Shiloh Walker: Character Q&A

So in this post, I’m going to interview a character. (I kinda do this when I can’t figure out what to blog about…)

Today, I’m interviewing Nessa and Dominic from Hunter’s Fall.

Me: So which one of you want to go first?

Nessa: Isn’t that kind of your decision? After all, you’re supposed to interviewing us, dear.

Me (wincing) : Please don’t call me ‘dear’. It sounds like one of my Sunday school teachers or worse, I feel like I’m being scolded by my grandmother.

Nessa (smiling at me) : You’re hard-pressed to make it out the door every Sunday the way you do just to get to church. You never make it to Sunday school. Also, neither of your grandmothers ever called you dear. Actually, I can see why. You’re a bit of a pain in the arse, as far as authors go.

Dominic (finally) chimes in: Well, that’s not entirely fair—considering you haven’t had another author, sugar.

Me: Thank you, Dom.

Dominic (shrugging) : Well, it’s the truth. Although you were something a hassle there for a while. I didn’t think you’d ever let us f—

Nessa: Dominic…

Dominic (grinning) : Hey, I was going to say finish. As in finish our story. (Then he reaches over and starts to toy with her hair.) I mean, hell, it’s not like we weren’t waiting for forever, right?

(At this point, they start kind of taking the interview over—I figure I better get control of it again.)

Me: Nessa almost did wait forever, right?

Nessa (sighing) : Five hundred years. (She starts looking sad). You made me wait five hundred years.

(Geez, how can a character make me guilty? I start squirming)

Me: Ah, technically, no. You do realize I’m only 34, right? No way can I make you wait five hundred years. You’re just a figment, anyway. You didn’t even exist until a few years ago.

Dominic (taking hold of Nessa’s hand, shaking his head) : It doesn’t work that way. Your time doesn’t work on our time—when you wrote her the way she was, you made her history. Which means you made her wait five hundred years.

(Okay, I don’t think I like the way his eyes look right now…hmmm. I smile at him.)

Me: Well, you do realize I could have made you wait even longer, right? And I could have written Nessa with somebody else…

Dominic (narrowing his eyes at me) : Nessa, didn’t you once threaten to turn somebody into a toad?

Me: Ok, interview over…geez, you two aren’t very grateful… Croak


Hunter's Fall
UNKNOWN PAST
Something strange is happening to Nessa. Ever since she survived a near-death experience she’s not exactly who she used to be—and enjoying every minute of it. Then she’s called upon to go to battle against darkness. If only she could remember why.

UNEXPECTED LOVER
Dominic is having his own problems with memory, sanity, and hallucinations. Sent to Excelsior, the covert Hunter training facility, he senses a female presence that seems so hauntingly familiar. That’s because he and Nessa share a forgotten past.

UNSEEN EVIL
As Nessa and Dominic regain their memories, their strange mission against evil becomes clearer. And all the more dangerous because whether they should trust each other is the still the greatest unknown of all.




Shiloh Walker
http://shilohwalker.com/

Wendy S. Marcus: Planning A Blog Tour

S.

As part of my promotion for my debut Harlequin Medical Romance, WHEN ONE NIGHT ISN’T ENOUGH, presently available at Amazon UK, and Mills and Boon UK, and Mills and Boon Aus., and coming to the U.S. in July 2011, I have embarked on a twenty-five stop blog tour from May through July. And I’m continuing to add stops into August.

Before getting started, I contacted some author friends to find out their experiences with blog tours. Below I will share some of their advice to me as well as advice I’ve come up with from my personal experiences.

1) Research blogs before you contact the blog owner and request to guest blog. How much traffic does the blog get? Are certain days busier than others? Some blogs run daily topics. Figure out which are the most popular and try to schedule for that day. If you write contemporary don’t target blogs focused on paranormal. Where is the blog based? If your book is only available in the U.S. you may want to avoid blogs from other countries – unless U.S. readers frequent the blog. You can figure this out my clicking on the links of people who comment to see where they’re from.

2) Depending on the size of your blog tour and the time you have available consider getting help. Since my book has international release dates I got in touch with my friend, fellow writer Nas Dean http://nas-dean.blogspot.com/ who agreed to help me set up some stops at sites I was not familiar with.

3) Stay organized. Create a blog tour folder to keep track of e-mails and contact information for each planned blog visit. You will need this information when it’s time to send in your article/interview or if you have questions.

4) Create a mail folder or Word folder to save interview questions as they come in. Sometimes blog hostesses will send out the questions with your confirmation, sometimes they will send them closer to the date of your visit, and sometimes you will need to ask for them. It’s best to have all the questions saved in one folder so you don’t have to go looking for them when you’re ready to complete the interview.

5) Create a Word folder for your completed interviews/articles. (Can be combined with the folder above.) This makes it easier when it’s time to send out your completed posts.

6) Use a calendar to track all your scheduled stops so you remember to show up and interact with blog visitors. Several authors I’ve spoken with told me of instances where they sent in a blog post in advance then completely forgot to visit the blog on the day it was up for comment.

7) Post a list of each stop on your blog tour, along with the link, on your website.

8) Print out the above list and identify what you need to do for each visit ie. an interview, an article, specific topics the hostess wants covered, word counts – if indicated, and due dates. Some hostesses like posts well in advance. For others, the week before is fine.

