A while ago as I headed to the train to go to my day job as usual it was still dark outside. Yet this time as I arrived at the end of my block I glanced up as I always did to look at the train another block away. But this time my breath paused as I took in the view before me. A full moon hung over the train tracks. A train was just pulling in under the this full moon. It was breathtaking.

I paused to take in the moon. That soft glow casting everything is a mystical looking light. It was surreal and wonderful. Not to mention inspiring. What is more romantic than a full moon bathing down on you?

I continued on my way to the train as the moon continued to shine. I had a spring in my step and the feeling it would be a great day. As the day wore on the feeling stayed with me. The day did turn out to be a wonderful one.

McKenna Jeffries
http://www.mckennajeffries.com/
…. sensual, edgy, unexpected

Blog: http://www.mckennajeffries.com/blog
Chat Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/McKennaJeffriesList
Free Reads Site: http:/ /www.satinnotes.com/

Conquering Jazz – What’s a woman to do when she unwittingly makes a tantalizing proposition to her best friend?

Be brazen, bold and set some ground rules. Her offer. One night of carnal bliss. No emotion allowed.

His counter offer. A continued affair to fulfill all their sexual cravings.

His hidden agenda. Conquer to make sure their affair never ends.

Buy here at Liquid Silver Book.

About a month ago, I found myself rewriting the same chapter over and over again – actually editing my editing. I was stuck, going nowhere, wedged into the corner of a mindless cube with no exit door in sight. Out of curiosity, I investigated and discovered that some pretty well-known authors have suffered from this same affliction: George Gissing, Samuel Coleridge, Joseph Mitchell, even F. Scott Fitzgerald. When I calculated that it took thirty years for Harold Brodkey to publish The Runaway Soul, I realized that I needed to find a solution, and fast. Now these suggestions may not be your answer, but after undergoing self-induced therapy for one week, I managed to lose my block before I completely cracked.

Rage. If you’re deleting chapters or filling trash baskets, screaming and stomping won’t get you anywhere – although it helps to clear the cob webs and release pent up frustrations. Just don’t make this a habit or you might find yourself residing in a padded cell.

Inspiration. The spark of genius might be flittering about just beyond your reach. Go for walks, see a movie, read books. Sit in the park with your eyes closed, listening to the world around you. But should you chose to do this, don’t ignore the flashers, pickpockets, and hookers milling around or the police officers who might ask you to move along.

Escape. If you can’t find something to inspire you, calm your frustrations with a distraction – whether it be lunch with friends, a weekend getaway or an around the world trip. But wherever you end up, don’t forget to bring home something other than leftovers and laundry to help rekindle your thoughts.

Re-engage. Reread what you’ve already written, the notes you compiled, the outline you struggled to complete. Become reacquainted with your characters and rescue them from a fate worse than avoidance.

Purpose. Remember what drove you to write this story in the first place. However, if you were purely financially motivated, hopefully you have someone very patient in your life that’s helping to pay the bills.

Linda Yoshida, aka Kaylin McFarren, is a rare bird indeed. Not a migratory sort, she prefers to hug the West Coast and keep family within visiting range. Although she has virtually been around the world, she was born in California, relocated with her family to Washington, and nested with her husband in Oregon. In addition to playing an active role in his business endeavors, she has been involved in all aspects of their three daughters’ lives – taxi duties,
cheerleading coaching, script rehearsals, and relationship counseling, to name but a few. Now she enjoys spending undisciplined time with her two young grandsons and hopes to have many more.

Although Kaylin wasn’t born with a pen in hand like so many of her talented fellow authors, she has been actively involved in both business and personal writing projects for many years. As the director of a fine art gallery, she assisted in furthering the careers of numerous visual artists who under her guidance gained recognition through promotional opportunities and in national publications. Eager to spread her own creative wings, she has since steered her energy toward writing novels. As a result, she has earned more than a dozen literary awards and was a 2008 finalist in the prestigious RWA® Golden Heart contest.

Kaylin is a member of RWA, Rose City Romance Writers, and Willamette Writers. She received her AA in Literature at Highline Community College, which originally sparked her passion for writing. In her free time, she also enjoys giving back to the community through participation and support of various charitable and educational organizations in the Pacific Northwest.

You can visit Kaylin online at www.kaylinmcfarren.com or visit her book’s website at www.flahertyscrossing.com.

Hi, everyone. I’m so glad to be here blogging with you. My 70th romance will be released this year and I’m excited about that.

