Respite's First Review

Well, Respite has been out about three weeks. Review copies were sent out a few days prior to its release on May 20th. I didn't know what to expect.

I'm not a pessimist, but a realist. There would be people who didn't care for the story, or decided to pick apart the most mundane infractions.

But, SURPRISE - no such thing. It's hard to believe...and some would say 'why'?...but my first review got a 4.5 out of 5 stars from Manic Readers, a review site. Click on the link and you can read the review.

Thanks Manic Readers for a hearty pat on the back the first time out of the box!

I'm hoping they'll like what I'm currently working on- The One He Chose.  More importantly, I'm hoping YOU will like The One He Chose!

And, THANKS Decadent Publishing for the support and the opportunity!

What can I say?

The cover is gorgeous! Thanks Dara England!

The One He Chose-coming soon from Decadent Publishing - 1 Night Stand.

Moving right along...



Sean Casey

It's hard to believe that a week after RESPITE's release, I have the first mock up for cover art for my next story with Decadent Publishing. (Yes, that would also be a blatant plug for a possible book purchase!)
 

The One He Chose is a DP 1 Night Stand story, as I mentioned in my last blog. And, because I have this 'thing' for baseball players, the main male character looks like Sean Casey, as you know.  As soon as the cover art is complete, yep - I'll share it with you ASAP.

Brad Ausmus

The whole baseball-player thing with me just can't be helped. If I haven't mentioned it before, the first 'book' I ever really wrote was/is A) WAAAY too long, some 300,000 words and B) the main character was/is a baseball player who just happened to look like former Detroit Tiger/Houston Astro/San Diego Padre Brad Ausmus. The odd thing about this situation is, the photo of Brad Ausmus seen here was taken by me in the lobby of the Cincinnati Westin Hotel- and still I had to Google search for it and find it on some other! website!  (Just to clear the air here - I am a patron NOT a stalker!)

What can I say, I have a thing for athletic heroes!

Anyway, another reason for today's blog is to direct you to yet another blog for Monday, May 30th. I'm musing over at the Maumee Valley Romance Writers blogsite. A little insight on the impetus of RESPITE. Memorial Day holds special meaning to me.

So, Happy Memorial Day. Happy 'First' Day of Summer Attitude!

Wen

Wendy Burke can be found on Facebook – Wendy Burke Author, the Maumee Valley Romance Writers of America blogsite, TWITTER @WendyBurke1994 and of course, at Decadent Publishing. When not playing with the people in her head, Wendy has a fine life with a chef husband (YES – no cooking!) and two furry feline kids and a full-time job that keeps her from writing fulltime in ‘beautiful’ Toledo, Ohio.   Oh, yea - and she has a book out as well!

News and blogs and blogs...

Howdy everyone...

Well, you already KNOW the news - RESPITE releases Friday at Decadent Publishing. In the near future, watch here and other sites for your chance to win a copy!

Sean Casey

And, speaking of releases, the fine folks at Decadent's 1 Night Stand division has accepted a little ditty I wrote, titled The One He Chose. For those of you who are baseball fans, the main male character looks a little like Sean Casey. He's pictured here as a Boston Beaner, but he was a darn fine Detroit Tiger, along with being on other teams! TOHC will be in edits soon.

And, last but not least - check out ADDD - A Daily Dose of Decadence tomorrow - Thursday - for the things I'm thankful, thoughtful and thirsty about.

I can't say thanks! enough to a bunch of folks who are making Friday and this little 'job' possible - DW insisting I submit, Heather & Lisa for accepting and holding my hand, Meredith for repaving the road, Katy for pulling me and RESPITE out fo the muck, Val for being a great blogmaven (and allowing me to make her cry with TOHC), Dara for an amazing cover, Colleen for keeping track of author minutia, Katelynn for the super trailer, MVRWA for constant support and my dear Ktn - for allowing the people in my head to compete for his attention on occasion! I hope I didn't leave anyone out!

So, I guess I'll see you all Thursday at ADDD and Friday, when RESPITE is released.

