Writerspace Blogs

One Book's 15 Year Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:44:00 +0000

My new book El Patrón is finally available! I am so excited about this book. It has been a journey to see this book in print. I'm gonna "blab" for a minute about this book's journey, and then maybe you will understand why I refer to it as a journey.

I'm going waaaaayyyy back now. In 1991 I gave birth to my first son Alex. He was six weeks premature and had some health issues that dictated that I stay home with him and not work at the time. I was fresh out of college with a degree in journalism. I chose journalism as my major because my parents didn't think creative writing would be lucrative and since they were footing the tuition, I acquiesced. However, the bug to write fiction never stopped biting at me. So with my baby at home and the urge to write a book, I took a correspondence course through Writer's Digest (these were the days before I had a clue about the Internet). I finished that novel, and sent out submission to agents and actually had some good feedback but ultimately it was rejected. Two years pass and by then I had a rough and tumble toddler and a new baby on the way. I was now working at our family business, but I still had that need to write. What I would write, I didn't know.

Well as things would have it, some very interesting events took place in my life during that time. I won't divulge but let's just say I might have known someone who was married to someone who had a cousin who knew someone in the Mexican Mafia a.k.a the drug cartels. I had read The Godfather series and found the history, etc., of the Mafioso interesting--I didn't want to be involved with that lifestyle though, so I stopped knowing that person who was married to someone who had a cousin who knew someone in the Mexican Mafia a.k.a the drug cartels. But the idea of a book about them intrigued me. I did some research and I sat down with my then six month old baby either in my lap or in a swing next to me, while my two-year-old made a fiasco out of the house. I had just acquired my first laptop. With my baby at times in my lap, I hunted and pecked my way through the first draft of El Patrón. Then my life kind of bottomed out. I went through a divorce, I lost my home, I had to file a bk because I was left with a ton of debt I had been unaware of in my youthful naivete (that's a nice way of saying I was a pretty dumb twenty-something). I took a year off from writing and went back to work for my family.

But writing is a passion and once you have it, you want to write. You always come back to it. So, eventually I wrote another version and then another of this big book (450 typed pages). I had the fortune to attend the Maui Writer's Retreat and it was there that someone in the industry said, "Oh no. Organized Crime books and family sagas don't sell." Funny how The Sopranos were on a year later and we all know how unpopular that series was. Instead of focusing on Patrón, I wrote two thrillers, a children's book, and then Murder Uncorked, which was the first book I sold to a publisher. But the characters of El Patrón kept nagging at me. After putting out a few mysteries, I decided to take another crack at El Patrón. I revised it two more times and utilized my Yoda (my freelance editor Mike Sirota). This was three years ago. But then, more mystery book contracts came in and my focus was back on them. I have now written nine mysteries and after finishing up the latest one "A Toast to Murder," and then putting out "Happy Hour," I thought now might be the time to see if El Patrón will fly. I hope I'm right.

For those of you who are used to reading my comedic mysteries, be prepared that this book is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy different. I'm not a writer who only wants to write one type of book. I want to write good stories--stories that compel me, wake me up in the middle of the night yelling at me, "WRITE ME!" So, if you do decide to join me on this journey, just know what you are getting into--this is a saga, and there are some not so nice parts, and there are some steamy scenes (compliments of my dear friend and a wonderful writer Jessica Park, who is the go to girl when you need to ramp up a sex scene. Oh boy, talk about blushing! I can hear J.P. now--you're such a prude." Yeah I know). But on the flip side now that I've told you this book isn't all laughs and light, it is my favorite book out of thirteen of them. These characters have been screaming at me for 15 years now, and they wouldn't leave me alone. So, even if only a few of you here buy the book and read it, I'm good with it.

If you want to check out the book trailer from El Patrón, please visit my website at http://www.michelescott.com.

Cheers,
Michele

TWIST IN TIME

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:02:00 +0000

Spring is pretty subtle here at the beach in Southern California. It comes earlier than in other places in the country. Nights are still cool, sometimes as low as the high forties. But days begin to inch up to the upper sixties from the low sixties, and sometimes, like today in March, we even flirt with seventy. Spring is always a promise. That’s true even when the winters aren’t that harsh. You can feel the promise in the air and it’s exciting. We start… to expect change.

In TWIST IN TIME, it’s that electric expectation that begins to take hold of my hero and heroine. They don’t know what’s coming but something sure is, and it’s exciting and frightening and it starts feeling inevitable. It’s going to change them and their relationship with each other and their relationship with the world, forever.

I set TWIST IN TIME in March in San Francisco (near where I grew up, and always one of my favorite cities) unconsciously, but March is the perfect time. The promise of spring is faint. But the world starts whispering to you that everything is about to change.

Change is just what shy bookseller Lucy Rossano wants in her life. Her scientist father has passed on. She has her business dealing in rare books and a friend, Brad, a physicist at the Super Collider lab who knew her father and seems like a connection to him. But…something is missing, until a woman named Frankie (from TIME FOR ETERNITY) gives her a book by Leonardo DaVinci that describes his effort to build a time machine. The book says he was successful. That’s crazy. But when Brad confides that his top secret project at the lab aims to power a strange medieval machine whose purpose is a mystery, Lucy knows what that machine was designed to do. An unbelievable coincidence, right?

It feels inevitable to Lucy that she will use Leonardo’s machine and use it she does, to go back to a time when the world was full of promise and magic. She lands in the middle of a fierce Dark Age battle. When a warrior falls against her as she powers up the machine to escape, she finds herself saddled with a wounded Viking from 912 A.D. in modern day San Francisco. Worse, Brad and his shadowy government agency sponsors are now after the machine that only she can use, and her Viking, Galen Valgarssen. On the run, she and Galen must cross the language barrier and find a way to escape the relentless pursuit of those who would use the machine to change time for their personal gain. Is it just a coincidence that she feels an overwhelming attraction to the man she happened to bring back with her?

Here’s a little excerpt from A TWIST IN TIME:

“The lights in the boat’s cabin went out with a fizzle leaving only the clear, pale moonlight streaming in through the ports. Lucy couldn’t get her breath. She was hurtling toward something that had been growing inside her, around her. It felt like destiny. She could refuse it. She had a choice. But she was standing on a precipice and everything would soon be very wrong if she made the wrong choice right here, right now.

She felt Galen behind her. His physical presence overwhelmed the small space. She had to do something. She held herself still for one long moment more. Then her head moved of its own accord. She turned to look at Galen. He shook, alternately flushing and going dead pale in the moonlight. His gaze jerked to hers.

Conflagration. And she knew what she must do. It wasn’t what she’d thought.
She held out a hand. “Let’s go on deck.”

He looked alarmed, confused.

“You know it’s right.” She did. All would be well if they could but see the moon.
A taut, invisible line stretched between them. She saw him struggle. She smiled, hand still extended. He closed his eyes, took a breath.

“I fight no more,” he whispered, and took her hand.

She opened the hatch. They climbed to the deck, the dog wriggling out ahead of them. The moon was rising over the bay to the east. It had cleared the horizon, golden from the pollution in the air. It shone in eerie serenity. This moon had shone over Galen’s time too.

He came up behind her. “What month is it?” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

She shivered, only half from cold. “We call it March. Third month.”

“What day? What day?”

She had to think. “Twenty-first.” She held up fingers.

He rolled his head as though in pain. “Ostara’s day. Change of season.”

“The… the vernal equinox…”

“Ja. Ja. Day same long as night.” His voice held half wonder, half fear.

The beginning of spring. The day that signaled a change in the world as it quickened toward the plenty of summer. “Who… who is Ostara?” she asked.

He seemed most agitated. “Norse goddess of…” He went to Latin, “fecundity. Like Saxon Eostre,” he added. “Very mighty day.”

So powerful Christian priests borrowed it for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection to spread their faith among the pagans. Druids celebrated the first day of spring, too, didn’t they? But the moon wasn’t always full exactly on the 20th or 21st of March. That must be pretty rare….

She turned to him under the full moon of the vernal equinox and knew in her bones and her belly that something special was supposed to happen here, something bigger than her, even bigger her and Galen together. The full moon, the tides, the earth’s axis that rotated through space, all those could be explained. But in their confluence, they became something more, a promise of some kind. She ached for completion and she knew what would complete her. The whole world was telling her.
God, she sounded like a loon, even to herself. The universe was not talking to her. Next she’d start believing in astrology and she’d open up a shop that sold crystals and incense.

But Galen was here, big and real in the cold March air of the vernal equinox under a full moon. This was real. And what they were about to do together was right.”

So here we are in March, with the faint promise of spring in the air as the world turns toward summer. It seems a gigantic coincidence that TWIST OF TIME was released in March.

Or maybe not.

I will be giving away a signed copy of Twist in Time and a box of Godiva Chocolate to someone who comments on this blog.

http://www.susansquires.com/

I Hate Daylight Savings Time

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:09:00 +0000

I have been driving around, running errands and trying to figure out what to blog about today that would seem worth the trouble of someone going out of their way to read it. And then I remembered what today was. March 15. Do you know that we have Shakespeare to thank for not having to file our annual income tax today, but a month from now (Bear with me. My graduate degree is in Shakespeare and I don’t get to use it very often)? Originally, separating you from your money took place on March 15th of the year but apparently the Internal Revenue Service (love that last word) was sensitive way back then and took offense at all the “Beware the Ides of March” jokes (courtesy of Julius Caesar) that came its way so the date was changed to April 15th. Sadly, the only trauma attached to that date is that it is the deadline for filing for the previous year without a penalty.

