SIZZLING SCRIBES

Resolutions

2012-01-22T09:01:00.000-06:00

I’m a pack rat. There. I admittedit. Admission is halfway to solving the problem, right? So by admitting it,doesn’t it rightfully follow that my house will unclutter itself? That all thedust bunnies will move out and there will no longer be piles of “stuff” allover the place?

Apparently not. When we moved intothis house nearly eighteen years ago, we had more room (and rooms) than we knewwhat to do with. It’s an old Queen Anne Victorian with a balcony off onebedroom (which we turned into a study), a wrap-around porch (which we use as anoutdoor living room in the summer, sans television) and lots and lots of space.At least for us. There are just the four of us and (usually) one cat at a timeliving in 2500 square feet. We came from a house that had 1600 square feet andit’s amazing what the addition of less than a thousand square feet can do to aplace. Of course, we have a full attic and basement in this house and the otherdidn’t.

Storage space, nonexistent before,suddenly became available. So we stored stuff. And stored more stuff. And thengot more stuff to store. The attic as well as the basement managed to collectunwanted toys, books the kids outgrew, memories and of course, Christmasdecorations.

Recently, my daughter graduatedfrom college, got a job and moved away. Again, one would think the house wouldbe less full just by default. That the little decluttering fairies would comein the night, or at least to help with the move, and take some of the stuffaway.

Again, you would be wrong. Yes, herroom is emptier, but the rest of the house? Not so much.

What really did it was there-thinking of the use of space. My husband has recently taken up painting(check out his paintings...I always knew there was a latent talent there. Hejust needed a little push). As a result, we are drowning in canvasses, painttubes, and all the general detritus that goes along with selling prints ofone’s paintings (do you have any idea how much room mailing tubes take up?).The study, which we shared, had become me tucked into a corner increasinglylosing ground to my husband’s new career.

We also discovered we didn’t workwell together. The clacking of my keyboard as I wrote disturbed his mentalprocess. The music he wanted to play while he painted disturbed mine. I need toget up and walk around every once in a while and my steps jiggled his canvas(it’s an old house). Tensions built.

Family meeting time. We presentedthe problem to the kids and said we needed to find a new way of using the houseso my husband could have his own studio. Without hesitation, my son gave up hisroom and volunteered to move into the tiniest of the bedrooms upstairs. At 9’x6’ there’s barely enough room for a twin bed and a desk. But he worked out anagreement with my husband that his clothes could stay in the new “studio” andhe’d live in what he now deemed his “man cave.”

Sometimes ya just gotta love yourkids.

His solution ended up saving allour sanity in several ways. That room had become a catchall for my stuff.Taking a morning to clean it out gave me the opportunity to throw away stuffI’d been holding onto for far too long. His move and subsequent clean out gavemy son the same opportunity. By the time the two of us were done with ourrespective rooms, we had six garbage bags for the Salvation Army and two forthe trashman. We also filled two blue recycling bins.

And then my husband cleaned out hisside of the study.

More for the Salvation Army, morefor the garbageman, more for the recycling center.

I’m making a New Year’s Resolutionto be less of a pack rat this year. When I come across something I haven’t usedin a year’s time –and won’t use in the upcoming year—I’m tossing it. I’mre-thinking every purchase before I make it. Do I have something already thatwill do the same job? If I buy that blouse, what blouse am I sending away tomake room? Can I get that book as an ebook on my Cruz? My resolution: nothingmore comes in unless something of equal size goes out.

So how about you? How do you handlethe clutter of living? I’m open to all suggestions! Help a gal out, here, willya?

Diana

PS. Learning Curve has beenre-released for the Kindle. If you don’t yet have a copy, be sure to pick up yours today!

Do Reviews Make a Difference?

2012-01-15T09:27:00.003-06:00

I've been a writer for a lot of years. I write because I have to. It's part of me, like my blue eyes and freckles. I love sharing what I write with readers. If they enjoy my books, that's a huge plus for me. Sometimes they enjoy one so much, they'll send me a private email (which I love), or write a review at the online store where they purchased my book.

And sometimes they *don't* like my book and write a not-so-good review.

I'm not saying no one should ever write a bad review. Everyone is entitled to her/his opinion. A book my friend loves may get tossed across the room to splat against the wall from me, or vice versa.

I think a person has to feel strongly about a book to write a review in the first place. But does that one bad review among several good ones make a difference to you as a reader? Will you believe the "this book was so bad" review or the "I loved everything about this book" review? Will you not buy the book, even though you'd planned to, because of a bad review?

I'm a writer, but I'm a reader too. I want to know the author's writing voice before I buy a book. I love the sample feature on the online sites. One click and I get a nice sample of the book on my Kindle in a few seconds. That's especially nice because not all authors post excerpts on their websites. I post the complete first chapter and an excerpt of all my books on my website. If you want a taste of my writing style, it's easy to find.

Readers want to spend their money on a book that will give them a few hours of reading pleasure. Will you take a chance on a new author if the excerpt/sample sounds good, even though someone put up a one-star review at your favorite online store? Do you only pay attention to books with four- and five-star reviews? How important are good reviews to you?

Lynn

2012 ~ A Big Year For The SIZZLING SCRIBES!

2012-01-02T11:02:00.002-06:00

Ah, yes. It’s going to be a huge year for my writing group, the Sizzling Scribes. I’m so thrilled to be with this group of talented women. We number seven: Tielle St. Clare, Tara Nina, Lynn LaFleur, Cait Miller, Arianna Hart, Diana Hunter and myself. I wanted to let you know here on this blog exactly what we all having coming up to make 2012 a great year of reading!

First off we’ve all collaborated on a series called the Sweet Spot Series that we, as a group will release throughout the coming year. All these stories will be intertwined and takes place in our town called Port Clef, CT and will be self-published. So watch for the banner on our covers and you’ll know that you’re in for some hot and sexy tales of love and romance!

Tielle St. Clare will be first up in February with Three’s The Charm. Also, she’s currently working on a sequel to Let Sleeping Wolves Lie which was a self pubbed book released this past November. And she’s working on the first of a three-book series for Ellora’s Cave. Not quite ready to share the details yet, but these will be m/f/m and very sexy. No release dates yet. Also Tielle will be included in Ellora’s Cave’s Something Wicked Comes This Way anthology.

Tara Nina is currently working on the fourth book in the Cursed MacKinnons series, the second Night Prey book, and her upcoming release, Portal to Passion, which will be published with Ellora’s Cave. Sometime this year she will also have a short story in the Something Wicked This Way Comes Volume 3 anthology from Ellora’s Cave titled Sinful Seduction. Also, Tara has a great story as one of the seven in the Sizzling Scribes Sweet Spot Series!

Lynn LaFleur has contracted another book with Ellora’s Cave, the fourth in her Coopers’ Companions series featuring Breanna Talmage and the hunky detective Evan Stone. Look for Armed and Delicious in the spring. Next up for Lynn after she finishes Armed and Delicious is Candlelight Wish, her contribution to the Sizzling Scribes’ Sweet Spot series.

Cait Miller has set herself up for a great year, too! She’s had THREE new stories accepted for publication by Ellora’s Cave. She is going into 2012 with a bang with her second m/m story, Unconventional Romance, which will be part of Volume 4 of the Something Wicked This Way Comes anthology.

Arianna Hart is back! Family medical problems have kept her busy over the past few years but things are great for her and her family and she’s looking forward to the writing life once more. Ari has contracted with Samhain Publishing and her story is called Waking Up. Be sure to watch for it. Also, don’t forget her Sweet Spot Series story due out in March!

Diana Hunter has been busy! First off she took a short break to write a quick erotic short story that she’s published under the name Mystic Shade—for the shadier sides of our desires. You can find links to Yours to Command on Mystic’s site. http://shadesofdesire.blogspot.com. At first tempted to publish this short story under her more familiar name, Diana decided to separate the more erotic stories from her erotic romances using a different name. That way readers know exactly what to expect. So if you want historical fiction, look for CF Duprey. If you want erotica, look for Mystic Shade. And, if you want erotic romance, look for Diana Hunter.

Me? Man, I hope I can keep up! This is what I have going! Dragcon: Kiss of Fire (sequel to Dragcon’s Snare) is almost done and will be another self pubbed book. Mating Ritual will be one of five stories included in Ellora’s Cave’s anthology Something Wicked This Way Comes Volume 4. Precious Gems, a three-story anthology my books Perfecting Pearl, Sapphire’s Seduction and Essence of Emerald is coming out this spring in print!

So that’s the Sizzling Scribe 2012 story and we’re stickin’ to it! And I’m willing to bet that we’ll have a few surprises, too!

Have a healthy and happy start to 2012. May we all prosper and make our dreams come true!
Ruby

Tielle's Side Car

2011-12-31T07:43:00.001-06:00

Ice half full in shaker

1 shot bourbon (let bourbon marinade with ice for a minute or two; you want a little water in there)

1/2 shot Grand Marnier

1/2 shot Frangelico

3 shots sweet and sour

Shake the hell out of it and pour through a strainer into a sugar rimmed martini glass.

Tielle

Ruby's Razztini

2011-12-30T09:25:00.003-06:00

We love this at our house! It's a festive looking drink for the holiday season with the red and green!

2 shots raspberry vodka

1/2 shot Triple Sec

2 shots cranberry juice

Splash of lime juice

Add all ingredients into drink shaker with ice. Make sure when you shake that your butt is moving in the same rhythm. This always helps to get you in the mood for a party! Drain into a martini glass and add a lime wedge on the rim. Ready to go!

Ruby

Arianna's Famous Hot Chocolate

2011-12-29T15:45:00.001-06:00

We love this when decorating the Christmas tree or as a yummy dessert substitute. If you want to get fancy, make this in a clear mug and use a peppermint stick or candy cane as a garnish. This is a huge hit at Christmas parties or after Christmas dinner.

1 envelope hot chocolate

Hot water

1 shot Bailey's Irish Cream (regular or mint)

Whipped cream

Chocolate shavings (if desired)

Empty hot chocolate envelope into mug. Add shot of Bailey's. Stir. Add hot water. Stir again. Top with whipped cream, candy cane, and chocolate shavings if desired.

Arianna

Cait's Creamy Irish Coffee

2011-12-28T08:49:00.002-06:00

Your preference of black coffee, sugar to taste

Add measure of Bailey's Irish Cream

Float whipped cream on top and sprinkle with chocolate powder

Cait

Tara's Hot Buttered Rum

2011-12-27T07:59:00.002-06:00

This recipe is yummy and easy to do, especially if you use a crockpot.

2 sticks butter

2 cups light brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Pinch ground cloves (optional)

Pinch salt

1 bottle rum, light or dark

6 to 8 cups of water (depending on size of crockpot)

Place all ingredients in a crockpot set on high. Stir occasionally to combine the ingredients. Once butter is melted and liquid is hot, it is ready to drink. I use a soup ladle to scoop out servings and place in mugs. Sometimes I top it with whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon.

Tara

Diana's Hot Chocolate

2011-12-26T06:43:00.003-06:00

Hot chocolate

At one point myhusband worked as a night watchman for a historical museum. His rounds includeda small house on the property where one of the directors lived. Every nightduring the cold winter months, he’d stop in to make sure she was okay and she’dgive him a thermos of homemade hot chocolate. Here’s her recipe. We make itevery Christmas morning and give a toast to her memory.

In a 4 or 5 quart saucepan, mix 1/3 c. baking cocoa, a 1/2c. of sugar, 4 c. of milk and a dash of salt. Add 1 tsp. of vanilla and heat.Stir continually until all ingredients are mixed and cocoa is warmed fordrinking. DO NOT BOIL.

Enjoy! Makes 4 cups of hot chocolate.

Lynn's Frozen Banana Punch

2011-12-25T06:31:00.002-06:00

An oldie but a goodie! This makes a lot, so adjust the recipe as needed for your party.

5 bananas

2 small cans frozen lemonade

2 large cans frozen orange juice

1 large can pineapple juice

4 cups sugar

6 cups water

4 bottles ginger ale

Heat sugar and water and boil for 5 minutes. Cool. Blend bananas in blender and add juices. Blend. Add sugar syrup and blend with juices. Put in container and place in freezer until needed. Sit out about 2 hours before using. Pour ginger ale over slushy concoction and serve.

Merry Christmas!

Lynn

Arianna's Easiest Roast Ever

2011-12-23T08:49:00.002-06:00

This is the easiest way to make a complete meal, impress your in-laws, and not have a lot to clean up afterwards. It makes the house smell great too.

1 pork/beef roast (get what's on sale!)

1 small bag baby carrots

1 large can whole white potatoes

1 bag pearl onions

1 envelope French Onion soup mix

1 roaster bag

1 tablespoon flour

Salt, pepper, and thyme to taste

Using the roaster bag (available at most grocery stores; Reynolds makes them), put the tablespoon of flour in the bag and shake to coat the inside.

Quarter the potatoes. Put roast, potatoes, carrots, and onions in bag. Sprinkle seasonings in the bag (to taste). Dump the envelope of French Onion soup mix into bag. Close bag. Using a knife, make 4 slits approximately 3 inches in the bag. Put bag in a pan. Bake at 350ºF for 1-2 hours depending on the size of the roast. Use a meat thermometer to check the wellness of the roast.

Sprinkle some parsley over the roast when serving.

Arianna

Lynn's Veggie Spread Bread

2011-12-22T08:52:00.003-06:00

I got this recipe from my Ellora's Cave editor, who served it when she invited some of her authors to her home for dinner. I loved everything she prepared that evening, but could have made a meal just out of this. Deelish!

1 package Pillsbury crescent rolls

Broccoli florets, chopped, or bag of broccoli slaw

Green onions, small bunch chopped

Carrots, small bag grated

4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup real mayonnaise

8 ounces cream cheese

1 packet dry ranch dressing mix

Flatten rolls on greased cookie sheet (small sheet, or half of regular cookie sheet); spread evenly, don't leave gaps. Bake at 350ºF 5-9 minutes until just brown; watch carefully as it burns quickly. When done, allow to cool.

While baking, chop veggies and set aside.

Mix mayo, cream cheese and dry dressing mix until smooth. Spread on cooled bread base. Top with veggies, then sprinkle with cheese; pat down. Refrigerate for several hours.

Note: does not keep well. Use in a couple of days or gets soggy.

Enjoy!

Lynn

Rock Buns

2011-12-21T08:21:00.003-06:00

This is my grandmother's recipe and I'm not sure how far back it goes before that. She gave it to my mum, who gave it to me. These warm spicy buns with mixed fruit are a perfect winter treat.
Who doesn't love some spicy, rock-hard buns? ;)

Rock Buns
8oz self raising flour
3oz margerine
3oz castor sugar
3oz mixed dried fruit
1 medium egg
1 level teaspoon of mixed spice
2 1/2 oz milk

Put flour, egg, margerine and mixed spice into blender. Mix till crumbed.
Pour into a baking bowl and mix in fruit.
Add milk and egg and mix lightly into a fairly rough dough (do not over mix)
Using a fork, deposit onto greased baking tray in small rock-like heaps
Sprinkle lightly with castor sugar
Bake at 220C near top of oven for 15mins

Remove from oven and allow few minutes for buns to set (should be crisp on outside)
Serve warm with or without butter.

Diana's Dip for Triskets

2011-12-20T08:01:00.002-06:00

My husband's aunt (What can I say? My husband knows how to find people who make great food!) gave me this recipe years ago and I serve it at our annual Christmas party. I didn't make it one year and boy, did I hear about it! Everyone likes this and looks forward to it. And the best part is, it's easy!

Aunt Jo's Dip for Triskets

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

Mix together in an oven-proof bowl. Bake at 350ºF until top is golden brown. Serve as a dip with Triskets.

Add more onion if you like it onion-y; add more cheese if you prefer a cheesy-ier dip.

Diana

Tara's $300 Chocolate Cake

2011-12-19T07:06:00.002-06:00

This was one of my mother's favorites. For those who like to actually bake a cake from scratch, you're gonna love it.

Mix 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of sugar in a bowl and set aside. In a pan, boil the following ingredients for 1 minute as you continually stir:

1 cup water

1 stick butter or margarine

1 cup oil

4 tablespoons cocoa

Add the mixture to flour and sugar and beat until mixed, then add and mix well:

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

Once mixed well, pour into greased and floured cake pans or a 13x9x2 oblong baking pan and insert into a pre-heated oven at 350ºF. Bake for 30 minutes or until done.

Icing:

Bring to a boil 2 tablespoons milk, 2 tablespoons cocoa, 1/2 stick butter or margarine, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, then add 1/2 box of 10X powdered sugar. Mix well and spread on warm cake.

If you like, sprinkle chopped nuts of your choice (I like pecans) on top.

This goes great with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to a slice of the cake. Yummy.

Tara

Ruby's Christmas Cutouts

2011-12-18T09:12:00.002-06:00

This recipe is soooooo fantastic. One of my grandma's. Okay, here's the story and every time I eat one of these I think of her, bless her heart -- she's now passed. When I was little, she would make these and store them in gallon glass jars in her front porch, which wasn't heated. It was always -20 around Christmas, but my sister and I would sneak into the porch. And since it was the front porch and our boots were at the back door, we'd have to stand on books so the bottoms of our feet wouldn't freeze! We'd shove frozen cookies in as fast as we could before we were caught! To this day, I make these cookies and always toss some in the freezer so I can eat them that way!

1 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 beaten eggs

1/4 cup orange juice

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Start with mixer. Cream shortening, sugar and eggs. Add orange juice. Add flour, soda, salt, vanilla and rind. Knead with hands a bit, then wrap in plastic wrap and leave in fridge overnight. When you roll these out, just take a bit at a time and roll on heavily floured surface and roll thin! Keep the rest in the fridge until needed.

Bake 10-11 minutes (watch closely!).

Ruby

The Truest Gift

2011-12-11T05:59:00.004-06:00

I’ve come to realize that the truest gift is time. In this fast-paced world we have little to no time. Twenty-four hours in the day seems to slip by without much thought as to where it went. If you actually sit and consider the concept of time, we have one hundred sixty-eight hours a week, twenty-one thousand twenty-four hours in a year and we still don’t have enough time.

The reason I discuss this issue with time, for the first Christmas in twenty years, my son will not be home for the holidays. It is with great pride and a heavy heart I have to accept the fact he has chosen a dangerous path in life. By the time you read this, my son will have left for boot camp. He joined the Navy and has been selected to train for the SEALS program. For the past year, he has already been training in a SEALS pre-boot camp program here in New Jersey. He is in the best shape of his young life, but still the training he has yet to face will be strenuous and test both his physical and mental strengths and abilities.

I worry that I have not done enough to prepare him for the events he may face. As parents, we did our best to teach him right from wrong. We were there each time he stumbled. We tended to his needs and gave him the most valuable things we could provide—love, guidance, and a sense of honor and respect. But was it enough to help him in this next chapter of his life.

I believe our lives are giant books. The beginning starts at the first chapter, birth. We enjoy the childhood years, learning and growing. We struggle through the teenage years, which provide our chapters with angst, and some ridiculous fodder to sit back and laugh at when we are older. Each phase toward adulthood, each plot twist builds the story of our lives until we reach those dreaded two words, the end. What we choose to do with our lives is up to each of us. It can be a grand adventure or a sad tale, but it all boils down to that fleeting aspect of time.

You see, I blinked and my son grew up.

I sit here thinking of all the holidays I had with him. The wonderful memories of watching him grow and I can only hope he has the right stuff to reach the goal he has set. Time is a precious commodity. It has no monetary value, no price you can attach to it because it is priceless. It is the one thing in life you can’t take back.

The holidays tend to make most of us a bit melancholy and his leaving at this time of the year is not easy for me. Who am I kidding? His leaving at any time of the year would not be easy for me. He is my first-born and I will miss him as he journeys into this new, adventuress chapter in his life. I can only hope that his time here at home will be a treasured memory he takes with him that will help him succeed in his future.

The greatest gift anyone can give is the gift of time. Use this holiday season to reach out to friends, family and loved-ones to gather them together and share a few hours of that sacred commodity of time. It slips past so fast that in a blink of an eye the kids are grown and you sit there wondering where did the time go.

In the spirit of the holidays, please don’t forget to reach out to those who serve to protect our great country. Remember the wonderful people in the military. It doesn’t take much effort to say thank you. Over the years, I’ve been sending care packages to different service personal around the world. If you’d like to send a care package to someone in the military, please contact Kim Adams at sos.america@yahoo.com She will gladly provide you with an address of a deserving individual, who’d love to hear from you.

During this holiday season, take a moment of time and enjoy the peace and love of family. Please share with me a fond holiday memory and I’ll enter you for a chance to win a signed copy of either Cursed Laird or Double Dilemma. I will be choosing a winner at random.

Sincerely,

Tara Nina

www.taranina.com

tara@taranina.com

PS, I don't normally share pictures of my family. The one above is a favorite from Thanksgiving a couple of years back. My son Robert is on the right, my husband Bob is in the middle and my daughter Casey is on the left and of course I'm the goof on the bottom. :)

Hello! Real Woman Here!

2011-12-04T11:51:00.002-06:00

Hello, Real Woman Here!
I recently had the lovely experience of shopping for an outfit for my husband’s company Christmas party. It was just oh so delightful. . . NOT!

First, let me say, I am over 40 and have borne three children, and am not exactly in shape. Unless you count round as a shape, in which case, I’m all set. I’m not obese, but I’m no super model , nor are the majority of women with whom I come into contact. In fact, if you look up the statistics (like I did) you’ll find:

Despite what the fashion industry thinks, the average clothing size in the United States is not a svelte 8 for women and a 40 regular for men. The average women's size is 14, the size at which "plus-sized" clothing begins. (Netscape Home and Living)

And...the fashion industry assumes these standard measurements for a woman: 35-inch bust, a 27-inch waist, and 37.5-inch hip. In the real world, women ages 36 to 45 actually average:
White: 41-34-43
Black: 43-37-46
Hispanic: 42.5-36-44
Asian: 41-35-43
(Netscape Home and Living)

Now, if that is the case, why did it take me 15 stores to find a top that didn’t either make me look like I was a sausage or a balloon? If it didn’t squeeze me at the waist and bust, it bloused out like a tent. Neither of which was attractive, let me assure you.

I wasted two days searching for an appropriate shirt before I finally found one at a Plus size store in the mall. (Torrid, and they were wonderful. I give them full props!) As I went from one store to another in a vain attempt to find something flattering, I got more and more frustrated. The clothes all seemed geared towards people who had no bust or hips or figure flaws to hide. I can understand marketing to the younger crowd, but I teach high school and I know the majority of my students aren’t stick skinny either.

