Always time for romance

Quiet for a good reason

2011-12-19T11:01:00.003-06:00

First there was finals - then I dove right into getting The Envoy ready for print! Which I'm happy to say is DONE. Just waiting for the proof to arrive. Here is the Print cover I did. Just to give you a little tease.

Santa person, myth or belief?

2011-12-13T13:35:00.005-06:00

I read an article today about tell/don't tell Kid's the "truth" about Santa Clause today. And it got me thinking.

We tell kids in December to be good or Santa won't come - so they usually are wanting that horde of presents on the 25th of December. But by December 27th Santa is old news and they don't think oh this will effect next years Christmas. Guess what? They're right. How many of you can tell me what your kids did last year on December 27th? Not many. 365 days is a long time.

Ask most kids under the age of 5 and they'll tell you Santa is a person. Ask kids over 10 that same question and most will say myth. Ask me at 48 and I'll tell you belief.

Why is Santa a belief for me? Have you ever had a moment, anytime of the year except the period from Thanksgiving Day to New Years Day, where you went - It feels like Christmas? Maybe not, but most of us have - I've heard people say - this is better than Christmas - a LOT! So for me, Santa is a belief that we will be rewarded for some random act of kindness we did with no expectation of getting recognition or reward for it.

After working 12 years in the retail business, I can tell you I have the "Christmas Spirit" of a dead reindeer - namely NONE. It comes from every single Christmas I worked in Retail - invariably someone screamed in my face on Christmas eve - "You're ruining my Christmas!"First few years it didn't bother me after about the 6th or 7th, listening to carols about the Joy of Christmas, Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards men - then watching how people acted... Killed my "Christmas Spirit". I also saw first hand how commercial the whole shebang was.

Before the retail experience, there were many years I was BROKE at Christmas and just had enough to pay the bills, not buy presents for the people I loved. I hated then and hate now - someone insisting I buy a present to show I care about someone in December. What if I want to get a gift in October that says I care about you/you're important to me? What do I hear - "Oh you should have waited till Christmas to give that."

That is why Santa is a belief to me. He lives in my heart throughout the year. When I can help someone, I do. When I want to buy a gift for someone just to say I care, I do. Then sometimes when things are at their darkest for me - someone sends me something out of the blue just to show they care about me.

And isn't that what Santa is really about? Showing you care? So, why wait till December because retailers, card makers and wrapping paper manufacturers tell us we should? Hmmm? No REAL reason that I can think of - other than we've become so indoctrinated to giving gifts on Christmas - we've forgotten the REAL reason you give a gift - to show someone you care.

So, I keep Santa close all year - cause I don't want to forget that lesson.

What I do at School

2011-12-10T19:13:00.004-06:00

This is gonna take 2 post - but here is the first - my typography final project - 12 pages and 100+ hours worth of work. - and YES, I designed every title and layout in the thing. JUST checked - made a 92 on it!

A Little Help Please!

2011-11-27T13:22:00.001-06:00

Survey: Please visit the three sites listed and the type pages listed. Return the completed survey to sts90@jaguar1.usouthal.edu or delilahkstephans@gmail.com (seems there are some issues with the south email) by Saturday December 3, 2011 at midnight.

Thank you!

Sites:

www.museituppublishing.com

www.lyricalpress.com

www.thewildrosepress.com

Please visit on or more of the following on each site:

Homepage

Bookstore Main Page

Book Page

Author Page

Please answer the following questions:

1. On a scale of 1-10 how easy is MuseitUp Publishing's site to navigate?

2. On a scale of 1-10 how easy is Lyrical Press's site to navigate?

3. On a scale of 1-10 how easy is The Wild Rose Press' site to navigate?

4. Which site did you find easier to navigate and why?

5. Which site did you find the hardest to navigate and why?

6. Which site did you find had just the right amount of information on each of the pages?

7. Which site did you find had too much information on each page?

8. Which site did you feel had the best color scheme and why?

9. Which site did you feel had the worst color scheme and why?

10. Which site would you be more likely to buy a book from and why?

11. Which site would you be least likely to buy a book from and why?

12. Which site did you prefer the Author's Page on and why?

13. Which site did you prefer a Book Page on and why?

14. Two of the sites begin on the homepage of the bookstore and one on a general web page, which approach did you prefer and why?

15. Which site did you feel had the best graphics - not including covers?

16. Which site did you feel had the worst graphics - not including covers?

17. Please give a 1-5 sentence opinion on each site:

- MuseitUp Publishing

- Lyrical Press

- The Wild Rose Press

18. Which site was easiest to find contact information on?

19. Which site was hardest to find contact information on?

20. Do you purchase eBooks?

It's Thanksgiving Goodbyes.

2011-11-24T21:14:00.004-06:00

Yeah I know it's 9PM. But, it was really hard to find something to be thankful for this year. - My Collie I'd had for 12 years died, Professor scared the Crap out of me Tuesday, my favorite professor left the college - (he wouldn't play their stupid reindeer games), and Wednesday I was awoken to the neighbor knocking on the door saying one of my dogs was out. Went out - luckily found the one the neighbor had seen - then realized my old man was missing.

My old man was Willoglen Demons Begone or Damian. He was a show dog, but always prefered the life of a couch potato. Oh, he'd show for you if you asked - because he wanted to please you but not because he enjoyed it. I've got 2 of his sons and two of his daughters here. One I got back from the show person I swapped her to, because she was downsizing. That little girl went third at the Sheltie Nationals as a puppy in a class of over 100!

Well I went looking for the breeder's phone number - Damian is microchipped, so they'd call her. No luck. But I did find that he has a granddaughter that is a champion, and several great grandchildren that are pointed or about to start their show career. So my old boy is still their contributing to the breed I love, even if it's time for me to leave it. Shelties are barkers and my nerves just can't take it anymore. But I'm thankful that he is left a legacy on the breed. Cause every one of those grandkids and great grandkids have his beautiful head! This is Damian in his prime.

What I'm doing this weekend.

2011-11-23T19:10:00.003-06:00

So it's Thanksgiving weekend - which I think means to professors - OH they have plenty of time to work on stuff for me. I worked on Conceptual today - here's the progress.

The Base image:

Better explain the project is to draw a temporary object or idea - I chose life. This is the Well of Souls - and this is where I left it Monday at the end of class. I finished up the stones and moved on to the next page, which is ink wash on Mylar. Death.

The third part - While the wash on Death was drying I put the second sheet of mylar on it and did another ink wash. Clotho - the spinner of the threads of life. I really like how she's coming out of the well.

Here is where I left it for the day. I'll work on it more tomorrow - thinking of adding another sheet of mylar and putting a background on it but not sure, so stopped and will let it percolate in the brain over night.

Tiger Picture

2011-11-15T23:09:00.000-06:00

Still working on this entry

School Work!

2011-11-08T19:14:00.004-06:00

So when I'm not being a Cover Artist - I'm a student - this is a piece I'm working on for Conceptual Drawing. This is done completely in 2B Mechanical Pencil.

First the big picture:

What I've been doing tonight is putting in the leaves and grass details - I zoomed in to show you. Grass is made of thousands of tiny little tick marks - the closer together the darker the shadow.

And finally a distance shot.

My Process Part 3

2011-11-04T18:11:00.001-05:00

Okay - part 3. WHEW. Until I started doing this I didn't realize exactly how much I did with a cover.

Last adjustment for this image - just darkening and lightening specific points to up his muscles and lighten her skin. I am now ready to call the couple done and take them into the cover blank.

Well what fairy tale would be right without a castle. All I've done here is trimmed out a lot of unneeded sections - like the cliff it was hanging off of and the tourist that were on the railing at the bottom. Looks okay but still not a wow factor.

I duplicated the castle did a few adjustments on it and adjusted the blending mode. Now I'm happy with it.

What's next? Putting in the title and author's name. Every single title I do a cover for starts with a very basic text in white. This will not be the final placement or style of the text - but it's a good starting point. It allows me to go - What should I emphasis in the title? Where's a good spot for it? What type of font should I use?

Stay tuned - finalizing the type and finishing are the last thing.

My Process - Part 2

2011-11-03T18:51:00.003-05:00

Okay back to work...

Here I did another Hue/Saturation filter just to give it a Tiny bit more depth and I liked how it darkened her hair. Why? Because our heroine is supposed to be a black haired beauty.

Here I played with color balance. I can't remember exactly what I did, but liked the effect.

Here I wanted to get rid of a really light strand of hair - so I painted over it with black and reduced the opacity to get it right.

Here I had to up the contrast because in making her hair darker I had made all the highlights in his hair go away.

Next time we add Muscle tone - not that he isn't already BUT a little retouching never hurt anyone. See ya next time.

My Process Part 1

2011-11-02T18:04:00.006-05:00

For some reason folks are interested in my process for creating covers. So this will be pretty much a step by step of how the images turn into a cover - minus the boring tedious details. You can click on the images to see pretty much a full size.

First this cover is for A Christmas Sleeping Beauty by Lindsay Townsend. Will what you see here end up as the final cover? I don't know it's up to Lindsay. I'm just using it as an example.

First I select the image. I usually start with finding the people, because they take longer. For this one I needed a medieval feel to the couple. Thankfully I had bought this months before from Romance Novel Covers The hero needed to be wearing a jerkin so I lucked out! It's hard to find good period pictures of couples. But like all pictures of people it has a few problems - some bumps on the faces, freckles, a surgery scar on his elbow - those HAD to go.

I used the spot healing brush to get rid of those ugly scars, freckles and bumps. Much better. But there are still veins and minor imperfections on the skin. Well these are Romance Novel Characters! They have to be better than real life!! So next step

A little use of the dust filter in photoshop and voila no more veins! Now they look good.

Now I start playing with adjustments. These are very powerful tools in Photoshop so if you want to play with them tread lightly. This is a curve adjustment - where I adjusted the amount of light.

Now I'm playing with Hue and Saturation. This is the first of those levels. See how much deeper and richer the image is getting?

Okay that's it for this post. I'll be back soon with Part 2 - and I'm still working on this couple.

A Cover Artist's Confession

2011-10-16T23:29:00.004-05:00

Yes, I'm a Cover Artist, I'm even an Art Director with 4 Cover Artist who report to me - well theoretically at least, but sometimes I see a cover and am WOW! How did they do that?

A lot of authors want that "WOW!" factor on their covers, and hey who can blame them. But here's the thing - the covers that WOW my socks off - I NEVER buy the book. I have no real reason I can put my finger on why I don't buy them - well now that's a bit of a lie - sometimes the author lets me down when I sample a few pages, so back onto the shelf it goes. But that CA REALLY did their job. They gave the author the couple seconds of my valuable time to look at their book. It's not the poor CA who fell down on the job. Some of the best books I've ever read had the most God-Aweful covers I've ever seen - but MAN could that author write.

So why does it seem some authors consistently great covers and others are hit an miss? (Come closer and I'll tell you a secret. No Closer. there you go.)

CAs do their best work for authors that let them.

What do I mean by that? Well if you give me good tools, straight wood and clear instructions and I could build a damn fine box. Give me crappy tools, warped wood, confusing instruction - and well you get what you get. Ever heard the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears? Covers are like that - too much author interference in the creative process and the artist is going "WTF do they WANT?" too little and you get the same question. But if the author gives the CA just the right amount of information, and just the right amount of freedom to create art - that's what you get - ART! A cover that will WOW you.

I work in the eBook industry, and frankly I'm beginning to wonder if eBook Publishers don't give authors too much say in their covers. The Big boys have a 30 minute conference call with the author, their agent, marketing person, and the Art Director. Then the author's input ENDS and they get what they get. I've seen covers for NYT best selling authors that do not fit the book at all. Someone was asleep in the meeting me thinks.

Did you know that covers should pay out the designer at around $3,000 to $5,000? If you want to pay me that amount of cash to do the cover - I'll do whatever you WANT on it. But for my going rate of $50 for an ebook cover? Don't think so. I'll take your ideas into consideration but You ain't getting a special model shoot for exact duplication.

Cover Artist are a rare breed of artist. Yes, they are artist in the truest sense of the word - they create things of beauty out of stock photos and pre defined text. They create their art not for the "I made this! I had the concept, I had the inspiration and I created this." Sculptors do that, painters do that but the poor little CA is given their concept by the author. It's not like you can put an old west cowboy on the cover of a contemporary novel (well unless it's a time travel story).

Honesty time, I have authors I ADORE working with. They give me the information I need and then let me create. I have authors I literally CRINGE when I have to work with them, because they are never satisfied and tie my hands behind my back creatively. I'm also a bit of a bitch and can guaran-damn-tee you that if I've had a enough of an author I'll do EXACTLY what they want and not even half try to make it look good. That's what they wanted - that's what they got. (on a side note I can tell it by the sales too)

The CRAPPIEST cover I've ever done is my best selling cover! I'm ashamed of it! I can't even look at it. But, you know what the author has NEVER complained about that cover once and I've tried to make it up to her on every cover since then. (one of these days I'm going to redo that horrible thing for her)

And the worst thing a Cover Artist has to deal with - they rarely get any recognition for creating that awesome cover. Nope, the cover wins award 90% of the people congratulate the author on the award. And you want to know what? We CAs are Okay with that - really we are.

So next time you see a really great cover - hopefully somewhere it will say who the Cover Artist is - and when you mention how great the cover is - instead of Saying "Author Name's cover is gorgeous" You'll say "Cover Artist Name did a GREAT job on Author Name's cover." But even if you don't - it's Okay. Cause we see the results of our work every quarter on our royalty statements.

Anniversary Trip

2011-10-04T18:05:00.002-05:00

And it wasn't our wedding anniversary! Nope, DH and I got married in June - but he proposed on Columbus Day Weekend. Yeah, that's next weekend, but I was on Spring Break from college.

Hubby booked a room at our favorite Biloxi Casino - Beau Rivage (Okay so he'd gotten a free night offer but he did upgrade it to a suite! We arrived around 4:30 went up to the room, relaxed, showered and got dressed for dinner. I'm looking in the vanity mirror then turned to hubby and said "Does this outfit need a necklace?" Now anyone that knows me - knows I'm not a jewelry person - but I do like the occasional necklace. He agreed and said why don't we go down to one of the shops and get you one. I'm thinking Yeah, I should be able to find something acceptable at the Everything $10 shop. We hop onto the elevator and ride down. My DH walks into the jewelry shop and says get what you want. So I'm looking finally find a Blue Topaz necklace that's very nice BUT it's (to me) a generic pendant on a chain - ie. It doesn't scream DEL! I'm trying it on when another necklace catches my eye - and it does a River Song "Hello, Sweetie" thing in my head. (Yes I'm a Doctor Who fan).

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL!!!

After I squeed, smiled, kissed and thanked DH - we went to dinner at Jia's. I had tuna sushi for an appetizer - YUMMY best sushi I've ever had. We were at the Hibachi - I had filet and shirmp. Okay I had a filet at the steakhouse BR Prime and it was excellent - but this hibachi filet was like BUTTER! After dinner we spent some time at the tables - didn't win anything, but if you can't afford to lose it don't go. As we told the dinners at the table with us - this was my "Thanks for saying yes 24 years ago" present. I think he did GREAT!

Speaking of River Song - I haven't introduced Congocoons Riversong of Jaguarcoons. So here she is giving her opinion on having her picture taken.

Date Night

2011-09-24T23:04:00.004-05:00

Tonight was Date night for hubby and me.

We started at Carrabba's for dinner. Not only is it our favorite place, we've gotten to know the owner and manager, which makes each meal seem like going over to a friends for dinner. We got our favorite appetizer - Crab Cakes. Now I live on the Gulf Coast and every decent resturaunt in town has them - but Carrabba's has the BEST! Then we tried the Salmon for the first time. A nice and really light meal.

Then we went to the bookstore and I got three books to read - which hubby knows makes me smile.

We ended the Date Night going to the University of South Alabama Drama Department's play I Hate Hamlet. All the performances were great! But three stood out. Gray West as Gary Peter Lefkowitz, was wonderful. Your suppossed to hate his character and 1 minute on stage and I hated him! I completely believed him in the part, he played the smarmy, money hungry, hollywood director perfectly. The there was Jean Galloway as Lillian Troy. Now Ms. Galloway is not a college student but she has taught theater at the University of Mobile and was in the movies Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Back Roads, so I expected her performance to be good - but it was stellar. She shouldn't be wasting her time in this town, but in Hollywood playing sassy grandmothers! Finally was Andrew Willis as John Barrymore. He really commanded the stage with a quiet Presence, that made you look away from the main action just to see what he was doing. The best seen was when Ms. Galloway and Mr. Willis were on the stage, just the two of them. I leaned over to hubby when the scene was finished and actually used the word incandescent.

So how was your Saturday night?

Why I switched to ebooks.

2011-06-12T13:32:00.007-05:00

There's a lot of chatter about "I prefer real books" just look at Amazon's new commercials for their Kindle. I have an old Sony eReader it's not color, doesn't have wi-fi but works perfect for me. Still I hear the old saw about "real books".

On my trusty Sony there are 42 books by authors like J.R. Ward, Alexis Morgan, Ilona Andrews, Lora Leigh, Jennifer Estep, CT Adams and Cathy Clamp, Joss Ware, Angela Knight, Lewis Carol, Kerrelyn Sparks, Nalini Singh to name some. Last I checked the all wrote "Real books".

Before I made the switch I read print books, cause that was all there was. So, I figured hmm two of those books I know are only in Hard Cover and 40 of them in paperback. So I pulled an equal number from my overcrowded bookshelves.

I couldn't carry all those in my purse. But I sure can carry my eReader. I don't have to hunt down bookmarks, and then don't have to worry about them falling out. The only disadvantage I've found is it is harder to turn to a specific section in an ebook - BUT if you just hit the little bookmark button, it's easy to find them.

Comment from Christine London -

"Love your visuals. They says it all. When our shelves begin to bow in the middle with the weight of our love of words, thank the literature Gods for the e-reader invention. Now I can carefully pick and choose the books that occupy a place on my physical shelves. Like the films I buy on DVD to watch again and again, a great read earns the right to inhabit the limited physical place in my home.

I just bought a Kindle two weeks ago. My dry, tired eyes have never been so happy when I climb into bed at ten p.m. after a long day on the computer. Crank up the font size, pull out the corner bookcover book light, sink into a cloud of backresting pillows and SMILE! It is the most revolutionary benefit to my reading life in my life. Print and paper dust mites banished, I don't even sneeze anymore when cracking a good read.

#1 recommendation for anyone who loves to read? An e-reader. This summer as I travel about the country and Europe the weight restirctions on the airlines worldwide shall not daunt. I have a six ounce e-reader and the world of books at my fingertips.

Thanks for the great post, Delilah.

From a story I'm working on.

