Farrah Rochon | Anticipation

I’m not sure how I feel about that word. Just saying it conjures feelings of expectancy and excitement, but it can also lead to anxiety and good ol’ fashion worry.

My life is filled with anticipation. Whether it’s wondering what will happen next on my favorite TV shows (Seriously, aren’t we all wondering if McSteamy will end up with Nurse Rose or go back to Meredith Grey?), or waiting with bated breath for my niece to be born (FYI: She was born on April 30th after a twelve day delay, and she is the most precious child to ever grace this planet), anticipation has become a constant life companion.

My writing journey has been filled with anticipation. Finishing the book, finding an agent, landing my first contract, finally seeing my debut novel, Deliver Me, on the shelves, et cetera. I though the edgy, bumble bees fluttering around in my stomach feeling would ease up after the first book, but no such luck.

As I anticipate the release of my next novel, Release Me, those bumble bees are having a field day and that excited, ready-to-jump-up-and-cheer-one-minute-and-lose-my-lunch-the-next feeling is keeping me up at night. The anticipation of receiving reviews, wondering if fans will think the book lives up to the first one, and whether the book will even get out on bookstore shelves on time is enough to make me overindulge in highly fattening, but delicious and expensive chocolate to help ease the worry (hey, I need an excuse, okay!).

Of course, the best thing to do would be to accept that what will be will be, and just put it all out of my mind. I’m anticipating the day when I’m smart enough to do just that. As for now, I’ll stick with chocolate covered anxiety.

Cheers,

Farrah Rochon
http://www.farrahrochon.com/

Book Club Rewind - Susan Wiggs

Susan Wiggs was the Plano (Texas) book club's author for our April get together. I was really looking forward to this month's call because I had just read and enjoyed Susan's latest book, Snowfall at Willow Lake. This is the fourth book in The Lakeshore Chronicles series, but don't fear. Those of us who had read Snowfall at Willow Lake and not the other Lakeshore Chronicles did NOT feel like we had just landed in the middle of the series. We didn't feel like we were missing any information nor were we trapped in a series summary for the first few chapters. The book truly stands alone...That's not to say I don't want more!

But back to book club.

Susan was super excited to be part of our book club. She had recently been to visit her publisher and been treated to the full Queen for day routine in Toronto and had not had a chance to rave about it to anyone. By Queen for a day routine, we're talking about large flower bouquets, limo ride, 1st class seat during flight, 5 star meal out with publisher, etc. Of interest to Susan's fans, the publisher expressed interest in a Lakeshore Chronicles Christmas story as well as a cookbook. They also talked about wanting hardcovers, but worry not readers, Susan said there were no plans at this time to have future Lakeshore Chronicles' books come out as hardcover. Her next book, however, called Just Breathe is planned to be released this September as a hardcover. While not part of the Lakeshore Chronicles, the main characters apparently did come and stay at the inn in Dockside (which she also mentioned was the book that she got the least amount of reader feedback on).

Regarding Just Breathe, Susan is asking that when the reprint of her historical The Charm School (complete with new cover art) is released, that you send Susan an email telling her what you think about the excerpt for Just Breathe included at the end of The Charm School.

Speaking of historicals, Susan is planning to do another historical, but it likely will not be one of the hardcovers that I mentioned earlier.

Susan is currently writing Fireside, the next in The Lakeshore Chronicles and featuring Noah's friend Bo from Snowfall at Willow Lake. We also heard that there will be at least another story after Fireside BEFORE Susan writes Daisy's story. She gets a lot of reader comments about Daisy what with her being an unwed teenage mother, but what can I say she was one of my favorite characters in the book!

Odd trivia:
The names of Sophie & Noah's adopted children came from names in SPAM emails. You know those banking or money transfer scams I'm talking about. She just "...can't let those go to waste."

Linda Wisdom | Are you like the character you write and read?

I’ve been told that Jazz, the witchy heroine in 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover and I are very much alike. So let’s look at the similarities.

Jazz and I both speak our minds at times, but she can says what I’d love to say and have magic if she needs it.

She’s snarky. I’m snarky. She has red hair. I have red hair. She’s tall. I’m short. She’s gorgeous. I’m short.

I think many of us would say we echo at least one of our characters. I know that’s happened to me, but never more than with Jazz. She’s lived with me for quite awhile as I worked on the book and then had no choice but to work on the second book, Hex Appeal, which comes out this November.

She also gives me the chance to stick bits of history in the book. After all, she and her witch friends have been around for 700 years.

She’s lived history, had passionate ups and downs with Nikolai Gregorivich, a vampire enforcer from The Protectorate who’s now a private investigator. She’s dealing with a cranky ghost haunting her beloved 1956 T-Bird convertible and having to keep a tight rein on Fluff and Puff, the bunny slippers from hell and considering their background, it’s not far from the truth.

I like to say that I try to make the unbelievable believable. I hope my imagination allows you to consider that it’s possible to have a vampire living down the block. Just don’t expect him to mow the lawn midday. Or run into a witch at Starbucks or Victoria’s Secret. And just maybe some of those after-hour clubs have a pretty diverse clientele. And those Midways at the fairs? Maybe the Weres handle that.

