Wow! Where do I start? 18 years ago, my mother and
I only dreamed of writing a novel, let alone getting it published. Our dreams
of becoming mother/daughter published authors was just something we fantasized
about. Now we’ve both published not only our debut novels, but their sequels as
well.
Reflecting back over the last 18 years, I realize
how much hard work went into our first books: Make Old Bones for my mother and Carbon Copy for me. The hardest part for me was starting. I thought
about it for 8 years before I finally started writing. The next hardest part
for me was finishing. I spent 5 years writing Carbon Copy. My mother was the
reason I started and finished it. I always tried to have a chapter for her to
read whenever we planned a visit. Then the next hardest part about the writing
process was the waiting. Although I was blessed to find a publisher within six months
of finishing Carbon Copy, it was
another 2 and half years in editing before it was finally released in June
2012.
Now that we both have the same awesome publisher,
Wild Child Publishing, the writing and editing are much easier for the both of
us. I’ve recently finished writing my fifth book, Silver Lining, the epic conclusion to the Carbon Copy trilogy, while my mother is almost finished writing the
fourth book in her bone series - The
Bonnie, Bonnie Bone. My mother and I are case in point that hard work,
patience, and determination, can make your dreams come true. We couldn’t have
done it without each other’s constant encouragement all of these years.
So now that we’ve had our dream of being mother/
daughter published authors come true, what’s our next dream? I still dream big.
I’m looking forward to having both of our books out in print so that we can do
book signings together. And although I loathe public speaking, I can’t wait to
do a mother/daughter presentation at a writer’s conference. Thank goodness my
mother is an award winning Toastmaster. I’ll just smile, nod, and show cleavage.
We’re brainstorming a co-authored book which is a prequel to Carbon Copy and Make Old Bones. The characters in our books are related. My heroine,
Lilly, is the niece of my mother’s heroine, Clarice. The title will contain
both a “bone” and an “element”.
My biggest dream of all is to have one of my books
get made into a movie. My mother and I promised to be each other’s “plus one”
if either of our book movies get nominated for an academy award for best
adapted screenplay. And yes, I’ve mentally started writing my acceptance
speech. Who knows what the future holds for our books, but the best part of all
is that I’m enjoying this wonderful journey with my mother. I love you, Mom!
Tin
Roof
the
sequel to Carbon Copy
In the sequel to Carbon Copy, Lilly Allen
returns to her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, to be closer to her
mother, help with her injured brother, and heal from the disappearance of her
fiancé Grier Garrison. While she awaits Grier's return, she busies herself with
her mansion renovations, her best friend's wedding, and her job as a news
reporter.
But even her busy
schedule cannot stem the worry over her brother's persistent amnesia and
changes in personality. Is he her real twin? Or did they rescue a clone?
On top of this, the
months of pining without a word from Grier begin to take their toll. She finds
herself growing closer to her favorite cameraman, Joe. His confession of
undying love, followed by a passionate kiss, has her questioning how much
longer she can wait, and whether she wants to.
To further complicate
matters, two unrelated news stories drag her into the seamy underbelly of the
Charleston Police Department where murder and drugs are common occurrences.
In the chaos of a
hurricane, another body washes ashore, and Lilly comes face-to-face with the
murderer.
Terri Talley Venters
Author of Carbon
Copy, Tin Roof, Body Of Gold, Copper Cauldron, and Silver Lining
Terri
received her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Master’s degree in Taxation
from the University of Florida. She is a licensed CPA and a Second Degree Black
Belt in Taekwondo. She lives in St. Augustine, Florida, with her husband,
Garrison, and their two sons.
Terri
has two other published works available from Wild Child Publishing. Carbon Copy and its sequel, Tin Roof, plus her unrelated novella, Copper Cauldron. She recently finished
writing Silver Lining, the epic
conclusion to the Carbon Copy
trilogy, coming soon from Wild Child Publishing. Her romantic/suspense novel, Body Of Gold, is coming soon from
Freya’s Bower. Terri also posts free short stories on her website each month. www.ElementsOfMystery.com. Follow her as she weaves her way
through the Periodic Table of Elements.
