Ramblings of a Romance Writing Mama...

Writing out of your comfort zone...

2012-02-03T00:52:00.000-08:00

In other words completely making things up! That's what I'm doing now.

The hero in my current wip - MAN DROUGHT - is a volunteer ambulance officer (which my hubby happens to be also). He lives in a small rural community - the nearest hospital is about forty minutes drive away and the nearest maternity hospital even further.

So what happens when the heroine's best friend goes into early labour?

He's called in to be the well... um... the HERO! Now there are a few problems with this scenario. One, I've never delivered a baby. And two, even though I have three kids, I've never actually given birth - I had three c-sections you see. Three, despite being married to an ambo officer, being in the back of the van showing the kids it is the closest I've got.

But this is what writing fiction is all about - doing some research and then making it up as best you can. When I'm finished this ambulance delivery scene I will bribe a couple of CPs (who have had babies and/or are nurses) and I will also get my ambo hubby to take a look. Hopefully the end product will be authentic.

So... I'm curious... what have you written (or read) that was out of your comfort zone lately?

Theory on Thursday With Shawna Thomas

2012-02-01T14:23:00.000-08:00

Another fellow Carina Press author today! I'm really happy to welcome Shawna Thomas to share her view on writing with us. And I promise, it's a beauty!

PAINTING WITH WORDS

I've alwaysequated writing with painting. Well, painting and magic but I'll get more intothat later.

You see, when Itaught my children about writing, we'd start out with a sketch: bare bones. Letme show you.

The dog ran.

This gives youbasic information but it doesn't tell you much. So we'll add some color. Inthis case, literally.

The brown dog ran.

Still we don'thave much information. So we add a little more color.

The brown dog randown the street

Hmmm. Let's justcut to the chase.

The brown dog randown the empty street, pausing to sniff at each intersection before franticallyresuming his mad dash.

In my imagination,I see this dog running between tall, grey buildings. Deep purple clouds skateacross a dusky sky that promises rain. But it wouldn't do to just tell youthat. I have to show you, to transfer the image in my mind to yours.

You see the goalof each sentence is to paint a picture in your, the reader's, head. But itdoesn't stop there and this is where the magic is. I don't know about you, butI'm curious about that dog now. Is he in search of someone? Is he lost? Was heabandoned? What's his story? He's caught my attention. I care. It's my job, as a writer, to make youcare too.

So how do we dothat? Honestly, sometimes I do think it's part magic. How else do you describearranging words in such a way to cause you to fall in love with characters, toreact passionately to love a story, to grown with the hero's defeat and tear upwhen he finally succeeds? With words you can transfer emotion, ideas, thoughts,create realities. That's heavy stuff.

But how?

Oh come on, didyou think I was going to share my secrets with you? Just kidding. Kinda.

A lot of it isfalling in love with the characters long before a reader sees the first word,and some of it before the first word is even typed. If I don't cry with mycharacters, I don't expect my readers to. If I'm not passionately angry butstrangely intrigued by my villain, I don't expect any one else to be either.This means creating characters that existed before a time the book begins.

When creating aworld, it must be real to me. How did they get there? What would their historylessons by like? How do they pay for things? How are they governed? What dothey worship? Sometimes, there will only be a small mention, a tidbit here andthere, that makes it into the book. But these tidbits give an impression of acomplete world. A world with depth.

Tolkien did thisbetter than anyone I know. I read everything I could find on the love storybetween Aragorn and Arwen because he hinted at a complex history between thetwo of them, history that happened before the first book took place.

And then, it'staking all that information, going back to the beginning and creating thatrough sketch.

She knelt beforethe gravestone.

That's my roughsketch sentence with one detail. I know the color of her hair, what's she'swearing, and her emotional state. I can clearly see the surroundings and eventime of day and weather. I need to convey that to the reader, but I don't needto put all that information in one sentence. What I will do is step by step,sentence by sentence paint a picture with words that will lead the reader intomy world.

If I did thisright, you'll be able to see the rough sketch sentence parallels a rough sketchplot. You start with bare bones, adding color, depth, drama, until the picture,and story comes alive. It's painting with words and I do believe it's magic.

Thanks so much for blogging with me Shawna. I love your analogy for writing :) You can find Shawna on Twitter!

Shawna's latest book ALTERED DESTINY is available now from Carina Press and Amazon!

Here's the blurb:

Selia has run her family's tavern since she was fifteen and can hunt and fight the equal of any man. When she rescues a badly wounded man and nurses him back to health, she has no idea she's about to change not only her life, but also the destinies of two peoples...

The battered warrior is Svistra—a race of bloodthirsty savages determined to destroy her homeland. Or so the stories claim. Jaden reveals a different truth: how his ancestors were driven into the barren northern mountains. Now they are strong and war parties are pushing south wanting their land back.

The son of a Svistra Commander, Jaden is looking for a way to bring peace to both humans and Svistrans. He tries to ignore his growing passion for Selia, but when she is captured he has to decide what he would be willing to sacrifice to save the woman he loves...

Weekly Wind-Up and Stella Makes Good

2012-01-27T19:31:00.000-08:00

This week was my birthday :) And my boys made the most beautiful birthday cake EVER. Okay, maybe it was the type of cake that only a mum could love (they decorated it) but it was truly delicious (Granny helped them with the actual baking). My hubby gave me the most lovely card and told me to enjoy myself in Sydney (aka spend/buy whatever I like) when I go to the ARRA Awards in a couple of weeks. My Mum gave me my Kindle (which I got a few weeks back). All in all, it was a lovely day!

This week I also took a break from JILTED edits (while waiting for next round) to write more of MAN DROUGHT. Am loving this book and just hope I can do the story and characters justice.

In the waiting stakes, I'm three weeks into the wait on my revised full of HOLLYWOOD HEARTBREAK. So pray the eds at Carina love it and you all get to meet the sexy Nate and gorgeous Holly!

And, almost best of all, I managed to finish reading another book this week. I've been so slow with reading lately, focusing on writing and edits, that each time I finish one now I feel like throwing a little party.

So, this is my SECOND review in the Australian Women Writers Challenge.

STELLA MAKES GOOD by Lisa Heidke

I'm a great fan of Lisa's books - Claudia's Big Break was one of my fave reads of 2011 and Stella Makes Good did it for me too. I find it hard to pin point exactly what I like about a book. This one had a fabulously quirky start - cringe-worthy (in a good way) in fact with the famous sex party Lisa has been blogging about. I don't want to give too much away but the events that spiral from this one party make this book into a truly emotional and enjoyable read.

The characters (Stella and her three friends) are very REAL. They could be your own group of girlfriends and their lives are believable. I like that. And some of the writing is just down-right brilliant. There's a conversation between Stella and her mother-in-law June about marriage and how in the good old days, if you were unhappy you either put up with it or died. That cracked me AND my husband up (yes, this was the type of book where I had to read out certain lines to him)!

The story is also somewhat realistic. It is about marriage and how some can be worked on during tough spots and others are over when they're over. It's about knowing whether to fight or concede and it's about women over-coming difficulties and disappointments to become strong and happy again. It's about female friendship and celebrating these precious bonds.

All in all I found STELLA MAKES GOOD a VERY GOOD read and I can't wait to read Lisa's next book.

Also I'd like to announce the winner of Veronica Scott's blog contest earlier this week - Veronica used a random winner generator and the lucky number belonged to Leah Ashton. Congrats Leah. Veronica will be in contact with you shortly regarding your prize!

Theory on Thursday with Sami Lee

2012-01-25T14:45:00.000-08:00

So excited to have Samhain author Sami Lee visiting today. I first met Sami a few years back at an RWAus conf - I think it was both our first - and immediately fell in love with her. I'm so excited Sami has two new releases coming out this year but in the meantime I can recommend anything from her backlist!! And best of all, she's talking today about something VERY close to my heart and I'm sure to many of you as well - FEAR!

Welcome Sami...

Stephen King’s On Writing

"When you write a story, you're tellingyourself the story. When you rewrite, your main job is taking out the thingsthat are not the story."

Sometime after Easter in 2009, Icontracted a case of writer’s block. I didn’t know it at the time. Like manymaladies it didn’t immediately announce itself. I continued to write as thoughnothing was amiss--until I started to notice something. Nothing I wrote was anygood. Not a single story was worthy of the effort I was putting in. I keptscrapping them after three to five chapters to start something totally new,only to have that story suffer the same fate. I simply wasn’t inspired by myown words. The joy of writing was gone, to be replaced by a horrible, insidiousfear that annihilated my creativity. The fear of not selling, of not being goodenough, of never living up to my own expectations.

When I finally realised (after around 18months of insisting all I needed was a serious chunk of time in which to work)that I had a problem, I took a step away from the computer. I read novels,watched movies, played with my kids and baked cookies. I started to see thingsmore clearly. I had so much going on in my life. A day job, a family, friendsand Cadbury chocolate. The realisation came to me that if I never had anotherbook published I’d still have a rich and fulfilling life. Ironically, it waswhen I finally realised I didn’t needwriting to complete me that I at last felt able to embrace it again.

It was at this time that I bought a copyof Stephen King’s On Writing, a bookwhich restored my faith in my own vision and made me realise all my problemscould be boiled down to one stark fact: I was afraid.

After close to two years of writer's block, to read the words"The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, thingscan only get better" made me realise the main thing holding me back fromfinishing a book was fear. I was afraid it wouldn't be good, that the plotwould tie me in knots and I'd lose patience with it, afraid I was wasting mytime. Fear is no friend to creativity my fellow writers. It is creativity’s archenemy.

Another enemy of creativity is guilt. The famous King quote reads:"If you don't have time to read, you don't have time to write." Apart of a writer's job it to READ. It is RESEARCH. This seems logical enough,but it's easy when you have such limited writing time to get bogged down inguilt when you spend some of that time reading someone else's work instead ofcrafting your own. Don’t let the guilts get you. If the writing isn’t working,go read. Refill the well and start again another day, another hour.

Which brings me to another thing this book taught me. King states:“Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around." Writingis not the most vital thing in your life. It's not. Really. IT'S NOT THATIMPORTANT. Your family, your REAL life is what's important. Writing can totallyconsume you and sometimes, when you're on a roll, that's a good thing. The restof the time go be with your family, go for a swim or to a movie. Keep it inperspective and stop beating yourself up for not being Tolstoy.

Toward the end of 2010 I grabbed a notebook and pen and beganwriting a story. I had no idea what it was or where it was going but the deal Imade with myself was to finish it no matter what, even if it really did suck.In order to do that I put the very idea of publishing it out of my mind. Byusing ye olde fashioned pen and paper I felt like I was transported back tothose days when I’d hide my notebooks inside school texts and write withabsolutely no plan, simply because I wanted to do that more than anything else.The absence of that intimidating concept of publication took all the fear outof the process.

It took a year of writing and re-writing and critiquing andsubmitting (ok so I decided to try and publish it after all J), receiving at first a ‘no’ from my editor, andmore rewrites until finally the book was accepted for publication with SamhainPublishing. Erica’s Choice will be released in August 2012, and I couldn’t bemore proud of the final result. It’s the book I wrote when my writer’s self waslearning to walk again, and if it’s not a bestseller or never receives afavourable review, it will still be one of my hardest-won, proudestachievements. Thanks to Stephen King’s book, I won’t forget that my own senseof achievement is what really matters.

WOW - that's a heart-warming story Sami. HUGE congrats on ERICA'S CHOICE - I can't wait to read it. And thanks for the very important reminder about what really matters in life!!

If you (like me) found Sami's words inspiring, do check out her website here or find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Covers of Sami's gorgeous backlist are below. You can read about all these books and purchase them here :)

Do you remember your first...?

2012-01-23T15:13:00.000-08:00

My Twitter buddy and stablemate at Carina Press, Veronica Scott is visiting my blog today and I'm stoked about it. Veronica's debut novel looks very sexy and very unique and I can't wait to delve between the pages...

I’m so happy to be visiting Rachel’s blogtoday! She’s one of my best friends in the world of writers, always generously supportiveand encouraging!

Do you still remember the first Harlequinbook you ever read? My first was OutbackMan by Amanda Doyle. Not only did I enjoy the romance and appreciate theresilient heroine (my recent review of it here ), that bookstarted me off on a lifelong fascination with Australia. Flash forward agenerous number of years, to this week and my debut novella Priestess of the Nile…publishedby…..wait for it – Carina Press, a branch of Harlequin! It’s a double thrill.Signing the contract with the big Harlequin logo on every page still seems alittle unreal.

Priestess of the Nile is a paranormalromance novella, set in Ancient Egypt, around 1500 BC and tells the story ofSobek the Crocodile God. Drawn to his abandoned temple on the banks of the Nileby an enchanting song, he’s even more captivated by the sight of the singerherself. Appearing to her as a man, he learns she is Merys, a descendant of hislast priestess. Though he desires her greatly, Sobek believes Merys deserves tobe more than just his mistress.

Merys is attracted to the handsomestranger, who arouses passions in her that no man ever has. But with no dowryand no hope of ever leaving her village, she dares not dream of the future—orlove.

Sobek takes every opportunity to visitMerys, taxing his resolve to leave her pure. When he saves her life, theirmutual desire must be sated. But of course in the world of paranormal romancenothing can be uncomplicated, the gods have rules about such romances, thegoddess Isis is very unhappy and so the couple face manychallenges along the way.

I started writing this book because in myresearch for another WIP I became fascinated with the idea of the CrocodileGod, eventually concluding he was a shifter (as we paranormal romance writersunderstand the concept). Therefore hecould appear as a fully human man and fall in love with a woman. But what kindof a woman would be the right person to touch the heart of an Egyptian god?

Fortunately for me and the plot of mynovel, the Ancient Egyptian society gave women many rights and freedoms, whichencouraged them to be strong, equal partners. The head of the household was the man but women were equal in theeyes of the law and could own property, borrow money, sign contracts, appear incourt as witnesses, obtain a divorce…sounding pretty modern in a lot of ways,yes? And to an Egyptian, home and family were major sources of happiness andjoy. Children were greatly desired and treasured. There are many happy familyscenes depicted in various tomb paintings and statuary.

Merys intrigues Sobek at first purely withher beauty and her voice, as well as the fact that she tries to keep hisabandoned temple in some kind of acceptable condition. But as he talks to herand visits her, he learns how strong she is, living in her father’s house yetdenied a dowry by her stepmother, forced to shoulder a large part of thehousehold burden. Not a complainer, my heroine does what needs to be done andfinds time for herself as best she can. Merys has her valid reasons for puttingup with her living conditions. Sobek is used to thinking on the grand scale –maintaining the Nile river, standing with other gods in battle against theirenemies – but Merys teaches him the simple joys of a human’s life, touches aplace in his heart he never even knew he had. And then events threaten to breakthat immortal heart unless Sobek canfigure out a way to overcome the challenges life throws at them.

I’m thoroughly fascinated with the world ofAncient Egypt, especially with the paranormal twist I couldn’t resist applyingto it and I hope you’ll enjoy it as well. The culture, the rich mythology andtradition, the sheer history gave mea lot to work with…and bottom line, the people who lived all those thousands ofyears ago weren’t that different from you and me.

Veronica is VERY generously giving away a copy of her book AND a $25 Amazon giftcard to one lucky commenter. All you have to do to enter is tell us what the first romance you ever read was!

Blurb - Priestess of the Nile

Egypt, 1500 BC

Drawn to his abandoned temple on the banks of the Nile by an enchanting song, Sobek the Crocodile God is even more captivated by the sight of the singer herself. Appearing to her as a man, he learns she is Merys, a descendant of his last priestess. Though filled with lust, Sobek believes Merys deserves to be more than just his mistress. But the rules that govern the Egyptian pantheon forbid anything beyond a physical joining of a Great One and a human.

Merys is attracted to the handsome stranger, who arouses passions in her that no man ever has. But with no dowry and no hope of ever leaving her village, she dares not dream of the future—or love.

Sobek takes every opportunity to visit Merys, taxing his resolve to leave her pure. When he saves her life, their mutual desire must be sated. But can a love between a human and an immortal survive the ultimate test of the gods?

You can find Veronica on Twitter and Facebook or visit her at her blog.

AND you can buy her fabulous book on Amazon, at Carina Press or other e-book shops.

Six Sentence Sunday: One Perfect Night

2012-01-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I did a Six Sentence Sunday post, but since I'm faffing about, I thought I may as well do one now. I have every intention to do them more often from now on... will someone please hold me to that?

Today SS, comes from ONE PERFECT NIGHT - which released from Carina Press in December. To set the scene, let me just say, the hero and heroine only met a few hours ago and are currently pretending to be together at his Aunt's place for dinner!

It was all she could do not tovisibly swoon as his fingers trekked slowly up her leg trailing a hot path andshooting a delicious heat right to her core.

“Can you pass the potatoes?” askedCameron, his fist nudging between her knees.

She really should squeeze themtogether tightly, but two could play at this game and she wondered how far he’dgo. Smiling sweetly and lifting the serving dish of crisp roasted potatoes, sheopened her legs a fraction.

“Thanks.” He gave a dangerous grinas one hand took the bowl and the other slid up the inside of her thigh.

If you enjoyed that snippet and would like to see just how far Cameron and Peppa go at the dinner table, you can grab a copy of ONE PERFECT NIGHT from Amazon or Carina Press.

Hope you all had a fab weekend. I have some awesome guests lined up this week!

First AWW Challenge book for 2012 (and a winner)!

2012-01-20T19:57:00.000-08:00

A HUGE congrats to Gemma Moore - winner of MADE FOR MARRIAGE by Helen Lacey. To claim your prize, Gemma, please contact Helen through her website.

Now, today I'm going to share my thoughts on my first Aussie read as part of the Australian Women Writers Challenge 2012. This week past I read Loretta Hill's The Girl In Steel-Capped Boots and I LOVED it.

Boots (as Loretta calls it) is a bit chick-litty, a bit rural, a bit romance with a whole host of fabulous characters who are real but immensely loveable. At first Lena, the heroine, seems a bit ditsy and shallow (a city girl tossed in the deep end of life on the Pilbara) but she redeems herself and grows and develops as the story continues into a really strong and like-able woman. Even the blokes who work with her (and her gender is very much in the minority up there) grow to admire and respect her.

It was also great to read a book set in the far north WA - a region that doesn't get much limelight in fiction, especially my favourite genre romance. And while Boots is classified as Women's Fiction, it has a VERY strong romance plot line. The heroine has strong reason NOT to fall for the hero but of course she can't resist his strong, silent charm. His reasons for being with her aren't as strong - although he does have a massive conflict in his own life as well and the book isn't less enjoyable because there isn't a strong reason for him not to fall for her. Dan is just my type of hero - strong, guarded, honest and OF COURSE, deadly attractive.

Boots is an easy read but Loretta has some fabulous one-liners that made me extremely jealous I didn't think of them myself!! This is a well-crafted, enjoyable novel and I'll be eagerly awaiting more books from Loretta Hill.

My next AWW12 book is Lisa Heidke's STELLA MAKES GOOD, which I started on Thursday and am loving! In fact, I'm very resentful of all the things that are keeping me from reading it!

