Writing and the Art of Motorcycle Racing

Red Mountain, CA - Inspiration for A Time For Melody.

Instead of traveling out of the US for this blog, I'm taking you to Red Mountain, CA in the Mojave Desert, the location that inspired my latest release, a time travel novella entitled A Time For Melody. Writers find inspiration in some of the strangest places.

In the late 1970s, probably before some of you were born, my husband and our two boys used to race motorcycles in the California Mojave Desert. Well, the boys and I raced; my husband and daughter watched. Being a city girl, I’d never spent time in the desert, but when we joined the Viewfinders, one of the racing clubs which participated in the AMA District 37 Desert Races, we spent nearly every weekend in one part of the desert or another.

What does desert motorcycle racing have to do with writing?

It’s complicated. Probably very little for most people. But motorcycle racing introduced me to the desert, and the desert inspired this story, so I make the connection. To my surprise, I enjoyed the remoteness and quiet of the desert and its subtle beauty, in spite of the heat in the summer. Of course, it wasn’t so peaceful when camping with a large group of motorcycle racers (many of them young men in their late teens and early twenties), but you could always go off by yourself when they got too rowdy. And the group could be a lot of fun, too.

Desert motorcycle racing was amazing. Such excitement to see a hundred racers standing abreast in a long line and waiting for the smoke bomb to go off in the distant hills. As soon as the smoke rose, showing where the riders were supposed to go, the starting gun would be fired. The riders ran to their bikes, kicked them started and, with a roar, took off all at once, everyone aiming for the smoke and the pass in the distance where the trail narrowed to a width where only one or two bikes could get through at a time.

I raced my first desert race (50 miles) on a Suzuki 175 when I was forty (and I didn’t finish last, either—close, but not last—and I did finish). Not everyone did. Thirty plus years later, I still have my first Finisher’s Pin, and I’m still proud of it.

In those day, and still today, one of the race venues was out at Charlie’s Place, near Trona. To get there, you take Highway 395 just past Red Mountain, turn on Trona Road and drive fourteen miles. And out in the middle of the desert, close to nothing, is Charlie’s place. A little bar and store.

When camping near Charlie’s Place, we would often ride into Red Mountain (the nearest town, if you want to call it that) to buy supplies (primarily beer) at the general store. There were, perhaps thirty residents still living in what was a deserted mining town. There wasn’t much there except the general store, a gas station (if I remember correctly), the Silver Dollar Cafe, and six tiny streets of old shacks, ruins of the abandoned mines, and huge piles of tailings along the sides of Highway 395.

Red Mountain, originally named Osdick after one of the original miners, provided the setting for the fictional town of Red Gulch in my recently released time travel novella. It was inevitable that I would use this setting for a novel someday.

I love the desert—it has an ethereal not-of-this-earth quality about it—and this lonesome location fascinated me. It seemed like a place passed over by time and civilization. At the time we rode in this area, I hadn’t started writing fiction. Still, the location struck me as a perfect setting for a science fiction story. The thought kicked around in my subconscious for years before I wrote A Time For Melody, but when the idea formed, the location was already an integral aspect of the novella. Some ideas and places stick with you. I believe the desert may have been part of my inspiration to write fiction.

Some Red Mountain history

The background for the novella is based on fact…at least about the geographical area. The characters are fictional. Well, duh! Gold was discovered in this area of the Mojave Desert in 1895 by C.A.Burcham, F.M.Mooers and John Singleton. By 1896, the area had a population of 1,500 people (and probably countless jackrabbits).

“Camp Rand” (later called “Yellow Aster Mine”) was an active mining district and by January, 1900, the population of the two adjacent communities of Randsburg and Osdick (Red Mountain) had expanded to 3,500 residents. In 1900, three million dollars in gold was taken from the mine. Eleven years later, the take was six million dollars. Things were booming and the communities of Red Mountain and Randsburg continued to grow and prosper.

In 1915, David Bowman made a new gold discovery, but WWI took many people away from the mines and about the same time, there was a serious flu epidemic. The community began to decline. In 1918, silver was discovered in Red Mountain, stimulating another boom. During the 1930s, Red Mountain prospered. An active liquor area during prohibition, the community sported several well-known brothels. In 1942, all gold mining was stopped in the US by the government, and after that the town nearly died and never revived.

In 1984, after we stopped racing with District 37, gold mining was reestablished in the Red Mountain area. According to R. Vallerand, the Rand Mine was still digging up gold as late as 1998. I have no idea if the mines are still operational, but the town itself is reviving as a Ghost Town and now has a population of 130.

