Thursday Thirteen Meme

Use these clues to solve today’s

Haiku Book Challenge!

1. Chesapeake brothers
   build boats, find love and defeat
   new brother’s mother
2. Cursed incubus male
   beats demons out of forced mate
   f*ck-me pheromones!
3. Bruised, abused werewolf
   takes down crazed pack leader with
   help. Emotes peace, calm.
4. Flooded lift rescue
   for abused little rich girl
   Hot Texas redneck
5. Rich cruise ship owner
   stalked by crazy ex lover
   hits jackpot with twins
6. Regency PI
   teaches orphanage mistress
   all about passion
7. Wolf-pack coyote
   messes with vampires again
   accepts alpha mate
8. Hot Sherwood archer
   rescues dreaming blind woman
   fights evil sheriff
9. Ten year reunion
   at country inn, in these four
   Regency short tales
10. Wronged muralist runs
    to island home, Greek sailor
    steals house, knocks her up
11. Auction mix-up sends
    gigolo home with farm girl
    fake boyfriend for hire
12. One-legged soldier
    returns home to ranch, falls for
    hot small-town doctor
13. Widow with two kids
    can’t keep young race car driver
    from steaming up sheets

Like a Harlequin heroine whisked around the world by her ruthless Greek tycoon, I’ve been globetrotting like crazy these past few months. It’s been a bit unreal. Mr. Wonderful travels 80% of the time for work and stocks up a heck of a lot of frequent flier points. Sometimes he brings me with him. I like to pretend I’m “working” on these trips too, researching and taking notes for future novels set in “sophisticated, glamorous, international locations.”

Though Mr. Wonderful did not accompany me on the Caribbean cruise I took two weeks ago, I still spent many hours lounging in the sun brainstorming and plotting. I now have four books stewing in my brain based on four best girlfriends who take a cruise together to celebrate being single, thirty and independent. The books overlap in time as each woman finds her true love on board the luxury love-boat. Someday you’ll get to read them. Once upon a time…

Three of my friends joined me on the cruise: Laura, Tracy and I met in high school, and Leah is Laura’s college roommate.

Miami the city that keeps the roof blazin

I only came for two days of playing. We stayed on Miami Beach Saturday and Sunday, before boarding the cruise ship on Monday. It was…cold (cue theme). Enjoyed the mile-long active pedestrian mall on Lincoln. Margaritas and Mojitos for Laura’s birthday (hip-hip-hurray!). Turns out the Cubans have left Calle Ocho, but that didn’t stop us from walking the strip (whistle!).

All aboard!

Carnival Destiny. My first time aboard a cruise ship. I expected the boat to be dripping in luxury (thanks Baby Bonanza!) and it turned out to be more plebeian in real life. There were no hero-models to be found, much to the disappointment of my single friends. We gorged ourselves on the delicious food and enjoying our singing/dancing waiter. Surprisingly, four women in a tiny stateroom with a single bathroom did just fine. I stole a few precious reading moments while waiting for my turn. I slept like a baby – swaddled in my feather mattress in the pitch dark, rocked to sleep on the tide – it was like being in the womb. At least as I imagine it.

Laura chats up the locals

Swashbuckling Pirate Romance

Tuesday, our first stop: Nassau, Bahamas. Nassau, once home to notorious pirates Anne Bonny, Mary Reed and Calico Jack Rackam, is no longer the rum-fueled den of iniquity it once was, but don’t let that fool you to what sharks still be hunting these here waters. Tour-operators, souvenir merchants and taxi drivers lurk in the brightly painted pastel shops, luring unsuspecting tourists to their doom. A pirate museum and history museum hide on the back roads for the more adventurous traveler. My intrepid friends followed me blindly as I marched through the narrow, traffic-filled streets in search of the historic heart of Nassau. We discovered the pink colonial Governor’s mansion ruling over the harbor from a hill and the early parliament buildings, also pink. Pink, it seems, might be a favorite pirate color. Who knew?

