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Showing posts from 2011

Bring on the Romance!

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Today is the launch of Cheri Colyer's debut Young Adult Paranormal Romance, Embrace . To celebrate, she's throwing and Embracing Change launch party and has written a fabulous guest post for my place.  Take it away, Cherie... Bring on the Romance by Cheri Colyer I love falling in love. That weak in the knees feeling you get when you meet that special someone. The wondering if he likes you too. Discovering everything there is to know about each other.  Romance novels let us do this over and over again. I’m not a big believer in love at first site. I think it’s more accurate to say that two people were instantly attracted to each other. It might be the way his lips tugged upward into a half smile when he was trying not to laugh or the hint of something untold when he glanced your way. Maybe it’s the way he is with other people or simply his Irish accent. Sometimes you aren’t even sure why you’re drawn to this person. In Embrace, Madison Riley feels a strong pull toward the ...

DeJa Vu: Should I Have Faded to Black?

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Yahoo, it's time for the much anticipated DeJa Vu blogfest !  Hosted by D.L. Hammons , Katie Mills , Lydia Kang , and Nicole Ducleroir .  I look forward to reading lots of great posts today. :) For the fest, I decided to dust off the very first blog post I ever wrote.  I still stand by everything I said in it, and I've noticed that the topic of sex in writing comes up a lot in the blogosphere---particularly during Insecure Writer's Group. So here you have my musings on the matter:  Should I Have Faded to Black? Originally posted March 6, 2010 My mother read the sexy chapters in my book.  She is less than happy. I s'pose I could end this particular blog right there; I mean, it's no big shock that a mother would have trouble with her daughter writing such a thing, right?  But what really bothers me about it is that those few chapters seem to have skewed her overall view of the story.  The message that I hoped to convey has been lost amidst h...

Christmas Cards

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I've got the stack o' pain-in-the-arse Christmas cards (almost) ready to go, so I'm rewarding myself and sharing with you a Christmas card of sorts that I actually enjoyed putting together. My college roomie recorded this song in the 80s and it's still the one I most look forward to hearing again when the season rolls around. So tell me the truth---what's your position on Christmas cards? If you send them, do you do it because you want to or because you feel like you have to? And if you don't---rock on, and for how many years have you been card-free? ~.~.~  Aaand, now it's time for the weekly Author! Author! Blog Bounce. Check out the Omnific Publising blog for lots of fun announcements, including a contest in which you can win a $100 Amazon gift card (ends really, really soon!), the December 99 cent Sale , aaaand the introduction of Omnific merchandise ---T-shirts, mugs, whatnot of Omni titles.  

Please Fill in My Blanks

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I'm just going to be up front:  I want to take advantage of you. Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Group brings so many talented writers to my place, and since the purpose of the group is to help each other out, I'm asking you to give it to me.  Help, that is.  I'm writing a short story for a friend, and I'm stuck on a line---that's where you come in.  Please read and consider the following and let me know in the comments how you'd fill in these blanks: "For the last ever-since-I’ve-been-here years, the holiday parties have sucked harder than (a) __________ on a teat full of __________." The more innocent and less political the connotation, the funnier I'll find it.  Also, I want it to be fabulous.  No pressure... Thank you for your participation. :) Haha!  I am having so much fun reading your creative thoughts.  Just as witty as I expected. It's Thursday now, so I'm going to piggy back this post onto the Author! ...

Talking to Tara Tyler

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Hey, grab a mug o' whatever and please join me at Tara Tyler Talks where I fess up to which parts of Three Daves are based on my reality.  I'm dying to see what you think of my alternate title. ;)

Sex and Psalms...Pseriously?

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Hey, I'm over at Fabulosity Reads today 'splaining myself and my unexpected use of scripture in my Chick Lit/Romance novel Three Daves .  Wendy posted her review on Monday. :) Congratulations to Wendy on opening the brand new on-line bookstore, Fabulosity Galore !  Lots of great books and honest, insightful reviews.     It's Thursday, so please join along on the Author! Author! Blog Bounce  

Thanks

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I'm about to dive into preparing my meager contributions to tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast (cranberry jello and artichoke dip) but before I do, I'd like to say Thank You to all of you for making this year of blogging a pleasurable endeavor. :) I imagine most of us will be slowing down in Blogville between now and the new year, but if you're looking for a couple of fun and easy prompts for December, allow me to suggest these two supercool blog parties: December 16 Deja Vu Blogfest Resurrect an old post that either didn't get the attention it deserved or simply bears repeating.     December 20 Embrace Change Launch Party    Tell your tale of embracing change and why you're glad you did.    Next week I'm excited to answer the two most frequently asked questions about Three Daves : What up with the Bible verses? (November 30 at Fabulosity Reads ) Which parts of this story are true? (December 2 at Tara Tyler Talks )

