Interview of Beth Walker: Secret Cravings Publishing

Today I'm happy to present an interview of Beth Walker and Secret Cravings Publishing! SCP has another imprint: Living and Learning.

BIO:
Beth Walker. Submissions editor and partner of Secret Cravings Publishing.
I've been in the publishing business for several years as an author myself and when I was approached with the ideas presented on making SCP an author friendly publishing house, I jumped on it. There are too many houses who lack communication and allow feedback from their authors on how to make the house a success. I've been involved in running several successful business over the years and I am currently the go to person for most everything with SCP. In the coming months, we are looking to hire someone to do the administrative stuff for us, to take some of the pressure from my shoulders on the every day things.

Website: http://www.secretcravingspublishing.com

Q: What's one important thing you've learned about your job as you became moreinvolved in it.
A: It's extremely rewarding. I love helping authors make their dream come true to be published, but we don't take every manuscript submitted. We are trying to find the best books and the most talented authors in the industry and so far, we have a wide variety of new and established authors who write for SCP.

Q: What do you consider the best way for an author to do promos?
A: I think the best thing an author can do to promote themselves is getting their name out there. Whether it be on facebook, twitter, or myspace, the more readers see your name, the more apt they are to look up your website and check out your books. Vary up your excerpts from your books as well. Readers may not like the first one or it might not trip their trigger, but if you put another one out there, it might catch their attention.

Q: Conferences and conventions. Do you attend any and how do you decide which ones to go to?
A: We are a very new publishing house so we haven't been to any yet. We are planning on attending Lori Foster's Get Together in West Chester, Ohio in June this year and we'll be taking pitches from authors during the conference. So far, we are looking for the best opportunities to get the name of the company out there amongst the writers and readers. Money is a huge factor in which ones we attend, but we do encourage our authors to attend anything they would like.

Q: What’s the one most important thing a reader/author should know about your business?
A: The biggest thing for a reader is that our goal is to put out the best product for their money. For an author, it's how author based we are. Everything in the publishing industry revolves around the author. If the author is happy, they'll send more stories in and they will be more inclined to aggressively promote their book.

Q: Chats. How important do you feel it is for authors to take part in chats on loops or at other romance sites?
A: I think it's very important for the authors to interact with the readers where ever they can. Chats on most of the loops seemed to be more interaction between the authors and not so much with the readers. I hope more reader get involved. I love chatting with an author. It makes them more real to me.

Q: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. Where do you appear?
A: We are on facebook under Secret Cravings Publishing and on Twitter under Secret Cravings. We have also opened a readers loop at secretcravingspublishing-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Feel free to join the loop and talk to your favorite authors. We will have discount, contest and all kinds of fun things going on, exclusively for our readers loop.

St. Pat's Day, what else?

How great I’m blogging on St. Patrick’s Day, one of the most happy of all our holidays. Naturally, loving research as I do, I had to go digging around to find out all about it, and found lots of fun stuff.

Of course we all know it started out at a religious holiday in the Roman Catholic Church, but has spread to Protestant churches also, particularly in Ireland. Named after St. Patrick, of course, who lived from 387-461 A.D. It became an official feast day in the 17th century, but had gradually become a secular celebration over most of the world. Did you know it’s celebrated in Argentina, Montserrat, South Korea and Japan, among many others?
Montserrat??? Yep, this tiny island is known as the Emerald Island of the Caribbean because of its founding by Irish refugees. It’s one of the few places in the world where it’s an official holiday.

Some interesting tidbits you might or might now know:

The three-leaved shamrock was used by St. Patrick to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish. His chasing the snakes from Ireland is pretty debatable, to say the least.

The biggest celebration is in Downpatrick, Ireland, where St. Patrick is rumored to be buried. Their festival lasts a week, with almost a hundred floats, bands and performers

The shortest parade in the world takes place in Dripsey, Cork. The parade goes all of 100 yards between the village’s two pubs.

The longest running parade in Canada takes place in Montreal, whose flag has a shamrock in one of its corners. Their first parade was in 1824.

In New York City, parades have been held since 1762.It also boasts the oldest civilian parade in the world. In a typical year the thousands of marchers include police, firefighters, military groups clubs and associations and there’s well over 2 million spectators.

