Word Pictures by Jeanette-Marie Mirich

Jeanette-Marie Mirich

Writing descriptions that aren't too flowery and that invite your reader deeply into the story can be tricky. Our guest today, Jeanette-Marie Mirich, has some tips for painting word pictures that help readers experience the story setting with the characters. Read on! ~ Annette



Words have always been part of my life. My father, a poet, strung words together like a master jeweler creates a pearl necklace. Language came easily to me until this winter, when I was on a tour of the Holy Land.

As we walked where Jesus did, I was overcome with emotion. While roaming the Judean hills, words slipped through my grasp like fragile dreams. But I want to communicate the images that linger in my mind of the wilderness of desert, boats on the Sea of Galilee, and the massive rock where Masada broods.

How do I pass on this experience? There are several elements to bringing the world you’ve observed or created to others. I’ll share three.

1. Observation: A distant perspective. The journalist in a safe, familiar place.

I come to a landscape like a pirate scanning an island from his ship. He has studied charts and maps, and from a distance, he sweeps the inlets with his spyglass.

To prepare for our Israel adventure we read H.V. Morton’s travel book, In the Footsteps of the Master, Twain’s book, Innocents Abroad, maps, and scripture before setting foot on the Golan Heights.

When we arrived, thunder echoed above the churning Mediterranean Sea as January rain slanted down and filled the wadis with muddy water.

However, driving from the airport to our hotel, I couldn’t smell the rain. The feel for the land eluded me until icy rain trickled down my collar and the shrieking wind assaulted my ears. We want to pass that experience along in our writing.

2. Exploration: Drawing a reader closer to the environment. Get out of the boat.

My imaginary pirate reaches a tropical beach and when his/her bare feet hit the sand, s/he pockets the spy glass (or travel guide) to begin a more intimate experience.

The adventure of walking with Lucy into C.S. Lewis’s wardrobe captures us. Brushing the fur coats as we pass makes it real.
Standing at the site where the Lord sought refuge from the hordes of people that pressed on him, I wrote word impressions in a pocket notebook. I scribbled “buses, head-to-tail with their lookalike competitors, puffed black smoke” with a line for a poem.
The framework of our tale would be a one-dimensional backdrop if we failed to unearth the minutia that makes a place unique. I want to fabricate anticipation when designing a setting.

How careful research affects a writer's descriptions for the reader's benefit. #amwriting #amreading @MirichMarie

3. Discovery: Writing archeology or getting dirty as you excavate for hidden treasure.

That means digging into research. The sand on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan is soft, the crystals curved and used for castings. The sand near Cannon Beach in Oregon is cream, gray, and cold. Its sharp edges grind into your toes and leave a gray residue. We, like Lucy, are pulled further in when our senses are activated.

From seeing the golden stones of Jerusalem as I enter the city (observation) to walking along the cobbled streets made smooth by millions of footsteps (exploration), I am drawing closer. When I cover my head with a scratchy scarf, finger my ragged-edged bit of paper as I weave my prayers into the sun-warmed wailing wall, I’m experiencing and discovering life.

Life, filled with textures and smells, eerie sounds of language, the taste of salt when we walk near the Dead Sea, and the sight of weeping pilgrims invades my writing, and I pray, the reader’s hearts.

Enjoy letting words reveal the sensory gifts God has given to draw readers deeper into your story world.

Your turn: Have you found a good balance for writing description that engages your reader's senses? What are your favorite methods?

~~~~~

The Last Roses

When Delilah Morgan sends a jaywalking deer over an embankment, her peaceful life takes a leap into chaos. As autumn winds howl, a phone call from Lyle Henderson, the man she loves but hesitates to marry, interrupts her misery.

The Last Roses, the second novel in the D.B. Burns mystery series, finds Delilah and Lyle encountering a trail of rumors, a break-in at Lyle’s remote cabin and mayhem as they traverse North Carolina from Piedmont to mountains. Life returns to almost normal in their small Kentucky town until an envious professor besmirches Delilah’s deceased husband’s character. Plans to clear her Harry’s name are hijacked by Delilah’s goddaughter’s kidnapping.

George Salas’ friends from his clandestine days arrive to seek the kidnappers. Will they find the trafficking ring and rescue Savannah Hudson before she disappears in the underworld of vice?

Against the admonition of the local sheriff, Delilah begins to interview families whose daughters have disappeared. Her involvement leads to her kidnapping and to villains intent on frying her like bacon.