A TIME FOR MELODY

By R. Ann Siracusa

28K / Time Travel Romance

BLURB

She appeared out of nowhere, blown into Red Gulch, a decaying mining town, on the crest of a desert breeze like the ever-present tumbleweeds that filled the empty streets in the blink of an eye. Except everyone knew where tumbleweeds came from.

Brandon O’Donnell never figured out where Melody came from, but she captured his heart with her flaming red hair, hypnotic light-grey eyes, and intense but distant way of speaking. As though, Brandon had thought for years, she knew a lot more than she let on.

Now, Brandon is about to find out how much more that really is.

EXCERPT

“Well, Melody—that’s a nice name—are you from around these parts?” Everything about her seemed to scream otherwise, but it seemed the polite thing to say…and he did want to know.

She tossed her hair and ran the tip of her tongue across her full lower lip. “From down the highway a piece.”

Her speech, for some reason, sounded a little stilted, almost as though she wanted to mask an accent. At the same time, the low and sweet tone resonated like a song, far away and full of promise. Its pleasant sound lingered in his head and sent an unsettling swell of desire along his nerves.

He raised an eyebrow and lifted his chin toward the window facing the road, questioning her response without meaning to.

“There isn't much down the highway for a long way.” Beyond the broken down buildings of Red Gulch, the two-lane highway stretched in both directions—hot, lonely and unpopulated—for more than seventy miles, unless you counted Ridgecrest. But from the looks of her stylish clothes, he doubted she could be from there. “Did you come very far?”

She tilted her head to the side, letting a lustrous strand of red hair fall across the front of her blouse, open low enough to catch a glimpse of tantalizing cleavage. “Yes, in a way, but not really.”

Not much of an answer. But he had no intention of giving up so easily. “Where you headed for?”

She shrugged. “Red Gulch.”

His chin dropped in surprise, and she laughed. The sound of music tinkling in the distance.

“No one comes to Red Gulch,” he protested, wondering if she’d been hitchhiking and her ride dumped her out there. “At least, not on purpose.”

Her soft luscious lips curled into a smile. “I did. What’s that thing?” She pointed to the end of the table that butted against the wall where the napkin holder, salt-and-pepper shakers, and menu reposed.

He frowned, unsure what she referred to. “What thing?”

“This.” She tapped on the clear plastic Jukebox extension with chrome trim. “It looks like some kind of jar made from a crude carbon nanotube structure that…” Her voice trailed off, and her face paled. “I mean…”

Perplexed, Brandon frowned at her. What was she talking about? Red Gulch might be behind the times, but surely these hadn’t disappeared completely in the more civilized parts of the state. “It’s part of the jukebox.”

She chewed at her lower lip and stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. “The what?”

“The jukebox. You, know. It plays old-fashioned records.” When her puzzled gaze didn’t waver, he motioned toward the old Wurliter across the room, then tapped the coin slot. “You put your coins in here, select the music you want by pushing this, and it plays over there, through the speakers.” He dropped his hand to the table.

Melody gave her body a little shake. Coiling a red curl around one finger, she leaned forward and placed her free hand over his.

“I love music. Do you?”

His fingers curved around her soft, uncalloused flesh. “Sure do. I even play a pretty mean StingRay.”

She wrinkled her nose, obviously in the dark but not wanting to ask.

He grinned at her, thinking she must lead a very sheltered life, which made him wonder, even more, what she was doing in Red Gulch. “That’s a kind of bass guitar.”

“Oh.” She warmed him with a bright smile. “Are you a musician?”

He laughed an honest hearty laugh. “Nope. I only play at home for my own pleasure.”

“I’ll bet you’re good at it. I’d love to hear you play. Do you live very far from here?”

Turning her small hand, he caressed the inside of her wrist with his thumb, his fingers feathering over her smooth skin. “Hmm, about ten miles. Out in the desert.”

“Can we go there?” She delivered the surprising question in a soft, yet matter of fact manner, as though it was a perfectly natural question to ask a man she'd only met a few minutes before.

Brandon’s heart skipped a beat as anticipation swelled. “Hmm, do your parents know you’re in Red Gulch?”

“My parents?” Her frown gave him the impression she didn’t quite understand the concept. “We don’t…hmm…I’m not in contact with my parents. But they know I’m in Red Gulch.”

A tremor of discomfort slid through him. “How old are you, Melody?”

She sat back and tried to slide her hand away, but he held it firmly in his grip. Little lines of tension feathered from the corners of her mesmerizing eyes.

After a moment, her face smoothed and her luscious-looking lips curled into a smile. She squeezed his fingers as though reassuring him.

