I’m over at Writer Zen Garden for the #atozchallenge. Please join me over here:
http://writerzengarden.com/category/blog/
~Tina
Monthly Archives: April 2016
Saturday Sexcerpt – Lord Sebastian and the Scottish Lass by Christine Donovan
…This is from LORD SEBASTIAN AND THE SCOTTISH LASS
“Open for me, love?”
“Open?”
“Your legs,” Sebastian said as he kissed her in a drugging kiss meant, no doubt, to tantalize her even more.
Sighing into his mouth, she relaxed her thighs open and his fingers were everywhere. Outside, inside, caressing her buttocks. Oh my God, surely one died and went to hell after experiencing such naughty bliss.
Her stomach coiled up tight, her body pulsed down below. Yup, she was dying and she welcomed it.
“Sebastian, what is happening tae me?”
She couldn’t actually hear him smile, but she knew he was. She felt the tug of his lips against hers. “Relax and enjoy. You’re experiencing your first sexual encounter and orgasm.”
“Orgasm…ohhh…ohhh…dinnae…understand.”
Stars burst before her eyes, and she gasped for air as her body vibrated until finally she went limp. Sebastian pulled her night rail down and wrapped both arms around her waist and kissed her cheek. “You do now.”
Share this:
Friday A to Z Challenge – Writer Zen Garden
I’m over at Writer Zen Garden for April’s A to Z challenge. You can find me here:
http://writerzengarden.com/category/blog/
See you over there,
~Tina
Share this:
AuThursday – Christine Donovan
Please welcome International Bestselling Romance Author Christine Donovan. Christine please tell us your latest news.
In March my third regency, LORD SEBASTIAN AND THE SCOTTISH LASS, and the third in a Seabrook Family Saga Series came out. The fourth book, SPENCER FIND HIS LADY LOVE, will be out in June. I also have three books in a contemporary series out. 
BLACKJACK, BRIDGET and MITCH part of A Standish Bay Romance Series. The fourth one, MORGAN, will be out by the year’s end.
Q: I see you write in two different genres, Historical and Contemporary. Are there any particular challenges with that?
Sometimes. It’s much easier to get in the mind-set to write a contemporary, as we live it daily. When I’m preparing to write an historical I read and watch films pertaining to the Regency Era to immerse myself in that life. I love writing in two genres though, because I never get bored.
Q: You have two series, Seabrook Family Saga and Standish Bay Romance. What are your thoughts on writing series and what draws you to them?
As a reader I tend to love a good series. When I begin writing a book, I don’t have anything mapped out for the series or how many books it may become. As the first story unfolds I get attached to all the secondary characters and their stories evolve in my head and I make notes for when I do write the next in the series. Of course, the more books in a series I write, the more planning I need to do to keep everything straight.
Q: Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
I don’t write on a daily basis. My part-time job, my children and everyday stuff hinder that. But the several days a week I do get to write I can managed 5 or 6 thousand words at a time.
Q: Where do your ideas come from?
Daydreams and my vivid imagination. Sometimes it’s from something that happened in my life that I twist into a story. Several years ago, I went on an Alaskan Cruise, so one of my books is partially set on a cruise ship. It was a blast reliving my trip and spinning it with fictional characters. The only resemblance to my actual cruise, is the ship itself and the ports of call. The characters and what takes place are all fictional. But it made one heck of a backdrop for a story. Next month I’m going on a Mediterranean cruise. I can’t wait to see what book that turns into.
Q: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
The only time I plot is when I do NaNoWriMo. I find writing 50,000 words in a month is hard without an outline. A very small outline of perhaps 2 pages. Otherwise I sit at my laptop and just begin typing.
Q: Do you ever get writer’s Block, and any tips on how to get through the dreaded writer’s block?
I think I went a year without writing anything new once and it was torturous. The stories left my head and I panicked thinking they would never come back. To get over my block, I went back to books I’d written earlier and never did anything with. I edited them that way I was still writing to some degree. That was also when I decided to tackle a Regency. I thought if I wrote something in a different genre it would spark my creative juices. Thankfully it did.
Q: What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around?
I have not been published in any other form than indie-publishing so I can’t say anything about the advantages, although being a procrastinator having deadlines would work well for me. As far as indie-publishing goes, I love being able to write what I want and working with my cover designer. I do book my editor in advance so I have a self-imposed deadline to work with. I don’t love the business side of things, or the internet presence. I have to force myself to get out into cyberspace. But putting yourself out there comes with being published either way.