Our excursion for the day took us to a small private island off the coast where we strapped on small blow-up life vests and daintily inched our way into turquoise blue water that only a polar bear could love. Seriously. The guides wore wet suits. I envied them. Once the shock wore off, we enjoyed swimming with the friendly penned stingrays. They were quite used to humans and eagerly swam against our legs and feet in the expectation of being fed.

Afterwards we warmed ourselves on the sunny beach and watched a dutch pop star film a music video in spanish.

Part I: Miami and Nassau

Part II: Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk

Larissa Ione‘s second Demonica novel, DESIRE UNCHAINED, debuts TODAY. Book one, PLEASURE UNBOUND, was so good, I can’t wait to read book two. I fully expect Shade’s story to be even better. If you like paranormal romance, this series is not to be missed.

Pleasure is their ultimate weapon . . .

Runa Wagner never meant to fall in love with the sexy stranger who seemed to know her every deepest desire. But she couldn’t resist the unbelievable passion that burned between them, a passion that died when she discovered his betrayal and found herself forever changed. Now, determined to make Shade pay for the transformation that haunts her, Runa searches for him, only to be taken prisoner by his darkest enemy.

A Seminus demon with a love-curse that threatens him with eternal torment, Shade hoped he’d seen the last of Runa and her irresistible charm. But when he wakes up in a dank dungeon chained next to an enraged and mysteriously powerful Runa, he realizes that her effect on him is more dangerous than ever. As their captor casts a spell that bonds them as lifemates, Shade and Runa must fight for their lives and their hearts—or succumb to a madman’s evil plans.

Deb Schneider, Library Goddess, author and Seattle RWA member, has planned some fabulous writing workshops through the King County Library system. The deadline for the 2009 Clarion West speculative fiction workshop is March 1. Urban Fantasy authors Kim Harrison, Mark Henry and Caitlin Kittredge and romance/erotica author Lauren Dane are reading and signing in Seattle in March. Portland is holding a celebrate romance conference for romance readers to meet local authors. Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend, but if any of you are planning on going please tell me all about it!

• What’s Your Story??? A Writing Workshop
  Newport Way Library, Sundays March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 and April 5, 1-3pm
  We all have stories to share. This six-week workshop provides an opportunity to try creative writing – fiction, nonfiction, memoir – in a nurturing atmosphere. Marketing your material will also be discussed. All writing levels welcome. Please register online or call 425.747.2390.
  Sponsored by the Newport Way Library Association.
• Writing Novels for Kids and Young Adults
  Sunday, March 15, 3:30pm
  Ages 13 and older welcome
  North Bend Library
  Join local children’s author Kevin Emerson for a workshop and discussion about writing and publishing for young readers. Author of a hardcover novel, Carlos is Gonna Get It, and a paperback series, Oliver Nocturne, Kevin draws from his own experiences to cover topics such as generating ideas, developing a ‘voice’ for young readers, writing a manuscript, and getting published. Be prepared to write!
• Power Editing
  presented by thriller author Bob Dugoni
  Sunday, March 22, 2pm
  Mercer Island Library
  Now that you have typed, “The End” – you’re finished. Or are you? Review the common mistakes novelists make and how to fix them before submitting to an agent or editor. Learn five steps to editing your manuscript including: making judgments about your protagonist and antagonist, evaluating secondary characters, tightening the manuscript, reviewing word and sentence choice and polishing your work to eliminate typos and spelling errors.
• Monday • March 30 • 7pm
  Fantastic Fiction Salon with Nancy Kress: Planning Your Novel
  Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Avenue, Seattle
  What do you need to know before you begin writing your novel? The full cast and everything that will happen? Only the first scene? The ending? This workshop will explore decisions to help you plan that book you always wanted to write, or perhaps are writing now: plotting, choosing characters and point of view, starting strong, structuring and pacing for the long haul, research, and “the promise of the ending.” The day will include lecture, discussion, samples of professional work, and writing exercises. You’ll come away with a draft for what you want your novel to be.Sponsored by NW MediaArts, Richard Hugo House, and University Book Store. $5 donation at the door.
• Getting Started and Moving in the Right Direction
  presented by thriller author Bob Dugoni
  Tuesday, March 31, 7pm
  Bellevue Regional Library
  From the initial query letter to your published novel, the writer must convey they understand classic story structure. This NY Times best-selling author will provide in-class exercises and assignments to help students better understand story structure so they can evaluate their novel’s plot. Learn the four stages to writing and determine if you should or shouldn’t, outline.