2011-03-23T15:08:00.001-05:00

He stopped at the door, tugged the cuffs of his shirt and ran his hand over his hair smoothing it before ringing the bell. From within he heard his date ask someone to get the door. He put his “I’m harmless” smile on as the door opened. Suddenly he couldn’t breathe.

The woman who stood in the door way was enough to bring any man to his knees. White blonde hair curled pleasingly about her face in gentle waves, intelligent blue eyes widened slightly and full pink lips pursed. The sensible blue pantsuit she wore showed off every curve to perfection. He lamented he was taking the brunette, Elle to the annual dinner and not this gorgeous creature.

“Hi, I’m…”

“Nick Clausen.” She finished for him.

He was surprised by the derision in her tone. Had he passed her over for someone else? Impossible. He wouldn’t be that stupid. “I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage, Miss?”

She shrugged one shoulder and motioned him in out of the cool December air. “Come on in. Elle will be out as soon as she decides what to wear.”

He stepped into the apartment and heard the door close behind him. It was a typical apartment, white walls, nondescript beige carpet. A television sat against one wall on a wood stand, opposite it was a comfortable looking couch. A tiny Christmas tree was displayed on an end table, the only concession he could see to the holiday.

The blond stepped around him and started towards the kitchen, halfway there she stopped and turned back to him. “Drink? I know you prefer Corona with lime, but we’re fresh out.”

He was about to ask her how she knew that when his date stepped out of the hall.

Six Sentence Sunday.

2011-02-06T18:27:00.000-06:00

Hands grasped her hips pulling her tight against a masculine chest. She snake hipped in time to the music. Whoever this was they were definitely getting lucky tonight.

"Quinten had an idea," Jenkins husky whisper sounded in her ear.

Afraid she was dreaming, Leena didn't turn as she answered, "What was his idea?"

He nuzzled her neck a moment sending a shiver of desire through her. Hades, how could she think any other man could satisfy her?

Sayings to remember for Writers

2011-02-04T13:26:00.002-06:00

Catch phrases are a good thing - they make you remember something or someone. Even writers should have them. Today I'm going to share some of my favorites.

"The creative side and editor side of your brain hate each other. Never let them work together." Angela Knight.

I've found this to be very true. When I'm working on a first draft if I try to edit it as I go - I can't get any further.

"Writing is 10% creativity and 90% editing." Unknown

Once you get the rough draft (creativity) done it's all about the editing - self, self, self, content, line.

"You already know the story, you just forgot it." Delilah K. Stephans.

When you get the idea for a story, you know the who, what, when, why and how of the story. The rest of it is getting it into words. There will be times you forget what's next - but just remember you already know what's next - it is the logical progression of what you've already put into words.

"The Villain is alway the hero of his own story." Alexis Morgan

The hero and heroine may know this guy is EVIL, but he's protecting his business interest, his religion, his power base, his rule, his whatever so doesn't see that in himself. In his mind he's noble and ambitious and doing whatever deeds he's doing for the greater good. Keeping this in mind will definitely make for better, stronger villains in your book.

"Opinions are like A@^#)#$s everyone has one." Unknown.

Point of View to me equals opinions. If I gave a scenerio "A man sighted along the barrel of a pistol." So what is that man doing? Is he getting ready for battle? Is he about to shoot someone? Is he considering buying it? All three of those questions could be answered yes from three different people - but only the man sighting down the barrel knows why. The reader doesn't need to know the thoughts of everyone in the room because the only thought that matters is the one that will move your story forward.

Often I see new authors want to put in every characters POV, it's not needed and can be confussing. Using the example from above.

Ben sighted along the barrel of a pistol. It felt good in his hands almost like it was made for him.

George watched while Ben checked out the pistol and wondered if it was loaded. It was a silly fear, but one he always had.

Jane watched the interchange and rolled her eyes. If George didn't make the sale, they weren't going to have enough money to by the rent.

Ben nodded. "I'll take it."

Now let's see that same scene through a single POV - I'll use Ben.

Ben sighted along the barrel of a pistol. It felt good in his hands almost like it was made for him. He looked over the counter at the two clerks. One of the clerks, a man, looked nervous about something, his eyes shifting to the gun and to Ben's obvious comfort with the wepon. The woman rolled her eyes, probably anxious to close for the night. Ben nodded. "I'll take it."

Lastly, something I've shared with others and have no idea where I heard it.

"A book is like a tree. There are roots and the trunk, branches and leaves."

So how does that work? Let's say you are writing a book that takes place in the past. You do all this research - what people wear, average cost for certain items, who were the political movers and shakers, natural disasters, etc. You fully develop your characters on a character worksheet - so you know (I'll use the hero for this) the color of his hair, eyes, skin, his birthday, his favorite tutor or if he was educated at all, his hobbies, is he good or bad at poker, does he have something unique about him, what his parents and siblings were like, what type of horse he rides and all the other little details. All of that is the roots of the tree.

Then there is the plot, main characters, minor characters and surroundings - those are the plot, surroundings and characters. The plot is the trunk of your tree - it takes all the goodies you found in researching and carries it up to the leaves and branches making a whole instead of bits and pieces. The limbs would be the scenery - because readers need to be able to visualize where the characters are. The leaves are the characters and how they interact.

The roots of your book are the things you as a writer need to know but the reader doesn't - they'd just get bored with it. The days of writers getting paid per word are long gone. The readers are interested in the tree they see above ground - trunk, branches and leaves. (on a side funny - it just occured to me that we say branches when they are on the tree and limbs when they fall off)

Hope these help you in your writing.

Six Sentence Sunday

2011-01-30T12:03:00.002-06:00

This is from the start of Witchly Passion - which is kind of a sequel to Ghostly Passion. So enjoy.

Though she loved Dru like a sister, her Paranormal Investigator best friend could not give directions to save her life. Kara chuckled as she remembered the time that the two of them had gotten lost looking for a specific Mickey D’s where Dru’s latest crush worked. It wasn’t like both of them hadn’t grown up in that city and should know where it was and Kara had known. But, Dru had insisted they take a shortcut that the boy had told her about. By the time they had found the place, he’d been gone for an hour. With another girl. Kara always wondered if the slime bucket had given Dru the directions on purpose knowing her lack of direction.

Two For Tuesday

2011-01-25T15:59:00.002-06:00

Today I'm featuring The Envoy - my July release from Lyrical Press. (okay it's technically 3 but the last two are only a sentence each)

As Diana’s footsteps faded, Francisco examined the three males in front of him. Long
suppressed training instinctively took over far more easily than he was comfortable with. Their
attire of baggy hoodies and low riding pants could hide a multitude of weapons. The confident
swagger each thug exhibited as they moved to surround him indicated they didn’t think him a threat. He easily picked out the leader by the not so subtle hand signals the man was giving his companions and stepped toward him. Mentally, he quickly identified the three as Boss, Righty and Lefty.

“You shouldn’t have interfered, man,” Boss growled. “Now we’re gonna have ta mess you
up.”

Francisco spread his arms, elbows slightly bent and palms up. “You are welcome to try.”

Six Sentence Sunday

2011-01-23T08:54:00.002-06:00

Here's today's six sentences. Form one of my works in progress.

“Be careful Adam Spencer death stalks this city. Be cautious, you don’t want to meet her in a professional capacity.” She turned and started back down the row then looked back over her shoulder to meet his gaze. “Your family, they didn’t suffer.”

He couldn’t speak as she continued away from him and stepped behind a large oak tree. Forcing himself to move he hurried after her. Rounding the tree he scanned the rows of headstone but there was no sign of the woman.

Muse Author L.J. Holmes Speaks

2011-01-14T13:06:00.000-06:00

Before I begin, I want to take this opportunity to thank my generous hostess, Delilah K. Stephans, for inviting me to guest on her blog.

When I asked Delilah what she wanted me to talk or write about here, she said whatever I want. Giving a writer with an inner muse as quirky as mine free reign is a dangerous thing---So, my daughter, Best Selling Author Kat Holmes, stepped in to direct the inner me.

"Talk," she said, "about what motivated me to write the stories I either already have up for sale, Santa is a Lady, or those about to be released, Forever With You, on February 1st, The Pendulum Swings, on March 1st, Twilight Comes on May 1st, and In From The Cold, June 1st. (I know...a daunting process-)

The easiest place for me to begin, is the one thing you are all going to realize right off the bat

...EVERY one of my stunning covers have been created by my hostess, Delilah K. Stephans, who just happens to be the absolute best artistic genius in all of the Milky Way Galaxy.

There is something else that each of these books have in common...they have elements of the life I have lived and are, therefore, semi-autobiographical...that is not always a good thing, since I seem to be rather hung up on having too many of my heroines share my biggest character flaw---a little girl voice that would make Minnie Mouse

envious while everyone else clamors for one of those huge conical amplifiers my Great Aunt Agatha plastered

against hers whenever I was around.

Now that you know one of my darkest secrets, I guess I should tell you about my books, how they came into being, and which parts come from Lin's

(L.J Holmes) pre-authorship.

Santa Is A Lady is my debut at Muse It Up Publishing...and well, everywhere else too. (Yep, I'm a bonified Newbie.)

I hadn't intended for my first ever release to be a Holiday themed story, but all other themes were closed. Not being into a Valentine Theme, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Arbor day, (how DOES one write a Holiday theme about a tree?), or even Halloween and Thanksgiving...I was left with only one celebratory day...

Christmas.

I had no idea where to go with it, but then, as if somebody on Cloud Nine

decided to hand me a gift, our local news announced a "professional" Santa had just been arrested...five full days before Christmas.

Back when I was working my way through college, I worked store security at one of the big retailers

for a year. I got to see what Christmas means to "Business".

What, I found myself wondering, would a small business owner do if her Santa was arrested five days before Christmas? How would she go about replacing Santa when all the graduates of Santa University, and yes, such a place does exist, were working elsewhere? Who would she trust? Who could she badger into donning the jolly elf's red suit?

Her best friend, of course...but what if said best friend had MY Minnie Voice?

Santa is a Lady flowed like water over smoothly rounded stones in a creek-bed, and was released to some pretty amazing, at least to me, reviews by really spectacular renowned literary voices.

Santa is a Lady is available at Muse Publishing's BOOKSTORE.

I'm a person with an awful lot to say, so I have continued submitting to Muse Publishing and now have books that fall in both their Mainstream Wing and their Muse It Hot,

as in scorching the flames right off the nanobytes side.

My second release Forever With You, is a short story about a young woman on a quest...getting her custom designed cabin built in record breaking time.

Can Keith Patterson, the owner of Patterson Construction Coryne hired have the skills to meet her deadline...and damn it all...does he have to look like a center-fold magnet?

Forever With You will be available from Muse It Hot on February 1st and it has a surprise ending you won't see coming...I promise you that.

What motivated me to write Forever With You? I love the mountains and have a secret fantasy to one day have enough money to actually build my dream cabin in the middle of nowhere, from the ground up.

I love history...especially ancient history. I also love the possibilities of Time Travel...These loves inspired me to write

The Pendulum Swings to be released from Muse It Hot on March 1st.

What would happen if an ancient Roman slave wakes up in a modern day hospital, in the body of someone else with no memory of who she is or was? And how would you survive it in a body that everyone , your husband, your staff, all who knows its real owner loathes? How do you cope? Is it a temporary leap in time, or are you stuck forever.

I especially loved writing this story and adored the seductive fireplace that was interviewed at the following link: CLICK HERE At the very least, it'll make you smile.

On May 1st my Muse It Up release, things get darker with Twilight Comes.

This story is based on events that took place in a neighboring town. When senseless tragedy strikes people we thought we knew, we can't help but try to decipher a rhyme and reason. Twilight Comes, another short story, is my attempt to understand and rationalize what is unimaginable. The story will stay with you long after the last word has faded from your screen. I know this because I am still haunted by the events all these years later.

And now we come to my June 1st release. In From The Cold is a cougar story that made me laugh while I was writing it...and cry too.

Mari Donovan is fifty and very happy in her disdain for anyone cursed with the "Y" chromosome. She has spent twelve contented years creating her mountain haven. Her only neighbor is in his nineties and not even an overdose of Viagra is going to make him stoke Mari's inner fires...but then he has the obscene rudeness to up and die...leaving all his worldly goods to Mari, with one exception...she must sell the curmudgeon's cabin directly across the graveled road from her.

She's determined it will not be sold to any male not intimately courting the Grim Reaper.

But Fate has other plans.

He's 35, deliciously built, and too annoying by half whether chopping wood shirtless, or daring to sneak off to HER lake and swim in the suit nobody should be blessed with upon their birthday.

No longer is her libido sleeping, and God does that tick her off! Only one thing for it...she's gonna have to jump his bones, do the deed, get him out of her system and slip back into her pre-bone-humping contentment.

Best laid plans ALWAYS bite you!

That's it so far. All the stories that I have covers for from Muse's Cover Art Goddess and my generous hostess, Delilah K. Stephans.

Reviews of my first book Santa Is A Lady are available at my Horn Tooting Blog

I can also be reached via e-mail
Spatzdkat1212@yahoo.com

Thanks Delilah for your covers...museum quality every one, and for this opportunity to do my Yakky Doodle imitation here as your most appreciative blog.

It's Tuesday

2011-01-11T14:21:00.002-06:00

And next week I'm back in classes. Looking forward to the classes. Not looking forward to the getting up at 6 AM! But such is life as a college student.

I'm going to start trying something today. 2 for Tuesday. Meaning I'll post 2 paragraphs from a published book of mine OR from a work in progress (WIP). Hopefully it will catch on, but you never know. So here's my 2 for Tuesday from my WIP. From the bad guy:

Light clicked on in the windowless room, the scrape of a chair against cement echoed off the cement walls. Sliding into the chair he fingered the lock of brown hair trimmed from the woman’s hair. Kristin Morgan. Hope. The fourth on his list. Long fingers unscrewed the cap from the bottle of India ink that held the requisite amount of his blood. Carefully he dipped the nib into it then tapped the excess while pulling the note from its protective sleeve. He made certain his hands were steady before bringing the pen over the precious list. The scrape of pen against paper sounded loud in the barely lit room as he scratched through it. He sighed feeling complete.

The police had assigned their best to the case. It would make the challenge better. Make him more worthy to receive the power that waited once he completed his tasks.

Six Lines Sunday

2011-01-09T12:04:00.003-06:00

First the six lines:

Cancer.

Heart Attack.

Stabbed.

Car Accident.

"Are you paying attention?"

Jenkins turned to glare at Quinten, the blond was smirking at him--again. "No."

Jenkins is the fourth Horseman of the Apolcalypse - Death. When he looks at someone he sees how they will die.

My greatest fear

2011-01-08T09:44:00.003-06:00

I'm scared of spiders, not having a roof over my head, and a bare pantry makes me twitchy. But not a one of those is my greatest fear. So what is my greatest fear?

My greatest fear is that my favorite authors stop writing because their contracts are cancelled due to lack of sales. Lack of sales not because of non-interest but because of ePiracy. I fear the loss of Alexis Morgan's Paladins, Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress world, Marjorie M. Liu's Dirk & Steele, Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunters, C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp's Tales of the Sazi. I've already lost Jenna Maclaine's Cyn Craven series.

According to Marjorie M. Liu, best selling author, "Illegal downloads of books and comics not only lead to lost revenue, but lost contracts for authors. We lose our jobs because of e-piracy.
E-piracy is theft. You might as well go into a bookstore, and shoplift our titles off the shelves." 1/8/2010 on Twitter. http://www.twitter.com/marjoriemliu

From Jeannie Holmes "E-piracy = lost contracts for authors. Lost contracts = lost jobs. Lost jobs = no more of your favorite books. Simple." 1/8/2010 on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/jeannieholmes

At one file-sharing website, users have uploaded 1,830 copies of three books by a popular young adult author. Just one of those copies has had 4,208 downloads. See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/hoxxw1

4208 copies of a book, let's assume it's $7.99 and of that the author gets 25%. That is over $8000.00 that YA author lost and won't get back - EVER! The publishing company won't see their cut either, so why should the publisher give the author a new contract?

I've heard the excuses -

"I can't afford to buy the book." - Go to the library and check it out! That's what they are there for besides you might luck into a local writer being there to do research.

"My download of one copy doesn't hurt." - Maybe not but the other 3 or 4 THOUSAND people after you might.

"Authors make a ton of money, they don't care." - WRONG - a lot of authors work a 40 hour a week job for years before they start making enough to only write.

"Authors get huge advances." - WRONG Those huge million dollar advances you see on the news MAKE the news because they are rare.

"Authors should be greatful they have readers." We are! We love our PAYING readers.

Musie and Mick Interview Roseanne Dowell

2011-01-06T02:01:00.001-06:00

Musie flits around the cafe making certain everything is set up.

Mick *sitting at one of the tables*: Luv, come sit down and relax.

Musie: Oh you don't understand! This is one of Delilah's writer friends that's coming and I don't want to embarrass our author.

Mick: You won't besides she's here. *stands* Hello, you must be

Roseanne Dowell, I'm Mick and this flighty woman is Musie. Would you like some coffee or tea?

Roseanne: It' s so nice to meet both of you. I'd love some coffee, thank you.

*Mick motions one of the waitstaff, who brings coffee to the table.*

Musie: I've never met another writer before, most of us muses are limited to visiting only one author. So, I guess I should ask what's your muse like?

Roseanne: Hmmm - most of the time pushy, loud and sometimes if I ignore her, obnoxious. But, if I pay attention to her, she's quite pleasant and cooperative.

Mick: Do you and your muse ever argue? Delilah and Musie argue all the time, because Musie keeps changing things. How do you resolve the problems?

Roseanne: Sometimes we argue, but I learned a long time ago to just listen to her and do as she suggests.

Musie: I noticed over at the MuseitUp Blog you really gave that Bonella a run for her money. Are you usually like that or did she just bring it out in you? Like the Grinch did for Delialh?

Roseanne: LOL Actually, I'm usually pretty quiet. She brought out the worst in me when she attacked Lea and then it just took off from there.

Mick: If you wouldn't mind answering a couple questions about writing in general. What do you like most about writing?

Roseanne: Not at all. I love talking about writing. What I love most is the creativity it allows. Not to mention it allows me to live in a fantasy - happy ever after world.

Mick: And what do you like least?

Roseanne: When I have an idea and can't sit down and write - like when we're shopping or riding in a car. I've lost so many scenes that way.

Musie: Are you one of those authors that plots everything out or do you just write to see where the story goes?

Roseanne: I just write. I tried (on the advice from a speaker at our chapter of RWA) to write a synopsis first and to plot out the story. I'll never do it again. I'm still trying to get past the writer's block. I couldn't write a thing on that story for a whole year. Usually I know the beginning and end and what happens in the middle is as much a suprise to me as it is to the reader.

Mick: If you had to give a person who wanted to be writer one piece of advice what would it be?

Roseanne: Learn everything they could about showing a story and not telling it and write everyday even if it's only for 15 minutes. I know that's two things, but they're both important

Musie: Now for the fun stuff!