“Almost twenty-one. I’ve been living on my own for years, but right now I don’t have any place to stay. I was hoping I could go with you.”

My Imagination Needs a Good Soundtrack!

When I write I depend on music to provide the emotional fuel for fire.

It’s a bit of a paradox, I’m a highly visual person but I need music to hold the visual images steady. When I write I try to hold the images in mind as if I were seeing a movie or directing a cinematographer and use dialog as the script.

I’m actually a bit stingy with my character’s dialog. I cut them short and don’t allow them to finish a thought in its completion if a visual description or body language could be used instead. If my characters have any complaints against me for doing this to them, they’ll just have to settle matters in pantomime behind my back.

I loop music and can listen to a single track hundreds of times in a row. I apologize up front to my imaginary people for putting them through this but it can’t be helped. That’s just how I work.

I actually prefer to write my first draft in complete silence. I want to hear and feel any subtleties that might be trying to get my attention but after that I need music to finish to work. Love scenes are especially demanding. They require moody, complicated music even if the mood of the scene is playful and light.

While I was finishing “Noblesword” I chose Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite composer Bernard Herman. I looped the soundtrack to “Vertigo” and listened to it continually. The obsessive undertones in the music helped keep me in a rising sense of tension, especially the clicking castanet passage, which I played until the folks around me went mad.

I could not have completed “Blue Apples” without Ry Cooder’s gorgeous slid-guitar playing on the Paris Texas soundtrack. This week I’m completing a long-belabored WIP that required I bring out the big guns of emotionally conflicted music. I won’t say the name of this soundtrack because I’m still working with it and this week it’s my lover.

It’s also true music that is moving to me may not please you at all. For a mental soundtrack to be a good match there must be a special alchemy of randomness, personal preference and the music’s emotional tone. Songs with lyrics are a no-no for me. I have to use instrumentals or else the song lyrics will work their way into my dialog or descriptions. I’ll think I’ve got something great and realize I’m quoting the Rolling Stones or John Lennon.

What I find interesting is the fact the music and the stories pair themselves in unpredictable ways. I do not go through my music collection looking for something appropriate to listen to while I write. The music chooses me. I’ll hear it in the back of my mind while I write or wake up thinking about long forgotten music or as was the case with the current soundtrack, a casual friend on Youtube sent it to me at the moment I needed it most. I obsess on certain tracks until I have to go through the formality of buying the music on iTunes or go looking for an old CD. Then I loop it and start writing.

Does anyone else out there in the digital domain, obsess on or loop music while they write?

XXOO Kat

Guest Blog: Willa Edwards: Finding Your Own Writer's Path

As a published author you often get asked what advice you have for new writers. Everyone’s always looking for the magic secret that will unlock the gates for them into the author community. I definitely was.

First of all, I don’t really feel qualified to give that kind of advice. I’m still such a new author myself, with only three works published (my third Whatever You Want, Sir will be out with Whiskey Creek-Torrid on August 1st. I’m so new in my own writer’s path, it seems odd to me to give advice. But I do have a few suggestions, the most important being to follow your own writer’s path.

What does that mean?

We always talk about writing the story you want to write, and the characters you feel passionate about. Even if you think you’ll have trouble finding a market for it. That if you follow your heart it could lead you to the story of your dreams. But what we never talk about is writing like you want.

I’ve always wanted to be an author, since I was four years old (I’m still unsure how a four year old knew what an author was, but that’s a whole different story). I studied the famous writers through my early years, especially female authors like Laura Ingalls Wilder, Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen and the Brontes. I had this vision in my head of how a writer had to be. Bent over their desk, writing late into the night, obsessed with finding the right words or the perfect sentence.

While my vision of what a writer should be might be more true than false (it certainly feels that way sometimes, when I’m up past three in the morning banging away at edits due the next day to make sure every mistake is detected) it was more funny than anything else. But I also developed beliefs about how writers are suppose to write, which proved to be more destructive than even I knew.

I thought writers had to start with Chapter One and write until they typed out The End, chronologically. I thought authors had to know everything that was going to happen to their characters. That nothing could be changed after the fact. That they write every word perfectly, with the plot points perfect right away, the characters arriving full of life and complete from the first word. That edits were only for grammatical errors.

I’d always written the way I thought I was supposed to, and my room, computer, notebooks, napkins, etc… were lined with incomplete works. Lots of starts and stops, but very few finished products. I’d get a few scenes in, and not know what happens next I’d end up put it aside, before I figured out how to move on to the next scene I’d get distracted by a new idea. It took pulling teeth and a very long time to finish anything.

