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Showing posts from August, 2017

Setting the Mood (the HOLIDAY Mood)

Writing books is weird. My newest release was written over a year and half ago. The project I’m working on right now won’t see the light of day until 2019. I’m looking ahead to 2020 to see what kind of openings I have for my next series. With so much advance planning, it’s no wonder that my internal clock is sometimes way off kilter. Take, for example, the holiday novella I’m polishing up and getting ready to format. Inside my head, the world is full of hot cocoa, snowball fights, and Yeti sightings. Outside my house, it’s a hundred degrees and the air is filled with forest fire smoke. I can get away with pretending the forest fire smoke is a Yuletide log for a few hours, but reality comes crashing back when I step outside and all thoughts of crisp winter mornings evaporate off my skin. Literally. As a general rule, I don’t have to be in the right “zone” to write a particular book or scene. I don’t need candlelight and wine to write a love scene (more often than n

Stress... Good or bad?

Hi, everyone, I'm thinking about stress today. Not just the usual day to day stuff...although that can be a pain in the butt too... No, I'm thinking more about the extra stuff we heap on ourselves. Is there good stress? I think so. The stress of a new release, for instance! Yes, there are blog tours and giveaways, and fortunately Sourcebooks has a wonderful publicist that takes care of a lot of that. (Thank you, Beth!) This brings up one of my latest discoveries for alleviating stress... Delegating! I'm the woman behind the Fall in Love with New England Romance Reader/Author conference. Yup. I invented it. www.fallinlovewithnewengland.com That was back when I was between contracts and had all kinds of time to arrange everything. Enter a new 5 book contract a few months before the conference! Eek! Talk about stress! But you know what? That's all good stress too. Fortunately, I have friends. Lots of author friends who wanted this to succeed stepped up and vol

Coming Sept 5th: On the Chase (Rocky Mountain K9 Unit Book 2) by Katie Ruggle

On the Chase , Book 2 in the Rocky Mountain K9 Unit series, is out on September 5th! Injured in the line of duty, His orders are simple: Stay alive. But when a frightened woman bursts into his life, Hugh and his K9 companion have no choice but to risk everything to keep her safe. The sole witness to a horrific crime, Kaylee Ramay flees to the Colorado Rockies to start a new life. There she becomes Grace , a dog kennel employee desperately trying to avoid attention—especially from dangerously attractive K9 Officer Hugh Murdoch. Because Hugh is tall, dark…and nothing but trouble. Hugh is anxious to get back in the field after an act of heroism left him warming the bench. Until then, he and his K9 partner Lexi spend their hours teasing the town’s mysterious newcomer. But when their simmering attraction is nearly cut short by a sniper’s bullet, Hugh’s mystery woman must come clean about the secrets she keeps… Or both of them will pay the price. “I love Ru

Hurricane Harvey Made Landfall, Bracing for Flooding

This is last night before Hurricane Harvey, at category 4, made landfall. We've had 3" of rain so far and it's continuing to pour rain, with wind gusts up to 25 mph. It will rain for several more days, which will cause flooding for us. We're hoping we don't lose electricity. We're under flood warning and several other warnings right now, including tornado watch. Hope everyone left the area who needed to due to mandatory evacuations. Stay safe!  I'm back to working on edits for All's Fair in Love and Wolf, Billionaire Wolf Christmas, and the last promo blog for Dreaming of a White Wolf Christmas (Oct release). Unless the electricity goes out. Be safe!! Terry “Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.” Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics Twitter:

Kim Redford Shares Little Free Library

On my most recent visit to California, the small town of San Juan Capistrano captured my imagination in so many ways—from the famous timeless mission to a Victorian tea parlor to the small library nestled beside a comfy bench on a dusty side street. Perhaps you’ve noticed the tiny libraries springing up outside businesses or in front of homes or near schools. Books are nestled behind the front glass of a brightly painted birdhouse or more elaborate structure. Of course, there’s a fascinating story (and group) behind  Little Free Library . In 2009, Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin, built a tiny replica of a red schoolhouse in his mother’s honor, a former teacher and booklover. Not long after he made free books available, folks from around town were stopping by, chatting, and picking up novels or nonfiction to take home. A University of Wisconsin-Madison professor saw the little library and recognized a golden opportunity to spread the love of books. They partnered to promote l

