Daughters of Circe

2012-01-26T18:11:00.001Z

Wrongful Punishment

Blurb

The hardest thing Dwin ever had to do, was turn his beloved into a Genie, but rules were rules and he never broke Djinn law. No matter how much it broke his heart.

Jenelle knew betrayal intimately, and vowed to never forgive Dwin for his short sighted views. Too bad for her Dwin has other ideas.

To Buy
Wrongful Punishment

Excerpt

“Damnit woman! You can’t do things like that.”

Jenelle’s refusal to look at him, annoyed him and tread on his patience. The woman had been nothing but trouble since her punishment three years earlier. Watching how she reverently run her fingers over the marbled bust of the oldest and most powerful of Djinns angered him and set his body on fire with jealousy. The great Djinn didn’t deserve her reverence…he did!

“Says who? You turned me into a genie Dwin, not some leach’s personal sex toy. I grant wishes, not sexual favors and especially not against an innocent woman’s explicit wishes, that would be rape and I’ll have nothing to do with that. He got what he deserved and I’d do it again!” she replied heatedly, anger and disgust barely contained in her voice. Her power fluctuating, despite the fact that she was collared against practicing all magic’s until her Master ordered it.

Dwin wiped his hands over his face and took a deep breath. He needed her to understand, or he’d lose her forever. “Most Genies enjoy pleasing their masters. They thrive on it.” If he couldn’t get her to understand, they’d take her away.

New Release

2012-01-26T14:26:00.002Z

In From the Cold, the third story in the Tiara Islands Inn series, releases today from Red Rose Publishing

This story goes back to the original characters from Jewel of the Highlands, Julie and Noah. Julie is trying to provide a romantic weekend package for her guests for Valentines Day, but as usual, things don't go the way she planned.

I have never gone on any kind of romantic get away for Valentines Day and now, it's my Daughter's birthday so that takes precedence. If I had to pick a place I'd go, I think I'd choose somewhere warm. I'm not a big beach person, but somewhere we could hike, maybe camp and see lots of stars...that would be perfect. It's all about spending time together, right?

What about you? Anyone have any wishes or plans for this years romantic holiday?

New Sci Fi Erotic Romance from Bianca D'Arc

2011-11-16T06:00:00.000Z

It's been a while since I checked in here. I'm not really sure what's going on with this blog right now, but I finally noticed it was my turn to blog, so here I am! :)I've been busy, working on new projects and celebrating a couple of new and upcoming releases. Finally! I know it's been a while since there's been new material from me. I'm glad to finally end the long dry spell.

Just lately, I've had a couple of romances in futuristic space-faring settings. First, a new novel that starts a brand new trilogy from Samhain Publishing, called HIDDEN TALENT. It released in ebook on October 25th and will be in print sometime next year. The second book in the series is titled TALENT FOR TROUBLE and the third will be called SHY TALENT. I anticipate those being released next year, but don't have exact dates yet.

HIDDEN TALENT is based on the premise that in the future, humans have developed and utilized certain kinds of psychic Talents. In some parts of the galaxy, gifted people share their strengths on a Council of those with Talent who rule over a group of planets. In other parts, people with Talent are hunted for their power. Jeri, the heroine of this story is on the run from one such place and she crosses paths with a StarLord, Micah, who is on a covert mission for the Council. He recognizes her abilities and takes her with him aboard his starship.

What happens then is an education for the shy woman who grew up very repressed by Council standards. Aboard the good ship Circe, pleasure is shared freely in pairs or multiples as a way to enhance and recharge Talent. Micah teaches her all about her abilities and how to harness them. He never bargained on falling in love with her, but there it is. They race to help an agricultural world under attack and together, they learn that they are more powerful than either one is alone.

KING OF SWORDS will be rereleased shortly in ebook formats. It is the first story in the Arcana series of novellas that ties into my Jit'suku Chronicles. Other books in the series include the Sons of Amber: Ezekiel & Michael. This story had been previously released as part of an anthology called FORTUNE'S FOOL, a couple of years ago from Phaze. That anthology is out of print now, so I'm reissuing this story in preparation for releasing the other stories in the series.

KING OF SWORDS is set in the Jit'suku universe, a few hundred years before the Sons of Amber stories. I anticipate having a number of related books set in this world, creating a generational saga that follows the consequences of human tinkering with soldiers' DNA, making them Enhanced, better than they were before and more dangerous to both races.

This particular story introduces a little bar on a space station called The Rabbit Hole, where information is passed back and forth to a network of spies working for the good of humanity. When aliens attack and try to subdue the station, it's up to a couple of retired soldiers turned spies and a clairvoyant civilian woman to repell the invaders. She teams up with one Enhanced soldier in particular. Together can they retake the station and find a love that will last for all time?

The second Arcana story is called KING OF CUPS and will be out in December. It follows the proprietor of The Rabbit Hole and his clairvoyant card dealer on an adventure into Jit'suku space. Few who have gone there have ever returned. They find themselves on an adventure of epic proportions simply by tryinig to help someone out of a jam. Trapped aboard an alien spaceship, they can no longer deny the attraction that has raged between them for months. Can they overcome their differences and find a solution to an intergalactic problem at the same time?

That takes me to the end of the year, but I have a lot more planned for 2012, so stay tuned! :)

2011-07-07T17:39:00.000+01:00

Going Indie – starting an e-publishing company

I’m Tambra Kendall, owner of Daughters of Avalon Publishing. Some of you may be considering self-publishing and for others it is merely curiosity. Technology has now made it possible for a writer to produce a quality product. Back in 1990 when I first dipped my toes into the waters of self-publishing this was not the case.

Self-publishing doesn’t mean slapping a cover together for a manuscript that hasn’t been polished within an inch of its life. As with all areas of business, the crap will sink to the bottom and the good will rise to the top. Hire an editor, a writing friend you trust or a beta reader – someone who reads your story as a reader, but can tell you where things don’t work. Readers don’t forget the name of the author who disappointed them.

Why self-publishing?

I’ve been previously published in small press and three electronic publishers but have had to wait a year for royalties, endure cover art with my name spelled wrong which I had to fight with them to change, and been cheated out of royalties as an author and editor. Tired of the unprofessionalism and unethical mores, I’ve returned as an independent publisher. I went into self-publishing with the idea that I was going to make my company the best I could, and that meant as professional as possible. My mission: to provide quality books in ebook and print formats.

Keeping more of the profit from your work is one of the main reasons to self-publish: you know you’re not going to cheat yourself from the money you earn. Also, if you are with a traditional, small press or an e-publisher you don’t know the information you’re being given is accurate because the publisher is the only one allowed the statistics. By becoming a publisher, you’ll have an accurate count of how many books you’re selling and what genre is popular with readers. In the future if you have plans to submit to a literary agent or publisher, you’ll have good solid data to back you up.

Why e-publishing?

The popularity of e-books continues to soar and not just in the U.S. XinXii is an e-book marketplace based in Germany, offering a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction. Australia is another country that is quickly discovering e-books and self-publishing. The price of e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle is dropping, giving people easier access to electronic books.

Setting up your business

If you’ve decided to come over to the self-publishing side, take the time to work out a business plan, starting with the name of your company. The company name is something I didn’t just pick off the top of my head. It was carefully chosen to highlight what I do. It’s vitally important. A name immediately evokes a feeling and visual to readers and anyone else connected to you. Most of my romances are Celtic mythology inspired; Daughters of Avalon is a name that is female empowering and magical.

To brand your business you need a logo that grabs the attention of people. My company has a professional logo, business cards and stationery created by a graphic artist, Kath Urbahn, who will create my book covers as well.
The website for Daughters of Avalon is easy to navigate and provides all the information a reader needs for purchasing my books – as shown by the positive comments I’ve received about the site. You don’t want to frustrate your potential customers; make things as easy for them as possible.

I purchased a DBA (Doing Business As) and a sales and use tax permit. Belonging to professional organizations such as Romance Writers of America and SPAN-Small Publishers Association of North America are ways that show I am serious about my career and my business. If you are considering self-publishing, it’s a good idea to have a separate business account for the monies you receive. This will make things easier when tax time comes around and to tell at a glance where you are financially.
The importance of book covers

If you can’t create a quality book cover, invest in a graphic artist who knows what they are doing. The cover is the first thing a potential reader sees; a bad cover will hurt your sales, especially in electronic publishing. If you have an unprofessional cover, the first thing people will think is that the work is just as terrible. A good first impression counts. You need a cover that makes a reader want to investigate the story further. Take pride in the product you are selling – if you don’t care, why should the reader?

And remember, the cover must also work well in thumbnail format as this is likely to be the first view potential customers have of your book.
The bottom line

By self-publishing, you must be author, editor, marketing staff and publisher. What do you get in return for all of this work? Higher profits, hopefully. In some cases, 70% of the profit goes to you, the author/publisher. This is a huge boon for a writer! The going percentage rate for an e-published author ranges from 30-45% of the net price of the book. For third party sites, you receive about half of the amount of your percentage; many times, it is less than that.
Self-publishing vs conventional publishing

Now more than ever an author has the tools and the opportunity to take an active role in their career. Self-publishing isn’t for everyone, but for some of us it provides a niche to showcase our dreams exactly how we envision them. Also note, just because you choose to self-publish doesn’t mean you have to shy away from traditional publishing. My goal is to do both. JA Konrath, Amada Hocking and John Locke are three authors who have made it big in self-publishing. John Locke has made it into the million dollar club at Amazon.com for his e-book sales – he explains how he did it in How I Sold One Million Ebooks in Five Months.

Traditional publishing and self-publishing each have their strengths and drawbacks. In today’s world, you have more opportunities than ever to reach readers and boldly forge ahead with a career pathway paved with hard work and planning.

I wish all of you the best in your writing journey.

Tambra Kendall
Daughters of Avalon Publishing
www.daughtersofavalonpublishing.com

Daughters of Avalon Publishing

2011-05-05T21:36:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone,

I have some exciting news to share. I've started a company, Daughters of Avalon Publishing. The company has an official muse, Sparky Urban, my terror-ier. He has a Facebook page and at our website there is a link to Cafe Press where you can find Sparky Urban merchandise and items for writers.
I'm on Facebook as well, and if you haven't friended me come on over, its under Tambra Kendall. There should be a FB page for Daughters of Avalon Publishing. FB is a bit tricky for me when it comes to doing the business pages. Anyway, lots to learn!

This a wonderful time to be an author and have the technology to really publish our work through places like Amazon, Smashwords and CreateSpace.

When you submit your story to Smashwords, it isn't intantaneous. The formatting must be a certain way it must go through the vetter aka the meatgrinder. This process can take a couple of days with so many people doing this the wait in the queue the reason. To me, it's all worth it.

Self publishing isn't for everyone but for some of us it is something that works. This is my second turn at self publishing. The first time was in 1990 when things were expensive and the options smaller, including using the internet.

As I type this, I have a story going through the Smashwords Vetter. Then, it will be on to Amazon and finally Smashwords for print.

I hope you'll celebrate with me as I take control of my writing career.

The website is: www.daughtersofavalonpublishing,com
email is: daughtersofavalon@att.net

Until next time!
Tambra Kendall
Daughters of Avalon Publishing

The Winter Blues

2011-02-24T13:48:00.002Z

Okay, so we're coming up to the part of the year that is most depressing. The snow doesn't look pretty anymore, definitely not a winter wonderland, and spring is still far enough away that you aren't quite prepared to trade in the winter coat for a lighter one. Everything looks grungy, there's little bits of trash that have been hidden by snow showing up, and it's not even really possible to do things like hiking because everything is icy.

Blech!

I wish I could tell you I had a fabulous way to overcome the lack of good spirits this time of year inspires. I don't. I just want to curl up in bed and read trashy fan fiction with a cup of minty hot chocolate. Maybe it's not so surprising that the stories I've been working on the last few weeks have been rather dark. Child prostitution, murder, revenge -- I've found myself delving into some really depressing topics.

So, maybe the best way to deal with the pre-spring blahs, is to embrace them. Use the time to write those scenes that are dreary and morbid, the kinds of things it's hard to write when the sun is shining and the world looks so damn cheery you half expect flowers to sprout up out of nowhere.

I've struggled all winter to finish a story I started while camping last summer. It took me until today to realize I was struggling so hard with it because my mind wasn't happy writing beach scenes when my fingers were numb with cold and I was bundled under extra blankets. (curse you furnace!!!! Why couldn't you have lasted just a few more weeks?) So, until the weather perks up again, I'll be writing a story set in the cold of space, where the hero is a victim, a prostitute, and soon, a conspirator to mass murder....kinda makes him seem unlikable, but that's the point of the story. Just like this dreary time of year, life in this future, especially in space, isn't sunshine and roses.

Hopefully, in a few weeks, the spring flowers will start poking through the ground, and I can move on to something less depressing. I'm sure everyone else is looking forward to spring as well.

Location, Location, Location!

2010-09-30T14:36:00.002+01:00

Honestly, I got nothing interesting to say. Why? Because I don't do anything interesting with my days, I don't go anywhere more exciting than to Tim Hortons (hmmmmm Timmy's)

I've come to the conclusion that whoever said writers lead isolated lives, was full of horse crap. I admit, it's not the most social occupation, but any writer who lives like a hermit must be either brilliant or insane. The imagination is like any other part of your body, it needs fuel to make it run. Staring out the window at your neighbors old broken down car...not so inspiring.

I used to think my dream was to live in an isolated cabin in the woods with my faithful dog Kenobi, and write novels all day....That was my big plan all through high school. I got the dog, (though he's no so much faithful as...brainless) but I quickly realized I was afraid of bears, the dark and being alone...so my plan had a few flaws. Looking back, I don't think I would have had much luck even if I didn't have all these phobias.

Getting inspiration for an idea can come from almost anywhere, driving past an oddly worded sign, watching your kids at karate class, going for a hike or canoe ride, a trip to the mall or driving past a house and thinking, Oh my f-ing God! That house would be amazing for a character who... But you have to get out and see, do and hear things. Hiding in the house, being a hermit isn't going to do you much good, and sadly, neither will going to your day job. Sure you can write a few stories about an ad executive or a receptionist but eventually, your work place and home town is going to feel as boring in your writing as it feels to you after living there for a while.

You want your readers to experience new things through your writing...but in a lot of cases, that's going to come through so much clearer if you've experienced it or seen it yourself. Try writing about camping without ever having gone...it's not easy. Hell, packing for a camping trip isn't easy if you don't have experience. (you always forget something, usually a lighter and a can opener)

And now I'm rambling LOL. I'd love to be able to go to exotic locations and write awesome stories set there, but sadly, money is always an issue, so I doubt I'll be writing anything set in the Australian Outback or Fiji anytime soon. (so depressed about this, BTW) but there can be some great stories inspired by a trip to the zoo (ever noticed the zoo workers have great legs, sort of like UPS drivers?) or a visit to a pumpkin patch (usually they have hay mazes and stuff too that can inspire creepy halloween stories)

I don't know if I had a point. Too much tea (and a cafe mocha from Timmy's) has made my brain jittery. I guess, the point is, to be open minded about what's close at hand. A story set in Bermuda would be nice, especially right now since it's so freaking cold out, but you can make a fabulous plot out of a less exotic location. That being said, I am not going with my husband to the dump to unload old shingles. I'm pretty sure my imagination wouldn't find much of interest there...

Anyone got any stories to share of how a simple trip inspired a plot idea or character?

Getting Serious for September

2010-08-26T13:49:00.003+01:00

For any of us with kids, summer probably wasn't very productive, writing wise. Hopefully those trips to the beach, Disney Land, Wonderland, the Grand Canyon or Gramma's provided some sort of inspiration for a new story. Even if you don't have kids, chances are you let your word count goals slip more than a few times because the weather was great and you couldn't stand the thought of being inside all day. With only a week until school starts up (for my kids...some of yours might be in school all ready) it's time to do some planning to get yourself back in gear for writing again. Here are a few ideas to help get the creative juices flowing.

1. Clean your writing space. Nothing makes it harder to write than trying to see the monitor over piles of paper, or not being able to move the mouse because of the stack of notebooks piled beside it. A tidy space reduces stress, which is a good thing when you're trying to write. I won't get into the Feng Shui advice.

2. Review your notes. After a long break, it's hard to remember the little points that had you so excited about a certain story. You remember the fight scene that took you days of agonizing to write, or the secondary character that keeps wanting more than his share of page time. It's easy to say screw it and move onto a brand new project. Reviewing your notes will remind you of all the brilliant ideas you had and hopefully, will inspire you not to toss it away.

3. Make a plan. Pick a daily word count goal, or a date to finish the first draft on. If your plan to write a 25K story, and your goal is 5K a day, it feels really cool to say "I could have this done in 5 days!" Give yourself a bit of a buffer though...chances are you won't manage 5K a day one day, or the story will go beyond 25K. Nothing is certain in writing, so don't set yourself up for disappointment.

4. Stay connected. You don't have to be on facebook all day or chatting with your writing friends, but the odd little break to discuss how you're doing, or a problem that just popped up.

5. If you have a dedicated following of readers, let them know what you are doing. Nothing sparks a fire under your butt better than fans begging you to finish so they can read your latest work. If you don't have dedicated fans yet, you can do the same thing with a good writing group who will offer encouragement. Even someone saying "YAY!" or "Good job!" helps you keep going.

6. Plan to participate in NANOWRIMO or another group mass writing event. Make notes on the story you want to write ahead of time, and get excited about participating. Count down the days, mark it in red on your calendar, write it in big letters on your white board. Whether it's a huge world wide event like NANO or a something similar organized on Twitter or within your group of writing friends, take advantage of it. It's always nice to have people to share the successes and failures with.

If any of you have ideas for getting back into the groove after a writing break, let me know. I can certainly use all the help I can get...though with that being said, I'm heading out for a day of canoeing today, not writing. Technically it's research for a book I have in mind. *cough*

New release from Elena Croft

2010-07-16T23:58:00.004+01:00

Three of Hearts was released yesterday from Red Rose Publishing. It was previously available from Forbidden which has closed. So if you missed it here's your chance to read all about werebeavers looking for love. After several false starts and lots of personal chaos I'm thrilled to say, I'm hard at work on the next book in the series featuring Leslie's sister Mara. For now here's Leslie's story

It's a paranormal romance. Here's the blurb:

Once the Elders sent her off to Canada to find her mate, Leslie Maple soon realizes life wasn't so hot out in Phoenix. With nothing but a photo, she heads to Vancouver where she meets the two most gorgeous men she'd ever seen, identical twins Sebastian and Castor Belvedere. More intriguing are the feelings they invoke in her, the call she just can't seem to resist.

Aunt Sharon has a nasty habit of playing matchmaker, but Sebastian and Castor are through playing along. However, Aunt Sharon is an old pro at the matchmaking game and plays her wild card asking them to do her a favor by accompanying her to the airport to pick up her latest mate choice. Unfortunately, for them this time Aunt Sharon may be right. But whom does this mate belong too?

Note: contains menage

New Ebook from Bianca D'Arc!

2010-06-16T14:40:00.004+01:00

WARRIOR’S HEART released yesterday in ebook formats from Samhain Publishing. WARRIOR’S HEART is a new version of an old story by the same name that was published in 2006 by a very small publisher that has since gone out of business. So if you weren’t able to get the old version, here’s your chance! This new version has been spiffed up quite a bit and I’m still very proud of this tale, which was always planned to be the first in a series, but with the publisher problems, it got stalled. I’m glad to say the train is back on the rails now and hopefully more of these stories will be coming soon. Now a little bit about the story...

It’s a paranormal featuring a military hero. Here’s the blurb:

He’s home to claim the girl he never forgot... but more than war memories have changed him.

Gifts of the Ancients, Book 1

Hal’s best-friend status with Casey’s brother always meant that the one woman he wants is strictly off limits. But now that he’s back from a harrowing mission in the ancient Iraqi city of Babylon, all bets are off. The strangely mystical experience left him and his Special Forces team with a new appreciation for life — and strange new abilities they are only beginning to understand.

Casey never thought she’d have a shot with the strong, silent Green Beret. Something about him has changed, though, and old feelings have risen up, demanding an answer. And her answer is an unequivocal yes. Now, to break the news to her brother and hope it doesn’t come to blows.

Her brother’s reaction becomes the least of her worries when Hal singlehandedly stops a car from running her down, then falls into her arms, weak from some kind of strange reaction. Whatever went down in Iraq has changed Hal and made him a target of foreign agents who’ve found his one vulnerability... Casey.

