Some books have a way of getting right down into your bones. The first book to grab hold of me like that was Jane Eyre, which I read a dozen times before I even hit high school. It’s a lonely story and a very strange romance, with its governess heroine and un-handsome, sarcastic hero. One of the strangest parts in it is the scene where Jane is compelled by Rochester to show him her portfolio of paintings and sketches. He picks three in particular to quiz her about.
Reader, these are strange artworks — a seabird stealing jewelry from a shipwrecked corpse, a woman imagined as the Evening Star, and a pale, gigantic head in a landscape choked with arctic ice. They are keenly described and yet somehow still ghostly. Before now we have seen Jane neglected in her family’s house and isolated at Lowood School, but we have never seen her thoughts and anxieties expressed so vividly in images rather than in words. Those cold, mournful pictures are her own deeply felt loneliness projected outward on the world — it is no wonder Rochester responds to them and calls them “elfish.”
Jane sketches several other images over the course of the novel — portraits, mostly — and there’s always a little something wild in the way she does it, as though despite all her self-restraint and discipline there is some part of her that is always trying to escape. It’s a fascinating thing to read, and I can’t help wondering how Jane’s sketches and paintings changed once she found her way back to Rochester and their own peculiar form of happiness. Was there still something wild about her? Or did she allow her paintings to show more warmth, more human connection than she’d known before? Would that make her more or less successful at depicting the scenes in her imagination?
These questions didn’t go away. (For authors, such questions never go away.) So now I’m finishing up work on Color Me Bad, an erotic historical romance with a hero who’s a painter. And though I’m no Charlotte Brontë — for one thing, my books are much, much smuttier — it was fun to borrow this particular writing trick and see what it did to the shape of the story. To let my hero’s paintings say what he wasn’t ready to say yet himself, or to let their images take the place of his own hopes and fears. Whether I used this technique successfully, or whether my imagination outpaced my skill, like Jane’s — well, dear Reader, you will be the best judge of that.
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Thanks, Delilah for hosting me! Not every day I get to hang out with a PenthousePet, lol.
I’ve noticed a very interesting bent in my romance heroes lately. The sci fi pirates and the contemporary alpha males in the 2 new series I’m writing. They, um, wanna tie women up.
Where the heck did that come from? I mean, I’ve been accused of writing BDsm in my Orion Series. Don’t really think that’s on the mark.
Okay, so Captain Steve Craig of Her Commander does use soft restraints on his spunky half-Serpentian guard Tessa. And maybe he captures her in the dark … once. But it’s all in good, sexy fun.
Oh, and maybe Commander Daron Navos in Deep Indigo does use mind-control on his intern, Nelah Cobalt, but she gets it. Kinda takes come hither to a whole new level.
Well, and so what if Tryon Jag in Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bryght demands that Calla be his submissive for the duration of his mating shift?
Oh, wait. I see where this is going now. Huh. I’ve been writing mild BDsm and didn’t realize it. (Note: Yes, I use caps on the BD and lower case on the sm ‘cause I consider the first part sexy and the second part not for me)
Of course my Hawaiian Heroes contemporary paranormal romance series is hot vanilla. And I’m sure I’ll do more romance without kink. After all, I don’t want to tie myself to just one sub-genre of romance.
But, in 2013, readers, hang on to your panties.
In The LodeStar Series, we’re taking a fast space ship to the newly settled planet of Frontiera, with space magnate Logan Stark and his two brothers. The three grew up rough, and now these alphas have one approach to life and sex—they’re in charge. Hmm, their feisty females may have something to say about that. Hope it’s ‘Yes!’
In Club 3, three alpha weightlifters from Portland Oregon who own a gym and fitness center decide that maybe, given their sexual need to dominate, they should open another kind of club. The kind that’s private and opens up when the sun goes down. Mm-hmm, that kind.
I’ll be self-pubbing LodeStar starting in winter 2013. Club 3 will debut with a digital first publisher. If you’d like to know when they come out, sign up for my Newsletter. It’s easy, and will show up in your email box ONLY when I have a new book out.
I’m taking over Delilah Devlin’s Blog today (bwahahaha)!
First the introductions:
I’m A. M. Griffin, a wife who rarely cooks, mother of three, dog owner (and sometimes dog owned), a daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She’s a hard worker whose two favorite outlets are reading and writing. She enjoys reading everything from mystery novels to historical romances and of course fantasy romance. She is a believer in the unbelievable, open to all possibilities from mermaids in our oceans and seas, angels in the skies and intelligent life forms in distant galaxies. She has multi-publications in other genres under a different pen name.
When I was trying to come up with topics for today’s blog, the first thing that popped into my head was girl-on-girl sex.
Why? *shrugs* Cause it just did.
I never set out to have girl-on-girl action included in my new EC debut release Dangerously Mine, but for some strange reason it just happened.
