Start the week with JULIE EBERHART PAINTER

Monday, February 28, 2011

An entire day passed before Catherine was told her labor was short for a first baby. She couldn’t tell it by the way she felt, ripped limb from limb and deflated. She had slept the day away, they said. Nausea overtook her, and she turned to vomit into the blue, kidney-shaped dish. She didn’t know which was worse: the throwing up or the now-gone pain, replaced by an aching heart.

Later, she remembered waking and feeling that her stomach was dancing, then she was under again. When she was fully awake, she was still slightly nauseated and her mouth sour with a chemical taste to it. They said it was from the ether, too much for someone who wasn’t used to it. Who was used to it, she wondered? The caseworker came in to see her the following morning.

“It’s a little girl, ‘Annie’. We need a name for the birth certificate.”

“Anything. I don’t care!” Catherine sighed, looking at the woman through a haze of exhaustion. “Make up something,” she whispered, her energy spent. She reached for the bowl and retched.

“You have to do it yourself. It’s the law. Do you want to look at her? It might help you decide.”

“No. I’m not keeping her. Any name will do. Her family will rename her anyway. Just take her... there... to them.”

“That’s the ether talking,” the nurse explained, washing out her bowl and returning it to the side of the bed.

“Just sign these surrender papers,” the caseworker said cheerfully. “You can think of a name before you leave the hospital.”

She overheard the nurses talking later. It seemed that her roommate Martha had died of blood poisoning a day after she was brought in.

Catherine named her healthy girl Mildred O’Brien. Mildred, because it was an ugly enough name that the new parents would definitely change it, and O’Brien to lower the boom on Jack if he ever found out. Catherine went home, her arms empty and her life in disarray.


********************BLURB********************
You just read an excerpt from:
Tangled Web
by
Julie Eberhart Painter

Buy Link: Champagne Books
*********************************************

What the heck, let's go for a second excerpt:

This is the first time that Catherine meets Rick, although he has written to her to tell her of the death of a mutual friend. The time is 1944. He’s in a VA ward learning to use his artificial arm. Her sister, Claire, now a nurse, has set up the meeting.



“Claire, you know I’m no good around blood and suffering.”

“His blood and suffering are over. But he’s lonely, doesn’t know anybody here. They’re teaching him to use his new arm; he has to stay until he gets the hang of it.”

“Jeez, Claire, a guy with a hook. I don’t know. But he was really nice about Ron. I guess I owe him a visit while he’s here.
Tell him I’ll come in the morning straight from my shift. What floor is he on?”

“Six. Some of the vets who’ve been discharged from the VA hospitals are here in Philadelphia for rehab. Just ask for him by name at the nurses station.”

The next day, Catherine braved the acrid smell of alcohol and the serious atmosphere of the hospital and walked into Rick Olsen’s ward. Whistles erupted. She felt the blush coming up her neck and cheeks. Fortunately, he was in the second bed, so she didn’t have to pass inspection all the way down the line. She felt her color deepening.

“Rick Olsen?”

“Over here,” came a low baritone.

Catherine followed the sound. She held her hands behind her back, went up on her tiptoes, and tried to smile at the pajama-clad fellow, struggling into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. She felt her discomfiture increase. This was unfamiliar territory, a gruesome place.

“It’s okay to show your hands here,” he said. “This isn’t the room where they cut them off.” The gallows humor that Claire found so much fun was almost more than Catherine could bear.

“Commander Olsen?”

“Pull up a chair and sit a spell.”

Claire had failed to mention how truly arresting his appearance was, or about the clipped country accent. He had ruddy skin, dark blue eyes, and a full head of hair that was cut in a military style, trim and tight to his face.

He held up his metal fist. “I’m re-armed, but not dangerous. I can now call myself a rake, literally.” He laughed easily.
Catherine felt so discombobulated by his attitude that she fell into his humor. “I’ll be careful where I sit.”

Catherine moved her chair closer to the bed. Rick swung his legs over the side. He was very tall. Taller than Jack. He had lifeguard’s legs and bony knees. Very nice--thank God they didn’t get his legs, she thought.


*********************************************



Linda Kage: Please welcome published author, Julie Eberhart Painter. Hi, Julie. Why don't you tell us a little about you and what you write please.

Julie:I’ve never had another pen name. I’ve always wanted to be “findable.” I’m not afraid to be recognized, although my first published book forced my husband into early retirement. His boss thought I’d written about what the company was burying.

I was raised in the northeast in a culturally saturated community, Bucks County, PA. My neighbors were James Michener, Moss Hart, Pearl Buck and Paul Whiteman, the famous bandleader who commissioned Rhapsody in Blue. Whiteman’s home’s doorbell rang the tune. I worked for Pops Whiteman while he had the Teen Club on TV.



Kage: What happened to the first book you ever wrote?



Julie:All 105,000 words sit in my office closet and on my computer. It’s my memoir. However, more than one-third of it has been published in short pieces for periodicals and anthologies.


Kage:What’s your backlist and coming soon bookshelf look like?



Julie: Starting with the most recent in the back list is Mortal Coil about murders in a nursing home that bring two people, the administrator and the cop together. Before that was The World, the Flesh and the Devil, a scandalous romance between a novitiate and a monk drive that plot. American Castles, when senior citizens fight to keep their antediluvian hotel/assisted living out of the clutches of local government, and Tahitian Destiny, a parallel time travel 2009/1769.

Coming soon, if they are contracted, is The Kill Fee, a young EPA field worker inherits fifteen million dollars and her uncle’s beach house after he’s murdered. This spring Champagne released Tangled Web from which you’ll have the excerpt.


Kage: Which story are we going to talk about today?



Julie: Champagne Books released Tangled Web in June 2010. The opening scene shows Catherine’s father fighting his way though a coal mine explosion, called a bump, named for the earth plates that push upward. ( I didn’t dream when I wrote that scene how timely the coal mining situation would beome.) I describe the surrounding community in social terms related to the middle thirties.

“Wilkes-Barre’s cohesive Welsh community was a haven of Protestant values and mutual support. It was also a hornet’s nest of gossip. Neither a canary’s death nor a girl’s fall from grace escaped the local chatter.” The girl who falls from grace is Catherine. Her seduction starts the romantic action.


********************BLURB********************
Tangled Web
by
Julie Eberhart Painter

Wilkes-Barre’s cohesive Welsh community is a haven of Protestant values and mutual support. It is also a hornet’s nest of gossip. Neither a canary’s death nor a girl’s fall from grace escapes the locals' chatter so when unwed Catherine Jones becomes pregnant, she is quietly sent to a shelter for unwed mothers and her baby put up for adoption.


Years later, she and her sister start their lives fresh in Philadelphia where opportunities are becoming available in wartime America. She meets a couple who befriend her, getting her a job in a defense plant and an opportunity to attend art school. This is not an easy path for a woman, but the doors begin to open on a political cartooning career, while a complicated love finds her.
*********************************************

Kage: What would the story be rated if it were a movie?



Julie: PG-13, partly because this period piece contains sex scenes and a lot of smoking—that’s cigarette smoking..


Kage: If you HAD to fit this story into a cliché, which one would it be?



Julie: Very Cinderella, with a little Match Girl thrown in. Catherine’s thinking starts out to be wistful. Low self-esteem we call it now, but it’s not long before she leaves home with her sister and they both find careers, and after a few false starts, they find love.


Kage:Okay, now that we have a general idea which class to fit Tangled Web under, what makes this book so unique from every other book out there?



Julie: The seduction scene in the first section was taken from two sources. I used my memory of the guy I was gaga about in college as a roadmap of his technique. But instead of being set in the fifties, the age without orifices, when we all knew better, such gentle persuasion fell on less fertile soil. The book concludes in 1951 with a double whammy. The heroine is my birth mother, whose real name was_____.



