Mondays kinda suck, don't you think?
It's the first day of getting up early again. The first day having to figure out what uncomfortable business suit and pointy shoes to put on again. The first day--the day when you KNOW the whole work week is still in front of you.
I don't much like Mondays, but actually I don't hate them either. Monday is a return to my routine. Weekends get so crazy with all the running around that you can't find time for during the week. I like the way Mondays slow everything back to normal. On Mondays I go to work and spend the day there. I usually take a lunch break to do some writing. And when I get home my family is waiting for me with dinner. Afterwards there's really no time to do anything else except relax and get some more writing in. (I guess I could do some cleaning, but let's not be ridiculous)
Besides, what could be better than to wake up on a Monday that is the start of a short week?
As of Wednesday I'm on a bit of vacation, and I'll be away right through to next Tuesday. YAY!! Camping with the family in Algonquin Park. It's way beautiful.
As long as it doesn't rain.
By the way, drop over to visit me at Happy Endings Tuesday for my blog about...blogging. It's a mini intro to my marketing and promotional workshop.
And...through the magic of the internet, I will be posting a blog at the Vixens on Thursday about finishing my new short story, so come on by and check it out.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Best Book of the Week Poll
Okay everybody, it seems I need your help once again to nominate Dark Immortal for Best Book of the Week honour over at Long and Short of It: Whipped Cream Reviews.
I posted about the actual review earlier this week here and it was so wonderful. If you didn't get a chance to read it yet, please do.
I'd sure appreciate your support. The contest runs through Saturday and Sunday. Click on over here to vote.
Thanks and take care!
I posted about the actual review earlier this week here and it was so wonderful. If you didn't get a chance to read it yet, please do.
I'd sure appreciate your support. The contest runs through Saturday and Sunday. Click on over here to vote.
Thanks and take care!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Long weekend anyone?
Oh, I know that technically the long weekend is next week (at least for Ontarians who will have the benefit of the "Civic Holiday"), but I took a vacation day today! Yay, no day job!
So what am I going to do?
Well, hubby made an appointment to take the car in to get the tires rotated. (I almost expired from exceitement.) Then we're going to go shopping. Actually, this should be fun. We'll be doing Ikea and all the outlet stores, and the amazing MEC! (If you don't know MEC and you're a die-hard outdoorsman(woman), check it out here)
I'm really hoping to have a serious shopping experience. Folks, we're talking a full day of pounding the pavement looking for deals. I'll need shoes, clothes, gadgets, and probably a break for ice cream!
What are your plans this weekend?
So what am I going to do?
Well, hubby made an appointment to take the car in to get the tires rotated. (I almost expired from exceitement.) Then we're going to go shopping. Actually, this should be fun. We'll be doing Ikea and all the outlet stores, and the amazing MEC! (If you don't know MEC and you're a die-hard outdoorsman(woman), check it out here)
I'm really hoping to have a serious shopping experience. Folks, we're talking a full day of pounding the pavement looking for deals. I'll need shoes, clothes, gadgets, and probably a break for ice cream!
What are your plans this weekend?
Thursday, July 23, 2009
High Concept Gone Wonky?
Come check us out over at the Vauxhall Vixens today, but make sure you bring your craziest high concept pitches!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Dark Immortal Reviewed
I was very pleased to see a new review for Dark Immortal
Magnolia from Whipped Cream Reviews at The Long and Short of It gives Dark Immortal 4.5 Cherries and says:
The action is awesome; the sex is thrilling; and I just fell in love with the entire story!... I can’t say enough about this wonderful tale that ventures into a dark world unlike any I’ve ever read before. This is definitely worth putting down your current read for!
Thank you Magnolia!
Please click on over to read the complete review here
Monday, July 20, 2009
Lazy Sundays
This Sunday was a great day for relaxing about the house. Kiddo was up early, as usual, to watch his morning cartoons and hubby and I cuddled together all warm and cozy until about 8:00 (no extra sleeping in for me this weekend).
After breakfast, I hunkered down to do some writing (most of it in the area of plotting, so the actual wordcount was only about 1500 words), and then we went out to the mall for a while to run some errands. I did some more writing when we got home while hubby and kiddo played Ben 10 on the Wii. Click here if you're at all interested in knowing what Ben 10 is (you don't want to be less informed than a six year old, do you?)
Just before dinner, I got it into my head that I needed to make brownies. Of course, I put my question to the Twitterverse and received a couple of great recipes, but the best one by far was from writer pal Viv Arend. Since my first attempt flopped, I tried her recipe afterward, and the brownies were TO DIE FOR! Thanks Viv!
Despite the fact that I worked on my new WIP for the better part of the day and only got about 2000 words, I'm very excited about this little short story. I think it's totally rockin' and can't wait to share it!
After breakfast, I hunkered down to do some writing (most of it in the area of plotting, so the actual wordcount was only about 1500 words), and then we went out to the mall for a while to run some errands. I did some more writing when we got home while hubby and kiddo played Ben 10 on the Wii. Click here if you're at all interested in knowing what Ben 10 is (you don't want to be less informed than a six year old, do you?)
Just before dinner, I got it into my head that I needed to make brownies. Of course, I put my question to the Twitterverse and received a couple of great recipes, but the best one by far was from writer pal Viv Arend. Since my first attempt flopped, I tried her recipe afterward, and the brownies were TO DIE FOR! Thanks Viv!
