Susan Lyons: Heat Waves

In my day jobs, I’ve usually been a project manager – and I’m a pretty good one, if I say so myself. Those skills come in handy when it comes to the business side of writing. But when it comes to the creative side, I’m much less organized.

I’m a pantser or, to put it more artistically, an organic writer. The characters and story grow organically as I apply fingers to keyboard (and have inspirations in the middle of the night or in my morning shower). My muse prefers freedom and resists structure.

But when it came to my destination wedding books – Sex on the Beach (Belize), Sex on the Slopes (Whistler), and my July release Heat Waves (a Greek island cruise) – I realized that a purely organic approach would get me into trouble. Why? Because each book features novellas that are interconnected. Each novella can be read as a stand-alone sexy romance, but they’re more than your typical stand-alones. They take place in the same timeframe – the week before the wedding – and the same characters appear in each.

Take Heat Waves, for example. It contains two novellas.

In “Rock the Boat,” widowed wedding planner Gwen Austin is in charge of her first destination wedding, and sex is the last thing on her mind – until Santos Michaelides helps her rediscover herself as a single, sensual woman. But then Gwen finds out that there’s more to the charismatic cruise director than meets the eye…

In “Making Waves,” lawyer Kendra Kirk meets up again with Flynn Kavanagh, the sexy IT consultant she had unsuccessfully prosecuted, and sparks of all kinds fly. But her newfound ability to put her life ahead of her career will be pushed to the breaking point when she learns the truth about Flynn…

Those two novellas sound as if they’re independent stories, don’t they? Well, in fact Santos is an undercover investigator – and he’s investigating Flynn! So, in “Rock the Boat,” Santos has to keep an eye on Flynn, and he notices that there’s tension between the other man and Kendra, a cousin of the groom’s. Might they be co-conspirators?

Santos can’t bring himself to totally lie to Gwen, so he reveals his true job, but he can’t tell her who he’s after. That means Gwen is constantly wondering which of the wedding guests may be a criminal, and whether something’s going to mess up the perfect wedding she’s planning.

Gwen is very duty-oriented, and doesn’t want the guests to know she’s having a holiday fling, so she tells Santos they must keep their affair a secret. Likewise, Kendra and Flynn. Although Kendra has come to believe in Flynn’s innocence, her job would be in jeopardy if her boss (who’s a relative) found out she’d been sleeping with the enemy.

Add to the mix the fact that Flynn is suspicious of Santos, and he’s also keeping a big secret from Kendra and … well, let’s just say, there are lots of secrets and lies aboard the Aphrodite cruise ship!

All those secrets, plus the fact that both novellas take place in the same week, and that both heroes and heroines appear in both novellas, meant that I had a lot to keep track of while writing this book. I couldn’t just leave it to the muse in hopes everything would somehow sort itself out in the end.

I had to bring my project management skills to bear, so I created a chart. I prefer Microsoft Word to Excel when I’m not dealing with figures, so I set up a simple table with 5 columns: day (e.g., day 1 in the book); day of the week (e.g., Friday); itinerary (what the wedding party did that day); Gwen and Santos (what each of them did); and Kendra and Flynn (what they did). Then, for each activity in the itinerary, I created a separate row.

So, for example, on the evening of the first day aboard the Aphrodite (a Friday), the itinerary reads, “Drinks and Greek appies on board as ship sails to Sounion.” In the Kendra/Flynn column I have, “They meet; tension; he says he’s innocent; she says need to talk in private.” In the Gwen/Santos column, I have, “Santos sees the meeting and asks both about it – they say they don’t know each other; he decides to ask intern to check out a possible connection (it would be late a.m. in TO).” Santos’s office and the intern are in Toronto, which is why the time note. Gwen, Kendra, and Flynn are all from Vancouver, BC, so I also had to keep track of time differences between Greece and Vancouver, where those were relevant to their stories.

See why I needed a chart?

No, I still didn’t plot out the whole book ahead of time, but as I wrote Gwen and Santos’s story, I had to think about what might be happening with Kendra and Flynn, and incorporate it, then make a note on my chart. When it came to writing the second novella, the chart formed a rough guideline, but as always happens when I write, the characters have minds of their own and take over the action, so of course their story didn’t conform exactly to what I’d written on the chart. But, because I had that chart, I knew what I’d have to revise in the first novella – and eventually it all worked out, with the stories neatly intertwined. And, of course, with each couple, as well as the bride and groom, getting their happy ending!

We writers like to set challenges for ourselves, and sometimes we don’t even do it consciously. When I sent my editor the proposal for Sex on the Beach, I didn’t realize how complicated it would be to keep track of all my heroines’ and heroes’ actions, not to mention their secrets and lies. By the time I got to Heat Waves, you’d have thought I’d have been an old hand at it – but there was a new wrinkle with this book. Not only did the same characters appear in both stories, but the actual story lines intertwined, with Santos investigating Flynn. Yes, a new challenge!

But, armed with my chart, surrounded by calendars with lovely photos of the Greek islands for inspiration, and fueled by Greek wine, I had lots of fun writing Heat Waves. I hope readers have loads of fun too – without the hard work! – when they read it. RT Book Reviews said, “Lyons fans get a healthy serving of sex, mystery, tourism and wit, as well as charming supporting characters who add depth to an engaging read.”

I’m giving away an autographed copy of the book to someone who comments on this post.


***Pat Cochran is our winner!!  Congratulations!  Please email me at totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your mailing address so Susan can get the prize in the mail to you!***

Lisa Dale: Weddings and Writers

Hi all!

It's official! I'm happily married! I don't have wedding pictures for you yet, but I will post them as soon as I do.

The wedding itself went well and I think everyone had a good time, which was what was most important to us. And Matt and I had fun too--more fun even than we expected to have (though honestly we didn't eat a bite and I can hardly remember the reception it was such a whirl!). It was so nice to see both of our families all gathered together in one place.

There are so many stories with weddings in them, it's impossible to even count. Ever wonder why? It's not just because weddings are great for visuals.

For writers, it's important to make private conflicts public at some point. If you can have the hero or heroine stuck in the most critical point of the story while he or she is in a public place and has a lot at stake, you'll increase the tension level.

