Jade Lee | TORTURED PRO NEEDS HELP. A lot of help…

Some book are written from inspiration. Some books are written because there is a contract. And then there are books that simply won't shut up!!!!!

I write historical romance. That is the core of my career. Historicals set in the Regency era. Historicals set in China. Historicals set wherever my muse and the market wander. And then, because it's fun, I'll write contemporary sexy (as with my Blaze books) or paranormal (as with Crimson City or These Boots were Made for Stomping!). But those are just fun books and come along when someone offers the possibility to me, not because I go out searching for them. Don't get me wrong, they're good books, but they are written because the opportunity found me, not the other way around.

As you may imagine, the above keeps me very busy. So the last thing I needed was a fantasy romance series. Sure, I grew up reading Tolkien like everybody else, loved the Thomas Covenant chronicles (talk about an anti-hero!), and wrote my undergraduate thesis on Narnia. I have adored fantasy for years and mourned the absence of a decent love story in all those coming-of-age-with-magic books.

But...and I'm going to put this in bold here...I am a professional writer. Here's what professional writer means to me: I get up every morning, I drink my coffee, and I write to my core audience. It is my job, and as such, it needs to have a clear career focus and goal. No other worker would decide to be a welder one day, a plumber the next, and then a month down the line say, hey, how about carpentry? That's not a professional, that's a hobbyist or a kid looking for a career path. Well, I've got a hobby (racquetball) and I'm well past the kid stage. I am! (she says stomping her foot.)

So what the frick was I doing writing a Fantasy Romance???? Dragonborn was this cool idea I played with in my spare time. It started when I was a kid. I thought of a girl (my age–whatever age that was) who carried a dragon egg in her belly, bound mind to mind with the unborn dragon, and eventually hatched the egg and deposed the evil baddy. Woo hoo! Coming of age at its finest (but notice the girl-centered plot). Then one day–as an adult–I realized that she had a boyfriend. Not just a boyfriend, but a dragon killer boyfriend who was using her to find the egg. They fall in love, but then he discovers that she's got the egg. Oops! What a tortured love story!


Wow, did I love that! So...eventually, I wrote Dragonborn. Why? Because it was such a cool idea and I didn't have a contract at the time. Why not? I wrote it...hmmmm...five years ago? Yes, it took that long for Dorchester to finally read it, buy it, and publish it. Great. It was a fun lark, but it's over. Good book. They've deposed the evil baddy, fallen in love, and are going to live happily ever after...probably. Because it's always “probably” in fantasy.

Then I realized that I had a problem. ....

Find out what Jade's problem is by clicking here... and possibly win a prize by commenting on today's blog!

Make Your Blog Browsing Pay Off! Read and Comment on this week's blogs and win a $10 gift card from Jade Lee!

Thanks to Jade Lee for sponsoring this week's blog contests! Jade is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to some one who comments on the blogs posted from Monday, February 8th to Sunday, February 15th. So drop by every day and check them out!

And don't forget about THE CONCUBINE, on shelves now! A new historical from Blaze about the original contests to be the Empress of China! And you thought it was all just invented with "American Idol!"

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Jade Lee | It's All In The Accessories!

My mother always stressed accessories in dressing. Me, I wanted to be DOING something, not fussing with finding the perfect earrings (which always fell out) or the best necklace (which banged against things when I played). The worst, of course, was when she criticized my footwear. I was a sneaker girl. Actually, I didn’t mind nice shoes. A good pair of heels could give me a lift. But I HATED pantyhose. And since every good girl (in my mother’s mind) wore nylon stockings with her shoes, I became all about the sneakers. She allowed me to wear footies with athletic wear. (Remember footies? Cotton socks with little balls on the end or low socks that weren’t even seen beneath your Keds? Much better than pantyhose!)

Well, childhood habits (or traumas) shape the adult persona. I became one of those women who silently abhor her LACK of a shoe fetish. I never understood the desire to wear 5 inch platforms or those spike heels that left pock marks in the linoleum. Pedicures felt good, but why get the nail polish when no one ever sees it? In short—I wore athletic shoes. Good, closed toed, comfortable, arch-supported New Balance footwear.

And then Love Spell (Dorchester) asked me to write a novella about shoes that gave the unknowing wearer a magic power. Well….MAGIC POWERS I could understand! Oh wait, they warned me, I would have to WEAR these wonderful magic shoes (minus the magic) in public, too. My fellow anthology mates went on a festival of possibilities. Leather boots or delicately sculpted sandals? Iron toes or black leather? The possibilities were endless! But for me, the idea of spending an entire conference in spike heels sent me into a spasm. Until it occurred to me that SOME footwear is comfortable AND cool! And if I had a heroine, for example, who felt just like me—simple practical footwear required—then I could give those lovely Chinese Mary-Janes an awesome KUNG-FU POWER!!!! Even better, I could wear those shoes all day, every day and not fall on my face. Score!

So, if you like awesome kung-fu powers (even if it is shoe-inspired) then please check out our new anthology: These Boots Were Made For Stomping! My practical and sweet high school English teacher kicks gang butt in…you guessed it…”Kung-Fu Shoes!” And if you are one of the millions of women who understand the search for the perfect shoes, you can visit http://www.hiheelia.com/ where awesome boots and strappy sandals are available for your purchase! Seriously! (Not, alas, my cute little Mary-Janes.) My publisher has created the website to sell the shoes available in the book! How cool is that? (Though your magic power may vary.)

Enter my ONE DAY ONLY BLOG contest, TWO winners will win a copy of DRAGONBORN!

Jade Lee
www.jadeleeauthor.com/

Dragonborn, March 2008

The Tao of Sex, Blaze Jan 2008

TemptedTigress, June 2007