Despite the fact that I worked on my new WIP for the better part of the day and only got about 2000 words, I'm very excited about this little short story. I think it's totally rockin' and can't wait to share it!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Relaxation
I'm off to the cottage today!
I don't know what the weather's going to be like. I had heard it might rain. But either way we're going. We have family visiting from Montreal and what better place to entertain them than the beach? Even if it does rain, we'll have lots of things to do. Movies. Music. Games. The cottage is one of those places designed just for fun.
What are your plans this weekend?
I don't know what the weather's going to be like. I had heard it might rain. But either way we're going. We have family visiting from Montreal and what better place to entertain them than the beach? Even if it does rain, we'll have lots of things to do. Movies. Music. Games. The cottage is one of those places designed just for fun.
What are your plans this weekend?
Thursday, July 16, 2009
GUEST AUTHOR: Kinsey Holley
I wrote Kiss and Kin on purpose, so to speak, specifically for the Samhain anthology.
I’ve been working on a full length story set in the same world, only in Colorado, not Houston. (It’s been over a year, and it’s not quite finished. Pieces of it have finalled in some contests, I’m almost there, but…yeah. You know how it goes). So when I saw the Shifting Dreams submission call, I thought – well, hey, I like this world I’ve built, and I’m frustrated with the big WIP, so I’ll write a short story.
But I’d never sat down to make up a story all at once. I can’t explain it, but I get the characters first, and maybe just a hint of a background, and then they start walking around and talking, and then I start to see a story. Character and dialogue are my two strengths, I think. It’s the plot that gives me fits. If only readers didn’t insist on interesting plots…
So then I had to come up with a story I could tell in thirty thousand words. I’m kind of verbose – I envy my writer friends who have to really work to make a story hit seventy-five thousand words. I mean, the big WIP stands at ninety-four thousand words and I’m not done. But anyway…
I had this idea about a nightclub, drug dealing wolves and a heroine who gets in trouble because she was dragged along by a friend. It took me a while to come up with a hero and a real plot. Then I thought about the very first story I tried to write, the one that got stalled at six thousand words because I started having visions of this dark, bearded werewolf in Colorado. So when it was time to come up with this short story, I didn’t want to use Nick Wargman, the hero of the stalled WIP, because I’m going to finish him one day (soon, I hope). I decided the hero would be one of Nick’s wolves. After that, Lark just sort of popped up on her own, and the whole cousins-but-not-cousins thing. (There was a conversation recently over at Smart Bitches Trashy Books about what kind of hero/heroine setup you’re a sucker for. I’m a sucker for the stories where either the hero’s been in love with the heroine for years, or vice versa, or they’ve been carrying a torch for each other and neither of them knows it.)
And of course, the hardest part was the plot. I drove my sister in law crazy as I tried to work out what the bad guys did and how it happened. And you read the story now, and it’s like – that’s it? That simple little plot took you forever to come up with? Yep. I can make people walk and talk and breathe, but I have a helluva time making them actually do anything interesting!
Kinsey Holley
Brotherly love? Oh hell no…
A Sexy Shifter story.
On the surface, court reporter Lark Manning looks like the luckiest girl in the world, blessed with great friends and a wonderful family. Underneath, she harbors a hopelessly unrequited love for the sexy werewolf everyone thinks of as her cousin. Taran rarely notices her except to condescend or lecture. He’s treated her the same way since she was eight years old, and there’s no reason to think he’ll ever change.
Taran Lloyd, a detective in the Houston Police Department’s Shifters Investigations Unit (SHIU), lives for those rare moments he gets to spend around Lark, torturing himself with what he can’t have. Kin only by marriage, she thinks of him as her big brother. He couldn’t bear her pity—or her disgust—if she learned he wants her for his mate.
When weres from a rival pack attack her, Lark screams out the first name that comes to mind—Taran. Only this sexy alpha can keep her safe until they find out who wants her dead, and why. But keeping her safe means keeping her close. And the closer they get, the harder it gets for these not-really-cousins to honor their commitment to keep their paws off.
I’ve been working on a full length story set in the same world, only in Colorado, not Houston. (It’s been over a year, and it’s not quite finished. Pieces of it have finalled in some contests, I’m almost there, but…yeah. You know how it goes). So when I saw the Shifting Dreams submission call, I thought – well, hey, I like this world I’ve built, and I’m frustrated with the big WIP, so I’ll write a short story.
But I’d never sat down to make up a story all at once. I can’t explain it, but I get the characters first, and maybe just a hint of a background, and then they start walking around and talking, and then I start to see a story. Character and dialogue are my two strengths, I think. It’s the plot that gives me fits. If only readers didn’t insist on interesting plots…
So then I had to come up with a story I could tell in thirty thousand words. I’m kind of verbose – I envy my writer friends who have to really work to make a story hit seventy-five thousand words. I mean, the big WIP stands at ninety-four thousand words and I’m not done. But anyway…
I had this idea about a nightclub, drug dealing wolves and a heroine who gets in trouble because she was dragged along by a friend. It took me a while to come up with a hero and a real plot. Then I thought about the very first story I tried to write, the one that got stalled at six thousand words because I started having visions of this dark, bearded werewolf in Colorado. So when it was time to come up with this short story, I didn’t want to use Nick Wargman, the hero of the stalled WIP, because I’m going to finish him one day (soon, I hope). I decided the hero would be one of Nick’s wolves. After that, Lark just sort of popped up on her own, and the whole cousins-but-not-cousins thing. (There was a conversation recently over at Smart Bitches Trashy Books about what kind of hero/heroine setup you’re a sucker for. I’m a sucker for the stories where either the hero’s been in love with the heroine for years, or vice versa, or they’ve been carrying a torch for each other and neither of them knows it.)
