Welcome Guest Blogger Louise Rose-Innes

When my friend called me a few years ago and said, “My only New Year Resolution last year was to have a date for this New Year’s Eve, and it isn’t going to happen,” I replied, “That sounds like a romance novel in the making.” So she promptly asked me to write a happy ending for her, since it didn’t look like it was going to happen in the real world.

That’s the beauty of romance...

We live in a dream world of hot, alpha men who are rugged but gentle, rich but unpretentious and macho, yet caring. The heroines are feisty but sensitive, beautiful but confident, and successful in their own unique way. It’s an ideal world of escapism.

THE NEW YEAR RESOLUTION is the result of our conversation. Nicole, a single mum and divorcee, decides it’s time to get back into the dating game—but only because she needs some fun in her life. Not because she’s looking for anything serious. So a “no-strings” New Year’s Eve date with jet-setting eco-tycoon Ryan Jackson is just the ticket.

Except Ryan needs Nicole for reasons of his own... He’s out to change his womanising image, so as to raise money for his latest eco project, and he needs an ordinary, respectable girlfriend. Nicole fits the bill to a T.

So Nicole’s New Year’s Eve date turns into a week-long vacation on the idyllic tropic island paradise of Medjumbe – off the coast of Mozambique—with Ryan and his prospective investor. All she has to do is pretend to be Ryan’s girlfriend for the week, and enjoy an all-expenses-paid beach holiday.

Except the hot, balmy climate, the close proximity and the undeniable attraction between Ryan and Nicole make keeping their relationship on a pretend basis virtually impossible to accomplish. As their passion sizzles under the tropical sun, Nicole finds herself falling for the jet-setting playboy—which is a complication she does not need.

Already fragile from her divorce, with an important job and a child, Nicole can’t afford to put her heart on the line for a man whose previous girlfriends include an impressive list of royalty and supermodels. So she tries to back out of their deal, only to discover it’s a lot tougher than she thought.

If she leaves Ryan, his reputation will be in tatters and he’ll lose his funding—a fate she doesn’t wish to bestow on him. However, if she stays, and continues the facade, her heart will be inextricably damaged, which is a risk Nicole is simply no prepared to take.

Then the paparazzi get wind of their affair...

THE NEW YEAR RESOLUTION is available from Amazon.com here.

About the Author

Louise Rose-Innes is a romantic novelist who lives in the United Kingdom. She is a member of the Romance Novelists Association (RNA) and a member of the Professional Writers' Alliance.

Louise has self-published three non-fiction books, two contemporary romances and one short novella. Her latest romantic suspense has been acquired by Entangled Publishing and will be available later this year.

In addition to writing, Louise runs a popular marketing blog for writers called www.MarketingForRomanceWriters.com. Here she blogs on eMarketing techniques for writers including social media marketing, self-publishing, Web PR and Promotion.

Louise loves to hear from her readers, so visit her at www.LouiseRoseInnes.com or on her Facebook page - www.facebook.com/romantic.novelist or connect with her on Twitter - @LouiseRoseInnes.

Thanks so much to Louise for being my guest today! THE NEW YEAR RESOLUTION sounds like a great read and is already on my wish list!

If you all were to make a no-holds-barred new year's resolution like Nicole, what would it be?

This is What a Blog Looks Like When You're on Deadlines

I can't read that headline without singing "When Doves Cry." Weird, huh?

So, yeah, I'm on deadline. I'm actually ahead of it, so I decided to post something here before I hit a month since the last post.

Though "ahead of it" sounds much more optimistic than it is. I had to do some massive moving things around, which was tricky, but I got all the timelines smoothed out and changed all the emotional stuff that was different because of things happening earlier and new things happening and stuff. And then I got to skip past gobs and gobs of deleted text that had been moved to earlier pages. That was very satisfying, seeing my daily progress go so high and thinking I'd gotten past the hardest part.

And then I realized the next scenes are totally effed up, as far as timelines go. So okay, yeah, I'm probably procrastinating a little bit here, too.

So what else is going on in my life? Number One just graduated from high school! I think I've mentioned here that she's going to Emerson College in Boston at the end of August. So we're immersed in the logistics of that big change.

In the meantime, we're enjoying the Harrisburg City Islanders games. They've had the best start in the 10 years of their existence, and even though more than half of my favorite players are either gone (retired or on other teams) or hurt, they're still a joy to watch.

It's also Big Popcorn Movie season! I absolutely LOVED Iron Man 3 and enjoyed Star Trek into Darkness (but not as much as the first one of the reboot). I'm intrigued by Man of Steel and Pacific Rim and White House Down. My tastes are definitely all over adventure movies lately, with less concern about quality than I used to have. Not to say those movies won't be good. We'll see.

I have to admit I'm torn about Much Ado About Nothing. I've loved everything Joss has ever done, but my brain just doesn't get Shakespeare. I mean, I can *get* it, but it takes so much work I have a hard time enjoying it. And since I'm supposed to be a smarty-pants, that's hard on my ego. LOL

We are almost through the drought between regular-season TV and summer TV. Thank God they do new programming in the summer, right? It's my go-to destressor and I have definite withdrawal symptoms when nothing's on. Graceland started this week, and I really liked it. A house full of beautiful people, what's not to like? :/ Seriously, though, they seem to have hit the chemistry factor, which to me is the most important thing. Well-written, well-acted shows have suffered from a lack of chemistry, while silly or mediocre shows have flourished because they had it.

Besides chemistry, I liked the setup and introduction. They had a decent balance between giving the new guy a hard time and making his entrée into their world rough and also welcoming him and treating him as one of the team. An even more intriguing balance has been struck on the theme of trust. It's almost impossible to do the work they do without trusting each other, because they can trust no one else, and no one can trust them. And then, at the end, a few seconds of phone conversation shake that all to hell.

I'm also excited about the return of Falling Skies, Continuum, Royal Pains, Franklin & Bash, and Covert Affairs. Those should hold me until fall! :)

Okay, that's way too long for a blog post to begin with, and I really must go solve my timeline issue. Tell me what you're doing this lovely June!

Sunroper, Retreat, and Yummy TV

Wanna see the cover of Sunroper, book 3 in the Goddesses Rising series? (There is a wee little wren hopping around outside my window, warbling and then singing a song way too big for it! I love it!)

Sorry about that. Anyway, you can see the cover here on my main website, and how it matches up with the rest of the series. Eventually I'll get this blog moved over there in its entirety. Like, maybe October, after I get through the Deadline Frenzy of 2013 and before I hit the Release Madness of 2013/14.

Tomorrow I leave on my annual writing retreat! Long-time readers are rolling their eyes and saying, "Oh, come on, are you going to wax rhapsodic AGAIN about four days of no cleaning, cooking, working, outside obligations, nothing but writing, talking about writing, and partying (about writing)?" Of course not, that would be boring.

I can't decide what to work on. I mean, my first Entangled Suspense novel, of course, since I expect to get the revisions tonight and isn't that perfect timing? But since I can write as much as I can physically handle, I also want to work on Man of the House, a short story I hope to be the first in a series, and Harte and Soul, the third book in my Soul Series, and Taking Action, a new romantic adventure I started three retreats ago and had to abandon for deadlines, and a cool YA series I've had percolating for two years. I don't think I can tackle ALL of that, so... We'll see how it goes.

Okay, now let's talk about TV. I'm bummed that it's finale season, but excited about a few new fall shows. I think all my current favorites escaped the massive ax that hacked apart the networks' schedules (except Go On :( ). The Castle finale was kind of tame, but the end surprised me. I would have been annoyed if they'd backed off the Caskett relationship just because you're supposed to do that. I think the conflict is more interesting because of the challenge of digging deeper and going all in.

