It’s November and for many writers that means 30 Days and Nights of Literary Abandon in the form of National Novel Writing Month, more affectionately known as NaNoWriMo.

If you’re not familiar with the event, it probably sounds like a formal greeting from an alien, and sometimes it feels just as crazy! But it is a great motivator for writers to sit down and write the damn book! The goal is to write a 50,000 word first draft in one month. Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? Well, I’m here to tell you it is completely doable!

This is my 4^th year participating in NaNoWriMo and I’m writing my very first romantic suspense titled Broken Strings. Here’s the premise:

Best friends since college, witty and guarded Colleen Cooper and misguided playboy Jake Donovan have both sold out to propel Jake’s music career, but now they are trying to find success on their own terms. As a radio station DJ, Colleen has finally made a name for herself, but when Jake offers her the opportunity of a lifetime her own self-doubt and the anonymous threats she can’t escape have her second-guessing her qualifications and ability. Jake will do anything to prove to Colleen that he’s worth taking a chance on, but when the women around him start turning up dead, his reputation makes him the prime person of interest in the investigation, threatening his career and his future with Colleen.

This story has been in my head for a few years, but since I’ve never written a romantic suspense, I wasn’t sure where to start. Then I read some great advice in a blog post by Roxanne St. Claire which basically said, just write the story. So I am!

I’m more of a pantser than a plotter, which means I don’t outline the stories when I sit down to write them. Two years ago for NaNoWriMo I was preparing to write The Sound of Circumstance (which is due for release in the next couple months) and I wanted to be super-efficient and beat my previous year where I wrote 50K words in 20 days. So I sat down and plotted the book. I wrote each scene idea on a sticky note and moved things around on a poster board until it looked like I had a solid storyline. I entered it all into Scrivener and I was ready to write. November 1^st came and as soon as I started putting words down, my characters started doing unexpected things. Before I knew it, the story had made a sharp left when I had planned for it to go right. Bon Jovi would say “this left feels right”, and I take anything they say as gospel, so being the pantser I am, I abandoned the outline and went with it. In 12 days, I had achieved 50K words (yes, 12 days, that’s not a typo). It was crazy.

Needless to say, after that experience I chose not to outline last year’s NaNoWriMo book. I had major surgery mid-month, so that’s my excuse for taking the full 30 days to finish, but finish I did, making it my 3^rd consecutive year of winning NaNoWriMo.

Now here I am, writing a genre I’ve never written before and I’m a little nervous about it, so this year, I went back to the drawing board and plotted out the novel. Loosely, though, because I put a lot of trust in my characters and I know once I start writing, they are going to take me on a journey, not the other way around.

If you are a writer and participating in NaNoWriMo, I invite you to be one of my buddy’s (search for sawall) and I wish you the best of luck in writing with literary abandon!

If you’re a reader, I’d love to know what you think about writing a novel in 30 days!! And here’s a little treat, the opening lines of my 2014 NaNoWriMo novel Broken Strings:

“You have to stop pointing your gun at people.”

Colleen Cooper scowled at the detective now holding her Ruger.380. The purple semi-automatic pistol felt pretty badass when she fired it at an unwitting paper target at the range, but it looked so meager and girly in Detective Taggart’s manly hands.

Sighing, Colleen shook off the awareness coursing through her body. There was a time when that deep voice and the way he cocked his head to the right made her whole body quiver, but those days were long over. It was probably a good thing he was holding the gun now, otherwise she might be tempted to point it at him.

He gave her body a slow perusal and suddenly Colleen wished she wore something other than spandex when she went for her morning run. His condescending expression transformed into one of lust-filled approval. “You look good.”

“How’s your wife?” she asked, reminding him of the reason his bawdy opinion wasn’t welcome.

“Coll– ”

Her hand went up, stopping his plea. “Don’t Coll me, Devon. Am I under arrest or what?”

You can read a little bit more of this scene over at Peggy Jaeger’s blog on November 3^rd!

Big dreamer and certifiable overachiever Susan Ann Wall embraces life at full speed and volume. She’s a beer and tea snob, can be bribed with dark chocolate, and the #1 thing on her bucket list is to be the center of a Bon Jovi flash mob.

Susan is a multi-genre author of racy, rule-breaking romance, women’s fiction, and erotic fiction (her erotic titles are published as Ann Victor).  Her bragging rights include nine books in three different series,  three perfect children, and a happily ever after with her Hero Husband that started while serving in the U.S. Army and has spanned nearly two decades (which is crazy since she’s not a day over 29).

In her next life, Susan plans to be a 5 foot 10, size 8 rock star married to a chiropractor and will not be terrified of large bridges, spiders, or quiet people (shiver). She’s a member of NHRWA, RWA-WF, RomVets, NHWP, NEIW, and WREN.