And of course, the hardest part was the plot. I drove my sister in law crazy as I tried to work out what the bad guys did and how it happened. And you read the story now, and it’s like – that’s it? That simple little plot took you forever to come up with? Yep. I can make people walk and talk and breathe, but I have a helluva time making them actually do anything interesting!
Kinsey Holley
Brotherly love? Oh hell no…A Sexy Shifter story.
On the surface, court reporter Lark Manning looks like the luckiest girl in the world, blessed with great friends and a wonderful family. Underneath, she harbors a hopelessly unrequited love for the sexy werewolf everyone thinks of as her cousin. Taran rarely notices her except to condescend or lecture. He’s treated her the same way since she was eight years old, and there’s no reason to think he’ll ever change.
Taran Lloyd, a detective in the Houston Police Department’s Shifters Investigations Unit (SHIU), lives for those rare moments he gets to spend around Lark, torturing himself with what he can’t have. Kin only by marriage, she thinks of him as her big brother. He couldn’t bear her pity—or her disgust—if she learned he wants her for his mate.
When weres from a rival pack attack her, Lark screams out the first name that comes to mind—Taran. Only this sexy alpha can keep her safe until they find out who wants her dead, and why. But keeping her safe means keeping her close. And the closer they get, the harder it gets for these not-really-cousins to honor their commitment to keep their paws off.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Family
(By Bev Sykes from Davis, CA, USA (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
I'm NOT a morning person. I hate being up before 9:00 am and during the week I'm like a walking zombie at work before that time.
On weekends when normal people sleep in and relax the morning away, I'm usually still forced to get up at 7:00 am. Hubby and kiddo ARE morning people. Neither of them can stand to be in bed if the sun has begun to peek through the break in the curtains through the window.
First I'll hear kiddo moving around in his room. Sometimes he'll start to play with his toys in bed or read his book aloud to himself, but most of the time he'll jump up and I'll hear his door opening. He'll practically run to the bathroom because his six year old bladder can't hold on for a minute longer. At this point, I could still get back to sleep if kiddo were to go back to bed, but hubby starts shifting beside me, throwing an arm around me and coming in closer--almost like he wants to get his cuddle in before we are descended upon.
After finishing up in the bathroom, kiddo will come to our door and peek in. My eyes are closed, but I know he's wondering how "asleep" we are before he jumps on the bed and crawls between us. He gets in on the cuddling for a while before the chatter starts. Lots and lots of chatter. So much chatter, my poor zombie-ish brain can't handle it. And then hubby starts to talk. I love his low, rumbly voice but I do NOT care about breakfast. It's 7:00 am. I want to DREAM about breakfast!
Usually they'll both leave me in bed at that point, but I'm not allowed to go back to sleep. Within five minutes I get called down to join them for breakfast, an invitation that I just can't turn down :)
BUT yesterday was quite a different story. Yesterday I got to sleep in. A rare gift from my husband and son that I cherish. Hubby got up at 5:30 am (crazy!) and crept out of the house to go fishing, and when kiddo got up at 7:00 am he climbed up beside me for his morning hug and then said that I should go back to sleep, he was goign to pour his own cereal and watch cartoons.
By they way, I have an interesting interview up at Jody Wallace's blog--or at least, my kitty does. Check it out! :)
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Um...not to me. Not yet.
But all this month author Leah Braemel is celebrating her birthday with new guests on her blog and today i'm up! Come on over!
But all this month author Leah Braemel is celebrating her birthday with new guests on her blog and today i'm up! Come on over!
Friday, July 03, 2009
Dogma
Having long-studied theology, especially Catholic dogma, some might think that I would be offended by this particular movie. Well, in fact, I can't get enough of it. I think it's hilarious as a celebration of the nature of belief as well as a funny poke at the structure of the Catholic Church.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Summer Reading List
I cleaned out my office space on the weekend. Stripped the wall-to-wall shelves bare of all books! before rearranging everything neatly. I'm surprised that the weight of all those books hasn't fallen through the floor yet. It looks very pretty now and still very full, even though I ended up putting 58 books in a pile to give to the local women's shelter and gave another bunch to my mother. But it means I have a little shuffle room on the shelves and it has me looking forward to getting in a few new reads this summer.
First on the list, a must read is going to be Nalini Singh's newest in the Psy/Changeling series, Branded by Fire.
Though DarkRiver sentinel Mercy is feeling the pressure to mate, she savagely resists when Riley Kincaid, a lieutenant from the SnowDancer pack, tries to possess her. The problem is not simply that he pushes her buttons; the problem is that he’s a wolf, she’s a cat, and they’re both used to being on top.
