Leah Braemel

I've moved!

2011-02-14T09:34:00.000-05:00

My blog is now part of my website. So come on over and say howdy.

Changes...here, there, everywhere

2011-02-11T20:09:00.000-05:00

As you've noticed here, and I talked about last month here, I've had my website redesigned. I got my original design when I was still unpublished, without a contract. Just a hopeful writer. At the time I was writing paranormals, but turned out that my contemporaries were the ones that caught an editor's eye first. While I loved the design, after three years and five books, I had to face the cold hard facts. It was time to say good bye to the old look.

There are now drop-down menus, an "Extras" tab where you can find my free books and deleted scenes. There is a "Series" tab so if you're following either of my series, you'll be able to find them listed in order, a "Coming Soon" tab that I'll hopefully keep filled :D On my Booklist, there are now links not only to my publisher's stores but also to Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, the Book Depository, All Romance eBooks...so you'll have lots of choices depending on where or how you buy your books! Got a Kindle, you'll have a link. Got a Nook - easy peasy. Considering that 90% of you buy from those sites, I wanted to make it as easy as possible for you to find my books.

Here's the biggie considering you're reading this here on Blogger...my blog is moving over to my website so everything will be together in one place. I started posting here back in January 2007, so there are four years of posts and comments. It was wonderful for an unpublished author to have a place to find friends, both readers and other authors. But I'm thrilled that I will be able to have my blog on my website. This site has become like a second website to me, especially once Blogger added its pages feature. But it took an incredible amount of time and challenged my memory about all the places I needed to post links.

It should make it easier for you too -- no more jumping around between sites. Everything will be in one place, so if I talk about a book on a Snippet Saturday, you just have to click on a tab in the top menu and you'll be right there on the book's page, with excerpts and trailers and buy links. And then you can slide over to the Extras page to see if there are any deleted scenes, or free reads.

What it all means is that I'll be posting over there instead of here. I've moved my Google Friends Connect link to there, changed my feed to Goodreads, and will change the feed to Amazon in the morning. (As Dee said to me the other day, it's like changing banks and trying to remember all the bills that come out automatically.) Everything will switch over gradually. If you get your RSS feed from this page, you may have to change it over to that page.

I hope to see you there...because I'm going to have a question for you to answer. (and I'll have a new cover to share with you!)

Same bat time, but not the same bat place...now it'll be http://LeahBraemel.com/blog

And you just might want to take a look at the blog -- there's a new cover up and as Dee Carney said over on Twitter: "Get out the H20" It's one hot cover!

Marian Perera: Setting and Sex

2011-02-09T00:26:00.010-05:00

There are many exotic and unusual places to have sex, and I don’t just mean the Jacuzzi. When I was in grad school, I once reluctantly ended a hot date with a guy called Jason because I had to check on my bacterial cultures, but he drove me to the lab. It was eleven p.m., so no one else was there. I unlocked the door and examined my cultures while Jason stood outside.

“Want to come in?” I said. He declined, looking uneasy.

“It’s safe. And if you like, I’ll sit on the big centrifuge and start it vibrating.”

Sadly, even that wasn’t enticement enough. Though if it had happened in a book I would have continued the action on the big centrifuge and in the embedding room and possibly under the decontamination shower as well.

But as well as giving characters new and interesting places to get it on, a careful use of setting carries a lot of symbolic weight as well. Wuthering Heights is a great example of this, since the setting is the most memorable reflection of Cathy’s and Heathcliff’s violent, passionate personalities. Storms rage across the moors, and Wuthering Heights itself stands high on the moorland, exposed to winds and weather.

And Cathy’s true love is part of that rough, fierce existence. Even though she chooses a life of luxury symbolized by Thrushcross Grange, a house in the sheltered valley, her heart remains on the desolate moors.

In Phillipa Gregory’s Wideacre, Beatrice meets Ralph on the land which both of them love, and they consummate their relationship on the river bank. Similarly, when she sets out to seduce Harry, she does so on the sunlit downs and in the shadows of trees. Again, it’s natural and open.

But as their relationship devolves into power plays and sexual sadism, they start meeting indoors, in a room specially appointed for that purpose. Their relationship is now a secret she has to hide from the land itself.

Settings can also hint at the consequences of such encounters. In my novel Before the Storm, Alex is a woman owned by the nobility, so she’s expected to perform under any circumstances. But when her owner gives her as a gift to his greatest rival, Robert Demeresna, Robert is highly reluctant to touch her in enemy territory.

They gradually start trusting each other as they travel to his home, and when they finally do make love, it’s in the master bedroom of his house. Which should have been a warning sign to Alex that she was with a responsible, conservative man who wouldn’t just tumble her in the hay – and who might therefore expect a similar level of commitment from her eventually.

Now I have a question for you. What’s the most interesting place your characters have ever had sex?

Meet Marian Perera

Marian Perera studies medical laboratory technology (final year of college!) when she isn’t writing. Her first novel, a romantic fantasy called , was just released in paperback, and she blogs about writing, publication and every step between the two at Flights of Fantasy

Want to know more about Marian? Read more about her on her blog. Interested in Before the Storm? Check it out at Amazon.

Want to win Personal Protection?

2011-02-08T16:54:00.000-05:00

I'm helping Vivian Arend celebrate her tenth release, Turn It Up, with Samhain Publishing over on Facebook today.

In order to make sure everyone is up to speed with my Hauberk series for my upcoming release Deliberate Deceptions, which is book 3 in the series, I'm giving away an e-copy of book #2: Personal Protection.

Head on over to Viv's author page, read the excerpt and then follow the directions at the bottom of the note for your chance to win. http://www.facebook.com/notes/vivian-arend/giveaway-3-personal-protection-by-leah-braemel-ebook/153126704742043

Good luck!

Frugal? Or fed up?

2011-02-08T09:58:00.006-05:00

It's been a while since I allowed myself to rant on here. Bad for the image and all that. But here goes...

Publishers say a cover can make a consumer pick up a book off the shelf. Well, for me, and for most Canadians, this is the part of the cover that determines if we'll put it down:

See the difference? We're used to it. We don't like it, but we're used to it. We told ourselves that price reflected the difference in our dollar. But it does factor into my decision whether to buy a book or not. I have a tipping point. I've often put a book down because it sets off my "that's too frickin' much" meter.

But the Canadian dollar is currently at par with the United States dollar. It's even strong against the pound (back in 2000 I paid $2.35 to buy a British pound, now I can buy one for $1.59) It's been hovering around par since 2007 with a few fluctuations. Back in 2007 when our dollar not only achieved parity but soared to $1.10 compared to the US dollar, Walmart announced they'd only charge us the American price if we took the book to the til. Chapters/Indigo (our only Canadian book chain ) were forced to follow suit. But then that offer slowly and quietly went away in both stores. And yup, we're back to paying that $18.50 again.

What started this rant? Yesterday I went to pre-order Patricia Brigg's newest book, River Marked. Patricia is one of the few authors I auto-buy. I adore both her Mercy Thompson series, and her Alpha and Omega series. I definitely wanted to get my hands on her next book. Until I noticed this...

Amazon.com's price? $14.18

Barnes and Noble's price? $14.18

But those are the US stores...I like to support Canadian stores...okay, Canadian STORE since I have no independent book stores in my area.(Chapters/Indigo took over the Canadian book market and forced out all the little guys a la Fox Books in You've Got Mail.)

Chapters/Indigo $23.10 (or $21.95 if I use a membership card that costs me $25 a year)

So I turned to my faithful standby, the Book Depository. Now the BD are not Canadian, they're run out of England, even though they have a .com site that makes it look like they operate from the States. Their price: $20.41

Note: the Book Depository does give me the option of converting that to US dollars ($20.21) but all these sites know where I am from my IP number I assume and I am not sure if an American would be charged that same price.

So it really chaps my hide to see such exorbitant price differences, especially when our dollar is strong against both the US buck and the British pound.

When I was ranting about this price discrepancy on Twitter yesterday, Vicki Essex who works for Harlequin tried to explain to me about how the publishing industry determines their prices six months in advance. There was a lot more to it and I sort of got it but when it comes down to it, as a consumer, I cannot get my head around a $7 - 9 price jump just for crossing the border.

Chapters/Indigo will spin me some tale, and I suspect this is the reason for the price difference, that they only deal with publishers who have Canadian distributors. (That's why it's nearly impossible to get Personal Protection on the shelves in my own stores--Samhain doesn't have a Canadian distributor.) So I'm guessing there's a middle man taking a huge cut off the top here. I suspect it's something similar with the Book Depository. And I will also cut BD a bit of slack since they don't charge for shipping to over 90 countries.

The thing that publishers tend to forget? If the book is in hardcover, I know that if I wait a couple months I'll be able to pick it up on a bookstore's sale table for $10. I did it for Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon, and for Patricia's last book, Silverborne.

Don't get me started on the practice of changing a series that was originally issued only in paperback to hardcover and making me wait for a more reasonably priced paperback. That's a whole 'nother rant.

And yes, I could possibly buy it through the Kindle for the exorbitant price of $14.82 -- ACE books, your agency pricing SUCKS! I refuse to pay more for a Kindle book than Amazon charges for the fricking HARDCOVER! That's insane! It's available on the Nook for $12.99, though not to Canadians. I checked Kobo Books but it's not up for pre-order there.

But here's my message to the publishers: I WILL NOT pay over $15 for a book. Even a hardcover. And I definitely will not pay more than $9.99 for an ebook.

I can wait. Or I can visit a library and you'll lose out on that sale.

***

Back in the early part of this decade the Canadian dollar was worth only about 61 cents to an American dollar. It worked really well for Americans visiting Canada. Their dollar was worth almost two of ours so they could snatch up incredible bargains. With expenses a lot less and Canadian cities able to double for American cities, producers and directors flooded to Canada to make their movies and save money at the same time. A whole new industry burgeoned up here. It worked really well for companies shipping their products to the American markets. But for Canadians travelling to the States? OMG it was so expensive and we had to think twice. A hotel room that would cost Americans $100 a night would cost us almost $150 Canadian dollars. Tourism to the States, and out of Canada in general, dropped because we couldn't afford to travel.

Around 2005 the Canadian dollar began to slowly battle back. By 2008 it was at par with the American dollar. It's fluctuated back and forth, even dropping back down to .76 very briefly in 2009. But for most of 2010 it's not dropped below .93 cents to the American dollar.

**Edited** By the way, that price graphic at the top of the blog? That was from Beth Kery's Explosive which just released in November 2010. When the dollar was still hovering at par. Did I pay that? Nope. I bought it from the Book Depository for the grand price of $9.08, including free shipping. Told you. I'm frugal.

Also, just as this posted, literary agent Rachel Gardner posted about "remaindered books" ... how those $20 books end up on a sale table for half price or more.

And over on Facebook, Jess Warth reminded me about NAFTA -- the North American Free Trade Agreement. Guess it doesn't apply to books :(

Inez Kelley: Sex and Chocolate

2011-02-02T00:57:00.000-05:00

Two of life’s greatest things, right? Adult novelty shops have long combined the two. You can buy chocolate body paint, chocolate flavored body sugar, etc. Scientific studies have even proven that the same endorphins released during orgasm are triggered by chocolate consumption.

In my new release SWEET AS SIN, Livvy is a pastry chef. She likes the sweet stuff. John, however, likes the spicy things in life. Wouldn’t you know it, sweet and spicy can be delicious together.

Sweet as Sin

“If you want sexy and playful…” Livvy let the flirty statement hang until John arched a questioning brow. “Go read the top rack of the display case out in the main storefront. The entire top tier is from the Adult Cravings line.”

“Adult cravings,” John repeated, crossing his arms. Carnal lust deepened his eyes to night-sea blue. “What kind of cravings do you have, Liv?”

“Do you mean me or the store?”

The air crackled with innuendo. “Either.”

“Well, I told you about the Chocolate Orgasms. We also make Buttercrotch Crunch, Lemon Lick-her bars, Pink Layer Soufflés, Double Chocolate-Chip Studmuffins, Cinnamon Red Hot Lovers, Peanut Butter Nookies, Sugared Sixty-Nines, and my favorite, Triple Cheesecake Climax.”

“Triple climax, huh? Now there’s an interesting personal challenge.” A wealth of flirtation hid behind his smile. One petal drooped.

“You’re distracting me, Murphy.”

“Sorry.” His tone implied he wasn’t at all.

“The sooner I finish this, the sooner we can leave.”

“And do what?” he challenged.

Livvy took her time and completed the bloom before looking at him. “That depends on what I’m craving tonight.”

He drew a deep breath, lust flaring like a match before he walked away. “Work faster, Liv.”

John strolled, hands in his pockets, staring at the strange oversized machines that created delicate pastries. The large ovens were taller than he was and placed at the far end of the room, away from the decorating area. The opposite wall was the back entry to the display shelves which dominated the store front. He shivered when he opened the refrigerated side door, the cold pooling around him in a pale swirl.

“Help yourself to anything you want,” Livvy called, not moving her eyes from the flower nail in her hand.

Hopping onto the table opposite her, John tasted the Belgian chocolate. The decadent sound from his lips sent shivers through her thighs.

“Damn, Liv, was this from the top rack? It’s like sex on a fork.”

“That’s a Chocolate Orgasm.”

John devoured the brownie, licking the plastic fork clean. “I’m hooked. It’s like chocolate crack. You must be Jenny Craig’s nightmare.”

She burst out laughing and he joined her. The sound created a tender quiver in her heart. The grooves around his lips proved how little he truly laughed in life. Hope bloomed as she realized with her his laughter came easily.

Cover Art Copyright© 2010 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited
Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A.
Cover Art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited.
All rights reserved. © and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license. ~~~~~~
Livvy’s Sugar Shack recipe for

Chocolate Orgasm Brownies

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
5 ounces high quality dark chocolate (at least 70 % cacao), finely chopped
1 ounce unsweetened/bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tsp almond extract
1 tablespoon freshly ground chili peppers (if you want more kick, use a bit more )
3 cold large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup chocolate chips/toasted nuts (optional)

~Preheat oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and the sides of an 8-inch square baking pan parchment paper, leaving an overhang. OR use foil cup lined muffin tin for individual servings.

~ Combine the butter, cocoa, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. I use the microwave in short 20 second intervals, stirring every 20 seconds. Stir until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and fairly warm. Stir in chili pepper. Set aside for one minute to allow the chili pepper to ‘roast’ in the warm mixture.

~ Using a wooden spoon, stir in the almond extract. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring quickly. Blend in flour, then beat for 40 strokes. Stir in the chips/nuts. Spread the batter evenly in the lined pan.

~Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly moist, 20 to 25 minutes. Let the brownies cool completely on a rack. Cut into squares OR use foil cup lined muffin tin(reducing bake time as needed- you’ll need to watch this as you know your oven but I don’t).

Top with drizzled chocolate ganache

1 cup heavy cream
2 cups good quality dark chocolate, chopped fine
Heat cream almost to a scald. Remove from burner and add chocolate all at once
Blend until it is smooth. Drizzle directly onto brownies. (store leftover in the fridge and top your ice cream!)

Sweet as Sin

She’s made for sin. Sin is something he knows intimately.
John Murphy is tormented by nightmares. A bestselling young-adult author, he writes the ultimate fantasy: stories where good always triumphs. He knows better. His past has shown him the worst in people—and in himself. When he moves next door to the sexy, vibrant Livvy—a woman completely unlike his usual one-night stands—he's driven to explore every curve of her delicious body.

Pastry chef Livvy knows that giving in to the temptation that is John Murphy won't lead to anything permanent, but she deserves a passionate summer fling. John discovers she's as sweet as the confections she bakes while Livvy slowly unravels his secrets. But what will happen when she uncovers them all?

Buy Sweet as Sin at Carina Press, AMZ, ARe, BoB or B&N

Inez Kelley is a multi-published author of various romance genres. You can visit her at her website http://inezkelley.com/ Follow Inez on twitter at @Inez_Kelley or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/inez.kelley

A Call to Crack the Whip

2011-01-31T09:09:00.000-05:00

I'm running behind! And I want your help to keep me on track.

Back at the first of November, I set a personal deadline of the end of this month for finishing the next installment in the Hauberk series. Life decided to throw a couple challenges (or more) in my way. Ten days later, my mother had a stroke and I lost a week of writing time. Still, I managed to finish the first draft the first week of December, one week late.

In December, I figured I should probably spend some time buying my family some Christmas presents, and even spend some time with my family while they were home for their holidays. One of my editors must have heard me say this to them because she sent not one, but TWO sets of edits, one due a couple days before Christmas, and one due New Year's Day. I prevailed and got them both done. But it meant I didn't get to work on Troy's story as much as I wanted.

On Friday I posted on Facebook that the day had been a day of interruptions. I had two IM sessions open with two critique partners, my son Guitar Hero walked into the office about something or other, Gizmo Guy walked in a minute later carrying Spike and promptly set down the cat on my desk in front of my monitor and proceeded to join in the conversation. That pretty much describes the entire month of January. Constant. Interruptions.

I have managed to get a second draft done, but I need one more pass before I can send it out to my critique partners, and thence to my editor for her approval.

So here's where I am coming to you. I'm going to put a sign on my office saying "Enter at Risk of Death" and give everyone in my real-life the stink eye if they so much as think about turning that doorknob. But I also am having problems with distracting myself with all the fun stuff there is to do online. So if you see me on Twitter, or on Facebook between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., you have my permission to give me hell. Tell me to get off the net and get back to writing.

Crack that whip!

Snippet Saturday - Fight

2011-01-29T00:36:00.008-05:00

Today's Snippet Saturday is about fights. There are physical fights and emotional fights that I could choose from. There's a physical fight in my upcoming Deliberate Deceptions a la Mr. and Mrs. Smith I could have put up, but I figured you might need a reminder of Chad's character, who is the hero in Deliberate Deceptions. So I pulled out a scene from Personal Protection where he's arguing with a very stubborn Sam about accepting his own bodyguard.

Personal
Protection

Chad carefully slid the photograph back into the envelope. “This has been going on for three months now, Sam. At least let me assign a couple of CPOs to you.”

Sam scowled and flopped into his chair. “Come on, Chad, I don’t need close protection. Of all people, you know I’m trained in escape and avoidance techniques. In fact, I’m better than anyone you’d assign.” Sam shifted in his chair. “Besides, what’s it say to clients if the owner of a protection agency can’t protect himself?”

“It says he’s smart that he knows he needs an extra set of eyes. Damn it, Sam, this is no idle threat. You’re being followed. Stalked. And someone broke into your apartment, remember? The bastard could have set a bomb to go off when you opened the door.”

“Yeah, well…”

“What’s Mark say about the threats?”

Sam shrugged one shoulder. He’d meant to talk to his Dallas-based partner last time he’d flown down to Dallas but then Mark announced Jodi’s pregnancy and Sam hadn’t wanted to intrude on his friend’s happiness. And now he felt uncomfortable discussing it via email. Oh, by the way, thought you should know, someone’s taking pictures of me. Yeah, that would make him sound a real lame-ass weenie.

“You haven’t told him about them, have you?”

“Damn it, Chad, there’ve been a half dozen pictures in the past three months. And the phone calls—it’s some kid who dialed a random number and got lucky, that’s all.”

“Christ, Sam, listen to yourself. You get a picture doctored so it looks like your brains have been shot out, you’re getting phone calls with some mechanized voice telling you to prepare to die—”

Sam covered one fist with the other, cracked his knuckles. “If they wanted me dead they could have shot me any one of those times, but they didn’t. They took my picture a couple times and made a coupla calls. Big deal.”

“What about the break-in? No,” Chad corrected himself. “They didn’t need to break in, they had a key. And they knew the code to disable your security system so they could take as much time as they wanted. And yet here you sit trying to pretend it’s…what? A kid pranking you? Some practical joke?”

Yeah, the break-in had been hard to ignore. But damn it, that meant he knew whoever it was who was stalking him. Intimately. This wasn’t something he wanted to call the cops in on. He’d handle it himself. “So they emptied the ketchup bottle on my bed, along with one of those damned photos. That’s it. They’re not trying to hurt me, Chad.”

Chad forced his shoulders down and exhaled through his mouth in a long slow blow. “Sam, if I were a client receiving these pictures, you’d recommend I wear a vest every time I went out in public. You’d tell me to change up my routine—to take different routes at different times—”

“I’m already doin’ that. I check my six regularly—no one’s following me. They’re trying to psych me out, that’s all.”

Chad continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “You’d insist I used one of our special bullet-proof limos with a bodyguard trained in defensive driving as the chauffeur, and you’d assign a team of Close Protective Officers to guard you twenty-four/seven. And if I still didn’t listen, what would you say?”

Sam slumped back in his chair. “I’d ask you if your will was in order.”

Chad folded his arms across his chest and rocked on his heels. “So tell me, Sam, you got your will in order?”

Don't forget to visit the other Snippet Saturday participants:

Lissa Matthews 
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
Eliza Gayle
Shelli Stevens
TJ Michaels
Lauren Dane 
Jody Wallace
Helen Kay Dimon
Sasha White

He's Baaa-aack!

