I’m thinking that for most people a trip to the movies isn’t much of a road trip. However, my family lives in the boonies and the nearest theater is over an hour away, so hauling our brood down the highway to see a movie is a big deal. We only make the effort for something special. Guess what we’re seeing today?

We are taking so many people—kids plus friends and all the adults—we have to take two cars. So, no spoilers folks! If you didn’t like this version, my fingers are plugging my ears—lalalalalala!

I remember my thought when I first heard they were doing a remake of the story—Why? Wasn’t the animated version absolutely perfect? Then there was Maleficent, which I ended up loving because it was darker and told from her point of view, but what can they do differently with B&B? Guess I’ll find out.

So, while I’m heading off to the city, here’s something for you to ponder. Which animated movie favorite would you like to see un-animated? And who would you like to see play the roles? 

Thanks so much for having me here today, Delilah.

Hi, my name is Min Edwards. Actually, it’s Pam Headrick, but I write under a nom de plume for several reasons. The most important one though is that I want to separate my author persona from my business persona. As Pam Headrick I’m a book designer, A Thirsty Mind Publishing and Book Design, and have been for almost seven years. I’ve been a Contemporary Romance and Romantic Suspense author for almost three years now although I’ve crafted stories my whole life… I called them daydreams.

Today I want to talk for a bit about research goals and processes for fiction as opposed to non-fiction academic writing.

During my archaeology career, I wrote non-fiction or technical reports heavy with citations and footnotes. Now I’ve just completed my first historical novel and realized that the way I approach research for novels is not the same as picking out tidbits of knowledge and quotes for a non-fiction article. I thought you all might be interested in the differences.

First, non-fiction research for the most part is from primary sources; from the original publication where the quotes and facts initially were established. Occasionally I used secondary sources or second-hand references (think Wikipedia, but more academic). But when I wanted information about an archaeological site or materials recovered from it, the best possible data came from the initial site logs or subsequent research by the professionals who were actually on-site at the time of the excavation. Of course, if the excavation took place a century or more in the past quite often the information came from professionals decades or more later who re-examined the recovered artifacts or cited the original source material which either no longer existed or was in a language other than English. An example, although from a different discipline—paleontology, is the marvelous book, Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History by Stephan Jay Gould. Dr. Gould re-examined fossils from the Burgess Shale site in northern Canada many decades after its discovery and using the newest technology uncovered a surprising interpretation of the ancient life those fossils represented.

Second, non-fiction writing and specifically academic writing, not only uses a bibliography to show the reader where more information can be found (although you have to almost be a scholar to track down some of it because it’s buried in dungeon-like university library stacks or was when I was actively researching), but also uses citations, numbered and carefully conforming to academic styles. I recall the stress of not so much writing my undergraduate and graduate papers and master’s thesis, but the layout of the pages to conform to these academic styles… and most of this before the age of computers. Think about this… adding all those in-line citation numbers referring to the list of citations at the end of the paper, but also the placement of footnotes! I used a lot of ‘white-out’… do any of you remember that stuff?

Third, the information in these citations and footnotes had to be exact in style as well as content, particularly with academic writings. You could use short quotes as well as the rephrasing of information, but you did it all according to the Chicago Manual of Style and in the case of archaeological articles and monographs, the SAA Style Guide (Society for American Archaeology). Being accused of plagiarizing was the kiss of death to an academic career, and woe to you if you spelled an archaeologist’s name wrong or used incorrect academic affiliations.

In the first novels I wrote, it was a relief not to be bound by these strict conventions. The research I used was minimal because those stories used places and situations that were familiar to me. Of course, I had to research weapons, local government make up, and in some novels, I referred to maps so that my locations were factual. But all in all, I had a free rein and it didn’t take long to complete each book.

But now I’ve delved into a new realm… the historical novel. And serious research. Of course, for the most part I use the internet for my sources because my tiny local library is just that… a local village library. There is a university library in our county seat but that’s more than 30 miles away and it’s now winter and I stay off narrow Rt. 1 that leads me there. Thank goodness, I don’t actually have to put citations in my novels because what I’m going after in my research now is trivia. Little tidbits of information to liven up my story. If an historical character was a smoker, in a novel he doesn’t have to be. My choice.

