Skip to main content

Catherine MacDonald (guest blogger)




 
HI! 

I'm Cathie MacDonald, former school teacher, small business owner, and novelist. Life always presents interesting topics and people, and I am a very good observer, which helps in my work. I am a metaphysical student and Reiki Master, and I always implement a thread of that in my novels. I spend a great deal of time researching, and in Romancing the Vines I traveled to many vineyards and sampled a few glasses of wine. (Okay, more than a few!) Francesca, the main character, becomes the owner and operator of Serrano Family Vineyards, which is known for its zinfandel.  Her mission is to become a top vintner, put their wine on the map, and win the wine competition, no matter what the cost. Francesca, Enrico, and their son, Roberto, spend hours toiling in the vineyard. But the tension that has plagued them for lifetimes returns. They fight, the vineyard struggles, money is extremely tight, and the wine is flat. Something is missing in the ingredients. Wine comes from the heart and hers is in turmoil. Does true love need to exist like the spirit of her dearly departed mother suggested? Francesca doesn't know if she believes in true love, or soul mates for that matter. She is still conflicted over her feelings for Giancarlo, whom Enrico despises. Giancarlo owns one of the most prestigious vineyards in the area and has been called the Bad Boy of Sonoma. Enrico is threatened by his looks, money, and empire. Both men want the same woman, but she can't make up her mind. She takes a trip to Italy, where she is transported into three past lives and learns the truth of the three of them through a seer. Magna reads the energy around her and says that she is conflicted between her head and her heart and this problem has been with her for centuries. "Part of you is in love with a man you think you shouldn't have, and then there is the man you live with. You are a very confused woman, my dear." She tells Francesca she will use past life regression three times in order to solve the riddle of her soul. Magna talks about a time centuries ago when there was a beautiful woman, her son, and the farmer she lived with. The lord of the valley fell in love with her and plotted to take her away. She weaves a colorful narrative, and Francesca finds it uncannily familiar. Magna tells her that the heroine didn't use her heart. She used her head because she didn't want her noisy neighbors gossiping that she was using her heart.
Currently, I am finishing a love story set in 1923, complete with speakeasies, mob activity, bootleg liquor, and Ouija boards, and I've been having fun researching that period. This is a coming of age love story in a very turbulent, violent time period.

Happy reading!
 
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Generic Logos - How To Spot And Avoid Them

We have seen logo designs and feel like we have seen them before, or they do not seem too unique. It is where you have probably come across a generic logo design that is not doing much for your brand. Your logo design is often the first interaction that potential customers have with your brand that is why it is important for your logo design be effective. A logo design is much more than just an image or a text which states that it has to be original and creative. For a brand that wants to attract customers and stand out from the competition must have a compelling and attractive logo design that can deliver the right message to the audience. Logo designers know and value the importance of professional logo design to any business either it is large, small or just a startup. It represents the company, it tells their story and symbolizes their brand identity to the world. No matter how good your products or services are, if your logo design is poor, you are...
Post a Comment
Read more

Creating Your Story Title by Mary Deal

Something writers of multiple stories will experience: Titles may come to you in a flash. Some will take a bit of thinking through. Say you’ve written your first and only story thus far. You may feel you have a great title for that one piece of prose. However, caution should be taken due to lack of experience in titles. You can only know how easy or how difficult choosing a title will be after you’ve written a few stories. For the person who writes many stories or many books, again, choosing a title may come easy, or it may be one of the most difficult aspects of writing. Some writers are unable to start a story unless they have a great title lined up. Then, with that title in mind, they set out to write, only to change the title once they see where the plot and characters lead them. Some authors cannot title a story till it’s written and rewritten for the umpteenth time. Then they decide. Whatever your preference, titles are just as important as the overall story itself...
Post a Comment
Read more

MARGARET FIELAND INTERVIEW (guest blogger)

When did you first know you were destined to be a writer? LOL, I never realized I was destined to be a writer -- I fell into it. I'd written poetry for years, collecting it in notebooks stacked in my attic when I wrote one I wanted to keep. This led me to several online sites and ultimately to discovering the Muse Online Writers Conference where I hooked up with Linda Barnett Johnson and joined her writers forums. She required everyone to write both fiction and poetry, so, with much trepidation, I started writing fiction. Then I got hooked on it, wrote a chapter book, took the ICL course and actually learned how to write it. Then in 2010, I was seized by a desire to write a sci fi novel, so I spent six weeks or so on world building, mostly, with a bit of plotting thrown in for good measure. Who would you cite as your influences? I'm a way-back sci-fi fan, and Robert A. Heinlein influenced me heavily. I took a lot away from his writing, notably the value of surpris...
6 comments
Read more