2011-01-27T04:13:00.004-05:00

Want a chuckle? The Old Spice guy is back!

Help, I've fallen captive to his striking brown eyes and I can't get free...

Happy 4th Blog Birthday

2011-01-26T11:08:00.000-05:00

Four years and 1124 posts later, I'm still here. And I'm published, with three books already out and two more releasing in a few months.

Color me surprised.

My first post was about my decision to jump into the deep end of the publishing pool, to put my writing out there and hope that maybe, just maybe, someone might like it. Little did I know that I would receive my first contract a year later in 2008.

Over the past four years I've talked about my husband Gizmo Guy, and my sons, Guitar Hero and Curly. I've shared my struggles with my parents and their health. My father's massive stroke that meant he'd never come home again. His death last April. My mother's stroke last November. My own health issues, and Gizmo Guy's too.

I've burnt out a laptop, discarded a desktop. Changed out a monitor. Kicked Gizmo Guy out of his desk and taken over his office. (Until the boys move out so I can remake one of their bedrooms into an office that has a window with light instead of this cave. Though it doesn't look like that'll be happening any time soon.)

I've rejoiced here on my blog when I received my first contract. And my second. The third, fourth and fifth.

I love being able to share my covers. I worried about the excerpts I put up, wondering "does that show the book in its best light? Will readers find it interesting enough to buy, or will it turn them away?" I rarely offer writing advice because, heck, I'm still figuring it all out too. When I turned 50, I indulged myself and invited some of my favorite authors to help me celebrate. When it ended, I continued inviting authors to come be my guest every Wednesday.

I've made friends via my blog. Some whom I've managed to meet in person, and others whom I've never met outside the cyber realm but hope to one day, both readers and authors.

In the past four years, this blog has gone through a few changes too. Originally I had a gargoyle as my main image--I was writing a paranormal about a gargoyle that came to life at night. Once I finished it, I blogged about a manuscript I was writing about a merman banished to a landlocked lake in Alberta, so the paranormal elements stayed. Then I got my website and it changed looks again. And now it's morphing yet once more as it changes to reflect that I write, not only contemporary romances, but westerns, including a historical.

All genres I never could have predicted myself writing, or selling, when I wrote that first blog post back on January 26, 2007.

Which makes me wonder where I'll be four years from now. Ever think about that? Ask that question I used to hate in interviews...where do you see yourself in four years? What do you hope to have accomplished by 2015?

Here's hoping we'll all find that "bluebird of happiness."

On plotting, edits, and travel plans

2011-01-24T10:19:00.000-05:00

Wow, we're at the last full week of January already. Time it is a-flying.

I'm back in my editing cave--my editor over at Samhain sent me Deliberate Deceptions for a round of edits, which means another deadline, though this one shouldn't push me too hard as I have two weeks to do them.

I want to get them done far before that as I also have a self-imposed deadline of the end of this month to finish the third draft of Troy's story (Hauberk book 4--which is STILL untitled, darn it all) so I can send it off to my critique partners.I'd originally pegged that deadline for mid-January, but two rounds of edits for Tangled Past PLUS Christmas and my mother's stroke set me behind just a tad. And like I said, it's a self-imposed deadline, not a contractual obligation. So there's not as much pressure if I'm late by a few days.

In addition to those edits, I'm already mentally plotting what books I want to write for next year and trying to figure out how long it would take me to write each one. Over the past year and a half, I've discovered it's much more efficient for me to draft up a synopsis of an idea, and get to know the characters for a few weeks or months before I start writing them. It saves a LOT of rewriting as my characters reveal their issues while I'm washing the dishes or doing laundry. (Yup, for some reason my brain seems freer to wander when I'm doing housework instead of sitting staring at the computer screen. Ideas and solutions come at the weirdest times and places. You'd probably wonder at my sanity if you followed me around for a couple days.) Anyway I'd much rather write a shorter first draft and then add scenes to subsequent drafts than to write thirty thousand words and slash fifteen thousand. Adding is much more satisfying than deleting.

While I'm doing my edits and plotting, emails are flying back and forth with my new webmistress over the redesign of my website. More excitement and worry, especially since the folks over at Harlequin are critiquing their authors' sites and making suggestions on how to tweak it to make it much more reader-friendly, and easier for you to buy our books.

Plus I have to leave some time open for the conference in New York at the end of June, and possibly another conference later in the year--perhaps one more oriented toward the reader as opposed to the writer. Do you go to readers' conference such as the huge Romantic Times event in April or Lori Foster's event in June, or Lora Leigh's Reader Appreciation gathering in October? I'd love to meet some of you...Where are you going to be?

Snippet Saturday: Bad Mood

2011-01-22T09:14:00.000-05:00

Ever woken up in a good mood only to have it go downhill real fast? Today's Snippet is about bad moods. Sam's mood has been in a downward spiral all day. It started the night before when he found someone had broken into his apartment and left him a threatening message. It got worse when Chad, his second-in-command, insisted he accept a detail of bodyguards. It hit rock bottom when Chad made Rosie Ramos the head of his detail of Close Protective officers. Rosie! Not that she's not a perfectly capable CPO, she is, but damn it, he's been attracted to her for over a year, able to only look but not touch since she's his employee. Now he's got to be around her 24/7. Yup, it's enough to put any guy in a bad mood...

Personal
Protection

The limo pulled into the underground parking lot and past his Jag. A sigh escaped Sam as they cruised past his Harley. The crisp October day would have been perfect to drive his Road King. Instead he was cooped up like a damned dog in the back of the limo that finally stopped near the elevator where Rosie was waiting.

Damn it, why had Chad insisted on Rosie Ramos as his lead CPO? If he’d wanted a woman to accompany him to any upcoming parties or meet ’n greets—the reason Chad had given him—why not McKee or Anderson? Neither of those women got his cock twitching like Rosie did.

The fantasy he’d had of getting her alone in his apartment hadn’t included her wearing a gun and acting in as his personal bodyguard. All right, maybe one had. But, damn it, if a bullet was going to be aimed in his direction, there was no way in hell he wanted the little spitfire throwing herself in its path. He’d rather have her throw herself in his bed. Go down on her knees and unzip his fly… Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

“All clear, Mr. Watson,” Rosie said quietly.

“Of course it is.” Sam ducked his head and clambered out of the limo, then stomped to the elevator. Goddamn it, she’d even acquired a key to the elevator, locking the door open so no one else could use it. He ignored that it was standard operating procedure and lashed out, “You think other people might not need the goddamned elevator?”

“Better than having the door open and somebody shoot you from inside. Besides there are other elevators still available.”

Her voice was so damned reasonable. Placating. Like he was some baby to be soothed out of a tantrum.

Which is exactly how he was behaving but goddamn it, his people were supposed to be protecting others. Not him.

She turned the key and let the door close, pressing the button for the penthouse. The elevator began to rise, a quiet chime announcing each floor they passed. And with each ding, Sam became more and more aware of the delicate smell of apricot shampoo and woman filling the confined area. He closed his eyes, trying not to deliberately inhale great lungfuls of that amazing scent.

As long as she was around him, he’d not sleep. Instead he’d be staring at the ceiling imagining what it would feel like to cup her breasts in his hands, to unzip her pants and nudge aside that blue thong. Imagine going down on her and tasting her honey. When she’d been in the gym doing those stretches, he’d obsessed about some of the positions she could get into while he fucked her. Then in his office while Chad had been briefing her, he’d pictured her stretched out over his desk, her legs hitched over his shoulders. And now she’d be in the next apartment, so damned available.

Damn it!

“Mr. Watson, do you have a problem with me guarding you?”

“Nope.” He couldn’t help that his answer sounded like a growl. He had one helluva a problem and at the moment it was punching against his zipper. He shifted his briefcase so she wouldn’t see his hard-on.

“I mean, do you have a problem with a woman guarding you?”

Shit! She thought he didn’t want her because she was a woman? Why not add sexual discrimination to the mix today? He exhaled and opened his eyes. “No, Ms. Ramos, I do not have a problem a female operative leading my team.”

“Then do you have a problem with me personally?”

Was it a problem that he was imagining pinning her up against the wall and ramming into her until she screamed her release? How the hell did he explain that to her without getting slapped with a sexual harassment suit in addition to the discrimination one?

“If I didn’t have complete confidence in your abilities, you wouldn’t work for Hauberk, and Chad wouldn’t have personally chosen you as team leader.”

That must have been the answer she was looking for. She nodded, and her shoulders imperceptibly relaxed. “Thank you.”

“I’m pis—ticked off at whoever is sending those damned photographs, and I fu—frickin’ don’t like having to accept that I had to ask my own people to protect me. Leaves me damned twitchy. So don’t take my grouchiness personally, Ms. Ramos. It’s not directed at you.”

No, what was pointing directly at her was his goddamned dick.

Don't forget to visit today's other Snippet Saturday participants:

Lissa Matthews 
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
Eliza Gayle
TJ Michaels
Lauren Dane 
Jody Wallace
Helen Kay Dimon
Shelli Stevens

Don't miss...

2011-01-20T08:31:00.003-05:00

If you live in Canada, tune in to CTV's new Marilyn Denis show (I'd noticed her missing from Citytv's Cityline but had no idea she'd moved over to CTV and gotten her own show -- way to go, Marilyn!) Anyway, today Marilyn's interviewing Carina Press's Angela James about e-readers.

If I can find a link that streams it or if I can find a clip on a video I can embed, I'll try to find it and post it so people outside of Canada can watch it too.

**Edited** So people outside of Canada couldn't watch it live, but they will be able to see it now all the provinces have seen it. It's at right here as part of www.marilyn.ca 's website.

Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are. ~Bertold Brecht

You may have noticed the header on the blog has changed.I'm in the middle of updating my website and this will give you a sneak peek at a tiny part of it. (You won't get the great unveiling for a while yet as we're still populating the pages. In the meantime the old one is still up.) There will be drop down menus including a coming soon page and more buy links. There will be an extras page with my free stories to download, book trailers and deleted scenes, and maybe even a Hauberk org chart. But there will not be any music or blinky graphics. I promise!

Now's your chance--before we're done designing the new website, tell me what you want to see on it. Got any requests?

If I can make it there...

2011-01-18T09:54:00.001-05:00

Start spreading the news
I'm leaving in June
I'm going to be a part of it
New York, New York!

(my apologies to Fred Ebb, the lyricist of the original New York, New York song)

I just registered for the Romance Writers of America's national conference in New York this June. It's the first conference I've been to in a couple years, the first Nationals since 2007. For those non-romance writers who are unfamiliar with the conference, this is the conference to attend. Approximately 2,000 romance writers, editors, agents and other industry professionals spend four days mixing and mingling, culminating in the RITA awards dinner -- the romance industry's version of the Oscars. (Not that I'm anywhere near the running for one of those.) Glitz, glamour, schmoozing. Anxiety over pitch sessions to editors or agents followed by mimosas as a reward.

Gizmo Guy will be going with me this time. He's been talking about this trip for two years since he discovered it would be held in New York. He used to work a lot in the Big Apple and has wanted to show me around for at least 15 years but I'd never managed to get there. So we've booked a couple days before and a day after to give us time to explore, just the two of us.

So if you're in the New York area sometime between June 26th and July 2nd, give me a holler and we can see if we can hook up. Or if you have a favorite deli or place to visit in the city, let me know. I'm already excited!

How to Drive Others Crazy

2011-01-17T09:04:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, no, most times, I pity people who have to endure conversations with me, especially if I'm having to make a decision. Why is that? Because I'm certain this is what I sound like...

"It should just be a sort of grayish-yellow-green"

"Uh huh"

I know exactly what I want, but trying to meet my expectations. Well, that's tougher. Especially after you've had to listen to me blather on to get to an answer.

(I love those old black and white movies, with their snappy dialogue and comic situations. Throw in Cary Grant and Myrna Loy (or Doris Day and Rock Hudson) and it's usually a great time to curl up on the couch with Gizmo Guy (or Spike) and ignore those decisions that have to be made.)

Snippet Saturday - Dark Moment: Tangled Past

2011-01-15T09:48:00.000-05:00

As you can tell from the title, today's Saturday Snippet is about the "dark moment" -- now often in romance writing, writers refer to the 'black moment' -- that's the moment when the storyline has twisted so the hero and heroine have been torn assunder. Usually it's done through actual physical separation -- the heroine's been kidnapped or the couple have broke up and there is an actual physical distance between them. Tangled Past is slightly different, as you'll read. Because sometimes the most painful separations can occur when the person you love is standing right there in front of you....

Tangled Past

Sarah woke to an empty bed for the second morning in a row. She quickly washed and dressed and hurried to Nate’s room, where Jackson had kept vigil.

Martha stood in the doorway, a breakfast tray in her hands. She shook her head. “Jackson won’t eat, the stubborn man.”

“He barely touched his dinner last night too.” Sarah peeked in the room and found him sitting on the edge of the bed, wiping Nate’s forehead with a damp cloth. “I’ve never known two men to be such good friends. Mr. McLeod didn’t even sit with my mother when she was dying.”

Then again, maybe he’d been happy to see the end of the woman who had brought him such shame.

“Come on, Nate. You gotta fight this.” The tenderness in his voice brought tears to Sarah’s eyes. Especially when he leaned over the still figure on the bed, putting his mouth next to Nate’s ear. “You can’t leave me. Don’t die on me, you hear?”

She could barely hear Nate’s rasped response. “You’ve got Sarah now. You won’t be alone.”

“Damn it, you can’t die. I love you.” Jackson gathered Nate into his arms, cradling him like a child.

Sarah had to step back and rest her head against the hall wall, fighting the tears burning tracks down her cheeks. How she’d long to hear him say those words to her. If he could love Nate, maybe one day he’d come to love her too. Or was it even possible for a man who loved his friend that way to love a woman?

Don't forget to visit the other Snippet Saturday participants:

Lissa Matthews 
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
Eliza Gayle
TJ Michaels
Lauren Dane 
Jody Wallace
Sasha White
Helen Kay Dimon

Want to know what an editor does?

2011-01-14T10:17:00.002-05:00

Novels Alive TV interviewed my Samhain editor Tera Kleinfelter at a Romantic Times conference. After you read the article, click on the video to the right of the interview and hear what Tera does as an editor. It's not all reading manuscripts...

Meet Keri Ford: Southern Belle

2011-01-12T06:26:00.006-05:00

Hi, Leah! Thanks for asking me to join you today. I can't wait for you to meet my handsome friend, Parker. He's the hero in my novella Through The Wall, but he doesn't know that yet. He's a mechanic and sent me a message about some sudden work and will be a little late.

Before he gets here, let me tell you about him. He's hot, charming, hot, good with his hands, and hot. I suspect he's got a secret huge crush on his best friend, Stephanie, but he's not acting on. I'll see what we can get out of him today.

*knock-knock*

Keri: That must me him! *Parker swaggers in* Hi, hon. This is Leah.

Parker: Hi, Beautiful. Sorry, I'm late. Mrs. Harris--I'm not sure if you know her, but her car ran out of gas and was full of groceries. I ran her home, unloaded her groceries for her and then took care of her car.

Keri: For something like that, it's okay. Here. Leah fixed us some tea. You must thirsty after all that. I asked you here with me today to tell us about Stephanie.

Parker: *chokes on tea* *beats on chest* Why--*voice cracks and he clears it*--why ask me?

Keri: You've known her a long time. How did ya'll meet?

Parker: I met her shortly after she started dating my former best friend.

Keri: Former?

Parker: *Face reddens. Temples tick.* Fucking bastard was cheating on her with her best friend. Stephanie's divorce was really nasty. Son of bitch treated her like shit and then made each step hard as hell. That's when Stephanie and I became really close. Uh, can I cuss here?

Keri: I'm sure Leah will do *@&# in place if it's a problem. Just how close are you to Stephanie?

Parker: Just friends. And that's all. She doesn't need more. Her divorce was final just three months ago.

Keri: So you're interested in more?

Parker: I didn't say that.

Keri: It was close enough.

Parker: No it wasn't.

Keri: Yes it was.

Parker: No.

Keri: Don't argue with me. I know you want her.

Parker: *scrubs hands through his hair* Fine, yes. I want her. God, I want her more than anything. I've wanted her since the first time I saw her and she'd started dating him. I tried finding another woman like her, but there's not another out there.

Keri: She's single now.

Parker: Her divorce was just final. She doesn't need me right now. I don't want to be her rebound. She just needs some time.

Keri: You said her divorce was long and nasty.

Parker: Yeah. Took over a year from the time she found him cheating until papers were signed.

Keri: Wow. So over a year now? And you think she wouldn't be ready for something more?

Parker: Too soon. Another year or so. Maybe eight months and then I'll consider it.

Keri: And what about you until then?

Parker: What about me? *pulls shirt away from chest* I'll be fine. I've been hiding my feelings from her since I met her. I can make it a little longer.

Keri: That's sad. You should confront her.

Parker: I know what I'm doing.

Keri: Sure you do. You have man parts, you know everything *rolls eyes* You know I wrote a story about you and Stephanie.

Parker: *frowns* Why? What's it called?

Keri: Through The Wall.

Parker: Why that title? What does that mean? *cell phone trills* afraid I'm going to have to cut this short. Stephanie is asking me for supper and she's not supposed to know I'm here.

Keri: Ok, I'll see you later. Thanks for coming. *waits until he leaves*

All right, let me tell you more about this story now. Parker is an idiot.

Through the Wall

by Keri Ford

She doesn't want wild and raunchy, just a little spice….

Stephanie listens to her neighbor's exciting sexcapades through her bedroom wall. What used to make her blush now has her reaching for her vibrator. But she's had enough self-fulfillment and wants the real thing.

He wants commitment and long-term, not a quick roll….

Stephanie is the only woman Parker ever wanted. He's tried for years to find a substitute, but there isn't another woman like her. Stephanie's now available and he knows if he gives her time to overcome her ex-husband, he can have his long-desired chance.

Short-term does not lead to long term. Or can it…?

When Stephanie digs up the courage to ask Parker for something a little exciting and spicy, she's surprised to see him nervous while rejecting her. She's known Parker for a long time, but never seen him nervous, especially about a girl. Parker knows he could never be satisfied with having Stephanie temporarily. As she asks and tempts him, he begins to think short-term would be better than nothing at all. Unless he could convince her into more.

Through The Wall is now available! Thanks for having me Leah!

