I had such big plans! A workshop to run, NaNoWriMo to complete, family events…
It’s the 17th of the month, and I’m falling behind, big time!
First, the Mindmapping workshop is ongoing, although I haven’t been there much to prod folks along to create their 2019 Writing Mind Map. I haven’t even begun mine!!!! How crappy is that of me to abandon them?
Next, I’m only 11,552 words into NaNo’s 50k wordcount requirement. There’s no way I’ll get there now!
I have tons of great excuses…
A sh*t-ton of last-minute, short-fused editing jobs plopped into my inbox. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not very good at budgeting my editing time. I want to help everyone! So, I shove other commitments aside and go to work.
I’ve done a crapload of babysitting and petsitting for my dd while she’s been up to her eyeballs in kid’s events and medical appointments. No way will I ever tell her NO! She does so much for me in return.
Supporting my dad through rehab and his transition back home haven’t been horribly time-consuming, because my brother is visiting and doing everything he can to take the pressure off of us! So lately, that’s not been a huge time-suck.
Because I haven’t had a lot of time to write on my own projects, I’ve had to push back release dates.
I’ve pushed the release date for Wolf from November 20th to December 7th. I’m hoping I’ll finish the book sooner, but I thought I’d better give myself room to fail (that sounds so negative, doesn’t it?). Thanksgiving’s coming up, so I’m sure I’ll have more household duties, since it looks like we’ll have 20 people coming for dinner, and many of those will be staying in the house with us! I am hoping to release it by the end of this month but don’t hold your breath. Are you horribly disappointed?
I have two more books up for pre-order—the last pre-orders I’ll get for a year because I had to change my release dates. I hate losing that privilege with Amazon, but there’s just been too much happening. Worse than not knowing whether you’re eager for the book (as evidenced by your pre-orders), I won’t have hard deadlines, and I’m not good about producing without deadlines! Y’all will just have to nag me for what you want next!
As for those two pre-orders, have a look here. I can’t tell you how excited I am about Animal! I hope you are, too! I don’t know much about it yet, because I haven’t written a single line, but I do have a great, really funny opening scene in my mind. With that cover pic, maybe you can imagine one, too! As for With His Client, I’ve started that story, and a strongman with the Russian mafia is our girl’s target for seduction…
With His Client is a shorty coming December 18!
And Animal is scheduled to release January 22nd!
Contest
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me two things:
1) Which story are you most eager to read?
2) Does the cover for Animal inspire any ideas for scenes in your own imaginations?
Every Tuesday night from September through March or April, I escape from whatever is going on in my life to the world of classical music. I am a founding member of the Symphonic Chorale of Southwest Florida, now in our tenth year. During the weekly rehearsals, I am so focused on what I am singing that problems recede.
Fresh out of high school, I had entered college as a music major. Alas, my working-class background hadn’t allowed for private lessons, so I was at a disadvantage compared to other students. I might have overcome that drawback if I hadn’t also been homesick in the extreme. I quickly dropped out. When I made my second attempt at college, I became an English major. That made a lot more sense. Music as a profession didn’t work out, but since then I have taken every opportunity to make music with one group or another as a volunteer.
Each year, the Chorale self-produces three concerts and sings twice with the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra. It was during one of the joint concerts that the idea for my latest book came to me. I was sitting on stage, waiting to begin Mozart’s Requiem. Out of the wings strode the symphony’s conductor, an exceedingly charismatic man of Italian heritage. Presto! Lorenzo Moretti, the hero of my book was born.
This particular concert took place during the height of the #MeToo movement, and my book Making Time with the Maestro begins with Lorenzo being unjustly accused. My heroine, the young woman who has just been hired to do PR by his opera company, quickly clears his name. To avoid any reprises of this situation, they enter into a fake engagement. I submitted Maestro to two publishers and am eagerly awaiting replies.
In the meantime, I am working on the fourth book in my self-published Calusa Town Tales series. It is set in my fictionalized version of the island where I actually live.
Would you pay 99 cents for one of my books? How about 49 cents? How about if it’s free?
In 2005, my first book was published. In 2008, I signed my first contract with Totally Bound. Those stories have hung around for a long time, and one very well. Now TB has them listed for sale for pocket change. Yup. Less than a dollar. Some oldies, all goodies, many classics. Check this out:
CRUDE OIL, (My first book with TB!) Price: $0.99
Dana Devlin was still recovering from a messy divorce following an even messier marriage. When her sister Jodi sent her to Enchantor Key for a weekend of relaxing and unwinding, the last thing she expected was a Meet Your Mate event. And the last person she expected to see what sexy hunk Max Hollister, who divorce attorney about whom she secretly fantasized. Touch was enough to turn her on, but when he brought out his special oil, she was lost to an erotic adventure.