It wasn’t until I was twenty (I know it sounds young, but remember that means I’d been writing for sixteen years) that I decided to ignore these misconceptions of how a writer is supposed to write. I was starting to write romance, and I had this idea for an amazing scene. A great love scene, that would happen sometime in the last quarter of the book to kick start the climax, but I hadn’t even started the story yet. Normally I would have ignored it. I thought I had to start with the first chapter. But this love scene was so powerful it wouldn’t leave me alone. I had to write it down. After I finished that scene, I had to write the ones around it, and another one in the beginning that is mentioned in the scene. And so on and so on. I wrote the book slowly around this one scene, building the whole plot around this one pivotal moment in the character’s lives.

When it was all said and done I written the entire 110,000 word novel in about three months, oppose to the previous novel that took two years for me to finish from all the down time I needed to figure out what would happen next. Each page was more passionate, the characters were more true to my original vision. They didn’t change half way through because I’d decided some new piece of information I didn’t have in the beginning.

To me the results were simple, I wasn’t supposed to write chronologically. It was another few years before someone else gave me the word for the way I write. I’m not a pantser or a plotter, I’m an inspiration writer. Meaning I write based on what’s inspiring me at that moment. I have a basic idea of the story before I sit down, just a few bullet points, but after that I just let inspiration follow me.

It took me years to find other people that write like I do, but I’ve learned there are more of us out there than you think. The most famous of which is Stephenie Meyer. And that there are a million other ways to write than my original vision. The more writers I know, the more ways to write I discover. Everyone seems to have their own path, and their own distinct way to coax the muse out of her shell.

For me, the two writing choices that have made all the difference for me and probably resulted in me being published were, deciding to write romance instead of the horror/paranormal/historical novels I was writing before (that were filled with sexual tension, love scenes and longing looks). And deciding to write in my own way, based on my inspiration of the moment.

So my number one piece of advice to every writer, new and experienced, is to try new things all the time. Try writing out of order, trying writing the synopsis first. Try writing a kind of character you would never consider or a genre you never thought you’d like. Make each scene its own document. Try new things and stretch as an author, because you never know what might click for you and open up a whole new world. Even though I feel as though I’ve found my niche, and have had success with my method, I still try new things. I still add something to my journey or rearrange my normal routine because there’s always room for improvement. No system’s perfect. And sometimes just the right thing can trigger a whole new path you never knew existed before.

And most of all I always follow my writer’s path, and don’t let misconception, or what I’m supposed to be doing deter me for what feels right to me.

BIO:
Willa has wanted to be a writer since she was four years old typing away at her grandmother’s typewriter. She wrote her first novel in fourth grade about the trials and tribulation of twin alien princesses. Since then Willa has dabbled with many different genres, including sci-fi, paranormal, mystery and suspense. When she read her first romance at fifteen she knew she’d found her place, and she’s never looked back. Willa is now a contemporary and historical erotic romance writer who lives in New York. When she’s not writing you can find her curled up in bed with her two fur babies, her nose pressed to her e-reader.

BLURB for Midnight Mirage:
Lincoln and Gabe, best friends and the hottest new alt-rock duo Mirage, only want one thing. Mallory. They’ve been waiting a year for Mallory to open her heart to both of them and accept the alternative relationship they wish for.

Mallory’s flattered by their attentions but can’t believe they’re any more than sweet words. They’re rock stars, surrounded by beautiful woman. They can’t possibly want a plain-Jane reporter like her.

When a crazed fan forces their hand, their protective instincts take over. Gabe and Lincoln aren’t willing to wait for their woman any longer. They initiate her with intense pleasure, ringing in the New Year in the naughtiest way possible. But when they whisper words of love and forever in her ear, she runs away.

Will Mallory be able to open her heart and return their affection, or will insecurity keep her from the men who love her?

Buy Link: http://www.bookstrand.com/midnight-mirage
Find me Online: http://www.willaedwards.com
Fine me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#%21/willa.edwards

Guest Blog: Berengaria Brown: When Readers Ask for a Sequel

For an author (or aspiring author) selling the first book is the ultimate high. All those hours of research, writing, editing, proofing, agonizing over the plot and characters, is suddenly validated when a publisher accepts your book. All those nights when your friends were out partying, and you were sitting in front of a keyboard, typing madly, have suddenly paid off. You are an author!

Then selling the second book is another adrenaline rush. It was not a fluke! You can (and did!) do it again.

But what about when readers email you, asking for a sequel?

First there’s the, “OMG they liked my book that much!!!” scream of excitement.

