Posts Tagged ‘author’

Glory Days and the Rules of the Game

Some days, I feel as though I’ll never grow up. A modern day Peter Pan. I blame my students—they keep me young. When a person spends eight hours a day with teenagers, it tends to keep her young at heart.

Things changed last summer when my thirty-year high school reunion stared me in the eye. How could it have been thirty years since I walked across the gymnasium floor to have someone hand me a diploma? Maybe it seems so close because I stand in a gym every May and hand out diplomas to students who choose me as their presenter, giving them all hugs and telling them how proud I am of them. Every graduation of a new class of students keeps my own fresh in my mind.          Photobucket

As the reunion date grew closer, I found myself in touch with many of my former classmates through Facebook. (An enthusiastic wave to Terre Haute South Vigo class of 1981!) How great to reconnect and learn all about their lives while we reminisced about the “good old days.” With each new discussion, I learned something about their present lives, but I also discovered things about their pasts I hadn’t known in high school. The writer in me flared to life.

What if someone went back to a high school reunion only to have every skeleton she’d shoved in her closet come tumbling out? Maddie Sawyer was born that day, and I started writing the story of her finding a new love as she exhumes the life she thought she’d buried so long ago.

Have any of you been to a class reunion? Did you go hoping an old boyfriend had lost all his hair? Or did you just want to reconnect with old friends? Did you wish that the girl who picked on you had a butt the size of Florida, or was the reunion nothing more than a chance to raise a glass to your glory days? Please leave me a comment for a chance to win a copy of Rules of the Game! (I’ll draw a winner at random on Friday, April 6th.)

I have to wonder if the age of social media will blunt the excitement of reunions. Now that we’re all connected in so many different ways, the world seems so much smaller, and distance seldom keeps us far apart. Maybe one day, reunions will be passé. But for now, just like Maddie, we all make those trips back to our hometowns to see people who helped make us who we are.

Rules of the Game is on sale now!

PhotobucketRead an EXCERPT!

Blurb: Kathryn West has it all. She’s a confident, bestselling author living it up in New York City. Too bad she doesn’t actually exist, and is only timid Maddie Sawyer’s pseudonym. Determined to attend her high school reunion with a man right out of one of her racy romance novels, she plots to find a sexy bad boy who’s up to Kathryn’s standards.

She finds Mr. Perfect shooting pool in a biker bar. He’s a blue-collar hunk who just happens to look great in leather. But the mysterious Scott Brady has some rules of his own: he won’t agree to her deal unless she poses as his girlfriend in front of his family and friends first.

As the reunion nears, Maddie tries to maintain her carefree façade, knowing she’ll soon face some old ghosts. She’s torn between her growing attraction to Scott and the nagging feeling that he’s hiding something important. Will she still want him when she finds out his secret? What about when he discovers hers?

Sandy James lives in a quiet suburb of Indianapolis with her husband of thirty years. She’s a high school social studies teacher who especially loves psychology and United States history. Since she and her husband own a small stable of harness racehorses, they often spend time together at the two Indiana racetracks.

You can find Sandy on her website, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Rules of the Game on sale at:

Amazon B&N Carina

I Will Die For You – The Romantic Suspense Bodyguard

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If you’re a diehard romantic suspense reader, you probably nodded in agreement when ‘bodyguard’ appeared on a list compiled by neuroscientists of the most popular heroes in Harlequin romances.

Who wouldn’t want a sexy hunk providing 24/7 protection? A fearless, resourceful man willing to give his life to protect yours? When we read a bodyguard romance, we know the hero will get the job done even in the most dangerous situation. Here is a man who can overcome any obstacle even those set by the heroine.

Add into the mix enforced intimacy, which is tailor-made for sexual tension. After all, the idea of being looked after is seductive in itself as a fantasy. The Alpha male bodyguard offers the heady brew of testosterone and tenderness.

