Bell Bridge Books

Researchaholic

by Eve Gaddy




I love research. There’s nothing I like better when starting a book than to be able to do research. I love going to the library and finding books and articles on the subject I’m researching. I love being able to google the subject and have all kinds of books and articles show up in my browser. I make a research file for each book in my browser favorites and keep all the links in it. I also keep a file for print articles and I have both ebooks and paper books for research. I keep all my research for every book I’ve written. That way if I need to know something about jewel thieves, or Texas Rangers, or cops, or cold cases, or Hotshots, or any number of things I’ve researched in the past, I don’t have to start from zero. 



A really interesting thing happened just as I was starting to do research for Cry Love. I decided that even though I’d never heard of one, that it would have been logical for there to have been another Underground Railroad, but this one running from Texas to Mexico. After all, Mexico is a lot closer to Texas than Canada. Imagine my surprise when I found that my idea happened to be true.

First, I googled Texas-Mexico Underground Railroad to see if it had existed. I found a number of articles that referred to it, some with just a mention and some with more information. Information was scarce on the subject. There isn’t a lot written about it, or at least, a lot that is accessible. Most people don’t even know the Texas-Mexico Underground Railroad existed. I’ve read that much that’s written about it is in Spanish, but even in Mexico the stories about it aren’t well known. 



The kernel of an idea I started with was that of a black man and a white woman who fell in love just prior to the Civil War. The man was a slave. Again, I didn’t know much about the subject, but people fall in love all the time, so it didn’t seem impossible for such a situation to have taken place. One of the books I found fascinating is Forbidden Fruit–Love Stories From the Underground Railroad, by Betty Deramus. One section that particularly interested me was about interracial love stories from the Civil War era. The stories were touching and emotional and often tragic. 

Although I still research some of the medical references and situations and such, I do have my own personal go-to medical sources. My husband, Bob, is a retired physician who was a General Surgeon and Radiologist. He loves it when I ask him things. 

Me: “I need something really exciting to happen in the ER.” I go on to explain the circumstances, what I’m trying to accomplish, etc. 

Bob: “You don’t want the ER to be exciting. Things aren’t going well if they’re exciting.” 
Me: “Yes, yes, I know that. (He’s told me this before. Many times.) But tell me what could happen that requires both a trauma surgeon and a neurosurgeon. Something they might argue about.”
Bob: Sighs heavily. “Well, this could happen…”
Me: “No.”
Bob: “Or this…”
Me: “No.”
Bob: Audibly grinding teeth. “How many scenarios do you want?”
Me: “I want one that’s exciting.”

We go on like that for a while until I finally hear something that might work. Then, of course, I have to pick his brains about how to write the scene and finally, I ask him to read over it to make sure it doesn’t sound stupid or that I haven’t gotten something wrong. I’m fairly certain at times like that he wishes he wasn’t a retired physician. My daughter is a Physician’s Assistant so I have another source for answers to medical questions. I think she likes being asked. So far.:)

I also had to do some research about divorce in Texas. I warned my husband in case he came upon me reading about divorce and thought I was planning something. I don’t think he was worried. I’m pretty sure I’ve asked him questions about that as well. I’ve been a writer for a long time now, so he’s accustomed to being asked about all sorts of subjects–both those he knows about and those he doesn’t.

There are a number of groups for writers that are wonderful for doing research. An excellent one is the Yahoo groups Crime Scene Writers group, started by Wally Lind, a retired police crime scene investigator. The description from the Yahoo groups site reads: “A forum for asking and answering crime scene investigation, applied forensics, and police procedure questions for fiction or non-fiction writers. Writers are invited to ask and crime scene investigators, forensic scientists, and medical practitioners are invited to answer.”

As with a lot of things, research has changed markedly with the Internet. It can make a writer’s life both easier and harder. Easier to find books, articles and other resources to find answers to questions. Harder because it’s common to get distracted by every article you read and keep clicking on different articles until suddenly you are reading an article that has absolutely no relation to whatever you were researching. Worse, two hours have passed and you still haven’t found the answer to your question.

But you never know when you might need an article on Wolf Moon name variations.

