IWSG - It's October!

It's time for IWSG as we head into the last few months of 2017.  I can't believe it's already October.  Wow!

Before I begin, if you don't know, Alex J. Cavanaugh is the architect of this amazing writer group--which is seriously one of the best writer-support groups out there.  If you get a chance, please visit him as well as this month's co-hosts Olga Godim, Chemist Ken,Jennifer Hawes, and Tamara Narayan!


October's ISWG question is:  Have you ever slipped any of your personal information into your characters, either by accident or on purpose?

I guess it depends on the novel you're writing.  I have a few times sometimes when a character has a snarky reply or mutters something under their breath.  For sure, I've done that.  Hasn't everyone given a piece or chunk of themselves when writing?

Hurricane update:  Last month I mentioned briefly that we had to deal with Hurricane Irma which wasn't fun at all.  We lost a few trees, a fence line and were without power and internet cell phone coverage for about a week.  Not good, but hardly bad at all when you consider the devastation of Houston and Puerto Rico.  It could have been much worse so I'm thankful it wasn't.

October & Halloween, baby! 

This month is all about Halloween is one of my favorite holidays!  Has anyone started decorating?  I'm still dealing with hurricane debris so I haven't got to decorating the inside of the house yet, but I did buy a pumpkin and made pumpkin bread.  Last year I posted Pumpkin Carvings Inspired by Books so if you're looking for inspiration to carve this year's pumpkin that's a great place to start.

Anyway...who's excited?  Any plans? Anything cool you're writing?  Participating in any blog hops? I'm participating in the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop.  Sign up at Bookhounds if you're interested in participating. 

The annual IWSG Anthology Contest!

Reminder!  The anthology contest is coming up.  The deadline is November 1st! The genre is Mystery/Crime/Thriller and the theme is "Tick Tock."  Check out this post for more details. 

#Pray for Las Vegas

Finally, words cannot express the deepest sympathies that I have for those innocent victims and their families who were affected by the horrific Las Vegas attack.  May God give them strength to deal with their loss and may God please help us unite together and support one another.

Source

What about you? How have you been?  What type (if any) of personal information have you let slip into your writing?

Mina B.

Book Review: Lynsay Sands's Bitten by Cupid

I have several blog topics that I want to get posted before one of the biggest Hallmark days of the year approaches, (yuck) Valentine’s Day. Don’t get me wrong… I adore romance it’s just that, why should a gal have to wait once a year to get wooed and dined! I mean…once a year? Come on…. Well, if that’s the case for some women then…thank god for the 14th of February.

For those ravenous readers, like me, I wanted to leave you with my review of one of Lindsay Sand’s latest anthology books, Bitten by Cupid. Her story starts the three part series along with two other authors, Pamela Palmer and Jaime Rush. Lynsay Sands is one of my favorite authors. I stumbled upon A Quick Bite; her first book in her best selling series about the Argeneaus’, a close-nit vampire family that prefer to be called a more civilized term of immortals. There are a total of twelve released books in the series, thirteen if you count this anthology. Naturally, some are better than others. But never fear, I plan on reviewing all twelve so that you too can be inspired and feel the need…to read!

Vampire Valentine – By Lynsay Sands

Lynsay first introduced one of my favorite characters, Tiny McGraw, in Book 6 of the series, A Bite to Remember. He’s mortal and a private investigator whose hired by the Argeneau family and soon is metaphorically adopted into the family by the Argeneau matriarch, Marguerite. Tiny is anything but small. He is a tall, larger than life man with a rough exterior but a softy on the inside. Marguerite, who is famous for matchmaking in the family, finding her children and extended family life mates, sets her sight on finding Tiny a life mate, thus binding him to the Argeneau clan forever. In this anthology, she succeeds in introducing Tiny to Mirabeau La Roche. The two meet and are smitten. Despite their alarming attraction and Mirabeau’s inability to read Tiny’s mind (a tale tale life mate indicator), Mirabeau is still terrified of commitment. I liked the story but was somewhat disappointed that it wasn’t blow out into a full novel. I so love Tiny McGraw and couldn’t help but feel he got the shaft with this story. I truly feel bad about saying that but can honestly say, that’s this is the only negative thing I have to say about Lynsay Sands novels. I love almost everything she’s written…I swear. Even though this story wasn’t my favorite, I still found it griping and exciting to read. As a killer fan and admirer of all her works, both paranormal and historical, I’m in it for the long haul. Go Lynsay!

Hearts Untamed – by Pamela Palmer

At first, I have to admit, I had a hard time reading this one. The story by Pamela Palmer was a bit challenging for me to get into. And so…I tabled it…only for a few weeks though and just last night finished reading it. Boy, am I glad I did. In a mystic world of immortals, Julianne, a Therian immortal, is haunted by Melisande, an Ilinas and a Therian clan enemy. At 30 years of age, Julianne is young for a immortal and upon meeting Melisande, she learns she is half Ilina and ordered to find the precious moon stone necklace and deliver it to the Iliana Queen.

Another person haunts her as well, her one and only true love, Zeeland. When she was young, her parents died and the Therian clan, along with Zeeland took care of her and raised her. Over time, she grew to love and admire Zeeland, the man of her dreams. Upon her 20th birthday, she professed her love to Zeeland, who balked and left town. It had been 10 years since she seen him, the love of her life, a man that she never forgot.

Kiss & Kill Cupid - by Jaime Rush

This paranormal story was more of a mystery. It was captivating from the beginning all the way through until the end. A real “who done it” and I loved it. Kristy, a freelance writer and unofficial mind reader meets her new potential boss, Adrian. While at her meeting, Kristy overhears a random, unknown thought from the Kiss and Kill Cupid serial killer. He’s chosen Kristy as his next victim and with little time left, she’s on a mission to capture the murderer before her life expires. The scene is set at a coffee shop where there are many unusual suspects, including her new boss, Adrian, a man she’s beginning to fall for. With her new love interest, his partner, the cops, the reporter and other character’s anyone could be the culprit. But for Kristy, her only hope is to trust the right people in order to survive.

Enough said….now go read!!!

Mina B.**