We all know the importance of reading to our children. Not only does it build a parental connection with them and give them their first introduction into letters and words, but also how they can become part of a story’s characters world with their imagination. In a world flooded with visual images and games that do the work for them, a book is a treasure for their mind. This week we celebrate: National Tell a Story Day on 27th April.
Can you remember the first story you fell in love with?
I loved Hiawatha, Wind in the Willows, and Grimm’s Fairy Tales.
We also celebrate this week the end of poetry month with Poem in Your Pocket Day on 30th April.
As many of you know poetry isn’t my thing, however I do indulge on occasion and have submitted a couple for my writing groups annual poetry challenge this year. If my poems are approved they will be included in an anthology later this year.
Do you have a favourite poem?
When I was young I remember my mother reciting these two. The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear and Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll. When I grew older this one was recited in my English class. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth.
Why did you choose to set this series in a Vancouver Island setting?
Vancouver Island has a little bit of everything I needed for this series. There are some little mountains, gorges with a suspension bridge, flatlands, beaches, and so much more. The big city of Victoria is a half day’s drive (or a short flight via a commuter plane), there are endless nature activities around like whale watching, and there is a romantic lighthouse dotting the edge of the coastline. Plus, it’s Canadian, so I’m more acquainted with the way things are as far as laws, health care, and that kind of thing.
Did you construct Cheshire Bay within your mind, or is it based on a real place?
Cheshire Bay is totally fictional, however, I have detailed maps of the town that I’ve created as well as hand-coloured maps of the area. I’m a map person, and love being able to refer back to it to make sure I’m getting distances and locations all correct. Everything within the town of Cheshire Bay is also made up – including all the store names which were super fun to come up with. I’ve invested a lot of time in crafting this idyllic location, and I love being immersed in it when I’m writing.
Was Cheshire Bay always going to be a series, or was it initially a standalone novel?
Originally, it was planned to be a three-book novella series of interconnected standalones, but when I was offered a spot in a holiday anthology I thought, hey wow, I could make a Christmas story and add on to the series, kind of close it off with a pretty little bow. That was all fine and good, and I think I was mostly happy to leave it at the four books when Christmas in Cheshire Bay released, but then came another opportunity for another anthology.
In a burst of creativity, Journey to Cheshire Bay was born and written, but ended up being released as its own title rather than with the anthology. It also was the first in the series to become a novel – there was just that much story to tell. As I neared the end of writing Journey, I knew in my heart I wasn’t really ready to let the series go. Inspiration hit, and I wrote and finished the next four books (all full length novels as well), and when they were all completed, wrote a novella prequel. Dreamers in Cheshire Bay gives readers a true view of the town and introduces the upcoming main characters (plus it’s a free read). It was a lot of fun and readers are truly enjoying the heartfelt story. After the prequel, I finally wrote a huge series ending epilogue, which is in the last book (Flirty in Cheshire Bay), and it was then that I knew I was finished with the series.
With ten books in the series, do you see it continuing and how?
With this series in particular, I’m pretty sure I won’t be coming back, but that all depends on the readers. If they want more, I’m sure I can find a few more heroines and heroes to write about – there are a couple of minor characters I could see a story for, but I won’t know if the readers don’t let me know they need more. Heh-heh.
Can you tell us a little about the latest book, Second Chances in Cheshire Bay?
Oh my gosh, I just loved writing this book, and I think of all the characters in this series, these two are in my top three favourites.
Chloe is the new doctor, taking over for a retired doctor in a small town on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. It’s a perfect place to spread her wings, ready to leave her past (and family) behind and start fresh with her best friend. However, of all the places in all the world, she runs into her former true love – Benjamin – who has also chosen Cheshire Bay to escape his family and be who he dreams to be.
In the small town, they keep bumping into each other, and its clear, almost painfully at times, that these two are still attracted to each other, but the past hurts and the reasons for their break up are keeping them apart. Second Chances in Cheshire Bay a slow-burn, second chance romance with all the feels, all the steam, and all the sweetness my readers have come to expect. It’s coming April 18, and is available for preorder at a reduced price on all retail sites until release date.
