Jun11
Cover Reveal – YA Novel by S. F. Chancellor
Tag Archives: Books
Oct30
Expecting New Contract
I got the news last night that I’ll be receiving a contract on my story set in my hometown of Pensacola, Florida. The title is Til Murder Do Us Part. Here is a short blurb:
Margot Jenkins is a one-time coroner on a mission to bring her former brother-in-law to justice for killing her sister. Richard Higgins is the hot-shot detective assigned to assist her. Margot tends to lead with her heart and gets into numerous dangerous situations that imperil not only her investigation but her very life.
I’m excited to bring this tale to the world and share some of my favorite places to eat in Pensacola- my characters eat at a number of locally-owned restaurants that serve awesome food! I’ll be posting some pictures of the places soon.
Sep20
It’s Release Day! Senior Assassin
It’s here! YAY- I’m excited to say that Senior Assassin is out in the world. I checked on my publisher’s website for the link but the site appears to be down for maintenance. I found the link on Amazon for the paperback but not kindle. I found the e-version on Kobo and both at Barnes and Noble.
Here are two editorial reviews:
http://www.blackopalbooks.com – Taylor Jones
The story is reminiscent of an Agatha Christie mystery, a cross between Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. The storyline is intriguing, the characters charming, and the romance sweet. Chancellor gives an authentic view of what life was like for a “middle class” librarian, trying to mingle with “upper class” aristocrats on a luxury train. If you’re looking for something an old-fashioned mystery/romance, it would be hard to go wrong with Senior Assassin.
http://www.blackopalbooks.com – Regan Murphy
I thoroughly enjoyed Senior Assassin. Since I’m a big Agatha Christie fan, this book was right up my alley. It’s a refreshing change from all the blood and gore so prevalent in mysteries today. That’s not to say there’s no blood in the book, but Chancellor does keep it to a minimum. The plot is strong, the characters charming and well-developed, and romance sweet and heartwarming. This is the kind of book you’ll want to keep on your shelf to read over and over again.
Jun8
Senior Assassin- Setting the Mood
I have no idea who took it so I can’t credit it here but if anyone seeing this knows, please let me know so I can take it down or give proper credit. Thanks!
My novel coming soon from Black Opal Books is called Senior Assassin and this is the picture I sent in that I think evokes the mood of the book- of course the cover itself will look quite different. The story is a murder mystery set in 1935 and takes place on the luxury train, The Orient Express. I’m excited for it to come out. I’ll share the blurb soon. 
Apr22
SALE! For Earth Day
All Romance E-Books is having a 1/2 price sale for Earth Day on April 21, 2014 only. Grab some books on sale. Here’s a link to one of my favorite author friends.
Check it out before it’s too late. Give the Earth a hug today like this climber is and read some great stories when you get through!
Jan27
Started a New Story
I started a new story today- I have like 208 words so far and have no idea what it’s going to be about or where it’s going. A scene came to me as I drove this morning so I jotted part of it when I got to where I was going. I think the first line is a doozy and I can’t wait to see where my mind takes me with this one. I’ve had this first line in my head for a while so I’m sure the old subconscious has been mulling it over and is ready to feed me the story since it fed me the scene today.
I love, love the joy of the journey of discovery on first drafts.
Jul15
Book Review- Murder DeJa Vu- Polly Iyer
Murder Deja Vu by Polly Iyer was an enjoyable read. It started a little slow for me. The hero in the story spent fifteen years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit and once he’s out and an investigator for his lawyer is trying to uncover the truth, another murder occurs. This murder is of a local woman and is carried out in the same manner. This is when the action picked up considerably in the story.
The villains in this story were very evil, especially the former husband of the heroine. He’s the local prosecutor and has an agenda of his own and while I enjoyed the story, the only part that I didn’t like is that we didn’t get to see him get his comeuppance. It was almost an aside at the end of the book. I really, really would have liked a scene where we, as the readers, could watch as he went down.
I recommend this one. The writing is clean and clear and the author will take you on an adventure.
Jun1
Dilemma
It’s a dilemma when you read a book by someone you like and want to do a review for but there was actually more you didn’t like in the story than you did. I’ve recently had this experience again and I did leave the review but it’s very short and incomplete since i didn’t want to hurt this person’s feelings. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that not all books will appeal to every person and I also know that there are probably some of my stories that people don’t like but I still don’t want to say things that would cause someone angst about their work.
This book I read had a great story premise but I didn’t like the heroine. She was one of those that did some really dumb things and seemed weak. I have a real hang-up about heroines like that. I actually think it’s because I’m strong myself and have zero patience for reading about someone who isn’t.
One of the other issues with the story, I blame on the editor. One of the big reasons for editors is for them to find repetitive words and/or phrases that the writer uses. I always, always have what I call a crutch word in each of my stories (and they are usually different for each one). I try to catch them myself but sometimes I don’t. This book I just read had a crutch phrase and it was used 25 times in a story that was less than 200 pages long. It started to feel like I was being bopped in the head with it. I even at one time said out loud, “Okay, I get it.”
So, what do you do if asked to do a review and there’s not much to say?
Apr9
Young Adult Novel
I’ve now written a young adult novel and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. I’ve already edited it and sent it out to a couple of agents. It’s a story about magic and is a bit of an adventure. I like a lot of stuff going on in the books I read and so I tend to load up the ones I write, too.
This story is kind of a mashup of Mean Girls and The Craft with a side dose of a teen crush.
I’m hoping that others whom I’ve shared this one with like it. It was a departure for me to go back to the first person writing I did when I started and it was also a new age group for the protagonists so I hope that the young adult voice is acceptable. One other writer I know who does children’s stories told me she thought I had a great YA voice. Let’s hope she’s right.
The inspiration for this story was something that happened to me a bit over a year ago and this was my way of working out in my head that the events that occurred weren’t all on me. LOL
Mar1
Working on a Young Adult Novel
I’ve bitten the bullet and started a young adult novel. I’m only about 1600 words in and so far, I’m loving it. I’m not entirely sure what the plot is or how it will pan out but it’s been a wonderful couple of days of a bit of writing here and there on it.
I sometimes use my writing to work thorough angst I’ve had in my life and this little story started as one of those kinds of excercises. It has now taken on a life of its own as my stories are prone to do. I love it.
My working title is Here There be Witches. It cracks me up and I guess that’s a good thing, right?
