Tag Archives: Contemporary romance author

#MFRWBookHooks Wednesday

If it’s Wednesday, it’s MFRWBook Hooks day! Click on this link  to discover your next favorite author and take a blog tour through their listed websites. You’ll be glad you did!

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Starting in January 2016, my publisher, The Wild Rose Press, is beginning a two-month series titled CANDY HEARTS to celebrate Valentine’s Day, the lover in all of us, and those little delicious candies we never can seem to eat enough of.

My Candy Hearts title is 3 Wishes, releases on 2/8/16, and here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ about it.

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Blurb:
Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.

Excerpt:

At about five minutes of ten I was almost ready to turn the Closed sign on the door when it opened. I heard Janie’s breath hitch and turned from where I was sweeping up. Staying open late is always a risk, with the thought thieves will invade at the end of the day.

If the guy standing at the door glancing around the shop was a thief, then Dio mio, I wanted to be robbed.

About six foot, his hair was the color of a deer’s pelt, with autumnal golds and browns shot together in a glorious patchwork that grazed the collar of his jacket and curled a little at the ends. He wore a faded brown bomber jacket over a shirt I couldn’t see, but he had shoulders almost as wide as my doorway. A pair of well-worn jeans covered his mile long legs, and the fabric on the stress points at his knees was practically white.

“We’re about to close,” I heard myself say. “Can I help you?”

It was at that moment he looked over at me.

His face could have been sculpted by Da Vinci or Michelangelo. A broad, smooth, forehead housed naturally arched eyebrows I knew some of my gay guy friends would have paid a fortune to have on their own faces. His cheeks were carved from marble, high, smooth and deep. And his mouth, mother-of-God, his mouth. Full, thick beautiful lips sat perfectly over a chin with a dent you could shove a button into and have it stay put.

“Sorry,” he said, those fabulous lips pulling up a little shyly at the corners. “I got stuck at work and couldn’t get here until now. I’ll be quick. Promise.”

So here’s the thing: the guy was gorgeous. But even if he’d looked like a frog with raw antipasto smothering his face, I would have dropped to my knees when he opened his mouth. Warm honey, a shot of raw whiskey, and a little hot puff of smoke wafted from his mouth like a fine and rare brandy being decanted.

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Filed under 3 Wishes, Author, Characters, Contemporary Romance, Friends, Life challenges, love, Romance Books, Strong Women, WIld Rose Press AUthor

Ticks, Quirks, and Traits..oh my!

I had fun talking about character mannerisms the other day, so today I’m going to go a little more in-depth into the differences in mannerisms ( which has a sort of positive connotation) and ticks, quirks and traits ( which lean more to the negative side of the mannerism scale.)

Woman Biting Lip --- Image by © Jupiterimages/Brand X/Corbis

We’ve all known someone who had an annoying habit – like chewing gum incessantly while talking, eating, etc – or has a little quirky laugh after every sentence. I personally know someone who purses their lips at the end of every sentence. I always want to ask, “Did you want a kiss for saying that?”  But luckily have refrained from doing so. And every one of us has at least one person ( usually a teen or 20-something) in our lives who use the words “like, um, ya know” without end.

These little individual ticks quirks, traits and habits make the people in our world three dimensional and real, because, lets face it, they are! When you read a character like this, you believe them more because you can actually see their behavior coming to life on the page. Where this gets frustrating and absolutely annoying for the reader, is when the habit is mentioned every time the character is on stage.

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I read a book recently that everyone who read it said was great. Good characters, great plot, sound ending. I hated it. Why? The main character was so flat and one dimensional I couldn’t get passed it. Plus, she had two character ticks that were mentioned every single time she was on scene – and that was almost in every scene of the book. She bit her bottom lip and opened her eyes wide when she was nervous ( which was the whole damn book!) Mentioning it once or even twice seemed more than enough, but every frickin’ scene? The part that really tans my hide is that this book got published by a major house.

Crazy.

So, enough ranting. The way to make your characters as believable and likable as possible is to make them seem real to the reader. We all agree on that, yes? It’s up to us, the writers, to decide whether to give the characters positive quirks or  negative ones.

