Cynthia Owens – Q&A + Giveaway!

December 6, 2013 by 8 Comments

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Cynthia will be awarding a signed print copy of “Deceptive Hearts,” Book I of The Wild Geese Series (Keeper of the Light is Book II), and a handmade beaded bookmark (US/Canada only) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a GRAND PRIZE of a sterling silver Claddagh necklace will be awarded to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. (US/Canada only)

Welcome Cynthia Owens to Long and Short Reviews. Let’s all give her a big LASR welcome!

Where is your favorite place to write?

I’m one of those lucky people who can write just about anywhere. I have an office at home, but since my computer is a laptop, I can take it anywhere, and I often do. It also depends on the season. In the summer I like work outside in my gazebo, listening to the wind sighing through the trees and the birds singing and the bees buzzing. On a cold winter evening, I’ll sit in my living room with the lights turned on low and write there. Of course, it’s nights like those that I wish I had a fireplace, but maybe next house. ;)

What do you have to have with you when you write?

My laptop, my headphones so I can listen to music (usually Irish music, since my characters are mainly Irish and all my stories have an Irish flavor), and a notebook and pen for noting research questions. Oh, and a cup of Barry’s Gold Blend tea. I’m partial to Barry’s because it was the first tea I had when I arrived in Ireland.

Why did you pick the light to have a keeper rather then a crystal, or something from mythology?

In Keeper of the Light, the “light” refers to Turtle Island’s Spirit Lighthouse. My heroine, Laura Bainbridge, lives there with her father, and it’s Laura who finds my hero, Cathal Donnelly, washed up unconscious on her island.

What would you like our readers to know?

I love to hear from my readers! I read each and every e-mail I receive, and every comment on my Facebook page. I also try to answer all of them. I enjoy interacting with my readers, and finding out what they like about my books—and even what they didn’t like. Readers can contact me via my Facebook page, or e-mail me at authorcynthiaowens@gmail.com

Cover_Keeper of the Light…Like the Wild Geese of Old Ireland, five boys grew to manhood despite hunger, war, and the mean streets of New York…

She was everything he despised…but he didn’t know it

Cathal Donnelly washed up on the shores of an Atlantic island one stormy night, with no memory of who he was or why he was there. But is his lovely rescuer his salvation…or his doom?

She dreamed of a very different life

Laura Bainbridge has spent her entire life on tiny Turtle Island, but she dreams of a Season in London and a presentation to Queen Victoria. Can a handsome Irish stranger with a golden tongue and a disturbing past change her heart and convince her to stay?

As Cathal’s memory slowly returns, both he and Laura must come to grips with his painful past…and fight for a future free of hatred and loss.

 

AuthorPicI believe I was destined to be interested in history. One of my distant ancestors, Thomas Aubert, reportedly sailed up the St. Lawrence River to discover Canada some 26 years before Jacques Cartier’s 1534 voyage. Another relative was a 17thCentury “King’s Girl,” one of a group of young unmarried girls sent to New France (now the province of Quebec) as brides for the habitants (settlers) there.

My passion for reading made me long to write books like the ones I enjoyed, and I tried penning sequels to my favorite Nancy Drew mysteries. Later, fancying myself a female version of Andrew Lloyd Weber, I drafted a musical set in Paris during WWII.

A former journalist and lifelong Celtophile, I enjoyed a previous career as a reporter/editor for a small chain of community newspapers before returning to my first love, romantic fiction. My stories usually include an Irish setting, hero or heroine, and sometimes all three. I’m the author of The Claddagh Series, historical romances set in Ireland and beyond. The first three books in The Claddagh Series, In Sunshine or in Shadow, Coming Home, and Playing For Keeps, are all available from Highland Press. Deceptive Hearts, the first book in The Wild Geese Series, has just been released, and Book II, Keeper of the Light, will soon be released in October, 2013.

I am a member of the Romance Writers of America, Hearts Through History Romance Writers, and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers. A lifelong resident of Montreal, Canada, I still live there with my own Celtic hero and our two teenaged children.

Website: http://authorcynthiaowens.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCynthiaOwens

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cynwrites1

Buy Links:

Amazon -
http://www.amazon.com/Keeper-Light-Cynthia-Owens/dp/0989526240/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381338568&sr=1-2&keywords=Keeper+of+the+Light

Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/Keeper-Light-Wild-Geese-ebook/dp/B00FNWAUR8/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1381338644&sr=1-2&keywords=Keeper+of+the+Light

Barnes & Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/keeper-of-the-light-cynthia-owens/1117049176?ean=9780989526241

Nook
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/keeper-of-the-light-cynthia-owens/1117049176?ean=2940148374541

Smashwords
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/364913

Chapters
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/keeper-of-the-light/9780989526241-item.html?ikwid=keeper+of+the+light+cynthia+owens&ikwsec=Home&gcs_requestid=0CMC8zrX8i7oCFUkC5wodfmkAAA

The Book Depository
http://www.bookdepository.com/Keeper-Light-Cynthia-Owens/9780989526241

Booksamillion
http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Keeper-Light/Cynthia-Owens/9780989526241?id=5813980976169

Foyle’s
http://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/keeper-of-the-light,owens-cynthia-9780989526241

Powell’s Books
http://www.powells.com/biblio/61-9780989526241-1

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Romance Tagged With: , ,

Super Book Blast: The Girl from Long Guyland by Lara Reznik –Giveaway

December 6, 2013 by 4 Comments

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This post is a part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly drawn commenter will win a $50 Amazon gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

EXCITING NEWS: Tomorrow only (December 7), The Girl from Long Guyland will be on sale for only 99 cents!