But when a brilliant changeling researcher is kidnapped from DarkRiver territory, Mercy and Riley must work together to track the young man—before his shadowy captors decide he’s no longer useful. Along the way, the two dominants may find that submitting to one another uncovers not just a deadly conspiracy, but a passion so raw that it’ll leave them both branded by fire…
I've also just picked up Sherry Thomas' Not Quite a Husband and I'm looking forward to it. Honestly, the thing that convinced me about this book was the quirky book trailer that she made for it, which you can watch at YouTube here.
Their marriage lasted only slightly longer than the honeymoon—to no one’s surprise, not even Bryony Asquith's. A man as talented, handsome, and sought after by society as Leo Marsden couldn't possibly want to spend his entire life with a woman who rebelled against propriety by becoming a doctor. Why, then, three years after their annulment and half a world away, does he track her down at her clinic in the remotest corner of India?
Leo has no reason to think Bryony could ever forgive him for the way he treated her, but he won't rest until he’s delivered an urgent message from her sister—and fulfilled his duty by escorting her safely back to England. But as they risk their lives for each other on the journey home, will the biggest danger be the treacherous war around them—or their rekindling passion?
Eloisa James' newest, this is the duchess book I've been waiting for! This Duchess of Mine.
Wedding bells celebrating the arranged marriage between the lovely Duchess of Beaumont and her staid, imperturbable duke had scarcely fallen silent when a shocking discovery sent Jemma running from the ducal mansion. For the next nine years she cavorted abroad, creating one delicious scandal after another (if one is to believe the rumors).
Elijah, Duke of Beaumont, did believe those rumors.
But the handsome duke needs an heir, so he summons his seductive wife home. Jemma laughs at Elijah’s cool eyes and icy heart—but to her secret shock, she doesn’t share his feelings. In fact, she wants the impossible: her husband’s heart at her feet.
But what manner of seduction will make a man fall desperately in love…with his own wife?
Lastly, but not in the least, is In The Blood, by Adrian Phoenix. This is the second of her Maker's Song series. I loved the first one, A Rush of Wings.
DANTE LIVES.
Vampire. Rock star. Begotten son of the fallen angel Lucien. Dante Baptiste still struggles with nightmares and seizures, searching for the truth about his past. It is a quest as seductive as his kiss, as uncontrollable as his thirst, and as unforgiving as his determination to protect one mortal woman at any cost.
KNOWLEDGE KILLS.
FBI Special Agent Heather Wallace now knows the extent of the Bureau corruption that surrounds her, but worries she is losing the battle. And when Dante and his band Inferno come to Seattle on tour, Heather can't help but be drawn back to the beautiful, dangerous nightkind. But what Heather and Dante don't know is that new enemies lurk in the shadows, closer than they think...and even deadlier than they fear.
DESTINY UNFOLDS.
Shadowy government forces have pledged to eliminate all loose ends from Project Bad Seed -- and Heather and Dante are at the top of the list. Elsewhere, the Fallen gather in Gehenna, intent on finding their long-awaited savior, the True Blood nightkind whom Lucien DeNoir would die to protect. And a damaged and desperate adversary, with powers as strange and perilous as Dante's own, plots to use Dante as a pawn in a violent scheme for revenge. But only one of these lethal forces holds the key to Dante's past -- a key that could finally unlock the secret of his birth and the truth of his existence...or destroy him completely.
There are also quite a few new ebooks that I'm looking forward to.
Check out
Inferno, by Bianca D'Arc
Somebody Killed His Editor, by Josh Lanyon
and Blood Vice, by Keith Melton
First on the list, a must read is going to be Nalini Singh's newest in the Psy/Changeling series, Branded by Fire.
Though DarkRiver sentinel Mercy is feeling the pressure to mate, she savagely resists when Riley Kincaid, a lieutenant from the SnowDancer pack, tries to possess her. The problem is not simply that he pushes her buttons; the problem is that he’s a wolf, she’s a cat, and they’re both used to being on top.But when a brilliant changeling researcher is kidnapped from DarkRiver territory, Mercy and Riley must work together to track the young man—before his shadowy captors decide he’s no longer useful. Along the way, the two dominants may find that submitting to one another uncovers not just a deadly conspiracy, but a passion so raw that it’ll leave them both branded by fire…
I've also just picked up Sherry Thomas' Not Quite a Husband and I'm looking forward to it. Honestly, the thing that convinced me about this book was the quirky book trailer that she made for it, which you can watch at YouTube here.
Their marriage lasted only slightly longer than the honeymoon—to no one’s surprise, not even Bryony Asquith's. A man as talented, handsome, and sought after by society as Leo Marsden couldn't possibly want to spend his entire life with a woman who rebelled against propriety by becoming a doctor. Why, then, three years after their annulment and half a world away, does he track her down at her clinic in the remotest corner of India?Leo has no reason to think Bryony could ever forgive him for the way he treated her, but he won't rest until he’s delivered an urgent message from her sister—and fulfilled his duty by escorting her safely back to England. But as they risk their lives for each other on the journey home, will the biggest danger be the treacherous war around them—or their rekindling passion?
Eloisa James' newest, this is the duchess book I've been waiting for! This Duchess of Mine.