Warning: This title contains dirty talk, sweaty carpentry sex and a sexy Special Forces super hero.

Get your copy today at MyBookstoreAndMore.com

Workshops and Other News

2010-06-04T01:04:00.004+01:00

What I've been up to:

I've been absent from the yahoo groups promoting my work because I was finishing my degree.

Getting back into a routine has been hard. Hopefully, I can finish the projects I started before I signed up for school. I'm really excited about the stories I have in the works and am looking forward to sharing them with you.

Some of you may not know I'm also an artist. This is another area I'm focusing on along with the writing. The area is fantasy art and I work in watercolors and gouache. My eventual goal is to show in galleries and to sell prints of my work.

Writing:
Wicked Pleasures, an erotic Western romance is now available in print from Red Rose Publishing and Amazon.com
Wicked Pleasures is a bestselling title at All Romance e-Books.
This is a recommended read from a number of review sites.

Under my other pen name, Keelia Greer, Christmas of Hope received 5 Cups and a recommended read from Coffee Time Romance and 4 books from Long and Short Reviews. This is great feel good story, that leaves you with a smile on your face and in your heart.

Come and join me June 14th at Coffee Time Romance for their June Jubilee.

Workshop News:
I'll be teaching a number of workshops for Savvy Authors. I'd love to have you in any of my classes.
www.savvyauthors.com
July 19-Aug 1: The Basics of Romance Writing
Sept. 6- Sept. 13: Writing Erotic Love Scenes
Nov. 15-Dec. 5: Plot and Characterization

Hugs to all,
Tambra Kendall/Keelia Greer

Plotting Is an Extension of Your Character

2010-03-05T00:47:00.004Z

*Wicked Pleasures is now available in print, from Red Rose Publishing or Amazon.*

Hi everyone,

This post deals with plot.
I love to plot as much as I love creating the story people of my stories.

Let's begin with the definition of plot. It's always much easier to begin at the beginning.

What is plot anyway?

The best definition of plot I’ve found is from 20 Master Plots (And How to Build Them) by Ronald B. Tobias.

Tobias defines plot as this, “Plot is story that has a pattern of action and reaction. Plot is a chain of cause-and-effect relationships that constantly create a pattern of unified action and behavior. Plot involves the reader in the game of “Why?”

When I first began writing, I clearly separated plot and characterization. Due to my lack of understanding plot, I had no idea how closely they work together until years later due to many factors. But, when you study the craft of writing you may think you understand something and discover later, you only understood part of it. I think many of us learn in layers or sections and go back from time to time to polish the rough edges and a bit of information resonates and the a-ha moment occurs.

Now, I absolutely love plotting. I hope you will, too.

What does plot do?

Plot gives unity and structure to a novel. Conflict unifies the narrative work. We want order and logic in our writing. A unified action creates a whole, made up of a beginning, middle and an end. These are also called the three movements of dramatic action. Plot is tightly woven through the story. It moves and shapes everything.

When you ask yourself, “What does my character want?” You’ve begun the journey of plot.
As I mentioned before, character and plot are extensions of each other and now, I hope you're beginning to see the why and how.

The Beginning, the first phase of dramatic action is having a character want something which leads to motivation. The want or need is also called intent.

The Middle, the second phase: Once the intent is established you’ve entered the second phase of dramatic action. As your story progresses, the action must rise and with each movement upward the stakes must rise as well.

Your character is pursuing their goal with actions coming from their want/need/intent. The action grows out of what has happened in the beginning. Cause, now effect.
The plot events are tied together giving a logical and coherent thread for the reader to follow. The decision a character makes directly affects the plot. Knowing the character's goal, motivation and conflict, both internal and external is needed to keep the subplots and threads from sagging. Character is action and reaction. Don't forget to plot the GMC (goal, motivation and conflict) of your villain. A weak antagonist will leave the reader angry because you've made things to easy for your main characters. The protagonist's must work for their happily-ever-after.

I can’t stress this enough without conflict, you have no plot.

Subplots help keep the middle from sagging and preventing the reader from setting your story aside. Having said that, don’t just stick a subplot in when you find you’re in trouble. The subplot affects the goals of the main character and must tie in with the storyline seamlessly.

The End is the last phase and contains the climax, falling action and the denouement. The ending must be logical from the sequence of events you’ve written in the beginning and middle. The ending action must be done by the protagonist. The protagonist should not be acted upon.

You see, everything in your writing is there for a specific purpose, cause that leads to effect, which brings you to another cause. Anything that happens in the world you’ve created must be there for a reason.
By leaving scenes in that don’t further the plot, the story is diluted from the dramatic effect you are working so hard to achieve.

Plot and character are inseparable.

Plot is the function of character, and character is the function of plot. They are tightly bound together.
A logical connection (action/reaction) as to why a character makes one choice as opposed to another.
But the character shouldn’t behave in a predictable manner, because it will be thrown into the realm of boring.
Just because there is, a logical connection between the cause and effect relationships it doesn’t mean it has to be obvious.

Story is different from plot. Story is the events the reader wants to know what comes next, which is curiosity.
Plot makes the reader ask why, pulling the reader a deeper level of what is happening.

Characters come alive with action. Plot is a function of character, and character is a function of plot. You can’t have one without the other. What they share in common is the action you’ve created.

No action = no character = no plot

We draw upon our experiences to create plot. This is why writers look for universal plot themes when they write. Some writers don’t know what the theme of the story until they finish the book.

I hope this post makes plotting clearer and more fun for you.

I'll be teaching for Savvy Authors, Yosemite RWA and Dunes and Dreams RWA chapter. Please, join me.

Hugs,
Tambra Kendall
www.tambrakendall.com

Hard Times & Good Reviews

2010-02-18T13:01:00.000Z

My turn to blog again... Lately things have been rough for me. I'm writing on deadline and am way behind because of some challenging personal issues I've been facing. As some of you know, my beloved mother died about a month and a half ago. the wound is still raw and I doubt it will ever heal completely. Until it happened to me, I never really understood what grief was all about. I wish I was still so naive.

I'm working on catching up with my writing schedule but it's slow going. The good news is that my new military paranormal zombie romance series has been getting great reviews and seems to be doing well. That's a huge relief to me. I really wasn't sure if romance readers could get past the whole decomposing zombie thing to enjoy the romance part. ;-)

RT Book Reviews Magazine said about HALF PAST DEAD: "These zombie stories stand out in a genre dominated by vampires....D'Arc delivers a creepy and pulse-pounding story of danger."

And they had this to say about ONCE BITTEN, TWICE DEAD: "D'Arc deftly blends horror, romance and action for a thrilling, sexy tale."

ONCE BITTEN, TWICE DEAD comes out officially on March 1st, but it looks like it'll beging shipping from Amazon on February 23rd. :)

I've been really fortunate with some great reviews of late, including this last one from RT about my latest print compilation, BROTHERHOOD OF BLOOD: "These vampire tales can stand alone, yet cleverly intertwine the lives of the characters...Each one entertains with drama, tender romance and erotic sex scenes."

I have a lot of print titles coming out this year and little energy to keep up with all the promotion I should probably be doing, unfortunately. With any luck, things will start to settle down soon. I have a feeling my depression and new appreciation for the realities of suffering will be affecting my writing. It'll be interesting to see how I might grow as a writer as a result of this devestating experience.

It's one of the few potentially good things that might come out of this experience. I've been trying to find the silver lining to all of this and it's really, really hard. Meanwhile, I just keep trying to live one day at a time. Thanks to all of you who've taken time to write to me. Your support through this awful time means more than I can say.

The Zombies are Here!

2010-01-20T14:38:00.003Z

My first zombie story - a little novella called "Simon Says" in the HALF PAST DEAD anthology from Kensington Brava. Look for it in a bookstore near you! Here's the blurb:

Special Forces soldier Simon Blackwell ended his affair with Mariana Daniels three years ago, but he hasn't stopped protecting her. Mariana has no knowledge of the dark, deadly creatures that lurk in the forest surrounding her clinic, or of the mysterious powers that make Simon the only one who can defeat them. But soon he'll have no choice but to reveal the truth, and urge her to trust in an explosive passion that never faded...

Buy it now from Amazon or wherever you buy trade paperbacks!

And the first novel in the series is coming out at the end of February. It's called ONCE BITTEN, TWICE DEAD. Here's a little bit about the book:

Thrills, chills and a smoldering sexy hero combine to unforgettable effect in Bianca D'Arc's irresistible new novel of paranormal romance...

When police officer Sarah Petit investigates a disturbance in an abandoned building, she expects to find a few underage drinkers. Instead, she's attacked by creature straight out of a horror movie. Waking a week later in a hospital, Sarah is visited by Special Forces soldier Captain Xavier Beauvoir. The zombies who attacked Sarah are the result of military research gone terrifyingly wrong, and Sarah's immunity to the virus makes her the perfect person to help Xavier eradicate them. But his smooth Cajun accent, whiskey-colored eyes, and dizzying kiss are risky to her in a very different way.

Sarah attracts danger like a magnet -- and the smart, fearless cop attracts Xavier too, instilling a bone-deep need that's undermining his steady facade. Enlisting her aid is a necessary gamble, but vicious undead creatures are not the only enemy they face. And the only way to keep each other safe is to trust in an instant connection that could be their greatest strength -- or the perfect way to destroy them both...

The book is available for pre-order from Amazon and will also be available for the Kindle.

While I'm plugging new books, I should also mention that three of my vampire novellas have been collected into a single print volume called BROTHERHOOD OF BLOOD. It's available now for pre-order on Amazon. Or you can get the individual stories in ebook formats. The volume contains the stories: ONE & ONLY, RARE VINTAGE, and PHANTOM DESIRES.

Here's a little bit about each:

Three mortal women discover the loves of their lives…the vampires of their dreams.

One and Only - Vampire Atticus Maxwell stands at the edge of his own oblivion…until the faint heartbeat of a desperately wounded mortal woman calls him back. The terrible crash that almost took both their lives has brought him a woman who just might give him a reason to live again. No barrier to their love seems too great—until they learn the crash was no accident at all…

Rare Vintage - Marc LaTour is drawn to Kelly when she goes to work for the newlyweds Atticus and Lissa at their vineyard. He moves into the mansion on the pretext of needing a place to stay while his own home is remodeled. Then an upstart vampire challenges him to a fight to the death. Kelly is willing to trade her life for his — but can he save her from himself?

Phantom Desires - Dmitri Belakov enters the scorching hot dreams of the woman who just bought the farmhouse that rests above his secret lair. He must either bargain with her or kill her, but she is much too intriguing to dispose of so easily. When he discovers she is his One — his perfect match — he’ll do anything to keep her by his side... forever.

Warning: This book contains three individual tales of vampire lust, sexy neck biting, a little naughty dreamwalking, a touch of ménage action and lots of everlasting love.

I hope you'll enjoy all the new releases! For more information visit my website at www.biancadarc.com

A Time to Celebrate

2010-01-07T20:29:00.003Z

December kicked off the release of my novella, Christmas of Hope, available from Red Rose Publishing. If you're looking for a funny, heartwarming read pick up your copy today. Its time to celebrate and that means food.

It's cold in Houston. In fact, its been downright freezing at night at that puts me in the mood for certain food.

Here's a Rachel Ray recipe I really like. I hope I have all the stuff to make it tonight.

Super Nachos
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray
Adjustments made by Keelia Greer

Ingredients:
2 bags corn tortilla chips in 2 colors or different. Or your two favorite flavors. (I used Doritos Corn chips and it was fine.)

Pico de Gallo Salsa:
4 vine ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped, for medium to hot heat level
1 small white onion, chopped
¼ cup, 2 handfuls, cilantro leaves finely chopped-substitute parsley, if cilantro is not to your liking
Salt

Beef and Beans Topping:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground sirloin
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (I omitted this)
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons dark chili powder
1 ½ ground cumin, half a palmful
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper sauce, giving you a medium to hot heat level
1 can black beans, 15 ounces drained

*Cheese Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
¾ pound pepper jack cheese, shredded, about 2 ½ cups. (I use Colby-Jack cheese and a bit of Velveeta)

*Or, you can use the cheese in the jar and heat it up. Another idea, make a small to medium batch of Velveeta Cheese dip and use it.

Additional toppings, optional:
Sour cream, chopped black olives, sliced avocado, dressed with lemon juice.

Instructions:
Arrange chips on a very large platter or use your broiler pan as a platter.
Combine salsa ingredients in a bowl and set aside for flavors to marry.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, onion and peppers to the pan and sauté 2 minutes, then add the meat and crumble with wooden spoon. Season meat with salt, chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper sauce. Cook meat 5 minutes, then stir in beans and reduce heat to low.

In a medium sauce pot melt butter and ad flour to it. Cook flour and butter 1 to 2 minutes over moderate heat, then whisk in milk. When milk comes to a bubble, stir in cheese with a wooden spoon. Remove cheese sauce from the heat.

Pour cheese sauce evenly over the massive spread of chips and top evenly with beef and beans and the pico de gallo. Serve immediately.

The other day I pulled out the crock pot and tossed in a small roast, potatoes and carrots. I let it cook all night on low and the meat pulled apart with a fork.

This next recipe is from my mother-in-law. If there were any leftovers, it was who made it to the refrigerator first.

Meatballs Suisse

(1) 10 ¾ oz can cream of mushroom soup, diluted with 1 can of milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 pound ground beef
1/3 cup of uncooked rice
¾ chopped onion
1 tsp salt (optional)
¼ tsp. oregano leaves or Italian seasoning
1/3 tsp pepper
shortening or cooking oil, enough to cover the pan

*I also add some Worchestershire sauce to the meat mixture

Dilute soup with milk. Add 1/3 cup of soup mixture to ground beef and next 5 ingredients; mix well.

Form into balls and brown on all sides in shortening in skillet. (They have a tendency to stick.) Transfer to a skillet that has a tight fitting lid. Put browned meatballs in the skillet and pour the remaining soup mixture over the meatballs. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30-35 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally. *Stir very gently since they easily fall apart.
If sauce is too thick add extra milk.

4-5 servings.

I hope the recipes will help make a few of these cold days pass quicker. My books will also add some steam into your life. Be sure to check out my titles from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, Aspen Mountain Press and Red Rose Publishing under the names, Tambra Kendall.
You can find my Keelia Greer titles from Red Rose Publishing and Highland Press.

Happy New Years!

2009-12-31T14:47:00.002Z

I hope everyone had a good holiday. We had some illnesses and drove through a couple snow storms, but other than that, it was a good Christmas.

I guess, given it's the last day of the year, I should make some inspiring comment about resolving to work hard in 2010 and blah blah blah. Thing is, I always say that and it never happens, so this year I resolve to waste my time reading slashy fanfiction, playing games on facebook and generally avoiding work at all.

Does reverse psychology work if you use it on yourself? I don't think so, but it's worth a shot.

I do resolve to cut back on sugar and eat better. (This is typed while I have a sugary cup of tea, a bowl of salt and vinegar chips, half a donut and a biscotti sitting beside me ready to eat...) I also hope to get out camping more this summer and to snowshoe a lot this winter.

As for writing, yeah, as usual, I made a list of stories I want to finish. I might actually manage it if I go deaf so I'm not distracted by the TV, the kids and the dogs.

If anyone wants to share their new years resolutions, I'd love to hear them....it'll distract me from work. *grin*

Deep Point of View

2009-11-05T16:29:00.002Z

As an editor, I've found point of view to be the number one problem I've encountered with authors. Then when I try to explain deep point of view their eye's glaze over.

If you write romance, you need to learn how to write in deep point of view,and when to ease out. Learning the how and why of point of view will prove valuable.

Here is an article I wrote on deep point of view a few years ago. I use it in the online classes I teach. My latest class will be Novembe 9-23 for the FF&P RWA chapter.

I hope you find the article helpful.

Hugs,
Tambra Kendall/Keelia Greer
Christmas of Hope by Keelia Greer coming
December 10, 2009 from Red Rose Publishing

Deep Point of View: How and When to Use it Effectively
By Pollyanna Williamson
Deep Point of View (POV) is close third person, a combination of first and third person omniscient. It is driven by the character's experiences and emotions.
When using deep penetration POV you see the scene through the character's eyes. You never leave his/her thoughts. Deep penetration is similar to first person giving the motivation behind an action. The character's attitude, at that moment is shown, not a memory of his/her feelings as they look back on what happened.
Deep POV is more than filling your story with internalization.
From The Elements of Fiction Writing Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card he describes deep POV: "Deep penetration is intense 'hot' narration; no other narrative strategy keeps the reader so closely involved with the character and the story. But the viewpoint character's attitude is so pervasive that it can become annoying or exhausting if carried too far, and the narrative isn't terribly reliable, since the viewpoint character may be misunderstanding or misjudging everyone he meets and everything that happens."
Card says that no one level of POV penetration will be right for the whole story. There needs to be a balance. You need to know when "hot" narration is needed and when to "cool" the scene with light POV penetration.
Deep POV is more than filling your story with internalization. Too much internalization can become a form of telling, slow the pace of the story and unravel tension.
Gina from the RWA Craft loop explained deep POV to me in this way: Check to see if your dialogue, tone of voice, body language, facial expression, inner body response, and/or physical reaction shows what is being told.
• Remove filtering devices such as s/he thought, decided, saw, watched, etc. They put a distance between the reader and the POV character. Once POV is established, you don't have to keep reminding the reader that they're experiencing the story through the POV character's eyes.
• Describe things how the POV character would describe them.
• In deep POV, a character wouldn't use her own name when referring to herself. Nor would she, except in very few cases call her parents by their whole names. A deep POV character's narration should contain thoughts that are natural to that character, and what is seen and described should only be things that character would notice.
Anne Frazier Walradt taught this in a workshop for RWA in 2002. Her suggestions began with Show, Don't Tell: Stay out of your character's head. Since I'm a visual learner Anne's tips made all the other posts clearer. She wrote:
• Insert the picture in your head into the head of your reader by reporting action and dialogue.
• Engage the reader by showing her the scene and awakening in her the emotions that your characters feel.
• Abstract words do not evoke in us the emotion they describe. They merely tell. " Nancy was scared. Terrified actually." To evoke the emotion you must create the sensory details that make it read vivid, authentic.
• Document the effect of the emotion on the character. (Her hands shook) The scene must be seen by the readers.
• The character isn't thinking about her feelings ("Oh, I'm so much in love.") She's thinking about what's causing her feelings. (I love his hand on my.whatever.")
• Your job is to convey the emotion by the meticulous choice of specific details that will evoke emotion in your reader.
Author Terri Prizzi says writing deep POV effectively means you must know your character very well since all things are filtered through the character's eyes and emotions. Gender, education level, life experiences all will impact how your character views the world. The fact that the character comments on anything should be a clue about this character.
Learning how to write deep POV takes some practice, but when used in the right way it will keep your readers turning the pages.

Tambra Kendall joined RWA in 1994. She grew up reading historicals. Her favorites are Scottish and Medieval. Today she combines her love of all things Celtic with the love of paranormal.
Copyright © 2005 Tambra Kendall. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Autumn Inspiration

2009-09-24T13:26:00.003+01:00

Fall is my most favoritest time of year. It probably comes from growing up in a tourist town where you never got to enjoy summer because everything was so packed with city people, but oh man when labour day weekend ended you could shoot a cannon up main street and not hit a single car. You can actually park at the grocery store and not have to circle around for 20 minutes waiting for someone to pull out. (It's a little like trying to shop on christmas eve in a town that only has one mall.)

I always get inspired at this time of year. There's so much to see and do that could be the basis for a story. Studio tours, fall drives, farmer's markets, hiking without being attacked by bugs (yay!) it's like summer but without crowds or insect bites. We try to go pick apples at one of the nearby orchards and the kids get a class trip to a pumpkin patch at school. One of our favorite things to do is to go to the Dorset Tower, an old fire tower perched on a huge cliff. It's best when the leaves are starting to turn, but I have some pics of our trip this summer that will give you an idea of what it would be like.

But the best part about fall? PUMPKINS! and other squash...I'm not going to discriminate. I love me some maple butternut squash soup, pumpkin muffins (made some last night), pumpkin bread (made some of that last night too.) This year I'm so gonna get the hubby to make me some pumpkin creme brulee. He's been promising to for the last few years and hasn't gotten around to it yet.

Maybe we should have a fall contest. I'll see what I can cook up.

Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather and getting lots of story ideas from the season! I know I am.