You’ve probably heard a lot of authors talk about their characters as if they were alive and somehow had a mind of their own. I can honestly say that it’s true.
My character Princess Sa’Mya was supposed to be my heroine’s nemesis. I needed someone privileged, bitchy and irritating. Princess Sa’Mya is all that and more.
During one of my favorite scenes, Princess Sa’Mya was making Eva wash her hair. Yea, the privileged bitch characteristic was in full effect. Anyway, Princess Sa’Mya wanted to know why her betrothed, King Taio was more interested in the human Eva, rather than herself.
I had intended for Sa’Mya to be curious about a species that she had never encountered before. They were going to go back and forth with bitchy banter. You know the normal girl catfight stuff.
It was going perfectly as I intended it to until Sa’Mya reached out and touched Eva’s clit. Once that happened, it was like I couldn’t stop my fingers from flying with lightning speed across the computer keyboard.
I kept saying things like “This girl is such a freak!” and “Why is she doing that?” and of course, “Is she about to do what I think she’s about to do?”
My poor husband who was sitting next to me had this look on his face. Much like the same look you would give someone before having them committed to the Looney Bin.
The end result is hot as hell. So much so that in the follow-up book (which is Princess Sa’Mya’s story) there’s another girl-on-girl scene.
Mind you, my stories are all M/F sci-fi romance, but for some reason there’s just a freaky twist. Maybe that’s why I ended up with Ellora’s Cave, where my freakiness can be supported.
Here’s an excerpt:
“I wonder what he sees in you,” Sa’Mya said.
She leisurely skimmed the water’s surface with her fingertips. Recognizing a rhetorical question when she heard one, Eva didn’t respond. “I am offering him all of this.” Sa’Mya ran her wet hands down her voluptuous body.
Her double-D breasts hung ripe and full. Her neatly tapered waist led to full-sized hips, a round ass and, of course, long, shapely legs.
“You have the body of a child.” Sa’Mya sneered.
I could apply a small amount of pressure to her windpipe.
Clearly the princess didn’t know anything about fighting. Talking smack while your back is to an opponent was a no-no. Read the rest of this entry »
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How Many of us dreamed of one day marrying a prince, of being lifted out of our poor beginnings and transformed into a beautiful princess? As we matured into young women we gobbled up romances about women who fell in love with a Greek Tycoon or an Italian shipping magnate. We have a fascination with the rich, but being wealthy doesn’t necessarily guarantee happiness.
I worked that angle in the new series I started called the BILLIONAIRE ONLINE DATING SERVICE. My heroes have all made their fortunes and now find that they want love and marriage to a special someone, but the special someone is illusive when you have the fame of fortune. Most women are after them for their bank accounts, not their hearts. My heroes are stuck and can’t find dates with real women who aren’t looking to land a billionaire with a fat bankroll. BILLIONAIRE HUSBAND TEST is the 1st book in the series and tells the story of one billionaire who hasn’t forgotten his poor roots and wants a woman who isn’t after his money.
Ever wished you’d married a billionaire? How would your billionaire have made his billions? Comment for a chance to win a download of TARZAN & JANINE the first book in the TEXAS BILLIONAIRES CLUB Series by ELLE JAMES and DELILAH DEVLIN.
Billionaire Husband Test
Billionaire Online Dating Service Series
Dec 2012
Elle James aka Myla Jackson spent twenty years livin’ and lovin’ in South Texas, ranching horses, cattle, goats, ostriches and emus. A former IT professional, Elle is proud to be writing full-time, penning intrigues and paranormal adventures that keep her readers on the edge of their seats. She has 31 works with Harlequin, self published works under pen name Elle James, over 40 works with other publishers including Samhain, Elloras’ Cave, Kensington and Avon and 18 works self-published under pen name Myla Jackson. Now living in northwest Arkansas, she isn’t wrangling cattle, she’s wrangling her muses, a malti-poo and yorkie. When she’s not at her computer, she’s traveling, out snow-skiing, boating, or riding her ATV, dreaming up new stories.
As I sit here staring at a blank screen, I’m thinking about what I’ve done over the past year and all the things left unfinished. A brand new year is upon us, and I don’t want to fall into the same quagmire of partially-finished things of years past.
I always start the year with great intentions; plans to do more, do better and finish everything I start. That never-ending diet that goes off the rails faster than you can say “chocolate.” The gym membership to go along with said diet. The manuscript I promise myself will get finished, as soon as I’ve turned in my current WIP. Trust me, it never happens. I have so many books in various states of writing, I’m never sure which one to work on next—so I end up starting something new.