The Revenge finale, by contrast, was not tame. There were lots of leaps of logic on the characters' parts, but I can forgive those. Not sure I can forgive what they did to Declan and Nolan, and anything to do with Charlotte feels like a lame attempt to keep her relevant, but the rest of it? Emily's confession and not revealing what Daniel did to Aiden and the difference between Conrad's choices and Victoria's, equally awful but seething with heated emotions where he's as cold and empty as the vacuum of outer space. But the actor sells it so damned well.

I'm really looking forward to watching Arrow and Supernatural tonight and Nikita Friday. What Amanda has done to Nikki is... Yeah.

Despite the 50 or so shows ordered for next fall, there are only 13 I'm currently willing to give a try. The synopses of a handful intrigue me: The 100, Star-Crossed, and The Tomorrow People on the CW; Crazy Ones and Intelligence on CBS; and as midseason replacements, Us & Them (though I'm not high on it yet), Killer Women, and Mind Games. Enlisted was the only comedy that actually made me laugh. I like the actors, they seem like they have good chemistry, and the premise doesn't completely suck. Sleepy Hollow intrigues, but the trailer made me feel like it might be *missing* that all-important chemistry, despite good writing and production values.

But I am freaking EXCITED about S.H.I.E.L.D. and Almost Human.

S.H.I.E.L.D. already looks like it has it all. Joss Whedon. Phil Coulson. Humor. Chemistry. Quirk. New actors we have no preconceived notions about, and a couple of cool old favorites. Superheroes. Action. And a winning franchise already tied in. This one can't start soon enough!

When I watched the trailer for Almost Human, I was disappointed at first. I love Karl Urban, but the robots  didn't look like they could hold interest. Then he shoved his partner out of the moving car and it was demolished. Then he got his new partner. I like Michael Ealy, too, and from there it looked amazing. JJ Abrams is probably going about 50/50 now with the TV shows he's backed, but this one should raise his percentage.

Okay, I am officially off the clock in 8 minutes. Yay, retreat! But I will be back here to chat in the comments, so let me know how you felt about the finales and which shows you're looking forward to next season!

Springing into Euphoria

I always say fall is my favorite season with a slight edge on spring, but I think I might have to swing that the other way slightly. Kind of like a couple of years ago I went from slightly more Dean-girl to Sam-girl and now I'm back. Dean is just...guh...right now.

But I digress.

I figure I have a low-grade seasonal affective disorder, because every spring, I hit this moment of euphoria that has no true cause. Today was that day for me.

Oh, sure, there are things that contribute to it. Saturday was the 10th season home opener for the Harrisburg City Islanders, and they won the game 5-1 (!) and it was their 100th win, and that was all very cool. Sunday I spent the entire day revising a book, and despite the deadline looming over us, it just felt so good to immerse myself in the purity of writing. May is almost here, and that means great movies, Mother's Day, and my annual writer's retreat. And Roxanne St. Claire's book comes out tomorrow. So, you know, there's plenty to be happy about!

But there's got to be more to it. Daylight has been increasing steadily for a few weeks, and that has a an obvious psychological effect, but there's got to be a tipping point that puts this euphoria on me. I slept poorly and not long enough last night, so I should have been tired and grumpy. Instead I was excited and even bouncy, if you can believe it. (Those who've met me in person would not likely believe it.) I haven't felt this good in at least six months, and it's such a relief. But telling, because I remember the day I felt like this last year, and I would bet you anything it was the same week.

Usually when I listen to my iPod, it's the Harry Potter books or podcasts about football. Today I rocked out all the way home and then did a few chores so I could keep singing. I'm pretty sure I traumatized the retired folks in our neighborhood singing "I Write the Songs" on my way to the mailbox.

Whatever it is, I'm digging it. :)

So how many of you have similar moments, and what do you think triggers them?

Amazon Freebie for Three More Days

Amazon has price-matched Soul of the Dragon so it is now free! Go here to download it now!

The promotion will only officially last through April 30, at which time I'll be setting a special price of $2.99. I don't know how long it will take Amazon to match that again, so hurry over and get it today!

You can also get it free at other preferred retailers. Click here for the links.

A thousand years ago, a jealous mage cursed a young lord into dragon form to keep him from his soulmate, a peasant girl coveted by the mage. They have three lifetimes to break the curse.

Twice they have failed.

Alexa Ranger doesn’t remember the lord’s son who was her soulmate three lifetimes ago, nor does she recall their previous attempts to break the curse—each one ending in her death. But she does remember Cyrgyn, the golden dragon who has haunted her dreams since childhood and has appeared to her now to begin their final attempt.

A highly trained spy, Alexa has been preparing for this mission her entire life. But her skills are no match for the desperate mage who has lost none of his command of magic—and none of his twisted, possessive need for her. She is determined to save the dragon she has come to love, but there is more than the curse standing in their way…

Reflections on Humanity

On Saturday, my husband and daughter returned home from a short trip to Boston, satisfied and decision made. On Sunday, we paid the enrollment fee for her to attend Emerson University, on Boylston Street. On Monday, two bombs went off on that very same street, mere blocks from where she will be attending college.

Our connection to this horrific event is so tenuous it's almost not worth mentioning. We are lucky that no friends or family members were harmed in the blasts, and I can't claim any personal emotional trauma due to the event. But still, the coincidences tie it closer to us than any other such event has ever been.

Amidst the intense reactions in the news, on social media, and in my daily life, I hear variations on a theme, a lament about the state of humanity. But I have come away from this with the opposite.

My heart is full of respect and pride and love for all of those who responded the way they did. For the immediate outpouring of support and aid. For the bravery of those who went to help, heedless of the possibility of a secondary blast. Even for the feelings of horror and compassion and sickness in the pits of stomachs, because those put paid to the notion that we are desensitized by fictional violence and separated by a gulf created by the Internet and decreased personal interaction.

There are humans, individuals who are sick by many different definitions. Dreadful things happen every day, many of them perpetrated on innocents by cowards or sociopaths. "Evil" has always existed, and always will.

But those humans do not comprise humanity. They are, in fact, devoid of humanity. When we give coats to strangers and save the lives of the injured next to us because that's what has to be done, we are displaying the traits that make that word what it is.

We will take care of each other, and when the time comes, we will bring the full force of humanity behind the hammer of justice to ensure those humans not worthy of the name are punished.

Humanity is, in fact, in fine shape.

Routinely Impossible

People often say things like, "I need to get in the habit of going to the gym every day" and to talk about how many times you have do something before it becomes habit. But usually they're mixing up the words "habit" and "routine."

A habit is something simple, mindless. Reaching for my glasses when I got up was a habit, such a strong one that I did it for about six months after I had LASIK and didn't need them anymore. Going East on the Turnpike every day was such a habit, I did it automatically when I had jury duty one day and should have been going West.

Sucking your teeth when you talk. Flicking your cigarette with a thumbnail. Dropping silverware into the sink instead of the basket over the sink. These are habits.

You know what's not a habit, and never will be? Getting up before 5:30 a.m. to exercise at the gym before work four times a week. At best, you can make it part of your routine, and you're much more likely to be able to do it if you're a morning person and get off on the endorphin high.

I am SO not a morning person. My ideal sleep time is 2:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Strike one.

I don't get off on exercise. It has its advantages. I like the 2 lbs. I lost after one week of doing this. But forget endorphin high. I'm practically in a coma when I get done with a workout.

Strike two.

