claire o'sullivan

Reading/Writing

Posted on 08/28/2022 by claire o'sullivan

I have to admit, my writing has taken over. Last night, I do believe I made significant progress on Glass Slipper. Got about (ahem) 2 sentences written. Hahahahaha.

I have thrown a partial of forensics/police procedural to author, Brent Brantley, to make certain I have my facts correct. BTW, Brent wrote “You Cannot Grasp the River.” Oh, what great book!

Suspense …

OKAY FINE. So I have a list of books I’m itching to READ *like Jane Daly, LG Westlake. I finished the Beta on Linda Rodante’s “Scars,” and loved it. She doesn’t pull away from the pain of characters who really, really deal with life issues.

So now, drum roll, here is my next list (considering I keep purchasing books this could be daunting).

Lynette Easton’s, “Acceptable Risk.”

Stevn Roger’s, “Into the Room.”

Jason William Karpf’s, “The Deliverer.”

Sue Colettta’s, “Marred,”

Vickie Phelp’s, “Forgive the Trespassers.”

Lisa Black’s, “Unpunished.”

Patricia Cornwell’s, “Cause of Death.”

Dale Amidei’s, “Sister’s Shadow.”

These are ‘just a few’ of the books on my Kindle. Not necessilary in order.

I also have (for my writing) “TONS” of DIY books and sites to help my writing. Do you? I have 1. OneStopForWriters.com (for plot, character, world building, more), and 2. ProWritingAid to check my grammar (I mean, I’d like to write English properly. You may have already noticed bloopers. I haven’t. And I don’t care in social media). 3. And I truly use old school … corkboards to put up pictures, maps, and strings to link them …

AND 4. Inked Voices for critiques (I did use Scribophile but there are rules/regs that are a wee bit much). 5. “Say What?,” “Criminal Psychology,” “Story Trumps Structure,” “Strunk and White,” “Spunk and Bite,” Police Procedural,” “Don’t Murder Your Mystery,” “60 Ways to Murder Your Characters,” (of course, that’s Sue Coletta), Katherine Ramsland’s, “The Criminal Mind,” and her “Crime Writer’s Research.” ALSO … “Emotional Beats,” “5 Secrets of Story Structure,” and perhaps my favorite, “Master Lists for Writers.” Looking across the room on a table, I see more. Without proper glasses, I cannot see ’em. Do you see a pattern?

Do you have a list of fiction? DIY sites? Books to assist in the writing process? Once again, inquiring minds want to know. If you purchase books insanely, as do I, then you are my tribe.

Please comment, let me know what’s up with your writing and reading. Do you have the same issues? What programs do you use?

Oh, and it would be too cool to drool if you purchased my Romantic/Suspense, “Romance Under Wraps,” and my global thriller, “Rules of Engagement,” jus’ sayin.’ 😉 on Amazon.

romantic/suspense

Global Thriller

Reading vacation

Posted on 08/21/202208/22/2022 by claire o'sullivan

I’ve been binge reading for about 5 days. Jane Daly is coming out with a sequel to “Broken,” so I – yes – reread it, and LG Westlake has a sequel to “Calculated Risk,” so did I read it? Why, of course.

I finished Westlake’s “Calculated Encounters” yesterday. Excellent writing. Her amateur sleuth gets into trouble constantly. Her characters are well-written. Her main character never follows the orders of the ex-FBI agent, now bounty hunter, and her attempts to let her love interest (writing a ‘happily ever after, for now) know she is indeed in Spain, now gets him in deep kimchi while she’s in a horrible situation on her own. Because she didn’t follow the bounty hunter’s instructions (“go home!”).

I’m a serial binge reader, usually three at a time. I have Terri Gillespie’s novel, “Cut it Out!” (another sequel in the Hair Maven’s series) in one room, Linda Rodante’s “Scars,” on my ‘puter, her beta, and Lisa Black’s police procedural, “That Darkness,” on my Kindle.

I can keep up with the plots and characters of each, perhaps because they are all in different formats.

My favorite genres wander from romantic comedy, romantic suspense, police procedural, romantic forensics, thrillers, intrigue, and do you note the pattern there? Usually romance within the second genre, no matter how little.

I do have favorite authors but so many it’s hard to name them. Every time I turn around, I have another new favorite. SMH.

Tell me, what are you reading these days? Who are your favorite authors, and your favorite genres?

What are you writing?