Wedding bells celebrating the arranged marriage between the lovely Duchess of Beaumont and her staid, imperturbable duke had scarcely fallen silent when a shocking discovery sent Jemma running from the ducal mansion. For the next nine years she cavorted abroad, creating one delicious scandal after another (if one is to believe the rumors).Elijah, Duke of Beaumont, did believe those rumors.
But the handsome duke needs an heir, so he summons his seductive wife home. Jemma laughs at Elijah’s cool eyes and icy heart—but to her secret shock, she doesn’t share his feelings. In fact, she wants the impossible: her husband’s heart at her feet.
But what manner of seduction will make a man fall desperately in love…with his own wife?
Lastly, but not in the least, is In The Blood, by Adrian Phoenix. This is the second of her Maker's Song series. I loved the first one, A Rush of Wings.
DANTE LIVES.Vampire. Rock star. Begotten son of the fallen angel Lucien. Dante Baptiste still struggles with nightmares and seizures, searching for the truth about his past. It is a quest as seductive as his kiss, as uncontrollable as his thirst, and as unforgiving as his determination to protect one mortal woman at any cost.
KNOWLEDGE KILLS.
FBI Special Agent Heather Wallace now knows the extent of the Bureau corruption that surrounds her, but worries she is losing the battle. And when Dante and his band Inferno come to Seattle on tour, Heather can't help but be drawn back to the beautiful, dangerous nightkind. But what Heather and Dante don't know is that new enemies lurk in the shadows, closer than they think...and even deadlier than they fear.
DESTINY UNFOLDS.
Shadowy government forces have pledged to eliminate all loose ends from Project Bad Seed -- and Heather and Dante are at the top of the list. Elsewhere, the Fallen gather in Gehenna, intent on finding their long-awaited savior, the True Blood nightkind whom Lucien DeNoir would die to protect. And a damaged and desperate adversary, with powers as strange and perilous as Dante's own, plots to use Dante as a pawn in a violent scheme for revenge. But only one of these lethal forces holds the key to Dante's past -- a key that could finally unlock the secret of his birth and the truth of his existence...or destroy him completely.
There are also quite a few new ebooks that I'm looking forward to.
Check out
Inferno, by Bianca D'Arc
Somebody Killed His Editor, by Josh Lanyon
and Blood Vice, by Keith Melton
Monday, June 29, 2009
GUEST AUTHORS: Shifting Dreams Anthology
I have another guest--guests--please welcome Vivi Andrews, Robie Madison and Kinsey Holley, authors featured in Samhain's recent anthology, Shifting Dreams.
In the Beginning…
What do a seedy pick-up joint, a Welsh pub, and a Houston nightclub have in common?
The answer: Three intriguing first chapters in which an alpha hero meets his match in a spunky heroine.
Read on to learn why authors Vivi Andrews, Robie Madison, and Kinsey Holley were inspired to set the opening scenes of their Shifting Dreams novellas in a bar.
Bar Nothing
When my shape-shifting heroine Ava Minor walks into the Bar Nothing in the opening of Serengeti Heat, she sets off a chain reaction that burns through the entire story. For months, she’s lived in the same pride of lion-shifters with (and harbored a secret lust for) Alpha Landon King, but he couldn’t even remember her name. Something had to happen to shake them out of the status quo and set them on a collision course.
A pick-up bar seemed the perfect place for Ava to finally get her hero’s attention. Ava doesn’t show up looking for Landon – any man will satisfy her need for rebellion – but when Landon sees her there, he sees her in a way he never has before. She isn’t the small, shy, invisible little sister of his best lieutenants. She’s a force to be reckoned with, intoxicating and sensuous.
A seedy honky-tonk meat-market was just what this couple needed—for Landon to realize Ava exists and for Ava to realize she doesn’t have to always play by the rules to get what she wants.
Vivi Andrews
Buy Serengeti Heat
The Sheep’s Tail
“You can get a decently priced dinner at the pub in town when you’re ready to venture out.”
I was faced with an intriguing challenge when I went to write the first chapter of The Man of Her Dreams. The heroine and hero already knew each other—but only in Megan’s dreams.
How, then, to bring them together in real life after Megan discovers Owain’s portrait in a Victorian heirloom locket?
Since the story is set in Wales—Megan’s destination in search of answers about her dream lover—I, fortunately, had a ready made answer—a pub. It’s the traditional place for people to congregate in the evening for a pint and perhaps a game of darts. Pub meals are also famous, so I simply had the landlady of the B&B where Megan stays make the suggestion and let the inevitable happen.
But I added an element of fun while plotting Megan’s surprise. Trefriw, the village where the story is set, is very real and quite famous for its woolen mill and an old Roman spa. I’m certain there’s a pub or two in the vicinity, but I invented one for the purposes of putting Owain in Megan’s path and gave it a cute name. Hey, there are A LOT of sheep in Wales!
Although Owain and Megan don’t spend very long in the pub, there was another good reason for choosing it as a place for them to meet. Within walking distance from the B&B, The Sheep’s Tail is set back from the road and is surrounded by a forest, which proves very convenient and, ah, quite private for a dalliance. Enough said.