Does writing a series appeal to you more than writing standalone books and why?
In my experience, yes, a series has more appeal, not only from a writing perspective after investing time in creating the settings, the characters, and the whole world they’re part of, but also for the readers. They get drawn into this world and they want more, and just like me, they don’t want to leave it either. One of the things about my book series, aside from one trilogy that needs to be read in order, is they are all standalones but interconnected with crossover characters. You can jump into any book in the series and be immersed in the world; it’s not essential to have read the others, but it adds to the story.
I only have two true standalones (Noel & Whistler’s Night) but they’re not even in the top ten of my most popular books, so the readers and buying habits are great at telling me what they prefer from me, and that seems to be series.
What drew you to write in the romance genre?
Love. I love everything about love. I’ve always been a firm believer that everyone needs a happy ending, and I adore hearing/reading/writing about their journey to that goal. I like that rush of emotions, the tickling of the senses when you first start falling in love, and that euphoric feeling. I’ve been reading romances since I was twelve or thirteen, and although every couple gets their happy ever after, or happy for now, it’s the road they’re on I most enjoy, because everyone’s journey is different.
What is your writing process?
It involves copious amount of coffee and a playlist with a lot of movie soundtracks in it. Typically, I’ll create the characters (backstory, personality, the works), prepare the setting, and figure out what the character wants, why they want it and what the heck is preventing them from getting it. I’ll draft out the story into brief page-long chapters, making sure I cover all the points I need and want, and then it’s writing time!
Once completed, I’ll read through it a dozen times, filling in things I’ve missed, before I send it out to a couple of beta readers who’ll read it and give me the most incredible feedback. After addressing any slow/boring spots, I give another read through before sending it off to the editor, unless there’s been major changes, then my beta readers are more than happy to give it another read to make sure the story flows. The typical timeline from story idea to ready to publish is often a year or more, but lately it’s closer to two years.
Are you working on a new project?
I am busy creating a new five-book series. If all goes well, they will be released in the spring of 2025 leading up to the next winter Olympics in Feb 2026, as the heroines are part of the Canadian Curling team vying for an Olympic medal. Curling is near and dear to my heart, so I’m excited to bring this to a new series. The first book is completed, and the next four are in draft mode.
How do readers find you?
The best place to find me is through my website (www.hmshander.com) or my newsletter; one I send out every couple of weeks with updates and occasionally a flash sale only for my subscribers. I am on social media, and they can follow me on their favourite social media channels by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/HMShander
Thanks so much for having me here!
Blurb:
Thirteen years apart. Two shattered hearts reunited. One shot at a second chance neither of them saw coming. In a small town, the list of good-looking, age-appropriate, and single guys is already slim. Being the only doctor for miles, those choices become even narrower. When a speed dating event surfaces, Dr. Chloe Tarkin jumps at the chance to meet several eligible bachelors but is caught completely off guard when one in particular graces her table.
The guy who once held the key to her heart. The other half of a pair of dreamers with big plans for their future. The swoony gentleman her soul never forgot. Or forgave.
BJ Sutcliff moved to the bay area years ago to escape his past, his controlling family, and to focus on being who he wants to be. Never expected he’d run into anyone familiar. And he never imagined he’d run into the woman whose heart he shattered when he slammed the door on them all those years ago.
He’s ready to make amends for the way he screwed up. This time, he’s not settling for second best, but he’d jump at a second chance – if she can find it in her heart to let bygones be bygones. Or are some mistakes just too much to forgive and forget?
