#NewRelease from Julie Howard: WILD CRIME

Julie Howard is today's guest and she's talking about how clothes make the character in a work of fiction. WILD CRIME, Julie's latest book in the Wild Crime series, releases on Dec. 4. For a limited time, the first two books in the series are on sale for .99 cents. Check out the links below. Welcome Julie!

I cleaned out my closet the other day, pulling out old sweaters I never liked and ill-fitting blue jeans until two distinct piles formed on the floor. One pile was for those items definitely “out,” the second was for those that didn’t fit anymore or were no longer in fashion, but I couldn’t bear to part with. Clothing is personal. We wear it next to our skin. While it doesn’t make the man or woman, what we wear does impact how we feel and often, how others view us.

It’s the same with a character in a book. For my main character, Meredith Lowe, a move to a different state upended her life. In one day, she lost her home and all that was familiar. Her arrival in Hay City, Idaho – particularly toward the end of winter – takes her off balance and makes her feel particularly vulnerable. In her own home of Oakland, California, temperatures rarely fall to freezing.

(From Crime and Paradise): Her clothes weren’t warm enough for the snowy winter weather; it was as though she needed a new, heavier skin to live here. Not another country. I’ve moved to another planet.

Life starts rough for Meredith and takes a turn for the worse when her abusive husband is murdered and she is accused of the crime. Her clothing throws her off guard in the worst of moments. Even when she attempts to dress up, she will discover a frayed sleeve or a hole in her socks.

In book three, Wild Crime, Meredith develops the confidence to uncover uncomfortable family secrets. A few clothing snafus indicate how easy it is to fall back into old doubtful thinking patterns. In this scene, she still can’t quite pull herself together for a meeting with an attorney, yet she sees others doing so quite effortlessly:

(From Wild Crime): She wore the same blue sundress as before, the only nice clothing she packed, and the kids in their second-to-last last clean shorts and T-shirts. Curtis wore neatly-pressed khakis and a maroon long-sleeved shirt, with the collar open and sleeves rolled up. Somehow, he’d traveled across the country without wrinkling his clothes into a thousand lines.

Curtis, of course, is Meredith’s love interest. He is her cool-headed lodestar, always steady and deliberative in thinking and action. He’s a man prepared for any circumstance, and his clothes are a reflection of this.

Wild Crime releases on Wednesday (Dec. 4). This blog runs on a perfect day, since for today only (Nov. 29), the first two books in the series are on sale for .99 cents. Links to all three books are below.

But first, here’s the blurb for Wild Crime:

"I'm a murderer. I'm a murderer. I'm a murderer."

Those three repeated words discovered in an old letter propel Meredith Lowe in a cross-country pursuit to unveil her mother's murky past. Danger stalks Meredith back to Hay City, Idaho as she peels apart the mystery: who is her father, and did her mother kill him? In finding the answer, will a growing love slip through her fingers?

Past merges with the present as the story races to its stunning conclusion.


And an Excerpt:

Her hair fell below her waist, ripped free of its ties and weighed down by the warm, lashing rain. The sky-blue dress, so carefully chosen for this night and tried on so many times in her bedroom, was ruined. One strap had torn from her shoulder and dangled down her back. Mud splattered the hem. Sweet Cantaloupe lipstick, a lovely coral that heightened the green in her eyes, was smeared like a bruise on one cheek. She ran.

The high school gym behind her, decorated in crepe paper and curtains, vibrated with electric guitars and teen-aged hormones. Couples gyrated on the dance floor and then disappeared into dark corners. It was late and the Spring Dance was in full throttle. No one would miss her for hours.

Before her, trees dripped moss, barely visible in the darkness. She envisioned the moss brushing her shoulders, low branches snagging in her hair, the possibility of snakes both at her feet and above; this made her hesitate. It would take one scream, one gasp, and he would find her.

