Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Welcome Guest Blogger: Paty Jeger




Nimiipuu clothing

My historical paranormal, Spirit of the Mountain is set among the Nez Perce (Or Nimiipuu as they call themselves) in the time before the White man encroaches on their land. To write this story I had to do a great deal of research into the way of life of this group of people. The more I studied them the more interested and excited I became to write a story about their life style.

In the 18th century when my first book takes place the Nimiipuu were dependent upon nature for their clothing. Garments were made from dressed hides and furs from mountain sheep, deer, elk, antelope, mountain goat, bison, wolf, bear, coyote, and smaller creatures. The clothing worn by the men were breech-cloths, double aprons, leggings poncho shirts, belts, robes, blankets, moccasins, mittens, neckpieces, and fur or animal head caps. The women wore belted dresses, long shirts, skirts, aprons, leggings, poncho shirts, blankets, knee-length moccasins, and mittens. The women also wore fez-shaped hats. These were made of twined grasses and hemp cordage in warm weather. Both sexes adorned their hair with fur strips in their braids. Boys and girls dressed much like their parents, and the younger children ran around in the warm weather with very little clothing.

Their daily clothing unless they were a headman, shaman, or warrior usually had little adornment. However for ceremonies they wore ornamented clothes decorated with polished elk's teeth, beads, discs of stone, bone or shell, dyed or natural-colored porcupine quills, feathers, beaver teeth, paint and any other material they could find that could be sewn on and make their clothing eye-catching.

I'm a historical writer first and foremost so I had to have this information before I felt comfortable writing this story. I tried to incorporate as much of the Nimiipuu way of life into the story as I could and keep the pacing moving forward. But the whole spirit faction of the story is made up. That is fictional and I hope I did justice to the spirit and the world of the Nimiipuu.

Blurb for Spirit of the Mountain
Wren, the daughter of a Nimiipuu chief, has been fated to save her people ever since her vision quest. When a warrior from the enemy Blackleg tribe asks for her hand in marriage to bring peace between the tribes, her world is torn apart.

Himiin is the spirit of the mountain, custodian to all creatures including the Nimiipuu. As a white wolf he listens to Wren’s secret fears and loses his heart to the mortal maiden. Respecting her people’s beliefs, he cannot prevent her leaving the mountain with the Blackleg warrior.

When an evil spirit threatens Wren’s life, Himiin must leave the mountain to save her. But to leave the mountain means he’ll turn to smoke…

Excerpt
Wren’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “My gift is to save The People. The weyekin who came to me in my vision quest said this.” She wrapped her arms around herself as if staving off a cold breeze.
Himiin hated that they argued when they should relish their time together. He moved to her, drawing her against his chest, embracing her. The shape of her body molded to his. Her curves pressed against him. Holding her this way flamed the need he’d tried to suppress.
He placed a hand under her chin, raising her face to his. The sorrow in her eyes tugged at his conscience. To make her leaving any harder was wrong. But having experienced her in his arms, he was grieved to let her go. Even for the sake of their people.
Her eyelids fluttered closed. Her pulse quickened under his fingers. Shrugging off the consequences, he lowered his lips to hers. They were softer than he imagined. Her breath hitched as he touched her intimately. Parting his lips, he touched her with his tongue, wanting to see if she tasted as sweet as she smelled.
Honey.

This is the first day of my six day blog tour that includes a puzzle and a prize. Copy the puzzle piece in this post to a document and collect all the pieces at the blogs I visit. Then when you have them all, send them to me at patyjag@gmail.com and I'll put your name in the drawing for a copy of Spirit of the Mountain and other goodies. I'll draw the name and post it on my blog on Monday July 16th.

If you'd like to read more about me and my books or enter my website contest go to: http://www.patyjager.net

Rebecca, Thanks for having me!

Paty
************
Thanks, Paty, for being on my blog:)
&
Contest:
Anyone leaving comment here on this post and on my webpage contact form will be entered to win free pdf of Rebecca Savage book: rebeccasavage.com

Monday, July 26, 2010

Welcome Guest Blogger: Lara Hogg



"Why, My Love" out with Eternal Press romantic fantasy genre novel. Thanks,
Rebecca! -laura

About the book:
What will a queen do to win back her man and her country? Nayda, a warrior
queen, and her husband rule over a small kingdom in a post-apocalyptic world
doing the best they can to rebuild their city and bring prosperity to their
citizens.

A European queen visits and creates chaos. She goes to war with Nayda and
takes her crown, and, under strange circumstances steals her husband. Now
Nayda must return to her espionage ways. Her missions are extremely
dangerous, even more so than battle, where she can at least see the sword
coming.

Quotes:
³Well I don¹t know, honey. We could knock them off then you and I would be
prince consort and queen,²

³I¹m about to sacrifice my heart to my
people.²

³Look at me, Warrior Queen.²
She turned her head slowly, and she bore her gaze into his.
³Do not fight this war,² he said.

Excerpt:
³I thought I knew you, Jeff.² Her body turned cold, and she swooned
inwardly, not knowing who this stranger before her was. This was the biggest
disaster of her life.

Eternity seemed to be frowning on her. She imagined herself lying dead on
the ground with his sword in her chest, and she knew that part of her had
just died. She made an effort to steady her anxious breathing and calm her
trembling hands. Jeff lifted his sword and took a killing stance‹his feet
wider, his arms up in position. She gasped, and tears burned her eyes. With
practiced speed, she caught his blade on the downswing, with her own. It
rang out, and her heart pounded in its wreckage. Back and forth they swung,
and tears rolled down her cheeks.

He forced her back, her feet shuffling. She stumbled over a twig and fell on
her back. He bore down with vengeance, and she rolled away. His blade pinned
a long, brown braid to the leaves beneath it. She scampered up, missing the
braid, and was backed into a tree, and his blade came up and swished,
cracking the air with the sound of thunderous betrayal.

³Last request!² she shouted in utter desolation.

Steel stopped, its edge cutting her neck. Sticky blood inched down her skin.

He nodded once.
Buy link: http://www.eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781615721399
Contest: leave a comment here and on rebeccasavage.com webpage contact form and be entered to win Rebecca Savage book:)

Friday, July 9, 2010

Welcome Guest Blogger: Meg Benjamin:)



1. What do you write and why?
I mainly do contemporary stuff—even my paranormals and urban fantasy take place in the present time and in familiar places. Largely it’s because I like to feel like I know what I’m doing, and historical stuff takes a lot of research!
2. What do you read and why, especially if it's different from what you write?
I’m also a fan of contemporary romance, but I like thrillers, mysteries, and detective stories too. My favorite stuff has a touch of humor, like Jennifer Crusie and Susan Elizabeth Phillips among contemporary authors and Loretta Chase and Barbara Metzger among historicals. But mainly I love reading authors who really know what they’re doing—Nora Roberts, of course, but also writers like Eloisa James and Sarah Smith. People whose prose style is just a joy to read.
3. Who do write for?
So far I’ve published all my books with Samhain Publishing.
4. How long have you been writing?
It feels like forever, but it’s more like a decade! Before I retired, I was a college teacher, which meant I was mainly writing scholarly stuff and textbooks. But around ten years ago, I decided I really wanted to write fiction. It took me a while to understand how to go about it (I’ve got some real clunkers hidden away in my files), but I finally hooked up with Samhain in 2008.
5. How do you world build?
I start from the known. My four books for Samhain are all set in the Texas Hill Country, where I used to hang out a lot when I lived in Texas. I took elements of several small towns and created my own: Konigsburg. It should be recognizable, at least in part, to most people who have passed through the area.
6. How do you write: the process and atmosphere?
I don’t think you can be too picky about atmosphere—if you are, you’ll never get anything done! I usually start by working my way through some charts from Delilah Devlin’s plotting bootcamp (which I highly recommend for everybody). Then when I have a general idea of the way the plot’s going to go, I start in at the beginning and plow through until I come to the end. I like to go sequentially because I know I can always come back later and revise assuming I’ve got a story to work with.
7. How do you build characters and their personalities and looks?
Again, I use Delilah’s charts to get myself thinking about them. But I find they begin to develop as I write so I try not to tie myself down too much.
8. Tell me about some of your heroes and heroines:
My Konigsburg heroes so far (I hope the series can keep going) are four brothers: Cal, Pete, Lars, and Erik Toleffson. They’re all Iowa boys (like my own DH) who have moved to this small town in Texas. Cal is the hero of Venus In Blue Jeans, the original nice guy who falls hard for Docia Kent, a woman who’s not too sure she’s ready for a romance. Pete is the hero of Wedding Bell Blues, a born fixer who wants to make sure everybody gets what they should have, except that he doesn’t seem very good at getting what he needs for himself. He’s Cal’s best man and he falls for his female counterpart, Janie Dupree, a born fixer herself and Docia’s maid of honor. Then there’s Lars, an accountant who’s the hero of Be My Baby. He’s the father of a little girl and the survivor of a horrendous divorce. He becomes involved with his babysitter, Jess Carroll, who’s a woman with a lot of secrets. And finally, there’s Erik. His story, Long Time Gone, has just been released at Samhain. He’s the chief of police in Konigsburg, but he’s got a dark past as a bully and a petty criminal. That past starts to catch up with him, but not before he falls in love with a local winery owner, Morgan Barrett.
9. Are you a pantser or plotter?
Definitely a plotter. I like to figure out where I’m going in advance.
10. What's your WIP?
I have a couple of them. One, Medium Well, is a ghost story and mystery set in San Antonio. The other, Away, is an urban fantasy set in my new home in the foothills of the Colorado Front Range.
11. What's your latest release and tell me about it:
My newest release is Long Time Gone. Here’s the blurb:
A future with the woman of his dreams is within his grasp…if the past will stay that way.
Konigsburg, Book 4
Erik Toleffson wasn’t looking to become Chief of Police. He’s got enough trouble trying to rebuild his relationship with his three brothers who, until just recently, ran the other way when he approached. He’s not the bully they grew up with, but bad memories are tough to overcome.
Morgan Barrett is as worn out as a vat full of crushed grape skins. She never planned to run Cedar Creek Winery, but there’s no one else to shoulder the load as her father recovers from an injury. All she needs is a little sleep. Just a five-minute nap in the booth at the Dew Drop Inn…if that guy across the bar would stop staring at her as if putting her head down on the table is a crime.
After Morgan yawns in Erik’s face, there’s nowhere to go but up. With time, though, their relationship warms like a perfectly blended Bordeaux. Until the shady mayor digs into Erik’s past and dredges up information that could drive a permanent wedge between him and his brothers—and sour any chance of a future with Morgan.
Warning: Contains hot sex with mango sherbet, crooked politicians, yuppie bikers, Bored Ducks, and a Maine Coon Cat with attitude.
12. Anything from your personal life you'd like to tell us?
A year ago I moved from South Texas, where we’d lived for over twenty years, to the foothill suburbs of Denver. At the same time, I retired from my long-time job teaching writing and document design. It’s been quite an adjustment, but I really love my new home!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Welcome Guest Blogger: Raine Delight:)