Thanks again!
Wen

Wendy Burke can be found on Facebook – Wendy Burke Author, the Maumee Valley Romance Writers of America blogsite, TWITTER @WendyBurke1994 and of course, at Decadent Publishing. When not playing with the people in her head, Wendy has a fine life with a chef husband (YES – no cooking!) and two furry feline kids and a full-time job that keeps her from writing fulltime in ‘beautiful’ Toledo, Ohio.   Oh, yea - and that book of hers is out as well!

Holy Crap - RESPITE is REAL!

Do you believe it?

If you havent heard - RESPITE - will be FOR SALE (released!) Friday,  May 20, 2011. You'll be able to find it one line at Decadent Publishing.

Portions of this blog appeared last month on a Daily Dose of Decadence and includes an excerpt from RESPITE.

Enjoy!

     If you haven't seen it yet, check out the trailer for RESPITE.  This is a wonderful little piece put together by a very talent young lady, Katelynn Phillips. She told the story of Maddy and Ryan with just the three paragraphs of a blurb to go on. And she hit the mark perfectly!

   So, if you watch the trailer and read the excerpt below, you'll get a little taste of my 'baby.' RESPITE was originally the prologue of a contemporary story I was working on, but my Beta Buttkicker, fellow DPer Deanna Wadsworth, insisted it had to stand alone and forced me (with the threat of withholding beer!) that I finish and submit it.

   So, thanks to everyone who helped this story on its way - DW, Katy (!!), Meredith and Heather & Lisa. Soon it will be absolutely 'real.' Enjoy!

    

Madeline was hot, thirsty and dirty. She wanted to sit under a moving fan, in an unladylike manner chug a few continental beers, and then wash her face…and in that order. Maybe she had entered the establishment a bit more noticeably than she would have liked; after all, she wanted to appear she actually belonged in this part of the world as opposed to running away from another. She centered herself, took a deep breath and tried not to get angry with the somewhat backward way of thinking that many of the men in this region exhibited.

“No ladies!” the bartender admonished, “No alone ladies.” He waved his hands across the bar, insistent that she not sit. Ignoring the barkeep, she stripped off her fedora, shaking out her thick, dark curls. “No alone ladies.”

Madeline tossed her hat on the bar, then carefully eased herself onto a stool. After stretching her neck for another good look out into the street, she relaxed a bit. Without thought of local mores, she dug into her shirt and pulled out a slightly damp ten franc note.  “Whatever you have that’s cold will be fine. I have my own money.” The owner glared at her. Maddy was sure he’d never seen a woman touch herself in public in such a manner. “I’m not looking for a date…I’m not a prostitute.” His eyes widened, but it didn’t faze her. “Listen, I’m hot, you have cold beer and I have money. Let’s do business.”

“Fahz, give her a beer,” a male voice called.

“You vouch, Mr. Ryan, you vouch?” The proprietor wanted to know.

“Give her two, Fahz, my tab.”

Madeline turned toward the comforting American accent. “Really, that’s not necessary.” She hadn’t travelled alone all this way the last two months, to suddenly need the assistance of a man. Especially since she was still trying to make sure she had ditched the two who thought she needed their accompaniment. She was a young independent woman and could take care of herself. Her autonomy came much to her parents’ dismay. They were the old-fashioned type, wanting her to find a nice young Italian man, settle down and happily crank out a plethora of progeny. That life was theirs, however, not hers. Maddy wanted adventure.

As much as she flaunted her unwillingness to need the assistance of the male gender, one glance into this American’s cobalt eyes had her thinking about bending her own rules. Maybe she could make an exception.

Wendy Burke blogs regularly for A Daily Dose of Decadence and is dangerously close to getting RESPITE, a post-WWII romance published by Decadent Publishing. She can be found on Facebook – Wendy Burke Author,  at her local writers’ group site, MVRWA and Twitter - @WendyBurke1994.  When not playing with the people in her head, Wendy has a wonderful life with her handsome chef husband and two furry feline kids. She has a full-time job behind the scenes at a Toledo, OH television station which keeps her from writing fulltime, but does give her great ideas and interesting contacts which somehow end up in her stories.

My Neighbor STILL isn't wearing pants!

