Describing What Didn’t Exist

Hi, I’m Jill Hughey and I write a historical romance series set after Charlemagne’s death, so I am WAY back there in the 830s. One of the challenges of writing in the medieval period is that there were inventions and materials that we take for granted that didn’t exist, and objects that we consider mundane or disposable that were very important and special in the middle ages.

When you picture a saddle, it includes stirrups, right? I mean, how are you going to get on the horse if there are no stirrups? Good question. Imagine my surprise when, studying medieval horseback riding, I learned that some genius invented the stirrup AFTER the time period I write in. I never figured out how to show a reader that the saddle didn’t have stirrups. How would you do that, after all, without using the word “stirrup” and then completely jarring the reader right out of the story by explaining that there wasn’t one?

In my first book, Unbidden, I decided to use the lack to my advantage by making the heroine’s ability to mount a horse important. She has always been aware enough of her surroundings to make sure she has something to use as a mounting block nearby. When she meets the hero and he consistently helps her mount her horse she gets a little complacent, resulting in a situation where she needs a log or rock to get herself on her own horse, can’t find one, and is endangered because of it. She rails at him that this kind of dependence is exactly what she is trying to avoid.

Also absent in medieval times is an important part of most historical homes: fireplaces. In the middle ages, most homes had one central fire pit in the main room of the house and a hole in the roof to vent the smoke. Not exactly conducive to a private love scene on a rug in the bedroom. So, in my second book, Redeemed, I make that hearth an important place in the household my heroine is trying to set to rights and define her position in. When she first arrives, she notes that the fire seems to be the only thing functioning properly in the entire place.

Simple objects like needles were made from whatever materials were available. Peasants would use bone or thorn. Only wealthy people bought brass needles. In my third book, Vain, the heroine is a tailor — a member of the merchant class — who marries an aristocrat. She does not want to ask him for spending money, her need for it hasn’t occurred to him, and eventually she can’t afford to buy needles at the market. Of course, one of his friend’s wives notices and alerts him to the oversight, which creates the opportunity for him to start the conversation about money and home management that they really need to have.

Romance treads a fine line within the medieval period. After all, romance has to be romantic at some level, but, back then, existence for all but the very wealthiest was hard and dirty and not very glamorous. The heroine in the fourth story, Little Witch: Historical Romance Novella, yearns to escape her mundane life of farming and gathering. She leaves her family home, knowing she needs a life with more variety, more people, more everything!

I hope you’ll give my Evolution Series a try. Unbidden is free at most ebook vendors. I also have a book bundle that includes the first three novels plus a bonus short story. The links for it are included below. Thank you for the opportunity to visit here, Delilah!

Evolution Series Bundle buy links:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Apple/iTunes

If you’d like to keep up with Jill Hughey, she blogs at http://jillhughey.blogspot.com, is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jillhugheyromance, and tweets @jillhughey.

I’m very happy to be here on Delilah’s blog today.

Where Do Ideas Come From?

As a writer, I get this question a lot.   And it’s a hard one for me to answer, because I get my ideas come from my characters..

I start developing my characters first, then I play the what if and why game with myself and the characters.

For example: More Than One Night —I have the heroine out celebrating her thirty birthday with her girl friends.  Then I decided, what happens if I drop  the hero in at the same bar and my heroine’s rules are “No dating men.”  And then he asks her to dance, they flirt and by the end of the night they want nothing more than to spend the night together.

From there I went— What if:

The heroine leaves the next morning without saying good-bye. What would happen?

Would the hero track her down?  If he did, how would she react?  What happens after that?  Why is the hero interested in her?  How do her friends push her into acting out of character?

The first scene practically wrote itself and the book just flowed from there.

Another example is from my story in an anthology: Silver Screen Dom.

The original characters for this story, decided they needed their own longer story which left me wondering who the heck I was going to use.  A secondary character popped up his head—Michael.

That was all I knew, his name.  So I started delving into his character.

What if:

I go back to before Michael got this movie role?

What happened for him to get the role?

Does he have a leading lady in his life?

What is she like?

Answers flew at me faster than I could write, and the story was born.

As you can see, the what if and the why, play a big part in my ideas.   It helps me determine the conflicts, the motivation and the characters for the book.

I’ve heard it say ideas can be found anywhere, but for me I being by creating my characters, then putting them in a situation that is going to do nothing but cause them trouble.

Bartender Beth Grant has sworn off men after yet another failed relationship, but when a friend dares her to dance with a handsome stranger, she’s tempted by the fantasy.  Jake turns out to be dashing, charming and very rich, everything Beth avoids.  But she can’t resist, and one dance turns into an evening of exquisite passion.  Beth vows not to repeat a night like this, despite liking the mysterious Jake – a lot.