Life & New Covers

2009-09-16T05:03:00.000+01:00

Gonna keep this short and sweet. My mom is ill and will be having surgery toward the end of the month so any good vibes, thoughts and prayers would be greatly appreciated! The docs aren't really sure at this point what's wrong with her but they seem to be trying to rule out cancer, so as you might guess, the whole family is distraught. My parents are staying with me for the duration because my house is near a very fine hospital, thank goodness.

Needless to say, I'm not getting much new writing done at all. At this point, I'm treading water, just trying to meet my editing/proofing deadlines and such. Once my emotions begin to settle down, perhaps I'll be able to write again. Wish me luck. ;-)

And now for some happy stuff... I've got some new covers! It's for my next dragon book, titled DRAGON STORM, which will be out in ebook formats on November 17th from Samhain.

I also have the most awesome cover EVER, from Kensington Brava for my first big-time, NY-published novel, ONCE BITTEN, TWICE DEAD, which will be officially released in March 2010, but is already available for pre-order from Amazon (and a few other places). How cool is that cover? I LOVE it!!! :) Thank you, cover gods!!!

I've also spent a little time working on my website the past few days. (It's mindless work that I can do while I sit with my Mom.) I've updated most of the splash pages (the individual indexes to each sub-section of the site) and added new buttons for all sorts of online booksellers on my homepage side bar. It might be getting a little too complicated at this point, so if you have any troubles loading it, please let me know. It's hard to find the right balance between too much and not enough. ;-) Until next time...

New Books from Bianca D'Arc

2009-08-19T17:45:00.003+01:00

I've got two new releases this month! First, GRADY'S AWAKENING came out yesterday from Samhain Publishing.

It's the story of Grady Prime, an alien super soldier who is beginning to learn what it means to be human. The story brings him together with Gina, a martial arts champion and spy, and her other true mate, Jim, the leader of a ragtag band of human survivors. Together, the three of them figure out how to live and love in the post-apocalyptic world where only the strong survive. You can read an excerpt online by clicking here.

Then I have another menage story coming out next week. It's a short story that will hopefully be the start of a new series. It's called TAG TEAM and it will be released by Total-E-Bound on August 24th.TAG TEAM is the first of my Gemini Project stories. The Gemini Project is an experiment to produce psychically enhanced warriors, who are able to share their thoughts in teams of two. They are invaluable as special operators, but what happens when they fall in love?Check them out if you get a chance!

I'm also happy to show off the cover for my first Kensington Brava release, a 2-author anthology called HALF PAST DEAD, coming in January 2010. Isn't the cover awesome?My story in the anthology is called SIMON SAYS and it features a military hero battling a medical experiment run amok. Zombies are attacking people in the woods near a military base and it's up to Simon and his ex-girlfriend, a Navy doctor, to stop the killing and bring the situation under control. Of course, they didn't count on falling in love along the way...

I'm busy writing my first full-length zombie novel right now. It should be out in March 2010 from Kensington Brava. More news on that as it becomes available. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the new books this month!

Readers, What Do You Think?

2009-08-06T16:49:00.003+01:00

Hi everyone,

I was wondering what do readers want.

Free reads?
Do free reads help you decide to buy an author?

Contests
Contests are fun, but does it influence your buying of that author?

I am asking this for a reason.

I want to make sure I'm giving readers what they want. On my Yahoo group, I have a free read started that I'll post every week on until it's finished.

I'll be holding another contest soon, too. Someone once remarked I give good, original prizes. That's a start!

So, come on readers. Let me know what brings you back to an author. What makes an author an automatic buy for you?

Hugs,
Tambra Kendall
Cowboy of the Night-out now from Red Rose Publishing
A Cursed Heart by Keelia Gree, out now from Red Rose Publishing

Planning

2009-07-30T16:01:00.002+01:00

So, as I've mentioned a few dozen times, I took a workshop at the Haliburton School of the Arts last week. The class was called Fiction Writer's Bootcamp and was taught by Barbara Kyle. As expected, we covered characterization, structure, POV, all the basics. What made this better than other classes I've taken, was that the teacher used tons of examples from books and movies to illustrate the points of the lesson...way more informative.

The thing that I found most useful was the lecture on storylining or outlining. I'm a pantster. I get a vague idea and open a new file and hope for the best. It never occurred to me that it was wasteful, but after listening to that lecture, I realized I really was wasting a lot of time and effort. Why? Okay, when I was working on Moving Atlantis, I got about half way through and realized I hated a good chunk of the story. I cut it back to less than half of what I had and man was that painful. Imagine if that was a novel length story? Ouch! Hundreds of pages, months of work, cut out because the story wasn't working. If I had storylined, I'd have worked through those issues ahead of time, and figured out how to make the story work with a proper plot etc.

And how many times have I sat staring at the screen going "what now?" I can get to a point where I have no clue what the next step should be and it stalls me for weeks.

Anyway, so now I'm going back and outlining the stalled stories, or at least a few to get me started. Then I can see what research I need to do and work the little bits into the story properly rather than getting to a spot and realizing "oh crap, I don't know anything about that." then after doing the research realizing I have to cut out a bunch because I'd made a lot of factual errors.

All seems obvious huh? I'm slow that way. It's pretty natural to want to get actual words on a page, to have progress to report. *grin* And I have no willpower, so I'm sure I'll break a bit and start actual writing, but my goal is to start actually planning rather than running into a story blind.

Ta, off to canoe now!

Lots of New Paranormal from Bianca

2009-07-16T03:17:00.004+01:00

Check out the hot-off-the-presses cover for my upcoming release with Kensington Brava. It's an anthology featuring the novella I mentioned in my last blog post all those weeks ago. (I missed last month due to vacation and poor planning on my part. Sorry!)

Anyway, the story is called SIMON SAYS and it's in the HALF PAST DEAD anthology, which is scheduled for release on 12/29/09. Mark your calendars!

The cover is just perfect, I think. It's sexy and mysterious with a hint of the subject matter - namely zombies. My story features a special forces soldier whose mission it is to defeat the creatures that are the result of an experiment gone horribly wrong. Here's the blurb:

Special Forces soldier Simon Blackwell ended his affair with Mariana Daniels three years ago, but he hasn’t stopped protecting her. Mariana has no knowledge of the dark, deadly creatures that lurk in the forest surrounding her clinic, or of the mysterious powers that make Simon the only one who can defeat them. But soon he’ll have no choice but to reveal the truth, and urge her to trust in an explosive passion that never faded….

I'd also like to mention that I have a new release in ebook. INFERNO is finally out! It's the sequel to LORDS OF THE WERE, and tells the vampire Dante's story. It's a very hot book, with lots of menage and a sizzling love story. There's also lots of magical action and vamps, weres and even a fey knight in the mix. Here's a little bit more about it:

A forbidden union forged in love-and tempered in hellfire.

One last task and Megan will be free of the debt of honor owed by her family. Spying on Dante, a powerful vampire with questionable friends, sounds simple enough. But her mission is complicated by the fact she's got something every vampire wants-tangy, powerful, werewolf blood.

It's easy to capture his attention. The hard part will be getting out with her heart -- and soul -- intact. Not to mention her life, thanks to a crazed bomber.

Dante isn't the kind to forgive or forget easily, especially the grudge he holds against werewolves. Still, he is instantly drawn to the injured lone wolf in his care. When he and his friend Duncan treat her wounds, they discover something that marks her as much more than she seems.

The mark is a neon sign warning to be careful, but Dante can't help himself. He wants her and nothing will stand in his way. Not her species. Not his. Not the strange woman who keeps trying to kill him.

Not even the magical poison in Megan's blood...

Buy now from MBAM

Demonic Attraction out today!

2009-07-07T19:44:00.002+01:00

What to do when you get antibiotics that mess with your head...write a wicked story about demons. This story flowed and it was a lot of fun to write too :)

Be warned it's a naughty story with an unusual take on m/f/m, oh and there is an HEA *grin*

Anya Sigurdson is counting down the days.

She works on an array orbiting a distant star completely alone and the isolation is seriously cramping her need for sex. She’s promised herself a wild time on a pleasure planet, but until her remaining thirteen days are up, then her own fingers will have to do…or so she thinks.

Damianos has other plans. Coming from a race of pure energy, Damianos, seeks pleasure in flesh and has an unusual talent. They can fracture into as many lovers as Anya needs. She is a joy, a rare find, and they intend to enjoy her, love her every chance they can. But to keep her they need something else, an anchor, another body for them to fix in her dimension.

And a prime candidate is on his way.

A link to the excerpt is here and this is the buy link

I'll update the link to the Ellora's Cave website when it's up, but here's the link to my author page in the meantime :)

Edited to add the Ellora's Cave link

Deep Point of View: Using it Effectively

2009-07-03T22:43:00.002+01:00

Deep Point of View: How and When to Use it Effectively
By Tambra Kendall

Deep Point of View (POV) is close third person, a combination of first and third person omniscient. It is driven by the character's experiences and emotions.

When using deep penetration POV you see the scene through the character's eyes. You never leave his/her thoughts. Deep penetration is similar to first person giving the motivation behind an action. The character's attitude, at that moment is shown, not a memory of his/her feelings as they look back on what happened.

Deep POV is more than filling your story with internalization.
From The Elements of Fiction Writing Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card he describes deep POV: "Deep penetration is intense 'hot' narration; no other narrative strategy keeps the reader so closely involved with the character and the story. But the viewpoint character's attitude is so pervasive that it can become annoying or exhausting if carried too far, and the narrative isn't terribly reliable, since the viewpoint character may be misunderstanding or misjudging everyone he meets and everything that happens."

Card says that no one level of POV penetration will be right for the whole story. There needs to be a balance. You need to know when "hot" narration is needed and when to "cool" the scene with light POV penetration.
Deep POV is more than filling your story with internalization. Too much internalization can become a form of telling, slow the pace of the story and unravel tension.

Gina from the RWA Craft loop explained deep POV to me in this way: Check to see if your dialogue, tone of voice, body language, facial expression, inner body response, and/or physical reaction shows what is being told.
• Remove filtering devices such as s/he thought, decided, saw, watched, etc. They put a distance between the reader and the POV character. Once POV is established, you don't have to keep reminding the reader that they're experiencing the story through the POV character's eyes.
• Describe things how the POV character would describe them.
• In deep POV, a character wouldn't use her own name when referring to herself. Nor would she, except in very few cases call her parents by their whole names. A deep POV character's narration should contain thoughts that are natural to that character, and what is seen and described should only be things that character would notice.

Anne Frazier Walradt taught this in a workshop for RWA in 2002. Her suggestions began with Show, Don't Tell: Stay out of your character's head. Since I'm a visual learner Anne's tips made all the other posts clearer. She wrote:
• Insert the picture in your head into the head of your reader by reporting action and dialogue.
• Engage the reader by showing her the scene and awakening in her the emotions that your characters feel.
• Abstract words do not evoke in us the emotion they describe. They merely tell. " Nancy was scared. Terrified actually." To evoke the emotion you must create the sensory details that make it read vivid, authentic.
• Document the effect of the emotion on the character. (Her hands shook) The scene must be seen by the readers.
• The character isn't thinking about her feelings ("Oh, I'm so much in love.") She's thinking about what's causing her feelings. (I love his hand on my.whatever.")
• Your job is to convey the emotion by the meticulous choice of specific details that will evoke emotion in your reader.

Author Terri Prizzi says writing deep POV effectively means you must know your character very well since all things are filtered through the character's eyes and emotions. Gender, education level, life experiences all will impact how your character views the world. The fact that the character comments on anything should be a clue about this character.
Learning how to write deep POV takes some practice, but when used in the right way it will keep your readers turning the pages.

Using deep point of view brings the reader so closely into the story, he/she feels like they are experiencing everything the hero and heroine are. We want to keep the readers turning the pages, not wanting them to put the our books down.

Tambra Kendall joined RWA in 1994. She grew up reading historicals. Her favorites are Scottish and Medieval. Today she combines her love of all things Celtic with the love of paranormal.
Copyright © 2005 Tambra Kendall. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Hugs to all,
Tambra Kendall
Cowboy of the Night-a Recommended Read!
Buy now from Red Rose Publishing
www.redrosepublishing.com

New Release and a contest!

2009-06-25T18:58:00.004+01:00

Something Sweet is out.

Greg Howe used to be such a sweet boy, but a bad experience over seas has left him scarred and skittish. Forced to return home to help out at the family Sugar Shack, Greg is confronted with his old friend Alex, who he hasn't spoken to in ten years. The bitterness of their lost friendship fades away as Alex helps Greg struggle to cope with his pain, while rebuilding their old closeness...and something more.

To enter the contest, send a recipe that calls for maple syrup to jandrus@mac.com.

Contest closes July 12 at midnight.

Now I'm off to enjoy my last day of freedom until September!

Networking: Start Now!

2009-06-04T16:59:00.003+01:00

I'm leaving in a little while to attend the Lori Foster Reader/Author event.

The networking with industry professionals, readers and authors is going to be wonderful.

No matter where you are in your writing career, developing contacts with all the above mentioned people will serve you well.

Networking, marketing and putting yourself out there is what it takes in this business. Name recognition is important. I'm working on it. I'm focusing my efforts on the day Tambra Kendall and Keelia Greer are household names.

Don't wait until your contracted to begin networking.

Hugs,
Tambra

Out now Cowboy of the Night
a bestselling novella from Red Rose Publishing

Inspiration is a weird thing

2009-05-28T13:27:00.002+01:00

So, I went to see the new Star Trek movie this weekend, and it was freakin' awesome! But that's not what this is about. The theatre we went to is in this tiny little town that is literally one of those blink-and-you-missed-it places. It's about 30 minutes drive from my hometown and it's by far the coolest movie theatre you could ever go to. Look here for more info

See, this place is owned by a guy who wanted to work in the movie biz, but for some reason, never got the chance, so instead, he started collecting film memorabilia and eventually, turned part of his house (I'm guessing he added parts to it) to make 6 small theatre rooms. Each one is furnished from an old movie theatre (pre-1950's I think) One of them is themed like ancient Egypt. Very cool. But before you even get to the seats, there's a maze of displays with old costumes, huge old cameras, movie posters and just a huge assortment of cool movie memorabilia.

Now, I've been to this place tons of times since it was THE place to go when I was a kid. This time though, I was suddenly like "Wow, this would make a cool basis for a story!"

It's strange how it happens. I admit I sort of drift through my days with my head in the clouds and most of the time don't pay attention to anything (Unless it's the kids poking at me because I still haven't got them a drink) so I'm probably missing a lot of good little story ideas.

The inspiration for "Something Sweet" came from driving past a rusty old maple syrup bucket hanging from a tree. My mind went...bucket...sugar shack...maple syrup...kinky! BTW, this story is releasing June 18th from Red Rose Publishing.

Anyway, my point (I did have one!) is that sometimes even the most familiar things can spark an idea, so keep your eyes open. Now I have to go clean up the mess that ensues every morning after making the kids bento lunches...I love the idea, but it dirties tons of dishes and takes more time than throwing a few prepackaged snacks into a bag with a sandwich.

If anyone wants to share how something inspired a particular story, I'd love to hear it.

Moving Up... with Zombies

2009-05-21T00:04:00.003+01:00

It's been a crazy few weeks. First, I've been finishing my next paranormal for Samhain, called INFERNO, which is the long-awaited sequel to LORDS OF THE WERE. It's the story of Dante d'Angleterre, the vampire, and his further adventures in New York with his friend, the fey knight, Duncan, and a lone werewolf who's been sent to spy on him. Lots of action in this book - both in the bedroom and out of it! ;-)

I've also been writing a new novella for Kensington's Brava line, about zombies. Yes, I said zombies. It's going to be in an anthology that will come out in January 2010. The other author in the anthology is the lovely and talented Zoe Archer.

I believe her story is an historical where the hero actually is a zombie. Should be very interesting! In my story, the hero is the special ops warrior they've called in to eradicate the zombies, so it's more in the contemporary/military vein. The heroine is a Navy doctor and the hero and heroine have a history. It's a story about lovers reuniting and fighting terrifying zombies along the way. LOL.

This is my first foray into the world of "New York" publishing. I'm absolutely delighted to be working with the fine folks at Kensington and look forward to doing more with them. So this little zombie story is really a big move upward for me -- one that I've been hoping to make for a while now. It feels really great!

And for some reason, JACI'S EXPERIMENT is already available in print on Amazon and in some other places. If you're a print reader, look for it. The official release date is in June, but it seems to be available early, so have at it! ;-)

Brainstorming, Clustering and Freewriting: Methods to Unfreeze Your Muse

2009-05-08T04:43:00.001+01:00

Brainstorming, Clustering and Freewriting: Methods to Unfreeze your Muse

Brainstorming: Breaking Down the Barriers

Brainstorming helps break typical thought patterns which lead to a boring, predictable plot.

Group Brainstorming

1. To do brainstorming you need to narrow down what the problem is first.
2. Try minor increments such as 10-15 minutes. If you happen to do this in a large group, you may need a longer time limit.
3. Have a person designated as the one who writes out the suggestions called out by the participants/critique partners.
4. No criticizing any of the ideas called out. Laughing is okay.
5. Examine the ideas. Which will provide a plot twist?

Individual Brainstorming

1. Decide what you need to brainstorm on such as character or plot.
2. As ideas occur write them down, but don’t analyze them. These can come as words, phrases or sentences.
3. After you’re finished see if you can put what you’ve written in groups.

Try each of these methods and have fun while doing it.

Clustering and Freewriting

Freewriting
Freewriting is similar to clustering and both can be fun.

For freewriting to work, a goal is needed before you start.

Example: A character’s name or what it means or how you envision this person. When freewriting you are supposed to turn off your inner critic and just write.

Freewriting is nonstop writing. You let your ideas flow in a steady stream and continue for the time limit you’ve set. Keeping your pen or pencil moving is the goal. Don’t punctuate and if you get a new idea write it and keep going. Try five or ten minutes.

Clustering
Clustering uses key words that are connected. Write a word in the middle of the page. From that word, begin writing other words that are associated. Circle the words then connect them with lines. A cluster begins to form. You can branch off other words too.

Example: Write apple in the middle of the page. Crisp, red, sweet and pie all come to mind. This can help when you need to expand on connections with words and the associations from this clustering chain.
After you have your clusters finished, you separate them into bite-sized, mini paragraphs, while elaborating on others.

Apple-sweet-juicy-pie-red-green-crisp-tart

Clustering has helped jump start my muse by focusing on one area when I needed clarification with description or layering with some of the senses.

Breaking up the writing process into manageable pieces keeps me from feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed. This might work for you too.

I hope some of these suggestions will help get your muse off and running.

Hugs,
Tambra Kendall/Keelia Greer

Out now from Keelia Greer: A Cursed Heart from Red Rose Publishing
Coming this month from Tambra: Cowboy of the Night from Red Rose Publishing

RT, New Releases & New Sales

2009-04-15T18:18:00.002+01:00

My turn to blog today and I actually remembered! Shocking, I know.

So... RT is next week and for those of you who plan to be there, be sure to look for me at Club RT, the ebook expo, and the big booksigning for goody bags galore! I'm also moderating the Demons Unplugged panel on Thursday morning and we'll have special goodies to give away at that as well.

For those of you who aren't going to RT, you can be part of the event in a way... I plan to collect some goodies at the conference and make up little prize packages that I'll give away on my blog after I get home. So remember to take a look the last week in April for your chance to win.

Other than convention plans, I've have a few news items to report. First, FireDrake is now in pint! Here's a taste:

Drake faces his estranged family and the dragon he left behind. He finds more than even he bargains for when a young prince is kidnapped and it's up to Drake, his childhood friend and rival, Mace, a warrior woman named Krysta, and two young dragons to track him down. Saving the prince will restore Drake's family honor, but it could also bond him with the dragoness, her mate, and the lovely Jinn warrior woman who loves them all. Dare he take the chance?

Second, Phantom Desires was just released in ebook formats. It's the third in my vampire novella series and all three of the stories, One & Only, Rare Vintage and Phantom Desires, will go into a single print volume sometime early next year. Here's the tagline for Phantom Desires:

This time, the creature under the basement is real. And dead sexy.

Cool, huh? ;-) Yet, it sums up the book really, really well! LOL!

Now for new sales - I just signed the contract for Grady's Awakening, book 4 in my Resonance Mates series. It'll be out in ebook later this summer and in print next year. I also got a verbal okay on a new series of military/psychic/menage (m/f/m) stories I'm calling the Gemini Project. More news on that as it becomes available.

For now, I'm looking forward to getting the cover art for my next release, Inferno. The sequel to Lords of the Were will release in ebook on June 30th (next year in print). Here's the blurb for it:

A forbidden union forged in love-and tempered in hellfire.

