The Story Behind the Story with MJ LaBeff of Arizona.

 

  

Good news!

MJ LaBeff has a new Rachel Hood thriller and everybody’s talking about it.

MJ is a popular guest on the Scribbler and we’re happy she’s back to tell us the SBTS.

She’s been here before and if you missed the last post, take a look here.

Read on, my friends.

 

 

 

 

MJ LaBeff is an American author best described as the girl-next-door with a dark side. MJ grew up in northeastern Ohio but traded snow for sunshine and moved to southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and two dogs. She’s drawn to writing suspense novels, featuring complicated characters and twisted plot lines that will keep readers turning page after page. When she’s not writing or plotting her next novel, MJ enjoys reading, running, lifting weights, and volunteering for the American Cancer Society.

Working Title: Murdered Last Summer is book #5 of my Last Cold Case and was released in April this year. 

Synopsis: I’m not invisible…

Someone is killing the most vulnerable residents of Snug Harbor, Ohio. Overdoses and murders plague the city. A serial killer prowls the streets in search of drug addicts. There are three victims in one week—a drug addiction specialist, a down-on-her-luck former teacher, a recovering drug addict. All of them are missing their eyes. Does the signature have meaning? That’s what Homicide Detective Rachel Hood, a psychic empath and FBI agent Nick Draven, an occult crimes specialist need to find out before more people die.

You look…

The killer sends a string of messages. An envelope addressed HOOD contains a picture of two boys. A detective working undercover has gone silent. Another woman is murdered.

But you don’t see me…

The last victim haunts Homicide Detective Rachel Hood. The woman’s spirit seeks forgiveness, but all she conveys to Rachel are these two words: See Me. Rachel suffers through this unidentified woman’s pain putting her through the rigors of the addict’s hell on earth that eventually led to her death.

Like so many families experiencing various addiction crises, I have a family member who struggled with drug addiction. When I set out to write a thriller around the subject, it was originally intended as a single title, stand-alone, but I soon realized this was a Last Cold Case story and featured a crime that only Homicide detective Rachel Hood and FBI agent Nick Draven could solve. 

The original story changed a lot at that point. Perhaps it happened because of two reasons: the first, because I had set out to write this fictional tale many years ago with an attempt at literary fiction (I think I’d been reading a lot by Mitch Albom at the moment); the second, because I wasn’t ready to tell it; the story was too close to home and too personal.

There were a couple of real-life incidences that inspired Murdered Last Summer. Many years ago a grade school teacher relayed a story to me about how a student brought drug paraphernalia to show and tell. I was aghast. The student was either first or second grade and had no idea what he’d brought into the classroom. Several years ago, I was watching the local news and there was a piece about a small child who ingested drugs and was removed from the home by child protective services. Like any writer, my mind began spinning with “what if”. Those two stories inspired my fictional characters Dylan and Harley and the dysfunctional Zenyatta family, including the subplot. And that’s the story behind the story!

 

 

Website: www.mjlabeff.com

 

 

A question before you go, MJ.

 

Can you tell us about the perfect setting you have, or desire, for your writing? Music or quiet? Coffee or tequila?  Neat or notes everywhere?

After years of writing at the kitchen table and then at a small desk located in our master-bedroom, we moved a few years ago and I finally have a lovely home office which we call the library, with a wall of built-in-bookcases and a view of the Catalina Mountains and desert. I tend to keep a neat desk with a file folder of notes and a notebook all about my work-in-progress; the file folder has quite an array of notes. Hey, when inspiration strikes I’ll make a note on darn near anything! At least, I keep a pen in my purse, gym bag, and tote bag. Music tends to distract me; I’ll wanna get up and dance or sing! I either write in total silence or with the TV on but the volume is low. Don’t ask me about what I’m viewing because I’m not paying attention. It’s background noise. I usually write at night, so there’s a chance I might have had a glass of wine before my fingertips hit the keyboard, but there’s always a Tervis tumbler filled with water on top of The Haunted Showboat Nancy Drew Mystery coaster.

Thank you so much for inviting back to the Scribbler. I always enjoy telling you and your readers about my latest book adventure and the story behind the story.

 

 

 

The pleasure is all ours, MJ. You’re always a welcome guest. 

Wishing you much success with the new book.

 

 

Big thanks to all you visitors and readers.

The Story Behind the Story with Poet Claire Conroy of Sanford, Maine.

 

One of our former guests, Donna Allard, introduced me to Claire and she has agreed to be our guest this week.

