So Bite Me - by Laura Resnick

Everything you think you know about vampires is wrong...

...Which is precisely what Esther Diamond, the protagonist of my urban fantasy series, learns in her latest misadventure, Vamparazzi, when she is marauded by vampire groupies, paparazzi, real vampires, fake vampires, and homicide cops, all while doing eight performances per week of The Vampyre, an off-Broadway play in which Esther (a struggling actress) has a supporting role. She also wrestles with the unwise desire to rekindle her erratic romance with a skeptical cop who's trying to prevent her from becoming a mysterious vampire's next murder victim.

To be candid, I initially didn't want to write a vampire novel. It was more a case of feeling I "should" write one, because I'm writing an urban fantasy series in an era when another hundred vampires swoop off the bandwagon every five minutes or so. I went from thinking, "No, yet another vampire novel would just get lost in the shuffle, so I won't bother," to thinking, "Crap, if I don't write one, then I will die forgotten, alone, poor, and unloved."

Or I would at least die without getting to write what I think about vampires—which is: Eeeuw!

Also: Yawn.

Apart from the fact that vampires have become so ubiquitous that the thrill is gone, gone, gone... I never actually understood what the thrill was in the first place.

Yes, of course, I recognize the less-than-subtle sexual metaphors of vampirism—piercing, sucking, biting, predation, dominance, darkness, feeding on one's partner, draining one's lover, and so on. And, sure, I swooned over Frank Langella as Dracula when I was a teenager, and I had the hots for the black-clad vampire anti-heroes of the Buffyverse. I would also not kick True Blood's tormented vampire Bill (based on the novels of Charlene Harris) out of bed for eating crackers...

Though I would kick him out for gnawing on my neck until he pierced a blood vessel.

Speaking from not-inconsiderable experience with members of the animal kingdom, when sharp fangs break my skin and draw blood, the pain is mind-numbing rather than erotic. And if you think about it logistically (as Vamparazzi's Esther Diamond does), lustily piercing a lover's jugular vein is far more likely to lead to a 911 call than to an orgasm. As Esther points out to vampire groupies in the novel, piercing a major artery would also involve throwing out the gory bed sheets, replacing the ruined mattress, and scrubbing down the bedroom. Seriously, how often does anyone want to do that? On top of which, wouldn't an undead lover have, you know... cold genitals? Gack.

As you may have guessed by now, no, Esther doesn't wind up swooning in the arms of a sultry vampire suitor in Vamparazzi. She does meet vampires in the book, as well as vampire poseurs, anti-vampire obsessives, and an ancient cult of ruthless vampire hunters. She also learns that there's a little more sex appeal in certain aspects of vampirism than she realized.

But a writer—even one who's got bills to pay—has to be true to her vision... and there was no way my vision could come up with a scenario in which Esther would enjoy someone sinking his fangs into her neck to draw blood (though someone in the book certainly gives it the old college try). Undead may be the new black, but it just doesn't suit me. And although I've written many characters whose tastes and views are wholly unlike my own... I felt if I was going to write a book about vampires, then I should go with my iconoclastic inclinations. Lots of writers who find vampires sexy have already presented that view of them—and, by virtue of actually feeling that way about the subject, have done it much better than I could, certainly.

On the other hand, once I started researching my subject, I was pleased to discover that vampires are much more interesting than I had supposed. For example, did you know that there were vampire epidemics in the Balkans in the 18th century? These outbreaks were so severe that the Austrian Empire (which then governed the region) sent in government investigators who wrote detailed official reports (still available) about what they encountered there. Lest you think such things are merely the eccentricities of the Old World, I should add that there was a well-documented vampire scare in New England in the late 19th century. Are you aware (I certainly wasn't) that the first-ever portrayal of a vampire as sophisticated, aristocratic, and seductive was in a popular story written by a doctor in 1819? His work influenced writers for generations—including Bram Stoker, author of the most influential vampire novel of all time, Dracula.

And speaking of writers, they (as well as film-makers) are the source of much of what you think you know about vampires. For example, folkloric vampires don't have fangs; vampires' conveniently sharp incisors are an invention of Western fiction and film, not of Slavic legend. Nor does vampire folklore claim that you can dispatch one by driving a wooden stake through its heart. This popular trope, which appears in Dracula, is an invention of Stoker's—probably extrapolated from a real Eastern European practice (Stoker was a dedicated researcher): It was customary in some regions to drive a wooden stake into the torso of a suspected vampire in order to pin the undead corpse into its grave and thus prevent it from rising to prey on the living.

Nonetheless, despite having learned a lot of interesting things about vampirism (some of which became part of the fabric of Vamparazzi), my attitude about this highly popular iconic creature remains pretty much what it always was. That is to say: Considering his diet (so to speak), there are no circumstances under which I will be willing to kiss him.

Read an excerpt from Vamparazzi: http://sff.net/people/laresnick/Excerpts/UnsympMag.htm#vamparazzi

Laura Resnick is the author of the popular Esther Diamond series, whose releases include Vamparazzi, Unsympathetic Magic, and Doppelgangster. She has also written traditional fantasy novels such as In Legend Born, The Destroyer Goddess, and The White Dragon, which made the "Year's Best" lists of Publishers Weekly  and Voya. An opinion columnist, award-winning former romance novelist, frequent public speaker, and the Campbell Award-winning author of many short stories, she is on the Web at www.LauraResnick.com.

Lisa Dale: Hedgehog Day!

Hi All!

It's a fun weekend here at my house. There's a new member of the family! Her name is Cleopatra and she's an African pygmy hedgehog. She's also the cutest thing in Bergen County NJ.

So far, she's just been sleeping (she is nocturnal) and adjusting to her new home (which is to say, when she isn't sleeping she's an angry, spiked ball of death). I'm looking forward to the day she turns back into the adorable, playful, sweet little girl she was when I met her at the breeders. One must be patient with these babies!

I got interested in hedgehogs when, funny enough, the main character in a new book that I'm putting together had a cat who--in a later draft--turned into a hedgehog. A hedgehog fit the character's personality better than a cat: quirky, adorable, and a little protective of herself. I thought: If my character can have a hedgehog for a pet, why can't I?

So I started looking into it and found out that I could. Hedgies aren't really easy pets, but they're cute as all get out. And they can be quite sweet.

Cleo's pretty much the highlight of my weekend. So rather than blog about her twice, I'll ask you to pop over to my blog to see more cute pix of her!

Lisa Dale Blog

And if you leave a comment you'll be entered to win my LOVE TO READERS prize.

Good things,

Lisa Dale

Second-Hand Dogs : : Anne McAllister

When our youngest son knew he was about to become an ‘only child’ – when his next elder brother went off to college – he basked in anticipation of his ‘onliness’ for about two days and then said, “We need a dog.”

My husband, The Prof, no push-over, said, “Take care of the cat for a year and we’ll think about it,” believing firmly that Son Number Three would do no such thing.  In fact, though, he did.

So when Son Number Two departed for university the next fall, I said, “We need to find a dog.”

Not a puppy because Son Number Three didn’t think he wanted a puppy. He was eleven, and he wanted a dog to “do things with.” 

So I got a book about second-hand dogs which was very informative about social adjustment and how to fit a ‘pre-owned’ canine into an already established family.  It gave good advice. It also helped us settle on the sort of dog we wanted – big, cheerful, easy-going, unhyper, not given to barking needlessly, able to keep up with an energetic eleven-year-old, capable of dealing with small children if required to do so – a perfect dog, in other words.

And we found one.

A three-year-old golden retriever, he had spent his first years in the kennel of a breeder. He was a stud dog, very handsome, but more than that – he was all of the long list of things we had been looking for. And he was delighted to have a boy of his own.

He had a long high-falutin’ name that we never remembered.  He was called AJ.  He should have been called The Most Perfect Dog Who Ever Lived.

He gave us – and especially Number Three Son – six wonderful years. He died much too soon, at age nine, the week after ‘his boy’ graduated from high school. 

We had, because of him, already become a three dog family – two rescued golden girls had joined us by that time.  But even with them already in our family, we knew we would continue to make a home for other second-hand dogs. We owed AJ that for the joy he’d given us.

Not many months after AJ died, Gunnar, a flatcoat retriever of sorts, came to stay.  Our vet tech said, “He reminds me of AJ. And he needs a home.”  All he really had in common with AJ was four feet and an ability to worm his way into our hearts.  A more hyper, moody, temperamental, barking, opinionated dog would have been hard to find. 

But his fur, a glossy boot black, felt like AJ’s when I stroked it.  And after he jumped through the dining room window (which was closed, by the way) the first day he came “to visit,” I realized he wasn’t going to immediately endear himself to anyone else. So yes, he did need a home.  He brought as much joy to our lives, in his way, as AJ and the golden girls did.

And when he found the girls boring (they were LOTS older and not given to rough-housing. It was like a teenage boy living with two elderly aunts), we ended up adopting Jake – an eight year old golden who also needed a home. Jake kept Gunnar in line. He charmed Kate Walker.  He charmed everyone who came his way from crawling babies to my unhappy-to-be-in-Iowa mother.  He never met a sentient being – dog, cat, rabbit, skunk (don’t ask), frog or person – he didn’t like.  The feeling was mutual (except for the skunk).

And now there are Micah and Mitch – the trouble twins. More goldens.  Mitch came to us a three months – the youngest dog we’ve ever had – because his breeder who had intended to keep him, couldn’t.  Micah was fourteen months when his owner had to move into a multi-story apartment building and could no longer get him out to play. 

Today – this very day – there will be Duke. He’s Number One Son’s dog right now, rescued from a home that no longer wanted him.  Number One Son struggles to make time for him.  So this week he will be ours. And next week, if everything goes well, he will be on his way to Montana to become the forever dog for Number Three Son’s family who recently lost a beloved golden far too young.

There have been others – dogs we’ve rescued and taken into our homes and into our hearts – since the day AJ came into our lives. They have all been distinct personalities.  They’ve all had baggage of one kind or another.  But they have made our lives infinitely richer.  They have given us furry bodies to hug, enthusiastic friends to walk and run with, cheerful grins to make us smile, empty plates where the chicken we intended to cook for dinner had been left too close to the counter’s edge (thanks for that, Jake!), and more joy than we ever believed possible.

Puppies are great. Puppies can bring love into lives from the very start. But I wouldn’t trade the second-hand dogs we’ve known and loved for anything on earth. 

If you’ve never considered  bringing a ‘grown-up’ dog into your life, think about it. There are dogs beyond counting who need forever homes.  AJ – and Number Three Son and I – would be happy to tell you that it’s a simply superb idea. 

Wherever you live there is likely an animal rescue shelter near you.  If you are interested in a particular breed, check the internet for “rescue” and then add the breed of dog you’re looking for. These rescue programs are usually staffed by volunteers who work very very hard to make sure that the dogs in their charge are people-friendly and that the homes they let them go to are a good fit.

Have you opened your home and heart to a ‘rescue dog?’  I’d love to hear about it.  I’ll bet others would, too. 

AJ thanks you!  I do, too.

Karen White - Paranormal Grit Lit - Really??

I’m known for writing ‘grit lit’—Southern women’s fiction.  My books are recognized not only by their Southern setting and characters, but also by their emotional intensity.  From my very first book (a time-travel historical published in 2000), that has been my trademark and what my readers look for in all of the books I write.  And believe me, an author doesn’t ever want to mess with reader’s expectations!

So when I proposed the idea for the first book in my Tradd Street series, THE HOUSE ON TRADD STREET, to my agent, she was a little leery at first—especially after I told her that I wanted to make this into a series.  She couldn’t have been too surprised, though.  In the last eleven years I’ve published fourteen books:  a time-travel historical, a gothic romance ala Victoria Holt, two contemporary romance/mainstream fiction novels, eight “grit-lit” books, and two “paranormal/grit-lit” novels. I’m not one for sticking to the tried and true, I guess!

In this series (THE GIRL ON LEGARE STREET is the second book, and THE STRANGERS ON MONTAGU STREET will be published November 1st of 2011), I’ve blended my favorite elements of ‘grit-lit’ but threw in my passion for old houses, the city of Charleston, a lot of history, mystery, and ghosts.  The main characters are multi-layered with a lot of emotional baggage (ala Karen White books), but their dialogue is lighter, and snarkier, than my readers are probably used to.  And, yes, my protagonist, Melanie Middleton, sees dead people.

So, how did I sell this idea as a marketable proposal to not only myself but to my agent and editor?  After all, isn’t the publishing industry married to the ‘tried and true’ despite their insistence that they want something ‘fresh and new’?  I made a deal with the devil (figuratively, of course).  I promised my editor that I could still do a ‘grit lit’ novel every year—if I could just be allowed to sneak in these cool women’s fiction/paranormal mystery books in between.  Seeing as how my books are usually around 150,000+ words, it was no mean feat promising two in a single calendar year.  But I believed in this project and I signed the deal.  It didn’t hurt that I’m the mother of two teenagers so that the need to escape to my “happy place” of writing is an almost constant one. ☺

I am blessed with a really wonderful editor who likes what I write and trusts me a great deal.  I think all of us (me, my agent and my editor) were holding our collective breaths as I worked on the first book in the series, hoping it would live up to its promise of being a book that my current readers would enjoy as well as one that would attract new readers.  After all, I’ve always had a dash of the paranormal as well as a mystery in all of my books—this one just had a little more.

I’ll admit that I had a lot of fun writing the first three books and especially THE STRANGERS ON MONTAGU STREET.  I really know these characters at this point, almost like they’re family, and they truly do lead the story and I let them!  These books are a little lighter in tone than my other books, and the dialogue between the two protagonists, Melanie and Jack, was the most fun I’ve had between the pages of a book in a long time.  With ‘bated breath, I turned in the book and waited.

Luckily for me, my agent and editor loved the book as much as I did and they reinforced the decision to keep my name for this series because it was definitely a ‘Karen White’ book—recognizable by not only the southern setting but by likeable but flawed characters who have to work through internal and external conflicts—including a ghostly presence who’s not all that nice.  Each book has its own self-contained mystery, but the characters change, evolve, and grow over the course of the entire four book series (the fourth book will be released in 2013).  I even have a cute catch phrase for them:  “Sixth Sense meets National Treasure meets Castle.”  I wasn’t a marketing major in college for nothing!

So, did I pull it off?  Did I manage to merge women’s fiction with a paranormal romance?  I think so, and judging by readers’ reactions, they agree.  Nobody really knows what to call this series—and that’s okay because I don’t know either.  Maybe my books will be the beginning of a whole new genre!  My publisher was pleased with the response and what was initially only supposed to be a two-book series became four.  It’s not too much of a hardship for me since Charleston is one of my favorite cities.  From the first time I visited about fourteen years ago, I knew it had a special place in my heart and I look forward to each trip I make from Atlanta to “research.”

Regardless of what genre people call my books, I’d like to believe that with each and every one of them I have achieved the goal that I set for myself every time I sit down to write:  to create characters readers will care about, and put them in a story that will make my readers feel every emotion, want to turn the pages, and give them a sigh of satisfaction when they get to the end.  And that’s really what it’s all about in the end, isn’t it?

A Brand New World by Michelle Styles

On the first of October, I delivered my daughter to university as it happens it is the same university where I spent my third year and met my husband.  My son had gone two years previously but I discovered that sending daughters to university is a whole other ballgame.  The relationship is different. My daughter at least was far more around. My son was often at work or on the computer.

Anyway, I also quickly discovered that it is a brand new world. Many of the buildings remain the same but the methods of communication are so different. In many ways, the entire experience has changed.

It is a world of texts,  emails and slides from lectures being put online. It is a world where all students are expected to have access to a computer. The university does provide some but most students have their laptops. Rather congregating in a lounge to watch television, my children are able to access iplayer and can watch the various programmes at their convenience.  Best of all for me is skype which enables me to have real time video conversations with them. I am able to see their rooms with the posters.  It amused me no end that both ended with variations of the Keep Calm Poster. My son’s reads Keep Calm and Carry On. My daughter’s Keep Calm and Eat A Cupcake. The sentiments reflect their personalities. And it does my heart good to see their faces. Back twenty five years ago, I was lucky to get letters and the occasional phone call after I had found the change for the public telephone. There was no such thing as phones in the rooms or mobiles. Personal computers were something the college owned etc. Email was just starting and intra campus. It was truly a different world. When I found out last Friday that my latest manuscript was accepted, all it took was a single email to my daughter and she was on skype, ready to celebrate.

Some things do, however, remain the same.  I fully anticipate in time she will discover the joys of late night conversations over mugs of hot tea, afternoon naps when you have no lectures  as well the dreaded all nighter when the computer has inexplicitly eaten your essay and the whole  wonderful world of higher education and stretching her mind. Already my daughter has learnt that if you set your alarm clock, you do have to turn the alarm on. Also that if you are making cheese on toast, it is helpful to turn the grill on. (We have an Aga which is always on and so she has never experienced an electric cooker).  And milk does go off if left for a week. She also learnt that Freshers’ week was full of lots of people trying desperately hard to be social while really missing home. She discovered that drinking takes money and decided that cake, chocolate and romance novels were more important to her than booze.

It is a brave new world out there but some things are timeless.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance for Harlequin Historical. Her latest book To Marry A Matchmaker was released in the UK in July 2011 and in Australia in September 2011. To learn more about Michelle's books, visit her website www.michellestyles.co.uk

Stella MacLean: A Taste For Life

I love being a grandmother, and some of my best moments have come from the things they say and do.

A beautiful, funny little eight-year-old girl who has a distinct preference when it comes to her day was walking to school one morning and was overheard telling her friend, “I don’t do mornings.  I wish school started after lunch.”

On the subject of school, one of my little people started school, and for several days dutifully went to the large brick building a few blocks away.  When he was asked how he liked school, he responded as only a six-year-old kid could.  “Fine, but how much longer do I have to do this?”

One day our son was scolding his children about something, when one of the six-year-old twins from the back seat of the van offered the perfect defense.  “Dad, we’re just kids.”

I was driving my four-year-old granddaughter after a downpour in which a huge rainbow formed in the sky just ahead of us.  From the backseat, a little voice asked, “Grammy, what makes a rainbow?”  I began my long explanation about water and light, when I was interrupted again from the back seat with this: “No Grammy, it comes from the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, didn’t you know that?”

Stella MacLean’s next Super Romance will be out in November 2012, a Christmas story about a man and a woman who meet in somewhat unusual circumstances.

Anna Campbell: Kitchen Appliance Lurve!

by Anna Campbell

This is a photo of the corner of my kitchen.

Do you notice the beautiful silvery thing that looks like a spaceship? That's the new love of my life - my Russell Hobbs kettle!

By the way, when I tell you I drink tea A LOT when I'm working, check out the teabag container! Clearly that statement is no exaggeration.

I've been eyeing RH kettles for years now but I've always been sensible and economical and bought the cheaper plastic Sunbeam jug (do you guys have these brands? I suspect you do!). You know, it's something to boil water. No need to go overboard!

Here's a photo of the jug that died recently on me.

Definitely functional!

But not a source of aesthetic pleasure.

Like my new kettle.

I LOVE my new kettle. I love its shiny beauty. I love the fact that it pours like a dream. I love the way that black handle curves into my hand. I love that it turns my teamaking into an event.

Yes, I am officially tragic. What can I say?

Although that might be a case of the pot calling the kettle silver!

The Russell Hobbs kettle was considerably more expensive than the Sunbeam number but I rationalized that by reminding myself over the million cups of tea it will make in its lifetime, that's going to work out as less than a cent a cup.

My farming family background insists on frugality where possible, so I felt very extravagant when I bought the silver monster. And I'm so glad I did.

Just at the moment, I'm nose to grindstone in the deadline cave - don't even have time for Sven, the Swedish masseur in the Romance Bandits lair, to give me a massage. That's seriously busy! My lovely new kettle really brightens my early morning shift when bleary-eyed, I shuffle out to have my first cup of tea for the day.

Russell, I officially have a crush on you! I'm off to carve our initials in a heart into a gum tree.

So do you have something workaday in your house that you love? A new fridge? A new washing machine? A handsome husband? Snork! Please don't make me the only kitchen appliance tragic in the entire world! It might drive me to drink - TEA of course!

Do you tattoo? - Kandy Shepherd

Have you noticed how mainstream tattoos are these days? It’s more a question of which celebrity doesn’t have a tattoo than who does. Forget rock stars, rebels and gang members—middle-class suburban women are apparently the fastest growing group of people getting tattooed.

JOHNNY DEPP:"MY BODY IS A JOURNAL"

I’m sometimes surprised at the otherwise conservative women I know who sport ink. One friend has an intricate design on her upper arm that incorporates her children’s names. Another, an inspirational quote in beautiful calligraphy on the inside of her wrist that lifts her spirits when she’s down. Another has extensive, intricate body art to commemorate milestones in her life—she’s running out of skin!
 
Me, I’m way too chicken to contemplate the pain and permanence of a tattoo. I shudder at the thought of the hour of needling it takes for even a small one. Not to mention the expense. (If I’m going to have needling, I’d rather it was the cosmetic, wrinkle-reducing kind!)
 

ACTRESS EVAN RACHEL WOLD

But that doesn’t stop me admiring a well-done tattoo—particularly on a hunky male body. I’ve noticed more tattooed characters in romances—particularly heroes with bold inked patterns that serve to emphasize their toughness and masculinity. I'm seeing them in urban fantasy, paranormal, military and some historicals. 

Book cover designer Kim Killion from HotDamn Designs says she’s seen an increase in tats on cover heros. “Tattoos are a sign of a bad boy which is appealing to some women. In historical books, tattoos can also represent status.”
 
Kim says she cringes when her models show up with ink to a cover shoot. “It’s not that I don’t like the tattoo, it’s just that what they have will never match the tat on the character for the cover. Nine times out of ten the ink has to come off and a new tat put on. Not easy.” She’s talking removal and replacement via Photoshop, of course! 
 
Kim also writes award-winning Scottish historicals as Kimberly Killion. “My heroes tend to wear ink, but it always has a meaning. The tat always has a story of its own.” Check out the Celt-inspired tattoos on her cover hero in His Magick Touch.
 
I’d got right down to the final draft of my contemporary romance The Castaway Bride, before I realized my hero Matt Slade needed a tattoo. He’d worked on building construction sites since he was fifteen years old. How could he not have ink? I gave him a magnificent eagle across his back. He’d rescued and healed an injured eagle and its soaring flight to freedom inspired him to overcome his difficult childhood and achieve heights he could never have imagined. It wasn’t a gratuitous tattoo but part of his story. And it’s hot!
 
I also gave a character in my romantic comedy for Berkley Sensation Home Is Where the Bark Is a prison-inked tattoo on his wrist that gave away his role in an identity fraud. Quite a different characterization!
 
I’ll leave the final word on tattoos to two celebrities famous for their ink.
 
“Usually all my tattoos came at good times. A tattoo is something permanent when you’ve made a self-discovery.” Angelina Jolie 
 
“My body is a journal in a way. It’s like what sailors used to do, where every tattoo meant something, a specific time in your life when you make a mark on yourself, whether you do it yourself with a knife or with a professional tattoo artist.” Johnny Depp

BRAD HAS TATS, TOO

What are your thoughts on tattoos? Do you have one yourself? Have you had a tattoo you regret? Is a romance hero with a tattoo a turn-on or a turn-off? Should people think before they ink? I’m giving away a free e-book of The Castaway Bride to anyone who comments here over the next five days via a coupon for Smashwords where you can download the book in a format to suit any e-reader or PC. Be sure to leave your email address if you would like the free download.
 
The Castaway Bride is my first foray into the exciting world of indie publishing and is only available as an e-book at Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble and other e-book retailers. It’s on sale for the bargain introductory price of $0.99c 
 
http://www.kandyshepherd.com
 

 

 

Christina Hollis: New Season, New Book, New Projects...

As I write this, we are is basking in a real Indian summer. Temperatures have been in the mid seventies to low eighties, a good ten degrees warmer than usual. The last time figures like these were recorded was over a hundred years ago. They say the English are obsessed with the weather, but on a glorious day like this  it’s difficult think about anything else.  There’s an avenue of lime trees not far from here that have featured in several of my books. In high summer bees can’t resist their flowers, and at the days grow shorter their leaves turn bright butter yellow before falling. The display usually lasts until the final leaf falls, but this year they turned brown and crisp within days.   It’s the heat.  The local farm has a chain of ponds leading from a little spring, and the water level has dropped so dramatically they are little more than muddy puddles. My grandfather used to say ‘There’s nothing so repays the debt as wet to dry, or dry to wet’ and with snow forecast within the next few weeks, I’m sure we’ll all be complaining about the cold and damp soon. It’s a job to know what to eat at the moment: the pumpkins and squashes are at their best but it seemed odd the other night to be having roasted butternut soup with pesto rolls. Meanwhile the last tomatoes are ripening, so who knows if we’ll be warning up with hot tomato soup next week or cooling down with gazpacho? 

I couldn’t live without writing, so it’s a continuous process for me. At the moment I’m working on the synopsis of a new Modern Romance while my most recent manuscript is under editorial review. In between puzzling over character outlines and motivations, I’m doing a blog tour to promote my most recent Harlequin Mills and Boon title, Weight of the Crown. I’m appearing at J.L. Campbell’s beautifully illustrated Character Depot, http://thecharacterdepot.blogspot.com/ on October 10th, while on 13th October I’m spending break time at The Writing Playground http://writingplayground.com/. I hope you’ll come and join me - my tour runs from now until mid December, when there will be a grand draw for the prize of a Christmas stocking filled with Weight of the Crown themed treats. The names of everyone who comments on my blogs during this blog tour will be entered, and the winner will be drawn during my wrap party on 15th December. If you go to http://rbpp-ch.blogspot.com/ and my website at http://www.christinahollis.com you’ll be able to find out more about Weight of the Crown and see a list of my upcoming blog dates. I really enjoy hearing from you!

The title of this blog is New Season, New Book, New Projects...because I’ve been so wrapped up in work and my busy bees this year I’ve rather neglected my poor old house and garden.  Now the nights are drawing in, the honey harvest has been processed and all the beehives made ready for winter, I’ve decided to try and get a bit more domesticated. I’ve actually managed to keep on top of the housework for almost two weeks now - which is some sort of a record! - and a few day ago I got around to buying myself a sewing machine. Now I’m ready, willing and equipped to start replacing all the curtains, drapes and linen around the house. All I need now is some inspiration, and I’m hoping you can help. 

What is your favourite online resource for sewing and crafts?

Christina Hollis writes Modern Romance for Harlequin Mills and Boon. Her most recent titles are The Count's Challenge for Harlequin Presents Extra(USA) and Weight of the Crown for Harlequin Mills and Boon Limited (UK)

You can catch up with her latest news at:

Website: http://www.christinahollis.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/christinabooks

Facebook: http://bit.ly/9rv4df

Blog: http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.com

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The Temptation of Immortality by Marie Treanor

For me, this month is one of both celebration and sadness. Celebration because BLOOD ETERNAL has just been released  (Yay! Champagne!). And sadness, because  BLOOD ETERNAL is the finale of the Awakened by Blood trilogy, and this is where I say goodbye to Elizabeth and Saloman and the other characters of the Awakened by Blood series who’ve become almost like my family over the last two years.

Of course, I can’t prevent the story continuing in my head, so they’re more immortal than dead to me J. Which brings me to one of Elizabeth’s dilemmas in this final book. If you’ve read BLOOD SIN, the second of the trilogy, you’ll know that Elizabeth found herself wanting Saloman to offer to “turn” her, because it would prove the depth of his feelings for her. Although she had no intention of accepting, the offer would have meant a lot to her – only of course, Saloman, who is nothing if not unpredictable, never made it.

Nevertheless, in BLOOD ETERNAL, Elizabeth finds herself thinking again about the temptation of immortality, more especially as she’s suffering periodic burst of unexplained illness, and prophecies of her death lurk in the background. As readers, we imagine that the only real possibility of happiness between a human and vampire has to be found by the human “turning”. And yet, despite her love for Saloman, vampirism goes as much against Elizabeth’s beliefs as Saloman’s ambitions of world domination. But should she turn?

In the words of the Queen song: Who wants to live forever? Would you?

Obviously, while wrestling with Elizabeth’s dilemma, and how it affects Saloman, I’ve had to think a lot about the pros and cons to vampiric immortality. So here are some of my thoughts, first of all, in favour of “turning”.

As a vampire, you would stay young and healthy, gain experience, and the wisdom of the old with all the health of the young. How often have you heard an elderly person complaining that youth is too precious to be wasted on the young? Imagine enjoying the best of both worlds!
Then, if you find your eternal love, it really would be eternal. There would be no death to part you – always excepting the unforeseen stake through the heart! There is a romantic attraction to this concept that goes way beyond simply not dying. We want to believe our great love will live forever.
Finally, as a vampire, you have other gifts – in the Awakened by Blood world these include a greater sensitivity, more powerful senses, greater physical strength, telepathy and possibly other psychic talents. Imagine using such formidable gifts not for your own selfish ends but for the good of the world. Who needs more justification than that?

