Author Guest Post - Christina Cole

Author Guest Post - Christina Cole

About the Author:

Christina Cole fell in love with words at a very young age. She’ll always be grateful to her grandfather and his patience as he taught her the joys of reading. Throughout her childhood she loved telling tales. She begged and pleaded for her mother to type them, but soon -- with her grandfather’s guidance -- learned to type for herself on his old Underwood.    

Things have changed now. Her grandfather is gone, and so is the old typewriter, but Christina’s love for story-telling has remained strong. She now does her typing on a computer in a cozy little writing room filled with books, treasures, and a much-cherished photograph of her grandfather.

She is married, lives in the midwest, loves history, hates winter, and is happily at work on her next historical romance.

Author Contact Links:

E-Mail: KCChristinaCole@yahoo.com

Twitter: @KCChristinaCole

Blog: Time for Love

I’m excited to be among the first guests at Emily’s fantastic blog. Starting a new blog -- or starting anything new in life -- is always exciting. For authors, of course, the greatest thrill comes, I think, in starting a new story.

In the beginning, before we’ve written a word of our new story, it’s fresh, it’s exciting, it’s destined to be a best-seller. Of course, it’s all in our heads, assuming we even know what the story is. As often as not, I have only the vaguest idea what I’m going to write about, and I’d venture to guess a lot of my fellow authors approach their stories from that same murky place.

But that does not deter us! Not at all. If anything, it makes me more eager to write. I can’t wait to get started, to see what characters emerge, what new ideas spring forth. Some are actually good. The rest...well, never mind about those crazy ideas and misguided characters. They’re best forgotten, trust me.

When I begin a new story, I start by “doodling” with words. I sit down, open a new file, and start writing. Anything. Everything. I write about whatever pops into my head. I make up people, throw them into a room together, and lock the door. Then I eavesdrop. I listen to what they say and start getting curious about them and their lives.

Soon I’m playing that little “What If?” game. My mind starts spinning with possibilities. Never mind that nothing -- and I mean, nothing -- makes any sense. It doesn’t have to. The important thing is capturing the excitement, grabbing that rush of energy that comes from a new idea, and somehow getting a bit of it down on the page.

The really weird thing about all of this is that after I’ve spent a couple of hours writing gibberish, I can sit down, read through it, and then, after I stop laughing, I can actually find an idea or two lurking among the garbage. It’s like seeing a little glimmer of gold in a junkyard. Or catching sight of a wildflower in a field of weeds.

It’s exciting, and I look forward to each new story with keen anticipation, wondering what crazy things my little muse might dredge up and lay out on the page.

Still, I suppose what’s even more exciting than beginning a new story is ending one. Writing “The End” brings a satisfaction all its own. There’s a tremendous sense of accomplishment in writing those two little words. Those words mean I’ve done what I set out to do. I’ve reached a goal, achieved an objective. Those words also mean I’ll soon be starting a new story, and the excitement will begin again.

Of course, the most rewarding feeling comes when we can share our stories with others. I’m very pleased that Secret Cravings Publishing has recently accepted my latest historical romance for release in August.

The story is Summertime, and here’s a quick “sneak peek” at the storyline:

     Linn Sparks wanted all life had to offer. Fame, fortune, glamour and excitement. She found it as a star of the stage at the Crown Theater in San Francisco.

     For Ed Ferguson, life was far less complicated. All he wanted was Linnie Mae, but she’d left him standing alone at the altar seven years before when she’d run off to pursue her dreams.

Now, it’s 1914. War is breaking out I Europe, and Linn Sparks has come home to Brookfield, Kansas. She plans to stay only a few days – just long enough to help negotiate the sale of her parents’ farm.

     At first, it seems that nothing has changed in the quiet little country town, but Linn soon learns otherwise.  She’s surprised to find that Ed is now spending a lot of time with Polly Washburn. An even greater surprise comes when she meets six-year-old Thaddeus, Ed’s son. But perhaps the greatest surprise is that the town of Brookfield is now building a theater to honor Miss Tabitha Ann Collier, the spinster music teacher who helped Linn make her dreams come true.

     Now that she’s come back, surely she’ll be offered the lead in the theater’s first production -- a musical penned by Tabitha Ann herself. But staying in Brookfield means facing a lot of unpleasant realities.  Between her strained relationship with a father who never wanted her,  a mother whose grasp on sanity is slipping away, and the feelings she still has for Ed, Linn is overwhelmed by emotions.  

     She must also find a way to deal with Polly, the woman who was once her closest friend but who now has her eyes on Ed.  And how can she handle Quentin Loonsfoot, the obnoxious son of the man her father accidentally crippled in a hunting accident years before? Quentin is determined to make her feel guilty -- and to make her pay for her father’s mistake.  Most painful of all, she must accept the truth about Ed and his relationship with Rachel Johnson, the woman who gave him a son. 

     Ed has a lot to deal with as well. He still loves Linnie Mae, but he knows she won’t stay. How can he spend the summer being near her and not get his heart broken again? 

     It’s a hot summer in Brookfield...a summer of hopes and dreams, a summer of passion. Could it also be a summer of forgiveness?

Thanks, Emily, for letting me visit your blog today. Here’s wishing you great success with your blog and with your upcoming release. 

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Christina, thank you so much for being on my blog and sharing a little bit about yourself and your writing. I really appreciate it and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your book in August.

Many thanks!