Yesterday’s prize, that pretty little pair of lapis and silver earrings,
is still up for grabs!  Be sure to comment to win! ~DD

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Anyone Can Write a Book!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this: “Anyone can write a book.” The statement usually comes from a person who doesn’t write, but I believe the premise is true. Each and every one of us has a story. It may be about our lives or a tale of fiction, but how many of us will actually write it?

You need a beginning that grabs the reader’s interest, a middle that doesn’t sag and a satisfying ending that ties everything together. It takes time, effort and dedication.

But romance, especially erotic romance isn’t a real book! I’ve heard that too. But I can assure you that I want to write a good book. That’s what motivates me each time I turn on my laptop.

I’m not trying to change your life or lecture you on how to live it. Nor do I seek to change the world. I write to entertain. I write to fulfill a personal need. I love to create characters, build worlds and tell tales. Stories are always churning in my brain. Ideas come from myriad sources. If I can’t write, I miss it.

A new book excites me. Edits and revisions drive me crazy, but I know the end result is a better story. Seeing the final product with the cover art and title makes me happy.

The world of writing has changed. Social media, an abundance of publishers and indie publishing allows equal opportunity to anyone who wishes to share their imagination. If you have a story, tell it. Be happy.

Forever 2: Night Sins Changeling Press

Night is made for sin and vampires rule the dark.

An officer for the Dead Souls Agency, Harper Croix’s job is vampire enforcement. One night her job takes a lethal turn and Harper has a showdown with an old one. He’s nothing like the rabid bloodsuckers she burns, arrests and destroys. He’s handsome, strong, disciplined and he wants revenge.

Egan wants Agent Croix to suffer for her sins against his kind. Revenge is a dish best served cold, but Croix is hot and tasty. One encounter leads to another. Enemies become lovers.

Harper has sworn to enforce the vampire laws, not break them. An affair with a vampire is reckless. Falling in love is crazy stupid. Egan is irresistible.

B.J. McCall is published in paranormal, sci-fi and contemporary erotic romance by eRed Sage, Cobblestone Press, Changeling Press and Ellora’s Cave. Her books are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and ARe. B.J.’s latest release is Night Sins, the second book in her urban fantasy series, Forever, published by Changeling Press.

A Guy’s Guide to Writing Romance

When I stumbled into writing romance, it was not planned. By pure accident, I began revising a paranormal suspense piece I was working on and it slowly transformed into a romance. Now, keep in mind, I’d not only never written one but I hadn’t even read one.

I was lost and sinking in treacherous waters without a life jacket. I had no idea what I was doing at that point and yet my muse refused to yield to venture back to the safety of the genres I knew and read. She insisted the romantic element to my book blossom into a full-blown, paranormal erotic romance.

I had much to learn and learn I did. Through the wonder of the internet, I found writer resources, made contacts, found guidance and even some how-to articles. But using my male brain, translation was dim and I needed more light. So, I read over 200 romance novels, hoping it would sink it. It wasn’t until I realized I could keep my man-card and still write romance, that it eventually clicked. That mission impossible my muse sent me on, became my first published book, Gothic City Lights.

So, let me pass on some advice for the male author seeking to try their hand at the Romance Genre.

I bet you’re expecting me to say something like “embrace your inner woman” or “get in touch with your feminine side”.  Well, I’m not. In fact, probably the exact opposite. The first thing that men notice about romance novels, is the hero. He is the guy we want to relate to, but just can’t. And more men than won’t will toss the romance novel aside and go back to their paramilitary thriller books they are comfortable with. I confess, I nearly did too.

The very first thing a male author writing romance has to understand is that he is not writing for male readers. This quite obviously explains why he can’t connect with the Romance Novel Hero. The hero is purposely a fantasy. His job is to tantalize the deepest desires of the women who read his tale. He is unreal, yet, if crafted well, at least believable. For women. Men for the most part, simply go “Yeah, right.”

Think of it like this. As men, we objectify women as sex objects. Wrong or right, we do. We can’t really help it. Everywhere you look, there are pictures, videos, sounds, art and all forms of media showing us the “perfect” female form. It’s not hard to understand why Sports Illustrated Magazine’s bestselling edition is their annual swimsuit issue.