First, Terri Gillespie has mad skills. Her first book was replete with four plots, one main character with three subplots and three more characters. A Christian/romantic/coming of age book with some suspense, the first in the Hair Maven’s series follows the four lives of beauticians at odds with the new owner, Shira. I’m jealous, I mean, amazed that the first book was so incredibly complex and weaves together so eloquently.

Second, I’ve been following/reading Linda Rodante’s Christian romantic/suspense novels forever. I love her spiritial warfare series. She always creates complex characters with complex issues to overcome. She addresses modern men and women who have to overcome their physical/emotional issues to reconcile ‘at odds’ characters’, bringing them together to defeat (or convert) a bad guy or gal. A lot of peril and prayer – these books address issues that Christians and non-Christians face, from trafficking to gangs. All her characters are super complex.

Lisa Black is new to me and writing a police procedural. Chapter one sounds like a behavioral analyst/detective talking to a hardened criminal. The last lines are 1000% SHOCKING. The next chapter involves two detectives following the evidence. The group of detectives assigned to the murder of said hardened criminal is 10,000% SHOCKING.

Because I see this is part of a sequel, I can’t wait to read her next installment after I finish this one, though I have 240 books left on my kindle. I should have stuck with paperbacks. Apparently that ‘buy with one click’ button on Amazon is an addictive issue for me.

Sue Coletta is a favorite when I need to read a serial killer novel. Lisa Gardner is another serial killer novelist with police procedural. Teri Blackstock for romantic suspense. Sara Blackard for romantic suspense. Dale Amidei for insanely complex thrillers. Christy Barritt for her romantic suspense. Those are just a few.

Okay. Now, like I said, it’s your turn. Comment and like!

Great villains make for great novels

Posted on 07/23/2022 by claire o'sullivan

Allo! Good morning! Guten Morgen! Shalom! ! صباح الخير

Okay that’s it, and I hope everyone is having a great day, no matter your time zone.

As I rewrite “Glass Slipper,” I am pushing this sequel to “Romance Under Wraps,” a police procedural/forensics/romance.

I’ve added a baby. Imagine a near-toddler in McCloud’s world. How will he react? How will Jonah react?

More importantly, how will his mom react? So far for me, it’s been a riot to write. If you’ve read “Romance Under Wraps,” you will have a good idea of how Jack McCloud thinks. He’s not been a very respectful dude.

Poor mom. Or maybe not.

Last night I fleshed out a villain for “Glass Slipper.” I’d written it before but somehow it fled off the page.

But another one comes on the scene also.

Remember: Smart villains make for a great obstacle for the main character to overcome. Villains should be smarter than your main character(s).

So I ended up going to bed thinking, muuuuuaaaaahhhh. Probably the reason I tossed and turned.

In that wee bit of info, tell me what you think, and tell me what you’re working on. Because it’s important! And what are you reading today?

The adventure continues

Posted on 07/05/2022 by claire o'sullivan

Still on my down-time for reading after publication of “Rules of Engagement.” Whew, 5 days, 4 books, and counting. I am going for another 5 or more before returning to “Glass Slipper.”

Speaking of, “Glass Slipper,” still set in Whiskey River, Oregon, will take on a new look. You won’t know it however, because you haven’t been exposed to the rest of the manuscript I do have. Anyone else have that issue? I don’t mean rewriting/editing. Clear as mud, right?

So I’ll leave it up to you to ponder what I could be up to. It is still a sequel to “Romance Under Wraps,” that much I’ll give ya.

Since I like to keep posts short so your eyes don’t glaze over, I am skeletonizing (forming the bare bones, the framework, the blueprint, outline … oh you get it) the sequel to “Rules of Engagement,” where it looks to already be a sit-down-and-chew-yer-nails read. This will be in the style of “Rules of Engagement,” and is an intrigue/thriller. Again, a lot of players.

Photo by Dziana Hasanbekava on Pexels.com

I do have a Work-in Progress (aka WIP) title but that’s just so the manuscript doesn’t say, Work in Progress (which we too, all are, not just our manuscripts, but I betcha I can find that as an actual book title).

What are you reading? What’s you’re favorite genre? I really do want to know, so *like, *subscribe, and *comment.

Downtime is good too

Posted on 06/20/2022 by claire o'sullivan

After completion of “Rules of Engagement,” now on the shelf (you have 1 more day to purchase it on sale, jus’ sayin,’), I have serious time to chill.

