#Wedding Anniversay #Vacation by Brenda Whiteside

When you read this, I'll be four days into a two week wedding anniversary celebratory vacation. Forgive me if I don't respond quickly to your comments. We're driving to Minnesota to visit friends we haven't seen in years. We'll be staying in three different homes and seven hotels. I assume we'll have Internet everywhere, but will I have time? My laptop and Android go with me, of course, and as a writer, I'm never out of touch.

FDW and I have made a tradition of taking a trip on the decade wedding anniversaries. For our 10th, we drove to Mazatlan and stayed in a tropical setting. We toured

the town and spent many hours on the beach, never missing happy hour at the hotel. The highlight of the trip was my neglect to get my clothes out of the dryer and pack them. I got to go shopping and buy a few things. FDW swore I'd had a memory lapse on purpose. Moi?

For our second decade of marriage, we flew to Hawaii. That was FDW's first time there, and he tried to talk me into moving. No way. I know after more than a couple of weeks, when the fancy drinks were history and the need to work took over, I'd get Island Fever big time.

Our 30th anniversary fulfilled one of my lifelong dreams...to see Michelangelo's David. We spent several fantastic days in Florence, Italy with a local young woman as our guide. She was a friend of our Austrian friend who joined us. We then drove with him to Austria to spend several days with his family. What a trip!

Cancun was our 40th anniversary destination. We'd been there before and didn't need to do any tourist stuff. We spent all of our time relaxing on the beach.

Now, we're at the 50th. Did you know only 6% of American marriages make it to fifty? We're really looking forward to Minnesota and the long drive. We lived in Minnesota for eighteen years, made many good friends, and fell in love with the state.

Meanwhile, the fifth and final book in my Love and Murder Series released on June 18. Planning a trip and a release has been exhausting. But fun!

THE DEEP WELL OF LOVE AND MURDER

After an abusive childhood and a bad marriage, Laura Katz finally finds a home, stability…and possibly love. But her blissful refuge as nanny on the Meadowlark Ranch, miles from Flagstaff, shatters when her ex is released from prison, determined to reclaim her.

Randy Silva, the ranch’s foreman, has dreams of his own ranch, but a nasty land grab is underway. While the battle escalates, Laura steals his heart, but dangerous outsiders and a criminal ex-husband stand in their way. Randy’s in a perilous fight for his land and the woman he wants by his side.

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#Beach, #Babes, and #Dogs by Brenda Whiteside

Daddy then

After spending four days in Seal Beach, California, I wonder why I haven't set one of my books in a beach setting. We lived in Santa Barbara when FDW went to Brooks Institute of Photography so it isn't that I don't know the beach. If I didn't already have five books percolating in my head that will be set in a western, reborn ghost town, I would. I'm sure something is going to pop into my writer's brain, and I'll have to tuck it away for the future.

Daddy now

Spending time on the California coast always brings back memories. Our son was a toddler and hard to keep out of the water. Now it's a granddaughter who has her father's love of the ocean.

Xena and Gabby 

Our dog, Shadow, a black lab loved the water as much as our son. Grown up son has two dogs that thoroughly enjoyed the dog beach.

When we walked by this bright blue VW Bus, I was taken back to the purple one we owned. We traveled up the coast for over a month in the bus
with plush purple carpet, velvet curtains, and a dashboard I painted with flowers and the words "this is the first day of the rest of our lives."

Remember when

Yeah, I'm going to have to revisit a seaside story. Just thinking about it, I smell the salty air and hear the crash of the waves.

Until then:
The fifth book in my Love and Murder Series, set in central and northern Arizona will release worldwide on June 18. The Deep Well of Love and Murder is a romantic suspense you'll enjoy. See all of my books here on my AMAZON PAGE.

What I Didn't Tell You by Brenda Whiteside

My favorite part of writing a book is character creation. My stories typically form at the same time a cast of characters arrives in my head. Occasionally, they've been based loosely on someone I know. Usually, they're strangers who arrive, and we get to know each other as the story forms. Almost always, everything I know about them doesn't make it into the story.

In The Art of Love and Murder, Lacy Dahl is on a quest to learn more about her birth parents. She owns a coffee cafe called The Lacy Latte. What didn't make the book?

She has a special closet just for shoes. She practices yoga twice a week and has recently talked her friend Phoebe into going to the classes with her.

Sheriff Chance Meadowlark plays opposite Lacy in book one of the Love and Murder Series. What didn't make the book?

He’s concerned about the next election and the man who will run against him. (Note: I figured he had enough problems without bringing this into the story.)

In book two of the series, Southwest of Love and Murder, Phoebe Anderson is our heroine. She's a

writer of murder mysteries with a free-spirited personality. She has a hummingbird tattoo above her breast. What didn't make the book?

The hummingbird was tattooed by a man she dated. The name of the pure essential oil she wears is Holland and Barrett Lavender. She practiced yoga with her best friend Lacy until Lacy moved away. It was the only exercise she did. She loves sweets and dates artsy types.

Mason Meadowlark is Phoebe's counterpart. He's a rancher. What didn't make the book?

He always placed first or second in his competition at the local rodeos, but lost interest when his marriage collapsed. He spent more time in bars and partying. He’s dated every crowned Rodeo Queen since. He’s an avid reader.