Well, women objectify men as well. The medium is usually different, but it’s the same thing. And you know what? It’s okay to fantasize. I dread a world where fantasizing is not allowed or even discouraged. I don’t know about you, but I read to escape the real world and enter one where my fantasies are entertained. I know I’m not alone in this.

Okay, so by understanding the hero is supposed to be fantastical and surreal, the male author can let go of trying to relate to him on a real world level. This is the time to crank up your testosterone and inject it into your hero. Where real men can’t be massive bulks of muscle, deadly and dangerous, suave and sophisticated, successful and wealthy, and articulate and intelligent, all at the same time, your hero can and should. Now, step two.

Understanding the mechanics of the Romance genre is really just as simple as any other genre. Every genus of fiction has its rules. From Space Opera to Chick Lit and from Epic Fantasy to Cozy Mystery, there are defined elements that must be present. As a male author, these are no different if you were a female author, so just learn those requirements and you’re well on your way.

That leaves what I found to be the stumbling block. The emotional conflict. Another confession: I didn’t even understand what an emotional conflict was until recently. By pure accident, my books had them and thus, they sold to publishers. But I didn’t put them there on purpose. Talk about lucky.

Anyway. This critical element to the Romance Novel, I think, is the biggest obstacle for male authors. You see, we process emotions differently than women. It’s simply how men and women are hard-wired. Women are from Venus and men are from Mars, right? We’re writing for women and so we have to formulate an outsider’s interpretation of “Emotional Conflict.”

It’s difficult to describe how I personally deal with this issue without sounding cheap or demeaning, but essentially, I fake it. I honestly don’t think it’s possible for a man to feel emotions the same as a woman does and vice versa. Since I cannot feel the emotions the same way, I have to concentrate on the parts I can relate to and formulate a basic understanding.

I do know several authors who claim to perfectly understand the opposite sex, but—with all due respect—it doesn’t show in their writing. Several authors are very good at “faking it” and manage beautifully written stories and scenes from the opposite sex’s point of view. That takes talent and is rare. Amazon is crunch full of romance books where I can tell you, the author hasn’t clue one how men think. Hehehe.

The best compliment I’ve ever received was being told my female perspective was better than most female author’s the reviewer had read. I attained that compliment by tripling my concentration when dealing with my heroines and the emotional conflicts entwined within the plots of my stories. It was not easy and it is something I still do and will always struggle with by the very fact I am not female. My fragile male brain just can’t completely wrap around the female mind. Hehehe.

That was a compliment, in case it was read wrong.

But this brings me back to point number one and why it doesn’t matter if the hero is an authentic human male. He shouldn’t be. On the flip side of the coin however, the heroine must be genuine right down to her toes. This is why a male author has to understand the aspects of the genre that, in a word, are alien to the male thought pattern.

There it is in a nutshell. Obviously, every writer handles the aspects of writing differently and the “rules” really are simply guidelines. But I caution the male author when attempting their hand at romance, don’t skip the basics and pay extra attention to the aspects that make romance one of the most successful fiction genres of all time.

Now, let me give out a great big hug and thank you to Delilah for hosting me here today. I hope at the very least you all found me entertaining. I won’t be here all week, but do try the veal.

Brindle Chase
www.forlorn-hope.net

Check the comments of yesterday’s blog for the three winners names!

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Y’all know I love cowboys. Every shape, size, nice chest and six-pack to go with it, so I guess I’ll post a little about my coming release. I don’t have a buy link yet, but I do have a HAWT cover!

It will be available in the next couple of weeks. So be on the look out for the buy link coming soon!

Mesa Arraguso writes about hot cowboys for a living. Being a romance writer has it perks and its drawbacks. She spends a lot of time alone in front of her computer, but she gets to fantasize about incredibly hot men wearing cowboy boots and Stetsons. While visiting San Antonio, Texas for a writer’s conference, she finds herself stranded on the back roads of Bandera only to be rescued by one of the most gorgeous men she’s ever encountered, be it fantasy or for real.

Joel Young is a cowboy. From the top of his Stetson to the tip of his dirty cowboy boots, he’s cowboy through and through. Along with rescuing women when they do silly things like running out of gas miles from town on a dirt road, he spends his days herding cattle, fixing fences and breaking horses.

Can one handsome cowboy and a city-girl from LA find common ground is the Hill Country long enough to see beyond a quick fling?

