Charissa Stastny

Between Hope and the Highway – by Charissa Stastny

I recently finished reading a fun contemporary romance by Charissa Stastny called Between Hope & the Highway.

Sometimes things get so messed up you have to pick up and get the heck out of Dodge. That’s what Liz Ruthersford does. Memories can be weapons, and hers have become incoming missiles. Fleeing home and her parents’ pity, she seeks refuge on a remote ranch in Montana where no one knows her tragic past. When she meets Bentley and Rawson Law, brothers with wounds of their own, life veers off course. Embers of hope flicker to life, but will bias, bitterness, and misunderstanding smother them before they burn bright enough to warm her heart? Or will she hit the highway and run once again? For readers who crave a clean, yet heart-pounding romance and redemption story, this one’s for you.

MY THOUGHTS:

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Marching, Writing

MBM: How to Energize Your Writing by @CharStastny

Welcome to the fourth day of MARCH BOOK MADNESS! (Full explanation and schedule here.)

My friend Charissa Stastny is here today to talk about some great ways to energize our writing and make it sing. Charissa write’s romantic suspense novels that will get your heart racing, so if you haven’t read her books, check them out (links below her bio).

Here she is:

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Marching, Reading, Reviewing

MBM: The Importance of Writing Book Reviews by Charissa Stastny

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY (notice the green apple?) and welcome to the fifth day of March BOOK Madness. (For a complete schedule and explanation, see below this post. If you’ve missed any days, make sure to catch up! It’s been awesome!)

Today my friend, Charissa Stastny, is here discussing the importance of writing book reviews. Charissa and I have been online writing friends for a few years. She is a sweetheart, a successful blogger, and the talented author of three novels. Check out her info/books below. I’ve followed Charissa’s book reviews for some time now, and have found new favorite authors based on her suggestions, so I really appreciate her sharing this topic with us today.

Here she is.

The Importance of Reviews by Charissa Stastny

Have you ever thought about purchasing a book, yet you’re not quite sure whether the story will be a right fit for you or not? What do you do?

I go straight to reviews on Amazon or Goodreads and start skimming. After reading some good ones, a few bad ones, and some middle-of-the-line reviews, I get a fair idea of whether I want to buy the book. Books with few reviews make people wonder what’s wrong with it. There might be nothing wrong with the novel; it could be brand new or it might not be marketed well enough by the author or publisher to get into the hands of the right readership. But when consumers see few reviews, a red flag goes up in their mind. Without reviews to judge by, it’s hard to get a glimpse of whether a book is good or not.

That’s why EVERY review is important, whether it’s short or long, super funny or very basic.

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Reading, Reviewing

Hands of Mercy – Blog Tour by @CharStastny

My friend, Charissa Stastny, has a new book out. Hands of Mercy is the final book in her Bending Willow Trilogy, and I’m very excited for her.

I’d call this trilogy contemporary romantic suspense. The main characters are in their twenties. It’s a high speed, emotional read. Intense, too. (More info below interview)

Charissa is a talented writer, a great blogger, and just a sweet person, too. If you don’t already follow her online, check out her links below. I feel honored to be a part of her blog tour today.

As part of the tour, she answered a few questions so we can get to know her and her writing style.

Interview With Charissa Stastny

Most writers are readers. What are some of your favorite books?

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Writing

Citizens of Logan Pond Blog Tour

I’m so excited about my blog tour which is now underway. Hearing the positive response about my project that I’ve worked on now for six years has been overwhelmingly wonderful. Huge thanks to all who have or will be participating!

Each post is a little different so be sure to check them out. I’ll keep updating the links as they come in.

Don’t forget to enter to win a signed copy of the book + $25 Amazon gift card. Enter here!

SCHEDULE:

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Marching, Writing

MBM: Constructing Context Clues by Charissa Stastny

This is the last week of March Book Madness. (If you’ve missed any posts, you can catch the schedule and explanation at the bottom.)

Today my friend, Charissa Stastny, is here talking about how language can be both a barrier and a bridge to communication. Char is so sweet, and very supportive and helpful in the writing community. Check out her blog for great ideas. She wrote an awesome post last year for March Book Madness about weeding our words. (See the link below this post).

Mbm1

Charissa Stastny

In real life, words can take on so many meanings. Think of text messages that are used for a large part of communication. When one of my daughters was having a long distance relationship with a boy for a few months, they texted like crazy. They also fought about a lot of those texts.

I wondered why this was, and realized that words don’t convey emotion perfectly as we like to assume they do. They’re easily misunderstood when taken out of context.

Words are the basic building blocks of communication. When they are constructed carefully, they bridge the gap between us and others, welcoming them into our creative worlds. But when tossed around haphazardly, they can become piles of worthless rubble that hinder others from understanding us.

In order to be understood by others, we must also make sure we are not misunderstood.

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Editing

MBM: Weeding Your Words, by Charissa Stastny

Welcome to the first day of

MARCH BOOK MADNESS!

You can read more about March Book Madness here, but basically it’s an excuse for me to discuss everything about writing, editing, and reading books with some amazing authors and readers.

Fun, fun, fun!

Because I had so many awesome people agree to post, there will be a few extra days in March.

Here’s the schedule:

Tue, Mar 5: Weeding Your Words, by Charissa Stastny
Wed, Mar 6: Know Your Audience–Even the Subtle One, by Cindy Piper
Thu, Mar 7: Beating a Dead Horse, by Julie L Casey
Tue, Mar 12: Why Everyone Should Be a Writer, by Sharon Belknap
Wed, Mar 13: Reading in the Digital Age, by JoLynne Lyon
Thu, Mar 14: The Art of Accepting Criticism, by Mary Bateman-Mercado
Tue, Mar 19: Pinterested in Books, by Sarah Belliston
Wed, Mar 20: The Power of Storytelling, by Christopher Rosche
Thu, Mar 21: Never Pity the Adverb, by Anthony Mercado
Tue, Mar 26: Creating Flawed but Likeable Characters, by A.L. Sowards
Wed, Mar 27: Priorities and Choices for Writers, by Braden Bell
Thu, Mar 28: Premise vs Plot – Which Do You Have? by Janice Hardy

The collective talent listed above . . . Wow! It’s going to be a great month.

To start MARCH BOOK MADNESS, we have author, Charissa Stastny. Charissa’s second book was just released, entitled Secret Keepers. You can read about it here. It’s a sequel to Eyes of Light, a romantic suspense which I read and loved. Charissa has a way of creating realistic characters that are flawed but lovable. P 6902052 lus she’s great at teaching cultures. I learned a lot about Guatemala and organized crime while I read. I’m anxious to read the sequel to find out what happens to Suvi, James, and Austan.