A writer could make a scene where the hero confesses his love in private--and if the heroine rejects him then he simply skulks away with at least some of his dignity intact. Or the same writer could have the hero confess his love when it really matters--in public, at a celebration of love, in the face of wild optimism and huge risk. Then, if he's rejected, he's shattered both publicly and privately.

I think Frank Capra probably gets a lot of credit for this trope of "the big reveal at a wedding." Remember It Happened One Night (the movie, not my book of the same title)? At the end, there's a huge wedding--the heroine is about to walk down the aisle and marry the wrong man while Clark Gable is scrambling to stop things...

I love the movie It Happened One Night because it established so many strong techniques of storytelling for romance. But I think that having had my own wedding gives me a whole new understanding of the wedding as a plot device!

People have been asking, "Does it feel different to be married?" And the answer is, yes and no. Every time I look down at my wedding ring I feel all warm and happy. And when I hear Matt on the phone with someone saying "my wife and I..." I'm thrilled that he's talking about me.

My own happy ending. And luckily, there were no last-minute life changing reveals at my wedding!

QUESTION: What do you think? Are wedding scenes in movies overdone? Sick of them? Or love them?

Cheers,

Lisa Dale

http://www.lisadalebooks.com

E-readers and me by Michelle Styles

My husband always declares that I am difficult to buy presents for. (I disagree. I am very easy -- I like lots of things. I just don't like filling out  lists of things I might I like.)  However this wedding anniversary (our 23rd last month), he knew precisely what to get -- a kindle (with a pink cover!) In the UK, the kindle dominates with something like 80% + of the market. There is no nook in the UK.
After all what do you get a woman who loves to read and who is rapidly running out of bookcase space..particularily when you are stumped?
Although I had read books on the computer, I had resisted getting an e-reader. The expense was one consideration and I do like the feel of paper. It was not on my top ten list. It was something I had planned to get around to at some point.  However I do take his point about the number of books in the house...
I do like my kindle. It is light weight and I can make the font size the correct size for my eyes. This is a consideration in dealing with something like the GRR Martin books which are huge and printed in mouse print.  A Dance with Dragons is 983 pages long and the print is fairly small and this is a hardback!
Best of all, it has a free sample feature. Forget the free books on kindle (to a certain extent), I like the free samples, particularly as I can then just buy the book. With teaser pamphlets, I have to go into a shop and buy the book but this way, I can just download and keep reading.
There are a number of authors who I have heard about but had not tried. In the UK, particularly in the North East, it can be difficult to find the authors I like, so I have often resorted to Amazon. Sometimes with mixed results. So I have become wary.  But now when I hear about a book, I can download a sample and see if the book is really going to be for me or not. Personally I like having the time to read the sample rather than just flicking. (Actually kindle does have free apps for just about any electronic device you might like to use from PCs to Ipads and Andriods. So you could do the free samples with any device. Just saying )
It is also easier to read in bright sunshine or in the dark.  And it fits in my purse which means I should never have to resort to reading the posters in the doctor's office again because I have run out of reading material.
The RWA National was also all about going digital. Since Christmas and really within the last quarter, publishers have seen a huge increase in digital sales. The revolution has gone from sometime in the future to now. It brings a wealth of opportunity for everyone but also a lot of change. For readers, particularly ones with poor eyesight, it means the ability to make the font size larger without paying Large Print prices OR dealing with the added weight. It also means people do not have to be as concerned bad covers. (I never minded the romance covers but my husbands and sons are of a more delicate nature...) The content stays the same. The delivery method is slightly different. That is all.
My husband was slightly shocked at the suitcase of free books that I brought back from the conference but that is another story...
One great thing for all lovers of Harlequin Historical is that they are moving to simultaneous publication in the UK and the NA market next Spring. This is because of people downloading the books from both sides of the Atlantic. It means that readers won't have to wait.
Anyway, now having received a kindle as a present, I can understand what the fuss is about. I still like print but will be saving it for special books. And if you like books and an e-reader is low down on your list...move it up.
My husband now faces another problem though...what to get me for Christmas...He has already started muttering about me providing him with a list...how hard can it be? I love books and lots of other things!
What do other people think about e-readers?

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance for Harlequin Historical. Her latest release in the UK is To Marry a Matchmaker (both print and ebook). To learn more about her books, visit her website www.michellestyles.co.uk

Brenda Novak: Time Management

With INSIDE, my new book, just out I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. There’s so much to do! Speaking engagements, launch parties, signings at the state fair. And yet I have three more books to write before the end of the year. Which brings me to time management. This is something I struggle with on a daily basis. Why? Because one thing I don’t plan into my day is time to relax and just “hang,” and that’s so important to relationships. Just being available to people is a great way to build stronger ties, but being available requires flexibility which is difficult for me and other workaholics to manage. If my kids want to go somewhere or create something, I can put it on the calendar and make it happen. But what about those times when certain subjects wouldn’t come up if you weren’t just puttering around the house together, cooking or cleaning or shooting the breeze? My weakness in this area is why I don’t consider myself an expert on this subject. I think I’m great at getting stuff done. People ask me all the time, “How do you do it all?” But time management shouldn’t be about accomplishing the most in the least amount of time. It should be about balance, about nurturing those around us while we accomplish a reasonable amount.

So now that you know my greatest weakness (I’ve actually had to set goals to stop what I’m doing and let the rest go until tomorrow—LOL), I’ll tell you how I manage to write three books (and one novella) a year, travel, speak and promote my books, run a major charity fundraiser and raise five kids. First of all, I do it by taking care of myself. Sometimes the hour I take out of my day for exercise seems like a waste. There are so many other things I want to do with that time. But I remind myself that if I’m healthy and have energy, I will be able to accomplish more in less time. And it’s true. If I get enough rest and exercise, I feel strong and capable, and it makes a big difference in my daily output.

Another sure-fire trick is to prioritize what must be done each day and to do the most important things first. That may sounds like a no-brainer, and yet it’s so easy to get diverted. If exercising every day is your goal, do it first thing in the morning. But if it’s more important for you to write ten pages a day, start with that instead. That way, when the unexpected intrudes as the hours progress, and the day begins to get away from you, you’ll still accomplish those things that are most important to you.

Keeping myself on an even emotional keel is another thing that really increases my productivity. This isn’t always easy, of course. Problems crop up, sorrows intrude, accidents happen. But developing some type of inner peace helps you withstand the emotional buffeting that goes along with the bumps of life. Some people use meditation. Others read an inspiring story. Still others keep a gratitude journal. All of these are great techniques. I simply close my eyes, take a deep breath, and think, “Be still and know that I am God.” This usually brings me right back to my center, and if it doesn’t, I begin counting my blessings—taking a look at what I’ve got instead of what I don’t have.

And who doesn’t like killing two birds with one stone? I print out pages from my current WIP and edit while I ride my Exercycle. I listen to research programs on True Crime TV while I clean house. I read my latest manuscript to my husband whenever he has to drive somewhere for work. And, probably the best thing I’ve done to date, I’ve hired an assistant. I thought this was something I shouldn’t allow myself—being raised by a frugal mother I felt as if I couldn’t justify such a luxury—but I’ve been able to extend my reach on so many fronts, thanks to this decision.

How do you increase your productivity? Do you agree that time management is more about balance than it is about working every minute? How do you make yourself take time out?

Anna Campbell: Spiffing Speech

by Anna Campbell

I used to be a real movie maven. For many years, I worked and lived either in or near a big city centre and most weeks I used to turn up to several movies in the cinema.

These days, things are different. I live in a very pretty part of Australia but it's regional. There is a cinema fairly close but it's a pain to get to and by the time I've realised something is on that I want to see, it's gone. Lots of films and only a few screens mean runs are necessarily short. And there's not the variety I loved when I lived in Brisbane or Sydney.

These days, I see most of my movies when they come out on DVD.

So because of this, I must be about the last person on the planet to see THE KING'S SPEECH. Oh, me and that nomadic shepherd in Bhutan - the famous 2011 Himalayan Mail Strike over Macs for Yacs means he's only just received his copy. I hear he's hoping to get to it this weekend!

By the time the DVD for THE KING'S SPEECH turned up, I'd heard the hype, I'd seen the awards shows and all my friends had told me how much they loved this film.

All round, a disaster.

There's nothing worse than burdening a book or a film with expectations that can't possibly be fulfilled. I was absolutely positive I'd sit down to watch it and decide it was completely overrated. It happens to me often with films that are completely over-hyped.

That's NOT what happened this time.

Instead I was completely transfixed.

What a marvelous film. It moved me to tears, it made me laugh, it convinced me I was peeking into a real world, not actors on a set. Brilliant stuff.

Colin Firth has very rightly collected honors everywhere for his brilliant portrayal of King George VI (and for me to forget it's CF, that has to be a mind-bogglingly good performance), but I thought both Geoffrey Rush (yay, Aussie!) and Helena Bonham-Carter were equally good in perhaps not quite such attention-grabbing roles.

Everything was right about this film. The look. The tone. The emotional arc of the characters. And most of all, it had so much heart. I really felt I'd lived through this time with those characters and my life was richer for it.

Can't say much more for a film than that, can you?

I think a lot of the credit for that can be given to writer David Seidler who stuttered as a child and who had a lifelong ambition to bring this amazing story of Lionel Logue and his royal client to the screen. David Seidler's life story is terrifically moving too and a wonderful story of triumph over adversity too - here's the Wikipedia link.

So did you love the King's Speech? What's the last great movie you saw? How do you see most of your movies these days?

Christina Hollis: CAREER MOVE

My July 2011 release for Harlequin Presents Extra, The Count's Challenge, is the story of ambitious chef Gwen. She'll do almost anything to make her new restaurant in the south of France a success. Etienne is an aristocrat with the money and power to make all her dreams come true, but his huge generosity comes with a price tag to match...

'I have a lot of things on my mind, Gwen. I need distraction - something to take my mind off it all and restore my faith in human nature. Last night I found the perfect solution, in you. We would make a good team. I'm sure of it. With my support you would be released from all your obligations. There would be no need for you to slave away in a kitchen. You would be free to enjoy life as it should be lived, with no  worries.'

She gazed at him, so clearly puzzled that he laughed. When he did that it made her smile, although she still shook her head in bewilderment.

'What do you mean, Etienne?'

'Exactly what I say. I'm so delighted to have found you, cherie, it would be my pleasure to provide for you, financially. I don't want you waiting on other people. I want to keep you all to myself, and support you in the way you deserve.'

He was seducing her all over again, simply by using his deliciously accented voice  and the promise in those beautiful dark eyes...
Copyright Harlequin Mills and Boon Limited, 2011

As Etienne's mistress, Gwen need never worry about anything ever again but she values her independence too highly to accept. Instead, she lets him become a sleeping partner in her business. The arrangement works well until she discovers their one night of passion has resulted in an unexpected pregnancy. Then she has to cope with Etienne trying to dictate her personal future as well as her business plans.  Neither Gwen nor Etienne is used to compromising in their professional lives, so neither sees why their private life should be any different.

You can read a review of The Count's Challenge here: http://bit.ly/j8sAhL. It's available online from eHarlequin.com at http://bit.ly/lIOG1a and Amazon.com

I had great fun writing Gwen and Etienne's story, which incidentally has been released in the UK under the title The French Aristocrat's Baby. I once harboured dreams of becoming a chef like Gwen.  What made me decide against it was the long hours worked in the hospitality business. They wouldn't have left me enough time or energy for writing.  As a writer I can cook when I like, as long as I hit my deadlines. 

Do you love your job, like Gwen? Or are you still searching for that elusive position that combines interesting work with enough time off to enjoy yourself?

Christina Hollis writes Modern Romances for Harlequin Mills and Boon, which appear as Harlequin Presents Extra in the US. You can catch up with Christina at her website,  http://www.christinahollis.com/, on http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.com/ and Twitter, where she's @christinabooks.

Back home and baking--Kandy Shepherd

Jet lag has struck. It’s five in the morning and I’m wide, wide, awake while the rest of the household slumbers. I can’t even convince a cat to keep me company.

So what am I doing? I’m baking.

After two exciting weeks away with writing friends visiting New York City for the Romance Writers of America convention and then up to Boston for Independence Day, my head is buzzing with plot points for new novels; with characters jostling for their chance to be born as people on paper. But I’m baking. I’ve relished the chance to eat out for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Matzo ball soup and cheesecake in New York. Clam chowder and lobster in Boston. Steak in Dallas, Texas, on an unscheduled stop-over. Room service burgers with sweet potato fries. Ah, the delight of no food to prepare, no dishes to wash.

So here I am in the kitchen making three types of muffins. Black & White Choc Chip. Peach and Walnut. Rhubarb Crumble. (See above for the rhubarb ones.) My teenage daughter and her friends are asleep upstairs, and I’m anticipating their delight when they follow their noses downstairs to the kitchen. Because toward the end of the trip my thoughts kept turning to my family, my animals, my garden—and the pleasure I get from cooking. I missed it. Okay, talk to me again in a few weeks when I’m back in the daily grind of meals-on-the-table and you might hear a different stress-screamed story. But right now I’m happy with that apron tied around my waist, using a recipe from my head and a wooden spoon to stir my gladness at being home into the muffin mix. And thinking about my characters who cook.

PS. Why did I bother with putting fruit in the muffins? The rhubarb I picked from the garden (pic above) and stewed with vanilla bean and cinnamon quill? Of course the kids only wanted the chocolate ones! When will I learn? But yes, my daughter was pleased to wake, smell something wonderful wafting upstairs from the kitchen and be glad her mother was home. (And my husband

was only too happy to polish off the peach and the rhubarb muffins.)

Is there something or someone you’re glad to get back to when your vacation is over? Please leave a comment for a chance to win a signed trade paperback copy of either of my novels HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS or LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD (there’s lots of muffin baking going on in that book!) and include your email address and which book you would prefer if you want to be in the draw.

http://www.kandyshepherd.com

Liz Fielding: Twenty Years

TWENTY YEARS

This month sees the anniversary of the day I signed my first contract with Mills and Boon – “Whereby it is mutually agreed between the parties hereto as follows respecting a work of fiction of approximately 50-55,000 words entitled AN IMAGE OF YOU (hereinafter referred to as “the work”) the complete typescript of which has been delivered to the Publisher and accepted by the Publisher.”

Even now, reading that, I get a bit goosey. Remembering the phone call from my first editor to say they’d bought it, signing the contract, the day the first box of books arrived. My first sight of the cover. Holding my book. Opening it and reading the first few lines and knowing that it wasn’t all some mad mistake. Rushing to my parents to show them.

It has been a long journey, with a few ups and downs on the way. Some rejections — yes, contracted authors do get rejections — and a few books, not many, that have whizzed through without a word being changed, which is wonderful and yet vaguely disturbing. I miss that chance to give it a final tweak.  

There have been covers that I’ve loved — my latest, a Riva called Tempted By Trouble is coming out very near the top! — and some I’ve hated. I’ll gloss over the titles. We all know that they are nothing to with the author and everything to do with marketing.

There have been award nominations, I have two Rita statuettes tucked away on the shelf under the stairs; sadly I had to give back the Betty Neels Rose Bowl at the end of the year. And I’ve been fabulous conferences in New York, Denver, Washington, Leicester and Egham and this weekend I’ll be at Caerleon for the Romantic Novelists’ Association conference. Forget “messing about in boats”; there is nothing, absolutely nothing, to beat spending a weekend with romance writers en masse.  

And in April I delivered FLIRTING WITH ITALIAN, my sixtieth story, to Mills and Boon. A diamond moment if ever there was one.

What I remember most, though, are the wonderful friends I’ve made during the last twenty years. Writers, who are the only people who understand exactly how you’re feeling when the words won’t come. Or when they do. Editors who have taught me so much, made me write better than I knew I could. But most of all readers. God bless you for buying the books. Thank you for posting lovely reviews on Amazon. For befriending me on my blog and on twitter and writing to me when a book has delighted you. Rushing to buy the latest title.

You are the ones who keep this industry going. Your enthusiasm, eagerness for new stories, your joy, anticipation as you open a glossy cover, click “download” onto to eReader. We do it for you.

So here I am, raising a glass of champagne to all of you.

Thank you for twenty wonderful years.

Michelle Rowen: Books and cats

There's a cliché about single women who owns cats and read romance novels.

Well, I'm a single woman who owns cats and WRITES romance novels. And I definitely don't consider myself a cliché, thank you very much.

I have always owned cats my entire life, but they've always been extremely stand-offish and aloof. They prefer to hide, not liking to be petted, and only came out to be fed or to give me a slightly annoyed glance.

About four years ago that all changed. I acquired two cats about six months apart and while they couldn't be more different from each other, in the "friendly" category, they are really more like lap dogs.

Here, let me introduce you.


I got SPIKE from the Humane Society. In a Wal-Mart, no less. At the time I was looking for a cat for company in my new condo and, as a newly published paranormal author, I wanted it to be a black cat. Very fashionable. And there he was. I quickly learned that Spike had a couple key personality traits -- extreme need to be loved and petted and a talent for fetching bottle caps.

Since I still had a day job then, I knew a cat who needed a lot of attention (a lot), would need company during the day. SAMMY was soon acquired at a local pet shop. I know. I would have liked to go the Humane Society route again, but how could I say no to this face?


Quickly I learned that the tiny kitten joining the family was no pushover or typical "younger brother." Sammy, from day one, was a total alpha and he asserted his dominance over the much larger, much wimpier Spike. Still does. There is one difference though -- Spike is great with visitors and isn't shy at all. Sammy, the alpha, hides under the bed like a little furry scaredy-cat until any company leaves.

So these are my two furry babies and I love having them around when I'm writing (as long as the meowing doesn't get too loud).


They're as excited as I am about my brand new release, BLOODLUST, the second book in my Nightshade urban fantasy romance series that came out on Tuesday.

Okay, I'm lying. They can't read. But I sense their excitement anyway.

Happy Reading!

Michelle xoxo

For more information about BLOODLUST or any of my other books, please check out my website at www.michellerowen.com.

Equality - Donna Alward

I've been sitting here for a few hours, working away, trying to come up with a topic to write about. There shouldn't be any shortage; I've just come back from RWA Nationals where tons of exciting things happened.

But I didn't want to give another conference report, you know? And then as I was doing the dishes I thought about what the takeaway is from Nationals. We get asked that on our art fact sheets, you know. What's the takeaway?

And as I was thinking about all that I realized what it is that makes Nationals so special. It's not the fangirl moments - though those are great from both sides of the coin. It's not the networking, though that's pretty darn energizing too. It's not even awards or parties...wait. Ok, so maybe the Harlequin Party is the exception, because it's pretty damn fabulous (here I am with my roomate Fiona Harper at the Waldorf Astoria), but even that kind of contributes to the point I'm about to make.

The takeaway is equality.

At Nationals everyone is the same. We all love the romance genre. We all love writing. We all just GET IT. Nothing brings this home like listening to the keynote speakers and it is why I hate to miss them and really try not to. It is so inspiring and humbling to hear someone speak about how they wrote on the QT for more than a decade before finally selling their first book. It's awe inspiring to hear about some people's struggles not only to be published but to get through life - if you haven't read Sherrilyn Kenyon's keynote speech on facebook, go find it. It is encouraging to know that best selling authors suffer the same trials of just WRITING THE DAMN BOOK as we do. And it doesn't matter if you're unpublished, newly published, a midlister or a NY Times Best Selling author. When it all comes down to it, we're all the same. And do you know what that means?

It means anything is possible. If they (meaning the "stars") can do it, why not us? The possibilities are endless. There is hope. And I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of hope, and of promise, and of hard work.  I love that there doesn't have to be limitations.

In the words of Red Green, "We're all in this together."

That's what I bring home from Nationals, and that's what fills my heart and makes me excited to keep doing this job. It's not the awards or signing books or shaking hands with people. It's this feeling of community and positive energy. It's addictive, and it's hard to come back to real life when it's all over.

But real life intrudes just the same - and includes a brand new release day for me. A FAMILY FOR THE RUGGED RANCHER hit store shelves yesterday! And I have to admit this is a special story for me. The hero is dealing with the issue of aging parents and facing his own mortality. He was lovely to write!

Until next time, happy reading!

Donna

www.donnaalward.com

Wendy S. Marcus - Planning Contests

The last time I was here, back on June 7, 2011, my post focused on planning a blog tour. (Presently this is stop #15 on my 30 stop blog tour to promote my debut Harlequin Medical Romance, WHEN ONE NIGHT ISN’T ENOUGH.) This month I decided to follow up with a post on planning contests – specifically my experiences and not the legalities involved.

I see them all the time. Join my mailing list. LIKE me on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter. When I reach 500 friends/followers/subscribers I’ll give away an Amazon gift card. And I thought, heck, if it’s that easy to boost my friends/ followers/ subscribers sign me up. An Amazon gift card giveaway it is! But, in a desperate attempt to jack up my numbers quickly, I decided to take it one step further. How about separate contests for the months of May, June, and July with the prize of a $25.00 (U.S. currency) Amazon Gift card each month. All people had to do was LIKE me on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter AND join my mailing list. And hey, since I wanted people to follow me on my blog tour across the continents, I also offered a $50.00 (U.S. currency) Amazon gift card to the person who visited me at the most stops as well as a book giveaway to one lucky commenter at each blog I visited.

Here’s what happened:

May $25.00 (U.S. currency) Amazon gift card contest:

Problem #1: After I promoted my contests, Facebook put out some new rules about people running contests where you need to LIKE a Facebook page to enter. The new rules were, in my opinion, confusing and made me nervous about running a contest that in any way involved Facebook.

Problem #2: People didn’t follow the contest rules. I got some new LIKES on Facebook, some new followers on Twitter, and a few people joined my mailing list. But very few people did more than one out of the three. The result: For the entire month of May, only 5 people met the criteria to officially enter my gift card giveaway contest. And one of them was already a Facebook friend who joined my mailing list. Another was already a subscriber to my mailing list who LIKED my Facebook page.

Problem #3: It was hard to reconcile if the RandyRedhead who followed me on Twitter was the Mary Margaret who subscribed to my mailing list on the same day. And because of the Facebook fan page vs. personal page issues, it was hard to distinguish between familiar author names that followed me on Twitter and the names that LIKED me on Facebook or subscribed to my newsletter.

Book give away at each blog stop contest:

Problem #1: I was told contests should steer people to your website. Make people work for that free book. And after seeing an author do this, entering, and actually winning a copy of her book, I tried: To enter into the contest to win a free book, all you have to do is go to my website, read an excerpt from WHEN ONE NIGHT ISN’T ENOUGH, and answer this question….. Maybe I got 20 comments on my post, most of them saying how much they hoped to win my book. But only two people actually followed the rules, read the excerpt, and e-mailed me the correct answer.

Problem #2: Now this problem may be unique to me, but since medical romance has an international audience and my blog tour consists of stops across the continents, I had no limitation on who could win a free book. Did you know it costs over $7.00 to mail a book that costs $4.75 to South Africa? This is something to think about folks. Postage can really add up. Then there’s the time it takes to mail international packages. Each requires a separate form to be filled out. After the first few packages I wised up and requested a handful of the forms so I can fill them out ahead of time.

$50.00 (U.S. currency) Amazon gift card to person who visits me at the most blog stops contest

Problem #1: Recordkeeping. Do you have any idea how time consuming it is to track all the people who comment on the blogs you visit so you can keep a record of how many times each particular person visits? Trust me when I tell you…it takes more time than you think. Luckily I have the help of the wonderful Nas Dean http://nas-dean.blogspot.com/ who is at this very moment compiling a list of everyone who has commented my blog tour thus far.

Problem #2: Originally my blog tour was supposed to run from June through July so in my initial rules for the contest I’d put the winner would be chosen at the end of July. Well, then I added dates in August. Dilemma. Do I change the contest rules or stop the contest encouraging people to visit me on my blog tour in July, as planned, and make it seem like my stops in August are less important than my previous stops?

Problem #3: As people found out about the contest, they went back to comment on old blog posts where I’d been and gone and hadn’t returned. Nas found this when she went back to compile a list of all my commenters. Prior to her help, I’d simply printed out the list of commenters three days after each post and had planned to go through them at a later time.

What ultimately happened?