Examples always work best for me, so here goes: ( and these are just some that I thought of. You could fill a book with all of them, truly.)

Negative habits, ticks, quirks: nail biting, lip pursing, sighing, leg shaking, toe tapping, finger snapping, gum chewing or snapping, frequent eye rolls, smirking, twittering laugh, nervous laugh, whining, poor use of language, frequent cursing, profanity in place of proper English and word use, interrupting others while they are speaking, hair twirling . You get the picture…think up some more of your own.

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Positive habits, ticks, quirks: frequent head nodding, intense smiling, frequent touching of the other person ( not in a sexual way), overly compassionate, cries at the drop of a pin, laughs at everything. Again, fill in your own here.

My point with this post was to get writers to recognize the things their characters do while on the page and to find that simple yet oh-so-hard balance of making them come to life for the reader. There is nothing that turns me off a book faster than one-dimensional characters, or those that are so over the top I can’t get vested in them because they are unbelievable to me as actual people.

It’s a fine line we ride as writers to make our characters as real as possible. Adding in individual mannerisms, etc, is a wonderful way to make the character pop to life. Too much of it though, is a reader turn off.

So ( you saw this coming, I know!), what are some positive and negative traits you’ve used for characters that worked, and which ones didn’t. Let’s discuss…..

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Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Dialogue, Life challenges, research, Romance Books, WIld Rose Press AUthor

Winner, winner, Chicken dinner?

So two days ago I WON NaNoWriMo. And by won  I mean I got to the minimum 50,000 words for the month. And I still have two weeks to go in the month of November. That doesn’t mean I’m stopping; no. I’m not done with the story yet. In fact, I may need another 25-30 k to finish it to my satisfaction.

So, what exactly, did I win?

Well, first and foremost I’ve got the guts of a really good storyline down on the laptop. Yes, it will need editing, and yes, it will probably wind up being a total of between 60 and 70,ooo words when all is done. And yes, I’m sure there are plot holes, character problems, and even very bad grammar ( hey, this is me, after all!), but the fact that I have the major guts of the story down is a win in my book.

I also think it’s a win that I worked on the story every day for multiple hours a day. I didn’t get distracted, or work on something else, or go shopping. The last one really hurt, too.

It’s also a win that I participated in something so worthwhile, and in so doing, encouraged other writers in the same boat as me. Misery loves company, it’s said, but I think camaraderie and sharing a similar goal is much more descriptive of our November endeavor.

So, have you won yet? If not, how many words to go? Remember, even 100 words a day is 100 more than you had yesterday.

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Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Family Saga, NaNoWriMo, Romance, Strong Women, Uncategorized, WIld Rose Press AUthor

Am I the only one who thinks this is funny?

I had a little epiphany the other day when I was banging away at my NaNoWriMo word count goal. I was in a particularly lighthearted scene and the descriptions the first person character narrator were giving had me laughing out loud in my attic. Truly, this was some fine comedic, descriptive writing. The epiphany came when I asked myself, “Am I the only one who might think this is funny?”

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I admit freely my humor is a little skewered and all over the board at times. I laugh at the slapstick of Benny Hill, the snarkiness of Jerry Seinfeld, the crude bathroom jokes of the Red Neck Comics. I can laugh at my own witticisms as well, but I never know if what I am writing is as funny to the reader as it is to me. After all, we all think our children are the brightest, most intelligent and most beautiful kids in the world ( mine is, actually) so I think it’s the same with our words and humor.

I can’t really get a gauge for the funny to others, so I’m going to put a few lines I’ve written here and hope if you read it, you will let me know if it is funny, falls flat, or makes you have to pee with glee.

Here goes:

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#1 “Don’t worry, Frankie,” my Aunt Ursula said. “Joey’s a bull. He’ll make it.”“Yeah,” Aunt Gracie chimed in. “Remember when Uncle Vito had his coronary at the racetrack? Doc’s had to shock him four times, but he pulled through. Joey will, too. Our family’s made of strong stock.”

