Hi Everyone! Happy July! Come join me for a month-long tour where I talk about everything from Sexy Secondary Characters to Evil Villains to, well, who knows? Each time you visit one of my blogs and leave a comment, your name goes into a drawing for a prize package that includes a $25 Amazon gift card, free copies of both Bloodsworn books, and more. Also, there's another $25 Amazon card which I'll give away to one lucky commentor on whichever blog site receives the most comments. So come along on my very first tour!
July 1st I'll be with Rebekkah Niles at www.juturnafaerthing.blogspot.com
July 6th I'm visiting the Wild West with romance author Patty Jager at http://patyjager.blogspot.com/
and on July 9th I'm Hunting Dragons with author Jeanne Guzman at http://romanceinflight.blogspot.com/
Stay tuned for more stops on my magical month-long tour celebrating the release of my second book: Bloodsworn II: Linked by Blood.
7/1/11
2/21/11
Doughnuts to Donuts--What's your favorite?
I recently saw a sign that sent me into sugary transports. A Krispy Kreme is coming to my town. Wow! Talk about anticipation!
To pass the time, I checked out doughnuts on the Internet. Did you know doughnuts were supposedly first introduced to North America by the Dutch, who called the fried dough prepared in pig fat, olykoek, or oily cake? They were a far cry from the doughnuts we Americans think of today. The pictures I’ve found remind me more of an apple fritter than anything else. Oh, and the hole in the middle? That little modification is credited to an American sea captain by the name of Hanson Crockett Gregory around 1847, though the story itself varies.
To be fair, modern doughnuts are as internationally diverse as the human population. Pick a country, and it probably has its on take on the sweet pastry. Beignet (France), vada (India), sufganyiot (Israel), Berliner (Germany), rosquilla (Spain), are just a handful. Since I’m by no means an international traveler, (I rarely get out of Florida), my doughnut choices are strictly domestic. Here are my top five favorites.
#5: The standard yeast doughnut with maple icing topped with nuts. Sometimes I snag the one with the hole in the middle, and sometimes I go for the rolled one with the hint of cinnamon. (One of my main weaknesses.)
#4: The mini doughnuts you find at fairs or flea markets. You know, the ones you can watch being cooked and get hot out of the oil, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar? Yeah, that smell draws me in every time.
#3: The Dunkin Donut blueberry cake donut with a touch of glaze. I always expect them to be heavy because they’re cake, not yeast, but they never fail to surprise me by melting in my mouth. Major comfort food!
#2: The Krispy Kreme cream filled with chocolate icing. (White cream, not Bavarian, please.) Talk about a sugar rush! I try to limit myself to two a year.
#1: And the ultimate in doughnut bliss? The no muss, no fuss, original glazed Krispy Kreme yeast doughnut—preferably hot off the assembly line. Mmmmm. There’s just something about the taste, smell, and texture that can’t be duplicated.
So, store bought or home made? Yeast or cake? Glazed, iced, or powdered? Holed or filled? Tell me, what’s your favorite doughnut/donut?
To pass the time, I checked out doughnuts on the Internet. Did you know doughnuts were supposedly first introduced to North America by the Dutch, who called the fried dough prepared in pig fat, olykoek, or oily cake? They were a far cry from the doughnuts we Americans think of today. The pictures I’ve found remind me more of an apple fritter than anything else. Oh, and the hole in the middle? That little modification is credited to an American sea captain by the name of Hanson Crockett Gregory around 1847, though the story itself varies.
To be fair, modern doughnuts are as internationally diverse as the human population. Pick a country, and it probably has its on take on the sweet pastry. Beignet (France), vada (India), sufganyiot (Israel), Berliner (Germany), rosquilla (Spain), are just a handful. Since I’m by no means an international traveler, (I rarely get out of Florida), my doughnut choices are strictly domestic. Here are my top five favorites.
#5: The standard yeast doughnut with maple icing topped with nuts. Sometimes I snag the one with the hole in the middle, and sometimes I go for the rolled one with the hint of cinnamon. (One of my main weaknesses.)
#4: The mini doughnuts you find at fairs or flea markets. You know, the ones you can watch being cooked and get hot out of the oil, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar? Yeah, that smell draws me in every time.
#3: The Dunkin Donut blueberry cake donut with a touch of glaze. I always expect them to be heavy because they’re cake, not yeast, but they never fail to surprise me by melting in my mouth. Major comfort food!
#2: The Krispy Kreme cream filled with chocolate icing. (White cream, not Bavarian, please.) Talk about a sugar rush! I try to limit myself to two a year.
#1: And the ultimate in doughnut bliss? The no muss, no fuss, original glazed Krispy Kreme yeast doughnut—preferably hot off the assembly line. Mmmmm. There’s just something about the taste, smell, and texture that can’t be duplicated.
