As some of you know, I've finished the first rough draft of Legends of Deceit book 2. I still don’t have a title for it, but I will soon.
I was going to write a post on my writing process from start to finish but decided to save that for another time. Instead, I’ll tell you straight up what that one secret to my editing process is.
Are you ready?
It’s finding your repetitive words, descriptions, or sayings.
We all have them.
Say for example you wrote: my heart thudded hard against my chest. You noticed while you were doing your first read through that you had used those words more than once to describe what your character was feeling. So now what you want to do is discover how many times you wrote it in your story.
How do you do that?
Simple.
In Word, you want to go to the top right-hand corner and click on find. On the left-hand side of the screen, there will be a window that pops up. Beneath the word Navigation will be a search bar. Enter the word(s) you want to search for to see how many are in your story. I just typed in draft, and it came up twice.
How cool is that?
This secret trick of mine will help you tremendously in your editing process.
Cheers.
How was my Monday?
Well . . .
I believe I’m being tested.
Endurance and patience.
Yeah.
I wrote a positive blog about Monday.
I still stick with what I said and believe it.
But!
I’m being tested.
Did I say that already?
It’s fine.
Really.
The universe is testing me to see if what I’ve been learning I’ll actually apply to my life.
I’m being tested with this.
Can you believe this shit?
It’s April!
And check this out . . .
It’s supposed to snow again today, Sunday, and for three days next week.
Really?
It feels like we’ll never be able to renovate our RV.
I know we will, it’s just . . .
I’m tired of this weather.
I know I choose to be tired of it.
It’s ALL a matter of perspective which is true.
So I will adopt the attitude of being indifferent on the matter because hey, I don’t have magical powers to change the weather, so what’s the point of getting all balled up in a knot about it?
I do have the power to change my perspective.
Anyway, have an awesome week.
Cheers!
Title: The Rhino Whisperer
Author: Evadeen Brickwood
Genre: Crime Mystery
Another mystery novel set in modern South Africa. This time, the murders of a ranger and a rare black rhino in the idyllic Shangari Safari Park rattle the local community of Rutgersdrift. Sofia Helenius from Finland lives at the lodge with her boyfriend Tom Rutgers, the owner of Shangari. Sofia is tormented by a secret she yearns to share with Tom, but the cruel events grab the limelight and put everything else in the shade. One of the native Khoi-San families is known to communicate with wild animals, but what if the criminals get wind of this gift?
When another murder happens in the city of Johannesburg, smouldering secrets begin to unravel. How are the murders connected and will it be possible to halt a relentless crime-syndicate in order to save an African paradise?
1) “There is a beautiful place in South Africa between the Kalahari Desert and the Magaliesberg, where rocks and water and all living things pulse to the rhythm of nature. A place, where harmony reigns and the possession of money is not considered all-important.
It is here that you can find the Shangari Safari Lodge; a piece of paradise to many. The area hovers on the sandy edge of the mighty Kalahari Desert and a white-water stream churns past sandy beaches, hemming in woodland and bushveld and agave-covered hills.
If one follows directions, it is easy enough to find Shangari, as there is no need for street names in the countryside. All you have to do is take the new tar road north of Rutgersdrift and turn right by the great baobab tree. Two business-savvy women in traditional garb tend to their stall in the shade of the tree, selling avocados, macadamia nuts and delicious baobab jam. If you are lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of baboons in the expansive branches or of a few inquisitive meerkats, scanning the road from the top of their burrow.
The tar road carries on north, past avocado and citrus farms, over a bridge and through the village of Renosterspruit, until a dirt road takes over all the way to the border with Botswana. Not much has changed here in many years and not much ever happens.
Rutgersdrift is the largest town in the district. It boasts shady streets, a small hospital and a sleepy police station next to the church steeple. Just five minutes outside of town lies an airstrip; the frequent destination for small single-engine planes coming in from Johannesburg and Pretoria with their bellies full of tourists, hungry for the spectacle of nature...”
2) Obakeng, the grey-haired sangoma walked down the stairs. Despite his grey hair, his face looked remarkably young. Even his eyes were unlined and his gaze alert. Nobody seemed to know his exact age, which was not unusual around here. In the absence of a tribal chief, Obakeng was the most important man in the compound. For more reasons than one.
His skill with the divining rod was legendary. Farmers sought him out, if they were in need of finding new water veins. Obakeng’s method was always the same: he placed a tiny bottle with water on his head, covered it with a hat, held another water bottle in his right hand and the forked divining rod in the other.
Evadeen Brickwood grew up with two sisters in Germany and studied cultural sciences and languages. As a young woman, she travelled extensively and many of her books are inspired by her experiences abroad. Feeling adventurous, the newly qualified translator moved to Africa in 1988 and worked for two years as a secretary and language teacher in Botswana. The author eventually settled in South Africa, where she got married and raised two daughters. In Johannesburg, Evadeen Brickwood studied computers and management of training and worked as a corporate software trainer, professional translator and lecturer at WITS University.
