Don't Say A Word hits #2 on B&N Top 100!

It's been awhile since I've had a chance to blog.  I've been busy digitizing some of my backlist titles so that they'll once again be available for readers to read.  This turned out to be a rather lengthy process, but I now have twelve titles up at most retailers.  It's exciting to be able to bring these books back to life, many of which were only on the shelves a short time.  I wish I could bring them out in print but right now they're only available in electronic format.  


One of my personal favorites, DON'T SAY A WORD hit #2 today on B&N'S Top 100!  

DON'T SAY A WORD is a book with a lot of layers, romance, adventure, a little mystery, love, family relationships, and some really fascinating lead characters. 

From the back cover:

Everything she's been told about her past is a lie ...

Julie De Marco is planning a perfect San Francisco wedding when she comes face-to-face with a famous photograph, the startling inage of a little girl behind the iron gate of a foreign orphanage -- a girl who looks exactly like her. But Julia isn't an orphan. She isn't adopted. And she's never been out of the country. She knows who she is -- or does she?

Haunted by uncertainty, Julia sets off on a dangerous search for her true identity -- her only clues a swan necklace and an old Russian doll, her only ally daring, sexy photographer Alex Manning. Suddenly nothing is as it seems. The people Julia loved and trusted become suspicious strangers. The relationships she believed in -- with her mother, her sister, and her fiance -- are shaken by new revelations. The only person she can trust is Alex, but he has secrets of his own. Each step brings her closer to a mysterious past that began a world away -- a past that still has the power to threaten her life ... and change her future forever.

Reviews:

"Powerful and absorbing ... Sheer hold-your-breath suspense." -- Karen Robards

"An absorbing story of two people determined to unravel the secrets, betrayals, and questions about their past. The story builds to an explosive conclusion that will leave readers eagerly awaiting Barbara Freethy's next book." -- Carla Neggars

"A page-turner that engages your mind while it tugs at your heartstrings ... DON'T SAY A WORD had made me a Barbara Freethy fan for life!" --Diane Chamberlain

"Dark, hidden secrets and stunning betrayal boil together in a potent and moving suspense. Freethy's story-telling ability is top-notch." -- Romantic Times Magazine -- 4 1/2 Stars - Top Pick of the Month!

Read a Sample Chapter

I hope you'll check out this book.  I'll be featuring some of my other backlist titles in the next few weeks!

Until then - happy reading!

NEW E-BOOKS AVAILABLE

I'm starting to digitize my older books so that while they've gone out of print, they'll live on electronically.  I'm very excited as some of these books were personal favorites and have also garnered a lot of reader mail over the years. I've converted two books so far, SUMMER SECRETS and JUST THE WAY YOU ARE. The books are being offered for $4.99 on various sites in various formats listed below.  Hopefully one will work for you.  


(A Writers Work is an author website created by authors for readers where you can find both out of print and never published titles.)

Summer Secrets is the story of three unique sisters ... the secrets that bind them for life ... and the summer that will set them free.  

Eight years ago, the three McKenna sisters -- Kate, Ashley, and Caroline -- had their fifteen minutes of fame. Driven by their ambitious father, they won an around-the-world sailing race as teenagers. But something happened out on the turbulent sea -- during a fierce storm they could never forget ...

Now Tyler Jamison has come to Castleton, a picturesque island off the coast of Washington State, asking questions about the famous McKennas. But even as the sisters close ranks against the tenacious reporter, the past threatens to drown them in its wake. It will take Caroline's willingness to right a wrong, Ashley's struggle to face her greatest fears, and Kate's attempt to embrace life -- and love -- again to finally calm the winds and stop the rain...

AWritersWork.Com - Summer Secrets
On the Kindle - Summer Secrets  
On Smashwords - Summer Secrets 

Take a romantic journey with Barbara Freethy to Tucker's Landing, Oregon, where Sam and Alli Tucker have mad a life together ... a life about to be tested by the return of the only woman who can break them up ... Alli's sister, Tessa.

A baby brought them together -- and even though Alli has always loved her strong, sexy husband Sam and the life they've built together, she has decided to set him free to follow his youthful dreams. It is no longer enough for her to be wife and lover when she knows she holds so little of his heart.

Sam has always dreamed of a life away from the close-knit world of Tucker's Landing, but marriage and fatherhood ended all that. Now Sam is torn between what was and what was meant to be. He must decide if it's time to rekindle the dreams of the past ... or accept Alli, and her love, just the way she is.

Don't miss this heartwrenching tale of a man torn between two sisters , the one he loved, the one he married ... 

