Stretching Our Wings by Annslee Urban

Annslee Urban

Sometimes it easier to believe the lie. You’re worthless, not smart, not loved. You’ll never succeed…

Words are powerful things. They can tear someone down, discourage and pierce the soul. But words can also encourage, comfort, empower and praise. And the words of truth, God’s words are the words we need to live by. They are words that bring clarity to our lives. Words that speak to our heart, encourage our soul and teach how to live and grow.

As an author, I understand the value of words. We use them to color the canvas of our stories. They can inspire, create emotion, bring our characters to life.

But no words can compare to God’s word. The Bible says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.-John 1:1

As Christians we accept God’s word as truth. We put our faith in a loving, powerful God that holds our future in His hands. But even as much as I want to fully trust the Lord, worries creep into my life. Sometimes I find myself influenced and discouraged by the world around me. Fears rise up and I start to doubt, dwelling on “what if’s” of life. What if I stumble? What if I fail? What if I’m rejected?

These fears, simply put, holds me back from being what God wants me to be. How many blessings have I missed because of fear? But, even more so, I look at all the blessings I’ve had when I pushed past my fears and put my trust in God. This is particularly true in my author journey. There was much opposition along the way and so many temptations to just give up. But God had a grand plan, realized at just the right time. I am grateful for the mustard seed of faith that kept me going. I would have hated to miss such a wonderful blessing in my life.

Now as I grow older and hopefully wiser, I want to spread my wings of faith and keep my eyes on the Savior and His Holy Word. Not an easy feat as I still live in a turbulent world, but a goal I will strive for, battling through the trials of life one prayer at a time.

God wants us to live by faith and Satan wants us to live by fear. Push past the lies of the world and embrace the truth of God. Get to know Him through His Word and let Him color the canvas of your life.

About the Author

Annslee Urban grew up watching old-time romance movies, which she attributes to her passion for sweet romance, true love and happy endings. A daydreamer at heart, Annslee began her writing journey when the youngest of her five children started school. For several years she worked as a freelance writer for newspapers in her community and has written for magazines and online publications.

Raised in the foothills of Arizona, she survived temperature shock when she moved to Western Pennsylvania, before setting in North Carolina with her husband and children. Aside from writing, Annslee works part-time as a Registered Nurse in the Behavioral Health field. She is a member of ACFW, and has served as on the board of Carolina Christian Writers. She currently has 4 published novels. Her current book, Broken Silence, Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense, is due out March 1, 2015.

When she isn’t writing, Annslee enjoys cooking, traveling to faraway places, playing with grandbabies and all things chocolate!

Broken Silence
by Annslee Urban

You can reach Annslee at: annsleeurban@gmail.com
annsleeurban.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/mary.a.urban.9
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008HRODHE

Broken Silence by Annslee Urban

SHE'S HIDING A DEADLY SECRET…

…and someone wants to make sure Amber Talbot never reveals it. When she becomes the target of a car bomb and a home invasion, she gets the message loud and clear. If she tells anyone her secret, she will die. The person charged with protecting her is police detective Patrick Wiley—the fiancé she walked away from but never forgot. The same man she never wanted to tell about the attack that left her for dead. Back then Patrick couldn't save her. Now he must. Because the attacker has returned to finish what he started. Except this time he's got them both in his sights.

Angie here - Here's a link to my review of Broken Silence.

Weaving Suspense into a Story by Annslee Urban

Annslee Urban

How can you add suspense to a story? I'm thrilled to host my friend and multi-published suspense author, Annslee Urban, who has lots of tips for keeping your reader engaged. ~ Angie

Suspense is the most vital element in all genres of fiction. Without it there’d be nothing to keep the reader turning the pages.

Some tips on adding suspense to your story.

1. The Characters
• Let your readers see their flaws as well as their strengths. Give them problems to sort through.
• Put your hero and/or heroine in jeopardy. Give readers a reason to be concerned about them.
• Make your villains real. Bring them to life, give them a personality, something the reader can identify with. Let the reader know their motivation.
• Let something from the past hold the hero and heroine back. (Click to Tweet) Insecurities, past regrets. Something they need to overcome to move forward.
2. Complicate things 
• Let things go wrong on the path to whatever the character is trying to achieve. Make them work hard for what they want to gain.
• Create conflict between characters. Misunderstandings that need to be resolved. Let the reader know that internal thoughts of the characters and their concerns about how or if they can resolve the conflict.
• Add a plot twist. Just when the reader has it all figured out, push the characters to their limit. Give false clues. Make your readers wait and wonder.
• Always make the story problem clear, so the reader doesn’t have to wonder what is wrong, only how it is going get fixed.
3. The ticking clock:
• Create promises, a timeline of upcoming events, something to build anticipation. (Click to Tweet)
• Have your characters working against the clock. 
4. Action Packed Dialogue: 
• Make your dialogue strong, succinct. Fewer words, more emotion. 
• Drop hints, but never tell too much. Always have the character still needing answers, wondering what to do next. 
• Show, don’t tell. Action speaks louder than words. 
• Let the reader hear the characters thoughts. 
5. Add tension: 
• Each scene should have tension. Some issue needs to be resolved. 
• Use flashbacks. Emotional baggage, losses, mistakes. Something that holds the characters back from success. 
• Secrets produce anticipation, tension. Something the hero or heroine or other character knows that needs to be discovered. 

Remember great novels, whether thrillers, mysteries or any other work of fiction hooks the reader on the first page and keeps them intrigued until the last. Keep the reader on the edge of their seat by creating complicated characters, emotionally charged scenes and enough conflict to keep them guessing. Every writer knows how important it is to reel the reader in to keep them engaged in the story. Nothing hooks a reader more than stories full of tension, obstacles, conflict and uncertainly. In essence…suspense.

About the Author

Annslee Urban grew up watching old-time romance movies, which she attributes to her passion for sweet romance, true love and happy endings. A daydreamer at heart, Mary began her writing journey when the youngest of her five children started school. For several years she worked as a freelance writer for newspapers in her community and has written for magazines and online publications.

Raised in the foothills of Arizona, she survived temperature shock when she moved to Western Pennsylvania, before setting in North Carolina with her husband and children. Aside from writing, Annslee works part-time as a Registered Nurse in the Behavioral Health field. She is a member of ACFW, and has served as on the board of Carolina Christian Writers.

When she isn’t writing, Annslee enjoys cooking, traveling to faraway places, playing with grandbabies and all things chocolate!

You can reach Annslee at: maryannsleeurban@gmail.com

Smoky Mountain Investigation
by Annslee Urban

maryurban.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/mary.a.urban.9

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008HRODHE

Smoky MountainInvestigation by Annslee Urban 

A mysterious caller taunts journalist Kylie Harper with details about a decade-old death, leading her to a new trail of murder. Who is this deranged person…and what does he want from her?

Ex-Delta Force captain and Kylie’s former love Nick Bentley fled their Smoky Mountain hometown after the murder of their classmate. When family duty calls him back, Nick comes face-to-face with Kylie…and the past he’s tried to forget. Now Nick must put everything on the line to save Kylie before she becomes the next victim of a madman.