~~~~~

“Have bags will travel” should be the motto of Jeanette-Marie Mirich’s life. She moved twenty-two times before settling in her first home. An Oregonian by birth, Jeanette has swum in the Ligurian Sea, collected shells and sea glass along the Indian Ocean, Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean Oceans, Straits of Malacca, Gulf of Mexico and the Andaman Sea. Her peripatetic lifestyle is courtesy of the U.S. Air Force and her husband’s medical training. Passionate about needs in the third world after living in Thailand during her husband’s deployment, she has accompanied her husband on dozens of medical mission trips. Mother of three, Grammy to thirteen exceptional grandchildren, she travels from her Kentucky home to an Oregon cabin, scribbling poems and short stories as well as writing novels. Connect at https://jeanette-mariemirich.com/ or on Facebook or Twitter.

Your Precious Family History by Donna B. Gawell

Writers of all genres need to carve out some time to write about their ancestors, as their stories will only be preserved if someone takes the time to write them down. As a genealogist and author, the inspiration for my novels comes from the lives of the few ancestors who were infamous and the majority whose lives were less spectacular.

I assumed all of my ancestors were like my grandparents: ordinary folks who did little more than be born, marry, work, and die. Most were average citizens, but I learned some were abolitionists, many in Poland were serfs until 1848, and others served honorably in each American war or skirmish. I now see about a dozen stories right there!

You might discover an infamous ancestor such as my 9^th great grandmother, Mehitabel Braybrooke.  My first reaction was “Wow! That’s an ugly name!” when I first found her in my family tree. Then, I started noticing the word “witch” pop up! And so my first historical novel, In the Shadow of Salem was born after making sense of the bits and pieces found in town and court documents from the 1600’s.

Another source for a fascinating family history story is your ancestors’ setting. My current novel-in-progress is set in the village of my great grandparents in Poland during the Holocaust. They lived in a wilderness area where Hitler built the largest SS training camp outside of Germany and his top-secret research facility for the V1 and V2 rockets. My family, who were forced-laborers for the Nazis, and their priest are the main characters in the novel. They were very poor Catholics who lived during these extraordinary and terrible times. I just returned from a whirlwind research trip to Poland and came away amazed at the bravery of the Polish people.

Other stories were inspired as I unearthed more ancestral records. There was my Swedish great-grandmother Augusta who found herself the recipient of an unwelcome “parting gift” when her beau (my great grandfather) went to America to work as a seaman. I found numerous records from Sweden revealing her real story, not the one she told in America to cover up the birth of her illegitimate child. My Mennonite ancestors’ records tell of their frightening experiences as German settlers in western Pennsylvania when hostile Native Americans besieged them in the early 1800’s.

Family history doesn’t have to be written with the intention of big-time publishing. Start small and write the stories your parents or grandparents told you. You may be like I was−the “document poor” descendant who inherited no family Bible, diary, or even photos before 1940.  You might be one of the fortunate who inherited “the stuff.”

Historians note that we rarely know any stories about our ancestors who came before our own grandparents. This ignorance is a literary and genealogical tragedy. Of all the types of writing we can do, none is more precious than the stories of those who came before us.

