Last Christmas all of the Kensington editors received Kindles so that we can read submissions without printing them off and wasting paper. (Hurray for green holidays!) I love my Kindle and I love not lugging stacks of manuscripts home to read, but I have to confess that when I’m reading for pleasure, I still prefer a book that’s printed on paper, a “pbook.” When I’m reading an ebook, I miss seeing the whole page at one time; I have a different sense of the story’s pacing; I don’t have a clear idea of how long the books is and I can’t read as quickly.

How about you? Are you one of the majority of e-consumers who uses a computer screen? Do you read romance on your iphone? Or are you stuck with me in the Twentieth Century and the printed page?

Lots of people tell me they love their e-reader, but prefer to actually shop in a bookstore, where they can browse through the pbooks on the shelves. As the major book retailers rush to compete with Amazon, I hope they won’t lose sight of their bricks-and-mortar business. Bookstores have traditionally been places where communities of readers come together, where a striking cover can attract a brand-new fan, where the surprise of discovery and serendipity add special pleasure to the reading experience and a bookseller’s recommendation can broaden horizons.

What are the special features of your favorite bookstore that make you a regular customer? What kinds of events or promotions would be a powerful draw for you? In this era of diminishing retail outlets, the reader/writer community needs to support the booksellers who make our favorite entertainment available!

Oh, anthologies…I LOVE anthologies. (And I am not just saying this because I have a paranormal romance anthology that will be re-releasing in mass market book form within 2 weeks. No, truly, the release of BELONG TO THE NIGHT is extra anthology fun!)

I love to write and read anthologies for a variety of reasons. I thought I’d share a few of those reasons with you today–and then you can give me your thoughts on the anthologies.

So, here we go…

1. I love to read anthologies because they give me the perfect chance to try new authors. The stories are generally about 100 pages, so I can get a great “taste” of a writer’s style.

2. I love to read anthologies because they are often centered around a central theme. Like all paranormal heroes (BELONG TO THE NIGHT alert!), or a holiday. I can’t help it–I’m a theme fan.

3. I love to write anthologies because writing a manuscript of 400+ pages, a novella gives me the chance to practice tight and fast pacing. With a novella, you have to get your story told, quickly, but you still have to balance your characters and show the emotional journey to your reader. A challenge, but a fun one.

4. I love anthologies because they often give me the chance to explore other characters that I have created in my books. Secondary characters can get developed, and they can get their happy endings.

5. I love anthologies because I can experiment when I write them. In EVERLASTING BAD BOYS, I was able to write about a hero who was, for all intents and purposes, the Boogeyman. Writing the story was pure fun for me.

Oh, I do love anthologies.

What about you? Love ‘em? Like ‘em? Hate ‘em? Why or why not?

Cynthia Eden
www.cynthiaeden.com
I’LL BE SLAYING YOU–Available now from Kensington Brava
DEADLY FEAR–Available now from Grand Central Publishing (Forever)

As an author, one of my favorite things in the world is coming up with ideas for new stories.  I never know when they’ll hit me or where the inspiration might come from.  Sometimes it’s a song on the radio or something I see on TV.  Sometimes they just come out of the blue.  Whatever the case, I don’t question it, I just go with them & try to do them justice.

But when it comes to my October Brava release, THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, I can’t take full credit for the ideas on the pages.  Instead, I must thank two very special people who are—sadly—no longer with us.

First is the late, great Kate Duffy, original Senior Editor of the Brava line.  You can imagine my delight when I discovered she was interested in my work, but since I didn’t have anything particularly suited for Brava, we had a couple of brainstorming conversations over the phone where we (or more to the point, I) tried to come up with an idea she liked & could get excited about.  Then one day, she said, “You know, I’d really like a Christmas vampire book.  Think you could come up with something like that?”  I remember that it was a Friday & that my response was something along the lines of, “Um…let me think about it.”

Now, I love vampires.  I had even written a sexy, funny vampire story way back when that had actually finaled in the Golden Heart competition three years in a row. (Yeah, it was that good, thankyouverymuch. )  Unfortunately, my timing—much like vampires themselves—sucked.  At that particular moment in publishing, paranormal was the kiss of death.  I couldn’t give that book away, even though just a few years later, paranormal started to become all the rage.  Of course, by then, I had sold other books & was busy fulfilling other contracts, so again—my luck & timing sucketh.  And even after Kate asked me to consider doing something with vampires, I couldn’t send her that book because A.) it didn’t have a whiff of Christmas anywhere in it, & B.) it would have needed some major overhauling.  (It’s true that I harbor dreams of selling it one day, but the overhauling would still be required. )

