Readers – Patricia Elliott

Gold Book Award

April 8, 2023April 8, 2023 Patricia Elliott

Milestones.

Def: an action or event marking a significant change or stage in development.

I surpassed another author milestone yesterday in a month that I needed something good to happen to stave off the sombreness of a terrible event that happened this time last year. I won’t go into what happened last year, but I want to share my new exciting news.

My book received a Five Star Review from Literary Titan and went on to receive their Five Star Gold Book Award, with the following review

“Her Lover’s Face by Patricia Elliott is an intriguing and captivating novel that offers readers a whirlwind of twists, turns, and surprises. This family drama interweaves romance, suspense, and danger to create a beautiful and complex novel. The story centers around two imperfect individuals, and the novel opens with the death of Laryssa’s abusive husband. This sets the stage for the struggle that Laryssa, who is pregnant, must face as she navigates a new life free from her abusive partner.

What sets this book apart from many other romance novels is its depiction of the complexities of relationships. Elliott expertly portrays the flaws in her characters, ensuring that readers are unable to identify a clear hero or heroine. Instead, the novel explores the gray areas that exist within human relationships, effectively capturing the nuances that make them so intricate. The author also skillfully portrays the differences between the ways men and women think and react in certain situations, creating a narrative that feels true to life.

Laryssa’s character is the backbone of this story, and the author has done an excellent job of portraying her struggles as she tries to come to terms with her newfound freedom. When she meets Alex, who bears a striking resemblance to her late husband, the attraction between them is undeniable. However, Laryssa is determined not to surrender her power to anyone and seeks to define the terms of her own love and life. Unfortunately, both Alex and Laryssa are plagued with trust issues and a lack of understanding of each other, making it clear that they both require therapy to resolve their issues.

Her Lover’s Face is an excellent read that offers a nuanced exploration of human relationships, filled with engaging and multifaceted characters that will keep readers captivated until the last page.”

Read on amazon

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The Ghost Writer

February 21, 2022February 21, 2022 Patricia Elliott

What do you think of when you see this phrase? I know your thoughts have probably drifted to those who are commissioned to write a story that will ultimately have someone else’s name on the cover by the end of it.

ghostwriter – a writer who gives the credit of authorship to someone else.

But like so many words in the English language that have more than one meaning, I feel that another definition fits this word to a T. If your a writer, you will likely relate to what I’m about to say in some way. Have you ever made a post on social media and received little to no interaction? You try anything and everything, and yet, you can’t seem to hit the viral cord like others do.

You might even try what others have, but still you seem to remain the wallflower like we used to be at high school dances. We’ve become the virtual wallflowers now. *lol*

Some might assume that you are just posting boring content, but I think if someone makes a post and states they are buying books and asks for recommendations, and no one posts, then the problem definitely isn’t you…because who doesn’t want to sell their books?

Every writer wants to be seen and to sell their books. And I’ve seen hundreds of similar posts with tons of interactions, so what relegates some users to the virtual wallflower corner while others hit the viral overload? And is there a way out of it’s deep dark web once the infamous algorithm has assigned it to you?

So I think the term fits us well. We’re ghost writers without even meaning to be. haha

What do you think?

New Release by Virginia Wallace

Most of us are used to having our relationships handed to us. Siblings, parents, family friends …

But sometimes those relationships don’t quite work out, do they? Sometimes the relationships that matter most are the ones that we chose for ourselves, or that Fate chose for us. Sometimes, the dearest family is a family of friends.

Thus I present to you these four stories, stories about the relationships that matter most. They may not be ingrained into our DNA, or forced upon us by society, but their influence lingers on nevertheless.

Life isn’t always about blood, or social familiarity. No, life more often consists of the bonds that we forge during our most vulnerable moments.

‘Eternally October’ is a book about those moments, and how they define our lives.

Direct Link: https://books2read.com/u/3kLwR6

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Change It!

January 25, 2022 Patricia Elliott

“I hate my life.”

“Why do other people have it easier than me?”

