Archive | September, 2015

The O’Malley Series Review

29 Sep

I’m switching it up a bit and reviewing a whole series for you today! Yes, I read this series this month, and yes you’ll be getting a post reviewing the other books I’ve read. Have I done anything else this month, besides reading? Apparently not. Because that’s a lot of books!

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This is the O’Malley Series by Dee Henderson. If you haven’t read anything by her, you must – you simply must. I haven’t found even one book of hers that I didn’t like. She writes Christian suspense novels and has won awards for them.

If you’ve been following SGL for a while, you’ve seen at least a few reviews on Hendersons’ books. But this. This series is fantastic. I have picked all seven of them up at garage sales and thrift and used book stores over the years but when in the midst of book four, I realized I didn’t own book five! A tragedy there, my friends. Amazon was there to save the day though and the morning after I finished book four, book five came in the mail.

Now, when I say it’s seven books, that’s not completely accurate. Technically, there are only six in the series. But she wrote a prequel that I count as one of the series. Because it flows. And it’s just as good as the others.

I thought I’d give a brief description of each book and then review them as a whole. Grab your mug of hot tea, cocoa or coffee and get ready to fall in love with the O’Malley’s.

Danger in the Shadows (prequel)  – Sara has been hidden away in protective custody for years. Adam Black is a  former pro-football star. Falling for him could very well risk her life.

The Negotiator – Being an FBI agent, Dave Richman’s job is to keep people safe. Kate O’Malley is a hostage negotiator that doesn’t hesitate to step in the middle of danger. Falling in love with her is easy, but Dave is about to find out that keeping her safe isn’t.

The Guardian – Marcus O’Malley is a U.S. Marshall and his job is to keep the only witness of a judge’s murder safe. Shari Hanford unexpectedly steals his heart, and in the process, changes his life. The only problem? She’s in the center of an assassins crosshairs.

The Truth Seeker – Being a forensic pathologist keeps Lisa O’Malley surrounded by dead women. Solving mysteries is her job. But this time, she’s found the killer and now she’s gone missing. Quinn Diamond, U.S. Marshall, has slowly fallen in love with her. Now, he has to find her before time runs out for both of them.

The Protector – Fireman Jack O’Malley has an arsonist to catch – the man is targeting his district, shift and friends. Finding him means protecting the woman Jack loves, for she saw him…

The Healer – Working for the Red Cross in the midst of disasters, Rachel O’Malley is one of the best. But when a school shooting occurs and she knows the kids, dealing with the trauma and helping them proves too much.

The Rescuer – Stephen is a paramedic running from the pain of his past. Meghan is blind and caught in the middle of a criminal conspiracy. As she shows him God’s love, he finds himself falling in love with her. But then she’s kidnapped in the midst of a tornado….

Review: Faith is very much a part of each of these books. I like the fact that Henderson has each person have a different point of difficulty for believing. But there isn’t too much preaching going on – even I start skimming when someone preaches for a few pages straight. The characters are well developed and you become jealous of their sibling relationships! They adopted each other, choosing a last name to share, and that bond created is amazing. I enjoy stories that involve careers so far removed from what I know. I have read these books for years, and will continue to do so in the coming ones.

*I’d like to note that any books I read are free of foul language or any immoral …stuff. If there is a hint of it, I will tell you but that is the most that I will read, and by default, will share with you. Not everything I read is faith-based though, so keep that in mind if that is your priority. *

*If you click any link here and buy from amazon, I will get a percentage from the sale. Just a way I’m trying to make a little money from this hobby of mine*

Character Development – Amelia part 2

24 Sep

If you stopped by in the beginning of this week, you caught the first part of  developing my main character – Amelia. I found these tips and decided to go through them. If you go to the page I got them from, you might notice I have changed/skipped a few but if it doesn’t work for me, I’m just going to move along instead of trying to make it work. I hope that by sharing my process through developing a character, you will get inspired in your writing as well!

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4. If your character were an animal, which one would s/he be, and why?

Do the same exercise for:

a piece of music
food
a building.

Oy, i just cannot get ANYTHING for this one! I know I said above I wasn’t trying to follow the tips completely, but I’ve waited almost a week to post this just because of this exercise. But, I’m moving on, I’ve got way too much other work on my book to worry about it =)

5. In which ways would your character behave differently when interacting with –

mother – nervous, apologetic, clumsy, dutiful and daydreams a lot
aunt – a bit clumsy, dutiful, loyal and caring
friend – adventurous, easygoing, caring and loyal

stranger –  curious, easygoing, trusting and apologetic
(potential) love – clumsy, daydreams, innocent and shy

6. Write a short poem in your character’s voice.

Good luck!