Robie Madison
Buy The Man of Her Dreams
Le Monde
I wrote Kiss and Kin on purpose, for the Samhain anthology. I’d gotten stalled in my full-length WIP, set in the same world, and when I saw the submission call for the shifter anthology, I decided to try something new and short to loosen me up.
I kept thinking of a girl, a bar, and a bunch of bad wolves. In my world, shifters and fae have been out for sixty years, and they’re pretty well assimilated into American society. And some human women have a thing for werewolves or other shifters—fur chasers, shifter humpers, etc. And I thought—a girl, with her ditzy friend, goes into this werewolf biker bar, and she knows it’s dangerous, and the girlfriend gets kidnapped or something, and one of Nick Wargman’s wolves is there keeping an eye on the bad wolves, and he jumps in and saves the girl and they roar off on his motorcycle, and they have to hide out, and….I got stuck. Wasn’t working.
And the more I thought about it, the more I thought—ok, it’s not a biker bar, it’s a club. And Nick’s wolf is a cop, and he already knows the girl, and he doesn’t want her there, and then…Lark and Taran just started forming in my head.
So the second scene is in the bar. Lark doesn’t really want to be there, she just went because her selfish, ditzy friend begged her to go out. She’s just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and if Taran hadn’t been there, she’d have disappeared just like the other women. It’s her being in that bar—and Taran realizing that he nearly lost her, she nearly got snatched from just a few feet away from him—that starts bringing them together. If she hadn’t come so close to getting snatched from Le Monde, she and Taran might never have found a reason, or an excuse, to get close.
I’m still gonna write a scene in werewolf bar. It’s not a biker bar, it’s a pool bar —Cowgirls and Werewolves. It’s mentioned briefly in Kiss and Kin. I think TJ and Nick are gonna have a big old fight in Cowgirls, and Nick’s going to act like a jerk, and TJ’s gonna tell the bouncer to kick him out, and the bouncer’s gonna say… “um, Teej, he’s the Alpha, and besides, he owns a stake in the place…” That’s about all I’ve got on Nick and TJ yet. If anyone has ideas for a plot, email me.
Kinsey Holley
Buy Kiss and Kin
In the Beginning…
What do a seedy pick-up joint, a Welsh pub, and a Houston nightclub have in common?
The answer: Three intriguing first chapters in which an alpha hero meets his match in a spunky heroine.
Read on to learn why authors Vivi Andrews, Robie Madison, and Kinsey Holley were inspired to set the opening scenes of their Shifting Dreams novellas in a bar.
Bar Nothing
When my shape-shifting heroine Ava Minor walks into the Bar Nothing in the opening of Serengeti Heat, she sets off a chain reaction that burns through the entire story. For months, she’s lived in the same pride of lion-shifters with (and harbored a secret lust for) Alpha Landon King, but he couldn’t even remember her name. Something had to happen to shake them out of the status quo and set them on a collision course. A pick-up bar seemed the perfect place for Ava to finally get her hero’s attention. Ava doesn’t show up looking for Landon – any man will satisfy her need for rebellion – but when Landon sees her there, he sees her in a way he never has before. She isn’t the small, shy, invisible little sister of his best lieutenants. She’s a force to be reckoned with, intoxicating and sensuous.
A seedy honky-tonk meat-market was just what this couple needed—for Landon to realize Ava exists and for Ava to realize she doesn’t have to always play by the rules to get what she wants.
Vivi Andrews
Buy Serengeti Heat
The Sheep’s Tail
“You can get a decently priced dinner at the pub in town when you’re ready to venture out.” I was faced with an intriguing challenge when I went to write the first chapter of The Man of Her Dreams. The heroine and hero already knew each other—but only in Megan’s dreams.
How, then, to bring them together in real life after Megan discovers Owain’s portrait in a Victorian heirloom locket?
Since the story is set in Wales—Megan’s destination in search of answers about her dream lover—I, fortunately, had a ready made answer—a pub. It’s the traditional place for people to congregate in the evening for a pint and perhaps a game of darts. Pub meals are also famous, so I simply had the landlady of the B&B where Megan stays make the suggestion and let the inevitable happen.
But I added an element of fun while plotting Megan’s surprise. Trefriw, the village where the story is set, is very real and quite famous for its woolen mill and an old Roman spa. I’m certain there’s a pub or two in the vicinity, but I invented one for the purposes of putting Owain in Megan’s path and gave it a cute name. Hey, there are A LOT of sheep in Wales!
Although Owain and Megan don’t spend very long in the pub, there was another good reason for choosing it as a place for them to meet. Within walking distance from the B&B, The Sheep’s Tail is set back from the road and is surrounded by a forest, which proves very convenient and, ah, quite private for a dalliance. Enough said.
Robie Madison
Buy The Man of Her Dreams
Le Monde
I wrote Kiss and Kin on purpose, for the Samhain anthology. I’d gotten stalled in my full-length WIP, set in the same world, and when I saw the submission call for the shifter anthology, I decided to try something new and short to loosen me up.I kept thinking of a girl, a bar, and a bunch of bad wolves. In my world, shifters and fae have been out for sixty years, and they’re pretty well assimilated into American society. And some human women have a thing for werewolves or other shifters—fur chasers, shifter humpers, etc. And I thought—a girl, with her ditzy friend, goes into this werewolf biker bar, and she knows it’s dangerous, and the girlfriend gets kidnapped or something, and one of Nick Wargman’s wolves is there keeping an eye on the bad wolves, and he jumps in and saves the girl and they roar off on his motorcycle, and they have to hide out, and….I got stuck. Wasn’t working.