Read Chapter One HERE!!
~~~~~~~~~~

Visit Keri At:
Website
Twitter
Facebook

Through The Wall is now available in ebook format for only $1.99 from Amazon Kindle | Smashwords| Sony | Diesel | Apple | Barnes & Noble (Nook) | Digibooks Café | 1PlaceforRomance and 1EroticaEbooks | All Romance Ebooks and Omnilit | CoffeeTime Romance eBookstore

*Leah here: Keri was interviewed by KJ Reed on her blog the other day. I was seriously tempted to add the video here because every time I watch it I think of Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama. She's so sweet. And southern. But I figured that would be bad form to borrow it from KJ. So if you do want to hear a real southern accent, go on over to KJ's blog and watch Keri's video interview. It's a hoot.

Help needed for my To-Be-Bought list

2011-01-10T12:00:00.001-05:00

So as I'm adding books to my new Book Crawler app, I'm also adding yet-to-be-released books that I want to buy/read. Believe it or not, I tend to rely on my friends to keep me in the loop when it comes to other authors' book releases.

I've added Jaci Burton's The Perfect Play ... along with Jill Shalvis' soon-to-be-released Animal Magnetism (Feb. 1, 2011) and the next in Lauren Dane's Never Enough, the next in her Brown sibling series (though that isn't being released until September. Waaah!)

But I know there are more books coming out soon that I need to add to that list. I'm on a big contemporary romance and/or women's fiction kick at the moment. I'm pretty much done with paranormals, historical if it's not a Regency England-set story (I'm sorry, I've read so many of them they all sound the same), and YA is definitely not on my radar. If JR Ward has a new BDB book coming out, let me know, same with Patricia Briggs, either with her Mercy Thompson series or her Alpha and Omega (that's Charles and Anna's) series.

So here's your chance to pitch in: what books do you have tagged to buy/read when they're released in the coming months?

Yes, there is an App for that!

2011-01-09T10:51:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I blogged over on the Samhain blog about having bought a second copy of a book accidentally--again--and wondered if there was a program that I could use that would alert me to whether I already owned the book. One that I could load up onto my iPod and take with me to a brick-and-mortar store where I don't have internet access, as well as being able to use it for my online purchases.

Lori and Erin left comments on my blog here, and over on Twitter Vashtan (aka Aleksander Voinov, author of The Lion of Kent amongst other books) also mentioned there was a free Goodreads app that I could download. That way I wouldn't have to re-enter all the books I'd already added to their database. Since I have over 300+ books listed as read or to-be-read, that was a major coup. So I downloaded the app and discovered it worked wonderfully, and headed off to the mall. Where my poor little wifi-enabled iPod Touch couldn't connect with the Bell Hotspot, which meant I couldn't connect with my Goodreads database. Rats.

However if I'd had a smart phone, or should I say, smarter phone this would have definitely worked for me. (While my Samsung Vice phone does let me surf the net with limited results, it doesn't allow apps.) So if you already have your books loaded up on Goodreads and need to check if you've already read or own the book, this works just fine.

Over on the Samhain blog, Dee recommended an app called Book Crawler (there's the full Book Crawler app you can buy for $1.99 or a Book Crawler Lite that's free. I sprang for the paid full version. After all, it cost less than a twonie!) What did I think of it?

Best. App. Ever.

If you want to see screen shots, the app developer Jaime has some up on her website here. What I LOVE about Book Crawler is I can use the iPod Touch's camera* along with a program called Pic2Shop (another free download) to scan the barcode of the book. The program will then go out on the web**, find all the data about the book and add it into the system, saving me a ton of work. I can then edit the database, adding the date I read it, give it a rating, add it to a collection, change the genre. (Sometimes the genres came in as rather bizarre categories. My copy of Silverborne was put in the "Epic" genre. Can't say I've ever heard that one, so I changed it to fantasy.) I'm still playing around with it, learning what I can do with it, but so far it answers all my needs. Like letting me have a wishlist, or divide my books into collections (which I think will be handy if I want to add in Gizmo Guy's books so I know just which David Baldacci or John Grisham he's already read.)

Guess what I'm going to be doing the rest of the day?

*A note about iPod Touch use: Book Crawler requires an iOS of version 3.1 or later. Mine is a Gen4 version, so it has a camera and can utilize the Pic2Shop feature but Gizmo Guy's iPod is a Gen1 and Curly's is a Gen2 so it won't work for either of them.(I can see what GG will be asking as a present for next Father's Day, if not Valentine's Day.)

** Since my iPod Touch doesn't have 3G capabilities, like the Goodreads app, this feature will only work where I have working WiFi capability. I'll still be able to check to see if I already own the book on the database which is stored offline, but I won't be able to scan it to add to my "wish list" database while I'm at the store. (Of course, I can always enter the information manually.)

Is there an app for that?

2011-01-08T11:11:00.000-05:00

I'm blogging over on Samhain Publishing's blog today -- I'm talking about keeping track of the books I've read or bought. And my unfortunate propensity for buying duplicate books.

Since I posted it, Gizmo Guy has been scouring the web to see if there is indeed an app. Turns out there are several. I foresee a blog post here in the future rating them.

How do you keep track of what books you've read/haven't read -- I'm looking for a portable system you can take to the brick-and-mortar book store as well as when you're buying online.

Very Superstitious

2011-01-06T14:30:00.002-05:00

For Christians, today's the twelfth day of Christmas -- the day the wise men arrived at the stable and presented their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. According to my mother, that means it's also the day to take down any Christmas decorations or face all sorts of bad luck.

All my adult life, thanks to Mom's reminders, I've assiduously ensured that my decorations are down by this magical date. We took our tree down on the weekend, though I discovered a stuffed Garfield Santa toy in the living room yesterday. So I snatched it up and stuck it away to prevent bad-luck from falling on our household this year.

Mom is also a proponent of saying "white rabbits" three times before you speak to anyone on the first day of each month. I usually speak to Gizmo Guy before I remember to say white rabbits most months. Because he got up so much earlier than I did on New Year's Day, I did remember and managed to say them this month. (We'd gone to bed at ten, so it wasn't that I'd slept in due to overindulgence or anything.)

There's also the tossing of spilled salt over your right shoulder, and the fear of seven years bad luck if a mirror is broken. And yes, I give a nickel to anyone who might give me scissors or knives as a gift in order to preserve the friendship that might be 'cut' as a result.

There are more weird obscure ones too. Like not looking at a new moon through glass. I think mom used to tell me you were supposed to greet the new moon too by saying "Good evening, New Moon." Again, three times seems to be the charm.

I doubt any of these rituals actually bring luck -- good or bad -- upon me or anyone in my household, but still, I do them "just in case."

Which reminds me, an ornament I cross-stitched years ago has been hanging in the window of the family room for years just because it's so pretty I don't want to take it down. It doesn't scream Christmas, so I justify it that it's not 'technically' a Christmas ornament. But considering all the health crises the family has had in the past three years, maybe I should take it down today.

Got any superstitions you're adamant about following? Or ones you've heard that make you laugh?

Calling Wererabbit

2011-01-03T16:40:00.000-05:00

Wererabbit, you won the 2011 Toronto Firefighter Calendar contest last week. I sent you an email but haven't heard back from you. (You may want to check your spam box.) If you could sent me an email to leah (DOT) braemel (AT) gmail (DOT) com with your snail mail address I'll pop it in the mail for you.

If I don't hear from you by this time next week, I'll award the calendar to the second name on my list.

Plans for 2011

2011-01-02T07:30:00.025-05:00

I've never been one for "resolutions" but I do believe in setting goals. I have quite a few goals this year, some relating to my personal life, and some writing related. I think most of them would bore you to death -- I mean, come on, doesn't every writer make a goal or resolution to "write more"? But there are some decisions I need to make that I'd love to have your input on.

Efficient seems to be my buzz-word for my goals this year. Most days this year I've ended up spending at least 15 hours per day at my computer. Maybe 6 to 8 hours may be writing or editing, but the rest is writing blog posts or doing the marketing dance. So I need to figure out a way to be more efficient about everything in order to get me away from my 'desk' and give me time to stop and smell the proverbial roses. (They have to be proverbial because I kill any plant I own with my black thumb.)

How can I be more efficient writing-wise? When it comes to my word count goals, I learned in 2009 and solidified that belief in 2010 that I need to plot out a story before I write it. Otherwise I end up writing 150,000 to 200,000 words to end up with a story that's 50,000 words. By efficient, I mean follow the plan I'd set out without hopping down any of those tantalizing bunny trails that lead no where. It doesn't mean I cannot allow myself to wander off the path at all, sometimes that's when I have those epiphanies of where the story needs to go. But I'm going to be looking more at how I advanced the story each day more than worrying about that cherished 2,000 word per day count. (It doesn't make a damned bit of difference if I write 14K a week if I end up chopping out 10K of it.)I have so many stories I want to write, and deadlines, some self-imposed, some not, that I need to write as efficiently as possible.

How to make myself more efficient when it comes to marketing and promotion? Well, I have two releases in May this year, so I need to figure out the best way of getting the word out about them without wasting a lot of time and energy. I am not a marketing genius so figuring promotions out is a real challenge. Some marketing methods work with one book that totally fail with the next. Do blog hops work? Because frankly I'm finding less and less people have the time to go around and visit blogs. I know from personal experience I use Google Reader to keep track of my favorite blogs and if the title or first line on the preview doesn't grab me, I don't read it. I imagine you're the same. If you see "Oh, it's just another author promo post" you probably skip over it too. So I'll put the question out to you -- after word-of-mouth, how do you find out about new-to-you authors? Got any tips?

I know a lot of people say it's all about social marketing these days -- Facebook, Twitter, etc. I love Twitter. I love the access it gives me to my friends and also to strangers in the industry, and all the hints, tips and gossip, along with the sheer randomness of some tweets. I've discovered new authors that I've come to love and have become auto-buys for me, and have made notes about the industry that hopefully will help my career in the long run. Plus it's sometimes just a welcome change to be able to "talk" to people who get what it's like in this usually solitary career. I often use Twitter as my reward after a writing sprint so I may talk for 10 minutes then disappear for a half hour ...or a half week if I'm on a real deadline. If you're on Twitter feel free to follow me, I'm at http://twitter.com/leahbraemel and don't hesitate to say hi when you're online.

Facebook is more of a conundrum to me. I can see its attraction. Somewhat. It's sort of like Twitter where you can friend people and see what's going on in their world while not being limited to 140 characters. I love that people can connect with their favorite authors, but while I have over 1200 "friends" on my personal profile, I know about 5 of them in person. It also allows strangers to spam me with a constant barrage of invitations and notes about their upcoming book or..well, try to use the social networking aspect of it for more personal connections. I know I write steamy romances but in real life I'm married and happily, at that. But an awful lot of men don't seem to care about that. Frankly some of the requests I'm getting these days...well, they leave me more than a little creeped out. And they're starting to outnumber the spammy "buy my book" plugs from strangers.

So I'm going to be making a change on Facebook in the next few weeks. I currently have my regular profile, and a fanpage. Later this month, I'm going to set my personal profile to family only and ask that people link to my fanpage (I still wish I could call it my "professional" page as fanpage sounds so...not me.) I will be sending out an announcement through Facebook, but if I unfriend you from my profile, please don't be offended. I'm still there--find my fan page and like it or friend it or whatever they're calling it these days. I'll be posting to it as well, so you'll still be up to date.

Finally, you may have noticed that my guest blogger list on my sidebar is rather spare for the coming year. I've done that deliberately. This blog will also be undergoing some changes in the near future and I didn't want to commit to too much until I know just what direction it's going. I should have more news for you on this later this month. Do you like the guest's blogs and being introduced to possibly new-to-you authors? Or do you skip them as blatant promo?

*Twitter and Facebook icons thanks to http://www.iconspedia.com/pack/icons-web-2-0-302/

First Snippet of 2011

2011-01-01T10:52:00.000-05:00

Wow, we're into 2011 already! It's looking like it'll be an exciting, and busy, year for me with two releases in May.

Since New Year's Day has fallen on a Saturday, this week's Snippet Saturday is about new beginnings. So I've chosen to give you a sneak peek into one of my upcoming releases, Tangled Past. Sarah McLeod has been forced to marry a stranger, the enigmatic Jackson Kellar. The snippet I'm sharing is where the reality of her situation is beginning to sink in to Sarah...

Tangled Past

“It’s not a death sentence, darlin’,” Jackson murmured.

Sarah jerked her head up. His dark eyes assessed her, not in judgment but concern. “What?”

Clean-shaven and in the soft glow of the oil lamps lighting the lounge, Jackson didn’t look near as scary as he had last night. Especially when he pressed her knuckles against his lips with a fleeting kiss similar to the way he’d kissed her in front of the preacher that morning. He leaned forward and lowered his voice so the folks in the hotel lounge wouldn’t hear. “Bein’ married to me ain’t a death sentence.”

No? So why did ’til death do you part still pound in her ears louder than Bandit’s hoof beats on a hard-packed road?

Sarah swallowed as he lifted her left hand and ran a thumb over the wedding ring that her mother had once worn. The ring Josiah had produced when the preacher called for one. Right before the preacher declared them man and wife.

“You were staring at your ring as if it might poison you or some such. It’s just a gold band, and a used one at that.”

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Lots of women married men they hardly knew. Look at all the women who had come out west as mail-order brides. It could be worse. She could have been forced to marry Jed. She suppressed the shudder that ran through her at that thought. Jed wouldn’t have waited until they reached town to assert his husbandly rights. He probably would have taken her virginity as soon as they’d lost sight of the McLeod ranch, instead of taking her to a hotel for her wedding night.

Her wedding night. Where she’d have to do whatever her husband wanted. Accept whatever he was going to do with her without quarrel. She’d seen enough barn animals to know what to expect but the idea of Jackson mounting her, pushing his man parts inside her…she swallowed hard. She’d given her word she’d honor and obey him. Those words joined the death do you part phrase, creating a cacophony inside her head.

Don't forget to visit the other Snippet Saturday participants to see what they chose to ring in the new year:

Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
Eliza Gayle
Shelli Stevens
TJ Michaels

Winner of the 2011 Toronto Firefighter Calendar

2010-12-31T15:51:00.001-05:00

Wererabbit

Contest notes: Each entrant who correctly responded with five differences was added to my spreadsheet and assigned a number in the order their entry was received. (I received 22 entries, by the way.) I ran those numbers through random.org's sequence generator to determine the winner --- Wererabbit. I will be contacting Wererabbit by email regarding her snail mail address.

Technically there were six possible differences between the photos, but I only asked you to find five.

You could have listed them in any order:

the bin of red apples in the top picture are green apples in the bottom
the number of green grapes increases in the bottom picture
the red sign for red grapes in the top picture changes to a yellow sign for sweet mangos in the bottom
the bag the woman at the right hand side of the top picture changes to a large watermelon in the bottom picture
between the two women shoppers by the cashier in the bottom picture there is a new yellow sign that isn't in the top picture.
for those really eagle eyed viewers, behind that sign some extra cherries appear in the bin.

Thank you to all those who took the time to enter my contest. I hope you had as much fun as my family did. And thanks to Curly who did such an excellent job photoshopping Gizmo Guy's photo. Oh, and a special shout out to Lisa Pietsch for hosting the contest on her blog too, with even bigger photos.

Back into My Cave

2010-12-30T11:28:00.002-05:00

I just received the final line edits for Tangled Past and am back on deadline. This time I have to get them in by Saturday night. So I know what I'll be doing New Year's Eve and New Year's day. (Line edits are the grammar corrections as well as those final nitpicky notes about repetitions that are SO important to catch.

I love the editor for catching them though I can occasionally be caught muttering under my breath at them too. You know like the kid who is being forced to eat his vegetables even though he knows they good for him? I often get a headache from hitting myself up on the side of the head and muttering "how did I miss that?"

Anyway, I'll be off Twitter (and Facebook, not that I'm over there often) until they're sent back to my editor.

So if you're off partying on New Year's Eve, blow your horn an extra time for me, give that special someone an extra smooch since Gizmo Guy probably won't want to come near me and my strange muttering. (But don't feel sorry for me, we never party or anything on New Year's Eve. I'd usually just be sitting in the family room watching a movie or something with my laptop on my lap as I twittered and such. Which is probably where I'll still be, though I'll be editing instead of twittering.)

Favorite Reads of 2010

2010-12-29T11:25:00.003-05:00

My reading habits have changed over the years: this year was definitely the year of the contemporary. Since it's that time of year for reflection, I've looked back at some of my favorite books I've read. Thanks to suggestions on Twitter (I love being exposed to new-to-me authors through the latest "word of mouth" medium) I've discovered a few new authors this year, and continued my love affair with others that I've loved for ages. I found it interesting that quite a few books/authors that friends and acquaintances have raved about, I found 'meh'. It's a good exercise to remind me that reading is subjective for when my own reviews sneak up and attack my self-confidence.

Bear in mind that the list I've made for my favorite reads of 2010 is books I've read this year, not necessarily books that were published in 2010. A book is classified as a favorite read if it's one I've re-read. Multiple times. One that makes me put the book down at the end with a sense of sadness that I have actually come to the end, because I want to stay in that world, to know more about those characters.

But best of all? Every single one of these books dragged me into the story until I've stayed up until 2 or 3 in the morning because I just couldn't put them down. It was only once I was finished that I realized how deftly the author told the story and made me forget to put my authorly editors hat that's so hard for me to take off. Since I've started seriously writing, the ability to make me forget to edit and simply read and enjoy -- well, it's priceless!

Oh, and the list below is not in order of preference, just as I remember them. I know that as soon as I hit post I'll smack my forehead and say "How could I have forgotten (fill in the blank author-name)?" But it's taken me over 3 hours to write this and it's already far too long. So here goes...

1) Silverborne by Patricia Briggs. While the Mercy Thompson series isn't shelved in the romance section but the Fantasy aisle, Silverborne was sooo romantic. Throughout the series, Mercy has been establishing a romantic relationship with neighbor and local alpha werewolf Adam Hauptmann (there has been an added entanglement from past boyfriend Sam, whom I also adore.) She finally made her decision and accepted Adam's declaration that she was his mate in the last book, Bone Crossed, though you've known for a few books now what her decision would be.

It really was a book that I put down with a satisfied sigh, and I've read it more than a half dozen times since. That's a real sign that it's a keeper for me. I absolutely adore the world Patricia's created, and the characters. Especially Sam and Adam. I'd say Yum but I feel it would be disrespectful. But still...Yum! (I should also mention I love her Alpha and Omega series following Sam's brother Charles. Okay, so Charles is mated to Anna but I can have my fantasy that he's still available, right? Or if I can't, can I pretend to kill off Bran's wife (who has the unfortunate name of Leah) and go after the Marrok himself? All three of the Cornick men are yummy...I really need to get away from that word, don't I?)

Patricia is one of those authors who I admire because she can write so tightly, setting up a scene so you can visualize it without verging on over-description, letting us get into the characters' skins and heads and identify with them. She's at the top of my "I want to write like her when I grow up" list. Silverborne changed her listing from written in pen to chiseled in stone.

2. Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis. OMG why didn't someone tell me about Jill earlier? If you did, why didn't you make me listen? I absolutely adored Simply Irresistible and have since started buying Jill's backlist. (I've already read the "Instant" series: Instant Attraction, Instant Gratification, Instant Temptation, more about those in a bit.)

When you start learning how to write, you struggle with how to show things about a character without resorting to telling, with balancing back-story...oh, I could go on and on. But on page 2 of Simply Irresistible, there was a paragraph that just left me gobsmacked and in awe:

...Exercising muscles she hadn't utilized in too long, she smiled, and in celebration of arriving at her designated destination, she dug into the bag of salt and vinegar potato chips at her side. Chips cured just about everything, from the I-lost-my job blues, to the my-boyfriend-was-a-jerk regrets, to the tentatively hopeful celebration of a new beginning.

In two sentences, Jill's given us an insight into Maddie and her backstory. "Exercising muscles she hadn't utilized in too long, she smiled..." What a lovely subtle way of letting us know that Maddie's not been happy for a long time. Then the next sentence tells you she's lost her job, and her boyfriend and is about to start a new life. It would have taken me pages and pages to try and work that in. And the salt and vinegar chips? They play into it later too, as well as giving Maddie a quirk that most of us can identify with, whether it's chips or chocolate.

There are two more paragraphs I'd love to quote from page 3, describing the rugged beauty of the area and also describing what it doesn't have -- blaring horns, etc -- but it would make this too long (yeah, I know, too late) Suffice it to say, Jill's going to be another of those authors I'm going to study to see if I can learn how to improve my own writing. And she's definitely earned a place on that "when I grow up" list as well as earning Simply Irresistible a well-deserved place on my keeper shelf.

3) Jill Shalvis' Wilder Brother series. In Instant Attraction Cam has to accept that the life he had, the career he had, has changed thanks to a horrific snowboarding accident that left him unable to compete professionally anymore, and he has to stop running from accepting it. Katie survived a horrible bridge collapse (I flashed on the bridge collapse in Minneapolis a few years back, which helped me accept the reality of what she survived) and has embraced life to its fullest, refusing to allow her fears to hold her back anymore. The two are facing similar choices in life but approaching them separately, each helping the other to make a decision about their future.