Quickly followed by “OMG I didn’t plan the book with a sequel in mind!” scream of horror.
Then I sat down and reread the book carefully. And no, a secondary character didn’t jump out from it begging for his story to be told. But then I got thinking. What if...

What would make a werewolf world need MM relationships? How would this be worked out? How could it happen in this world? Why would it happen?

Before long the situation was consuming me even though I had other deadlines, and a day job I ought to have been paying attention to. Until finally, one day, Dai knocked on my brain demanding his story be told. Thank God!

BIO:
Berengaria is a multi-published author of erotic romance: contemporary, paranormal (ghosts, vampires, fairies and werewolves) and Regency-set historical. She loves to read all different kinds of romance so that is what she writes: one man/one woman; two women; two men; two men/one woman; three men, two women/one man…. Whatever the
characters need for their very hot happily-ever-after, Berengaria
makes sure they get it.

For all those readers out there who enjoy a yummy werewolf, here’s a bit about “Were the Hell?”

BLURB:
Septimus, is sent to a pack across the country to see if they have a solution to why almost no females have been born into his pack in over 30 years.

As soon as he walks into the meeting room he smells his mate. The lust between them is instant and fierce. By day they try to solve the problem of the gender imbalance, by night they fuck each other's brains out.

Septimus finally gets a lead as to why there may be no females born in his pack. An old man, Arthur, remembers a wizard threatening to curse his pack. Septimus and Arthur speak to a very old woman, Richenda who gives them some trails to follow.

Septimus’ duty is to help his pack. But he’d much rather be in bed with Dai. And is the situation even solvable anyway?

Buy Link: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78_91&products_id=3165

http://berengariasblog.blogspot.com
http://berengariabrown.webs.com

A Special Honor

Last month, while I was sweating through my current WIP, the phone rang.


Being cheap, I don't have caller ID. Being focused on my work, I'm not one of those people who jumps on a call, just having to answer it. I like my down time on weekends away from my EDJ and endless phone calls.

So, I let the phone ring and ring and ring.

I was tempted to unplug it, but after the tenth ring voicemail came on.

So, there I was refocused on my WIP when the phone clicked and a soft Southern voice came over the line, saying the call was for Tina Donahue.

Hmmm, I thought. Not a telemarketer as I'd guessed because I live in Southern California and no one has a Southern accent here. Faintly curious, I started to listen. That's when I heard 'RWA', 'competition', 'HOLT Medallion'.

I'll admit, I froze for a second, not understanding. As the woman continued to leave her voice mail, I finally picked up the phone.

Wow, was I glad I did.

My erotic romance Deep, Dark, Delicious had won an Award of Merit in the HOLT Medallion contest in its category - one of the top five entries!!!



To say I was stunned and thrilled is putting it mildly. The Holt Medallion is an extremely prestigious contest and I'm honored that my work was chosen by its judges.

For those of you who have yet to read Deep, Dark, Delicious here's the blurb:

A wickedly sensual feast…

Eden DeCarlo may have narrowly lost Miami’s best chef competition and the prize money she desperately needs, but she has caught the eye of dangerously virile Rafael Zayas, one of the judges and a wealthy restaurateur. Despite her vow not to let any man derail her life, Eden’s captivated by Rafe’s imposing masculinity, then challenged by the business deal he offers. He’ll invest in her new venture if, for one month, she can satisfy his culinary expectations and the sexual attraction they both feel.

Dominant and unashamed, Rafe knows what he wants when it comes to carnal pleasure and will spare no seduction to have Eden in all the ways he demands—naked, wanting, submissive.

Within thirty days, he will teach her the delights of yielding to passion, relinquishing all control to him and fulfilling her deepest, darkest and most delicious desires.

For more information, click here

Can A Hero Be TSTL?

We’ve all heard about the Too Stupid to Live heroine.

You know the one I’m talking about. The foot-stamping, thirty-something contemporary heroine who has no excuse to behave this way except that she’s always exhibited this behavior to get what she wants—and she never changes. Her character never sees the light and somewhere near the end of the book, the hero gives a knowing nod or some signal that basically conveys his acceptance of the situation because he wants her. My question is—why?

I ask the same question of a heroine who accepts being treated abominably through the entire book by a hero that doesn’t give any indication he sees a reason to change. There is a danger when writing a hero of making them over-the-top alpha's and so disagreeable that the reader will wonder what kind of “happily ever after” these people are actually going to get. And although it doesn’t speak well of the heroine for accepting or excusing his behavior, presumably for the same reason as above—because she wants him, I tend to lose respect for them both.

No, I’m not anti-alpha hero. I love them as characters and there’s an alpha male on practically every book cover on my shelves and in my e-reader. What can I say; I’m a sucker for a ruggedly handsome face and a muscular bare chest. Throw in a five o’clock shadow and some dark eyes and you’ll get me to the blurb and probably whatever excerpt is available. All of this may get me to buy the book but a TSTL hero/heroine between its covers will get said book deleted or thrown into the donation pile quicker than you can say, “five o’clock shadow”.

A very smart critique partner once told me that as long as my character’s actions were believably motivated the reader would sympathize and even identify with that character. If I had an alpha who was stoic and brusque, I’d better show him casting longing gazes at the heroine and give him a background that explained his churlish behavior (I was writing historical romance at the time). Then I’d better show him struggling to change/grow. In other words, I could make the hero as rough as I wanted, but if I didn’t show his vulnerability and connect it to why he behaved the way he did, the reader wouldn’t believe his actions when he finally revealed his true feelings for the heroine.

How about you? What do you think would make a hero TSTL?

Until next month,

Paris

http://parisbrandon.com

Cross My Heart-NOR Top Pick

Head Over Heels-2^nd Place –Passionate Plume-Novella

Assassin’s Kiss—4 Stars Romantic Times Review

John Wayne and the ultimate hero!

I know many of you out there absolutely loved the old westerns. John Wayne, Matt Dillion and so many more gave us hours and hours of entertainment. Shoot 'em up type westerns, the hero saves the heroine, saves the ranch, saves the town--you know what I mean. I loved watching the old westerns on Sunday afternoon with my dad. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. The Durango Kid. Gene Autry. Those were the real men. They loved the ladies, their horse and their piece of land and not necessarily in that order. Crafting the perfect cowboy hero is my goal.

One of my favorite places to visit when I lived in Colorado many years ago, was an old ghost town they transported building by building to a new location. It was so cool to be able to look at the small shack and imagine myself as the heroine and a sexy, rugged, cowboy would ride in and save me from my life of dispair because my parents had died and left me alone. (Yes, I have a good imagination. It's important since I write romance and mostly cowboy romance.) Or being a dance hall girl so misunderstood. I might have had to work in the saloon for one reason or another, but always dreamed of being taken from that life by a handsome cowboy.

Our modern day lives leave us very little time to drift away into the land of day dreams so we must grasp onto those small times when we can lose ourselves in a story crafted by an author with a special gift. The special gift is being able to weave a story so involved and so good, we have to keep reading and keep reading until the book is finished no matter what time of the night it is.

A wonderful hero has to be sexy, good-hearted, loyal, can only love the one special woman in his life and a great lover. The heroine must be gorgeous (at least in the eyes of the hero), kind, loving, understanding and loves the hero unconditionally. With divorce rates at all time highs, we need to find a little bit of our hero or heroine in the person we've chosen to live our lives with. Take the time to explore new things together whether it be a new television show, a new landmark you've found or even a new way to stroke or touch your special person.

Take a moment to drift into a daydream whether it be your lunch break, right after dinner or right before bed. We all need to dream.

Until Next Month

~ Sandy

Guest Blog: Viviane Brentanos: You've Completed Your Manuscript. Who Cares?

A warm welcome to you all from the beautiful Corfu. It is a great honour to be invited here. Today, I want to pose the question – who cares?

So, you have that first manuscript complete. Optimism soaring, you gaily set off on the search for agents and publishers open to submissions in your genre. Your query is honed to perfection, the dreaded synopsis ready and waiting. Fingers fly over the keyboard, pressing down hard on the send button. Oh dear – rejection after rejection overflow in your inbox. Where did you go wrong? The reasons for a submission virgin’s rejection can be many but, more often than not, it all comes down to learning the craft for, as with all gifts, be it acting , singing, painting, raw talent is needed, yes, but the tools of the trade must be learned. Talent needs tweaking; technique must be taught. One must learn the rules before one becomes famous enough to be allowed to break them. But what is this POV, passive voice, back-story malarkey? They didn’t teach anything about that at school?

I recall a conversation I had with my sister and her two teenage daughters. They were waxing lyrical on the joys of Twilight. It was ironic because a few days before, I’d found myself embroiled in a heated debate on one of the author loops about Miss Meyers works. Some of the criticisms leveled at her were fairly scathing. I took objection to this author bashing. Ok, so she isn’t Tolstoy of Austen or Bronte; few of us are. Yes, there are glaring faults in her works but – and on to my question – who cares? Certainly not her millions of readers.

