Archive for September, 2008

“Cause” … I said

September 29, 2008 By: Guestauthor Category: Book trailers, Guest Blogger 4 Comments →

mediumNina Pierce–Erotic Suspense Author
Thank you for letting me come over and play in your corner of the Internet, Romance Junkies! Sometimes a writer just needs to get out, stretch her legs, and check out  another blog! I’m happy to be here visiting with everyone today!

My debut novel “The Healer’s Garden” was a December 2007 molten erotic release from Liquid Silver Books. It’s not dark or chilling but it is a suspense story that takes place in an alternative future.

A world left after the devastating plague of the twenty-first century nearly wiped out the male population and significantly decreased the female population. A place where woman have evolved and developed the talents of prophesying, telepathy, telekinesis, and the greatest gift of all—healing.

In this female dominated society, continuing the human population is of utmost importance. The virus that decimated humans has also rendered male sperm incapable of surviving artificial insemination and cloning has yet to be perfected. The government has enslaved acceptable males and decreed that woman must mate with them and birth two infants before the age of thirty.

It’s at the government breeding facility known as the Garden of Serenity that gifted healer Jahara Hriznek meets the mating instructor Brenimyn and so begins their tumultuous relationship.

Brenimyn believes the time is now to rise up and restore social equality for all. He is searching for the one woman prophesied to be his mate and partner in the battle against the government and believes Jahara is that woman. But can Brenimyn convince Jahara to trust her heart and follow him? And will that love be enough to unite them in a coup against the government and bring about a new world order?

Here’s the book trailer:

And a short excerpt:

The sound from the crowd rolled up from the grass. The noise engulfed Brenimyn like a thunderous storm. He had never delivered the words with such enthusiasm and confidence. Putting his arm around Jahara, he was showered with the strength flowing from her. He kissed her passionately, barely able to control the impulse to run his hands down her body and feel her respond to his touch. She melted into him and he held her until the noise diminished, satisfied in the minimal contact.

Knowing the next step would be the hardest, he hugged Jahara close to him. Her body tensed. She understood what was coming. “Most honorable friends.” He raised his arm, waiting for the din to subside. “The time has come. We have waited and now it will begin.” Pausing a heartbeat, Brenimyn let the suspense hang in the air. “Men, no longer will we submit to the domination of the female species.” The breeders whooped and raised their fists. “No more will we be treated as animals good only for increasing the female population.” Some men jumped to their feet. “We will no longer accept that we are not worthy of gifts and education.” Even with the amplifier, Brenimyn had to shout to be heard over the celebrating crowd.

“Women, you will no longer be forced to procreate for the sake of continuing humankind. Mating will be a choice, one’s body freely given to another for the sake of love, not obligation for reproduction.” Everyone was on their feet. “The time has come to stop ripping your children from your womb and your hearts.” He watched the pregnant women cradle their swollen stomachs. “We have waited long enough, the time is now.”

He let the crowd have their moment before lifting his hand. The crowd settled back into the grass. The murmurs of approval still rippled over them like a pebble dropped in water.

“The prophecy says: two great warriors, a woman and a man shall join together to ready an army for a monumental battle. It will not be fought with weapons as our ancestors had done, but with intellect and cunning. This war will oppose all common beliefs and bring about a new world order where men and women, as equals, shall reign.” Jahara went slack in his arms. She braced her hand on his chest, her gaze flicking wildly about the people below. Holding her quivering body, Brenimyn knew only his arm kept her from collapsing. This was a burden anyone would find difficult to shoulder.

“Many visionaries have confirmed the prophecy. As you know, from a young age, I understood I was the chosen one. I accepted the responsibility many years ago and have prepared the way, waiting anxiously for the woman who would stand at my side.” The crowd stilled, holding a collective breath, already knowing the words he would speak. Unsure of her reaction, Brenimyn looked down at Jahara. He watched her transformation in rapt fascination.

Stepping away from him, she stood with her feet planted, pulling herself up tall. She filled her lungs, her barebreasts held high. The dark triangle of her womanhood was visible through the gossamer fabric of her breeches billowing in the breeze. She looked so feminine. Yet, under the lifted chin and unpretentious set of her mouth, he could see the fierce warrior the visionaries had promised. She held her arms casually at her side, not at her hips in defiance as many would.

All this happened in a matter of seconds.

“I present to you today, my mate–the honorable Jahara Hriznek. She is the one sent to save us from the tyranny of the Governmental Body of the Garden.”

Bowing before the thunderous crowd, she accepted the accolades with humility. Brenimyn was sure his heart would burst with love for the brave woman standing not above him like so many other females, but at his side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love this couple… love that Brenimyn is willing to risk his life to stand up for something he believes in and fight for the woman he loves. I love that Jahara knows not what is asked of her, but she’s willing to go against the status quo to begin a monumental reform none the less.

I was born in the 60’s, but I am not a child of the 60’s. That was an era when men and women laid down in front of bulldozers or carried picket signs or stood up against the government on court hall steps. I’ve never stepped up in public and fought for a cause I believed in. I’m opinionated and not too shy to express myself, but have never gone to jail to prove a point. I greatly admire people who have stepped out of their comfort zone and stood up for a cause.

I love to hear stories of people with that much bravery. Have you taken a stand? Or would you like to? Tell me about it. I’ll pick one winner from all the commenters today to receive an e-copy of “The Healer’s Garden”. Don’t be shy, I’d love to hear from you! I’ll be here all day!