Mick: I did warn you she was flighty.

Musie *punches Mick in the arm*: Watch it or you're sleeping on the couch! So, Roseanne, tell me all about your latest book?

Roseanne: Double the Trouble is about - Kate Wesley coming back to Twinsburg Ohio after a five year absence. Not interested in a relationship after being jilted five years previously, she’s now pursued by her two men, the man who jilted her and a man with twin daughters. When she visits her aunt’s grave, she discovers a body and more complications arise, especially when the twin sister of the victim shows up.

Musie: Ooh that sound so interesting. What did you think of the cover the first time you saw it?

Mick: Vain little minx aren't you, luv.

Musie: Oh hush and let her answer.

Roseanne: I love the cover. Of course we had to do a couple to get to this one. I obviously didn't convey the story well enough and we had to scrap two beautiful covers, but they didn't show the story.

Mick: Would you like to share a small excerpt or the blurb?

Roseanne: Yes, thank you

Where’s Emma?” The tall, blond, muscular man yelled, before Kate had a chance to ask if she could help him.

Kate didn’t like his tone or the deep scowl that caused his eyebrows to almost meet above his icy blue eyes. “Excuse me.” Who did he think he was stomping in here like this? She took a step toward him.

“Emma’s supposed to be at the church for rehearsal. And don’t tell me she’s not here, her car’s in the parking lot. Why is she hiding out? Does she have cold feet?”

Kate pushed a strand of hair behind her ears, took a deep breath and counted to ten. She couldn’t lash out. This was a potential customer, although at that moment, with his attitude, she didn’t want to sell him anything, but no use riling him up more than he was.

“I’m sorry, Mr...” Kate paused to let him fill in the blank. Surely this wasn’t Emma’s fiancé. He didn’t act anything like the way Emma described Doug Johnson.

The man didn’t answer, just glared at her.

Something about him struck her. Attractive, self-assured. Something else. Something tugged at her heart. A feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time. She ignored it.

Okay, that went nowhere. “Emma left almost...” Kate looked at her watch, “well over an hour ago. But she left her car keys.” Kate took the keys from the desk drawer and held them out to him, but quickly drew them back.

She didn’t know who he was, and his attitude left a lot to be desired. She wasn’t about to give the keys to a complete stranger. Besides, how did she know if Emma’s car was really in the parking lot? “Excuse me, Mr...” This time Kate refused to continue until he told her who he was.

He glared at her for a minute. “What do you mean she left? Her car’s still in the lot. And why do you have her keys?” He reached out to grab them but Kate put her hand behind her back..

He stared at her

Kate shrugged. No way was she giving this man more information. Gripping the keys tighter,she folded her arms across her chest and stared back at him, matching him glare for glare.

Did he think he was the only one who could stare? How dare he come into her shop and accuse her of hiding Emma? That’s just plain ridiculous.

The stranger took a deep breath. Obviously he realized anger and yelling weren’t getting him anywhere. Not that Kate cared much what he thought. She wasn’t saying another word until he told her who he was. She could stare just as long as him. She’d learned stubbornness a long time ago.

He spread his hands out in front of him, sort of an ‘I surrender’ mode. His eyes softened to a dusty blue. He blew out a breath.

“Okay, I’m sorry. Let’s start over, shall we? I’m Mark Westfield, Emma’s brother.” He extended his hand to her, but Kate ignored it. “She’s supposed to be at church for rehearsal and hasn’t shown up. I’ve retraced her steps, and no one has seen her. I saw her car in your lot.” He put his hand down at his side.

“This may sound like a strange request, Mr. Westfield, but may I see some identification?”

“Identification?”

He looked at her as if she asked him to undress. “Yes, ID. I don’t know you from Adam, how do I know you’re telling me the truth?”

“Fair enough.” His lips moved just enough to hint at a smile.

He took out his wallet and handed her his driver’s license.

Kate stared from him to the license. Not bad looking, same fair coloring as Emma. Mark Westfield – 37. Just a few years older than me. Now what made her think that? She shrugged off the thought.

Mick: Thank you for coming, I've enjoyed meeting you. Perhaps we can do this again?

Musie: Oh yes, I'd like that too!

Roseanne: I enjoyed meeting both of you too and I'd love to do it again. How about with my next book, Stranger on the Shore, due out in May, 2011. Double the Trouble is available March 1, 2011 from Muse It Up Publishing http://tinyurl.com/29cg8uc

Musie: I'll definitely remind Delilah about that. Mick and I would love to have you back.

Musie & Mick visit with Antonia Tiranth

2011-01-04T02:01:00.001-06:00

Musie set the cake on the table in the center of the room. Mick looks over her and smiles.

Mick: You may be a wonderful muse, luv, But a baker you are not.

Musie: *glaring at him* It's Shirak and Antonia Tiranth coming over! Do you know how long it's been since I've seen Shirak?

Mick: *scratches chin* At least a year.

Knock at door.

Musie: They're here! *runs to open door and then hugs Shirak* I've missed you!

Mick: Come on in Tir. Those two will be chattering away for a while.

Tir rolls her eyes. "I don't really blame them. It has been way too long. I smell cake!"

Mick: Yeah, Musie is still flying high that she and Shirak had a release the same day. Coffee or Tea? *lowers voice* Try to say something nice about the cake, Musie did try.

Musie: I heard that you fake Aussie.

Mick: *smirking* Aye, but ya love me.

Tir : Tea, if you please. If you think Musie is riding high, you should see a dragon when he's excited. I have a few pillows that'll never be the same.

Shir looks scandalized. "I only burnt one pillow, thank you very much. Why did we let her in again?"

Tir: "Oh, hush you purple hippo. Now, where were we Mick?"

Mick: *trying to keep a straight face as he brews the tea.* So why don't you tell us what's been keeping you and Shir from visiting?

Musie: *cuts cake, three slices and one giant one. Hands largest slice to Shirak.* Yeah, I mean so many worlds we need to write and you are busy and Del is doing covers and going to back to school.

Tir opens her mouth to respond, but Shir interrupts. "Well, Tir recently changed evil day jobs so I don't get to visit her at work so much anymore. Then she decided to go and get some crazy certification." Pauses to take a bite of cake. His eyes widen. "Musie! This is delicious!"

Tir: "What he's trying to say is that the evil day job has taken over temporarily. But! I think that might be changing soon."

Mick: Haven't I heard some rumor of you becoming an editor?

Tir - Yep. I'm an editor for both Lyrical Press and Muse It Up. I'm loving it. Shir gets to wear a different hat.

Shir snorts. "Girl has zero fashion sense."

Tir - Moving on....

Mick: Good on you!

Musie: Good! Okay dragon buddy, spill on this new release? What's it about?

Shir : Well, it combines a lot of elements Tir really loves...namely moi and psionics. That's kind of like a mish mash of psychic ability and telekinetic. It's about a girl being drafted into this program where she is bonded to a dragon.

Musie: *snort* Dragons should have figured.

Mick: Told you the story idea division would listen if you went and talked to them, Shir. So, Tir once the evil Day Job - thank God the only evil Day Job Del has is college, and even then Musie gets to play - gives you some freedom what's are you going to do next, writing wise that is?

Tir - Solo writing I think I'm going to work on the next story in The Dragon Wars. With Del...well there are so many to pick from! But we've got one that's been wanting attention for awhile now. Something with an Egyptian mythos plus sci-fi space odyssey feel to it.

Musie: Well show me an excerpt!

I stood by the lakeside, a light breeze making the hem of my night dress ripple. The moon rode full and high in the sky, bathing everything in her ghostly glow. I didn't remember Jericho bringing me here. I felt him approaching and turned to face him. The moonlight made him look even more magnificent than he did in the day, gleaming off his scales, his eyes glowing slightly in the dim light. He stopped and white light began to emanate around him, shimmering, growing brighter, until I had to shield my eyes with my arm or be blinded. When I looked back, the dragon was gone, replaced by a man.

He wore only a pair of loose fitting pants, his chest bare. His shoulders were broad, his stomach toned and rippling with muscles. His arms looked as if he could crush a rock to gravel. His hair was close cropped and sandy blond. He was magnificent. The man started walking again, stopping in front of me. I had to tilt my head slightly to look him in his stormy grey eyes. His lips were turned down slightly, his brow furrowed with…anger? No, I felt none of that from him, only worry. “Jericho?”

He raised one hand, touching my cheek gently. I tilted my head, leaning into the touch. “I don't hate you,” he whispered. “I hate that I have to lose you.”

He stepped closer, lowering his head—

I sat up with a jolt, gasping. What in the hell kind of dream was that? I looked over at the other bed. It was empty. Miri and Enoch were still out on their mission. I lay back down and closed my eyes again, but I was too agitated by the dream to sleep. “Jericho?”

No response. He was either asleep or ignoring me as usual. I sat up again, putting my feet to the cool stone floor. I expanded my senses and felt a guard outside my door. Taking a chance, I went and opened it enough to stick my head out. "Drake?" I whispered.

The guard turned to look at me and smiled. "Shouldn‘t you be asleep?"

Sighing with relief, I stepped out into the hall. I leaned against the wall, folding my arms. It was a bit chilly out here. "I couldn‘t sleep. How can you stand here all night?"

He shrugged. "You get used to it. Why can‘t you sleep?"

It was my turn to shrug. I didn‘t feel right telling him about the dream in detail. "Weird dreams. Must have been something I ate," I lied.

"Maybe you‘re feeling guilty for breaking Dr. Hutchins‘ window," Drake said, grinning broadly. "What did she do?"

I did feel a little bad about breaking the window. Not for breaking the window, but for losing control again. I hadn‘t lost it like that in a long time. "She accused me of not accepting Jericho."

"And how are things going on that front?"

I lowered my head, my dark hair falling forward to hide my face. "I really don‘t know where I stand with him and..."

He put a finger under my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. "And?"

I tried to look away, but I couldn‘t. Something in his grey eyes captured me. "And it hurts," I admitted.

Drake brushed my hair back, his fingers trailing across my cheeks, sending a shiver up my spine. "He‘s a fool," Drake whispered.

"Why?" I asked, my mouth suddenly dry.

His hands framed my face, holding me in place. "Because, you‘re a beautiful and strong woman. He should cherish you as his partner."

"But I‘m not his precious Kendall," I replied bitterly, wrapping my hands around Drake‘s wrists, trying to pull away.

He only held on more firmly. "No, you aren‘t. You‘re twice what she was."

I thought briefly about pushing him away with a psionic blast but why? "I think I should go back to bed now," I managed to say.

Drake smiled, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Yes, you should." He let go of me and returned to his rigid stance against the wall.

I stood there a moment longer and then went back into my room, leaning against the door while I caught my breath. After a minute, I returned to bed, smiling. It felt nice to be appreciated. It didn‘t take long before I slept again.

Musie: OOH That's good, Shir! You too Tir.

Tir blushes : Thanks. I can hardly believe I wrote it sometimes!

Shir snorts : Believe it, girl. Pass some more of that cake, Musie my dear

Mick: Stop flirting with my girl dragon or I'm going to pull out the BBQ and have Dragon steak for dinner.

Musie *smacking Mick*: You know we don't feel that way about each other. But, I do love your being jealous.

Mick *Thrust the rest of the cake at Shir*: Tir pleasure to see you, but in the best interest of your muse's health I think we need to wind this up. So tell everyone where they can find you on the web.

Tir: *shoving a sputtering Shir toward the door* Well, I've got my recently redesigned website, courtesy of my awesome buddy over there. www.antoniatiranth.com and my blog www.antoniatiranth.blogspot.com. There's also facebook and twitter.

Shir : Would you stop pushing! Yeesh. Mick, you promised me beers next weekend!

Tir : Bye guys! Love you all.

Mick *waving*: I'll buy you beer but Musie won't be there.

Musie *stomping her foot after Mick closes the door*: You know I have books to write with him, right?

Mick: Yes, luv, and I'll handle my jealousy while you're writing together, somehow. I promise.

Mick and Musie entertain Emily Pikkasso!

2011-01-03T02:01:00.000-06:00

Mick looks over a Musie who is sitting very sedately at a table: Luv? You're acting strange. Why?

Musie: Because of our guest today.

Mick *raises an eyebrow*: I know our guest is Emily Pikkasso, so why are you so... sedate?

Musie: Because she also edited me! I can't be flitting around like usual.

Mick *goes and opens door for Emily*: Nice to meet you Emily, the lump in the chair is Musie. *whispers* She's nervous about you being here.

Emily: Hello Mick, nice to meet you. Nice to see you again Musie. Thanks for inviting me to come and visit with you today, I’ve been looking forward to it.

Musie *almost vibrating*: I can't do it! I can't sit still this long! Thank you so much for editing Ghostly Passions! You made it so much better.

Mick: Luv, we're here to talk about Emily's book - not you. Tell us about The Oak King's Daughter.

Emily: You’re welcome Musie, I really enjoyed working with you on Ghostly Passions and I love the cover that Delilah created for it. I think it really did it justice.

Ahh, The Oak King’s Daughter…. Well, the premise of the story is roughly based on the old legend about the Oak King and the Holly King and how they each rule 6 months of the year. The Holly King rules the winter months and the Oak King the summer months. That is kind of misleading of course, because their reigns really begin and end at the solstices. From the Summer Solstice to the Winter Solstice the Holly King rules because the sun reaches its greatest strength at Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year and slowly diminishes until Winter Solstice. The Oak King defeats the Holly King at Winter Solstice and from that point on the sun strengthens and the days grow slowly longer.
For my purposes, the story takes place at Mabon, which is the autumn equinox, half way between the solstices. Dara is the Oak King’s daughter and she is yearning for some excitement. She is a young woman and has the desires of one, she feels stifled by her father’s control and rebels against marrying someone her father has picked out for her. It is her duty as his daughter to make a marriage which will help the Oak Kingdom prosper.

Instead, Dara falls for the mysterious new court mage, Tinne. The old mage passed away in the spring and his replacement is young and handsome. She allows him to woo her, unbeknownst to her father. At the Mabon Feast she runs away with her love, hoping for freedom and love in the Tinne’s arms.

However, there is a bit of twist to the story, Dara doesn’t know Tinne as well as she thinks she does. He is much more than what he allows the world to see and harbors a secret of his own.

Mick: That sounds interesting. Do you have an excerpt we can read?

Emily: Of course.

Mabon was Dara’s very favorite feast. The autumn colors were so well matched to her own coloring, she couldn’t help looking anything but breathtaking. The red and gold streaks heralding autumn’s approach glimmered in her dark green hair. Not that looking amazing will do me any good, I won’t get within ten feet of Tinne if Father has anything to say about it, she reflected.

Her father adamantly ordered she couldn’t be seen with anyone he hadn’t approved of first. Dara snorted in disgust. She could certainly manage to choose her own dancing partners, and if dancing led to other things, well Dairmuid didn’t need to know everything. She knew the behaviour childish, but she always used her father’s given name when he annoyed her.

The frown on her face softened as she remembered the first time she laid eyes on her
father’s new mage. Old Willowbark had died in the spring, and the new mage arrived at
Lughnassa. Dara’s heart jumped at the memory of Tinne when he first entered the Oak King’s court. The sunlight streamed through the open door behind him and set his hair and clothes ablaze.

“And set my heart ablaze as well,” Dara murmured.
Dara wrenched her thoughts back to her present dilemma. Somehow, she must find a way to give the herd of prospective husbands the slip. She drummed her long fingers on her knee as she considered her options. Dairmuid was far too formidable for Dara to risk out right defying him, and besides, she really did want to please him. Except his choices were so boring; none of them made her blood race like Tinne did just by walking into the room. Her face flushed with excitement, and a brilliant smile appeared on Dara’s lips as the perfect solution to her problem crossed the green lawn below her, disappearing in the shadow of the tree.

Dara slid down the tree and through the door hidden in the oak’s trunk. Racing down the
stairs as fast as she could, Dara slid to a halt outside her chambers. No need to alert anyone to her excitement if her handmaiden, Ruis had company when she entered. Dara never knew when Dairmuid would choose to visit her, and tonight he would be certain to seek her out to nudge her in the direction of his choice for son-in-law.

Mick: That does sound good. So tell me about your muse?

Emily: My muse is quite capricious at times, she’ll wake me up in the middle of the night and nag me until I get up and write whatever it is she is all het up about. She is also very magical and takes me places I would never think of on my own.

Musie: And now he'll ask I have a few questions about writing in general. What do you like most and least about writing?

Emily: I don’t know, that’s hard. I kind of love it all. But I guess if I had to choose what like the least it would be the tiny fine tunings of the edits at the end. I love to write and just let my fingers fly trying to keep up with my Muse and the twists and turns of the plot. After you’ve edited the manuscript like a thousand times it can get pretty tedious. I just keep the goal in mind; how wonderful and shiny it will be when all the edits are done.

Mick: What inspired you to write? Or was it something that you just always had in you?

Emily: I don’t think I know how not to write, I’ve been composing stories and poems in my head as long as I can remember.

Musie: Are you a plotter or do you just let the story unfold?

Emily: Actually, both. I had to do a lot of research for some books and so that requires plotting, how to fit the information into the storyline without seeming to be doing that. But once my Muse gets the bit in her teeth the story just unfolds and I run along behind holding onto the ribbons of her apron.

Mick: Where can people find you on the web?

My website is http://www.emilypikkassoauthor.ca/ and I have an author’s page on the MuseItHot! Publishing site.

Musie: Do you have another book coming out? I seem to remember Delilah saying we were going to do another cover for you.

Emily: Why yes I do, Musie. Thanks for asking. I have the March 2012 spot in the Lacey’s Lamp series which MuseItHot! Publishing is releasing in 2012. There will be twelve stories, one a month, each with some of the same basic components but each author has interpreted them in their own inimical style. It will be fun.

I am also working on a bit of a sequel to The Oak King’s Daughter, all my beta readers have urged me to continue the story. They want to know what happens next. So do I.

Mick: It's been a pleasure, Emily. Hopefully you can stop by and visit with us again.

Emily: Thank you Mick, and you too Musie. I hope to see more of your work in the near future, Musie.
It has been a pleasure visiting with you today. Thanks again.

Mick and Musie visit with Kat Holmes

2011-01-01T23:37:00.002-06:00

Musie pours hot water into one carafe and coffee into the other while Mick piles a plate with pastries and cookies.

Mick: There luv, all set up for our first guest. Delilah was so scattered yesterday I forgot who was coming today.

Muse *smiling at him*: Kat Holmes. She's a friend and also had a release yesterday. Remind me to ask her about it.

Mick: What if I remember?

Musie: That works. *knock sounds on the door* She's here!

Mick opens the door: Hello. You must be Kat. I'm Mick and the flighty brunette is Musie.

Kat: Pleased to meet you both. Thanks for having me today and Happy New Year.

