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ABOUT THE BOOK

Seldom Traveled Blurb:

The tranquility of the mountain community of Bear Creek is disrupted by a runaway fugitive, a vicious murderer, and a raging forest fire. Deputy Tempe Crabtree is threatened by all three.

WHERE TO BUY

http://mundania.com/book.php?title=Seldom+Traveled

GUEST POST FROM THE AUTHOR

The Power of Words for Story Telling

Of course words are what tell any story, but what we’re going to discuss here is how a powerful word can add so much.

One of the most successful and easy ways to strengthen any writing, is to use the most descriptive verb usage possible. Think of all the different words for walk: amble, dart, dash, flounce, jog, trudge, wander, prance, prowl, and on and on.

The same goes for the word look, why use it when you can use one of these: glance, stare, study, view, observe, and so on.

Color is another great addition of any writing—there are so many words for many different colors, and their use gives the reader more to imagine and “see.”

Smells are important too—and not just how something cooking smells. The scent emanating from a person can be evocative such as a certain perfume—or distasteful: an unwashed body, decaying food or corpse, etc.

An example from Seldom Traveled:

Besides the strong pine scent, Tempe could also smell wood smoke from the fireplace.

An example to describe a threat:

A wall of flames crossed the road. The treetops on either side blazed. Sparks flew high into the sky.

One of my favorite first lines from one of book is from Murder in the Worst Degree:

If it weren’t for the dead body on the sand, conditions would’ve been perfect for the surfers.

Though the sample doesn’t have any of what I talked about earlier, it is a strong opening and makes the reader want to know what is going to happen next.

When we’re writing, each of us authors wants to make each sentence strong enough that the story engages the reader enough to keep them turning pages.

Though I only touched briefly on ways to make your words powerful, I hope it will be helpful to any of you who are new writers.

Marilyn

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marilyn Meredith’s Bio:

Marilyn has had so many books published, she’s lost track of the count, but it’s getting near 40. She lives in a community similar to the fictional mountain town of Bear Creek, the big difference being that Bear Creek is a thousand feet higher in the mountains. She is a member of Mystery Writers of American, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, and is a board member of Public Safety Writers of America.

http://fictionforyou.com

http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com

GIVEAWAY ADMINISTERED BY THE AUTHOR

This contest is offered by the author and THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF provides it as a service. The winner will be contacted and giveaway item provided by the author.

New Contest:

Winners will be randomly picked from those leaving the most comments on the blog posts. Each winner can choose one of the earlier books in the series as either a print book or e-book.

Tomorrow I headed over to http://evelyncullet.com/blog/