Coolest Book Trailer Ever

I'm not a huge fan of book trailers. The fact of the matter is, they're expensive and tricksy and in my honest opinion, they don't do much to sell books because I don't think they do the books justice like a damn good back cover blurb does.


HOWEVER...

Tara Fuller, a fellow Entangled author, has COMPLETELY changed my mind. I'm not ashamed to admit (well, maybe a little) that I'm strictly an adult romance reader. I don't read YA because I prefer to read about adult relationships with all of the adult facets (if you know what I mean). But I will BUY this book. And I will READ this book. Because of  THIS book trailer.



Isn't it amazing? I love how it's told from the male character's POV. It's so incredibly compelling, so romantic. The thing that sets this book trailer apart from 99% of other book trailers I've seen? The video action of the characters. Usually stock photos are used which isn't as interesting for obvious reasons and also causes a problem with the subjects in the photos not being the same people, but merely people with similar traits (i.e. dark hair).

Congrats, Tara. This is phenomenal.

Here's the info for Tara's book, INBETWEEN, releasing 8-14-12 from Entangled Teen.

Since the car crash that took her father’s life three years ago, Emma’s life has been a freaky—and unending—lesson in caution. Surviving “accidents” has taken priority over being a normal seventeen-year-old, so Emma spends her days taking pictures of life instead of living it. Falling in love with a boy was never part of the plan. Falling for a reaper who makes her chest ache and her head spin? Not an option.

It’s not easy being dead, especially for a reaper in love with a girl fate has put on his list not once, but twice. Finn’s fellow reapers give him hell about spending time with Emma, but Finn couldn’t let her die before, and he’s not about to let her die now. He will protect the girl he loves from the evil he accidentally unleashed, even if it means sacrificing the only thing he has left…his soul.

For your viewing pleasure...Parker Hurley covered in grease. You're welcome.

My girl, Ruthie Knox, and I are a bit of what you might call Parker Hurley fans. You might also call us Parker Hurley obsessive, but we don't like to label things. Anyway, since we have slightly different tastes in men, adoring Parker works out perfectly for us because he's clearly two people rolled into one, amazing guy. And although I think I can safely say that Ruthie and I love both sides, we each favor one over the other.

Ruthie prefers Parker with his longer, wavy hair and a his brilliant boyish smile.

I prefer Parker with short hair and his serious, brooding, don't eff with me look. (I also kind of have a thing for guys covered in grease, if the title of this post didn't give that away. Which is probably why the hero of my 3rd PoS book is a mechanic and spends ungodly amounts of time, well, covered in grease. *sigh*)

That's why this video of a recent photo shoot of his is absotively, posolutely the best of both worlds for the both of us. It's simply Parker, in all his amazing glory. Enjoy.

P.S. Parker is the character inspiration for my debut novel for Entangled's Indulgence line, which is as-of-yet untitled, but you can check out the character image and the book blurb on my Project Pipeline page at the tippy top up there.


Parker Hurley from INVTmedia on Vimeo.

Update: Damn "the man" always tryin' to bring us down! Apparently they didn't like the video going viral & password protected it. Oh well. At least it's etched into my grey matter!

Wee-Bit Wednesday: Lucky 7 Edition

Faye Robertson/Serenity Woods tagged me in this fun little thing making the rounds on the writing circuit.

Here are the rules:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS
2. Go to line 7
3. Copy down the next 7 lines – sentences or paragraphs – and post them as they’re written. No cheating.
4. Tag 7 other authors

For starters, both of my WIPs at the moment haven't reached 77 pages, so I had to go back to Desires of the Soul, which is technically still a WIP because it still needs to be edited by Liz and then fixed by yours truly (probably several more times) before it's considered a done deal.

I lucked out; this tiny snippet gives you a great snapshot of Dom's charm that Angelica brings out in him.

So, here's my 7, I hope you enjoy. :)

*******************************************

“So what are these powers you have?” he asked. “Just so you know, if they’re greater than mine I’ll probably suffer from severe emasculation issues.”

Angelica laughed. “I have no intentions of ever emasculating you. With my powers or otherwise.”

Suddenly his eyes turned smoky, and he leaned into her. “Good,” he rumbled, just before cupping her face and kissing her breathless. Hours later—no, it was probably only minutes…seconds?—Dominic pulled back and gave her a wicked grin. “You were saying?”

*******************************************

Now I tag:

1. Jessa Slade
2. Abby Niles
3. Charlotte Stein
4. Chloe Jacobs
5. Rachel Harris
6. Kate Douglas
7. Cari Quinn

A Writer's Guide to Avoiding Salesman Molestation: Part I

Today I was in Walmart when a young gentleman still ten yards away looked at me and said in an overly friendly voice, "Hello, ma'am, how are you today?"
To which I sighed and mumbled, "Aw, shit."

It's true the people down here in Texas are way friendlier than those in the north, but they're not that damn friendly. I wasn't even in his Social Zone yet, which can only mean one thing: he wants something, and that something is invariably going to take up my time and his, and we're both going to be disappointed in the end. These salespeople work on commission, making them like pit bulls with their jaws clamped on your meaty calf.

Here's how the rest of the conversation went, and picture me slowly pushing my cart away from him as I try my best to shake the dog loose in the nicest of ways.

Him: May I ask if you have satellite or cable TV?
Me: [glancing at the table behind him with a DirecTV sign on it & becoming instantly optimistic I can get out of this quickly] Oh, sorry, we rent our house so we can't get satellite TV.

Him: The owners won't let you mount a dish?

Me: Nope! Sorry.

Him: Well, that's okay, because we can just use a tripod.

Me: Well, my husband makes all the decisions on things like this, so you'd have to talk to him. (I use this excuse all the time.)

Him: That's not a problem, we can call him right now and talk to him.