*~*~*
BEG ME, Price: $0.99
Known only by the name Sable, she’s made a reputation for herself writing interviews for Erotic Fantasy Magazine with some of the most powerful men in the country. But the mysterious Alex Courtland still eludes her. His conquests are legendary and people only whisper about the weekend trips to his Maine island retreat with women he then never sees again. But Sable is determined. She wants to write the article on his ultimate sexual fantasy and she’ll do anything to get it.When she finally corners him at a posh party, he offers her a bargain. Come to his Maine retreat for him for a weekend as his sexual submissive. If she does this, he will give her the interview she wants. He promises that by the end of the weekend she’ll be begging him to satisfy her.
But things don’t always go as planned. Sable is far different from his other women, more strong-willed and not looking to “catch” him and his millions. And Alex, whose soul long ago froze and turned to stone, finds himself awakening from emotional cold storage. Is this a recipe for success or disaster?
*~*~*
DOUBLE ENTRY, (My first menage!) Price: $0.99
Over one too many appletinis, Lauren Henderson created a sexual wish list for her birthday. Little did she know that her friend, Marcia, would recruit her mouthwatering next door neighbor, Scott Erickson, and his brother, Curt, to make her wishes come true. Nor did she know that not only did both men lust after her, their imaginations would turn her simple list into the most erotic night of her life. A night that taught her what real sexual ecstasy is all about.
When we’re reading a romance, the question in the back of our minds is usually if not always: Will this relationship work out?Because if that isn’t in doubt, where is the tension in the story?
I’ll be referring to “hero and heroine” since that fits the examples I’m using, but this tension can also come from additional protagonists, such as from a love triangle, exes, or other main characters involved in the plot.
Characters show up in a story with enough personal history and emotional baggage to carry the book. But a plot with a workaholic hero or heroine can layer in lots of extra tension.
After all, how do you get a person’s attention when he or she is completely focused on the job? Or maybe worse, when there’s a line you can’t cross because that person is your boss?
I’ve written each of these storylines—in standalone books—in my Snowflake Valley series of sweet romances.
And honestly, I didn’t write these back-to-back storylines intentionally.
The first book (Snowbound with Mr. Wrong) tells the story of exes who had broken up over his workaholic tendencies. Ironically—and obviously, from the title! LOL—they’re now snowbound together. On Christmas Eve. With a trio of unrelated kids who, depending on their age, are scared, bossy, and hormonally cranky. Recipe for disaster, for sure.
The second book (One Week to Win Her Boss) features the first heroine’s sister, who works for the owner of a private ski lodge and has fallen hard for her boss. And who, unfortunately, has to agree to a fake dating relationship with him.
Believe me, in each book, the hero and heroine have each other’s attention! 😉
So, I’m not making it up when I tell you these books were amazingly fun to write.
Below, I’ll share an excerpt from Snowbound with Mr. Wrong(which my publisher has priced for 99 cents this month!). First here’s a peek at the back cover of the book:
Snowbound with Mr. Wrong
Worst. Day. Ever. After Lyssa Barnett’s sister tricks her into reprising her role at Snowflake Valley’s annual children’s party, she doesn’t think anything can be worse than squeezing into her too-small elf costume. Then tall, dark, and way too handsome Nick Tavlock shows up to play Santa…and an unexpected storm leaves them snowbound in the isolated lodge.
The last thing Nick wants is to spend a cozy Christmas Eve with a trio of kids and the woman who dumped him. But as much as Lyssa frustrates him, he can’t stop thinking about her. And soon, he’s fighting very un-Santa-like thoughts of kissing a certain sexy Miss Elf under the mistletoe. As Nick starts to fall for Lyssa all over again, he knows it will take nothing short of a miracle to have Lyssa in his arms on Christmas Day.
Excerpt:
Lyssa plopped the large bowl of popcorn in the middle of the coffee table and distributed the thread and needles she had found in the linen closet upstairs. At this rate, she would have to make a list of items to replace for Amber.
Mollie and Tommy went to work enthusiastically, and even Brent pitched in without a word of complaint. It was watching Nick, though, that made her heart melt. Making Christmas decorations might not have been his “thing,” but he definitely had some skill at working with kids.
