I'm in love with two authors (oh please I'm in love with a TON of authors but these are my two faves at this very moment). Labels: Books I Love
First up is Jill Monroe. Her HQ Blaze book Hitting the Mark is fabulous, one of the best Blazes I've read in a while. Talk about sexual tension - yum yum. And her blog is fun to visit too.
She had a contest a while back and I entered, and I won! So now I have two gift certificates waiting to be spent, one at B&N (pffft, gone in an instant) and one at iTunes (need to think on this one). Whoo hoo, can't wait!
But really, go out and buy Hitting the Mark. It's fab. Really.
Okay, and I'm also in love with Jami Alden. Her Kensington Aphrodisia book A Taste of Honey - oh my gosh! I sat on the couch this morning, ignored my children and read the second novella (it's an anthology about three sexy brothers) in one sitting! It was awesome. I'm still glowing, like it happened to me or something (that Nick is dead sexy).
Sigh...I can only hope to write good enough books that make a reader sit and read it in one sitting. Make her sigh when she finishes it and wish she was the heroine. Damn, that's good stuff.
Add these books to your TBB list if you like them contemporary, hot and sexy!
So...thanks to the convincing of Ms. Lillian Feisty (and she didn't have to convince me much at all, trust me), we're going to the RT Convention! Oh my gosh! There's so much I need to do to get ready for this thing! I still can't even believe I'm going! Labels: Writing
But it sounds like it's gonna be fun. And exhausting. Have you seen these parties? Have you heard of these costume balls? I'm freaking out just thinking about it!
In other news, I sold a short story to The Wild Rose Press! I don't have many details, but watch for A Taste of Revenge coming out soon!
Also, Passionate Ink's April workshop is coming up soon and it's gonna be a good one.
Theme and Scene
Date : April 16-22, 2007
Presented by : Alicia Rasley
Cost : $10 (PI Members) and $15 (Non-PI Members)
Theme is the glue that holds your story together. But it’s also an aid to developing meaningful scenes that connect with your story’s emotional arc. This workshop can help you enhance your story’s drama and
- determine your theme
- discover the motifs your subconscious snuck in there
- use parallelism and the “theme dialectic” to structure your scene progression
- use the motifs to develop important scenes
Theme is generally considered a complex issue, studied in all college lit courses, but in this workshop, you’ll discover its practical uses for improving the story you’ve started.
Go here for more information.
So I took my oldest son out shopping Saturday for his birthday. Actually his birthday is today but you know, he's in school in all...
Anywho, he wanted a digital camera. He's always hogging ours and driving us crazy so his grandmas gave him money and we gave him money - and he got a super cool camera.
It's so super cool now I want it! It's tiny, it's a Sony, and it's 7.1 megapixels. It takes the best pictures! He's really been into photography lately so he went outside all weekend and took tons of photos. They turned out great. Mom is green with jealousy - she wants that camera.
Cos he's nice we also went to Pottery Barn, where I could've bought out the entire store for my house. They had so much beautiful stuff! I love to shop, it's an addiction, I know it and I get caught up in the frenzy. My brain starts overloading as I think, "I want that, that, that, THAT!" It's ridiculous.
So tell me - you like shopping or no? Live for it, love it or find it a complete pain in the butt?
I received this cover in my inbox a few minutes ago. Doesn't it rock? The lovely Ann Cain did it - she's wonderful.
This book is a part of Samhain's Midsummer Night's Steam anthology, and Spontaneous will be released August 24th.
Here's the blurb:
Sophie Kincaid doesn’t want to be attracted to her boss but she is. Sick and tired of being used by men, she’s sworn off of them. But her hot and now slightly drunk boss just became too hard to resist.
His girlfriend dumped him and now Ian Grey is drowning his sorrows in alcohol, something he never does. Flirting with Sophie the sexy bartender inspires him to do even more things he’d never consider. Like have hot sex with her in the storage room.
They can’t deny their attraction for each other but Sophie’s afraid she doesn’t measure up. And what does Ian want from her anyway? She’ll have a naked good time figuring it out…
Thirteen Things Driving Me to Boycott American Idol
1. Sanjaya
2. Paula's drunken/weird behavior & and her jangling jewelry
3. Poor song choices (after six seasons I don't know why this still happens)
4. People being booted when they SHOULDN'T (don't get my started about last night)
5. Sanjaya
6. It's all fake - ALL OF IT
7. Ryan Seacrest and his teasing/drawing out of the results - aaah!
8. The blatant Coke promotion via the cups facing outwards at ALL TIMES
9. Sanjaya
10. Cheesy Ford commercials
11. When they all sing a la the Brady Bunch at the beginning - blech
12. Guest judges (oh just stop using them! Please!)
13. Sanjaya (Tell me why he's still there people!)
The kids and I went to my parents' house this past weekend (hubby is away on business) and we drove back yesterday. Man those trips are just too fast. I wish my parents lived closer so my kids could see them more. And the weather was wonderful but today it's cloudy and raining off and on. Weird!
I have nothing much to say. How boring am I? I've been reading The Secret which has been interesting. I don't necessarily believe everything it says but there's nothing wrong with a little positive thinking. It gives you a better outlook on life and helps you to believe in yourself better.
Of course according to The Secret, all you have to do is think about something (wanting it, etc.) and it'll happen. I don't believe that - you have to take ACTION in order to get what you want. You can't just sit around and wait for something to happen to you.
