Telling the author a story

Thanks, Delilah, for having me here today! One of the most basic reasons people read stories is to connect and relate to the characters. There can be a great premise, a fantastic setting… but if the characters suck, then we the readers are left unfulfilled and cheated.

Our characters, particularly in romance, drive the story. We need them to be memorable.

As a writer, we have many tools available to us to make that happen.

For Off Her Game, I had a hard time figuring out Darren, my hockey playing hunk of a hero. And somewhere during that process of drafting the story, I realized I wasn’t going deep enough into the character interviews to really feel out who they are. And then a friend suggested that I have Darren tell me his story. I had nothing to lose at that point, so I said, “What the hell?”

So I sat down with a blank document and pretty soon, Darren was pouring his little heart out to me. I started with age, physical description and then he started talking to me about his life. How was his relationship with his parents? What was his education like? How did he get into hockey? When did he think marriage was a good idea when his wife was a harpy? What kind of wounds does Darren carry? And the hardest question ever: What does the character want most of all?

It takes a while to get him or any character to answer that question. They might say something but then I need to dig deeper, ask him why and force him to give me his real secret desire.

For Darren, his life is hockey. He eats, lives, breathes the game. A bad marriage nearly killed that for him. So when it came time to ask what he’d be willing to sacrifice to reach that goal… well, I’ll save that for the book. The point is that letting him talk to me made him a real, live character that any woman could love.

Doing this with Darren opened my eyes to who he really was. It streamlined the drafting process, because as soon as I knew who he was, the words flowed on the page of the book. So naturally, I had to do it with Valerie too. As the heroine, Off Her Game strongly favors her story. She’s coming into her own in the story, figuring out that the job wasn’t what defined her. I never would have realized that if it weren’t for me sitting down and letting her tell me her story.

As a reader, have you ever read that book that had such a brilliantly alive character you wondered if they really existed? Or, on the flip side, read a book with a character that had yet to tell their story?

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Penalty Number One: Men
Making time for men and relationships doesn’t fit into Valerie Chase’s game plan. This crisis-counselor-turned-cocktail-waitress knows the score—Men are a distraction. But when a certain hockey player tempts her wild side, part of her wants to indulge in a little harmless fun.

Penalty Number Two: Desire

As the star center for the Texas Highlanders, Darren Moran’s good looks and deadly determination make him a fan favorite. But after the previous season’s disaster, the last thing he needs is to let some woman crawl under his skin. But… Valerie is different. She brings out the best in him—both on and off the ice—and he’s not about to lose her.

Penalty Number Three: Passion

When the game moves to the next level, Darren and Val have got to call timeout. An unplanned romance is a game-thrower, a sinful temptation that neither of them can afford. After all, there’s no way to have order in matters of the heart when the penalties tally up to an ejection from the game.

Off Her Game is now available at all major retailers!

Buy Links:

Amazon  |  B&N  | iTunes  |  Kobo  |  All Romance

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Suzan Butler is a romance author with a penchant for Dr. Pepper, ice hockey, and world domination. She lives in Texas under a not-so-secret identity with two monsters, writing books and planning the next step in her evil plans into the twilight hours of the night because that’s when it’s quiet in the house. Visit her online at her website, suzanbutler.com, on Twitter (@SuzanButler) or come join the conversation on Facebook. To keep up to date on new releases, subscribe to the Fabulous, her mailing list.

Character Perspective

Sometimes, when you finish a story, there is a character just begging to have their story told too. Harm, the overbearing big brother from Caribbean Christmas, really deserved to have someone turn his world upside down. It wasn’t his romance, so the best I could give him was an oh-so satisfying slap across the face.

But telling Caribbean Casanova from Harm’s point of view meant an interesting dilemma. Harm sees Saskia, the heroine (and slapper) from Caribbean Christmas, as an annoying spoiled brat. This time around we see her through his lens, instead of from her own perspective. So from this angle, he’s right. I didn’t tie up their issues with a pretty bow because a lifetime of dislike doesn’t go away because someone is dating your brother or best friend.

