Month: May 2020

My Book Review – The Sister Pact: Home Is Where the Heart Is by Jacquie Biggar

My Review

The Sister Pact is a story about two sisters, Holly Tremaine and Susan, the twin brothers Steven and Levi. Holly was away from home for eight years to pursue her dream and became a violinist in New York. Her Lyme disease drove her home before Christmas holiday. Holly and her sister had grown apart for many unspoken issues. Holly was jealous of her sister marrying Steven who was once her boyfriend, and that her sister now had a husband with successful business as a Family Law Accredited Mediator, and their two lovely children. Whereas Susan was jealous of Holly being able to make her dream come true while she became a housewife and a mother but was short of pursuing her dream as a dancer with her own studio.

Steven invited his…

Happy almost June and welcome to summer! Yeah, I get that summer doesn’t “officially” happen until June 21st, but Memorial Day has always been the threshold to summer fun, including the key opening of east coast beaches and amusement parks. Since I live in a tourist town, I think of Memorial Day as being the gateway to summer. Even though COVID-19 has put a damper on festivities, I still feel the change.

Let it be known that I FREAKING LOVE SUMMER!

Yes, I appreciate all of the seasons, but give me my pool, my Kindle (or a fat paperback), a grill, and swimming weather, and I will pass each day in sheer bliss.

And speaking of Kindles, I have several reviews to share. I read these books in March and April during shelter-in-place time. My county is finally moving to yellow phase this Friday, but I am already back at…

Welcome to the first of the author updates this week with recent reviews for authors on the shelves.

The first author today is USA Bestselling author Jacquie Biggar with a review for Sunset Beach (Blue Haven Book 2)

About the book

An explosive secret threatens the peace and tranquility of Sweetheart Cove

Single father Trace Michaels hands are full coping with a rebellious teenage daughter, troublesome ex-wife, and campaigning for the mayor’s election. He doesn’t have time to get distracted by an old flame from his past– one he’s never forgotten.

When an unknown source leaks surprising news that could damage his career, Trace turns to the one person he trusts for the truth.

Single mother Mona Samuels knows how difficult it can be to raise a daughter. She empathizes with Trace, but when he comes to her for advice she’s conflicted. They say the truth will set you free…

Ciao, SEers. Last time, we discussed Dwight Swain’s concepts of scenes and sequels. (If you missed that post, you can find it here.) Remember, a chapter’s scenes can be one of two things, a scene or a sequel. Today, we’re going to go deeper into the concept of scenes.

What are scenes?

Scenes are the “proactive” units of a story. They introduce and advance goals, conflicts, and disasters. Scenes should have all three items before advancing to the following sequel. Why must they include all three? Because all three are necessary for tension. And without tension, there’s no reason for a reader to turn the page.

Goals:

A goal is simply what your POV character desires. It could be:

• an object (the Holy Grail)
• a position (POTUS)
• a state of being (overcome an injury)
• a change in status (going from captive to freedom)