderful country. Please know we appreciate your sacrifices and time you spent to protect and serve this great nation. Tina and Cara, thank you. 

Grab some coffee and let's chat. I have plenty of Chocolate Mocha Swirl coffee. smile

Bigstock photo

The strangest thing happened on the road on our way to Roper Lake State Park. We were driving down a four lane highway out of Apache Junction into the desert.  A red sedan passed us, but as they passed, they must have startled a red-tailed hawk eating carrion on their side of the road because the giant bird flew up, barely missing the red car and smacked into the motor home.

View from my motor home of sunrise over Roper Lake

We heard this loud thump and I was just heartsick. I prayed like crazy, hoping the bird had died quickly and wasn’t suffering.  I really prayed hard, mainly because I felt so badly that we had hit such a beautiful bird. His wingspan practically covered the width of the motor home.

The road narrowed and after about fifteen minutes, we discovered we needed to secure a loose door.  There were steep rock walls around us so not much room to pull over. Finally, we came to a pull out and stopped the motor home. The minute we stopped the hawk flew up from the front of the motor home and landed on a rocky outcrop above us. He looked amazingly fine—kind of glaring at us like ‘what were we thinking?’

Redtailed hawk at High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon. He was injured and rescued.

We checked the front of the motor home and there were a few small feathers on the grill and one of the plastic/fiberglass grill bars was broken. Evidently, the bird had grasped the grill with his sharp claws and held on as we drove down the highway. From ranger talks about birds of prey, we knew that the bird had powerful claws. He must have used all that power to hold on to the grill.

But do you ever have those experiences when you know that there is more involved than just the incident? I had been thinking about the power of prayer and how God works in so many different and amazing ways. I had this strong feeling that this incident was meant to show me the power of prayer. If God would answer my prayer that the beautiful creature had survived unscathed, wouldn’t He be answering all of my other prayers?

Don’t you love how He uses our life situations to teach us?

This incident impacted me so strongly that you know it is going to have to go into one of my future books. Our life experiences add up to make us who we are. I spend most of my non-working time outdoors. I love nature and the lessons I have learned there. So it stands to reason that the Lord will use experiences in the outdoors to teach me.

Because of my love for the outdoors, I put my experiences into my books. Most of my reviews comment on how I have captured the settings. Our Seeker friend Vince who reviewed LOVE’S DREAM SONG, wrote “Her descriptions of the landscape are the next best thing to being on location yourself. I know this because I've been in many of the same locations described in her books.”  Well, of course, I have because that is what I love. The settings are what I observe.

My settings come alive because I have been there and experienced them. Vince also stated “Leesmith loves, lives and breathes the southwest in her personal life and in each word she writes. Her home is in the southwest but she mostly lives out of her RV home so she can go to the locations she writes about.

Photo taken on Sunset Hike at Lost Dutchman State Park of the Superstition Mountains

Yes, I have lived most of my whole life in the Southwest, so it stands to reason I will be able to bring my experience to my writing. Vince wrote, “Sandra Leesmith depicts the ever-changing southwest light to perfection. She also captures the amazing variety of sounds the desert makes -- an abundance of sounds for all who will really listen. Then there are the desert fragrances carried on the wind and which change as the humidity changes. Leesmith also knows all the wildlife that roams at night. She reports sleeping outdoors and noting the tracks of all the night creatures that have walked around and over her sleeping bag. My favorite is when her characters are laying down at night and looking up at the stars. Each constellation has a Native American folktale to explain it.” Thank you, Vince, for appreciating my descriptions and setting.

I have lived in many different places and have traveled as Vince mentioned. So I can have settings in different places. My husband and I traveled a lot in our motor home. LOVE’S REFUGE takes place in the Pacific Northwest where we spent many summers escaping the desert heat. I Blog 4 Books wrote in her review, “Love's Refuge takes place on a secluded island in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The scenery and the simple lifestyle drew me right in and nearly had me packing my bags for a visit.”

Pacific Northwest

The setting for LOVE’S PROMISES is Lake Tahoe located in California and Nevada. We owned a home there for twenty years and my parents also lived there. So we visited often. The experiences we had working on our home there are found in this book. Miranda A. Uyeh, in her review wrote, “The setting was truly breathtaking. Lake Tahoe sounds like somewhere I’d truly like to visit someday. Sandra wove in the environmental issues of this place within this romance story so that a reader can understand the value of nature in our lives and how the beauty of it can add to the riches of human living/existence.”

