Category: #amwriting

It Starts Now ~ “Romance Under Wraps” One Week Sale!

Posted on by claire o'sullivan

I’m excited to announce that “Romance Under Wraps” is on sale for 99 cents. One week only. Midnight (PDT) June 30th to 11:59 pm (PDT) July 7th. Alrighty then. I asked the publisher why ‘Romance Under Wraps.”

Romantic suspense, clean read, with a dash of police procedural.

Some folks just can’t stop breaking the law…

I can’t tell you how fun this is. I’ve been looking forward to a near-giveaway for months, and Deb Haggerty from Elk Lake Publishing said, “As you wish.”

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Well, you know what I mean. And Deb doesn’t look like Wesley. Which is a good thing.

So this is the perfect time to storm Amazon and pick up a kindle copy for 99 cents!

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no, it’s better than a TV!

“Romance Under Wraps” is also available paperback, Audible, and Kindle Unlimited.

Quick!

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Click right here: https://www.amazon.com/Romance-Under-Wraps-Claire-OSullivan-ebook/dp/B08MB43BSL/ref

Romance Under Wraps by [Claire O'Sullivan]

Catherine Cade Has a Problem

She’s an identity thief with partial amnesia impersonating a nurse practitioner—trying to go straight. When one of her patients dies a mysterious death, she is faced with an agonizing decision. When evidence points to murder, she must overcome her fear of prison for the truth. Her biggest problem is the cop who caught her.

Rick Calhoun is a homicide detective who knows more about Cade than she does. When he finds a murder scene and catches up with Cade, the chase begins.

She tries to keep her lies straight, and it’s a job while tending patients and opening a bakery. He has to keep the investigation quiet, tend to his homicide cases, and keep Cade out of trouble.

Cade’s biggest worry is the detective who found her. He’s onto her, and she‘s stuck. Calhoun’s biggest problem, he is in love with her and will sacrifice anything to give her safe passage.

Love means never having to hear your Miranda Rights …

I never thought I’d read about, and like, a scam artist and identity thief. But I just did, and I do! Who wouldn’t like Catherine Cade and her effort to get her memory back, and her witty repartee, and her exploits? And who wouldn’t like Calhoun, her sexy detective boyfriend? “Romance Under Wraps” has as many ups and downs and twists and turns as a rollercoaster and just as much action. If you like fast-paced mysteries laced with romance this is the book for you. A very enjoyable read. I give O’Sullivan 5 stars for this debut novel. ~Nadia

In a heart-wrenching story about losing one’s sense of self while driven with a ferocious instinct to survive, Romance Under Wraps dazzles readers with its exploration of love and redemption. It is insanely relatable for anyone who’s found themselves questioning their faith. Cade and Calhoun work together, albeit not easy at first, to show the world how love, alongside God, brings redemption to even the most cunning of sinners. ~ Kara Kelley

Now that Romance Under Wraps is done…

Posted on by claire o'sullivan

Don’t forget to check out “Romance Under Wraps,” on kindle, KU, audiobook and paperbook on Amazon. Click right ‘chere for details:

In the meantime, I am continuing work on Rules of Engagement, the upcoming military thriller.

Scott (not the governor) Walker and Cheyenne (not the town) Keyes become embroiled in an international disaster. There are those who would benefit from the collapse of civilization. And interference by the Army Ranger and the microbiologist threatens their existence.

The problem comes when the probabilty of obtaining two scientists drops exponentially as plans for their deaths are known, and the only way to obtain information is through kidnapping. Never makes for a good impression.

In the meantime, I am excited to have taken part in ProWritingAid’s Crime Writers Week which was chockfull of information and tips.

I hadn’t tried my string/crime board with the military thriller, but I did this time.

not mine but you get the idea…

And equally as large, I started a trick by Michael Crichton who, when in med school, wrote on 3×5’s when a scene would come to him. He pocketed these 3x5s and at home when he had a break, would shuffle them around on the floor until they made sense. Post-It notes, optional. Once these puppies are all arranged, the dates go there. These go onto another corkboard.

Could I do these online? You bet, but I don’t believe that technology is always there, especially in my neck of the woods, as in, the boonies, where we have rolling blackouts because of fire hazards. Or someone plows into a pole. Or, worse, the computer crashes. That sorta thing.

haha, mine are in order, at least they are now!

Another fun tool I’ve been using is OneStopForWriters.com which has pretty much everything you could ever want to build worlds, characters, emotional/wound/negative/positive/occupation traits, and options to go into depth, and another option? To make your own. Timelines, story map, name something. If that’s not cool, you can add in that everything you plug in, you can save to a pdf and print up (so again, nothing disappears). I’ve tried several programs, and these are my two favorites. If you have one that works great for you, drop a line.