Then there’s the blasting to smithereens of the bodyguard code ‘thou shalt not get involved with a client’. What a delicious right/wrong dilemma confronts the protector for he knows if he’s looking at the heroine, then he’s not looking at others. That cool, calm yet watchful demeanor can go right out the door for the right woman. Of course, that woman continues to get into trouble heightening the push/pull for the hero.

In my latest Carina Press release, HER DARK PROTECTOR, set in south Florida, the justice system is on its last legs as corruption has permeated its highest ranks. Only Gail Malloy, a state attorney with a death wish, is determined to bring down a notorious drug lord once and for all and becomes a target herself. Fortunately for her, a stranger is keeping watch, determined to keep her alive.

Haunted by tragedy, business tycoon Jason Hawke joined a secret organization dedicated to maintaining law and order. With his chance at revenge finally at hand, he’ll do anything to keep to keep Gail alive to put the crime boss away. Even if it means keeping her with him day and night.

I’d love to hear what draws you as a reader to bodyguard stories! Carol

READ EXCERPT

BUY HERE!

~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~

Award winning author Carol Stephenson lives in southeast Florida with her beloved Shih Tzu. She’s an attorney by day and author by night. She’s best known for her emotionally drawn, hard-driving romances. In her free time she indulges in travel, photography and competing on a trivia team.

You can follow Carol here:

WEBSITE; FACEBOOK; TWITTER;
NOT YOUR USUAL SUSPECTS

Shy Guys and Giveway

What is it about a shy guy that’s so appealing? Maybe we empathize. Who among us hasn’t felt awkward, afraid, even terrified, in the presence of someone we’d like to impress? Maybe when we encounter shy guys, with their hemming and hawing and shuffling feet, the sweet way their eyes skitter across our face, it brings out our inner nurturer. Or perhaps we sense that shy souls are more interesting than their more gregarious counterparts.

Mark Apostopolopos, the main character in my debut novel, Moving in Rhythm, suffers from pathological shyness. It’s a serious condition and in his case, means that he has a full blown panic attack in the presence of any man he finds attractive.  Imagine that when it counts most, your heart pounds, you hyperventilate, your mind goes numb and you can’t utter a single cohesive statement. It would put a serious crimp in your love life. Click here for the blurb or to read an excerpt.

I think what makes Mark so appealing to me, is that he works hard to get his life to make sense. Although he hasn’t told his family he’s gay (he thinks, what’s the point if he can’t manage a relationship?), he knows himself. He’s afraid all the time, and yet, when it’s important, he works through his fear as best he can. He’s a nice guy living with a terrible condition. It’s almost impossible not to root for him to find love.

Comment on this blog for a chance to win a copy of Moving in Rhythm. What do you find appealing (or unappealing) about shy guys?

Buy Moving in Rhythm from Carina

Connect with Dev:

Twitter: @DevBentham

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dev-Bentham/227931843928203

Webpage: www.devbentham.com

Dev Bentham lives in Northern Wisconsin where she spends long cold winters at her kitchen table dreaming of heart-warming romance and hot, passionate love.

A Romp Through Shadows

I love old-style, traditional Gothics. The covers were always pretty much the same – a pretty young thing in something romantic and flowing running headlong from a huge, brooding castle/manor house/mansion that is completely dark save for a single light in an upper window. Never could understand why she was looking over her shoulder as she ran, because that was practically a guarantee of falling flat on her face instead of escaping, but hey – fantasy is fantasy, and sometimes regular rules just don’t apply.

In the many years since I started reading these admitted ‘fairy stories for grown-ups’ I’ve moved several times and then had to clean out my late mother’s home, but in spite of all I’ve kept my favorite Gothics. Now they’re so old the paper is brittle and the glue desiccated to the point that some must be held together with rubber bands, but I won’t part with them. One reason is that a new crop of Gothics – Gothics the way I like them – is sparse to non-existent.

