Aphrodisia Authors

The Amazing Online Community

2009-05-04T10:03:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I'm a hard core JR Ward fan. Seriously in love with the Black Dagger Brotherhood and have been anxiously awaiting Rehvenge's story in LOVER AVENGED. Not just a little anxious, but big time, as I pre-ordered it online knowing I wouldn't be able to get to a store on April 28 and well aware I didn't want to wait a moment longer. The book arrived the day after I completed my latest book, DemonFire, which is the first story in my new Demon Slayers series for Kensington Zebra, so I was ready. I curled up on the couch, the house was quiet, and I started to read.

Now, if you're really into a series, ANY series, you know what it's like when you start a new story. You already love the world or you wouldn't be buying the books--in this case, forking over WAY more than I should have for hardcover. LOVER AVENGED is a huge book--close to 600 pages, and I was all the way to page 368 when I went to 369, AND IT WAS FRICKIN' GONE! TORN OUT, JUST A LITTLE PIECE STUCK NEAR THE BOTTOM!!! I sat there for a good five minutes in total disbelief--I had been so caught up in the story that it was like getting physically ripped out of another dimension.

Finally I set the book down and decided to walk away for a minute. Had to leave Caldwell, NY and all the brothers and return to my own dimension, which, of course, meant checking email and going on Facebook, where I did a primal scream and told the world what had happened.

Within SECONDS I had a reply from a Facebook friend, a woman I've never met but someone who took pity on me, scanned both sides of the missing page and emailed them to me. Liz from Colorado has been elevated to heroine status in my book--the pages arrived, I went downstairs and crawled back into the BDB world and stayed up half the night to finish the book, but I realized, as I closed the pages, that what had occurred would have been impossible just a few short years ago.

It also reminded me what terrific people we are privileged to meet through various online communities. Sometimes I complain about what a time suck Facebook and MySpace and even blogging can be, and then I realize what an important connection the Internet has given me with people I'd otherwise never have a chance to meet. There are wonderful folks I've met through my newsletter that I have gotten to meet in real life on the occasional trips my husband and I take--others I've gotten to know through Facebook and MySpace, through replying to their emails about Wolf Tales, all individuals I never would have met if not for this medium that can be either a boon or a blessing.

For what it's worth, the Internet has changed my life, and I'd have to say it's all in a good way. What about you? Can you think of something that's happened in your life that's been totally due to people you've met online? A change in your career, maybe someone you've met you might never have known? I started thinking of all the things that have changed for me, and realized I could go on for days, from my first published books that were digital, to Liz sending me pages 369 and 370 after taking pity on my total frustration. We are a digitally connected world, from Twitter to MySpace, to Facebook, blogs and plain old email. And it's not impersonal at all--it's one more way to connect with some truly fantastic people.

And Liz, this is my public thank you for making this latest book even more special for me--that someone I have never met would take the time to scan and send me the missing pages meant more than you can possibly realize.

2008-09-13T20:40:00.001-04:00

I'm a bit early but I'm out of here tomorrow so let's act like this is Sunday, 9/14, ok? LOL.

My third Satisfy Me - - Satisfy Me, Tonight has been put into pre-production! The title is: Driving My Man Wild! Drop date is March 2009 which in reality is just around the corner.

AND.....drumroll please....they asked me to do a 3 story novella volume with just little old me in it. That's right, stories by me, me and me. Is this chick stoked? Ah huh.

**Booty dancing**

I'll post the cover just as soon as they give me a hint.

Till Next Time....

Syd

New Digs!

2008-08-02T14:55:00.002-04:00

Please Visit our new Home on the web. The new Official Aphrodisia authors website has bookpages, author bios, and a brand new BLOG so you cna keep up with all our news and chatter.

Oh, and don't forget to sign up for the NEWSLETTER while you're there too!

I'm at Conference

2008-07-30T00:20:00.004-04:00

By the time this post goes up, I'll be at the RWA (Romance Writers of America) National Conference.

This year will be a lot different for me than last year. In my very first post on this blog, I talked about how I sold to Kensington Aphrodisia while at conference last year. It was exciting and scary to be the total newbie on the block.

I mean, at the time, I didn't have an agent, had no idea what I was doing, and spent the entire conference running around like a chicken with its head cut off. It was, in a word, in-freaking-sane.

I thought this year would be mellow. Relaxing. Easy-peasy compared to last. Since I wrote this before I left for conference, I'll have to check back in to tell you if I was wrong or not, but looking over my schedule, I'm thinking this is not going to be a relaxing conference.

On Thursday alone, I have--count 'em--five parties or meetings to go to. Chapter meetings, agent meetings, publisher parties, agency parties. It's pretty crazy. Friday morning, I'm holding my critique partner's hand before she pitches, Friday night is another publisher party, Saturday is just...packed solid again.

It's good because it means I've had a successful year--I have places to go and people to see (who would ave ever imagined that? Not me!). It's bad because I'm still doing the headless chicken routine.

Wish me luck!

~Crystal Jordan
http://www.crystaljordan.com

"In Ice" SEXY BEAST V - Aug 08
CARNAL DESIRES - Nov 08

Is Erotic Romance here to stay?

2008-07-28T13:02:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone!

Erotic romance is relatively new. It’s hot, just like chick lit was before it. Is it just a fad? Will it go the way of chick lit? Will there be a slump in readership? Will the economy be a factor in beheading it?

When chick lit became hot, publishers wanted it. Readers wanted it. More authors began writing it. There was an understandable rush to catch the wave. A lot of great chick lit was written, but there was also “me, too” chick lit and “not that great” chick lit. There was a glut. Sales slumped.

Is that going to happen to erotic romance? Maybe. I know I’ll never stop reading it, but I’m being more selective now that there are so many choices. I’m always looking for 3 things if I’m going to buy: great non-boring sex, believable romance and sexual tension between a believable hero and heroine, and an intriguing storyline. (And setting and character development and an overarching storyline… the list goes on.)

At my first RWA national convention last year, a NYT best-selling author said she thinks erotic romance will stick around as a sub-genre of the romance category. I agree. Chick lit did not go away. The great and the good chick lit novels are still being published and read. I think the same will be true of erotic romance.

What 3 things top your list of “gotta be in the book” before you’ll take an erotic romance home with you?

Elizabeth Amber
LYON, THE LORDS OF SATYR (August 2008!)
www.elizabethamber.com/excerptLyon.html

Cinderella should've worn flats

2008-07-27T00:00:00.003-04:00

So I'm heading out to San Francisco in less than 48 hours. I'm so excited. I'm going to this great, big, massive romance writers conference. Where everywhere you look there're women. Some decked out to the hilt. Manicures, pedicures, trendy clothes and shoes (jeez, you'd think I was typing up an add for single men!) And count me in as one of them. Oh, except for that shoes part.

No I didn't type that wrong. I'm not a shoe gal. Or at least I should say, I don't do the killer heels. Last year I gave it up. I said, "I surrender, you win!" to my feet that threatened to go on strike. And I know that's half the fun and nature of the beast. All the women will check out each others outfits, handbags and--of course--the shoes.

So, yeah, I gave them up last year, but I have to confess: I was never one of the girls who would be strolling down the sreet--pause in front of the designer shoe store and have a heel induced orgasm over something like this blue thing. Though I will admit that while browsing online for an image of a fashionable shoe this did have me saying oh I likey!--I'd just never wear it! I mean I'd like to try out an entire football team in the bedroom too, but some things just work better in your head. I mean, seriously, look at that pic and tell me that wouldn't kill your feet.

Since I don't want to show up at these conferences with the most comfortable and undoubtably fugly shoes ever, I've found a happy medium. I do comfy (yet cute!) flats and such. Though I am braving a couple pairs of 'comfy' heels so to speak.

Is anyone else in my boat? Being done with the sexy shoes (IMHO they have their place and it's called the bedroom--and at least there you're not on your feet!)

Or are you one of those die hard my-feet-will-look-sexy-come-hell-or-Plantar Fasciitis gals?

Shelli :)

http://www.shellistevens.com

Writing: From Experience or Fantasy?

2008-07-25T05:00:00.002-04:00

Since this is my first post, I suppose I ought to begin by introducing myself. I'm Jackie Barbosa, and Kensington will be releasing my single author anthology (currently titled BEHIND THE RED DOOR, but we'll see if that sticks) in the summer of 2009. I have a few ebooks out with Cobblestone Press and a couple more coming out later this year, but my Aphrodisia release is my first sale to be "big" New York print publisher, and I couldn't be more thrilled (or daunted, lol) by the opportunity.

So, since my debut is being published in the Aphrodisia line, I probably don't have to tell you that my book contains numerous explicit sex scenes. I love writing these scenes of intimacy, discovery, and, most especially, vulnerability and consider them an essential element of a good love story, but I do sometimes wonder what readers think about the sex lives of the writers who craft such scenes. How much of what we write do they attribute to experience and how much to fantasy?

Of course, it would be crossing well beyond the boundaries of TMI for me to actually tell you my personal answer to that question. You don't really want to know about my sex life, and I don't have any intention of actually telling you. But as I was chatting the other day with my friend and critique partner, Emma Petersen, the subject of a particular sexual variation that I've included in more than one story came up, and I had to admit that it's something I don't care for in real life.

That led me to ask myself why I enjoy writing about this particular activity (and I do!) when I don't enjoy doing it? The answer, I think, what draws me to writing about sex (and, honestly, nearly everything else that goes into a story) is the opportunity to experience things I either can't or won't do in real life. Whether it's engaging in a threesome or attending a Regency era ball or committing a murder, what makes writing fun for me is also what makes reading fun: the fantasy that we are living someone else's life. And when it comes to sex, I find that the less likely I am to experience something myself, the more likely I am to find it thrilling to read or write about.

What about you? Do your tastes in reading/writing fall more toward experience or fantasy? Or is that just TMI?

Too much to do!

2008-07-24T12:43:00.003-04:00

The RWA conference in San Francisco is approaching and normally I'm fretting about getting all my stuff together for that. But this year, its in my own back yard, so to speak, so I don't have to worry about working out how to pack too many things in one easy-to-manage bag. If the worst happens and I need something desperately I can always hop on the BART and be home in an hour or so!

It's also a good thing because I have a book to finish for Aphrodisia-the third in the series which will be called SIMPLY SHAMELESS. (May 09) It's slightly different for me because the main character is definitely the heroine rather than one of the dark angst-ridden Regency Rakes I usually write about. (Okay there is an angst-ridden hero but its definitely the heroine's story.) Madame Helene Delornay has been in the other books and I've been dying to explore her past and present, so it was great to get the opportunity!

The only problem is that this book is due in less than a month with the RWA conference smack bang in the middle of that time period. In a fit of madness, I decided it would be best to finish the book by the end of July and then have the time after the conference to revise it for the last and final time. What was I thinking? So I've had to give up my normal rush around looking for clothes and the ultimate diet to lose those ten pounds and focus on the book.

I'm beginning to think that it might be a good thing. Usually I get so caught up in the preparations that I almost forget to enjoy myself at the conference. This year I have no choice. I'll just have to turn up, wearing last years clothes, a big smile and hopefully, I'll also have a finished book :)

So does anyone else drive themselves into a tizzy getting ready for the conference? Ot is it just me?

Don't forget the literacy signing is open to everyone, so come to the Marriott in San Francisco on Wednesday July 30th 5:30-7:30 and meet all your favorite Aphrodisia authors!

Paths Taken

2008-07-21T10:56:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was my youngest son's birthday, but that's not why my thoughts are going in the

direction they are today. He's an adult, a teacher, the father of the world's most awesome grandson, in short a man I'm incredibly proud of. He's also the most independent cuss I've ever known. He truly does his own thing.

As an example of his independence and self-confidence, he decided to celebrate his birthday by climbing an area mountain. This on top of participating in a race the day before. (You don't want to see the blisters on his heels) He's climbed this mountain before so is familiar with the terrain. What he wanted was the physical challenge and the chance to spend time close to nature--something that resonates with the whole family. We finished the day by all of us going out to dinner so his day's adventure was sharp in his mind, and because he's articulate, I have clear images of what he saw while alone on the backside of that peak.

One day this spring a fierce windstorm hit the mountains. As a consequence, the opening of some area campgrounds have been delayed as cleanup of tree blowdowns takes place. What those of us down in civilization didn't know was the devistation that had taken place on that mountain. As Ryan explained, his eyes wide and somber, a half-mile wide swatch of old growth pine trees had been leveled. Literally thousands of massive trees were twisted in all directions, piled on top of each other. Nature's strength at its most impressive. My son, who works summers firefighting and recently returned from two weeks in California, understands the danger inherent in those blowdowns. As he explained, salvaging the timber may be more trouble than its worth. Not only is the area inaccessible to machinery, the trees are piled on top of each other, pinned in places, pinning other trees at the same time. Cutting through one tree can result in a massive and deadly shifting of weight throughout the pile.

My point here: I sit here in my office describing what my son experienced. He goes out and embraces the wilderness, often taking his son with him. In contrast, Grandma relies on her imagination, safe in her calm environment. My imagination is one of my greatest joys. I love mentally and emotionally placing myself in uncounted situations. In my mind I take canoes down raging rivers, fight forest fires, hunt buffalo (as I did when I was writing historicals) and have the kind of sex I can only lust after. But those grand adventures and experiences and people exist only in my mind while my son climbs onto a felled giant of a tree and looks out at a half-mile swath example of a force beyond our comprehension.

I love the path I've taken in life but oh do I envy him.

Vonna

www.VonnaHarper.com

Where do babies come from?

2008-07-20T06:00:00.004-04:00

No, not those babies but the other babies we love: our manuscripts. Where do those babies come from? How are they born? Blood, sweat, and tears--just like the other ones. But the conception takes place in many ways.

My female motocross driver heroine phase started by attending a motocross event with a boyfriend. I couldn’t think of anything more lame than watching motorcycles going round in circles. I was wrong. I had a blast and several stories were born.

An Ann Rule true crime book started my romantic suspense phase. Her depth of research and the twists and turns fascinated me and inspired many tales of love amid a riveting mystery.

A computer game, Gabriel Knight the Beast Within, set me on the road to writing novels set during the German medieval period because part of the game was set in Bavaria. Also, there was this delicious Baron von Glower (played by Peter Lucas) who just set my hormones and my writer instincts on fire.

My futuristic/fantasy phase started a long time ago with Larry Niven’s novel Ringworld, then got stronger with Susan Grant’s novel Contact, but then really got going with Joss Whedon’s Firefly. I developed a whole social structure, new planets, and new technologies. I’m still working on several novels for that particular series since the possibilities are endless.

I always wonder what will inspire me next but whatever it is I’ll happily go along for the ride. So what are the novels, movies, or television shows that have inspired an entire shift in what you write? Or have you always felt comfortable in your chosen niche with no desire to explore?

Anitra Lynn McLeod

When is Sex Just Sex, and When Is It Porn?

2008-07-17T09:35:00.007-04:00

Here’s a bit of good news for those of us who like to read the steamy stuff.

Did you know that Indiana passed a law (which was to take effect July 1, 2008) requiring sellers of “sexually explicit materials” to register with the secretary of state, pay a $250 fee, and provide details about the material they were selling? Hmm, can anyone say “censorship”?

Yes! On July 1 a U.S. District Judge (Sarah Evans Barker, bless her heart) struck down the law. Several bookstores, the Museum of Art, and the Indiana ACLU challenged the law in court, and they won.

The now-defunct law was supposedly targeted toward businesses that specialized in pornography (you know, that’s the stuff that no-one can define but you’ll supposedly recognize when you see it). However, the wording of the law was so general that it would arguably have included countless works of art as well as many romance novels – and no doubt every single title published in our Aphrodisia line.

For more information, check out stories in IndyStar.com (http://tinyurl.com/4nvage) and Publishers Weekly (http://tinyurl.com/5747tu).

The State is reportedly still trying to find a way to deal with “pornographic businesses.”

In this day and age, when so many romance novels (even ones in traditional lines) are sizzling hot, where heroines and heroes are having sex with vampires and werewolves, where ménages have expanded from trois to quatre and show no signs of stopping, where masturbation, sex toys, anal sex, nipple clamps, and bondage are increasingly the norm, where women are writing and reading male-male sex, I have to ask, What on earth is pornography, and what’s a pornographic business? Does the concept of “porn” have meaning any more?

Is there some kind of line that should be drawn somewhere? And if so, how?

I do notice that most publishers of erotica and erotic romance have drawn their own lines. Such as, no sex with a minor – even if it would be historically correct (like in the days when most girls were married by the time they reached the age of majority), and even if it’s perfectly acceptable in young adult fiction. Then there’s the issue of sex with shapeshifters. I’ve heard some people say, it’s fine as long as the shifter is in human form. Others say, a shapeshifter romance is kind of like Beauty and the Beast: the human has to accept “the beast” in beast form, which means making love with him/her in that form.

Is this complicated or what? Quite honestly, I don’t know what to think. The idea of kiddie porn appals me. But so does the slippery slope of censorship. What’s the solution? How do we protect the innocent but still honor freedom of expression?

Silky...

2008-07-13T21:43:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone,
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted. I always have good intentions, but with two little kids and deadlines, months just go by in the blink of an eye. I’m sure everyone has that problem.
First off, I want to give a Contest Alert:
This month I’m doing a cross contest with fellow Aphrodisia author Elizabeth Amber, who writes the sexy, historical paranormal Lords of Satyr series.
For details, check the contest page at my site http://www.sharonpage.com/contest.htm for a chance to win a copy of Elizabeth’s latest book, LYON, THE LORDS OF SATYR.
And for a chance to win my latest, BLACK SILK, check out Elizabeth’s newsletter group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ElizabethAmber

I’m also thrilled to announce that Blood Red and Blood Rose, my erotic vampire menage stories, are finalists for seven contests, which has been very exciting. Currently, I’m working on Blood Deep, the third book in the series. In this one, my heroes are the villains from the first two stories, so I’m exploring the question—Can the darkest vampires be redeemed by love?

My book currently on the shelves is Black Silk, and I’ve included an excerpt below. Enjoy!

Maryanne watched her raven-haired Lancelot elegantly climb into the basket. Of course, he could do it easily—he had endless legs and wore trousers. Just as she stared helplessly at it, he scooped her effortlessly into his arms. In a froth of hems and petticoats, she was hoisted over the wicker wall and into the basket. As her feet touched the floor of the basket, it came up to meet her. "Ooh!"

The flame illuminated the sculpted planes of his face, his wicked grin as the balloon went up. The basket tilted to the right. She clutched the side. "Goodness."

Swansborough laughed. "But as you each take on orgasmic flight, you must remember to hold on tight," he quoted. He wrapped a hand around the stays that secured their small basket to the enormous balloon and kept the other near the fire box and the ropes that worked the vents.

Below, illuminated by the torches, she saw the men gripping the tether ropes, feeding them through gloved hands.

A lurch to the left, and she tumbled back against his lordship. His large body pressed against her, his arm locked around her waist, and she felt safe—though if the basket tipped, they’d both fall. Why should the thought of falling to their deaths together, sharing disaster, make her feel better?

"Magnificent, isn’t it?"

With her hands gripping the basket, she stared down.

Far below, the torches looked like tiny candle flames, and she could no longer see the men. Men who thought she was going to rut with a viscount here. Men who thought her a courtesan.
Don’t think of that.

The Serpentine caught the moonlight, water rippling in the sweet breeze. Dark trees bobbed and swayed, the leaves silver, and the park was a stretch of dark velvet.

She gazed up. Stars dotted the violet skies above the park. And London’s lights were spread out before her. "It’s beautiful." The basket swayed. "And terrifying."

Excerpt from Black Silk © Sharon Page

Double Dipping

2008-07-11T17:15:00.005-04:00

Yeah, I know by the title it sounds like this should be a really interesting blog. Sadly, it is not so interesting. I am simply double dipping with this blog post. I somehow managed to forget that it was my day to blog not only here with the Aphrodisia ladies, but also at The Bradford Bunch, so if you happen to read both and they sound rather similar... it could be your imagination. Or me being lazy because it's now so late on Friday afternoon my brain has turned to mush.

Given the mushy state of my mind and no strapping or virile topic popping right out at me (funny both topics and men fit those words, eh?), how about an update on the happenings in my writing life?

First off, this week brought a new contract from Kensington. Nothing too huge, but I will be writing a novella for the next firefighter anthology. I love the Club Fantasy anthologies out of Aphrodisia, so very excited to be in one! I don’t know my second anth mate yet, but my first one is Susan Lyons, whose work I adore. I also don’t know a publication date, but I am guessing either late summer or early winter of 09.

Second, well I guess that is really all the new contract news. I am finally back on the writing horse, though, and am wrapping up a Spice Brief to send to my editor at Spice. I have been trying to think of a short, hot, fun idea for Brief and finally it came to me. Here’s hoping my editor loves it as much as I do!! Next up, is finishing a paranormal single title proposal for my agent, the wonderful Laura Bradford, to shop around and then, if I have time before I start the firefighter novella, I owe a friend a short story for a smaller press.

Third--and no this doesn't really pertain to me, but close enough--I had the pleasure of interviewing the awesomely talented Devyn Quinn earlier this week. Check out that post tomorrow at The Bradford Bunch.

Lastly, want to win a signed copy of Sweet and Sinful? Tell me either what you've been up to lately OR if you think Sweet and Sinful's cover is hot or cheesy (I am still up in the air on that one), and I will select a winner at random from all those who respond.

Wishing a relaxing and sunny weekend to all! :)

~ jodi

http://www.jodilynncopeland.com/

Addictions

2008-07-08T09:19:00.006-04:00

After Melissa MacNeal posted her blog here yesterday about caffeine and sugar, I started to think about my own addictions. Here's my secret vice, the one I wish I could kick. I love reading romance blogs. SmartBitches and DearAuthor kick off my day, and I generally look at them two or three times during the day. And I hate myself for it.

Yesterday Sarah at Smartbitches wrote a short piece pleading with authors to not use tortured children as cheap ploys in romance books. Yesterday Jia at DearAuthor hammered Marjorie Liu for choppy prose at the beginning of her new book, the IRON HUNT.

I hate reading these things as an author. Not that I want to use tortured children in my books, but I have used children. (Gage in Moonshadow saved a street urchin from orcs, for instance.) Not that I want to use choppy prose, but Jia stated that Liu might have been aiming for something artistic.

The next time I'm considering artistic in a novel, I might think twice. In fact, I can promise I'll think twice. And the next time I have a kid in a book I'll think twice. And that's just from reading yesterday's blog! If I go back through the years I've been reading these blogs, the list of things I should avoid as an author grows like the ants in my kitchen. And like the ants, it doesn't stop. A quick scan of this morning's DearAuthor tells me there are 10 things authors shouldn't do at Amazon. I don't want to read it. I sincerely hope they're 10 things I don't already do at Amazon. (I suspect that the advice will be 10 ways not to abuse your readers, which means I'm safe.)

But I will read SmartBitches and DearAuthor two or three times today and tomorrow and the next day. I can't help myself. That's the mad genius of these sites. It's like the mad genius or Red Bull and real coffee with real cream and real sugar, and breaking the addiction is just as hard. Sometimes it hurts, but the sweet parts are oh so sweet. Like did you see the contest to win a copy of Ann Aguirre's WANDERLUST at SmartBitches? Can you say madgenius? And did you see that review of VICTORY OF EAGLES over at DearAuthor? I'd never have picked that book up, but I will now. It sounds fantastic. Congrats Naomi Novik.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that SmartBitches or DearAuthor change anything about what they do. In shrink speak, I know this is my issue and not theirs. I'll simply keep reading the sites and making mental notes of what not to do and what not to write... and then try to forget them when I sit down to work on my next book. Bring on the children and the artistic prose! (And hopefully my cp will catch the most egregious offenses and bring me to my senses.)