Mick *leads you to a table*: Happy New Year to you as well. Would you care for coffee or tea? Help yourself to the sweets as well.

Kat: Tea thanks. Mmm I love cookies.

Musie: Congratulations on your release yesterday. I know Delilah was thrilled to share yesterday with all her friends at MuseitUp Publishing. *Giggles* And I'll tell you every muse in Imaginaria is wishing you success. A publishing house named after us is a big deal around here.

Kat: Yes. You must have poked at Lea Schizas in her sleep to get her think of the name for her publishing house.:-)

Mick: What is your release The Lighthouse about?

Kat: It’s a romantic mystery that takes place on a little island off the coast of Maine called Star Island. The island itself is completely fictional. I made it up because it fit my story. Rachel Westmont inherits a lighthouse from her recently deceased aunt. It comes at a very opportune moment for Rachel who is newly divorced and eager to start her life over again.

But upon arriving, odd things begin happening. Books fly off shelves, cold chills fill the room and someone even breaks into her home. Rachel overlooks these things thanks largely to the attentions of handsome local sheriff Craig Lewis. But when someone attempts to kill her, she is forced to look more closely at her aunt’s death. Was it an accident like everyone thinks…or something more sinister? And is her aunt truly haunting her?

Musie: Ooh sounds good. Where did you ever get the idea? What's your muse like?

Kat: I have always been fascinated by lighthouses ever since I was a child. They have a rich history steeped in romance, mystery and murder. So, when I decided to write a story about a lighthouse, the idea of a romance mixed with a murder mystery and ghostly hauntings just seemed perfect. The idea for the story itself came about Christmas of 2009. I was putting out Christmas decorations and my mother gave me these little statuettes of lighthouses decked out for the holidays. One look and the idea came to me.

As for my MuseJ…she’s a demanding mistress. Many a time she will wake me in the middle of the night with an idea or dreams about where to go with a story and I’ll have no choice. I have to get up then and there and write it. But she helps me make my stories so much better. Some of the best scenes I’ve ever written came to me in the form of dreams.

Mick: One question at a time luv. Forgive her she has the muse equivalent of ADHD.

Kat: LOL

Musie: I know Delilah and I did two covers for you. When does your next book release?

Kat: Frozen releases April 2011 and I am so excited. It’s the first in a series and the cover is amazing. It’s so stark and haunting. The series itself is called Artica Lights and if you look closely at the cover, you’ll see the lights hidden within the snowfall. I’m starting book 2 in the series as we speak. Oh, and you and Delilah have done 3 covers for me thus far. Don’t forget Working Under Covers with Aphrodite on it. That one is the first in another series called Gods At Work and comes out in June of 2011.

Musie: How could I forget that one? Secret, I'd actually gotten Delilah to buy those images months before we got the cover form.

Mick: If you don't mind answering a few questions about writing. What do you like most?

Kat: I love seeing a story come to life on the page. Characters that I create take on a life of their own and I feel like I know them as well as family.

Mick: And least?

Kat: Writing the dreaded synopsis. No fun.

Musie: That's what Delilah says too. How much time do you spend with your muse? Oh I mean writing?

Kat: LOL I’m attached at the hip so to speak with my Muse. But when I’m working on a book I do a chapter every day. I prefer to work in the mornings when I’m fresh. I’ll have breakfast then work until I’m done. I edit that chapter the next day before writing the next chapter.

Mick: One last question before you have to go. Where can folks find you on the web?

Kat: Well I am several places. My books can be found at http://www.museithotpublishing.com/
My website is http://www.authorkatholmes.webs.com/
My blog is http://katluvr130.blogspot.com/
And I have a blogtalk radio show at www.blogtalkradio.com/katholmes1212

Musie: Forgive the male muse. *laughs at the glare Mick gives her* Do you have an excerpt for The Lighthouse?

Kat: Absolutely. Here’s a brief excerpt. Hope you like it.

Rachel was approaching a rather steep turn in the road that would take her down to Main Street when she heard a car behind her revving its engine. Looking in her rearview mirror, Rachel got a brief glimpse of a dark SUV just as it rammed into her bumper.

Rachel frantically tried to hold the wheel steady as she screamed and hit the brakes. The car behind her sped up again and rammed her bumper even harder. Rachel was heading for the edge of the cliff. Turning her wheel hard to the right, the car slid and turned.

Rachel put all of her weight onto the brake pedal as she tried to stop her momentum. The car smashed into the metal railing by the driver’s side door and Rachel heard metal scraping upon metal. Fortunately for Rachel, the railing held as the SUV drove off without stopping.

Rachel just sat there shaking, her heart thundering and tears running down her face. She didn’t know how much time passed. She didn’t really care. Rachel felt nauseous. Someone had just tried to kill her. Oh she could pass the first hit off as an accident, especially had the driver stopped and gotten out to check on her afterwards. But the driver had proceeded to hit her a second time and then speed off.

Musie: That sounds so interesting! Thank you for coming. We really enjoyed it and hope you stop by again.

Kat: Thank you so much. I had a lot of fun.

A happy new year

2010-12-31T20:36:00.002-06:00

Musie stood as her author walked into the cafe and met me halfway.

Delilah: Happy New Years, Musie. Where's that handsome male muse of mine?

Musie *laughs*: Oh he'll be here in a second. I wanted to say hi first.

Delilah: Well I gotta say you look better at full size rather than the 2 inch terror marching on my chest you usually are.

Musie *looks sheepish*: Thanks and I'm not sorry. Look what we accomplished this year!

Delilah: Nodding: Yep, we sure did. Almost 100 book covers for MuseitUp Publishing and a release today!

Musie: Yeah, and you were worried that Devlin wouldn't talk.

Delilah: He talks a little too much. Like this new gal you stuck me with. I can't get her to shut up, and she won't move.

Musie *shrugs*: I'm working on her.

Mick *walking in*: Hello Delilah! *Gives her a quick kiss on the cheek.* So how's our boy Devlin doing?

Delilah *giving Mick a glare*: You know I won't know for a few days. But I've spread the word far and wide. Okay guys - over the next month a lot of Muse author's are going to visit and you two are going to interview them.

Musie: Oh dear! I have to get coffee, tea, umm..

Mick: Sit down, luv before you run into yourself.

Delilah: LOL! You two are good for each other. *leans over and whispers to Mick* Think this summer we can finish My Lady Death? I think it's a little too structured for Musie and you have experience with suspense stories.

Musie *stomping foot*: I heard that! *crosses arms over her chest and pouts* But you're right I'm no good at those types. Give me hot, dirty, and short and I'm your girl.

Delilah *putting her arms around both her muses's shoulders*: 2011 is going to be a great year. Right? No flitting off on some tangent or leaving me high and dry halfway through a story or with a stack of cover art forms?

Musie: I'll try.

Sexy Heroes of 2010

2010-12-31T02:00:00.000-06:00

All from Romance Novels I've read - some I fudged on - they didn't have a book release BUT they appeared in a book released in 2010. I've added some to what I put up on Twitter.

Hero #15 Logan MacRoy from Angela Knight's Master of Fire published by Berkley Sensations

A hero with a destiny he's not quite ready to accept meets a heroine determined to protect him but no fall for him. That never works! The son of King Arthur and Gwenivere he's a handsome sexy man with a ton of honor. Doesn't hurt that he's a vampire too.

Hero#14 Drew Kincaid from Nalini Singh's Play for Passion published by Berkley

Drew is a werewolf that fits outside the pack structure - he's their tracker, meaning he brings roque's to justice. When he falls in with Indigo, a Lt in the pack, she has problems dealing with him being as strong or stronger than she is. Drew's romance of Indigo and his pain at one point thinking he's lost Indigo had my heart aching for him.

Hero #13 Carlos Panterra from Eat, Prey, Love by Kerrilyn Sparks published by Avon

Carlos was first introduced in All I Want For Christmas is a Vampire and I liked the Werepanther from the moment he walked on the page. Sassy, funny and a bit dangerous - YUM! When he falls in love with the one woman he shouldn't, her father hates anything not human, and human it's a heartbreak. He could make her a were-panther with a bite - but he's afraid she won't live through the transformation.

Hero #12 Spade, Baron Charles DeMortimer, First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost published by Avon

Spade has a couple things going for him - sexy and vampire top the list. He's willing to do anything even lie to his best friends to keep his heroine safe. The only reason he's not higher is he's a little too sweet to break my top 10 - maybe next year.

Hero #11 Curran from the Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews Published by Ace

I just met Curran in a 4 day must read everything in this series marathon. A Were-lion and the head of all Shapeshifters in Ilona Andrews' world. He's majorly hot, teases Kate unmercifully until they finally work things out. He'll probably move up once I know him better.

Hero #10 Hunter Fitzsimon from Defeat the Darkness by Alexis Morgan Published by Pocket Star

Here's a hero I first met and new only as PJ Guy. He ran into a battle with a sword, bare feet, bare chested and a pair of flannel PJ bottoms. Then he was severly tortured and killed - good thing Paladins come back from that. Dealing with PTSD he's sent to guard a tiny stretch of the barrier from the bad guys. A tortured hero who'll die to protect his girl - and he does - yeah that's a hero.

Hero #9 Travis Caine from Black Jack by Lora Leigh Published by St. Martin Press

An agent who everyone thinks is dead. Now he plays fast and loose with the rules to get and keep his girl. Sexy too. Black Leather, Motorcycle, guns... yeah.

Hero #8 Mencheres from Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost Published by Avon

Mencheres first showed up in One Foot In The Grave, he was interesting but a little stuffy for my taste. Even apperances in later Night Huntress books didn't change my mind. BUT his book - yeah that moved him up to the top 10. Under that stuffy, closed off demeanor is a man who is absolutely 100% convinced that no one can love him. Respect yes. Love no. That gives him a vulnerability I wasn't expecting. As a 4000+ vampire he's POWERFUL but he's willing to die until his heroine shows up. And a man who will do dark forbidden magic to save his girl? Yeah he moves up a few notches.

Hero #7 Gordon Nathaniel Pierce from Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison published by Eos

Pierce first showed up in White Witch Black Curse and I really liked him. Then he became pretty major in Black Magic Sanction willing to do whatever it took to protect Rachel - even though she does have some issues with him. But come on he came back from being a ghost for several hundred years - even if he does need to join the times on women, he isn't afraid of doing a little dark magic if it is needed.

Hero # 6 - Wraith from the Deomnica Series by Larissa Ione published by Forever

Wraith is a Seminus demon and part vampire. He's got a wicked sense of humor, sharp as a tact wit and if you want to find something you call him. His transformation from self indulgent playboy to hero is a wonderful arc.

Hero #5 Rafael from Night's Darkest Embrace by Jeaniene Frost in the Haunted by Your Touch Anthology published by Pocket Star

Okay I like Rafael as a half fallen - yes that means Mom was a fallen angel and Dad was something else - he's a very interesting character, but I've come to expect no less from Jeaniene Frost heroes. He eats full demons, has black wings that for some reason make him even sexier.

Hero #4 Greyhill Danby from Dark Warrior Untamed by Alexis Morgan published by Pocket Star

Grey is a man who grew up in the alleys of London then learned to mix with society. He's a master at dirty street fighting and can be quite terrifying. But even with his belief in eye for an eye justice he is a protector, a fighter and a man willing to give his life for those under his protection. His grief when he thought his heroine had died was heart breaking.

Hero #3 Tony Giodone from The Sazi Series by C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp published by Tor

Another fudge - he didn't have a release in 2010 his book was in 2009 but he was in a book released in 2010. Tony has to be my favorite werewolf. An ex-mob hitman, that even one of his friends describes as doing the job because it controls his antisocial tendencies, and turned were-wolf, a three day wolf as he calls himself. He's gritty, a little bad, a little good and has a smart mouth. "Hi I'm Tony and I'll be your assassin today" still laugh when I think of that line.

Hero #2 Judd Lauren from the Psy Changeling series by Nalini Singh published by Berkley Sensations

A psy who has the ability to burst someone's heart just by thinking about it and is constantly causing his mate to redecorate - better to destroy furniture than her, right? His coldness is chilling but he's definitely a hero to love.

Hero #1 Bones from One For The Money by Jeaniene Frost in the Death's Excellent Vacation Anthology published by Ace

Now Bones is usually seen in the Night Huntress novels where he is the resident hero and definitely deserves the title hero. A 200+ ex prostitute, ex vampire hitman turned co-ruler of a huge line. But so devoted to his Kitten. Oh he makes huge mistakes sometimes and that make him all the more worthy of being the top on this list of sexy heroes.

Honorable Mentions:

Zach from Under Fire by Jo Davis
Ian from Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost
Vlad from Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost
Barak from The Paladin series by Alexis Morgan
DJ from the Paladin series by Alexis Morgan

So who are your top sexy heroes? I'd like to meet them.

What present can I give?

2010-12-23T12:39:00.003-06:00

Now I'm not a fan of Christmas. There's just too much craziness and disreguard of the fellow man by most in the rush to buy into the retailers demands that we buy everyone we care about a present. But - while I hate the demands of retailers and the attitudes of shoppers, there are some things I do like.

This year I found the perfect card for my best buddy Antonia Tiranth (Tir). It said "Hope you don't mind but I'm regifting you this year" on the outside and "My friendship" on the inside. There are just some relationships that there isn't a gift in any shop that there is something that tells the person how special they really are to you. Tir and I met 7 years ago online and didn't meet in real life until May of this year. We've been writing buddies all that time, in fact got our first contracts 2 days apart. Co-wrote a book together. And January 1st we'll have solo releases from the same publisher on the same day. I'll never find a material gift that adequately expresses my appreciation of our friendship. How do you find one that says - thanks for pushing me to write better, for listening to me when I'm in a bitchy mood, for getting mad at someone who is not treating me right, thanks for being there when I need you? Hmm? Can you think of one cause I sure can't.

Then there are friends that you've known a while but just became friends with. What do I get Lea Schizas for believing in me enough to offer me the Art Director position at MuseitUp Publishing? Or Alexis Morgan who sent me the most precious gift of a hand written note that says "I'm so proud of your success"? Or Bonnie Edwards who congratulates me on each new contract and kicks me in the butt to keep reaching for the stars?

Then there are the new friends you just met? All the authors at MuseitUp publishing who were there when I needed them? The folks at frostforums.com who allow me to hide in one of my favorite worlds? The ladies at DJ's blog that encourage me, laugh with me, and cry with me when I need that?

See - there are things I can't buy something that says how much I appreciate those friendships. Even if there was my meager budget wouldn't allow for it. But there is one thing I can give that gives every day of the year - my friendship. With it comes a person to laugh with, a shoulder to cry on and an ear that will listen to all their secrets and never breathe a word of them.

So that is the Christmas present I give to all my friends my friendship. To my readers I give the best books I can write. To my editors I give my cooperation on edits. And not a one of those things cost a penny but their worth is incalculable

Excerpt and recipe

2010-12-21T09:15:00.003-06:00

First the excerpt:

From Ghostly Passions which will be available January 1st from MuseitHot Publishing (Click the title to be notified when it's available:

Dru lay still hoping whomever she was draped over wouldn’t realize she was awake. Her hopes were dashed with the sound of a low masculine chuckle.

“I know you’re awake, lass.”

She sat up and looked at the owner of the voice, recognizing him immediately.

Devlin Ruark.

The artist had not come close to doing him justice. Whoever had drawn him definitely captured the smirk but not the rakish arch of dark brows over the greenest eyes she’d ever seen. His hair was not black as she’d thought but a deep chestnut brown. Wide shoulders tapered to a muscular torso, down to six-pack abs where a line of dark hair trailed below the sheet covering his hips.

A smile curved her lips. If this was a dream she wasn’t wasting it being her usual cautious self. No, she’d be daring, take what she wanted from this dream and the man in it. Dru arched her back in a way that made the sheet slip down to reveal her breast. If the raised eyebrow and flaring of his nostrils were any indication, Devlin Ruark was definitely interested.

“What if I don’t want to talk?” she asked as she rolled to face him. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing and his eyes growing dark. “This is my dream and I don’t want to spend it talking.”

He opened his mouth, and then closed it to clear his throat. “I’ve always found talking to be unnecessary in certain situations. What did you have in mind, lass?”

And an easy recipe that makes a great snack Christmas morning.

Sausage biscuits

Bisquick

1 lb sausage

1 cup cheese (I personally prefer sharp chedder in them)

Mix bisquick according to package.

Add sausage and cheese mixing well.

Roll into bite size balls and bake according to Bisquick box.

These are good cold or hot

There's always something

2010-12-09T16:35:00.001-06:00

About a release date. The exitement, the worry no one will buy it, the thrill of that first review. Yeah I'm feeling all of that even with the stress I'm under this weekend. But January 1, 2011 looks to be a really great day. Or at least I hope so.

Why great? Well it's the release date for my newest release - Ghostly Passions from MuseitHot Publishing. I fell in love with Devlin Ruark when he first screamed “Release me, wench!” I didn't even know his name at that point. Then decided to name him after two of my favorite romance heroes.

The other reason it's great is it will be the first time my release date for a solo written book will coincide with my writing buddy Antonia Tiranth's release from the sister house MuseitUp Publishing of her Kellan's Dragons.

But it gets even better! I'm also releasing with other friends - Kat Holmes has a release that day from MuseitHot - The Lighthouse. From the lovely Emily Pikkasso -The Oak King's Daughter - which I won my first ever cover award for. Then there's Ginger Simpson, Frank Scully, Patricia Harrington, and Heather Haven's releases that day. All from the same house and wonderful authors that trusted me with their covers!

See it's really going to be a great day! So January 1st check out the releases and pick up one or two or all of them.

And though she hates it - Thanks Lea Schizas for letting Tir (Antonia Tiranth) and I share this first.

Thoughts.

2010-12-04T15:36:00.000-06:00

I often think about this but today found out about a friend of a friend who is wondering what to do about a contract that was changed. Won't give details as they aren't mine to give.

But it got me to thinking NY Publishing NAME, Small Press or ePublishing. Now I love Lyrical Press and MuseitUp Publishing and am extremely happy there. But like all authors I dream of seeing my book on the shelves at the book store. Walking into a bookstore and maybe seeing people picking up my book and showing it to their companion going "You have to read this!"

Now I can't fool myself into believing that I'll be the next J.K. Rowling, John Grisham, and all those other authors that we know the name of. And if I'm completely honest I don't want to be. Don't get me wrong the money would be nice... VERY nice. But I would rather have devoted readers that want my books.

I try to think what would I consider a fair advance from a publisher. $1,000? $3,000? $5,000? What if they offered one and then halved it? Would I still be willing to go forward just for the chance to be on the bookshelf? Truthfully I don't know - I've never been in that situation.

Even hearing bad things from friends of friends - I won't let go of my dream. I may never make it BUT if I don't reach for the stars I might as well turn off my computer and not even try.

