Take a Peek into My Work-in-Progress: Find Ivy

I realized recently that I never talk about my works-in-progress on my blog.

I want to change that!

Usually, I share details about my WIPs in my museletter (aka newsletter) and on other forms of social media (Instagram and Facebook). But now I want to start doing that here, too. It may be repeated content (if you follow me elsewhere), but I'll try to find something different to share here, too.

With that said, museletter subscribers will always get content first, like exclusive content months in advance or that I won't share elsewhere (until the book is published). For example: In the April issue, I provided an excerpt for when these characters meet. I will not be sharing that anywhere else. So, that's an incentive to sign up for my museletter. 😘 

For being one of my blog followers/visitors, I will give you this heads-up: my next museletter for June will be a look into The Line Between, my enemies-with-benefits paranormal erotic romance. Don't worry, though, the issue will be safe for all reader sensitivities.

Okay, now for Ivy and Ethan...

NOTE: If you're a subscriber to my museletter this may look familiar as I took it from the March issue, but access to Ivy's playlist and the excerpt are perks that only you have. 😍

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Meet Ivy:

Ivy is a curly-haired goddess. Okay, so not a real goddess, but to Ethan she's up there. She is a hair and makeup stylist. Oh, and a psychic, too. Ever since she was a child, she's had visions during her nightly dreams, and they always come true.

When her best friend is kidnapped, she starts to have nightmares about her best friend running through the woods, fleeing her kidnapper. Since local authorities have been unable to find her best friend, Ivy takes it upon herself to hunt down the culprit. She does that by turning herself into bait. It's a good thing then that when she straightens her hair and applies a bit of clever makeup contouring that she looks exactly like her bestie. Her goal is to rattle the kidnapper and make him come after her.

Meet Ethan:

My Romance Reading Journey

NOTE: If you saw this post last week, it’s because it posted too early. Oops.

Last year, members of the bookstagram community on Instagram created posts to share their romance reading journeys. I loved the posts and had fun checking out other readers’ romance journeys. I wanted to do one myself, but it looked like too much work for a social media post. So, I decided to save it for a blog post. This is that blog post.

Are you ready to go on my romance reading journey from past to present?

Let’s go!

First adult romance - Once In A Lifetime by Danielle Steel. Read at age 15. It was my mom’s book that I’d always seen and was curious about. I loved it and wanted to name my first born Daphne after the MC.

My old copy of Once In A Lifetime by Danielle Steel

Photo by Chrys Fey

Soon followed by - Sam’s Letters To Jennifer by James Patterson

Sam’s Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson

Photo by Chrys Fey

First Paranormal romance book/series - Charmed series by Constance M. Burge. Specific books: Kiss of Darkness, Crimson Spell. Now, these aren’t heavy on the romance, but the little bit of romance in them made an impact on me. This was where I’d first come across the phrases “cupped her face” and “framed her face.” I use both in my writing.

First YA romances - Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Series by Ann Brashares

Photos by Chrys Fey

Then: All-American Girl by Meg Cabot and Teen Idol by Meg Cabot

Another memorable YA romance from the same time period - If I Have A Wicked Step-Mother, Where’s My Prince? by Melissa Kantor

Second adult romance book - The Ring by Danielle Steel 

First Historical Romance - Calder Born by Janet Dailey

First Nora Roberts book - Midnight Bayou

Then I devoured nearly every Nora Roberts and several J.D. Robb books (funny thing is I started with Rapture in Death, which is Book 4) from 2007-2011.

My Farewell + Don't Shame Readers for What They Read (or Writers for What They Write)

 

MY FAREWELL TO THE BOOK CLUB:

(Sent to book club members on 7/26/2021)

Readers and Writers,

Chrys Fey here. The IWSG administrators contacted me recently to inform me about a new direction they’ve decided to take the book club. They also decided to replace me. Toi will be taking over as the new book club lead. Although, she’s not really new. She’s been with us since 2017 as a book club moderator!

I don’t have many details about the new direction, but from what I understand, the book club will be spotlighting IWSG members’ books from now on. Toi will share more about the new direction soon.