Kage:What was the easiest part to write?



Julie: Though I never met my birth mother, the characters just fell onto the pages. In a way, I am the only living witness to her seduction.


Kage:What do you like most about the main character(s) and what do you like least? Did you learn anything from them?



Julie: By immersing myself in those times, I gained a real sense of who Catherine was. I liked her never-say-die attitude, and her sweet vulnerability. I wish that she hadn’t succumb to my birthfather’s machinations, but I’m the result so I have a selfish interest in their affair.


Kage:Julie, Thank you so much for stopping by today and gracing us with your presence. Before we go, is there anything else you’d like to say to wrap things up?



Julie: I’d like to thank you for having me here and wish you luck with your interviews, blogs and books.



If you're still curious about Julie Eberhart Painter, here are other places to find her on the web:

Website: http://www.books-jepainter.com/


Contest, Contest, Contest

Thursday, February 24, 2011

The Wild Rose Press Valentines's Blog Tour is officially over. I'll announce the weekly and grand prize winners soon!!



And since it seems to be contest announcement day, I'll give a shout out to two more contests giving away THREE of my books.


On the contests page of my website, you have a chance to win autographed paperbook coies of both Hot Commodity and Delinquent Daddy. That one ends Feb 28th.



And Today, FEBRUARY 24th, you also have a chance to win a paperback copy of my young adult romance, The Stillburrow Crush if you comment on DIANE ESTRELLA's blog.



Good luck!!!!

TWRP BLOG TOUR - Last Day : Developing Unique Characters

Wednesday, February 23, 2011
WELCOME to the last day of TWRP's Valentine Blog Tour. Leave a comment on any of the blogs to enter to win a weekly prize. (other blogs on the tour listed below). But first, give it up for.....


LILLY GAYLE!!



Developing Unique Characters



Creating imaginary people who’re completely believable is probably one of the hardest things for a writer to accomplish. Because no good story starts out with a character who wants to find a wife or husband just because it seems like the thing to do at the time. There has to be an underlying reason or a plot that forces the hero and heroine together. And every character, especially the hero and heroine, needs motivation for what they do or some goal they wish to achieve. And that’s where the hard part comes in. Creating a make believe person’s personality.

But how creative can a writer get? Heroes and heroines need certain qualities for a book to sell and some publishers want their books to follow a certain formula.

I recently had a historical manuscript rejected by a New York publisher because the hero was a Beta hero.

Beta? Huh? The hero is an Irish immigrant who boxes! But…he wasn’t rich or powerful. And with some publishing houses, that’s what they want—that’s what they believe women want—a hero who follows the “formula” for success. They want rich powerful men, or men with exciting careers like an FBI agent, senator, CEO, or cop. But sometimes, readers want something different.

I guess that’s one reason I love The Wild Rose Press. Their only requirement for a romance is that it have a happily ever after. The hero doesn’t have to be rich or powerful and the heroine doesn’t have to “need” him. So, the door is wide open to creativity. Of course, there are still certain reader expectations. The hero can’t be a jerk throughout the entire book, and he can’t be too hideously deformed. But, there’s room for that Beta character or even a disabled hero.

One of my favorite non traditional heroes is Robert McBain from Lyn Stone’s The Highland Wife, a Harlequin Romance. The book is set in Medieval Scotland and the hero is deaf. He travels to the Highlands for an arranged marriage with Mairi MacInness. He thinks she knows he’s deaf. She thinks he is ignoring her. It’s a great story with some truly unique characters.

So, what books have you read recently that stray from the traditional expectations of what makes a hero or heroine?


Bio:


Lilly Gayle lives in North Carolina with her husband of thirty years, her youngest daughter who's still in college, a dog, a cat, and various critters both dead and alive the cat occasionally drags through the doggie door. When not writing or working as a mammogapher, she spends time with her husband at the beach. Out of the Darkness, a paranormal romance is her first published novel. A historical, Slightly Tarnished should be released sometime next year.

Join her at her:

Blog/Website: http://www.lillygayleromance.blogspot.com/

BLURB for Out of the Darkness (Paranormal Romance):

Here research could cure his dark hunger if a covert government agent doesn't get to her first.

Vincent Maxwell is a vampire with a conscience seeking a cure to his dark hunger. But when a scientist looking to create vampire soldiers captures and kills a fellow vampire, Vincent seeks out Dr. Megan Harper, a research scientist who discovered a link between a genetic light sensitivity disorder and vampirism. Dr. Harper could hold a key to a cure and the answers to Gerard’s death. But getting close to the beautiful scientist could endanger both their lives.

When Megan meets Vincent she believes he suffers from xeroderma pigmentosum, the genetic disease that killed her sister. Sensing a deep loneliness within the handsome man, she offers friendship and access to her research files. But she and Vincent soon become more than friends and Megan learns the horrifying truth. She's entered the dark and unseen world of vampires and Vincent is her only hope of survival.

Excerpt for Out of the Darkness:

Vincent didn’t spare her a second glance as he opened the basement door and stepped down.

The sound of his boot heel striking wood echoed up the steps as he disappeared into the darkness.

“But—” Megan switched on the light and hurried after him.

”The first thing you need down here is a table and some chairs,” he said when he saw the stacks of unorganized data and reams of paper scattered across the floor. “Do you mind if I bring the ones down from the kitchen?”

“No.” She turned back toward the stairs. “I’ll help you bring them down.” It would give her something to do while she sorted through the confused thoughts and emotions tumbling around inside her head.

Vincent touched her arm and heat shot straight to her belly, turning her insides all warm and fuzzy.

Warm and fuzzy was not good.

Warm and fuzzy made her think of more than just heated sex. It made her think of cozy
evenings snuggled up under a blanket and shared feelings. It made her long for an emotional connection she couldn’t risk. Not with Vincent. Not with a man who could potentially die a slow, lingering death.

“I’ll get it.” He let go of her arm and stepped back. “You start going through those papers and find that report you wrote comparing XP to vampire myths and legends. I’d be interested in seeing if you still have it.”

He turned to go back up the stairs and Megan shivered. Why had Steve mentioned the vampire report to Vincent? And why was Vincent so interested in seeing it?

Vincent the Vampire.

Buy link for Out of the Darkness: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/out-of-the-darkness-p-4039.html

***********************************************


TODAY's Blog Tour Itinerary

Wednesday, February 23rd - Blog Topic - Developing Unique Characters

--Meet author AJ Nuest at http://amielouellen.wordpress.com/

--Meet author Lynne Roberts at http://authorjenniferjakes.blogspot.com/

--Meet paranormal romance author Maeve Greyson at http://www.ajbooks.blogspot.com/

--Meet author Amy Corwin at http://lynneroberts.blogspot.com/

--Meet contemporary and paranormal romance author Jill James at http://maevegreyson.blogspot.com/

--Meet romantic suspense author Kat Duncan at http://amycorwin.blogspot.com/

--Meet contemporary YA an adult romance author Linda Kage (ME) at http://www.jilljameswrites.com

--Meet paranormal, and historical romance author Caroline Clemmons at http://www.katduncan.net/writeabout

--Meet historical and paranormal romance writer Lilly Gayle at http://lindakage.blogspot.com/ (HERE)

--Meet Amie Louellen, author of fun and whimsical contemporary romance at http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com/

--Meet erotic western historical author Jennifer Jakes at www.lillygayleromance.blogspot.com

Start the week with LINDA MORRIS

Monday, February 21, 2011
Tipped violently forward with the engine still running, its rear wheels spinning in mid-air, was a wrecked SUV. Its front end was crumpled and its windshield spider-webbed with cracks. The vehicle didn't belong to anyone she knew. She flicked on her flashlight again and surveyed the damage.

