Can two hearts harmonize when fateful events threaten to tear them apart?

This is a question I posed in my last post, relating to the protagonists, Trudy and Mark, in Harmonizing Hearts. If you read the post, you would have seen some of the challenges they face, and now in just four days, you will see how they met, and overcame, those challenges.

So much for the characters. Now, what about the author’s challenges? Let me give you an honest glimpse into my life as a writer — a behind-the-scenes look, if you will. One of my flaws is comparing myself to others. Oh, I know it’s not right, but I do it all the same. When I see authors releasing a book every month, I ask myself, why can’t I release a book every three months at least, or maybe every six months?

While I don’t want to make excuses for myself, I have to admit that I face some real challenges, one of which is health issues. Over the past two years, I have been plagued by health issues, which have sapped my energy and maybe even my motivation. I ought to wake up earlier to get more writing done, read more, even exercise more to stimulate my brain cells. Time spent in doctors’ offices also took away from my writing time. I even questioned whether I was too old to be writing. I thought maybe it was time to throw in the keyboard.

Apart from these personal challenges, I sometimes had difficulty structuring the plot so it flows seamlessly. Fortunately, Word allows us to move passages around — which can sometimes be confusing — so I was able to ensure some continuity in the plot.

Keeping track of characters’ physical features, ages, family members, dates also posed a daunting task. I learned to compile each character’s profile in my Book Notes, so I could refer to them when necessary. Word’s Find and Replace feature also came to my rescue when I gave someone the wrong wife or the wrong husband.

But the biggest challenge of all were the days when the words just wouldn’t come. I don’t call it writer’s block, because I knew where I wanted the story to go, but setting the scene, expressing it creatively, and letting the ideas flow in a nice, cohesive way instead of a jumbled mess sometimes made me want to give up.

But I didn’t. I kept going. With the help of my critique group, who would fact check everything, find that missing (or wrong!) punctuation mark, or weak verb, and point them out — sometimes not so kindly —I was able to make it to The End. So now, I’m eagerly awaiting RELEASE DAY, Feb. 14th, which is also Valentine’s Day.

So, what better gift to give someone you love than a gift which was a labor of love from me to you? Harmonizing Hearts is still on preorder for 99c.

Ever since I placed Love, Lies, and Grace on preorder with Amazon, I’ve been counting down the days to its release, and now it’s almost here. I feel butterflies in my tummy, not much different from when a mother-to-be gets that first contraction.

So, yes, I’m nervous, but also excited and proud at being able to produce another book after releasing the last one —In the Promised Land — three years ago.

Love, Lies, and Grace is unlike any of my previous books. For one, it is set in the United States — Georgia, mainly — while my other novels, the Egypt series, were set in Trinidad where I was born. Therefore, a lot of things had to be different. Dialog, behavior patterns, culture etc. were all different, but not difficult to manage, since I’ve lived here for decades.

However, I enjoyed the process —writing has always been and I hope will continue to be a joy to me — and this was made easier with the help of Sharpies my critique group, who was able to assist with things like semantics, behaviors and setting, to name a few.

Love, Lies, and Grace asks the question, “Can this long-distance marriage survive?” As I mentioned in my newsletter today, I only recently researched the topic of long-distance marriage. I should have done it before, but since I was in a long-distance marriage at one time, I assumed I knew all there was to know.

I was pleasantly surprised at the number of articles written on the subject. I was also encouraged to see them mention some of the same challenges Grace and Brian experienced and some of the same tips they used for a healthy marriage.

So, if you are married, contemplating marriage or know someone who is, you must read this book. Even if you are just a friend, I mean a good friend, you need to read this book. 

Please share this post with your friends and invite them to visit the link on Monday. And if you do purchase a copy of the book, please be so kind as to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads so other readers can be guided in making their choice.

If you love books and love wearing t-shirts then you may love to add one of these to your wardrobe.

Date Published: April 20, 2021

Publisher: Wild Quail Publishing

Two women on the run!