Books of the Heart

by Eve Gaddy

Have you ever heard the expression a “Book of the Heart?” It’s a common phrase among writers. We toss it around, certain that everyone knows what we mean when we say it. Recently I heard from another writer that readers might not know what the phrase a “Book of the Heart” means. “Aren’t all your books written from your heart?” a reader might ask. And the answer is yes. Absolutely. But a Book of the Heart has a different meaning.

A book of the heart is often a long time in the making. I know of several writers whose books took years to develop. Mine certainly did. I haven’t heard of one that wasn’t a struggle in some way. Sometimes a book of the heart is very difficult to write. The subject matter, the format, the genre, something makes it different and harder for the author to write it. Are there any books of the heart that come easily? Yes, but we call those “gift books.” More on those in another blog.

To me, a book of the heart is a book that calls to the author. The book insists on being written. It won’t let the author alone. It hangs around in the back of our mind, sometimes dormant, sometimes perking away and demanding we stop whatever we’re doing and write the thing. Books of the Heart do not care if the author has another contracted book due. They do not care if it’s difficult to write, if it wrings you dry. Quite simply the book of the heart demands to be written. We might put it off for many years, writing other things, but the time is never quite right. We know when it is. Mine rose up and whacked me in the head.

I was talking about books of the heart to amazing author, Justine Davis. I said that I didn’t know of anyone who hadn’t thought about their book of the heart for a very long time before writing it. Often years. The writing itself might not take years, but the book needs time to develop before you can write it. Justine said, “But to me it means not only one that’s close to your heart, but one you’ve had to carry in your heart because the time/situation wasn’t right, or you didn’t have the time to devote to it.” I’m planning a series of future blogs in which other authors discuss their own Books of the Heart.

My book of the heart, Cry Love, was not written quickly. It was not written easily. At times I wondered if it would ever be written at all. It is far and away the most complex, difficult, different book that I’ve ever written. I love romantic suspense and write a lot of it. In fact, my next book for Bell Bridge Books is romantic suspense. I also write contemporary romance. I’m a bit confused about what genre to place Cry Love in. It’s a love story about lovers from three different time periods. It’s about how the past connects to the present. There is triumph and tragedy, suspense, and a mystery that runs through much of the book, including the present. And romance. Cry Love is definitely a romance.

For the longest time, I wasn’t sure I’d ever write Cry Love. Then I wasn’t sure I’d finish it. I was also unsure that it would ever be published. Every new book is a thrill to me. Every book I write is important and matters to me. My heart is in every book. But Cry Love is my Book of the Heart, the one that’s been on my mind and in my heart for many years. I’m so happy to be able to share it with you now.

Just click the link above to buy Eve Gaddy’s romantic new release! 

Music to Write By

by Eve Gaddy

For many writers music is an integral part of their process. Just as everyone has their own method of writing, everyone has their own way of incorporating music into their process. Some writers listen to music while they write, either a playlist they’ve made for the book, classical music, or as Roz Denny Fox once told me, “I have to listen to kickin’ country music. My husband made a classical playlist for me one time and I fell asleep.” On the other hand, my editor, Pat Van Wie, is another who listens to music while she writes. She listens to only classical piano music, with no words, preferably Chopin. Our musical tastes are as unique as our writing.

Each writer’s process is different, so it’s no surprise each writer has a different way of using music to aid in his or her writing. I can’t listen to music while I write. It’s far too distracting. I can’t even listen to instrumental because I’ll hum the tune. But I listen to music, and my playlists, at all other times. In the car, when I clean (Stop laughing. I wash out my coffeepot. That counts, doesn’t it?), when I shower, before I sit down to write. And listening while driving seems to help when I’m stuck.

I make a playlist for every book. When I first started writing I would only have one or two songs I played for the book, but then I discovered playlists! Much better. You can get awfully sick of a song you play 10,000 times. For me the playlist has to develop. I may start out with one song that’s key, and as I write, others are added and become more important.

Cry Love, is a book unlike anything I’ve ever written. While it is a romance, it’s also a love story. There are subtle differences. Love stories don’t always end happily. Just read the first scene of Cry Love and you’ll see what I’m talking about. So, yes, there’s tragedy in Cry Love but there is also triumph. And a love that won’t die.

