I’ve been a little overwhelmed on the home front, but didn’t want you to think I’d
forgotten about the Three Signed Books Contest. I’ll post the winner and a new contest on my blog tomorrow! ~DD

IDEAS

When I meet people and mention I’m a novelist, their first question is often, “Where do you get your ideas?” I’m absolutely shameless and will scavenge for inspiration everywhere. Sometimes I happen to overhear an enticing chance remark. Other times, I’m doing research for one book and find ideas for another. I love going to movies, and a minor character might spark my imagination in a completely new direction. A poet friend and I liked to sit in outdoor cafes to watch for people who’d make intriguing characters. When we’d spot one, he’d make notes for a poem, and I’d find a way to use him/her in a book.

One night we were in a restaurant and our waiter had a thick accent we couldn’t understand. We didn’t want to insult him and did the best we could, but he made a terrific space pirate who shouted orders his crew couldn’t understand and follow. I also like to observe the way people move. Some have a distinctive walk, and whether it’s a proud posture, or a lazy slump, I use it. Colin Firth leads with his shoulders, as an example. For fun, note how your favorite actors walk.

My February Retro Romance from Samhain, CAPTIVE HEART, is a Viking adventure I wrote after traveling through Scandinavia. There are wonderful museums there with beautiful thousand-year-old artifacts that provide excellent detail for a story. There is a museum in Oslo with the Oseberg ship found in a burial mound. It’s complete down to the intricate carvings and it’s a marvelous thing to see. There’s another Viking ship museum in Roskilde, Denmark. In approximately 1070, the five ships were sunk in the harbor to protect the city from invasion. They were excavated in 1962 and are displayed in a wonderful building right on the coast. Standing beside them, I felt an eerie sensation, as though the ships were haunted by the men who’d sailed them. I couldn’t wait to get home and begin a book where my hero and heroine sailed in a proud Viking ship bound for adventure and best of all, romance.

I’ll give a print or ebook copy of CAPTIVE HEART to someone who comments. It’s one of my most popular books, and a New York Times bestseller. I love to hear from fans, please send me an email:phoebeconn@earthlink.net or visit my website.

Remember! The Three Signed Books Contest continues. Find the details here! ~DD

The Reading Rush

My Mommy Wine Club friends think I must read very fast. It’s funny for me because to my online circle of avid romance readers a book a week is a crawling pace. It’s all about perspective.

I learned to speed read in high school, and it did make college textbooks easier to plow through. I still like the technique for non-fiction, but I like to enjoy my novels. I like to read them slow, chapter by chapter, a small sip of loveliness before I fall asleep each night.

Which, as any romance reader will tell you, is not always the best idea because there are some stories that you literally cannot put down and the next thing you know, the clock has hit single digits and you’d rather drink a pot of coffee tomorrow than set the story aside tonight.

In my latest book, For Kicks, the heroine learns to speed read at the beginning of an extended business trip and winds up using her time in airports, planes, and hotel rooms to explore interests she never had time for. Astrology, diet, knitting, Tarot, origami, reflexology…if you can find it in an airport bookstore, she’s liable to pick it up. My former expense account and I plead the fifth on where the idea for this little habit came from.

For a chance to win a $5 e-gift card to Amazon or B&N (which you can use to buy own copy of For Kicks)…tell me, what have you always wanted to learn about? Why don’t you do something to learn more about it today?

Catch up with Jenna on her website, blog, Twitter (@jennabb), or Facebook.

If the shoe fits…run with it!

Breeze Cohen senses something is missing from her life, but her career doesn’t leave time for anything but retail business strategy—particularly the upcoming product launch for her cornerstone client, Nitrous.

No way is she going to let live-for-the-moment Logan Chandler tarnish her professional reputation. Even if the ex-athlete poster boy for Nitrous makes her heart pound like she’s run a marathon.

After surviving a near-fatal accident, Logan doesn’t want to waste a minute of life. It’s meant to be lived, ravished, enjoyed—and there’s no one he’d like to ravish more than Breeze. There’s a deep pool of mutual desire beneath her icy façade. He can feel it every time they touch.

When a training snafu at Nitrous launches Breeze into damage control, Logan is ready and waiting to lace up and take her for a run on the wilder side—if he can catch her.