Me: [now walking backward as I continue to push my cart away from him] Can't. He's at work. [shoulder shrug that says Whaddaya gonna do?]

Him: Okay, what time does he get off of work?

Me: Next...year? (Yes, I phrased it as a question.)

Him: Next--Oh, I see. Have a good day then.

Me: [apologetic smile] You too.

Was that not ridiculous? Sometimes I hate that I can't just ignore them and walk away guilt free. I even let telemarketers go through their schpiel before telling them no. After all, I understand that it's their job to be annoying. I can't bring myself to say "kiss off" when they're just trying to make a living. (Plus, what if I'm super mean to a telemarketer and they're already in a really volatile position in their life and my rudeness and lack of respect is the last straw and they end up on a fast downward spiral until they end up going completely postal and taking out a bunch of innocent people kind of like Michael Douglas in that movie Falling Down?! I don't want that on my record when I have my chat with Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates.)

Later I was thinking of all the things I could've said right off the bat to shut him down quicker, still without being rude. I mean, I'm a writer for chrissakes, I should be able to spin a tiny yarn or two to get me out of uncomfortable situations, shouldn't I? The problem is, I'm the least witty person off the top of my head. Unless I can think about it and rehearse ahead of time, I'm useless when it comes to lying.

So, I've decided to come up with a few elaborate lies that will hopefully stop these people in their tracks. They're trained on how to come back from almost anything (as you can see from the above conversation) so I need to do one of two things: say something that covers every possible base so they don't have anything else to toss back at me, or say something so outrageous that it stuns them for at least a good two seconds so I can make my getaway.

In Part II I'm going to let you know a few that I come up with. What about you? Do you have a funny or crazy story about being molested by a salesman? Have you ever told them something crazy to get them to leave you alone? Share it in the comments!

Ciao, bellas!

Authors Gone Wild! (wherein they act like boobs instead of flashing them)

By now I'm sure most of you have seen at least a few examples of Authors Behaving Badly in regards to reviews they've found to be less than favorable. No? Well, here's the worst example I've seen. And if that isn't enough for you, simply Google "authors behaving badly" and you can spend days getting lost in the muckety-muck.

I haven't gotten too wrapped up in this whole blowup, but it seems like it's turned into an Interwebz Civil War...only without any civility whatsoever. Authors and Reviewers are choosing sides, sometimes pitting friend against friend, as everyone weighs in--rather heavily--on the subject of authors and reviewers mixing it up.

Everyone has the right to speak their piece. That's a given. In an ideal world, people would take others' feelings into consideration and refrain from being total jagdishes. Unfortunately, our precious world is far from ideal and there are a lot of assholes out there who couldn't give a damn about anyone's feelings. Such is life.

My author friend, Jessa Slade, wrote a post about this whole debacle and used a great analogy, comparing authors and reviewers to unwed parents. I like that analogy, especially since authors are wont to view their stories as their "precious babies."

So, following that line of thinking, I believe the parents in Jessa's analogy should stay far away from one another. You know, all that "and never the twain shall meet" kind of thing. Authors should view it as having a restraining order against them once someone has reviewed their book. At most, a polite nod from across the street to acknowledge the reviewer's presence would be appropriate. And that's even if the review is wonderful! Just like you don't want to hurt your image by bashing the reviewer if they found your book to be less than cookie-dough-wonderful, I think it would seem just as unprofessional to publicly gush your appreciation for a glowing review.

This recent 'splosion of shite is a perfect example of a few bad apples spoiling the whole bunch (here's a Goodreads shelf listing a whole bushel of those bad apples). But with the internet's permanency and lightning-quick ability to make anything viral in a matter of minutes, the spoilage spreads faster and farther than ever before.

The best we can do as authors is write a book to the best of our ability. But once we hand it off to the masses, we can't control how they'll receive it. Hopefully they'll love it, but not everyone will. It's an absolute and unequivocal certainty.

Authors, do yourself a favor, and stop the review-stalking madness. If you must say anything at all, please leave it at, "Thank you for your time," and then go write another book.

Ciao, bellas!

Top Ten Reasons I Suck at Blogging (Part Deux)

I realized this morning that I should probably get a post up on the ol' blog. I mean, we're already over a week into 2012 and I don't have anything ringing in the new year or saying farewell to the old one. (Although, last month I already posted my predictions for what will happen to me in 2012, which should sort of count.)

Out of sheer laziness, I started checking out my archives, seeing if there's anything in there I could re-post and give new life to. In my quest, I came upon this post wherein I state all the reasons I suck at blogging (with only a little over half of them being actually true). It was then I realized, "Man, I still suck at blogging!" However, the reasons from my first list no longer apply.

So, in the spirit of being honest, I thought I'd rattle off a quick list of CURRENT reasons I suck at blogging, avec pictures. And those reasons are...*drumroll*

10. The last several months I've been spending an inordinate amount of time cutting, revising, rewriting, and tightening my first novel, DESIRES OF THE SOUL, in preparation for my agent query campaign. But the hard work paid off because as of last week, I'm finally done with it. It's now as good as I can get it until I'm lucky enough for an agent or editor to rip it to shreds--er, I mean, gently offer new suggestions--to make it even better.

9. I've been dedicating three hours every day to training my cats, Tigger and Hooch, to do circus-type tricks for a street act as a lucrative side business on the weekends. I saw a guy do it in the Florida Keys so I know it's possible, but they don't seem to be catching on as quickly as I'd hoped. I'm sure it'll be any day now, though.

8. At the end of January my family is moving from our current location in Pittsburgh, PA to San Antonio, TX and there are a lot of details to iron out in a cross-country move, including a week-long trip to San An for fun and house hunting. This is our second big move--the first being from our home state of WI to PA two and a half years ago. This should be our last move though and I'm so excited to finally be able to put down some roots! Sadly, I think romance novels may have skewed my image of the Deep South, because no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find anyone who looked like this guy. More's the pity.