9) If you are scheduled to write an article, I suggest visiting your scheduled blog stop beforehand to read through some recent posts to get a feel for the topics discussed ie. educational vs. entertaining, the audience ie. readers vs. writers, and the tone ie. serious vs. funny.

10) On the day of each blog stop announce where your blogging on any loops you follow that allow promo as well as on your Facebook page and Twitter.

11) If you’ll be giving away a copy of your book at each stop, create a system for tracking the winners to include: The winner’s name. Notifying the blog hostess of the winner. Obtaining the winner’s mailing address. Mailing out the book. If you’re only willing to mail books within a certain area, make sure this is stated in your post.

12) Create a folder with a short bio, the jpegs of your promo picture and book cover(s) and all the links you will be adding to your post ie. links to your Facebook page, Twitter profile, Goodreads page, website and or blog, and all the places your book is available for purchase. Believe me, this is a real timesaver.

13) This may be last but it is the most important piece of advice I can give you. Do not over-extend yourself. When planning your blog tour be sure to take into account things like deadlines for your next book, school vacations – if you have children, and other personal responsibilities. In order to do a good job, each post/interview will take you at least 1-2 hours to complete. Remember, you want to be entertaining. You want people to like you and buy your book. You do not want your post to come off rushed. And on post day you want to have time to respond to each comment. Depending on the size of the blog, the number of comments, and the conversations you get going, this can be quite time consuming.

To give you a personal example of how important #13 is let me share this: I started my blog tour on May 9th. I have 25 stops through July 25th. The deadline for my next book is August 1st. So, during the three months of my 25 stop blog tour, in which I must write/complete 25 articles/interviews, I must also write my next book, complete my author adjustments for my prior book, attend my daughter’s eighth grade graduation – and plan/prepare for the subsequent party, host my daughter’s slumber party for her birthday, accompany my son on random college visits, enjoy the company of my oldest daughter who will be home from college for two weeks, attend weekly soccer games so I don’t appear to be a disinterested mother, nag my children to study for their final exams, get my youngest daughter packed up and transported to sleep away camp, and attend RWA national in NYC for 6 days.

Please file all that under DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!

So what do you think? If you’re a writer who has already done on a blog tour do you have anything to add? If you’re planning a blog tour, do you have any questions? I’ll do my best to help. And hopefully Nas will stop by and comment as well.

One lucky commenter will win a copy of the 2in1 UK edition of my debut Harlequin Medical Romance, WHEN ONE NIGHT ISN’T ENOUGH – the winner to be plucked from my trusty margarine bowl of names by my beautiful daughter.

Visit my website: http://WendySMarcus.com
Visit me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Wendy-S-Marcus-Author-Page/184507031577429
Visit me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/WendySMarcus
Visit me on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4823224.Wendy_S_Marcus

Pink Diamonds -- Susanna Carr

I'm happy to announce that I have a free online read on my redesigned website. "In the Pink" is about a brazen jewel thief who is determined to get her hands on a pair of pink diamond earrings. This romance story first appeared in my novella collection Pink Ice. The first chapter is up now and new chapters will be posted on every Tuesday and Thursday of this month.

There are a couple of reasons why I chose to make the diamonds pink. First, it makes for a great cover! (Lee at Author Sound Relations made the "In the Pink" cover on my website. Doesn't she do gorgeous work?) Second, after I did some research, I discovered that pink diamonds are extremely rare and that only the very elite knew about them until recently. One source claims that the most expensive diamond ever sold was a pink diamond.

I also read that diamonds are the most popular gemstones, but I'm not sure if this is true. While the diamond is usually found in engagement rings, I see lots of women wearing other stones such as ruby, jade or sapphire. One of my friends wears turquoise because it's supposed to bring good luck. I'm partial to topaz because it's my birthstone.

What is your favorite gemstone?

Between Books by Kate Walker

I have a confession to make.

I very nearly forgot about this blog.   I barely registered the fact that May had become June and that it was my day to blog.   And I've been so very tired this weekend that if I sat down I fell asleep! My over-worked brain cell just wasn't rememebering things I had to do.

That's because I just finished my latest book -  my title for it is The Devil and Miss Jones, but I'm sure that once my editor gets her hands on it that will change.  But I pressed 'send' on Friday and as this book has been written in amongst a lot of stress, family bereavement, ill health (again family, not me!) . . . you name it and it seemed the world was throwing it at me !  - I'm really glad to have actually finished this novel and sent it off to my editor. I've been focussing totally on getting words on the page (or, rather, on the computer) so that I feel that I've hardly looked up from the keyboard in days.   

But now at last I have  few moments to breathe - and relax . . .er , well . . . being between books always sounds so great - but I just wrote a 'To Do' list  - and there's rather a lot that I've let build up  while I was focusing on Diablo and Martha so there are the accounts, updating my web site, 1001 emails to answer (well, that's what it seems like) piles of laundry( did most of that today)  seeing family, seeing friends, cleaning and re-organising my office (you can always tell if I've been concent5rating on a book, by the piles and piles of paper so you just can't see the floor) a course I'm teaching in the summer (Writers' Holidays) a new course I'll be teaching next year  (more of that on my web site soon)  - both need preparing.   I need to get back on my daily walks - even that  got neglected when I was fighting a screaming dealine . . . .

But most of all,k what I want to do is READ. I haven't made a decnet dent in my TBR pile for months - too many deamdns on my time, and I didn't want to distract myself from my characters by reading about anyone elses.   So this week at least (I think it will take  more than that before my editor gets back to me) I'm going to concentrate on readiong as much as I can.

I've already made a start - I've been  gulping down the Bad Blood collection  - I think this one is called The Notorious Wolfes in America. I started the series before I had to focus on my book and then had to leave them so  now I'm finishing off the set. I have just one last book to read -   Lone Wolf  by Kate Hewitt.  I don't think this is out in America for a while.  I also have another Kate Hewitt on my TBR list -  Mister and Mischief  (The Matchmaker Bride  in USA ) . I'm reading this one because it's in the same miniseries as my next book - The Return of The Stranger. These books are  in the mini series The Powerful and The Pure where the  4 books are inspired by classics of romantic fiction . So there are books based on Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Emma  and my book is inspired by Wuthering Heights.

But I have such a huge TBR pile that I 'll also be looking at lots of books that aren't romances - I have 2  novels by Jodi Picoult I haven't opened yet, a collection of my latest discovery Diane Chamberlain,  the latest detective novels by Elizabeth George, and Sophie Hannah.  And as I had a birthday in May, there are books I was given then that I haven't managed to even peep into - One Day in May by Catherine Alliott, and a thriller  called Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson that looks so good . . .

My problem is going to be where to start. . .

And I'm going to complicate things even further by asking you for recommendations - I'm always on the lookout  for great books.

One of the things I did  this weekend  once I'd pressed 'send'  - and after I'd had some sleep!  was  to sort through the books I have for prizes etc. And I have more than I expected of the latest 3 in 1  where one of my books is reprinted. This is  One Night in Madrid - and the novel of mine that's reprinted is Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife.

So tell me - what are you reading now?  What's new and great in your TBR pile? Have you discovered a new author? Or a new book by an old favourite?  Let me know in the Comments and  I'll get Sid the Cat to pick out a couple of names who'll win a copy of one Night in Madrid.

Oh yes- and if you'd like to win a couple of my backlist books - check out the great My Tote Bag  contest where this month the titles  on offer are  The Spaniard's Inconvenient Wife  (I think at the moment it says The Spainiard's Convenient Wife but that's just a typo!) and  Spanish Billionaire,Innocent Wife  - so you have two chances to win that one!

You can read all about these books  - including my latest Presents title The Proud Wife  - over on my web site .

Or get the most up todate info on what I'm doing on my blog.

And the winner is . . .
Well, there are two - because when Sid was choosing a winner, Charlie the kitten came up and snaffled a cat treat as well - so the winners are Jo's Daughter and Marybelle!

Please email me kate AT kate-walker .com with your postal addresses and I'll send your books on to you

What's In A Name? by Beverley Eikli

Choosing a heroine’s name is a tricky business. It must reflect her personality but as you and she will be spending a lot of time together, you want to love it, too.

I named my eldest daughter Sophie after the heroine of my first unpublished manuscript, written when I was seventeen. The book languished, unforgotten in a drawer but twenty years later Sophie got a new lease of life when my Norwegian husband and I chose it as a name that would work in both our homelands.

Names can sometimes appear like omens or talismans – or pegs on which to hang seemingly arbitrary life decisions.

When Sophie was two and we decamped to the Pacific where my husband Eivind was the new Chief Pilot of Solomon Airlines, many local girls turned up applying for the job of nanny and house girl. I’d recently started a new Regency Historical Romance featuring the lovely Rose Chesterfield so when one of the applicants told me her name was Rose it seemed a good omen. I hired her on the spot.

Rose was my heroine, both on paper and in real life. My earnest, hardworking Solomon Islands Rose from the island of Malaita took charge of the needs of house, husband and high octane toddler, enabling me to give my fictional Rose a life in the third dimension.

Nearly eight years later and with two books completed in the interim Rose Chesterfield in A Little Deception has had as many ups and downs as we’ve had in our married lives living in ten different countries. Barely recognisable as the original, A Little Deception tells the story of grand deceiver Rose Chesterfield who risks her reputation to save the family sugar plantation and winds up married to the deliciously notorious rake Viscount Rampton. Unfortunately what appears to be a happy ending is only the beginning of many trials and tribulations as a jealous adversary implicates Rose in a series of high profile jewel heists. When past secrets rear their ugly heads Rose must prove more than her innocence to regain the love of her once-smitten husband.

It was a lively, exhausting story which certainly underwent its own trials and tribulations. After winning the Strictly Single competition in was requested and ultimately rejected by Avon Senior Editor Erika Tsang, rewritten and finally sold to Robert Hale after I cut a further 15000 words from it.

Like my previous two books – Lady Sarah’s Redemption and Lady Farquhar’s Butterfly – the cover art was done by talented artist David Young. However when I look at the cover of A Little Deception I see more than just the beautiful ballroom scene. Instead I recall the sparkling vista of azure seas dotted with islands which I gazed upon from my verandah as I typed, sometimes in high spirits after a lunch at the Honiara Hotel with friends from my multicultural mother’s group.

The expat community was small and vibrant. Barely a year had passed since the violent coup which brought down the government in 2000 and bullet holes still peppered some of the public buildings. RAMSI (Royal Australian Mission to Solomon Islands) was an initiative of the future, the roads were filled with potholes the size of craters and the evidence of a crumbling infrastructure was all around us. As we involved ourselves in volunteer work from providing water tanks and generators for the hospital to beautifying the capital to encourage business investment and tourism, we partied enthusiastically.

One of our favourite pastimes was descending into the unpleasant smelling basement of ‘XJ6’ every second Wednesday for the ‘ripping’ of the newly arrived bale of second hand clothing from Australia and New Zealand and to rummage through the flotsam and jetsam in search of the beautiful ‘seconds’ where everything cost the equivalent of one Australian dollar.

It was a competitive pastime and lots of fun appearing at the next embassy function kitted out in such affordable Lisa Ho, Perri Cutten or Alanah Hill designer wear. The foraging of two years in the Solomons has provided my attire for the Romance Writers of Australia’s conference dinners for the past eight years.

A Little Deception is due out in hardcover at the end of June and I have a number of library talks lined up throughout Melbourne. I like to think of my two heroines, deceiving debutante Rose Chesterfield and my own loyal Rose, enjoying a rosy future beyond the launch.

Sadly, I don’t know what has become of my real life Rose.

We were all casualties of a strife-torn political system. When our tenure on the island we considered our new home was cut unexpectedly short we could no longer provide Rose with a job as we no longer had one, ourselves. Rose went back to her subsistence existence on her island while we drifted, without a home base for many months, until a job came up and we established our footing on the next rung of the shaky ladder of life.

Rose Chesterfield was the panacea to my once nomadic existence while Malaitan Rose was my friend who learned English through our many conversations over the jugs of ‘bush lime’ for which she was famous.

A name is so much more than just a name and I miss both my Roses who are no longer such a large part of my life.

I’d love it if you visited me at my website on www.beverleyeikli.com or dropped in to say hi on Facebook.

And thank you, Lee, for having me here today.

Beverley
http://www.beverleyeikli.com/Site/Welcome.html

What are you looking forward to? by Paula Roe

June not only means my birthday (this Sunday the 5th if any of you want to get me something ), it also means we're half-way through 2011. Already - can you believe it? And with the mid-year my thoughts turn to my goals - what I've done, what's yet to be met, and what I'm looking forward to for the rest of the year. So my list-toppers are:

Winter. In my neck of the woods, the warm weather lasts close to seven months (October to April) so a chance to rug up in winter clothes and drink hot soup is a novelty indeed. I love the bite of a cold morning, your breath on the air and the gorgeous winter scarves and boots that abound. Love winter!

End of financial year sales - I love to shop. Yes, apparently I have champagne tastes on a beer income but it is an addiction I'm not really confident of overcoming. Bags, jewelry, stationery and electronic gadgets are my weakness, as well as books of the online-purchase-instant-gratification variety. Shop assistants and eBay love me.

Our writing conference. Romance Writers of Australia are celebrating their 20th national conference in August and I'm thrilled and excited to be a part of that - not just as a speaker but as a member of our wonderful writing organization. Many writers Down Under (including me) simply would not have been published if it weren't for their support and encouragement.

Edits for my next book. Yes, it may seem strange but I'm eager for those revisions that will mark my Harlequin Desire #6. I actually wrote the original version of this story close to thirteen years ago, so the journey to get Luke and Beth's story on the shelves has been a long one!

Replenishing the well - many writers I know have another creative outlet, separate to writing, that stretches their brain and keeps the spark burning. Because I love playing with fonts and colors, I design websites. And because I'm a Gemini, I'm also working on a bunch of other stories and writing projects (of course, none are quite complete as yet...)

Writing that next book. And so the circle of writing life goes on . My best part of writing is the actual planning. I love having that new idea story spark, working out who my characters are, what problems they have and will get into, and how it all comes together. I also love getting close to my deadline because sure enough, I'll have an "ah-HA!" moment and come up with some little detail that inevitably makes the story better. This always happens and I've learned to embrace the moment, not groan about the extra work that's needed

So, what are you all looking forward to? A special occasion, a time of month, an event? Post a comment and you could score a copy of my latest book, Promoted to Wife? as well as some stationery goodies.

Award-winning Paula Roe's next Harlequin Desire (title as yet unconfirmed) will be a 2012 release. You can check out her backlist on www.paularoe.com as well as writing articles and helpful links.

Jaymie Holland: Authors have Multiple Personality Disorder

Jaymie Holland is the new and very erotic alter ego of New York Times bestselling author Cheyenne McCray!

Did the title capture your attention?

One question that authors are often asked is why write with a pen name at all? There are a variety of reasons, including: the author’s real name is difficult to spell; the author has an odd real name; perhaps the author’s real name is too common and the name wouldn’t be as memorable; his or her real name is already in use by another author; the author’s real name is too similar to a famous person, past or present; the author wants something fun and different; or the author has a case of multiple personality disorder.

Kidding. Although sometimes one might wonder!

A lot of people have asked me about Jaymie Holland and why I am now writing under that pseudonym as well as Cheyenne McCray. Earlier this year I began writing romantic erotica as Jaymie and have been having a lot of fun with it. Although Jaymie has some paranormal novellas, much of what will come out will be very naughty contemporary novellas while Cheyenne’s is more paranormal romance.

Scary that I’m referring to myself in the third person…

As Jaymie Holland, I have four novellas and one novel available on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, and your other favorite ebook retailers. For something fun for my readers, the four novellas are only 99 cents each—including my new “Taboo” series: Taking it Home, Losing Control, and Alluring Stranger. In just two weeks a collection of three novellas will be published, Taboo Desires. You can check out the beautiful covers on my gorgeous new website, http://www.jaymieholland.com/.

I am excited about what’s coming up next for Cheyenne McCray, too! You can check everything out on my website at CheyenneMcCray.com. I’d love to see you at Cheyenne McCray’s Place on Facebook and you can follow me on Twitter @CheyenneMcCray!

For fun, everyone who comments to this post will go into a drawing for a copy of my most recent Cheyenne McCray novel from St. Martin’s Press, Zombies Sold Separately!

Good luck!

Cheyenne
http://www.cheyennemccray.com/ / http://www.jaymieholland.com/



***The winner of ZOMBIES SOLD SEPARATELY is Lolarific. Lola, please send your mailing info to Chey at chey@cheyennemccray.com.  Thanks to everyone else who left a comment!***

Stefanie Sloane: A Few Things I've Learned

As some of you may or may not know, I spent nearly six years as the Amazon.com Romance and Women’s Fiction editor. And though I worked almost exclusively online, my job included many of the tasks and responsibilities that a mortar and brick bookshop employee would handle. As such, throughout my tenure I paid attention to what worked marketing-wise, sales-wise, well a whole bunch of –wises, including how authors interacted not only with me, but with the host of professionals who populate the book world. Surprisingly, not one author has ever asked for my list of dos and don’ts, so I’m taking this opportunity to share it with you.

So here, in no particular order, are four things to remember when interacting with book professionals.

1. Do not bash a bookstore online. Granted, Amazon took a beating—and rightfully so—for a few of its more memorial moves. Remember the “Buy used copy” button posted on the new book page? Yeah, I thought so. Everyone was upset and a lengthy dissection of Amazon’s decision dominated the industry sites for some time. This only made sense. And I fully support an individual’s right to free speech. But when an author makes unintelligible, lengthy, expletive-laced rants on multiple sites, someone is going to notice. Actually, many people will notice, one of whom will most likely be an employee of the bookstore in question. And honestly, said author just comes off looking bad. As an author, you’re your own business. So don’t act in an un-business like way. Period.

2. Do not stalk booksellers at conference or events. Ok, you know the story about an aspiring author who followed an editor into the bathroom where she proceeded to pitch her book while the editor was, for all intents and purposes, a captive audience? Well, I wasn’t on the toilet, but this scenario is not new to me. Again, you are your business. Do you like pushy door-to-door sales people? Love it when telemarketers call with an offer you can’t refuse? Can’t wait for the next time an infomercial is ready to change your life? I didn’t think so. Making valuable business contacts should not be akin to warfare. You’re a smart individual who had the drive and determination to finish a book—so act like one. Politely introduce yourself. Offer the bookseller your business card and make it clear that you’d be delighted to talk with them about featuring your book—at a later date. No pressure. No demands. Just calm, assured, and business-like. That’s the way to make a first impression.

3. Do not spend big bucks on promo items. I can honestly say that there was not one time in the six years I worked at Amazon when I decided to feature a book based on the promo item that came along with it. And it pangs me to say so, really, since my marketing brain has come up with a zillion promo ideas for my debut trilogy, the Regency Rogues. But especially in this day and age, when the planet is slowly but surely being overtaken by garbage, it’s even more important to be thoughtful about what you’re putting out there—and where it will end up.

Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t grow your brand through tasteful, USEFUL items that make sense for your books. I can always use another pen, especially one that works well. And one that has an author’s website stamped across the side—you know, the side that I’ll see every time I use the pen? That’s smart. And bookmarks seem a no-brainer, though I’d love to see something useful for the e-readers too. Beyond this? I say think long and hard about not only what you expect to get out of offering the item, but also the responsibility you carry for putting the swag out there in the first place.

4. Do help your fellow authors out. I can remember it like it was yesterday. Big conference, lots of people, and I’m still in good standing—pre-used button incident. A very well known and successful author approaches along with another woman. I make myself ready to fawn over the bestseller—she happens to be an author whose work I’ve admired for some time. She introduces herself calmly, smiles, shakes my hand, then makes a point to steer the remainder of the conversation toward her companion, a debut author whom the bestseller clearly has a lot of enthusiasm and respect for.

This. Is. Awesome. Was I already considering featuring the bestseller on the Amazon site? Yes. Did her kindness and plain, old quality human being-ness help? You bet. But more importantly, she wasn’t just being nice. She was actively helping her fellow author, which only makes us all better. Seriously, do good. Be good. You never know when, but it will come back to you.

Marie Treanor: A Hero With Bite

The vampire Saloman, my hero, is evil. He kills without compunction; he drinks human blood; he wants to rule not just the vampire world, but humans too; and his first step in this takeover bid is to kill my nice but lonely heroine, Elizabeth.

What, you might ask, is heroic about any of that? Doesn’t he have any good points?

Well yes: he’s sexy. And he had charisma. He looks amazing, is awesomely strong and has a larger than life personality that both charms and overwhelms. Being several thousand years old, he’s had a lot of time to perfect his sexual technique. And he has a sense of humour.

What’s not to love?

Well, there’s all the other stuff about evil, blood drinking etc. Any nice heroine, however lonely, should be put off by all of that. And Elizabeth is repelled, to the extent that she plots to kill him - except when she’s with him and the sexy stuff seems more important.

In case you don’t know, I’m talking about my Awakened by Blood trilogy. The first two books, Blood on Silk and Blood Sin are already available, with the final part, Blood Eternal, scheduled for release in October. To explain a bit more, Elizabeth is an academic, researching vampire legends in Romania, when she accidentally awakens Saloman, who was betrayed and staked in the seventeenth century and is now released to extract revenge and assume world domination. To reach his full strength he needs the blood of his Awakener, Elizabeth.

I suppose it’s a bit risky to make a romance hero quite so wicked. But he’s a vampire, not a human with a dietary requirement, and I wanted him to exude that danger that so draws us to vampire stories. Saloman has it in spades, but also has enough appeal, enough mystery to keep Elizabeth guessing as to his true motives. She gets glimpses of his vulnerability and loneliness, odd moments of compassion and genuine emotion, and begins to think there is more to him – as indeed there is.

Not being human, Saloman doesn’t think like one. By his own lights, he isn’t evil. He merely has a plan and believes the end justifies the means. And under Elizabeth’s influence, his plans alter subtly. When it comes down to it, neither seems capable of killing the other. Although their ultimate aims are totally opposed, they become each other’s weakness as well as each other’s strength. The question becomes how will this affect the world?

Well, I’m not going to tell you that here – you’ll have to read the books :) . Instead, I have another question for you. How dangerous do you like your fictional heroes? And why do you suppose we love that danger so much when in real life, we’d run a mile? :) .

I’ll be happy to give away a copy of Blood on Silk or Blood Sin (winner’s choice) to one person who answers the questions or who makes some other comment.

Lynn Raye Harris - Come with me to snowy Russia!

What do you think about climbing into a troika with a gorgeous Russian prince and taking a snowy ride across a moonlit landscape? I have to admit that I found the thought quite appealing, so I made sure that the hero of my next book, BEHIND THE PALACE WALLS, took my heroine on just such a ride.

This photo shows a portion of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, but it was also the picture I kept in my inspiration file while I wrote about Prince Alexei Voronov and Paige Barnes. I envisioned Alexei's Russian palace as looking just like this.

I really loved writing about Alexei and Paige! From the explosive moment they first meet, when Alexei is trying to save Paige from a gang of men with questionable intentions, to their troika ride in the snow, to their super-charged love scenes and their confrontations throughout, this book was pure joy for me. These characters were so real. Alexei’s loneliness and heart ache, Paige’s sense of responsibility and Southern upbringing, and the way they learn to forge a life together had me alternately in tears and laughing while writing this book.

This book was originally released in the UK in January under the title PRINCE VORONOV'S VIRGIN. It was the Mills & Boon Book of the Month and spent 6 weeks on the Mills & Boon bestseller list -- 3 of those weeks at #1! I'm so happy it's finally available to my North American readers. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it for you!

‘Kiss me,’ he growled… ‘And make it believable.’

Alone and scared on the dark streets of Moscow, staid, bespectacled Paige Barnes has no choice but to comply with the handsome stranger’s command…

Little does Paige know she’s been rescued by Alexei Voronov—a Russian prince and her boss’s deadliest rival. Now he has Paige unexpectedly in his sights, Alexei is prepared to play emotional Russian roulette to keep her close and discover her true motives. But in his splendid gilded palace his game of chance spins out of control and passion takes over…

It’s only when she’s back home that Paige realises she’s pregnant with the Prince’s baby…

Today, I'll give away a signed copy to one lucky commenter. Since I'm late putting this post up, we'll run the contest through tomorrow. Just leave me a comment and tell me why you'd like to read this book! I've also started a Goodreads Q&A group to talk about this story. You can join here if you like. :) And even if you don't wish to join the group, if you're wondering why I didn't address Soviet history (the effects of Communism on Alexei and his family) in this story, I wrote a post on that here.

UPDATE: The winner of the signed copy is Mary Anne Landers! Mary Anne, email me at lynn AT lynnrayeharris DOT com with your details! Thanks everyone for stopping and talking with me. :)

Lynn Raye Harris is a USA Today bestselling author who writes glamorous, sexy romance for Harlequin Presents. You can learn more about Lynn and her books at http://www.lynnrayeharris.com/. You can also follow Lynn on Twitter @LynnRayeHarris or visit her author page on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLynnRayeHarris

Helen Bianchin: Visualization, Imagination & Creativity

Writers write. They put words on paper to convey a story.

An artist creates images on canvas with paint, and a sculptor sculpts.

A singer possessed of a voice so pure, it catches your breath.

More than talent, practice. A gift?

One of my favourite quotes is by Michelangelo - I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.

It made me wonder what artists see before they begin to craft - whether it be writing, painting, sculpting.

Does a writer visualize the characters, the setting, imagine what they say - to the point where it all seems to become real, and the struggle to convey that image is the talent, persistence - ok, sheer bloody-mindedness - to employ the right words, so the reader shares the writer's visualization?

Is there any particular artist, author - anyone - who has touched you in life? Inspired you?

I'll share a few of mine ...


A painting by Monet 's garden

O Holy Night sung by Celine Dion

Shakespeare for his prose

Michelangelo

Daniel Day Lewis for his dedication and preparation in order to play a scripted part.


Helen Bianchin
http://www.harlequinpresents.com/

Tina Leonard: The Fun of Writing A Series

The start of a series is usually agony for me, and the Callahan Cowboys was no exception! I wait and wait for the first book to finally make its way to the book shelves, and then I wait for reader reaction.

Yesterday, I received this Romantic Times review on the second of the Callahan Cowboys series, THE COWBOY'S BONUS BABY; in part, "Warm characters with devastating wit."

That made me laugh! Devastating wit is not how I'd usually describe my writing, but another reader comment on the first of the Callahan Cowboys series, THE COWBOY'S TRIPLETS, went like this:

I loved your first Callahan Cowboy's novel! It was funny &

fast-paced & had fantastic characters! I look forward to more stories

featuring these smart-aleck brothers. Thanks for making a

stay-at-home mom's busy days more enjoyable! --Jenny

So this is the fun of all the hours spent in writing a long series. As many of my long-time readers know, I do love the drama of a big family. I find myself living in their world, wondering about their dreams, wanting them to reach their goals. When the readers love the series, it's the payoff, the big ticket. Nothing makes me happier. Years ago, back before there was email as it is today and people still wrote letters, I got a fan letter that had a dollar in it so I could write the reader back. She had most considerately tucked this money in—and I somehow lost both the dollar and the letter. This has grieved me more than anything over the years in my writing career, that one letter that made its way through both Harlequin and the post office with money it, and I have no idea where it went. How I wish I could write that reader and tell her how much her words had meant to me! Every writer who has struggled for hours with their craft knows that the reader is the best part, the bonanza, the happy ending, to the writer's journey.

So thank you to that kind reader, wherever you are—your words were worth their weight in gold! And thank you to the many other kind readers over the years who have given me a career and a ready audience for my work. You, too, I thank from the bottom of my heart.

Love to you all,

Tina Leonard
http://www.tinaleonard.com/

Jessica Barksdale Inclan: The Accounting System of the Universe

I don't have proof or a chart or a grid to prove my feeling, but I do believe in karma or the return of the energy that we sow in the world. We reap what we put out there. We give and we get. What we do can come back to haunt or reward us. There is an accounting page in the universe, somewhere, and things balance out.

Most days, I think we try to forget this while at the same time trying to mind our own business and deal honorably with the world. Sometimes, we don't do so well, doing something slightly to incredibly egregious. Being curt or rude, driving like an idiot, snapping at someone, refusing to budge during an argument. We tell one of the two lies folks apparently tell per day. We ignore a request for help. We fail to file our income taxes. All of that stuff builds up, and then one day, the doorbell rings, and it's payback time.

I've been trying of recent years to consider this accounting system, this tit for tat. Some might say this is a ridiculous notion, and while it does seem wacky, I can't help but hold to it.

Revenge seems to be built out of trying to control or manage this accounting system. Something terrible happens "to" us, and we decide that we are going to extract it back from the person ourselves, unwilling to wait for karma to be enacted. We feel wrong or slighted or hurt or wounded, and what do we do? We go to the source or something around the source. We are in a fight with someone, and we write an email to a person related to tell our side of the story first, with details and effect. Someone won't write us a letter of recommendation, and we call that person's place of employment to complain and accuse, hoping that the non-letter writer will get into some kind of trouble. We are hurt in a relationship and instead of going to counseling to deal with our pain, we undermine that person's next relationship.
We want immediate karma. We want it now so that we can see it. We don't want to wait a lifetime or several--we want to see the person writhe a little, squirming, twisting in the wind or on a noose. And oh! how good we will feel.

But I don't think it feels that great. In the end, the fight still happened, the letter wasn't written, the relationship is still over. The hurt remains.

Capital punishment is the extreme form of this attempt at instant karma, and I've read that the family members who fought for years for the person to die don't have what they want in the end--the crime undone, the person harmed by the criminal alive and well and living in Peoria.

I'm not a Christian, but I am a big fan of Jesus. He was one cool, unattached, Zen dude, who seemed to understand this accounting system like no one's business. He was no doormat, though his seeming passivity in the Sermon on the Mount has been interpreted otherwise:

If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.There's a lot going on here, but what I take away from it is that if our landlords won't give us back our deposits or a student complains or a former boyfriend calls to read us the riot act, turn the other cheek. Don't write an expose on rental practices in Oakland, using your landlords first and last names. Don't write to the college your student wanted the letter giving them the "real" story about her work in your class. Don't post anything about the former boyfriend on Yelp.

Take a big breath. A really big breath. A damn, flipping HUGE breath, and walk on. There is that system out there that will even it up in some way, someday, maybe in a few lifetimes or maybe tomorrow. Don't worry about it. It's not ours to worry about any more.

Jessica Barksdale Inclan

(I am giving away ebooks this month to the first five people who comment and write me at jbarkinclan@gmail.com)

A Message of Hope and Healing -- Michelle Monkou

Today, I turn our focus on the natural disasters that have been hitting various parts of the U.S, and of course, in other countries, most notably--Haiti, Japan. Areas have been devastated by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, and floods. Communities have been ripped apart with loss of life, the injured and missing members of families. Hope, faith and perseverance are sorely tested, and yet, we see heroic deeds and random acts of kindness that refill the reservoir of our spirit when we most need it.


Now and in the aftermath, resources will be taxed and depleted. Charitable organizations will make their appeal. Religious institutions will ask for your help. Calls for volunteers will be sent out. We are a global community beyond race, religion, and other artificial boundaries. Whatever assistance we can provide, I'm sure will be appreciated.


