I am pleased to participate in Richard Alan's Meant To Be Series Virtual Book Publicity Tour hosted by Pump Up Your Book.
About Richard:
Richard Alan lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with his wife, Carolynn. They are the proud parents of three wonderful adult sons. He is a Vietnam combat and 101st Airborne Division veteran.
After an education in mathematics, a 17 year career in manufacturing engineering and a 22 year career in software engineering, he has started a career as an author. Richard writes novels about people trying to find their life-partner, soul-mate, the person they are meant to be with for life. His first two books, Meant to Be and The Couples, are available on his website and most online retailers.
Richard’s other interests range from mathematical analysis and photography to anything with an engine. His current projects include writing the third (Finding Each Other) and fourth novels in the “Meant to Be” series, and discovering the properties of functions of p-adic numbers. Having completed a potting bench for his lifepartner, Carolynn, he is busy driving her to watch salmon runs, visit National Parks, and anywhere that provides an opportunity to view her avian friends.
CONNECT WITH RICHARD ONLINE:
Welcome to Darlene's Book Nook, Richard!
Richard has written a guest post, so I will now turn the floor over to him.
Thanks Darlene for giving me this opportunity to be a guest blogger at your blog, Darlene’s Book Nook. I’d like to talk about how I create my characters and how that leads to my stories.
Let’s start with a made up name. How about Sally? Picture Sally in your mind. The Sally that I just pictured is eight years old. She has sand colored short straight hair, sparkling blue eyes, and a smile that embodies her upbeat attitude. She’s wearing a top that she asked her parents to buy for her when they visited the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. It is light blue and has silk screened images of the Aquarium’s sea otters. She has her running shoes on today because one of her friends just called and he asked her to meet him at the park to play softball.As she rode her bike to the park she was reviewing what her older brother had told her about batting. When she arrived at the park she was immediately greeted by her best friends from school.
Now that we know what she looks like, what some of her interests are, and that she has many friends we need to have situation arise that further expresses her character and allows the reader to learn more about her. Consider the following two paragraphs:
A) Sally greeted her friends and then stood patiently, while her friend Thomas told her about his trip to the Seattle Aquarium. Conversations with Thomas always took patience because he stuttered a lot. Thomas considered Sally his best friend because she liked sea creatures like he did and she always waited patiently while he talked to her. She was the only one in their circle who always took time for his difficult speech.
B) Sally greeted her friends and then avoided talking to Thomas, who wanted to tell her about his trip to the Seattle Aquarium. Conversations with Thomas always took patience because he stuttered a lot. He desperately wanted to be Sally’s friend because they both liked sea creatures. Of the friends in their circle, Sally had the least patience when he tried to talk to her.
Both paragraphs give us insight into Sally’s character. The above paragraphs might lead to narratives that force them to go on an adventure as a team. If I used paragraph A, I would tell a story about how Sally learns about stuttering and helps Thomas get over his speech impediment while they are on their adventure. If I used paragraph B, I would tell a story about Sally having to develop patience and learn to become a compassionate person while they struggled to complete their adventure.
Which story would you like to complete? Try writing two more paragraphs for each and then go back and see if you are being true to Sally’s A or B character.
Thanks so much for joining us today, Richard!
One lucky winner will win a paperback copy of The Couples.
This giveaway is open to entrants from Canada and the United States only at the author's request.
Acclaimed author of Meant to Be, Richard Alan, once again enchants us with characters that we really want to know. You will laugh, cry, and love with them as you seek the answers to the relationship questions posed by this talented author.
Will a tough techy lady be able to find love with a man who is still mourning his deceased fiancée?
Will an intellectually snobbish genius learn that there is more to the truck mechanic than meets the eye?
Can a nerd and a party girl find happiness together?
Can a teenage boy musician get past his unrequited love to learn to love a ranch girl instead?
Will a troubled rape victim be able to have a normal relationship with a man?
The Couples is about people who may belong together and how the world around them helps them, or sometimes defeats them in their search for a life partner. It follows the lives of couples,their friends, and their support systems,as they explore their relationships.
The Couples is Richard Alan’s second novel in the “Meant to Be” series. It continues to explore relationships, love, and life.
To enter the giveaway, please fill out the Rafflecopter entry form below.
This giveaway is open to entrants from Canada and the United States only until 12:01 AM EST on March 20, 2012.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway is open to entrants from Canada and the United States only until 12:01 AM EST on March 20, 2012.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour Participants
Monday, March 5
Interviewed at Examiner
Interviewed at Blogcritics
Interviewed & book giveaway at Literarily Speaking
Thursday, March 8
Interviewed at Beyond the Books
Friday, March 9
Guest blogging at Lori’s Reading Corner
Monday, March 12
Guest blogging at Writing Daze
Interviewed at The Writer’s Life
Tuesday, March 13
Guest blogging and book giveaway at Darlene's Book Nook
Spotlight & book giveaway at Books Products and More
Wednesday, March 14
Guest blogging at The Story Behind the Book
Thursday, March 15
Interviewed at Pump Up Your Book
Friday, March 16
Interviewed at Review From Here
Monday, March 19
Guest blogging at Literal Exposure
Tuesday, March 20
Interviewed & book giveaway at Cafe of Dreams
Wednesday, March 21
Interviewed at As the Pages Turn
Thursday, March 22
Interviewed at Book Marketing Buzz
Design by Parajunkee Design
I have never seen such a beautiful blog in all my life. Love the template, Darlene! Thank you so much for hosting Richard today!
ReplyDeleteAwwww, thank you! I'm glad you like it, and it is a pleasure to have Richard here today.
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