Hi all!
For April's IWSG, I've invited my good buddy and WEP co-host Yolanda Renee, to tell us something we didn't know about her and her writing. We've been communicating much more during this time of Coronavirus, keeping each other's spirits up. How are you doing? Australia has stringent social distancing laws, (only 2 people allowed to meet now), so it's great we're all so digitally connected. Something came up in one of Yolanda and my conversations, and it just happened to coincide with the first day of her blog tour. As the IWSG is about our insecurities/securities, I'll let you make up your mind where Yolanda falls.
After her post, you'll find her tour schedule and buy links and a Rafflecopter Giveaway. I hope you'll support Yolanda on her tour through MC Book Tours.
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
For April's IWSG, I've invited my good buddy and WEP co-host Yolanda Renee, to tell us something we didn't know about her and her writing. We've been communicating much more during this time of Coronavirus, keeping each other's spirits up. How are you doing? Australia has stringent social distancing laws, (only 2 people allowed to meet now), so it's great we're all so digitally connected. Something came up in one of Yolanda and my conversations, and it just happened to coincide with the first day of her blog tour. As the IWSG is about our insecurities/securities, I'll let you make up your mind where Yolanda falls.
After her post, you'll find her tour schedule and buy links and a Rafflecopter Giveaway. I hope you'll support Yolanda on her tour through MC Book Tours.
Alex's awesome co-hosts for the April 1 posting of the IWSG are Diane Burton, JH Moncrieff, Anna @ Emaginette, Karen @ Reprobate Typewriter, Erika Beebe, and Lisa Buie-Collard!
Please visit if you are able!
Writing
Your Real-life Experiences Into Your Novel
In Murder, Just
Because there's a birth scene. I won't give away the details, but I will admit
to writing the scene based on personal experience. I thought I'd take a moment
to explain that here, and no, I won't be going into the gory details. I did
that in the book. 😊
When I first
learned I was pregnant, I was determined to give birth at home. No doctor needed to be involved. I mean, really, women have been giving birth as long as wo/man
has walked the earth, but with all their intellect and mechanical gadgets, doctors figured they had a better way. Nope, I didn't
buy it. I was very secure in my decision and took steps to make my vision reality.
I found a
licensed midwife, but her caveat, she only delivered in the hospital. Damn,
foiled again. But at least I'd be in a birthing room with a midwife. I capitulated,
much to my husband's delight. He, of course, thought I'd gone off my rocker. Sometimes the decisions we make, we have to push forward in our self belief, even if distracted by those who don't 'see' it.
The big day came, or
should I say night. Midnight. No sleep for us. My water broke. Off to the
hospital. I'd been on my feet walking in
circles around the apartment for hours. I knew it was time, I'd been having
contractions all day.
We arrived at the
hospital after one am. Straight to the birthing room. The
contractions became stronger and stronger as they do. The midwife was dealing with another patient, someone who'd already given birth five times, and
since this was my first, she was sure I'd take all night. She left us alone to get on with it,
which was fine with me. I was full of self belief. I could do this alone if need be.
The midwife thought I was just overreacting to the pain and
offered 'drugs' as help. NO! I insisted. I need to push. She just threw her
hands up and walked out of the room. The rigid tilt of her back said: Stupid primigravida! What would she know? First baby! Pfft.
I did what my
body told me to do, and before anyone knew what was happening, I was cradling my son. Pushed him out and pulled him up into my arms. The rest of them,
husband included, crowded around, just stood and stared. They hadn't even prepared the bed for delivery.
But, hey, I wanted to do it my way, and I did.
Jason, my son, got an APGAR point total of
10. An Apgar score is a 1 to
10 rating the summarizes the health of a newborn.
We were home by
noon that day.
The stereotypical
births portrayed on television are done for the laugh track, but most women
think only of the child and act only for the child. Suppression of pain,
control of breathing, and only thoughts of having a healthy birth is how it's
truly done, and that's how I did it and wrote it in my latest novel.
DISCLAIMER: I know that isn't always the
case, and that delivery can go all wrong with no fault on anyone. I was clearly
blessed. My go-it-alone decision was validated. And I pray for the same for every pregnancy.
Thank you Yolanda. I'm not sure if I was supposed to be, but I was highly entertained. Go girl!
Murder, Just Because
The
Snowman is back, and as his bloody rampage continues, terrified Alaskans
increasingly doubt Quaid’s abilities. In a deadly game of cat-and-mouse,
Jenkins starts picking off the people in Quaid’s life… and drawing closer to
the most important person in Quaid’s life...his wife. The Snowman’s cruelty
knows no bounds, but the object of his
hate knows no fear!
Tagline:
The Snowman’s cruelty knows no bounds, but the
object of his hate knows no fear.
Looking for a new adventure, Renee recently moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A storyteller from a very early age, an avid reader, and with an education and background in business and accounting, becoming a writer only made sense. And writing mysteries pure logic.
LINKS
Author
Links:
Email:
yolandarenee@hotmail.com
If you want to follow Yolanda's tour, here is her schedule:
If you want to follow Yolanda's tour, here is her schedule:
Murder, Just Because Tour Schedule
April 1 Denise Covey – Guest Post - Writing Your Real-Life Experience Into Your Novel
Mythical Books – Q & A & Excerpt List
April 2 Constantine – Guest Post - Creating a Serial Killer
April 6 Mystery Writing is Murder – Guest Post How I Wrote My Mystery
Spunk on A Stick – Feature
April 7 Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews – Q & A
April 8 The Warrior Muse – Top Ten List of Literary Detectives
Random Thoughts – Excerpt & Feature
April 10 Ellen Jacobson Author – Q & A
April 13 Christine Rains – Writer – Review & Excerpt
Alex J. Cavanaugh – Guest Post -Top Ten Murder Movie
April 15 Elizabeth Seckman, Author Guest Post - Heaven on Earth
April 17 Writer’s Gambit – Q & A & Excerpt
April 20 Tara Tyler Talks – Interview
H.R. Sinclair – Guest Post - How to Write a Thriller
Rockin’ Book Reviews – Review & Top Ten Highlights of My Life
April 24 Write with Fey – Guest Post - Evil Exists
April 27 Just Jemi – Q & A
April 29 Thoughts in Progress – Review
May 1 Celticlady’s Reviews – Feature
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
This
tour-wide giveaway is for a complete set of the Detective Quaid Mystery series
books for one winner, paperback copies of MURDER, JUST BECAUSE
for five winners, and a Kindle copy of MURDER, JUST BECAUSE for
10 winners.
To enter the
giveaway, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the
instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient.
If the widget doesn’t show up, just click HERE and you’ll be directed to
the widget.
Thanks for stopping by and be sure to follow Yolanda on her week-long tour HERE. You never know what you might find out. Do you enjoy watching a character grow from one story to the next?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Yolanda is the host for the April WEP challenge. She has written a preliminary post today about the new challenge. Check it our HERE. Get ready to post on April 19. Hopefully, if you're doing the A-Z, you can fit your flash or poem into the letter of the day.
If you enjoyed Yolanda' post, please tweet!
@YolandaRenee #booktour #guestpost #WritingReal-lifeExperiencesinyournovel https://dencovey.blogspot.com/2020/03/iwsg-post-guest-post-yolanda-renee.html
@DeniseCCovey @MasonCanyon