Her latest releases include The Sound of Deception (4^th novel in her Puget Sound ~ Alive With Love contemporary romance series) and Quitting the Boss (3^rd novella in Ann Victor’s Behind Office Doors erotic series), available in paperback and all ebook formats.

Websites: www.susanannwall.com and www.annvictor.com
Facebook: Author Susan Ann Wall and Ann Victor Author
Twitter: @susanannwall and @annvictorauthor
www.goodreads.com/susanannwall

The Sound of Deception by Susan Ann Wall:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00OX2Y4L2/indie01-0029-20
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-sound-of-deception
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sound-of-deception-susan-ann-wall/1119915801?ean=2940150382350
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-sound-of-deception/id933567874?ls=1&mt=11
Google:  https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Susan_Ann_Wall_The_Sound_of_Deception?id=DcwUBQAAQBAJ

Quitting the Boss by Ann Victor:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00OYUMKFU/indie01-0029-04
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/quitting-the-boss-ann-victor/1120639606?ean=2940150439108
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/quitting-the-boss/id934039088?ls=1&mt=11
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/quitting-the-boss
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ann_Victor_Quitting_The_Boss?id=_E0VBQAAQBAJ

Today’s Contest

I’m going to make you work for it, today. Not too hard, I promise! You have to do two things to enter today’s contest.

1. You have to follow the link below and sign up for our release party.
2. You have to tell me one thing you like about firehouse romances in the comments!

Easy-peasy, right? And what might you win? How about a free download of one my downloadable novellas? Reader’s choice!

The Scorching Five Alarm Release Day Party

Tell me you don’t have time, sometime on November 7th, to pop in to a little ole Facebook Party! It’s going to be 12 hours long, so there has to be a time, or maybe more than one or two times, you can poke your head in the door. All eight Five Alarm Alpha authors will be there. We’ll all be bearing prizes. Here’s the link. Go ahead and let us know you’re coming! RSVP to Five Alarm Alpha Party

So, now you’re wondering, What’s this about a new collection? You know I’m going to tell you all about it and ask you to pre-order the box set! Get those itchy fingers ready to click because it’s only $.99—but not for very long!

Five Alarm Alphas

Men Hotter Than Fire!!!
Eight Scorching HOT Brand New Stories

Feeding the Flames ~ Leah Braemel: When chef Tabatha Morgan returns to Barnett Springs, her burning crush on firefighter Zac Buchanan flares back to life. Trouble is, Zac has made a promise to keep his distance from Tabby, so Zac’s best friend and fellow firefighter Quinn decides to help feed the flames of their mutual desire.

Combustible ~ Lexxie Couper: Arson investigator, Desmond Russell is the best in Australia. Cool, calm and collected, nothing ruffles him. Until he meets Outback fire brigade captain, Jess Montgomery, a woman who ignites all his sexual desires. The initial spark will engulf them both…but will their hearts survive the inferno?

Wet Down ~ Delilah Devlin: Out with the old, in with the new…Or so Sherry Thacker thinks. Problem is, her ex is always on her mind and right across the street. When a “Wet Down” ceremony to retire an old fire truck is planned by the city council she has to put aside her hurt and anger and do her job. Blake Thacker wants his wife back—in every way and he’ll use whatever means necessary to win her back. Sex is always best served WET.

Two to Spark ~ Marie Harte: When a psychic predicts that a faulty toaster, a black cat, and the wrong address will bring Cooper together with Ms. Right, he shrugs off the notion as crazy. But before long, fate has something else in store for the sexy firefighter when a spark of attraction ignites into true love.

Controlled Burn ~ Desiree Holt: Montana Wade was home after writing off the past ten years of her life, but she needed one more night of courage before she faced her family. Boone Crider, hotshot firefighter, was burned out form the rash of malicious fires. They thought one night as strangers would cure them both, but the fire they started between them soon became a barely controlled burn.

Up In Smoke ~ Lissa Matthews: Half-brothers, Josh and Jay, share everything from a house, to a love of curvy, older women. So when their dream woman accidentally sets her kitchen on fire, they ride to her rescue, sirens blaring, promising to kindle flames that may never be extinguished.

Rekindled ~ Cari Quinn: Some blazes refuse to be contained. It’s been months since ex-firefighter Katie Kemp has spoken to her former lover and squad mate, Dash Carlton. But when a late night drive down memory lane leads her to a small fire at Dash’s house, she realizes she’s not willing to turn her back on the hottest flame of her life.

Into the Fire ~ Shelli Stevens: Shannon has always prided herself on holding her own in the male dominated field of firefighting. She likes to be in control. Until she strikes a bargain with a sexy man from her past who makes her give it all up in the bedroom.