My characters are my pretend friends, and I'm attached to all of them. Yeah, crazy author stuff. Are there characters you've followed in series books who you feel like you'd like to know in the real world?

Don't miss book five of The Love and Murder Series. It's up for pre-order here:
Amazon Pre-Order

A vengeful ex-husband and a high-stakes, bloody fight for land threaten a love-struck couple’s happiness.

Visit Brenda at www.brendawhiteside.com

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendawhitesid2

She blogs on the 9^th and 24^th of every month: http://rosesofprose.blogspot.com

She blogs about life’s latest adventure and has fun guests on her personal blog: http://brendawhiteside.blogspot.com/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003V15WF8

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3972045.Brenda_Whiteside

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All Part of a #WritersLife by Brenda Whiteside

Back when I had a day job, the weekends meant so much more. For one thing, I got to write for more than fifteen minutes in the morning before work. Maybe that's when I got in the habit of working seven days a week. I'm not sure. Now that I can write everyday, barring family distractions, every day is a weekend. Writer's Life

I thought about this on Sunday afternoon when I sat down to watch Diamondbacks baseball. I love our Arizona baseball team. Yet...there I sat composing a post for a blog. FDW sat in the recliner next to me, and I hoped I'd get the post out of my head and on the page before he caught me. I know this is not just a Brenda thing...it's a writer thing. We don't take full days off our craft...we'd feel guilty if we did. So, we rarely take a complete day off. Writers' Life.

And whether a writer is a weekend warrior or full time, it's a rare author who goes on vacation without a phone and/or her laptop. I've been known to sneak into another room when FDW isn't paying attention to check my emails.

There's one thing he can't call me on and that's writing in my head. Most of my writing is done without a computer in front of me. Actually, I've been caught in cerebral writing mode a few times. "You're thinking about your book, aren't you?" Did the faraway look in my eyes give me away, or that I didn't respond to anything he said in the last twenty minutes?

The voices in my head don't know Sunday from Wednesday. How can I explain my inability to shut them down? Then there's promotion. Yes, I've known for months that the next book would eventually get released, but there were edits and those voices. And I didn't have everything I needed to approach promotion in a meaningful way. So, when the email comes with the release date for the next book, as it did last week, there is a mountain of work to do. Because until you get that date, the ISBN number, and a book that has been edited to death, you can't do much of what has to be done.

But before you think this all sounds like no fun, there are benefits. The biggest thing is flexibility. I can take my office to the chair in front of the TV and watch the boys of summer while I work. I can work a long day and get ahead of the game so I can go play with my granddaughter tomorrow. And the only one who's keeping track of my "to-do" tasks is me. I can cheat today and make up for it tomorrow.

Yet...those voices in my head are always there. Luckily, no one knows but me (and now you) and I like it!

The Worldwide Release date is coming up this summer for the fifth book in my Love and Murder Series. Look for The Deep Well of Love and Murder on June 18.

Journey or Path to the #Editing Insane Asylum by Brenda Whiteside

I've shared a couple of Journey of a Novel tales with you. The word journey implies to me a bit of work, but a path of joy and satisfaction at the end...my experience until now. I'm here to tell you, today, that ever so often the journey is more of a treacherous trek.

The Deep Well of Love and Murder, the fifth and final book of my Love and Murder Series, is a hard fought labor of creation. I think I posted about the deep well of funk I wallowed in during the writing of it. When I finally, with great effort, wrote the end, and sent it off to my editor I received back what is now a funny response. "Brenda, are you okay? Don't take this wrong, but after reading the first three chapters, I have to ask if there's anything wrong." Yeah, that bad.

But I was able to plunge in and do a rewrite which resulted in kudos from her. "Now, that's the Brenda I love to read."

Still, there were edits to do. And edits, and edits. For some reason, every time I read this book, I find more. I thought I did my last (and third round). My editor sees it differently. Her email today said since I found so many needed corrections, I'll need to read it again. That sound is me banging my head on the wall.

I'm going to share a few of my last finds with you. Keep in mind, I had already read the book four times, and I still managed to find these. And this wasn't all I found. How is that possible??!

Page 87 line 23

Ah hell, who knows? I’ll wring the son of bitch’s neck when I find out who he is.” 

Left out the word a. 

Ah hell, who knows? I’ll wring the son of a bitch’s neck when I find out who he is.”

Page 205 line 8

Nearly as still as a statue, only his chest moved with a shallow breath, he studied her. 

The word while left out and no need for comma. 

Nearly as still as a statue, only his chest moved with a shallow breath while he studied her.

Page 298 line 13

Another buck of her hips took her breath away from the pain. 

Words in wrong order. 

Another buck of her hips and the pain took her breath away. 

Page 337 line 28

fingers across his chest, and reveled in his thumping heart beating their rhythm on her palms. 

Their should be the. 

fingers across his chest, and reveled in his thumping heart beating the rhythm on her palms.

So...I'll be getting another galley to read. I'm beginning to think this book will never get published. On the other hand, I'm glad I have a patient yet hard-nosed agent behind me.

You have time to check out the first four books in the Love and Murder Series: CLICK HERE