Starving authors get to go places, right? Hahaha … but I am thinking about putting the ocean YouTube video on the big screen and sink my feet into 2 buckets of sand and drink a virgin pina colada.

Down time … yeah.

Since I have around 200 books on my Kindle, I believe I will abandon writing in extremis like I had been, a wee bit of reading won’t hurt me, will it? I figure I can write a hundred words to fiddle with “Glass Slipper,” and take a chunk out of the Kindle library that rivals the Hangzhou Zhongshuge Bookstore in Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province, China (pronounce that fast …). Well … almost.

Have a fine finish off in June and read a book. Oh, here’s a few (this one on sale ’til the 21st of June:

Just out! Free on KU. Also available on Kindle and in paperback.

And …

Debut novel, free on KU and Audible, also Kindle and in paperback

That’s the buzz for the day. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, comment, and share!

Come along as I write …

Posted on 04/01/202204/01/2022 by claire o'sullivan

An invitation to follow along my writing journey. Pray as my goal is to write three novels a year. Four would be cool but I would wonder about the quality of my work. I have read a lot of authors who are actually capable of that, and I applaud them. That is truly a gift.

My current novel is the sequel to “Romance Under Wraps,” which involved a thief and a homicide detective. My second novel is a standalone (maybe) which is a complete departure from romantic suspense. Might want to read this before “Glass Slipper” comes out. When? I dunno, I’m still writing.

If you’ve already seen my post about “Glass Slipper,” I have to let you know that it’s taken quite a turn with the characters. And while dubious as to some of the scenes, I read them to my husband (who is well acquainted with forensic, police procedurals, and behavioral analyses) and found those scenes real to life.

This brings me to the change in a few of my characters. The main character, Jack McCloud is still morose. His tech is a forensic scientist with degrees in both forensic science and behavioral analysis.

Needless to say, this puts detectives Catherine Cade and husband Rick Calhoun in new moods as they have to listen to Calhoun gripe about McCloud’s new tech and how McCloud has to, albeit somewhat unwillingly, defend her as she drones on about her follow up questioning of witnesses, friends, etc. (okay, not realistic in the real, real world) about the victim (victims?) and what made them tick, and why they were a victim. Then she builds a profile of the killer. But is she right?

Husband and wife detective team (yes, I know! That’s why it’s called fiction…) are skeptical, interested, preoccupied, and want to get to the point. Bottom line. After all they are just detectives. 😉

Calhoun and Cade. Meandering to the morgue once again to listen to Mercedes. Again.

What kind of twists could there be?

And who else shows up to the party?

So follow me here, on Facebook, and my website. https://www.claireosullivan1.com

And don’t forget “Romance Under Wraps”: https://www.amazon.com/Romance-Under-Wraps-Claire-OSullivan-ebook/dp/B08MB43BSL/ref

I think I Promised to write a Blog Today … Uh, yeah, I did.

Posted on 03/12/202203/12/2022 by claire o'sullivan

OKAY, OKAY, since it’s been a bit over a month since I last wrote, I figure just perhaps since I posted on Twitter my blog site and website that I really should keep up to date.

So this is for Jack who so graciously sent me his hysterical blog link on being a lawyer with a sense of humor … in the event he’s checking in on me.

What exactly have I been doing with my time? Uh.

I’m a night owl. That’s when I read, write, rewrite, etc. So I am working hard(ly?) on Glass Slipper, my third novel. Police procedural, forensics, my first serial killer novel. Yay! Cough, I mean …

Anywho it is a sequel to “Romance Under Wraps,” murder mystery, forensics, police procedural, romance. It wasn’t my title or cover concept, so no, to say it’s a romance would be misleading, but all is well if folks like romance with suspense. And gunplay. Etc.

“Glass Slipper” continues on in fictional (almost real) Whiskey River, where Jack McCLoud is the medical examiner. Morose. Trying to go straight. Trying to forget the dame who shot him, giving him a bad attitude (more so than usual) and a nice limp.

Mercedes Hall has a few secrets of her own. She’s the new tech in the morgue with a handful of secrets and a lot of Jack’s new problems and temptations.

Trying to go straight with a knockout redhead stepping into his world and shaking it up was not his plan.

Sharing an excerpt. This is how Jack’s mind goes (this of course, is up to change via the editing process. But you get the idea).

“I was still mulling over how I’d been shot.