Where stories come from #2

2010-12-01T14:24:00.000-06:00

So I posted about this once, but thought I'd revisit the topic = since everyone always asks a writer "Where did your idea come from?"

Characters are the most interesting in where they come from.

Take Jett Houston from "Black Velvet" - I was helping my buddy Antonia Tiranth work out a problem with her Rikashi series, she needed twelve characters and only had eleven when up popped this foul mouthed, attitude ridden, alpha in the extreme, sexy Texan. I knew everything about him - his past, why he had the attitude, his Grams... Course he wouldn't go work with Tir, so we ended up cowriting his book.

There's Devlin Ruark from my upcoming Ghostly Passions - Another of those full blown here I am tell my story now men. But I love them.

But my favorite has to be Mel, who is actually named Melody. A biker chick who is the daughter of a muse and a human. She first started peeking out at me when I was listening to Carrie Underwoods "Before He Cheats" a little shy but that's because whenever she sings what she sings about happens. She's a minor character in a series Antonia Tiranth and I are working on... may get her own book soon as she and Rafe decide to open their mouths.

Then there are those lovely creatures. Jayne Crantz has a species in her books "Dust Bunnies" they look like dust bunnies but are incredibly fast and have wicked sharp teeth.

While outside with my husband a bit a go I started sneezing. We always say "A sneezelweazel ran up my nose." when that happens - we've said it hundreds of times but today I started sneezing and told hubby that and suddenly I started wanting to create a world that HAS sneezelweazels.. we'll see what the brain comes up with.

Sometimes a song brings up a story too. Right now thanks to Glee the muse has found "Forget You" and she's insisting there's a story there. She'll find it too if I give her enough time.

Challenge for those with a Twitter Account

2010-11-28T10:08:00.001-06:00

Okay I've been doing it - yeah I've missed a few days but... What I'm doing is a #books4Christmas on Twitter. Hoping to remind people that books are GREAT ideas and hey if you're going to give them an eReader load them up with books while you're at it.

So far I've recommended:

Passion Unleashed by Larissa Ione
Vampire Vendetta by Alexis Morgan
All I Want for Christmas by Kerrilyn Sparks
Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
The Envoy by Delilah K Stephans
Dark Needs at Nights Edge by Kresley Cole
Wolf In The Door by Christine Warren
Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Haunted by Your Touch - Anthology
Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
Blood Games by Chelesa Quinn Yarbro
Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh
Breathless by Bonnie Edwards
Dark Defender by Alexis Morgan
The Tempe Brennan series by Kathy Reichs
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - book not movie though the movie is good too.

SO if you have a twitter account start recommending #books4Christmas! I try to do at least 1 a day. As an incentive - if you start doing them email me at delilahkstephans@gmail.com with either a screen cap of your tweet OR link to your twitter account and your snail mail addy and I'll send one winner a few little gifts and a copy of a couple of my books and for everyone that does it - I'll send you something too! Bookmarks and magnets okay?

Happy Thanksgiving and Christmas Musings

2010-11-25T15:29:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope everyone enjoyed thier Turkey and all the fixings. I still don't know why we feel we must have what is basically enough food for a small army on one Thursday a year. But I enjoy the food so really don't complain about it too much.

No, the holiday I have a real problem with is Christmas. I know. I know. I've heard it for years. I'm horrible for not liking Christmas. BUT let me explain why I dislike it.

First there's the fact I worked retail for twelve years and experienced the nastiest of people every one of those twelve years. I can honestly say that in that dozen years I had at least one person scream at me - and usually on the 24th of December - "You're ruining my Christmas." This includes people who spend next to nothing on a gift then when they have it engraved (worked at an engraving shop) the cheap silver plating peeled. Offered this person full credit for what they had spent but NO for thier $12.00 gift they wanted a $40.00 one FREE. Oh I did it but I have never forgotten or forgiven the woman who once she got her way was all "I'm sorry" didn't believe her then and still don't.

Second is the fact that being in retail I realize the absolute commercialism of the holiday. It's not about being with people you care for or showing them you care for them and oh here's something that I know you wanted. No, all the retail businesses have convinced not just the U.S. but the world that during the month of December we must buy a gift for everyone we know to show them we care. We should put ourselves in debt to buy these gifts. Why? What if I know a friend is down or I just want to give them a gift and I have the money to buy it? Should I buy it and set it aside for December? I'd rather give a gift just cause. And personally I prefer gifts that come out of the blue for no other reason than someone wanted to do something nice with no expectation of a gift in return.

Now a little about Black Friday sales... Do your homework! It's a little late now but you should have spent September and October pricing the items you want to gift. THEN look closely at those Black Friday ads - are they REALLY a bargin? (Some retail stores bump up the retail price in November so that sale price actually looks better) If you have an iPhone, iPad or Android I seriously recommend downloading the Shop Savvy ap - you will be able to find the best price. It's like I'm a tech person. I love my computers, smart phone, iPod, memory sticks, portable drives... heck hubby knows if he wants to make me happiest not to buy me jewelry buy me tech stuff or take me to the bookstore. So I know tech prices - WELL. Trust me there is nothing tech related that has a decent deal on it this holiday. Oh there are a couple of eReaders but it's more a test by the manufacturers to see how they will sell at that price point. But definitely if you want a Nook or a Sony eReader... $99.00 tomorrow. (Nook at Best Buy and Sony at Wal Mart)

Oh one more retail tip - Best deals are the week before Christmas.

NY Times tracking eBook Sales

2010-11-11T20:23:00.000-06:00

So the NY Times announced today that they will be tracking eBook sales and ranking them at the beginning of next year http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/books/11list.html?_r=1

That's good news and bad news.

Good in the fact that finally someone is giving ebooks the respect the authors of them deserve.

Bad in the fact that they didn't decide to do it until the big publishers got into eBooks.

I have mixed feelings about this issue. Mostly I wish they'd have recognized them sooner, but we can't get everything we want, can we?

How do you decide what to write?

2010-10-25T15:03:00.000-05:00

I've heard "write what you know" many times. But what do I really know about Vampires and Demons? About Time Travelers? Honestly, I only know what I've read from other authors.

Let's take Vampires. I am a total fangirl of them and will read almost every book, see every movie and give every TV series a try. I got the idea to write one but really needed to make mine unique. So I took my favorite Vampire books (Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series, Kerrilyn Sparks Love at Stake series, Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark, Lynsay Sands Argenaux series, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Chelesa Quinn Yarbro's St. Germain series) and made a list of the advantages and disadvantages of each. I looked through that list and decided what made sense to me. Then jumbled them all up, put my own twist on them and wrote The Envoy (Available now from Lyrical Press).

Ghost? Well there's more freedom there because there are so many types of Ghost. I watched Ghost Hunters one day they had a marathon. This lovely paranormal researcher and a sexy ghost started taking shape in my head. From that came Ghostly Passions (releasing June 1, 2011 from MuseitHot Publishinhg)

And then I took on Death. While most books whoever is Death is male. But one author, W. Somerset Maugham, wrote a short story "Appointmentin Samarra" in which Death was a beautiful woman. It stuck with me. So I start thinking after rereading Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series. Oh I didn't want to try to touch that one but the idea of the different incarnations having a physical presence? Oh yeah, I liked that idea. Which led to my current WIP! I'm still not sure of the title but the two in the running are My Lady Death and Death and the Detective. In which I also mix in my love of Romantic Suspense novels. I just need to finish it.

So if you want to write - then write. The ideas are all around let your brain mix the ideas around and you'll be surprised what comes.

Why do some publishers do that?

2010-10-23T16:44:00.000-05:00

No parties will be named so.

Two publishers have received request for return of rights back and handled it in a very unprofessional manner... They have so far, to my knowledge, ignored them. Why?

I mean honestly. If an author isn't happy at a publisher and request rights back, why keep them? All it does is cause even more animosity in the author. That animosity grows and the next thing you know lawyers are involved, the court system and even the Romance Writers of America (RWA). Not to mention the behind the site bad mouthing that goes on in private emails.

Why not just give them their rights back and let them go on their way? These two publishers have had blog after blog hashing out all the sorted details. To the point in some cases where READERS won't purchase from that company in solitarity with the authors. Now the publishers look bad, the authors that are happy are being hurt and in a few cases chastising those that want to leave.

If an author wants to leave - why keep them? It may be for no reason other than the author has a personality clash with someone, or wants to rework a book to make it better. But they are ignored. Then they get angry. When all it would take is a few clicks of the mouse to delete the books from other vendors and their own website, signing a release of rights, dating it and emailing it to the author - all could be done, I'd guess, in a few hours at most a week with epublishers. Print books probably longer.

One publisher stated, when asked, that they have to go to court about the right revisions. Why? Did they go before a judge when the signed a contract? If they did - okay but if not why do they need to do that now? Why change from 90 DAYS to 90 BUSINESS DAYS? Why are they keeping unhappy authors? In my state we have a right to work program - meaning you can leave your job for any reason you want including "I just don't want to work their any more."

I understand contracts - but if you (publisher) gives a termination clause then live by it. Right?

Meet a sexy Ghost

2010-09-26T11:30:00.000-05:00

Today I'm turning the blog over to Devlin Ruark the hero of Ghostly Passions.

Good day. As the lovely author said I am Devlin Ruark and proud of what has happened since my death.

There are advantages to being a ghost. Aye, I've seen things I ne'er dreamed possible. The rise of technology, like this internet. Tis truly a marvel to know instantly what friends in distant cities, even across the vastness of the oceans are thinking or doing. The freedoms enjoyed by all. And most of all I have enjoyed the changes in women's fashions.

Aye, for a man still young it is a true pleasure to see the young lasses visit the beaches. First in dresses down to their ankles then move to what they wear now. Mere bits of fabric and lace that barely cover their bodies.

Which brings me to the disadvantages. While I would love to follow them along the beach I am trapped in my home. Ne'er to step a transparent foot past the threshold. For 230 years it has been so. But if that were the only disadvantage I would be happy. Nay, and forgive me dear ladies for speaking of something that should be private in your presence, the worst of it is to be unable to feel any sensation in the part of me that makes me a man. Aye, tis my deepest shame that in being a ghost I have become unable to rise to any occassion.

But enough about my sm.. deficency. There is another difficulty in being a ghost. The damned Paranormal Researchers as they call themselves. Always trying to prove I am here or worst yet drive me from my home! I'll not stand for it. If the God Almighty saw fit to leave me here until he comes again then no man or woman will part me from my home.

That is part of the problem, there is a new one coming here soon. Heard her speaking to the upstart that thinks he owns my property. I did not see this woman, but she did have a pleasing voice. She will be here in June. I wish the lovely author who told our tale would tell me what to expect.

"Not on your ghostly life!"

See? Not a word. I fear what is coming. She has titled my story Ghostly Passions so that must be good - correct?

New Cover!

2010-09-18T10:57:00.000-05:00

I have to take a minute to show off my beautiful cover for my June 1st Release from MuseitHot Publishing. Isn't it Gorgeous!

Devlin Ruark has been trapped in the same house for 230 years. He's faced a British hangman, numerous paranormal researchers, but he doesn't know what to do with the newest researcher.

Determined to prove that ghost do exist, Druscilla Hutchinson has returned to the house where she saw her first ghost. With the Electromagnetic Particle Scanner she developed she hopes to give a ghost a more substantial form.

When the EMP Scanner produces an unusual side effect, Devlin and Druscilla have to decide whether to talk or take advantage of the situation.

I have to admit I love this sexy brash hero and logical heroine. I hope you readers do to. I'll have excerpts later.

Be the Captain of your publishing career

2010-09-01T14:41:00.000-05:00

I've learned a lot since I signed my first contract. Mostly it's you have to take the good with the bad. Oh, you get angry and may even swear - I do. But it's part of the process. But here are some of the lessons I've learned.

1. Never take one person's word for how a publisher is. They speak only from their experiences. I've heard horrible things about a publisher - only to find them a true delight to work with. I've heard excellent things about a publisher - only to find them a nightmare.

2. Trust your gut or if female your woman's intuition. It will rarely steer you wrong.

3. If you do sign with a publisher and aren't happy - try another one. Publishing books is like finding the perfect resturaunt. Your friend might love resturaunt A - but you have had bad experiences and prefer resturaunt B. Example - my husband loves McDonald's and we have one that we go to all the time. Not that there is anything wrong with anyother McDonald's in town - but we've developed sight recognition with the staff and feel more comfortable there... well at least until there latest remodel and there are no comfortable booths...

4. If you are happy with your publisher - don't expect everyone else to love it.

Bottom line - it is your writing career. You are the captain of that boat - do not give over control to any single publisher, editor or individual. And another cliche that I've learned to appreciate - don't put all your eggs in one basket. Cause if the basket breaks - you have one heck of a mess to clean up.

Upcoming releases!

2010-08-26T22:28:00.001-05:00

I decided to dip my writing toes into the erotica pool. I have three upcoming releases I want to tell you about.

Demons Be Gone - His name is Demon. Her name is Angel. When they meet sparks fly.

Ghostly Passions - He's been dead for over 200 years but seeing the sexy Paranormal Investigator that is investigating his home brings him back to life...

Afternoon Surprise - He's a lawyer. She's a professor. The zing is gone from there sex lives but a surprise visit brings back the zing.

Cell phone or iPod Touch Wars

2010-08-23T12:52:00.000-05:00

Now this really doesn't sound like something for a writer's blog - but it is my blog, so I guess I can write about anything I want. :)

I want to replace my old cell phone. I've determined what I need and what I want and what I can truthfully live without. #1 on my list is internet - good internet. But then I looked at it again and my old phone isn't that bad... SO I've got a couple options.

1. I can get an iP0d Touch - 32GB of music, video, audiobooks AND has wi-fi capability.

2. I can upgrade my cell phone and get a Samsung Vibrant - more on the monthly bill but not that much more, since I already pay for internet on the phone I have.

The initial outlay doesn't bother me as they are pretty close to the same price (after I take advantage of a special on one and great pricing on the other) what has me debating is - increased monthly bill. Internet is a must. With being epublished and other work online, I need the internet.

The iPod Touch has the advantage of no extra monthly outlay - BUT I don't always take my iPod with me. I do take my phone.

The Vibrant has the advantage of it would go everywhere with me, have Kindle on it and okay so Avatar is on it too (BTW I like the movie) - BUT has the disadvantage of that monthly bill increase.

So help an author out. Which do you think I should get.

Words and when they came into usage

2010-08-17T10:43:00.000-05:00

It's one of the things that fascinate me as an author. One of my favorite books on the subject is English Through The Ages by William Brohaugh. It's great when you are writing a period piece or maybe a ghost story to go back and find what words would he use for something. Then there's slang and euphamisms - which I'm still looking for a good book on the subject.

In my latest book - during edits the editor wanted me to change a word. I pulled out my English through the Ages and looked up the work I used and the one she wanted me to use. The one I used was in the vocabulary as early as 1500 - the word my editor wanted me to use entered the vocabulary in the late 1800s. The character was from 1780. BUT without William Brohaugh's book I would probably have gone with the editors word - without knowing it was period incorrect.

Words are the backbone of a writer's tool kit. Dictionaries and Thesauruses are essential I recommend having at least 3 different ones of each and www.dictionary.com and www.thesaurus.com bookmarked. Besides, if you write hot scenes... it's fun looking up different terms for different things.

Another tip - make friends with writers around the country and the world. Slang is different in every part of the country and every nation. So, make sure you get it right - nothing will turn off a reader faster than the use of slang from a character that lives in their area.

So, if you know of a good slang/euphamism book, let me know.

New Contract!

2010-08-03T11:33:00.000-05:00

Can't believe I forgot to blog about this!

Over a year ago I started a little piece of erotica fluff ... a Paranormal Investigator and a Ghost. I finally finished it and sent it off to MuseitUp Publishing. It was accepted and has a June release date with their MuseitHot line

MuseitUp Publishing is a new ePublisher BUT the owner Lea Schizas has been around the ePublishing industry as long as I have been publishing. She's smart, savy and has probably forgotten more about marketing a book than I'll ever learn. She's so smart in addition to giving me a contract - my sixth! - she also offered me a job as the cover artist for both houses!

Now since I'm the only CA there, don't worry I love being the only one, I need to put my nose back into Photoshop and knock out a few mockups today. In addition to going and getting new glasses!

I redid my office minus the UFHT (Ugly ____ Hot Tub) that took up 2/3 of the room. I'll post pictures once it's all set up and the moving mess is cleaned up.

Heroine Hair Color

2010-07-27T17:29:00.000-05:00

Okay strange topic to talk about today but it was on my mind.

When I started reading romances almost all the heroines had blonde hair. The bad girls seemed to have dark hair or red hair. Now the tide has turned. The dark haired and red headed girls seem to be the heroines and the blondes are the bad girls.

What brought this about? Is it because of the actresses of today? Think back. In the past the past blondes like Marilyn Monroe were the ones that filled the silver screen. Today we have Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox and Julia Roberts fill the seats at the movie theater.

But what about those of us with mousy brown hair? Are we forever relegated to being the best friend?

What do you think?

Release Day!

2010-07-05T15:41:00.000-05:00

Sometimes when you write books come quickly the words flowing and before you know it you are typing "The End". But, there are others books that along the way teach you things, that crawl into your heart and you are fearful of others rejecting them - publishers, reviewers, and most importantly readers.

The Envoy was that book for me. Started in 2006 I finished it in November of 2009. My wonderful editor at Lyrical Press, Pam Tyner, loved it and it was quickly contracted. Then there was the editing process and today it is out there for others to read. And the same old fear is stalking me today. What if people don't like my baby?

The Envoy is my first and to date only attempt at writing my favorite genre - Vampire Romance. Diana is so closely based on my past jobs it's not funny. It's set in my hometown - which did make getting photo references easy.

If you pick it up, please let me know your opinion -- even if it's negative.

And as a friend reminded me I forgot to add a link! http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=272

eBook Piracy take 2`

2010-06-24T13:34:00.000-05:00

Hmm this week seems to be the week of repeating earlier topics. Today I want to talk about eBook Piracy - again.

So I talked about how eBook piracy effects the authors - the bottom line if they don't make money writing they stop writing. Publisher's don't make money they fold. If you want to read that entry it's here.

Now to continue that theme. Not only are you taking money from the author and the publisher. I've heard the excuses "I can't afford to buy the books I read too many." "They're making tons of money (not true) so it won't matter if I download it." (Guess what you aren't the only one downloading the book there are hundreds of you. One author did the research and one of her books had been downloaded over 1,000 times.) "I just download to try it out if I like it I'll buy it." Yeah, yeah, yeah all us writers and our publishers are living in mansions and have servants to clean and it won't hurt if we get robbed - WRONG assumption. For my case I live off social security and disability - my royalty checks are enough to go out to dinner once and that's about it. BUT there are others that feel the financial effect of each and every illegal download. Folks you probably never thought about. Who? Copy/Content Editors, Line Editors/Proofreaders and Cover Artist.