Colors bright and bold flutter in the breeze

attached to a basket, sturdy and strong.

The colors unfold by several hands pulling, pulling, pulling

until they lay flat against the vivid grass.

Round bubble goggles are snapped on a forehead,

gloves are pulled on and the scarf is tossed across a shoulder.

The adventure of flight is about to begin.

A turn here and kick and shove there and soon a noise fills the air.

The colors expand and start to float above the proud basket.

Soon they shadow everything around, a large cloud of ingenuity.

What glories await up in the sky, hanging aloft in a big

hot air balloon.

Give yourself Permission, It’s OK

21 Sep

Ah, the plans I had for today, friends, the plans I had.

I just conceded them to the inevitable and put my yoga pants (no, i don’t actually do yoga in them…) on. I have been trying to psych myself up to go run my errands and do some cleaning around the house but my body decided that a shower was all it could handle.  So I have come to the conclusion once again, that you just have to give yourself permission to not feel good and to do nothing.

If you’ve heard of the spoon theory, made typically in regards to Lupus, this is one of those days where I have started with less ‘spoons’ than normal, and therefore, must alter my plans.

(if you don’t know about this spoon theory, go check out this article)

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So, I’m going to continue laying on the couch with my dog snoring close enough I can reach out and scratch her head, with a cozy crocheted blanket over me and try not to notice the mess of my house or remember the list of errands that need doing.

Happy Monday and next post will be more on character development,

Laura

~if you want a great show on netflix that is worth binge-watching, over and over : Leverage. Interesting enough to keep you focused on it and not your pain but not too involved that you can’t keep up with it.

Character Development – Amelia

13 Sep

I just found this site that has writing prompts, and I’m excited to find this section, as I’m realizing that creating backstory for my characters is something I need to work on. There are six areas, I’ll do three today and three next time!

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Here’s the link again for where I got these Writing Exercises.

Developing Your Character

1) Write ten ‘factual’ statements about your character, then ten lies, then ten odd/bizarre statements.

Truths

1- She is 15

2- She loves to read

3- She longs to explore the world

4 – She can’t please her mother

5- Proper etiquette eludes her

6- She doesn’t worry over fashion statements

7- She has 3 brothers

8- She is tall

9- She hates practicing piano

10 – Favorite time of year is when her aunt visits

Lies

1- She is an impeccable dresser

2- Her mother is her best friend

3- She doesn’t have any friends

4- Her hair is straight

5- She’s an only child

6- She never wants to leave her hometown

7- Her only goal in life is to be a homemaker

8- She is fat

9- She has a close relationship with her father

10- Reading is boring to her

Odd/Bizarre –  

  I tried to fill these out, but i drew a blank

every time, so I decided to skip it. no use wasting time. Shrug.

2. Write a back-story – very important

Your character should have a back-story, because this can help you decide how s/he might behave in present situations. Here are some questions to answer about your character:

Background:
Gender: female
Race: white
Social class : middle in small town, upper in city
How many siblings: 3
Parents’ relationship: strained/polite
Neighbourhood: nice but not high class
Health/disability: healthy
Religion: ??
Level of education: ??research

Present circumstances:
Age: 15
Political views:starts having some as she gets older
Appearance: red hair, rather tall, pretty
Habits : reading,
Fears/ phobias : disappointing her aunt, not getting to travel, heights?
What s/he gets upset about :
What s/he gets excited about : the theater, good books, travel, writing
What s/he really dislikes in other people : superficiality, dishonesty
What s/he admires in others : being true to themselves, even against society

3. Give your character a few contradictory traits.

No-one is ever that straightforward:

Currently Is:

Imaginative   Apologetic    Innocent   Likeable   Loyal    Clumsy     Caring     Curious   Insecure

Dutiful    Easy Going     Graceful    Shy   Thoughtful     Trusting   Adventurous    Sensitive

Is going to be:

Determined    Responsible   Wary    Ambitious     Independent     Bold   Calm   Cautious (in relationships)

Opinionated

Stays:

Adventurous    Loyal  Caring     Curious    Thoughtful   Likeable   Innocent    Sensitive

Imaginative   Clumsy   Insecure

And that’s it for today! Come back later in the week for the last part, if you want of course.

~Laura