MEDIA KIT GFLI_New_Ebook_Cover_v2.0 Laila Levin enjoys a successful marriage and a thriving career as an I.T. executive in Austin, Texas, but she can’t quite shake her lifelong sense of not truly belonging anywhere.

When her company announces a major layoff, Laila finds herself caught between an unscrupulous CEO and her promiscuous boss. Then news of her college roommate’s suicide stirs up a dark secret involving three devious friends from her past. One has betrayed a vow, another wants to rekindle their romance, and the third is out for revenge.

Suddenly for Laila, it’s 1969 again. She’s only seventeen, and she’s left her sheltered home in Long Island for college in Connecticut. Amid protests of the Vietnam War, she’s tempted by the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll that rule her generation. Laila gets swept up in a deceptive love triangle with two older locals and initiated into their unethical hippie family. Too late she realizes her search to belong has led to tragedy.

Laila must now juggle the demands of her perplexed husband and her baby boomer past forcing her to make choices that endanger her survival and challenge her conscience.

She learns that the lines between right and wrong are often blurred, and sometimes you have to risk everything to be true to yourself.

Enjoy an excerpt:

Easy Rider

Bridgeport, Connecticut, 1969

The guy in the passenger seat of the Mercedes ordered Joey and me to get into the back seat of the car. He had a bushy mustache streaked with grey, and a sparkling diamond stud in his ear. He brushed my cheek with his finger and said, “I’m Angel,” then poked the driver’s arm. “Get a move on.”

I caught the driver winking at me in the rearview mirror and realized it was Rojo.

“You got it, boss.” Rojo said, and stepped on the gas pedal.

I clung to the plush leather seat as Rojo sped the car down the icy roads.

Angel turned up the volume of the radio and sang along to Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” in an off-key raspy voice. When the song ended, he leered at me through rimless spectacles. “So, what’s a nice girl from Long Guyland doing with a couple of jerks like Ben and Chris?”

Did he know I’d been with both of them? Did everyone know?

I-I guess I’m not as nice as you might think.”

Angel laughed. He had perfect white-chicklet teeth and a sexy smile. “You’re cute, honey.”

Joey cleared his throat. “Laila’s a classy chick. Too good for those dudes, if you ask me.”

Angel whacked Joey’s head with his hand. Not hard, but enough to show he called the shots.

“No one asked you, jerk-face. Let her speak for herself.”

About the Author:MEDIA KIT Laura bluebonnets 2009Lara Reznik grew up on Long Island but escaped to New Mexico in 1970 in a Karmann Ghia that she and her boyfriend jump-started cross-country. As an English major at the University of New Mexico, Lara studied under esteemed authors Rudolfo Anaya and the late Tony Hillerman. She also attended a summer program at the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop.

Ambidextrous from birth, Lara preferred her right-brained creative side, but discovered she could make a better living with her left-brain skills, so entered the I.T. field in 1985.

Lara published her first novel, The Girl From Long Guyland in November 2012. The novel ranked #1 during its recent Amazon Kindle promotion and has over 115,000 Kindle downloads. In addition to her novels, Lara has written and optioned three screenplays that have garnered semifinalist and finalist wins in the Austin Heart of Film, Southwest Writers, TV Writer, Chesterfield and Writer’s Digest contests. Currently, Lara is working on a new novel based on her screenplay, The M&M Boys.

Buy the book at Amazon.

Facebook ~ Website

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Romance Tagged With: , , ,

Gentleman Prefer Mischief by Emily Greenwood

December 6, 2013 by 1 Comment

12_6 emily greenwood book coverThank you so much for having me here today to celebrate the release of GENTLEMEN PREFER MISCHIEF!

The hardest part about writing is…

Coming up with the overall structure of the story. Sometimes I might even have the right elements, but they’re in the wrong order and need to be rewritten. Also, actions tell so much about a character, and sometimes I’ll accidentally make a character unlikeable by forcing him or her do something because of a need to make the plot go in a certain direction. Fortunately, that kind of thing is usually fixed in the editing.

Where do ideas come from?

For me, a story usually starts with something about character. A compulsion, a flaw, a passion—whatever might drive a person. And then I start asking myself questions about that character.

