Get Wicked with Entangled!! It's a Halloween Blog Hop!!

It's a Wicked with Entangled Blog Hop!! Go trick or treating at over 100 fabulous blogs and enter to win a ton of amazing Halloween prizes!

I love Halloween. As a writer who lives a large chunk of my life floating around in other worlds it's a blast to be able to dress up and wallow in a little society-sanctioned make believe for a night :)

I've always loved reading about fantasy worlds. I think the first "other wordly" book I ever read was the Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey. Up until then I'd only read historicals and historical romances (and books like the Little House on the Prairie series and Sweet Valley High) :D Those dragonriders hooked me though and I started adding more books with a bit of "other" in them.

Once I began writing, I really wanted to delve into those worlds myself, but my first love, historical romance, came first. I have two urban fantasies I'm working on, and one, a love story set amidst a zombie break out, that is currently available through Entangled.

I've got a little taste of Wish Upon a Star for you, and below that is a rafflecopter to win your very own copy! :) Don't forget to scroll to the bottom of this post and check out the linky list of all the Blog Hoppers! You won't want to miss out on all the Halloween Hopping Fun!!

Here's a little taste of Wish Upon a Star:

She wished he would come back into her life…

When Ceri McKinley’s ex-fiancee asks for help collecting his brother’s body, Ceri knows she should refuse. But how can she say no to the man she still loves?

He wished he’d never left her…

If Jason Crickett had known his brother had been turned into the world’s first cyborg zombie, he would never have dragged Ceri along with him. At least they are together again, though from the looks of things, it won’t be for long.

They should have been careful what they wished for…

With five floors of hungry zombies between them and Ceri’s daughter and a bomb ready to go off at any moment, Ceri and Jason will have to put their painful past aside and focus on surviving. If they are very lucky, they might just get everything they wished for.

We stumbled for the far end of the atrium, over to Clearwater Cleo’s, a maze of fish tanks and water-filled walkways that displayed all sorts of gorgeous tropical fish and sea life. The oasis of water beckoned invitingly with the fire licking at our backs. Jason pulled us into the middle of one of the pathways and up a small set of stairs that led to another pathway. He sat me down against a tank of over-sized goldfish. I let out a sigh of relief as I took the weight off my ankle.

Jason pulled his gun and aimed at the tanks below us. He fired several shots into each, shattering the glass and spilling thousands of gallons of water across the floor. I felt bad for the fish that were about to be flash-fried, until I remembered that they’d be blown up when the bombs hit anyway.

The water gushed across the floor, dousing flames and washing away zombies. I leaned my head back against the tank and closed my eyes. Jason sank down beside me and pulled me toward him, pressing a kiss against my temple.

“Are you okay?” he asked, brushing soot and a few burned leaves from my face and hair. The smell of burned plastic and singed hair coated everything. But it could have been worse.

I leaned against him for a moment before trying to push to my feet.

Jason stopped me. “Rest for a minute.” He reached into my backpack and pulled out another bottle of water.

I took it gratefully, gulping down half the bottle before handing it to him to finish off. When he was done, he leaned in again, kissing a drop of water from my lips. His hands cupped my face. “I’m sorry. For everything. All of it. Everything I put you through. These wasted years without you.”

“I’m sorry too.” I pulled away and looked up at him. “If we get through this –”

“When we get through this. Not if.”

I gave him a small smile and nodded, knowing he knew what I wanted to say without having to voice the words. “When we get through this, maybe we can talk. About things.”

He gave me one more lingering kiss. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“But for now,” I said, brushing a lock of hair from his forehead.

“Raincheck?”

“Raincheck.”

“Let’s go get your daughter,” he said, pulling me to my feet.

My heart skipped and I slipped on my backpack with renewed energy. We could do this. With Jason at my side, I could do anything. Even face down a building full of zombies and a few military bombs. Piece of cake.

~~
To read the first chapter for free and for buy links, CLICK HERE.

And enter to win your own copy!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Embracing Romance and a Giveaway!

I am very excited to share that I've joined an amazing group of historical romance authors for a new group blog, Embracing Romance, and our new endeavor launches today! To celebrate, we are hosting a fun giveaway (which you can enter with the rafflecopter below). Come check out our new blog and meet all the amazing authors who are participating! :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Release Day for Wish Upon a Star!!