7. Poodle Painting is one of my new favorite hobbies. Obnoxious you say? Why, yes...yes, it is. 

6. After hoping and wishing for over a year, I finally got a NOOK Color for Christmas (thanks hubby!) and proceeded to download and read an obscene amount of books and novellas, forsaking all other things such as writing, blogging, tweeting, and showering.

5. Wanting to do my part in the world to help understand new species, I traveled to Australia as a part of a group who studied the new species of Kangaroo, called the Lazy Kangy. Unlike typical Kangaroos, these adorable creatures are content lazing in the sun, striking Playboy-esque poses to attract their potential mates.




4. I wasted a good two weeks stalking my inbox waiting for an email telling me how I placed in the RCRW Golden Rose contest.  I was so ecstatic when the email finally came and I learned I'd placed first in the Contemporary Series category and the agent judge requested a full from me. My first real contest was a complete success!


3. I was acting as a CP and Beta for a couple of good friends. I take that job very seriously and make sure to give them as much feedback as possible. It takes a long time, but what we both get out of the experience is worth it. Not to mention the gift of reciprocity when it's my turn who needs them.




2. I'm a HUGE Transformers fan, so when I spotted THE Bumblebee in the parking lot of the movie theater, I had to stop and schmooze with him. I acted like a total bumbling fool, but he was very sweet and grounded. He let me take this picture of him and we've been pen pals ever since. Come on, if you could be friends with an Autobot, wouldn't you?






And the number one reason I still suck at blogging is...


1. Honestly, I just don't think of it! I don't have near the audience I used to before I went off-grid for a while, so I no longer feel that sense of urgency to put up fresh content. I know, it's a crappy reason. But I just said I had ten of them, not that they were all good ones (or even real, for that matter).


So one of my goals this year is to post once a week. I think that's a reasonable expectation of myself. And because I have a different audience now than I did when I started, perhaps I'll revive an archived post once a month too. Oh, and because I'll be working on writing the sequels to DotS this year, I should have plenty of content to bring back Wee-Bit Wednesdays. Those don't take any time at all. Just a quick copy and paste of a snippet, and voila!

Feel free to berate me if I don't stick to the plan. I respond well to peer pressure. :)

Ciao, bellas!

The Power of Projection (or, Stuff I Want to Happen in 2012)

The end of yet another year approaches, and so begins the timeless act of making promises to oneself for the new year. Things we will do better to improve our quality of life and of those around us.

This year I'm going to do something to improve my chances of having a spectacular 2012. I'm going to harness the power of projection by writing about the coming year as though it's already happened. I'm going to carve my goals, wishes, and things I wouldn't mind happening into The Cosmos (otherwise known as the interwebz where anything posted remains in the universe forever and the rules of "take backs" and "do-overs" do not exist), thereby practically ensuring my complete success.

So, without further ado, here is what happened to me in 2012...


Early in the year my dream agent contacted me and asked for a full based on a query I sent her with some sample chapters. After I sent off the full DESIRES OF THE SOUL manuscript, it only took a few days before she contacted me asking if we could speak on the phone.


I had a lovely conversation with her regarding my manuscript. She said it still needed some work, but that she felt passionately about the story and wanted to work with me to build my career. Before we hung up my dream agent offered me representation, to which I accepted enthusiastically (consequently getting me kicked out of the library for interrupting Story Time for Tots with my shouts of "YES YES YES!" while jumping around like a deranged kangaroo).


About this time I discovered a miracle pill that transforms all food into fat-burning, muscle-toning energy. As a result of taking that pill only once I quickly acquired the body I had at seventeen and haven't gained a pound since.

Blasts From the Past (or, Books From My Youth)

Last week my good friend and contemporary romance author, Ruthie Knox, rediscovered the first romance novel she'd ever read thanks to an interview promoting her debut novel, RIDE WITH ME (release date Feb 2012).

Via Twitter, Ruthie regaled us with snippets of the cheesy eighties dialogue and summarized the diabolically complex conflict (hero was vaguely a ladies' man in the past and the heroine has a flawless moral compass which keeps her life firmly on the correct and inexplicably boring path of goodness, hence the implied severe sarcasm with the adjective "complex"). From her tweets, Ruthie, our friend Cara McKenna, and I created a drinking game (every time heroine gets "warm, fuzzy feeling" DRINK) and made plans to send it to each other through the mail at major turning points in our lives, creating our very own Sisterhood of the Traveling Eighties Romance Novel. And although we won't follow through on either of those fun ideas, it was a riot of a tweet thread.

Ironically enough, when I went home for the Thanksgiving week, my mom pulled out a box of books from my youth. It was so fun to go through them all with my kids and reminisce about the plots and characters that started my love of reading (and eventually writing). I didn't find any of my romance novels in there--those would come a few years later I think--but I had a ton of Christopher Pike books, a good chunk of R.L. Stine books, and a smattering of random YA paperbacks, including a few Choose Your Own Adventures which I eagerly gave to my ten-year-old son hoping to convince him to hop on the "reading is fun bandwagon" his young Xbox brain is resisting so vehemently. ("Look! It's just like your video games where you get to choose what you're going to say and where you go next...except it's in your head! How awesome is that?" Seriously, why don't they make the CYOA books anymore? If we have to bring back the oh-so-wrong neon wardrobe of the eighties, why not those books? It only seems fair.) Also in that box? The only Stephen King book I've ever read, THE DARK HALF.

At any rate, my twelve-year-old daughter chose a small stack that interested her and I picked out a select few that I remember really loving (SIX MONTHS TO LIVE and I WANT TO LIVE by Lurlene McDaniel) and a couple that I didn't so much as remember but wanted to read again out of curiosity.