So what is any frustrated writer-person supposed to do? Right. I wrote a couple of my own a goodly number of years ago and by doing so thought I got the Gothic virus out of my veins. My treasured old Gothics were packed into a couple of boxes – boxes that I kept, of course, but didn’t think much about. Occasionally I would dig out one or two books for comfort reading – the literary equivalent of chicken soup or macaroni and cheese. I enjoyed them thoroughly, with the kind of nostalgia you feel when you find you can still get into your decades-old prom dress. You’ll never wear it again, but it’s just nice to know that it’s there and you can.

After a while, though, I found there was something lacking from re-reading my old favorites. I almost knew them by heart and, instead of feeling a delicious frisson of apprehension when the heroine is lured to what is supposed to be her certain doom, I would think somewhat uncharitably, “Jeez, she’s not going to go to the cellar again, is she?”

Logic and fandom aren’t necessarily close mates.

Well, I had done it before, so I decided I could do it again. After all, hadn’t a most perceptive and brilliant reviewer once called me ‘the logical successor to Phyllis A. Whitney and Victoria Holt’? I would write my own Gothic.

And I did. It’s called INHERITANCE OF SHADOWS, released on 12 March. It’s a rattling good story, though different in several ways from the old Gothic.

First of all, it’s modern, firmly grounded in the 21st century. There’s no sweet young thing running for her life across the cover – not that my thoroughly modern heroine would ever do anything so bird-witted as to look back over her shoulder while running madly through the dark. The requisite big house is there, but Carina must have paid the electricity bill, because instead of a single light up under the eaves every window blazes brightly. It’s still as creepy as all get out.

I twist and turn on their heads a few others of the revered Gothic traditions too, but I think that only heightens the tension. The basic premise is that the heroine comes back to the place where her author father wrote his world-famous books – and to the house where he committed suicide in front of her when she was barely three. She has always wondered if he intended to sacrifice her in a copy of a ritual from one of his books.

In the true Gothic style there’s strange and not quite trustworthy cast of characters – a gorgeous man who may or may not be a bad guy, another man (not quite so gorgeous but very kind) who may or may not be a bad guy, a very quiet housekeeper who sees everything, a gaggle of the heroine’s late father’s friends who behave most peculiarly, and a convention full of costumed attendees, some of whom actually believe the high fantasy world her father created in his books might not be totally fictional.

After seeing things that definitely are not costumed conventioneers the heroine begins to wonder if they’re right, especially when strange things begin to happen and she starts to fear that once more she might die in a ritual her father imagined.

When I wrote INHERITANCE OF SHADOWS I wanted to put snippets of Charles Mathis’ (the late author father) books at the beginning of each chapter but didn’t because (1) I don’t write high fantasy and (2) I didn’t think it would sell. Turns out I was wrong on both counts. During an editorial session with the wonderful Mallory Braus the snippets idea came up and the next thing I knew I was told to write them, which is a more daunting task than it sounds. I was almost scared to start – different characters who were more creatures than people, different worlds, different backstories…

However, I am a believer that anything can be handled if only you start on it, and once again that turned out to be true. After a false start or two, the world that “Charles Mathis” created started to flow from my fingertips with terrifying ease. Why terrifying? Because it was so easy. Snippets turned into chapters, chapters which I ruthlessly cut to about a page. Then, after sending them to Mallory, I was told they had to be cut to a paragraph or two. Argh! I did it, though, and maybe it was a good thing. You, the readers, will have to decide.

One unexpected result of this is that a number of people who have read the book in manuscript have urged me to write the “Charles Mathis” books. All of them. That is frightening – seven books in an unfamiliar genre. In one way the idea is fascinating, but in another totally terrifying. I’m going to have to think about it. After you read the chapter-head snippets, let me know what you think.

I’m not going to tell you any more, but INHERITANCE OF SHADOWS is a great romp to read, just as it was to write.