An Unlikely Pair

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Congratulations to Deborah Anastasia on the release of her second novel, Poughkeepsie. The Omnific Publishing library just keeps growing! He counts her smiles every day and night at the train station. And morning and evening, the beautiful commuter acknowledges him—just like she does everyone else on the platform. But Blake Hartt is not like the others . . . he’s homeless. Memories of a broken childhood have robbed him of peace and twisted delusions into his soul. He stays secluded from the sun, sure the world would run from him in the harsh light of day. Each day, Livia McHugh smiles politely and acknowledges her fellow commuters as she waits for the train to the city. She dismisses this kindness as nothing special, just like her. She’s the same as a million other girls—certainly no one to be cherished. But special or not, she smiles every day, never imagining that someone would rely on the simple gesture as if it were air to breathe. When the moment comes that Livi...

The Lady's Fate

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A personal note before I begin---thank you all so, so very much for your kind words about Oreo bunny.  My kids have read your comments, and all of us are touched by your caring words.  Thanks. :) Now, who am I calling "Lady"?  Why, the lovely Anne Gallagher , who was fated to bring the world her authentic and entertaining brand of Regency Romance. Her debut novel, The Lady's Fate , is available at Amazon and Smashwords .  Her short story, A Wife for Winsbarren , is also available at Amazon .  Amid all she's got going on, Anne let me bug her with a few questions about her writing, her "Reluctant Grooms" series, and publishing, but before we get to that, here's my review of The Lady's Fate.     Review - The Lady's Fate: I felt like I was reading one of the classics. Gallagher has done her research and The Lady's fate reads just as if it were written back in Austen's day. But she gives us a new set of characters to examine...

Pet Sematary

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I'm not sure this is post-worthy material, but many of you so sweetly commented on the cuteness of my bunny last month, and on the prettiness of my new garden in September, so it seems only right to report that the two have been combined. :( On the 28th of October in the year 2011, dear, sweet bunny succumbed to oldness and died in my husband's arms on the way home from the pet clinic...just as I was explaining that the vet probably didn't know what he was talking about and we'd have many more happy months with our darling Oreo.  I knew it wasn't true, but I thought he'd at least survive long enough for the kids to come home from school and say good bye. The burial was complete with holy water and a St. Francis medal, and on Saturday we went to the statuary to pick out this statue---it reminded us of the way he used to kick out his little back legs when he was at maximum relaxation. He does have a tiny bit to do with writing.  You see, when I first started...

A Nikki, a Dave, and the 1980’s by M. Pax

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You may already know about Semper Audacia , the exciting debut space opera novelette by M. Pax ---but I'll be you had NO idea her new release could possibly have anything at all to do with Three Daves .  Well, think again...here is M. Pax's unexpected tale, complete w/ retro pics: The U.N.  (M.Pax worked in the black bldg) In the spring of 1986, I moved to New York City with dreams of ‘making it there’, a couple of suitcases and $500 in my pocket. Fresh out of college, I envisioned writing the great American novel. My friend Nikki, who I met at freshman orientation, was kind enough to let me stay with her the first six months. When I saved enough money, I moved to Staten Island to share a house with a bunch of roommates. Taking a boat to work was fun, at first. The novelty wore off pretty quick though. My first job was in Midtown near the UN. I saw mob shootings, Keith Richards, shared a cab with a Chippendales dancer, lived through bomb threats [there were a lot of emb...

Writer's Insecurity #3: Time

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Don't you just love it when stars align?  When pondering which of my many insecurities to post about this month, it hit me---my guest yesterday, Susan Kaye Quinn , addressed one of my biggest writing issues: Making the time to do it (I almost said "finding the time" but let's face it, a big ol' bucket full o' mythical extra time is NEVER going to materialize) and then Enforcing that time.   This mostly sounds like a discipline thing, but for me, discipline isn't the problem.  It's insecurity---the insecurity that adhering to my writing schedule isn't a good enough reason to say no to...well, just about anything else that wants my time.  Susan provided a marvelous and validating pep talk for those of us struggling with this issue in her guest post yesterday, so please scroll down for a  little reinforcement.    Goodness, did I almost forget to thank our illustrious host? Thanks Alex !!! Well, well, look at that, it's Thurday already and...

