On Writing

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    Entangled e-anthology now available …

    I’m one of several authors who has contributed a story to Entangled, an e-anthology. I think this is a really cool project because all the money raised is going to breast cancer research.

    Unfortunately, breast cancer is a disease that seems to affect all of us. Everyone seems to know someone who’s had the disease, whether it’s their mother, grandmother, sister, or friend. My grandmother is a breast cancer survivor, and I wanted to write a story for this anthology to honor her strength and spirit, as well as everyone else who’s struggled with or been affected by the disease. Here’s hoping for a cure – the sooner, the better.

    My story is called Halloween Frost. It’s about 6,500 words and is part of my Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series. The story takes place after the events of Touch of Frost. You can read an excerpt here, and here’s the description:

    It’s Halloween at Mythos Academy, but Gwen Frost and her friends are in for more tricks than treats when they run into a mythological monster intent on killing them.

    And here’s some general info about the anthology, the other authors participating, and their stories:

    Ghosts, vampires, demons, and more! Entangled includes ten suspense-filled paranormal short stories from authors Cynthia Eden, Jennifer Estep, Edie Ramer, Lori Brighton, Michelle Diener, Misty Evans, Nancy Haddock, Liz Kreger, Dale Mayer, and Michelle Miles, plus a Seven Deadly Sins novella by Allison Brennan.

    Stacia Kane contributed the foreword. Formatting and cover art were also donated to the project by Lori Devoti and Laura Morrigan.

    All proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

    STORIES INCLUDE:

    THE FAT CAT by Edie Ramer (author of Cattitude, Galaxy Girls) — In a battle for the souls of seven women, a wizard has the god of war on his side; all the witch has is a fat, black cat.

    MEDIUM RARE by Nancy Haddock (author of the Oldest City Vampire trilogy) —What’s spooking the spirits of St. Augustine? As the witching hour of Halloween approaches, ghost seer Colleen Cotton must team with a by-the-book paranormal investigator to locate the one ghost who can save the city’s specters. If she fails, her own great grandfather’s spirit may be lost forever.

    SWEET DEMON by Misty Evans (author of the Witches Anonymous series) —When Chicago’s vampire king insists Kali Sweet join his empire, the vengeance demon must rely on her ex – the half-human, half-chaos demon who left her at the altar three hundred years ago – in order to escape the vamp’s clutches.

    SIAN’S SOLUTION by Dale Meyer (author of the Psychic Visions series) — When a vampire discovers the human man she loves has been captured and hung in a blood farm, she goes against her own kind and risks everything to save him.

    A BIT OF BITE by Cynthia Eden (author of NEVER CRY WOLF and ANGEL OF DARKNESS) — A killer is stalking the streets of Crossroads, Mississippi, and it’s up to Sheriff Ava Dushaine to stop him. But when suspicion falls on werewolf alpha Julian Kasey–Ava’s ex-lover and the man who still haunts her dreams–Ava knows that she’ll either have to prove his innocence…or watch the whole town go up in flames.

    SINFULLY SWEET by Michelle Miles (author of the Coffee House series) — When Chloe bakes a little magic into her pastries, she attracts the attention of Edward, the sexy half-demon, half-witch, who’s come to warn her those who murdered her sister are now after her.

    A NIGHT OF FOREVER by Lori Brighton (author of A Night of Secrets and To Seduce an Earl) — Who is Aidan Callaghan? Mary Ellen James is intent on uncovering the truth about the mysterious man, but as she soon finds out, some things are best left buried in the past.

    FEEL THE MAGIC by Liz Kreger (author of the Part of Tomorrow series) — Jenna Carmichael’s magical attempt to rectify Jessica Manfield’s birth identity takes an unexpected turn when the past comes back to haunt her.

    BREAKING OUT by Michelle Diener (author of the Tudor-set historical suspense novel In A Treacherous Court) — Imprisoned in a secret facility, powerful telekinetic Kelli Barrack and two other ‘special’ inmates grab a chance to escape, only to confront their worst nightmares on the outside.

    GHOSTLY JUSTICE, an all-new Seven Deadly Sins novella by New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan (author of the Seven Deadly Sins series) — Demon hunters Moira O’Donnell and Rafe Cooper are dragged into the dangerous world of nocturnal predators to find “Ghostly Justice” for a virgin sacrificed to an ancient blood demon.

    Pretty cool, huh? The e-anthology is available for $2.99 through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online booksellers. Happy reading! 😉

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    Guest blog: Everything I Know About Love, I Learned from Romance Novels …

    Today, I’m pleased to welcome author and blogger Sarah Wedell from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. I’m always surfing over to the blog to see what’s new, and when I saw that Sarah had a new book coming out, I asked her if she’d guest blog. She was nice enough to say yes and agreed to answer a few questions:

    Question: Tell us about your new release, Everything I Know About Love, I Learned from Romance Novels.

    Sarah: IT IS SO AWESOME. How’s that? Seriously, I’m so proud of this book, because at its heart, this book is about the romance reading and writing community talking about the genre we love, and how valuable and valid it is in our lives.

    Everything I Know About Love, I Learned from Romance Novels celebrates what romance readers already know: that romances can be a road map of what to do (and what not to do) in real life relationships. Instead of giving us (OH NOES) unrealistic expectations of ourselves and our partners and spouses, in reality romances provide models of overcoming conflict, recognizing heroism, and, most of all, being the heroine of your own life.