Instant Gratification follows Cam's brother Stone as he hooks up with city doctor Emma who is in Wishful while her father, the country doctor, recovers from a heart attack. I liked Stone, though I found Emma harder to connect with, but I'll own that as my own issue as a reader. What I could connect with was the differences with city life to life in a snow belt. The way you have to approach going out the door, or even if you should go out the door, changes completely when you're out in the sticks during a snowstorm.

Instant Temptation follows the oldest Wilder brother, TJ. The heroine, Harley, and he have a history, one that he's not aware of. I really liked this couple. I liked that TJ owned up to what he'd done, and that Harley couldn't immediately get over it when he apologized -- and he did apologize (Yay for the alpha male who can do that!) I'm all for forgiveness but...if a dog bites me, I can forgive it but I'm not likely to try to pat it afterward. So I found Harley's inability to just say "Oh, hey, well, if you say sorry, then everything's hunky dory" more realistic.

What I loved about these books is how I felt I could walk down the street (or head up to our ski hills) and run into any of these characters. I LOVE stories that are in the normal world, with normal characters that I can identify with. (I lived in a snowbelt area with ski hills where the first seat in the bus was kept free for whoever had broken a limb on the slopes. So yes, I used to hang with snowmobile racers and downhill skiers. I even dated one.) So yup, I could buy into these characters, even if they were slightly more heroic than the guys I knew. (But hey, it is shelved in the FICTION section after all.)

What really impressed me, and what I'll be studying as a writer, is how the conflict is from within the characters. There's no world war to be stopped, no major geological disaster to be battled. You see, writers are constantly told there has to be conflict on every page to keep a reader interested. I can't tell you how many books and seminars I've been to that tell me to write that bestselling novel you have to ramp up the conflict -- you have to make the consequences something desperate that will make the reader root for the protagonist, usually by adding a ticking clock (sometimes literally, like a bomb is going to go off, sometimes more subtle, a decision that has to be made within a week that will tear the hero/heroine apart). But when adding in what I refer to as Big C Conflict, what happens is the characters, to me, become less...realistic. Less like someone I'd encounter, someone I could be. After all, how many of us really think we could stop a bomb by outselves, or go on the run with a strange who claims to be a former SEAL and the only one capable of saving my life?

I also have to remind myself that conflict doesn't have to be big save-the-world CONFLICT, it can also mean "small c conflict". The decisions that Katie and Cam face. The type of decisions we face every single day.And that's what I want, both to read and to write, characters I can connect with, characters who overcome the type of problems I--and other normal mortals--face every day. And that's what I loved about the entire Instant series -- they were problems I've faced, or I could imagine regular/normal people having to make. Okay, so we may not have survived a plunge off a collapsing bridge, and may not have been world-class snowboarders, but we've all had fears and obstacles we've had to overcome.

4) Another contemporary series I adored this year was Victoria Dahl's Tumble Creek series. I've discovered not only do I love contemporary stories, but I love them when they're set in small towns. Probably because I grew up in a rural location and can identify with communities where everyone's related to everyone and it's impossible to keep a secret because everyone's into everyone else's business.

Talk Me Down follows Molly, an erotic romance writer who returns to her roots in the small town of Tumble Creek only to tumble for the sheriff who isn't quite sure what to make of Molly's profession. I listed it on my Best Books of 2009 post last year, by the way. And looking back on it, I think it needs to be nudged up that list.

Start Me Up follows Molly's friend, Lori, who gave up her dreams of college to care for her sick father while taking over his garage. She hooks up with Molly's brother, architect Quinn Jennings, for some no-strings-attached hot monkey lovin'. Except they both discover strings starting to form. I love Quinn and how he gets so involved in his designs he loses track of everything else. My family often teases me of doing the same thing when I'm writing. And Lori is a down-to-earth character I could relate to as well.

Lead Me On follows Quinn's secretary Jane who is trying desperately to leave behind her red-neck blue-collar roots and become respectable, only to fall for Chase who is the type of guy she would have dated "before" she attained her 'respectability'. I absolutely adored the hero Chase, and could identify with Jane's struggle to leave her past behind. And *fans self* Victoria knows how to write sexy love scenes.

And again, I can see going grocery shopping and meeting any of these characters in the produce section. Or maybe the dairy section as they pick up a can of whipped cream. In fact, I think I may have. ;) They're all vibrant characters, with strengths and weaknesses that you can identify with. And I adore Victoria's "voice" as she tells each story. She's an author who I'd love to sit down with over coffee and ask a zillion questions, especially about how she manages to keep her contemporary voice so fresh while writing historicals at the same time. (I've tried it, it's tough to keep the historical/contemporary voices separate.)

5) She's Gone Country by Jane Porter is firmly entrenched on my keeper shelf. It wasn't shelved in the romance section at my local Chapters but in the regular fiction section as it's classified as Women's Fiction. I've met Jane -- she sat down with me and my critique partner over coffee when we were at an RWA conference in Dallas in 2007. She is all that is gracious and lovely as a person, and as a writer, she's so talented. I loved She's Gone Country for once again making me believe in the characters.

I liked that the heroine, Shey, is in her late 30s (I'm tiring of heroines who are my children's ages. It's me, it's not them, but early 20 somethings still have so much to experience before they turn into the wise-souls some authors make them. Which is one reason why I stopped reading historicals -- I just couldn't buy into 19 year old heroines solving all their 30 year old hero's problems.) Anyway, enough about me....

Shey's dealing with the aftermath of a divorce after her husband has come out of the closet. (Yes, I do have friends dealing with this situation.) She's taken her three sons back to her hometown in Texas and is struggling to provide for them. One of her boys decides he wants to be a rodeo star and Shey introduces him to a former high school crush, Dane. Dane, of course, is dealing with his own issues and the two dance around each other, and their problems, as they explore the relationship they didn't have in high school while dealing with all the problems of small town life, and interfering family. That checked a whole bunch of "I can relate" boxes.

6) Shannon Stacey hit three home runs this year with her Exclusively Yours, Undeniably Yours and Holiday Sparks. Yup, they're all contemporaries. (In fact, I think Shannon is one of the people who urged me (several times) to try reading Jill Shalvis' books.)

Exclusively Yours was one of Carina Press' launch titles. OMG what a great book they chose for their launch. If you like Jill's writing, or Victoria's, you'll love Shannon's as well. She has a knack of being able to weave several storylines together and make you care about each couple. Because not only does Exclusively Yours follow the main couple Keri (who is a reporter) and Joe (who is a bestselling author a la Stephen King) but Shannon follows two other couples in the Kowalski clan as they go ATVing and camping in the New Hampshire wilds. I fell in love with them all.

In Undeniably Yours, Shannon's tag line One-night stand + two percent condom failure rate = happily ever after? hooked me right from the get-go. Joe's brother (and bar owner) Kevin Kowalski and Beth hook up and have a night of wild and (they think) safe sex. Except that condoms are not 100%. Hence the tagline. Beth finds herself pregnant. Kevin, who would love to have a family of his own, mans up and proposes but Beth, who is a gypsy at heart, isn't as sure it's the right thing to do. And yes, the rest of the Kowalski clan shows up, each with a loudly voiced opinion on what should be done.

As the owner of a home with aluminum wiring, I TOTALLY empathized with the heroine Chloe in Holiday Sparks who turns on the microwave and blows a fuse. And the note her mother left her about the wiring -- yup, been there too. I can't turn on my hairdryer in my upstairs bathroom if someone is running the electric lawnmower off the power plug in the backyard. Nor can I run the dishwasher in the kitchen if I have the fireplace fan running in the family room (which is also on a different floor) without blowing a fuse. And sadly, I could identify with a scene where the hero Scott is trying to thread a wire through a wall into the attic and Chloe freaks out, afraid she touched a mouse while sticking her hand into the wall to catch the wire. (Head meet desk while quietly sobbing. Don't ask about that one right now.) I always admire authors of novellas for managing to pack an entire storyline into 30,000 words. Shannon manages to pack a month's worth of romance into Holiday Sparks without making you feel like you're cheated of any storyline. She knows how to write a character I can connect with, to write a romance I can believe in, and leave me satisfied at the end.

7) After reading (and falling in love with) Lauren Dane's Laid Bare last year (I listed it as one of my Best Books of 2009), I was thrilled to get my hands on this year's continuation of her Brown Family series. Coming Undone follows Brody Brown, the big brother who kept the family together by giving up his dreams of art school and becoming a tattoo artist that is a continuing theme with all the characters. I loved that this big guy who would probably scare the bejeezus out of me in real life if I passed him in an alleyway had such a soft side, especially with Elise, his ballerina neighbor.

The third book in the series Inside Out came out this fall and I found myself falling in love with Cope as he hooks up with his heroine Ella (whom you meet in Laid Bare -- she works in Erin's cafe). Since Cope is Ben's brother, Lauren weaves in the original threesome from Laid Bare into the storyline and you get a glimpse into the problems their lifestyle decision has brought upon them.

I don't think I could choose a favorite amongst these three books, they're all equally good. And I have already read each of them multiple times as I hope that Lauren's talent rubs off and influences me to make my own writing better. Because, lordy, is Lauren ever talented at writing flawed yet believable and likeable characters. She's another highlighted author on my "when I grow up, I want to write just like her" list.

Thinking Positive about 2010

2010-12-27T16:21:00.002-05:00

2010 has been a year of ups and downs. I could vent about all the downs that happened this year that included the death of my father and my mother's stroke, but I think it's too easy to get lost in negatives. I prefer to remember the positives. Like...

On the writing front:

in January, I found the courage to hit "send" and submit Texas Tangle to Harlequin's new Carina Press. Thanks to some annoying health crises on the home front for both Gizmo Guy and me, it was the first time I'd submitted anything in over a year. ~~Swift strong kicks in the butt~~ Encouragement from good friends Vivian Arend and Anara Bella sure helped. I'm glad I did because...
in February, I missed a phone call and listened to my messages to find a voice message from Angela James telling me Carina Press was going to be offering me a contract for Texas Tangle. I can officially say I got "the call"! (That's huge for writers.) And in case you're wondering, yes, it was my first official "call" -- my acceptances for Private Property and Personal Protection arrived via email. I still have Angela's message on my system and get to listen to it every week. Which in a strange way makes me thankful that I wasn't around to answer the call. While I would have loved to have talked to Angela in person, I wouldn't have had that recording to listen to over and over again. (Especially lovely on days when I'm convinced I can't write.)
in March, Personal Protection was released in print. Woot. I have a book I can actually hold in my hands. One I can autograph. Now I love ebooks because they don't take up any space. I cleaned up my office yesterday and one of the things I had to do was decide what print books I'd bought this year that I wanted to keep and which ones to give away because I've completely run out of shelf space. But Personal Protection will always have a place on my shelf. (Actually it's not on a shelf, it's in a place of honor on a little stand on the top of my desk.)
during March and April I made my deadlines on my Texas Tangle edits -- thanks to my editor Rhonda Stapleton's love of three little letters: W, H, and Y and a few other reminders about my love of em dashes amongst other bad habits I have acquired, I think I nearly went bald. But when I read the final product once I'd struggled through them, I knew she knew just what to ask and the book was better for it. Go Rhonda!
in May, I saw Texas Tangle's cover for the first time. And completely fell in love. I love the colors, I love the way the cover artist angled Brett slightly sideways to show his relationship to Nikki and Dillon, I love that gated entrance to the ranch at the bottom. Love love love!
in June, Texas Tangle released as part of Carina Press's launch. Being part of the launch brought me Texas Tangle to the attention of people who may not have heard of me before. And I got to work with the terrific Carina crew -- Carly Chow, Aideen Chung, Emma Cunningham, Jenny Bullough, just to name a few of the behind-the-scenes people. And a couple who aren't so behind-the-scenes: Malle Valik and Angela James.
which lead to July's overwhelming flux of good reviews. Texas Tangle received over 24 reviews from various websites and bloggers like Mandi from Smexy books and Laurie from Bitten by Paranormal, Book Junkie, Terri, Melinda, Valerie and Chris all from Night Owl Reviews, Lea from Blackraven's Reviews ... there are so many I can't thank enough for giving me some fantastic quotes and reviews. (some of which you can read on Tangle's page here on the blog, or on the sidebar.)
Bolstered by Tangle's reviews and positive reception, during the summer I put on my big girl panties and hit "send" twice more: I submitted Deliberate Deceptions, the next in the Hauberk series, to my new editor at Samhain, and I submitted a proposal to Carina Press for Tangled Past. Go me! (Sometimes we have to be out own pep squad, family, heck lots of people, don't tend to understand why hitting "send" is so difficult. Best analogy I can come up with on the fly is that it's like putting your child on the bus for that all important first day of school. Knowing it's up to them to now face things on their own where you can't protect them. (it's a lame analogy, but yeah, there's lots of nerves, and occasionally even tears.) Especially knowing that it's not only possible, but probable that you'll receive a "thanks but no thanks" response. Donning that impenetrable thick skin writers need is tougher than you think. It's a tough step but you have to do it at some point if you really want to be a writer. Now where did I put that again?)
in September, Carina Press offered Texas Tangle as one of its five featured books on the Kobo site. Me! I mean, Texas Tangle! One of my books! A featured book! It hit #1 in the bestseller's list, not only on the Kobo lists but it also hit the bestselling lists on Amazon and Barnes and Noble who similarly featured it.
In October, Rhonda Stapleton, my editor at Carina Press, also sent me an email about Tangled Past: "I'm thrilled to tell you we're acquiring this book for Carina!!!" There was much wooting and happy dancing in the Braemel house that day. It wasn't pretty for outside viewers. I may have blinded an innocent mailman and deafened the neighborhood dogs.
Two weeks later, my editor at Samhain sent me an email about Deliberate Deceptions that contained the words "I would love to offer you a contract on this manuscript." My reply accepting Tera's offer contained a record number of exclamation marks. I'd blame Rhonda for influencing me but I'd love another Carina contract in the future. *VBG* Besides I'm not sure that I didn't influence HER.
in November and the first week of December, despite some serious issues within the family, I still managed to write 60,000 words on the first draft of the next story in the Hauberk series.
In December, I completed the first set of edits on Tangled Past within the deadline and thanks to my editors' suggestions, I'm loving it even more than I did when I submitted it.

On the family front? Well, Gizmo Guy got last winter's diabetes diagnosis under control very quickly and is doing well, especially once we bought him a new (used/old) Jeep to drive through this winter to replace his old Honda Accord.

Guitar Hero finished his electrical training and got a full-time job working for a Toronto firm. He bought a truck, thanks to my royalties -- it's the first time since 1995 I've had money of my own which made me feel really good that I could help the family once again. Mind you, it's an old truck--1997--but hey it runs! And that lets him earn more money so he can save up to buy a better one all by himself next time.

Photo from Dreamstime.com #411674

Curly took a trip with his school band to New York city, and then finished high school and has decided to work for a year while trying to decide what to do from here. It's tough for both of us because he keeps looking to me to point him in the right direction but the most I can do is say "it's not something I can decide for you. Find something you love and go for it." In the meantime, he's working hard, saving up money for whatever college course he decides to take next year.

And me? Well, I'm still writing, and blogging, and have lots planned for next year. Including a trip to New York to attend the Romance Writers of America annual conference, possibly a trip south to another conference, or maybe just to Texas to visit my critique partners and do a little research for another western.

Not to mention I've got those two book releases in May (If I work really hard, I can polish off the first draft of Hauberk book #4 so it impresses my Samhain editor and up the number of books published in 2011 to three, or maybe even four if I can finish off a proposal for another book that's been bugging me to be written and submitted. But I'm happy with the two ones already contracted.)

So it's looking like I'll have lots of reasons to be positive in 2011.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings

2010-12-25T15:59:00.000-05:00

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, or are finishing up the solstice celebrations, my best wishes to you and your families.

On the 11th day of Smexymas...

2010-12-23T09:36:00.000-05:00

Mandi over at Smexy Books is having a Twelve Days of Naughty Books contest. Today she's featuring my menages -- both Texas Tangle AND Private Property. Entering is easy -- drop by her site before December 26th, leave a comment telling her which book you'd like, and you're entered. Good luck!

And Merry Christmas!

Give a hug

2010-12-22T10:14:00.000-05:00

My friend Vivian Arend is trying to keep the spirit of Christmas this year on her blog with her 12 Days of Giving posts. Today she's encouraging people to call someone and let them know you appreciate them. As part of it, she's giving away copies of books written by her friends, and one of them is my Texas Tangle. So once you've figured out the 5 differences in my Firefighter calendar contest and sent me an email, head over there and give someone a virtual hug.

Want to win a fireman? Or twelve?

2010-12-21T01:31:00.009-05:00

It's my second annual "Spot the Differences" contest. The prize is the 2011 edition of the Toronto Firefighter calendar -- the proceeds of the sales of the calendars support Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation. (Princess Margaret Hospital is one of the premier cancer hospitals in the world.) They don't ship out of Canada, so if you're in the States or elsewhere in the world, this is your chance!

As it was last year, it's a family affair: Gizmo Guy very generously chose one of the photos he took in Toronto and Curly has photoshopped it for me. (the photo by the way is taken in Toronto's Kensington Market)

To enter the contest, I want you to "Spot the Differences" in the two pictures. Now if you click on the pictures, they should open in full-size so it's easier to view them. But it's been sort of hit and miss for me -- so Lisa Pietsch has very graciously offered to host the pictures on her site so you can view them full size. You can view picture one and picture two (it's probably easiest if you right-click and open the pictures in separate tabs if you're using Firefox or Chrome as browsers.)

There are FIVE (5) differences between photo 1 and photo 2. To enter for your chance to win this beautiful calendar, send an email to contest @ leahbraemel.com (without the spaces) with all five differences listed. You don't have to join my mailing list or buy copies of my books. I'm just doing this for fun and to support the firefighters.

Please, please please, do NOT leave the answers in the comments -- I'm changing them to moderated while this contest is running, just so no one ruins the fun.

I will accept entries until 11:59 pm Eastern time, December 30th, 2010. The winner will be chosen by random.org's list randomizer and will be posted here on December 31st.

Snippet Saturday - Romance

2010-12-18T22:06:00.000-05:00

Today's topic is "romance" so I thought I'd give you another teaser into Deliberate Deceptions (I mentioned it's coming out May 2011, didn't I?) This is the opening scene where you get to meet Chad and his wife Lauren. I loved writing this scene because I tortured Chad by giving him a perfect life. And then yanked it away from him at the end of this scene. Brutally. The rest of the story follows the couple as they attempt to find their way back to the bliss they once shared.

Deliberate
Deceptions

April 2001

Life couldn’t get any better. Chad Miller soaked in the sight of his baby daughter in her mother’s arms. Even from where he stood in the doorway, he could see Emily’s lips drawn into a bow, moving as if she was still suckling. The light from the bedside lamp limned Lauren, gilding her hair that spilled over her shoulder. Had any man ever been so lucky?

“Hey, babe,” he said softly so he wouldn’t disturb Emily.

Lauren turned her head and gave him a smile worthy of a Madonna. “I didn’t hear you come in. Everything go okay?”

“It went down perfect. We got the guy.” Pride swelled in him as she carefully placed Emily in her cradle beside their bed. “Got some other good news too. You’re looking at the Bureau’s newest Supervisory Special Agent.”

With a squeak of joy, Lauren ran toward him, heedless of the way the light turned her nightgown transparent. His cock hardened as he watched the V of her legs open and close with each step she took. No, not a Madonna. A siren. With a body to tempt any man. Except he was the only man who got to explore her sensuality.

He wrapped his arms about her and held her tight. God, he was so lucky to have them both. “I love you, baby.”

She pulled back and gave him a cocky grin. “That’s just because you hope to get lucky tonight.”
“I’m lucky every night. Ever since you came into my life, babe.”

Don't forget to visit the other Snippet Saturday participants:

Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Eliza Gayle 
HelenKay Dimon 
Lauren Dane 
Delilah Devlin

Deadlines Done

2010-12-17T09:37:00.001-05:00

Yes, I've been a bad blogger this week. BUT I've finished my developmental/copy edits for Tangled Past and got them in on time. (My editor said they rocked - squee!), and did the cover-art form for it as well, which was also on deadline.

While I was trying to focus on that, Mom was released from hospital almost two weeks earlier than they'd originally anticipated. So on Friday I did some chores for her -- bank, grocery shopping, pharmacy -- then picked her up and drove her home. She's do really well now and has home care come in every other day. It's worrisome that she's out in the country almost an hour away but she's determined to live independently.

But now I've finally got a day where I don't have to worry about a deadline. Oh. Wait. Christmas is next week. Thank heavens for Gizmo Guy who love shopping for presents and is really good at finding exactly what people want. (If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me gushing over the new Stetson he just bought me. Pictures will follow) He's a keeper, Gizmo Guy is.

Oh, and I've picked up a 2011 Toronto Firefighters Calendar and plan on having a contest for it, like I did last year. Look for it next Tuesday, and I'll leave it open for a week as a New Year's contest.

And so you can get a hint of what I've been slaving over/obsessing about this week, here's a sneak peek at more of Tangled Past...

Tangled Past

Text copyright by Leah Braemel

Sarah didn’t think she’d moved or made a sound, but Jackson jumped up from the bedroll and stared at her as if she’d shot a pistol. She whirled and raced for the door. He grabbed her before she could get out of the barn.

“How long have you been here? What did you see?” His words cracked through the air like a whip.

She opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. For a woman, she was tall, but he topped her by half a foot. A sliver of moonlight slanted across his face, accentuating the sharp planes of his cheekbones while hiding his eyes in shadows. The moonlight also highlighted his lack of clothes, the broad expanse of chest, and flat belly, a body finely honed by hard work. Her gaze lowered, drawn to his still-rampant arousal. It suddenly occurred to her how stupid she’d been, walking into the barn, alone with two men who could do whatever they wanted to her with no one to stop them.

“Damn it, what did you see?” He shook her, not so it hurt, but hard enough that her cloak fell to the ground.

“Nothing. I swear.” She closed her eyes, reminding herself that it wasn’t her he lusted after but another man.

Footsteps crunched outside, headed toward the barn. He released her as he ducked his head around the door. His expression was grim when he returned; he grabbed her forearm and dragged her into the stall, swinging the door shut with his foot.

“Stay quiet,” he commanded in a furious whisper, yet she instinctively knew the fury wasn’t directed at her. He was angry that she’d caught them, true, but more likely he was angry at himself, she realized, possibly even afraid she’d denounce them.

Light. Whoever was coming must be carrying a lantern. They’d find her. Here. In a stall with Jackson. Who was most decidedly naked though his arousal had softened. It wouldn’t matter that she was still untouched by a man when they found them together. Josiah had been looking for a way to get rid of her and here she’d handed him the means on a platter. She could tell the MacLeods that these men weren’t interested in her but knowing her father’s sense of justice, these men would end up strung up by their necks and she’d still be abandoned at a brothel as soiled dove.

“I saw her go into the barn, I swear.” Walt’s voice floated through the crisp night air.

She cast about, searching for somewhere to hide.

“Ha! Here’s her cloak!” Triumph filled Walt’s voice. “See? I told you Jed was telling the truth about her sneaking into the barn.”

Jackson cursed under his breath; he shoved her into the darkest corner and trapped her against the wall. She shrank into the corner and made herself as small as possible. Despite her efforts to make no trouble, was she about to find herself abandoned, forced to work as a streetwalker to earn her next meal?

The stall door swung open and her father stood there, lantern in hand. “I know Sarah’s with you, Kellar. I can see her nightdress behind you.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Jackson stepped aside. Josiah’s eyes narrowed, their blue cold and assessing. “Walt, fetch the preacher. Now.”

Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A. All rights reserved. © and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

Jenny Schwartz: Christmas Down Under

2010-12-15T01:01:00.002-05:00

Hi Leah! I'm really enjoying this chance to blog about an Aussie Christmas.

First, there's no snow. Where I live, in Perth, it can be a scorching 40 degrees celsius, but that's rare. Usually Christmas is just nicely hot. Perfect for a barbeque, a swim (not that I do. I am the opposite of a waterbaby), champagne or beer and for all the kids in the neighbourhood to try out their toys and scream loudly.

Some people ignore the temperature, crank up the air conditioner and over-eat a traditional festive dinner of roast everything, plum pudding and alcohol. But increasingly the typical Aussie Christmas dinner is barbeque, seafood, salads, cold meats, ice cream and your beverage of choice.

A lot of us then collapse in front of the television in the evening and watch ballroom dancing, the Australian Dancesports, eating leftovers and contemplating the condition of our livers and the champagne left in the bottle. We bicker wearily and fall asleep.

The next day people either hit the beach with their new bodyboards and surfboards or disappear into movie theatres.

Years ago I read an Aussie children's book from the 1920s. It was talking about the decision to emigrate from Britain. The choice was Canada, where Christmas would find you stuck in a blizzard, or Australia, where a bushfire would burn you out. Pessimistic, no?

So to end on a brighter note, I'll share my mum's Christmas trifle recipe and ask everyone for their favourite festive traditions.

Mum's Christmas Trifle

Homemade sponge cake to line the bottom of a cut-glass crystal bowl. Sprinkle over brandy (I tend to overdo this, with interesting results). Add fresh sliced peaches (summer fruits are one of the highlights of an Australian Christmas – sitting on the back lawn spitting watermelon seeds is kid heaven). Then a layer of custard, a layer of green jelly, custard, red jelly, you get the idea. Yummy. And don't forget the ice cream to serve!

***

Angel Thief is available from Carina Press
http://bit.ly/AngThief

She’s breaking the rules. Again.

An archivist in the heavenly library, Sara must follow protocol when it comes to curating the knowledge of the universe. But "liberating" an ancient text from the collection of a human—an Australian drug lord—could save a boy’s life. Sara has no way of knowing that one of the man’s other treasures is a sexy-as-sin djinni, bound by a wish to guard the estate.

He’s only following orders.

Filip is compelled to turn over intruders, even celestial ones, to his master. When he catches Sara in the library, he isn’t above indulging in some sensual kisses with her, or using her to trick the mobster into wasting a wish. It’s what he must do to preserve his facade of freedom and protect his heart.

But the kidnapping of the drug lord’s daughter forces Sara and Filip to work together—bringing out the hero that lurks within the soul of the djinni, and the passion within the angel.

***
You can find Jenny:
at her website http://www.authorjennyschwartz.com/
blogging http://www.acquiring-magic.blogspot.com/
or on Twitter @Jenny_Schwartz http://twitter.com/jenny_schwartz

Want to win a copy of Private Property?

2010-12-09T07:30:00.001-05:00

Blackraven's Erotic Cafe is having a Christmas party and giving away prizes. If you head over to here before 6 p.m.(CST) tonight, you can still enter to win a copy of Private Property, the first in the Hauberk Protection series.

Oh, and an update on the next in the Hauberk Protection series. I've heard from my editor that Deliberate Deceptions is being released ... wait for it ... May 2011. Sound familiar? Yup, that's the same month that Tangled Past is being released by Carina Press.

Speaking of which, my edits for Tangled Past came in from my editor on Tuesday. So I'm under deadline to get them back to her. She's not asked for any major changes (thank heavens!) but what she has asked for will strengthen the story and the characters. Often times by the time an author is at this stage, they're so sick of the story they don't want to look at it. Not this time. I'm loving Nate, Sarah and Jackson still, along with their story and I can't wait for you to be able to read it.

Where Keri Stevens Gets Her Ideas

2010-12-08T06:50:00.001-05:00

Meet Keri Stevens

Every writer dreads the question, “Where do you get your ideas?” Especially in person. Especially at a microphone in front of many, many persons (if you are fortunate enough to be offered a microphone, that is).

I don’t have a pat answer for that question, but I have a pretty good concept of why some characters, scenes and plot elements stick in my mind: Because they’re ridiculous.

Yesterday, the University of Cincinnati Bearcat mascot was arrested in Pittsburgh for aggravating a snowball fight. This situation in and of itself is ridiculous. But what sticks in my mind is what happened afterwards—the backup mascot took over for the rest of the game.

The BACKUP mascot. What is it to be the poor backup mascot? Do you get a partial college scholarship instead of a full ride? Do you get sent to the LaCrosse and water ballet competitions while the REAL mascot is on the football field? (These are serious questions, by the way—if you are or know someone who’s been a backup mascot, please contact me. I beg you!)

Any time my expectations are subverted, perverted or turned upside down, I get curious. I want to know more—and I’m more than happy to make up any missing details (my father calls it telling “Keri Tales.”)

In Stone Kissed, my statues talk to Delia, the heroine. Once I established that rule in my fictional world of Stewardsville, Virginia, it opened up all sorts of questions. What does a six-hundred year old armless bust think of the generations of people who “own” her? And if we squishy mortals keep dying and are replaced by others, who, in fact, owns whom? Our attitudes about property might be ridiculous to creatures who are much more durable than we.

I get my inspiration from a gasp of surprise. I’m fascinated by absurdity. I love taking questions to their illogical conclusions. In my books, no matter how dark I get, you’ll always find elements of humor. I wonder what it would be like to have abs so hard, chiseled and tight that it hurt to belly laugh? Hmm…

Stone Kissed

ISBN: 978-14268-9101-4

When Delia Forrest talks to statues, they talk back. She is, after all, the last of the Steward witches.

After an arsonist torches her ancestral home with her estranged father still inside, Delia is forced to sell the estate to pay his medical bills. Her childhood crush, Grant Wolverton, makes a handsome offer for Steward House, vowing to return it to its former glory. Delia agrees, as long as he’ll allow her to oversee the restoration.

Working so closely with Grant, Delia finds it difficult to hide her unique talent—especially when their growing passion fuels her abilities.

But someone else lusts after both her man and the raw power contained in the Steward land. Soon, Delia finds herself fighting not just for Grant’s love, but for both their lives…

To read a free excerpt and/or preorder Stone Kissed, visit http://j.mp/stonekissed

Find Keri online at:
Main site and blog: http://keristevens.com
My Friends Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KeriStevensFriends/join
Twitter http://twitter.com/keristevens (@KeriStevens)
Facebook: http://facebook.com/KeriStevensAuthor
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/Keri_Stevens
eHarlequin community: http://community.eharlequin.com/blogs/keri-stevens

This and That. (These and those?)

2010-12-07T00:02:00.123-05:00

All sorts of things are going on today, so I've got a bunch of little things noted below:

Carina Press is releasing three seasonal anthologies this week, Winter Wishes which is collection of paranormal stories, a contemporary anthology Naughty and Nice and His for the Holidays which is a GLBT anthology.

Naughty and Nice features stories by Lauren Dane (Believe), Jaci Burton (All She Wants for Christmas), Shannon Stacey (Holiday Sparks), and Megan Hart (Unwrapped).

Winter Wishes includes stories by Vivian Arend (Tangled Tinsel), Moira Rogers (Freeze Line), and Vivi Andrews (No Angel). (Inserting a personal note here -- I read Tangled Tinsel while Viv was writing it. It's a winner.)

His for the Holidays has stories by Josh Lanyon (Ice Capade), ZA Maxfield (I Heard Him Exclaim), LB Gregg (Mistletoe at Midnight), and Harper Fox (Nine Lights Over Edinburgh).

The great thing about this is if you want to read a story by a particular author you don't have to buy the entire book. Or you can buy all four together--Carina's letting you choose.

Texas Tangle's cover is up on Clash of the Covers for Cover of the Year. But there are a lot of beautiful covers nominated, so head on over and vote for your favorite. (Honest, you don't have to vote for Texas Tangle's. Just go over and vote for one of them and make someone's day.)

Smokin' Hot Books has a poll up for the "Best Sex Scene". I am making notes of the books being nominated. (Yes, like my TBB/TBR pile just isn't big enough *eye roll*)

I HAD to add this after seeing it on the brilliant Jill Shalvis' blog. I can't stop laughing at it.

I heard from my Carina Press editor yesterday that my edits for Tangled Past will be arriving next week, so if I'm quiet here on the blog, it's because I'm deep into edits. Oh, and I have an actual date now for its release -- May 30th!

**EDITED** My edits just arrived and are due back next Wednesday (as in the 15th) so I'm definitely going to be quiet for a while, especially over on Twitter. But though I may not be chatty, you'll know I'm busy making Tangled Past even better for you. If you need to reach me, email me at leah DOT braemel @gmail DOT com (remember that's a before e) or leave a comment on my blog.

** More news -- Mom has just phoned to say she's being released from hospital this Friday, almost two weeks earlier than the original date they'd given her. She's doing so well, she's able to work with just a cane most places, though she'll still have to rent a walker for those times she's tired. But she's doing terrifically. What a great Christmas present.

When "The End" is not the end

2010-12-06T10:07:00.001-05:00

I finished the first draft of the next in the Hauberk series a few days ago. This one is Troy's and Sandy's story (you haven't met Troy yet--he's mentioned in Personal Protection but doesn't get a speaking part until Deliberate Deceptions.) A big part of the story is Scott -- who you did meet in Personal Protection. Yes, Scott does get it on with Troy and Sandy. I wasn't sure whether he was going to stay with them or not until I was three quarters the way through the first draft and Scott decided the matter for me.

When I typed "The End" I was quite happy with how the story had turned out. Oh, sure, I have a ton of notes that I've left for myself that I had to go back and change, scenes to be added, places that need to be smoothed out/shortened/extended. That's usual for my first draft. But the bones of the story is in place. I know who my characters are, what they think they want and what they actually need. It's all good.

I usually let a first draft sit on the proverbial shelf for a week before I start to edit it. This gives me time to cogitate a bit more now I finally know all the facets of the characters and the plots. To make additional notes about possible plot problems or ways to deepen a character or how to show something better than I did in the first draft.

It also gives me time to deal with the usual 'second guessing' phase that occurs after each book.

Part of my second-guessing this time around is the buzz I'm hearing from various sources that menages aren't selling well these days, that people are getting tired of that sub-genre. It's enough that I'm wondering whether I need to rip my story apart and take that element out. Which means a total rewrite. Because it would also change Sandy's character--her motivation etc. and by extension, Troy's reactions.

This is where I have to ask myself do I write with an eye on what might sell better or do I tell the story the way I see it playing out? I know which decision I'll probably make (telling the story I want to tell) but I still have those doubts...

Snippet Saturday: Deliberate Deceptions

2010-12-04T00:01:00.003-05:00

Today's Saturday Snippet is "author's choice" so I've decided to give you a sneak peek into Deliberate Deceptions, the next in the Hauberk series which will be released in 2011. This is Chad's story -- Chad, you may remember from Personal Protection is Sam's second-in-command at Hauberk Protection. There's a scene in Personal Protection where Sam challenge's Chad's right to question his decision re his relationship with Rosie.

Even as I wrote that scene I knew that Chad had unresolved feelings for Lauren and that she'd be the heroine in his book. And here she is ...

Deliberate
Deceptions

A camouflaged guard, complete with infra-red goggles and an MP5 machine gun slung over his shoulder, slid open the helicopter door and glanced around the interior. As soon as he recognized Troy, he touched his hand to his forehead as if he were still in the military. “Good evening, sir. Everything’s secure.”

Troy jumped out first then reached up to help her out, his expression grim. “I hope you bloody well know what you’re doing.”

So did she.

She ducked her head as she jumped to the ground beside him. Instead of the pavement she expected, soft grass cushioned her landing. Crickets chirped as she took a deep breath hoping to get some sense of where they were. The scent of fresh mown grass, and damp earth filled her lungs. No distant roar of a highway, no bright lights bouncing off the few clouds indicative of a nearby city. With only the stars sparkling above and no moon, she couldn’t see much beyond the field they were in. Rolling hills silhouetted the horizon increasing her suspicion they’d doubled back and were now back east. Vermont’s Green Mountains? The Appalachians? But where? Tennessee? Pennsylvania? North Carolina? Did it matter? Not as long as Harris couldn’t find them.

Her confidence in their plan faltered when she saw Chad at the far edge of the meadow, four men armed with an assortment of MP5s and M4 carbines flanking him. Even with the distance between them, power emanated from him. His alert posture combined with a quiet confidence radiated his awareness of everything surrounding them. No doubt he’d already evaluated everything either as a threat or for use as a possible defense. Would he head straight for the front gate when he found out she was his principal?

His gaze skimmed over her as they approached, then flicked to assess the two agents at her side. Though his expression was bland, there was no mistaking the tension in his shoulders.
She arrived beside Troy just in time to hear him say, “This wasn’t my effin’ idea.”

Chad looked directly at Lauren but she couldn’t read his expression; he’d donned the damned implacable mask he’d learned to use thanks to the FBI and the media. “Noted.”

Troy glanced over his shoulder and shook his head. “I think I’ll hang around a couple days in case you want someone else to take over.”

The agents hung back as Chad stuck his hands in his pockets, something he only did if he was nervous. Which meant his pockets were rarely used. “Hello, Lauren.”

I’m sorry, please forgive me for leaving you. For not coming back. I despise your sister for what she did to us. I hate myself for trusting her. I’ve never stopped loving you. I’ve missed holding you and being held. I’ve even missed the way you hog the covers at night. “Hello, Chad.”

“Let’s go inside.” Not cold. But not warm. Business-like. Detached. Like she was a stranger.
Maybe she was.

As they walked toward the waiting Humvee, his palm touched the small of her back, igniting a memory of the first time they’d met at the bar where she’d worked her last year of college. How he’d been so careful with her, so tender and gentle. Oh, he had strength. He’d proven that the way he’d handled the drunken patron who had accosted her. He’d waited around until the end of her shift, his friends having ditched him hours before. Once she was done, he’d escorted her to her car, placing the flat of his hand on her back just the way it was now. The same spark of electricity had zinged through her then too.

Lauren closed her eyes, fighting the guilt welling inside. When she told him what she’d done, when she finally confessed her secret, he’d leave. Worse, he might hate her.

Don't forget to visit the other Snippet Saturday participants to see what they chose to share today:

Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
TJ Michaels
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
Eliza Gayle
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Sasha White
Jody Wallace

15 Fictional (Influential) Characters

2010-12-02T08:14:00.000-05:00

Over on Facebook, Dana Marie Bell posted a note about the 15 Fictional Characters that have influenced her and tagged me to do it next. I figured it was an interesting topic and thought I'd share my list here too.

Here were her instructions: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen fictional characters (television, films, plays, books) who've influenced you and/or that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.

Aragorn (Lord of the Rings --the book version, not the movie version)
Adam Hauptmann - Patricia Brigg's Mercy Thompson series
Morpheus (The Matrix)
Trinity (The Matrix)
Sarah Connor (The Terminator, Terminator 2)
Samwise Gamgee (Lord of the Rings - all three books)
Ed Walters (Tim Robbin's character in IQ)
Faramir (Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, LOTR: Return of the King -- the book versions, not the movie version. Faramir's character in the book is quite different from the movie so if you haven't read The Two Towers, you're missing out on a great character)
Eomer (Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, LOTR: Return of the King -- the book versions not the movie version)
Bran Cornick - Patricia Brigg's Mercy Thompson series, and Patricia Brigg's Alpha & Omega series
Erin Brown - Lauren Dane's Laid Bare
John Clark of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series but specifically from his own book, Without Remorse
Butch (JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series)
Horatio Hornblower (of the Horatio Hornblower series -- in a strange twist from my usual stance of books being better than television, I really like how Ioan Gruffudd portrayed him in the television series over the character in the books)
Jamie Fraser (Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series)

I have to admit I was tempted to play with the order of the characters but she did say the first fifteen I recalled, so I left them the way they were. So tell me, what characters have stayed with you? (You don't have to list all fifteen though.)

Vivian Arend: Is It Real?

2010-12-01T07:01:00.024-05:00

Is It Real?

When I started writing Falling, Freestyle, I had a few goals. I wanted to have a contemporary love story set during the winter in the mountains. It was going to include skiing, or snowboarding, and I wanted to write a friends-to-lovers situation.

What ended up happening has made this book one of my favorites thus far in my writing career.

I’m one of the writers who starts with a very loose plan, then I let the characters take me where they want to go. There’s often a ton of surprises along the way, and that’s kept writing interesting for me, as well as giving me a bunch of ‘Oh Noes!’ moments. Falling, Freestyle was no different. The heroine, Dara, showed up just as planned. But her two best friends? Neither of them would back down and stay the best buddy. They both wanted in as heroes.

“This isn’t supposed to be a ménage a trois, guys,” I reasoned with my characters. They shook their heads and insisted they knew best. Suddenly, I had two male egos to deal with, and frankly, I had hoped for a much easier book.

See, there are a lot of times I just don’t get threesomes in romance books. Unless the guys are into guys, it’s always stuck me as a little—odd—that rarely does anyone ever mention that having another male in the bedroom is anything but weird.

Kane and Jack agreed. They wanted to talk about how two hetero guys dealt with this situation. They wanted to discuss a bunch of other things, including what Dara said she wanted, and what she was really asking for…

Slowly the book came together. It’s got the snowy setting, with skiing and snowboarding. It’s got the friends-to-lovers, and it makes me smile.

In the process, the characters have discussions that I really think would take place between friends. (Yeah, it’s guy talk some of the time—crude, rude, straight up. You know, fun ;) Between people stepping beyond the boundaries they’d previously set, and moving into a more intimate relationship—because although I do write explicit scenes, it’s not mainly about the sex. It’s about first, and foremost, about relationships. And that’s what made this book for me. Friends—moving to being lovers in a way that I could actually see happening.

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do.

This is the first book in a new series coming from Samhain. Xtreme Adventures will all feature some kind of more extreme sport. Falling, Freestyle is about skiing/boarding. July 2011 book two, Rising, Freestyle will include rock-climbing.

Falling, Freestyle

“Falling, Freestyle” by Vivian Arend
Read An Excerpt Online 
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Red Hots!
ISBN: 978-1-60928-260-8 
Length: Category 
Price: 4.50 
Publication Date: November 30, 2010 

Cover art by Angie Waters

Never venture out of bounds without a buddy—preferably two.

Dara’s past four incredible years have been lived to the fullest. Along with her best friends, Kane and Jack, she’s left no local wilderness unexplored, no ski slope unchallenged. Yet lately she wonders why they’ve never seen her as more than a buddy with breasts. When—or if—either man will cross that unspoken line.

It’s a line Kane eyes harder every day. Since high school, he and Jack have shared everything. A condo, vacations—and their best girl. Kane’s ready to get serious about his wilderness school and outfitter business, and that includes putting down roots. Preferably with Dara.

Wary of the men who’ve recently been sniffing around Dara, Jack has a growing sense that he or Kane better make a move soon, or they’re going to lose out on their perfect match. Question is, who does she prefer…and who’s going to bring their easygoing trio to an end?

Overhearing the boys arguing over her, Dara’s floored—and torn. Choose between them? No way. Drastic measures are called for, a plan for their annual holiday getaway that will clarify her feelings once and for all—or lose everything in a sexual storm of whiteout proportions.

Warning: Old friends turned lovers can get into the most trouble—exhibitionism, bondage, spanking. Anal sex, oral sex, unauthorized use of ski safety harnesses, icicles in the hot tub…the author apologizes in advance for any melted monitors.