Moreover, beyond the physical toll, will be the emotional pain of recovery. Doctors, psychologists, therapists will play a part in so many lives. Even as storytellers, while volunteer time, money, and donations continue, we also play a role in the emotional recovery with our stories of love, hope, reconnecting with family, celebrating new friendships. Our tales of empowerment motivate and inspire when the weight of the world seems heavy.

In the same spirit of the saying: "It takes a village to raise a child." It will take all of us to rebuild our global communities.

Michelle Monkou

http://michellemonkou.com/

Melanie Milburne: Finding the perfect setting for a story.

When I am in the planning stage of writing a novel I think mostly about the characters. The setting is something that comes a bit later. But how important is the setting in the course of the story?

I thought I might share with you how I came to write my Sabbatini Brothers Trilogy. It actually started with a deserted villa in the Italian lakeside village of Stresa. Yes, three books popped into my head just by looking at a villa. Ha ha! I wish!

I was in Italy with my husband and two sons. We were staying in Milan and my husband and son number two were at the Grand Prix test days at Monza, so son number one and I decided to go exploring for the day. We hopped on a train and ended up in Stresa which is a lovely rather quaint village on the shores of the magnificent Lake Maggiore. We had the most amazing time wandering around, having coffee and a croissant at a really old café overlooking the lake.

Then we caught a ferry to each of the three islands: Isola Madre and Isola De Pescatori and my favourite Isola Bella. The gardens were just amazing. I could have stayed there all day listening to the birds and wandering around smelling the roses. There was a grotto and fountains and art works that were priceless.

What a fabulous source of inspiration!

But on the way back to the train we wandered past an old villa that was abandoned. My writer’s cap went on and I started to wonder why it was empty, and who owned it. That’s how I came up with the Sabbatini villa in Bellagio where Giorgio, Luca and Nic lost their baby sister in infancy. So much sadness seemed to be pouring from the villa I walked past. The empty windows were like sad eyes.

Although I didn’t use Stresa as my setting in The Unclaimed Baby, One Last Night or The Wedding Charade, I found myself using it imaginatively. I used Bellagio as the villa setting as that seemed more appropriate for the wealth and standing of the Sabbatini family.

But back to my question: how important is the setting to the story? Personally, I prefer to keep the setting in the background. I figure if readers want a Lonely Planet guide they’ll go and read one. It’s the characters the readers want to learn about, not how many steps lead to the fountain on Isola Bella.

What do you think? Do you love detailed descriptions of exotic locations or do you just like a brushstroke of information to give you a sense of time and place?

I will give away a copy of The Unclaimed Baby to one of the commenters so please share your thoughts!

All the best,

Melanie Milburne

www.melaniemilburne.com.au

***Jo's Daughter is the winner for a copy of The Unclaimed Baby!  Congratulations, Jo's Daughter!  Please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com  with your full name and mailing address.  Thanks to everyone else who left a comment!***

Sarah Morgan: A Hollywood Star in your living room…..

When you’re a writer, research takes many different forms. Sometimes it’s a long trawl of the internet, sometimes it’s a trip abroad to interesting and exotic places to add authentic flavour to a book (that’s the tough part of the job), and sometimes it’s just a question of interviewing a bunch of friends to find out how they’d react in various situations. ‘What would you do if…..’ must be one of the writer’s most frequently posed questions, along with ‘how would you feel if……..? I actually love this kind of research because it reminds me that no two people ever react the same way. It’s the reason why books with similar themes will always be different – because the characters will always be different.

My next release for Harlequin Presents, A Night of Scandal, is out in the US next month and part of my research for that book involved plying my friends with wine and asking them the key question:

How would you feel and act if suddenly, with no warning, you had a major Hollywood star in your living room?

The hero of my book , Nathaniel Wolfe, is a Hollywood superstar. He’s the ultimate Bad Boy who uses his incredible acting ability to conceal the shocking truth about his past. But secrets, especially nasty ones, have a way of escaping and when his carefully protected world fractures and he realises his past is about to be exposed, Nathaniel needs somewhere to hide. He turns in desperation to the first person he sees, costume designer Katie Field.

Katie lives alone. Coping with family problems of her own, she works hard, spending all her spare time drawing and designing costumes and trying to follow her dream. The closest she comes to glamour is when she dresses other people …….until the night Nathaniel Wolfe begs her for sanctuary. The only red carpet Katie has ever walked on is threadbare and her budget doesn’t allow for meals in expensive restaurants but suddenly she’s entertaining Hollywood royalty in her cramped London flat.

Which brings me back to my research. How does a normal girl behave with a Hollywood superstar in her living room?

The answers varied. Some thought they’d be embarrassed, some tongue tied, one vowed never again to leave the house without loading the dishwasher in case it actually happened (I did point out that this is fiction but she’d already dashed home to start tidying).

Frankly he wouldn’t make it through the door of my house without breaking his neck because my boys always take their shoes off when they walk through the door (well trained) but never quite get round to tidying them away (not so well trained) which leaves a death trap for the unwary. So in my case the Hollywood superstar would have a broken neck and the only ensuing embarrassment would be about where to hide the body, but that’s a whole different round of research.

How would you feel if you suddenly had a Hollywood superstar (a single one, of course) in your living room? Would you be star struck, thrilled, embarrassed…….or would you sneak upstairs and find that gorgeous underwear you’ve been saving for this very occasion?

Love,
Sarah  xxxx