Forgive me but I’m afraid I’m feeling a bit grumpy this morning (or actually, this afternoon). I feel like this every year when I have an hour stolen out of a schedule that already requires a shoehorn in order to squeeze anything additional into it. My day begins at 4 when I hit the day running (people to feed and get out the door, a dog to run after, loosely disguised as “taking the dog for a walk”) and usually doesn’t stop until ten or eleven that evening. I am not one of those bright-eyed and bushy-tailed morning people, but I have resigned myself to getting up at an hour when even God is asleep. That would be the aforementioned 4 A.M. Getting up at 3 because the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. cannot get themselves to do away with something that came into being in modern times in order to “conserve coal in wartime” is more than just a bit disconcerting, it’s downright annoying. It is also enough to make me groggily contemplate moving to Arizona because Daylight Savings Time doesn’t exist in Arizona (possibly because they might have a “No Stupidity Zone” there, I’m not sure) However, I am so pale (I have seven little men following me wherever I go) I am fairly certain that my skin would instantly turn into leather if I were exposed to the Arizona sun for more than ninety seconds. So I am doomed to being groggy for more than six months a year (the Powers That Be in their infinite wisdom have extended Daylight Savings Time on both ends, beginning it sooner and ending it later) until some kind legislator with pull decides that perhaps the public at large has better things to do with their time than attempting to reprogram their DVRs (VCRs in some cases)twice a year and just end this “Spring forward, Fall back” nonsense once and for all. Hey, it could happen. I’m an optimist and still believe in Santa Claus.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go over to my mother-in-law’s and try to explain to an 85 year old woman why her “magical” VCR didn’t tape her favorite Soap Opera. Pray for me.

Comment on this blog and you could win a copy of The Cavanaugh Code!

Marie Ferrarella

http://www.marieferrarella.com/

"VIVIANNE, YOU'RE WITH ME."

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:58:00 +0000

Justin stalked from the bridge without waiting to see if she followed. Ever since he and Vivianne had gone back to the engine room, he’d been riled.

His skin prickled. No matter how much he tried to repress the need, he was close to losing control again.

“You think us being together’s a . . . good . . . idea?” Viviane’s tone was soft and raw. She might as well have caressed his flesh.

He gritted his teeth. “It’s . . . happening . . . again.”

“No.” It is not.” Vivianne spoke as if she was in agony.

It took every ounce of his control not to rip off her clothing and take her right there in the hallway. He swallowed hard. “I’ll be in the captain’s quarters.”

Not in his entire life had lust ever pounded him like this. They were in danger. But it didn’t matter. They might die tomorrow. It didn’t matter. The crew would know exactly what they were up to. It didn’t matter.

He had to have her. Now.

The excerpt above is from JORDAN, a futuristic romance and some people call this kind of book space opera. I call it futuristic romance and I love to write this kind of story because it combines two of my favorite subjects: Romance and Science Fiction. Obviously lots of folks who enjoyed Avatar, Independence Day and the Star Wars sagas agree. I believe the appeal of this genre is the element of what if? What if we really could travel into space? What will we find out there and who will we wish to spend our lives with in this new universe?

To me one of the most exciting times in life is when we find the right person for us. The person. The one we want to share our future with. That person is not always the one we imagined. For example in JORDAN, the hero of this story, has already lived for centuries. Jordan doesn’t want to fall in love. He has no intention of falling in love . . . and yet. Falling in love is not always a choice. Sometimes, it just happens. And that’s what is so much fun about writing these kinds of books. We can find love anywhere—even when we aren’t looking.

And sometimes shared danger can spark the old human hormones, creating that special chemistry that might not have ignited under different circumstances. In Jordan, the heroine is a self-made woman who builds spaceships. Under ordinary circumstances she wouldn’t fall for one of her employees, but when the two of them are thrown together under the most dire of circumstances, they must unite to succeed—for the sake of everyone on Earth. Working together, placing their lives in one another’s hands, creates a level of trust . . . a trust that’s oh so necessary for them to succeed.

As for the science fiction elements, as a child I watched Star Trek and read extensively in the genre. So combining the elements of love and space exploration is a natural. Tying those elements together with Arthurian legend was a bonus. Yes, it taxed the imagination. And let’s be real, this isn’t the kind of fiction that’s ever going to happen. But, the Pendragon Legacy series of LUCAN, RION and JORDAN entertained me for months while I wrote them. And I hope they will entertain you as you read them. For a free excerpt and a few video go to http://www.susankearney.com/.

PS. On my interview page, you can see me in space.

Around the Bend

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:14:00 +0000

I love road trips. Not super duper long ones, like the one my characters take from Massachusetts to California in AROUND THE BEND, but ones that are doable in a day. My husband and I have taken dozens of road trips, both to visit my family in Massachusetts, and to take our kids to different destinations. As of today, our kids have been to 19 states.

When they were little, we started out by keeping our road trips to destinations within a six-hour radius. We visited every zoo, aquarium and children’s museum in that circle of distance, then, as the kids got older and interested in a wider variety of destinations, we went beyond the new rhino exhibit. We’ve driven to the East Coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and are talking about a trip to the Grand Canyon this summer.

The great thing about road trips, I think, is the time you spend with people. Some of my best conversations with my kids have come in the car, when everyone else was asleep and it was just me and one kid, talking quietly to fill the darkness. When I was dating my husband, it was road trips that brought us together—we drove from Massachusetts to Indiana, and all those hours on the road gave us time to focus on just each other.

My mother and I never made a cross-country journey like Hilary and Rosemary do, but we did spend days and days in her hospital room, just her and I, talking quietly to fill the silence, to move past the illness slowly claiming her life. Of all my books, AROUND THE BEND is the most personal, the closest to events I underwent in my own life. I told those same jokes to my mother in her hospital room, made the same silly comments about magazine articles we were reading—and in the process developed an amazing relationship with her and created incredible memories that linger still, four years after her death.

AROUND THE BEND is like a road trip—it’s funny and touching and sad, all at once. There are lots of laughs in the book, but as the characters get closer to each other, they ease into the truth that has been standing between them like a wall. It’s also women’s fiction, which allowed me to explore the complexity of relationships outside a romantic one. It was a blast to write, and also very cathartic—a lot like driving from the middle of the country to the coast. You learn a lot along the way, and each destination creates a new memory.

Tell me—have you ever had a memorable road trip? Do you like road trips? Or are you more a planes, trains and boats kind of person? I’ll choose one commenter from the blog to receive a Shirley Jump tote bag (all the better to carry all those books in when you are on the road!).

http://www.shirleyjump.com/

Idea Overflow

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:32:00 +0000

There are certain times in an author’s life that are most feared. For some authors it’s the release day of a book. For others it’s when they’re stuck on a scene. For me, it’s the moment I sit down in front of my computer with a deadline looming (such as an upcoming blog post) and face a blank screen. I am not fearful by nature and it’s not because I don’t know what to write. I am fearful because I have too many ideas and I don’t know which one to settle on. That is when the looming question raises its ugly head: What should I write about?

Do I talk about my latest release WORDS OF SEDUCTION and how I was inspired by the book Peyton Place? I could delve into how the premise of secrets in a small town intrigued me into creating a character that is forced to return to a hometown she’d left in disgrace. No. I wrote something similar to that already.

Do I talk about my unofficial trilogy “Ladies of the Pen”? Would people be interested in the fact that WORDS OF SEDUCTION was initially pitched as part of a trilogy that was reduced to two books and then later extended again to three books? No. That story sounds far too complicated.

I know! What if I tried to explain the title change of the second book in the series? I could talk about how “Moonlight Masquerade” became PAGES OF PASSION (October 26, 2010). Or how WORDS OF SEDUCTION was initially “A Town of Secrets” and “Suzanne’s Seduction” before its present title. Nope. Maybe another time.

Okay enough about my current or upcoming release. What if I wrote about the joys and struggles of being a writer? I could always write about surviving rejection (I have gotten plenty of those). But that topic may be too much of a downer.

What if I wrote about book covers? How I presently have no control over them, but thankfully I am pleased with what the art department recently came up with. I could create a narrative of how the publisher was able to take my manuscript and turn it into a finished product. No. I said I wouldn’t talk about my latest release anymore, didn’t I?

I could write a motivational piece for aspiring authors advising them on how to achieve their goals. I could share how I create goals that only depend on me. For example: I’ve never made ‘get published’ a goal. Instead ‘send out five short stories’ would be a goal. Or I’d make a goal to ‘write a good manuscript’ not ‘get a great review.’ I am always saddened when I meet aspiring authors who list goals such as ‘get an agent’ or ‘get accepted by XYZ publisher’ because those goals are totally out of ones control and if they remain unachieved can lead to heartache.

Come to think of it…I could write about five things that aspiring authors should know…Or I could…ahem…now you see the problem: Ideas. Lots and lots of ideas, but settling on one can be as difficult as trying to catch a dragonfly. But then again, that’s the fun of being a writer…

So, what do you do when you feel overwhelmed? I’ll give away an autographed copy of my latest release WORDS OF SEDUCTION to a random commenter.

http://www.daragirard.com

JILTED BRIDES

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:56:00 +0000

I got the idea for my new book MAD, BAD AND BLONDE (in bookstores now!) from the opening lines – “It was the perfect day for a wedding. Too bad the groom didn’t show up.”

I heard those lines very clearly in my head. That doesn’t happen all the time, especially for the opening of a book. But right away I knew that my heroine Faith West was a children’s librarian and a jilted bride.
As a former librarian myself, I love writing about librarians. Faith has a special place in her heart for Jane Austen, which was also fun to work with.

Next comes the hero. I knew that the jerk who dumps her in a text message was not the hero. I also know that I love writing about Marines and former Marines. Okay, the hero Caine Hunter had to be a Marine. So here’s what I came up with:

JILTED AT THE ALTAR!

Librarian Faith West is going on her Italian honeymoon solo, but she’s not staying that way for long. Does her sexy rebound man have ulterior motives? When they both return to Chicago, Faith has her hands full keeping former Force Recon Marine Caine Hunter in his place…and out of her bed!

Faith is a book addict like me. I’ve included a photo of just part of my many many many keeper shelves. It’s handy to have a comfy chair nearby to read in. I have this recurring dream where I discover another room in my house, somehow it’s off the garage, and I say “Finally, my own library!”

But getting back to jilted brides, what is it about them that appeals to us? That is the ultimate betrayal and it gives me a chance to give my heroine the real happily-ever-after that she deserves.

MAD, BAD AND BLONDE has already received great reviews, including a highly coveted Starred review from “Booklist,” which describes it as “a rare treat.” Library Journal’s Xpress online review describes it as “a perfect choice.”

So tell me, do you like books with brides on the cover? Tell me why and you may win a signed copy of my previous book SMART GIRLS THINK TWICE.

For more info about me visit my Facebook pg at Facebook.com/cathielinz or my website cathielinz.com for contest info to win a free book or read excerpts from my books. I’m also on Twitter.

I will be giving away a copy of SMART GIRLS THINK TWICE to someone who comments!

Character Happens!

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:22:00 +0000

It’s funny how characters grow on a writer. We work in solitude for weeks and months, laboring with characters who are figments of our imagination. These characters talk to us, follow us into sleep, are with us first thing in the morning, when we drive. Even when we’re supposed to be paying attention to our spouse/kids/neighbors/friends…we wander off for mental chats with characters. Sometimes continuing characters are fully planned, as they are, for instance, in my Doomsday Brethren series. With something like that, an author spends lots of extra time planning each character’s history and psyche. And sometimes, characters grow organically from the writing process itself. This is what happened with my Wicked Lovers series.

When the first book in the series, WICKED TIES, released in January 2007, it introduced a character named Deke. Now, when I started writing him, I expected him to be a throwaway character. But when I finished the book, I knew better. As the time approached for me to write the next contracted book, Deke lingered in my mind. Readers kept writing me asking me about him. So I started unraveling the small clues he’d given me in WICKED TIES.

A few months later, DECADENT was done. And I knew as I wrote it that I’d created another character who would likely engender both questions and opinions in readers. Sure enough, the mail for sexy chef Luc started pouring in quickly.

And in the first two books, another “throwaway” character appeared—a brash female, a former stripper, a business woman who always speaks her mind…and has a very vulnerable side. I, personally, needed to know more about Alyssa and see her happy. When I put her in the same room with Luc on a whim in DECADENT, their chemistry was off the charts. I was seriously looking forward to exploring both their individual and shared pasts.

DECADENT released in October 2007. Life and scheduling interfered with my ability to write any other titles in the Wicked Lovers series until recently. After a two and a half year hiatus, the third book in the Wicked Lovers series hits the shelves! DELICIOUS is Luc and Alyssa’s story, and I’m so excited to have the opportunity to finally tell this story and reveal the happily-ever-after people have asked for.

And yes, somehow in this book I created other characters I’m already getting questions about. I didn’t really intend to write a series…but, for me, character happens!

I’ll give away a signed copy of Decadent to a random commenter.

Seducing The Reader

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:36:00 +0000

The Internet can be a fairly merciless place, as I discovered recently when I posted the video trailer for my new book, MASTER OF FIRE. One critic said it sounded like a ridiculous concept, and she didn’t understand why anybody would want to read such a juvenile book.

In the words of ET: Oooouch.

To be fair, that’s not the first time I’ve heard that particular accusation. And I have to admit, I push suspension of disbelief pretty hard. In my Mageverse series, King Arthur and all his knights are immortal vampires, and their ladies are witches with incredible magical powers. All of them are sworn to protect mankind from its own suicidal impulses. They became immortal with the help of Merlin, who is an alien from a dimension called the Mageverse, where magic is a law of physics. By drinking from Merlin’s grail, each of them was genetically transformed into an immortal. All their descendents carry that spell in their DNA, which means they too, have the latent ability to transform.

OK, I admit it: that’s a pretty weird idea.

Yet despite one or two horselaughs, readers have generally been willing to go with me when I try to make this wild concept fly. Enough of them have gone along, in fact, to make the Mageverse books bestsellers. I’m on my sixth novel now, and in every one of those books, the Mageverse has grown ever more wild and complicated.
And a hell of a lot of fun.

In the newest book, the hero is Logan MacRoy, who is no less than the mortal son of King Arthur and Guinevere. He’s being stalked by a cult of homicidal werewolves who are targeting Latents – mortals with the potential to become vampires and witches.

Try explaining that to a television crew, as I did recently. It’s damn near impossible.

Yet like bumblebees who logically should not be able to fly, my books seem to work. Trouble is, there’s a trick to constructing a wild-ass idea that you can’t boil into a soundbite – or even a sixty-second book trailer.

When you want readers to swallow a real whopper – say, vampires who are heroes instead of undead corpses – you have to basically seduce them into going along with you. You have to build your weird little world out of lots of tiny, real-life details, and characters who react to the weirdness just as real people would.
You have to make the weird logical.

For example, I spent a lot of time thinking about what it would be like to be the son of King Arthur. Talk about growing up in a long shadow. As Logan says, “Dad’s not a shadow – Dad’s a total eclipse.”

I decided Logan would feel pressured to live up to his father’s incredible legacy. Trouble is, he can’t do it by becoming super knight. Arthur’s already got that market cornered. So instead, he becomes a forensic chemist who is also a bomb tech and an arson investigator. He’s determined to protect and serve, but in a whole different way from his father.

Then I thought about how Arthur would react to having a son in such a dangerous line of work. Now, this is a man who could become immortal, but he keeps putting off his transition because it would end the law enforcement career he worked so hard to build.

But like any parent, Arthur would logically worry that his kid would get himself blown up before he could become immortal. True, Arthur and his knights risk their lives all the time, but they also know that their witch partners can heal their injuries if they get seriously hurt. Being mortal, Logan doesn’t have that luxury. Then I thought, what would be the worst thing that you could do to a guy in Arthur’s shoes?

How about a nine-foot tall psychotic werewolf out to kill your son? Oh, yeah, that would suck.

So Arthur sends Giada Shepherd to protect Logan from the crazy cult leader known as Warlock. Giada was a chemist before she became a witch, so she can pass herself off as another forensic scientist trying to get on-the-job training.

But since in my universe, you become an immortal by having sex with an immortal, Arthur also tells Giada not to get romantically involved with his son. That’s because Morgana recently sent one of her witches to seduce Logan without identifying herself, in order to force him to become a vampire. Logan realized what the woman was and threw her out. He then made his father swear that Arthur would never again try to force immortality on him.

You’re probably wondering why I use sex as the method of becoming a vampire instead of the typical three-bites thing. Well, I basically wanted a set of rules that was different. It’s unexpected, which arouses reader curiosity: how would this thing work? Why would this thing work? Making the spell part of the characters’ DNA is an interesting way to do it.

Besides, I write erotic romance, and in erotic romance, sex has to play an important role in the plot.

When you’re trying to work in a paranormal genre like vampires that has been so heavily strip-mined, you have to change the rules. Otherwise, the reader gets bored. I know I’ve gotten bored with undead guys whining about being immortal. Hey, you never get old, sick or bald – what are you bitching about? And have you noticed vampires always wear lots of leather?

My guys, on the other hand, wear enchanted armor. What else would a vampire knight wear?

And then there’s the heroine problem. I loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a passion, but I never really bought the idea of a 150-year old man lusting after an airheaded sixteen-year-old. That’s just a little bit creepy.

You’ll notice the character of Angel became completely different when he got his own spinoff show. That Angel would never have gotten involved with Buffy. He was too noble and disciplined, to chase 16-year-old airheads, even if they were the Chosen One.

I definitely didn’t want my heroines to be airheads. They had to have enough mental heft to intrigue a immortal who’s bedded a whole lot of beautiful women. They needed to be the equals of their heroes, not just a walking blood bank. So most of my heroines are witches with abilities the vampires didn’t have.

It’s a lot more fun when your characters are equals with strong romantic conflicts. Giada, for example, is a genius who is actually smarter than Logan, and he knows it. That, however, put me in danger of Rocket Scientist Barbie syndrome – where you’ve got a female character who is drop dead gorgeous, a black belt, and has all kinds of magical powers on top of that.

To keep my readers from hating her, I gave Giada a neurotic streak because she spent her teenage years as an awkward geek. When you’re the only twelve-year-old in a class of high-school juniors, life can seriously suck.

Another key to pulling off a weird world is getting the details right. I spent a week shadowing a real-life cop, chemist, arson investigator and bomb tech. Lt. Ashley Harris of the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office is a brilliant guy who patiently demonstrated how to test cocaine and other drugs and took me along when he blew stuff up. He also helped me design the bombs my villains used, as well as how Logan would go about disarming them.

It’s such details that make strange ideas more believable. Which is why explaining my books is so darned hard. Without the supporting details, there’s no way to build suspension of disbelief. You sure can’t do it in sixty seconds.

I hope you’ll check out MASTER OF FIRE when it hits bookstores March 2. I think you’ll find the book a lot of fun. If you’ll drop by my website at www.angelasknights.com, you’ll find excerpts of all my books as well as a printable booklist. There’s also a free members-only section with lots of eye candy and desktop wallpaper of handsome hunks.

Comment on my blog and you could win a signed copy of MASTER OF FIRE.

Thanks for reading!

Angela Knight

Live To Tell

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:38:00 +0000

I grew up in a small town in the far southwestern corner of New York State, four hundred and fifty miles away from Manhattan. In third grade, I decided to become an author when I grew up. In ninth grade, I decided I needed to move to New York City to do so.

I’ve always been an ambitious, hyper-organized planner—a curse or blessing, depending on how you look at it. It served me well at 21, when I landed an entry level with a major New York publishing house, where I intended to learn the industry from behind the scenes. I had started sending out resumes and going on corporate interviews as a college senior, flying from Buffalo to Newark on the defunct People’s Express Airline, with my dubious yet supportive parents footing the $29 (really!) each way fares every couple of weeks.

When I landed the job with Macmillan, all I cared about was that I’d reached the key milestone in my master plan: the move to New York. It wasn’t until my first day at work that reality hit me: apparently, I was a secretary in the textbook marketing division—about as far from my imagined door-opening editorial career as a waitressing job would have been, and a lot less lucrative.

Disillusioned, yet not about to go crawling home to western New York, I gamely learned to make photocopies, format memos, and fill out town car vouchers for the bosses. I used up all five of my sick days within the first few months on the job and blew my fifteen thousand dollar a year entry level salary on Salem Slim Lights, Bombay Sapphire and tonics, chimichangas, and nightclub covers (none of which have been on my social agenda in a few decades now).

The four other secretaries in my bay—Carol, Rose, Ann and Susan—became my first post-college girlfriends. My career at Macmillan lasted just six months, but our bond continues to this day.
My father, a conservative Capricorn banker, panicked when I left a full-time job with benefits to work instead for a temp agency, but I assured him it was all part of the plan and that I would be fine. I was right about that--I eventually freelanced my way into the fulltime women’s fiction editorial career that ultimately launched me to my published author goal.

That short-lived stint at Macmillan was a major turning point and yet, oddly, I rarely think about it. My first corporate job is relegated to the far reaches of memory’s attic, alongside calculus formulas and Flock of Seagulls lyrics.

The other day, however, Macmillan unexpectedly came rushing back in the most bizarre full circle way.
My husband and I and our children had to catch an early international flight from JFK, so we decided to leave from a midtown hotel rather than our suburban home. When I made a reservation via the Marriott website, I thought the hotel’s address—866 Third Avenue—seemed familiar. But since I frequently dine in that neighborhood (love PJ Clarkes and Solera) and my longtime publisher, Kensington, was until recently just a block away—I figured that must be why 866 Third rang a bell.

It didn’t dawn on me until I walked into the lobby that this was precisely where Macmillan had been located; the building had been turned into a hotel. Shell-shocked, I rode the familiar elevators past my former low floor and set up camp in a suite on the seventeenth. With the release of LIVE TO TELL, my new thriller from Harper, just days away, I had quite a few loose ends to tie up. I did a telephone interview, confirmed several upcoming appearances, and approved a press release about the book’s starred review in Publishers Weekly. I received a call from the television producer who’s optioned one of my book series, then zipped down to my agent’s office to pick up a royalties check.

Royalties check…reality check. Tasks like these have become second nature at this stage in my career, but suddenly they took on new meaning. Things I hadn’t thought about in years came back to me: subway tokens and white sneakers over stockings; bagel breakfasts and falafel lunches from street carts; Village Voice classifieds.

All at once, I remembered what it was like to be young and flat broke and disillusioned and alone in the big city more than two decades ago. I remembered scraping together enough change for a subway token back to Queens, and lingering at two-for-one happy hours that offered free bar food, and hiding out in the ladies’ room to escape the wrath of my moody boss. I remembered wearing out the heels on my one pair of dress shoes, and the hellish commute on the jam-packed seven train from Flushing during the LIRR strike, and sending out poetry and short stories to magazines, garnering enough rejection slips to fill a drawer.

Perhaps most striking: Ed Koch was mayor of the city back then. A decade later, he and I would co-author a series of hardcover mystery novels together.

What I remember most is my determination to become a bestselling novelist. It simply never occurred to me, back then, that it wouldn’t happen.

And I’m sure that’s why it did.

Read my blog at http://www.wendycorsistaubcommunity.com/ and join me for a LIVE TO TELL readalong there the week of March 1. Also visit http://www.wendycorsistaub.com/ or follow me on twitter or facebook

Tee Hee !

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:10:00 +0000

I'm popping–and I am not kidding. I am a happy camper, happy as a clam (how do they know they're happy?) And over the moon. Howzat?

OUT OF BODY from the COURT OF ANGELS Series has been released early. It is on sale in all outlets RIGHT NOW and I've seen it.

When I see a new book of mine on the shelves I just stand there “gobsmacked” as they say in some parts of the UK (imagine mouth open and eyes wide). I figure no one near me knows I wrote that book with the perfect cover. so I can wear a silly grin, get inside my own silent bubble inof thrillsville and I'm invisible.

The COURT OF ANGELS trilogy was written last year. Three books in a year is a lot of writing but I had so much fun with this series. And don't think I'm done with these people or the weird stuff they encounter. I have started on the next two stories.

A little excerpt from OUT OF BODY:

Gray cast about, afraid to move, afraid not to move. "Marley," he said quietly. "Marley?" Her eyelids slid shut but her face became rigid. As if she was wide awake and tense inside a sleeping body. Gray saw her breathing grow shallow and rapid.

He bent over her. She hardly breathed at all. Automatically he lifted her into his arms. Sharp currents ran through his body.

"You must not interfere."

Gray looked over his shoulder. In the multi-colored haze suspended over the dollhouse she had been working on, a wraith-like series of shapes coalesced into a dim face. He screwed up his eyes, strained to see. Gray-streaked dark hair. Sharp features, he thought.

The pattern of a voice rose out of that rustling, clear and demanding. It came from the direction of Marley's workbench and the hovering face.

Gray held Marley tighter, gritted his teeth at the battering of sensation passing to him from Marley.

He sat down with her on his lap and stared ahead. Like her still-sleeping dog, he waited. Gray waited because he felt he must. At least Marley kept breathing faintly, but she was limp. He was afraid, but not for himself. He wanted to know more about whatever was happening around him

The rustle continued.

His attention rose to the ceiling above the house. The colors there glowed, green, blue, pink.

They throbbed and he heard the sounds take shape again.

"She will live or she will die. She is uniquely gifted. You must only wait and be glad for your own emergence. Be ready to seize your own talents."

This time the words definitely came from the ethereal being.

I can't say I have ever thought about what it would be like to have an electric reaction (fairly literally) to touching someone who, er, appealed to you. And I'm not explaining more of what happens in the story with that element, but let's just say the results are explosive, penetrating and unforgettable.

In the back pages of OUT OF BODY there is a $1 coupon toward the purchase of OUT OF MIND roughly three weeks later and in OUT OF MIND you'll find a $1 coupon toward the last of the first three books, OUT OF SIGHT.

As Wazoo would say, hoo mama, I'm bubbling away here and need to give you all a break

You can write to me at http://www.stellacameron.com/ or join me at Facebook. Send me a tweet at StellaCam over at Twitter where I'm becoming addicted despite once saying I never would...

If you go to http://www.purplepapayalc.com/ you can get a signed bookplate.

Comment on this blog and you could win a Stella Cameron book!

Most important, I just want you to have as much fun reading these books as I had writing them.

Cheers,
Stella

Q: What do you think about our starting an online book club for this series? Let me know if I should think about putting some starter questions together. Also we can add your own questions right up front if you have them.

The Dead Travel Fast

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:06:00 +0000

I am so happy to be guest blogging at Writerspace today because tomorrow is release day! Tomorrow is the day that The Dead Travel Fast hits bookstores, and I could not be happier to share this book with readers.

For me, writing The Dead Travel Fast was an exercise in occasional terror. I am very comfortable in my late Victorian series, and my main characters--the aristocratic Lady Julia Grey and the private enquiry agent, Nicholas Brisbane--have become old friends at this point. But The Dead Travel Fast required not just stepping outside my comfort zone—I pole-vaulted outside of it! I kept the historical setting, but I moved the action to 1858 and far outside of fogbound London streets and upper-class house parties. This book is set in a crumbling Carpathian castle, perched high above a village where the air is thick with legends of the supernatural. While Lady Julia Grey enjoys a large and boisterous family, Theodora Lestrange is an independent and intrepid heroine who thinks nothing of traveling halfway across Europe on her own. And where Nicholas Brisbane is a man with an eye fixed firmly on the coming of the twentieth century, Count Andrei Dragulescu is a man with a past—the dark and dangerous past of a family who may or may not be vampires!

This book also marks the first time I have helped make a book trailer video. It was a tremendous amount of fun to choose the images and the music, and my husband assembled the pieces together. And just to make it interesting, we set ourselves the challenge of making it with absolutely no budget whatsoever. We used photos we had taken during our various trips, and found royalty-free music to set a perfect mood. I hope you enjoy this spooky and atmospheric peek at The Dead Travel Fast!

Check it out!

Comment on this blog and you could be the lucky winner of a $25 Amazon gift card.

http://www.deannaraybourn.com/

A Few of my Favorite Themes

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:18:00 +0000

I think there are themes that we as readers—and writers—return to again and again. Storylines that speak to us as individuals, that touch a chord within our hearts and show us new truths about old pains.

I have a few favorites themes I revisit often, both as a reader and writer. I bet you have favorites, too. So, I'll share mine if you'll share yours.

1. The redemption story

I love redemption stories. The idea that we can change, improve and overcome is such an appealing thing to me. One of my favorite characters on TV these days is James "Sawyer" Ford on the ABC drama LOST. In the first two seasons, Sawyer was a cross between a villain and a trickster, a rough, dark, often unpleasant character determined to look out for himself and his wants and needs, even at the sacrifice of everyone around him. But over the course of the series, he has evolved into a man able to make emotional connections with others, to look out for the well-being of his friends. He hasn't lost his edge; he's moody, irritable, sometimes selfish and often quick to anger, but he's still hero material, as he proved for most of last season.

In one of my books, COWBOY ALIBI, it was the heroine who needed redemption. A combination of a troubled upbringing and a series of foolish mistakes has led her to a place where she lied more than she told the truth. But when her memory is wiped clean after a trauma, the woman who now knows herself as Jane Doe has the chance to remake herself, to start fresh—but not before she faces her past.

Which brings us to...

2. Facing the past

In one way or another, almost all of my characters have to face their pasts in some way, come to terms with something that's been haunting them for years. This is especially true in my new Cooper Justice series from Harlequin Intrigue. In this month's Cooper Justice book, CHICKASAW COUNTY CAPTIVE, Kristen Tandy has to face a tragic crime perpetrated on herself and her deceased brothers and sisters by her mother. It's the kind of horror tale that most people would have trouble surviving emotionally, and Kristen is no exception. But as a police detective, she has to overcome the fears her past has wrought in order to protect a young child in danger.

Kristen's initial instinct is to let someone else take over the job of protecting young Maddy. But Maddy has chosen Kristen to protect her, which forces Kristen to deal with her phobias and come to terms with her past as well as what she wants from the future.

3. The reluctant hero

Speaking of characters whose initial instinct is to avoid getting involved, another theme I love is the reluctant hero. I think this particular theme resonates with me because I see myself as radically ordinary. I don't have a lot of exciting skills or captivating experiences in my life. I'm just a nice, middle class woman from the South who works as a graphic designer and writes books. I'm scared of heights, shy around strangers and prone to hermit-like behavior. But I still like to believe I'd step up to the plate in a crisis and do what it takes to help people survive.

Some of the heroes and heroines in my books are reluctant to get involved at first. Maddox Heller, the hero of FORBIDDEN TOUCH, doesn't think he has what it takes to help out Iris, the heroine, when her friend goes missing. He's tried playing hero before and it ended badly on a lot of different levels. But when it's clear Iris needs protection, Maddox can't let her try to go it alone. And in the process of helping Iris get to the bottom of the mystery of her missing friend, Maddox rediscovers his inner strength and his desire to do good in the world.

4. Stranger in a strange land

Finally, a favorite theme I've explored in several books is the hero or heroine thrust into an alien situation and forced to figure his or her way on instinct—and with the help of the person who turns out to be his or her soul mate. In my January 2010 Intrigue, CASE FILE: CANYON CREEK, WYOMING, Hannah Cooper is literally a stranger in town, a tourist driving through western Wyoming on her way to visit the state parks, when she's attacked by a would-be killer. When she escapes, making her the only living survivor of a serial killer Riley Patterson has been hunting for three long years, she becomes a person of extreme interest to Riley. I put an Alabama girl, a fishing guide, in the heart of Wyoming ranch country, targeted by a killer she can't remember or identify except in snippets and flashes of memory. I give her a protector still in love with his dead wife and driven to find a killer at almost any cost. There's inherent drama in being thrust into unfamiliar, high stakes situations.

There you go. A few of my favorite themes. What about you? What story themes do you enjoy in the romances you read or write?

Don't forget my book CHICKASAW COUNTY CAPTIVE is out in stores this week. And you can still find my January Intrigue, CASE FILE: CANYON CREEK, WYOMING online at amazon.com, borders.com, barnesandnoble.com, Books-A-Million online and eHarlequin.com. Visit my website at www.paulagraves.com or my blog, spinstersandlunatics.blogspot.com, to keep up with my current and future projects.

Comment on this blog and you could win. I'll give away a copy of Forbidden Touch and a copy of Cowboy Alibi.

Paula Graves
http://www.paulagraves.com/
spinstersandlunatics.blogspot.com

Cooper Justice - coming from Harlequin Intrigue in 2010
Case File: Canyon Creek, Wyoming - January 2010
Chickasaw County Captive - February 2010
One Tough Marine - August 2010
Bachelor Sheriff - September 2010

Karen Robards' Pursuit

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:22:00 +0000

Dear friends,

This blog was late getting in because we are, like half the country, snowed under. We were without power until 9:30 this morning, and despite the fire in the fireplace, etc., the house was starting to get COLD. But the furnace is on now, my internet is back, and we're in business. My youngest son is thrilled because it's another snow day - no school! He'll be out sledding with his friends this afternoon. This is very exciting (to him) because we live in Kentucky where we rarely get snow.

On to the world of books. My New York Times bestseller Pursuit just came out in paperback this past Tuesday, and I have a new hardcover romantic suspense, Shattered, coming out on March 23, both from Putnam. Shattered was especially fun to write because it is set in my home state of Kentucky. The reviews on it have been great, and I hope you'll give it a try.

Finally, for all the fans who have written to me asking for the third book of the Banning sisters trilogy, I have good news. Shameless, Beth's story, will be out in hardcover from Pocket on April 13, 2010. I absolutely loved writing it, and I hope you'll love it too. The two previous books in the series, Scandalous and Irresistible, will be reissued in April, so all three will be available.

In the meantime, keep warm!

Filling in the Gaps

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:24:00 +0000

In the historical novels I write under the pseudonym Kate Emerson, of which SECRETS OF THE TUDOR COURT: BETWEEN TWO QUEENS is the latest offering, I focus on a real but little-known historical figure to tell my story. The protagonist of BETWEEN TWO QUEENS is Anne Bassett, who served as a maid of honor to four of Henry VIII’s queens, was twice considered by court gossips to be a contender to become Henry’s next bride herself, and went on to become a lady in waiting to Queen Mary Tudor. She was a career courtier, which put her in the perfect position to know secrets, but she also had a connection to my favorite type of subplot, the treasonous conspiracy.

One of the hardest parts about writing historical novels centered on real people is staying true to their characters. There are several schools of thought about how to do this. One advocates making anything and everything up and the heck with the facts. At the other extreme are purists who don’t want anything in the novel that hasn’t been verified. Most historical fiction falls somewhere in the middle, but finding that happy medium can be a real challenge.

In BETWEEN TWO QUEENS I was fortunate to have a wonderful source of information about Anne Bassett (called Nan in the novel) and her extended family. THE LISLE LETTERS is a six volume opus edited by M. St. Clare Byrne. It contains, annotated, the letters confiscated when Nan’s stepfather, Viscount Lisle, was arrested on suspicion of treason. What made this collection so valuable to me was that the authorities seized not only official correspondence, but also the personal papers of Lisle’s second wife and her daughters, Nan included.

For many, many incidents in the novel, I was able to rely on first-hand accounts of what happened. But there were also many, many gaps in Nan’s story. Where, for example, did she go when Queen Catherine Howard’s household was disbanded? By then her stepfather was a prisoner in the Tower of London and her mother was held under house arrest in Calais. Unlike the other maids of honor, she had no family to go back to. There are documents that say the king made provision for her, but what exactly did he arrange? There were other blank spots, too. And of course the question of whether Nan knew anything in advance about the conspiracy that led to her family’s downfall. And what about romance? Was she the king’s mistress or not? No one really knows. Did she have other men in her life? Again, no one knows. History records her marriage, but that did not take place until Queen Mary’s reign. There are always blank spaces in the lives of real historical figures, even famous ones. It’s my job as a novelist to fill in the blanks, in this case to figure out why Nan behaved the way history says she did and extrapolating from what is known about her to what might have happened.

It’s a good thing I enjoy doing research! I’ve found that it I look at the search for some tiny tidbit of information as solving a mystery, the process is much less frustrating, even if I don’t ever find what I’m looking for. When I do, those “ah-ha!” moments are always a thrill. Sometimes I end up with two (or more!) wildly different interpretations of what really happened. Even the most distinguished scholars don’t agree on everything, and they can often make equally compelling cases for opposite points of view. I love it when that happens. It means I can pick the interpretation that works best for my story.