For GENTLEMEN PREFER MISCHIEF, I knew my hero, Hal, already because he made an appearance in my first book, A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF. He’s a handsome rogue who loves to tease and is always looking for the next adventure. I wanted a heroine who would both complement and challenge him, so I came up with Lily, who’s a pretty uptight woman, though she has a heart of gold. So there’s instant conflict between them, related to what each values and seeks, and that gets the story going.

To develop the story further, I think about the opposite of a character’s traits, the things a character most wants to avoid, whether they know it or not. For someone like Lily who’s very moral, that might be avoiding indulgence, or even shame. Then I give the character goals related to their traits—in Lily’s case, perhaps trying to do good and avoid shame.

Balancing life and writing

I do sometimes find this hard—for one thing, writing can be a way of escaping all the things I don’t want to do, like filling out forms, running errands, and tidying the house. For the most part, I find that after about four hours of writing, I’m not much good anymore, so I do the writing first thing in the morning and leave the rest of the day for other things.

What kind of writer am I?

Slow. Because I often don’t see what isn’t going to work until I write it, I have to throw away a lot of work. I feel that I got better as a writer when I started to throw things away sooner.

Lessons I learned from my hero

Live a little! Hal, the hero of GENTLEMEN PREFER MISCHIEF, is all about enjoying himself. He, unlike Lily, doesn’t need everything to be worthwhile. I think in our society, there is such an emphasis on accomplishment and doing—as if we are all going to get a prize at the end of life for doing the most—that we can forget to just be, and to enjoy.

What would you tell a new author?

Be patient and persevere! For almost everyone, it takes years to get good enough at writing and storytelling to create something compelling. Even authors I love, if I go back and read their earliest work, it’s obvious how they’ve improved over time. By writing and studying the craft and putting your work in front of critical (and helpful!) readers, you will improve.

Pondering the muse

I don’t believe in the muse. Writing is work. Sometimes I am just forcing words onto the page that are never going to be used, but I put them down because they’re something. Sometimes I even write yuck in the middle of awful paragraphs, knowing that they’re incredibly stupid and not working, but that I have to push on. Nothing about that process feels to me like a visit from a muse, but it’s how my books get written.

My take on critique groups

They can be super-helpful. I worked with a critique group early on and their comments helped me improve way faster that I would have on my own. Never mind the difference a little encouragement can make to a beginning writer!

How to handle negative criticism

It depends. I’m always hoping to improve, so I’m grateful for editorial comments. As for negative criticism in reviews—if there’s something useful there, I try to consider it for the next book. But some criticism is from readers who just don’t like the kind of stories I tell or the kind of characters that interest me, so I don’t spend much thought on those.

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Romance Tagged With:

Super Book Blast and Giveaway: Ride a Cowboy by Desiree Holt

December 5, 2013 by 8 Comments

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Desiree will be awarding a $50 GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

12_5 Cover_RideACowboy (2)Two hot stories in one hot volume

Back In The Saddle

When Molly Hayes’ marriage fell apart, she ran home to Hayes Ranch to lick her wounds. What she really wants to lick is foreman Chance McDaniel, the star of all her erotic fantasies. But he had never given her the time of day. Why would he give her his nights?

Kink is a mild term for the kind of sex Chance McDaniel enjoys. But he’s learned the hard way not all women can handle his darker desires. He aches to give Molly the ride of her life but fears she’ll shy away from his wilder ways.

Will the past become a stumbling block or will both Molly and Chance, once wounded, climb back in the saddle?

Eight Second Ride

Jessie Wade is a tough as nails sheriff until bull rider Kyle Mitchell ends up in her jail. With his bone-melting good looks and seductive voice, he knocks Jessie’s defenses down one by one and awakens the sensuous woman she’s hidden beneath her uniform. But Jessie can’t afford to be soft. Or allow herself to fall for a cowboy who’s never in one town longer than it takes to ride a bull.

Kyle never backs down from a challenge, but after a passionate night with Jessie, he realizes there’s a hell of a woman behind the handcuffs and badge. Can Kyle convince Jessie he can take her for more than an eight-second ride?

Read an excerpt from “Eight Second Ride”:

Kyle Mitchell wanted to pry his eyes open but someone was pounding a drum inside his head so hard he was afraid to see daylight. Not only that, but whatever he was lying on was harder than a concrete floor and killing his back. He needed aspirin and coffee in large supply. He tried to raise his hands to press them against his aching temples but something jerked his right hand and prevented him from lifting it. Now he opened his eyes. And wished he hadn’t.

Unfortunately this wasn’t the first jail cell he’d been in, but he was pretty sure it was the worst. And he was pretty sure it hadn’t been modernized in the last fifty years. One wall consisted of the usual arrangement of bars with a portion of it hinged for a door. The sleeping arrangement, rather than a crummy cot that would have been a vast improvement, was a flat piece of wood with a mattress on it so thin he was sure he’d be able to see through it. And it was the kind that pulled down from the wall on chains.