The first book I read was in the latter category, a YA called MOVING TOO FAST. It's a relatively small paperback which would probably be considered a novella by today's standards. Like Ruthie found with her book, this story had very minimal conflict. The plot went something like this:

I Prefer My Books Nice-n-Steamy

Now, that said, do I love the sex scenes? Hell, yes, I do! Done right, those scenes are absolutely smoking and full of emotion–yes, I said EMOTION. Sex scenes in a romance novel aren’t like reading the assembly instructions for furniture, for chrissakes! (Making sure there was an ample amount of lubrication, he lined up Bolt A with Hole B and inserted it completely until the Nuts at the other end were flush against the opening…)

The characters not only go through a myriad of physical sensations, but emotional ones as well: insecurity, fear, confidence, madness, frustration, elation, revelations, and so many more. And I’ve never read a sex scene that hasn’t altered—either for good or bad—the relationship in some way.

Let’s face it; a couple’s sexual relationship is a HUGE factor in their lives. You can be the Cleavers outside of the bedroom, but if you’re not compatible in the bedroom, you’ll soon turn into the Clintons. And, unless you’ve taken a vow of lifelong abstinence, EVERYONE has sex. So why pretend like it doesn’t happen? Why gloss over what happens between a couple sexually? There are certainly plenty of romances that are of a lighter variety and keep the heated moments “behind closed doors” so to speak. But I hate not knowing what happens in those moments. Was it hot and heavy? Slow and easy? Two minutes or two hours? Did one of them hold back or was it no holds barred?

I once read an interview with one of my all-time favorite authors, Gena Showalter. She told of an early experience she had at one of her book signings, where a woman walked up to the counter and commented with a look of disdain on her face that Gena’s books were those “trashy novels.” Gena’s great response was…

“What’s so trashy about love and monogamy?”

Indeed!  Why are the books categorized as ROMANCE considered by a large majority of the public to be “trashy”? For that matter, why is pornographic material considered to be so taboo? Go into an adult book store (which, for the record, I’m not sure why the word “book” is in there, because I don’t believe I’ve ever actually seen any books in those stores) and the wide variety of items is insane. You can get something as innocently cheeky as penis- or boob-shaped pasta to things you didn’t even have the imagination to conjure up as possibilities in the bedroom. But does that mean that any of it is wrong and shameful? No. It means that there’s a variety of things out there no matter what might float your boat. As long as it’s involving consenting adults there shouldn’t be anything considered wrong with it.

The same goes for what we write or read in our romance novels. Whether the sex is missionary and sweet or upside-down and nasty, it’s a vital part of a relationship.

If All the World had a CP...

I know, I know...I've slacked on my Top 10 list. I promise I'll get back to that soon, but a thought occurred to me the other day that I'd like to share.  So here goes.

I currently have 4 acting CPs (Crit Partners) for my WIP, Soul Seduction.  I will fully admit that I'm probably making things a tad harder than I should by having 4 because the more diverse feedback you receive, the more confusing it can be as to what actions to take with their suggested changes.  However, there's no way I'd ever want to drop any of them because they all bring different talents to the table, and amazingly enough, their comments never conflict with one another.  I'm so grateful to each of them for their insight and unconditional support.

But, the specific incident that brought me to this topic is my one CP, Ella.  That's not really her name, by the way--it's Lea Ann (pronounced as Lee Ann)--but my fingers didn't like typing her full name, so I switched to LA, but saying those letters together sounded awkward, so then I changed the A to the short sound and when spoken (or thought), it becomes Ella.  But I digress...as usual. (sorry!)

So Ella is reading my first novel, Desires of the Soul.  I should also point out that she gets paid to edit fiction for publishing companies.  But when I gave her DotS, I thought, "Go ahead and read it, honey, and tell me if there are any slow parts or parts you think I could cut to get my word count down."  Because I have edited the CRAP out of that book, I figured she'd be more or less just reading for enjoyment with a comment here and there about repeated words or unnecessary sentences.

I certainly did NOT expect her to come back with comments like:

• Why is she acting this way?
• I don't understand his motivation.
• Why is she letting him get away with that?
• I feel like she's not reacting strongly enough here.

When I got the couple of chapters back that said all that, my first reaction was, "WHAT?!?!"

Then when I stopped hyperventilating and read my chapter with a fresh mind, I said, "Holy f&$%, she's right."

Rejections are No BFD

Typically speaking, I don’t have a thick skin. Look at me the wrong way and I’ll instantly run through a gamut of offenses I might be guilty of to cause just such a glance. In all reality, the person might just have a piece of dust in their eye and the twitchy-narrowing-eye-thingy wasn’t a display of loathing, but simply an attempt to eradicate the microscopic dust bunny.

While writing my first book, I often worried about the inevitability of rejection. Not only are writers rejected 9 out of 10 times [note: not a real statistic; I’m just guessing], but also more often than not, they’re form rejections, so we don’t even know the reason behind it. This is the same as that “Wrong Look” I just mentioned. It tells us there’s a problem in the agent’s eyes (pun intended), but it doesn’t tell us what the problem is.

There are lots of posts and articles and probably carvings on bathroom stalls with advice on how to deal with rejection as a writer. After all, every writer–whether you’re Stephen King or the literary equivalent of William Hung–gets rejected.

And that, my friends, is the single most important lesson I want you to remember.

It happens to EVERYONE!

Debunking the "Smut Book" Stereotype

In my carefree college days, I was part of a group of girls affectionately known as The Smut Club. We devoured romance novels one after another, swapping them back and forth and swooning over the latest alpha-male’s romantic overtures, while sipping coffee shop mochas we could barely afford.