 Discover Claire’s world of poetry.

Read on, my friends.

 

 

 

Claire Conroy has a deep affection for words and their effects on readers. Be it quietly read in one's head from a page or launched from a stage though a microphone, she is willing and able to provide poetic prose. .

Having self-published two books of poems (“Listen” 2018 and "Silent" 2022) Claire has also been published in the following anthologies: "Poetry as a Bridge to Japan", "Remembering Jack Kerouac", "Goddess Anthology 2022", "New Generation Beats", “Ship of Poetry", " Natural Words” and “Beat Style Love Poems”. She was thrilled to have four poems from her first book translated into Hindi and published online by Devesh Path Sariya in 2019 on Sadaneera.com.

Claire collaborated with the dance troupe Sisters Phoenix and her cousin Erich Kenison on guitar for the book launch of her second book “Silent”, combining music, dance and poetry.

She’s a proud board member of the Portsmouth Poet Laureate Program and active in many open mic poetry readings. Claire is also involved with the National and International Beat Poetry Foundation and the Portland Poets Society. You might find her at a coffee shop twisting words around while high on caffeine.

Working Title: Of my next book?  Well, with my first two books, the titles have something in common.  “Listen” and “Silent” are anagrams!  They share the same letters!  Words are fun.  So my next book might be titled “Inlets” or “Tinsel”.  I did compose a chapbook in January of this year that is titled “Rumors From Dead Lips”.

 

 

Synopsis: My first two books are random, free form poetry.  Many different themes throughout both.  The chapbook is about Goddesses visiting while we sleep to tell us the secrets of life, told in Haiku form.  My next book will have a focus on format poetry, which I love.

 

 

The Story Behind the Story: Alright.  Although it’s no secret. Poetry is my therapy.  It’s my safe space to share the things in my head.  I needed an artistic outlet to explore my feelings in my late 30’s and came back to my childhood/adolescent passion for writing.  Now I can’t stop.

 

Website: Facebook

 

 

From "Earthly Delights in the Dirt", in my first book "Listen".

 

Perfect setting for writing?

Most common is all set up in bed, surrounded by cats.  Sometimes I will sit at a desk.  I also enjoy taking a hike w/a notepad to see what happens.  Very much enjoy stealing a spot in a favorite coffee shop for hours and feeding off the vibe of people, sights, sounds, smells.  Let my senses take the keyboard.

 

Music or quiet? I’ll often have a documentary about the topic I am writing on in the background.  I really enjoy writing while listening to jazz.  But I can appreciate the quiet of the woods or the sound and smell of water while I create.

 

Coffee or Tequila? Water, coffee, tea, wine…in that order.  I do enjoy a vodka drink.  Tequila in moderation (so usually no).  I like port, but that’s a treat to celebrate completion of a project or publishing.  I love cannabis.

 

Neat or notes everywhere? I would have to say notes everywhere.  But I almost always write on my laptop, so my “mess” is having far too many open tabs.  Often followed by a traveling thoughts notebook nearby.  Maybe a few notebooks.  A few loose leaves from an older notebook getting further crumpled and marked.

When I am formatting my books, that’s a paper nightmare.  I spread out all my poems all over the floor and slowly put them in the order it decides to become.  I get frustrated, step away, cry, blast some aggressive music.  Perform acts of divination for the love of my cats.  Play in the dirt.  Rinse off and make food.  Try it again.

That’s all we can do, right?

 

 

 

Thank you for being our guest this week, Claire. Wishing you continued success with your writing.

 

 

And another BIG thank you to all our visitors and readers.

The Story Behind the Story with Tawnya Torres of the Pacific Northwest.

 

Tawnya is no stranger to the Scribbler.  We're glad to have her return.

She’s excited about her new book and kindly agreed to share the SBTS with us.

If you missed her first visit, please go HERE.

Read on, my friends.

 

 

 

Tawnya Torres lives in the Pacific Northwest near the ocean. The endless rain and evergreen forests influence the dark romantic mood of her stories. If she's not at her desk surrounded by angel wing begonias you can find her by the beach or on a hike with her beloved little black dog.

