Adventures & Birthdays by Diane Burton

Last Friday, Margo Hoornstra posted about the adventure she and I were about to embark on. An all-day event in Alpena, Michigan. I’ve lived in Michigan most of my life, yet I’ve never been to Alpena, a port city on Lake Huron near the top of the mitten. On Monday, I wrote about the Alpena Book Festival on my blog. We both had a great time and can’t wait to go back next year.

Margo was the best traveling companion. She kept me alert on the five-hour drive each way without being a Chatty Kathy. LOL We talked about family, our books, marketing, our concerns about this unknown to us event (going up) and how much fun we had (going home). I’ve shared a room with her before—at our RWA chapter’s retreat—so I knew how respectful she is of a roommate. Great quality in a traveling companion. And she’s a terrific navigator—even if the GPS wanted to send us off on a circuitous route. The only bad part was I had another hour plus drive home after dropping her off.

As September fades away, my birthday looms around the corner. While I try to ignore another year’s passing, I remind myself to be grateful I’m still around to celebrate birthdays. Health issues can plague us, but at least our medical professionals don’t dismiss our concerns by claiming “aging” as if they don’t matter. I’ve mentioned before my worry about dementia since my mother had Alzheimer’s. I’d rather lose all physical abilities than lose my mind like she did. Fortunately, my doctor said I didn’t need to worry because my writing is keeping my mind active. From a guy who’s younger than my children, that was a welcome piece of information. And a good excuse to spend more time writing.

 I spent the month of September promoting my new release. So many wonderful people welcomed me to their blogs where I shared tidbits of info, the characters, the background of Mission to New Earth, which started right here at The Roses of Prose. If you were around three years ago, you might remember “Christmas in Space” the short story about astronauts preparing to depart on a one-way trip to a new planet. I had a great time expanding that story into a novella, even if it did take me three years to complete. While doing so, I kept getting ideas of what could happen next. Another series maybe? I don’t think I’ll ever run out of stories to tell.

The giveaway accompanying Mission to New Earth ends tonight. If you haven’t already entered, there’s still time. Just go to http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/p/mission-to-new-earth-blog-tour.html

Meantime, enjoy Autumn. Trees are just starting to turn here along the west coast of Michigan. Days are shorter but warm. Nights are cool. Love sleeping with the windows open.

Diane Burton writes science fiction romance, romantic suspense, and mysteries. She blogs here on the 30^th of each month, with Paranormal Romantics on the 13^th, and on her own blog on Mondays.

Flexibility by Diane Burton

“To succeed you constantly have to reinvent yourself. Try different things.” Bob Mayer, last week on Elizabeth Meyette’s blog.

My 7-months pregnant daughter-in-law, who with her friends, remember their gymnastics coach by doing handstands on the anniversary of his passing. Is that flexibility or what?

 

One thing you learn early on in married life—especially with children—is being flexible. Life throws us curves, or as Brenda Whiteside wrote here last Thursday, “Make a Plan and Hear God Laugh.”

Another thing we learn as we get older is that our bodies become less flexible. I was never as flexible as my daughter-in-law, even in my younger days. My physical therapist tells me that for relief from chronic back pain and to gain the ability to walk longer, straighter, etc., my hips have to be more flexible. That they're too tight, too rigid. Thank God, he wasn’t talking about my mind.

When I first started writing, I wrote romances, like the Harlequins I’d devoured ages ago. That didn’t work. Rejections abounded. Then I tried romantic suspense. Suspense always came up in my romance stories anyway. I wrote this great story, but nobody wanted it. For fun, I wrote a story about a woman who was kidnapped by aliens, by mistake. I was surprised when Switched was picked up by a small niche publisher back in 2000. Alas, my publisher didn’t like the second book. She thought my heroine should be pushed out an airlock into space. I disagreed.

Time went by, life threw some curve balls, I dropped out of the writing game for a while. That’s when everything changed. Social media? What’s that? Facebook was what my brother-in-law used to show off the fish he caught. Blogs, Twitter, Triberr, LinkedIn, Pinterest. My head spun. The multitude of publishers became the Big Five. Or is it now the Big Four? If I wanted back in the writing game, I had to readjust my thinking. I had to learn new things, new ways of doing things.

A friend suggested since I had the rights back for Switched, I should self-publish it. After all, it wasn't doing anything anyway. Talk about being surprised. Wow. I wrote more science fiction romances and people bought them. Double wow! Then I took a chance with that romantic suspense and The Wild Rose Press wanted One Red Shoe. Our own Alicia Dean was my editor. I couldn’t have asked for a more enthusiastic editor for my book. While I haven’t published any more romantic suspense, I have some hiding in my computer that need to be hauled out and looked at.