Little did I know that the popular term “Smut Book” I had bandied about in my younger years would make my older-self cringe with a tight smile to hold my tongue in a cage of clenched teeth.

On occasion, I’ve tried defending my beloved genre to those with the preconceived notion that all romance books are the female adaptation of Playboy for the literary inclined. More often than not, their response was a fair imitation of John Cleese’s character, Arthur Nudge, in Monty Python’s Flying Circus (“Oh, riiight! Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more, say no more!”).

I have to say, I really resent that some people (even some of my friends and family members) have the misconception that people who write – or, for that matter, read – romance novels aren’t as intelligent, well-read, clever or talented as writers in other genres. It’s totally ridiculous and completely unfounded.

Romance novels have the same basic parts as every other novel: external conflicts (man vs. man, man vs. society, man vs. nature, etc.) and internal conflict (man vs. himself). The one ingredient romance novels have that set them apart from other genres is the importance of the relationship and love that builds between the main characters. It’s the foundation of the story and it’s that relationship journey that I crave and the main reason I’m so fond of (read: addicted to) the romance genre.

Notice, if you will, that I said relationship journey. Not SEX! (Although, I will freely admit that I thoroughly enjoy the knock-my-socks-off sex scenes too. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with wanting a little sex-icing on my relationship-cake!)

Through the author’s words, experiencing the characters’ ups and downs, their moments of struggle and moments of abandon – both individually and together – all while dealing with the external obstacles keeping them from their end goal is absolutely amazing. In these books, love conquers all, and isn’t that a wonderful notion? Obviously, we know there’s going to be a Happily Ever After, but how they get there is the real thrill. The journey is what makes that HEA so very worth it.

Referring to a romance novel as a “Smut Book” implies that the only thing between those covers is scene after scene of steamy exploits that put the Kama Sutra to shame. You’re deliberately discrediting the other hundreds of pages that aren’t sexual in nature.

In my book, Desires of the Soul, three “sex scenes” take up less than thirty pages of the double-spaced, 400+ manuscript pages. So what do you suppose makes up the rest of those pages? It certainly isn’t foreplay, people. (Even the best heroes aren’t that good!) No, those other pages are filled with exciting things like plot, sub-plot, character development, story arcs, world building, foreshadowing, conflict and more.

It’s not easy to create rules and consistencies for a made-up world, create characters with complex pasts and unique personalities, then give those characters goals, only to then throw obstacles in their path big enough to make the culmination of reaching those goals worth it.

Creating all of those aspects, and then tying them all together into a page-turning story that keeps the reader up late into the night, is the challenge that every writer faces no matter the genre.

So, to anyone who has made the innocent (or not so innocent for some) mistake of using terms like “trash novel” or “smut book,” please consider using the proper and respectful name of “romance novel.” To call it anything else is degrading to the talent, research, and ingenuity it took the author to write said book.

Remember, just because several of the scenes between a book’s covers are set between the sheets and worthy of a post-coital cigarette, doesn’t mean the book is any less amazing or relevant than the latest Stephen King or J.K. Rowling novel.

Until next time, happy reading!

It's My Birthday & I'll Cry If I Want To

That's right, Blogosphere, you heard right...
against my better judgement, I'm informing you it's my birthday today.

Happy 33rd Birthday to me!

I don't normally advertise it, but I sprang up out of bed this morning (okay, more like my alarm would NOT shut up and I dragged my sorry butt out of bed from annoyance) and thought, "What the heck? I'll shout it to the world before anyone else has the opportunity. That way I'M in control! Muuaahahahahaaaa." Well, maybe that's not exactly what I thought, but we'll go with it for now.

So for my birthday demands wish I'd like to hear birthday stories from all of you!

What's your favorite or funniest or worst or craziest birthday story?

Wee-Bit Wednesday: Silly Commercial

This week for Wee-Bit Wednesday I’m going to share a little something different with you. It’s not from my WIP, but rather a funny little ditty I came up with that was inspired by a post from my blogging buddy, Michelle Stephens. Last week she wrote a post called Rejection Means You’re a Real Writer. In her post Michelle talks about how she’d received a form rejection letter and instead of letting it get her down, she cracked open a Diet Cherry Pepsi (to which she adequately adds pictures to the post for proof), reveled in its refreshing zero calorie cherry fizz, and proceeded to sit back down to continue writing. Because as Michelle says, “Really, there’s just no other option but to keep writing.”

Michelle’s post avec pics got my crazy mind going. I’d like to hear a Diet Cherry Pepsi commercial just like the old hysterical Bud Light radio commercials. You know, the one where the cheesy 80s guy sings, “Real American He-e-e-roooo-o.” We could dedicate it to the “pre-published writer who received a first rejection letter”! So, the following is my rip-off tribute to those Budweiser Commercials, a trademark lawsuit waiting to happen campaign suggestion for Diet Cherry Pepsi, and a toast to my fellow writers. *ahem*


(Oh, please read the following in a very deep and over-dramatized male voice and the italicized bracketed words should be sung in a hybrid voice of Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi.)

Diet Cherry Pepsi presents…Real Writers of Genius…

[Real Writers of Ge-e-eniuuu-us]

Today we salute you, Amateur Writer Who Received Their First Rejection Letter.

[Mis-ter Amateur-Writer-Who-Received-His-First-Rejec-tion Leh-eh-tter!]

Ignoring your day job, your night job and even your family, you hide behind your laptop with squinty eyes and furrowed brow, typing furiously until the pads of your fingers become permanently flat.

[Creepy hands of an al-i-en]

At long last it’s ready. The work of genius that came from your brain and out of your deformed fingers is finally ready to be sent out into the world where it will be revered as one of the greatest works of its time. Or of its genre. Or of its sub-genre. Or maybe just of your city.