1. What do you write and why?
Raine says: I write paranormal erotic romance right now. I love paranormal/urban fantasy books. The sky’s the limit in creating something fresh and unique in these genres. I am also writing my first non-erotic paranormal romantic comedy, which is something very different than I ever done before.  Having fun writing this one and then it’s onto space and my first M/M book

2. What do you read and why, especially if it's different from what you write?
Raine says: Oh god *thinks* I love to read, even cereal boxes. Lol Currently I am knee-deep in JR Ward’s Blackdagger Brotherhood series (Currently on Lover Avenged) and then I for a change of pace I love straight fantasy like Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera series or Gail Z. Martin’s necromancer series. I also read contemporary books like Debbie Macomber, Sherryl Woods or Susan Wiggs and for suspense-JD Robb all the way!

I like exploring different genres as it gives me time to relax from what I write day in, day out and a chance to enjoy some amazing authors I admire.

3. Who do write for?
Raine says: Currently I am with Aspen Mountain Press (www.aspenmountainpress.com) and The Wild Horse Press (www.The-Wild-Horse-Press.com)

4. How long have you been writing?
Raine says: Over five years and I had a few publishers close their doors while I was with them so for me, being with AMP for the last few years has been an amazing journey-one I am extremely grateful for.

5. How do you world build?
Raine says: Oh man, when I first started my Devon Falls Series it was to be just two stories. Then it snowballed as readers enjoyed the first two books and I ended up having to create a paranormal town with creatures, businesses and families/friends. I know have what is called a bible, where this entire plus notes for future books, for it. Otherwise I am mixing up eye, hair color and other items.  I first started with a scene/business (career) and build around it. Normally all my books (besides the sci fi one) is contemporary so I use what I know-small town, list how many businesses and make it general then expand it with different characteristics.

6. How do you write: the process and atmosphere?
Raine says: I normally put on ear buds, pop in a CD, open a word doc and go at it-no formatting or anything for one hour a day. I normally can write over 1k in that time and if particularly on a roll, more than 4k. I use music to help keep me focused as I write certain scenes as well. Many of my books mention what I listened to while writing it.

7. How do you build characters and their personalities and looks?
Raine says: I normally find out from them what they look like then once I begin writing them, they flesh out and their personalities come out. I had one hero (Michael from Moonlight & Magic-coming Oct. 2010) that hated that I made him a wimpy guy (a pansy he called himself) and refused to let me write anymore until I redeemed him to a more alpha male. *sigh*

8. Tell me about some of your heroes and heroines:
Raine says: I have a few heroes/heroines that just click like Jaxon and Rodrick of Haunting Magic. These two were hilarious, with their sniping at each other, the sparks that flew between them and the fact they both lusted for one another. It made writing their story pure fun. The hardest is Michael and Dixie in Moonlight & Magic. Michael is lonely and resigned to never having a family of his own-always wanders to some place new. Dixie longs for love and has trust issues. These two had to work extremely hard to be together and in the end, they find that home is where their hearts are.

9. Are you a pantser or plotter?
Raine says: Pantser all the way. I tried the whole plot things out angle and it just doesn’t work for me since my muse sends characters all over than what I wanted. LOL

10. What's your WIP?
Raine says: Currently I am on three deadlines from June to September for three manuscripts. Two which come out in October/December from Aspen Mountain Press and the third is for The Wild Horse Press.

Devon Falls 5: Moonlight & Magic
Release date-Oct. 15th-Aspen Mountain Press (www.aspenmountainpress.com)
Paranormal/Shifter Contemporary Erotic Romance

Tagline: Can a were-tiger convince one stubborn woman that she is his for all time and show her that falling in love is just as sinful as a chocolate kiss?

Blurb:

Dixie Sinclair has watched her cousins all fall in love and now she wants the same. Dared to go to the annual Masquerade ball, Dixie finds the one thing she desires: love…one problem…can she trust that it will last after that one night?

Michael Barnes is a rare white were-tiger who was thrown out of his pride long ago for a trumped up crime, Michael roams the world searching for the one place to call home. Finding that peace in Devon Falls, he finds the one woman who stirs him like no other. Can he convince Dixie that she can trust in him forever?

*~*
Devon Falls 6: Yuletide Magic
Release Date-Dec. 3rd, 2010
Paranormal Romance/Holiday (winter solstice)-Aspen Mountain Press

Tagline: The magic of the season brings together two unlikely people in Devon Falls.

Blurb:

Yule has always had Mandy Alexander in one tight knot as she tries to keep her neighbors from finding out that she is a practicing wiccan and to escape from the painful memories of the past. Escaping to Devon Falls for a Yule ritual among friends, she encounters Grady O’Neil, a man who calls to her in more ways than one. With the magic of the season around them, can Mandy let her heart trust Grady enough to let him show her the delights that love can give her?

*~*
Falling To Pieces
Release date TBD-The Wild Horse Press (www.The-Wild-Horse-Press.com)
Paranormal Romantic Comedy (non-erotic)
What do you get when you wake up and find your life has changed forever? That is what happens to Darius St. Cloud and frankly, he wished he never met that witch who just made him one of the walking undead. Add in renegade demon worshippers, a woman hell bent on helping him and a love that will take them to the edge of hell and back before all is said and done, Melinda and Darius will find that love indeed conquers all!

11. What's your latest release and tell me about it:
Raine says: my latest release was from 2009 and it has become my best selling book so far. Devon Falls 4: Haunting Magic is about a wolf shifter who finds his mate in the one woman he doesn’t want-or does he? A woman who tried to resist yet falls prey to the charms of the one man who stirs her like no other. Here is the official blurb of Jax and Rod’s story, now available at Amazon kindle, All Romance, AMP, 1Romance and other places:

Devon Falls 4: Haunting Magic
Paranormal/Shifter Erotic Contemporary Romance
Now Available
NOTE: The cover is awesome. I have to admit the artist Syneca at AMP outdid her with this one and is one readers’ seem to love-half naked man YUM!