The Chicago River is dyed green each year for St. Patrick’s Day. I’d love to see that, since the river runs through the heart of town. Found a beautiful picture of the green river on Wikipedia, though, if you want to see it.

The north White House fountain has been dyed green for the last two years. I’m writing this the day ahead of the holiday so check the papers for today. It probably will be again.Found lots of great cartoon pictures, but wasn't sure of the copyright on them. Just Google if you want to see some cute ones.

You'd better be wearing green today, if you don't want to get pinched! Or the leprechauns will get you. I think I'd take the leprechauns!

Interview of L. K. Below

I'm please to present an interview of romance author L. K. Below!

Latest Book: Stone Cold Kiss
Buy Link: http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_12&products_id=334
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd71xOHj2ik

BIO:
L. K. Below lives in Iqaluit, Canada with her supportive boyfriend and fat cat. Always one to be swept away in a story, she loves to create new worlds and be captivated by new characters. She writes romance and fantasy under L. K. Below, whereas her young adult works are published under her full name, Lindsay Below. Visit her online at http://www.lbelow.net

Q: Do all your heroes and all heroines look the same in your mind as you “head write”?
A: No, not at all. As I write, each has her own appearance, which I try hard to convey on paper, though the character the reader visualizes may not be identical to the one I envision. But each has her own appearance, and each has her own voice as I write.

Q: What’s your strongest point as a writer?
A: I’ve been told repeatedly that emotion is my strongest point, that I can really get across the emotion of a book.
I’d like to think my strongest point is in world building and researching. Why? Because all too often, I end up spending too much time doing that and another idea runs away with me before I can even start on the book. I have many fully-fleshed out worlds and a lot of research on historical periods whose stories I still intend to get back to…when I have the time.

Q: What is your favorite romance book that you’ve read?
A: Hmm, let me break that down into subgenre. For historical, my favorite book is So Worthy My Love by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. There’s just something about the book and the characters that I absolutely adore.
For paranormal, my favorite is Dark Needs At Night’s Edge by Kresley Cole. This book is the love story of a ghost and a vampire. An unlikely pair, but the way they (at first) couldn’t completely be together drew me in completely. She does a good job with many of her books, but I’ll never forget this one.
And for contemporary, my favorite is actually a book by my critique partner. Forever in Lingerie by Gina Gordon (which, yes, is out) has irresistible characters. While I have read many more of Gina’s books before and since, this one seems to stick with me.

Q: You’re on a remote island with a handsome man, a computer, and a “mysterious” source of electricity to power your computer. What do you do?
A: If I’ve got a mysterious source of electricity, I’m probably writing. I write obsessively. Yup, I’m definitely a workaholic.
And kudos to the handsome man, but I’ve got my own at home :) One who doesn’t mind putting up with my workaholic tendencies, though he occasionally puts his foot down.

Q: What genre would you like to try writing in but haven’t yet done so? Why?
A: Personally, I’m still trying to find the one thing in writing that no one has done before. I know, I know, an impossible task. But I did recently try my hand at an erotic story in verse. I’m offering it for free http://www.lbelow.net/lkbelow/books/free-reads/his-smoldering-eyes
As it is, I already dabble in romance (all subgenres, all heat levels though I write more erotic than not), fantasy, and young adult -- the last under my full name, Lindsay Below. I love to write what I love to read, which is just about anything with a captivating story.

Q: Facebook, MySpace, Blogs, Chats, or Twitter. Which do you like best and why?
A: Oh, that’s a tough one. I have to say, I don’t do MySpace and I barely have a handle on Facebook. Chats are great, and I’m a Twitter addict, but blogging is my favorite. I fill my blog with almost daily posts - yes, I have a lot to say. I can celebrate my triumphs that way and laugh at my failures. I can write about absolutely anything on my mind, and while I’ve never been one to keep a diary for long, I find blogging to be liberating. Especially considering that I get to bring my characters out to play every now and again :)

Tell us where to find you:
Website - http://www.lbelow.net
Blog - http://lbelow.blogspot.com
Twitter - http://twitter.com/LBelowtheauthor
Fan Facebook Page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Official-L-Below-Fanpage/355586159614
Lyrical Press, Inc. Author page - http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=authors&authors_id=174

BLURB:

One Kiss…

Dangling over the parapet of a castle, Kelsey Donovan doubts her decisions as she battles with her fear of heights. How will kissing the Blarney Stone change her life? But as the arms of a sexy Irishman close around her, she begins to change her mind.