The Russian Phoenix is the title I’m working on now. The time, 1913 during the Romanov Jubilee year (500 years of Romanov rule… and there’s some trivia attached to that as well). It was a turbulent time in Russia and my story revolves around a girl who’s fallen on hard times but is rescued by the Tsarina, a distant cousin, who takes her and her mother into the Alexander Palace near St. Petersburg to live with her, Tsar Nicholas II and the royal children. I have maps of the time period in Russia bookmarked on the computer, biographies of the Romanovs, articles on guns and vehicles of the time period, little wars and conflicts in Russia at the time, the building strain between the upper class and the workers which of course lead to the Red Army vs the White Army and the murder of the royal family in 1918. All these little bits of information I’m inserting within the text while telling the story of Natasha, a young woman not yet used to nor completely understanding the excesses and politics of the time.

The research is color, building conflict, a view of a crumbling society and status in the first part of the story and as Natasha leaves Russia behind it sets the stage for World War I, the world-wide influenza pandemic and her eventual emigration to America. Trivialities while I build characters, insert evil intentions, find romance—then the death of romance, and the final rise from the ashes of a girl becoming a strong woman. A Phoenix.

I wish this novel was in its final stages and I could show you cover art but that won’t come until sometime in April. Today I want you to see the sequel to this story. Precious Stone available now at Amazon as well as iBooks, B&N, Kobo and other outlets. I know it looks like I have this sequence backwards, sequel before prequel, but trust me, it works. And I’ve had so much fun delving into research now that I don’t have to worry about strict adherence to the factual past and can pick and choose what I say about my historic characters and situations… tweaking the past into a story I want to tell, because, hey, it’s fiction after all.

Precious Stone

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M6BFKIS
Other venues: https://www.books2read.com/u/bP1Gk7

A gift of thanks to a young girl from the Tsar more than 100 years ago… and now the Russians want it back.

Collee McCullough, the owner of The Bakery in Stone Bay, Maine, has a perfect life until early one morning men in suits come calling. She has something someone dangerous wants. Something that her Russian great-grandmother, Natasha took when she fled Russia in 1913. Too bad Buka never told her son or anyone else what she had or where she left it.

Jake Elsmore, visiting Stone Bay to sell his mother’s house, walks into The Bakery for a cup of Earl Grey tea, but gets more. There she is. Collee McCullough, stepping out from behind the Chief of Police, a lovely, fiery-haired fairy toting a shotgun while two men lie insensate on the floor of her shop. Looks like that tea will have to wait.

About Min Edwards

I wear many hats… author, book designer, archaeologist, and citizen of the edge of America… Lubec, Maine, the most eastern town in the U.S. I’m a life-long reader, but I don’t chain myself to only one genre. I love, almost equally, romance, suspense, thrillers, sci-fi. And if a book takes me someplace I’ve never been with a story that makes my heart beat with excitement, then I consider that an excellent book. I strive for the same excellence in my own stories.

My first novel, STONE BAY, a Contemporary Romance, was published in March of 2014. It was followed by a new Romantic Suspense series, Hide Tide Suspense, bringing danger to the small village of Stone Bay, Maine. Out now in the series are STONE COLD, STONE HEART, STONE FALL and PRECIOUS STONE. Finally for the conclusion of the series, THE RUSSIAN PHOENIX, a women’s fiction historical and the prequel to PRECIOUS STONE is coming soon. These books can be found on my Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2bHJ1kb.

You may also find all of my published books at sites such as iBooks, B&N and Kobo through Books2Read.com.

Stone Bay: https://books2read.com/u/bw8gDG
Stone Cold: https://books2read.com/u/49x5y8
Stone Heart: https://books2read.com/u/b6QP9J
Stone Fall: https://books2read.com/u/mgK8V6
Precious Stone: https://www.books2read.com/u/bP1Gk7

And follow me on my website blog page for my writing thoughts:

www.MinEdwards.com
Twitter: @MEdwardsAuthor
twitter.com/MEdwardsAuthor
My Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AuthorMinEdwards
My Personal Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/athirstymind
And my Author Pinterest Page:
www.pinterest.com/minedwards

Thank you, Delilah, for inviting me to visit with your readers.

Writing is hard. There, I said it. I’m in the middle of, well, actually closer to finishing, a somewhat major revision of my work-in-progress. I say somewhat major but what I mean is a massive overhaul of all aspects of the book – character arcs, plot, inner conflicts, the whole kit and kaboodle. And that is hard, difficult, painful. By the end of the day my brain is mush and can just about function enough to get supper on the table. Ask me a difficult question and expect blood to flow from a cranial orifice.

Alas, I’m not one of those lucky people who can relax in front of the TV. I have to be doing something whilst streaming my latest obsession (Penny Dreadful) or enjoying an old black & white comedy (Arsenic and Old Lace).

That’s where crafts come into play. Even before I began this writing career I’ve done something whilst viewing TV. I’ve been stitching counted cross-stitch samplers and Christmas ornaments for more years than I can count. Every family member and most friends have received at least one cross-stitched item as a gift. Rug hooking is a newer craft to me, introduced to me by my mom. I’m now completely addicted. Knitting is a craft I’ve been pursuing for decades. Most members of my family have received at least one hand-knitted item as a gift as well. These crafts are not mindless activities. But they use a different area of my brain, and they use different muscles in my hands and arms. So after eight hours of tapping at the keyboard, devising obstacles for my characters and creating fictional worlds, I curl up on the chesterfield with my needle or hook and create something soft and tangible.

Do you have a craft or an activity you use to unwind at the end of the day?

One commenter will receive a hand-knitted (by me) washcloth
and a bar of handcrafted soap. (USA and Canada only.)

If Wishes Were Earls

A mysterious letter and an enchanted keepsake promise to lead Miranda to her heart’s desire. Or does her heart secretly yearn for more than a sexy earl?

When a mysterious note directs Miss Miranda Large to a tiny village in Cornwall to find her heart’s desire, she has no choice but to go. An enchanted keepsake heightens her curiosity. A snowstorm forces her to accept the hospitality of a sullen, albeit sexy and handsome, earl and Miranda’s wish doesn’t seem so out of reach.

Edward Penhallion, the 12^th Earl of Claverlock, is not in the mood to start his search for a new wife. He wants to be left alone with his books and his dreams of revenge. But the arrival of a headstrong, sharp-tongued spinster forces him to play the charming host. Not a difficult task, given her intelligence and beauty. Suddenly, he’s not terribly eager for her to leave.

But as the snow falls and the winds blow, Edward discovers there’s more to Miranda than a lively wit and a lovely face. And Miranda wonders if the trappings of wealth are enough for true happiness.

Buy Links: Amazon | Nook | Kobo | iBooks

All other retailers: https://www.draft2digital.com/book/209375

Lately….it’s been hard to keep my books out on shelves to sell!! Not because they aren’t finished but because publishers keep going belly up. Thank goodness during the last apocalyptical debacle I learned everything I needed to know to do it myself. YAY!!

So the Surrender Series and Coming Home Series premier are back up and ready for everyone to dive into! I am back in business with gorgeous new covers, blurbs and print books!! BOOYAH!! Here’s a peek!

Amazon – https://goo.gl/GIyFb7
B&N – https://goo.gl/wcV6C3
Smashwords – https://goo.gl/jRKlEW
Kobo – https://goo.gl/0dVBvO
Itunes – https://goo.gl/VhAjtS
Website – http://www.jenniferkacey.com/books/cominghome/no-place-like-home.html

Love at first sight is more than just a dream.

In high school, Bianca Charleston had a crush on Cole, but she was a nobody. Nothing but a wallflower so invisible he never knew she existed.

Things have changed, and she’s finally ready to show off her new bombshell look. Sort of. Maybe. After a one-sided pep talk with her cat, she comes home to help with the annual carnival, no longer the girl who faded into the background, Charlie discovered there’s even more to Cole than she ever imagined.

FBI field officer Cole Johnson doesn’t have an easy job, but his life was good. Uncomplicated. And he was happy or so he thought. Then in walks Charlie, a blonde with killer…everything. Suddenly he’s mentally clearing his schedule for a rare night out.

While Charlie doesn’t do one-night stands, somehow after-dinner dessert is served up against the wall of her hotel room. Both must get rid of preconceived notions of love and family to find their happiness and discover…there’s No Place Like Home.

Amazon – https://goo.gl/VgIcg5
B&N – https://goo.gl/RMcC90
Smashwords – https://goo.gl/XlHvL0
Kobo – https://goo.gl/q6xLiz
Itunes – https://goo.gl/EDL5ZX
Website – http://www.jenniferkacey.com/books/surrender/final-surrender2.html

He can’t love his best friend’s younger sister. Can she love him enough to save them both?

After just one night, the only man she’s ever loved pushes her away…

Painful secrets have kept Angela Meyers running for more than a decade.  She’s fought her way to the top of the fashion world but hidden scars run soul deep.  Now a stalker has resurfaced, threatening to destroy everything she’s sacrificed for, and the only person able to protect her is the one man she vowed would never get close enough to crush her heart again. The same man she still loves and hates and needs with every breath she takes.  Can she allow him close enough to keep her safe while protecting the secrets destined to rip them apart again?

Now to save her, he must convince her, their love is worth a second chance…

Clay Waters must break down the barriers surrounding Angela’s heart while discovering who the voice in the shadows belongs to. Convincing her to trust him and surrendering his heart to a love he never believed in will be the only way to save the lives hanging in the balance.  He couldn’t allow himself to love her then, but now he must help her accept their past and fight for a future she thought lost forever…

Amazon – https://goo.gl/82UY0K
B&N – https://goo.gl/VJ0RGq
Smashwords – https://goo.gl/7yfJgi
Kobo – https://goo.gl/xBpKyx
Itunes – https://goo.gl/AiZE4h
Website – http://www.jenniferkacey.com/books/surrender/ultimatesurrender2.html

Love. Nothing but a four-letter word. Until he has to protect the woman able to bring him to his knees.

Campbell Newbury couldn’t believe who his new client was: Natalie Grant, do-gooder and pain-in-the-ass extraordinaire. Of all the security firms in New York, she had to pick his to protect her. But her flaming red hair and curves turn him on. Blond and toned, Campbell is a sex-only kind of guy and has bedded his fair share of women. Love? Not an option. Forever? Not in the cards for him. But a bet with his best friend may change everything.

On their first official meeting, Natalie knew all the rumors about Campbell were true. If he weren’t the best security money could buy, she’d want no part of the cocky womanizer. But she needs him. The sudden rush of near hit and runs is proof of that. As the threats escalate, she sees a side of the bad boy he’s tried to hide—and his strong arms provide comfort and something more she didn’t know she needed. She’s careful not to let her heart overrule her head. They keep their relationship strictly business by day—and lustfully kinky by night.

Will this unlikely couple find their way to forever or will their needs disappear once the dust settles?

Giveaway

In honor of the above awesomeness I’m going to have a HUGE giveaway! Three print books and lots and lots of other swag and kinky goodies! Plus a cup and a back massager and a pretty RT bag to hold it all!

**GIVEAWAY – US ONLY** – Just look at all the awesomeness you could win!! So tell me your favorite Romance genre to read and why!! Romantic Suspense, BDSM, paranormal or something else not listed?!

I’ll pick a winner on Monday the 20^th!! Good Luck!! PS –It’s always great to leave your email address in your comment so I can contact you! Hate not being able to give winners their goodies!!

Decadently Yours,
Jennifer Kacey

About the Author

Jennifer Kacey is a writer, mother, and business owner living with her miniman in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.

Website – Newsletter – The Decadent Divas– Amazon Page
Facebook – Facebook Author Page – Twitter – Goodreads – Pinterest

Hi everyone, my name is Cornelia Amiri, and since St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow, and I am known as the Celtic Romance Queen, I felt it was the perfect day for an Irish-geared blog post. As you know, on St. Patrick’s Day, at least in the United States, anyone who doesn’t wear green gets pinched. But you may not known that it was King Tighernmas (Teernmas) of Tara, who brought the color green to the emerald Isle. Through trade with the Phoenicians, he obtained dyes to create green, yellow, and blue and introduced those colors to Ireland around 1620 B.C. in the timeline of Bronze Age Ireland.

I wrote a historical/fantasy/romance set in Bronze Age Ireland, in 660 BC, called Queen of Kings. It is about Macha Mong Ruad or Macha of the Red Tresses. She was the only woman listed as a High King of Ireland.  Marking off the borders with the pin of her cloak brooch, Queen Macha laid the foundation of the Royal Palace of Emania also known as Emah Macha, where the Kings of Ulster ruled from for six centuries.

To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, Queen of Kings is free at Amazon from today to March 19th.

As wild, strong, and beautiful as the land she rules, all men lust for her, warriors and kings bow to her might and magic, but one champion comes forth with a white bull and true love.

Excerpt:

It was night, her element. For as there were the dark gods of the moon and the sea, so there were the bright ones of the sun. She was dark. Her gaze fell onto the distant plain where she had raced with Nath earlier in the day. Though clouded in darkness now, she thought of the lush green grass that blanketed the earth. The deep, dark soil, firm and solid, sure, constant, dependable. She turned and gasped. Nath had come upon her, silently. He stood there at her side.

“I did not mean to startle you, my queen.”

His nearness was overwhelming. She cleared her throat, pretending not to be affected. “Not at all.”

