Category: Guest Bloggers

Welcome Guest Blogger Natale Stenzel

stenzel_picMUST THE SHOES ALSO BE CAUGHT BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HEART PLACE?

No man will ever understand the pain of childbirth (unless medical science advances beyond what he should wish); a scuffed favorite shoe (okay, maybe); or nail polish remover making contact with an exposed cuticle (owowowowowowie!). That’s just how it is. Biology and eons of socializing. Sucks for us as women. But we can make it suck worse for them *eg*.

Okay, seriously, and perhaps less feloniously, let’s talk shoes. Not my shoes. Not your shoes. Daphne’s shoes. Daphne is fictional, but I like Daphne and I hope others like Daphne, too. She’s the heroine in my latest release, BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HEART PLACE (Dorchester Love Spell ~ Feb. 24, 2009), and life really sucks for her in a way that most just cannot understand. You see, she has a plan that’s been in the making for as long as she can remember. Freedom. The woman just wants to take control of her life at last.

As an only child of feuding and exiled Druids—the dethroned king and queen of the weirdo cult, in her opinion—all she wants is to start a life far away. She wants to work and live among normal people who live in blissful ignorance of the existence of magic-wielding Druids, shape-shifting pucas, and temperamental faeries. And guess what? At long last, she has that new accounting job, that sleek new apartment, that new and utterly normal life lined up and waiting for her all the way on the other side of the continent. And she bought herself a new pair of shoes to go with her new life. Now, the stenzel_rock_coverwoman’s no spendthrift or name-brand fashionista. She’s just an ordinary girl who usually wears sensible, low-heeled pumps to her sensible job in her sensible life. But these…well, these were those red-hot, patent leather, nosebleed-high heels that encourage even a mild-mannered woman to cop an attitude and live a life worthy of wearing them.

Dream shoes.  More importantly, freedom shoes. And now—right now—she’s wearing them…

I guess I don’t need to tell you that all of this was destined to blow up in her face—and all over her beautifully shod feet. A stray thunk with no ordinary cornerstone and suddenly Daphne’s a non-practicing but hereditary Druid wielding puca powers and trying to suppress a lifetime’s worth of rage. Life gets a little messy. Not only do the Druids not let her leave town now that she’s wielding undisciplined shape-shifting and mind control powers—a virtual powder keg just waiting for a stray spark to incite flaming chaos—but now those precious shoes are ruined, just like her plans are. Can’t you feel it? The frustrated rage?  Well, Daphne feels it and she’s going to make darn sure that enigmatic nature spirit Tremayne pays at least a little for it as well. You see, he’s the guy charged with helping her learn how to control her powers or, failing that, destroying her in order to protect everyone else.

Tremayne, however, understands on a soul-deep level her need for freedom. That, plus growing feelings for her—and a little thing like her being the key to his own future—might save her hide as well as his. Those shoes, however, are another matter.

So tell me. Do you have anything like Daphne’s freedom shoes? Or just a favorite pair? How have you celebrated a new direction or milestone in your life? I’m easy. Leave a comment. In celebration of my recent release, I’m giving away to one lucky commenter a free copy of either PANDORA’S BOX (Dorchester Love Spell, Feb. 2008) or THE DRUID MADE ME DO IT (Dorchester Love Spell, August 2008). Both are prequels to BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HEART PLACE. Winner gets to pick.

(Thanks for having me here today, Cindy!)

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You’re welcome! You heard the lady, folks. Leave a comment to enter to win one of Natale’s prequels to BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HEART PLACE. Entries accepted until midnight Pacific Standard time.

To read Natale’s bio, plus the back cover copy and a fantastic 4.5 Star review from Romantic Times for BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HEART PLACE, please see yesterday’s post (arranged, quite cleverly, right below this one).

To learn more about Natale and her books, please visit her website.

Natale Stenzel Blogging Tomorrow!

Please join me tomorrow to welcome Natale Stenzel, author of funny paranormal romances for Dorchester Love Spell, to the blog. BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HEART PLACE, Natale’s third in a series, recently received 4.5 Stars from Romantic Times BOOKReviews! Whoot-whoot, Natale.

The reviewer says BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HEART PLACE is “full of magic, familiar faces, some humor, some mystery, hot sex and wonderful characters. This is a story created to be read quickly yet savored slowly….” Yum, yum. Don’t mind if I do.

Also, please note that Natale really loves E’s. She loves ’em so much that somehow, while still in utero, she convinced her mother to spell Natale without a dratted I, thereby drawing attention to the E. Yes! A woman after my own heart (I had to get a plug for Procter spelled with an E in there somewhere).