Is there a relative in your family background whose life might make an interesting story?

~~~~~~~

Donna is a writer and genealogist who enjoys writing novels about her infamous and more humble ancestors. She lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband Mark. Her website, www.DonnaGawell.com features history and travel articles.

Write What You DON’T Know By Marie Wells Coutu

My 8th-grade English teacher told us to “write what you know.” So did almost every creative writing teacher in high school.

Marie Wells Coutu

I've Never Been to Venus

Nevertheless, that year, I wrote my first novel, I Came from Venus (obviously a teen romance). It was only about 10 chapters, and probably 2-3 handwritten pages per chapter, but still….I certainly knew nothing about Venus, but I guess I knew about being a teen-aged girl who felt like an outsider (don’t most teen girls?).

But I've Been to Minneapolis

Fast forward several decades, and I started to pursue a second career: writing fiction. This time, I chose to write a contemporary women’s fiction set in Minneapolis. I knew something about the city, having lived near the city for more than 20 years and worked downtown for 5. I included scenes at one of the lakes, downtown on Nicollet Mall, at a restaurant near my workplace, driving on I-35 or I-94—all places I knew well.

I stayed away from historical genres, even though I love to read them. Not that I was afraid of research—I’d really enjoyed the research I did in college—but because I worried about getting the details wrong.

I've Never Been to Guatemala

However, the plot of my first novel included several scenes set in Guatemala, someplace I had never visited. My journalistic and research instincts kicked in. I interviewed a friend’s mother, who had been on mission trips there. I studied her photos. I trolled the Internet for articles and websites about the country, the people, the dress, the customs. I got lucky when I discovered a blog by a documentary videographer. She wrote details that I could not have gotten from a tourism website, including the sounds and smells.

Since that novel’s publication, I’ve heard from several readers who’ve lived in or traveled to the country extensively. To a person, they said, “I can tell you’ve been to Guatemala. Reading the book felt like I was there.”

I've Never Done Any of These

Since then, I have written fictional stories about other things I had no personal knowledge of:

• Carriage tour licensing in Charleston, South Carolina: my knowledge was limited to taking the tours;
• The Tennesse governor and his wife: the closest I've been to politics was working in county government communications;
• Tennis: I'm not at all athletic, although I did try to learn the game as a kid — for about two weeks. Then I gave up.

And I've Never Made Moonshine

Now I’m tackling a historical story set in 1932 that deals with moonshining and Prohibition. It is set in western Kentucky near my hometown, and it draws on some of that research I did in college. I’ve spent a lot more time researching the era, the people, the language, and the lifestyle.

My English teachers were wrong. You can write what you don’t know, but you have to do your research. My favorite sources include:

• Interviews with real people who have experienced the place or activity I’m writing about;
• 
First-person written or recorded accounts;

• Local historical societies or tourism organizations in the area;

• Living history museums where historical cooking, farming, or building methods are demonstrated;

• Google Earth (for contemporary stories);

• Online archives of photos, newspapers, maps, etc. (for historical stories);
• 
YouTube videos of activities such as sports (i.e., tennis) or other procedures (such as making moonshine).

Research is Your Friend

Individual results may vary. Research needs will be different for each story, but don’t be afraid to learn about what you don’t know and then write about it. Through your stories, readers will also learn about things they don’t know.

Let's hear from you: what are your favorite resources? What topics are you researching for your novel? 

About the Author

The Secret Heart
by Marie Wells Coutu

Marie Wells Coutu retired in 2013 from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. She now spends her time writing fiction—when she’s not busy having fun with her husband or with their four grandchildren. She has written three novels for Write Integrity Press, including the award-winning For Such a Moment and Thirsting for More. Her most recent book, The Secret Heart, released in February. She is working on a historical novel set in western Kentucky, near where she grew up.

Marie is a regular contributor to Seriously Write. For more posts by Marie, click here.

When Historical Characters Don't Do What You Want by Heather Day Gilbert

Sometimes our characters won't march easily onto the page. Today, author Heather Day Gilbert shares her experience with one of those characters. -- Sandy

Heather: There's a reason it took me three years to publish my second Viking historical novel, which is based heavily on the Icelandic sagas:

I couldn't change history.

The first novel in the series was easier—God's Daughter is based on Gudrid, a real Christian Viking woman who sailed to North America. She was known for her ability to get along with strangers, for her beauty, and for her strong Christianity.

But Book 2, Forest Child, was not based on Gudrid's story. It was based on her sister-in-law's story—Freydis, the daughter of Eirik the Red. Freydis was known for being a domineering woman, a violent warrior, and for being difficult to get along with.

Not to mention, she did something totally unthinkable. I had to merge the facts of her story into my fictional tale, AND I had to make her a character we wanted to root for.

It was a daunting task and I'll be the first to say that I stalled in writing the book, even though Freydis haunted me both in my dreams and waking hours. WHY did you do what you did, I would yell at her (mostly when I was alone in my car). My readers kept asking when Book 2 would release. Below is a pic of one of my most avid Viking readers, Kelly, when she finally got her early reader copy of Forest Child. 

I also write in first person present tense. So as I pondered Freydis' tale, I had to get into her head in a way I really didn't want to.

But something happened when I started writing her story. She came alive to me, even as Gudrid did, and I started to see her motivations. I started to understand what might drive a woman to do what she did.

I started to see her heart.

Sometimes, history doesn't turn out the way you want. For instance, I can think of several Bible stories that didn't play out in a cheery way. It's so sad that Moses never got to step foot in the Promised Land. It's hard to see Israelites being punished heavily for the same kinds of mistakes I know we would make.  It stinks that Solomon blotted his record of wisdom by marrying so many women and allowing them to worship other gods.

 But those stories are there for us to learn from.

For historical authors, we have to take real facts/details and merge them with a driving storyline that will bring history alive in a way that is fresh. We have some leeway in the interpretation of some facts (with the Viking era, the facts are few and far between—and still disputed), but in the end, especially if we're writing about real people, we have to be true to their stories. We have to let them make huge mistakes and do things we wish they hadn't done.

In the end, it was God who helped me bring Freydis' story to life in a way that was both relatable and redemptive. I fretted and worried my early readers might not "get" her...but it turns out, they're loving this book. And now they want to read more about Viking times. 

This is the ultimate reward for the historical author—when your novels spur readers to learn more about the time period you're so passionate about.

So be brave, historical author. Tell those tales that need to be told, spanning the years with characters that come alive for our readers.

Have you ever dealt with a character, historic or contemporary, who was hard to make likeable, but one you must write?