Successful business owner Jake Masters knows he’s met his dream girl the minute he lays eyes on Beth across the crowded dance floor.  But the next morning she disappears and all he has is her first name.  Jake vows to go to any length to get more than one night with Beth, and when he discovers she has a jaded past, he puts his heart and soul at risk to prove he’s the one.

Available at Amazon

Available at all other e-book retailers on Sept. 20th.

Michael Levin is a rising Hollywood start up for a career-making role.  The pressure is intense, but thankfully the leading lady in his life, Kelsey Pierce, knows just how to wield the whip and ease his tension.  However, when his potential co-star schemes to take Kelsey’s place in his off-screen life, Michael has to switch to Master mode, a role he’s more than comfortable with, and assume command.

Can Michael and Kelsey’s relationship withstand the strain, or will they survive the games and find long-lasting love?

Book will be available Sept. 24th at Amazon, your favorite e-retailer or at Sybarite Seductions.

I’m crazy busy here. How about you? I’d love to hear all about it.

I’ll catch you up on what’s happening in my life.

First, there’s little Siobhán… Adorable, right? And she’s turned all our lives upside down. I’m doing a lot of babysitting while mama takes care of her menagerie of animals and the other two girls. All of which cuts into my writing time, but I won’t complain. Ever.

Then there are the two horses we adopted from the equine rescue group, Brandi and Whiskey. No, the one on the right isn’t a baby. He’s full-grown, and doesn’t look like a pony so much as a tiny, tiny horse he’s so well-proportioned. The SIL is helping dad fortify fences so we can let them into different pasture areas. We have to arrange for a vet to come out this week. And then there’s the trainer we have to hire… But they are lovely and gentle. They both have sad stories. Brandi and her mom were starved when they were rescued. Little Whiskey was kept on a short rope and halter so long that the halter grew into his nose. We can’t wait to for the kids to be able to ride them.

As for the writing…

You probably already know I wrapped up the Crescent Moon serial. The book is available in its entirety on Amazon. If you read it, I’d love it if you’d leave a review. Those help other readers make their decisions about whether they should buy a book or not, so your opinion does count!

I finished revisions of a long, full-length BDSM-suspense novel set in the Louisiana bayou with a wealthy, ex-SEAL hero who arrives with his entourage of ex-military best friends to reclaim his crumbling plantation house and meets a home-town girl. Sorry folks, Her Only Desire doesn’t release until next year…

Based on editorial comments, I have a little more work to put in on Cowboy Heat, so all you authors out there who are still waiting on decisions whether you are in the anthology or not, you have to wait just a little while longer. I’m almost there. Promise!

I have three novellas to complete in the next three weeks–one military story, a cowboy story, and a calendar man story. Think I can do it? Cripes. I better start writing now!

On other fronts…

I’ll be at a writer’s retreat this weekend with friends from the Diamond State Romance Authors and my sister, Elle James/Myla Jackson! I need it! Time away from all the distractions at home.

On the 28th, I’ll be setting up a table at the Bismarck Craft Show to sell jewelry. And then there’s the Artist’s Studio Tour I’ll be participating in mid-October…

And I think there is a booksigning in Little Rock sometime in November, but I’ll have to post those dates later.

I think that’s everything. I hope you all are happy and doing well. I’m happy, but just a little out of my mind trying to keep all those balls in the air…  😉

On Co-Authoring

Co-authoring is something that I’d vaguely thought about, but never really in any great detail. That is, until, towards the back end of 2012, my good friend and fellow writer Lily Harlem suggested co-authoring something together. I explained I had a few projects on, so I couldn’t start right away, but I would definitely be interested. She was busy too, so we said we’d start in the early part of 2013, when all the Christmas and New Year festivities were over and done with, and life was back to normal.

The writing bug bit Lily, however, and in December she sent me a chapter that had just come to her, so she’d written it down. I managed to read it quickly, but knew I still wouldn’t be able to do anything with it until January. I was eager to try out co-authoring, but other commitments had to take priority.

Then 2013 arrived. I’d cleared my commitments and was free to start something new – hurrah! I read the chapter again and then bombarded Lily with a million and one questions about the process of co-authoring, how she thought it would work, our intended publisher, and so on. I was very lucky in that a) Lily had co-authored many times before so knew how it worked b) she was very, very patient with me and answered all my questions c) that our writing styles are quite similar, so that although we wrote from separate character viewpoints, our respective sections would still fit together well and d) we know each other well enough to give constructive and honest feedback that will be truly helpful, rather than trying to sugar coat anything for the sake of being nice.