Can a wolf shifter get his new found mate to heel or will she tame the wolf inside?
Rodrick Dracon is the twin heir to the Dragon Inn. When he finds himself longing for a mate after being footloose and fancy free, he finds himself drawn to the most obnoxious, brassy woman he has ever met: Jaxon Sinclair. She is the one woman who doesn't melt when he goes by or hangs on his every word. Jaxon is just aggravating and down right sexy as sin! Soon the sparks fly, passion goes into boiling and Halloween approaches. Can this wolf shifter get this woman to heel before the full moon? Will Jax turn the tables on this ladies man and tame the wolf?
A sneak excerpt:

The wind was blowing lightly, stirring up the leaves as she walked across the parking lot. The lights gleamed softly from the windows and Jax could see the people inside, enjoying the food and company they had. The smells were divine and had her stomach rumbling for something, anything as long as it wasn’t her cooking.
He looked even better close up though she damn well wasn’t going to tell him that. He had a swelled head as it was with all the honey bees that seemed to swarm all over him whenever he went out. She mentally tried to gather defenses up but it was hard lately whenever she was around him. If she didn’t know better, she would think she was in lust with Rodrick, impossible as it may seem, especially from the way the snipped at each other over the years. Shaking her head slightly, she felt his gaze move to her and his startled breath as she walked up to the porch, though that could have been a figment of her imagination.
“Hey Rod, slow night?” Jax asked, tried to keep her voice even and snarky. It was hard but as her eyes drank in the way his t-shirt molded his chest, she couldn’t help feeling that something was changing between them, something she was damn well not ready for or wanting for that matter.
Rod watched Jaxon Sinclair, the bane of his existence or so it was until a few months ago when he noticed the way her eyes flared with laughter, or the way her legs seemed to go on for miles in those short skirts she wore when she was at the Dirty Diamond. He didn’t know what changed between them but he was definitely feeling something for this pain in the ass female that seemed to call to him and the wolf within him howled as he watched those luscious legs walk over to him. “Yeah, seems everyone is getting ready for the Halloween costume dance tomorrow. What are you up to tonight? Dinner date?” Rod fairly growled the last part though he was surprised that the thought of Jax with another man had the wolf in him wanting to beat the man into submission.
“Was going to have dinner with Grady but he got short staffed and had to cover tonight. Just seeing if I can grab a take out from your mom.” Jax said as she marveled at how normal it was between them. Though she thought the hair on his arms bristled at the thought of her on a date though it probably was her imagination. Rod wasn’t interested in her, just the ones who wanted a good time and an easy lay.
Rod felt relieved that she wasn’t meeting anyone but was surprised all the same at the thought of her being alone tonight made him want to cuddle with her. Her eyes held faint purple shadows underneath and she looked like she hadn’t had a good nights rest in ages. “I am sure my mom would love to give you something since everyone knows you can burn water without trying.” The smile that tugged at his lips surprised him as he watched her eyes go a little wide then narrow in annoyance.
“What the hell would you know about cooking, you jackass? I bet you couldn’t make something if your life depended on it.” she said as her lips practically snarled at him. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought there was a smile lingering on his smug face.
“Oh, are you challenging me Jax? Can’t take the fact that I may actually know something you don’t? Want to take that to a test?” Rod felt a quickening in his blood that had him wondering if he was absolutely flaming insane. Why the thought of making dinner for her had him wanting something more and though if he had to say, he was enjoying the play of emotions on her face; it was fun to watch and damn it, he wanted to prove to her that he could actually do something besides what she thought he was: a playboy that flitted from woman to woman, though he was unsure why it mattered what she really thought of him. Needling her a little more just for the sake of being annoying, Rod leaned forward and stroked a finger down her nose and smirked a little as he said softly, “Afraid that maybe I can do something that will make you readjust your opinion of me?”



12. Anything from your personal life you'd like to tell us?
Raine says: I live with my own boytoy-yep makes me a cougar I guess-and my two kids in a small town that has one blinking stop light, is so quiet after 8 pm it is hilarious some nights and perfect to raise kids. 

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Welcome Guest Blogger: Jennifer Johnson




Blurb:
Abigail
I’m Abigail Benton, and this is what my life has come to: babysitting after school hoodlums during the day and serving up artery-clogging breakfast food at night.
Are my parents getting their money’s worth for my college education? Doubtful.
Still, I’m determined to make the best of doing community service in inner-city Clavania. I’ve struck up a friendship with an intriguing homeless man named Eli, who smells like melted caramel and spends most of his time sweeping the community center parking lot.
He's the first homeless person I had ever met who smelled so good.
Come to think of it, Eli was the first homeless person I had ever met period.
When tension between rival gangs heats up and I get caught in the middle, Eli is the one who comes to my rescue. I want to help him get off the streets; he just wants me to stay out of trouble and leave him alone.
Why am I so drawn to him? Why do I want to be involved in fixing his life when I so desperately need to straighten out my own.

Eli

People here know me as Eli. I spend most of my days keeping the parking lot clean and watching people. Then one day Abigail Benton shows up and treats everything like a big joke. The hood is no place for little Miss Sunshine. I don't want her giving me vocational advice or making sure I've eaten supper. If she doesn't watch out, she's going to get herself killed.


Excerpt:


“You just don’t get it, do you?” Eli’s eyes had been roving all over the room. His question surprised me because I wasn’t even sure he had been listening to what I was saying.
“I don’t get what?”
“That this isn’t Kansas, Abigail. And you don’t have any ruby slippers to protect you. Those men will cut you. They’ll do things to you I don’t even want to think about. If you have to go to the center, fine. If you have to work at the shelter, do it. But don’t stop anywhere on the way and don’t linger in your duties, or you could end up in a bad way. A very bad way.” Eli had yet to make eye contact with me. He finished off the first sandwich, took the napkin from the table and wrapped it around the second one.
“I’m scared enough without your lecture. I do get it, okay?”
A smile quirked his lips. Raising his face, he studied my ceiling for a few seconds. Then his eyes finally settled on me. Hunger swirled in their dark depths, and not for food, for me.
My breath caught in my throat. The intense stare from his eyes struck me like lightning, and I felt tingling throughout my whole body. In a swift movement, he stood and the chair turned over. I stood as well. Stalking over to me, he stopped just shy of touching me. His breath warmed my cheek, the heat of his body radiated outward.
Was he going to kiss me? He moved so that his mouth was near my ear. The hair of his beard brushed my cheek. What was he waiting for? What was he going to do? What should I do? Little stars danced before my eyes, and I realized I was holding my breath. I willed myself to suck in some air, and when I did, my breasts touched his chest. There were barriers of clothing, but in that moment it didn’t matter. I knew the second he felt me, because his breath hissed.
“Good. I want you to be scared. I want you to get it. But I don’t think you do. The men at the shelter talk about you. They wonder what you taste like.” His low voice reverberated through me. He paused and let that bit of information sink in. My heart skipped a few beats. “You should stop making yourself so available,” he whispered before stepping away, picking up the paper wrapped food, shoving it in his pocket, and letting himself out of my apartment.


Coffee Time Review gave Holding Out for a Hero 4 coffee cups, its outstanding rating. Hollie writes, “Holding Out for a Hero is a heartwarming story showing that not only are there good people in this world but that the kids everyone has given up on can also be good if given a chance.”
Find the review here:
http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/holdingoutforaherjenniferjohnson.html

Holding Out for a Hero is published by Resplendence.
http://www.resplendencepublishing.com/m8_view_item.html?m8:item=197-200-101-463-1

It is available digitally at Amazon.com, Fictionwise.com, eBookwise, All Romance EBooks, and other digital retailers.

Want to learn more about Jennifer? Visit her website at
http://booksbyjenniferjohnson.com

or her blog at
http://jennfrancesca.blogspot.com/

Thanks!
PS :
CONTEST: anyone leaving a comment here and sending Rebecca Savage a message via the contact form on her webpage will be entered to win free pdp of Rebecca Savage book of your choice:)
rebeccasavage.com

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Welcome Guest Blogger: Caroline Clemmons




Pets In Our Lives, Pets In Our Books

Rebecca, thanks for inviting me to be a guest on your blog!

Friends and I were talking recently, teasing one friend because in all her books either the hero or heroine has a dog. I like that, and books I write include pets. Showing a character that is sympathetic to cats or dogs adds a dimension to the person. A gruff man who befriends a scruffy dog lets the reader know that the tough guy is not as heartless as he wants others to believe. He has instantly become more sympathetic to readers. In the movie “Hang ‘Em High,” Clint Eastwood is introduced to the audience driving cattle across a river. He gets off his horse and wades back into the river (wearing chaps) to save a young calf. Fast on his heels is a posse ready to hang him. Because of his compassion, we know this man has to be a good guy.