So allow your own imagination to go a little wild. What would you see?

Enter and be one of three winners in my One Day Only blog contest.

Linda

www.myspace.com/lindawisdombooks
www.myspace.com/magickbunnyslippers

Ann DeFee | Wanderlust

Wanderlust – once you succumb it’s like a chocolate addiction, tantalizing and almost impossible to kick. Growing up in a small south Texas town my childhood was a comfortable cocoon of sameness. I went from learning my ABC’s to the angst of puberty with an identical group of kids. But even while I was cruising the streets with my carpool buddy’s I knew I was destined see the world. I just didn’t know how far reaching that would be.

Now let’s fast forward to my life as a nomadic Air Force wife. At times the travel and moving was frenetic and sometimes it could even be exasperating, but it was always an adventure (all 23 moves). I had an opportunity to meet new people, to see new places, and to create my niche in places all over the world.

I skied in New England and Bavaria, hiked in the Pacific Northwest, explored Roman ruins, stuck my toe in the North Sea, the north Atlantic, mid-Atlantic, south Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, got up close and personal with a lobster trap and watched the America’s Cup race from the deck of a Coast Guard ship.

What a great life it was, especially for a writer. It provided me with wonderful settings, eccentric characters and a wealth of stories that find their way into my books. We lived in quite a few states of the Deep South so I set many of my books in that wonderfully rich tapestry of history and family culture. Not only do Southerners revere their “people” and eat rice, they gussy up the nutty relatives and revel in their eccentricities. And that’s what makes a story fun.

So if you love my kind of wild and wacky world, head to the stores and look for my March book – Goin’ Down to Georgia (Harlequin American Romance). It’s currently on the shelves.

But back to the DeFee wanderlust - it’s not over yet. When we moved to the Pacific Northwest we thought we’d found the place. But those darned kids of ours settled on the east coast (and they took my grandkids with them – what’s with that?) So naturally we decided it was time to permanently set our clocks on Eastern Standard Time. The cross country airplane pilgrimages were a killer!

The problem was we didn’t have a clue where we wanted to go. So short of throwing a dart at a map we armed ourselves with a list of “must haves” and made a 3 state (Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina), 8 community (Easton, MD, Columbia, MD, Fredericksburg, VA, Virginia Beach, VA, Chapel Hill, NC, Pinehurst, NC, Raleigh, NC and Williamsburg, VA), 50 house odyssey. Whew! I’ve seen so many houses my eyes are crossed – hardwood, carpet, tile, resale, new construction, small lot, acreage, yada, yada, yada.

It was overwhelming, exhausting and too confusing for words but we finally decided on Williamsburg. VA. It was love at first sight. So all we have to do (LOL) is sell our house, buy another and make a transcontinental move with a Golden Retriever, two cars and a spoiled cat. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Yeah, I know – I have a warped sense of humor, but I am a Monty Python fan.

Wish us luck – especially in dealing with this real estate market, and please visit my website (ann-defee.com) to read an excerpt of Goin’ Down to Georgia. Oh yeah, while you’re there check out my other titles.

Ann DeFee

Ann was a double Rita finalist in 2006 for her debut novel, A Texas State of Mind.

Diana Holquist | What Makes You Mad?

Some writers start their books with a character they love. Others start with plot. Then there are the folks who look to the market to see what’s hot: a vampire lesbian spy thriller shape-shifter historical—count me in!

And then there’s me.

Me, I get mad.

Here’s something that made me mad: reading a twenty-something’s blog about her search for the “perfect” husband. He had to be tall, rich, successful, etc. I wanted to smack that woman. I wanted a mysterious Gypsy psychic to swoop in and rock her world by telling her that her one soul mate on this earth was a penniless single father, down on his luck.

Hey, wait…that would make a good book. (My first book, Make Me a Match.)

But I was still mad. Which was good, because I had another book due.

This time, I was mad about reading my 7,436th kick-ass heroine romance novel. Enough already with the spy/killer/half-beast/vamp woman who does it all in heels. Not that I don’t love those books; but I needed a change. I wanted to read about a heroine like me, an overweight mother of two…

...um. Okay, so I didn’t want to read that. But what about a shy heroine who kicks ass in her own quiet, low-heeled way? So I wrote my next book, Sexiest Man Alive; the shyest woman alive finds out her soul mate is People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive.

What makes you mad? Hey, you never know, maybe some author here will read your idea here and write it. Maybe it’ll even be me, since I’ve got another book due soon...

Diana Holquist

http://www.dianaholquist.com/

Deirdre Martin | Crushed

I'm 46 and I still get crushes.

I'm not talkin' seeing a Russell Crowe movie and thinking,"Hootchie Mama, that's one fine lookin' Aussie." I'm talkin' lying on my bed mooning. I'm talkin' trawling the internet for info and pictures. I'm talkin' the full Tiger Beat treatment. And you know what? I think they play a pivotal role in my writing romance.

I got my first crush when I was five. It was Davy Jones of the Monkees. Those big brown eyes. That British accent. Of course, if I'd known he was only 4'3", I might not have felt the same. But when you're five, you don't wonder why your idol is the same height as you.