So, if indeed the majority of women do not measure 35-27-37, why then do so many stores carry clothes that won’t fit an average size woman? I know the reason most designers use super skinny models is because the clothes hang better when you don’t have to worry about hips and breasts getting in the way of the drape, BUT THAT IS NOT REALITY. Where are the designers who use their creativity to design clothes for the average woman? Just because I don’t measure up to an unrealistic standard, does that mean I can’t wear fashionable clothes that make me look and feel attractive?

It is a constant irritation to me that the image of women we see on magazine covers and in movies has very little relation to the women we see around us every day. It is also extremely annoying to me that I buy into that image and fight a constant battle with my self-image and self-esteem. I’ve worked very hard with my daughters to define beauty as “healthy” not “thin” and hope they will listen to me instead of the constant media barrage that surrounds them on a regular basis.

So this holiday season, as you beat yourself up for having that cup of calorie laden egg nog or vow to lose weight for your New Year’s Resolution, consider instead finding a healthy balance and loving yourself just the way you are. It’s the best gift you can ever get.

2011-11-20T13:11:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I think NaNoWriMo is designed simply as an exercise in frustration.

Nationa Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a movement begun several years ago by a group of writers who vowed to write an entire novel of 50,000 words in one four-week period. The intent was to stop getting hung up on the editing and just let the novel flow out. Editing could happen later.

It was a wonderful idea and caught on with other authors. It spread through genre and age levels and now is a yearly, highly-anticipated event that authors from around the world choose to join. For the past three years I've participated, at least unofficially. I didn't sign up at the official site or join an offshoot group, but this year I've posted about my progress on my blog and Twitter stream. Needless to say, it ain't going so well for me.

I always start out with such high hopes. This year I wrote just over 9000 words the first week which kept me on par to complete 50K by December 1st. But the same problem came up that comes up every year. In my day job, I teach and grades are due by the end of the second week of November. That means I spend every "extra" moment the second week reading essays and senior papers. I worked late this year to get everything graded and came home exhausted. I didn't write but 2000 words the entire week.

Tried to catch up this week and had other RL issues get in the way so that I wrote not one single word on my manuscript. From 9000 to 2000 to 0. I'm more than halfway through the month and less than halfway to the target halfway point of 25,000 words.

The reality is what the reality is. I cannot add more hours in the day (I know, I've tried) and caffeine only gets me so far. I'm not offering these as excuses, but frustrations. Come retirement (2.5 more years, but who's counting?) and I can write 50K every month if I want. Right now, however, I am still squeezing writing time in the odd hours where I can.

I think it's safe to say I won't make the goal this year. I'm considerably further on my current wip, though, and that's always good. It's a full-length work with two couples I'm beginning to like--a lot. I'll be sorry when their story is finished because I enjoy spending time with them. I hope you will, too.

So, for those of you out there still aiming for that magic number -- good on ya! Keep going and I'm rooting for you from the sidelines. Get that novel out of you and onto the computer screen where you can work it in December. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

As for me, I'll keep writing but I'm a little less hopeful about getting this novel completed before the end of the month.

The Writing of Always Room for Four

2011-11-13T08:22:00.002-06:00

I discovered Ellora's Cave back in 2002 by following a link from an author's website. Whoa! I was so excited to find a publisher who didn't close the bedroom door. I bought one book, read it, and was immediately hooked.

I'd published three sensual romances with another e-publisher, but longed to write something more edgy, and definitely sexier. My problem was I'd never used "those words" in a book. I don't even say them in real life, so didn't know how I could use them in a book. My two wonderful critique partners urged me to go for it. That's how The Birthday Gift was born. It became the first of four stories in my collection, Happy Birthday, Baby.

Now nine years and twenty-five Ellora's Cave books later, I decided it was time to tell Patrick's story. He was introduced in The Birthday Gift, the hero's cousin and the third person in the ménage. I wanted him to meet the woman of his dreams, but I also wanted that woman to have a past relationship with another woman.

Writing about two women together was a first for me. So was writing a foursome. I had an absolute blast doing it.

Here's a little taste of Always Room for Four. I hope you enjoy it.

* * * * *

Tera looked at Amanda's soft hand on top of hers. So many times in college, that hand had touched Tera with tenderness and passion. She and Amanda had remained friends for years, yet had never been lovers again. They'd both become involved with the men they planned to marry. Anything between them had been pushed aside to make room for their soon-to-be husbands.

Tera no longer had a soon-to-be husband, but she had her best friend close enough to touch.

Turning her hand over, she laced her fingers with Amanda's. She focused on their hands as she asked her next questions. "What about us? Does this foursome include us being together, or would we only be with the guys?"

Amanda remained silent. Afraid she'd said the wrong thing, Tera lifted her gaze to her friend's face. "Would you like that?" Amanda asked softly. "Because I would."

That confession surprised Tera almost as much as Amanda's idea of a foursome. "You would?"

"We haven't been together in a long time, but I've thought about it."

"You never said anything."

Amanda shrugged one shoulder. "I figured you weren't interested anymore since you had Roger."

"You had Jake."

"That doesn't mean I stopped caring for you."

There hadn't been anything sexual between them in seven years. After that much time, it shouldn't seem so natural for Tera to lean closer to Amanda and kiss her tenderly. Yet it seemed as natural as drawing her next breath.

Amanda's lips were just as soft as she remembered, just as giving beneath hers. Tera parted her lips, her tongue searched for Amanda's. When she touched it, Tera inhaled a sharp breath. She gripped Amanda's hand, tilted her head to deepen the kiss. Amanda answered each stroke of tongue, each slide of lips.

Blindly reaching out, Tera found Amanda's other hand and gripped it too. She moaned low in her throat when Amanda's tongue swept over her lips. She scooted to the edge of her chair, needing to be closer, needing to touch more of the woman seated next to her.

Much sooner than she would have liked, Tera ended the kiss. She rested her forehead against Amanda's, wanting to continue but knowing they couldn't at this time since Jake and Patrick waited for them in the bar. "We have to stop."

"I know." Amanda's voice sounded thready, breathless. She squeezed both of Tera's hands. "Wow."

"Yeah." She moved back so she could look into Amanda's gorgeous blue eyes. "Tell me again why we stopped making love."

"Stupidity?"

"Well, I won't make that mistake again."

Amanda laughed and Tera joined her. She slid from her chair, tugged Amanda to her feet to hug her. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." Amanda moved back, but kept her hands on Tera's waist. "No matter what you decide about Jake and Patrick, you and I need some time together."

The thought of pressing her naked body against Amanda's made her clit gently pulse. "Yes, we do."

* * * * *

Happy Birthday, Baby is available in print. The Birthday Gift and Always Room for Four are available as e-books from Ellora's Cave and other online retailers.

Have a great week!

Lynn

Romanticon 2011

2011-10-22T09:07:00.003-05:00

Romanticon may be a fledgling in the world of conventions, but Ellora’s Cave has mastered the art. Their third Romanticon event reoccurred in Ohio, the home state of erotic romance’s premier publisher.

The four-day event kicked off on Thursday with the Meet and Greet. It was wonderful to see authors, editors and readers come together as old friends. EC provided elegant bottles of local wine and root beer, both complete with EC Logo labels. The Cavemen mingled making the night a sexy success.

Friday was a great day filled with informative workshops and a couple

workshops just for fun. Classes in Burlesque and Pole dancing were available for those with an adventurous streak.

Caveman Angelo gave it his best shot.Caveman Alex mastered the pole.

Friday Night's Party: The Stone Age

Saturday started off full steam ahead with another day filled with phenomenal workshops for both reader and writer alike. EC editors had a full calendar of appointments for those with the desire to become published. As an added feature to enhance the convention, several venders attended selling a range of items from glamorous jewelry to exotic body glitter or painted portraits from a photograph. Once again, classes were available for those who dared challenge the pole or learn the beautiful art of burlesque.

The cover models spent the day vying for votes in this year’s premier contest for Alpha Caveman. On occasion one could peer out a window and catch them practicing the Fire Dance in-between rain showers. The weather in Ohio was not cooperating with this portion of the agenda. It was postponed until there

was finally a break in the rain Saturday night. Sexy Cavemen twirling fire sticks.

Hot, Hot, Hot.

Saturday Night's Party: Futuristic

Sunday morning gave us the final dash of workshops followed by the Sexporium BookFair. The Cavemen provided several dance performances throughout the event. The ladies of Burlesque did a fine job displaying a whole new perspective on the art of stripping. The very athletic pole dancing crew showed off their skills, which were astonishing to say the least. And the vendors provided their wares at this event in case you didn’t get the chance to shop during the convention. A wide variety of EC authors were in attendance to sell and autograph their latest additions. The turn out was fairly decent for such a large venue.

Sunday night’s Bingo Pajama Party brought Romanticon to a close. Rodney was the perfect master of ceremonies. We laughed until we cried making bingo more fun than ever.

If you’ve never attended Romanticon, you’ve missed out on a fun-filled adventure for authors, readers and editors. It’s a place where one can pitch their stories in a more relaxed environment, meet with old friends and make new acquaintances. If this article has piqued your interest, keep an eye on the site http://ecromanticon.com/for further information as to date, location and registration.

I know I will.
Tara Nina

Hot Romance~Sexy Attitude

www.taranina.com

What goes around comes around

2011-10-17T07:08:00.002-05:00

I was in the library the other day looking for a new author to read because I had read pretty much everything from my favorites. I texted a friend of mine to ask her for recommendations for a new mystery author. She didn't get back to me before I had to leave, so I just grabbed some books from an author I had never heard of, but her back cover blurb looked good.

Several hours later, my friend got back to me and I told her who I picked. Apparently, she had met that author and "she was a bitch to me." Now I try to divorce the author's personality from the author's talent. There are authors I don't think I'd necessarily like to hang out with, but I enjoy their books. Other authors, I'd love to go out for drinks with because their characters are so damn cool I think they have to be too.

*Disclaimer* There are several authors who I have gone out for drinks with. . .gotten drunk with. . .slept on their bathroom floor, etc. but that's another story. I'm posting as a reader not a writer today.

Anyway, after my friend said this author I was going to try out was nasty to her, I thought about just putting the books back, but in the end I really needed something to read and I had the books right there with me, so I thought I'd give it a try anyway. I mean, maybe the author was just having a bad day or something. I could enjoy the book even if the person wasn't particularly nice, right?

Apparently, no. First, let me say the writing wasn't fantastic anyway. The heroine was annoying and they mystery just didn't grab me AT ALL. I usually will finish a book no matter what because I want to know what happens. I couldn't get past the tenth chapter. It was very frustrating!

After I returned the books, I wondered, if I hadn't heard anything about this author, would I have given her more of a chance to hook me? Was I influenced by the author's behavior more than her writing?

And almost more importantly, have I been a bitch to others and now they'll never read one of my books and they'll be sure to tell all their friends what a bitch Arianna Hart is? I have to admit, it's possible. I'm not always the nicest person, and if I'm tired or my blood sugar drops (which tends to happen at conferences) I could be nasty too.

I hope this experience has taught me a lesson about what goes around comes around. If you put out nastiness, it's bound to come back to you. I think this is good to remember in all aspects of life, so just for today, resist the temptation to flip off the driver who cut you off, don't jump down the throat of the cashier who is taking forever to get you a cup of coffee, and resist the urge to slice someone with sarcasm even if it would be really funny to you.

You never know when the good you do will come back around.

New release!

2011-10-10T12:57:00.002-05:00

I'm very happy to annouce that I have a new release after a long hiatus. The third book in my Shifting Magic series is finally available. To celebrate I've decided to share a new excerpt of the book here. Please check out Trusting the Magic, now available as an ebook from Ellora's Cave Publishing. I hope you enjoy it.

An excerpt from Trusting the Magic by Cait Miller

Abby felt his arousal and it heightened her own, driving away the fear so that there was only him. She moved restlessly against the sheets, skin feeling hot and cold at the same time, the soft cotton bedclothes feeling coarse against her body. Her pulse beat strongly in her throat and between her legs. She squeezed her thighs together and the pleasure intensified. Internal muscles clenched and her pussy felt achingly empty. Nick’s response was immediate.

Mine. In her mind’s eye she saw him stroking his hand down his body to his hard shaft. Rubbing his thumb over the fluid oozing from the slit. Abby moaned, caressing her nipples through her nightgown. They tightened against her palms, crinkling the areolas with sensitive ripples. Her breasts felt heavy as she cupped them, imagining it was Nick’s hands touching her. His large palms holding her as he pinched her nipples between calloused thumb and forefinger. Rolling them until her pulse throbbed there, as well. His moist breath against her neck moments before his tongue followed the curve to her collarbone. He nipped at the skin and then pressed his lips to the sting.

Tell me what to do, Nick. She imagined running her hands over his body, tasting the pearlescent fluid that trickled from his shaft to run down over his fingers. Imagined that it was her hand becoming slick with it as she stroked the thick erection. Fingers tracing the veins where desire pulsed hot and desperate, drawing a hiss of painful pleasure from him as she skimmed her nail over the slit. In her mind, she ran her fingers over the baby-soft skin of his perineum and held his scrotum in her hand. His testicles were heavy within the soft sac and she massaged them gently. Moisture trickled from her as her arousal built. Nick’s low moan resonated through her. He ached to touch her.

Using the images in his mind for guidance, Abby released him and skimmed her hand down the soft mound of her stomach to dip between her thighs. She slid her fingers into the wet heat, shivering as she caressed the sensitive labia and spread the slick liquid up to her clitoris. It was throbbing for her attention and she gasped as she began to circle it.

She drew up her knees and dug her heels into the bed as the world spiraled away. Spreading her legs wide, she could pushed two fingers inside herself. Her back arched off the bed and she bit her lip against the cry that wanted to escape, her whole body straining for the peak. As she added a third finger, it was Nick’s face she saw above her, the warm, heavy weight of his body pressing her down. The broad head of his cock entering her.

It was no longer clear whether the images came from his mind, hers, or both. She could feel the sparse hair on his chest abrading her nipples and the heat of his breath against her neck as if it were real. Pressure built inside her and her breath came in pants. Nick thrust faster and her hips snapped to meet him. The inner walls of her pussy clutched at his cock, trying to draw him deeper.

Abby’s fingers pressed harder, moved quicker around her clit. The pleasure was almost painful. Her climax burst over her, drawing all her muscles tight. She gasped and threw her head back as her release spread over her like warm honey. Nick’s groan of completion followed hers but instead of the weight of his body falling against hers there was only the cool breeze of the air-conditioning against her damp flesh. It drew bitter tears to her eyes as she drew the covers over herself against the chill.

No resting!

2011-10-02T21:11:00.000-05:00

“Rest on your laurels and you’ll only end up with deadbranches.”

I wrote those words to myself shortly after Ellora’s Cavepublished my first book. Getting that first royalty check and realizingsomeone, several someones had bought my book and were reading it in theprivacy of their homes and that I didn’t even know them was a heady experienceand I reveled in the wonder and glory of it.

But I fully understood the transitory nature of success andknew I’d have to keep writing stories readers wanted. I wrote everywhere—in thecar waiting for my daughter to get out of ballet class, in the doctor’s waitingroom, in fact, anywhere I had to wait became an opportunity to grab some timeand write another page. Two of my books won awards and life was good. But I wasdetermined not to rest on my laurels.

And then we had several deaths in the family and I had ahard time. Some readers thought I’d given up writing. I hadn’t. My motto keptme writing but the stories were darker and I published them under the name MysticShade with a different company. The three novellas I wrote for BDSMBooks crossthe line into porn and while sex sells, I think most of the readers who likeDiana’s erotica didn’t follow me for Mystic’s books. As far as they wereconcerned, Mystic had no right to wear Diana’s laurels even if Diana did write Stress Reliefduring this period (most reviewers thought this book went too far into thedarker sides of BDSM).

But time heals, the dark period ended and I realized manyprobably thought I was resting comfortably on my bed of greens since I hadn’tpublished much with EC during that time (except for the aforementioned StressRelief. I still like the interplay between Rand and Meg, even if thegeneral populace thought he went too deep).

In fact, I was writing, but not wanting to end up with deadbranches, I moved in a different direction. Perhaps as a reaction to my darkperiod, my characters now wanted sweet romances with no BDSM at all. Grrr. Darncharacters. I self-published two works of short stories in the lighter genre (Tales from the Ramayana and Timeless Love) but was thrilled todiscover John and Lauren liked kinky sex in Services Rendered.You can imagine my relief!

But not resting on one’s laurels means more than justpenning story after story. It means offering new ideas, new features, new stuffto the world at large. So I added some games to my website (which were justplain old fun to do!) and finally got off my duff and finished Hardship and Hardtack, a historical novel that’s been a part of my life for overa decade. I decided to use a different name for that book so readers wouldn’tget confused and think they were buying erotic romance with a BDSM twist whenin reality the book is closer to a young adult telling of one soldier’s lifeduring the Civil War.

And of course, there’s my latest venture. Yes, I’m stillwriting erotic romance (have a new short story coming out in Jaid Black’santhology sometime soon) but I’m also branching out. Over the course of thenext seven months I’m offering a series of writing workshops on my blog. One workshop aweek (Tuesdays!) to help both newbies and professionals hone their skills andget some ideas.

I’ve been teaching writing for a number of years now and havebeen toying with this idea for a while. Each week I’ll post a new workshop forfree (although I am accepting donations). At the end, when all the discussionshave been held and the “course” is finished, I’ll gather it all together in abook, take down the posts, and publish it in a more traditional format. This isyour opportunity to help mold the book as we go. Each workshop will eventuallybe a chapter in the book. Just look for the “writing workshop” tag and come onalong on this new venture.

“Rest on your laurels and you’ll only end up with deadbranches.”

Here’s to no rest…and with any luck…more laurels!

What Makes You Melt?

2011-09-25T09:23:00.002-05:00

I love writing romance. Telling the story of two people falling in love makes me smile and gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling deep inside. Make it an erotic romance and I'm even happier.

Writing sexy love scenes isn't easy. Fun, but not easy. They have to be romantic as well as sexy, something you, the reader, would want to have done to you (or do to your partner). The words have to get to you, make you want more. They have to make you melt.

A nibble on the side of the neck.

A gentle tug with teeth on an earlobe.

Fingertips drifting down a naked back.

A hand sliding over a firm buttock.

The tip of a tongue tickling a navel.

Warm lips wrapped around a hard nipple.

Firm male flesh gripped in a tight fist.

Maybe it's that first kiss between lovers that makes you melt. Here's a little taste from my newest book, What Are Friends For?, when my hero and heroine share their first romantic kiss.

She turned to face him. Luke stared at the vision showered in moonlight. The silvery glow made Erin even lovelier and he didn't think that was possible. He tried to fight the attraction, tried to think of her as only a friend. Her confession that she wanted him blew all his good intentions to tiny bits.

Cradling her face in his hands, he slowly lowered his head until his lips touched hers. He'd kissed her dozens of times, friendly kisses between friends. This kiss was completely different. It was a kiss of hello, a kiss that began the journey from friend to lover. Her lips softened beneath his, parted for the sweep of his tongue. She clutched his waist, her fingernails digging into his skin. The bite of pain sweetened the kiss even more.

Are you melting yet?

So tell me, what makes you melt? What happens in a love scene that raises your blood pressure and sends you running off to find your significant other?

Lynn

P.S. The next issue of Sizzling Scribblings, our quarterly newsletter, will be released next week. Be sure and sign up on our mailing list so you don't miss it! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fantasy_Club/

Sex Change

2011-09-19T11:55:00.003-05:00

When I started writing erotic romance in 2001, it was pretty risqué. One guy and one girl but lots of sex and explicit terms (using the “c” words still made me gasp).

But like actual sex, writing the same sex scenes over and over again, gets boring. So as an author, you start to branch out. Some drift into the BDSM world. Some add bodies.

I started with m/f books. Then shifted to m/f/m ménages. The focus was still the main m/f couple but I drew in a second male to attend to the female (cuz really, who hasn’t dreamed about that?).

Then I started with my men interacting sexually. In the Wolf’s Heritage series (m/m/f), the guys become lovers. The female character is still there and the focus on the relationship but in each book, there is at least one m/m love scene.

And earlier this year, I wrote my first m/m erotic romance (A Change of Pace).

I’ve come along way from what I thought was fairly scandalous sex at the beginning.

In my mind, that’s expected. Things change. Authors want to expand. Readers expect more.

Now, I’ve decided to go back and write at least two more books in the Shadow of the Dragon Series. I love these characters and this world so it’s been fun visiting again.

But for the first time in about four years, I find myself writing m/f sex. That’s what that series involves and I don’t feel comfortable changing that on my readers, readers who still want the sensual m/f connection.

I sat down to write and the love scenes just wouldn’t flow. I’d forgotten how to do one man/one woman sex (well, not really but you get what I mean). I realized, I’d changed my focus (and yes fantasies) to be predominantly m/m. To make this book work, I have to shift them back.

It took a bit—going back, re-reading some of my old books. Picking up some favorite m/f authors. I’ve settled back into the groove.

The story isn’t any less sexy to me. It’s just been a bit of sex change.

Tielle

NEW BOOK UP FOR SALE!

2011-09-04T12:38:00.000-05:00

Happy September! I say happy because of a couple of things. First off, the heat has finally disappeared. It’s been a very strange summer here in Minnesota, a place where high humidity and temps in the 90s for long stretches is something of a phenomenon. Right now it’s about 58 degrees, slight breeze, and this old body of mine is enjoying the heck of it.

I thought and thought about a subject to blog about today and the only thing I can think of is how happy I am to announce my first self published story entitled, ONE CHANCE! This is a story I’ve played with for quite some time. I’ve been a ‘quiet’ author over the last three years do to simply not having the time to write. Glad I’m back! I’ve got some more stories brewing—four to be exact, plus Ellora’s Cave has accepted my short to be included in their anthology series, Something Wicked Comes This Way. So I’m back baby and loving every minute!

Here’s a little scrap of a review that I’m very proud of!

***5 STARS! I've been waiting for a new 'Ruby Storm' story for way too long. But honestly, it was worth the wait. Storm didn't disappoint. Her latest is a poignantly written, fast, phenomenal read of a love gone wrong and a magical chance to redeem that love and renew their sex lives in the arms of one another.***

If you get a chance to download the story, please give me a holler and let me know your thoughts! I’m over at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords!
Hugs, Ruby

Come on Irene

2011-08-28T06:41:00.002-05:00

Dear Irene,

For almost an entire week, you have dominated the news. Your ominous presence has captivated audiences up and down the entire east coast. Your time in the spotlight is over so please take your high winds and pelting rains and roll on out to sea. We were prepared for you with our up-to-the-minute accurate weather reports. Your every move was watched and talked to death about on every station.