But enough about E’s. Here’s the back cover copy for BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HEART PLACE:

Daphne Forbes always knew the world was an odd place. Unlike most CPAs, she grew up the daughter of a druid. Unlike her father, she eschewed the supernatural. But magic was coming to trip her up. In the form of an enchanted cornerstone, it was set to knock Daphne’s socks off—or at least one of her shoes—and the rest of her clothes were soon to follow.

Magic filled Daphne, empowered her, shifted her shape and raged wild as a summer storm. Enter Tremayne. Whether the tormented newcomer was truly her guardian or something more sinister, one thing he wanted was clear. Daphne wanted him, too. She had spent her whole life with control but little power; this was just the opposite. She was suddenly between a magic stone and…someplace harder. And we’re not (just) talking about Tremayne’s abs.

Natale’s blog, Must the Shoes Also be Caught BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HEART PLACE?, is a hoot. Not to be missed. Says me. And you all know I must be obeyed.

Tomorrow, please leave a comment or question for Natale to enter to win a copy of your choice of either PANDORA’S BOX or THE DRUID MADE ME DO IT, both prequels to BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HEART PLACE.

About Natale:stenzel_pic

An avid reader and an incurable writer, Natale Stenzel has sold seven books for publication so far. The latest three are a series of funny paranormal romances published by Dorchester Love Spell. PANDORA’S BOX, the first book in the series, was released in February 2008; THE DRUID MADE ME DO IT was an August 2008 release; and a third book, BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HEART PLACE, is scheduled for release in March 2009. Prior to the paranormal romance series, she wrote four books for Harlequin’s now defunct Flipside line of romantic comedies. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Natale earned degrees in English literature and magazine journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Currently, she resides in Richmond, Virginia, with a husband, two kids and a shamefully spoiled hound.

To learn more about Natale and her books, please visit her website.

A Day in the Life of…Diana Duncan

Seeing as I’m still on Vision Leave, I’m sharing this link to Sia McKye’s blog. My buddy Diana Duncan posted a hilarious “Day in the Life of a Romance Writer” blog. Enjoy.

P.S. Yes, I am managing to work on the WIP, for which I am most thankful.

P.P.S. In case I don’t return before next week, don’t forget that Natale Stenzel, author of funny paranormal romances from Dorchester Publishing, is guest-blogging here November 25th. That’s next Wednesday. The promo post will go up Tuesday. See you then.

Tell Me Tuesday

It’s that time of the week again. What are you up to? In your writing life? Non-writing life? Sloth life? Snowflake life?

I’m judging the last of my RITA panel. I saved the biggest book for last, and now I’m glad I did. I still have lots of time to finish reading and report my scores.

I’ve really enjoyed judging the RITA for the first time this year. However, next year, I think I’ll ask for different categories. Not that I don’t appreciate the categories I received this year. But I received 8 entries in one category and only 1 in a second. I’d rather judge more of a mix-up, and I think I can solve that issue by requesting different categories next year.

How about you? Are you judging RITA or the Golden Heart? How’s it going?

In other news, I just created a new group at Facebook called Muse Interrupted Guest Bloggers. The sole purpose of this group is so I can easily send email notifications to members who wish to receive them (read that, if you’re a member, you DO wish to receive them, otherwise there’s no point in joining) regarding my guest bloggers and book give-aways. I sent out the first notification on Sunday for Susan Gable’s blog yesterday. The next notification will go out a day or two before Natale Stenzel’s blog occurring February 25th. If you’re a member of Facebook and would like to sign up for the group, here’s a link. If that doesn’t work, just log in to Facebook and search for Muse Interrupted Guest Bloggers. It’ll come up.

Writing wise, I hit a bit of a block last week (horrors!). I had this wonderful love scene already fast-drafted set in a dark room. However, no matter how much I wanted to, no matter how hard I tried, once I reached that very lumpy portion of the book, the scene no longer fit. I thought it would work, but after a lot of research, re-plotting and re-plotting, and soul searching, I realized it just didn’t work. And that’s okay. That’s one of the dangers of writing scenes out of order. When you get to revising them, you might not need them anymore! Or, in the case of this scene, it no longer made sense that my characters would make love in this setting at this time.

Once I plucked the scene out of the file and tucked it away for safekeeping in a Book Fragments file, my mind opened up and I suddenly realized another fast-drafted scene I thought was coming much later needed to fit in now. So I’m working on that scene, and the wonderful dark room love scene will have to wait for another book…maybe one of Penny’s stories. Oh, my hero and heroine still have some fun awaiting them, so all my research hasn’t gone to waste. It’s just taken on a different life.

Welcome Guest Blogger Susan Gable

HERO SHOPPINGgable_pic1

I’m a very visual person.  I always thought everyone had their own personal “TV” in their heads that they could watch.

This works well for me as a writer, because I often see (and hear!) my scenes play out on that personal TV set.