He helped Tommy thread a needle, guiding the little boy’s hand until he had slipped the thread through the needle’s eye. Flushed by his success, Tommy proudly insisted upon threading everyone’s needle himself.
When Mollie groaned in frustration after trying to add a half-dozen kernels to her thread, Nick showed her how to pierce the thickest part of the popped corn to prevent it from breaking.
And when it came time to drape the strands on the tree, he asked Brent’s opinion as to the best placement. She had never heard the quiet teen talk and laugh as much as he had in this short time.
She could so easily see Nick with children of his own…and hers… But she had already decided there was no point in dreaming about a future with him. Considering his single-minded focus on work, he could never be the man for her.
She got to her feet and, forcing a smile, said, “I think it’s time for some hot chocolate.”
Four voices rose in agreement, and she escaped gratefully to the kitchen. The more she saw of Nick connecting with the kids, the harder it was for her to watch and the more she wanted to stay away. Yet she knew this trip to the kitchen was only a temporary reprieve.
She just hadn’t realized how temporary.
She had barely started heating the milk in a pan on the stove when Nick entered the kitchen. He came to lean against the counter beside her. “Need something?” she asked brightly.
“Yeah. To tell you I forgot how much fun it is being around you. It’s been a great afternoon.”
She flushed. “No thanks to me. That’s all on the kids. They’re quite a bunch.”
“And you’re quite a woman.”
“No, I’m—”
He reached up and touched his finger to her lips. “Don’t do that, Lyssa. Don’t sell yourself short.” He moved his hand to trace her chin. A shiver tickled along her jaw. “You know what else I need?”
“Hot chocolate?”
“That, too. And this.”
He leaned down and brushed his mouth against hers. He tasted so like the man she had fallen for months ago. His kiss was so tender, so sweet, she couldn’t help but want more.
Another thought hovered at the edges of her mind, a thought she felt sure she didn’t want to know. Not now. Not here. Not when his taste and his touch and his total concentration on her were all exactly what sheneeded.
Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom. Barbara also loves writing, reading, and chocolate. Come to think of it, she enjoys writing about those subjects, too!
Barbara wrote her first short story at the age of nine, then typed “The End” to her first novel many years later…in the eighth grade. Now she’s writing contemporary romance on a daily basis. Sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest in her writing life: https://barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter.
I am Rosemary Morris, an English, multi-published author of romantic historical fiction, one of my publisher’s ten best-selling novelists in 2017.
I was born in Kent. As a child, when I was not making up stories, my head was ‘always in a book.’
While working in a travel agency, I met my Hindu husband. He encouraged me to continue my education at Westminster College. In 1961, I and my husband, by then a barrister, moved to his birthplace, Kenya, where I lived from 1961 until 1982. After an attempted coup d’état, four of my five children lived with me in an ashram in France.
Back in England, I wrote romantic historical fiction, joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association, The Historical Novel Society, Watford Writers and on-line groups, and am now published by Books We Love Ltd.
Apart from writing, I enjoy classical Indian literature, reading fiction, historical non-fiction, visiting places of historical interest, vegetarian cooking, growing organic fruit, herbs and vegetables and creative crafts.
My eight foot by six-foot bookcase is so full that if I buy a new book I consider getting rid of one.
Time spent with my five children and their families, most of whom live near me, is precious.
Inspiration from History
There is a gigantic canvas for a historical novelist to choose from. My novels are set in the reign of Edward II, Charles II’s niece, Queen Anne Stuart, who reigned from 1702 to 1714, and the ever-popular Regency era.
I chose these periods because each of them affected the course of history. If Edward II had won the Battle of Bannockburn, it is feasible that he would have conquered Scotland and, perhaps, if the claim is true, he would not have been murdered. If the Duke of Marlborough had not won The War of Spanish Succession, and The Duke of Wellington had been defeated by Napoleon at The Battle of Waterloo, the history of Britain and that of Europe would be different. Defeat would also have had far-reaching consequences for the rest of the world.
The more I read about my chosen eras the more fascinated I become, and the more aware of the gulf between the past and present. Those who lived in the past shared our emotions, but their attitudes and way of life were in many ways very different to ours. One of the most striking examples was the social position of women and children in in bygone ages.
My characters are of their time, not men, women and children dressed in costume who behave like 21st century people.
