A Model Character #writingcharacters #boxset #lastchancebeach


This week I asked our guest Caroline Clemmons if she ever modeled a character after a friend or family and to tell us all about the boxed set she is participating in. read to the end for some specials and maybe a free recipe book!

Hello Caroline! Thanks for stopping by this week.

In general, I believe modeling a character after a person is a mistake. Elmer Kelton once said he’d only used a real person once and never would again. As it turned out, everyone in town knew who the character was patterned after—except the person. For Mr. Kelton, it was too close a call for comfort.

However, rules are made to be broken. With the firm knowledge that she wouldn’t mind, I have used my mother as a character on several occasions.

Mother was a precious woman who dedicated her life to her family. When my three Stone brothers needed help in BRAZOS BRIDE, I used my mom and her sister as the two aunts who helped the brothers and then relocated and stayed on throughout the series. My mom and her sister, Elizabeth, were close and such fun together. Widows Maggie and Lizzie brighten the lives of those around them while cooking delicious dishes—just like the two women who served as their model. My mom was the model for the thin Maggie Jo Gamble and her sister was the model for the slightly chubby Lizzie Mae Fraser.  Those are family names in my mom’s family line. I enjoyed the fun of making two women I love a part of my series. Sadly, they’d both passed on by the time I wrote the Stone Mountain series. I like to think that they’re cooking up mischief and tasty dishes in Heaven. 

When the main character in my cozy mystery, DEATH IN THE GARDEN, needed a great-grandmother, I combined my mother and one of her and my friends named Opal to create a fun character. At least, I think she’s fun. Readers will have to decide if they agree. GiGi Gamble is as unique as the two women after whom she was modeled. I have to admit I love the character.

On one other occasion, I named a character after my mom as a surprise for her. I gave the heroine’s mother my mom’s maiden name, Lena Mae Phifer. Sadly, she passed away before I finished the story. I had to put it aside for a while before I could go back to it. When enough time had passed that I didn’t cry while writing, I finished SAVE YOUR HEART FOR ME and published it. She would have loved it. In my heart I’m sure she knows and it makes her smile.

Title: LAST CHANCE BEACH: SUMMER’S END

Author: Caroline Clemmons and 13 friends who are NY Times, USA Today, and bestselling authors

Publisher: Vita Via Publishing

Cover artist: Adina Mayo

Pages 483

Genre/heat rating PG13

Blurb

There’s still plenty of time to find summer fun and summer love, new romances and second chances, hot alpha males and heartwarming heroes, beach bunnies, dudes, and romance popping up when you least expect it.

Throw a log on the beach bonfire tonight and celebrate LAST CHANCE BEACH: Summer’s End, a special collection of 14 short stories from bestselling authors—all new, never published before—that will thrill the hopeful romantic in you. Some stories are sweet; some are sizzling hot. All will touch your heart and make you want to book a vacation to LAST CHANCE BEACH.

Only 99 cents and only for a limited time!

Purchase link is https://www.amazon.com/Last-Chance-Beach-Summers-End-ebook/dp/B08CV3GN3R

LAST CHANCE BEACH is the island paradise where dreams go to live again and wishes may come true. It’s Summer’s End on the island, and the cottages, condos, hotels, and bungalows are filled to capacity. Where is LAST CHANCE BEACH? The island is just off the mainland—wherever you want it to be.

Let your imagination carry you to the island!

Video is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1dAWk_o9Fk

Hot August Night by Joan Reeves, NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

Can a chef and a hot dog loving cop resist desire when they’re forced to share the same overbooked beach cottage?

Something New by Liz Flaherty, USA Today Bestselling Author

Their lives are all planned out—until they’re not.

I Do…Again by Nancy Fraser, Amazon Top 100 Author

Can they re-ignite what they once had and take a last chance on love?

The Man in Gull Cottage by Caroline Clemmons, Amazon Top 100 Author

Will the solution to her dilemma drive them apart or into one another’s arms?

That One Summer by Maddie James, Amazon Top 100 Author

He’s the one who got away. She’s the one who couldn’t commit.

Romancing the Spouse by Jan Scarbrough, Amazon Bestselling Author

Can she turn back the clock to save her marriage?

Blue Sky Summer by Kathleen Lawless, Amazon Bestselling Author

Of all the beaches on the coast, who does she see again? Him!

Hangover Husband by Bonnie Edwards, Amazon Bestselling Author

What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay there

One Last Shot by Marcia King-Gamble, National Bestselling Author

She can run, but can she hide?  Will love still find her?

Secondhand Hearts by Kathryn Hills, Award Winning Author

Life takes you down many winding paths. Will theirs lead to love on Last Chance Beach?