Wish Upon a Star is here!! I'm thrilled to celebrate the release of my first non-historical book. This one is not only set in Las Vegas, it has zombies! And a cyborg zombie to boot - tons of fun :D

Here are all the deets :)

Ceri McKinley never stopped wishing that her ex-fiancé Jason Crickett would come back into her life. But when he finally does, he comes with a request that puts them both--and all of humanity--into jeopardy.

Jason only wants two things: to bury his brother properly and to convince Ceri to trust him again after he jilted her. But when Ceri agrees to help him get his brother back, they end up fighting for their lives as the second zombie uprising threatens them all.

Check out the tab above for buy links :) And I'm part of an awesome group blog tour this week. Lots of fun stuff going on and lots of fun stuff we are giving away!!! Stay tuned for more details on that :)

Genre Switching

I've always written more than one genre. I like the freedom it gives me to explore different aspects of my creativity. I write non-fiction and historical romances and paranormal romances (lol I always have to have romance in my stories :D ). And just last night I finished a proposal for a zombie story! Not something I'd ever thought I'd write but it's been so much fun :) I guess it's technically still a paranormal romance but it was fun spending time with a monster I don't usually hang out with much :)

I suppose since all my stories are technically romances, the genre doesn't change much. Just the sub-genre. The romance is always the main plot - the only thing that changes are the settings and side stories. Still, I like being able to delve into the past or play in a present that has a few extras :)

Do you write more than one genre? Why or why not?

Blog Chain - Literary Love

Today is my turn on the Blog Chain - this round's topic is brought to us by our wonderful Kat, who wants to know:

How do you feel about love scenes? As a reader, are you put off by the gratuitous? 

As a writer, do you shy away from spelling out the down-and-dirty? 

Or do you write until your computer lights a cigarette?

Ha! I love this question. And if you know me at all or have read any of my stuff, you'll know why :D I LOVE love. Love romance. Love love scenes. Love love love :)

Having said that, I want to point out that while I enjoy a good love scene, and definitely love a good love story, I don't like books that are nothing but love scenes. Frankly, one bodice-ripping scene is much like another and if that is all that a book contains, it gets boring pretty quickly. In fact, I tend to skim over the actual love scenes in books.

What I really love is the actual love, the romance, the eyes-meeting-across-a-crowded-room-and-their-hearts-stop type thing. The rush of butterflies in her gut when she sees him type thing. The miss-the-basketball-shot-because-he's-staring-at her type thing. The I-love-you-so-much-I'll-kill-that-mean-vampire-who's-after-you type thing. :)

In other words, I want to read about the love, not so much the sex.

I've sort of briefly (as in for a few seconds) toyed with writing a book that doesn't contain any romance, but tossed the idea immediately. I want the romance. All of my books thus far have centered around a romance. There is a lot of other stuff going on. I prefer the romantic suspenses where there is a lot of action and mystery and danger going on along with the romance as opposed to just the straight romance. But yeah, definitely love the romance.

Now, do I shy away from spelling out the down-and-dirty? Yes.

Why?

Because someday I know my mother and grandmother will be reading it :D

Seriously, I try very hard not to think about anyone reading while I'm writing because if I do, I start editing myself. I've written a few cigarette-inducing love scenes before, just to see if I could. And yep....I can :D But...I don't really want to. I want to write books that a large audience can read. I'm focused on YA right now, so of course I want to keep my books appropriate for that age level - something the teens will enjoy reading but that their mothers will also.

So, I keep it at the blood-pumping but sweet level, focusing more on the romance, the actual "love" part of the whole thing, rather than the "Mom, cover your eyes" thing :)

How about you? How do you feel about love scenes? Do you write them? Enjoy reading them? Or shy away from anything with the word "love" in it? :D

Don't forget to see what the ever awesome Eric had to say on the topic, and stay tuned on Tuesday to see how Margie feels about the whole Love scene :)

Blog Chain - Multitasking All The Way!!

Back on the blog chain. We have several new members joining us so I'd like to give a huge welcome to Amanda Bonilla, Sarah Bromley, Shaun David Hutchinson, Rebecca Knight, and Bonny Anderson. We are so excited to have you guys with us!!

