Author * Writer * Stoker of Flames
Hey, romance addicts, it is your friendly stoker of flame. I’ve been very busy writing for the wonderful Savage Bloodline mafia romance collection, the Voyage of the Heart Sydney collection, and the fourth book in the Brothers in Law series, Drowning in Shallow Waters. I decided to take a break from story writing so that I could post on this week’s open-book blog hop. Let’s look at this week’s question.
Hey, romance addicts. Another week, another thought-provoking blog hop post. Let’s take a look at what we have this week.
Do you write diverse characters? If so, how do you avoid cultural insensitivity?
It’s interesting that this week’s blog hop question asks about diversity in writing. I spent the weekend fielding questions on social media, from white authors about including diverse characters in their books. It’s also ironic that the blog hop posing the question is not very diverse. As far as I know, I am the only contributing blogger who is identifies as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). No, Italians and the Irish do not count. Let’s not go there. Anyway, onto my answer.
Of course, I write diverse books. just look at my covers.
As an author who identifies with multiple marginalized social intersections, I write to purposefully highlight a range of backgrounds and experiences in my characters. I think diversity is a stable part of literary expression for many BIPOC authors and that the main group challenged to understand the importance of diversity—and how to integrate into their work—is white authors.
Attempts to expand diversity in literature seem to present as a challenge and threat for authors who need to develop a greater appreciation for diverse literature and resist the cultural messaging that centers on whiteness.
Continue reading “Diverse Books Battle -5 Tips To Writing Inclusive Stories”
Hey, romance addicts. I hope everyone is having a fabulous week and is geared up for the weekend! I am geared up for this week’s Open Book blog hop post. Let’s check it out.
What do you wish you had an unlimited supply of?
Hmm.
A nice, theoretical question is the perfect way to end the week. We live in a world filled with limitations. Our world is shaped by boundaries, which ensure that there is a constant balance of imbalance. I could not think of one thing of which I would not like unlimited anything, because it would only exacerbate my inability to escape the constraints of my existence. I don’t want to seem pessimistic–well, maybe a little–but bear with me.
Do you have a favorite piece of literature? What is it and why is it your favorite?
Hey, romance addicts. I know it’s been a while since I’ve written a blog hop post, but I couldn’t get in front of the camera to do a video. So, I’m getting back to basics and doing what I do best, writing. Let’s do this!
I don’t have one favorite piece of literature. The literary world is far too expansive to settle on one text. However, some books that influenced and inspired me come to mind.
Hey, romance addicts. This week’s Open Book blog hop post had me ponder the impact of commercials, making me love or hate them. I decided to examine two commercials that garnered world-wide attention for their messages, one a mixture of positive and negative, the other all negative.
Check it out!
#openbook
Dear Diary. Write a diary entry or a letter from your character's point of view.
Hah! I love it. Baaz, you’re up!
Okay, Lyndell. Hi, romance addicts. I am Baaz Hamdi, the main character in Lyndell’s crime romance, Sealed by Love, Trapped in Sin, soon-to-be-released by After Hours Publications.
I’m not thrilled about opening up my personal thoughts to the world, but Lyndell is the boss. So, here we go.
It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to reflect and write down my thoughts and experiences. My author was sidetracked again and had me stuck in a love scene for almost a week.
#Openbook
Hey, romance addicts. I have another blog hop post for you guys!
Discuss: It never fails to amaze me that ALL the books ever written are made up of just twenty six letters.
Hey, romance addicts. Check out author Leslie Georgeson. Something Real series!
#openbook
Do pets (or other animals) play an important part in your books? Tell us about them.
Hey, romance addicts. I am back with a new blog hop post. Pets in romance? Many authors who consistently write pets and animals in their books. Find out if I do and why!
Hey, romance addicts. Ready for a book tease? I have one for you from author Shani Greene-Dowdell. She is giving readers a taste of her romance Exile, part of her Bad Boy Military Romance series.
#openbook
Is there a genre you would never try to write? Why?