And speaking of chain, he yanked at his right hand again and discovered he was handcuffed to one length of chain.

Damn! What the hell had happened? What had he gotten himself into now?

Squinting against the brightness of the light from the ceiling lights he looked down the length of his body.

Boots. Check.

Jeans. Check.

He clapped his left hand over his waist in a sudden panic.

Champion belt buckle! Okay! Check.

Shirt. Check.

He rubbed a hand over his square jaw, feeling the stubble of yesterday’s beard growth. Testing everywhere on his face he discovered his nose was tender but not broken, but the rest of his face felt as if a bull had stomped on it.

Wait. Was that what had happened? The last thing he remembered was lasting the full eight seconds on Sodbuster before landing in the dirt of the rodeo arena. Everything else was a blur.

“Well. It looks like you’re finally awake.”

The voice was pure music, soft, with a faint drawl. Squinting through the bars he thought for a minute his heart was going to stop beating. In the hallway looking in at him was about five-foot-four of the most breathtaking woman he’d ever seen. Dark blonde curls tumbled down to her shoulders, framing a lightly tanned face with emerald green eyes peeking out from thick, thick lashes. The stiff fabric of the uniform shirt she wore couldn’t conceal the lush ripeness of her breasts any more than the pants hid her mouthwatering curves.

But what really shook him up was the star gleaming from its place of prominence on her shirt, right over one of those nicely rounded breasts.

Holy hell! This was the sheriff?

He looked at her and something inside turned over. He had an urgent need to see this woman naked in his bed, but not the way he did with the usual women he rolled in the sheets with. Not an eight-second ride and done. No, even in his pitiful condition he could imagine making slow, soul-searing love to her. Everything from his balls to his brain went on instant alert.

About the Author:12_5 AuthorPic (2)Known the world over as The Oldest Living Erotica Author, Desiree Holt proves every day that she is more than the sum of her years and more than the grandmother who plays with Barbie and Ken dolls: She is The Hardest Working Erotica Author, producing one novel or more each month—and sending her readers and reviewers into rhapsodies about her five star storytelling.

How did she become so prolific? She counts innumerable rich experiences in her long life, including years in the music business representing every kind of artist from country singer to heavy metal rock bands. For several years she also ran her own public relations agency handling any client who interested her. Many did. Many became genuine characters whom she refashioned as heroes and heroines to live within the pages of her novels.

Her imagination does her proud. She is twice a finalist for an EPIC E-Book Award, a nominee for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, winner of the first 5 Heart Sweetheart of the Year Award at The Romance Studio as well as twice a CAPA Award for best BDSM book of the year, winner of the Holt Medallion, multiple winner of the Whipped Cream Book of the Week Award and is published by five different houses. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today and numerous other national publications.

“Desiree Holt is the most amazing erotica author of our time and each story is more fulfilling then the last.” (Romance Junkies)

Learn more about her and read her novels here:

www.desireeholt.com

www.desiremeonly.com

www.facebook.com/desireeholtauthor

Twitter @desireeholt

Pinterest: desiree02holt

Also on LinkedIn and Google+

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Guest Blogs Tagged With: , , ,

Collen Kwan – Q&A and giveaway

December 5, 2013 by 7 Comments

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Coleen will be awarding a $10 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Today, we welcome Coleen Kwan to Long and Short Reviews. Let’s all give her a big LASR welcome!

I have some questions for you that are writer specific as well as some fun stuff so that we can really get to know the real you. *grin* Plus we will finish things off with round of Think Fast. Ready to begin?

Writing Specific
Tell us something about yourself that’s not in your bio.

I worked in IT for many years and have a degree in Computing Science but in my first year at university I flunked the computing science course! Luckily my grades improved the following year.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

These days I never seem to have enough time to read. When I read I often feel guilty that I should be writing instead. So reading has become my guilty but necessary pleasure.

How did you choose the genres you write in?

I would say by accident. I haven’t planned my writing career at all! I enjoy both contemporary romance and steampunk romance, so that’s how I end up writing both.

Is there any particular author or book that has influenced you or your writing?

I love reading Alicia Rasley’s advice on writing. She’s definitely had an influence on my writing. I try not to think about other authors or books when I’m writing as I’m always striving to find my own voice, and I worry about subconsciously mimicking others.

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

I had an editor reject a submission with some pretty harsh language. It made me wonder if I should quit writing altogether. Fortunately, I’ve also had some lovely compliments from readers and reviewers. I love comments like “I had a hard time putting it [the book] down to go to bed” or “the ending gave me goosebumps.”

Fun Stuff

If you could have dinner with anyone, past or present, fictional or real, who would it be and why?

I would love to have dinner with the Crawley family from Downton Abbey in their ancestral castle. I’d love to dress up and share one of their elegant meals, though I’m sure I’d commit some shocking social faux pas!