It was no mystery why the SUV had crashed. Weakened by the heavy rains, the driveway had crumbled away on the lake side for a distance of at least twenty feet. Under the front bumper, an electrical pole lay in pieces. The driveway was unlit and treacherous at night. In the dark, the stranger must have swerved to avoid the washout and taken out the electrical pole instead. That explained the power outage.

Wanting to help, but still leery of a possible intruder, not to mention the downed power lines, Lara moved warily around to the driver's side. She pointed the beam of her light through the windshield and caught a glimpse of a figure slumped over the steering wheel.

Lara pulled the driver's side door open and blinked in the sudden brightness as the SUV's dome light came on. The driver, a man, was the only passenger in the vehicle. She got only a quick impression of thick dark hair and a lean body before she saw the blood. "Dear God," she whispered. Blood flowed copiously from the injury to his head.

She reached out to touch his arm, for what purpose, she wasn't sure. Was she going to shake him awake, or check for injuries?

"Get away." He lifted his head. His eyes opened, green and shockingly alert for a man who had appeared to be unconscious moments before, as he turned to capture her gaze.

********************BLURB********************
You just read an excerpt from:
Forget-Me-Not
by
Linda Morris

Buy Link: The Wild Rose Press
*********************************************


Linda Kage: Today we're here with published romance author, LINDA MORRIS. Hi, Linda! Why don't you tell us a little about you and what you write please.

Linda Morris:I write romantic suspense, emphasis on the romantic, with well-developed characters. I'm a bit of a genre-hopper, though, and I dabble in historicals as well. I've got a short western novella out, too.



Kage: What happened to the first book you ever wrote?



Linda Morris:It's moldering (deservedly) at the bottom of a landfill somewhere, I guess. It was called When Zephyrs Blow. It had nothing to do with zephyrs or wind or anything blowing, and it had no discernible plot. Instead, it had lots of scenes of people having dinner. It did teach me at least two important things, though: Novels need plots, and titles should somehow be at least remotely connected to what the book is about. It was the first of several disastrous but ultimately very instructive attempts on my part to write a novel. In my defense, I was a teenager.


Kage:What’s your backlist and coming soon bookshelf look like?



Linda Morris:My first book, Montana Belle, the aforementioned western novella, just came out on Dec. 29th. Forget-Me-Not, a romantic suspense, was just released on Feb. 18th. After two such quick releases, the pressure is now on for me to finish my work in progress!


Kage: Which story are we going to talk about today?



Linda Morris: Forget-Me-Not is a romantic suspense about Lara Crosby, a woman who leaves the world of Chicago politics behind her after some professional and personal disasters. One night at her remote wilderness cabin, a car accident involving an enigmatic stranger leaves her wondering if her past has caught up with her. There's just one problem: The stranger has suffered a head injury, and can't remember who he is or why he's come to find Lara. Together, they piece his shady past together, uncovering dangerous secrets and falling in love along the way.


********************BLURB********************
Forget-Me-Not
by
Linda Morris

Lara Crosby left Chicago when her career as a big-time political fundraiser turned very ugly. Determined to put the past behind her, she envisions a peaceful new life at her cabin in northern Minnesota. Everything changes on a dark night when a mysterious and attractive stranger suffers an accident outside her cabin.

Jacob Sumner awakes in the wilderness after a car accident with no idea who he is or why he was coming to see Lara Crosby. She's beautiful and sweet, but she's a world away from the gritty world where he makes his living as a private investigator…or is she?
*********************************************

Kage: What would the story be rated if it were a movie?



Linda Morris: I would give a PG-13, leaning to R. It's sexy, but not too explicit..


Kage: If you HAD to fit this story into a cliché, which one would it be?



Linda Morris:It's a "him and her against the bad guys" story.


Kage:Okay, now that we have a general idea which class to fit Forget-Me-Not under, what makes this book so unique from every other book out there?



Linda Morris: The hero, Jake, is pretty tortured, which was fun to write. He knows he has a dark past, but due to an accident that occurs at the beginning of the book in a remote area, he's uncertain about quite *how* dark it is. Due to his memory loss, he has to retrace his past, with the help of the heroine, Lara. Lara is a fun character too: She has a background in politics, which is a field I'm fascinated with, but she left it behind when she felt like the needed the sanctuary of her grandfather's remote wilderness cabin.

Also, it's the hero who has amnesia, which you don't see often. Somehow, it's always the heroine who has the memory loss. I wondered why that is and set out to do things differently.



Kage:What was the easiest part to write?



Linda Morris: Probably the characters were the easiest, which is typical for me. I got to know Jake and Lara really well and liked them a lot too. I enjoy writing scenes from the hero's point of view because writing convincing male characters is a fun challenge. Writing a character with memory loss was challenging too, because although he has a history and a personality, his life story was a bit of a blank slate, to him anyway.


Kage:What do you like most about the main character(s) and what do you like least? Did you learn anything from them?



Linda Morris: Don't want to give away too much, but I admire the hero's discovery that it's never too late for redemption. My heroine Lara struggles to break away from her family's expectations in a way that a lot of people can probably relate to.


Kage: Linda, Thank you so much for stopping by today and gracing us with your presence. Before we go, is there anything else you’d like to say to wrap things up?



Linda Morris: I hope everybody enjoys reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing it!



If you're still curious about Linda, here are other places to find her on the web:



Blog: http://lindamorriswriter.blogspot.com/


MONTANA BELLE Buy Link: The Wild Rose Press


TWRP BLOG TOUR - Day Three : Meeting Your Significant Other

Wednesday, February 16, 2011
WELCOME to the third day of TWRP's Valentine Blog Tour. Leave a comment on any of the blogs to enter to win a weekly prize. (other blogs on the tour listed below). But first, give it up for.....

Jennifer Jakes!!


Meeting My DH


Long, long ago, (or about 18 years) in a land far away (or about 3 hours depending on traffic) – a land full of Blizzards (the edible kind because the land was Dairy Queen) – a lonely maiden (lonely, yes – maiden, eh, not so much) spied her white knight as he arrived on his trusty steed (OK, it was an 18-wheeler…………….)

Wait. Stop. This is getting too difficult. Here’s the real story.

I was the manager of a Dairy Queen in a small town. Twice a week our supply truck came down from the city. One day one of the workers came up front all breathless to tell me I had to come see the new driver because he was gorgeous. So I casually walked back to the freezer and Wow! – yes, he was gorgeous. When our eyes met it was truly one of those zinger moments. So like the intelligent (translation – scared stupid) woman I was, I ran. Not literally. I had to work. But since I’d been burned so many times before by good-looking, smooth-talking men, I decided then and there I didn’t want the gorgeous delivery man. (No matter how badly I did)

One problem with that plan. Turns out he wanted me. And he was persistent. No matter how many times I shot him down. No, you didn’t, you think. OK, an example is in order. We had been playing the cat and mouse game for about 3 months. One day he comes inside, looking all sexy with his clip-board and dark hair and hazel eyes and………….Oh, sorry. Anyway, he stops at the office door and asked, “What do you want first? The frozen food, the dry goods – or me?” Without blinking I answered, “The frozen.”

Ouch! But he still didn’t give up. And after a couple more months I realized he wasn’t trying to be a silver tongued devil, laying on the charm. He was just friendly. And a goof-ball. (He still is by the way). But he was honest and sweet and funny. And so loyal that I wonder if he’s part canine. After a string of cheater boyfriends, this man was exactly what I needed. So I did what any intelligent woman would do. I stopped running and let him catch me;)

So I have a question for all the readers today. What is it about your significant other that makes him (or her) perfect for you?

Bio:

After trying several careers—everything from a beautician to a dump truck driver—Jennifer finally returned to her first love, writing. Maybe it was all those Clint Eastwood movies she watched growing up, but in her opinion there is no better read than a steamy western historical.

