I'm Back, Did You Miss Me?

Happy Tuesday All,

Sorry for the long silence. Last week husband had off and I don't post on the weekends and Monday I was getting used to the usual schedule after the weekend.

I'm doing all right. Friday I went out with 3 of my best gal-pals and we had a blast. A lot of laughter and fun. I didn't get home until almost 2 a.m. I never thought I'd stay out that late--we didn't do a lot...mostly hung out at Starbucks, then at one of the ladies' apartment. But it was still fun and we all agreed we had to do that again (although I'm hoping that I'd get home before 2 a.m. next time LOL). Trust me, me being out that late is very unusual.

I'm so behind on scheduling my blog! I still need to email some people and see what I can figure out for this year. But don't worry, I'll get it pulled together.

I finished an ARC for an official blog review that will be posted in March and the novel is also releasing in March. I'm very excited about it and I'm looking forward to posting it. But I'm not telling what it is! You'll just have to wait and see.

So what's one question you'd want to ask one of your favorite authors?

Have A Terrific Tuesday!

Pirates Take Over My E-Reader

Happy Friday All,

Before I get started on today's topic, I want to give you all a heads up about a post I enjoyed on another blog. This post was done by Will Graham, author of Street Heat and Sometimes There Really Are Monsters Under The Bed. I highly recommend you check out the post, it's called Can't Never Did Anything and it's on MuseTracks.

But, first, before you go to MuseTracks to check out that awesome blog post, come on board a pirate ship with me in Jennifer Bray-Weber's Pirate Romance, Blood And Treasure.

I've been interested in reading this one because pirates are one of those mysteriously fascinating things that I've sort of dipped my foot into every now and again (plus I'd heard great things about it). I don't know much about them, but I know some of the legends and stories out there. After all, my husband's a big fan of the Pirates Of The Caribbean movies and of course, Laura Childs' Tea Shop Mystery had some pirate lore in it.

So, I purchased and downloaded to my e-reader Jennifer's book (she plans to have it available in-print at some point).

From page one she had my attention. She took just a short paragraph to have me picturing a street behind a tavern in the 1700's. I stood there with her heroine, Lianna Whitney, as she's startled by a French man who slides a medallion down her dress. I could see pirates, Captain Zane Fox, and his best mate, Blade, burst through and make off with her.

Jennifer's imagery is so fantastic. You sail the seas right with her characters, you duck the British soldiers, deal with betrayal, contemplate the hangman's noose, and a host of other adventures you'd only find on Captain Fox's ship.

The book is an adventure, romance, suspense, and thrilling ride all wrapped up into one novel.

If you haven't sailed the high seas with Captain Zane Fox and tavern-maid, Lianna Whitney, I suggest you get up that gangplank, weigh anchor, and set a course for one of the websites that offers the novel immediately!

Blood And Treasure by Jennifer Bray-Weber is currently available on Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook.

Have A Festive Friday!

It's An Extravaganza!

Hey Everyone,

I'm behind on reporting on a couple of contests. I apologize to the contests hosts and to you, my readers, as well. I hope you all will forgive me. Anyway, TA-DA! Here's some information on a couple of contests I know about...

Here's info on the contest that C.C. Hunter's holding. The deadline is September 1, 2011 and there's all kinds of prizes. Please go to her blog for more information. C.C. Hunter is the author of Born At Midnight. Her second one, Awake At Dawn arrives in print in October of 2011. It looks like a really fun contest, so I hope you'll take the time to go check it out.

Fortunately the owner of the blog that's hosting this contest just posted about it on Tuesday, so I'm not far behind--I hope. Anyway, I need to tell you all about the contest Suzan Harden, author of Blood Magick and Seasons Of Magic: Spring (both novels available on Amazon Kindle  and Barnes & Noble Nook) is holding on her blog. The prize is a copy of Jane Carver's Mind Rider (which looks so good!)  Deadline for this contest is this Thursday, June 30, 2011 so get moving and head on over to Wild, Wicked & Wacky (Suzan Harden's Blog) to get details.

 A Cupcake And A Latte often hosts giveaways, so if you haven't checked out that blog, go see. It's a really nice blog. I've enjoyed several posts on there and I only just found out about it earlier this month (I think? Maybe it was May) in any case, it often has contests.

Next giveaway/contest I'm having? Well, if the author I'm interviewing still plans on giving away a book copy, then that's when I'll do it. So far the interview is due to be posted on July 21, 2011 (At this point I haven't heard any different, if that changes, I'll let you know).