~~~~~~

HEATHER DAY GILBERT, a Grace Award winner and bestselling author, writes novels that capture life in all its messy, bittersweet, hope-filled glory. Find out more at heatherdaygilbert.com.

The Scoop on Research by DiAnn Mills

DiAnn Mills

Writing romantic suspense is my passion. I stay awake at night planning a story in which a strong and vibrant heroine attempts the impossible, the forbidden, or the dangerous for the good of others. She meets a hero who compliments her strengths and challenges her weaknesses. Together they take the writer and the reader on an adventure. 

However, research can be difficult, especially if I’m not familiar with the character’s profession and its rules of conduct. I educate myself through online research and the library until I have accumulated enough knowledge to contact a real person who has this profession. My goal is to pose questions during the interview that are realistic for the character in my book. Sometimes I must preface my inquiry with, “I need to know if this situation could happen, not if it has.” The answer allows me freedom to create plot twists and circumstances that add tension and conflict to my story while staying true to the character’s profession. 

Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Friends chatting . . . or FBI special agents
tailing a bad guy

Some professions are easier to research than others. The FBI and Border Patrol want public support, and they were not only willing to help me write a credible book but patient in responding to questions. Both agencies allowed me to tour their facilities. 

The FBI offers solutions for my questions, and I’m grateful for their assistance.

Other professions involved in national security are required to keep their techniques secret. Makes sense to me. If we are to be protected from those who seek us harm, then methods must be hidden from the public. The CIA and Secret Service are two agencies that can’t reveal how we are to be kept safe. The writer is on her own to figure out how crimes are prevented and stopped. Sometimes a person in one of these fields will tell me what I’ve written is wrong. On those occasions, I become more creative in addressing a situation in my story.

The romance portion of romantic suspense has to be accurate. Some agencies frown on their employees fraternizing within their ranks. The reasons are sound. Think about a man or woman in a high-risk situation in which their priorities might be another person instead of his/her responsibilities. For a man and woman who are attracted to each other, employer guidelines might mean hiding their relationship. More juicy conflict.

Writing romantic suspense is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces have to fit in a way that is credible and in character. Every scene of the novel has to add conflict while the plot adds layers to the story problem. I encourage writers who are fascinated by romantic suspense to conduct realistic research. Book sales will grow!


How do you research your stories? We want to hear!

About the Author

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels.

Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal presented her with a Best Books 2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. She is co-director of The Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference and The Author Roadmap with social media specialist Edie Melson where she continues her passion for helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country.

DiAnn has been termed a coffee snob and roasts her own coffee beans. She’s an avid reader, loves to cook, and believes her grandchildren are the smartest kids in the universe. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.

DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com. 

Deadly Encounter
by DiAnn Mills

Deadly Encounter
Airport Ranger volunteer Stacy Broussard expected a peaceful Saturday morning ride around the perimeter of Houston’s airport. What she encounters instead are a brutal homicide and a baffling mystery. Next to the body is an injured dog, the dead man’s motorcycle, and a drone armed with a laser capable of taking down a 747.