When I first heard the song Cry Love by John Hiatt, I knew it would be important in writing this book. I wasn’t sure how, but I knew it would be. For one thing, it’s a beautiful song. Then it dawned on me that Cry Love was the perfect title for this book. Haunting, beautiful, evocative, different.

My playlist for Cry Love includes songs about forbidden love, hopeless love, songs about mad, passionate, and dangerous love. One song, Andy Brown’s Ashes, I’ve yet to fully understand but it’s so beautiful I added it to the list. The Vivaldi Guitar Concerto by Los Romeros, was added just because I love it. Another song that really spoke to me was Jessica Andrews’ Helplessly, Hopelessly, Recklessly. Musical genres include Rock and Roll, Pop, Country, and Classical songs. Not every musical genre is represented in the Cry Love playlist. However, I cover a lot of genres in my playlists for upcoming books. I like variety. What can I say, I have eclectic tastes.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be tweeting, posting on Facebook and my website the songs from my playlist for Cry Love. Enjoy!

Here is my playlist for Cry Love, with links:

Cry Love John Hiatt http://bit.ly/1m0enN1

Ashes  Andy Brown http://bit.ly/1oVXJof

Helplessly, Hopelessly, Recklessly Jessica Andrews https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKVJPnEbOkA

Wrong to Love You  Chris Isaak http://bit.ly/1ohIhfL

Forbidden Love Jim Verraros http://bit.ly/1pzJORx

Lips of An Angel Hinder http://bit.ly/1djs3T7

The Right Kind of Wrong LeAnn Rimes http://bit.ly/UGkHCx

Standing on the Edge of Goodbye John Berry http://bit.ly/1j4fbBF

We Can Be Together Jefferson Airplane  http://bit.ly/1ncB28A

Dangerously In Love Beyoncé http://bit.ly/1qy5ehK

Wicked Game Chris Isaak http://bit.ly/1qX4EMY

Midnight Confessions The Grass Roots http://bit.ly/1ldq4Ug

Endless Love Lionel Richie & Diana Ross http://bit.ly/1pAhQ9t

Concerto in B Minor for 4 Guitars & Cello RV 580 (L’estro armonico No. 10): I. Allegro Los Romeros Vivaldi: Guitar Concertos http://bit.ly/VvOX3F

Click the cover above to buy CRY LOVE – out now!!

A Long Time Coming

by Eve Gaddy

Some books are a long time coming.

I had the original idea for Cry Love in 1999.  I found the file not too long ago.  It was a one line description that I had saved in my idea file, many computers ago.  But it was a very different idea and at the time I was writing for Harlequin.  There was no way this book would fit what they wanted.  Since I am one of those writers who does best in total immersion, I filed the idea and kept writing other things.

I am also one of those writers who periodically experiences burnout.  I think it has something to do with being so obsessive.  (What, me obsessive?)

Anyway, every once in a while, especially when I was feeling burned out and battered by the business, I would pull the idea out and play with it.  I went to see the movie Hurricane and found it and Denzel Washington, who plays Hurricane Carter, very inspiring.  My husband and I were the only people in the theatre and it seemed as if it was playing just for me.

Several years ago, maybe around 2003 or 2004, I wrote the first scene.  I was at a conference and laid down to rest and the scene came to me.   A year or so later, I worked on the plot during an endless drive back from Savannah to Tyler with my daughter.  Then I put it aside again.

I couldn’t get going on it.  I would write random scenes occasionally but what I had in no way resembled a book.  I went on that way until I quit writing for about two years due to burnout, family death, twin grandbabies<g>, and life in general.  I played with my grandbabies, did a lot of needlework and didn’t write a word of fiction.  I decided if I never wrote anything else that was okay.  I’d published sixteen books and that was enough.

Then I talked to Debra Dixon, President of Belle Books, and a friend I’d known for many years.  The self-publishing boom had hit.  Although I thought I had retired, almost all my friends are writers and I was still a member of many writing communities.  I had the rights back to eight books and was toying with publishing them myself.  But I couldn’t figure out a number of things.  Formatting for one.  At the time I wrote in Word Perfect.  Everything now requires Word, which I loathe and use only when I absolutely must.

