Visiting Old [Fictional] Friends

I love characters. Characters who are funny, characters who are sweet but try to hide it, characters who have strange quirks and don’t care who knows about it. Plot’s lovely, evocative writing adds a lot to my enjoyment, but if the characters don’t grab me, I won’t enjoy a book.

I think I create pretty good characters. (At least the male ones – I’m still working through my issues with writing female romantic leads, but I’m pretty pleased with Tara, the MC of Shining Armor, due out April 2 from Liquid Silver Books). I love my boys. But I love other people’s boys, too. Do you guys remember S.E. Hinton’s books? I fell in love with the characters from The Outsiders with full pre-teen passion.  When that book was over, I would have happily read about the characters cleaning the house, going to school, watching TV… anything, no plot needed, just so I could get my fix. When there was a mention of them in one of Hinton’s other books (Rumblefish, maybe? Or That was Then, This is Now?) I was like a cat on really good ‘nip. It was perfect – my boys were still okay, and living their fictional lives.

Dark Horse is the first book I ever wrote, the first thing I tried to get published, and I had no idea how long books were supposed to be. So I just wrote. I wrote the main story, the one that’s told in Dark Horse and Out of the Darkness, and then I wrote a lot of little extras, because I wanted to see how my boys were doing. I missed them, and I wanted to visit.

I said I wouldn’t write any more in the series, because I felt like I’d left the boys in a good place, and because I’d already written so damn much!  But then I started thinking about the guys again, wondering if they were okay… and wondering how well they’d stand up to a crisis. Of Dark and Light (due out March 26 from Dreamspinner Press!) is the book that came from me putting them through that crisis.

Traditional fiction is pretty rigid about what constitutes a story: we all know the plot graph from English class, and writers know what publishers are looking for. But the world is changing. Fan fiction, I think, did a lot of this, with writers playing with characters created by others, giving them new adventures and new worlds. But maybe it’s time for original fiction to catch up. With e-publishing, we’re no longer so limited by how much it costs to print a short story, or the challenges of distribution. Maybe e-publishing will lead to authors writing their own time stamps and AUs and all the other fun little fandom traditions.

I’d love to see it, as a reader and as a writer. When I really fall in love with a character, and the book ends, I don’t want the relationship to be over! I know we can’t go steady anymore, but couldn’t we at least have a few reunion dates?

Which books have left you guys with that aching sense of sadness at the end, just because you don’t get to hang out with the characters anymore? Would you like it if your favorite authors wrote little extras with the characters you love, or is your own imagination enough?

Ah… Spring.

In my part of the country, it’s looking a lot like Spring has sprung. Flowers are blooming and people are sneezing left and right.

For me, spring means two things: soccer and cleaning.

I’ve already started my mad rush of cleaning. Yes, I’m sick, I know. This past weekend the floors were swept, scrubbed, and vacuumed. Even the corners, crevices and those icky places along the baseboards had a spotlight on them. Do you have any idea what hides there??? *shudder*

But my physical house isn’t the only thing that needs a good cleaning. I REALLY need to get through all those somewhat intangible things that float along the edges of my life. All those things-to-do that never quite got done. The projects that I started but didn’t quite finish. The list of goals I want to accomplish, but haven’t yet. New story ideas that I’ve been tucking away on random pieces of paper. I simply must find time to go through all of that STUFF and get it organized before I either loose the thought or it keeps getting buried and therefore, never done.

Surely I’m not the only working-mom who always seems to be chasing her tail?? What helps you guys keep up with everything? Other than a personal assistant, that is. That’s just not in the budget. LOL

While you’re thinking about that, take a much-needed and probably well deserved break and go check out my new Quickie from Ellora’s Cave, Down to Business. Find out about the bargain Leigh Templeton made with her husband John so they could have a work-free weekend getaway. Down to Business is available on Ellora’s Cave and Amazon Kindle.

Buy at Ellora’s Cave
Buy at Amazon

Stop by my blog – I’d love to hear from you!

~ Dena Garson
https://denagarson.com
https://twitter.com/#!/DenaGarson

Drama and a Giveaway!

Thanks so much for having me, Delilah! Hi everyone 🙂 I’m Gillian Archer and I’m guest blogging here because my first story with Carina Press releases today.

Unlike my heroine in Wicked Weekend, I don’t have any sibling angst. Don’t get me wrong, my sister and I used to fight like cats and dogs…when we were little. My mom always says she knew we were really going at it when all the yelling and bickering would stop and it suddenly got quiet in our room—that was when she would yell down the hall to “knock it off in there!” Probably had a bit to do with our two year age difference. But we grew out of it somewhere around middle school.