My paranormal novella, Second Chances, happened that way. I was writing a romantic suspense single title. Things were flowing, the plot and mystery worked. It’s not like I had writer’s block of anything. I just had a dream. A vivid, full color, complete to the last detail dream. A sensual love scene between two people who’d been together for a long time and loved each other to the depths of their souls. An explosive, sexual and out-and-out, over-the-top HOT dream! At the end of the dream there was a twist I wasn’t expecting (but isn’t that the way with dreams—they take on a life of their own).
I thought about that scene/dream all of the next day, playing it over and over in my head. After working the day job, when I finished, I sat down and started writing. Within a couple of hours, I had written the entire scene from my dream. It felt good. But it was really short, definitely not long enough to do anything with. So I sent it to my critique partner, just to see what she thought.
She loved it! She’s rarely surprised but said that the ending did just that—but in a good way. Then she asked, how did they get to this point? What brought these two people to this place?
We all know how a writer’s mind works; I had to figure out the “why.” Why these two? Why Destiny’s Desire Lodge? What did Ryan’s recurring dreams mean?
Before long, Second Chances was born, a paranormal romance novella, revolving around fulfilling second chances and dreams that are bigger that we can imagine.
My hope for you in the coming New Year is love, joy, laughter, and fulfilling all the Second Chances that come your way.
A firefighter in Denver, Ryan Jackson still grieves the loss of his brother who died almost two years earlier on Christmas Eve. He thought he’d gotten past the loss until he began having dreams about his dead brother. In the dreams his brother asks him for something–impossible.
Ryan’s wife, Rose, knows something’s wrong. For the last several months Ryan’s grown more withdrawn and distant. She loves him and knows he loves her, but doubts begin to creep in. She’s determined to find out why her husband is withdrawing from her and win him back–no matter the cost.
An early Christmas gift, an unexpected trip, and haunting dreams. Can the love shared between Ryan and Rose overcome grief and guilt and lend a little magic for a second chance at happiness?
EXCERPT FROM SECOND CHANCES:
Rose walked around the dining room, putting the final touches on the table. Flowers and candles, even a bottle of white wine. Long stem crystal glasses next to the good china. Dinner was ready. She’d stopped at Ryan’s favorite Italian place on the way home, picked up all the foods he loved. Though she was no slouch in the kitchen, the horrendous hours she had put in all week left little time or energy for cooking. And besides, she wanted everything to be extra special tonight.
Soft music played in the background, the strains of the classical piano concerto wafted from the speakers. Soothing and romantic music setting the stage for the evening to come. The lights were dimmed and tall taper candles cast a warm glow across the dining room. Perfect. She’d done her best to set up a long-needed romantic evening with her husband.
Something was bothering him, kept him on edge for the past few months. She hadn’t pressed. He’d tell her whatever it was when the time was right. Still she worried.
Is he unhappy? Am I not enough anymore? The insidious doubts niggled at the back of her mind, managed despite her best efforts to creep into her head each day. She tried to ignore them, push them away, but the fear still managed to insinuate itself into her thoughts.
I can’t lose him. He’s my life. I’ll do whatever it takes, fight whoever I have to fight. I’m not giving up on Ryan. On us. Read the rest of this entry »
Impressive if they’re done right, book trailers may be a valuable tool to grab attention for a new release. I’m not certain they translate directly into increased sales—but then I haven’t found a way to determine whether any of my promotional efforts directly affect my bottom line. Still, I like trailers.
They can be pricey, though—particularly if live video is done by skilled professionals. Purchased trailers using stock photos and inexpensive music tracks can still cost upward of $150—a lot upward depending on the graphic artist/promotion company that you use, as well as the cost of photos and music the artist chooses.
Recently I discovered Windows Live Movie Maker (free from Microsoft) and found how simple it is to produce simple videos using it, from start to upload. The only other software I use to size, crop and modify stock photos—and occasionally to create a fancy text sign or two—is Adobe Photoshop. (It’s certainly not free or inexpensive, but I already had it. If I had needed to buy something simply to do these functions, not to play with for my own amusement, I would get Photoshop Elements or use one of the many free software selections online to perform these functions.)
So I can make my own book trailers. What materials do I need to make them?
Book cover—the tone of the trailer needs to reflect the cover art since it’s generally included as the beginning and/or ending frame.
Some background music. I troll the web looking for free—or royalty-free—MP3s that reflect the tone of my books: dark, lively, romantic, etc. When I find free ones, I download them for possible future use.
The story I want to tell in the video. I usually follow the content of blurbs I’ve already written for the book, which saves time and effort that it takes to select the photos and write the text.
Some stock photos, either free (preferable) or royalty-free. (For a one-minute video, you’ll need the book cover and five to seven photos that illustrate the text on each frame. If you can’t find a suitable photo, you can write text on a blank screen and apply a text effect to it.)
A few hours (how many depends on how much you play with your story line and how much you decide to crop/modify your images—the sample above, for my upcoming book, WILD ONE, has three frames that I created in Photoshop to use more than one image on a frame and to add fancy text. It took a while!)