But, the disadvantage is, if I can’t see it clearly, I can’t describe it clearly for my readers so they can tune in their sets.  Sometimes I have to find visuals to help.

One thing I love to do is go hero shopping. 

Where does one shop for heroes?  Why, the Internet, of course. (How did we ever manage without the Internet?)  Most of the time I use modeling websites.  A lot of writers I know use celebrities as the model for their heroes/heroines, but I tend to gravitate more toward models who aren’t that well-recognized. Usually I know some of the characteristics I want, like blue eyes, or dark hair.  I’ll know if I’m looking for someone younger looking, or a little older looking.  What’s fascinating to me is how certain faces pop out for the different characters.  I generally create an “audition pool” of potential candidates, and then I carefully choose between them.  It’s mostly instinct at that point.

I do the same thing for my heroines, and any significant secondary characters.

Then I create a page with their pictures on it, and print it out.  Right now my current hero and heroine are taped to the shade right next to my computer.  This way, when I need to describe a certain physical characteristic, or a particular body movement or expression, I can glance over, get a really solid look at them, and put that onto the paper.

In my new book, A KID TO THE RESCUE, I’m gable_kid_coverintroducing readers to the Hawkins Family.  This family had a total of twelve children.  The hero in KID is “child” number seven. So I needed images of the entire family.  When I went “shopping” for the Hawkins characters, I tried to select people who shared similar characteristics.  It turned out there’s a very distinctive jawline that runs in the family, particularly in the men.  Also, to my surprise as I’ve learned more about the individuals, I can see those traits in their pictures—traits I didn’t know about when I picked out my models.  For example, it turns out brother Hayden is a real flirt, a real lady’s man—and you can clearly see that in his pictures. (To see the whole Hawkins Family as I envision them, with a little help from a modeling website, go here.  Please note that Kasey’s name has been changed to Kara, and some of my characters have developed back story that would make me now list them as divorced instead of just “single”—and these ages are based on the book A KID TO THE RESCUE.  Now I just have to keep them all straight as I try to write more stories for these fine, fun, people.)

I send these pictures along with my manuscript, and my editor passes them on to the art department.  The art department, also being made up of very visual folks, appreciates the fact that I give them something besides words to describe my characters. (Pictures being worth a thousand words, yada, yada…)  My covers have always been fantastic, so I think submitting the pictures is helpful.

I also shop for furniture pictures, vehicles, and home layouts. Whatever I need in order to envision things clearly so my readers can also see things clearly.

Do you have a personal TV set in your head?  When you write or read, do you actually “see” the scenes in your head?  Does it irritate you when the pictures on the cover don’t precisely match the descriptions of the characters inside the book?  Where would you go hero shopping?

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Please leave a comment or ask a question to enter for a chance to win A KID TO THE RESCUE. Entries accepted until midnight P.S.T.

To learn more about Susan and her books, please have a look at yesterday’s promo post and visit her website.

Susan Gable Guest Blogging Tomorrow!

A weekend post! This is a rare occurrence, indeed.

Tomorrow, I welcome Superromance author Susan Gable to the blog. Susan is one of those rare individuals who sold the second book she wrote to a major publisher. (Yes, for non-writers reading this, it’s rare to sell a first or second book to a major house. Many romance writers write 4 or 5 or even 10 complete manuscripts before they make their first sale). That story, THE BABY PLAN, went on  to become a RITA finalist for Best First Book in 2003. Now Susan’s back with her 5th Superromance, A KID TO THE RESCUE, which she’s giving away tomorrow during her blog on Hero Shopping.

Here’s the Back Cover Copy for A KID TO THE RESCUE:

You can’t lose what you don’t try to keep…

Shannon Vanderhoff learned early that everything in life is fleeting. That’s why she won’t let herself get attached to anything. Or anyone. Not the traumatized little boy in her care. And definitely not art therapist Greg Hawkins, who seems as determined to care for her as he is to heal her nephew.

Like a character from one of his comic books, Greg has swooped in to their rescue, empowering the child…and loving the woman. But it takes the two of them to turn the boy’s life around. And it takes a kid with special powers all his own to create a loving family.

Tomorrow, leave a comment for Susan to enter for a chance to win A KID TO THE RESCUE. Entries will be accepted Monday, February 9th, until midnight, PST.

About Susan:gable_pic

Susan Gable has five books with Harlequin’s Superromance line.  Her books have been Rita and Golden Heart Finalists, she’s been a Waldenbooks Bestseller, been twice nominated for Romantic Time’s Best Superromance of the Year, and she’s won numerous other awards, including the National Readers’ Choice Award.  Her new book, A KID TO THE RESCUE, on shelves now, got 4.5 Stars and a Top Pick from RT. Visit Susan’s website at www.SusanGable.com.