This round's topic was chosen by our wonderful Terri. She wanted to know:

Do you focus on one project at a time, or do you have many irons in the fire at any given moment?

Bonny answered this question before me and Shaun is up next so be sure to visit their blogs to hear their take on this question.

As for me, well, if you’ve read my blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m one of those “many irons in the fire” type girls. I will get on a roll sometimes, with one project or another, and focus specifically on one thing for a few days, weeks, or even months at a time. But for the last several months at least I’ve had at least two projects going on at all times; my YA Urban Fantasy, and my non-fiction book.

Because fiction and non-fiction belong in such completely different worlds, switching back and forth presents no problems for me. What I’m working on at any given moment is mostly dictated by my children. I don’t need to concentrate as much with my non-fiction. It comes much easier. So I be on the computer working on it while my kids are running around screaming and climbing all over me. If I’m going to work on fiction while the kids are awake, I write by hand. They don’t bug me as much and I can follow them from room to room (or outside) scribbling away while they play.

It is also nice to have more than one project going because if I get stuck on one, I switch to the other. Focusing my mind on something different usually frees it up and the answer for whatever had me stuck very often comes to me while working on something else.

If I’m stuck on everything, I either do research for a project or I take a break from novels and textbooks and write a children’s picture book. I love doing these. I can do them quickly and they are so much fun to do. My kids and I will often write them together, so it’s something writing related that I can do and still include them, and at the end of the day, I’ve got a completed creative project…whether it’s my main project or not.

I don’t know if I could have two projects of the same genre going at the same time. Probably not…I have enough trouble staying in the right character’s voice at any given time without mixing in more than one main character. I definitely have ideas for several same-genre projects going on at the same time. This is where that research comes in – if I’m stuck on one thing, I’ll research either info I need for a current project, or something that will go straight in my idea file.

Having more than one project is actually kind of relaxing for me. I know I always have something to work on. If I finish something or get stuck on something, I know there is always something else I can work on. That way, none of my time is wasted because no matter what I’m doing, it is accomplishing something, be it for current or future projects.

How to Define Romance Sub-genres

Here is the promised post on romance sub-genres. Last week we talked about fiction genres. Most of the time, you can choose your genre and sub genre from that huge list, (Fantasy Romance, Romantic Suspense, Paranormal Romance, etc), so I won’t go over those again. But when it comes to romance, there are a few sub genres that are unique to romance, more often used with romance, or have slightly different rules when applied to romance. And again, these by no means complete the list.

Category/Series – Category and series romances are books that are published for a particular line…think Harlequin Blaze, Harlequin Intrigue, Mills & Boon Medical, Silhouette Desire. These books tend to be shorter (60k or under) and are often numbered sequentially. Generally, a certain number of titles are released in a particular category each month. They are widely distributed, especially through the publisher’s book clubs. Many of the romance novels you see on the bookstands at the grocery stores (they usually have similar covers, titles, styles) are category romances.

Single Title – these are romances that do not belong to a particular category. They are longer (70k and up). They do not necessarily have to be “stand alone” books. Meaning, you can have a series, trilogy, etc that still qualify as single title. Unless your book is specifically written for and published by a company that puts out category romances, your book is single title.

Contemporary – for non-romance novels, this has a slightly different meaning. Usually contemporary refers to present day (or very recent past). But for romance, contemporary is anything after the World Wars (1945 to present). Some writers of this genre include Fern Michaels, Nora Roberts, Jude Deveraux, and Danielle Steele.

Erotic/Romantica™ - Romances can have erotic elements without being Erotica. For your book to qualify as Erotica, sex must be the defining element of the plot; meaning, if you take the sex out, the story falls apart. However, this does not mean that Erotica is just a book full of explicit sex scenes. Emotion is a huge part of Erotica stories and must be present in the plot.

Passionate Ink, a special chapter of Romance Writers of America, defines Erotica as:

stories written about the sexual journey of the characters and how this impacts them as individuals. Emotion and character growth are important facets of a true erotic story. However, erotica is NOT designed to show the development of a romantic relationship, although it’s not prohibited if the author chooses to explore romance. Happily Ever Afters are NOT an intrinsic part of erotica, though they can be included.