As I got in the car at 5:45 Friday morning, when it was dark and a fantastic 29 degrees, I wondered how long I'd be able to stick this out. I mean, it's not the first time I've tried to establish an exercise routine. Several years ago, I got up every morning to walk the dog for 15 or 20 minutes. Harry Potter audiobooks were a good incentive, but not for very long. It lasted a few weeks at best.

Getting up at 5 or 5:30 to work before work so I could write when I got home from work lasted only a couple of weeks, too. So we'll see how long I keep this going.

I'm stacking the deck in my favor this week. I've already got three sets of clothes laid out. When I go to bed I'll put them in the bathroom with my sneakers, so I don't have the excuse of waking up my husband trying to gather things. As soon as I finish this post, I'm wrapping things up and going to bed early. So hopefully, I'll stick it out for at least one more week.

Losing another two pounds would be good incentive for week #3, right? :)

So what have you had to work hard to make part of your routine? Do you have any tips? Sound off in the comments!

R.I.P. Frisbee

In June of 2006 I was browsing cat shelter listings online, because a coworker was looking for a new cat. This long-hair with a curled ear caught my eye. First, because we'd adopted one cat already and finding a long-hair at a shelter was impossible at the time. Second, because our dog had ear issues, and we got the first cat as a companion for her and joked that maybe she'd clean the dog's ears. She didn't, and she had ear issues of her own. Plus, she matched the other two, color-wise. So she seemed destined for us.

Mostly, though, her story pierced me. The shelter had named her Frisbee because the person who brought her in had witnessed her tossed from the window of a moving truck. Awfulness and awesomeness all at once.

We brought her home. She hated us. She'd slice our legs when we walked by, bite if we pet her the wrong way, and walk around hissing and growling just out of orneryness. We called her Demon Cat. But slowly she mellowed. She started hanging out with us. Licking my husband's face, and curling up on my lap while I read (or wrote). She sat in the window and acted as town crier, announcing when each of our neighbors got home and then, with a very different cry, when one of us did.

The shelter had listed her as 2 years old in 2006. That would make her 9 now, but a couple of years ago, when she was diagnosed hyperthyroid, we knew that couldn't be right. I guess "2 years old" is code for "we have no freaking idea." She's at least 13, possibly much older.

A little while ago, she went blind suddenly. High blood pressure (not really measurable without invasive testing, bad at her age) or a stroke were the likely causes. Her vision came and went since then, but she gained a little weight. Then she lost it. And continued losing it, and went more fully blind. About a week ago she stopped eating and developed an upper respiratory infection. In two days she went skeletal, and spent all her time creeping around in a hunched posture. She wouldn't lie down, was clearly uncomfortable being held, and had increasing trouble breathing.

We weighed all the factors, and came to the conclusion that she probably wasn't going to get any better, even if we spend a lot of money trying. So as of half an hour ago, she's no longer suffering.

Goodbye, Frisbee. We love you.

Celebrating Bridget Zinn and Her Debut Novel, Poison

Bridget Zinn was a librarian and author who, by all accounts, brought joy and optimism to the world. She was diagnosed with colon cancer right after getting married, and died at age 33, shortly after selling her debut novel, Poison.

That book released this week, and the book community (readers, librarians, authors, bloggers, family, and friends) are working hard to make that debut a success. The reviews are spectacular, and the story is one that has intrigued both me and my daughters. Well, one of my daughters. The other doesn't know it yet, but she's going to love it, too. :)
I never met Bridget, didn't even know about her until this book and the efforts of her friends came to my attention. Her story broke my heart, but the sadness was overwhelmed with respect and something light and happy. Who couldn't read about her, watch her video, without feeling that mix?

For the blog tour, we were asked to talk about firsts. Our first book, if we're authors. I did that with my fellow members of Everybody Needs a Little Romance on Tuesday, so here, I want to talk about the joy of discovering a new author.

Every time I open a book written by someone I've never read before, there's a sense of anticipation, of excitement. Just like opening a present. If the first few paragraphs are awesome, if I get immediately sucked in, my day has been made. I know I can get lost in someone else's world, experience something extraordinary, meet people I could never be cool enough to hang out with in real life.

That's exactly how I felt when I opened Poison, and I'm so very sorry there won't be others to follow.

About the Novel

Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she's the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom's future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.

But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart…misses.

Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king's army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she's not alone. She's armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can't stop thinking about.

Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her? Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she's certainly no damsel-in-distress—she's the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.

Purchase your copy

Amazon Barnes & Noble IndieBound iTunes Bookstore Powell's Books

About Bridget Zinn

Bridget grew up in Wisconsin. She went to the county fair where she met the love of her life, Barrett Dowell. They got married right before she went in for exploratory surgery which revealed she had colon cancer. They christened that summer the "summer of love" and the two celebrated with several more weddings. Bridget continued to read and write until the day she died. Her last tweet was "Sunshine and a brand new book. Perfect."

Bridget wanted to make people laugh and hoped readers would enjoy spending time with the characters she created. As a librarian/writer she loved books with strong young women with aspirations. She also felt teens needed more humorous reads. She really wanted to write a book with pockets of warmth and happiness and hoped that her readers' copies would show the watermarks of many bath time reads.

Bridget's (and Poison's) website A remembrance of Bridget written by her agent (with a video of Bridget that shows how vibrant and funny she was)

Bridget's path to publication—in her own words.

The Romance Reviews Anniversary Party

Have you been partying with The Romance Reviews?

It's not too late! Go to the party page and jump in! Prizes galore, including one of my books if you answer my Q&A correctly today and are randomly drawn. The party goes through the end of the month!

March in Limbo

I think March is my least-favorite month. In some ways, more so than ever this year. In others, well, it's not so bad. :)

Let's start with the not-bad parts. First, I am very excited to announce that Acceptable Risks, my most recent romantic adventure from Carina Press, has won the Romantic Suspense category in the 2013 EPIC eBook Awards! I had some very stiff competition, and I'm excited and humbled by my first ever win. Huge thanks to Elizabeth Bass, my editor at Carina, for helping me do the best job I could with that book and making it worthy. :)

I was also accepted into the Published Authors Network of Romance Writers of America. That only means something to you if you're an RWA member, and it's really not that big a deal. It's a milestone that has changed over the 13 years that I've been published, and I've *finally* succeeded in meeting the minimum requirements to qualify. It gives me some professional opportunities and is hopefully a harbinger of continued growth and success.

In the "not really my good news but I played a role in it, kind of" department, Number One has been accepted by 3 of the 4 colleges/universities she's applied to. One more to go. She got a significant scholarship from her first choice, so she's just hoping the last school (which supposedly won't send acceptances until APRIL, and that's killing me!) won't do better. Easier not to have a choice to make! :)

Okay, I think that's all the good stuff. March is bleh in so many other ways. First, there's the weather. Yes, the sun is gloriously shining through my window right this moment, but that masks the 35-degree temperature and frigid winds. My husband, who now works for a garden center, says it was 79 degrees a year ago tomorrow. We were supposed to get snow today. It flurried this morning, but with every forecast, the meteorologists are more wrong this month. I think Mother Nature is laughing at them.

TV was on hiatus for most of the month. My shows are coming back this week, and thank god. It's my primary stress relief! I know, you say the "free" time can be spent writing or reading, but I only watch TV when my brain won't work anymore, and I always have or make time to read. All of the above is necessary for a balanced Natalie. :)

There have been no events in March to look forward to. April starts the local PRO team's soccer season, May is my writer's retreat and all the good movies... March is just the grind, with an occasional high moment (see above).

