ROMANCE IN OKLAHOMA! - Tina Radcliffe

Recently a writer friend, Nancy Connally, shared two books with me that she thought I would enjoy.

Thank you Nancy, you were right! I did enjoy.

The books are, OKLAHOMA REUNION and THE RANCHER'S REUNION by Tina Radcliffe.

Being a native Okie, I especially enjoyed reading OKLAHOMA REUNION. It takes place in Okie land. The characters move about in places I'm familiar with, the Tulsa State Fair for example.

Oklahomans and Texans like their state fairs. I'm smiling thinking about the fun times.

Do you enjoy reading romance with a good story plot? Characters you can root for? An ending to make you sigh? And when you've finished the book, you want to pass it on to someone else to enjoy?  Well, feel free to pass these two books on to daughters and friends.  A fun, satisfying read from start to finish.

If this is your kind of reading,  then Tina is an author you'll want to add to your list of good reads.

You can always find Tina over at http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/,  a very active member she is too!

 Tina has a new book coming out late August. The title is intriguing, ROSETTI CURSE. I'm wondering, is it a mystery romance, hmmm?

And...  Woman's World is publishing her short romance in the August 22 issue. Watch for it!

ANNE BARTON ASKED, ARE...

 GOOD WRITERS BORN OR MADE?

Guest blogger Anne Barton, asked the readers on Seekerville to express their opinions about whether good writers are born, or made.  Nurture and environment being the key.  Hmm.

An exciting exchange started up immediately.  Since I'd never given the subject much thought, it was fun to read the comments of other writers; to see what each one attributed to a persons ability or desire to write stories for people who love to read.

Being opinionated me, I decided to expound on that thought.  My belief is that writing can be taught, if the person wanting to learn how to write will accept some facts.

The basic laws or rules of grammar are all we really need to write well.  And I say, "whew, thank goodness" for that.  If someone told me today I had to diagram a sentence or be beat with a two-by-four, I'd take the beating.  It's helpful to have a creative imagination.  But That too, can be learned.  Awareness of things around you can spark your imagination.  Give yourself the time and leisure of what I call "play thinking." As a photographer for many years, it was  during "play thinking" that I came up with new poses.

Play thinking is a time of relaxing and letting the mind examine detail, to recall things you've seen and done or seen someone else do, and you ask what if...? And, hey this is fiction, the sky's the limit! Play thinking time is guilt free. No excuses!

Another fact is that any learned craft deserves the time required to learn it. I don't want a doctor with only six months training doing my operation. You learn a little, it's exciting!  You learn more stuff, you start getting pumped, this is fun!  Right about then you learn something else, and that's how much more you still  have to learn.  Don't get discouraged, if you can learn a little, you can learn a lot.  A little, a lot, it's all from the same brain.  And one day you've mastered it—well, you could.

Another fact; wanting to be a writer, and being a writer is two different things.
Wanting to be a writer is easy.  All you do is talk about when you get the time someday, sit at your computer and play on Facebook two hours, and write thirty minutes, repeat this step all day.

Being a writer means making the time to write,  and seeking help from those who have 'been there done that.' Be patient, take the time that's required. Take criticism and grow.  If everyone ( usually friends and family ) loves your first attempts... they're not being truthful to you–they love you!  Sorry. There's a crude saying popular with writers, BIC which is 'behind in chair.' It's a known fact, people can't read a story that's still in your head.

I can't recommend highly enough  the writers at Seekerville. http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/
Each day of the week a different writer is invited to guest post.  I've yet to see a post that I didn't learn something to move me forward in my writing goal, which is of course... holding my novel in my hand and wiping the drool off the cover.

SHARING MY WINNINGS

WINNING IS SUCH FUN... I've said that so many times, but only because it's true! It doesn't even really matter what you win, it's the "winning' that's so fun! I won! I won!

But winning something you really wanted in the first place, wow! Like a book. If you're a bookworm it doesn't get anymore fun than that!

Let me warm up my coffee, and I'll be right back to tell you all about my recent win.

Okay, I'm back...