Theory on Thursday with Helen Lacey

2012-01-18T15:14:00.000-08:00

I'm so pleased to have debut Special Edition author, Helen Lacey joining me today! Not only is Helen the CP of one of my gorgeous CPs, I was also lucky enough to meet her at the RWAus conf last year. She is so lovely and fun and approachable and well... if her book is anything like she is, we are all gonna adore it!

Today though, Helen is talking about something that makes romance writers twitchy - the FORMULA!! Over to you Helen...

Category + Romance = Formula?

Last year I attended a writer’s dinner, which was held theevening before a regional day long writing conference. This was my firstofficial ‘do’ as a published author. Well, a contracted author at least. As anunpublished writer I had attended several Romance Writers of Australiafunctions and always felt comfortable in my skin and in the kind of books Iwrote. This was a little different. Although I knew several writers who werethere and some were RWA members, the majority of attendees were mainstreamwriters – some young adult, some straight fantasy, some literary, a few poetsand some working on their memoirs.

I introduced myself as a romance writer and Harlequin authorand received a few cursory smiles and everything seemed to be going well until midintroduction to someone I was asked, “So – how exactly to you write one ofthose books? To a formula, right?” Of course I smiled, and determined to answerpolitely I said, “Not exactly. I work to publishers guidelines of course. Thereare specific parameters within the line I write for.” She looked at me and said.“So, yeah, like I said, to a formula?”

To which I smiled again and replied. “In my experience,romance novels are no more written to formula than say, a crime novel.” Towhich the lady in question looked at me again, clearly perplexed. “Oh, you know,” I went on to say,“you have a good guy, a bad guy, and a crime to be solved. In a romance youhave a hero, a heroine and they fall in love.” I was just about to continuewith my – “And like in fantasy novels where there is always a quest….” But shelost interest and left me to my internal ramblings.

But it got me thinking. Of course I’d heard the word‘formula’ being bandied around for years. A hero, a heroine, a love scene, twoarguments and a happy ever after – that’s the secret, right? If it was thateasy I figured everyone would do it – and not just the committed thousands who submit a manuscript toHarlequin every year. Of course, in this secret formula there’s no mention of the conflicts keeping them apart, themaintaining the tension, the characters development, the emotional journey forthe reader. There’s a great article here at MyRomance Story. com which talks about the fabled formula for writing aromance novel.

The first ‘How To’ book I read on romance writing was by ValerieParv I can’t remember reading any chapters on a secret formula that would helpme write a better book. Not even in Romance Writing For Dummies by HarlequinEditor Lesley Wainger did I see a chapter instructing me on how This + That =Book That Will Get Published. Oh, there are chapters onGoal/Motivation/Conflict, on creating compelling characters, on maintainingpace in a novel, on creating the perfect love scene, writing and outline etc.But a secret formula? Not anywhere.

And that’s okay. Because it means we can take our hero andheroine on a journey that isn’t constrained by any scientific way of expressing information symbolically – wecan simply let them fall in love.

Thanks Rachaelfor having me on Theory on Thursday. I have a copy of Made For Marriage to giveaway to one commenter.

MADEFOR MARRIAGE

Equestrian CallieJones was used to difficult parents at her riding school. But Noah Preston tookthe cake.

How dare he questionher teaching abilities, after his headstrong daughter paid no heed to rules—herteacher's or her father's?

Single dad Noah wasready to apologize for overreacting. But he wasn't sorry for the way thestunning American riding instructor made him feel. And he soon learned thatthere was more to Callie than her smarts, sass and fire: a shattered heart thatthreatened to splinter even further. Could he make her see that he—and hisfamily—were for keeps?

Buy Links:

Amazon Amazon UK Book Depository

Helen Lacey on the web:

Website Facebook Twitter Blog Helen's Page at RomanceWiki

For full itinerary on Helen's Celebration tourcheck out Helen Lacey- Author Page.

Guest Blogging and Good News

2012-01-16T16:26:00.000-08:00

I'm over at the lovely Shannon Curtis' blog today talking about EPILOGUES!! I'd love you to come and over and offer up your opinion on this heated topic - do you love em or hate em?

Also, I was absolutely STOKED and totally GOBSMACKED to find out yesterday that I'm a finalist in the contemporary romance category of the fabulous Australian Romance Reader Awards 2011 with my debut novel ONE PERFECT NIGHT from Carina Press. I'm up against some HUGE and really TALENTED authors, some of whom happen to be close friends of mine, so I'm not expecting miracles but just to be up there is more than I ever imagined.

So HUGE thanks to those people who nominated me. I'm so grateful and I hope you continue to enjoy my stories.

What I'm NOT blogging about!

2012-01-14T04:11:00.000-08:00

Today I'd planned on doing my first review of a novel for the Australian Women Writer's challenge. I'd planned to review (or write what I liked about it cos I'm not really comfortable reviewing a) as a writer and b) a friend's book) Loretta Hill's The Girl In Steel-Capped Books. I decided I'd do a write up of one Aussie women's fiction book every two weeks, but maybe this'll have to start next week. I have started Loretta's book and I'm REALLY loving it, but there's a number of things that have stopped me reading as much as I'd like this week.

1) Copy-edits landed for JILTED - these are not actually that bad and more involve going through the document and accepting or rejecting minor changes my editor as made. I'd say I'm accepting 99% of such changes because let's face it, he's the editor and he knows what he's doing. Every time I read his changes I think - WOW why didn't I think of that. They're mostly minor - deleting a word here and replacing it with something else or even just shifting around the words I already have but its amazing how such small changes can really improve the writing. So, I'm very grateful to have worked with two fantastic editors on my books. For JILTED my editor is a man and this has been particularly useful in making sure the male pov in my book is spot-on!

2) It's school holidays here. Not only is it school holidays, but we are away from home in Perth for two weeks, which equals daily swimming lessons for the boys, social outings to catch up with friends and a whole load of fun school holiday type activities. So far in six days we've been to AQUA (WA Aquarium), a really cool play centre, a park with a massive fake volcano that actually ruptures, San Churros (to eat loads and loads of chocolate), the Zoo, the drive in movies (to see Alvin and The Chipmunks Shipwrecked), I've had a pedicure and my Mum also took the boys to see Happy Feet 2 at the cinemas. THIS is only the first week. My men have been good and have let me have a bit of me time but most of this precious time has been spent on copy-edits.

3) Before the copy-edits landed - I'd been trying to get stuck into my current wip (working title MAN DROUGHT). I love the concept of this story but am at the stage, where I'm just writing myself into the story (anyone else do that?) and hoping like hell it all works out!

So, unfortunately I'm gonna be late with my first installment for the Australian Women Writer's challenge, but I promise there'll be a write up on The Girl In Steel-Capped Boots. Soon!

WINNERS!!!

2012-01-13T01:41:00.000-08:00

Today I used www.random.org to choose the winner's of last week's two book contests.

Huge congrats to Bec (the first one who commented on Jennifer Weiner's book post), winner of Jennifer Weiner's THEN CAME YOU!!

Huge congrats to Eleri Stone, winner of Ruthie Knox's RIDE WITH ME!!

If you could email me at Rachaeljohns at gmail dot com I'll arrange for delivery of your books!

:)
Rach!

Theory on Thursday with Louise Cusack

2012-01-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

Today I have romantic fantasy author Louise Cusack visiting. Not only is Louise an award winningfantasy author whose Shadow Through Timetrilogy is about to be released by Pan Macmillan’s eBook arm MomentumBooks. She is also a highly successfulmanuscript developer, writing mentor and tutor with several clients publishedand many more winning prestigious competitions.

Louise is going to tell us a bit about her manuscript assessment service, but first, don't forget - if you haven't already done so - to read the two posts below and comment for a chance to win a book by Ruthie Knox and a book by Jennifer Weiner. Only a couple of days left to enter both.

Here's Louise...

Getting serious: Manuscript Assessment

There comes a time in every unpublishedwriter’s career when they wonder what they have to do to get across the line,to get a publisher or an agent to take them on. They might have been writing for years, doing well in contests, and havecrit buddies who love their work, but still… no contract.

So what can they do?

Well if this is you and you can’tsee a way forward, you might decide to give up your dream of being published byHarlequin or Berkley or Avon and go with a smaller ePublisher or even selfpublish, not realising how challenging it is to drum up sales when you don’thave the huge distribution machinery of a big International publisher behindyou. And while there are the rare,celebrated authors who rise from self-publishing obscurity to becomeInternational best sellers, the vast majority of authors who have long,successful careers have been published by big publishing houses. So if you also want to go the traditionalroute, what can you do to lift the quality of your work to a standard that willexcite publishers and agents?

One way to give your career ajump-start is to have a manuscript assessment by an industry professional, andthe Australian Writers Marketplace amongother sites will give you a range of assessors to choose from. Always query them first to see what you getfor your money, but to give you an overview I’ll tell you what I do, so you cansee if an assessment might help you. Icharge a touch under $400 for a sixty thousand word manuscript, and my clientsconsider that to be an inexpensive way to help them bridge the gap between wherethey are and where they want to be: signing a contract that delivers thousandsor even hundreds of thousands of dollars if they can create a novel publisherswill bid on. Every business spends moneyon development, and career writers are no different.

A good assessment can help youeliminate the craft issues that are holding you back, and clarify andstrengthen plot structure and characterisation. Every manuscript is different, but the number one flaw I see inmanuscripts is lack of tension (most often caused by a goal/motivation/conflictstructure that is unclear or not compelling). Other problems I’ve diagnosed in the 150 manuscripts I’ve assessed arestructural flaws that affect tension or pacing, characterisation weaknesses(either due to viewpoint control issues, lack of internalisations or clichédreactions) or problems with dialogue, visuals, pacing or grammar. The most heartbreaking are manuscripts thathave been beautiful written with faultless grammar, but have either no viewpointcontrol, predictable plots or clichéd characters. On the surface these manuscripts shine andtheir authors don’t see the critical flaws that are stopping them beingpublished, so I find it very satisfying to help these talented writers uncovertheir Achilles Heel and offer direction towards overcoming it.

Knowing what isn’t working ishalf the battle. Having clear directionon how to fix the problem is vitally important as well, and that not only helpsyou edit to make your novel more saleable, it also makes you mindful of that craftissue in the next story, ensuring that each future draft is stronger.

If you’d like to check out mywebpage on manuscriptdevelopment or the rest of my writingtips website you may find something that helps you turn your good storyinto a great story, and my New Year’swish for you is that your manuscript snags the attention of a jaded publisheror agent searching for the next big thing.

Remember: Luck happens when opportunity and preparation meet. Abig contract can happen, but you needto work to make it happen for you!

Thanks Louise - sounds really helpful! I'm curious, have any of you tried a manuscript assessor? If so, how did it work for you?

How I Got over My Sex-Scene-Writing Embarrassment with Ruthie Knox

2012-01-09T18:28:00.000-08:00

I'm so delighted to have Ruthie Knox back on the blog today, talking about something that I think will relate to all of us who write on the spicier side of the fence.

But before I hand over to Ruthie, I'm over at Everybody Needs A Little Romance on the 10th (US time), and I'd love some comment love - hint hint!

Oh, You Scandalous Woman!or, How I Got over My Sex-Scene-Writing Embarrassment

I recently had anappointment for my annual lady-parts checkup, and when my (female) gynecologistunfolded the stirrups and asked me to scoot my butt down to the edge of thetable, I said, “Oh, I have something interesting we can talk about for thispart! I’ve been writing romance novels. They’re really sexy.”

And somewhere in ruralOhio, the Ruthie Knox of twenty years ago keeled over and DIED.

You see, when I was ateenager, my mother was a practicing midwife. There was a pelvic model on ourdining-room table. There was, at one time, somebody’s placenta in ourrefrigerator. My mom had long, involved telephone conversations with strangewomen about mucous—the private kindof mucous. And I Would Not Talk about Sex. Not with my mother, not with myfriends, not with anybody, anywhere, ever.

I did, however, read alot of sexy romance novels. I liked to thinkabout sex. I certainly assumed I would some day be having sex. It was just the whole conversation thing. The wholebeing-at-ease-with-the-fact-that-actual-human-people-have-sex thing. I couldn’thandle it.

I don’t have a dramaticstory about how all of that changed. I just grew up, I guess, in the usual waythat people do. I went to a liberal college and got more comfortable with myinborn feminism, et cetera, and so on. If one wants to have sex, one needs to be able to talk about it. Particularly ifone wants to have good sex. So Ifumbled my way through the awkwardness and got over it.

But when I startedwriting romance, there was another level of discomfort to get past—a sort ofknee-jerk siren in my head that screamed SEX! SEX! YOU’RE WRITING ABOUT SEX!EVERYONE WILL READ IT AND THINK ABOUT YOU WHILE THEY’RE READING IT AND THEY’LLKNOW YOU HAVE SEX AND THEY’LL WONDER IF IT’S ABOUT YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND OMIGAAAAAHD!

I’m pretty sure everyromance writer has this siren, although volume levels may vary.

Mine was remarkably easyto switch off—all it took was one person. In the early months after I startedwriting, a friend of mine said she’d love to read the manuscript that turnedout to be Ride with Me. I wasthrilled, but also extremely nervous. “There’s sex in it!” I told her. And thisfriend—a wonderfully blunt woman—asked me, “You do know I’ve had sex, right? I’ve even read books with sex in them. I think I canhandle it.”

So I took a deep breathand sent her the file. And then later I sent it to my parents. And after that Ilet my husband read it. And several of my friends.

And it was fine.

Getting comfortable withbeing someone who writes sex scenes for public consumption is a multistageprocess, but so is getting comfortable with sexuality generally, as a humanwoman. We get so many mixed messages about our bodies and what we’re supposedto do with them, what we’re supposed to wantto do with them, what we should want other people to think about them/us—it’stricky business, with a large Sidecar of Shame that threatens to slam into usif we navigate it wrong.

But it’s only fictionalsex, you know? It’s not like I’m killing puppies. So when I heard recently thata few of my relatives by marriage who I don’t know particularly well havepreordered Ride with Me, I gulped,and then I let it go. I hope they like it! Since these relatives all havechildren, I’m going to go ahead and assume they’ve had sex. They can probablyhandle my smutty, romantic, monogamous novelized version. Maybe they’ll evenlike it! Maybe my fictional sex will make the real, live lady parts of thesereal, live women feel happy.

Omigod.

But also, yay!

As for my gynecologist, Ileft her with my website address and a promise that I’ll still come back for myannual when I’m glamorous and famous. If she’s lucky, I’ll autograph herstirrups.

RUTHIE's fab debut Ride with Me is available from Loveswept on February 13, 2012!

In this fun, scorching-hot eBook original romance by RuthieKnox, a cross-country bike adventure takes a detour into unexplored passion. Asreaders will discover, Ride with Me is not about the bike!

When Lexie Marshallplaces an ad for a cycling companion, she hopes to find someone friendly andfun to cross the TransAmerica Trail with. Instead, she gets Tom Geiger — alean, sexy loner whose bad attitude threatens to spoil the adventure she’sspent years planning.

Roped into the cyclingequivalent of a blind date by his sister, Tom doesn’t want to ride with achatty, go-by-the-map kind of woman, and he certainly doesn’t want to want her.Too bad the sight of Lexie with a bike between her thighs really turns hiscrank.

Even Tom’s stubborndetermination to keep Lexie at a distance can’t stop a kiss from leading toendless nights of hotter-than-hot sex. But when the wild ride ends, where willthey go next?

BIO

Ruthie Knoxfigured out how to walk and read at the same time in the second grade, and shehasn’t looked up since. She spent her formative years hiding romance novels inher bedroom closet to avoid the merciless teasing of her brothers and imaginingscenarios in which someone who looked remarkably like Daniel Day Lewisrecognized her well-hidden sex appeal and rescued her from middle-classMidwestern obscurity. After graduating from Grinnell College with an Englishand history double major, she earned a Ph.D. in modern British history thatshe’s put to remarkably little use.

These days, shewrites contemporary romance in which witty, down-to- earth characters find eachother irresistible in their pajamas, though she freely admits this has yet tohappen to her. Perhaps she needs more exciting pajamas. Ruthie abhors anepilogue and insists a decent romance requires at least three good sex scenes.

GIVEAWAY

One luckycommenter will be randomly chosen to win a digital copy of Ride with Me. Good luck to all! To win, all you have to do is let us know what you do shamelessly today that would mortify or disappoint the high school version of yourself!?

Rachael's answer - I eat Avocado!! Okay, so it's not very exciting but I despised the stuff then and now I actually quite ADORE it!!

Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner

2012-01-05T05:17:00.000-08:00

This year, my good friend Penny is trying to get me to join a number of reading challenges on Goodreads. One of them is pledge to read a certain number of new-to-you authors this year. This is a bit scary to me because there are already so many authors I want to read and am unable to keep up with, however, I think the universe must be sending me a message that I must look to widen my horizon because this week I got a lovely email from Carol at Simon & Schuster offering me a copy of Jennifer Wiener's latest book THEN CAME YOU and another copy for one lucky reader of my blog.

I have never read a Jennifer Weiner novel but have only heard good things about her. This one sounds fabulous and I can't wait to read it:

With her trademark humour and tender insight Jennifer Weiner brings us the heartfelt story of four women from very different walks of life.
Drawn together – in some cases reluctantly – by one woman’s quest to become a mother, the four women build a bond that will last forever.
Jules is a college student planning to use the $20,000 she will be paid for donating her eggs to save her dad from addiction.
Annie married her high school sweetheart and is a stay-at-home mother with two small boys. After years of surviving on her husband’s small wage, could surrogacy give them the extra cash they need?
India, 38 (really 43) wants to bind her relationship with her older husband Marcus. But when nature fails, she turns to Jules and Annie for help.
Bettina, 23 is India’s reluctant step-daughter who becomes the guardian to India’s unborn child when Marcus dies and India disappears.
This timely tale interweaves themes of class and entitlement, surrogacy and donorship, the rights of a parent and the measure of motherhood.
Through her unforgettable, true-to-life characters, Weiner deftly reflects how the family we build round us – from strangers we meet along life’s path – is often the family we are closest to.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer Weiner is the international Number One bestselling author of nine novels, including Fly Away Home, Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, and Certain Girls. In Her Shoes is now an internationally acclaimed film starring Toni Collette and Cameron Diaz. A graduate of Princeton University, Jennifer is also the executive producer for the ABC America Family TV show State of Georgia. She lives in Philadelphia with her family.

To win a copy of Jennifer's book, please like me on Facebook , leave a comment on this blog telling me you've done so and also answer this question - Tell me about someone in your life who isn't legally family or blood related but who you cherish as if they were?

One random commenter will go in the draw to win a copy of THEN CAME YOU! The competition closes Friday 13th at midnight Australian EST and the winner will be announced next Saturday.

Theory on Thursday with Loretta Hill

2012-01-04T04:27:00.000-08:00

After my Christmas and release hiatus, Theory on Thursday is back in 2012 and first up in the hot seat is fellow WA author Loretta Hill. Her book The Girl In Steel-Capped Boots released only this week. I cannot wait for my Kindle to arrive (hopefully today) so I can download Loretta's book. I don't want to wait until I head to Perth next week :)

But what I'm really excited about is Loretta's topic for Theory on Thursday. So I'll stop rambling now and hand over to Loretta. I do hope after you've read Loretta's post, you'll stick around to discuss!