Can it lead to a lifetime?

When Seamus McKinley rescues a tourist gripping the Blarney Castle for dear life, he never expected her to grab hold of his heart just as tightly. But can he convince her to meet him halfway?

EXCERPT:

As his hands closed around her waist, he cut off her tirade. His large, warm palms spanned her sides, making her feel protected and safe. And, to be honest, more than a little horny. With her eyes screwed tightly shut to avoid looking at the ground, images passed across her vision, decadent images of the things he could do with those delightfully long fingers.

Then he started to pull her up, away from the Blarney Stone.

“Not up!” she screeched. “Down! I still haven’t kissed the stone!”

“That’s what I mean,” the stranger grumbled. “Ye might for a second think that I didn’t come up here to hold Yer Highness as ye kiss a wall.”

“It’ll only take a second,” she snapped. “Just make sure I don’t fall. Please,” she added in a whimper.

Thank God, after a long sigh he began to lower her down again. Once he’d stopped, holding her steady above the opening, she peeked through her lashes at the stone.

“Is this the right stone?”

“Yes, the one right in front of your pucker. Go on and give it a kiss, already.”

She would have glared at him if she could, but in her current position, he wouldn’t be able to see it. Instead, she thought of quipping, What, am I that heavy? But she decided she didn’t want to know the answer to that question after all.

Time to kiss the rock, she thought. Closing her eyes, she leaned forward, trying not to think about all the other people who had pressed their lips up against this very same spot. The blood rushed to her face, pounding in her temples until she was sure her cheeks must be hideously purple. Thankfully, the stranger wouldn’t be able to see her face the way she was bent over.

Although, with the way her sweater was riding up, he might be able to see her bra if he angled her the right way…

Kiss the rock already! The sooner she did, the sooner she could be upright again. Drawing a deep breath, she swooped in.

Just before her mouth made contact, the stranger drawled, “Ye ken it’s not Saint Paddy’s Day, right?”

Souring, she grumbled, “Yes. What does that have to do with anything?”

His hands shifted, as though he shrugged. “Most people give the stone a kiss on Saint Paddy’s Day. For luck.”

With a jolt of alarm, she asked, “Will it not work if it isn’t St. Patrick’s Day?”

“It’ll work, lass. Ye just won’t get the extra luck.”

Kelsey slowly let out her breath. “In that case, I don’t need the luck. I’ll do it now.”

She ducked forward, but again he interrupted before her lips could make contact. “Are ye sure, lass? Won’t be no second chances. Once you kiss the stone, the stone be kissed. And Paddy’s Day is only two days away.”

“I’m not coming back here. And besides,” she added under her breath. “I have a very important meeting on the seventeenth. One that can’t be missed.”

One that would make all her trouble here worthwhile.

“If yer sure…”

She nodded her head, even though he couldn’t see.

“Get on with it, then.”

Rolling her eyes, she swung forward and pressed her lips to the stone. Finally. Oddly enough, she didn’t feel any different. Maybe the stone’s powers were only superstition after all. She tried not to think of what that would mean for her promotion pitch in two days.

“I’m done,” she said, once she had dangled in the air long enough to know her face must be a gruesome shade of purple.

“I know,” he said simply.

“Pull me up!”

“I haven’t decided whether or not to leave ye here. Seems to me I’d best be far away afore ye think to use your blarney tongue.”

At his words, alarm ripped through her. He would leave her hanging there. Without thinking, she released the cold iron bars to grip his arms instead. “Don’t you dare leave me!”

“Och, lass, I was just teasing.”

“It’s not funny!” she screeched. “I’m–”

He lifted her to safety and she saw his face for the first time. Brown hair framed his superbly chiseled face and lips. Light stubble coated his cheeks, just enough to make her shiver in delight at the thought of feeling it between her thighs. He wore only a t-shirt and a pair of low-slung jeans, showcasing his long, muscled legs and a flash of his flat stomach. Here she lay, next to an Irish sex god, and by golly did she ever wish they were doing something a little less innocent. If she kissed him now, would he take her here on the castle parapet? His body hovered just out of reach, his heat blanketing her. She began to throb between her legs. Her fingers curled into her palm as she contemplated grabbing hold of his thick hair and bringing him closer.

