Guest Post!
A day in the life of the author?
My days revolve around several compelling interests.
In each day I try to include: Meditation, Gospel Study, Yoga, Elliptical exercise, cooking wholesome meals from scratch, housework, reading, gardening, and continuing with home remodeling projects.
And, of course, working daily on my current novel: “Youngblood’s Rules”, which I’m either editing, generating new drafts, or focused on plotting.
Advice you would give new authors?
Oh my goodness, believe in yourself! I truly believe in the affirmation that states: No desire was ever planted within the heart of a man to accomplish something, save he was blessed with the means to achieve that goal.
Accept where you are right now on your writer’s journey. The sheer act of writing will improve your ability to write.
Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
A River Ames novel is a love story between a man and a woman who, despite their internal and external conflicts, are absolutely perfect for each other. I really try to tap into the warmth and humor of everyday encounters that transcend the ordinary. My books bring to life a world that is overflowing with strong values. My characters grow and change, make stunning discoveries about themselves, and reach a point where they must find the courage to reach out and take what Providence has offered them.
Are you at all like your main characters?
I can really identify with my heroines. They are goal-focused and spend way too much time organizing and planning their lives. When the hero enters their world, it is always at the most inconvenient of times. Also, as my heroines tend to be overly analytical, they usually expect to fall in love with entirely different sorts of men.
As for my heroes… They are such “guys”, meaning they may be heroic in nature, but for them women in general are an alien species. When they meet my heroines, they’re never happy about finding themselves drawn to women who stir their protective instincts while at the same time awakening attractions that interfere with their very strong views on the lives they are determined to live.
In each day I try to include: Meditation, Gospel Study, Yoga, Elliptical exercise, cooking wholesome meals from scratch, housework, reading, gardening, and continuing with home remodeling projects.
And, of course, working daily on my current novel: “Youngblood’s Rules”, which I’m either editing, generating new drafts, or focused on plotting.
Advice you would give new authors?
Oh my goodness, believe in yourself! I truly believe in the affirmation that states: No desire was ever planted within the heart of a man to accomplish something, save he was blessed with the means to achieve that goal.
Accept where you are right now on your writer’s journey. The sheer act of writing will improve your ability to write.
Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
A River Ames novel is a love story between a man and a woman who, despite their internal and external conflicts, are absolutely perfect for each other. I really try to tap into the warmth and humor of everyday encounters that transcend the ordinary. My books bring to life a world that is overflowing with strong values. My characters grow and change, make stunning discoveries about themselves, and reach a point where they must find the courage to reach out and take what Providence has offered them.
Are you at all like your main characters?
I can really identify with my heroines. They are goal-focused and spend way too much time organizing and planning their lives. When the hero enters their world, it is always at the most inconvenient of times. Also, as my heroines tend to be overly analytical, they usually expect to fall in love with entirely different sorts of men.
As for my heroes… They are such “guys”, meaning they may be heroic in nature, but for them women in general are an alien species. When they meet my heroines, they’re never happy about finding themselves drawn to women who stir their protective instincts while at the same time awakening attractions that interfere with their very strong views on the lives they are determined to live.
Jared Sherman has been coerced into spending six months of his life in the small Missouri town of Green River. His uncle wants to merge their businesses, but before the older man will talk business, he’s made it a pre-condition of the agreement that his nephew move to Green River.
Jared, a big city sophisticate, is having trouble wrapping his mind around country living. He feels as if he’s traded in his life in the fast line for a sojourn straight out of a rerun of the “Andy Griffith” show.
Except, Jared doesn’t remember an episode that had Sheriff Andy standing in the buff with only a flimsy pair of frilly curtains preserving what’s left of his dignity while being surrounded by the broken glass of his bedroom window.
Cue Amelia Greene.
“Call 911, and I’ll break your arm.”
She can understand him not wanting anyone else to see him in this bizarre situation, but his tone is unacceptable.
Being the good neighbor that she is, and because it was her younger brother whose baseball smashed through Jared’s window, Amelia helps Jared free himself from the shards of glass essentially holding him hostage.
