Excerpt from This Year’s NaNo Novel by Dellani

Books & Entertainment Network

November is always National Novel Writing Month at my house. I’m usually done early, and this year was no exception. It was, however, one of the more difficult books I’ve written. I’d been challenged by Karen Vaughan to write a cozy mystery. It’s a mystery, all right, but not a cozy one. There’s nothing remotely comforting about this book, aside from a scene here and there. It started out light and fun, but turned dark on page 11, less than a paragraph into Chapter Two.

This excerpt is from Chapter One, when it’s still light and playful. Deidre Partridge, her three sons, and her husband, live in Florida. It’s late August, the start of a new school year.

“Mom! Where are my Vans?”

“Where did you leave them, Aiden?”

“If I could tell you that, I’d know. Oh, shit…. Never mind. Found ’em.”

“Honey, where are my car keys?”

“Check…

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Red River Radio Presents What’s Write for Me with M. Pepper Langlinais

Dellani Oakes

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 27 from 4:00 to 5:30 Eastern on Blog Talk Radio

(3:00 Central, 2:00 Mountain, 1:00 Pacific)

It’s so hard to believe it’s the last show of 2017! Hanukkah and Christmas are over, we’re gearing up for the New Year, and everyone is anticipating New Year’s Eve – some happily, some not. We’re planning our New Year’s Resolutions, and reviewing how the old year went.

To help us with that, we’ve invited M. Pepper Langlinais, author of The Fall and Rise of Peter Stoller, Manifesting Destiny, The Mystery of the Last Line, Fairytales and Folklore Reimagined, The World Ends at Five, and more – including a new series of Sherlock Holmes stories. She’s been a busy lady since last we spoke.

Manda is one of our favorite people, so I’ve lost track of how many times she’s been on, but that’s okay, because we love having her back.

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Character Quotes from Indian Summer by Dellani

Holiday Sale ends today! You have until midnight Eastern time to grab select titles for .99 cents!

Books & Entertainment Network

Books make great gifts! Buy now for the readers on your list! Many of my titles are on sale for the holidays, so get them while they’re hot!

As I turned to see who it was had saved Marcos’ life, I looked into the dark, smoldering eyes of Manuel!

“You?” I gasped. “Thanks is not enough! Oh, bless you!”

I fell on his chest weeping with joy. He hadn’t the strength to speak but touched my shoulder before he lost consciousness. Marcos groaned, then he too passed into oblivion.

“We need stretchers from the hospital.” James said to the men standing by. “We’ll take them there.”

The crowd broke up around us, tending to the injured ship. Men were already climbing the sides to see what state the passengers and crew were in. James smiled gently as he looked at Marcos.

“A brave little boy he is, though foolhardy to…

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Review: Indie Fantasy Film

Books & Entertainment Network

Legend of the Red Reaper

Summary:  In an ancient time, humans thought themselves finally safe from the ravages of the Demons. Their protectors, the Reapers, stand poised to hand the lands over to them. But, one Reaper sees what is coming. Half-human, half-demon, Aella the Red Reaper seeks to vindicate and protect those she loves.

For those that expect a film hyped as a “Sword & Sorcery Epic” to be full of fire and lightning battles, swordplay, and dragons this is fantasy of a different sort. This is “down in the heart” fantasy. This is epic, in that it adheres to the classic mythological themes and conflicts of Man vs. (or should we say in this more enlightened age: Woman vs.) Herself, Woman vs. Society, Woman vs. Fate, and perhaps the most common love theme, Woman vs. Woman.

One of the central plots is two women struggling over the heart…

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Merry Christmas from All of Us at Cereal Authors!

Books & Entertainment Network

A very Merry Christmas to all our fans, followers and friends who have helped to make Cereal Authors a success! I also want to extend a big thank you to our members.

Rachel Rueben, author of YA novel Hag, posts the second of every month. She shares scenes from her books, writing tips and author information. Also, check out her web site Writing by the Seat of my Pants  Rachel also is my co-host on both Red River Radio shows, as well as Karen Vaughan’s show.

