411 on Books, Authors & Publishing

Guest post by Abby L Vandiver, then keep reading for a behind the scenes trivia fact and information about At the End of the Line, just released yesterday.

Don’t you love the feeling of getting lost in a good book? You’re there with the characters, wrapped up in their lives, enjoying the places that they go and sympathizing, or hating them for the things they do. You even think of them when you put the book down because you have to go to work, or get the kids off to school. But you think of them, maybe even miss them. Throughout your day you can’t wait to get back to see what they’ll do next. And sometimes, after you’ve finished the book, you wonder, although you know it isn’t possible to know, what they’re doing now. Or have you ever read a passage, just a paragraph or two, about a meal that made your mouth water, or read the tale of a death or love lost that made you cry?

Descriptions in writing are what draw the reader in and makes for the most enjoyable reading experiences. And to do this it is important to write descriptions using all of the five senses – touch, sound, taste, smell and sight. It should be your goal when writing to evoke feelings that will draw your readers into the story, to let them runaway with you and indulge in all that you have waiting for them on the pages of your book. There is power in describing details picked up by your senses. It can make your writing come to life. By engaging all of the senses, you’ll find that your writing has more depth and soul.

Writers know, or should know, the old adage, “Show, don’t tell.” When you write paint a picture that is vivid in the mind of your reader, one that invades their senses. How do you do this? Imagine that you are there. When you write, stop and take the time to put yourself in the scene you are writing about. What do you see, how does it smell? Can you feel it? Describe how it feels to the touch. Are things going on in the places that surround you? Can you taste it in the air, can you feel the things in the atmosphere surrounding you. Your senses gather information for you as you go through each scene of your day, but in a book you have to do that for your reader.

It’s not as hard as you may think to incorporate descriptions in your novel that will evoke the five senses. When you give a description of your character or a place, don’t just write what is seen, e.g., She walked along the edge of beach. That’s a one dimensional description. And while it does describe what’s happening, it doesn’t evoke your readers’ memories of what it’s like to walk along a beach. Instead it’s more inspiring to tell how the sand crunched between the toes of her bare feet as the warm water rushed over them. Or, how wisps of her hair tickled her neck as a gentle breeze wrapped around her pushing the saltiness that it carried in from the ocean into her every breath.

Practice honing your descriptive skills during your day. Stuck in a traffic jam? Write down what you see, how you feel, the Things that you hear. Out at a fancy restaurant? Take the time to savor the smells and understand why something made your mouth water, but another smell made your stomach turn. Try to describe how the food tastes as it crosses your taste buds. Not only will these exercises make you more aware of your surrounding but it will help you to describe it better to your reader. They’ll thank you for it by coming back to read more of your books.

         eBook just released on Amazon 4/20/14!

Get your copy for $0.99 today!

A wrong number, and a cry of desperation at the end of the line, sparks a long distance friendship between two women who’ve never met. Through fourteen years of trouble and heartache from a stagnant domestic life, the struggle for civil rights, and the stigma of interracial relationships, a bond forms between the two that changes both of their lives forever.

It’s 1958, a time when women and Negroes are deemed second-class and are being second-guessed, from there arises the perfect storm for change, and the perfect time for an unlikely friendship.

Beatrice “Beanie” Peterson, forced to marry at fifteen and live with two sister wives, six children, and an abusive husband twenty years her senior, is looking for a way out.

Adeline “Liddie” Garrison, friend of Jack Kennedy, wife of a prominent Boston business man, and resident of Beacon Hill has already found her way in.

An unlikely long distance friendship between two women, spanning more than fourteen years and thousands of miles, forms in the midst of a time when the country maintains that not all men, or women, were created equal.

The Author…wait, The Authors?

Kathryn Longino is a pen name for the writing team of Abby L. Vandiver and Kathryn Dionne.

A little trivia fact for you, scooped just this morning from the release party event these ladies are hosting on Facebook:

“Kathryn Dionne came up with the idea that we should write a book based on two women’s long distance friendship at the end of one our long telephone conversations. I laughed at the idea at first, but we talked about it for a few more minutes, and then I said, ‘Yeah, and we could call it At the End of the Line.'”

These two coauthors are just like the two women in the book! They’ve never met, live thousands of miles apart, but have formed a friendship.

“We laugh, cry, and fuss together just like Beanie and Liddie.” said Abby L Vandiver in a recent Facebook post about the release of their new book.

Well, ladies, this reporter thinks you’ve outdone yourselves and thanks for the sneak peek. I can’t wait to finish reading this! Here’s more about these authors and where you can connect with them and don’t forget to pick up your copy of At the End of the Line at today’s special price of $0.99.

Born and raised in Ohio, Shondra C. Longino, who writes under the pen name Abby L. Vandiver, holds a bachelors in Economics, a masters in Public Administration and a Juris Doctor. These days, Ms. Longino enjoys writing and endeavors to devote all her extra time to it.

Her debut novel, In the Beginning, an Amazon #1 bestseller in its category, was written on a whim, put in a box for more than a decade, and finally pulled out, dusted off, and published in 2013. Its stand-alone sequel, Irrefutable Proof, is also a bestseller and available on Amazon.

Ms. Longino resides in Cleveland, Ohio and has four wonderful grandchildren, Gavin, Sydne September, and Riley.

To learn more about Author Abby L. Vandiver, please visit her website: www.abbylvandiver.com, and she’d love to connect with you on Twitter: @AbbyVandiver and Facebook: AbbyVandiver

Kathryn Dionne lives in Southern California with her husband, Jeff, and their two Shar Peis, Bogey and Gracie.

From an early age, Kathryn’s love of treasure hunting sparked an interest in archaeology. As an amateur archaeologist, she’s been fortunate enough to uncover some very unique artifacts in different parts of the globe. However, she’s still searching for that very special scroll.

In addition to writing, she manages their five-acre property and their grove of Italian olive trees. Her husband has lovingly named their business; Saint Kathryn’s Olive Oil.

In her spare time, she makes cookie jars and throws pottery in her studio. She also creates mosaics from discarded objects and sells them under the category of Found Art.

She is currently writing a new series called; Chasing Time, which she hopes to have published some time in 2014.

To learn more about Kathryn Dionne, please visit her website at: www.kathryndionne.com