I'm in limbo professionally, too, waiting for edits from my editors, working on whipping projects into shape, living vicariously through other people's releases. I'm trying hard to take advantage of the lull and get a lot done before deadlines are upon me again, but I have to admit, my creative brain seems just as de-energized by March as the rest of me. :(

How many of you feel the way I do about March? If you love the month, tell me why! It might help me change my attitude. :)

My Next Next Big Thing

The Next Big Thing blog hop has been going around for a while. This is my second time being tagged, this time by the delightful, funny, and sweet (both as a person and as an author!) Christi Barth. Her next book, A Fine Romance, is out March 11.

1. What is your working title of your next book (or story)?

I had to figure out which one I should talk about! The next book that will be released is hopefully Soulflight, so I'll talk about that.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was at a baseball game at Jacobs Field, home of the Cleveland Indians. It was one of those super-clear, sunny days, and we were high up in the stands. I just had this urge to fly out over the field, possibly because I'd recently had one of my recurring flying dreams. Then I wondered what would make someone who could fly do that in front of so many people. I mean, she'd have probably been keeping it a secret for a long time, right? So the stakes had to be massive. Since it would be my second paranormal romance, and should be connected to my first, it all came easy from there.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Paranormal romantic adventure. There's a bad guy, and a woman who can fly, and a spy hero, and other people with extraordinary talents, all set in a very contemporary world.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Ugh. I can never cast my characters very well. Ellen Page could probably play Samantha, or maybe Jennifer Lawrence. Rock is like a combination of Chris Hemsworth and Channing Tatum and Alex O'Laughlin.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Samantha faces a difficult choice—protect herself, or her enemy's victims.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Soulflight is book 2 of my self-published Soul series.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I can't even remember anymore, I first wrote it so long ago. Long enough that this revision has to account for things like YouTube and Facebook that didn't exist back then! LOL

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I humbly submit that it has the adventurous tone of Shannon Stacey's Devlin Group books with the real-world paranormality of Angie Fox's demonslayer.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Every author who's ever written a book that captured my attention and kept me from chores or sleep.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The heroine is a librarian, and the hero's real name is quite literary. He's stunned that she guesses it within a minute. Some characters from the first book, Soul of the Dragon, play a prominent role in the story, while a few others get cameos. :)

I Hate Webmail...and Hey! Supernatural Sisters is Back! Kind Of.

I compile a column for a trade magazine for an organization of which I'm a member. At the end of last year, I realized there was a glitch with the e-mails I should have been getting. I wasn't getting them. We fixed the problem without figuring out what the problem was.

More recently, I noticed that I wasn't getting e-mails from PayPal. I figured it was a PayPal problem and since I was getting notices via my iPod app, I wasn't too fussed about finding the issue.

Today, someone told me they'd sent me an e-mail to an address that for YEARS was a forward-only address. It had no inbox, no account. All mail sent to that address came automatically to my main AOL address. But today, she got a mailer daemon that said my inbox was full. I investigated, and now I have all the answers. And the confused frustration is now just annoyed frustration.

Back in October, I wanted to create a new website. I wanted to use WordPress. My hosting package did not support WordPress. I changed my hosting package with a phone call to GoDaddy, and they were very helpful and everything transitioned very easily. I floundered somewhat, venturing into technical territory that was very new to me. I took a class, built my website, and went on my merry way.

Apparently, when I made that simple hosting package change, GoDaddy converted my forwarding e-mail address to a regular e-mail address and didn't tell me. Now, the setting when I went in to look said e-mails were to be cc'd to my main e-mail address. CC'd now, not forwarded, and they weren't. At all. I had e-mails from October through November. Then they stopped, because my mail box default setting was 1MB. So all the e-mails after that had to be bouncing.

*sigh* I spent well over an hour configuring and going through all the e-mails I had to make sure everything had been addressed at least once. Now I have to remember to periodically clean out that account. All the e-mails are currently forwarding just fine, and I changed the storage to 99 MB, but that will still fill up.

I hate web mail. I've used AOL since like 1992 or 1993. I love the way my folders are set up, and the way the e-mails come in automatically when I'm logged in, and how FAST it all works. I HATE web mail. I can't store things the way I want them visually. There's no separation between old mail and new mail, so I have to move or delete everything in the inbox manually. There's no automatic refresh. The lowest setting is like 1 minute, so I have to manually refresh or just wait. There's supposed to be a sound when I get mail, but it's not working. And everything is so SLOW.

Okay, enough ranting. Did you see, I resurrected Supernatural Sisters? Only as a one-off post, but I loved the last couple of episodes so much I had to post about it. We'll see how the last 8 eps go. I might post again. :)

Just a couple more things...

Tomorrow, I'm participating for the first time in Sneak Peek Sunday! Head over to the News page on my main website here to read an excerpt from Soul of the Dragon.

And finally... Pre-orders are available for Heavy Metal! You can pre-order at Amazon and Barnes & Noble right now, if you are so inclined.

Oh! Not finally! One more thing! Number One got her first college acceptance today. It was funny, because it was her last choice of the four, and the last one she applied to, but the first to respond. They also awarded her a Presidential Scholarship. She's convinced her first choice will be the last to respond, but we'll see. Every trip to the mailbox is going to be exciting! :)

Setting a Bad Example

Me, 1984.

A few weeks ago, Number One came close to fisticuffs in a soccer game. She's an aggressive defender, and often up against equally aggressive offensive players. Once in a while, things escalate slightly beyond the norm. This other girl went a little too far, Number One fought back, and when the girl looked about to punch my kid in the face, Number One held her off with a pointed finger and a bit of verbal ferocity.

The ref has had it out for her ever since.

Unfortunately, she seems to come by it naturally. My sister-in-law told me I HAD to post this, so here it is. :)

We were at a game last night, and there was a woman in the stands near us who wasn't well versed in the game. She was asking the kid with her lots of questions, and making lots of comments. Her voice was strident and carried, and the subject matter was poking at me. When people ask questions, I have a need to answer. Of course, she wasn't asking me, so I wasn't saying anything, but this sets the background a little bit.

The girls play on an old hockey rink with walls and a solid floor. One girl on the other team ran out of her shoe, but instead of stopping to put it on, she kept going after the ball (instinct, of course). She tried to stop, slid, and slide-tackled our forward. FYI, a slide tackle is when the player goes to the ground feet first. If they kick or knock the feet out from under the opponent, it's a foul, whether it was intentional or not. And whether they slid deliberately, going for the ball, or slipped on the surface accidentally. Slide tackles indoors are illegal.

So the woman cries out, "What, her shoe comes off and it's a penalty?" in a very annoyed tone. That was all I could handle. The following exchange is paraphrased for the most part. Except the part in bold.

Me: "No, she was penalized because she tackled our player."

Before I can explain as I did above, the woman yells at me. "She did not! She lost her shoe!"

Me: "She was supposed to stop and put it back on. It's dangerous. She could have hurt herself and the other player."

By the time I said "stop," the woman was yelling again. Then she says:

"You know what?" *sticks her fingers in her ears* "LALALALALALA" 

And THEN she says, "Forget it. I'm mature. I'm not having this conversation."

Seriously.

I'm like, "Okay, yeah, that's mature." I turn back to watch the game. She keeps yelling at me, and I know I should have just kept my mouth shut at that point, but I couldn't help it. I was still operating under the delusion that I could make her understand that it was the rule, that's all. I don't even remember what either of us said, but she let the F word fly at the top of her lungs.

The stands erupted around me. I told her to watch her mouth. Several other parents scolded her. She yelled at them. The woman behind me said her child was sitting right there and she didn't deserve to be subject to that. My mild-mannered husband, who probably had been fairly unaware of the exchange before that, told her this was a family environment. She went quiet for a minute, then complained that apparently profanity is a felony.