Wait, what was she thinking? Jerking away, she stood. She hadn’t come here to be seduced by him–or, given her thoughts, to seduce him. Her main reason for flying to Ireland had been to kiss the Blarney Stone, and now she’d done that. Tomorrow, she would leave, just like she’d planned, and she would never see this sexy stranger again.

Why did that thought bring an ache to her chest?

Anything else you’d like to add?
Thanks for having me! ly: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;">**The “here” should link to: http://www.lbelow.net/lkbelow/books/free-reads/his-smoldering-eyes

My Lakota Heroes...

I am back at work on my third in a series of Native American Heroes...

I found my hero in a dream three nights ago, and I got up to get him on paper (or should I say, on word.doc).  He is one of the men from my past. Patterned after a wonderful Native American man who caught my imagination and made my pre-teen heart go pitter-pat.

I wrote several short stories about him in grade school, Jr. High School, and High School, but I never managed to get him exactly right. Of course now that I write erotic stuff, I can make him as hot as he should be. LOL!

When I was a kid in school, I had a wonderful teacher who migrated into my little home town from California, met the man of her dreams, and stayed to teach school.  The first time it really snowed, she got so excited, she excused the whole class to go out and run around in the big fluffy flakes, catching them on her tongue and her try to grab them in her hands. Unfortunately, the Principal saw us, and we all had to go back into the classroom while she got a stern lecture. But the spontaneity of that wonderful moment will never leave my mind. 

She was my favorite teacher, hands down.  And the man she married was a full blood Goshute who worked the railroad. I saved the tiny little piece of wedding cake that she put into tiny white boxes for each of her class. I broke off the icing, of course...no use letting good sugar go to waste, right? But I had that bitty box for many years. I may still have it, buried away in my storage unit in my old old old stuff.

But I digress...it was her love of Native American Lore that led her to her hubby, and led me to a greater love for the many wonderful tribes that surrounded me where I grew up. Some of my best pals were NA kids, and when we played cowboy and Indians, I always got stuck with the cowboy part, when I wanted desperately to be Chief Snake in the Grass. Sigh.

So now I am resurrecting that marvelous Native American man I drooled over so many years back. I am going to have this finished as I resolved, within the next week.

See you later...

Fran Lee

Plotter or Pantser?

This post originally appeared on my blog in June 2009. I've been sick with a stomach bug and couldn't find the time to write a blog post for today. Hope you enjoy...

I had a totally different post written for today, but something happened that made me want to write about it. On one of the loops I’m on a discussion turned to plotting and flying by the seat of your pants – aka pantser. One person really irked me. She gave great detail why she’s a plotter (all valid I must say), but then she closed with. “I’ve come to realize that plotters are professionals and pantser's are only writing for hobby.”
Hold on. Hit the rewind button on that. Hobby? I don’t park my butt down every day (before going to my full time job) to pump out 1k words for a HOBBY! I took offense to that. I’m a pantser by every sense of the word. I get an idea from a line in a song, a character on television, or someone I see out on the street, and then I run with it.
Take my book Research Required for instance. The heroine is waiting for a pizza to be delivered when someone knocks at her door. She’s expecting the delivery boy, not some gorgeous guy. The hero has gone to the wrong apartment. That’s all I had to start with. Nothing special.
As I sat and wrote the story I couldn’t believe the twist and turns that have sprung to life. This story turned out to be a romantic suspense. Oh, BTW, it started out as a straight contemporary romance. So, you see for me flying by the seat of my pants works.
Here’s another point. Recently I had to write a synopsis for a short story. I didn’t want to write the full story if the editor didn’t feel it would fit her current anthology. She loved the idea and asked me to write it. I knew the beginning, middle and end. Great, right?
Wrong!
I struggled with getting the words down on paper. In fact, I secretly thought the story sucked big time. I’ll know better when I go back to edit. The point is I plotted this one. Maybe it’s in my head, maybe not. All I know is for right now pantsing seems to work for me. When I try to deviate from this I get stuck. Maybe some time in the future that will change and I’ll become a plotter, but for now I’m sticking with what works.
What’s your thought being a plotter or pantser?

