Just before my last post about ghosts, I’d titled a blog entry as ‘ A Man Walked Into a Bar with a Duck, and described how that title came about, as well as the reason behind it. I used it to talk about tag lines and hooks, as I did for my RWA chapter’s newsletter. I became the president of the chapter in March and it’s been a great experience thus far, and I write an article every month for the newsletter. The idea came to me for this blog and the article, so I used them accordingly.

I’d also mentioned that the line was the opening of a joke that a very good friend of mine told all the time before he died. It was a memory of him that will stay with me for the rest of my life, as will my friend, but what I’m writing about today isn’t meant to be sad. I apologize if I came across that way just now. No, what I’m writing about is that I have the answer to the joke! LOL…yes, I’m laughing because another friend added a comment to that entry and told the joke as it was intended. 

I admit I’d totally forgotten the punchline, but now that I know, I highly recommend that if you have the time, go ahead and scroll down to last week’s post titled ’A Man Walked Into a Bar with a Duck’ and see if you can find the answer.  At the very least, I think it will make you smile. The last few days have been a little trying for me, as I’ve been down with a very bad chest cold and cough that kept me awake at night. My daughter, thankfully, has a very mild version of the cough, but she’s able to sleep and she seems fine. My husband on the other hand, also had it, and it made for a stressful week. 

Regardless, I was able to finish researching the etymology of certain words used in the Middle Ages.  I had no idea how difficult it would be to find the Medieval equivilent of ‘marital’ relations. Said politely on the chance that someone could take offense, but words that might be seen as historical or old fashioned were actually very modern, and many that you might think of as you read this weren’t known until after the Regency era.  

And, I’m also proud to say that my ‘ghostly’ blog entry inspired a new story idea that I’m crafting and researching already. That’s all I can say about the book, but when it’s finished, I think it will be very different and challenging to write. I love a challenge, and writing this next book will be rewarding.  

In the meantime, I hope to post more about Seductive Persuasion in the coming weeks before Fall begins.  It’s amazing how quickly Summer ends, but it’s still warm outside, and tomorrow is a new day that promises creative surprises.  If you’re new to this blog or my website, please feel free to explore previous posts, my writing, especially Seductive Persuasion, and check out my cool book video and book cover. I think you’ll enjoy them. If you’ve visited before, thank you very much, and I sure hope you’ll comment and continue to return to find out more about Garrick Forrester and Aisley Stevenson, and how the arrogant, but noble, Fourth Earl of Danford can persuade a compassionate healer to trust a man who is far more than…human.

Until next time, happy reading and writing everyone,

Frances Stockton  

Ghosts? Things that make you turn and look to see that ‘nothing’ is really there and make you say it was just your imagination? 

It’s a question I’ve been pondering of late. Well, actually, more like today after one of my best friend’s sent me a ‘ghostly’ photo taken at a baby shower. I’ve an acquaintance who works with ghost hunters as a medium. Now, personally, I’ve never actually seen anything, but I’ve felt things. I’ve felt uneasy at times, I’ve felt an amazing sense of peace when I traveled to Israel many, many years ago and traveled through the biblical past. Amazingly, I happened to glimpse a patch of green hillside as I was riding on a bus from the airport to our hotel in Jerusalem. I felt a sense of peace, as I described above, and I felt drawn to ask about that patch of green. I did. Our guide said it was the backside of the hill that some archaelogists believe to be the place of the crucifiction. I wasn’t surprised, my eyes were drawn to that spot for a reason and I connected with something far beyond my meager understanding of life and history. 

Years ago, when I worked as a techie in a local community theater, I felt that the ghost of Edwin Booth might be haunting the theater. It stood to reason that it was possible. There were things that crashed backstage at unexpected times. There was a time when someone felt a tap on their shoulder, when a door opened, or something ‘odd’ happened, like being watched. The theater was close to the home where John Wilkes Booth and his brother, actor Edwin Brooth, lived as children. The house is still there and it’s part of the Historical Society in that area, but I don’t know if tours are still permitted. What I do know is that the image sent to me made me think that yes there are unexplanable things, some that will never be proven, but that’s okay.  I can enjoy the photo and wonder if perhaps there isn’t someone or something good watching over my friend.

So what do you as readers and writers think? Have you seen something unexplanable? My friend’s photo made me brainstorm about writing a ghost story. It’s still in its infancy as far as an idea, but it’s there and I hope to see it come to fruition if my muse pushes in that direction.  To me, anything that sparks the imagination is a grand thing. It helps spur creativity, brainstorming, and genuine interest in a subject that fascinates me.