Though I found this constant flow of information tedious and repetitive at times, in my opinion, I feel it did save many lives. More people heeded the warnings and moved to higher ground. More people shopped early and stocked their shelves with water and batteries.(except this one lady interviewed yesterday who said she had no food in her house. Duh they've been talking about this storm all week. You're an idiot for waiting until the stores closed and the rain started to go out and shop!)

I don't feel bad for you Irene that you didn't get the chance to torment like Katrina your horrific predecessor. So you've flooded many things-all are replaceable. You took out trees-a new one will grow in its place. You've knocked out power-no big deal. The power company will fix it within a few days. No power brings families closer together. It's the perfect opportunity to pull out those old game boards, candles and flashlights and spend quality time together. Only thing different now is my kids are drinking beer with us which makes the kiddie board games funny. LOL.

The one thing you did that I found stunning, you shut NYC down. Maybe the one good thing that will happen, your flood waters will clean out the subway system and hopefully it won't smell like body odor and urine anymore when they crank that thing back up.

Come on Irene! It's time for you to go. But could you blow a gust of rain soaked clouds towards Texas before you leave. I hear they need the rain.

STOP!!!!

2011-08-20T08:35:00.001-05:00

Have you ever just stopped and enjoyed the stillness for a moment? Or stopped and given thanks for the blessings you have? Or just plain stopped and let your brain relax from all the craziness that is your life?

I know I don’t do that nearly enough. I was driving home from a family visit recently. It was a ten hour drive through beautiful scenery, which I couldn’t take in because of driving rain and road construction. As my two youngest daughters were watching movies in the back seat, I had plenty of thinking time. I knew it would be my turn to blog soon, and I wanted to come up with something witty, or at least interesting, or hell, maybe something that would make a reader want to buy one of my books. (See, I’m a conscientious blogger, really!) I had snarky comments about road construction, I had biting thoughts about lousy drivers, I even considered blogging about the beauty of nature.

This blog is about none of those things.

When I finally got home (through several traffic jams when I was only an hour away) and unpacked and relaxed a little, I went online to check my Facebook page and see what I’d missed over the week I’d been away. While I was scanning through my friends’ messages, I saw that a patient who had been in the hospital on the same floor at the same time as my daughter had passed away.

It made me stop.

With a full time job, a wish to keep writing, three very active daughters, and a husband who’d like to see me every once in a while, I’m pretty busy. Even when I’m not working or running my children hither and yon, I’m busy cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and planning what I have to do next. Sometimes I think my brain resembles that of a mouse on crack. I’m never still. I never stop.

Well, I did today. For a few moments this morning, I stopped and considered how very lucky I am. I don’t care if you believe in God, a higher power, or just the luck of the universe, sometimes you just need to offer up thanks, because no matter how awful you think you have it, it doesn’t take much to see someone worse off.

I am so damn blessed, and so very thankful for not only the joys, but the sorrows which have made me stronger.

So today, take a minute and just stop. Give thanks if you wish, contemplate the universe, or just enjoy the stillness. You’ll be glad you did.

Everyday Inspiration

2011-08-15T08:54:00.005-05:00

In the week following the riots in England every news report is filled with how Britain is broken, young people are doomed and unless we bring back corporal punishment then we are all going to hell. The news reports are full of recaps of the violence of those nights and they are rolling out every politician, journalist and ‘expert’ to tell us why it happened. In the face of all this negativity you could be forgiven for believing the hype and getting depressed and angry as hell and for a while that’s exactly what I did. Then I saw the evidence of community pride uncrushed, people rallied round to clean up, started funds to help those who needed and generally put two fingers up to those who let greed and bloodlust sweep them up.

It was inspiring.

It made me think about other people who inspired me in small ways or great. Not movie or pop stars, few of whom deserve the term ‘role model’, but everyday folk just getting on with their lives. A friend who took in a child when he lost his mother, even though money and space was tight. A fellow author who lives with an illness that terrifies most of us and who has become an advocate against that fear. Several friends whose partners are still fighting a war that politicians would like us to forget. A woman who has survived cancer, not once but twice and defiantly lives on. A friend who had major brain surgery and lived to joke about it. A family who tragically lost a child but made sure her death to changed things, so it will never happen to another. I am full of admiration for each and every one. They make me want to be better and that is a very special gift.
Who inspired you today?

Summer festivals

2011-08-06T22:11:00.000-05:00

It's time to come out of the closet and admit it: I'm a sucker for summer festivals.

And they're everywhere. If there's a small town that doesn't have one, I'd be surprised. Every weekend, a different town, a different vegetable/fruit/music style/folk art/ historical event celebration. Want to celebrate the tomato? Go to Pittston, PA. Like potatoes? Then Potato Days in Barnesville, MINN is the place to be.

Around here, we have the Naples Grape Fest coming up and have just finished the Phelps Sauerkraut Festival. The latter has a great parade (my daughter marched in it this year) and lots and lots of sauerkraut. The former has miles and miles worth of vendors and food, which, to me, is the most important part of any festival.

Really, that's why I go. For the food. Sure I like to see friends I haven't seen in a while and yes, I do shop the booths for the folk art and those wonderful "hippie" dresses, and I'm absolutely thrilled when the libraries have a bag sale, but when push comes to shove? I'm there for the food.

Who can say no to cheese fries or better yet, a bloomin' onion? Corn dogs and kettle corn are staples in our family when it comes to festival weekends. Fresh lemonade with more sugar than could possibly be good for you? Coming right up! Don't forget the cotton candy, fudge and maple sugar candy for later...

Yeah, I'm a sucker for summer festivals. If we're on vacation and go through a town that's having one? We stop. Doesn't matter if we just ate or if we're in a hurry, we stop. For food. 'Cause, after all, what's one more Belgian waffle or fried dough between meals?

So am I alone in my love of these ubiquitous summer festivals? Which one is your favorite? Are you like me -- a glutton for the food? Or do you go for some other reason? Are there other reasons?

Excuse me, I have to go. I do believe there's a hot dog over there with my name on it...

PS. Put links to your favorite festivals in the comments. Who knows? I might be traveling through your town someday and need a corn dog fix!

PPS. SERVICES RENDERED releases on August 24th. I put a blurb and the cover up on the sidebar so if you're reading this through a reader, click through and take a look.

Favorite TV Shows

2011-07-31T08:02:00.002-05:00

We all have them—our guilty pleasures that we watch every week on TV. I didn't watch nighttime TV for years, other than one or two favorite shows (I never missed 24) because I worked at the newspaper during the day and wrote at night. Now that I write all day, I've discovered some nighttime TV shows that I enjoy.

Castle! Oh, how I love Castle. The chemistry between Castle and Beckett is so palpable, I swear I can touch it. And he's just so darn cute.

Other shows I enjoy include:

NCIS

NCIS: Los Angeles

CSI: New York

Blue Bloods

The Mentalist

Bones

Dancing With the Stars

Body of Proof

Hawaii Five-O

Harry's Law

I've also discovered some wonderful shows on the cable networks, like USA and TNT. They don't have a very long season, but I'm going to enjoy them while I can.

White Collar

Covert Affairs

Leverage

Necessary Roughness

Royal Pains

Franklin and Bash

Suits

I still watch M*A*S*H reruns whenever possible. I wish I could find a comedy I enjoy as much as M*A*S*H. Anyone have a suggestion for a show that will make me laugh without using stupid jokes about bodily functions?

Have a great week!

Lynn

Hawt, Sizzlin' Summertime!

2011-07-19T15:29:00.002-05:00

Hi all! There’s a good chance that 70% of you reading this is experiencing just that! The states have been immersed in abnormally record highs that don’t seem to want to temper down at all. This Minnesotan is having a hard time with the heat so I’ve found myself perched before my computer and doing the one thing that I love with a passion! Writing!

Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ve been awol in that area, but sometimes that’s what life does to you. Family, business and life in general has a way of completely discombobulating a perfectly planned schedule. I am happy to report though that the sizzling temperature isn’t the only thing having to do with hot! Yup! I’m heating up my keyboard and having a ball! I’m back, baby, and I couldn’t be more thrilled!

So what’s on the table? I recently submitted to Ellora’s Cave and am waiting for an acceptance on that story. Also, I decided to delve into the world of self publishing. My story, One Chance, is just about done and I can’t wait to get it up and running.

It seems that a lot of authors are dipping their toes into this new age of writing and simultaneously striking out on their own. Some are doing great. Others? Well, the numbers speak for themselves. Bad editing, numerous errors and weak plotlines. So my major concern becomes an issue of quality control. I want to put out my finest. That’s where my Sizzling Scribes sisters come in. This author group that I belong to is absolutely phenomenal. We talk daily. We exchange ideas daily and we also edit, edit, edit daily to assure that the books we finish have a professional quality to them that is unsurpassed.

So enough said. I’m working hard to produce stories that will have you thinking about them long after you’ve read THE END. Whether those tales are erotic romance, sweet romance, or stories about strong women, I hope you’ll enjoy them all.

So sit back, grab a cold one and get ready. I’ve got some heat planned for you!

Day Off

2011-07-12T05:04:00.003-05:00

I apologize for this not being posted sooner. But I've been distracted. My children are no longer children. They both work, they drive, they've got friends and to quote my daughter "they've got lives." So where does that leave me?

This spring I tore up part of my backyard and created a rather large garden. Hey, my kids don't play back there anymore so why not make it useful. My daughter even helped. This has been a rather nice way to transform from the yard for all the kids to just the yard for the old fart.

But this morning with coffee in hand I realized, I miss the swing set days. The kids playing ball or hide 'n' seek. It's a tough transition from young kids, boo-boos and band-aides to who's got the beer and 18 to 20+ year old pool parties till all hours of the night.

When did this happen? I swear I didn't blink. I really tried to keep them little as long as I possibly could but it didn't work.

Not to mention, their friends have grown up too. They've gone from these awkward, lanky children with squeaky voices to adults. Geez it happened too fast.

But I am grateful for one thing...My two are close. This past Sunday, my DH invited a few of his work buddies over and their wives whom I didn't know. It was an adventure to say the least.

But during this busy, chaos, I spotted my two out by the tree swing chatting. Not sure what they were discussing, really don't care. But it was a special moment for me. One sat in the swing while the other sat in the grass and they were simply having a conversation. It was a beautiful sight. it made me realize that maybe I haven't done a bad job. It's not easy keeping brothers and sisters close.

Then on Monday, when I said I'd get this posted, I ended up spending a quite day with the two of them. Not a bad day. Burgers on the grill, great conversation, and swimming in the pool. I tried to nap on a float in the pool. They tried to drown me. Just like when they were little, drown the mama was the game of the day or a least flip her float and watch her sputter. LOL.

And best of all, they obviously believed me when I told them last week that I was no longer the maid and they had to do their own laundry because I was sick of doing it all. No kidding, they would walk through the giant ever-growing pile in the laundry room and not stop to put a load in or toss one in the dryer. So, I sat them down, explained how the machines worked and told them they were on their on. My daughter actually has been doing her own laundry. My son didn't believe me until he had to basically dig his way out of his room through the pile of dirty laundry. Yesterday, he met the washer and dryer, separated his clothes and did his laundry. I was impressed that he even listened. I consider this a small victory. It's one less thing I've got to do.

Now if I could figure out a strategy to get my husband to finish at least one of the ninety projects he has started over the years in my house then I'd truly be a happy woman.

Like falling off a bike. . .

2011-07-02T19:16:00.002-05:00

As many of you have noticed, I haven't written much in the last three years.

Okay, let's be honest, I haven't written bubkis in the last three years. Nada, zilch, schmatz.

Anyway, since I live in the northeast, I decided to visit my friends who were at the Romance Writers of America conference in New York City. It's been a while since I've hung out with any writing buddies and I wasn't quite sure how many people would even remember me. I wasn't sure how I would feel when everyone was talking about writing and I had nothing to offer. I was even a little uneasy about how I would react when people were discussing career moves and my writing career has pretty much stalled.

I shouldn't have worried. I can honestly say, Romance writers are some of the most amazing, caring, and just awesome people around. Everyone asked me about my daughter (she's doing fantastic, 10 months since her last chemo and her counts are still great) and when I was going to write again.

No one had forgotten me, no one ignored me because I couldn't do anything to further their career, and my publisher, Samhain, even bought me dinner and breakfast and it's been years since I've written anything for them.

I was humbled and overwhelmed by the caring so many people showed me.

I was also inspired to write again! With any luck at all, I'll actually FINISH writing something this summer and who knows? Maybe the next conference I go to, I'll have something to talk about.

Musical Cherry

2011-06-26T05:58:00.001-05:00

This week I experienced an important rite of passage. My first concert. You’ve never been to a concert? I hear you say. Yes, it’s true...well sort of. I have worked at one before but it’s not quite the same. There are various reasons for this, no time, no money but mostly just friends with different tastes in music. Last year I swore I would do it, but who would be my first? It was an important decision, one not to be taken lightly. So I watched the newsletters from event holders and ticket sales websites and in October, there it was.

Bon Jovi.

Now I don’t really care if it makes me uncool but I have loved that group for years. Catchy rock music for blasting out loud and singing along to and a charismatic lead singer – who I swear has a deal with the devil to still look so good. It’s also one of the things my mum and I share so of course she would have to go with me. Whenever we would go on road trips out would come the Bon Jovi cd and we would sing along together. They are part of some really good memories. So I woke up early on the morning they went on sale and I bought the best tickets I could get my hands on without going bankrupt. Back then, June seemed a very long way away.

The nearer the date got the more excited I got. I kept expecting something to go wrong, the concert to be cancelled but the 22^nd arrived and off we went. The one and only concert I’ve experienced I was working with the Red Cross and was actually next to the stage and feet away from Billy Joel and Elton John. You wouldn’t think anything would beat that but not so. That day I was working and wasn’t concentrating on the experience. Being behind the barriers means that you are very separate from the crowd, the atmosphere isn’t the same.

The rain poured down but even that didn’t spoil our anticipation. Our seats were amazing. I chose to be in the seated section which did put us about a hundred yards from the stage but we are both short and if we had stood we wouldn’t have been able to see past the crowd. Slowly the stadium began to fill up until 60,000 people joined us. The atmosphere was electric. I have never been in such a large crowd before and it was amazing to look around and see a sea of faces and the strobe of thousands of camera flashes. Suffice to say that Bon Jovi exceeded all of my expectations. They played for two and a half hours without a break and it was one of the best experiences of my life. There is nothing like being one of thousands of voices singing out anthems that clearly mean as much to them as they do to you. I am proud to say that Bon Jovi took my concert virginity; there will never be another first.

I can now say I am hooked and even if I have to go alone, there will be more concerts in my future. The question now is who will I see next?

Question for our readers

2011-06-20T16:23:00.002-05:00

As you undoubtedly know, several of the Scribes have made recent forays into the blossoming self-publishing market. Tara Nina's Playing Cowboy (a wonderfully HOT read!), Tielle St. Clare's A Change of Pace (M/M erotica like you've never read before!) and Diana Hunter's Tales from the Ramayana (romantic short stories) are currently available. But like so many others, we're having an internal debate about pricing. Right now we're just shooting in the dark.

And so we turn to our faithful readers for help. Please take the survey below (it's through Survey Monkey and will not download any unwanted material to your machines!). We made it nice and simple with only 4 questions. Help us price the books you want to buy!

Click here for survey

This will be open until noon on Sunday, June 26th. One of us will post the results later that night.

- the Sizzlin' Scribes :)

An I Love Lucy Moment

2011-06-12T08:55:00.002-05:00

We've all had those moments when we've done something totally stupid, something like Lucy Ricardo would've done on the old I Love Lucy show. If you're too young to remember that show, you've missed out on some great comedy.

I'll start this story with a fact about me that you may not know—I'm very full busted. That plays a big part in my tale.

My late husband, Harry, and I moved from Sacramento, California to Olympia, Washington in 1996. His son, Little Harry (whose name never made sense to me since he's 6'1"), owned a house in Forks (yes, the town of Twilight fame) that was currently empty, so told us we could store all our household belongings in it until we got settled in a place to live. It was a cute little house with a second story that contained two small bedrooms and a bath. Little Harry was currently remodeling the house, so it was pretty much a mess upstairs.

A couple of weeks after we arrived in Washington, we drove up to the house in Forks to get some of our stuff. It was pouring rain. Forks is on the edge of a rain forest and gets a lot of rain per year. We walked in the back door of the house and heard water running. Let me rephrase that. We heard water gushing and it had nothing to do with the rain outside.

A pipe had burst in the upstairs bathroom beneath the sink and water was literally dripping down the walls and through the ceiling. So we whipped out our cell phone and prayed we could reach Little Harry in Olympia to tell him what happened and find out how to turn off the water. Remember, this was 1996, so cell phones barely had a strong enough signal to call the neighbor, let alone 100 miles away. Luckily, we were able to reach him and he told us where the lever was located to turn off the water. It was under the house, which meant going out in the pouring rain.

I was elected for the job. Harry had had a stroke in 1994 that affected his legs, so him crawling beneath a house wasn't even an option. With the help of a flashlight, we found the little white lever. Hooray! All I had to do was pull it forward a couple of inches and the water would turn off. So I get on the ground in the mud and scooch backward on my back in the narrow space between the ground and the bottom of the house to get to the lever. I'm within an inch (literally) of reaching it when (yep, you guessed it) my boobs came up against the house. I can't go any farther. I'm stretching and squirming to reach that lever just off my fingertips, but my boobs won't let me move.

Of course, Harry is leaning down watching me and laughing like crazy. I put up with his snickering for a few moments, then informed him it was up to him to figure out what to do. After laughing a little longer, he went in the house and came back with a wire clothes hanger. I hooked it around the lever and pulled forward. Viola! Water off, job complete.

Do you have one of those I Love Lucy moments? Tell me about it. I love a good laugh.

Lynn

Vegas, Baby!

2011-06-06T09:06:00.002-05:00

So I'm taking a few days in Vegas, first for business, now for pleasure...so this will be short but I had a bit of a revelation about time away from the keyboard.

I'm a pretty consistent writer. When I'm home, I don't take "days off." I work a full-time job and when I get time off from that, I work at my "other job," writing. The writing is a mental break from my day job and I know that at this point in my life, I have to maintain the two work environments.

When I'm on vacation, or even just away from home, my routine is completely thrown off. I haven't written a word in five days. I haven't even spent time with my characters (you know, those moments when I let myself daydream and drift into the worlds inhabited by werewolves or dragons. Please note: I often do this while I'm driving which probably makes me fairly dangerous on the road...be glad you don't live in my city.)

This morning while I was waiting for my massage, I dropped in to visit a werewolf character of mine. It was like visiting a friend that I haven't seen in weeks. I realized my characters and I were getting a little tired of each other. We needed a little bit of space. And now, after a few days away, I have new insights, new stories, a couple of funny scenes...and discovered a great place to hide a body (the pool side of the hotel...cool, huh?).

Have fun! I'm off to find my favorite slot machine!

Tielle.

P.S. (Don't forget...I have two books out in the past month—A Change of Pace, available at Amazon, and Collective Memory from Ellora's Cave!)

I Count My Blessings

2011-05-29T13:18:00.001-05:00

I count my blessings. I just came in from outdoors here in Minnesota. The temperature is sitting at about 65 degrees, the sun is shining, and for some odd reason there were no bugs flitting around my head as I welcomed in the summer season by planting some flowers and weeding some flower beds. Over the past week a lot of us northerners have been bemoaning the fact that we’ve had frost on a couple of mornings and that we’re sick of the fact we’ve had a lot of rain, not much sun, and temps that have been below normal.

I count my blessings and have decided to stop the whining. My house is standing, my basement is not flooded, the trees are budding and my family is around me. I sit and once more turn on CNN and sit transfixed while watching the horrible devastation over a large part of the United States, both with flooding and the horrific tornados that ripped apart lives and communities. Once again, a lump forms in my throat as I watch a father struggle to get out the words, “I have lost both my sons.” Another woman still looks in shock as she gazes about a pile of rubble that used to be her home and states, “I have nothing left. It’s all gone.” She shrugs and her eyes are glazed over. Another parent is frantic because he’s traveled to all the local hospitals and still he cannot find his missing son. These events are almost beyond comprehension.

I count my blessings because I don’t have to stand in shocked awe, I don’t have to deal with the fact that one of my loved ones is still missing. I don’t have to worry when the chance of a warm meal and a hot shower will present itself. I don’t have to dig through a pile of boards and branches searching frantically for some favorite memento that I can cling to, something that will ground me and help me to take the next step to recovery and rebuilding. Something that will give me hope.

My heart goes out to all of those poor souls who have been affected by the tragic events of the last week. My respect is tenfold for those who despite the fact could have lost their own lives, instead they stepped up and went beyond the call in order to help others and save them from certain death. And I sit in wonder as I watch the strength of the human spirit. One man has already begun rebuilding his home. Another works tiredly yet with firm conviction as he rebuilds his wife’s beauty shop. Amazing.

I count my blessings.

Rapturefied

2011-05-21T16:33:00.004-05:00

Seeing as it's 5:40 pm on the day of the predicted earthquake that brings forth the rapture or end of the world as we know it, I decided to get this in before there was no one left to read it. :0

Do you truly believe the world will come to an end simply because some man (who in MHO is a bit off-Kilter) predicts it. How does he know? Who told him? Did he read it the tea leaves? No he claims he deciphered it from a passage in the Bible. I find it amazing he has sunk his money into trying to make everyone else believe his interpretation of words from a well-written book that has managed to survive the centuries. (Honestly as an author, I wish I had those numbers in my sales column.)

Growing up in a Southern Baptist family, the bible was not taken lightly. We were taught to pray and believe in the good word of the book of faith. But as I grew older and began to spread my wings a bit and listen to different preachers, I realized the Bible could be interpreted in many different ways. It depended on who was reading, how they perceived the meaning, and then how they chose to spread that word as gospel to their parishioners. The same passage read by several different people can be perceived to mean different things to each person who read it. That is how the Bible was written. As a series of interesting facts told in tantalizing tales of Birth, Life, Scandal, Deceit, Death and above all One Almighty Being who created Everything.