I'm actually hoping to do another giveaway that's not connected with any author interview in the near future. I have a couple of ideas, but I don't think they'll happen in July--that could change, so don't forget to come back here for updates.

The other thing is, a reader of this blog could approach me about doing a giveaway/contest. You never know...someone might say to me, "Bethany, may I give this away on your blog?" (Hey that's what happened when Tonette emailed me about the Janet Evanovich booklets--which by the way, if you haven't been to your local bookstore, Smokin' Seventeen is released and out and ready for you to pick up your copy).

So don't be a stranger and be sure to go check out the blogs that I mentioned are having contests. You don't want to miss the deadline for Suzan Harden's blog contest (it's tomorrow!) You have about 2 months to enter C.C. Hunter's blog contest--and that one is more involved, so you might want to hurry. A Cupcake And A Latte has contests on and off and I don't know Mocha's schedule, so be sure to go check out that one. Links are posted above with their respective paragraphs--any lavender/blue words are links to blogs/websites.

Have A Wondrous Wednesday!

Spotlight On Author: Tess St. John

Happy Friday All,

The drawing/contest part of this post is now closed...but please feel free to read the interview.

I got my days mixed up. This week has been nutty for me, so for some reason I thought next week was the 27th (even though yesterday was the 26th, I kept thinking for some reason I was posting this on the last day of the month). Anyway, I feel horrible I didn't have this up earlier...but at least I'm getting it up now.

Today is a special Author Interview Day. I'm going to call it "Mutual Admiration Day" because of this:  I've got Tess's interview on here today, and today she's got a guest blog post on her HER blog that I did! Below (after the interview) there's a link I provided to the guest blog post I did for Tess St. John's blog. There's a short part about writing fantasy/paranormal, then I do an interview with the hero of my novel, Surreal--his name Monroe Dubay and he's a man-beast lion...to check out what all that means, read the interview on here with Tess St. John, then after the interview click on the link provided below and go check out my post!

As you all know, Tess St. John is a friend of mine. We met when I was first getting interested in the NWHRWA. She was absolutely wonderful about welcoming me. We met [in person] at that year's Lone Star Conference and that sparked a friendship that has spanned over 2 years already. We became each other's Critique Partner (she's fabulous). She believes in me, encourages me and has helped me so much.

So please, give a warm welcome and applause to my dear friend, Tess St. John. CONTEST:  If you post your email address (or at least email it to me) I'll enter you for a drawing tonight. One lucky winner will get a copy of Tess St. John's book, Second Chances. I'll close the contest about 10:30 p.m. Central Time. **Edit as of 2:55 p.m. Central time:  If you have trouble posting a comment, email me and let me know you want to enter to win a copy of Tess St. John's book**

Me:  You write in Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense and Romantic Mystery genres. Do you have a favorite out of those that you enjoy writing the most?

Tess:  I think it depends on when you ask me! If I'm working on a historical, all I think about is how much I enjoy that. Then when I'm writing the contemporary romantic suspense/mystery I absolutely love that. So today, I love historicals!



Me:  Authors pull from all sorts of places for inspiration. Do you have a particular source of inspiration, or is it anything and everything?

Tess:  Since I see scenes when I write, I'm not sure where the inspiration comes from. I think it's just my blessed life, to be honest.


Me:  For Fun: What's your favorite color?

Tess: Red.


Me:  What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Tess:  Write. Write. Write. Then write some more. I believe classes are wonderful and critiquing others' work is educational, but unless you write, you'll never be a writer. And read everything you can get your hands on.

Me:  For Fun: Do you have a favorite book hero, and if so, who is he? (I know your husband's your favorite, but aside from him...someone from a book you read).

Tess:  I have so many! But if a gun was pointed at my head, I would have to say Cam Rohan from Lisa Kleypas' book "Mine Till Midnight".


Me:  What books are on the horizon for you to put out this year (and their genres)?

Tess:  I released "Emma's Chance" (a short story) and "Second Chances" (book one of my Chances Are Series), in April, those are historicals. I also hope to release "Don't Let It Show" and "Eyes of Jade" (books one and two of my Undercover Intrigue series)  this summer (note: Tess doesn't have an exact date for those releases, yet). Then before the end of the year I hope to have "Angel Eyes", "Eyes of a Stranger", and "Lyin' Eyes" (the rest of the Undercover Intrigue Series) out by the end of the year (if my health cooperates).


Me:  Where will your books be available?

Tess:  Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords.


Me:  When you're not writing what's something you enjoy doing?