You can find INHERITANCE OF SHADOWS on the Carina Press website

Janis Susan May is a seventh-generation Texan and a third-generation wordsmith who writes mysteries as Janis Patterson, romances and other things as Janis Susan May, children’s books as Janis Susan Patterson and scholarly works as J.S.M. Patterson.
Formerly a singer, a talent agent and Supervisor of Accessioning for a bio-genetic DNA testing lab, Janis has also been editor-in-chief of two multi-magazine publishing groups as well as many other things, including an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist.
Janis married for the first time when most of her contemporaries were becoming grandmothers. Her husband, also an Egyptophile, even proposed in a moonlit garden near the Pyramids of Giza. Janis and her husband live in Texas with an assortment of rescued furbabies.

www.JanisSusanMay.com

Steampunk – Under Her Brass Corset

As with paranormal, steampunk often incorporates a handful of genres, and I like variety, something you can tell by visiting my book list page on my website. When I first started writing Under Her Brass Corset, it wasn’t Steampunk. Rather, it was suppose to be a Victorian historical romance. But then my hero, Jasper Blackthorn emerged from the darkness of a alley, and he had to be different than anything my heroine, Abigail Thatch expected. Every step of the way, something had to be a little off kilter about this world. So instead of chance meeting with an old man, Abigail meets a troll. When the ship’s sails fold into kites, she sails upon the wind rather than the sea. Everything she never knew existed becomes a real magical fairytale.

In the story, Abigail tastes a chocolate confection from a hidden place on Jasper’s desk. While I could give you the recipe to that one, I think after you read the story, you will agree, this one is far more appealing.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

12 ounces creamy peanut butter

8 ounces unsalted butter

1 pound powdered sugar

12 ounces of melting chocolate

Mix first three ingredients thoroughly. Chill in refrigerator 4 hours. Form into 1 inch balls or desired shape. Freeze balls until very firm. Melt chocolate. Dip each ball and set on wax paper until chocolate has re-hardened. Store in refrigerator.

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Since the loss of her father, Abigail Thatch’s life has been in turmoil. Her social status is in shambles, her finances depleted, and she’s on the verge of losing her beloved home. But everything changes when she meets the dashing flying machine captain Jasper Blackthorn. Not only does he introduce her to a world she thought only existed in myth and legend, he awakens sensual feelings deep within her…

Jasper may be immortal, but he hasn’t truly lived in years. Having secretly watched over Abigail as a favor to her notorious grandfather, he can’t resist arranging a “chance” meeting with the beauty. But he has an ulterior motive: to retrieve the mystical Crystal Compass hidden in her house before it falls into the wrong hands. He never imagines he’ll be tempted to love again…

When Abigail learns the truth, she and Jasper embark on a journey that will change both of their lives—and possibly the world…       Read an Excerpt

Looking for a giveaway?

Visit my blog, An Eclectic Author to find out how to enter for a chance at a $50 Jewelry Shopping Spree!

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Brenda Williamson

~ Seductive in Any Era ~

~ Website ~ News/Chat Group ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~

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A Random Post About T-shirts @ShelleyMunro

As I sit here writing this post, I’m wearing a T-shirt (purchased at Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump in Canada) and shorts. My favorite summer outfit. When the days grow shorter and the temperatures become cooler, my uniform changes to a T-shirt and jeans. I love T-shirts.

T-shirts have existed for a long time, although the exact origins remain a little murky. There are two schools of thought about the birth of the T-shirt. According to Ask Jeeves, the men who worked on docks in Maryland during the 1600s unloaded lots of tea. They wore simply designed shirts, known as tea shirts, and this was later shortened to T-shirt.

Another school of thought says T-shirts originated in England. The sailors in the Navy wore singlets (tank tops), which offended the royal family. They didn’t like seeing bare shoulders and arm pits, so someone designed a shirt to correct the problem. The T-shirt was born.

I’ve also read that US soldiers during the Second World War wore T-shirts beneath their shirts. They took to wearing them without the overshirt and the idea caught on.

According to Wikipedia, T-shirts became extra popular after Marlon Brandon wore one in the movie A Streetcar Named Desire. More recently, actor Don Johnson made them a fashion item when he wore a T-shirt beneath an Armani suit in Miami Vice.

Whatever the origin of T-shirts, I’m glad of their invention! Not only are they comfortable and easy to wash, but they say a lot about their owners.

What do mine say about me, you ask?

They say I like animals.

Hawaii

Alpaca

I enjoy sports and like to make fun of Australian teams. LOL

Sport

I enjoy the odd glass of wine.

Wine

I have a life philosophy.

Travel

And that I adore travel.

China

Africa

Eve Fawkner, the heroine in my new release, CAT BURGLAR IN TRAINING spends a lot of time wearing designer dresses because she attends lots of society balls. When she’s not dressed to the nines, she chooses to wear form-fitting black that allows her to blend with the shadows. She needs to sneak while she’s in cat burglar mode!

Cat Burglar in TrainingHere’s the blurb:

Eve Fawkner had no intention of following in her father’s footsteps. But when the thugs harassing him to repay his gambling debts threaten her young daughter, Eve is forced to assume the role of London’s most notorious cat burglar, The Shadow. The plan is simple: pull off a couple of heists, pay back the goons and go into permanent retirement. But things get messy during her first job when Eve witnesses a murder, stumbles across a clue that sheds some light on her past and, worst of all, falls for a cop.

Inspector Kahu Williams would be the perfect man, if Eve were looking, and if there wasn’t the little matter of their career conflict. The man is seriously hot—and hot on the trail of a murderer. A trail that keeps leading him back to Eve…

Check out Cat Burglar in Training

Shelley Munro lives in New Zealand with her husband and a rambunctious puppy. You can learn more about Shelley and her books at her website and blog. You might also find her lurking on Twitter or Facebook.

Do you like/wear T-shirts? What do your T-shirts say about you? Do you have any favorite T-shirt slogans?

In Praise of Nerd Heroes

Hi, I’m Zoë, and I’m a nerd lover.

Hi, Zoë.

As a romance reader, and romance author, I know I’m supposed to love the big, brooding, badass alpha hero.  He’s the guy who can do everything—lead an assault on a nest of vampires, single-handedly take down the drug cartel, defeat the spy ring while flawlessly dancing a waltz and making all the maidens weak with desire.  These heroes are larger than life, and yes, they definitely make a woman’s pulse speed up.

But give me a shy, smart guy, and watch me swoon.

There’s something so utterly charming, something that makes me all weak in the knees when a man who’s known for his brains suddenly loses his composure around the woman he fancies.  He doesn’t have the smooth moves, he doesn’t know the right words to say.  He may even stammer and blush.  He’s more comfortable thinking up complex equations than seducing, and that makes his awkward attempts at wooing all the more irresistible.

Of course, I’m also talking about a romance hero, so my favorite nerd heroes can also kick butt.  It wouldn’t quite work if the heroine had to keep bailing him out, would it?  So underneath his button-down shirt or uniform, you’re going to find a body that’s just as sexy and capable as his brains.  Oh, and you know that famous line from the film “Revenge of the Nerds?”  “All Jocks ever think about is sports, all [nerds] ever think about is sex.” Yeah, that’s definitely true.  Smart guy + sex = very attentive, creative lovemaking.

Lieutenant Nils Calder, the hero of CHAIN REACTION, is the top mind in the 8th Wing’s Engineering Corps.  (The other 8th Wing soldiers refer to Engineering as NerdWorks.)  He’s also the very last person Lieutenant Celene Jur wants accompanying her on her mission of vengeance.  But behind Nils’s quiet, nerdy exterior beats the heart of a true warrior.  All he has to do is survive the mission—and survive Celene.

Tell me some of your favorite nerd heroes!  I’ll pick a winner from one of the comments to receive a copy of CHAIN REACTION.

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You can read an excerpt of CHAIN REACTION here.