I was lucky this was an informal, indoor event, and the ref was on the other side of the wall. If it had been a league game outdoors, the line judge probably would have thrown us both out. As it was, she subsided completely for ten or so blessed minutes before she started complaining about the fouls. Never mind that every time two players got in the same space, no matter what they did or didn't do, the ref blew a foul on us.

We won, 2-0.

My sister-in-law assured me that she had my back, that she wouldn't let that woman attack me. I'm pretty sure I could have taken her if she had, but you never know. I haven't been in a fistfight since middle school.

Have you ever suddenly found yourself in a confrontation? How did you handle it?

Birdbrains

I like birds. Back when I was getting a degree in geography and environmental studies, I had an internship at a nature center in Michigan. We had a barred owl named Joey that we used for educational programs. I nursed an American kestrel back to health and saved a batch of baby blue jays. One of the happiest parts of my winter is watching the juncos foraging outside my window.

But birds are sometimes the stupidest creatures I've ever seen.

A couple of years ago, we had a fledgling male robin that flung itself against the picture window in our basement. Repeatedly. We'd hear a tap, go peek around the corner, and there he'd be, fluttering up to the picnic table and launching himself at the center of the window. Then he'd fall to the ground and rap his beak against the glass, hard, a few times before starting again. He did this over and over and over, for hours, and it went on for weeks. The window was filthy. Some of the dirt smears were wing-shaped. He eventually stopped, after he got old enough for us to tell that he was male. I figure he got brain damage and couldn't find his way back.

Fast forward a couple of years. I'm sitting in my office, and I hear that distinctive thud-click. Thud-click. I go peek around the corner, wondering if our robin is back, and guess what? No! It's a CARDINAL this time. He flies at the window half a dozen times and stops, and he always stops when we go peek. So I guess he's a *little* smarter than the robin.

I had to do a term paper on starlings for my ornithology class in college. I was so proud of myself when I figured out that they wiped their beaks on the branches of the trees to scrape off the dirt from digging for worms and bugs. I got that paper published in The Student Scholar. So I'm not completely ignorant when it comes to birds. I assume these guys are trying to court or attack their reflections or something, but I can't figure out why it never stops.

Anyone out there a birdwatcher with some insight into this?

Book History

Last night, I had some time. I know, right?! I'd finished Shattered Glass, had no client work pending, had made huge progress on a friend's project, finished the CSS registration, and had a couple of hours before meeting a friend for a movie. So I decided to pull out my master book history spreadsheet and update it.

YIKES. I hadn't updated it in years! It was really interesting to see my accomplishments all in one place. And transfer all the rejections I hadn't logged for each title. But also the sales! Those are always fun. :)

So here are my stats. I've written 22 complete books and 28 short stories and novellas. I also have 3 completed partials (3 chapters and a synopsis of books that I may or may not ever finish) and 7 "started" books. Those include my first book (which I aborted and split the idea into 3 books, only one of which got completed), 2 sequels that will never be completed, 2 sequels that will be eventually, and two new books that I just haven't had time to get back to.

Of all of those, I have had 13 of the novels published or contracted, and self-published one. 24 of the shorts have been published. Not too shabby. :)

Now I have to update my master character sheet. I'm five titles behind! Though by now some crossover, especially in the secondary characters, is inevitable, it's still nice to be able to check it and say "hey, I'd better change the heroine's name because..."

I started writing this at 7ish last night. I had to do some auction coordination and other promotional stuff, and kept going back and forth between things, so I didn't finished until ten after 8, and there's no way I'd get that character sheet done in 20 minutes! So I had to add it to the to-do list. It's of no benefit if it's incomplete, right? (Even if I haven't looked at it in *mumble* years.)

Reasons to be Gleeful on Wednesday

1. I'm home!
After a stressful week two weeks ago, I'd wanted to take an extra day off. Wednesday is my least busy day at work, so my boss let me take today off, just to catch up on stuff. So I didn't have to get up and get ready for work, and my day is mine to do with as I please! The best part is that I'm home tomorrow, too!

2. Things are Going Well
I got up early anyway, because I couldn't sleep. So I ended up putting a novel draft into a binder so I can work on edits when I'm away from the computer, and I FINALLY OH MY GOD cleaned out my supplies cubby. For YEARS it's just been a mess of things tossed into it. Oh, I had organizers. They were kind of stacked on top of each other, under and on top of the mess. I pulled everything out and sorted it all, trashing trash and separating clips by type and putting all paper goods in one tray and so on. I had to go to the store to get a shelf so I could maximize the space, and then I had to take some tools to the shelf so I could force it to fit, but everything is in there!

I wish I had a before picture, but here's the after:

I also set up my blog post for Everybody Needs a Little Romance on Friday, and visited some other cool blogs, and did some RWA stuff. As soon as I'm done with this, it will be time to eat lunch and then on to the WRITING! I'm determined to finish Shattered Glass today. Then tonight I'm going to a movie with a friend.

3. The Plan is Working
I've written every day for six days in a row. That hasn't happened since the beginning of September! And now I have momentum, and I won't let anything interfere with it as long as I can. :) 

4. The Whole Shebang has launched.
Misty Simon and Vicky Burkholder have started a new blog to celebrate creativity of all kinds. They'll feature novels in The Library, art in The Gallery, and music in The Jukebox. They've already got an amazing lineup of guests scheduled and have started some of their regular columns. Go check it out! I know you'll want to subscribe. :)

5. Under the Moon was a Daily Deal.
Okay, that happened two weeks ago. But it went to number 1 in three different categories and up to 54 on the Kindle Top 100 list. I was above JK Rowling. Briefly. :) The book's ranking is still good, and the hoped-for aftereffects are trickling in. I had three Authorgraph requests this week, on Amazon there were four fantastic new reviews for the book, and the number of shelves that Heavy Metal, the sequel, is on are growing. Plenty of reasons to be excited!

5. More Things are About to Happen
That's not a tease. I have no reason to believe it's a true statement. But sometimes, when things are going well, it creates a sense of optimistic anticipation that, if I'm lucky, will open up a flood of great new events.

What are your reasons to be gleeful this Wednesday?

Getting Back to What Works

Isn't it ridiculous how otherwise smart people can "forget" how to be successful?

It's not always true. (Warning: The following might sound like bragging. A little.) Last fall, I lost 17 pounds by counting calories. I don't remember exactly when I stopped logging and calculating the calories for everything I ate, but I just didn't want to do it through the holidays. I needed a break. I tried to keep my portions manageable and not go overboard on the holiday goodies. Surprise, surprise, when I got on the scale a couple of weeks ago, I was exactly where I'd been when I stopped! No gain!

Of course, maintaining is not losing. I want 13 more gone by my writers retreat in mid-May, so I started counting again.

The bigger struggle is writing. I hoped the new year would bring a little more balance, but I've still been swamped by the day job, freelance work, stuff with the kids, volunteer (though minimal) and promotional activities, etc., and I wind up too tired to write every day. And that's even without watching TV for like six weeks!

I've been beating myself up over my lack of discipline/dedication/time management skills. And then I read this post by Liz Talley. She didn't really say anything I hadn't already known, but her advice to turn to your support group kind of slapped me in the face.

I *have* a support group. I've had them for six years. But things have changed since we first set up to hold each other accountable, and we've been very lax in 2013 about checking in with each other about writing. So I revved us up. Now I have people to report to, and that gives me a little bit more push.

