Always there - no violence

I rarely read books with violence in them. Mystery novels are about the only ones. Even then, I prefer books where the violence or murder happens before the book begins, and I want justice by the end.

As an author, I don't like to write violence, but I have on a few occasions, when I felt like I had no choice in order to tell the story. I guess this post would be better titled "Almost never there - graphic violence."

Whisper Falls has instances of physical abuse during the series. The 18th-century half of the first book shows the plight of female indentured servants. I couldn't have given a true account without letting the reader see the brutality that haunted their lives. Our hero has been the victim of bullying. It's hard for either of those plot points to be authentic without alluding to some violence. In book 3, the villain is again the cause of abuse to both the hero and heroine, although less is visible on the page. The reader knows it's happened, but the details are not graphic.  In this series, justice prevails.

In The Possibility of Somewhere (writing as Julia Day), the realities of the heroine's life are fairly harsh. Physical abuse lurks constantly as a possibility. The heroine, Eden, is prepared to take care of herself, though. "The Mundys of the world believed in a sunshiny legal system... [but] I knew better. The Edens of the world grew up in trailer parks, and they had different rules. Justice changed depending on where we lived."

So, perhaps instead of pledging to never write violence, I'll promise instead to limit it to the minimum needed to serve the story, to describe what's happening without gratuitous details, and to see that the criminals (perpetrators) reap punishment for what they've done.

Always there - Norah and Charlie

For any book or series that I write, there will always be two characters with the names Norah and Charlie.

The reason is bittersweet; I do this as a memorial to two adorable little children that we lost too soon. Charlie was my nephew, who died at age 4. Norah was the daughter of a friend. She passed away at age 6.

This didn't start out as a conscious decision. I wanted them both to be remembered--and simply wrote them into my first book. Once I'd discovered this way to remember them, I knew that I'd want to include them again.

Since I Wish was the first YA book that I wrote (although it was the fourth to be published), Norah and Charlie made their first appearance in it. They are two ice-skaters in "genie-land."

They play a bigger role in the Whisper Falls series. Mark (the hero) has a strong relationship with his grandparents, Norah and Charlie. They appear in all three books of the series.

In The Possibility of Somewhere (writing as Julia Day), Eden once held a job at Charlie's Diner, working with a waitress named Norah. A small presence--but I know they're there, and now you do too.

For Fade To Us, there are three main characters: Brooke, her stepsister Natalie, and the guy they both like (in different ways) Micah.  Micah's father is Charlie. Natalie has a camp counselor named Norah. Both Norah and Charlie have small roles in this book--but they are great and memorable people, just like their namesakes!

For Norah and Charlie--

We have not forgotten.

Always there - military

When authors write young adult novels, there are many aspects that we're all trying to achieve: a well-written story with a good plot, sympathetic characters who struggle with relatable problems, and interesting settings.

I have other elements that will always be there. Some appeared without me really thinking about. Others--I decided to include in every book or series. And one of those is military service. There will always be a military character in my books.

I served 8 years in the military. My father, brother, and sister are all military retirees. I'm proud to have served--and that spills over into my stories.

All of my books/series have at least one secondary character who has served. In the Whisper Falls series, it was Mark's aunt, an Army major who lost her life in Afghanistan. In the I Wish series, Lacey's dad was a Marine who died in a training accident. In The Possibility of Somewhere, Mundy's father was a Navy helicopter pilot.

In future books, military characters will be more prominent. In my next Julia Day release, the heroine's stepfather is a recently retired Army sergeant. And I've already outlined another book where the hero will be an active-duty military member.

There are a lot of books that feature SEALs, fighter pilots, or military lawyers / investigators. I won't be writing more of those books. Instead, I'll focus on servicemembers with jobs that are less well-known: mechanics, military police, engineers, Signal Corps (telecommunications).  I'm not as familiar with those career fields, but I'm having a lot of fun with the research.

I'm also open for suggestions. So if you are in the military or have a military family member with an interesting job or story that needs to be heard, please let me know.


 

Whisper Falls sale ends Tues

Whisper Falls e-book will remain on sale through Tuesday-- 99 cents USD (and 0.99 euro / GBP / AUD / CAD).

