A story that became a made-for-TV movie

cj Sez: Authors if you’ve ever thought about your story becoming a movie, how about a made-for-TV movie?

   USAToday best-selling author Barbara Hinske has such a story. And readers, this is for you, too: Here’s a blog-tour note from Barbara on how you can help make sure the movie gets the viewers it needs:

“My novel Guiding Emily has been adapted for the screen by Hallmark. It will air Sept 8, 9ET/8 CT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. I was present for filming again and this will be a terrific movie. They stuck with the book this time. Hallmark has stepped out of their usual romance box for this movie. The principal cast and crew are set to work on a series based on the books. The movie has to do well enough or trend on twitter for Hallmark to pull this trigger on this. Needless to say, this is the Holy Grail for an author. 

The actor's strike has prevented both Sarah Drew (Emily) and Eric McCormack (voice of Garth) from promoting the movie and I'm doing everything I can to get eyeballs on it. 

So—please tune every set in your house (heck--on your street!) to watch on Sept 8.”

  GUIDING EMILY is a tale of love, loss, and courage. Meet Emily and Garth in the GUIDING EMILY movie on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Friday, September 8th on @hallmarkmovie 

#visuallyimpaired #guidedogs #guidedogsfortheblind #guidedogpuppy #servicedogpuppy #servicedogintraining #hallmarkmovie #guidingemily #hallmarkmoviesmysteries

§§

  Here are some helpful grammar hints from my personal library:

  The Christmas Grinch notwithstanding, here are proper usages for Stink, Stank, Stunk . . .

… Stink is the present or future form.

… Stank is the past form, use it when you refer to some time that has already happened, such as last night, yesterday, or last week.

… Stunk is the participle form, it means you must use have, has, or had with it).

… What is that stink I smell?

… Frying that fish will stink up the whole house.

… She sure stank up the kitchen last night with that burned milk!

… I'm sorry, but the baby's diaper really stank on the way home yesterday!

… The house hasn't stunk this badly since the day we found that rat behind the dryer.

… If you hadn't stunk up the bathroom, I wouldn't have opened the window and let your orchids freeze in the snow.

Then there’s this tricky usage/spelling: Pick up, Pick-up, Pickup

… Will you pick up my dry cleaning?

… “Have we met” is such a stale pick-up line.

… My pickup truck is red.

§§

“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.”

― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

§§

  Writers, if you want to schedule a post on Lyrical Pens for a blog tour (new book? Refreshing an older book?), drop me a note. (PG13 work, please.)

§§

  Okay, that’s it for today. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Raising prayers for a happy and safe you!

cj

 

  THE DAWGSTAR and DEATH ON THE YAMPA are fast-paced, thriller/suspense stories with sassy banter and a smidgen of sweet romance. (Perfect diversions for those quick weekend getaways.)

  The books are available on Amazon or through your favorite eTailer and bookstore. Got a library card? You can read the ebooks free from Hoopla.

Little note: The Haunted Book Shop has a few signed copies of my books in stock. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us  If she happens to be sold out, I have a small stash. Angela Trigg, the awesome owner and a RITA Award-winning author in her own right (writing as Angela Quarles) will be happy to ship you any book(s) by any author of your choice.

➜ Follow me on . . .  

➜ Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

➜ BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

Which would you rather do first…read the book or see the movie?

cj Sez:  Here are two authors who have both formats for you. In case you don’t remember, on Oct 3, I posted a Lyrical Pens 4+star review of #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner’s novel BEFORE SHE DISAPPEARED.

   The novel is peopled with flesh-and-blood characters you want to love, want to hate, and want to win. And her settings? You will know where you are, and you will fear who lurks in the shadows.

   Seems some movie folk liked it, too. From a press release:

   “Entertainment One has acquired the rights to bestselling author Lisa Gardner’s novel Before She Disappeared with Oscar winner Hillary Swank set to star and executive produce via her Film Bandits banner.”

Congratulations Lisa Gardner!

§§

   Be sure to watch for a guest post by author Barbara Hinske about her soon-to-be-released THE UNEXPECTED PATH, the second in the Guiding Emily series featuring her blind protagonist,  Emily Main.

Buy The Unexpected Path Now

   I’ll announce the date of the mid-week post on Facebook soon.  In the meantime, the Kindle version of THE UNEXPECTED PATH is available for pre-order for 99 cents.

P.S. Barbara is the author of the novel THE CHRISTMAS CLUB, now on the Hallmark Channel.

§§

New to my TBR books:  

   I went to the library on Saturday and picked up THE WORLD PLAYED CHESS by Robert Dugoni…hailed by one reader as “A fearless and sensitive coming-of-age story.” Since it’s a hold-in-my-hand-hardcover book with a time limit on it, I’ll start it next week.

§§

Buy Halloween Pieces Now

 My short story, “Once in a Blue Moon,” is one of 18 short stories and poems in the anthology HALLOWEEN PIECES, the fourth anthology from the Mobile Writers Guild.

Click here to watch as I read an excerpt, and watch for the cameo by the cat.   

   As of the time of this post, HALLOWEEN PIECES is priced at $1.99 and free on Kindle Unlimited. 

NEW NEW

Buy Stormy Pieces Now

The STORMY PIECES anthology launches November 3 and is now available for preorder. 

   From the Amazon blurb: 

“In this fifth installment of the Mobile Writers Guild Pieces anthology series, our members give you their unique perspectives in the form of short stories, poems, and one play.”

