What Was I Thinking?

MOVING!!!

2007-09-15T15:48:00.000-04:00

Alright folks, I'm leaving Blogger behind.

Haven has designed a pretty new website for me -- lovely graphics, gorgeous colors -- and we've moved the whole shebang over to Wordpress.

SO! Come visit me at my new blog.

You can click on the HOME page here, too, and that'll take you to the new spot.

See you at the new site!

Slavic Mythology at BTV

2007-08-31T12:34:00.000-04:00

I'm continuing my series on the pantheons of different cultures with a short piece about Slavic mythology. It was fun to research, but half of the real sources are in Lithuanian!

Check out Beyond the Veil today!

Did it again

2007-08-24T12:03:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry. I dropped off the face of the earth for a few days there, didn't I? I apologize. And I'd been doing so well, too, with blogging regularly.

I got overwhelmed with a lot of internet stuff and living in Romanceland became more stressful than it was worth, so I went on holiday. Not literally, I'm afraid, but mentally. Very restful.

I've been enjoying the Steampunk Forum over at Brass Goggles. It's good to get out of Romanceland and Writingville every once in a while. It's a different mindset and very valuable, not just for research, but also for widening personal paradigms.

Anyway, I'm back. What's going on, you ask? I'll tell you. I've turned in my ARC for LOVE & LORE. I'm arranging interviews for us at various locations. And I've been working with my local library to see if they'll carry it. Once they carry it, they'll put me on their local author list for doing programs, too.

We're supposed to head to the drive-in tonight, provided the weather holds. They're showing Stardust and I'm very excited to see it! Apparently the airship is awesomely Steampunk!

You know it's a good seminar when...

2007-08-19T10:11:00.000-04:00

The teacher tells you how to kill a man with a pair of kitchen tongs!

It was awesome. Jim Henke and his wife, Shirl, absolutely rock. I don't think I'll be that cool. Ever. They tell the best stories and have the neatest friends. Plus, Jim has lethally nifty ideas.

See, the class was about choreographing fight scenes. It started with Jim and Shirl each reading a fight scene out of books they'd written. After that the real fun started. Essentially, it was Escaping Heroines 101. There were tons of little tidbits. Any weapon will do. And anything can be a weapon.

A very tightly rolled up newspaper can, if applied with enough force, fracture a man's wrist. Keep your keys out when you walk to your car with the point sticking out between your fingers, then use the point on an attacker's throat or eyes or whatever you can reach. It hurts. If you're going to use a gun, use the right one, appropriate to the time.

And remember. Once the bad guy is down, run away, screaming like hell. Well, maybe not the kick-ass heroines, but for the ordinary life ones.

After that was a great Q&A with several of the multi-published authors in our chapter. We got some really useful information out of that, especially about the business side of the deal. They've all been through ups and downs, but I think the key is that they keep writing books they can sell.

The last session was with Eileen Dryer, who is a trauma nurse IRL with all kinds of nifty certifications, and has taken to writing more romantic suspense lately. It was about Writing Villains Worthy of Your Heroes. There was a ton of info on criminal psychology and serial killers, but I thought the most useful stuff was about writing really powerful villains, not just cardboard characters. She reminded us of one of my favorite pieces of advice: The villain is the hero of his own story.

Now, his story may be a twisted freakshow with him as the gory ringmaster, but in his mind, he's doing what needs to be done.

I also met new people, in particular a couple of ladies who write mostly mysteries/crime fiction, and it was interesting to hear their take on the organizations that specialize in their genre, MWA, etc. I guess our particular type of insular, inbred blindness isn't that uncommon on the higher-up organizational level. Strangely, that made me feel better. *gg*

Overall, it was a great day. I guess they usually do this outdoors at a park, but with the heatwave, one of our wonderful members opened her home to us for which we're grateful. It was steeenkin' hot outside. The tabbouleh went over well -- it's nice to find adventurous eaters.

I think the upshot of this is that if I have to deal with the national organization to stay in my local chapter, then I'll deal. MORWA is golden.

Oops!

2007-08-18T09:06:00.000-04:00

Missed blogging yesterday.

Have hideous feeling also missed group blogging at Beyond the Veil. Naughty author. Shame on me. Very embarrassing. So sorry.

Going to MORWA Camp Write-A-Lot today to learn how to write fight scenes. Very excited. Made tabbouleh. Again. Very tasty.

Bye!!

Not reading much lately

2007-08-16T10:47:00.000-04:00

I've got a stack of books on my night table and I'm not reading them. Does anyone else go through these phases? It's not like the books aren't interesting, they're ones I've been dying to get to! But I can't quite seem to work up the enthusiasm for reading I usually have.

Wasn't it nice when all you had to worry about was writing the book?

I wish it was that easy.

First Day of School!

2007-08-15T09:39:00.000-04:00

It's done. They're gone. Lunches made, shoes tied, everyone spiffy in new clothes.

It's so quiet here. Just me and the dog. Even dh is out today.

Of course, there's plenty to keep me occupied. I didn't write a word yesterday. So much for the Fast Draft. I had a mini-meltdown instead. I'm better now.

But now there are all these ... possibilities. What should I do first?

GO BETWEEN by Dayna Hart

2007-08-14T09:59:00.000-04:00

Go Between” by Dayna Hart

Coming August 14th from Samhain Publications

Between two races that hate each other, at the doorway between two worlds, can Claire find the strength to be the emissary they all need?

Book One of The Curtain Torn series.

Halfway through her twenties, her divorce, and a bottle of rye, Claire opens her birthday present—a “pressed fairy” book.

One of the fairies is neither pressed, nor a picture. He’s the sinfully sexy Dell, who’s been trapped inside the book for twenty years. The moment Claire frees him, goblins attack her house. Dell and Claire’s only option is to use a “Between”—a rift between their worlds—to escape into the land of Fae.

There, Claire discovers the elven queen, Eliane, has a mission for her—one that has her keeping secrets from Dell. And ousting the goblins from her home is only the start.

Read An Excerpt Online

Day 2 of Fast Draft

2007-08-14T09:04:00.000-04:00

*sigh* I got 6 pages done. On any other day, I'd be ecstatic, but when I commit to 10 and don't get there? That's a yucky feeling.

But hey, I got 6 pages done!

The kids had their Meet the Teacher night and I just kept signing up for stuff. Looks like I'm now the Library Slave once a week around lunchtime. Need to find another mom to sucker into this so we can switch off.

And then there's the occasional teacher assistant thing. Like helping the 1st graders learn to write. And helping the 5th graders learn to write. I thought I was going to have a lot more time once the kids were gone all day! Instead, it looks like I'll be with them anyway. *gg* Whether they like it or not. MWAAHAHAhahahahaaaaaa!!!

Then there are the various after school activities that will sprout up. I cleaned out their folders that had last year's left over projects and I've already started filling them up again!

Paper, paper everywhere. How do you guys keep up with all of it?

ETA: I forgot to tell you! I got my very first ARC of LOVE & LORE for the print version last night!! I really, really want to show you guys the cover for this.

Good Monday Morning!

2007-08-13T08:52:00.001-04:00

I'm a morning person, generally. I roll out of bed and hit the floor running, it seems. I am even capable of functioning without coffee, as unlikely as that sounds.

I even like Monday mornings. They always feel so fresh to me. Like January 1 every week. Today seems like a day full of possibilities and I'm excited!

First, the Blogging Challenge begins today. Hence, I blog. Hello, world!

Second, Candace Haven's two week Fast Draft starts today, too. Eeek! I committed to 10 pages a day. These first few days will be tough, especially as I'm not doing the "fend for yourself, family" thing. I've done that before when I'm on deadline, but I try to make sure I only do it when I have no other choice. I figure if I keep the natives happy while I can, then I can impose when I have to.

Speaking of keeping the natives happy, there are plenty of chores to be done today. Haircuts, cleaning bathrooms, grocery shopping.

Remember that Camp Write-A-Lot thing I mentioned in my last post? I, umm, got the date wrong. Yeah. That's embarrassing. At least I caught it before I left the house with my bucket of tabbouleh. It's this coming weekend.

Anyway, that's my Monday. Y'all have a great day now, y'hear?

I'm tired.

2007-08-10T10:04:00.000-04:00

Being controversial is exhausting, which is why I don't do it very often. Still, I was glad to see people step in and tell us how they felt about RWAs latest backhand. See, it's difficult to separate Jill Limber from RWA. Not least because I can't find anyone else from the board disagreeing with her in public. And I've looked!

In any case, it's time for me to get back to being me, the writer mom, instead of me, the rabble-rouser writer mom. Rousing the rabble is fun, but time consuming. *gg*

Next week, I'm starting two...no, three challenges.

1. I'm doing Candace Haven's Fast Draft thingy. I haven't even read all the instructions yet, but I can't seem to turn down a dare. Must be my frame of mind this week.

2. I'm doing a blog challenge with Emma Petersen and some other Divas. I have to blog every day (except weekends) for two weeks and visit five blogs a day. See above re: dares.

3. The kids start school this week. You know what's a pain in the butt? Trying to buy jeans for little boys who are skinny with long legs. Nothing. Fits. And I don't sew. Really don't sew. After several botched jobs, dh had to take over sewing his own rank and patches on flight suits, or hiring it out. I'm a miserable failure as a seamstress. Which is odd, considering that my mother and aunt are absolute geniuses at it. Ah well. Another one of life's little mysteries.

In addition, tomorrow is MORWA's Camp Write-A-Lot. I have to go make tabbouleh. Shirl Henke and her husband will be helping us write fight scenes -- YAY! I spend a lot of time choreographing mine, preferably when no one is home but the dog. And he still looks at me funny.

So unless someone else pisses me off (it's been happening a lot lately. Are people getting ruder or am I just getting more sensitive?) I'll be back to happy blogging for a while.

I'm So Angry Right Now!!!

2007-08-07T11:40:00.001-04:00

I received my RWR two days ago and read it yesterday morning. You know what? Aside from the muscle spasm in my back that's been haunting me since Sunday, I've been in a pretty good mood.

It only took the “From the President” letter to piss me off again. In fact, I wrote the original version of this post yesterday, but had to take a day to cool off so I could approach this subject without a lot of swearing. Trust me. This is mild.

Jill Limber, as we know, is the president of RWA. And by all my far-removed interactions with her, I can't WAIT until she's gone. Really. Can't wait. If she quit tomorrow, it wouldn't be soon enough for her to leave. Because her attitude is atrocious!

Actually, I had to read the letter twice, just to make sure that I wasn't somehow mistaken in my interpretation.

Nope. She really does come off horribly.

Though I have to say, now I understand more of where she was coming from with her arrogant "you didn't really write a book" response during the AGM at the conference. She wrote this letter before the AGM even happened, so she was already annoyed that people didn't like her suggestions for change. Because Jill's the president, dammit, and we should all just shut up and fall in line.

RWA is not a democracy, she states. I'll give her this. If RWA was run as a pure democracy, it would probably shrivel up and die due to lack of participation. This was the first time I'd bothered to go to an AGM and I went because I knew there would be big things happening this year. Lots of issues that affected not only me, but many other authors who were at the conference. I doubt there were a hundred people in that room. Shame on you. If you made time to go to conference, you should have made time for this. You're right, it wouldn't have done any good, but at least I wouldn't be talking to a bunch of people right now going "What? What did I miss?" You missed a lot.

Anyway, RWA is an advocacy group, dontchaknow. The board made several suggestions and asked for input. Then she spent the entire letter moaning about how all she heard were how individuals would be affected by these changes. Should I be confused?

She even posits herself as some kind of JFK wannabe. Ask not what RWA can do for you, ask what you can do for RWA. Well, Jill, at least as an American citizen, I can voice my opinion on anything I damn well please. Looks like I can't do that at RWA, without getting slapped down. Even though I PAY for the privilege of 'citizenship' there.

Jill appears to be trying for cutting wit in her rebuttal of member suggestions. Instead, she comes off as a frothing despot, screeching ineffectually, "Off with their heads!"

Read a little deeper. See the common thread? The one binding theme of the suggestions she picked out seems to be that RWA is NOT advocating for everyone. Sounds like someone didn't do too well in their literature classes if she can't be bothered with even a superficial analysis like that. Some of the comments highlighted in her letter sound like legitimate concerns to me, but all she can whine about is how they don’t fall in line with “what’s best for RWA.”

I don’t know how to make this any clearer. What’s best for RWA is what’s best for authors. No matter what they write, no matter if they publish online or on paper.

She's shutting out hundreds of authors For Our Own Good. Can't you people see that? It's "a trade association for networking, education, and advocacy." Unless you write for a group that RWA has chosen to marginalize, however delicately they phrase it.

Let me take this moment to reiterate how stunned I was at the sheer ignorance of the board on the state of electronic publishing. Ellora's Cave has been around for several years. Samhain and LooseId became RWA "recognized" last year before that designation became obsolete. How effective can an advocacy organization be when they don't have the first clue about how hundreds of their authors do business? I don't want to think they were intentionally blind, but my God. They'd pretty much have to be to display such wanton disregard for commonly available knowledge.

Again, she closes her letter with: "RWA...supports career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy. This is the best we can do for each individual member." Unless you disagree with her.

In closing, don't you DARE mock me, Jill. Or try to spank me for disagreeing with you. You set yourself up as the leader of this organization, so you can take my opinion for the Truth As I See It. You're a public figure now, so suck it up. RWA isn't advocating for me in the slightest, so that high horse you're on? Get off. And stay off.