Q: Do you have any advice for new writer’s just starting?
When you finish the best book you can write and it’s been edited over and over and over, hire a great editor, a cover designer. Have it formatted by a professional, until you are comfortable doing it yourself, and have the courage and confidence in your ability as a writer to put it out there. And remember, you cannot please everyone all the time. Some people will love your book and others will not. It happens to everyone.
Q: Where can readers find you on the World Wide Web?
Amazon Author Page – ttps://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/profile
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/christine.donovanauthor
Please join me on Saturday when we read an excerpt from Christine’s book, LORD SEBASTIAN AND THE SCOTTISH LASS. ~Tina
Share this:
Saturday Sexcerpt – Fantasy Man by Barbara Meyers
This is from Fantasy Man:
Idiot, he cursed himself. He stood up, dragging the sheet with him. He tugged it away and threw it back on the bed. A pair of pink panties fell to the floor.
He stared at them. His brain was about to explode with all the rampant thoughts running through it. Why had he drunk so much last night? A celebration, that’s why. After closing one of the biggest deals of his career, he’d let himself be talked into another round and then another and another until he was so far past his limit he’d had to take a cab home.
He’d come home alone, though. Of that he was fairly certain. He wasn’t in the habit of having one-night stands. Surely he’d remember that particular girl if he’d ever seen her before. Something vaguely familiar about her nagged at him. Who could forget that cloud of dark hair, those expressive brown eyes, that killer body?
“Pervert,” he muttered, disgusted with himself as he went into the bathroom. He braced himself above the sink, groaning at the reaction from his alcohol-laden brain. Pain exploded at his temples and behind his eyes. His mouth was like a ball of steel wool.
He splashed cold water on his face, making a mess around the sink and not caring. He was facing a potential disaster here. He estimated she weighed about a hundred and twenty pounds, and unless he missed his guess she was waiting downstairs for answers.
He ran damp hands through his hair, making it stand up in spikes. He checked himself in the mirror, not unhappy with what he saw. His eyes were a bit bleary and bloodshot, but other than that, he looked like he always did—just enough of a tan, in pretty good shape for a guy pushing twenty-nine. He wasn’t what you’d call dedicated, but he worked out a couple times a week, played tennis and sailed whenever he got the chance.
He dumped ibuprofen into his palm and took it without water. This was LA. No one drank water from the tap.
He yanked on a pair of beat-up jeans and a white T-shirt. Like a man sentenced to death but still not quite believing in his fate, he stuffed the panties in his pocket and started down the stairs.
He stared at the pot of coffee that was already brewed, its fragrance wafting beneath his nose even as he reached for a mug. The light on his answering machine was blinking double time. Usually he got messages on his cell phone or through his office. Nobody called him on his landline.
He listened to the playback as he dumped sugar and cream into his mug.
“Hey, man. I just put Quinn on a plane. I know it’s short notice, but things got out of hand here. Trust me, it’s important. She gets in at six o’clock on Delta. Flight 687. I’ll call your office, make sure you get the message. You take good care of my baby sister, now, you hear?”
“Oh, God.” Reif leaned his elbows on the counter and dropped his head in his hands as the machine bleeped and the next message played.
“Hey, Reif, it’s Marty. Some guy called, but wouldn’t leave his name. Said his sister is flying into LAX today. Delta flight number six eighty-seven. Gets in at six. He wanted to make sure you knew. I told him you were unreachable at the moment, but I’d pass on the message. He said he called your cell, so maybe you got it off your voice mail. Okay, that’s it. It was pretty quiet here this afternoon, nothing going on that can’t wait until Monday.”
His assistant’s cheery voice faded and Reif groaned again. He went to the table in the hallway where he’d dropped his keys, wallet and cell phone last night. He powered the phone on and listened to an almost verbatim repeat of Tony’s previous message.
Great. Now he knew who she was. Quinn, Tony’s younger sister. Five or six years younger to be exact. Which made her twenty-two or twenty-three. No wonder she’d only seemed vaguely familiar. She’d been in her teens the few times he’d met her before, which made her strictly off limits. She’d certainly grown up since then.
Wonderful. Tony Fontana, his best friend since school, had entrusted the care and security of his baby sister—his only sister—to Reif. And Reif had fucked up big time.