The other thing I needed to do was set more concrete goals. I always have goals, and I always track production, but I'd gotten a little vague on that to start the year. So I pulled up last year's spreadsheet, thinking I'd set a goal to beat my word count total for the corresponding month in 2012. January was 8,428, so that's very doable. But May was 24,454, and August was 35,900. Not stellar, but pretty high. What if those are months I have to do revisions for my publisher? Being that direct was going to be too restrictive.

So I calculated an average for the year. Since October had 0 new words (god, I don't think that's happened in YEARS), it ended up being a decent 15,414. So that's my goal for each month, to write at least that many words.

Since I'm already halfway through January, I wasn't sure I could do it this month. But I broke it down, and needed 800 words a day. Whew! That's less than my daily goal has been! (Never mind that I double my daily goal one day, then do nothing for three days.) Thank god for Thursdays. Today I wrote over 2,600 words, so now I only need 600 per day for the monthly goal. I will hopefully do more, because that's how it works. You meet a particular count, but only need 200 more to reach, say, 1,000, and then you're on a roll so you keep going, and it's almost 1,500 so keep going a little...

Now I have to do 2 client projects and cook dinner and hit the volunteer stuff, try to go to bed at a decent hour, and stick my determined chin in the air for my goal tomorrow, which is a day job day and a soccer game night and...

No more excuses.

I Love This Freakin' Show

I liked David Silver on Beverly Hills 90210 (the original, obviously). But I didn't love Brian Austin Green until he played Derek Reese on The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I loved his character so much, I was glad they'd canceled the show when they shot him in the head in the finale. I didn't want to watch it without him.

I'll admit that I couldn't handle watching Happy Endings, not even for the few episodes BAG was on. But then Gabe Tigerman tweeted several time about his wife's new show, Wedding Band. I love Gabe. He's a sweet guy and a funny actor, and he sat and chatted with us in the bar at the Supernatural convention for a really long time. One of the reasons we fell in love with him then was because he was so giddy over his wife. So I checked out Wedding Band to see if it was something I'd like to watch. And found that Brian Austin Green is the star! Hell, yeah, it's a show I want to watch!

And you know what? It's really awesome! It may be the show I'm most excited to see every week. Not just because of BAG. The band has four members, all different characters but who fit together believably. They're not caricatures. Yes, the lead singer is a playboy and the drummer is kind of schlubby, but they're smart and hard-working and they really love what they do. But most of all, they care about people. They've helped a couple of dorks get the attention of the girls they crushed on. Arranged a pre-meet for a very nervous Indian bride and groom the night before their arranged marriage. And risked their careers turning a divorce party into a renewal of vows ceremony for the couple whose wedding was their first gig as a band 7 years ago.

The writing is, of course, what makes it so great. The characters are complex, the plotlines interesting and/or fun, and there's plenty of humor. The raunch is held in check, and situations never devolve into ridiculousness.

My only quibble is part of a subplot that had Tommy (BAG) going to a romance book club to meet women. He really got into the books and there were ongoing clever jokes about them, but I didn't like some of the details that were clearly poking fun at romances, lines written by people who obviously don't read them.

If you're looking for light entertainment on a Saturday night, check it out and let me know what you think!

Under the Moon is a Daily Deal!

Amazon has chosen Under the Moon to be today's Romance Daily Deal. You can get it for only 99 CENTS! But only today! http://amzn.to/XgSpdM

Mini Me—Except She's Taller

It's a running joke in our family that Number One is a duplicate of me in a lot of ways, both superficial and substantial. The superficial ones are funny. During family conversations and sporting events and while watching TV, we'll often say the same thing in the same way. Just now, watching the playoffs, we both went "Ooh, niiiiice." Same duration, same tone. Her father and sister comment on it every time.

Last night, she had a craving for a burger with onions, so they got McDonald's. A while later, her father spotted her set-aside plate with one bite of hamburger on it. He said something about it, and she said she didn't know why, she just can't eat the last bite of a sandwich.

Her father gave me a significant, exasperated look and said, "I'm quite familiar with that."

Yeah. I never eat the last bite of a sandwich/burger/whatever that I haven't made myself.

We have different reasons for this. When I was a kid, we had a grinder restaurant next door. The ginders often had tiny bits of gristle or bone, and that made me gag. So for decades, I'd stop eating my sub/burger/sandwich if I hit something gross. If I got all the way through without a problem and had just one more bite, it felt like tempting fate. I couldn't make myself eat it.

Number One said the last bite feels like she's stuffing her mouth, which makes her feel like she's stuffing her stomach, which makes her feel a little sick. So she can't do that last bite, no matter how small.

How weird are we?

Launching 2013 the Right Way

Ways I Started 2013 Off Right

1. I cleaned my office, including filing and pending paperwork, so I have a fresh, uncluttered area to work in.

2. I wrote down the mileage on my car on the first day, instead of the 7th (last year) or in March (all the years before that).

3. I moved a year and a half worth of pictures from the camera to my hard drive, and backed them up. (Alas, I did not label and file them all yet.)

4. I put my laundry away as I did it!

5. I did all my tax prep and handed it over!

6. I blogged!

Ways I Intend to Continue Starting 2013 Off Right but Haven't Yet Because I'm Blogging Here First

1. Cover reveal for Heavy Metal. I'm going to do this on the News page of my website as soon as I'm done posting here. Well, after I send a newsletter. Those loyal subscribers deserve first look, right? :) Anyway, go check it out! It's possibly my favorite cover yet.

2. Writing! I want to finish Shattered Glass soon, the first novella in the Goddesses Rising series (not yet acquired for publication, FYI), so I can get Soulflight done soon after.

3. More Firefly, though I probably can't talk Number Two into it. She's loving the show, but there's tennis on today. For five hours.

4. Getting to bed at a decent hour. I'm not sure number 1 is conducive to number 4, but we'll see.

5. Self-evaluation! Which really means just boring the heck out of you guys. You can stop here if you want to.

Words Written:
2011 = 129,194
2012 = 185,125

Wow. That's kind of a surprise. I stopped tracking words created during revisions back in March because it was driving me nuts and slowing me down. I wonder how I did in 2010... (166,606)

I'd like to go for 200,000 in 2013, but there are too many factors affecting it. I'll probably be doing more revision than writing in the first half of the year.

Freelance Work
I know this was wayyyy up in 2012, but I don't want to take the time to add it all up. So let's just say I worked a lot. :)

Books Read
2011:
  92 books read (61 e-book, 14 hardcover, 11 mass market, 6 trade paperback)
  26 started and not finished
2012:
  97 books read (62 e-book, 20 hardcover, 9 mass market, 6 trade paperback)
  20 started and not finished

The books completed include short stories and novellas. They don't match up with my Goodreads shelves, because those might include whole anthologies while my spreadsheet lists the stories separately if I only read some of them.

It's interesting that I read more hardcover this year. I think because I did more young adult that I shared with my kids, and more library books.

Movies Watched
2011 = 47 (one on DVD I didn't finish [Extract], 21 on DVD, 8 on Netflix streaming, 2 on Starz during a free promotion, and 16 in the theater)

2012 = 33 (10 on DVD, 23 in the theater)

Part of the reason...well, probably the whole reason for the drop is the cancellation of Netflix when we cut expenses. It's worth mentioning that the numbers include Thor twice in 2011 and The Avengers three times in 2012. :)

TV on DVD or streaming
In 2011 I watched Supernatural season 5, and then seasons 1 and 2 again. I also rewatched Firefly and watched Justified season 1 before season 2 began. It's possible I failed to track some things, because that seems awfully light.

In 2012 I watched Entourage season 7, rewatched Supernatural seasons 5 and 6, rewatched Doctor Who seasons 1–3 before we canceled Netflix, and Suburgatory season 1 as my "should have tried that last year" show. I also added Firefly, though we have a few eps to go.