Look for my short story, “Ida, Fate, and Mister Leon.” 

   My inspiration for the storm in the story came from a NOAA report… “November 10, 2009: The beginning of the extratropical cyclone that would become known as "Nor'Ida", which formed from the remnants of Hurricane Ida made landfall in Dauphin Island, Alabama and later in mainland Alabama before moving into Florida.”

§§

SALE: The ebooks of DEATH ON THE YAMPA and THE DAWGSTAR are now on sale @ only $1.99 each. Fast-paced and exciting suspense, with a touch of Jane Bond romance.

                  DEATH ON THE YAMPA 

... is available at Amazon, Apple, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Bibliotheca, Hoopla, Kobo, OverDrive, Scribd, Tolino, Vivlio and on request from your local library ( ISBN 978-1-7369146-1-8 )

                        THE DAWGSTAR

... is available Amazon, Apple, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Bibliotheca, Kobo, OverDrive, Scribd, Tolino, Vivlio and on request from your local library ( ISBN 978-17369146-0-1 )

§§

That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

P.S. TO ORDER a book by any author on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

   If you’d like me to autograph or personalize one of my stories for you, be sure to tell them, and I’ll run by the shop.

➜ Follow me . . .     

➜ on Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ on Facebook:  cjpettersonAuthor on Facebook

➜ on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

Have you ever heard a story that changed your life?

cj Sez:  Lyrical Pens is happy to host author Barbara Hinske who is sharing what inspired her to write her latest novel, GUIDING EMILY, slated for launch on June 12.

   When Barbara offered Lyrical Pens the choice of three pre-launch posts, I wanted to use all three. Today is part one: Her inspiration behind this awesome book.  Take it away, Barbara.

My inspiration behind Guiding Emily

“Have you ever heard a story that changed your life?

   Within thirty minutes of stepping through the Foundation for Blind Children’s doorway, my life found its new purpose and mission.

   I’ve lived down the street from The Foundation for Blind Children for decades. I’d never been inside. The Foundation’s Development Director, Steve Pawlowski, encouraged my husband and I to come for a tour with such enthusiasm and pride that we felt we couldn’t decline.

   The Foundation provides education, tools, and services for “children” from birth through one hundred and four. From observing teachers working one-on-one with students with multiple disabilities, to seeing the six-year-old child from Canada running and hugging staff even though his parents had been told by their Canadian doctor he would never walk or talk, to photos displayed on the wall of the group of blind teens and young adults who had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, I was moved beyond measure.

   Choking back tears, I asked Steve how I could help. What did the Foundation need? His answer was simple and straightforward: (1) funding, and (2) to raise awareness of problems that visually impaired people face within the sighted community.

   I’m an author and knew that a novel could address both of these issues. The story line of my new series was born in that moment.

   Guiding Emily is the first book in a series and is a love story between Garth, a guide dog, and Emily Main, his handler who loses her eyesight on her honeymoon. It’s the heartwarming/ heartbreaking/poignant tale of their journey together.

   Half the profits from Guiding Emily will be donated to The Foundation for Blind Children. For the price of a book, every reader receives a novel that will provide a welcome respite from daily life and supports a remarkable organization that believes vision loss is a diagnosis, NOT a disability. What could be better than that?

Join the movement to improve lives: learn more about Guiding Emily ”

Barbara Hinske is an attorney who recently left the practice of law to pursue her career as a full-time novelist. She is the author of the best-selling Rosemont series and the murder mysteries in her ‘Who’s There?!’ collection. Her novella, The Christmas Club, was made into a 2019 Hallmark Channel Christmas movie.

The book is available for pre-order by clicking...  BUY NOW

   

cj Sez: Be sure to stop by Lyrical Pens on Wednesday, June 10, for Part 2 of Barbara’s journey: White Cane Training. 

///

Call for submission

Bienvenue Press put out a call for submissions for their 2020 charity anthology. The deadline is August 1, 2020.

“Bienvenue Press is pleased to announce a Christmas-themed anthology for charity benefiting the Acadiana Writing Project. What are we looking for? Romance stories featuring a character who works in the educational system. These stories can be any genre of romance (contemporary, historical, paranormal, etc.). However, there needs to be a HEA. The anthology will be published in December 2020.”

   For details, please visit their website: https://bit.ly/2Yn0iGX

///

cj Sez: That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. 

(Sending up prayers for your health and safety.)

My love story, “Love is Immortal” is one of the short stories in the paranormal anthology BIENVENUE TO THE CHATEAU ROUGE. Here’s one of the 5-star reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Linked Stories

“I received an ARC and enjoyed all the stories. While linked through the setting and characters, each of the selections has a delightfully different approach to the experience of Chateau Rouge. Creative and never boring, the linked characters were all appealing, and the New Orleans mood was spot on.”

   The anthology is available through these fine sites: https://books2read.com/u/bpOMw9?fbclid=IwAR3R2NTI8nH5U8JhXwJynbxkbYQhlK4H-sbTFU5YRhGDB2CocTPkdf8TSEE

   TO ORDER my autographed books or any book of your choice on-line from my favorite indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: The Haunted Bookshop 

➜ Follow me . . .

➜         on Amazon: Amazon Central Author Page = https://amzn.to/2v6SrAj

➜         on Facebook at:   cjpetterson/author/facebook

➜         on BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson