Research expeditions and Turkish baths - Michelle Styles

I like to visit places before I write about them. I know these days with the Internet, travel programmes, movies and lavishly illustrated books, a writer can get a pretty good idea of what a place is like. But I like to think you can get more out of a place by going there, eating the food, experiencing the sounds . Or maybe it is my excuse as I like to travel and researching a book can provide an opportunity to explore and discover things.

A few weeks ago, I returned from a research expedition to Istanbul. I am planning on setting a book (or two) there in the Ottoman Empire during the late Regency Period and it seemed like too good of an opportunity to miss. I did the things I wanted to -- namely visiting the Harem at the Topkapi Palace, the Spice Market and the Grand Bazaar. Then my husband suggested a Turkish bath. Now because I have written about ancient Rome, and have walked through many Roman baths and have read about the experience, I thought I knew everything about them. And Turkish baths were just the successor of Roman baths. I was about to refuse but then thought better of it as where would be the harm. And I am very glad that I did listen to my husband because I was arrogant in my assumptions! Turkish baths do need to be experienced if at all possible.

After having one, okay two baths, I can understand why they were so revered and why people spent time in the bathing complex. The first bath I went to dated from 1584 and the second from 1741 and they do retain the layout as well as the bathing technique (basically sweating in a hot room before being scraped and massaged until your skin glows). They were places of community and help to explain why certain women travellers prior to the women's movement in Europe felt that the women of the Ottoman Empire were freer. It also helped me to catch a glimpse of what life in the Harem must have been like.

I can also understand why people put a Turkish bath in Istanbul on their lifelist of things to do before they die, something I had been slightly perplexed about before. Though personally I would give the Grand Bazaar (another listing of the 1000 things to do before you die) a miss unless you enjoy shopping in overly crowded conditions. The gold, silver and silks begin to look somehow all the same and almost like a Hollywood set for Aladdin's cave.

The experience proved to me why I like to travel places before I write them. You can have one notion in your head and get there and find that you have missed connections or ways to enrich your world. Hopefully, it will bring insight into the books and to make the world I want to recreate a richer, more vibrant place.

Has anyone else expereinced a Turkish bath?

Contest

As my latest book, The Viking's Captive Princess will be published on 1 December and is currently available from eharlequin, I thought to do a contest for a signed copy of the book. The Romantic Times gave it four stars and said Styles maintains the myth while adding sexual tension, nonstop action and spice.

If you would like to be in the draw: please email me the answer to the following question:

In what year does The Viking Captive Princess takes place? (hint read the excerpt)

Please put Totebags contest on the subject line so your entry does not get marked as spam. I will draw the winner on Saturday 14 November.

UPDATE

Virginia Campbell was the first name out of the hat. So a signed copy of The Viking's Captive Princess will be winging its way off to her. Many thanks to all who entered.

On Being a Writer

Since this week I am all about waiting to hear from my publisher, my agent (and tearing my hair out while I do) and waiting for my royalties to come in the mail, I thought I'd spend a little time talking about this business of writing.

For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a writer. My official biography says that it was from the time I understood that letters made words that told stories, but maybe it was earlier-- and later-- than that.From the time I could understand the words that came out of his mouth, my father told me stories. Wonderful, fantastical stories filled with whimsical happenings and happy endings. He made up songs to make red-lights turn green, had me sit in our backyard-- absolutely silent-- and listen to the world around us, identifying noises. Gave me a topic-- from my brand new Esprit shirt to the stuffed dog (Sad Sam the Doggy Man) they bought me the day my real dog ran away-- and had me tell him a story about that object. In other words, he exercised my imagination from the time I was a toddler until I was in high school and too cool to spend much time with hm (something I regret greatly now, as he died when I was 21).

But what I'm getting at, is I learned to tell stories when other children were learning the alphabet, learned to make up tales with HEAs when my friends were digging in the sand-- for me it is as natural as breathing. And the day I wrote my first story down, sitting in the car at the bank while my parents were inside getting a loan, I was hooked. The story was written in aqua marker in an old notebook my mom had in the car and it was about a rainbow, a pot of gold, an evil leprachaun and the princess who fell in love with him. I was seven and from that moment on, I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my life.

Fast forward twenty-five years and hear I am, writing stories that I love about characters who interest me-- what more could a girl ask for? Well, the answer to that, is probably a Valium. Or a Xanax, or if you are as high-strung as I am, maybe both. I've never been a good waiter, never had a lot of patience. I'd rather be doing, doing, doing--as my agent found out this last few weeks when I had nothing to do but drive both of us up a wall. And now that I have a contract, I'm not much better-- and I won't be until I hear on the other three contracts that currently have me on tenterhooks.To be honest, I'm not sure what the point of this blog post is, except to say that I've finally gotten what I want-- to be a published author-- but it hasn't gotten any easier since I signed that first contract. In fact, it's gotten worse-- because now it's not just about will I be published but will I still be published? Will I sell the next book and the next one, or will they just decide they don't want me anymore.Publishing is a scary, scary world, and my friends and I complain about it regularly, but the truth is, I wouldn't want to do anything else. I love being able to write everyday, love being able to share my stories with the world. So, if I go gray early and get an ulcer waiting to hear from my editor, so be it. I think it just might be worth it ...

How about you? When did you know what you wanted to do with your life? Or are you still trying to figure it out?

Ireland: One of my favorite places in the World - Maureen Child

When I was plotting my latest Silhouette Desire, WEDDING AT KING’S CONVENIENCE, I decided to set it in one of my favorite places in the world. Ireland.

The first time I went to Ireland, I was 18 and I went with my best friend, Patti. We had saved our money for a year to make that trip and no trip since, no matter how fabulous, has had the same sense of excitement and adventure! I fell in love with Ireland the moment I saw it from the plane. And when I stepped outside and was slapped with that cold, Irish wind…my first thought was, I’m home.

Odd, right? I thought so too, at the time. But there was something in my soul that responded to that country instantly. My great-great-however many great grandparents had emigrated to the US from Ireland many years before, but I felt as though I, personally, had been there before. We drove down a narrow road inhabited mostly by sheep and when we took a curve and came out on top of a hill staring down into a valley, I knew that place.

I’ve been back many times since that first trip—including dragging my Sicillian husband around—and every time, Ireland welcomes me back.

So what better place to set WEDDING AT KING’S CONVENIENCE? I even set my heroine Maura’s farm in the place where we last stayed. In Shanvallyard, Tourmakeday in County Mayo. These pictures will show you why! And if you’re planning a trip to Ireland, you can’t do better than staying at Maura Staunton’s cottage.

Maura and Jefferson have a rough road for awhile as they meet, come together, separate and eventually wind their way back together. And I hope you enjoy their story! A few other King men will be making an appearance in this story and then next March, Jericho King will get his book!

I really hope you’re enjoying the King men as much as I am writing them. There’s nothing like a rich, powerful man brought to his knees by love, is there?

Now, tell me. Have you ever visited a place that your soul recognized? One of today’s commenters will receive a signed book!

Happy Reading!
Maureen

New Releases & Upcoming Books for the TBR - Nalini Singh

On November the 3rd, I have not one but two releases.

Blaze of Memory continues the Psy/Changeling series and it’s set in the world of the Forgotten - Psy who rebelled rather than embrace Silence (a protocol that erases emotion). A hundred years after their defection, the Forgotten are finding strange new abilities in their population. But, along with those gifts…come deadly costs.

Then, we have the mass market release of the An Enchanted Season anthology, which features my novella, “Beat of Temptation.”

I hope you enjoy both! The links will take you to the backcover blurbs, as well as to full chapter excerpts.

Now, onto today’s topic – all the other great books coming out in the next few months that I’m looking forward to. Here are just a few of the things on my list in no particular order.

Patricia Briggs – Silver Borne
Jayne Castle – Midnight Crystal
Anne Bishop – Shalador’s Lady
JD Robb – Fantasy in Death & Kindred In Death
Julie James – Something About You
Lora Leigh – Lion’s Heat

I could keep going, but I’ll force myself to stop there! So, what’re you all looking forward to?

Everyone who leaves a comment in the next 24 hours goes into the draw to win a copy of the Must Love Hellhounds anthology, which features “Angels’ Judgment,” a novella set in my Guild Hunter universe.

Nalini

http://www.nalinisingh.com/

Yours for the Night - Jasmine Haynes

Yours for the Night is out! I’m extremely excited about this release because it’s the start of a new anthology series for me. Yours for the Night, followed by Hers for the Evening in May 2010 and Mine Until Morning in late Fall 2010. I’m working on the third book right now, so Yours for the Night seems like an old friend to me. Here’s a little teaser about the series:

Courtesans: A glitzy, sensual world of powerful people and the courtesans they’ll pay anything to have.

An exclusive and secret agency, for over two hundred years Courtesans specializes in providing entertainment of a sexual nature. Its clients are rich, powerful, and influential men and women, and one only meets a courtesan through referral from trusted sources. Courtesans facilitates bringing together men and women to satisfy any sexual need imaginable, matching the perfect courtesan with just the right client. The agency prides itself on training its courtesans, male and female, to interpret and fulfill its clients greatest fantasies, even the secret ones no one dares to say aloud. The price is high, but everyone who’s ever had the pleasure of a date with a courtesan will agree, the fantasy is worth every penny.

These are their tales...

RT awarded Yours for the Night a Top Pick. Here’s what Michelle Buonfiglio of BN.com had to say:

“a fabulously erotic twist on the Cinderella happily ever after”

Yes, ladies of the night, in three sexy novellas. And make no mistake, these stories are romances, if a little less traditional. I’ve created a sexy, classy fantasy world where my heroines are the ones in control, until their hearts take over.

I’ve discussed this concept before on the Tote blog, that the sex-for-hire fantasy is universal, that lots of women do indeed fantasize about how sexy it would be for a man to pay to have them. But what are some of the other universal fantasies? Come on, be daring. Share them. You don’t have to say they’re yours.

For those of you who leave a comment (you must leave your email address so I can contact you), I’ll put you in for a drawing of an autographed copy of Fair Game, my previous release and the third book in The Fortune Hunter series. I’ll also add you to my newsletter for updates.

Please be sure to stop by my new website http://www.jasminehaynes.com/ for an excerpt of Yours for the Night.

Jasmine, Jennifer and JB!
http://www.skullybuzz.com/
Newsletter: skullybuzz-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Blog: http://jasminehaynes.blogspot.com/

Recommended Reads -- Susanna Carr

I’m participating in the eHarlequin.com reading challenge and my personal goal is 100 books. If I make it, it’ll be close! I just passed the 80 mark.

One of the things I’ve noticed since I took this challenge is that I get on reading kicks. For example, last month I read Harlequin Presents almost exclusively. There are a few I’d like to recommend:

The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Princess by Chantelle Shaw. I adored Kitty and Nikos. Their strengths and vulnerabilities really made me care about them. And the passion between them had me turning the pages as fast as I could!

Kept for Her Baby by Kate Walker. This is a very intense love story! I was so deep into the story that I didn’t come up for air until the very end.

The Sicilian's Virgin Bride by Sarah Morgan. I’ve been glomming Sarah Morgan all year –both her Presents and Medicals. This book is my favorite so far. How much did I enjoy it? I re-read it several times this month!

Duty, Desire and the Desert King by Jane Porter is a sensual treat. Rou is my kind of heroine! She has a very scientific approach and Zayed was once a hopeless romantic. He brings the passion, color and hunger back into her life.


What about you? What did you read recently that you can recommend?

What are you reading - and where? by Kate Walker

It’s November 1st. I just turned over another page on my office calendar to start off a brand new month. And as I did so, a nursery rhyme from long ago came into my head. It’s the one that begins:

January brings the snow,
Makes our feet and fingers glow.

And then goes through all the rest of the months, The lines for November go:

Dull November brings the blast,
Then the leaves go whirling past.

They couldn’t really be more appropriate to the sort of day we have outside. The wind has been howling round the house, whirling the leaves wildly and throwing heavy cold rain at the window panes. After a short but beautiful ‘Indian summer in October, winter has definitely come a lot closer as soon as November dawned. But once I’d done my daily walk - getting drenched and feeling frozen as I did so – had my shower and I started to feel virtuous as a result, the idea of staying in and keeping warm really appealed. And then my DH lit a real fire in the grate so that the cats and I could get really cosy and curl up beside it and it seemed just the perfect place to sit and read to my heart’s content.

OK, I can’t quite do that just yet. I sent in my latest novel to my editor at the beginning of the week and my editor has asked for some ‘tweaks’ so I need to get those done before I can really indulge in a true reading binge, but I don’t think they’ll take long and then I can look forward to getting through the huge TBR pile I have waiting for me. (Well part of it.) And then the fire is going to be so welcome.

But the I had an email from my sister who lives in Australia where of course everything is ‘upside down’ and so she’s heading into summer. So she’s talking about taking her TBR books out into the garden (also with her cats!) and soon, hopefully, on to the beach. (The cats will stay at home then.) And that made me remember how much I loved sitting outside under a tree . . . or on a beach . . . and reading. I’ve been trying to decide which is my absolute favourite place to be when I have a pile of books I just want to dive into. In the end, I couldn’t choose. OK, I admit that right now the fireside wins but that’s because the weather is so dreadful and cold – and WET.

But it made me wonder – do you have a favourite place to curl up with your latest bookshop buys and lose yourself in a story? By the fire? On a beach? In the woods? By the pool?And what books are at the top of your TBR pile right now? I have One Night Mistress, Convenient Wife by Anne McAllister and Her Desert Dream by Liz Fielding Liz sent me the first part of this Trading Places Duo – A Christmas Angel for the Billionaire and I loved that. But first I have to finish tweaking this Greek hero – and then I’m really going to read . . .and read . . .

Tell me what you plan to read and where and I’ll get Sid the Cat to pick a winner of a book from my backlist – that’s if I can get him away from the fire!

Kate Walker’s latest Presents title Kept For Her Baby is still available in Presents EXTRA. One reviewer called this book “a masterpiece that will live in the hearts of the reader for many years to come!” (We Write Romance)

You can find out more about Kate and her books on her website or her blog

Sid has picked his winners - and he's picked two! (Well I couldn't choose between them when he grabbed the cat treats)
So would Emmanuelle and VirginiaC please email me and I'll sort out your books.

A LOVE THAT BURNS - Dara Girard

With Halloween (in the US), fast approaching, I thought it would be a nice treat to interview one of the characters from my paranormal romance ILLUSIVE FLAME, just in time for this holiday.

Dara: Can you please introduce yourself to everyone?

Ms. Spenser: My name is Janet Matilda Spenser, but my name doesn’t really matter, because you did not invite me here to speak about myself. You want me to talk about my niece Victoria.

Dara: What did you know about your niece before she came to visit you?

Ms. Spenser: I knew I was taking a risk by having Victoria come and stay with me here in the States. But she had no one, no family, back in Jamaica. I thought she’d have a better chance with me. After all, I had settled well and had a fine job at a grand estate as a housekeeper.

Dara: What was so different about Victoria that concerned you?

Ms. Spenser: Before I met her I knew about the whispers and the mystery that surrounded her. I knew about the fire that killed a man and those who thought she might have started it, but I didn’t believe them. I trusted her gift. Or is it a curse?

Dara: Why would you call her gift a curse?

Ms. Spenser: She has this funny gift…you people call an empath. She can sense when a fire is going to happen or has been started by arson.

Dara: Did her ‘gift’ scare you? Were you concerned if your boss found out?

Ms. Spenser: Yes, but no. What I mean, was that as long as she kept it quiet I did not worry about it being a problem. The main thing I was concerned about was my employer learning about Victoria’s temper. Since she was a little girl, she’s had an explosive personality and would say whatever came to mind!

My employer, Mr. Robert Braxton, is a very smart man and an arson investigator. He’s a man of science, and at first wasn’t impressed with her claim. After a bitter divorce he was suspicious about a lot of things, not just her so called ‘gift, but also love. But the moment I saw him with Victoria I knew that putting out fires wasn’t the only thing that would bring them together….

Find out more about Victoria & Robert’s story at: http://www.daragirard.com/books/illusive.php

What paranormal gift you would enjoy having?

Tennessee, Here I Come -- Michelle Monkou

Winners announced: Linda Warren and Linda Henderson, you'll be enjoying a fun pack from the Gaylord Opryland.

My general complaint of late is that my brain has a slow leak and my memory is escaping. Thanks, Lee for the nudge that today is my day to blog.

Here's the thing, I'm hard at work preparing for the Romance Writers of America's board meeting in November. That's not the interesting part. The fun part is that I'll be at the Gaylord Hotel in Opryland, Nashville, Tennessee.

I've never been to Tennessee. Well, that may not be correct. I may have hopped off and on some flight or the other to get to another part of the U.S. But I'm looking forward to the trip. From what I've heard about the hotel and it's six acres of covered property, it sounds like I may spend all my time simply wandering the hotel grounds.

If any of you have traveled to Tennessee, are from Tennessee, or done some research on Tennessee, please share memories, tips, or things that make Tennessee special.

I will grab a handful of items - I promise to pay for them - from the souvenir shop for a random winner (or two, you never know). I'll select the winner on November 1.

BTW, RWA's national conference and 30th anniversary will be celebrated in July 2010 at the Gaylord in Tennessee.

Michelle Monkou

Trail of Kisses (Feb. 2010) - pre-order available at online sources.

Amazon

What is in a Word? Tons!

A week or so ago on Facebook, I asked a question that comes up for the middle-aged, unmarried man or woman who has a partner, a significant other, a lover, a sweetie, a honey, a "man, a "woman," a ball and chain, a companion, a "roommate."

What word to use for that said person that doesn't sound stupid.

When I was in the hospital recovering from surgery and basically not truly all there, a nurse and I had the following conversation. He looked at Michael, who was standing next to my bed, and asked, "Who is that."

I blinked. "That's Michael."

"No," the nurse said. "Who is he?"

"Michael," I said again, certain that I was still under the influence of dilaudid. "My Michael?"

The nurse--obviously used to dealing with drugged out people missing body parts--said patiently, "No, who is he to you?"

"Oh," I said. "He's my boyfriend."

And there I was, a forty-seven-year old woman with a boyfriend. The good news was that I fell asleep right after that and didn't have to contemplate the word for a while.

But for a few years now, I've had issues with boyfriend as it makes me feel so, well, young, and not in the good sense of young. Immature. Unformed. Slightly nutty, really, the old lady with her boyfriend.

It's not that I'm wanting to get married so that I can use the word husband, which has its own trials and tribulations in the culture. It's just the would boy-friend.

Michael is not a boy. And he's not just my friend. The word does not work.

In high school, I loved to say the word, using it whenever I chanced to actually have a boyfriend.
"Oh," I'd say. "My boyfriend is taking me out tonight."

Or, "My boyfriend and I are going to the movies."

Anything, anything, to get that would out into the air. I was wanted by this one boy (and he was a boy, literally, by definition of age). We'd become a couple. We did things together. We used the words to create a box around our relationship. It meant something.

I moved from boyfriend to husband by the time I was 23, and used the word husband for 23 more years, even when we were separated. Husband indicates a marriage. Indicates--at least in most states where you have to be of age--adulthood. It indicates family and togetherness and home. It's a solid word, however patriarchal you might find it. It's a word that makes sense, even if the marriage falls apart.

Now, I'm back to having a boyfriend. Worse, I'm a girlfriend. Not a girl (lord, ask my mirror about that) and not just a friend. We've been demoted to childhood status by the names we call each other. And my Facebook friends couldn't come up with anything that made sense to me, but we were all trying to use the existing lexicon.

For all us middle-aged and older folk who date, who love, who form relationships, I call out for a word that works. You can't use anything old. It won't work. Work on it. I know I will be. And if you come up with anything great, let me know ASAP!

I'm also flush again with copies, so if you leave a comment (a damn boyfriend name!) and write to me at jbarkinclan@gmail.com, I will send a copy of either Believe in Me or The Beautiful Being to the first 5 folks.

Blogging for Holly Jacobs

Hi! I know Holly Jacobs is supposed to blog here today, but she spent the weekend at the New Jersey conference and is recovering, so I offered to come here on my morning school break to blog for her.

So, let me introduce myself. I'm Eli Cartwright. Eli is short for Elinore, not the guy's name, long-E 'lee.' I'm the heroine in Holly's November book, UNEXPECTED GIFTS. Now, she won't tell me exactly what happens in the book, so I can't give you many clues about the story, but I can tell you about me.

I'm in my early forties and I teach at the high school and run the teen parenting program in Whedon, PA. Whedon, PA is a fictional town, just like I'm a fictional character. (Yes, I know I'm fictional...Holly might not tell me what happens, but she has been honest about my fictional status, though frankly, I feel real!) Now, anyone who reads Holly's books knows she sets a lot of them in her hometown, Erie, but Holly has volunteered for years in Erie's teen parenting program, so she opted to create a program for me in a fictional town located just outside Erie.

So, back to me. I'm a teacher. I date a nice man named Arthur. He's older than me and dreams about retiring and writing the next great American novel. I have a great house, just bought my dream car--a Mini Cooper! I have a great friend, Tucker. She was the first teen parent I ever worked with. There was no program here in Whedon, so I inadvertently created one! It's challenging work, but very fulfilling.

Holly's going to come in and post my book cover...I'm not allowed to see it. She says it will give me a big clue about what's going to happen. And since she's been watching Flash Forward, she using that as proof that knowing your future isn't a good thing.

So, what about you? If you had a chance to know the future, would you chance taking a look?

Eli

PS Holly gave me my own Facebook page...if you'd like to be a friend, I'd love it! http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000269350966

Still Mooning Over My Brand New Cover

I had all kinds of things I wanted to talk to you about.

What a great show Castle is, for example. What's not to love about Nathan Fillion? And Richard Castle is the coolest writer ever!



Especially when he's reading a really, really good book I happened to love myself.

But the truth is, I can't bear to pass up one more opportunity to show off the gorgeous new cover for my first Harlequin Presents, coming out in February:



Isn't that pretty? There is not one part of that cover I'm not in love with. That's just how I pictured Luc Garnier, the ruthless hero, and that looks just like Princess Gabrielle, my heroine-- sold by her father into an arranged marriage with this hard, determined man.

I had so much fun writing PURE PRINCESS, BARTERED BRIDE. I got to make up a Mediterranean kingdom, for one thing, which involved a whole lot of gazing at pretty pictures online. And I got to pretend to be a modern princess, faced with high stakes dilemmas and far too much to lose. Far more glamorous, I assure you, than my usual day to day life around the house--which usually involves decisions about which chores to ignore, rather than any conflict between, for example, duty and desire.

But I also love this cover because it represents the culmination of a life-long dream. I've been reading romance novels for decades. I've loved along with countless heroes and heroines, stayed up reading until I was gritty-eyed and useless the following morning, and rushed to the bookstore to get an author's next book mere moments after its publication because I couldn't bear to wait another second to be sucked into their worlds. I've moped around the house for days after some books ended, because I could have happily lived in those pages forever. I sometimes daydream about the daily lives of couples in books I read long ago. My keeper shelf is... much bigger than a single shelf. (A book case? A library?) Romance novels have saved me on occasion, healed me, changed my way of thinking, and made me conversant on numerous historical periods I never studied in school. All while delivering happily-ever-afters that make me cry, laugh, and breathlessly demand that others read them right this minute.

And now I get to write my version of these books I love so much, and share them with you.

With that lovely, lovely cover.

You can feel free to pinch me anytime!

You Can Go Home Again : : Anne McAllister

Hardly a writers' conference goes by -- or a library talk or an article in a newspaper or magazine -- that doesn't somewhere contain the sentence, "Where do you get your ideas?"

People who don't write -- and sometimes even people who do -- seem to want to know that more than they want to know anything else. Except for how much money we make!

I think it has to do with the 'mystery' of writing.

It seems like it should be easy because we've all done it, haven't we?

Everyone over the age of six has written a composition about what they did on their summer vacation or about their favorite pet or, if they are like my youngest son, they write fabulous adventures using every gun every known to man because he spent his youth devouring Gun Digest.

So it should be simple. Everyone should be able to do it.

But they don't. Because the ideas aren't the hang-up, when you get right down to it.

We all have them. Ideas for books have, to be honest, come from things I've done on my summer vacation. They've been inspired by places I've been, songs I've heard, fortune cookies I've opened. They've been infiltrated by my favorite pets -- and several other peoples' pets as well. (Hi, Sid!).

And if I haven't got all the guns known to man in my books yet, well, it may be just a matter of time -- or genre.

The ideas are the easy part. You just use what you know, what you remember, what you feel, what you're interested in. You find the story in it -- and you've got a book.

Well, sort of. But that's the basics. Even though, after 63 books, I find myself digger deeper and deeper into what I know so I don't use the same stuff over and over again.

Still, I do use it. When I wrote my newest book, One-Night Mistress ... Inconvenient Wife, I needed a place that was upscale and yet not really glitzy. I dug through my mind for what I knew -- and I ended up going clear back to the beginning and basically 'went home again.'

I grew up in Manhattan Beach, California. While I spent summers (those well-used vacations that got me through nearly 20 Desires and Special Editions and a single title!) in Montana and Colorado, I spent school years on the beach of So Cal.

And even though Manhattan Beach changes regularly and quickly, some things about it don't change -- The Strand, the pier, the broad walkup sidewalk streets, and most of all, the informal beach-oriented lifestyle.

It's an upscale community now compared to when I grew up there. You do pretty much need to be a millionaire to live on The Strand these day.

So it was a perfect place to put Christo, my hard-driving lawyer hero, because it gave him the beach on his doorstep so he could kick back and relax and go surfing when he wanted to (see how useful growing up on the beach was?). It was an equally good place to stick Natalie because it was his turf and she was out of her depth.

I went home again in my mind a lot while I was working on the book. I also called my friends who still live there and picked their brains about how things have changed. (Writing is good for maintaining friendships).

Of course, 'going home again' to a location wasn't enough to get the book from my brain to the page to the bookshop. Books are more than settings and ambiences. They require a lot of bits and pieces that make up the patchwork. Occupations, families, backstory, emotions.

Which are simply more types of going home. I needed to reconnect with other friends and relatives, too -- one in Brazil who helped me with Christo's Brazilian father and grandmother, and one in Pennsylvania, a lawyer cousin who on a daily basis kept Christo from getting disbarred.

I borrowed the name of one of Robyn Donald's granddaughters. I borrowed someone else's cat. (No, not you, Sid!) I moved a house from Hawthorne to Torrance. I played fast and loose with few things from my own emotional baggage. I threw in a sand castle and some body surfing, a rainstorm I remembered all too well, a wedding with fairy lights, and, especially, a beloved grandmother.

I went home again, physically and emotionally -- and I went to a few other peoples' houses, too. And I wrote a book.

It's the same process every time I write one. And I never quite know until I'm actually working which memories, which facts, which emotions, which bits and pieces are going to be the ones I'll need.

It's the joy of writing -- getting up every morning and discovering where I'll go and what I'll use today.

How about you? Do you go home again? Have you written about it? Where do you go in your head?

Grandma and the Prince - Part 12

<==Grandma El and me, one month after Grandpa Bert's death

I'm embarrassed. Very embarrassed! I knew that sooner or later I'd totally blow a blog date and this is the day.

I'm typing as fast as I can . . .

* * *

I always wondered why my Grandma El jumped from her early years in America to the time immediately after my Grandpa Bert's death but it never occurred to me to ask her.

Isn't it always that way? We never think to ask the important questions while the people we love are still alive. I thought I'd have plenty of time and, to be honest, I did. I just never suspected I was only seeing the tip of our family iceberg.

Now on to Grandma El's story, in her own words:

Mona walked out on me after Grandpa died. Just like that. My own daughter. I bought a tv and I wouldn't come out of the apartment in Forest Hills. Your mother was just three weeks away from having you and they were crowded, what with your uncle and grandfather living with them too. Three men working different shifts, four rooms, a pregnant woman. She worked hard, your mother did.

Your father saw I was failing and he took me to see Doctor Florsheim. I'll never forget it. Doctor Florsheim took my hand and he said, "You're in a bad way, Elsie. You break a leg, I can heal it. But I can't heal your heart."

[NOTE: I made some inaudible comment here.

Children are children, my dear. They can’t feel the same things you feel.

Doctor Florsheim said, "Have you got anybody you care for? Someone you can live with? You need someone who has children to help take your mind off your loss."

"My brother has five boys," I said, "but he lives in New Jersey."

"Could you ask to live with him for awhile?"

"I couldn't," I said. "They have their own troubles."

"Just ask," said the doctor. "What can it hurt?

So I did. I called up Cass and I asked. I told him and without any hesitation he said, "Why, of course, El. Come over here. You tell me when you want to come and we'll have your room ready."

"What about Arlene?" I said. "Please ask Arlene."

He laughed. "She's been wanting to invite you for months."

So I went over there without anything.

I remember when Mona walked out on me – just befor Mother’s day, a few weeks before Dad died. I had that apartment where I was paying 75 dollars. The landlady was so sorry for me that my own daughter would walk out that she cut the rent down to 65. "Why don’t you get somebody in with you?" she asked. But it wasn't my way.

I took care of your grandfather down on Beekman Street at the hospital, all alone at night with the derelicts on the floor, on the ground. Nobody was with me

Nobody.

So all on my own now, I put an ad in the paper and sold my dining room, two big bedroooms, fireplace, solarium, breakfast room, dining room. It was a beautiful apartment. I kept the double bed – Cass said bring the bed. I brought my double bed. They gave me a cot in the boys' room the first night – two young boys. Bobby and Tommy, they were maybe 10 and 11 then. I had the little cot; they had the double bed. Charles and Jackie in other double bed in their bedroom for me.

A few months later I went back to Queens to see Doctor Florsheim and that's when I met your mother's father. I still felt so alone. I kissed your mother goodbye and your grandpa Larry said, "I’ll walk you to the subway," and I got on that subway and I saw all these couples, husbands and wives together – I was all alone; I had no one – it was Decoration Day. Do they still have Decoration Day?

I went over there. They were very nice to me.

I was there about a week when Arlene decided seeing I’m there she’d get a job. Her sister told her to get a job at some silver place. She’d leave at half past 8 – kids all in school – while I did all the washing, hanging, cooking, ironing, cleaning.

I offered them board but they said no. I didn’t have anything then. Just Grandpa's insurance- 1000 dollars -that’s all I had to my name. At the end of the first week how fate plays a part – Arlene came home and tossed the newspaper on the table. Cass wasn’t looking at it. We were sitting there after dinner. "You know," she says, "I have to go up the street to get a couple of housedresses. Want to take a walk with me?"

This was my moment. "You know, Arlene, how about me looking for a job too? I think I’d like to get one, a part time job."

"Doing what?" she asked.

"What I used to do: a saleslady."

So we look at the paper and I see Mr. Feldman's ad for the Annette Shop. Sales lady, part time, three days a week.

Arlene's jaw drops. "That's where I'm going tonight!"

My dear, these things happen.

=====

Note from Barbara: Just remember that nothing is quite the way it seems in Grandma El's story. Keep in mind that she was Marie Barone with an English accent with a touch of Machiavelli thrown in for good measure.

See you next month . . . on time!

I've Priced Myself Out of the Market

I can no longer afford to be me. At least not the me I wanna be.

All those luxuries I've added to my life over the years—the highlights, the pedicures, the nice nails--were all rooted in a little dabbling here, some experimenting there. But now they've become needs, adding up to more than my limited budget can tolerate.

The hair coloring began innocently enough, ages ago. As I sat with my hair cooking in a bath of chemicals to achieve that "natural" wave my Irish setter-like hair lacked, I stared across the salon as a mousy-haired woman transformed from caterpillar to butterfly with just a bowl of colored paste, a handful of foil, and an skilled hairdresser. While I ended up with yet another bad poodle perm, this woman was leaving the place looking like a million bucks.

"Oooh, I want that," I told the girl doing my hair, pointing at blondie. Maybe my stylist should've kept mum, cause I soon "divorced" her in lieu of the one who did good color, and--realizing that God invented hair coloring for a reason--I became a devotee for life (or so I'd hoped). I justified the quarterly expense, because I'd have been paying for the poodle perm anyhow, so I just traded one set of chemical costs for another. But no one told me the older I got the more I'd need to "use." Yeah, like a junkie with an expensive habit, this four time a year gig needed yet more upkeep. It didn’t help when a drunken guy at a party called me out on my emerging roots while towering over my scalp at the bar, waiting for a drink he clearly didn't need.

"Whatsh with the giraffe look?" he slurred, pointing at the definitive color change at the top of my head as he spat in my direction, unable to control his spittle.

"Um, I think you mean skunk," I snarled, wishing I had the moxie to toss a drink in his face for his rudeness. Nevertheless, I took the hint: I could no longer conserve cash by holding out on highlights a few extra weeks.

Then came the pedicures, which started innocently enough. And took on a great urgency after considering my husband's grandmother's feet. I'd be lying if I said I didn't recoil in horror just a bit the first time I saw Grandma Jo's untamed honkers, feet that clearly had not seen a day of maintenance in at least a generation. After regaining my composure, I duly vowed to never neglect my feet till they crusted up and had to be jammed awkwardly into orthopedic shoes like hers. Surely a pedicure could help to avoid such a downward spiral.

Little did I know that the older you get the more a regular pedicure is essential for both body and spirit (okay, maybe in a vain and superficial way).

Then came the nail gels, which started innocently enough. A couple of years ago, my daughter tried to quell a nail-biting habit by getting gel nails, which are impossible to bite. When she began sporting attractive fingernails like you'd see on a hand model, I couldn't stop the nail envy that crept in, because I'd always had weak, wimpy nails. An added bonus? That wonderful nail-tapping ability I was sorely lacking in my life. So I got a little hooked.

Then came the brows (to avoid the brow-less look), which started innocently enough, at the behest of a neighbor. My eyebrows are fair (proof I really was once blonde), and so you can barely see half of them, leaving the other part to look like Hitlerian mustaches perched above each eye. The results of that first brow tint were, uh, eye-opening, like a mini stitch-free face lift. Cue the waxing, which really did become a necessity as my middle-aged vision deteriorated--who can see to tweeze those tiny stray hairs above your eyes if you can't wear reading glasses? And then my eyebrow expert suggested the eyelash tinting. I was a skeptic. But not keen on mascara. In fact, you know I've gone all out if I show up at your event with mascara on. So the idea of dark and luxurious lashes without annoying mascara was very tempting. And wow, what a difference! Is this starting to sound familiar? I won't even get into the gym habit at this point. Suffice it to say it's hardly in my limited budget.

I actually have a serious point to convey while poking fun at my vanity. My expensive habits make me especially sad for so many other people, and not because they might soon witness the unadulterated (i.e. more like Grandma Jo) me. But because my costly indulgences are superficial ones. So many others these days who once could afford groceries, mortgages, even health insurance are having to make hard decisions—like whether to "splurge" for food or shelter--in order to keep their lives together. I've seen them waiting patiently in line at my church's food pantry, and lined up for dinner when I help with meals at the Salvation Army.

So while I hate having to make choices that mean I might not be the me I want to be on the outside, I remain mindful that these are small sacrifices by comparison to many others in these tough economic times.

Of course the hard choice now will be whether I want to more resemble a giraffe, or Grandma Jo.