Three of Rosemary’s Ten Published Novels
Research of my chosen eras sparks my imagination. The seeds of my novels are sown, and from them sprout the characters and events which will shape their lives. When I read about James II, I had an idea for my novel Tangled Love. James II, a Roman Catholic, who succeeded to the throne after the death of his popular brother Charles II. The peers of the realm disliked the man, his politics and his religion. Forced to flee the country, the peers were expected to swear an oath of allegiance to his older daughter, Mary and her husband, William of Orange who were Protestants. However, some of them were too honourable to do it while James lived.
What, I asked myself, would become of the children of those who followed James II to France? Then I wrote Richelda Shaw’s story, a Jacobite’s daughter who went from riches to rags and rags to riches.
My second novel set in the early 18thcentury is Far Beyond Rubies. The inspiration for Juliana Kemp’s story came from a case in which a young woman fought her family for her rightful inheritance. The novel begins in 1706 when William, Baron Kemp, Juliana’s half-brother claims she and her young sister, Henrietta, are bastards. Juliana is determined to prove she is the rightful heiress to Riverside, a great estate.
The Captain and The Countess also takes place in England in 1706. The hero, young, Edward Howard, a captain in Queen Anne’s navy, was inspired by two paragraphs in a non-fiction book, about a young man. Although the air sizzles when widowed Kate, almost ten years his senior, victim of an abusive marriage meets him she has no intention of ever marrying again. But, when Edward, a talented artist, is he only one of her admirers who sees the heart-rending pain in the back of her eyes and is determined to help her.
All my tales of times past are rich in historical detail and contain no explicit sex.
Several years ago, I receive a digital camera for Christmas. I had no idea how to adjust the settings, so I kept the camera on auto. A couple of photographers, plus a night class at a local college, helped me understand a bit more about using my camera, a Canon SX60HS, but I admit having a long way to go. One thing that I have learned is the composition of the photo is as important the correct settings.
Though I had zero knowledge when I began taking photos, I did have a background in art; I can draw and paint. So, when I look through the viewer, I try to create a ‘painting’ through the lens. This has me trying to find a background that will compliment the subject, or make it stand out in a unique way.
For example, if I’m taking a picture of a bird and it’s late in the day, I’ll shift my camera so that I have shadows behind the subject, which makes it stand out, and in a sense ‘frames it.’ When the background is brighter than the subject, I use the ‘backlighting’ to create an interesting picture.
Another thing I’ve learned is when taking a photo of a vibrant subject, like a skipper on a Black-Eyed Susan, I angle the camera so that I have a solid background which keeps the focus on the subject.
I also love taking photos of birds, bees, and bugs. When you zoom in, which is a fun challenge as often your subject decides to move, I’m amazed at the micro-detail. The trick I’ve learned is if the subject moves, take a lot of pictures. Digital cameras are forgiving, and any unwanted pictures are easily deleted.
I hope you’ve found my tips helpful, and I want to thank Lyn Washington who asked me to write this blog about how I take photos. My favorite advice, when you’re taking pictures, have fun!
About the Author
A retired Navy Chief, Diana Cosby is an international bestselling author of Scottish medieval romantic suspense. Books in her award-winning MacGruder Brothers series have been translated in five languages. Diana has spoken at the Library of Congress, Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC, and appeared in Woman’s Day, on USA Today’s romance blog, “Happy Ever After,” MSN.com, Atlantic County Women Magazine, and Texoma Living Magazine.
After her career in the Navy, Diana dove into her passion – writing romance novels. With 34 moves behind her, she was anxious to create characters who reflected the amazing cultures and people she’s met throughout the world. After the release of the bestselling MacGruder Brothers series, The Oath Trilogy, and the first two book of The Forbidden Series, she’s now working on book #4, Forbidden Realm, of the five book series, which will be released August, 6th, 2019.
Diana looks forward to the years of writing ahead and meeting the amazing people who will share this journey.
Contest
***ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about photography on Delilah’s blog between 11 November 2018 – 17 November 2018. The winner will receive one of Diana’s mugs and a tote.
I’ve pushed the release date for Wolf from November 20th to December 7th. I’m hoping I’ll finish the book sooner, but I thought I’d better give myself room to fail (that sounds so negative, doesn’t it?). Thanksgiving’s coming up, so I’m sure I’ll have more household duties, since it looks like we’ll have 20 people coming for dinner, and many of those will be staying in the house with us! I am hoping to release it by the end of this month but don’t hold your breath. Are you horribly disappointed?
Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom. Barbara also loves writing, reading, and chocolate. Come to think of it, she enjoys writing about those subjects, too!
