First of all, thank you Sandra, for having me! I’m so excited to reach out to more readers. In fact, my decision to go indie and make my books available for Kindle and Nook was born of a desire to please. Without readers, writers are working to an empty room. Why write if no one is going to read our stories?
Oh, yes, the other reason for writing--the voices in my head. If I don’t write, they never shut up. I have heard many writers say the same thing! At least I’m not alone. Ever. Not with stories and films running nonstop behind my eyeballs.
All through school, I wrote stories. I filled binders with my stories and shared them with friends at school. I lamented the fact that there was no creative writing degree at my college. I ended up studying (and teaching) foreign languages! Communication is very important to me, regardless of the language we’re speaking.
Over the years I have written eight novels. The first five were not ready for prime time. I keep them all, just to remind myself that no matter how good I think something is at the moment of creation, there is still a lot of room for improvement. The last three novels needed rewrites but they will all eventually see the light of day.
I chose to begin my indie journey by publishing North Rim Delight, a romantic suspense about Terri Baker who is dealing with the loss of her beloved German Shepherd and trying to shake off an abusive ex-boyfriend by taking a vacation to the Grand Canyon. Bounty hunter Russ Camino is tailing a hit man with a tragic connection to his family’s past. When he lays eyes on Terri, he falls head over heels in love, but refuses to admit it. Then he realizes that the hit man is following Terri, and he knows he must protect her at all costs.
And of course, there’s a happy ending!
Terri is a character I created in college. It’s so gratifying to tell her story at last. And because these characters live and breathe for me, I wanted to explore what happens after they returned from the Canyon. That’s why I wrote The Woof in the Wedding Plans. It’s a novella about their lives three months later as they deal with wedding plans, a new German Shepherd, a super-rich and overly involved future father-in-law, and the wedding planner from hell. It’s full of dogs, danger, laughs, and of course another happy ending.
I hope you enjoy reading about them as much as I enjoy writing them!
I also write soft science fiction and quiet horror. What on earth does that mean? Well, my science fiction is more about people and relationships than it is about techno wars or star ships. I was (and am) a big Star Trek fan, and I loved Star Wars. But my stories have more affection and relationships in them. Hence, “soft” science fiction. The only definition of that sub genre I ever found said it deals with social issues instead of tech issues, and that is also true about my SF. My horror stories are psychological, not gory. I have published six of them in Trickster and Other Stories. With Halloween coming up, it seemed like the right thing to do!
When I am not writing, I am training and showing my own dogs. I have loved many breeds over the years, but my current pack consists of two Papillons (Buster and Darby) and a tiny rescued Shetland sheepdog (Gracie). I write about my dogs under the name Linda White. My training experience and show entries are under that name. Loving the Sensitive Dog is the story of my first Papillon, Buster the Wonder Dog. He’s still alive and well, and earning titles.
If all goes well, I’ll have two more titles coming out before the end of the year. One is a romantic comedy with loads of mystery and laughs and, of course, dogs. The other is about my second Papillon. So I am writing like crazy!
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If you'd like to learn more about Regina, her books and her dogs, visit one of her two websites...two since she writes under two different names.
Don't forget to drop back by on Saturday (Oct 29th) for the SATURDAY REVIEW when I'll be reviewing Regina's novella, The Woof In The Wedding Plans.
And thank you for joining us today!
The Woof in the Wedding Plans (novella)
Regina Duke & Linda White’s Trickster and Other Stories
Today I have the pleasure of reviewing The Woof In The Wedding Plans by Regina Duke.