Hey, romance addicts. I a new Monday, a new blog hop question. This week, it’s about exploring different genres to write. While authors should not feel compelled to extend beyond their selected genre, some may want to venture into new ones.
I recently dipped my “quill” into the BDSM Romance subgenre with the release of my new book, A Stroke at Midnight. Writing something different and the above question had me wondering if I ever wanted to write outside of romance.
Check out my answer in the video my latest video.
Continue reading “Writing in Different Genres”
#openbook Blog Hop - Who’s the boss, you or the story?
Each new story draft comes with a list of decisions to make a book publishable. While writing, many authors will choose to lean on their outlined plot or characters to flesh out their story. If they don’t, no worries, the plot or characters will do it for them, dictating the trajectory of the prose.
In this video, I talk about my tenacious characters and their obstinance in making sure I write them and the plot to suit them.
Hey, romance addicts. I am happy to have fellow romance author Fiona McGrier on the blog. She will share why she writes in the genre.
By Fiona McGier
Continue reading “Writing Romance, Despite the Doubters”
#openbook
If you had unlimited money to start and maintain a business, what would it be?
Enjoy my Open Book Vlog Hop post.
Access to opportunity is great, but can there be too much of a good thing? I talk about why I am not ready to start a new hustle. If opportunity comes knocking, I will probably pop in my earbuds.
Continue reading “To Hustle, or Not?”
Hey, romance addicts. I have an excerpt from the time travel romance, Druid’s Portal by Cindy Tomamichel.
![Druid's Portal: The First Journey by [Cindy Tomamichel]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51EWzVnnSzL.jpg)
#openbook
The holiday season is just around the corner. What’s the worst gift you’ve ever received? What’s the worst one you ever given?
Okay, full disclosure, I don’t celebrate any of the holidays from October to January, not for years, anyway. Most of my family members are not Muslims, so there is a lot going on with them during the holidays, but the husband, kids and I rarely take part.
I am one of those people who give gifts throughout the year. A spontaneous gift is one of my favorites. For me, they are usually the most sincere. I feel like the person thought of me as an individual, not a name on a list of people they must present some kind of offering.
Continue reading “Gift Woes and Nos”
#openbook
What would be the hardest thing for you to give up?
I recently had to give up the delusion that I could be everything for everyone.
I wear many hats. In addition to being a phenomenal romance author, I am a freelance writer, contributing to multiple platforms. I am also a terrific wife (my husband is a lucky man), mother of six , homeschooler, content editor and writing coach. A lot of stuff, right? Well, those are the things left after I did some soul searching and decided I was doing way too much.
Hey, romance addicts. It’s been a minute since I had the time to review a book, but I have one for you guys!
Art, law enforcement and organized crime, who could want anything more? In Guarding His Midnight Witness, Anna J Stewart offers readers a respectable romantic suspense with the usual suspects and elements layered with stable and quirky characters.
Artist Greta is struggling with a creative block making painting impossible. So what does she do? Why, the only thing possible. Cooped up in a loft with her mind whizzing and creative juices not flowing, she takes to sipping tea, petting her cat and spying the neighborhood. Only thing is, she gets more than what she bargains for when she witnesses a murder, or at least she thinks she saw one. No, she did, right?
#openbook
Do you embrace dialog or narrate your way around it? Why?
I love to talk, maybe even more than I do writing—maybe. Whether written or verbal, I value the power of words. When reading fiction, I prefer books that pull me into characters through dialogue and action. Just like with real people, what a character expresses often serves as the most efficient means to get to know it’s perspective and emotion in ways that can be lost when conveyed through a narrator.
Dialogue remains essential to character-driven writing, where authors offer readers the opportunity to have a vicarious experience and connect to the characters’ internal or interpersonal conflicts. Focusing on character development requires that authors show readers emotion through what they do and say, things especially important in genre fiction.
Continue reading “Dialogue in Fiction Writing”
#openbook
What is your favorite fruit dish? Can you share a recipe for it? Do you include food in your stories? While we're talking about food, pumpkin, yea or nay?
It is a cruel irony for me to get this question right after I embraced low-carb eating.
Lyndell Williams 