After much angst, I picked the winner for the May $25.00 (U.S. currency) Amazon gift card and canceled the contests planned for June and July due to lack of interest. I am continuing with the book giveaway contest at each blog stop and have written off the cost of postage as a cost of doing business. I have tweaked the rules of my $50.00 (U.S. currency) Amazon gift card contest to specify that it now runs through August and each entrant has to visit me within three days of the post. No going back after the fact. I also cancelled the requirement that entrants also LIKE me on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter AND join my mailing list.

Going forward I will think long and hard before I run any more contests. Oh, I’m sure I’ll run them here and there, but only with help. And I will put much more time into planning out requirements that are easy to track – so I don’t have to make changes to my website that confuse people. How embarrassing!

Go ahead and file all this under don’t let this happen to you!

So, are you an author who’s run a contest? Anything you’d like to share? If you’re a reader, what’s been your experience with contests?

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. (And I’ll mail it anywhere!)

To read an excerpt from WHEN ONE NIGHT ISN’T ENOUGH or to see where you can purchase it, visit my website: http://WendySMarcus.com/books/
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

What's Your RITA IQ? -- Susanna Carr

On July 1, the Romance Writers of America announced the 2011 RITA winners. The RITA awards celebrate the best of romance fiction.

And, once again, I haven't read many of the books. In fact, the only one I've read is Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis. (And you should read it, too!)

I swear, I should have read more than that. And my RITA IQ isn't so stellar when I look at the list of finalists. How did I miss so many great books?

Needless to say, I'm adding a few of these books to my TBR pile.

How many RITA books have you read? Here's the list:


Winner for Best First Book: Pieces of Sky by Kaki Warner

Winner for Romance Novella: "Shifting Sea" by Virginia Kantra in Burning Up

Winner for Young Adult Romance: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Winner for Paranormal Romance: Unchained: The Dark Forgotten by Sharon Ashwood

Winner for Novel with Strong Romantic Elements: Welcome to Harmony by Jodi Thomas

Winner for Contemporary Single Title: Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis

Winner for Romantic Suspense: Silent Scream by Karen Rose

Winner for Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure: The Moon That Night by Helen Brenna

Winner for Contemporary Series Romance: Welcome Home, Cowboy by Karen Templeton

Winner for Inspirational Romance: In Harm's Way by Irene Hannon

Winner for Historical Romance: His at Night by Sherry Thomas

Winner for Regency Historical Romance: The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig

Happy July - With Kate Walker

It's the first Sunday in July - it hast to be as  I write all my blogs for Tote Bags 'N' Blogs on the first Sunday of the month! But the  first Sunday of july marks a month that's always rather special for me.Rather special and rather busy!

I've just done the revisons on my latest book - fingers crossed that my editor like them  - and now I can look forward to the rest of July as I do every year.  What's so special about July? Well, apart from the fatc that  we do usually - well, sometimes, finally get the summer weather we've all been looking forward to, there are some event s coming up this month that I look forward to.

For a start, tomorrow is the Men's Final day at Wimbledon.  For years my Sunday afternoon treat has been to watch the men's final, together with a bowl of strawberries and ice cream as I do some heavy duy research by watchig the strong, fit men wearing white shorts and tee shirts and pounding up and down the green of the tennis court. Some years I've been really enthusiastic, strongly supporting one player or another but this year I don't really mind who wins -  I'll just enjoy the event. (It's probably just as well I'm not supportign anyone as when I do, I tend to get over-enthusiastic, yelling  'Oh yes Rafa or Roger or  whoever - more! More! This can get slightly embraarrassing when I realise that the windows are wide open and the neighbours can hear every word - but then they know I'm a romance writer so they expect me to be a bit crazy!)

In a normal July, the first event I usually get to is one I'm going to have to miss this year - the Romantic Novelists' Association has its annual conference  from July 8th - 10th. This year I'm not going to make it.   I wish I could be there to catch up with everyone and meet friends I don't usually see except at this one event.   Maybe next year.

But July 14th is one date I'm not going to miss. On that day The Babe Magnet and I will have been married for years and years and years  - I was a  child bride, honest!  I remember we just picked the date out at random - three weeks after we left university.  It's a very special date obviously and one well worth celebrating.

Then at the end of the month  the Babe Magnet and I will head for one of our favourite places in all the world -  Caerleon in Wales. This is where we take part in the fabulous Writers' Holiday help in part of the University campus there. We've been going for - I think it's ten years now, and we've only missed it once. Our year just didn't feel the same that time.  We both have a very special place in our heart for Wales because it was while we were both at university there that we met for the first time and so in many ways it fels a little bit like going home.

We are both teaching a course this year - I'll be teaching Writing Romance based on my 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance. And the Magnet is teaching Writing Poetry. We'll also have several clear days when we can read and relax - there is always someone interestign and fun to talk to at Caerleon - and there  are some wonderful speakers, a poetry reading . . . the Welsh Male Voice choir. I can't wait!

And we always add on a day at the beginning and the end of the visit to Writers' Holidays - staying en route at the lovely town of Great Malvern - we've done this every time we've been to Wales and we love Malvern with it's steep hill, lots of interesting craft and jewellery shops  and - most importantly for my husband, a fabulous second hand bookshop where he can spend hours just investigatig the shelves and always fnds something that's just fascinating -  and that he claims will help him with his research into his own writing!

Oh now that I've told you all about my July I'm gertting even more excited at the prospect - I just can't wait to  pack the cases and head off for Wales.

So what about you?  Are you doing anything special in July? I know that so many of my American friends and readers will of course be celebrating on Monday - so can I take this choance to wish you all the very happiest Fourth of July  - I hope you have a wonderful day!

My latest novel- The Proud Wife (Presents Extra)  is still available  on Amazon or eHarlequin.com and   my 2000 title Constantine's Revenge has just been reissued as an ebook. Coming up next will be The Return of the Stranger which is out in September (UK) and October in Presents Extra in USA.

You can find out the most up to date information and all about these boks over on myweb site  or on my blog

Oh and over on My Tote Bag - there's a contest to win a couple of  my  backlist books - this month its The Antonakos Marriage and  Bedded by The Greek Billionaire.  Good luck!

Tracy Kelleher: Summertime

I know it’s truly summertime when Fourth of July rolls around.

This morning I went to my local farmers market to pick up ingredients for the barbecue that I will hold at my house. There’s nothing like fresh Jersey vegetables—tomatoes, green beans and especially corn. The informal bouquets of flowers were too tempting to pass up, as well. At the butcher’s I stocked up on hamburger and sausages. Even the dog will celebrate the holiday with a smoked bone. And did I mention the zucchini breads and oatmeal cookies that called out to me as I strolled by the bakery?

Holidays are wonderful, not just because they’re a chance to eat and drink with family and friends, but also because they provide a precious excuse to stop our daily routines and take time to enjoy the pleasures of life. It’s okay not to make one more delivery, answer yet another memo, mow the lawn, do the laundry, or in my case, write another chapter to the current book. These moments of shared respite allow us to unwind and just be.

And not just holidays provide psychological and social comfort. Local adult education programs enliven the mind in a noncompetitive environment that all members of the community can enjoy. I know my little town offers as rich supply of classes, including foreign languages, photography, cooking, chair caning and cartooning. In keeping with this spirit, the third book in my “Adult Education” series for Superromance, INVITATION TO ITALIAN, comes out this month. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Carrying on this theme of community and tradition, in 2012 I will have three books out for Superromance centered on characters returning to their college reunions—oh, the possibilities for drama and comedy! I’m looking forward to seeing them on the shelves, as I hope you are, too.

Until then, I always love to hear from my readers. Have a great summer!

Tracy Kelleher
http://www.tracykelleher.com/

If Money Were No Object by Paula Roe

There’s many things I love about being a writer – working from home, writing for a living, meeting wonderful readers and fellow writers. And one of the techiques that kick start me into a new story is asking ‘what if’. Some would call it day dreaming :-) but one of the frequent ‘what ifs’ when I was growing up (besides “what if I got a pony for Christmas?”) was “what would you buy if you won the lottery?”

Okay, so I’ve moved on from “building a chocolate volcano”, “new rollerskates” and “paying Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran to marry me” (although the chocolate volcano thing still holds great appeal...) But this question recently came up during a conversation I had with my 10 year old son. Of course, his answers were along the lines of “buy every single Lego set made”, “adopt a bunch of cats and rabbits” and “take a trip to Hawaii”. Mine? After I ruled out the obvious charity donations, I came up with these:

• holidaying in style. It’d be business class all the way, absorbing the wonders of Europe without worrying if the communal toilet would still be working when I returned to the cruddy, broken-down hotel that looked way better in the brochure.

• a nice car. Nothing over the top, just something cute and sporty, with a soft top. And a hybrid, of course!

• sparkles. I love jewelry, so I’d buy me a gorgeous pink diamond ring to mark the momentous occasion

• a personal trainer. Because given the chance, I like to laze around in bed, or relax in front of the TV or sit in front of the computer. Writers’ lives can be so sedentary and some cute muscley guy helping me work up a sweat would be a great motivator :-)

• a summer house. Somewhere along the Gold Coast of Australia, or maybe on one of the Whitsunday Islands. Or, heck, maybe I’ll just do a Richard Branson and buy the whole island instead and rent it out to the rich and famous when I’m not in residence!

So, what would your lottery win bring you? A Caribbean cruise? A house on Sydney Harbor? Share your fantasy – money no object! - and you could win a book from one of my backlist.

Paula’s next book, Bed of Lies (Harlequin Desire) is a February 2012 release. You can visit her at her website http://www.paularoe.com, Twitter www.twitter.com/paulawrites or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/paularoefanpage

Kathleen O'Reilly: Checking in from RWA, NYC

Hello, all!

Kathleen O'Reilly, on the scene at the RWA National Conference. We're at the very purple and glass Mariott Marquis hotel, the site of this year's conference. There's a lot of energy (possibly because of the Times Square environment), and sightings have included Justin Beiber, Shia La Bouf, and also some pole-climbing dude who stopped traffic for two hour because the cops thought he was a terrorist. Sheesh.

Still, it's all in a typical New York City day. I have no great gossip to report, no new trends. I could make stuff up, because you know, I *do* write fiction, but I'll stick to what I feel is correct. There's a lot of writers who will be self-publishing their own back list. It's the California E-Gold Rush, with lots of prospectors, lots of old timers talking about their high-falootin earnings, and lots of dreams of success, striking the hearts of even the most ordinary mid-list writers. What's different from the typical writing dreams of before, is that the balance of power is shifting (oddly enough) to the writers. Publishers are giving *sales speeches* to authors, agents are talking about the dangers that lurk in them there hills. There's no sheriff, and the are side businesses popping up like gophers. Editors, packagers, cover art designers. Everybody is in there to follow the dreams.

New York Times best-selling author Julia London says there's been a lot of talk about the explosion of ebooks, but for me, this conference has been like many others before it. I started eating at 9am on Tuesday, and I haven't stopped.

Sherri Browning Erwin, author of the upcoming Grave Expectations, has this to say: I came in with grave expectations, and my expectations have been met.

Author Dee Davis, suprisingly enough, had nothing to say, but then promptly recanted.

Author Jacquie D'Alessandro was not available for comment, but made enough of a fashion statement that words were not necessary.

All in all, the conference is full of caffeinated energy, and there's a lot of excitement and good news!

Jessica Barksdale Inclan: Adapating to the Job

To be honest--and I'm not actually sure I want to be too honest, as it still seems scary to contemplate--the past say three years of my writing life have been a bit troubling.

The problem with writing as a career is that there are no sick days, pensions, vacation plans, benefits, or colleagues in the next cubicle to bitch and moan with when the boss sends an evil email about production. In fact, unless you find your own colleagues--workshops, writing groups, online list serves, etc--you can be alone in a room a lot, staring out at the blankness of your own imagination. Or, when your imagination has been on overdrive, there's no one to turn to and brag.

"Look!" you say, pointing at your screen. "Three thousand words."

The empty room reverberates with more silence.

Thus you find writers on Facebook reporting their word counts, hoping for someone to respond or comment or "like." Yes, our comments say to the writer. Well done you.

The good news for me is that I'm also an English professor, and I teach with a number of writer/teachers, and I have folks in the next office. Of course, mostly we are complaining about students, but I can run ideas past them--and my writing group is made up of these writer/teachers. I belong to groups online and on land, and I do find ways to bond with other writers. But the bottom line is that here I am, writing in my room alone. I can bug my husband and read some of this blog aloud to him, but, really, he needs to do his online banking.

Starting about three years ago, trauma ensued in my writing life with not only my agent firing me via email but my editor succumbing to a terrible illness. Imagine the stunned horror and grief at both of these occurrences, and then imagine the silence of my career as I had no "boss" any more, of any kind.

Agent hunt, agent found, new novel now on the edge of going out into the world for potential new "bosses" to buy. It seems so simple as I write it here, but from about the fall of 2009 to now, my job as a writer has been fraught. If it were a job in a company, imagine I was working without pay or temping or interning. Not only that, but the boss at this temping job communicates little or not at all, I don't know what dress to wear, and there is no lunch hour.

Late last year as I waited for my agent to chime in on my manuscript, I did some very deep soul searching about my writing career. I remembered what I first started writing--poems and short stories. I enrolled in a couple of online writing classes, and I started to go back to my roots, the type of writing I used to do in the wee hours when my little children were asleep.

I wrote poems--my writing group and I created a poetry boot camp: a poem a day--and I wrote stories. I dug in my files for stories I wrote years ago. I revised them. I worked on them some more. I submitted my work to my classmates and teacher and let them dig in. My readers read them. And then I revised and revised.

I started to send my stories and poems out to small literary journals, the kind I used to get published in before Her Daughter's Eyes came out. These journals pay in absolutely nothing, and these days as so many are online, there's not even a hard copy to put in the shelf. But it felt good to see myself there.

Yesterday, I found out that the collection I put together is a semi-finalist in a contest that includes cash and publication, the hard copy kind, the kind you can actually put on the shelf. But before you think happy thoughts for me, I'm sure this manuscript won't be accepted or win. It's not quite ready yet, and I've worked on the stories in the three months since sending it to this competition. But what validation! How good this feels. It's like working on a plan and having the boss say, "Not bad. Fix this, and maybe it's a go."

Here's a couple of links to places where my stories and poems have been published online in recent months. This work is very different than my novels, especially the romances, but I think of it this way: in a job, I'd be a journeyman. I could work in a few departments. Maybe, I'd have job security.

Heart of July

Spinning
Scroll down for this one

Tuna for the Apocalypse

Best,

Jessica Barksdale Inclan or Jessica Inclan or Jessica Barksdale (jack of all trades)

Sharon Ashwood: Unleash the Hound

Imagine a world where the vampires, werewolves, and everything else that goes bump in the night comes out of the closet on a network TV talk show. This is the universe of the Dark Forgotten, of sentient houses that threaten to eat their visitors, of vampires whose venom gives an orgasmic high, of guardsmen whose souls have been ripped away by long-dead monsters, and of the lost who will not renounce their dreams of love.

Imagine meeting someone who was young, handsome, protective, and handy when it came to fixing a leaky tap or taking out the villains. He’s the go-to guy in the community for problem solving andleadership. Everybody likes him. He oozes competence and has a great sense of humour.

This is Lore, the Alpha hellhound hero of FROSTBOUND. He’s been left in charge of keeping the peace among the supernatural population. A snowstorm has lockeddown the city, and someone has murdered Lore’s human neighbour. A beautiful vampire, Talia Rostova, is the victim’s cousin and the prime suspect.

Lore does the only logical thing (for a hellhound) and takes her prisoner. He's not freeing Talia until he's sure that she's the prey and not the hunter. Of course, it’s a slippery slope once one has a beautiful woman, handcuffs and, well, soon Lore is falling for the wrong kind of girl with far too many secrets.

You'd think a beautiful woman in his bedroom would be a good thing, but trouble-prone Talia has run afoul of someone more sinister than your average lunatic killer. An ancient Undead is wreaking vengeance on the city—and on her—and Lore will have to go far beyond a stake to put him back in his grave.

Frostbound is an action/adventure story, but it’s also a romance about forbidden love. Who are your favorite star-crossed lovers?

Read an excerpt: http://www.sharonashwood.com/frostbound-excerpt.php

Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjEmIDCwEcc

Melanie Milburne: Acting Your Way Into Feeling

Have you ever had to pretend to be nice to someone you couldn’t stand?  Or pretend to be interested when you’re bored? Or smile when you really wanted to cry?

I don’t think there are many of us who haven’t had to do one or all of the above at some point.  But one thing I’ve learned about such situations is the concept of acting your way into feeling.

I think I first heard the term about twenty-five years ago in a relationships handbook.  I read so many back then I have no idea which book it was from or who wrote it. But the deal is this: You might really hate your husband/partner for not putting out the trash or... (I’ll let you fill in the details!), but if you act loving towards him, guess what? Your feelings magically turn back into love.  

Or what about this scenario: You might just hate being seated next to Great Aunt Gladys at a family wedding because she talks non-stop about herself, but if you act interested, guess what?  You suddenly realize she is a rather lonely old person who has a lot of memories she wants to share before she dies.

We all have to pretend at times and this concept is at the heart of the second book in my Sabbatini Brothers Trilogy- One Last Night.

Maya is in the process of divorcing her rich and powerful husband Giorgio Sabbatini. She feels a terrible failure because she hasn’t been able to provide him with an heir. A one night encounter with Giorgio brings about an unexpected surprise but because she has never been successful in bringing a pregnancy to term she decides not to tell him.

This would be all well and good if it hadn’t been for the fact that Giorgio needs her to pretend to be reconciled with him for a few weeks as his beloved grandfather is terminally ill.

Not that Maya really had to pretend too hard or anything. She hadn’t fallen out of love with Giorgio in the first place. Giorgio on the other hand was definitely going to learn all about my relationships concept of acting your way into feeling!

What situation have you been in where you had to act the opposite of what you were feeling? I’ll send an autographed copy of One Last Night to a comment poster at random.

Warmest wishes,

Melanie Milburne

***Melanie picked Laurie G. as the winner!  Laurie, please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your full name and mailing address and we'll get a copy of One Last Night in the mail to you!***