Yin and Yang

2007-08-06T09:25:00.001-04:00

As I said yesterday, this idea of balance hit me out of the blue. I was thinking about heroines I like. My favorite heroine is the “fish out of water” type. An ordinary person in an extraordinary situation. I love those. But I also have on my bookshelf a number of titles featuring the “kick-ass” heroine. Those ladies rock. They take chances that I would never dream of, as an individual or an author. My brain doesn’t seem wired that way.

Then I started thinking about why I prefer some kick-ass chicks to others. Why some resonate with me and some make me cringe. And I realized that my favorite action stories have balance and it’s not all about the heroines giving up some vital aspect of themselves to be the “girl.”

Let’s take, for example, Eve Dallas. I’m a JD Robb fan, though fairly new to the stories. I’m sure I’ve skipped a few, but I’m pretty well caught up on her exploits.

Eve is not soft. Eve doesn’t know how to be soft. She never has been and she never will be. But JD/Nora was smart enough not to pair her with a man who is her equal in harshness. Roarke provides the balance to Eve. He is not, himself, soft in any way, but he provides the means for Eve to experience the yin to her yang. He understands the balance that’s necessary for her to be a whole person.

Another writer who gets it right is Marjorie Liu. Not all of her heroes are violently kick-ass, but she’s written her share. I love them because they’re often incredibly primal, but in that state, they instinctively understand that all of life is not about power and strength and beating the living shit out of the other guy. They find balance. My first experience with her writing was as part of the Crimson City series, A Taste of Crimson. Her heroine, Keeli Maddox, was a powerful player in the werewolf hierarchy that Liu built and she had several opportunities to kick ass in the story. Yet, for all her power, Keeli had things around her – not necessarily within her – to provide a balance to the harshness of her life.

So even if a heroine is completely focused on being tough, I think the best stories build in a set of circumstances that provide a cushion – some sense that this character can be a whole and balanced person, at ease with all sides of herself.

Thinking

2007-08-05T10:48:00.000-04:00

I'm brewing a post for tomorrow. An opinion piece on balance. I'll get back to you later.

And just in case you were wondering -- I was in the shower when the idea hit. Maybe it's the scalp massage from washing my hair that stimulates these ideas.

Best Werewolf Movies

2007-08-03T11:36:00.000-04:00

What are your favorite Werewolf movies? It's the topic of the day over at Beyond the Veil.

Writing and Colds

2007-08-02T09:18:00.000-04:00

First the writing.

I don't juggle well. If I have edits to do, then I do edits. If I have writing to do, then I write. I should probably learn how to do both at once, but it hasn't been necessary, thus far. Now that my edits for Let's Dance and Heart of the Sea are done, what's left to do?

Write!

I really wasn't planning on starting WWWB in earnest until the kids were in school (2 weeks from today! Not that I'm counting or anything.) but there was nothing else to do. It's still a touch early to start promo on Heart, so I figured, why not write? I tried to get some work done during the day, but it was a no-go. I hauled Bertie to Tae Kwon Do and by the end of the hour, I had 484 words!!!

Yay Me!!

Now, I haven't looked it over this morning and I have no idea if it's suckalicious or not, but I wrote! Feels like the end of a drought.

And oh yeah. My cold is better. Just a little stuffiness left.

Very Gentle Happy Dance

2007-07-31T18:46:00.001-04:00

More of a slight butt-wiggle, in fact. Lots of movement makes my head pound.

It's official. I'm sick. Just a cold, but I tend to get nasty ones -- fever, body aches, sensitive skin, nasty headaches.

Still, I rock for the following reasons:

1. Yesterday, I finished edits for "Let's Dance", the D&D story.
2. Today, I finished edits for HEART OF THE SEA. Yay me!! (gentle butt-wiggle)
3. I mailed off contracts for both stories.
4. I cooked dinner. It would have been a crock-pot thingy, but I forgot to start it early enough. So it was tortellini with tomato sauce (cut up leftover pork chops and added them to the sauce) and sautéed garlic spinach.

Monday Morning

2007-07-30T07:24:00.000-04:00

Freaking early on Monday morning, too. I've been up since 5:30. In fact, I've been getting up that early for a couple of months now. It's weird. And unwanted. But once I'm up, I can't get back to sleep anymore.

Anyway, I'm feeling not so hot since last night, but I'm functioning. It's a good thing because I've started a housecleaning challenge with a friend of mine. It's like a writing challenge, but with cleaning. Clean for 20 min, check in for a few minutes, clean again. We should probably intersperse writing and cleaning.

I've got two deadlines this week. I'm turning in a short for the next edition of DREAMS & DESIRES. Freya's Bower has decided to make it an annual event, which is fantastic. I'll let y'all know more as I do.

And I need to turn in my second round of edits for HEART OF THE SEA, asap. I'm going through it with a red pen and noting my dependence on the word "just." It's a throwaway word -- meaningless 90% of the time, inserted to make something sound more imminent or important, when really it does nothing.

So I don't have time to be ill today. Too much to do.

It Ain't Easy Being Green

2007-07-27T08:46:00.000-04:00

Or is it?

This post has nothing to do with Writing and more to do with Life As I Know It. (psst, I'm finally learning how to use the labeling feature. I know. I'm slow.)

Today is Trash/Recycling day in my neighborhood and as I was hauling out the recycling, it brought to mind a post I read once -- heaven knows where -- that the poster didn't recycle. At all. And seemed really proud of herself, too. She refused to recycle, like it was all part of some evil government plot or something.

I've known people who don't recycle really vigorously, but at least they make some effort. Like, they might not recycle plastic, but they'll toss their soda cans in the recycling bin. I mean, if the city has arranged for pick-up of recyclable items, it doesn't seem too much of a stretch, y'know?

Then there are the recycling apostles, come to save the world from post-consumer waste. Ed Begley, Jr. comes to mind. I watched a show he did earlier this year about his day-to-day life called Living With Ed. Wow. I felt kinda bad for his wife, but it was funny. You have to admire that kind of passion.

I fall somewhere in the middle. I recycle almost everything that my local ordinances allow -- newspapers, aluminumn cans, glass, paperboard, cardboard, some plastics. I rinse out containers and make the kids take them to the recycling bin in the laundry room. In SC, it annoyed me to no end that they didn't pick up glass or paperboard, like cereal containers. Do you know how much cereal this family goes through?!?

I'm not perfect, by any means. Plenty of stuff gets thrown away that I could recycle, but it requires a certain amount of extra effort.

For instance, I just bought school supplies. Things like glue sticks come with the paperboard on the back and the little plastic bubble in the front. Since the city doesn't take the plastic bubbles, I'd have to separate them, toss the plastic and recycle the paperboard. Ummm, yeah. Now that I've written it all out, I might do it, but on a regular basis -- honestly -- it's probably not going to happen.

So let's talk.

Do you recycle?
Would you recycle?
Would you be the mom who takes the paperboard off the glue stick package?
Do you think recycling is a waste of time, effort and tax dollars? Why?

On a slightly different, but still green, tack:
What other options for energy saving do you currently employ, i.e. energy saving lightbulbs, you take public transportation by choice, you drive an energy efficient vehicle?

What options intrigue you?

I love wind farms. We drove past several in Europe and I thought they were very striking looking.

The local community college used Green Roof Blocks to help cool the buildings. Nifty!

E-Books! Some pretty green technology there!

Task List

2007-07-26T08:40:00.000-04:00

What's on your Writing To Do List?

I need to polish up a flash fiction for the next edition of DREAMS & DESIRES.

I need to do the penultimate round of edits for HEART OF THE SEA. Angie asked me one of those "logical" questions and I had a Homer moment. D'oh! Ummm, cuz I'm the writer and I said so? Yeah. I didn't think that would work. Still, it shouldn't be that difficult to fix.

Oh hey, did I mention that I've seen the cover for the LOVE & LORE anthology? It's beautiful. Gorgeous. It just hints at the Celtic roots of the stories and it's very eye-catching. I'll show you as soon as I get the ok from Samhain.

I need to write a review for Lois McMaster Bujold's THE SHARING KNIFE: Vol 2. It was good, but difficult to define. If you read and loved the first one, then I definitely recommend this, but the expectations need to be different.

The Household To Do List is too scary to enumerate.

Names

2007-07-24T09:50:00.000-04:00

How many names do y'all have?

For me, there's my real name and my pen name and the two meet but rarely. I signed up with my RWA group under my real name, which was a mistake. It's easier for me to be Sela in all things writing related.

But I know writers who, aside from their real name, use up to four or five different pseudonyms! How do they keep it all straight? How do they promo for every name? And if everyone knows all the different names anyway, then what's the point?

I can see different names if you're writing children's lit and erotica, but I don't understand a new name for going from romance to romantic suspense. Or even from romance to erotica. Why? Is your target audience so terribly different? Not really.

There are reasons to get a new name, I suppose. If your sales are tanking badly as Stinky Writer, then it might be worthwhile to let SW go and reinvent yourself as Sexy Author. But that doesn't seem to be the case for a lot of writers with multiple names.

I know PBW has used at least five different names over her career. A couple of them, I understand. SciFi is a vastly different audience than Christian Fiction. No problem. But she's got three names for romance writing, including her latest incarnation as Lynn Viehl for her urban fantasy Darkyn series (total fangirl, btw -- love those books). Career reincarnations? Perhaps. She's been around long enough that new names bring new audiences.

So help me out. If you use more than one pen name -- why?

I Wanna Go Fast

2007-07-23T10:52:00.000-04:00

People really should only drive cars commensurate with their driving ability. Seriously. At least then other people would know what they're dealing with.

If you can't find the damn gas pedal with a flashlight and binoculars, you shouldn't get to drive a BMW. You should drive a rusted out Chevy Nova. There are few things in the world more frustrating than toodling along behind a car that you know damn well could blow the doors off most other vehicles on the road and they're driving 45 in a 55. WHAT THE F***????

I love to borrow dh's BMW 5 series. It's an orgasm on wheels. Smooth as sin and just as likely to get you in trouble. There is no way to feel sad or depressed when you drive something that beautiful. And you know the gods are smiling as you turn on the radio and Lenny Kravitz is blasting "American Woman." A match made in heaven.

So if the rest of you slow-pokes would kindly get the HELL out of my way, I'd be obliged.

I just watched "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" and I told my husband I want a bumper sticker that says,
"I Wanna Go Fast."

Eye exams

2007-07-21T09:13:00.000-04:00

Going for my annual eye exam this morning. Is it twisted of me to hope that I need a new prescription? My eyes have been the same prescription for several years -- which means I haven't needed new glasses for a long time. And I WANT new glasses! Now, I love my frames. I think they're cool and fun. But I want something a little different now. I'm bored.

I'll let you know what happens. Because you're all waiting with bated breath, I'm sure. *gg*

ETA: Oh well. No new glasses for me. No need for a change in prescription and I got my eyes dilated. Fun, fun, fun.

Blogging at Beyond the Veil

2007-07-20T11:23:00.000-04:00

Today's post is about Basque mythology. Kinda quirky, but it was interesting to research.

Also, I think I'm finally regaining feeling in the two toes that went completely numb during conference.

Steampunkishness

2007-07-19T19:28:00.000-04:00

Actually, this post isn't about Steampunk, per se, but about the story's progress. Which is to say, pretty darned poor.

I'm working on it, though. The thought of those editors, when my ms crosses their desk and they raise their brows and go "Yeah, I remember talking about this" is very, very motivational. But my process, as we know, sucks. There are things I need to know as the story progresses. Not necessarily beforehand, but as they come up, I need the details.

For instance, I was tapping merrily along last night at Tae Kwon Do and bam! Realized that I needed to describe my hero. But I had no clue what he looked like. I mean, generally, yeah. He's tall and rangy and good looking, but that covers a lot of ground. So I've spent the better part of today looking at pictures of gorgeous men. I even had the Divas brainstorming with me, but nothing really clicked until I happened upon a site I bookmarked months ago.

My new hero. Toby Stephens, aka Jem Fullman.

So he's a Brit. So he's a little on the pretty side. I can pull this off. Trust me.

The RWA Thing

2007-07-18T14:14:00.001-04:00

For the good run-down, I defer in all ways to Angela James, who is a calm and reasonable person and able to cut through the crap to find what's really important in the recent changes. Also, see her comments at Dear Author. Again, she explains the e-publisher side of the equation beautifully.

However -- this is the point that bothered me the most -- people are saying that the Board isn't intentionally showing disrespect to e-published authors and I am forced to disagree. The moment Jill Limber said that I didn't really write a book because I didn't get enough of an advance, that's when I lost all respect for them.

They earned my scorn for that. She didn't try to backpedal, either. She said what she meant and she meant what she said.

I didn't write a book.

I'll continue to belong to RWA because I enjoy both my local chapter and the national conference. I'll continue to try to help them understand e-publishing. I'll even consider entering the RITAs next year.

But I won't let anyone forget what they said. They don't get to have their opinion forgotten, dismissed, and brushed under the rug. They won't recieve any leniency from me. They don't deserve it.

So ready for school to start

2007-07-18T09:11:00.001-04:00

Both of the kids have morning camps this week and they're really enjoying it. I think they miss structure during the summer. We have a little at our house, but it's generally a free-for-all.

But yeah, I'm ready, too. I always get excited about school -- and not just for slacker mom reasons, either. It's a fun time! New clothes, new teachers, new classrooms, new friends. And that new paper smell. And schools always smell the same on the first day. I can't really describe it, but they do. It's very comforting.