Tess:  Spending time with my family, playing pool, reading, cross-stitching.




Me:  Second Chances and Don't Let It Show are listed on your website as the first novels you're releasing. Can you tell us about them?


Tess:  "Second Chances" --Love that frees a heart - also captures it. Lady Emma Easton’s elopement to an elderly earl shields her from an abusive father, until her husband’s death leaves her vulnerable once again. Only one man can protect her—the earl’s trusted friend, Viscount Drake. After losing his wife, Lord Drake vows never to marry again. But his heart warms to the young widow he’s promised to protect. Emma’s love frees him from the darkness that’s consumed him. But now Drake must protect her from her father’s evil whims, or face losing her forever.


"Don't Let It Show" -- Attorney Gail Martin's life can't get any worse. Her client has been convicted, her law license suspended, and her inbox inundated with a strange riddle. But things start looking up when a handsome cop saves her from the press. Undercover FBI agent Sam Newton is in Houston to catch drug dealing cops while pretending to be one. His identity must be kept top secret, but his attraction to Gail can't be concealed or ignored. He's tried, repeatedly. As their love deepens, Gail confides she doesn’t believe the man in jail for her mother's murder is guilty. She and Sam investigate her mother's case, hitting nothing but dead ends. When tragedy strikes, Gail is left with only the email riddle, which leads her on a deadly quest for the truth about her mother’s life and death—if she can stay alive long enough to solve it.


Me:  What do you hope the future holds for you as a writer?

Tess:  Just that I can continue to write. I have two other historicals I hope to release in 2012 and a Reality Love Series in Outline form. I just want to write.


Me:  Anything else you'd like to add?

Tess:  Thank you, Bethany, for this opportunity to be interviewed! It wasn't as painful as I thought it might be! And thanks to everyone who stops by!  My website is http://www.tessstjohn.com

Thank you so much, Tess St. John, for doing this interview. Thank you everyone for your patience with me as I "get my footing" after a busy several days!

To check out the guest blog post I did on Tess St. John's blog, please click here.

Have A Fantastic Friday!

Blogger, Suspense, And Whoo-Hoo!

Happy Friday All, Correction--I'm so embarrassed, I only realized I had put Thursday instead of Friday at around 9:30 p.m.! This was supposed to have been Thursday's post, but it didn't happen due Blogger being down, as of 11:08 p.m.

For about 2 days blogger was down for maintenance reasons. I was unable to sign in or update. I just now found out it's up and running and so I can finally get back to my Monday through Friday posting.

The other day I got an email in my inbox from a friend of mine saying he had put out on Kindle and Smashwords his new novel, Street Heat.

Will Graham has been a fabulous person to know for the last 2 years. I interviewed him last year (under the name Will Simon) where I talked about some of his other works.

He also was the one waiting not far outside the door after my first in-person pitch with an agent, offerring me encouragement and support. (Everyone I know who knows him thinks he's awesome, so it's not just me).

He gave a very educational talk last year on Hollywood and reality of cop/detective type shows with personality profiles and enough things to keep you up at night (you can see a little description of the talk if you arrow down the margins on the NWHRWA site).

In any case, he's a great writer and wonderful friend, and I hope any of you who like Thriller/Suspense will go check him out. I believe you'll find yourself wrapped up in a story that you'll be glad you read!

So whoo-hoo goes to Will and his new release! I wish him all the best.

Have A Fabulous Friday! <--Correction as per my edits in the beginning of the post as of 11:08 p.m.

In Your Dreams

Happy Friday All,

Nina Cordoba has a new release. Not Dreaming Of You is something I've been looking forward to being released because I was quite curious about this one and it looked like fun. I've purchased my copy, now I invite you to do the same. It's available on Kindle and Nook.

I also recommend checking out another author. He is the hound at Four Foxes One Hound Blog. He posted on Thursday about books and their influences on a writer, which is a really great post (and yes, I did comment there). 

Question of the day:  What do you dream about?

Have A Fantastic Friday!

Who's That???

Happy Tuesday All,

Well it's "Shrove Tuesday" or, some prefer to call it "Mardis Gras" which means "Fat Tuesday" (the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent). I really don't do anything to mark the day per se. I mean, I have a book with meditations and it has somethings to think about for this day, but I don't do anything big to mark the day. Do you?

Annette McCleave on SILK & SHADOWS blog, has interesting post about characters and what they look like, which has gotten me thinking about how I imagine characters when I read a book. Often times I don't have the same "vision" as the author of the book I'm reading, but generally, when I go back to the character description I realize I probably left out a detail when I pictured the character in my head.