Warning: Side effects may include a desire to melt chocolate with body heat, spontaneous phone sex, and an intense drive to find loopholes in your workplace fraternization policy.

Kari Thomas Interviews a Dragon!

Since the Dec. 7, 2011 release of my latest book, SURRENDER HER TOUCH, I have had so many Readers write me and ask that I do MORE Dragon Shapeshifter stories.  Writing Slade Stryker’s story was my first foray into the fascinating world of Dragons, and now I have this sneaky suspicion it won’t be the last time.

As I was sitting at my desk contemplating this, in walked my sexy Alpha Hero. Or should I say, he “stalked” into my office. Dragon shifters seem to stalk everywhere, as though anyone or anything in their path is prey. It must be their inherent “primal” souls remembering when they once ruled the world at the top of the food chain. Sexy, but intimidating to say the least!

I tried to hide my surprise as Slade nonchalantly settled into the chair opposite me. “Hey, Slade,” I said oh-so-casually. “Any reason for this visit? I thought I’d settled everything with you when I wrote the words ‘The End’.”

“Good morning, Kari,” he rumbled sexily. (He always talks that way!) “I flew over this morning to talk to you about something that has developed since you wrote ‘Surrender Her Touch’.” (When he says “flew”, he means in dragon form! How kewl is that!)

“Problem?” I shook my head. I couldn’t think of any problems developing once the book is released. Everything pretty much goes smoothly. It’s all that “before” stuff that can drive a writer crazy (the edits, etc).

“Yeah,” he rumbled again.  “You exposed us with that book. I’ve had to keep my Firestorm Team patrolling around-the-clock ever since the book came out. We’ve had nonstop ‘tourists’ climbing all over the woods looking for easy access into the Compound. None of our people can go into town without being accosted by curious humans.” He growled low, a sound indicating his inner dragon was slowly awakening. “Why didn’t you think about all this before you wrote about us?”

Gulp. Actually, I had thought about it. But I was so sure that people would think it only Fiction and not go looking for the real dragons! “Sorry?” I gave him my best “I’m-really-innocent-despite-the-proof” smile. It didn’t work. He glared at me. And when Slade Stryker gives his dragon glare, you know you’re in trouble. “What can I do to help?” Was it even possible? Readers everywhere were now out hunting the Shamara Dragon Clan, and it was all my fault.

“You’re going to write a Retraction,” he announced in a soft demand. “Tell those Readers it’s all Fiction.”

UhOh. “I can’t do that,” I mumbled. “The book is out and more Readers are reading every day.”

Slade stared hard at me for a long minute. Was that steam I saw coming from his nostrils? Never push a shapeshifter to reveal his inner dragon….

“Fine,” he said, his tone brooking no argument. “I’m going to tell you more dragon stories. Some so horrifying, so incredibly unbelievable, you’ll have nightmares for weeks. Then, you’re going to write those stories. THAT should scare off all those Readers.”

Meekly I explained, “But Romance can’t be horrifying, Slade.”

He grinned, the sight so sexy I had to remind myself that he already had a Mate. “Oh, there will be romance. Passionate, hot, romance to curl your toes. You’re going to leave those Readers ….gasping.”

SURRENDER HER TOUCH
https://www.eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781615725588
Paranormal, Shapeshifters, Contemporary Romance

Kari Thomas
https://www.authorkari.com

Today, you have two chances to enter the Three Signed Books Contest. Post a comment here, then pop on over to Wild & Wicked Cowboys! ~DD

I love Mexico, love lying on the beach drinking margaritas and relaxing the day away.  Who doesn’t? 

But would you go on a vacation there with your hubby’s work wife? My husband wants to go to Mexico and stay for a week at the same time his work wife is there.  I don’t love the fact that he has a work wife, but I trust the guy.  Do I want to spend my time and money to go on a vacation with her, Mr. work wife, and a few other people from his company?  No.  I’m not even a little bit interested.  But he really wants to go.

Am I being completely selfish if I say no thanks?

I would love to hear all of your opinions on the subject, and I’ll leave you with an excerpt from my latest book, Double Dare.

Sydney James straddled the hard bodied, sun bronzed working man on the bed beneath her. He was fresh out of the shower with only a white towel and her legs wrapped around him.

“Where are you going to be working tomorrow?” She leaned down and sucked at Logan’s earlobe then flicked the tip of it with her tongue.