Don’t worry. I have another corkboard to post all of the information I need right there.

Old school? Yes. Don’t hate me ’cause it’s cool…

I don’t often plug 2 programs in one sitting, but ProWritingAid rocks, as does OneStopForWriters.com

And get ready to sign up for beta reading because “Rules of Engagement” is going through the editing process and critique group. You’ll see it before, or maybe after, my editor does!

WELL then.

Posted on by claire o'sullivan

While I determine what to work on with “Alex and the Very Dead Doxy” and “Rules of Engagement,” I had the urge to write down an idea.

Idea? Turned into almost 1800 words. Well, oops, kinda. The whole point of writing is to write, no matter what. Even when editing/rewriting/reading, one should write at least a few minutes (or 1000 words) of something fresh.

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So. I wrote something fresh. Out of my genre by a thousand percent. I have no title, but it is kind of fun to tinker with new ideas.

Now it’s time to go back to work. That means, back to editing. Rewriting.

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First thing to edit, write in ENGLISH??

My dance card these days are mostly penciled in with doctor’s appointments. BTW that is a fantastic way to market your book. HAHAHA. My doctor looked up my novel, ‘Romance Under Wraps,’ while I sat there… his wife (and the physician’s assistant in the office) was interested in getting his wife the novel!

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Definitely having fun. Ahem.

Posted on by claire o'sullivan

With the debut of “Romance Under Wraps,” promoting, writing “Alex and the Very Dead Doxy” AND “Rules of Engagement,” I am having a riot!

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See?

I am pleased to see solid 4s and 5s popping up for “Romance Under Wraps,” and on Kindle, it is on sale in time for Christmas for 99 cents from December 24th to December 30th.

That’s what my main character, Catherine Cade, would call “easy as takin’ candy from a baby.” She’s a thief, and betting within this romantic suspense, she’d tell you to get it while it’s hot enough for the black market!

It’s Here!

Posted on by claire o'sullivan

“Romance Under Wraps” is available on Kindle Unlimited, Kindle (on sale), and paperback.

Yay! Yes, I finished off the Sparkling Cider.

Now, off to the next project (Rules of Engagement).

Read it right here or follow your heat to Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08MB43BSL?pf_rd_r=WYAA10532G4Z00FNTPDD&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee

How COVID Impacts ME (and you)

Posted on by claire o'sullivan

Good and mixed news.

The good news is that the ebook How to Steal a Romance is on schedule, end of this month (July 31st in case COVID scrambled your calendar brain).

Top 30 Yay GIFs | Find the best GIF on Gfycat

I’ve set up signings in my town, and I’ve been asked for an interview with Inked Voices, who are chock full of new and established authors as well as editors, agents, and publishers.

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That said, COVID, oh joy of joys, has slowed the presses enough to kinda tick me off. The paperbacks will be available around September.

Next on my list is Rules of Engagement. Oh yech. I mean, editing goes slowly. Sigh. Since How to Steal a Romance is coming out soon and very soon, I am whipping my way through a novella, a sequel to How to Steal a Romance.

Name? Currently, the name of said WIP is When I Was Dead. It’s How to Steal a Romance from Rick Calhoun’s perspective. Takes place? Of course, in Whiskey River, a small community in Southern Oregon.

The Last Breath – Raerei's FortressLooks dead to me

 

 

 

Then, I will return to finish Rules of Engagement. This is perhaps the most complicated of all of my works, a military/intrigue with plenty of romance and sparks in the middle of a kidnapping. You won’t find one soul in the first-person narrative. Instead, because of the plethora of characters, everything is in the third person, past tense.

States That Defend Us—Where Do Our Military Volunteers Call Home?

Other works, in the works: Glass Slipper, a noir sequel to How to Steal a Romance with the morose medical examiner and a new tech. He doesn’t like her. At all. She thinks he’s a pig. They’ll get along great…

Crime Scene Photography: A Complicated History

Next is a small town detective with zip experience, working to solve a serial murder. She is totally out of her depth and the only one in town who knows it. Alex must find another detective. Someone who knows what he/she is doing. And, a behavioral analyst. Alex and the Very Dead Doxy takes place in a rural community in Northern Minnesota.

Documentary: Hobart woman may have fed dismembered lover to ...

Anyone notice a small town theme?

Next? Murder in the Mist. Takes place, again in Minnesota with one minor difference. Small one. The main character’s only help is from Whiskey River, a woman with a past like hers. That could only mean homicide detective, Catherine Cade Calhoun. With her husband out of town, homicide detective Rick Calhoun, she can take a short leave to help her friend languishing in jail. What could possibly go wrong? Alex doesn’t know what to do with her, and the main character is beside herself, a witness to a murder, as the cultish madman hunts her down.