After agreeing to enter the New Life Assisted-Living Community outside of Boston, Agatha “Aggie” Robard talks her devoted, serious granddaughter, Blythe, into driving her to Florida, stopping to see old college friends along the way. She particularly needs to speak to Donovan Bailey, the man she’d thought she would marry right after graduating from college. By asking Blythe to go with her, Aggie is hoping to prove to her that life should be about having fun too. Their road trip is a great idea for both of them as long as Aggie’s son and his wife, Blythe’s difficult stepmother, don’t find out.

While the rest of the family is away on vacation, Aggie and Blythe set off on their secret adventure. All goes well until Aggie falls while dancing on the beach with Donovan, breaking a bone in her leg. Then Blythe’s father is seriously injured in an automobile accident. Blythe and Logan Pierce, Donovan’s young assistant, do their best to step in for them at The Robard Company working together, fighting the attraction they feel for one another.

The road trip brings about happy memories, surprises, and love as Aggie and Blythe meet others and discover new possibilities for everything they’ve ever wanted.

While growing up, she was drawn to the idea of writing stories from a young age. Books were always present, being read, ready to go back to the library, or about to be discovered. All in her family shared information from the books in general conversation, giving them a wealth of knowledge and vivid imaginations.

A hybrid author who both has a publisher and self-publishes, Ms. Keim writes heart-warming novels about women who face unexpected challenges, meet them with strength, and find love and happiness along the way. Her best-selling books are based, in part, on many of the places she’s lived or visited and on the interesting people she’s met, creating believable characters and realistic settings her many loyal readers love. Ms. Keim loves to hear from her readers and appreciates their enthusiasm for her stories.

Contact Links

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

Book Bub

Promo Link

Purchase Links

Amazon

B&N

Kobo

iBooks

Google Play

I meant to post this earlier, but my day started out not quite the way I wanted it. You know how it is when you have a big day planned, that’s when things go wrong. So, I woke up with a cold this morning and had to take some cold meds and go back to bed. I feel much better now and am trying to make up for lost time. But it doesn’t matter. My invitation to the event is still open on my Facebook page at Women for All Seasons, so you can stop by and see what’s taking place.

Also happening today is the Instafreebie Romance Giveawayof sweet, contemporary romance and women’s fiction books. Coming Out of Egypt, the first book in the series, is in the giveaway, so now is a good time to get your free copy.

Not to be outdone is In the Wilderness, the second book in the series, now discounted to 99c for a limited time only.

Here’s a trivia question to end this post and give you a chance to win one of my books. The first three people to reply with the correct answer to the question below will win one of my books. Just tell me the title that you want. Okay, here’s the question: This Indo-Caribbean author, born in Trinidad, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001. Name the author and the novel that won him the prize. Please post your answer on my Facebook page at Women for All Seasons. I will leave it open until eight tonight EST.

Tomorrow is the day. If you’ve been following my posts, you will know that tomorrow 8/17 is the day In the Wilderness makes its grand entrance on the world stage. I am excited to say the least. This book follows on the heels of Coming Out of Egypt which received a five-star rating from Reader’s Favorite and other reviewers. I expect ITW to do just as well. And because I want you to be able to get your hands on this book with little expense, I’m making it available at the same preorder price of 99c. Aren’t I sweet?

Before you click on that link, here’s a one-line premise of In the Wilderness:

A young woman, torn by guilt over her secret crime, chooses suicide in order to protect her sister from shame.

Now here’s a little snippet to whet your appetite even more:

Marva’s fingers twisted the end of the sheet. June’s words made sense. Why spoil things for everybody? Because she wanted to be a martyr?

She lay down and pulled up the sheet. “You’re right, Junie. Please turn off the light.”

June hesitated. “Promise me you’ll stop worrying.”

Marva smiled. What a sweet child she was. “I promise.”

The light went off and June settled quietly next to her. Long after her snores confirmed that she was asleep, Marva lay mulling over what was the best way to make her confession. She could not bear the guilt any longer. She had to tell someone that she was the person who had killed her father.

Want to know what follows?  GET IT NOW