Buy links for Wild Crime:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2W8j0Pt

iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/wild-crime/id1482591716

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wild-crime-julie-howard/1134112545?ean=9781509228638


Here are links to Crime and Paradise – last day at 99 cents!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2H4LtAg

Apple: https://books.apple.com/au/book/crime-and-paradise/id1267071886

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/crime-and-paradise-julie-howard/1126668702?ean=2940158815881


Here are links to Crime Times Two – limited time sale at 99 cents!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2VMZlUv

Apple: https://books.apple.com/au/book/crime-times-two/id1436345028

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/crime-times-two-julie-howard/1129472600?ean=2940161941164


About the author:

Julie Howard is the author of the Wild Crime series, and Spirited Quest. She is a former journalist and editor who has covered topics ranging from crime to cowboy poetry. She is a member of the Idaho Writers Guild, editor of the Potato Soup Journal, and founder of the Boise chapter of Shut Up & Write. Learn more at juliemhoward.com.

Visit the Julie Howard on these social media sites:

Website: http://juliemhoward.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/juliemhowardauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18116047.Julie_Howard

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Julie-Howard/e/B07D6CS4NQ/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/julie-howard?list=author_books

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_JulieMHoward

Don't be Chintzy with your Secondary Characters! by Julie Howard

Romantic suspense author Julie Howard joins me today to talk about secondary characters, one of my favorite topics. And she wants to make you aware that CRIME TIMES TWO is currently on sale for .99 cents. Get your copy at your favorite ebook retailer!

Don’t be chintzy with your secondary characters

Not all characters are created alike. Just like the people in your life, not everyone is of equal importance. In my life, there’s a gradient of importance that runs from a stranger I see in the background on the news all the way up to my children and close family members.

When I write a novel, my characters basically come in four packages – Jumbo (main characters), Large (secondary characters) Medium (recurring characters) and Small (the town folk). Main characters take a lot of time to develop, but I always have a secondary character or two who get under my skin. In any good novel, secondary characters need to pop, they need to have a backstory and a purpose. Most times, the novel couldn’t exist without them. Think Batman without his butler Alfred, Robinson Crusoe without Friday, Harry Potter without Hagrid. These are the supporting cast who make the main character shine.

In my Wild Crime books, Honey is a force of nature. After three books in the series, I’m still a little afraid of this older, conniving woman I created. She’s my main character’s closest friend and is definitely a woman with some secrets she’ll never tell – unless divulging them is convenient. At first, Honey was just the neighbor-next-door, a shoulder for my main character to cry on. As I continued to write, this secondary character grew to a point where, when she was in the room, her personality took over. I even considered, briefly, writing a book where Honey was the main character. She fascinated me!

Secondary characters don’t need to be that dominant, but a novel so focused on the main characters can start to feel bland or one-note. The reader wants your main characters to feel like real people with family, friends and co-workers. These are the people who typically become the secondary characters. One stand-out in my Wild Crime series is a deli clerk at the local grocery store, who is a recurring thorn in my main character’s side. In book one, Crime and Paradise, he exists mainly as a recurring character, but in book two (Crime Times Two) he steps up into a secondary character role. He plays a key part in the plot. This is common in series where there are a number of recurring characters in a town – and is part of the fun of reading a series.

As a side note: In my Deerbourne Inn series book, Spirited Quest, my main character is a small background character in the other Deerbourne Inn books. Each of these books are stand-alone novels set in the same fictional Vermont town and written by different authors. In each of these books, you get glimpses of the main characters of other books.

Secondary characters are important for another critical reason: they give your main character someone to voice their thoughts to. Unless you are writing in first person, it can be difficult for a character to express their inner views. They add dialogue to a scene, and make a main character feel more like a real person. Often, as with Sherlock Holmes and Watson, you get a sense of your main character’s personality – as  in Sherlock’s superiority over his sidekick. In my Wild Crime books, the deli-boy character brings out the sass in my main character. If a teenage kid can rile her, could an abusive husband possibly spark her to murder?

Don’t give your secondary characters short shrift! They can be fun to develop and show your readers so much more about your protagonist.

Crime Times Two is on a limited-time sale for the first time, for 99 cents!

Crime Times Two: When divorce is out of the question, can murder be forgiven?

Blurb from “Crime Times Two”:

Meredith knows three things: First, the man in the library begged her to help him. Second, he was afraid of his wife. Third, now he’s dead.

While the evidence first points to a natural death, Meredith is certain there’s more to discover. People are tight-lipped in this small mountain village, and the man’s wife isn't talking either. Then a second death occurs, with remarkable similarities. It’s time to talk about murder.