It was meant to teach right from wrong. It set guidelines for everyone to follow.

But somewhere along the line, these basic guidelines have been forgotten. Unfortunately, the language in which the Bible is written, makes it difficult to truly comprehend exactly what was meant in some of it's more obscure passages. This may be the reason behind this man's misconception of said passage.

Take DaVinci's work for instance. So many have spent valuable time deciphering his works and twisting it to fit events that have occurred and then claim DaVinci predicted the future. Hogwash. If the future could be predicted, then why don't fortune tellers hit the lottery? If I had the ability to predict the future, the first thing I'd do was pick my numbers.

So is the end near? I doubt it. There is no way of knowing when the world will end. But since it's 6:04pm in Jersey. I guess we missed it.

The Fleetingness of Life

2011-05-08T11:34:00.005-05:00

“Life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all.”
William Goldman
The Princess Bride

This month has been a difficult one for me but not as difficult as those who have been in my care. When I tell people that I am a midwife their response is often “Oh what a lovely job!” The reason for that of course is usually that they have either not had children, or had uncomplicated pregnancy and deliveries. In this day and age and in most countries we are very lucky to have the benefit of modern maternity services. It is rare nowadays for things to go badly wrong that the worst happens and people often forget that women still become seriously ill and yes, lose their lives when having a baby. The other thing that people never think about is sadly even more common; losing a baby.

This month has brought that very clearly into my focus as I personally cared for two couples who lost their baby and my colleagues looked after another three. At times like these I question why I do what I do...because as you see, it’s not always a lovely job. I have to do things that make me very uncomfortable and are upsetting and while I’m in the moment, I hate every second of it. I feel sorry for myself in private and I grieve along with the parents. While I take handprints and footprints and pictures I often cry. But I do it. Because I am responsible for the only thing these parents are going to take home from the hospital. Every single thing that I do matters to them. They remember it and are grateful for it in a way that those who take a healthy baby home will hopefully never understand.

At the end of the day my goal is to make this horrible event as easy as possible and to send them home with some measure of peace. Occasionally I get a card telling me that I did that and those mean more to me than any other card or gift I receive. I wanted to take a moment today to pay tribute to those mothers and fathers who have been there. Please take a moment today to give a thought or a prayer or donate to a charity for those in this situation. In the UK most don’t realise that it is charities like SANDS and SIMBA who furnish ‘home away from home’ rooms and provide memory boxes, counselling and other vital services. If you knit then think about making small hats and cardigans or blankets to donate to your local maternity hospital. People often think of donating to the Neonatal Units but never of the little souls who don’t make it there. You could help someone like me give a little peace.

“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.”
Kabir (1440-1518)

SANDS http://www.uk-sands.org/

SIMBA http://simba.workwithus.org/

Self-publishing

2011-04-30T17:31:00.001-05:00

Self-publishing one’s own books used to have a certain “ick” factor on the part of publishers and the reading public alike. With no company acting as gatekeeper, standards of professionalism could not be guaranteed and often there was no way for the reader to be assured of purchasing a quality work.

But times and technology changes people’s ideas and what was once anathema is now de rigueur. Well-known authors have decided to take their careers into their own hands, bypassing a group increasingly viewed as “middlemen”. New authors are seeing new frontiers and forming their own bands of loyal readers.

And readers have benefited from this expansion of self-publishing, especially in the ebook formats. Look at all the choices! Without traditional publishers as gatekeepers, anything and everything is out there for you to pick and choose from. Yes, this means that standards of professionalism are often a crapshoot, but, as in every business, the best will rise to the top and the unprofessional will eventually find another job.

So why did I choose to self-publish Tales from the Ramayana? Mostly because it’s a collection of short stories (strike one – no publisher’s really looking for short stories) taken from an old epic from India (old? Yuck! Strike two. And is it anything like the Odyssey? That was a stupid story. Wandering around lost for ten years? Why didn’t he just ask a woman for directions and go home? Or is it like Beowulf? I hated that in high school…Strike three). I’m out!

But at the center of this truly cool epic, is a love story sure to set your heart aflutter. The four short stories in my telling of the Ramayana show how Ram and Sita meet, fall in love and then convince their families they should be together. And you want to talk royal weddings? You should see theirs! Hands down theirs was more glorious than any of recent memory.

I’m not the only Scribe to jump into the self-publishing waters, either. Tara Nina has an offering out, an erotic romance with a hunky cowboy you won’t want to miss!

So readers, what are your concerns about authors taking the plunge into the self-publication waters? If you were giving advice to authors, what would you tell them?

And authors, what do you see as the benefits (and pitfalls) of taking matters into your own hands?

As always, play safe!

Diana

What Do I Blog About Now?

2011-04-17T08:18:00.002-05:00

I admire people who have so much going on in their lives or are so clever that they can blog every day. I can't do that. I live a simple life. I get out of bed, I shower, I have breakfast, I check email, I write, I have lunch, I check email, I write, I check email, I have supper, I watch TV, I go to bed, I read a while, I go to sleep. Somewhere in there I do dishes, laundry, vacuum, and clean off my desk so I can find a pen when I need it.

So I wondered what I could tell you about this time that would spark your interest and entertain you.

The weather? Spring has sprung! That means it's allergy season for me. Okay, that covered the weather.

Movies I've seen? I went to see The Tourist the end of December. Otherwise I have a Netflix subscription and watch movies at home. I recently watched Tangled (loved it!) and finished the last disc of the third season of the BBC production of Robin Hood. I didn't like the ending, but I enjoyed the series.

Books I've read? Sunday is my reading day, along with the bit of reading I do at night before going to sleep. I've been catching up on the Scribes' books that have been stacked up, waiting to be read. I recently finished:

Snowy Night Seduction by Arianna Hart

Finding the Magic by Cait Miller

Tales from the Ramayana by Diana Hunter

Winter's Rose by Ruby Storm

Playing Cowboy by Tara Nina

After the Ceremony by Tielle St. Clare

Man, these ladies are talented! I'm managing to read a book a week, which isn't nearly enough to satisfy my need to immerse myself in other authors' worlds. I'd love to have more time to read, but writing comes first. After all, that's my job and I LOVE my job.

Hobbies? I love to scrapbook. One of my friends is a consultant for Creative Memories and has a huge room at her house where she holds scrapbooking classes. I go there at least twice a month. We scrapbook, gossip, and eat chocolate. What could be better?

So now I've written a whole blog. That's pretty good considering I had nothing to blog about. I hope part of it sparked your interest and entertained you.

Have a great week!

Lynn

Speeding World

2011-04-12T12:06:00.003-05:00

We all know the world moves too fast and it gets faster as we get older but lately, it's like I can feel it moving. It isn't a case of "where did the month go?" It's waking up each day and needing to get things done. I think it's because I feel like I've been "flintstoning" for the past two years.

I learned this term last week. When Fred Flintstone used to get ready to drive his car, he's spin his legs and run in place, a lot of action but not going anywhere. That's kind of how I've been feeling. I've been writing and getting books out, but I don't know that I'm progressing. I haven't been changing. I haven't been taking in new information. I got done with my meteorology classes three years ago and my brain's gone stagnant. I've even been reading the same books over and over again (okay, that probably won't change. I love re-reading books. It's like visiting old friends but I need to add new books to my stock).

In the last month, there's been a change. I feel like I'm moving forward again. And it came from a simple source...I sat down and wrote out some goals. I know they always tell you to do that but I've never really taken the time. For the first time in a while, I feel like I know what I want in my life. I have direction. The result is I want to rush that direction. That's why the world feels like it's speeding along.

Or maybe it's just that I'm racing to catch up. I see people doing what I want to do and I want to get busy. I want to be where they are.

It sounds a little panicked, maybe a little sad but really, it's invigorating. Every day I think about what I'm going to do to get me to where I want to be. Part of my goals are writing related and to accomplish those, I've been writing more. I've been hitting daily writing targets. Look for a new release at the end of April and yes, I'm writing the next dragon book (due to my editor in July).

I'm a little off balance with it right now. Kind of like a top that got spun to fast but I think after this initial rush, I'll slow down. At least now I know where I'm headed.

P.S. Don't forget to check out all the new books out from the Sizzling Scribes.
Tales of the Ramayana by Diana Hunter (Kindle, Nook)
Playing Cowboy by Tara Nina (Kindle, Nook)
One Thing to Give by Lynn LaFleur (Ellora's Cave)
After the Ceremony by Tielle St. Clare (Ellora's Cave, Kindle)

Turning the Speed Limit

2011-04-03T06:48:00.002-05:00

Whether I choose for it to happen or not, there’s no running from it. Today I turn the speed limit. Fifty-five. How in hell does that happen? I bet there’s more than one person out there scratching their head like me and trying to come up with the answer! The only thing I can deduce is I will now begin to fool myself on a daily basis. Fifty-five in my mind has just become the new thirty. LOL! Because I tell you if I don’t keep this mantra running through my brain I may just have to bring out my cane and find some cute little boyscout to help me cross the street.

Is it possible? I just turned the speed limit. What the hell. I don’t feel like what I used to think fifty-five would feel like. For those fossils out there close to my age, I ask you this question. Do you remember when you were in your teens and knew someone who was turning thirty – did you think wow, they are O-L-D? And then as thirty crept close, you readjusted your mindset and switched it up and then began to think about forty and what repercussions there would be to having near adult children? Well hell yeah! Instead of hiring a babysitter you now will be able to party with those same children and show them how youthful forty actually is (keep telling yourself that, baby) And yeah again, your own parents were O-L-D at forty but no way were you going to be like that because damn, the body still seems to be holding out.

Ah yes, here it comes. The day you turn the speed limit. This is what’s going on with me. Some little bitch is running around inside my brain, pointing a finger at me and holding her crotch so she doesn’t pee her pants from laughing. You have just turned the speed limit, she giggles behind her youthful smooth-skinned hand. Now that you’re fifty-five, happy hour will be defined as a nap instead of doing body shots on a bar. That little aforementioned bitch finally gets her wits together and really starts on me. She says, and remember when you loved surprise birthday cakes and all the candles? Hmmph! Now you can use all that wax to wax your legs….and armpits….and the mustache you’ve recently acquired and all those goat hairs springing out on your chin! And hey, old lady, remember having sex and being able to bend? I’ll just leave it at that, but remember, you can live without sex but you can’t live without your cheater glasses! And don’t worry about your friends keeping your secrets safe because they can’t remember them either! And don’t worry about watching the weather channel. Your knees will be a much more accurate way of telling you that weather is about to change. And oh yeah, one more thing. You can quit worrying about droopy breasts and a sagging ass. Why? Because they’ve already fallen. Yup. That knocking feeling on the back of your knees is really your ass.

Argggh, I say! Arggggh! But on the upside, I’m going to make this a good day. I’m going to spend it with my kids and family and friends. I’m actually NOT doing the cooking. I’m going to eat and not worry about calories and cholesterol. I’m going to look around and count my blessings that my kids and grandkids are healthy and that my parents are still here, productive, and not in a nursing home. And for the hell of it I just may do a body shot and set my cruise on fifty-six when I drive home!

Favorite Movies

2011-03-27T18:35:00.002-05:00

I'm interested in learning your favorite movie. I don't go out to the movies. Can't remember the last time I even entered a movie theatre. It's easier to simply rent it directly on the TV. Though I do miss the popcorn from the theatre. You just can't get it like that anywhere else. The one good thing about watching movies at home, the pause button so you can go potty and not miss a scene.

The main things I don't miss about the theatre, people talking, cell phones ringing and sticky floors (oooohhh).

Occasionally, I find a great movie that I will actually purchase on DVD. There are some I wish I never spent the money on like Due Date. My son said it was funny. I didn't see it, couldn't even watch it to the end.

But there are a few that I can watch over and over and over.

Here's my list of favorites:

All four Shrek movies. If I'm sick, I curl up on the couch and do a Shrek marathon. my kids hate it.

Ever After

A walk in the clouds

Hell Boy I & II

Expendables

Grown-ups

50 first dates

True Lies

A Cinderella Story-my daughter & I watch this one together

The Proposal (love Betty White)

Lady and the Tramp

The Mummy I & II

George of the Jungle

Tarzan

Sherlock Holmes

Gone with the Wind - this is a given since I'm named after the plantation.

I'm sure I'm leaving something out. Hoping ya'll step and share you're favorites.

I'm always looking for a good movie.

Happy Spring!!!!

2011-03-20T16:28:00.002-05:00

Happy First Day of Spring!!!!!

I read today that there is a big difference between the first day of spring and the first spring day.

This year, it's actually warm in New England on March 20th, but I remember many a snow storm on an April day. In fact, my husband and I bought our first house in the middle of a blizzard on April 1st. Apparently, we were the April Fools that year!

In my story SNOWY NIGHT SEDUCTION the main characters, Jake and Sera, are caught in just such a snow storm. They, of course, find all sorts of things to do to keep warm. Lucky buggers.

I've always felt Mother Nature has a sick sense of humor. I swear she gives us a few really nice spring days just to get our hopes up, the BAM! she slams us with a cold snap. I'm sure there are people in other parts of the country or world who have nice, temperate climates where Mother Natured doesn't slap them upside the head on a regular basis, New England isn't so lucky.

So, wherever you are today, I hope you have a chance to go outside and enjoy some nice weather, at least for a little while. If Mother Nature turns nasty, try Plan B and read SNOWY NIGHT SEDUCTION instead! hahahaha

California here I come!

2011-03-14T14:26:00.003-05:00

California here I come! In eleven days I am leaving for the USA. Five days in San Francisco, Six days sightseeing in Los Angeles then on to the Romantic Times Convention. This vacation has been arranged since June last year and now with so little time left I am getting nervous. Those who know me may recall that last year I planned a much anticipated trip to New Orleans before the RT Convention. For almost a year I planned and organized and excitement built for a trip to a place I had always wanted to see. Then, disaster.

The damn Icelandic volcano.

I never got to see The Big Easy. In fact, I barely made it to the Romantic Times Convention. I got stuck in Ohio for an extra night on the way home while sick as a dog with tonsillitis and travelled for 24hrs in the same condition as we circumvented affected airports. In the end I had to travel the last 9hrs by coach and train.

So, as the time of departure ticks nearer this year it's perhaps understandable that I'm afraid to be excited. The earth seems to be a very uncertain place these days. Mother Nature has declared war and I am hiding in a ditch hoping she passes me by this time. Please keep your fingers crossed for me, I'd really appreciate it. All being well, I hope to see many of you in L.A. in a few weeks.
Cait x

It's READ AN EBOOK WEEK!

2011-03-06T18:54:00.000-06:00

Betcha didn’t even know there was such a thing, did you? Well, there is and we’re going to celebrate it in style!

Ebooks have only been around a couple of decades and, as many of you know, have found acceptance only in the last few years. Dedicated readers are slowly giving way to multi-use mobile devices to the point where there are no more excuses for not having a book with you all the time. As long as you have your smartphone, Ipad, Blackberry or netbook, you have an entire library at your fingertips.

This week, the world sets some time aside to celebrate this accessibility. To help out, I’m offering a free download of Kara’s Captain, a tale of love that spans two centuries and two modes of reading. Robert Walton comes from the pages of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Kara Godwin is the woman he hopes will save him from obscurity (read more in the sidebar). What better way to celebrate future than by reading a story that pulls together the past and the present?

To get a free download of Kara’s Captain, leave a comment sharing with us your favorite ebook of all time (and no, it doesn’t need to be one of ours). At 9:00 pm EST on Friday, March 18th, I’ll put all your names into a hat and my own handsome husband will draw not one, not two, but three lucky winners! Names will be posted here shortly thereafter.

Hooray for ebooks! Play safe,
Diana

Favorite Quotes

2011-02-20T09:04:00.002-06:00

I feature a writing quote every month in my newsletter. I enjoy looking for them, finding just the right one for that month. Even though they're geared toward writers, many of the quotes are great for everyday life.

Some of the quotes I've featured so far include:

"What no wife of a writer can understand is that a writer is working when he's staring out of the window." ~Burton Rascoe

"The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes." ~Agatha Christie

"A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one." ~Baltasar Gracian

"Don't tell me the moon is shining. Show me the glint of light on broken glass." ~Anton Chekhov

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." ~Jack London

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." ~Scott Adams (I like this one for my scrapbooking.)

"If the sex scene doesn't make you want to do it--whatever it is they're doing--it hasn't been written right." ~Sloan Wilson

"Writing fiction is a solitary occupation, but not really a lonely one. The writer's head is mobbed with characters, images and language." ~Hilma Wolitzer

"Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money." ~Jules Renard

Is one of these my favorite? Yes and no. I love the last one because it's so true for writers. But my all-time favorite quote has nothing to do with writing:

"A friend is someone who sees through you and still enjoys the view." ~Wilma Askinas

Do you have a favorite quote? Share it with me. And if you want to receive my monthly newsletter, which includes all kinds of goodies along with the quotes, send an email to lynn@lynnlafleur.com.

Lynn

Sanity Savers

2011-02-13T11:43:00.003-06:00

I’m overwhelmed at the moment. With work and life. To the point of tears.

Don’t worry. This isn’t a whining blog. We all get overwhelmed at times so I know I’m in good company.

I’ve been filling in for the morning shift guy while he’s been on jury duty for a month. And at the same time, I got assigned four major shows that will all hit in the next two weeks. I’m working long days. No days off. I get home in time to eat dinner before I have to go to bed so I can get up at 3:00 AM to do it again. It's starting to wear on me a bit.

I find I get a little more nuts—i.e., whiny, cranky, bitchy, teary, sanctimonious, etc.—when I don’t take a few minutes for stuff that centers me.

These are my Sanity Savers

A Time Limit: I know the trial my co-worker is on will be done this week and my shows will be done in two weeks. So, it might be a hellish few days but two weeks from today, it’s done. I’ll cling to that and start checking off days.

Knitting: Spending even a few minutes with my needles and yarn seems to calm something in my soul. I don’t even know if it’s the act of knitting or just being in my house, alone. I’m your basic introvert so this is the perfect way to re-energize.

Friends: This is one often adds to my busy days because I have to take time to see them but it really does help. I’ve got three meetings for coffee or breakfast this week. It’s on my calendar and I’ll just slip away from work for a few minutes and come back calmer.

Writing: I particularly feel this one. When I’m so busy with the day job that I don’t have time to write, it weighs on me. Not really a conscious thing but I just get discontented with life. Then I spend a few hours with my characters and suddenly my mind is working again. I’ve got happy little voices in my head. Doesn’t always help with the day job but it makes the time much more entertaining.

So what do you do to save your sanity when you’re overwhelmed with the pressures of life? I’m always looking for something new to try.

Dreaded words: Writers Block

2011-01-30T11:12:00.002-06:00

Writers Block, every writer suffers from it every now and again. Overcoming it is a problem. I've suffered a bit from this dreaded syndrome this past month. Several times, I've sat with my laptop and attempted to focus, to put something on the page, even if it sounds ridiculous. But it just hasn't come. I've even done the one thing I hate...I've written a couple of outlines hoping to jumpstart the process. It produced nothing but frustration especially after reading the paragraphs I'd written. Ugh, it read like CRAP.

Ever wonder if writer's block syndrome is related to the season (winter in particular)? You look outside and see nothing but white. No birds chirping. No flowers. No warm sunny glow seeping through the window to warm your face and uplift the soul. And no matter how many times you wipe the floor, some loving family members trods in tracking clumps of dirty snow without regards to what you've just done. I've gotten to the point, I just keep towels on the floor and swap them out for dry ones. I'm just praying the washer and dryer hold out from towel overload. I can't just blame the hubby and teenagers. I've got three dogs who traipse in and out constantly. Wish I could teach those little buggers to wipe their feet and dislodge all snowballs from their fur outside the door, not in.

Maybe, I'll just have a Guiness and hope that ignites the brainwaves to communicate with the fingers and press the right keys to create an awesome story.

Doing without

2011-01-23T16:50:00.002-06:00

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Hello from the chilly Northeast! We have gotten our full share of winter in the last month, and I don't think it's going away any time soon. Recently, we had an ice storm and the power flickered on and off all night. We were the lucky ones who didn't lose our electricity, it got me thinking about those who had.

Also recently, I lost my cell phone and was without one for a little over a week. Suddenly, something I had done without for the first 20 years or so of my life seemed impossible to do without.

We've all had days where the internet has gone down at work, the dishwasher has broken, or maybe simply enough, the cable has gone out. Annoying, but not life altering, right?

I'm not so sure about that.

I read and write a lot of science fiction/fantasy and I'm always fascinated by stories of worlds where they've gone from having huge scientific advances to nothing. How do people survive? What coping skills do they have to form to thrive? I'll admit, if I was dropped in the middle of the woods, I would probably die. I have a vague idea of how to start a fire and might remember a little bit about finding north, and in a pinch, I might even be able to create a lean-to that could last if the wind didn't blow too hard, but I'd die of starvation and caffeine deprivation in two days, tops.

Now losing my cell phone isn't the same as surviving in the wilderness, but it makes you think, doesn't it? How long could we go without our computers, cell phones, and GPSs? And now that I have a Kindle, waiting for a book to come in the mail is just barbaric.

In my book SLOAN'S HEART, the two main characters, Sloan and Mary, are two space cruiser personnel who get stranded on a hostile planet and must do without any technology whatsoever. It's definitely a learning experience for them, but an exciting one for sure.

What three things could you never do without?

What three things could you give up without too much angst?

And could you survive if we lost it all?

2011-01-18T08:48:00.000-06:00

The End. Just two little words but perhaps the most exhilarating a writer can write. Well I think so anyway. The blog this week is late because I had the very great pleasure of writing those words this week. The third book in my Shifting Magic series is FINALLY done. I spent most of every free day last week sitting glued to my laptop while the words just poured out of me. This book has been my nemesis. I thought this writing thing was supposed to get easier with time? Was it the story? The characters? Or just life getting in the way? I think it was probably a combination of things that made this the hardest thing I've written. Whatever the block was, for some reason it finally cleared on the 4th of January.

The End.

It's been a long time since I wrote those two words and it felt good. There were tears even. I know that there is still work to be done on this book. As the saying goes, this is where the hard work begins. It still feels damned good to write those two little words.

Who am I?

2011-01-09T09:18:00.001-06:00

I’m in the closet. Did you know that? Oh, you know Diana. Maybe you’ve even met her at one of the conventions or at a book signing. She’s friendly, enjoys the company of her fellow Scribes and all the readers and loves her Guinness.

