Terry Odell | Author

Terry Odell
Romance With A Twist ~~ of Mystery

Latest News & Events

Point Of View Workshop

Jan.19.2012

Poorly handled Point of View is a leading reason agents and editors reject manuscripts. What is Point of View? Simply, it's who's telling the story in any given scene. It's the character through whose senses the reader experiences what's going on. There are no 'rights' or 'wrongs' but choosing the wrong POV can keep the reader from being drawn into the story. Readers need to bond with character, and POV is one tool the writer uses to develop that connection.

This workshop will also focus on using Deep POV. Participants will have a chance to learn about the following topics:

Recognizing the different types of point of view: 1st person, 3rd person, omniscient.

* Using Deep POV to connect your readers to your characters.

* The differences between deep and shallow point of view

* Choosing the best POV for each manuscript and/or scene

* Using POV to get the reader engaged with the character

* Pitfalls of the wrong POV choices

...

Featured Works

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PUBLISHED: Mar.19.2012

Saving Scott

Can a dead body in a chocolate shop revive a battle-fatigued cop? Or will it take the owner of the shop to save him? Homicide detective Scott Whelan lived for the job--until one day he was caught in the middle of a robbery gone bad. Although some call him a hero, he thinks of himself as a coward and a failure. He exists now in what he calls his "Dark Place". He accepts a new...

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PUBLISHED: Dec.03.2011

Deadly Secrets

Mapleton, Colorado's police chief, Gordon Hepler, would rather be on the streets than behind a desk dealing with budgets and the town council, but he promised his late mentor he'd accept the position. And to Gordon, a promise is a promise, even if the person you made it to isn't around anymore. However, doubts creep in, and he wonders if he was shoved into the job because his...

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PUBLISHED: Sep.23.2011

Hidden Fire

Returning from a stint as part of a task force on violent crime, Randy Detweiler is eager to reunite with Sarah Tucker in Pine Hills, but she’s having second thoughts about their relationship. Can she deal with a cop who gets called away at a moment’s notice, especially one who won’t talk about his job? Their reunion is cut short when a body is...

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PUBLISHED: Sep.23.2011

Finding Sarah

Being robbed at gunpoint wasn’t part of Sarah Tucker’s business plan. Neither was falling in love with the detective who arrived to solve the case. All Sarah wants is success for her gift boutique, the one she and her husband created. Now, she’s living a hand-to-mouth existence. Her husband died a year earlier in a car accident—an accident that was ruled suicide, denying her...

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PUBLISHED: Sep.08.2011

Deception

A mystery anthology, including my short story, Red Flagged, in which Homicide Detective James T. Kirkland gets more than he bargained for when he tries to do his ex-wife a favor.

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PUBLISHED: Aug.23.2011

Danger in Deer Ridge

What do you do when your life turns upside down? Whatever it takes. When Elizabeth Parker arrives in Deer Ridge with her eight-year-old son, she's constantly looking over her shoulder, afraid her husband won't believe she's dead, despite the new identity provided by the high-end firm of Blackthorne, Inc. Within hours of her arrival, a man...

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PUBLISHED: May.18.2011

Where Danger Hides

Hiding behind the public façade of a private investigation firm–Blackthorne, Incorporated–are a band of elite covert operatives. Dalton (just Dalton—nobody dares call him Ambrose), is one of Blackthorne's best. A charming Texan, he prides himself on blending in, and there's no one he can't scam. But his obsession with putting a Colombian drug lord out of the...

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PUBLISHED: Dec.31.2010

What's in a Name?

Running for the wrong reason can still get you killed. Kelli Carpenter has changed her name, her appearance—her life—to avoid being connected to a crime she committed in self defense years ago. But just when she thinks she has nothing to fear, handsome stranger Blake Windsor shows up. He claims to be the handyman her boss sent to help complete the...

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PUBLISHED: Jul.16.2010

Nowhere to Hide

The trouble with running away is that you take yourself with you. After police officer Colleen McDonald is injured in a case gone south and her partner dies, she leaves her job and friends in small town Oregon for a fresh start as a civilian in Orlando. When a deputy sheriff comes to her door investigating a possible missing person, she’s determined to get...

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PUBLISHED: Dec.10.2008

When Danger Calls

**Author's note: This book is no longer in print, but brand-new copies are available for 60% off the cover price, either from the author's website (http://www.terryodell.com) or through Amazon The book has been republished as an e-book. If someone asks single mother Frankie Castor to clear a room, she'll smile and find a vacuum cleaner. Ryan Harper uses a gun. Can they work...

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PUBLISHED: Apr.20.2012

Rooted in Danger

Behind the public façade of Blackthorne, Inc., a high-end private investigation company, lies a band of elite covert operatives, and they’re back doing what they do best. Foster (Fozzie) Mayhew, Blackthorne’s Intel Specialist, is cocky and arrogant, befitting his Aussie heritage. Put him in a helicopter with his surveillance instruments and he can spot the fleas on a squirrel’s...

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PUBLISHED: Oct.03.2011

Finding Fire

A collection of previously published short stories and vignettes; part of the Pine Hills Police series. A Winter's Day: What happened before Sarah met Randy? For Sarah Tucker, life was perfect. She had David, their gift shop, and despite minor spats, a happy marriage--until the day everything turned around. A prologue not included in the novel, A Winter's Day introduces heroine...

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PUBLISHED: Jun.26.2010

Words

What does it take for a man to say, "I love you" out loud? Certainly the woman he loves can tell from his actions. And if she can tell, why must he initiate those words? Words explores new love first from his point of view, then hers. A sensual read, guaranteed to make you seek out that special someone in your life.

