Showing posts with label annette lyon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label annette lyon. Show all posts

Thursday, November 8, 2012

A Timeless Romance Anthology Winter Collection--Book Review


Published by Mirror Press.
Available at Smashwords and Amazon.

I have loved every story I have read from this anthology. It gives you a great taste for each author's style of writing, and each story makes you sit back and smile. They are fun, feel good, quick readers, that are for every romantic at heart. 

:) :) :) :) :)


Winter Collection (Description taken from Amazon)
Six Award-Winning Authors have contributed brand new stories to A Timeless Romance Anthology: Winter Collection. A collection unlike any other, readers will love this compilation of six sweet historical romance novellas, set in varying eras, yet all with one thing in common: 

Romance.

The Road to Cavan Town by Sarah M. Eden, set in 1864 Ireland, combines Eden’s sense of humor with her signature sweet romance. Alice Wheatley walks each weekend into town, accompanied by Isaac Dancy. And while Alice finds herself falling in love with the gentleman, unfortunately he has his eyes set on the belle of the town, Miss Sophia Kilchrest. Alice must find a way to turn Isaac’s eyes toward her.

Regency author Heidi Ashworth’s delightful story, It Happened Twelfth Night, set in England 1812, follows Luisa Darlington who discovers the man of her dreams, Percy Brooksby, isn’t in love with her as much as she thought he was. When Percy’s friend, the mysterious foreigner, Mr. Flynn, visits for the twelfth night holiday, he promptly sweeps Luisa off her feet, quite literally. Luisa is left catching her breath in more ways than one.

An Unexpected Proposal by Annette Lyon is a captivating romantic novella, set in remote Wood Camp, the snowy canyon of Logan, Utah, 1880. When Caroline Simpson is forced to thwart the aggressive advances of Mr. Butch Larson, she discovers that her long-time friend, James, has genuine affection for her. But as stubborn as Caroline is, she minimizes the feelings he’s awakened in her, and it takes almost losing James to admit her true feelings for him.

In Joyce DiPastena’s charming medieval story, Caroles on the Green, we enter England of 1151, in which Lady Isabel has a dilemma. She promises herself that she’ll marry the man who sent a ring hidden in her pastry since the man she truly loves, Sir Lucian de Warrene, has proved to be impossible and exasperating. To forget him, Isabel sets her eyes on other eligible men, only to face another confrontation with Lucian—who isn’t about to back off and leave her to her newest plot.

Donna Hatch’s enchanting novella, A Winter’s Knight, begins when Clarissa Fairchild’s coach just happens to break down in front of the most forbidding estate in the county, that of Wyckburg Castle, a place where young brides have been murdered for generations by their husbands. Clarissa is horrified yet curious all in the same breath. When she meets widower Christopher de Champs, Earl of Wyckburg, she must decide if she should flee or uncover the greatest secret in the county about her handsome rescuer. 

In Heather B. Moore’s exciting turn-of-the-century story, A Fortunate Exile, Lila Townsend finds herself the victim of a broken heart—broken by the most notorious bachelor in 1901 New York City. If that isn’t bad enough, her father sends her to Aunt Eugenia’s remote farm where Lila must wait for her father’s anger to subside and the gossip columns to find new fodder. When Lila meets her aunt’s boarder, Peter Weathers, she discovers a man who isn’t afraid to stand up to her formidable family and take a chance on a woman with a sullied reputation.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Winter Collection A Timeless Romance Anthology--Book Buzzin'


Published by Mirror Press.
Available at Smashwords and Amazon.


Winter Collection (Description taken from Amazon)

Six Award-Winning Authors have contributed brand new stories to A Timeless Romance Anthology: Winter Collection. A collection unlike any other, readers will love this compilation of six sweet historical romance novellas, set in varying eras, yet all with one thing in common: 

Romance.

The Road to Cavan Town by Sarah M. Eden, set in 1864 Ireland, combines Eden’s sense of humor with her signature sweet romance. Alice Wheatley walks each weekend into town, accompanied by Isaac Dancy. And while Alice finds herself falling in love with the gentleman, unfortunately he has his eyes set on the belle of the town, Miss Sophia Kilchrest. Alice must find a way to turn Isaac’s eyes toward her.

Regency author Heidi Ashworth’s delightful story, It Happened Twelfth Night, set in England 1812, follows Luisa Darlington who discovers the man of her dreams, Percy Brooksby, isn’t in love with her as much as she thought he was. When Percy’s friend, the mysterious foreigner, Mr. Flynn, visits for the twelfth night holiday, he promptly sweeps Luisa off her feet, quite literally. Luisa is left catching her breath in more ways than one.

An Unexpected Proposal by Annette Lyon is a captivating romantic novella, set in remote Wood Camp, the snowy canyon of Logan, Utah, 1880. When Caroline Simpson is forced to thwart the aggressive advances of Mr. Butch Larson, she discovers that her long-time friend, James, has genuine affection for her. But as stubborn as Caroline is, she minimizes the feelings he’s awakened in her, and it takes almost losing James to admit her true feelings for him.

In Joyce DiPastena’s charming medieval story, Caroles on the Green, we enter England of 1151, in which Lady Isabel has a dilemma. She promises herself that she’ll marry the man who sent a ring hidden in her pastry since the man she truly loves, Sir Lucian de Warrene, has proved to be impossible and exasperating. To forget him, Isabel sets her eyes on other eligible men, only to face another confrontation with Lucian—who isn’t about to back off and leave her to her newest plot.