And the more I thought about it, the more I thought—ok, it’s not a biker bar, it’s a club. And Nick’s wolf is a cop, and he already knows the girl, and he doesn’t want her there, and then…Lark and Taran just started forming in my head.
So the second scene is in the bar. Lark doesn’t really want to be there, she just went because her selfish, ditzy friend begged her to go out. She’s just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and if Taran hadn’t been there, she’d have disappeared just like the other women. It’s her being in that bar—and Taran realizing that he nearly lost her, she nearly got snatched from just a few feet away from him—that starts bringing them together. If she hadn’t come so close to getting snatched from Le Monde, she and Taran might never have found a reason, or an excuse, to get close.
I’m still gonna write a scene in werewolf bar. It’s not a biker bar, it’s a pool bar —Cowgirls and Werewolves. It’s mentioned briefly in Kiss and Kin. I think TJ and Nick are gonna have a big old fight in Cowgirls, and Nick’s going to act like a jerk, and TJ’s gonna tell the bouncer to kick him out, and the bouncer’s gonna say… “um, Teej, he’s the Alpha, and besides, he owns a stake in the place…” That’s about all I’ve got on Nick and TJ yet. If anyone has ideas for a plot, email me.
Kinsey Holley
Buy Kiss and Kin
Saturday, June 27, 2009
GUEST AUTHOR: Sandy Lender
Hi everyone! I'm very pleased to bring a new guest to the blog today.
Jamieson Wolf, author of Hope Falls, Electric Pink,Electric Blue, and Garden City said, "Choices Meant for Gods is without a doubt the freshest most engaging high fantasy novel to come out in years and breathes new life into a tired genre. The characters leap off the page and the plot is lightning quick and deftly written with many layers that tease the mind and imagination. Choices Meant for Gods is not a mere novel; it is a gorgeous piece of written art. I can hardly wait for the second book!”
This book sounds fantastic!
Not even the gods noticed when Chariss was born with the mark of The Protector. Now she and her wizard guardian seek shelter from a mad sorcerer in a household not just full of secrets and false hope, but watched by the god who will unwittingly reveal her role in an impending war.
When an orphan sets aside a lifetime of running and fear to accept the responsibilities of guarding an arrogant deity, can she face the trials in the prophecies she uncovers? Will Nigel Taiman of her latest refuge dare to use his dragon heritage to bind her to his estate or to help her in her duty?
And as an added bonus for this wonderful Saturday afternoon, Sandy will be putting the names of all the commenters from each blog she's visited this week into a draw for an autographed, hard cover, first edition of Choices Meant for Gods. Good luck!
Inspiration’s Not So Easy to Pinpoint
Many interviewers have asked me what inspires me. My answers always feel inadequate because just about everything inspires me. But I can’t give a glib answer like that. It would be rude when someone has taken the time to single me out and ask about my writing.
I at least list a few of the things that inspire me—Duran Duran, baby sea turtles, my parrots, sci fi shows/movies, thunderclouds over the Gulf at dawn, short elderly drivers in huge Lincoln town cars, bizarre chicks in L.A. bars, snow in the mountains, etc. At my fancy new Web site, my letter to visitors tells of a funky incident from my early teens that inspired a short story in the recent chapbook WHAT CHOICES WE MADE.
Something I find that fires the flames of inspiration for me is setting up my writing space. I’m a romantic at heart, so I like the old-world sconces and wax-caked candle holders around my writing desk. I set up an old-fashioned, curved metal book stand with my Klaeber edition of BEOWULF on the corner of the desk (because you just never know when you’ll need to reference something in there) and place various dragon pictures around the room. Oh, I should have listed dragons above…
You get the picture here, right?
That’s my inspirational mayhem! There’s probably more. Writers checking in today can most likely empathize. Readers are welcome (and encouraged) to ask questions! Thank you for diving in. “Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”
Short Excerpt from CHOICES MEANT FOR GODS
There are a few at my fancy new Web site at http://www.authorsandylender.com under the “Books” navigation button.
Short Blurb About CHOICES MEANT FOR GODS
CHOICES MEANT FOR GODS is a Girl Power fantasy adventure where prophecy twists out of control. Captivating humans, wizards, Ungol, and dragons populate the realm of Onweald where even the gods must turn to an unlikely fugitive for help.
Jamieson Wolf, author of Hope Falls, Electric Pink,Electric Blue, and Garden City said, "Choices Meant for Gods is without a doubt the freshest most engaging high fantasy novel to come out in years and breathes new life into a tired genre. The characters leap off the page and the plot is lightning quick and deftly written with many layers that tease the mind and imagination. Choices Meant for Gods is not a mere novel; it is a gorgeous piece of written art. I can hardly wait for the second book!”
This book sounds fantastic!
Not even the gods noticed when Chariss was born with the mark of The Protector. Now she and her wizard guardian seek shelter from a mad sorcerer in a household not just full of secrets and false hope, but watched by the god who will unwittingly reveal her role in an impending war.