(Trying to) Write a Heroine with Universal Appeal - Sabrina Philips

(Trying to) Write a Heroine with Universal Appeal
and how it reminded me to live in the moment...

When I sit down to plan a new book, there are certain questions I keep asking myself. Whether the story potentially has universal appeal (that elusive 'global voice'), is one that I ask particularly frequently. The reason being, aside from the fact that it's an essential part of Harlequin Presents, is that when I read a romance, I imagine myself as the heroine, and when I write one, I do the same, only even more so. As a result, I always have a slight fear about whether I might be writing a heroine only I can relate to, a sort of fictional version of myself, when I really want to be writing a heroine that as many women as possible can relate to.

It was a concern that arose particularly when I wrote my latest release, Prince of Montéz, Pregnant Mistress. I didn’t expect it to. The planning was very pragmatic. In my first two books, I’d shied away from writing love stories in which the hero and heroine haven’t met before the start of the book, convinced it was more difficult to show really deep, believable emotion in the short word count of a category romance if it wasn’t a reunion story, but I made up my mind that now I would give it a go. Plot wise, I decided that the best way of showing just how deeply attracted my heroine was to my hero from page one was to have her acting uncharacteristically (i.e. going to bed with him) early in their relationship.

However, another one of the questions I keep asking myself is Is this believable? and I decided, that even if my heroine met a drop-dead gorgeous man who she desired more than anyone she’d ever desired anyone before, she still wouldn’t go straight to bed with him unless she had good reason to act so recklessly. A reason like being in a highly emotional state already…

And so I decided to put my heroine (who at that point had nothing more than a name: Cally Greenway, and an occupation: art restorer) in a situation which would be a catalyst for her acting so out of character. And so my opening was born: it’s the night of the most glamorous art auction in London and a top gallery have promised her the job of restoring her favourite paintings the second they’ve won them at auction, but to Cally’s horror, they’re sold to a mysterious telephone bidder and she loses out on her dream commission!

In order to make the stakes even higher, I realised Cally would need to have everything riding on that moment for her to be so devastated when it falls through. I saw that she’d need to be the kind of woman who’d been working solidly to achieve her career goals, and that part of her emotional journey during the course of the book would need to be learning to chill out and live in the moment.

Which was exactly when I also realised, as I looked up from my computer screen in the middle of a Sunday night as I stressed about my plot and longed for the moment this book would be written and my deadline met, that entirely unintentionally I had invented a heroine who was a sort of fictional version of myself. (I was also a bit bemused that my own fictional character had just made me take a long hard look at myself!).

As well as making me take stock and realise that I needed to stop being so goal-driven and remember to enjoy the process of writing (something I'd started to forget in the exciting, chaotic and challenging months since 'the call'), I was also suddenly afraid that I’d egotistically created a heroine who would only appeal to me.

However, by chance, the following day, my fears were allayed. In my day job arranging wedding registrations, I often have to check any readings that couples have chosen to be part of their ceremony. My colleagues handed me one they had already checked to take a look at, because they thought it was particularly beautiful. It was The Station Essay by Robert J Hastings, a piece I’d never seen before. When I read it, I was both deeply moved, inspired, and relieved. Because by complete coincidence, it not only summed up exactly what I wanted Cally to learn in my story and what I could do with remembering, but it seemed to strike the same chord with everyone who read it.

Which was the reassurance I needed. I wrote Cally exactly as I had planned, and whilst she does remind me of myself, I hope everyone can identify with the need to live in the moment a little more too.

If you get a chance to read Prince of Montéz, Pregnant Mistress, I’d love to know if you saw a little bit of yourself in Cally, but for now, I urge you to read The Station Essay. I can’t reproduce it here for copyright reasons but you can read it here: http://www.thestationessay.com/. Please post below and let me know if it strikes a chord with you too! I'll give away a signed copy of Prince of Montéz, Pregnant Mistress to one lucky commenter.

Prince of Montéz, Pregnant Mistress, is out in the UK in November 2009 and North America in January 2010.

For another chance to win a copy of the book and some L’Occitaine goodies, please visit the contests page on Sabrina’s website www.sabrinaphilips.com.

Pictures & Other Images... Christina Hollis

Every writer gets a real thrill the first time they get their hands on a copy of a book they’ve written. My initial Modern Romance for Harlequin Mills and Boon, The Italian Billionaire’s Virgin, had extra special meaning for me. The cover picture of Antonio the hero looks just like my husband did, when we first met!

When I saw the cover of the Italian version of Count Giovanni’s Virgin the other day, I got another lovely surprise. The building that appears in the background behind Katie and Giovanni looks very like the house in which I grew up. The lighting and all those beautiful flowers make it feel so real. It gives the place a genuine sense of home.

Homes and gardens play a big part in my books. The heroine in my most recent Harlequin Presents title, The Tuscan Tycoon’s Pregnant Housekeeper worked in a luxury villa with a romantic garden that was ideal for secret meetings after dark. My next Modern Romance for Harlequin Mills and Boon, The Count of Castelfino, sees heroine Meg arrive in Italy to take on the job of her dreams. She is in for a shock, as new count Gianni is intent on making big changes and throws all her carefully laid plans into chaos.

Recently, I ran a competition on my website, http://www.christinahollis.com/ asking for your favourite flower memories. I had so many lovely entries it was almost impossible to choose a winner. First out of the finalists’ hat was Jeanette from Ontario in Canada. She told a wonderful story of the man who would become her husband presenting her with a perfect single red rose over a romantic dinner for two. Jeanette preserved the flower as a unique memento of the evening, and now has many more lovely keepsakes in her collection. Little things like that really keep romance alive.

Autumn has arrived in earnest in my garden. As well as appreciating the fiery tints of cherry and blueberry leaves, I’ve been planning ahead by planting Brompton stocks, pansies, wallflowers and sweet williams to flower next year. As the nights draw in there’s less daylight time for gardening, but I’ve discovered a new indoor pastime to keep me going. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been tweeting on twitter.com as ChristinaBooks. I have a quick tweet most mornings – it’s great fun! Although there is no substitute for meeting someone face to face, technology provides us with lots of different ways to ‘talk’ to each other. What is your favourite way of keeping in touch?