Which brings me to the second person to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS’s concept.  My best friend, Joanne Emrick, who also very sadly has passed away.  Joanne was a writer, too, with dreams of selling to Harlequin Presents.  But no matter what the idea or who it was targeted toward, she was the best plotting partner ever.  As soon as I got off the phone with Kate, I called Joanne & filled her in.  She suggested we get together the next day (Saturday) at our usual haunt to see what we could come up with.  So we did.  We were there when the restaurant opened & closed the place down, spending all day eating, drinking, & being very merry while we tried to come up with a Christmas vampire idea that would knock Kate’s socks off.  I don’t mind telling you that there were some very rough starts & stops.  And some of the ideas we came up with had us laughing out loud at how truly hideous they were.  But by the end of the night, I was ecstatic—& charged to get home & start putting together my proposal.

I worked on it all the next day (Sunday), & by Monday morning thought it was ready for public consumption.  First with my agent, who thankfully declared it “delightful.”  Then with Kate, who was probably more than a little surprised to hear from me again so soon.   But she loved it, thank goodness, & that is how THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS was born.

From there, things got a little bumpy, & circumstances on both ends kept my Christmas vampires from seeing the light of day (which they aren’t particularly fond of, anyway) for a while longer.  They’re here now, though, & I’m delighted to finally get the chance to share them with the world.

My only regret is that Kate & Joanne are no longer here to enjoy this moment with me.  But I’m sure they’re looking down from Heaven, grinning from ear to ear at the book they helped bring into existence.

I’m fully aware that summer lasts another month, but I’m still stuck on the September=school schedule. Actually, for the last few years, late August=school. For the first time in more years that I’ll own up to, I’m not going “back to school.” I left my high school library job last spring when I had some senior girls ask if they could bring in their copies of my Brava debut Mistress by Mistake for me to autograph. That made me a bit nervous—what if they read “the good parts” aloud in the lunchroom? I had enough years in the system to qualify for a monthly pittance, so I bowed out gracefully before my superintendent had to field calls from concerned parents about the crazy library lady.

My early retirement threw my writing schedule all out of whack. No longer did I have to get up at 4 AM to get a thousand words in before I left for work. I could eat lunch without plotting in my little notebook in the grubby teachers’ lounge. I could do copy edits in my bathing suit on my deck. I could have a life.

All this free time is taking some getting used to. I’d like to say it’s made me more productive, but I would be fibbing. *g* I think (relatively) better early in the morning, so I’m not sleeping in. I still catch the sun rise over the lake most mornings, even if I take my time getting dressed and getting my characters undressed.

What’s your morning routine?  What do you most look forward to when you ditch your day job? I’ll send beautiful coverflats of my upcoming books, the December anthology Lords of Passion and  January’s Mistress by Midnight to today’s commenters. Just e-mail me at maggie@maggierobinson.net with your mailing address, and check out the books page on my website for a sneak peak at my novella Not Quite a Courtesan!

I’m not really sharing anything new with you. If you’re a reader of Brava romances you already know this even if you don’t realize it…but for others who haven’t tried us out, I thought I’d share the truth about what separates Brava romances from the rest….

Nope — it’s not the sex.  To be honest, that was my first answer when I was asked to write a trilogy of historical romances for the Brava imprint by (the late and great) Kate Duffy. When she called me to talk about my trilogy, I explained that I didn’t think I could write erotic romance.

Well, if you knew Kate, you know it didn’t take her long to disabuse me of my mistaken perception and explain the REAL difference between Brava and other (historicals, in my case) romances.  And it’s helped me craft stronger stories….because….as Kate asked,

“If sex is a given, what else is going to make the story emotionally compelling and strong? If the questions of ‘will they’ or ‘won’t they’ or ‘when will they’ are taken away, what will hold the story and the conflict together?”

That gave me lots to think about — and Kate was right (I know, I know!) — once the conflict doesn’t hinge on whether or not the hero and heroine will make love, all bets are off! The challenge is to create characters with incredibly strong conflicts – lots of really good reasons why they can’t be together, of why they should not and could not fall in love. Well, when I need to work on getting a really strong conflict as the heart of my stories I refer back to notes from two writing workshops I’ve taken to help me crystalize mine…one by Madeline Hunter and another by Delia Parr. Conflict is easy, these two wonderful, talented writers say, if you just do this…

Madeline says to give the heroine a goal, an unmutable goal, and then make the hero’s goal to not allow the heroine to accomplish hers. In other words – the heroine needs to do or get something and the hero must (MUST) stop her from doing or getting it. And neither the heroine’s need or the hero’s can be flimsy or easily-resolvable. Hmmmm….interesting idea of how to create conflict.