And so we began. The chapter Lily had written back in December was from the female perspective and I was happy to write from the male perspective. I’ve done it many times before and enjoy it very much. We’d already agreed that if things didn’t work out, we wouldn’t worry too much about it, so I opened the document and began to write without thinking too hard. We had no plan, no idea what on earth the book was going to be about, really, just that it would be an erotic romance. Despite this, the words came. Fast.

After writing a chapter of roughly the same length as Lily’s, I skim read it and sent it back to her. And thus the mad email exchange began. Prior to this project I’d only written one full-length novel by myself and found it a learning curve, albeit it a fun and very satisfying project, but often I had to force myself to carry on and not procrastinate. With this book, however, it was totally different. It was full of surprises – because we hadn’t planned it, the chapters we sent back to one another were a total surprise, and we both had to think on our feet to work out where the plot would go next. We’d agreed not to rush one another for chapters as we both had other things on, too, and although we didn’t pressure one another, we still produced the words at lightning speed (for me, anyway!). I grew eager to read Lily’s next chapter, to see where the characters – which I’d quickly grown very fond of – would go next, what they would do. There was very, very little procrastination! None, really. Just lots of use of Google Street View.

The only thing we’d really planned was that the book would be longer than 50,000 words – to make it novel length. We did discuss how it would end, but never made a set decision, we just decided to keep writing and hope it came to a natural conclusion. We agreed that because Lily had written the first chapter, that I would write the last. That was the only time throughout the project that I felt pressure – and it was from myself, not my co-author. I had to write the last chapter, therefore the ending, therefore it had to be good, and satisfying! I put my fingers to the keys of my laptop and hoped that what came out would be good. When I finished the final chapter I read it again and made tweaks, then decided that no benefit would come of me staring at it – so I sent it to Lily. And waited with bated breath for her reply. Read the rest of this entry »

This week’s theme is “Be My Baby” and I have a scene from my recent release (doesn’t that just sound dirty?) that I’d like to share. Sure, Tommy Triplehorn’s “Be My Baby” avowal isn’t wrapped in a pretty pink bow, but it’s effective, don’t you think? Besides, I love a man who knows what he wants and isn’t gonna suffer any fools!

 If you post a comment today, you’ll be entered to win
a free download of this book!

When two lonely hearts collide, age becomes just a number.

Sarah Colby’s marriage was over long ago, but she’s never shed the scars her abusive husband left behind. Add the one shameful indiscretion from her past, an affair with a much younger man, and she’s haunted by that long ago summer.

Tommy Triplehorn is happy his brothers have settled down and started families of their own, but he’s feeling a little smothered by all that domesticity. Carousing and drinking no longer holds a thrill, and he thinks he knows the reason why. He’s waited long enough for Sarah Colby to get over being ashamed of their shared past. He’s old enough to know what he wants, and he wants her.

Warning: A cowboy on a mission to seduce will do whatever it takes, including offering his woman a no-holds-barred weekend of sex, even a ménage with a friend, to prove he’ll fulfill her every sexy need…

Sarah heard the slamming of a vehicle door in the distance and wondered who it might be coming this late at night.

When she opened her front door and stepped out under the porch, her eyes widened on the figure stomping through her grass. “Tommy?”

He didn’t answer. Didn’t even appear to be looking at her. His head was down, the brim of his hat hiding his face, but the clenched fists were telling.

Her heart stopped and then sluggishly began thudding in her chest. She backed up toward her door, reaching behind her for the knob.

Tommy stomped up the steps, his boots slamming against the wood, until he stood in front of her, gazing down with his storm-cloud eyes. “You didn’t call,” he said, his voice gruff.

Tommy angry was different from Paul Colby in a snit. Something she shouldn’t have to remind herself about. She let go of the knob and leaned back against the wood, staring up into the face she’d dreamed about every night when she’d laid in her bed alone. “You didn’t call,” she said softly, repeating his words.

Moisture filled his eyes and he glanced away blinking. “It was your choice. It was always your choice. Either you accepted me, or you used that weekend to get me out of your system. I waited for your call.”

Sarah dropped her head, wanting to hide her face so he couldn’t see her expression, couldn’t guess what a coward she’d been. He’d been so proud of her that weekend, loving the fact she’d let go of her fears and inhibitions. But the moment she’d come back home, she’d been assailed with doubts.

Caldera wasn’t Abilene. People knew them both. And there was the fact she hadn’t been completely honest with him about the baggage she’d bring to their marriage. The fact she was barren.

“I was afraid,” she whispered. “Afraid that I wouldn’t be strong enough to tell you, or if I told you that you would brush away the truth like it didn’t matter, when I know it will.”