“I hate my job”

Our thoughts are full of negative comments. If we wrote down every negative word that took up residence in our thoughts, they would probably fill an entire book. And most of the time, we let them sit there and fester, creating more and more negativity until we are down in the dumps, curled on the couch with frown on our face, wanting to hide from the world.

Some people will tell you to take actions in your life to change what you hate. Hate your job, get a new one? Someone who hates their life may leave their spouse in search of the grass being greener on the other side.

But I say it’s not always our life that we have to change as such. We could have the greatest life, yet still be down in the dumps. Because it’s not really our life that has us depressed. It’s the way we allow ourselves to think. That is why when someone attempts to make physical changes in their life, they may be happy for a bit, but it won’t last. The negative thoughts will come back as strong as ever, and they can’t figure out what the heck is happening and why they aren’t content. So the cycle begins again as they seek to find the one thing that can make them happy. But it won’t work.

To change our life, the first thing we have to change is our mindset…our thought patterns. We have to stop saying things like, “I hate my life” Or “If only I had this, then I’d be happy.” We need to filter out the negative words before they ingrain themselves in our mind.

And while we can’t necessarily control what we think, we can control whether we accept it. We can be mindful of when negativity pops into our head and counter it with better words, positive words. We can retrain our brain to accept better information.

Shouldn’t this year be the year we do that? The year to stop letting negative thoughts overcrowd our minds. What if when you hear that first negative word, you say “Stop, not today! Today, I’m gonna love my life. I’m gonna live, and I’m gonna breathe. I’m gonna look for something amazing in today.”

When you can start to train your mind to see the beautiful things, the positive things, then they become your focus and while life may not perfect, you’ll start to see amazing things at the perfect time. And contentment will follow. But it all starts inside you.

Your emotions will mirror the way you allow yourself to think. I chose this year to be the year of less negative thinking. What about you?

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Year End Countdown

December 23, 2021December 23, 2021 Patricia Elliott

New Years Resolutions…

We all make them, don’t we? And many of us fail to keep them. As a writer, my New Year’s Resolution always revolves around what I want to accomplish writing wise in the coming year. Sadly, over the last while, I allowed life to get in the way again, like I did so many years ago when I stopped writing for ten years.

But I’ve come to realize that life is always going to have something that gets in the way and if I don’t learn how to work around it, I’ll never accomplish the goals I set for myself. My excuse this past year has been my lack of energy, fulltime work, family, and my recovery. I was in an accident last November and caught covid at the same time, and honestly speaking, I’m still recovering. I have more chronic pain than I did before, this time in my hand, so that makes writing difficult.

But as they say, you can always find an excuse not to do something. It’s very easy to come up with a reason to wait, but that’s not the way I want to live anymore. So, you heard it here first. My goal is to prepare all my stories for future publication in the coming two years.

I have a duology that I’m working on, part horror and part romance, which I will be self-publishing this coming year. The working titles are “Her Prison, His game” and “Beneath his Hands.”

Also, the sequel to Her Lover’s Face, “His Sweet Addiction”, is almost ready to go. I’m just rewriting the first chapter to give it more zing. I can’t wait to send this one to my publisher, Black Velvet Seductions(if you haven’t already, check out their website, especially if you like spicy romance), and finally complete the story of Her Lover’s Face. Maybe it will see the light in 2021. 😊

I’ve also sent another short story to BVS to be included in an anthology. It’s a dark romance called, “Out of the Mouth of Babes.” It’s part of a series that I’m working on called, “Resurrection Hour.” Fingers crossed that he enjoys it because then that will be another story coming out in 2021.

Today, I just emailed another publishing company in hopes that my story, “Into the Fire” will see publication again in another anthology. I’m quite attached to this one.

Aside from these, I have four other completed novels that need to be edited and will hopefully see publication either this coming year or in 2023. But if I don’t set my mind to do this, I probably won’t because editing is daunting to me, especially when the unedited story pile keeps growing and I keep putting it off. Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this? *lol*

I’d love to hear what your working on. Drop a line in the comment section below. 😀 Let readers know what’s coming up for you, too. If you aren’t a writer, please post your own resolutions for the coming year.