And if you’re interested in finding out more about my books, please visit me at my website  or friend me on MySpace. I’d love to hear from you!

The Power of Words

September 25, 2008 By: Guestauthor Category: Guest Blogger 3 Comments →

 Words. They can hurt, appease, comfort, inspire, cajole, tickle, sadden and delight us.Finding the perfect word can sometimes be a daunting undertaking. The more we search for that gem, the more frustrated we can become when we can’t find it.

An important thing for a writer to remember is that words connote as well as denote. Once we think we’ve found the word we want to use, we must remember to check to be sure that, in using this word, we aren’t conveying any unwanted subtext.

For example, some years ago a little girl about six years old or so was telling me about being in her church’s Christmas play. She said she was one of the shepherds and her brother was one of the WISE GUYS.

While it is true that the words ”guys” and “men” are quite interchangeable in the English language, a “wise man” and a “wise guy” connote two completely different types of people. I don’t think any of the Magi would appreciate being likened to a character like Eddie Haskel of “Leave it to Beaver” fame.

On another occasion, when I was a teacher, one of my students claimed in a test answer that a person could receive a traffic citation for “wreckless” driving.

I was amused by her answer, and began to visualize being stopped by a police officer for “wreckless” driving. Here is roughly what I envisioned the officer saying to me: “Mrs. Shaff, I’m sorry, but you haven’t had a car accident for years and years now. I’m afraid I’m going have to issue you a ticket for ‘wreckless’ driving.”

As a writer I’m always looking for the perfect word for a title, a phrase or a sentence. As a reader, I notice when a writer has used the perfect word to illustrate an idea, a scene or a characteristic of one of her characters.

The use of perfect words can make all the difference between a paragraph being mediocre and being great.

But words aren’t important only to writers and readers. Words have power for all of us. We can make or break a person’s day with words. Those of us networking on the Internet know this better than anyone, don’t we? We can receive notes from people we’ve never met wishing us a great week, a happy birthday or congratulations on a recent accomplishment we’ve achieved.  Those words can cheer us up and inspire us to not only feel better but to pass along our good feelings to others. What could be better than that?

Here’s hoping that all who read my words today have a week filled with love and happiness because each and every one of us deserves to be loved and happy.

Fran Shaff, Award-Winning Author 

www.members.aol.com/frnshaff

Mr. Webster might not approve

September 24, 2008 By: Guestauthor Category: Guest Blogger 2 Comments →

Language is always evolving, and we writers are naturally inclined toward playing with words. So a few of my writing pals and I have created our own writing dictionary. It gives us laughs when we need them, and some shortcut words we use in our critiques.

I’ll share this entry:

plotsticker - n. a mental pitstop regarding a particular element of a story, i.e. a plot-twist, historical fact, or event, which slows the momentum of or completely halts a work in progress. Usually requires extensive research. (see procrastolating and screwing off in general) as well as lengthy internet chats on the subject. A plotsticker can hinder to the point of long-term mental disability, given the right climate and time to flourish. Anti-venoms include but are not limited to: staring off into space for undefined intervals, self-induced quarantine, excessive chocolate as reward for brainstorming, skipping over said detail of story (see also plothole), hitting the Delete key until it snaps, a week off from writing, acupuncture, walking, staring for long hours at photos of Johnny Depp/Enrique/Orlando Bloom/ any male actor from Desperate Housewives, tweezing eyebrows, housecleaning, or - most effective of all- being entirely too busy to sit down and write a single sentence. This last remedy is nearly always guaranteed to cause a plot breakthrough.

ant: inspiration syn.: (the dreaded)writer’s block

Happy Wednesday!

Piper Denna

Romance is sexy!

www.piperdenna.com

www.myspace.com/piperdenna

While the cat’s away contest… by Delilah Devlin

September 21, 2008 By: Guestauthor Category: Guest Blogger, Contests 36 Comments →

I’m away at Lora Leigh’s Readers Appreciation Weekend (RAW 2008), but I pre-posted this to make sure I wouldn’t miss spending time with you.

I’ve been running a contest on my blog while I’m gone. The rules are as follows:

This contest runs Thursday through Monday. You may post as often as you like but only one entry will count each day. And the rules are easy. I’ll post a question; you post an answer on my blog (and here at Romance Junkies today!).

The prize will include a tote filled with books I scarf up at RAW and gifts from the writers attending the event. Take a look at the amazing list of authors who will be attending and get your appetites whetted for a great prize!

Shayla Black ◊ Diane Whiteside
Veronica Chadwick ◊ Kay Stockham
Lorie O’Clare ◊ Lora Leigh
Lucy Monroe ◊ Shiloh Walker
J.R. Ward ◊ Sylvia Day/S.J. Day
Jacqueline Frank ◊ Kate Douglas
Nalini Singh ◊ Diane Castell
Jules Bennett ◊ Mary Wine/Dawn Ryder
Angela Knight ◊ Bianca D’Arc
Jasmine Haynes/Jennifer Skully/JB Skully
Delilah Devlin

 

Today’s question:

If you had the time and money and could go on any month-long summer adventure of your choice, what would you choose to do?

 

Get in bed with Delilah…Everyone else has!
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www.DelilahDevlin.com