[Gotta be better than some-thing]

Then one day you open your mail to find your S.A.S.E. and inside is a form letter with a coffee stain in one corner and a stamped signature in the other, because they couldn’t even be bothered with signing their own name. The rejection is cold and impersonal, yet you rejoice.

[This is SU-per duper awe-some!]

Why? Because this form rejection letter doesn’t just say that someone out there thought your material wasn’t fit to grace the mutilated end product of a once-proud tree…it also says, “You, sir, have arrived.”

[I’m coming in for a lan-ding]

Yes, you are now considered a REAL writer. You grabbed your fear by the proverbial cojones and put your baby out there, knowing she might be sliced into ribbons. And when she was, you smiled in self-absorbed satisfaction, sat down, and began writing some more.

[Not ever gonna sto-op]

So crack open an ice cold Diet Cherry Pepsi, Real Writer. You may have been rejected by the world, but you’ll always be number one, in your head.

[Mis-ter Amateur-Writer-Who-Received-His-First-Rejec-tion Leh-eh-eh-eh-tterrrrrr!]

Thank you. *bows stage left* Thank you. *bows stage right* Thank you. *bows center stage*

Introducing the new and improved Passions On Paper look (& other changes in the program)

Lookee, lookee! I changed my blog to reflect a more passionate image. Did it work? Do the gi-normous roses in the background incite your deepest desires?......No?.......But, it's kinda pretty, right? Well, that's what we're sticking with for a while anyway. Who knows what it'll look like in six months. ;)

I've decided to try keeping a regular blogging schedule, so all of you can know what to expect and make sure you tune in on your favorite days. You know, for those of you (and I know there's not many, but I don't want to rule anyone out) that don't wake up every morning totally jonesing for a Passions On Paper fix.

So I've created a theme for each weekday that will inspire my blogs for that particular day. I reserve the right to change these themes at any point, which will most likely be due to realizing these ideas were bunk to begin with. *tee hee* At any rate, these are my ideas so far:

MELODRAMATIC MONDAY

I'm not exactly sure what that will mean. I might rewrite a certain passage in a melodramatic way just for fun, or maybe I'll rant melodramatically about something random in my crazy brain. Or maybe I'll make it an opposite day and not be melodramatic at all. You just never know what I'll come up with.

TERRIBLE TWOS-DAY

This is the day that I'm going to try and find two things that a writer should never do. Whether it has to do with querying, submitting, writing, what have you. It's going to be a day of educational warnings. Please don't think that I'll be writing this post with any sort of personal knowledge. I'll be doing research to hear what the experts say. Or maybe I'll ask the experts (if I can get them to acknowledge me) what they're #1 tip NOT to do would be.  Either way, we'll be learning together.

WEE-BIT WEDNESDAY

I recently discovered that a lot of bloggers do a Teaser Tuesday, where they post a small section out of anywhere in their WIP (work in progress) to get readers interested and buzzing. I thought this was a great idea, however, I've decided to tweak the idea just a bit. Afterall, if tons of people are teasing everyone on Tuesday, then it comes down to choosing your favorites to read because you won't have time to get to all of them. So I'm going to do it on Wednesdays and I used the Wee-Bit to aptly describe that I'm giving you only a small amount and to provide my much-loved alliteration for my title.

THREE AGENT THURSDAY

I like this title because it sounds like FREE agent, which is an actual term, and of course, it keeps in line with my "TH" need for THursday. I LOVE IT! Okay, so on this day I'm going to highlight three literary agents. I'm going to cover different genres, since not everyone is a romance addict writer like moi (though I personally don't know why anyone would want to read or write anything but). Again, I'll be learning right along with the rest of you on this one. As of right now, I have one dream agent, but in the event she turns me down I have to be prepared with others to submit to (after I pick up the pieces of my shattered heart and broken dreams and cry like a little girl for at least a year).

And last, but not least...

FREE-FOR-ALL FRIDAY

This will be a "holy cow, what in the world is she going to post today" day. The sky's the limit. Maybe I'll have a fellow blogger or author interview. Maybe I'll turn it into a FAN-TASTIC FRIDAY where I feature one of my beloved fans (aka followers)! Maybe it'll end up being a FORGOT TO BLOG FRIDAY. Even I have no idea what I'll do.

So there you have it, ladies and gents. My new (soon to be attempted) blogging schedule. But before you go all Passions On Paper overdose on me, I'd like to inform you that I'll be alternating the weeks on these. For example, the first week I'll be doing the Mondays and Wednesdays and the next week I'll be doing Tuesdays and Thursdays. Fridays are a wild card. You never know when I'm going to throw one of those in there.

Okay, so what do you think? Do you like the proposed schedule? If you have any ideas that are better than mine (which is highly likely, since you're all blogging super geniuses), let me know!

Romance vs. Reality

Alright, Ladies and Gents, I want to know what you think about a topic that was recently brought to my attention.

The other night I asked my husband if he would read the beginning of my book and give me an objective opinion.

*Before I go any further, let me point out that my darling hubby is extremely forthcoming with all of his opinions - whether it's something as miniscule as my fun-patterned knee socks that I love (and he hates) or something much bigger like his political views - and also has a dislike for anything unrealistic. He's very alpha male, but his romantic side is only coaxed to the surface with (a lot of) alcohol. Oh, in case you're a newbie to my blog, I should probably emphasize that I write...

Paranormal Romance!!!

Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking either. ;) j/k*

So he gets through about two pages and can't bring himself to keep reading, due to the unrealistic nature of the content. WHAT?!?! Unrealistic? I haven't even gotten to anything paranormal yet. It's at a college graduation party for cryin' out loud, I think to myself. What could possibly be unrealistic about it?