The Deadline for Clarion West applications is March 1:

Clarion West is an intensive six-week workshop for writers preparing for ­pr­ofession­al careers in science fiction and fantasy, held annually in Seattle, Washington, USA. The 2009 workshop will run from June 21 through July 31. For more information on the workshop and how to apply, visit our Workshop page.

Author Signings:

• February 27th – March 1st
  Celebrate Romance 2009
  Portland, OR
  Conference where romance readers and authors come together as equals to celebrate their love for the romance genre. Unlike many other conferences, this gathering has no other agenda but to support readers and their passion for romance novels.
• Monday • March 2 • 7pm
  Kim Harrison
  White Witch Black Curse (The Hallows, Book 7) (WILLIAM MORROW)
  Reading & Book Signing
  University Book Store in Seattle
• Saturday • March 7 • 5 PM
  Mark Henry, Lauren Dane and Caitlin Kittredge
  Signing books, giving stuff away, harassing customers
  Barnes and Noble: 300 Andover Park W. #200, Seattle
• Tuesday • March 17 • 7pm
  The Paranormal Bender Tour: Four Authors, Seven Days, One Hell of a Road Trip
  Mario Acevedo (Jailbait Zombie), Mark Henry (Road Trip of the Living Dead), Caitlin Kittredge (Second Skin), and Cherie Priest (Fathom) are cruising the west coast for five evenings of witches, vamps, shapeshifters, zombies and all things weird. Just look for the classic Impala and listen for the questionable content, as the authors read choice selections from their latest works, bandy about prizes and sign their new releases. The Paranormal Bender Tour is for mature audiences only—though an immature sense of humor is welcome and even encouraged. So bring your fangs, your cauldrons, and your appetite for brains. This is a night for kindred spirits and killer stories, from the demented minds of four of the most twisted purveyors of paranormal fiction (and a few special guests).

My friend surprised me with a fabulous bag from Archie McPhee today. If you aren’t familiar with Archie’s, it’s a local company (only a block from my house) that sells random, quirky and weird stuff mostly via mail order. Want pirate band-aids? Need Jesus duck tape? Trying to find devil duckies to inspire your bath time muse? Look no further. This bag is, however, the coolest thing I’ve seen yet.

“This bag is for hardcore bookworms only. Weekend and vacation readers need not apply.”

Cayenne was born in 1992 in Ballard to my friend Celeste’s cat. I was in fifth grade. It was love at first sight – on my side at least. When I first saw her she was still a blind newborn, an adorable tiny ball of fluff. Her beautiful cream-color fur set her apart from her four orange litter-mates. I was very impatient to take her home with me, and every day I had to wait for her to be weaned felt like an eternity!

Cayenne lived with my parents and her younger sister Mittens until May of last year, when she came to complete our little family after the loss of our beloved Shadow-Bear in April. She enjoyed family cuddles and would sit on my lap while I read. She was quite active, even with arthritis, and no ball of string was safe from her lightening-fast paws. When her daddy and I were out of town she had sleep-over visits with Mittens, with whom she took a nap every morning in the sun on her uncle Oliver’s bed.

Losing two babies within a year has been incredibly painful. I imagine them curled up together on a soft puffy cloud taking catnaps in the sun, just like they did when we were growing up. I miss both of them so much.