I kept my mouth shut because Uncle Vito was currently confined to a nursing home, an after effect of his massive coronary. He was pretty much brain fried, drooled constantly and had an annoying habit of playing flash the sausage with any female who entered his room, family members included.

 

#2 When my brother Gianni pointed out she was carrying Daddy’s baby, Mama went ballistic. It took the aunts, Gia and me to finally calm her down. Still fuming, we managed to get her upstairs, into her cotton nightgown and then with a large shot glass filled with Sambucca, into bed and settled. Aunt Gracie was going to spend the night and watch over her to make sure she didn’t go crazy and drive to Delphina’s condo and do something.

And by do something, I mean gut her like a fish.cartoon-business-woman-laughing-and-pointing-by-ron-leishman-5100

# 3 My Uncle Sonny knew a guy, who knew a guy, who ran a talent agency, though. Unfortunately, all the out of work actors employed at Skippy Goldstein’s Star Emporium were booked for live appearances. Cupids poised to deliver candy grams; Little Devils set to bring naughty lingerie gifts and boxes of confections to wives, girlfriends and mistresses. Skippy told Uncle Sonny he should have booked way in advance to which, the family story goes, Uncle Sonny lifted Skippy out of his chair by his ugly skinny necktie and told him he’d better come up with a genie—and fast—or his relatives were going to have to dig through the Meadowlands marshes to recover his body.

Uncle Sonny’s an intense guy.

So….Laughing? Cringing? Peeing? What?…….Let’s discuss…..

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Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Family Saga, Life challenges, NaNoWriMo, Romance, Strong Women

Persevering thru Panic…with Susan A. Wall

One of my favorite things about being a writer is the other writers I meet who come to mean something more to me than simply the fact that they are writers, too. When I joined my local chapter of NHRWA, I was introduced to many talented, exceptional women who write various genres of romance. One of those writers was Susan A. Wall. This is her third visit on the blog with me and each time she’s here there’s a fun story to read, today no exception. She’s got a new release out soon and you’re lucky enough to hear about it early. So sit back as Susan discusses part of her writing process – a very necessary part!

                                           A Lesson in Perseverance over Panic

It started early on a Sunday morning. I was the only one up, the laptop humming with anticipation as Maddie and Darren beckoned. Candles burned with a sweet fragrance to cover the offending skunk odor from an unexpected Saturday night, and the water in the kettle boiled.

I didn’t care that the kitchen was in need of a good cleaning. I didn’t even care that the laundry situation was even more desperate. I needed to write and to get the words flowing early on a Sunday morning, I needed a cup of tea.

And I needed it in my Tell Me a Story mug – my current designated writing day mug.

That’s when my plans came to a grinding halt.

The mug wasn’t in the cupboard. It wasn’t in the dishwasher. It wasn’t in the sink. It wasn’t on the counter. It wasn’t on the table. It wasn’t in my office in the basement.

IT WASN’T ANYWHERE!

I thought long and hard about the last time I used the mug. The only memory I could conjure was drinking out of it in the mini-van. So I traipsed outside in the damp morning air only to come back in empty-handed.

Now this mug is not my only mug. It’s one of many favorites (each with its own story), but it is my go to on a Sunday morning when I’m determined to spend the day writing.

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I could have spent the entire day searching for and obsessing over the whereabouts of my mug, I instead engaged in some inner self-talk, encouraging myself to go for Plan B. Because I almost always have a Plan B.

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So on this Sunday morning, with my hero and heroine desperate to enjoy their first kiss, I grabbed my “think happy. be happy” mug because with my “Story” mug MIA, I needed the happy message.

Fiction often imitates truth, so you can bet a missing mug and the ensuing anxiety is going to pop up in a future story. As it is, the heroine of my next release, THE SOUND OF CIRCUMSTANCE, is a bit of a tea drinker just as I am. Stacie likes different teas for different occasions, but she doesn’t obsess over what to drink it out of the way I do. What Stacie does obsess about in this new story are the results of the six pregnancy tests she takes in a single day. You’ll have to read the book, available for pre-order now, to know the results of those tests!!

So tell me, do you have a favorite mug?