And speaking of my next book... Kensington gives me lots of copies of books to give away, and my stacks of SHE and EROS ISLAND are filling up my office. If you'd like to win a copy, leave a comment. Two random comments will win a book.

Chemical-Dependent Creativity

2008-07-07T17:00:00.003-04:00

By the time you read this, I will have been caffeine-free for 10 days.

And for a lifelong tea-aholic, this is big stuff!

While I've never liked coffee, and I don't like Diet Coke anymore except as a fountain drink (so I don't even keep any at home) it's been a rare, rare thing for me not to have hot or iced tea, prepped with SweetNLow, pretty much within arm's reach until about 3 every afternoon. I

quit on the spur of the moment this past Saturday, after hearing a guy at my Weight Watchers meeting say that giving up the caffeine and the constant sweetener broke his longtime weight plateau. Desperate times call for desperate measures! On the way home from the meeting, I decided to try it--again.

I've tried this before and went flying (or rather creeping, bleary-eyed) back to my tea fixes in a couple of days, tired of having a headache. But I am REALLY pleased that this time--don't know why--I've had not a HINT of bad head. I think I'm gonna make it! As I write this, I'm on my 5th day! But of course the other question is, how well will I be able to write if I'm not wired???

Have you done this? Given up the coffee--or the smokes--or whatever your drug of choice may be? How has it worked for you? While I noticed a couple of lethargic days over the weekend, I'm feeling pretty much normal (whatever THAT is!) now. And I've been OK while I've been writing, although I haven't quite met my daily page quota on my current cowboy wip.

I can't answer your comments, coz I'm leaving town (tonight, July 2) for my Queen Niece's graduation party in PA. But I'd love to hear from anyone about how they think caffeine, nicotine, or whatever, affects their writing. Or is this all in our heads??

The true test for me will be how alert I remain while I help us drive this week--and how

committed I stay to pounding out more pages on my AlphaSmart to make my deadline

for LONG HARD RIDE....hoping that doesn't become the story of my life without tea!

Melissa MacNeal

For readers. . .

2008-07-06T11:35:00.002-04:00

Here's to you!
The other day I found myself checking email and fell into a mid-day I.M. session with a reader. It was cool. I don't use instant messaging for anything, but there I was...chatting. The next day, I did it again with a different person.
So, in two days I talked with two different readers in a way I haven't before. The first reader has a blog where I've been interviewed and she's excited about the traffic she's been getting lately. Other readers are finding her blog and enjoying the interviews with writers she puts up there.

Pretty cool! She hosts readers connecting with writers connecting with readers. Readers connecting with other readers who like the same books...passing along author names and titles to be read.

It's all a circle which begins with a writer getting an idea. If writers didn't sit at their computers and work that idea into a story, the circle wouldn't begin.

The second reader is simply a fan of romance who loves to spread the word about her favorite authors and stories. We talked about family, we talked about the stuff of life, about other sites where I've seen her kind comments and we talked about what I'm working on.

While I'd been fretting that I'm not busy enough, that maybe other writers are more prolific, she pointed out that I've got a lot of work to do with two publishers and multiple contracts.

Being entirely focused on the story at hand tends to blur the big picture for me. I worry so much about what's happening in the moment for my characters, that I forget I'm also working toward larger career goals. Weird, but then, what writer isn't?

It was a lovely conversation and I was reminded of the circle again. Writing can be isolating. There are days my phone doesn't ring...my voice is actually rusty at the end of the day because I've only used it for brief comments to the pets. "Wanna go pee?" doesn't quite exercise the vocal cords.

The brief break I took for these conversations energized me. I went back to my WIP and looked at it with fresh eyes. It isn't a flat story with flat characters that everyone has seen before. It's the start of a circle of contact between strangers.

So, here's to our readers! They cheer us on, they love our stories as much as we do and they happily join our circles to talk and share.

What a fabulous way to spend my time! Thanks so much to every one of you!

This great, big, fantastic, amazing country...and making new friends

2008-07-04T00:18:00.012-04:00

It's Independence Day, the perfect time to think about this amazing country we Americans call home. I'm still digging out after taking a most amazing trip around a lot of it last month--my husband and I loaded up the dog and way too much stuff in our little motorhome and took off for Lori Foster and Dianne Castell's fantastic conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. I'd scheduled stops at book stores along the way in order to meet a few of my readers, and we also visited a small museum in Central City, Nebraska, where some artifacts out of my husband's family's past are on display, which was a really cool part of our trip. The map at the top has the entire 6300 mile route drawn out--we were gone exactly three weeks and I still haven't assimilated everything we saw. This country is huge, it's beautiful, and it's got everything.

We headed out with plans to see as much of the West and Midwest as we possibly could, and believe me, we saw a LOT! We also dodged a few thunderstorms, missed most of the floods and tried to sleep through more than one night of tornado warnings. (Those nights were generally in hotels, not the RV. We figured it wouldn't offer much protection, and I didn't want to end up like Dorothy headed to Oz in a whirl of wind and dust!)

The best part of the trip--beyond the trip itself--was meeting readers, both at my stops along the way as well as the conference. Once again I'm reminded just how terrific my readers are. Every single person I met on this trip was someone I'd love to just hang out with if life weren't so hectic or they didn't live a thousand miles away! I'm still on a high from all the neat things we saw and the people we met--I think one of the things that surprised me the most was the common ground we seemed to find the minute we got together. I'd go into the bookstore, we'd meet up and find a table in the coffee shop and IMMEDIATELY start gabbing like we'd known each other for years. It's got to be the fact we're all readers of romance. Is it like that for you? You meet someone at a book signing or a conference, or maybe just standing beside them in a book store perusing the titles, and suddenly you're chatting away like old friends. Is it just romance readers? What is it that gives us that instant connection? I'd love to know what you think.

And, if you're at all interested in some of the pictures of people and stuff, I've got quite a few photos up on our trip "diary" at www.katedouglas.com/june2008

The Appeal of the Cowboy

2008-07-03T11:18:00.006-04:00

What's the appeal of the cowboy?

I wonder about that. As a reader, I love a variety of the archetypal heroes. I love the vampire--who wouldn't love a man who needs you for more than company. So, he's got to take a little blood and offers a trade of sensual pleasure while he fills both his appetites. Sexy, right?

There's the wealthy business man who can provide a woman all the luxuries she'd ever want, who can be selective of a mate, but chooses you over all the women fawning over his wealth and handsome face. I could dig living in the lap of luxury with a man willing to shower me with gifts.

What does the cowboy offer in exchange for the pleasure he provides? As a woman, I like the idea that's he's self-sufficient, that he really doesn't need me to survive. Then his interest, his needs become all about what that one particular woman gives him to fill a void in his life that he didn't know was there until he met her.

A cowboy leads a very physical life. Fixing fences, delivering hay to the herd, wrestling a calf to the ground to brand it--you know that takes some muscle. Am I being shallow if I admit I love me some muscle?

I love the idea he's prepared to risk his own neck to protect his interests--his cattle, his woman, his homestead. He's worked damn hard to build his life, so he's not letting snakes, or weather, or rustlers take it from him. And he knows how to fight, knows how to use a gun--he can protect what's his, and if I'm his (at least, I'm the heroine in all my stories!), I appreciate that he makes me feel safe and cherished because his constant watch over all the things he owns (and don't let a cowboy tell you he doesn't feel possessive of a woman!) fills a void in me that loves the thought of a man who's willing to put himself at risk to protect me.

I lived in south Texas for nine years, surrounded by ranches and men in Wranglers, and they don't act like city boys. They're respectful of a woman's strength and polite (I melted into a gooey puddle whenever they tipped their hats in passing). Most of them aren't big talkers. They don't waste words and prefer to show you rather than tell you what they feel. I'm okay with that.

And I'll admit to being shallow when I say I love a cowboy's body--all wiry muscles, filling a pair of jeans with chaps emphasizing the size of their thick thighs, the mystery of their glances hidden in the shadow of their cowboy hats--all those external qualities give me a thrill.

What do cowboys do for you?

Get in bed with Delilah... Everyone else has!
www.DelilahDevlin.com

Writing on Proposal

2008-06-30T02:34:00.006-04:00

Selling to New York means writing on proposal. Three chapters and a detailed synopsis of the book you think you want to write next. Now that is an awesome thing if you're good at it. Me? I run into snags. While I don't have a problem with synos like many writers do--don't get me wrong, I don't enjoy writing them--but I don't have a lot of problem writing them and making them interesting. That's when I do the rough outline of the plot in my head. I find they're helpful for bringing the book into focus for me. I'm not a plotter, but...I need that rough outline in my head because I don't write in order. That's just dandy when you're writing the whole book. It'll all get done eventually, so the scenes I write will work themselves in later. But, a proposal is just the first three chapters. What if the end comes to me first? What if no one buys the book, then those scene that aren't in the first three chapters are pretty pointless, right?

Gah!

So, you pound away at the keyboard, hoping that three chapters is enough to make someone love your new idea as much as or more than you do. As pain in the butt as it is to write those whole books, and even if someone tosses it aside after the first page, it's easier to tell yourself that they had a shot at the whole picture. And, for me, it means I didn't waste those scenes...they had their shot at a chance in the sun. However. There's always a however, isn't there? The good news is, you only need to write three chapter. Then you know one way or the other if they love it. You get paid before you even finish the book. That's a beautiful thing, you know?

But in the end, it can feel like the nerve wracking, pulse pounded, hands shaking, nausea inducing kind of proposal that men dread the world over.

What do you all think of writing on proposal? Dish!

~Crystal Jordan
http://www.crystaljordan.com

"In Ice" SEXY BEAST V - Sept 08
CARNAL DESIRES - Dec 08

Isn't it romantic?

2008-06-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

So my fortune cookie fortune today said: You are a true romantic

At first I laughed and thought oh how well the universe knows me. But then I stopped and wondered...am I really though? Granted I write super hot romances that must have a HEA (happily ever after)--with the exception of the dirty kinky short story I'm finishing up right now. But does that really mean I'm a romantic? I don't look at life and expect men to be romantic. I don't really expect the same things I write about. In reality I'm, well, a bit of a realist. Romance tends to occur for the most part in romance novels. Unless I (and most of my friends) have just had really bad luck. And it's entirely possible. I'm sure there's some massively romantic men out there.

On a similar note, I've realized that I'm not big on chick flicks anymore. I'm not sure when this changed. I used to adore them, and come to think of it, I still do. The older ones. Those ones from the 80's and 90's. The newer ones not so much. I swear to God I wanted to throw myself off a cliff when I had to sit through P.S. I Love You.

The other night a good friend and I tried to see Sex in the City, but there was only one showing way late at night (weirdness!), so we saw Get Smart. I loved it! Totally not what I expected. And you know what else I loved? The previews for all the action fighting movies. Like Hell Boy 2 and The Dark Knight. I think chick flicks still have a place in my heart (girls night in!), but somewhere along the way, I've become an action girl. And I think that transfers over to my writing in some books. Especially my book I sold to Kensington (formerly The Captured Rose, now being renamed!). I love a little action with my books.

So what are your thoughts about romance in life? And when you go to the movies? What do you prefer?

Shelli :)
http://www.shellistevens.com

Vision of Seduction

2008-06-26T12:35:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! Since my next release comes out in about a month, I thought I'd use my blogging opportunity to tell you a little about the book.

For those of you who have read Ceremony of Seduction, you won't be surprised by any of this.

Vision of Seduction is book two of the trilogy and revolves around Katelyn (the Seer) and Prince Grayson.

For those of you who have absolutely no clue what I'm talking about - read on!

Blurb:

From A Vision Of Passion…

Katelyn Hunt is fascinated with the sexy stranger who has been hanging out at her New Age store for the last week. As a Seer, the sensual power she feels from this man of mystery intrigues—and arouses—her. But only his touch allows her to truly see what it would be like to lie beneath him naked and exposed, experiencing complete sexual surrender. And this vision is just the beginning…

To A World Of Pleasure…

As Prince of an otherworldly clan who use sexual energy as their life-force, Grayson de Klatch has searched far and wide for the Seer who can help save his planet. And when he finally finds Katelyn, he knows he has discovered his future mate. His body craves the sex her body so willingly offers and he aches with the need to make this woman his own…

What the Reviewers are saying:

"Deliciously wicked and sexy--intensely satisfying!" --Cheyenne McCray

"Scorching hot sex scenes leave nothing to the imagination." --Romantic Times - 4 Stars

Enough already - show me the excerpt: **Warning, due to word choice, this excerpt is R-rated. Although in relation to the rest of the book - it's pretty PG13...

Misty fog drifted around Katelyn's ankles, even as she recognized the vision for what it was. Twenty-three years of experience made it almost impossible for her to mistake a vision for anything else.

Yet, this one was more vivid than usual—less déjà vu, and more current somehow. She couldn't pinpoint the differences, but she knew.

The air was heavy with water and ripe with the scents of plants and earth. Katelyn couldn't see anything past the mist even though the sun warmed her and shined off the soft green grass under her bare toes. From the smells, this place reminded her of the beautiful grassy meadow in her last vision.

"Good morning, Katelyn."

The deep bass rumble that made her name sound like an exotic delicacy, startled her and she turned toward the voice.

Grayson emerged out of the mist looking much as he had when she'd first seen him walk into her shop. A plain black T-shirt stretched over broad shoulders, which veed down to a tapered waist. Tight jeans molded over muscular thighs before covering the tops of well-worn black cowboy boots.

His dark hair gleamed with amber highlights in the sunlight. He'd pulled it back into a simple ponytail. It looked soft and satiny, and her fingers literally itched to reach out and touch.

Grayson's chiseled jaw and sensual lips would be enough to make him handsome, but those eyes the color of deep melted amethysts made him breathtaking.

Unease skittered along Katelyn's spine as images of the battle inside her shop flooded back.
Shit! Did that actually happen?

It must've been another vision. Yet, it hadn't felt like a vision, but something that actually occurred. And why would she vision something so bizarre when all her visions usually came true in some form?

A sinking sensation churned deep inside her belly and she concentrated, attempting to crystallize the images inside her mind's eye.

Try as she might, she couldn't remember anything past the blue beam that slammed into her chest like a sledgehammer. When the vivid memory of the pain searing into her chest made her wince, she knew she hadn't imagined the attack.

Katelyn squeezed her eyes shut trying to block out the memory. Somehow, when the sizzling beam struck her, she had known if it didn't stop draining her energy, she would die. She brought her hand to her chest, wincing as she touched the sore spot left by the beam.

"Am I dead?" Even in her vision, her voice sounded hoarse and unused.
Grayson's deep chuckle vibrated through her. She longed to press her body flush against his and ask him to laugh or even speak, so she could see what those wonderful low rumbles would do to her in close proximity.

"No, far from dead, my beautiful Seer. Unconscious, or maybe even asleep, but not dead." He stepped close, and Katelyn's breath caught in her throat.

Heat and energy pulsed between them and every coherent thought fled her mind as she gave herself up to this vision.

"I'm glad you are all right. I have come to help you heal—to help heal us both, actually." Grayson captured a strand of her hair and rubbed it between his thumb and first two fingers.
The innocent caress sent gooseflesh marching over her entire body followed by a tingling wave of heat just under her skin. A low moan escaped before she could stop it.

She nearly let her head fall back in surrender before his words, and not his actions filtered to the front of her awareness. "Are you a healer?" she asked. "Your energy is very powerful, but it doesn't feel quite right for a healer."

Grayson laughed, and once again, the beguiling sound roamed over her like a verbal caress. "No, my beautiful Seer. I'm no healer." He traced a single callused finger over her bottom lip and she clenched her fists to keep from leaning into the light friction of his touch. "I'm a Klatch witch, an ancient line of otherworldly witches whose life force is sexual energy."

It was Katelyn's turn to laugh. "Wow, I'll be happy to lend any help in that arena you might need. Although, unfortunately, I'm only human, and while sex is nice—stellar, if I'm lucky—I need rest and time to heal. That is, if I were sick or injured, which I'm not."

He brushed his lips over hers, which left a pleasant buzzing sensation against her skin.
"You're wrong, Seer. Healing doesn't follow human rules here. And you're still injured from the energy blast. Trust me."

She stepped back.

"I don't trust anyone," she surprised herself by blurting out something she had thought to herself countless times before.

Grayson only smiled. "I know, my beautiful Seer. Then let me show you instead." Before she could argue the point, he pulled her tight against him. He plunged his fingers into her hair while he captured her mouth with his.

Her hands found his chest, and her frantic mind sent her arms a signal to push him away, but her body betrayed her, and her fingers fisted in the soft cloth of his T-shirt. Heat sizzled between them and she felt like she would drown in the overwhelming sensations. Finally, his lips gentled against hers and she was able to step away from him. She swayed slightly, but locked her knees and stared him down. "What are you doing to me?"

Grayson didn't state the obvious, but seemed to instinctively understand her real question. "Every Klatch has a special gift, and mine is to cause arousal in others. I can control it, but it comes very naturally, and most of the time, I don't even realize I'm doing it."

"It's bad enough you're a walking wet dream, but now you think you can cause magical arousal?" She slapped her hand over her mouth as she realized she'd said the words out loud.
Arousal, hell. So far he's some sort of truth serum!

A pleased expression lit his already too-handsome features. "Not only have you shown more resistance to my inherent gift than any Klatch woman ever has, but you seem to have the same effect on me. No woman has ever affected me like this. Until you."

Inside her mind, she laughed at the ridiculousness of his statement. He thought she'd shown resistance? Hell, if Ethel hadn't interrupted, she might've backed him up against her display case and taken advantage of him right there.

Besides, he was delusional. He had to be. She'd never encountered any type of magick or energy that would do what he described. It sounded more like a case of male ego, and less like an "inherent gift." Katelyn held up her hand stop sign fashion. "On demand arousal. Right. I don't buy it." She fisted her hands on her hips and glared up at him. "Hit me with your best shot, Mr.-Goddess's-Gift-to-Womankind. Show me this 'inherent gift.'"

Grayson sighed as if disappointed in her lack of belief. "You're a very stubborn woman, Seer. Please remember that you specifically asked for this demonstration." He shrugged. "Although it will help you heal, so I suppose it can't hurt."

She snorted. "You have no idea how stubborn I can be." Katelyn held her arms wide as if making herself a bigger target. "Bring it on, stud."

Grayson never moved, but a wave of his energy surrounded her and her entire body burned with desire.

Her breasts ached almost painfully.

Her pussy throbbed with need.

Even her skin felt like it might explode if she didn't have Grayson inside her.

Katelyn wanted hot, kinky, explosive sex, and she wanted it now.

She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, drawing in lungfulls of air as she battled against her urges and desires.

Katelyn pictured a shield made of pure white light that surrounded her body and blocked his energy.

Immediately, the assault lessened, but didn't stop. Apparently, even her strongest shields couldn't totally protect her. He hadn't been kidding about his "gift."

"Enough." The word slipped from her lips with effort, and she hoped Grayson heard it over the pounding of blood inside her head.

Just as quickly as the desire began, it stopped, as if Grayson had flipped a switch.

Katelyn locked her knees, fisted her hands, and screwed her eyes shut tight. She refused to crumple to the ground with relief like she wanted to.

When her heart had slowed enough that she was sure it wouldn't pound right out of her chest, she opened her eyes. She expected his expression to be smug. Instead, it was apologetic. He stood stock still as if afraid to come closer.

"Okay." Katelyn sucked in a shaky breath. "Remind me not to ask for any future demonstrations from you."

It's been a while...

2008-06-24T13:13:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since I blogged here-mainly because I had the usual crazy book deadlines to deal with. That's one of the problems when you foolishly decide to write for more than one publisher, every thing turns up at once. I had 2 books to finish, copy edits on one, galleys on another and covers to check. Of course, I always forget about real life as well.

I can guarantee that my family will also decide to behave completely out of character the moment I HAVE to finish a book. They fall on their faces and require root canals, end up in the Emergency Room with slashed hands, throw up everywhere...and with 4 kids (and a husband, a dog and a cat) there is plenty of the bad stuff to go around.

Machines stop functioning as well, drains block, toilets stop flushing, the dryer emits worrying black smoke. All my carefully acquired writing time slowly trickles away waiting for stuff to happen or waiting for other people to fix stuff that has happened.

I used to think it was just me but the more I talk to other writers, the more I realize it is the universe having a little laugh at me. Maybe it's because creative people aren't supposed to have to deal with the real world-in my dreams maybe :)

I decided I need an assistant.I was totally impressed by authors who had assistants at the RT convention-people who set out their books at the signing, made sure their water bottle was placed correctly, escorted them through hallways at an impressive pace. That's what I want-'people' to make my life work smoothly like that.

Unfortunately to get people I'll have to keep writing and hoping that the kids stay in one piece for a few more years!

Anyone else noticed this family disaster phenomenon whenever a book is due?
Readers do you ever wonder whether writers really live glamorous lives?

Goes Bump In The Night

2008-06-21T10:32:00.002-04:00

"Bump in the night" reminds me of Snoopy's opening line, "It was a dark and stormy night". Darn it, I wish he'd finish the book because I love stories that give me that shiver down the spine.

My own last night was an active one and got me to thinking about my comfort zone, not just in what I read and write but the movies or TV I'm comfortable with. To start, it was hotter than hell last night and for some dumb and not to be repeated reason, my dh and I decided we'd prefer the fresh air over AC. Consequently, I spent most of the night sweating. And in there somewhere I had a disturbing dream about a fire in a woodstove that got out of hand. We have a mountain cabin heated entirely by wood and one of my sons is there this weekend which probably accounts for the dream. In it, I did a lot of running around trying to put out a bunch of small fires that sprang up around the woodstove. Finally the flames were gone and things were smoking away so I decided to go to town. (note to self, not a smart idea). Then I was back at the cabin, which was no longer mine, trying to convince the owner that there wasn't much smoke damage.

Okay, so I'm thinking about the disturbing dream when I woke up around dawn. Thunderheads were on the horizon and heat lightning was putting out quite the display. Then with a crash and a boom, a loonngg boom, out goes the electricity and my dog is all over me shaking and whimpering.

The point of all this: I fast-forwarded my thinking to why I can read horror but you ain't never gonna get me in a theatre to watch horror on the big screen. It has to be the visual component, plus feeling trapped in the dark theatre. When I'm reading horror or suspense, I can put it down and walk away. I can look around and see the dust piling up on my furniture. I can pet my snoring on-my-lap dog. In other words, the real world is still there when I'm reading. Not when there's a slasher in the basement and the too dumb to live actress is heading down the stairs.

I write erotica. I love writing erotica. But someday I'm going to tackle a horror story that takes place in a mountain cabin during the mother of all thunder storms and a slasher heading my way.

Or not.

Question: is there a difference in your personal comfort zone when it comes to the written word vs movies or TV?

And as I wander off to fix breakfast for my dh, I can hardly wait for Tues, the 24th when GOING DOWN hits the stands.

Vonna

http://www.vonnaharper.com/

The Great Harriet Klausner Debate

2008-06-20T06:00:00.005-04:00

If you’ve ever browsed for books on Amazon you’ve no doubt read a review by Harriet Klausner. She is the number one reviewer. At the time I wrote this blog she had reviewed 16,630 books.

Not only is Harriet quite prolific (on December 9, 2006 she reviewed 59 books) but she loves everything she reads (she rates a book as either a 4 or 5 stars out of 5 stars).

The great debate is over whether or not Harriet is a real person. Now on Amazon she has one of those “real name” badges on her profile but I’m just not buying it because the math doesn’t add up.

Despite her claim that she is a speed reader I find it impossible that someone could not only read 59 books in a day, but also write a review on each one.

To get a grasp of how absurd this is let’s say the average book is 300 pages. So 59 books x 300 pages = 17,700 pages. Let’s say each page has 250 words so 250 x 17,700 = 4,425,000 words. Let’s then assume she is a ballistic speed reader with a rate of 500 words per minute (200-300 is considered average) so 4,425,000 divided by 500 would be 8,850 minutes, which would be 147.5 hours.

Far as I know there are only 24 hours in a day. Mind you this doesn’t include the time it took to write the review. Well, maybe with all that reading she’s developed a device that slows time.

Even if I make the numbers extremely conservative with an average book at 200 pages and only 200 words per page and up her rate to 1000 words per minute I still end up at 39.3 hours. Sorry folks, but the numbers just don’t compute. And numbers don’t lie. I know this as an accountant. You can get creative with your numbers but numbers themselves can’t be forced to lie for you.

And don’t think for a moment I’m the only one to notice this. Below are several links to others who have pondered this most compelling mystery.

sfsignal.com
harriet-rules.blogspot.com
google search
Harriet Klausner's home page

So why did I bring this up? Well, it’s been bothering me for a long time. I expect people to read the books they review. I dislike “puff” reviews just as much as I dislike “revenge” reviews--that’s where one writer will trash another writer’s work out of jealousy or an overactive competition bone.

Harriet reduces the fine art of reviewing to a simplistic formula. (Er, to get what I mean, all she had to do was read the back blurb, the promo material, and one or two lines of the actual book.) When I see her reviews, I ignore them because in my humble opinion they are meaningless.

Will we ever know who the real Harriet Klausner is? Does it even matter if she’s a collective of reviewers or simply a tool to give good reviews to almost everyone’s book? I guess the reason why I care is that I like to read reviews but I always take them with a grain of salt. Harriet Klausner annoys me because her reviews are “puff” without any real insight.

Self-motivation for neurotics

2008-06-17T09:36:00.002-04:00

Writers are neurotic. Don’t you think? I am, and it seems to me every other writer I’ve met – in person or by email – is as well. Often, we get swamped by self-doubt.

We ignore twenty great reviews and agonize over one bad one.

We check Amazon numbers even though everyone tells us they’re not a good indicator of anything at all. And when our ranking drops, we’re shattered.

With each book we write, we hit a point where we think our characters are stupid, our story is stupid and, most of all, we’re stupid and will never be able to turn this pile of c**p into a book.

How do we survive without slitting our wrists? [g]

That’s my question for today? What gets us through the bad times? (And hey, I won’t restrict the question to writers. If there’s anyone else out there who’s just as neurotic as we are, please feel free to answer.) Let’s share our tips, tell what keeps us motivated. Maybe we can learn something from each other.

Speaking for myself, there are a couple of things I try to remember when I’m wallowing in self-doubt:

1. I actually do know how to do what I do, and I can do it again [g].

2. I have good reasons for writing. I do it to bring the characters in my head to life, and to give readers something that entertains them, moves them, and maybe even makes them think.

I have a number of techniques that help me remember these things. One is to frame my book covers and hang them in my office, along with the awards my books have won. On my bookcase sits the vase of silk roses that my local RWA Chapters award for book sales. And something I plan to do is set up a scrapbook where I save little motivational items, so I can turn to them when I’m feeling down. Like, the contest judge who said, “Susan Lyons is one of my favorite writers.” Wow! The sailor who told me one of my characters reminded me of his wife, then shared the terrific story of how the two of them met. The readers who tell me that I gave them hope when I wrote about a plus-size woman finding a man who believes she’s truly beautiful. All these are reminders of why I do what I do – and that I do a halfway decent job of it too!

How about you? How do you keep yourself motivated, especially when you’re going through a period of self-doubt?

Do YOU Know Your Emotional IQ?

2008-06-09T10:16:00.004-04:00

Recently, a recruiter I’ve worked with several times in getting day job gigs called me about a job opportunity. With a voice brimming with enthusiasm, she listed all the requirements and duties, while I listened with growing dread. Despite this “fantastic” opportunity, all I could see was the dwindling hours per day left for me to spend on writing.

“And, they’re looking for someone with a high Emotional IQ,” she said.

“A what?” I laughed, thinking she was joking.

She then explained all the warm and fuzzy skills they were looking for in the areas of adaptability, motivating others with varying personality traits, working with difficult personalities to get the job done, etc. etc. This triggered a flashback of the Myers-Briggs test, which a company I’d worked for early in my career, had administered to all employees in my department. The results were supposed to enlighten us to our personality type – and those of others, facilitate our ability to work well with those who were different than us, and enable us to work together in harmony.

After the call, I searched the Internet for more information. Apparently, researchers had determined that traditional IQ tests, which only test intelligence, were inadequate in predicting success in life. Those tests were missing the emotional factor.

Enter the missing link: the Emotional Intelligence Test (EIQ). After oodles of studies, researchers determined that people with a high EIQ seemed to be more successful in life than those with a lower EIQ, even if their “traditional” IQ score was high – or, even average.

I took an EIQ test at Queendom.com, “the land of tests.” It was an interesting test. The subjective part asked me to give my responses on how I dealt with my emotions, the emotions of others, how I motivated myself, and more. The objective part showed a series of photographs and asked me to intuit what was going on. An hour later, and $9.95 poorer, I was amazed (and pleased) with the results. It accurately nailed the areas that I thought I was good at, while surprising me with a couple that I needed work in. Armed with a high IQ, I now have proof that I’ll make the bestsellers list one day. LOL

So, if you find yourself in the midst of a procrastination moment with $10 bucks to burn and an overwhelming desire to chart your EIQ, I recommend this test. And if you do take it, wanna discuss our test results?

Well, speaking of that day job, I’m off to put my EIQ skills to the test …

Ciao,
Rachelle

The Muse

2008-06-08T14:16:00.005-04:00

All of us who write need to pamper our muse. Sometimes that's hard to do. We have parents and children and day jobs that need us. We have husbands and boyfriends and lovers. We have our girl friends and classes and exams and shopping and chores. And all of this take away from time for ourselves. I don't mean that in a bad way. I love my life, even as busy as it is. But I need quiet time to think and finding it can sometimes be challenging.

My readers might have noticed that my world building usually includes a lot of elements from nature. I use plant names for my characters. Ivy is the name of my heroine in SHE, and Lady Wisteria is an evil character from THE SUPPLICANT, for example. Where do I get these elements from? In the winter, my desk is covered in gardening catalogs. Listen to this. "...these dropping, milky-white naturalizers have dainty inner tips of emerald green." This is a description of snowdrops from the John Scheepers catalog.

Sometimes (okay, often) I break down and buy these delicious things. As a result my yard is filled with glorious foliage. All of the images here are from my garden. Now that summer is here, my muse is just out the door. And as I water and fertilize my creations, I feed that muse at the same time.

Want a copy of SHE? Post a comment. I'll pick a random winner.

Falling in love again...

2008-06-06T12:38:00.004-04:00

After a very short break between my last deadline and the first draft of BREATHLESS, my anthology for Aphrodisia, I found myself falling in love.

All over again! I'm a fickle woman and it's taken me years to see it. Now, now, I'm married to a wonderful man. The love of my life, and all that stuff.

I've fallen in love with 6 new characters! Right now, they're ready to launch me into 3 wonderful new stories of love, hot sex and deeply (can we say deeply) satisfying romance. And I'm in love again.

Their stories, Breathless, To Die For, and Body by Gibson stretch before me: perfect, golden, exquisitely written. So far, there's not a darn thing wrong with them. The characters are wonderful: head strong, but trainable, gorgeous, but not perfect, warm, willing, sexual, but scared of committing.

All these things are waiting for me to explore. And it's one of the very best moments in writing. Because I'm in love.

You see, by the end, I'll hate every one of them for being difficult, demanding pains in the butt. They'll argue, stomp off...want sex I don't want (g) and will generally try to take over. I'll hang onto my plot, and only that, by the seat of my pants.

I'll fight with them, down and dirty, scrabbling in the bowels of the book to keep the point-of view straight, the words flowing, the love brewing. And it'll work, because I always win.

I'll win because by the time I'm fed up with these characters, I'll have discovered another set that wait for me: perfect, shiny, and agreeable. I'll finish the whole anthology BREATHLESS and send it in to my editor.

And then, like a miracle, I'll fall in love again. Fickle me!

Now, what does it take for you to fall for a writer? Why keep picking up the same writer's books time and again? Is it consistency in the type of books? Or the fresh, new twists? What makes you say: This writer is a must buy?

Bonnie Edwards

Bloggin' for Delilah Devlin who is internetless

2008-06-02T06:55:00.004-04:00

That's right, I'm here to blog for my fabulous sister, Delilah Devlin. Isn't it just like her to leave it to me to pick up the pieces? Just kidding. My sister lives out in the wilds of Arkansas where they have to pipe in the internet with the sunshine. Well her satellite internet service has been less than adequate and has been out for days! She's to the point she may have to resort to dial-up!!!! Egads! Just shoot me now!

I remember when I lived out in the country in Texas and we were on dial-up. How painful it was to send a file, view a picture, bring up a website. Once you've gone DSL, you'll never go back, NEVER!

I mean really, as a writer, you live a pretty solitary life, especially if you write full time. If not for the internet, it could be a very lonely life. The internet is my/our connection to the outside world. As a writer, it's hard to have friends. When you're not pounding out a book on deadline, you're somewhere knee-deep in the creative process and can't be disturbed or you've broken the process. Those people who used to be your friends are lost on the wayside, especially if they aren't writers like you and can't talk writing and books with the passion and obsession you can.

Thus, the internet is our salvation. Most of my friends are other writers scattered across the United States, Canada and other countries around the world. It's not like I can run out and have a cup of coffee with them. First of all, gulp, I don't drink coffee, I know, to some people that's a sin in itself. Second, they're too darned far! Even my sister, Delilah is 4.5 hours driving away from me and with gas prices skyrocketing. Fugetaboutit! Two years ago, I moved to the northern border of Arkansas and I have yet to make a friend here who is close enough for me to visit with on a regular basis. Not many writers up here who write what I write. Yeah, it makes a difference what you write sometimes.

I rely on the internet to keep in touch with friends, brainstorm ideas, share news and disappointments with people who know what it's like to be me. Who share a passion for writing and reading. Maybe I should say obsession, it's closer to the truth than passion, although passion is definitely a part of it!

What about you? Could you live without your internet, email, instant messaging, Youtube, iTunes, Ebay, google, mapquest, online book orders? Now that you're connected, how would you survive without it?

I pose these questions to all those in cyberspace. You know what I'm talking about.

Your cyberpal Myla Jackson

Between Contracts

2008-05-29T10:03:00.003-04:00

I've been writing for two, almost three, years now, and in all that time I've never had any kind of writing down time. There was always a project to work on, a book to finish, a deadline to meet, a contest to enter. You get the idea.

I just finished my first two book deal with Kensington, had a wild selling streak and sold everything that was out for submission (woohoo!), and...now I have nothing to do. I'm waiting for edits and contracts to come back to me, but right now I have nothing. to. write.

I know some will say I should enjoy the down time, but...it's so not in my nature to have down time. I mean, I work full time and pretty much write full time, too. Call me a workaholic, I'm okay with it.

I suppose I could write a new proposal, though I just finished three of them. Or I could write a short story for one of my e-publishers. But it's just odd not to have to do anything. I usually have very specific word count goals every day. I write every day. No exceptions. I don't care if I'm sick or dying or had an icy fall down some very cement steps (March was a bad month for me is all I can say about that).

And now...I can watch TV after work and not have to feel guilty about not doing what I should be doing. It just feels dirty and wrong.

Anyone read any good books lately and want to recommend them? I've already burned through my TBR pile in the past five days. This is why I started writing in the first place, I'm easily bored without something. to. do.

I watched the Netflix movie that's been sitting on my DVD player for a few weeks now. I Am Legend. Will Smith with no shirt is yum. Post-Apocalypse meets Cast Away premise is interesting. Special effects were laughable, and the pacing of the movie was off to me. But Will Smith had no shirt on and he was all sweaty, so I forgive the movie for not being made of awesome.

I've also been cruising around YouTube like a fiend. There are some really weird things on that website. Also, some of my favorite songs have fun videos. Who knew?

So that's my fun update. I'm between contracts and driving myself crazy. Quick! Someone put me out of my misery!

-Crystal Jordan
http://www.crystaljordan.com

Between a Rock & a Hard Drive

2008-05-26T12:02:00.001-04:00

My husband says all the technology in my life is conspiring against me.

And unfortunately, I’m starting to think he’s right. There’ve been several examples: the garage door opener that only works for me intermittently, but always works for him; the DVD player that refused to load for me on ANY disk I tried, and worked for him on the first try; and even the AMC theatres pre-bought ticket machine yesterday…sigh.

So I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when last Wednesday I booted up my trusty pink Mac and got a flashing file folder with a question mark instead of my friendly background picture. Unfortunately, hubby wasn’t able to get the Mac to work like he does with everything else and we had to take it down to the Apple store. They promptly told me my entire hard drive was toast, and they hoped I had backed up my data. EEK! Luckily, they exchanged the hard drive for a new one for free, and I did have backups. I had an entire laptop backup on Time Machine from a month ago, and before I left to speak at the Heart of Denver Romance Writers last weekend, I backed up my writing file and a few other folders I couldn’t live without.

Anyway, I consoled myself with Starbucks on the way home and the knowledge that my hubby has an affinity with technology and could fix my “baby” good as new.

I was having some serious laptop withdrawal when he came into the living room looking like someone had died. That’s when I got that icy cold sensation of dread curling inside my belly and making me nauseous—you know the one I’m talking about. Yup—my month-old backup was corrupted and wouldn’t load. That meant everything I hadn’t backed up the week before—pictures, emails, desktop, tax spreadsheets, and a hundred other things that flashed through my mind were gone.

Sigh…

I let myself pout and rail against the universe for all of about five minutes before taking a deep breath and reminding myself that A) I had only lost about 8K on my WIP from what I had done Sunday after I’d gotten home from Denver, and then Monday and Tuesday. And I did have all the work I’d done on my Alpha Smart since the demise of my poor laptop, and B) the situation was what it was and whining wasn’t going to buy me anything but stress.

My hubby closeted himself back inside the office messing with my laptop all the rest of Friday and all a good chunk of Saturday.

Anyway, much to my surprise, he found a program somewhere on the internet for $100 that allowed him to fix 95% of the corruption issues within my backup and restore most of my files. Woo Hoo! What a man! Gorgeous, sweet AND he recovered most of my data!! :)

So, yesterday morning when I woke up, I found my trusty pink Mac on my recliner in the living room, and I started the process of restoring the files I’d backed up right before I left for Denver, and finding out how much data I had lost from a month-old backup within my non critical files.

I think the biggest gap is on my emails—some of my accounts didn’t keep the email account history on the server, so those are gone. (So, if you wrote me and haven’t heard back, you may want to try again!) and my Sent history for the past month is totally gone.

Anyway, that’s my computer saga. And as much as I work with technology, it does become frustrating at times—like my automatic backup failing just a few minutes ago, for some unnamed reason! Sigh! But I’m thankful for what was saved, and thankful I can get back to my book today now that life is back to normal. Hopefully, that 8K won’t take too long to make up, and here’s hoping it’s even better the second time I write it.

Does anyone else have my same luck with technology? Or is it just me? LOL!

Cassie

Hi from New Author - Shelli Stevens

2008-05-23T20:17:00.002-04:00

Hi all! Deanna Lee is letting me fill in for her today. I’m Shelli Stevens and as of Monday, a brand new Aphrodisia author! I am totally excited to be among such fantastic friends and fellow writers.

Though working with a New York publisher will be new to me, being published isn’t. I’ve written many books for two epublisher, from sexy contemporaries to scorching futuristics. My upcoming books with Aphrodisia are going to be scorching futuristics.

You know, I can confess to not being the biggest sci-fi/futuristic fan, but shows like Firefly (Serenity the movie) certainly caught my interest. Or was it just that really, really sexy captain on Firefly. Yummy. Intrigued by this genre and watching and reading more of it, I decided to write a book in a futuristic setting. And while it’s set in the future, I’ve been told it still has a bit of a contemporary flare.

So one of my favorite premises in a book is Capture/Abduction. I love them! Love them, love them, love them. They may not be politically correct, but they are so delicious and the perfect breeding ground for conflict and good hot lovin’. And that’s exactly what you’ll find in my book. Publishers Marketplace summed up my book as:

On a planet where females are on the endangered species list, a woman who has spent her life in erotic servitude to the three wealthy and powerful men who own her finds freedom and passion in the arms of her abductor, a man who should be her fiercest enemy.

Capture isn’t my only favorite premise. I also love the friends to lovers, premise. Life in danger, needs protection, premise. There are just so many great premises out there, and honestly, I love reading them in any genre or time period. Historical, futuristic, paranormal, contemporary. The theme is timeless.

So what are some of your favorite premises in a book? Share, share, share! I’ll draw a name later and the winner will receive a copy of one of my ebooks off my backlist!

In the mean time, if you want to know more about me (Shelli!) feel free to drop by my website at http://www.shellistevens.com.

Don't Wanna Be Serious

2008-05-21T12:33:00.003-04:00

Going Down won't be out for another month but I had to share this cover. I'm particularly taken with the coloring. To be honest, I squirm every time I look at it because I'm darn ticklish on that part of my anatomy. How my heroine is able to sit there and simply enjoy is beyond me. If it was me--and believe me, no one wants to see that part of my anatomy on a cover, shudder--I'd have already kicked the poor man where it counted.

Okay, as I hinted in the title, I'm not in a serious mood today, probably because I'm doing my dangness not to give into this gray and rainy day. (what a contrast after record breaking heat last week). A couple of days ago I updated the news on my website www.VonnaHarper.com and described what my office looks like. Fascinating reading, not. Today I decided to dig into my brain and come up with what my ideal office would look like. How's this for priorities?
1. Ice making machine so I don't have to keep going downstairs to replenish my trusty ice water.
2. Snack drawer. (oops, better not)
3. Perfect-running computer. Mine isn't bad, but it's pushing 4 years old and I'm getting a little nervous. I don't care what operating system it has just as long as I somehow am as one with it. No glitches of course, never a need to call the dreaded customer support.. Having it the size of a tissue box would be kinda cool. No games of any kind loaded into it because I might be the only person on earth who doesn't give a darn about that stuff. I was going to mention some of those interactive video games but without my grandson around to educate me I'd just sound like an absolute idiot.
4. 25" monitor. The one I have is 19" and I love it, but if I'm being greedy--
5. Seamless Internet connection. Always on but of course absolutely and completely safe from viruses and spam.
6. Chair molded to my tired old bod. The one I'm sitting in is pretty good but it better be because I swear I sat in every chair for 20 miles around. But the perfect one has to have arm rests that hold up. In less than 2 years, this plastic stuff has started cracking and occasionally jumps up and pinches me.
7. No glare window to look out. The current one is probably 4 by 4 but sometimes I have to close the blind to keep from going blind. And while I'm at it, how about cutting off the roof of my next door neighbor. If it wasn't for that, I could see forever instead of just half of forever.
8. Bose stereo system with killer speakers.
9. A room full of self-watering plants.
10. Expertly hung pictures of landscape scenes by famous photographers. Start with the Grand Canyon.
11. Massive bookshelf filled with every research book I'll ever need.

I could probably keep going forever but I keep getting this funky message about how Google blogging connection has been lost and I might not be able to save my blog. Better put that seamless Internet connection at the top of the list.

How about other people? What's in your perfect ideal room? Is it an office, a denlike retreat, maybe a patio, a sexy bedroom? Anyone who says laundry room will be kicked off the Aphrodisia site and never allowed back.
Vonna

Just Catching up

2008-05-20T18:36:00.007-04:00

Since this was an open blog day and I have not blogged in awhile, I thought I would take a moment to share some new cover art, news, etc....

First, I am happy to report that I'm temporarily out of deadline heck. Yep, that's right. I finished and turned over Heart of the Wildcat to my editor Monday. This novella will appear in the Sexy Beast 6 antho and paves the way for Soul of the Wildcat, which will continue the story of my Cherokee Cougar shifters in the mountains of North Carolina. Small yah, as this is one that I just couldn't seem to get started on. I whiled away two months with severe depression, convinced I could not possibly do justice to the subject. There was so much to cover with Native American history, legend, lore, cougars, etc... that I felt I could not possibly write the novella in a way that would make sense. Skip forward to the end weeks and many tears later: it's now done and I can't believe I'm saying goodbye to the characters so soon. I was just getting started with Kathryn and Joe. Now that I am not pounding the keyboard day after day I feel lost. What do I do now? (Write another book is the obvious answer. And that is coming. My editor and I decided to call the Flesh and the Devil sequel "Man After Midnight", which I like. Brat Princess Dani Wallace is to become the unwilling bride of a Jadian Shapeshifter.)

I'm also happy to unveil the cover of Embracing Midnight, my late Nov 08 release. I have to admit I love the cover. It's fabulous and so totally right for the book. I'm going to have a poster made and framed for my wall.

Lastly, I am thrilled to share the news that the TRIO Anthology with myself, PF Kozak and Jane Ledger releases next Tuesday. :) These are three hot stories, folks, and the theme is *grin* threesomes.

Lastly, I edge around the the purpose behind this post. Writers, do you ever go through blue funks about your WIPS and if so how do you conquer the worm? Readers, have you ever read a book where it seems like the writer was just going through motions to complete the work on deadline?

Are you embarrassed?

2008-05-16T23:44:00.002-04:00

I know you’re not embarrassed to read spicy books or you wouldn’t be here at our site.

But are you embarrassed to buy them? Do you order online? Do you slink around the bookstore? Here in Canada, Aphrodisias are shelved under Erotica, not Romance, so you have to go into a whole different section and basically proclaim, “Hello, my name is Susan and I read erotica.” (Which, actually, I rarely do. Especially not literary erotica. I much prefer erotic/spicy romance. But here it’s shelved as erotica.) I admit, in the beginning I was nervous about browsing the erotica section – and partly it was because there were so few books and the covers were, uh, kind of freaky sometimes. But that was before we Aphrodisiacs, and our colleagues at Heat, Red, Spice and so on began to dominate the shelves with our pretty, shiny, sexy covers.

Do you pick up your erotic romance and hide it under another book, then linger near the cashiers until you see a friendly looking female who might – gasp! – even read this stuff herself?

How about reading spicy books in public? Do you read your erotic romances at home, as a private pleasure? Or do you proudly carry them around in public, cover visible, and read them on the bus? (And if you do, do you ever get comments?) Personally, I’m not big on reading sexy stuff in public. It’s not so much that I’m embarrassed to be seen with it, as that it’s hard to really get deeply into the story and enjoy it fully (if you get what I mean ).

As for you writers, are you embarrassed by what you write? I bet most of us will say no. If we were embarrassed about it, we wouldn’t do it. But what do you say when, after you’ve told someone you’re a writer, they ask you what you write? My answer is usually, “Spicy contemporary romance.” It’s not because I’m embarrassed but because I think the general public doesn’t really understand what “erotic romance” means. They think “porn”, and that’s definitely not what I or my fellow Aphrodisiacs write. I figure, “spicy contemporary romance” gives the normal reader a much more accurate picture. If they ask, “How spicy?”, I’ll grin and say, “Pretty darned spicy,” and they get the picture.

So, now it’s your turn to fess up. Are you embarrassed? Or proud and bold?

Conflicted About CONFLICT!

2008-05-07T15:25:00.002-04:00

I've spent the past couple of days (well, OK--weeks!) working on a new proposal/synopsis, and once again my agent has been saying "the romance is overshadowed by the other stuff" and "not enough CONFLICT between the hero and heroine."

I scratch my head and roll my eyes and think, jeez, what is this? About the 27th or 28th book I'm working on here? And how many times have I taught sessions on internal and external conflict? And how many times has my agent had to point this up as the only--but essential!--element I need to improve on.

Is this because I wish the true love part could be that steady, upward line to the happily-ever-after? (Now, there's a fantasy!) Is it because I, by nature, avoid conflict whenever possible and always seek to please and pacify in real life?

Dunno.

But finally this morning, I made a few changes in my characters' backstories: made the femme fatale drama queen "villain" (who is bipolar) more positive and sympathetic; a woman who skips her meds because they interfere with her psychic abilities, which are how she earns her income. Made the heroine AFRAID of all these psychic types she's meeting up with in the seaside town she's fled to, from an abusive ex, and made the clairsentient numerologist hero really concerned that he'll lose her--like he lost his first wife--simply because his extrasensory powers frighten her. But that's who he IS. Can't change that about himself.

Not that difficult. Not that earth-shattering--but I finally spelled it out in specifics, which means I finally had to put it into words instead of just *thinking* I knew what was going on. And this afternoon I finally got my agent's e-mail saying "MUCH BETTER!" with a smiley-face.

Whew. For a couple days there, I was wondering if I'd lost it!

Now back to revamping that synopsis!

Breathless with anticipation....

2008-05-06T11:28:00.005-04:00

The writing life's been wild and wacky lately. In February I accepted an offer from Harlequin Blaze for a book that would never fly with my editor at Kensington. I love knowing what will work and what won't with my Aphrodisias. It's taken time to learn, but as things move along, it'll save me time. And time, for writers on deadline, is more valuable than gold.

I'm probably one of the, ahem, sweetest of the Aphrodisia authors...not a lot 'o kink in a Bonnie Edwards Aph, so here's hoping I have some cross-over readers. {ok, I suppose some people would substitute the word boring for sweetest - LOL - and if you're one of those people don't tell me}
The Aphrodisia call came a couple weeks ago. So....big cheers here!... I'm also signed on for two more Aphrodisias.

First up is my single anthology, BREATHLESS, which will be released in 2009. BREATHLESS is a trilogy of novellas linked by underwear above the waist: a corset with a time-travel twist, a Vegas showgirl's bustier and a body art competition. I've got a mystery, one last visit to Perdition House, and a sexy carpenter in BREATHLESS. And I can't wait to write them all...I think it's a great combination of stories. A little of this, a little of that...just fun!

Like I said the writing life's been a little wild and wacky. This is the first time I've had to balance so many projects at once. I have two editors to answer to. I'm thrilled to rise to this challenge, but it meant some heavy duty thinking about how to write so that all my books have enough time to gel.

I write four drafts of every book. That's four official drafts...that's not counting the endless revising I seem to do on a daily basis. So, yes, this takes time and balancing my writing life with my family responsibilities was a challenge this time.

Life emergencies happen and when you can see them on the horizon it's better to add time to your due dates at contract time, than to ask for an extension when the books are due. It was difficult to sort through my life (and those life emergencies that are a guarantee) for the next year. Talk about needing to see the future!

So, it'll be 2009 before BREATHLESS makes an appearance on the shelves. Here's hoping the second Aphrodisia isn't such a long wait. That one will be a single title.

The wait seems impossibly long for me, I just hope readers will be happy to hang in there with me!

Back to work for me,

Bonnie Edwards

On grandkids and fan mail and life in general

2008-05-04T23:24:00.002-04:00

It seems to be a common theme among authors, this sense of being overwhelmed by deadlines and projects and life in general, and that’s exactly how I was feeling today when we pulled into the driveway after a whirlwind visit to see our four grandkids. They aren’t always together, since our son and his family live in Hawaii, but Jon, Mel and Ella were here in California for a brief visit and my husband and I spent the weekend being grandparents with four amazing kids age six and under.

I have an amazing respect for our daughter, who claims three of them and who was also babysitting the fourth. She does it with such amazing aplomb that I asked her what kind of drugs she used...she just laughed and kept right on doing what young mothers do—being a mom.

Anyway, I’m getting off track here—something I do a lot! I got home exhausted, helped hubby unload the RV, carried stuff into the house, put in a load of laundry, watered some plants and started fixing dinner. I was feeling sort of blue because I never feel like I get enough time with the babies, when I came upstairs to check my email.

Went through a gazillion messages and then came to an absolutely wonderful note from a reader, telling me how much she enjoyed my books. And I will admit it, my depression was gone, my energy was back and that sense of always playing catch-up sort of faded away.

Oh, it’ll be back tomorrow, but for one brief moment, all was right with my world because a reader took the time to send me that very thoughtful note. I freely admit that I save all my mail from readers. They’re the proof I often need, a reminder that there is more to writing than just the creation of a story for my own enjoyment or to meet a deadline or make my editor happy. Ultimately, the reason we write is for our readers.

That’s probably why it’s so meaningful when they take the time to write to us. So that’s my question—authors, do you ever write fan mail when you read a book that really moves you? And readers, do you ever take the time to send a note to an author? I’m going to make a point to do it more often. Today’s note was a reminder just how important that very personal connection can be. Maybe I’m just needier than most, but it sure made my day!

Fun With Food & Late Again

2008-05-02T23:41:00.000-04:00

I am behind, it seems a way of life as of late. Or maybe not. You see, I am actually not behind for the first time in months, but it still feels that way. Perhaps because I am in between contracts and that makes me feel a bit out of sorts. Perhaps because my day job keeps taking over my nights and weekends and making it almost impossible to get out new proposals. Perhaps just because I have been behind so much I can't recognize what it feels like to be on top of things.

Anyway, I was supposed to post yesterday and update the blog covers then, too. But I didn't remember. So I just updated the new books for May. Aren't they lovely? Yeah, I thinks so, too. And this month I actually get to pick a few up and read them. Lovely indeed! As much as I enjoy writing, I think I still prefer reading even more. That I have gotten to do some this month has been wonderful. It also has had me thinking...

How do you feel about playing with your food? Now personally I am one of those who feels anything goes in a sex scene, particularly in terms of erotic romance. If it sounds like the characters are having a good time and it's presented in a believable manner, it works for me. But going by some recent reviews--both my own and others--not everyone feels this way.

So what do you think? Is it okay to play with your food? Or have your lover do so for you? Now obviously some foods really are sort of gross to consider, but the basic fare you might see pop up in a sex or sexy scene?

~ jodi

http://www.jodilynncopeland.com/

I Got You Covered

2008-04-29T10:11:00.006-04:00

I had a completely different post in mind today, but my editor sent me my newest Aphrodisia cover! Of course, that means I have to share it with everyone. The first novella in this world comes out in the Sexy Beast V anthology in September (though I think it starts shipping in August--never ask the newbie questions. Trust me, the answers will only make your head hurt). Since that cover is so pretty, I'm including it, too. You're welcome!

On to the new cover, also heavy on the manflesh (thank you, cover fairies).

This one continues with three novellas set in a futuristic world. There's tiger shape-shifters as you can probably guess from the cover, but there's also polar bears, dragons, and mermaids. I had too much fun with this world. I even have a webpage for it. Click here to find out more.

But it got me thinking...how much do I judge a book by its cover? I know they say not to, but "they" also told me not to write romance. You see how well it's going for "them" so far. So, what would I think of my covers if I were a reader rather than the author? Well, as I said, manflesh is good. And not false advertising at all. I guarantee at some point in every book I write, there is a naked man. For one of the novellas in Carnal Desires, there's even two naked men. At the same time. I think you know what that means. Mmm-hmm.

I think I'd know what was in my books (generally) by these covers, so I guess judging them by their covers is an okay thing right here. Again, did I mention the manflesh? Niiiiice.

So, tell me...do you judge a book by its cover? I know I do.

-Crystal Jordan
www.crystaljordan.com

Rocking And Rolling

2008-04-21T12:06:00.002-04:00

Good cloudy morning folks. Would someone please explain this to me. A week and a half ago it reached 81 degrees here in the Northwest. Then it snowed over the weekend, and this morning I'm looking out at a cloud filled sky.
Ah well, can't do nuttin' about it except hunker down and write. Yesterday I was playing email conversation with our own Kate Douglas. She said she was dealing with the cold in her neck of the woods by getting to the getting of a new book. Sounded like good advice so I kicked out about 2500 words.
Hey Kate, I'm further along in this writin' a book business than you are. I'm into chapter four of the middle book in a three book contract. It doesn't have a title and I don't want anyone giving me a hard time about it, because the rest of it's starting to come together.
Interesting thing about growing a story, at least for me. I start with a blip above nothing and start adding fertilizer until something pops to the surface. In this case, I've been holding onto a well-illustrated booklet about Canyon de Chelly in Arizona, a place I visited and fell in love with. The Anasazi once lived in this land of canyons and sandstone, and the dramatic vistas grabbed me around the throat the moment I entered it. Setting is vital to me. I need an emotional hit from an area (real or imagined) or my characters won't thrive in it.
So step one became keeping the terrain but moving it to a fictional spot so I could play around with reality. Then I needed some characters. Hok'ee was just waiting for me to pull him out of the muddy backwater of my brain. A cougar shapeshifter, he's a restless and savage soul, wild and primal. There's nothing politically correct about him. There's a core of me in him, or perhaps I should say Hok'ee represents a don't-give-a-damn side to this law-abiding middle class writer I try to keep under lock. He has no need for or interest in money, running water, political campaigns, or even whether he has any clothes. How did he get that way? It took a couple nights of insomnia for the answer to emerge, but I love it. A hint. If you know anything about the Navajo or Tony Hillerman's writing, you've heard about the chindi.
Hok'ee needed a woman, specifically one with a reason to enter his primal world. More insomnia. More ranting to myself. More considering and then rejecting options. Then one morning while I was in the shower, Kai stepped in and started talking about the psychic gift that sets her apart. What's that you say, psychics are a dime a dozen? True, but how many can tap into the souls of animals? Hot damn but do I love that idea. And her.
Next came the plot, or rather the need for one. Not so much insomnia this time but a lot of sitting at the computer with my eyes closed while I threw down everything that came to mind. Minor characters, check. Theme, check. Goals, check. Twists and turns, check. I'm still working on getting all that to mesh, but I trust that thing called creativity enough to know the minor characters and the direction things are headed will eventually make sense.
Maybe what I've written has bored the you know what out of whoever tried to wade through it, but I got a kick out of trying to explain the creative process, at least how it works for me. I'm deliberately not saying more because I lose momentum and interest if I say too much about what I'm doing. I need to be surprised and a bit scared every time something comes out of my mind, through my fingers, and onto the computer screen.
One more thing before I fade off. Last week's mail brought a couple of great packages. I have a novella in Sexy Beast V which should come out in Sept. and the cover flats arrived. OMG that's one hunky hunk!!! Only With A Cowboy (another anthology) will hit the stands on April 29 which means I now have a box filled with copies to use for promotion. The cover: another hunky hunk wearing nothing except a trashed pair of jeans and a rope slung around his neck. I can hardly wait to read P.J. Mellor and Melissa MacNeal's contributions.
Vonna
www.VonnaHarper.com

p.s. Given what little I've told folks about what I'm working on, if anyone has an idea for a title, I'd be eternally grateful. In fact, I'll send you a copy of Only With A Cowboy.

Life Cycle of a Book

2008-04-16T22:51:00.005-04:00

Something I’ve learned as a writer is that each book has its own distinctive life cycle.

My first published book, Champagne Rules, was years in the making. I had the idea, mucked around with it, revised it, revised it some more, went back and started from scratch. But once I’d sold it (on a proposal that consisted of about 100 finished pages plus a teeny synopsis), the project raced ahead. I sold in May 2005 and told my publisher I could finish the book by the end of July. Taking me at my word, Kensington slotted the book in for February 2006 – the second month of the launch of Aphrodisia. And yes, that’s incredibly quick. Almost never does a book go from submission to print in 6 months!

It was an amazing period, learning about copy-edits and page proofs, cover images and blurbs. Working on a website, bookmarks, ads, all of that fun stuff. Oh, and in there, I was also writing the second book in the series (Hot in Here), spending 5 weeks traveling in Australia and Hawaii, and writing a novella titled “Hot Down Under” for The Firefighter.

Very exciting! I could barely catch my breath.

My current release, She’s on Top, has had a very different life cycle. It’s the last book in the 4-book Awesome Foursome series that started with Champagne Rules. When I sold the first book, I hoped Kensington would buy all four – and hurray, they did, in two 2-book contracts. Rina, the heroine of She’s on Top, appeared in Champagne Rules, so from the beginning I had a sense of her personality and issues (I also knew who her hero would be). As I wrote book 2 (Hot in Here) and book 3 (Touch Me), I learned more and more about Rina. So when it came time to write her book, it flowed quickly and easily. I turned in the manuscript at the end of the summer in 2006. And now, in April 2008, it’s on the shelves. No, I’m not even going to count the months in between!

What I’ve learned is, each book is as unique in its growth process as a child because so many factors (at the author’s end and at the publisher’s) go into creating the finished product. Sometimes we authors have to scramble to keep up and sometimes we have to be patient. I’ve almost never heard an author say she’s content about her timing: she’s either in a mad panic trying to meet a deadline or frustrated because it’s taking so long for the book to get out. (I don’t even want to think about the editors’ frustrations: authors who don’t meet deadlines, authors who are high maintenance, authors who want to rewrite the book at the galleys stage…!)

I’m curious to hear other authors’ experiences. What’s the fastest time between idea and finished product – and was that fun or scary?

Susan

http://www.susanlyons.ca

'Tis the Season--for Conferences!

2008-04-07T14:54:00.002-04:00

(Hey, Bonnie--blog any time you want, babe! Me, I'm running a tad late today because I've got too damn much to do before I go to yet another conference this spring!)

Just returned from NYC and the Novelists, Inc. conference--great fun to meet Devyn and Sasha and see Susan Lyons and other Aphrodisiacs there! This is the one con I never miss because we're all multi-pubbed and we don't allow promo activities--a way more laid-back way to enjoy hanging with your writer friends and to meet a lot of industry professionals, knowing some clueless newbie won't do the shove-the-manuscript-under-the-stall-door trick when one of our editor guests uses the restroom!

Best part for me this year? Had one of those STELLAR chats with my agent, about a new series idea we'd briefly discussed a few months ago, and he was REVVED, and thought we needed to talk it up to the (Dorchester) editor I was about to join for lunch. So I hung up, walked over to meet her, and meanwhile my agent called her to "whip her into a frenzy," as he put it (he doesn't write erotica, but he could! ; ) So when Alicia arrived, she was already excited and by the time we were finishing dessert (I had chocolate mousse to die for) we had talked about many, many aspects she loves about this timely concept, and she wants it, like, NOW!

Which means I was chatting with my agent at 11:30, lunching with my editor at 12:30, and by 1:30 she was all over it. I have NEVER had such an incredible experience! So now I'm putting proposal stuff, synopses, series overview, etc. into writing and I plan to start on the first

book on May 1.

I'm also prepping and packing for RT. Leaving very, very early on Sunday a.m. the 13th to fly into Pittsburgh in time to do dinner with the wannabe writers who take those pre-con classes Judi McCoy and Bobbi Smith teach. So yeah, I'm prepping some notes and handouts, and my postcard/bookmarks just arrived--ONLY WITH A COWBOY looks so good, not?!--and I have other stuff to complete as Novelists, Inc. Secretary (on the Board, they call me Miss Minutes...scary, scary concept if you're also an erotic novelist! )

So who-all's going to RT from this Aphrodisia clan? Hope to see lots of you at the Thursday night Kensington Kocktail bash! And see you before that, too! I'm going to hole up and write for awhile each day, but I'll be around--as both Melissa MacNeal and as Charlotte Hubbard. I'm supposed to have books by both of me at the Book Fair on Saturday, which makes for quite a mixed display! Nothing like a little schizophrenia to keep things lively.

For those of you going to RT, or to RWA National later on, what's the best part of these large cons for you? Do you feel you get enough bang for all the bucks we shell out to attend?

Always interesting to hear everyone's feelings about these...I know several authors who are staying home this year because of iffy contracts/income. It was refreshing to hear the editors at our Novelists Inc con sound upbeat about the state of publishing and its economy, and I hope their optimism proves to be true!

Meanwhile, I wish all of you a wonderful experience like I had in NYC--and I look forward to our new Aphrodisia website! And I look forward to having all these spring conferences behind me so I can just WRITE, for cryin' out loud!

Melissa MacNeal

And the winner is....

2008-04-07T00:08:00.002-04:00

Hey all, I don't want to intrude on today's blog post, so I'm posting at the end of the evening on Sunday....

Kristen! Please send me your snail mail addy at bonnie@bonnieedwards and I'll send along a first edition of PURE SEX for you.

Thanks for stopping by the blog and showing your support!

Enjoy,

Bonnie

Something Unexpected This Way Comes

2008-04-06T12:33:00.004-04:00

Unexpectedly lovely, fantastic and exciting. Well over a year and half after its release, the anthology, PURE SEX (July 2006) has gone back to the printers for another print run.

A little update on this set of stories: THE BET by Lucinda Betts took the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence in published
romance fiction for the novella category.

The Gayle Wilson contest is judged by avid readers
of romance and booksellers.

My story, SLOW HAND is connected to ROCK SOLID in BUILT (August 2007). Jared MacKay is the owner/captain of a Caribbean charter boat that offers honeymoons. When a jilted bride shows up, Jared teaches her the meaning of SLOW HAND. His brother Jake is the hero in ROCK SOLID.

And in THE CRIB, the talented Sasha White takes us on a first person investigation of drugs and frame-ups with Lexy and Devon. This story blew my mind when I first read it. But, since then Sasha has proven over and over again that she's a fantastic spinner of tales.

So, while a lot of our posts here are about our new and wonderful releases, this time, I thought I'd do a short trip back to celebrate what came before the books you're reading now.

(The last time one of the anthologies I've been in went back for another printing was when THE HARD STUFF went back for a fourth edition!)

Happy reading!

Bonnie Edwards

P.S. One lucky commenter today will win a signed copy (First Edition!) of PURE SEX...

The Book Signing

2008-03-31T13:51:00.001-04:00

I have to say that it was quite exciting to be doing a book signing. Mr Kate added to my nerves considerably by a) deciding to vacuum the lawn or something 15 minutes before we were supposed to be there and b)by telling me I'd got the wrong day just as we pulled off the freeway. I didn't laugh. He was lucky to survive.

Barnes & Noble even had a big poster at the from of the store with my name and the cover of "Roping the Wind" on it! Apparently, she had to down pedal the "Simply Sexual" one to avoid complaints from Saturday shoppers with kids, and I totally understood that. Debra, the B&N community relations manager loves romance novels and thank god for people like her-she was thrilled to see me, got me water and ice and even had a pen ready in case I'd forgotten to bring one!

So here I am, looking pensive as shoppers mill around me. I was strategically placed between the cafe and the new arrivals tables so I felt a little like a fish in a bowl, or one of those Victorian ladies waiting patiently at the side of the dance floor while being ignored by all the men.

And yes, people really do ask strange questions. My favorite was, "Did you write this?" Um, yes, otherwise why would I be sitting here? Of course, I didn't say that, I just smiled graciously and admitted it. I REALLY DID get asked where the bathroom was as well!!

Look! Real people in a line, for me! Okay, so I know some of them, but hey, they came out to support me and buy my books so I love them all.

Because of what I write, I expected a few oddballs as well, and yes, they turned up to say hi, every time Mr Kate wandered off to read Motor magazines. I 'think' they just wanted to see what an erotic romance writer looked like and I 'think' I probably disappointed them seeing as I wasn't dressed in black leather or brandishing a whip!

So,it was fun and Mr Kate took loads of photos, I felt famous for at least 5 minutes and that was quite enough for me :) Back to the writing cave!

Reflection on a Series

2008-03-23T12:07:00.004-04:00

Exposing Casey will be my fourth book with the Aphrodisia line and I recently agreed to a 2 book deal that will bring my total of books with Kensington to SIX!

Exposing Casey is a two novella collection about two women and how they deal with exposure, sex, and love. It also marks the end of the "gallery trilogy" that began with Undressing Mercy and continued with Barenaked Jane.

All three books center on the lives of women and the men that change them-- for better and worse. What I really enjoyed about writing this series was discovering the strength and individuality in each woman that I put to paper.

Mercy was soft but strong-- determined to overcome a tragic past and very ambitious about her career. She needed a man who could lead the way with gentle strength and make her feel safe. I believe that Shamus Montgomery filled that role very well.

Jane was a woman smacked down by circumstances beyond her control and her life had become about taking that control and the cost of it mattered little to her. In Mathias Montogomery she found a man she never could have planned for and a love she'd grown to never expect.

In Exposing Casey-- Casey in the novella "Watching Casey" is a woman who is ready for love and committment but she has a man in her life who wants no part of it ... with her. She makes the brave step to move on without him and despite her misgivings about a new relationship finds the lure of her sexy new neighbor more than she can resist.

The final novella in Exposing Casey is "Seducing Lisa" and it tells the story of Lisa Millhouse, a woman I introduced in Undressing Mercy. Writing Lisa's story wasn't easy. Since her divorce from an abusive husband she's done everything she could to push others away... including James Brooks. James is a man who's always gotten what he's wanted and he's very tired of waiting on Lisa... the result is a seduction and a hard passion that neither one of them expected.

I hope my readers enjoy Exposing Casey and that it proves to be a satisfying end to the series.

My next book for Aphrodisia is currently called "The Games Girls Play" and is a 3 novella collection.

Happy Reading,
Deanna Lee

Wheels they need to be a churning

2008-03-21T12:47:00.002-04:00

Hmm. I'm a little later creating this than I'd planned. For some reason, Google, which is the power behind the Aphrodisia blogs, decided to disown me. What? I'd signed on with no problem the last time I blogged but now my user name and password seems to have fallen into a black hole. Go figure. Ah well, looks like I've jumped through the necessary hoops. (Shaking her head at technology). Speaking of our modern and too-complex world, anyone interested in the hoops I had to jump through in order to replace my husband's cell phone after he tried to teach it how to swim? Didn't think so.

Actually I'm stalling. I know what I want to comment on because it's what kept me awake much of last night, I'm just not sure how to get started. Ah, how about the beginning, if I can find that particular thread. When I started writing erotica, it was a brave new and uncharted world. Plot choices were unlimited, at least it seemed that way to me. Anything from historical to futuristic to sci/fi to paranormal to shape shifting to--you got the picture. Much the same with themes or genre. I tried a little of this and that with my early works which were for Ellora's Cave. Then in a moment of mad inspiration, I wrote Forced, or maybe I should say Forced used me as its vehicle for getting into print. It was plain and simple, bondage. Bondage has been my fantasy of choice for as long as I can remember. I can honestly say I've never plunged deeper into a story (its by far my best-selling e-title).
Forced was followed by other bondage-themed stories because that's what I wanted to write. The genre is also a hot, hot seller, but that was less important to me than exploring my needs and curiosities. I danced at the edge of BDSM and that shows up in all of my Aphrodisia stories, but my comfort level kept me at the edge. I might be able to read about true submissives, particularly the whole pain thing, but my macho heroes draw the line with elaborate rope work. They don't crack whips. I simply can't mark up my heroines. What it gets down to is that I don't get the pain/pleasure connection and if it's foreign to me, it's foreign to my characters.
The point of this is that I've written a LOT of bondage and am beginning to suspect I've explored most of the situations my brain can come up with. Am I in danger of starting to repeat myself? Shoot, maybe I already have, but fortunately that short-term memory issue insulates me from reality. I don't want to bore my readers, or myself by playing the same tune over and over again.
So, now that I'm pulling together possibilities for book two in my current Aphrodisia contract, my mind is digging around in all kinds of directions. I love adventure. Adore suspense. Dig man against nature. Maybe I don't want to fashion those passions in such a way that they'd fit under the bondage umbrella. Maybe I just want hot and heavy sex while fleeing the villains or trying to outrun an avalanche or flood. Maybe I don't want to deal with the separation of power between master and sub; I need equals. Hell, maybe I even need the woman on top.
That in a less than articulate explanation is my current quandary. Bondage is familiar. I know that dance (or I've deluded myself into thinking I do) Just because I'm intrigued by the man against nature plot possibility that went to bed with me doesn't mean I have the skill to fashion it within the erotica world.
And the thought that I want to end with: has Vonna Harper made such a name for herself as a bondage slut that readers won't pick up anything else from me? I'd love to read your responses. I really, really need to know. But if you don't give a darn what I write as long as I shut up, keep that to yourself.
Vonna www.VonnaHarper.com
p.s. Can I get away with a non Aphrodisia plug? On Tues, my first and so far only Samhain book BloodHunter comes out. And yeah, it has bondage running through it along with time travel and shape shifting and the sexiest jaguar on the planet.

We've come a long way, baby!

2008-03-17T09:50:00.001-04:00

On Saturday I presented a craft workshop for my local RWA Chapter. It was on point of view and tense – i.e., do you write in first or third person, past or present tense, and which characters get a point of view? Sounds kind of ho-hum, but it got me thinking about how far romance novels have come.

Once upon a time (of course this was long before I was born, wink, wink), they were always written from the woman’s point of view, in third person past tense. “Nurse Wimpy gazed starry-eyed at the handsome Dr. Studly, and wondered if he’d ever deign to speak to her.”

But you know what? We women always want to know what guys are thinking – in our real lives, and in our romance novels. Or maybe the guys just wouldn’t settle for being silenced by women writers. However it happened, heroes started to get a point of view. But still, in the third person past tense. “Jason stared at Esmeralda, shocked that she’d rejected his gift. What the heck was wrong with the fancy food processor he’d given her for Valentine’s Day? It had all the latest gadgets.”

In the last few years, you may have noticed some different styles in romance. Chick lit made first person popular, and to some extent present tense as well. “I stare into the mirror and can’t believe that one little slice of death-by-chocolate cake has somehow morphed into five extra pounds around my waist. Note to self: give up food for at least 2 days.”

Now, more and more, first person and/or present tense are finding their way into romance. Aphrodisia is a great line for this. The editors pretty much trust to the authors to figure out the right voice(s) to tell the story.

And I think that’s what it comes down to. When I’m writing, it takes me a while to get to know my characters, but once I do they tend to speak in pretty clear voices. Sometimes it’s third person, sometimes first. Sometimes it’s past tense, sometimes present. Sometimes the heroine wants to talk and sometimes the hero does.

As a writer, or a reader, do you have a preference? Do some styles work better for you? Or do you even notice the craft stuff?

Love in Distress

2008-03-14T14:22:00.003-04:00

Sigh.

Once again I sit here and watch as another of our sisters goes through some mega love-stress. This time its Silda Spitzer's face as her only-remorseful-since-I-got-caught husband admits to his 5 month/$80,000 passion for prostitutes.

Talk about a set back. My muse took a vacation after that. I'm just now getting up the energy to drag her out into my creative mind.

Why is true love so...complicated for many? What is so hard about you love me and I love you and we care enough to make good choices for each other? I'm sure at no time did Silda think that her "for worse" vows would ever be expanded to include a whore...or two. So what made old Jim throw everything he had away--power, position, family, wife--on a $5000 an hour whore? (Jim, you really should check out the going prices. $5000 is a bit steep, don't you think?)

**stepping off my platform**

OK, my latest for Kensington's Satify Me III, Driving My Man Wild, is coming along nicely. I told you I'm writing only married people sex from here on out and boy am I having a good time. Let's just say, a trunk full of love letters sets the sparks aflying in couple whose flame has dimmed a bit. But not by the end. By the end, even you should hear the cannons booming, see the fireworks exploding, feel the vibrations in your feet...and elsewhere.

Y'all have a great weekend.

Peace out.

Syd

Where Do You Do It?

2008-03-12T10:57:00.002-04:00

So, where do you do it? A padded chair? The back garden on a sunny day? Oh, I know, in a corner booth at the coffeshop…

Writing, of course! Or are you accustomed to sitting in front of your computer screen? Do you write long hand on paper and transcribe it later? Use a laptop and travel?

Like most women today, I'm a very busy person with multiple schedules to keep track of. And while I try to maintain a regular writing schedule, it's not always possible. To help solve my issue of time, I use a small word processor that runs on 3 AA batteries. I just turn it on and start typing. It allows me the freedom to get comfortable in any chair, in any room of the house, the coffee shop, back yard or where ever.

I can only see a few lines at a time, so it’s difficult to edit myself to any real degree. And I don’t have to stare at an entire blank, white page on my desk top computer screen. I just write.
My first drafts are always done this way. As I fill a file, it’s simply a matter of plugging in my little word processor, hitting the send button and…whamo! there are my pages, formatted all neat and perfect, the cursor blinking at me from my desk top computer. Not to mention the lack of distraction - no spider solitaire, internet, email.

So, do you have a favorite creative location? A routine or ritual of getting your butt into the chair somehow to get those pages out and into the computer? If so, feel free to share. The creative process is a wily one, and if it works for you it just might work for someone else.

~Annalise Russell
www.annaliserussell.wordpress.com

On the genre...

2008-03-08T10:13:00.002-05:00

It wasn't until I first started writing romances that I became aware of how much pleasure people get in bashing them. I heard, "She reads romances," said in the same tone as, "She eats her boogers." Or, "I can't believe she liked fill-in-appropriate-movie-name-here, but then again, maybe I can. She reads romances."

At first I thought it was kind of funny. My aunt used to pass me Harold Robbins' books, which she'd loved herself, and tell me, "This is great smut!" She'd say the same about Rosemary Rogers and even Danielle Steele (sorry, Danielle—we know you close the door, but you got lumped in all the same). The implication was that these books were about love and sex and they were to be celebrated as such. Personally, I was more than happy to celebrate them as such.

But when I became a published author, someone asked me what I wrote. I laughed and said, Smut! Well, now. I hadn't been so quickly verbally slapped down since the time I said I voted for fill-in-appropriate-politician-name. Their disgust caught me off guard, but I couldn't bring myself to care very much. I planned to laugh all the way to the bank.

I was a party last month, filled with PhDs. One of them asked what made a romance a romance. Was it sex? Was it love? I said, No, it’s the Happily Ever After. He was appalled. You mean the book has to have an HEA? I said, well, yes. Don't most movies have one? We can all name a few movies that have sad endings, but it's a lot harder than naming the movies that have happy endings. We all want happy endings. Just ask Friendly's... or your local masseuse. (Just kidding, masseuses!)

My friend was still appalled by the constraint of a happy ending. But I pointed out that if I didn't like it, I could write something else. No one made me write books with HEAs. No one made me read them. I explained to him that it was my medium, like oil or photography.

But of course, that made it all too high-brow. Choosing to write romances is like a musician choosing to sing pop. She could sing country and add a twang, or metal and add a screech. She could add a blues guitar and go all funky.

Once I explained to my friend that it was a choice, an artistic choice, he wasn't so scandalized the fact that I write graphic romances (aka smut). And I'm just very glad so many people like to stroll through this gallery.

p.s. I'll give away one copy of EROS ISLAND to a random commenter who isn't an Aphro Author. (If you're an Aphro Author who'd like a copy, I'm sure we can arrange a swap!)

Who'd've Thunk It?!

2008-03-07T17:08:00.002-05:00

This morning I spent a fun hour and a half on BlogTalk Radio giving live Tarot readings and talking about my upcoming books...here I am blogging online...last Tuesday I emailed a proposal for my next Aphrodisia book to my agent, stepped outside with my dog, and when I got back to my Mac, my agent had already read the synopsis and sent it on to my editor, John! In less than 10 minutes, a proposal went from my desk to my agent to my editor!!!

When you consider I sold my first story after writing it (laboriously) on a portable electric typewriter, and mailing the hard copy to the editor of TRUE STORY and waiting nine months for a reply, this week's online activity is truly amazing to me! Even five years ago, I couldn't have conceived of such instantaneous communication between myself and a New York editor, much less having the guts to do Tarot readings on the air/online! Heck, I was barely scratching the surface of learning the Tarot and I wasn't telling ANYONE I was drawn to such stuff!

And my point would be?

Who can imagine what we might all be writing a mere five years (or heck--five months!) from now? Who knew our erotic stories would be the key to our current publishing success? And of course, we all try not to wonder about when this wave might play itself out....

But it will. And if we're lucky and savvy and our stars align right, we'll follow another wave into altogether new territory for our writing. Don't ask me to consult my cards about where it might take you--or me--coz I can't predict that! But as I stand on the eve of another birthday, and another couple of contracts, and realize that I've stayed afloat--mostly--in the writing world for about 23 years now, I can promise you it'll be a fascinating ride! Bumpy probably. And we might take a wrong turn now and again, and somebody might give us directions that don't pan out.

But this is exactly where I want to be right now! And five years from now, when I have my next really BIG birthday, I'll be saying, "Who'd've thunk I'd be---?"

Fill in the blank! I guarantee you'll look back five years from now and laugh at your antiquated answer. It's an amazing time to be alive, and to be a writer!

Happy writing! And happy trails to you!

Melissa

Perfection vs. Excellence

2008-03-06T13:08:00.003-05:00

Lately, I've been thinking of the difference between perfectionism and striving for excellence. A true writing perfectionist can find themselves paralyzed, unable to write because they fear what they're doing isn't perfect.
Let me state this clearly: There is no perfection in writing fiction.
No perfection.
None. Nada. Zip.
But there can be excellence. Shooting for excellence can free up a perfectionist to the point where they can write again. They can write their words today, because next time they can improve on excellence.
According to my humongous 3 volume Webster's Seven Language Dictionary Perfection is an unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence.
Unsurpassable degree. Wow. Think about it. If a writer writes a perfect story, they'll never be able to surpass it. How dreary is that idea?
Which brings me to a book signing where I met a reader clutching a copy of MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS. She perched on the edge of her chair and held up her copy of the book, and said it was perfect. A perfect story. I was completely taken by surprise, because I'd never seen her before, had no idea she'd be there and I hadn't paid her a dime to say it. Really.
If I hadn't already decided on shooting for excellence rather than perfection, a conversation like that one in the bookstore (I have witnesses to this event...I do! I do!) could have paralyzed me.
My agent reminds me on a regular basis that any writer can improve, that any story can be made better. My editor knows what she likes and makes it clear when I've sent her an idea that she doesn't like. I repeat: there's no perfection in writing fiction.
Which brings me back to striving for excellence...it's really all any writer can do.
As a writer, do you demand perfection or strive for excellence?

As a reader, have you thought of the differences?

When Cover Models do MORE!

2008-03-04T11:14:00.006-05:00

We love cover models--those sexy guys who display their well-honed assets and help us sell our books, but we all know that's exactly what they are--just images, a cardboard facsimile of the hero an author has created within the pages of her book.
Well, not MY cover model! Tony Catanzaro goes far beyond that standard cover model image. He's also a promoter, and while he's out there promoting a healthy lifestyle, he's also promoting our books! Tony's gorgeous abs have graced three of the Sexy Beast anthologies from Aphrodisia, along with numerous other single title covers.

I first met Tony online when his equally gorgeous wife, Tina, contacted me via email. I now consider both of them to be good friends--Tony was actually generous enough to sign a stack of cover flats for me to give out to my readers, which I thought was really generous of him, and Tina works hard at promoting her husband--and that means more promotion for our books.

Tonight, March 4, Tina and Tony will both appear on INSIDE EDITION. Check your local listings to see when the show airs.

Last week, they were interviewed on TV, and you can watch them here: http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=109910@wcbs.dayport.com along with some very familiar book covers. This isn't the first time Tony has been on the screen with our titles in the background, but it's certainly fun to turn on the tube and see SEXY BEAST IV staring back at me.

Tony is currently a finalist for Redbook's "Hottest Husband" competition. If you'd like to vote for him, here's a direct link. http://www.redbookmag.com/love/hot-husbands/hot-husband-2

Time's running out, and I would love to see him win. And don't forget to watch INSIDE EDITION tonight! If you want to see more of Tony (A LOT more!) he has a website of his own at www.anthonycatanzaro.com.

Check him out, and THANK YOU, Tony and Tina!

Top O' The Month

2008-03-01T18:19:00.003-05:00

It happened again . . .

Another month has blown past and barely without my notice. I have to say when I was young my mother used to tell me to enjoy all those times when I swear I was bored to death because once I got older I would wish I had free time to just sit and be "bored." The older you go, the faster life goes by. Know what? She was right. Since I can't seem to find a way to add more hours to the day, I'm just doing my best to fit it all in and the occasional "boring" moments as well.

February, however, was not a boring month at my house. My little girl and I both had the pleasure of battling pnuemonia that resulted in the house being a massive wreck and me getting way behind on deadlines. The spinoff of this is that I am now going to spend March not sleeping in order to make deadlines. Good thing I love this job, at least most of the time. You know, like when my characters aren't waging a war against me by refusing to speak completely?

Fortunately not all of February was bad. Being sick did mean I got to catch up on reading and spend a lot of time with my daughter. And it also meant the release of my latest Aphrodisia, Handyman. Like Body Moves this one is very close to my heart in that the events that triggered the hunky heroes to resort to selling their bodies to make ends meet were based on the current experiences of my life. And, no, that is not to say to my husband turned to a gigilo lifestyle. But he did have to take a new job that has him away from the house all of the hours when the rest of us are not.

February also came with some great reviews for several of my books, including Handyman. And a wonderful opportunity by another of my publishers to be included as their feature author for their monthly subscriber newsletter. This last came to me quite short notice and it has me in quite a quandary that I am hoping you all can help me with.

Here's the task at hand...

In 150 words talk about myself in such a way that interests readers, tells them something they hopefully don't already know about me, and has nothing to do with writing. Where on earth to start? What would you like to know (about me or another author if you already know me well)? What could I put into those 150 words that would make me feel more "real" to you as a person and not just a name on the cover of a book?

Thanks for the input! :)

~ jodi

http://www.jodilynncopeland.com/ <--Check out the new contest and HOT (For It) new cover!

Random Soundtracks...On Repeat

2008-02-29T12:05:00.005-05:00

I like to listen to music when I write. And unlike some writers who theme their music to the mood of their scene or book, I have no problem listening to wildly inappropriate songs. Even when writing the naughty scenes.

One of my critique partners puts her CD player on random and says it's a little awkward when "The Bear Necessities" from Jungle Book starts blaring while she's writing sex. My response: um, why?

For me it's all about background noise. I can happily listen to the same song or CD over and over (and over and over) again. In fact, I find it better when I am on repeat for the background sound. That way nothing is pulling me out of the zone. And, yes, even if that means I'm listening to bears and apes singing about Man Cubs. The bad part about it is, I end up memorizing songs that I had no intention of ever getting that friendly with. When I start humming and singing random bits of lyrics in the grocery store lines, you have to understand it can get a little awkward. Especially when it's Nine Inch Nails "Closer" and the only part I remember is "You let me violate you, you let me desecrate you, I want to f*ck you like an animal, I want to feel you from the inside, my whole existence is flawed, you get me closer to God."

Um, yeah. Awk-ward.

I usually stumble across new songs while randomly clicking links on YouTube. This is either a way to find good music I've never heard before...or a recipe in disaster. It's a toss up and has gone both ways for me. (I won't talk about the time I stumbled across Japanese lesbian cartoons...and they say romance novels have unrealistic body expectations. Riiiight.)

One of my jaunts around YouTube helped me fall in love with the music of Missy Higgins, an Australia singer. I decided to include her video in my post today.

Have a wonderful Leap Year Day!

Crystal Jordan
http://www.crystaljordan.com

"In Ice" SEXY BEAST V - Sept 08
CARNAL DESIRES - Dec 08

Screenwriting

2008-02-21T14:33:00.003-05:00

I'm part of a local group that's part friendship, part critique partners. Last night we were mostly about sharing a potluck, watching the lunar eclipse, and catching up. Finally we got around to the business part of things, or to be honest, the rest of us hung on her every word while Gail told us about her most excellent weekend.
The weekend? Glad you asked. Gail is an awesome writer and has had both fiction and nonfiction published, but for reasons I don't quite get, her first love is screenwriting. To my way of thinking, straight writing is competitive enough while it appears that half of the population is trying to get a screenplay published. Granted, the payoff can be like hitting the lottery--only the odds are even higher. Back when I'd briefly given leave of my senses, I tried my hand at a couple of screenplays and loved the process, but I have all I can do to pay the bills doing what I am which these days revolves around erotica for Aphrodisia.
You think there are a lot of rules to fiction, try screenplays! The workshop Gail attended is taught by Cynthia Whitcomb who knows what she's talking about. Among Cynthia's credits: she's sold more than 80 feature-length screenplays, 30 of which have been filmed. Her scripts have won and been nominated for the Emmy, Cable Ace Award, Edgar Allan Poe Award, Humanities Award, and Writers Guild of America. She's taught screenwriting for many years, including seven at the UCLA Film School. So what I'm thinking is, Gail's competition includes Cynthia. Good luck my friend. But Cynthia really cares about her students' success and is open and honest about what separates a pro from those, like me, who are clueless. Think about it, how many NYT writers teach those who might become their competition?
So Cynthia knows all the tricks that separate her from her students, little things like aiming for over 100 scenes in a script that averages 120 pages, opening with an outdoor scene because it paints a larger landscape, not describing the actors or giving them ages, knowing who you want to play the various roles (yes, that is contradictory), starting scenes in the middle of the action and leaving before the action winds down, keeping the clock ticking, limiting dialogue to three lines, giving no stage directions (that's the actors' job) sticking to present tense, using active verbs, keeping it lean and cutting it mean, knowing the format.
Writing those two screenplays was an incredible experience for me. No exposition, no thoughts, no internal monologues. Nothing but dialogue and action. I loved it. I'm also going to stick with print publishing.
Speaking of said print publishing, the anthology Only With A Cowboy will be released April 29, I now have the yummy cover for Going Down which shows a man lapping at a female torso, have turned in Hawk's Talons, and am in desperate search of a story for book 2 in my current contract.
Anyone with a spare plot or characters hanging around, PLEASE send them my way. Or I could use what was in those screenplays. Hmm. Something to think about.
Vonna
www.VonnaHarper.com

What's worse?

2008-02-19T11:14:00.002-05:00

I have this coffee mug that I picked up a few years ago at RWA National. It asks: "What is worse than writing a synopsis?" And you turn it around and it declares in big capital letters, "NOTHING!"

And that's where I am right now, working on a synopsis. More fun than you can shake a stick at. Not.

What's worse is that the way I write has changed. I used to be very strong on the beginning and the end, and the middle was a bit wishy-washy, but at some point I'd down writing utensils and figure out what would happen in the middle.

ONE MORE TIME didn't happen like that. I had a beginning, I had a cute premise and that was it. No idea how it was going to play out or end. I didn't have to write a synopsis for it, thankfully, but the latest WIP. Woah.

In the latest WIP, I got a scene -- possibly in the middle of the book, it might be earlier. At any rate, I needed to start earlier with the characters so I could figure out what they were like and how they interrelated. So now I'm wondering if my first three chapters will end up in the book. I think they will because it'll be too hard for the reader to find empathy otherwise.

(The prologue is already gone.)

However, for this WIP, that's all I had to start with: one scene, and a cracktastic idea derived from Exodus (the Bible version). I figured once I wrote the first three chapters, I'd know what happens next, right?

Well, I've managed 2.5 pages of a synopsis and I *still* don't know how this is going to end. Threesomes are so damn complicated and "what's the worst thing that could happen?" that I usually ask myself is bringing back answers that take this book out of the romance genre and into that "romance" genre where nothing ends happily, and I couldn't stand that.

So I am stuck, and as it is my turn to blog today, y'all get to hear about it.

Naked men on covers

2008-02-17T11:12:00.005-05:00

This week the winners of the Judge a Book By Its Cover contest were announced. Alas, my book Touch Me was not a winner, or even a finalist (though The Firefighter antho took second place in single title/mainstream).

Take a look at the winning covers:
http://www.hbarwa.com/contest/winners/php?y=2007.

Do you notice a trend? Four of the five winners feature naked male torsos. The traditional “clinch” cover (i.e., a male/female embrace) is much less popular.

Of course that’s just the opinion of these particular judges. Personally, for a romance, I do like seeing the heroine and hero together. If I only see one character on the cover, I tend to think it’s his or her story – as in chick lit or women’s fiction. But I know a lot of women readers do love those solitary hotties, largely because the reader can imagine herself into the scene with him.

I wonder how the art departments and editors decide which kind of cover to give a book? My Awesome Foursome books, which are definitely romances, all feature couples, though many Aphrodisia romances have a solitary (and near-naked!) guy. The Firefighter is an antho with three novellas starring firefighter heroes, so I can see why that one would have a sole firefighter on the cover. But how do they decide, with the romances, when to use a couple and when a man alone? And, by the way, you’ll notice it’s almost never a woman alone.

What do you think? What are your favorite covers?

Screwed

2008-02-15T13:51:00.002-05:00

As this is a blog by erotic romance writers, "screwed" might not be a bad and in some cases it most definitely is not. :-) But, this isn't one of them.

No, I'm talking about "screwed" as in getting a bad break. My latest one was quite literal. I fractured my hip, not something that should happen at my age, but I like to be unique and defy the odds. This resulted in getting "screwed", three screws holding the bone together to be exact.

In writing and life there are times when events do not go our way and we end up in positions we never planned or wanted to be in. While not fun, and this is something I would recommend NOT trying, it's getting "screwed" when we learn the most about our abilities and ourselves.

What I've learned is:

**Not to take little things, like the ability to carry a plate from your kitchen counter to the table, for granted.

**When you want something bad enough, you'll find a way to achieve your goal.

**Necessity is the mother of creativity. If I can come up with plots, I can invent a way to get laundry to the machine and a dozen other chores.

**Most of us are a lot stronger than we think. It only in times of need does the strength show itself.

**Be thankful & kind to your friends and family, first because they are your friends, and because you never know when you will need help & support.

**Attitude is everything. No matter how bad the situation is you can choose to wallow or make the best of it and learn everything you can.

**Slow down. I'm guilty of rushing and a having a brain that moves at the speed of light, but when your body takes what feels like 5 times as long to accomplish normal tasks, you don't have choice but to slow down and take it one thing at a time.

**Never lose your sense of humor. Nothing is so awful if you can poke fun at it and yourself.

What lessons have you learned that were tough at the time, but turned out to be invaluable?

Megan

Online Memorial for Dawn Thompson

2008-02-10T20:37:00.000-05:00

Those who wish may visit and sign the memorial guestbook for author Dawn Thompson.

http://www.legacy.com/Newsday/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=103117594

Remembering One Of Our Own

2008-02-10T13:48:00.000-05:00

For those who have not yet heard, this post will probably come as a shock. Dawn Thompson (a.k.a. Dawn MacTavish), author of Lord Of The Deep and many other great stories, has passed away after a lengthy battle with several different sicknesses. She fought to get better and had hopes of returning home to her beloved cat and close friends, and writing many more stories. Unfortunately, it was not to be, and she died peacefully and painlessly early Friday afternoon.

Along with being a wonderful lady, Dawn was a columnist featured in numerous women’s special interest publications for over thirty years and, more recently, a terrific author of romantic fiction. She wrote across the publishers and sub-genres of historical romance, from fairly sweet regencies to scorchingly sensual paranormals. Her stories garnered excellent reviews and numerous awards, including recently being nominated four times for the 2007 PEARL Award for excellence in paranormal romantic literature. Dawn’s latest Aphrodisia offering, The Dream Well, was released as part of the Eros Island anthology in late January, and is a great example of her deft ability to mix lust, love, and deceit for a memorable conclusion. Her next offering is part of Sexy Beast IV, releasing later this month.

Though not an extrovert by any means, Dawn touched many with her eloquent style and nearly 20 books in the last few years alone. Dawn’s last request was simply to be remembered. For those who knew her, remembering her will come easily through the memories of much happier times. For those who never had the pleasure of meeting her, I encourage you to pick up her novels and see first-hand the magic she brought to life through the written word. Dawn has five new books out from Kensington, Dorchester and Highland Press in 2008. Please do pick one up and, along with all of the Aphrodisia authors and many, many others, remember this talented lady.

At this time, it is not known if Dawn was able to complete books 3 and 4 in The Elementals series, which Lord Of The Deep began and Lord Of The Dark, set to release in Late July, continues. In time this information, as well as that on books through her other publishers, should be revealed through her website and/or blog: http://dawnthompson.com/.

Adventures of My Inner Kid

2008-02-07T12:38:00.000-05:00

It's been a case of Girl Gone Wild the past couple weeks (and wouldn't THAT statement reflect totally different things, had I said it, oh, 30 years ago!) because I've stayed away from the Mac and writing ON PURPOSE. After meeting 3 deadlines in the previous 5 months, it was time to get away! The galleys for my May "Charlotte" book got done, and a number of other commitments got met...and then I said "adios" to all this WORK stuff.

So I went to Lowe's--how's that for excitement?! Bought paint for my main bathroom, got rid of the tropical fish border (NO MORE BORDER! What a pain to remove that stuff!) and I now sport an accent wall of Red Gumball (read: whorehouse red) with some sponge texturing. Honey beige keeps the other walls sane...unless you count the bright, bold prints of jazz musicians from Memphis, and the Mardi Gras masks and beads from N'Awlins. The room ROCKS! Am finishing the final details before our potluck group comes this Saturday night.

I've also spent time wandering through Hobby Lobby. Did a pretty silk arrangement in a basket my m-i-l had--for HER new bathroom--in bright pinky-orange roses, yellow roses, and daisies. It's an eye-popper! I'm so tickled that I can do this without having had any real classes on it...I just intuit my way through this art stuff and do what makes me smile.

I've enjoyed lunch with a couple of friends. I've cleaned out the bathroom cabinets and reorganized the linen closet at long last. I spent the weekend in Memphis with my dh for an ear clinic appointment, but I was crocheting on a gorgeous striped afghan in Tuscan colors, for my sister's living room, and I was haunting the Beale Street tourist trap shops for one or two more wall doodads in my bathroom.

What does this have to do with writing, you ask?

Nothing. And everything!

My psychic advisor and my numerologist have both INSISTED that I get out for these "artistic trips" away from the computer, but my soul knew I needed them long before I met these ladies. I've found out I work best when I intersperse writing/creating wordscapes with activities involving color and eye-hand activities that leave my brain free to ramble. In the back of my mind, I knew it was time to conjure new proposals for both of my publishers, but I blew off that urge in favor of playing just a little longer.

And guess what? This week I found the PERFECT face for the identical twins who will star in my next Aphro title, which will be Victorian erotica! And I found their husbands' faces--and the face of the trance medium who leads to the big, bad revelations of past uh, indecencies, in this family's shadows. AND NOW, I CAN'T WAIT TO WRITE THIS STORY!

I hope you, too, will heed the call of your wanton Inner Kid--soon! I hope you'll give her free reign to play at whatever she loves...or watch dirty movies for story inspiration, or whatever she doesn't get nearly enough of. Eat lots of chocolate and wash it down with her liquid of choice (OK, so mine is tea! But only during the week!) and see what happens.

And I wish you all a wonderful journey! And a wonderful day!

Melissa MacNeal, who never intends to grow up

Thigh High!

2008-02-05T20:47:00.000-05:00

My latest title, THIGH HIGH is out now. This book is an anthology, the first one where I'm the only author. Three different stories, with different sets of characters all in one book. But for the first time, I'm not sandwiched between other styles and other voices. Nope, this book is all on me.

I've had some really fab reviews on THIGH HIGH. I'm always surprised when comments come in about the warmth of the stories, the humor, the interesting characters. I've finally learned to trust them, to accept that I write in a voice that garners those kinds of comments.

I was surprised at first, way back when the line launched and reviewers were calling my story in The Hard Stuff, "sweet". I hadn't thought about how my stories would "feel" to readers. I wanted to heat them up (these are erotic romance, after all), I wanted to write "page turners" and books readers couldn't put down. I never thought about how readers would feel beyond that need to see what happens next.

Is that weird? I never set out to write about family connections, or warm fuzzies.

With novellas it can be difficult to paint a complete picture of a character, give them the layers that make for an emotional read especially if they're more action oriented. Maybe that's why instinctively, I write small mysteries or quiet conflicts in novellas.

Over the two years with Aphrodisia, I've had sons worried about widowed dads, brides without grooms, a reunion story, and now, 3 more novellas with quiet, small conflicts.

But at the end of each story, there's that sigh of satisfaction that romance readers crave...the reason we lovers of romance read what we read: the happy ending. I would post some of my review comments here...but I'm already running out of room.

If you've got a moment, feel free to click on over to http://www.bonnieedwards.com/ to read excerpts from THIGH HIGH.

My question is: What do you prefer in shorter fiction? Action stories or the quieter conflicts?

I hope everyone reading this is safe from snow, tornadoes, and anything else mother nature's throwing around these days. Take care, and settle in with a good book,

Bonnie Edwards

That "after it's done" burn out...

2008-02-04T22:48:00.000-05:00

First of all, take a look at my new book cover for Wolf Tales VI. Is this gorgeous or what? :-) It comes out in July.

However, that's not what I'm writing about!

This morning I packed up the finished manuscript for Wolf Tales VII, the thirteenth title in my series, and mailed it off to my editor. Then I immediately sunk into a deep and dark depression. Does anyone else do this? I think it's the fact I've lived with the characters for so many weeks (or months, in the case of this one!) and when the story ends, my relationship with my characters ends as well...at least until I start the next book in the series! I keep thinking, when the time comes that I don't write about my Chanku anymore, I'll probably need therapy!

I've always been that way with every book I've written. I honestly think the fantasy world I write intrudes so heavily on my real world that it's painful to get jerked back into reality. I look back over the months since I started this story, though, and there have been so many family and personal issues, that finishing the book became a major peak to conquer--my mother's surgery, my own health issues, a computer crash, then Mom's fall and broken bones, remodeling our kitchen, two weeks of snow in an area where snow is NOT supposed to come that often...it's gone on and on and on. My story was the only thing I had any control over at all, and of course, once the characters gained a bit of power, I lost even that!

I will say, though, that through it all my readers have been absolutely amazing. I didn't realize what a powerful support group I had until I sent out a whiny, grumpy plea for understanding on my newsletter, and got literally hundreds of replies from people offering me nothing but prayers and good thoughts. It made me realize just how lucky I am.

On that note, I'm going to close and head for the shower and bed. I need to get some sleep and start the next book, because I know I'll feel better once I'm back in sync with my Chanku shapeshifters! Do you have the same issues? Sort of a post partum depression for writers? I'd love to hear how you deal with it if you do!

A New Month & New Copy

2008-02-01T01:49:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it's already February? There are definitely pros and cons of writing, but one con I find is that when I am on deadline (which is most of the time), the days seem to fly past. I swear it was just Christmas and now we are screeching fast toward Valentine's Day. Which reminds me on a side note, I have a contest up on my website that ends on Valentine's Day, so stop by between now and then to enter if you haven't already. One of the books to be given away is by the extraordinarily talented Devyn Quinn.

So with a new month came new cover copy. This I received in for Sweet & Sinful, my late July release. One thing I've found with cover copy for erotic romances is that the copy generally focuses mostly on the sex and not so much on the plot. I guess this is logical, but I often think doesn't the reader want to know what the story is about though? I mean isn't it a given that the book has sex in it with that erotic romance tag? Anyway, my new cover copy follows (see what you think)...

Two young women in the great big city find they have the same problem: office relationships are a definite no-no, but there’s always a way to bend the rules—for the right man…

Just Like Candy…
Compared to Candy, her across-the-cubicle coworker, Courtney Baxter is shy. She wouldn’t mind being just like Candy, and she’s invested in a new wardrobe that practically screams seduce me. Suddenly Courtney has more men ready to hop into her bed than she ever imagined, including Blaine Daly. The man is sexy as sin with a body to match—and he’ll go to any extreme to please her...

Hard Candy…
Sensual and flamboyant, Candy Masterson has never made a secret of her love for sex and the male physique. But until Ty Louis came into her life, she didn’t think she’d find a man who could satisfy her every need—and he just so happens to live in her apartment complex. How convenient. Sheet-scorching sex and torrid romance, coming right up…

Now, seriously, does this make you want to read the book? I am not quite sure how I feel about it yet. I sort of feel like it's not as catchy as some I have seen and some I've had in the past. Or maybe it's just that I wish it said more about the stories themselves. Well, what isn't said is that the first story is about a stalker and the second one about a woman facing a potentially serious medical condition. That is obviously the very succinct version, but I wonder why that stuff isn't on there. Maybe it takes the sexy out of the storyline. Within the stories themself, I don't think it does, I think it blends together quite nicely, but perhaps from a cover copy standpoint all that matters is the sexy...

What do you think? When it comes to cover copy and erotic romance, what do you like to see?

~ jodi

Is book weight like baby weight?

2008-01-28T11:29:00.000-05:00

A common writers' mantra is "Butt in Chair", meaning that sitting down and actually writing is the only way to complete a book.

To my surprise, I recently sat my way to a weight gain of five (okay—eight) pounds during the writing of book 3, LYON, THE LORDS OF SATYR. The inactivity of sitting before a computer for the long hours necessary to fulfill my vision really packed it on. The fridge breaks didn't help. Once I realized I could not fit comfortably into my favorite jeans, a visit to the scales was in order. What a shocker that was. I reset the button twice thinking what I was seeing wasn't possible.

I'm calling it my "book weight" because it's similar to the "baby weight" new moms often work at shedding after giving birth. I figure books and babies are both acts of creation, though authors visit Fed Ex for their deliveries rather than hospitals.

The good news is I've lost most of my "book weight" by telling myself I can have that cookie any time--I don't have to eat it now when I'm trying to fit into my jeans. Still, I surprises me how easy it was to gain without even realizing what was happening. Just imagine if we gained five or ten pounds with every book we wrote. Yikes.

Elizabeth Amber
NICHOLAS, THE LORDS OF SATYR (available now)
RAINE, THE LORDS OF SATYR (March 08)
erotic historical paranormal romance
Kensington Aphrodisia
for excerpts: www.elizabethamber.com

Romantic Times Booklovers Convention - Faery Court

2008-01-26T20:28:00.000-05:00

For today's blog, I'd like to throw out a big plug for the upcoming Romantic Times Booklover's Convention.

For those of you unfamiliar with this convention, it's actually a reader's convention, but is well attended by authors, booksellers, librarians, reviewers, editors and agents. Not to mention, this is where the annual Mr. Romance competition is held. (i.e. ten to twelve hotties who compete for the title and hang out at the convention all week!)

There are beginning writer workshops, publisher spotlights, themed costume balls, a large book signing for both print and eBooks, and lots of great networking opportunities.

This will be my fourth year attending the Romantic Times convention, and my third year on the Faery Court, which is one of the themed costume balls.

Now, why am I telling you all this?

I've had more people than I can count ask me to give them the scoop on the RT convention, so I figured this would be a great place to post it from both an author and a reader perspective.

Authors:
Not only do you have up close and personal access to a few thousand avid readers (including other authors - who, don't forget, are readers,) but from an author perspective, RT offers promotional opportunities every hour of every day. They have Club RT, which authors can sign up for on a first come, first served basis - where you can sit and greet readers in 1/2 hour slots at no extra charge beyond your paid registration to the conference. They also have promotions row where you can put out your promo items for readers to take. You name it, buttons, note pads, pens, bookmarks, bags of candy, temporary tattoos, stress balls, letter openers and just about anything else you can imagine can be found on this little section of the hotel. And don't think readers don't find them, usually I have to go refill my boxes at least a few times a day.

Editors, agents, booksellers, Mr. Romance contestants, librarians, readers and other authors all hang out at the bar in a friendly environment, which feels more like a relaxed happy hour than networking, but nonetheless, strong long-lasting relationships are forged in this environment.

Also, there are terrific panels on several genres and being asked to be on one of them is not only an honor, but great promotion since readers can hear you speak, get to know you, and your name is in the RT convention brochure and on the website. This will also be my third year on the Paranormal panel.

Also, there are tons of paid promotional opportunities. Everything from ads in the program, your book video showing during the book signings, being a sponsor for a mixer or sponsoring one of the larger events. Which, brings me back to Faery Court.

As I mentioned above, this is my third year on the Faery Court. What do I get for this paid opportunity? Throughout the year, my name, pic and website are promoted in the RT magazine as well as in the convention brochure as being a member of the Faery Court; several members of the court, including myself, have written interesting versions of fairy tales, which are posted on the RT site and each month, that Faery court member hosts the message board. So, stop by in February to read my story, HANSEL AND GRETEL'S REAL ESTATE VENTURES, and say hi to me on the message boards! Also, during the Faery ball at convention, my wonderful cover for my upcoming release, VISION OF SEDUCTION, will be flashed on the large screens, along with covers from my fellow fae; also, right now there is a scavenger hunt going on which will take you to all the fae's websites and allow you to win some great prizes! Not to mention, that my name is mentioned during the Faery Ball itself, and my sales always spike after the ball, and I hear from readers who found me there for many months afterwards.

The Faery Ball is only one opportunity among many at RT, and there's something for authors with every type of budget.

Readers:
If you're looking for a week of fun up close and personal with many of your favorite authors, as well as a place where you can meet some new favorites, RT is the place for you. Raffles, parties, costume balls, prizes, FREE books, networking with authors and Mr. Romance contestants and much much more.

I urge all of you to take another look at RT and see what you've been missing!

And hopefully, I'll see you in Pittsburgh in April :)

Cassie

Knicker shock and Exciting news!

2008-01-24T13:41:00.000-05:00

It's been an exciting week! I had a birthday AND my first book for Aphrodisia came out! What more could a girl ask for? Well, underwear, as you will find out below...

It was my birthday last Saturday and dear Mr Kate took me up to San Francisco for a day of shopping and lunching and general merriment,(i.e. no kids) Initially I'd decided to get a new handbag, a brown one, to match my new Ariat cowboy boots, see left, but nothing inspired me enough to spend big bucks on it, well Mr Kate's big bucks, but you know what I mean :)

We had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory at the top of the Macy's building and regrouped. I asked dear Mr Kate if he could look up a British store that I'd heard had a shop in San Francisco on his iphone. He looked a bit skeptical but when I mentioned it was fancy lingerie, he suddenly became much more interested. We located the store just off Union Square on Geary Street and headed down there, stopping in Neiman Marcus on the way.

Of course, while we were in NM, we saw a lovely Issey Miyake cardigan in beautiful reds, oranges and yellow. We both liked it and filed it away for future reference in case I didn't find a handbag. then we went in search of the lingerie.

Agent Provocateur turned out to be a fabulous little shop. Mr Kate made himself at home on the fancy seats while I tried on about twenty different bras with the help of a sales assistant. I fell in love with two of them and decided, seeing as my lovely MIL had left me some birthday money as well, that I could afford to really splash out and get two sets. Being a generous woman, I decided to let Mr Kate pick his favorite style of matching underwear.

And here's where I slipped up. I didn't check the prices of the knickers...I knew the bras were expensive and I reckoned the knickers would be about a third of the bra price. Um, no...the bill was humongous and Mr Kate just paid it like a lamb and off we went.

He still wasn't speaking 2 blocks down and he had this kind of dazed look in his eyes. Meanwhile, I was checking in the very fancy bag for the receipt and finding out just how expensive a set of French made British imported knickers can be. I was laughing so much that I offered to take them back, but Mr K wouldn't hear of it. He even still wanted to buy me the Issey Miyake top! Luckily for us, NM only takes American Express and their own charge card, neither of which we had on us!

So feast your eyes on my new knickers and remember-always check the price before you reduce your husband to complete speechlessness...

A New Year!

2008-01-23T15:03:00.000-05:00

Well, a new year always comes with changes and new challenges! I pride myself on being able to take change as it comes and move on quickly with new ideas as quickly as possible.

2008 promises to be a great year for me and I'm seriously excited to get started. I have two books coming out with Aphrodisia this year:

Sexy Beast IV, March 2008
Pre-order on Amazon: Sexy Beast IV --Ship Date February 26th

My novella in Sexy Beast IV is called "Abundance":

Kayla Michaels, daughter of General Augusta Michaels, is bound for an arranged marriage on Fourth Colony when the ship carrying her is attacked and her stasis pod is ejected during the melee.She awakens on a small jungle moon aptly called Abundance. It is uncolonized and had been deemed uninhabitable by New Earth long before she was ever born. With her pod damaged beyond repair and the locator beacon offline, she realizes that she is on her own. The relief of escaping the arranged union is dampened only by her somewhat dire circumstances.

Jude Aroca is the son of a human scientist and the leader of the native population of the Yaw on Abundance. The arrival of a human female on his world is a violation of the peace treaty New Earth signed nearly thirty-five years before. The humans promised to leave the small jungle moon alone in exchange for technology. Now there is a woman tearing around in the night only feet from his dwelling... and she’s wrecking havoc with all of his senses. No woman—none among his own kind—had ever smelled so perfect, so right. The beast he carries inside of him, a gift from his cat-shifter father, agrees.

Exposing Casey, April 2008
Pre-order on Amazon: Exposing Casey --Ship Date March 25th

This novel is actually a two novella collection:

Exposing Casey

Casey Andrews loves sex... but she wants to be loved as well. Of course, being blessed (or cursed?) with abody that renders men speechless isn't exactly conducive to post-coital cuddling, much less the possibility of commitment to anything except... more sex. Then Shawn Tranner comes into her life at the moment when she needed someone most. The perfect gentlemen and the perfect lover, Shawn could be the man of Casey's dreams. But with someone bent on turning her dreams into nightmares, trusting the wrong person could be the last thing Casey ever does...

Seducing Lisa

Lisa Millhouse has run from James Brooks for more years than she can remember. He's everything she thinks she doesn't want.... filthy rich. When he sets out to prove to her that he's everything she needs... she'll find herself in the middle of a seduction so consuming that nothing but his touch will matter.

* * * * * *

In my spare time, I updated my website with a new design :-). I'm really liking this one a great deal. It's sexy and reflects the passionate feel of all of my work.

http://www.deannaleebooks.com/

My new paranormal suspense is moving along very nicely and I'm pleased with the progress that I've made on this new character. Developing a character and "world" with series potential is pretty hard stuff these days on my limited schedule.

Happy Reading,
Deanna Lee
deanna@deannaleebooks.com

Fork In The Road

2008-01-21T10:26:00.000-05:00

Hmm. I'm trying to remember which day I mailed off my latest ms. for Aphrodisia. The deadline was Jan 15, and I think I made it with a whopping 3-4 days to spare. Hawk's Talons took me in fun directions, at least for me because I love paranormal. Although I drew on Native American spirituality in part because under another name I wrote seven NA historicals, with Hawk, I didn't have to stick to what's known about the belief system. Instead, I let my imagination take flight and didn't know until the end how powerful Hawk Spirit would turn out to be--or how lusty my characters.
As soon as Hawk went off, I tackled a couple of have-to projects, most notably a complete revamping of my web site. If you're so inclined, please take a gander at www.VonnaHarper.com to see what a pro (not me) can come up with. Now, hopefully, I can maintain the site. We'll see. Then I had a couple of editing jobs to do for two ebooks that'll come out later this year (not with Aphrodisia).
Even before I finished Hawk and certainly while clearing the decks, my mind started playing with something I haven't tried for a long time--thus the title of this blog. I love romantic suspense, absolutely love it! Suspense is my genre of choice when I'm reading for pleasure, and I'm in awe of writers who can keep the pacing going throughout all the twists and turns and excitement of a big suspense book. But that's not what I'm diving into starting today. Instead, I'm trying a less ambitious route by tackling a 55-60,000 word story, hopefully for Harlequin Intrigue. I've been reading a lot of Intrigues and am impressed with the sophistication and reality, the variety. Can my plot and characters match what's being published? I don't know but I'm stoked by the challenge.
And when I'm done with the proposal, I know I'll approach my next Aphrodisia title in my current contract renewed and rejuvinated. At least for me, change of pace keeps me fresh. I've asked this in other blogs but what about you, do you stick to reading one genre or do you read across the board? What about non-fiction?
Vonna
p.s. Speaking of non-fiction, my son gave me John Grisham's The Innocent Man. Two thumbs way up for this true tale of an innocent man condemened to death.
Vonna

Things Are Looking Up (Not Dresses)

2008-01-19T11:29:00.000-05:00

Well, let’s see, what’s happened since my last whiny post about the glamor of the writing life....

ONE MORE TIME is a nominee in the RT Reviewers’ Choice award in the Erotic Romance category. Fellow Aphrodisia author, Noelle Mack, scored two nominations in the same category, so we Aphros are rockin’!
I am writing again, but not back at my usual productive amount. I think because what I’m writing this time is soooo different.
I’ve been lugging my laptop to work because experience has shown that I’m not so great about transcribing stuff from longhand. Without carrying anything else besides laptop, power cord and bag, I’ve been lugging 8.5 pounds to and from work today and more because it carries my purse, lunch and any other paperworky stuff I may need.
So I took the plunge and bought an Alphasmart Neo. Now I’ll be lugging 3.5 pounds to work every weekday. This makes me happy.

Any of y’all use something other than an ancient laptop to write on?

On Underwear...

2008-01-16T16:10:00.000-05:00

With the release of my anthology Thigh High, I'm given to pondering under garments.

Given that I used to sell lingerie and was once able to judge bra sizes at a glance, it wasn't too far a stretch for me to come up with a link for the three novellas in Thigh High. (FYI - one of the most common problems I saw were women who'd gained weight, but kept buying their original bra size. Come on ladies...if you've gone from a size 6 to size 12 in your slacks why would your bra size remain the same 34B?)

It's nice to have a theme when you pitch an anthology idea. But underwear? Even I have to admit it was a tad mundane. Many anthologies have much more exciting themes: shape shifters, BDSM stories, mystical legends or what-have-you.
But me? Be fantastical? Not likely. I do underwear.

OK, so there's one more ghost story in THIGH HIGH set in Perdition House with the title Parlor Games. But frankly, the idea of ghostly madams, johns and hookers no longer seems that woo-woo anymore. I've lived with those characters for so long now, it's all rather cozy and familiar.

Which brings me back to the other stories: Thigh High (my sexy bet novella) and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Thong (heroine in hiding). (For those who've never even tried wearing a thong...here's one tip: get a larger size than you normally would)

So, I ask you: What's your fave piece of lingerie? Merry widow? Sexy stockings with or without garters? Is there a fave color?

Have you ever used lingerie to seduce a man?

For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be all over the net with book giveaways, interviews and guest blogs in celebration of the release on Jan 29 of THIGH HIGH. Please check my site for details...the events page is always being updated as more and more dates are confirmed. www.bonnieedwards.com

The rest of January will be a blast! Hope you can join me wherever I am!

Married People Sex

2008-01-14T13:59:00.000-05:00

Yep, the title is correct. Believe it or not, married sex has become a writing fetish of mine. Having been married for--let's just say I almost got the dust from Moses' march across the Red Sea--I realize that hot, steamy passion is thought to diminish over time. We are taught to expect this.

But why is that? Honestly, I can't live a life without passion. As long as I'm able to "use what my mama gave me" I will. And I refuse to have pitiful, dragging "married people's sex" in real life or in my character's lives. Why can't the sheets being on fire be the norm not the exception? Why does married sex and boring pop up on the word association game.

I write how I like living for the most part. There is always an element of "me" in every story. How miniscule or humongous it is, I won't tell, but I'm there. (I'm a big voyeur) So when there is an opportunity to put a fresh marital dating idea out there or situation or X_my choice here__ I seize it. As Tyra says, I become "fierce!"

Again why?

If I write it well, he will come...and come....and come.

Win win all the way around.

Peace out

Syd

The Power To Satisfy

2008-01-12T10:28:00.000-05:00

This last week I've been in research mode. Once I get the first draft of a book finished, I like to let it sit for a few days. So I step away from it and begin researching my next project. After I'm done with my research, I'll go back to that completed first draft and edit and polish until I'm satisfied.
Writing historicals takes a good bit of research. Lucky for me I love history, all kinds of history from all over the world and every time period. Sinking into what life must have been like during key turning points in the evolution of humankind and society is fascinating to me. Especially where women are concerned.
Rarely is credit offered to the women of history, though I believe there were many - unknown to us because they were not written about - who played pivotal roles in the events of history. I do not doubt that a carefully whispered word accompanied by a soft touch had at least some influence on a man somewhere in time. And in more ways than one.
Those are the stories I want to read. Those are the stories I want to tell. Those are the stories that make us believe in ourselves and the power we wield as women. Those are the stories that satisfy us.
So as I return to my stacks of library books and internet search engines, I'll keep looking for the women behind the history, and the men strong enough to listen to them.

Panic at the PC

2008-01-11T01:52:00.001-05:00

I've been in a bit of a panic for quite a few months now. It all comes down to and centers around the paranormal BDSM antho my editor signed me up for last year. Ok, super-duper that I got another sale under my belt. Not so super-duper is that fact I have been scared sh*itless about writing it.

What the hay? you ask, scratching your head.

Yes, I know. I should be tickled pink that my name is going to be first on the cover. Truth is, I've worried myself into a dither that the story I proposed wasn't good enough. And that I am not talented enough to write it. That it will stink, suck, and sink the antho.

In other words, my usual tizzy tornado before I set my fingers on the keyboard and write. You may not have guessed (or maybe you have) that I am the sort of writer who has to stew for a bit on a story. Well, I've been stewing on the story I'd said I do. As the time to write it came around, I kept avoiding the computer. Why? Because it was the wrong story for the antho. Fortunately I have an editor I can discuss these things with, and she gave me artistic license to write what inspired me.

Talk about a brow wiping.

I knew the story I'd proposed was wrong and didn't have the nerve to say anything for months. The word paranormal and BDSM together conjure images in my mind of some pretty twisted stuff. In my world that's not a bad thing. After all, that's what I do, and happily, I might add. The idea that kept creeping to mind involved a combo of the movies Psycho (an abandoned town with the proverbial creepy place and smoking hot owner, a girl on the run with a bagful of stolen loot), The Entity (demons with sex on their minds) and the song Hotel California (hehe, you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave...)

Right-o. Panic has eased now that I have the concept down solid. And now that I have settled on my story for the antho, I feel calmer. Because I know it is the right story. Does that make sense? It fits the theme of the anthology and maybe, just maybe, if I write it right, it will be a brilliant lead off to an already spectacular line-up, which is Jodi Lynn Copeland and Anya Howard. I admit it, too, that I've been afraid of being the weakest writer and that my story will still bite. Proverbial insecurity, the little monster that sits in the back of my mind, has been busy whipping the thought deep into my brain. The usual creative insecurities.

How about you, writers? Ever start a story and know it's all wrong? Ever sit at the pc chewing your nails to the quick because of insecurity...or in just plain old fear that you couldn't write the damn book?

Share, please. Inquiring minds want to know.

As I've been brewing up my story I've also been foodling around with my website. That's another thing that never satisfies me. I want it to be better, more interesting than it is. Somehow I never achieve my goal. Someday I will hire a pro to do it, LOL.

Meanwhile, I need to get back to the proverbial WIP. :)Wish me luck!

New Year's Resolution #1: Stop Procrastinating - Broken Already

2008-01-10T09:04:00.000-05:00

So, just as I was congratulating myself on what a good writing session I was having, I took a short caffeine-fix break, which led to a quick email check, which led to a visit to MediaBistro.com, where I was one mouse-click away from signing up AGAIN for the magazine article writing class that I’d previously taken, but never finished. But, the money Gods were watching, forcing me to close my browser.

What else can I do while the coffee’s brewing? I asked myself.

I know. I’ll look through my book idea file for new projects (despite the 9 unfinished ones staring back at me).

An hour later, I was still scrolling through the pages. Then, the following idea caught my attention. In December 2006, as I was sitting in Starbuck’s looking around and inventing lives for various patrons – something else I do to procrastinate - I saw a woman alone who looked rather sad and was staring at the door repeatedly, which triggered the idea for this Christmas story:

A woman sits expectantly at a table at a restaurant, convinced that Mr. Right is going to waltz through the door. She checks her makeup repeatedly, can barely finish each course, and glances at the doorway each time someone walks in. In between courses, she replays scenes from her life -- past Christmases of heartbreak. But as dessert is served, followed by her third cup of coffee, and the last guest leaves, she must accept that Mr. Right is not coming. No one has ever come to here rescue, so why should this Christmas be any different. She asks for one last cup of coffee and takes the handful of pills she’s carried along with her. As she drifts off, she hears sirens in the background, before gazing up into kind brown eyes. “You came,” she says, then laughs, coughing, “I’m sorry I didn’t wait.” The reader is left to wonder if Mr. Right really came or if she has died and it was her last dream.

Now, there's a cheery story! What had I been thinking about beforehand?

And, then I remembered why I’d jotted down this idea – because, each year, I get more and more turned off by the excessive commercialism and forced good cheer of the holidays. I was rebelling, in my own childish way, by forcing myself to come up with an unhappy Christmas tale.

Uh, yeah. Well, I think I succeeded.

Hmmmm...Supposing that I didn’t make the heroine come across as a Pitiful Pearl (as my friend Leigh Michaels says), do you think anyone would buy it if I wrote it? Now, that thought is good for at least ten more procrastination minutes...

But I’m going to be strong and resist the temptation – and struggle to get New Year's Resolution #1 back on track. Further exploration of that idea will have to wait, perhaps forever.

Here's wishing everyone success with this year's resolutions!

Best,
Rachelle

2008-01-07T14:29:00.001-05:00

(OK, so third time's a charm...I cannot believe I couldn't Copy from a Word doc!!)

ANYWAY--one of my Intentions for this New Year is to get more public, and get beyond being such a "techno-tard," far as online promo opps (you can see I need help here!) So here I am! And right now, I'm up against the wall, far as turning in my next novella for Aphrodisia--"NAUGHTY NOELLE" will be in the '08 holiday antho! While it's great fun to write a Christmas story during the Christmas season, lots of Real Life has taken me from my Mac lately. So I'm behinder than I like to be.

But I WILL make my Jan. 15th deadline!

Because another of my Intentions for 2008 is to talk positive! Think positive! And spread JOY!

For those of you who haven't met me, I've been writing for the Aphro line a couple of years now. Wrote four for Black Lace before that, along with two serialized erotic novels at WickedVelvet.com. I also write sweet historical romances under my real name, Charlotte Hubbard, for Dorchester, so I spend six months as Charlotte and six as Melissa MacNeal. Nothing like cashing in on a split personality, eh? It's a hoot going to conventions like RT, where I get to be both of me at any given moment!

Right now, however, I'm a little scrunched. Had a HUGE influx of junk emails at the turn of the new year, and clicked my way into a HUGE problem with my e-mail program, trying to fix it! Which is why I totally love my Mac guru. I've also taken the Secretary's post in Novelists, Inc., an international group for pubbed novelists, so I'm tele-meeting each month now and taking minutes, etc. Those other officers might be in for a BIG surprise, now that I'm on board!

And, on top of that, I'm learning to use Word for all these new activities and for my manuscripts. Yeah, you're thinking I'm really Neanderthal, aren'tcha? But tellya what--the AppleWorks that came free with my Mac is so much simpler and has served me well for most of the 20+ years I've been pubbed. I hate to fix things that ain't broke--but I have to upgrade with the times and go with the flow, too!

And meanwhile....I'm supposed to be working on the final rewriting of my novella right now. I left Andy and Noelle on a Murphy bed in a renovated bungalow, wearing only their Santa hats. I really should get back to see how they're doing without me....

Until next month! Have a good one!

Melissa MacNeal

www.melissamacneal.com

Next release: "Getting Lucky" in ONLY WITH A COWBOY,

May, 2008

A blog about blogging

2008-01-06T12:11:00.001-05:00

Today I want to blog about blogging. So many authors (along with everyone else in the world) is into blogging these days. I have a bunch of thoughts and questions for the authors who blog and the readers who visit blogs.

First, for the authors, why do you do it? To avoid writing? To write in a different way (e.g., sharing your thoughts rather than working on a novel)? To promote yourself and your work? To share yourself, with the idea that someone out there is actually interested?

And some questions for the readers. Why do you visit author blogs? If you’re a reader, why do you choose to read a blog rather than a book? What are you looking for? Do you want to hear about the blogger’s personal angst, her writing life, her thoughts about the business, her views on books, movies or politics?

That leads to the question, to what extent are authors honest and frank on their blogs? If an author says she’s twenty-nine and loves dogs, is that true or just what she thinks her fans want to hear? How can you trust anything you read on the internet? Or does anyone care whether what’s said in a blog is fact or fiction?

If you visit blogs, how often do you visit the same one? What does it take to keep you coming back? How often do you comment? What makes you comment? (I always feel sad when I look at an author’s blog and see “0 comments” over and over!)

Have you ever bought a book because you visited an author blog? If so, what prompted you to buy it?

Blogging and visiting blogs obviously cuts into writing and reading time. It’s a priority choice. Or, is it perhaps an addiction? Do you feel that you’re in control of your blog life, or is it in control of you?

Well, those are enough questions for now. I look forward to reading people’s comments.

But before I go, for those who like chatting as well as blogging, please join the Aphrodisia authors on Monday, January 7, at 9:00 EST when we’ll be chatting at WriterSpace (http://www.writerspace.com/). We chat there on the first Monday of each month, always have a fun and crazy time and love seeing so many readers there. We also give away great prizes!

Threads of Time: Mine are in Knots

2008-01-06T09:12:00.000-05:00

My girlfriends like to give me calendars for Christmas--horse art, fairies with glittering wings, ferocious dragons, I love to see them on my office wall. My favorite was a Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell's Fantasy Calendar. The luscious thighs and delicious muscles were a pleasure to behold as I painted my fantasy worlds with my keyboard.

But last year my girlfriends gave me six calendars--which might explain why this year I received none. I'm sure they thought another of them got me one.

I wasn't too worried about this. Borders and B&N sells their calendars at 50% off after the first of the year, and I had a $5 coupon for Borders. Today is the 5th. Surely I could manage 5 days without a calendar. My mind is a steel trap, after all. Watch out.

Well, I had something scheduled for my niece on Saturday and something with my nephew for Sunday, and I was having lunch with my critique partner on Sunday, too, but that's okay. Sunday has enough hours in it for two events.

So today, calendar--less, I spent an hour and a half at a birthday party with my nephew. Only it wasn't a party for anyone we know. THAT party is tomorrow--at the same time I'm supposed to have lunch with my critique partner. And that thing with my niece? That was this morning at 9:30. Oh yes, I was still in bed. So much for the steel trap. It appears to have rust when I wasn't looking.

I didn't go home after the birthday party. My humoring barfly friend--after asking me if I was high--took me to Borders. With my $5 coupon and my 50% off, I bought a beautiful Woodland Faeries calendar by Linda Ravenscroft. I bought a horse calendar too, for the kitchen. I saved something like $11, but I would have rathered make my engagement with my niece...and scheduled my lunch with my CP at some time other than my nephew's birthday party.

Which brings me to a word of thanks to whichever Aphrodisiac programmed the Yahoo Groups thing to nag the person who's turn it was to blog. (I suspect that's Jodi. Thanks, Jodi!) Last year, as soon as the blog schedule was created, I wrote my dates faithfully on the appointed Sunday on one of my six calendars. But then everything got changed. Maybe twice. I missed every blog after that because I couldn't tell which blog date was mine when I looked at my crossed-out dates on my calendar.

I'm officially ready for 2008 now. I've got my two calendars in place, and there's a pencil--with a big fat eraser--tied to each.

Whatever each of you does to stay organized, I wish you the best of it! May your iPhone never crash. May your Blackberry never run out of batteries. (And Kate, may Outlook never lie too far from your fingertips!)

May your girlfriends never fail to give you calendars for the holidays...and if they do, don't be a cheap bastard and wait for the sale.

The Power of Power

2008-01-05T00:16:00.000-05:00

This has been a rough few weeks for me (whimper) and it's all because of two things in my life I think of the least but which appear to affect me the most: My computer and the power company, things I use without thinking about them or their importance in my life. Well, now I KNOW how important they are! So important, I've hardly had time to agonize over the release of my latest book in the Wolf Tales series, Wolf Tales V. So, maybe all the trouble is a GOOD thing.

Nah. I don't think so.

My computer crashed two weeks ago. Luckily I send my manuscript to my gmail account every night, so it's saved online, because I lost a lot of stuff and I won't know if it can be recovered until next week when the repairman finally has time to check the problem. One of the things missing is my calendar. I know I've committed to a lot of events this month because I have a new book out, but they were all noted in my Outlook calendar, which is totally inaccessible. If I'm supposed to be chatting with you or blogging or doing SOMETHING, please email me and tell me! I am seriously thinking of getting a "gasp" REAL PAPER CALENDAR. I was in the middle of running a contest for my newsletter group and I can no longer access the entries. Not a good thing. So many things going on, lost or in a file I can't access.

If that's not enough trouble, we're in the middle of the "STORM OF THE CENTURY!" I have to write that in all caps because that's how the weatherman keeps describing it. I'm always amazed at how many "storms of the century" we have, but will admit, this one has been spectacular. Seven inches of rain in two days, winds up to 60 mph, trees down, roads blocked, flooding...and no power. Which is why the blog post I think I was supposed to do this morning (remember that missing calendar?) isn't getting done until now.

We live in a forest of huge pine trees--well over a hundred feet tall. In high winds they all blow and sway at different rates, depending on the size of the trunk and the thickness of the crown. My office is on the top floor, literally in the treetops. I've been seasick most of the day, watching the trees swaying to and fro! At least none of them have come down on me yet--many of you know of my intimate meeting with a fallen tree. If not, check out the pictures at www.katedouglas.com/fallentree It will give you a whole new perspective on the immense power of a large oak tree that's ready to come down! You'll also understand why I'm no longer as fond of trees as I used to be.

So, for me, anyway, this new year is starting out on a rather technical note. As in, me and tech are not getting along. At least my old-fashioned muse if functioning again, and my WIP, Wolf Tales VII, is coming along really well. While the power's on, I guess I'd better get back to work. In the meantime, I hope your computers behave and your weathermen speak in lower case letters. And I wish you all a wonderful new year and smooth sailing ahead.

PS: I was dead serious about that request--if you know of something I'm supposed to do, please drop me a note and tell me! I don't even have email addresses of the people I can contact to find out for sure what I'm doing....sigh. Write to me at kate@katedouglas.com. Thank you!

New Year's Eve and a plea for homeless books....

2007-12-31T10:31:00.000-05:00

...and you CAN help!

Several of us have been informed that there are some free books out in the wild that need homes. We're hoping you can help!

The wonderful ladies at www.JoyfullyReviewed.com have accumulated extra copies of some of our books and we've come up with a solution to their plight.

Just make a comment here about your New Year resolution and the fabulous staff at Joyfully Reviewed will pick the winners. One for each topic. We're looking for:

The funniest resolution.
The most serious resolution.
The most health-aware. (Come on, we all need those...even if we hate 'em. Let's get creative here...we know folks need to quit smoking...so think sexy...and healthy - you can do it!)
The sexiest...
The most daring...
The most imaginative...
The best proof you love to read romance...
Reading-related resolutions...

Here's the list of books www.JoyfullyReviewed.com has to give away:

The Cop by Sasha White, Alyssa Brooks and Renee Alexis
Sexy Devil by Sasha White
Nicholas by Elizabeth Amber
Blood Red by Sharon Page
The Supplicant (2) by Lucinda Betts
Midnight Confessions by Bonnie Edwards
What She Craves by Lacy Danes

Best of luck in finding a home for these lonesome books. And from us to you: May 2008 bring all your most-hoped-for dreams to life!

Bonnie Edwards

Deadlines Are Hell (Much Like Taxes)

2007-12-30T09:19:00.000-05:00

Magical things happen at the new year. People make resolutions, they're hopeful for the year to come. If they're like me, they're praying there's no more snow and knowing that it's just not going to happen for them. *insert pitiful sigh*

What am I looking forward to? Well, hopefully more book contracts in the coming year...those always make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Not like mold, just warm and, you know, fuzzy. Never mind.

Anyway, I'm currently in the throws of deadline hell for the new year. I'm not one to plot my books out in advance, but I have a schedule for writing that I am beyond anal about keeping. So the book isn't actually due until April 15th, the glorious day of taxation in the U.S. of A. but I have mini deadlines to meet between then and now.

I'm sure getting my W-2 paperwork in January will only remind me of ALL the deadlines I have to meet by the special day in mid-April. So my resolution for the new year? Get it done early. Wish me luck.

And as a special shout-out, I'd like to say happy birthday to my older brother. (My birthday was two days ago, but now it's HIS turn.)

Happy New Year!

Crystal Jordan
http://www.crystaljordan.com

"In Ice" SEXY BEAST V - Sept 08
CARNAL DESIRES - Dec 08

Happy Holidays to all!

2007-12-26T11:52:00.000-05:00

No matter what holiday you celebrate this time of year, I hope you had a terrific one! And if it's included in your tradition, I hope you got lots of gifts that you will truly enjoy and cherish, rather than just lots of gifts that will take up room in your closets :)

I'm sitting here cross-legged in my recliner drinking my hot tea in my jammies and trying to talk myself into jumping right back into my normal, and pre-holiday schedule. Which right now doesn't look too appealing...LOL. I think it would be much more fun to go back to bed and curl up beside my still-snoring and very warm hubby. Unfortunately, my ability to sleep all day evaporated many years ago, so now that I'm up, I'm up.

Anyway, I digress. (Hey, I haven't finished my first cup of tea yet, so I'm impressed I can even type!)

Every year around this time, I sit down and take a long hard look at my accomplishments over the last year, my happiness factor and my goals - both met and unmet. I don't really think of this as New Year's resolutions, but as more of a way to take stock and make sure I'm on the right track out of the gate in the new year.

So how did 2007 measure up?

It was both one of my best and hardest years, actually. It was my first year staying home to write full time, and plunging our household into a completely self-employed household. That has its definite rewards, which I will be thankful for in tax deductions, and I have already been thankful for in getting to set my own schedule and spending time with my son and husband! However, that also meant that I had to wean myself off the every two week paycheck, and learn to roll with the "when money comes in, we pay what we can and roll till the next check comes." I must admit, that part freaked me out until about May.

At the end of June - those lean summer months of my husband's business - I decided to sell Pampered Chef on the side, despite the fact that I don't cook. (Lucky for me, you don't have to to be successful!) Fortunately, I enjoy the interaction and yes, the extra income that brings in, and it's flexible enough that it doesn't take time away from my writing. (And I'll admit, it's actually gotten me to cook a few things with my new stuff...LOL)

On a writing front, my first book with Kensington, CEREMONY OF SEDUCTION, came out in August and is doing quite well. I wrote book two of the trilogy - VISIONS OF SEDUCTION - and I'm currently working on TRIANGLE OF SEDUCTION, which I wanted to finish by the end of the year, but is looking to eek over a bit into January. I attended RWA Nationals and accepted an RT Reviewer's Choice Award for INTO A DANGEROUS MIND, which was written under my other pen name. I also attended RWA Nationals and got to meet with my agent, Paige Wheeler, and my editor Audrey LaFehr (whom I had never met in person.) Not to mention, I got to attend the Kensington publishing party - where I'm glad to say I wasn't the only one gawking like a newbie - (A big thanks to Elizabeth Amber for gawking with me!) I taught my first online writing class this year and spoke at several different writing organization's events and attended twelve book signings and three writing conferences.

All in all, I'm happy with the year. And happy with the direction I'm moving in. I may not have met all my goals, like word count per week or finishing four books this year, but I'm content with where I find myself.

So, it's on to 2008! As for my specific 2008 goals? Ask me in a few weeks when I get them solidified :)

I'm looking forward to another year, and hope all of your are too! May we all exceed our goals, attain our dreams and live a happy and healthy 2008 :) That's what I'll be raising a glass to on the 31st!

Cassie Ryan

Pre-Order on Amazon

2007-12-23T16:22:00.000-05:00

Recently I received a note from a reader who let me know that Sexy Beast IV and Exposing Casey are now available on Amazon for pre-order. How exciting is that? As I prepare for my third and forth releases from Kensington I'm reminded of how this all began and how very thankful I am for my agent, Jessica Faust, and my editor at Kensington- Audrey.

I've a full plate next year and I'm really looking forward to digging right into it!

Sexy Beast IV
Ship Date February 26th

Exposing Casey
Ship Date March 25th

Next year I have contemporary and suspense projects planned and I'm so very lucky that i have a supportive husband who not only "gets" my dream but gives me room to pursue it. I'll have been a full time writer as of March 08 for one whole year. I never thought I'd be able to pull it off, honestly, and certainly wouldn't have without him.

Happy Holidays!!
Deanna Lee

'Tis the Season...

2007-12-19T10:22:00.000-05:00

.... to freak out, fa lala lalala lah lah lah ...

Although actually, I am doing better this year, which might have something to do with observing the season of Advent, but is more likely because I finally got the Christmas presents mailed off to Australia over a week ago.

So far, I've had a great blog tour and a wonderful booksigning at my favorite local indie bookstore, Mysterious Galaxy for my latest release, ONE MORE TIME. (And you can't look at that bookcover too many times, can you!)

