LoRee Peery - Paisley's Pattern

Good Monday Morning Readers!

Today, LoRee Peery visits Lagniappe to discuss her latest release, Paisley's Pattern.

Welcome Back, LoRee!

Tell us a little about Paisley’s Pattern

Paisley took root in my mind when I saw an invitation to write a short-short story as part of a White Rose authors’ appearance on Long and Short Reviews in April 2011. http://www.longandshortreviews.com/?s=LoRee+Peery

Author Tanya Stowe sent an invitation to other authors to choose one heroine to write about. The premise:

A delivery boy has four gifts, a bouquet of roses, two teal-colored love birds, a box of chocolates and an invitation. But there's been a glitch. He has four addresses, no names and five women! Where do the gifts belong?

I was intrigued, thinking it the perfect opportunity to use transposed names for a hero and heroine. Paisley Robbins and Robin Paisley were born, and they kept bugging me to tell their full story.

LoRee--This is a fascinating idea. I love it!

Give readers your brand/tagline and share how you came up with it.

Redeeming Grace with a Sense of Place

As a new author, I knew I had to come up with something for an e-mail signature. I prayed, noted other authors’ signatures, and searched author web sites for brands and taglines. I ran various phrases by my critique and writers’ groups. We always came back to this one. I heard no negative comments. Christians know all about God’s redeeming grace through Jesus. My characters grow in grace. And I have a strong sense of Nebraska as my earthly place, where my stories are set.

What is your hope for the readers of your books?

I wish for readers to connect with the characters, to identify with their situations, and to grow with them as my hero and heroine discern the Lord’s will for their lives. Since I write romance, I also hope readers sigh over the happily-ever-after endings.

If you could have one of your senses (Touch, sight, taste, smell, hear) be a superpower which would you choose and why?

The word healer came to mind when I read this question, so I’m going to say the sense of touch. This world would be so much more joyful if one person’s touch relieved another’s pain.

Where did your love of books/storytelling/reading/writing come from?

My mother. She read to me until I could read for myself, which was age four. I wish she was still alive so I could ask how long I listened to her read to my younger siblings. But if I were to guess, I probably took over that pleasure when she went to work outside the home and I took on care-giving responsibilities. I borrowed Mom’s copy of Gone With the Wind when I was thirteen. I’ve been a lover of romance ever since.

Where do you write? Can you describe your favorite writing place? (If you’d like to send pictures that would be great! Attached to the email please don’t embed in the Interview word doc.)

My study is upstairs in the room that once belonged to my son. Shortly, we’ll be painting the walls. There are eight bookcases (my husband built the first two) full of books. I have a Gone With the Wind collection of plates, a Scarlett doll with various outfits, figurines, and many writing-related treasures.

I prefer to revise and edit on paper, which I do away from my desk. I sit on a porch bench or outside in one of my rock gardens.

LoRee, I love your writing spot and that gorgeous Tiffany Lamp!


What can we expect from you in the future?

Another novella releases in July. 

You’ll hear more about Where Hearts Meet right here with Marian.

I have a Christmas novella with my editor now, a story in the works, and two to polish and submit.

LIGHTNING ROUND   

Plotter, Pantser, or Planser?  Planser

Laptop or Desktop? Desktop

Sweet Tea or Unsweetened Tea? Unsweetened

More important: Plot or Characters? Characters

LoRee Peery has written for many years. She tried to quit more than once, seriously in the middle of 2009. Then after several months the words, the voices, started resonating in her head. She found herself jotting notes in the middle of the night, trailing toothpaste across the floor on her way to pen and paper, or noticing character and conversation while out and about. 

She received her first book contract on her birthday in 2010. LoRee attempts to see God’s presence every day. Often that gift comes from nature, and she is most relaxed in the outdoors. The call of a cardinal draws her to look for the distinctive flash of crimson. A meadowlark’s melody always transports her to the farm where she grew up. A rainbow holds special significance, since one appeared the arced over her father’s grave the day of his funeral. Nature is great, but the people God creates are the miracles. What could be better than a grandchild’s smile and a young voice greeting, “Grandma!” Well, maybe the hug that follows.