How did I miss it? The woman I had almost married was an assassin. She wasn’t sent for me, but she’d used me up, and shot me. It was, at the very least, unexpected. My knee pained me, especially in the Dead Room, so naturally, it was hard not to think of that Mata Hari. I might be wrong, but ‘once bitten, twice shy,’ certainly seemed to apply. Nearly sleeping the big one at the hand of a crazy blonde could make a man cranky, and I’m not likely to take another broderick, emotionally or otherwise.

The thought of her and the ache in my leg dogged me as I readied the newest arrival, Lindsay Pratt, D.O.A., for viewing in the morgue.

Every building, every room has its own whiff test. The bleak corridor that led to the Dead Room was long, and smelled like formaldehyde, and bleach, and maybe a thousand dead bodies. That was the nature of my business as medical examiner.

I’m Jack McCloud, the lone ranger of the dead across Southern Oregon, our very own Rest in Peace Department.

* * *

I had a hard and fast rule: nothing jumps in the morgue so when a stranger comes through the doors, I tend to take note.

A live one walked in, jarring my thoughts. The blonde strode into the Dead Room, a knockout, a tomato with gams that kept on going like a kid’s toy with an Energizer battery. Her threads were a spending spree beyond my annual take-home and she was like a fine porcelain vase. In a tight-fitting cerulean dress, with thin straps over her shoulders, all those blonde curls spilled over her shoulders like a waterfall over a cliff. And her curves? Her curves were hugged by all that lucky, lucky blue.”

And that’s what I am up to!

As for Jack? Here’s his link:

http://jocularious.com/

Thankful

Posted on 02/12/2022 by claire o'sullivan

Very happy to have sent off the review/approval my “final” manuscript off for the last time to the publisher. Nothing is ever set in stone and the publisher may want more edits, whether content, grammar, or wording. May the Waiting Game commence. I hit “send” at 11:57 pm last night. Oh, yeah. “Rules of Engagement.” So tired I forgot to mention the name of the novel!

Titles are always subject to change per the publisher, and I will be seeing a cover come maybe soon. Cool. Beans.

So, that said, I get to spend time catching up with my To-Be-Read (TBR) pile and chill a bit until she goes through it and asks for changes, etc. The nature of the writer’s life. Currently reading a serial killer novel. Hahahaha. Ahem.

There is nothing in the writing world better than a good editor. So many, many thanks go to her for cracking the whip.

Image result for indiana jones whip — did she learn from him, or did he learn from her?

It’s tough to pigeonhole a genre sometimes and this is no exception. Is it a Christian fiction? Well, ya, just not heavy-handed. Is it a thriller? Oh most definitely. Is it a crime fiction? Depends on whether crimes against humanity count. Is it military? Yep, any mistakes, thoroughly my own. What about intrigue? Yes. Anything medical? Oh, of course, but any mistakes are again, thoroughly my own. What about romance? Um, some, clean of course. Is it bloody? I plead the 5th!

I am pretty sure there should be a “Not for the Faint of Heart” genre, though. If you want the truth. Because I write different genres. Truth be told.

Not to worry, ye faint-of-heart. My next novels involve forensics and murder (uhhh, that’s not a problem, is it?), cozy mystery with romance, spinster sisters cozy, and a novel yet to be announced.

Why dead bodies always show up in my sweet romances is beyond me.

Updates and a testimonial … for fun

Posted on 02/03/2022 by claire o'sullivan

Hi ya!

“Romance Under Wraps” has been on the shelf since near the end of the dreaded COVID 19, 2020. A little over a year and chugging along. I’d like to share a review with you.

“Romance Under Wraps” was a labor of love that started with a contest a LONG, LONG time ago in a galaxy far away. My first published novel, with many *many* revisions, rewrites, more rewrites, then a handful more before editing. Then the professional editor. A romantic suspense. A thriller, some have said. Amateur sleuth, Catherine Cade, is a thief. A thief with retrograde amnesia, she steals one identity after another to dodge an ex-partner. Rick Calhoun, homicide detective, is getting in her way. Especially when he catches her red-handed on CCTV, in what appears to be stealing evidence from a locked evidence room. Checking a background cements his fears. Now there’s a confrontation for the ages. Let the chase begin, especially when the dead body of a city VIP tosses the two together.