Examples include Shayla Black’s Decadent, Kate Douglas’s Wolf Tale series, and Beatrice Small’s Dangerous Pleasures.

Romantica™ is a sort of sub genre of Erotica. The term Romantica™ was coined by the folks at Ellora’s Cave, and is actually trademarked and so must be used with the trademark symbol. As defined on their website:

Within this genre, the main protagonists develop "in love" feelings for one another that culminate in a monogamous relationship...Ellora's Cave Romantica® must be both erotic and romantic...The sexual relationship must be integral to and an important element of the storyline and the character development. Sex scenes should contribute to furthering the plot or affecting the development of the romantic relationship or the growth of the characters…The story must meet the definition of a romance novel: the primary focus must be on the development of a romantic relationship, and there must be an emotionally satisfying committed ending for the main characters.

Gothic – these novels are usually set in the past, usually in an isolated location; a castle, distant manor houses, etc. They generally combine elements of romance, suspense, and mystery. Think of the stories where a young governess travels to tend the children of a handsome widower in his castle on the remote shores of England. They fall in love, someone tries to kill her or there is some other danger infused mystery to solve, and at the end, they marry and live happily ever after. Victoria Holt is one of the queens of Gothic romance.

Historical – as I mentioned in the genre post from last week, when it comes to romances, Historical refers to anything before the World Wars…and typically, historical romances take place even earlier, generally before 1910. These stories can take place anywhere in the world. The historical setting and details are an intricate part of the story. Western romances would fall under this category as they are typically set in the old American West. Some authors of this genre are Jane Feather, Johanna Lindsey, Kathleen Woodiwess, Elizabeth Boyle and Catherine Coulter.

Regency – A Regency is a very specific type of historical (and yes, it is specific enough that it has its own category). Regency novels are set in early 1800s England. The historical aspects of this time period are key elements in the story. Historical figures and circumstances are often woven into the story (even if they are background tidbits). The use of titles, proper name usage (you wouldn’t have a maid called Alexandra or a princess named Betsy), and examples of correct language and behavior for the time are a must. The focus on the setting and mannerisms of the characters are often much more pronounced than in a ‘regular’ historical. Some writers of this genre include Jo Beverley and Marion Chesney.

Traditional – these “old-fashioned” romances tend to focus on the emotional side of love with less of the physical stuff. Hand holding, tender glances, maybe a sweet kiss here and there. If there is a sex scene, it would be along the lines of “they kiss and then her husband blew the candle out,” type scene. A lot of the classics like Gone With The Wind and Pride and Prejudice would fall into this category.

Blog Chain - Isn't It Romantic?

This round it was Sandra's turn to pick the topic, and she chose one that, as someone who writes a lot of romance, should have been easy for me. For some reason, it wasn't :) Be sure to head to Sandra's blog if you want to start the chain from the beginning. Christine posted before me and Elana is up next! Here are my thoughts on Sandra's question:

Do you write romantic relationships in your books? If so, what do you do to show the attraction between your characters? What problems do your characters encounter? What qualities do you think make a romantic relationship work in fiction? If you wish, feel free to include examples of your favorite couples.

I'm going to break it down and take each question one at a time....

Do you write romantic relationships in your books?

Yep, can’t help myself. Honestly, I’ve never tried to write a book that didn’t have romance in it – everything I’ve done so far has been specifically written as a romance something (a couple historical romances, a YA paranormal romance, a YA Urban Fantasy with strong romance elements). But I have a feeling anything I will write is going to have some romance in there somewhere.

If so, what do you do to show the attraction between your characters?

I try to just show the things we all experience when we are attracted to someone. I write YAs, and Christine pointed out how teenagers have that sort of obsessive/intense sort of romance. I may be getting older :D but I can still remember what it felt like when I was 16 and in love for the first time. That pounding heart, the total head rush when your love interest smiles at you or touches your hand. Even simple things like that, especially when you are in the first rush of a new love, can cause sparks to fly. I try to show that between my characters.


What problems do your characters encounter?