Over the course of eight or nine months, I’ve accumulated a bulging folder full of stock photos, most of which I’ve found for free. I’ve bought and stockpiled a few Jimmy Thomas RNC cover shots and cropped them for use in trailers. And I’ve taken and filed away a lot of photos that I’ve taken, but I won’t use those that include people or readily identifiable landmarks unless I have releases—I don’t care to get sued.
Making book trailers is fun, a nice break from writing words. Since I write mostly contemporaries, putting videos together for them isn’t too stressful because I’ve been able to find a lot of free material that works to illustrate particular frames of my books. I doubt it would be nearly as easy to locate trailer material for historicals because of costuming and so on. If I wanted to do a video for a futuristic or a shifter story, I’d probably have to create many of the frames from scratch—something that would require a lot more graphic art skill than I have.
One of the most challenging aspects of writing romantic suspense is that you basically have to split yourself into pieces to get it done. If you’ve read Alice in Wonderland lately, you probably have a good idea of how romance writers operate – we spend a lot of time arguing with the creative side of our personality, which is approximately one part reckless adventurer, one part sex-crazed nympho, one part dark and scary gremlin, and one part petulant teenager. Together, all these parts operate the fingers to get the words on the page, but most of the time, it’s like herding cats.
First and foremost, there’s the romance, which is the heart and soul, and in a lot of ways, the easy part of the story, for me at least. Giving characters serious, toe-curling chemistry and then dumping them in a messy, impossible situation is the best part of the process. I don’t know about other writers, but I take great glee in making things as obnoxious for my hero and heroine as possible – after all, you don’t want to make it too easy for them, do you? It’s more satisfying if they have to work for it!
The second part of the process is the suspense, and this is where the serious challenge comes in, because you’re trying to accomplish a bunch of different things at once. You want the audience to wonder what’s coming next, you want them to worry about the characters, and you want to avoid anyone figuring out the puzzle before you’re ready. So, you have to write the conflict with all of its intricate little pieces, and then you have to go back and hide all of those pieces to keep your characters in the dark. Then you have to rewrite the story backwards, or so it seems – do all the pieces fit? Does it all make sense, or does the villain just reveal himself/herself out of nowhere without enough evidence?
And then you still have to wind the romance story thread back into the suspense and make the two threads complement each other and work together to tell one complete story.
It’s exhausting. And exhilarating.
The best emails I get are from readers going, “OMG, I never would have guessed he was the villain! So scary!” Those are the emails that make me hop up and down with delight, but I’d be lying if I said that the whole process isn’t a hair-pulling, nail-biting, coffee-swilling nightmare of a writing exercise that takes loads of outlining, structure, shredding of notes and ideas and sanity, and something no sane writer should undertake. Ever. Which is why, of course, I have two sequels planned for the Bright’s Ferry series – SAFE FROM THE FIRE, for February, and SAFE FROM THE STORM, for next summer. LOL.
Why?
Because, when it comes down to it, the cheerful, loving, playful, flirty persona is really only happiest when the crazed, deranged, “let’s write a serial killer storyline” persona has dragged the characters through the muck to make sure that they really deserve their happily ever after.
Isn’t writing fun?
Nursing a broken heart and a couple of bullet wounds, no-nonsense Evie Asher leaves her career with the NYPD to move into her grandmother’s old house in a small New England town in the middle of nowhere. She wants nothing more than a new start and a chance to forget the mistakes of the past and get her life back on track, minus the shootouts. Her plans are shattered when her new neighbor, the town’s hunky young mayor, starts receiving death threats from a dangerous stalker. Evie is unwillingly drawn back into a world of peril, and while her bruised heart tries to resist the out-of-control sparks that zing between them, she is forced to stay close to keep him safe as the stalking quickly turns to murder…
Colin Daniels has his hands full running Bright’s Ferry as their popular and busy young mayor. He doesn’t have time for stalkers or threats, much less a lovely gray-eyed cop with control issues who insists that the stalker is a member of the community, someone he knows and loves. When the situation takes a deadly turn, Colin finds that he has no choice but to give up some control himself and rely on Evie to protect him until they can unmask the killer. Passion sizzles between two stubborn hearts as they clash over the best way to handle a dangerous situation, but can they keep each other safe as the dark closes in?
SHIVERING AND COMPLETELY DRENCHED, Evie dropped her backpack on the Daniels’ porch. It was a beautiful hundred-year-old farmhouse that was obviously in the process of being restored – scaffolding protected a new wing off the side of the two-story structure. Evie spared only a quick glance around – her teeth were starting to chatter.
Fingers tight with cold, Evie raised a hand to knock.
Thanks, Delilah for hosting me! Not every day I get to hang out with a Penthouse Pet, lol.
