Nancy Radke
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Variations on Cinderella

2/6/2015

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WHERE DO IDEAS COME FROM?  How can so many writers take one topic, for example "Cinderella," and come up with so many variations? Well, part of it is imagination, but a larger part is past experiences, either gone through or experienced vicariously. Little parts of us get dropped into our books, so that our characters think and act and get into situations that involve some of our past experiences--physical or mental. 

To develop experiences is why authors take weird vacations, snoop around in unexpected places, interview police detectives, and are just plain curious about everything, including what makes folks tick. Who else would sit in a bus terminal, or a mall, and write down descriptions of the way different people walk? And yes, people do walk differently when they are in certain places. Or sit in a coffee shop and make notes on how people talk? Not the content, but the speech patterns and general impression each speaker gives.

For example, I have a notebook that is just for ideas, and it includes methods of speaking and walking and how people use their hands.  It includes lines from movies that impressed me, and bits of scenes from movies where I describe what was happening in detail.  Like the scene in Michael Keaton's Batman, where he is trying to tell her who he is. He practices several times. Never gets it done, but it's an ideal example of what a man goes through when he's trying to get up nerve to ask a woman to marry him.

I write sweet romances, thrillers, and westerns. My books are always clean of sex and swearing, and have been read by kids as young as 13. My westerns pull ideas from research, from my great grandmother's journal that she wrote after coming west on a wagon train, from other books and movies, but a lot of it comes from first-hand experience. I grew up on a wheat and cattle ranch, rode horses from three years old and onward, often from sun-up to sundown, herded our cattle to and from the mountain pastures, helped in the branding, cooking, milking, pig chasing, varmint shooting, tractor driving, and fence fixing. Later I took an outward-bound course and learned survival swimming and mountain climbing. These all provide little nuggets of detail that I put in my stories, such as the swimming scene in Spirit of a Champion, making them more authentic.

I got the idea for The Bravest Woman in the Town through research. During the Civil War, the southern women smuggled guns and boots and other items out of Union controlled Nashville, by hanging them on hooks worn under their petticoats. I cast my Trahern man as a spy, and got them both into trouble. Research is also why I've had people ask me if I came from Texas, which I didn't. I've lived in Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. Other places I've visited, like Puerto Rico, helped me write Songs for Perri and Height of Danger. The web is full of detailed, sometimes eye-witness, information.

My great-grandmother's journal was the basis for the first Trahern story, and I've used information from it in other stories. I just finished the 13th book of that series, which takes different members of the same large Tennessee family (and their cousins), and brings them west. I've had them travel by wagon train, horseback, stagecoach, train, ship, farm wagon, and walking part way.  In my most recent release, #13, The Sunniest Gal from Tennessee, Mary Trahern goes west on the train, which was just united (almost) to reach from coast to coast. I say almost, because they had to get off the train at the Missouri River and cross the river on boats. Of course, she only has enough money to get to Cheyenne. Doesn't know anyone. Doesn't have a job. She can shoot a gun. Let the fun begin.

Nancy Radke is an Amazon best-selling author with over 25 books on her shelf. She loves to write romances, but wants more than just the romance to fill the story, so usually has some sort of dastardly deed being committed. A touch of humor here and there and usually an animal will join the book somewhere along the way. She has four series, The Sisters of Spirit (9 books), The Brothers of Spirit (1 book), The Traherns (13 novellas), and a DVD picture Bible series, The Show & Tell Bible, which has 1500 pictures in the first two volumes. Also 3 non-fiction teaching books, published in print form.

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Fan Letter for "Tennessee Touch"

1/7/2015

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Just in time for the football playoffs, here's a fan letter about TT and part of my answer.

Ms.Radke,
I just finished reading Tennessee Touch. I was thrilled to find out Alison was a sign language interpreter. I am a ASL interpreter as well as a CODA. Yours is the first mainstream book I have read with an interpreter as a main character.
My question to you is, where did you get the knowledge to present interpreting/Deaf culture so accurately? You were spot on about interpreters. 
Thank you for being such a fantastic writer. I am reading my way through all of your books, and I will say I have yet to find one that did not enthrall me and draw me in. You have done an excellent job.


Dear D...,
I'm so glad you are enjoying my books. I love both football and baseball, so I expect one day to write a baseball story, but no plot or character has come to me yet. 

My daughter is an interpreter, so she read the manuscript and made sure I was accurate. Also, she met a fellow on the freeway this way, although he was really deaf. She told me that sometimes a group will meet and sign to each other, some will leave and others will keep signing, only to find out that they can all hear. I just had to put that into a story. Now my granddaughter is learning to sign, and they sign to each other across the room.

I just finished the first of the Brothers of Spirit story, Heights of Danger, using some of the characters from Songs for Perri. You may want to check it out later. 
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New Writers's Group ~ The Authors' Billboard

12/4/2014

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I've been working hard with about 30 other authors to promote each other's books. Our FaceBook site is The Authors' Billboard  www.facebook.com/theauthorsbillboard  and our Pinterest site is  www.Pinterest.com/authorsbillboar   (notice no 'd' at the end) 
We put up the latest news on the FB site, but all our books are available at Pinterest, along with free and 99¢ book promotions. I encourage all of you to come to the Pinterest site and check out our books. We regularly will run sales and you'll find new books just out on the new book board.  These are Indie (independent) authors who are known to be good writers. Some have left traditional publishing houses to write independently, as they actually make more money this way and have more control over their books. We have New York best selling writers in our group, as well as Amazon top 100 authors, of whom I am one. We also have an author from England and a couple from Canada.

 This has taken a lot of my time, but in the meantime, Nolan and I finished Height of Danger. I should have it up, Lord willing, by next week, just in time for the Authors' Billboard December sales event. I'll write about it next week, when it goes up. Mahalo! (Which is a Hawaiian word meaning "thank you.")


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FREE SATURDAY Nov. 15 one day only Take a thrilling ride with a clean novella: A Tennessee Christmas 

11/15/2014

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Free Friday

10/16/2014

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Friday, October 17th, the Richest Man in Texas (A Trahern western) will be free all day.  http://www.amazon.com/Richest-Traherns-Pioneer-Western-ebook/dp/B00FX5338S/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1382035889&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Richest+Man+in+Texas

Cole Trahern tries to rescue a girl and her Spanish gold from outlaws who want both. 
“A nice change of plot from the typical historical novel `with a bit of tension as the bad guys try to take down the good guys. Very much a "morals" novel and quite enjoyable, easy read but definitely not totally relaxing as the plot thickened.” 
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