But Diana is only one side of this author. You’ve probably figured out “Diana Hunter” is a pen name, a nom de plume, a pseudonym. When I sold my first book to Ellora’s Cave (Secret Submission), my husband wasn’t sure he wanted his family name dragged into the world of porn (oh, how much he’s learned in the past eight years!). Besides, I have a day job as a high school teacher and with the subject matter of my books better suited to 18 year olds and older, life could become difficult if I used my real name.

But then again, life has been sometimes difficult because of the separation of me and me. I have to constantly remember what Diana knows that I don’t. Or that I do and she doesn’t. And that’s another thing. I drive my kids nuts when I speak of myself in the third person (“Diana has a conference this weekend, so I’ll be leaving after school on Friday,” gave my daughter fits this past autumn.) There are times I’d love to come out of this cramped little space and rejoin the two parts of my life.

I can't even use the distintion "real life" vs "other life". BOTH lives are real, both are me, both are embodiements of my own personality. Who you see at the bookfairs and conferences is the same person you'd see if you came to visit me at school. There are things I'd love to discuss with you (readers) that I can't because my hand would tip and people would put two and two together and come up with my given name. So there are several frustrations to using a pen name.

I console myself with the fact that I have lots of company in my closet. Heck, many of our founding fathers wrote under pen names to protect their reputations (can you say “The Federalist Papers”?). Some writers hid their gender (George Elliot), some needed to save the family name (Moliere), and still others slanted their stories toward specific readers and so needed a name suitable for children’s books (Dr. Seuss).

In fact, when one starts looking at lists of pen names, I begin to realize just how crowded my closet is. Perhaps since I’m in such illustrious company, I should just settle in, stop complaining and get comfy. Hey, Saki – pass the pretzels!

PS. Be sure to check out the links above. You'll spend hours at Dr. Seuss's site just playing around and several hours more at Saki's site reading all the free stories! Play safe!

Strap-ons and White Nights

2011-01-02T15:35:00.000-06:00

(cross-posted from Diary of a Sex Diva blog)

A few weeks ago I was in Toronto at a “girl’s night out” party with eight other, wild’n crazy women…in an ENORMOUS sports bar full of men. Umm…k…that fact may not be exactly relevant to this blog, but it was sure relevant to us! As it so happened my college-age son was at another party of his own in another section of Toronto. It was all spookily convenient, as I needed some company for my late-night drive home, and he wanted to attend the party, but still wanted to come home for part of the weekend. It all worked out beautifully.

So keeping that in mind that we were both in rather…uh…lubricated situations…at the midway point of the evening, I got the following text from my boy: “The guys here wanna know…if a guy likes taking it in the ass from a strap-on does that make him gay, str8, or what?"

My first reaction was of incredulous hilarity…and of course I immediately shared his text with the class. lol

Our first reaction was looking for some clarification. i.e. who is wearing the strap-on? Is it a man or a woman? Of course a few minutes later we realized how ludicrous that statement was. I mean…why would a guy wear a strap-on? Right? Err…anyway… Our final response was basically that it didn’t matter. That being partial to anal play of any kind had no real bearing on the given person’s sexuality. He might be gay, might be straight, or might be bi. The strap-on thing wasn’t relevant.

But for me, that wasn’t really the point of the incident. The point was that my son was perfectly comfortable asking me that question…and he was comfortable doing so in front of his peers. For me…that was a coup! Of course it was a rather objective question…he wasn’t asking my advice on his own personal and intimate sex life…and I’m not sure I would ever expect that. However the fact that he was comfortable approaching me at all about such a thing, to me says that I have done my job well. That sex is not scary or taboo. It can be discussed openly and frankly, and with humour. And to me…that is a very healthy attitude.

For the record he told me later that one of the girls at his party declared her love for me.

I have that effect on people.

Just as an aside, the night of this party was also the night of Nuit Blanche aka White Nights in Toronto. It’s an outdoor festival of art and light that the city hosts every year…and it’s fascinating. One of these years I’ll actually take the time to experience it properly…instead of rushing past all the exhibits as I run to make the subway in time!

Nikki

Reflecting on 2010

2010-12-26T09:29:00.002-06:00

Another year is about to come to an end, so it's time to look back on what I did in 2010.

I had eight books published with Ellora's Cave--six new releases and two re-releases. I'm proud of that.

I read over 100 books. I'd promised myself in January that I would read more this year and I succeeded. Many of those were short novellas that are quick reads, but I enjoy those as much as long, detailed novels.

I lost a dear friend and my writing partner, Randi Monroe. I'd known Randi for over 20 years. Her death hit me very hard. I still think of her every day and miss her so much.

I went to RomantiCon and got to hang out with five of the Sizzling Scribes. We had so much fun! We ate together, drank together, and cracked jokes (some so funny I couldn't stop giggling). We gave a workshop on group promotion that was so successful, we hope we can give it again at the next RomantiCon.

I went to Ontario, Canada for the first time in my life. My good friend and fellow Scribe, Nikki Soarde, graciously invited me to her home. I've known Nikki for many years, but this was the first time I got to visit her beautiful country. She was a wonderful hostess and I had a blast.

I discovered after years of bronchitis that I have allergy-induced asthma. Now I'm taking allergy drops and am feeling much better.

I spent lots of time with my sister. That's always so special. She's the best sister ever!

So what's up for me in 2011? More books to write, more books to read, more scrapbooks to create, more travel (hopefully), more time with family and friends. How about you?

Happy New Year!

Lynn

Some Tongue-In-Cheek Holiday Cheer

2010-12-12T18:11:00.000-06:00

The holiday season is upon us – falalalala or CHA-CHING! Is it me or is everything just too freakin expensive to make any sense? This year I said I was cutting back (I say that every year and then find my self running like a motor with a screwed-up piston trying to at least make the tree look like it’s got something under it. I know I end up with that ‘deer in the headlights’ look as I’m leaping around milling mall customers, knocking over the occasional old lady or two, and trying to find something more for say maybe the granddaughters. Something that isn’t cheap and cheesy, yet not too pricey cuz you know damn well it’s going to break after three uses and end up in the garbage anyway.)

And oh, let’s talk about the forty acres of trees that end up in my daily newspaper or mailbox in the form of holiday coupons. Holiday Coupons??? Give me a break. There’s 10% off, 15% off and even …. Drumroll ….1/2 OFF!!!!! Come now, don’t miss the sale, it’s the deal of the year. So like the damn idiot I am, I fell for it again this year. I was one of those numbskulls that couldn’t sleep so I got up at 3:00 in the morning—mind you the wind is blowing, it’s zero outside and it takes the entire 20 minute ride to the nearest town for the car to get close to warming up. I’ve got my lists and coupons tucked all nicely in my wallet cuz damn, I’m going to hit some bargains. So I shoulder my way through the crowds while wishing for that cold car because now I’m hotflashing and rethinking my turtleneck under my sweater. I grab this, I snatch that, I clutch at the gift of the year that’s going to make me look good, all the while calculating that percentage off and telling myself that the deep freeze to the hotflash just may have been worth it. So I get up to the counter and reach for my glasses that I had hanging by a bow on my sweater and what to my wondering eyes appear? Absolutely nothing. Somewhere in the crazy holiday melee they fell off and ended up somewhere on the floor. So I retrace my route through the shopping crowd that despite the Christmas music and beautiful decorations, is now getting ornery and rude. Assholes. No glasses. Admitting defeat, I return to the counter that now has fifteen people in line in front of me. I wait patiently, caressing my coupons and trying to convince myself that yes, this is still worth what I’m going to save. FINALLY! It’s my turn. With great aplomb I drop my purchases onto the counter and snap those old coupons right on top of them with a smile of pleasure… Until the store rep and says, “Well, sorry, Ma’am,” (I hate Ma’am—I’m not my grandmother for crissakes) “These coupons won’t work because this item and this item are all considered “Great Values” and this item doesn’t fall within the category, oh, and this item? It’s listed on the special event list so…”

So what did I do? I shoved the freakin coupons back into my purse wondering if I should just roll them up and smoke them on the way home. I pulled out my credit card with teeth gritting cuz damn, I wasn’t going to be a rude and ornery customer.

On the way home as I’m choking on the taste of rolled coupon, I told myself that next year I’m simply buying gift cards.

(HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU!)
Ruby

Christmas Recipe Contest

2010-12-06T07:02:00.004-06:00

I've often struggled with cooking. I'm terrible at it.

My husband and Kids are great cooks but I'm not.

I'm one of those who has to follow a recipe to make anything.

So I'm calling out to all those great cooks out there for help.

Post your favorite Christmas Recipe and be entered to win

your choice of a copy of Devilish Delights or Night Prey in e-format.

If you'd rather have a hard copy, I have Arian's Angel or Eyes of Stone

in print available.

Every recipe you post and share gains you another entry and another

chance to win.

I'll start this off with one of my Mom's favorite's.

SNOWBALL CAKE

3 packages of plain gelatin

6 tbsps cold water

1 1/4 cups of boiling water

1 cup sugar

1 can of crushed pineapple

1 can of strawberry pie filling

3 containers of cool whip

1 large angel food cake

1 package of coconut

Soften gelatin with 6 tbsps of cold water then add 1 & 1/4 cups of boiling water and mix.

Add 1 cup of sugar and stir until dissolved. Mix in pineapple with its liquid, add strawberry

pie filling and 2 containers of cool whip and mix together well. Break up the angel food

cake into small pieces then stir into the mixture.

Line a large bowl with plastic wrap with plenty hanging over the sides. Pour the mixture

into the bowl and cover with extra plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Uncover the top of the bowl and flip onto a serving platter. Gently remove plastic wrap

from the cake. Spread the last container of cool whip and coat with the coconut to give

it the snowball appearance.

Enjoy. I look forward to learning some great new recipes.

Thanks

Tara Nina

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2010-11-28T08:17:00.001-06:00

Here in the States, we just celebrated Thanksgiving. It has now become my favorite holiday. In fact, I feel like it’s the under-dog of holidays. Poor Thanksgiving kind of gets lost between Halloween and Christmas. (And don’t even get me started on the Christmas decorations out in October! Oy!)

I love Thanksgiving because I go to my parents’ house and stuff myself silly with my mom’s awesome cooking. I don’t have to write out 100 Thanksgiving cards, buy Thanksgiving presents, or go to Thanksgiving parties with people I only see once a year and really don’t like. It’s one day—granted with a lot of cooking and cleaning involved, but no one is waking me up at 4:00 am to see if the Thanksgiving turkey left anything for them by the chimney.

I also like that Thanksgiving includes a long weekend to sit home and revel in the turkey coma I’ve put myself in on Thursday. Ahh, bliss.

Soon enough, I’ll have to write out Christmas cards, go to ridiculous office parties where I don’t remember anyone’s name, and have to shop until my credit card weeps or melts. But for this weekend, I’m just going to relax and enjoy the holiday. The Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, that is.

Here is wishing you all much to be thankful for this year and the years to come.

Ari

Genre Jumping

2010-11-22T05:24:00.001-06:00

I'm a creature of habit but recently my writing has been taking me in an entirely new direction. I read primarily romance novels with the occasional segway into some longtime favorites. For the most part what I write has directly followed what I've been reading. But lately I feel myself drawn to genre's I have never been a huge fan of. Perhaps it's because many 'romance novels' now link into so many other markets. Yes romance is still the focus, but they venture into fantasy, crime, mystery, sex and perhaps in the case of some series, horror. Or perhaps I'm just getting back to my 'roots' so to speak. I never started out as a huge fan of romance, in fact my younger teenage self held it in much disdain. My first love was crime in the shape of Dick Francis novels and a little horror/suspense from Dean Koontz, nothing too gruesome but the creepier the better.

Lately I find the people in my head taking me into unexplored writing territory and instead of trying to wrestle them back into submission I've decided to shrug my shoulders and let them lead. "You want to go into this abandoned building with blood dripping from the walls? Ok, but when we meet a big scary monster you have to protect me." I've found that I either need to do it that way or we just won't be writing anything today.

So tell me, do you know of any authors who genre skip successfully? Have you followed them when they have? Have you done it yourself? Tell me your stories.
Cait

Oh, what a week!

2010-11-14T09:23:00.000-06:00

I had knee surgery this past Wednesday – you gotta love modern medicine. I got to the hospital at 10:00 am, fifteen minutes before my call time (what can I say, I was anxious) and did the pre-op paperwork. It’s same-day surgery and I’ve brought a book to read because I can see by the scheduling board that he’s already done four procedures this morning and has two in the queue, neither one of them me yet.

But after only a few minutes, my name is called and I’m in my little cubicle changing my clothes (don’t you just love hospital gowns?), getting my IV, answering the same questions for the second time today and the fourth time this week. No, I’m not wearing any jewelry (my husband will put my wedding ring back on me later in a small ceremony we always do when, for whatever reason, the band has to come off). Yes, I was born on January 19, 1957 (Fifty-three is a good age to have this kind of thing done, by the way. You’re old enough to appreciate the few days enforced rest and young enough for it to be only a few days enforced rest). No, I don’t smoke, drink to excess or take any illegal drugs. Yet. Wait till after the surgery and then give me something GOOOOD!

My husband joins me and now the wait really begins. I’m told my anesthesiologist is cute, but when I see him he’s dressed in his blues and I can’t see much of him. He’s kind and, since he apparently is the same guy that gave me my drugs for my other knee last April, he’s figuring to give me the same cocktail this time. Only he says he’s going to up the local and reduce the overall knock-out drug so I can be on my way home quicker. Judging by the assembly line feel of the line of curtained cubicles, I’m not surprised.

He leaves and my husband and I are waiting again. The doctor himself has yet to make his appearance. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve been in this cubicle now for only about 40 minutes since the start. And there were two people in line ahead of me for this particular surgeon. But it is while we’re waiting for him that I get to hear the best line of the day.

The woman behind the curtain to my right is apparently going to have a tonsillectomy. This doesn’t worry me. If they get us mixed up her doc’s going to take one look down my throat and know he’s got the wrong patient. My tonsils were taken out when I was six. Back then it was a three-day hospital stay. Today, it’s same-day service. Wow.

Anyway, apparently the woman gave birth two weeks prior and is breastfeeding. Not currently, she left the baby home (thank goodness!). But her anesthesiologist questions her about the drugs he’d planned to use. She says…get ready for it…, “You can use whatever you want. I’m not going to feed him from my breast, I’m going to pump it first.”

Honey, I want to tell her, milk is milk, whether you feed it to him from a bottle or from your boob. That baby’s going to get whatever drugs you get.

My doc came in shortly thereafter, followed quickly by my drug contact. I kissed my husband and they wheeled me out. The anesthesiologist (that word is way too long to keep spelling out) paused the gurney long enough to shoot a syringe of something into my IV. The operating room was a short jaunt down the hall and by the time I got there, I saw they had two of everything inside, including two of my own doctor.

That was it for me. I woke up as they were putting me back in my cubicle. I ate a couple of saltines as the fuzziness at the edges of my vision cleared, had a glass of ginger ale and within another 40 minutes was in the wheelchair being shown the door. Total time at hospital? Two and a half hours. Told you – assembly-line surgery!

But the doc is good (he did my other knee last April). He scraped out 45 years worth of accumulated arthritis and discovered that, somewhere along the line, I’d ripped the meniscus a little so he smoothed that out, too. No big deal for him to deal with. It’s the convalescence afterward that takes the time.

No bending the knee, no squatting, no kneeling of any sort. No pressure on the knee although walking is encouraged (shuffling is more like it at the moment. I walk like I’m 90 now so I can walk like I’m 30 in six weeks). No driving, no biking, no roller skating, no skiing and no skateboarding. Drat! I was going to show off my ollie this weekend! (not!)

So I’m somewhat housebound for a while. My plan is to use the time to write (did you know that the Quickie Love in the Afternoon was conceived, written AND edited in the weeks after my last knee surgery? Nothing like enforced housebound-itis to get those creative juices flowing!). This time around I hope to finish a full-length that I’ve been working on for the last year. I’d set it aside when I couldn’t get the main characters to cooperate and wrote two short works instead (Love in the Afternoon was one, my Naughty Nooner Remembered Love is the other. Have you picked that one up yet? Why not? It’s free!).

But the characters for this current wip are talking again and I’ve written several thousand words in the past two weeks. I’m currently about half-done with the first draft and hope to have it totally done by the end of the month. Keep your fingers crossed!

So that’s been my week! Turn those lemons into lemonade and, as always,

Play safe!
Diana

Label-able

2010-11-09T08:33:00.000-06:00

(cross-posted from Diary of a Sex Diva)

Over the past few days I've had a lot of conversations about labels. There are so many kinds of labels. There's the washing instructions that tell me not to dryclean my clothes. (Silly people. As if I needed to be TOLD not to waste my money). Then there's the label on my pillow that is illegal to remove. (Can you hear the RRRRIIIIPPPing sound as I take those instructions to heart?). Then there's those cruel sizing labels on my jeans. Labels that try to convince me my waist has expanded, when I KNOW that to be a lie. There are warning and instruction labels. All of which provide us with essential, valuable information. But no...none of these are the labels that my conversations have revolved around.

It all started with an acquaintance at work very earnestly asking my opinion on some relationship labels. Seeing someone vs. dating someone. Friendship with benefits vs. buddies... or even "Fuck buddies." Despite the fact that I have been out of the dating circuit for...well...actually I never really WAS in the dating circuit, she was adamant that I'm one "in the know" and I should have some ideas on the subject. Never one to NOT have ideas, I had to concur with that evaluation...and I shared my thoughts with her...such as they were.

Actually, the definitions that we came up with aren't really all that important. But what I did find fascinating was the realization that what these labels are....the function they serve...is really all about another nasty word: EXPECTATIONS. Good or not...positive or not...each of these labels conjures up a set of expectations for each of the parties involved. Everything from how many times a week do I call or text this person? To how many times a week do we fuck? To whether or not you're allowed to "see" or "date" other people. The trick, of course, is to make sure that these sets of expectations match. That one person's definition of "dating" and all it entails is essentialy the same as their partner's definition. Because if those two definitions differ, hence the expectations differ, you're in for a shit load of trouble.

So, in this way, labels can be a very dangerous thing. I mean who among us wants to get tagged with labels like "nerd" or "blonde" or "slut." Labels tend to lead to assumptions about people and we like to attach all the characteristics that go along with a particular label to the person or, of course, relationship, in question. and assumptions are almost always a bad idea. In relationships, more so than any other facet of life, communication and clarity of expectations is paramount for any relationship to continue successfully.

Now I had a friend at one time who was very big on keeping our friendship casual. He wanted a friendship with, and I quote, "No expectations." I basically told him that this notion was BULLSHIT. There is no such thing as a friendship or any relationship for that matter, with NO expectations. Even the idea of having no expectations...is an expectation! Whether it's the expectation that you call that person all the time or that you never call them... Whether it's the expectation that you get together for coffee once a month, or the simple expectation that you pick up the phone when the other person calls.... Insignificant or not, each of these are expectations. And when expectations are not met it always, always leads to conflict, often heartache. And possibly the use of automatic weapons. Essentially, a relationship without expectations...is not a relationship.

So, having said that I would put it to you that labels, while generally unavoidable and somewhat dangerous, are also a necessary evil, and perhaps we should see them as a good starting point. Personally, I'm in favour of taking on my labels and, rather than denying the images that they illicit...working towards changing them.

Think of the word "gay" for example. Thirty years ago that word brought up very different images and reactions than it does today. At least for a significant portion of the population. It took a lot of work on the part of the gay community to change that, and I'm really not sure that simply avoiding the use of the term i.e. the label, would have gotten them there any sooner. What abour words like Muslim, atheist, bisexual, submissive, masochistic. How about fuck vs. sex vs. making love? Sodomy vs. anal sex? The list of labels, and the list of characteristics and perceptions that we attach to these labels is endless.

I guess my ultimate point is to use labels cautiously, always be clear on what that label means, be open to new ideas and new definitions, and always, always be clear on the expectations that go along with them.
Relevant or not, I just have to end with this line that I heard in a movie this week:

Why do women fake orgasms?

Because men fake foreplay.
Maybe they should've defined foreplay a little more clearly!!

Vacation!

2010-10-31T09:33:00.008-05:00

Whenever I see the word "vacation", I think of the Connie Francis song. If you don't know which song I'm talking about, you're much too young. :-)

I had a fantastic time this month. First there was RomantiCon, Ellora's Cave's second annual conference in Richfield, Ohio. I got to visit with authors, meet readers (EC has the best readers), attend great workshops, and visit with good friends, including five of the Scribes. Oh, and ogle the Cavemen. Eight tall, hunky guys who are just as nice and polite as they are gorgeous.

After the conference, the second part of my vacation began. I've known Nikki Soarde, a sister Scribe, for almost ten years. We met online while we wrote for the same e-publisher before we discovered Ellora's Cave. We clicked and have been friends ever since. I live in Texas and she lives in Ontario, so visiting has been difficult. Not this year! I flew into Toronto, rode to the conference with Nikki and her husband, then rode back to her house and spent eight days with her. I had such a good time! I saw so much pretty scenery, including Niagara Falls and lots of autumn color.

Nikki and I went to a play in Stratford, a wonderful production of Dangerous Liaisons. I stood on the beach of Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. This picture is of Lake Huron shortly before sunset. I tried poutine and a Beavertail and the famous Tim Hortons coffee.

I got to meet her three teenagers, who were all such polite young men. They made me feel very welcome. The Canadian Thanksgiving was on October 11th, so I got to enjoy Nikki's turkey and stuffing. And I was part of the family's weekly pizza and movie night.

It was a wonderful trip that I'll always remember. Nikki said she has other places she wants to show me. I hope I can go back soon!

Lynn

Contests and Judges

2010-10-24T16:49:00.001-05:00

Every once in a while someone (or several someones) in my writing circle gets the results back from a contest and it’s almost never what the entrant wants to hear. We all provide sympathy, electronic hugs, and make sure the author knows that the contests are subjective. It doesn’t hurt to inform the author knows that the judges are brainless twits with no literary taste (that’s what friends are for, after all).

But sympathy and support should only go so far. Here’s the truth…if you enter a contest, you need to accept the outcome. You asked the question. You asked someone to look at your baby and tell you if it’s ugly and if they say “yes” you can’t just ignore it and turn to someone else hoping for a different answer.

Not all comments are valid. Not all judges are good or smart or kind but I think there is merit in at least listening. Even if a comment isn’t valid, the author needs to look at their story through that judge’s eyes. Something about it bothered them. Something triggered a response. If there is confusion to something you thought was obvious, maybe it isn’t obvious.