So I asked for help on one of my writers loops and Debra Dixon gave me some great advice.  She also mentioned I didn’t have to do this all on my own.  “I don’t?” I asked.  She said Belle Books was interested in reissuing my backlist.  I knew about Belle Books, of course.  I had always wanted to write for them, in fact.  But I hadn’t realized they had branched out from publishing only original southern fiction to more genres as well as reissues.  I was in heaven.  Belle Books bought my backlist in January 2011.  My first reissue, On Thin Ice, came out with Bell Bridge Books in August of 2011.  I love those books and it is such a pleasure to know they have a new life. I not only have a new publisher but I’m lucky enough to have a publisher and editors who are a dream to work with.

In one of our discussions about my backlist, Deb asked me if I had plans to write anything new.  She knew all about what had been going on with me and that I had mentioned retiring, but she let me know Belle Books would be interested in an original from me.  I said, “Well, I do have an idea for a book that’s unlike anything I’ve ever written.

That was what it took.  Not too long after I talked to Deb, I sent a synopsis of my new book to Belle Books. It was very vague and very short since I still had no idea exactly what I was doing, or even what exactly I was writing.  We decided I’d write the whole book and submit it.

Except I couldn’t write.  I had the synopsis but the book was so complex I couldn’t figure out how to write the thing.  I contacted the fabulous April Kihlstrom, published author and writing coach extraordinaire.  With her help I was able to begin seriously working on my book.  April was a lifesaver.  I truly doubt I’d have been able to write again without her help and encouragement.

My friends, many of whom I list in the acknowledgements, were essential to writing my Book of the Heart. I can’t tell you how many talks we had on every subject under the sun. Or how many times I’d call one of them up to try to hammer out a scene. Or email someone with a problem I couldn’t figure out. I’m pretty sure my friends were almost as glad as I was when I finished Cry Love. For that matter, so was my family. I might be just a tiny bit hard to live with when I’m writing.

Finally, nearly a year after I started writing it seriously, I typed THE END on Cry Love.  Thirteen years after the original idea occurred to me, I finished the book.  To call Cry Love a book of my heart doesn’t even approach how I feel about it.  This book was wrenched, sometimes agonizingly, from deep within my heart and soul.  I love this book.  I hope you will too.

Writer’s Unblock

By Eve Gaddy

I was thinking about what to blog about and nothing was coming to me.  That made me think of something I’ve faced many times in my writing career.  I know some writers who don’t believe there is any such thing as writer’s block.  All I can say is be happy you haven’t experienced it because I’m here to tell you, writer’s block is real.  And it’s not fun.

There are many reasons for writer’s block and I’ve experienced a number of them.  Burnout, death of family or friends, health issues, moving, divorce, family issues, all of the above.  I’m sure there are many more.  Most of the time I wanted to write but just couldn’t for various reasons.  My last bout with it I was convinced I’d retired.  In fact, I didn’t write at all (other than emailJ) for a long time.  I didn’t think I’d ever write again.  When I finally did start again, it was a book that was a departure for me from what I’d been writing for so long.  Maybe I just needed to write something completely different.  A book for me, one that I didn’t worry about selling but just wrote it the way it needed to be written.  A book of the heart.

Many times I think the problem underlying writer’s block is burnout.  Some of us tend to be a bit obsessive (what, me obsessive?).  We might concentrate so much on writing we don’t do much else.  And eventually we burn out.  I felt as if my creativity had absolutely dried up.  So I decided I’d go back to the creative things I used to do before I started writing. 

I took up needlework again.  I used to do a lot of needlepoint but quit soon after I first published.  I stopped with just a small amount left of a very complex project, a landscape of the Seine River.  I’d always wanted to finish it because it was gorgeous.  So I picked it up again and finished.  Since then I have needlepointed numerous Christmas stockings, some of them working from a counted cross stitch pattern translated to needlepoint.  I’ve also made some Christmas ornaments and various other things in the past few years. 