You are going to be stranded on a deserted island and bring 3 luxury items. What would they be?

A hair dryer, because without one my hair is just horrible. An air-conditioner, because I can’t sleep without one in the heat. An endless supply of chocolate.

Pick two celebrities to be your parents. Who are they and why?

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, a talented and beautiful couple.

What would we find in your refrigerator right now?

Roast chicken, lettuce, tomato, Coke.

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?

Housework is Overrated.

Think Fast

Summer or Winter?

Winter.

Coffee or Tea?

Tea!

Cake or Pie?

Cake, especially chocolate cake.

Car or Truck?

Car.

Print or Electronic?

Electronic. Quicker, cheaper, smaller.

Thanks for coming by and spending some time with us. Any final words of wisdom to pass along?

Thanks for having me today. My final words: Read a book!

About the Author:12_5 ColeenKwanHeadshot2 (2)Coleen Kwan has been a bookworm all her life. At school English was her favorite subject, but for some reason she decided on a career in IT. After many years of programming, she wondered what else there was in life — and discovered writing. She loves writing contemporary romance and steampunk romance.

Coleen lives in Sydney, Australia with her partner and two children. When she isn’t writing she enjoys avoiding housework, eating chocolate, and watching Criminal Minds.

www.ColeenKwan.com ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads

12_5 Baiting the Boss-500 (2)For years Grace Owens harbored a secret crush on her boss, Jack Macintyre, the heir to the Macintyre Corporation. But after tragedy upends his life, Jack relocates to a remote tropical island, cutting off all contact with his past. Now Grace’s new boss issues an ultimatum: return Jack to the family fold or pack her briefcase and move on.

When Grace turns up at Jack’s bungalow, he can’t deny his attraction to the fiery woman determined to lure him out of his tropical paradise. He lets her bait him with temptation, but little does she know that returning to his old life is not an option—he’s nobody’s boss, and he likes it that way. Grace is playing a game she can’t win.

Or can she? Will Jack give up his island paradise to help Grace keep her job? If he stays, she’ll lose her job. But if he goes, she’ll lose her heart.

Buy the book at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Romance Tagged With: , , ,

Thoughts from Susanna Ives

December 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Where do ideas come from and character creation.

Sometimes, the initial germ of a story starts when I write page or so with no preconceived destination—just a splattering of words. Then I look at which characters turn up in the mess. I don’t “see” them, I feel them. I think Stephen King once advised writers not to worry so much about how characters look because readers will see them the way they want.

Once I have a thread of an idea, my theater background kicks in. I start building the characters, digging deep to discover their primal drives and needs. This requires knowing their childhood traumas or conditioning. It’s important to understand what a character subconsciously needs, because it forms the arc of that character and the resolution or healing that the two love interests must find together. I typically have to write an entire draft before I get a firm grasp on the characters, so that could mean a great deal of revision. And sometimes those pesky characters decide to reveal critical information about themselves on page three hundred of the draft. Typically, it is an “a-ha” moment that elucidates everything that came before, but it would have helped to have known it on page twenty. Alas, that’s the writing process.

Pondering the muse

I believe in caffeine and chocolate, but I’m not sure about muses. Steven Pressfield, in his wonderful book The War of Art, advises a writer to show up for her work, set conducive conditions for the muse, and hope that she appears. But in case she doesn’t, I have caffeine and chocolate.

Researching tips

I’ve made wonderful friends with historians, who have been very kind to me. I’m also in several historical writing organizations, including RWA’s special interest chapter The Beau Monde, which are chock full of talented writers who are passionate about history.

I’m not so interested in what actually happened in history or its celebrities, but how it felt to live in a particular time and place. I think a great deal of our psychology is influenced by the context of our surroundings. So setting is a powerful unspeaking force, shaping the story and its characters. Readers want to be transported into that setting for the duration for their reading session, so creating vivid, real historical worlds requires researching the minutia. It can quite painful for an hour of research to be reduced to a single sentence describing the painted wallpaper but such is life for an historical writer. We’re geeks for this kind of stuff.

I’ve been known to make some tremendous research blunders, but the creativity required to dig myself out of those situations has created some outside-the-box interesting plots. I realize that I’m not going to get every detail correct, nor do I want to. There are some attitudes and prejudices from the past that I simply do not want in my stories.

I always remind myself to keep researching. Sometimes the most fascinating stories are born from random, obscure pieces of history that you stumble upon.

What kind of writer am I?

I muddle through with a whatever-works-as-long-as-it’s-legal attitude. In graduate school, we studied a circular model of software development. I’m sure it’s outdated now, and I can’t remember all the specific terms for the development phases. However, for writing, I’m constantly spiraling through the stages of conception to implementation and back to conception. Each time I make the circle, I refine the story a bit more.

Sometimes during the writing process, it feels like I’m on a well-paved, well-lit highway, my words flying at seventy-five miles an hour. Sometimes, I’m broken down on the side of the road in the rain, waiting for a tow truck. I’m learning to accept the ebb and flow of creative life.

