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Showing posts from September, 2014

That wasn’t in the brochure…

In August I had an excellent holiday in New Zealand (I also attended the Romance Writers of New Zealand conference). As an Australian New Zealand is like some kind of haven from creatures that want to kill you (everything in Australia wants to kill you from the smallest tick to the largest croc). It’s spoken about in hallowed tones. a bubbling mud pool Imagine a place with no poisonous snakes or spiders where it rains gumdrops and snows marshmallows (maybe not the gumdrop and marshmallows…). Then I went to Auckland zoo and read about the wasp problem. So while you can research a place on the internet nothing beats going there in person. Here are a few things that also weren't in the brochures. Rotorua smells. Famous for its hot springs and spas nowhere was the rotten egg smell mentioned. It seeped into the hotel room and clung to the car like day old fart even after we’d left. But the museum and history were fascinating and it is well worth a visit, but be prepared.

Everyone's a Winner When Fall is in the Air!

from Mia Marlowe... I'm so tired of summer. It's been hot and sticky and busy. I'm ready for crisp days and shivery nights. I want to see the winter constellations begin to peek over the horizon. I'm ready to break out my sweaters and woolly socks. Something about autumn just calls for a stack of books and cocooning and evenings spent before a crackling fire. Of course, it also means that winter is coming, but I'll put up with that for the glory of fall.   Of course, autumn promises to be as busy as summer as far as writing goes. I have new books coming out in both October and November. On October 7th, Once Upon a Plaid hits the bookstore shelves. It's the story of William and Kat, two people who love each other dearly, but what is a couple to do in 16th century Scotland when a laird needs an heir and his beloved wife is barren? Many tears fell on the keyboard while I was writing this Christmas story. I'm thrilled to share that Publishers Weekly gave i

Countdown begins...10 days until Christmas...

Don't panic! It's not really 10 days until actual December 25 Christmas. You've still got in excess of 90 days for that so you've still got time to find that special box of marzipan for Great-Aunt Gert and bottle of Great-Uncle Henry's special medicine (that would be the kind you buy at the liquor store on the holidays....that little sample kit of the three wise men...Jose, Jack and Johnny on the label). What the countdown for is the new selection of Christmas romance books coming out in just ten days. And I've got one in the mix! Cowboy Boots for Christmas starts a brand new series set in the fictional town of Burnt Boot, Texas. Seems that back in the cattle run days, the path from down deep in Texas up to Dodge City ran right through a narrow place in the Red River. Mr. Cleary had been on more than one cattle run and when he got to that spot on the Texas side of the Red that day he was bone tired of the whole shebang. He took off one boot and tossed in the

On Measuring Human Distance

I love the subtle clues body language reveals. We're constantly communicating even when we keep our mouths shut. Non-verbal communication is like a foreign language and can be just as diverse to navigate from culture to culture. As a writer, there's lots of fun communicating with a body. Take the language of space and distance. For those of you living in North America, Australia/New Zealand, and England, our bodies and psyches recognize four basic comfort zones. Zone # 1, The Public Zone (12 feet) We generally like twelve feet of space when talking to a crowd. Public speaking is hard enough, but when that front row is a little too up close? Yikes! Your defense mechanism kicks in making you look further out into the crowd. If you had a tape measure with you, your gaze would naturally fall about 12 feet or beyond. And if you make eye contact with the first few rows...it's likely because you made a concerted effort to connect with them (and good for you for stretc

10 Haunted Hot Heroes for Just $0.99!

With Halloween creeping closer and closer, why not fill up your e-reader with some sexy paranormal bad boys? How about TEN full-length novels for o nly 99 cents!  *Limited time offer! 10 Thrilling Tales of Sexy Alpha Bad Boys CRESCENT MOON – From New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Lori Handeland FOREVER FREED by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Laura Kaye SPELLBOUND by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Opal Carew, writing as Amber Carew SINS OF THE FLESH by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Caridad Pineiro SPELL BOUND by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Stephanie Julian HAUNTING A COWBOY – A Brand New Story from USA Today Bestselling Author Randi Alexander HUNTRESS FOR HIRE by USA Today Bestselling Author Terry Spear DEAD SEXY by USA Today Bestselling Author Paige Tyler ASMODEUS: DEMON OF LUST by Bestselling Author Sara Humphreys BEAUTY AND THE BEST by Bestselling Author, Judi Fennell CRESCENT MOON by N