If you didn't catch this at A Daily Dose of Decadence awhile back, here's another blog about the weird stuff that seems to surround me!  Enjoy!

Is there no shame? (Or – PUT ON SOME PANTS!)

    My mother used to say about a neighbor as he worked in his garden, “The MOON is out early today!” Needless to say, said neighbor usually wandered about is yard with the most hideous plumber’s crack known to man. Problem was – A) he wasn’t a plumber and B) I’m thinkin’ he didn’t even know it.

     I know, I know, ‘Where the hell are you going with this Wendy?!’ Hear me out.

     My huz and I live in a townhouse condominium complex, on a nice long cul-de-sac, complete with (just recently – those condo association trustees are so clever!) a PRIVATE ROAD sign at the entrance. The turnover in this complex is minimal – we’ve been here almost twenty years.

     I digress – which is common for me ---

     Awhile back, the ‘Clampetts’ moved in across the drive from us. Well, at least that’s when my dear betrothed has deemed them. Unfortunately, it’s in name only, as ‘cee-ment ponds’ are not allowed in our complex. The moniker begins with the fact that most of their stuff for some time was stored in the driveway and once inside the double garage, could be seen trying to bust its way out!

     I don’t have any problem with ‘The Clampetts,’ I’m really not outside enough to socialize. But there is one problem, which I’m sure won’t be addressed by our illustrious condo association - ‘Mrs. Clampett’ doesn’t wear pants!

      

     Now, I know ole sweet Granny on the TV show was always properly attired  -on occasion, Elly May was skimpily dressed for the times - and Jethro was shirtless now and again….but this woman DOESN’T WEAR PANTS!

     I know you’re sayin’, ‘How the heck do you know that, Wen, and WHY are you dwelling on it?’

Well, the huz leaves for work at about 630. Mrs. Clampett has a habit of going out into her garage, with the big double-door open, to grab a first-of-the-day smoke and yak on her cell phone (loudly) at that time.  (She’s out there every day without fail, regardless of temperature – she’s been out there in a blizzard!) Usually she’s attired in one of many house-dresses/nightgowns she has in her ready stash.

     Let me be the first to say, I don’t have a body like Elle McPherson, I’m not nearly as cute as, say, Rachel McAdams. Yes, I’m a bit self-conscious about my ‘zaftig-ness’ – so, I’m careful to cover anything I wouldn’t want to look at, let alone the public.

     Maybe she’s comfortable in her complete ‘naturalness,’ but do we have to be subjected to it? Her home is obviously her realm and she doesn’t give a crap (or doesn’t know) and doesn’t realize the horrendous mental anguish she’s inflicting upon poor leaving-for-work men as she ‘tupples’ around outside at that hour, dressed as she is.

     I’m getting ready for work one morning and the phone rings. I see it’s my huz on his cell phone and when I answer, ‘Yah?’ and he can give me is a huge ‘OH!’ a la Tony Soprano, then launches into the story about getting a full posterior view on the way out of the garage this morning as ‘Frau Clampett’ (as he calls her) decided to weed the flowerbed at 630 AM and bent over in her ‘housedress’ to give my huz a not-so-stunning view of the WAZZER VALLEY!  (Ah, I think you get my drift!)

     ‘OH!’ indeed. (Thanks to Frau Clampett, my huz now wears completely dark ‘cataract’ glasses when he leaves the house – he’s concerned about a ‘relapse,’ as she continues to waltz about her domain in such a state. Although, I am thinking, the blue nylon spaghetti-strapped number she wears on every Tuesday is becoming my favorite.)

     Anyway, that’s why I ask, ‘Is there no shame?’ It’s the same with people (male and female) who think ‘muffintops’ are the latest in haute couture and the word ‘sassy’ stretched across their size-18-stuffed-in-a-size-4 pair of sweats is ‘cute.’

     As my dear pal, Fred, from Queens, New York once commented as were standing in Herald Square people-watching, ‘Nice outfit, did it come in your size?’