Whenever I write a blog, I like to give a few details about myself. I live in Pennsylvania but the Southwest is my favorite place on the planet. The scenery fills me up creatively and spiritually the way nothing else can. Cooking is my favorite hobby and I once won second place in a national Bisquick contest! I find recipes can be as interesting to put together as plots. Early on—in my teens—I wrote poetry and began a book manuscript. Music fed my creative bent then and still does today. Favorite singers? Taylor Swift, Adam Lambert and Josh Groban. What can I say? My tastes are eclectic.

I’d love to discuss my Baby Experts series with you. The fourth book in the series, THE TEXAS BILLIONAIRE’S BABY, will be released at the end of February with Silhouette Special Edition.

Before I go into detail about my new novel, I’d like to tell you a little about an older one. I once wrote about a heroine with a port-wine stain on one side of her face. She was a trauma make-up expert and had to grow out of her own insecurities without make-up in the course of the book. One of my editors then suggested I not write other books with “issues.” For a while I listened to the underlying message—don’t deal with serious subjects in romances. But as each book was published, I realized the only way to keep my plots challenging as well as interesting for me was to add an aspect to each book that made it unique. Throughout my career, I’ve mixed more serious books with lighter ones, sensual ones with blatantly sexy ones. With all of them, I try to keep emotion the key driving element.

In THE TEXAS BILLIONAIRE’S BABY, my hero, Logan Barnes, is worried about his toddler son who isn’t yet walking. Daniel was a preemie and his mother died to save him. My heroine Gina Rigoletti has returned to Sagebrush, Texas after years away to make peace with her past…as well as with Logan. When she was eighteen she fell in love with him but left him because of a threat from his father and for the dream of a future for herself and her sister. A developmental baby expert now, Logan hires Gina to help Daniel learn to walk. Old feelings come rushing back for both of them.

Gina once left Logan and he can’t forget that betrayal. On Gina’s part… She holds more than one secret that could destroy the new bond they forge while working with Daniel. After Gina left Sagebrush for college—Logan never knew his father threatened her—she was date-raped.

This romance is about healing the past but also healing a trauma that has never seen the full light of the sun. Gina’s love for Logan and his for her becomes the sun Gina needs to let fourteen-year-old wounds heal.

THE TEXAS BILLIONAIRE’S BABY is a book about babies and a single dad…about supportive women friends who are heroines in The Baby Experts series. It’s about an old Victorian house in fictional Sagebrush outside of Lubbock that appears to have started a rumor—any women who lives there will find true love. It’s about lasting love and new love and the healing power of mutual honesty.

I’m ready to discuss any aspects of my blog. I want to thank all my readers for your support during my career. If you are a new reader, I hope you enjoy the plunge into my booklist and find reading each book a pleasure and an emotional experience.

Have a great day.

Karen Rose Smith

To buy THE TEXAS BILLIONAIRE’S BABY, go to:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=The+Texas+Billionaire%27s+Baby&x=8&y=17

Visit www.karenrosesmith.com  for more information on The Baby Experts series.

Stop by Karen’s Facebook fan page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-Rose-Smith/113599841764?ref=ts

From Arctic wolves in winter in Legend of the White Wolf, to red wolves and wolf pups in spring in

Seduced by the Wolf,

and gray wolves in the fall and winter in Heart of the Wolf, Destiny of the Wolf and To Tempt a Wolf,

all that’s left is the season of summer to share a love of wolves, werewolves, that is. So in the next two books, Taming the Highland Wolf and Dreaming of the Wolf, are set in the summer months, the first in Scotland, and the second in Colorado.

Wolves are content during any season, anywhere, as long as they have their mates, families, can hunt, and play, and relax, just like werewolves.

Just think, if you play your cards right, you can enjoy the company of a hunky alpha male werewolf year round!

I’ve enjoyed exploring the nature of wolves in different locations, at different times of the year, and with different kinds of wolves. In my current work in progress, Taming the Highland Wolf, I’m even talking about yet another type of wolf. Which always translates into a new kind of werewolf, because with my werewolves, they are based on real wolves when in their wolf coat.

Even though real wolves might not have any preference to season, being that family and food are high are their priority list, werewolves and their human halves do have preferences for seasons. Or, even if they love some more than others, the different seasons make them feel…differently.

In autumn, when the air turns chillier, as long as they’re not living in the hot summer climates where no season is much other than warm, hot, hot, and hotter, wolves enjoy the invigorating cooler breeze ruffling their fur, the hint of snow, the thrill of the hunt.

In winter, with nice warm fur coats, it’s fun to romp in the snow, oblivious to the cold and wet, less of a problem for them slipping on ice either the way their feet spread out to counter the slickness.

