VBT Stop for Fateful Waters by J.M. Anton and a Contest

Creating characters for Fateful Waters

          The creation of characters for this novel was one of the more enjoyable aspects of writing the book. I wanted my heroine to be a modern woman who had to work her way through collage. She had to be independent, smart, and resourceful. Our heroine needed to be out of place in her new environment. So, I created an all female household for her formative years. Lexie was born.

          Melinda, her friend and roommate needed to be her polar opposite. She needed to be hunting for Mr. Right, the last thing on Lexie’s mind. Very social but mistrustful of hometown guys who knew how wealthy her family was. She falls for an online match that convinces her to spend the summer with him as soon as she graduates.

          Okay now I have my heroine and her sidekick, and a reason for their trip from their homes near the shores of Lake Erie to the Texas Panhandle.

          Now we need a hero. A big broad shouldered hunk, but he needs to be Lexie’s last idea of a love interest. He needs to be used to giving orders and having others instantly obey. Cutter also needs to be complex with vulnerabilities beneath his gruff no nonsense persona.

          David, Melinda’s online Romeo, needed to be very attractive. He also needed to be smooth talking and seductive, but with ulterior motives.

          That was the basic idea for the main characters; they took shape and were fleshed out as the book took shape. In the first draft I found myself not liking our hero. His first life was trashed and rewritten. Other minor characters were added to advance the storyline and add some intrigue, a sense of lurking evil, and a couple of unlikely allies.

          Often the characters take on a physical form in my imagination. At that time I add a physical description to my original character sketch. Then I print that study out to have it to refer to as I work through the story and weave my plot into the lives of characters that have come to life.

          I know that I have it right when my editor, and proofreaders are in agreement. One more test, after copyright, is the review process, which can often lead to more revisions. The last test is the reaction of my beta readers.

          Success! Time to send it to the publisher, and wait for the print release.

          Fateful Waters was released the first of October 2012 and sales at book signings and Holiday Events were brisk. Reviews are really good and fans are asking when the sequel “Firestorm of the Heart” will be released. I have to remind them that there is a two-year time lag in the story, which is previewed at the end of “Fateful Waters.”

          Readers can read more excerpts, reviews, and release dates of works in progress at my web site. http://talesbyjackie.com

          Keep an eye on my web site or my blog http://jackieanton.com for the Video Book Trailer for “Fateful Waters.”

          Thank you Dawn for hosting the virtual book tour for Fateful Waters. I wish you, your family, and your followers all the best in the New Year.

          The following excerpt is a sneak preview of “Firestorm of the Heart” exclusively for the followers of Dawn’s Reading Nook.

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       Eve’s nerves were raw, and her mother’s constant complaining about the decline of the airline industry was not helping her condition. She was having second thoughts about Booker. He made her feel young again. It had been a long time since she been in a serious relationship with a man. She had met Booker while planning her daughter’s wedding. Now, it was her turn to walk down the aisle, and she hoped things would not be as tumultuous for her and Booker as her daughter’s relationship was with her tall Texan.

       Lexie was the reason for the plane trip to the Texas Pan- handle. Eve had made the mistake of telling her daughter that Booker had proposed. Lexie grabbled the bull by the horns, so to speak, and made arrangements to have the wedding at a small church near the ranch that she and her little family attended. Mom and she would be staying at her daughter and son-in-law’s home until the pending nuptials. Mom was going to visit while she and Booker went on a two-week honeymoon. Eve sure hoped that Lexie knew what she was doing. Mom wasn’t as spry as she used to be, but she was just as opinionated and quarrelsome.

          Eve’s intended had driven them to Hopkins. He accompanied them to baggage check-in and that was as far as anyone not on the flight could go. That had started Mom on the good old days when family or friends could wait in the boarding area and see the plane leave the gate. She had been on a rant since, and Eve thought that maybe her mother was just nervous about flying. Booker would be flying in tomorrow with the Potters in their private jet. That was Lexie’s doing, too. When she found out that Booker had asked Patrick Boyd to be his best man, she switched from matron of honor to bridesmaid. Lexie relinquished the honored spot, using the excuse that she could pair up with her husband, who was Booker’s only choice as an usher. Eve couldn’t shake the feeling that her daughter and her soon-to-be groom were teamed up as an unlikely pair of matchmakers. Eve had been back for little Benjamin’s christening, and last June for his first birth- day, but Melinda had not been back since the summer of 2011 when the girls graduated from Ohio State.

Contest Information:

J.M. Anton is giving away to one lucky reader a $25 Barnes & Nobles gift card during the tour. Please leave a comment and your email address to be entered into this giveaway.

I encourage you to follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:  http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/10/virtual-book-tour-fateful-waters-by-jm.html

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Fateful Waters by J.M. Anton

Book Web site: www.fatefulwatersbyjmanton.com 10% Discount Code 1DepCart0 at checkout.

“Backyard Horse Tales” web site:  www.backyardhorsetales.com 10% off code 1DepCart0

            Follow Melinda Potter and Alexandra Parker, across the country, as the friends travel from their home on the shores of Lake Erie to the drought-stricken state of Texas. After graduation from The Ohio State University, Melinda has a date with an online Romeo. Lexie, who is supposed exert a moderating influence on her impulsive friend, winds up in a hospital where she wakes to everyone calling her Mrs. Ross.  She doesn’t have a clue how she got there, or who Mr. Ross is.

Teaser Excerpt:

“Are you in a hurry to be hamburger? I could have run you over in this blinding rain! Now, look, you’ve killed Mel’s Cadillac.” The beast wouldn’t move out of the road. Pushing on its rump didn’t accomplish anything, nor did smacking it on the hip. That little bout of temper left her with a stinging hand.

The white face was halter-less—it’s not a horse, she reminded herself—and she didn’t have a rope or even a belt. Now nearly knee-deep in slop, she stood there, hands on her hips, glaring at the cow. While she was assessing the situation, the cow let out a bellow. A small echo bounced back from a few feet away. Lexie spotted a small calf stuck in the mud. All that was visible was the head and a small portion of its back. The little one was sinking in a run-off of muck that had flowed from the slightly higher terrain behind it.

She removed her navy jacket that had matched her now trashed slacks. Lexie waded closer to the calf, hoping she didn’t sink along with it. Keeping a wary eye on its watchful mother, she slipped the jacket around the calf’s neck and gave a tug. She managed to raise its head a little higher, but it was stuck and could not get any traction to assist in its rescue attempt. Giving a little stronger tug she lost her own traction. She was sitting on her butt in the mud, propping up the small creature’s head when the ghost riders just appeared from out of the storm.

 About the Author and links:

Jackie. Anton is the author of Backyard Horse Tales: Sox 2^nd Edition recepient of the prestigious Mom’s Choice Award. She makes her home in Northeastern Ohio.

Mother of two adult Children and a Grandmother she and her husband of forty-one years live on a small farm in Medina Township. As author of the family friendly series Backyard Horse Tales (readers age 8-adult) her adult novels are written under the pen name J.M. Anton.

            An avid horseperson she and her husband continue to ride daily. She loves a good mystery as well as working out the day-to-day struggles and complexities of human relationships. Find out more about the author on her blog “Writing for readers in a .com world. http://jackieanton.com

LINKS:

New author web site: http://talesbyjackie.com

E-Mail: talesbyjackie@yahoo.com