Fortunately, our upcoming discussion day on August 25th for They Called Us Enemy and Writing Magic will still be taking place. Toi will be posting for that discussion day. Please join us!

I’d like to take a moment to reflect and express my gratitude.

I created this book club in 2017 for writers to read/learn about the writing craft. I am sad to have to say goodbye after all these years. Many of you have personally messaged me to say how much the book club has helped you and what it has meant to you. Your words have meant a great deal to me. I also know many of you have read the books over the years but chose not to participate in the discussions (which were always optional), preferring to stay on the sidelines, instead. I saw you, and I thank you for being a member on your terms. 

The book club’s upcoming changes will be different, but I know Toi and the moderators, Ronel and Juneta, will do great. I am incredibly grateful to them for being such a wonderful team. I didn’t make changes without their input and asked for all their ideas. Their enthusiasm for the book club boosted me, and their assistance helped me to maintain my stamina in running this book club.

Thank you for everything, Toi, Ronel, and Juneta!

And thank you, all four hundred and fifty-seven of you, for being a member of this book club!

Happy Reading (and writing),

Chrys

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

The IWSG book club selections for Sept/Oct/Nov would've been The Heroine's Journey: For Writers, Readers, and Fans of Pop Culture by Gail Carriger and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (as a good example of voice). I was really looking forward to reading and discussing these two books, so I am still going to read them for myself. If either of these books sound good to you, I encourage you to read them for yourself, too. I will talk about them on my blog later this year. 

Happy Reading!

X - XOXO - Romantic Teaser

Most of my posts in this blog series contained exciting excerpts. And no wonder…we’re talking about disasters and crimes, but these books are romantic-suspense. So, for the readers who enjoy the romance, this post is just for you.

Here is a special romantic teaser from SEISMIC CRIMES:

He stepped into the shower and stood a breath away from her body. “I wanted to thank you.” She swallowed. The bar of soap forgotten between her hands. “You already did. Outside the police department.”

His eyes bore into her. “Not like this.” He dipped his head and took her lips. His touch electrified her, creating a whirlpool in the pit of her stomach. She parted her lips for him, and he immediately filled the space to explore her mouth.

The first time they kissed, Beth had tasted the danger inside Donovan. It was toxic and delicious. She was able to shackle her desires then, but he persuaded her to unleash them. She sank into his passion, faster than quicksand. She had almost regretted the act and thought it had poisoned her judgment, putting her in greater risk. Now that she knew he was good, and after what they had been through together, she could no longer deny her clawing needs.

Donovan eased back. She looked at him, hungry and aching. He took the bar of soap from her and slicked his hands with suds. With a soft touch, he ran his hands over the healing gash on her chest. The contact both stung and aroused her. She closed her eyes as his hands left a sheet of bubbles up her neck, down her arms, and across her abdomen.

***

*Screeeech* Sorry to put the brakes on this steamy (and I mean that) scene. If you want more, you’ll have to get Seismic Crimes. *wink* 

To read more:

Digital:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / KOBO / The Wild Rose Press

Print:
Amazon / The Wild Rose Press

QUESTION: Do you enjoy romance in books?

Prompt: If I were a Mobster…

When? October 21st, 2016 

Where? On your blog!

For more info: If I were a Mobster Blogfest Sign Up

Sign Up Linky List:

HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY!

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K - Kissing Scenes

NOTE: My newsletter came out yesterday. I've noticed people with Hotmail emails are not receiving them. If you've signed up for my newsletter and have Hotmail, add my NEW newsletter email to your address book and check your spam. Chrys(at)ChrysFey(dot)com Yesterday, my Yahoo email was used by mistake, but bounces still happen with my new one.

There are quite a few kissing scenes in the Disaster Crimes Series, so for all of my romance readers out there I am sharing one of my favorite kissing scenes from Hurricane Crimes and Seismic Crimes!

