Saturday Sentiments

If I’d shouted blue murder every time someone tried to kiss me at Eaton, I’d have gone hoarse in the mouth ~ Robert, Downton Abbey

I’ve spent the last month regrouping and reorganizing my life. I launched the new blog and retooled this one last weekend. I’ve created new routines at home, since I have to take care of all the chores myself now. Above all, I am back to writing again.

I am working on a merman romance, Sartin, here’s a working blurb:

In a world foretold by prophesies and folk tales, what’s more important, happiness or destiny?

Sartin’s amber eyes told his mother, and the rest of the pod, that he was destined to become a great Alewar from the day he was born. Mocked by the majority of the pod for his progressive practice of Decoy, Sartin’s life doesn’t feel like the life of any of the great Alewars his mother told him about. Hoping to find an Alewar mate at his twenty-third Winter Meeting, an injury and storm take Sartin far away from Winter Cove. Nursed back to health by a Land Person, Sartin finds love and acceptance. Torn between his love of Maru and his love of the sea, Sartin must choose between happiness and destiny in this tale of Sartin of the Sea.


Now that it feels like summer, what are you reading?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Barnes and Noble!

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from Barnes and Noble!

When Are You Going to Write the Sequels?

Here’s to finding your own unique approach, identity, or style ~ Jill Badonsky

I love it when readers ask, after reading A Place to Call Their Own or Disappear With Me, is there a sequel? Or Now what? My answer is always, yes, I have sequels planned for both. But my reasons for not writing the sequels right away are all my own. I also love it when readers and friends and family make comments on my Facebook posts like, “Dean doesn’t have time for (insert activity), he needs to be writing sequels!”.

First of all, it took me four years to write the first draft of A Place to Call Their Own. It was my first novel, the first anything I had ever written. Although I had planned a sequel from the beginning, by the time I was done, I knew it was time to put Frank and Gregory aside and work with another set of characters in another time period.

Leander’s story came to me on a Sunday morning in church probably two years before I was done with A Place to Call Their Own. I ran home and typed up some notes, and maybe even about 2500 words of the beginning of his story. I desperately wanted to finish A Place to Call Their Own before I started any other venture. My husband gave me that advice and it’s been good for me. (I tried to work on three different projects back in November/December timeframe and it was disastrous.) So I tucked Disappear With Me away until I was finished with first novel.

By the time I finished Disappear With Me, I had found my idea for how I wanted to write the sequel to Frank and Gregory’s story. I still wanted some time to hone my writing skills. I did write Disappear With Me in four months and took another twelve months to polish it. Before I dove into sequels I needed to prove to myself I could do it again, a third time. Just last week I finished my final draft for The Higher Law. While not a direct sequel, it is the story of James’s (who is eight years old at the end of A Place to Call Their Own) son, Robert. It is out to beta’s now, so more on that later.

So, am writing the sequel to either one? Nope, not yet, my merman, Sartin has been itching to be written for about year, since I got his idea in my head.Then I will return to Frank and Gregory, Leander and Raphael, and Robert and Kenneth. When their time is upon me and I am ready. :-)

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Amazon US!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from Amazon US!

Or, check out my author page on Amazon UK.

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwith me to mention on social media!

Thrid Manuscript Done, Fourth One Started!

Here’s to standing at the edge of the sea feeling the knowledge of earthly eternal ~ Jill Badonsky

So I finished a third manuscript last week! The Higher Law is now in the hands of beta readers! My mom has read the whole thing. This is a record for her, she read it in three days. My dad has read seventy five percent. It is still in the hands of some very trusted beta readers. For now, I must put it to rest and move on.

My fourth manuscript is a merman story. I have been mulling around the idea for about a year. I’ve done a little bit of reading on the mermaid folklore and fairy tales and the Aquatic Ape Theory of human evolution. I have a lot more reading to do, both fiction and non-fiction. I plan to include folk tales that help the explain the Sea People’s culture and views of the world.

Here’s a working blurb:

In a world foretold by prophesies and folk tales, what’s more important, happiness or destiny?

Sartin’s amber eyes told his mother, and the rest of the pod, that he was destined to become a great Alewar from the day he was born. Mocked by the majority of the pod for his progressive practice of Decoy, Sartin’s life doesn’t feel like the life of any of the great Alewars his mother told him about. Hoping to find an Alewar mate at his Twenty-First Winter Meeting, an injury and storm take Sartin far away from Winter Cove. Nursed back to health by a Land Person, Sartin finds love and acceptance. Torn between his love of Maru and his love of the sea, Sartin must choose between happiness and destiny in this tale of Sartin of the Sea.

Thanks for following along my journey and stay tuned for more updates!

_______________________________________________

Is it possible fora two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

 

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Musa Publishing!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from Musa Publishing!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme to discuss on social media!