In 2003, she began her writing career with youth novels in the ‘Remember the Future’ series, about adventures in prehistory. Book 1, ‘Children of the Moon’, has been published twice in South Africa and translated into German. The author now self-publishes and other books in the series are now released on a regular basis. Her works include the novels ‘The Rhino Whisperer’, ‘Singende Eidechsen’ (in the German edition) and ‘Abenteuer Halbmond”, which will be published in English with the title “A Half Moon Adventure” soon.
Instagram: @evadeenauthor
Booktrailers & Interviews:
Title: The Rhino Whisperer
Author: Evadeen Brickwood
Genre: Crime Mystery
Another mystery novel set in modern South Africa. This time, the murders of a ranger and a rare black rhino in the idyllic Shangari Safari Park rattle the local community of Rutgersdrift. Sofia Helenius from Finland lives at the lodge with her boyfriend Tom Rutgers, the owner of Shangari. Sofia is tormented by a secret she yearns to share with Tom, but the cruel events grab the limelight and put everything else in the shade. One of the native Khoi-San families is known to communicate with wild animals, but what if the criminals get wind of this gift?
When another murder happens in the city of Johannesburg, smoldering secrets begin to unravel. How are the murders connected and will it be possible to halt a relentless crime-syndicate in order to save an African paradise?
1) “There is a beautiful place in South Africa between the Kalahari Desert and the Magaliesberg, where rocks and water and all living things pulse to the rhythm of nature. A place, where harmony reigns and the possession of money is not considered all-important.
It is here that you can find the Shangari Safari Lodge; a piece of paradise to many. The area hovers on the sandy edge of the mighty Kalahari Desert and a white-water stream churns past sandy beaches, hemming in woodland and bushveld and agave-covered hills.
If one follows directions, it is easy enough to find Shangari, as there is no need for street names in the countryside. All you have to do is take the new tar road north of Rutgersdrift and turn right by the great baobab tree. Two business-savvy women in traditional garb tend to their stall in the shade of the tree, selling avocados, macadamia nuts and delicious baobab jam. If you are lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of baboons in the expansive branches or of a few inquisitive meerkats, scanning the road from the top of their burrow.
The tar road carries on north, past avocado and citrus farms, over a bridge and through the village of Renosterspruit, until a dirt road takes over all the way to the border with Botswana. Not much has changed here in many years and not much ever happens.
Rutgersdrift is the largest town in the district. It boasts shady streets, a small hospital and a sleepy police station next to the church steeple. Just five minutes outside of town lies an airstrip; the frequent destination for small single-engine planes coming in from Johannesburg and Pretoria with their bellies full of tourists, hungry for the spectacle of nature...”
2) Obakeng, the grey-haired sangoma walked down the stairs. Despite his grey hair, his face looked remarkably young. Even his eyes were unlined and his gaze alert. Nobody seemed to know his exact age, which was not unusual around here. In the absence of a tribal chief, Obakeng was the most important man in the compound. For more reasons than one.
His skill with the divining rod was legendary. Farmers sought him out, if they were in need of finding new water veins. Obakeng’s method was always the same: he placed a tiny bottle with water on his head, covered it with a hat, held another water bottle in his right hand and the forked divining rod in the other.
Evadeen Brickwood grew up with two sisters in Germany and studied cultural sciences and languages. As a young woman, she traveled extensively and many of her books are inspired by her experiences abroad. Feeling adventurous, the newly qualified translator moved to Africa in 1988 and worked for two years as a secretary and language teacher in Botswana. The author eventually settled in South Africa, where she got married and raised two daughters. In Johannesburg, Evadeen Brickwood studied computers and management of training and worked as a corporate software trainer, professional translator and lecturer at WITS University.
In 2003, she began her writing career with youth novels in the ‘Remember the Future’ series, about adventures in prehistory. Book 1, ‘Children of the Moon’, has been published twice in South Africa and translated into German. The author now self-publishes and other books in the series are now released on a regular basis. Her works include the novels ‘The Rhino Whisperer’, ‘Singende Eidechsen’ (in the German edition) and ‘Abenteuer Halbmond”, which will be published in English with the title “A Half Moon Adventure” soon.
