By Dara Girard
October 24th, 2008
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Next week is Halloween in the US. People will dress up and pretend to be someone (or something) else for a night. In my novel, A Gentleman’s Offer, Yvette Coulier pretends to be a rich woman for a month. And that got me thinking. If I could become someone else for a month who would I be? Then I saw it. A beautiful, slick magazine with gorgeous pictures National Geographic Expeditions: Around the World by Private Jet. Ahhh, that’s who’d like to be–a woman who could afford to travel around the world in luxury or the owner of a multi-media empire.

But enough about me. Anyone you’d like to be for a month?

By Kathleen OReilly
October 23rd, 2008
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Recent comments from: · Kathleen OReilly · Laidybyrd · Gigi

Can I say that I’ve had it up to here with billionaires and men with awesome power and responsibility? Recently I am feeling very cynical in my world purview, and I have lost all faith in them. I’m not sure that they are actually doing any good in the world, and when I pick up a book that involves either a man with mind-boggling physical prowess, or eye-glaring arrogance, I can’t suspend my disbelief anymore. All I want to do is point my finger at them, and say, “This is all your fault.” Not mature, not productive, but okay, that’s the way I’m currently feeling.

I’ve been through reading funks, but now I think I’m in an all-powerful hero funk.

Recently I read a couple of romance novels with everyman sort of heroes and I didn’t have to suspend my disbelief; I didn’t want to point my finger of shame at them. These heroes were like great men I knew in my world, the guys who go into the office, or go out in the community and do their job without great fanfare, or great explosions, or jaw-dropping stunts. They are not trying to save the world, merely to make it a better place, and they do their best work from their heart.

There’s a quiet comfort in that knowledge. Knowing that while there are only a few who are truly exceptional, there are many who are everymen and willing to give their all for no expectation of glory, wealth, or fame.

So, here’s my question. Has anybody else experienced this? Are you turning MORE to the all-powerful heroes instead of less? Are you reading, binging on junk food, spending more time in the bubble bath? What’s getting you through?

By Vivi Anna
October 22nd, 2008
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***********WINNERS PICKED****************

Deidre
Pan zareta

Please email me at vivi@vivianna.net to claim your prize. Your choice from these books:

Hell Kat
Inferno
Blood Secrets
Dark Lies
Veiled Truth
Winter Kissed - November release
Alluring Tales II - November release

*********************************************************

I love October. I like the fall colors, and that Halloween is coming up, I love the creepy crawlies. I also love October because I have a new book out full of the creatures that go bump in the night…

VEILED TRUTH, book three of the Valorian Chronicles

SHE DIDN’T TRUST THE SECRETIVE DHAMPIR…BUT SOMETHING ABOUT HIM CALLED TO HER

Five years ago, virginal Lyra Magice had fled powerful dhampir Theron LeNoir’s advances. But now an ancient text the dhampir possesses holds the key to solving murders that have plagued Necropolis. When another body is found and evidence points to the Mistress of the city, duty dictates that Lyra work with Theron—a man she regards as haughty, arrogant and immoral—to translate the symbols left at the crime scenes. But with their forced alliance comes darkly sensual dreams that leave her feeling wanton and achy….

Unwilling to reveal his dark past, the dhampir soon discovers that Lyra—a witch of great power—is to be the sacrificial virgin in a demonic scheme to open a portal to hell itself. Salvation will come only if Theron can win Lyra’s trust—and her heart.

Review snippets:

RT TOP PICK
“A police detective in Necropolis, witch Lyra Magice works with Theron LeNoir, half-witch/half-vampire, to foil a demon’s plot to take power within the city. Not to be overshadowed by the supernatural storyline of Veiled Truth (41/2), the relationship between Lyra and Theron is full of chemistry. Vivi Anna’s writing is wonderfully descriptive, and the plot is riveting. This book will definitely hold readers’ attention.”

“Veiled Truth is a captivating, impossible to put down, story filled with mystery, intrigue, and passion that I totally adored. I loved the first two books in the Valorian Chronicles, Blood Secrets and Dark Lies, and I feel no different about Veiled Truth.” – Joyfully Reviewed

“VEILED TRUTH can easily be read as a stand alone. However, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to read just one book in The Valorian Chronicles as frankly this series just rocks! Vivi Anna perfectly meshes a phenomenal paranormal story with her signature heat to create one spectacular book in VEILED TRUTH. Highly recommended!”
Rating: 5 – Debbie, CK2KWIPSANDKRITIQUES

“Creatively talented in numerous genres, Vivi Anna never disappoints her readers. With enthralling storylines and dynamic characters, each book by this gifted author will keep one totally engrossed in every compelling scene. There is not a page of VEILED TRUTH which does not offer something to capture the thoughts of the reader and pull them even more into the story.” – 5 Stars, Cataromance

I also have a NOCTURNE BITE out as well this month, called MAHINA’S STORM, which can be downloaded from www.eharlequin.com.

MAHINA’S STORM

She was a tough-as-nails cop, all business and always in conrol. But Mahina Garner was also lycan, with strength, speed…and a powerful primitave nature. So when she was barely missed by a silver bullet during a raid she led, it ate at her confidence and disturbed her peace of mind. Only was it the near brush with death that so unnerved her, or the fact that she’d been saved by Ren Calder?

Mahina had always preferred her relationships uncomplicated, temporary and lightweight. But Ren stirred something in her that made her seriously uncomfortable. Determined to get him out of her system, she escaped into the night and into her wolf form, to quiet the turmoil within her. So she was surprised…and surprisingly thrilled…to find Ren following her, equally determined to make her his own.

In the spirit of Halloween, I’d love to know what paranormal creature you like best. Are you a vamp groupie, totally live in the wolfie world, or is magic your forte?

I love them all personally, and I don’t think I have a favorite. That’s why I wanted to create a world for them all to live and play in. All of them deserve their fun.

Tell me who’d you love a late night visit from and I’ll put your name in a cauldron and pick two winners for a couple of prizes – a choice of any one of my books.

By Lauren Dane
October 21st, 2008
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My first NY single title releases in about six weeks. I have about eleventy billion emotions about this daily. I’m thrilled of course, I’ve spent a lot of the last years working toward this moment so it’s a heady thing. But at the same time, I’m scared as all get out that I’ll fail!

At this point, it’s sort of going to do whatever it does and every author knows that point where you just sort of take a deep breath and declare, “I’ve done all I can do, it’s out of my hands now.”  Whether I mean it or not depends on what time of the day you ask.

Undercover is a futuristic. A futuristic menage with some bdsm elements. People told me, “Futuristics are not selling!” I heard it a lot, in fact, as I wrote it and after my agent had pitched it. I heard it from the editors who rejected it too.

But it was the story that had been calling me to write for a few years so I finally gave in and did it. That it was “the big sale” is a sweet thing because my editor at Berkley didn’t buy it because it was a futuristic, she bought it for the story. And thank goodness for that. 

Similarly, I had this budding career writing very hot paranormals but there was this other book in my head. A small town, sweeter, warm hearted, family centered romance that featured four brothers from a town called Petal.  I took a chance and sent it to Angela James at Samhain who bought it. Even though it was not what my established readers had expected, it turned out to be one of my most popular series. Even better,  folks who liked small town, sweeter (but still spicy) romance discovered me as well.

A lot of time, writers are under pressure to write to trend. To write what is hot now. But the problem is manifold. First, NY lines are buying at least a year, maybe more, out so whatever is hot now, may not be hot then. And also, when you bend yourself into a prezel to write something you don’t care about, it shows on the page.

Essentially, it’s a careful line. Right now, I wouldn’t send a werewolf book to NY but I’ve got an established series with Samhain and so I’m so fortunate to be able to write them for them. Writing is a business, you do certainly need to be aware of what’s out there and who seems to want to see what. At the same time, if the story you want to write is a futuristic, why not write it?  Because werewolves ARE selling to NY, just less than they were a year ago and futuristics do sell too.

In the end, a place in your writing where you can do what you love and still be a savvy businessperson is a must if you are to survive all the rejection and hits you get along the way. It’s in finding that balance that we, I believe, find our strongest, truest voice as authors.

At least that’s what I think right now, LOL.

By Terri Brisbin
October 20th, 2008
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Every time I begin to write a new book, I swear that I will mend my ways and not wait until the last days before deadline to finish it. I promise that I will take advantage of the many open hours and days in the months prior to my deadline to write my book in an orderly and leisurely fashion. I tell all my writing friends that I will be far into my book by the time I usually get down to the heavy-duty writing of it.

And, once again, it just didn’t happen that way.

Two weeks before my deadline, I’d written fewer than 100 pages (er….closer to 70!) and the story was simply swirling around in my mind without much form. The characters were whispering, not making sense with their demands and the theme of the story lay just out of my reach. Then finally, I had an entire day to myself to write — dear hubby took himself off to a friend’s house, kids were all suitably busy and the house was quiet. I wrote like the wind! And after getting about 10 really good pages down, I shut down the wrong computer and wiped them out. :shock:

But I told myself I still had almost two weeks so no worries… right? :roll:

Then the story began to flow. I managed to reclaim the lost pages from my memory and wrote on…the story became clearer and the characters started talking to me and to each other and, voila!, the theme of the story crystallized for me. I found that a number of elements, planted unconsciously in the beginning of the story, blossomed and gave me the ‘wow’ moments I needed to fuel those last, desperate days of writing.

The beginning of the last week, though, saw me one hundred and twenty pages short of my goal. So, I did what I used to do in college and what’s worked on previous books — I pulled a couple of all-nighters to finish on time. From early Tuesday morning until Thursday afternoon when I FedEx’d the package to NYC, I got 8 hours of sleep. . . not each night. . . altogether. :shock:

Happy, happy, joy, joy — the book was done!! More importantly, I could rest and recover, because when I looked in the mirror that day and saw the exhausted, glassy-eyed, old woman staring back at me, the reality hit — I am way too old to keep doing this deadline-binge-writing thing. I needed to sleep and then sleep more and some more. Now, two weeks later, I am just beginning to feel like I’m back on my schedule and awake.

And did I learn my lession? Now that I’m getting even older, will I begin to write in an orderly fashion instead of wasting hours and days? Probably not. Unfortunately, I’ve trained my brain to write like this — in this huge burst of creativity, under pressure, with the walls crashing down around me.

I’m getting too old to do this, but I think I’m too old to change now. Aren’t I?

Oh, just to give you a glimpse of how things look in my office during that deadline-binge-o’-writing, here’s a candid shot… Try not to laugh or scream>>>

So, are you a procrastinator at heart? Do you put off things until the last minute and then run around in a frenzy doing them? Or are you like my sister with her Christmas shopping — it’s done and presents are wrapped well before Thanksgiving? What’s your style? I’ll pick a poster at random from those who tell me if they’re a procrastinator or not and present a small prize.

Terri

Terri just finished writing her next Harlequin Historical and is now getting started on her first BRAVA historical romance. Her website at www.terribrisbin.com has all the details and even a contest to celebrate her next release - which hits the shelves next week. ONE CANDLELIT CHRISTMAS is a Regency Historical anthology..

By Gail Barrett
October 16th, 2008
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Recent comments from: · Cherie J · RachaelfromNJ · Colleen

Who doesn’t love Indiana Jones? Adventurous, handsome, daring, he crashes through jungles, unearthing mysterious artifacts, discovering ancient temples and crypts. His antics thrill us, entertain us, and make for very exciting movies.

Of course, Indiana Jones is hardly a typical archeologist. Most archeologists lead far less daring lives. And the way he treats the artifacts he finds — tossing them carelessly around, looting sites with abandon, even using a human bone as a torch — is damaging and downright unethical, at least by modern standards.

Few of us worry about that while watching the movies, though. We’re far more interested in making sure he defeats the bad guys and enjoying the thrills he provides. Still, Indiana Jones is a good example of an issue authors often face — how realistic do our characters have to be?

I grappled with just that question when I was writing TO PROTECT A PRINCESS, my November book (out soon!!!). My heroine, Dara Adams, is an archeologist (as well as a princess). She goes to Peru to find a lost Inca city, believing that an eleventh-century dagger that belongs to her people is buried in a tomb. But for this story to work, her journey had to be a secret. It was vital that no one knew where she’d gone — which meant she couldn’t alert the government, couldn’t secure a permit to explore the ruins. And she certainly couldn’t take anything she found out of the country, or at least not legally.

In the past, archeologists didn’t always pay much attention to legalities. Hiram Bingham, discoverer of Machu Picchu, took about five thousand artifacts to Yale University, where they are displayed in a museum (Peru is still trying to get them back). But my story is set in current time. Dara knows the rules, and breaking them would make her less than admirable.

I worried about this while I was writing the book — how to mesh the needs of my story with what an archeologist in real life would do. I finally came up with what I thought was a good solution. I gave her a partner, a Peruvian archeologist, who is working behind the scenes to obtain the proper permits. She plans to meet up with him and his team after she finds the city, and they will then map the site. And when she finally comes across the ancient city, I have her take photos and document everything she finds. She even acknowledges that she is reluctant to remove any artifacts and break the rules.

Hopefully this will appease any readers who are sticklers for the law. But maybe no one will notice or care. I’m hoping everyone will be too busy enjoying the story to worry about the ethical aspects, just as movie watchers overlook the less-than-legal escapades of Indiana Jones.

In any case, I’m thrilled about the launch of this book. TO PROTECT A PRINCESS was fun to write because I’m a sucker for antiquities. Add in ancient trails, mist-clad mountains, a long-lost city, and I’m in bliss. I’m also excited to announce that the book has received great reviews — and it’s a Romantic Times November Top Pick!

So what about you? Do you like adventure romances? What ancient places do you find most intriguing? Any ruins you’d like to explore? And just in case you missed the launch of my miniseries, I’ll send a copy of HEART OF A THIEF (Book one of The Crusaders) to someone who blogs today.

By Shelley Munro
October 15th, 2008
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Recent comments from: · Shelley Munro · MarthaE · Pat L.

Growing up in the New Zealand countryside you wouldn’t think we’d socialize much, but as a child I remember going to fetes, socials and parties on a regular basis. The invitations always came along with the instructions for the ladies to bring a plate. I remember thinking this was a silly thing to ask for. I mean, wouldn’t they be better asking for food?

My mother explained to me that “ladies, a plate” was an expression and our hosts expected us to take a plate with food sitting on it, not an empty plate. She said  I shouldn’t worry. There would definitely be food where we were going. That was a big relief because I like food, and unfortunately, I haven’t grown out of my liking for sweet treats!

I thought about this expression recently because there’s a new cookbook out in our local bookstores called Ladies, A Plate. It’s by Alexa Johnston and contains recipes for cakes and biscuits I remember eating in my childhood–recipes such as Kiwi Crisps, Anzac biscuits, Afghans, Pikelets, Neenish Tarts, Butterfly Cakes, Custard Squares and Cinnamon Oysters.

Many of the recipes were developed in New Zealand and a few borrowed from Australia. In fact there’s a good-natured rivalry between the two countries when it comes to deciding which of the two countries invented some recipes.

These days baking seems to be a dying art. My mother taught my brother, sister and I how to cook and at the weekends, we’d all choose something to bake, filling the cake tins for the following week.

This post was also inspired by my latest release, TEA FOR TWO, out now at Samhain Publishing because, after all, a sweet treat makes a cup of tea into an occasion.

Do you have the expression ladies, a plate where you live? Do you have childhood memories of baking or special sweet treats?