Married to her very own hero, she lives on fifteen acres along with two beautiful daughters, two elderly horses, two spoiled cats and two hyper dogs.

During the summer she does Civil War re-enacting and has found it a great research tool, not to mention she has continued appreciation for her microwave and hot water heater.

Join her at her:

Website: http://www.jenniferjakes.com/
Blog: http://authorjenniferjakes.blogspot.com/
Facebook: Jennifer Jakes
Twitter: @erotichistory


Jennifer is the author of:

RAFE'S REDEMPTION

BLURB:
He rode into town to buy supplies, not a woman.

For hunted recluse Rafe McBride, the raven-haired beauty on the auction block is exactly what he doesn't need. A dependant woman will be another clue his vengeful stepbrother can use to find and kill him. But Rafe's conscience won't let him leave another innocent's virginity to the riff-raff bidding. He buys her, promising to return her to St. Louis untouched. He only prays the impending blizzard holds off before her sultry beauty breaks his willpower.

She wanted freedom, not a lover.

Whisked to the auction block by her devious, gambling cousin, and then sold into the arms of a gorgeous stranger, outspoken artist Maggie Monroe isn't about to go meekly. Especially when the rugged mountain man looks like sin and danger rolled into one. But a blizzard and temptation thrust them together, and Maggie yearns to explore her smoldering passion for Rafe.

But when the snow clears, will the danger and secrets that surround Rafe and Maggie tear them apart?

EXCERPT:

Maggie wanted freedom, not a lover…

Oh, Lord. He was going to kiss her. She shouldn’t want this. She was confused enough.
Respectable women didn’t kiss men they barely knew, certainly not men who made them have wild, exotic dreams.

It was crazy. He was making her want crazy things. Making her not give a damn about her reputation or her virginity. Or her long-awaited freedom. All she could think about was that dream, and the way his sinful mouth had felt. The table was only a step away, and honey was just as sweet as peach juice…

She swallowed hard and looked up into his hooded eyes.

“Maggie,” he groaned. “Don’t be scared. I’d never hurt you.”

Her mouth parted to object, but firm lips covered hers, hungry, demanding. She gasped, shocked at his hunger, but even more at the illicit response coursing through her. An aching heat unfurled low in her stomach, pulsed between her legs. Oh, yes. It started just like in the dream.

He deepened the kiss, coaxed her lips with his warm tongue. Long, languid strokes teased the inside of her mouth, encouraging, tempting before he pulled back to nibble the corners of her lips.

Oh, God. Is this what all kisses felt like? Hot, lethargic? Melting her like molasses over warm bread?

“Kiss me, Maggie,” he breathed.


***********************************************


TODAY's Blog Tour Itinerary



Wednesday, February 16th - Blog Topic - Meeting Your Significant Other

--Meet author Amy Corwin at http://amielouellen.wordpress.com/Meet

--Meet contemporary and paranormal romance author Jill James at http://authorjenniferjakes.blogspot.com/

--Meet romantic suspense author Kat Duncan at http://www.ajbooks.blogspot.com/

--Meet contemporary YA an adult romance author Linda Kage (ME) at http://lynneroberts.blogspot.com/

--Meet paranormal, and historical romance author Caroline Clemmons at http://amycorwin.blogspot.com/

--Meet historical and paranormal romance writer Lilly Gayle at file:///C:/Users/Kat/Writing/Promo/www.jilljameswrites.com

--Meet Amie Louellen, author of fun and whimsical contemporary romance at http://www.katduncan.net/writeabout

--Meet erotic western historical author Jennifer Jakes at http://lindakage.blogspot.com/ (HERE)

--Meet author AJ Nuest at http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com/

--Meet author Lynne Roberts at http://www.lillygayleromance.blogspot.com

Start the week with AUTUMN JORDON

Monday, February 14, 2011
John peered through the tilted mini-blinds into the lieutenant’s office. He studied the woman inside who sat on a couch, sandwiched between two kids.

A mental checklist ticked off in John’s mind. She was small, maybe a hundred-twenty-five pounds. Her arms and legs were scratched and bruised. If he had to guess, he’d say she was about five-six. A few light brown strands had pulled free from her ponytail and framed her tan face. The way she held her head, watching her children sleep, he couldn’t tell the color of her eyes.

Suddenly the little girl woke and scrambled into her mother’s lap.

Mesmerized, John watched the woman Zohara identified as Stephanie Boyd cradle her daughter, smoothing her hair and whispering into her ear—just like Julie had done with Katie.

Fury, as familiar as the air he breathed, flickered fresh in John and he fingered the rubber band he’d worn on his little finger for the past two years.

He punched the anger away.

He couldn’t deal with his demons now.

“They watched while their father was murdered,” Zohara said, pulling John back to the conversation.

****************************************
You just read an excerpt from:
EVIL'S WITNESS
by
Autumn Jordon

Buy Link: The Wild Rose Press
*********************************************


Linda Kage: Today we're here with published author, AUTUMN JORDON. Hi, Autumn. Why don't you tell us a little about you and what you write please.

Autumn: Hi, Linda. First, thank you so much for hosting me on this most special day for lovers, and romance writers. I write true romantic suspense novels. What I mean by that is my novels are nearly fifty percent romance and fifty percent suspense. The romance occurs because of the suspense plot and suspense heightens and moves the romance.



Kage: What happened to the first book you ever wrote?



Autumn:Well, even though it won several awards, it still hasn’t found a home, but I’m hopeful.


Kage:What’s your backlist and coming soon bookshelf look like?



Autumn:Obsessed By Wildfire was my second contracted book and my first published. I had a ball writing it. OBW is a fun contemporary western written for The Wild Rose Press’ Wayback series. I wrote this novel on a bet, and I’m so glad I did. WINK

Evil’s Witness was my 2009 Golden Heart entry, then titled His Witness. It is a romantic suspense, and I’m proud to say it has received many great reviews and won the 2010 Golden Leaf award for ‘Best First Book.’ GRIN

What’s next? In The Presence Of Evil. I’m so excited and my stunning new cover is now up on my website http://www.autumnjordon.com/. This romantic suspense has just gone to production and I should have a release date very soon. YEAH!


Kage: Which story are we going to talk about today?



Autumn: Let’s talk Evil’s Witness available from The Wild Rose Press. Here’s a blurb.


********************BLURB********************
EVIL'S WITNESS
by
Autumn Jordon
Witnessing a blood bath crashes Stephanie Boyd’s world. To escape the wrath of the Russian Mafia, she has to help the FBI uncover the mafia’s mole inside the U.S. Treasury. While on the run with the handsome agent who is willing to die for her, Stephanie learns the meaning of love.

Agent John Dolton’s break in solving the case that cost him everything is a couple of kids and a beautiful widow. But keeping them safe seems impossible when their every move is foreseen by their enemy. Stephanie and her children soften the loner’s heart and John vows not to fail to protect the family he loves.

*********************************************

Kage: What would the story be rated if it were a movie?



Autumn: I’m going to say R. There are a few love scenes between Stephanie and John that are hot! Steph and John are really made for each other..


Kage: If you HAD to fit this story into a cliché, which one would it be?



Autumn:The themes of Evil’s Witness are underdog can whoop big dog’s ass, and if you open your heart, love will find you.


Kage:Okay, now that we have a general idea which class to fit Evil's Witness under, what makes this book so unique from every other book out there?



Autumn:I think Evil’s Witness is unique because of my voice. I’ve been told my writing is very easy to read and that my characters are so real. And the plot is based on two real life scenarios. We say we live in adventure valley.



Kage:What was the easiest part to write?



Autumn: dialog…) Why? The characters. I felt like I knew them for years. Each had their own agenda and dreams. Often they took me by the hand and led the story in a direction I hadn’t thought of.