Next? George Harrison. He had the best Beatle hair and I thought he was deep. I actually credit George with launching me on the road to writing romance. In sixth grade, I used to write G-rated stories about me and George. I still have them and they’re hilarious.

Then came Pete Townshend of the Who. I know: His nose is so big he could smoke a cigar in the rain; but he's so smart, with the most gorgeous blue eyes…. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones followed. So what if his teeth were rotting, he shot heroin, and combed his hair with an eggbeater. Keith was cool, my first bad boy.

You may detect a pattern here: musicians. As an adolescent, music was my sanity saving device.

I'm not sure why, but eventually, my taste moved on to athletes. Pale, skinny guys with guitars just didn't do it for me any more. I needed to go alpha.

And boy oh boy, did Mark Messier, former Captain of the New York Rangers, fit the bill. He had a body built for sin, and a primal intensity that has never been matched in the history of sports. As a leader, he was unrivaled. Lots of female hockey fans had it bad for "Mess," despite the fact he's kind of, well, simian looking. It was Messier's animal magnetism that prompted me to create the character of Ty Gallagher in my first book, BODY CHECK, so my crush on Mess actually helped me get published.

I almost fell for British soccer star David Beckham but there are a couple of problems "Becks": first, he seems as dumb as a bag of hammers, and second, he's got a high pitched cockney voice. I pictured him taking me in the arms, but when he'd say, "You're the most beautiful woman in the world," in that Mickey Mouse voice, my libido took the last train to Clarksville.

I know lots of women who can appreciate guys purely as eye candy, but I can't. If the object of my desire doesn't have a brain, I'm not interested. In fact, it's often the brain that drives the crush for me rather than the other way around. If they have a sense of humor, too, so much the better.

This explains my current crush on Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords. Yeah, he's got a great bod and luscious lips and cool Elvis Costello glasses; but the main thing is, he's funny and smart—and he plays the guitar, an added bonus. The kiwi accent doesn't hurt, either.

I've stopped being embarrassed about my crushes because…they're fun. They make me feel tingly all over, like the first time a guy I really, really liked asked me out. They expand my imagination. They jump start my libido and help me write those hot sex scenes in my books (At least, I hope they’re hot). People who say crushes are immature don't know what they're missing. Crushes keep you young. As I cruise into middle age, I'm glad I still have the capacity to get giddy over some guy who floats my boat, even if it's only in my dreams.

Now excuse me while I go online to see if I can find any new pictures of Jemaine….

Deirdre Martin is a New York Times Bestselling author of six romances. Here latest book is JUST A TASTE. You can visit her website at: www.deirdremartin.com/.

Lois Winston| Write What You Know?

"Where do you get your story ideas?"

"Are any of your characters based on yourself or people you know?"

The above are the two most frequently asked questions I hear from readers. The third most frequently asked question is, “How do you research your sex scenes?” This question is never asked by someone who has read my books, always asked by a male, and usually is asked each year at my husband’s company Christmas party. The question is always preceded by over-imbibing on the part of the buffoon asking the question (usually to the embarrassment of the long-suffering wife at his side) and is always followed by a wink-wink, nudge-nudge from said buffoon. Depending on my mood, I will either glare, scowl, look down my nose at the fool (not an easy task for this vertically challenged writer,) or offer his wife a sympathetic eye roll.

But I digress (Can you blame me? What are those dimwits thinking???)

Anyway, there’s a writing axiom that states, write what you know. To some extent this is a sound guideline to follow, but it’s also extremely limiting. I have a very good friend who writes stories populated with vampires, werewolves, selkies, and other assorted weird creatures of the paranormal world. My friend is neither a vampire, a werewolf, nor a selkie, and I have it on good authority that she’s never met any such creatures, either. So obviously this very successful author is not writing what she knows from first-hand experience.

In LOVE, LIES AND A DOUBLE SHOT OF DECEPTION I wrote about secrets and revenge and the lengths some people will go in order to bury the former and achieve the latter. The plot is ripe with scandal. Drugs. Violence. Blackmail. Political machinations. Attempted murder. My heroine is a wealthy widow whose abusive, cocaine-snorting, deceased husband was about as low as a low-life can get.

Write what you know?

Hmm...I’ve never done drugs (sinus meds don’t count), never blackmailed anyone, never tried to kill anyone, never been involved in politics except to vote, and my husband is the complete opposite of my heroine’s husband. The guy even still helps me on with my coat and opens doors for me after all these years! Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I’m also far from wealthy. Very far. As a matter of fact, if the economy doesn’t pick up soon, I may be facing retirement living in a cardboard box, but at least I’ll have my darling husband to keep me warm.

So no, the characters in LOVE, LIES AND A DOUBLE SHOT OF DECEPTION are neither based on me nor anyone I know, and the story line is far from autobiographical. However, some of the plot lines in the book are loosely based on actual events, just not ones involving me.

I get my ideas for my characters and my plots from the world around me. I’m a die-hard news junkie who has always believed that truth is stranger than fiction. That belief is reaffirmed every time I pick up a newspaper or turn on the evening news. I’ll hear a news byte or read an article, then give the event a “what if” spin. The voices in my head take over from there, and the next thing I know, I’ve got the plot for another book.

I do have a confession to make, though. In TALK GERTIE TO ME, Connie, my heroine’s mother, develops an outrageous craft project involving plaster of Paris and a certain body part (No, not that body part! My, you all have dirty minds!) Many years ago I knew a woman who came up with the idea and wanted to demonstrate it on The Tonight Show. Unfortunately, Johnny Carson’s people weren’t interested. But in TALK GERTIE TO ME (with proper credit being given to the creator of the concept on the acknowledgements page,) David Letterman’s people are. Connie winds up demonstrating the craft on Late Night, using a certain sexy movie star from Down Under as her guinea pig assistant.

Write what you know? Hmm…to some extent -- with a little help from those voices in my head.
* * *
Award-winning author Lois Winston writes humorous, cross-genre, contemporary novels and romantic suspense. She often draws upon her extensive experience as an artist and crafts designer for much of her source material. Her first book, TALK GERTIE TO ME, was released in 2006 and was the recipient of the Readers and Bookbuyers Best Award, took second place in both the Beacon Awards and Laurel Wreath Awards, and was nominated for both a Reviewers’ Choice Award and a Golden Leaf Award. Her second novel, LOVE, LIES & A DOUBLE SHOT OF DECEPTION, was a June 2007 release and so far has been nominated for a Golden Leaf Award. Lois contributed to DREAMS & DESIRES, VOL. 1 and 2 and is a contributor to HOUSE UNAUTHORIZED, a November 2007 release. When not writing or designing, you can find Lois trudging through stacks of manuscripts as she hunts for diamonds in the slush piles for the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency. Visit Lois at http://www.loiswinston.com/.

Lois Winston

Kathryn Shay | Be My Babies

I’m delighted to be part of the Fresh Fiction family and appreciate the opportunity to blog today. I write for Harlequin Superromance and The Berkley Publishing Group and have published 32 books, including the two coming this spring. My work is known for its emotional depth and complex plots, usually based in research.

My next release, BE MY BABIES, out in March from Superromance, fits into those categories. It’s the story of Lily Wakefield, pregnant with twins, who’s escaping an abusive husband, and comes to Fairview, NY where her grandfather lives. There are so many twists and turns in this storyline that you’ll constantly be wondering what will happen next. I was. Yes, that’s right, most of the time as I wrote this book, the characters didn’t behave as I expected them to and I was left thinking, “Now what do I do?”

Research is always fun for me. I’ve ridden fire trucks and ambulances, followed around a federal public defender for a day, interviewed the FBI, used my extensive teaching experiences, and talked to police officers and fire chiefs about my next story. For BE MY BABIES, I borrowed a baby from a former student of mine. At the time, little Patrick was eight months old, the age of my twins when they appear in the second half of the book. My own babies are grown, so I’d forgotten many things about how babies behave. But Patrick taught me everything I needed to know: that he could hold his bottle, that he pulled off his socks, that he pumped his arms and made an adorable sound when he ate. I truly enjoyed my time with this child, and have had him back just for fun.

I’ve also based Lily and Simon’s relationship on what I know about how men and women relate to each other. Lily’s dealt a bad hand in life and when she tries to cope with it, she runs into obstacles, not the least of which is Simon McCarthy. He immediately resents her coming to town. Mostly he fears she’ll hurt her grandfather, but also that she’ll lay claim his newspaper, which Simon has been saving to buy. When he falls in love with Lily, Simon is fearful of the people in her old life coming back to claim her. I’ve found that often our worst fears come true, and in this case, it happens to Simon. How people behave when that happens is an underlying theme of this book. How people forgive the worst kind of hurt is also an undercurrent.

I hope you enjoy Lily and Simon’s rocky road to happily-ever-after and the part my babies play in it.

View my new trailer for BE MY BABIES on my Fresh Fiction page, or on my website, http://www.kathrynshay.com/ . Also, take a look there at my backlist and upcoming works, as well as my own personal blog.

Kathryn Shay

Leslie Langtry | Greatest Hits Series

Hello! Thanks to Fresh Fiction for inviting me to blog today! As some of you may know, I write the Greatest Hits Series, featuring the Bombay Family – the first name in assassination since 2000 BCE. My first book, ‘SCUSE ME WHILE I KILL THIS GUY, featured Gin Bombay – soccer mom/assassin. My second book, GUNS WILL KEEP US TOGETHER is about her brother, Dakota Bombay – playboy/assassin. I love writing about this family of hitmen. The Bombays have kids to raise, bills to pay, PTA presidents to avoid, and so on. And they kill people. Well, bad people, really.

A lot of people ask me where the inspiration comes from to write about this subject. I have to say that movies like MR. & MRS. SMITH and GROSSE POINTE BLANK as well as books like Hugh Laurie’s (yes, the guy from HOUSE) THE GUNSELLER rank pretty high on the list. I think it’s because the characters are ordinary people with extraordinary jobs. And it’s easy to write about family life because everybody can relate to quirky cousins and a mother who ignores the fact that you are no longer twelve and still buys you barrettes with your name on them (are you reading this, Mom?). My own cousin came up with the tagline for the first book, “You can’t pick your family, but you can pick them off.” Unfortunately, you actually can’t pick them off if you want to avoid jail time, but I still think truer words were never spoken.