Order: Carina, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook

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Zoë is a RITA-award nominated romance author who loves kickass heroines and heroes who love kickass heroines.  Her books include the paranormal historical Hellraisers series and the acclaimed Blades of the Rose historical paranormal adventure series. she enjoys baking, tweeting about boots, and listening to music from the ’80s.  She and her husband, fellow romance author Nico Rosso, live in Los Angeles.

Website, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr


The Strong Romance Heroine

Lesserblood Lies cover

I love reading a romance where the heroine isn’t afraid to use action, even violence, to solve problems. Smart and skillful, she lives on her own terms. Her flaws and vulnerabilities are overshadowed by her physical strength or psychic supremacy. She’s likely gorgeous, too. This tough woman will meet her love match with an equally powerful man.

I see myself in the strong female character. I get to pretend I’m just that fierce and clever–and dazzling. Plus I get to imagine hooking up with an alpha hottie.

The kick-ass heroine is especially prominent in urban fantasy and paranormal romance. She hunts down demons, or perhaps she is a demon. The fierce heroine is common in science fiction romance, too. The mercenary soldier, the spaceship captain, the intergalactic spy. Even if she doesn’t literally kick ass, she can zap the bad guy with a lethal omega particle beam, or blast the enemy’s ships into oblivion, or poison the evil adversary’s soup with nanobots. She uses technology to get what she wants.

Now that I’ve celebrated the kick-ass heroine, I must confess: The heroine in my new science fiction romance Lesserblood Lies is rather ordinary. Merianne can’t throw a punch, she doesn’t have an amazing futuristic arsenal, and she’s not beautiful. She’s just a mother trying to protect her unusual daughters. Merianne’s strength lies in her ferocious devotion to her children. Her love match isn’t even a genetically enhanced super soldier or a galactic tycoon. He’s a loner scientist. (He is way hot, though.)

CONTEST!

Science
So what do you think? What makes a romance heroine strong? Can a heroine with determination and courage be as potent as her warrior-like counterpart? Do you have a favorite kick-ass leading lady? I would love to hear from you!

I’ll randomly select one commenter, and send the winner this fun ThinkGeek science T-shirt (Size Large).The winner will be announced on the comments thread on Friday December 16. I have a winner! Please see comment thread!

*****

Novel Buy Links:

Kindle | Nook | Carina Press

Lesserblood Lies will also soon be released as an audio book!

Ainsley’s website

Ainsley’s twitter

There’s just so much a girl can take!

I’ve always had something of a love/hate/fascination thing going on with fortune telling.  I’ve a couple of friends who are die-hard about this – their lives just don’t work without their monthly forecast.

I’ve heard all the predictions, everything from, “You vil meet ze tall, dark, handsome…” to “Honey, you know that road trip you were planning next week? Well, don’t.” Uh, my friend did, and she really shouldn’t have, thank God it was only a minor accident.

But, whether it’s just a matter of playing the odds or even if the power of suggestion is subconsciously enabling these predictions to come true or not, there’s certainly something fascinating about the prospect of (maybe) knowing what’s coming around the corner.

Not so much for my heroine in Second-Guessing Fate

Photobucket Gemma’s just your everyday girl carrying a dream in one pocket and a healthy dollop of wariness in the other. Her best friend’s a little obsessive about living life according to the predictions of Madame Hooch, but hey, no one’s perfect!

She’s had her share of heartbreak (and then some) but who hasn’t?  Right?

And if things have been a little slow on the dating front these last couple of years, well, what’s a girl to do? Put her energy and passion into growing her catering business, that’s what.

But then Gemma’s friend drags her off to Madame Hooch for a little fortune telling therapy. She doesn’t really believe in all that mumbo jumbo, but seriously! She hasn’t even met the guy yet and he’s going to dump her? That’s enough to make any girl mad enough to get even. In this case, it means tricking the gorgeous Nick into dumping her sooner rather than later. There’s a soul mate on the line if Madame Hooch is to be trusted. Unfortunately she’s up against Fate and things don’t go quite according to plan.