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PUBLISHED: Mar.07.2008

Second Chance Rose

Rose has had her chance at her one true love. Widowed, her home destroyed by a hurricane, she relocates across the country and discovers the special garden of the bedtime stories her mother told her as a child. When she meets Richard there, friendship blooms. But can there be second chances for true love?

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PUBLISHED: Feb.20.2008

Hurricane Breeze

Carter Worthington the fourth is the kind of man whose schedule is laid out in fifteen minute increments, while Tiffany wouldn't know what to do with a day planner if she owned one. Carter thinks he's happy, tucked away in a quiet Florida neighborhood, where nobody knows his alter ego is novelist Grant Gardner, and he's content to keep it that way. But when...

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PUBLISHED: Jan.20.2007

Romancing the Geek

Stephanie's lifelong dream is to design toys--sweet, cuddly toys. Instead, she's hired as a glorified typist. And not even with the rest of the marketing department, but way downstairs in the only available office, which she has to share with Brad, who's a total geek. A geek who's happy programming computer games full of explosions. They agree to ignore each other while Stephanie...

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PUBLISHED: Aug.28.2006

Relationships

Amy's ready for a weekend of solitude and pampering, but her plans turn to thoughts of a no-strings fling when she meets Greg.

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PUBLISHED: Jun.05.2006

Out of Sight

Sometimes being invisible is a good thing. Or is it? Alone with a captivating colleague, Sandra deals with the reality of her marriage and herself.

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Terry's Latest Blogs

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May.21.2012 - 5:30 am

Reading for Pleasure

If you’re a writer, they say you’ll never be able to read for pleasure again. That’s a rather blanket statement, and of course writers are readers....

May.17.2012 - 5:36 am

A Tale of Two Covers

For my Five Star Blackthorne, Inc. series, the publisher grants digital rights to the author. However, we're not allowed to exercise them for a full year after publication. On...

May.14.2012 - 5:41 am

Pikes Peak Writers Conference 5 - epublishing best practices

I’m busy this week — Today and tomorrow, I’m blogging at Just Romantic Suspense (with a giveaway). Tomorrow is also my day at The Blood-Red Pen...

May.10.2012 - 6:17 am

Win a Nook

Things have been going well lately, and I think it’s only fair that share my good fortune with my readers. I appreciate each and every one of you who fol...

Comments from Terry

Jul.25.2011 - 2:07 pm

In response to: Book Clubs - What Goes On?

Thanks

Annette - I always post my current reading on my 'official' blog (Terry's Place). Right now I'm reading three books - I...

Mar.16.2011 - 7:59 am

In response to: Ins and Outs, Ups and Downs

Thanks

Thanks, Gabriella. I'm planning to rework the story and see what happens. The agent was a lawyer, so I'm sure the...

Mar.14.2011 - 7:46 am

In response to: To Market, To Market

Thanks

Thanks, Gabriella. With a science background, I'm used to measurable cause and effect. The writing business is totally...

Feb.14.2011 - 9:19 am

In response to: What is Romance

Little things

Nan, yes - I think romance without 'brain involvement' isn't very romantic.

Aug.20.2010 - 1:18 pm

In response to: It's Been How Long?

I enjoy it. Even more when

I enjoy it. Even more when people comment, so thanks! And good luck with yours.

Writing

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Short Story: How Frankie Got the Job

Short Story: Meet Ryan Harper from When Danger Calls

Short Story: Decisions

Published Reviews

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Feb.13.2012

Rooted in Danger

Published by Publishers Weekly

The suspense is an ever-present force, with danger enhancing the sensual and very real romance between a most unlikely couple.

Audio & Video

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Video: Blackthorne, Incorporated

Image Gallery: Our New Home

Image Gallery: My Covers

Follow Terry’s tweets

Need a quick critique. Free? Written Dreams is having a birthday drawing. 15 pages. http://t.co/APCD3wCy #editing — 9 hours 18 min ago

What Terry is saying on ...

Looking for a quick critique? I can recommend Written Dreams. Brittiany Koren edited my Holt Medallion winner, Where Danger Hides.
Written Dreams

As part of our birthday month celebration, the editors at Written Dreams are doing something different to celebrate. <3 Are you a writer who needs a quick critique on your current work in progress? This week every time you post a comment to our page we will add your name to a drawing for a FREE 15 page critique. Two drawings will be held this Friday. Winners will be announced Monday, May 28th! <3
Dictionary.com Word of the Day: chrestomathy (that's one Lev Raphael should know -- but have fun, everyone)
What’s Cooking Wednesday — Lasagna Cupcakes
Today I’ve got a recipe graciously shared by frequent visitor to Terry’s Place, Karen C. Thanks, Karen! And if anyone else has a recipe to share, I’d love to have them. Lasagna Cupcakes Ingredients: 1 cup marinara sauce ¾ pound … Continue reading →

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About Terry

Terry was born in Los Angeles and after living over 3 decades in Florida, now makes her home in Colorado. An avid reader (her parents tell everyone they had to move from their first home because she finished the local library), she always wanted to "...

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Connections

Causes Terry Odell Supports

Pro Literacy Worldwide, The Nature Conservancy, The Adult Literacy League, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Terry OdellRomance With A Twist ~~ of Mystery

Latest News & Events

Point Of View Workshop

Featured Works

Terry's Latest Blogs

Comments from Terry

Writing

Published Reviews

Audio & Video

Follow Terry’s tweets

What Terry is saying on ...

About Terry

Connections

Causes Terry Odell Supports

Terry Odell
Romance With A Twist ~~ of Mystery