Winding Down

(Yes, that's a clockwork pun!) 

I've been blogging all week all over the place about my new release, Steam & Sorcery. Today, I'm just going to leave you a never-before-seen excerpt, a peek at Caroline, the heroine of S&S. To see more of Merrick and Caroline’s adventures, I’d love for you to stop by the Carina Press website and check out Steam & Sorcery. To celebrate the new release, I’m running a contest. Comment on any (or all) of the blogs I visit on my blog tour this week. One entry per person, per blog stop. You can visit my blog to find the other stops. After the final stops on Sunday, March 13, I’ll draw one winner for a free download of Steam & Sorcery, or their choice of my other available titles. Happy Reading!

Steam & Sorcery

Gaslight Chronicles #1

By Cindy Spencer Pape

Buy here from Carina Press

BLURB:

Sir Merrick Hadrian hunts monsters, both human and supernatural. A Knight of the Order of the Round Table, his use of magick and the technologies of steam power have made him both respected and feared. But his considerable skills are useless in the face of his greatest challenge, guardianship of five unusual children. At a loss, Merrick enlists the aid of a governess.

Miss Caroline Bristol is reluctant to work for a bachelor but she needs a position, and these former street children touch her heart. While she tends to break any mechanical device she touches, it never occurs to her that she might be something more than human. All she knows is that Merrick is the most dangerously attractive man she’s ever met—and out of reach for a mere governess.

When conspiracy threatens to blur the distinction between humans and monsters, Caroline and Merrick must join forces, and the fate of humanity hinges upon their combined skills of steam and sorcery…

EXCERPT (PG)

“Now I’ve got you, girl.”

The voice whispered gleefully at the same moment as a large hand clamped down on Caroline’s left breast. The voice was that of her employer, Mr. Willis Wemberly. At the same instant her brain registered that fact, her body reacted of its own accord. Her booted foot stomped down on the arch of his dress pump-covered extremity, while her elbow slammed back into his solar plexus, causing him to expel his breath in a loud whoosh. Before she could get herself under control, she’d spun on her heel, dislodging the offending hand and smashing her fist into his reddened, bulbous nose. Blood spurted, crimson and viscous, over the starched white linen of Caroline’s shirtwaist and an angry bellow assaulted her ears.

Caroline backed away from her employer, upsetting a Chinese porcelain urn as her derriere impacted the hall table. The crash of shattering china echoed in the wide foyer of the Wemberly’s fashionable townhouse, followed immediately by the clatter of footsteps running from several directions.

Damn and blast, there was no way out of this one. She’d be lucky if she was simply turned off, and not handed over to the constables. Thank heavens she’d thought to take precautions this time.

“Mr. Wemberly, whatever has happened?” Mrs. Wemberly’s shrill tones grated like lemon juice on a wound against Caroline’s senses. The lady of the house hurried to her husband, as quickly as her too-tight dancing shoes and even tighter corset would allow, while the butler and housekeeper hustled in with a mechanical whisk broom and some damp towels. The broom mechanism creaked and groaned as Mrs. Dennis, the housekeeper, used it to sweep up the broken porcelain.

His hand clasped over his abused proboscis, Mr. Wemberly pointed at Caroline. “That…that…” Of course with his swollen beak, it came out more like “Dad…dad…” making Caroline work to suppress an utterly inappropriate grin. His last word, however, came out quite clearly, and wiped any trace of a smile from Caroline’s countenance. “Hussy!”

Caroline bristled, though she should have expected him to blame her. They always did.  Never mind that she’d never once given any of her employers the least bit of encouragement in a romantic direction.

“It seems Mr. Wemberly has slipped and fallen into the console table,” Caroline said evenly. “I’m sure he isn’t seriously injured.”

“Miss Bristol!” Mrs. Wemberly quivered in outrage as her husband roared his denial. “Do you care to explain this utterly unacceptable behavior?”

Caroline sighed and shook her head. “Not at all. My conscience is completely clear. It is certainly no fault of mine that Mr. Wemberly has consumed far too much brandy and fancies himself irresistible. I shall pack my things and be gone at once.”

Playing Cupid

Ever feel like you're playing cupid when writing, like you're the almighty controller forcing the two main characters in your story together, whether they like it or not?

