Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen : Love and Secrets at Cassfield Manor

Monday, September 17, 2018

Love and Secrets at Cassfield Manor - Spotlight Book Tour

Genre: Adult, New Adult, Christian, Fiction, Historical, Regency, Romance
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Publication date: August 14, 2018

Wealthy socialite Christine Harrison’s life seems perfect until the man she planned tomarry, Mr. Davenport, proposes to someone else. Heartbroken, Miss Harrison vowsnever to love again, and to distract herself, she sets out to rescue a fallen youngwoman. Little does she know that her journey will reveal more than she expected about her friends, her seemingly perfect life, and her own heart.

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From writing an award-wining tale of a dragon falling from the stars in the 3rd grade to regency romance written at thirty, Sarah McConkie has always had a passion for creating intriguing stories. After years of singledom looking for romance (and teaching Junior High Choir to fill up real life), Sarah began a Master’s degree in Literacy. When love finally found her, she married and became a wife and eventually a mother. After tucking in her own little princess one January evening she determined to attempt her life-long dream to write and publish a novel. Using her many years of experience in the single realm, a robust knowledge of regency classics, and a love of all things old fashioned and proper, Sarah wrote Love and Secrets at Cassfield Manor. She now lives with her own Mr. Right and her two daughters, and believes providing stimulating and moral stories promotes literacy in a world which needs more readers. This is her first novel.

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What to do BEFORE you write.

First, it’s important to READ a lot. And critique other people’s writing. Read first, critique second, and write third. The second most important thing is having an idea. Jot it down! Keep a running note on your phone or computer. You’ll be glad you did. Think about it often. Have your mind go there when you do dishes, take a shower, clean the house, or instead of viewing social media. You’ll feel more fulfilled imagining your character’s lives than scrolling through someone else’s. And finally, it’s important (in my experience, although some might disagree) to outline the plot. I like sentences about the main scenes. I also like excel spreadsheets (I got this idea from a writing critique friend), that outlines either chapters or plot structure points. I’ve even checked word count by chapter this way and moved around or deleted unnecessary aspects of the story. It’s ok to delete your own words. You will thank yourself later. In my current WIP, I’ve been following “Save the Cat” plot structure and it’s been quite helpful. I feel like it keeps the action and pacing going in a natural flow. But whatever your process, start writing today! So many people have great ideas in their mind, but it’s when the fingers hit the keys that the magic really happens. In the words of a recent musical I saw, “Give life's little guys some ink, and when it dries just watch what happens.”

Christine breathed deeply, circling her arms around herself. As she stood among those high, stalwart cliffs, she formed a resolution. Their presence spoke to Christine once more, reminding her that she could change. She could be more steadfast in her desires. She determined then to look outward, toward others, and stop caring about herself and her status in life. She affirmed that day that she did not need high connections to validate her existence. She did not need a man to establish or promote her social standing. And perhaps most importantly, Christine resolved to never again let these base motives stand in her way of real and lasting relationships with the people around her.