When an orphan sets aside a lifetime of running and fear to accept the responsibilities of guarding an arrogant deity, can she face the trials in the prophecies she uncovers? Will Nigel Taiman of her latest refuge dare to use his dragon heritage to bind her to his estate or to help her in her duty?
And as an added bonus for this wonderful Saturday afternoon, Sandy will be putting the names of all the commenters from each blog she's visited this week into a draw for an autographed, hard cover, first edition of Choices Meant for Gods. Good luck!
Inspiration’s Not So Easy to Pinpoint
Many interviewers have asked me what inspires me. My answers always feel inadequate because just about everything inspires me. But I can’t give a glib answer like that. It would be rude when someone has taken the time to single me out and ask about my writing.I at least list a few of the things that inspire me—Duran Duran, baby sea turtles, my parrots, sci fi shows/movies, thunderclouds over the Gulf at dawn, short elderly drivers in huge Lincoln town cars, bizarre chicks in L.A. bars, snow in the mountains, etc. At my fancy new Web site, my letter to visitors tells of a funky incident from my early teens that inspired a short story in the recent chapbook WHAT CHOICES WE MADE.
Something I find that fires the flames of inspiration for me is setting up my writing space. I’m a romantic at heart, so I like the old-world sconces and wax-caked candle holders around my writing desk. I set up an old-fashioned, curved metal book stand with my Klaeber edition of BEOWULF on the corner of the desk (because you just never know when you’ll need to reference something in there) and place various dragon pictures around the room. Oh, I should have listed dragons above…
You get the picture here, right?
That’s my inspirational mayhem! There’s probably more. Writers checking in today can most likely empathize. Readers are welcome (and encouraged) to ask questions! Thank you for diving in. “Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”
Short Excerpt from CHOICES MEANT FOR GODSThere are a few at my fancy new Web site at http://www.authorsandylender.com under the “Books” navigation button.
Short Blurb About CHOICES MEANT FOR GODS
CHOICES MEANT FOR GODS is a Girl Power fantasy adventure where prophecy twists out of control. Captivating humans, wizards, Ungol, and dragons populate the realm of Onweald where even the gods must turn to an unlikely fugitive for help.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Let's Have Fun!!
WOO HOO WHOO HOO!!!!
Come on and visit the Vauxhall Vixens today to see why we're having such a good time!
Oh! Don't forget to come visit me at Fangtastic Books today! And come on over here tomorrow to chat with my special guest Sandy Lender, author of Choices Meant for Gods.
Making the Most of a Marriage
I am a guest today at Yankee Romance Reviewers, talking about Forever Immortal. Hop over and leave a comment for a chance to win!
Love and marriage are two very different things, but they both need to be cultivated, and as a romance writer I actually get asked quite a lot about my own love life. Come visit me at the Vauxhall Vixens today for my tips on keeping your relationship fresh and energized!
Love and marriage are two very different things, but they both need to be cultivated, and as a romance writer I actually get asked quite a lot about my own love life. Come visit me at the Vauxhall Vixens today for my tips on keeping your relationship fresh and energized!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Ahoy Mateys!
Arghh!
Whew. I'm beat. That's about all the pirate-speak I've got in me. But I figured I should practice since I'm sailing away on the Revenge today with Edward Cullen from Twilight! There'll be lots of rum and tons of fun!
But the week's just beginning because on Thursday I'm blogging at Yankee Romance Reviewers and on Friday I'm going to be at Fangtastic Books as well as chatting with Ashlyn Chase on her Yahoo Group.
Whew. I'm beat. That's about all the pirate-speak I've got in me. But I figured I should practice since I'm sailing away on the Revenge today with Edward Cullen from Twilight! There'll be lots of rum and tons of fun!
But the week's just beginning because on Thursday I'm blogging at Yankee Romance Reviewers and on Friday I'm going to be at Fangtastic Books as well as chatting with Ashlyn Chase on her Yahoo Group.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Knee Deep in the Puddle of Promo!
I'm very excited to say that I've been getting great feedback about Forever Immortal which was released this Tuesday. I was also surprised to hear from one of my sweetest fans--she always has great things to say about my books, but I usually don't hear from her so soon! And this time she almost made me cry her words were so nice!
I still get nervous when I have a new book coming out. I start biting my nails and I don't get any sleep. I can't think and I can't write. That first letter from a reader is crucial to my mental wellbeing--and my manicure.
So now I'm very relieved and super excited! Thank you again to all of you for such amazing support for this series!
I hope you'll all join me over at Emily Bryan's blog today, author of the wonderful book Vexing the Viscount!
Oh, and because it's Friday, I'm going to share...I've found a new tv show--Patrick Swayze is great in it, and Travis Fimmel is such a cutie! (I like him much better without the girly long hair)
I still get nervous when I have a new book coming out. I start biting my nails and I don't get any sleep. I can't think and I can't write. That first letter from a reader is crucial to my mental wellbeing--and my manicure.
So now I'm very relieved and super excited! Thank you again to all of you for such amazing support for this series!
I hope you'll all join me over at Emily Bryan's blog today, author of the wonderful book Vexing the Viscount!
Oh, and because it's Friday, I'm going to share...I've found a new tv show--Patrick Swayze is great in it, and Travis Fimmel is such a cutie! (I like him much better without the girly long hair)