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I have the skeleton of a novel called, The Corpse in the Cupboard, which lives to its name. Kit Russell awakens in a strange town, in a strange house. Alone. Of course, a bit freaked out, she scouts out the digs she was tossed into. Finally, as she seeks coffee, she opens a broom closet and out falls a you-know-what. Most unfortunately she knows who it is. After getting said dead body back in the cupboard, a knock on the door stops her scream and a private detective, seeking shelter from a storm (which conveniently knocks out the power and the phone), walks into the kitchen when Kit’s back is turned. Oh, mercy. When he opens the broom closet he starts yelling. No wonder! So, what happened? How did she get there? Why is the woman dead? And in a cupboard? Can she trust this alleged private investigator? Can he trust her?

crime scene barbie

Welp. That’s what’s up with me. 

How are you doing on your reading and writing?

 

I LOVE COMMENTS, so gimme a heads up, tell me what you think and how you’re doing! 

Today’s Job

Posted on by claire o'sullivan

The first pass edit of How to Steal a Romance passed the publishing house’s editing team with three whole blips, which I call a win. Fixed in 3 minutes.

 

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Made those corrections and sent the manuscript back, and it is ready for submission to be published.

 

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Whoosh!

And anxiously awaiting to see what the cover will look like. I know what my brain says, but let’s see what their graphics team comes up with!

 

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So, what are you doing during the ‘stay-inside’ plague?

I am thinkin’ I need to distance myself from social media (mercy! I am already social distancing…!) to do some catchup reading and writing.

 

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Expect How to Steal a Romance on the shelves, KDP/Nook, etc., before fall. YEEEEKS!!

 

 

 

 

AIR

Posted on by claire o'sullivan

Military intrigue. Not my usual genre. Yes… yes. There is some romance. But more of a dude’s novel.

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I ‘usually’ write romantic/suspense, however, several years back I started this military thriller/intrigue. By the time I finished ‘How to Steal a Romance,’ it was time to do a rewrite. This is a fictionalized novel loosely based on happenings in 2014.

I’ll leave you to guess what it’s about.

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Got a lot done in the past few days on the new novel. I find it truly amazing how much can be accomplished when not on social media… who would have thought.

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Anyway, the next steps include: Finishing the last third of the rewrite. Putting this through the paces of my Grammarly and electronic reader. Send it to beta readers (whom I will need, btw, in the event you want a free copy). Then off to my Grammar Nazi who will also rip it to shreds. Then… a copyeditor and off to publishing houses out there and/or agents.

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My timeline ‘was’ six months to finish the rewrite. Well, I am almost done. So, the next goal, I continue now at three months to beta readers, six months or thereabouts to copyeditor, minus the copyedit, send off, acceptance by agent/publisher, and their edit requests.

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Total time: One and a half years. Max.

You are invited to pray. And that I get it right.

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Whew…

Posted on by claire o'sullivan

For the NanoWrimos among us, I suspect you’ve dented your couch and eschewed Thanksgiving as I have done (but not this year).

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50,000 words, one month, fingertips on fire, total focus.

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WELL THEN. I am not quite there this year since I decided I really needed to work on those 5 novels already in the works since I began the Nano challenge.

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So, after a good chapter + that I worked on, I plowed through Thanksgiving (mostly… foodwise) and didn’t work on it and still was too full to work yesterday.

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That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

How are you doing on your WIP? Oh, and I changed the WIP I am working on. Made more sense to me to edit that one.

voices are back excellent

 

Hola Hello Gutentag

Posted on by claire o'sullivan

I should add perhaps… bon chance (GOOD LUCK!). Bon courage (roughly, be happy, don’t worry…).

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Have copyeditor, will travel. Before I sent her the MS I found a gazillion gaffs so… I fixed ’em, notified the agent who graciously let me dump the first submission of cover letter/proposal/synopsis/first 50 pages.

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That being a big, fat whew, I moved on. Now, it’s a condundrum.

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Should I really work on Murder in the Mist?

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Or… back to my romantic/comedy/suspense (noir), Glass Slipper? The immediate sequel to HTSR? A tough edit.

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(Image courtesy S. Spalletta)

What about the wee town of Olvegaart? Where a romantic/mystery occurs (some suspense)? Where the working title is Alex and the Very Dead Doxy?

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Yes… doxy means lady of the night. Or day. Or whatever.

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Just needs a cleanup, okay a lotta cleaning up.

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AIR, military suspense/romance? Note: Imagination in overdrive. Again.

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AIR

 

 

I mean, that is done! But not vaguely edited. At. All.