A heroine with a pet comes across as kinder and more nurturing. This is, of course, if the pets are well cared for. I hate, hate, hate books where a pet dies. Remember THE YEARLING? OLD YELLER? No thanks! Don’t want to read it. Our family’s pets are all rescued animals that have become family members. I know their life span is shorter than ours but don’t want to be reminded when I’m reading for pleasure.

Pets don’t have to be cats or dogs. At a critique meeting once, I told my cp’s (critique partners) about my neighbor who raises beautiful rare hens. Yes, they are beautiful! Called blue-reds, they are rusty red with soft bluish wing and tail feathers. My citygirl cp thinks I should move into the city, too, and said, “You have to get out of the country now!” The first “real” mystery I read was by Erle Stanley Gardner and featured a parrot. I was about nine and don’t remember the title of the book.

In my upcoming June 4th release, which is a time travel romance with suspense elements titled OUT OF THE BLUE, there are two pets. Deirdre Dougherty, the time traveling Irish clairvoyant healer heroine, has a cat named Cathbad. Brendan Hunter, the police detective hero, has a huge mutt named Prince. All my books have pets included—and I promise that none of them dies in the book!

Thanks so much to Rebecca Savage for letting me post on her blog! Please visit mine, A Writer’s Life, at http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com or my website at www.carolineclemmons.com. I’m on Facebook under Caroline Clemmons (one of several) and Twitter as #lovesthewest. I’d love to hear from you.

Please visit my blog for frequent contests. All you have to do is comment.

Welcome Guest Blogger Skhye Moncrief




Good morning, Rebecca. Thank you for having me over as a guest. My latest Time Guardian story is about to be released--June 25th. I'm extremely wired with this event. The reason I wrote this novel is one of those choices authors make... Hence, my focus on craft here today. So why did I write that story?

SWORDSONG was the Time-Guardian novel I wrote after reading the earlier works of Karen M. Moning before my Time Guardians series was contracted for publication. I kept thinking I seriously needed to simplify my world and write a story in my series more like hers set in the "real" present, i.e. something more familiar for readers who just might not care for being thrown into a whole new world. This is one of those crazy decisions we writers make never knowing if it will pan out for us. :) But SWORDSONG set off a whole new layer of worldbuilding in my over-sized fantasy world I've created--one that coexists with ours. I wanted to make the story world more tangible for the reader. Okay, that's if you can call a novel tangible in any sense other than it's a physical object, i.e. a book! But everyone was writing these new worlds interwoven within the fabric of the one we occupy. I just had to try the marketability angle. So, I whipped up some ambiance...

We are soldiers of Truth.
We are students of the past.
We are guardians of Time.
We live, and, from living, we must die.

Death is not risk.
Death is adventure.
Death is part of the Cycle.
Woe be to he who fears the Call.

~Time Guardian Creed (www.timeguardians.com)

My creed worked to define reality for my lads regardless of the setting. It's reality. A reflection of their goals--life in general. These men time travel. They can't risk screwing up history. So, their creed is kind of blunt and harsh. But it hits home as they ponder a what if... Just as I had asked those same thoughts about paradox. Time travel and prehistory was my cup of steamy tea that I read for so long. I studied archaeology too long not to send my characters back to times and places we can never visit. Why? I can answer that. ;) Oddly enough, a psych test I took during a continuing education class when I was about 19 noted I lived in the past. I guess this aspect of my writing is just a reflection of who I am--my curiosity and fears. Then again, I keep writing romances that reviewers label thrillers, suspense, etc. I just don't know what goes on inside my head! *sigh* Although, I'm always explaining to my critique partners that if a story has a chase aspect, it should ring true. And time guardians safeguard history. They've got to beat the clock as the pages move forward. Ticking clocks and chases... Aye, there's the Time-Guardian rub.

But get ready to laugh.

My first and never-to-see-the-light-of-day manuscript was a time travel set in someone's mind because she was comatose. Crazy setup! Yes. But that's not the funny part! I hit delete and sent that unfinished 1000-page monster on its way to the happy hunting ground. Back to meet its moment of creation in the great loop of existence... :) Okay, maybe that's nonexistence because nobody knows about that story but me. Does a story that never is read by an audience continue to ring with glory and romance like a circulated book? Oh, here I go again with those annoying pontifications.

Alas, time travel hits home with me. So, I wrote SWORDSONG because it rang true to my interests and formal education as well as I gambled on the trend in setting a coexisting fantasy realm smack dab in the "now" with us. Should I chant here that we write what we write because those subjects are familiar to us even though they are deeply buried within our subconscious? It's true. We write what we know--even if the knowing is something we just experienced in person, reading, or by viewing a documentary. Humans innovate all the time. There is very little inventing going on... Take some archaeology classes if you don't believe me. Remember, this article is about understanding ourselves. If we search inward long and hard enough, we'll find that everything we write about is a part of us. And, it can't hurt to make the world more approachable and digestible for the reader.

Thanks for having me here today, Rebecca. If you have a magic wand, please wave it at me. I so want to time travel! ~Skhye

Join my fan group to be in my monthly drawing for a Time Guardian Fan Kit and more! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skhyemoncrief/

Read 1st chapter of SWORDSONG http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com/2008/04/10/skhye-moncriefs-swordsong.aspx

Read another (shorter) excerpt from SWORDSONG http://www.thewildrosepress.com/swordsong-p-4082.html

Purchase SWORDSONG in print at amazon http://www.amazon.com/Swordsong-Skhye-Moncrief/dp/1601547390/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276532118&sr=1-5

What are reviewers saying about the Time Guardians series...


"Arthur is a masterpiece..." HE OF THE FIERY SWORD's King Arthur ~Diane Mason; The Romance Studio

"FORBIDDEN ETERNITY... spine-tingling suspense. The story is dynamite; it explodes off the page and leaves you breathless for more." ~Tulip, LASR

“THE SPELL OF THE KILLING MOON offers the best of spine-tingling suspense. The setting is perfect... Moncrief’s ability to wield magic and emotion are without compare. Her words twist together emotions and visuals until you experience this tale as if the trap were set for you. Some lines blend a kind of poetic magic: “Moonlight wove a special kind of magic, a spell so vacillating that a person never knew if reality were anything other than a dream.” Darkness and premonitions and deadly intent fill these pages... a unique blend of mystic Medieval Gothic and romance…and a true blood-curdling thriller." ~Snapdragon, LASR

"Intense, original, suspenseful, and dramatic... an unpredictable topsy-turvy romance... the suspense builds with every page in SACRIFICIAL HEARTS. In a world where symbols mean everything, magic is the way..." ~Snapdragon; LASR

Stories available at www.amazon.com, www.bn.com, www.borders.com, and www.thewildrosepress.com

www.skhyemoncrief.com

"Be the change you want to see in the world." ~Ghandi
Contest:
Leave message here and on Rebecca Savage's webpage contact form and be entered to win free pdf of Rebecca's book, whichever you choose;)
rebeccasavage.com

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Welcome Guest Blogger Jeta Clegg




1. How can we find you? Website, Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc. - please share your public links.

My website is http://www.jaletac.com, Facebook under Jaleta Clegg, Twitter under ursulasquid, and my blog The Far Edge of Normal on Blogspot.

2. Tell us about your writing - What genre do you prefer to write? What books, stories, other publications that you've written are your personal favorites? Anything new coming up?

I write mainly science fiction - space opera, where the characters and stories are the main focus. My first novel, Nexus Point came out late last year. It's a tale of desperate survival on a primitive planet. Only sort of - the main character literally crashes into the middle of a undercover investigation into drug smuggling on a planet that for cultural reasons can't know about advanced technology. Complicated? Yes. Add in a dash of romance just to keep everyone on their toes. It was a lot of fun to write. I absolutely love the characters.

I've got several short stories in print, mostly comic horror. I'm working on a vampire story that just makes me laugh. What happens to the poor vampires when people become too medicated and also have high cholesterol? I love twisting things on their heads and poking fun at tradition. The first section of the vampire story is on my website as a teaser.

3. What about you as a person? What do you do to relax? Favorite movies or tv shows? Hobbies?

I love quirky shows like White Collar or Psych. I also love bad, campy sci-fi and disaster movies. Nothing beats a bowl of popcorn and an atrociously bad movie. My kids and I make fun of them mercilessly. Mystery Science Theater 3000 doesn't hold a candle to our voiceovers.

I also love piecing quilts, playing with colors and textures and shapes, fitting them to the person I'm making the quilt for. I hate the quilting part, though.

