Telling Stories #MFRWAuthor #Blog Challenge #amwriting

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This week’s prompt in the #MFRWauthor 52-Week #Blog Challenge is Why I Write. That’s a good question and I don’t know that I have a good answer.

Mostly it’s because I’m a book junkie and have been since childhood. I fell in love with the written word and the power of story as a child and the magic never wanes. I love to read books and I love to tell stories. In my opinion, writers of popular fiction (romance, mystery, fantasy, etc.) are storytellers rather than writers. You can write a non-fiction book or article and provide useful, interesting, factual information, but when you write a piece of fiction, you are telling a story. And I love telling stories.

Wired For Story coverI’ve been slowly working my way through Lisa Cron’s book, Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence and taking the time to mark relevant passages and ponder what she said. The important takeaway is that scientists now know that the human brain is wired for story. It’s how we learn.

Besides finding that fact fascinating, I also find myself awed by the power of storytelling. In light of this revelation, I think it’s more important than ever for fiction writers to “get it right”. For instance, readers expect to learn a little history when they pick up a historical novel. I try to do my best to convey the period as accurately as possible, while not dwelling on the more unpleasant aspects of times past. Like the smelly horse dung in the street and the lack of sanitation, etc. You get the drift. But I also try to stay true to actual historical facts. It’s a balancing act, and the things that trip us up are the ones we didn’t think we had to look up.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Linda

As always, click on the linky list below to find out why other romance authors write.

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Happily Ever After #Romance #AuthorLove for @RuthACasie

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Please show some #AuthorLove for Ruth A. Casie and her new release.

happily ever after coverHappily Ever After
by Ruth A. Casie

Back Cover Copy:

From a fall from literary stardom to becoming the heroine in her own romance story, Beth Holmes has turned around her career and her love life. She owes it all to one very special person.

Jarred Watson has loved Beth since he read her first novel and suspected the heroine was the embodiment of the author. But the road to romance was fraught with pitfalls. He almost lost everything because of a conniving agent and a little white lie that got out of hand. At the eleventh hour, with honesty and hard work, their book sales are off the charts and a movie deal is in negotiations.

Interfering families and changed plans take their toll. Will they go their separate ways or will Holmes and Watson continue their literary collaboration and personal partnership in order to find their own happily ever after?

Excerpt:

“Interesting.” He chuckled. “Men are not known for their empathy.” He brought his chair closer to hers. “Like stress,” he said. “Under stress, men exhibit the “fight or flight” response.”

Beth nodded. She hadn’t considered the differences in gender reactions in that context. “Women don’t think fight or flight, at least not initially. Under stress they work to protect the group. It has to do with protecting the young and seeing to the family unit. They also think very differently about sex.”

A sly smile brightened his face. She wanted to slam her hand over her mouth.

“We do?” He dropped his voice to a low raspy whisper and sent chills, the good kind, up her back and to other places.

“For a woman, sex starts in their head, not necessarily between her legs.” Shit. Her face was so hot she was going to go up in flames. Jeez, that’s what her heroine Jo Dee would say, definitely not Beth Alexander.

“Oh really?” If she thought his soft, male mellow voice or his smoldering stare couldn’t get any sexier, she got that totally wrong.

“I’m a romance writer. I write about relationships and emotions,” she replied.

“And sex,” he added. Was he extending an invitation? She wasn’t a loose woman, but she was more than tempted to say yes. And that was her notion, not Jo Dee’s.

Purchase Links:

Amazon/Kindle: http://a.co/8DGxCzf
iBook: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/happily-ever-after/id1231892165?mt=11
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/happily-ever-after-69

Ruth’s Bio:

Ruth hear and nameRUTH A. CASIE is a USA Today bestselling author of historical swashbuckling action-adventure time-travel romance about strong women and the men who deserve them, endearing flaws and all. Ruth also writes contemporary romance with enough action to keep you turning pages. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, three empty bedrooms and a growing number of incomplete counted cross-stitch projects. Before she found her voice, she was a speech therapist (pun intended), client liaison for a corrugated manufacturer, and international bank product and marketing manager vice president, but her favorite job is the one she’s doing now—writing romance. She hopes her stories become your favorite adventures. For more information, please visit www.RuthACasie.com or visit her on Facebook, @RuthACasie, Twitter, @RuthACasie, or Pinterest RuthACasie

Where to show Ruth some #AuthorLove by following or sharing:

Personal Blog: http://www.ruthacasie.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RuthACasie
Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/RuthACasie/
Amazon: http://amzn.to/13GwuQ1
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ruth-a-casie

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