 BUY LOREE'S BOOKS HERE:

Pelican http://tinyurl.com/om2wfsr

Amazon http://tinyurl.com/l6lyajx

CONNECT WITH LOREE HERE:

www.loreepeery.com

https://twitter.com/LoreePeery

https://www.facebook.com/LoReePeery

Pelican http://tinyurl.com/kwz9enk

Thank you, Marian. It’s always a pleasure to appear on Lagniappe.

LoRee, thanks so much for sharing! It's always a pleasure to have you here!

Readers, thanks for visiting Lagniappe.

LoRee's Question for You:

Is there a life situation you’ve never read about in the form of story, and would like an author to tackle?

Readers, let us hear from you!

I pray you find 

"a little something extra"

in each of your days.

Marian

Visit with LoRee Peery

Good Monday Morning Readers!

Today, LoRee Peery, visits Lagniappe to discuss her writing journey and her latest release, Creighton's Hideaway.


A Nebraska country girl, LoRee Peery attempts to see God’s presence every day. Often that gift comes from nature, and she is most relaxed in the outdoors. The call of a cardinal draws her to look for the distinctive flash of crimson. A meadowlark’s melody always transports her to the farm where she grew up. A rainbow holds special significance, since one appeared the day of her father’s funeral and means the promise of the Lord’s presence in her life. She clings to I John 5:4 and prays her family sees that faith. You can find her at www.loreepeery.com or the Pelican Book Group site http://tinyurl.com/kwz9enk

Needing to finish her thesis in order to keep her job working with youth in a residential treatment center, Shana Arnold sequesters herself on Creighton Rice’s Nebraska ranch. She expects the secluded hideaway to provide a peaceful environment. What she doesn't expect is to become the victim of identity theft and a crazed home invader.

Creighton Rice has been content to live alone with his God--until he meets Shana. He's drawn to her, but must fight the attraction. Getting close makes him face a lifetime's accumulation of scars. Plus, Shana doesn’t share his faith. But when Shana's life is threatened, Creighton must protect her--even if it means letting her in.

Will Shana discover that even when a woman loses everything, she can regain courage and strength through faith in God, and can Creighton allow God to heal scars and open the door to a lifetime with Shana?

LoRee, tell us how Creighton's Hideaway came about?

Creighton’s Hideaway started out with the working title “The Healing Hills.” God’s redeeming grace and my love for Nebraska’s sense of place come together in yet another of my stories. The setting was sparked by one of my brother’s ideas to have a getaway where cabins are spaced along a creek attached to pastureland. What better place than north central Nebraska?

How does your real life and spiritual life seep into your books?

Some people have the mistaken outlook that Christians have trouble-free lives. Not so. Many of the characters in my books come to terms with God's will through spiritual struggles. Not unlike many “real” people. My characters struggle with what real people deal with.

So what do any of us struggle with? We each have an ordained path of growth. We each have our weaknesses. We each have convinced ourselves of something that was misconstrued, and we let it color our outlook. We are emotional. We all are shaped according to the plan and perfect timing of our heavenly Father. In other words, my characters are people to me, with human attributes as well as faults.

I can’t help but put a little of what’s shaped me as a person into each of my stories. Alcoholism runs rampant in my family so that is part of who Creighton Rice is: a Christian man in recovery, who has a deep protective instinct, yet wants to be alone. He offers a vacant cabin to his sister’s best friend.

Shana Arnold grew up a spoiled only child and her father made decisions for her. As an adult she wants to live free to make her own choices on her own agenda. But now her boss says she needs to complete her degree. Since the women had done research and background training at a rehab facility not far from the ranch, it made sense to Creighton and his sister for Shana to stay.

Can you give Lagniappe's readers a glimpse into your typical writing day?