Kage:What do you like most about the main character(s) and what do you like least? Did you learn anything from them?



Autumn: I loved Stephanie’s character growth and how she finds courage.


John, I loved his compassion and how he keeps it hidden under his hard shell. There wasn’t a thing about them I didn’t love.

Did I learn anything from them? Yes. Believe in yourself and you can do anything.



Kage: Autumn, Thank you so much for stopping by today and gracing us with your presence. Before we go, is there anything else you’d like to say to wrap things up?



Autumn: I’d like to share John’s back story, and I hope it peaks your readers interest enough that they will visit my website www.autumnjordon.com and learn more about Evil’s Witness


********************John's Back Story********************
John Dolton fell to his knees knowing the inferno in front of him consumed his life. His heart pumped but his brain felt starved for oxygen. The heat gnawed at his skin. He gulped the roasting air and it fumed into his lungs, expanding them until his chest as if were about to explode.

He didn’t care.

“Damn. John, snap out of it.”

Fingers clinked inches away from his nose.

“Come on, man. You’ve got to get back.” He heard his partner’s cry but Luke’s voice was diffused, coming at him from several directions.

Something looped under John’s arms and yanked him upward, lifting his dead weight off his knees—the ones that had given way when he’d seen his life gone.

The heels of his boots marked the tarmac with duel tracks as he was drugged away from the wreckage. He didn’t fight. His gaze remained on the windows of what once was his SUV.

Staring beyond the flaming bizarre tongues licking at the vehicle’s roof, he saw his wife and little girl as he had left them only ten minutes ago. Happy. Laughing. Anticipating a long overdue family vacation.

“Why?” A screamed like that of a savage, wounded animal rivaled sirens.

He searched the faces staring at him. Wide-eyed, brow ceased, sad faces stared back.

Had the horrendous cry come from him?

Julie.

Katie.

He had to save them.

John pulled. Luke’s grip tightened.

“Let me go.” He twisted and swung a fist at his partner’s jaw, but Luke ducted in time. Luke grabbed John’s arm and twisted it behind his back.

“They’re gone, John. You can’t save them.”

The agency’s emergency response team raced around the inferno.

They were too late.

With the dousing of the flames, John caught a glimpse of a charred human arm lying on the sidewalk. A silver band encircled the tiny wrist. Julie.

John grabbed his ribs and hurdled his breakfast.
*********************************************

If you're still curious about Autumn, here are other places to find her on the web:

Website: http://www.autumnjordon.com/*

Blog: http://www.autumnjordonsnotes.blogspot.com/

Facebook: Autumn Jordon

Twitter: AJordon

MySpace: Autumn Jordon

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Autumn-Jordon

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/autumnjordon

You might be the parent of a one-year old if…

Thursday, February 10, 2011
10. You find oven mitts in the bathroom.

9. You’ve had to dig a lady bug out of your kid’s mouth.

8. You start stocking up on baby blankets because life as you know it will end if your kid loses the one she currently carries everywhere.

7. The remote control is constantly MIA.

6. New teeth are no longer cute; just painful. You have the marks on your shoulders to prove it.

5. All the trashcans in your house no longer sit on the floor but up on some high surface.

4. You consider yourself bi-lingual because baby-jabber is totally a second language you can understand (sometimes).

3. The most avid discussion of the day with your spouse is about bowl movements.

2. You begin to hum “head...shoulders, knees and toes” at work.

1. Your kid waves at dead people (see 1/19/2011 post).



I guess I must have a one-year old then!!

Happy birthday to my one-year old baby, Lydia Marie!!! You are beautiful inside and out, and I've cherished all 365 days I've gotten to be with you. Love you, goober.

TWRP BLOG TOUR - Day TWO : Where Creative Ideas Come From

Wednesday, February 9, 2011
WELCOME to the second day of TWRP's Valentine Blog Tour. Leave a comment on any of the blogs to enter to win a weekly prize. (other blogs on the tour listed below). But first, give it up for.....




LYNNE ROBERTS!!



Where Creative Ideas Come From



I don’t often read horror or even suspense... okay, that’s an understatement. My kids make fun of me, but I avoid all things horror like the plague. I blame it on my over-active imagination that doesn’t end when the movie/book does but continues on in the what-if mode.

Suffice it to say, that although I deeply admire Stephen King, I do not often read his work and when I do, it’s during daylight hours. At this point you might be asking what Stephen King, or horror, has to do with Creative ideas… I’m getting to that.

In one of his books, I think Lisey’s Story, Mr. King revealed the theory of a creative pool that exists in an alternate universe. All writers ultimately draw their ideas from this pool. And all writers create realities with their words to feed this place, or places like it. (It’s been a long time since I read the book.)

This concept has always appealed to me because sometimes as you’re writing it feels like your discovering, rather than creating a story. The characters become like people you want to get to know, rather than people you’re creating. You become a literary archeologist, dusting away the fluff and useless data to get to the story, to flesh out the characters.

Yeah, by necessity, I think a writer’s mind is a little twisted, at least mine is. But writers are prone to asking the what if question. We need to see beyond the surface of things, to look beyond what is and ask what is possible.

Everything a writer sees, hears, smells or experiences goes into the subconscious where it lies dormant until the writer needs it.

For me, I’m most likely to get ideas for books, scenes or characters when my brain is on autopilot. I think this is when I’m less likely to think and more to wonder. I call the tread mill my muse because that’s where I get the majority of my ideas. The second place is in the car when I’m driving. (Scary huh?) If you ever see me furiously writing something down at a red light, you’ll know why.

You see, the question, where do creative ideas come from, can easily be answered by one word: Everywhere. But that wouldn’t have been nearly as fun.

I think, though, that it’s what the writer does with these ideas after they get them that is truly important. Even the best idea would be lost in bad writing or sloppy grammar. Most writers want so much to share their stories that they study, constantly strive to improve the craft so readers will enjoy them.

Have you ever read a book that had an awesome concept, but you couldn’t get into the story because of the writing?

Or

Have you come across a book with an okay premise, but the writing was so good the story swept you up anyway?





Bio:

Lynne Roberts wrote her first story out of frustration at the age of 11 because Gone with the Wind just couldn’t end with Rhett and Scarlett not together.

She’s a hopeless romantic and a sucker for a happily ever after.
She’s been writing professionally since 2005 and, after reading some very talented authors, attempted her first erotic romance in 2009.

A hopeless coffee-addict, when she’s not writing, editing or on Twitter—which isn’t often—you can find her in the garden, reading or with her five children. Sometimes all of the above.

Lynne currently lives in sunny California. You can learn more about her on her website and blog. She’d love to hear from you.

Lynne's books include the two erotic romances, AFTER HOURS, and FIRST DATE.

Join her at her:

Website: http://www.lynneroberts.net/
Blog: http://lynneroberts.blogspot.com/
Facebook: Lynne Roberts
Twitter: Lynne_Roberts

And here's a sneak peek of her story, CREATIVE LICENSE, available at Samhain Publishing.


Product Warnings

Contains balmy ocean breezes, coffee as seduction, the creative use of melted chocolate, and naughty shower lovin’ that gives new meanings to the term “shower head”.


Excerpt:


The computer screen blurred. Lily blinked to refocus her tired eyes on the deposition and sighed in relief when the phone rang. She loved her job, loved working for a law firm, but staring at a computer screen for hours took its toll.

Blowing a strand of dark hair out of her eyes, she reached over a stack of law books. “McPherson.” Lily glanced at the clock as her stomach rumbled. She’d worked through lunch again. Damn.

The other end of the line was silent for so long, she thought the caller had changed his or her mind. “Hello?”

“Yes, hi.”