But then, of course, we have the cons to immortality, not least of which is, according to many, spiritual damnation. Extending your existence beyond death is surely a sin against God, religion and nature.

More practically, there’s the boredom element. After a couple of centuries, surely there can’t be much new to experience. Wouldn’t you get bored doing the same old stuff, going to the same old places, with the same old undead, time after time? It’s one of the downsides that Saloman acknowledges in the books, along with the curse of insanity, which stems from the same route and which was responsible for his Ancient race dying out.

Also, as you stayed young and healthy, you’d be doomed to watch the friends and family you love die. Not just the older generation, but those your own age and younger, possibly even your kids and grandchildren etc.

And finally, there’s the matter of vampire nature. To continue your existence, you’d be forced to drink human blood every night. Leaving aside the “ee-eew” reaction, this might prove a trifle inconvenient. One of Elizabeth’s concerns is the possibility of personality change with the “turning” – would you not grow ruthless and vampiric, with evil, selfish ends, totally unlike the human you once were? Would you really want that?

Well, I’ll leave it up to you J. Would you take immortality at that price? Any other pros or cons to add to my list?

Marie

www.marietreanor.com

Celebrating Creativity

As an author, creativity is very important. I don't understand it well, but without it there would be no art or music or stories. . . or computer programs. Though technology sometimes mystifies and confuses me, I understand that it is simply hands-on creativity. When some new piece of technology hits the market (like this week's new version of the iPhone or the new Gears of War game), I shake my head at the ability of some people to make their dreams into a portable, usable format and share it with the world in general. And, as an author, I guess I do that, too!

Very few people in the world personify creativity as much as Steve Jobs did -- his creations changed the world in which we live and in which our children and grandchildren will live.

So, the announcement that Steve Jobs died hit me more than I thought it would.

It's not as though I knew the man personally or even followed him closely, so this gut reaction surprised me. I've been watching all the news bits about him, about his history, about the technology he's created or shepherded into existence and about how his many innovations came about. I find it interesting to see how much creativity is celebrated and honored by him and his life.

I want to share a couple of quotes of his -- this one about how Apple merged creativity with technology --

"Picasso had a saying. He said 'Good artists copy, great artists steal.' And we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas. ... I think part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians and poets and artists and zoologists and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world."

And this one -- about loving what you do--

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."

Both of those are inspirational to a writer like me -- reminders that unless we follow those voices in our heads and move in the direction our hearts send us, we will never be all that we can be. I don't consider Steve Jobs a saint, but I do think he's changed the world for the better and that's something I'd like to be able to say about my own life, too.

So, in honor of the man, I'm going off to let my creativity flow and to let those voices in my head and the dream in my heart show me the way.....I'm going to spend the day writing.

Do you consider yourself creative? What is your special creative power? Do you create words, pictures, ideas, people, gadgets, calm or what? Post a note and I'll pick a commentor to win a $15 iTunes gift card (I mean, really, what else could I do?!)....



Terri is busy working on her next Harlequin Historical - a new Highlander series! - coming in 2012. Her recent release, MISTRESS OF THE STORM from Kensington Brava, is available in print and digital formats and her short story KIDNAPPING THE LAIRD is available in digital formats! Visit her website for more info about her and her books.

Two Hundred Years of Wedding Dresses

It's spring 'down under' and three days ago, I had a short break with the family. We headed to a regional country town in my state called Bendigo.  During the gold rush a lot of money poured out of the Bendigo hills and as a result it has the most beautiful Victorian buildings for a town of its size. Today, Bendigo's economy is heavily underpinned by tourism and they have a very dynamic art gallery director. The current exhibition, all the way from London's Victoria and Albert museum is called 'The White Wedding Dress' and it has dresses dating back more than 200 years. Not all of the dresses are white. Did you know Queen Victoria is responsible for the tradition of the white wedding dress?

I am a sucker for a wedding dress, and in my book Boomerang Bride, Matilda wore a vintage dress. It seemed obvious to me that I had to go this exhibition. My teenage boys were not so certain so I sent them to the science Discovery Centre.

As well as dresses, there were shoes, gloves, bonnets and handbags. The beadwork on some of the dresses was amazing. Some dresses were  over the top for me and others too plain but all were a fascinating snap-shot of their time. I learned all sorts of things including the rise of the 'celebrity' bride. I thought it a recent phenomena but no, it dates  back to the 1900s.

The best way to describe this exhibition and to show you some of the dresses is this You Tube video clip. Enjoy!

Fiona Lowe is an award-winning, multi-published author of romance fiction with Harlequin Mills & Boon and Carina Press.  When she’s not writing stories, she’s a weekend wife, a mother of two boys, and she’s trying really hard to instill in them heroic characteristics like cooking and ironing.  She’s an avid reader, a guardian of 80 rose bushes, attempts to stay fit and is often seen collapsed on the couch with a glass of wine.  She hangs out at Face book, Twitter and loves to hear from readers and writers. This month she has two books out! Boomerang Bride and Career Girl in the Country



Donna Alward: Behind the Book - Off the Clock

A few years ago a friend of mine was in a terrible accident. She came out of it with "minor" injuries, but it was very traumatic. You see, she was hit by a drunk driver. She was pregnant. And her two other children were in the car.

