How I Took a Chance with Not a Chance

By Maureen Bonatch

Hello, my name is Maureen and I’m a panster. Most writers will recognize the term that causes readers to frown and assume it’s just another indicator that writers can be a little unusual. 

Most stories I write by the seat of my pants, instead of the most sensible, logical way. You know by starting with a plot and a plan for the story in advance. 

Believe me, it surprises me as well, because I’m an organized logical person. I’ve tried to force myself to plan and plot the story first, but alas, so far, it’s like putting a square peg in a round hole.

 Although I’ve found out there are some good things that come from writing in this manner. I mean besides the whole roller-coaster ride that I get to enjoy along with the reader as I discover the characters and write the pages to find out what comes next. 

That’s Not the Story 

Not a Chance is book #2 in The Enchantlings series. Book #1, Destiny Calling, was named after one of the triplets in the story. My original intent was to write a trilogy with each book highlighting the story of one of the triplets. Well, that didn’t happen. Not because I changed my mind, but because my character did. Hope kind of insisted that she continue to be the one to tell the tale into book #2. That was fine. I still intended for the story to mainly focus on her brother, Chance. 

But when you write by the seat of your pants, you’re taking the chance that the story isn’t going to go in the direction you originally planned—and it didn’t. We took a whole detour into the woods and then some to create a whole different story line.

The Reader’s Benefit When Authors Take that Chance

By not being set on the story, it enabled me to really listen to some of the feedback from readers of Destiny Calling. The characters they liked, what they thought might happen, what they wanted to see happen next. Since the story wasn’t completely structured, I was able to implement some of the suggestions I thought would fit into the story well. Plus, when you write paranormal and fantasy, you can bend the rules a little sometimes. At least in my book, you can. 

So, I took multiple chances with Not a Chance in my efforts to make the story better and engage more with readers. Because as a reader myself, I fall in love with certain characters and they become like dear friends to me. 

I can’t wait to see what happens next in their life, and I usually have an idea of what I want to happen. It's so wonderful to see how the story comes to fruition.

Have You Ever Taken a Chance on a Story?

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four

seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook& Twitter

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When to Stop Waiting for the Right Time to Start

by Maureen L. Bonatch 

Somehow June has arrived, announcing that we are six months into 2017. Half way through the year. How did that happen? I glance over at my 2017 list of monthly and yearly goals and realize many of them are still unfulfilled. Some may have even been on the list for 2016. I have a long to-do list, and a plethora of goals. For many of them, it’s almost as if they come with a disclaimer.  It seems that the more goals I have, the more excuses I acquire to delay starting.

•      That diet I need to recommit to? I’ll start right after the holiday—on Monday—after I go to the store.
•      That manuscript wallowing away on my computer? I’ll submit it once I read it one more time—finish editing it—figure out where I might submit it.
•     Those updates and tweaks I need to do on my website? I’ll finish them when I have time—when I can hire someone to do it—someday…

Excuses Multiply Like Rabbits

I have always loved to write. It made sense to pursue freelance writing in addition to my paranormal and fantasy fiction. What I didn’t realize at the time, was that although there were similarities, these were two very different birds. 

Fortunately, the things I learned would also benefit me as an author. Things like SEO, structuring blog posts, marketing etc. The more I looked, the more information I found. It’s a bit overwhelming. 

Everyone claimed they had just the information I was looking for, and many of them for a price. I signed up for multiple online classes, newsletters and read every article I came across. I started to think that I’d never learn everything. Until I had somewhat of an epiphany this week.

When You Find Out What You Already Knew

A freelance writer recommended a class that she claimed provided her with all the information necessary to succeed in freelancing. 

There it was! The answer that I sought—even though I wasn’t sure what the question was. 

I eagerly asked for the information for the class, and discovered…it was the same one I already took…a year ago. There was no magic answer. No easy button. Have I had the answers all along and just not the confidence? I wasn’t taking the very advice I gave my daughters. (I wrote about that in this blog post.)

Time Waits for No One

It seems what I discovered could be applied in more than one area of my life. I’m always looking for the answer, or waiting for the right time, and neither of these are apparent when they come along. No one announces that this is the right time to start that diet, finish that book, submit that story. We must decide that for ourselves. 

Granted, there are always obstacles to reaching a goal. But perhaps some of them are ones we impose upon ourselves. We might be ready right now, but it takes overcoming the fear of change, rejection, or a new endeavor to move forward. The only way to grow is to have the courage to learn from our mistakes. That's when the magic happens.

Do you struggle with finding confidence? How do you push yourself to stop stalling and chase your dreams and goals?

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook & Twitter

Using Sensory Description in Paranormal Romance

A frequent tip you'll hear in writing workshops, seminars, and blogs is to include the senses in your descriptions. One workshop I attended mentioned trying to include all 5 senses on every page. I took this to be a bit of an exaggeration, as that would be a LOT of description on every page. But it gives you a goal to shoot for so you remember to include sensory description as much as possible.