The rich, masculine voice sent chills down her spine and knotted her stomach. Eyes closed, she gripped the phone so hard it hurt. Even after all these years, she knew that voice. “Caleb?”

A low, sexy chuckle rumbled through the line. “You remember me.”

Oh shit, why was he calling her now? Memories of the most erotic night of her life flashed through her mind. Lily opened her eyes, reminding herself the most embarrassing morning of her life had followed. “How did you get this number? Never mind.”

Despite the deep breath, the receiver trembled in her hand. “Can I do something for you?”

An intake of breath and then a pause. “We have a slight problem.”

Lily’s stomach churned acid. None of their problems had been small, not for the twelve hours and twenty-two minutes they’d been married. “Yes?”

Caleb cleared his throat. “It seems the annulment didn’t go through.”

“Oh, shit.” I’m in a bad movie. This has got to be a joke. She leaned against the back of her chair. “What do you mean it didn’t go through?”

“We’re still married, sweetie. The annulment was never processed.”

Married? “Why?” Lily rubbed the ache growing between her eyes. “No. I don’t care. Just get it processed.”

“It’s too late now. We’ve been married too long.”

“We are not married.” Lily tried to swallow past the tide of rising panic.

“The state of Nevada would disagree, sweetheart.”

She could almost see that sexy grin, those sparkling green eyes. She definitely remembered what they did to her. She’d been chocolate under the heat of his sun. “I am not your sweetheart.” She reached for a notepad. Who to call? Certainly no one in the firm. Though they were all professional and talented, people talked. She couldn’t let it get back to her family or… Oh, God. Stewart. “I’ll file for divorce in the morning.”

“Um, about that.”

She didn’t have the patience to wait out the pause. “What?”

“I was wondering if we could delay that a bit.”

A pain in her hand alerted her to the death grip she’d taken on the phone. She was suddenly glad she’d skipped lunch. “Delay? Why?”

“I need a favor.”

“Well you’re out of luck. I’m fresh out of favors.”

“Lily, please listen.”

His voice had lowered to almost pleading. Something in her heart softened. What’s wrong with me? I don’t owe this man anything! He’s a stranger. “You call me out of the blue to tell me we’re still married and now you need a favor?” It came out a little more acerbic than she’d meant.

His chuckle sounded nervous. “I guess that pretty much sums it up. You’re not married or anything, are you?”

Lily closed her eyes. “No. I’m not.”

“Well.” He cleared his throat. “Except to me.”

“Not for long. Thank you for letting me know about the clerical error. I’ll handle it from my end. Good-bye.” Lily set the phone in its cradle. Quite a feat when she wanted to slam it down. She stood and walked toward the window, leaned against the sill and stared out at the tops of the trees and below them to the expanse of grass. Interns didn’t usually merit an office with a window, let alone a window facing the courtyard. It was one of the benefits of almost being engaged to her boss’s son.

Ah, Stewart. He wouldn’t mind that she slept with someone in Vegas, though he’d be a bit irritated she hadn’t been smarter about keeping it quiet. But in his eyes, marrying a divorceé was socially unacceptable. No one could ever find out about what happened in Vegas. It had been a mistake, a horrible mistake.

She closed her eyes and the image of waking next to a naked Adonis filled her mind. His long blond hair had spread over perfectly sculpted shoulders, his head cradled by well-muscled arms. A silk sheet covered his lower back to mid-thigh but had only served to tantalize the imagination of her sleep-fogged brain. For a moment, she’d been tempted to explore the promising hills and valleys of his body and then she’d moved to touch him and seen the gaudy fake diamond ring on her left hand.

She still could only remember flashes of their night together; falling into his arms, the silky warmth of his skin next to hers, his lips. She opened her eyes in an attempt to wash out the images that had tinted her fantasies in the three years since. An ache built in her lower abdomen as she remembered the sound of his voice. She couldn’t recall standing in front of a minister and saying I do, but the documents didn’t lie. “Shit.” Caleb Anderson might be a talented artist and sexy as hell, but he wasn’t in her ten-year plan.

Behind her, the phone rang again and she sighed, turned and picked it up. “Macpherson.”

“Lily, please, listen,” Caleb asked.

“You have three minutes.”

“It’s… Damn it, Lily. It’s a long story.”

“Three minutes,” she repeated. The sound of Caleb’s sigh into her ear sent shivers down her body.

“I need you to…come out here for a few days.”

Her jaw dropped open.

After a long pause, Caleb cleared his throat. “Are you still there?”

“Is this a joke?”

“No. It’s not. If you’ll let—”

“No. Absolutely not. You’re crazy.”

“Please. I know it’s inconvenient—”

“Inconvenient? That’s an understatement. Why would I fly across the country?”

“Because it could make a permanent difference in my career, in my life. Listen, it’s complicated but…” he paused and his voice thickened. “My patroness did a background check, she found out I was married. I panicked. She wants to meet you.” The words came out in a rush.

“I appreciate your position, but…” Lily hesitated. She could vividly remember the passion with which he described his art. It had been one of the many things that had kept her by the bar ordering drink after drink until her memory faded to black.

“I’ll pay for your air fare and—”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what? Lily, I need your help. Please. It’s my one big chance. It would only be for a couple of days.”

A couple of days. That’s what got her into this mess in the first place, but something inside of her softened further. She did have some vacation time coming and she’d heard San Francisco was beautiful in the summer. Holy heaven, I’m considering it.

She had to admit, part of her hesitation was the memory of his skin on hers and the fear she’d tumble back into bed with him in a heartbeat. She’d done it in her fantasies enough times. Would that be so bad?

No, it would be so good. That was the problem. She took a deep breath. “I’ll think about it, Caleb.”

“Thank you.”

She hung up the phone, buried her face in her hands, and then grimaced. “I’ve just had my first argument with my husband.”


***********************************************


TODAY's Blog Tour Itinerary

Wednesday, February 9th - Blog Topic - Where Creative Ideas Come From

-- Meet contemporary and paranormal romance author Jill James at http://amielouellen.wordpress.com/


--Meet romantic suspense author Kat Duncan at http://authorjenniferjakes.blogspot.com/


--Meet contemporary YA an adult romance author Linda Kage (ME) at http://www.ajbooks.blogspot.com/


--Meet paranormal, and historical romance author Caroline Clemmons at http://lynneroberts.blogspot.com/


--Meet historical and paranormal romance writer Lilly Gayle at http://maevegreyson.blogspot.com/


--Meet Amie Louellen, author of fun and whimsical contemporary romance at http://amycorwin.blogspot.com/


--Meet erotic western historical author Jennifer Jakes at http://www.jilljameswrites.com/

--Meet author AJ Nuest at http://www.katduncan.net/writeabout

--Meet author Lynne Roberts at http://lindakage.blogspot.com/ (HERE)


--Meet paranormal romance author Maeve Greyson at http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com/

--Meet author Amy Corwin at http://www.blogger.com/www.lillygayleromance.blogspot.com

Start the week with SHARON NOBLE

Monday, February 7, 2011
The room, suffused in firelight alone, held dark shadows in the corners.

“Isn’t this just beautiful?” enthused a tiny, grey-haired woman at her side. “And those people in the period costumes seem so real. I feel like a fly on the wall.”

Caroline followed the woman’s gaze, and . . . there. He stood at the window where an apple-cheeked young woman reposed in the window seat. The woman wore a gown of blue velvet brocade and cloth of silver with a jewel-encrusted headdress set slightly back on her head in the French style.

He appeared in costly black, and, as her gaze traveled his body, she caught her breath at the length and shape of his legs. Long and muscular below black leather breeches, enclosed in black hose that revealed every line from thigh to boot top, muscles flexed with his shifting weight.