There is a real power struggle going on between his controlling big brother tendencies and her free-spirited new adulthood. They managed to call a truce in Caribbean Crush (Under the Caribbean Sun 3), but I’d bet they bicker whenever in the same room. We’ll have to wait and see if it carries into any more stories.

Do you like seeing characters from different angles?

Jenna Bayley-Burke :: blog| website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads

Caribbean Casanova :: Samhain| Amazon| B&N| Kobo

Glory Days

It started when I was in elementary school. Not many people, but a few, all of them grown-ups I looked up to—they’d sit back and shake their heads and they’d say: “Enjoy this, kid. You’ll look back on this one day as the best time of your life.”

At the time, I imagine I shrugged, not really understanding that kind of bone-deep nostalgia or that faint undertone of regret. In middle school, I openly scoffed. I was miserable, and adults were trying to tell me I’d look back on that time fondly? (Spoiler alert: I don’t.) In high school, more and more people started to repeat the promise to me, that in some distant future I too would wistfully remember my teen years. I was just as skeptical, and not much better at hiding my doubt.

But in college…In college I got that first little shiver of fear. Maybe the people telling me to soak it up were right.

The truth of the matter is, college was one of the best times of my life. I got married pretty young, and I grew up in a pretty strict household, so I remember those first few years when I was on my own with a rush. I experimented with all sorts of things, some of them good ideas and some bad, and all of it was exciting. I tried on a half-dozen different majors. I learned not to drink on an empty stomach. I figured out a little bit about who I was. And I learned a lot about love.

Sitting here in my mid-thirties, I look back on my college days with an undeniable sense of nostalgia. That said, I wouldn’t go back and relive it if I could. Sure, those were thrilling, heady years, but they were crazy, too. I was anguished as often as I was elated, and what I can reminisce on now as harmless experimentation at the time felt like flying on a high wire without a net.

And besides, why relive it when I can write about it?

Some of my very favorite stories to read and write take place in college. There’s so much to explore with characters who are just finding themselves, and when you pair self-discovery with that bright, impossible moment of discovering the heart of another person? Magical. And definitely worth reminiscing on.

She needs an escape…and he’s exactly what she had in mind.

College senior Ellen Price spends every spare minute studying to get into medical school. Until spring break yawns before her, as empty as her wallet.

With no money to hit the beach, she fills her empty to-do list with a plan: for just one week, she will become the kind of take-no-prisoners woman she secretly wishes to be, starting with the hot guy at the bar. It’s a no-risk situation: at the end of break, he’ll head back to his campus, and she’ll go back to hers. No muss, no fuss.

At first, Josh Markley isn’t sure what to think when the quiet, intense beauty from his pre-med classes approaches him for a night of casual sex. Even more mystifying, she doesn’t seem to return his recognition. But if she wants to play “strangers in a bar”, he’s game.

Their passionate night is a welcome respite from life’s stress, but afterward, Josh realizes he wants more—from himself, from life, from Ellen. Except she still thinks he’s a one-off she’ll never see again. Confessing the truth now—before she figures it out on her own—could shatter the fragile beginnings of just what the doctor ordered. A forever love.

Warning: Contains mistaken identities, a sometimes-glasses-wearing hottie, deep questions about figuring out what you want from life, and a red-hot college romance.

Links:
GoodReads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Samhain

Bio:

Jeanette Grey started out with degrees in physics and painting, which she dutifully applied to stunted careers in teaching, technical support, and advertising. When none of that panned out, she started writing. Her stories include futuristic romances and erotic contemporaries, and almost all of them include hints of either science or art.

When she isn’t writing, Jeanette enjoys making pottery, playing board games, and spending time with her husband and her pet frog. She lives, loves, and writes in upstate New York.

Personal Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Blog

Building a Community

When I started the UGLY STICK SALOON Series, I knew I wanted to build a whole community of characters where I could end one story and start another revisiting some of the same places and same characters. In the Ugly Stick Saloon Series, secondary characters get their stories. This gives the readers a chance to revisit some of their favorite characters like old friends.

