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“Dear Heart” Prose that will make you shiver with delight #Christmasgifts @LindaLinglebks

A LOVE STORY TO REMEMBER

Deirdre & Lee

DH - 20

Sometimes a book will bring us something unexpected. For me… Well, here’s the review ~

When I was younger, pre-high school up to twenty-five, I enjoyed romance stories. Specifically, True Romance. I didn’t and haven’t read “romance” as a genre.

But… the minute I started reading Dear Heart I sat up straight, my eyes popped open and my ears perked. I’d never read anything like it.

It’s about two people who meet at work and fall into a torrid love affair. I don’t like slut or porn. It turns me off. The thing is, while reading this book I knew it was wrong, but the descriptions were mesmerizing. It wasn’t the thrill of sneaking around doing naughty things that excited me, it was the words that rolled off the lips-of-my-ears with a sort of lyrical love-dance that pulled me into the story.

They ended their affair for the sake of others….

The beauty of the story isn’t all about the words, though they are the biggest part of it for me. Still, without the tremendous love between Deirdre and Lee, there wouldn’t have been a story. It’s beautiful in that as old age creeps in, we see that the excitement of their love has never died, and their love makes it just a fresh as when they first met.

Find Dear Heart & Sweet Heart on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dear-Heart-Linda-Lingle-ebook/dp/B07CX91BYM

Website: https://www.lindalinglebooks.com/

 

 

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Interview with Debbie De Louise #author @Deblibrarian

Author Interview

Debbie De Louise

Author ~ Librarian

DebbiePHototwo

I’m pleased to welcome Debbie De Louise to Kat’s corner.

Bio:

Debbie De Louise is an award-winning author and a reference librarian at a public library on Long Island. She is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, International Thriller Writers, Long Island Authors Group, and the Cat Writer’s Association. She has a BA in English and an MLS in Library Science from Long Island University. Her novels include the four books of the Cobble Cove mystery series: A Stone’s ThrowBetween a Rock and a Hard Place,  Written in Stone, and Love on the Rocks. Debbie has also written a standalone mystery, Reason to Die, a romantic comedy novella, When Jack Trumps Ace, and a paranormal romance, Cloudy Rainbow. She lives on Long Island with her husband, Anthony; daughter, Holly; cat Stripey; and kittens, Harry and Hermione..

~ ~ ~

Kat: I think we all bring part of us into our writing. How does your own life’s experiences come to light in your books?

Debbie: I use many of my past experiences in my writing, but I fictionalize them to make them fit the particular scene I’m writing and sometimes also dramatize them to make them more interesting to readers. For instance, I used my experience on my college newspaper in my latest release, Cloudy Rainbow. In that book, I also wrote about my cat, Floppy, who I named the cat character after. Although I didn’t get Floppy in college and he wasn’t a lost cat, I made those details up. The part about the main character panicking when Floppy made himself a nest inside her bed mattress was based on my true experience with him as a kitten.

In my Cobble Cove cozy mystery series, I use a lot of my background as a librarian for the scenes with my main character, Alicia, who is also a librarian. Some of the patrons at the Cobble Cove library are based on some of the real ones at my library, although I make changes to them.

Kat: What’s the toughest part of your job?

Debbie: If you’re referring to my writing and not my work at the library, I think the toughest job is finding the time to write, edit, and promote my books.

Kat: What do you like most about your job?

Debbie: I love creating characters, giving them life, and seeing what they do on the stage of my book.

Kat: What don’t those who aren’t writers not understand about the world of writers?

Debbie: I don’t think non-writers understand the amount of work that goes into writing and that it’s a rare few who make it big quickly or even ever.

Kat: If you could go anywhere in the world where would that be and why?

Debbie: There are so many places I’d like to visit. My family and I had plans to go to Italy one year, but it didn’t work out. I’m still interested in going there. I’ve been overseas but only to England after college. In the U.S., I still want to go to the Grand Canyon and California.

Kat: What were you like as a child?