Author Bio:
USA TODAY bestselling author H.M. Shander is a stargazing, romantic at heart who once attended Space Camp and wanted to pilot the space shuttle, not just any STS – specifically Columbia. However, the only shuttle she operates in her real world is the #momtaxi; a speedy electric car that zooms her two kids to school, work, and whatever sporting events they’re playing that season. When she’s not commandeering Elektra, you can find the elementary school librarian surrounded by classes of children as she reads the best storybooks in multiple voices. After she says goodnight to her kids and trophy husband, she moonlights as a contemporary romance novelist; the writer of sassy heroines and sweet, swoon-worthy heroes who find love in the darkest of places.
For all the latest release news, subscribe to H.M. Shander’s newsletter, or you can follow her on Twitter(@HM_Shander), Facebook (hmshander), or check out her website at www.hmshander.com.
We have three literary celebrations this week and they all have children in mind. The first is International Children’s Book Day. As we are all acutely aware, reading is the foundation of all learning and is, therefore, the most important skill for every child.
4/2 – International Children’s Book Day (Founded 1967)
4/2 – Hans Christian Anderson’s Birthday (1805-1875)
Andersen was a prolific writer and wrote two hundred and ten fairy tales in all, which were published over the course of his life. The tales were translated across Europe, then made their way around the world, making him the best-known Scandinavian writer of his age.
His most famous stories are: The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Little Mermaid, The Nightingale” “The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Red Shoes, The Princess and the Pea, The Snow Queen, The Ugly Duckling, The Little Match Girl, and Thumbelina. I think most children know these stories, I certainly remember having them read to me initially and then reading them for myself later on. There is an inherent magic to these stories that makes them timeless.
4/4 – National School Librarian Day.
To honor all school librarians, who serve young students in the local school libraries. These heroes of the school system ensure children find the joy of a story and encourage them to read.
With the resounding success of Everything Everywhere at Once the conversation has turned to non-typical heroes. This is a good thing, not only for viewers, writers and readers, but for society as a whole.
Women have been objectified for far too long by filmmakers, the media and the fashion industry. Now is the time to celebrate women, who have been, and are heroes, in everyday life for their families, their careers, themselves. They nurture, accomplish, protect and succeed in all walks of life, at every age and in every ethnicity. The cultivated image of a female distorts and decimates what women are in ‘real’ life. That needs to change. We grow older, put on weight, have wrinkles – we are flesh and blood.
There are a growing number of novels with midlife women as the main protagonists. The topics range from later in life romances, to empty nesters getting a new lease on life to life after divorce, or death of a spouse. These are to be celebrated – it is real life and it shows the strength of women.
In my romance/reincarnation novel, The Twesome Loop, I have a protagonist, who is downtrodden in both of her lives and finds a way out from under her tormentors.
Year 2000 – Melissa is a single midlife woman, who cared for her aging parents until their deaths, sacrificing her own personal life to do so. She is targeted by a man whose only interest is her fortune. He tricks her into marriage. She finds her strength and self worth in an unlikely place.
Year 1800 – Gabriella is a young woman forced into a marriage of convenience by her father to further his standing in society. She is instrumental in ridding herself of her cruel, domination older husband.
You will find that my adult novels feature strong women in one way or another. They may have to find their strength, or have to rely on it. Either way they are the heroes.
There is always something magical about immersing ourselves into a story. We escape reality for a chapter or two, maybe even longer if time allows. Stories have been entertaining, educating and fascinating humans for eons. From campfire tales to fairy stories to modern literature, we have passed on these narratives from generation to generation. Beginning with word of mouth and traveling troubadours to parchment scripts to printed books and now to electronic devices.
Stories are a part of our culture, our locality and our history. Some may disappear, others stand the test of time. We have the ability to share them with future generations and keep them in the world.
I have a troubadour in my novella, The Rython Kingdom. He travels from feudal to feudal land (lands owned by the monarchy and gifted to Lords) and is invited to the King’s court. He knows this is a great honour and tells a tale over a couple of days, unaware there is a release spell within its words of an evil sorceress.
Celebrate storytelling week reciting your favorite stories to your children or grandchildren, pass on these generational tales so they may be forever told.
Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers 