I’m writing my sixth historical book now—the third in The Legend of the Four Soldiers series—and already I’ve gone off my writing map. Writers generally fall into two groups: ones who plot out their story before they begin writing and those who wing it. I’m in the former camp, but here’s the thing: no matter how meticulously I plot before I write, no matter how much I try to foresee all eventualities, I always end up making detours from my plot.

Detours, in writing as in life, are sometimes frustrating (How do I get back on the main road?) sometimes confusing (Can I get back to the main road?) but usually interesting…and sometimes revolutionary.

For example.

About ten years ago my life took a major detour. I was a stay-at-home mom living in the city where I’d grown up, spending what free time I had volunteering in a non-profit organization. Then my husband got a new job. In a different state.

I wasn’t pleased, but my husband was the main breadwinner at that time in our family, so I pulled up my roots, left the non-profit I’d been so active in, and moved away from both family and friends.

And you know what? If I hadn’t made that life detour I probably wouldn’t have started writing. I would’ve stayed in the non-profit organization, stayed near family and friends who kept me busy, and never had the push to start writing a book.

All because of a detour my life took.

The detours that happen in my books are frustrating for me as the writer, but they can be revolutionary for the book. In To Taste Temptation, the first book in The Legend of the Four Soldiers series, I suddenly started writing a scene in which my hero, Samuel Hartley, is running. In London, of all places. Why? I thought. Nobody runs in Georgian England for pleasure. Where is this scene going? Why am I writing this?

Well, as you’ll find out when you read To Taste Temptation, running becomes a central facet to Sam’s character. He runs to forget, he runs for the sheer pleasure of feeling his muscles move, and in a pivotal scene near the end of the book, he runs because his world will end if he doesn’t.

All because of a detour my writing took one day.

Cheers!
Elizabeth Hoyt
www.elizabethhoyt.com
www.juliaharper.com

I had one of those family moments the other day when I was desperate to show a younger relative a photo of her paternal grandmother. How desolate was I when I couldn’t find the picture I was looking for- and it got me to thinking about all the treasures that get mislaid over the years-

Have you lost something that means a lot to you- and if so, what?

Share your thoughts with us and I’ll try to console you with a prize for our winner, picked out at random

Happy chatting, everyone,

Oh, and here’s a delicious sheikh- Just because you deserve him!

Hugs around the world,

Susanxx

Change is in the air. In our presidential race and in the way the world seems to be shifting. I think change is a natural phenomenon. Is it due to getting tired of the same old same? Is it due to wanting to try something new, go in a different direction, make a difference? Or is it about breaking out of your shell and trying something that you always wanted to do, but something held you back. Whether it be fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of a repeat performance or fear of the change in routine. That’s what is on the horizon for me. I started my career in Intimate Moments. Stories that evoked emotion and deep feelings. There was danger and adventure and suspense. That’s what I’m determined to get back to. That’s my goal when I submitted my manuscript for Going Ballistic, my May 2009 release that’s been three years in the coming. I struggled with change over those three years, knowing that the relationship stories were not for me, and deciding to get back to what I loved to do. Romantic suspense.

So change is scary, change makes you step out of your comfort zone. It makes you evaluate what you’ve done and what you want to do. It stretches you. I’m going to embrace it, accept it, and breathe it in. Change is in the air.

Have you made a change in your life? Big or small? Share and I’ll give away to one reader a copy of one of my backlisted books and an original watercolor.

Writers are always learning from other writers and one of my CozyChicks Chicks came up with this great idea with our blog. Heather Webber started Bullet Points. You know what Bullet Points are–in the case of this writer, they are a quick run down of the who, what, why and how things are going in the writer life (particularly this writer’s life). I like them because I can look back on the past few weeks and let readers know this is where I’ve been and what has been going on (that is, if you care. If not, no worries. Come back for tomorrow’s blog). So, here goes the Bullet Points of the week:

1. My dad had back surgery last week. It was a doozy. He’ll get better and be better than before they assure us, but man it has been stressful. I think my mom is totally overwhelmed by it. He came home Friday and I took the night shift with him because their bedroom is upstairs and he can’t go up the stairs yet, so I slept on the couch and he had one of those hospital beds. Needless to say that he was agitated all night, up and down and needing help to the bathroom, wanted water, wanted his glasses, wanted to make sure I gave him his pain medication, his antibiotic and on and on. At one point I felt a little like going Achmed on him (if you don’t know Achmed and you want a good laugh then go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MugQDD2FcKQ. Trust me. You will laugh and then get my comment and then once you do, you will think that my thoughts toward my dad were not exactly those of a warm, loving daughter). But hey, at about three in the morning it can be difficult to remain sweet and loving. No worries though as Dad finally slept for two straight hours and we made it through the night.

My mom took over at about 5:30 so I could get some rest. Sure as you know it, my daughter (the youngest) comes in at 7:00 and asks when am I going to get up. I buried my head under the pillow and told her to go and pour herself some cereal. (She wanted a waffle–she didn’t get a Leggo my Eggo that morning). The best part was, my dad tells my mom when he woke up (yes he slept from 5:00 until 10 for her, and then went back down until noon) that it was a good thing he had such a good night’s sleep. Must have been the drugs, or else the two of us were on a separate planet. Oh yeah–drugs can do that for you. Good news is–today he is coherent and attempting to walk without a walker.

2. I cut my hair short, short. Yep. I have gone from long and silky to short and easy. Long hair takes so much time and when it is baby fine to make it look good takes way too much time. When books are due and kids need you and you want a life, the long hair must go. My hair is now boy short and takes all of 5 minutes to do, which is perfect. I don’t even care if it looks good at this point, I just like that it’s easy.

3. Saturday I am speaking at a luncheon to about 200 women, and I’m scared to death. I am supposed to talk about balancing family and career. Ha, ha, ha! I am laughing. The only conceivable way I can actually see a balance ever happening (by balance I suppose it means–time for the family, time for yourself to get all spiritual and healthy and all that jazz, paying the bills, writing, feeding the animals and always looking lovely–give me a break) is by having a lot of help. Seriously. Otherwise, I don’t know about the rest of you but I feel like I do my life half assed (sorry–I know we are supposed be PG here, but assed isn’t even technically a word). I want to be the best mom and wife and also the best writer I can be. I want to keep the house in order because I really don’t like messes (even though my house is always a mess–ask my friends), oh and I want to be a good friend. I kind of think I’m mediocre at all of it, which is depressing, because all of these things that I want to be good at, I love doing.

So, if I’m honest I really don’t know how to balance it all out. I think there are times when one area of your life gets more attention than another and they all rotate in and out. Someone should really clone women. I think we as women should all have three of ourselves stashed in the closet. You have career woman (for me that would be the writer), but I think there should actually be two of those women alone–writer woman and marketing woman (I can already see we’ll need more than three clones here). Then we have housekeeping woman and this one doesn’t just pick things up. She deep clean and keeps the entire house totally organized and knows where everything is at all times. For me, I need mommy woman. She handles all the kid related stuff. Goes to PTA, bakes brownies, drives them everywhere after school, takes time to write little notes and put them in their lunches. She never yells, but maintains this calm demeanor during discipline (ever watch Cesar the dog whisperer–I’m getting this from him) and her children have total respect, love and trust toward her. There should probably be wife woman (you all can probably guess what her duties are). Cooking woman makes incredible gourmet meals that are healthy and will not make any of the other women in this group gain an ounce of weight and she has the help of healthy woman who attends yoga class, kickboxing, meditation, spiritual retreats and says mantras for love, joy, peace, health and wealth.

The last woman we need is kick back woman–all she has to do is go to the spa and come out looking spectacular. That’s it. She gets to relax–oh wait that should be me. I didn’t decide what my job was–yes–spa woman! I like her best. There you have it, we need seven women to take care of just one. That would be a really great invention and one heck of a Mother’s Day gift.

4. My last bullet point for the day is that teenage boys suck. Oh crap I just added two more women to the previous list–teenage mom woman (totally separate from Mommy woman because teenage mom has to have special talents like complete and total patience). She handles them and all of their drama with total ease and finesse and never lets them get under her skin. The other woman is therapist woman who listens to the complaints and gripes of the other women. LOL. That would be you all today (maybe some men out there too). So, we all need nine extra selves! That’s my opinion.

I suppose that teenage boys don’t suck. They’re just difficult at times. The only reason I feel this way lately is because when I try and give my 16 and 14 year old sons a hug or a kiss on the cheek they pull away and make a face like I’m an alien. I know this will pass, but geez, I do think little kids are much easier! Thank God I still have a little one. But everyone says she’ll be the hardest one because she is a girl. Say it isn’t so! That’s all I have for you. If anyone has nine clones stashed in the closet, send them my way. I’d do it for you.

Cheers, Michele

Today I’m going to do my best to convince everyone out there that they should make plans to attend the Romantic Times conference next year in Orlando!

The 2008 conference was great. It was my second time at RT, and it was better- for me - than the first. This year I only went to 2 panels (and only spoke at one). The majority of my time was spent with writer friends who I only get to see once a year, and chatting with readers. I got to meet several readers this year that I’d never met before…Like Debbie (Who said she’d stalk me if I didn’t live in Canada. LOL ) and Jaynie Ritchie (who came all the way from Singapore tot he conference!) . And The Smut Sluts! I got to meet a couple of these playful and fun loving women in person. And LAURIE!! I was thrilled to have this pretty blonde woman walk up and shake my hand at the bookfair on Sat. Then she told me who she was and it was all I could do not to jump over the table and tackle hug her. I’ve ’spoken’ with Laurie for a couple years now, all online, and meeting in person was great.

There were way more wonderful people than I can mention here. Living in Northern Alberta I don’t get to meet many readers. There’s only one bookstore in my city who likes to have me in for readings and signings, the others are part of a chain and don’t want me to sign because of the “content” of my books. Yeah, like the sex in my books is so much more offensive than the violence in so may others. Whatever. Anyway, the point, meeting readers at RT is a high that I need to keep doing what I do. Hearing from readers who love my characters and stories motivates me to keep writing like nothing else can. Thank you to everyone who has ever spoken up and said hi to me, in person or by email. I love you for it!

I finally met Brava editor Kate Duffy in person this year. I’ve been at several conferences where she’s been, but she’s not my editor, and I’ve never made it a point to meet her. However, this year Kensington held a cocktail party, offsite of the conference, for it’s authors, and I attended. It was one of my top three highlights of the week. Being not shy I just plopped myself down in a booth and started chatting, and Kate was wonderful. I spent several hours chatting with her, and popular Brava authors Helen Kay Dimon, Karen Kelly (I love this woman..such a wonderfully wicked sense of humor)Diane Whiteside, Sylvia Day, and Smart Bitch Sarah! It was a great time, and I loved it all, even the fact that the Red Bulls I was drinking had me wandering the hotel lobby from 4 AM - 6 AM.

Okay, Maybe I can’t blame the Red Bull, since I didn’t drink any of the energy drink the next night yet I was once again up and about from 4- 6:30 in the AM. Maggie the night desk clerk and Rob the night manager were wonderful company. *smile* I guess I’ll just always be a night owl.

Myself and my Allure sisters had our Safari Party on Friday and it was huge success. I signed every book I had, and handed them out to people who knew who I was, and had specific books they wanted as well as some readers who had no clue what I wrote but wanted a free book. *grin* It was great! I have faith that any and all who got a book will enjoy it and hopefully decide they want more time in Sasha-Land and track down my backlist.

I developed a fan girl crush on thriller writer Barry Eisler after attending a panel where he spoke. I’m a big mystery/thriller reader, and this guy is one dynamic speaker. I loved what he had to say about writing and his upcoming stand alone book. I’ve never read any of his books yet, but after listening to him, and surfing his website I know I’ll love them. They seem to be in a similar vein to Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, and I’m a die hard fan of those.

Another surprise for me was cover model John DeSalvo. I can remember years ago when Sylvia wanted him on her blog skin, and she showed me his website. I wasn’t really hot for the guy. He was your typical cover model. Sure he looked good, but whatever. Well, he was at the conference for the cover model reunion dinner, and I saw him down at the bar after. The man is beautiful in person. He wore a very nice suit and tie, and was utterly gorgeous. A real MAN. Not a boy, or an arrogant peacock, but a man. I got the chance to talk to him a bit and he was a true gentleman, too. A nice treat, and now I can say I’m a girly fan of his too. LOL

At our Safari Party Sylvia decided to tell everyone to come to our Paradise theme party in Orlando next year because I would wear a bikini!!! Did she check with me before spreading this rumor? Nope, not at all. At first I thought it was funny. No way in hell would I wear a bikini….but y’know what? It’s just the challenge I need. I’m always up for a challenge, and I thrive under pressure, so sure, I’ll wear a bikini next year. After all, I’ve been moaning about how I gain twenty pounds every time I write a book, and I want to get back into shape…now’s the time. My cousin has been trying to join a martial arts club here in town, but he didn’t want to go alone. I told him I’d get back to it in the summer, and now I have an additional reason to do so. I love working out, but I lose interest way too fast in just going to the gym. I need to learn and be challenged or I lose interest and slack off. So, back to the dojo it is. After I meet this deadline. LOL

Now that I’ve told you how much fun RT was, I’m going to show you. (I tried to load the videos on here, but it wouldn;t let me…so I’m giving you links to view them)

First up is a teaser for a project some friends and I planned to work on while at RT…check it out…

THE HUNT

Then a videojournal from me, with a stream of photos from the conference.

PICTURES GALORE!

And lastly…I’m sending you to check out THE HUNT, THE CAPTURE on Megan Hart’s Blog !!

While I did help brainstorm the idea for the mockumentry, Megan and Lauren did all the work. They are the best…go watch it, and tell them that!

I hope this has convinced you to consider attending RT next year because the people are what make it so much fun, and I’d love to meet all of you!

by Gail Barrett

I’ve always wanted to write a book set in Spain, an ancient land steeped in intriguing contrasts — poetry and passion, flamenco music and bagpipes, Roman bridges and Celtic ruins.

I first went to Spain decades ago as a student. I intended to spend a year there, but ended up staying for four. And what an experience that was! Even now I can close my eyes and instantly transport myself back in time to those long, hot days in a sun-drenched land, to those ancient pueblos baking in the dusty plains. I can hear the deep, graveled voices of the Spanish men, the buzzing of Vespa motorbikes over cobblestone roads, the clinking of glasses in smoke-filled bars. And I can smell the fried calamares permeating the air, feel those pulsing summer nights.

So of course, I knew I had to set a book there. And who better to write about in Spain than the Gypsies? For most people Gypsies and Spain are synonymous, although when I lived there, I never saw them much. They’d ride into Madrid in their horse-drawn carts, then slip quietly away in the night — mysterious, stealthy, alone. Of course things have changed now, and most Gypsies are as integrated into mainstream society as anyone else. But some still live on the fringes, self-contained, speaking their own language, vastly misunderstood.

So I decided to play with the stereotypes, challenge them. And when I discovered Luke Moreno prowling through a medieval palace, I knew I’d found the perfect hero for my book. Luke’s as complex as the land he lives in, an honorable man with a shady past, a man who has spent his life fighting injustice — only to find himself framed for a theft.

And I set Luke up with an equally tortured heroine — his ex-lover Sofia Mikhelson, the same woman who betrayed him in the past. Sparks fly from the moment Luke sees her. And Sofia is just as convinced that Luke once deceived her. Talk about conflict!

The story kicks off when an ancient Roma (Gypsy) necklace — former Nazi war loot — surfaces in a Spanish bank vault. The Nazi-Swiss bank-Spain connection is real, of course, and so are other facts in the book, such as the Roma’s eleventh century migration out of India. Still, I admit I played loose with history. There isn’t really a legend or three ancient artifacts, although you never know…

In any case, the Spanish government, anxious to appease the Gypsies, decides to donate the necklace to the royal family of Romanistan. Luke is in charge of security at the event, which takes place at a palace outside Madrid. The necklace is stolen, Luke is set up to take the blame, and so begins his action-packed chase through Spain to retrieve the necklace and prove his innocence.

Luke and Sofia go first to Madrid, a place that I know well. (Four years of bar hopping paid off!) But even though I knew the city, I still ran into problems when I was writing the book. At one point, for example, Luke and Sofia are searching an apartment in the oldest part of Madrid. Now I remember those old apartments with their creaking caged elevators and sagging wooden stairs. The problem is that those buildings don’t have fire escapes or back doors. So when the police trapped Luke and Sofia in the apartment, I had no way to get them out.

Fortunately, I remembered those little dormer windows that dot the roofs throughout Spain. Luke and Sofia end up escaping through one of those windows and climbing over the roof, which made for a pretty exciting scene, especially since they were six stories up.

From Madrid, they head to Ávila, a wonderful medieval city, best known as the birthplace of St. Teresa, a pillar of the Catholic Church. (You can see her finger in a museum there if you’re interested in the relics of saints.)

Ávila is also famous for hosting one of the most notorious trials of the Spanish Inquisition, conducted by none other than Tomás de Torquemada, the Gran Inquisitador who murdered thousands of people during his horrific reign. A beautiful plaza covers the site of the trial now. You can sit there on a summer night and watch swallows dip past while you contemplate the innocent people who were burned beneath your feet.

The trial, known as La Guardia, began in 1490 with the arrest of Benito Garcia, a Jewish converso. Poor old Garcia was returning from a pilgrimage in the north when a communion wafer supposedly fell out of his knapsack — “proof” that he was ritually murdering children. After a year and a half of torture, Garcia and seven supposed accomplices “confessed” to the crime. It didn’t matter that there was no body, no grave, no report of a missing child or even the trace of a crime. The inquisitors continued torturing the men, determined to prove their guilt. The ones who didn’t repent were torn apart with hot pincers, then burned to death in the small plaza. Those who did repent their “crimes” were mercifully strangled before they were burned.

In any case, despite its grim history, Ávila today is a beautiful little city with the best preserved medieval wall in Europe. You can stroll along the top and gaze out at the landscape, watch the storks nesting, see the slots in the wall where soldiers poured burning oil on attacking enemies. Of course, in HEART OF A THIEF, my characters use the wall for more nefarious purposes when they need to break into the villain’s estate.

From Ávila, Luke and Sofia head to Salamanca, famous mostly for its university, and another place I love. Salamanca has one of the most beautiful plazas I’ve ever seen, and that’s another place I got stuck. Luke and Sofia got trapped inside the plaza by the police, and I couldn’t get them out. I wracked my brain for a solution — but there were no back doors, no dormer windows to climb out of… there was simply no way out!

Fortunately, I was taking a trip to Spain around that time, and as soon as I got to the plaza I found the solution — one of the side balconies above the arched doorways. I also found a waiter who was willing to chat while I sipped my wine, and he told me all about the night delivery trucks that supply the bars. Problem solved. My characters leap off a side balcony onto a truck.

The climax of the book takes place at don Fernando’s country home, or pazo, which I modeled after Pambre Castle in Galicia in the northwest corner of Spain. Built in the 14th century, Pambre Castle has the perfect ambiance for a suspense novel — moss-covered stones and crumbling towers set against a perpetually dreary sky. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get inside the castle, so I had to imagine that. But the castle itself is real.

So there you have it. I thoroughly enjoyed writing HEART OF A THIEF and loved traveling to the places my characters go. In fact, just thinking about Spain makes me yearn to take another trip back… Maybe it’s time to drag out the suitcase. ¡Adiós!

As a child I loved the stories of author L. M. Montgomery. All her books not just the “Anne” ones and I especially enjoyed The Blue Castle. It’s the story of an overburdened, dowdy spinster who decides to “live” and win the heart of a man after being told she was going to die.

I didn’t get to author Colleen McCullough until my teens and loved her story The Ladies of Missalonghi about an overburdened dowdy spinster who decides to “live” and win the heart of a man after pretending to be told she was going to die.

Hmm…notice anything familiar?

Some say shame on McCollough because her book is eerily similar to Montgomery’s. I say bravo. Yes, there are striking similarities, but delicious differences too–the Australian landscape, the leeches, the hero, the ‘bath’ scene. To me these two books show how talented authors can take a similar premise and tell two different stories. Some writers experience synergy, I can’t fault them for that.

Have you ever read remarkably similar stories?

Oh and as a shameless plug please visit the new page for my upcoming series The Black Stockings Society. Sign up for my newsletter and be eligible to win thigh high stockings (one size fits all) and a special prize.