Wanted and Wired: The "Good Parts" Version

My all-time favorite movie is The Princess Bride , and one of the many things I love about it (and the book by William Goldman) is the idea of calling it the “good parts version” of a less exciting story. Because, erm, who hasn’t skimmed once or twice? More than twice? All books? It’s okay to confess; we’re all friends here. As a writer of science fiction romance, I totally understand that readers are coming at my stories with very different needs at the fore. Some folks are looking for action or emotion, some for sciencey bits. Some readers would like to skip the intimate scenes (though I’ll caution the story might not make complete sense if you do), and some…well, some of you cuties page through a book looking for the sexytimes. (I might love you guys most. Though you sciencers are pretty cute, too.) So anyway, to help all y’all out, here’s the cheat-sheet “good parts” version of how to read Wanted and Wired : <<<Spoiler Alert! This book is a romance. It c

Loving An Old Cemetery and a Giveaway by Abbie Roads

Enter to win a signed copy of Saving Mercy  HERE .  I have a confession... I love old cemeteries. On Sunday I found this cemetery. I've driven by it a hundred times, but never noticed it before. Probably because there were only a few scattered graves tucked way in the back--hard to spot from the road. I find cemeteries to be serene places. The headstones, even the decayed ones, are oddly beautiful. They remind of being a child and going with my grandma to visit the graves of all the relatives who'd died decades and decades before I'd been born. It's sad when the headstones are broken and illegible. To me it feels like that person is well and truly forgotten. And there's always curiosity when a name is completely legible. Who was Joseph Prettyman? I don't live far from this area, and my father grew up down the road from this cemetery, but I've never heard the last name Prettyman. Did all the Prettyman's die

Eclipse Day!

The last eclipse I remember was when I was in fourth grade, so it must have been in the 1980s. I don't think it was a total eclipse because it didn't get very dark. I do remember that we went out to see it with our teachers and were warned within an inch of our lives not to look at the sun. I was afraid to even look up. Now there's another solar eclipse. Here in Texas we only get to see a partial eclipse, but some of you will probably see the full thing. Here are a few cool links to help you get the most out of the eclipse. This is NASA's Eyes. It's a web application, where you can put any location in and see what time the eclipse will occur in that place and what it will look like. https://eyes.jpl.nasa/gov/eyes-on-eclipse-web-detail.html NASA also has a fun activity guide with information and directions for making viewers. https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/NASA_Eclipse_Activity_Guide.pdf Are you going to watch the eclipse? Will y

Weddings, Dogs & Growing Up

Twenty-six years ago, I was a bride.  It seems like a lifetime ago and let me tell you, I didn't spend a lot of time planning my wedding, I didn't spend a lot of time being part of many bridal parties and overall, I haven't gone to a lot of weddings.  However...I love to write about things that are wedding related. I have a series - The Enchanted Bridal Series - which is really more about friendships (a little more women's fiction with romantic sub-plots) but the stories are all related to a bridal shop.  And really, I just love the thought of having an excuse to dress up in pretty dresses!  Crazy, right?  Did you used to watch the TV show Friends?  Remember the one with all the wedding dresses?  HUGE inspiration for me! So the latest book in that series - THE BRIDAL SQUAD - came out in May and we were trying to come up with a fun promo idea for it and ended up having my sassy pug Maylene play the part of the bride!  Because really, what's funnier than a dog

It's Never Too Early For Halloween--Win A Treat!

For a chance to win a print ARC* of ALL I WANT FOR HALLOWEEN, comment below: What's the best costume you ever wore for Halloween? Yes, I said it. It's never too early for Halloween. At least, not for me. It's my favorite holiday, followed closely by Christmas and my birthday (because yeah, that's a holiday too.) I'm a huge fan of candy, scares, and fun. And Halloween has it all. This is the one holiday I'm okay with the big stores putting out decorations months early. Just last night I was talking to a friend about the Halloween party she went to last year, and it sounded amazing. Normally I get my thrills giving out candy since my kids are old enough to trick or treat themselves. And yes, I'm always in costume. And not the slinky, sexy lady costumes. Oh no. I'm the demon under the mask, the hairy werewolf with huge teeth, or the zombie nun who'll make you eat those prayer beads. When the opportunity to write a contemporary