We've got about 3 weeks left before the first day and I'm rarin' to go. I've got their school supply lists printed out. I'm even thinking of missing the chaos of the tax free weekend and just taking them to Target one day next week to see what we can find.

DS needs new jeans since he shot up this summer. DD could use a bit of sprucing up, but she's mostly ready.

I'm ready. Grade school, bring it on.

Conference Diary

2007-07-16T14:14:00.000-04:00

Dear Diary,

Wednesday
Don't Cry For Me, Dallas

I packed up and dh dropped me off at the airport where I found two fellow MORWA members at the terminal -- Kim Price and AnnMarie McKenna. We had a fun time getting ready for our flight and although Kim is a BAD flyer, we made it through and got to the hotel in Dallas with no mishaps. I even poached a spot on their shuttle.

Once there, I did all the fun registration stuff and found myself grateful that I found my old Reno conference badge holder -- much nicer than the Avon ribbon thing they had this year. Also, it had my Diva pin on it still. Whew! I set out to find Divas.

Found several at the bar (where else) and settled in with Loribelle for a little chat and a Mojito. Shortly after, the stress caught up with me and I broke out in hives so I took a Benadryl. In retrospect, this may not have been my smartest move. I was sllleeeeeeepy!

Then someone said, "Hey, we're going to a bar!" Naturally, I dragged myself up and said, "OK!" Somehow I missed the "gay" part. Or was it the "tranny" part? Anyway, I was still game.

Oh. My. God. Those poor people didn't know what hit them. The gay guys sang really well. RG sang beautifully -- she's got this amazing, smoky, bluesy voice. People kept hauling me up on stage and I wasn't nearly drunk enough. In fact, I drank amazingly little the entire conference.

I finally found enough courage to pick a song and apparently I picked a doozy. Who knew "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" was a tranny anthem? They were all up on their feet and one even pulled out his wig!

What else? I got hit on by creepy guys, but that's become the norm for me. If there's a creep within a thousand yards, he's going to pick me to hit on. RG's hubby was wonderful and protected me from him. (((Hugs)))

Thursday
There's Not Enough Coffee In the World

Thursday was all about meeting people and hanging out. That was the morning of the Samhain Breakfast and it was so nice to sit and chat with people I'd only ever met online. What was funny is that most of the table was military wives! Sat next to Larissa Ione, who is a real hoot.

Went to the luncheon (rubber chicken), accidentally spilled my coffee into Gemma's vegetarian lunch. Mmmmm coffee and cauliflower! Not! I bailed before the speaker because I have a really hard time sitting through those things.

Then I went to the AGM. It. Was. Horrible. I left half an hour early just fuming. I found Maggie and vented to her. She was able to put a better face on some of the reasoning behind their decisions and, put that way, I'm not so angry. But the sheer indifference and arrogance of the board in general still pisses me off. My bit of conference gossip? The Western Region may soon be represented by e-published authors. Maybe then they'll see that #1, I actually did write a book and #2, erotic romance is easily defined.

In addition, the decision to force editors to choose between editing and writing may have a serious impact on most smaller publishers. Not pretty.

The Diva Dinner was a blast. I won Smart-Assed Diva -- by a landslide! And was informed that some of you added a caveat, "Don't tell her I nominated her." CHICKENS!!!! I'll get you...and your little dogs, too! I won a copy of Deidre Knight's Parallel Heat and I'm looking forward to reading it. Also, I wore some seriously kick-ass shoes.

I'm sorry to say that I didn't accompany the more adventurous Divas to Coyote Ugly that night, but it was my first full night's sleep in a week, so I don't regret it too much.

Friday
Don't Wear Heels To Be The Timekeeper

From 8 to Noon, I was a timekeeper at the editor/agent appointments. Awesome, awesome job. By the end of it, my feet were killing me, but I looked fantastic and came away with 3 informal "send it to me when you're done" requests from Heather Osborne at Tor, Chris Keeslar at Dorchester and John Scognamilio at Kensington. Very cool. Notice how I highlighted the part where I looked fantastic. ;)

Had lunch with Kristen, Grace and hubby, Maggie and Gina (and of course, precious baby Niley, who is the best natured infant I've ever encountered.) It was so nice to kick back with friends for a few minutes.

Afterwards, I really, really, really needed to take my shoes off. They're pretty comfortable for heels, but there's not a high-heel on earth that can withstand four hours of non-stop walking. The balls of my feet were badly bruised. I changed and considered just resting in my room for a while, but decided to go down and get a cup of tea and write. Nope. Didn't happen. Got my tea, but fell in with a group of older ladies from LARA. There was an awkward moment or two when they discovered I was a Diva, but it all worked out.

Then I went to moderate the Sex is a Baby Boomer Business workshop. I was really too young to hear all that. My innocent ears will never be the same. Then off to a workshop on Worldbuilding by Linnea Sinclair and Robin Owens. Great information and I got tips on useful links. I met a few Divas on my way out and we ended up heading to Hoffbrau's for a truly awesome steak.

Dh drove in later that night, too. :)

Saturday
Pain is Beauty and Beauty, Pain

That morning, I attended a workshop on Subplotting for Success by Alesia Holliday. But the real bonus? Getting to talk to Angela Knight afterwards. I was so glad she was there! When I met her I was really polite and calm, but on the inside I was squeeing like a 12 year old girl at a Hannah Montana concert. :D Anyway, I've followed her career and I know she made the leap from novellas to novels, so I wanted to talk to her about it. She had some really good advice and she's just a genuinely sweet person. Also, she looks fantastic!

Then, another luncheon where I ate, then skipped out on the speaker. Schmoozing, yakking, smiling, talking until the Spotlight on Samhain. So much fun. Did an impromptu bit as moderator since the real one never showed. Nodded furiously when Angela talked about the in-depth editing process. :)

After that, I went to the publisher signings for Bantam and St Martins so I could pick up Lisa's book, which I hadn't had an opportunity to do earlier. Also got a few more, including PC Cast's new YA with her daughter. We talked about Robin McKinley and agreed on her crusty awesomeness.

Then Jax took some headshots for Angela James and I. I trust there will be one that isn't too hideous. All of Angela's should turn out beautifully. She's so pretty!!

Then off to get dressed. Did I mention that, like an eejit, I wore heels again that day? Yep. Linen ankle strap stilettos. Gorgeous, yes. But after the last few days, incredibly painful. I took those off only to step into another pair of great shoes to go with my Rita dress. It was a fun evening -- I was early through no fault of my own, trust me -- and got to hang with Dana, Shawn, Crystal and loads of other Divas while we waited. Dh, by the way, was sooooo handsome! We hooted, clapped and cheered for our gals, then dh went back to the room and I went straight to the bar. It was a great wind-down. Mel talked Michael Hague into coming to our table, so that was interesting. I think he had fun, too. ;) One lowly Lemon Drop made my lips go numb, so I was more than ready to fall into bed by midnight.

Sunday
Dallas Goes On Forever

We took our time leaving, but finally got on the road. Dallas has now stretched to towns that I know used to be in the middle of nowhere. Suburban sprawl. Whaddayagonnado? We were home by 8:30 and I jumped right back into Mom mode. The kids are in various camps this week and I had to head out to WalMart at 10:00 pm to pick up shin guards and a new soccer ball since the dog ate the last soccer ball.

But now, as I wait to go out on another errand, I'm glad I've taken the time to write down some of the events of the last few days. I didn't take too many pictures, but I'll see what I can pull off the camera later on.

DIVAS ROCK!!!!

Romance Divas Not Going To Nationals Cyber Conference

2007-07-10T08:45:00.000-04:00

Not going to Nationals? Don't worry...Romance Divas is doing the next best thing!

Romance Divas announces the first annual "Not Going to Nationals Cyber Conference" from July 11-15, righton the forum. Best of all, it's FREE!

Just register for Romance Divas--membership is free, you just need to sign up! www.romancedivas.com if you have trouble with registration email night.diva.maria (at) gmail (dot) com

There will be workshops, Q&As, and giveaways each day. All you have to do is participate!!!!

Schedule:

July 11:
Workshop: Character Development with Sophia Shaw NEW WORKSHOP!
Q&A: TBA (either with an agent from the Larsen-Pomada Agency or a panel on multi-cultural romance) NEW DATE!

July 12:
Workshop: Book Signing 101: Tips to Help Make your Signing a Success by Jackie Kessler
Q&A: Legal Issues for Writers by Amanda Brice

July 13:
Workshop: What to Expect After You Sign the Contract by Marley Gibson
Q&A: Erotic romance with Portia da Costa and Madelynne Ellis NEW DATE!

July 14:
Workshop: Writing Novellas and Short Stories by Sasha White
Q&A: How To Write Both YA and Adult Romance by Berta Platas

July 15:
Workshop: Trim That Fatty Writing! by Rhonda Stapleton
Q&A: TBA (either with an agent from the Larsen-Pomada Agency or a panel on multi-cultural romance)

Plus, Deirdre Savoy will also be doing a workshops for us (topic and date TBA)! So there will be two days with not one, but TWO fabulous workshops, plus a Q&A!!!!!

We also have loads of great giveaways, including books, critiques, coaching, and more!

Two Things

2007-07-08T19:38:00.000-04:00

First, I had a blog post up last Friday at Beyond the Veil on the Gods of Central America. Check it out!

Second, I'm back! From South Carolina, at least. It was a long trip and we really only got to spend about 8 hours with our friends, but it was worth it. Even though I hate road trips. I read a lot.

I finished Moonlight and Vines by Charles de Lint.

I think...it's very Canadian. In such a way that although I can appreciate the beauty of the stories, many of them don't really resonate with me. I think Americans, in our innocent arrogance, don't realize that Canadians are NOT just like us, only colder.

There were stories that I liked. I think that my favorites were, unsurprisingly, the ones with distinct plots. The ones where things happened. Where there was a goal to be reached. Wild Horses and China Doll. Those were also stories that weren't necessarily part of the web he created in the anthology. No connecting characters (ok, there was one in Wild Horses, but on the periphery.)

I suppose that proves something about my writing as well. I'm plot-driven. I don't handle navel-gazing too well. I'm impatient with a lot of stories that people tend to call "beautifully crafted." I can see the craft, I can appreciate the beauty, but I want something to happen.

I also finally read Wicked by Gregory Maguire. It was one huge "meh." Depressing, preachy and superficial. I never could bring myself to care about any of the characters because he kept telling me about them, but he never showed me. The POV was shallow all the way through the book. As for Elphaba, I don't have to like the main character, necessarily, but I need to care. I didn't.

And I read Ill Wind by Rachel Caine, the first in the Weather Warden series. It's a lot like the Dresden Files, except for she's a chick. Overall, I'm not upset that I bought it, but I probably won't be picking up the rest of them.

I wrote maybe a hundred new words on Wild Wild Western Bride, but I really still need to do some more research on my setting. Next week.

Tonight -- the laundry!!!

Too Much To Do, Too Little Time

2007-07-03T10:01:00.001-04:00

I bet little notes like this are popping up all over the romance blogosphere. Just over a week until RWA and there's so much left to do!!

For us, that includes a brief holiday, so I won't be blogging much before I'm off to Dallas. That said, I have to provide a blog for Beyond the Veil this Friday while I'm gone, so I need to write that and submit it ahead of time. Yikes. Gotta find a fun new pantheon. I'm thinking Mayan.

I need to finish cleaning the house, because I really won't have time when I get back. And this morning is dedicated to the water park. Oh well. Nothing like a deadline to motivate me to action!!

In reading, I'm finished with Book 6 of the Dresden Files. I think I'm almost caught up, just one or two more to go.

I'm almost done reading Demon Moon by MelJean Brooks. I didn't realize it was part of a series and I spent the first half of the book trying to piece together what happened before. I hate when I pick up a book in the middle of a series that can't really stand on its own. As a result, I'm not enjoying it as much as I might have, had I begun at the beginning.

I'm taking two books with me on the trip. The first is Ill Wind, the first in Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series. I hope I like it. I spent the last of my gift card money on it, so it better be good.

The second is Wicked by Gregory Maguire. The Wicked Witch of the West book. Dh recommended it and I've had it in my TBR pile for over a year. I'm finally getting around to it.

But as I said, I've got a lot left to do today, so I'd best get to it. Y'all be good while I'm gone! Don't forget to turn off the coffee pot when you leave. Whoever drinks the last cup makes the next pot. You know the rules.

Libraries!

2007-06-30T15:03:00.001-04:00

I love the library. I've not made much use of it in my life, however, because I'm a notorious late-book-returner. I mean, it's bad. But I'm battling my problem in order to decrease my dependency on bookstores. Buying all the books I want to read does get expensive. Not to mention that sometimes it's hard to find stuff at bookstores.

So I went to the library today. The last time I was there, I had asked them to order a Robin McKinley book I hadn't read -- BLACK BEAUTY. Beautifully illustrated, nicely told, although very constrained. Not her usual style at all. I'd done my research, though, and that wasn't all I wanted.

My library actually had a copy of Vol 1 of THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (hereinafter referred to as LoEG because it takes too long to write out the whole thing.). I also requested that they order William Gibson's THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE. I haven't read Gibson before, but it was highly recommended by both SFF reading colleagues and in the archives of the Steampunk Forum at Brass Goggles.

I also checked out the LoEG film and Vol 3 of The Wild Wild West old TV series. I'm trying to get the atmosphere in my head so I can write it without working so hard to see it. I'd really like to see the movie again -- yes, I know how bad it is -- because it's a visual hook for me. Plus, the guy with spider legs thing? That was funny.