It's funny thing, imagination. Sometimes it leads you down a great path and things "click" other times you wonder what went wrong.

Authors rely on their imaginations to picture their characters, stories, and even settings. Without it they wouldn't be able to describe things to you.

As for me, the hero of Surreal was something I thought of based on another factor, but then when I saw one of my brothers-in-law and thought about 2 others, I realized what I had essentially created was a morphed image of 3 of my brothers-in-law (which was all done subconsciously). Now, I'm not saying it's a literal translation, but it's as close to how my hero looks like in real life that I can get.

What about when you see movies that are based on books? Is the actor's portrayal how you pictured the characters?

When you see the models/actors that inspired an author, is that the image you had in your head when you read their novel(s)?

Have A Treat-Filled Tuesday!

Final Countdown...

Happy Wednesday All,

It's 3 days until Christmas! What are you doing to get ready for the big day?

Most of my Christmas things are done. (As I talked about in my special Holiday Wishes post entitled The Week Before Christmas).

Here's some Christmassy posts I've found among my fellow blogger/writer friends:

Anna Kathryn Lanier had a Christmas story come out on December 8th called A Gift Beyond All Measure and she's posted candy recipes on her blog.  She also had author, Robin Badillo post about it being "The Season Of Romance".

Fellow blogger and friend, Marsha, over at Marsha's Musings, posted a fun post about Christmas Movies.

What am I doing? Spending time with my family, working on a couple of stories I have going, and looking forward to all the wonderful fun and blessings of Christmas.

So, tell me what's up on your end?

Blessed Christmas to you and enjoy your 3 days before Christmas
:-)

Have A Whimsical Wednesday!

Spotlight On Author: Christie Craig

Happy Tuesday Everyone,

Sorry about the delay in getting Christie Craig's email interview up. Normally I can just copy and paste interviews from my email into my blog, but this time my blog would NOT let me paste the interview! So everything has to be done manually, which takes longer.

Anyway, let me introduce you to Christie Craig:

I met her through the NWHRWA, which we're both members of. She's a real sweetheart. Funny, fun, and makes you feel comfortable (you don't feel shy or uncomfortable because she has a very hospitable presence about her). She's also very helpful, offers great advice and encouragement (I know this from experience, she's been very encouraging to me).

Christie is a multi-published author of both fiction and nonfiction. Her works include things like Divorced, Desperate & Delicious and her up-coming non-fiction (with elements of fiction) work, Wild, Wicked And Wanton: 101 Ways To Love Like You're In A Romance Novel...due out this month). You can find more on Christie on her website here.

Without further ado, I give you the email interview with Christie Craig:

Christie is giving away a free autographed copy of her new book, Shut Up And Kiss Me to one lucky commenter of this post!

Me: Could you tell us a little bit about your new novel, Shut Up And Kiss Me?

Christie: Welcome to Precious, Texas. My hero's foster father, Redfoot, believes in Fate. And he believes the spirits come to him in dreams and tell him who is whose soul mate. He is determined Shala Winters, the new tourism specialist/photojournalist coming into town and his son, the Chief Of Police, Sky Gomez, are soul mates. Sky takes one look at Shala and decides he wouldn't mind the "mating" part, but the "soul" part, meaning the forever kind of love...well, Sky doesn't do that. He watched love destroy his parents that ended in murder/suicide. And Shala, who had her heart shattered once, is here to work, not play, and she's opted out of forever as well. Unfortunate for Sky, she's not into quick flings either.

Ahh, but this is Precious, where you don't get between Fate and what It wants, because Fate, even though It has everyone's best interest at heart, doesn't fight fair. It will use whatever It can: skunks, fire ants, and a whole pack of wacky town folk to help It, too. Nevertheless, it's not just Fate stirring up trouble in this tiny town. When it becomes clear to Sky that someone is willing to kill to get Shala's camera, it's Sky's job to find out why and who and more importantly to keep Shala safe. But can Sky do it when none of this is making sense? And can he safe Shala without his heart to the one woman who might be his soul mate?

Me: Was there anything in particular that inspired Shut Up And Kiss Me, or was it one of those ideas that was "simmering" in your mind?

Christie: I actually wrote a blog called Fate, Destiny & Soul Mates: Do You Believe? It talks about where the idea came from. For the long answer pop over to: http://www.tracymadison.com/blog/ . But the short answer is that the idea of soul mates intrigued me since I was twelve and my grandmother told me a story about having a premonition in a dream about her soul mate.