My personal rule of thumb is to attempt to get all 5 senses to show up in every five pages. This is actually much harder than it sounds, so let's dig into a little bit.

5 Commonly Learned Senses

Sight

Sight tends to be the easiest of the senses to remember because you can describe what the character is seeing in terms of surroundings, other people, gestures, or even what's inside their head. However, since this one is the easiest to include, don't forget to include little details that we all notice without realizing it... colors, shapes, changes in the surroundings, locations of objects or people in relation to the POV. For that deep POV touch, have characters note things that they would notice. No two people would walk into a room and notice the same things. Think about what in the room/the scene/another character might catch your characters eye. 

Sound

Sound can be relatively easy because you can describe voices if you include a lot of dialogue like I prefer. But I find I forget to includes sounds of everyday life that we all tend to tune out, but are there nonetheless. Things like cars passing, low murmurs of voices at parties, background music, etc. You don't need a lot, just a touch here and there. Again, try to incorporate things your character might notice.

Touch

Touch could be the bread and butter for a romance writer. Touch can be a very sensual experience. Wonderfully descriptive words come from touch - rough, smooth, silky, hard, soft, lush, scratchy. Think about textures of furniture, of food, of clothing, of skin, of pets, even the air. You get the idea.

Smell

You would think that smell would be easy to include, but unless there's food involved, I find I really have to think about smells. (I guess I love food.) Smells surround us, but unless they're strong we don't think about it much. Next time you get out of the car or enter a new building, think about what it smells like. Does it smell like a hospital? Like Christmas? Like a trash bin? Like piney woods? Like flowers? What do people around you smell like? Like what they just ate? Their cologne? Their shampoo? The pool water they just swam in?

Taste

This is perhaps the hardest sense to include regularly because most of us only think of taste in terms of food. And, at least for my characters, I don't have them eating in every chapter. However, taste can come into play in ways that are more subtle. Have you ever tasted the metallic flavor of blood, or the lips of the person you just kissed, or a scent in the air is so strong you can taste it?

Other Senses

Did you know there are more than 5 senses these days? I heard a trivia question recently saying that there are more than 5 senses--which, as a writer who tries to include these details in my descriptions, I found fascinating.

In researching this a little, I discovered that scientists are still divided on the additional senses. Some link them to specific sensory organs in our bodies (eyes, ears, olfactory, tongue, skin - but also inner ear, etc.). Some consider that there are subcategories to the main 5.

Regardless of classification, here are some additional senses that most of the websites I reviewed agreed on:

• Temperature - Hold/Cold
• Balance
• Pain
• Sense of where your limbs and body parts are
• Thirst
• Hunger
• Time

http://hms.harvard.edu/news/harvard-medicine/extra-sensory-perceptions

Just think of all the new ways you could incorporate these additional sensory details!

Paranormal Senses

Now let's take it yet a step further, into a genre specific bonus!

In paranormal romance, we are dealing with creatures that don't have just their human senses. They could potentially have heightened sense. Take werewolves and wolf shifters for example. Several articles pointed out that animals have heightened versions of these senses. Dogs smell 100x better than humans. So it stands to reason my wolf shifters would as well.

Think about having fun with the possibilities this presents. For example:

A dragon might be cold intolerant, because they like heat better. They might also have a great sense of balance which could be needed for flying. How much fun would a dragon with inner-ear issues be to write, because suddenly they are grounded (and more interesting).

OR
A vampire might be a great CSI because they can taste elements in blood. What if they could be a DNA tester? Or  blood-alcohol tester?

OR
A psychic can't stand to be touched because it triggers visions. That'll make intimate relationships difficult. Build in conflict right there.

I think you get where I'm going now. (In fact, I might go write that dragon with balance issues right now.)

I hope you have a ton of fun trying to fit in some new sensory detail, and maybe even make a character more interesting because of it! Let me know what you come up with!

Easy & Fun Book Promotion From a Self-Declared Technology-inept Author

By Maureen L. Bonatch 

On more than one occasion I've openly declared my limited ability, and desire, to learn all this new fangled technology.

 Despite my words sounding like a stubborn ancient oldster about to recollect the amount of snow traveled to school back in the days of their youth (hint: it's always uphill both ways) —or an ostrich with it's head in the sand—I've come to realize I'll have to learn some of the ever changing world of technology.                    

                                      Wanna come along?

Why Learn Something New?  

Because no one is going to come looking if you don't put yourself out there. 

Believe me, I've waited and waited, but no one has come knocking on my door to ask to see the books I have published...or the four draft manuscripts on my computer. 

Why do people wait, delay, stall or ignore?

Because Change is Hard

Taking that next step, finishing that draft, or learning a new skill is imperative to growth 

I've already...

• Shared a post about using Book Promotion using Pinterest 

• Provided a few reasons why you should attend/have a Facebook Party

Today I want to share my latest venture and a display few ways even a technology-phobe-novice like me used PicMonkey and Canva to interact with readers, share my books, and have a little fun. (Some items are free and others have a minimal fee for use- be sure to check.)

