by Susan Sleeman In my December 8th post where I defined romantic suspense, I promised to share my top tips on how to plan a romantic suspense novel. But first, a quick recap on what makes a novel and romantic suspense novel. Romantic suspense is just what the title says. Romance and suspense in one novel. • BOTH storylines have …
Finding Story
by Eva Marie Everson Have you ever read a book or watched a movie and wondered where the writer came up with such a story? I do. The more complex the story, the more I marvel. Or, the more historically accurate, the more I’m fascinated. I’m not a master storyteller, but throughout my life, stories run in and out of …
Book Review: Ransome’s Quest
Title: Ransome’s Quest Author: Kaye Dacus Publisher: Harvest House Date: Aug 2011 ISBN: 978-0736927550 Genre: Historical Romance Reviewed by: Patricia Woodside Ransome’s Quest brings to an end the saga of Julia Ransome and the Witherington and Ransome families. But not before Julia, and her husband’s sister, Charlotte, are both kidnapped by pirates. One is snatched by mistake, the other for …
Create a Unique Take to Present a Villain
by B.J. Robinson Want a memorable villain? When I wrote Last Resort I created one Amazon reviewers left comments about. Author Nike Chillemi said, “This is a novel where the reader can not only connect with the heroine and hero, as would be expected, but there’s also connection with the villain. This is a unique take on how to present …
ACFW Book Review: The Lady’s Maid
Title: The Lady’s Maid Author: Susan Page Davis Publisher: Barbour Books Date: Oct 2011 ISBN: 978-1616264390 Genre: Historical Romance Reviewed by: Holly Weiss If you’re thinking, “Oh, no, not another wagon train story,” don’t worry. Once you dip into the pages of The Lady’s Maid by Susan Page Davis, you’ll be glad you came along for the ride. Can two …
Building Hooks in Your Story
By Jennifer Hudson Taylor In fiction, a hook is an opening line or paragraph to a story that grips a reader’s interest and lures them into turning the pages to keep reading. Most authors think of a hook as the beginning of a story, but there are several other places to use a hook besides the beginning. I call this …
ACFW Volunteer Spotlight
I’m privileged to announce the first volunteer in the spotlight for 2012 is Angie Breidenbach. She served on ACFW board for two years as the Publicity Officer. Her heart for other writers is huge. She tries to help where she can. She has volunteered at ACFW conference as well as been one of the founders of our brand new chapter …
Adding Life Elements into Your Story
by Cara Putman One of the things I love about writing is the ability to incorporate the things I love into my writing. As a gal right out of college I headed to Washington, D.C., to launch my career in public policy. You see, there weren’t a lot of jobs in Nebraska for a girl with a degree in political …
To the Author of Life
By Jill Williamson A new year always feels like the start of a new journey to me. And each year I’ve had different things that I’ve wanted to tackle in my writing career. Resolutions. Plans. Hopes. Goals. I always start out, heart overflowing with anticipation. I want to improve. I hope to make changes. And I long to succeed in …
January 2012 New Releases
More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website. Halflings by Heather Burch — One girl. Three half-angel guys. And the fate of the world. (Young Adult from Zondervan). Summer of Promise by Amanda Cabot — Stagecoach robberies and a certain lieutenant make Abigail Harding’s summer at Wyoming’s Fort Laramie unforgettable. (Historical Romance from …