Paradise Perfume by Connie Vines, Award Winning Author

Fragrance and love cannot be hidden.

Dreams of the Past by Laura Hunsaker, Award Winning Author

Can dreams of the future erase her nightmares of the past?

Beach Kisses & Sunset Wishes by Nora LeDuc

She wants someone interested in a fling. He wants someone interested in a ring.

Can’t Buy Me Love by Hannah Rowan

Things aren’t always what they seem.

That’s not all—we have a FREE book of recipes for tempting cocktails to drink while you read! In case you don’t drink alcohol, the recipe I contributed is for an alcohol-free punch that also doesn’t leave a permanent stain when spilled.

https://www.amazon.com/Cocktails-Last-Chance-Beach-Reeves-ebook/dp/B08DR4K3YX

Cocktails on Last Chance Beach is the companion recipe book to Last Chance Beach: Summer’s End Box Set – available right here at Amazon.

What’s not to love about savoring a fruity, icy cocktail in the dog days of summer? Or sipping a crisp spritzer to wake up your senses after a sleepy afternoon on the beach? Can any of us resist a tart margarita or the lure of a tequila sunrise during a beachside seafood dinner? Perhaps there are those who could resist all of the above–but not the authors of the Last Chance Beach: Summer’s End collection of romantic short stories set–where else?–in Last Chance Beach.


Excerpt

Here’s an excerpt from the 4th story, THE MAN IN GULL COTTAGE:

He cleared his throat. “This part of the beach is private.”

She paused and stared at him. “What part?”

He jerked a thumb in the direction from which she’d come. “See the three round wooden pillars? That’s where my land starts.”

She turned and shielded her eyes with her hand. “Oh, I thought those were to keep people from driving their cars on the sand.”

“That, too, but one has a large sign that says Gull Cottage and Private Beach. That should have been a clue.”

She held up a kid’s plastic sand pail. “Are you saying I should return these shells I’ve collected for my niece?”

“I’m saying you’re on private property. I don’t care if you collect sea shells, but I’d appreciate you not disturbing anything else.”

“Like what? You think I’m coming up to rob your house? Wait, what if I took a clump of sea oats? Or a handful of your sand? Are you patrolling?”

He extended his hand palm out. “Don’t get mad at me when you’re the one trespassing. I meant collecting drift wood and sea glass or destroying sand dunes. I’m simply out here walking on my beach.”

She straightened her shoulders and looked at the barrier. “Well, see that you don’t walk on that side of those posts.”

“Ah, but I will and I can do so legally.” He gestured broadly. “The beach where you’re staying is public. This part is private. See the difference?”

“No, I don’t see the difference. It’s the same sand.”

Buy Linkshttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CV3GN3R

Meet Caroline Clemmons

Caroline Clemmons writes about handsome heroes, spirited women, and scheming villains in a tiny office her family calls her pink cave. She and her Hero live in North Central Texas where they ride herd on their dog and two rescued indoor cats as well as providing nourishment outdoors for squirrels, birds, and other critters.

The over sixty titles she has created in her pink cave have made her a bestselling author and won several awards. She writes sweet to sensual romances about the West, both historical and contemporary as well as time travel and mystery. When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her family, reading her friends’ books, lunching with friends, browsing antique malls, checking Facebook, and taking the occasional nap.

You find Caroline

Website https://www.carolineclemmons.com 

NL Link-subscribe for a FREE novella https://carolineclemmons.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=0a24664c906875718d975ad7b&id=7c2e488a51  

Amazon Author URL  https://www.amazon.com/Caroline-Clemmons/e/B001K8CXZ6/  

BookBub Author URL  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/caroline-clemmons

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CarolineClemmonsRomances 

Facebook Readers Group – Caroline’s Cuties https://www.facebook.com/groups/277082053015947/ 

Goodreads  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/458092.Caroline_Clemmons  

LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-clemmons-6130707/ 

Pinterest  https://www.pinterest.com/caroclemmons

Twitter  https://twitter.com/CarolinClemmons (no E in Caroline)

Backlist

Amazon Author Page URL  https://www.amazon.com/Caroline-Clemmons/e/B001K8CXZ6/

Upcoming (if you like)

Now on preorder!

 CHARLOTTE’S CHALLENGE, Golden Legacy Series, releases September 18, 2020

https://www.amazon.com/Charlottes-Challenge-Golden-Caroline-Clemmons-ebook/dp/B08DM3BD2Z

MEG, Angel Creek Christmas Brides, book 20, releases December 18

https://www.amazon.com/Angel-Creek-Christmas-Brides-Book-ebook/dp/B08BTB2HVJ/


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