Though FBI Special Agent Alex LeBlanc sees a clear-cut case of terrorism, his past has taught him to be suspicious of everyone, even witnesses. Even bleeding-heart veterinarians like Stacy. But when her gruesome discovery is only the first in a string of incidences that throw her life into a tailspin, Alex begins to wonder if Stacy was targeted. As a health emergency endangers Stacy’s community, and the task force pulls in leads from all directions, Alex and Stacy must work together to prevent another deadly encounter.

The Researcher’s Creed by Lisa Carter

Are you following the creed? Romantic suspense author Lisa Carter provides tips for writing research that won't kill you professionally. -- Sandy

Lisa: Readers often ask what kind of research I do for my novels. First, I read everything I can regarding factual topics and law enforcement issues before I ever speak with LE officials. Once I’ve done this and feel I'm ready to ask semi-intelligent questions, I turn to various experts in their field. For example—

Beyond the Cherokee Trail required a research trip retracing the Trail of Tears in addition to correspondence with a noted Cherokee scholar.

Under a Turquoise Sky was an interesting research situation as it involves WITSEC. And that’s all I’ll say on that—loose lips sink ships.

The research for my Coast Guard series—Coast Guard Courtship & Coast Guard Sweetheart—led to a delightful long-distance relationship with Captain Jim, a retired Coast Guard officer.

But here’s the creed researchers, journalists, historians and writers live by or—if not heeded—by which they professionally die:

1.      Don’t wing it or guess. Check out as many sources on the topic as possible. Determine if the writer had an agenda and filter truth from opinion. Visit multiple sources. Vary research venues. Most important—There’s a Rule of 3 that must agree. Make this your personal and professional mantra in research.

2. Take legible, precise notes—copious notes. But steer clear of plagiarism. Err on the side of caution.

3. Fact check details in the writing and re-writing stages. Readers will spot errors and this damages their trust in you as an author.

4. Don’t fudge historical/contemporary events to bolster your storyline. Understand the difference between “anecdotal” and what really happened. Grandpa’s version of the Battle of Iwo Jima is just one slice of the whole pie—his perspective, not the whole enchilada. Kind of like what cops encounter in trying to interview eyewitnesses to a car crash. Treat anecdotal accounts with caution. The truth may lie in the middle.

5. Keep your source material organized—books, articles, links, interviews. Writers are often contractually required to keep these for a certain length of time. Develop reliable sources. Your reputation—and your publishers’—is on the line.

6. Research allows authors to construct the most realistic story possible on the subject matter. It grounds the author in truth and frees their imagination to take it from there. Research should pepper your novel, not overwhelm. A little goes a long way.

7. Hone your writer instincts. Like the nose of a finely trained K9, learn to sniff out nuggets of research gold.

8. Finally, pray a lot during the entire process. While writing Under a Turquoise Sky, I discovered a Navajo legend, which when seen through the eyes of faith provided the missing element to the hero’s emotional and spiritual character arc. Coincidence or inspiration? What do you think? Trust God for those serendipitous encounters that can only be explained by Him.