More often, however, filling in the gaps is a challenge because nothing is known. What did I do when I absolutely could not find anything about a certain period in Nan’s life? Usually, I breathed a sigh of relief. When I can’t locate anything at all, I am free to make something up. That something still has to be believable. I can’t go too crazy. But if I’ve developed an accurate sense of what the real person was like, and have a feel for the times I’m writing about, then I can figure out what my character is likely to do in any given situation. Nan Bassett in BETWEEN TWO QUEENS, Jane Popyncourt in the first SECRETS OF THE TUDOR COURT novel, THE PLEASURE PALACE, and Elizabeth Brooke, Marchioness of Northampton, in next year’s offering, BY ROYAL DECREE, may only be footnotes to history, but by filling in the gaps to create historical fiction, I hope I’ve succeeded in bringing them back to life.

Comment on this blog and you could win a signed copy of BETWEEN TWO QUEENS

I LOVE BOOKS

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:50:00 +0000

Sandra Hill, NYT and USA Today bestselling author of historical,time travel, and contempory novel, all with a dash of humor and sizzle.

I love books! No surprise there. As an avid reader and writer, it would be a logical assumption. But I don't just like, or enjoy, books. I LOVE them.

This was brought home to me this week as I am in between deadlines. Just finished a book and am about to start writing another. Plus, there is the underlying tension of a new book coming out right now, VIKING IN LOVE. This is a return for me to my first love, historical romance, and a first book from Avon. I'm wondering how it do? If readers will like it?

Anyhow, like most women under stress, I clean.

I decided it was time to give my library a good cleaning,and weed out lots of books that haven't been read in years. Keep in mind, I live in a seventy-year-old house with a real library,complete with floor to ceiling bookshelves. Almost immediately, I realized how hard it would be to part with some of these precious books. Not just the vast number of research tomes dealing with Vikings, tenth century Britain, Cajuns, and Navy SEALs, but those with a history personal to me. Or my prized fiction books.

There is the two-volume white leather set of Washington Irving's ASTORIA about explorations beyond the Rocky Mountains. I bought it at my first ever antique estate sale.

I couldn't get rid of the funny book on odd sexual facts,including stuff about pigs' penises being really, really long and shaped like a corkscrew or about Tyrone Powers being able to tuck his under his belt. That's also the book where I learned for the
first time that in the average sexual encounter a man thrusts 120 times. I mean, in and out counts as one. Shocked, I went to my best friend, expecting her to tell me that the book must have been written by a man and that it was a total crock. Instead,she said that, yes, that sounded right. Holy cow! I've been married forever, and I can tell you, I've been cheated.

Then there's the two-volume set of the history of James Duke of Ormond which led me to discover I am a descendant of Hrolf the Ganger, first duke of Norsemandy.

And the hilarious humor book, THE LOST DIARY OF ERIK BLOODAXE, VIKING WARRIOR. It shows how funny these Vikings could be. And, really, Ann Landersson?

My grandmother had a book called SAFE COUNSEL: LIGHT ON DARK CORNERS, A COMPLETE SEXUAL SCIENCE. I'm sure this was a daring book for her time, but talk about outdated! It says, "There is no medicine taken internally capable of preventing conception,and the person who asserts to the contrary not only speaks falsely, but is both a knave and a fool." It was written in 1896.

As you might expect, my library is looking cleaner these days, but not much leaner. I guess I am a book pack rat.

So, do you have books you cannot part with? Do certain books bring back memories for you? Tell us about them.

And please check out my new book VIKING IN LOVE. This is the medieval version of the Dixie Chicks video "Goodbye Earl" where the three girls kill the abusive husband of one of them and dump the body in a lake. In my book, five Viking princesses kill
the abusive husband of one of them...an earl, of cours...and dump his body in a very unusual place. Thereafter, they are on the run until they land in the rundown castle of a Saxon knight with ten motherless children. Great fun.

And come visit my website at http://www.sandrahill.net/ for news, videos, free novellas, and more. Wishing you smiles in your reading!

Comment on this blog and you could win two signed copies of MY FAIR VIKING, prequel to VIKING IN LOVE and a copy of THE LOST DIARY OF ERIK BLOODAXE, VIKING WARRIOR.

The Ideal Author Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:57:00 +0000

As defined by the author...

I thought it would be fun to share the 5 questions I wish interviewers would ask...because they'd be so easy to answer. Yep, sometimes, you just want easy. LOL

1. What did you have for dinner last night?

You notice I did not ask what we planned for dinner tonight, because that? Is a hard question. But in fact, it took me a few seconds to remember what we ate last night because my brain was flying along the African Savannah. Oh, did I mention my current WIP (Close Quarters) is set in Zimbabwe? Anyway, dinner last night...oh, right grilled steak (yes, Hubcap is so macho he grills in the middle of winter). :)

2. How many children do you have?

Oh...hmm...okay, not so easy. Three, but we have two Koren young men that lived with us for three years we consider our sons, though they have wonderful family back in South Korea.

3. What's your favorite color?

Yellow, for everything but what I wear. It makes me look like my liver is failing. Sigh...but I love the color of sunshine.

4. Who is the last author you read?

See how this is not the favorite author question, because the answer to that one is too long. Last author I read? Josh Lanyon. Current top of my TBR pile is Christine Feehan. There, two answers for the price of one.

5. How many pairs of socks do you have?

Oh, wait, that's a hard one...it's almost as bad as asking how many pens are on my desk.

6. What color are the walls in your office?

Yellow. Okay, so maybe that was cheating, but easy, see?

LOL, sometimes my brain just doesn't want to think.

7. Can we see the book trailer for Moon Awakening, your Feb 2nd release? Those medieval Scottish werewolves are just so sexy!

Why sure:

So, wanna know the hardest interview questions to answer?

Who is your favorite character from one of your books?

This is like asking which of my children is my favorite. I'm not stupid, if I say the wrong one I'm going to end up with baking soda in my chamomile tea. Okay, maybe not that drastic, but seriously, how could I possibly choose?

Second only to, which book is your personal favorite?

I do have favorites from time to time, but I love all my stories and picking a favorite makes me feel like I have to say I love one more than the others and what does that say about the other story? Paranoid, much? Maybe a little.

Can you dance the Mamba?

Sadly, no. Wich I could. I do love that show, "Dancy Your A$$ Off," though. Which is really surprising considering how much I don't like reality TV.

So, what are your favorite questions to ask authors? Here's my one time offer to answer them, no matter what they may be. :)

Hugs and happy reading,

Lucy

As a special thank you to readers, Lucy is giving away a prize pack of pamper yourself products and paranormal romance. All you have to do to enter is send an email with Moon Craving Contest in the subject line to moon_craving at yahoo dot com before February 28th, 2010. The drawing will be held March 1st and the winner will be announced on her blog at http://www.lucymonroeblog.blogspot.com.
--
Watch Over Me - June - Brava
The Latin Lover - Oct - Harlequin Presents
Moon Craving - Feb 2010 - Berkley
http://lucymonroe.com/
http://www.lucymonroeblog.blogspot.com/

HEROES WE LOVE TO LOVE

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:54:00 +0000

A while back, a very astute reader of mine wrote (and I paraphrase) that the key to my heroes and heroines was that they were constantly trying to get control over one another. It was kind of a "duh" moment for me, because it was so on the money. On reflection, I thought that sensibility was probably informed by and unconsciously stemmed from the moment, when we were first married, that my husband said to me, "you're gong to try to bulldoze all over me -- and I'm not going to let you."

Well, what woman can resist such a challenge? I'm happy to report we're still married, we talk a lot, argue a lot, love a lot -- and among other things, he brings in the papers every morning; he cooks; he fixes things; he builds bookcases; and he's got my back -- but beyond that, even after all this time, I still feel enfolded by him.

He is my hero. He's the guy who drives me nuts, keeps me sane, is my best friend in the world, and tells it to me straight -- and you know the hero is the one who always tells you what you don't want to know.

But heroes in ficton come in a variety of flavors -- this is my list of heroes I love to love. Who's on yours?

The Good Guy:
Everyone loves the good guy, the renaissance man who's just been waiting for the woman of his dreams. Healthy childhood, no wounds, handsome, he's the one you lean on when your life is turned upside down; he's steady, gives fantastic advice, is decisive, funny, and loves his mother (always a prime point for mothers of sons). And he'll always fall for the woman who is in critical chaos because he's the problem solver, the rock, and will always be the thing a heroine wants the most: an anchor.

The Bad Boy
He's that guy in high school with that look in his eye. In just one glance, he knew everything: who you were, how far you'd go, and where he'd like to take you. He's magnetic, experienced, a little rough, a little rakish, a leader without really wanting to lead; strong, decisive, and probably doesn't like to talk much, especially about his feelings -- but oh, man, does he ever have them. He loves women, but no woman is ever going to tame him. And when he falls, he takes a nosedive to eternity.

The Wounded Hero
There's some great trauma in his life; he is psychically damaged and he's not going to let any woman into his life. He has nothing to give her; he's too busy tending that hurt crippled inner self. He doesn't want to feel, he doesn't want to do; and he habitually picks fights so he can chase everyone away. He can't share his life, can't allow the heroine to assume his stain, his burden, his guilt. He just wants to be off on some island, alone, nursing that part of himself that needs to be made whole. And guess who's right in the rowboat behind him?

The Unobtainable Man
Seems not to like women at all. No one gets to him. It's like battering at a wall. He's cool, logical, seemingly without emotions. He never lets you see him sweat. He's an island unto himself. He's got all the answers. And he always reveals them first so he can cover his behind. He doesn't need anyone, which he won't hesitate to tell you.. But of course, he's the one who needs someone most of all. The heroine has to storm the fortress, and when she finds his tender spot, he is hers forever.