Title: Kiss an Angel
Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Publication Info: HarperCollins 2002
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: <3 <3 <3 <3

What a delightfully charming love story! For anyone whose ever threatened to run away and join the circus, this is the book for you. A unique setting for a delicious tale of opposites attract. Ms. Phillips guides her characters through heart-wrenching transformations, and the resulting happily-ever-after is inspiring to behold.

Plot:

When Daisy Devreaux’s machiavellian father forces her to marry a stranger for six months or go to jail, she decides a marriage of convenience is the safer bargain. Only after the vows are said and her angry new husband carts her to a circus, of all places, does she begin to regret her decision. Her whip-cracking authoritarian husband refuses to let her leave. Daisy is determined to make the marriage work, even if her new husband refuses to help. Tortured hero Alex Markov agrees to pay off his debt to Daisy’s father by teaching Daisy the error of her irresponsible ways. He has no qualms about treating the flighty heiress with the contempt she deserves; he lost his soul years ago.

Poor Daisy loses the fledging friendships of the other circus performers when Alex refuses to pretend their marriage is a loving one. She is further outcast when she is accused of stealing money from the circus. Alex sentences her to muck out the elephant stalls even though she is terrified of animals. For the first time in her life, Daisy is asked to do hard physical labor and she surprises everyone with her refusal to give up and go home. Her pure heart slowly melts Alex’s icy core, but their relationship cannot survive another betrayal and Daisy runs away.

Eventually Alex tracks down Daisy’s father and determines that Daisy was not at fault. He feels-rightfully-like an ass. Once he tracks her down much groveling ensues. Depressed and alone, Daisy struggles to forgive him for betraying her. Alex puts his pride on the line to win her back.

Discussion:

One of the best things about this book is Ms. Phillips’s trademark witty banter. Cynical Alex and ever-hopefull Daisy disagree on everything. They are about as unalike as two people could possibly be, but they find common ground in their solitude and sense of humor. Love transforms them into much better people than they were at the beginning: Daisy learning responsibility and purpose, Alex learning humility and forgiveness.

Publisher’s Weekly disagrees with me, writing “there is nothing funny in the mean-spirited and abusive hero.” I’m usually overly-sensitive about this type of thing, so I’m surprised I didn’t have the same reaction as PW. I agree Alex is a bully. He has all the power in the relationship and abuses it readily. However, After Alex realizes his mistakes, he perfects groveling to an art form. IMHO he truly regrets his actions and changes for the better. Daisy’s ability to bend like bamboo, makes her infinitely stronger than Alex’s unyielding oak.

My only complaint is that Daisy’s father didn’t get his comeuppance at the end. Alex should have socked him one! Oh, and the woo-woo stuff with the tiger was a bit weird.

This book is also one of the hotter SEP books I’ve read. Funny, sexy and heartwarming. What’s not to love?

Steampunk books:

1. The Demon’s Daughter by Emma Holly (Tales of the Demon book 1)
2. Prince of Ice by Emma Holly (Tales of the Demon book 2)
3. Demon’s Fire by Emma Holly (Tales of the Demon book 3)
4. Hot Spell anthology story by Emma Holly (Tales of the Demon short story)
5. Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti
6. The Diamond Age by Neil Stevenson
7. The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
8. The Difference Engine by William Gibson
9. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
10. Steampunk by Ann VanderMeer
11. Whitechapel Gods by S.M. Peters
12. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore
13. Extraordinary Engines: The Definitive Steampunk Anthology by Nick Gevers

Two romance authors have announced new series in an emerging subgenre called Steampunk Romance.

What is Steampunk?