He smelled like soap and man and the heat rushing to her crotch made Sydney almost forget her mission. “Somewhere close to my cabin I hope?”

His cock came to attention between her legs. Long and hard, its heat pressed against the skin of her inner thigh and her pussy clenched in response. This was one of the best things about dating a twenty-six year old. He was up anytime she even suggested sex. Logan Ford was a good match for exactly what she needed. Smoking sex, and lots of it.
Read the rest of this entry »

First, I want to thank Delilah Devlin for allowing me to be on her blog today. I am a big fan of Delilah’s and she might not know this, but she is one of the authors who influenced me to take my writing to the next level.

If you don’t know me, my name is Melissa Schroeder and I write romance in time periods from historical to futuristic and in heat levels in sensual to erotic.

My newest book coming out this month is The Cursed Clan: Callum. It is the first of a five book paranormal series. The first book is a bit of a discovery for the reader and the heroine, Dr. Phoebe Chilton, and with each book, the magic and mystery will grow. There are five cousins, Callum, Angus, Logan, Fletcher and Anice, who will each have their own book as they race to break the curse. It isn’t quite as erotic as my Harmless series, but it his highly sensual. I really fell in love with Callum and Phoebe. They are a wonderful couple and I hope the readers like them as much as I do!

Meet me around the web:

WEBSITE
TWITTER
FACEBOOK FAN PAGE
THE CURSED CLAN SITE
HARMLESS ADDICTS

Here is a little tidbit from the book.

Preorder from Are.

As Laird, Callum Lennon feels he has always failed to protect his cousins. Callum’s impulsiveness caused the death of his father and the experience has scarred not only his body, but his soul. From that point on, he made sure to always go with the more logical choice in every matter. When his younger cousin Angus finds clues that might help break the curse, Callum begrudgingly hires Phoebe Chilton to investigate. Callum doesn’t like bringing outsiders into their family affairs. Their life would become fodder for the tabloids if anyone were to find out about the curse. It doesn’t help that the instant he meets Dr. Chilton he’s attracted. But, he doesn’t really have a choice because she might be their last hope.

An expert in archeology, Phoebe has always been dwarfed by her parents’ shadow. Their high standards had her in college by thirteen and earning a second PhD by twenty-two. But her career and her broken marriage have left her needing something more than just diplomas and degrees. She wants to prove that her interest in legends, especially Celtic legends, is as important as her parents’ work. When the Lennon family contacts her, she sees the opportunity to win a massive research grant. With a long-time rival breathing down her back, she jumps at the Lennons’ offer her, hoping it will ensure her the grant. But uncovering the Lennon family secrets, and her attraction to Callum, could prove more than she can handle.

Forces outside the family are determined to ensure that they fail. When an old enemy threatens both the well being of the clan and the fragile new love, Callum will have to choose between believing his mind or his heart.

 * * * * *

“I protect what is mine. I’ll not allow you to use Angus.”

She moved away from the counter, her body tense with anger. “I have never used another person, especially in that way. You’ve convinced yourself that I decided to somehow use my considerable wiles on your cousin to somehow gain who knows what.”

When she said it like that, he felt juvenile and petty.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Lennon. I’ll avoid your cousins from now on.”
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Building a Series

There are two ways to do it, and I’ve done both. First, there’s the series that just grows from a single book: a new story about a secondary character readers liked a lot. The other type of series is planned from the beginning and generally begins with a group of potential main characters or a special concept.

Siblings—a family connection in which all the main characters are members of one dysfunctional family.

They don’t have to be actual siblings, These characters could easily be best friends from childhood, back together after they’ve grown apart, or coworkers thrown together for a project that causes conflict among them/their significant others. The only limitation as to creating characters for a series is the author’s own imagination.

One series I’ve sold to Ellora’s Cave for release in 2012 is based on a family connection. I developed aTexasranching dynasty led by a patriarch with secrets and feuds with neighbors that has spanned a generation. Tired of cowboys and oil wells and little else, I gave the heir apparent, a bad boy with a history of failure and a passion for the wind farms he’s developing on his mother’s land—a source of conflict between him and his father. Scandal is always good for spicing up erotic romance, so I created Daddy’s secret love child, a  high-achieving guy who tries to show the heir up at every turn. Finally, to round out the series, I chose the only daughter, known as “Wild One”, for the final book. CADEN KINK seems to be shaping up pretty well. Look for the first of the three books in the second quarter of the year.

A special concept—A series with continuing secondary characters and a common but mostly independent theme throughout.

Think connections: a common setting, a thread of similar but independent situations, a cast of secondary characters who pull the series together. The series might spin off a previous series, bringing continuity and providing secondary characters who were fully developed when they were main characters in the previous series books.

COURTHOUSE CONNECTIONS, also coming this year from Ellora’s Cave, will consist of four books in which the main characters of each book have reason to engage the lawyers whose stories were told in the LAWYERS IN LOVE series. All the main characters are 1) in some kind of trouble that places their freedom in jeopardy, 2) in a legal situation that could ruin them financially and emotionally or 3) in an employee situation with the members of the firm.

I’ve never done a series like this before. So far, it’s been a lot of fun. I hope the results will go over with readers!

Check out my website: https://annjacobs.net.

Voyuerism. Is it always a bad thing? Do you see the pretty girl pumping gas? No, that’s not me. Do you see the creeper gazing with saliva gathering in the corners of his mouth? No, that’s not me either. I’m the gal behind the camera. (I didn’t take this picture. But, this is how I see the world.)

I’ve learned that if I want to be a better writer, I have to be able to describe what I see. So, I watch. In the picture above, I see a woman who is trying her hardest to not look at the creepy man gazing at her. I see a man who’s gazing at a woman he thinks is out of his league, but he doesn’t have the good manners needed to keep from ogling her.

I also see what could be—as any good voyeur does. I see the small child that might run away from his mother’s hand and dart in front of the creepy guy’s truck. I see a man who would be torn in two if he’d injured a child while daydreaming about a woman who couldn’t give a damn about him. I see a woman pumping gas that has lived through a life of being “the hot chick” and now she can’t even pump gas without somebody scoping her out. Her shoulders are back, so she probably has some kind of confidence, but her stomach is tucked in too, so that could mean that she might be holding her breath until he passes—nervous, fearful even.

Are you getting the picture yet? If you want to write believable stories, you have to look at the big picture. The whole picture. When I’m playing with my characters, I have to think about what they are thinking, how they’d react, what could happen, what will happen…the list is endless. But, I take all of this from things and situations I know. If you want to write really great characters, study people. I wouldn’t suggest being like the guy in the picture and completely creeping on people, but pay attention. Take notes. I always carry a small notebook with me and when I see something interesting I’ll jot it down.

I’ll give you the perfect example. Today, we were walking at the mall on lunch—part of my thin in 2012 plan—and I noticed this woman snatch her child by the arm, literally drag him three feet back to her baby’s stroller and give him a verbal lashing. The kid’s response was one of pure shock and dismay. “You grabbed me!” His voice rose, but he didn’t shout, didn’t really react in any other way except for a small “O” forming on his mouth and his eyes becoming saucers. This tells me that Mom must have been at her limit. He wasn’t accustomed to her dragging on him or he would have had a different reaction—maybe anger or screaming or fear. But, this kid was pretty calm. The woman leaned over and explained why she yanked him across the hall and then they strolled on down the mall. She had patience, even when I knew she had to be angry to have snatched him up like this. Controlled. What was her breaking point? Was it the kid wondering off or the fact that he was touching things?

Oh, the fun of people watching. I can do it for hours and it makes for totally good study for this craft I love so much! Do you people watch? Can you take something you see in everyday life and making a story from it? Do you give them a story like I do? Please share! Oh, and I want to thank Delilah for letting me come play on her blog today. It’s my B-Day, btw!

Rachel Firasek grew up in the south and despite the gentle pace, she harassed life at full steam. Her curiosity about mythology, human nature, and the chemical imbalance we call love led her to writing. Her stories began with macabre war poems and shifted to enchanted fairytales, before she settled on a blending of the two.

Today you’ll find her tucked on a small parcel of land, surrounded by bleating sheep and barking dogs, with her husband and children. She entertains them all with her wacky sense of humor or animated reenactments of bad 80’s dance moves.

She’s intrigued by anything unexplained and seeks the answers to this crazy thing we call life. You can find her where the heart twists the soul and lights the shadows… or at www.rachefirasek.com.