AWritersWork.Com - Just The Way You Are

On the Kindle - Just The Way You Are

Smashwords - Just The Way You Are

Ongoing and Upcoming Reader Events

I wanted to tell you about some events that are going on right now and upcoming on the web for readers and writers and for everyone in fact.

READERS AT HOME CONFERENCE -- Author Lucy Monroe has set up a Readers Conference on her blog for people who can't make it to the Romantic Times Conference this week.  It began on the 26th and runs through the weekend.  Every day there are guest authors blogging and prizes.  It's a lot of fun.  I'll be guesting on the 29th.  There are several authors each day so stop on by and meet some of your favorite writers!

http://lucymonroeblog.blogspot.com/

BRENDA NOVAK'S AUCTION FOR DIABETES - Author Brenda Novak started this auction a few years ago to help raise money for the prevention and treatment of diabetes, a disease her son suffers from.  To date she has raised over $770,000 and is hoping to hit the one million dollar mark this year.  The auction runs from May 1st to the 30th.  It is set up like E-Bay but all of your money goes to this charitable cause.

And what can you get?  Just about anything.  If you're a reader, there are tons of autographed copies by bestselling authors as well as gift baskets and much more.  For writers there are agent/editor critiques, author mentoring, to name just a few.  For everyone there are fabulous vacation getaways, Hawaii, courtesy of author Jane Porter, the Cascade Mountains by author Susan Andersen, a stay in the Inn run by Nora Roberts.  There are trips to Mexico and the California Wine Country and the list goes on.  Bidders can also win raffle prizes that are amazing.

Don't miss this opportunity to help find a cure for diabetes and get something really good for yourself!

http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/

Hope you'll check out these fun events!

Barbara

IN SHELTER COVE HITS THE SHELVES!

It's Book Release Day - so I have to do a little promo here ...

IN SHELTER COVE, Book Three in my Angel's Bay Series, hits the shelves Tuesday, April 27th.  If you haven't started reading the series yet, don't worry, you can still jump in.  Each book has a new central story that stands alone, so you won't be lost.  Of course, for the richest reading experience, you might want to read all of them! 


Here's a blurb from the back cover --

A long-ago shipwreck off the California coast led the survivors to the haven they named Angel's Bay. Their  shared adversity brought fellowship and joy ... but also unsuspected secrets...

The theft of three priceless paintings sent Derek Kane to prison and destroyed the dreams of his wife,  Brianna. When Derek unexpectedly dies just weeks before his release, Brianna returns to Angel's Bay with her young son, determined to prove her husband's innocence and find the missing paintings.  Her efforts are stymied by Jason Marlow, the police officer who sent Derek to jail -- betraying his former friend. And when unexpected passion flares between Brianna and Jason, she must choose between the past and the present, the guilty and the innocent, the truth and the lies.  For nothing is what it seems ...

READ AN EXCERPT OF IN SHELTER COVE 

If you haven't yet read ON SHADOW BEACH (book 2) which came out last month, the book is still available at most bookstores and can be ordered online.  

Here are some of the rave reviews ...

"With ON SHADOW BEACH, Barbara Freethy writes an excellent, easy-to-read novel.  It flows beautifully  with intriguing and appealing characters.  It will grab you within the first few pages and just keep getting better." Romance Reviews Today 

"A lovely contemporary romance ... you can never get enough of Freethy’s excellent characters. She’s a master at creating whole relationships in just a few short paragraphs." Romantic Times

"On Shadow Beach is another heart stopper by Barbara Freethy. The author has an uncanny knack to draw the reader into this little slice of true Americana. On Shadow Beach hums with red hot passion and duplicity that is underlined by a bit of mystique to make this novel one of those you don’t want to put down." Winter Haven News

"Ms. Freethy has again written a suspenseful tale entwined with romance, heartache, rekindled relationships, close community ties and even miracles. This captivating tale will leave the reader guessing till the end and surprised by the outcome. Book two in the "Angel Bay" series stands alone, offering a great read." ReadertoReader.com

Hope you'll check out my series.  I just finished writing book four, which is tentatively titled, AT WHISPER FALLS and will be released February 2011.

If you've been reading the series, I'd love to know what you think!  Comment here or send me an email. 

Happy Reading!

Writing Tips #3 - Transitions -- Keep the reader reading!

For all the writers out there, thought I'd jot down some of my thoughts on transitions, scene breaks, chapter endings and changes in point of view.

Great transitions keep the reader reading.  Poor transitions make it easy for the reader to put down the book.  Some common traps to avoid:  Putting your character to sleep at the end of the chapter.  When the protagonist goes to bed, it often provides a good place for the reader to put down your book and also go to bed.  Try to avoid this type of chapter ending.  You don't want to encourage napping!