Book Available: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | My Bookstore & More

A joke from Gizmo Guy

2010-11-29T19:10:00.001-05:00

It's been a rough November dealing with Curly's pneumonia, Mom's stroke, and Gizmo Guy's neuropathy tests. So, knowing I was stressed out, Gizmo Guy sent me this joke and I figured I'd share it with you:

God: Men, what car you get in Heaven will depend on how faithful you were to your wives on Earth.

Man 1: Please God, I can't count how many times I cheated on my wife. There were just too many beautiful women on Earth, and I had to have them all.

God: I am ashamed of you, my man, For that, I give you a run-down truck that barely moves.

Man 2: Dear God, please forgive me! I cheated on my wife once, just once! We were going through problems and I took the wrong turn. Please forgive me!

God: My man, I am ashamed of you too. But I will be kinder to you. For that, I give you a convertible BMW.

Man 3: Dear God, you will be so proud of me. I loved and worshiped my wife. I brought her roses everyday after work, I brought her gifts every anniversary, and we went traveling, and had dinner out 3 times a week, and...

God: Okay, my man, enough! I get the point. I am very proud of you! For that, I give you any car you desire!

Two weeks later Man 1 and 2 are driving on the freeway when they see Man 3 ahead of them, stopped in the middle of the road in his Black Jaguar.

Man 1 and 2: Hey Man! Why are you sitting in your car and crying your eyes out? You're acting like some ungrateful bugger! Look at your car, man! What is your problem?!

Man 3: "I just saw my wife on rollerskates!"

Weekend Round-Up

2010-11-27T22:19:00.004-05:00

Back in October, Tina Gerow, who also writes as Cassie Ryan, was on my blog talking about her book Seducing the Succubus.

I'm sad to say that Tina is currently in hospital after undergoing repeated brain surgeries to treat something called Arterial Venus Malformation. She is in need of your thoughts and prayers.

If you want to know more, go here on Facebook for updates on her condition. If you can help her family out with their mounting medical bills, stop off here at a page where they've set up a system to donate via PayPal.

I own a Sony reader PRS 505, that's now 2 1/2 years old. I've noticed for a while that the battery hasn't been holding a charge so I've been doing some research online and playing with various Sony readers and the Kobo -- at Word on the Street in Toronto a while back, and in the stores. I'd never managed to put my hands on a Kindle until I sat down with Angela James from Carina Press. She'd brought hers up from the States.

My Sony gave up the ghost this week. Gizmo Guy suggested I buy a new device and give him my old Sony which I agreed with. Until I discovered to replace the Sony's battery via Sony is going to cost me a $135. (Talk about highway robbery!)

So after some careful consideration, and lots of discussion with people in the shops, and on Twitter (Thanks Shannon Stacey, amongst others) I've ordered myself a Kindle 3. Since they're so popular, it won't arrive until Valentine's Day but that's okay, I'm not in a hurry.

As for Gizmo Guy, I'll let him have a shot at replacing the battery on the Sony himself but if he doesn't get it working, then I may just buy him his own Kobo for Christmas. *ssssh*

This Last Thursday of November

2010-11-25T10:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends. Up here in Canada, it's just the last Thursday of November.

For those of you who have asked how Mom is doing, she's much better. She's been moved to a Stroke Rehabilitation unit just a couple miles away from me and one week in, they've got her up and walking the hall with a walker. She's able to get out of bed and move to a wheelchair by herself where a week ago it took two people to help her. She gets physio twice a day along with other activities. They have a group session where they do things like play basketball to get them lifting their arms above their head -- Mom says she can sink a ball in the net every time. They play dominos and other games to exercise their fine motor skills. Since Mom's hand was affected only a little, it's not as much work for her as it is for some of the residents of the unit. They figure she'll be home in a month, if not sooner with the progress she's making.

On my side there have been lots of phone calls I've made and received from family and friends concerned about her, naturally. And from Mom herself -- even with all the activities, it's boring sitting in a hospital room. She's got cross word puzzles and I took her a couple books, including Susanna Kearsley's Shadowy Horses and Audrey Niffenegger's Time Traveler's Wife.

But those phone calls and the concern about Mom do make it hard to concentrate on my writing. So I've been doing some sprints to push my wordcount and I'm up to 40K on Troy's story. But now I'm more than halfway through and I'm approaching that all important black moment, as it's so often called, where I have to start weaving all the tails of the story together and it's slowing me down a bit again. My original goal of finishing the first draft by the end of November doesn't look like it's going to happen. And I'm disappointed but life--and family--comes first. And though it's not Thanksgiving for me technically, I have a lot for which to be thankful.

Gina Gordon: What makes you feel sexy?

2010-11-24T06:31:00.004-05:00

Meet Gina Gordon

Your significant other will be home any minute. Dinner is made, the children have been shipped off to a safe place, the table is set, the music is playing and the lights are dim. There’s only one thing missing….where’s the sexy?

I’ve come to the conclusion that sexy is not a physical thing. It’s not a setting, a piece of clothing, a certain body type or facial feature. Sexy is a state of mind.

For example, let’s look at Megan Fox. It’s not her beauty alone that clinches her spot at the top of every most sexy list. She has an air about her, a confidence, a look in her eye that screams sexy. I would love to know her secret trick. Probably the fact that millions of men all over the world drool over her picture…that would put a little more oomph in my strut.

Although sexy may be a state of mind, sometimes we all need a little help. For me it’s lingerie. Something about the tight fit of a corset and the silkiness of stockings transports my brain to a sexy place. No matter how I may be feeling mentally about my body, it all disappears. Don’t believe me? Try wearing some sexy lingerie underneath your regular clothing. The little secret you have with yourself can do wonders for your confidence.

How did I come to this conclusion? My newest release, Forever in Lingerie, book one of my Bare Naked Designs series. Each story centers around one piece of lingerie and it just so happens that the hero accidentally walks in on the heroine wearing said outfit. Of course it isn’t the lingerie that binds the couple together. It just kicks the relationship up a notch or two.

So what about you? What do you do to make yourself feel sexy?

Gina Gordon is an erotica and romance author living in Ontario, Canada. Her newest release, Forever in Lingerie, is available now from Lyrical Press. To find out more about Gina, visit her website at www.ginagordon.net

Sunday, busy Sunday

2010-11-21T12:32:00.000-05:00

My wordcount usually slows a bit on the weekend because the family's all home and that's when I have to do all my running around. (It's weird, you'd think I'd do any shopping etc. on weekdays when the stores aren't so busy, but then I'm usually so focused on my writing I forget everything else.) I am still plugging away on Troy's story. I'm at 32,000 and I figure I'm slightly over halfway through the story, maybe a little bit more. It's a little frustrating because this time last year I was only a few pages away from completing 50K and I'm so far behind. But I'm determined to type "The End" on the first draft by the end of the month. Even though it means I'll have to write about 3K per days which is tougher some days than others.

On a totally different note, you may have heard that you can now give ebooks to friends over on Amazon's new "Give as a Gift" button. You don't have to own a Kindle to receive a Kindle book, you can read it on your computer and such. I immediately thought "yay! This is great, now I can send prizes to my contest winners that way!" Um. Nope.

As a trial I 'gifted' a book to Angela James. I chose a book from Angela's wishlist (really handy and I'd never set on up before--why?). I clicked on the "give as a gift" button and was told I couldn't purchase that book since I was in Canada. Shoot. So even though Angela, the receiver of the gift, was in the proper geographic area to receive the book, I couldn't send it to her. Strange thing was if I went to the book's page instead of through Angela's wish list, I was allowed to purchase it and send it to Angela. My credit card was properly charged, Angela received a very pretty email saying she'd received a gift from me. When she tried to download it however she was told she couldn't because she was in the wrong geographic area. She ended up having to change her Kindle's location by changing her address to Harlequin's Toronto address before she could download it. It was a US book for pete's sake. Being delivered to a US Kindle owner. Another author tried to send a book to someone in Europe (possibly England?) --- same thing happened. The receiver had to change their account address, and then received a bill for UK's VAT tax and Whispernet charges. So it looks like Amazon still has a few bugs to work out.

Snippet Saturday: Happy Birthday to...

2010-11-20T00:24:00.013-05:00

This week's Snippet Saturday theme is Birthdays. I didn't sign up for it initially since I thought none of my stories involved a birthday. So imagine the 'face/palm' moment I had when I realized the entire plot of Private Property revolves around the hero's planned birthday present to the heroine goes awry.

Private Property

“Jodi Tyler, I’d like you to meet Sam Watson.”

Sam Watson? As in the owner of Hauberk Security and Mark’s college buddy? Jodi closed her mouth when she realized her jaw was hanging open. Was this some sort of joke?

“So is this really your place, or are you checking me out to make sure I meet your company’s qualifications?”

“Yup, place is all mine.” He smiled as he picked up the cigar, his gaze flicking over her again.
“As for checking you out, there ain’t a man alive who could fail to admire your…assets.”

Annoyed at being held captive by the man who would soon be her new boss, she placed her hands flat on Sam’s chest and pushed. And failed to budge him at all.

“Since you own one of the biggest security firms on the east coast, you obviously don’t need Mark to upgrade your security—so why have me break in? Oh, and in case you haven’t heard, there’s a law about sexual harassment of employees. So you’d better have one damned good lawyer.”

Sam’s eyes widened; he quickly stepped back, letting Mark take his place.

“Relax, babe.” Mark rubbed her shoulders in a move meant to pacify her but she batted them away.

Jodi shoved the paper in Mark’s face. It was either that or kick him in the groin. “This list was supposed to be just between us. How could you humiliate me like this?”

Mark cleared his throat and cursed softly in Spanish. “I’m sorry, babe, I wanted to surprise you for your birthday—you know, so we can cross the rest of those items off your list. I thought it would be funny. Sort of an icebreaker. “

“Funny?” She thumped her fist into his shoulder. “You have a twisted sense of humor. Besides, what could possibly be on there that you’d need to show to a perfect stranger?”

Sam waved his cigar toward the paper that was now a crumpled ball in her fist. “You might wanna refresh your memory and read number six there, sweet pea. Ol’ Mark here’s asked me to help fulfill that particular fantasy.”

With a growing dread, she scanned the list, her eyes widening.

6. I’d like to have a ménage with Mark and another man that we could trust.

Read Excerpts here and here or on my website

Buy from Samhain's My Bookstore and More. Also available on Amazon's Kindle, All Romance e-Books, Barnes & Noble, Fictionwise and other ebook catalogs.

Don't forget to visit the other Snippet Saturday participants' snippets:

Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Ashley Ladd
Shelley Munro

The New Normal, and a New Goal

2010-11-18T14:58:00.001-05:00

Thank you to everyone who emailed me or left comments about my mom. She's been moved from the hospital in the smaller town that's farther away from me to a stroke rehab unit only 3 miles away. Which makes life easier for us both. Especially since she has a phone so we can keep in touch that way too. The doctors are quite pleased with the strength she has in her arms and the physiotherapists are keeping her busy with lots of exercises to bring her leg back to full strength.

So life has sort of returned to normal -- the new normal -- which means I'm back to writing. Thank heavens. Writing has always been a good way for me to focus on things other than the curveballs life throws me. Otherwise my brain has a tendency to churn issues over far too many times and make them into bigger dramas than they actually are.

Anyway, Troy's story is progressing nicely. I'm at 25K of what looks to be probably a 60K or more story. I really need to break the synopsis down so I can predict the final word count a bit more precisely. It's good practice for those times when I want to sell by proposal. (which means you contract the story before you actually write it -- I can't do that with my Samhain stories though) It's awful tough if you're contractually obligated to write a 60K story that turns out to be only 40K long. That means you've got a lot of padding to reach your goal. Usually that involves creating a subplot and trying to weave it through the existing story. It's even worse if you write a 90K story when your contract calls for only 60K. That's a heckuva lot of cutting. Especially if you don't have a subplot.

I figure if I write 2K a day between now and the end of November, I will squeak past the NaNo requirements of 50K, and will be darned close to typing "The End" on my first draft. If I want to actually finish the first draft by the end of November, which was my original goal, I'll have to up my daily wordcount to 2833 words a day. Yikes. Well, I'm going to give it a shot. Even if something else crops up and I don't make it, I'll be that much closer to the finish line.

Tomboys and Wonder Woman

2010-11-17T06:45:00.000-05:00

Meet Ella Drake

As a kid, I was a bit of a tomboy. I didn’t play with dolls. Instead, I fought my brother over his Tonka dump truck. Never have I owned a Barbie though I played with Star Wars action figures, usually light saber fighting. I didn’t wear dresses. I played football in the front yard. I had short hair and people thought I was a boy. My play with other girls seemed to delve into my domestic future as mother and wife only for the sake of making mud pies. I came into the house very little, but when I did, I watched one TV show a night. And, gasp, when Little House on the Prairie—the ultimate in popular shows of the 70s—stared airing, I watched it, but I much preferred the newer show, Wonder Woman. I wanted to be Linda Carter! Now as an adult, I now know exactly why so many men and boys tuned in to watch the gorgeous Linda Carter. Sadly, that future was not in the cards for me. Though, I do have WW pajamas and wear them proudly, if not as… well.

But then came Buck Rogers in the 25th century! And I wanted to be Erin Gray. Once again, oblivious to the crushes the boys my age had on her, ala Linda Carter. But whoa, the romance! The aliens! The sci-fi goodness! The woman carried a gun and wore a shiny outfit! I didn’t know another single girl who admitted to watching the show (the show aired two seasons. Maybe NOBODY else watched it). Still, was I really a tomboy? Was it inevitable that I grow up to be a tech geek who was into science fiction? Well, I did do that. But I also found Jane Austen around this time, and like many girls, read my share of the Bronte sisters, including several reads of Wuthering Heights.

I turned into that teen who dressed up to be girly and dance at the Homecoming dance after the football game, while being one of the few girls who actually watched said game. I read Woodiwiss and I read Stephen King. I read historical fiction tomes on past rulers of Scotland, my favorite being the ill-fated Mary Queen of Scots.

Am I still a tomboy? Not really. I’m not really sure what that means, anymore. The idea of what a little girl should be and how she should act has changed. And thank goodness for that. I did find those roots of fascination in the unknown have stayed with me. I did mesh my love of intergalactic war scenes with the romance I looked for in those shows, but got very little of. But more importantly, I found that so many of the roles we expect to fill, or think our kids might fall into, aren’t that predictable. It’s okay to be a girl who plays sports, loves Star Wars, and reads romance.

I wouldn’t have dreamed, back then, that I’d write a sci-fi romance novel. What about you? Did you have these kinds of signs as a kid of what you might be doing as an adult?

Ella Drake is a dark paranormal and science fiction romance author. Look for her latest, a space western, SILVER BOUND, releasing November 22nd from Carina Press. For more info and excerpt, please visit http://www.elladrake.com/SilverBound.htm

Cover Art Copyright © 2010 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited
Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A. Cover art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

Six months and counting down...

2010-11-16T15:38:00.002-05:00

Good news! I just found out the month Tangled Past will be released. From some other announcements I've seen floating around, I figured it would probably be July or so. It's not. It's ... *drum roll* May 2011!

Of course, I had to bribe Carina Press's Executive Editor Angela James into emailing me the planned release date. You see last night I went out to dinner with Angela (and 6 other writers.) Despite the ear-splitting music they played, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. And while I was there, I took some pictures. Now, pictures taken of people eating or talking seldom turn out well. At least when I'm behind the camera. So I threatened Angela over on Twitter today...and she gave me a date (okay, okay, I wouldn't have actually blackmailed her but it makes a better story, no?)

I will share this picture though...

It's the sampler dessert plate. It's a treacle pudding on the left, biscotti in the middle, white chocolate brownie on the far right and ... I'm not sure what the thing in the glass is...ah, just checked their menu -- that's a chocolate espresso mousse. Shoot, now I'm craving something sweet.

To a Mouse

2010-11-15T09:07:00.000-05:00

I'm always divided about what I should be blogging about here -- whether details of my personal life are just too....personal. Or whether you like seeing the inside of an author's life. I'm pretty much an open book (HaHaha! Hadn't thought of how that analogy works now I'm an author) when it comes to "sharing" things with people. And this past week does have a link to writing, so here goes...

If you've been checking that wordcount progress meter over on my sidebar, you may have noticed it hasn't moved since Tuesday. NaNo and I apparently don't have a good relationship -- in fact, I'm pretty sure NaNo is out to get not just me but my family members. Every time I sign up to participate, something major happens to someone in my family.

The first year, 2007, I was 10 days in when my father had a massive stroke that meant he could never go home again. I spent the next 5 months driving my mom up to his hospital, advocating between her and the hospital.

I didn't participate in 2008 because I was in the middle of edits for Private Property and had just finished Personal Protection. But I did participate in 2009. Gizmo Guy got H1N1 in the middle and when I took him to the doctor we discovered he had undiagnosed diabetes. We spent the next couple weeks running around having blood tests done, ECGs, visiting the diabetes clinic and having meetings with nurses and dietiticians. Luckily I'd finished my story the day before, 5 days early -- which was Deliberate Deceptions by the way.

This year? Three years to the day after my mother phoned me to tell me about my father's stroke, I got another call from her. "I'm not feeling well. Something's wrong." Mom lives out in the country and about 45 minutes from me, so I raced up there to discover her right side of her body wasn't working properly. (She didn't tell me that significant detail on the phone, only that she thought perhaps she had the flu.) Suspecting she'd also had a stroke, I raced her down to the hospital near where my sister lives instead of the one in her county where they'd taken my father. (They're the same distance apart, and this one is associated with a much better larger hospital if they'd had to transfer her.)

After several CT scans, echocardiograms and ECGs, high blood pressure meds, heparin to stop blood clots, cholesterol lowering meds (she's apparently been ignoring herself while worrying about Dad) they confirmed she did have a stroke. Good news is it was mild and she's stabilized now. She's to be transferred to a stroke rehab center that's only 3 miles from home so that'll give me both peace of mind that she's being cared for while being able to pop in for quick visits around her therapy sessions. According to the specialists, she has a good chance of recovery, but whether she'll be able to live in her house out in the country alone again we're not sure. So we may end up having to find her a new place to live.

Needless to say, while I've been worried about her and racing around between her house, my place and the hospital, and just all the general stress of seeing Mom sick, I've not been able to concentrate on writing at all. Now all the panic's off and we know what's happening, I'm going to try to get back to a routine -- it'll be a new routine with added items on my to-do list, but at the top of the list will be writing again.

And on the list will be note to never ever participate in NaNoWriMo ever again.

Oh, and the title of this post? It's in homage to Robert Burn's poem "To a Mouse" where he coined that immortal phrase "The best laid schemes of mice and men//gang aft aglay (go astray)". Yeah, you can make all the plans (and to-do lists) you want, only to have life remind you you're not in charge...

Snippet Saturday: Make 'em Laugh

2010-11-13T08:06:00.002-05:00

This week's Snippet Saturday is "Make 'em Laugh". This scene from Texas Tangle always gets me chuckling, and it's also a scene that gets the most comments--everyone seems to identify with Dillon's grandmother. I can easily envision myself being a "Gramma Barnett" in the future. I look forward being the curmudgeonly old matriarch who isn't afraid to say what she thinks damn what anyone else thinks. Of course, not everyone in the family thought Gramma was particularly funny. But that's a story for another day (yup, Jackson's reaction here will foreshadow some of the conflict in Griffin's story.) And this scene is also handy because it is the scene that inspired my upcoming Carina release, Tangled Past.

Texas Tangle

While she already knew Dillon’s family, her nerves jumped to see Dillon’s brothers, Griffin and Matt, grinning a smile identical to Dillon’s as if they knew full well what had happened the night before. Middle brother Ethan and Dillon’s sister Lilly sat on the opposite side of the table. While they were nodding and smiling, they didn’t make her stomach flip-flop. She took a deep breath and took her seat, telling herself she could get through this meal.

At least until she glanced to the head of the table where Dillon’s father sat, a frown on his face, his dark eyes, normally sparkling like Dillon’s, solemn and penetrating. She wiped her hands on her skirt. Did he suspect what had happened?

From the chair to his left, another pair of sharp chocolate eyes scanned her. Mrs. Barnett placed her hands on the shoulders of Dillon’s grandmother. “Nicole, you remember Jackson’s mother, Ruth, don’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am. How are you, Mrs. Barnett?”

Gramma Barnett flicked her gaze from Nikki to Dillon for a moment then turned to Brett and pursed her lips. From the few times she’d met Dillon’s grandmother before, she got the feeling that little escaped the woman’s attention. With a curt nod of her head, Gramma tapped on the table. “Glad to see you made it this week. Now where’s dinner? I’m hungry.”

Feeling as if she’d just been judged, and passed inspection, Nikki exhaled a slow breath.

As plates were passed around the table, and the family settled into a half-dozen different topics in which everyone voiced an opinion, Nikki gradually relaxed. She’d half expected that Dillon might try something inappropriate considering he was sitting right beside her, but he kept his hands to himself the entire time.

The main course finished, they’d moved on to Mrs. Barnett’s famous apple crumble pie when the discussion drifted to the headlines. Dillon reached over and grabbed the last slice, bobbling his plate when his grandmother changed the direction of the conversation.

“Did you see that story on the news the other night about a woman over in Cleburne who was arrested for marrying two men without them knowin’ about the other?”

Trying not to draw too much attention to herself, Nikki leaned close to Dillon and whispered, “Please tell me you didn’t say anything to her about me dating both of you.”

“I swear I never said a word,” he whispered back.

Gramma Barnett frowned at them and pointedly raised her voice. “Apparently, she travelled a lot for her job, and neither suspected the other existed. From what I saw of the report, she’d been married twenty years to one, then married another half her age over in Austin a couple years back. Both men said they were both as happy as a pig in shit.” An earthy chuckle erupted, starting deep in her belly. “At least until they found out the other existed.”