Firstly,thanks for having me on your blog Rachael. It’s a real pleasure to behere. I wanted to talk about an issuethat I stumbled over in the last couple of years and had to really nut throughbefore I could move forward with my writing. My question was, “What’s the difference Between Mainstream Commercial Women’s Fiction and GenreRomance?”

I happen tobe a reader of both these genres and since forever I thought they were one andthe same thing. They’re not. If you’re areader this shouldn’t really matter to you. But writers need to distinguishthem so they can figure out which publisher they’re supposed to be targeting.

I’m anengineer by day and for that reason I tend to like to deal in absolutes. Yes, Iknow - with writing there are no rules. So let’s just call this table below a loose guide. J There are no hard and fasts here. I’ve just found these characteristics to bethe case (in general) and it has helped me figure out where I fit.

Mainstream Commercial Women’s Fiction	Genre Romance
The story is all in the heroines POV	The story is in the hero and heroine POV
The main plot can be anything but a romance. Ie. suspense, mystery, family saga, coming of age, science fiction, fantasy, historical etc.	Romance is the main plot
Romance is a subplot	Sub plot could be in a secondary genre. Eg. suspense, mystery, family saga, coming of age, science fiction, fantasy, historical etc. But it can also be another romance (between a different couple)
The heroine’s journey is the focus of the story. Her character must achieve growth by the end of the story.	Hero’s journey and Heroine’s journey is given equal importance in the story.
The hero’s journey doesn’t matter, except in how it affects the heroine’s journey. His growth is optional. He can be constant through the book if you like.	Both hero and heroine must have grown and/or achieved change by the end of the book and their love for each other must be the catalyst for that.
Secondary characters are important. Some may be given equal page time as the hero.	Secondary characters are not so important.

Toillustrate, how you can stretch these rules, or push the envelope, I thoughtI’d talk about my debut novel with Random House, “The Girl in Steel-CappedBoots” freshly out in stores this month! J

This novel fits under the category ofMainstream Commercial Women’s Fiction. It is all in the heroines POV, the mainplot concerns my heroine’s struggle to prove herself as a good engineer whileliving and working in the outback. There’s a lot of resistance to her goal fromthe people she works with, her own troubled past and her lack of knowledge. Thegenre for my main plot, I would actually say is comedy more than anything else. It’s a light hearted tale of personal growthand driving yourself to the absolute limit and just praying it works out.Here’s where I pushed the envelope on the rules: the romance in this story ismore than just a subplot. When I think sub plot, I usually think maybe 30% ofthe novel. I would say I gave Dan and Lena’s romance about 50%. Lena’s journeyis definitely the focus of the story but Dan’s love helps her to realise her ownstrength as a person, so it’s valid to my main plot too, if you know what Imean. My secondary characters are also veryimportant. Like Dan, they too contribute to Lena’s self realisation, so I gavethem plenty of page time.

While “TheGirl in Steel Capped Boots” is all in Lena’s POV, I have seen commercial women’sfiction with many POV’s. However, usually they are other female secondarycharacters POV rather than the heros.Sometimes there are even double or triple heroine stories. The focus is alwayson the female’s journey.

Anyway, Ihope my blog has helped somebody else asking this same question. And thanksagain for having me, Rach.

Thanks Loretta. That was VERY interesting and informative. I know this post has been really helpful for me and I can see I most definitely write genre romance!

I'd love to hear from readers about whether or not you agree with Loretta's take on Women's Fiction vs Romance and if you have anything to add.

BLURB - The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots

'Let me burst your city bubble for you. This is the Pilbara. And it's the Pilbara that makes the rules' Lena Todd is a city girl who thrives on cocktails and cappuccinos. So when her boss announces he's sending her to the outback to join a construction team, her world is turned upside down. Lena's new accommodation will be an aluminium box called a dongar. Her new social network: 350 men. Her daily foot attire: steel-capped boots. Unfortunately, Lena can't refuse. Mistakes of the past are choking her confidence. She needs to do something to right those wrongs and prove herself. Going into a remote community might just be the place to do that, if only tall, dark and obnoxious Dan didn't seem so determined to stand in her way ...

My New Year Pub Crawl

2012-01-01T23:08:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a fantastic New Year weekend. I went away with my gorgeous hubby and boys to visit his mother in Southern Cross (a rural/mining town in Western Australia for those who aren't from these parts).

Although not raised in the country, I've lived in a small rural community for the past seven years and there's something about being out in the bush that agrees with me, which is probably why I set JILTED - my June 2012 release - in a small country town.

I love the fact that everyone knows everyone (although this is not always a good thing) and that you can pretty much guarantee what you'll find in a small town. These include a big oval or rec centre (country towns love their sport), a post office, a small supermarket or general store, a town hall of some kind, a service station, maybe a bank and almost always at least one pub.

My current manuscript - tentatively titled MAN DROUGHT - is also set in a small rural community. Whereas JILTED centres around the romance AND the revival of the local theatrical society, MAN DROUGHT centres around the romance and the goings-on at the local pub! There's something about country pubs that are begging for stories to be told in them. There's so much potential in these places. So today, while we traveled home, I took photos of pubs in some of the places we drove through.

My vision of the pub in MAN DROUGHT is most like the pub right above. I'm itching to get stuck back into this story and hope to finish it by the end of April but first I must finish my revisions for HOLLYWOOD HEARTBREAK!!

Goals for 2012

2011-12-30T04:13:00.000-08:00

As I said in my post earlier this week, I make goals not resolutions. It feels like a positive step towards making my dreams come true.

Goals MUST be something that are within my control. I want to make a million dollars with my debut release is NOT within my control and probably not realistic either - lol!! But writing another book by the end of May is hopefully something I can achieve.

So here goes... my goals for 2012 for you to hold me accountable:

1) Finish rewriting Hollywood Heartbreak and sub to Carina Press.
2) Finish my new Single Title - Man Drought - edit and sub.
3) Write the second in my Hollywood series (hopefully by the time I start, I'll know whether the first has been sold).

4) Write a novella - this is something that has always terrified me, so I'm going to read lots of them before attempting one. It'll either be a themed seasonal novella or one linked to Man Drought that can maybe be a free promo.
5) Read more (it's ALWAYS on my list).
6) Re-do my website.
7) Publish my non-fiction book BREASTFEEDERS ANONYMOUS on Amazon.
8) Start a new ST to finish in 2013 :)

So, what are some of your goals for the New Year? If you've written a goal blog post, please do let me know in the comments section of this blog and I'll pop over and check yours out.

And HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!!!

Books Read in 2011!

2011-12-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

Every year I keep a list of the books, I've read. I'm always amazed by how many it numbers, and this year, more so than ever. I felt like I hardly read at all. That was the one depressing thing about writing so much and all the lovely, yummy contracts that came with deadlines this year. It meant my reading potential decreased :( In the end though, I only read 12 books less than I did last year, so I guess it wasn't too terrible. I'm hoping for a lot more in 2012 - somehow!!

Here's the 52 books I read in 2011 (with an * next to the ones that truly captivated me from start to finish):

Perfect Kate - Bec Sampson

Perfect Chemistry - Simone Elkeles *

Goodnight, Beautiful - Dorothy Koomson *

Every Girl's Secret Fantasy - Robyn Grady

Best Laid Plans - Sarah Mayberry

Blue Skies - Fleur McDonald

The Undomestic Goddess - Sophie Kinsella

Claudia's Big Break - Lisa Heidke *

Molly Cooper's Dream Date - Barbara Hannay *

St Piran's: Rescuing Pregnant Cinderella - Carol Marinelli

The Woman He Loved Before - Dorothy Koomson

Shattered Sky - Helene Young

Heart of Gold - Fiona Palmer *

The Ice-Cream Girls - Dorothy Koomson *

Beyond Fear - Jaye Ford *

A Daddy For Jacoby - Christyne Butler

Getting Even With Fran - Christine Stinson

The Man She Loves to Hate - Kelly Hunter

North Star - Karly Lane

Shipwrecked With Mr Wrong - Nikki Logan

Addition - Toni Jordan

Rules of Attraction - Simone Elkeles

The Search - Nora Roberts

The Red Tent - Anita Diamant

Cupcakes and Killer Heels - Heidi Rice

Exclusively Yours - Shannon Stacy *

Undeniably Yours - Shannon Stacy

Meddling With The Millionaire - Cat Schield

When One Night Isn't Enough - Wendy Marcus

Road Signs - M.J. Frederick

It Started With A Pregnancy - Scarlet Wilson

Lakeshore Christmas - Susan Wiggs

Last Summer - Kylie Ladd

Marrying Daisy Bellamy - Susan Wiggs **** BEST READ OF 2011***

Promises - Cathryn Hein *

Secrets and Speed-dating - Leah Ashton *

The Secret History of a Good Girl - Aimee Carons

Sizzling Sixteen - Janet Evanovich

Turn It Up - Inez Kelly

Young Wives - Adele Parks

Tempted by Trouble - Liz Fielding

Lola's Secret - Monica McInerney *

Summer at Willow Lake - Susan Wiggs

When Harriet Came Home - Coleen Kwan

Irresistible - Susan Mallery

What Alice Forgot - Liane Moriarty *

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

The First Night of Christmas - Heidi Rice

Mistletoe and Margaritas - Shannon Stacey

Nowhere Else - Fiona McCallum

Yours to Keep - Shannon Stacey

I'd love to know some of your best reads for 2011 and maybe I'll add them to my massive, ever-growing TBR pile for 2012!!

2011 - the year that WAS!!!

2011-12-27T05:06:00.000-08:00

At the end of each year, I make goals for the next year. Not resolutions. Sometimes I keep them, sometimes I don't but I like listing the things I want to achieve. I do find that whether big or small, if I write something down and make a commitment, I'm much more likely to achieve.

Below are the goals I set for 2011 and the result in bold!!

So my goals for 2011 are as follows (not all writing related):

*Finish my revisions for Carina Press on ''His Christmas Fairy'' and sub it. - I subbed this in February and heard on Apirl Fools Day that Carina Press wanted to BUY it!!

*Finish my single title - I finished this in July. It was here and on Twitter known as #TheBookThatWontEnd but it actually did. It came in at 110,000 words in the end. Part way through writing it, I was actually worried I wouldn't crack 80k.

*Write one category novel - I wrote Hollywood Heartbreak which came in at 75k (and I subbed it to Carina - I'm currently in the middle of rewrites for this book).

*Enter a couple of contests - I entered the STALI but had to withdraw because I sold to Carina Press before the final round of judging.

*Attend Romance Writers of Australia conf in Melbourne - I certainly did and as usual, I loved EVERY MINUTE of it! Particular highlights were catching up with my best writing buds, meeting Angela James and going to the Harlequin Author dinner.

*Read lots and analyse the books as I go - I'm not sure I can tick this one off. Reading has unfortunately been sacrificed with the advent of deadlines in my life.

*Join the gym again and tone up - Um... does going four times to PUMP aerobics and starting Couch to 5k THREE different times count? FAIL!!!

*Spend some more quality time with my hubby - hanging my head in shame cos I'm not sure I achieved this one either. It's been a mad year business and writing wise and my poor man has probably suffered neglect. Hey, the good intention was there!

So that's me. I hope you feel happy with what you achieved in 2011. In the next couple of days, I'll be drafting my goals for 2012 and posting them to my blog. Please let me know if you do the same!!

Training the perfect man! And Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T04:28:00.000-08:00

It's a running joke in our marriage that I knew when we tied the knot that DH wasn't romantic and he knew I was a writer, so these were two things we just had to put up with. Apparently not being romantic also includes having a MASSIVE FEAR of buying the wrong present for me and therefore he generally avoids this at all costs. For the last eight years, I've been saying I want jewellery and he's been telling me to go and choose something and buy it then. Ah... not the same, come on ladies, you agree, don't you?

Anyway this year, I sent him with three helpers and told him that our middle son (cyberly known as Trouble) would know what to get me. Whenever I've been shopping with Trouble I'm astounded by his fabulous taste. Well, he's only five but he won the prize for best pressie this year. Hubby let all three of them choose something. From High Maintenance I got a lovely pair of earrings (bit dressy to wear everyday though) and from His Lordship I got five romantic comedy DVDs (think Hubby chose these)! But from Trouble I got possibly the funkiest and most beautiful necklace I've ever laid eyes on. It has words inscribed on the silver ovals - Passion, Serenity, Success, Energy, Patience and Love.

I actually CRIED!! And then I looked at my gorgeous five year old boy and thought, some day, he's gonna make one special girl a VERY happy lady!

I hope you all had lovely Christmas' with people you hold near and dear and got some pretty special presents too.

Remember if anyone got a new e-reader and needs books, ONE PERFECT NIGHT is available at Carina Press and Amazon :)

Don’t Snitch the Sprinkles with Jen Tucker

2011-12-23T15:04:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who's followed and commented on my Christmas Book blog party. It's been an awesome month, with lots of lovely giveaways. There's still the chance to win Stacey Kennedy's book in the post below (so go ahead and comment) but today I'm delighted to introduce to you hilarious and gorgeous girl Jen Tucker. I met Jen through Twitter and she's always a whirl of happiness and positiveness. I love it. She's not talking about her own book today but her most recent release is The Day I Wore My Panties Inside Out and it sounds like a hoot. It's on my must-read list in 2012!! Without further ado... here's Jen herself!!

Oh Christmas! How I love thee, and I can count the ways. So manyfond memories, so many calories that end up on my rear end. Iattempt to embrace both of those things equally. Curse you chocolate fudge! Curse you my sister-in-law’s homemade toffee! Wow, where did that hostility come from? Okay, maybe I am not yet at the place toembrace my expanding waistline that can accompany the holidays. For me however, the sweetsof Christmas go hand in hand with the memories, and both are wrapped up intoone of my favorite little packages that I want to share with you.

TheChristmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher, written andillustrated by Virgil Partch, is my favorite children’s book. Although it is a Christmas story, I think itcarries with it a lesson that holds true year round. It was first printed in 1969, which is *AHEM*older than most of us, right? I firstheard this story when it was read to me at a Christmas party. The company my father worked for as anelectrical engineer threw a huge Christmas bash for employees and theirfamilies every year at their corporate office. I remember one particular party in 1978, when I was just a blonde,seven-year-old little girl that answered to “Jenny” then. I can recall that I was worried that waitingin line to give Santa my wish list was going to interfere with the story timethat was about to take place. Even then,I was a girl with priorities about reading. Plus, I knew that Santa reallylived at Gillmore’s department store in Kalamazoo, Michigan so who was thisimposter? I think I did the quick exchange; list forSanta and candy cane for me, and made it out in record time. I quickly found a seat in a large auditoriumwith my parents. My father, noticing myline of vision was obstructed by other people’s heads, scooped me up onto hislap so I could have the best view possible. I love my daddy.

I can still clearly remember trying tolean in closer and closer, caught up in the illustrations projected on thescreen and getting lost in the storyteller’s animated voice. My mom took notice, because the next dayafter school there was a gift waiting for me; the book itself. I remember grabbing it from the kitchencounter, kissing my mom on the cheek, and running up to my room to get busyreading. I know, I know! You all are saying, “Jen what is this bookabout already? Sheesh!”

This big, meanie snitcher decides to robthe town of all its sprinkles. Thechildren wake up to find that their baking is stopped short because thisimportant ingredient is missing from every kitchen cupboard in every home. A little boy, Nat, dries his teary eyes andtreks off to find the sprinkles and the snitcher because:

“Christmascookies without sprinkles

arelike raisins without wrinkles,

arelike sleigh bells without tinkles

areChristmas cookies without sprinkles.”

Little Nat follows the trail of sprinklesleft behind to the snitcher himself, The Christmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher (itsaid so on his mailbox, so no mistaken identity, plus he had the goods onhim). Nat tells this snitcher that his sprinklesnitching fun has spoiled the fun of others. There is remorse and amends to be made. In the end, the sprinkles are sprinkled onto all the children’s cookiesand The Snitcher tells Nat:

“ThoughI haven’t a sprinkle

I’venever been richer.”

Wecan learn a lot from Mr. Snitcher, can’t we? Christmas brings with it the importance of looking at all the blessingswe all have in our lives. Times aretough. Wallets feel like they areshrinking, and time feels fleeting these days. We are so busy with the hustle and bustle in life, that sometimes it isdifficult to stop and realize the richness our life already contains. What richness do you find in your life evenwhen there might not a sprinkle to be found? I know it’s there, because it is something no snitcher could ever snatchaway from you. It belongs only toyou.

MerryChristmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza and Happy New Year to you and yourfamily! May you all bless others, and beblessed this holiday season.

A Christmas Present From Stacey Kennedy

2011-12-22T15:44:00.000-08:00

Today is the LAST Christmas author post - but tomorrow I have one last little Christmas surprise from another very special author. And today I'm happy to announce the winner of Serenty Woods' book prize is Janette Radevski - Serenity will be contacting you shortly.

And now we have the hugely talented Stacey Kennedy, with an extract that will leave you hot and wanting more of her fabulous prose.

WOOT! Hugethanks to Rachel Johns for letting me stop by, share my new Christmas BDSM release,and hold a giveaway!

Christmas is my favorite time of year!What can I say? I love getting all curled up by the Christmas tree, with thepretty lights, and opening gifts! Yes—I might be in my early thirties, but Istill act like a total child when it comes to Christmas. I decorate like crazy,watch Christmas movies, and even hum Christmas tunes.

Needless to say, when I was asked towrite a 1NS story for Decadent as part of their Christmas anthology, I jumpedon the chance. I loved the scene it set up. How the winter night surrounded thecouple as they took on an adventure of BDSM.

It set up for a very romanticatmosphere. Locked in a lodge, nestled in between mountains, where a burningfire lit up the room—you can see why I enjoyed it so much. Nothing sexier thana man with the casting glow of a fire dancing over his bare chest. Yum, right?!

So, want a Christmas present of someintense, but sweet BDSM under your Christmas tree? If you do, leave a commentwith your email address to be entered to win a copy of ALL SHE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS IS HER DOM. Don’t forget to come findme on Facebook and Twitter.I love to chat!!

MadameEve’s 1NightStand service has brought together Blake and Taryn on a coldChristmas Eve at the Castillo Lodge. The two will set out on an adventure ofpain and pleasure surrounded by Alaskan snow-capped mountains and nestled in awarm country lodge. But as the night develops, Taryn discovers it’s notChristmas presents that will surprise her but instead the very man who masteredher through a night of intense BDSM.

WARNING-This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material thatsome readers may find objectionable: INTENSE BDSM theme and elements.

Teaser:(WARNING – BDSM ELEMENTS – Not for readers under the age of eighteen)

Thesuite in the Castillo Lodge far exceeded Blake’s expectations. Rustic inappearance with log walls, hardwood panel floors, and the rich scent ofevergreens filling the air, it was exactly what he requested and fit the moodfor a Christmas getaway. The room delighted him, but the woman who stood beforehim enchanted him more.

Heled the blindfolded Taryn over to the four-poster wooden bed with a quilt ontop and placed her hands on the railing over the footboard. “I suggest youpresent yourself.” She bent over, spread her long, sexy legs, and angled herhips to expose her ass decorated by a thong. Her straight brown locks hungloosely down her back, covering the crimson lace bra that looked lovely againsther pale skin. “Nicely done.”