Debbie: Very shy and a real bookworm. I was also an animal lover especially of cats and still am. I had a weight problem and still struggle with my weight. I’m currently a Jenny Craig member. I’ve lost over 60 pounds but went off the diet and started gaining it back, so I returned and am now less than 10 pounds higher than what I was when I stopped going. From there, I’d like to lose another 10.

Kat: If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?

Debbie: Well, I’m a librarian as well as a writer, so I guess that’s what I would be. Those were the only occupations I ever considered, but I wanted to be a writer before a librarian.

Kat: Is there anything you would hope your readers get out of reading your book?

Debbie: I hope that I surprise and entertain my readers with my mysteries. I hope they enjoy my characters and feel like they can relate to them and even be friends with some of them.

cloudyrainbonewcover

NEW RELEASE

By Debbie De Louise

Dedicated to my mom who recently passed away, Cloudy Rainbow is a story of love, loss, and love regained through the power of hope.

CLOUDY RAINBOW

This revised edition celebrates the 10th anniversary of the author’s first published novel.

When you lose a loved one, whether it’s a relative, friend, or precious pet, you wonder where that special soul has gone and if you will ever see him or her again. For Dulcie Mills, Long Island computer programmer, the answer may lie between a virtual world and the real one, between the past and the present, between dreams and reality.

Unable to get over her fiancée’s death and facing the impending loss of her 15-year-old cat, Dulcie escapes to a virtual world. When Dulcie’s best friend accepts a job from a clairvoyant who offers predictions regarding Dulcie’s dead fiancée and Dulcie becomes attracted to an online stranger, history begins to repeat itself in ways that are both promising and terrifying. What Dulcie discovers through a virtual séance may mean the only chance she has left for love or death itself.

Addressing topics of reincarnation and soul transfer in similar ways as Greg Iles’ Sleep No More and Nora Roberts’ Midnight Bayou, Cloudy Rainbow features an interesting mix of technology and the paranormal and will also appeal to cat lovers.

First time in KU and Amazon eBook: mybook.to/CR2
Paperback also available

Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debbie.delouise.author/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Deblibrarian

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2750133.Debbie_De_Louise

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2bIHdaQ

Website/Blog/Newsletter Sign-Up: https://debbiedelouise.com

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CEO of Solstice Publishing #Authorinterview

Author Interview

Melissa Miller, author, and CEO of Solstice Publishing

I’m excited to welcome Melissa Miller as a guest to my blog. She is not only a publisher, but she is a best-selling author on Amazon. She writes under the pen name Lizzy Stevens. Melissa and her husband Steve Miller have written many books together. They have two awesome boys. 

Kat: In addition to being the CEO of Solstice Publishing, you are also quite a prolific author in your own right. How many books have you published?

Melissa: As of this interview I have 28 books in all. I’m currently working on several others. I don’t normally bounce around. I have always written one book all the way through before starting another, but for some reason I had all these ideas in my head at once 😊 so I currently have 3 that I’m working on right now.

Kat: I read Ravencrest book I and found the storyline very interesting. Can you tell us when book II will come out?

Melissa: Thanks so much. I’m glad you enjoyed it. The plan for book 2 is Summer of 2019. I don’t generally take as long to get sequels out but I had a lot of unexpected things come along throughout the year that held it up.

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Linda Lingle Author of Dear Heart #romance #lovestory