Bigstock photo of Lake Tahoe

Hubby and I won a trip to New Orleans in 2002 and while there we took a cruise up the Mississippi on the Delta Queen. While aboard ship, I interviewed the crew and CURRENT OF  LOVE was the result. Seeker friend Kav writes, “And the exotic setting -- a steamboat ride down the Mississippi -- added to my fascination. The author made me feel and smell and plain ol' experience the trip right along with the hero and heroine. Honestly, I'm pretty certain I know exactly what Mississippi mud smells like now!  Readers of that book tell me they felt like they had been on the cruise themselves. I tell shoppers that this book is my feel good, fluffy Hallmark movie romance.

My current WIP is set in Hawaii and La Jolla in Southern California. The hero and heroine are surfers. My family lived on the beach in Southern California during my high school years and I surfed. So you can imagine how much fun it has been to bring up all of those memories. Btw the heroine is Debbie Martin from last year's Christmas novella, HOLIDAY HOMECOMING and it appears she might have found a new love while visiting her son in Hawaii.

Bigstock photo

So my experiences are unique to me. What are your experiences? They will all be different. That is what I love about hanging with writers because we all come from different parts of the world. We all have different backgrounds and interesting aspects of life.

Bigstock photo Maui surf

You don’t have to travel to write an interesting setting. You just need to be observant of the environment you are in. Julie Lessman wrote a whole series in a setting she had never been to, but she brought into her settings the experiences of sound, smells, tastes and sights of home that she knew from her own experiences in her home setting.

Ruth Logan Herne’s books are mostly set in Western New York where she lives. When you read one of her books, you feel like you are in the small town she establishes and you feel like you know those characters. She captures the emotional drama that occurs between people in a small town because she observes where she lives.

Audra Harders and Tina Radcliffe bring the Rocky Mountains to life.  Glynna Kaye puts you in the heart of the Arizona high country.

When you read books written by Missy Tippens, Pam Hillman, and Myra Johnson, you know you are in the South. They bring their own experience into the setting that brings it alive.

So how do you do that?

·      Observe the settings around you. Are you outdoors, indoors, in a small town, large city, a farm or the beach?

• ·      Write down what you experience in that setting.
• ·      Document the five senses. What do you see, hear, smell, feel and taste?
• ·      Note unique features of the setting
• ·      Research historical information about the setting.
• ·      Study the geological history of the setting.
• ·      Take note of the environmental issues of the setting.
• ·      Gather photos of your setting.

Once you have done this, start incorporating all of the information into your story. Often I discover information that will become plot twists that I incorporate in the story. For example, research into the setting of the Mississippi Steamboat gave me the dark moment in CURRENT OF LOVE.  Much of the suspense in LOVE’S PROMISES derived from environmental issues that were unique to the Tahoe Basin. Janet Dean’s historical, COURTING MISS ADELAIDE, revolves around the orphan trains that she learned about in her research of her neighborhood.

You will have your own experiences and deep profound loves. Please comment and let us know something about your setting where you live. Maybe some interesting history.

 I picked the last of the oranges off my tree so please help yourself to a fresh orange. They are so sweet and delicious. 

Oranges off my tree. (I have plenty more - smile)

Before you go, Sandra wants to jump up on her soapbox for a minute. Christmas is coming and I want to remind you that autographed books make delightful gifts. We are writers. We need to support our industry. Go to your local author groups and get signed books to give as gifts. If you see an author's book in the store that you know, buy it for a friend. Support the authors in your community and buy their books as gifts. Check out the links of Seeker authors in this post. A book is a priceless gift. It not only is a lovely present to unwrap, but it opens up a whole new world for your family members and friends. Happy shopping.

This post originally posted April 26, 2016.  There will be no comments today so we can write.  Yay.

In Tucson with Mt Lemmon in background

Sandra Leesmith writes sweet romances to warm the heart. Sandra loves to play pickleball, hike, read, bicycle and write. She is based in Arizona, but she and her husband travel throughout the United States in their motor home and enjoy the outdoors. You can find Sandra's books here on Amazon. Three of Sandra's most popular books are also audio books at Audible. You can read more of Sandra's posts here.