Instagram: @evadeenauthor
Booktrailers & Interviews:
TITLE: Stolen Innocents
AUTHOR: Addison Kline
GENRE: Mystery / Romantic Suspense
Everybody in Elkhart has a secret and if they say they don't, they're lying. Three years have passed since Tristan Morrow returned home after her harrowing kidnapping ordeal with her former English teacher, Bernard Kendricks. A sense of peace has taken over the Morrow Manor, but it will not last forever. A killer of women is on the loose in Elkhart and has already claimed the lives of two young women. Will DiNolfo and her officers catch the killer before a third victim is claimed? When their three main suspects turn out to be innocent, the Elkhart Police Department is at a loss until a citizen comes forward with some crucial information: Tristan Morrow knows who is responsible for the murders. But does the information come too late? And how does this relate to the murder case of Tiffany O'Mara? Tristan soon learns that not even the dead can keep their secrets buried forever.
Addison Kline is an award-winning, best-selling novelist who writes mystery,
psychological thrillers and romantic suspense novels. She lives in
Pennsylvania with her husband, their sons and two rambunctious dogs.
Addison has had a love affair with the written word since before she
entered school. Her grandmother taught her the glory of taking an
adventure in the pages of a book. When Addison isn’t writing, you can
find her reading, going for an adventure with her sons, or traveling
with her family.
Title: Rory
Author: Michelle McLoughney
Genre: Romance
It started with a gift
Three years after the tragic death of her brother Harry, Cassidy Evans is still struggling. Determined to focus on her career as an artistic consultant in London; when Cassidy lands the commission of a lifetime, she has no option but to dive in head first. There is just one very tall, very beautiful, man-shaped problem. Her attraction to her new client Rory O’Malley is proving impossible to ignore. Cassidy soon finds herself falling for Rory, and for once she allows herself to be swept away by the prospect of true love.
As CEO of the exclusive O’Malley Resorts, Rory frequently travels the world, a healthy bank balance and his good looks always ensure he has his pick of beautiful women. He has no interest in settling down, not now and not ever. Until he meets Cassidy. Now all he can think about is making her his, permanently.
Cassidy is unaware that Rory harbours a
secret about her brother’s death. A secret that could potentially ruin their
blossoming love affair. Soon he is willing to move mountains to love-and-protect
her, but should he be protecting her from himself?
Cassidy has vowed never to make the mistake of loving a man again. So, how the hell did she end up in his bed? And how the hell did he end up in her heart? The attraction between them sizzles and burns, while love winds its grip around them both. But, secrets rarely stay hidden, and very soon Rory’s secret puts their love in jeopardy.
Can Cassidy forgive the worst betrayal she has ever known?
Amazon US
Amazon UK
B&N
Michelle McLoughney is the author of the Amazon bestselling Saga, The O’Malleys. She lives in County Clare, Ireland where her first series is set. Michelle began writing at a young age and won her first national poetry competition at 17. Michelle has been widely published throughout Ireland and internationally. Rory is her first novel in the O’Malley series.
Mason Wade had fought death, and to some degree he had won. The fire of a phoenix coursing through his veins made him feel like hell. Each of his new senses forced him to reach into a past he knew was better left alone, yet he was grounded in the primal desire to protect Indie, to be a lethal supernatural guardian. The discovery of a secret library within the Falcon Manor landed River Sabine, the very girl who first stole his heart and left him in his darkest hour, front and center in his life. Mason and the others discovering how closely his past is connected to the paranormal war at hand have only scratched the surface of how deeply entwined those who lurk at the Falcon Manor are; a painful lesson Indie is forced to learn as she fights to rise to her role as the Queen of the Veil and protect the hearts of her own. An impossible decision must be made; no matter the choice lovers will divide. The only real question is whose sacrifice will be for the greater good.
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In life he haunted her...in death she haunted him.
Love is eternal...
Weeks away from her twenty-first birthday, the date where she would assume control over her family legacy, a night terror robs Indie of the balance she was clinging to. Like the dream she had before she lost her family, it predicts a fatal catastrophe on the horizon. The fight between life and death, good and evil, began the moment her thundering heart awoke her.
Everything changed after that dream. The one thing that keeps her curse at bay is stolen, and then her enigmatic boy arrives in the flesh. Face to face with her fiery born-again lover Indie realizes that the only way she can prevent the tragedy before her is to surrender everything she was, is, and could be.
Can she bend the laws of nature and fight the improbability that fire and ice could ever be one? As far as Indie is concerned, there is not a myth, spoken fate, or curse that is stronger than her stubborn desire to have it all ... including him.
About Jamie Magee
Jamie Magee has always believed that each of us have a defining gift that sets us apart from the rest of the world, she has always envied those who have known from their first breath what their gift was. Not knowing hers, she began a career in the fast paced world of business. Raising a young family, and competing to rise higher in that field would drive some to the point of insanity, but she always found a moment of escape in a passing daydream. Her imagination would take her to places she’d never been, introduce her to people she’s never known. Insight, her debuting novel, is a result of that powerful imagination. Today, she is grateful that not knowing what defined her, led her on a path of discovery that would always be a part of her.
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