So that's my year(s) in review! This year I'm going to record when I read or watched stuff, because I'm curious when my busiest months are, and when I have more time to read/watch. It will also be interesting to see if I can increase both my writing and my reading, without decreasing my day job or freelance hours. :)

Okay, if you read this far, thank you! And wishing you the best year ever in 2013. *mwah!*

Penultimate Day of 2012

I'm always sad when December 30th-ish gets here. The football season is (almost) officially over (not counting the playoffs, and the last game is being played right now). I have one more "extra" day off with New Year's Day, and then no holidays until MAY. That's always freaking depressing.

It's also a long, dark stretch with no good movies most years. And then, of course, there's the weather.

This has been a good weekend, though. A nice snowfall yesterday, enough to look great but not require TOO much shoveling. The Patriots won and Houston lost, so my guys get a much-needed week of rest on wild-card weekend. I got some writing done, and we went to the movies Friday night.

I wasn't that excited about seeing The Hobbit. I loved Lord of the Rings SO much, and The Hobbit felt like a weak second act. Plus, it's been so long since Return of the King, and my obsession was completely cured. But I also felt like I had to see it, and Number One and her father really wanted to, so we went while Number Two was at a sleepover.

And it was really great! I loved the ties to Lord of the Rings (which were really ties from LotR to The Hobbit) and since I hadn't been reading much about the film, I was surprised by a couple of the cameos. I came home and had to watch Fellowship again. Which was great, except that I can no longer watch the council scene without thinking of Jack Black and his "special" ring at the MTV movie awards...

On Tuesday I might go see Silver Linings Playbook. I'd wanted to go on my birthday, but it wasn't playing here yet. Part of me doesn't want to see it, because of the mental illness storyline and the Philadelphia Eagles. But I love Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence and I hear it's got a lot of humor. So I'll probably go.

There are other things to look forward to. Some way off (Star Trek and my writing retreat in May, various book releases spread out over the next six months or more), some very close (I'll reveal the cover of Heavy Metal this week!). And of course, there's the year-end round up and preparation for the new year. Spreadsheets galore! LOL

What are you looking forward to most in 2013?

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Thanks to Misty Simon for tagging me in The Next Big Thing blog hop, way back on December 3rd. I'm late, but I had to get through the previous two blog hops first! :) So go see what Misty had to say about her WIP, and here's mine:
 
What is your working title of your book?
Shattered Glass

Where did the idea come from for the book?
I wanted to do some novellas to fit in between the books in my Goddesses Rising trilogy. Alana and Chloe, two secondary characters who appear or are mentioned in each book of the trilogy, were logical choices to find their own happy endings.

What genre does your book fall under?
It's a paranormal romance, though the paranormal element has a smaller impact on the story than it does in the full-length books.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I really suck at casting my characters. I never picture anyone in particular for them. They're completely unique people, most of the time. Who's a quiet, pretty, average-looking actress and a smooth, yet sincere lawyer type actor? :)

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
It's been a long time since Alana was so attracted to a guy, and the attorney for the Society for Goddess Education and Defense is hard to turn down—a huge mistake, when she discovers there's no way to keep her dangerous secret and have a healthy relationship.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?It's not contracted yet, but I hope it will be published by Entangled Publishing sometime next year.
 
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?Still working on it! Due to other deadlines, it's already been way too long.
 
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?Comparisons give me almost as much trouble as character casting does!
 
Who or what inspired you to write this book?Originally, I was inspired by the writers of the TV show Supernatural and the relationship between the brothers on that show. Shattered Glass doesn't have anything to do with that direct inspiration, but is an extension of it through the series. Credit has to go to my editors, Kerri-Leigh and Liz, who suggested filling in the gaps between novels with short pieces.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?Sports fans might appreciate their first date, at a pro football game. The heart of Alana and Shane's conflict is her fear that he can't care about her the way she is, rather than the way he perceives her.
 
The writers I'm tagging are:
Paula Altenburg
Michele de Winton
Decca Price
Patrice Luneski


Look for their posts the week of December 31!

Rules of The Next Big Thing

***Use this format for your post
***Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (Work In Progress)
***Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.

Today is My Last Day Being 41

First, thank you to EVERYONE who participated in the holiday blog hops for the last two weeks. Congratulations to Carla H. and Kimberly H., the winners from this blog. Stay tuned, opportunities always arise.

NEXT! In case you didn't see my social media blitz on Thursday, I have a new book out! If You Believe in Me is a Christmas short story from Entangled Flirts.

Three years ago, Amber Benedict fell in love with Kale Riker and pledged to wait for him to return from military service. Even though she rarely hears from him, she’s steadfast in her belief: he’s coming home to her, and soon. Then the government tells Kale’s family that he’s missing in action, and the Rikers have given him up for dead. Now the entire town is set on convincing Amber to let go of a dead man and move on.

Amber is certain Kale is still alive and on his way home, but can she hold out against an entire town pushing her to give up on love?

If You Believe in Me
by Natalie J. Damschroder
Contemporary Romance Short Story
Entangled Publishing, 2012
ISBN 13: 978-1-62266-869-4


Purchase From:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Tomorrow I turn 42, and I can't wait. I'm really tired of the number 41. I never felt "old" until I read a local newspaper article about my writer's group back in April. They quoted me with "...says Natalie J. Damschroder, 41, who..." That number looked ugly in print.

But 42! Is not ugly! In fact, it's the answer to life, the universe, and everything, is it not? I know they never figured out the question, but maybe *I'm* the question!

Okay, that's getting too deep. In more ways than one. Moving on.

Forty-one was not a bad year for me. I just like even numbers better, I guess. Since my birthday is so close to the end of December, my personal year coincides with the calendar year. It's a nice way to keep things organized. I skipped my annual round-up post for 2011, so prepare to be bored out of your mind, as I gather TWO sets of data in a week or two. You've been warned!

We celebrate birthdays seriously around here. Not flamboyantly, but with intent. Tonight we went to dinner, because tomorrow my husband's NFL team plays a late game and his family always comes over to watch. My game is at 1:00, and so is the kids' soccer game. So they're getting me pecan pancakes from Cracker Barrel for breakfast, then I'll open presents, then they'll clean for the guests, then we'll do soccer, then I'll watch my football game in the bedroom while they cook dinner for the inlaws, then I'll probably do some writing* while their game finishes, and if I'm lucky, we'll get to watch more Firefly**! Sounds pretty good, right?

*Who am I kidding? If I get the bookstore gift cards that I ASKED FOR, I'll be shopping, not writing! LOL)

**We have indoctrinated Number Two into the cult of Firefly. We forced her to watch the first episode, and she liked it. So she said okay when we asked her to watch the next two. Then she asked to watch an episode on a school night! She didn't like Shindig as much, so she's resisting my push to make her watch Safe tonight. I think once we get to Jaynestown, there will be no more coercion necessary.

On Monday, I have The Next Big thing posting, thanks to being tagged by Misty Simon before my blog hops. Then it's CHRISTMAS! For all of my readers who celebrate, please have a very happy, safe, fun holiday.

For everyone else, keep the non-apocalypse party going!

Mistletoe Madness Blog Hop

I love giving and getting gifts, but the older I get, the harder it seems. Especially for my family and friends who live far away. I don't know what they already have, what they want, or what kind of gift would just be lame.

So I fall back on gift cards a lot. A LOT. Amazon, iTunes, VISA, a grocery store near my loved one, Target or WalMart, specialty websites, even gas cards for the new car owners. It never feels personal or exciting enough. So why do I keep doing it?