Now as adults, my sister and I are completely different people. She’s an analytical hippy chick who is getting her PhD in Radiochemistry (of all things) and practically worships Bob Marley. Whereas I love everything George Strait and used to be a mining engineer (weird, I know!) but now spend my days writing steamy romance scenes. There’s so much we don’t agree about, but my week is not complete unless I talk to my sis at least once. What can I say? I love her 🙂

And yet I absolutely cannot get enough of family/sibling angst. Whether it’s in books or on television, I’m glued to the drama. The latest reality family spectacle that I can’t get enough of is American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior. My husband watches for the bike builds but I’m glued to the angst. The lawsuits and nasty comments about their own family members break my heart. Will they ever be able to mend fences and be a family again? How can anyone move past the kind of history that these guys have? These are the kinda questions that fuel my writing muse.

So when it came to writing my heroine, I just had to give her some family angst. There’s a history between the sisters that’s apparent from the first page, and they have a few run-ins along the way as well as the prerequisite sibling jealousy. Of course when she meets a hawt guy and has some naughty fun with him she realizes she has no reason to be jealous of her sister. It’s so much better being her. *grin*

Why did Lauren Vaughn introduce her sister to the man she herself was crazy about? Now Lauren is watching the happy couple at their combined bachelor/bachelorette party—while Lauren sits all alone at the bar. Until she spots a hot stranger with the telltale black handkerchief in his pocket: the signal for “seeks no-strings affair with sexy submissive.” Lauren can’t take her eyes off him. So when he comes over, she kicks her inner good girl to the curb and follows Jamie Forman to his room, where he makes her scream with pleasure all night long.

But Jamie is a complicated man. He can’t handle how desperately he wants her in his bed—and his life. It’s up to Lauren to teach him how to make all night last forever.

You can read more about Wicked Weekend at my website, or buy it today from Carina or other book selling sites like Amazon or B&N!

So do you have some sibling angst? Or a favorite book or tv show dealing with family angst? Leave me a comment and you’ll have a chance to win a book from my backlist.

Thanks for having me Delilah!

* * * * *

Gillian Archer lives in Northern Nevada with her amazing husband and two goofy dogs. When she’s not writing (but probably should be) Gillian is usually reading, baking or walking her very spoiled dogs. You can find her at her website, on Facebook or Twitter.

Some Like it Hotter

As the author of three romantic comedies, I was comfortable in my genre. I knew how to make my readers laugh with my characters and sigh at the most romantic moments. My romantic comedies are like a good Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan film. So what would possess me to leave my comfort zone for something different? The answer is…Some Like It Hotter.

At a writer’s conference, I was sitting at a table surrounded by erotica writers. We had an eye-opening conversation about the number of books they’d written, their loyal following and their sales numbers, which blew mine out of the water.

When I got home, I went online and purchased one of their books. I was pleasantly surprised to find their story wasn’t that much different from mine, just with more and hotter sex scenes. The writing was superior, the plot was captivating, the characters were believable and engaging. That’s when it occurred to me; maybe I could write erotica.

The thought was sticky and clung to my waking moments like a piece of tape I couldn’t get off my finger. Next thing I knew, my overactive imagination had come up with not one book, but a four book series: Hot PurSuits. Each book would have one of the playing card suits in the title.

My first attempt would be, Stealing Hearts, to be followed by Queen of the Clubs, Pay Back in Spades, and Not for Diamonds. Then, with the help of my brothers, of all people, we created a pen name to keep the genres separate. I decided to write under a pen name so that fans of Christie Walker Bos couldn’t accidentally read one of my erotica books. But I decided to link the two names for cross promotion purposes. I don’t care if people know that Susan Ashworthy is really Christie Walker Bos. I just wanted to make sure that readers knew there was a difference between the two lines. With titles ready, a pen name in hand, all that was left to do was write the first book. Easy, right?

Not as easy as I thought. Needless to say, the edits were extreme. I had a lot to learn about erotica. Which words you can and can’t use to describe certain body parts, what to leave in, what to leave out, (what to put in, when to put out?) I had this great idea to incorporate dripping hot wax on my hero in one of the sex scenes. My editor asked, “Have you ever tried that?” Well, no, actually I hadn’t. So I tried it and guess what…it really hurts…I mean hurts A LOT. So I changed it to painting him with warm liquid chocolate. The things you do for your craft.

One thing I did notice was my voice was the same. There is still a touch of humor in my erotica, and my characters are still “real” living people who just happen to have more frequent and hotter sex. Lucky them!

