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Richelle E. Goodrich
Finding the Right Words
Thursday, September 5, 2024
New Book Release!
Friday, August 9, 2024
Discover Annabelle Fancher's Story: Enter to Win
UPDATE: 09/16/2024
Chosen by random drawing, the following individuals have each won a signed paperback copy of my book, Dandelions: The Disappearance of Annabelle Fancher. Each winner, please look for an email from Richelle Goodrich. I need your physical mailing addresses to send out the book copies.
Book winners are listed in the order in which their names were randomly drawn.
#1 Maria Carmen
#2 Kat Miner
#3 William GeLinas
and a fourth luck winner just because it's my birthday...
#4 Robyn Konopka
Visit RichelleGoodrich.com and enter both your name and email address for one chance to win a signed paperback copy of the novel, Dandelions: The Disappearance of Annabelle Fancher, and be added to Richelle E. Goodrich's mailing list for her periodic newsletter.*
This book giveaway ends September 16th, 2024. Winners will be posted here as well as on the author's official website, Facebook page, and Instagram account.
Enter today to win 1 of 3 signed copies!
BOOK SUMMARY:
What does a child do when life hurts? She dreams up a hero.
A childhood trial of survival.
Realism and fantasy beautifully intertwined.
This is a fictional tale that mirrors the unfortunate reality of many young people whose home lives are private nightmares. Annabelle's story tenderly acquaints the reader with her lonely struggles while sharing her courage in the face of adversity. Many of the events were taken from the real lives of individuals known by the author.
Annabelle Fancher lives with her mother and her often-absent, alcoholic father. When he is not on the road, his presence at home creates heightened anxiety in his wife and daughter—fear caused by years of abuse. Annabelle copes with her circumstances by escaping into popular fairy tales where she dreams characters to life. When her dreams cross over into waking fantasies, and the ghostly image of a dreamed character appears before her, Annabelle begins a real struggle to separate reality from pretend and sanity from beautiful madness.
* You can unsubscribe to the periodic newsletter at any time.
Thursday, July 4, 2024
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Memorial Day and My Dad
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Reading With Goodreads
This year, 2024, I set my Goodreads reading goal small―a total of 10 books in all. So far, I have made it through one and a half. Most of the time I read thicker books because I like a story with substantial character and plot development. I do use Audible on occasion; however, I prefer curling up on the sofa with a tangible book in my hands. Paperback or hardcover, it does not matter so long as I can feel the texture of the pages as my fingers turn them one by one.
After finishing Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross, I started Eragon again, written by Christopher Paolini. I first read Eragon about fourteen years ago and loved it. This time around I am finding it even more enjoyable as I note details missed during the first read. I plan to get through all four books in this series, hopefully before the end of 2024. I’ll let you know how it goes.
In the meantime, give Goodreads a try for yourself and make a personal reading goal. It can be as few or as many books as you like; you set the pace. Let me know if you add one of my books to your reading list; I would love that.
Happy reading, everyone!
―Richelle E. Goodrich
Thursday, February 8, 2024
Valentine's Cupid and True Love
You know Cupid. That naked, chubby, smiling cherub who shoots his magic arrows at unsuspecting men and women to make them fall in love. He is a busy little match-maker whose image appears on many Valentine's Day cards. Now, I do not believe in an actual Cupid any more than I believe in the reality of Greek gods, but I do believe in the genuineness of love. True love. Love that equates with service and sacrifices made over time. What is this kind of love? I'll let Derian answer that question for you as he answered it for Eena in the book, Eena, The Return of a Queen. I think he got it spot on.
“Love is so much more than an emotion. True love, Eena, is something that develops over time. It’s not the initial infatuation nor the shivers and butterflies that take your breath away when you’re first attracted to someone. Those things are nice, but they are barely the beginning of what could become true love."
She shook her head. “I don’t quite follow.”
The captain inched closer, fixing her with the sincerest of gazes. His hands cupped as if he were holding his very heart in them.
“True love is a developed and intense appreciation for someone. It’s that perfect awareness you’re finally whole when she’s with you, and that hollow incompleteness you suffer when she’s gone. True love takes time. It’s an earned comfort that tells you she’ll be right there beside you no matter what you do, not necessarily happy with your every action, but faithful to you just the same. Love is knowing someone so deeply, understanding her so completely, you can finish her thoughts without hesitation, confident in reading her face, her body, even her slightest gesture means something to you. Love is years of devotion, sacrifice, commitment, loyalty, trust, faith, and friendship all wrapped up as one. True love does more than cause your heart to flutter. It upholds your heart when the infatuation no longer makes it flutter.”
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Life is Like a Lengthy Road Trip
My husband and I traveled more over the holidays than we have traveled in ages, spending over two weeks driving and flying from destination to destination. The trip was necessary, occasionally fun, every so often difficult, but definitely worth it. During the last two weeks of December, 2023, we were able to attend one son’s college graduation at Brigham Young University-Idaho as well as participate in three separate Christmas celebrations with family members.
While driving from Oklahoma to Tennessee to reach our little two-bedroom apartment we presently reside in, I was telling my husband that I felt our trip was a mini model of life. The whole trip was too short in some ways, yet it felt exceptionally long in other ways. We were able to spend precious moments with family members—talking, relaxing, and celebrating. I felt appreciation for the relationships I have with family and friends. We caught up on personal news, feasted on delicious dinners, and hugged each other a lot. There were difficult and disappointing moments too. For instance, I got sick with food poisoning which put me down for a couple of days (an awful way to clean out your system.) My husband felt the onset of cold symptoms on Christmas day; I was right behind him two days later. Luckily, no one else caught the virus, so we managed not to share it. There were other good points and difficult points about the trip. The airports and flights were great. The driving conditions and roads were clear—exceptional conditions for winter months in the Pacific Northwest. There was too much driving overall: one trip from Salt Lake City, Utah to Rexburg, Idaho and then back; one trip from Salt Lake City, Utah to Central Washington and then back; and one trip from Oklahoma to Tennessee. That was about 2,700 miles driven! Not to mention the two plane rides. Yes, the traveling was tiring.