Herchest rose and fell quickly. Nervous? The thought only lingered on hismind a moment—no one paired with him would hold anxieties. As a Dom, hedemanded much of his submissives. He needed them to be strong and obedient. AndMadame Eve, a matchmaker out of Las Vegas who had arranged the encounter, hadbeen well aware of that fact. As he examined her more closely, he equated herreaction to being aroused, and relished the thought that his mere presencecaused her reaction.

“I’mhere to please you, Sir.”

Thefire in the large stone fireplace on the far side of the large room cast alovely glow over her skin. “Your desire to entice me is working.” He pressedhis hard cock against the seam of her ass to declare she hadn’t been the onlyone affected. “I appreciate you addressing me with such respect, but for now,we can do without it. I’d advise, though, to use the term when you believe Iwant to hear it.” He rubbed himself against her and held back his groan. “Is mycock what you want?”

“Mypussy aches for you.”

Hechuckled before he moved away and saw her stance falter. “That kind of pleasureyou’ll have to earn.”

Sheproved she was a skilled submissive as she recovered her position withoutpause. “I want to earn it, Sir.”

Hestrode toward his bag on the floor by the stone fireplace and took out hisflogger. She tensed as he flicked his hand to allow her to hear the sound ofthe tails whooshing through the air. “Do you have a safe word, my pet?”

“Marshal.”

Hepositioned himself behind her and trailed the flogger over her backside.“Explain why that word holds significance?” He smacked her ass with a hard hitto test her limits.

“I’ma U.S. Marshal in Texas.” She groaned. “Supervisory Deputy to be exact.”

Heran the flogger over her bottom again to tease her. “Is that why the submissiverole appeals to you, because of the job you hold?”

“Itfeels wonderful to give up the control I carry in my day-to-day life.” Shemoaned as he issued another hit. “And I enjoy being punished.”

He’dalready known she enjoyed pain play. Madame Eve had sent him an extensive listof her limits, but he preferred learning for himself where those limits weredrawn. “How long have you lived the BDSM lifestyle?”

“Fiveyears.” She squeaked as he delivered a hard hit on her back then let the tailsof the flogger tickle down the sweet cheeks of her ass.

“Butyou haven’t had a lifestyle Dom?”

“I—”She paused. “I’d prefer not to discuss it.”

Unacceptable. He hit hard twice.She bowed her head and cringed. “I didn’t ask what you preferred. Answer thequestion.”

Shebreathed deep as he hit lightly along her thighs. “I did have someone, but notanymore.”

“Wouldhe be jealous that I’m your Dom tonight?”

“I’dimagine he would be.” She gasped when he flogged her on the shoulders andcontinued down her back.

“Isuppose then, I’ll need to leave my mark on you for all to see, so they’re wellaware who you belong to now.”

BUY LINK: http://www.staceykennedy.com/all-she-wants-for-christmas-is-her-dom/

~*~

Stacey Kennedy’s novelsare lighthearted fantasy with heart squeezing, thigh-clenching romance, andeven give a good chuckle every now and again. But within the stories you’llfind fast paced action, life threatening moments and a big bad villain that needsto be destroyed. Her urban fantasy/paranormal and erotic romance series havehit Amazon Kindle and All Romance Ebooks Bestseller lists. If she isn’tplugging away at her next novel, tending to her two little ones, she’s got hernose deep in a good book. She lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband.

Be sure to drop her aline at www.staceykennedy.com, she loves to hearfrom her readers.

Laura Browning talks Christmas Presents

2011-12-21T15:50:00.000-08:00

Today Laura Browning graces my blog, chatting about something we ALL love PRESENTS!!!

My son is a man on a mission. He’s beennagging me for what seems like weeks already to go Christmas shopping, postinghis list in a prominent place on the refrigerator where I will be sure to seeit each and every time I open the door. He knows his “big” gift is already inthe house—somewhere—and because I went shopping again last evening, he alsoknows some of the other things he wants are…somewhere.

So I know that as soon as he’s left alonein the house for any length of time, the great Mission Gift Search begins. Howdo I know this? Not because he’s given himself away…well there was the incidentlast night with the flashlight in the room where the tree’s located…but becauseI did the exact same thing every single year growing up.

I found them in the trunks of cars.

I found them in the cedar closet in ourbasement.

I found them in my Dad’s Army footlocker(thanks for already wrapping them, Mom).

But then came the year of the bicycle. Ihad asked for a ten speed. And I knew my mother well enough to know that shewould never wait until the last minute to get a gift. After all, this was thewoman who documented in a little notebook any toy trades or sales betweensiblings, which we then had to sign so no one could argue over what belonged towhom. This was the same woman who yawned at day-after-Thanksgiving shoppingbecause she was already through. So I knew the bicycle must be somewhere aroundour house.

I looked everywhere I could think of, evenquestioning neighbors and friends to see if she might have sneaked it over toanother house. I finally had to draw the conclusion that I just wasn’t going toget the bike I wanted. Another thing my parents were strict about was budgeting,and the bike was on the upper limits of what they would be willing to spend onany one child.

Christmas morning arrived. I promisedmyself that no matter what was under the tree, I would be happy with it. When Ireached the bottom of the steps and turned the corner into the living room,there sat a gleaming white and chrome ten speed bicycle, parked right in frontof the fireplace.

In the garage, where I had looked manytimes, sat our ski boat with its canvas cover in place. I had looked under it,behind it, and on top of it. I had just never pulled the cover off to look init. You got me, Mom.

So, Jacob, search away. This year yourpresents are buried.

The issue of presents plays a role in myholiday release, Santa’s Helper. Theheroine, Merry, is working three jobs to support herself and her son, but alsoin hope of being able to provide him some sort of Christmas. Jack, the hero isringing the bell for charity outside the local mall where Merry’s workingpart-time as an elf.

Despite the fact she’s short on cash,Merry’s not short on the idea of Christmas giving as you can see:

“Ithought you might like a cup of coffee.”

Jack looked down for what seemedlike forever to a pair of bright blue-green eyes and curly red hair stickingout from beneath…an elf’s hat? He blinked. Was he delusional? Had the coldgotten to him to the point where he was imagining elves?

Her smile disappeared as she bither lip. “I noticed you when I came in to work. I thought you might be cold ifyou were still out here. And we—we had some leftover coffee.”

He took the cup from her.“Thanks.”

She shifted from one foot to theother. “Right. It’s black. I hope that’s how you like it.”

“It is.” Jack knew he was makingher nervous, but he couldn’t resist. He remembered her now. She

was the woman in the tailoredovercoat who’d been so cheap…tossing in just a buck. And here she was

dressed like an elf.

She hadn’t entered the mall toshop; she’d arrived for work. The woman in the tailored camel hair coat wasworking as an elf.

A small shiver shook her slenderframe beneath the costume.

“You’ll freeze out here. You shouldgo in unless elves have some sort of magical protection.”

This time she blushed, as ifonly now realizing she still wore her elf suit, and nodded. “I should goinside.”

She turned to hurry away fromhim.

“Wait!” She stopped and glancedover her shoulder. His gut clenched with sudden desire. “What’s your name?”

She blinked. “Merry.”

“Mary?”

“Merry—likeMerry Christmas.”

And that is exactly what I wish for all ofyou. Santa’s Helper is availablethrough TheWild Rose Press.

If you’d like to check out my otherreleases, you can visit my website www.laurabrowningbooks.com.

Writing Santa's Elf with Paige Tyler

2011-12-20T15:18:00.000-08:00

Today I have Paige Tyler talking about her latest novel Santa's Wayward Elf - I'm just totally besotted with the idea of an Elf heroine!

But first I'm very excited to announce the WINNER of Kelly Hunter's WISH - congrats to Catherine!! Please contact Kelly through her website to claim your prize!

I love writing holiday romances, especially Christmas-themed ones, butwhen my hubby (who is also my writing partner!) suggested we write a storyabout one of Santa's Elves, I was like, "You're kidding, right?"Silly of me, actually. I mean, we pulled off a zombie romance in DEADSEXY, which turned out to be an EPIC Award Finalist, by the way. Hubbystill had to do some convincing, but he did it, and as we outlined the story, Icompletely fell in love with the heroine Sosie, a guileless elf who doesn't fitin up at the North Pole and ends up stranded in NYC on Christmas Eve where shemeets and falls head over heels for a hunky cop. I think you'll fall in lovewith her, too!

Happy Reading!

Being one of Santa’s elves isn’t all sugar plums and candy canes.

At least not for Sosie. Taller than the other elves, she’s always had aproblem fitting in at the North Pole, so when the transport sled she’s onbreaks down in New York City on Christmas Eve, she can’t resist slipping awayto explore the world of the “big people.” While she’s having fun, the transportsled takes off, leaving the naïve elf stranded.

Fortunately, handsome police detective Derek Clayton comes to herrescue, offering to let her stay at his apartment. Having heard horror storiesabout the big people, Sosie is both surprised and relieved to meet such a kind,sweet man. Not to mention one so gorgeous and well-built.

Even though Sosie expects the North Pole to send out a search party anyday, she finds herself falling for Derek. She desperately wants to tell himshe’s an elf, but knows he’ll never believe her. When the lies and omissionsstart to pile up, Derek can draw only one conclusion—Sosie is working for themob boss he’s been after for years.

Just when things seem like they can’t get any worse, the chief of elfinsecurity shows up to drag Sosie back to the North Pole. How is a runaway elfsupposed to overcome a determined security elf, dangerous mobsters and asuspicious boyfriend all while keeping her pointed ears a secret?

Excerpt:

By the time the party wound down a few hours later, Sosie was morearoused from her fantasies than she’d ever been in her life. She was an elf inlust and nothing was going stop her from getting Derek into bed with hertonight. She didn’t care how much of a gentleman he was, there was no way hewas sleeping on the couch again. In fact, if she had her way, he wasn’t goingto be sleeping at all.

After they got back up to his apartment, however, her confidencefaltered. But then she thought of the frustrated night she would assuredly haveahead of her if she didn’t proposition Derek, and how much she would regret itwhen she left.

Taking a deep breath, she turned to face him. “I had a great time at theparty. It was very nice of you to invite me.”

He grinned. “I’m glad you came. I had a good time, too.”

Sosie nibbled on her lower lip. Okay, it was now or not at all. Time tobe a bold elf. She looked up at him. “You know, I feel awful about putting youout of your bed again. I was thinking maybe you might want to sleep with metonight.”

He studied her in silence, his dark eyes unreadable. Sosie held herbreath as she waited for him to say something. What if Tracee and Linda hadbeen wrong? What if Derek wasn’t as “into her” as they’d thought?

“If I share the bed with you, Sosie,” he said softly, “sleeping is thelast thing either of us will be doing.”

She gave him what she hoped was a flirtatious look. “Good. Then themistletoe won’t go to waste.”

His mouth curved into a grin at the tiny sprig of greenery dangling fromher fingers. “Mistletoe, huh?”

“I thought I could put it wherever I want you to kiss me.”

He chuckled. “Honey, you don’t need mistletoe for that. I’ve spent thepast two hours fantasizing about kissing every inch of you.”

Her pulse skipped a beat. “You have?”

“Uh-huh.”

Cupping her face in his hand, he bent his head to cover her mouth withhis. This time, there was no hesitancy in the kiss. This time, his mouth movedover hers with an urgency that left her breathless, and she had to cling to hisshoulders to keep from melting as his tongue plunged into her mouth to takepossession of hers. It was as if he couldn’t seem to get enough of her. Thedesire was mutual. She couldn’t get enough of him, either.

With a groan, Derek swung her up in his arms and strode toward the bedroom.She’d never had a guy do something so romantic before—mainly because she wasalways taller than the elf guys she’d slept with—but she decided it was veryhot.

Once beside the bed, Derek set her on the floor, letting her slideslowly and deliciously down his body. Arms still looped around his neck, shepulled him down for another kiss. This time, she was the aggressor, her tongueseeking his and exploring every inch of his tasty mouth.

Derek groaned and ran his hands down her back to firmly cup her ass throughthe tight jeans she wore. She murmured her appreciation against his mouth as hepulled her more tightly against him. His erection strained against his jeans,pressing into her tummy. Mmm. Well, that answered the question as to whether hewas well built everywhere. It felt as if he had a huge candy cane hidden inthere.

Suddenly impatient to see how well built, Sosie ran her hands down hischest to the bottom of his shirt and urgently pushed it up. Derek must havethought she needed some help because he reached back and pulled it over hishead to toss it on the floor.

She’d thought getting a glimpse of him without a shirt last night hadbeen a treat, but seeing all that sculpted muscle up close was even better.Figgy, he was gorgeous.

Watch the Trailer!
http://youtu.be/oEz-Rlqp0G4

Buy it at Whiskey Creek Press Torrid!
http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/torrid/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=622&zenid=bfe7e3fcc71ed5a58a86c82d95c01468

Buy it on Amazon Kindle!

http://www.amazon.com/Santas-Wayward-Elf-ebook/dp/B006965PP4/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321979476&sr=1-11

Geez, and I thought MY heroine had an interesting career!! Any ideas for crazy characters Paige should pull off next?

The Gift of Giving with Scarlett Bailey

2011-12-19T15:05:00.000-08:00

Today I have Scarlett Bailey, author of The Night Before Christmas (not the picture book version - lol), talking about something close to my heart...

The thing I find most tricky at Christmasis buying presents for men, or more specifically the man in my life. There isthis myth that women are mysterious, contrary and indecisive, which mightsometimes, rarely, be true. But I know one thing, at Christmas its men whobecome the mysterious, and difficult ones. They never ever know what they want.

Wegirls always know, we always have a pre-prepared list, with a selection ofitems of varying prices, some of the with a little gold star next to them, justto show exactly how much we want them (what, is that just me?). After all forwomen, its like Rachel Barry says to Finn Hudson in the Glee Christmas special.‘All I want for Christmas is you, and five things from this list.’

Buttry to get a man to tell you what he wants, and its like getting blood from astone.

‘Um,I don’t know….you know, something like…well you know. You choose.’

Andthat is the principle reason that men mainly get pants for Christmas, bothfiguratively and literally. Men don’t like stuff in the way that women do. Theydon’t have a thing for shoes, or a love for jewellery or clothes. You know fora fact they will take nowhere near the same pleasure in aftershave as you wouldfrom a nice bottle of Chanel No 5.

Onmy first ever Christmas with my true love, three years ago, I search high andlow to buy him two period Aubrey Beardsley prints, discovering them inAustralia in the end, and shipping them all the way here, because I’ddiscreetly discovered that he loved the work of Beardsley. And he wasdelighted, with them. And so touched that I’d gone to all that trouble, I scoremaximum brownie points. Which was when I ran out of ideas. The next Christmas Ipanic bought him a PlayStation 3, which arrived on Christmas Eve, meant that Ispent all of Christmas watching him gaming, and then by boxing day he’d goneoff it and has never touched it again. Good for our love life, bad for mychoice of gift not to mention my bank balance.

Thisyear I have no idea what to get him. I’ve looked at pants, and decided againstit. I’ve thought of clothes, but I notice that those three shirts I bought himfrom his birthday, which he allegedly loves, are still hanging in the wardrobewith the tags on. Its not like I can get him a Spa day, or the lovelyChristmassy romantic novel….. So here we are, literally hours away from the bigday and I’ve got him nothing, nada, zero, zilch.

Sigh,maybe it will have to be pants after all. At least he will know, they are pantsbought with love.

Great post Scarlett - and I'm curious readers - what are YOU buying for your beloved this Christmas??

Scarlett's book The First Night of Christmas sounds delightful, blurb below:

All Lydia's ever wanted is a perfect Christmas...So when her oldest friends invite her to spend the holidays with them, it seems like a dream come true. She's been promised log fires, roasted chestnuts, her own weight in mince pies - all in a setting that looks like something out of a Christmas card. But her winter wonderland is ruined when she finds herself snowed in with her current boyfriend, her old flame and a hunky stranger. Well, three (wise) men is traditional at this time of year...

You can also find Scarlett on Twitter and Facebook.

Guess what I'm doing tonight folks?

2011-12-18T05:03:00.000-08:00

Tonight I'll be drinking champagne with my beloved and toasting to one of my biggest ever dreams coming true because today ONE PERFECT NIGHT releases from Carina Press.

I want to take this chance to thank my gorgeous hubby and my wonderful Mum for being so supportive as I traveled this road to publication. Thank you for listening, for cleaning, for babysitting and for simply putting up with me when my mind was elsewhere lost in a book. Without you guys, I couldn't do it!

Thanks to my three little heroes in training for putting up with me too.

Also thanks to my fabulous CPs and writing friends who actually come to quite a massive number.

To Bec, Jackie, Melissa, Janette, Cathryn and Joanne - who have been CPs and friends to me almost from the beginning of me pursuing this road and joining RWA Oz.

To Leah Ashton from Perth who absolutely rocks and talks almost as fast as me. Thanks also for your support.

To Fiona Lowe who actually read this book in its entirety between revisions and re-subbing to Carina Press. Without you, I might not have done it!

To Suz, Julie-Anne, Rosalie and Tracey who really were with me from the beginning. We may not crit or chat much anymore but you guys are all fabulous too!!

To Scarlet Wilson a recent addition to my plethora of writing friends - thanks for your enthusiasm and support.

To the Sassy Sisters for taking me on recently and accepting me as one of your own :)

And to Rachel Bailey, Anna Cleary, Nikki Logan and Robyn Grady who have all at some stage or another read some of my chaps and offered wise advice.

And also to Helen Lacey, Lacey Devlin, Anita Joy and Coleen Kwan who've been happy to help in the release celebrations.

See there was NO WAY I could thank you all in the actual book, so I refrained from mentioning anyone in particular, but you are all special to me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me get to where I am today.

XOX

On this special day, I'm also blogging on three other fabulous blogs and at each one there's an opportunity to win a copy of One Perfect Night. For details follow the links below (some of the links may not go live till US time):

Family Festivities with Monica McInerney

2011-12-17T15:27:00.000-08:00

One of the best books I've read this last few months was LOLA'S SECRET by Monica McInerney, so today I'm delighted to bring her to you on my blog, talking about Christmas in this lovely book...

But first, the WINNER of Liia-Ann White's HER FIRST WHITE CHRISTMAS is TINA!! Huge congrats Tina - please contact Liia-Ann on liia@liia-ann.com to claim your prize.

And now for Monica...

Thanks verymuch to Rachael for the invitation to join in her series of Christmas blogs.

My newbook, Lola’s Secret, is set in theClare Valley of South Australia, during a very hot December – a long way fromthe frosty Irish December I’m having here in Dublin. It’s the sequel to myfourth novel, The Alphabet Sisters, andis the story of Lola Quinlan, 84-year-old Irishwoman, grandmother, charity shopvolunteer and Internet whiz. She decides to give her family a break from Christmasand sends them away from the motel they run together, inviting a series ofmystery guests to come and stay instead. I wanted to write not just aboutfamilies with their comedy and drama, but also about community, connections,love new and old and the tensions and memories that Christmas can trigger.