I had so much fun writing this book! Gemma has to get herself dumped before Fate plays its trump card and leaves her heartbroken. She’s not sure how she got into this situation, she doesn’t even believe the future can be  predicted, but suddenly she’s playing a game and the prize is a soul mate she never gave much thought to before.

I’ve only been to a fortune teller twice, dragged both times by obsessed friends. I don’t seriously give it much credence, but I’ve had fun along the path of my life, smiling wickedly when some of the things come true and quirking a brow when the exact opposite unfolded.

My fortune-teller saw travel in my future, and I’ve moved continents three times. So far. She also predicted a couple of mind-boggling awesomeness stuff that, um, I’m still waiting on, lol.

What about you? I’d love to hear your fortune telling stories, or stories that happened to a friend of friend!

If you’re up for a fun read this summer as Gemma tries to outwit fate and get herself dumped, you can read more about Second-Guessing Fate here on Carina Press or pop along to my Website for a longer excerpt.

Claire Robyns lives in Berkshire, England, with her husband and twin boys. For so long as she has memories, she was either reading, dreaming about reading, or planning what she’d be reading next. Then one day she started dreaming about writing and that was the beginning of an amazing journey.
When Claire isn’t thigh-deep in laundry, shopping, cooking and general crowd control, you’ll find her head-and-heart-deep in the tangled lives of her characters.


Visit Claire at her website
www.clairerobyns.com or on twitter @clairerobyns

Have You Ignored an Important Call?

Take that call next time.

Telemarketers always bug me during my writing time – afternoonish when my kids are sleeping. One or two a da. You’d think I was rich.

November 4th I sat down to write a particularly difficult scene and my phone rang. I glared at the offending buzz and shook my head.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. I groaned and answered. “Hello?”

“Is Bonnie Paulson available?” Super sweet voice which makes it even harder to say “no, not interested”.

“This is.” Mama taught me manners and I use ‘em.

“Hi, Bonnie. This is Angela James from Carina Press. I’m calling about the manuscript you submitted.” At this point, my eyebrows scrunched together. Had I done something wrong?  I’d never heard of an editor calling an author. Maybe I’d offended someone. Still wasn’t 100% certain she wasn’t a telemarketer.

But Ms. James continued on and I realized she was offering me a contract. I’d said “Uh hunh” to her comments and she paused, asking if I had any questions so far.

My response? Yeah, she tweeted about it. I said, “I think I’m gonna throw up.”

And you know what? I didn’t, but that sense of surreality hasn’t left.

Mallory Braus proved to be as sweet and romantic-at-heart as Breathe Again needed.

Angela James has been more than accessible and supportive at every turn – even when I sent her interview questions for my own blog that were less than professional.

My cover artist took my breath away.

The copy editor made me smile and taught me a thing or three.

But Mallory worked my story over and in my developmental edits she made a suggestion that, as I worked it out, brought me to tears. I finished the scene sobbing, closed my laptop and looked around. The only think I wanted to do involved an empty wineglass (I don’t drink), a fireplace (green of course) and me looking for tissues around the apartment/house.

Mallory and the Carina Press team made me feel like Joan Wilder discovering my stories all over again.

Here’s a favorite part of mine from Breathe Again.

How could one man be sweet and genuine while the other lacked all sense of manners? Maybe the brute was raised on a farm where he never had the opportunity to see normal people and acted like a bull because he was raised among the cows. Maybe my sheep reference hadn’t been far off… Shampoo bubbles filled my hair and a chuckle escaped at the thought of Brodan in denim overalls slinging muck.

Ryan, on the other hand, seemed smooth and courteous, fun even. He’d made me laugh and that hadn’t happened in a long time.

But if I could put Ryan’s personality into Brodan’s body, it might have been just what I would be looking for, or not looking for, since the idea was strictly shower thinking. I’d gotten in trouble before, pursuing thoughts generated in the shower.