Hurricane Crimes Excerpt:

“You’re amazing. I doubt any other woman could do what you did today.” She didn’t see his hand move because she was staring into his eyes, but she did feel his fingers slip up her neck to her jaw. “How could any man want to touch any woman’s skin but yours?” Her heart tripped as his thumb cruised over her jaw line and his fingers cupped her chin. “Why would any man not want to kiss your sweet lips?” He dipped his head and she stopped breathing. His mouth brushed over hers lightly, as if he were testing her. The soft contact electrified her lips and they quivered apart to admit him.

His hand framed the side of her face and his mouth molded around hers. She could taste the sweetness of the baby carrots on his lips and something else, something dangerous. Her brain was telling her to pull back, to stop him. You could be kissing a murderer, your potential murderer! But what he was doing felt too good. Her lips were melting into his, and he was drinking them like water. She sank into the kiss and let it take her away on its wings. Her right hand lifted and she combed her fingers through his rain-softened hair. A reluctant moan of surrender slithered up her throat as her mouth opened and her tongue slipped silkily against his. In the deepest recesses of his mouth, she tasted his distinct flavor and it was addicting. She couldn’t get enough of it. She was getting drunk. But like any alcoholic, she didn’t want to stop drinking.

To read more from Hurricane Crimes go to Amazon.

99 CENTS SALE!

Seismic Crimes Excerpt:

She lifted the spoon from the bowl and fed him ice cream, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. The ice cream melted on his tongue. “Mm. That’s good.”

“It gets better,” she promised and smeared melted ice cream onto his lips with the back of the spoon. She kissed him hungrily. When she finished sucking away the coldness from his lips, she set the bowl aside, framed his face with her hands, and gazed into his eyes. “I love how protective you are of me,” she admitted. Heat radiated off her body and slammed into him like a solar flare. “It turns me on.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

She drizzled ice cream and chocolate syrup onto his shoulder. As it slithered down his skin, it felt like cold fire that made him burn from the inside. His breathing quickened, his heart rate rose. When the tip of Beth’s tongue touched his heated skin, he sucked in a breath between his teeth.

*SCREEEEECH* All right, so I have to stop it there. 

QUESTIONS: What do you think of these kissing scenes? 
Do you like romance?

To read more from Seismic Crimes, go to Amazon.

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Writing About: Valentine's Day + The Muse Party Blogfest

Valentine’s Day is always a sweet holiday for a romance, but it could also be a sinister holiday for a mystery/thriller. Here are a few things for you to consider for your fictional Valentine’s Day:

1. Couples

Couples love Valentine’s Day. Unless, of course, they are going through a divorce or aren’t happy in their relationship. This is the day for couples to profess their love for one another and spoil each other rotten with chocolate/treats, flowers, dinner, cards, and other gifts. For a romance, you can share the sweet and steamy details of your characters Valentine’s Day. Get your readers to feel all warm and fuzzy or hot and bothered.

But not all Valentine’s Days are good, though. An evil spouse could try to commit murder or maybe someone is unfaithful and has an affair on Valentine’s Day. You can get their route and create any storyline with V-Day.

2. Single People

Single people tend to hate Valentine’s Day. We roll our eyes at all the mushy posts on Facebook and even try to hide until the day is over. We grumble, grit our teeth, and cringe. Write a romance story with a single character who hates everything V-Day and maybe bumps into someone who could be a future love interest. Or…for a mystery/thriller, a single could go around killing couples on Valentine’s Day. Now wouldn’t that make a good detective thriller?

Valentine’s Day traditions:

-       In the Philippines, they have mass wedding celebrations on Valentine’s Day. In 2013, 4,000 couples were married together.

-       In Guatemala they wear feathered masks and Mayan-inspired clothing to celebrations.

-       In South Africa they pin the name of their sweetheart on their sleeve all day.

-       In Estonia, Valentine’s day is known as “Friends Day” so single people can be included in on the festivities. Family and friends exchange gifts to show their love for each other.

-       In Denmark, they exchange “lover cards.”

-       Back in the day, in France, women would burn images of the men who wronged them in a bon fire. This is no longer practiced because this as well as the insults they’d shout at the opposite sex became too...crazy. Well, I’m sure some still do this in private. haha

QUESTIONS: Do you like V-Day? Have you written about Valentine’s Day?