I hope you enjoy the Bombay Series as much as I enjoy writing them! Let me know what you think at leslie@leslielangtry.com, or visit http://www.killerfiction.net/!

Leslie Langtry

T. Sue VerSteeg | Ah, love...

This one tiny word encompasses all from which romance novels are made. It doesn’t matter what genre, category or heat level. It all comes down to those four little letters. Now, the word itself may be small, but the concept is huge. The tiny flicker eventually turning into an all-consuming flame--now that is love…or at the very least, lust.

As a romance writer, I have to admit that this fire is what sucked me into writing the genre. I love…love. The sex is great, but it is so much more than hopping in the sack. The thrill of the chase, the spark of the first kiss, the flame of the passion, and the sigh of the happily-ever-after ending make it the only category for me to read and write.

There are many people who say romance is nothing but predictable, just because they end the same. I have one word for them: Duh! Mysteries end with a resolution to the mystery and horror stories are going to have gruesome scenes, yet for some reason, they generally aren’t lumped into one bunch and pooh-poohed as a whole. Writing a book is all about the presentation and figuring out how to flow your words from point A to point B with finesse, regardless of genre. If a writer does it well, it sticks with the reader. Period. For me, if a writer does it well and their characters fall in love, I’m a fan forever.

Don’t be afraid to flaunt the fact that you are a romance fanatic, especially with today’s romance. There truly is something out there for everyone.

I’d like to thank Fresh Fiction for inviting me to blog today. I never pass up a chance to ramble on about my love of writing and romance. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments at sue@tsueversteeg.com I’d love to hear from you. You can also visit my website at www.tsueversteeg.com/. My latest release, Click!, is available in e-book format from my site. All proceeds from sales are being donated to help the wonderful folks at Romance Divas. This is a writing site dedicated to those whose passion in writing is aimed at the romance world. Stop by and say hello. www.romancedivas.com/.

T. Sue VerSteeg

Carly Phillips | What is Romance?

It’s Valentine’s Day so of course the subject of the day is Romance. What is romance? Is it the perfect gift? The bouquet of flowers? The huge heart shaped box of candy? Or is it the little blue velvet (or whatever) color jewelry box from your favorite store? Seriously sappy cards? Or humorous fun ones?

Before I answer or at least give my opinion, I admit to loving all of these things. I’ve been married almost 19 years and my heart still does a little leap when the florist comes. Honestly, my husband isn’t a “true romantic” and that’s okay. As long as there’s a way he remembers important dates, I’m happy.

I think too much emphasis is placed on Valentine’s Day and even birthdays etc. A lot of men just aren’t wired to be romantic. Even if you’ve tried to retrain them, they just don’t think that way. Although how they can miss the T.V. commercials and radio ads is beyond me. Still, if they value you and have their own way of showing it, that should be enough.

For me, I don’t need the big fancy gift or the flowers (although it’s nice when I get them.) We’re usually leaving for a family vacation right after Valentine’s Day which makes flowers that will die while I’m gone a waste of money. But it’s enough for him to say “I would have gotten you flowers but we’re leaving the next day.” That tells me he remembered.

That said, I have also learned to tell him what I want for Valentine’s Day, birthdays and the like, and then to go out and buy it. He does the same. That way we each get what we like, no one is disappointed or upset with the other for forgetting. And we do get each other cards …

To answer my original question, what is romance? It’s the little things all year round that mean the most. But I wouldn’t return anything inside a little velvet box, ::hint:: ::hint::

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! Carly Phillips

Visit me at: www.carlyphillips.com/ and www.plotmonkeys.com/ (blog)

Trish Wylie | Do you get your ideas from real life?

Authors are constantly asked where they get their ideas from. It’s probably the most commonly asked question. And here in the UK and Ireland Mills & Boon (Harlequin’s UK division) is celebrating it’s Centenary, so we’re seeing a lot more press coverage - hence I’ve been asked this question about a half dozen times in the last week alone.

One of the next things they asked was ‘Do you get your ideas from real life?’ to which I consistently answered with a burst of laughter and ‘I WISH!’

But that’s probably not the real answer. Because the initial spark of inspiration *does* come from real life and the things we see and hear around us every day; a song, a movie we hated the end of, the sight of two people talking in a street café, a photograph that captures a moment we want to know more about. And then a chain reaction begins. The who, what, when, where and why starts to find answers inside our heads – the part of our brain in charge of creativity rubbing its hands with glee and setting to work with gusto! (We hope…)

For many it’s the best part of the job – that magical period when ideas come together and characters are born. It’s the putting it into words that makes it *work*. Add deadlines and sometimes it can even become a chore. But then there are so many jobs out there that lack that initial period of magic, aren’t there? I think that’s what makes it such a great way to make a living and what carries us through the harder stuff…

Well that and the readers of course! Because readers are just as capable of seeing that magic on the page, forming different images in their minds, adding personal experiences and how they felt at a certain point of their life to what they’re reading to create a completely original perception pf each book. And I kinda LOVE that. It’s why my February book for the Harlequin Romance line – Her One And Only Valentine – is dedicated to my Readers; the dream makers.

That’s what they are to me. By reading romance and sustaining the genre the way they do they allow me to do what I love to do. And by allowing themselves to get lost in a place where magic still exists they help celebrate love and hope in a world where it be so very over-shadowed by terrible things. So what is it you enjoy about romance novels? Is it that little touch of hope it leaves you with, the escapism, the way some plots make you think? Or was there a book that particularly touched you or helped you through a difficult period in your life?

To find out more about my books, where I got my ideas from and the Emerald Isle I call home you can visit me at My Website (http://www.trishwylie.com/) or my Blog (www.trishwylie.blogspot.com/)

Go n-eírí an bóthar leat.

Trish

Bronwyn Jameson | Working with Friends

They say you should be wary of working with children and animals, but what about friends?

This was a question I probably should have addressed when the Desire senior editor suggested a down-under continuity series back in 2006. I had worked on three continuity series before then, but each was an editor-led series. The overview of the series, the characters, the broad storylines were developed by the editors who invited the authors to participate.

This series, however, was to be author-led. In other words, the development of the series from initial concept to completion would be in the hands of the six authors. The idea of collaborating on a project like this excited me. So much so, I jumped right aboard that train while yelling encouragement to the others to join me.

"Come on," I cajoled to those dragging their feet. "It'll be fun! We'll brainstorm and bounce off each others' energy and we won't have to work in isolation as we usually do. Plus developing a whole series arc will be brilliant!"

Six strong-minded women who are used to operating in creative independence working together as a team... How would that work? Would we still remain friends after all that brainstorming, plotting, writing and promoting?

Two years later and Diamonds Down Under has launched with VOWS & A VENGEFUL GROOM (January, Silhouette Desire.) Getting to this point was all of the above AND about 300% more work than we'd anticipated. Along the way we honed our collaborative skills and learned about delegation, compromise, tact, and teamwork. AND--here's the happy ending romance always promises--the bonds of friendship have not only remained intact but have strengthened.

We're not the first to tackle our own multi-book continuity series for Harlequin or even for Silhouette Desire. Before Diamonds Down Under there was the six-book Millionaire of the Month, and before that The Madonna Key (7 books) for the now defunct (sadly) Bombshell line.

But when it comes to continuity collaboration, my poster gals are the Mills & Boon Medicals foursome who recently sold their 12th Crocodile Creek title.

Lilian Darcy, Alison Roberts, Marion Lennox and Meredith Webber have got together not once, not twice, but three times to develop and write three four-book mini-series. Who better to ask about the magic of collaboration? Here is what they had to say:

Alison Roberts: To sum it up, I'd say it's challenging but fabulous. And so much fun, working in little bits and pieces of the other books, like snatches of conversations overheard or even just the expression on someone's face.

Marion Lennox: It was indeed fun. It felt a bit like a free book cos there were four plotters rather than one. I think the fact that we totally respected each other as writers and we knew each other's characters would be treated sympathetically was the key.

Meredith Webber: What I loved was the intricacy of it, weaving the stories together so bits of one fitted seamlessly with bits of another. We even wrote little passages for each other's books so the stories melded. This might not have happened if we'd known each other less well or not been friends.

Lilian Darcy: What they said…plus I will add some advice to anyone attempting an author-generated series: give yourselves a simple over-arching continuity thread that hits the centre of your line's promise to the reader so that the complexity and uniqueness can develop within each story without you all getting tangled up and treading on each other's toes.

If you'd like to sample the results of the collaborative effort that produced CROCODILE CREEK, visit my blog (www.bronwynjameson.com/blog) in February. If you'd like to sample the results of the collaborative effort that produced DIAMONDS DOWN UNDER, visit www.diamonds-downunder.com/ for blurbs, extracts, backstory and our series blog. And don't miss the chance to win a diamond pendant in our Treasure Hunt. VOWS & A VENGEFUL GROOM, by Bronwyn Jameson, is available now.

Amie Stuart | What’s in a Name?

One of the most important parts of a book—besides the conflict of course LOL—is your character’s names. I put as much effort into naming a character as I did my kids…okay, probably more since I don’t have to consult anyone else. However, it’s not like you can just go around throwing out names willy-nilly. I once named a secondary character only to have my WIP to come to a screeching halt. And I’m talking painful! I had to back up and change his name. Then ended up with a fully formed secondary character who had the hots for the heroines best friend.

In HANDS ON (June 2007) I gave all my heroines names that could have male or female nicknames to represent their dual lives. In Make U Sweat (Aphrodisia September 2008), the heroine in the first novella is Reece—and she made sure to give her daughter a name that’s decidedly feminine. Her sister’s name is Roberta. I must say, if my name was Roberta, I might go by Robbie Jo too.