So Stealing Hearts finally was published and I held my breath until the first review came out. Holding breath, holding breath, holding breath…and, YES, my first review was a good one. Yeah. Now the real test…reader feedback. I sent copies to some of my Christie Walker Bos fans to see if they would like this new subgenre. Holding breath, holding breath, holding breath…and, YES, two thumbs up. But what I really wanted to see, the point of my whole experiment into the “dark side” was if royalties would be different. And guess what, they were. That first royalty check for Stealing Hearts was about 6 times larger than first royalty checks for my romantic comedies. So it’s true, more people really do like it hotter!

If you were to write erotica, would you use a pen name? Would you link your erotic line with your current genre?

Hot Cops and Strong Women

Thanks so much for letting me guest blog, Delilah! I really appreciate the opportunity. Hey, out there! Let me to introduce myself. My name is Melanie Atkins, and I’m obsessed with hot cops. I write romantic suspense with intense storylines, and I’ve tried writing erotic stories, but they’re just not for me. So I stick with the cops. Flawed, dark, sexy heroes who carry big guns.

Most of my favorite shows are crime dramas: Castle, In Plain Sight, Southland, Law & Order SVU, Unforgettable, The Killing, Blue Bloods, Memphis Beat, and the Glades, to name a few. All of them have strong heroes. Castle’s not a cop, but he is hot, he writes crime stories, and he helps the police. So that counts. I blog about that show after every new episode, too, by the way, on Lee Lofland’s The Graveyard Shift blog. Lee is an ex-cop who critiques the police procedure, while I give my take on the romance. We often give off a good cop-bad cop vibe, and that’s a lot of fun… but I digress.

Back to my flawed heroes. I like ’em troubled, with a plight only the heroine can solve. She, of course, is a strong, determined, independent woman who doesn’t need a man to lookout for her, but she just can’t walk away from the hero’s blatant masculinity. You get my drift. My stories might not be erotic, but they contain plenty of sexual tension, angst, and eventual satisfaction.

My latest release, BLOOD RITE, a single title romantic thriller from Whiskey Creek Press, gets this point across in spades. The hero in that one is Nick Marconi, a man in desperate need of the heroine’s help, but he doesn’t want it… because Gracie Simpson is a psychiatrist.

Here’s the blurb from the back of the book:

Women in New Orleans are dying. Women New Orleans Police Detective Nick Marconi has dated. To make matters worse, they have all been found with vials of his murdered sister’s blood in their throats. Nick is walking a tightrope between depression and rage. His superiors are worried about his mental health, so they send him to see psychiatrist Gracie Simmons.

Gracie is walking a tightrope of her own. She became a psychiatrist because she wants to help people, and in addition to private practice, she also treats police and parolees. The extra work gives her flashbacks about her father, however, a bad cop arrested when she was just fifteen. Then a former flame harasses her, and her best friend turns up dead. Desperate for a distraction, she makes Nick her special project. Only… he doesn’t want to be saved.

Somehow, I channeled that story and wrote it in six weeks — all 95,000 words. Nick talked to me, Gracie got angry with me, and I just kept writing. It’s my favorite of all the books I’ve written.

In addition to this book, I have another one up at Whiskey Creek: FLASH BANG is an Epic Award finalist. And I have two series out at Desert Breeze Publishing. Check out my New Orleans Detectives and Keller County Cops, plus a stand-alone novella. All have strong, damaged heroes in need of some sweet, hot lovin’. And boy, do they get it. In spades.

Website: https://www.melanieatkins.com
Blog: https://melanieatkins.wordpress.com

The Crazy Writer’s Life for Me!

With the fun of the new Snow White movie coming out, I can barely stand the wait. In the meantime I’m stuck…er…happily penning wildly erotic stories for the enjoyment of those waiting for the next great movie to come out. Oh, hell, you know you love the wildly erotic stories, f*** the movies. Our imaginations can be oh, so much more entertaining. With a storyline to follow, interesting characters come alive on the page to our wonder, delight and desire.

In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m in a crazily happy mood. Why, you might ask? Who knows? Perhaps it’s the fact that I recently contracted for 6 works under my other pen name (Elle James) for Harlequin. Or maybe it’s the unprecedented success (for me) of my latest Samhain cowboy book, BOOTS AND CHAPS or perhaps it’s the first draft of the incredibly hot cover for my next Samhain release BOOTS AND LEATHER coming out in August.