Pre-order: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

When people ask what kind of romance I write, I get a little nervous. And when I tell them I write paranormal romance, they always get that look on their face. You know, like I said I sacrifice kittens under the moonlight or something. I then proceed to explain what paranormal romance is all about. I know the next question that will follow. Why do you write paranormal romance?

There are a lot of reasons. I love reading it. I love how I can be transported to a different world where my imagination runs free. I also love how my paranormal characters feel so deeply and will go through hell (sometimes literally) for the one they love. Humans aren’t like. But more importantly, I love how my characters are given these super human strengths and powers that make them on a level playing field for all things evil. The world we live in isn’t always fair, but in my world of paranormal, I can even the odds and the hero always comes out on top in a very big and dramatic way. Plus I like kick-ass heroes/heroines. 🙂

Why do you like paranormal romances?

This time of year has always been my favorite, so it is no wonder that I set a story during the Halloween season, especially since that story is called The Passion of Sleepy Hollow.

The hero, Braden Van Brunt, is the headless horseman, or rather plays that part for the annual Washington Irving Festival in October in present day Sleepy Hollow New York. However, the heroine is Katrina Van Tassel, the 1790’s innkeeper of the Sleepy Hollow Inn. One of the external issues for this couple is that the 18^th century village of Sleepy Hollow where the festival takes place, only appears one weekend a year.

Of course once Braeden has met Katrina, he wants to spend more time with her, but the village disappears. So he does what any self-respecting hero would do who wants to find his heroine, he investigates her but nothing works, including private detectives. His only option is to return to the festival a year later, but that makes it difficult to build a relationship.

Lucky for them, having mutually satisfying sex keeps the village in present day for another day. Talk about pressure! It works fine for this new couple, at least until they get into a fight. Then it becomes a matter of whether they will ever see each other again or not (see excerpt)

The is story’s plot gave me an idea. I have started the annual Venetian Mask Giveaway. Every year around this time, I give away hand-decorated masks made in Italy like this one. For a chance to win this beautiful mask, be sure to enter the rafflcopter below.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Always, Lexi

Passion of Sleepy Hollow

Recluse Braeden Van Brunt is not happy to be the Headless Horseman…until he meets Katrina Van Tassel, owner of the Sleepy Hollow Inn, whose allure bewitches him from the front desk into the bedroom. When he discovers Kat and the village of Sleepy Hollow are cursed to exist in the present day for only one weekend a year, he realizes the sacrifice he must make if he wants to keep her.

Katrina Van Tassel lives between slivers of time. She thought she was through grieving her betrothed’s death, but her dreams flare to life when his mirror image arrives, requesting a room. Drawn to Braeden, she is taken to more erotic heights of intimacy than she ever imagined, but she can’t be sure if her heart is with him or the love from her past.

Knowing he has to conquer both time and ghosts to keep the only woman he’s ever loved, Braeden must put the past to rest. But the dead may not rest in Sleepy Hollow.

Excerpt from Passion of Sleepy Hollow

He didn’t look at her, but kept them moving. “I had an enlightening conversation with Jurgen.”

“Jurgen? What did he say?”

“He said you were planning to marry Brom. He said Brom disappeared the very day of your wedding. He said you’re with me because you’re still in love with Brom and think I’m him.”

Her gasp gave him a small amount of satisfaction, but then she tried to pull away. “Braeden, I think I can tell the difference between my dead betrothed and you.”

He stopped and looked at her. “Can you? Then why didn’t you tell me you were engaged to Brom?”

He started to pull her toward the inn again before she could form a word. He had one goal in mind to confirm everything.

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to think what you’re thinking, especially when I hadn’t decided what my feelings were yet.”

They were at the back door of the inn, and he let her go. “And what exactly are your feelings, Katrina Van Tassel, fiancée of Brom Van Brunt?”

Kat put her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing. “And what are your feelings, Braden? I have yet to hear how you feel about me.”

“How I feel about you right now is that you betrayed me. You led me on. Let me think you enjoyed my company when all the while you were pretending I was your ex-lover!” He yanked open the door and stomped inside, making a beeline for her bedroom.

“Braeden!”

He ignored her and entered her room. Reaching her armoire in three strides, he threw both doors open, hard. One cracked.

“Braeden, what are you doing?”

The scent of brownies flooded his senses and he paused for a moment. Her scent. The woman he had thought he—the woman who couldn’t see beyond a ghost. With anger spurring him on, he pulled clothes out and threw them to the floor.

“Braeden!” Kat grabbed at his arm and he shook her off, but even in his anger he was careful not to hurt her. With her it was instinct.