As the water began rising rapidly she realized she needed to get the hell out of her car before it was washed away. In the distance she could make out several larger rocks. “If I can get on top of them, I should be safe from the rush. Of course, that means I’ll be out in the rain getting soaked.” Fear rose, threatening to choke her with the lump in her throat. She rubbed her arms trying to calm the chills while deciding what to do. She really didn’t have much choice. Water ran in rivulets down the windshield. Lightning continued to flash and thunder rolled over the area. She sucked in a large breath as she bit her lip.

A moment later a tap, tap, tap on her window startled her out of her thoughts. She jumped and screamed as a face appeared near her door. Blue eyes with long lashes stared back beneath a black cowboy hat. Black hair ruffled slightly with the wind.

“Ma’am? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

“You need to get this car out of the water. You’ll be washed away. It’s rising fast.”

“I can’t. I’m out of gas.”

“Open the door.”

“Hell, no. Do I look crazy to you?” she asked, her voice shrill with terror.

“Trust me. If I were a serial killer, I wouldn’t be out in this shit trying to find women to abduct. I’m going to help you, but you need to get out of the car first before we’re both swept away.”

Mesa bit her lip. Should she trust him?

“Ma’am?”

“All right.” She eased open the door to find the water almost reached the bottom of the car. The cowboy pulled the door the rest of the way as she grabbed her purse.

“We have to hurry,” he said, offering her a hand to help her from the car. “Let me help you. This water is rushing pretty fast.”

A red horse stood patiently several feet away with its head down, riding out the storm the only way horses knew how. A cowboy on a real horse out here in the middle of nowhere? Surely, it’s safe. I mean serial killers don’t ride horses, right?

Excerpt

He winced as she dabbed again. It had to hurt, she knew but all she could think about was kissing those full lips. She wanted to see his eyes dark with desire. Feel his hands on her bare flesh. Have those lips on other places of her body like her breasts, her nipples, or her clit.

“You okay?” he whispered, glancing up through those impossibly long eyelashes.

“Yeah.” Her heart pounded behind her ribcage.

“Your pulse is fluttering.”

“I know.”

“Why?” His voice continued in a soft, coaxing tone reminding her of how he spoke to the horse while she gave birth to her colt.

“It’s nothing, Joel.”

“Do you want me to kiss you?”

She closed her eyes and licked her lips. God, do I ever want you to kiss me. More than my next breath. More than a winning lottery ticket. More than…

The next thing she knew, he had twisted her around so she lay flat on the bed with him hovering over her. He bent down and brushed his lips against hers so softly she wasn’t sure if he’d actually kissed her.

“You shouldn’t be doing this.”

“I know.”

He kissed her again, this time with his tongue softly brushing her lips as if to ask for permission to deepen it. Her lips parted of their own accord without her even thinking beyond how his lips felt against hers. The dip of his tongue tore a moan from her mouth. She tangled her hands in the front of his western shirt, wanting nothing more than to remove the barrier between his skin and hers.

The fire burning in her gut prompted her to return kiss for kiss, touch for touch.

I hope you enjoyed the blurb and excerpt. This book is scheduled to be out the end of this month. Keep your eyes open to www.secretcravingspublishing.com for release information.

~ Sandy

Elle kindly offered to give away three prizes! The winners were chosen by
random number generator. They are Karen C, Elizabeth H, and Sharon Chalk!
Congratulations,  ladies!  I’ll send your emails along to Elle so that she can get
with you to arrange delivery of your prizes!

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Just Because

I’ve been in a writing funk for the past couple of weeks and I need something to cheer me up. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to make readers happy. If it’s by the escape I provide, the happily-ever-after I deliver or just saying hello, I hope I make someone else happy in my work. So for all the readers out there, enjoy a good book, take a little journey and have a little fun between the pages. I know where you’re  coming from and enjoy where you’re going to, because I’m a reader too! That’s how I got my start. I love to read, and I love the satisfaction of a great story with a  happy ending.

Leave a comment on why you like to read for a chance to win the prize I’m giving away today in honor of my latest book release VOODOO FOR TWO (CAJUN MAGIC series). The prize? A book and a toy bug. The bug because it’s one of the characters in the book. The book, just because.