Her glance moved down to his leather boots and back up his torso only to stop suddenly at his codpiece, bejeweled and prominent. Her imagination ran rampant while she considered what lay nestled inside the circlet of leather. It would be long and thick and crowned with black curls. He would be lusty and virile, and women would swoon at the sight of his erect member.

Blood ran into her face and heat all the way to her scalp.

When the woman at her side pointed in his direction again, he caught the movement. Recognition flared in those whiskey-yellow eyes, followed quickly by leaping flame. He glanced down at his codpiece, then slowly allowed his gaze to roam her body until he met her eyes again. He acknowledged her with a secret smile and placed a hand on his hip, seemingly casually. But his fingers pointed toward the codpiece. He had acknowledged their mutual attraction and had given her an invitation.



********************BLURB********************
You just read an excerpt from:
VELVET and TOPAZ
by
SHARON NOBLE

Buy Link: Freya Bower
*********************************************


Today, we're here with author, SHARON NOBLE


Linda Kage: Hi, Sharon. Why don't you tell us a little about you and what you write please.

Sharon:Well, I seem to have fallen into writing contemporary erotic romances, not because I have a preference for that genre. I read all kinds of romances, but when I get an idea, it always seems to be contemporary. I think I might try a time travel story just so I can mix contemporary with some historical period. The best of both. I write under my own name, but, if I ever decide to write period stories, I’d probably use a much more elegant name.



Kage: What happened to the first book you ever wrote?



Sharon:The first one I actually started writing was Passion’s Design, but I put it aside when I was hit in the head with the idea for Autumn Desire, a story about a woman who loses her husband to a sudden, unexpected heart attack and then finds herself attracted to his detested rival, the man she holds responsible for his death. So Passion’s Design went on the back burner for I don’t want to tell you have many years – until I took a fresh look at it and my brain picked up an interesting storyline and colorful secondary characters who move the plot forward in unexpected ways. It turned out to be a good seller. It was bought by the first publisher I sent it to.


Kage:What’s your backlist and coming soon bookshelf look like? (you don’t have to provide all the books you’ve ever published if there are too many, just the most recent)



Sharon:Ha, ha, I wish there were too many. I’ve written three manuscripts and have been fortunate enough to have sold all three – to three different publishers. The first, Autumn Desire, was published by The Wild Rose Press last summer. The second, Passion’s Design, was published by Pink Petal Books on January 10, and Velvet and Topaz was published by Freya’s Bower on January 18. That exhausts my supply. I guess I’ll have to get to work on a new one. I actually have an idea that hasn’t fleshed itself out yet. I’m waiting.


Kage: Which story are we going to talk about today?



Sharon: Velvet and Topaz. It’s published by Freya’s Bower, and it released in electronic format on January 18. It’ll be available in print at a later date; I haven’t been told exactly when. It’s a story that came into my head when I heard the first line: “It wasn’t his eyes that she noticed first . . .” I just took it from there. As it turns out, she’s very impressed with his codpiece – as any woman would be. It’s about a young woman whose husband divorces her on the brink of her 40th birthday, so he can marry his younger, pregnant girlfriend. To boost her spirits, her best friend takes her on a six-week vacation to England where they can visit all the sites of their favorite historical period, the 16th C Tudor England. Of course, she meets the personification of all her girlhood dreams in one of the castles. Hmmmmm, what to do, what to do?


********************BLURB********************
VELVET AND TOPAZ
by
SHARON NOBLE

When Caroline Benning's husband of 18 years divorces her on the eve of her 40th birthday, she is devastated. To boost her spirits, best friend Marjory treats Caroline to a month-long trip to England where they can indulge their long-held passion for Tudor history. History comes alive when the friends visit Hampton Court Palace, mingling with costumed reenactors populating the palace and the grounds, and they are virtually transported to 16th Century England and the court of Henry VIII.

One man in particular, a dark, bearded cavalier in black leather and velvet moves Caroline to unexpected sexual longing - so much so that she returns alone the next day just to see him again. In a shadowed closet adjacent to one of the bedrooms, they make love unlike anything she has ever experienced.

Caroline is unable to explain her uncharacteristic behavior, and she determines to put the episode behind her and continue her vacation as if nothing had happened. But the memory of his topaz eyes haunts her dreams. Her life will never be the same.

Adam Carruthers is a high-powered attorney who enjoys reenacting Tudor history. When he sees a beautiful blond tourist, he can't resist her and soon finds himself in an unlikely, but very enjoyable, position.

Now, he can't forget her or their brief encounter. However, when she doesn't return to the court, he has no way to contact her... until a chance meeting at a protest rally. Unfortunately, they are on opposing sides.

Can their passion overcome their differences? Or will their beliefs keep them apart?
*********************************************

Kage: What would the story be rated if it were a movie?



Sharon: Ooooh, I think it would be rated a strong R. It involves explicit, anonymous sex with a stranger as a starting point and gets better with each sexual encounter. .


Kage: If you HAD to fit this story into a cliché, which one would it be?



Sharon:I don’t know. The main thrust (no pun intended) of the story is two people on opposite sides of a social issue that both believe in strongly. They each believe the other is trying to manipulate them without regard to ethical or moral behavior.


Kage:Okay, now that we have a general idea which class to fit VELVET AND TOPAZ under, what makes this book so unique from every other book out there?



Sharon: It’s drawn from several real-life experiences, although I’ve never experienced anonymous sex with a complete stranger. But it worked out well for Caroline, so maybe it’s not entirely a negative. Adam is unlike any hero I’ve ever read, except, perhaps for Boyd Mackenzie, the hero of Autumn Desire. They both have solid emotional and intellectual stability that enables the most disastrous events to have a positive solution.



Kage:What was the easiest part to write?



Sharon: Dialogue, because I just listened to the characters and wrote down what they said. Really. It’s the only way I know how to write. Second easiest is characters because I see them as they speak, so I can write the descriptions as I view them. Most difficult was the working-class dialect spoken by the tenants of the apartment building that Adam’s company is tearing down. Fortunately I have a close friend who’s from England, and he taught me the sounds of the working-class accent. I’m a seat of the pants writer because I’m completely unable to devise a plotline or characters until the exact moment they’re needed. Basic ineptitude, I guess.


Kage:What do you like most about the main character(s) and what do you like least? Did you learn anything from them?



Sharon: Caroline and I share a love of animals. She rescues unwanted or abused dogs, and my family does the same. She has three dogs that she adores. We have five. Caroline is a hard worker (ESL teacher) with a strong sense of social justice; she always tries to help the underdog, and she’s willing to go the extra yard to make life better for those who can’t help themselves. She’s a member of Greenpeace, PETA, and her local ASPCA. I like that. What I like most about Adam is his ability to look at a problem from different perspectives and to attempt to solve a problem that is seemingly without a solution. He also has a great sense of humor. And he has two English bulldogs that he adores. I like that.


Kage: Sharon, Thank you so much for stopping by today and gracing us with your presence. Before we go, is there anything else you’d like to say to wrap things up?



Sharon: Yes. This book almost wrote itself. Ideas seemed to come tumbling out of my brain faster than I could write them down. I had most of the information I needed because my older daughter and I made two trips to England to indulge our passion – Tudor England, of course. All the places that Caroline and Marjory visit, my daughter and I visited, twice, so I hands-on experience from which to draw my story. The food, the scenery, the castles, the people, the weather, the historical sites were all experienced first by me before Caroline and Marjory ever boarded their plane.



If you're still curious about Sharon, here are other places to find her on the web:

Website: http://www.sharon-noble.com/

Blog: http://www.sharon-noble.com/blog/

Facebook: Sharon Noble

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sharon-Noble/e/B001K8BEJC/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Friday Forwards - #17

Friday, February 4, 2011
Today's forwards weren't technically forwarded to me. When I discovered Hoffa's middle name, I had to come up with a post for it. So alas, we have....