Luckily everyone made it out okay, but it did start the ball rolling into some really tough times for that family.

So let's flip to something completely separate - my love for a man in uniform. Soldiers, flyboys, cops, firemen, EMTs....yeah. I'd been toying with the idea of writing a First Responders series for a long time. I had an idea but I had no story. I knew I wanted a story for each profession of paramedic, cop, and fireman. But that was all I had.

Finally, last year, it came to me. But it wasn't like it popped into my head as a fully formed idea. At first I thought...what if the paramedic witnesses an accident and steps in to save the heroine - who is pregnant? (see, now you get the tie in with the first part of this story).

Talk about setting myself up for trouble. First of all, I had about 25000 words to write it (as it's a novella). I have a woman pregnant with another man's child. And romance is the furthest thing from her mind as she's sitting in her car, injured.

And by the way, is a woman pregnant with another man's child even ATTRACTIVE to a man?

I had some work to do.

I had to ask myself a lot of questions. Who is the daddy and why is he not there? I figured that out and phew, that was covered. Then I thought...who is the paramedic and why would he care for the heroine beyond that of a patient? And then I figured that out - and gave them a history. A history that would mean that seeing Gabe's face is the best-and worst-thing that could happen to her.

But the writing troubles weren't over. Can a post-natal sleep-deprived mom even be thinking about love?

Well, eventually it seems she can. Especially when it's Gabe, who is willing to take it slow and steady.

Sometimes the books that are the biggest challenges turn out to be the ones we enjoy writing the most. I know I enjoyed writing OFF THE CLOCK and I'm definitely enjoying writing the next one, IN THE LINE OF DUTY.

OFF THE CLOCK released yesterday from Samhain Publishing and it's also available on amazon and other ebook sellers. :-) You can read an excerpt on my website.

Maggie Robinson: Does Age Matter?

Happy October! It’s my favorite month—my birthday month, not that that excites me too much anymore. There will be so many candles on my cake I’ll need to notify the fire department to stand by. Hopefully, they’ll send some hot firemen. ;)

I’m rather “mature.” I began my writing career at an age when a lot of people are thinking of retirement. In the past year and a half, I’ve had five historical romance novels and two novellas published under my two personae, Maggie Robinson and Margaret Rowe. To say I’m thrilled is an understatement. I’ve got four more releases to come, and am busy dreaming up something for 2013 and beyond!

My latest book is Mistress by Marriage (Brava, September 2011). It starts off six years into an unhappy marriage, an odd place to begin a romance. My characters are mature, too. The hero Edward is forty; his wife Caroline is thirty-one. I’ve been thanked by several readers for writing “grown-ups.” Here’s the back cover blurb:

Too late for cold feet

Baron Edward Christie prided himself on his reputation for even temperament and reserve. That was before he met Caroline Parker. Wedding a scandalous beauty by special license days after they met did not inspire respect for his sangfroid. Moving her to a notorious lovebirds’ nest as punishment for her flighty nature was perhaps also a blow. And of course talk has gotten out of his irresistible clandestine visits. Christie must put his wife aside—if only he can get her out of his blood first.

Too hot to refuse

Caroline Parker was prepared to hear the worst: that her husband had determined to divorce her, spare them both the torture of passion they can neither tame nor escape. But his plan is wickeder than any she’s ever heard. Life as his wife is suffocating. But she cannot resist becoming her own husband’s mistress…

Of course they eventually find a way to blend Edward’s frosty reserve and Caro’s tropical heat, and it was enormous fun to play marriage counselor to them both, LOL.

I’m curious—do the ages of the hero and heroine matter to you when you select a book? How old is too old? How young is too young? (I just finished writing a nineteen year old heroine  and kept worrying the thirty-three year old hero was robbing the cradle, although I know that can be a typical age spread in historical romances.) One commenter will get a signed copy of Mistress by Marriage!

For book excerpts and more information, please visit www.maggierobinson.net

Book Apps -- Susanna Carr

I was reading an article in the USA Today about "The 10 Coolest Book Apps for Fall." I couldn't imagine there was much competition, but oh, I was so wrong. Book apps now include:

Archival film footage, audio recordings, color animation, instructional videos, interactive maps, interactive quizzes, read-aloud options in children's books, social network integration, study tools and virtual tours

Wow! Those are cool book apps, and I'm sure the article was just a small sampling of what is available. But I have to wonder if that many bells and whistles are a good thing. I don't know if I want these many distractions when I simply want to read a book.

And I can't help but notice that the emphasis is on multimedia. That's great, but is the written word no longer enough? Even the journalist who wrote the article wonders if the definition of a book is changing!