I love my day job, too. Where else can you walk into work in a full Star Trek Admiral's uniform and no one bats an eye? I get to make costumes for the actors, run Star Trek LARPing sessions, teach kids about space and astronomy and physics, and impersonate my boss at his desk and on the phone. We're getting a digital planetarium system this summer. I can't wait to start playing with it! http:///www.spacecamputah.org

4. What gets your creative juices going? Do you write to a music, and do you want to share your playlist?

Music sets my mood. It really depends on what I'm writing, although once I get involved, I don't even notice the music anymore. I was writing a big fight scene, very intense and gory. I finished the scene and realized my background music was the overture from "Somewhere in Time." Didn't fit at all, but I didn't even realize it was so wrong.

Nexus Point was written mostly to Air Supply's Greatest Hits. My iTunes library is a source of wonder to teens. It has a little bit of everything from very strange folk songs and Dr. Dimento to New Age spirituals to Heavy Metal to Classic Rock. I've even got opera in my playlists.

5. "All writers must have cats, especially if they write fantasy or speculative fiction." Do you have a stand on this one? Any cute pictures of your kitty or other pet?

I laugh. So many author photos include their cats you'd think it was a requirement, especially if you write speculative fiction. We own a cat, the second one recently died. Considering she was 16, it was about time. The one we have left is just as old, toothless, and a source of endless amusement. I'm not much of a pet person, though. I can kill any houseplant in a matter of weeks. How do you think pets fare? The cat belongs to my husband and kids, not me. He stole a spot in my author picture by climbing into my lap while we were shooting. As soon as the camera left, so did he. Silly animal.

6. What organizations do you recommend for those wanting to become writers? Any advice you'd like to share about writing?

Main advice: Just do it. Write, and write, then write more. Keep at it. Eventually you'll think, "This is good enough to be published." At that point, find some good editors who aren't necessarily your friends to read through it and rip it apart for you. If you can't handle that, you aren't ready for publication.

Broad Universe is a great resource for those newly published and established. If you're a woman author, especially in science fiction, it's hard to be taken seriously. BU helps promote works by women writers. It's also a great source for support and friendship.

For those still looking for direction and help, Forward Motion (http://www.fmwriters.com) is great, although it can be overwhelmingly large. Critters (http://www.critters.org) is also a great resource if you're looking for feedback and aren't quite ready for the brutal editing phase.

7. What writers inspired you to become an author?

Andre Norton always wove such incredible tales of worlds that never existed and made space travel so exciting. I love her classic SF.

I've been fortunate to meet lots of authors by working several local conventions. Each of them inspires me. Watching Brandon Sanderson go from newbie to NYT bestseller has been very inspirational. He's not the only local author that's made it to the big time, either. Dan Wells (I am not a Serial Killer), James Dashner (Mazerunner), Julie Bellon (my neighbor who writes LDS Romance), Howard Tayler (Schlock Mercenary) - It's fun to meet them and find out how they made it. Each did it their way and all of them are successful. Not to mention funny.

8. Any special appearances or events coming up that you want to mention?

CONduit in Salt Lake City UT the end of May. Fun local con. I do the hospitality suite. This is my first year attending as a published author not just a local fan. I'm excited for our Guest of Honor - Barbara Hambly, another one on my list of author favorites.

Priestess of the Eggstone: The Fall of the Altairan Empire Book 2 will be out early next year.
CONTEST: post here a comment to Jeta & one on my webpage and I'll enter you for a free fdp! PS : Put in a phony cell phone number on the contact form...still can't figure out how to get that question off that form:)

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Welcome Guest Blogger Linda Rettstatt

BIO: Linda Rettstatt
Linda Rettstatt began her writing career while clerking at The Brownsville Telegraph, her small Pennsylvania hometown newspaper. Though hired to take classified ads, Linda eagerly agreed to assume the task of writing reviews for community theater productions, for which her sole compensation was a by line. (It was a job no one in the newsroom wanted.)
Her passion for writing led Linda into the world of women’s fiction and contemporary romance. Writing about heroines who had to draw upon their inner strength to overcome loss or adversity seemed only natural given her years of work as a psychotherapist.
Linda’s first novel, And the Truth Will Set You Free, was published in July, 2007 by Wings ePress and was the publisher’s best seller for the first month follow its release. And the Truth Will Set You Free finaled for a 2008 Eppie Award.
Three other novels—Pieces, The Year I Lost My Mind, and Finding Hope—followed in the next eighteen months with Wings ePress. Finding Hope has finaled for a 2010 EPIC e-book Award. Her fifth novel, The Restoration of Abby Walker, was released by Wings ePress in September, 2009. Next Time, I’m Gonna Dance was released on January 2, 2010 by Champagne Books. Shooting Into the Sun was published on May 1 in e-book, and Love, Sam is contracted by Champagne Books for November, 2010 publication. In addition, Renting to Own will be published in August by Class Act Books. Linda’s short stories have received recognition from Pennwriters, Inc., Writer’s Digest, and Long and Short Romance Reviews.
Of her writing, Linda says, “I write for women—stories of love, strength, humor, and hope.” Readers have compared her work to that of Elizabeth Berg, Nicholas Sparks, and Sherryl Woods.
Linda is the owner and moderator of The Women’s Fiction Writers Exchange, an online critique group of women writers from across the United States and Canada. She has served as contest judge for the River City Romance Writers and EPIC’s New Voices and EPIC Award competitions. Linda grew up in southwestern Pennsylvania and currently resides in Southaven, Mississippi. Excerpts and reviews can be read at www.lindarettstatt.com and her blog can be viewed at www.onewomanswrite.blogspot.com.
Rebecca, thanks so much for having me here today as part of my Sailing into Summer Virtual Blog Book Tour.
I’m often asked how I began writing. My background is in music and social work. Music satisfied my creative urges for a long time. But one day when I’d had my calendar in my clinical practice cleared by cancellations, the office manager suggested I, “go back to your office and write that book you keep talking about.” (I think she just wanted to get me out of her office.) But I took her advice. I started writing And the Truth Will Set You Free. That was early in 2004, and I’ve not stopped writing since.
I read a variety of genres, but have a particular love for women’s fiction—books that feature strong but vulnerable heroines who have to draw more deeply into their inner resources to overcome some obstacle. I was recently asked what I’ve learned from each of my novels or my characters. Never having considered how my stories have affected me, personally, I gave the question some thought and came up with the following:
And the Truth Will Set You Free: I learned that, even when our dreams are offered to us in the form of a second chance, it still requires courage and risk to take hold.
Pieces: I learned that there is inside each of us the need to know where we come from.
The Year I Lost My Mind: I learned that love—true love—can be tested and tried and will hold when stretched to new limits.
Finding Hope: I learned that, even when we question our choices and reinvent ourselves, we may be led right back to where we started—but with a renewed peace.
The Restoration of Abby Walker: I learned that sometimes what seems to be the worst possible event can launch us into a new and fulfilling life.
Next Time I’m Gonna Dance: I learned that we sometimes face a darkness that we have to approach alone, but that the love of family and the bonds of friendship light the path ahead.
Shooting into the Sun: I learned that the boundaries we construct may keep us safe, and they may also isolate us unless we are willing to take risks and color outside those lines.
Which brings me to my newest novel, Shooting into the Sun. I’d like to share a blurb and brief excerpt:
Blurb:
Nature photographer Rylee Morgan has created an orderly, settled life for herself. When she finds an advertisement that might lead to her estranged father, she takes a photo assignment to the west coast to investigate. With her younger sister, Lexie, in tow following the breakup with her fiancé, Rylee is focused on two things: finding the man who may be her father and doing her job. Lexie lives life by her own set of rules, or lack of rules, and Rylee’s plans are further unsettled when Lexie invites a hitchhiker to join them on their journey.
Excerpt:
When people know they’re about to do the wrong thing, they don’t look you in the eye. Parents were no different.
~ * ~
One
“Never shoot into the sun.” Her father repositioned himself to pose for the photograph.
“Why not?” Rylee Morgan lowered the camera and squinted at him.
“Because it’s a rule. If you follow the rules, you’ll avoid trouble, and you’ll create beautiful pictures.” He stood in the back yard, the white aluminum siding of their house
providing a backdrop.
She wanted to believe him. Rylee snapped the photograph, capturing his image.
He motioned to the camera bag he’d set on the ground beside her. “You remember how to switch the lenses?”
She nodded.
“How about one more picture of us?” He pulled the camera from her hand and drew her close to his side. At twelve years of age, she was nearly his height. Extending his arm, the camera lens reflecting their images, he pressed the shutter release.
He handed her the camera, then hugged her against him. “I love you, angel. Don’t ever forget that.”
She choked on her words. “You don’t have to leave, Daddy.”
“Yes, honey, I do. I’ll talk to you soon, though.”
“Take me with you.” She knotted her fingers in his sleeve.
A muscle twitched along his jaw. “I can’t.” He held her for another moment, and then pried her hands free. Bolting to the car without a backward glance, he pulled from the
drive.
“Daddy!” Rylee chased after him. At the curb, she raised the camera and clicked the shutter frantically until she heard the whirr of rewinding film. Tears blurred her last
glimpse. His car turned and disappeared from her view. She hugged the Nikon against her chest and cried.
~ * ~
Never shoot into the sun—the voice played in her head. The rules she had learned early in her career never failed to produce flawless photographs. The rules she had developed for life had not served her as well. In the sixteen years since her father’s departure, Rylee had kept herself
busy, focused on her career, and safe inside her well-constructed boundaries.
Rylee resituated the tripod and checked the sun’s position. She stepped behind the camera, looked once again through the lens and waited, watching the slight movement
of the leaves. Water bubbled over rocks. Slowing the shutter speed, she could create a smooth cascade effect. Blue sky and white clouds reflected on the stream’s surface. This
stretch of the rapids where the Youghiogheny River ran through Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania was her favorite spot for shooting.
Her thumb rested on the shutter release, prepared for just the right moment. The breeze subsided and the shadows shifted. Then, just as she pressed the button, some jerk
decided to walk on water.
Rylee lifted her head and stared. A hiker made his way across the exposed rocks and into the middle of the narrow river—directly into the center of her view. She walked to the
water’s edge and, with hands on hips, shouted, “Excuse me! You’re ruining my shot.”
He raised his arms and stretched, his face turned toward the sun. His shirt pulled up to expose a narrow waist and flat stomach.
Rylee dragged her eyes away from his body, cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted again, “Hey! You’re in the way.”
The hiker turned and shielded his eyes with his hand. “What?”
“You…are…ruining…my…shot.”
2010, Champagne Books
Visit my website for buy links to Shooting into the Sun and to read excerpts of my other books.