After that, I descended into true geekdom. A comic book shop. Those of you who love comic books, I love ya, but it's an odd little niche. The guy who was working today had a lot of Steampunk knowledge and we had a really good conversation about various graphic novels. He also likes reading Westerns and we bemoaned the death of the genre. It's tough to get good Westerns these days. Anyway, I left there with a copy of BATMAN: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT. Batman vs Jack the Ripper.

Now, I happen to own the first two volumes of STEAMPUNK: MANIMATRON but they're really more like cyber-punk with coal power. Too tech-based for what I need.

So now I have all this great research. When am I going to find time to work with it?!?

Beginnings

2007-06-29T13:22:00.000-04:00

How do y'all start writing a new project?

Every time I do this, I learn new things about my process, which, btw, is still utter crap.

But I have discovered that even though I pants, I still need to have some research done. Something to fall back on while I lean into the wind.

It's usually costumes or setting. In this one, it's both. I spent all day yesterday looking at Victorian clothing, getting a feel for it. Since I'm not writing "real" history, I can play around and mix up the styles a bit. Take a bustle skirt here and a hobble skirt there. As long as I'm within a decade or so, I figure I'm good.

Corsets took up a fair bit of my time, too. I'd love to own a good corset, but the good ones are wicked expensive!

Blouses, shoes, jackets. Gloves, handbags and hats.

Now that I've finally got my heroine kitted out, I need to turn to my hero. Despite it being a Western, it's not a cowboy story. More in mining territory, so it's a different feel.

Then there's the fictional town of Rock Creek, Nevada. Mountains? High desert? Is Rock Creek a real river or a dry creek bed? Is it big enough for a train station or just a stop on the stage coach run?

So I'm writing very slowly while I try to work out some of these things. Because once they're set in my head, the whole picture becomes more clear. I can write about the story and the setting will appear more naturally.

What do you need to know before you start a new story?

The New WIP

2007-06-27T15:53:00.000-04:00

I've officially begun a new story. I wrote an opening scene a little over a year ago, then didn't know what to do with it. Since then, I've discovered a niche genre of writing, art and technology called Steampunk. Historical science fiction, usually set in the Victorian/Edwardian era.

You're probably familiar with it, though you may not know it by that name. Anyone remember the old TV show Wild Wild West with Robert Conrad?

Steampunk.

How about the movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?

Steampunk.

The earliest pioneers of Steampunk were just writing science fiction. Jules Verne, H.G. Wells. Essentially, Steampunk is where science fiction meets steam-powered technology.

Because it's so frickin' weird, however, I didn't really know what to do with all this stuff floating around. So I designed a new blog. Over at Ning. It links to a lot of research, information and ideas about Steampunk. And I'll probably do most of my story-related chattering over there. This blog will still remain active for regular yakking about writing and life in general.

So if you want to know more, you can check out my new blog at:
Writing the Western Steampunk Romance

See y'all there!

Eight Things Redux

2007-06-25T08:49:00.000-04:00

I did this one before, but I took it down because it sounded uptight and weird and not really me. Must have been in a bad mood that day. But now Babe has tagged me, so I'll see if I can come up with something better.

1. Taken together, I'm half Native American. Even if some of it is Central American. My dad's mother was Choctaw -- raised on a reservation in Oklahoma. Her name was Ona. My mom's father was Mayan, from Honduras. Extremely well-educated and very successful. Tough old man, too. Wish I'd been able to meet them, but Ona died before I was born and I was just an infant when mi abuelo died.

2. I look a lot like Ona. But pale. And with shorter arms.

3. I just cut my hair last week. It's been past my shoulders for years -- since my daughter was born, really -- and I just got sick of it. I like it. It curls now.

4. I took a semester of Russian in college and did miserably at it. I think I'll stick with Romance languages from here on out.

5. Two of my German teachers came to the US as refugees from Germany after WW2. One had been drafted into the German Army when he was 14, was captured almost immediately and spent the rest of the war in a POW camp in Marseilles. The other was actually Czech, and she walked with her mother and sister across Czechoslovakia, across Germany, to get to an American camp, so they could come here.

6. #5 wasn't really about me. Too bad. So for #6, you learn that I don't follow rules well. I almost always get away with it, too. ;)

7. My kids. My adorable Monkey Children. They're growing up. And they like each other. I find this fascinating, especially since I'm an only child. I have other friends with boy/girl children, about the same ages, and the kids hate each other. Mine squabble, of course, but overall they love to be together. I feel very fortunate.

8. Sela is pronouced See-la. Not sell-a. Try yelling sell-a at me at conference and it's not that I'm ignoring you, it's just that it's not my name. See-la.

And I don't tag people! If you see this meme, haven't done it already, and would like to -- Go For It!

Thinking Out Loud

2007-06-23T15:55:00.000-04:00

Just got back from my RWA Chapter meeting. Today's guest was agent Jessica Faust from the BookEnds Literary Agency. She's the primary contributor to the BookEnds blog, which is a totally worthwhile read.

I'm so glad I got to go and listen. She's probably still listening to pitches as I write this, but I didn't have anything ready, so I didn't want to waste her time. I got to casually chat with her and ask her a couple of questions about the direction the paranormal market is headed. I think what I write -- funny paranormals -- are on the downswing. There's always room for a really well-written book, naturally, but they'll be a harder sell to publishers.

And you know what? I need to put on my big girl panties and write a novel.

I know. Kicking and screaming all the way. But the thing is, the idea I have that'll best translate into a novel is so outrageous and out there, it's bound to catch someone's attention. And that's what this is about. I can write a good story, it's just that it has to catch the right person's attention at the right time.

I'm guessing that if I write full speed ahead (think turtle with a roman candle up his butt) it'll still take me at least seven to nine months to finish the story. That's an awful long time for me to concentrate on any one project.

But I can't think like that if I want to succeed.

So. Now what do I do? Do I even bother finishing Big Bad Wolf? It's a novella. I like it. I can probably sell it once it's done. I'd really like to write Richard St Ivraie's story -- another novella -- because I just should. He deserves it. And I can probably sell that, too.

But how do I prioritize? Novel? Novellas? Writing those novellas would pretty much fill up the rest of 2007. And I don't think I want to wait that long to start the novel.

Yeesh. Any ideas? Any helpful hints? I'll take 'em.

A-Muse Me!

2007-06-22T12:05:00.000-04:00

Blogging today at Beyond the Veil about Muses.

Come tell me about your Muse!

Something Blue

2007-06-22T09:30:00.000-04:00

My Critique Partner, Babe King, has a new release through By Grace Publishing. Go check it out! Babe is clever and witty and quick -- a real joy to read!

SOMETHING BLUE is now on sale !!!
at Lulu

Pastor Nathan awaits his version of Gideon’s fleece before asking his childhood love, Petra, to marry him. But a self-righteous businessman, savior of their village, asks her first! It’ll take an ugly town fountain, homicidal high heels and an irate Irishman to prove God really does work in mysterious ways.

Paperback book $11.74
Download $4.69

And to celebrate Babe is running a contest! Go see her blog to find out what a bilby is!
~Babe writing as Lyndell King (with halo almost attached!)~

Balance

2007-06-20T10:00:00.000-04:00

Good news...
I baked blueberry muffins this morning.

Bad news...
I burned them. And my hand. Ouch.

Good news...
I like the new flavor of coffee creamer I bought (Chocolate Raspberry).

Bad news...
It's not fat free.

Good news...
I found the perfect tights to go with the gorgeous top I bought last week.

Bad news...
Everything would look better if I lost five pounds. See above "not fat free" comment.

Good news...
The outfit complements my kick-ass sparkly high-heeled sandals perfectly!!

Ta-Dah!

2007-06-18T12:29:00.001-04:00

I finished! I finished!

I look like an idiot dancing around my office like a 300-lb linebacker who caught a miracle pass in the endzone, but I don't care!

HEART OF THE SEA is officially out of my hands. Late, but done. Exhausting, but done.

It's done! It's done!

Now I have to leave it to my lovely and patient editor to discover what fresh, new plot holes I may have opened up. Ugh. That'll give me agita.

Rowan Atkinson is a genius

2007-06-14T10:26:00.000-04:00

The Global Dinner Table

2007-06-12T08:46:00.000-04:00

Kristen brought this link, What the World Eats, to my attention over at Romance Divas. So you need to go look at it first so what follows here makes sense.

Good. You’re back. Let’s dish.

One of my first impressions were that Westerners tend to make some wicked unhealthy food choices, particularly Americans and people from Northern Europe. All those snack foods. All that soda. Frozen corn dogs and pizza. Ugh. I feel bad – not just guilty, but physically ill – if I eat pizza twice a month, much less twice a week.

Mexico made some fairly awful food choices, as well, but then they had a large array of fresh fruits and vegetables, too.

The foods displayed in developing nations was typically heavy on rice, grains, and root vegetables. I felt great pity for the family in Chad, who had so little of anything. Was that bottle of water supposed to last a whole week? For six of them? I can hardly bear to think of it.

I’d eat with the family in Cairo in a heartbeat. Did you see all those lovely little white eggplants?

However, as I examine my own family’s eating habits, I wonder what would go on that table. And what better choices I could make. I tell myself we eat well – healthy foods, fresh fruit and veg – yet I know we could do better for ourselves.

The breakfast cereal that we go through in a week would feed that family in Chad for months. Unfortunately, they’d get barely any more nutritional value from it than what they currently display in front of them. It’s a weakness of mine. I hate making breakfast, but what we substitute is void of everything but chemicals. Added vitamins and minerals. Yeah right. I haven’t read the side of a cereal box in years. I wonder now if that’s just so I can pretend I don’t know any better.

And that’s just breakfast. Lunch is usually a sandwich of some kind. PB&J. Or PB&Banana. Or just jam. Yeah. I don’t really do lunch, either.

We do dinner pretty well around here. I’m roasting two small chickens tonight with cumin, garlic, potatoes, onions and carrots. There’s leftover pasta with tomato, basil and sausage for a side dish, and I need to hit the produce section for something else to go with it.

Later this week, we’ll have risotto with hoppin’ john. Yep. Black eyed peas. Not just for New Years anymore. *gg* Probably sauté some spinach to go with it. I like kale, but it’s more of a winter green.

So dinner is taken care of. But there’s so much room for improvement. I wonder what we’ll have for lunch today.

Pique. The word is Pique.

2007-06-10T10:59:00.000-04:00

This is more than a pet peeve. Actually, it's a major annoyance. We're writers, right? Words are our tools. Our stock in trade. So if we're using the wrong words, then, really, what's the point?

Pique. Not peek, not peak, but PIQUE.

The heroine piqued his interest.

She did not peek his interest, which implies that she looked in on his interest through a basement window.

She did not peak his interest, which implies that she brought his interest to its highest point ever. She warranted a second glance. Maybe a third. But he didn't go all Nancy Drew on her. "OMG! She is the most fascinating object I have ever encountered and I only just laid eyes on her halfway across a smoky bar. I'll never be so interested in anything ever again. Everything in my life is now secondary to this moment. Even having sex with her will never reach the complete fulfillment of how she has peaked my interest." Actually, if your hero does think this, you may want to reconsider your definition of heroic to include idiotic.

They might do other things that reach a peak, but, really, this ain't* it.

She piqued his interest. According to Dictionary.com: To excite (interest, curiosity, etc.) or To arouse an emotion or provoke to action.

See? That's what she did. She excited some emotion in him. Her appearance snagged his consciousness so that his curiosity focused on her. Seeing her in that smoky bar provoked him enough to stand up and walk over to her. That's it.

She piqued his interest.

The thing is, it's not like these words are even easy to confuse, except for the pronunciation. They're all completely different words.

Please, I beg of you. Know your words. Use them wisely. Be a wordsmith. It matters.

* For those of you who have been beaten too roughly with the literal stick, yes, I meant to say "ain't."

I'm Everywhere Today!

2007-06-08T11:01:00.001-04:00

First, there's my regular bi-weekly post at Beyond the Veil. Today, I'm finishing up my section on Egyptian mythology with a study of Death in Egypt. Sounds like the title of an Agatha Christie novel.

Second, Mandy Roth interviewed me as part of her Marketing with Mandy blog. She's got interviews from lots of Samhain folk up this week, so read the whole thing to find the scoop on your favorite authors, as well as my editor, Angie James.

Locks of Love

2007-06-06T08:20:00.001-04:00

Today, dd is going to get a hair cut. Not just a trim, mind you, but a hair cut. She's going to donate at least 10 inches of her beautiful blonde hair to Locks of Love, a charity that provides hair-pieces to children who have lost their hair due to a variety of medical reasons.

I'm very proud of her. She got the idea from watching a kid's news program quite a while ago and brought it up again recently. I finally remembered to do some research on it and made the hair appointment yesterday.

It'll be quite a change. She hasn't had short hair since she was 4, and that through her own wiles. She gathered up her hair into a ponytail, whacked it off with scissors, then presented it to me on a lacy doily. I cried. She had beautiful Shirley Temple curls and they never grew back. But now her hair is long and lovely and she's ready to give it away.

You go, girl.

Oy, now I'm all verklempt.

Deep Blue Squiggle

2007-06-05T22:03:00.000-04:00

Stolen directly from Biddy's blog.

The results suggest you are a Deep Blue Squiggle.