Tommy stepped closer, so close his boots touched hers and his chest crowded against her breasts. When he looked down, the intensity of his stare nearly shredded her resolve. She wanted nothing more than to melt against him, cling to him. She wanted him to carry her inside and tear the clothes from her body. She wanted him deep inside her, her body wrapped around him while he plunged toward her center, baring her heart.

“I can’t give you children,” she said, tears blinding her. “I can’t get pregnant—not without a lot of medical intervention, and even then…”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said gruffly, pressing closer, his hands landing on the sandstone wall behind her.

She smacked his shoulders and shoved against him. “Of course it matters!” she cried brokenly. “It matters,” she whispered, then slid down, only to be propped up by the thigh he pushed between her legs.

“You’re out of excuses,” he whispered.

“Excuses?” She dashed away her tears with the back of a hand.

“Yeah, never heard such whinin’—too old, barren—you make it sound like all you have to offer a man is your cunt and your womb.”

She gasped. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me, Sarah Colby. I’m not buyin’ it. Your little pity party has cost me nearly a month of lost sleep. My dick’s raw from me rubbin’ on it because I can’t get you out of my head.” Read the rest of this entry »

Friday the 13 – scary or just like any other day?

My pen name was supposed to be blogging today about her erotic paranormal short story collection but I muscled in because it’s Friday the 13th! A day synonymous with horror, especially the series of movies by the same name, and my current release is a horror short story.

I love Friday the 13th. Weird, I know, since most people stay away from anything with 13 in it. But I was born on the 13th. And I do love horror movies. And when the 13th happens on a Friday I want to cozy up on the sofa with my fiancé, with a big bowl of popcorn, the lights turned off so the only light is the flickering of the images on the TV, and watch a few of the Friday the 13th movies. I loved the first one. Really liked the second one too. They were still sort of fresh back then. And slightly (slightly) plausible. The killer in both had a believable motive for killing over-sexed camp counselors. With each sequel they just got ridiculous though. But still, I watched them. Because if there’s something better than a really good horror movie, it’s a really bad horror movie. 

Although I’m against remakes (there are too many brilliant new screenwriters trying to break in to be reusing old material) I did watch the remake of Friday the 13th. And no it wasn’t just because Jared Padalecki was in it. Okay, well maybe it was a little because of that.  😀  But I did want to see how they redid the franchise and if they could breathe some new life into the movies. I was disappointed. Of course if a franchise is working, Hollywood will keep making movies so eventually there will be a Friday the 13th Part 13. Do I think it will be horrible? Yes. Will I watch it anyway? Of course. 🙂

What about you? Do you like horror movies? Will you be watching any of the Friday the 13th movies tonight?

My current release isn’t a Friday the 13th wannabe but it is about a group of friends who end up in the wrong place and end up fighting for their lives.

Stay away from the mirrors

A road trip without a plan sounded like a good idea when Lena and her friends hit the road. A mini vacation and support for Steve, recently dumped, have the friends travelling through small towns and back roads. After hours of driving in the heat in a cramped car they’re all ready for something to eat and a good night’s rest.

Reflections Inn looks perfect for the group of friends. Though a little run down, it hides a supernatural horror.

Don’t read the curse

Everything looks normal when they check in, except an old woman yelling about a curse. Intrigued, some of the friends decide to investigate. Some stay behind and learn about the curse first hand.

Run

A curse that replaces people with their repressed alter egos forces the friends to fight for their lives. And they realize they didn’t know each other as well as they thought.

Buy Link:

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Check out my website: http://www.cindycarroll.com
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About Cindy: Cindy Carroll is a member of Sisters in Crime and a graduate of Hal Croasmun’s screenwriting ProSeries. Her interviews with writers of CSI and Flashpoint appeared in The Rewrit, the Scriptscene newsletter, the screenwriting Chapter of RWA. She writes screenplays, thrillers, and paranormals, occasionally exploring an erotic twist. A background in banking and IT doesn’t allow much in the way of excitement so she turns to writing stories that are a little dark and usually have a dead body. She lives in Ontario, Canada with her fiancé and three cats. When she’s not writing you can usually find her painting landscapes in oil or trying space paintings with spray paint.

You know when you see that title on a blog that I have my head down writing and don’t have that much time to think!

The only news I want to make sure you know about is the fact Crescent Moon is now available in its entirety for download. Think mummies, Egyptian gods and New Orleans. They kinda go together, don’t they? 🙂

Have fun with the question. I can’t wait to see your answers.

If you could wave a fashion wand and bring back
any style  from the past, what would it be?