I love writing sci-fi romances. But I wanted to try something else. A mystery series with a female detective. A PI who takes over her father’s business in a small resort town. The Alex O’Hara series was born.

Without being flexible, I wouldn’t have tried the different genres. If that’s reinventing myself, I’m having a blast doing it. 

Diane Burton writes sci-fi romances, romantic suspense, and cozy mysteries. She blogs here on the 30th of the month and on her own blog every Monday.

A New Release by Diane Burton

Has this been a busy summer for you? Wow. Has it gone by fast for me. Here it is the end of July already. I visited my brand-new granddaughter in Arizona in May. In June, it was off to Indy and then to St. Louis with my sisters. And next week, baby granddaughter is visiting us. Well, her parents are coming, too.

Amidst all the traveling, I finally finished The Protector, third in my science fiction romance Outer Rim series, and it was released last week. I've never written an older woman/younger man story before. Usually, I keep them close in age with him a bit older. Rissa is eight years old than Dillan. She's forty and considers herself way too old for the "kid" she met when he was sixteen. After a six-year absence, Dillan (now 32) has to convince her he isn't a kid anymore.

Besides the age difference between heroine & hero, this book has another first. I usually write light-hearted romance with action, adventure, and humor. While there are aspects of all that in The Protector, it is much more emotional than my other books, which made it more difficult to write. How can you have funny scenes in a story about human trafficking and stolen babies? There are a few to give the reader a break. In researching for this story, I learned more than I ever wanted to know about trafficking. Scary.

Blurb:

After tavern owner Rissa Dix rescues two girls from a slave ship, she must rally the townsfolk to prevent traffickers from returning. Mining heir Dillan Rusteran has loved her for years. Little do they know that by rescuing more children they're tangling with a trafficking ring that puts Rissa in danger.

Excerpt:

Dillan woke up to a steady thump-thump-thump. Damn, the sublight engine was acting up again. He rolled over and almost fell out of bed.

Two things hit him at the same time. He wasn’t in the wide, comfortable bed in his quarters aboard ship and the thumping wasn’t his sublight. Thank the stars for that. Still, it had been acting a little wonky lately. He’d have to check it out.

After dressing and taking care of his needs in the small san-fac near the stairs, he ambled down carrying his boots in the event the big Zebori was still asleep. Although how anyone could sleep through all that thumping he had no idea. He followed the noise into the kitchen.

Rissa stood at the island kneading dough. Last night he remembered how much higher than normal the island was. She’d built it to accommodate her height. For a moment, he just watched her as she concentrated on the dough. Several lumps of grayish-brown dough sat on the flour-covered table waiting their turn. Even though he was a few meters away, the yeasty scent hit his nose and brought back memories of the times he’d been there before. And how much he enjoyed her company. Despite her treating him like a kid.

The dark haired teen—Pela?—worked alongside Rissa. She noticed him first. Panic crossed her strong features before she murmured to Rissa.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” She laughed as she turned the dough she’d been punishing into a long, loaf pan. She picked up another lump and went to work on it.

Dillan yawned. “What time is it?”

“Almost Mid-Day.” When she looked up, she did a double take. “Your beard is gone.”

“It itched. When I find the barber, I’ll get my hair cut, too.” He ran his fingers across the top of his head. “It’s Mid-Day? Damn. I wanted to get an early start.”

Without stopping her kneading, she asked, “Early start on what?”

“Going into the mountains.”

“Did you come here to go climbing again?”

Grief hit Dillan the way it had for the past six years any time someone mentioned his former favorite sport. He hadn’t climbed since his best friend died in a freak rock slide. Or so he thought until a year ago.

Rissa’s dark eyes reflected guilt. She stopped working the dough. “I’m sorry, Dillan. I forgot.”

“Apparently, so did Konner.” He didn’t conceal the hurt he’d felt when he learned Konner was not only alive but had a family. “Turns out I was wrong about some things. I’ll, uh, leave you to your work.”

With her forearm, she wiped the sweat off her brow then went back to kneading. “Pela, you did fine. Turn that one into the next pan then get Dillan a cup of sheelonga tea.”

Pela eyed him with uncertainty.

“I can get it.” He sure didn’t want to upset the girl. “Mugs still next to the sink?”

Rissa looked surprised that he remembered. He remembered everything about her. She’d stayed in his mind after every trip from the time he was sixteen. Konner had teased him about being infatuated. Dillan knew it was more than infatuation. Especially after that last visit.

Buy links Amazon ~ Kobo ~ Smashwords

When Diane Burton isn’t blogging here on the 8th and 30th of each month or on her own site http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/ on Mondays, she’s writing romantic adventure stories that take place on Earth and beyond.