In NAILED (Aphrodisia, June 2008), I was presented with the challenge of giving my heroine not one, but two names! Convinced that her sister’s death is no accident, Julie Burt goes into hiding.

But wait….there’s more!

You see, Julie has a cat named Clyde. And being that God blessed me with a twisted sense of humor, I decided Julie’s new name should be Bonnie.

As in, you know, Bonnie and Clyde.

A name with such, um, illustrious antecedents needs a killer last name to go with it. Thus Bonnie James was born—yes as in Jesse and Frank James. Even my hero, who’s no slouch, catches the “James” reference.

And my hero? His name is Wynn…pronounced Win as in “I always win.” Considering he’s a bounty hunter, it’s a great fit. And don’t tell him I told you this, but his mom calls him Wynnie.

A name/a nickname/a pet name is one of the foibles that can give real insight into a character. By the way, Clyde was named after my neighbor’s cat….but that’s another story.

Amie

amiestuart.com/

HANDS ON - Now Available from Aphrodisia
KINK in Built - Now Available from Aphrodisia
NAILED - Aphrodisia June 08
MAKE U SWEAT - Aphrodisia September 08
SCREWED - Aphrodisia March 09

Jenny Gardiner | And They Lived Happily Ever After

In one of my favorite films last summer (Paris, je t'aime, which is actually a series of short films about love, set in Paris), there is a vignette in which a long-married man is about to leave his wife for his mistress. Years of mutual apathy have rendered the couple’s marriage stale and wilted. All of the little idiosyncrasies that he once found charming and endearing about his wife have become irritants that make his skin crawl. He fairly loathes the woman. Nothing short of an injection of a serious dose of "I actually give a care about you" could save it.

But (without spoiling it!) the husband learns something that completely alters his approach to their relationship. As their relationship evolves, the narrator intones, "Once he began to act like a man in love, he became a man in love."

I love this line, and the concept behind it. It is, in fact, this very kernel of an idea that grew into my novel, SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER. So I found it interesting to hear it verbalized in the movie. There is, to me, such a simple truth to it.

Most everybody starts out in a marriage happy (I hope so, anyhow!). But long after the pheromones have fizzled out and the yearnin’, burnin’ love settles down to a quiet smolder instead of a raging inferno, life starts getting in the way of that original optimistic version of love. It is then that many marriages wither into a state of tolerance, or worse yet, intolerance.

I know it's a cliched line, but the truth is, you have to work at a marriage. All the time. But the daily reality of life tends to clash with that mandate: with kids and work and chores and all of life’s have-to's, who’s got time to work on something that you take as a given, even take for granted?

At a point in life in which my husband and I started seeing some of our friends' marriages dissolve, I started to embrace the idea that you really can go back. It just takes a bit of effort. This is what I set out to explore when I wrote SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER. Perhaps with an optimism borne out of folly, I wanted to set straight the defeatism that seems to plague so many marriages eventually. But I wanted to do it with humor. And because I tend to be a smart aleck, with a little tang of sarcasm.

My own parents' marriage fell apart after 25 years. It was not a pretty sight, and in truth it was a long time from when that first thread was picked from the tapestry of their marriage until the entire thing unravelled. But even though things played out in a worst-case scenario, I couldn’t help but believe that they could have forged through the worst of things and found some sort of positive resolution had both of them really wanted to do it.

Through the demise of their marriage, I learned that there really is--pardon the cliche, again--a very fine line between love and hate. Like fiber-optic-line thin. So if you can morph from a deep, unyielding love into almost hatred, can’t you then go back again? Or is this evolution only uni-directional?

I know that mentality seems a little pollyanna-esque. And rarely have I been accused of being very pie-in-the-sky. But I very much want to believe that-like with that man in the movie–perhaps what it takes is some sort of revelation to help two people, once so much in love, to re-vamp their attitude and try to rediscover what it was that thrust them together in the first place.

Who knows if this really can work out in real life? But the beauty of fiction is that a writer can resolve what in real life seems un-resolveable, and provide a little impetus for that happily ever after that we all expected in the first place.

Jenny Gardiner

website: http://www.jennygardiner.net/

blog: http://www.thedebutanteball.com/

Mary Vine | The Blonde Writer

Do blondes have more fun? Having had two or three other hair colors over my lifetime, I should be a good judge as to whether a blonde has more fun than a brunette. However, I haven’t been able to see any difference. I do know when confronted with something beyond my immediate understanding, I can point out that I’m blonde or say I’m having a blonde moment. I am always granted a smile and unbelievable understanding and patience. The truth be told, I tried to make it as a brunette, but it just didn’t work because people expected me to know things.

To be honest, this blonde writer’s ignorance doesn’t have to do with hair color as much as the fact that I’d never befriended an author and hadn’t a clue of what being a writer entailed. Without a writer’s group in the early years to steer me along, I had to learn things the hard way.

I set out to write the perfect inspirational book. I had a hard time thinking about changing anything I’d written as it came to me upon inspiration. Which is all well and good, but was told after my first critique that people didn’t want to be preached at, they wanted to be entertained. I believe I paid $400 for that information. Now I know a more subtle approach would be a better way to go about getting a message across. I’ve also learned not to pay for a critique. Once I got over that inspired writing thing, I learned that each free critique partner since has had something important to impart to me about my writing. I believe it does take a village to write a great book.