Mr. Unflappable
Nothing rattles this guy, nothing scares him; there's no problem he can't solve, no situation he can't get out of. He's walking the line, but he's got such a sense of humor and irony, nothing jolts him. He mows down everything in his past. He doesn't take anything seriously, and he takes love too lightly. Some days the heroine can't even get him to commit to saying hello. He's a pretty happy guy, but somewhere along the line, someone probably hurt him, so his deal is, don't get too close too soon. And of course, our heroine can't get too close soon enough.

The Scoundrel
He was badly hurt by a woman somewhere deep in his past. He loves 'em and leaves 'em, uses 'em and loses 'em. Takes out his anger on all womenkind, but especially the heroine, particularly because she gets to him and he doesn't want to be gotten to. But she gets under his skin and before you know it, he's protecting, defending and loving her, protesting his misogynist nature to the very end.

The Outlaw
He's been convicted of a crime he didn't commit and he's on the run..But he's always got a reason, and it's always plausible as hell. He's going to protect the woman he loves by NOT letting her into his life, and by reappearing in hers often enough to drive them both crazy. And she can't stay away. Truth to tell, he doesn't want her to, but he'll never admit it. He'll protest he's a loner, but he knows not only does she believe in him, she'll even go on run with him. because ultimately she has faith she will clear his name -- and she will make him vulnerable -- and make him hers --

Vulnerable and yours -- just what we strive for -- in fiction and in life ...

Two lucky readers who comment will win copies of the 10th anniversary reissue of the Fascinated anthology along with copies each of Little Black Book and Bad As She Wants To Be.

Thea Devine is the author of more than two dozen erotic historical and contemporary novels and a dozen novellas. Look for Sex, Lies & Secret Lives, from Pocket Books, April 2010 -- If You Dare ...

http://www.theadevine.com

The Phoenix Charm

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:59:00 +0000

One of my favorite parts about writing fantasy is creating the world and especially the characters who populate the world.

In the Magic Knot Fairies world, each fairy embodies the qualities of one of the elements. The leprechauns and Cornish piskies are Earth elementals, the Welsh Tylwyth Teg are Air elementals, and the noble old blood Tuatha Dé Danaan can be either Fire, Air, or Water. This gives them their powers, strengths, and weaknesses.

In the second book in the series, The Phoenix Charm, the heroine Cordelia is half Cornish pisky and half water nymph. It is the water nymph qualities inherited from her mother that have manifested, making her a water elemental. The sensual water nymph allure that attracts males has so far caused her nothing but trouble. When she reached puberty, her grandmother bound the power by covering the energy centers on Cordelia’s body with Celtic symbols. But the water nymph energies are also the source of her healing power so she has never reached her full potential.

The hero of the story, Michael, is an Earth elemental. He is a storyteller and has the gift of glamour, which makes him attractive, and silver tongue, which makes his words persuasive. As the story progresses he discovers a greater power he has inherited from his father, and he gains more control over the energy he channels from the Earth.

We all exhibit characteristics of the four elements, but we tend to favor one. Here is a brief description of the elements’ qualities.

Earth is the mother, the element of birth and renewal. Earth elementals are steady, grounded, and generous, with their feet firmly on the ground. Confident and steadfast, Earth elementals have an instinct for survival, which makes them excellent protectors.

Air elementals are intelligent with great imagination, and can be very persuasive. They are good at conceiving new ideas and seeing changes coming. They have an affinity to music. They may ‘have their heads in the clouds’ and be difficult to pin down. Their spiritual beauty is reflected in the intricate formation of snowflakes.

Water elementals are the nurturers, the calm center that supports loved ones to help them conquer problems. Sensual, graceful, and often very beautiful, Water elementals have strong emotions, and love deeply.

Fire elementals embody passion, enthusiasm, and desire. They are quick and bright, but often emotionally volatile. Forceful and highly opinionated, Fire elementals think they know best. They are considered to be ‘hot blooded’.

To find out which element you are, go to my website www.helenscotttaylor.com and take my elements quiz. Then come back and tell us which element you are!

He’s Pure Temptation.

Cordelia has sworn she’ll abstain from looking into Michael’s future—particularly when the image in the gilded smoke of her divination mirror shows him half naked. Yet she can’t resist watching the sexy rascal slowly running his hand down his ribs, over his abdomen, flicking open the button on his jeans with a little flourish like a magician performing a trick.

She’s Trying To Resist

Respectable wise woman Cordelia restrains her secret water nymph sensuality with the Celtic symbols painted on her skin. But Michael’s powerful fairy glamour leaves her breathless, off balance, struggling for control. When Gwyn ap Nudd, the Welsh King of the Underworld, steals away Michael’s infant nephew, Cordelia must work with him to save the child. But how can she trust her instincts with Michael tempting her to explore the hidden elemental depths of her nature and insisting that she believe in the power of…The Phoenix Charm.

To read my free fantasy-romance short story, Jack’s Garden, visit the Dorchester website. (link: http://www.dorchesterpub.com/Dorch/SpecialFeatures

For more information and to read book excerpts go to http://www.helenscotttaylor.com/

Remember to enter my contest for a chance to win signed copies of both The Magic Knot and The Phoenix Charm.
http://www.writerspace.com/contests/helenscotttaylor

Writing Worlds of Women and Men

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:52:00 +0000

My new series is being launched tomorrow! The first book, Ravishing in Red, involves a world built around a small group of women who live together on a property outside of London, where they grow flowers and plants as a business. Ravishing in Red is the story of Audrianna, the most recent arrival to the household.

Determined to clear her dead father’s name of the scandal and accusations that drove him to his grave, she ventures to an inn to meet a man whom she believes has information that will help her. Instead she meets Lord Sebastian Summerhays, brother of the Marquess of Wittonbury, who has also seen the advertisement that drew Audrianna. He too wants the truth about that scandal, but he assumes her father was guilty, and only one of several players in the conspiracy it touches.

That fateful night begins a relationship where the two characters are at cross-purposes regarding the mystery, but thrown intimately together by accident, then scandal, then passion.

In conceiving this series, I was inspired by research done years ago when I wrote medieval historical romances. That something so unrelated found its way into a Regency book may sound unusual, but lots of things get pulled out of my head when I am writing and inspiration comes from many sources. Sometimes I just have to adapt and mold them to the current book.

In this case, I became fascinated with what were known as beguines during the late middle ages. These were communities of women, usually found in cities and towns. The women lived together communally, but they were not nuns. These women lived together as sisters, and would even go out and work in the town during the day. Some of beguines became very large, and one was even supported financially by a king of France.

How interesting, I thought. This was not something you read about in normal history books. It was one of those footnotes that really enrich our knowledge of history.

I filed this away in my head, and when I was brainstorming this series, it popped out. What if I had a group of women join together like this only not in the middle ages? And so, The Rarest Blooms was born.

In Ravishing in Red, readers will see how this is not a normal household. There is a Rule that governs them, much as monastic orders and convents have Rules (meaning a code of behavior and purpose). In the series it is called Daphne’s Rule, because Daphne is the character who owns the property and who invites the various women to live there. However, even Daphne is subject to the Rule.

One part of the Rule is that each member of the household contributes to its upkeep as she can. Audrianna has a talent with music, so she gives music lessons to young girls, and also writes popular songs sold as sheet music in London. When the scandal about her and Sebastian breaks, her publisher finds a way to exploit it to increase his sales, to her devastation.

There is another community in the series, but it is less organized. That is the looser one of old friends, and the heroes belong to it. It is far more elevated in society, and very much a “guys’ world”. I hope that you will step into both worlds, and see how they intermingle, book by book, as these characters grow and live.

Do you think you could live in a situation like The Rarest Blooms? Have you ever done so in the past? There is less “yours is yours and mine in mine” than we are used to in such a community. Do you think you would like living in one?

I will give away an Audio book of Lessons of Desire, unabridged to someone who comments.

Blueprint for a Book

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:06:00 +0000

The question that writers are asked most often—and the one we dislike the most!—is “Where do you get your ideas?” Writers dislike it for different reasons. Some simply tire of answering the same thing over and over. Others are nervous about pulling aside the curtain to peek too closely at the alchemy bubbling away behind for fear the bright light of day might dissolve its magic. And some, quite simply, do not know. I confess all of the above might be me at different times! But I do know very precisely where I got the idea for my Lady Julia Grey series, and most particularly for the first book, Silent in the Grave.

Some years back, I had a run of very bad luck in my attempts to be published. My agent had spent more than a few years trying to place several books of mine. Over and again we made the rounds of the publishing houses only to have every door closed firmly in our faces. After one particularly grueling rejection, my agent gave me the most terrifying piece of advice I have ever received: stop writing. She told me to take a year away from writing and devote myself to reading. She felt I hadn’t developed my own personal voice as a writer yet, and believed that taking a year off to read would help me to discover it.

I was absolutely gutted. I had been writing consistently since I wrote my first novel at 23. To stop writing felt like amputating a limb. But desperate people will do desperate things, and I took her advice. I spent a year reading, and more than that, I only read books I wanted to read, books that made me happy. I read general fiction, classics, mysteries, nonfiction—the only rule was that I had to enjoy it. If a book did not engage me in the first few pages, I chucked it across the room and started on another.