Me: You have a range of books published. Do you have a favorite, if so, which one and why?

Christie: That's like asking a mother which one of her children she loves the most. LOL. I will say that I think "Shut Up And Kiss Me" is my funniest and possibly the best book I've written. The characters just really came alive for me.

Me: What made you decide to write romance novels?

Christie: I usually give my first marriage credit. It was so bad I had to learn how to fantasize. LOL. But seriously, I think love is what keeps the world going. Romance and love feeds the soul.

Me: For fun: What's your favorite color?

Christie: Hmm, it's a toss up between pink and purple. What does that say about me?

Me: What piece of advice has been helpful to you that you'd pass on to aspiring (and newly published) authors?

Christie: Never, never give up. I started writing in '84. My first book until a short ten years later. If you think that's bad, my second one didn't hit stands until a short tweleve years after that. For about five of those years, I only wrote non-fiction--and was successful at a photojournalism career--but during those other two years, I worked part time in journalism, and wrote and completed eight novels and six proposals. And the rejections poured in--one right after another. Ahh, but when I sold my second book, I sold my third, fourth and fifth on the same day. And yes, they were books I had already written. My jump start back into novel publishing was only possible because I had continued to write book after book. And don't think I didn't have every reason in the book, including thousands of rejections, to throw in the towel, to stop believing in myself and in my talent. I just refused to give up, to be a quitter, and look what happened. "Shut Up And Kiss Me" is my seventh novel, "Wild, Wicked & Wanton" is my third non-fiction book, and I have contracts six more novels. Yup, not giving up was a good thing.

The condition is: Never stop growing as a writer. You can keep writing, but if you aren't honing your craft by reading how-to books, studying the work of other authors, or taking classes, then you could be making the same mistake book after book. And isn't that the definition of insanity--doing the same thing and expecting different results? Basically this is the entertainment business and it's one of the fastest changing businesses out there. Even if you are published, even if you finally figured it out, you can't stop learning, because what's popular is constantly changing. If you stop growing as a writer, you'll shrivel up and die and that ain't pretty.

Me: What's changed in your life since you became a published novelist? (FYI to those who don't know, she's a photojournalist and non-fiction author, too).

Christie: Well, I had more work to do. Because I was pretty serious about writing and writing every day, I already had a good work ethic, but the extra work was doing copy edits, doing PR, reading contracts, planning book signings, and writing guest blogs and such. There's a lot of work that comes with the business side of writing that can really cut into your writing time.

I think the biggest surprise that selling brought about wasn't what changed, but about what didn't change. A lot of people believe that once you sell, you suddenly feel accomplished, all those ol' doubts and insecurities will fade because duh, someone has paid you for your work. And maybe for some people that happens, but almost every day when I come into my study and sit down, I have this tiny little worry that someone will discover my secret. And my secret is that I'm just faking it. Thank God I'm pretty good at faking it.

Me: To plan to start another series to go along with your Divorced, Deceived & Delicious series?

Christie: While I hope to go back and write a Divorced series about three men starting a "Stay Single" club, and I would like to write more Precious books, my next series is: "Don't Mess With Texas". It's a story about three men, ex-cops and ex-cons, exonerated of a murder they didn't commit. They've opened their own PI business, determined to get justice for those that the system lets down. Mavericks to the max, these men bend all the rules and it's gonna take some special women to win them over. Look for the first book in the series in 2011 through Grand Central Publishing. Also, my young adult series released by St. Martin's Press, "Shadow Falls Camp", should be released early 2011 under the pen name C.C. Hunter.

Me: For fun: Do you have a favorite dessert?

Christie: Chocolate. Something crunchy and soft at the same time. Like a corner piece of brownie. And can I have some coffee with it, with cream? Darn, now you got me craving something sweet.

Me: Dorchester, to let everyone know, is your publisher for Gotcha!, Divorced, Deceived & Delicious series and for Shut Up And Kiss Me, how did you end up with them as a publisher?

Christie: I got lucky. I knew Dorchester bought a lot of newer writers, and they also took chances on books that were a little outside the box. My books mixed humor, suspense and romance. Other than Janet Evanovich, this wasn't being used a lot. So whenever I spotted a writing contest that had a final judge that was from Dorchester, I entered it in hopes of making it to their desk. And as I said, I got lucky. At one time I had three different manuscripts on three different editors' desks at Dorchester. Oh, I also had another manuscript there that my agent submitted. With the good contest news, my agent made a few calls and within a few days I had a three-book contract.

Me: Anything else you'd like to add?