So, store bought or home made? Yeast or cake? Glazed, iced, or powdered? Holed or filled? Tell me, what’s your favorite doughnut/donut?
10/19/10
Going Where Your Story Takes You
I grew up smack dab in the middle of the Sunshine state, surrounded by orange groves, woods, and swamps. The perfect setting for a book, right? Why then, you might ask, does my recently published book, Bloodsworn: Bound by Magic, start out in northern California and end up on another world half way across the galaxy? One word: Plot.
We, as writers, sometime have no control over where the story takes us. The setting has to fit the plot. For instance, Stephanie Myers’ Twilight series would have been another story altogether if set in sunny Florida instead of Forks, Washington. Edward might never have been allowed to sparkle in sunlight since it’s sunny here most every day. Another plot-line would be needed for him to be able to attend school—or maybe he might not have gone to school at all. He would have had to meet Bella on a dark and stormy night, making Twilight more like Midnight. See what I mean?
Going where your story takes you means being a bit flexible, too. You might want to write about New Orleans, but if the plot calls for snow, you’re out of luck. Sure, you can change the plot line to fit the location, but again we’re talking about changing the whole aspect of the story. Instead of a snowball fight between your main characters ending in a sweet first kiss, they’re tossing sugar-coated beignets at one another and ending up...
Hmmm. Well maybe that’s not such a bad plot change after all. (LOL) Okay, time to shelve the first story and head off to New Orleans’ Café Du Monde for a hot-blooded beignet battle. Powdered sugar anyone?
We, as writers, sometime have no control over where the story takes us. The setting has to fit the plot. For instance, Stephanie Myers’ Twilight series would have been another story altogether if set in sunny Florida instead of Forks, Washington. Edward might never have been allowed to sparkle in sunlight since it’s sunny here most every day. Another plot-line would be needed for him to be able to attend school—or maybe he might not have gone to school at all. He would have had to meet Bella on a dark and stormy night, making Twilight more like Midnight. See what I mean?
Going where your story takes you means being a bit flexible, too. You might want to write about New Orleans, but if the plot calls for snow, you’re out of luck. Sure, you can change the plot line to fit the location, but again we’re talking about changing the whole aspect of the story. Instead of a snowball fight between your main characters ending in a sweet first kiss, they’re tossing sugar-coated beignets at one another and ending up...
Hmmm. Well maybe that’s not such a bad plot change after all. (LOL) Okay, time to shelve the first story and head off to New Orleans’ Café Du Monde for a hot-blooded beignet battle. Powdered sugar anyone?
9/11/10
Hot off the Press
WOW! My book is here. It’s actually here, in my house, in my hands. My son laughed as I picked the book up out of the box for the first time. I held the darn thing so tight that if it had been alive I would have choked it. Laying it down for any length of time has been hard. And yes, while I thought I’d read and re-read it enough during the writing and editing phases, I immediately opened it up and started reading it again.
Foolish? Maybe. A bit narcissistic? Who cares? I will say it’s a whole different feeling reading it in finished book form than reading it on the computer. There’s definitely a sense of accomplishment involved. And yes, a sense of pride. Not only did I take an idea and build a 100,000 word story around it, but I managed to find a publisher who felt the story was one other people might enjoy reading. The prospect is humbling.
Release date is September 24th, but you can pre-order your print copy now by going to www.thewildrosepress.com. Print copies are $15.99 and digital copes are $7.00.
The cover, by Tamra Westberry, is great. The back cover—which I’d never seen before—is cool. And if you’ll pardon me tooting my own horn, the inside is freaking awesome! But don’t take my word for it. Get a copy for yourself and let me know what you think. I welcome informed opinions.
Foolish? Maybe. A bit narcissistic? Who cares? I will say it’s a whole different feeling reading it in finished book form than reading it on the computer. There’s definitely a sense of accomplishment involved. And yes, a sense of pride. Not only did I take an idea and build a 100,000 word story around it, but I managed to find a publisher who felt the story was one other people might enjoy reading. The prospect is humbling.
Release date is September 24th, but you can pre-order your print copy now by going to www.thewildrosepress.com. Print copies are $15.99 and digital copes are $7.00.
The cover, by Tamra Westberry, is great. The back cover—which I’d never seen before—is cool. And if you’ll pardon me tooting my own horn, the inside is freaking awesome! But don’t take my word for it. Get a copy for yourself and let me know what you think. I welcome informed opinions.
8/27/10
Writing: Just one Hot Romance After Another
I was recently on a flight out to Las Vegas. Yeah, Vegas, baby. Sin City, land of the evil slot machines. Thank God it only took one session to cure me of my urge to gamble. But that's another story.
