5 Years Ago Today

Merry Christmas from Harlequin! Now through December 31st, Harlequin is giving away a free ebook each day on the Harelquin ebook boutique. Yesterday I downloaded COME TOY WITH ME by Cara Summers (Harlequin Blaze) and today I downloaded MISTLETOE AND MIRACLES by Marie Farrerella (Silhouette Special Edition). Nine free ebooks? Now that’s what I call being on Santa’s really good list.

Today’s Book: MISTLETOE AND MIRACLES

“You can get through to him. I know you can.”

Though he heard her words, Trent Marlowe knew he had to be dreaming. What were the odds that Laurel would just reappear after vanishing seven years before? She’d turned his heart to stone and he wanted to keep it that way. Then he learned the real reason for her visit….

Laurel would regret leaving Trent until the day she died. She’d disappeared with a litany of secrets too shameful to confide in a man she’d never stopped loving. But now she desperately needed him to help her troubled young son. Yet how could she fight the desire Trent was reigniting? And the bittersweet yearning for a second chance?

Are you giving books for Christmas? Which ones?

Enjoy!

It’s been a busy few weeks and it’s bound to get busier as Mr. Wonderful and I leave tomorrow for the Rocky Mountains for some holiday cheer with family. We’ll be stopping in Denver briefly, then driving eight hours to Farmington, New Mexico, where my in-laws recently moved. Farmington is a bigger coal mining town than the last one. It actually has an airport! Speaking of coal mining – does anyone have recommendations on good coal mining romance novels? (accident-free ones please!)

Photo left: Mr. Wonderful and I showing off the Pike Place Market to visiting family. We heart Seattle!

All I want for Christmas…
I’ve been reading a lot of romantic suspense in November and December, gobbling up most of Suzanne Brockmann’s backlist and enjoying Roxanne St. Claire’s Bullet Catcher series. My suitcase is packed for the holidays with the last few CDs of Brockmann’s INTO THE FIRE and the DEATH ANGEL audiobook by Linda Howard (good for long car rides!). Additionally, I’ve stuffed a number of Harlequin Romantic Suspense and Silhouette Nocturne books in my bag, because I think I might want to target the Nocturne line with my latest paranormal manuscript. I’m also bringing NETHERWOOD by Michele Lang and a victorian paranormal by Emma Holly. Oh! There’s nothing like books for the holidays! Fa-la-la!!

Everyday Heroes
The best contestant in the Seattle Gingerbread Village was a multistory house featuring firefighters, policemen, medics and other professions that save lives every day. The Village raises money for Juvenile Diabetes and is on display at the Seattle Sheraton from now until January 4, 2009. Entries are designed and built by local architecture firms, though this year “Everyday Heroes” was the only entry displaying architectural creativity. We visited the village last weekend when Mr. Wonderful’s brother was in town visiting.

SNOPACALYPSE!
Though every holiday season in Sea-town is packed with festive events, this one’s been exceptionally eventful due to the Seattle Snopacalypse. With a few inches of winter white that would be laughed at anywhere else, the city has closed down. It would be fun, except the holiday race my running buddy and I had been training for was cancelled the morning of the event (after repeated emails stating “don’t worry about the snow – the race is still on!”). Psych! We looked cute in our costumes anyway, and spread Christmas cheer around Greenlake that morning in lieu of running 12Ks through downtown Kirkland. Next year we’ll probably sign up for the Jingle Bell Run instead, which did not fall victim to the weather.

Presents for Me?
For Christmas Mr. Wonderful gave me a gift certificate for a professionally designed website by Will Design for Chocolate, a designer that specializes in author sites (including Brenda Novak’s site). Stay tuned for a new look sometime after February. Ideas?

Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday. May you find peace and joy in the coming year!

Your vote is needed in the second round of the American Title V Contest, sponsored by Romantic Times and Dorchester Publishing. In the last round each of the eight contestants were judged on their first lines and one was eliminated. Character descriptions of the hero and heroine are the subject of judging in the second round.

To vote, e-mail votes@romantictimes.com by December 29th, 2008 with book title in the subject line. (One vote per person. Your e-mail address will be used for the purpose of this contest only and will not be shared.)

Marie-Claude Bourque‘s paranormal romance reuniting star-crossed lovers from Acadian legend needs your votes. Email votes@romantictimes.com with “ANCIENT WHISPERS” in the subject line to vote for her!

ANCIENT WHISPERS
(Paranormal)

Heroine:

A pediatric nurse in Providence, Lily yearns for a peaceful life in her own dream home with her beloved great-aunt under her care. Purposefully ignoring her latent magical abilities, she seeks an existence far different from her unstable childhood. Can she be ready to embrace the soul of another and fulfill her legacy as the priestess of an ancient coven?

Hero:

With black curls falling over his smoky-green eyes, Gabriel Callan’s dangerous air betrays none of the turmoil brooding in his heart. Member of the Priory of Callan, a Celtic brotherhood of cursed immortal sorcerers and alchemists, each deadly and haunted by a tragic past, Gabriel remains tortured by the devastating events of the 1755 Acadian deportation. He wants nothing more than to reunite with his lost soul mate, now reborn to this century as the cool-headed Lily Bellefontaine. But is it Lily that he loves, or the memory of his lost fiancée?

Check out Marie-Claude’s Desert Island Interview or see the book trailer and read the Longfellow poem that inspired her paranormal romance.

I believe in love. New love, old love, star-crossed love, second-chance love, love-at-first-sight, friends-become-lovers, multicultural love, gay love, straight love. (vampire love, werewolf love, marriage of convenience love, secret-baby love and all the rest.) As long as it’s between consenting adults, I don’t care how you like it. Love makes us stronger. Love makes life worth living. Love is the common language that unites us. As a raving romance novel fan and aspiring romance novel author, you could say I’ve dedicated my life to love. That’s why I find it terrifying that here in the land of the free and the home of the brave, people are still persecuted for falling in love.

I don’t want my children to grow up in a world where persecution is still tolerated and supported, so tomorrow, December 10th, on International Human Rights day, I’m volunteering in support of “Day without a Gay.” Participants are encouraged to call in “Gay” to work and spend the day with one of the many nonprofit organizations working for equal rights. Tomorrow I’ll be stuffing envelopes at the Northwest Women’s Law Center in downtown Seattle. To find a volunteer opportunity in your area, please visit the Day without a Gay website for hundreds of participating organizations around the country.

If you can’t take the day off, please consider showing your support by wearing a white knot. Start a dialogue with friends and colleagues about fundamental rights and those good wishes we spread around at this time of year: Peace, Hope and Love.

This cause hits close to home, because I have family members who are gay. My aunt has been with her partner since I was little. They have two beautiful children together and are wonderful parents. They should be able to legally recognize their lifetime commitment and gain the same government benefits and protections that my husband and I enjoy.

My aunt and her partner have never talked to be about their experiences with discrimination. Here in Seattle we are so hyper-sensitive about being politically correct that we pretend differences don’t exist. Discrimination? What discrimination? It’s embarrassing to admit, but it wasn’t until I read the Troubleshooters Series by Suzanne Brockmann that I realized gays face a constant battle against persecution and bigotry. Reading about Jules Cassidy and Robin Chadwick made me mad. Pissed-off, pants on fire mad. I thoroughly recommend reading the Troubleshooters series in order, since Jules’ story carries through from book 2 to book 12. Jules and Robin meet in HOT TARGET and they get their happily ever after in ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT, which is in bookstores now.

Ms. Brockmann is an outspoken advocate for marriage equality, supporting her gay son. She’s an inspiration for me, both for her excellent, edge-of-your-seat writing and for writing about subjects that matter. She takes a stand in her books, tackling tough issues such as race, class and gender. Her books emphasize one timeless truth: love is blind.

WordPress won’t let me embed the video, but click the link and check out the fabulous mini-musical starting Jack Black, John O’Reilly, Patrick Harris and other Hollywood actors about Proposition 8: http://jointheimpact.com/2008/12/prop-8-the-musical/

We love heroes. Hot ones (Sam Starrett). Ugly ones (Stan Wolchonok). Alphas (Tom Paoletti). Betas (um….Dave Malkoff???”). Tortured ones (Robin Chadwick). Charming ones (Jules Cassidy). Bring ‘em on. We love them all, whether they be saving the world from terrorism, cutting a swath through Almack’s or staring down the darkness of their dark vampiric soul.

This holiday reach out to our real life heroes and share your appreciation for all they do to keep us safe and protect our right to read salacious books and talk about them on the internet. God bless America!

Holiday Mail for Heroes
Holiday Mail for Heroes is a partnership between the American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes to deliver one million holiday cards to American service members, veterans and their families in the United States and around the world. Make holiday cards and send them to the address provided by December 10 (one week from now)

Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

Let’s Say Thanks
The mission of Let’s Say Thanks is to provide a way for individuals across the country to recognize U.S. troops stationed overseas. By submitting a message through this site you have the opportunity to send a free personalized postcard greeting to deployed servicemen and women. The postcards, depicting patriotic scenes and hometown images, were selected from a pool of entries from children across the country.

