Meet historical suspense author Wareeze Woodson.
She's giving away two books, After She Became a Lady and An Enduring Love. Rafflecopter at the end of the post.
Wareeze, please tell us a bit about yourself Hello Friends. I am a native of Texas and still live
in this great state. I I
write historical romance tangled with suspense and mystery under the pen name
Wareeze Woodson. In my world of writing, I have created four published works.
All are Regency romances mixed with suspense and mystery except my May release,
Bittersweep. That one is a historical western.
I am including a short blurb for
Bittersweep:
Yellow fever ran rampant over most of the
state of Texas around 1882 striking the town of Bittersweep deeply. The
disaster spilled over into five-year old Elizabeth Campbell’s life, tearing her
family apart. From the seat of a wagon, holding her baby sister in her arms,
she viewed her home growing smaller and smaller in the distance. Men had
shouted at her papa to never return. Fifteen years later she arrived at
Bittersweep to take a teaching position and to discover what really happened
all those years ago.
My
other titles available now:
Conduct Unbecoming of a Gentleman—After She Became a Lady—A Lady’s Vanishing Choices— and An Enduring Love. Available
on Amazon and at Soul Mate Publishing
I love firsts, so tell me about the moment when a publisher told you
they wanted to publish your book.
When I received an email announcing
the acceptance of my first book Conduct
Unbecoming of a Gentleman by Soul Mate Publishing, I was elated. I ran out of the house waving a copy of my email
calling for my husband at the top of my lungs. He dropped his tools and came
running expecting the worst. The best had happened. Finally, I was a real
author. LOL!
Tell me about your own love story
I married my high
school sweetheart, years and years ago. We raised four children and have eight wonderful
grandchildren. At the moment, all my children and my grandchildren live within
seventy miles of our home, lots of visits. Our Happily Ever After continued until I lost my love, December 10, 2016 to cancer. He’ll always live in my heart.
You asked for photographs, besides the view of my book covers. I decided to include a very personal touch. I am including a picture of the first present I received from my future husband. It is a lovely craved wooden box filled with candy. We were in high-school at the time.
Also a picture of the last present he gave me. a beautiful music box.
I am so deeply sorry for your loss. I had a friend in a similar situation. Because of her my second heroine in Time and Forever travels back in time to July 1969 and ends up changing their future so he doesn't die. Their love story is one of the most satisfying things I've written. I'm sending you a copy.
Any
advice for new writers just starting out?
I advise new writers to join a few
RWA chapters. Meet with critique partners and write, write, write. You must not
be sensitive. Accepting criticism without wanting to hurl your computer against
the wall is helpful and will toughen you for the kill or do I mean equip you
with skills. That comes when you are finally published. Don’t take the reviews
to heart, some all cruel and make an author want to give up. Don’t do it. Your
book cannot be published if you don’t write it. Keep on keeping on.
Tell us about your Work in Progress
I wrote a piece on scene
construction for a Soul Mate Publishing blog post and I’d like to share part of
it with you. I decided to bring the heroine of the story to life. This is my
work in progress: ISABEL
Creating Worlds
Are readers interested in the workings behind
the scene? Some say readers are curious about what it takes to write a book.
Here is a small glimpse behind the scene of writing. When I write my historical
novels, I must create my own worlds. The Regency/Victorian era is a historical
fact, but make-believe, for all that because the time in the 1800s no longer
exists. With each story, the scene must be created—when in time, day or night,
where-location and what is happening. What the character sees, feels, and
wants—all must be imagined and displayed for the reader.
Although the author has many historical
facts to draw from, the story must exist in the world created by the writer.
The colors, the sounds, the tastes and the smells add flavor to the story. The
reader wants to visit these places through the character’s point of view and safely
absorb the emotions as well. All rather a lot to provide for the reader and the
bar is set high with expectations.
ENTER A SCENE CREATED FOR YOU, THE READER:
The
flame of the candle flickered and glinted off the in-laid sliver on the barrel
of the pistol pointed directly at Isabel. Fear griped her by the throat. She
caught her breath, unable to move or even swallow.
The
drapes billowed into the room on a sharp breeze before settling back to the
floor with a barely discernable swoosh. The smell of London after a downpour,
drifted into the open window, cleansed but still dominated by the odor of
horses, foot traffic, and a tavern down the way. She shivered when her drenched
cloak swung against the layers of her petticoats with a chilling heaviness. The
damp cloth clung to her ankles while moisture trickled down her features into
her eyes. She scarce blinked, her gaze captured by the gun.
The
longcase clock in the hall chimed once echoing down the empty passageway. Even
at this hour, the sound of a carriage rumbling over the cobbled-stones in front
of the mansion reached the upper level.
I hope I’ve raised several questions in
your mind with these few sentences. Is the man with the pistol the hero or the
villain? Is this Isabel’s house, or did she enter the building for some
nefarious purpose? What happens next?
I created a small glimpse of this world of
danger, building tension yet the reader is safe. This is the world of my
imagination. I like this world where velvet and fine jaconet muslins were worn
to the Assemblies at Almack, where danger lurks before and after the ball, as
well. The lives of the characters also dwell in this created world. What will
happen to her, to him in this tale? Only the author of this created world knows
and I’m not telling. After all, this is only make-believe, created in the
imagination. Perhaps one day, I’ll take
up the tale. I decided to take up the tale. ISABEL
Respectfully,
Wareeze Woodson
Website: www.wareezewoodson.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wareeze-Woodson/523727757689755
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/wareeze
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/@wareeze
Thank you for being here, Wareeze. Dear readers, if you love Regency Romance, enter the Rafflecopter below. Happy Reading.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