Writing itbrought back lots of memories of my own family festivities. Growing up in theClare Valley, the weeks before Christmas meant heat and holidays. School wouldfinish and my six brothers and sisters and I would be released into seven weeksof freedom, just as the temperatures rose into the high thirties. We’d spend ourdays at the local swimming pool trying to stay cool, while the preparations forChristmas gathered pace around us. Present-giving was a serious business,requiring fevered saving, research, hint-dropping, stealth-shopping, wrappingand hiding.

My brothersand sisters and I revelled in our Christmas Day ritual of lining up fromyoungest to oldest outside the living room door early in the morning. Dad wouldgive the word and the door would be thrown open by the youngest. We’d raceinside to find our personal pillowcase, our names marked in pen on the front,bulging with presents.

Christmaswas a time for food treats too – Fruit Loops and Coco-Pops for breakfast and abumper order of soft drinks (we were allowed to choose two flavours each).Thecentrepiece of our festive food celebrations was the leg of ham - a once-a-yeartreat. Our Dad was the Custodian of the Ham. He would carry it in to the house duringChristmas week, nestled in a pillowcase (obviously a theme of McInerneyChristmases), place it reverentially in the cleared and readied fridge and theninsist it wasn’t to be touched until Christmas morning. The soundtrack for thenext few days would be the fridge door opening and shutting, the rustle as thepillow case was pulled back and many peeks and sneaky tastings taken.

OnChristmas Day itself, the ham would be served alongside a roast turkey, a moundof crisp, roast potatoes and a platter of parsnips, carrots and peas. Dessertwould be wintery plum pudding served with warm custard, despite the searingheat outside. One year, Mum pushed out the culinary boat and decided to serveprawn cocktails as our starter. She’d tried one at a restaurant lunch someweeks before and described it to the seven of us in great detail - a bed ofshredded lettuce, a scattering of pale pink prawns, a dollop of Marie Rosesauce. It sounded like it would be heaven in a glass dish. She placed an orderfor a large quantity of expensive prawns from a friend who lived by the coast, andtook delivery of the tightly wrapped parcel on Christmas Eve. On Christmasmorning she unwrapped it in front of us. There was silence, and then we startedto pull faces and make gagging noises. ‘I’m not eating those!’ ‘Me either!’‘They’re rotten!’ ‘They’re green, not pink!’ ‘Yuk!’ Broken-hearted on accountof her spoiled lunch and emptied purse, Mum was about to throw the whole lot inthe bin when a neighbour dropped in. He took one look and said, ‘Wow, freshprawns! Do you need any help cooking them?’

HappyChristmas everyone, wherever in the world you are – I hope it’s a time ofpeace, fun, celebrations and delicious (cooked) food for you all.

BLURB for LOLA'S SECRET

Magic can happen in every family.At the Valley View Motel in South Australia's picturesque Clare Valley, eighty-four-year-old Lola Quinlan is up to her usual mischief. She's sent her family away for Christmas and invited a number of mystery guests to come and stay. But who are all these people, and why aren't they spending the festive season with their own loved ones?

As the big day draws closer and Lola's personal family dramas threaten to unravel her plans, she discovers that at a special time of year, magic can happen in every family – especially your own.

From the bestselling author of At Home with the Templetons comes a funny, sad and moving novel about memories and moments and the very meaning of life

You can find Monica at the following places:

Twitter - @MonicaMcInerney

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Monica-McInerney/159472700733427

Her website: http://www.monicamcinerney.com/

Contrasting Christmas' with Serenity Woods

2011-12-16T04:57:00.001-08:00

Today I have the very busy Serenity Woods who has not one but TWO Christmas romances out this year... And she's here with a giveaway too!

Thank you so much for having me on your blog today. I’m here to talk about two Christmassy romances I have out this December.

The two stories couldn’t be further apart in terms of location! White-Hot Christmas from Samhain Publishing is set in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand. When we first landed in New Zealand on 7th December six years ago, it was 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Everyone was dressed in shorts and jandals (flip-flops to the rest of the world), the shops selling beachwear had windows decorated with holly and snowmen, and we spent Christmas Eve paddling in the Pacific. It was incredibly surreal, but we're getting used to it!

In White-Hot Christmas, Merle is from the UK, and she’s come to New Zealand to visit her sister, Bree, and Bree’s new husband, Jake. They introduce Merle to Jake’s cousin Neon (short for Napoleon, only don’t tell him I told you or he’ll kill me) and their attraction to one another is instant and electric. Merle and Neon have a very hot Christmas, in all senses of the word :) But when it’s time for her to go, they realise they’re in deeper than they thought, and there’s no solution that won’t break someone’s heart.

In contrast, Holly’s First Noel from Entangled Publishing is set on the shore of Loch Ness in Scotland during a very snowy Christmas. Noel’s wife died on Christmas Eve from breast cancer three years ago. He’s spent the previous two Christmases alone watching mindless action movies and getting drunk. He’s done more than his share of grieving, and deep down he’s ready for love, but the lingering guilt at the notion of betraying his wife won’t go away. Noel’s young and passionate—he misses sex and companionship and he wants children. But he’s also loyal and devoted. How is he supposed to move on?

Enter Holly, who doesn’t fit the traditional perfect Christmas image either. At the beginning of the story, her partner breaks up with her, leaving her with a tonne of Christmas food and a long holiday void of love and happiness. So when Noel suggests she join him on his retreat, she takes, oh, all of five seconds to say yes. Together they watch action movies, wait for the Loch Ness Monster, and eat beans on toast for Christmas dinner, determined not to conform to society’s idea of the perfect day, and yet somehow the time is more special than any Holly’s ever spent before.

I have a thing about Christmas romances—you may have noticed ;)

Anyway, thanks for having me here, Rachael. I have a free copy of White-Hot Christmas to give away to a lucky reader. Tell me what the weather’s like in your part of the world and be in to win :)

You can find Serenity Woods at the following places:
Website: www.serenitywoodsromance.com
Twitter: @FayeRobertsonNZ, @Serenity_Woods
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/serenitywoodsromance

When Christmas Comes Early with Kelly Hunter

2011-12-15T16:09:00.000-08:00

I make NO SECRET of the fact Kelly Hunter is one of my favourite authors!! So, I was so excited when I heard she had a Christmas novella out and even MORE excited when she agreed to come and do a post on my blog...

But before I hand over to Kelly, I'm stoked to announce the winner of Candis Terry's gorgeous books. CONGRATS to Squenn! If you could contact Candis via her website (http://candisterry.com/contact/) or me on Rachaeljohns077 at gmail dot com, then we'll organize to get your prize to you :)

Now without further ado, KELLY HUNTER...

As a kid I loved the torturous lead up to Christmas – the tree going up, a few presents appearing, and then a few more, and then on Christmas day, a few more again. We had a no touching the pretties rule, because – frankly – I was the best present sleuth in the business. Also, my mother knew that the guessing games we played about each present were delicious. ‘Is it soft? Is it breakable? Is it a big flat piece of metal? I played similar guessing games with my own children during those nights before Christmas – and loved every minute of them. But every now and then Christmas came early in the form of something that couldn’t be wrapped and tucked beneath the Christmas tree. A kitten. A puppy. This year it’s two belted Galloway heifers (hereafter named Eb n Em – this is Em).

This year I wrote a Christmas novella called Wish, and in it single mother Billie Temple wants to give her son, Cal, a puppy for Christmas. A dog to replace a borrowed Blue Cattle Dog that the hero might someday want back. A dog a boy could call his own:

‘Which one’s the puppy?’ asked Cal.

‘The one standing in the middle of the yard Si’s trying to drive those s

The puppy in question was looking their way.heep into,’ said Adam with a smile - a genuine Kincaid grin that widened when Cal smiled back. ‘Play your cards right, kid, and Si’ll pay you to take that fool pup away.’

‘What’s his name?’ asked Cal as he clambered out of the cab behind Adam.

‘Henry.’

Billie joined them by the side of the ute just as Cal put his hands to his knees and called the pup’s name and then sweet and leggy Henry was at Cal’s feet with the speed of a bullet, all legs and too-big ears as he planted his butt in the dirt and then tried to wriggle closer, and closer, until finally he was sitting on Cal’s shoe before collapsing in a squirming mass of ecstasy when Cal bent down to pat him.

‘What? You don’t pat your dogs around here?’ she murmured.

‘Of course we do,’ said Adam as Blue dog looked down on both pup and boy from the lofty height of the tray of the ute and barked a short sharp reprimand at the boy, the pup, or both – at which point Henry promptly peed himself.

‘This isn’t a done deal,’ she said.

I can think of a few other Christmas gifts that might come early for one reason or another. Big things. Breathing things. A loved one back from yonder.

As for Christmas gifts for my hero and heroine, I gave them each other (and I gave it to them early). No Scrooges here.

Leave a comment for a chance to win an e-copy of Wish. And if you’ve ever had ‘The Best Early Christmas Present Ever!’ I’d love to hear about it.

And congratulations Rach! on your Carina Christmas release and your latest new sale!

I've read Kelly's gorgeous novella and it's worth leaving a comment!!

Why Trisha Ashley loves writing Christmas books!

2011-12-14T15:13:00.000-08:00

I think you all know I'm a sucker for Christmas books by now. No way am I going to read all the ones I want to this December (especially as I'm currently deep into a BIG rewrite) but when I saw Trisha's The Magic of Christmas pop up in my recommended books on Amazon, I knew I had to have it! And today I'm delighted to have the author herself talking about why she loves writing Christmas books....

Actually, I love writing all my books! But Christmas is a very special time for me and scenes of the season and all its festivities tend to sneak into several of my novels even when they are not specifically about Christmas.

I always seem to be writing about winter during the spring and summer, but that’s okay, because while working I am inside a little snow globe, my head full of carols and the scent of the new recipes I’m trying out spicing the air.

Christmas is all about anticipation and mystery, giving and sharing, and the chance to get together with your loved ones to celebrate. Oh, and the food….

Ah yes – there can be no hiding the fact that I love to cook up a storm at Christmas! Christmas cakes and puddings, mincepies and mincemeat flapjacks, spicy crisp biscuits to hang on the tree…. I’ve already made two Christmas cakes this year – one for my The Magic of Christmas book launch – and this weekend I will be making two more. So just picture me in my kitchen (the only room in my house that is not full of packing cases after my recent move): see, there I am, wearing my black Day of the Dead pinafore patterned with jolly skeletons dressed in bright fiesta clothes, stirring up a huge bowl of rum-scented fruits and candied peel. A CD of cheesy Christmas pop songs is playing in the background and the dog is sitting hopefully under the worktop, staring up at me with famished eyes as if I haven’t fed him for a month.

Happy Christmas – and lots of happy reading too, everyone!

BLURB: The Magic of Christmas

In the pretty Lancashire village of Middlemoss, Lizzy is on the verge of leaving her cheating husband, Tom, when tragedy strikes. Luckily she has welcome distraction in the Christmas Pudding Circle, a group of friends swapping seasonal recipes -- as well as a rivalry with local cookery writer Nick over who will win Best Mince Pie at the village show! Meanwhile, the whole village is gearing up for the annual Boxing Day Mystery Play. But who will play Adam to Lizzy's Eve? Could it be the handsome and charismatic soap actor Ritch, or could someone closer to home win her heart? Whatever happens, it promises to be a Christmas to remember! Previously published as Sweet Nothings, Trisha has extensively reworked the original novel with fabulous new extra material.

Sunday Times bestselling author Trisha Ashley’s latest book, The Magic of Christmas, is out now. Visit her website at www.trishaashley.com to write in her guestbook, email or join her newsletter group. You can also find her at her Facebook fanpage, on Twitter @trishaashley and hear her talking about her work on Youtube.

Tickling the Tinsel with Candis Terry

2011-12-13T14:21:00.000-08:00

Today I have Avon Impulse author Candis Terry talking about her love of reading Christmas books AND giving away a copy of TWO of her gorgeous books to one lucky reader. I have Any Given Christmas ready to go and I know I'm in for a treat.

Hi Rachael! Thanks so much for having me as a part of your Christmas Blog Party!

Every year when the holiday’s roll around, I’m like a kid in a candy store grabbing up new romances with festive book covers and I can’t wait to jump in and start reading. But I’ll admit that when I wrote Any Given Christmas, my new release from Avon Impulse, I didn’t set out to write a Christmas story. In fact, the book isn’t entirely centered on the Ho-Ho-Ho holiday. My first book of the Sugar Shack series, Second Chance at the Sugar Shack, ended on Thanksgiving Day. So of course, I knew the second book had to include Christmas. What better way to give some warm and fuzzy romantic moments for the hero and heroine than with twinkling lights, tinsel, and a hot buttered rum, right?

Though I love those mushy holiday moments myself, well, I wondered how well I could really transfer them to the written word. So without getting corny, I did it my way. When Dean Silverthorne, the seriously hot NFL quarterback, goes to the home of Emma Hart, the feisty doesn’t-want-to-get-involved-with-a-superstar schoolteacher, he discovers Emma is a freak for holiday decorations. She even dresses her cat Oscar in an elf suit. Oscar does not find his costume amusing and he hates Emma-stealing-cat-allergic Dean with a passion. Dean and Emma also find quite the inventive way to celebrate New Year’s Eve—hot tub under the stars and fireworks anyone?

I hope you’ll choose to celebrate the holidays in Deer Lick, Montana, with Dean and Emma. They’re waiting with a spiked welcome wassail!

Happy holidays to all!

To celebrate being a part of Rachael’s Christmas Blog Party, I will give away a copy of Second Chance at the Sugar Shack and Any Given Christmas to one person who leaves a joyful comment. Please include your email so I know how to contact you.

BLURB for Any Given Christmas

Dean Silverthorne’s mother may be dead, but she still has matchmaking to do. When an injury dashes NFL Quarterback Dean Silverthorne’s Super Bowl dreams, he heads back to Deer Lick, Montana with a chip on his wounded shoulder and more determined than ever to get back in the game. He loves his kooky family, but his trip home is nothing but a very brief Christmas visit.

His game plan didn’t include an instant attraction to Emma Hart, a feisty kindergarten teacher who seems to be the only person in Deer Lick not interested in the hometown hero. Or his dearly departed mom popping up with mistletoe in hand and meddling on the mind. Now Dean can’t help but wonder if there’s more to love than life between the goal posts.

For more about Candy go to:

Website: www.candisterry.com

Twitter: @CandisTerry

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Candis-Terry/131817443567853

How Liia-Ann White's Goals Turned To Christmas...

2011-12-12T14:39:00.000-08:00

Today I have another Perth, Western Australia author (just a wee bit exciting), Liia-Ann White talking about her fabulous Christmas novella and how she came to write it...

At the beginning of this year I set myself two writing goals – to have a second book contracted or published by the end of 2011 as well as to write a holiday story. This holiday story didn’t need to be published, I just wanted to have a go at one and see if it would be accepted anywhere.

So when I received an email a few months ago from Decadent Publishing asking me to contribute a contemporary erotic romance for their 1Night Stand Holiday anthology I was floored! To say I was honoured is an understatement. I bounced off my chair, did a little jig around the house and squeed out-loud so much that I scared my dogs!

I’d only written one 1Night Stand story specifically for Decadent and had so much fun doing so; I wanted to write many more. One Hot Australian Night ticked one goal off my list – getting a second story published.

The next goal was ticked off before I even thought about writing a holiday story.

The 1Night Stand series contains stories written by some of the best writers I’ve heard of. The fact that a couple of them are friends of mine just makes the deal even sweeter. So to be a part of the 1Night Stand author group is such an incredible honour on its own. Being a newbie author in that group? It’s actually unbelievable. I still look at my books and the anthology that just came out and still don’t believe it. Being published is a dream come true, being multi-published is awesome. Being asked to contribute a story for an anthology is just mind-blowing.

I wrote the majority of Her First White Christmas with a big smile on my face. Not only because it was going to be my first holiday story (which ticked off my goal) but because it was so much fun. I write what I know best and, as an Aussie myself, what I know best is Australian culture and humour. So my two leads in this short story had to be Aussies in my mind. They are both fun, sarcastic, have dry humour and that typical Aussie ‘snark’ that we all have.

Remy is a fun-loving, hard-working Aussie living in America, but secretly longing to move to his home city of Melbourne so he can settle down with a family. Bella Donna is a sarcastic, happy-go-lucky Aussie woman who is just sick of meeting dudds.

The back and forth between these two came so naturally it was a breeze to write.

I just hope readers enjoy reading Remy and Bella Donna’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Blurb of Her First White Chr is tmas:

Remy Sommers has grown weary of his playboy lifestyle. He’s ready to fall in love and settle down. Problem is, he doesn’t know where to start. After attending his sister’s wedding, he takes her advice and contacts the 1 Night Stand dating agency – the same agency she used to find her new husband.

Bella Donna has had enough of blind dates. She’s always left bitterly disappointed. On the advice of a friend, she contacts Madame Evangeline,

hoping her reputation precedes her and she can find Bella Donna her perfect man.

A mysterious invitation from Madame Evangeline leads them both to the secluded and exclusive Castillo Lodge in Alaska for a holiday event.

Will they get their happily ever after? Or will their first white Christmas end in disaster and disappointment?

As a thank you for stopping by to read my ramblings, I’m giving away an e-copy of Her First White Christmas to one commenter.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Liia J

Liia's prize will be drawn on Friday, so get in quick with your comments!

What would you wish for a Steampunk Christmas?

2011-12-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

Today I have the lovely authors from the Carina Press anthology A Clockwork Christmas chatting about what THEY would like if they could have a steam-punk Christmas.

Wishing you a Steampunk Christmas!

PG Forte:

In This Winter Heart, Arthur recounts how his grandfather, genius inventor Charles Winter, used to make a special toy for him every Christmas--marvelous electrical games and puzzles, miniature steam-powered vehicles that were working replicas of their real-life counterparts, clockwork dolls that could walk and talk, etc.

I find anything in miniature enchanting. So for myself, I’d love a set of mechanized dioramas, each with its own festive holiday scene. Perhaps four of the dioramas could display a scene taken from each of the A Clockwork Christmas stories!

***

JK Coi:

In Far From Broken, after a vicious assault on her life, the heroine has been fitted with mechanical limbs, but now sees herself as a monster.

If it were me and I was given the chance to go all steampunk bionic, I don’t think I’d look at it the same way. I think it would be cool. I’d want a tommy gun attachment that I could whip out when I needed to rob a bank, oh oh oh-- or maybe a zip line that shot out of my finger for an easy escape from the rooftops Um, wait a minute. Stacy’s whispering to me that I can’t say those things, it makes me sound like a criminal.

***

Jenny Schwartz:

In Wanted: One Scoundrel, the heroine’s dad has made a three wise men plus camel auto-dispenser that originally gave out lollies to the kids of the Swan River Colony, but now dispenses peanuts. The kids don’t care. The fun is in the camel’s lip curl and smoking snort.

For myself, the steampunk device I’d like for Christmas is a champagne bubble catcher: a miniature dirigible that inflates with the bubbly air. At least then, I’d know where all the bubbles go!

***

Stacy Gail

In Crime Wave In A Corset, a vengeance-filled professor has found an ingenious way to coerce a wiley--and beautiful--thief into stealing back the treasure she had once taken from him.