In spring, the grass and flowers and pups take center stage, a time for rebirth, growth, and change.

And in summer, winter fur coats are shed and lighter coats are worn, the hot lazy sunny days make for hot lazy summer wolves.

But not in my stories! Every season is filled with mystery, romance and adventure. In Destiny of the Wolf, Lelandi describes Devlyn as being winter-chilled, dark and brooding. She thinks of herself as autumn and pumpkin pies and fall leaves.

I love spring myself, as the temperatures aren’t too beastly hot and the flowers are just beginning to emerge. I feel a spring in my step with having to wear fewer heavy clothes. So I’m all for spring.  But I love late autumn also, though we don’t get much in the line of fall colors. If we did, I’d really love autumn. Here, it’s the break from the sweltering summer heat, and if we’re lucky, some rain showers to help green up the parched land of summer.

So what kind of wolf would you prefer and what is your favorite season? Would the wolf of your choice prefer your favorite season, or another?

One lucky winner, Canada or US, is eligible to win a copy of Legend of the White Wolf just by answering my questions, OR by asking me one!

Thanks for joining me on my seasonal jaunt into the world of wolves…and werewolves!

Terry Spear
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male!”

www.terryspear.com

http://www.wickedlyromantic.blogspot.com/

http://casablancaauthors.blogspot.com/

http://fierceromance.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#/home.php?ref=home

http://shapeshifterromance.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/legend-of-the-white-wolf-being-shipped/#comment-4502

The other day I was watching a ballet when I realized that although there were no words I clearly knew what the dancers were portraying with their body. The ballet had all the emotions it made me laugh, angry, and weep.

After the show it left me thinking of the non verbal communication in everyday life. So I conducted a sort of experiment. I studied people when I walked around, on the train and where ever I went. It was amazing how much I found that I could tell a lot about people without them saying a word. Now I’m not saying that I didn’t notice before when someone was happy, angry or upset before but the ballet made me observe more.

I also took a look at the TV show Lie to Me. The shows whole concept is about reading people. They use the human face and body language. Also peoples tone of voice. Between that and the ballet it opened a fascination in me.

With my experiment and the show they made me think even more. Come up with a story concept to use the non verbal to get emotion across with no words.

Take a shot at observing someone today and see what you can find out. It may led you to unexpected things.

Taige Crenshaw
http://www.taigecrenshaw.com/
…increasing the sizzle factor

Blog: http://www.taigecrenshaw.com/blog
Chat Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crenshawcafe
Newsletter: http://www.taigecrenshaw.com/newsletterandgroups.shtml
Free Reads Site: http://www.satinnotes.com/

Wilde Seduction – What happens when a woman who doesn’t know how to relax meets a man whose lust for life will change her and make all her deepest desires come to life?

Buy here at Total-E-Bound.

I’ll admit it.  I fall in love with all of my heroes.  How could I not?  They are all men who I’ve custom made to my own specs, right?  And even when they get a bit unruly and do things I didn’t actually intend for them to do, I still love them. 

When I was writing HAUNTING WARRIOR, the second book in my HAUNTING series, I didn’t just fall in love with Rory MacGrath—I plunged, a million miles an hour.  And I hit hard.  What makes Rory so special is the fact that he begins so completely broken.  He’s disconnected from his past, his family and even his heritage.  He’s convinced himself that he doesn’t mind being alone and that he doesn’t long to be loved.  Of course I knew better.  I felt his pain.  I could see into his heart. 

Rory has been punishing himself for crimes he thinks he committed, for circumstances he had no control over, and for a loss that was punishing enough.  Tough on the outside, lost on the inside, Rory needed a woman who would help him see his own strengths—a woman who would challenge him to rise above the past that has crippled him emotionally and step back into the circle of the living.  She couldn’t be just any woman and she certainly wasn’t easy to find.  In fact, Rory had to travel through time to reach her.

Thrust back in time to ancient Ireland, Rory opens his eyes in the body of another man who is about to marry the very woman Rory has been dreaming about for weeks.  Suddenly, Rory is fighting for his life—and the life of his new bride.  Their enemies are everywhere and the odds of surviving dwindle with each passing moment.  But now that Rory has met the woman of his dreams, now that he has touched, tasted, and made love to that woman, he realizes that he doesn’t want to be alone anymore.  He will fight to protect her.  He will fight to free them both from the fate the future feels determined to deliver.  He will be the warrior she needs him to be and he will win for love . . . or he will die trying.

So yeah, I fell in love with Rory MacGrath.  He’ll be coming to your bookstores in May and I hope you will too.

I’d love to hear from you and I’m giving away an autographed copy of one my novels (writing as Erin Grady) Echoes or Whispers to one lucky winner who leaves a comment.  Let me know . . . what makes you fall in love with a hero?

HAUNTING WARRIOR, May 2010

HAUNTING BEAUTY, August 2009

Thanks for stopping by.  For more information about me and my books, visit www.erinquinn.info

Erin Quinn

We’ve all heard how writing contests are a great way to build name recognition and catch the right person’s attention.  With the internet’s proliferation, authors no longer have to predominantly rely on their local writing group chapter for one. More and more, website communities like BlakeSnyder.com are offering free, reader voted contests we all can enter. For example, December 2010, Editor Unleashed offered the “Why I Write” essay contest open to any writer so long as they joined the forum. Entries had a 750 word limit and here is mine:

For The Marginally Insane

By Amber Scott © 2010

Furiously typing away, I am interrupted by my beaming daughter. “Momma, I poop!”

I look down and, sure enough, my babygirl has lost another battle with the mighty clench.

“I catch it!” (As evidenced by the large, brown lump teetering on her dainty palm.)

At four, my son wanted to be white balloon when he grew up, so he could fly high in the sky. Now he’s five and he thinks that’s silly. When I was four, I wanted to be a writer. I vividly remember telling my mother as much “Oh?” she’d said. “What will you write, Amber? Books? Poems?”

That pride still courses through me. I would write books, and just as those I read transported me, I would take others to another place and time to live vicariously. But, I rarely actually wrote. For school assignments, I scribbled away. For a few minor contests, I put pen to paper. For a Father’s Day gift, I penciled and stapled a little book on baseball, a topic I knew nothing about but thought my dad would love. I winged it.

When I was thirteen my dad died. I finished my first historical romance that year, beginning my lifelong affair with the genre. I wrote in my head and let it stay there.

In college, I excelled in my creative writing courses. Post graduation I contributed to my employer’s newsletter. I did not begin writing, though, really and truly writing, until my son was born. He nursed all day long. I had no job outside the home. I learned how to burn bacon. I mastered the quickest vacuum route. I grew a bit isolated and, forced to sit still and be present in my own life, my childhood dream began whispering.

I heard voices. I always had, I realized. Characters I’d thought up here and there during the course of my life had grown tired of sitting around my mental waiting room.

During every nap, I wrote. Terrible, awful passive voiced novels that I couldn’t let anyone read. But each time, I got a little better. I changed diapers and cleaned toilets and fell in love with an outcast knight.  I stacked blocks and tended fevers and seduced my ex boyfriend’s best friend.

Don’t worry. My husband knows all about them. He supports me throughout it all and, (surprise, surprise) did a dance when I finally kissed a girl. I am a happier wife, a more attentive and patient mother, when I am writing. Creating gives me purpose and escape. I better understand the people I love and better tolerate those I don’t. The deeper I delve into the human heart through these flawed characters, the clearer I see myself and the world around me.

I write for my dad who never got his baseball book, for my mom who always took my dream seriously. For my son and my daughter who still shout the magic words to open the garage door. I write to control the voices and to face my fears.

“Oh, good girl!” I reply to my cherubic girl. “Let’s take it to the toilet and tell it bye-bye.” And scrub your little hands and pray for the day we can proclaim, we are potty trained! Hey, she’s only two. What else can I do?

Maybe write about it.

***

My entry has been viewed more than eighty times and every new viewing through February counts as a vote. That’s more than eighty fellow writers and readers who may remember ‘Amber Scott’ the next time they see it, who might go to my website, who might purchase one of my books. Putting myself out there, I count as a win. I also win because I joined a forum which is brimming with marketing and writing information for authors. When a girl is trying to make it out here, every little thing helps, don’t you think?

In the spirit of contests, I’d like to offer any Romance Junkie fan a free copy of my ebook Play Fling. At Smashwords, please enter coupon code NQ33L. To view as a vote for my entry, please click here. Thank you so much!

:}Amber Scott, author, screenwriter, mom.

Find me on: 1st Turning Point, Smashwords, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or email me at amberromances@yahoo.com.

I’m so excited to announce that I have a new book out with Ellora’s Cave called Just Right, the sexy tale of Goldie and the Three Werebears.  When I first came up with the idea for the story, it was just that, a very vague idea.  I knew I wanted to write a story about girl who gets spanked by multiple guys, but I wasn’t sure what the plot was going to be.  Then, I saw a call for submissions by a publisher looking for a hot, sexy take on traditional fairy tales and an idea immediately began to take shape.  I could take the girl who gets spanked by three guys and turn them into Goldie and the Three Werebears!