Now, some judges just shouldn’t judge or they’re judging the wrong things. People who hate vampires shouldn’t judge vampire stories but it happens.

You need to think about what you want out of a contest. If it’s just someone to tell you your stuff is wonderful, send it to your mom, your best friend, your neighbor.

I think you enter contests for two reasons…

1) You’re getting close to being published and this is a way to get your manuscript in front of an editor who buys the stuff you write

2) You want someone who hasn’t been involved in the process (someone not from your critique group or you haven’t discussed the story with) to read your story and give you comments from the standpoint of a reader off the street.

Now I know, that the second one doesn’t always happen. We’re writers. We want to fix things and tell other authors how to make it better. But in my mind, if a judge asks a question or makes a comment, dismissing it as “they don’t know what they’re talking about” is dismissing a reader’s confusion.

Review the judge’s comments, get irritated and then put them away. Come back in a week and read them again. When you read them the second time, come to it thinking “They might have point. I should look to see if I agree.” You might not. That’s good. It’s your story.

Don’t dismiss comments because it isn’t what you wanted to hear. That won’t improve your story.

ROMANTICON 2010

2010-10-17T12:38:00.009-05:00

Hi everyone! I woke up this morning and checked my notes for the following week and almost fell over. There in bright red letters was my reminder that it’s my turn to blog this week. YIKES! I’ve got every minute planned between now and next Sunday night. You see, my youngest son is getting married next Saturday. We are here…the wedding…it’s finally within grasp, the best week of my year! I’m thrilled to gain another daughter, although she’s like my kid anyway. I couldn’t be happier for my son and I couldn’t be more thrilled for my family!

But all this comes on the heels of Ellora’s Cave’s Romanticon in Ohio last week. I was really fretting about it before leaving, wondering what the hell I’d been thinking of to register and be gone for nine days so close to the wedding. I had a good friend who told me you won’t be sorry. Just go and have a great time. And that’s what I did! Once there the stress was gone and I was back in the writing world I’ve so missed. Networking with all the great EC and CP authors was wonderful! Oh, and let’s not forget the buff men of our covers. Yalsa! Are they just getting hotter or am I getting more needy? LOL! Not to take away anything from the entire long weekend but if I had to choose, I’d say the very best part was seeing all the great authors from my writing group, the Sizzling Scribes! Lynn Lafleur, Cait Miller, Tara Nina, Diana Hunter, Nikki Soarde and myself we all able to make the conference. These gals are my soul sisters and women I know I can depend on if I need something. I so hope that next year Tielle St. Clare and Arianna Hart can join us. Then we’ll be complete.

The six of us who attended held a work shop on being a part of a writing group and what it takes to make it run smoothly and how a group effort can work well. We had fun and hope to do the same next year, only expound a bit more on exactly why it works and why authors should think with a group effort mindset.

So with that, I’m going to sign off and get my ass in gear! I thought the mother of the groom was supposed to sit back, enjoy the atmosphere and just show up for the wedding. NOT! LOL! But I wouldn’t give up this coming week for anything. My husband and I were literally giggling over breakfast this morning and vowed to enjoy and remember every second for the next week and tuck those memories away in a safe place. I’m sure when it’s all over I’ll most likely dissolve into a puddle, but that’s okay. I just plan to mop myself up, dust off my writing chair, and get to work on my next submission! Be good and don’t let the goblins get you on Halloween!

HUGS AND KISSES, Ruby

S T R E S S !

2010-09-19T09:30:00.002-05:00

For the last few days I have been struggling with a topic to blog about. There have been several really good suggestions but none of them really felt right. This morning I was woken up by a killer migraine and realised I had been clenching my teeth all night. Inspiration struck in the form of a sore jaw and a pounding head.

Stress.

I get stressed easily. It’s mostly my own fault since I have a tendency to internalize everything and this last couple of months have been high stress for me. Whether it be the book that won’t co-operate, money, personal issues or just work, work and more work we all have things that stress us out to varying degrees.

For me this is my busiest time at work – bet you didn’t know midwives had a busy time of year? Think back 9 months, what was happening? Yep Christmas and New Year and parties with copious amounts of alcohol and *celebrating* LOL! So September is hard work for us. Add that to all of the things I mentioned above plus several pending projects and well, I am wound tighter than a spring. There are a lot of articles out there about how to avoid stress or how to make it better but none of them seem to work for me so I guess I just have to get on with it.

Is anything stressing you out at the moment? How do you deal with it?

Familiarity breeds....comfort

2010-09-05T11:17:00.000-05:00

(This entry is a cross-post from my Sex-Diva Blog)

Last night I came to bed very late. After working a busy 3-11 evening shift I always take a little time to wind down, read a few e-mails, play some Bejewelled and, of course, have a small bowl of my favorite cereal. (Cereal is my all-time favorite comfort food. With a dash of nice cold milk...and maybe some fresh peaches.... Mmmmm....) Anyway...I digress...

Needless to say it was close to one o'clock by the time I got all that essential stuff done and managed to crawl into bed beside my softly snoring honey. He was lying on his left side, and since I always sleep on the right side of the bed (This dates back to our first apartment when the right side of the bed was closest to the washroom. Somehow washroom positions changed, but my spot on the bed never did. In fact...come to think of it...in every place we've had since I've been farthest from the bathroom! Hmmm...) Anyway...I digress...

Since I always sleep on the left side of the bed and he always insists that I am to snuggle up to him when I come to bed, even if it risks waking him, I did just that. The thing was, just as I was snuggling up, I realized I needed to take off my earrings and turned over to lay them on the bedside table. When I turned back to the honey...I had to chuckle because his right arm was hovering in the air. Why? you may ask? Because he had sensed me get into bed and had raised his arm in anticipation of my arm slipping under his in our usual, and very familiar, spoony position. I finally snuggled into position with my arm around his waist, his arm draped over mine and our fingers entwined... and I don't think he ever quite woke up.

I love that position. Whether it's my front to his back or vice versa, with his arm wrapped so strong around my waist, there is no better way to snuggle down under the covers and feel safe and warm and completely comfortable and at ease.

There are a lot of things in my life that are routine, predictable and, yes, very comfortable. Things like pizza and movie night with the boys on Fridays. Sitting down to dinner at 6:30, the moment Dad gets home from work. Cereal for breakfast. And sex with the same man for the past 22 years.

Sure things get changed up every once in a while. Variables occasionally come into play...things like vacations, work schedules, bacon and handcuffs. These things are good for variety and to add spice, but in a way they also help us to appreciate the return to the comfortable--the familiar.

There's nothing wrong with having dinner with your family at the same time most nights. And there's nothing wrong with sex with your lover becoming a tad routine. A tad...familiar. Familiarity doesn't necessarily equate with boring. Familiar can also mean that you know what you're doing. You know what works and what doesn't. When your partner's mood is not conducive to long foreplay...and when it is. When to skip the usual oral and go directly to fucking! It's like a waltz...a series of steps and moves, dips and swings, that you've learned so well together over the years that it becomes second nature. And there is nothing wrong with that.

I've never really understood the old "familiarity breeds contempt" addage. It only breeds contempt if you're living in misery, if you don't like your partner in the first place. If you've picked the wrong music and don't know how to waltz.

I love to get down and boogie just as much as the next gal...but the waltz is definitely more enduring and more elegant...and I plan to keep doing it for many more years to come.

Vampires

2010-08-29T07:47:00.002-05:00

The word sends a shiver down your spine. That shiver could be from fear, or it could be from excitement.

Vampire romances have been around for decades, yet have seemed to explode in the last few years. I doubt if there's anyone who hasn't heard of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Laurell K. Hamilton's vampires are famous, as are Charlaine Harris'. True Blood, the HBO series based on Charlaine's books, has vaulted her into superstardom.

I haven't read a lot of vampire books, but have recently discovered a series that I'm enjoying very much--The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward. There are currently eight books available. I'm reading number six. Ohmigosh, they are so good! If you haven't read them yet, I can't recommend them highly enough. Absolutely incredible.

As for my own writing, I've penned one vampire romance--"Diverted Destiny" in the Seasons of Seduction IV anthology from Ellora's Cave. My vampire took blood as others of his kind do, except he drew strength from a woman's orgasms. The more she had, the stronger he became. Sounds like my kind of vampire!

I'm currently writing a three-book series for Ellora's Cave about triplet brothers. Once that is done, maybe I should return to the world I created in "Diverted Destiny" and write more books about my vampires. Now my brain is whirling with ideas of characters and plots...

How about you? Are you a vampire fan or not?

Lynn

Forgotten Beauty

2010-08-24T02:03:00.003-05:00

I think when you live some place it’s easy to get complacent about the beauty and attractions around you. Every place has some reason to draw tourists, right? I live in Alaska. I’ve been here for 38 years. I can’t count the number of times that when I mention I’m from Alaska, people say to me “I’ve always wanted to go there.”

And my first reaction?

“Why?”

It’s never been a destination for me. It’s always been home so while the rest of the world sees it as exotic, to me, it’s every day.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Alaska is beautiful. And there are days that even the most long term residents can’t help but catch their breath. I still slow my car and marvel when I’m driving work and see a moose munching on my neighbor’s tree. Or I stand on tiptoe to see Mount McKinley (some 200 miles away) from my doorstep. Or even the clear blue sky on a cold winter day.

But sometimes it takes a tourist to remind us of how special our home is. I recently went on a day trip that included a short train ride, a raft to the base of a glacier and then a float down a river. The tour was filled with tourists and three Alaskans. There was a collective gasp as we came around the corner and saw the massive glacier for the first time. I was amazed at the brilliant blues of the glacier ice. I got to touch an iceberg and stick my fingers in a glacial lake.

It rained all day so Alaska wasn’t showing herself off in her best light to the visitors but I could see through the clouds and it reminded me of the stunning beauty that’s minutes away. I’d forgotten that and really needed the reminder.

I think sometimes it’s cool to play tourist in your own land so you see the world through new eyes.

Stop the clock!

2010-08-08T20:40:00.000-05:00

August? Already? I can’t believe how fast time flies now that I’m older. I remember as a kid feeling like summer went on forever, the wait between Thanksgiving and Christmas was endless, and it felt like decades between birthdays. Now, I blink and half my summer is gone! Poof!

In the summer I like to read and read and read. I try authors I’ve never heard of, re-read some of my favorites, and haunt the “New Books” section of the library like a bar fly at last call. During the school year I have to limit my reading time and so I stock books for July and August. By the end of June my “To be read” pile no longer fits on my nightstand, in fact it’s BIGGER than my nightstand.

I think summer vacation shouldn’t end until my pile of books is finished. That’s not unreasonable, right?

So what about you? Do you have a pile of books by your bed or maybe a list of unread books on your ebook reader? Are you more disciplined than me and only get the next book when you’ve finished reading what you already own, or do you grab a stack of what looks good at the library and save your own for a rainy day? Do you get nervous when you don’t have a few back up books handy?

More importantly, what are you reading? And do you have any suggestions for me, because I’m always looking for another good book.

M.F.S.

2010-08-01T08:29:00.003-05:00

M.F.S. is my new way of life at the moment.

As women, we survive many changes, childhood, puberty,

awkward teenage years where these objects that catch boy's eyes pop out

of our chest and start our amazement at what thrills the male species.

Until we blossom into women, where we learn, we grow

and realize the power we maintain within ourselves.

It doesn't stop there. We become girlfriends, wives, mothers and

leaders. Yet that's not enough to assuage the curse of Eve and that Damn apple.

We were cursed to bleed in a monthly cycle. Ever wonder what we'd be like if

one woman hadn't slipped into temptation? Should we blame her for that one fault?

Nah, because if it hadn't been her, it would have been another down the line.

We women are sensual creatures. We control the world's finest asset...ourselves.

Yet, still we can't find a cure for menopause.

Hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, and changes in diet wage war on our

systems and suspend our normal way of life. For some it's quick and last a year or

two. For others, it drags on over a long period of years.

Myself, I started what's called peri-menopause a few years back (yes, I'm older than

I look). It began with night sweats ,but not every night. Then my cycle changed and

became heavy and more frequent so I chose to take a shortcut out of this downward

spiral in the female agenda. I had an ablation. It's a simple procedure where the

uterine lining is cauterized to prevent future periods. For me, it freaked my system out

and when the time for my normal cycle came, I was catapulted into menopause.

It was a week from hell. I was irritable, mean, cranky, weepy, and sweating buckets around

the clock. Thanks to one of the nurses I work with, I found an herbal supplement that seems

to help me, for now. It's called Estroven, maximum strength. It's not the perfect solution.

I still get night sweats occasionally, but not every night.

As sisters in this trek, I'm open to any and all ideas for easing this unwanted chapter of

the feminine life. I look forward to hearing your suggestions for alleviating the symptoms

of menopause because Menopause Fu***** Sucks!

Tara Nina

Past, present, future

2010-07-26T07:21:00.004-05:00

The following entries were originally posted on another blog. I thank them for the opportunity to look at my own journey and wanted to share it with you.

What Comes First The Reader Or The Writer?
Whenever anyone discovers that I write one of the first questions they always ask is, “So how long have you been a writer?” I’m never really sure how to answer. I suspect they mean how long have I been published, which to me isn’t correct because I was a writer long before I was published though I probably wouldn’t have called myself that then. Back then I just loved to read and often would write when the story didn’t go the way I thought it should or just for my own amusement. I have very early memories of my grandparents visiting on a Monday night and being excited to show them what I had written that week. I also have a very funny story written by me (about a golden fish who deid) in a letter to my dad when I could barely spell let alone read. So does that make me a reader or a writer first? My mum encouraged my love of books taking me to the library regularly letting me wander for hours among the stacks. The smell of the library is still one of my favorite things, to me it represented people and adventures and possibilities. The air of hushed anticipation of all the experiences that waited between the pages complimenting in a strange way the quiet pursuit of knowledge. I was upset when the town library installed a coffee shop and the pungent scent of brewing coffee banished the smell of paper and ink. I devoured Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl and fell in love with Watership Down. Then my mum introduced me to Dick Francis, probably earlier than she should but I was already reading way past the levels of my peers. From Dick Francis I moved onto Patricia Cornwell and my own writing changed into mystery and suspense. By this time I had read almost everything I was interested in in my local library except for the romances. So I had a look and I found Tami Hoag and Jayne Ann Krentz and a new passion was born. Eventually I followed romance through to paranormal romance thanks to Jayne Ann Krentz’s A Gift of Gold, Anne Stuart’s A Dark and Stormy Night and Rebecca York’s Light Street series. The internet came to our house and my world expanded again. My next love was ebooks. I found an online community of writers and authors and joined several groups, one of which belonged to Angela Knight. One day we began discussing the question which started my journey; how many of us who read also wrote?

The Accidental Author
It took a long time for me to pluck up the courage to admit that I was one of the group who also liked to write. The discussion changed to what we wrote and I read the snippets that the others sent to the group with interest and trepidation because I knew they expected me to contribute. I was terrified. No one but my family had ever read any of my stories, how could I put myself out there in a public forum for people who were essentially strangers? But the others had done it and I didn’t want to be a coward when they had the courage to put themselves out there for me. So I did. I had been working on a story about a shapeshifter who needed to find his mate. I called it Jack and Megan because I couldn’t think of a title. I only had half of a chapter and had no idea where it was going or if it was going anywhere but I posted it anyway. I bit my nails and waited on tenterhooks for the rest of the day for responses. To my delight they were overwhelmingly positive. There were gentle and some not so gentle prods asking me for the rest of the story. Rest of the story? What rest? I wrote a little more and sent it too admitting that it wasn’t complete. Once again they loved it but this time I received the private email that changed everything. It seemed that one of the members of the group was an editor for a publisher called Ellora’s Cave. I had heard of them. I had even bought books from them. ‘When you finish it, send it to me.’ She said and sent me into a tailspin. I was entering my final year of University, how could I finish a book? I had no time. I had never written anything that long before. I never even contemplated trying to become published, I’m not good enough.
I’m not good enough.
Remember those words because they will come back to haunt me. It took me almost a year to finish Jack and Megan and that long to think of the title, Believe In The Magic. I dithered over sending it talking myself into and out of it too many times to count but eventually I did. Two days later I received an email offering me a contract. Seems someone thought I was good enough.

All The Firsts
When my first book came out I was flying high and when the first cheque arrived I kept my promise to myself and used it to travel across the Atlantic to the Romantic Times Convention. I had been living it vicariously through various email groups for a few years and had always wanted to go. I wanted to meet the people who had been so supportive of me in person and I really wanted to meet all the authors I had grown to love. When I put on the badge saying published author for the first time I felt like nothing could get better. I was wrong, the next day my publisher surprised me with a box of my books in print. I sat on the floor in a corner of the room with the chaos of other Ellora’s Cave authors stuffing promo in bags around me and I breathed in the scent of those books and I cried. It’s difficult to describe how much that meant to me. I love ebooks. I love the convenience of them, the instant gratification that comes from finding a book at buying it and reading even if it’s 2am, not to mention that they are usually cheaper and as an author I love that I get more royalties from them. But there is nothing like holding that paper copy in your hand. It brings so many memories of my childhood and all the time I spent wandering among the bookshelves. Ebooks are the future but they will never replace print.
There were a lot more firsts at the Convention that year. First time someone recognised me, first time someone asked me to sign something just for the pleasure of having my signature, first book signing, first time I saw my book on a bookshelf in a store. I met so many friends I had made online as well as many new ones. It was an experience that guaranteed my attendance at the Romantic Times Convention every year for as long as I could afford it.

The Great Depression
I came home from my first Romantic Times Convention inspired and ready to write the second book but my personal life had changed. I had been forced to move away from my friends and family to work and the job was far from perfect. We were short staffed and a job that is stressful at the best of times was made worse because I was inexperienced and the support I needed wasn’t there. I was travelling 400 miles every week and working full time. Eventually my days off weren’t enough, I was tired all the time and had to force myself to get out of bed every day. I lost a lot of weight. I caught every cold flu and minor ailment that came my way. All my emotions were close to the surface and I just never felt well. I was miserable my writing was one of the first things to suffer. I had no motivation to open up that document and when I did I would sit and stare at that blinking cursor and nothing would come to me. It took all my energy to keep going, I had none left to be creative. I felt isolated and alone. For almost a year things piled on top of me until I couldn’t see the light anymore and I was just going through the motions. I knew something was wrong I just didn’t know what so I went to my GP. At the end of the consultation my doctor said ‘Do you think you could be depressed?’
My first reaction was denial. Of course I wasn’t depressed. Even working in the medical field I had falling for the stereotypes and I didn’t fit them. I left the doctor’s office scoffing at the whole idea. Deep down I knew he was right but it was a label I didn’t want. Soon afterwards a series of awful experiences at work made me re-evaluate my life. I admitted to myself that my doctor might have been right. I couldn’t continue on the way I was going for very much longer, I needed my family, I needed to be home. Within 4 months I had found a new job, it meant a pay cut and a daily commute of 90 miles but it didn’t matter. I moved home, joined a gym and even went so far as cutting my waist length hair to my shoulders. It took a while but with the support of my friends and family I began to reclaim my life, pulled my creativity out of the black hole and started writing again.

The Only Way Is Up
I wish I could say that everything went smoothly after all of those changes but it’s seldom as simple as that. The second book was finished in my initial burst of renewed energy but it wasn’t long before life got in the way again. I was closer to home but I was still working full time twelve hour shifts, mixing days and nights. It was difficult to keep my motivation when all I wanted to do on my days off was relax. Some weeks I was writing nothing and some I was only managing a few hundred words. I spoke to other writers about how they managed to work full time and write as well and all had different strategies. The common theme was 'write something everyday' otherwise it’s harder to maintain your forward momentum. I eventually finished a novella and sent it off only for it to be rejected. It stung but I figured it was my turn and the book perhaps didn’t fit. I rewrote the novella submitted it again to two different publishers and was again turned down. Those horrible words I asked you to remember started creeping into my head.
I’m not good enough.
I decided to take a break from writing for a while, focusing on work and other things until eventually the stories and characters started niggling at me again. Write me, write me. I joined Twitter and far from being a distraction, I found that seeing other writers talk about their craft and posting when they were writing was making the urge to get back to it stronger. They encouraged each other and shared word counts and I found that I wasn’t all that different. That some did only manage a few hundred words a day and rejoiced in it. We won’t talk about the ones who write five to ten thousand. Eventually I joined in. Since their voices were the loudest I pulled out the much rejected novella and totally re-wrote it. In the process I fell in love with the characters even more, pouring my heart into the story and finding joy in creating it. I shared it with my proofreaders and they loved the story as much as I did. The confidence I had lost was restored, this time they would find their place.

The Big Rejection
I suppose the title of this entry kind of gives it away. The novella didn’t find its place. This time when I submitted it, it got a hard rejection. Not just a form letter or a ‘sorry not right for this project’ or ‘if you re-write this’. This time it was thanks but no thanks, I didn’t like it. Also included was a helpful breakdown of all the things they didn’t like and no positives. I was devastated. I felt like I had put everything I had into the story, had had such confidence in it and it wasn’t good enough. Yep. There are those words again. They just keep coming back to haunt me.
It was at this time that I had what I like to call the online meltdown. I was terrifically upset and I wasn’t in a place where I could hide it. I tried to be objective, to let it go over my head but every time I read that email all I heard was ‘you’re not good enough’. I was ready to quit. Why would I keep putting myself through the wringer like this?
Yeah, I hear you all shouting at your PC and trust me, if I had been on the outside I would have done the same. I had lost sight of the fact that I was in a better place than some in the same situation. I had two books published already. Everyone was supportive but there were quite a few offers to kick my ass for being so negative. So why would anyone keep going? The answer is obvious but I wasn’t in a place where I could see it yet.

Never Give Up
It took a week before I was able to pull myself together after the big rejection and answer my own question. I would keep going not because I might find someone to publish another book or because I had already had some measure of success already or even to prove that I could. Those are good reasons but not the best one. I would keep going because I’m a writer and I can’t do otherwise.
I’d love to say I don’t care whether I’m ever published again but it would be a lie. Of course I care. Even before I started this crazy journey part of the joy of creating new worlds and characters was sharing them with others, even if it was just my grandparents. However I’m going to try not to let the bumps in the road get in the way. It would be nice to finish with the news that I have had another book contracted but I am still working on that.
Every writer’s journey is different and we all have obstacles to overcome. My biggest is self doubt. I’m sure I’ll never get rid of that hateful voice that says I’m not good enough but I am learning to embrace it. I have to listen just enough to keep my work improving and not enough for it to steal my confidence again. This is the story so far of my writing life, thank you for letting me share it.

