Butterflies and Hormones with Elizabeth Seckman

Today I'm happy to welcome the wonderful Elizabeth Seckman to the blog. Elizabeth is here with an interesting little tidbit about love and the hormones that go along with it.

But first let me just say thanks to everyone who came by for yesterday's IWSG and offered encouragement about my writing funk while also supporting Christine Rains. As always you are all the best. :)

And now for Elizabeth and her latest, Defying Reason.

Did you know? 

The butterflies in the stomach feeling caused by love (or insane nervousness- the feelings are interchangeable) are caused by the increase in adrenaline. As love grows, the adrenaline is replaced by oxytocin (not to be confused with oxycodone, that's a whole different addiction). Oxytocin is the same hormone emitted by parents as they bond with their children. 

The Blurb:

Jo Leigh Harper comes from a long line of trouble-making, white trash stock.

Tanner Coulter comes from a longer line of wealth-creating, blue blood stock.

Jo graduated college top of her class, moving toward a future full of possibilities.

Tanner dropped out of college, trading a law degree for drinking games and one night stands.

A family crisis throws the rich party boy and the poor genius girl together. The attraction is immediate, though neither one is a heart-in-the-sand-drawing believer in true love. But as the summer sun heats up along the shores of the Outer Banks, so does the connection between them. Maybe, just maybe, they can win at love by defying reason.

 

Author Bio:

Elizabeth is a multi-published author of books for people who are believers in happily-ever- after, true love, and stories with a bit of fun and twists with their plots. The mother of four young men, she tackles laundry daily and is the keeper of the kitchen. She lives along the shores of the Ohio River in West Virginia, but dreams daily of the beach. 

Facebook/ Blog/ Website/ Buy Link

Zinc & Bella's Point Cover Reveal

So we've reached the end of another A to Z Challenge! I couldn't find a picture to go along with my Z post so I'm so glad the Challenge blog makes these badges available for us.

It was hard to find anything for Z anyway, so I was thrilled when I discovered that a Civil War statue in the town of Oak Bluffs was made of zinc! I thought, bingo! :D

The statue has an interesting history, as it was commissioned by Charles Strahan, a veteran of the Confederacy who moved to Martha's Vineyard after the Civil War and became the publisher of the Martha's Vineyard Herald. In spite of the fact that he fought for the Confederacy, Strahan erected the statue as a memorial to Union soldiers. Strahan wanted the statue to serve as an icon of healing after the violence of the war.

In 2001 the statue was restored and rededicated, with descendants of Mr. Strahan attending the ceremony.

And that ends my A to Z of Martha's Vineyard! Thanks to everyone who has come by here and made this another fun April. And special thanks to all the co-hosts who do so much work to keep this event running year after year.

Well done, all!

In addition to finishing up the Challenge, I'm also happy to be sharing the cover for Elizabeth's Seckman's novel Bella's Point. Here is the scoop on what is sure to be a great book:

Did you know? Bella has survived the Civil War. Now she must survive the Reconstruction. During that time, white Republicans were called Scalawags in the south. 

Isabella Troy Stanley is a divorced, slave freeing pariah surviving in the shattered post Civil War south the only way a fallen debutante knows how. 

She heads to a Yankee prison and buys herself a husband. 

Jack Byron is the former Troy plantation stable boy and object of young Bella's affection. He rejected her then, and he's still not sold on the idea of marrying her now.  

 It’s complicated.

 Though to Bella, it’s simple: make Jack love her, marry her, and live happily ever after. The plan seems to work...at least until her secret is revealed.

Elizabeth is a wife, a mom, and a writer. She has four wonderful boys, one dusty house, and three published books to her credit. Feel free to check them out and buy them HERE! Erm, the books, not the kids or the house...though all things in life are negotiable ;)

You can find her here - Blog // Facebook // Twitter

Cover art by Sprinkles on Top Studios.

Congratulations to Elizabeth!!

My A-Z of Martha's Vineyard theme was inspired by my book, The Ghosts of Aquinnah, which is set on the island. Click here for all the info on the book.

Social Work Training and Writing Skills - Guest Post from Elizabeth Seckman

I've been on a bit of an unplanned blogging break in order to force myself to focus on writing, so I'm thrilled to have Fate Intended author Elizabeth Seckman here to help hold down the fort. Elizabeth and I are both former social workers, so it was fun for me to read her take on how this training can help with writing. I hadn't really thought about it before, but I agree with her points. Especially the one about the low pay. :D

Take it away, Elizabeth!


Hi Julie! Thanks for having me over. Running around the blogosphere and trying to come up with ideas can be hard, but every now and then, an idea feels like a perfect fit. Like with you! I know we share a background in social work, and I don't know if you agree, but I think this background has helped me as much as English class in developing writing skills.

1. Social workers see all sides of the human condition. The good, the bad, the unbelievable. No need for flat characters when you have met so many characters.

Not a social worker? Read true stories on the human condition. Read the kind that make you cringe, A Child Called "It" ,and the kind that restore your faith like Mother Teresa, an Authorized Biography.

2. Social workers are paid to listen, to absorb the person's speech pattern and reflect it back to them. Imitating dialogue becomes a natural condition. 

Not a social worker?  Active listening is a learned skill. Listen without the brain noise. Stop thinking about what you will say next or what you need to pick up from the grocery store. Just be still and pay attention.

3. Social workers are taught to be information gatherers and evaluators. It's easy enough to write down all the facts, but what do they mean; how do they influence the situation?

This is one of those things where practice and organization makes perfect. I like to keep a folder for each project, so as I print information or take notes, I can keep them all in one place with a notation on top about what it's about. For a book I might have: setting, character, plot, etc. 

 4. Social workers are trained in personality and family assessment theory. We know that the family condition at age two can have an effect on personality twenty years later.

Not a social worker? Read books on personality development. One of my preferred reads in that area is Erikson's Identity and the Life Cycle. 

5. Social workers are used to working hard for little money. Those tiny book checks barely phase the "oh so used to being poor crowd".

Now, that whole getting used to being poor thing? There is no book on that, but I suppose you could start sending your excess cash to Julie and me. We are natural team players, and we'd take one for the good of the group. 



Fate Intended is the third book in the Coulter Men Series.  Trip is the last of the Coulter sons to find love. He’s a handsome man with all the skills a young spy needs to succeed. But when it comes to love, he misses the target. Jane is a sweet beauty who may or may not be wanted for murder. She’s hiding out as a cleaning lady when chance brings her and Trip together. It looks like a happily ever after is in the cross hairs until reality tries to destroy what fate has intended.

Elizabeth Seckman is a simple chick with a simple dream…to write stories people want to read.

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