I have a large stock of the Whisper Falls series paperbacks (old covers) in my living room. If you're interested in having a signed set of the trilogy (US addresses only), contact me through my website. They're $15 for the trilogy ($10 for the books and $5 for the shipping.)

If you're looking for a great book for the holidays...

If you have a few days off for the final week of the year, grab a book and read!

There are a lot of great books on sale. Most e-book retailer sites make it easy to find inexpensive books, so take a chance on an author you've never read before. And you don't have to have an e-book reader; Amazon, B&N, Apple, Kobo, and other retailers have e-book apps for your laptop or mobile phone.

I'd like to recommend Whisper Falls, the first book in my Whisper Falls series. It's on sale for 0.99 everywhere-- 0.99 dollars in US / AUS / CA, 0.99 Euros in Europe, and 0.99 GBP in the UK.

This book is set in two centuries--18th and 21st. It tells the story of a modern teen mountain bike racer and the mysterious girl he meets through a magical and temperamental waterfall. Mark and Susanna build a friendship across 200 years. When Mark sees how hard her life is as an indentured servant in the household of a brutal man, he uses modern technology to uncover Susanna's fate...and has to decide whether to let history play out or intervene to save Susanna.


This book will appeal to readers of all ages (14 and up). It has history, adventure, suspense, and romance.

Have a great holiday season--and enjoy the gift of stories!


Praise for Whisper Falls:

• "... a fun, action-packed story" - School Library Journal 
• "I am an avid reader, and this book ranks among the top. It is fantastic - I couldn't put it down. I was told that it was a book for young adults, but I am 61 years old and I found it fascinating ... I HIGHLY recommend this - it is beautifully written, as well as being historic, and thrilling. An absolutely GREAT read! I am planning to recommend it to my library and my own kids."
• "The research the writer put into the book is apparent everywhere you look."
• "[the author] delivers with this time travel historical and current day romance. She effortlessly switches the narrative between Mark, the present day character, and Susanna, the indentured slave who is living in 1796. I have read few other books that switch the voice so well."
• "I usually don't enjoy historical books at all, but Whisper Falls was fantastic. I could barely put it down. It's beautifully written, great editing and a unique story."

 

Gifts to give your favorite author

It's the holiday season, a time when many of us look for ways to give to those we love or admire.

So, just in case you're wondering how to show your favorite authors how much they're appreciated, I have a few suggestions--and they are (almost) all free!

Leave a review.  Please, if you've enjoyed a book, leave a review! Especially for authors with a smaller following, reviews really do help us. You don't have to write much. A few words work. You can say what appealed to you most about the book--or why you'd recommend it.  Even something as simple as "I enjoyed this book. Recommended." And if you have to choose just one review site, pick Amazon; reviews there carry more weight for promotions and visibility.

Make a suggestion to your local library. Most library systems have a form for submitting suggestions for books. Authors love to have their books carried in libraries!

Tell your friends. Word-of-mouth is the number one way that readers learn about new books. Whether it's during a book club, over coffee, or online through social media, sharing your recommendations helps authors--and you'll be giving your friends the gift of beautiful stories.

Give books to the people on your holiday shopping list: Okay, so here is the one suggestion that will cost something. Books are a great gift. If you want to wrap a package and leave it under the tree, books come in paperback, hardback, or ebook (which you can give via a paper or plastic giftcard). If you watch for sales¹ or great deals², books don't have to be that expensive.

Happy holidays and may your new year be filled with great stories, magical places, and characters that you can love!

~~~

¹ Whisper Falls is on sale for 0.99 USD, through January 3.
² You can buy paperback copies of my books directly from me through my website, and I'll sign and ship them to you (US only.)

Holiday cookie exchange and giveaway

I'm in a group of 16 romance authors who are hosting a holiday cookie exchange and hop. Each author has posted a cookie recipe on their blog, FB page, or website. If you visit each site--and "collect" the names of all 16 recipes--you can enter to win a chance at the grand prize--a $150 gift card.
 

Also, along the way, you may find other bonus giveaways. So join us on the hop for cookie recipes and holiday fun!

To get you started, my cookie recipe is for Orange No-bake Cookies.

For more details, visit our blog - Ruby Cookie Exchange.