I explained to my sister and family the ‘art’ of writing fiction, I told them about pov, passive etc. They looked at me as if I had stepped off an alien space ship. My sister said she never notices such things when she reads. All she is interested in is a damn good story. On the back seat, her daughters laughed. “Who cares about pov whatever. We just adore Edward Cullen. I understand them. They are young girl, caught up in the magical worlds of Bella and Edward and that is how it should be.

Of course, as a published author, I look at things a little differently. Now, when I read, I cringe at the mistakes I find and then rack my brains trying to remember if I may have made such booboos in my w.i.p. In a way, being craft savvy has spoiled my enjoyment of reading. I was wondering, what if we were to go and read all of our favourite authors from our youth – before we decided to become writers? Would we be disappointed? Perhaps ignorance is truly bliss.

BIO:
I was born in Reading UK in 1958. My father is English and my mother is French although there is a strong vein of Spanish on my maternal grandmother’s side. I was educated at various schools before completing Form College at St Peter's Huntingdon. I somehow managed to collect A levels in English, French and History and I subsequently won a place at Sheffield University where I decided to read Classical Civilization. Once there, however, I decided that I had had enough of the academic life; I found the student mentality rather false and having been brought up in student circles, rather boring. Much to my mother's horror, I gave up my studies and went to London to begin a course as a Canine Beautician. In 1984, my first husband and I parted ways amicably and I decided to visit the Ionian island of Corfu to celebrate my new freedom. It proved to be a life-changing decision. I still remember to this day, sitting in a café-bar, overlooking the crystal clear azure sea and saying to my friend. "I never want to leave here". I absolutely love the life-style here. I would recommend it to anyone. I remarried and have two children.

But I decided that there was more to me than being a mother and wife {although, I hasten to add, it is a worthy assignment.} I decided to finally get my head down and do what I'd always promised myself; I was going to write. I have been writing romance since my early teens, mostly for my own satisfaction and for my friends but now I really want to work at it. Writing has become my passion. I have always been a "Romantic", often accused of not living in the real world but who wants to do that? I like to call my work Romance with a quirky, humorous Brit twist and I am always striving to make my characters real, characters we can all relate to. I hope you all enjoy my world.

BLURB: Written in Stone
Cassandra Hall decides not to waste the honeymoon. She sets off to London. What was supposed to be her dream week turns into a nightmare time of introspect, self-doubt. Then she meets James, literally falling at his feet in an attempt to save his Afghan hound from colliding head on with the traffic.

James is witty, charming, too good-looking and also--not available. Despite this, Cassie is captivated by him. What follows is a week of fun, companionship and a bonding that Cassie has never experienced.

James, sensing Cassie’s unhappiness, goes out of his way to make up for her jerk of a fiancé’s rejection. He is drawn to her vulnerability--something he finds disturbing, threatening to shatter all he thought he knew about himself. Cassie, he senses, is falling in love with him. He ought to back away but cannot. Cassie bravely makes her true feelings known and when he rejects her, he knows he has broken her heart. He is left confused, guilty because....James has a secret.

FOURTH OF JULY ~ A LONG WEEKEND OF CELEBRATION

FOURTH OF JULY ~

A LONG WEEKEND OF CELEBRATION!

What are your plans for this weekend celebrating our country’s independence? Are you taking the time off from reading or writing? Getting together with family and friends and enjoy a picnic, barbeque, fireworks?

Here are a few facts about Independence Day in the U.S.A. you can use as trivia and for fun to test friends and family:

1. On July the 4th, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress. Thereafter, the 13 colonies embarked on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation.

2. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.

3. The Declaration of Independence is more than just a piece of paper. It is a symbol of our country's independence and commitment to certain ideas. A symbol is something that stands for something else. Most people can look at a certain little "swoosh" and know that it stands for "Nike." Well, the signers of the Declaration of Independence wanted the citizens of the United States to have a document that spelled out what was important to our leaders and citizens. They wanted us to be able to look at the Declaration of Independence and immediately think of the goals we should always be working for, and about the people who have fought so hard to make these ideas possible. The people who signed the Declaration risked being hanged for treason by the leaders in Great Britain. They had to be very brave to sign something that would be considered a crime! So every time we look at the Declaration of Independence, we should think about all of the effort and ideas that went into the document, and about the courage it took for these people to stand up for what they knew was right -- independence!