At the end of a year, I looked back at the books I had read, and I realized they had many things in common: a strong narrative voice, a British sensibility with dry humor, a mystery at the heart of the plot, a historical setting. The deeper I dug, the more pieces I found, and when I assembled them, I had a blueprint for the book I wanted to write.

This book was my attempt at macabre elegance, a whimsically ghoulish murder mystery set within the conventions of Victorian England. Within it are all the elements I love best in fiction: a historical setting, a female narrator who is sometimes oblivious to her own faults, a simmering whiff of sexual tension, and a twisty, unpredictable unknotting of mysterious circumstances. The specific story itself was suggested when I read a single line in a book about poisons. It gave a brief, tantalizing mention of a murderer whose ingenious method inspired me to play every author’s favorite game, “What if…” In uncovering the answers, I wrote Silent in the Grave.

Comment on this blog and you could win a signed copy of the trade edition of Silent In The Grave.

http://www.deannaraybourn.com/

Hope and Love on the Altar

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:05:00 +0000

I love weddings. I cry at weddings, even of people I barely know, and love shopping for wedding gifts, attending weddings, watching everything from the corny cutting of the cake to the silly tossing of the garter. I love it all.

Writing a wedding-centered book Best Man Says I Do meant I could live in that wedding world for a nice long while. I had just finished a continuity based on a wedding planner business (Sweetheart Lost and Found), which was a blast, not just because I got to write with my friends, but because I got to create an entire fictional world that existed solely for weddings.

I think the reason I love weddings so much is because they’re so hopeful. Everyone there is happy and smiling (okay, most times), and the couple is filled with hope. They are sure that they will be the ones to beat the odds and stay together forever, and you can see those dreams for their future shining in their eyes, hear it in every whispered word on the dance floor, feel it in the sweetness of their kisses.

It’s that hope that gets us through the tough times. I just wrote a handout for the writing workshop I lead on show, not tell, and one of the examples I used in there was the moment when someone first falls in love. Most of us can remember that moment vividly, and I think that’s because it’s the moment we go back to when things get tough, when it seems like the darkest days have descended upon our relationship. There was hope that day, and hope can be, in my opinion, one of the most powerful emotions you have.

That’s part of why I write romance. Because when I read or write that genre, it refills my hope well. With all the darkness in the world, that well can get drained pretty fast, but romance restores those feelings. It makes me remember that no matter how dark things get, there can be light just around the corner.

Best Man Says I Do isn’t a dark book per se, but it is about the impact dark moments can have on us. How we can let a tragic event rule the choices we make later in life—choices that may deny us the very happiness we deserve and need. Most of my books are about something like that, and about how facing those moments allow us to become honest with ourselves, and through that, find true happiness.

I guess that’s why I cry at weddings (I have one to go to in a couple weeks, and I already have my tissues ready). Because I know that the people who are standing up at that altar have decided to take a leap of faith, and with a lot of hope and love, they are betting they will be able to beat the odds and overcome anything in their paths—together. I hope that the couple reaches back into that hope well when the inevitable dark moments come, and remember what brought them together in the first place.

If they can’t, well, I highly recommend reading romance novels. Because those books are filled with that same bright hope that we all need to hold onto a little tighter.

Comment on this blog and you could win a copy of The Bridesmaid and The Billionaire.

Read well and often,

Shirley

http://shirleyjump.com

The Seduction of a Second Chance

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:59:00 +0000

The past cannot be changed but the future is whatever you want it to be.

Every late December or early January, people dust off their resolutions and make promises to lose weight, stop smoking, make more money or something that they’ve probably tried many times but believe that this time will be different. Suzanne Rand, the heroine of my upcoming release WORDS OF SEDUCTION believes that too. A former overweight housewife, she left her small town of Anadale, North Carolina disgraced by her philandering husband. She never planned to go back. But when her father dies she’s forced to return and settle his estate, but now she’s svelte and a bestselling author. And this time she believes things will be different. She’ll show the town the new her and then get out as fast as she can.

However, former bad boy Rick Gordon won’t let her. He also believes in second chances and hopes this time will be different with Suzanne. No longer one of the poorest residences of Anadale he’s a wealthy businessman and wants everyone to know it. As a writer, I had fun working on the premise of second chances. Whenever we think of a second chance, the words that come to mind are: hope, wishes, dreams coming true, living out a fantasy, and being true to oneself. I believe that most people come up with resolutions because of the opportunity for a second chance. But I wonder why second chances are so seductive.

The seductive nature of a second chance calls to anyone that they can achieve whatever they want. In a bad marriage? Get out. You can still find true love. Hate your job? Go back to school, get a new career. Want to lose weight? Have three cookies instead of ten. Don’t like your looks? Try a new hair color or hairstyle. Thinking about second chances reminds me of a great book called It’s Only Too Late If You Don’t Start Now by Barbara Sher. The basic premise is in the title: Start Now if you want your future to look different than your past. That’s what Suzanne and Rick learn by the end of the story.

On Sale February 23, 2010
WORDS OF SEDUCTION

From housewife to hot novelist...her real life is igniting more sparks than her stories!

When it comes to disastrous relationships, Suzanne Rand wrote the book. The frumpy-housewife-turned-superstar-author has come home to North Carolina to sell the family house—then hightail it back out of town.But there’s an unfinished chapter in her life: bad-boy-turned-successful-businessman Rick Gordon. Suzanne’s been burned before and can’t let the roving playboy play fast and loose with her heart again...even if he is the sexiest thing on two legs. And once passion reignites in Rick’s arms, she has no idea where this story’s going...Rick could write the book on how not to get hooked. But he’s never forgotten Suzanne, and now’s his chance to pick up where they left off. That’s why he’s plotting a course of seduction she’ll never be able to resist. But will their rekindled passion lead to love...and the happy ending they both crave?

http://www.daragirard.com/

Marie Ferrarella Celebrates January 15th

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:59:00 +0000

For tens of thousands of self-employed people, myself included, January 15th is the day the final quarterly payment (otherwise known as the final pound of flesh) for the previous tax year is due. But for me it has an additional significance. Twenty-seven years ago (January 15th, 1983)—the exact time, other than it was in the morning, escapes me—my entire world changed. At the time I was seven and a half months pregnant with my second child, my physicist husband had been laid off for eight months and my mother, my best friend in the whole world, had died the previous year, one month before my very first book hit the stands. I was in the shower when my husband knocked on the door to tell me that my agent was on the phone and wanted to speak to me. Lumbering out (I was eating for seventeen at the time) I resigned myself to hearing my agent read yet another rejection letter to me. After selling a heady six books in a short amount of time, three to Second Chance at Love and three to Loveswept, I was stuck in a holding pattern, unable to get another sale with either publisher, or any other for that matter. In a nutshell I was feeling less than optimistic about what seemed to be my late, lamented so-called career.

And then, suddenly, as I took the receiver, placed it to my ear and said hello, the black storm clouds dried up, the raindrops vanished and the sun burst forth. Karen Solem, the then head of Silhouette Books, had read my Desire proposal and had called it “Perfect.” That was the word she used, my agent assured me as I struggled desperately not to hyperventilate. “Perfect.” Moreover, Karen was offering me a contract for this “perfect” proposal. Was I interested? Interested??? I would have written it for free, naked in Times Square (I was seven and a half months pregnant, who would look?). Luckily, I wouldn’t have to write it for free (or naked). Terms were quoted and quickly agreed to (I wasn’t taking any chances that they would come to their senses and change their minds) and thus my lovely, charmed life with Silhouette began. Twenty-seven years later, they still haven’t come to their senses. I was just offered an eight book contract this morning, bringing my grand, unbelievable total to two hundred twenty-eight books, two hundred and fourteen of which bear the Harlequin/Silhouette insignia.

What this back-story qualifies me to say is, Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus (or, if you prefer, If you write it, they will come). Simply put, if you want something, really want something, don’t give up. Keep trying, keep working, it will happen. It did for me.

http://www.marieferrarella.com/

Romancing the Cougar!

noreply@blogger.com (Writerspace Blogs) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:09:00 +0000

There’s something you probably don’t know about me. I seldom watch television and actually think it’s a waste of time- time I could spend writing. The rare program is seen from a hotel bed, and usually indulged in when I can’t sleep, or passing the time between appointments. Like most red- blooded Americans I watch the Bachelor and Bachelorette, but that’s just for research and not because of the cute, young bods, and the romantic settings. It pays to keep current and think current, I’ve rationalized.

Lately when I’ve watched television, the one thing I’ve noticed is how savvy the marketers are. They’ve realized America is aging and an aging America means people with spending power. Money dictates. The baby boomers have boomed. Baby boomers are those of us born between the years 1946 – 1964 and that makes us between 46 and 64. We are the disposable income crowd. Savvy marketers have already figured out where the spending power is and even commercials are targeted to a more mature group of people. The icons we grew up with are hawking Viagra as opposed to Depends.

Even the cosmetic companies have jumped on the bandwagon. Years ago would an over forty Halle Berry, stunning as she is, be representing Revlon?

The sitcoms and movies are all over it too. Look at the popularity of Cougar Town and It’s Complicated, opening this December to rave reviews. So doesn’t it seem to make sense that soon the mature woman is reflected in our books?

Readers prefer heroines they can relate to. We root for people who are just like us. Given that, you can bet your disposable dollar, those able to pay will dictate your next book.

What do you think? Will cougars reign?

The two most interesting perspectives on my comments win an autographed book.

http://www.lovemarcia.com/