Because I love getting them! It's not just the joy of possibility that's opened up when you tear off the wrapping. It's also the joy of shopping without guilt! Getting something I might never have bought for myself, or at least not right now. Bookstore gift cards are the best. I always have a long wish list, so those get eaten up pretty fast.

More general cards are good, too. I rarely shop for clothes, but give me a department store or mall gift card for my birthday, and I can't wait to get to the after-holiday sales. :) A gift card for our local grocery store means I might get stuff that doesn't have coupons, or fill my entire tank of gas without getting depressed by the number on the screen.

So I figure if I love gift cards this much, they must be a pretty good gift, right? What do you think?

I'm giving one lucky winner a copy of both books that have been released in my Soul series of paranormal romance, Soul of the Dragon and Souflight. Once the giveaway is over, I'll contact the winner to determine preferred format. Go to the bottom of this post for entry information, and
click the image at the top of the post to go to the main giveaway page, where you can register for the Kindle Fire giveaway. Use the link(s) below to visit other hop participants, all of whom are offering prizes! :)

http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=211362

Thanks for participating


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Entangled Under the Mistletoe Blog Hop

  Don’t forget to check out what the other authors participating in the hop are giving away!
I'm so excited to have my first holiday story coming out this week. If You Believe in Me is an Entangled Flirt, the first short story I've had released in a couple of years.

This is also the first story I've done in a very long time that's a straight contemporary romance. Usually, I have some kind of adventure or suspense plot, heroes and heroines chasing bad guys, the risk of death.

Well, okay, this one doesn't escape that completely. Kale Riker is deep in black ops, struggling to get through one final mission in time to get home for Christmas. The guns and heat and sand and bad guys aren't typical Christmas scenery.

But back home, we've got a small-town heroine immersing herself in the spirit of Christmas, helping run the Breakfast with Santa for underprivileged kids and taking elderly friends for last-minute shopping, not to mention cooking, donating, and preparing every minute of the day. Not that it's helping keep her mind off Kale, the love of her life, who's been missing for six months and whose parents have given up on ever seeing him again...

(Don't worry. What would a reunion romance be without the happy ending? Especially at Christmas!)

Check back here for more information! In the meantime, you can enter my giveaway for a free copy of the story! And don't forget to click the link above to see the other posts and giveaways! Have fun!

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More (Probably Way Too Many) Thoughts on Change

I just read a great blog post by Laura Drake, and equally great comments, over at Writer Unboxed. As often happens, it sparked a lot of thoughts and rather than hijack the comments with my own opinions, I decided to bring them home. After all, that's why I have this blog in the first place! So I can listen to myself talk! LOL

Here's the background:

RWA is Romance Writers of America, a national organization that is exactly what its name suggests: an organization created for writers of romance in the United States of America. It has a very specific charter defining the purpose of the organization, and is obligated to stay close to that charter in order to maintain its nonprofit status with the IRS. RWA chapters are also required to stick to the purpose of the umbrella organization, because RWA's nonprofit status extends to us—and trust me, we want to keep it that way! :)

RWA is one of the very few writers organizations that allows unpublished members and doesn't (currently) require us to prove anything. A group of 12,000 people tends to evolve in certain ways, and periodically, RWA is forced to haul its policies and practices back in line, almost always in response to adjustments in IRS regulations or attention.

Several years ago, the romance genre burst out in different directions. Chick lit, adventure, fantasy, and urban fantasy all took off. But the more you add to a story, the less "focused" it might become. All of those stories had romance in them but stretched certain conventions of the genre. The heroine might have multiple romantic interests over time, or the romance may be a smaller part of the story. RWA members found homes for these books by creating chapters focused on certain subgenres (like the Women's Fiction chapter discussed in the post linked above) and by adding categories to the genre's top contests.

This year, RWA's board decided to remove the Novel with Romantic Elements categories from those contests and eventually notified chapters that their bylaws must match RWA's: "To advance the professional interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy . . .”

Laura's description of the WF chapter's decision made me very happy. (I really encourage you to read that post, but essentially, they've elected to disband under RWA's umbrella but continue in a new incarnation outside of it.) So often when something like this occurs, the response is purely negative, even acrimonious. When we heard that the young adult category of the contests would require the entered books to contain a romance, many comments were along the lines of "how dare RWA dictate what I can put in my books!"

But that's the thing. RWA doesn't dictate anything. The organization doesn't tell readers what to read or publishers what they can publish, and it doesn't tell writers what to write. There is nothing wrong with an author or group of authors deciding RWA doesn't meet their needs. I just don't understand why, when that happens, there's so much hostility toward the organization for being what it is instead of what the individual or group of individuals wants it to be.

Look at it this way. Chiropractors and nurses work in the medical field and serve a similar purpose to medical doctors in keeping people healthy. But do they attack the American Medical Association, calling them names and accusing them of nefarious intentions because they aren't allowed to join? No! They created their own organizations to meet their own needs, instead!

I think RWA makes it too easy for us. They do their job—providing opportunities for networking and advocacy—so well that we get lazy. We "find our people" and don't want to let go of them, so when our personal needs deviate from the boundaries of the organization, we want to change them to fit us instead of clearing our own place in the world.

It takes very special people with unique traits to be able to do that kind of clearing. To have the strength and dedication and passion to work that hard and face the challenges that come with it. The founding members of RWA had that. Perhaps the members of the Women's Fiction chapter and their leadership have it, too. I think the publishing world can only benefit from having more organizations dedicated to specific groups of writers and the genres in which they write. Let's use RWA as a template instead of a target. It can only strengthen us all!

The Christmas Season May Now Officially Begin

Two things happened this weekend that allow me to finally get in the holiday mood!

I say "finally," but really, with this year's calendar, everything is earlier than usual. I refused to let my husband play Christmas music in the car on Thanksgiving, and I steadfastly ignored all references until this weekend.

So what happened that "allows" me to feel it?

The first Saturday of December is always my Central PA Romance Writers holiday party. It forces one member (this year the fantastic Misty Simon) to decorate and clean so she can host us all. She did a fantastic job, especially considering she's got to travel in two days! Then 20-25 of us come and hang out, mingle, talk, and eat great food. We also do a small gift exchange. I'm sooo happy with the one I got! It was like Delynn Royer put it together specifically for me. It's everything I need for a cozy night of writing: two pairs of really warm, fuzzy socks, truffles, hot cocoa, and a tiny bottle of Kalhua, my favorite liqueur. Tiny so I can't get too drunk to write. :)

The other event was cutting down our Christmas tree.

Sticker Shock!

We've been going to one tree farm since shortly after Number One was born. Once in a while we'll get a pre-cut tree from the Boy Scouts or the local fire department, but this was likely the last year that Number One would be with us to choose it, and she wanted to cut it.

We take a hay ride out into the tree fields, hiking up and down muddy hills until we find a great tree. It didn't take us long this year, once we stopped searching for lower price tags and started looking at the actual trees.

At least this one wasn't $84!

Our final choice—nice shape!

Evidence of Number Two's hard "work" cutting the trunk.

Her father's evidence of REAL work.

Number One tries to cut off excess limbs.

Hauling the tree back down the hill.

After a very comical session of "tie the tree to the roof and climb in through the windows" and hot sausages, hot dogs, and hot cocoa from the catering truck, we drove verrrry slowwwwly back home. Success! Tree stayed on the car!

Now our house smells wonderful. We haven't decorated yet, but that's part of the fun of the early weeks of the season. That, and getting serious about shopping!

Do you have a real or artificial tree? Take the ornaments down, or store the tree in a bag and stick it back in the corner every year? :)