Personally, I would love to have Cornelia's innocent-looking "opera glasses". They're designed to appear as though the lenses are gazing upward, as if bird-watching, when in fact she's really focused on her next big score. Though I kind of like JK's finger-zipline, now that I think about it... :D

***

A Clockwork Christmas

We Wish You a Steampunk Christmas

Changed forever after tragedy, a woman must draw strength from her husband's love. A man learns that love isn't always what you expect. A thief steals the heart of a vengeful professor. And an American inventor finds love Down Under. Enjoy Victorian Christmas with a clockwork twist in these four steampunk novellas.

Anthology includes:

Crime Wave in a Corset by Stacy Gail
This Winter Heart by PG Forte
Wanted: One Scoundrel by Jenny Schwartz
Far From Broken by JK Coi

Stories also available for purchase separately.

117,000 words

Buy link: http://bit.ly/ClockworkX

So, blog readers - what WOULD you wish for a steam-punk Christmas? I'm going to have a think about it today and get back with my comment too :)

A Picture Book Christmas

2011-12-10T17:02:00.001-08:00

Before I introduce today's guest, I'm delighted to announce the winner of Seleste deLaney's anthology prize.

CONGRATS go to Sue BT. Sue, please could email selestedelaney @ gmail dot com to claim your prize :)

Now, today's Christmas guest is a little bit different. So far everyone I've posted has been an author of adult books, today I'm delighted to feature picture book author, Bernadette Bainbridge.

My name is Bernadette Bainbridge. I am the author and illustrator of this new children's book ‘The Christmas Please and Thank You’.

The book is aimed at children aged 3-7 years and was written to encourage young children to remember that they should always say please and thank you, something which many parents and teachers spend a lot of time doing!

The story also involves Santa and a bit of Christmas magic, reminding the children to use their good manners in a warm, recognisable and festive story which was in fact, based on the Christmas happenings in my own home and with my own two children.

Writing and illustrating a children’s picture book is something I have always aspired to do. I have been an early years teacher for twenty years and as such I have spent many happy hours working with children's story and picture books.

Whilst recently working part-time as a teacher I have been able to fulfil that dream and I am pleased to have completed the publication of my book in August this year.

Since approving the first colour copy just a few weeks ago, I have been able to set about promoting my book in a number of ways.

It is available at Booktopia and Amazon and the Waterstones and WHSmith websites.

Thank you

Bernadette

Thanks Bernadette - as a mum of three young boys, this book sounds brilliant. I'll definitely be snaffling up a copy.

Now, I'm wondering, have any of my blog readers ever tried their hand at picture book writing? I'll come clean first and say that my one and only attempt was called "Barbequed Goldfish''. I still love the title - lol - but unfortunately it never got any further than a rough draft :(

Patricia David Talks About The Magic Of Christmas

2011-12-09T15:50:00.000-08:00

I'd like to welcome Love Inspired author Patrician Davids to my blog today. I'm really excited about reading her book about Christmas and the Amish - for some reason I love Amish books.

Patricia Davids here. I’d like to thank Rachel for inviting me to blog today and wish her much success with the release of her new book.

I believe that Christmas and Romance go hand in hand. I should know. In December 1976, my husband, then a sailor in the U.S. Navy, was on patrol aboard his submarine and wasn’t expected home until February. Alone in Groton, Connecticut, with a seven-month-old infant and a thousand miles from all my family in Kansas, I tried to keep the Christmas spirit as I spent my first Christmas alone. I bought a sad tree—all I could afford—added paper decorations, popcorn strings, a few lights and a silver foil star. The tree looked as lonesome as I felt, but it made our small apartment smell like Christmas.

Then, on December 23^rd, I got a wonderful phone call. I learned my husband’s sub was coming in for repairs. He had one night of leave--on Christmas Eve.

I was overjoyed. When he arrived home after weeks at sea, his kiss was the best present I could have asked for. Snuggled together on the sofa beside the glow of that fragrant tree was where I spent my most romantic Christmas Eve ever.

So now you know why I love Christmas stories and why I love to write them. Because I believe in the magic of Christmas. Wonderful things happen everyday, but wondrous things happen at Christmas time.

My new release, The Christmas Quilt, is an example of just such a wondrous event. Two people, who grew up loving each other, are pulled apart by a tragic event. Years later, they have the chance to fall in love all over again if they can only learn to trust their hearts to each other.

The idea for The Christmas Quilt began when I was skimming news stories on the Internet. I like reading snippets from around the country and I often zero in on medical stories. The story I spotted was, you guessed it, a Christmas story.

A woman in New York with a progressive eye disease had gone completely blind just prior to the birth of her second child. Thanks to the efforts of a special surgeon, the woman underwent an experimental surgery that restored her sight. Just days before Christmas, when her bandages were taken off, she saw the face of her daughter for the first time ever. I wanted to hug them all. What a wonderful gift and what a great story that could make!

And thus, idea for The Christmas Quilt was born. I had to put my own Amish spin on it, of course. I hadn’t mentioned a blind woman who quilts in any of the Brides of Amish Country series books, but I lucked out when I had a chance to slip in a reference about her in the revisions for A Farmer Next Door. Thus, my heroine, Rebecca Beachy came to life.

The hero, Gideon Troyer was a little more difficult to flesh out. I wasn’t sure why he left the Amish or why he would return. For Rebecca’s love of course, but it had to be more complex than that.

As a man who left the Amish and made his own way in life, Gideon was suddenly presented with images of all the things about his faith he’d left behind. The sense of community and of caring for each other he saw at the quilt auction, the way families prayed together in the cafe. Little things like the memory of his mother’s cooking made him homesick. He had accomplished what he’d set out to do, learn to fly, but he knew something important was still missing in his life. When he had the chance to spend time with Rebecca again, he couldn’t turn it down. But because he’d left his Amish faith after being baptized, he would be shunned by anyone who learned his identity.

If you haven’t read the story, you might wonder how Rebecca, who’d grown up loving Gideon, could spend time with him without recognizing his voice. I wondered that, too. It wasn’t until I came down with a nasty case of laryngitis that I had my answer. I may have found the solution without getting sick, but God gives us trials for many reasons. This one happened to help my story.

The Christmas Quilt may be pure fiction, but there is a whole lot of reality behind it. So you see, I like Christmas stories because they show me that life is ever hopeful and waiting to surprise me.

Have a great holiday season and Merry Christmas to everyone.

Patricia Davids

Thanks so much for sharing that lovely story with us Patricia. I'd love to hear from you guys about any Christmas magic that has happened in your world...

Christmas Blogging interrupted to guzzle Pink Champagne

2011-12-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately today's guest blogger couldn't make it :( But that's okay because I'll use this space to announce some VERY exciting news for me. Many of you have heard it on Twitter or Facebook, but here's the official announcement.

But first, I'd like to draw the winner of Heidi Rice's The First Night of Christmas book - congrats to aretha_zhen! Congrats Aretha, please contact Heidi through her website (http://heidi-rice.com/contact-heidi/) with your address and she will send you the book!

NOW...

I'm hugely excited to announce that I have sold my single title contemporary romance to Harlequin Australia!

JILTED will be a June 2012 release down under and I couldn't be happier. Many of you will recall this as The Book That Won't End. I LOVED these characters and their stories and really wanted to do well by them. I'm so happy that someone else saw something special in Flynn and Ellie and that I'll get to share them soon.

Of course, I have no cover, no official blurb or anything like that just yet, but I thought I'd share the blurb I wrote for a pitch just so you have an idea what JILTED is about:

BLURB

When soapie actress Ellie Hughes returns to the small rural community of Hope’s Junction, she risks the unbottling of ten years of secrets. But her godmother needs her, and Ellie isn’t one to let those she loves down. Not with the guilt of what she did to Flynn Quartermaine still burning her heart.

One look at Ellie and the hurt and love farmer Flynn has tried so hard to hide comes roaring back. But he’s a man now, and big enough to forgive her betrayal, if not forget. No matter how loyal the locals think they’re being in bullying Ellie, he can fight his own battles. Except protecting Ellie resurrects emotions he’d thought well drowned, and as she needs him more and more, he can’t resist another taste of what they once shared.

As their love rekindles, so does the need for truth. But with emotions made fragile by the past, revealing the tragedies and heartbreak of ten years ago could cost Ellie the one man she’s always loved. While Flynn must overcome his fear of once more being JILTED.

I hope that piqued your interest. And you know what the best thing is about all of this? I get to buy another Pandora charm for my book bracelet :)

How Christmas Slips Into Lynn Raye Harris' Books

2011-12-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone - I have the gorgeous Lynn Raye Harris on board today, but before she talks all about her love of writing and reading Christmas books, I need to announce the winner for Annie Claydon's giveaway of All She Wants For Christmas. Drum roll please...

And the winner is JULIET MADISON! Congrats Juliet, if you could email Annie at Annie@AnnieClaydon.com with your address, she'll send you the book :)

Now for the lovely Lynn:

I love the idea of doing a blog about Christmas books! It’s such a special time of year, and it’s always great that there are so many fabulous offerings from your favorite romance authors. I love curling up with a good Christmas romance and enjoying the mistletoe and twinkling lights with the characters.

It seems as if I always end up writing something about Christmas into my books when I’m writing them around Christmas time. My book that’s out this month in Australia (it was out last month in the UK, and will be out in July 2012 in North America), Captive But Forbidden, is set close to Christmas time.

Last year at this time, I was working on the book – and I couldn’t help but want to include a bit of holiday cheer. There’s just something about the season that infuses your spirit, isn’t there? I think there’s something for everyone in the holidays because the season is about giving and love.

There isn’t as much Christmas as I’d like in Captive But Forbidden, as it’s not strictly a Christmas book, but the story opens in late November with a snowstorm in London. Veronica St. Germaine is a former bad girl turned president of her nation, and she’s determined to do a good job for the island and the people who reside there.

But when the threats against her life escalate, she needs more than just a bodyguard. She needs the best bodyguard there is. Raj Vala is your typical Presents hero in that he’s handsome, rich, and completely in control. He’s not a second banana to Veronica. Not at all.

Naturally, the sparks fly as Raj does everything in his power to protect Veronica – including whisking her away to his home in Goa, India, against her wishes. To say their relationship is explosive is an understatement.

Unsurprisingly, the subject of Christmas does come up as it draws near. Veronica has fond memories of her childhood Christmases, but Raj does not. While her life was privileged, his was anything but.

I can’t tell you everything, of course, but I will tell you that the story ends with a glamorous holiday party, a Christmas tree, and presents that will last a lifetime. Raj and Veronica find their happy ever after in the glow of holiday lights. Christmas is about love, and Raj and Veronica truly discover that in the end.

I hope you enjoy the story!

From the back cover of Captive but Forbidden:

The news that wild socialite Veronica St. Germaine has cleaned up her act and stepped into her father's shoes as ruler of a Mediterranean principality creates a tabloid frenzy! But it's not just the paparazzi that are out for blood…

Duty demands that bodyguard Rajesh Vala must protect — Veronica whatever the cost. But Veronica has always rebelled against commands, and she isn't making Raj's job easy!

He calls it ‘safeguarding', but she calls it being held captive at his beach house. Both realise that the attraction between them is inconvenient — because Veronica is nothing if not forbidden!

To read an excerpt or find out more about my books, visit my website at www.lynnrayeharris.com. Drop me a line, sign up for my newsletter, or leave a comment on my blog! I love hearing from readers.

Thanks for having me, Rachael, and congratulations on your debut release!

Lynn Raye Harris is a USA Today bestselling author who writes glamorous, sexy romance for Harlequin Presents. You can learn more about Lynn and her books at http://www.lynnrayeharris.com/. You can also follow Lynn on Twitter @LynnRayeHarris or visit her author page on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLynnRayeHarris

Addicted to Holiday Stories with Seleste deLaney

2011-12-06T16:11:00.001-08:00

Today I have another fellow Carina Press author, but she also writes for Decadent Publishing and Evernight Publishing. What a lady... Take it away Seleste deLaney!

A Few of My Favorite Reasons

Last year I wrote two holiday stories and swore I’d never do it again. After all, who has time to promo in December?

Then Evernight Publishing listed a call for their holiday anthology. I managed to ignore it since I was hard at work on other things at the time, but slowly this germ of an idea took hold in my brain and wouldn’t let go. If I re

The question remained though—why do this to myself at all? Why Christmas stories? For me, the answer is complex. Winter is my favorite season. I’m a total snow bunny. But beyond that, the holidays are such a turbulent time for me that I value the escape a good story provides. Don’t get me wrong, I love the season, but over the years the family has dealt with death, fights, emotional confessions and all sorts of bad things right around Christmas. More suicides happen in December than any other month. No matter how joyous the season is supposed to be, it’s also a time that a lot of people need to be somewhere else mentally. They need happily ever afters and they need hope.call the timeline correctly, I got Making the Naughty List (my follow-up to last year’s story) in just under the deadline. Right around then, the opportunity came up to have The Ghost of Vampire Present put in an anthology at Decadent Publishing. It wasn’t going to be new, so I figured it wouldn’t involve more promo and said yes. (More on this story in a bit.)

My Evernight stories (Yes, Alana, There Is a Santa Claus from last year as well as this year’s Making the Naughty List) are all about the happily ever after. They’re about finding love in times of pain and hardship and sadness. Okay, so they’re also about randy elves, but that’s not the point. They embrace the magic of the season and put it on display. They’re the lights and tinsel for people’s imaginations.

Then there’s The Ghost of Vampire Present. Like A Christmas Carol (where my story gets its strange little name from), it’s a story about fears and hope, and about closing your eyes and trusting your heart while you take a leap of faith. (Okay, and it’s also about a randy vampire, but again, that’s not the point.) While my Evernight stories might be the magic, for me, The Ghost of Vampire Present is the soul of the season. It’s all the stresses and joys and fears rolled up into one package.

For that, and other reasons, I was able to ignore the extra promotional pressure when Decadent asked if I wanted to make it the December Read for a Cure book. I will be promoting my butt off this month because all publisher proceeds for the sale of The Ghost of Vampire Present in December go

to the American Cancer Society (I will also be donating fifty cents for every copy sold to Relay for Life). And every second I spend telling people about this project is time well-spent.

So, why do I write holiday stories? Because I believe in magic, and I believe the only way people really get to feel the magic in the world around them is through hope. And I can’t think of a better time of the year to put those things together in the creation of a story.

I’m giving away a digital copy of last year’s Evernight anthology ‘Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas to one commenter who tells me the emotion that the Christmas season most brings to mind for them.

Thanks so much Seleste for visiting and for your generous giveaway. I can't wait to read the comments. Seleste's draw will be announced on Saturday.

The First Night of Christmas with Heidi Rice

2011-12-05T15:09:00.000-08:00

I have the gorgeous and hugely talented Heidi Rice on my blog today and I'm probably more excited than anyone. Heidi has been one of my favourite category authors since I read her first book. She does the BEST EVER bad boys and I LOVE a bad boy...

Hi Rachael

Thanks so much for inviting me to your Christmas Blog Party! And huge congrats on the release of One Perfect Night, I shall be first in line to download a copy on my Kindle as a special present to Moi!

So Christmas Stories… I have to admit I love them. Reading them and writing them. Why? Because quite apart from all the glitz and glam of the season to be sexy, there’s also the things that Christmas means emotionally for many people which add that fabulous frission of passion and intensity to a Christmas story.

Jace Ryan, my hero in On the First Night of Christmas, is the ultimate bad boy. Sexy and seductive, Jace thinks his life is just how he wants it. He’s not a big fan of the festive season, it’s a time for families and he doesn’t have one of those, plus he hates shopping! But he’s successful, well-adjusted and ridiculously rich so it doesn’t bother him a bit that he’s going to be alone while in London this Christmas…. Until he splashes my heroine Cassie Fitzgerald outside Selfridges on Oxford Street...

After getting rid of her cheating fiancé months before, Cassie is a woman on a mission to find the perfect Candy Man for Christmas - a guy who will make her body hum, but will be gone by the New Year.

So the scene is set for the two of them to have the perfect holiday fling. Hot nights, lazy fun-filled days, and no commitment. Until the magic of the season… And way too much really amazing sex starts to turn their perfect holiday fling into something entirely different…

Had so much fun writing this story, am just hoping readers have as much fun reading it!

WOW - am SO glad this book is on my TBR pile this month :) However, right now my heart is pounding at the thought of you reading One Perfect Night. I hope you enjoy!

Heidi has very generously offered to giveaway a copy of On The First Night of Christmas to one lucky commenter. All you have to do is tell us where you would most like to spend Christmas - anywhere in the world - and why?

The winner will be drawn this Friday the 9th of December.

ON THE FIRST NIGHT OF CHRISTMAS

Cassie’s tips for the Perfect Christmas Fling!

1. ‘Tis the season to be daring: Find the perfect Mr. Right Now (extra points for a bad-boy-turned-billionaire) and be brave about getting him—even if that means jumping straight into sexy Jace Ryan’s car!

2. Enjoy the ride: Once you’ve chosen your man, get swept away by the moment! For once, Cassie’s determined to stop worrying about the future, but she must remember one thing….

3. This fling is just for Christmas: Jace Ryan’s a seasonal special. Do not start falling for him, Cassie, no matter how perfect the package or how much you’ve enjoyed unwrapping it….

Annie Claydon's Christmas Wish Come True

2011-12-04T14:08:00.000-08:00

Today I have debut Medical author Annie Claydon visiting the blog. I LOVE Medical romance and combined with Christmas, well, really, what more could you ask for :)

First of all, a huge thank you to Rachael for inviting me onto her blog. And since it’s that time of the year again, and we both have Christmas books to share, there’s only one thing on my mind at the moment.

Christmas! With all its sparkle, goodwill and family times, isn’t Christmas the ideal time for a romance? You might have guessed that I’d agree with that proposition, since my debut book has a Christmas theme. The sparkle of Christmas isn’t the whole story, though.

Statistics show that Christmas isn’t always the peaceful and happy time we’d like it to be. I write Medical Romance, so I’m likely to find that my characters are not just busy with their own preparations over Christmas but also rushed off their feet at work. In addition, my hero and heroine are both haunted by past Christmases, which they’d rather forget. So is Christmas really the perfect time for them to find romance?

I’d say yes. Because romance isn’t just glitz and sparkle, it’s about hope. The hope which tells us it’s possible to move past the bad times, and make the most of the good things we have. That same hope which convinces us that taking a chance on something we really want might not be such a crazy idea, after all.

Christmas is a time for hope, too. Families come together to celebrate and share. There’s a new year about to begin, and here in the UK, the longest of the dark, winter nights has passed. December also sees more people giving to charity than any other time of the year. It’s no coincidence that one of the most enduring Christmas stories is Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. If the miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge can see his past, his present and the future that awaits him, and find it somewhere in himself to change, then surely anyone has reason to believe in miracles.

So I’m an unapologetic believer that the magic of romance blends perfectly with the magic of Christmas. Not because I expect either to go smoothly – I’ve had my fair share of wilting Christmas Trees, cakes that go soggy in the middle and sweaters that don’t fit – but because both give us a reason to have faith in the future.

Last year, all I wanted for Christmas was – just that. The manuscript for ‘All She Wants for Christmas’ was under consideration by the Mills and Boon editors, and I remember thinking that I could relax over Christmas and maybe take a chance on dreaming a little about what the New Year might bring, before reality had a chance to intervene. And this year, I have some celebrating to do, because I’ve already been able to hold my debut novel in my hand, and see it on the shelves in my local bookstores.