“Five hundred twenty-five thousand six-hundred minutes…”

2010-07-18T17:10:00.000-05:00

My husband directs theatre in real life. For the past several weeks he’s been in rehearsals for RENT, one of Broadway’s longest-running musicals. He works with Geneva Theatre Guild in Geneva, NY and their performances are at the Smith Opera House, a nineteenth century structure that came alive in a very different way this past weekend.

Several things struck me as I watched, enjoyed and participated in the performances of truly gifted singers, musicians and technicians. One, I love live theatre even more than I love the movies. Two, the struggle of life – of love and friendships – is a timeless theme that never grows old. And three, I really, really, really want to write a play that speaks to an audience the way RENT spoke to me.

Caveat: I am not a RENThead. I saw it on Broadway with my husband about three months before it closed and the show was dated and tired. I saw the movie in the theatre and enjoyed it; we bought the DVD and its still in the plastic, unopened. So my comments are not based on a fanatical devotion to one musical but rather based on the ability of theatre to teach, to entertain and to broaden one’s philosophies.

As I sat in the audience last night (Saturday) and watched the “family” break apart, I found myself thinking about what makes one play better than the next one and realized it’s the same elusive, amorphous “thing” that sets one novel over others. Every one of us has a book that we read again and again, finding new “stuff” each time until we know every character, every word, every theme. I’m no closer to determining what that “thing” is now than I was before, but I can tell you RENT has it. So does ROMEO AND JULIET. And PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. And FRANKENSTEIN. And…you fill in the blank with the novel/play that spoke to you.

Several years ago I wrote a short scene between John Adams and Private White of Boston Massacre fame. A few months ago I dug it out and re-read it. Concept is great, execution? Not so much. Needs work. A LOT of work. This morning I started the scene that would need to precede that one and found myself digging into 1770 Boston and the men whose opinions helped to form our country. They had a lot to say and some of it bears repeating in these unsettled times.

So, I have the inspiration (thank you to my husband and his cast and crew of RENT), I have an outline (thanks to the work I started years ago) and I’m ready to give it a shot. A new medium and a new experiment…but isn’t that what makes life worth living?

And, if I’m being honest with myself, listening to Roger sing “One Song, Glory” struck a chord so deep inside me I don’t look very often. “One [book]. One [play] before I go…Find glory in a [book] that rings true, truth like a blazing fire, an eternal flame...”

Maybe its time I wrote from my heart again…

Play safe,

Diana

Two Lovers for Molly

2010-07-04T09:34:00.002-05:00

I have a new release from Ellora's Cave coming out this Friday, July 9th. Yay! Two Lovers for Molly is the third book in my Lavender Lace series, and wraps up the series with everyone getting their happily-ever-after.

I hope you enjoy this spicy excerpt.

Lynn

* * * * *

She looked from Lane to Julian and back again. "Julian started to tell me about the morning after your night with Claire. I want to know about that."

"Okay."

Julian sat close to Molly and slipped his arm around her shoulders. She could feel him playing with her hair, yet she focused her attention on Lane's mouth as he spoke.

"I'd been dating Claire for about a month when Julian came over for dinner." He glanced at the other man. "Julian and his girlfriend had recently broken up and I figured it was my duty as his best friend to get him drunk."

Julian chuckled as he nuzzled behind her ear. "He did a damn good job of it too."

"Were you sloshed?"

"And then some."

Molly returned her attention to Lane when he slipped his hands beneath her skirt. He went no higher than her knees, but his touch on her skin quickened her breathing.

"Claire was a flirt and loved attention. When Julian went to the bathroom, I told her she should kiss him. Her eyes lit up like fireworks. One kiss led to another, and soon clothes started coming off."

Julian tugged her closer. She leaned against him, her back to his chest. His hand slipped down and released the first button on her blouse. Lane watched Julian's hand for a moment before continuing.

"The three of us spent a wild night together. I doubt if there was a position we didn't try."

Julian nipped the side of her neck while his fingers danced over the flesh spilling out of her bra.

Lane continued to watch Julian's fingers. He slid his hands beneath Molly's knees and pulled them far enough apart so he could slip his knees between hers.

The second button on her blouse came loose.

"Claire and I had a fight the next morning." Lane's warm hands caressed the backs of her knees, down her shins and up to the top of her thighs, still beneath her skirt. Molly's heart began a stuttering tattoo in her chest. "I don't remember what it was about. She left in a huff and I went back to the bedroom with Julian."

Julian unfastened the third button and pulled her blouse open. He groaned softly. "Damn, you're wearing a red bra."

"I bought it today." Her voice came out sounding soft and breathless. She gasped when Julian cradled her breasts.

Lane's hands crawled higher up her thighs. "Are you wearing panties to match?"

She nodded. "A thong."

"A thong?" Julian asked, the surprise evident in his question. He squeezed her breasts as he buried his face against her neck. "God, I have to see your ass in that."

Molly didn't respond. Her voice ceased to work when Lane's fingers brushed her pussy through the thong. He moved to the edge of the coffee table, using his knees to push her legs farther apart, and ran his thumbs back and forth over her clit.

Pleasure rippled through her body. She sat there, on the verge of a climax and they all still wore their clothes.

"Do you want to know what I did then?" Lane asked.

Molly didn't care, not as long as he kept caressing her clit and Julian kept tugging on her nipples. Without her realizing it, Julian had unhooked the front closure of her bra. "Wh-what did you do?"

"I sucked his cock."

Gadget Geek and the Reading Revelation

2010-06-27T21:26:00.002-05:00

So, I’ve discovered I’m more of a Gadget Geek than I expected or wanted to acknowledge. I’ve never been one who needed the latest toy. My computer is almost ten years old. My phone is the first of the 3G generation (that’s old in phone life). But I needed the latest toy…the iPad.

Now, I know it does pretty much the same things that my phone does, except work as a phone, but I wanted one. It was so cute and sleek. And I have to confess, I love it. Don’t worry, this isn’t a promo for the iPad but more the revelation that it represents.

I justified the purchase by saying I wanted/needed an e-reader and couldn't find what I was looking for. My first task was to download 3 e-reader apps (Kindle, Barnes & Noble and iBooks) plus a PDF reader so I can transfer all the books that I’ve already purchased.

The first night I got my iPad, I downloaded Amanda Quick’s The Burning Lamp and J.R. Ward’s Lover Avenged. In the week following, I bought and read another five books.

Now, I’m a big reader but in the past year, I’ve steered away from buying books. Lately I’ve been unwilling to try a new author. It’s like I’ve lost my sense of adventure. I don’t want to be disappointed so I’ve just stuck with familiar names, never branching out and walking out of the bookstore more often than not empty-handed. The e-reader seems to have inspired me, I feel more willing to take a risk. I’ve bought books and tried authors I never would have considered before.

Part of what I love about e-books is the instant gratification. When I want a new book, it’s just clicks away and poof, it’s loaded on my device. And I can act on recommendations. Recently, I was on vacation with my sister and she told me about a book she’d read and enjoyed. While we were talking, I went to Amazon and bought it, downloading it in less than a minute. Normally, I would have listened to her recommendation and mostly likely forgotten the name of the author or the book. Now, I have a new author to try.

I’m also thinking this will reduce the clutter a bit around my house. The paper books (read and to-be-read) pile up quickly, don’t they? When a book is a computer file, if I don’t enjoy it, I don’t feel compelled to give it away or sell it to a used book store. I just delete it. Instant clean up…I love it.

Being an e-book author, I read a lot of e-books and that means I’ve spent a lot…a lot…of hours sitting in front of my computer hitting the arrow and next page buttons. It was fine but not terribly conducive to reading before bed. Now, I crawl into bed with my e-reader and stack of new e-books and read until my eyes start to close.

And no matter what e-reader you have you can find some free (and legal!) books out there. I’ve recently been enjoying Ellora’s Caves Naughty Nooners. It’s a great way to discover new authors (Scribe sister Lynn LaFleur has one out…”Door Prize”. It was good fun!).

I haven’t completely abandoned paperback and hardcover. I have a few authors I just like to see sitting on my shelf but I’m a big fan of the e-reader. I feel like I’ve rediscovered the joy of reading.

Saturday, June 20, 2010

2010-06-21T10:33:00.001-05:00

Sunday approached quickly this past week for me. I met it with a bit of trepidation simply because one of the busiest times of our working year is just ahead. Because we own a pizza business, I’ve been on a continuous exhausting roll leading up to the Fourth of July. This coming holiday requires that we begin to prepare a month in advance. Decisions to make, extra hours for all the prepping…it just seems to build like a threatening thunderstorm on the horizon. My husband and I have to force the mindset because basically we’ll work everyday until the 4th is over and we’ll have to disregard our long hours and just plow forward. It’s a little tough for me to back off and find some time to relax.

But this June 20th ended up being a celebration (one that I cooked for, cleaned for…you get the picture!) First off, it was Father’s Day. My dad will be 77 next month. He’s really slowed down due to some surgeries. He’s really aged the past few years and suddenly I truly looked forward to having a party at my house to celebrate all the fathers in the family. It turned out to be a gorgeous day with the sun shining and just a light wind to cool us off. Everyone turned out and we sat on the patio with kids, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and numerous family dogs racing about. Throw in a few drinks and some bocceball, a trip across the road to the lake for all those aforementioned to cool off with a dip, and of course a meal that put everyone but the kids flat on their butts in a comfy lawnchair, and I have to say it was one of the best days we’ve had in a long time.

I watched my dad with his youngest great-grandchild in his lap (Alex just turned one). He’d sing a Finnish song to him and the little guy would start humming back with a big smile in his near toothless mouth. Cracked us all up – especially my dad! And also made me hope that next Father’s Day we could repeat the day with no one missing among our continually growing family. It’s my dad’s biggest dream to be here in the future and celebrate his great-grandchildren’s life experiences. It’s kinda funny to see where he’s evolved through the years. My dad was a tough ‘coot’ to grow up with. No-nonsense and adhering to a strict straight-line path of obedience. Thank god he worked two or three jobs to support all of us and give us the best education that he could or there was a good possibility there would have been an uprising with me and my sister’s at the helm! Now he just shakes his head and can’t imagine that he ‘spawned’ the outspoken women that he did. LOL. And now he’s an active member of his descendant’s lives, finally having the time in his later retired years to enjoy what he created.

I also hit another milestone yesterday. It was mine and Jeff’s 35th wedding anniversary. We woke up yesterday and just looked at each other and wondered how in hell we got to this point. How does that happen? How does life pass by so quickly that suddenly we’re able to look back and write mental pages of our own life and the many things that happened along the way? It seems like we just got married and we’re heralding the birth of our first son! Now suddenly we’re at the point where we’ve raised our three kids and now they’re repeating the same process. I don’t feel any older…well, that’s a bit of a falsehood. I’m more in the phase of my body aging but my mind resisting! But I’m not near ready to lie down and just coast through this last phase. I’ve still got a lot of unchecked items on my personal bucket list (one which was to get this blog written and posted – teehee).

So in lieu of our 35 years together, I’d like to spotlight my very first erotic romance, Payton’s Passion. It’s about a couple who are on the verge of becoming very bored with one another, whose passion has waned due to work commitments, kids, and responsibilities, and how the two find their way back to what drew them to each other in the first place. Hope you’ll get a chance to pick this book up!

So to all the fathers, a happy belated Father’s Day to you all! And to myself? Hell, I’m searching for that purple heart I had on yesterday, this a reference to my thirty-five years with the same guy! You all have a great week!

Hugs and aging kisses, Ruby

A 12 step program for book addicts? I bet there's a book on that.

2010-06-05T20:59:00.001-05:00

I admit it. I have a problem. When I find a new author I like, I HAVE to read everything they’ve written. In order. It makes me crazy to miss a book in a series. I scour bookstores and libraries until I’ve consumed each and every one of their books.

And then I am sad.

I just picked up the latest book in a murder mystery series I love and I read the whole thing in one sitting. Now I have to wait an ENTIRE YEAR for the next book. It’s enough to make me cry.

I have to believe I’m not the only person with this problem. There must be others out there who are dying for the next book from a favorite author. What’s a girl to do in the meantime?

I’ve been to Borders and have seen their “If you like so and so, try so and so” but they only have a handful of authors. I need a lot more options!

So I’m soliciting suggestions. Who are some of your favorite authors? And when you are dying for their next book, who do you turn to?

Help me please! I'm a desperate woman!

Time Flies...

2010-05-31T08:49:00.001-05:00

Did you realise yet that tomorrow is June 1st? I know it blew my mind. Halfway through the year. What the heck happened?
It's been eventful one for me so far but not in the ways I thought it would. In January I resolved to write more, get my next book published, lose weight and try to let work stress me out less. I promised myself I would crawl out of my reclusive writers cave and socialise a bit more and was looking forward to a dream trip to New Orleans and the Romantic Times Convention in Ohio.

Who new that six months later I would have had the rejection that sent me into writer meltdown and put some serious holes in my creativity? Who could have guessed that we would all have learned how to pronounce the name of a volcano called Eyjafjallajökul? Which to me sounds strangely like thatfrickinvolcano after it caused my trip to New Orleans to be cancelled. Luck was still with my trip to Ohio for the Romantic Times Convention however it deserted me afterwards and thatfrickinvolcano caused me to be delayed in Ohio and endure a 24 hour nightmare trip home. Of course the resulting exhaustion made me sick and I have lost a good bit of weight so I have achieved that part of my resolution. As to the last parts of my plan, well, work is still stressing me out but I have made a half hearted attempt to crawl out of that cave...unless...does eHarmony count?
So, this week I am taking stock and resolving to take another run at those resolutions. How has your year been so far? Has it worked the way you hoped it would or has fate stirred things up in that bitchy way she has?

Scribd and me

2010-05-23T06:09:00.000-05:00

A couple of years ago, Heath Vercher asked me to do a joint concert with him in Second Life for Valentine's Day. He would play a few of his romantic compositions (Seduction is absolutely my favorite piece) and I would read some short, romantic stories. We called it our Love Stories collection and I wrote five pieces for this two-hour concert.

The concert was a success and we had a lot of fun with it. The five short stories I wrote existed as "in the air" pieces as they were too short for most publishers. Because of the nature of Heath's audience, they were sweet romances rather than erotica and I would use them as introductions when I did my readings in SL. I recorded three of them with the intent to upload them through Itunes and sell them as audio stories, but since I lack the knowledge of just how to go about accomplishing that, those files still languish on my computer.

And then I found Scribd.

Scribd is a great place to find both free and for-sale stories. Anyone can upload their stories and make them available to the reading public. A perfect home for these short works, I thought, and I created my Scribd account. I uploaded the first of the stories I'd written from the Ramayana (why I love that epic is another post in and of itself. If you want to know that story, tell me in the comments and next time its my turn, I'll tell you about the spell India and this magificent epic has put on me). Because the Ramayana belongs to everyone, and because I simply retold a story already well-known, I decided to offer it free of charge.

Next up was Love at Third Sight, an original story. This one I charge for because it is original. Scribd takes 20% of the price as thier share plus a $.25 download fee out of the price I charge. So I set $1.25 as the price, which means I'd make $.50 for each copy someone bought. I did the same with One Last Dance, one of my favorites of these short works. Gorilla Love, also original, I didn't charge for since it's barely 700 words long.

Unfortunately, the two works for sale aren't selling. I need some feedback. Is the price too high? Should I lower it to $.99, the same as a song off Itunes? What about the audio files I have sitting here on my computer? Anyone have the knowledge of how to post them to my website and sell them that way? Or should I just offer those for free, too? Where should I post them?

Check out the freebies (there are several episodes of the Tales from the Ramayana now...I wrote two new ones just this past month and uploaded them as well. You can find them on my profle page at the top. Scroll through the list to read them all!) and please, leave feedback in the comments! I promise, you won't hurt my feelings. This entire endeavor is an experiment. Let me know what you think?

Play safe,
Diana

OMG...a different kind of review.

2010-05-16T20:11:00.000-05:00

(cross-posted)
Oversized Male Genitalia. What did YOU think that stood for? Hehe.
I just thought it was time to sing the praises of this awesome book. Actually...the book isn't anything to write home about. Well...unless your mother is a smut-writing Sex Diva like moi! And if so...aren't you lucky! But otherwise, you may not want to mail this home to Grandma. Or give it to your priest. Or even nominate it for a Pullitzer. It's a goofy, tongue-in-cheek poke at the ultimate male fantasy. And it's a riot.

What really struck me about it, however...what makes it worth mentioning for me... is the story of how I came across it. It wasn't like I found it while perving Amazon for some cheap thrills. (Not that I do that. Ahem.) I didn't even find it hidden in the dusty back corner of the local sex shop and porn store. I came across this little gem as I stepped into the local Chapters store (For those of you unfamiliar with Chapters, that's the Canadian version of Barnes and Noble. An enormous bookstore and Starbucks chain for the literary and latte lovin' league.) I walked down the main aisle and there...there...THERE in the middle of one of the largest, most in-your-face, most blatantly publicity-seeking table displays of books sat this brilliant red and gold tomb, shamelessly declaring the word "PENIS" for all to see. I was...astounded. Flabbergasted. And amazed. I just thought this was the best thing ever. Even better than when Ottawa University students managed to run Anne Coulter out of town! Oops...this blog isn't supposed to be about politics. But then again Anne Coulter is kind of like the sexual Anti-Christ. Hang on...where was I?

Oh yes...the table display at Chapters (the Canadian version of B&N)! I was just so impressed at this blatant display of such a naughty word that I had to stop and pick it up. And after reading a few bits and pieces here and there, decided it would make the perfect birthday gift for my husband! No...he's not excessively endowed, and despite all the spam in his in-box, has no wish to be. However, I thought it would provide us with a good chuckle over chocolate birthday cake and ice cream. Ironically, our oldest son was much more enthusiastic about covering the book fromn cover to cover. And, no...we don't have that book sitting out when grandma and grandpa come over to visit. Shame, really.

So, anyway...if you know anyone who has issues with OMG...or who wishes they did, or who would just get a kick out of having the word PENIS emblazoned in gold letters across a book on his/her coffee table, I highly recommend this book! I mean...if you can't have fun with an enormous penis...what CAN you have fun with?
Ummm.....

Taking a Break

2010-05-09T22:44:00.005-05:00

Recently I spent nine days in Hawaii, taking a firm break from my day job and writing. It’s been years since I’ve gone on a trip and haven’t taken my computer with the intention to write or edit. But this time, I decided no writing, no editing, no working. I was going to relax.

My plans for the trip were to dive, golf and lay by the pool.

So, some quick highlights…

On my fourth dive of the trip, my dive buddy and I ran into a pod of Spinner Dolphins. We were about 80 ft. down and suddenly in the presence of about 30 dolphins. It was amazing but as a relatively new diver who’d never been to 80 feet, I had to keep dragging my attention back to the dolphins. My thoughts went something like this…

Oh my gosh, dolphins. Wait, 80 feet? How did we get here? Don’t worry about it, look at the dolphins. But I don’t want to go any deeper. Look at the dolphins. Wait, sharks eat dolphins right? Scans the water for sharks. Just look at the dolphins…

Thankfully, my dive buddy is an avid videographer and got some great shots so I can re-live the experience without constant monitoring of my dive computer.

Golf highlight…the golf course had peacocks! All over the place. Beautiful birds but when they cry out, they sound like a human screaming. Takes a bit of getting used to. Keep thinking I could use that in a book some day.

And laying by the pool…lovely, read three books while in Hawaii…James Rollins’ Excavation, Lucy Monroe’s Moon Craving, and Sabrina Jeffries’ The Truth about Lord Stoneville. All excellent reads. I highly recommend them all. Good reading at any time but particularly lovely while sipping a drink with an umbrella in it.

In the end, got my mental break, came back ready to write and with two new stories in my head. Ahhh, now that’s vacation.

Pet Peeves

2010-05-02T09:57:00.002-05:00

We all have them, those little things other people do that make us want to scream and tear out our hair.

I'm a very easy going person. I don't anger easily, and I get over my anger at something or someone quickly. But there are some things that push my hot buttons the wrong way. Since I always feel better when I vent, here are some of my nasty little pet peeves.

Leaving the shopping cart in the middle of the aisle. I don't like to move someone else's cart, especially a woman's when there's a purse in it. I'm always afraid she'll think I'm stealing her wallet. But sometimes I don't have a choice. While she's standing there, trying to decide which one of forty different detergents to buy, I have things to do. Get out of my way!

Not giving a turn signal. I'm coming out of a parking lot, patiently waiting for the approaching car to pass so I can be on my way. Does the car pass? No, it turns into the lot right next to me without giving a signal. And 95% of the time, it's a man driving. What is it with guys and no turn signals? Do they belong to the same club as guys who don't ask directions or read instructions? (No offense, guys, but I call' em as I see 'em.)

Whooshing by me on the highway only to pull in front of me and slow down to the same speed I'm driving. What is the point of that? I drive a Kia Optima. It isn't a big car. If I was in a big honkin' SUV or a diesel pickup, I could understand wanting to get around me to be able to see better. My little car isn't much of a hindrance to seeing what's coming.

You probably see my pattern. It's the lack of courtesy and simple manners that gets to me. It all boils down to one thing--treat me the way you want to be treated.

Now that I've vented and feel better, tell me what pushes your hot buttons.

Lynn

Never enough hours

2010-04-18T21:36:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I wonder where the day goes. It seems with each passing hour, I become more disorganized. My house is a disaster. The laundry is piled high and the floor needs a good

sweeping, dishes in the sink and the dishwasher's empty. Can anyone tell how to get a

teenager to notice this everyday crap that needs to be done and lend a hand? I've tried

offering to pay a weekly allowance for help. It doesn't phase them. I came home from work

and flipped. Instead of killing them, I sought refuge in my yard. Which is in dire need as well

for a good spring shape up so I spent hours in the yard until it got dark and I couldn't stand up

straight from the planting, weeding and mulching. I walked in expecting to have to cook dinner too but was surprised by an awesome smell. My daughter actually cooked and it was delicious.

I guess she's not completely blind to the household everyday issues.

I took a shower then enjoyed the meal. But guess who got to clean the Kitchen. LOL.

What's the longest you've ever gone without a bath or shower?

2010-04-15T05:09:00.001-05:00

3 days spent at the cabin with no running water :)

Ask me anything

Do you plan to continue Sarah & Phillip's relationship beyond Submission Revealed?