Many readers want a glimpse of an author’s typical writing day. I’ve tried a few but I don’t have any particular practices, tricks, or habits that I incorporate into my day to keep me on schedule. I once tried to have a “typical” writing day, but it remains a dream for me right now. When I chose early retirement from working as an editorial assistant, I did have a schedule that worked for a short time. My life is very distracted and goes different directions depending on the day. Life appointments, family, and obligations can interrupt my plans. Not to mention living in a good-sized home and tending rather large flower/rock gardens on the acreage.

I do attempt to begin the day asking the Lord to accomplish what He has planned for me at this time. Often, the day is not about me and I seek His guidance on particular projects. His time is perfect, no matter what comes my way. When I’m really in the zone and working on word count goals, I put a note on my keyboard to log 250 words before checking email. Most of the time that one page of new words turns into 750-1,000 words before I break. I also tell my husband I won’t answer the phone during certain times.

Can you share something that your readers don't know about you?

Often during an interview the question comes up about what people may not know about me. I’ll admit my respect for deep water. I don’t like being in water where my feet don’t touch the bottom. My adult kids were surprised when I started taking an aqua class a few years back. I admit to being a little fearful a couple times when we were supposed to pick up our feet and flow with the current using noodles. It is not my comfort zone at all. There is a reason for my reluctance, or three, actually. “Black Lake” was in the pasture next to the country school I attended. I fell through the ice twice as a young girl. One time an older boy pulled me out. While my clothing dried near the stove, I was wrapped up in a wool army blanket. I don’t remember the other time. I was ten years old the last time I fell when I knelt next to a deep, narrow gold fish pond at my dad’s cousin’s home. I leaned over too far and went in head first. My second cousin was working on the tractor in the yard. He saw what happened, scaled a six-foot fence, and pulled me out by my heels.

Have you ever stopped writing?

I can’t imagine not writing. There have been times where the well was dry, health issues came into play, or I was discouraged and didn’t write for a while. One time I actually “quit” for three months following my feelings of devastation over a rejection (that turned out to be a blessing). Even in those dry times, I took notes, journaled, or filed ideas. Story and character ideas come from life. Pictures, concepts, news articles, or various scenarios spark my curiosity and interest. I try to stay open to the prompting of the Spirit. And many times ideas or “fixes” for something I’m puzzling out come when I’m in the shower.

How does your faith and spiritual life affect your writing?

My faith and spiritual life play into the picture of my storytelling. I wouldn’t be writing if I didn’t believe I’m meant to write, as part of the Lord’s plan for my life. My characters face human struggles. They aren’t perfect, there’s always room for growth. They learn to lean on the Lord for His strength and guidance, the same as I do. Things fall apart when characters try to work on their own strength, just like I fall on my face if I don’t focus on Christ first. I’m growing along with my characters.

Yes, LoRee, I grow along with my characters as well!

Thank you, Marian, for the opportunity to be your guest.

Thank you for sharing!

Readers, thanks for visiting Lagniappe.

Be sure to leave a comment to let LoRee know you've been here!

I pray that each of you find 

"a little something extra" 

in each of your days.

Marian

What is God using to grow you?

Please Tweet: 
Romance in rugged isolation plus identity theft #Creighton’s Hideaway#LoRee Peery http://tinyurl.com/kv8jg93 #Chrific 

The Order of Events in Story - LoRee Peery

Lagniappe Welcomes...

Guest Blogger

LoRee Peery

Please welcome LoRee to Lagniappe. She gives wonderful writing tidbits on:

The Order of Events in Story

Writing, like our Christian walk, involves a lifetime of learning. 

I continually find things to change, eliminate, or improve upon. Each project teaches me something about my own writing, often my little oopsies. For some crazy reason, I’ve discovered I have a pet word, or several, that I use over and over in a story and I have to edit those out before submission.

I call my first draft polished prewriting. Order, or effect before cause, is one of the idiosyncratic writing issues I can still find when I take a second look (or fifth, seventh, or tenth look!). And I can’t thank my critique partners or editors enough for pointing out to me those places where events were out of order.

A few days back I sat down with my current WIP before me. I did what I often do in order to get into a scene for that day’s writing session, I looked back a couple paragraphs. 