Donna Hatch’s enchanting novella, A Winter’s Knight, begins when Clarissa Fairchild’s coach just happens to break down in front of the most forbidding estate in the county, that of Wyckburg Castle, a place where young brides have been murdered for generations by their husbands. Clarissa is horrified yet curious all in the same breath. When she meets widower Christopher de Champs, Earl of Wyckburg, she must decide if she should flee or uncover the greatest secret in the county about her handsome rescuer. 

In Heather B. Moore’s exciting turn-of-the-century story, A Fortunate Exile, Lila Townsend finds herself the victim of a broken heart—broken by the most notorious bachelor in 1901 New York City. If that isn’t bad enough, her father sends her to Aunt Eugenia’s remote farm where Lila must wait for her father’s anger to subside and the gossip columns to find new fodder. When Lila meets her aunt’s boarder, Peter Weathers, she discovers a man who isn’t afraid to stand up to her formidable family and take a chance on a woman with a sullied reputation.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Outlining, Part 1--The Hero's Journey


The Hero’s Journey
Welcome to part 1 of my journey to outlining. If you missed my intro, take a look here.

The Hero’s Journey is one type of outline that I have taken classes on several times. It has always made sense, but I’d never understood how to apply it to my writing. Honestly, I wasn’t ready for the information.
Now, the more I learn about the Hero’s Journey, I can see how it can be useful in my writing. However, everyone is different and you have to find what works for you. I, myself, thought that this would be the method I would try. After the last conference I attended, I’m not so sure about that. I think I may use bits and pieces from a few different methods and make my own.
So, I am going to share my notes from the most recent class I attended on The Hero’s Journey from Annette Lyon (Thank you Annette for a great class!) at the LDStorymakers conference in May, as well as some links at the bottom of different versions of the Hero’s Journey.
Hero’s Journey
Annette Lyon
The Hero
  • audience has to ID with him/her
  • hero must grow
  • involved in most of the action
  • Must have a flaw
  • must sacrifice—maybe even be willing to sacrifice his or her life
The Mentor
  • teaches the hero
  • often gives hero a gift
  • motivates hero—may calm fears of give them a kick in the pants
  • can be a shape-shifter
Threshold Guardians
  • Anything/one who stands in the way of your hero
  • person, event, physical object
  • blocks hero’s way
  • tests the hero
  • can be good or bad
The Herald
  • issues the Hero the challenge
  • announces coming change: all is not well
  • gives Hero motivation to go on the adventure
  • person, object, or event
The Shape-Shifter
  • not what they appear to be
  • revealing “real” self creates big change.
  • good or evil
  • can be combined with another character
The shadow
  • the villain
  • tests hero’s abilities/worthiness
  • forces hero to rise to the challenge
  • often appears beautiful
  • elegant or good
  • Often a shape-shifter
Trickster
  • comic relief
  • brings things into perspective
  • often a sidekick to Hero
The Ordinary World
  • whatever status quo
  • into story question
  • foreshadows special world
  • meet the Hero & problems
Call to Adventure
  • herald (in object or character to)
Refusal of the Call
  • hero refuses the call
  • why: fear or other excuses, maybe noble ones
meeting with the mentor
  • usually before the hero’s commitment
  • gets story moving
  • provides hero with training and/or helpful object that will help in the quest
crossing the first threshold
  • leaving ordinary world/entering special world
  • shows hero’s commitment to quest
  • for reluctant hero: quest is pushed on him
  • first threshold guardian
  • life will never be the same
tests, allies, and enemies (bulk of the story)
  • hero adjusts to the New World
  • hero gets tested in many ways
  • hero meets people (often in “watering holes”) must determine enemies vs. allies
  • gets sidekicks
  • gets rival
approach to the inmost cave
  • hero prepares for test, which will get him ready for the final ordeal
  • illusions, threshold guardians
  • hero uses lessons learned to get through
  • often enters a NEW special world
The Ordeal
  • Hero’s final exam
  • hero battles shadow
  • hero faces greatest fears
  • hero shows what’s been learned
  • hero must be willing to sacrifice something huge and/or die
  • hero often appears to die, or something or someone does die
Reward—seizing the Sword
  • hero captures or finds the treasure (elixir) or accomplishes whatever th point of the quest was
  • celebration (“campfire” scenes)
  • epipany: hero understands something he’s learned
The Road Back
  • not in a lot of stories
  • hero heads back to ordinary world w/elixir (object, wisdom, etc)
  • shadow may not be totally defeated, could still try to defeat the Hero
  • common time for chase scenes
  • hero runs into setbacks
Resurrection
  • hero has an ordeal that pushes him to the limit-often showdowns w/villain, a death and rebirth scene, etc
  • the ordeal has changed the hero in some big way, and we see that change in the resurrection scene
  • often the climax-hero overcomes final problems, defeats villain
Return with the Elixir
  • the story’s wrap-up denouement
  • characters receive rewards or punishments
  • wrap-up of plot threads, but often a surprise shows up
  • circular vs open endings
  • hero may leave; no longer belongs
  • elixir may be knowledge gained
So What?
Applying the H’s J to YOUR story
  • what’s your genre
  • character-type holes
  • moving the plot
  • boosting conflict
  • developing characters
See you next Saturday!
The Hero's Journey Outline from the Writer's Journey
The Hero's Journey from Read, Writer, Think (interactive)