Well, for the paranormals and fantasies, they get to experience more interesting problems than just the normal, everyday type thing – so it can get fun. My couples also tend to be the good girl/bad boy type – so there are always problems when you have that kind of thing going on. I also try to just show real life type of issues that everyone can relate to. Maybe their families don’t get along, or the friends don’t approve, they come from opposite sides of the track, or maybe one of them is already attached.

The odd misunderstanding is always handy, though I try not to do that too often, because, really, while this does happen a lot in real life, it drives me a little nuts sometimes if the “misunderstanding” is too obviously contrived or just…well…stupid. I’m all for something like seeing your significant other locking lips with their ex (anyone watch Ugly Betty? The scene with Betty and Henry on the season finale that Betty’s boyfriend Matt witnesses. For those of you that didn’t see it, Betty meets up with her old boyfriend, her first love – they still love each other and always will, but she is in love with Matt and is happy with him. So they say goodbye – and they do kiss, but they are saying goodbye to each other forever…that kind of thing. But Matt sees it…and Betty chooses not to tell him about it. So, he understandably feels betrayed and that he can’t trust her and he breaks up with her.) That is a great conflict starter, a good misunderstanding where you can see both sides of what happened.


What qualities do you think make a romantic relationship work in fiction?

I think the same types of qualities that make a romantic relationship work in real life. Genuine love, understanding, compromise, the willingness to work on your relationship, to give in when you need to or stay firm when necessary, the true desire to see your partner happy and healthy, attraction for each other, laughter, at least one common interest :) You can stretch things sometimes in fiction, but at the end of the day, if it isn’t believable, it’s not going to work, no matter how odd or strange your storyworld or characters are. Your readers have to be able to connect to your characters and their relationships on some level.


If you wish, feel free to include examples of your favorite couples.

Oooo, there are so, so many – here are a few of mine:

Jamie and Claire Fraser from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series.

Jocelyn and Trent from one of my favorite historical romances, The Braeswood Tapestry by Robyn Carr

Alex and Raine from the Wild Swan series by Celeste de Blasis

Westley and Buttercup from The Princess Bride

How about you? How do you add romance to your books? Or do you? And who are your favorite couples?

How To Write Haiku Poems

For this week’s How To post, we will discuss how to write haiku poetry. Now, in it’s original Japanese form, the rules are a little more strict. When it comes to writing them in English, there really aren’t any set, conventional rules. But here are the basics:

1. Content – you can pretty much write them about whatever you want. Traditional haiku tend to be more nature-centered, but modern haiku (especially English) is full of political references, romance and every-day life centered issues, as well as the more traditional nature-based poems.

2. Structure – very simple….3 lines, alternating 5, 7, and 5 syllables.

There are more variations on this than I can count. Many modern English haiku writers have anywhere between 10 and 17 syllables in their haiku, alternating them in as many ways as you can imagine (6,6,4 – 5,5,7 – 3,6,3 – etc)….but IN GENERAL, 3 lines of 5, then 7, then 5 syllables.

3. The Cut – many (but of course, not all) haiku include a cut, or pause that divides the haiku and compares two images or expounds on the first image. In modern English haiku, this cut generally occurs at the end of the first or second line and is often indicated by a punctuation mark.

Example:

the morning paper
harbinger of good and ill
-- I step over it.
(Dave McCroskey)

Now, in this example, the punctuation comes at the beginning of the third line (no hard set rules, remember), but the cut is followed by a reaction to what happened in the first two lines. How does the morning paper, the “harbinger of good and ill” affect the poet? What does he do? He steps over it.

4. Seasonal theme or word – Traditionally, haiku include a season word, something that indicates in what season the haiku is set. For instance, if you are describing a summer meadow, you could mention a butterfly, or the sun, or blue skies. If the haiku is set in the winter, you could mention snow, or frost, or cold. It doesn’t have to be obvious…most modern haiku, if they include the season reference at all, are quite subtle.

And that’s it! You can now write haiku! Three lines of 5,7,5 syllables…maybe throw in a seasonal reference or cut, and you’ve got yourself haiku poetry.


What haiku can you write? Give it a try and leave them in the comment section! I’d love to see your work!!

Stay tuned next week for tips on how to write a ballad.

For step-by-step instructions on how to write haiku along with several other forms of poetry, check out my book, So You Have to Write a Poem!