 

 

Working Title: The Heart of the Machine

 

 

Synopsis: After earth was invaded by aliens, notorious billionaire scientist Adam Krim isolated his family in his luxurious lab inside Mount Ontake. He slowly lost his mind to his creation, a human-robot hybrid. Designed for war–extraterrestrials were not fathomed at the time but the machine is capable of killing anything, and everything. His son Bellamy is tasked with the difficult job of waking, teaching, and taming the Ex Machina named Gwen. Living within the confines of the lab for twenty-two years has dulled Bellamy’s social skills. As he attempts to train the machine for her purpose Bellamy begins to understand his father, bringing up past traumas not yet fully explored. While Gwen tests her abilities, killing the vicious Mantodea plaguing earth, Bellamy is forced to test himself. A player in her game, he tries to win but acknowledges his strategy is futile. Bound by something unseen, the two fall for each other, risking the world’s safety. Bellamy’s team expects productivity, they demand a solution to the ongoing battle against the violent aliens, yet he can’t control the machine his father made. She has a mind of her own.

 

The Story behind the Story: I wrote The Heart of the Machine during the second lockdown for covid. I thought about isolation a lot and was greatly influenced by Grimes’ music at the time. Science fiction is one of my favorite genres and I wanted to try writing my own story. I thought I’d be a horror or suspense author but it turns out I truly love romances. The Heart of the Machine is dark, futuristic, and romantic.

 

Website: www.instagram.com/tawnye_westwriter

 

A question before you go, Tawnya:

Can you tell us about the perfect setting you have, or desire, for your writing? Music or quiet? Coffee or tequila?  Neat or notes everywhere?

I like to be alone. I can’t write in a coffee shop or if people are around. I usually write in silence while drinking an au lait with an organized mess waiting for me.

 

 

Thanks for sharing the story with us, Tanya. Good luck and happy writing.

And...

 ...to all you visitors and readers. 

Don’t be shy, leave us a comment.

The Story Behind the Story. The Alexanders. Vol 2 1921 - 1925.

 

This week on the Scribbler, I'm happy to share

 my own SBTS of my soon-to-be-released 

Vol. 2 of The Alexanders.

June 30, 2023.

Please watch for more details.

Growing up in South Branch, Allan Hudson was encouraged to read from an early age by his mother who was a schoolteacher. He lives in Dieppe, NB, with his wife Gloria. He has enjoyed a lifetime of adventure, travel and uses the many experiences as ideas for his writing. He is an author of action/adventure novels, historical fiction and a short story collection. His short stories – The Ship Breakers & In the Abyss – received Honourable Mention in the New Brunswick Writer’s Federation competition.

He has stories published on commuterlit.com, The Golden Ratio and here - South Branch Scribbler.

 

 

 

 

Working Title: The Alexanders. Volume 2. 1921 - 1925

 

 

Synopsis: The Alexander Saga continues.

Dominic has his ups and downs as life continues in his new country. His business is growing. His wife is expecting their first child. He often wonders of the woman he saw in Halifax. The Roaring 20’s bring speakeasys, jazz, flappers, a booming stock market, disregard for prohibition. Everyone who can is investing in the future. Europe is rebuilding after the war and supplies from North America are in high demand. Will Dominic get involved with the investing frenzy or will caution prevail? The words of his late Uncle Duff ring loudly in his mind. “Watch those pennies, lad. Don’t waste your money on foolish things.”

Will Dominic’s decisions keep the business intact?

 

 

The Story Behind the Story: The idea of a young boy, maybe eleven or twelve and big for his age, being removed from his family due to poverty and his father’s demise. This was the spark which created Volume 1 of The Alexanders.

“Lucretia Alexander is about to abandon her middle child, Dominic. Poised on the wide front stoop of her brother-in-law's house, she is draped in sorrow. Her father waits in the cairt, which he has pulled to the side of the street. Her hand is raised to rap on the faded wooden door, but she hesitates. Looking at her eleven-year-old son by her side, almost as tall as her, she sees the uncertainty in his eyes. Like her heart, her will is almost broken. She yearns to hold him, to cling to him, to carry him away from the sadness they both feel. Biting her lower lip, her need for him to survive strengthens her resolve. She knocks firmly upon the door.”

 

 

The story evolved from there. Forced to support himself and learn a trade. No friends in his new home. Both his bachelor uncle and he trying to adapt to the changes. Other than his loneliness for his siblings, he fares well, learns his uncle’s trade and helps part time with his uncle’s buddy who is a carpenter. The war looms in Europe. Dominic is eager to serve but an accident has left him with a limp and he’s rejected. Unfortunate events change the course of Dominic’s life. Deciding to emigrate to Canada, a new life begins.