Do I believe in ghosts? Yes, in many ways, and in many forms, I believe there are spirits, good and bad, that live among us. Did a photo cause this view, no, I’ve never doubted the existence of things beyond our human vision. The human mind itself is amazing, the capacity we have is a miracle beyond my comprehension, just as vast and ever expanding as the universe that grows and grows and grows, as infinate as the stars in the heavens, as old as time itself.

That is why I think anything is possible and why I love writing paranormals. My imagination can soar, I can breathe life into characters that are more than human, yet have our qualities for right, wrong, and the ability to love.  I hope you as readers and writers search for books that expand the mind, that tap your imagination, no matter the genre. To me, it is incredible to read an Romantic Suspense and wonder how the hero and heroine will outwit the villain and be entertained by the romance interwined with the plot. I feel the same with an Historical. How often have you read a Regency and wished you were being escorted to a ball by a dashing young noble? For me, I’d hope for a duke, as long as he were truly dukish and every bit as well written as Mary Balogh’s Wolfric in the ’Slightly’ series.  Great books, by the way. If you haven’t read anything by Mary Balogh yet, I highly, highly recommend them, starting with A Summer to Remember, where the Bedwyns are introduced.  But that is a whole other story and way off the topic, I should think.

Regardless, I hope that readers and writers will post responses to my question. Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever experienced something unexplainable? Share your stories with me, post a comment if you feel drawn to. I’d love to hear from you!

Speaking of hearing from you. I did receive several responses, some posted comments here, and a few sent very nice emails regarding a mini-contest I’d posted on a whim. To them, I thank you and am pleased to announce that I’ve drawn my first contest winner! Susan Moore, thank you for posting, and for emailing. I welcome both!

Until next time, write well and read often,

Frances Stockton     

Right now you’re thinking, what is this woman doing?  Is that a joke? A riddle, some kind of catchy way of inviting readers to read and post on my blog. Well, yes, in away, I did have that in mind, but not exactly in the way you might think.

A very good friend of mine, who died tragically at a very young age, was known to have said that phrase and it stuck with me. He said it so often, I don’t remember the punch line, or the exact joke/riddle.  But what I do remember is the young man that said it. The way he laughed or smiled as if only he knew the joke and it was contagious to listen to him.

For many of the most popular Bestselling books, be they romance, suspense, mainstream, action or even non-fiction titles, there’s something the author uses to get a reader’s attention, and keep it!  The line is considered a ‘hook’, something that pulls you in and makes you say, hmm, I wonder where he/she is going with this.  I’ve seen hooks or the opening line of a book begin with dialogue, and I’ve seen books open with a terrifying scene, especially if it’s a suspense or horror novel. 

I’ve seen the same thing in movies. How many of you have seen new Hairspray movie with John Travolta? It’s a riot, totally loved it, and it starts with a teenager’s eyes and a song. Kept me dancing and smiling from beginning to end. I’ve seen it in every movie listed on Frances’ Favorites section on my website. (Feel free to check out my favorites of everything from my favorite books, movies, and even, the top ten most important things to know about my were-panther Abcynians. BTW, Abcynian is pronounced, Ab-sin-ian) But what struck me recently was that each movie, book, or even my favorite ipod download has something that pulls me in at the beginning and keeps me listening to the end.

For example, on my ipod there’s a song called Bloodletting by Concrete Blonde, what a great song. If you read vampire or paranormals, you should love it. The beat is gripping right from the beginning, the tune, catchy, and the thought of going to New Orleans to find and live among vampires is one of those fictionalized ‘things’ that makes me wonder what does go bump in the night.  Catchy, gripping, and all with an opening that pulls in my interest.

That’s what a great hook, or a beginning of a great story should do. So, I was wondering what you, as readers or writers, think about hooks. What books have you read, either in the past or present, that made you sit up and take notice? Share your stories, the lines that drew you in. Feel free to even share a joke or two. And if anyone does know the whole joke to ‘A Man Walked Into a Bar with a Duck’ then please do share!  I’d love to hear it!

Speaking of hearing it, I would love to add your name to my mini-contest that features the prize of an Ellora’s Cave tee shirt and a Barnes and Noble giftcard.  If you reply or leave a comment, your name will be added to the hat and I will announce the winner right here on my blog next Monday August 20, 2007.  Please consider commenting. I would love to hear from you.