Here are the questions:

1. Who did you bring to the party? Is he/she your Valentine or anti-Valentine?

I brought my muse, Ena. She is both my Valentine and anti-Valentine. Why? Because she loves Valentine’s Day but I hate it, so we both play the part to satisfy each other.

2. Which one of you is the more romantic person?

Ena. I feel awkward just hugging people. Even my loved ones. But Ena gushes romance. If she were to bleed, her blood would be glittery and swirling with red, pink, and purple. She is THE romantic.

3. What gift are you giving to your (anti) Valentine?

I’m giving Ena a day off from musing. And she’s promised me a great day of writing tomorrow. Yippee!

4. Are you guys wearing red or pink (or black...)?

I’m wearing a black T-shirt because it’s what I prefer, and skinny jeans. But don’t worry! I have on some pretty jewelry and red lipstick. I’m not a pink person, but Ena is a full-time girly-girl. When you have lavender hair and transparent wings, it’s hard not to be. She’s wearing a sparkling pink dress, reminiscent of the blue dress Ariel wore when she come out of the water and ran to her prince at the end of The Little Mermaid.

5. Did you bring any Valentine's Day treats?

Sure did! I brought chocolate cheesecake and Ena brought pink Rice Crispie treats...cut into hearts. See what I mean? She’s a hopeless romantic, which is good since I write romance.

6. Name a song for our Love Playlist or Anti-Love Playlist (or both)!

For the Anti-Love Playlist I have to go with Tears Don’t Fall by Bullet for My Valentine.

Ena chose the song for the Love Playlist...Take My Breath Away by Berlin. *groan*

7. Got a great anti/Valentine party game?

Ena suggests the game where you pass an apple with only your neck. I veto that game. How about we throw darts at pictures of the people who broke our hearts?

8. Feeling the love or just feeling nauseous? How will you have fun at the party?

Ena will be fluttering around, flirting with the cute, eligible guys and dancing from person to person to shower them with Valentine affection. Me? I’ll be a wallflower; smiling nervously at everyone and nibbling on one of Ena’s Rice Crispie treats.

9. Has your muse been a good Valentine?

My muse had been a great Valentine. She pulled me out of my corner and got me to dance the Macarana with her. And she seems to have made friends with everyone. Even Jordan.

*Jordan's Bonus Question: Did you bring me & Sarah a musiversary gift?

Duh! I brought a good basket for of things writers need: chocolate, pens, notebooks, flash drives, candles, coffee, and much more.

Ena brought a bottle of writing fairy dust. She says to sprinkle just a tiny bit on your keyboard to get the words flowing. Not more than a pinch, though, because it’s very potent. If you use more than recommended...well, she says it’s not a pretty sight.

Writing About: A Honeymoon

In a romance where you follow the relationship between your hero and heroine, and chronicle their wedding, you should detail their honeymoon as well. At least for a short chapter.

See: Writing About: A Wedding

Here are 3 main points to consider if your characters go on a honeymoon.

1. Where does your couple go?

Have they discussed a dream vacation? If so, send them there. If not, where could you picture them going? A sun and beach loving couple could go to the Bahamas. An adventurous couple could go to Colorado. And a romantic, food loving couple can go to Italy. Where are your characters telling you they’d like to celebrate their love?

2. Romance x10

Now is the time to break out all the romantic quips you’ve been locking away. Let your characters ooze romance. Describe their tender kisses, warm caresses, and love making. But make it more than sex. Make this intimacy strengthen their bond and deepen their relationship.

See: Writing About: Intimacy

See: Kissing Scenes

See: How to Write Romance

3. Let them have fun!

Aside from fun in bed…your characters should get out and about. Send them on an adventure or to sight-see. This should be a light moment for your characters and readers before it’s time to get back to reality and to shake things up with the plot line waiting for them.

BOOK TIDBIT: In the 3^rd book of my Disaster Crimes series, a disaster strikes during Beth’s and Donovan’s honeymoon. Any predictions?

QUESTIONS: Have any of your characters gone on a honeymoon?
If you’ve been on a honeymoon, where did you go?
If you haven't where would you want to go?