One last task and Megan will be free of the debt of honor owed by her family. Spying on Dante, a powerful vampire with questionable friends, sounds simple enough. But her mission is complicated by the fact she's got something every vampire wants-tangy, powerful, werewolf blood.

It's easy to capture his attention. The hard part will be getting out with her heart -- and soul -- intact. Not to mention her life, thanks to a crazed bomber.

Dante isn't the kind to forgive or forget easily, especially the grudge he holds against werewolves. Still, he is instantly drawn to the injured lone wolf in his care. When he and his friend Duncan treat her wounds, they discover something that marks her as much more than she seems.

The mark is a neon sign warning to be careful, but Dante can't help himself. He wants her and nothing will stand in his way. Not her species. Not his. Not the strange woman who keeps trying to kill him.

Not even the magical poison in Megan's blood...

Until next time,
Bianca
Come over to The D'Arc Side... http://www.biancadarc.com/

The Basics of Romance Writing at Coffee Time Romance

2009-04-03T00:28:00.002+01:00

I'm teaching The Basics of Romance Writing at Coffee Time Romance.

http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=984

If you always wanted to write a romance, please join me for this two week course.
I have lots of information to share and I don't answering your questions.

Join Coffee Time if you're not a member and hop on over to my class. While at Coffee Time you can visit the Reader's Retreat where some of the Daughters of Circe are posting excerpts, holding contests and just having fun with our readers.

Hugs,
Tambra

On Your Mark, Get Set...Goals

2009-03-05T17:21:00.004Z

Hi everyone,

It's the first part of March and I'm reviewing the goals I've set for myself this year.

I finally pinpointed how to fix my hero's GMC (goal, motivation and conflict) in a novella series. I've got a specific house to submit this to so I'm really excited about it.

My Young Adult paranormal is finished (but needs polishing) and I've got a specific house for it, too.

Time wise I'm a little behind schedule. I didn't plan on so many physical issues. Ah well, such is life.

The upside this year, I'm going to the Lori Foster Reader/Author event in June. I'll get to see two of my crit partners as well as talk to some industry professionals. Networking is vital in this business but it's something I enjoy.

Despite the downturn of the economy, I'm very optomistic about the publishing industry. The continuing upward trend of ebooks is encouraging as well.

So, I'm focused on finishing up projects and submitting. Keep checking back on the Daughters blog and my weekly blog at Writers Gone Wild for news.

My latest story Cowboy of the Night, part of the Legends of Loving, Texas series will be out soon from Red Rose Publishing.

Hugs,
Tambra
www.tambrakendall.com

Quick Update from Bianca

2009-02-18T06:00:00.004Z

Just a quick update from me this time. Rare Vintage was released a couple of weeks ago and is doing very well. If you haven't gotten your copy yet, no time like the present! ;-)

I also just sold a new book in my paranormal series to Samhain Publishing. It's called Inferno and it tells the story of the bad boy vamp we first met in Lords of the Were, Dante. It's a super-hot book with menage and lots of action. It's also the long-awaited sequel to Lords of the Were - book 2 in my Tales of the Were series.

And be sure to check my personal blog every Thursday this month for a chance to win a free ebook!

Bianca
http://www.biancadarc.com/

The Moon is in print

2009-02-08T03:15:00.002Z

I really wanted to have a witty post for you all, but I just can't find peace and quiet in my house. My new writing space is in my dining room where the kids can constantly interrupt me asking for food and drinks and tv and anything they can think. They fight, kick, pinch, and drive me insane.

Instead I will share my happy news.

The first five Vampire Oracle stories have released in one print book!

Individually designed with blood and delivered with desperate hope for truth, the Vampire Oracle Cards guide the lives of five unforgettable immortals by catapulting them into a quest for love.

The fate of a vampire’s heart…

Accept a fate woven by another or fight it and miss out on the love of a lifetime...

Content: Erotic Romance
This title contains explicit language, violence, and graphic sex.

Publisher Note: This print volume is also available as five ebook novellas:
The Moon by Michelle Hasker
Birth by Diana Bold
Innocence by Lia Morgan
Life by A.L. Debran
Hunger by Sophie Athens

The Sky is Falling...almost

2009-02-05T17:17:00.004Z

The sky isn't quite falling, but the roof on my house is.

Hurricane Ike swept through and now I'm finally getting a new roof on my house.
My writing room is in a section in the attic and right now praying no on falls in on me as I type this.

One thing you must never do is mess with a writer's creative space (no matter that I have books piled two deep on the shelves. I'm a messy creative sort, so sue me.)
You do what your muse is comfortable with. When I get a larger writing space I'll have more room to get organized. For now, I'm in the attic.
With the sound booted feet walking all over and sound of shingles being ripped away.

I hope this will be a short process with the group of men that are working. On the heels of that thought, I hope someone checked the weather report because I haven't.

I'm quite nervous about someone doing demolition/construction near my writing room. I have 19 years worth of research books, files, books I've written in my little room.

So, the sky isn't quite falling but roof shingles sure are.

The upside to all of this--I'll soon have a new roof.

More good news, Sanctuary Moon: First Howl should be released at the end of February. You won't want to miss this collection of wolf shifter stories from Red Rose Publishing. www.redrosepublishing.com

Take care! See you here next month.

Tambra Kendall and Keelia Greer

New Releases in Print and eBook from Bianca

2009-01-22T15:01:00.003Z

I'm a day late with my blog. Sorry! Lots going on here. It never rains - it POURS! Within the space of a week I had a galley to proof, edits due and now that those are both off my desk, I'm working on polishing up my next book, which I finished last week and would like to submit asap. I'm about half-way through with that little project, so it looks like I'll be turning it in to my editor soon. Whew!

Since last I visited, I've had a print release. Davin's Quest came out at the very end of December and is now available wherever books are sold. Here's a little bit about the book, in case you're interested:

Which man will Callie choose, the alien or the warrior? Or can she have both?

For each Alvian, there is one perfect match—a Resonance Mate whose soul blends in perfect harmony. Unlike the rest of his race, Davin has emotions and suffers for it. Without a mate, he is doomed to go mad. Searching for answers and understanding, he seeks out Callie O’Hara, a human woman with strong empathic gifts. Could this fragile human be his Resonance Mate?

Rick St. John is a tough-as-nails survivor of the Alvian occupation of Earth. He doesn’t believe in much, but when he sees Callie for the first time, he starts to believe in love at first sight.

The Governing Council is gunning for Davin, the upstart who dares to defy them. And they’ll kill anyone who gets in their way. Davin and Rick must come to terms with their feelings for Callie in order to keep her safe, while she has to find a way to save them both... with her love.

Next month, I've got a new ebook release called Rare Vintage. It's a story that's been out once before, in a much shorter form. This one's a lot better, if I do say so myself. ;-) Here's a little bit about that one too, while I'm here:

She would give her life to save his, but can he save her from himself?

Marc LaTour is the Master vampire. Kelly is the new Gal Friday at the winery her best friend and her new husband own. Marc is obsessed with Kelly, though he doubts he could be so lucky as to finally find his One after over six hundred years of searching. Still, he reacts with jealousy when his old friend and fellow Master comes for a visit.

Marc and the other men take turns watching over Kelly, hoping to prevent heinous events foreseen in her future from taking place, but there are other intrigues afoot. An upstart vampire in Marc's territory issues a challenge to Marc's leadership. It will be a fight to the death, but Marc knows he has much to live for... if Kelly turns out to be his One.

So that's it for me. For now. I've got some things going on behind the scenes that will hopefully pan out by the next time I see you all. Wish me luck! :)

Keeping it Real

2009-01-19T17:33:00.003Z

Okay, this blog may be kind of a rant... but a well intentioned one.

There is a reason why they say you should write what you know (or have thoroughly researched ;)

I hate hate hate when an author takes a story with a brilliant concept and great characters and mucks it up by not having those same characters stay true to themselves. It happens more often than I like, too. Have you ever picked up a book and then put it back down in disgust when the characters did something that you knew they'd never do based on what you had learned of them so far?

I am one of those readers. And, even worse? I won't buy more books by that author. Disappoint me once? Well, there are many other authors to read books by. If you have established certain rules for the world your story takes place in, you cannot then break those rules, without convincing me it is now possible.

For example, if the world is coming to an end, and all the different species on your planet are fighting, so you have two people from each species boink together for the night to bring peace to the two species, that is great. As long as both people are important enough to the species to bring about respect and honor for that mating. Oh wait, there is no mating? It was just a boinkfest? Nope, ain't gonna happen. You want me to believe that they need to boink their brains out to bring peace, then I want something like in the Kim Knox story Unity where they need to mate to bring about a change that will in fact save the planet. Save both their kinds. If only the heroine can bring herself to mate with a species known for evil deeds? Yes, that is convincing. I've read both stories. The one I'm not naming and Kim's. I did not even want to finish the first one, but I've reread Kim's.

Think about your story as you are writing it. Maybe you can suspend disbelief because as the author, you know more than we, the reader could ever hope to know about your characters and their world. We only know what you show us. And if you want to keep us happy, keep it realistic. Keep it believable. Keep it Real.

Michelle

Finding Your Groove

2008-12-27T16:45:00.000Z

Imagine, if you will, the perfect quiet household, soft music playing in the background, everyone asleep and there's nothing but you and the words you pour out on the page. You're in the zone, everything is perfect, and the book will be done. Not only that, but it will be done early, need little to no edits and the editor will say it's the most brilliant thing you've ever written.

That's not my world.

If the world was perfect and nothing interrupted, writing would continue to be a breeze. That's not the way it works in the real world. Ever. :) I have a toddler who's far more hyperactive than most children (this from professionals LOL! He's my first kid, so how would I know the difference?). Work is a constant stress. I wake up at OMG that's early in the morning. And my husband has a full time job of his own. Where is that soft quiet time? The perfect writing moment when the muse speaks?

I have to fight for what I want. What I need. And writing IS worth it to me. It's something I feel passionate about and something I love. So ask yourself before you set the new goals for 2009: What do I feel passionate about? What do I want and am I willing to carve out time to make it so? Being frustrated is normal. If I waited for my fickle muse to get around to inspiring me, another home catastrophe would interrupt his magic.

If you think it's a silly idea, let me tell you a story. There's a guy I know, a strong willed man who was passionate about cooking. It was his hobby and he was really good at it, and since his retirement from web design, he had nothing but time to perfect it. His wife adored his cooking and wished he could reproduce some of those recipes, but he was a by the seat of his pants kind of guy.

One day, frustrated with his inability to remember some of the best recipes in the world, she convinced him to take his love of cooking and combine it with what he used to do for a living. Give him a place to put his creations and give him an interactive way of staying interested.

His excuses were many and the wife countered each one until the cook was forced to try it out or listen to her nagging for eternity. Since he was deaf in one ear already, that wasn't a comforting prospect.

Finally he did it, with his wife following him around with a notebook and pen to write down all his ingredients and preparation. The first recipe went up and the cook realized it was kind of neat to be able to go back and find his recipes again. So it continued. He struggled to find a way to make it work and the wife soon left him to his own devices, where he had to rethink the way he cooked. Instead of flinging things into the pan like always, he had to remind himself to take notes, to think his way through, to create the perfect recipe for his imaginary readers.

Writers are like that, don't you think? We start out young and fresh, slamming out words and stories until one day we make our sale. Then things change a bit. Now you're published and there are certain things expected of you. Learn your craft, write the story for reader's ease, make things easier on yourself by writing the story well to start with...

Continuing with the story...

So he created this blog, expecting no one to care, wondering if anyone paid attention. Suddenly strange things started happening. He got emails requesting help on this or that, received comments for his recipes, had others making his recipes and posting comments about it.

He perfected his art: photography, content, voice until he received acclaim from many other food bloggers and publishers in the food biz. He honed the tools necessary, and yes, some days it was a struggle. Some days he wondered why did what he did but at the end of the day he looked back over his work and said...wow. I did that. And it all started from one moment. One key moment that made him say, I can do that. Let me try and he's still doing his thing.

What tools do you need as an author? A good grasp of grammar, understanding conflict/resolution, finding that groove and sticking with it, muse or no muse.

The food blog market is flooded with bloggers, all trying to make a niche for themselves. Did he work hard to get what he needed? Yes. Did he have to work long hours outside his full time job to make it happen? Yes. Did he need to figure out how to balance his day job, family, and his blogging hobby? Yes.

You can too. But first...find that groove and set your 2009 goals. Good luck!

-- Dawn Montgomery

http://www.dawnmontgomery.com/blog

The Best Laid Plans...

2008-12-17T12:00:00.000Z

I'm a little late posting this, but at least I remembered! I have reminder upon reminder set up yet I still manage to miss things from time to time - especially things like blogging dates. Grrrr.

So... what I've been up to lately... lots of writing, lots of waiting to hear back on things I submitted last Spring... lots of gnashing of teeth. In short, typical writer's life things. ;-)

I'm writing a new paranormal novel. It's creeping toward completion at a steady pace and features a really sexy vampire, a lone wolf, a fey knight and some interesting shifter secondary characters including two selkies who just showed up unexpectedly. Of course, now that they're here, boy-o-boy do I have plans for them!

I plan to have the first draft finished by Christmas. Then I plan to turn back to a manuscript I nearly completed last month - the fourth installment of my Resonance Mates series - Grady's Awakening. That will be my next submission to Samhain and hopefully will release mid-to-late next year. It's been percolating at the back of my mind because it needs a little work. I put it aside to think about it and plan to do the necessary repairs between Christmas and New Year's, if all goes according to plan.

I make these plans, but they're always flexible. Something else might pop up that's more urgent, but at least for now, that's the strategy until January. After New Year's I hope to launch a writing challenge on my blog and a bunch of the Daughters have said they'd help out, so look for more info on that when it happens. I like to spend the first few months of the year writing because by April things start to get busy in the way of conferences, traveling and such. So January thru March is prime writing time.

I am a planner. I plan and plan and plan. And then things change. I try not to get too upset about it, but I guess it's better to have too much on your plate than too little. I detest boredom. ;-)

Oh! I should mention that I have a new print release this month. Davin's Quest will release in print on December 30th, so look for it! :) Here's wishing you all a very Happy Holiday!

Back in the frozen north

2008-12-13T02:32:00.002Z

So Im back in the frozen north where -35 degrees celcius is the norm and having a day with a high of -20 degrees celcius feels like high summer. So this week, I've had 5 men working for me to take care of my every whim. Sound exciting?
Okay so maybe it was a little LOL Unfortunately I've gotten no writing done in the past week.

Well, the skidoo's are out, the truck's door is frozen shut every morning, if you don't wear your scarf wrapped around your face you get frost bite in 10 minutes and yet....I'm loving every minute of it.

So I've decided to join the big cribbage tournament here at site, now all I need is a partner LOL Wish me luck.

It's getting late and I need my beauty sleep as they're sending me another man tomorow to finish fixing my fume hood.

Night All and sweet dreams.

Aline

Is There a Writer in Your House?

2008-12-04T21:23:00.003Z

Hi everyone,
I hope this post finds you well.

The month of November is more than a the traditional Thanksgiving holiday.
If you have writer in your house it's also: National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo

Last year was my first year to take on the NaNo challenge. I went in going at whatever speed I was comfortable and deliberately not pushing for the 50,000 word count for the month. (Which equals out to be around 220 pages or so.)

This year was different.
What changed my mind?
A cheap kitchen timer.

I used that old timer and set it for 30 minutes to see how close I could get to the designated daily word count.
Minimum is 1667 or roughly 7 pages a day.
Three times I set the timer and each pass my word count got higher or stayed the same at the end of an hour and a half I proved I could do the 1667 words.

When Nov. 1 arrived I had marked off my plot points, had my main character and secondary characters sketched out.

BUT, when I put my butt in the chair the story took off and I only used half of what I'd written down. I kept going with the flow and scribbled the new stuff down.

No, I did not make my pages in an hour and half. It took me HOURS to get those damn pages done but I did do it.

I also wrote in a genre I've never written in before: Young Adult.

I'm thrilled myYA Paranormal is finished and isn't crappy. I like it. A lot.

Making myself do NaNo was the boost I needed as writer.

If you haven't tried NaNoWriMo, please consider it. I now have more confidence and the assurance the projects I've got planned for next year will be on schedule.

I'm excited about what the new year will bring-contracts.

Hugs!
Tambra
From Red Rose Publishing:
Coming January 15 Sanctuary Moon First Howl (Keelia Greer)
Coming Soon: Cowboy of the Night, an erotic romance time traveling vampire

I have an announcement...

2008-12-02T13:42:00.004Z

The contract is in the post. So, today I am officially a Cave Girl :D

Ellora's Cave said yes to my 'Succulent' theme story - Flesh and Shadows. It will release in May 2009. I'm very, very happy, lolol

Here's the blurb:

Flesh-fruit. The First Minister's favourite delicacy and, thanks to her boss, Agent Niamh Sullivan's responsibility. A coup on the planet where it grows has forced a change of administrator. Now she must cross the quadrant to evaluate Zeta-Draconis-prime's new leader, Isaac Rand. Rand intrigues her, tempts her...but she has her orders. Her duty comes first. Always has. Always will.

Rand has a secret. He's been bitten by one of the deadly shadow-snakes who also share the planet and he's changed. He will go to any lengths to see that he remains in charge of his planet, including using his alien abilities to convince Niamh to lie to her superiors. His plan is simple, but what he doesn't realise is that his venom is an aphrodisiac. With it, Rand has become irresistible.

Now Niamh must deny their overwhelming mutual attraction. But as their need for each other spirals out of control the danger becomes apparent. Rand will take her humanity, take who and what she is. Niamh has to make the choice. Turn him in. Or succumb to his forbidden temptation.

A Message from Aline...On Insanity WEG

2008-11-14T15:03:00.002Z

Hey guys! I'm posting this from Aline for you all. And since we're in the middle of NaNoWriMo, I'd say she's hitting the nail on the head! She's unable to get to blogger from the sexy jungles of the...oh wait, I can't tell you where she's at...*WEG* Enjoy!

Do you ever feel like you’re being overwhelmed by the many directions you keep being pulled in? Between, Work, Home, Family, Friends, and Writing (substitute hobby of choice hehe) you feel like you’re about to snap. What I do to work through this is the following. I jot down all the things that annoy me that day.

• Why does society frown over a person whishing they could crawl into bed and never come out?

• Why do landlords feel they have the god given right to enter your apartment when you aren’t home? Yes they own the house, but you’ve paid for the right to use the residence as your own. Still they don’t seem to understand the minor concept of trespassing.

• Why do mothers always pick the worst time in the world to turn on their patented guilt trips?

• Why does work assume that once you walk through their doors, you have no life other than to work? And yet they require you to continue educating yourself but don’t want you doing it on their time.

• Why do Educational institutions feel they have the right to charge you for their mistakes? If you make an error, isn’t it your responsibility to correct it at no charge?

• Why do people feel they can lie to your face and then get upset when you call them on it?

So now that you’ve spotted all of the issues causing you to feel stressed. Pull out a pen and paper and answer them to the best of your ability. Assign a number to the stress level you feel about each point. Then one by one let them go.

How do you let go of things so huge they’re driving you insane, you ask? Well that depends on what you like to do. I turn the offending person into a character in my book and then make them suffer. Torture them until they scream for mercy, then chuckle and torture them some more. Be careful with this tactic. If your family is anything like mine, they might enjoy it and ask for more LOL.

My cousin goes out to the batting cages to hit the balls as hard as he can, imagining that each ball is someone he’s annoyed with.

My nephew draws pictures, and lets his frustration out in his drawings. I much prefer asking him what’s wrong, after he’s released some of his annoyance in art.

My friend goes shopping, then hands her husband the receipts with a grin. Her demons are gone, but his are just starting LOL.

There are a million ways to deal with stress, annoyances and irritating people. But I still think they should allow mental health days where you can crawl into bed and just stay there for a few days. Or you could become a hermit hehehee. In the end the choice is yours, but I know this, it sure is fun to find the perfect method of stress relief for you.

Stay sane,

Aline
http://www.alinedechevigny.com/

Holidays are coming!

2008-11-06T21:30:00.002Z

Hi everyone,

Thanksgiving is coming soon and then Christmas. I love these holidays!
Good food, friends, the excitement on the little ones faces.

With the economy going down the toilet there are some things you can do that don't cost much.