Consider these craft techniques:  End a chapter in the middle of a scene, perhaps with a question asked by one character, or the entrance of a new character into the scene, or a change in the point of view.  All of these type transitions will encourage the reader to turn the page.

When breaking between scenes and chapters, think about finding a connective link ... a repetition of a word or a theme or a thought can sometime provide an almost subliminal connection.  For example, in a book I'm current writing one of my characters is desperate to be a mother and has just learned that the baby she wants to adopt may not be an option.  My next scene moves to another character who is having trouble dealing with her ailing mother ... it's a subtle connection but one that provides a smooth transition and links by the word mother, and the theme about mothers and children that plays a role throughout the book.

Another tip, taking the chapter ending a bit further, is to end the chapter with a question.  But don't provide the answer in the next scene, make the reader wait, introduce something else that's new and compelling.  One cautionary note -- if the next scene isn't compelling, you may annoy the reader by making them wait so make sure it's a good one!

To keep the reader turning the pages, vary the tempo of your book, emotional scenes might move a little slower than action scenes.  Use short, rapid dialogue to increase pacing.  And after you've written your first draft, be a ruthless editor. Don't let yourself fall in love with all of your words.  If sentences or scenes don't move a story forward and wouldn't be missed if they were gone, then take them out.  The reader will love you for it!

Anyone run into any transitional type issues?  Ask away.  Maybe I can help.

It's a Real Book!

Today the second book in my Angel's Bay Series, ON SHADOW BEACH, was officially released!  It's the 26th book I've published, but I never get over the thrill of actually seeing the book as a book, no more looking at manuscript pages or reading on the computer.  It's there between the beautifully designed covers and on the shelves, too!  Although, I haven't yet seen it on an actual shelf, I'm planning to do some signings starting this weekend.

And this time around, the excitement won't end soon as the third book in the series, IN SHELTER COVE, will be released on April 27th. I had asked my publisher to release the books as closely together as possible since some of the characters continue, and I think readers enjoy reading a series of books when they're published fairly frequently.  Luckily, my publisher was able to put me in the schedule for the back to back books and I'm just thrilled.

There will also be a book 4, still to be titled, coming out in the fall, and maybe a couple of more books depending how readers respond to the series.  I'm hoping everyone will enjoy reading the books as much as I've enjoyed writing them.

I'm currently finishing up book four, and I can't wait to get into the next story!

If you haven't yet read an excerpt from On Shadow Beach - check out my book buzzer widget on the right and you can read the first chapter.

And if you have read Suddenly One Summer or are currently reading On Shadow Beach, come back and let me know what you think.  Would also love to hear any On Shadow Beach sightings, especially at the drugstores and Wal-Marts - I never know exactly where the books will show up!

Writing Tips #2 - Don't Write What You Know - WRITE WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW ...

When I first began writing every how-to book suggested that a writer begin writing what they know.  But while this advice might be great to jumpstart a writing career, unless you have a really unusual life, you may run out of things you "know" pretty early in the game.  And sometimes what you "know" can be an obstacle to creating good fiction.

When we know a subject very well, we're sometimes too close to it to fictionalize. For instance I love movies or books where one character is a writer and her editor actually comes to her house to help her write or just to visit.  I've been writing for almost twenty years and I've never had one of my almost a dozen editors ever come for a visit or to help me write.  If you don't live in New York or L.A., chances are rare that you'll see an editor anywhere except at a writer's conference or if you go there to meet them.  But I digress -- I couldn't write that scene because I know too much about writing and yet for the purposes of many fictional stories and movies, it's kind of cool to have an editor visit the writer.

Now, you might be saying but if it wouldn't really happen, then you're wrong in writing it -- no, that's why it's called fiction.  As long as it can happen within the realm of possibility, you're cool.

So once you get past the "write what you know" advice, my advice is to write what you DON'T KNOW but WOULD LIKE TO LEARN.  Researching has been one of the most enjoyable parts of my writing career.  I have learned how to sail, grow orchids, ride horses, win the Kentucky Derby, cure amnesia, steal million-dollar paintings, catch thieves who steal million dollar paintings, find famous missing Russian orphans, solve cold case murders, find long lost family members, sew quilts, move up in the police department, decipher psychic visions, change my identity and find lost shipwrecks.  And I rarely left the house.

Writing what I don't know engages my curiosity, gets my energy going, makes me excited to create a world where I'm going to share some of what I've learned, and I do mean "some".  Never overburden your fictional story with too much research.  Carefully pick and choose only those points that make your story better.  Always remember that you're telling a story, not writing a how-to book.

So if you think you don't know anything worth writing a book about -- think again!  The world is waiting.  What have you always wanted to learn?  Where have you always wanted to go?  Who have you always want to be?  As a writer, you can do it all!