Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy First of all: HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!!! It's that time of year again, and just WHERE did the past year go?!?! In fact we're almost into a brand new DECADE! ACK!!! Anyway, it's the time of year when most of us look back at the months gone by and reflect on what we did and didn't do. Then, reorganize and set ourselves some new goals for the coming year. In the past, I've found it far too easy to concentrate on the negative aspects of the previous year. Things I didn't accomplish, opportunities I missed, goals that were beyond my control to achieve... So this year, I've made a vow to focus on the POSITIVE things that happened in 2009. As for my goals, I'm going to concentrate on things I can actually accomplish. Right at the top of that list will be: Stop worrying about things over which I have no control! Accomplishing that one will be a challenge, but I know with the help of the CasaBabes and our readers and...

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy As readers, we all have certain scenes in books that really "ring true" or for whatever reason, we find especially memorable. Well, as writers we have the same thing... Or maybe I should just speak for myself, I do anyway! Sometimes I know I'm going to LOVE a scene while I'm in the midst of writing it. This was the case when I was writing the scene in The Wild Sight where the heroine, Rylie confronts her biological father for the very first time. Same with one of the scenes in the train station in The Treasures of Venice (I won't say which one, coz ya know it might spoil part of the fun) . Other scenes kinda grow on me, and the more I re-read (and sometimes revise) them, the more fond I get of them. Not long ago, I asked my critique partners and a couple of my beta readers which scenes in The Treasures of Venice were their favorites. My CP and fellow Bandita Jo-Mama picked one where the heroine, Samantha was not buyi...

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy Way back when I was an AYU (As Yet Unpublished) writer (Was it really only 2 years ago?) , I never envisioned having this problem. Just a couple of weeks ago, I attended the RWA National Conference in Washington DC and during the conference, I signed copies and talked to readers about my debut release, The Wild Sight . As soon as I got home, I had to finish up work on my third book, The Wild Irish Sea , scheduled for a Spring 2010 release. Meanwhile, I'm about to embark on my whirlwind blog tour for The Treasures of Venice , due to hit bookstores on Sept. 1st. I know, I know! We should all have such problems... But honestly, I'm beginning to feel a bit like I'm suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder! Which book am I working on? Which characters am I channeling today? Am I promoting? Writing? Revising? Silly me, I never stopped to consider what it would be like to keep all these things going at the same time. Waay back in Aug...

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy Some of the questions I'm most often asked by readers and aspiring writers are about my characters. Specifically, how do you come up with them and are they based on real people? So without further adieu: HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH YOUR CHARACTERS? I don’t come up with my characters so much as they come up to me! My characters tend to arrive in my imagination fully intact, complete with their first, middle, and last names. Though I will admit, I changed my hero of The Treasures of Venice , Keirnan Fitzgerald’s middle name. My First Reader, whom I've known for over 30 years, told me she’d always been very fond of the name Sean. So in deference to her, I changed his name from Keirnan Padriag Fitzgerald to Keirnan Sean Fitzgerald. Luckily he didn’t mind. When my characters arrive, they tend to tell me all kinds of things about themselves. Quite handy, though I know it sounds bizarre to people who don't write. We writers are very possessive...

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy Tomorrow evening, I'll be giving a talk at a local library as part of their "Summer Reading Program for Adults." The librarians have asked me to talk about my some of my experiences reading and writing romance, so today I thought I'd give you all a little sneak preview of some of the things I'm going to say. I like to say that I started writing at the age of nine. Before that, I printed. From the time I learned to read, I made up stories. As a child, if I didn’t like the way a book ended, I made up my own ending. I guess that makes me one of those people who writes because they don’t know how to “ not write. ” I’ve written all kinds of things, fiction, non-fiction, even poetry. I took creative writing in high school and college because it was an ‘easy A’ for me. I was one of those people who liked essay questions on tests and loved to write term papers. But even though I loved to write, I didn't necessarily think...

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy I LURVE my heroes! Can't help myself. Must be because they are all (at least thus far) Irish hunks. And like all true Celts, they are dark haired and blue-eyed, but there the similarities end. Donovan O'Shea, my hero of The Wild Sight is a man who tried to escape his painful past. But basically he has a dual nature, and near the climax of the story he actually recognizes this in himself. One side of him is a healer. Though he himself may be wounded (not nearly as much as the hero of my current Work In Progress, but that's a blog for another day) , he seeks to fix things that are broken, soothe hurts, and generally set things right. But the other side of him is a warrior. When threatened, he doesn't hesitate to fight back, especially in defense of someone he cares about. Cross him at your peril! The same can be said for my hero of The Treasures of Venice , Keirnan Fitzgerald. When necessary, this man can be dangerous. In fact...

posted by Aunty Cindy aka Loucinda McGary BIG THANX to Mary Margret for her instructive post on Saturday sharing her process of coming up with alternate 50 word (or less) pitches. Another good source for pitches (especially if you have more than 50 words or 30 seconds in an elevator) is your query letter. In my case, I have usually revised and polished my query letters to within an inch of my life, so I like to use them (in whatever form) at every available opportunity. Below is the query letter I used most often for the book that eventually sold and became The Wild Sight : Cursed with the Irish clairvoyance known as “The Sight,” Donovan O’Shea fled to America to escape his “gift.” After fifteen years, his father’s illness has forced him to return to the family homestead. Decades earlier, Donovan’s mother disappeared into the encroaching fens and was never seen again. Now the same fens are offering up secrets, both ancient and recent, and restoring a terrible legacy that just may drive...

posted by Aunty Cindy aka Loucinda McGary Not long ago, Aunty Cindy and Marie were sharing a cyber-cup of tea and discussing The Wild Sight (Marie enthusiastically holds two thumbs up in endorsement) . Just about the time the discussion got lively, a couple of the characters from TWS also happened by. Thought you might like to listen in: Marie: In The Wild Sight , you have two things you don't often see in a romance: a hero and heroine who, for a while, think they might be brother and sister, and a man with "the Sight." Tell me how you decided to take these risks with your story and if you think they made the book easier or more difficult to sell. AC: Well, technically the hero never believes she's his sister since he is instantly attracted to her. She suffers some real angst for awhile, however. (evil grin) I knew this possible siblings angle would be a make or break issue for the book. Luckily my critique partners were very supportive and told me, "Can...

