Sneak Peek Sunday – Silver Blade (coming from Wild Rose Press July 24, 2013)

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Charlotte Copper

Six paragraphs from my upcoming novella, Silver Blade:

Silver Blade

When she brought him in, Mr. McAvoy had been a mystery, covered head to toe; the only thing she knew for sure was that he was large and male. This morning, however, was a different situation entirely. The huge man in front of her wore a tight pair of black boxer briefs and his ribs were wrapped in white bandages. Other than that, he wore nothing. She’d guessed he was a solid muscular man from the fit of his jacket and jeans, but this morning’s attire left little to the imagination. Definitely male. And large. Wow!

“Sorry, I had to ditch the hospital gown. I was getting all tangled in it. Don’t know how you women sleep in those things.”

Angela realized she was staring, and forced her eyes up from his body to his face. A small V of golden brown hair sat below his bottom lip; this and his eyebrows gave the only hint to what his hair color might be. Handsome, bald, and undeniably strong, the man was built like a mixed martial arts champion. Better in fact.

But his eyes—so much like Bobby’s. Pale blue eyes surrounded by long dark lashes studied her. Eyes she suspected often reflected the ferocity of their owner, but also hid a depth of love and loss.

“I’m not a nurse,” she managed to say.

“No, you’re my angel,” he said and continued to approach.

Back to Sneak Peek Sunday: http://sneak-peek-sunday.blogspot.ca/

Waiting for summer…

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Charlotte Copper

As I write this – a few days before actual post – I’m taking time to sit back, close my eyes and bask in the sunlight coming through my window. Like petting a cat or dog, sitting in the sun does something for one’s state of mind. When I first sat down I was grumpy, but I can’t help but smile as the beams fight their way through the winter’s dirt on my window. Even The Daughter sits down next to me to enjoy this golden moment. Therapy for the soul.

I was born and raised in the “GTA” – Greater Toronto Area – in Ontario, Canada. And yet after 40+ years, I find NO redeeming qualities in winter. I’ve got friends (DKC&J) who enjoy winter to the fullest with skiing, snowmobiling, and even making their own maple syrup, but me, as soon as that first snow flake falls, I’m wanting winter to end.

I can’t wait to trade my boots for flip flops, my sweaters for t-shirts, and my mitts for sunglasses.

The start of summer also brings with it the end of volleyball season which means no more nights spent in gymnasiums while The Daughter practices. Unfortunately, they’ll be replaced by nights on the soccer field. The Daughter is learning to referee this year instead of play, but I’ll still be her chauffeur. This does mean, however, I can do laps around the field, or sit in a comfortable chair and write or read, instead of coaching.

Soccer 2005

Soccer 2012

(After twelve years, I’m not actually sure yet how I feel about soccer ending, I’ll get back to you on that.)

I’m looking forward to the end of winter and snow, a quick journey through spring, and the eventual warmth of summer.

Of course, I wouldn’t be a good marketer if I didn’t mention that summer also brings with it the release of Silver Blade (July 24), but then that is just an added bonus!

What kind of writer am I?

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Charlotte Copper

I’m going to piggy back this week from my Toronto Romance Writers’ Group. Our discussion this week: “What Kind of Writer Are You?”
In the book “Time to Write” by Kelly L. Stone, the author lists 7 different writing schedules or categories that successful authors’ writing habits tend to fall into. The titles are Stone’s but the explanations have been changed/shortened.

1. EARLY MORNING WRITER – you get up a number of hours before the family wakes up or before you have to go to work (your day job).
2. THE AFTER HOURS WRITER – you work best after sunset or when the family is asleep.
3. OFFICE WORKER [or Workplace Worker]- You arrive at the office (or wherever your day job is) before your shift starts, to write. You write again during your regular breaks (like lunchtime). You stay an hour or two longer at the office/factory to write.
4. THE BLITZ WRITER – You write longer in one sitting but less frequently.
5. THE MINIBLOCKS-OF-TIME WRITER – You write a minimum of one sentence a day. Your writing time can be as low as several minutes. It can be as high as 30 minutes to an hour.
6. THE COMMUTING WRITER – You write while commuting on the “GO Train”, bus, subway, etc.
7. THE ANY-OPPORTUNITY OR COMBO WRITER – You write as soon as there is a spare moment so it can be a combination of the above schedules.

So What am I?

I guess I fall into the Any-Opportunity and Blitz Writer categories. Oh, I wish I could actually dedicate 30 minutes a day or a couple of hours a week, but life doesn’t work that way in this house. (That is also my excuse for not getting to the gym, too, and what makes that worse is that my husband and I own three Snap Fitness gyms!)

Our Daughters are with our respective “exes” every other weekend, and I try to schedule a few hours every other Sunday to get some writing in, but there is always so much to do and if I get 3 hours in every 2 weeks, I consider that a win. Once The Daughter goes away to university (2.5 years away) then I’ll be going crazy trying to fill up the 8 – 18 hours a week I currently spend at gyms watching volleyball. Of course, with the pile of unread print books on my shelves, 100s of e-books on my kindle, and dozens of unfinished crafts in the closet, I probably still won’t find as much time as I want for writing or getting to the gym. But one can always dream!