    

    Then, there’s the ‘flannel brigade.’ I love flannel – I have nothing against flannel, I’m wearing flannel right now. BUT – c’mon people, can’t you get dressed to go in public? Really, if you’re 18-35 (or older) and you go to the grocery in your Sponge Bob flannel jammy pants and slippers, sorry, you are not cool….IMHO.

   But – at least you ARE wearing pants!

                                     RESPITE now has a trailer! Click here to see it. 

Wendy Burke blogs regularly for A Daily Dose of Decadence and should have a release date for RESPITE within weeks. She can be found on Facebook – Wendy Burke Author, at her local writers’ group site and lurking around the Internet.  When not playing with the people in her head, Wendy has a fine life with her handsome chef husband and two furry feline kids. She also has a full-time job behind the scenes at a Toledo, OH  television station which keeps her from writing fulltime but gives her great fodder for stories.

Storytelling - another view

If you didn't catch this a few weeks ago at the Maumee Valley Romance Writers blogsite, here it is again! Enjoy!


While most of us might think of stories in written form, probably the oldest form of storytelling is through song.

I admire anyone who can play a musical instrument and carry a tune, because I can do neither!

Think about it - the verses of a song are a story in themselves:
So just where to start the story
Titanic comes to mind
Imagine my excitement
As they cast away the lines

Are you thinking, Leonard DiCaprio and Kate Winslet? (Uh, that was too easy, huh?) Probably, but no one involved with that movie wrote that stanza, which in itself is the beginning of a wonderful story.


A dear friend of mine is an amazing musician and storyteller. Kerry Clark has been strumming a guitar and writing stories for a long time. (And, he's not that old!) It is he who wrote that verse, the beginning of his song ROW from the CD On the Road to Human Being. I first met Kerry some twenty years ago.

It was about 6AM, in one of the concourses of Franklin Park Mall in Toledo, OH. Kerry had graciously agreed to get up at the crack of nothing and perform on the radio morning show, of which I was a part. It was Christmas-time and my morning show partners and I were doing a special broadcast from the mall.

I was standing with a few other women. We had to admire his butter-blond hair which was styled in the style of the early 90s – business in the front, party in the back! I must say, Kerry’s was the most appealing and un-mullet-like rock-star mullet I have ever seen!

And, WOW – that boy could sing! To top it off – he was---and still is! --- a sweetheart!

I have found over the years, the stories Kerry tells in his songs aren’t just his stories. Sure, they may have originated in his mind, were scribbled on a napkin with his pen, arranged, sung and recorded in his studio. But, once shared, they transcend who he is.

For instance, ROW – ya gotta keep pluggin’ away even if the ship is sinking! We’ve all been in ‘that boat’ once or twice in our lives. I often pull up that song on my Ipod when I’m in the car on my way to work, because regardless if I’m in love with my job or not (and many days it’s not!) I still have to yank on that oar and get movin’! Not just to work – but to life.

Which, to me, makes writing and the process of being published that much more exciting. Not that ‘getting a book published’ was on my Bucket List. Writing a story was something I always knew I was capable of doing, getting it published was the pat on the head – from a completely unbiased source – that I needed, that all of us need on occasion to make our lives ‘extra’ worthwhile.

So, dear writing friends, keep putting pen to paper, fingers to keyboards, keep telling stories, because not only may those tales mean something to you, they may mean even more to someone else.

And, to my dear friend, Kerry, if I haven’t done it in the past, please consider your head patted, smooched and yourself hugged immensely. Your musical stories, love and friendship from you and your family mean more to me than you’ll ever know.

Row to the rhythm of your heart - row till you find out who you are
Row like you’ll never face defeat - row till you fill your life complete

Amen, my brother, amen!

                                                      

Wendy Burke blogs regularly for the Maumee Valley Romance Writers of America and A Daily Dose of Decadence. She is dangerously close to getting RESPITE, a post-WWII romance published by Decadent Publishing. She can be found on Facebook – Wendy Burke Author, at her blog site, Whatever Wendy! and lurking around the Internet. When not playing with the people in her head, Wendy has a fine life with her handsome chef husband and two furry feline kids. She also has a full-time job behind the scenes in television which keeps her from writing fulltime in the somewhat pot-hole-free suburbs of Toledo, Ohio.