    Question: What was the inspiration for this book?

    Sarah: I have run an advice column on SBTB for a few years now wherein I use the wisdom of romances to answer people’s letters about their problems. Part of the inspiration for the book comes from that — there’s a great wealth of knowledge about human interaction coded into romances. Other inspiration came from recognizing over the years that the community of women who read and write romance are terribly wise and generous people.

    Question: What do you love most about the romance genre? Any pet peeves?

    Sarah: I love the happy ending, the reassurance that no matter how bad it is, it will all work out. I love how far I’ve traveled and how many people I’ve met within the books I love, and how many other readers I’ve met through discussing how much I love the genre. When we started SBTB, I had no idea there were so many romance readers around the world who were eager to talk with one another.

    As for pet peeves? OH LORDY. My top two: stilted, unrealistic dialogue and plot contrivances that are wooden and unlikely. I don’t want to read a book and say to myself, or to the characters, “OH COME ON NOW.”

    Question: You run a popular romance site called Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Tell us a little about what the site does and what the inspiration for it was.

    Sarah: I do! The site reviews romance, discusses the genre, and helps connect readers with books to read, re-read, and discover again after years apart. The site began when Candy Tan and I “met” online, had a relatively random email conversation and somehow ended up discussing romances – how much we both loved them, how wonderful the best of them were, and how annoying it was that so few people took them seriously. One of us said, “We should start a blog and review them, working the power of our English degrees and our love of cursing,” and the other one said, “Uh, ok!” And Smart Bitches, Trashy Books was born. Really, the inspiration was to discuss everything readers love and despair about the genre — and the site is still going 6-plus years later.

    Question: What do you think are some trends on the romance horizon? What would you like to see more of in romance books? What would you like to see less of?

    Sarah: I think with the many options and opportunities available to authors, more distinct niche sub genres will emerge, because it will be easier for authors to connect directly with those readers who are demonstrably interested in that specific setting or trope or character type. I myself am not picky as far as what I want: I love contemporary and historical romance, and some light paranormal now that I’ve gotten my mental taste buds re-interested in paranormals. I love characters who seem real, who struggle with their attraction or feelings of determination for someone else, and who emerge at the end of the story as better and stronger people.

    Question: What are some of your favorite books and authors?

    Sarah: The books that are falling apart on my bookshelf: Perfect by Judith McNaught; Bitten by Kelley Armstrong; and Born in Ice by Nora Roberts. Oh — and Devil’s Bride by Stephanie Laurens. Among my new favorites: the Alpha and Omega series by Patricia Briggs is something that I can’t remove from my phone or reading device in my purse. I keep re-reading parts of it.

    Question: What’s next for you and Smart Bitches?

    Sarah: Let’s see: more reading time! I always want to connect with new or newly curious romance readers, and those who love the genre and are searching for something new to read. So I’ve restarted the podcast (link one, link two) with Jane Litte from DearAuthor.com. I’m hoping to expand on that in the future. My goal is always to find new books, and new readers of romance to talk to.

    ARC GIVEAWAY

    Thanks so much for being here, Sarah! As part of her guest blog, Sarah is giving away an ARC of Everything I Know About Love, I Learned from Romance Novels. To enter, just leave a comment on this blog post talking about a romance you’ve enjoyed, what you like about the romance genre, or some books you are looking forward to.

    The giveaway is open to folks 18 and older. The contest will run through noon, EST, Thursday, Sept. 15, and the winner will be randomly drawn and announced here on the blog on Friday, Sept. 16. Happy commenting!

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    And that’s a wrap …

    So the blog tour for Touch of Frost has finally wrapped up. I want to give a big thanks to all the bloggers who hosted me on their sites, as well as everyone who took the time to read and review the book. I really appreciate all you guys do to support books. You guys rock! 😉

    I am in the process of mailing out the books to the folks who won copies of Touch of Frost through the various blogs, as the winners’ info is sent to me. So please be patient if you won, and you haven’t received your book yet.

    So far, the response to Touch of Frost has been really, really good. Folks seem to like Gwen and the world that I’ve created with Mythos Academy. I’ve gotten a lot of nice comments from folks who enjoy the Elemental Assassin series saying that they also liked the Mythos Academy series as well. I was hoping that there would be some crossover readership between the two series, and I’m really happy that folks seem to be enjoying both worlds.

    But now, it’s time to gear up again and start thinking about Spider’s Revenge, Elemental Assassin #5, which will be out on Sept. 27. I’ll be doing another blog tour for that book, starting around Sept. 19 or so and probably running into the first week or two of October.

    In the meantime, I’ll be getting back to my regular Monday-Wednesday-Friday posting schedule here on the blog, as well as linking to everything on my Facebook and Twitter pages. I’ve got a ton of books to review as well as some updates to share on my various books and projects. So stay tuned for more …

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    August book club pick …

    A few weeks ago, I got an email from Sarah over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books saying that the site had selected Touch of Frost as their Sizzling Book Club Pick for August. Huzzah!

    I was really, really excited about this. I had seen the book club picks on the site before, but I never dreamed that one of my books would be selected. It was a wonderful surprise — one that I’m still grinning about. 😉

    Anyway, there’s going to be a chat about the book tonight, Aug. 24. I believe the chat starts at 8:30 p.m. EST and runs until about 10 p.m. I’ll be joining the chat about 9:30 p.m. to answer questions. You can visit Smart Bitches for more details. Hope to see you there!