Squiggles are creative, witty and impulsive. Squiggles are quite eccentric, do not thrive on routine and are very quickly bored. You are spontaneous and fun, always looking to the future.

Squiggles are extremely extrovert and love new people and new experiences. You are intuitive and popular in social situations and can normally be relied upon to bring a party to life. Your extreme right-brained approach means you always need new challenges which can be both exciting and exhausting for those around you. This also means you are not always very predictable or dependable.

In work, squiggles thrive on change and new situations. However, you have been known to drive colleagues crazy – you are easily distracted and need to learn to focus on tasks and see them through to their conclusion. On the other hand, your inquisitive nature and propensity to ask “Why?” can generate new and exciting big ideas and stimulate debate.

Don’t give up on the big ideas and the dreams, but don’t be surprised if those around you simply can’t keep up with you.

Your colour is deep blue. This is the colour that denotes great strength of character and perhaps makes you rather more practical than most squiggles. Deep blue suggests integrity and maturity, but it is also a colour that may conceal hidden depths, in keeping with your curiosity and love of change. You are charming, but fiendishly enigmatic. Your high energy levels suggest that you will take great pride in keeping yourself active, fit and well.

Celebrity squiggles include Jonathan and Jane Ross, Russell Brand, Chris Moyles, Ozzy Osbourne and Elton John.

You can take the test at Bupaworld. It's UK based, so the bits at the end are different. I picked London.

Playing in the Big Kid Sandbox Now!!

2007-06-04T10:50:00.000-04:00

My publisher, Samhain, has just inked a deal with Kensington to create a new joint venture -- a Samhain imprint under the Kensington umbrella! This is fantastic news, especially regarding distribution. One or two titles a month to begin with and we'll see how it goes from there.

For more details, see Dear Author and read the comments. My editor answers a few questions there.

And speaking of answering questions, Angie will be at Romance Divas June 11-13 for a Q&A, so register if you haven't already and come ask your burning questions!

Owie!

2007-06-03T09:56:00.000-04:00

I thought I broke my little toe yesterday. The dog (54 lb now) and I took a corner at the same time. I said Bad Words. There were tears. Then I put a bag of frozen baby lima beans on it and about twenty minutes later, I was hobbling around. Not broken. Just bruised.

Frozen baby lima beans rule.

Saturday was good. I think I mentioned in the previous post that I had a big time gap in my story that I need to fix. Couldn't think of anything, so I did what I always do. I took a long shower. It worked like a charm! Came up with two definite scenes and a possible third. I'm looking at adding what might amount to another chapter here. Yay!

I'm re-reading some books I finally unpacked. Yesterday I started SHADOW GAME by Christine Feehan. The good thing about re-reading is that since I already know the story, I can take a step back and not get emotionally involved. I can read on a critical level. And I think it's safe to say that if I tried half the stuff she gets away with, I'd still be unpublished.

Oy. Vey. The headhopping.

When I'm *in* the story, it doesn't bother me at all. It works just fine. But taking that step back is grounds for a stylistic headache.

So where's the line? How does an editor decide that the story is so compelling that "The Rules" don't matter?

Edits

2007-06-01T10:29:00.000-04:00

I love getting edits! Which probably makes me extremely weird, but I still love it.

It's all about the feedback. What works, what doesn't. And my characters "yell" too much. I fixed that, by the way. Now they scream, shout and shriek. The thesaurus is my friend.

A chunk of time seems to have gone missing, so I get to add more. This is a Good Thing. I like adding more. Adding more will take this from a short story to a novella and I really like novellas.

I hadn't really started back in on BBW, so I get to keep my head in HotS for a while longer. Things are clicking right along!

The Zoo

2007-05-30T15:40:00.000-04:00

Good night. (When I say that, imagine it the same way people say, "Good grief." or "Good Lord." Anyway...)

I'm beat. Although dd turned 10 over the weekend, we waited until today to do her birthday party. We don't do your ordinary cake and ice cream and games party. We do little adventures. Trips to places that we just don't go that often. Small experiences.

Today it was the St Louis Zoo. Very nice zoo. The elephant habitat is huge! It was cool and overcast, but still warm enough for comfort and it didn't rain until right after we got home. Perfect. Kept the crowds away, too. Just her and ds and couple of her friends. Corn dogs and Dippin' Dots (weird ice cream).

But now I'm bushed. Printed out what I had of BBW, but was too tired to read last night. Now I'm too tired to do anything else. Good thing we have leftovers for dinner.

Dipping my toe back in

2007-05-29T08:56:00.000-04:00

I think I'll take my re-entry into blogging casually.

It's summer holidays here now. I am the parent of a rising 1st grader and a 5th grader. (She just turned 10. Did I mention the gray hairs?) And so it begins. How to keep the kids occupied -- away from the TV -- yet still allow me some writing time.

I made my first sally yesterday with her birthday presents. Egyptology and the Hieroglyphics Treasure Chest. She already has books on pyramids and mummies, as well as some of the more accessible Egyptian myths and one on famous women in Egypt. I do believe I have our summer study program all set out. And it'll take relatively little effort on my part because it's something she's already interested in!

We can't forget the reading programs at the local library, Barnes & Noble, and her school. Read X many books and get prizes! Not to mention, you can read one book and put it on all three lists.

Strangely, we don't have very many outside options. There's the neighborhood pool, certainly, which we'll see a lot of, but the other kids on our street just don't seem to get out during the day.

Tomorrow is her party, so I'm taking her and some of her BFFs out for a little adventure. Loads more fun than just hanging out at home and eating cake, I think. Plus, I don't have to clean obsessively.

In any case, there's lots to do after the long weekend, so I'm off and running. Might write this afternoon, but we'll see. I seem to have lost my dining room table somewhere under all the clutter. I'll take a flare gun with me if I get lost.

Happy Birthday to Me!!

2007-05-27T09:10:00.000-04:00

*gg* Anna reminded me to post!

Do you know, for the next 6 months I'll have to do the math to figure out how old I am. When I finally learn it so I remember, then I'll start fussing over how old I'll be on my next birthday.

Not much in the way of peace for the wicked, is there?

Quick catch up post:

Turned in first revision for HEART OF THE SEA. Decided that's the title I'll keep. I added about 2600 words to it and brought it up to almost 19K. Now just waiting on actual edits. And fussing over the things I meant to add in, but forgot.

Got new business cards for RWA. They're wicked cute. This is an older draft. I made some minor changes before I ordered. But I love the the watercolor style.

Still working on BIG BAD WOLF. I'm 9K in.

Had a booksigning of DREAMS & DESIRES last Saturday at my local chapter meeting. Did I tell y'all I finally joined a local RWA chapter? Been writing for over 5 years now and had never joined a local group. Mostly because they were never really local before. This one is nice. Good sized -- not too big, not too small -- lots of interesting programs.

Anyway, Barnes & Noble ordered the books, but they only ordered the hardback. Which is expensive! For some reason, they didn't order the much more affordable trade paper size. Therefore, I count myself lucky to have sold three copies. At $30 a pop! Still, it's all to a good cause.

I've written a draft of a letter to RWA re: their proposed changes to the RITA. Specifically, their decision to cancel the novella category. Sheesh. It's bad enough they don't recognize me as a writer because I write too short. But I figured that at least they acknowledged novellas as a legitimate form of short romantic fiction.

Wrong again. Apparently, it's so easy to knock out novellas, that any old twit can do it. And if any old twit can do it, they don't want us clogging up their precious awards.

If novelists and novella writers had been aboard the RWA Titanic, the novella writers would have been down in steerage. No life boats for us.

And to top it all off, it's raining, so I'm not sure I'll get to the Rib Festival tonight. The Indy 500 is probably rained out, too.

Ugh. Must shake off the crankiness. It's my birthday, after all!

I think I'll go pull out a few gray hairs.

Hail Ra!

2007-05-25T09:46:00.000-04:00

Another post up at Beyond the Veil. Today I'm talking about The Gods of Egypt. It's a huge subject and I couldn't begin to cover even the basics in one post. I'll do a follow up post next time I blog there.

Recently Read:

ANANSI BOYS by Neil Gaiman. Not as dark as AMERICAN GODS was. More charming, although brief portions were fairly horrific. Still recommended, but I preferred AG.

NIGHT LOST by Lynn Viehl. The latest in her Darkyn series. Great focus on the romance -- if you're not squicked out by bugs -- and I love how she weaves the main plot into the arc of the series as a whole. Seamless. Highly recommended. Certainly paranormal with a gritty feel. Good for fans of urban fantasy who also like romance.

Velkommen til Ansgard!

2007-05-11T14:07:00.000-04:00

Blogging about the Norse pantheon today over at Beyond the Veil.

Lots of links about Norse mythology, lots of book recommendations for research.

I read Neil Gaiman's American Gods this week. Absolutely Amazing! I'm telling you, this is one great storyteller. It's a big honking book, too, but never once did I get bored. This, from the woman who reads and writes short stories for a reason.

It focused hugely on Odin and some of the Norse mythology like him hanging from Yggdrasil for nine days to learn secret spells and runes. The main character, Shadow, was so wonderfully drawn. I can't recommend this book enough, though some of the references were to some fairly obscure mythological beings. Not all Nordic. African, Native American, Slavic, Egyptian, Indian... they all have their place in this book.

I'm now looking forward to picking up the follow-up book, Anansi Boys.

Check in time

2007-05-07T12:31:00.000-04:00

I know this sounds awful, but I'm really enjoying NOT blogging. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Not to mention all the stuff I'm getting done instead of blogging and blog hopping.

Fear not, however. I do still check in with y'all from time to time.

Anyway, thought I'd let y'all know what was up.

I'm revising. Heart of the Sea. Or Seduced by the Sea. Whatever the hell it's called. I'm still going over it for icky parts. It has a lot of icky parts. Then I'm going to start fixing the icky parts, beginning with my messed-up mythology and timeline. Yikes.

So I'm back on deadline and starting to feel the adrenaline rush. This is actually kind of fun. It's almost like reading someone else's work because I've been gone from it for so long. I get to snark on myself!

I'll keep y'all updated.

Samhain Blog Today

2007-05-04T12:56:00.000-04:00

I'm at the Samhain Blog today talking about coffee.

Which I'm sure comes as no surprise. I'm only on my 2nd cup.

Enjoy!

2007-04-27T10:19:00.000-04:00

I'm over at Beyond the Veil today and beginning a series about the pantheon of gods in various cultures. Today, Greek and Roman gods, plus links to more info on them.

Official Blog Holiday

2007-04-21T11:46:00.000-04:00

Folks, I've been lax here for the last month or so and it's just rude of me. I apologize.

However, I don't see that changing much in the next couple of months, either, so I'm declaring an Official Blog Holiday.

I'll still pop in every once in a while. I'll be blogging over at Beyond the Veil every couple of weeks and I'll be at the Samhain Weblog on May 4, so I'll post notices here as well.

And if some particularly pithy bit of commentary hits me, I'm sure I won't be able to resist the temptation to share.

But you might want to check in here on more of a weekly basis than anything more frequent for the next while. If and when I pick up again, I'll do a big blog hopping roundup to let you know.

I'll see y'all later. You take care now, you hear?

Excerpt

2007-04-18T11:42:00.000-04:00

Still not sure what to call this story. This is part of the novella that's going to be in the Samhain Celtic Love & Lore antho this fall. Originally, I called it Heart of the Sea. Unfortunately, Nora Roberts beat me to that one. I know, titles get re-used all the time, but I just can't. Anyway, now I'm leaning towards Seduced by the Sea. Angie's laughing at me because I can't make up my mind.

In any case, this is unedited, so forgive the roughness. Chapter 1, Scene 1

It was cold! Meriel hated being cold and it was always fricking freezing in the North Atlantic. She longed for home down in Tennessee and tried to remember what a summer’s night felt like. It was no use. Even under layers of blubber and fur, she was still human and still cold.

Three years had passed since she fell into the waters of Block Island Sound in Rhode Island. She should have died, but something else happened instead. When she hit the water, she transformed into a Selkie, a seal-person of Celtic legend. She’d learned a lot about Selkies since that night. Learned a lot about magic and surviving in the open sea. Things a woman should never have to learn.

Back then, she’d thought impressing her boss was important. Now? Now, finding fish was important. Staying away from Selkie-eating killer whales was important.

Fending off the damn real seals who wanted to mate with her was important!

“Back off, fur face!” she barked at an importunate male. “I am not your girlfriend du jour.” Jeez. “A) We’re in open water, not the rookery, and B)it’s not even mating season. If I’d known how attractive I am in blubber, I’d have turned Selkie years ago.”

She grumbled to herself as she dove away from him. A lone halibut, separated from its school, swam past her. Lunch time. In a burst of speed, she chomped down on it and swallowed.

If she ever regained her human form, Meriel swore she would never, ever eat sushi again.

Blogging Elsewhere

2007-04-16T10:15:00.000-04:00

Sorry I was out all weekend, y'all. My MIL came to visit, so it was fun. The kids just love her.

Anyway, today is my day to blog over at Beyond the Veil and I'm talking about Setting as Character. It's a short post -- just meant to spark an idea.

Enjoy!

Fascinating

2007-04-13T12:48:00.000-04:00

See, there IS a difference between "When did you start writing" and "When did you become a Writer."

Several folks dabbled for a while, some took long breaks, other were writers the whole time. Some of us are pig farmers!

Thanks so much to everyone who answered!

When did you really become a writer?