Writing takes up most of Christina’s life but there’s also time for fun with the family in the fresh air- especially at the moment, as it’s ‘Walk to School’ month. You can check up on their progress via ChristinaBooks on twitter.com. For more news of Christina’s books, drop in at http://www.christinahollis.com/

Empathy - Donna Alward

I was talking to my sister recently about Empathy. My sister is a romance reader and of course sister to an author so it meant we really approached the subject from similar points. We were talking about being able to feel what others feel, and feel it deeply. It's a good trait, being able to put yourself in someone else's shoes, to offer a level of understanding. It's also, at times, very, very painful.

I don't think I could do this job without empathy, and I think most writers of romance possess it deep down inside. How else could we see a lady in a shop, or a man on the street, or a child on the playground and have some sense of what they are feeling? Of translating that feeling into a story point? Should we feel guilty for using those things as inspiration? My sister finished telling me something and she said, "You can use that in a book." (Can you tell we even think alike?) Even if my characters were not in the exact same situation, there is a universality to emotions, don't you think?

That tuned in sense of empathy is what allows me to dig deeply with my characters. Let's face it, the emotional journey is the roller coaster ride I'm taking the reader on and needing to feel what they are feeling is key for me to get that across. That's why I don't think writers are crazy who say that their characters are real people. They need to be, if only in your mind, so that you can create fleshed out, 3D, sympathetic heroes and heroines.

But bleeding on the page is hard. Because I do feel what they are feeling and it hurts. Not only does it hurt emotionally and mentally but also physically. I have physical reactions as I am writing an intensely emotional scene. That is where those beats come from. It's like I'm there in that situation, and somehow I'm feeling the cold in the room or the perceived distance between characters. I'm right there in that moment. And maybe I haven't experienced what my characters have experienced, but I still somehow manage to be there and feel what they must be feeling. Anything less and I've shortchanged my reader.

In my new release, my heroine Kelley has a traumatic past, and it takes a lot for her to trust Mack with it. When she finally does...well let me tell you, it was a difficult scene to write. Reliving it was bad enough. But needing to make someone understand - in this case the man she'd fallen in love with - made it even harder.

The one thing that makes it all worth while for me though is the hope and happiness at the end. I'm not sure I could put myself - or my characters - through it if I didn't know it would all work out in the end. It's knowing that love will overcome that makes all the suffering worth it.


And if a reader has to blink a little more now and then and has a little sniff, then I've done my job.

Kelley's story is in A Bride For Rocking H Ranch, a novella in Montana, Mistletoe, Marriage. It'll hit shelves in November and is up for presale at eharlequin and Mills and Boon (as Mistletoe &Marriage). You can read an excerpt up on my website.

The Movie Of The Book

I’m gearing up for the release of my new book, It Happened One Night, and I’m really excited about it! I was holding my breath waiting for the new reviews to come in, and the first one came in last week. I’ll share it with you later on in this post.

But before I do that, I wanted to show you this cool book trailer that COS productions made for me.



I tend to think book trailers can be a little hit-or-miss. To me reading a book and watching a movie are as different as reading a play and seeing it performed. So a book trailer can sometimes feel like an artificial merging of two unlike things—spots and stripes.

But I think COS did a great job on this trailer. It’s text-driven (no voiceovers or moving pictures of characters). It feels like a book—it has plenty of room for the reader to use her own imagination to construct the story, but it’s still interesting to watch too.

Of course, I may be a little biased.

Anyway, here’s the first review!

Romantic Times says 4.5 Stars! “Lisa Dale is adept at weaving beautiful, romantic, heart-wrenching stories. She pays attention to the finest details, and the effect knocks the wind out of you. Every single scene, character conflict and reaction is perfect. The only downside is that the story concludes, which means our time with these wonderful characters comes to an end.”

That's one for Mom's fridge, I think.

For more info on my new release, please sign up for my mailing list (http://www.lisadalebooks.com/). I'm hosting a big contest later this week--giving away a bunch of prizes. I hope you'll come play!

This Show Is Great! - Paula Roe

Hey... This Show is Great! Why Wasn't I Watching It Before? (or The Burn Notice Effect)

With all the hype and promo surrounding so many TV series, it all becomes a bit 'meh' for me. Sometimes I avoid shows *because* of the hype (Prison Break, 24 and Lost, anyone?) So now it's mid-season, your favorite shows have been shunted off in favor of another mindless sport telecast or Two and a Half Men, and instead of shutting off the box and doing something constructive, you end up tuning into a series you've never watched before. But wait... hang on... this is actually pretty good! So you watch the following week. Then the next. The next thing you know, you're hooked and dumping your usual fare for this newly discovered show.

This is what I call the "Burn Notice Effect" - shows you start watching a season or more in, discover they're pretty darn good, watch every week and then (most often) glom the other episodes/seasons you missed. Yes, I was bored one night and ended up watching Burn Notice. The yummy, droll Jeffrey Donovan (who looks so totally cool and stylish how on earth could he possibly blend into a crowd?) was the main draw card, but I stayed for the fun storylines, the action and the character chemistry - even though I feel the urge to force-feed Gabrielle Anwar a cheeseburger every time she wears a bikini...

Joss Whedon's Firefly was another BNE – after watching Serenity on DVD, I picked up the canned-after-one-season Firefly for $30. Loved the movie, ADORE the series (and of course, now we need a pikky of gorgeous Nathan Fillion to emphasis my point ).

Other shows with the Burn Notice Effect include Brothers & Sisters, CSI (yeah, I was late on this one!), Law & Order, The Unit, How I Met Your Mother, Life on Mars (the awesome UK version). And I've just finished True Blood, Lie to Me and am currently making my way through Farscape.

So my question for everyone out there - does the Burn Notice Effect apply to you? Which shows? Let me know (and why you keep watching!) and you could win a copy of an Aussie exclusive - Harlequin's Best Love Stories of 2009.

Paula

www.paularoe.com