If you haven't read my First Chapter yet (how come?! It's only posted on here like a bazillion times in a bazillion different versions. What else do you have to do?) the premise is to establish the relationship between my hero, Dominic, and my heroine, Angelica. They've known each other since they were five and have been best friends, but Dominic has always had a secret crush on her. He hides it pretty well and Angelica is too naive to ever notice. In the opening scene, Dominic is inebriated and has a hard time controlling his more amorous and lusty thoughts about her. During one of the times that his mind goes off on a sexual tangent of all the things he wants to do to her, it mentions "the part of him that was now pressed against his zipper," which (for all of you Angelicas out there) is of course referring to the erection in his jeans.

So, my husband says that he has never known any man that has ever gotten hard just from thinking about a girl in such a public setting, much less when he's plastered, and even less when it's a girl he's known for almost two decades because he would've learned to control that years ago. AND he says that there's no way that Angelica wouldn't know he had the hots for her, therefore she would feel uncomfortable around him as opposed to the oblivious comfort she feels. Now, because I'm not a guy, I can't argue his points because I truly don't know what the norm is for men who are in the middle of a bender with lusty thoughts of their life-long best friend. So here's a snippet of our conversation that followed, and then I'll get to my point...

Me: Well, that's why we like the romance books because who doesn't want a man who'll get hard just at the thought of her?

Him: Seriously? In real life you'd like to have some guy, or one of your friends, get hard just from being around you?

Me: (my initial knee jerk reaction) Of course! That's hot.

*Husband giving me that look that causes me to pause and really try to picture what he's saying*

Me: Actually that might be more creepy and awkward than hot.

Him: Which is exactly my point. It's super fake.

Now, for those of us that are avid romance readers (holla!) we all know that this is completely normal and we would be extremely remiss if we didn't mention how the sight of the heroine affected our heros on such a physical level. It gives us the tingles, the shivers, the butterflies, what have you. In our alternative universes it's not only an acceptable reaction to a man's lady interest, but it's a necessary reaction. I mean, what fun would it be to read "Dominic's eyes traveled over her body and appreciated her beauty, but thanks to years of training himself against his baser reactions, it no longer affected him." Oh, HELL no! Closing the book and moving on to another one. Thank you and goodnight.

So my questions are these:

1. 
   
   Girls: Would you feel totally comfortable - even flattered - if you knew someone (friend, co-worker, acquaintance, random stranger at the grocery store) got an erection just at the mere sight of you?
2. 
   
   Guys: Do you think it's more common than my husband seems to think for a guy to have that kind of reaction to a girl?
3. 
   
   Girls: Why, if in real life we wouldn't like that type of attention, do we crave it in our books? Is is simply because we can suspend our disbelief enough to allow ourselves to be immersed in a world where alpha male attentions run rampant and fierce and the men are so damn desirable that who the fark doesn't want that kind of flattery? (btw, fark is my new favorite made-up swear word. it's fun to say. try it. i'm going for a global trend here, people.)

Okay, let's hear it kids! What are your thoughts on this whole schlameel?

Top Ten Reasons I Suck at Blogging

I can't help but wonder...Did I do something wrong? Say the wrong thing? Bore you to death?

Something had to have happened. I feel like I've lost you. You don't visit me anymore. You don't write. And when we talk, your eyes glaze over like a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Heck, you're probably thinking about Krispy Kreme doughnuts while I'm talking. (You're certainly thinking about them now, aren't you? Mmmmm. Warm, sticky, ooey-gooey goodness.)

I realize, however, that it takes two to tango. It's true. I tried it by myself once, but I nearly cracked my skull when I failed to hold myself during the dip. So I take full responsibility for my role in this crumbling relationship. I neglected you for quite some time. I know this. And I'm sorry. A regular blogger, I am not.

But, since I've never once accepted fault for anything without some darn good defensive statements that contradict my self-accountability (just ask my husband), here are...

The Top Ten Reasons I Suck at Blogging

10. I've been doing a lot of research about writing - both regarding the skills needed and business aspects of the craft.

9. My dog ate my internet modem.

8. I forgot which of my usernames and passwords I used for my blog, then forgot which of my three email accounts the hint would've been sent to, then realized I'd set all three accounts to automatically delete anything sent to my junk mail because spam makes me crazy.


7. I couldn't come up with anything clever or interesting to say.


6. My blogsite was tagged by the FBI as having possible criminal coded activity and an investigation was launched, during which time I was not allowed to post anything new.


5. I purchased a couple of books from Half Priced Books and subsequently ignored the world around me until I finished them.

4. Instead of chilling and writing a blog when I come home from my part time job at night (which is around midnight, but I can't just fall into bed - I need chill time first), I watch Spartacus: Blood and Sand and drool over Andy Whitfield in all his half-naked gladiator glory. For reals. Google him. He's yummy.

3. My cat didn't understand the difference and ate my computer mouse.

2. I've been having an affair with Mr. Chuck Wendig. Okay, not really him per se, but rather his blog Terribleminds. As with everything else, when I find something I likey, I get a little obsessed...ey. Whatever. Go check him out. I dig him. Er, his writing. (Warning: only those who favor loads of Truck Driver Vernacular and enjoy witty, yet twisted, metaphors on topics such as writing and mystical beards need apply)

And the Number One Reason I Suck at Blogging is........

1. Look, I have a full time job, part time job, a husband, 2 kids and 2 cats, all of which demand most of my time. The meager amount that remains in the day is divided (though not equally, by far) between the rewrites of my novel and this blog. Cut me some slack....Please.

So there you have it, folks. All the reasons (okay, only a handful of those are actually true. i'll let you decide which is which) I suck at blogging. That being said, I fully intend to get better at this shindig. I'm going to try for at least one good post a week, hopefully more. But I'm warning you, if your eyes don't start clearing up and you keep looking through me without a word...I might just give up on this wonderful thing we have.