Elle’s Bio:

Elle James spent twenty years in South Central Texas, ranching horses, cattle, goats, ostriches and emus. A former IT professional, retired Army and Air Force Reservist, she’s proud to be writing full-time, penning intrigues and paranormal adventures that keep her readers on the edge of their seats or laughing out loud. Now, living in northwest Arkansas, she’s given up wrangling cattle and exotic birds to wrangle her muses, a malti-poo and a yorkie. When she’s not at her computer, she’s traveling, out snow skiing, boating, or riding her four-wheeler, dreaming up new stories.

Social Media:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

Voodoo For Two Buy Links:
Buy at Amazon
Buy at B&N

About Voodoo For Two:
Be careful what you wish for…

Determined to marry the most eligible bachelor in the parish to save her family, Lucie LeBieu turns a “love bug” loose to cast its Voodoo spell. What she doesn’t count on is hitting two targets—the golden boy congressional candidate, and her Cajun-hot ex. To set things right, she must undo the spell before she falls into bed—-and back in love—with a certain down and dirty heartbreakin’ cop.

Undercover investigator Ben Boyette is back in Louisiana on special assignment when he runs across his old flame, brewing up trouble as usual. But when hometown threats turn deadly, Lucie’s life is on the line. Determined to protect both her and his politician assignment from falling victim to a murderer, Ben finds that he’s the one who’s falling hard…for the irresistible bayou temptress.

As if the question ‘Wanna pitch to an agent or editor’ isn’t enough.

Hello! A huge thanks to all my wonderful hosts as I run all over cyberspace talking about Agent/Editor Shop at the Musetracks blog.

In this crazy world of easy access to information, it’s also easy to miss huge opportunities, or forget! Because I get so many comments that writers either forgot, or didn’t know Musetracks did pitch sessions, I asked a bunch of fellow writers, bloggers and readers to help me spread the word.

For those of you who don’t me, I’m Candi Wall, one of the authors who co-contribute to the Musetracks blog. Jennifer Bray-Weber, Marie-Claude Bourque, and Stacey Purcell are my super smart co-contributors and goodness knows where I’d be without them!

I’ve been hosting acquiring Agents at Musetracks for almost two years, and only recently, we decided to add editors as our guest. We’ve been lucky to have agents like Melissa Jeglinski, Jessica Alvarez, Mollie Glick, Becky Vinter, Kevan Lyon, Scott Eagan, Lois Winston, Jill Marsal, Michelle Grajkowski, Kimberley Cameron, Emmanuella Alspaugh (now Morgan), Laura Bradford, Jenny Bent, Sara Crowe, Weronika Janczuk and Stan Soper.

Our guest editors thus far have been Rhonda Penders w/ The Wild Rose Press, Jennifer Miller w/ Samhain Publishing, Debby Gilbert w/ Soul Mate Publishing, Beth Walker w/ Secret Cravings Publishing, and the editors at Books To Go Now have booked three dates in the future!

What we offer is a ‘Pitch Day’. I only take 30 pitches, and only the first thirty VIABLE pitches that come in on pitch day will be seen by the agent or editor. And I will warn you, I’m a stickler for following guidelines. If you don’t include exactly what is in the rules… I delete without prejudice. And I delete quite a few. (And yes, I receive plenty of hate mail.)

You can find us here:

Musetracks and there is a sidebar with Agent/Editor Shop dates and attending professionals

You can find the rules for pitching here:

Musetracks Agent/Editor Shop rules Please read them carefully!

I’ve also created a Yahoo group so writers can sign up to receive Agent/Editor Shop updates. I only send messages with agent/editor attendance updates, reminders of pitch dates, and any information about the contests we run on pitch day. Usually a giveaway or a chance to comment for the Top Pitch Slot. You can request to join here:

Editor/Agent Shop Newsletter Group

Easy as pie! We welcome every stage of writer and at Musetracks, we strive to help other writers, the way we were all helped when we first started out, and the way we are supported today.

Hope to see you all at a pitch day, and if not, feel free to pass the word along to others.

Happy reading and writing!

~Candi

A little about Candi:

Candi Wall is an author of contemporary romance, and YA.

Her début novel PRIMITIVE NIGHTS released from Samhain in Jan 2013, and STAY, the first in the Changing Tides series releases from Samhain on Aug 6^th 2013.

