 Writing A Lady's Heart of Gold has been an incredible experience. I hope you enjoy these characters. Original illustrations in the book, including two full page illustrations AND the "chapter end" illustrations were created by Melanie Bateman, of MAB Illustrations. Spoilers Ahead.
1 Comment
 CHARACTER INSPIRATION: MOLLY MCKINNEY
#charactersketch #characterinspiration #mollymckinney I looked long and hard for the right "Molly" face. I found one with Ella Hunt. Brown hair, brown eyes, with a look that honestly reminds me of so many girls I was friends with a long, long time ago. Honestly, she looks like a real person to me. Which I love. Molly Elizabeth McKinney is the heroine of my upcoming Hearts of Arizona novel, A Lady's Heart of Gold. She's the British half of our romantic couple, and our hero finds her ADORABLE. She's determined, stubborn, curious, and has an adventurous heart. Did I mention she's a newspaper reporter? In the late 1800's, women were starting to make a splash in the newspaper world. In London, a woman both owned and edited a large newspaper. Women's magazines were taking off. Nellie Bly was an established figure in the world of investigative reporting. So it stands to reason that a determined woman with literary skills would find a way into that profession. In this book, you'll learn all about Molly. For one thing, she publishes under her initials, M.E. McKinney. That keeps both her editor and her readers from assuming a woman doesn't know what she's talking about. I hope y'all enjoy this little sneak peek into what's ahead. (First posted on Sally Sweet Romance Fans Facebook Group)  Another random fact about me: I LOVE the Lord of the Rings. Aragorn is my fave.
He's one of my desk/office buddies. Lately, he's been hanging out on the shelf next to my friends from The Princess Bride, but he makes little appearances on the desk now and then. Isn't he a cutie? I LOVE Tolkien's worlds. I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy prior to seeing any films, unless you count the creepy Hobbit cartoon from the 70's. In fact, my senior literary thesis class was called "Tolkien and Friends." One of the two professors team-teaching (they both resembled hobbits, by the way) had actually MET Tolkien years previous. It was an incredible class. I learned so much about the interpretation of literature and film. So who's your favorite Tolkien character? Do you have one? Why is that one your fave? I love Aragorn - both book and movie version, which are quite different - for his honor and strength of character. He's a wonderful fictional hero. And my lil' Aragorn inspires me to write men of valor in my tales of romance! Get your own Funko Pop Aragorn for your desk/shelves HERE!  In case you missed it - I released something pretty about six months ago!
🌸What: A sweet, stand-alone, Regency novella 🌸When: It was FIRST released as part of the Timeless Romance collection, An Evening at Almack's, but I've since added content and thrown in some edits. 🌸How: Available on Amazon for purchase ONLY. It cannot be in KU because the earlier version is still in the collection. 🌸Why: Because I wanted to add some scenes! Add some depth, change around a few things. So it's still the same story (in case you've read it before), but with extra descriptions, longer scenes, and a more satisfactory conclusion. (Book summary in comments.) It may interest a few people to know that the plot for this book was partially inspired by the film Sabrina - but the one starring Audrey Hepburn, because I like that one better. 😉 Available as an eBook and a lovely little paperback! Official Summary: When an unsuitable gentleman appears to court a baron's daughter, it's an older sister's duty to stand in his way. And, of course, not fall in love with him herself. Matilda Rayment is determined to protect her sister's interest and her family from ruin, which means she must marry off her flirtatious younger sister before the Season ends. When the Rayments cross paths with Oliver Bolton, the nephew of their steward, his interest in Miss Beatrice threatens all Mattie's plans. For as long as he can remember, Oliver has dreamed of courting Miss Beatrice Rayment, but never dared reach above his station. He hasn't been a gentleman long, but owning his estate - however small in size - gives him access to new rungs on Society's ladder and finally, his chance has come. It is up to Mattie to steer Oliver away from making an unhappy match with her sister, but before long she finds herself losing her heart to the steward's nephew. Oliver finds he cares less and less about winning Beatrice the more time he spends in Mattie's company. Can such an unsuitable match take place, or will all their plans be ruined?  What do you do when you're creatively blocked? I get blocked, sometimes. And it's not always the cat.
Thankfully, it never lasts long. I've had to learn a few different tricks with my writing to keep it from happening consistently, and to know how to get out of it when it DOES happen. I have friends I talk out sticky point in a story with. An editor (the one and only Jenny Proctor) for ENTIRE story blocks. Sometimes, all I need to do is whip out a good old-fashioned notebook and use a colorful pen to write out my thoughts. That tactile action of handwriting something - mind to hand, hand to pen, pen to paper - is usually enough to get my ideas flowing again. |
AuthorI write clean and sweet Historical Romance Novels, I live in the desert, I'm a mom of four, madly in love with my husband, and I love to read! Affiliate Links Used In PostsArchives
September 2022
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