Best of the Archives: Angel Unaware

Sandra here, and I’m jumping up and down doing a happy dance because this post was so much fun when we did it last year during our birthday month.

I have a question for you.

Who likes to read about angels?

Who likes angels in their stories? 

Have you ever written angels in your wips?

We have. The Seekers wrote novellas last year and each featured an angel. How fun is that? And doesn’t that just fit in with Christmas?

We are so excited about our stories and about our characters who are blessed by God’s helpers.

As a disclaimer, some traditional publishers don’t allow angels in their publications. I’m not sure why, but be sure and check your targeted publisher’s guidelines before you write an angel into your story.

In my novella, Holiday Homecoming, an angel helps the characters find their way to applying their Christian values.

The heroine in Holiday Homecoming is a surfer.

I feel comfortable writing angel characters because I have had angel experiences. Most of the time I didn’t know until they left, but have any of you had that feeling or inner knowing that you just had supernatural assistance?

I get together with three other girlfriends twice a year for a weekend slumber party. We all went to high school together and so it is a kick to get together and catch up on our lives. One of our favorite things to do is tell what we call our “angel stories”. Most of these involve ways we see God working in our lives. What a blessing when we see, because in the Bible, Jesus says we may entertain angels unawares. I’m sure we are going to be surprised to find out more incidents of divine intervention when all is revealed. I am excited about that day.

There is also divine intervention in Love’s Dream Song. Autumn's grandfather goes on a vision quest and has dreams which help them find Autumn when she is in danger. Using  dreams in our stories are one way we can have angels communicate with our characters.

Love's Dream Song:  In her search for her Navajo roots, archeologist Autumn O’Neill finds danger and romance on Jess Barron’s ranch in Northern Arizona. Together, they come to understand that finding answers means listening to the voices of their ancestors and the longings of their hearts.    

As I wrote in a previous post, I believe God uses what is important in our lives to communicate with us. For example I love animals. In a previous post Animals in Our Stories, I shared with you some of the experiences I’ve had where animals seemed to be comforting my spirit. If our characters live close to nature, animals can be used to show divine intervention. In the movie Dances With Wolves, the wolf appears to warn the hero.

One of my girlfriends loves her grandchildren. When she is down or troubled, she has had “strange” incidents of photos of her grandchildren suddenly popping up on her phone. Or she gets a call from a grandchild out of the blue. She calls those moments her God moments.  This is another way to work angels into our stories.

They can even be angels unawares and not be revealed as angels, but their behavior of protecting, comforting and loving us gives us clues. Og Mandino writes his angels in this manner. A person shows up in the character's life and helps them through their problem, then disappears, hinting at the fact he might have been an angel.  This is the manner I used an angel in Holiday Homecoming.

Holiday Homecoming:Debbie fell in love with surfer, David Martin. Against her parent’s wishes, she married her first love. Would the help of an angel and the influence of the Christmas season bring forgiveness and redemption?

Debbie Macomber writes wonderful stories from the point of view of the angels. They get into all kinds of mischief trying to bring a couple together so they will fall in love. Great romantic fun with angels. 

So check out my holiday novella Holiday Homecoming and find out all the way I used an angel in my Christmas novella. 

This is the angel photo I used on my cover. Isn't she adorable?

Please comment and share the way you have written angels in your stories.

Or if you’re a reader share if you like that element in a story. 
Also share the ways you like to see angels used in stories. 

Maybe some of you have read other books or seen movies with angels. 

Please share some of your favorite books or movies that feature angels.

Before you go, Sandra wants to jump up on her soapbox for a minute. Christmas is coming and I want to remind you that autographed books make delightful gifts. We are writers. We need to support our industry. Go to your local author groups and get signed books to give as gifts. If you see an author's book in the store that you know, buy it for a friend. Support the authors in your community and buy their books as gifts. A book is a priceless gift. It not only is a lovely present to unwrap, but it opens up a whole new world for your family members and friends. Happy shopping.

In my family we prefer to celebrate birthdays with our favorite pie instead of cake. So I have an array of pies for our treat.  There is creamy vanilla ice cream to scoop on top if you prefer. I also have fresh whipped cream and honey.  