New Moon and Wrenches

Happy Saturday everyone!

Well, I saw New Moon last night. After a long day of working two jobs my daughter and I went to go see it at the last show of the night. Everything about it made Twilight look like a low-budget independent film. The special effects were awesome - particularly with the wolves - and my daughter and I left the theatre as new members of TEAM JACOB. Holy crap, that kid beefed up! Those of you that have kids may remember Taylor Lautner from Shark Boy and Lava Girl. Now little Taylor isn't so little anymore. No offense to Edward/Robert Pattinson, but he made Rob look like an emaciated corpse. And the chemistry between Jacob and Bella was great.

There were lots of funny moments that I really appreciated and a few of the super cheesy "oh, gimme a break" moments as well. Unfortunately, I don't think those can be avoided when you're talking about vampires that sparkle like diamonds in the sun and a girl whose nightmares apparently don't just scare her, they also shove bamboo shoots under her finger nails (or least that's the way she made it sound). Luckily, it's pretty easy for me to overlook silly things like that and just appreciate the book/movie as a whole. I loved the Volturi and can't wait to see more of Dakota Fanning as Jane. In summary, the movie was great, I loved sharing it with my daughter and we're now waiting anxiously for June when the next installment comes out. :)

As for my book, I have been getting a lot of writing done. I only have a few chapters left and then I'll be able to start the rewrites and edits. At least, that's what I thought until yesterday afternoon when I threw a huge wrench into my own gears!!  While writing one of the climax chapter of the book I realized another way I could keep the mystery more throughout the book and give the readers one of those "Oh!" moments at the end. This is something that hasn't come naturally to me during this process. I've come to realize that when it comes to the relationship/romance part of the writing, I have that down pat. But when it comes to holding information back from the reader to keep them guessing - well, let's just say that I've been learning about it over the last month or so. Originally I let the reader in on everything. I don't think it necessarily hurt the story, but it definitely makes things more interesting if you keep some things until the end. As a reader, I know and appreciate that in a good book. As a writer, it took me until the end to realize I was failing miserably in that department.

About a month ago I added a new character to the book that shook up the predictability of the sub-plot, or relationship between Angelica and Dom. I had to write him into certain memories and dialogues and add completely new scenes for him. I was VERY pleased with him joining the cast. :) Then yesterday I realized something that I needed to take OUT. When I took inventory it means that I'll have to rework 5 different scenes. 4 of them are minor edits, but 1 of them is a huge climactic scene for Dom and it's in the middle of the book. I don't want to lose the scene because I think it's imperitive for his character development, but I think I'm going to have to work it so it can be transplanted towards the end. Either way, I've got my work cut out for me. This has been a great learning experience and one that I'm sure will help me with the next book. I'll know better and can be on the lookout for my tendency to super-divulge information.

Thanks for catching up with me and I'm hoping the next time I post it'll be to announce that I'm onto strictly editing! Have a great weekend everyone, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Scam Artists Suck

Yes, I realize that the title of this post is less than poetic, but it aptly describes my feelings on the subject.

I've been trying to shop around different publishing companies and methods so I can be ready for when I finish my book (which will hopefully be in only a couple more months). I found a publishing group called Strategic Book Publishing who, after receiving an electronic submission of general information about my book, asked that I submit what I had for their review. They claim to be a traditional publisher (meaning they front all the money for publishing costs and you get a percentage of the sales), which I was ecstatic about because it's the ideal way to get published.

Yesterday I recieved an email from them stating that they liked what they saw and wanted to offer me a Joint Publishing contract, which meant that I would front a portion of the money and they would pay for the rest. They sent a very legal looking 12 page contract and everything!  I was SOOO excited that I was getting an offer to publish my book. However, while there may very well be legit publishers out there that offer that type of contract (I'm not sure), this company is not one of them.

Thank God for my cynical husband who believes that everyone is out there to scam me. He did a lot more digging than I did and found that they (for lack of a more eloquent phrase...) pretty much suck the big one. There are warnings all over the internet to authors to not get involved with them. Brian was very sweet not to say, "I told you so"..........more than 3 or 4 times.

So then Brian mentions that he has read on some publisher sites that they don't even accept unagented work and maybe I should try to get a literary agent. Months ago I had toyed with this idea as well. Gena Showalter is one of my favorite Paranormal Romance authors and her agency is The Knight Agency in New York. I've got their website in my favorites and I've gotten a lot of information and reference materials from it. However, submitting my work to a prestigious agency like that is quite intimidating and I certainly wouldn't do it until my book is finished and the absolute best that I can make it. But Brian did a quick search and pulled up a couple of others, including one called WL Writers Agency. Their site had all of this information on it and they stressed over and over how they love working with unpublished authors and believe in working with them long term to make them the best that they can be, blah, blah, blah.

So what do I do? I got all giddy and foolish again and immediately submitted another electronic submission of information about my book in hopes that they would write back and ask to see it. Then as I was looking through the rest of their site I saw this press release about some publishing group "acquiring" them along with Strategic Book Publishing. So now I'm totally confused and I do a quick search on their name and sure enough, they're in cahoots with the scammy publisher I've already been duped by.

So, children, what have we learned from this experience? That not everybody out there is out for our best interests. [gasp from reading audience] I know. It's a shocker. It seems my small town optimism hasn't waned a bit after all of these years. Again, I'm very grateful for my street-smart husband who always thinks the worst of people. :) We truly are polar opposites, but sometimes it brings a nice balance.

From this point forward I'm going to triple check businesses before believing their "we're the greatest" spiel. I truly hope that I can find either a publisher or an agent who is what they claim to be and willing to stand behind my work. I know they're out there. I just have to look hard enough. And Google their names first.