I believe our writing is largely influenced by the authors we read. I have an unlikely assembly of favorite authors who, I can only hope, influence my work: Elizabeth Berg, Kris Radish, Lisa Scottoline, Janet Evanovich, Sherryl Woods, Elin Hilderbrand, Nicholas Sparks, Diane Mott Davidson, Nevada Barr, Randy Susan Meyers… Well, as you can see, these authors write differing genres from women’s fiction to romance to mystery. What they have in common is the ability to create captivating characters and tell stories that are realistic, touching, funny, intense, and that make me think. They challenge me to work harder at the craft.
As for what’s coming in the next few months? Renting to Own will be available in August from Class Act Books. It’s the story of a very young, but mature single mother trying to stabilize her life for herself and her four-year-old daughter. And in November, Champagne Books will release Love, Sam, a story that shows us how love transcends death and self-acceptance is the key to happiness.
I could no more stop writing than I could stop breathing. The greatest rewards come for me when a woman has read one of my books and tells me she felt I was telling her story or that she gained some insight or strength from the character.
Thanks for having me here today to share a bit about myself and my writing. Readers are invited to visit my website at www.lindarettstatt.com and my blog at www.onewomanswrite.blogspot.com or to connect me with on Facebook or Twitter @linda_writer
Linda Rettstatt
“Life’s an adventure—wear comfortable shoes.”

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Welcome Guest Blogger: Ashley Ladd:)



I’m lost in Jane Austen’s world of “Sense and Sensibility” with Edward and Elinor, Marianne and Brandon. I love the poetry of the language, the comedy of manners, the intricacy of characters.
To think Jane Austen was the sole editor of her work boggles my mind.
Many critique partners and editors would testify they have edited my work. Some more than others.
Editing is not my forte although I am working hard at improving this. I am also starting to find joy in making books shine and in bringing them to life in the reworks.
Perhaps it’s my ADHD that kept me from enjoying editing. I was always eager to move onto the next project, to stop the new set of voices in my head from tormenting me.
But it’s so very important.
Editors and publishing houses will not wish to work with authors who submit inferior work. Critique partners may grow tired of sloppy writing. And if it reaches readers and reviewers? An author could be ruined.
Still, few authors have reached the stature of Jane Austen. Few novels have remained so popular so long, not that you need me to tell you.
I thank God for my critique partners and editors. Each has taught me something new about the craft. Each has helped polish my stories, has supported me through so many things in the writing world and even things that have nothing to do with writing.
This week I look forward to seeing my one of my critique partners in person at Lori Foster’s Readers’ and Writer’s events in Cincinnati. She has plans to bring her work on CD to me. And of course, I hope to have a lot of fun with her.
I’ve kept my critique partners and editors busy. To date, I have ten unique works published or that are soon to be released this year. That boils down to a lot of editing. 
Here’s a snippet from “Charity’s Auction”, my most recently released story, this week in fact.
Although head nurse Char Reynolds is desperately head over heels for bad boy Dr. Dexter Graham, he's moved on. Still she gets caught up in bidding for him at the hospital's auction for the new children's wing and wins. His smug expression drives her to also bid on and win the very hunky Dr. Ben Price, Dexter's nemesis and to plan a very naughty, very sexy night with both men.
Excerpt From: Charity's Auction
Charity “Char” Reynolds stared at Dr. Dexter Graham, her eyes narrowed, her heart doing the cha-cha while mathematical calculations flew around in her head. He was gorgeous with his dark, five o’clock shadow, the sexy glint in his eyes, and his broad, powerful shoulders. If it weren’t for that smirk on his lips, he’d be perfect. But he was far from it. He only looked perfect.
The good doctor was a bad boy through and through. It was a tossup whether he mended or broke more hearts. His record on the operating room table was stellar. Off, however, was horrendous. He’d broken so many hearts with that killer smile and huge dimples he should be thrown into solitary confinement for the rest of his miserable life.
Amy Koch, the hospital’s chief administrator, adjusted the microphone with her only hand. Then she tapped the instrument and blew into it. “Can you hear me?”
When the sound from the mic blasted through Char’s head, she clapped her hands over her ears in self-preservation. “Have mercy, woman.”
Once her brain stopped spinning and she was able to see again, she looked over a sea of other people holding their ears. Tentatively, she removed one hand, keeping it close just in case the mic went crazy again.
So far so good. Slowly, she lowered her other hand but kept it at the ready as she warily kept her eye on Amy.
Although, she felt sorry for Amy since the car wreck that had amputated the administrator’s left arm that she couldn’t find anything to like about her caused her to war with feelings of guilt and distrust. Even before the accident, Amy had only been out for number one, stepping on anybody in her way, claiming it was for the greater good. Now people overlooked her mean tempered whining—until they came into her sights. Char had been dead centre in Amy’s far too often. As head surgical nurse, she and Amy butted heads daily.
“Welcome to our first annual charity auction.” Amy beamed at the audience and batted her fake lashes. When she moved, the spotlight made her rhinestones shoot laser beams around the room.
Amy clapped her hand against the mic and shot a grin as fake as her lashes at the audience. “I hope your cheque books are fat and happy and your fingers are itching to write outrageous amounts for the new children’s wing. Let’s get this thing off the ground tonight!”
Cheering anew deafened Char, and her lips stretched so tightly over her teeth they ached.
Her best friend, Beth, another surgical nurse, elbowed her. She rubbed her hands together, and there was a hungry gleam in her eyes. “My cheque book’s ready, willing and able. I moved money from savings to bid on Dr. Hottie.”
It was all Char could do to hold her smile in place and not growl at the sweet strawberry blonde. Since she’d never breathed a word about her brief fling with Dr. Hottie, she couldn’t accuse her friend of trying to steal her ex-boyfriend, yet her claws extended and her skin crawled. When her throat stopped constricting, she said as airily as possible, “Oh, really? Great minds think alike. Me, too.”
Their third musketeer, Jody, a surgical intern jumped up and down and waved her psychedelic-coloured cheque book in their faces. “Me three! Let’s do a ménage à trois with him and have our wicked way.”
Beth scrunched her nose at the perky child. With a duh hanging in her voice, she said, “Ew. I don’t want to see your naked tits. Besides a ménage à trois is three and there would be four of us.”
The three of them would be much too good for the louse. What she wanted to do to him involved whips, chains and video. He’d be so sorry he’d ever broken her heart…
“Aw shucks.” Jody scrunched her nose and pouted. “You two make three times as much as me. I’ll be lucky if I can buy Dr. Rob. I might as well go home since you two party poopers won’t share. It’s way too smoky in here anyway.” She covered her mouth with her hand and coughed as if to add emphasis.
Char’s gaze landed on Dr. Hunky, aka Ben Price, plastic surgeon to the rich and ritzy Boca Babes. “What about Dr. Hunky? He’s mighty cute.”
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=788
Ashley can be found at:
http://www.ashleyladd.blogspot.com
http://www.twitter.com/ashleyladd
http://www.total-e-bound.com
http://www.ellorascave.com
Thank you for hosting me today, Rebecca.