Recommended Reading by Kathryne Kennedy

There is only one good thing about taking a medical leave, and that is I have time to catch up on my reading. When I’m writing and in the middle of a book, it’s more difficult to leave my world, and enter someone else’s. So today I’m giving a list of the books I’ve read over the past few months, books that have helped me forget the pain…and the frustration of not being able to work. The good thing about being a writer is, I can call it all research! Since I knew I had a blog post coming up, I thought I’d share some of the fabulous books I’ve read recently. I have good days and bad, so when I have the good, I can post an entry for a later date. Unfortunately, I never know if on that date, I’m gonna be having a day where I’m feeling well enough to respond to any remarks, so if I’ve missed you at any time, my apologies, and I hope that when my issues are resolved I can get back to being more reliable regarding comments. Romance novels aren’t just romances anymore. Ask any avi

The Blissful End

I finished the first draft of Cowboy Bliss a few days ago, effectively bringing to an end the blue funk I've been in since late July. I had put the book on hold throughout June while I wrote guest blogs for the release of Rebel on July 1st, and then embarked upon the blog tour and the madness of the RWA national conference in July. I had so looked forward to Rebel's release and the chance to visit San Antonio. Unfortunately, the letdown in the wake of those events was mind-numbing, mainly because the final chapters of Cowboy Bliss had me stumped. Writer's block is an insidious, beastly disease that affects all aspects of your life because the problems a book poses are never far from your thoughts whether you're out mowing the lawn or shopping for groceries. That preoccupation puts a damper on your spirits, dragging you down into a pervasive fit of the dismals that only the book can cure, which is peculiar because the book is also the cause. My dilemma in t

Regency Slang by Shana Galen

--> Disclaimer: A version of this blog was originally published on Love Historicals in April. I’ve always been fascinated by slang. I remember as a kid I liked using the slang I heard in the Star Wars movies. I’d tell other kids, “Now you’re Bantha fodder!” Yeah. I got some weird looks. When I was in high school, I fell in love with the 1940s. The famous jazz singer Cab Calloway wrote a jive dictionary I just adored. I still love his songs, like “Are You Hep to the Jive?” with lines like, “Whaddya say, gate? Are you in the know, or are you a solid bringer-downer?” But I don’t write books set in the Star Wars universe or even the 1940s. My books are set in Regency England, and if you’ve ever read a Regency romance, you know the novels have their own lexicon. Maybe that’s what attracted me to the period. Not the final cover I've been able to integrate slang into Earls Just want to Have Fun , the first first book in my new Covent Garden Cubs series. A

Bake, Love, Write

I'm part of a group of over 100 authors who put together their favorite dessert recipes along with recipes for lasting love and writing advice. Bake, Love, Write was edited by Lois Wilson, and just came out yesterday! It's kind of funny that I should be in that collective since I consider myself a terrible cook. But I did have a recipe for carb free chocolate cake, and after having just lost 45 pounds doing a high protein/low carb diet I figured I should share it. Find Bake, Love, Write at Amazon as an  Ebook  for only 99 cents and   Paperback  for $10.99. Barnes and Noble  99 cents to keep handy on your nook. What a wonderful Christmas gift this would make for your favorite writer! What do most authors have in common, no matter what genre they write? They love desserts. Sweets sustain them through pending deadlines and take the sting out of crushing rejection letters and nasty reviews. They also often celebrate their successes—selling a book, winning a writi

A Silver Wolf Christmas is Done! & Four More Book Sales!--And Total series set giveaway!!!

  There’s nothing more fun than finishing a book! Then after I finished reading it and sending it off to beta readers, it was time to cut out more bear orders. Received 4 more orders yesterday, have 25 to do already. Somehow, I don’t think I’m getting ahead of the game! Steampunk and Rainbow Bears in Process It’s amazing what a few hours will do–turn fur into fun creations. The two on the left are finished, though I still have to embroider all their paws. But the bears and outfits are made. And here they are! The other 4 are ready with their vests in their laps and their hats in progress. Have to make new style dresses for them.  On the rainbow bears, the one is ready to be embroidered. The next needs a nose and she’s ready to be embroidered. The last needs a head, eyes, ears and a nose, and then he needs to be embroidered. Steampunk Bear with navy vest–Sold Steampunk Bear with Tapestry Vest–Sold! Here's a finished Rainbow Bear Mom and Baby--Ar