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy and Cheryl Brooks Yes, it's true! We have FIVE great books being released in October! So many that it will take us TWO FULL DAYS to properly launch them all! Of course there will be TONS OF FUN! Lots of prizes! Silly and serious moments as our authors share blurbs, reviews and intriguing tidbits of their new releases. So without further adieu, LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED! The Wild Sight: An Irish tale of deadly deeds and forbidden love by Loucinda McGary Aunty Cindy: My debut novel is a romantic suspense with paranormal elements. I'm tickled pink that it is the first romantic suspense in the Casablanca line and I'm even more thrilled that it is getting rave reviews, including a starred review from Publishers Weekly ! Here's the blurb from my website (http://www.loucindamcgary.com): Since he was a wee lad, Donovan O'Shea possessed a gift of clairvoyance that allowed him to see and hear people and things tha...

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy I'm in the midst of a blog tour to promote the release of The Wild Sight , and I've noticed that a preponderance of questions and comments center around my hero. Okay, I get it. He's a tall, dark and handsome hunk with an adorable Irish accent. What's not to love? But to be fair, my heroine has a certain charming appeal too, and she's definitely a match for my hunky hero. Here's a brief excerpt from Chapter 1 when my heroine first comes on the scene: P.S. And before you ask, yes, an Irishman (and most all Europeans) can pick out an American with one look at their clothes (the tennis shoes are a total giveaway) . *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Rylie Powell parked her rented car in front of a store with a chipped sign that proclaimed “Dry Goods and Hardware.” She stared across the street at the window illuminated by two neon signs. The yellow one featured a stylized Irish harp with the word “Harp” written below. The dark blue one ...

I don't watch a lot of TV but I do lurve the late night talk shows -- Leno, Letterman, Craig Ferguson. One of my favorite things on David Letterman's show is his Top Ten. Always one to latch onto a good idea, I now present my Top Ten Things I enjoyed while writing The Wild Sight : Donovan (and it's not an accident that he bears in uncanny resemblance to Hugh Jackman) and his psychic "gift." Rylie and her sassiness. (but as Han Solo once said of Princess Leia, "She's got a lot of spunk to go with that sass.") The way Donovan and Rylie can't keep their hands off each other. (This is a romance after all.) The beautiful Irish countryside, and the real locales like the Giant's Causeway (pictured) and Rathlin Island. Rylie's first meeting with her biological father. The underlying theme of parent/child relationships, especially father/child. Doreen, the bossy older sister. (Ask my siblings where I came up with the idea for that character!) Je...

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy It's certainly no secret that I love a man with an accent. Any old accent will do, but I especially love a man with a lilting brogue. A charming Irish rogue could talk me into just about anything! The Irish have a very distinctive form of diction. For example, they often turn a statement into a question simply by inflection, or end a sentence with the word "then." I worked hard to replicate speech patterns in all my Irish characters in The Wild Sight , and make them sound distinctive from non-Irish speakers (like my American heroine). But sometimes it's not only how an Irishman says something, it's the words used. Slang and euphemisms can be so much fun! I loved listening to all the unique turns of phrases when we were in Ireland, and I tried to recall as many as I could. Unfortunately my memory is sometimes faulty, so thank goodness for the internet! I found all kinds of great websites for things like Irish slang, Irish p...

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy Waaaay back at the end of May our Casa publicist, the lovely Danielle told me she was ready to send out ARCs of The Wild Sight . When I read the list of places she planned to ask for reviews, I started to hyperventilate. Now, it feels like that happened another lifetime ago, even though technically it's only been 10 weeks. Well, a few days ago, I learned that my first review has arrived! I'm so excited to take this significant step down my long road to publication. Yes, it is a happy day because this was a positive review! What a gratifying feeling to know that a total stranger read my story and "got" it. Yes, I was SCARED SPITLESS (just like when I received the file of my cover) when I opened the email! And once again, I held my breath while I read it. Thank goodness it was both short and sweet. The review will appear in the August issue of Booklist magazine. This is the trade publication of the American Library Associati...

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy One of the things my Sourcebooks sisters and I quickly learned about each other is that when it comes to our writing, we don't always "play by the rules." Sometimes we've done it unintentionally, sometimes not. But we all agree that a wee bit of rule bending is what sets our Casablanca books apart and makes them memorable reads! When I started writing The Wild Sight , I purposefully decided to bend some "rules" just a little. One of the first decisions I made, even before I had a clue about my plot or characters was the setting. I had set my previous two romantic suspense stories in Italy, but this time I wanted to set the book in Ireland. Hmmm... I've seen and read lots of books set in Ireland, but I couldn't think of a single contemporary story set in Northern Ireland. They're all set in the Republic of Ireland. But the Ireland I am most familiar with is Northern Ireland. So I huffed and puffed and b...