In one of my first UGLY STICK SALOON books, SEX ED, I introduced Ed and Kendall’s story. But Lacey Lambert played a big secondary role in that story. She’s finally getting her story in BOOTS AND LACE. The reader gets to learn why Lacey acts the way she does and how Nick McBride wins her over. It’s been over a year since SEX ED came out. It’s about time Lacey got her man!

***Leave a comment for a chance to win a download of Sex Ed ***

Author Bio

Myla Jackson spent twenty years in South Central Texas, ranching horses, cattle, goats, ostriches and emus. A former IT professional, retired Army and Air Force Reservist, she’s proud to be writing full-time, penning intrigues and paranormal adventures that keep her readers on the edge of their seats or laughing out loud. Now, living in northwest Arkansas, she’s given up wrangling cattle and exotic birds to wrangle her muses, a malti-poo and a yorkie. When she’s not at her computer, she’s traveling, out snow skiing, boating, or riding her four-wheeler, dreaming up new stories. Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Welcome back to the Ugly Stick Saloon!

She wants no strings…but he wants it all.

After her philandering husband left her, Lacey Lambert found sanctuary, and a better class of friends, at the Ugly Stick Saloon. Where she learned that the best revenge—against her ex, and the “friends” who kicked her out of the Temptation Garden Club—is to live life to the fullest.

Now that her best friend is moving out of her apartment building, she’s feeling a little lonely. And more than ready for a little commitment-free sex with the hot new downstairs tenant.

Freshly divorced, Nick McBride isn’t looking for another failed relationship. But when the luscious brunette offers no-strings sex—with him and his brother—he can’t come up with a good reason to refuse.

After he gets over the shock that she likes it loud, long, and in front of an open window, he finds himself wanting more time with her. Maybe even on a permanent basis. But it’ll take every ounce of his cowboy charms to convince her to let him sweep her off her feet.

Samhain Publishing
Barnes & Noble Nook
Amazon Kindle

CHANCE ENCOUNTERS… NOT?

This is a year of new beginnings for me. In February, I published the first three novellas in the Sheikhs of the Golden Triangle series. March is the month I’m blogging for the first time ever. Thanks for inviting me, Delilah!

Have you ever wondered about the timing of events? Looking back at the crossroads in your past, have you ever wondered how different your life might be if you’d taken the other road?  Sometimes life feels orchestrated, other times totally random. Is there any such thing as coincidence?

Life is like story creation for a work of fiction, and we are characters in our own novels.

Writing The Sheikh’s Spy made me reflect on the sequence of how things unfold in our lives.

For example, Olympia is kidnapped by a wealthy sheikh and held as collateral because her brother can’t pay his astronomical gambling debt.  One evening she is called from the harem quarters to entertain visiting dignitaries, and overhears a plot to kill Sheikh Adnan in the neighboring kingdom of Zahiria.  She breaks free, intent on warning him that his life is in danger.

Get Your Copy    |    Read Chapter One.

If Olympia’s brother hadn’t gambled in that casino on the Riviera the same night the nefarious Sheikh Mahjub was there… or if the sheikh hadn’t decided impulsively to take Olympia as his chattel until the debt was paid… or if Olympia hadn’t decided to escape and find her way to Zahiria… Adnan may have lost his life. Did his survival truly rest on a series of ‘what if’ events, or would he have been spared in some other way?

Then I reflected on a few major events in my own life. If my parents hadn’t taken me to a particular night club on my twenty-first birthday, I wouldn’t have met the man who became my first husband. When he asked for my phone number, I hesitated and wanted to fake a number, but something compelled me to give him my phone number.

In the series prequel, The Amulet, what if the Prince of Zahiria hadn’t fallen in love with the witch’s daughter? If he’d married the princess his parents had chosen for him, perhaps a long series of misfortunes and wars could have been averted. Oonagh the witch may never have created an amulet to protect his kingdom, and the intrigues that plagued the region for centuries may never have happened.

I like to think we have some control over our lives, but sometimes in hindsight it seems life’s pivotal moments came about like the toss of a coin, or the spin of the wheel at a roulette table.

Maybe we are all characters in a gigantic work of fiction some cosmic being out there is writing. I find such thoughts fascinating. When we make everyday decisions, it doesn’t feel like we’re taking a gamble, at least not most of the time.