Go Green! Buy Ebooks!
Palm readers, Ebook readers such as Kindle and Sony are growing in popularity and the prices are coming down to reasonable levels. Ebook readers hold lots and lots of ebooks. They are lightweight, have lighted backgrounds, are portable. A fabulous gift for the book lover or writer/reader in your family.

You can also read ebooks off your computer. (I do!)

Homemade gifts:
Cookies, bread, candy, jewelry, t-shirts, fancy soap. Sewing projects: ornaments, stockings, pillows, clothes for your dog, purses

Make this the best holiday ever. Don't let a sluggish economy get you down.

Support the publishing industry and your favorite authors.

Hugs to all,
Tambra Kendall
Have you read Tambra's recent release?
www.tambrakendall.com

Freak out Time!

2008-10-30T12:55:00.002Z

Okay, so 2 days to Nano, one day to Halloween and I'm soooooo not ready. The kids have no costumes, we haven't got pumpkins and I'm still not sure what story I'm going to do for nano. It doesn't help that the hubby is home for two days, makes it hard to get anything done in the writing department.

A month ago the kids wanted to be CSI's for halloween, and I had all the costume stuff ready to be made...then they changed their minds and now I don't know what to do. The stores are sadly low on costumes.

Anyway, onto more important matters...since I last blogged here we got a new car. A month of freakin' chaos, rental cars, bank screw ups and finally we have a car that will tow our Boler without killing the transmission. Woot! This means I'll be camping ALL summer next year! Okay, maybe not. Actually, the idea of camping is making be cringe. It's freakin' freezing out there!

Off to do the winter prep thing, plastic windows, redo weather stripping...buy a house down south....oh, no wait, can't afford that yet. Darn it.

Fruitful Fall

2008-10-26T17:16:00.001Z

It’s October. My favorite time of the year. I am a Halloween fanatic. You know those people that decorate outside for Christmas with so many lights you can see them a mile away? (ala National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation) Well, put that idea to Gravestones, Zombies, Grim Reaper and dead bodies, and you will have my house from October 1-November 1.

We go all out. And as a result, I usually find October to be a very energizing month for me. Recharging and getting all my creative juices flowing. My first two published shorts were about Samhain and Christmas, both written around this time of the year.

But not this year. For some reason this year it’s been a drag this month. I work on an as needed basis for my regular job, and I didn’t work much at all this month. So that made me worry about finances. My SIL passed away last month, so we’ve been dealing with that kind of stuff. And my mother isn’t doing very well, so have had to deal with that all long distance.

I am still looking forward to Halloween, but am looking forward even more so to Nov 1. That is the beginning of NaNoWriMo. (National Novel Writing Month). For those of you that do not know, it is a global wide thing where we are challenged to write 50K words in one month. Now 50K isn’t a full length novel, it isn’t even a category length novel, BUT it is a great jumpstart on a longer novel, or a way to finish a novel. It’s how I finished my first full length, Argus: In Dreams.

So, I have already joined up for Nano this year, and I hope, pray and dream that I will be able to get something done that I have been working on half heartedly for a couple years. As I blog in November, I hope to mention how much work I have been doing. Cause darnit, I am gonna get it done this year. Just wait and see.

And the beat goes ....

2008-10-11T04:03:00.001+01:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

The Benefits of Online Classes and Conferences

2008-10-02T16:52:00.002+01:00

Hi everyone,

I love teaching online classes and taking them.

In fact, shortly I'll be teaching an online class as well as going to an online conference and take a class I just signed up for.
I've never done so much in one week like this so we'll see if I can handle it.

What I'm doing is making folders in My Documents for the conference and the class, that way I can easily save handout/information for easy retrieval.

I have a separate folder for the classes I teach and books close by in case a student needs a more indepth answer.

Do I get quality information and teaching when I take online courses? Yes.

There are many benefits of taking an online class. You save on gas and the frustration of driving in traffic. You can log in the class when the kids are asleep or staying all night at a friends etc., You can take the class wearing your comfy pajamas.

I've had students from other countries take my class and I love it when that happens. These students bring experiences and points of view I may never have had the honor of being exposed to.

Here's my teaching schedule:
Celtic Knot work Weaving Together Characterization and Plotting
RWA- Romace Writers of America ESPAN chapter October 13-17, 2008
RWA Outreach Chapter November 3-14, 2008
RWA Carolina Chapter February, first two weeks

Have you taken any online classes? Take the plunge. It's fun, inexpensive and you'll make new writing friends and learn more about the craft of writing.

Best,
Tambra Kendall
Goin' Down Anthology Book Two-Aspen Mountain Press Out now!
Wicked Pleasures, Recommended Read! from Red Rose Publishing
Celtic Love Knots Vol. 9 from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid

That time again

2008-09-25T13:15:00.003+01:00

And no, I don't mean my day to blog here. It's fall, which means tons of things going on to interrupt writing time. Thanksgiving, Christmas planning (yes, I try to get it done early, but it usually ends up happening mid December) Halloween costumes to make, school schedules to adjust to, NANO (which isn't really a hinderance to writing, but more of an event to survive) Kinda makes me long for the lazy days of summer.

So, yet again I have no clue what to write about. I could say I've been teaching myself guitar while teaching my daughter...that's fun and frustrating. I've learned I have smaller hands than I thought, but unlike all the other times I tried and failed to stick to it, this time I'm determined. It's sort of like an early new years resolution.

Or I could mention that my kids want to be CSIs this year for halloween. So I have to make them vests and badges and candy bags that look like a crime scene kit. Maybe we can set up our front yard to look like a crime scene this year. We usually do something big in the yard. Anyone else having to start thinking about this whole costume thing?

Other than that, there isn't much to say. My life is very quiet. Too Quiet...*looks around suspiciously* Well that'll change come christmas when my four year old son gets his drum set. He's already got a set of small drum sticks (made from regular ones that we cut off and rounded the backs on to make them look like the real deal)

Oh, and if anyone is in need of procrastination material....my brother and his friends made a webshow.... www.moxiespendlove.com check it out if you find yourself needing to avoid your WIP.

Check out my new cover

2008-09-12T16:49:00.001+01:00

Isn't it just fantastic? Merris always does such an awesome job on my covers.
Here's the blurb...

Deadly: A SKIU (Serial Killer Investigation Unit) Serial

He calls himself Pan.

In order to catch a serial rapist, Detectives Hank Adams and Felicia Scott agree to go undercover – as a happily married couple. Both have their misgivings about their ability to pull off the illusion. Felicia is certain Hank is in love with his partner Ry’s fiancée and Hank’s pretty sure Felicia’s got the hot’s for Ry.

With the threat of Pan escalating past rape, can these two admit to their growing attraction before a murderer ends their chance for love?

Aline

Enter the Forbidden Hunt

2008-09-08T05:04:00.001+01:00

Well we're having another forbidden Hunt. This is the Ico you need to find.

You can find all the details here: Forbidden Hunt Main Page

Good Luck to all.

Aline

Tambra's News and books

2008-09-04T20:38:00.003+01:00

Hi everyone,

I had some great news to share.

Wicked Pleasures won a recommended read and book of the week from Whipped Cream reviews.
Celtic Love Knots Vol. 9 received 5 Hearts from reviewer Crystal Adkins!
Celtic Love Knots Vol. 9 also received 4 tombstones from Bitten by Books.

I just finished reading Real Vampires Get Lucky by Gerry Bartlett. I loved it! This is a fun, sexy vampire series and I"m looking forward to reading Ms. Bartletts's next installment.

Nina Bangs' Eternal Pleasures was also a fantastic read. I know when I pick up anything with Nina's name, it will be good.

Kimberly Raye is another author who has consistently given wonderful reads. Yep, another auto-buy for me. Her vampire series with Lil Marchette is fab.

I love paranormal romance! It can be funny, edgy, dark, light.

Other authors that are auto buys for me are:
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Angela Knight
Deidre Knight
Kerrelyn Sparks

Until next month,
Tambra
www.tambrakendall.com

Hello, it's me again...with another release

2008-09-02T11:59:00.004+01:00

Weaving Words releases today. *grin*

Weaving Words releases today. *grin*

It's a few hours before it goes live, but you can find out more about it here on my Samhain author link.

Easy part of his day? Resurrecting the dead. Hard part? Keeping them alive.

Kaede is a witch whose family has been bound to a powerful House for over a thousand years. And he hates it. Despite the fact that his lord, Tarou, murdered his mother, Kaede is sworn never to harm the man who could kill him with just seven words. Now he’s been commanded to use his unique powers to resurrect Tarou’s wife from the dead, and he has no choice but to comply. Things go horribly wrong when he accidentally pulls the wrong soul back. Now it’s not just his own life he must try to save.

Vara’s day couldn’t get much more bizarre. One moment she’s a captain in the Temple Guard. The next, she finds herself transported into a world of magic and witches—and stuffed into the body of a lord’s wife. Unwillingly plunged into middle of a deadly power struggle, the only one Vara can turn to is Kaede, the witch responsible for dragging her into this alien world. A witch she finds far too attractive…

Warning: This book contains the following; magic, witches and more body-swapping than is safely sane.

Excerpt

The corpse’s heart juddered and then began to pump fresh, slow blood through its decaying veins.

“Not decaying any more,” Kaede murmured.

“What was that, witch?”

Kaede ignored his lord’s question. His eyes stayed with the body on the altar, watching as the blood flushed the exposed skin not covered by its simple white funeral shift. “Nothing, lord.” His fingers dipped into the liquid gold, sweeping intricate symbols over her face and neck. The symbols writhed and Kaede snatched his fingers away. He winced. These were the final rushes of power. She was almost there, almost returned to bright life. Almost. He risked a look to the arched entrance of the ancient cavern. Light edged over the sky in a soft pale grey. It was only dawn. That knowledge had tiredness eating into his bones.

Had he only been bonded to her for a few hours? It felt like forever.

For the hours of darkness, he had stood over the Lord Tarou’s dead wife and worked his skill. A skill he shouldn’t have, and certainly not one his lord should know about. The shadows cast by the twisting patterns covering the woman’s skin danced over the cavern wall. Kaede kept his gaze fixed on his gold-smeared fingers. Tarou knew what he was and that scared him more than bringing a dead woman back to life.

How had his lord known?

Kaede’s jaw tightened. He knew his mother had to have talked in her final hours. Tarou had presided over her interrogation, obviously wrung secrets from her. The old soured anger swelled again, tasting bitter on his tongue, but he cut out those thoughts. They had no place in his head. He had a job to do.

He forced his gaze back to the woman’s face—her features calm and delicate even as she fought her way back to life. He hoped the Lord Tarou knew what he was doing. His wife couldn’t be that vital to him. The rumours ran that she was only a bartered woman from a wealthy Northern family. She had no connections, no special talents. To risk a resurrection was insane. Kaede said a silent prayer for his own soul.

Her lips parted. Dry. Cracked. With a cry, her spine arched away from the cold slab of the altar, her limbs twisting. Kaede grabbed at her arms, and held her down as her soul clawed its way back into her body. The witch willed all of his strength into keeping her still. Her soul had to settle. That fact the scrolls had stressed, stressed in blood and bone.

“Witch, what is happening?”

Kaede gritted his teeth. “She is almost back with us, lord.”

She shrieked, the cry piercing Kaede’s heart. That hadn’t been in the scrolls. A soul was supposed to crave the touch of its body. But he couldn’t panic. Not now.

She fell limp to the stone in a sudden rush. Kaede fell forward, pushing hard against her arms. She groaned. He released his tight grip and took support from the raised lip of the stone dais.

Her breathing was slow, even and there was a slight, living flush to her cheeks. The Lady Annaliese was the most beautiful woman in the king’s court. Kaede’s eyes flicked to the hovering lord. He stood taut, grim, his stark face intent in the candlelight. Tarou wanted more than just his pretty wife. It was there in his narrowed, black gaze, the whitened fingers that gripped the dagger at his hip.
Kaede stared back at Annaliese, watched as her eyelashes struggled to release the oil clogging them. He’d assumed that she was just the vacuous smile gracing Lord Tarou’s arm. He’d seen nothing special in her. Nothing at all.

Kaede rubbed gently at the muck and oil the ceremony required, erasing it from her skin in the reverse of how he had drawn it. With a final Word, the ash circle protecting them both swirled into the air and vanished.

Her eyes flickered open. They were a dark blue—evidence of her Northern Clan. There was no focus, just wild fear. Kaede blinked. He had never seen that before, none of the lords’ wives showed any emotion other than perfect serenity and happiness.

“Lady?” Kaede whispered, bending to catch sound from her parched mouth. His hand gripped the dais, helping to support his exhausted body.

Her lips moved and there was a rush of nonsensical syllables. She searched his face for understanding and her panic grew.

Pulling in his control, Kaede pressed his thumb into her forehead and forced out tired Words, grimacing at the pull of them in his flesh. He murmured a silent prayer, needing his final spell to work. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe—

“What is this place? Who are you? Why…” She reached up to tug at his thin, silver robe. Kaede lurched over her as she caught him by surprise. He stared at her as her voice faded away. A knot tightened in his stomach. What had he done? He’d failed. That failure would see her dead again. And him right along with her.

“Is she well, witch?” Tarou demanded, pushing forward to stand beside his silent wife. Annaliese simply stared at her moving fingers, examined her palm, ignoring her husband.

“Yes, lord.” Kaede pushed back the hood of his robe and held the woman’s staring eyes. “The resurrection was successful.” The lie soured his mouth.

Thanks for reading :)

Kim Knox

...darkness and romance...

www.kim-knox.co.uk / www.darknessandromance.wordpress.com

Unity releases today!

2008-09-01T21:36:00.001+01:00

My first menage releases in about three and a half hours *bounce*

The Talar murdered her mother and her sisters but to save her city from their attacking armada, Alena Petrova Dubov, Imperial Princess of the Rodin must put aside her hatred and sleep with the enemy.

It's an ancient ceremony, shared with two men bred for her pleasure. Or it should have been. Her generals had chosen Vadim, son of a Talar captive, to satisfy her, joining her oldest friend, Sacha in bringing her to exquisite ecstasy.

The ritual will change her, transform her flesh until she becomes one with her city. With the prospect of her enemy's power flowing within her, Alena is terrified of what she will become. But first she has to complete the ritual...and hope that her overwhelming attraction for her enemy doesn't destroy the city she's so desperate to protect.

You'll find it here at Liquid Silver Books

And there's an R rated excerpt further back in the blog

Enjoy! :D

Summer is over?

2008-08-28T16:49:00.002+01:00

How the heck did that happen? I think I blinked, maybe even dozed off for a moment, and whammo, it's time to start getting things ready for the kids to go to school! Sadly, we only went camping once! And only one canoe trip! It's practically criminal.

With both kiddies getting on the bus this year, I'll have the house to myself, and man, and I hoping I'll use that quiet time well...I soooo need to catch up on my sleep, er, I mean my writing.

I say we throw a "back to school party" on the DoC group. I know Kim and Michelle are probably thinking about the joyous wonder of a quiet house. Or maybe we'll all be blubbering about it, I don't know. I'm pretty sure I'll be sitting by the phone waiting for word that my son has set the desks on fire, or mooned someone. He's four. He does stuff like that.

Tambra News

2008-08-08T00:54:00.002+01:00

Hi Everyone,

Goin' Down Anthology Book Two is finally out from Aspen Mountain Press.
www.aspenmountainpress.com
Already on the publisher's page at Fictionwise it's at number 5. So, pass the word and make this a number 1 seller! Four contemporary, erotic romances with the theme love in an elevator.

For those that have already purchased your copy, thank you and I hope you enjoy it.

Other news, my title from Red Rose Publishing, Wicked Pleasures was given a recommended read by the Whipped Cream review site and it also won Book of the Week. Thanks to those who voted for my story!

Upcoming titles:
My story, A Cursed Heart under the name Keelia Greer, will be in the Sancturary Moon: First Howl paranormal anthology very soon. Stay tuned for more details.

Remember you can find the latest news on my website: www.tambrakendall.com
I blog here, Writers Gone Wild and my MySpace, www.myspace.com/tambrakendall

Hugs to all!
Tambra

Cover Love...

2008-08-06T23:03:00.001+01:00

This is the new cover for my upcoming Samhain paranormal romance, Weaving Words. Isn't it pretty? :D

Chaos

2008-07-31T08:00:00.001+01:00

I don't know what I was thinking when I told myself I'd be able to buckle down and write a lot once summer started! So far there hasn't been anything written or much time to even think about writing between camping, swimming, geocaching and who knows what else. I finally got around to redoing the websites for my self and the group, though they need some jazzing. I'll have to go hunting for ideas.

This week, I'm in Haliburton, taking a workshop on Travel Writing. Weird, I know. My mum called me and said she was worried I was becoming a hermit, so would I like to take a workshop. The choices were Belly Dancing, Travel Writing, Chainsaw Sculpture, or a quilting thing. I chose the writing one. Actually the conversation went something like this....

Mum: You need to get out of the house. I'll sign you up for a workshop.

Me: Uh....

Mum: Great! Travel Writing it is. *click*

Every spring I get the course catalogue for the Haliburton School of the Arts, and never manage to actually take any workshops, so I'm pretty excited. A few years ago I took a black and white photography class, and it was awesome. I'm only bummed that the Fiction Writers Boot Camp one happened to be during the same time as our annual camping trip with high school friends.

And the other cool thing is, I'll be free to play on my parent's Wii every night! Erm, I mean, I'll have someone to watch the kids while I write...yeah, that's what I meant.

Aline's big surprise!

2008-07-25T20:10:00.007+01:00

We interrupt this regularly scheduled posting to give you some awesome news! I have hijacked Aline's day so I can brag on her. *WEG*

Aline just received the coveted "Outstanding Read" from Simply Romance Reviews. And she got it for one of my favorite books to date: Psychotic.

Whitney called the two characters "...exciting," and "...characters you come to love and cheer for."

If you're dying for a great romantic suspense, check out Psychotic, available HERE at Red Rose Publishing.

Want to see the full review? Click HERE.

Congrats, Aline! What an awesome review! *WEG*

New Sale, Upcoming Releases & Pre-Orders!

2008-07-16T07:00:00.000+01:00

The big news for me this week is that I've sold One & Only to Samhain Publishing! One & Only, for those of you who don't know, was the first vampire story I ever wrote. It was also the first story I ever sold to a publisher - albeit a very small publisher. The story won a contest and was offered a publication spot, which I jumped at. I was hooked! A few weeks later, my first dragon book sold to a slightly larger publisher and that one actually ended up coming out first, but I doubt one would have happened without the other to spur on my confidence.

One & Only started life as a very short 3,500 word piece about Atticus, an ancient vampire, and the woman who unexpectedly came into his life to make his endless years worthwhile once more. Her name was Lissa. The story was so short back then, they didn't even have last names. LOL. Well, the story has been turned inside out and upside down, rewritten to over six times its original size and now they even have room for last names! The newly re-"vamped" story (sorry, I couldn't help myself) will be out from Samhain later this year. In all likelihood, the next two stories in the now out-of-print series will follow in the coming months. There was some talk of gathering the three re-written novellas (One & Only, Rare Vintage & Phantom Desires) together in a print anthology that would probably be out sometime in 2009 or 2010, but the details haven't been nailed down yet, so stay tuned on that.

In other news, the third book in my EPPIE Award Winning Resonance Mates series is coming out in ebook formats on August 5th. It's called Jaci's Experiment and it's my favorite book in the series to date! Lots of interesting secondary characters popped up in this book and they'll most likely get books of their own now, though it wasn't in the original plan. Hey, things change, you know? LOL.

If you're an ebook fan, look for Jaci's Experiment on August 5th. If you're a print-only reader, you'll have to wait until next year for Jaci, but Book 2 in the series, Davin's Quest, will be out in December and is already on pre-order from Amazon, along with two of my other forthcoming titles.

My October print release, Sweeter Than Wine, is already up for pre-order as is Davin's Quest and next March's FireDrake. All on sale! Stay tuned to my website for more information, as it becomes available.

Bianca D'Arc

Blog - Website - Group

Songs for inspiration

2008-07-06T01:05:00.003+01:00

A good beat can move me to be inspired. (A fact that took my husband a while to understand, but now he will say hey - listen to that beat :) *old dogs can learn new tricks ;)

What kind of music moves you? Mine depends on where I am in a story and what kind of scene I am working on. I usually make one playlist for a story and then I have a separate playlist for when my writing gets hot and heavy.

It's always sad when my CP's don't like the same music I do, but my kids enjoy it. Why? I usually have the latest song downloaded before they can ask me to get it LOL. I'm the cool mom. The one who listens to the good music and plays LOL

Sometimes we break into song and dance and the kids gather around me while I'm trying to write.