While on the plane, (Delta, flight something-or-other) I started looking through the Sky magazine they stash in the seat pocket. You know, something to pass the four hours from Atlanta to Vegas. Anyway, I got to the very last page and what do you know, there's an article about writing. The article is called "Writing, a Romance" and it's by author Libba Bray. Ms. Bray writes novels for young adults, including A Great and Terrible Beauty, The Sweet Far Thing, and Going Bovine. In the article, she compares the process of writing and publishing a novel to that of a romance. Very insightful.
For instance, in the early stages, an author is star-struck by how clever and special her new bow, I mean, book, is. The romance blossoms, lasting all the way through the first draft as they see each other every day. "My book is so easy to talk to. I'm seeing my book again tomorrow. I can't wait." *SIGH*
Unfortunately, that first rush of infatuation begins to fade when the revisions start. That time in a romance when you realize you've done everything together and you start repeating yourself. The lines of communication blur and the author begins to see a flaw here and there in her book. Nothing major...yet. But as the months pass, things get pretty rough. Phrases like, "I hate you!" and "I wish I'd never met you" start to crop up more and more when author and book are together. Friends become concerned, wondering if they should step in and stop the word abuse.
By the third draft, the author has become completely disillusioned and just wants the difficult relationship to end. With the encouragement of friends (and her editor), she pulls herself together and breaks it off with the demanding book, realizing that there are definitely other fish in the sea.
Days of copy edits pass--brief exchanges of polite small talk that get further and further apart until the author wakes up one morning and realizes she hasn't seen her book for months. She's finally able to put the whole emotional episode behind her with a feeling that she's come out of it a stronger writer. Even when she runs into her finished book in a book store one day, she's able to smile. She might feel a twinge of excitement at first, a touch of pride that she had something to do with transforming a mild-mannered plot-bunny into such a polished book-about-town. They might even spend a nostalgic afternoon reminiscing about the good times, recalling the creation of funny phrases and plot twists that just fell into place. But both know it's time to move on. He has a date with a reader down the street and she's been seeing a cute plot that kept her up half the night last Wednesday whispering sweet prose in her ear. Ah, L`Amore.
Thank you Libba Bray for giving me a fresh perspective on an author's life. Now if you'll excuse me, I also have a date with this really hot story that has the most gorgeous phrases and cutest metaphors you've ever seen. *SIGH* We were made for each other. Really.
While on the plane, (Delta, flight something-or-other) I started looking through the Sky magazine they stash in the seat pocket. You know, something to pass the four hours from Atlanta to Vegas. Anyway, I got to the very last page and what do you know, there's an article about writing. The article is called "Writing, a Romance" and it's by author Libba Bray. Ms. Bray writes novels for young adults, including A Great and Terrible Beauty, The Sweet Far Thing, and Going Bovine. In the article, she compares the process of writing and publishing a novel to that of a romance. Very insightful.
For instance, in the early stages, an author is star-struck by how clever and special her new bow, I mean, book, is. The romance blossoms, lasting all the way through the first draft as they see each other every day. "My book is so easy to talk to. I'm seeing my book again tomorrow. I can't wait." *SIGH*
Unfortunately, that first rush of infatuation begins to fade when the revisions start. That time in a romance when you realize you've done everything together and you start repeating yourself. The lines of communication blur and the author begins to see a flaw here and there in her book. Nothing major...yet. But as the months pass, things get pretty rough. Phrases like, "I hate you!" and "I wish I'd never met you" start to crop up more and more when author and book are together. Friends become concerned, wondering if they should step in and stop the word abuse.
By the third draft, the author has become completely disillusioned and just wants the difficult relationship to end. With the encouragement of friends (and her editor), she pulls herself together and breaks it off with the demanding book, realizing that there are definitely other fish in the sea.
Days of copy edits pass--brief exchanges of polite small talk that get further and further apart until the author wakes up one morning and realizes she hasn't seen her book for months. She's finally able to put the whole emotional episode behind her with a feeling that she's come out of it a stronger writer. Even when she runs into her finished book in a book store one day, she's able to smile. She might feel a twinge of excitement at first, a touch of pride that she had something to do with transforming a mild-mannered plot-bunny into such a polished book-about-town. They might even spend a nostalgic afternoon reminiscing about the good times, recalling the creation of funny phrases and plot twists that just fell into place. But both know it's time to move on. He has a date with a reader down the street and she's been seeing a cute plot that kept her up half the night last Wednesday whispering sweet prose in her ear. Ah, L`Amore.
Thank you Libba Bray for giving me a fresh perspective on an author's life. Now if you'll excuse me, I also have a date with this really hot story that has the most gorgeous phrases and cutest metaphors you've ever seen. *SIGH* We were made for each other. Really.
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