He growled, “Don’t touch me.” He continued to pull material and clothes, cloaks, shawls, even blankets out of the armoire.

There it was. White material with delicate embroidery along the neckline and shoulders that declared it a wedding dress. He pulled it from its home and held it before her.

Her eyes grew round.

“Were you hoping to wear this again?” His fingers dug into the material. “Perhaps you wanted to wear it for me so we could recreate your long-lost love story?”

Kat stepped back and shook her head. “No. I kept it as a memory, nothing more. It was all I had left of the happiest time of my life…until I met you.”

He stepped toward her. “You mean until you met the man who could be Brom for you. I thought you were different. I thought you liked me for me.” He gave a hopeless chuckle. “You were different. You liked me for the ghost I could be.”

Emotions played across her face like a movie, so when her brows furrowed and her hands found her hips again, he had fair warning.

PASSION OF SLEEPY HOLLOW Buy Links:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Ellora’s Cave
All Romance eBooks

For more information about Lexi Post:
website: https://www.lexipostbooks.com/
Blog: https://www.happilyeverafterthoughts.com/
twitter:   https://twitter.com/LexiPost
Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/lexipostbooks
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6915542.Lexi_Post
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lexi-Post/e/B00EBLAFLI/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1392417984&sr=1-2-ent

Every writer I know has their own store of favorite quotes or words of wisdom. Here’s one of mine.

“For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been!’”

I first encountered those words in an illustrated anthology of verse whose title I can no longer remember. Books seem to sprout like mushrooms anywhere my family congregates, and by the time I was ten my parents were doing regular annual culls of the collection, so the book itself is probably long gone. But one phrase from that one book stuck in my mind, and it’s been rattling around there ever since.

John Greenleaf Whittier knew what he was talking about when he wrote it, of course, but it started me wondering. I write dark stories sometimes, but I like happy endings, and I prefer not to contemplate the saddest anything. So if “it might have been” are the saddest words, what are the happiest? What’s the best possible thing you could write or say?

In my opinion, the answer is simple. “What if?”

“What if” is the basis of all stories. Urban fantasy loves it: what if magic was real? What if the dead could walk? Romance takes it in a different direction (what if these two people met? What if there was something keeping them apart? Holy &%$#, what if a Highlander traveled in time?) but it’s still the same question. And history too—what if Anne Boleyn hadn’t been executed? What if Spartacus had won? To ask yourself “what if?” is to imagine a world beyond the one that you currently inhabit. It’s the place where storytelling begins. And with stories, there’s nothing you can’t do.

I recently took my first tentative steps into the world of romance fiction because I had a “what if” or two to answer. What if an ancient Egyptian knew his mummy was in a museum case? What if magic and art were the same thing? What if you really could live four thousand years, and what would it do to you? I had a lot of fun answering those questions, and I learned a lot too. I picked up information and read books that I would never have touched if I hadn’t started asking that question. And if I’ve done my job correctly, maybe people will pick up a nugget or two of information from my work as well.

“I love you” is a good phrase. One of the best. But for my money, “what if?” are the two most beautiful words in the English language. They’re always the start of something extraordinary.

Catherine Butzen is the author of Thief of Midnight (https://starkhousepress.com/butzen.php) and, coming in 2015 from Samhain, The God Collector. She lives and works in Cedar Rapids, IA, and can be found online at A Murder of Prose (catherinebutzen.wordpress.com).

Hey there! I’m back from the NINC conference in Florida—learned lots, hung with old friends, and made a few new ones! *Waving at them now!*

I’m back at my desk and ready to get stuck into writing a book I have due in just a couple of weeks (yikes!). It’s tough getting ahead of schedule, but I am writing a big ole note to self to make room on next year’s calendar for down time. I never figure on needing it, but this year too many surprises crept into my schedule and made it impossible for me to keep up with the hectic pace of my writing life.

Not what you want to hear about, I know. I’ll be sending a newsletter out sometime this week to let you know about releases that are coming SOON. If you aren’t signed up for my newsletter, you need to be. I’ll be giving away a free read to my subscribers. If you don’t subscribe to my newsletter, you won’t get the gift!

For you writers out there, I’ll be participating in NaNoWriMo this year. I’d love to be your “buddy” for the month. I know I’ll need tons of support to hit that golden 50,000 words. If you need a kick in the pants too, I’ll nag you right back.

So, I swear I do have a question. It’s a simple one. I am fascinated with things that happen in the sky—eclipses, meteor showers, etc. When I know something’s coming, I set alarms to wake up at just the right time, trudge down the driveway in my night-gown, and wait for it. I watched the recent blood moon at 5:30 AM. I caught the partial solar eclipse at sunset when I was in Florida. Are you as big a nerd as I am? Or could you care less?