Share this:
A to Z Challenge – I’m over at WZG today.
Happy Tax Day! Come visit me over there and check out all the other A to Z posts.
~Tina
Share this:
AuThursday – Barbara Meyers
Please welcome Author, Poet and Lyric Writer Barbara Meyers. Barbara, Can you tell us your latest news?
FANTASY MAN is my sixth book with Samhain Publishing and was just released in February. I’m excited about being part of Florida Writers Association’s multi-genre book signing in Altamonte Springs, Florida on May 1st. And my short story, “Hidden Heart” was recently accepted for judging to be part of FWA’s 2016 Collection. More news (I hope) on that later. Oh, and the Lakeland (Florida) Ledger did a great article on me. Barista by day/Novelist by Night. You can read it here: http://bit.ly/1V3wIgY
Q: To date which of your books was the hardest to write and why?
It might be FANTASY MAN. I started this book a very long time ago and it underwent numerous rewrites over the years because I never give up on a story I love. It was, in fact, initially turned down by my editor (the wonderful Noah Chinn). But Noah did something editors don’t always do. He told me why he turned it down. I rewrote it (again!) based on his input and even after he accepted it, we still had a lot of work to do and we both learned a lot from the process. Why it was a difficult process is because I’ve improved as a writer since I first wrote the story. And, of course, at that time, I did not have an editor. Good editors make all the difference between an okay book and a really good book.
Q: What is your writing process? Do you outline, fly by the seat of your pants or a combination of both? Do you use mood music, candles, no noise, when you write?
I’m a total pantser. Zero music although I wrote my first manuscript listening to a Michael Bolton CD on repeat. “When a Man Loves a Woman…” Perfect romance music, right? But now I need quiet. I often light candles, though. I usually start with the idea and I write down every possibility I can think of about who the hero and heroine are and why they are where they are in life. Often it’s just a tiny seed of an idea in a Word document in a file titled “Story Ideas.” I keep adding to it over time until I decide I’ve got enough and the time is right to start working on the book. It’s not a great system and I don’t recommend it to anyone else. But I can’t seem to work any other way.
Q: Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
If I’m not working my early morning day job as a barista for a global coffee company, I try to get an early start writing and keep at it until my brain turns to mush.
Q: Do you write on a typewriter, computer, dictate or longhand?
I write on an older laptop that is not connected to the internet which limits distractions.
Q: So, what have you written?
I have written books, short stories, song lyrics, poems and blogs.
Q: What draws you to Poetry and Lyrics?
I have a weird ability to occasionally write poems with a Dr. Seuss-like rhyming scheme in a matter of minutes. I wrote lyrics for a song after my daughter was in a car accident. Later I met up with a friend who plays guitar, sings and also writes songs, so we collaborate. I like telling an entire story in short form through poetry or lyrics.
Q: What are you working on at the minute, and what’s it about?
Finishing up a contemporary romance, Soft Core. A former adult film star starts life over in a small Iowa town.
Q: What do you feel is the most important aspect for all new authors to remember when writing or creating their own stories?
That their eyes only on their story is not good enough. Their work needs to be PROFESSIONALLY edited. I cannot stress enough what a difference this will make between a so/so book and a really good book. Most authors cannot see the forest for the trees in their own work even though they think they can. This is what I’ve learned from working with an editor like Noah. He does freelance editing, btw.
Q: It looks like some of your works are self-published, what would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around?
The advantage is the freedom to write what you want to write. The disadvantage is you have to do all the work from cover design to getting it into the marketplace. And, as I’ve learned, you should never put unedited work out there. Find a good editor and invest in your book. It will pay off in the long run.
Q: What is on tap for the rest of 2016?
I have a couple of contemporary romance projects I hope to release later this year. Also the second book of the Grinding Reality series which I write under my pen name, AJ Tillock, entitled Cool Beans. And another contemporary romance I’m close to completing, entitled Soft Core. And who knows what other surprises the year may hold?
Q: Where can readers find you on the World Wide Web?