Christie: In June, I also have a humorous non-fiction release, "Wild, Wicked & Wanton: 101 Ways To Love Like You're In A Romance Novel" is a funny self-help relationship book about what a woman can learn from a romance novel. Sure, romance novels offer fun, pure fantasy, but can they actually teach a woman anything about love? Faye Hughes and I believe they do.

Think about it, if a woman spends as much time plotting her romantic relationships as authors did in plotting their romance novels, there would be far less heartache. If real women took their cues from romance heroines, there may be many more real-life Happily Ever Afters. Romance heroines aren't perfect, they make mistakes. But by the end of the book, they've earned their walk into the sunset. How do they do it? Courage, wisdom, and some good ol' kick-ass gumption. Heroines don't wish they'd said something, they say it. They don't fret about their problems; they fix them. And couldn't we all use a little bit of their wisdom to deal with real life and real men?

In the book, our heroine, Jayne, like most romance heroines--and most real life women--has had her share of heartaches. In "Wild, Wicked & Wanton", Jayne's search teaches her: How to recognize a Keeper...and a Creeper, How to tame a Bad Boy, How to trust her instincts, How to find her own Mr. Right. And Much, Much more!

Thank you, Christie, for this great interview!

And thank you, my readers, for your patience while I dealt with silly computer issues and posting this up manually. I appreciate your understanding.

Now, it's your turn, readers, after you've read the interview, post a comment on this post. You never know, you could be the lucky one chosen to have a free autographed copy of Shut Up And Kiss Me.

Have A Terrific Tuesday!

Yes, I'm Still Around...

Happy Wednesday All,

Yes, I'm still alive and kicking (well not kicking literally, but you get the idea). Yesterday was busy with errands and such, so I didn't get online until later in the evening.

I did finish reading Kim Lenox's Darker Than Night and it was very good. If you like paranormal, and historicals, then I imagine you'd like this series. I find it quite imaginative and very interesting. She has some incredible ideas, and that's what makes it fun for me. So, yes, I recommend her books. (Her first one, Night Falls Darkly features Jack The Ripper as one of the bad guys).

I'm now reading Debbie Macomber's Midnight Sons Volume 3, the last in the Midnight Sons stories, and looks like it's going to be very good.

I'm also in the 2nd and so forth rounds of editing. Chapter 1 is pretty much done, although I'll probably go through it again and I'm planning to get some advice regarding it, because I have a few questions, so I'm gonna be getting some critique help to see if I'm right about something or if I'm wrong. The edits are going pretty smoothly. So that's good.

Anyway, like I said, if you don't hear from me as often, those are the reasons. I hope everyone else is doing well! Best wishes :-)

Have A Warm-Hearted Wednesday!

Shhh! Creativity In Process

Happy Tuesday Everyone,

I haven't drunk all my coffee, yet, so I'm waiting for my brain to "kick into gear".

Lately you've probably noticed my posts are very short and not as much information in them as in days past. There's a very good reason for that:

I'm in editing...my brain is in editing, except when I'm reading, tending to my family or doing some other thing like emails, helping with a contest or doing email interviews.

I'm not going to neglect the blog, but if there's a day I don't blog, it's because I'm tending to some of the other things I have going on.

As you know, the writing process can take time. So when creativity is in process, we have to respect that. The good news is, if the author is lucky, the story gets published, then we get to enjoy it. :-)

Anyway, wherever you all are at in the creativity process I wish you success and hope it goes smoothly! Best wishes :-)

Have A Terrific Tuesday!

Can't Catch Me!

Happy Friday All,

I'm trying to catch up with some things, including editing and reading. (making progress on editing, but it does take time. I've got a couple of books on my list yet to read).

I'm trying not to neglect the blog, and so far I haven't been too neglectful of it, so that's good.

Got some cool plans for the blog coming up:

Christie Craig's interview is set to be posted in June. You can check out Christie's blog here. And no I'm not telling anything about that just yet! You'll have to wait.

I've got another author's interview in the works. I won't go into details of who or when, since I don't have the when figured out, just the who. So, for right now those details are a surprise.

So all those things are coming up.

Next on the list to read: Darker Than Night by Kim Lenox (Number 3 in Shadow Guards Series). Check out Kim's blog here.

Kim Lenox autographed my copy of Night Falls Darkly, which is the first book in that series (this happened last year in September). Very cool :-)

The series is good...has suspense, romance, paranormal, historical setting. Very imaginative books.

Hope you enjoy your weekend :-)

Have A Fabulous Friday!