Nikki chanced a glance sideways at Brett and met his puzzled gaze. He lifted one shoulder a half inch and shook his head. Was it merely a coincidence that Gramma Barnett had mentioned the subject? Or had she picked up on something they’d done—some way they’d looked at each other?

Faith joined her mother-in-law’s laughter. “As long as she didn’t have to do their laundry, good for her.”

Mr. Barnett wasn’t as forgiving. “Mother, Faith! What type of example does that set for Lilly?”

The conversation hitting a little too close to home, Nikki sipped her iced tea in hopes it might cool the blush creeping into her cheeks.

Gramma Barnett stabbed the last bit of pastry on her plate and waved it toward Nikki. “Nothin’ wrong with a woman living with two men, Junior, s’long as everyone’s amenable to the arrangement. Look at this little filly and how she’s keeping your boys so happy.”

A chorus of “Gramma!”s echoed around the table while Nikki choked on her drink.

“What? It’s an honest opinion.” Gramma Barnett thumped on the table. “What woman wouldn’t be tempted by two fellas as good lookin’ as my boys? If she’s not, there’s somethin’ wrong with her.”

Dillon’s father fixed his mother with a glare. “I hardly think this is the appropriate venue for this discussion, Momma.”

“Bah.” She leaned toward Nikki as if she was going to whisper a secret, but didn’t lower her voice. “My grandparents had a permanent threesome all their adult lives. Betcha Dillon never told you that before.”

“No way! Really?” Lilly piped up, though instead of shock, her eyes were wide with interest.

“I could hardly tell her something I didn’t know myself, Gram.” Despite his tan, Dillon’s cheeks bore an unmistakeable hint of a blush.

“Yup.” She dabbed her mouth as delicately as if she were presiding over a state dinner, then realizing she had the attention of the whole table, placed the napkin on her lap. “And I’ll tell you something else—they weren’t the only ones in the county with more than two to their bed.”

She glared around the table as if warning anyone who dared challenge her. “Times were hard back then, and there weren’t as many women around as there are now. According to my daddy, his daddies decided instead of fighting for the hand of the woman they loved, they’d all live together. Musta worked out because they’re even buried side by side by side out in the churchyard.” She pointed at Nikki then waved her bony finger between Brett and Dillon. “You should do the same thing. You’d be a fool to pass up the opportunity to bed down with such fine-looking specimens. And it’ll keep these boys on their toes—make ’em keep you happy both in the bedroom and outta it, in case you decide to kick one o’ ’em out. The good Lord knows young Dillon here needs something to keep him out of his mischief.”

All the eyes that had been staring at Mrs. Barnett trained on Nikki, waiting to see her response. Feeling like a bug under the microscope, Nikki looked to Dillon for help. That was a futile hope, as he was dissecting the remains of his apple crumble. For his part, Brett stared at his plate, his brows drawn together. No help there either. The pie that had been so delicious moments before now lay as heavy as a rock in her stomach. “Um, th-thank you for the advice, Mrs. Barnett. I’ll certainly keep it in mind.”

“You do that.” Mrs. Barnett put down her fork and pushed her plate to the center of the table. “Close your mouth, dear. You’ll attract flies.” She stood with a groan then shuffled to the door. Halfway down the hall, she called, “Jackson, get off that keister of yours and drive me home. Or are you gonna make your poor old momma walk all the way?”

Don't forget to visit the other Snippet Saturday participants:

Mari Carr

McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw

Vivian Arend
Ashley Ladd
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon 
Lauren Dane 
Sasha White
Shelley Munro
TJ Michaels
Shelli Stevens
Jody Wallace

Buy Texas Tangle from Carina Press

Or from: Amazon, All Romance eBooks, Barnes and Noble, Diesel Books,and Kobo Books.

Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A. Cover Art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. © and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

Coming Soon: Tangled Past

2010-11-12T07:30:00.009-05:00

Remember that happy dance I was doing with Matt back in early October? You know the one here? Well, I'm thrilled that I'm finally able to announce why I was dancing. I've just signed my second contract with Carina Press for an erotic historical romance called Tangled Past.

This book is inspired by the Barnett family dinner scene in Texas Tangle where Grandma Barnett mentions her grandparents' marriage. It stands alone and you will not have to have read Texas Tangle to understand it. And there are a few secrets about her grandparents that Grandma Barnett didn't know...

I don't have an actual date of release yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I find out. Oh, and hey, another thing to mention -- it's my first non-alliterative title ;-)

Tangled Past

a historical erotic romance novel

1888 Texas

The living proof of her mother's infidelity, Sarah McLeod has suffered a lifetime of rejection. When she’s forced to marry a man she just met, Sarah clings to the hope that she’ll finally find the love and acceptance she’s always craved but never received. But her tenuous dreams are in danger of being snatched away by the one thing she can’t change—her husband’s love for another man.

Jackson Kellar’s determined to do right by his bride. It would have been a hell of a lot easier if he hadn’t already given his heart to his best friend Nate. Now he’s torn between his new-found love for Sarah and his still-burning love for Nate.

Ranch owner Nate Campbell loves them both. He hates to see Jackson’s loyalties so divided, and doesn’t want Sarah hurt either. But how can they fix the tangled mess they find themselves in?

Can they fight society’s dictates to find their happiness? Or will it destroy what they’ve found together?

Thank You...

2010-11-11T08:39:00.001-05:00

Lest We Forget

Thank you to my mother's stepfather, a British marine who served in both World War I and World War II who was taken prisoner in Crete and spent 1940 through 1945 as a German POW. Thank you to my grandfather who spent his career with the British navy and fought in World War II. Thank you to DH's father who was the first one off his boat on the beaches of Normandy (he was the tallest and they wanted to see how deep the water was) then went on with the Fifth Medium Infantry of Canada to help liberate Holland. God bless my nephew who is in the Canadian military and is training to help the soldiers in Afghanistan. Thank you and God bless all those who have given their lives in service to their country to protect our freedom.

Cristal Ryder is having the Ryde of her life!

2010-11-10T04:48:00.002-05:00

The whirlwind of being a newly published author struck home the other week. My first release, No Fantasy Required, is out now. Released this past Monday and I’m dying to know how it’s doing. Has anybody decided they would like to read it? It seems so surreal that something I worked on for so long is now out there for all to see.

Then I received the great news two weeks ago that my second submission is being contracted by Lyrical Press. Woohoo! Lost In Fantasy – Being Ariana, will be out sometime next year. Then while basking in the glow of my wonderful news, I received more, a great review from Happily Ever After Reviews on No Fantasy Required. I was thrilled beyond words and higher than a kite with happiness.

I was inspired to write No Fantasy Required a few of years ago for my own hero and it grew into this wonderful story of discovery for Kelly and Brian. In my next story, I love the characters in Being Ariana, the mystery that revolves around them and the journey they take as they discover themselves in a variety of unexpected ways.

These tales are our escape from the real world to a place where we can lose ourselves in the powerful emotion and feelings of our characters, where we can become them and fulfill our desires and fantasies through their experiences.

I hope to accomplish this for you. To spirit you away where you are the heroine, whoever she may be in the story. You love her, love being her and thrill at experiencing everything she does. You desire the hero as much as she does and root for her down her journey of discovery and passion. My goal is to make you feel and live her fantasy with her.

I hope you follow me on my journey of storytelling as I pen new stories with passionate and inquisitive characters, in places of intrigue and fantasy where you can escape into. It’s a discovery for me as well, this new world of being published and I’m loving it!

Please remember to visit my fledgling blog and website as they grow along with me.

www.cristalryder.com

www.cristalryder.blogspot.com

www.lyricalpress.com

Buy NO FANTASY REQUIRED from Amazon

Buy NO FANTASY REQUIRED from Coffee Time Romance

Cristal Ryder - For the Ryde of Your Life!

Sneak Peek at Deliberate Deceptions

2010-11-09T09:14:00.001-05:00

I promised you last week that I'd post an excerpt of the next in the Hauberk series, Deliberate Deceptions. Except I got bogged down and forgot. Then yesterday I received the "Cover Art" form from Samhain. That's a sheet authors have to fill out to help the cover artist come up with an idea for the cover. I have to describe the hero and the heroine physically, provide a summary of the story, mention any tokens or special objects that might have meaning in the story (for instance in Lord of the Rings, the special token would be, uh, the ring?), locations the story takes place and any other covers that I see as being similar to what I'd like. Natalie Winters designed the first two covers and did a tremendous job with them -- they have such a film noir quality and the red title just pops against the black and white photos.

So while I'm filling out the form, here's a quick peek at Lauren, whom you haven't met yet, though she was mentioned in Personal Protection. Lauren is Chad's ex-wife, a former FBI agent who has been working for...well, read the excerpt, where you'll meet another acquaintance from Personal Protection.

Deliberate Deceptions

Lauren stepped from the Brigade’s jet onto the tarmac, glad to be standing on firm earth after being in the air for almost ten hours. The smog-shrouded Washington Monument across the Potomac drew her attention, a calming beacon saluting her return. Would its people be as welcoming?

A sleek black stretch Humvee limo sat with its engine running less than thirty feet away. The driver got out, his windbreaker unbuttoned to allow easy access to the weapon he always wore. After a quick check of the area, he opened the back door, allowing the devil himself to step out.

Cooper Davis straightened his French cuffs and smoothed his perfectly pressed Armani suit before nodding to his driver. Anyone meeting him for the first time might buy his cover as an unassuming businessman, intent only on making a killing on Wall Street; she knew better. He strolled across the pavement with a confidence and casualness as if he were about to greet an old lover. Something he’d once suggested. To this day she hadn’t decided if it had been a test or a sincere suggestion.

She turned her face when he bent down to kiss her so his lips brushed her cheek. One dark eyebrow quirked up at her evasion. “Welcome back, Lauren.”

“I’m done, Cooper. I want out.” Saying the words both soothed the jumbled thoughts in her brain while setting free the butterflies in her stomach.

“I figured you’d say that.” He gestured toward the Humvee. “Let’s sit inside while we discuss your future, shall we?”

She followed him to the limo, taking a seat facing him so she could read his facial expressions. As soon as the door closed behind them, sealing them into Cooper’s bulletproof, soundproof world, he leaned forward. “There’s a problem you should know about before you start planning on retiring.”

Problem to Cooper could mean anything from a paperwork snafu to the start of the next world war. From the way every cell in her body went on alert, it was probably more the latter than the former. “I was right, wasn’t I? Someone in the Brigade was behind those attacks.”

“Yes.” He stared out the window, his eyes narrowed. “Frank Harris.”

She sucked in her breath. Of all the Brigade’s operatives, Harris was both their best marksman and their best tracker. He was also currently the most unstable.

“From what we can gather, he discovered it was you who filed the complaint. He’s declared war on you, Lauren.”

“I need to leave then. Find a bolt hole. New York. LA. San Francisco. Somewhere I can get lost in a crowd.”

Cooper nodded slowly. “It might work. But it’s also possible that Harris will try to get at you through people you care about, Lauren. What’ll you do then?”

People she cared about? She’d long been estranged from her only sister and her mother had died a decade ago. Which left… “Chad?”

Snippet Saturday: Bring Me a Tissue

2010-11-06T00:46:00.008-04:00

It's been a while since I've participated in Snippet Saturday. As you see, there are different themes each week and I had a limited number of books that didn't have any scenes meeting their themes. *Happy dancing that this is changing!* But today's theme of "Bring Me a Tissue" was right up my alley. In fact I had a hard time choosing which scene from which book, and even then I had a hard time choosing just the right portion. I put a call out on Twitter -- Heather from Everybody Needs a Little Romance suggested the scene at the lake where Nikki and Dillon find Brett after he's taken off and Brett realizes he's not alone as he'd thought. I'll confess, I start crying at the scene before this, when Brett's telling Nikki how he and Dillon forged their life-long friendship and why Brett feels he owes Dillon his life. I guess you'll have to buy the story and decide for yourself. ;-)

Texas Tangle

“What do you want of me?” His voice was husky, as if he’d been screaming for hours. Maybe inwardly he had been.

“I want you to talk to me. And to listen. Please.”

Though it took him a moment, Brett finally settled into place beside her.

“At the very beginning of this, I asked you if it was all right to go out with Dillon, and you said you were fine with it.”

If Brett saw Dillon straighten and stare at her, he didn’t give any indication. She shoved away the thread of guilt that arose. They hadn’t been dating then, and she’d been perfectly within her rights to check to see if Brett was interested, she told herself. She turned her attention back to Brett, reaching out to touch his arm with her fingertips, to re-establish the contact she’d had with him.

His eyes closed at her touch. “You deserve to be happy, Nik. You’re happy with Dillon, and he’s happy with you. He loves you.”

“But you do too, don’t you?”

It took a long moment before he nodded.

“Except you decided to be noble and not interfere because you didn’t want to lose your best friend, your family, the way you had before, didn’t you?”

“They’re all I’ve got, Nik. I don’t have anyone else.” He took a deep breath and looked at Dillon. “When I went to Boston? I was miserable. Your mom phoned regularly, and Griffin emailed me every once in a while, but it wasn’t the same. I couldn’t stand being alone like I’d been before. I love your family, Dill. I’m not about to let them be ripped away from me. Not again.”

Dillon tossed the husk of a beechnut into the pond. “You could have come home more often, you know. They’re your family too. Matthew, Lilly, especially Griffin. They missed you. They used to rag on me about you all the time. Shit, Brett, all you had to do was say something, and I would have backed off and let you date her too.”

“Yeah, but see, they were caught in between, and if they talked to me, I’d know they’d feel like they were being disloyal to you. I couldn’t do that to them. I was used to being alone, to not having anyone when it was just my pop and me. But once I’d been part of your family, gotten used to having people care for me, talk to me like I was worth talking to, I couldn’t live without them.” His voice was rough, as if he’d swallowed glass and each word tore his throat apart. He turned back to face Nikki. “I’m sorry. Maybe I should have told you, I don’t know. You’ve always been special to me. You always will be, but I couldn’t lose Dillon or the Barnetts. I just couldn’t.” The bleak look Brett gave her was one filled with need, with love, but no hope. “You deserve better than me, Nik.”

Visit the other Snippet Saturday participants. (And don't forget your tissues!)

Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
Vivian Arend
Ashley Ladd
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Sasha White
Shelley Munro
TJ Michaels

Buy Texas Tangle from Carina Press

Or from: Amazon, All Romance eBooks, Barnes and Noble, Diesel Books,and Kobo Books.

On Texas Tangle, Curly and Christmas

2010-11-05T08:17:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's Friday already. I had an idea for a post today but for the life of me I can't remember what it was, so here are just some random thoughts of what's been going on this week.

* Texas Tangle received a lovely review yesterday from Stella over at Book Lovers Inc. It was another one that gave me that wonderful "she got me, she really got me" moment. I especially liked her final summation:

Verdict: Texas Tangle is a special ménage story, because here, besides the amazing sex love, friendship and respect also play a crucial part. The other thing that sets Texas Tangle apart from other ménage stories is how realistically (I know it may sound unbelievable, but it is true) it portrays this situation: how two best friends, almost brothers could love and share the same woman and how a normal, even small town society can accept it.

* Troy's story, which is still untitled, is coming along nicely. When I'm writing a first draft, and from what I've seen of other authors complaints over on twitter it seems to be a common phenomena, I waver between "I'm loving this story" and "this is a piece of crap. I suck at writing." Sometimes between paragraphs. At the moment, it's "thank heavens I solved that issue that bugged me yesterday morning and the hero and heroine are connecting." By noon, who knows, maybe I'll be back to "OMG what was I thinking?" But I'll keep writing. I've written almost 10K since Monday, not bad for four days, and should exceed that mark today. So things are progressing nicely on that front.

* For those of you who follow me on Twitter and saw me talking about Curly having pneumonia a couple weeks ago, his antibiotics have worked, he's doing much better now and after being sick for two weeks, is finally back at work.

* I started my Christmas shopping yesterday. *quiet sob* I didn't mean to. I was shopping for a present for Gizmo Guy's upcoming birthday. But while I was at the mall, I saw things that the boys would like and thought "while I'm here, I may as well pick these up."

When the boys were little, I would shop all year long and often had all the presents bought by the end of October. Then they grew up and suddenly they were much harder to shop for because they weren't into Lego or the little toys that would amuse them for hours...well, okay, so they still like the little gadgets/toys that amuse them for hours, but these days the gadgets/toys are things like iPod Touches and gizmos that cost hundreds of dollars a shot that are not usually in my budget. (which is ironic because this year I'M the one asking for an iPod Touch.)

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Or do you leave it to the last minute?

Erin Nicholas: Writing Romance Is Like…

2010-11-04T00:22:00.007-04:00

Thanks Leah, for letting me stop by on my blog tour!

Since November is the anniversary month of my first published book, I decided to go on a tour and chat and give stuff away!

The “theme” (I use the term loosely) is Writing Romance Is Like…

And every blog stop has a different comparison that will give you some insight into who I am, how I write and my slightly weird sense of humor. Oh, and you can win stuff! Every commenter gets entered for a chance at a book from my backlist. And if you really want to have some fun: follow me around to all the stops on the schedule (on my website) get the answers to the questions (on the form on my site) and then e-mail them to me by December 15th to get entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com or MyBookstoreandMore.com. Come join the fun!!

And now…

Writing Romance is Like...
A Grown-up Hallowe'en Party

Okay, maybe it’s a few days late, but the Halloween party comparison does apply (even if I don’t write paranormals). At a good Halloween party you get to dress up. You get to pretend, be someone (or something) else. Maybe even try something new. It’s expected, encouraged, applauded even.

Writing is the same. In a good work of fiction, romantic or otherwise, it’s expected, encouraged and applauded if you can pull your readers in and make them forget about the real world around them for awhile and care about the characters—even want to know them or be them on some level. As a reader and a writer I live vicariously through the characters between the covers of the book. In fact, as a writer it’s even more fun sometimes because I can make my girls wear things I’d never pull off, say things I’d never dream of saying, go places I’ve always wanted to go, have sex in places I would never (probably) have sex… well, you get the idea. For instance, I had a heroine throw a cell phone at her boss—who hasn’t wanted to do something like that?

I had a hero who undressed the heroine in a store dressing room. Who hasn’t done something like… Anyway, the point is, reading and writing romance is a fun way to see what it’s like to be someone else for awhile and take a break from the real world. I wouldn’t tolerate some of the mega-alpha heroes in my life for long, or the spies who are always jetting off on secret missions, or the save-the-world-but-I’m-never-home-for-dinner guys—but for a few hundred pages I can definitely let my imagination wander. I think that’s one of the best things about all fiction really.

But it can be a tough balance—making characters relatable but also just enough larger than life to be fun to read about. They can’t be too over the top or they aren’t believable. But if they don’t do something a little bit beyond what Average Joe would do then we don’t care. Think about your favorite hero or heroine—what makes him or her real for you? And what makes them…even more? Are they fun, brave, confident, generous? For me, I love when the hero or heroine does something huge—a public spectacle—for the love of their life. Some of my favorite books have that scene. Because that’s something in my real world that doesn’t—and won’t—happen! :) What is something that will always turn you off of a character? Or turn you on?

Thanks for stopping by today! Come with me next week too! :)

(November 9th: http://ErinNicholas.blogspot.com)

Excerpt of No Matter What
by Erin Nicholas

(the cell phone scene :))

Adam wanted to keep her talking. He loved her voice, the look in her eyes and the few stolen moments where they were just a man and a woman getting to know one another. “If physical therapy is the perfect job for you,” he said, “Why were you working as a bartender when I found you?”

“Tony didn’t research that?” she asked.

“If he did, he didn’t tell me.”

“You didn’t ask?”

“I didn’t care.”

She looked at him for a several seconds. “You didn’t?”

“You were the best for Emily. That’s all that mattered.”

“Why does it matter now?”

It was his turn to think for a minute. “It doesn’t,” he finally admitted. “I was just curious.”

She gave him a little smile. “Then in that case, I’ll tell you.” She got up to refill her cup. “I resigned. The plan was for that to be temporary.” She turned to face him and leaned against the counter. “But then I threw my cell phone at my boss, gave him a black eye, and ended up fired…forever. Then I marched into a public ceremony and called the philanthropist of the year an asshole. Which means no one else will ever hire me.” She shrugged. “Except you, of course.”

Adam wasn’t sure what to say, or do. Blinking seemed to be all he could manage.

“I can’t believe you didn’t hear about it.”

He was thinking the same thing. “I’ve been…distracted,” he said as explanation.

“Still, you must know Dan McCormick. Surely you have acquaintances in common.”

“Dan McCormick?” A thought occurred to him. He’d heard Dan had been named something-of-the-year. “Dan’s the asshole?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” she said emphatically.

“But he was the one you publicly denounced?”

She nodded and sipped from her cup, watching him process what she’d told him.

“Wow.”

“Did you know that Dan and I were engaged?”

He stopped with his cup partway to his mouth. “You were engaged to Dan McCormick?”

“How did you know that I was the major fundraiser for the rehab wing at the hospital and came up a million dollars short but not know that the million was supposed to be my wedding present from Dan and when we broke up he took the money with him?”

The words, and their meaning, seemed to take an extremely long time to sink in. “Apparently Tony isn’t as good at research as I thought he was.”

More about Erin Nicholas

Want to know more about Erin? Well, you can visit her website www.ErinNicholas.com or learn more about her on her group blog NineNaughtyNovelists.blogspot.com or her personal blog ErinNicholas.blogspot.com. Or you can find out about her books over at Samhain: http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/erin-nicholas

And you can also follow her on Twitter or friend her on Facebook.