CONTEST: ANYONE POSTING ON THIS BLOG FOR ASHLEY AND ON MY CONTACT WEBPAGE FORM... WILL BE ENTERED TO WIN FREE PDF OF REBECCA SAVAGE BOOK, ANY BOOK, YOUR PICK:)
rebeccasavage.com

Monday, May 31, 2010

Welcome Christine Jeter: Guest Blogger: Article Below:)

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Welcome, Christine Jeter: Guest Blogger:)



WONDER HOW YOUR FAVORITE CELEBRITY LOOKS SO GOOD?
Considering how when Christina Jeter blogs everyone listens and she is one the best in the business when it comes to setting trends it was a no brainer to share with you all the lifestyle services I provide to those who seek the good life. If you've ever wondered how your favorite actor, actress or performing artist looks so good for so long you can bet that a professional chef had something to do with it. Imagine healthy food by request. If you've ever uttered the phrase, "I'd like to eat a healthy meal, please have one prepared for me chef," then you know you are living the good life. Hollywood is full of people who get paid to be beautiful and I am the one they would hire to stay that way. My name is D’Andre McCarter Private Chef to celebrities and owner of The Real Private Chefs(TRPC). Based in Atlanta, GA and though out the United States I provide private chef services to Families, Singles, Active Seniors, Famous Entertainers NFL and NBA Players, Film Makers, Movie Stars, CEO of Large Corporations, Hip-Hop Artist and Models. After serving in the hotel industry for many years I made a discovery. I was cooking for celebrities but no one knew it because I was not seen nor could I talk to the celebrities that I always admired. Upscale hotels prohibit staff from speaking to any celebrities for privacy reasons. Among those I have cooked for were Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Tiger Woods, David Banner, Tina Turner, Seinfeld, and many many more .

OWNER AND OPERATOR of (TRPC) I offer ‘palate-specific’ personal meals cooked from fresh ingredients in private homes. With so many households where people are working meal planning and preparation becomes an extra burden. Although frozen entrees and take-out food is convenient, it is loaded with salt, sugar, fat and preservatives. The most popular question I am always asked from potential clients is “How much are your services”? The average cost for a private chef is $60,000 to $80,000 per year. Now you might say that is a bit much, however you get a whole lot in return for your investment. You have a chef to grocery shop and prep in your kitchen, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner at your home all when it's convenient for you. No wonder private chefs have become such a hot commodity. People who can hire a private chef might have famous people coming to the house, and you need life and etiquette skills with diverse people. And I respect the home as defined by the family I work for. Some families will let their private chef eat dinner with them or not, but that was not the case in the households I served. As an employee, I could not sit down on the couch after dinner and watch a movie with everyone. There are rules that must be followed when working in aclient’s home. Privacy is paramount to families with private chefs. Most high profile clients require their chefs to sign a confidentiality agreement for privacy reasons. Many people ask what is the is the difference between a Personal Chef and a Private Chef? A private chef is employed by one individual or family full time, and is often “living in” and preparing up to 3 meals per day. A Personal Chef serves several clients, usually one per day, and provides multiple meals that are custom designed for the client’s particular requests and requirements. These meals are packaged and stored so that the client may enjoy them at their leisure in the future. Hiring a chef to plan, shop for and prepare 20 meals in your kitchen to freeze and eat later costs from $300 to $400 on the low end for rural residents, but it's more costly for those in big cities like Hollywood Ca. Using a website referral and the phone book are good ways to find a personal chef, but choosing one to actually work in your home requires diligence. Follow these three suggestions to ensure your chef is top-notch.
1. Check each candidate’s references and inquire about his or her training and work experience.
2. Ask the candidate for a sample menu, and initiate a discussion about personal cooking philosophy.
3. Interview the candidate in person in your home, where he or she can do an assessment of your kitchen and your appliances.


***CONTEST: Rebecca Savage: Anyone who leaves a post here and on my webpage contact form will be entered to win free pdf of Rebecca's book...whichever one you choose:)
rebeccasavage.com

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Welcome Guest Blogger: Mary Alice Pritchard




1. What do you write and why?

I write mostly paranormal romantic suspense. I love to read them and it is just natural to write what you love to read. I enjoy creating a different type of world from what I live in.

2. What do you read and why, especially if it's different from what you write?

Mostly Paranormal with some suspense thrown in. I just love those shape shifters!

3. Who do write for?

I write for The Wild Rose Press and The Dark Castle Lords

4. How long have you been writing?


I have written off and on since I could read. I’ve only been writing to get published for about six years now.

5. How do you world build?

I start with the characters and develop the world around them. I learn everything about them I can first and then start filling in around them. How they react in their world helps me create it.

6. How do you write: the process and atmosphere?

I like quiet when I’m first starting out. I usually write in my office but have been writing in my bedroom lately. Once I get going, I love to have my music going. I’m a classic rock sort of person. Usually I also have a cat on the back of my chair as well.

7. How do you build characters and their personalities and looks?

The characters just come to me. Once they are there, I just write things about them. Let them tell me about themselves. I sort of interview them. What do you like to do when you aren’t working? Who is your favorite band? Stupid stuff like that. It makes them come alive to me.

Then I give them looks. Sometimes I have a definite idea of what I want them to look like, sometimes I use a picture I get from a magazine or calendar. Naturally, all the men are the type I like. ;-)

8. Tell me about some of your heroes and heroines:

In my latest release, the hero is a tall bald hunk of a man who is quiet and deadly. He’s convinced he is unlovable. The heroine is convinced otherwise. She is a psychic who’s dreams predict the future. This is in See How They Die.

In Jaguar Nights, the hero is a very alpha weir cat. He has long dark hair and hasn’t got Control of his temper. The heroine is a psychic human who is able to help calm his beast.

They compliment each other but it is a long bumpy road.

9. Are you a pantser or plotter?

I’m a pantser. Then, I do a little plotting. I start out with an idea, a character, or a crime. Then I write what comes to me as it does. Once I have things going, I’ll do a sort of loose synopsis and sort of follow it. Usually I don’t have a clue what the ending will be though.


10. What's your WIP?

I actually have three going on at one time. The first one is called Mirror Mirror. It is about a Woman who sees dead people in mirrors. She helps the local police capture the killer but The lead detective on the case doesn’t believe her at first.

Another one is the third book in the series, Tales of the Cats which Jaguar Nights is the first Book and Leopard Dreams is the second book.

11. What's your latest release and tell me about it:

See How They Die is my latest release from The Dark Castle Lords. It is available at
Fictionwise.com

It is actually the first book I ever wrote for publication. It is about the psychic who dreams about murders that come true. She tries to avoid connecting with people so she won’t dream about their deaths but when the next dream is about some teenagers close to where she lives, she decides she can’t hide anymore, she has to help stop the killer before he strikes again.

See How They Die pulls the reader along a harrowing journey where nightmares come true and stopping a serial killer falls in the hands of a woman who hides from the truth and a man who no longer believes it exists. Together they learn to trust and depend on each other as a madman plans his next kill. Available now at Fiction Wise and The Dark Castle Lords

12. Anything from your personal life you'd like to tell us?

My personal life, hmmmm, I have seven cats and one dog. The cats are my muses and blog about me and what I’m doing most every weekend. You can read my blog at www.maryalicepritchard.com/blog

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Guest Blogger F. Solomon:) Thanks for being here for the rest of the week!

I am all about community within the romance community and thought it would be a really cool thing to do this "trade" that Rebecca suggested on the editor's loop. Brainstorming, she gave me a series of questions that I might want to use for my post. Since I do a regular series of posts for my chapter blog called Bits and Pieces, I figured it would only fair if I put myself in the hot seat and answered the questions interview style.



1. What do you write and why?


When I am sitting somewhere I am either looking for a pen and a piece of paper or I am on my MacBook or typing on my iPod Touch. It is instinct for me like birds build nests and spiders spin webs.




2. What do you read and why, especially if it's different from what you write?


I love erotica. I started with Anais Nin which I picked up from a friend who used to paint flowers like Georgia O'Keeffe and recommended Nin and (Henry) Miller to me. Everything I love in erotica is Ninesque, although not all the erotica I read is that quality. But it all inspires me...honestly I will read any genre though as long as there is real romance contained within.


3. Who do write for?


Myself.


4. How long have you been writing?


Almost my entire life, I started when I was 7 and like the spider metaphor, I just folded paper together like the Dell novels that my mother plied me with and tried to mimic one. It was a story about a haunted house with a kiss at the end--a juvenile version of what I write now!