Now in the big New York houses I'm sure those folks get a salary but for the sake of this entry I'm not talking about them. I'm discussing ePublisher staff. Each group gets a tiny percentage for their hours of work and/or expenses.

1. Copy/Content Editors - for their tiny percentage these wonderful ladies and gents read each story assigned to them, mark what can be made better, correct punctuation, and to make sure the house style is maintained. They do this not once but a minimum of twice and some books take three or four or more times. That's HOURS and HOURS of work.

2. Line Editors/Proofreaders - now some publishers pay these ladies and gents a flat fee and that's great... but some don't. The Line Editors/Proofreaders are "fresh eyes" that check the story for things the Copy/Content Editors and Author missed because of having read the story too many times.

3. Cover Artist - I bet you're wondering why this is highlighted, well I'll tell you. In the ePublishing world the artist purchases the images that are used. The images range from free to $15.00 each and each cover has usually 2 or more images. Then they put together the images and make the text fit the book. Not every cover any artist does is an OMG! cover and yes, some are ick. But no matter WHERE the cover fits on the spectrum they are out that money. Then you come along and upload the book with the cover they spent hours on, covers they paid for the images out of their own pockets and the poor artist gets nothing. Not Cool!

So now you have slipped your stingy, greedy, self intitled little hand into 5 peoples wallet and stolen from them. I know, if you're a pirate you are rolling your eyes at me. But think about this... I walk into your job and take whatever I feel like and walk out without paying. How would you feel? Just remember that's exactly what each publisher, author, copy/content editor, line editor/proofreader and cover artist feels when you push that "Download file" button.

Research is important!

2010-06-23T11:11:00.000-05:00

In addition to writing I also line edit. Recently I was given a manuscript to line edit. Within the first chapter I found several factual errors. Things that a modicum of research could have corrected. So I decided to post another blog on doing your "homework".

Remember you never know what your readers experiences are.

1. If you have a character who is a doctor and he/she makes a diagnosis - you better have researched that disease until you know every symptom, what the usual presentation of it is and what could be a really unusual presentation. You need to know the test that are used to diagnose it, the treatment for it and if you can find someone that has a loved one with or has the disease. Nothing better than first hand knowledge.

2. If you are writing a soldier with TBI or PTSD make sure you know the differences, the treatment, the prognosis, the VA disability rating percentages and the pension they recieve for it. Talk to a soldier, or your local VA office or VA psychologist.

3. If writing an artist - learn about the field. What are the different techniques, the different disciplines, the different materials. Take a drawing class or go to your local college and talk to an art professor.

4. If you are writing a student - go by your local college's registration office and ask for a bulletin that will have the requirements for every major they offer. It will also give you the summary of each class. If you decide that you need a scene where the character is in class find out when it's offered and approach the professor about sitting in on a class one session.

5. Writing a police officer? Talk to one. Pick up the "Howdunit" series.

6. Writing something where a character uses a sword? Go visit stores that sell them. Feel the weight or if you can afford it buy one then hold it for five minutes. Feel the burn it puts on the back of your arm, your wrist.

7. If you write science fiction make it believable.

New books coming soon!

2010-04-26T11:25:00.000-05:00

Over the last couple of months I've signed two contracts with Red Rose Publishing for a couple of eroticas. My first time dipping my foot in that genre - but they turned out well, so I'm happy.

I think I mentioned Demons Be Gone which is set in Las Vegas the hero is a Cambion - half human/half incubus. His name is Demon and when he meets an Angel sparks are sure to fly.

The newest one is an idea I've played with for several years, but finally got the courage to write. Robert and Michelle Cavanaugh have been married 10 years and the zing has gone from their sex lives so they decide to put it back by fulfilling each other's sexual fantasies.

But before those release - The Envoy releases July 5th from Lyrical Press. If you like vampires this may be the book for you.

Interesting Coincident

2010-03-12T09:31:00.000-06:00

Thanks to watching "Who Do You Think You Are", that new genealogy tv show on NBC, I decided to try and see what I could find out about my Dad's family. As I was going back I found that I have a Great Grandmother named Sara.

That in and of itself isn't what made me go wow - what did was the fact my Great Grandfather was her second husband. Her first husband died in the Civil War. So, now you're going ok why are you writing a post about that?

My first published book was Sarah's Story - Time Displacement Corps Book 1. Sarah went back and was living in South Alabama prior to the Civil War. My Great Grandmother was in South Alabama during that time as well. Opposite side of the state but there.

When I wrote the book I had no idea about Great Grandmother Sara. Just a strange coincidence.

Snow! in Mobile, AL

2010-02-12T11:16:00.000-06:00

I know for those of you who get it every year it's not a big deal but in Mobile, AL the last snow was 12 years ago. But I took pics of my babies in the snow!

This is Star.

This is my boy Damien in the snow - he's one of the oldest dogs but still never seen snow.

Next is all the boys - Mikey is 11 years old - he's the Collie.

Envoy has a cover!

2010-02-08T23:52:00.001-06:00

The Envoy is a book I worked on off and on for three years - so getting the cover today made the fact it was going to be published even more real. Isn't it pretty ?

Sharing some of the local Christmas pretties

2009-12-19T15:35:00.000-06:00

This is Bellingrath Gardens Christmas in Lights - is it any wonder I chose it for a scene in the recently contracted The Envoy

Preorders

2009-12-17T12:40:00.000-06:00

Monday I mentioned the books I have on Preorder. So today I thought I'd share some of the list - maybe it will inspire you to try out these talented writers.

Releasing before New Years -

12/29 Bound by Sin by Jenna Maclaine - who doesn't love a vampire that is also a witch?

12/29 A Highlander's Destiny by Melissa Mayhue - found this series by accident and love them! Time travel and the Faye.

Coming in January -

1/19 Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole - the next in her Immortals After Dark series.

1/26 Highlanders Homecoming by Melissa Mayhue

1/26 Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione - the fourth book in her Demonica series. Each of the brothers I've loved best when I read their book. Can't wait for Lore's.

Coming in February

2/2 Bliss Factor by Penny McCall - she writes amazing Romantic Suspence.

2/9 Viking in Love by Sandra Hill - just saying Sandra Hill is enough of a plug for this one. If you like humour then you'll love her. She cracks me up!

2/9 First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost - I found her by the cover of Halfway to the Grave and have devoured everything she's put out since! Adore her vampires.

2/23 Defeat the Darkness by Alexis Morgan - I originally found her books at the local library and now she's an autobuy. Since then she's become a friend and a hand written little note from her encourages me when I get down. But, this book is Hunter's and he's such a tortured hero that I'm bouncing waiting for the release.

2/23 Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison - This is her Hollow's series which I found courtesy of a buy 2 get 1 sale. This one I'm going to be fighting hubby to read first! But think I'll win cause I read faster.

Coming in March and what lovely birthday presents they will be!

3/1 Possessing Morgan by Bonnie Edwards - Bonnie is another writer I've become friends with this year. Her Perdition House stories are Hot Hot HOT!!! Can't wait for this one.

3/2 Ladies Prefer Rogues Anthology - Sandra Hill is in it.

3/2 Master of Fire by Angela Knight - The return to her Mageverse series.

3/2 Born To Be Wild by Christine Warren - Hot sexy shifters! This is the next one in her Others series - looks to be lion shifters...

3/2 Serpent Moon by C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp. New Tales of the Sazi book! YUM!

3/2 Black Jack by Lora Leigh - This is in her Elite series. Special agents from around the world that the world thinks are dead. But when they meet their ladies they burn up the page~

3/9 The Vampire and the Virgin by Kerrilyn Sparks - Like Sandra Hill, Kerrilyn makes me laugh.

That's my list for the first quarter - I'm sure there will be some I'll find later.

Preparing for a New Year

2009-12-14T16:45:00.000-06:00

I know most of you are planning for Christmas, but not me. No, my mind is set firmly on 2010.

Why?

Well it takes time to get a book written, edited, submitted and in the line up for publication. So, have three to finish.

1. Tales of the Rikashi book 4 with my buddy Antonia Tiranth - we've got some shockers planned for this one.

2. Afternoon Surprise - this one is closest to completion. The rough is done but decided to add another scene. Then a final edit and submission.

3. The Escort - this one like Envoy has been on my plate for a long time and I think it needs to be finished.

4. No title - I want to write a Steam Punk. Because I think it will be fun just need to figure it out.

Then there's going back to school. I can't believe I'm doing it, but I'm also excited about it.

Last but not least are all the wonderful books coming from my favorite authors! Now if my husband discovers exactly how many I've got on preorder.... well I'll be cut off from the bookstore! But, Alexis Morgan, Kim Harrison, Bonnie Edwards, Kresley Cole, Lori Handland, Christine Warren, Kerrylyn Sparks and more have books coming out! Not to mention my favorite special agent - Pendergast is getting a new book!

I also plan on being better about updating here. Going to try for weekly... would love to do daily but I'm just not that interesting.

So, 2010 will be very busy!

Great news and other stuff

2009-12-09T18:02:00.000-06:00

Well, this morning while doing my morning email checks I discovered Sarah's Story had been nominated for a Short Novel Award at Red Roses for Authors - http://redrosesforauthors.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-awards-2009.html Instructions on how to vote are on the post -- so if you liked the book, please vote.

I'm trying to finish up Afternoon Surprise an under 2k erotic short and the first rough of Tales of the Rikashi book 4. So, why is it no surprise that I get a great opening for a Steam Punk story? Because that is what Musie does....

The opening?

The weight of the derringer in her pocket calmed (don't know her name yet) as she walked towards the docks.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T22:01:00.001-06:00

Hope you have a great day with family and friends. Enjoy turkey and all the fixings! If you get bored - I can recommend some great books! Hey ladies, we need something to do while the men watch football and the kids clean the kitchen. So here are the books - I'm recommending ebooks - so there's no waiting just download and read!

Sarah's Story by Delilah K. Stephans - available at http://www.redrosepublishing.com
Black Velvet by Antonia Tiranth and Delilah K. Stephans available at http://www.lyricalpress.com

The Quickening by Antonia Tiranth available at http://www.lyricalpress.com
The Gathering by Antonia Tiranth available at http://www.lyricalpress.com

In Darkness Redeemed by Alexis Morgan available at http://www.fictionwise.com
Midnight Confessions 1 & 2 by Bonnie Edwards available at http://www.fictionwise.com
Holding on to Hope by Nancy O'Berry available at http://www.redrosepublishing.com
The Reluctant Dom by Tambra Dalton available at www.lyricalpress.com

Early Christmas present

2009-11-24T18:53:00.000-06:00

From the Authors at Red Rose Publishing - a collection of recipes - Kissin Don't Last Cookbook

New Contract Signed

2009-11-24T10:22:00.000-06:00

Three years ago I started a vampire novella for a contest at an epublisher. I didn't finish it in time for the contest, but kept working on it. Then that publisher closed and when I started getting the real news on them, I was glad I hadn't finished it.

The file sat there for a couple years unfinished. I'd go back to it and add a chapter here and there. Finally finished it a few weeks ago. Did a tiny bit of editing and submitted it to one of my publishers.

Yesterday - I signed the contract to have The Envoy published!

Unexpected Hazards

2009-11-21T12:52:00.001-06:00

Someone should have warned me when I started writing. Oh I knew it was a lonely business hours in front of a computer, alone typing out the movie in my head. But, nothing prepared me for the unique hazards of the job. Oh, I knew all about the possibility of tendinitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. It was the other things no one mentioned that I should have been warned about.

1) Migraine headaches - They seem to be a common malady of writers. I've figured out why. All these characters are screaming for your attention. Wanting their story told. It can be quite annoying really. My only fear is that one day my husband will force me into psychiatric counseling for them.

2) The muse will send cravings for all types of food. I have had folks smile at me knowingly when I'm in the checkout line. Guess they think I'm pregnant. I guess in a way I am - writing a book, for me, takes about the same length of time.

3) The other night I wanted to scream = "I'm going to kill you, Character Name." I stopped myself in time - the neighbors might have called the police. That could have caused a serious delay in my writing.

4) The other day hubby was looking at the credit card bills and hit the roof! I had to try and explain it's just for the essentials. You know, research materials, promotional materials and music. That every writer needs at least three Thesauruses, a couple of dictionaries, the entire Howdunit series and the entire series of Writer's Guide to Everyday Life, right?

5) Course he does like most of one series of research books. Those for writing erotica. His favorite is Going Down. He's not too sure of The Mistress Manual, or The Loving Dominate.

6) Hubby and I almost had to go to Marriage Counseling. He just couldn't understand why I kept getting furious when he interrupted me while writing.

So if you are thinking about becoming a writer - consider yourself warned of the unexpected hazards.

Thank you readers!

2009-11-12T17:45:00.000-06:00

Black Velvet sales are much higher than I had hoped when I signed the contract!

#6 on Once Upon A Bookstore Fantasy Best Sellers
#8 on Once Upon A Bookstory Paranormal Best Sellers

AND

#6 on Fictionwise.com for Lyrical Press.

Thank you! Every one of you who have pulled out your credit card to purchase it.

Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T02:01:00.000-06:00

I know I’m supposed to blog about something concerning writing or my latest release, but today isn’t for me. No today is for the Veterans, the men and women who have sworn to protect and defend this country and by extension me and you.

The day after the public memorial for the Victims of the Fort Hood shooting, can any of us not look at a soldier, sailor, marine, or airman and not think of the loss of their brothers and sisters in arms. Yet feel pride that they still get up and put on the uniform ready to give their lives to protect us?

Can we not think of the military wives and husbands who keep the home fires burning while their soldier is deployed to faraway places. Those heroic men and women who kiss their spouse good bye and pray daily for their safe return.

And we should remember than unlike soldiers of the past – there is no draft now. All those wearing the uniform now, the veterans of the future volunteered to take on that burden. The veterans who were served in the past, deserve our respect and that we never forget what they’ve done for us.

So, today as you go about your life here in the U.S. remember that somewhere probably sitting next to you at the traffic light or waiting in a doctor’s office or at the office is a veteran who took the time to fight for the rights we all take for granted. If you happen to know a veteran – tell them thanks. I think they deserve it.

Release Day +6

2009-11-08T12:07:00.000-06:00

Black Velvet released this past Monday the 2nd. Thanks to everyone who has bought it. Because of you it is currently at #7 on the Fantasy Best Sellers and #8 on the Paranormal Best Sellers lists at Once Upon A Bookstore It also has the distinction of being my first pirated book. Folks, I don't get the big advances and only make a few cents on the dollar for each book. So please, buy it don't steal it.

I'm doing NaNo. This years story is a murder mystery and a paranormal romance. It's coming along great and I'm hoping I don't lose interest in it because it's really a good story.

I've also applied for a Copy Editor position and I'm hoping that I get it. Waiting on that and word on my last submission.

Also working on a project that is driving me crazy organizing - but that's half the fun! That's the news for the week. Talk to you next week.

Day After Release

2009-11-03T10:30:00.000-06:00

A pounding on the door awakened me. Followed by the commanding voice of Jett Houston.

Jett: Del! Get your lazy butt to your computer. You ain't going to believe this - crap.

Me: I'm up. I'm up. What has your boxers in a twist?

Jett: Pirates! Nasty little ebook pirates.

Me: Yeah, they are a pest but why do you care?

Jett: Because, they are pirating ME! And Blue Boy. And the Prick.

Me: WHAT?

Jett: Yeah. So what are you going to do about it.

After a google search I locate the site - ahh them.

Me: Well what I'm going to do is send the information to Tir and Lyrical since my name isn't listed.

Jett: (Huffing he leans against a wall in the office) It just pisses me off. You can't afford to have your work given away like that. You struggle every month and don't complain. Don't like someone thinking they can take the money out of your budget.

Me: Thanks Jett. And yeah it's tight living off disability and the little I get for the books. But these folks seem to be under the impression I make big bucks and them getting it free won't hurt because the economy is bad.

Jett: You know where that door to your reality is? I'll come kick their asses for you - bring the others with me even Eddie. That should scare the shit out of them.

Me: Jett what have I told you about cussing on my blog?

But he's gone obviously to find the doorway to this reality. Wonder if he'll find it?

November = NaNo

2009-10-26T17:46:00.001-05:00

So what is NaNo? National Novel Writing In A Month! Where writers from around the world try to write 50,000 words in 30 days. This will be my third year doing it and hopefully I'll complete the 50k this year.

The muse is resting getting prepared for the 1667 daily word count. I've got the prep work mostly done - just need to put the info on post it notes so I can put them up on the corkboard and figure out a couple more minor details so I can be off and typing on the 1st of November.

This year I'm doing something I've never done - a Romantic Suspense with a Paranormal twist. The Blurb:

Detective Adam Spencer is puzzled by a series of murders and the mysterious woman that keeps appearing at the scene. Something about her is familiar but he's not certain what.

Lena has been the Angel of Death since the beginning of time. Drawn to the murders she breaks the rules and allows the handsome Detective to see her.

When he becomes a target of the killer, how far will Death go to keep him safe?

and a cover mockup!

Update

2009-10-18T13:34:00.000-05:00

I've been busy since my last post. Helping the husband get his paperwork together to go back to College, then deciding that's not a bad idea and rushing to do mine. Waiting on a response on my last submission - 9 weeks and nothing yet... to be fair they did say 8 to 12 weeks. Finally I've been trying to learn a new program.

Of course in 2 weeks I'll have to put aside learning the program to concentrate on NaNo. NaNo is National Novel Writing in a Month. It happens every November and writers from around the world try to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I've done it two years - won once. But the year I didn't make it - I wasn't thrilled with my story idea. This year I am! I'm going to spend the next 2 weeks brainstorming and researching so I'm ready to go on November 1st.

And top it all off with November 2nd being the release date of Black Velvet from Lyrical Press!

November should be a good but busy month!

A Word About Reviewers

2009-09-30T12:38:00.000-05:00

More than a word actually. Too often writers are guilty of telling their friends and other writers about great reviews, but seldom take the time to thank the reviewer. We authors must do better.

Before I signed my first contract I'd been a reviewer. The truth is I recieved maybe 5 comments from the multitude of authors I did reviews for. When the thank you notes came through the review sites group, every reviewer was thrilled that they or someone else got a thank you from the author. That's how rare those emails are. After that review site closed the reviewers got together and founded of another review site. Again, we may recieve 10 responses from authors for the 40 reviews a month that we do. As reviewers we do get the occassional temper tantrum from an Author who believed they deserved a higher rating than they got.

Now why did I mention the thank you's and complaints - believe it or not a response on one review influences your next review. If a book is teetering on going up one level - a thank you from the author on the previous review might push it up. Throwing a fit to the reviewer could result in no reviewer taking your book. One more thing to remember - most reviewers aren't paid.