Jared Sherman is a man who’s counting the hours until he can escape the confines of country living. Another countdown is underway, however.
He’s counting down the next time he can steal another sweet kiss from a woman who’s so devious he can’t figure out how she manages to be so darned seductive. Maybe by wearing her flaming hair in a bun, going about in long-sleeve blouses, and forgoing expensive perfumes, she’s discovered a sure-fired way to entice even the most dyed-in-the-wool bachelor.
Who would have ever thought the natural look could inflame a man’s desires?
Good grief, she was literally the girl next door.
But, he was a man who had no intention of living in the boondocks, minus the docks.
Jared, a big city sophisticate, is having trouble wrapping his mind around country living. He feels as if he’s traded in his life in the fast line for a sojourn straight out of a rerun of the “Andy Griffith” show.
Except, Jared doesn’t remember an episode that had Sheriff Andy standing in the buff with only a flimsy pair of frilly curtains preserving what’s left of his dignity while being surrounded by the broken glass of his bedroom window.
Cue Amelia Greene.
“Call 911, and I’ll break your arm.”
She can understand him not wanting anyone else to see him in this bizarre situation, but his tone is unacceptable.
Being the good neighbor that she is, and because it was her younger brother whose baseball smashed through Jared’s window, Amelia helps Jared free himself from the shards of glass essentially holding him hostage.
Jared Sherman is a man who’s counting the hours until he can escape the confines of country living. Another countdown is underway, however.
He’s counting down the next time he can steal another sweet kiss from a woman who’s so devious he can’t figure out how she manages to be so darned seductive. Maybe by wearing her flaming hair in a bun, going about in long-sleeve blouses, and forgoing expensive perfumes, she’s discovered a sure-fired way to entice even the most dyed-in-the-wool bachelor.
Who would have ever thought the natural look could inflame a man’s desires?
Good grief, she was literally the girl next door.
But, he was a man who had no intention of living in the boondocks, minus the docks.
River Ames spent the first eighteen years of her life in Southern California. Here is a partial list of some of the cities in which she lived: Pasadena, South Pasadena, Duarte, El Monte, Arcadia La Puente, Lomita, West Covina, Pacifica, Santa Monica, Palmdale, and Hacienda Heights. In some of those cities, she lived at six different addresses. In the city of La Puente, River's family lived in four different houses on the same street. The non-glamorous reason for all the moves was habitual eviction necessitated for non-payment of rent. It was an interesting way to grow up.
River attended twenty-six different elementary schools, two different junior high schools and four different high schools. In one elementary school, she was a student for only three days.
Perhaps, because she was so frequently identified as the "new girl," the pattern of River being an observer instead of a participant in the interactions going on around her seemed a logical fit for her personality.
When she was thirteen, River read "Gone with the Wind." She skipped three days of school in order to finish the book in one sitting. Disappointed in Rhett for "not giving a damn," River wrote her own sequel--in long hand, on three-hole punch, notebook paper. The opening line? "Tomorrow dawned bright and fair." In less than fifty pages, Scarlett had been transformed into Jane Eyre and Rhett had fallen in love with her all over again.
After Southern California, River has spent the next part of her life living in the semi-rural town of Idaho Falls, Idaho. She is a graduate of Idaho State University, majoring in Health Education Sciences and Addiction Counseling. She's worked the past ten years at a Behavioral Health Center where she assisted children, teenagers, and adults committed in a 24/7 secured facility because of mental health challenges they are experiencing.
River's books celebrate the good-natured humor that lays at the heart of most of our human predicaments. The conflicts are significant, yet it is her characters and their quirky (yet somehow universally relatable) thoughts, words, and choices that reflect a light-hearted peek into a world we wish was real. The amazing thing is that these worlds are real to readers for the time they visit there.
Readers have said: "In a River Ames book, one minute I'm laughing out loud, and the next I have a lump in my throat."
River is currently readying a historical novel, "Gideon's Justice." This three-part novel is Book I in a three volume western series set in the Colorado Territory.
enjoyed the blog post..river is a new author for me
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