Galley Time

Just received the galley for STROKE OF GENIUS, which is one of the last steps a book goes through before it heads to the printer. I was sent a PDF of the story, typeset to look exactly as it will on the pages of the book. At this point, my tweaks are limited to spelling, punctuation errors, inadvertant eye-color changes (Don't laugh! It happens!) This is my last chance to make the book as good as it can be.

It's been long enough since I typed "the end" on STROKE OF GENIUS that it all seems very fresh to me as I read through it. One of the things that strikes me about it is how very unloveable my hero is. (Only at first, I promise Crispin will grow on you!) But perhaps I should warn you my editor calls him "the Regency's answer to HOUSE!"

He's vain, brash, calculating and fiendishly clever. Good thing he's also outrageously talented, handsome beyond the lot of mortals and fabulously wealthy.

And wounded (physically and psychologically). His pain saves him. Otherwise, I'd have been tempted to toss him aside as a total jerk when he first began insisting I tell his story. Check out an excerpt to see what I mean.

Have you ever read a story (or written a story) where you really didn't like the hero much at first? What changed things for you?

What kind of Genius are YOU?

I had great fun writing my genius hero for the upcoming STROKE OF GENIUS. Crispin Hawke is brilliant and tortured and difficult to get along with. Good thing he's also incredibly hot.

Anyway, I realized as I wrote the story that everyone has flashes of genius. So I decided it might be fun to build a Stroke of Genius quiz on my website featuring Regency-centric questions. My DH, bless his computer-wiz heart, wrote the code for me and now it's live for your quizzing pleasure!



(If you have a blog/MySpace/Facebook/etc site and want to help me get the word out, I'd really appreciate it if you post this widget on your sidebar!)

Once you take the quiz, you'll know what kind of Genius YOU are! And you get to grab the code for your Genius widget to post on your sites or email it to a friend. Here's what they look like!

Fashion Genius--My niece, who wears $800 shoes to her job with a NY Fashion house, was the inspiration for this brand of genius!



Social Genius--You've met them, I'm sure. People who are totally at home in the center of a circle and make everyone around them feel comfortable too.



Romantic Genius--This type of intelligence sees connections and reads the subtle signals thrown off by the opposite sex without needing a primer.



Artistic Genius--Whether its an oil painting, a sonnet or a three-layer cake, this person must create.



Hope you enjoy my little quiz. Please tell your friends!

Requiem for An Author

I did not know Kathleen Givens personally. I had read her wonderful ON A HIGHLAND SHORE last year and then in December, I finished her RIVALS FOR THE CROWN. I was so impressed with the detailed story-telling, I spotlighted this title on the Em Recommends page on my website. It went live on December 31st and I fully intended to send Kathleen an email through her website to let her know how much I'd enjoyed her work, but I wasn't quick enough.

Kathleen died in early January and, from everything I've seen on the internet, unexpectedly. It just goes to prove you should never put off telling someone something nice about themselves.

So even though I didn't ever meet Kathleen, I'd like to share what I do know about her based on her writing.

She had a lyrical soul. Her prose sang. Her characters were so sharply drawn they lived full rich lives between her pages and I suspect they are still having adventures on their own. They certainly live on for me.

She was devoted to getting the details right, a thorough historian. Her nuanced recreation of King Edward the Long-Shanks corrupt court was fascinating. She was the sort of storyteller who could climb inside her characters' heads and show you why they thought as they did, how they viewed the world and those around them. Her wonderful Jewish heroine Rachel de Anjou showed me medieval Scotland through fresh eyes.

She believed in honor and redemption and mercy. And in the power of love to mend all wrongs. I know because that's how her characters lived and died.

I'm very sorry I didn't tell her I saw all these things in her work when I had a chance. If you'd like to learn more about Kathleen Givens and her books, please visit www.kathleengivens.com and look for her titles at your local bookseller. She's worth getting to know.

Note: Kathleen's friend Sherri Browning Erwin asked me to share this--

You might let your readers know that her family is reading the tributes at The Whine Sisters (http://www.whinesisters.com), a site she was a part of, and also at Kathleen's Facebook site, in case anyone wanted to leave a message for her family. Kathleen's passing was sudden and shocking, and we're all still reeling. Her family is very appreciative and touched by all the notes and emails they've seen.

Contests and Freebies!