2010-04-13T18:56:00.001-05:00

Not exactly. Phillip & Sarah make cameo appearances in my current work-in-progress as they help along a couple in distress. :) There also may be a podcast of a short scene between the two of them in the near future!

Ask me anything

will you be writing a follow=up book to "submission revealed" ? I have reaad both of those books and litterally fell in love with them. I really hope you can put together a third = or more - about these characters. thanks. mimsdavis@gmail.com- sue davis

2010-04-13T18:54:00.001-05:00

My current work-in-progress contains cameo appearances by both Phillip and Sarah as they coach another couple along, but other than that, these two only ever had these two books. But don't write that in stone...who knows when they might come forward again and demand another story?

Ask me anything

formspring.me

2010-04-13T18:04:00.001-05:00

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/dianahunter

Are you kidding me?

2010-04-11T08:39:00.002-05:00

The other day my father in law came over and said to me, "I've got to show you my newest toy. It's amazing! I can't believe no one thought of this sooner!"

What was it you ask? Something to make children clean up after themselves? An automatic dinner maker? A robot who will do laundry?

No, it was a Kindle.

Now, I agree that Kindles are amazing, wonderful inventions, but HELLO! Ebooks have been around for ten years, thanks. Someone did think of it sooner, Sony, Mobi, and several others. . .

Very few people who are in my "regular/teacher/daughter/mother" world know I am also Arianna Hart (which explains why when Ari gets to play, anything can happen) so I couldn't burst out and say, "Yeah, I've heard of Kindle, they're line number three on my royalty statement." But boy did I want to!

When I started reading ebooks in 2002, NO ONE had heard of them. When I got published in 2003, ebook authors were low man on the totem pole. We weren't considered "real" authors because our books weren't "real" books. Even my accountant mocked me, "I just can't see cuddling up on the couch with a computer."

Bite me.

For years, courageous readers have enjoyed the benefits of ebooks and have had to explain over and over again what an ebook was. Now that Amazon has gotten into the game, suddenly ebooks are the cool kid in school.

A part of me, the part that reads the royalty statements, is thrilled that the masses have discovered ebooks. E publishers have heralded this day for years and years and it looks like our time has finally arrived. Huzzah, huzzah!

A little, teeny, tiny, non-conformist part of me is somewhat saddened by the mainstreaming of ebooks. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that others have discovered the joy that is instant book gratification, but it's kind of like when you discover a new band/author/artist/restaurant that you love but it/they haven't become hugely popular yet and then all of a sudden, you can no longer afford to go there because they are wildly famous now.

Okay, that doesn't make much sense, even to me. Ebooks aren't going to sell out like the latest New York Times bestseller in your local bookstore, but you get the point. I guess I just want a little credit given to all the loyal people who had to put up with, "what? you're reading a what book? Don't you miss having a real book in your hands?" for the last decade.

On the other hand, if you have only just discovered ebooks and you are reading me for the first time, welcome to the wonderful world of ebooks!!! ;-)

Rejected again...

2010-04-05T07:55:00.002-05:00

This week I got another editor rejection. Nothing new I hear you say, it happens all the time. Rejection comes with the territory and if you want to be a published author then it's one of the things you just have to deal with. You're right. This is far from my first but for some reason this one affected me more deeply than any others in the past have. So deeply that I had a complete meltdown. There were tears, lots of them. My meltdown even spread to online where I shared my devastation with the whole of the twitterverse. I have no idea why this time it was more painful than any of the rest. Was it the way it was rejected (completely) no 'this was good, but'? One rejection too many? Was it my love for the characters and my belief in their story? The fact that this is the first time in a long time that I had finished something? Or was it everything else in my life that sucked this week just finally getting on top of me?

The proverbial last straw.

Whatever the reason, I was ready to give up. No more writing, it was getting too painful. Why continue with something that used to be enjoyable but was now causing so much hurt? Perhaps I wasn't meant to be a writer after all? And indeed, I haven't written a word since then (twitter doesn't count) until now. I'd like to thank everyone who sent me a message of encouragement, sympathy and empathy or anger on my behalf. Your support means the world to me. Now, almost a week later I am still upset, but not feeling quite so negative. Thanks to all of you, plus a little time and perspective I have decided to get back on the horse after all. Will I have the courage to submit anything again? I don't know yet. Probably. The fact of the matter is that I was a writer before I was published and I'm still a writer now. I am going to try to reclaim the things about it that made me happy before I saw my name on a book. The joy of escaping into a world of my own making, whether anyone else cares about it or not.

of spring, the earth and ebooks...

2010-03-28T06:43:00.000-05:00

The weather here in the Finger Lakes has turned cold again after several days of positively balmy temperatures. While I know this cold snap is simply Mother Nature’s way of reminding us it’s still March, I certainly enjoyed getting out into the garden and turning over the soil in preparation for this year’s planting.

Being forced back indoors has given me time for reflection instead of action. An ardent composter, recycler, turn-off-the-lights-when-you-leave-the-room nag gives me the environmentalist label in our household. I hang some of my laundry out to dry; I make paper from the lint. I grow a few vegetables. We’ve been using cloth napkins for everyday for years and use the wax paper from cereal boxes instead of buying it new (and believe me, we eat a LOT of cereal! My son seems to think there’s no other food group and would have it for all three meals and snacks if I let him). In spite of all the things we already do, I find myself asking, what ELSE? What more can we do?

And the answer is, “very little.” I need to sell a few more books before I can put in the solar electric system my husband has his eye on. Same deal with getting hybrid cars and solar heating. The tax breaks help, but the price is still high. We manage to only put one grocery bag’s worth of garbage into the landfill each day(our town charges by the pound and believe me, that gave us incentive to recycle even more things), but I’m constantly looking for ways to reduce even that amount. Buying in bulk helps reduce packaging – sometimes. I hate when I buy a big box of something, thinking it’s going to be less “stuff” and find inside that they’ve simply put two of the smaller size packages with all the wrapping still intact. Now I not only have what I would have if I’d bought smaller, but I have the larger wrap around it as well. Grrr…

Of course, buying ebooks is always a greener way to go (shameless plug). Although there have been some debates about the use of electricity vs. paper mill pollution, I’m inclined to think the ebooks win. They certainly win as far as storage is concerned. Less clutter means less dust means less pollution, right? That’s my story and I’m sticking with it!

Okay…so what are the ways you help the environment as the weather turns warm and we come out of our winter cocoons? Give me some ideas for my what ELSE?

Diana

How do YOU make yourself feel sexy?

2010-03-21T19:38:00.001-05:00

For years I didn't feel sexy.

When I was in my teens and twenties I did...sort of. In my teens it was dicey because I couldn't seem to get a boy to be interested in me. I wore the tight jeans--the kind that forced you to slide into your desk sideways and stick your legs out in order to avoid being cut in half--and I had the 80's hair. I smiled at a few boys, and even managed to get one to kiss me. But for the most part the boys in my age range weren't interested in a rather outspoken Sci-Fi freak whose abilities in math could shame even the nerdiest pocket-protector-toting geek. Let alone the star of the volleyball team. Apparently teenage boys don't like girls that are smarter than they are. Who knew?

So, not until I met my number one hunny at the tender age of 19 did I really start to feel like I had the kind of sex appeal required to lure all those good little Mennonite boys into temptation. Alas, however, the very first boy I dated was so perfect that I never needed to look any further! Therefore my exposure to the opposite sex, and hence the affirmation of my sex appeal, ended up being very limited.

So, through the years of marriage, home-ownership, pregnancy, lactation and motherhood...my wonderful hunny continued to always tell me how beautiful and sexy I was. And that is wonderful! However...I confess that after 20 years it started to lose it's...zing. And I confess that through those years of pregnancy and looking after toddlers I pretty much gave up on the whole sex appeal thing. What's the point, after all when you spend much of your free time wiping up poop and mopping up puke? But then...suddenly...and yes, I do believe it was right around that proverbial female sexual peak...I decided it was time to get off my ample butt and start to feel like a woman again! And I did. I lost 30 pounds, grew out my hair, and bought my first pair of low-rise jeans. I looked in the mirror and liked what I saw. But I still didn't feel sexy. Not...really. And at the time...I couldn't really say why. And then it happened--the epiphany!

I had gone out to a bar to meet some girlfriends for an evening of dancing. However...arriving at the ridiculously early hour of 10:00 pm....left me waiting for my girlfriends all alone. Not being particularly shy I got a drink at the bar and sat down to wait. The first to approach was a college age boy with a rye and coke and a goofy smile who sat down beside me and proceeded to inflate my ego exponentially. I'm not sure if he...flirted exactly, however I did come away from that table with a perpetual invitation to keg parties at his house. (I have yet to take him up on that.) But it was upon walking away from that table that the real fun began.

I heard my name called and was startled to discover two of those volley-ball playing jocks from my old highschool...two men who in 1982 barely knew I existed, and who had, on occasion teased my geeky friends and myself to distraction. Well...it seemed that NOW the distraction was on the other foot. These two divorcees on the make had eyes that were so big, and jaws that had dropped so far that I almost thought I was going to have to start mopping up their drool. I confess it felt good...damn good to turn away their advances with a little flick of my wrist. "Sorry boys. I am sooooo out of your league."

Okay...I didn't say that. Not out loud, anyway. But the way that little experience made me feel was...beyond description. It was the boost and the affirmation that I had been seeking...and I hadn't even known it. Of course I came home and told #1 hunny all about it. He was fine with the flirtation, but I think he was a little hurt when he said, "I've been telling you you're beautiful and sexy for years. Doesn't it mean the same coming from me?" And I replied bluntly, "You know I love you, but...No. It doesn't." Sad, perhaps...but true.
This is a man who looked at me during the bloating and pain of childbirth and still TRULY believed I was beautiful. That means something, of course. It means everything! But there is a part of me that wants to be seen as sexy just because of the way a pair of jeans hug my ass, and the way a push up bra sets off a low-cut top. It's about walking down the street and FEELING sexy. Feeling like you stand out. Feeling superficially special, I suppose.

I guess it is superficial...and probably somewhat sad, but I don't think I'm alone in that feeling. FAct is I've put a few pounds back on again, and I'm not quite as sveldt and toned as I was five years ago, but I still have that feeling. When I do myself up, and put on those low-rise jeans, I feel good about who I am. I feel confident and sexy, and when I walk down the street I feel good about myself. And if it meant I had to crush a couple of old highschool bad-asses to get that feeling...then too bad for them. And YAY for me.

I think we all have to take that feeling wherever we can get it. Whether it's by spending $150 on a kick-ass hair style, or picking up a sexy pair of thigh-high boots....Whether it's by lacing yourself into a corsette until you've got "bum back" and your waistline has been cut down by a third....Whether it's by getting your nails done or treating (hmm...not sure THAT's the right word) yourself to a Brazilian wax....

It doesn't matter.
Do what you gotta do to find your inner Diva...and make no apologies for it!

(This entry is cross-posted from Diary of a Sex Diva)

What Makes You Buy a Book?

2010-03-14T09:24:00.002-05:00

There's been an interesting discussion on one of my authors' loops the last few days about a particular author and why this author is so successful when there are so many authors out there who are more talented, but don't sell nearly as many books. Is it strictly marketing? Is the publisher pushing this author to success by extra promotion or publicity or bigger print runs? Does this author have that "thing" that makes people snap up the author's books as soon as they're published? What the heck is that "thing" and where can I get it? :-)

I buy a lot of books. I'm an author, but I'm a reader first. I love books, both e and print. I love curling up on my loveseat with a cup of tea close by (or a cold Dr Pepper) and losing myself in the author's world. I want to be so involved with the author's words that I block out everything around me. Sometimes that's hard to do. Sometimes I buy a book because of an excerpt/blurb/friend's recommendation and it turns out to be a snooze. Maybe my friend loved it, but it did nothing for me. Do I throw it against the wall? No. I read every word. I keep thinking it'll get better. I'm so disappointed when it doesn't.

So how do I pick which books to buy, you ask? I have an autobuy list of authors I love and know will never disappoint me with a wallbanger. I go to that list first. If one of those authors releases a new book, it's soon on my bookshelf or in my e-reader.

Next, I look at covers. If a cover grabs me, I'll turn it over and read the back blurb (or read the online blurb for an e-book). If I like that, I'll read an excerpt. I want a taste of the author's voice. That has to come from his/her own writing. Hook me with the excerpt and the chances are very good that I'll buy the book.

Do I buy a book based on reviews or bestseller status? No. I used to, I'll admit that. I used to look up reviews and buy my books based on ones that received 4 stars/hearts or better. I learned very quickly that tastes vary widely. What that reviewer considered a 4 I would've called a 2, and vice versa.

I love discovering new authors and adding them to my autobuy list. So what if some of my favorite authors aren't bestsellers? They're tops to me and that's what counts.

How about you? What makes you buy a book?

Lynn

Where’s my author insecurity?

2010-03-07T11:48:00.002-06:00

We’ve talked about, written about it, even blogged about it…authors are, seemingly by nature, insecure creatures.

We hand something we’ve written to another person then cringe (either inwardly or in my case, visibly) while that person reads our words, desperate to see a smile or hear a chuckle at the right places. My editor knows, because I’ve explained this to her, that when she writes back to say “yes” to a book she must also tell me she loves it. If not, I start flipping over all sorts of rotten scenarios in my head about how she doesn’t really like it but they need to fill a slot in the schedule and this is the last time she’s taking one of these books from Tielle St. Clare! (Her voice rises in my mind as she reaches the end of that run-on sentence).

So, yes, insecure…sometimes. But not right now. I’m working on a book, due to my editor April 15, and I think it’s honestly one of the best stories I’ve written. I’m about two-thirds through the book. This is usually the point when I discover my fatal plot flaw and have to try to give the main characters have some motivation. Or I realize one of my sex scenes doesn’t quite work but I need it there. Something happens to stall my progress.

Not this time (at least not yet). The plot works. The characters have depth. There’s action. There's humor. There’s hot sex (well, duh). I’m so happy with this book, I can’t wait to finish it. I want to hand sections to people to read because I know they’ll come back with “my, it’s brilliant.” I know they will.

Having said that…who knows what the next week will bring? I might go from “genius mode” to “idiot mode” in a moment. Or as one of the women in my writers' group said “I don’t know who wrote that crap that was on my computer because what I wrote was perfect.”

I’m sure the insecurity will hit or at some point I’ll dread working on this story but right now, it’s fun and I can’t wait to get back to my keyboard. I’m riding the wave while it lasts.

Ahhhh, Spring Is Just Around the Corner!

2010-02-28T11:27:00.000-06:00

And so is my WIP! It’s been a long dry spell. Well, my ‘well’ hasn’t dried up but minutes in the day sure have. I kinda thought that at this stage of my life, things would slow down. At the age of 53 (with 54 looming in the near future) I really thought that life would be calming down, that I’d be flipping out new books like crazy. But in order to get that writing done, I really need to be here at home, in front of my computer in a pair of comfy sweats pounding away on the keyboard writing the next great best seller. Um….NOT!

But I am happy to say that my sequel to Dragcon’s Snare is slowly getting written and it is with high hopes this book will be released sometime this year! I really think this story may have been done already if it weren’t for the horrible forces of Ma Nature and her damn menopause. Someone ought to kick her fat ass. I know if I ever run into her I’m going to chew her up and spit her out!

Okay, off my soapbox as far as that bitch is concerned. If anyone has read Dragcon’s Snare, it’s a futuristic/fantasy erotic love story about two conflicting societies. I had so much fun just letting my imagination run wild. I’m thrilled to say the reviewers loved it, and it was Crissy Dionne from Romance Junkies that gave me the idea to continue the story. But rather than continue on with King Renae and Queen Jana’s story, I’ve decided to move on to the next generation. Hence, Princess Shala, their daughter. And wowza, is she a great character to play with! Beautiful, willful and the perfect spar to Tayden, a universal mercenary with a few secrets of his own!

So stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed that life and menopause will back the hell up and leave me alone for awhile!

Rubes

Writing with a group?

2010-02-07T08:01:00.003-06:00

Last month I joined a Writers Group. Some of you will already have discovered how amazing this is but it's all new to me. Don't get me wrong, I love my Sizzling Scribes and don't know what I'd do without them. However there is nothing like sitting in a room with a group of people who share your passion and just talk writing. My friends and family don't understand why I make the 80 mile round trip. It's the same reason I come back every year to the Romantic Times Convention (can't wait for Columbus in April!). Something about the creative atmosphere inspires me to be creative in return. It gives me a goal to focus on and gives me back my own passion for creating stories.

We meet every second Tuesday, I've only been twice so far and I already love it. The group has simple rules: anyone is welcome and you have to find something good to say about every piece of work before you say anything bad. There are poets, novelists and writers of short fiction amongst the people I have met so far of, all ages and stages. It is this open atmosphere that I love. I've looked at other writers groups before, many closer to home, and I've been put off by a general impression of snobbery. Given the kind of stories I write I felt that many of them wouldn't want me as a member or would look down on my work as not worthy. The very fact that this group was open to all writers, whatever they write is ultimately what prompted me to join. At the moment I think I am one of the only romance novelists and one of the few women in the group so the guys are getting an education. It's fun throwing out all their preconceived notions about the genre. Since they write in genre's I don't typically read, I too, am being educated. Inspiring me to take my work in directions I haven't considered before. So this blog is dedicated to the Glasgow Writers Group, thank you for making me welcome.

Are you a member of a writing group? Tell us about them. What is it that keeps you coming back?

Readin' & Writin'

2010-01-31T08:41:00.000-06:00

As readers of my own blog know, I’ve been re-reading Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series over the past few months. When I was younger, I read voraciously in most genres. When I had my first child nineteen years ago, I remember the doctor telling me on his visit the day after her birth, “Enjoy that book you’re reading. It’s the last one you’re going to read for the next ten years.” I thought he was kidding. He wasn’t.

In the first years of my children’s lives, I read books like Goodnight Moon and Pat the Bunny, graduating to the Berenstain Bears and Disney books. When my daughter started fourth grade, my mom (a librarian) asked me if I’d heard of a character by the name of “Harry Potter”. I hadn’t. She told me I would soon. She was right, too. My daughter and I read through all seven books together, making JK Rowling’s epic the first books I’d read all the way through since giving birth.

But somewhere in there, I started writing books instead of reading them. I have not one, but two unfinished fantasy novels (one of which I REALLY want to get back to) as well as a historical (based on the letters home from a Union soldier – his is an amazing story I’d love to find a home for someday); these novels sit in my computer files just biding their time. Writing them gave me the same thrill I’d get when I’d open a book for the first time – the words filling my head with faraway places and strange sounding names. I got hooked.

My children are older now; my daughter’s in college and my son graduates high school this year. They don’t want mom to read to them anymore, and aren’t really interested in the books I do manage to find time for. Neither, to my knowledge, have ever read any of my books. They were off-limits till they turned eighteen and my daughter has since informed me that, while she’s very proud of me and she likes erotic romance, she just can’t bring herself to read mine because she doesn’t want to think her mother knows about such things!

I started out talking about the Outlander series and got side-tracked, I see. The point I’d intended to make was how wonderfully rich her series is and how I hope re-reading it has influenced me in a positive way. It certainly has gotten me re-reading my current work in progress (tentatively titled Services Rendered) with an eye toward adding depth and description.

So what about you-all? For the writers here, what books have influenced your own writing style? For the readers, what kinds of styles do you gravitate towards?

My Bucket List

2010-01-17T09:54:00.002-06:00

Don't we all have a list of the things we want to do in our lives? Maybe it isn't actually written on paper, but it's in the back of our minds and we think about it a lot. I'm happy that I've managed to accomplish some of the things I've wanted to do, yet there are still some I hope to do soon.

Here's a little bit from my Bucket List:

1. Become a published author. I can check off that one as done. I published my first book in 2002.

2. Be on a best-selling book list. Done that. Okay, it was on Amazon, but a list is a list.

3. Buy my own home. Check. Yes, the bank still owns part of it, but it's mostly mine.

And some items I've yet to do:

4. See Alaska. I've been to 27 states in the U.S., but haven't made it to Alaska. I hope to do that this summer. My stepson and his wife own 400 acres on an island in Alaska that I would love to see.

5. Visit New England in autumn. I've been to Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York, but during the summer. I want to go back in autumn when the leaves are changing colors.

6. Take a train all the way across Canada. This is something I probably could never afford, but I'd love to do it.

7. Travel through the British Isles. The Scribes' Cait Miller lives in Scotland. She's promised me a tour if I ever make it over there. I'm holding her to that promise!

8. Visit Australia. I know there are a lot of authors in Australia. Maybe I could get one of them to play tour guide.

Hmm, do we see a pattern here? Looks like most of my still-to-do items include travel. It's a good thing I have my passport ready!

So what's on your Bucket List? Share with me.

Lynn

A Case for Epilogues

2010-01-10T13:36:00.004-06:00

At the last writer’s conference I attended there seemed to be a theme that kept popping up in workshops…Prologues and Epilogues. They were out of fashion. The theory being that a Prologue was what happened before the story started and an Epilogue was something that happened after the story ended so they weren’t needed. As romance writers, we’re trained and encouraged and berated to start with the action. Throw your reader into it. And stop when the romance is resolved.

As I writer, I love Prologues. I often start my books with them because I want to warn the reader about something, or give them a hint about a future event, or just make them curious. It’s not exactly throwing the reader into the action but I like to give a hint about the sharks circling before they make that leap.

As a reader, I love Epilogues. I love that last visit with the couple, a glance into their life—after the story—to prove that they are living their happily ever after. It’s like dropping in on an old friend and finding out that yes, things really did work out.

I have a couple of favorite Epilogues. So favorite in fact that I recently dug through my keeper shelf to find a book because I wanted to re-read the Epilogue. A line from it was stuck in my brain and I wanted to experience it again.

My favorite Epilogue…To Love A Dark Lord by Anne Stuart. She writes such great dark heroes that having that Epilogue is comforting. It tells me that he did settle down. And that all the things he warned her about at the end of the book have come true. This was the book I went looking for last week. I skimmed the book, to reacquaint myself with the characters, then skipped to the Epilogue. I’ve read it twice more since then.

My other favorite Epilogue is in Lover Awakened…the scene in the gym just tugs on my heart that I go back and re-read it whenever I need a lift. Zsadist is so damaged that you need that glimpse into his life after the "story" ends.

I think this is why series books a so popular. It’s a final check in with the characters. You get to visit old friends.

So don’t be afraid to give your readers one last glimpse so they put away the book with a satisfied “ahhhh.”