The hardest part about writing is…

For me, the hardest part about writing is writing. And the more I write, the harder it gets. A sentence is a deadly thing. Is it active? Does it need be active? Is the verb vivid enough? Is it interesting? Is it redundant? Does it further the plot? Does it drag the pacing? Does it say what I’m trying to convey? From there, we move onto paragraphs and scenes and chapters and insanity.

I find that it’s all a balance of good story telling and the mechanics of writing. A thing of joy is to read a wonderful story that is complemented by incredible craft.

Another painful reality of writing is the patience required to write a book and then get it published. This is very much at odds with my frenetic energy and demanding nature. I want everything now. And a book can take years to write and even longer to publish. That said, we are lucky to live in a time of booming self-publishing. In the past, a painful aspect of writing was to understand that your beautiful novel wouldn’t find a home in the world.

Ideal writing space

I recently bought a recliner thinking it would be the best thing ever to write in. Then I discovered a problem: I think in motion. So I need a rocking chair or a chair with wheels. I like having books around me — ones that have sentimental value, from authors who possess fabulous craft, or for research purposes. I also like pinning historical images, prose passages, and poetry to my walls. My desk looks like some sort of pagan altar strewn with rocks and small gifts that people have given me. Sunlit windows with views of trees are very important, as is good music.

Balancing life and writing

I’m not very good at this. I’m moved by emotion rather than routine, so it can be difficult. I think the best thing a busy writer can do is slow down, look around, and be present.

12_4 Susanna Ives book cover

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Romance Tagged With:

What’s in a Name? by RoseAnn DeFranco

December 4, 2013 by 18 Comments

What’s in a Name? Naming Rafe Iuliano from Return to Audubon Springs

Hello and thank you for having me here today on Long and Short Reviews! I love naming characters. When I first started writing, I couldn’t move forward until I had the perfect name. I would think about my character’s traits and then research words that embodied them using baby naming websites until I found a name that translated into something that really embodied the character.

The Brothers of Audubon Springs series was not intended to be the funny, heartwarming, family centric story of the Iuliano men and their extended Family. I set out to tell the story of the broken and dysfunctional wealthy Grant family who returned to their summer family home in Audubon Springs to grieve the passing of Emma’s, father. That idea changed drastically when I sat down to name the characters.

I knew I wanted a sexy local carpenter in the story, because who can resist a man who knows how to use his tools? This spark of an idea started a windfall for the rest of the project. I wanted my hero to be a man who would not only make the large, cold house a home, but also had the ability to heal. I wanted him to be Italian because of my own family heritage (that old adage – write what you know), and in doing so, I gave him a background and upbringing a polar opposite to what Emma was accustomed to.

Searching for the meaning of healing in Italian names brought me to Rafaello which means God has healed. I shortened the name to Rafe and assumed he’d be the man to help Emma heal and find her feet after losing her father. Only, when she got there, Rafe was already there waiting in the house he’d already turned into a home, and the healing had much more to do with her unresolved history with Rafe and any shot they might have for a happy ending. It all made perfect sense. I love a good reunion story, and reunions are a great opportunity for healing.

I wonder if readers look to the meaning of characters names in the books, and I love to hear how other writers go about naming their characters.

About the Author: 12_4 RoseAnn DeFranco (2)RoseAnn DeFranco grew up in upstate NY with her nose in a book and a song in her heart. Following the pursuit of a musical theatre career in NYC, she turned her creative energy to writing funny, steamy romance with heart. A NJ shore transplant, she enjoys time spent at the beach with her family and would love to one day live in a quaint shore town like the fictional town from her BROTHERS OF AUDUBON SPRINGS series. More information about these Contemporary Romantic Comedies can be found at RADeFranco.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

MEDIA KIT ReturntoAudubonSprings_8071_750When Emma Grant returns to her family’s Audubon Springs beach house to fulfill the stipulations of her father’s will, she has every intention of forcing her former lover out of the house for good. She’s never fit into her wealthy family and would prefer avoiding her past, but with her brother threatening to reveal her young daughter, she has no choice.

Rafe Iuliano has other plans. The wealthy Grants tried to bribe him out of Emma’s life years ago, but he’s determined to prove once and for all that a master carpenter is worthy of Emma and the house.

Their ridiculous and steamy battle for the house reignites the love and passion that bloomed between them years ago. But when Rafe discovers she’s kept their daughter a secret for two years, can he overcome anger and pride to claim his family and the love of his life, or will the deception drive a final wedge between them?

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Autumn Dreams by Susan Edwards – Excerpt and Giveaway

December 3, 2013 by 3 Comments

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly drawn commenter will receive a prize package of a T shirt and 2 free ebooks (Summer of the Eagle and White Wind). The Rafflecopter is at the end of the post.