From a reader:

Mollie

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Memorable and Moving Novel Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2021

“This was the most memorable and moving novel I have read all year. The plot took me through a whirlwind of emotions – laughter, tears, sorrow, and anger. The heroine, Catherine Cade, cannot recall a thing about her life prior to an automobile accident. What she can recall all too vividly is the abusive relationship she endured at the hands of a thief and con artist. This man, who convinced Catherine that she was his wife, taught her how to work a con and change her identity. With no real identity of her own, she became adept at changing her persona during frequent moves. Things changed for Catherine Cade when she moved to the small town of Whiskey River. Not only had her surrounding changed, but Cade developed friendships, a career, and a handsome love interest. Her attraction to a detective spurs a great deal of conflict, not only because she is a con artist but because Cade’s personality and values change throughout the book. Eventually, I realized that Cade was running away from both evil and good. She was running to a void, a continuous life of nothingness. The author has crafted engaging plots. No one is what they seem. No one seems to be trustworthy. For crime mystery lovers this is a fiction that you will enjoy with plenty of action, gun play, good guy and bad guy moments, murders, assaults. For mystery/romance lovers you will feel involved in the plot development of what appears to be a hopeless love between a con artist, Catherine Cade and a no-nonsense ex-Marine, detective, Rick Calhoun. For the cozy mystery lovers, you’ll enjoy how the plot develops to encourage the heroine to develop her interests in solving a murder and in opening a bakery. For me, I loved how the plot developed to show the ways in which God may choose to act in our lives.”

“Rules of Engagement” is with Deb Haggerty, Elk Lake Publishing, and her nefarious editor, Mary, who will red-pen my manuscript into another orbit (that means, “Fix this.” “Fix that.” repetitively). “Rules of Engagement” is in a different genre (sort of). A medical military *and romance* thriller. A global disaster loosely based (and I mean very loosely based) on a true story, started some time after “Romance Under Wraps” was mostly completed.

I have no idea what that cover will look like. Kind of hope it includes these pics which are representative of the two main characters (out of a gazillion other characters):

“Glass Slipper” is my next endeavor that I am currently writing. I have a beautiful graphic design for it, but we’ll wait for the real cover release. Heck sometimes titles and cover art are changed. But it might even look like a … glass slipper.

Cinderella Glass Slipper, Crystal Glass Shoe Ornament, Ideal for Cinderella Party Decoration, Girls Birthday Gift,, Weddin...

“Glass Slipper” is in a sequel to “Romance Under Wraps” in Whiskey River, a forensics/police procedural (& rom/com) about what else? Forensic science students. Dead ones. Someone wants them out of Whiskey River. Or so it seems. Morose medical examiner, Jack McCloud, meets his match in a new medical examiner’s technician, Mercedes Hall. Jack’s brain works in old movies, Bogie and Bacall’s “Key Largo.” Also Raymond Chandler’s, “The Maltese Falcon.” “The Big Sleep.” And sometimes – sometimes – those 1940s expressions slip out into the modern world in which he lives. And does what he can to solve a serial killer case and dodge Mercedes.

For my other upcoming novels, check out https://www.claireosullivan1.com/

And that’s all, folks!!

‘Sup?

Posted on 11/03/2021 by claire o'sullivan

I’ve been working like I am insane. No. Comment.

Image result for I'm Not Insane — This is my EDITOR… ahem.

Thus, I forgot to let my vast and varied blog readers (wait… what?) know that “Rules of Engagement” has been accepted by Elk Lake Publishing. Which is why I have been working my fingers to the bone, with my nose to the grindstone, dead on my feet, fingers on fire, etc., getting the manuscript vaguely edited, ready, and moderately polished for my editor. IF I get this edited on time it may be out by June or July 2022. God willing.

“Rules of Engagement,” the title, is subject to change per the publisher so let’s not get too attached to the title. Same with the picture concept that the publisher considers. Title and cover concepts, by the way, are rarely accepted, or even considered by publishers, so I feel incredibly blessed.

Here are “my” possible cover picture (they get to put them together and figure out if they are usable) concepts:

Scott Walker (not the governor so stop emailing me, yeesh)

Cheyenne Keyes. MAYBE. More silly than likely

Since the photos are still ‘up in the air’ (which they purchase if they approve of them), I got a few for free from Adobe Stock Photos. Naturally I thought of the next two too late.

The other picture is less whimsical and perhaps a wee bit more inline with the seriousness of the story (but y’all know I like whimsy).

Like! Comment! Share! Subscribe! OH and tell me WHAT YOU THINK about the title AND the pictures (just as an aside, titles are reused, recycled for movies, books, memes, etc.)

OKAY, off to edit.

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