We must face that a good portion of our sales come not from our exhaustive and expensive promotion, but from those multitude of review sites that say something about our book. It takes two seconds after you read the review to either send an email or click the comment button. If it's a great review - thank them; if it's a not so great review - thank them and sincerely apologize that the book wasn't to their taste. That's it.

So Authors - remember to be kind to your reviewers. Good or bad they did take the time to read your book.

First Love

2009-08-27T11:32:00.000-05:00

First Love Contest

My first true love started one day while I was at work. I walked out of the store room and there he stood, wearing a brown sweater, khaki pants and boat shoes. Blonde hair cut military short and beautiful blue eyes and a nice tight ass. Then I noticed who he was talking to, unfortunately I thought that the guy he was talking to was a class A jerk. I had completely forgotten what I’d come out for and had to go back into the store room.

A few weeks later the blonde guy started talking to me and we became friends. Then one night he invited me to dinner. I didn’t know him that well, so made some excuse why I couldn’t. I admit it was a lame excuse. He said “What is it about women? I just don’t want to eat alone and would like company.” With an invitation like that, what girl could refuse? So we went to McDonalds and talked and talked and talked. Mostly about this girl he was interested in “Patty” and how he should go about getting her interested in him. I gave him great advice. Really great advice.

It wasn’t until we’d been married two years and I met his family face to face for the first time that I realized how sneaky he was. It was when I met his sister Patty that everything clicked. And after 21 years together – I’m still glad he was sneaky.

Follow the Trail

What I've been up to.

2009-08-25T18:35:00.000-05:00

I've been busy. Line Edits for Black Velvet which has a November 2nd Release date. Finishing Demon's Begone, a book that has been languishing for a year. Now that I've got a free moment I have to decide what to work on next. I have three that are started and three that are in planning.

Here's a sample of the three that are in progress - Comment on which you like best and I'll move it to the top of the pile.

Finding A Keeper

Is she gone now, Dane? She sent to her keeper through the link forged through years of training, natural ability and a life long companionship, as soon as she heard the front door shut.

Yes, Saivya, she’s gone.

Saivya loved her Keeper, as all dragons did, but Dane’s habit of finding women irritated her. Dragon Keepers, like dragons, were to mate for life and Dane insisted on not seeking out a female Dragon Keeper. Typical male, afraid of commitment. She wanted hatchlings. Hatchlings that would bond with Dane and his mate’s children and damn it he wasn’t getting any younger.
You need to seek a female Dragon Keeper and stop bringing home these women you meet in singles bars.

Quiet Saiv, or I’ll find a Dragon Hunter to slay you.

She snorted. As if, Dane. You wouldn’t allow a scale on my lovely hide to be harmed by a hunter.

Maybe. Maybe not.

She could hear Dane moving around in the kitchen. Can I come in?

Yeah, just remember to put clothes on this time.

Saivya shimmered to human form and paused allowing herself a moment to adjust to this smaller form. She grabbed her silk robe off the hook by the door as she entered the comfortable house. She stopped at the freezer in the storage room, opened the door and pulled the turkey roast out of the door. She tossed it into the air and blew a carefully controlled stream of blue flame at it. The butcher paper and twine burned off under the heat. It was done by the time she caught it.

“Damn it Saiv!” Dane’s voice roared from the kitchen. “We have an oven.”

“Yes, but my way is so much quicker.” As she entered the kitchen, she placed the roast on the cutting board and reached for a knife. “This way we don’t have to wait an hour and a half to eat.”
Behind her Dane made a sound of agreement.

Saivya turned to look at her Keeper, for a human he was attractive she supposed. He compared favorably with the male models she’d seen in magazines and online. Dane was muscular without being bulky, a nice flat stomach with a nicely developed six-pack, and a firm ass. She liked his wheaten colored hair and brown eyes best. Eyes that at the moment were looking at her questioningly. She shrugged and refocused her attention on the roast.

“What?” His voice rumbled, filled with his frustration.

“Nothing. I was just wondering if you were considered attractive by human females.” She began slicing the roast into thin even strips. “So are you?”

“Never had any complaints about my looks.” He tapped her hip. “Scooch over, I need to get a pot to make the stuffing.”

Saivya stepped back to let him into the cabinet. “Well, then you shouldn’t have a problem finding a female Keeper.”

Unnamed at this point

“Problem?”

She turned back to look at the man beside her. “That guy,” was the only explanation she offered.

“Old boyfriend?”

She shook her head, “Worse. Ryan raise your glass, tonight is supposed to be my wedding night to that jerk and the woman he’s feeling up was my best friend and maid of honor.”

Ryan glanced over at the couple practically fucking each other in the bar then back at then her. “Want a little revenge?”

Her eyebrows shot up, but the idea really appealed to her and that vindictive slice his tires part of her she was desperately trying to suppress. “What did you have in mind?”

He gave her a mischievous grin and leaned closer. “Well, you could slap me.”

“And why would I do that?”

Ryan stood and pulled her up against him, molding her body to his. “Because I’m going to do this.”

His mouth crashed down on hers at her gasp his tongue plunged into her mouth possessing her. She tensed for a moment then relaxed molding herself tighter to him, her arms going around his neck as she surrendered. Her head reeled as she tasted the bourbon on his tongue and the wildness of him. His chest rumbled in a growl, the soft sound vibrating through her.

“Damn, Ryan! Get a room.”

Ryan broke the kiss, and Gypsy took a shuddering breath but didn’t release her hold of him. It was either hang onto the man or fall on her ass her legs were so wobbly. She opened her eyes to find him smirking at her.

“So, are you going to slap me?”

The Envoy

An hour and ten minutes later, Francisco pushed open the exterior door to the restaurant. Diana waited beside the host’s podium, arms crossed, her foot tapping angrily. “Forgive my tardiness.”

“I was about to leave.” Her eyes were not flashing, so he knew she wasn’t furious with him.

“And I would have understood.” He looked at the hostess, “Table for two, non-smoking.” He returned his attention to Diana. “The statement took longer than I expected.”

“If you’ll follow me.” The hostess gathered two menus and started through the restaurant, weaving between tables filled with diners, not waiting to see if they followed.

Seated, orders placed and drinks in front of them, he found himself the subject of Diana’s intense scrutiny.

“I am assuming you wish to know why the statement took longer.” A raised eyebrow and tilt of her head indicated that she did. “One of the gentlemen ended up with two broken bones in his right forearm.” He expected she might be offended at the violence and was unprepared for her reaction.

“I wish it had been his neck.” She mimed breaking something with her hands. “Not really. Thank you again for being outside and I apologize for chewing you out. I was just angry…”

“At yourself?”

“Yeah.”

“Dare I hope you held some small concern for my safety?” Her face flushed with color at his question.

The waiter placed their orders on the table and refilled their glasses in the silence that descended between them.

“Yes, a little.” She answered, lifting her glass when the waiter had moved away. “I’ve never seen you in the mall before, are you new to town?”

Francisco noticed the deliberate change of subject and allowed it. “No, I have lived in Mobile for many years now. I rarely come to the mall though.”

“That explains it.” She cut into her grilled chicken. “I’m here forty plus hours a week. What do you do for a living?”

“I am a liaison between D. C. and H. and the local government.”

“Ah, a lawyer.”

“I was once. Now I am a liaison.” He leaned forward, looked around the restaurant quickly then crooked a finger at her. She leaned forward, eyes searching. “That means I do less actual work but I am paid more.”

He smiled when Diana bit her lip trying to hold back her laughter then leaned back against her seat, her shoulders shaking with suppressed mirth.

She couldn’t stop herself. “Can I have your job?”

“I am afraid the position is not available. It also has some very specific job requirements that you do not meet.” He thought for a moment. “There is an assistant’s position open but I would prefer not to offer it to you.”

“Because you don’t know me?”

“D. C. and H. has a very strict no dating policy for executives concerning their assistants.” He placed his napkin beside the plate of half-eaten steak and pushed it back. “I find, Ms. Matthews that I very much wish to become better acquainted with you outside of the professional world.”

Somethings about being an author never get old

2009-08-06T13:01:00.001-05:00

There's the getting the email that it's been accepted. It's signing the contract, it's opening the mailbox and seeing a royalty check... And then - there's seeing your cover for the first time!

Guest blogging today

2009-07-30T10:34:00.000-05:00

I'm guest blogging at You Gotta Read Guest today! Stop by and comment you might win something!

http://yougottareadguest.blogspot.com

Welcome Antonia Tiranth

2009-07-23T08:26:00.001-05:00

1. Tell us about your upcoming/recent release.

The Gathering released on Monday, July 20^th. It's the second in my Tales of The Rikashi Series. This installment follows Aer's brother, Shirak as he tries to figure out a puzzling prophecy and his feelings for the daughter of an enemy.

2. What gave you the idea for your upcoming/recent release?

I kinda got the idea from a Dragonforce song.

3. How much time does it take you to finish a book?

It depends. For The Quickening, I wrote the first draft in 30days for NaNoWriMo. It took a few months to edit that on my own and then a few more with Lyrical. The Gathering was written in about three months. The same is happening for a new series I'm working on. The first book I finished in about a month but the second is a little slower.

5. What is your favorite part of being a writer?

I love plotting. There is no greater feeling than talking out your ideas with your writing buddy, learning about your new world and characters.

5. What is your least favorite part of being a writer?

I really don't like coming up with blurbs and excerpts. I would say that's the hardest part.

6. What are you working on now?

Mulling around in my brain is the fourth installment in the Rikashi Series and what I'm actually writing is the second of my new series, The Tarot Kings

7. All writers started out as readers - who're your favorite authors?

Anne McCaffery and Stephen King are my two oldest favorites. My newer favorites are Angela Knight and Elizabeth Hoyt

8. What are your goals as a writer?

Hmm…I would have to say that my goals are to grow as much as I possibly can and maybe one day be able to write full-time. I would love to be able to focus 100% on my writing but right now, still working for The Man LOL.

Sorry about the formating - Can't seem to get blogger to work right today.

Welcome Betty Ann Harris

2009-07-15T10:13:00.000-05:00

First, let me say that it's a pleasure to be here as a featured author on your beautiful blog, Delilah. I'd like to introduce myself to your readers. My name is Betty Ann Harris and I'm a romance author. I've always been a hopeless romantic and the genre I enjoy most to read is the same as what I write, romantic suspense. I have written a series of books titled The Special Agent Series, with Red Rose Publishing.

My third release in the Special Agent Series, The Darkhorse Conspiracy, which was released on July 9th, at Red Rose Publishing, will introduce you to the sexiest special agent to date. James Kelly is charming, witty, and very good at his job. But he’s got his hands full with the Stephanie Alexander case.

Stephanie Alexander is an international journalist who is missing, and under suspicious circumstances. The beautiful blue-eyed blond and ex-fiance of Simon Fox, owner of The Darkhorse Stables, who raises Kentucky Derby winning thoroughbreds, has vanished. James must find her, if she’s still alive, and finds himself smack-dab in the middle of a terroristic conspiracy that is a threat to the security of the entire eastern seaboard of the United States. Will he find her in time? Can they work together to find the answers they need so that the State Department can defray The Darkhorse Conspiracy? You can find out all the answers to these questions when you read, The Darkhorse Conspiracy, available NOW at Red Rose Publishing (http://www.redrosepublishing.com/).

Before James Kelly and The Darkhorse Conspiracy came about, there were two other sexy agents and great books in this series. First came the spellbinding romantic suspense story, Eureka Point, and the most romantic and caring agent, Tom Owens, who is assigned to protect a breathtakingly beautiful and talented woman, Katie, who is being hunted by her jealous and deceitful husband, as well as by a dangerous South American drug cartel. Next was the deeply dark and twisted story of best-selling romance author Maggie Tyler who is being stalked. My Very Special Agent has the sexy and ruggedly handsome FBI Special Agent Michael O'Leary on the case, who has eyes for the beautiful author, but whose first priority is to keep her safe. There is a definite sensual and emotional chemistry between them and the reader desperately wants them to get together! All the books in this series are available at Red Rose Publishing, http://www.redrosepublishing.com/

To find out more about me, please visit my website: http://www.bettyannharris.com/ and feel free to befriend me (PLEASE!) on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/baharris

Welcome Nancy Famolari!

2009-07-08T09:45:00.000-05:00

1. Tell us about your upcoming/recent release.

My present release is “Summer's Story” from Red Rose Publishing. The setting involves horse breeding, training and harness racing. Summer's father, a famous trainer, dies leaving her a potentially great trotter, Meadow. Summer's life is complicated by two men. Ned owns the breeding/training farm where Summer and her father lived. Ned loves her, but she believes that he was responsible for her father's death and won't allow him t help her. Davis, a racehorse driver, also loves her and wants to help her get Meadow to the races. Max, another owner, wants Meadow for himself and will stop at nothing to get her. The book traces the problems faced by Summer and answers the question of whether she gets her horse to the big races and whether she finds love.

2. What gave you the idea for your upcoming/recent release?

My husband and I raised and trained Standardbred racehorses for fourteen years. Although Summer's story is fiction, I used many of the incidents I saw or experienced to create the characters and the plot.

3. How much time does it take you to finish a book?

I usually write my books for the first time in a month (about fifty thousand words). Then the fun begins. It takes me a year or more to rewrite. I have to add to the plot (usually a sub plot) and the characters need to be filled out.

4. What is your favorite part of being a writer?

I love creating characters and seeing how they interact in situations. I particularly love writing the book the first time The characters start to live. It's almost like watching a movie.

5. What is your least favorite part of being a writer?

Rewriting is a two edged sword. I like to see how the characters develop and I love getting insights into them. However, rewriting is work.. I'm not terribly good at it, but you have to try to make sure the grammar is good, typos must be eliminated, and the plot has to hang together. You have to make sure you are consistent from one scene to another with names and place descriptions. All in all, it's detail work and not my favorite activity.

6. What are you working on now?

I'm in the revision process for the second novel in my Montbleu Murder series. The first book will be published by Red Rose Publishing in 2009. It's about the murder of the wife of a prominent citizen in the small town of Montbleu, Pennsylvania. For the first time we meet the woman who will become police chief, Chess Devon, and her former lover, now the Chief of Detectives, in Scranton, PA. Their romance (or lake of same) is one of the elements that pulls the series together. The present book focuses on the terror of a young writer living in a house that was the scene of an unsolved murder. I won't say more about it, but it's a new thing for me. Many of the characters are the same, but I added a paranormal element that was great fun.

7. All writers started out as readers – who’re your favorite authors?

I love mysteries. My favorite authors are Dorothy Sayers (Gaudy Night) and Elizabeth George (everything except, “What Happened Before He Shot Her). I also like to read romance and biography. In fact, I'll read almost anything.

8. What are your goals as a writer?

I hope to continue my work on the Montbleu series. I have a YA novel based in the Standardbred business that I want to get published ,and I have more stories to tell that will involved Summer. I love developing my characters and I don't see any end in sight.

Video Up for Voting

2009-06-20T23:45:00.000-05:00

Hi all!

The Book Trailer for Sarah's Story is up for voting at You Gotta Read Videos.

http://yougottareadvideos.blogspot.com

RWA and ePublishers

2009-06-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

There's been a lot of debate online about the Romance Writers Association and ePublishers. I usually try to keep this blog upbeat, I don't think I'm going to manage it today.

at the Espan Blog RWA President Diane Pershing said:

Here’s another pair of glasses: The newer members, not yet PRO, but working on their craft and trying to learn all they can about the industry. And how about the unpublished-but-working-on-it PRO members who have chosen not to go the digital route and keep submitting to print publishers, as they feel that is their best chance of earning good money? Lastly, there are PAN members who have been print-published recently or for years, who like their “advance-paying/lower royalty rate” choice, who look at the business model of “no advance/high royalty rate,” and have trouble understanding why anyone would gamble that way with a book that took so much time and effort.

By her statement Ms. Pershing has implied that those of us who choose the digital publishing route or the no advance/high royalty rate are not serious about their writing career. Thank you Ms. Pershing for saying I don't take writing seriously. Apparently thirty years of working on my craft, reading everything I can get my hands on to improve my craft, and the time and money I've invested on writing classes - I'm not serious. Funny, I thought I was.

You, Ms. Pershing, have belittled not just me but hundreds of others that have chosen the ebook route. You have belittled Angela Knight, Lora Leigh, Christine Warren, Anya Bast and other authors who started in the ePublishing world. Ladies that I respect, admire and use as a standard for myself.

It is not the RWA's place to set monetary standards that every author must follow. There should be a single standard for all publishers. Most professional organization require a set number of years in the business and recommendations of other members that have already joined.

Ms. Pershing, I am extremely serious about my writing career. I have chosen the ePublishing no advance/high royalty route because that fits my financial needs at this time. I have a goal of eventually being contracted with one of the NY Big Boys - but as in all things, I need time to grow. Grow a fanbase that will buy the books. Please do not imply that I or my publisher aren't serious because we do not fit in your box. Maybe we prefer to think and create outside of yours.

Welcome Amber Leigh Williams!

2009-06-17T09:13:00.000-05:00

The thing I love about doing these interviews is finding out interesting little tidbits about the authors. I didn't know Amber Leigh was from Fairhope - heck that's about a 30 minute drive from me - right across Mobile Bay! Well here's Amber Leigh make her feel welcome!

1. Tell us about your recent release.

A Summer’s Hope is the story of Briar, the innkeeper, who is losing her mother’s B&B thanks to a run of bad luck. She holds out hope that summer will bring answers. It comes in the least likely package when haunted, divorced Cole rides in on his motorcycle to book the bay suite. He falls in love with the view and the innkeeper. Though she’s never dared offer more than breakfast in bed to any guest, she can’t resist breaking all the rules with Cole. In his arms, she finds solace in her crumbling world and they embark on a passion as hot as the southern sun and as unstoppable as the bay tide. But can it be enough to rescue Cole from his past or give Briar the strength to forge on alone?

2. What gave you the idea for your recent release?

I grew up in Fairhope, Alabama where A Summer’s Hope takes place. It’s a beautiful small town on the picturesque Eastern Shore of the Mobile Bay. Although I moved twenty minutes away, I desperately needed to share this inspirational place with the world. So many of the places described in the text really do exist. Basically, it’s everything I love about Fairhope combined with the dreams of love I once conjured there. A Summer’s Hope was released, coincidentally, on my third wedding anniversary. This is the closest story I’ve written to my own love story so it made the launch all the more special!

3. How much time does it take you to finish a book?

A maximum of three months. I draw the line after that because there are just too many stories floating around in my head to spend anymore time than necessary on one manuscript. If a story really drives me to completion, it should only take two months to write it plus a few more weeks on the editing process.

4. What is your favorite part of being a writer?

Getting the fan letter. One reader admitted she never liked the western romance genre but my western novella Blackest Heart went a long way toward converting her. Knowing I could do something like that for someone fuels me to write even more.