She’s a mother of four (21,17,12,9), a rescuer of six (4 dogs & 2 cats), proud auntie of too many to count, a soon-to-be grandmother and great-auntie, a retired Cub Scout leader of 16 years, an avid animal lover/protector and ex-animal control officer. Oh yeah, and wife. J

You can find her here:

www.candiwallbooks.com
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
Musetracks

Thank you Delilah for letting me guest blog today, because today’s a very special day for me. It’s Release Day for COLLECTOR’S ITEM, my new paranormal romance from The Wild Rose Press.

To find her missing aunt, a headstrong shapeshifter joins forces with a cynical Alpha to investigate an illegal hunt club, but when their plan backfires can she escape a trap of her own making?

To celebrate this special day, I’m sharing a little about the development of my shapeshifter story. Also, I’m inviting everyone to enter my COLLECTOR’S ITEM Release Week Contest, running now through May 23rd. See details below!

Paranormal stories are often about hiding the reality of being dual-natured from the rest of the world. I chose to have shapeshifters living openly in the population, but they haven’t been “out of the closet” for long. In my world, the emergence of shapeshifters was motivated by a threat to their survival–the Collectors. The Collectors is a secret society of human hunters. Their goal: to capture, hunt, and kill shapeshifters–the Ultimate Big Game. The Collectors have been so successful, shapeshifters are forced to seek legal rights and protections or become an “endangered species.”

When creating COLLECTOR’S ITEM, I decided that I wanted to use a feline shapeshifter instead of a werewolf. Nothing against werewolves, but I’ve always been a cat person. Also, by not choosing to do werewolves, my shapeshifters would not be tied to the moon’s cycles, giving them more autonomy. However, the biggest difference in my shapeshifters is that I gave the animal side of my shapeshifters their own names and distinct personalities.

The heroine, KT (Katarina Teresa) Marant, shares her consciousness with Andi (Andromeda). The hero, Peyton Allers shares his consciousness with Max (Maximilian). The animal personalities fulfill the role of “side-kick,” and provide a bit of comic relief as well.

The story of COLLECTOR’S ITEM begins when a member of KT Marant’s family disappears and KT Marant immediately suspects the Collectors. As the trained, but inexperienced Female Alpha of the Marant Clan, KT has the skills but lacks the knowledge to follow through on her suspicion. Enter Peyton Allers, an undercover Alliance Protector and Alpha in his own right.

EXCERPT:

Peyton Allers struggled to contain his temper as he faced the “princess” of the Marant clan, AKA Katarina Teresa Marant. Because a high-blood princess had slipped her leash and made herself a target for the Collectors, his cover and his operation were blown. No simple “chip & tip” would do for this Collector’s Item, damn it!

Added to the inevitable hysterics and demands for protection, he’d be elbow deep in politics. God, he hated politics. Bowing and scraping while maneuvering to find the best location to stick in the knife.

Not with this one, his jag, Max asserted.

The princess stood behind the couch, hands on hips, a tiny crease between her eyebrows while she looked from Massey on the rug to him and back. No hysterics in sight, Peyton noted with relief. Points for restraint.

Alpha, said Max.

Princess, Peyton countered. Even they had their moments of intelligence, but he knew better than to expect more.

To see how this all works out, I invite you to read COLLECTOR’S ITEM, now available from The Wild Rose Press.

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THE CONTEST: One lucky person will win a COLLECTOR’S ITEM mug filled with caffeine and chocolate! Rules are:

1. LIKE my Denise Golinowski/Author Page on Facebook = 1 Entry
2. TWEET about Collector’s Item using #collectorsitembook and @DGolinowski = 1 Entry
3. POST a comment here and mention that you’ve completed #1 & #2 = 1 Entry
4. WAIT – I’ll be drawing a lucky winner on May 23^rd and post the winner on my Denise Golinowski/Author Page
5. EXTRA CREDIT – LIKE FB page for COLLECTOR’s ITEM – Collector’s Item/Golinowski = 1 Entry

Easy Peasy you can have 4 entries in the drawing.

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ABOUT DENISE: Denise Golinowski has always been a writer. A hopeful romantic, she gravitated to fantasy and romance.  She is a PRO member of the Romance Writers of America, Virginia Romance Writers, and James River Writers.  A native of Richmond, Virginia, Denise lives with her uber-supportive husband and one devoted lap kitty. She is currently working on a Contemporary Paranormal Romance involving another member of the Marant Clan—KT’s older brother, Peter Marant.  You can find her on facebook at Denise Golinowski/Author and at her blog, Golinowski’s Gambol.