5. How do you world build?


In a much less intriguing way that my counterparts who create paranormals! For me there has to be an angle or a dynamic that I want to explore between two people in a typically erotic way, but erotic is very psychological. I like to build the psychological world between my couple, that is where desire begins, that is where the power is.


6. How do you write: the process and atmosphere?


I am actually writing now on a laptop and there was drilling outside--I was really annoyed when I read this article this in the Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/05/20/2010-05-20_untitled__typewriter20m.html. If I have an idea I can be almost anywhere, I wrote almost a fourth of my (winning) NaNo 50000 words on my iPod touch on the train going to or coming from work. I was inspired by girls in Japan who wrote whole novels on their cell phones a few years ago: http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/01/72329


7. How do you build characters and their personalities and looks?


I do not outline and I also and not obsessed with what people look like. I start from where my intrigue with the characters began--it is my Big Bang--everything just comes from there.


8. Tell me about some of your heroes and heroines:


I read an article in the Village Voice a long time ago that said love makes fools of us all. I like to write about people who are controlled, but love unravels them and becomes everything to them. I read an article in Cosmopolitan years ago about women who have to have that man, anywhere, any time and that is what I love. People who risk it all for love.


9. Are you a pantser or plotter?


Such a pantser!


10. What's your WIP?


Two short stories: an erotic horror that reworks itself every time I have the opportunity to write and a heroine who risks it all for a relationship that cannot end happily, that should not even be started.



11. What's your latest release and tell me about it


LOL. I have not published fiction but am in the process. I blog, I have a series of posts called Bits and Pieces. This is my latest with the sensational author Dee Davis: http://rwanycblogginginthebigapple.blogspot.com/2010/05/bits-pieces-dee-davis.html


12. Anything from your personal life you'd like to tell us?


Yesterday was my birthday!

F. Solomon is a published poet and blogger. She is a member of RWA-NYC serving as the Assistant Editor of their newsletter Keynotes, as well as being the chapter's Social Networking Coordinator and welcomes you to follow or friend them @


www.rwanycblogginginthebigapple.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/rwanyc
www.facebook.com/rwanyc

Friday, May 14, 2010

Amber Leigh Williams...Photo and Blog Below:)



Guest Blogger: Amber Leigh Williams

Why do I write romance? I get this question a lot, as I'm sure many other romance authors do. Not so long ago, it made me go on the defensive. Now I see no reason at all because relationships are a part of everyday life. They fascinate me. Whether it's friendship, marriage, cohabitation or whatever else, the intrigue of relationship dynamics is the reason I turned to the romance genre. Many people think romance is about sex. I don't read or write romance for the lovemaking alone, however. Writing love scenes can actually be pretty excruciating. I write about realistic relationships. And in today's day and age, sex is a factor I can't ignore. Always, though, at the end of the day - it's about the love story. The meet. The build-up. The conflict. The attraction. The climax. And, finally, the resolution/HEA.

A real life love story led me to the premise of my first romance novel, FOREVER AMORE. It was the story of a British WWII soldier who was isolated in the Italian countryside. A local woman named Vonda risked her life by teaching him Italian and helping him to evade the Black Shirts and incoming German army. The story was adapted from Newby's book into a Hallmark film entitled In Love and War. As someone with an ingrained interest in the early '40's, I had planned on setting a historical romance against this backdrop. After watching this movie, my attention fixed on Veneto, Italy and I began to write LASR Best Book of 2009 Nominee FOREVER AMORE:


Was their love destined to last forever …



Engaged in a brutal dogfight, dashing American Lieutenant Charles Tyler crashes his broken plane into the Italian countryside. He prays for divine intervention—and is certain he’s found an angel from the very moment he looks up at Lucille Renaldi’s lovely face. Yet how can he be with her when his sense of duty tells him to stay away?



… or become another casualty of war?



Lucille’s attraction to the American is forbidden, her obligation to her family’s safety overwhelming. At great peril the Renaldis carry Charles from the crash site and disguise him as just another worker in their vineyard. Hidden there inside the ugliness of World War II is the beauty of a growing love, and a danger that could end their lives any day—when all they want is … forever.


Available Now: http://www.blacklyonpublishing.com/Forever%20Amore.html


I came into romance with romantic suspense when The Wild Rose Press contracted DENIED ORIGIN. Coincidentally, the first romance novel I read was a heart-pounding RS by Nora Roberts, Carnal Innocence. Relationships in RS often involve life/death circumstances. This makes the love story all the more intense. Also an RS trend is the "close quarters" factor. Throw two reluctant members of the opposite sex in grave ticking-time-clock situation and you've got the makings of a hot romantic suspense. This was the case with DENIED ORIGIN. What would happen if I revoked a rich heiress of her life and identity? What if she had to traverse the globe and a deadly terrorist organization to uncover her true life? The only missing ingredient was a sexy bullet catcher who would stop at nothing to see her safe:

Former FBI agent and bodyguard Mark Welles’s career and life are going downhill until he meets Marcisso Tuttora, the man his father died protecting years ago. Wealthy businessman Marcisso puts the life of his only child, Valentina, in Mark’s hands by asking him to return to Rio de Janeiro to guard her.

Less than a week later, Marcisso and his wife are murdered in their beds, and Valentina is running for her life for reasons she cannot begin to guess until she meets Mark Welles. A stubborn heiress to an oil fortune and the son of a highly decorated soldier, they must find a way to escape the country without getting caught and find out why they are chased by a deadly terrorist. In a matter of weeks, they are driven into a scavenger hunt across the globe laid out by Valentina’s parents and embark on a passionate, emotional journey as exhilarating and intense as the race for their lives.



Available Now: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/denied-origin-p-907.html



The one sub-genre of romance I never dreamed of exploring was western romance. When broken actress Stella Ridge strolled into my imagination, however, and demanded I send her back home to her ranching roots, I could not ignore her or her silent cowboy, Judd Black. So grateful am I do these characters. Not just because this novella placed 1st in the 2009 More Than Magic Contest's novella category, but because Judd and the heros of both sequels of BLACKEST HEART helped me to understand the romance hero as a whole a heck of a lot more. And, I will admit, writing western romance is just plain fun!



BLACKEST HEART: America's Sweetheart, Stella Ridge has been away from Wayback for fifteen years paving her way to the top of the acting business. When a car accident leaves her physically and emotionally scarred, the only place she wants to go is home to Texas and her family's ranch.



The changes that have taken place since her departure are enough to rock her world again. She uncovers a buried tragedy, struggles with the penetrating stares and questions from townsfolk, and comes up against an intriguing and unexpected spark with the silent cowboy and champion bull rider, Judd Black. Their wounded souls draw them together and Stella begins to realize that only in him can she find the solace she sought by leaving the bright lights of Hollywood.



Available Now: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/blackest-heart-wayback-texas-p-1058.html



BLUEST HEART: The Wayback bachelor is a dying breed, but that doesn't stop Casey Ridge from wanting to settle down. For this cowboy anyone but Josie Brusky would be an easy wrangle. Unfortunately for him, the Blue Bug singer and owner of Josie's Treasures doesn't believe in commitment much less marriage.



Years ago, Josie lost her heart to Casey's charm and dimpled smile. Since then she has done everything she knows to forget him. After all, she’s known as the local harlot and the daughter of the town’s biggest bigot. Casey could have any girl he wanted. Why would he saddle himself with her? In the wake of a shattering past, she refuses to give up her independence.



Casey digs down deep to win her over, but does he have what it takes to win Wayback's bluest heart?



Available Now: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/bluest-heart-wayback-texas-p-3830.html



BET IT ON MY HEART: Ante up! Keefe Ridge's bronc-busting days are nearly over. Despite that and the fact that he is slowly making his dream business venture a reality, Wayback's wildest cowboy doesn't see any reason to settle down. He is even willing to bet that marriage isn't in the cards at all for him.



Agent Calli Morlani came to Wayback on a mission: to bring Stella Ridge back to Hollywood. When Stella refuses, she dares Calli to take in some local color and see what Wayback has to offer. Whether that includes Stella's devastatingly charming brother becomes irrevelant once Calli finds herself in bed with him - in more ways than one…



Will it take a tough city girl to make the Wayback playboy finally fall long and hard? Or will Keefe give Calli a reason to stay? Place your bet!



Available Now: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/bet-it-on-my-heart-p-3906.html



The greatest lesson I've learned from romance is that, despite some preconceived notions, no two romances are the same. And if played out true to character and the right amount of conflict, there's always entertainment! Thank you, Rebecca, for letting me share today here. Readers, you can learn more at my website http://www.amberleighwilliams.com. What's your favorite aspect of romance?