I lathered my body, trying to push the images of the men from my head. Aided by my hunger, I switched easily to considering menu items, with thoughts of pancakes smothered in syrup and crisp sizzling bacon ruling my mind.

By the time I finished washing, my stomach growled in earnest. I wouldn’t make it another two hours. Rather I left for the 24-hour one-stop shop ten minutes farther.

Beside my adorable VW van, blue with a white top from the early 70s, I drew in a deep breath. I loved when the rest of the world slept and it felt like I was the only one awake. Opening my door, I tossed my purse onto the seat beside the driver’s side. Before I climbed in, the blue paint glinted, reminding me of Brodan….

Dang. I’d have to retrain my attraction guide. The man’s similarities to Dean should have been the only repellent I needed. Add his rudeness and the fact we couldn’t be in the same room together, I should feel nauseated just thinking of him. Get him out of your head, Maggie.

I wrote Breathe Again while I was pregnant and you’ll notice I involve food a lot in my story. I’d write about the lasagna (recipe to follow) Maggie makes for Brodan and of course, finished the scene and had to make some. I ate most of it – much to my Hubs distress.

I drew my husband in with this recipe I developed – my own personal creation. You can find it at the bottom of this post. Maybe make it for you and your *wink* friend or eat it while you read Breathe Again.

Breathe Again Cover
Don’t you love this cover? Maggie leans against Brodan. The skyline reminds me of a Montana sunset. Carina Press artists captured the mood perfectly. I literally gasped when I saw it – and teared up.

I hope you enjoy Breath Again. Another book I would direct you do – well, two actually – Craving Perfect by Liz Fichera and Endless Night by Maureen A. Miller OH and Man Law by Adrienne Giordanno, so three.

They capture the essence of what Carina has to offer – exceptional authors with a phenomenal team backing them. Harlequin is so awesome I used superlatives that aren’t slang.

Knock-Your-Socks-Off Lasagna OR Dip-It Lasagna

  • Sauce Ingredients: One large can of tomato sauce, 1 large can diced tomatoes, 1 TB of minced garlic (with oil), chopped onions, italian sausage, 2 TB dry/fresh parsley, 2 TB sugar, 1 – 2 TB salt with pepper:
  • Everything but the sauce and diced tomatoes brown in a pan keeping the sausage oil. Add the tomato sauce and tomatoes. Simmer until the rest of the ingredients are ready.
  • Cheese ingredients: One small ricotta cheese, one medium cottage cheese, 2 cups mozzarella grated, garlic salt (about 1 TB).
  • Mix all and set aside to be layered.
  • Layering ingredients: Fresh spinach, fresh sliced mushrooms, sliced olives, anything else you like in your lasagna – like noodles – but don’t prepare too many, this is a less-pasta-more-fun-stuff dish.
  • Start your layers. Best to start with something like mushrooms then top with pasta, sauce then cheese. Next, olives, spinach, pasta, sauce then cheese. You should have a fairly thick dish with few layers. Cheese tops it and you’ll cook it in your pan (whatever kind you love) at 350 F for 30 to 40 minutes. This is SLOPPY and great to dip your garlic bread in. I love garlic.
  • Also, play with this recipe. You can’t ruin it because it’s a subjective dish. Like it sweeter? Add more sugar. More noodles? Add more. The sauce and the bread is the only reason I make it.

Bonnie R. Paulson

Enjoy and please! Please! Please! email me and let me know how you liked it! bonnierpaulson@gmail.com

Come find me on Twitter – @bonnierpaulson

And my blog: www.bonnierpaulson.com

I’m offering a $10 gift card to a randomly selected commenter on today’s post. To another a copy of BREATHE AGAIN – Woot!

I’d like to know who has supported you throughout your life? It’s all about people and the roles they play to our hearts. Maggie and Brodan help the other heal… Who do you have? This is your “I’d like to thank the Academy” moment. What would you say?

Oh, sorry? Did you say you wanted to know how you can purchase Breathe Again?

Carina Press (of course!), Amazon, Nook,Lybrary.com.