Every now and then when I know about a few contests, I like to post them here so you can hop over and win something. I'm starting off with my contest, naturally. I'm having such fun with this one. The comments I'm getting about the free novella are wonderful. I have the most inventive readers on the planet! Plus when you tell me how you think the story should progress, you're entered in the March 31st drawing for a $100 gift card! You can enter once a month as soon as each new chapter goes up!

Michelle and Leslie's Book Blog is doing a give away that lets the winner pick their prize from a list of super titles. http://booksandmakeup.blogspot.com/ Pop over and give them a try!


Helen Scott Taylor is no stranger to my readers. I featured her Magic Knot a few months back. During January she's giving away signed copies of both The Magic Knot and The Phoenix Charm in her contest. Here's the link:

http://www.writerspace.com/contests/helenscotttaylor.html

Also worth a mention. Helen's holding a New Release Event at Bitten By Books on Monday Jan 11 and she'll be giving away a $100 Amazon voucher to one lucky winner. Mark your calendar!

Enjoy and let us know if you hear about any good contests!

The Ultimate Kick-butt Heroine

Over the Christmas weekend, we went to see AVATAR with our family back in Missouri. It was captivating. Avatar had everything~a sympathetic hero, a huge conflict, a special world with magic dripping from every fern, a fascinating indigenous culture with a well-developed spirituality, and most importantly for me, a love story at its heart.

Neytiri, the beautiful Na'vi heroine, is a total alpha female. We first meet her stalking and planning to kill the invading hero. Fortunately, she has a change of heart. Then in some spectacular action, she saves him from a pack of creatures (a cross between wolves and saber-tooth tigers) and manages to beat them off while wearing hardly a stitch on her lovely blue body. Her snarl alone is enough to send some of them scurrying.

Needless to say, the hero is more than intrigued.

I've never written what I would call an alpha female (probably because I myself am a sniveling beta) but I'm tempted to try it now. Neytiri is undoubtedly fierce, but she is also uniquely feminine. The trick to making her work, I think, is making sure the hero is an uber-alpha. He has to be in order to be worthy of her.

Have you seen AVATAR? What did you think?

A Duke for All Seasons

I'm starting a FREE online novella on my website. I want it to be a fun experience and a chance for readers to be involved in deciding how the story progresses. That's why I've organized a contest to encourage input, and I've gotten some great, detailed feedback already. But I thought we might discuss characters and plot in more depth here on my blog.

Here's the first part of Chapter One of A DUKE FOR ALL SEASONS:

'A woman, like a blooded hound or a fine steed, has a finite period of usefulness. When that time has run its course, a prudent man divests himself of the asset without regret.' ~ A Gentleman’s Guide to Keeping a Mistress 

Sebastian Blake hated to wait for anything. Fortunately, he was the Duke of Winterhaven. It was a simple matter to let others wait for him. That's why His Grace settled into his private box after the house lighting dimmed and the gas footlights illuminated the Olympic’s red velvet curtain. Sebastian preferred to miss most of the overture, if he could. His late arrival kept him from having to brush off those who would use a chance meeting at the opera as an excuse to curry favor.

Or ask for one.

“Rosalinde isn’t joining us?” his friend Neville Granger asked in a whisper as the orchestra finished the overture with a flourish.

“Her season has passed,” Sebastian said with a shrug. “We parted ways and she left with a generous pension.”

Neville shook his head. “They don’t call you The Ice Duke for nothing.”

“Nonsense. Rosalinde knew exactly what to expect.” Sebastian was faithful and devoted to his mistresses, but he always dismissed them with the turn of each season and found a replacement. The rules were explained at the start. In this way he never grew bored, and never had to end a relationship in anger or face tearful recriminations. It was simply a function of the calendar, eminently logical, utterly civilized. “She has a new diamond necklace and I have my freedom, as per our agreement.”

Neville brought his quizzing glass to one eye and swept the crowd below them. “Someday, my friend, you’re going to meet a woman who can’t be bought.”

“On that day, I’ll give you a bottle of that expensive Spanish port you favor,” Sebastian said. “Provided you stop grumbling at me about it now. This is how I’ve ordered my life. Four times a year, I engage in a brief chase and then give myself three months to enjoy my prize. Don’t spoil this part of the process for me by scolding like a fishwife.”

“Make it a case of that port and we have a deal.”

“Done.” Sebastian leaned back in his tufted seat, sure he’d never be called upon to make good that wager. “Now, tell me about this soprano you think I’d like.”