I’d like to introduce Linda Lingle the author of Dear Heart and Sweet Heart. A truly inspiring love story.

~~~~

Can love survive a nearly forty year separation? Can passion? And what happens to lovers who are separated for a life time? See how their destiny unfolds as the parted lovers dream about finding their way back to each other’s arms, and an unlikely guide emerges to light the path of their journey.

Dear HEART SWEET YES

DEAR HEART

Deirdre Reid and Hartley (Lee) Tate feel an immediate attraction when they meet at the office where they will work together and fall in love.   There is only one problem:  they are married to others and Lee has four daughters to whom he is devoted.

For 15 months Deirdre and Lee carry on a passionate affair.  Then Lee’s wife is offered a big promotion across the country.  With his heart breaking, Lee leaves Deirdre in San Francisco and moves East with his family so his wife can advance her high-powered career.  

Soon, unforeseen circumstances have Deirdre second-guessing her insistence on a clean break.  She resists every impulse to fly to Lee’s side, but on the first anniversary of their parting, Deirdre grows increasingly regretful and melancholy. Then she receives a surprising Christmas present which sets in motion a 38-year ritual that, against all odds, keeps alive the love she shared with Lee.

Get Deirdre’s story on Amazon

SWEET HEART

Heartbroken and resentful, Lee has a difficult time adjusting to his life without Deirdre and struggles to settle in to his new surroundings. Knowing he made the only decision a father could make does little to lessen Lee’s profound sense of loss. Although he tries to be upbeat and optimistic for the sake of his daughters, in the dark and quiet of his lonely nights, Lee relives the fifteen heady months that he spent with Deirdre and gives free rein to the anguish and bitterness he feels because he was forced to leave her.

Then, his youngest daughter enlists Lee to help her find an elusive Christmas gift for her favorite teacher and everything changes.

As if guided by fate, Lee stumbles across a poignant reminder of his time with Deirdre and sets in motion the 38-year ritual that eased his heartbreak and sustained his hope for the future.

In this companion book to Dear Heart, we meet the people who populate Lee’s world, and learn the shocking secret he promised never to reveal. 

Get Lee’s story on Amazon

INTERVIEW WITH LINDA

Kat: I’m excited you’ve agreed to sit down and join me for a heart to heart talk about you, your writing, and your new books Dear Heart and Sweet Heart.

AUTHOR, Linda Lingle: I’m thrilled to be talking with you about my books.  I honestly can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing.

Kat: Dear Heart is such a beautiful love story. It’s unique because even though Deirdre and Lee were separated for nearly forty years, their love for each other, and their desire, never waned. How did you come about writing such a riveting romance?

AUTHOR, Linda Lingle: I awoke on the morning of my fortieth wedding anniversary thinking about all of the ups and downs my husband and I had survived, and about how love had changed for us as we weathered the bad times and the challenges of day-to-day living. Then — and this is where the magic came in, I began to wonder how life would have been if romantic love had lasted forever. The next thing I knew, I was sitting at my lap top, writing the first chapter of Dear Heart.   Since I couldn’t see how romance could survive the daily assault of pressures and problems, I knew when I started that the main characters would be separated for a long period of time, but would ultimately get back together because, well, when I read a love story, I want there to be a happily ever after.

Kat: Fascinating. Dear Heart and Sweet Heart are exquisitely romantic and beautifully written. Hope this isn’t too personal, but some of your prose drove it home. Wow! So… here’s my question. Did you bring your own experiences to your work?

AUTHOR, Linda LingleFor Dear Heart, I drew on a relationship I knew about that grew out of an intense physical attraction and developed into a passionate affair.  That relationship didn’t last, but what I knew about the beginnings of it was enough to form the cornerstone of the relationship between Deirdre and Lee.  Everything else between them was purely a figment of my imagination.

As for the prose, well, it’s really all about the voice of the characters, isn’t it?  I don’t know where that comes from, and that’s especially true for Dear Heart because Deirdre’s voice is nothing like mine.

Kat: We have to draw from somewhere, and it’s always interesting to hear where a particularly potent section of writing came from… so thank you for sharing. Because I love your writing voice, I’m curious about some of your other writings. Could you give your readers examples?

AUTHOR, Linda LingleI started out writing short stories. Two were published years ago and I may submit them to Solstice at some point in the future if they meet the minimum word requirement.   They’re both very light in tone and are in an epistolary format.   Then I took a break from writing to build a career in public service. When I got back to writing, about five years ago, I was all over the map. I started working on a mystery that went nowhere, and then outlined a book about labor unions. Both of these were dark pieces and I think the stories failed because when I was writing them I had more of an ax to grind rather than a story to tell. Then I got the idea for Dear Heart and things just seemed to fall into place.