My three Christmas trees are up (yes, three, but two are small), we got an Advent wreath for the first time ever, made of cedar and pine. I've made candy (chocolate fudge, milky way delight, chocolate cheese fudge) and might make more (rum balls, springerle and more milky way delight because it is my favorite). I have completely neglected my Christmas cards this year. I bought them, half off, at Marshalls, but haven't sent a single one.

All of this is to say, that while I was busily working away at my day job, I was constantly reminding myself that I had to come and blog here. And here I am at 7:30am, just sitting down to put a blog together, so clearly,

'Tis the Season to Ramble...

What's your holiday season like?

Want an Alpha Guy for Christmas?

2007-12-17T10:34:00.001-05:00

If Santa brought you the guy of your dreams, would he be an alpha male?

We romance writers and readers talk a lot about alpha heroes. What, exactly, are they?

I guess each of us has her own interpretation. To me, an alpha guy is one who’s strong and skilled, a natural leader – but in an understated way. He’s never arrogant, pushy or “macho.”

Do you know what “macho” means? Characterized by “machismo.” And the definition of machismo is “overly assertive or exaggerated masculinity, esp. as characterized by a show of virility, domination of women, etc.” Okay, I doubt any of us women have anything against virility, but the rest pretty much sucks, at least to me. A guy who tries to dominate anyone else, male or female, is demonstrating a lack of self-esteem. Definitely not heroic. I so don’t want to know that kind of man. Or read about him.

For me, the heroes I love in books are the same kind I love in real life. But I know that’s not true for all readers. Some people like to read about Superman but date Clark Kent.
So my question is, what kind of hero would you like in your Christmas stockings? And is that the same kind of man you love to read about?

Amusing the Muse

2007-12-15T10:48:00.000-05:00

The Muse has a tough job inspiring writers. She can't just come up with any old idea; she has to give us one that makes us run straight to our keyboards and want to stay there so we can tap out the best story that makes readers wants to keep reading.

If writers are inspired by "Muses," where do Muses get their inspiration?

Well, if it's my Muse you were asking she'd reply in large part Disney. This is especially true since I treated her to a week long vacation in Walt Disney World. For my Muse there's no better place and nowhere else that thinks like she does.

Talking mice, why not? Happily ever after, of course! Travel from Italy to Japan in under five minutes, no problem! Disney is a place that thinks like a Muse, asking What if..........

What if......we dropped an elevator 13 stories?

What if.......a giant Yeti really does live in the mountains?

My Muse works hard trying to develop story worlds & characters that pull readers into a detailed place that's real. So, she appreciates getting to visit a place that works as hard, or even harder than she does creating a story world down to finite details (try changes in paving to signifiy progression from east to west of the Mississippi River.)

For writer's What inspires you?

And as a reader what are the little details that make a story real for you?

What Does A Book Cover Do For You?

2007-12-12T07:53:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things to do when I read this blog is to scroll through and see all the covers. They are so HOT! I don't have a cover for you all yet, but I do know one is in the works and as soon as it's ready, I'll get it posted.

Let me introduce myself, I'm Annalise Russell, and my first story with Kensington is scheduled for release in September '08. IN HIS BED will be part of an historical erotic romance collection titled, THE PLEASURE OF HIS BED. The other stories in the collection are written by Donna Grant and Melissa MacNeal, so I am in great company.

For me, a book cover is the first thing that catches my eye and compels me to pluck that book from the shelf and explore the story within. As I wander the aisles and aisles of books looking for a new story to escape into, I skim the packed shelves until a promising pair of eyes, muscular arms, or a washboard stomach, lures me to touch.

Whew! Did someone turn up the heat in here? Yeah, I know...I'm hopeless. But who doesn't mind something awfully nice to look at to go along with that story? So what does a book cover do for you?

I'd love to hear your comments!

Annalise Russell
BLOG: www.annaliserussell.wordpress.com

New Book, Video, Web Site and Contests

2007-12-09T13:09:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy few weeks! First off, my second book, SIN CLUB, just came out on November 27th. Woo-hoo! I am SO excited!

So, to celebrate, as well as give folks a sneak peek, I decided to do something different, so I created an audio excerpt of SIN CLUB, as well as the sin-sual book video below:

And I redesigned my web site to make it sexier to match the books I write.

Well, what do you think? I'd love to know, so please leave a comment here or on my blog about either the new web site or the SIN CLUB book video, and you'll be entered into a drawing for a **free** copy of SEX LOUNGE and an autographed mirror. Then, enter the December Happy Holidays Contest for a chance to win a handful of books by Jasmine Haynes, Leigh Wyndfield, Dee S. Knight, Rachelle Chase, and a $20 Amazon gift certificate from TL Schaefer.

And speaking of contests, the SEX LOUNGE Finding Derek CONTEST - my previously mentioned online contest where sexy guys competed to be Derek, the hero of SEX LOUNGE, has ended. Check out the photos, audio clips, essays, and videos of the 37 hunky guys who made the cut, as well as the winners, by visiting www.FindingDerek.com/entries .

That's all for now. I hope you'll enter the contests and share your thoughts!

Happy Holidays,

Rachelle

Blue Christmas...

2007-12-06T13:13:00.000-05:00

As we chug inevitably toward the holiday season and the carols and happy songs invade our every moment, I have to stop and remind myself that not everyone's feeling the joy.

Everyone at some point, has a blue Christmas. The first year without a loved one, your college-age child votes goes to the "significant other's" home for the holidays. Maybe it's your first divorced holiday season. These are just the obvious reasons, there are many more, as individual as the people having them.

Some people say, "suck it up and pretend you're having a good time"...well, bah, to that. I think it's okay to acknowledge this is a blue holiday season this year and settle in to let it pass you by. But know as life does its thing and the wheels turn, that some day your season will brighten.

People talk about the traditions of the season as if they never change. But in truth, they've always changed. When I was a child, we had the standard gift opening in the morning with a heavy feast sometime in the early afternoon. As my siblings had their own families, our pattern changed. My parents and I visited from house to house to see all the children having their traditional days. That "tradition" lasted until I had my own children. Then the wheel of life moved along as it does and new traditions were born within our family.

It's the way it is...we miss those we love...we yearn for other days...

If you're feeling the chill of a life change this year, I say:
Throw a log on the fire (be it in an actual fireplace or just on a dvd), wrap yourself in a snuggly blanket, with a delicious, steaming drink at your elbow and settle in with a good book. (Aphrodisias are a great way to warm up an evening ;)

If you have a pet, you just know they'll understand the mood and settle in on your lap or at your feet.

Be kind to yourself...and have the Best Holiday Season you can!

And may 2008 bring health, happiness and fulfillment to you and yours!

Bonnie Edwards

Thinking about the day job...

2007-12-05T15:12:00.001-05:00

First of all, writing IS my day job, and I work seven days a week, a minimum of 6-10 hours a day. It's hard work, but I love it. There's a discussion on one of my lists--all of us are published--about why we stick it out as authors through good times and bad, dry periods where we can't sell a book to deadlines looming one after the other, often coming so close together we literally have no life beyond the imaginary one in our heads.

I've been chuckling over the answers that have come in from other authors: that if we didn't let the imaginary people out to play they'd probably drive us insane, that writing allows us to focus all our compulsive/obsessive/control freak traits on our books instead of our family members, that we'd be writing anyway, whether we're published or not...the list goes on and on, but I really laughed at the most often repeated answer of why authors love their jobs, (for those of us lucky enough not to have an outside day job) and the reason is, we never have to get dressed! We work every day in our jammies or sweatsuits without leaving the house. I had no idea how important that would be, but I have to admit, there's a lot of truth to it. Why leave? Our imaginations take us to such amazing places--new worlds we've created or even more exciting versions of the real one. For whatever reason, it's nice not to have to put on "grown-up" clothes every day and go into the day job--so now you know the real secret!

Another reason, and it's one that's right up there with flannel jammies, that really thrills me about this job is my books! They're in bookstores--I mean right there on the shelves next to some of my favorite authors! I still get a charge when I see them. Plus they have really gorgeous covers, and they're all mine...well, mine and my critique partners' and the copy editor and my agent and my regular editor and the print setter and the art department and... you get my drift.

I've got a book coming out in a couple of weeks and I'm as excited about the release of Wolf Tales V as I was about the first book in the series. It's got everything in it that makes me happy--sexy heroes, brave heroines, lots of sexual tension (and even more of the real thing) and it's all wrapped up with an exciting plot and a very special surprise at the end. I hope you'll take a look and let me know what you think. I promise to answer--I always do! And you'll know that I'm sitting here in my old rocker, laptop in my lap, warmly dressed for work in my flannel jammies and an old sweater of my husband's!

Just a note that if you have't joined my newsletter, please do. I'm running another contest this month with books for prizes. I'm at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KateDouglas/

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Wouldn't It Be Nice?

2007-12-01T11:31:00.000-05:00

My, what a topic starter. I could go just about anywhere from here… Break out into song, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we were older, then we wouldn’t have to wait so long…” Except, I can’t carry a note to save my life and I would hate to see all your lovely ears bleed. Then I could do the, Wouldn’t it be nice if it wasn’t already December, because I can’t remember much of the eleven months that came before this? Except, why dwell on what has already happened when there are so many delightful moments yet to come? Oh, yeah, and I could do the, Wouldn’t it be nice if there were smoking hot man covers coming out of Aphrodisia, but !hola! have you seen the winter lineup? My poor laptop screen will never be the same for all the recent tongue-worship of those hard-bodied male specimens. :)

This “Wouldn’t it be nice” pertains to the fact that authors don’t always get to write or do those things they want to do. Personally, I have a couple of series that I would love to finish and that I know, from various emails, readers would love to see me finish as well. The thing is, I can’t finish those series for the time being. Writing for multiple publishers means agreeing to certain contract terms that generally take away your rights to do the same length and genre of work for another publisher. Really, you can’t blame a publisher for not wanting to invest their time and money in you only to have you turn around and go elsewhere. But at the same time, it can be disappointing for the authors as much as the readers.

Then, too, is the reality of the author who changes genres. Why, when an author is so amazing at writing contemporaries or historicals, do they suddenly plunge into paranormals? Well, because that is just what the marketplace is buying. As authors, if we don’t produce books that sell--even if the genre might not be our top pick--we won’t have a very longlasting career.

So what can be done about this realities, other than saying, Wouldn’t it be nice if I could finish off those two series and write the historical I have been angsting to write since finishing my last one several years ago?

For the first item, not much can be done, outside of writing free stories to continue on those two series. Unfortuantely, very few authors have time to write an entire free full-length story, let alone several. So what about a short story? If an author is unable to continue a series in full length per contract obligations, would you as a reader be content with seeing a free short story or stories to tie up lose ends and see remaining characters happy together? Or would you prefer to wait it out, until the author can legally finish the series?

As for the second item, an author’s ability to write in a genre that the general marketplace might not be so strong on. That all depends on the readers. Obviously an author who is selling well in a genre is going to be able to continue to produce in that genre despite the rest of the industry. However, those sales need to be direct, which means bought as a new item instead of a resale. The reality with erotic romance is when it comes to paperbacks, they are almost always released in trade format. This means mucho $$$. I sure can’t afford many books when they are going for $10-15 each. What about you? Do you read erotic romance in trade format regardless of the pricetag? Would you be apt to read more if they cost less?

Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot to be done for the price issue either, outside of having the books release in massmarket format as opposed to trade. Definitely not an overnight thing, but once again it is something that readers control. The book industry is dependent almost completely on the reader, and so what the bulk of the readers want, the bulk of the readers ultimately get. What this means to you is do express yourself.

Every publisher has a way for readers to contact them, generally by a customer service email. Share your thoughts and feedback. One reader won’t make magic happen, but as with anything else, if enough share the same opinion, it will eventually make a difference. And maybe, eventually, I can even afford to buy all those hunks over there on the left-hand side of this blog. Okay, so not the hunks, but at least the books they are on. :)

~ jodi

www.JodiLynnCopeland.com

That Minty Fresh Contract Smell

2007-11-29T09:33:00.000-05:00

Man, I would prefer to be sniffing that than what I'm smelling in my office right now. We have a joint refrigerator in my office suite and let's just say someone left their food in their too long. My boss opens the fridge this morning and all stench breaks loose. Hoo-wee! My eyes are still watering. Time for another group email where people have to clean out their fuzzy green messes. I get to feel superior about this one because I haven't brought anything refrigerated for a loooooong time, so I know whatever the stinkpot is, it doesn't belong to me.

Anyway, on to the minty freshness of contracts. I got some from my agent Monday afternoon when I got home from work. I admit that I may have done a booty shaking happy dance. I also may have hugged the contracts while doing aforementioned dance. Perhaps. I confess to nothing.

After several hours of translating mind-bending, IQ dropping legalese, I sent a few questions to my awesome agent...and poof! I have a contract. Signed, sealed, pretty, and sent off to the Powers That Be.

Now for the fun part. I'm putting in for my provisional PAN membership at RWA. Technically, I could have done it with my first Kensington contract, but I never got around to it, so I'm doing it with this one. Woot! I feel so official.

So, I'm either high off the giddiness of contracts and official writer-ness, or I'm high from the fumes of whatever died in the fridge. Your call.

Crystal Jordan
IN ICE, SEXY BEAST V (Sept 08)
CARNAL DESIRES (Dec 08)
Kensington Aphrodisia
www.crystaljordan.com

Top 3 Promo Goodies?

2007-11-28T12:30:00.000-05:00

As I begin thinking about how to get the word out about my second book, I've been pondering the question of which promo freebies readers prefer.

As a reader, I am always looking for new authors and new books from authors I already enjoy. I picked up some free items provided by authors from the goodie room at the last national RWA conference. I was selective because I only had one suitcase and I didn't want to waste authors' money by taking things I would toss. My top 3 preferred items were chocolate, books, and pens, in that order. I also went for calendars, playing cards, bookmarks, and cat food can lids. But, honestly, I can't tell you which authors or what books were being promoted on most of these (except for the playing cards which were Ellora's Cave). And I didn't buy any books based on these goodies. So are they really a good use of an author's limited promotional budget?

We're all readers here, so I thought I'd ask what your top 3 preferred goodies are. Have any goodies you've picked up ever led you to a new author or to a book you might not have tried otherwise?

Elizabeth Amber
NICHOLAS, THE LORDS OF SATYR
RAINE, THE LORDS OF SATYR (March 08)
erotic historical paranormal romance
Kensington Aphrodisia
www.elizabethamber.com

The right way & the wrong way to write a book...

2007-11-26T10:51:00.001-05:00

I've been writing seriously for publication since 2003, and on and off for many years before that. So, I've had quite a few chances to listen to different speakers, read books and be exposed to all manner of tips, tricks and learnings on the subject of writing.

What have I discovered?

One of my biggest pet peeves in the entire world, that's what. It irritates me more than a bra that rides up when someone says that if you don't write a certain way (usually THEIR way,) then you're doing it wrong.

Now, let me clarify that before all the purists spit out their morning coffee at the computer screen. As with every body of knowledge, there is the good, the bad and the questionable advice. Now, I'm not talking about the basics. For example, if you are writing a romance, your hero and heroine have to have their happily ever after - that's a given. If you aren't going to give them that, then what you're writing isn't romance. If you're writing erotic, you can't fade out at the bedroom door, and okay, you must must must have conflict, plot, big black moment and characterization etc. And yes, too many was/ing word combinations tend to make your writing passive and back story dumps usually aren't a good thing... You get the picture.

But what I'm talking about is the HOW, not the technique, necessarily. We must remember that what works for one person will NOT necessarily work for another.

I recently heard a speaker who was quite an accomplished author sit in a room full of fellow writers and tell them that if they aren't detailed plotters, they will never be successful - end of discussion. And she was quite hauty about it. Now, I'm a combo pantser/plotter and I've published several books. But even beyond that, I was sitting behind a USA Today and NYT Best Selling Author with dozens of books out who I know is not a detailed plotter. And just across the room was a RITA winning author who had also hit the USA Today lists several times, and again - she's not a detailed plotter either. So, I don't think the "will never be successful" was necessarily true. And even when these two women spoke up - the speaker sniffed disdainfully and said she stood by her statement.

I've also heard people say if you start out by publishing at an ePub, NY editors will NEVER look at your work. Hmmm, I started in ePubs and so did one of the two ladies I mentioned above, and I know dozens of others as well who are now published with New York. And most are still with ePubs as well. There are perks to both systems.

Then there was the speaker who told the crowd of mostly new writers that if they didn't write for at least forty hours a week, they would never get published. I remember that workshop well because the moderator spoke up. She is a multi-published, award-winning author who writes during her one hour lunch every day during the week and for four hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday. She's written dozens of books that way. So, in only 13 hours a week, she's built a writing career.

I'm sure if you think back, all of you have seen examples of this. How many newbie writers have been scared off this path by those supposedly in the "know" telling them there is a better chance of them winning the lottery than them being published, or if they don't have some sort of degree in English, they can't write a novel or any of a thousand other things?

As you can tell, this is a hot button for me, and I grind my teeth every time I hear someone give an "absolute" like that. There are no absolutes in this business. Hell, even some of the "basics" I listed above aren't be all, end all absolutes. The business changes and morphs all the time and we need to run to catch up.

Here's my advice to newbie writers - write the book, however it works for you. Continue to learn everything you can about writing. Write, write, write, and make sure you take all advice with a grain of salt - even from those with successful careers. What worked for them, may not necessarily work for you. Go with your gut and finish the book! Then, shop it around, submit, submit, submit - and see what kind of feedback you get. That will give you an idea of what you need to change/fix, and always be leery of anyone giving you statements that are absolutes! And most of all - never ever give up. Don't let someone steal your dream!

Here's my advice for speakers - give others the benefit of your experience, but remember that their path to success may not be the same as yours. What works for you, may not work for them. And if you can't be motivational, uplifting and helpful to those you are speaking to - then why are you up there? They are there to find out what's in it for them, not to bask in your affluence and knowledge. Yes, speaking gets your name out there, but do you want to be remembered as the person who discouraged a new writer so much that they never tried? Or the writer who inspired them to try and succeed even in the face of what felt like insurmountable opposition? Think on this one long and hard. When we speak, when we blog, when we share our knowledge in any venue or any area, we are affecting others, sometimes more than we think.

Okay, stepping down from soap box now, and off to write. Hopefully, my rant gave you something to think about and go "hmmm." Also, I'm hoping I don't get flame mail from a bunch of speakers now...LOL!

Have a great one everyone!

Cassie Ryan

Not so relaxing Thanksgiving...

2007-11-25T17:25:00.001-05:00

So I knew things were bad when I stood at the door of my 14 yr old son's bedroom, consoling him from afar for the stomach bug/flu that had laid him low. He was the third member of the family to get sick and there was no way I was being all motherly and going over there and hugging him or anything. I was finally getting a break alone with my lovely husband without the 4 kids!

I came down into the kitchen and looked at my husband. "I'm going to be sick on our vacation. I just know it." Of course he told me not to be a pessimist-having brought the plague home with him, he was feeling a lot better.

Fast forward to Monday at the beautiful Enchantment Resort in Sedona Arizona, and I'm having a fabulous day, learning about vortexes and taking a train journey into the heart of Red Rock country, champagne, snacks and views to die for. In the evening, we had a beautiful meal at the spa restaurant and then I started to feel bad...

And boy, was I bad, I was up all night. Tuesday was a complete washout and we came home Wednesday. I saw a lot more of my hotel room than I expected and a lot less of the scenery :)

At home, everyone except Granny, who'd had a flu shot, was sick and Thanksgiving itself was really quiet-luckily I'd ordered all the food from Marie Callender's so I didn't have to cook!

Anyone else have any horrible holiday tales or was I just lucky this year?

Roots

2007-11-21T15:27:00.000-05:00

It's the day before Thanksgiving, but my mind is on Friday, only not because of the shopping. On the 23rd, my mother will turn 89. She doesn't need anything--except out of the nursing home she's in while her broken ankle heals. I was going to buy her a plant, but my niece beat me to the punch. Last weekend, I finished moving her out of her assisted living apartment because once she's out of the nursing home, she'll have to go to a foster home--one of the 'benefits' of dementia means she needs more care.

While packing up, I came across stacks and stacks of photographs she'd taken over the years along with many other items from the past ranging from ancestors' death certificates to newspaper clippings. Yesterday the light bulb went off. I'm going to compile several scrapbooks filled with what was always precious to her, the family historian. How much of the material will have meaning for now I don't know, but as I emailed my sister, eventually we'll have those scrapbooks as reminders of our mother's passions.

That's what got me thinking about roots, specifically the roots of my writing. These days I'm doing mostly erotica which I'm sure Mother and my grandparents would find incomprehendable. Before her mind decided to go someplace safe and serene, I let her read my first erotica. Suffice to say, I'm glad she doesn't remember it. I know my conservative teacher mother didn't approve or understand why I was drawn to erotica, but now that I think about it, I'm amending what I said about my grandparents' reaction, specifically my grandfather. Homer Eon Flindt was murdered at age 34 when my mother was six, but I've long felt close to him. Why? He was a writer, specifically a writer of science fiction and fantasy, much of it appearing in the pulp magazines of the 1920s and 30s. He also had a couple of books published as well as some 30 movie treatments (forerunners of screenplays), not a bad accomplishment for the busy father of three who also ran a shoe repair shop with his brother. I've read most of his work and am in awe of his intellect. His mind took him on journeys far beyond the science of his day to distant planets My mind doesn't do what his did, but I thank him for what creativity he did give me.

My writing roots: from him, most certainly but also from my mother who was my teacher through elementary school and encouraged my writing creativity and my teacher grandmother who always give me and my sister books for our birthdays and Christmas. Books were my joy, my escape, my passion. They still are.

So Mother, Nana, and Grandpa, those 50 plus books I've written are because of you. It's an insane business, one filled with financial insecurity and sleepless nights spent in conversation with characters, a career where my closest friends are fellow writers I've met online and meeting a reader is a gift. Today's marketplace requires me to self-promote and when I do I pound the erotica drum in hopes of grabbing the attention of those illusive readers, but I'm not about about hot and heavy sex. I'm about a man who died too young and his widow and daughter who nurtured his gift in me throughout my childhood.

Vonna, the nostalgic

http://www.vonnaharper.com/

The Glamorous Life

2007-11-19T11:18:00.001-05:00

I’ve been catching up on my blog reading and reading about various authors dealing with taking care of their parents, holding down a job as a single parent, and well, the joy of children.

It’s not so different from a life without writing, is it? Published authors still have to do the laundry, cook dinner, be a “soccer mom”, volunteer for a good cause, clean up messes.

And yet there’s that magical something that comes with being a writer. Like our readers, writers escape into another world, but a world of their own creation and have their heroines say all the things they wish they’d thought of when someone comes crashing down on them.

But it’s more than that too. It’s almost like setting up a problem and watching somebody else solve it for you. It’s like watching somebody else go where you’d never dare to go. It’s like...

Well, I don’t know what it’s like because right now, I’m missing it.

I have been referring to myself as a “mundane”. The magic of writing seems to have gone. Something I thought would never happen. I’ve been writing since I could write.

Oh, I’m still thinking about stories, new ones, but actually writing? Not so much.

Anyway, enough whining and back to the glamour part.

Today is the official start to my blog tour (see my website for an almost complete list). At many of these places I am giving away copies from my backlist. So keep your eyes open! Today is my first unscheduled stop over at Fog City Divas (and yes, I am giving a book away there).

And that’s the glamorous life.