Updates Galore!

Happy Thursday Folks,

Well, Easter's coming fast (are Lent and Holy Week already almost over.? Wow, time flies). I probably won't post a blog for Friday since it's Good Friday and I observe the day. But, don't worry, I plan to be back.

Now onto this week's updates:

Fellow blogger, author and friend, Marsha, gave me a new award--the Blogger Buddie Award. Very nice and thank you very much, Marsha! :-) (You can see this new award in the margin on your right).

I'm still working on this new story idea. Right now trying to formulate the beginning. It's slow going, but I'm sure eventually everything will "click" into place.

Oh and we have a huge amounts of contests happening:

Fellow blogger and author, J.J. has reported on some contests happening.

Fellow blogger and author, Shannon O'Donnell also is reporting on a contest (arrow down to her March 29, 2010 post).

Fellow blogger and author, Bane reported on this contest happening (looks like a pretty hefty prize there, by the way).

REMINDER: The NWHRWA's Lone Star Contest is in full swing (deadline for entries is June 6, 2010...early entry discount ends in May). Click here for more details. (The NWHRWA is a chapter of the RWA--Romance Writers of America).

Book Releases:

The following authors are members of NWHRWA with new books that came out in March or ones that are coming out in April:

Suspense author, Colleen Thompson has a new one that came out in March. Check out Touch Of Evil.

John Foxjohn has a new book out that was to be released in March. Check out Tattered Justice

Kim Lenox has a April 6, 2010 release for her new Shadow Guards series (book number 3), Darker Than Night. Check out information here.

Carla Rossi, has a new Inspirational coming out in April 2010.

The following authors are not NWHRWA members:

Author Lynn Kurland has a brand spanking new site up. Her other site reports on a new book, called One Enchanted Evening, coming out. Set to be released on April 27, 2010. (I really like her de Piaget family and MacLeod family novels!)

Richard Paul Evans has a book coming out April 6, 2010. I've read several of his novels and he just has a gentle way of telling a story. The Walk is his new novel.

Now, if I've missed any contests that you all know about, please put them in the comment section of this post so that others can look into them...thanks!

Oh and by the way, if you have an author you like and they have a book coming out in April, and I didn't mention them, you can put that in the comment section, as well.

If I have anything awesome to report over the weekend, I'll post it Saturday or Sunday, otherwise, I'll see you all on Monday. Have a very happy and Blessed Easter!

Have A Terrific Thursday!

Ooooo, Goodies!

Hello Everybody,

Well, it's another Monday, and I have plenty to report:

Elizabeth Pina's book, Learning To Let Go is now in print (not just in E-book, but actual print) for your reading pleasure. It's an Inspirational (Christian) Romance. So far it's very nice. I'm in the middle of chapter 3. It's a little over 200 pages. You can look it up here on Amazon. She's in the chapter of the RWA I'm a member of. She's a real sweetheart and a lot of fun to talk to. Elizabeth said yes to doing a blog interview with me, so hopefully that will be able to get going soon. I want to finish reading her book first. (Don't worry, I'm a pretty fast reader). You can find Elizabeth on her website and on this blog site.

In other really cool news, I'm hoping to get with fellow author, Christie Craig to have her either do an interview or a guest blog post on here at some point. I have to email her and work out the details. She's written such things as Gotcha!, Weddings Can Be Murder, the Divorced and Deceived series (which starts with Divorced, Deceived And Delicious) as well as many works, including some non-fiction. She does have an Amazon page as well as a website. Christie is also a member of the RWA chapter I'm a member of and she's so much fun and really sweet. (Don't I say that like all the time about the chapter? Well it's true!)

So I'm hoping to be able to get those two things going sometime in the near future (I hope they're still willing).

I've read Gotcha! of Christie Craig's novels and she's got some really witty dialogue. She has a new one coming out in May called Shut Up And Kiss Me (She's got some really great titles for her work...very clever).

Anyway...yet another reason to network and join writers' groups. You never know what jewels you'll find (and I've found several in the chapter of the RWA I've joined) also in just emailing Mystery author, Laura Childs (who's Tea Shop Mystery series is AWESOME!)

If all those things fall into place, there's some really cool things to look forward to. Hope you have a great week :-)

Have A Merry Monday!

Road Map

Hi Everybody,

At the Conference I attended October 2009 (The Novelist Boot Camp one) Todd Stone remarked that the writing world was one of the only professions where people competed against each other, but also were willing to help each other. (You can get some of the information/materials about the workshop from my previous posts. Click here, here, here and here).