Delia suggested giving the hero the worst possible woman as the heroine. –someone completely the opposite of what he wants (or thinks he does!). I used this in an earlier book when I gave the handsome, tempting, womanizing hero who loved women and sex a heroine who was (disguised as) a nun! Just think of the possibilities?!

So as I was planning out my STORM trilogy for Brava, I decided to use a bit of both of those strategies — my heroes have been gifted and cursed by the Sith/Fae and the only person who can lift the curse and control the gift is a woman who is his enemy or whom he has betrayed! Oh, baby, baby, just think of the conflict!  The heroes’ very lives depend on their forging a relationship with people who would rather see them dead…or worse.

In A STORM OF PASSION, the heroine is hunting down the hero who she believes to be responsible for the massacre of her entire family…and he was!

In A STORM OF PLEASURE (being released next month) the heroine needs the hero to use his ability to hear the truth to save her brother from execution…and his words instead condemn him.

And, in MISTRESS OF THE STORM (coming in July 2011), the heroine needs to convince the hero to cooperate in order to save her younger sister…and he ends up betrothed to the younger sister.

None of those stories take or will take the easy way out — these are men and women who should not be together, who are enemies in many respects, people who can barely believe or trust the other and yet they do fall in love and they do get their happily-ever-after…because this is romance after all. But there are times in each of these stories when readers will have a moment or two of fear that maybe, maybe they won’t or can’t be together?

Well then, Bravas are about conflict and emotion and tension and great stories and characters. . . But don’t forget about the other part of Kate’s description — ‘if sex is a given’. So, yes, there is a heightened level of both physical and sexual tension in Brava romances! There will be love scenes, they may be often and they may be ‘strident’ as Kate told me, but they will be critical to both enhancing the story and deepening the conflict… Oh, yes, these books are sexy!

So, dear readers, if you’re looking for stories with great characters, strong conflicts and sexy scenes, Brava romances are right for you! I hope you’ll give us a try…and in a bit of shameless self-promotion, I will even suggest mine to you – A STORM OF PLEASURE hits the shelves and online in just about a month!

Hello Everyone..I’m a little late but here!

Since my ‘Bedding the Enemy’ is set in Scotland, I thought I’d blog about this today. I think it isn’t so much what they wear as who they are. Those Celts are tough people, Scotland itself isn’t the easiest place to survive. The soil is thin in many places and it rains…a lot! But these northern lands have been home to people that flourish where I fear I might raise my white flag of surrender.
The kilt itself is a garment that comes from practicality. First of all, it’s wool. For centuries, this was one of the only textile fibers being produced in the area. It is the easiest one to cultivate because sheep can graze freely. Wool maintains ninety percent of its insulting factor when wet when cotton keeps only ten. Something very important if you are talking about surviving in a time when there is no central heating. The kilt was a length of wool, which might be sheered off a sheep, carded by hand and spun into yarn which could be woven by even the most rural family.
But that’s not what draws me to the Highlands for my stories. I do love reading the historical facts because it puts me in touch with the time period. I think that’s vital to a good historical novel. As a reader, I want to have enough detail to believe I’m there and as an author, I try to make sure that happens. There’s a delicate balance to maintain it but Highlanders are worth the effort.
They were hardened by the land they lived on but had a great sense of humor too. These men held themselves to noble ideals and that is what brings to my mind as my heroes. The kilt, that so many poke fun at is actually another detail of their ability to preserver. Textiles were hard to produce, meaning you had one garment and they belted it during the day and unpleated it at night to use for bedding. Rather ingenious of them in my opinion.
Beyond that…the clans of Scotland draw the imagination because of the unity they are heralded to have had. I think that’s part of every humans desire to be part of something. There are certainly times that you long for privacy but for the most part, we all value knowing that we are missed. When I’m writing my story, my hero has to care about more than just himself. His dedication is what proves he’s noble. Drop by my website for excerpts!

Mary Wine….MaryWine.com….romance that’s intoxicating.

I had to blog about the absolutely fabulous new cover for my February 2011 Brava release, RESTLESS HEART. Isn’t it simply gorgeous?

I just got cover flats (thanks Megan & Alicia!) and it’s even prettier in person.

The cover is perfect for the story, too. This is the sequel to RUTHLESS HEART, my first Brava release as Emma Lang. It’s Angeline’s story, the sister to the heroine Eliza from the first book. Angeline must find her own way in the world, and after a cruel start, it won’t be easy.