Note from Leah: Don't forget to leave your email addy in your comment (put spaces on either side of the @ sign so spammers don't harvest it) so Erin can contact you. Oh, and the contest will be open until 11:59 pm Sunday November 7 and the winner announced on Monday November 8th.

Gwen Campbell: Confessions of a Suburban Felon

2010-11-03T06:56:00.005-04:00

Meet Gwen Campbell

I am a criminal. I admit this without apology. Despite society’s pressures to be good, I wallow in the pursuit of lawlessness with delicious glee.

I walk my dog off leash in public parks. There. I’ve said it. It’s out in the open now, dear reader, and I confess my sin with pride.

Let me take you back to the beginning…

Three years ago, we adopted a dog from a rescue organization. He’s of indeterminate age and breed. The best description we’ve come up with is BBD—Big Black Dog. (PG rated photos of said BBD can be found at www.GwenCampbell.net He won’t pose for racy ones so don’t bother asking.)

Three years ago I was a good person. Responsible. Law abiding. I only drove five or so kilometers over the speed limit in town. I separated paper from glass. I didn’t wear white after Labour Day. That was all before the BBD came into our lives.

We’ve got a nifty wooded area a block from our house. On the other side of that, there’s a massive green space that backs onto two primary schools and two soccer pitches. Perfect for dog walking and the people in my neighbourhood walk their dogs, a lot.
Not everyone in my neighbourhood loves dogs, however.

Up until four months ago, there was a joyous peace between dog owners and the unwashed…I mean those without dogs. We picked up our dog’s poop. Their kind stuck to the playground, the paved path or cut across the soccer pitch to simply get from point A to B. We kept our dogs out of their way.

That system broke down when soccer season started and HE started coming around. The man. The heat. The white van patrol.

The by-law enforcement officer.

Apparently, somebody started phoning the by-law office, asking that the laws about unleashed pets be enforced.

That’s when WE took our criminal activities underground.

Oh we still break the law and love doing it. There are more of us than you’d imagine. Many, many more. These days, you’ll find us hanging out in the woods, huddled in furtive groups of eight to ten with our dogs running free around us. We still chat about the same things but now, our eyes move constantly. We’re always aware of where the exits are, how close we are to the paths that will let us make a speedy escape if HE shows up.

It’s with no small irony that, during those covert escapades, I think back on my misspent youth. How I’d slip out of the house before dusk, hang out with my friends in a woods or a field not so different from the one I do now. Somebody might have pilfered a beer from the fridge at home, and pass it around. We’d smoke cigarettes we were too young to buy legally.

Despite society’s pressures, like I said, I’m obviously a lifelong devotee of crime. Only now we sneak around so our dogs can run free. Unlike back when, however, I pick up my dog’s poop whereas I never picked up my cigarette butts.

Perhaps there’s hope for me yet. Gawd I hope not.

More about Gwen

If you want to know more about Gwen, visit her webpage where her dog has his own page!

Look for Gwen's latest book All Tomorrow's Halloween Parties from Shadowfire Pres.

Coming soon: Deliberate Deceptions, Hauberk Book #3

2010-11-02T00:10:00.002-04:00

You may have seen me announce this on Twitter and Facebook yesterday but since I'd already had yesterday's post up, I decided to wait until today to post the details. Because this type of news deserves a post all its own!

Remember I did a post called "Squee" back on October 15th where I said I was happy dancing? Well, that's because I'd just received an offer from my editor at Samhain Publishing. And now I can tell you the details because I just signed the contract to publish the next in the Hauberk series. Deliberate Deceptions will be book 3 and should be out around this time next year? (I'm guessing at that, I'll have more info for you as I find it out.)

But you'd figured it out already, right? Considering I've been saying I've been working on book four?

This is Chad's story -- and his heroine may not be who you expected after Personal Protection. Better keep the tissues handy when you read it, it's an angsty one. But I love it!

Here's my rough blurb, it'll be cleaned up by the blurb wizards at Samhain:

Death and deception destroyed their marriage. Can anything bring them together again?

Lauren Miller spent the past eight years trying to forget about her failed marriage. Haunted by grief and guilt, even putting her life on the line rescuing hostages from terrorist organizations didn’t work. Now a vengeful ex-operative intent on harming her puts her ex in danger too. And that’s something Lauren can never allow.

Chad Miller finds out too late that Hauberk Protections’ newest client is his ex-wife. Trapped in a remote safe house with the one woman he was never able to forget, he’s determined to hold Lauren at arms’ length. But the flames between them are still scorching hot and she's proving very hard to resist.

With all the secrets and lies surrounding them, can they find their way back to each other again?

Dance with me!

How do I know it's November?

2010-11-01T09:21:00.001-04:00

I woke up this morning to the thermometer in negative numbers and frost coating the grass and the cars for the first time this fall. It shouldn't surprise me. After all, it snowed for the first time yesterday.

And so begins our Canadian winter...six months of cold weather when I feel justified in hibernating in my office. Or in my family room with the fireplace going with a cup of hot chocolate. (In fact that sounds like a terrific idea for when I'm writing later.)

Out come the mitts and the hats and the winter coats. Out come the winter boots. And the snow shovels and the scrapers and brushes for the cars.

I still have to change over the calendar to reflect the new month--I'm not ready for it to be November yet. People are already announcing the number of shopping days left til Christmas. *gag*

Another sign I know it's November? The number of people talking about participating in NaNoWriMo.

What's NaNoWriMo you ask? It's short for National Novel Writing Month. Writers vow to write 1,667 words per day so that by the end of the month they have written 50,000 words.

Now since I write for my living, it's not a big deal for me. When I'm working on any first draft, I write a minimum of 2,000 words a day until the manuscript is finished. Yes, minimum. Some days I write up to 5,000 words a day, and rarely, on a really good day, 8,000 words.

But a lot of unpublished authors get excited by a new shiny idea. They sit down to write it but after that first blush of excitement passes, they run into the wall of "what happens next?" and they get stuck. They get frustrated. They get distracted by another bright shiny idea. They start working on that new story and shove the old project aside to work on "when it's talking to them again." Of course, it never does.

I went to a writers' conference a few years back and had the opportunity to talk to a lot of unpubbed writers. I think out of the dozen or more people I talked to one night, only one, maybe two of them had actually finished a manuscript through to the end. Almost all of them had multiple projects on the go--most between three and six, a couple guessed they had about twenty on the shelves, and one woman--97!

That's why at that publishing panel I was part of a couple weeks ago for the Toronto Romance Writers, we were each asked to give the audience one piece of advice. Mine? Finish your manuscript. You can have the best, most polished first three chapters imaginable, I continued. You can pitch it to an agent or an editor who will get all excited about it. But...the agent or the editor will need to read the entire story before they can offer you a contract.

So that's why NaNo exists. To get writers to put their butts in their chair and their hands on their keyboard and WRITE. To finish the damned book.

How do you do that when you hit that "what happens next" wall? Well, that'll be a post for another day.

Oh, and am I participating in NaNo? Yup. I'll be working on Troy's story, the next in the Hauberk series. Now technically you're supposed to start a new project for NaNo but as a published author with deadlines and contracts, that's just not possible. My starting wordcount is 9,932. By the end of the month, the story had better be at 59,932 OR the words THE END will be typed on the last page if I finish it off in less than 59K. (I'm not sure whether it'll take that many words to tell the story or not.) As part of making myself accountable to you, I'll be putting up a graphic on my sidebar so you can keep track of my progress.

What makes a "classic"?

2010-10-29T08:23:00.003-04:00

Last night on Twitter, fellow Carina Press author Marie Force asked for recommendations of movies that might become classics in the future. A short discussion ensued, and I mentioned Shakespeare in Love while Carina editor Deb Nemeth suggested Lord of the Rings.

But it got me thinking ...when does a book or a movie receive that 'classic' status? I think certain movies from the 50s have already passed the bench mark - Some Like It Hot anyone?

And what is the benchmark? For books is it that the book defines something in our society such as Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird? Is it numbers sold or that it got made into a movie or became part of our vernacular? Lord of the Rings definitely qualifies on all fronts and I definitely think it should rate 'classic' status. (Considering it was voted the Best Book of the Century in 1999, it probably does.)

For movies, is it based on box office receipts or Oscars -- because I have to object to Titanic ever being considered a classic, despite its records box office receipts or the number of Oscars it received. (I must admit to laughing through the last half of it, begging the writer--Canadian James Cameron--to please please please give Rose something to say other than "Jack"! OMG That could have turned into a case of alcohol poisoning if I'd used that as a drinking game.) Or is it that there's a message embedded? Will Thelma and Louise become a 'classic'? Or The Terminator?

So tell me, what movies or books released since...oh, let's arbitrarily say since 1970, do you think should qualify as being future classics?

As Seen In Meg Benjamin's Head

2010-10-27T00:23:00.006-04:00

Meet Meg Benjamin

My newest book for Samhain, Brand New Me (released December 7), takes place largely in a bar owned by the hero. I know just what that bar looks like because it’s based on a restaurant/bar the hubs and I used to frequent in the Hill Country. I also know just what Docia Toleffson’s bookstore looks like as well as the converted barn where she lives with Cal Toleffson. I know all of these places because, of course, I created them and did my best to describe them to my readers. Coming up with mental images of my settings when I write is usually no problem. I write about places like the Hill Country that I know pretty well, so I’ve got a lot of possibilities to choose from.

But what happens when I’m reading somebody else’s book and I have to picture their settings in my mind? I blush to admit it, but it doesn’t matter how well the author describes the place—the mental images I usually end up with are most frequently based on places that are already cluttering up my brain.

Take apartments, for example. The first apartment I ever saw belonged to my grandmother in Wichita, Kansas. Oddly enough, even now when I read a book that’s set in an apartment, my mental image is frequently based on that rather cramped old lady space. Alternatively, it may be the first apartment the hubs and I lived in when we were grad students in Seattle. All the Stephanie Plum novels have taken place there for some reason, which is sort of difficult because it was a lot further off the ground floor than Stephanie’s place in Janet Evanovich’s novels.
Stories set in houses frequently end up in the house where I grew up. Grand dining halls in regency historicals often shrink down to the table for eight and the built-in china cabinet where my mother used to keep her Fiesta ware.

School rooms are relatively easy—they tend to be in one of the places where I taught. Urban settings sometimes draw on cities where I spent some time: Seattle or Philadelphia or San Antonio, for example. But sometimes they get reduced down to Wichita, which has occasionally subbed in my brain for Los Angeles or New York City.

Let me say here that this tendency of my mind to supply familiar settings has nothing to do with the ability of individual authors to describe their settings. The author may do her job quite skillfully, and I love a meticulous description as much as anybody, but my mind is still going to go straight to a setting I recognize as the story progresses.

I have no idea why my mind works this way, or if it’s just me. I’d guess it’s because I’m too busy following the story to take the time to manufacture a totally new mental image to go along with whatever the author is trying to describe. Classic mysteries, with their meticulous descriptions of the locked room where the murder took place, used to drive me crazy because I could never really picture the action as happening anywhere but my standard settings, and in a lot of books by people like John Dickson Carr, the solution to the mystery depended on having a solid mental image of the room where the murder took place.

So hey, you guys who are really great at descriptions, I appreciate the hell out of what you’re trying to do. But the sad fact is, as far as my reader’s imagination is concerned, your story takes place in my granny’s apartment.

So am I the only one who does this? Does everybody else build a new mental image for each book? Or do you find your brain returning to those same old familiar places time after time?

Long Time Gone
by Meg Benjamin

A future with the woman of his dreams is within his grasp…if the past will stay that way.

Konigsburg, Book 4

Erik Toleffson wasn’t looking to become Chief of Police. He’s got enough trouble trying to rebuild his relationship with his three brothers who, until just recently, ran the other way when he approached. He’s not the bully they grew up with, but bad memories are tough to overcome.

Morgan Barrett is as worn out as a vat full of crushed grape skins. She never planned to run Cedar Creek Winery, but there’s no one else to shoulder the load as her father recovers from an injury. All she needs is a little sleep. Just a five-minute nap in the booth at the Dew Drop Inn…if that guy across the bar would stop staring at her as if putting her head down on the table is a crime.

After Morgan yawns in Erik’s face, there’s nowhere to go but up. With time, though, their relationship warms like a perfectly blended Bordeaux. Until the shady mayor digs into Erik’s past and dredges up information that could drive a permanent wedge between him and his brothers—and sour any chance of a future with Morgan.
Warning: Contains hot sex with mango sherbet, crooked politicians, yuppie bikers, Bored Ducks, and a Maine Coon Cat with attitude.

Buy it at My Bookstore and More and other ebook retailers.

More about Meg

Meg Benjamin is the author of the Konigsburg series for Samhain Publishing. Book #4, Long Time Gone, was a Romantic Times Top Pick for Contemporary, and book #5, Brand New Me, will be released by Samhain on December 7. Meg lives in Colorado with her DH and two rather large Maine coon kitties (well, partly anyway).

Meg’s Web site is http://www.MegBenjamin.com. You can follow her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/meg.benjamin1), MySpace (myspace.com/megbenjamin), and Twitter (http://twitter.com/megbenj1). Meg loves to hear from readers—contact her at meg @ megbenjamin.com.

Teasers and first impressions

2010-10-26T12:31:00.001-04:00

You know yesterday's post and how it ended with a picture of Karl Urban? Well, Gizmo Guy reads my blog. And raised an eye brow at the Yummy comment I'd left below Karl's picture. (he was smiling, don't worry.)

I started plotting book #4...oh, ages ago. And as part of the writing process, I gather pictures of people that I can envision as my characters. Over a year ago -- long before I saw the new Star Trek movie -- I collected the picture of Karl I used yesterday. (I've kinda had a thing for him ever since I saw him as Eomer in The Two Towers. Man, he looks good with long blonde hair. And he can act too!) Then on the weekend we went to see Red and OMG I just KNEW that I'd cast the right man as Troy, because the character Karl plays in Red is very similar to Troy.

So I figured I'd give Gizmo Guy some things to smile about today. By sharing some pictures of my inspiration for the heroines for Book #3 and my current WIP which, if my editor likes it, will become book #4 in the series.

My heroine in book #3 is named Lauren. She's a strong kick-ass former FBI-now secret agent/hostage negotiator. As well as Chad's ex-wife. The two of them have to battle not only a threat from outside but each other. Is it any wonder I was inspired by Ashley Judd (we'd watched a lot of her in Double Jeopardy).

And for my yet untitled Book #4? Well, the heroine is Sam's assistant, Sandy. If you've read Personal Protection, does she match what you envisioned?

So often we're told, that we're judged by first appearances. So what do these pictures tell you of Sandy?

Conclusion of my terminology lecture

2010-10-25T20:41:00.000-04:00

It's still Monday, so I'm not posting this late. Exactly. I decided to put my writing before my blog posts today.

I'm going to try to wind up my publishing terminology posts today. I let my "teacher" side run wild last week...sorry.

While your editor is working on edits, there is a lot of other work to be done too. There are blurbs (or that short story introduction you read on the back cover of a book, usually referred to as "Back Cover Copy" or BCC.) Sometimes an author has input on this, sometimes not. It's a tough job to try to condense a story into a thousand characters or so (the limit Carina books have) and still convey the conflict and romance that a reader would want to buy it over another choice.

There's the cover to be dreamed up -- some publishers send the author an artwork sheet to fill out where they can describe the physical attributes of their characters (hair color, skin tone, height, anything that might be useful if a body is to be used in the artwork), any special symbols -- should the hero (or heroine) have a tattoo, and where. Does the heroine need to be wearing pearls or a broach of some significance to the story. Is it paranormal? Should there be a hint of wings or fangs or a tail? Again, depending upon the publishing house the author may have absolutely no input, this will be done by the overworked editor -- don't forget they're usually working on multiple books by multiple authors at the same time. While you'll often see an author squeeing over their beautiful new covers, there are also plenty of horror stories floating around about horrible covers. Just ask Lynn Viehl about her flourescent pink hero, or Christina Dodd about her three armed heroine. Yup, totally out of the authors' hands with some houses. I've been thinking about inviting a cover artist on to talk about how she goes about creating a cover. Would you be interested?

POD or Print On Demand: The larger publishers automatically print their books -- look at all those books in the bookstores and libraries, after all. But smaller publishers such as Samhain, while they do print some of their books, offer their books as Print On Demand or POD. This means that they don't print it until they have an order. It saves on warehousing and printing costs. The larger publishers may have a print run of 5,000 books (usually more) and if only 1,000 sell they have to do something with the extra 4,000. Usually destroy them, or offer them at a bargain basement cost (called remaindering which I'll explain below.) But they've already paid money for the printer to print them and the warehouse to store them.

Remaindered Books: For a better explanation, check this Wiki article. These are the books you find in the Half-Price book stores, or for bargain basement prices. As in $2 for a hardcover. Yeah, the author doesn't see much if any royalties from these ones.

Stripped book: As much as I hate to think about it, the bookstores do not keep all those beautiful copies of the books they receive. If they order in five copies of a book and only one sells, they can only keep the other four copies on the shelf for so long before they need to free up the space for new books that might sell. With paperbacks, they strip the cover off the book and return it to the publisher to prove they've not sold it. The rest of the book, sans cover, is tossed into the garbage. Yup. Thrown away. (That's why books often have a warning on the inside pages: "If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book."" It's another form of piracy.

There are a million other terms out there, but my brain's running on empty. Got any you've heard that left you scratching your head?

Oh, just thought of one last term you may see me use: WIP - Work In Progress. Which is funny because I used to use that term for my sewing projects too. I've got three WIPS on the go right now, though only one I'm actively writing on, that's a Hauberk Book #4, a yet untitled project but it follows Troy (whom you haven't met...yet, though he was mentioned in Personal Protection.) Want to know whose picture I have posted up over my monitor for inspiration?


Karl Urban

Yummy

Busy Busy Busy

2010-10-24T12:51:00.001-04:00

Just popping my head in to say hey! It's been a hellabusy week on so many fronts.

On the "Real Life" front: On Tuesday, the Jeep Gizmo Guy bought 29 days before (used, not brand new) was making a funny noise so he took it into the garage for them to look at. Which meant he needed to use my car to get to work until he got his back. Except I needed my car because Curly's been sick and not getting better and I needed to get him to the doctor. So (this gets confusing, try to keep up!) Wednesday I had to drive Gizmo Guy into work, then come home and phone the doctor who told me to come right in which meant we had to sit in his waiting room for an hour before we got to see him, but still I'm thankful we got in on such short notice. Turned out Curly's cold has turned into pneumonia, and we were sent to the X-ray lab for another hour long wait. Since he's feeling pretty lousy, I drove him home (it was noon by then) and dropped him off while I went to fill his antibiotic prescription and then pick up Gizmo Guy and go to our optometrist appointment. Good news there -- Gizmo Guy's eyes have actually gotten better since his diabetes diagnosis. The optometrist said that high sugar levels cause the lens of the eye to swell, so when the sugar levels drop they return to normal. Bad news, my eyes have worsened which means yet another pair of new glasses. Minor in the grand scheme of things, but annoying when the savings account has been drained to replace the car Guitar Hero crashed back in the spring.

Anyway, we got home from the optometrists at 4 pm to find a message from Gizmo Guy's car guy to say his Jeep is a write-off. Apparently whoever sold it to them had bodged something or other and the frame had actually cracked and was hanging down. Yeah, that was a real WTF moment. How the heck did it pass the safety inspection in the first place? But the phone call meant a trip to their garage out in another town to take a look at the Jeep, then a trip back to our town to talk to the salesman who luckily (both for us and for him) didn't try to play hardball and try the old Caveat Emptor routine but agreed to give us our money back.

Because he knew I needed my own wheels, and because he'd fallen in love with having a 4-wheel drive for the winter, Gizmo Guy wanted to go car shopping. Which meant a trip to the various dealerships around. So he found another Jeep, this one a year newer than the last, in another dealership in yet another farther-away town and put the money down on that, along with the last of our savings. (Akkk) We arrived home at about 8 p.m. Which meant not much writing got done.

BUT Gizmo Guy's now got his new Jeep now, Curly's on his antibiotics, and I think he's feeling better. Sorta. It's hard to tell considering he's still hacking and coughing. But he's eating better now which I'm taking as a good sign. And I've ordered a pair of new glasses which means I won't have to be playing shove-the-chair-back-while-enlarging-the-monitor-font-to-200% for much longer.

On the writing front: You're probably wondering when I'm going to tell you why I was happy dancing last week and the week before. I really can't say much other than I've received two offers from my two publishers on two stories I've submitted to them. But I don't really want to say much more than that until I have the contracts. *Fingers crossed all the contract stuff goes through well* Once everything's in place, I'll be able to give you more details. But it's also created an interesting dilemma. Which book do I write for which series next?

And also on the writing front, the great people over at Bitten by Paranormal Romance have created the Top Bite award for "Excellent Books read in 2010" I'm thrilled that Texas Tangle has been included on their list even though it's not paranormal.

Oh, and don't forget that the two contests I'm participating in are still ongoing. But time is running out on them both. There's the Spook-a-palooza contest to win a Kindle, put on by the Samhain authors on the Samhellion site. I'm also giving away a print copy of Personal Protection in the Raven Hallowe'en Hunt. You've got a week left to enter. Go to the sites, follow the directions to enter. Get cracking. (You can click on the links above, or on the graphics on my sidebar.)