2007-04-12T14:30:00.000-04:00

Not “When did you begin writing,” which is a totally different question and frequently brings up the old “I scribbled my first oeuvre on the kitchen wall in blue crayon at the age of 2.”

I’m of a sufficiently literal mind that that answer makes me roll my eyes til they hurt. Nobody wants to be a writer when they’re 2. Or 3. Or 4. They want to be a princess/fireman/teacher/doctor/cowboy/astronaut. Not a romance novelist or a journalist or a horror writer.

What I’m asking instead is when did you sit down and start pounding out words with the practical and realistic expectation of becoming published?

I wrote before I became a writer. I was a reporter for a small-town daily in Idaho. Had a few stories on the front page, even. Features from the alumni magazine I wrote for went all over the state. But I wasn’t a writer. Or at least I didn’t think of myself that way.

I didn’t begin writing until Feb of 2002 on the morning I dripped my way from the shower to the computer, burning to get the scene in my head onto the screen.

Maybe there wasn’t a “moment” for you. Maybe you morphed from writing teen angst in high school to writing for publication without a conscious step.

So how did you get to be a writer?

Finding yourself

2007-04-10T08:33:00.000-04:00

Been thinking. I know, a dangerous occupation. I may have strained something.

A fellow Diva, Jennifer Bianco, just had a revelation that she had been writing something that wasn't really her. She was writing romantic suspense, when it turns out that the thing that blends perfectly with her voice is 1st person mystery. She found herself.

I've been really dreading getting back into Daughter of Flame. Really dreading it. In that, why is this story not working, why am I getting nothing, kind of way. Because that's how I write. The words have to come from somewhere and wherever that place is, nothing is coming down the pike.

Daughter of Flame is a departure for me. It's a character-driven story, for one thing. It's got plenty of plot, but it's more heavily character focused than what I usually write, I think.

Also, it's a departure in tone. This is not a funny story. Really. Not even close. Oh sure, there are a few zingers in there, but this is no comedy.

I don't think I can write this right now. It's like River Bear. I already know that story is going to be difficult to write. It's lyrical, stylized, emotional and dramatic. Not my usual voice.

Doesn't mean I don't want to write it, but those two stories, Daughter of Flame and River Bear, are probably going to be stories that take years of on-again, off-again effort. Times when the right words come and when they don't, then I can do something else.

When I finally finish them, these two stories are going to be amazing. I can tell. These will be stories that move people, stories that linger. But not if I push them. These stories are deep magic and you can't force that.

Other stories are magic, too. Quick, bright magic -- the kind that makes life fun. I'm in the mood for bright magic right now and I've got just the story for it.

Recipes!!

2007-04-07T10:53:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I posted recipes and last night I tried two new ones. Delicious!

These both came out of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine. You know, the little short one. And they're from the April issue, so if you don't subscribe, you can still pick it up on the magazine rack.

* * *

LEMONY ORZO

1 lemon
salt and pepper
1 cup orzo (little rice shaped pasta -- you can find it either near the pasta or the rice, depends on your grocery store)
1 Tbs olive oil
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Peel half the lemon. I have a nifty gadget that peels it off in long, thin strips. (I love Pampered Chef) If you don't have one, use your vegetable peeler, peel off only the top layer. Don't get the white stuff because it's bitter. Then slice the peel into skinny little strips. If all else fails, or this sounds like a colossal PITA, just grate the peel off.

Squeeze the lemon for 2 Tbs of juice. Try this tip. For unpeeled lemons, poke a few holes in the skin first. Nuke for 7-10 seconds, roll it on your counter or cutting board, squashing down fairly hard. Then cut and juice. You actually get more juice out of your lemon this way.

Bring a big pot of salted water to the boil. Add orzo and lemon peel. Cook until orzo is al dente -- about 8-10 minutes, but follow the directions on the package. Drain and return to pot.

Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and scallions.

Voila! Takes about 15 minutes start to finish.

* * *

GREEK CHICKEN CUTLETS

You can grill this chicken on your bbq, use a grill pan on your stove, use a regular pan, or if you have a George Foreman type thing, you can use that, too.

1 pt cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (Or you can use regular tomatoes. Just cut them into small wedges and seed them.)
1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives (Most Kalamatas come whole, so just mash them with a knife and pull out the pits. And go for the Kalamatas here. Don't cheap out with regular black or green olives.)
4 oz crumbled Feta cheese
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 1/2 lb chicken cutlets or boneless, skinless breasts. If you're using breasts (less expensive!), put them between two pieces of plastic wrap and flatten them with a meat pounder first. They'll cook much more quickly and evenly.

In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, olives, feta, mint and 1 Tbs olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Heat your grill pan (or whatever) to high, brush lightly with oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook, working in batches, until chicken is cooked through. About 2 minutes per side. No kidding. Pay attention. Keep chicken warm on a heated plate and cover with aluminum foil. Or just turn your oven on to the lowest heat and stash them there until you're done.

Top chicken with tomato mixture and serve.

With such minimal prep, this only takes about 20 min from fridge to table.

* * *

Oh, both of these recipes serve 4 and that's about right. If you've got a bigger family, big eaters, or you just want leftovers, adjust the ingredients as needed.

I just love blogging

2007-04-06T14:08:00.000-04:00

I really do.

I mean, where else in the world are you going to get so many people to just pop up and say, "I'll help you!"

Or just as wonderful, "Here. Have a hug."

Because sometimes you're the football at the bottom of the pile, y'know?

I made bookmarks today. It was kind of fun. Some good card stock and a paper trimmer and I'll be good to go. On my way to an office supply store this afternoon. In my ongoing attempt to tidy up my office, I need more organizational tools.

And I'm chatting in a casual way over at the CoffeeTime Romance yahoo group. Just mingling. Meeting new folks, seeing new faces. A couple of the excerpts that have been posted today have been absolutely hilarious. I'm definitely buying "Vampire Vintage" by Ashlyn Chase.

Sometimes it's easy to forget in the rush to claw your way to the top that mostly, it's just about people. I was thinking about Linnea Sinclair today. I met her in the bar (where else?) last year at RWA and I'd never heard of her before. Now I own her entire backlist and I love them all. I probably never would have picked them up if we hadn't just talked for a while. Well, and the fact that she writes like a dream. That, too. Cuz all the chatting in the world won't help if you can't write.

I can make bookmarks until my printer explodes, but it's really about the personal connection. And the writing.

BTW, Danielle may or may not post the review on her blog, but she enjoyed the story though she found it a little lacking in depth. I'm ok with that. She's honest and I appreciate that.

Sure enough. It's Wednesday.

2007-04-04T09:52:00.000-04:00

I've never liked reading blog posts where the writer says, "But I have nothing to blog about!"

I have nothing to blog about. Seriously. I'm in a mood and it's not a good one.

Not that there's anything wrong, specifically, it's more a collection of picky nagging things that seem to be ganging up on me all at once.

One of my books isn't selling as well as I'd hoped and I can't get any buzz going on it at all. I've done chats. It's usually nothing but the other authors you're with and the same 3 or 4 people hoping to score a free book.

Reviewers seem to be avoiding it like the plague, so I can't even get any discussion going on it.

Oh wait. I take that back. Of the 4 people who have reviewed it, 3 have given it mediocre reviews. Two of them went so far as to pat me on the head and say, in essence, "Bless her heart, she can't help being a moron." That made even the nice things they said about it turn to acid.

Then I screwed up my wrist. This is going to put a serious crimp in my workouts since now I'll have to stick to cardio and leg strengthening, but can't do anything about upper-body work since it all involves pulling and lifting and I can't afford to damage my wrist any more than it already is. Not to mention that I probably shouldn't even be writing this blog post right now.

Speaking of writing, I haven't.

On a bright note, my e-mail has been seriously screwed up for the last couple of days and I've had to deal with the most annoying pop-up. But I just got it fixed! It took some effort, but I even got to talk to a real human being, too!

So there you go. I told you I didn't have anything to blog about.

Monday Meander: General Thoughts

2007-04-02T15:20:00.000-04:00

First, Angela James, an editor for Samhain, is blogging about the Perfect Pitch today at the Samhain weblog. Editors blog there on Mondays, so it's one to watch.

Second, Ciar Cullen has a post today at Beyond the Veil about writing paranormals as a skeptic.

Third, this woman in my head won't shut up. She popped up on Saturday as I was trying on some shoes I bought for RWA. Gotta start the breaking in process now, you know.

She's a biochemist who specializes in scent. So I need a hero for her. There are sooooo many ideas floating through my head for him, I can't quite narrow it down. But I will. Because any woman this unique really needs to have her story told.

Fourth, I want to finish Daughter of Flame by May 1. 20,000 words or until the story is done.

Article in SPINETINGLER!

2007-03-31T09:13:00.000-04:00

Yes, indeed. Romance, not just for romance readers anymore.

Some time ago, I wrote an article about "Perceptions of Romance" for a friend of mine, Sandra Ruttan. Sandra, in addition to being the author of a newly published crime fiction novel -- SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES -- is also a kick-ass blogger and and editor for SPINETINGLER.

SPINETINGLER's March edition went live last night and my article is in it!

Also, I don't sound like an idiot!

I fiddled and fiddled with that article and finally sent it off to Sandra, praying I didn't sound like a complete bubble-headed moron, and I don't!

However, enough about me (ok, not really, but I *am* capable of focusing elsewhere for short periods of time). SPINETINGLER is amazing! There's a lot of really great short fiction -- the kind that curls your hair and gives you the most delicious heebie-jeebies -- as well as interviews with some great crime fiction authors and reviews of their books.

A highly recommended read. I plan to take my time and enjoy this magazine from e-cover to e-cover.

New Group Blog

2007-03-30T09:09:00.000-04:00

Here's news! A group of paranormal writers, including yours truly, have gotten together for a new blog. We're calling it BEYOND THE VEIL. There are 10 of us now with more to come and we'll blog every day Mon-Fri with the weekends open to guest bloggers.

We've only been open since Wednesday and today is my first post. Please go visit so I don't feel lonely!

Oh yeah, I'm blogging about the Not Quite Dark side of paranormal romance.

Things I Would Like to Blog About

2007-03-28T11:25:00.000-04:00

But Shouldn't.

Because I'm supposed to be a professional here and you can't go around slamming people who are in your field. Or really even snarking on them, even though it's unbelievably tempting. Especially when they're selling 18 gajillion copies and you're...not. Because that just looks bad.

But I can't seem to help myself, so here goes.

1. Series that jumped the shark* five books ago.

I mean, really. Publishers must be riding all up these author's rear ends to make them keep writing these stories. Maybe it's me, but after about five books, I'm pretty much ready to move on. If you're going to introduce me to a family with 16 children and they each get their own book...well, I'm probably not going to get on that train. Because, you see, it's never just the children, is it? No. It's their cousins. And best friends. And their best friend's cousins. And their biggest enemies. And their biggest enemies best friends' cousins. They ALL have to get their own freakin' book.

Seriously. Stop while you're ahead.

Kudos to Angela Knight, by the way, for finishing off a connecting thread in her last book, Master of Swords. I'm so glad she brought that to a graceful conclusion and that the new Mageverse books will have something fresh going on.

2. Series or authors that you can't stop reading, even though they jumped the shark five books ago.

It's a sickness, I tell you. I was talking to Jax this morning about books that we know are bad. If you ask us, we'll tell you they're bad. But we keep reading them. Why?!? Why do I do this to myself? The poorly drawn characters, the recycled plots, the repetetive love scenes. But, as I said, it's like eating stale Easter Peeps. They're disgusting. But you just keep nibbling on 'em.

*Thanks to Kristen for reminding me of this phrase, which means, according to the Urban Dictionary: a term to describe a moment when something that was once great has reached a point where it will now decline in quality and popularity.

RITA and Golden Heart Finalists!!

2007-03-26T10:53:00.000-04:00

These are the folks to whom I wish to give a very special shout out!

Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements RITA
AND Best First Book RITA
Gemma Halliday, Spying in High Heels from RD and my CP

Best Romantic Novella RITA
Sylvia Day, "Her Mad Grace" in BAD BOYS AHOY! who I've known forever somehow even though I don't keep up like I should.

Best Short Contemporary Romance GH
Gail Fuller, The Runaway Heiress from eHq

Best Long Contemporary Romance GH
Anna Sugden, Mortgaged Heart from eHq and Brit Pack member

Best Romantic Suspense GH
Bronwyn Clarke, Falling into Darkness from eHq. She's also doing a research project on online romance communities. Go to her website and check out the survey she's doing for her PhD.

Best Inspirational Romance GH
Gina Welborn, One Day from RD and my CP

Best Paranormal Romance GH
Kristen Painter, All Fired Up from RD and my CP

RWA has now posted the lists of all the RITA Finalists and the Golden Heart Finalists.

Guest Blogging

2007-03-23T05:39:00.000-04:00

I'm blogging over at Romantic Inks today.

The topic is Planning. Or not. And it's got nothing to do with plotting vs pantsing. Well, it might be a metaphor, but you can take it as you like it.

RIO Results!

2007-03-21T11:39:00.000-04:00

Holy cats!!!

For some reason, I didn't think the RIO results would be posted until the end of the month, but they came out today!

Come see who the reviewers thought were the best of the year at the RIO blog.

How did I do? Funny you should ask.

I tied for 3rd in the Debut Novel category!!!

And in a sweet little twist of fate, I also got a 4.5 gravestone (that's way too cute) review from Michelle Puffer at the Gotta Write Network.