Well—I go on Seekerville pretty much every morning. The Seekers are a group of writers that write some of the very best, clean romance novels for those of us that like to read heartfelt, warm, emotional and inspiring stories. 

No worries about having a pen handy to scratch out words I don't like, or use myself. As a struggling writer, I learn from the guest authors that the Seekers invite to share tips, and advice, from their own hard won knowledge about the craft of writing.

Many of the guest authors give away a book to one of the lucky commenters who take the time to say, 'Thanks" for the words of wisdom they share with us 'seeklings". (The name I gave to those of us who follow the Seekers.)

One of those generous authors was Erica Vetsch. I'd never read any of Erica's books, but I really enjoyed her guest blog one morning about 5:30 am. I never expected to win a book, but I wanted her to know how much I enjoyed her article. So I commented.

And then I won a copy of SAGEBRUSH KNIGHTS—You'd think I'd won the Lottery! And in a way, I had.

I'm now an official Erica Vetsch fan—for life! I've read tons of books, and I can say with a true heart, that I've never enjoyed a book anymore than I enjoyed SAGEBRUSH KNIGHTS. 

Erica had it all going—I stayed up all night to finish, and hoped the end was as good as the story promised—it was!

Story, plot, wonderful characters, family values, tender romance, hardships to overcome, while keeping a christian attitude—it was all there, and she tied it up with a 'perfect ending' big red bow!

I've already got my sister reading it! :-D

Looking forward to more of Erica's books... I'm going to treat myself to a couple of new books on my KindleFire.  Till next time, happy reading. :-)

    

FAT CAT & BLACKIE ( aka BIG & RICH )

My sister, Ruth, and I are having a garden party in 'our' back yard in a couple of days. Our yards run together like one big yard. All our daylight hours for the past two weeks have been spent working to get the yard up to par. The weather doesn't care about our party, and is not cooperating with us.

Neither is Fat Cat. When we humans are in the yard, it should be for one reason. Head scratching or feeding. Fat Cat has an attitude to start with, and it's not pretty. So when he's ignored it gets worse. He has a buddy, Blackie. Now Blackie is much nicer than Fat Cat. That's really not their names, their real names are Big and Rich.
But when people come to the house they all say, "My what a fat cat" so we started calling him Fat Cat.
I don't remember how Rich became Blackie? Duh.:-)
Fat Cat plops down right where you're working, even grabs at the hoe—A real nuisance!

He doesn't mind being called Fat Cat, he looks at me like, "yeah and don't you forget, I'm big and mean, I am." I shake my head. When I bought my home, Big and Rich already lived here and the owner hated to move them to the city where he was going. He asked me if I'd keep them, I said sure, no problem. I'd never owned cats before. I never questioned why two cats were named 'Big and Rich'. With Big it was obvious, and Rich looked like he was wearing a tux, you know, all dressed up—rich like?

Several weeks after I'd moved in and was telling my friend, Katy Measures, ( animal lover ) about my new cats, she asked their names. When I told her, she laughed and thought that was funny. I was puzzled until she explained there's a country music group called Big and Rich. That must be where Big and Rich got their names.

So anyway, I wanted you to meet Big and Rich ( aka Fat cat and Blackie ). They're in my new novel.

In the novel, one of the characters is a young girl named Brooke Montgomery ( eight years old ). She's wild about animals, especially cats. I've decided to give Big and Rich to her. She'll love them and I bet she can turn  Fat—I mean, Big into a sweet loving guy. Not that he's not already loving, he just likes having his own way—all the time!

Brooke is an only child. I believe the responsibility of caring for two cats ( or being cared for by two cats ) will be good for her. Brook is a smart, strong willed little girl and she likes to have her own way too. Watch out Fat Cat! Her father, Jackson Montgomery, ( antagonist in the story) is probably way too lenient. Just my opinion, and I admit he has his reasons.

Back to the yard. I decided to take pictures, proof of the trouble Fat Cat causes and how difficult it is to finish the job when he's around. Blackie was a good boy, taking his nap.

I'll ask Brooke to keep us posted on how Big and Rich are settling in—oh, and by-the-way, Big and Rich are brothers.