Yes, I said fun! Who would've thought? 

I'm not going to provide step by step methods to create these because...they're that simple. Go to the site and it tells you exactly what to do. 

Instead I'll show you a few different ways you can use these great resources for marketing your book, interacting with readers, or just having fun!

1. Use a line/quote from your book 

 2.  Use a quote of yours, or one you like, to  share your thoughts 

3.  Use a tagline to tell the reader a little about your story 

4. Use comments  (Be sure to quote and/or give credit)

5.  Use one of your own photos

These are just a few examples, and I'm by no means an expert. 

I mean, none, nada, not even close, miles away from anything close to an expert! 

Now go on and have some fun making your own 

Can't get enough Paranormal and Urban Fantasy? 

 You're invited to the Bump in the Night...a Paranormal Experience Facebook Party on March 12th from 12  p.m until 6 p.m. EST! 

You’ll find me (at 12:30 p.m.- 1:00 p.m. EST- check the time zone peeps!) and 11 other paranormal/urban fantasy authors. Stop by for prizes and loads of magical fun!

About the Author:

Maureen writes stories in the beautiful state of Pennsylvania that boast laughter, light suspense and something magical in the hope of sharing her love of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary world. She writes Paranormal Romance and Fantasy.

Find Me:
Writing on my Website
Tweeting on Twitter
Pinning on Pinterest
Flapping on Facebook

'Twas the month after NaNoWriMo...

By Maureen L. Bonatch 

‘Twas the month after NaNoWri, and all through the house

The writer sat dressed in sticky notes with stains on her blouse;

The words had been written without worry or care,

With the hopes that a story lay buried in there;

The family slept soundly, resting in bed;

While the writer woke early with plot lines circling her head;

With the neighbor’s Christmas lights gleaming, earlier than she’d remembered,

She struggled to comprehend how she’d lost November,

While wandering through the house, that had become such a mess,

She returned to the computer, neglecting Christmas cards needing addressed.

Facing the blank screen, she plugged in the flash drive,

Opening the story where her characters came so alive.

The curser blinked beside more than one typo,

Making her wonder if the whole document should go,

When what to her curious eyes did appear,

But a glorious sentence, maybe her best all this year,

With prose written so perfect and slick,

She rapidly scrolled the document with click after click.

More swiftly than snowflakes, the needless words came,

She highlighted and deleted as she called them by name:

Now, That! Now, Had!, now Only and Always!

Backspace on Tried to, Perhaps, delete, Very and Stall words!

To the trash went the passive words! Her inflated word count did fall!

As she deleted, deleted, deleted them all!

As the sentence structure tightened, her smile grew,

Across the keyboard, her fingertips flew

Crafting her glorious story, with characters she knew—

And then, in the background, she heard something fall

The thrashing and mauling of her two kids in the hall.

As she paused on the keyboard, and was turning around,

Into the room, her kids came with a bound.

Their faces were scrunched and they demanded some food,

She tried to explain, she wasn’t in the mood.

The stacks of dirty laundry lay piled at their back.

The kids looked like ragamuffins choosing clothes from the stack.

Her characters needed her, but the kids wanted to eat,

Completing all of this seemed an impossible feat.

Their little mouths pulled down into a frown,

When she pleaded to wait until she wrote just one more word down.

The candy canes for the tree, lay trampled beneath,

They threatened to make a salad, from a ratty Christmas wreath.

Their old Christmas jammies displayed their little round bellies,

She took a whiff and found her kids had grown a tad smelly.

The story beckoned and called as she studied her brood,

She smiled at their frustration, in spite of their mood;

She hopped from the chair and jumped the laundry pile,

Promising her story it would only be awhile.

She spoke not a word, but filled up the tub,

Told the kids to jump in and rub a dub-dub,

Grabbing all the laundry, she rushed down the stairs,

Pausing to grab a pair of stray underwear,

Whipping it all into the machine she started the load,

Then gathered all the leftovers she found in the abode,

She paused to exclaim as she returned to the story—

A crockpot meal for you all, while I unearth my NaNoWri manuscript’s glory!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 

Tell me...Did you participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? If so, how did you do and what are you doing with your story now?

Maureen L. Bonatch's stories boast laughter, light suspense and something magical in the hope of sharing her love of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary world.    

Find her:

Writing on her Website
Tweeting on Twitter
Pinning on Pinterest
Flapping on Facebook

Available for Pre-Order Now!

The car accident totaled Sabrina Post’s convertible and reinvented her memories. She can't recall dumping Cole Dawson ten years ago. What her new clairvoyant visions tell Sabrina is he’s her husband. 

Any practical girl would question her sanity. But if Sabrina wants to make this imaginary future a reality, she'll have to regain Cole’s trust and eliminate her rival, the coffee shop waitress who’s pegged Cole as husband #4.