Just Right starts out like the original tale, with Goldie getting lost while out hiking in the woods and breaking into a cabin.  That’s where the similarity ends, though.  You see the three werebears are so hot and hunky that Goldie, who secretly likes having her bottom warmed, finds herself suggesting they each spank her for her misdeeds.  The guys agree and Goldie ends up getting so turned on that she needs a little sex to make the night complete.  The only question is whether to sleep with one of them, or all of them!  Though I don’t want to give the story away and tell you what Goldie does, I will say that this is the first moresome story I’ve written (hint, hint).  It was definitely a lot of fun to write, so much fun in fact, that I’m definitely going to be writing more of them!

As it turned out, I didn’t give Just Right to the publisher who had put out the call for submissions because I was lucky enough to sign with Ellora’s Cave in the meantime, so I gave the book to my editor there instead!

Here’s a sexy, excerpt from Just Right.  Hope you enjoy it!

The sexy tale of Goldie and the three werebearsWhen Goldie Lockwood gets lost hiking and comes upon an isolated cabin, little does she know it belongs to three hot and hunky werebear brothers. The guys aren’t thrilled to discover Goldie ate their food and slept in their beds. Not wanting to go to jail, she suggests the men punish her for her naughty misdeeds—with an arousing round of spanking.

Excerpt:

No, they’re fatty acids.

Is my book about health?

 Only if a sexy vampire is part of the food groups.

 Daedalus is the best hero I’ve written. Not beautiful by modern standards yet self-assured and sexy. His confidence and charm draw those to him. A man’s man, loving fast cars, faster women, and football,  finds himself drawn to a small pack werewolves called The Omegas. Pansies of the paranormal, these werewolves are leaderless and happy this way until a large local pack decides they want to absorb them. What would happen to these kind heart geeks of the underworld? Not all packs are good and nurturing. Sugar, their neighbor, wants them to run but the Omegas are determined to defend the life they’ve built. Who knew such a conflict would draw two very different people together.

Only a vampire is man enough to teach werewolves how to fight. BLURB:Pretty librarian Sugar wants her life to stay quiet. That’s hard enough when friends and neighbors turn into furry wolves every full moon. But when a hot vampire gets involved, life’s bound to get complicated. The Omegas have always been the pansies of the paranormal. Now Chicago’s top werewolf pack has issued them a life or death challenge. Their only option: hire a vampire warrior to teach them the moves. Daedalus has been a powerful vampire for ages. Intrigued by the chance to train the geeks of the underworld, he wasn’t bargaining on losing his heart to a human. Can he make the Omegas a success, fit into Sugar’s quiet life, and avoid being ripped to shreds in the process? BUY NOW

Excerpt:

Sugar retreated further until she bumped against the cool metal of her fridge. She’d been disappointed to find only Daedalus at her door but didn’t regret his presence one bit now. His tight, black t-shirt outlined every hard, scrumptious detail of his chest. Lust awakened. An urge to splay her hands on his delicious body, kneading those hard muscles, gripped her.With each sinuous step he closed in on her until she found herself cornered. His body inspired all kinds of naughty ideas. She’d love to pour massage oil on his smooth head and let it drip down his naked body, so she could rub it all over him.“I’ve been thinking about you.” His husky voice brushed along her skin. Caged between his arms against the fridge, she felt trapped. Her heart raced with expectation, and she tried to moisten her suddenly dry lips by pressing them together.He leaned in until his face almost touched hers. Yearning replaced his mischievous grin. His eyes feasted on her as they traced along her face to focus on her mouth.“You have?” She wanted to drown in his half-lidded gaze.“Haven’t you thought of me, Sugar?”The way he spoke her name, like it tasted good, sent a thrill down her spine. Every single night he invaded her thoughts, starring in all her fantasies, but she couldn’t admit that to him. Even though he’d openly admired her, the desire he now displayed amazed her. She was a librarian, not some porn star, though his actions made her feel like one. “You’ve been on my mind once or twice.”Almost touching her, he denied her a kiss. Their lips were close enough for her to sense their movement when he spoke. “What will I do to entertain myself while your friends are gone?” The wait for his embrace made her burn with feral passion. It grew too much. She laid a gentle kiss on his mouth in sweet surrender. A bare touch.“I could think of a few things.” Who was this bold woman using her voice? Her curiosity for him made her brave enough to lose all her discretion.ANNIE NICHOLAS

www.annienicholas.com

www.annienicholas.blogspot.com

www.paranormalromantics.blogspot.com