End of Lonely Street by Alicia Dean / Book Blast

I am happy to introduce the first author guest on Write with Fey for 2015...Alicia Dean! She’s sharing the blurb and excerpt for her new book, End of Lonely Street.

Title: End of Lonely Street

Author: Alicia Dean

Genre: Vintage Historical Romance

Page Count: 61

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Release Date: January 8th 2014

Blurb:

Can she let go of the past, before it destroys her future?

All Toby Lawson wanted was to go to college to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher and to be free of her alcoholic mother and the painful memories of finding her and the guy Toby loved kissing. But when her mother nearly burns the house down, Toby must put her dreams on hold and return home to care for her. The only time she isn’t lonely and miserable is when she’s listening to her heartthrob, Elvis Presley. His music takes her away, helps her escape from everything wrong in her life.

Noah Rivers has always loved Toby, but no matter what he says, and even though she knows her mother initiated the kiss, and that he didn’t kiss her back, she can‘t seem to get past what happened. He soon realizes that the true problem lies in Toby’s belief that she’s not good enough for him and in her fear that she will be just like her mother.

What will it take to prove to her that she deserves to be happy, and that he would give anything to be the man to make her dreams come true?

Book Buy Links:

Amazon

Excerpt:

After work that night, Toby wasn’t ready to go home, so she sat in her car in the parking lot of Winstead’s, listening to the radio. “Love Me” by Elvis came on, and she cranked the volume.

Nothing else calmed her and lightened her heart like listening to him. She could escape into his music and all the bad just…faded away. When Elvis sang, there was no drunken mother, no failed dreams, no dying Miss Murdock. Toby didn’t only listen to his music, she felt it. It seemed to vibrate through her blood.

Although she was embarrassed to admit it, sometimes listening to him, watching him on television, made her all squirmy and hot—just like Noah made her feel. Especially that one night, when they had almost gone all the way.

Toby had been a senior in high school, and he’d graduated the year before. He picked her up and they drove out to the bluff, known as Make Out Row, overlooking downtown Mapleton.

The town was shrouded in darkness, but scattered lights shone, as though a starry sky were laid out below them. There were other cars around, but closed up in their cocoon, it was as though they were the only two people on Earth. Noah had kissed her, deep and long, whispering love words, telling her she was special, beautiful. She’d fallen in love with him at that very moment—wanted to be with him forever. He’d been the one to halt their make out session. She would have willingly gone all the way that night. She was helplessly under his spell…the feel of his lips on hers, his hand covering her breast through her thin blouse…

A tapping sound on the window made her jump. She looked through the glass to find Noah standing outside the car. Was he real, or just part of the fantasy world she’d drifted to? When another tap came, she blinked away the memories. He was definitely real.

Author Bio:

Alicia Dean lives in Edmond, Oklahoma. She has three grown children and a huge network of supportive friends and family. She writes mostly contemporary suspense and paranormal, but has also written in other genres, including a few vintage historicals.

She is a freelance editor in addition to being an editor for The Wild Rose Press.

Other than reading and writing, her passions are Elvis Presley, MLB, NFL (she usually works in a mention of one or all three into her stories) and watching her favorite televisions shows like Vampire Diaries, Justified, Sons of Anarchy, Haven, The Mindy Project, and Dexter (even though it has sadly ended, she will forever be a fan). Some of her favorite authors are Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Lee Child, Lisa Gardner, Sharon Sala, Jordan Dane, Ridley Pearson, Joseph Finder, and Jonathan Kellerman…to name a few.

Author Links:

Website / Blog / Facebook

Twitter / Pinterest / Goodreads

Thank you for sharing your new book with us, Alicia Dean! I’m thrilled to have you on my blog! :)

QUESTION: How did you like the excerpt for End of Lonely Street?

Author Interview with Veronica Lynch

Please welcome Veronica Lynch (aka Kathy Cottrell) to Write with Fey as she tells us about her new release, Caper Magic, an intriguing short story with a stunning cover.

Veronica, tell us about your current release.