But she couldn’t tear her gaze from him. Fiery sun, bright and hot, big and bold. Everyone wanted him to shine on them.

“The druid thought you would be out here.”

“The druid knows me well.”

When the rays of the sun touched the rich earth, they created the lush peaceful green pasture. She needed him, the sun for her earth. They completed, they belonged together, dark and light, earth and sun, Nath and Macha. The druid knew it, and druids were never wrong.

He looked up and her gaze followed his. The pearl moon gleamed, smooth and perfect against a clear, ebony sky, twinkling with countless stars.

“Dark, sparkling, vast and enchanting,” Nath rasped.

“Yes, the night sky is lovely.”

“I did not mean the sky, my queen.”

A twinkle of moonlight caught her eye as she gazed at him. His eyes alone could set her ablaze. Fire danced in her. “I need to speak with you.”

“Yes, your majesty.” He leaned closer to her.

“Nath, what is it you want of me?”

*~*~*~*

I hope you have a happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Here is a link to the pinterest board on Queen of Kings:
https://www.pinterest.com/corneliaamiri/fantasy-ancient-historical-romance-queen-of-kings/

And My website http://CelticRomanceQueen.com

By day, and many times at night, I’m a freshman composition professor. That means that I spend my days trying to teach bored, hung over, homesick 18-year-olds about grammar, arguments, and research. Then I go home, read their papers, and realize that almost no one in class has listened to a word I said.

But in my dreams, at night, I’m a writer. It’s my secret passion – one I don’t discuss with my colleagues at the university. Why? Because I don’t want to write the next “great American novel,” I want to write a romance novel. And I don’t even really aspire to be the next Nora Roberts or Janet Dailey (or Delilah Devlin). I just want to write a book that people who don’t personally know me will enjoy.

Well, a few years ago, my (sometimes) sweet husband told me to “put up or shut up” about the book I had been working on for 10 years. He gave me a summer to finish it and told me that if I didn’t at least finish the first draft that summer, I could never complain about it again. It was the scariest summer of my life. But I wrote. And I wrote. And I wrote some more. And by the time my first draft (and the summer) was finished, I had a romance novel that was over a hundred thousand words. I had done it. I had written a romance novel. Now, I hoped that he would leave me alone and I wouldn’t have to actually DO anything with it.

Yeah, not so much. Because my not-sweet-anymore husband won’t shut up about doing something with it. So I’ve been forced to draw upon my other life, my composition professor life, to figure out what to do next.  And so starts my journey back to my 18-year-old college freshman self. I know the process that’s necessary to improve writing – I just didn’t realize that it would be so hard to practice what I teach.

The first thing I did was find a writing conference. There are great ones all around me, but I never knew it. I ended up in Madison, WI, where I learned that everything that I was doing was wrong.  First, my novel is too long. When I arrived at the conference it hovered somewhere around 101,500 words, but it should be less than 85,000 words. Then, I should have been part of a critique group, but I was never a “group” kind of writer. And finally, I never should have booked pitches so soon, but I did. But since I was there, I figured I’d practice what I had just learned, and so I pitched to two different agents and they each expressed interest in reading my writing – if I knocked down the word count.

So, it’s back to my roots. Write, revise, edit, and peer review. Writing is a joy. Revising and editing, even though it sometimes causes me physical pain to delete my words, is something that I have trained for my whole life. But peer review, which my students hate and I emphasize constantly, is my Achilles heel. Every two weeks I hand another chapter of my novel off to three people I have never met and wait for their comments. Every two weeks I wait nervously by the computer to get the email that says “here’s your critique,” and then my heart races as I open the attachment. But every comment helps – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Even those people who consistently hate my writing are helpful because they are helping me prepare for editors and agents who are going to feel the same.

So what does all of this mean? It means that every day I get closer to having my dreams become my reality – even if I have to face rejection and criticism along the way. And even better – closer to having my husband stop nagging me!

Jennifer Weaver
profjenweaver@gmail.com

It’s chilly outside! I know because last night my dd called me at 11:30 to say she couldn’t sleep. The neighbors dogs were barking incessantly, and she was anxious, checking the doors and windows. I bundled up and walked over to sleep with her. This morning, I escaped the craziness that is getting three school-aged kids ready and out the door. Brrrr, the walk back in the dark was cold, cold, cold!

So, let’s keep this easy. Here’s a question for you to ponder. You know you have pet peeves. Think about just one…

What particular personal habit do you find intolerable in other people?
What makes you nutty when you see it?