MEDIA KIT autumn cover final largeChange is Coming

The night her family came under attack changed Kangee forever. Weeks later, her mother is still missing and is feared dead–until in dreams Kangee connects with her mother and learns that her mother is trapped with an evil spirit named Ardong. Kangee is a SpiritWalker, but one without many of the gifts and talents of her people yet she is the one chosen to save her mother. How can she, a foolish daydreamer, possibly save her mother?
She turns to a young shaman for help.

Night Warrior refuses to accept his calling as Shaman. He is a DreamWalker who knows the danger of wielding too much power. Ambushed and left for dead, Night Warrior would have died had it not been for the SpiritWalker who saved his life and in doing so, has given him the same abilities. Now wields more power than he’d ever imagined. When dreams connect him to Kangee he can no longer fight his destiny.

But Evil lurks in the shadows, just a dream away. Night Warrior and Kangee embark on a dangerous quest filled with love, passion, fear and hope. Can they find the courage to defeat Ardong, free Kangee’s mother and accept their place in the world as The Choosen? Could the answers lie in their dreams?

Autumn Dreams will take you into a world filled with beauty and darkness and a love that goes beyond this world.

Enjoy an excerpt:

“I have seen the power of your people. I was healed by a SpiritWalker and the young child named Skye saved both my life and that of her sister today. There is nothing that you can do that will frighten me. Your show of light demonstrates your power but it does not scare this warrior.” He’d had enough scares that day to last him a lifetime.

The woman laughed, a long, wheezy sound that bent her over. “Spirit. Boy, you have spirit. Let us see how much.” She motioned to the bear. “Now,” she commanded.

Night Warrior focused his attention back onto the bear as it rose up onto its hind legs. He didn’t flinch, refused to give the old woman the satisfaction but he kept his wary gaze on the bear.

The edges of the bear blurred, thinned and shrank. Night Warrior blinked rapidly. Then stared. Just stared at the tall warrior standing in the place where the bear had moments before towered over him.

The knife in his hand fell with a soft thud and missed his moccasin-clad foot by two blades of grass. He couldn’t tear his gaze from the tall, broad-shouldered warrior with those strange eyes that glowed with a silver sheen in the moonlight.

Kangee join him. He spoke. “You did not speak of this when you explained what it is to be a SpiritWalker.”

About the Author: SUSAN EDWARDS resides in California with her husband of thirty + years. She love animals and has five cats include a pair of two-year-old kittens (they are her babies) as well as two adorable Chiweenie pups named JJ and Abbey. The four youngsters in the pet department make her smile, laugh and sometimes groan each and every day. Recently, she got temporary (ha!) custody of Shasta, her daughter’s three year old Great Pyrenees.

Susan also enjoys crafts of all sorts including quilting, sewing, cross-stitch and knitting. Knitting and crochet are her current passions. She is also an avid gardener. Through her love of all things Native American, she designed a 26-foot Medicine Wheel Garden. It’s a big project but one that she loves, except when the weeds threaten. Right now, it’s uncertain who is winning this war!

You can follow her progress on her website. Camping, fishing, biking and hiking (when not hot) are other outdoor pursuits she and her husband enjoy.

She is of course, an avid reader and hates cooking and housework. While writing, she listens to a wide variety of music, including Neil Diamond, Celtic, Native American, New Age, Classical, and mood music (bagpipes and howling wolves drive her family nuts). Her current favorites are Blackmore’s Night and David Lanz.

Website: http://susanedwards.com
Email: susan@susanedwards.com

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Blog ~ Goodreads

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Compromising Miss Tisdale by Jessica Jefferson – Excerpt and Giveaway

December 3, 2013 by 6 Comments


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Enter via the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card (winner’s choice). Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Ambrosia Tisdale is the very picture of propriety and the epitome of what a respectable young lady should be. Haunted by a memory and compelled by her family, she pursues perfection to a fault.

The Earl of Bristol, Duncan Maddox, has returned to London after years of familial imposed exile. As the second son, he has led a life filled with frivolity, leisure, and a healthy dose of debauchery. Now his older brother has died, leaving the family’s flailing legacy in Duncan’s unwilling arms.

At the behest of his uncle, Duncan is advised to do the one thing that could provide instant fortune and respectability – he must marry. But there is only one prospect who meets the unique requirements to solve all the Earl’s problems – the lovely Miss Ambrosia Tisdale. But securing the prudent daughter of a Viscount’s hand proves to be more challenging than this scandal ridden second son of an Earl has bargained for.

With scandal, extortion, treachery, and even love itself threatening to keep him from his goal, will Duncan succeed in compromising Miss Tisdale?

Read an excerpt:

She had stumbled upon the library. A fire in the hearth threw a faint glow over leather lined volumes that filled floor to ceiling book shelves. Lavishly upholstered plush arm chairs sat upon Aubusson rugs scattered throughout the room. A settee was positioned across from a giant stone faced fireplace where a shirtless man sat warming his hands.

Shirtless man?