Odd and Ironic Facts

Jimmy Hoffa's middle name was RIDDLE.

***

Money isn't made out of paper. It's made out of cotton.

***

The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds!

***

First-cousin marriages are legal in Utah, so long as both parties are 65 or older!

***

Pinocchio is Italian for "pine eye"!

***

The state with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska.

***

Whale hunting is strictly prohibited throughout the entire state of Oklahoma.

***

A duck's quack doesn't echo. No one knows why.

***

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

***

Wet sand weighs less than dry sand.

***

Bats always turn left when exiting a cave!!

***

Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest.

***

One out of every 43 prisoners escapes from jail. 94% are recaptured.

***

There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos!

***

Sherlock Holmes NEVER said "Elementary, my dear Watson".

***

No piece of square dry paper can be folded more than 7 times in half!

***

Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

***

During World War II, the very first bomb dropped on Berlin by the Allies killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo

***

Cellophane is not made of plastic. It is made from a plant fiber, cellulose, which has been shredded and aged.


=======================
Sources :

TWRP BLOG TOUR - Day One : The Signifance of First Lines

Wednesday, February 2, 2011
WELCOME to the first day of TWRP's Valentine Blog Tour. Leave a comment on any of the blogs to enter to win a weekly prize. (other blogs on the tour listed below). But first, give it up for.....




AMY CORWIN!!


Award-winning author Amy Corwin is the romance author of
--Vampire Protector (A Contemporary Paranormal Romance, Published by: The Wild Rose Press, Black Rose Line, 2010),
--The Necklace (A Regency Romantic Mystery Published by: Highland Press, 2010),
--The Bricklayer's Helper (A Regency Romantic Mystery Published by: The Wild Rose Press, English Tea Rose Line, 2010),
--I Bid One American (A Regency Romantic Mystery Published by: The Wild Rose Press, English Tea Rose Line, 2008),
and
--Smuggled Rose (A Regency Romance, Published by: Cerridwen Press, Cotillion Line,2007).


And now a word from AMY!!!!




Opening Lines, Who Needs ‘Em?



The importance of a novel’s opening versus the ending is just as impossible to answer as that old question: “which is more important to the integrity of a house, the foundation or the roof?” For me, the foundation is as important as the roof to the integrity of a house. And the opening of a novel is just as critical as the ending.

The opening encourages (or discourages) a potential reader to buy and read your book. The ending convinces the reader to buy (or not buy) your next book.

So if you only want to publish one book, you might apply most of your efforts to the opening lines. If you intend to write more than one, then you’ll have to make both the opening line and the ending the best they can possibly be.

So what makes a killer opening?

Not that I have all the answers, but I like to try to making opening lines multi-task. Ideally, I want my openings to do all of the following.


  1. Set the tone for the book. Funny if the book is funny, gritty if the book is gritty. If I can make the reader laugh at the first sentence, I've hooked ‘em.

  2. Set the scene. Where are the characters? What are they doing? Although I rarely do this, a lot of books start out with a sentence about the weather. It was a dark and stormy night... And it actually works for many writers.

  3. Introduce the hero or heroine. Most of the time, I try to start in the point of view of the character who “owns the book”.

  4. Create a question the reader has just got to get answered. I write a lot of mysteries, so a great question is, who just died? There’s only one question I don’t want my reader to suffer through and that’s: What the heck is going on? If I’m confusing the reader, it's not working.


So, how about a few examples?

I Bid One American

Here is the opening line from my historical romantic mystery, I Bid One American.

Despite his belief that White’s Club guaranteed Nathaniel Archer, current Duke of Peckham, freedom from the machinations of unmarried women, he could not concentrate on a simple game of cards.


This line sets the stage by introducing the hero, Nathaniel, his location at White’s, and his predicament. He’s relentlessly pursued by women to the point where he’s not even sure if he’s safe from them at a men’s club. I also hope it conveys a touch of the wry humor that pervades it.

The Bricklayer’s Helper

In another opening line, I present a question to grab the reader: why is Sam hurrying? Here is the first sentence in this historical romantic mystery that also involves the Archer family introduced in I Bid One American.




The sky glowed with morning as Sam passed St. Mary Magdalen’s, hurrying toward Crown Street.


And here are a couple of opening lines from other authors. These two are probably my favorite lines of all time.

Victor Gischler
From Gun Monkeys



I turned the Chrysler onto the Florida Turnpike with Rollo Kramer's headless body in the trunk, and all the time I'm thinking I should've put some plastic down.


This crime/suspense novel has a strong humorous element and the first sentence says it all. You know:

--The hero is driving a Chrysler, he's in Florida on the turnpike, a dead guy is in the trunk, and you can guess the hero has a less-than-honest background.

--You also know the guy sounds like the type who plans ahead, but somehow, he’s gotten into trouble that prevented him from handling the situation with his normal expertise. Finally, the dry wit firmly settles the reader into the tone of the book.

P.G. Wodehouse
From Leave it to Psmith



At the open window of the great library of Blandings Castle, drooping like a wet sock, as was his habit when he had nothing to prop his spine against, the Earl of Emsworth, that amiable and boneheaded peer, stood gazing out over his domain.


P.G. Wodehouse is a brilliant humorist and is the creator of Jeeves, that annoyingly capable butler. His first sentence sets the scene at Blandings Castle, on a nice day (because the window is open) and we are introduced to the amiable and boneheaded Earl of Emsworth in a dry, witty tone that prepares you for the wildly funny tale ahead.

Conclusion

All-in-all, great opening lines are exceptionally difficult to write. At least I certainly find it difficult.

But, if you can write a first sentence that introduces your character, sets the tone, sets the scene, gets your reader asking questions, and mentions the weather your reader won’t be able to put it down.


Bio:

Amy Corwin is a charter member of the Romance Writers of America and has been writing for the last ten years and managing a career as an enterprise systems administrator in the computer industry. She writes Regencies/historicals, mysteries, and contemporary paranormals. To be truthful, most of her books include a bit of murder and mayhem since she discovered that killing off at least one character is a highly effective way to make the remaining ones toe the plot line.

Amy’s books include the two Regency romances, SMUGGLED ROSE, and LOVE, THE CRITIC; three Regency romantic mysteries, I BID ONE AMERICAN, THE BRICKLAYER’S HELPER, and THE NECKLACE; and her first paranormal, VAMPIRE PROTECTOR.

Join her and discover that every good romance has a touch of mystery.

Website: http://www.amycorwin.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/amycorwin
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AmyCorwinAuthor
Blog: http://amycorwin.blogspot.com/


***********************************************


Blog Tour Itinerary

Wednesday, February 2nd - Blog Topic - The Significance of First Lines

--Meet contemporary YA an adult romance author Linda Kage (ME!) at
http://amielouellen.wordpress.com/
--Meet contemporary, paranormal, and historical romance author
Caroline Clemmons at http://authorjenniferjakes.blogspot.com/

--Meet historical and paranormal romance writer Lilly Gayle at
http://www.ajbooks.blogspot.com/

--Meet Amie Louellen, author of fun and whimsical contemporary
romance at
http://lynneroberts.blogspot.com/

--Meet erotic western historical author Jennifer Jakes at
http://maevegreyson.blogspot.com/

--Meet author AJ Nuest at http://amycorwin.blogspot.com/

--Meet author Lynne Roberts at http://www.jilljameswrites.com/

--Meet paranormal romance author Maeve Greyson at
http://www.katduncan.net/writeabout
--Meet author Amy Corwin at http://lindakage.blogspot.com/ (HERE)
--Meet contemporary and paranormal romance author Jill James at
http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com/
--Meet romantic suspense author Kat Duncan at
http://www.lillygayleromance.blogspot.com/