At the intersection of science and romance is a speculative world where victorian romanticism meets steam-powered technology. The term can refer to literature, fashion, culture, art, music. Prominent authors range from Jules Verne and H.G. Wells to Cory Doctorow and . Even Joss Wheden’s show Firefly and movie Serenity carried elements of the genre: old-fashioned clothing and sensibilities with futuristic technology. Also Will Smith’s Wild Wild West movie and The Golden Compass by Phill Pullman. Steampunk crafters have a bevy of typewriter and gear jewelry for sale on etsy. Steampunk bands like The James Gang and Abbey Park (right) combine costumes and spectacle for a new brand of music.

Steampunk Romance is therefore a story set in this subgenre featuring a hero and heroine who find a mutually satisfying happily-ever-after. Currently Emma Holly’s demon series set in Victorian England is only thing close to Steampunk Romance (that I can find), but both Katie MacAlister and Meljean Brook have series in the works. Could this be the Next Big Thing?

All the elements I love: history, fantasy, and goggles…. My steampunk series…will be set in the present, but it’s a present that has yet to be seen. The first book in this yet-untitled series will be out February 2010. – Katie MacAlister

Steampunk appeals to me because it combines a look and feel I’ve always fancied: lace and corsets, tea and crumpets, an accordion playing a minor key dirge. A romantic fantasyland with Victorian costumes and fantastic gadgets. Music that channels an older era, somber songs sung by quirky, happy instruments. Bluegrass punk. The most recent Cirque Du Soleil. The dance macabre. Did I mention lace and corsets? The imaginative aspects of the genre are enticing: the endless possibility of the technology that might have been.

Steamcon 2009

Seattle will be holding the first Steampunk conference in October with a notable steampunk author as the keynote speaker. Activities include etiquette lessons, steam technology seminars, a high tea and a cabaret. Start designing your costume now!

What’s in a Name?

Brass Goggles has a Steampunk name generator. Mine is: Countess Mary Frances Chester. What’s yours?

For more information:

• The Steampunk Workshop
• Brass Goggles
• Cory Doctorow Steampunk blog
• The James Gang
• River Junction Trade Co.
• The James Gang featured by Ralph Lauren Rugby

On our return to Tokyo, Mr. Wonderful was occupied preparing for and presenting at the Adobe MAX Conference, so I learned the Tokyo subway and explored the city by myself. Solo exploration is lonely, but more instructive, since I am forced to relinquish my passive role and make a decision. It is a testament to a shrinking world and the genuine friendliness of the Japanese people that I was able to get by knowing a single world of Japanese. Even that one word–thank you–slipped through my swiss cheese brain more often than not.

Ginza–the 5th Avenue of Tokyo–where giant signs assail you from every angle and fashion is hot off the runway. I was in pursuit of washi–Japan’s traditional handmade paper. Looking lost on a street corner, someone took pity on me and helped me locate my target stationary store, Haibara (est. 1806). Street names and addresses are almost non-existent here. Despite my Lonely Planet guidebook and map, lost was my middle name and there were a handful of restaurants and stores–including the Tokyo Disney tourist booth–that I never did find. Next stop was Ito-ya, housing eight floors of stationary, handmade paper, cards, pens, art supplies and a tea lounge. I confess I became inspired to start writing more snail mail!

Of course, I also visited Maruzen book store to drool over the romance novels. Harlequin had an entire rack of books in japanese with familiar authors and completely new covers. Discovering Outlander and Twilight in Japanese inspired a giant grin. I attempted to locate anything by Linda Winstead Jones to bring back for my mother-in-law, but without understanding the organization of the books I was unable to find any.

The Imperial Palace is in the center of Tokyo. Koi and swans swim in the wide moat that separates the ancient rock wall from the surrounding skyscrapers. It is a travesty that two major arterials bisect the historic grounds. Only the East garden is open to the public, but this outpost of history is a must see for visitors to this modern metropolis. My pictures were taken at dusk as it began to drizzle. Notably, the lighting could be better.

And that concludes this edition of Wanderlust: Japan. Stay tuned next time for Wanderlust: Cruising the Caribbean!

Part I: Tokyo

Part II: Minakami

Part III: see more photos on facebook