Author Barbara Meyers Social Media Links:
Web Site: http://www.barbarameyers.com
Blog: http://barbmeyers.wordpress.com/blog/
Facebook Author Pages: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraMeyersAuthorPage
https://www.facebook.com/AJTillock/?ref=tn_tnmn
Samhain Author Page:
https://www.samhainpublishing.com/author/210/barbara-meyers
Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/barbarameyers
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/barbmeyers1/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/barbmeyers
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/barbara-meyers
Twitter: @barbmeyers and @ajtillock
Twitter URL: https://twitter.com/barbmeyers
Draft2Digital: http://books2read.com/author/barbara-meyers/subscribe/1/33163/
Please join me on Saturday when we read an excerpt from Barbara’s February Release, Fantasy Man. ~Tina
Share this:
I’ve arrived at RT
Registered this morning and attended a great class put on by Sylvia Day. Here’s an interview with me and A. Catherine Noon as I report live.
Feel free to send me your questions via e-mail, twitter or FB, and I’ll gladly report back.
~Tina
Share this:
Saturday Sexcerpt – West African Heat by Adam Mann
“The day of the party duly arrived. We planned to get there about ten o’clock when the party was in full swing, and ride straight into the party on our ponies. We decided to have a light dinner, and then get ready.
Now came a problem. I had to use a piece of cotton wool and anoint Anna’s skin all over with the dye she had made. It was alright until I came to her breasts, when Anna told me the cotton wool tickled, and then put her hands round my neck – that type of tickle! She stood in front of me naked, and I realized I had to ‘paint’ the tops of her legs, right up to the edge of her knickers’ line, and then she in turn had to gently anoint my skin up to scrotum height. We were both breathing hard by the time we stood and examined one another. To make matters worse I had added some perfume to Anna’s dye as the oil smelt a bit, and some aftershave to mine.
We very nearly didn’t get to the party!”
Blushing Books published this novel in 2014 – West African Heat
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IKXB3T6
Look for some exciting things next week as I blog from Las Vegas, Nevada for RT Con 2016. ~Tina
Share this:
AuThursday – Adam Mann
Please welcome Romance writer Adam Mann. Adam, how long have you been writing?
I started writing historical novels in 1996 when I was working in Sri Lanka, but did not get my first one published as work got in the way, and I almost got entangled with a vanity publisher. Fortunately I got my MS back, and didn’t pay the publisher anything before they went bang.
Q: What inspired you to write your first romance novel?
I was always sad that history never mentions romance, which must have been there or they wouldn’t have produced heirs, so I started writing romance novellas four years ago, after I retired. I call them novellas, as I get bored if they’re too long, and I don’t like padding my MS just to reach a word count.
Q: What do you think is the biggest misconception about a man writing romance?
I don’t really know. I have read a lot of romance books, and find that many women authors find great delight in things like fabric of a dress, which frankly I would find difficult to do – the softness of a lady’s skin is for me… But I do like exploring the feelings and emotions of my characters in great depth.
Q: Do you have a specific writing style?
The first novella I wrote was in the first person, but I’ve given that up unless I’m writing in the first person female. I usually keep an Excel record of characters, places and chapters, which I find very help full. In one book I started writing about a Clemence, but by the last chapter I wrote Clarence. Thank you that editor.
I should also note that sometimes my characters change the plot as I write.
Q: To date which of your books was the hardest to write and why?
One book I had to wrestle with involved a man and his attractive step-daughter after his wife died. It was not so difficult to write but to adapt to the editor’s likes and dislikes, and I had to compromise with my hero seducing a college friend of his step-daughter.
Q: What books have most influenced your life most?
My first romance novella has a lot of my own life experience written into the plot. I’ve left it in for that MS, but have avoided getting too close to home ever since.
Q: What do you feel is the most important aspect for all new authors to remember when writing or creating their own stories?
One of my concerns is authors who write about things they don’t really know about, and make it up as they go, whilst a little web search would have guided them correctly. So my advice is don’t write about things you don’t know about.
Q: What is on tap for the rest of 2016?
I’ve just published a new murder and mayhem novel – Chocolates and Cyanide – and I’ve got two romance novels in the draft MS format. Two because one was delayed by a publisher, and then they turned it down, so I’m revising it. The other I just completed a few days ago.
Q: Where can readers find you on the World Wide Web?
I have two websites:
www.Lordmaity.com for historical novels, and
www.adammannauthor.com for romance novellas.
And on Twitter @Lordmaity and @adammannauthor and @Butterflybooks9
I think that Amazon.com offer nearly all my books and novellas, but maybe under different publishers, and some of them are more popular with Amzn.co.uk
Join me on Saturday as we read a teaser from Adam’s story, West African Heat. ~Tina
The Clog Blog 