I still couldn’t write.  So I took up another craft I’d given up.  In fact, I hadn’t done it since high school.  My daughter found out she was having twin girls.  What better time to pick up knitting again?  I knitted all sorts of things, including a number of baby blankets.  Since then I’ve knitted many different things, ranging from afghans to socks.  Now I alternate working on needlepoint or knitting and usually have several different projects going.  I could never do that with writing.  I have to totally immerse myself in a book until I finish it.  I don’t have to do that with needlework and it’s fun. 

For me, needlework lets me be creative, but in a different way from writing.  I have to think, but again, in a different way than writing.  But somehow that sort of creativity allows my writer’s brain to start working again.  Sometimes the solutions to problems I’m having with my current manuscript come to me when I’m doing needlework. 

There are a lot of ways to jump start your creativity.  These are just some things that helped me, and that I enjoy a lot.  Have you ever had writer’s block?  If you have, what did you do to help you get started again?  What are your tricks for dealing with it?

Parakeets and Dogs and Snakes, Oh My!

by Eve Gaddy

I was thinking today about the many pets I’ve had–or my children have had.  Part of the reason I was thinking about pets was because my ninety-pound Golden Retriever, Maverick, was trying to climb into my lap during a thunderstorm.   Much as he’d like to be, he is in no way a lap dog.

Poor Maverick is scared of many things.  Pillows, newspaper (the noise, not a rolled up paper), baby gates, and above all, thunderstorms.  Or wind, or rain,

or . . . well, you get the picture.  During storms, we lock him up in the back when we’re gone and pray he doesn’t destroy much.  He locks himself in the smallest place he can find. He has shredded numerous doors and his paws in the process.  Once, he knocked over a speaker and broke the glass shelf just below the shelf that held the TV.  How he missed that I don’t know, but we had shattered glass from one end of the house to the other.  At least the TV–and Maverick–were okay.

Anyway, nothing works to cure his storm phobia.  We’ve tried Thundershirts, drugs, both prescription and natural remedies.  Every.  Single.  One.  One medicine we gave him had no effect during the storm, then afterward when it wore off he was insatiably hungry and thirsty.  That was fun.  We crated him until he grew too big to make him go in there.  Sometimes it helps if you put him on a leash and make him lie down beside you.  Maverick’s a sweet dog but crazy as a loon.

We had a Springer Spaniel, Ginny, who loved to roll in stuff.  Mud and smelly stuff in particular.  My in-laws kept her one time and she immediately went and rolled in fresh cow patties.  They were not happy with us for some reason.

My daughter’s Cocker Spaniel, Ellie, recently created havoc when her husband’s parents kept her.  They thought Ellie had slipped out of the house and run off.  After a long sleepless night (part of which they spent driving all over looking for her) she trotted out of the closet early the next morning.  The dog barks at anything.  Leaves, people, dogs, just for the heck of it.  But she couldn’t bark when closed in a closet all night.  Oh, no.  Silent as a tomb.  Their other dog, Lucy, couldn’t find her either.  Or maybe she liked being an only dog.

Besides dogs, when my kids were young we had a parakeet.  Bluebonnet was very pretty and pretty mean.  He didn’t like anyone.  Pecked the heck out of anyone who dared to get him out.  We had a number of guinea pigs, and a hermit crab named Herman. (Herman made it into my book Midnight Remedy.)  I also put my dog, Dusty, (renamed Jumbo) in the same book.  Dusty got up on the counter and ate my beautiful lasagna one day.

The most memorable non-canine pet to me was my son’s snake, Spots.  I am not a reptile person.  I never touched him.  Didn’t mind seeing him but didn’t want to touch him.  Spots escaped one day.  We looked everywhere and couldn’t find him.  A few days later, when I was alone in the house I called a friend who had reptiles.  She told of one snake who escaped and they found two months later.  In the far recesses of her closet.  So, I looked in my son’s closet and who should be there but Spots?  Of course he was.  Moral dilemma.  What do I do?  Close the door and hope he didn’t disappear again?  No, I couldn’t do it.  I bravely picked him up, screaming at the top of my lungs the whole time, and put him back in his cage.  I don’t know who was more traumatized, me or Spots.

The best moment was when my son came into the den one day and said, “You probably don’t want to sit on the couch.” 

Of course, I’d been sitting there the last half hour.  “Why?” I asked suspiciously.