So yeah I've been on a positive thinking kick. And I should be on a "clean the house" kick but that doesn't sound like much fun...
Okay I've rambled on enough. Come back on Thursday for another Thursday Thirteen list. They're fun! You should do one too.
I'm over at the Word Flirts today! Come check me out...
Thirteen Things I'm Lucky to Have in My Life
1. My husband
2. Oldest
3. Middle
4. Youngest (Ok, my 3 kids, I didn't want to lump them all together!)
5. My family
6. My friends (without them I'd go crazy)
7. My writing (without it I WOULD be crazy)
8. My health (though I really need to lose weight, really)
9. My house in the country (it's peaceful, for the most part)
10. Diet Coke (I'm addicted - glad it's there to fulfill my needs)
11. My eyesight (so I can read - and write - though does that fall under health?)
12. My car (I love my VW Passat!)
13. Chocolate (Enough said)
So I'm taking this workshop on voice at Access Romance, which the wonderful Sasha White is instructing. I'm totally stealing this from her week three topic which is about trusting your characters.
Whether you're a plotter or a pantster, have you ever been writing furiously and your characters do something totally unexpected? Something that made you sit back and go, "Whoa, where did that come from?" Have you just went with it, allowing them in a sense to take you where they want to go (trusting them) or have you deleted it, feeling like it's the wrong direction?
I've done both. I'm a total pantster - I don't plot much because I feel it stifles my creativity. Now, if I'm mid-point in a story and not sure which way to go next I will sit down with a notebook and pen (that's what works best for me) and write it out. Wait a minute I'm going off topic...
Anywho, I've had characters do or say something totally unexpected and I'm off. Off in another direction that's so exciting I can barely stand it. The story ended up being completely different than what I "sorta" planned but that's okay. It works. I listened to my characters, trusted them and let them show me what they wanted.
I've also had my characters get it wrong - at least to me. I've listened to them, went off in their preferred direction and realized halfway through I'm writing complete crap. As painful as we all know it is, I hit the delete button, got rid of the drivel they told me was perfect and started fresh.
Sometimes there's trusting your characters and then there's letting your characters run all over you.
I've also not listened to my characters, wrote what I wanted to write and realized that it was total crap too. Should've listened to them, I guess.
I sound like an out of control psycho who lets the "voices in her head" tell her how to write and I guess that's kinda true. But I have a feeling my fellow writers will understand.
Oh, man, I hope so.
This picture has nothing to do with any of this, I just thought it was funny.
So we had Daylight Savings Time start here on the worst possible day. My husband had to fly out for business, and had to leave the house at 4:15 in the morning. Which technically since the time changed is really 3:15. Arggggghhhh....
Luckily enough I didn't have to drive him all the way to the airport, which would've entailed dragging the children out of bed, etc. Not fun. I only had to drive him to the top of our road where he was picked up by a coworker who drove him to the airport.
Of course, I came home and was wide awake. So I read until six and finally fell asleep until the kids woke me up at eight. Which technically was really seven but you know what I mean.
Don't you hate it when the time changes? I wish I lived in Arizona - they don't do that crap. Oh wait, neither does Hawaii - I wished I lived in Hawaii. A few years ago I was there when Daylight Savings Time ended but it didn't matter. How cool is that?
Sigh - yet another reason to add to my long list as to why I should live in Hawaii.
If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
Ok, I've decided I need to blog more and I need to set up some sort of schedule. Last night I brainstormed it and came up with these ideas:
~ Madness Monday: Recapping crazy events of the past week whether it be something personal or professional (most likely personal 'cos my children are always doing something crazy). I'll try to make it funny, I swear.
~ Writing Wednesday: Writing related topic. Maybe a good article I read or even something I came up with myself. Whatever, it's all about writing.
~ Author Friendly Friday: I'm going to talk about a book I read by someone I know or by someone I want to know 'cos they're just so damn cool.
I'm also going to try (emphasis on try) to blog on my myspace page on Tuesday and Thursday. Hey have you been to my myspace page? Are you my friend? Well what are you waiting for you haven't? Come check me out here.
Edited to add ~ I'm going to do the Thursday Thirteen meme. I don't know if I'm interesting enough to list 13 facts about me week after week but I'm gonna give it a go.
So...I'm working on a novella that is more sensual than anything (though it's still pretty hot - heh heh heh). A little more descriptive, mysterious setting, recluse hero. Yeah, it's totally different than anything I've ever written.
No funny bits whatsoever. I've written a few that are going to be published that aren't funny (Spontaneous at Samhain, Covet at Amber Quill) but this one is my darkest yet. The hero is tormented, the heroine is a spoiled brat. He'll make her appreciate the small things in life and she'll bring him out of his self-imposed prison.
Wow, sounds pretty intense huh? Now I just gotta finish the thing! I gave up on it a few weeks ago, worked on a revision and some other stuff but last night I started to have at it again. We'll see how it works out.
I'm wondering if any of you are stretching your wings and trying something new this year? I feel doing this pushes me as a writer, which is a good thing.
Are you feeling lucky?
In celebration of my book So Lucky, coming out March 16th at Cobblestone Press, I'm giving away a beautiful pendant - a genuine four leaf clover frozen in white acrylic polyresin along with a silver chain.
Just send an email to karen @ karenwritesromance.com (minus the spaces) with "Feeling Lucky" in the subject line and you're entered!
But hurry - I'm closing the contest on Saturday, March 10th, so I can get the necklace in the mail in time for Saint Patrick's Day!