Keeping Writing Time Sacred with Susan Kaye Quinn

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Today is the launch of Susan Kaye Quinn's   Open Minds   (book One of the Mindjack Trilogy)   The book has already garnered fantastic reviews, and Susan is throwing a virtual launch party ( #keepingOpenMinds )!  I'm thrilled to be a part of it.   In her post at my place, Susan lets us in on how exactly she manages to accomplish more than seems humanly possible: Keeping Writing Time Sacred by Susan Kaye Quinn I’m lucky to live near Nicki Elson in real-life, and as fellow Omnific authors (her Three Daves and my Life, Liberty, and Pursuit ), we’ve had a couple of occasions to get together. Most recently, we had tea and a flurry of conversation while ostensibly signing an anthology ( Summer Breeze ) that we had both penned a short fiction for. As we were making arrangements, she suggested meeting during a weekday, when my kids were in school. School time is my writing time, something I’ve been trying to hold very sacred, even as I’m getting ready...

Haunted Drabble/Darkspell Spookafest

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If any holiday is made for not one but TWO blogfests, it's Halloween!  First up is Tara Tyler's Haunted Drabble .  You can enter your own 100 word spooky story by leaving a link to your post in a comment at Tara's . The Dangers of Twilight This wasn’t like the books. He didn’t sparkle in the sunlight. He told her he loved her—that part of the fable was true—but he was lying. All tenderness ended the moment she entered his chamber; her screams weren’t those of the ecstasy she’d anticipated. Her agony pleased him. He chained her to his bed, her throat unblemished, and whispered, “You’re mine.” Hours later, the click of approaching boots indicated his return. She gripped the splintered post in her cuffed, but now free hands, praying Meyers was also wrong about the effect of a stake through a vampire’s heart. ~.~.~.~.~ Today is also the super-exciting launch of Elizabeth Mueller 's novel, Darkspell, and she's hosting a Spookafest , in which we reveal what we...

80s Fun with the Charming Elliot Grace

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If you haven't heard, Elliot Grace is on tour all month long talking about his newly released novel, South of Charm . "Many will relate to the book's themes of faith and loyalty, and Danny's frustration that no matter how good he is at baseball, it won't help him save his family."   -Akron Beacon Journal I've got the book and it's next in line on my to-be-read list, but every review I read makes me more anxious to get to it.   It promises to be a modern classic. Also, it's set in the 1980s!  So, for Elliot's stop at my place guess what I asked him about... Thirteen tour stops in all, headed in four directions and across the border into foreign lands, and from the onset, I knew without a doubt that you'd be the one to ask me about my chosen setting for "South of Charm."  (Which of course explains my enthusiasm for being here :) In order to pen an emotional drama, something capable of coaxing tears during one chapter...

Breathless blogfest

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This is my entry for Brenda Drake 's " Can You Leave Us Breathless " blogfest.  It's a brief excerpt from chapter 11 of my as-of-yet-untitled WIP.  I hope you like (and critiques are welcome). Excerpt  “It’s true that angels are less prone to temptation,” he said. “But when we give in, the betrayal is at a higher magnitude. It’s nearly unforgivable because it’s not in our nature, so it isn’t weakness we demonstrate.  It’s willfulness, which is much worse. But as with humans, the love of the Lord can save us---if we let it.” His fingertips roved Maggie’s face, tracing her cheekbones, over the bridge of her nose, across her lips.  She closed her eyes as he glided over her eyelids while the sound of his smooth voice rolled over her. “When we overcome the lure to sin,” he continued, “we’re strengthened tenfold by the Holy Spirit and made able to face our temptations more easily.” Maggie thought of how different the calming sensations he now sent into her were...

Meet Feather Stone

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So many bloggers made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside when they hosted me and commented on my posts during my blog blitz last month, and now I'm thrilled to be able to return the love by hosting some amazing blogger/authors who have exciting things to tell us.  Elliot Grace will be here next Monday, Susan Kaye Quinn on Nov. 1, and M. Pax on Nov. 7. To start out the lovefest, I introduce you to an inspiring, wonderful person---Feather Stone.  She's brand new to blogging and has just had her first novel published, The Guardian's Wildchild .  I feel blessed to have been the editor on this visually and spiritually beautiful story.  Honestly, she had me at the first and last paragraphs of her acknowledgments: How does a ship thank the ocean? The relationship is fraught with dangers of sinking or being shredded over a reef. And yet, the ship, if guided by wisdom and dogged determination, discovers its journey exceeds the joy in arriving at the destination. And so...