By the way, the “happy” mug did get me to my word count goal and that first kiss. The “story” was found when Hero Husband cleaned the kitchen while I made dinner.

Pre-order links:susan3

 

 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1jA1sXU

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1j5yGPa

iTunes: http://apple.co/1jA1pvo

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1O4RZ6k

Social media:

www.susanannwall.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/susanannwall.author – Contest going on until October 31

Twitter: https://twitter.com/@susanannwall

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/susanannwall

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Ann-Wall/e/B007NZU7X0

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/susanannwall

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/nQ7wH

Bio:

susan

Big dreamer and certifiable overachiever Susan Ann Wall embraces life at full speed and volume. She’s a beer and tea snob, can be bribed with dark chocolate, and the #1 thing on her bucket list is to be the center of a Bon Jovi flash mob.

Susan is a nationally bestselling, multi-genre author of racy, rule-breaking romance and women’s fiction. Her bragging rights include nine books in three different series, three perfect children, adopting an amazing rescue dog, and a happily ever after that started while serving in the U.S. Army and has spanned nearly two decades (which is crazy since she’s not a day over 29).

In her next life, Susan plans to be a 5 foot 10, size 8 rock star married to a chiropractor and will not be terrified of large bridges, spiders, or quiet people (shiver).

 

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Filed under Contemporary Romance, NHRWA, Romance, RWA

Something About Sexy

Welcome to the 115th week of My Sexy Saturday.

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This week’s theme: Something About Sexy

This week’s theme can be anything from fun and quirky to dark and serious. We as authors all know that there is just something about writing these sexy books. We can’t put our finger on it, sometimes we can’t even define it but we know we wouldn’t do anything else. We write our sexy characters because we love to do so. We love our characters, we love that sexy can be what we define and we love to bring that idea of sexy to our readers. We love sexy and it shows. Still, these books have hot characters and an even hotter love story and we’d love for you to share your sexy snippet with us.

Sexy can be anything, such as romantic moments like walks on the beach, a home cooked meal or even in another galaxy. It could be two lovers here on Earth dreaming about the day where they go on a magical vacation to another planet. Or staying right here at one of those wonderful places we can find in our own world.

Sexy has nothing to do with looks or status or even wealth. It doesn’t demand perfection and it isn’t pretentious but it does make us want to read those books.

We know that everyone has their own idea of sexy and we all love sexy!

 

Here’s a little sexy sumthin’ sumthin‘ from my newest release FIRST IMPRESSIONS. Quentin has been dying to get his hands on Moira all day. The cramped confines of his truck don’t prevent him from giving in to his desire.

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Before starting the car, Quentin turned to her, took her in his arms, and gave her a quick, hard kiss that set them both back on their heels.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for hours,” he told her, smiling against her lips. He touched them again, this time softer, but no less potently. His hands slid around her neck, pulling her across the cab. Roomy as it was, Moira hit the steering wheel.

“Ouch.” She pulled back, laughing. “I think we’re a little too old and you’re a little too big to be making out in the front seat of a truck, Q.”

Grinning, he kissed her once more and said, “I’ll argue the first point, but not the second.” He turned the key and started the engine. “I’ll try to keep my hands to myself until we get home.”

Moira nestled next to him in the spacious cab, took his right arm and crossed it over her shoulders so she could snuggle closer to him. “Here. How’s this?”

He planted a swift kiss on her temple, his eyes never leaving the road, and said, “As good as it gets.”

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Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Family Saga, Friends, love, MacQuire Women, Romance, Romance Books, Strong Women, There's No Place Like Home

GoddessFish Book Tour, week 2

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Today I have a double whammy! Two great interviews on my Goddess Fish Virtual Book tour. COme check them and find out somethings you didn’t know about me….really – you didn’t!

Rogues Angels is up first. Come meet me and the lovely Angels – but there’s no Bosley.

It’s Raining Books is next and you all now I love the rain!

Stop by and enter for rafflecopter prizes. It’ll be fun.

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Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Family Saga, First Impressions, Friends, love, MacQuire Women, Romance, Strong Women