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Top Ten Favorites of Country Living

February 7, 2021 Patricia Elliott

In honor of our newest release, Cowboy Desire, I thought I might share my top ten favorite parts of farm/country living. When I was little, I had the pleasure of living on a small farm out in the country. We were about 20 minutes from the city of Port Alberni. So in no particular order, I give you my top ten favorites:

DARK

Currently I live in a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia. My street is lit up almost as bright as daylight at night. We can see stars, but no milky way, even meteors are hard to see. One of my favorite things to do was put down a blanket and just watch the sky, but it loses its magic in the city.

QUIET

Cities are busy places, full of people, cars and activity. You don’t really get a moment’s peace unless you’re hidden out at home. Back when I was little, there was no internet, and we only had three television stations that I can remember…unless you had a satellite dish, then you could get more. More often than not, I was stuck with my own thoughts, which meant I had a lot of writing time.

ANIMALS

My parents never had a big farm. We only had rabbits and chickens, but I loved my rabbits. We had Angora, Orange and Dutch rabbits. Did you know rabbits are trainable? Mine would go up the stairs if I patted the step and would come to me if I patted the ground. I still miss him. I tried buying rabbits so my own kids could have the experience, but, sadly, our rental suite doesn’t allow animals. We never had horses, but my neighbor did, and I enjoyed riding them. Almost broke my ribs, but that’s a story for another day.

There’s also never-ending wildlife. We even encountered a cougar once when we tried sleeping outside in a tent in our yard. They really do sound like people say they do, babies. We didn’t stay in the tent for long.

THE VIEW

The air is so much clearer when you are surrounded by trees, and water and nature. The unbridled views of the mountains and waterfalls. No smog. No tall buildings to get in the way. You can sit on your porch and watch a beautiful sunset falling over the mountain. There is a purity there that’s untouched.

HOMEGROWN FRESH FOOD

You can’t forget fresh garden vegetables. Tomatoes, carrots, potatoes. I’d say cucumbers, but I hate them. *lol* And then, you have fresh eggs and fresh meat. I never liked the killing part personally, but you really are self-sufficient when out on a farm. No one wants to make non-stop runs into the city.

PURE WATER

Have you ever travelled between different places and noticed how the water tastes disgusting? Where we lived, we had fresh mountain water, some of the freshest around. There are some benefits to having a well and being away from factories that can pollute it.

LESS SOLICITORS

People are less likely to come calling when you are hidden and out of the way. Some might be desperate, but most stick closer to home. Granted, soliciting happens more online now. You add someone to your friend’s list on social media and it comes with a request to buy whatever they are selling…unless it’s a book, I probably won’t be interested.

RIDE-EM LAWN MOWERS

When you have an acreage, the last thing you wanna do is use a regular lawn mower. Before you learn to drive a car, you learn to drive the machinery that comes with a farm. I was never able to cut the lawn, but I was allowed to ride it around—oh, the power…*lol*

TREE HOUSES

One of the best benefits of country living is that you’re surrounded by great big trees, branches so thick that they can hold the weight of a miniature house. We had a rope with knots tied in it which we would climb to the top. I don’t think I’d ever make it up the rope these days, but I really loved climbing trees back in the day when my body worked properly.

COWBOYS

Men in those tight jeans, with their long sleeve shirts rolled up to the elbow. Their faces holding that 5 o’clock shadow because they are busy keeping the farm running. Men who could grace the cover of a magazine, but are hidden away in the country. Are you ready to meet a few, or a cowgirl perhaps? If you don’t live on a farm, I hope you’ll dream with us between the covers of Cowboy Desire.

Cowboy Desire is an eclectic assortment of short stories.

It includes contemporary, historical, fantasy, and even outer space romance, Cowboy Desire offers fourteen stunning short stories. These fourteen authors provide a range of sweet to sexy stories all with a Western cowboy theme. They feature strong men and women battling the weather and dangerous terrain, here on earth and in outer space.

The collection is as diverse as the authors who wrote them. Here’s a chance to discover new talented authors and the characters they create. Within these pages, there are blends of tender, often moving, thought-provoking and downright sexy stories.