Dellani Oakes, author of the Lone Wolf Series, The Ninja Tattoo, So Much It Hurts, One Night in Daytona Beach, Undiscovered, Under the Western Sky, and many more, came up with the idea for Cereal Authors. (Rachel Rueben made it fly – thank you, Rachel!) Dellani hosts Dellani’s Tea Time and What’s Write for Me second Monday and fourth Wednesday of every month on…

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Chaos in a Teacup – Part 2

writemindsauthors

This series of articles were inspired by several author friends who have expressed awe at my organization (rude snort) or have complained about blogging. Since I’m not one to tell the truth, when fabrication will do, I thought I would throw off the veil of misconception, and reveal my less than stellar organization methods, as well as give a few blogging tips.

Because publicizing is an all important job for an author, I blog a lot. I try to have things posted daily on the Cereal Authors Blog, with two days a week on the Dellani Oakes Blog and another two days a week at Writer’s Sanctuary. This is a lot of work! Since each blog gets a slightly different audience, it’s also important.

Many authors tell me that blogging is confusing, time consuming, boring, frustrating, etc. They forget, can’t be bothered, don’t have time…. You name it…

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Doodle Your Stress Away – An Adult Coloring Book by Dellani

Books & Entertainment Network

Many of my banners for posts, including the Character Quote one, were made using my doodles. Although these aren’t in the book, I thought I’d share a couple that I colorized.

© 2017 Dellani Oakes

Books make great gifts! Buy now for the doodlers on your list! Many of my titles are on sale for the holidays, so get them while they’re hot!

To Buy Dellani’s Books

For More About Dellani

As a Merry Christmas/ Happy Hanukkah Gift, here’s a free doodle you can print and have fun with.

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all Storytellers and Wordsmiths everywhere!

Books & Entertainment Network

WHY WRITERS WRITE
A lot has been written about why writers write. Writers write for many reasons and some, for any reason.
They write to express who they are and to say what they know. To teach and to inspire where no inspiration has yet taken root. To share the stories they see clearly in their imagination. To entertain themselves first, then those readers who find their works, some write to purge unhappiness or injustices for themselves and others.
There will be some writers who tell you their reasons come from deep in their souls, at the very core of who they are. Jane Austen had Lady Catherine say, “I must have my share in the conversation,” as most writers want their voices heard.
Writers show readers characters and pictures that keep them and us ‘safe and sometimes warm’ from our only realties.
We are lucky today where stories are…

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Chaos in a Teacup – Part 1

writemindsauthors

This series of articles were inspired by several author friends who have expressed awe at my organization (rude snort) or have complained about blogging. Since I’m not one to tell the truth, when fabrication will do, I thought I would throw off the veil of misconception, and reveal my less than stellar organization methods, as well as give a few blogging tips.

I’m not the most organized writer around. I describe my writing style as Chaos in a Teacup. It’s contained, but whirling around like a hurricane. I don’t outline, I don’t plan. I begin with a sentence that hops into my head, and run with it until the voices take a break. Sometimes, that’s a day, a week, or a month. Once in a while, the story is finished. Other times, it stalls and I have to wait for inspiration once more.

I am slightly better on organization, but…

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Exercising Your Sarcasm

Books & Entertainment Network

Sarcasm has been no doubt been in use since the dawn of humanity, with most languages have their own forms of sarcasm.  Sarcasm is a form of humor, an ironic statement that can be considered either funny or rude depending on the delivery of the comment as well as the situation.  Humor can be a powerful tool in the arsenal of a communicator because if used at the wrong time, you can make a terrible impression.  This can be awful for the artist whose job it is, is to reach people with their work.  Imagine not being able to reach someone on a personal level because that’s what it equates to when you can’t joke around with someone.  There’s this barrier between the speaker and the listener and no matter what, it’s not easy to communicate with someone who can’t understand language on a basic level.

People who aren’t able…

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