“Arabella St. George. Shh! Here she comes.”

Neville leaned forward so far, Sebastian feared he might tumble out of the box. Then his gaze flicked to the stage and he realized why Neville was willing to risk life and limb.

Normally Sebastian favored petite brunettes, but the footlights shot this woman’s long pale hair with strawberry highlights. Tall and willowy, with striking, even features and luminous dark eyes, Arabella St. George possessed a fierce, almost other-worldly beauty.

Sebastian didn’t consider himself the sort given to flights of fancy, but his imagination soared at the sight of her. She might be a changeling princess, offspring of the hollow hills. Or a pagan priestess demanding sacrifice. Or one of the three queens who bore King Arthur’s body to Avalon.

Lord knows, he’d let her take his body anywhere she pleased.

Then ethereal Miss St. George opened her mouth and began to sing.

No wonder Neville calls her a diva. Her voice was liquid seduction, a fiery blend of passion and pathos. Sebastian decided then and there, whatever else she was; she was going to be his.

At least for the coming season.
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Click here to read the rest of the first chapter.

When I used to sing professional opera, I always made up backstories for my characters. A backstory is the character's past history--those pivotal moments that make the character who they are. I needed to make one up so I'd know why my character behaved as she did in the opera.

My hero Sebastian seems to have an almost paranoid fear of a long term relationship. Or maybe he's just so self-absorbed he doesn't want the bother of working on knowing someone else deeply. If I knew what happened in his past, I'd have some insight into why he behaves this way now. I have a couple of ideas about his past, but I'm interested in what YOU come up with.

What do you think happened to him that caused him to come up with his "seasonal mistress" plan?

Jade Lee on Crimson Steam!

We have a winner: RK Charon! Check the comments for instructions on contacting Jade for your prize. Thanks to everyone who commented!

How do multiple author series find their way to the book shelves? Please welcome my friend Jade Lee who's got all the answers! She's sharing about her involvement in the Crimson City phenomenon and the possibility of a second round of those inventive paranormals. My blog is yours, Jade.

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CRIMSON & STEAM!



Some years ago, I was at an RT convention when my editor invited to be part of an exciting new series called Crimson City. Due to a last minute problem, Love Spell and series creator Liz Maverick needed someone to write book 5 Seduced By Crimson very fast. Fast meant in about 2 months and since speed has always been one of my strengths, they invited me in. I took about one second to decide, but because I wanted to appear less-than-anxious, I delayed answering for at least 10 seconds. That was as long as I could hold out. Then I came home from conference and told my kids they could go to whatever summer camps they wanted, but they had to go. Fortunately, they were at the right age to want to spend all their time at volleyball camp, horseback riding camp, swim camp, and get-me-away-from-my-lame-parents camp. To this day, I don’t know if I made a profit on this book or not. My children took me to the cleaners that summer, but on the upside, I got to write for Crimson City!

The world is rather simple and yet so rich with intrigue and romance that I was stunned by Liz’s ingenuity. Vampires live in wealthy high rises, werewolves haunt the subway tunnels, and humans live in the middle trying to stay safe against the paranormals. All this happens in Los Angeles that has been nicknamed Crimson City because of the race riots (and I don’t mean riots based on skin color). In an attempt to balance the power against the paranormals, humans have two projects going on. The first is a cyborg project that creates half human, half machine mechs. The second is to open a dimensional gate to a demon world that decides to invade. Oops. Silly humans! Oh yeah, and I got to create human magic-user Druids. I needed an infusion of greenery into urbanized Los Angeles.

OMG what fun this was! Especially since book 5 was the demon invasion! All Earth species came together to fight off mega bad demons! The series was an instant hit, put me and Marjorie Liu on the USA Today list, and brought me some friends for life!

You’re probably wondering why I’m talking about this. After all, the primary series came out in 2006 with an anthology in 2007. Old news, right? Nope! Liz is reviving the series with a new book out this month! Crimson Steam is an origins story that talks about how the paranormals were created about a century ago. There are elements of steam punk, hence the name, and the possibility of a second Crimson City series. I, of course, am thrilled, thrilled, thrilled about this possibility!



So...any thoughts readers? Who here has read the series? Who wants a second series of books? Raise your hand...er...I mean, leave a comment, and I’ll give a free Shards of Crimson (anthology) to a lucky someone!