Volume 1 ends in 1920. The war is over. The economy is on the rebound.

 

Volume 2 begins in 1921.

June 30th. Available on all digital platforms. Paperback on Amazon. 

July 31st - Chapters Moncton. Partridge Island Publishing Store in Saint John.

Thanks for putting up with a bit of my self promotion. I appreciate all my readers and visitors. You are all important to me.

Thank you for visiting.

The Story Behind the Story with Author Francene Cosman of Nova Scotia, Canada.

 

This week we have Francene sharing the Story Behind the Story regarding her book – Nurse! A Memoir.  She  is also sharing an excerpt for your reading pleasure.

Francene writes from experience and from the heart.

Read on my friends.

 

Windsor Ontario was my first home, followed by several moves to different cities and provinces as my alcoholic father lost a lot of jobs until he found himself sober when I was ten years old. Those were difficult formative years, but strength comes from survival in a dysfunctional family. Neither of my parents had schooling beyond grade nine, and thus I was determined to go further. I escaped to books, bought with a small allowance each week, and a first job as a pre teen, helping to make tea and clean dust bunnies in an antique shop that also sold books. I never had any money left over as it all was spent in the shop. I loved the Nancy Drew mysteries and the Hardy Boys’ stories. The best thing that happened as a child was my father’s sobriety and a move to Renforth, NB, into our first home, and local schools where I grew up with a circle of friends and a river to swim in.  I started reading Reader’s Digest condensed books summarized popular titles down to the bare bones, a teaser  of sorts. If I loved the shortened version, I then would buy the full-length book. I felt happy to see a collection of books growing on my bookshelf and knew that I was learning so much simply by reading. I do not recall either of my parents ever reading a novel of any sort.  As I grew up and had to consider further education, I wanted to study medicine, and since there was no money for university, I entered nursing school in the Saint John General hospital. Three years later after graduation, I moved to Jersey City, NJ, and specialized in obstetrics for six months. On returning to NB, I worked in the Saint John General and the Victoria Public Hospital in Fredericton.  With marriage came a move to NS, where I worked in the Grace Maternity Hospital. Career was overtaken by motherhood with the birth of two daughters, fifteen months apart!

Nursing was the foundation that provided me with focus and intention as I became interested in community issues. Ultimately, I traded my nursing career for a political career, becoming first a County Councillor, then the first Mayor of Bedford. A stint as the president of the NS advisory council on the status of women was followed by my work as the executive director of the NS Liberal Party, then seeking elected office as an MLA. I was successful in that and served as Deputy Speaker, then Minister of Community Services, Minister for the Civil Service, Minister responsible for the Status of Women and the Disabled Person’s commission. I served two terms in government and then retired. I am not sure what it means to be retired, except that all the hours that are suddenly free from a paid job, become the hours filled up with volunteer commitments and the fun of being able to choose another path. I served for six years as a Governor on the Board of Governors of the NS art Gallery, and currently am the volunteer Curator of the historic Scott Manor House in Bedford, as well as volunteering on the archival committee. At the age of 82, I still have lots of ideas about other pursuits! In addition to writing, I am an amateur painter.

 

 

Working Title: Nurse! A Memoir

 

 

Synopsis: The memoir is a coming-of-age story following my footsteps in the three-year study program in the Saint John General hospital school of nursing. I was born to nurse but didn’t know it yet! I entered as an immature 18-year-old girl full of self doubt and the story follows along through the corridors of a busy general hospital as I face the challenges and learn the intricacies of nursing. Poignant, funny, sad, challenging, every raw emotion that could be felt. Three years later I graduated with skills that carried me throughout my busy life. The transformation from scared young woman to mature professional is detailed and hopefully engages readers. I am told that it is a “can’t put it down” book.

The story behind the story: I love storytelling and I love history. I believe we learn from the past and I wanted to capture the slice of time and professional training that took place over three years in training. I looked at Saint John and the hallmarks of my youth were gone. As I reflected on vast changes in my life, the streetscapes of my youth were obliterated, the Church I attended was decommissioned, the church where I married was torn down and the hospital I loved was imploded. I knew I did not want the story of the hospital and its training program to simply settle into the dustbin. And so, I wrote, at first just for fun, then finally with intent to capture the memories and bring them to life. Covid restrictions meant that time spent at home could be used productively writing my story.

As a student I walked the corridors to class and glanced at old framed photos of nurses from Victorian days. They were so prim and proper, yet no one knew who they were or why they had chosen nursing No one knew their story. This image is still in my mind and I know it inspired me to try to capture my story and that of my classmates. 