She said:
Not Quite Dead is an often amusing, well-written, romp of a read. It carried me from beginning to end with lighthearted touches, genuine feel-good romance and even some centuries-old evil. If you are looking for a fun, quick read that's a bit quirky and sentimental too, I'd suggest Not Quite Dead.

Hot damn. I tell you what, if I didn't have to go out and rake leaves in my muddy backyard, I'd say that today was definitely my day.

Branding

2007-03-20T09:46:00.000-04:00

I finally joined a real live RWA chapter this weekend. Went to the chapter meeting, where we talked about how to make media interviews work for you. Essentially, keep your eye on the prize. You control the message.

Branding was mentioned. Not the moo cow kind, either.

Intellectually, I understand the importance of creating a brand. Something that, as soon as readers see your name, they know what kind of story they're going to get. The biggest names don't even have a brand stated in so many words. If you pick up Jenny Cruisie or Nora Roberts or Sherrilyn Kenyon, you know what you're going to get. They don't need a marketing slogan anymore.

But the rest of us? Need a brand. Something to set us apart from the pack.

So what's my brand? The Divas have been helping me out. The same words or ideas are mentioned over and over when people describe my writing.

It appears that my overstated caffeine addiction sticks in people's minds, which I find amusing.

Also, I seem to write in paradoxes. Intense story/funny voice. My titles are often a little paradoxical, too. Not Quite Dead. The Virgin Courtesan. I like those twists.

People call me quirky. Sassy (For some reason, I've never liked that word. It's like "feisty." I hate feisty.) Southern (natch). Smart. Witty. Snarky.

The key is finding a phrase that encompasses those themes. I just haven't been able to put them together in a clever way yet. Doesn't say much for my wit, does it?

I made it!!!

2007-03-18T22:06:00.000-04:00

YAY! I'm in the Celtic Anthology!!!

Of the three stories submitted -- we all made it in! (Yes, feel free to read that with your eyebrow quirked.)

However, Angie is not known for blowing smoke, so when she said they were all fabulous books and she loved them, I believe her!

Together, we come in just under 50K words, so we've been given the opportunity to expand our stories. For once, this is good news! I like HEART OF THE SEA, but there are things I'd like to fix and fiddle with. Yay! I'm so glad I get that opportunity. The deadline for the expanded stories is May 15.

Hmm. I wrote the whole thing in 10 days. And she's giving me two more months to play with it. Think I'll make it?

In any case, I'll be together with Carolan Ivey and Gia Dawn.

Yay US!!!

I forgot

2007-03-17T15:23:00.000-04:00

I forgot what it feels like to wait for a submission.

I mean, I've done this before. Obviously. But I can usually put it out of my mind and move on. After all, there's nothing I can do to make time move faster, right?

But I am spitting nails over this submission to Samhain. Part of it is because there's a firm-ish deadline on when she'll announce the Chosen Ones. Usually, you don't know. This time, I do.

So I'm watching the clock. Tomorrow, she said. What the hell? There are a whole 24 hours in tomorrow! Which one?

We Made It!!

2007-03-16T08:48:00.000-04:00

The High Holy Grail of romance publishing has been reached!

Samhain Publishing has achieved RWA recognition! They've been open for just over a year and have completed the Twelve Labors of RWA -- or whatever mark they were supposed to achieve -- to become one of the pantheon.

Congratulations to Samhain Publishing, Crissy Brashear and all her wonderful staff!!!

Back to Earth -- a Mini Rant

2007-03-15T09:12:00.000-04:00

While I could still fit my head through the door, I figured I'd better do the grocery shopping yesterday. It seems that my children have no concept of my proper place in the world. That is to say, High, Mighty, Exalted and Really Shouldn't Have to Shop for Groceries.

(To say nothing of the boo-boo on my finger. A window sash fell on my knuckle and mashed it the other day, so I have to wear a bandaid. Trouble is, it's my middle finger. I was very concerned all the way through the grocery story that people would think I was flipping them off. Should have worn the Spiderman band-aid instead of the flesh-toned one so they'd have some warning.)

Anyway, I needed sugar. I haven't had to buy sugar since the Great November Stock-Up for the holiday baking season. So it came as a huge surprise to me that the sugar companies -- one and all -- have begun to stiff people on sugar. 4 lb bags.

My canister holds a 5 lb bag of sugar. Since I got married and started actually grocery shopping, I've bought 5 lb bags of sugar. In November, I bought 5 lb bags of sugar.

Yesterday, I was forced to buy a 4lb bag. It was either that or the 10 lb bag and I don't have the room to store one of those. So I had to buy this pansy-ass 4 lb bag of sugar.

What really burns my britches is that I'll bet it cost me just as much as I used to pay for 5. Oooooooh, I was so mad!!! Then I realized that it's been happening for years. Remember when you used to buy a pound of bacon? It's 12 oz now. Lots of things that used to be packaged in pounds are 12 oz. And now the sugar. Flour won't be far behind.

Dh even half-jokingly said that soon they may start packaging eggs by the deca instead of the dozen. I shudder to think he may be right.

*sigh* It also torqued me off that I had no other choice. It wasn't one brand of sugar, it was all of them. It's a conspiracy, I tell you! A conspiracy!

They Like Me!

2007-03-13T14:54:00.000-04:00

They really like me!

Late last night I got word that NOT QUITE DEAD had been shortlisted for the Reviewers International Organization (RIO) Award of Excellence in the Debut Book category!

WOOOHOOOOO!!!!!

I'm in some pretty exalted company and I feel like a country rube starin' at all them city folk in thar purty clothes.

In fact, for a complete list of the Glamourous Ones, see the RIO blog.

I got this nifty banner from them, but Blogger's being a pain and won't let me post it. But who cares?

WOOOHOOOOO!!!!!

Monday Meandering: Starting Over

2007-03-12T09:49:00.000-04:00

First, for Anna. Blogger won't let me load any of my Clive images! So sad! But very glad you finally get him. *gg*

Second, I'm hitting it hard again. Hitting the keyboard, that is.

Since December, I've written two short stories in a mad rush. Didn't I tell you people not to let me do that again after I finished the first one? Hmph. Some friends.

Anyway, that's done. It's time to get back to work on Daughter of Privilege and FINISH THE DAMN BOOK. The word counter in my sidebar is probably wrong since the last time I worked on it, I slashed and burned my way through a couple of chapters. I vaguely remember deleting the first chapter entirely. I also remember deleting a lot of sex. At one point, I considered re-titling it to Horny Lust Bunnies on Fire. Probably ill-advised.

In any case, today's the day I go back to it. Today is actually mostly for reading. And probably some weeping. A little gnashing of teeth, a little sackcloth and ashes.

Hopefully, a glimmer of hope.

We'll see.

Blog Linkage

2007-03-07T10:36:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm just linking randomly from my sidebar. News of the weird, in a way.

Anna has a new wardrobe, but she's headed out to the back of beyond. All the while, waiting for her very first book to come out at Medallion. Squeeee!!!

Julie is talking about writing sex in the first person. I never even thought about the problems that might engender. Hmmm. Worth a look.

Michelleis, as usual, brilliant. This post is about using sun sign astrology, not as a form of mysticism, but for character development. She also uses enneagrams and she's very detailed and methodical. She's my character development hero. *gg*

I'm sure she might not think so, but Nell has a really interesting life. Something different (not always nice, but different) happens to her almost every day.

Vanessa is in the midst of moving into her brand new house, but in the meantime, she's got a cute little poem up on her blog.

Sasha also has an interesting life. Footloose and fancy free, though one gets the impression that sometimes she wouldn't mind being tied down. ;)

Sandra Ruttan, who is my source for all things crime fiction, is talking about the non-anonymity of blogging. She also has a new post up at In For Questioning about a new place for crime fic writers called Crimespace.

Bernita is one of the best bloggers I know. Yesterday's blog about genre classification is typical of her brilliance.

I've discovered that Ivan has a theme for his blog. What goes up, must come down.

Never know what you'll find over at Babe's blog. This time it's apple peelers. A very useful tool.

More catching up next time!

Did It Again

2007-03-03T12:31:00.000-05:00

Pulled another story out of my, er, ear.

At about 2:30 this morning, I sent HEART OF THE SEA out to Samhain for their Celtic Anthology. Should hear something within two weeks.

I'm getting too old for this crap. Thursday night I was up until 3:30 writing until I hit The End. Then I sent it out to my crit group still minus a love scene.

Last night I pulled together the crits and suggestions I recieved, wrote sex with my fingers fumbling all over the keyboard in exhaustion. I think it took twice as long to write just because of all the typos I was making.

Did all the formatting prettiness to it, got it all bundled up to send away and went d'oh! Forgot the one-page synopsis! Have no idea how coherent that is. Then realized I needed a 200 word blurb. I hate writing blurbs WAY more than I hate writing synopses.

But it's done. Out of my hands, even though I still keep thinking of things I could have done better.

One of my cp's says she likes this better than my historical. While I had fun writing The Virgin Courtesan, I can see her point. I think my voice is better suited to contemp. Doesn't mean I won't still branch out for kicks and giggles, but I think it's something to keep in mind.

Back from the Brink

2007-02-26T18:29:00.000-05:00

I'm healthy again! Or at least at roughly an 85% solution, which is good enough for government work.

It seems like the first thing I let slip when I'm ill is the blogging. For which I deeply apologize. (Like y'all are waiting with bated breath for each pearl of wisdom and wit that drips from my fingers. *gg*)

But through the worst of my bronchitis, when I couldn't sleep, I wrote. Yes, indeed. In true Sela fashion -- also known as "Let me throw myself into a seething cauldron of hell and see what happens" -- I started a new project. With a deadline that is now less than a week away.

Seems Samhain is looking for entries into a Celtic themed anthology. When I first heard about it, I didn't think about it too much. After all, I had a project or two I was already juggling and I didn't think I really had anything in my idea file that fit.

But again, as usually happens when I'm ill, I get sick of whatever I'm working on and start casting around for projects to take my mind off my misery. That's how I dug up the Selkie story. It doesn't have a title and a week ago, it only had about 350 words. Now it has over 8K and I've got 4-7K more to work with. It's coming together. Quickly. I realized this afternoon that I'd have to rework a small segment, but it's still working out.

So what diseased portion of my mind thinks it can only work when there's an axe on a pendulum slicing ever closer to my throat?

I need to finish the rough draft by...well, tomorrow night...so I can turn it into my crit group, rework the roughest bits and submit.

Never fear, the copy will sparkle grammatically. It's the story I worry about.

It's always the story I worry about.

Still sick

2007-02-20T12:55:00.000-05:00

Although I actually got some sleep last night after a particularly vicious coughing spasm which had me in tears. I hate bronchitis.

To take my mind off my misery, I've dived headfirst into another paranormal romantic comedy with a vaguely Celtic theme. In a twist of serendipity, this also takes my mind off the steaming pile of crap aka Daughter of Privilege. *sigh* DoP is so serious. Part of the trouble is that I received a bit of a knock back on The Virgin Courtesan and I needed something new and funny to recover.

Will keep you updated.

Also, many thanks for the notes on my previous entry. Glad to hear that Ghost Rider is good. I was hoping for the best because I really want to see it. And I LOLd at Robin's comment about making a cough sound stylish! Of course, actually LOLing made me cough more. Until I'm better, I'd better stick to *gg*ing.

Mommy!

2007-02-17T13:25:00.000-05:00

I'm sick. Usual yearly bout of après-cold bronchitis. I was supposed to go to my local RWA chapter meeting today, but I didn't sleep hardly at all last night and I just wasn't up to it. We're most of us sickly here today, so we're lounging. I'm about ready to go back to bed and watch National Treasure for the thousandth time. It's a good thing looking at Nicolas Cage never gets old.

All the News That's Fit to Print!

2007-02-15T10:47:00.000-05:00

I'm in the newspaper!

A couple of weeks ago, I was interviewed by The Current, a bi-monthly paper that features local news for different neighborhoods around STL. It came out yesterday!

The article is primarily focused on the release of DREAMS & DESIRES, the charity anthology for which I wrote a short story. I really want to see this anthology succeed, so any publicity is good. The paper goes into every mailbox in the area, and it's the sort of thing that people always leaf through, so I'm hoping for a lot of response.

Anyway, that's me in the picture. It's not a bad photo. That's just how I look, I'm sorry to say. My glamour queen days are far behind me now. *gg*

In other news, I finally finished writing an article on Perceptions of Romance for Spinetingler Magazine. I couldn't believe how difficult it was to write and catch the tone I wanted, neither preachy nor defensive. Hmm. We'll see how it really turned out.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2007-02-14T08:30:00.000-05:00

In honor of the moment when you recognize The One, Romance By the Cup is a Free Read now posted on my website!

Romance Divas asked its members to write something for their very own E-Book Challenge and received dozens of responses -- something for every whim. Historical, contemp, paranormal and inspirational. From sweet to XXX, possibly even some m/m if I know a couple of our Divas.

Romance By the Cup is a short, sweet contemporary first meet story. No X's here!

Miranda Howard is an artist who recently got screwed over by her agent, so she had to quit coming to her favorite coffee shop to economize.

After returning to her favorite java spot, she strikes up a conversation with another regular. One problem, she thinks he's a bit too stuffy for his own good.

First impressions aren't always foolproof, sometimes you just need to order Romance by the Cup.

You can find more Free Reads by other Romance Divas, too! Just click here for the complete list.