Does it all end at death, or does the saga continue on the other side of the veil? In Christmas Spirits, the ghost of Anna O’Cleary agrees to give up her right to visit her old Irish castle ever again in exchange for a weekend with her beloved husband, Sheikh Khazan, in the flesh again one last time. Her goal is to entice him to follow her to the spirit world when she leaves. This was such a major gamble, she probably considered the ‘what ifs’ before she sealed the deal.

The universe always fills a void. If I hadn’t met my first husband in that nightclub on my twenty-first birthday, maybe I’d have bumped into him poolside, or in a restaurant the next day. Or maybe I’d have met and married an entirely different man instead.

The two things we do seem to have control over are our minds and hearts. We magnetize people, places and things to ourselves based on the thoughts we put out, and the intentions we hold in our hearts.  So, are we the ones writing our own novel?

Have you ever pondered, “What if I’d done this instead of that?”

Thanks for reading this post and pondering the “what ifs” with me. If you have any thoughts about this, or crossroad experiences to share, I’d love to hear them.

If you enjoy sizzling desert princes and passionate heroines in exotic settings, check out my website.

Delilah, thanks again for having me!

Follow me as my writing journey unfolds ~~ I love hearing from readers and making new friends in the world of book lovers!
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Today I’m going to discuss ‘this or that’ writers.

If someone is referred to only as a ‘lesbian erotica writer’ or ‘science fiction writer’, they have unfortunately let themselves be stamped as a ‘this or that’ writer.

Such writers should immediately do whatever is necessary to shirk that potentially income-limiting label. Of course, there are writers who choose to focus on a specific niche, m/m romance or pet mysteries, for example, and in that case, it is very, very good to be a ‘this or that’ writer, only you are now a specialty writer with high income potential. You have established yourself as an expert; people will seek out your work.

Since I’m discussing ‘this or that’ writers, I’m leaving specialty writers out of this, except to say that SPs write for one genre (and sometimes that genre’s subgenres), usually one they personally enjoy reading or found they have a knack for, and they have mastered their craft. An SP is like a neurologist or orthopedic surgeon. I am talking about the advantages of being a general practitioner.

A writer with skill, talent, and experience, can write almost any type of material. And unless you choose to be known as a genre writer, say romance or fantasy, you should make a concerted effort to write stories of all kinds and submit, submit, submit. Like an investor, you should build up a diversified portfolio, only instead of investments; your portfolio consists of writing samples.

Diversification makes it harder to attain a certain level of success, but it is worth it in the long run. And while it will probably take longer to become a ‘famous mystery writer’ or a ‘bestselling romance author’ if you diversify, the truth is that you will make more short-term money by not pigeonholing yourself. And I do believe that making a living from their art is the ultimate goal of most writers.

I have not penned any bestsellers as of yet, but I do make a living as a writer and have so for the past six years. The key to that being that I do not categorize myself and try to avoid letting others do so. I am a writer, period. Whether it’s advertising copy, web copy, screenplays, brochures, newsletters, newspaper and magazine articles, or fiction, I am available and experienced and ready to write. Potential employers do not look at my resume and think, ‘She only has experience writing comedy. We can’t hire her for this.’ Instead they think, ‘She has experience with all kinds of writing.’

An added bonus of exercising your writing talent is just that – you get some exercise! Play around with types of characters, plots and subplots, genres, styles, tones, and of course, words. you will only be a better writer for it. Making your brain twist and turn, overcome obstacles, and think – will make you a better specialty writer as well, if that’s your chosen path.

If you do decide to stick to a certain genre, one that really tickles, draws, and titillates you, all this exercise will just make your specialty that much stronger. And if you decide to write, write, write – everything from magazine features to op-ed pieces to BDSM erotica to cookbooks, you’ll find that there is nothing you can’t do.