Remember today there are no comments so we can all go and write.  Maybe you'll be writing about an angel.  smile

Sandra Leesmith writes sweet romances to warm the heart. Sandra loves to play pickleball, hike, read, bicycle and write. She lives in Arizona with her husband and during the hot summers she and her husband travel throughout the United States in their motorhome where she enjoys the outdoors and finds wonderful ideas for her next writing project. You can find Sandra's books here on Amazon. Three of Sandra's most popular books are also audio books at Audible. You can read more posts by Sandra here.

Nine Ways to Promote Yourself

Are you like me and prefer to give away your books rather than try to sell them?  I know, its tough because as an author, you are really talking up and selling yourself. Get over it. You have to think of yourself as a business. You are an author.

Sandra here today to talk about some innovative ways to self-promote your wonderful novels. 

Some RV parks  have one day a month we can sell things from our campsites. 

With the new paradigm in the industry, it is just as important for authors of traditional publishers to market themselves as it is for indie published authors. Self-promotion platforms are expected because frankly, traditional publishers are exploring the why and how to get their books known just as much as the indie published authors. With thousands of books available now on the Internet, how do you get your gem recognized? That is the million-dollar question. Today I will share nine ways I’ve used in the past. Please take a look and if you’ve tried something else, please share with us what you’ve tried and we’ll have a lovely repertoire to use when our next book comes out.

1. 1. Autograph party. This is very effective in your hometown when your first novel debuts. Local bookstores love featuring the home-town success. If you aren’t published yet, you can assure a successful autograph party by supporting your local bookstores now. Shop local and get to know the managers and workers in the bookstore. Tell them you are writing your novel and have them search for the type of books you are writing. This will make them feel like they are part of your success.  No bookstore in your town? Then try the grocery store or drug store where books are sold. When I debuted my first novel, I was visiting my mom at Lake Tahoe and we arranged for an autograph party in Ralph’s grocery store. It was a hoot. The local paper featured my party and authors from the area came to meet me.  I formed some lasting friendships and even found a wonderful critique partner in the process. Debby does a great job of hosting autograph parties in her area and offers the proceeds to a  charity.  This works really well to get people out there.

Many friends came to  my debut autograph party hosted by the Christian bookstore in Tempe.

1. 2. Press Kits.  As mentioned above, the local newspaper featured my debut novel and autograph parties.  They don’t usually feature autograph parties, but they love the news of a debut release. So if it’s your first book, take advantage of that interest.  In fact, prepare your press kit now even if you aren’t published yet so it will be ready when you get the call. Press kits can also be sent to the local news media when your novel features or hinges around a news event. Tara Taylor Quinn uses this technique and received local press when her novel revolved around domestic violence. She is a supporter of the Domestic Violence Hotline and those ties interested the media and they interviewed her, which gave her publicity for her series.  A good press kit includes a professional photo of you. Short author bio. Contact information. If a debut novel or new novel out have a photo of the book cover. Blurb about the book and quotes from reviewers if you have them. Many authors have a press kit page on their website with all of this information on it. 

1. 3. Social Media  There are many articles in the archives of Seekerville with hints and suggestions of how to make use of the social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram.  This is the media you’re going to reach the most people for the least amount of money. Whether you are published or not, start using these media so when you have something to report like the release of a book, you will have an established audience. 

1. 4. Blogs.  Blogs are a wonderful way to develop a base of followers who can act as a support team to get the word out there about you and your books. Blogs do take a lot of time. The Seekers found it works well to have a group share a blog.  We started our blog before we were published which is good advice because you can go through the learning process without a big audience. And by the time you have debut novel coming out, you have a venue to announce your news. We saw that yesterday in Tina’s review of “The Call” parties here on Seekerville. And our Weekend Edition is a great place to announce the releases coming up. There are many blogs of reviewers and it is wonderful to have a blog tour when your book releases. This gets the word out there and provides wonderful reviews as well. 

1. 5. Teach Writing Classes. Teaching writing classes gives you exposure to a new audience who will enjoy your class and become possible readers. Many groups are looking for classes and to volunteer to teach a writing class will give you a new audience. Be sure and ask your students to pass your name along. When I teach a class I bring copies of books to sell. I also give away a book each session. Great advertising. Places to teach include: Church, Parks and Recreation, Senior Living Resorts and or homes, Libraries, Women’s groups, RWA or ACFW conferences, local writing events, Book Fairs, etc. 