Truthfully, I think it’s an hysterical reaction to over commitment, with a vacation (to St. Thomas!!) coming up and too much to do in too short a time. *she laughs maniacally—bwahahaha*

Whatever the reason, I’ll ride this happy rollercoaster until it spins out of control and plummets to the earth for the few split-seconds this crazy writer slumps into the pits of hell—that dreaded place called self-doubt—only to rise again on the wave of a glorifying review from a loving fan.

Ah, the life of a writer…Who needs drugs?

Prize. Did someone say prize? I’m sure I heard someone say prize, therefore for anyone equally crazy enough to leave a comment in the spirit of insanity, I offer a chance to win a download of one of my fabulously erotic works. So please leave a comment of a purely ridiculous nature and maybe you too will catch the next round of lunacy. Come! Come! Comment!

BOOTS AND CHAPS

Welcome to the Ugly Stick Saloon

She gave up stripping to go legit…until three Kiowa cowboys bring on the down-and-dirty.

Jackson Gray Wolf is turning thirty, and what does he have to show for it? A ranch. No wife, no kids, no dates. He’s had his eye on the pretty owner of the Ugly Stick Saloon, but their one accidental encounter was interrupted before he could get her out of her take-me-now red cowboy boots.

Audrey Anderson isn’t in the market for a man. Been there, done that, has the scars to prove it. She retired her pole-dancing boots after purchasing the Ugly Stick Saloon, and now manages a stable of strippers. When she winds up one stripper short for a private party, she’s forced to slip on a mask and into the role of the mysterious Kiki.

Jackson didn’t want the birthday bash his twin brothers are throwing him, but his vow to ignore the rented stripper goes awry when she shows him exactly how far she’s willing to go—for all three of them.

Audrey can’t forget the sizzling heat between her and one sexy Kiowa in particular. Jackson. Trouble is, she’s not sure if he wants the bold, brassy Kiki, or if he’s ready for the wounded woman underneath.

Remember! The 4x2x4 Contest continues! Check yesterday’s post for details!

Thank you so much to Delilah for having me on the blog today!

Hi, my name is Eliza, I write erotic romance and I’m obsessed with the Undead. Okay, maybe obsessed might be a tad strong but I’ll let you be the judge of that.

I think this may have all started with the midnight premiere some time ago of the movie Zombieland. Instant love. I’m not sure I’ve been the same since. While I was busy quoting the zombie rules every chance I got, along came the television show The Walking Dead. Ooh so much zombie killing and craziness. I was hooked. Next came the apocalypse books so I could read up on how to be ready for the zombies. Somehow Zombies have become a regular source of entertainment for me and most of my family. I say most because every time we get to talking about these undead creatures, my youngest teenager gives me that look. You know that look. The one where clearly she thinks I have lost my mind.

Uhm maybe I have. Nah. It’s all fun.

Until now… What could I possibly do to take this zombie love to the next level you ask? How about a zombie apocalypse 5k obstacle race. Yep, this weekend Run For Your Lives will host such an event in Atlanta, and yours truly will be there and ready to rumble. Not only will I be running this obstacle course while chased by zombies with 8,000 other runners, I’m also signed up for a shift as a zombie. Professional makeup artists will transform my family and I into the undead, and we will stumble, shuffle, and moan our way around the course hopefully scaring the beejesus out of people. *insert evil laugh here* 

If you’d like to follow this insane journey, look for my live tweets from the event (with pictures) @elizagaylebooks this Saturday, March 3rd. As long as I have cell service and no one takes my phone away, there WILL be pictures. 🙂

(Oh and if you were wondering, none of this crazy weird zombie love has a thing to do with any of my books…yet)

Happy Friday Y’all!

Eliza

To learn more about my books and what I am writing, please stop by my website at: https://elizagayle.net or like my facebook fan page for the latest updates and exclusive content at: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorElizaGayle

My latest release is a sexy shifter menage available exclusively at All Romance eBooks as part of their Perfect Stranger series.The eBook is available in all formats including Kindle (mobi) and Nook (epub)!

Resistance may be possible, but who are they kidding?

While on a search and rescue mission in the middle of a snowstorm, Seth and his twin Trent catch the scent of an unfamiliar shifter. Drawn to locate the source they hike deep into the woods to an abandoned cabin where they find an enticing little jaguar in the throes of heat.

Tired of being smothered by her five brothers and the pressure to mate, Daisy wanted nothing more than a week alone in the middle of freaking no where. The last thing she needed was a run in with two sexy as sin—and totally off limits—cougar shifters. Unfortunately, she’s not the kind of woman to leave them out in the cold.

Faced with the misery of unmet sexual desire or hot, no strings attached sex with two men… What’s a girl to do?