One time I turn off the music? When I'm editing. That's a whole different ballgame. Silence and a day without my kids is what I need for editing.

How about you?

Michelle

Coffee and Chocolate

2008-07-03T19:06:00.003+01:00

Coffee and chocolate. These are my two mainstays. These work for me and here's why.

A recent study showed people who had a cup of coffee before exercising stayed with the program and finished compared to those who did not.

I have to watch my caffeine intake now, but still, I love my coffee.

Since I get migraines, I pull out the coffee maker and grinder when I feel one coming on.
Yes, I know my migraine meds have caffeine in it already, but many times making a pot of coffee and taking the meds will stop the headache or keep it from getting worse.

A cup of coffee will work if you're having an asthma attack. I know this from personal experience.
Inhaler, sip the coffee. This works because the caffeine helps open the bronchial passages.

Be sure and talk to your doctor if you want to try any of this. My doctor knows and says as long as it works, it's okay to keep doing this.

Dark chocolate is my reward for whatever I decide. Chocolate just makes you feel good and when I feel good I write better.

Chocolate coffee, oh yeah!

Simple pleasures that make life a little more enjoyable. The only other thing--you could add reading a Tambra Kendall title, while drinking a cup of chocolate coffee.

My newest release comes out in two weeks. Goin' Down Anthology book two from Aspen Mountain Press will be released July 18, 2008. www.aspenmountainpress.com
Join my yahoo group and stay up-to-date on all my releases and see what I offer for new writers. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TambraKendall

Until next month!
Hugs,
Tambra Kendall
www.tambrakendall.com

RRP's 1st Anniversary Scavenger Hunt

2008-07-01T00:12:00.000+01:00

Red Rose Publishing is having a Scavenger hunt to celbrate it's 1st Year Anniversary.

So all you need to do is go here : Red Rose Publishing Contest Page

And click on this icon ---->

Then follow the direction you find on the contest page. Each Icon will take you to the next author's website who is participating.

One lucky reader will win this --->

Along with e-book prizes.

Good luck.

Aline

Lots Going On!

2008-06-18T14:33:00.004+01:00

It's been a busy time on The D'Arc Side... I had a book release (FireDrake - which I don't think I got a chance to tell you about last time), then a bunch of book signings, the Lori Foster event in Ohio, a trip with family down South, then an RWA luncheon here on Long Island. It's been a whirl, I can tell you!

In the midst of all that, I've been working steadily on edits for my August 5th release, Jaci's Experiment, which is the third book in my very successful Resonance Mates series. The cover was just approved, so I'm showing it off here. Ain't it grand? :)

As for FireDrake, it's been receiving a lot of critical acclaim and topped the Samhain Best Seller list for a while there, which was awesome. I recently created a quick, 40-second video for the book to give you a flavor of it. You can check it out on YouTube by clicking here.

FireDrake is part of my ongoing Dragon Knights series, but it starts a whole new sub-set of books that have more magic, more magical creatures and more action than the previous ones. I hope you'll enjoy them! Here's a little bit about the book:

Fifteen years ago, Drake left everything behind for a life in the shadows. While it broke his heart to leave his grieving dragon behind, serving Draconia as head of a network of spies suited him better. Far better than never quite measuring up to Mace, the “perfect” knight his father wished he could have been.

Mace has always done his duty, and done it well. Drake, his childhood friend and rival, was the charmer who effortlessly stole every woman who caught Mace’s eye. Some things never change—not one day back in town, and Drake’s already putting the moves on Krysta, the woman Mace has been courting.

And now the three of them have taken on the dangerous task of rescuing a kidnapped prince.

With each day that passes on their perilous journey, Krysta sinks deeper into the complicated relationship between the two men and their meddling, matchmaking dragons. Mace is clearly the safer choice for a mate; yet Drake tantalizes her with that unpredictable gleam in his eye. When the three of them come together, any sense of torn loyalty burns away in nights of fiery passion.

The safety of the stolen prince hanging in the balance, Krysta accepts the challenge to unite two strong men—and their dragons—into a real family.

If the fire within doesn’t burn them all to cinders first.

Available now in ebook (in print next Spring). Buy now from MBAM.

Inspiration and imagination

2008-06-06T00:22:00.003+01:00

As a writer many things inspire me.

Here are a few:

Watching a man hold his tiny baby with a look of wonder on his face.
A toddler throwing his arms around his Mom's neck and giving her a sweet, sloppy kiss.
Puppies at play.
Kittens asleep on the floor with a sunbeam highlighting their little fuzzy body.
Children's laughter.
A devastatingly handsome man with abs that are begging to be touched, among other things.

All these things and more can instantly spark an idea for a writer or help with a troublesome scene .

When I speak to writer's groups or schools, almost every time I'm asked where writers get their ideas.
My answer: everywhere.
Then I explain it's all in how you look at things around you. A writer has trained their mind to always be alert for any gem tossed their way.

Conversations and people watching are two other ways, we can evilly glean information. A gesture, tone of voice, a sentence, the way someone is dressed--all are fodder for the writer.

One thing writers do not do is write characters based on family members and close friends. This is dangerous.
I'll let you stop and think about the many ways something like this can cause damage.

There's a shirt I need to buy that says something like: Make me mad and you'll end up in my novel.

Writing in itself is inspiring. It gives me the chance to help make someone smile with my work or make them sigh with pleasure. My goal is to have readers think enough of my work as keepers for their shelves, that my imagination and inspiration have made their lives better.
Lightening their stress load by having the chance to laugh or live through the adventures of my time traveling heroine.

Inspiration and imagination are powerful for both writer and reader.

All my best,
Tambra
Coming July 18 from Aspen Mountain Press:
Goin' Down Anthology Book 2

New Release: The Honourable Lady

2008-06-03T22:40:00.002+01:00

I've been away for a while, blame my kidney and my ISP... I do ;-)

So...mainly I've been writing, a lot, and subbing like a crazy woman. The story in the anthology below is one that was accepted *grin*

Buy here

Royal officials are vanishing and Evia-ben-Thiak doesn't intend to be one of them.

As a high-ranking member of the court, she fears for her life. So, she takes the only option open to her. She hides on a boat sailing to her home-island.

However, the boat is not the sanctuary she hoped for. A friend from her childhood, the now-feared sorcerer, Makovik is also onboard. To be seen with him could end her career; have her thrown in the deepest dungeon. But more than that, she finds he has a plan.

And his actions will change her life forever...

And here's an excerpt:

The Honourable Lady

(c)2008 Kim Knox

"Do you know why I'm hated?" His voice was soft, almost to himself. "Why Silan foams at the mouth whenever my name is mentioned?" His shrewd eyes fixed on me, expecting an answer.

Rumours ran that Kear-al-Makovik practised blood magic, a form forbidden by the Crown and the League of Sorcerers for five centuries. Other tales told of sacrifices, that he butchered animals...babies...women. His estate had become a haven to all the evil in the Islands. But then he thought me ignorant of his true reasons. I could never believe my childhood friend would commit such atrocities, so quietly--carefully--I'd had him investigated.

Makovik had contested, in writing, every decree the emperor had issued. The first minister had recorded them, but the evidence against the emperor he'd burned into so much ash. He had to, to preserve his own skin.

"You question imperial law," I said.

His eyes narrowed. "And why is that, private secretary to the First Minister?"

I held his dark gaze, showing no fear, even though my heart pounded and my hands grew clammy. "Because it's wrong."

He shook his head, and his eyes closed. A heavy sigh escaped him. "Yet you happily work with and within the Court." Makovik shifted his gaze back to the sea.

I stared with him. I had no way of changing the madness of the emperor and his family. They had all been insane for three generations, a fact acknowledged by all Royal Officials. Yet, we could do nothing. The army and the imperial guard stood as solid supporters of their excesses. The emperor and his brother saw slights behind every glance and whisper. They issued orders, demanding the army crush any imagined resistance or raze some village or town to the ground.

Soldiering had turned into a lucrative profession.

Makovik became a lone voice against their rule. Open voice.

"The Court is a dangerous place. No one who's a part of it has ever considered themselves happy."

"Then resign!"

"And be replaced by someone worse?"

"Oh, I was forgetting the high principles of the Lady Evia-ben-Thiak," he said, his voice thick with sarcasm. "The woman who ordered ten men have their tongues cut out because they were talking on duty--"

"And would you rather have them dead?" My face flushed with an angry heat. I pushed at his shoulder, making him look at me. "Silan could hear them from his room. Whispering, plotting, joining with the voices in his head. He wanted them all decapitated."

I closed my eyes. Silan's image burned into my memory.

His heavy frame lurched about his room, eyes rolling, white foam flecking his painted lips. Ranting, he demanded the duty guards were talking, talking about him. He wanted them dead, their heads on pikes, their corpses hung from gibbets in the market square....

"Those ten guards still have a position in the palace, far away from Silan. Their families won't starve." I willed down the surge in my blood. "So why are you on this boat?"

"Him." Makovik jabbed a thumb back to the fat-jowled councillor who lectured his guards by the main mast. The wind-chaser had finished with her fun, and his bright blue robes hung loose over his large body. "Ran Lucian. I've a bone to pick with him."

"What are you going to do?"

Makovik smiled. Sly. Almost wicked. The knot in my stomach tightened. Had he given up on the legal path? "Don't ask that sort of question, Evia. You might get an answer you don't like."

Memorial Day Blowout

2008-05-24T00:29:00.000+01:00

Aspen Mountain Press
Memorial Day Weekend Blow Out!

Join Aspen Mountain Press and Authors this weekend for the Memorial Day blow out!
There is a 15% discount on selected titles:

Some Gave All:
Featuring Stories by Jefferson Dane, Wayne Greenough, Aline de Chevigny, and J.M Snyder

War Torn by J.M Snyder

Cold Warriors by Clare Dargin

Flight of the Sparrows by Laura Baumbach

In Her Name by Esther Mitchell

Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyon

Hope of Heaven by Esther Mitchell

No Apologies by J.M Snyder

The blow out begins on Friday May 23, 2008 and goes through till May 26, 2008!

I have a new release wooohooo

2008-05-22T06:59:00.001+01:00

Nature's Whim

Ares had one goal, to become the most powerful of the old Gods. And now with Mother Nature missing, presumed dead, and the world in complete chaos, his wish was almost a reality. He never dreamed that the twenty first century could hold so much promise and power. Now was the time to act, he’d planned out ever contingency he could think of. Nothing could stop him. Nothing except her! How was he supposed to plan for something he neither saw coming nor ever expected to find. To make matters worse, he felt an attraction to her he couldn’t understand or resist, and he’d tried.

But Mother Nature was back. She’d been reincarnated into the body of a young woman with a quick wit and sharp tongue who didn’t have a clue. Now Ares had to make the most difficult decision of his immortal life. Does he help Desdemona Carpenter get both her powers and the elements under control or does he smite what could be true love and aim for the power he so desperately desires?

Tied for Cover of the Month
November 2007

To Buy Nature's Whim
Excerpt :

He walked to the opening of his tent and surveyed all that was his. Yes he missed the comforts of his home, but they held too many memories. Memories that even after months of planning and preparing still distracted him from his destiny. Yet he couldn’t deny that there was a pull, and urge to go after her that he fought with the iron will of a warrior.

Lightning flashed in a clear blue sky, and struck the only tree in the camp splitting it straight down the middle. The singed and burning wood reminded him that he had other more pressing things to worry about. For one he needed to find Gaia before she ruined all his carefully laid out plans. He needed to learn why she was working against him and where she received such power. It was time to return to Mount Olympus and speak with his family.

The earthquake hadn’t been the only disaster to hit the earth of late. Tornadoes, Tidal waves, Hurricanes and a record number of Volcanoes had become active all over the world. Always within his personal vicinity, and always killing his men just before they were ready to go to battle. He’d noted one other thing in his searches, the attacks always occurred while he was asleep and dreaming of her!

The dark circles under his eyes attested to the fact that he hadn’t been sleeping much of late. It was a good thing for him that a God needn’t much sleep. Those dreams always felt so real, so vibrant. Like Desi was there in the room with him.

Her lips would kiss him, her tongue teasingly run over his nipples, her teeth nipping him to distraction. Her hands would roam all over his ready and willing naked body beneath hers. She’d tease him to a fever pitch, her cries and moans of pleasure driving him insane with lust. Then when he’d be ready to scream in frustration she’d relinquish power to him to do with her as he pleased.

He always started the same way, he wasn’t sure why. But first he’d crush her to him and devour her mouth with a kiss of desperation, and only when he felt her desperation was as high as his, would he enter her. Thrusting deep inside of her, until he felt they’re bodies merge. Desi clinging to him with a desperation of her own whispering word of love and regret until they both climaxed together.

Ares shook himself out of the trance last night’s dream put him under. It was the first dream he’d allowed himself in weeks. They're lovemaking showed that. It had been quick and rough; like they’d both craved the others touch and couldn’t wait to come together. Once they caught their breaths, they’d come together again slowly this time, sensually.

He shook his head to dislodge the mental image; Desi was the last person he wanted to think about today. Today he needed to find Gaia! It was time to stop her from throwing her temper tantrums. He couldn’t rule the world as the supreme God if she destroyed it in her blind jealous rage.

Ares grabbed his cloak and left his tent. “Matius, I’m leaving you in charge of this group of recruits until I return. I want them ready; we put my plans into motion the moment I get back.

“Yes my God Ares.”

“No one is to enter my tent while I am away. If I sense a single presence in there I will kill the culprit with my bare hands. No matter the reason for their entrance.” To put weight behind his words with a wave of his hand Ares erected a barrier over the tent. He didn’t know how, but Desi came to him in that place and he didn’t want anyone desecrating the space in his absence.

Inspiration

2008-05-20T05:06:00.002+01:00

I often use different images and music for each story I write. I like to listen to the same group of songs for each story because I can get into a groove. The picture is nice because every time I look at the image I'm reminded of my inspiration all over again.

What about you?
What inspires you and what do you listen to when you write?

Some authors and editors tell me no music. I agree with the editors. I have to shut off my music when editing. I'm not sure why, but there it is.

Support groups?
One member of mine is in Boston without INTERNET. She will pay when she returns for abandoning me. So for now I torture my characters. >:)

Theses are just some things to think about when you get stuck in your story.

Michelle

Writing Under Stress

2008-05-01T15:50:00.002+01:00

Sometimes life gets in the way of writing.

It can be those nagging little aggravations or it can be life changing.
Since this is something I'm going through right now, I'll tell you what I'm doing to stay sane and keep writer's block away.

I'm writing what I can. If all I can squeeze out is a 100 words, I'm accepting that's the best I can do for that day. Beating myself up for not reaching my quota is only going to make things worse and speed me onto the path of writer's block.

By doing something writing related every day, it makes me feel like I'm doing something instead of nothing.

I've plotted some stories by paper and pen, so that when I go to the computer I'll have something instead of trying to make my stressed mind try to think.

For anyone in a stressful situation, try this:

The more pressure you put on yourself the harder it will be and the downward spiral begins. Take this time to lower your TBR pile. Or start writing something just for fun, something short, or a novella. Find ways to relieve the stress: walk the dog, light some incense and meditate, take a hot bubble bath.

The main thing to remember is that adjustments need to be made. Talk to some trusted friends and family members. Find the positive and don't be afraid to move on.

Hugs,
Tambra Kendall/Keelia Greer

The RT experience

2008-04-26T01:42:00.008+01:00

Well I went to my first RT and what a time I had. Good, bad and ugly LOL all rolled into one. I look happy and excited don't I?

It didn't last, I came home to find pissy emails and complaints that I didn't answer them while away. My appologies, I left my laptop at home while in the us, not that we had internet access anyway. The hotel was under construction, so there were a few lacks of amenities.

The Costumes were spectacular, I'd never seen anything like it before. They were so vibrant and detailed. I can't wait to see what happens next year.

Check my blog to find more pictures of my time at RT. http://alinedechevigny.blogspot.com/

Aline

one voice does matter

2008-04-21T21:11:00.002+01:00

Yeah, I'm so boring I'm going to tell you to go vote. BUT I'm going to tie it in with something writing related :)

We hear this all the time, votes add up. Just because you are only one vote doesn't mean you won't make a difference. After last year when everyone I voted for lost in the area it was one of those times when I said, "WHY AM I VOTING? It obviously doesn't matter."

I'm going to vote again this year. Even if my candidates lose. Why? My voice, my opinion, my vote does count. As a writer I have sometimes received emails from fans. I love when someone writes to me and says, "You wrote that so well. So many authors write this topic but you did it realistically." My sales on the book weren't astronomical. In fact there weren't as high as my last book. I'd gotten depressed. That one voice. That one opinion - I heard it. In several cases, a comment made a huge difference to me. One time it pushed me to challenge myself and see what outrageous things I could come up with. I am not in this for the money, although it would be nice to earn a living writing. I write for the joy of it. Does that mean I don't care if readers pass illegal copies of my stories around? I do care. I can't continue to write if I don't make enough to cover my expenses. My husband will make me quit, and the IRS will hound me :)

I bet you all know what I mean. If you've ever had a really lousy day - week - month - year. There is usually that one person who gets you, who understands, who helps you.

I'd like to see everyone go out and vote, but I also want to let the readers know that your one voice - one opinion - of our story, could be the reason a tired, out of money writer doesn't stop - doesn't quit. Every person counts. I cherish each and every email I received. Thank you all for being brave enough to share with me, and I hope that you all find my stories brighten your day even a little.

Michelle

Irish Dreams is the 5 Heart Sweetheart

2008-04-14T21:30:00.002+01:00

I am so happy to announce that thanks to your votes, Irish Dreams is this week's 5 Heart Sweetheart!

You can see it over at The Romance Studio.

This week's 5 Heart Sweetheart...

"I absolutely loved this story! I have not read a tale this captivatingly charming in a very long time. It had a bit of all the elements that to this reader make a story perfect ñ a smart, sensibly sexy heroine; the dark, mysterious, gorgeous hero; a well balanced mix of love and lust; beautifully written passionate scenes...all mixed together with that little bit of magic that is Ireland. More than worth the time spent reading. I will definitely be recommending this tale to others." - Rosalynne Writer

Michelle

Erotic Romance:The Good, The Bad,The Ugly

2008-04-03T16:22:00.003+01:00

Hi all, Tambra here

There's a debate going on in the romance writing community about erotic romance.
I don't think readers care what's going on. They want a good read, erotic romance or not.

THE GOOD:
Erotic romance is giving women readers what men have had for years. A choice.
Some women are saying their marriages have improved by reading erotic romance. My guess is they are finally speaking up to their partners about fantasties they have and would like to try.

Erotic romance has detailed love scenes and the language is plainer in what the body parts are called. We do not degrade our heroines and our heroes. Read any of my titles. ALL of them are romance. In fact, all of my publishers have guidelines for their erotic romance lines and they all specifically state, it must be a romance.

It is a fact that women who read romance give their husbands more sex than the women who don't, so I can see how the erotic romance readers would certainly fall into this category.

Women appear to be enjoying this newfound freedom because our sales prove they want to read it. The readers are showing with their pocketbooks what they want.

THE BAD:
Am I a bad person because I write erotic and sensual romance? No.
Am I prostituting myself to get published? No, again. My first published romance short didn't even have a love scene in it. I let my story dictate the best way it should be written.

Commercial fiction is all about entertaining the reader. Some readers desire to read stories where the bedroom door is open and want more than what traditional romance offers.

THE UGLY:
The problem the erotic romance writers are having is other writers accusing them of writing porn and prostituting themselves by writing in this genre. Professional jealousy? Perhaps. Are they threatened by the elements we incorporate into our stories? That's another possibility.

Number one, the accusers should do a little research before they start calling people names. It helps to know exactly what pornography is and does.

Here is what Pornography is: Pornography degrades and exploits women and represents them as nothing more an object for sex, not a fully functioning human with feelings.

Erotic romance writers stories do arouse and there's no doubt about that we who write it won't argue that point. But just because our stories are sexually stimulating doesn't make it porn.
We also have well developed characters and plot just like traditional or sensual romance.

Has any of these people read more than one erotic romance? I've read a number of books that were not up to standard, yet if I stopped there and proceeded to paint all the genre with a black brush would that have been fair? No. It would not.

There is plenty of room in the romance genre for all us. If you don't like what we write, then don't read it. It all comes down to choice.

Time will tell if this area of romance will be accepted by those within our ranks. What matters most is whether or not the readers decide if erotic romance is good, bad or ugly. If sales are any indication, they think erotic romance is a wicked good read.