Caper Magic is part of Hauntings in the Garden series out of the Wild Rose Press, due for digital release on October 27^th, with a print date TBA. It is about Nick Forrester, chief investigator for a high-powered law firm on the trail of a woman who has taken her minor children in violation of a court order. It is feared she will flee to Canada with them. Annunciata Doyle runs one of the local stations on the Underground Railroad, helping women and children who have nowhere else to turn. 

Genre: Romance

Length: 48 pages

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Release Date: October 27th, 2014

PRE-ORDER:

Amazon

BUY LINK:

The Wild Rose Press

1.    Is this book part of a series?

Actually, this will be the first in a series set in the fictional town of Cape Brendan, a medium size tourist area on the eastern most edge of Lake Ontario where it bleeds into the Saint Lawrence River in northern New York State.

2.    I love a good series! Why did you choose this setting for Caper Magic?

For the past several years the hubs and I had vacationed in the Saint Lawrence area, picking a different spot  each year. Two criteria governed the choice [not counting cost]: good fishing for him, peace and quiet for me. I discovered Cape Vincent, a lovely small town known for its historic connections to the French and Indian War and later, the War of 1812. It was instant infatuation. From the first I knew I'd have to set at least one book in this area.

3.    Did you do special research for Caper Magic?

Cape Vincent [in the book it's known as Cape Brendan] has a ferry which runs several times a day back and forth to Canada. I chose this as the mechanism to transport the woman and her kids to safety. To do that, I researched how to disappear as well as interviewing the Immigration officials who run the ferry service. They gave me some great advice.

4.  Research is always important. How did you come up with the names for your hero and heroine?

     I knew the heroine had to be Irish, with a thick brogue, with a history of being raised in one of the Magdelene laundries. The name Annunciata Doyle came easy because I wanted to call her Nunie. Nick Forrester arrived out of the blue and stuck with me. It wasn't until later, after I put the names together—Nick and Nunie—that I cringed. Right out of a Frankie and Annette movie, but it was too late.

5.  Nick and Nunie...that's cute! Which actors would play your hero and heroine in a movie?

     Anthony Denison [The Closer and Major Crimes] and Minnie Driver [About a Boy and The Riches].

6.     I love Minnie Driver! How old were you when you read your first romance book?

It was 1983 so I would have been in my middle 30's. Working the night shift in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit put me at two ends of the emotional spectrum: scared spitless a patient might crash versus fighting desperately to stay awake. One night I discovered a grocery bag filled with used Harlequin-Silhouettes bearing a sign “free for the taking” and picked one by Billie Douglas. I never forgot it. In fact, I still have it on a shelf in my office. 

7.     If you could give your book to anyone in the world to read (dead or alive) who would it be and why?

My father. Because he'd get a kick out of Nunie's voice and for the pen name I chose. Veronica Lynch was a lifelong friend of him and his siblings. All of them spoke of her with great respect and affection.

8.  I love that you revealed how you got your pen name! Have you ever experienced something unusual that influenced a story?

     Part of my job as director of a victim advocacy agency included supervising interns who were criminal justice majors. One of the perks was free tuition for one course each semester. Over the years the interns raved about a course titled Terrorism and Hostage Taking. Part of the course involved being taken hostage by officers from the county sheriff's hostage negotiation team. It changed my life.

9.  That sounds fascinating...and scary! What lessons did you learn early on in your writing career?

     To listen to my gut, then my heart.

AUTHOR BIO:

Writing under the names Kat Henry Doran and Veronica Lynch, author Kathy Cottrell uses her experience as a nurse, victim advocate and insurance investigator for background in her award winning novels and novellas. Her stories are set in her favorite places to visit: the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains as well as the Saint Lawrence River in the historic Thousand Islands region of Upstate and Northern New York State.

When not writing, or chasing grandchildren, Kathy spends her time designing and making tote bags and aprons to custom order.

I love to hear from readers who can reach me at: WildWomenAuthors@yahoo.com.

Blogs:

www.WildWomenAuthorsx2.blogspot.com

www.ApronsWithAttitude2.blogspot.com

Thank you so much for being my guest, Veronica (Kathy), and for sharing such interesting tid bits about yourself and your book!

Please leave a comment for Veronica! :)