Terri
is the daughter of Leslie S. Talley, author of Make Old Bones and Bred In The Bone which are also available from
Wild Child Publishing.
For the purchase links and
more info about Terri’s books, visit her website.
Mother/Daughter Writing, From Mother’s
Point of View
My daughter Terri’s interest in writing
was sparked by a writers’ conference we attended in Melbourne, Florida, when
she was in high school. Years elapsed during which time she mulled over an idea
for a series which became Elements of Mystery.
Meanwhile, I had published travel
pieces and a few short stories, but the publication of my mystery novel, Make Old Bones, eluded me. It had won
first place in the mystery/suspense category at the Space Coast Writer’s Guild
in 2000. Finally in 2008 Terri and I attended a conference sponsored by the
North Florida Writers’ Association at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Make Old Bones once again won first
place in the Lighthouse Book Awards for mystery/suspense. Terri was so proud,
she cried! That spurred me on; that spurred her on. She finished writing her
mystery novel, Carbon Copy. She hoped
to ride in on my coattails. The opposite happened.
She submitted to Wild Child Publishing,
an electronic publisher; I had never thought of doing that. When her book was
accepted, I submitted also and was accepted. Since then we have critiqued each
other’s work. She is my biggest fan! We feed off each other. My main
characters, Otis and Clarice Campion, became her main character, Lilly Allen’s,
Uncle Otis and Aunt Clarice. When we are together and we hear an interesting
turn of phrase, we both screech, “I call it!”
One way I may have unconsciously
influenced her is by setting, or a sense of place. According to my professor,
Dr. Richard Adicks from Literature of the South at the University of Central
Florida, there are six prominent features in Southern writing: a sense of
history or of the past; a sense of religion or original sin; a sense of the
grotesque; a sense of place; a sense of family or genealogy; and agrarian, or
rural.
I write from a sense of place. Set your
novel in a unique setting, and all manner of ideas pop up. Terri imbibed this
from somewhere. Her first novel is set in New York and the Florida Keys, the
sequel in Charleston. Her upcoming takes place in Scotland. My first takes
place in Daytona Beach, the second in St. Augustine, the third in Ireland, and
my work-in-progress in Scotland. We both have hurricanes and castles figuring
prominently.
Even though we are much alike we have
differences. My degrees are in English with some nursing thrown in. Hers are in
Accounting and Taxation. She comes up with better plots. And while my mysteries
are Cozies, hers are more modern.
But the acorn doesn’t fall far from the
tree, to be trite! Great minds, and all that!
Bred
in the Bone Synopsis
In this sequel to Make Old Bones Otis, Clarice, and Miss Letty act as exchange
innkeepers at Castle Keep in St. Augustine, Florida.
Castle Keep, built of timbers from a
shipwreck, has a disturbing history which carries over to the present. Recently
a series of break-ins by a homeless man and the sound of chains dragging in the
attic complicate matters.
Miss Letty and Clarice visit the
original plantation site where Clarice discovers a skeleton in the icehouse. In
addition, they find the burned body of the homeless man in a dragon sculpture,
causing them to make connections among disparate events separated by over a
century.
Add to the mix a psychic, an
African-American journalism student, the Donner wedding party, Florida Gators,
two snobbish Southerners, father and son mural painters, an obstreperous
Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Charles Dickens, and an obnoxious, but,
unwittingly, helpful twelve-year-old named Beddington.
Leslie
Talley
Author
of Make Old Bones and Bred In The Bone
Leslie Talley received her B.S. in
Nursing from the University of Kentucky and a B.A. and M.A. in English from the
University of Central Florida, Orlando, where she subsequently taught, as an adjunct,
Technical Writing and Business Writing for ten years.
Leslie and her husband Luke have two
children: Terri Talley Venters, Wild Child author of Carbon Copy, Tin Roof, and Copper Cauldron; and Damon Talley,
video conference lead at Harris Corporation. Leslie and Luke have lived in
Titusville, Florida, for forty-five years.
Make
Old Bones and Bred
In The Bone are both available from Wild Child Publishing, amazon.com, and
barnesandnoble.com. Purchase links can be found on her website.