All you have to do is visit the website, click on your favorite design and either select the message that best expresses your sentiment or draft a personal note. The postcards are then printed by Xerox and mailed in care packages by military support organization Give2TheTroops^®.

So you finished NaNo. Now what? Stick your manuscript under the bed and forget about it? NO! Dust that thing off and get back to work refining and polishing ’till it shines. Here are some books to help you with that task:

1. SELF EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS by Renni Brown and Dave King
2. SOMETIMES THE MAGIC WORKS: LESSONS ON A WRITING LIFE by Terry Brooks
3. THE FOREST FOR THE TREES: AN EDITORS ADVICE TO WRITERS by Betsy Lerner
4. THE LANGUAGE OF THE NIGHT by Ursula LeGuin
5. MANUSCRIPT MAKEOVER by Elizabeth Lyon
6. A WRITER’S GUIDE TO FICTION by Elizabeth Lyon
7. EMPOWERING CHARACTER EMOTIONS by Margie Lawson (buy from her website)
8. DEEP EDITING: THE EDITS SYSTEM by Margie Lawson (buy from her website)
9. THE CAREER NOVELIST by Donald Maass (free download here)

Please join me in welcoming historical romance author Carrie Lofty. Ms. Lofty’s newest release WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS is in book stores now.

In Sherwood Forest, outcast warrior Will Scarlet rescues a blind woman who dreams of fire.

Now, to defeat the new Sheriff of Nottingham, he’ll need to become a hero for the ages. It’s amazing what a scoundrel will do for love…

Ciara: What a Scoundrel Wants stars Will Scarlet of Robin Hood fame. What attracted you to Will out of all the merry men?

Carrie: Initially, I was attracted to Christian Slater’s portrayal of Will Scarlet in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He’s angry, young, petulant, and very hurt. As I dove into my research, I learned that the character of Will Scarlet has always been flexible. He’s served whatever purpose the story required: a cad, a thug, a dandy, an inexperienced youth, a confidante. I wondered what sort of hero he would become, given a little time, the right set of challenges, and the right female motivation.

Ciara: The heroine, Meg, is blind. What challenges and benefits did you encounter writing without using the sense of sight?

Carrie: One of the first scenes I imagined for the book is where Meg is nearly burned for witchcraft. I saw it all: the angry villagers gathered below, torches against the dark night, the smoke and flames coming up from the pyre. But then I realized that Meg wouldn’t be able to see any of that. Every scene then became a matter of translating what I saw in my mind into what Meg would be able to take in with her other senses–the smell of burning wood, the heat against her legs, the frantic shouts. So it was a challenge, but it had the benefit of sinking me deeply into her point of view.

Ciara: Whose point of view was more challenging to write: Will’s or Meg’s?

Carrie: Meg, by far. She’s very angry and hurt by circumstances from her past, but she’s also heartbreakingly vulnerable. Delving into her was an emotional journey. Will was just a piece of cake. Fun, snarky, sarcastic, brave, he’s a hero I could imagine from the very first page.

Ciara: Why do you think the legend of Robin Hood has had such staying power captivating the common imagination over so many retellings?

Carrie: The best legends and myths are not about the actual stories, but about the function they have at any given moment in society. I studied this same phenomenon for my master’s on the societal impact of gunfights legends after the Civil War. There’s just enough history to give it credence, but then a dearth of details. We can fill in the blanks to make the story relevant. For example, ballads from before the 16th century portrayed Robin Hood as a devout Catholic. He risked life and limb to take money to the nuns. After the Protestant Reformation, however, his stories became more adamantly anti-Catholic, to the point where bishops and nuns were villains in disguise. The change reflected the times.

Ciara: Which version of Robin Hood is your favorite? (Men in tight tights? *grin*)

Carrie: As I mentioned above, I was inspired by Prince of Thieves, even though I know it’s the best sort of utter crap. I’m enjoying the new “Robin Hood” series from the BBC, slowly catching up on what I’ve missed with that one. And although Men in Tights was terrible (or brilliant, depending on who you talk to), it featured a very nice Will Scarlet-ish character played by Matthew Porretta.

Ciara: Are you a plotter or do you write by the seat of your pants?

Carrie: I use a method I call telephone poles. I brainstorm a series of images, scenes, themes, or bits of dialogue I’d like to seen in a particular story, then arrange them in roughly chronological order. Roughly. The wire connecting these plotting telephone poles is the story itself, which I pants. That’s where unexpected things happen, generally to the betterment of the story.

Ciara: What was the first romance novel you read and how old were you?

Carrie: Santana Rose by Olga Bicos, an historical spy/white slavery thriller set in 19th century New Orleans. I think I was fifteen. It opened up a whole new world to me. History and romance?? Fantastic!