This is what I found:

“He spoke softly, offering a half smile. She forced herself to look at him.”

Oops! I wrote her reaction before his preceding action. 

She had to be looking at him in order to see his smile.

In other words, something has to happen to render a response from a character. A writer needs to build on a previous event. How can I keep a reader in the emotion of a character if I slow things down by telling how my heroine “realized” something? I need to show it. (The old infamous, show, don’t tell.)

And it happened again the next day. I opened up my WIP, scrolled up, and read:

“She stepped aside when the afternoon receptionist came to the desk…”

Good grief, the receptionist had to come to the desk before my heroine could step aside.

It is prewriting, but I remind myself often now to again think about order. Putting actions in order should be simple but can still trip me up. 
Yep. I’m still learning.

Something happens. A character reacts. 

For a writer’s words to be effective, they must pull the reader in as events evolve. It’s easy to explain events. But for a character’s emotion to pull in the reader, the writer needs to touch emotion in the reader by drawing the reader in.

Any time I find that I’ve used the words after, when, or before, my inner red flag waves and I discover I have something to fix in my story. Those are some of my watch words when I edit completed drafts. But like many words, there are times they do work.

Out of order events kick the reader out of the character’s perception of what is happening in the story. And our stories are meant to keep on coming, as long as we write for our King.

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer,” —Psalm 19:14.

Thank you, Marian, for allowing me to visit your little spot here today. I love the word Lagniappe.

And thanks to all readers, everywhere.

The Frivolities Series is one of those God-things that just evolved. What a journey it was, because I sure never set out to write a series. Other than suspense, reunion stories are one of my favorites. I wrote of Moselle and Eric’s reunion in Moselle’s Insurance. At the end of their story, I didn’t really want to leave the kooky shop the women had established. In fact, a friend said she wanted to stay in Frivolities…. Fellow writers and critiquers commented along the way how much they enjoyed the secondary characters portrayed as Moselle’s mother and aunt. And one writer friend really liked the hero’s ex-wife.

I tucked those remarks away and still get tingly when I think how God worked it all out.

Moselle’s Insurance ~~ Frivolities is established

Creative artist Moselle Carson runs into firefighter Eric Todd and their former love returns to the forefront of their minds. Can Eric forgive himself and keep the secret that may redeem him in her eyes?

Rainn on My Parade ~~ The heroine, Geneva, is Moselle’s mother

Younger man Rainn Harris falls for Geneva Carson when she falls into his arms from a tree. As tension threatens to pull them apart, will they learn to rely on the Lord to direct their future?

Sage and Sweetgrass ~~ The heroine, Lanae, is Geneva’s sister

Survivor Lanae Petersen finds a moving love letter in an antique and seeks to discover the writer. Sage Diamond is holding on to the memory of his deceased wife. The last thing he needs is a tenacious woman who threatens to uncover his family secret.

Found in the Woods ~~ The heroine, Beth, is Eric’s ex-wife

Beth Phillips returns to Platteville to find purpose to her life. Aiden Holt, Nebraska Game and Parks, reluctantly follows up on reported wolf sightings along the Platte River. He encounters spunky Beth at the hurt end of a two-by-four. What is she so afraid of?

Lezlie’s Lifeline ~~ a dollar download ~~ Lezlie is Sage’s daughter

An accusation reunites Lezlie Diamond and Jordan Marshall – will a secret keep them apart?

LoRee Peery is the author of the Frivolities Series. An avid reader, one day she slapped a story in her lap and said, “I could write better than this.” Was that a lofty assumption or a nudge regarding God’s plans? Her dear hubby said, “Why don’t you?” And thus, her writing journey began.

I John 5:4 has a special place in her heart, for she believes she is an overcomer as well as victorious. "For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith."

She and her husband reside on an acreage in Nebraska. 

They have a blended family of five children and eleven grandchildren.

LoRee, thanks for stopping by!

Readers, thanks for visiting Lagniappe.

I pray that you find "a little something extra" in each of your days.

Marian