Future blogs will consist of more information regarding Seductive Persuasion, perhaps a few posts introducing you to some of my fellow Cerridwen Press or Ellora’s Cave authors. They are truly talented and I’d love to give them the chance to say hello and tell you what they write. 

Until next time, write well and read often,

Frances Stockton 

Hello everyone, and I apologize for the late post, but I finally made it. I’ve been in heavy duty writing ‘mode’ for the last few days and my mind has been occupied, in a good way of course.

In my last post, I’d promised to post more information about a live chat with Cerridwen Press authors that write paranormals. Everything from shapeshifter, that’s me, to ghosts and vampires, and I believe you will enjoy the evening.  The chat begins at 8pm EST/5pm PST, and there will be about five or six authors, blurbs, contest prizes, and lots of fun!  Please hop on over and join us at www.nightowlromance.com and follow the links to the chatroom. NOR’s website is fabulous to look at, the artwork tasteful yet conveys the tone and mood for the evening.

I hope you’ll join us.  Afterward, send either a post to my blog or send me an email with answers to the questions I’d posted here in my previous entry, and I will put your name into a hat for a Barnes and Noble giftcard and an Ellora’s Cave tee shirt.  The contest will run for two weeks and I look forward to your responses.

Until next time,

Frances Stockton

Hello again everyone, and again, my apologies for being absent recently.  I’ve had family vacations this summer and an unfortunate death in my family, my uncle, who was the oldest of my Mom’s siblings and a very kind, soft spoken man.  I flew down to Baltimore to be with the family and in the process the airline, or rather the skycap who promised to take care of my luggage, sent it to Orlando instead of Manchester, NH, but I did manage to get the bag back after four days.  I was shocked, and pleased, since my favorite black skirt and blouse were in that bag, not to mention two packages of my favorite Baltimore treats, Berger Cookies. If you are from Baltimore or the surrounding area, you might recognize them as a basic cookie, sort of like a vanilla wafer only softer, with about an inch of chocolate creme. They’re divine with a glass of cold milk. 

Now, of course, you didn’t visit to hear about cookies, although, I have to admit I’m craving some of that chocolate as I write this, but I wanted to drop in and announce that my wonderfully talented web designer and his wife created a fantastic book video for Seductive Persuasion and added it to the home page of my website, as well as in the paranormal books section under the blurb.  I hope you all will take a few moments and check it out. It really catches the feel and tone of the book, and I absolutely love it.  When I get closer to a release date, I’ll have the video posted to YouTube or similar places on the internet, but that doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to share.  Please feel free to watch it and tell me what you think.

Also, on Monday August 6, 2007, I’m going to do a live author chat over at Night Owl Romances, an evening that will feature Cerridwen Press authors and books that are primarily paranormals.  That chat will begin at 8:00pm EST.  If you haven’t checked out Night Owl Romances, I encourage you to. They’re great for promotion, but also for discussing paranormal and spicy romances, and it’s a friendly environment open to authors of all types, epubs, traditional publishers, you name it, they encourage you. 

In the title of this blog entry, I mentioned having some fun. Well, I just had to share with you all an unusual occurance in my inbox.  Keep in mind, this is the same inbox that seems to miraculously announce an ‘unavailable’ message from December 31,1969, that is 1969, and its more than likely spam or something equally goofy, but last night I got an email from Tom Hanks.

Yes, the very Tom Hanks you’re thinking of. Mega-talented actor, seems like a great guy, starred in Forrest Gump, Sleepless in Seattle, well, I think you get the picture. I admit the email was an invitation to join AFI (American Film Institute) as a member, I guess so that I could vote or learn about movies and movie trivia, quotes, that sort of thing. I happen to love movies of all types and have a special affinity for movie quotes or memorable moments. So that got my imagination working.

First, I thought about which Hollywood actors I’d want to play my hero or heroine if Seductive Persuasion ever hit the silver screen, and then I thought about some of my favorite movie quotes.  So let’s have some fun.  If you’re an author, who would you like to portray your hero and heroine?  If you’re a reader, who do you picture playing the lead characters in your favorite novels?  If you can, stop by NOR Monday night and mention this blog entry and let me know what you think, or better yet, share it right here in the comments section of my blog, and I’ll be more than glad to put your name into a hat for a very nice prize, a gift card from Barnes and Noble and an Ellora’s Cave tee shirt.  I’ll post again toward the end of the week, and I’ll be sure to have the url for the Night Owl Romances live chat. Sure hope to see you there .

Until next time,

Frances Stockton