The interesting thing to me is how both good and unpleasant moments
comprised the trip. We experienced the greatest days as well as miserable days.
If I wanted, I could list an abundance of blessings we received,
while on the other hand I could list an abundance of hard disappointments. That
is why I say it was like a mini model of life. The trick was deciding where to
concentrate our attention. If I focused on the food poisoning, the many hours
of driving, the friends I was unable to visit, the small and uncomfortable beds,
the amount of money spent, the coughing and sneezing on the drive home, etc.—it
would be easy to argue that this was a really bad trip. But the thing is, it
wasn’t! it was wonderful! Why? Because I focused on the chance to see my
kids and my family, the warm hugs I gave and received, the delicious dinners we
shared, the gifts we exchanged, the perfect weather we were blessed with for
driving, the safe travels, the chance to see my mom and sisters and nieces and
nephews, the opportunity to attend a Jazz basketball game, the quick recovery
from illness, etc. It is all in what we choose to focus on. Good and bad exist
in everything. How we view an event, a trip, a relationship, a lifetime depends
on what aspects we choose to focus on. I am truly grateful to know that life honestly
feels better when we focus on the good.
Yes, life is like a lengthy road trip, filled with great
moments as well as unpleasant moments. It is our focus that determines whether our
travels through this life are deemed positive or not.
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Werewolves Howl, Phantoms Prowl
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Tuesday, October 24, 2023
How to Leave a Book Review on Amazon
Here is a question I am asked frequently: Is it a requirement to buy a book from Amazon to leave a rating and review for it on their website?
The answer: No. Anyone can leave a book review on Amazon, even if you did not buy the book from them. Even if you did not buy the book at all! Of course, you should read the book before leaving a review; we want honest and fair responses. But once you have experienced the story, it is a simple process to leave a quick rating and review.
Why take the time? Because you enjoyed the book. Because you appreciate the author. Because ratings and reviews help authors receive more visibility. As book ratings climb, the book's visibility climbs with it. And greater visibility means higher chances to sell more books. So, if you enjoy an author's work and want to do something to show it, this is a BIG and helpful way to promote their work to other readers.
HOW TO LEAVE A BOOK REVIEW ON AMAZON (Made Simple)
Step One, Read the book.
Buy it. Borrow it from a friend. Check it out from the library. Read it on Kindle. Listen to it on Audible. Let Alexa read it to you. I am sure there are other ways to experience the author's work, so choose one and take time to enjoy the story.
Step Two, Login to your Amazon account.
If you have an Amazon account, simply login. If you do not, it is an easy process. All you need is an email address, which will be your username, and then create your own password.
Step Three, Search for the book on Amazon by title, author, or both.
The easiest way to find my books on Amazon is to do a search by my author name, Richelle E. Goodrich. You can also search for the title of a book. For example, type in The Tarishe Curse, and that book along with similar titles will pop up. Click on the book or its title when you find it, and that will open a page dedicated specifically to the book.
Step Four, Scroll down to "Customer reviews."
Once you are on the Amazon page for the book you read, scroll down until you find the section titled "Customer reviews." It is located further down then you might expect, so do not give up if you do not see it right away. Yes, keep scrolling down the page. It is located on the left-hand side and has 1 to 5 star ratings right beneath it.
Step Five, Click on "Write a customer review."
Directly below the 1-to-5-star chart is a white button that reads "Write a customer review." Click on that button. A new window that allows you to leave a 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 star rating should open. There is a line for you to give your review a title. For example, "Loved it," "Couldn't put it down," "Highly recommend this read," "Can't wait for the next book," or whatever comes to mind. After the title line, there is a box where you can type in a review. One or two sentences is fine unless you care to say more about the book.
Please, be kind with your reviews. I would ask that if you did not like the book at all, refrain from leaving a review. These ratings and reviews are a huge tool that promotes a book or hurts its chances to sell.
Step Six, Click submit.
As soon as you finish typing out a review for the book, scroll down and hit the submit button. That's it! You did it! And chances are, you put a smile on an author's face. Thank you for that.
PS. It may take a day or two... or five before you see the review show up on the book's detail page. Amazon is not always fast about posting. Give them time.
Saturday, September 30, 2023
A Perfect Spooky Read
SUMMARY:
"Vengeance is a monster of appetite, forever bloodthirsty and never filled." -Richelle E. Goodrich
Tarishe is a modest village surrounded by fortress walls meant to keep out one thing: werewolves. In truth, the wolves are scarcely bothersome and seldom seen excepting one night a year when a blood-red moon appears. This full Tarishe moon never fails to herald the arrival of an entire pack of hairy beasts, drawn to the village like greedy dragons to golden treasure.
It is difficult enough to protect a young family in this world of dangerous creatures, but such a feat proves near impossible when an old witch bent on vengeance casts a curse that manipulates both heart and mind. The battle for survival is not only with a sword but an internal struggle to love those the curse has targeted for hatred, and to hate the one who through evil enchantment manipulates her enemy’s affections. How long will it take to learn that the old monster, vengeance, is insatiable?
Yes, it's about werewolves and vampires, but while they play a part, they certainly aren't the main focus. They are players in this book but, the apex is centered on what choice do you make when you are surrounded by nothing but bad choices. And that, is unfortunately, not so fictional a problem.
Good job Richelle Goodrich, this is a dark book, but a winner.
Many vampire/werewolf stories turn me off with the gore, but this was a pleasant surprise!