In those early years I thought that I could only write when I was stress-free, because that’s when the inspiration would flow. Then one day a writer told me that the book her fans liked the most was written during a very stressful time in her life. I wish she had added that I would never get any writing done if I waited for a time without stress. Is there ever a time without stress? What I know now is that writing has taken my mind off of stressful events, such as my mother’s recent death and moving to another state.

I joined Romance Writer’s of America and watched others do a book-in-a-week or month (i.e., writing for a specific time line without stopping to edit), but I didn’t believe I could do that so instead, I partook the only way I could: by editing the first chapter over and over and over, before I could move forward.

Finally, I attempted to set up a writing schedule while attending to a full-time job. I can’t believe all the writing I’ve gotten done since implementing a routine. With a schedule in place, I started to rethink the book-in-a-month. Where I once thought I could never simply write and not go back and edit, I decided to try it. While writing, I didn’t know if I could salvage any of the story, but later when I read through it, I found much of it usable.

I deny that the years have made me older, but I am wiser. I think I may be starting to think like a writer. One would have to agree I’m finally on the pathway to being a successful writer. Perhaps now, I even know enough to be a brunette.

Mary Vine

http://www.maryvine.com/

Hank Phillippi Ryan | Keeping Mom Happy

My mother is so mad at me. She’s in the midst of reading Face Time, the newest Charlotte McNally Mystery. It’s just been named a Book Sense Notable Book, and it's on the Boston Globe Best Seller list.

I say: Hooray. And I expected the same reaction from my mother. But Mom, who has only read the first ten pages or so, actually said: "I’m sure that’s lovely, dear." You have to imagine the "Mom" tone. Maybe you've used it a time or two yourself. Or perhaps, you've heard it. I'm thinking all daughters have.

Turns out, Mom is unhappy with Face Time.

To be sure: Mom is terrific. She’s almost 80, and is absolutely beautiful. An artist, a reader, a wonderful intellect. (She doesn’t have a computer, so she’s not reading this.) I’m her oldest daughter, and any psychologist will tell you that can cause some friction.

So anyway. Why is Mom mad? She thinks I’ve “used her for art.”

It’s true: Charlie McNally’s mother in Face Time is a bit—persnickety. She’s opinionated. She thinks, for instance, that Charlotte might want to give up her very successful 20-year TV career to marry some tycoon and become a tycoon wife. No matter that Charlie is happy with the personal life (pretty happy, at least, for a 46-year-old single woman who is married to her job) and happy with her professional life (pretty happy, at least, even though she’s fearful she’s going to be replaced by someone younger).

Mom also thinks Charlotte (she refuses to call her Charlie, saying, “nicknames are for stuffed animals and men who play sports”) might want to visit the plastic surgeon for some face time of her own.

Now Mrs. McNally is not, I repeat, not, my mother. But in these days of controversy over whether books that are purported to be memoirs are actually true—I find myself fighting to convince her that my book is truly fiction.

It’s ALL MADE UP, I tell her. Yes, Charlie has a Mom, and I have a Mom. But I’m not Charlie and she’s not you.

Silence on the other end of the phone.

“Of course it’s me, dear,” she finally says. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

So I’m wondering, do any of you have a problem with this? Do people “recognize” themselves in your books—and you have to convince them it’s a fictional character they’re recognizing? Would you “use” someone for “art”?

Or if you’re a reader, do you assume fictional characters are real people just put on paper?

And as it turns out—as Mom will find out if she’ll just persevere and get to the end of the book—it’s not only a mystery, and a romance, but kind of a love story between mothers and daughters. My editor said she had tears in her eyes when she read it. One reviewer told me she downright cried at the final scene. (Which is odd, you have to admit, in a murder mystery.)

Yes, as authors we take elements of reality. Then we polish, and tweak, and exaggerate, and accessorize. But the fun is making up something completely new. Creating a new world. New characters and new relationships. And it’s ALL MADE UP.

Okay, Mom?

Do you have a contentious relationship with your mother? (or daughter?) Do you understand each other? I'd love to hear from you--just check my website. And let's chat.

With love to all mothers and daughters...

Hank (okay, it's Harriet but you must never reveal that...and of course, it was Mom's idea.)

PS: And oh--being a reporter myself, (www.hankphillippiryan.com/) I do have news! PRIME TIME, the first Charlotte McNally Mystery, is a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice nominee!

And there's more: AIR TIME, the third Charlotte McNally Mystery, is now scheduled to be published in the next year or so, followed soon after by DRIVE TIME. Here are some hints: Someone has a baby. Someone leaves town. Someone decides NOT to get married. Do you think you know who?

Enter Hank Phillippi Ryan ONE DAY ONLY BLOG contest TEN WINNERS!!!!

Susan Stephens| Happy New Year

Happy New Year, everyone!

It’s great to be here so I can wish you all the very best for 2008.

I’m thrilled to announce the release of 3 books in January and February.

The first, Laying Down the Law, is particularly dear t