The memoir has a role in generating discussion about nursing education today. We are in a crisis in the health care system, where there are not enough nurses to fill the need, and where the profession no longer can retain staff because of a variety of reasons that must be addressed by government to resolve the crisis. This extends beyond nursing itself, into all the facets that supply a health care system. Shortages of doctors, and technicians, add impetus to the need to dialogue and find solutions before the breaking point is reached. Real change is needed and not band aid solutions. The evolution of the nursing education model currently in use came about when there was no crisis, simply change for change sake at the political level. Is the model relevant today? History records what worked in the past and points the way to analyzing what could work today along with reshaping nursing education to sustain the profession. Nurses deserve Sainthood, working under exhausting short- staffed conditions that are driving them away from the profession. The status quo is not able to sustain the needs and thus I hope that Nurse! A Memoir, can be a directional arrow to dialogue and analysis for renewal.

 

 

Website: https://www.ocpublishing.ca/francene-cosman.html

 

 

A question for you before you go, Francene:

What is the perfect setting for your writing?

I like a quiet atmosphere without distraction, and the earlier time of day, the better for me to write. I still prefer pen in hand and use coloured pens to write. I like a fresh notebook with spiral binding, one that can lay flat. No words go on the page until the inspiration button turns on in my head, as I cannot force creative juices to flow. The words must generate from somewhere. I keep a pen and paper handy because somewhere out of the blue, an inspired thought or full sentence will flow, and I can capture it and use it later. I love hunkering down in a good storm because it forces me to give up on other plans and just write. First drafts get inked out and using double spaces on the page helps that process. Eventually I use the dictate button on my computer and read the draft into it. But hand and pen and ink are the juice I need to be a writer. I am not neat, my office is a mess, but I can find what I am looking for, so there must be organization underneath it all.

 

 

 

This is an excerpt from a section in the book dealing with the case room delivery in the hospital.  It chronicles my experience with a delivery:

 

Often a mother would arrive on the verge of delivery and no doctor would be present. I did the best I could on these occasions, but I wanted to know more in case I had to be the one doing the delivery. On a momentous day for me, this is exactly what happened. As I was about to deliver the fetus without an intern or obstetrician, the doctor rushed ungloved through the door, and I looked at him expecting him to take over. “No, you're doing a great job.” He's confident. I'm not! I could see the crown of the head ready to birth. “Check for the cord around the baby's neck”, the doctor reminded me. I inserted my finger gently inside to make sure there was no evidence of the umbilical cord. “There's no cord, it's OK.” Then I supported the perineum so it would remain intact as the baby came out. I did as he instructed.  “Stop pushing now, just pant. I want the baby to come out slowly,” I instructed the mother. It seemed to take forever but only a minute went by as the mother panted and I managed to grab a sterile towel to wrap the baby shoulders as it slid out. A baby girl in my hands. I had no idea how slippery a newborn was in the first few seconds. God forbid that it should land on the floor. “I did it”! I delivered her baby, and it feels so amazing to do this I hope I get a chance again, it's glorious!

Thank you for being our guest thus week, Francene. I’m sure this will not be your last book and we wish you continued success.

 

A big thanks to our visitors and readers.

The Story Behind the Story with Author Natalie MacLean.

 

This week you will meet Author Natalie MacLean. She is sharing news of her new book,

 Wine Witch on Fire.

Natalie is an accomplished author and recipient of many awards. Please check out her website below.

Read on, my friends.

 

 

 

 

Natalie MacLean, named the World's Best Drinks Journalist, has also won four James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards. She’s the bestselling author of Red, White and Drunk All Over.

She hosts the NYT recommended podcast, Unreserved Wine Talk, and offers popular online wine and food pairing classes at www.nataliemaclean.com.

 

Working Title: Wine Witch on Fire: Rising from the Ashes of Divorce, Defamation, and Drinking Too Much.  A Memoir

 

Synopsis: Wine Witch on Fire: Rising from the Ashes of Divorce, Defamation, and Drinking Too Much is a powerful memoir about how one woman resurrects her life and career in the glamorous but sexist wine industry.

Natalie MacLean, a bestselling wine writer, is shocked when her husband of twenty years, a high-powered CEO, demands a divorce. Her year gets even worse when an online mob of rivals comes for her career.