Sometimes I wonder if these two people would really end up with one another if I didn't come along and point my pen at them, commanding, "Hey, you, with her. And you, get over there with him. Ya'all are hooked up now." I'd like to think I helped nudge them along toward their soul mate. In doing so, I hope I fulfilled their basic fundamental needs in a partner.

Wondering exactly what each hero and heroine "need," I did a little online research (yeah, yeah, I'm a googler). I found two most-commonly used lists. One is called the 5 Love Needs. It looks a little like this:

Men need....
1. Unconditional love and acceptance
2. Sexual intimacy
3. Companionship
4. Encouragement and affirmation
5. Spiritual intimacy

and Women need...
1. Unconditional love and acceptance
2. Emotional intimacy and communication
3. Spiritual intimacy
4. Encouragement and affirmation
5. Companionship

Another "top 5 needs of men and women" list looked a little more secular and read like this:

Women need...
1. Affection.
2. Conversation.
3. Honesty and openness. Trust.
4. Financial support.
5. Family commitment.

Men need...
1. Sexual fulfilment.
2. Recreational companionship.
3. An attractive (to him) spouse.
4. Domestic support.
5. Admiration.

I wouldn't say I agreed with any of these lists (though some things definitely ring true in my experience!). It does get you thinking.

What exactly are the needs of your characters? Not just the external plot needs, but the inner needs their partner will have to continue fulfilling long after the story if finished.

Just a little food for thought.

Guest Blog: Larion Wills: History More Fascinating Than Fiction

In White Savage I mention an incident involving Cochise, an Apache Indian war chief. Though my story was factious, historical facts were as accurate as I could make them during McGee’s narrative. Reading about Cochise while researching for background for White Savage, I found him to be a fascinating man. Cochise was described as a tall man (for his time) either 5’10” or 6’ depending on which account you read. He had broad shoulders and though no pictures were ever taken of him, no one argued that he had an imposing appearance. Until 1861 Cochise had coexisted peacefully with the encroaching white men. The following quote is his reason for going to war.

“We were once a large people covering these mountains. We lived well: we were at peace. One day my best friend was seized by an officer of the white men and treacherously killed. At last your soldiers did me a very great wrong, and I and my people went to war with them.”

His best friend was among several who were either killed or taken prisoner when they met with Army officials under a white flag. They were accused of kidnapping a white child, which they denied, called lairs and attacked. The child, it was discovered later, had run away from an abusive father, but those who had not escaped the attack had already been hung. The war incited by an inexperienced officer lasted for a decade with Cochise’s attacks contributing to, if not causing, the end of the Butterfield Stage mail runs across the southwest. Until that time, the coaches had run unmolested and never been late. The Lieutenant, fresh out of West Point, thought he was going to discipline a dog. He woke a lion instead.

Cochise surrendered in 1871 but refused to move to the reservation in New Mexico and escaped again.


"Nobody wants peace more than I do. Why shut me up on a reservation? We will make peace; we will keep it faithfully. But let us go around free as Americans do. Let us go wherever we please."

In 1872 he surrendered for the final time, taking his people to the reservation in Arizona where he died in 1974. He was buried in secret, the location of his grave never revealed. One last quote from a fascinating man:

"You must speak straight so that your words may go as sunlight into our hearts. Speak Americans. I will not lie to you; do not lie to me."

Though McGee in White Savage barely touched on Cochise in his narrative, Cochise played a large part in the history of the Arizona Territory. Or rather, I barely touched on it. I had to pull myself away from doing more research, not just on Cochise but the Butterfield Stage. To have done a fair job of telling the stories I discovered on the stage line or Cochise’s life, would have taken another book for each, without McGee, Clay or Te and no romance. Instead, a very small section was used to give the reader a feel for the time and place. The same with the narrative on the ‘coming of age’ test the Apache boys took part in during the prologue. That as well barely touched on the Apache culture. Oh, I could go on, but I believe my point has been made. Tidbits of history give a historical writer a foundation to support their stories, fillers that are often more fascinating than fiction.