I’m hoping that you’ll celebrate with me and so I’ll be sending a copy of my book to one commentator.

Is there something you want (or maybe don’t want!) for Christmas?

If you leave a comment answering Annie's question, you'll go into the draw to win a copy of her debut book :) You have two days to comment and the winner will be posted on Thursday's blog post.

Blurb for All She Wants For Christmas

The tinsel is up and Christmas party invites are flooding in! And this year hearing therapist Beth Travers has made a few secret Christmas wishes… 1. Wonder how new heart surgeon Matt Sutherland would feel about being gift-wrapped? He’s definitely on my present list! 2. Helping Matt and little son Jack with their Christmas tree reminds me how much I’d love a family of my own to decorate one with… 3. Dare I dream about a stolen kiss under the mistletoe at the Christmas party…? Are three Christmas wishes allowed? Well, I’m crossing my fingers and hoping so!

Why I wrote Christmas with Nancy O'Berry

2011-12-03T15:26:00.002-08:00

Today I'd like to welcome Nancy O'Berry...

Why does one write a Christmas story?

I can't think of a better time to write about the anticipation, the wonder, and the spirit of the season. Christmas carries its own special magic, whether it is in the anticipation we see in a child's eyes or if it's just something in the air, but it is there. We remember the wide-eyed innocence of being children and waiting for that night when Santa would come down the chimney. The anticipation of that event was far more exciting that actually getting the gifts. Oh, as adults, we might complain about the "commercial" aspect of the season, but if we stop and we think about our own youth, we recall the joy in hearing those first ho, ho, ho's, which heralded the season of giving.

In A Cordial Christmas, I hope to capture the spirit of our youth through the eyes of Lucy Watson, a young girl coming to her grandfather's home with her aunt for her "first" Christmas and contrast it with the dire despair of the hero Dobson Winters, who feels he has lost it all. This story has the feel of It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol. As I wrote, the one thought that came back to circle in my mind was the quote on the front cover. "When a man thinks he has nothing to live for, life as a way of coming full circle". Christmas brings us all back to that central question, "What do I have to give? Will my contribution to the world really make that much of a difference?" The fact is, without our knowing, our lives do make a difference. The smallest act of kindness never goes unrewarded, even if we can't see the benefit of our actions. This is what the season is about.

This story reminds us, how important it is to be there, in the present, passing on the hope, the ideas, the dreams to the future generations. Dobson Winters' life will come full circle in a way he never expected. When an old enemy tells him on his deathbed that he's planned a way to redeem his soul whether he wants it or not by writing in his will, he must marry his daughter Holly.

I hope you'll enjoy A Cordial Christmas just as much as I enjoyed writing it. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from our house to yours.

And here's a sweet extract from Nancy's Story:

Excerpt

Dobson Winters was not the kind of man that celebrated things. He didn't celebrate his birthday, the Fourth of July, or Thanksgiving and he wasn't about to lend his blessing or his money to the town of Cordial, Texas to decorate the square for nothing. Christmas was a holiday best left alone.

"Just a few decorations, Mr. Winters," the banker began. His eyes nervously darted to the bowler hat sitting quietly on his lap.

"The answer is still, no."

"But, Mr. Winters, sir, the children will be most disappointed. They look so forward to the holiday. The decorations are old and faded." the preacher in black, sitting next to the banker spoke.

"Look here, Reverend," he began. "Christmas is a holiday created for the likes of Sam Russell at the General Store and those self centered pious folks, who step inside your walls to pray for the fortune when they should be hard at work bringing it in. I got over ten thousand head of beef to answer to. I got no time or extra wealth to pay for decorations used one day out of a year."

The thin little minister sitting beside the banker blanched and tugged at the white collar around his neck as if his words suddenly made it grow too tight.

"Really, Mr. Winters, have you no heart?" the banker scolded. "Think of your wife she loved the holiday. Why not a day goes by that we aren't reminded-"

The banker's words proved the last straw. "Gentleman, our meeting is over." As he spoke, he rose to his feet. Stepping back, his hand closed around his father's double barrel shotgun he'd cleaned just that morning. The two men who sat before him scrambled to their feet.

"Now, Mr. Winters." The Reverend's eyes grew wide.

"Dobson," the banker cautioned. "Be reasonable."

His eyes narrowed. He flipped the breech latch and broke the gun open. The men began to sweat as he glided two cardboard shells home. "You know, my daddy once told me a seat full of buckshot deters most highway men from pickin' a man's pocket." The click of the barrel as it closed sent the two men into action. Tripping over their feet, Reverend Thomas of Cordial's First Presbyterian Church hurried toward the front door, followed closely behind by Thomas Carter.

The banker slammed his bowler onto this head and cut Dobson a hard glare. "The town council will hear of this - about how you treat your guests. Just because you founded the town, don't give you a right to be rude."

"It gives me every right," he snapped, his upper lip curling back, so the men might see the white of his teeth. "I didn't tell you to set up your tents or build homes around my stockyards. But, you did it. Nor did I request any sheriff to monitor the saloon you all invited in to town. Yet, I put up with it." He shoved the barrel against the banker's backsides. The man let out a yelp as he and the preacher wrestled with the front door. "Oh, I pay my fair share of taxes and usually keep my mouth closed. In fact, until today, I've lived up to the town's motto, never a discouraging word. Well, not today boys, I will be damn if I pay another dime."

In their hurry to leave, both men collided, their shoulders wedged as they tried to press through the door in unison. Squeezing out the entrance, they lengthened their strides as they moved toward the buggy.

"But your wife," the minister called over his shoulder. "She wouldn't want the town to go without a Christmas."

His heart constricted. How dare they. How dare they bring her up! "Don't you ever go there, you two bit Bible thumper." He could feel his face grow red from the heat of anger as his eyes bore into the Reverend. The little man's Adam's apple bobbled as if it were a boulder being tossed downstream through a rapid. "Now, git!" he bellowed. Moving to the edge of the porch, he turned the gun barrel skyward curled his index finger over the trigger, and let loose one shot.

The percussion of the gun echoed in the still air. Both men let out a yelp like a wounded dog. The speed of their retreat increased. They fumbled, their feet slipped, yet somehow they managed to scramble aboard and turn the horse around. "You haven't heard the last of this," Thomas Carter shouted as the Reverend brought the lines down upon the horse's back. The iron rims hissed against the ground as they left at a fast trot.

"Damned fools," he snarled. In the quiet of the ranch grounds, he watched them pass the barn and caught one last look as they tossed him a glare mixed with fear and pure hatred. He broke open the barrel and pulled the empty shell from the smoking gun. By golly, they got the message that time. Tossing the spent shell onto the ground, he pulled the unused ammunition out and returned it to his vest pocket. He turned and stared at the empty doorway of the two-story log home he'd built. A momentary expression of hurt rolled across his face deepening the lines next to the grim turn of his lips. She should be here. By all rights, Miranda should be there, standing in the doorway, waiting for him.

You can find Nancy at:

www.nancyoberry.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nancy-OBerry-Romance-Author/161753103856411

http://twitter.com/#!/NanObe1

12 Days of Christmas with Joanna Chambers

2011-12-02T14:50:00.001-08:00

Today I have fellow Carina Press authorJoanna Chambers as a guest. I'm sure you'll enjoy her post. When I read it, I couldn't believe I hadn't already bought her book, and I went and changed that quick fast. Really looking forward to reading it.

Without further ado... Joanne...

Hi everyone! My novel, The Lady's Secret, is set around Christmas time, with some of the major events of the novel occurring in the early hours of Christmas morning, so I was delighted to come and blog about Christmas on Rachael's blog!

The Lady's Secret is a Regency-set historical romance. The book was loosely inspired by Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, twelfth night being the last of the twelve days of Christmas commencing with the 25th of December and ending with the 5th of January.

Twelfth night was traditionally a night of merry making, to mark the end of the festive season. It's often associated with the Lord of Misrule, a lowly person, such as a servant boy, elevated to a kingly status for the night's festivities in a reversal of the usual order. This may have its roots in the Roman winter festival of Saturnalia in which masters dressed as servants and men as women – when the 'natural order' was turned on its head. It's funny to think that a festival as cosy and homely as Christmas has this deviant side!

It's all great stuff for a romance of course. The upsetting and subsequent restoration of the natural order has illustrious romance roots. Ever since Cinderella swept ashes out of her hearth, romance heroines have been being deprived of their places in life and forced into disguise to assert their rights.

And my heroine is no different. Georgy Knight dresses as a man and takes the role of the hero's valet in order to search for evidence of her and her twin brother's legitimacy. It's all good role-reversal stuff for twelfth night! Of course, the hero finds her out and that's when the fun really starts!

I had lots of fun with my winter setting. Lots of snow and frost and wintry landscapes. Not to mention light and dark—in deepest December it gets dark very early in Britain (before 4 o'clockin the afternoon where I live) so I developed a complete obsession with how dark it would have been in each scene. My protagonists are always fiddling with candles!

And that makes me think of that surprising moment on Christmas Day when you look out of the window and see that it's getting dark. And you close the blinds or curtains and turn on the lights and you feel that gratitude to be safe and warm when it's so bleak outside.

And you know it's the same feeling people have been having—and celebrating—for centuries.

Merry Christmas all!

You can find Joanna at:

http://tumperkin.blogspot.com

Twitter - @ChambersJoanna

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002993543568

If that post intrigued you, here's the blurb for The Lady's Secret:

London, 1810

Former actress Georgiana Knight always believed she and her brother were illegitimate—until they learn their parents were married, making them heirs to a great estate. To prove their claim, Georgy needs to find evidence of their union by infiltrating a ton house party as valet to Lord Nathaniel Harland. Though masquerading as a boy is a challenge, it pales in comparison to sharing such intimate quarters with the handsome, beguiling nobleman.

Nathan is also unsettled by Georgy's presence. First intrigued by his unusual valet, he's even more captivated when he discovers Georgy's charade. The desire the marriage-shy earl feels for his enigmatic employee has him hoping for much more than a master-servant relationship...

But will Nathan still want Georgy when he learns who she truly is? Or will their future be destroyed by someone who would do anything to prevent Georgy from uncovering the truth?

Melissa McClone's Top Christmas Six

2011-12-01T03:08:00.000-08:00

Hi Melissa and welcome to my Ramblings Blog :)

I'm stoked to have Harlequin Romance author Melissa McClone with me today. The first of Melissa's books I read was Wedding Date With The Best Man and I've been a fan ever since. Firefighter Under The Mistletoe is on my tbr pile this month!

Thanks so much for having me on your blog today, Rachael. Congrats on the release of One Perfect Night! I love Christmas romances.

During the months of November and December, Christmas romance novels go from my shopping bag right to the top of my TBR stack. The ones with Christmassy covers, decorated trees or sleigh rides or scenic snow scenes, put big smiles on my face and make me want to reach for them even when I know I should be doing something else (like writing!)

Christmas books are my favorite type of romance novels. I'll read twice as many books during the holiday season than I usually do. I can't get enough of Christmas stories.

There's something about the joy of the season, the hope Christmas brings, and falling in love that work so well together. I love when an author doesn't just set a story at Christmastime by adding some lights, snow and a Christmas tree, but weaves the holiday into the plot so it plays an integral part in the book. That is, the book wouldn't be the same if it weren't happening at Christmastime.

One of the challenges for an author is keeping things fresh when certain elements are almost expected in a Christmas story. I know I have a few things I love to read (and write about!):

1) A kiss under the mistletoe. Yes, it's clichéd, but it's also very romantic.

2) Snow. I love the idealized, snowy winter wonderland setting. I've had white Christmases only a couple of times in my life, but they rank up at the top when it comes to my favorite holiday memories!

3) Baking. What is Christmas without making something sweet and special for the holiday? Having the characters bake together brings back fond memories of my childhood and a dear lady who was our surrogate grandmother.

4) Santa. I love when characters of all ages visit Santa, especially when what they really want for Christmas comes out!

5) Presents! What a character gives another person tells a lot about them as well as what they think of the recipient. If that gift can move or affect the plot, all the better!

6) Jesus. Whether it's a nativity set, a pageant or church service, I like to see some mention of the reason for the season, even if the book isn't an inspirational.

What about you? Is there anything you particularly like to see in a Christmas story?

Thanks again Melissa, I can't wait to hear what everyone else likes to see in a Christmas story :)

FIREFIGHTER UNDER THE MISTLETOE blurb:

Christmas magic in Hood Hamlet...

For Leanne, infuriatingly charming firefighter Christian Welton is out of bounds. Not only is he too young for her, but his trail of broken hearts is legendary. Leanne's fought hard to be one of the boys, and won't let anyone see that Christian's smile makes her want to melt into his arms!

Christian wanted to discover the softer side of the tough-talking paramedic, but hasn't counted on how much the real Leanne affects him. He's vowed never to settle down, but under the mistletoe it's certainly the season to be tempted.…

Website: http://www.melissamcclone.com

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/melissamcclonebooks

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/melissamcclone

Christmas and Debut Blog Party

2011-11-30T03:29:00.000-08:00

This will be a very special Christmas for me – it’ll be my first as a published writer. My debut ONE PERFECT NIGHT releases on December 19^th from Carina Press. To celebrate, I’m doing a couple of things.

1) I’m only reading Christmas books in December because my book is a Christmas book too.

2) I’m hosting a whole load of fabulous authors on my blog talking about their own Christmas releases and why they love writing Christmas books, or something along those lines.

Many of these authors have books I’ve either read or am looking forward to reading this month and I hope during my Christmas book blog party, you’ll find some new authors you love as well.

I’ll feature one author each day and there’ll even be some fabulous book giveaways interspersed throughout the month.

So, sit back, eat a mince pie (if that’s your thing, it’s not really mine), fill yourself a glass of bubbly and enjoy the Christmas party.

Rach!

2012 National Year of Reading

2011-11-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

This post was STOLEN (shock-horror) from the fabulous Helene Young's blog!

Australian Women Writers 2012 National Year of Reading Challenge

Keen on romance, fantasy, crime, YA, literary, mainstream women’s fiction? Contemporary or historical? Memoir, other nonfiction or poetry?
Whatever your preference, whether you’re a fan of one genre or a devoted eclectic, the 2012 Australian Women Writers Book Reading & Reviewing Challenge invites you to celebrate a year encountering the best of Australian women’s writing.
Objective: This challenge hopes to help counteract the gender bias in reviewing and social media newsfeeds that has continued throughout 2011 by actively promoting the reading and reviewing of a wide range of contemporary Australian women’s writing. (Recent discussions on gender bias.)
Readers should approach this challenge with a spirit of willingness. There are no failures, just personal goals. Reviews can be long or short, favourable or “this book is not for me”. Hopefully, along the way, we’ll all discover some future classics and perhaps a few surprises among genres we’re not familiar with. The main aim is to have fun.
Challenge period: 1 January 2012 - 31 December 2012
Goal: Read and review books written by Australian women writers – hard copies, ebooks and audiobooks, new, borrowed or stumbled upon by book-crossing.
My thanks to Elizabeth Lhuede for initiating this challenge. She’s been championing Australian women’s fiction across the blogsphere over the last month and this is another wonderful opportunity to support those writers.
Along with Helene and a bunch of other wonderful people, I’m accepting the challenge for 2012 as I know I won’t have to work very hard to achieve ‘Franklin Fantastic’ Status. Some of my favourite Australian women writers have books coming out in 2012 so I’m aiming to read one a month. They’ll cross most genres from romance to crime to contemporary women’s fiction to literary work.

My list will include Cathryn Hein, Fiona Palmer, Fleur McDonald, Helene Young, Karly Lane, Jaye Ford, Leah Ashton, Fiona Lowe, Lisa Heidke, Kelly Hunter, Sarah Mayberry, Coleen Yan, Loretta Hill and no doubt more!

Who's joining us??

When do you research?

2011-11-26T03:40:00.000-08:00

I must admit research for the novels I've written so far has been quite limited. A medical tidbit here and there, something about weather or location. Maybe subconsciously I've shied away from too much research because I'm scared of getting something terribly wrong and everyone saying what a silly-billy I am :)

My last wip was set in Hollywood and this in itself scared me. The story that I wanted to tell HAD to be set here but I was terrified any reader (or editor) would be able to tell that I've never been anywhere NEAR the place. The verdict is still out on this because I haven't heard from the editor whether it is any good yet.

But in the meantime, I'm starting a new novel (or two). Research for one included a bit of a Google about cat illnesses last night and today I'm moving on to reading about dementia and Alzheimer's disease. I'm two chapters into the story that is going to quite heavily involve an old man with some form of dementia. Not sure yet whether he'll have Alzheimer's or not but I think it's time to open a few books and do some online research on the disease.

This got me to thinking about how much research I need to do right now. Do I need to find out every last thing about Alzheimer's right away or should I just dive right in to write the book and stop to research as questions come up? I'm not sure if one way is better or the other. Even if I do some reading now, there'll probably be some things I need to find out about as I go along.

So tonight, I'm going to start with some vague reading around the subject and maybe look for specifics as they arise.

But I'm curious? How do you research? Does it totally consume you before you start a novel or do you dive right in and pause to research only when absolutely necessary?

Theory on Thursday with Nicola Marsh

2011-11-23T05:02:00.001-08:00

This week I have multi-published and speedy, hugely talented author Nicola Marsh talking online writing courses. As it happens, I too have done the course Nicola mentions and I agree that it is fantastic. At the end of Nic's post, don't forget to leave a comment about your own fab course experiences :)

ONLINE COURSES

I’m a sucker for ‘how to’ writing books.

Love buying them.

Love flicking through them.

Love seeing them lined up on my bookshelf.

Hate that I don’t refer back to them again!

With constant deadlines and busy boys to raise, I don’t have the time to flick through resource books the way I’d like to.

What I do flick through time and time again are my notes from 2 brilliant online courses:

LAURIE SCHNEBLY CAMPBELL’S Plotting via Motivation and Plotting from Start to Finish (Master Class.)

These 2 courses inspired me. Laurie’s class notes were brilliant, her motivation checklist worth the fee alone.

While I’m more a pantser than a plotter, using snippets learned from Laurie’s classes I can pretty much nail down my characters’ conflict and motivations from the start these days, and that usually saves a load of trouble later down the track around the ‘sagging middle.’

I can’t speak highly enough of Laurie and her willingness to answer questions offline during the courses too.

You can sign up for her course alerts via her website http://www.booklaurie.com

(As an aside, my first Romantic Times magazine Top Pick, MARRIAGE: FOR BUSINESS OR PLEASURE? was dedicated to Laurie because of the help she gave me during the writing of this book. I credit the Top Pick to her!)

At the time I did Laurie’s courses, I went through a phase where I did many online courses. My recommendation is to check the credentials of the presenters.

Do your research. Choose wisely. Have fun.

Because we never stop learning.

Care to share any online courses you’ve found particularly useful? (Or another ‘how to’ book I absolutely must add to my bookshelf?)

Melbourne-based Nicola Marsh has written 30 books for Harlequin Romance & Presents series, and BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD is her first mainstream contemporary romance/romantic comedy/chicklit/women’s fiction novel. Think ‘Sex and the City’ meets ‘Eat, Pray, Love’.