Wavering between despair and determination, she must fight for her son, rebuild her career, and salvage her self-worth using her superpowers: heart, humour, and an uncanny ability to pair wine and food. 

Natalie questions her insider role in the slick marketing that encourages women to drink too much while she battles the wine world’s veiled misogyny. Facing the worst vintage of her life, she reconnects with the vineyards that once brought her joy, the friends who sustain her, and her own belief in second chances. 

This true coming-of-middle-age story is about transforming your life and finding love along the way.

 

The Story Behind the Story: This is a deeply personal, revealing memoir. Was it difficult to write with such openness and vulnerability?

I try to get everything on the page before I think of anyone else reading my work. I reassure myself that I’ll edit later. Otherwise, I’d never write a word. It would be like flooring the gas pedal while the brake is on. They’re two different mind states.

When I get to the editing phase, I do think about how people react, especially those mentioned in the memoir. That’s why I had friends and family read the book while it was still in development.

While I hope a broader audience will like the memoir, I know that’s out of my control. This is a very difficult statement for a control freak to make .

Fortunately, most of those who’ve contacted me about the book have been positive.

 

 **Do you feel more exposed for having written this memoir? You’re a wine professional in the public eye, and you write about your own issues with drinking too much. 

Yes, I do feel more exposed. I’ve written openly not only about the times when I drank too much in response to my divorce and online bullying, but also about my issues with hyper-competitiveness and perfectionism.

That’s why, for the first year I spent writing this book, I had no intention of publishing it. It was a private exercise in making sense of what happened that year.

I realized, though, that keeping this story to myself was a way of not connecting fully with others, like I had done with my mother, partner and son. My life had great curb appeal because I had kept all my imperfections hidden.

However, openness is the way to live a full, rich life. Vulnerability in this story opens a door and invites people inside my life to show them the cracks that they might recognize in their own lives.

Extending that openness to them is how I connect with readers, letting them into my story. In turn, they’ve let me into their lives with stories that have moved me deeply.

Putting my story — and my flaws — out in public is also a way of holding myself to higher standard of accountability. Now if I slip up, it’s no longer in private. But that’s actually reassuring as I have more people supporting me than when I was going it alone.

  

**Why did you change your mind about publishing the book? 

Many memoirists say they publish their stories so that others feel less alone. I believe them, but what does that mean? How do my words comfort someone when our situations can be so different?

As parents, we help our children to find the words they need to articulate their feelings. We ask them if they’re hungry, tired, sad, etc. Naming the emotion and talking about it gives them another way to deal with feelings beyond crying and tantrums.

As adults, many of us lose touch with our emotions or we haven’t developed the vocabulary for more complex feelings. Dr. Brené Brown says we can usually name just three — happy, sad, and ticked off — but there are actually more than 87 that she explores in her book Atlas of the Heart.

Just as a doctor must diagnose symptoms to treat a disease, I believe we need to identify our feelings so we can deal with them. Otherwise, they roam inside us like unnamed ghosts.

The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote that, “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” He believed if we can’t describe something, it doesn’t exist for us. I believe that, too.

The specifics of my story are different from others’ experiences, but the feelings are universal, as is the need for healing.

 

Website: www.WineWitchonFire.com

 

A question before you go, Natalie:

Can you tell us about the perfect setting you have, or desire, for your writing? Music or quiet? Coffee or tequila?  Neat or notes everywhere?

 

I write from my home office overlooking a wide-open field and beyond that, a river. It’s peaceful to rest my eyes on this pastoral landscape when I’m weary from the computer screen.

I prefer quiet, but if I have music on while writing, it’s slow jazz or classical with no lyrics. I have a large pot of decaffeinated green tea constantly steeping. Caffeine would have me climbing the ceiling Spiderwoman-style.

My desk is bare except for the large screen computer, keyboard and a mug of steaming green tea. Early mornings are when I get the best writing done before the froth of emails and phone calls washes me out to a sea of daily activity.

Get the free wine guide that suggests tips on organizing an informal wine tasting with friends and wines to pair with this book and other books at: www.WineWitchonFire.com/Guide

Indigo/Chapters just named it one of the "Most Anticipated Books of the Season" and it has hit #1 on Amazon.

"Funny, zesty, edgy, intense, a page turner." - Frances Mayes, #1 New York Times bestseller of Under the Tuscan Sun

 

 

Thank you for being our guest this week, Natalie. Wishing you continued success on your writing journey.

 

And a special thank you to all our Visitors and Readers. We do it all for you….