The hero is Samuel Carver, a man who has also seen his fair share of the evil men can do. I think if I had an image that captured Sam, this cover would be perfect. He’s sexy, hard but the kind of man you want to pull into your arms… and from there, of course, it’s entirely up to you.

Look for excerpts of RESTLESS HEART in my monthly newsletter over the next few months. I am excited to see the cover and the release date drawing near. Yeehaw!

Summer Fridays mean half the office is out today, and I’m in jeans, a t-shirt,  and no makeup. Luckily, I tend to get a lot more done on these days—no one here to interrupt me! My starter question for today is:

What was the last book you read for fun?

I am very fortunate. I mostly read romance, so technically, any reading I do for pleasure also counts as “industry research.” The last book I read was Lisa Kleypas’s Love in the Afternoon (I read Married By Morning and this one back to back). Lisa has been on my auto-buy list for years. Beatrix has been one of my favorite characters in the Hathaways series, and I was really glad to see she finally got her perfect hero. This book is my pick for “best in series.”

Your turn! Ask away!

Shelly Laurenston, Cynthia Eden and I are in an anthology together. First…yay! Second, that anthology, Belong to the Night, will be released in mass market paperback in September, just in time to get you in the mood for some October/Halloween fun.

The Wolf, The Witch, And Her Lack Of Wardrobe by Shelly Laurenston

Jamie Meacham has enough trouble controlling her supernatural abilities. There’s no time for lust, or for Tully Smith, even with his smoldering amber eyes. But Tully’s grappling with his own animal instincts as a powerful shifter-wolf, trying to protect all his territory…

In The Dark by Cynthia Eden

FBI agent and leopard shifter Sadie James’ undead ex, Liam, still arouses her deepest desires. By teaming up with Liam, Sadie has a better chance of tracking the brutal rogue shifter who is terrorizing Miami, but as passion consumes them, she stands to lose more than just her heart.

City Of The Dead by Sherrill Quinn

Dori Falcon is a witch with a plan: get to New Orleans, locate her missing brother, and recover a mysterious and powerful amulet. Her plan never included falling for sexy Cajun cop Jake Boudreau; but without his help, she may never find the key to her family’s survival.

Want a chance to win a copy? Leave a comment here and let me know what kind of paranormal hero you like best and why! I’ll draw a name from all the participants and announce the winner this weekend!

EDIT 8/16/10:  The winner of a copy of Belong to the Night is CrystalGB!  Crystal, please email me at sherrillquinn@gmail.com with your contact info, and I’ll get the book sent out ASAP!  

How often have you heard that phrase? For example: if you need to confront something you find difficult or challenging; you’re upset and want to react in a way that might be inappropriate; you have a thousand thoughts whirling in your head. I know you can think of loads of other situations where a deep breath is a really good idea. But tell me, do you ever actually stop and take that breath? Let me tell you why you should, and I’ll add a second part to that deep breath. Read on!

Each week, I start off with a “do list” of the tasks I need or want to accomplish. This past Sunday, I did exactly that, knowing I faced an incredibly busy but manageable week. Then I returned home from a few days away to find a FedEx final notice. Monday morning I picked up the package and, guess what? In my already busy week, I needed to find two days to do copy-edits on my February Brava, His, Unexpectedly (don’t you love the cover?).

Okay, what to do? Panic? Yup, that was my first instinct. Instead, I decided I would spend the rest of Monday trying to tidy up as many of the assorted tasks as I possibly could, to pretty much clear Tuesday and Wednesday for the copy-edits. Task #1 was preparing this blog.

I’ve been poking my way through a fun little book called A Writer’s Space: Make Room to Dream, to Work, to Write by Eric Maisel, and had thought it might be fun to base a blog on one of his short chapters. So I opened the book where I’d left off and found a chapter on “Quick Centering.” Guess what it’s all about? Taking a deep breath, and marrying it with a thought.

Breathe in deeply for 5 seconds, and as you do, carry the first half of a thought. Then breathe out for 5 seconds and finish the thought. For example:

• [I trust] [my resources]

• [I am equal] [to this challenge]

In one 10-second break, you take time to center and focus yourself. Could that have been any more appropriate to my situation?

So, not only did I calm my panic, I learned a useful tool, and in the process I also wrote this blog so, as soon as I upload it to post on Wednesday, I can cross one thing off my list.

Try this out yourself and let me know what you think. If you have other useful techniques for settling and focusing yourself, please share them. And wish me luck with those copy-edits!

Susan Fox