Monday Meander: Happy Anniversary To Me

2007-02-12T08:57:00.000-05:00

Five years. Give or take a few days.

It's been five years since I sat down at the computer, still damp from a shower and wrote out a scene that had just popped into my head. It was a futuristic mail-order bride story.*

Frustrated with how badly it translated from my head to the page, I realized that all my previous experience in writing articles and papers for school didn't count for anything when writing fiction. So I googled "How to write a romance novel." I wasn't looking for a formula, but that's what I wanted to write.

I found e-Harlequin and never looked back. I still count the Struggling Writers and the Brit Pack among my best buddies and I've been extremely fortunate to meet several of them over the years. And I will forever maintain that I honestly didn't mean to flash the BM!

Since then, I've found other groups, such as the incomparable Romance Divas, but I hope I never forget the group of folks who taught me so much those first couple of years.

*Strangely enough, the Steampunk that's simmering at the back of my head right now is also a mail-order bride story. Plus ça change, plus ça reste même.

Back to the Drawing Board

2007-02-09T09:45:00.000-05:00

I passed on the partial in a week thing. It just wasn't going to happen. It's ok. I still ended up with a beginning which I may or may not keep, plus several pages of notes and character development.

So first, Daughter of Privilege. I'd love to be done with this by the end of April.

Next, Definitely Dead. Tentative deadline for this is end of July, right after RWA.

Third, this Western Steampunk thing. It doesn't have a good title yet and I need to do a lot of research first. Not to mention that I think it'll be the sort of thing where I throw away a lot of false starts again before I get to the right story. End of the year, maybe?

Who knows. There's never a shortage of ideas. It's the capacity to write it all that I worry about.

Obsession

2007-02-08T12:43:00.001-05:00

Briefly mentioned it in the comments of my previous post, but I recorded the BBCs newest version of Jane Eyre starring Toby Stephens. I first encountered him in Pierce Brosnan's last Bond film, Die Another Day, as the uber-cute uber-villain, Gustav Graves. He looked familiar, but that's because he looks so much like his mother, Dame Maggie Smith. He's done lots of period drama, but this was the first one I'd seen.

Oh. My. God.

It was a brilliant show. Very close to the original in some respects, not so much in others. I'm ok with that. He was wonderful. Or is it just that he's sooooo good looking? Either way, I'm hooked.

As far as Definitely Dead, goes, however, this is unhelpful.

I went to the gym this morning and read a few chapters of The Marshall Plan For Getting Your Novel Published. Good advice, especially for writing query letters and synopses. All necessary tools.

But nothing on the wip. I will now go wrack my brain for more words.

Nuts

2007-02-07T12:06:00.000-05:00

It's not going quite as well as I'd hoped. As I recall, I threw away everything I wrote the first week of THE VIRGIN COURTESAN.

So far, I have the first two pages, ending with a statement that apparently means something, but I don't know what. And I have a little bit of goal/motivation stuff written on the side. More stuff that means something, but I don't know what.

Good grief. How does this happen? How do you start with a bunch of notes that raise more questions than answers and end up with a story that doesn't sound like it was written by monkeys on crack?

Definitely Dead

2007-02-05T15:05:00.000-05:00

I've got a week to write a partial and synopsis for the follow up to NOT QUITE DEAD featuring one of the secondary characters. So I've been brainstorming today and have come up with a few things.

Meet Richard St Ivraie:

And Genny Rose (christened Eugenie Róisín) Landry:

Now all I have to do is write the damn book.

Mrs. Giggles Strikes Again!

2007-02-04T09:24:00.000-05:00

In a very speedy turnaround, Mrs. Giggles already reviewed THE VIRGIN COURTESAN!

Ok, so it didn't blow her skirt up as much as NOT QUITE DEAD. I'm still very pleased!

She calls the story readable and enjoyable and, I like that Domenico and Nerina manage to interact and bond in a credible manner so the romance can be quite convicing as a result.

But this is my favorite part:
The premise requires a heroine who is intelligent yet in dire straits to work, but Nerina comes off only as an intelligent and smart heroine.

I mean, it's hard to find a downside there! Overall, she found that Nerina was a bit too modern for the historical setting. It was one of my fears, but I so enjoyed writing her that I may have sacrificed historical accuracy for a fun story.

It sounds like I succeeded!

DREAMS & DESIRES gets a 90 from Mrs. Giggles!!!

2007-02-02T10:05:00.000-05:00

Dreams & Desires is one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a while. Just when I'm convinced that it's some kind of cosmic rule for anthologies in general to be disappointing in one way or the other, I find myself laughing quietly to nearly every story, sighing softly at many of them...

Dreams & Desires is a charity anthology and net proceeds will go to women's shelters. That's not a bad way to spend $7.99, really, but how lucky for me that I end up feeling that I am getting much more than I gave when it comes to this anthology. Nearly all the stories work very well in entertaining me and many make me chuckle, giggle, or even sigh.

Read the whole review at Mrs. Giggles.

Check this out!

"Sela Carsen proves that she is no fluke by giving me an enjoyable short story, 'The Christmas Prize.'"

I'm not a fluke!!

And on that note, I sent her THE VIRGIN COURTESAN today. Eeek!

2007-02-01T13:12:00.000-05:00

It's Time for Our Virtual Launch Party!

It's finally time! Tonight is the Launch Party for the Freya's Bower charity anthology, Dreams & Desires: A Collection of Romance and Erotic Tales by Jenna Bayley-Burke, Faith Bicknell-Brown, Amanda Brice, Sela Carsen, Rachelle Chase, Gemma Halliday, Candace Havens, Zinnia Hope, Jackie Kessler, Susan Lyons, Richelle Mead, Debbie Mumford, Rhonda Stapleton, Bebe Thomas, Emily Veinglory, Sasha White, Lois Winston, Shaunna Wolf, and Kit Wylde.

Join the authors tonight in Gemma Halliday's chat room from 5-7 PM PST (8-10 PM EST).

Um, Sela? What's Dreams & Desires?

Just look around the web. Everyone is talking about it :

Dionne Galace's blog
Lois Winston over at Caridad Pineiro's blog
Candace Havens radio promotion :: 96.3 KSCS
Idea Boutique
The Knight Agency Blog
Dear Author
Vamps & Scamps
Sparta Independent Newspaper
Joanne Rock’s website

Lots of other authors will be on hand to gab, and we have tons of great free prizes to give away. If you can't make it tonight, we'll be in the Romance Divas chat room Thurday, February 15th during the same times.

Just what kind of prizes are we talking about? Look at this swag!
Sela Carsen Not Quite Dead (ebook, novella) & The Virgin Courtesan (ebook, novella)
Amanda Brice She's Got Legs (ebook, novella)
Debbie Mumford Magic Glass (ebook, two novellas)
Candace HavensCharmed and Dangerous (signed book) & Charmed and Ready (signed book)
Kit Wylde Last Chance (ebook, novella)
Rachelle ChaseSex Lounge (ARC)
Susan Lyons Champagne Rules (signed book)
Richelle Mead Succubus Blues (ARC)
Jackie Kessler Hell's Belles (signed book)
Sasha White Bound (signed book)
Lois Winston Talk Gertie to Me (signed book)
Rhonda Stapleton Stripped (ebook, novella)
Jenna Bayley-BurkeIn Silhouette (ebook, short), How About Tomorrow (ebook, short), Dream Ring (ebook, short) & If We Listened (ebook, short)
Gemma Halliday Spying In High Heels (signed book) & Killer In High Heels (ARC)
Emily VeingloryGrave Heart (ebook)

Dreams & Desires, a charity benefit anthology
ISBN: 1934069221 (paperback)
ISBN: 193406923X (hardcover)

Dreams & Desires

2007-02-01T09:45:00.000-05:00

HOW READING ROMANCE CAN SUPPORT A WORTHY CAUSE...

Did you know that 95% of abuse victims are women? Every year four million women are assaulted by their spouses or partners. Freya's Bower Publishing is hoping to do a small part to break the cycle of abuse.

On February 1, DREAMS & DESIRES: A COLLECTION OF ROMANCE AND EROTIC TALES will be available. This anthology features short stories in a variety of romance subgenres from 19 talented authors. The stories range from sweet to sizzling.

Not only did the authors contribute their stories to this anthology, but all the editing and cover art were also donated. All net proceeds - that's 100% of the profit - from the sales of the anthology will go directly to a battered women's shelter in Florida. There have been other anthologies published for charity in the past, but most of those have only donated a portion of their profits. With DREAMS & DESIRES, every penny of profit goes to help women and children in dire circumstances.

Please help make a difference by purchasing a copy of DREAMS & DESIRES. As an added bonus to contributing to such a worthy cause, you'll be rewarded with 19 great short stories by some of today's rising authors.

"The Forest for the Trees" by Jenna Bayley-Burke (sweet; contemporary)
"Song Without Words" by Faith Bicknell-Brown (sweet; contemporary)
"Love @ First Site" by Amanda Brice (sweet; chick lit)
"The Christmas Prize" by Sela Carsen (sweet; contemporary)
"Romance for One" by Rachelle Chase (spicy; chick lit)
"Confessions of a Bombshell Bandit" by Gemma Halliday (sweet; chick lit)
"The Velvet Mask" by Candace Havens (sweet; contemporary)
"Road of Misgivings" by Zinnia Hope (sweet; contemporary)
"To the Core" by Jackie Kessler (tangy; paranormal)
"Taking the Alleys" by Susan Lyons (sweet; contemporary)
"Brushstrokes" by Richelle Mead (spicy; historical paranormal)
"Red's Merry Mischief" by Debbie Mumford (tangy; fantasy)
"Baring It All For Mr. Right" by Rhonda Stapleton (sweet; chick lit)
"The Wedding Policy" by Bebe Thomas (sweet; historical)
"Blood and Feathers" by Emily Veinglory (sizzling; M/M paranormal)
"The Mirror" by Sasha White (sizzling; contemporary)
"The Reluctant Bridesmaid" by Lois Winston (sweet; chick lit)
"The Forge: Jezren Dark Sky" by Shaunna Wolf (tangy; sci-fi)
"Secret Valentines" by Kit Wylde (sweet; contemporary)

DREAMS & DESIRES is available as an eBook for $7.99 (ISBN: 1-934069-36- 1), a
paperback (ISBN: 1-934069-22- 1) for $19.95, and a hard cover (ISBN:
1-934069- 23-X) for $29.95. The paperback and hardcover are available from
Barnes & Noble online. The books and the eBook are also available through Freya's Bower. The book is also being sold at Borders and distributed by Ingrams. If your local bookstore doesn't have it, they'll be able to order it for you. Just give them the title and the ISBN number.

Together, we CAN make a difference!

Tagged by Eva

2007-01-31T10:36:00.000-05:00

1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open to page 123, look down to the 5th sentence.
3. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog.
4. Include the title and the author’s name.
5. Tag 3 people

Alice wasn't sure and for a moment or two she considered going after him to give him her thanks in person, but then, rethinking, she hesitated.

If Domenico had wanted her thanks, he would have stayed around to hear it. Instead he had deposited her case on the floor and gone. He would be back downstairs with her parents again now and he probably wouldn't want her to come rushing down and interrupting things. Besides, the tiredness that she had claimed as an excuse to go to her room had now become a reality.

The Italian's Forced Bride by Kate Walker.

BTW, it's ok that Alice is being indecisive here. Trust me, she's earned it by this point in the story!

Tagging people? I hate tagging people! So, if you want to do this meme, have at it!

It's so pretty!

2007-01-30T08:36:00.000-05:00

Excuse me while I dance around my beautifully revamped blog, touching things.

Did you see what Haven did? Look! She put the cover of THE VIRGIN COURTESAN in the sidebar! Isn't it neat?

Have you seen the whole website? It's so gorgeous!! I can't believe I didn't blog about it! I hit practically every mailing list I'm on and I didn't blog it! What a doofus. Anyway, here you go! (psst. There's a tiny glitch if you hit "Home." Hit another one of the links first, then navigate to the home page. We'll get it fixed today.)

And it's all thanks to my genius artistic, creative web designer, HAVEN RICH!! Let's give her a big hand, ladies and gentlemen!

Slideshow

2007-01-27T03:15:00.000-05:00

Sela Carsen: The Virgin Courtesan (historical; sensual)
Stacy Dawn: Apple of His Eye (contemporary; mainstream)
Elisabeth Drake: Wasting the Dawn (dark paranormal; carnal)
CJ England: Angel Eyes and Demon Lies (paranormal; carnal)
Dayna Hart: Wings of Love (fantasy; mainstream)
Loribelle Hunt: Be Mine (contemporary; sensual)
Crystal Jordan: Twice in a Blue Moon (paranormal; carnal)
Jennifer Leeland: Naughty Notions (contemporary; carnal)
JT Schultz: Cupid's Target (paranormal; sensual)
Shelli Stevens: Cabin Fever (contemporary; carnal)

The Virgin Courtesan

2007-01-24T11:26:00.000-05:00

Isn't it gorgeous? The fabulous Dayna Hart did both the editing of the story and the cover design -- she's a multitalented woman!
Venice, 1528

Nerina Morinelo tried being a courtesan like her mother but failed at the first hurdle. Now she's gained an implacable enemy and she has no one to turn to except Domenico Venieri, scion of a wealthy and noble merchant family.

Bent on a vendetta, Domenico needs a woman to lure out the enemy that he and Nerina share, but he doesn't expect to lose his heart to a virgin courtesan.

Available Jan 29 from Forbidden Publications.