As a slow-burning relationship heats up in her own life, Meredith struggles with concepts of love and hate, belief and suspicion, and absolution and guilt. Nothing is clear cut…

She must decide: Is guilt, like evil, something you can choose to believe in?

Excerpt from “Crime Times Two”:

Jowls quivered under the man’s weak chin, and Meredith noted the stained and frayed shirt of someone who spent a lot of time alone in dark rooms, sending out a better version of himself into the virtual world. His eyes were anxious and beseeching at her as though she should have a clear understanding of him and his life.

Somehow, over the past hour and a half they’d been sitting next to each other – him playing video games and sharing his life story and her ignoring him the best she could – she had become his confessor and friend.

Meredith gave him what she hoped was an impartial-though-quasi-friendly smile. She reached for her purse and papers and rose from her chair. “Well. Nice talking with you.”

The man was lost in his own train of thought and seemed only slightly aware that Meredith was leaving.

He shook his head, morose.

“To make a long story short,” he summed up, “I think my wife is trying to kill me.”


Author Bio:

Julie Howard is the author of the Wild Crime series. She is a former journalist and editor who has covered topics ranging from crime to cowboy poetry. She is a member of the Idaho Writers Guild, editor of the Potato Soup Journal, and founder of the Boise chapter of Shut Up & Write. Learn more at juliemhoward.com.

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2VMZlUv

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Julie_Howard_Crime_Times_Two?id=9QhxDwAAQBAJ

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?Query=crime+times+two

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/crime-times-two-julie-howard/1129472600?ean=2940161941164

Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Crime-Times-Two-eBook/340226618


Social media:

Website: http://juliemhoward.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/juliemhowardauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18116047.Julie_Howard

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07D6CS4NQ

Twitter: @_juliemhoward

Julie Howard: In the Spotlight! #NewRelease

Julie Howard is my guest today and she's got big news. Her newest book in the Wild Crime series, CRIME TIMES TWO, released October 8, 2018. And book one, CRIME AND PARADISE, is on sale for .99 cents for a limited time. Help Julie celebrate her new release and her sale. Welcome Julie Howard!

Blurb from “Crime Times Two”:

When divorce is out of the question, can murder be forgiven?

Meredith knows three things: First, the man in the library begged her to help him. Second, he was afraid of his wife. Third, now he’s dead.

While the evidence first points to a natural death, Meredith is certain there’s more to discover. People are tight-lipped in this small mountain village, and the man’s wife isn't talking either. Then a second death occurs, with remarkable similarities. It’s time to talk about murder.

As a slow-burning relationship heats up in her own life, Meredith struggles with concepts of love and hate, belief and suspicion, and absolution and guilt. Nothing is clear cut…

She must decide: Is guilt, like evil, something you can choose to believe in?

Excerpt from “Crime Times Two”:

Jowls quivered under the man’s weak chin, and Meredith noted the stained and frayed shirt of someone who spent a lot of time alone in dark rooms, sending out a better version of himself into the virtual world. His eyes were anxious and beseeching at her as though she should have a clear understanding of him and his life.

Somehow, over the past hour and a half they’d been sitting next to each other – him playing video games and sharing his life story and her ignoring him the best she could – she had become his confessor and friend.

Meredith gave him what she hoped was an impartial-though-quasi-friendly smile. She reached for her purse and papers and rose from her chair. “Well. Nice talking with you.”

The man was lost in his own train of thought and seemed only slightly aware that Meredith was leaving.

He shook his head, morose.

“To make a long story short,” he summed up, “I think my wife is trying to kill me.”

Flash sale! Julie Howard’s first book in the Wild Crime series, Crime and Paradise, is on sale for 99 cents for a limited time. https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Paradise-Wild-Julie-Howard-ebook/dp/B073MYJSP9


Author Bio:

Julie Howard is the author of the Wild Crime series. She is a former journalist and editor who has covered topics ranging from crime to cowboy poetry. She is a member of the Idaho Writers Guild, editor of the Potato Soup Journal, and founder of the Boise chapter of Shut Up and Write. Learn more at juliemhoward.com.


Social Media Links:

Website: http://juliemhoward.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/juliemhowardauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18116047.Julie_Howard

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07D6CS4NQ