Ily Goyanes is a journalist, editor, publisher, and widely published erotica author. She writes about food and culture for the Miami New Times (Village Voice Media) and the Fuming Foodie, her columnist alter ego, has been known to cause a bit of controversy. Her erotica appears in Best Lesbian Erotica 2012, Lesbian Cops: Erotic Investigations, Spankalicious: Erotic Adventures in Spanking, and Power Plays: Kinkster Erotica, as well as the upcoming Smokin’ Hot Firemen.  Her first full-length anthology, Girls Who Score: Hot Lesbian Erotica, has been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. She has been interviewed by PBS, The Miami Herald, The Sun-Sentinel, South Florida Gay News, and numerous other media outlets, as well as serving as a panelist at the 2012 Miami Book Fair International. Write her at ily.goyanes@gmail.com.

Good Morning Everyone,

I’m so excited to show a peek at my upcoming 1NS Trading Up Releasing 4/18/13!

If you haven’t ever read a 1NS series book you are missing out! I don’t even know the exact number of books out from various authors we have at this point. I’d like to say well over a hundred stories as we have a 1NS Paranormal and 1NS GBLT line as well.  I never thought I could work off of a detail sheet with to create a story….but here I am on my third 1NS. My previous 1NS stories are Tell Me No Lies a paranormal 1NS and Burn Me if You Can, an IR 1NS.

There is just something so mystical about Madame Eve that makes me want to keep creating characters that need her assistance in finding love, and if not finding the love of their live, opening themselves for a chance to find love in the future.

I also wanted to do a story with some sensory deprivation, and I’d never done more than a short scene with one sense taken away. I really enjoyed the challenge of taking it to the next level and really having fun.  Not to mention taking away the first moment a couple meets in person where they decide prematurely what will and won’t happen with the date.

Camilla’s deal breakers make finding a man to fit her wants, needs, and desires darn near impossible. For years she’s been primped and primed to be the perfect political daughter, when all she really wants to do is let loose a little without her world collapsing.  When a friend sends her Madam Eve’s way she figures she may just have the chance to explore a bit without being outed.

Jonah Black’s career is heading for a change. While his friends have dubbed him married to the military, he can’t deny that his focus has been off centered. While they enjoy the pleasures of life and wives, he has nothing to come home to.  When offered the chance for a 1NS, he signs up and is unprepared for the exotic woman picked for him.

The flames licking inside her were too much to take, along with his roaming hand.  She leaned forward and grasped the chilled wine goblet as a lifeline. When he nudged her lips to take a second taste, she pressed the together, holding her finger up and then laughing because he couldn’t see it in the dark. She took a long cool sip, more from Jonah’s effect on her than the food. She licked her lips then tucked herself against him, momentarily satisfied.

“Better?

“Mmm.” Cam sighed. “When’s it your turn? I’m having all the fun.”

“I’m having a good time feeding you.”

“You’re not hungry?” In the dark, his heart pounded against her cheek.“I’m hungry, all right. Ravenous, even.” Jonah caressed her thigh. Cam had no doubt his eyes would scorch her to her very soul. His lazy trail along her skin left her smoldering in need. She let him ply her with another skewer to distract from the throb at the apex of her thighs. She sucked a piece of pineapple he held between his fingers. Juices trickled down her chin. He mopped the stream of liquid with the pad of his thumb and heard him  nosily sucked it off.  Holy bananas, she wanted a taste of him now. Her mind kept rewinding to the feel of his finger parting her lips.

“I uh- need to use the ladies room.” Cam pressed the button on the table for assistance. Cesaire instructed.  Seconds later, her guide assisted her out of her chair and slid it back in.

“Here we go, Ms. Knox.”

She stepped awkwardly away from the table.  Along the way, she heard soft sighs and giggles. Definitely some hard-core kissing action. The idea of giving in to the dark side and making out in public heightened her ardor. A loud bang startled her. She jumped, almost losing Cesaire’s grasp.

“Don’t worry Ms. Knox. Almost there.” A few more steps and he ushered her into a space where dim lighting burned her dilated pupils for a moment before her eyes adjusted. He sat on a lounge chair between two doors marked Men and Women. The dim glow brought her normal self-conscious thoughts raging forward. In the dark Jonah couldn’t see her physical flaws. Would that change once he saw the real her?

Comment and leave an email address I’ll pick a winner for some swag!

This bundle of Mahalia’s books is available now for only $5.88!