Hosted a table talk at the Desert Rose RWA meeting. Taught about business licenses.

1. 6. Library Workshops In my community, the public library hosts writing workshops and the public is invited to take workshop classes from local authors. Local authors are invited to submit class proposals and when selected, they are assigned classrooms in the library and are also allowed to sell their books. I’ve also been to library Author Days, where local authors are featured and they are allowed to sell and autograph their books. The events I’ve attended, the authors were assigned tables throughout the library and the public were allowed to visit and buy books. 

Presentation at the Tempe Public Library when they featured local authors. (I was actually home LOL)

1. 7. Speaking Engagements. I list on the local RWA website as a speaker and can be invited by local community groups to speak. At most of these events, authors are encouraged to bring books to sell after the speech. The same organizations listed above for teaching classes can be contacted for public speaking. One of my favorite venues is to be invited to a Book Club that has read one of my books. ( Waving at you Maridel who invited me to her book club)  That is always fun to hear what readers get out of their reading experience. It is often so different from what you expect

Signing at RWA conference

1. 8. Craft Fairs: We travel a lot and many of the parks we stay in have craft fairs. Since writing is a craft and I sell the books I wrote, I qualify to sell at the craft fairs. Community parks often have craft fairs, and many organizations feature craft fairs during the year. These are great places to sell your books and talk to readers. Be aware that you may be required to have a business license. Most fairs sell the books for you and you give them a percentage. I just figure that into the price. Saves having to buy so many licenses. 

Selling at the craft fair in Verde Valley TT RV Park

1. 
   9. Book Fairs: Many states and cities have book fairs. I always participate in the Tucson Festival of Books. In the archives are a couple of posts about my experiences. Over 100,000 people are coming to buy books and meet authors. This is a wonderful venue to get your name out there. 

LeAnne Bristow met me at the Tucson Festival of Books

So authors:  Here are nine ideas I’ve tried. Whenever I’ve done any of these, my sales go up. When I do nothing, my sales do nothing. So we really need to be pro-active if we want to make a go of it in this business.

I have made gorgeous flyers to hand out at all of these events. You want your name known and remembered. Often readers don’t buy the books, but they take the flyers and buy ebooks when they get home.  Check out this post from the archive for information on the flyers. Scroll toward the end of the post and it will show you the flyers I hand out.

Please add in the comments other ways you’ve use to promote and be eligible for a lovely prize.

Readers, you can be the biggest help and asset we have. What always works is a grass roots recommendation from a friend. Usually you know what kind of books your family and friends like to read. And if you come across a book you think they would like. PLEASE TELL THEM ABOUT IT. Please share ways you’ve helped support an author and also be eligible for the special surprise.

Authors and readers alike, please remember that an autographed book makes a terrific gift. With the holidays coming up, you will want to have a supply of gifts to hand out. Often a book costs less than a card and look how much more rewarding?

Glynna Kaye and I gift autographed books. She gave me her latest Love Inspired. And I gave her my newly printed novella. We had such a fun time together. 

Look for your local authors and go meet them, buy their books and help support this industry we love so well.

Now for that special gift and surprise . With trick or treat coming up and knowing how much you all love chocolate, I’m gifting this lovely blown glass candy kiss.  The gift is a glass candy kiss, but I have a huge bag of candy kisses to snack on today. All the different varieties. My favs are the almond filled kisses.

I also put my two novellas that were out with the Seeker collection into print copies which do make lovely stocking stuffers or gifts for a teacher or friend. Winner will get autographed copies of those two books. They are available now on Amazon.com in case you need to shop early for Christmas.

Debbie fell in love with surfer, David Martin. Against her parent’s wishes, she married her first love. Would the help of an angel and the influence of the Christmas season bring forgiveness and redemption?

Elena Delgado loves her father’s new business partner, Stephen Edwards, and wants marriage and a family. As they work together, will Stephen notice her? Or is he still in love with the fiancée who left him?  

Sandra Leesmith writes sweet romances to warm the heart. Sandra loves to play pickleball, hike, read, bicycle and write. She lives in Arizona with her husband and during the hot summers, she and her husband travel throughout the United States in their motor home where she enjoys the outdoors and finds wonderful ideas for her next writing project. You can find Sandra's books here on Amazon. Three of Sandra's most popular books are also audiobooks at Audible.  

You can read more posts by Sandra here.