Ciara: If you were stranded on a desert island and could choose six books to be stranded with, what would they be?

Carrie:

1. The Complete Shakespeare (I might finally finish it)
2. Atonement by Ian McEwan
3. The Siege by Helen Dunmore
4. The Time-Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
5. Night in Eden by Candice Proctor
6. Fire & Rain by Elizabeth Lowell

Ciara: What was your path to publishing? When did you get “the call”?

Carrie: My husband took a three-month internship position in Virginia in the summer of 2006, while I stayed in Wisconsin with our two young daughters. I needed a creative and professional outlet for myself, and for the first time, I took my writing ambitions seriously.

That summer, I finished my first manuscript, Serenade, in with a widowed violin prodigy in 1804 Salzburg falls for a composer who stole the symphony he’s most famous for. (I’ll be posting Serenade as a serial on my website beginning in January. Visit www.carrielofty.com for details.)

I began What a Scoundrel Wants shortly thereafter, then pitched it to Hilary Sares of Kensington at Nationals in 2007. She bought it in September, along with the late 2009 sequel, Scoundrel’s Kiss, in which a Spanish warrior monk falls for the opium addict he’s sworn to cure, but she tempts him to abandon his vows of obedience, non-violence and chastity.

Ciara: What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Carrie: Set a manageable daily goal and meet it. When you can meet it consistently, push a little harder. Find reliable critique partners to help you see where you’re stuck or where you can best improve. Take your career intentions seriously, especially if you expect others to honor your ambitions. And most importantly, trust that you have a story worth telling. Good luck, and thanks to Ciara for letting me stop by!

Ciara: Thank You!

Watch the Book Trailer for WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCVX6xDyOp8&eurl=http://www.carrielofty.com/WaSW.html]

I did it. In thirty days I managed to write 50,000 words, breaking a new personal record and winning for the first time the challenge of National Novel Writing Month. It was a heroic journey: I sailed to new heights and fell to new lows. I wrote the most I’ve ever written in a single day, and gave up all hope of ever writing a single word again. I overcame my internal editor (and, man, that biyatch fights dirty!) and I emerged reenergized about why I write: I love it.

On November 1st I was full of hope. 1,667 words a day? Sure, that’s a doable challenge. No, I haven’t ever written that much for more than two days in a row, but hey, a little discipline will be good for me.

I chugged along, the little engine that could, reaching the daily minimum and retiring to lose myself in another Suzanne Brockmann novel. Eventually it got easier as my brain muscles accustomed to writing every day. Some days I was visited by flashes of inspiration, when my fingers typed out of control and my story stormed out like a force of nature.

Then there were days when one thousand words might have been ten thousand, and it was all I could do to make my characters stand up, shake hands, and say “how do you do?”.

Fun and games made an appearance: designing a mock cover and writing a blurb. I traveled a bit. Read most of Suzanne’s Troubleshooter Series. Fell in love with Jules Cassidy and Sam Starrett.

I was excited to make it over the edge on November 15th, but it turned into a false victory, because days later I hit my breaking point: I dissolved into tears. I gave up. I deleted the NaNo word counter from the sidebar of my blog. I started looking for a real job.

All was lost.

So I bought seven new Brockmann novels and flew to Mexico, where a few days under the tropical sun with my favorite alpha hero restored my sanity.

Somehow, my characters hadn’t got the memo that they had been abandoned. They followed me to the beach. They followed me to the Mayan ruins. They followed me freshwater cave snorkeling. I began to feel antsy about getting those words on paper again.

I turned the laptop back on.

And I wrote.

And wrote.

And wrote.

(All through the night.)

In those last three days, twelve-thousand words tumbled out of my brain and made their way onto the screen. Yesterday, I discovered that I am not a quitter. If I really put my mind to it I can churn out six-thousand words in a single day AND read two novels. On an airplane no less.

Brick walls are there to let you know how badly you want something.

And I want it. I want it bad.

Congratulations to all the other NaNo winners and participants out there. We did it!

Just for Fun: Take the Quiz

My answer fits me pretty well, except I’m not sure “good natured” is quite the right description. “Moody as all get-out,” maybe.

You are a Swan! (your score: 26)

Characters: Tereus, Kalia in the Aspect of Crow trilogy

Powers: Foretelling future through dreams, dream-walking

Swans are idealistic, open-minded, and passionate. Your good nature often leads people to think they can take advantage of you, but they should be careful—beneath that serenity lies a fighting spirit. Your love is fierce and unconditional, fueled by the certainty that it should last forever.

Best matches: Wolves, Horses, Otters

Watch out for: Cougars, Foxes, Hawks