Hugs to all,
Tambra Kendall
www.tambrakendall.com

Earth Hour

2008-03-30T18:50:00.001+01:00

I am so not a promo queen. I am so bad, I’m not even gonna talk much about my writing. I’m gonna talk about last night.

Last night Earth Hour was scheduled for 8pm-9pm local time (whatever your locale). It was a time where everyone was encouraged to shut off their lights for an hour, go back to candle light power, and conserve energy. This was in an effort to show the concern people of the world have for the Global Warming Crisis.

Now, they know that one hour in one day isn’t going to make much of a difference in the long run. That was not the point. The point was for people to get together, to show what they consider important. To do something that demonstrates to the world leaders that they feel something needs to be done about the climate crisis.

One of the tips encouraged us to unplug all our appliances, etc. I did. I went downstairs and unplugged the Stereo with the blinking clock that has been blinking for 6 months, that we have used once in that six month period. I am using that electricity – why? It is easy to plug in again when we need it. I unplugged the power strips downstairs that we haven’t been using, I unplugged the electronics in the guest room that no one is going to need for the next three months. These are all little things that we don’t think about. My hubby won’t use his laptop for days on end, why leave it plugged in, sucking energy it does not need?

How many of us did it? I did. I sat here at home, alone, with all the lights out. Flickering candles glowing around me as I contemplated things. Now, I will be honest, I had my laptop on. I did NOT have it plugged in, however, it was on battery power. (I am in the middle of edits and needed to work on them). So I did do some work.

See, now we get to writing. Sitting there contemplating things, and then talking to my crit partner about it, I had an AWESOME idea. But I can’t tell anyone about it yet. It’s not fully formed. I need to flow with it some. BUT I thought that an awesome thing. When you shut off all the lights in the house, and only have a couple candles around you, flickering, no sounds, no people, nothing, it can be an incredibly recharging time. I am so excited about this idea I have been working on it all morning. (Instead of the edits I need to finish).

I think I am gonna make an effort to do that more in the future. Even if it isn’t in the middle of the night. Just sit down, with no one around, nothing to distract me, and just contemplate stuff. See where my mind wanders, and what else I can come up with.

Spring News from Bianca

2008-03-19T14:13:00.006Z

Spring is my favorite time of year for a lot of reasons: my garden is starting to wake up and I'm excited about new plants I want to add to my collection, the songbirds are returning and it's awards season.

I've been lucky over the past few weeks. Hara's Legacy won the EPPIE for Best Erotic Romance Science Fiction/Futuristic. Prince of Spies won the CAPA for Fantasy Erotic Romance and All Romance eBooks gave Hara's Legacy a Best Book of 2007 Award and me a Best Author of 2007. Like I said, it's been an amazing turn of events!

This month, I've got three print releases. Hara's Legacy, the I Dream of Dragons anthology, and my first Phaze print title, Sons of Amber, which contains both of my first Sons of Amber novellas, Ezekiel and Michael.

I've made a new sale to Tease Publishing of a contemporary romance novella that's a little different for me. It's set on a ranch and has some yummy cowboys in it. It should be coming out later this Spring or early Summer. I've also got a new Dragon Knights book called FireDrake, coming out on May 13th from Samhain. Here's a peek at the outstanding new cover for that book:

In the meantime, Davin's Quest continues to do well. It's Book 2 in my Resonance Mates series begun with Hara's Legacy. I'm working on Book 3, Jaci's Experiment, which will be out in ebook in August, then in print next year. It's been a busy time, writing on deadline, doing edits for various books and gearing up for RT and a myriad of other conferences I'm going to this year. If you see me at one of them, please drop by and say hello!

Come and join me

2008-03-12T01:19:00.001Z

On March 17th between 6pm and 9pm at Love Romance Cafe Yahoo Group.

I'll be joined by some friends as we introduce you to some of our hot new releases.

Come meet a handsome Scottish Duke who find the woman of his dreams in his bed.

a sexy Irish Restaurateur whose Goddess bring him his soulmate in a bowl of soup.

and other delicious heroes as they find the loves of their lives.

Tambra's News and Updates

2008-03-06T14:25:00.002Z

Hi everyone,

I have another publisher! Aspen Mountain Press has accepted my erotic romance short, The Erotic Touch for the Goin' Down Anthology. All of the stories are themed love in a elevator.

Whiskey Creek Press Torrid just released Celtic Love Knots Vol. 9.

Beth from ParaNormal Romance Reviews said this about the stories: Celtic Love Knots Vol. 9 by Tambra Kendall is made up of two wonderfully written stories. The way the author presents the story will have the reader swept away into a whole new world. The characters are so strong and so mesmerizing you are ready to embark on the journey along side them. There is never a dull moment. The stories are filled with action and adventure and steamy scenes, which will have the reader glued to the pages to see what will happen next. I really enjoyed reading both stories and I'm sure others will feel the same.Reviewed by Beth SentersPosted February 17, 2008
To order your copy of Celtic Love Knots Vol. 9 go to www.whiskeycreekpresstorrid.com

Whiskey Creek Press is celebrating five years in business. Please stop by and check out all the fun things they have planned for the month of March!

Wicked Pleasures available from Red Rose Publishing received 4.5 Blue Ribbons from Chrissie at Romance Junkies and 4.5 Hearts from Dawn at Love Romances and More. If you love hot and funny historicals, please try Wicked Pleasures.
www.redrosepublishing.com

Chat at Brenda Williamson's Yahoo Group. Join me Saturday at Brenda's group. I'll have some free downloads and hot excerpts. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BrendaWilliamsonRomanceParty
I hope to see you there!

Hugs,
Tambra

It's out, it's out, it's out...weeeeeeeeeeeeeee

2008-03-06T03:41:00.001Z

Toss of a Coin
Mainstream Holiday Historical / Time Travel
ISBN: 978-1-60435-101-9
Word Count: 12,468
Price: $1.99
BUY

Blurb: A grandmother’s last request, a mysterious old coin, and a heartfelt wish.

Armed with a mysterious package, Angelica travels to Scotland to fulfill the requirements of her grandmother’s will. The package contains an ancient coin and a letter telling her to make one wish.

Angelica’s wish for true love sends her back in time and into the arms of a man who could make all of her dreams come true – if she’ll let him.

Excerpt:
Duncan woke, the sun shining in his eyes. The fact that the sun touched his face meant his servants had disobeyed a standing order of not entering his bedchamber without consent. They knew better, he’d made it perfectly clear in the past to never disturb him until he called for them.

His mood lightened when he realized his Angel was wrapped around his body, cuddling as close as she could, while the blankets covering her were all but stripped away from her body. Lord, she looked beautiful laying there, the sunlight glinting off her copper colored tresses. He knew it had never before been done; but he was never letting this woman go. Once he learned of her past, he was going to find a way to make her his Duchess.

Moving away just an inch, he smiled when she cuddled closer; closing the gap he’d created between them. Her hand, which rested over his heart slid lower when she moved, causing him to harden instantly. The temptation to take her again washed over him, he needed to find out who she was and where she came from.

Soft caresses along her skin evoked a lusty, low moan in Angelica. A soft, cool breeze against her skin had her cuddling closer to the warmth she felt right beside her, eliciting a groan of desire in return. Her body stilled its movements as her eyes snapped open. “Who’s there?”

“Ah my Angel, glad to see you’re finally awake. I’ve been attempting to entice you to open your beautiful emerald eyes for an hour now. You’ve been quite stubborn and may I add I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.”

“You mean this isn’t a dream?” She asked, stunned.

“You are most definitely my dream come true, Angel.”

“I… I have to go.” She cried, pulling the blanket up to her breasts trying to cover herself as she slowly scooted away from him as far as she could on the bed. “What have I done?”

“Go? Go where? I forbid it. You promised me answers this morning, my Angel, and I intend to collect them.” The determined scowl on his face propelled her out of bed with the sheet wrapped tightly around her.

“Answers? What kind of answers? I don’t know anything. I don’t even know how I got here.” Angelica felt panic rising uncontrollably within her. A full-blown panic attack just waiting to be set free. Where were her clothes?

Tina's Rant this Week

2008-02-24T16:37:00.003Z

I realize I don't have many releases coming up, so I don't have much to promo right now, so I thought I would do a little bit of rambling instead. I also have this same thing up on my personal writing blog, so if this is a reread for you, I apologize.

Okay, I am not a small woman, I really never have been. I am also short. So be it. I live with it, I embrace who I am, I love who I am, even if I will never be America's Next Top Model. (Which is fine, to be honest, who needs the drama? :) )

I love to dress my heroines in fancy dresses that I could never afford, or would never have a place to wear, or can never find in my size and height. One of my writing partners once told me she loved the dresses I "designed" for my heroines, and that made me feel good, because I often spend a lot of time looking for ideas and then mixing and matching to have them be what I want.

My heroines are slim, chubby, plus sized. Short, tall. Blonde, dark haired. I don't have a type. (although my crit partner says I lean toward chubby/plus sized, and that's okay with me.) So I try to dress them accordingly to size and temperament of each woman. (I am not gonna dress a self conscious plus sized woman in a dress that reveals more than it covers) So sometimes that means looking for things.

I have come to love the fact that so many places have adopted the idea that plus sized women are women, too, and that they should have beautiful dresses for proms and weddings, special occasions and the like. BUT If you are going to advertise yourself as a place for Plus Sized clothing, a place that has only "Fashion for sizes 14W-34W" then your freaking ass models should be AT LEAST a size 14. Seeing a skinny ass bimbo that looks good in a freaking gunny sack wearing an outfit that will look horrendous on most plus sized women is ridiculous. How the hell can I tell how my heroine's size 20 body with DD breasts is gonna look in that low cut thing when the model doesn't even have BOOBS!!!!!!.

Lane Bryant got in trouble for doing this years ago. At least now most of their models are about a size 14. That at least is something. But dammit, can't these other sites learn from them? WTF!!! You know, even if I become rich enough to be able to buy whatever I want, there are certain places I will NEVER go to, or catalogs I would never buy from because of this very reason.

My new favorite site for clothes IGIGI They have REAL plus sized women in their catalog. Women that have curves and bumps and everything, and still they show them sexy. I am in love. Hell, even if I am not crazy about every single outfit they have, or every single article they have, the point is they present women REALISTICALLY. And they have articles describing shape, clothing styles, self - esteem, etc. Kudos to them!!!!!! And THIS site doesn't seem to be too bad either. They mostly have forms, or no model at all. You can't how the clothes look on a plus sized woman, but at least(with a couple exceptions) you aren't forced to look at someone the size of your freaking thigh wearing the entire dress.

Anyone else know of any other sites?

It's finally here...Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

2008-02-22T18:45:00.002Z

The Ravenson Project: Chronicles of the Cursed (Book 2)

Malek DeWinter, learnt the hard way that the Raven Lord he’d thought had aved him from death so many years ago, wasn’t what he appeared to be. After a night of passionate lovemaking with his new found mate, he wakes from his cursed sleep to find himself chained to the dungeon walls. With his mate at the mercy of his Lord, the house he'd thought had abandoned him comes to his rescue. Can he make things right before it’s too late? Or will he lose his true love to the hands of a traitor?

To Buy
The Ravenson Prject: Chronicles of the Cursed (Book 2)

Excerpt:

Malek growled, his senses coming alert all at once as the curse let him free from its grasp.

Her scent infused him; she smelled of desire and need. Her lips tasted of eagerness and something he hadn’t tasted in decades…
Innocence.

Could it really be? His eyes snapped open. Could Sharra still be an innocent? The thought excited his senses and deepened his desire.

He rolled over pinning her to the mattress. She’d been warned to stay away until he rose for the evening, yet the stubborn woman refused to obey the simplest of commands. If his Sire hadn’t given him leave to take a keeper of his very own, Sharra would be in serious danger for the stunt she’d just pulled. Raven House law stated that a woman had no rights of her own. Any woman found in the house after the sun set was fair game for any vampire male who found her. Obliged by rules older than time to obey their every wish and whim. An unbound female found in a male’s room was fair game for all.

He’d decided within moments of being granted permission to choose a keeper that Sharra would that person, in effect keeping her safe under his protection from the other men in the house. As his keeper she would finally belong to him but until then she was at risk if found in his bed.

A slow throaty chuckle escaped his throat he’d always wanted a human lover he could bite into orgasmic bliss and she had just granted his wish with one bold move. Seeing her surprised expression, he grinned evilly. “Good evening Sharra.”

“Malek, you’re awake!”

“You sound surprised pet! I must say this is definitely the nicest way I’ve been woken in ages. But you know this isn’t where you were told to meet me.”

A frown caressed her lips at his grin. He knew she hated being ordered about.
“I’m no one’s slave Malek and I missed you.”

“No you certainly aren’t that Sharranna. But you could be mine! I wouldn’t object in the least.”

“Why you vile, disgusting, despicable excuse for a man.”

“You have no idea my pet, none whatsoever, how vile I can be.” He released his hold on the desire he felt for her and kissed her again. He expected no resistance since she’d entered his chambers and his bed freely, and he didn’t receive any.

Five years of waiting and wanting were set free in her one act of defiance. His hands roamed eagerly down her side to her thigh, slipping under the dress she wore and climbing back up to rest on her hip. Her dress bunched above his left hand, his right holding her chin steady while he plundered her mouth kissing the breath out of her.

Davin's Quest - Available Now!

2008-02-20T14:25:00.003Z

First, I want to thank everyone who came out and partied with me yesterday on my chat group. That was one heck of a party! If you missed it, I'll be doing a little reprise of some of the excerpts and information today on the Rites of Romance chat group, where I've been scheduled for an author day.

As you may know by now, Davin's Quest came out yesterday from Samhain. I've been absolutely thrilled with the response by both reviewers and readers alike. The story is the second in my Resonance Mates series that began with Hara's Legacy (which is now available in print). Here's a little bit about the book...

Which man will Callie choose, the alien or the warrior? Or can she have both?

For each Alvian, there is one perfect match—a Resonance Mate whose soul blends in perfect harmony. Unlike the rest of his race, Davin has emotions and suffers for it. Without a mate, he is doomed to go mad. Searching for answers and understanding, he seeks out Callie O’Hara, a human woman with strong empathic gifts. Could this fragile human be his Resonance Mate?

Rick St. John is a tough-as-nails survivor of the Alvian occupation of Earth. He doesn’t believe in much, but when he sees Callie for the first time, he starts to believe in love at first sight.

Warning: This title contains hot alien love, explicit sex, graphic language, and ménage a trois.

Read An Excerpt Online

Buy from MBaM!

Party Time!!!!!

2008-02-18T15:03:00.002Z

Come one come all, you are all cordially invited to join Bianca D'ard and friends.

Bianca D'arc's Yahoo Group

There will be chatting, promo's and excerpts for you to enjoy.

Happy Sunday

2008-02-17T14:44:00.001Z

Coming February 22nd, 2008 from Aspen Mountain Press The much anticipated sequel to Blood Red.

The Ravenson Project: Chronicles of the Cursed Book 2

Malek DeWinter, learnt the hard way that the Raven Lord he’d thought had aved him from death so many years ago, wasn’t what he appeared to be. After a night of passionate lovemaking with his new found mate, he wakes from his cursed sleep to find himself chained to the dungeon walls. With his mate at the mercy of his Lord, the house he'd thought had abandoned him comes to his rescue. Can he make things right before it’s too late? Or will he lose his true love to the hands of a traitor?

Excerpt : Unedited

Malek growled, his senses coming alert all at once. Her scent infused him, she smelled of desire and need. Her lips tasted of eagerness and something he hadn’t tasted in decades… Could it be innocence? His eyes snapped open. Could it be? Could Sharra still be an innocent? The thought excited his senses and deepened his desire.

He rolled over pinning her to the mattress below his body. She’d been warned to stay away until he rose for the evening, yet the stubborn woman refused to obey the simplest of commands. If his Sire hadn’t given him leave to take a keeper of his very own, Sharra would be in serious danger for the stunt she’d just pulled. He’d decided within moments of being granted that permission that Sharra would be his keeper, keeping her safe under his protection. A slow throaty chuckle escaped his throat at the thought, he’d always wanted a human lover he could bite into orgasmic bliss. Seeing her surprised expression, he grinned evilly. “Good evening Sharra.”

“Malek, you’re awake!”

“You sound surprised pet! I must say Sharra; this is definitely the nicest way I’ve been woken in ages. But you know this isn’t where you were told to meet me.”

He grinned at the frown that caressed her lips, she hated being ordered about like a slave. “I’m no one’s slave Malek and I missed you.”

“No you certainly aren’t that Sharranna. But you could be mine! I wouldn’t object in the least.”

“Why you vile, disgusting, despicable excuse for a man.”

“You have no idea my pet, none whatsoever, how vile I could be.” He released his hold on the desire he felt for her and kissed her again. He expected no resistance since she’d entered his chambers and his bed freely, and he didn’t receive any. Five years of waiting and wanting were set free in her one act of defiance. His hands roamed eagerly down her side to her thigh, slipping under the dress she wore and climbing back up to rest on her hip. Her dress bunched above his left hand, his right holding her chin steady while he plundered her mouth kissing the breath out of her.

Evil Author Things

2008-02-14T04:48:00.002Z

You know, as an author I get to do an awful lot of evil things and not get in trouble for them. Now I am not talking things like mass murder – although I wouldn’t put that past me in a future book. I am talking about those little evil things we all do – or want to do – in life but just can’t.

I was talking to my critique partner the other day, and she was writing a story in first person. The heroine was purposely making the hero mad. Doing little things like burning his marshmallows (yes, I am talking about s’mores here, get your mind out of the gutter.) then smooshing them so they ooze out of the crackers. (her words). This proceeded to piss the poor man off. And still the heroine continued to annoy the hell out of him. (He’d refused her sex, can you think of a better reason to punish him?)

Well, Michelle said that she loved it. That she was having loads of fun pissing off this man. And it struck me that some authors are born kind of evil. We get way too big of a kick out of stuff like that. Take for example, I was in the middle of a sex scene at the same time, and I realized I had my hero torturing the heroine. Not letting her do things cause he was too busy pleasuring her to let her pleasure him. (Yeah, I know, such a horrible torture, isn’t it?)

And then there are the times where nothing goes right for the heroine. Where she can’t change a tire because the lug nuts are too tight, when she drops things because she is nervous cause the hero is talking to her. When her mother starts yelling at her for her horrible taste in men right after her heart gets broken by the ex-boyfriend.

You know, I, too, truly enjoy too many of these scenes. So now that I think about it, I’m worried. What does that say about me as a person? Hehehe

Catching up

2008-02-05T13:44:00.000Z

The yahoo calendar was down for a while and didn't tell me to blog. I lay the blame solely at its feet for not posting on time... *cough*

Anyway...what's been happening?

Sweating with Sven kept me busy and I ended up with about 80 000 from the three months, which I'm very happy about. I finished and subbed 3 stories, two of which Weaving Words and The Honourable Lady have been accepted by Samhain and Wild Child publishing. I also got a good handle on three novellas, though two of them have turned out into category length - bad them! lol

Oh, and sometime in the future I'll become One-Kidney Kim. My right kidney decided at the end of November that it didn't like me anymore and the doctor confirmed today that it'll probably have to go. It'll be nice to stop aching ;-)

Anyway, here's a snippet from Weaving Words
(c) 2008 Kim Knox
-it's unedited - so it may change from the finished version-

Blurb

Vara had been a Captain in the Temple Guard, until she finds herself dragged into the body of a lord's wife. Her bizarre day increases as she discovers a world of magic and witches. Now she must try to survive in an alien environment, with a witch as her sole confidante; a witch she finds far too attractive...

Excerpt

Kaede moved close again. They only had a short time now before Tarou would want to return to the Lodge. "What is your real name?"

Annaliese dug her hand into her side, twisting against the tight pull of the final belt. "How did she wear this bloody thing?"

Kaede scrubbed at his face. "Damn it, lady, if this mistake is found out, both of us are dead."

"Yes, I thought that was probable." She straightened and pushed her hair from her eyes, grimacing as the ornate curls of thin gold caught on her fingers. "I only know that my name is Vara. Nothing else." She gave him a short smile. "I remember a tower, snow," she stared down at her shimmering robe, "and a leather cuirass." Vara… turned over her hand, stretching her palm. Her brow furrowed. "I should have sword calluses."

"You're a soldier." He waved at her, at her clothes, her hair. "Are you… erm… female?"