“Well, I was playing with Spots and uh, well, I kinda forgot and went to do something else.”

Yes, Spots was in the couch.  Right beside where I’d been sitting. This happened before I’d had to put him back in the cage.  I might have reacted better after that.  Spots has since gone to snake heaven.  No, he didn’t die.  When my son went to college I found a man who did our pest control who kept snakes and loved them.  He took Spots off to live in a large snake haven with lots of friends.  Don’t tell my son but I actually missed him.  A little.:)

But I have Maverick to keep me company.  And sit in my lap when it storms.

Recently I was working on a book set in Fort Worth, Texas. I grew up in Fort Worth but haven’t lived there in many years. My son lived there fairly recently, so I thought I’d ask him a few questions.

Now if you’re a writer you know that asking a non-writer about something can be difficult. I’m talking family and friends. Strangers are usually better because they know you’re interviewing them for a book and you don’t have to drag the answers out of them. Family members don’t generally care.

First we had an exhaustive conversation on the phone and in email about which bar/nightspot my characters might frequent. Finally we settled on one. When I asked him to describe it he directed me to the Internet. Okay, I found a lot of pictures, menus, etc. The website was much more thorough than he would have been. The other day I found I needed more information, details that probably weren’t on-line. Our next conversation was conducted via email.

Me: Where would my character park if she wants to go have a drink at this place? She’s a single woman so she wouldn’t want to park someplace scuzzy.

My son: Free parking garage. 1 min walk.

Me: What’s the parking garage like? Two story? One story? Is it lighted? Does it seem safe?

My son: No answer

Later that day he called my husband and apparently told him I was driving him nuts with my questions. Okay, I extrapolated that but I’m betting it’s true.

My husband, after learning about my dilemma, said, "Make it anything you want. It’s fiction."

"It’s set in a real town. I like to be accurate if I can," I said.

"Why? It’s fiction."

"All right, I’ll make the damn garage the way I want it." And if anyone who lives in Fort Worth calls me on it I’m directing them to my son.

My husband is a little bit better, but only because I can ask him more questions since I live with him. He has the misfortune of being a doctor, so I pump him about all things medical.

Me: I need a really exciting operation.

Him: Surgery isn’t exciting. Or you don’t want it to be.

Me: Nevertheless, I need something dramatic.

I explained the situation and he grudgingly came up with a scenario and operation. But getting the details from him was like pulling teeth. I finally told him to just describe the operation and I’d worry about making it exciting. Then I had him go over it to make sure I got the medical details correct. Can you say exhausting?

He was even funnier when I asked him about a friend’s question.

"Why do you want to do that? It’s stupid."

"I don’t want to do it. Her character does."

"Well, it’s stupid."

"Then for Pete’s sake think of a way for it not to be stupid!"

I have a friend who is an OB/GYN. She’s grown accustomed to me calling her and asking her those kinds of questions. I always preface my question with, this is for a book. In fact, if it’s about me, I have to be sure and tell her.

Have you ever tried to brainstorm with a non-writer? I had a funny conversation with one of my writer friends and her husband. Her husband was convinced that my book was set in the wrong time period. Nothing we said changed his mind. So most of his comments were pointed at the time period he preferred. It was still a good brainstorming session, though. I generally (though not always) say no to whatever anyone says (writer or non-writer) but discussing it helps stimulate my imagination.

Recently my husband and I made the long drive from Western Colorado to East Texas. Given that he was a captive audience, I decided he was the perfect person to help brainstorm part of my plot. I described the set up, which is very woo-woo. Did I mention he’s a doctor? He does not do woo-woo. So, I gabbed on, telling him all about the hero (who is a doctor as well) and his dilemma. I paused for breath and looked at him expectantly.

His mouth was literally hanging wide open. I’ve never actually seen that before, but the words fit the description perfectly. I said, "Bob, what do you think?"

He turned to me and said, "I have absolutely no idea."

Yeah, I think I’ll save my brainstorming for my writer friends. But no matter how much my husband rolls his eyes, I’m still hitting him up for medical information.

Eve Gaddy

On Thin Ice, Bell Bridge Classic, August 2011

Too Close For Comfort, Bell Bridge Classic, September 2011