Originally, I thought Dear Heart would be the first of a trilogy of romances. The second, which I’m working on now, is called Interoffice Romance and it’s about a young man who falls in love with his boss. It’s very light and upbeat and just an over-all fun book. The third is called Change of Heart, and it’s about a couple who divorce after 30 years of marriage.  Change of Heart has a more serious tone, but there are funny moments in it, or at least I hope there will be, I’m still working that out.  Anyway, when I wrote Sweet Heart, it disrupted the whole trilogy idea, or at least it does for the purist.  Me?  I like to think of Sweet Heart as an extension of Dear Heart and not really a stand-alone book, so I can delude myself that I’m still on the trilogy track.

Kat: I’m excited to read the Interoffice Romance. Let me know how it’s going. What’s the toughest part of your job?

AUTHOR, Linda LingleHands down, the writing.   I hear a lot of complaints about how hard it is to promote but, for me, promoting is a walk in the park compared to writing.

Kat: Have you ever thought of combining your writing career with marketing for others? I’ve seen it done. What do you like most about your job?

AUTHOR, Linda LingleComing up with new ideas on how to promote the books.

Kat: Is there anything you wish non-writers could understand about the world of writers?

AUTHOR, Linda LingleThat we’re introverts and more comfortable behind the scenes and in our own worlds than out in front of a crowd, basking in the limelight.

Kat: No truer words spoken. We communicate the best way we can. If you could go anywhere in the world where would that be and why?

AUTHOR, Linda Lingle: Maine.  I’ve always loved the idea of living in a cooler climate by the ocean.   In my perfect world, I’d live in a cottage overlooking the ocean or on the top floor of a General Store, which I owned and ran – overlooking the ocean.

Kat: Love the vision. I drove through Maine once in fall and it was spectacular. What were you like as a child?

 AUTHOR, Linda LingleI was headstrong and a risk taker. My father was a disciplinarian, but we knew what the rules were and what the consequences were for breaking them. I was the one most likely to break the rules – not to see if I could get away with anything, but just because I wanted to do what I wanted to do, and if I had to accept a punishment for that, so be it.  I got a lot of punishments, but they were all deserved. I bless my father every day for being strict because I learned that actions have consequences. If I hadn’t had those lessons, I would have probably ended up in jail.

Kat: Sounds just like someone I know (not me), although every inch a pleasure. If you weren’t an author, what would you like to be?

AUTHOR, Linda LingleA sloth.  That’s not as ludicrous as it may sound.   I worked like a banshee for 40 years, and was dog-tired when I retired.  If I hadn’t stumbled into a writing career, I’d probably spend my days shopping and watching television.

Kat: Chuckle. You probably could’ve done well as a comedian too. Is there anything you would hope your readers get out of reading your book?

AUTHOR, Linda LinglePrimarily, I hope readers fall in love with Deirdre and Lee and their story.  And if they only get one thing out of the books, I hope it’s this: no matter how bad things are, there is always hope.

Kat: I for one fell in love with Deirdre and Lee, and their story. I was wowed, time and again as I read. Do you have any writing tips you can give to other writers?

AUTHOR, Linda LingleI do. First:  when it’s time to call it a day, don’t stop writing at the end of a paragraph or the end of a chapter. Stop writing in the middle of a sentence. It will be easier to pick up where you left off when you come back to your manuscript.

Second, assuming you’re in the mood to write, when the right words won’t come, write anything.  Don’t worry about grammar, timber, voice, pacing or vocabulary. Just get the raw thought down on paper. In the first place, it will be better than you thought it would be, and in the second place, it’s a lot easier to edit than it is to start from scratch.

Third, know what your end game is and keep your eye on that ball. Don’t let yourself get distracted by what everyone else is doing because their end game may be different from yours. 

And finally, realize that you’re not in competition with other authors, your only competition is yourself.

Kat: These are great tips. Thank you. Do you have a ritual you follow when writing?

AUTHOR, Linda LingleNot really.  I only write when the spirit moves me to write, and then as long as I have coffee and cigarettes, I’m good.

Kat: What are fun facts about you?

AUTHOR, Linda LingleI’m a total introvert.  I write better than I speak.  I smoke like a dragon and swear like a sailor.  And even though I’d like to be twenty pounds thinner – who wouldn’t? I’m totally comfortable in my own skin and don’t mind being alone.

Kat: Well, Linda. I love you just the way you are. You’re great, and so is your writing. I’m a fan. I’m looking forward to reading much more of your writings.

Yes LInda

 

Linda Lingle began writing at a young age and had some early success with her whimsical short stories. Then life intervened and she took a break from writing to build a career in public service. When the storyline for Dear Heart, and its companion book, Sweet Heart, came to her out of the blue, it sparked her imagination and reignited her enthusiasm for writing. She is currently working on a screenplay for Dear Heart which incorporates the plots of both books. Linda lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, Arthur, and her dog, Sam.

WEBSITE: http://www.lindalinglebooks.com

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/LindaLingleBooks

TWITTER: http://twitter.com/lindalinglebks

G+: http://plus.google.com/s/lindalinglebooks

 

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What comes after loss…

YES LIFE'S LESSONA copy

 

April 14, 2018

It’s been over three and a half years since I lost my son, Chad. To know I’ll never see him on this earth again is not something I’ve come to terms with. I doubt I ever will. For three years and two months, I didn’t see how I could make it through another minute. To live in that way for so long was killing me. I’d lost hope. It was torture going anywhere, but I finally returned to church. After crying two Sundays in a row I had to do something and ask for prayers in dealing with my loss. Whether that’s what changed things, I know God’s hands are in the reasons why life became a little easier, though there will always be rough days, really, really rough. Seeing my children and grandchildren certainly helps a whole lot; laughing with them is good for my soul.

The pain may seem to melt at times, but there is no ‘cure’ for this kind of loss (two breakdowns today), but controlling thoughts becomes easier more often–something that was impossible even three months ago. Don’t get me wrong; I still think about my son from the moment I awake until I fall asleep, but I don’t allow my mind to go into detail about what happened to him near every minute of the day. No down movies either.

Please, if you have a family member who’s lost a child, don’t ask anything out of them. Just pray for them. In time they will work naturally to find things of interest that will “help” take their mind off the reality of their child’s death. No matter how long ago the loss, the pain is right below the surface and it comes out in a split second. There are days of dark grief and weeping, but we come to learn that this is our cross to bear–not in the least with self-pity, but with our hearts full of love for our child. We’re lucky if we find an outlet, something we love to do in order to hold our grief at bay. Writing is my outlet. That’s all it is, holding it at bay. My saving grace.

 

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No woman deserves to wear these shoes #loss #poetry #pray

 

I haven’t posted in a while not because I don’t have things to say, because I certainly do. In fact, many times my brain must resemble Mount St. Helens before the May 18, 1980 eruption. There are moments here and there when suddenly I’m hit with a burst of ideas and I’m off in a whirl of determination, ready. But, for the most part, it’s short-lived and the energy is sucked right out of me. It’s been said that one day in the life of a bereaved mother is like a week of hard labor.

Still, I never sit and mope, I’m always busy even if it’s watching a movie, playing games, cleaning, or journaling. The other day I went to the book store and for the first time since the loss of my son, I bought a paperback book. That was me pushing myself to get on with it. And so I am. Here is a poem I saw today and think it’s not only important for a parent who’s lost a child, but for those who don’t understand that losing a child is not something you just get over one day. I can’t imagine we ever do.

A PAIR OF SHOES

I am wearing a pair of shoes
They are ugly shoes
Uncomfortable shoes
I hate my shoes.
Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair

Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can
take another step.

Yet, I continue to wear them
I get funny looks wearing these shoes
They are looks of sympathy
I can tell in others eyes they are glad they are my shoes
and not theirs

They never talk about my shoes
To learn how awful my shoes are might make them
uncomfortable
To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them
But once you put them on, you
can never take them off.

I now realize that I am not the
only one who wears these shoes.
There are many pairs in this world
Some women are like me and ache daily as they try and walk
in them
Some learned how to walk in them so they don’t hurt quite
as much
Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before
they think about how much they hurt.

No woman deserved to wear these shoes.
Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger woman
These shoes have given me the
strength to face anything
They have made me who I am
I will forever walk in the shoes of a woman who has lost a child

Author Unknown