What is your system for keeping your research organized? Do you have another tip to add?

~~~~~

Lisa Carter's novel, Under a Turquoise Sky, won the 2015 Carol Award for Romantic Suspense. Her latest, The Stronghold, releases in March. Beyond the Cherokee Trail is a 4 1/2 star Romantic Times September Top Pick. The author of seven romantic suspense novels and a Coast Guard series, Lisa enjoys traveling to romantic locales and researching her next exotic adventure. A native North Carolinian, she has strong opinions on barbecue and ACC basketball. She loves to hear from readers. http://www.lisacarterauthor.com

About The Stronghold:

Drug violence, revenge killings, and kidnapping are nothing new along the U.S.-Mexican border. But now teenage girls are disappearing from the Apache reservations of Arizona and New Mexico.

Apache tribal cop Pilar To-Clanny and FBI Special Agent Alex Torres have a long and tumultuous history. When someone close to them disappears, Pilar and Alex must risk everything to rescue the child, including facing the unresolved issues of the past, and venture into the no-man’s land of the drug cartels.

Can Pilar and Alex work together to stop a sadistic killer before he strikes again? On a quest to rescue those they love, who will rescue them?

Lynette Eason, bestselling, award-winning author—“I’ve added this book to my keeper shelf and you should too!”

The Art of the Research Trip by Liz Johnson

 

Hey writers! Annette here. Have you ever taken a research trip for a book? Many years ago, I did before I realized I'd be writing about that location. Author Liz Johnson joins us today to share some tips for being intentional on such trips. Enjoy!

 The Art of the Research Trip

by Liz Johnson

 

Of all the treasured parts of the writing process, perhaps the most illustrious and misunderstood is the research trip. To the outsider it looks like a vacation

But the writer knows a research trip is more of a mad dash to pick up every detail to infuse her novel with as much flavor as possible. As novelists, we also know that our job isn’t to write travel books. We’re not looking for the major streets or merely the address of that popular restaurant our character will frequent (of course, it’s important to get those kind of details right too). On research trips we’re looking for the things that make our stories come alive, the sights and sounds and tastes that immerse the reader into our setting.

I’ve had the privilege of visiting Prince Edward Island, the setting for my new series and home of Anne of Green Gables, several times. On my first trip I was so excited to be there that I missed some great opportunities to dig into the island. To help you avoid my mistakes, here are my top five tips for a successful research trip.

1. Talk with the locals. Of course, this is much easier if you speak the same language they do. But however you can, interact with them. An unexpected chat with a local teenager, who was manning the school house at an historic village in PEI, taught me that the University of PEI in Charlottetown is on nearly every student’s post-graduation agenda. It’s a small thing, but it adds some flavor when I mention that one of my characters didn’t even consider attending UPEI. You never know what locals will say and what ideas it might spark for your story.

2. Pick up some of the language. Maybe it’s foreign, maybe it’s not. On one of my trips I asked one of the servers at my bed-and-breakfast if she knew how far it was to a particular tourist spot. She said it was about twenty minutes, and I asked her how many kilometers that was. (I was feeling pretty proud that I remembered Canada uses the metric system.) “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m from the island, and we measure distance in time.” It was such a strange and wonderful discovery—that locals don’t generally reference distance by measure but by time—that I immediately plopped the idea into my book.

3. Pay attention to all your senses. Plugging in sense memories will make your reader feel like she’s not only in the story but in the very location you’ve discovered.

4. Put yourself in your character’s shoes. Is your character a native to this location? Or is he a visitor? If the latter, your character’s experiences might mirror your own. Is she a local? Is the town’s history old hat? Have her friends moved on leaving her alone in this place? Ask yourself these and other questions and see if you don’t view your surroundings with a fresh perspective.

5. Take loads of pictures. It’s easy to believe that you’ll remember. That you’ll remember the name of the road, the color of the trees, the location of the historical building. Chances are, you’ll forget. So take pictures, and take notes. You’ll appreciate it when you’re ready to put all these pieces into place.

No matter how you approach a research trip—if you get a chance to go, I hope you’ll take it and make good use of it.

Have you ever been on a research trip? Where would you like to go to research your next book?

~~~~~

About Liz Johnson: By day Liz Johnson works as a marketing manager, and she makes time to write late at night. Liz is the author of nine novels—including her latest, The Red Door Inn (Prince Edward Island Dreams, book 1)—and a New York Times bestselling novella. She makes her home in Nashville, where she enjoys exploring local music, theater, and making frequent trips to Arizona to dote on her nieces and nephews. She writes stories of true love filled with heart, humor, and happily ever afters. Connect with her at www.LizJohnsonBooks.com or www.Facebook.com/LizJohnsonBooks.

About The Red Door Inn: Marie Carrington is broke, desperate, and hoping to find sanctuary on Prince Edward Island while decorating a renovated bed-and-breakfast. Seth Sloane moved three thousand miles to help restore his uncle's Victorian B and B--and to forget about the fiancée who broke his heart. He wasn't expecting to have to babysit a woman with a taste for expensive antiques and a bewildering habit of jumping every time he brushes past her.

The only thing Marie and Seth agree on is that getting the Red Door Inn ready to open in just two months will take everything they've got—and they have to find a way to work together. In the process, they may find something infinitely sweeter than they ever imagined on this island of dreams.