Vara gave a soft laugh. "Are you worried, Witch Kaede?" Her gaze slid down to his breeches and he stopped his hands moving to cover himself. The soft scent of her camomile perfume wrapped around him. His penis twitched and he held down a curse. "I can't pretend that I didn't notice your reaction to this body. Were you and she…?"

Kaede shook his head and tried not to notice the glitter of gold edging her cheek, the way it sparked in her wicked eyes. "No." He straightened. His lack of control made no sense. Annaliese Gaute had married his lord five years before and she had never once affected him. "And this is inappropriate."

"Really?" Her warm breath brushed his neck, her tongue-tip tracing along the underside of his jaw. He hissed and stumbled back from her. She grinned at him. "I'd call that inappropriate."

They were dead. Tarou would take one look at his smirking wife, demand a sword from his guard and slice her head off himself. His lord would save the Seven Words for him. "You were brought back for a reason." Kaede forced his mind to focus and push from his thoughts the need to have this new Annaliese hard up against the cavern wall, showing her how inappropriate he could be. Even with Tarou standing only yards away. "And I don't know what that is. I have my books, I'll try find out more about what… you… were trying to do. Why he's risking resurrection."

"Yes, he," she nodded to towards the lake, "doesn't seem the doting husband."

Kaede couldn't look back, afraid of what she would do if he turned his back on her. "He's not."

"We have a problem." She hitched her belt around her waist and smoothed back her robe. "I'm ready to go, Kaede, it'll look suspicious if we delay too long."

He blinked. She was being sensible now? "Witch, just call me witch," he muttered.

"Witch…" The drawled word flushed his face and he held down the surge of fear. Vara's red mouth twitched upward and the wicked spark returned to her gaze. She stood back from him and her chin lifted. "Aren't you going to ask me if I'm a woman again?"

Kaede bit back a curse. They weren't going to live to see the night.

My turn *bounces

2008-02-02T17:23:00.001Z

Okay, I had a release yesterday AND it's my turn to talk LOL

Um I dunno what about LOL

Okay last night I was looking for something in my blog (a yummy pic of The Master that Kim made for me) and noticed that I'd missed comments on my Fantasm finalist blog. Hehehehe Caridad must google her name and found herself on my blog. Best of all? She commented.

Dawn is Texas author of the month. There is a link for the myspace blog somewhere hopefully she will be kind enough to post it in the comments.

I'm thrilled to keep selling stories to Changeling. I have two series there and will be participating in three others. They are just soooo much fun over there. LOL

I made it onto the author drop down menu at WCPT - cause one of you mentioned I wasn't on it. I am now ;)

I love to talk so I made my own yahoo group : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/michellesedge

Um and I'm tired. The kids were all sick this past week so I'm off to catch up writing and reading.

Michelle

Witchy Woes: Tamara

2008-02-02T17:15:00.000Z

Witchy Woes: Tamara
Available now from Whisky Creek Press Torrid

WITCHY WOES Book 1: TAMARA by Michelle Hasker
Genre: Torrid Romance Paranormal
EBook formats ISBN: 978-1-60313-177-3
Rating: Sensual Romance – Sensual

Tamara is a witch and proud of it, but when an innocent spell goes horribly wrong, she ends up in the hospital. With death rearing its ugly head once more, Tamara knows she should ignore the handsome firefighter who seems captivated by her magical burns. Though she wants to forget about him and that fateful night, Dante is persistent, and soon she doesn’t know which of them is teaching the other about magic. Tamara puts up a good fight against the strong attraction she feels for Dante, but it’s a losing battle as she finds herself falling head over heels in love. The only problem? She’s dying and doesn’t want to leave behind anyone to mourn her.

Michelle

Happy Birthday Aline

2008-01-21T18:08:00.000Z

Hope you have a fabulous day!

It's Brava Time

2008-01-21T17:58:00.000Z

Okay we all know Kim is one of our talented sci-fi and contemporary author. She does torment and torture the way I wish I could :)

Her entry in the Brava contest is just a tease of a fabulous story. I know, I've read it :)

#142 -- Dark Host -- by Kim Knox
===
His scent hit me. The same one in Ciro’s stateroom; the one from the morgue. Him. Jason Narak—the one man immune to me. The one man I never wanted to see. Ever.

"Hello again, Charis."

I planted a fist in his face.

Jason staggered back. He brushed his mouth and stared at the dark stain of blood on his fingers. "I’ll allow you that." His gaze narrowed. "But that is all I will allow."

I snorted. "You couldn’t take me then. Now’s no different."

"Oh, I took you, Charis."

The slow-drawled words flushed heat through my skin. I pushed down the forbidden, carnal memories Jason Narak always stirred and glared at him. "So now you’re hired help? Nice to see you so reduced."

"What are you doing on this ship?"

"As if I’m going to discuss my business with a lackey."

Jason’s mouth thinned. "We’re going somewhere private." He took my arm. His dark hand burned against my pale skin and I tried to hold down the shiver at his touch. "Do you object?"

"To you? Always."

"Always the bristling little cat, aren’t you Charis?"

His words had me stumbling after him. They sounded too much like the words of the consciousness holding Ciro. What was Jason’s involvement in all of this? His scent was everywhere. "What are you really doing here?"

He stopped before Quinn’s stateroom, only a few strides from where that man was eating. Palming open the door, he pulled me inside. I wrenched my arm free. "Well?"

"Sit, Charis."

"Sorry, wrong species." And I stayed standing where I was.

"Fine." After ordering a healing pack from the Initiator built into the far wall, Jason flopped into one of the chairs arranged as they had been in Ciro’s room to take advantage of the view of the star we orbited. He stared at the writhing mass of the red giant, his sharp face solemn. "I won’t allow you to stay on this ship."

"Won’t allow? Who do you think you are?"

His dark eyes fixed on me and their cool authority itched. He crumpled the pack and it dissolved. It had healed his cut and swollen lip. "I am Lord Admiral Quinn’s private secretary. And that makes me a very influential man."

"So you _are_ a lackey."

Jason smiled and my stomach clenched. He was beautiful; a part of me could never deny that. "Always your playful little attacks. So feline."

"As are you."

He turned back to the star, the smiled faded. "You don’t know what I am."

I rolled my eyes. "Please, not the mysterious and forbidden thing again. I’ve seen your Mosaic, Jason. Clouded leopard, mau and a light mix of jaguar are all you can lay claim to."

"You investigated me."

"What do you think?" Anger had my blood hot. The urge to shift was overwhelming. I curled my hands into tight fists and willed the change down, but the resentment still burned. "I made the mistake of trusting you. I believed you were working for the Company. But no, you were just working me."

"Yes."

I stared at him. "What?"

"Yes, I worked you." His head tilted. "Why? What else did you think I was doing?"

===
Dark Host
by
Kim Knox

Click HERE to see other entries!

and click HERE to cast your vote! But remember you can vote for up to three entries but only vote once so make sure you put in what you really want. :)

I voted for my fave. Why don't you go vote now?
Not a member? Register and you can still vote. Then next year you'll be all registered to partcipate. Are you a reader? Rgister anyway and chat with Brava authors in a different thread on thame forum :)

Good luck Kim :) You're already a winner no matter what.
Good luck to the rest of the ladies on the list also.

Michelle

Birthday Celebration Contest

2008-01-20T13:45:00.001Z

In celebration of my Birthday, on 21 January, which starts in exactly 15 hours, 43 minutes and 16 seconds heheh but whose, counting. LOL I'm holding an impromptu birthday contest. It's a simple one really. All you need to so is send me an email at alinecontests @ alinedechevigny.com (No spaces) and tell me why January 21st is special for you? See simple.

Everyone who enters will be added into a draw and 3 winners will be picked 1st thing Tuesday morning (That's 22 January hehe)

There are a few Rules. ( I wish there didn't have to be but experience has taught me to be thorough)

1- Contests Starts now

2- Contest Ends Midnight the 22 January.

3- Put Aline's Contest in the Subject line. (Because of the spam and virus issues out there any e-mail without this subject line will be deleted.)

4- Only 1 entry per person.

5- Any blank email (This means an entry without the answer to my question above) Will be disregarded. No Exceptions! If you don't want to answer the question don't enter. It isn't fair to the others who did take the time to answer if I enter your name in the contest.

6- The winners will be able to choose 1 of the 3 following books available in pdf format.

From Aspen Mountain Press: Luck of the Irish - Paranormal Contemporary

Blurb: When Dina’s boss assigns her to review a local family restaurant called Luck of the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day of all days, she isn’t happy. Upon entering the establishment and seeing all the staff dressed as Leprechauns, she expects passable food and annoyingly cheerful service. What she got left her breathless.

Buy: Luck of the Irish

From Red Rose Publications: Bare Bones – Halloween Paranormal Romance

Blurb: On the run from the Lycan who turned him during the full moon on All Hallows Eve, Christian Clarke isn't happy when he finds Joanna wandering through the woods searching for him. His inner wolf refuses to leave her side, yet his inner man wishes to keep her at arm’s length for fear that he won't be able to control his inner demons. Hearing her whispered profession of love, he reveals himself. Can he keep her safe from the pack that hunts him? Will Joanna love the beast he's become?

Buy: Bare Bones

From Forbidden Publications: Merry Christmas to Me – Contemporary Romance

Blurb: Jennifer was having the worst Christmas ever. She'd just quit her job, her ex had happily married some blonde Barbie doll and the man of her dreams didn't even know she was alive.

Franko was through with women, or so he thought until the hottest little spitfire he'd ever met walked into him and set him straight. He now had five days until she left the mine for good to convince her that he was the Christmas gift of her dreams.

Buy: Merry Christmas to Me

Notice the theme LOL, I'm a firm beliver that my Birthday should be a Universal National Holiday too. Now if I could just convince everyone else of that. hehehhe

Good luck to everyone, let's make this a fun couple of days.

Aline
------
Aline de Chevigny
www.alinedechevigny.com

Is Happily Ever After your thing? Travel the path of love with Aline de Chevigny!

Weekend Menage

2008-01-18T14:40:00.000Z

I know, I know, I've been a busy gal ;)
Weekend Ménage
Author: Michelle Hasker
Artist: Jinger Heaston
ISBN: 978-1-60168-082-2
Genre: Erotica
Publisher: Aspen Mountain Press
Publication Date: 01/18/2007
Sexual Content: Erotic
Dane and Neil get to offer one lucky romance writer the weekend of her wildest fantasy. Stacey can't believe her husband is offering her this experience with one of their close friends. Will they be able to maintain their former relationship once the weekend is over?

No Monkey's Business

2008-01-17T20:43:00.000Z

The Agency: No Monkey's Business
by Michelle Hasker
cover art by Reneé George
ISBN (13): 978-1-59596-945-3
Genre(s): Paranormal
Theme(s): Shapeshifters
Series: Agency
Length: Novella
Available now

Jessica thinks she has this training mission in the bag. She’s already accomplished her first mission, so the second one should be a breeze. Once she’s done they’ll have to promote her. What she didn’t count on was Chase Montgomery’s interference and his orgasm-inducing skills in the bedroom. Now she’ll be lucky enough to get out of bed, let alone finish her missions.

I am so thrilled to see this book released today. I wrote it for a good friend of mine and had so much fun it turned into a series. And the cover is just fantastic!

This is such a good month/year for me. I've contracted three books so far this month and also had two books release with another releasing tomorrow. I also finaled in the Fantasm awards in the Best Vampire category.

Happy New Year!! :)
Michelle

Check out some of my awesome Tales

2008-01-16T16:15:00.000Z

Available now at Forbidden Publications

One Night - Contemporary Romance
Blurb: Darren likes to plays the field, and has no interest in looking for a serious relationship. When he meets Tabetha, the sparks fly and there’s no turning back. But there's a catch, he has to promise it's only for one night, with no strings attached. He’s about to learn a simple lesson…Don't make promises you can't keep.

Buy: One Night

The Prophecy - Fantasy Romance
Blurb: Danan McClintok is a Prince of Eloisia, an Immortal, who against all traditions wanted more from his life than to live in pampered pleasures, he wanted his one. An urge he could neither explain nor resist came over him and drew him to the seeing Stone and Earth. Earth, where only the eccentric or the damned go.

Buy: The Prophecy

Lifemates: Wet and Wild Series - Historical Paranormal
Blurb: Benton Chaser refused to accept the laws of the Castoridae clan and find his one true mate. Preferring exiles to the pain he knew was in store if he gave in and the revenge he got seducing the wives of the men who ripped his family apart. Then he met a feisty Widow name River Maples, who gave the wild animal on her property sanctuary and greeted all men with the barrel of her shot gun. Could she be the one thing he’d been running away from for the past hundred years?

Buy: Lifemates: Wet and Wild Series

Merry Christmas to Me – Contemporary Romance
Blurb: Jennifer was having the worst Christmas ever. She'd just quit her job, her ex had happily married some blonde Barbie doll and the man of her dreams didn't even know she was alive.
Franko was through with women, or so he thought until the hottest little spitfire he'd ever met walked into him and set him straight. He now had five days until she left the mine for good to convince her that he was the Christmas gift of her dreams.

Buy: Merry Christmas to Me

I wanna talk about Nash

2008-01-05T16:26:00.000Z

First, his cover:
Dayum but the man is delicious, and Victoire looks very nice, too. I'll say it once and let it go, the man is hot enought to be vampire! (ducks from the real Victoire)
Next some blurbage about his story:
If you read The Bodyguard, then you remember him helping Nicolas teach Elena that she can love and be loved again. Though he had a minor role in that story, he does get his story and boy does he get his woman ;)

Philly bartender Victoire Duramel picked the right night to lose control of her magic. The night Fae bodyguard Nash Dupree sensed his soulmate and a strong, untrained magic violently unleashed.

Struggling under the strength of her power, Victoire accepted Nash's help without question. Now he wants to train her and teach her how to control her magic. But there's a price. Her heart and soul.

When she denies him, Nash refuses to let her go. He'll do whatever he must to guard the feisty witch and have her for his own.

And a juicy excerpt:

“Please.” She sounded scared and desperate as tears slipped down her cheeks. “Please, someone help me.”

Before he knew his intent, he’d crossed the distance and placed his hands on her shoulders, sending her strength.

“Let me help you.” When he whispered the words next to her ear, he felt a shiver of desire race through her. She moaned as, unguarded, her lust and magic reached for him.

“Please, let me go. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“It’s all right, love. You won’t hurt me.”

“No.” She shook her head. “You don’t understand. I don’t understand. I’ll hurt you if you don’t let go.”

“You won’t hurt me. Let me help you. Let me ease your pain.”

* * * * *

“You don’t know what you’re saying. If you don’t release me, you’ll end up dead, like that drunken idiot.” Victoire looked up at the stranger through tears. He had no idea what would happen to him if he touched her. If he thought she could control these powers, he was wrong. Dead wrong.

“He’s not dead, and your power doesn’t intimidate me.”

Victoire struggled against desire and the straining magic inside her. She looked up at him. His bright blue eyes held her gaze. She fell into those pools of deep blue, finding a peace in them she hadn’t known since she’d discovered she had magical powers. This man, whoever he was, called to something in her. Something primitive. Something she’d tried to subdue ever since she’d discovered these uncontrollable powers. Goddess help her, she wanted this man, no matter the cost.

As they spoke, he eased through her rapidly weakening shields, letting some of her magic free. A burst of energy streaked to the ground and faded.

“What are you doing?” Panic flared. Victoire rose and quickly backed up. “Stop it!”

“I’m not trying to hurt you or weaken you. You need to release some of your pent-up magic before it hurts you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” A twinge of guilt ate at her. So she lied. She had to. Even if it was obvious that he’d seen her display.

“It’s okay. I have some powers myself. I don’t think you want to hurt anyone. I won’t tell anyone about you, either.”

Victoire stared at him, trying to understand her fear and lust for this stranger. It wasn’t that she was afraid of him. She was afraid she’d hurt him. And the lust. Good Goddess, who wouldn’t have an instant case of the hots? The man was absolutely gorgeous.

“How do you propose to help me?”

“I’m going to help you release all that energy.”

“How?” She narrowed her eyes and glared at him.

“With sex.”

Michelle

Keelia Greer in 2008

2008-01-03T15:22:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

My alter ego, Tambra Kendall has been getting quite a bit published this past year.
Now, it's my turn.

I've got a historical wolf shifter story that will be in an anthology to benefit Full Moon Farm.
Full Moon Farm is run by an amazing woman who cares for wolves and wolf-dogs. When the anthology comes out, please buy a copy to help the wolves. Red Rose Publishing and its authors thank you in advance.

Also, this year my story Eyes of Cat, a paranormal romance will be published by Red Rose Publishing.

My publishing credits are a futuristic romance short, IN THE SPACE OF A HEARTBEAT, featured in the Blue Moon Magic anthology published by Highland Press, 2006. BALLOU'S CHRISTMAS WISH is featured in Holiday in the Heart published by Highland Press, 2006.

I also teach online creative writing courses under my real name. To find out more go to my website www.keeliagreer.com While you're there, why not join my Yahoo group, too?
I love to hear from my readers.

May each and everyone of you have a happy, healthy and blessed year.

Keelia Greer

New Release: Sweeter Than Wine

2007-12-19T19:55:00.000Z

This book just came out on December 11th. Here's the blurb:

An abused woman has the power to unite werefolk, fey and vampire against an evil that would see them all dead—if she can learn to love again.

Christy lies near death after a brutal beating by her estranged husband. Her preternatural friends reach a desperate conclusion: The only way to save her is to turn her. Sebastian steps forward to take on the burden of being her Maker.

For him it’s no burden at all. She draws him as no other woman has for centuries. With the help of a werecougar friend, Sebastian teaches Christy about her new life and abilities, making certain she is as strong as he can make her. Only then can she face her abusive ex-husband and put her old life behind her. But Christy’s ex-husband is involved in something more dangerous than any of them had guessed.

Vampire, were, and even a fey knight must work together to put an end to the threatening evil. To overcome her past, help keep the darkness at bay, and fight for a new life with Sebastian, Christy must draw on all of her new-found strength.

Will it be enough?

Happy Holidays to one and all!

Bianca

www.biancadarc.com

Don't forget to stop by...

2007-12-16T13:33:00.000Z

Don't forget to stop by http://readingissomuchfun.blogspot.com/
As I am the guest blogger there this week.

3 Lucky winner will be able to chose one of my books as a prize on December 21st. But to be entered you must stop by and comment.

Aline

--
Aline de Chevigny
www.alinedechevigny.com

Is Happily Ever After your thing? Travel the path of love with Aline de Chevigny!

Holidays Tips

2007-12-06T14:17:00.000Z

Holidays are a stressful time of year. That's an understatement, I know.

Here are some suggestions that might help make the holidays a bit easier.

Presents:
Gift bags are the way to go and buy them at the Dollar store to save money. I've found some really pretty ones. We recycle the gift bags if there's nothing wrong with them.

Use wrapping paper for stocking stuffers.

Gift cards work great for teens and family members far away.

Are you a writer? Suggest family and friends buy your books for presents. Books are great presents.

Gift baskets are a great way to give a personalized gift. Examples: A coffee mug with a bag of gourmet coffee and chocolate.
A cup and saucer, a tea strainer, a variety of specialty teas, and a box of shortbread tucked in.

Cooking:
If you have a Crock Pot, now would be a good time to get it out. You can have a pot of rich, bubbleing stew going while you're out shopping and running errands.

You can also make a batch of Wassail and put it the crock pot on low to keep it warm for guests and family.

Invite some friends to do a cookie exchange.

If you don't have time to make something from scratch, don't.

Activities:
People try to cram too many parties and activities in the month which is a big stressor.
If possible, plan your activities out with the calendar in front of you for the month. Leaving time open to just enjoy the joy of the season.

Money:
This is a touchy subject but this is the biggest stressor of all.
If you're already in debt putting yourself farther into it isn't going to make this better when January comes around.

Many banks and credit unions have special accounts where you can deposit any amount you like into a Christmas/Holiday fund. This will cut down on using credit cards.

Set a spending limit and make a list beforehand of who is getting what. When you go shopping, this will make it easier to not impulse buy. Use the advertisements from the Sunday paper to help with your list making.

A number of families only buy for the children and they draw names. This is another option to help curb the monetary stress. Other families make a donation to charity or become involved in one, as a way to remember the reason for the holiday.

Don't forget to take care of yourself and enjoy the wonder this season brings.

Hugs to all,
Tambra Kendall
www.tambrakendall.com
Wicked Pleasures, out now from Red Rose Publishing
www.redrosepublishing.com