4. The word ‘patriotism’ comes from the Latin patria, which means ‘homeland’ or ‘fatherland.’

5. The 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence did not sign at the same time, nor did they sign on July 4, 1776. The official event occurred on August 2, 1776, when 50 men signed it. The names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were withheld from the public for more than six months to protect the signers. If independence had not been achieved, the treasonable act of the signers would have, by law, resulted in their deaths. Thomas McKean was the last to sign in January, 1777.

6. Oh how we’ve grown: In 1776, about 2.5 million people lived in the newly independent United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2011, 311.7 million Americans will celebrate Independence Day.

7. Congress debated and revised the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail. "The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

8. Betsy Ross, according to legend, sewed the first American flag in May or June 1776, as commissioned by the Congressional Committee. June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress, looking to promote national pride and unity, adopted the national flag. “Resolved: that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

9. Independence Day was first celebrated in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776. The Liberty Bell sounded from the tower of Independence Hall on July 8, 1776, summoning citizens to gather for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon.

10. The origin of Uncle Sam probably began in 1812, when Samuel Wilson was a meat packer who provided meat to the US Army. The meat shipments were stamped with the initials, U.S. Someone joked that the initials stood for “Uncle Sam”. This joke eventually led to the idea of Uncle Sam symbolizing the United States government.

11. Thirty places nationwide with “liberty” in their name. Liberty, Missouri (26,232) boasts the highest population of the 30 at 26,232. Iowa has more of these places than any other state at four: Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty and West Liberty.

Eleven places have “independence” in their name. The most populous of these is Independence, Missouri, with 113,288 residents.

Five places adopted the name “freedom.” Freedom, California, with 6,000 residents, has the largest population among these.

There is one place named “patriot” — Patriot, Indiana, with a population of 202.

And what could be more fitting than spending the day in a place called “America”? There are five such places in the country, with the most populous being American Fork, Utah, with 21,941 residents.

12. Although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, James Monroe, the Fifth President of the United States, died on July 4, 1831. Calvin Coolidge, the Thirtieth President, was born on July 4, 1872, and thus was the only President to be born on Independence Day.

13. Independence Day is a national holiday marked by patriotic displays. Similar to other summer-themed events, Independence Day celebrations often take place outdoors. While the Fourth is celebrated across the country, historic cities like Boston and Philadelphia draw huge crowds to their festivities. In Boston, the USS John F. Kennedy often sails into the harbor, while the Boston Pops Orchestra holds a televised concert on the banks of the Charles River, featuring American music and ending with the 1812 Overture. Philadelphia holds its celebrations at Independence Hall, where historic scenes are reenacted and the Declaration of Independence is read. Other interesting parties include the American Indian rodeo and three-day Pow-Wow in Flagstaff, Arizona, and the Lititz, Pennsylvania, candle festival, where hundreds of candles are floated in water and a "Queen of Candles" is chosen.

Hope you enjoy these Thirteen Tidbits. There were more but I kept it intentionally to thirteen for the original states. Sorry, couldn't help it!

If you’re an American, or not, how do you celebrate the Fourth of July? I’ll be celebrating my husband’s birthday (it’s Sunday, the 3^rd) and having a cookout on Monday. Share your thoughts; I’d love to hear them.

Oh, one last thing, let's remember our brave patriots of today, like our forefathers before us, and take a moment to remember all our men and women in uniform and their families who serve our great country today.

Be safe!

2nd Annual "Christmas in July" Event!

It's that time again...and we've got MORE gifts with TWO contests this year! Don't miss out on the fun!

Dates: 1 July through midnight EST 31 July. We only ship snail mail items to US and Canadian addresses.



Christmas in July CONTEST #1:
Open to readers, unpublished writers, industry reps - NOT published authors unless you're already a RBRU Yahoo group member.

PRIZES:
$125.00 Amazon/Barnes & Noble Gift Card, Christmas ornaments, decks of Ellora's Cave/Blush playing cards, RBRU hats, tee-shirts and tote bags.

TO ENTER:
1) Join RBRU yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/romancebooksrus 
(Sorry - we're not accepting published authors at this time)
2) Click on each of the 20 RBRU Bloggers names below to visit their sites. Find the name of one of their books along with the names of the hero and heroine. COLLECT THE 20 BLOGGER NAMES, BOOK NAMES, AND HERO AND HEROINE NAMES. (If a blogger has two pen names, only do one). In ONE email message, send all this information to: contests.rbrus@gmail.com

Christmas in July CONTEST #2:
Open to everyone, including published authors.

PRIZE:
$25.00 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card.


TO ENTER:
1) Join RBRU Chat yahoo group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rbruchat
2) Become a RBRU blog Follower - see Follower section at http://romancebooksrus.blogspot.com on left sidebar and follow directions.