So, in the spirit of helping each other, I thought I'd outline some of the materials and sites that have helped me thus far:

When I was in my early twenties I found out about The Writers Digest School. I took a course on Short Story & Novel Writing, working closely with a published writer. I would read the material, do the assignments and mail the assignments to my instructor. I learned a lot and it helped me begin to understand how to shape my writing better.

To check out Writer's Digest Magazine click here.

Another magazine that I read was highly recommended is Publisher's Weekly Magazine.

After that, I did a lot of reading and worked on finding my "niche". I figured out what my niche was, and then it was time to write from that niche...hence, Surreal was born.

Well...I still needed direction...so I did more searching...

I found The Complete Idiot's Guide To Getting Published The Fourth Edition by Sheree Bykofsky and Jennifer Basye Sander, not that they think the people reading the book are really idiots, it's just the series. Very helpful with lists of lots of books and websites in the indexes, terms step by step and broken down so people can understand them.

I did a lot of web browsing, too. I came across 2 sites that have proven very informative:

Writer Beware (Victoria Strauss's site in guiding writers around scams and such).

Preditors & Editors (just what it says...agents, editors, attorneys, and publishers...which ones are most recommended and least recommended).

But that's not all. There's agent blogs out there, too:

Nathan Bransford (published author who worked as a literary agent for Curtis Brown, LTD).
Bookends, LLC--A Literary Agency

Query Shark (you can send your queries in to Janet Reid for help and see if they're good or need improving, plus get feedback from other followers of the blog).

Just to name a few.

Also, you want to keep up with writers and find out what they know? Look up and see if they have blogs. I have a few listed on the margin of this blog.

The other thing I keep emphasizing is writers' groups. The one I joined is Romance Writers of America (RWA) and one of their local chapters. The RWA is highly respected and has several chapters available for a writer. There's ones online and all over the place. It's worth the money, believe me. I've already learned a lot.

There's also writers' conferences. The RWA has their National Conference coming up. Often times, local chapters will have conferences available, too.

RWA chapters often run contests for those seeking experience and want critical critique. I'm going to be helping out with a chapter's contest that starts taking entries March 1, 2010. This year's information isn't up, yet, but it should be, soon. The one who chairs the contest sent an email out saying she was working on the information and should have the updated info on the site, soon. Until then, here's the link for anyone who wants to take a peek.

Contests give you experience and sometimes and editor or an agent will request more from the winners. Who knows, your manuscript could be chosen.

I've heard Donald Maas's book, The Fire Within is pretty good. I also recommend the most updated version of Jeff Herman's Guide To Book Publishers, Editors, & Literary Agents (I have the 2009 version, it's got a lot of information in it).

In any case, this isn't the only information out there for you. Browse your bookstores, look at magazines, go to your local library. There's a wealth of information available.

Best wishes and don't be afraid to stop for directions.

Have A Terrific Thursday!

It's Wednesday Night

Good evening everyone!

I wanted to wait until I had something fun to say. Today's been busy! My kid was not in the best of moods, so that made the day more eventful than it might have been. But it's okay. It got better, I promise.

Before I go any further, there's people out there that I owe huge debts of gratitude (and if I don't mention your name, don't be offended, it's not the last time I'll post shout-outs!):

My editor--she's a sweetheart and she's been a huge help to me and so understanding. Big hug and shout out to Debbie.

My new friend, Tess--fellow writer and a big help. Look forward to seeing you at the workshop in October. Thank you!

And I have a follower listed! She's a guest poster on Agent Nathan Bransford's blog and her name is Regina; check out her blog here.

Pushing ahead on the writing. The new novel is shaping up at over 70 pages so far. Sent it to my friend, Sarah, to check up on the French. I did French camp a few years when I was a kid, but I'm not fluent. Sarah graciously said she would double-check to make sure I'm constructing phrases right, spelling words correctly and making sense!

Tomorrow I'm going to my parents' house for a visit. My kid really enjoys seeing his grandparents, so that will be nice. They're good people!


Funny thing just occurred to me...


There's reality shows for almost everything now: drama, modeling, designing, dating, life, etcetera...what's next? Hmm... thoughts anyone?

I happen to like Dancing With The Stars quite a bit. Do you have a favorite? If so, what is it?

PLEASE NOTE: I've fixed up the comment section of this blog so anybody should be able to post whether you're a member or not. So go ahead, type away...

Happy, encouraging and supportive comments are not only encouraged, but the most welcome! Constructive criticism is also welcome.


Have a Winsome Wednesday :-)