BLURB:
He said his name was Clay. The Hoodys said he was Jimmy, returned after ten years for revenge, theft, and murder. They said he lived with the Indians too long before he was rescued to ever learn to be white again. She had to make a decision, keep her secrets hidden or help the White Savage

Ups and Downs

This past week has been a roller coaster ride. At the highest point, I got notice that my book, PRIME TIME, was finally out in print. I've been waiting for this moment for four years. It took a new publisher to make it happen. This book received great reviews in its original from, even getting four stars from Romantic Times magazine. My new publisher looked at the book, liked it, but decided it needed some work (which it did!). The new version is even better than the original and is now out in both e-format and print.

In addition, I finally finished the new story I was working on. I've been struggling with this one for so long, but I'm happy with the way it turned out and was especially happy when I wrote 'THE END'.

In addition, I have a shadow. A 16 year old girl who has to do a paper for school on what she wants to do in life. She wants to be a writer so has been with me at work for the last few days (I work in a bookstore), asking questions about writing and the writer's life. She's forced me to do some heavy thinking about this life that chose me. I dashed some of her hopes (she believed you wrote a book, sent it to a publisher, and they published it. That easy.), but I also pointed out that if you are a writer, you're going to find a way to write. You may never make money at it, but you're going to figure out how to make it work. It's been kind of fun. And interesting to have someone who thinks I'm amazing because I'm a writer. (giggle)

But when things are going that good, you know there's going to be a shoe drop. And one did. Heavily. On Wednesday, my hubby and I had our pet, Pixel, into the vet for her regular checkup. She passed with flying colors, but because she's 19 years old, the vet did some bloodwork and tests just to make sure everything was okay. Friday we got the call. All was not good. In fact, definitely not good. As in, she's reached the end of her road due to advanced liver disease. There is no coming back from this. He said she'd stop eating, lose weight, and eventually, just pass away.

How do you say goodbye to a furball you've loved for 19 years?

I know there are a lot of people out there who won't understand our attachment to her. After all, she's just a cat. What's the big deal? I also know there are a lot of people out there who *will* understand. And grieve with me.

As I said, a week of highs and lows.

May you have a happy week.
Vicky/Victoria

Guest Blog: Missy Jane: Who Are You And Why Are You Following Me?

My wonderful husband of the past fifteen years is not exactly a social media guru. He’s on Facebook and Myspace simply because he likes to compete with my friend count. This doesn’t bother me, but I think it’s funny that of the two if us I know more about social networking. If you were to look “bookworm” up in the dictionary my picture will be there but you won’t know it’s me. I have a book in my face. It’s true that most of my online time is spent promoting my writing. If I didn’t have published books I might not ever sign into Twitter. However, I’m still learning the ropes of how to work my way around the world wide web and I think I might be getting the hang of it…maybe.

Not too long ago I updated my status on one site, then signed off and switched to another site to update my status there. When I signed into a third, my status had been updated with the same information twice. Oops. I forgot it would do that. I forgot that everything can easily be connected so I really only have to sign into one thing to update everything. This is a good system, I think, if I can just get the hang of it. On another day I posted a comment to the Houston Children’s Museum. I’d forgotten I was signed in as Missy Jane rather than my real name. My current avatar is my book cover with a bare male chest on it. Oops. At least I gave some other moms their daily eye-candy.

Aside from my online hiccups there are also people “following” and befriending me that I might never interact with offline. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes that’s bad, but it’s always very interesting. Overall, I think social networking is a great tool personally and professionally. I might not quite “get it” yet, but I’m having a blast learning.

Do you Twitter, Facebook and/or Myspace? I’m on all three as well as Goodreads, and a few other online forums. Check out my website for all of my links. Post a comment with one of your online hiccups and you could win a Missy Jane prize pack!

-Missy Jane

*Make reading a guilty pleasure…*

Two Week Trial, BLURB:
Hi. My name is Mari. I’m of average height, average weight, average looks and I hold an average position at Hardy’s All Goods, my personal version of retail hell. To sum up, I’m nothing special. So why has Devon Campbell, the city’s Most Eligible Bachelor—and my unrequited high-school crush—suddenly crashed back into my life, claiming I’m the one who got away?

Devon can’t possibly want to keep me for the long haul, right? My screwed-up past is enough to make anyone run screaming in the opposite direction. Still, he’s determined I give him a chance…and I’d be crazy to turn down his offer of a two-week trial.