She loves chatting and can be found on her website http://www.nicolamarsh.com blog http://nicolamarsh.blogspot.com Facebook http://facebook.com/NicolaMarshAuthor Twitter http://twitter.com/NicolaMarsh

Her blog tour for BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD kicks off next week and she’ll be providing loads of fabulous Indian recipes as part of her Bolly-Bites. Get your spices ready and join her in cooking up a storm! Plus she’ll be giving away one copy a day of BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD for 3 weeks!

How To Choose Your Next Project!

2011-11-22T20:49:00.000-08:00

Does anyone write two books at the same time? I'm sure I've read that author Ally Blake does this and I'm also sure she's not the only one.

I couldn't help myself and started writing again even though I was supposed to be having November off to read and relax. My problem is, I'm not 100% sure which idea to write next.

I have a single title Aussie contemporary idea and I also have a shorter romance idea in my Hollywood series. Now it may be a while before I hear back from my editor at Carina about the first Hollywood book, but I love the second idea.

So how do I choose which one to write? Do I write both and hope that at least one is speaking to me whenever I sit down to write?

So far this is what I've been doing and I'm having a lot of fun with them both.

How do you choose which book you are going to write next?

PS. Another review that has left me grinning from ear to ear - check it out here.

A Winner and My First Review

2011-11-20T17:26:00.000-08:00

First things first, HUGE congrats to Kellie Schache - winner of Cathryn Hein's fabulous book PROMISES. To claim your prize, Kellie, please email Cathryn your details to cathrynhein @ gmail dot com

The second thing I'd love to share today is that over night my FIRST EVER review was published on Good Reads. You can see the review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/236936232 but this is what reviewer Joanne had to say...

I loved this book from start to finish! It is romantic, Christmassy and has great emotional depth. You could understand where both of the main characters were coming from and could feel their pain. This book is well written with the characters properly developed. It has an engaging story line that kept me completely absorbed. After reading ‘One Perfect Night’ by Rachael Johns and enjoying it so much I was surprised to discover that it is her debut book. I hope she has more books in the pipeline as I am very keen to read more of her work and could see her becoming one of my favourite authors.

Reading that, I think it's safe to say I'm going to be grinning ALL day!

Theory on Thursday with Cathryn Hein

2011-11-15T21:00:00.000-08:00

This Thursday I'm so lucky (and so are you) to have my gorgeous friend and best-selling rural romance author, Cathryn Hein with her take on writing craft books.

Best thing is Cathryn has coined a new writing acronym and I think we'll all be fighting to use it as our own...

Read, read, read. Read everything—trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the most. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out the window.

William Faulkner

I am the writing hang-up queen. There, I’ve said it. Out and proud ...well, out. Proud? Er, no. See, the problem with being a WHUQ is that I can’t read anything about craft without developing an issue about it. And when I develop an issue paralysis soon follows, creeping up my fingers until they collapse on the keyboard like drugged-out witchetty grubs. Chapters, scenes, paragraphs, even sentences seem impossible to get right because of the fear that I haven’t take into account issue X or technique Y.

The weird thing is that until I started reading and learning about the craft of writing, this never happened. I’d just sit down and splurk out all the drama festering in my head without a second’s thought to point of view, or transitions, or dialogue tags, or filter words or [insert topic of your choice here]. It all seemed to whizz out naturally. Then I started reading craft books and articles, and panic set in. Oh, I wasn’t doing this right. Oh, I must remember to do that. My word counts dropped from 3,000 to 5,000 a day to around 1,200, sometimes less. The words that I did produce were agonised over and often deleted because they simply weren’t good enough.

Believe me, this is no way to write. It’s inefficient and unsustainable and downright stupid. So I came up with a solution – read craft books only between manuscripts. And it’s helped. A lot. But a girl (or boy) still needs writerly nourishment and inspiration, and the way I achieve this is to read as much as I can when I’m writing. Learning, but with a great creamy dollop of pleasure on top.

Because what I’ve discovered is that, whether it be a heart-hammering page turner, or an infuriating, what-a-load-of-tripe, how-the-hell-did-this-ever-get-published chucker of a book, every book you read (and write) teaches you something. Now days, I have favourite authors I keep exclusively for when I’m writing because they’re so inspirational. The sheer joy of reading those books makes me want write better. They’re positive reinforcements, showing me what’s possible, of what I can strive for, instead of reminding me what I haven’t done.

The best ones are the ones that provide a physical reaction. My most memorable recent experience came from British crime writer Mo Hayder. I can’t remember which book it was (once discovered, I gobbled up every book she wrote in quick succession), I think it may have been The Treatment, but she put me in such a state of anxiety I actually broke into a nervous sweat. My heart hammered, my breathing quickened, all because of the fear I felt for the characters. It was one of the most astonishing pieces of storytelling I’ve ever experienced. I think I went back and read those chapters four or five times, trying to figure out exactly how she built such incredible tension. With a carefully measured and clever tightening of the drama, that’s how.

I’ve yet to see a craft article or book that demonstrates, with the same impact as Hayder so easily did in a few chapters, how to create such an intense emotional response in a reader. Same with novels that leaving me sobbing and hiccupping and needing a good lie down to get over the emotional trauma of the story. Theory doesn’t leave the same impression. It’s too dry.

I remember reading very early on that there are only two things a writer needs to do: read a lot and write a lot. Only two things? I don’t know about that. I’ve learned an enormous amount from craft books, articles, and Romance Writers of Australia conferences, and don’t know where I’d be without that knowledge. Still chasing my long held dream of publication probably. But I also understand that everyone has a different way of learning. Theory is great but, for me, seeing and doing remain the best teachers. Dedicated craft stuff is best left for the floppy days between manuscripts, when I can absorb information without immediately turning into a WHUQ.

After all, I can’t afford paralysed fingers. I have books to write!

Thanks for sharing your writing hang-ups Cathryn.

Cathryn has generously offered to give away a copy of Promises to one lucky commenter.

A father with something to hide, a jockey with a taste for blackmail, a man with an agonising secret ... and a young woman in love, defying them all.

Sophie Dixon is determined to leave her tragic past behind and forge a bright future on her beloved farm. While looking to buy a new horse, she is drawn into her neighbour Aaron Laidlaw’s orbit, despite the bad blood between their families.

As the racing season unfolds, Sophie and Aaron’s feelings for each other deepen. But Aaron is torn, haunted by a dark secret he fears can never be forgiven – especially by Sophie.

Sophie believes herself strong, but the truth behind her mother’s death will test her strength,

and her love, to the limit. She’s been broken once. No one wants to see her broken again.

Least of all the man who has grown to love her.

For your chance to win a copy of Cathryn’s best-selling rural set romance, Promises, leave a comment below along with the answer to this question: “Where is Cathryn’s next novel, Heart of the Valley, set?”

The answer can be found on Cathryn’s website. Winners will be drawn randomly from those eligible. Closes midnight, Sunday 20th November, 2011 and announced here the following day.

(Sorry, open to Australian addresses only)

Consumed by Promo

2011-11-11T21:47:00.000-08:00

Hey Faithful Blog Peeps

As I said, November was supposed to be chillax month for me - where I read lots of books to refill the creativity well. It's now 12 days into November and I think I've succeeded in reading one novel and one novella. NOT doing well at all.

The culprit sucking my chillax time?

PROMO!!!

As I want to start my next book in December (probably earlier if my itchy fingers are anything to go buy), I'm trying to do at least one guest blog post a day at the moment for everything I've got lined up around the release of ONE PERFECT NIGHT. And I'm trying to make the posts interesting and not generic so that anyone kind enough to read them will not be bored or feel like I'm shoving my books down their throats.

I'm actually really enjoying answering the guest blog questions and also writing up the posts I've been invited to do but it's amazing how time-consuming this task is. I know promo is NOT a dirty word and it's a fact of the writer's life but it IS cutting into my reading time.

I guess I just need to be more picky with what I read :)

Speaking of reading, what's the best book you've read this November?

Rach!

P.S. Hopefully I'll be able to share my good news this week!

Theory on Thursday with Dianne Blacklock

2011-11-09T04:18:00.000-08:00

Today on Theory on Thursday I have Aussie Women's Fiction author Dianne Blacklock. Dianne isn't talking about a specific book or writing tool but rather those elusive RULES we all hear from time to time...

Golden Rules

What writer doesn't love a good rule? Tips, mantras, affirmations, motivations … personally, I devour them. I have read many excellent books on the craft of writing, and will click a link to anything with even the vaguest suggestion of a writing tip.

Which is what I did early last year, when the Guardian published a lengthy 2-part article on the Rules for Writing Fiction. http://bit.ly/bUBF9l

Inspired by the publication of Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing, they asked a host of amazing writers for their own top 10 tips. I was in heaven. But then a funny thing happened as I made my way through the list - I began to see an interesting pattern. I delved into my own stores of favourite writers’ tips and the pattern continued. Take a look for yourself.

‘Read Becoming a Writer, by Dorothea Brande. Then do what it says, including the tasks you think are impossible. You will particularly hate the advice to write first thing in the morning, but if you can manage it, it might well be the best thing you ever do for yourself.’ (Hilary Mantel)

Work in the morning, a short break for lunch, work in the afternoon and then watch the six o'clock news and then go back to work until bed-time. (Colm Toibin)

‘Find your best time of the day for writing and write. Don't let anything else interfere. Afterwards it won't matter to you that the kitchen is a mess.’ (Esther Freud)

I write very small so I don't have to turn the page and face the next empty one. (Michael Morpurgo)

Fill pages as quickly as possible; double space, or write on every second line. Regard every new page as a small triumph. (Roddy Doyle)

You most likely need a thesaurus. (Margaret Atwood)

Do keep a thesaurus, but in the shed at the back of the garden or behind the fridge. (Roddy Doyle)

The greater your vocabulary the more effective your writing. (PD James)

A deliberately limited vocabulary can produce an astonishing emotional punch. (Sarah Waters)

Know the market. (Ian Rankin)

Never worry about the commercial possibilities of a project. (Geoff Dyer)

Don’t look back until you’ve written an entire draft, just begin each day from the last sentence you wrote the previous day. (Will Self)

Reread, rewrite, reread, rewrite. (Helen Dunmore)

In the planning stage of a book, don't plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it. (Rose Tremain)

To begin a novel without an ending fixed in your mind’s eye, you must be very clever, and so full of confidence in the voice that tells the story that the story itself hardly matters. (John Irving)

Never stop when you are stuck. You may not be able to solve the problem, but turn aside and write something else. Do not stop altogether. (Jeanette Winterson)

If you get stuck, get away from your desk. Take a walk, take a bath, go to sleep, make a pie, draw, listen to music, meditate, exercise. (Hilary Mantel)

Stop reading fiction. (Will Self)

Read like mad. (Sarah Waters)

Don't panic. (Sarah Waters)

Do feel anxiety – it’s the job. (Roddy Doyle)

Work hard. (Andrew Motion)

Have fun. (Anne Enright)

Are you getting the idea? It appears that for every golden rule there is an equal and opposite rebuttal of that rule.

So does that mean you can’t trust these pesky writers with their contradictory advice? It’s like when you have your first baby and everyone tells you something different and you nearly lose your mind, and certainly a fair whack of your confidence.

But you soon learn, don’t you? You learn to take on what works for you, what feels right for your situation. You learn who to listen to, and who to just nod at politely.

This is why I think Stephen King’s On Writing is really one of the best books around on writing, because he tells you how he does it, he doesn’t tell you how you should do it. He encourages you to find your own way.

So, write in the morning, or late at night, use a thesaurus, or don’t, whatever works for you. And good luck!

HUGE thanks to Dianne for sharing those contradictory rules with us :) Dianne has a new book, THE SECRET INGREDIENT, out this month (details below) and it looks fabulous. Dianne also runs writing workshops throughout the year. Her first workshop in 2012 will be on Saturday the 10th of March at the NSW Writers' Centre at Rozelle in Sydney. It will be a full-day workshop entitled "Where Is The Love?" How to put the romance into your writing. The phone number of the centre is 02 9555 9757.

Taste was such an evocative sense; Andie had closed her eyes, with the scone melting in her mouth, and been transported back to her grandmother's kitchen...

Nourishment is nurture. That's what Andie learned from her grandmother and what she's always believed about cooking. But somehow, since marrying Ross, she's allowed her love of food to take a back seat and given up her dream of becoming a chef.

Lately she's been craving more. And when her marriage falls apart, she's determined to find herself again and take back control of her destiny.

The first step is taking a job in the kitchen of renowned chef Dominic Gerou. The brooding Englishman is more than Andie bargains for, but the new Andie is ready for anything, even a bad-tempered chef who makes it clear he won't tolerate mistakes.

In this beautiful new novel, Dianne Blacklock takes us on a sumptuous journey of the heart as Andie uncovers the secret ingredient for her new life, and shows that no matter how many false starts you may have, if you hold on to your passion and your dreams, anything is possible.

Over-used words

2011-11-07T19:59:00.000-08:00

I have just pressed send on Hollywood Heartbreak to my editor at Carina Press. Am really, really hoping it will be my second book with them. Have two more ideas for books to make a Hollywood series and have given them to my editor too. So now I guess the wait begins.

While editing, I got to thinking about words I use a lot that either could be replaced with stronger words or could be deleted altogether. Today in a final edit, I searched my manuscript for the following words:

very
absolute
thought
felt
just (HUGE culprit for me)
knew
seemed (another surprising biggie)
suddenly
looked
was

While I didn't change ALL of these instances - often in dialogue they worked - I did change a lot and delete a fair few as well. I'm putting together a list of words to look out for in a final list. Do you have any words that you over-use and look out for in the final edit?

Theory on Thursday with Joan Kilby

2011-11-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

This week I have Superromance and Carina Press author Joan Kilby talking about something that has fascinated me for a while now. SCRIVENER!! I have heard so many people say they use this program to write their books and I always wanted to know HOW that worked. I admit to thinking it sounded like just another procrastination tool to prolong actually writing the book, but I also admit to not looking into it properly at all.

So I was thrilled when Joan said she used SCRIVENER and even more thrilled when she agreed to blog about it.

Here's Joan herself...

Scrivener has so many great features there isn’t enough space to list them all so I’ll mention a few of my favorites.

Corkboard: Plotting is a breeze using the index cards on the corkboard to keep track of scenes. The index cards are linked to the text of the scene as you write.

You can:

- create as many cards/scenes as you like;

- tag them with colors specific to your characters’ povs;

- write a brief synopsis of the scene on the card;

- add meta-data notes, for example, the date created, first draft or revised.

- hold the cursor over a card and a popup shows you the first line of that scene.

- flip the card over and insert a photo of the pov character (if you have one).

- see at a glance the balance between different characters’ povs.

- drag the index card to a different location, and the associated scene moves within your manuscript, allowing you to rearrange scenes quickly and easily.

Here’s a link to the corkboard of scenes for my wip.

The book isn’t complete and I haven’t separated the scenes into chapters but you get the idea. You can view the manuscript in individual scenes or by clicking on the ‘Chapter’ folder at the top, scroll through the entire manuscript.

Binder: Along the left-hand side is the Binder. This contains all your scenes plus folders for each character, research where you can store hyperlinks, photos, media, and copied text plus any other folder you care to create.

Along the top are a number of icons for managing your manuscript. One of my favorites is ‘Compose.’ Click on this and everything fades to black except the text. What I really love is that by going into Preferences on my Mac I can set the background color. I then set the font color in Scrivener and I can write in white text on a teal background. I find this color combination the most restful on my eyes. I can’t get it in Word anymore, at least not in Word for Mac.

Name generator: Ever have a problem thinking up names for your characters? The Scrivener name generator, located in Edit>Writing Tools, instantly generates up to 500 first and last names in different nationalities. Love it!

Drawbacks: The biggest one for me is that I can’t use the keyboard to perform many of the editing commands the way I was used to doing in Word.

Also, you have to convert to Word once you’re ready to submit it to an editor or agent. However, that’s probably a good thing since the text is easier to edit in Word.

However, I got into a sticky situation. I compiled my proposal chapters, converted to Word, edited the chapters and then submitted them to my editor. Since then I’ve also edited the Scrivener text. Now I have two different versions of the same three chapters. I’ll have to be very careful when creating the final version that I have the most up-to-date elements of both Scrivener and Word. Of course, if you’re writing the whole manuscript before editing and submitting, you won’t have this problem.

Conclusion: I highly recommend Scrivener. The interactive tutorial that comes with it is easy to understand. You don’t need to know much to dive in and you quickly learn more simply by doing. The program was created for Mac so anyone familiar with Macs will have no problem. I understand there’s now a Scrivener for Windows.

I’m still learning about Scrivener but if anyone has questions I’d be happy to try to answer them.

Comment to go in the draw for winner’s choice of one book from my recent trilogy. For titles, excerpts and reviews, go to http://www.joankilby.com

Thanks, Rachael, for the opportunity to blog on Scrivener!

Joan Kilby

GENTLEMEN PREFER NERDS March 2012 Carina Press

PROTECTING HER SON April 2012 Harlequin Superromance

Thanks so much for sharing all that fabulous information with us Joan. I didn't know you could actually write the WHOLE MS in Scrivener. Am going to have to investigate Scrivener for Windows.

Another course and Sassy Sisters!

2011-11-01T06:07:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to report I finally finished Hollywood Heartbreak over the weekend (or Friday night or something) and so now I'm into Chillaxing November. Well, as chillaxing as I can get.

I've got a massive list of books to read and lots of blog promos to write for my book, which debuts NEXT MONTH. It happened to appear on Amazon today and it was such a thrill to see it there. Also this month I'm doing a course with writer and Carina Press editor Rhonda Helms about plotting. I'm hoping this month (while chillaxing) to plot my next single title romance.

And in MORE news, I'm over at Sassy Sisters today. Please check out my announcement :)

Hope you are all well and happy and writing up a storm in November or reading lots like me.

Rach!

The truth about second-hand bookshops

2011-10-27T21:54:00.000-07:00

I've always been a book lover. Not just the fabulous stories inside, but for as long as I can remember, I've simply loved books. I love the smell, I love holding them in my hand, seeing them on my shelf, simply buying them.

But I must confess, that I've never been much of a fan of second hand books. My hubby collects all these old, tattered hardback books. He doesn't really care what the story is, he just likes having old books. Me? I like my books NEW! Call me a snob, but that's just the way it is. So because of this, I've never seen a great appeal in second hand bookshops. I can understand that maybe you might find an old, out of print gem in one if you hunt hard enough, but aside from that... meh.

However, until I started writing seriously and getting to know other authors through writing organisations, blogs, etc, I never thought about something that now REALLY bugs me.

If you buy a book from a second hand shop, the author won't get royalties for it.

Writing is a career like teaching, baking, medicine is for other people, yet we expect to pay for these things. I understand that everyone likes a bargain but I actively tell people now that if they are a BIG FAN of a particular author, please buy that book new - print or e-book, doesn't matter but buy it new. Because with each sale, you are making it easier for an author to continue writing fabulous books.

If you can't afford new, there's always the library. In Australia at least, authors who register for PLR make some money each time someone borrows their book.

Am curious... what are your thoughts on second hand bookshops?