5. What is your least favorite part of being a writer?

The promotion, of course. It takes valuable time away from writing but it has to be done. Just because you’ve published a story doesn’t mean you’re finished. My debut novel Fox & Hound was published in February 2008. I’m still pushing it out there, posting excerpts and plugging the story wherever I can. So long as the story is available, a smart writer never stops pushing his/her story further out into the world!

6. What are you working on now?

Right now I’m working on my second paranormal in a five-part series. It’s about a shape-shifter and a psychic. It’s a lot of fun!

7. All writers started out as readers – who’re your favorite authors?

Nora Roberts turned me onto the romance genre and I read her for years and years. Then I branched out and fell in love with J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I’ve read all of Larissa Ione’s Demonica titles. I also love Sandra Brown’s old romances. Breakfast in Bed is one of my favorites – a short, sweet, rainy day read. I read the J.D. Robb In Death series religiously. Betina Krahn is absolutely amazing just as Kathleen E. Woodiwiss is always a classic choice. As you can see, I’m not picky at all! I’ll read anybody as long as the story appeals to me and there’s some good lovin’ to be found in the pages ;)

8. What are your goals as a writer?

Just to never fall out of love with what I do. It’s a job, but I still put my heart into it everyday. I’d really love to write romance for the rest of my life and I hope by the end of it my heart’s as deeply entrenched in the genre as it is now!

EXCERPT:

“These are for you.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, taking them. Her heart tugged and her lips curved as she stared down into their wide, bright faces. “They’re my favorite.”

He smiled. “I was hoping. They made me think of you.”

Awed, she lowered her nose to sniff the blooms. “You got them from Adrian?”

He shrugged. “Only the best.”

She nodded in agreement. “I’ll just set them here.” She put them on a bench in the shade of the magnolia tree, and then faced him awkwardly.

“Are you ready?”

“When you are.”

He held up the helmet. “I have to take precautions. I don’t want anything to happen to your pretty face although it’s a shame to cover it up.”

Her insides turned to dough and her heart pattered giddily as he slipped the helmet over her head. She lifted her chin when he motioned for her to do so.

It took him several seconds to secure the strap. “Feel okay?” he asked when he was done, lifting the visor so she could hear him.

She nodded, feeling nerves jump into her stomach again. “Um, Cole? There’s something you need to know.”

He chuckled as he went back to his bike. “I know.”

She stiffened. “You do?”

He nodded, grinning at her as he strapped on his own helmet. He lifted the visor to speak. “You’ve never ridden a bike before.”

“Is it that obvious?” she asked, rubbing her damp palms on her thighs.

He shrugged, tying the strap under his chin. “Just a little. It’s okay.” He took her hand and pulled her close. She could smell fresh aftershave and the underlying spice of motor oil. It was downright seductive. “Just lean with me into the turns and hold onto me real tight.”
Her knees quaked. “I’m a little nervous.”

He put a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll do fine.” He threw a leg over the seat to straddle it. He gunned the engine and the machine roared to life, stunning her with its raw, wild power. As exhaust smoke tickled her nostrils, she didn’t know if she was really going to be able to go through with this.

He motioned for her to get on.

Now or never. She took a steadying breath, putdown her visor and stepped forward. Gripping his offered hand for balance, she crawled on behind him and put her feet on the passenger pegs. She hesitantly put her hands on his waist and clutched his shirt as he backed out from under the magnolia.

He looked both ways down Scenic 98 then turned to look at her. “You ready?” he shouted.

She nodded and gave him the thumbs-up.

She saw his quick grin before he hit the accelerator. The force of it sent her back. Her heart pounded with terror as she grabbed him around the waist tight to keep from flying off the open seat.

A Summer’s Hope – Available Now: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/a-summers-hope-p-1255.html

Website: http://www.amberleighwilliams.com/
Contact: amber@amberleighwilliams.com

Still Romantic After 21 years.

2009-06-16T10:51:00.000-05:00

I was watching - well actually listening to the morning news programs this morning. One of the guest said romance goes out of a marriage after a few years. WRONG! It does if you let it. I'm glad my husband hasn't.

Oh he's not the roses, chocolate and candlelight type. But, he can be romantic. Take for example the other day. We were in line at Subway, I was wearing a tank top and he started kissing my shoulder. My shoulder had been hurting and he said he was "kissing it and making it better."

He knows me too. We were at a jewelry store to have a ring his mother left me sized, she had tiny fingers. The clerk noticed I had no rings on and told hubby he should buy me a diamond. He smiled, looked at me and told the clerk "No, I'll get her some computer stuff. She'll enjoy that more." I'm not a jewelry person, don't even wear a wedding ring. I'm married in my head, heart and soul - I don't require a ring to prove it. On the other hand computer stuff? Oooh Baby!

So, don't allow what the mass media says is romantic to color your view of it. Romance is the little things that tell you that you are important to your significant other.

Tomorrow Amber Leigh Williams will be visiting!

Classes don't end at College

2009-06-12T12:15:00.000-05:00

So, you want to be a writer and you've built a reference library and bought the tools of the trade. Now you want to try writing a novel. Congratulations! But, before you start typing how well do you know your subject? Your characters? If you are showing (which is good) or telling (very bad)? How do you learn that stuff anyway?

You take classes. Yup, you take classes. There are a couple of ways to take writing classes. At Conferences or Online. I prefer the online classes. Why? Travel is hard for me and an online class brings the lessons right to my email. I can save them and print them out to refer back to over and over again. In person classes, I'm sure, give handouts... but I've never attended one.

What kind of classes are available? Good question! Here are a couple I've taken:

From Mild to Wild: Creating Sex Scenes that are more than the same old bump and grind
Deep Point of View
Writing the Action Heroine: What a kick ass character knows and the writer should
BDSM
Writing Action Sequences
Writing from the Male POV and Creating Better Heroes

So where do you find these courses?
Carolina Romance Writers http://www.carolinaromancewriters.com/index.htm
Kiss of Death http://rwamysterysuspense.org/coffin.php
Low Country RWA - http://lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/

Those are the groups I've taken courses through. Learning doesn't stop when you pick up your diploma - make yourself a better writer take some classes. Some are really good, some are ok and some aren't. But reguardless of how good the course is - you'll learn something in every one of them.

What is Love

2009-06-11T10:28:00.000-05:00

As a romance writer one of the most difficult jobs is to give a reasonable explanation of love. How two individuals find it? What makes it works? Are happily-ever-afters possible in the world? And most importantly, how does the writer put it down between the pages of their book?

My definition of love is based on twenty-one years of marriage and can be summed up in one word. Acceptance.

How many times have you heard a bride-to-be say “I love him except for (insert irritation) but I’ll change that once we get married.” Whenever I hear that, I shake my head. I know I have habits that irritate my husband and he has ones that irritate me. But, I’ve learned to accept them. They make him who he is. I’m not saying it’s all roses and romance, but we’ve accepted that each is who they are. He knows I’d rather write than clean house. I know he’d rather watch movies than sports. He and I both need our time for ourselves and respect that. We accept that no one on the planet can push our respective buttons like the other. We’ve accepted that we are two individuals with our own unique needs and wants.

So how do I bring this into a romance novel? For me it’s easy. Every person has their own personal fantasy of the perfect person. Mine was a dark haired, six foot plus man. I married a blonde that is a few inches shorter than me. So when meeting my characters I decide what would be their ideal mate to them. Then I take the internal characteristics and mesh them with the person they meet but change the external. I make sure that the personalities are different enough that they will indeed have moments of wanting to strangle the other.

But isn’t that why we all read romance novels?

Kim Smith author and Internet Radio Hostess

2009-06-10T02:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome Kim!

1. Tell us about your upcoming/recent release.

A Will to Love is my new upcoming romantic novelette. I am just getting my feet wet with romance, although I have been an avid reader all of my life. It is about love lost, love found, and love that is forever bound.

2. What gave you the idea for your upcoming/recent release?

Recently a local bed and breakfast went out of business. The man who owned it had lost his wife in the terrible Amtrak crash in Chicago several years ago. Just knowing that history, it struck me when I heard the news of the B and B going under that it was a sad story. I didn’t set out to write a sad love story, though, and in truth is any love story really sad?

3. How much time does it take you to finish a book?

Depends on the length of the work. I wrote, edited, and completed a short story of over three thousand words in a weekend. I can usually turn out a forty-fifty thousand or more work in six months, more if it isn’t going well. Sometimes research wears me out, and I have to take a break from it and do something else, but I am usually writing SOMETHING all the time.

4. What is your favorite part of being a writer?

I have to admit that having fans and an avid readership is a really big pull. I would write until I dropped just knowing that someone out there was hot for the next Kim Smith story. It’s addictive as all get out!

5. What is your least favorite part of being a writer?

I think it depends on the day you ask me. One day I will say I hate editing. But I don’t really. I just hate that I have to quit creating to edit. I might say I hate the research, but I don’t really. I just hate having to wade through so much stuff to find a nugget that is usable. So, the least favorite part would probably be not being able to crank out books fast enough!

6. What are you working on now?

This author is now about mid-way on the third book in the Shannon Wallace Mystery series, and busy busy busy with a radio show promoting the first one (Avenging Angel), and this romance, A Will to Love.

7. All writers started out as readers – who’re your favorite authors?

I love big reads, like Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, and all of Tolkien’s works. I have met so many wonderful authors through my radio show that I have a ton of NEW favs, like Jodi Thomas, Karen White, Katherine Center, and C.W. Gortner.

8. What are your goals as a writer?

I want to write enough to leave a legacy for my kids and their kids and their kids. Wouldn’t it be great after I pass away if I had enough books out there that one of my g-g-g-g-great grandkids could start at YA level and move all the way up?

Blurb for A Will To Love:

Benton Jessup wants his bed and breakfast to be successful. He will go to any lengths to ensure that it does.

When Kitty Beebe, a famous romance author, arrives at The Inn, his desire for success becomes a struggle of wills with love.

Hey folks!

2009-06-08T11:41:00.000-05:00

Over the next few weeks you are all going to get some of the writer friends I've made. They'll be here on Wednesdays.

First up is Kim Smith. She has a new book coming from Red Rose Publishing on the 11th. "A Will To Love" so please stop by and make her feel welcome. Kim is also the host of an internet Radio Show, and she is a lovely hostess - made me feel right at home.

Next will be Amber Leigh Williams.

In other news I'm guest blogging over at Rochelle Weber's blog today - http://rochelleweber.blogspot.com/ so stop by and say hi!

Tools of the trade

2009-06-04T20:59:00.000-05:00

I've talked about the research library that is manditory for a writer. Today I want to talk about the tools of the trade.

In the past that was paper, pen and a typewriter. Now - it's a computer with a word processor. Some still use the paper and pen then transfer to the computer. But, years ago I figured out that my brain works faster than I could longhand the words. I'd miss sentences. Computers help - now I miss words.

I have two computers. A desktop that is right now in need of reformatting to fix some annoying slowness and errors. I also have a 17inch Laptop which goes on trips with me - in fact I named it Portable Sanity.

I thought I was set. But those damn computer manufacturers came out with something new! A NetBook. A tiny little 10inch laptop that has a tiny harddrive and is under 2 pounds. Now being a techno geek - I'm really interested in them. As a writer that is often in doctor's offices multiply that interest by a factor of ten.

Why? They are small, light and can easily hold a wordprocessing program - with a flash card (which I have) I can work on a book anywhere. They are under $400.00 which is a huge plus. The downside? Convincing the husband I need a third computer.

Sarah's Story News

2009-05-31T12:50:00.001-05:00

Sarah's Story released on May 21st. That day I was guest blogging on four different blogs, bitting my nails about how the book would do and dealing with no sleep.

Nothing has ever made me as nervous or excited as my very first release date. It was something I'd dreamed about for years and that day it became a reality! But the day wasn't over yet. At 5PM Sarah's Story made the Red Rose Best Sellers List! Where it has risen and fallen for the past week. Sometimes it was off the list, but most of the time Sarah's Story stayed on it. It is also the number 1 Time Travel Romance at Red Rose Publishing!

While all of that is fantastic and I'm supremely honored by the response it's getting - I'm not done yet. There are other stories that need to be written and my desire to see Sarah's Story in print.

Why do I want print? It's not that I think print is better than ebook. I have most of my favorite author's books in bothe print and ebook. It's that I want to hold it in my hand, maybe that will make this incredible journey finally feel real. Maybe it won't.

Maybe everyday for the rest of my I will wake up and rush to the Red Rose Publishing site and look to see my book listed there to prove it isn't a dream.

Research and Writing

2009-05-18T13:21:00.001-05:00

They go hand in hand. There is some truth to the axiom "Write what you know" I mean want to piss off a nurse reading your romance? Have your character who is a nurse diagnose an illness - unless she's a Nurse Practitioner OR the doctor is dead - your reader may throw your book across the room. What if you have your characters have lunch at a chain resturaunt but there isn't one in the state you set the book in? A reader from that area will pick it up and be put off.

So today, I thought I'd share my list of research books.

My Library!

The Writer's Thesaurus
Webster's New World Dictionary
The Phrase Finder
The Synonm Finder
Eats, Shoots and Leaves
The Chicago Manual of Style
Passionate Ink: A Guide to Writing Erotic Romance
GMC: Goal Motivation and Conflict
Write Great Fiction: Description and Settings
Write Great Fiction: Revision & Self Editing
Write Great Fiction: Dialogue
Write Great Fiction: Character's, Emotion and Viewpoint
Write Great Fiction: Plot And Structure
English Through The Ages
The Romance Writer's Phrase Book
The Writer's Digest: Character Naming Sourcebook
The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the Middle Ages
World Almanac of Fact - for several different years
Travel Guides for several cities and countries
The Loving Dominant

Now, where do I get all these books? Bookstores (online and off) and my favorite spot - ebay! Yes, ebay! I've picked up several from there less than bookstore prices.

Which one's should a new author have? There are three must haves in a starting writer's library. These three items are essentials of the trade. They are like a microscope to a scientist, a blackboard for a teacher, or a stethoscope for a doctor.

1. A good Dictionary - not one of those pocket deals - no a real thick dictionary - it doesn't have to be the huge college dictionary but Webster's New World Dictionary 1984 edition works for me.

2. A good Thesarus - The Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus is the one that works best for me, I like the way it is set up.

3. GMC: Goal, Motivation and Conflict - This book by Dixon is a must have whether you are a plotter or a pantser. Unless you understand the basic reasons for a character's actions the reader never will accept them.

If you must have a number 4 - then a good naming book. I like the Character Naming Sourcebook - it is seperated by nationality and has the definitions of the name as well as the top 10 going back to 1880.

Thanks to the internet and research books - you can kick the "Write what you know" axiom by learning what you need to write your books!

Think before you download

2009-04-20T12:09:00.001-05:00

I usually don’t talk about e-book piracy; it’s something I’m realistic enough to realize will happen. As an author of e-books, I know eventually my book or books will be pirated. But, I wanted to put the reality of what it does to authors before you, so maybe you’d think twice before clicking that link.

My book sells for $2.99 of that I make just over a dollar on every sale. So if say 50 people download the book those 50 people have reached into my wallet and removed a $50. What if it was a hundred? A thousand? Now, ask yourself would I reach in a stranger’s pocket and take a fifty? Of course you wouldn’t. Recently a fellow author found his book on a pirate site – there were 150 downloads. That’s 150 books or in his case $300.00 that was stolen from him.

Unlike the print houses that give the authors advances, an e-book author’s total income is from sales of the book. E-book authors don’t have massive Public Relations departments behind them, they have to pay all marketing cost themselves. Unlike print houses, e-books don’t sit on shelves of bookstores across the country – well some do the lucky ones that went to print.

Before you click that download link at a torrent site or megaupload or sendspace ask yourself one question. If I was in a bookstore, would I just drop this book in my purse and walk out of the store? Because that is exactly what you are doing when you download a book without buying it.

I know of one e-book author that is disabled and on social security disability, her book sales are how she makes ends meet. Every time I hear of one of her books being pirated it saddens me, because I know that the folks downloading it don’t realize the ramifications to her life.

Do I think you are evil if you pirate a book? Of course not. I think you are unaware of the consequences to your favorite author. If they can’t make what they need writing, they’ll stop writing. So I ask again, before you click that download button – consider the money you are pulling out of the author’s wallet.

Release Date!

2009-04-06T20:19:00.000-05:00

I'm thrilled to announce that Black Velvet - co written with my good friend Antonia Tiranth - will release on November 16, 2009!

This book was so much fun to write! I adore the hero, Jett Houston.

His girl, Amara was interesting too! She comes along way in this book. From Daddy's little girl to her own woman.

Add in an arainged marriage, a couple conflicting prophecies, and a coming clan war.... Definitely fun.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as Tir and I writing it!

NEWS!!!

2009-03-31T13:51:00.000-05:00

I co-wrote a story with my good friend Antonia Tiranth - it's the third book in her series about Dragon Shifters. We just got word from her editor that she is enthusiastically recommending a contract be offered!

Location Scouting

2009-03-25T20:59:00.000-05:00

Another fun thing about writing is going places to get pictures! Since a book I'm currently working on has the climax at Bellingrath Gardens. So, I grabbed my camera and my hubby and spent some time enjoying a March afternoon and happily snapping pictures!

My favorite part of the garden has always been the mermaid fountain. She looks so serene and graceful. It's actually a pretty quiet spot there. It doesn't hurt that I've always been a fan of mermaids. There are times of the year that she's prettier because of the flowers around her.

This is the boathouse that sits on Fowl River and where the climactic scene will take place.

There is a quiet serenity to the gardens and if you ever make the trip to Mobile, AL take an afternoon - no matter the season and walk through the gardens. If it's during the Holidays - go late in the afternoon so you can enjoy both the mums AND Christmas in Lights.

Those handsome men of romance novels

2009-03-22T22:19:00.000-05:00

You want to know a secret?

The best part of being a romance author is all the romance heroes! Really! You get to design your perfect man and when you finish that novel - you get to do it again! So I thought I'd introduce you to some of my leading men!

Let's start with Captain Matthew Barrington - the hero of my April 23rd release Sarah's Story. I don't have a picture of him - because he's based on my personal hero of 21 years - my husband. He's funny, sweet, mischievious and dependable.

The next hero is Jett Houston. He's the hero of the book I cowrote with my good friend Antonia Tiranth and the third book in her series. Jett is the foulest mouthed and stubbornest hero I've ever tried to write! But he is so completely loveable, you can't help but fall in love with him. AND he's a major hottie. He showed up while I was listening to Black Velvet and the song fits him so well. In fact, it became the title of the book! We're just waiting for the editor to get back to us on if it's accepted or not.

So, I'm off to meet my next hero to fall in love with! All I know right now is his name is Ryan and he might be a wolf shifter! But meeting the guys is half the fun!

First Entry!

2009-03-21T20:37:00.001-05:00

I moved my blog... give me a few days to catch up!