Ambrosia blinked.

Certainly, her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Then the shirtless man turned his head, his eyes meeting hers.

It wasn’t a hallucination-he was real. She hadn’t been expecting to find a partially dressed man, and he obviously wasn’t expecting to be found. It was but a moment before the man’s expression began to soften and a wicked smile slowly crept across his lips.

A smile that stole the breath right from out of her.

Every gently bred fiber in her body screamed to turn around and run straight out the door. Hundreds of years of proper English rearing had produced a base instinct to flee when in the presence of an unknown male (especially one with so little clothing). But then he stood up, cautiously, the way one does as if not to startle a deer. Standing, he was clad in nothing but buckskin breeches, the dim light from the flames playing over the sculpted muscles and sinew of his shoulders and chest.

Breeding be damned, her feet simply refused to budge.

About the Author:

Jessica Jefferson makes her home in northern Indiana, or as she likes to think of it – almost Chicago. Jessica originally attended college in hopes of achieving an English degree and writing the next great American novel. Ten years later she was working as a registered nurse and reading historical romance when she decided to give writing another go-round.

Jessica writes likes she speaks, which has a tendency to be fast paced and humorous. Jessica is heavily inspired by sweeping, historical romance novels, but aims to take those key emotional elements and inject a fresh blend of quick dialogue and comedy to transport the reader into a story they miss long after the last page is read. She invites you to visit her at JessicaJefferson.com and read her random romance musings.

Like her at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-Jefferson/.
Follow her at https//twitter.com/authorJessicaJ
Buy the book at Amazon.

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Like Mom by Cheryl Robinson — Book Blast and Giveaway

December 3, 2013 by 6 Comments

 


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Cheryl will be awarding a $50 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Determined to lose weight, Nevada Pearson participates in a twelve-week clinical trial for a new diet pill. Nevada thinks if she’s slim, her life will be so much better. She won’t have to wear dark clothes to hide her big belly and can kiss the plus sizes good-bye. Her husband will stop ogling every skinny woman in sight, and she’ll stop accusing him of cheating. She won’t have to worry that he’ll leave her the way her dad left her mom. She can stop ranting on her YouTube channel about being fat. She’ll get promoted at work. Her fifteen-year-old daughter will want to lose weight, too, instead of staying holed up in her bedroom eating junk food and surfing the Internet for a cure to her social anxiety. But Nevada isn’t prepared for what happens next and how quickly her life changes—and it has nothing to do with her amazing weight loss.

Here’s an excerpt from the book:
Nevada

“This upcoming year is the year,” Claude said. “If I don’t get promoted, I’m leaving.”

“And going where?” I asked. I had a right to know, unless he planned on going alone, and then I truly had a right to know.

“I don’t care where: wherever I can get a job. What, you want to live in Indiana forever?”

I shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind. I mean, it’s what I know.”

He rolled his eyes dismissively at me. “Let’s dissect what you just said—”

I crossed my eyes after I turned my head to the side. No, let’s not. Sometimes, I just wanted to tell him to shut up with all of his change-your-life stuff. I had Oprah for that, and she was much better at motivating me than Claude was. Listening to her made me think I really could change my life. Listening to him made me think I’d made a mistake by marrying him in the first place, and that I’d messed up my life forever. But I’d felt the same way on our wedding day, so nothing had changed.

“I don’t want to dissect it.”

“But what you just said is how a lot of people feel. A lot of people stay with something just because it’s familiar. It’s what they know. May not even be something they want. Next year should be the year of the unknown. That could be the title for my first book; I need to write it down.” He searched the table for something to write on because once he sat down he wasn’t getting up until after he finished eating. “Do you have a pen and some paper?”

I got up and grabbed the first sheet of paper I saw and handed it to him along with a pen and then sat back down. Before he wrote on the paper, he turned it over. “Do you need this?”

“It’s just a blank sheet of paper, isn’t it?”

“It’s a shipping notice from Curl—.”

I snatched the paper out of his hand—close call; it was the shipping notice from Curl Junkie for the box of hair products UPS had delivered that day. Claude would have a fit if he saw that I’d spent over a hundred dollars on stuff for my hair. But I had to spend at least a hundred dollars to get free shipping, which made sense while I was filling my online shopping cart with more stuff, but the more I thought about it, I only wanted the Daily Fix and the Smoothing Lotion, which would’ve been forty-nine dollars, and the flat rate shipping was only seven dollars and twenty-five cents, so basically, I paid fifty-one dollars more to save seven dollars and twenty-five cents. But it made perfect sense to me at the time.

About the Author:

Cheryl Robinson is a native Detroiter currently residing in Central Florida. She started her literary career as an independent author, publishing two books before eventually landed a publishing deal with Penguin/NAL Trade. She published six novels with NAL Trade and two more novels as an independent author. She is currently working on her next novel. Visit her Website at CherylRobinson.com, where you can read her blog and enter her monthly blog contest.

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