Ground Rules releases today!

My Christmas fantasy, Ground Rules, is now out with The Wild Rose Press! Yay! I love holiday stories, especially when they include a little Christmas magic, and a gorgeous snarky angel.

Here's the blurb:
Can a bad boy angel and a dispirited mortal find a Christmas miracle together?
Alice Garner scores a great contract to illustrate a children’s book by a famous author, but lack of inspiration forces her to cancel her holiday plans. Alone on Christmas to meet her looming deadline, Alice wishes on her Christmas tree angel for help.
Luke, newly promoted to Watcher Angel, is reluctant to take the assignment. Long ago, his fiancée broke his mortal heart on Christmas Eve, and even returning to Earth on his Harley won’t dull the sting. Good thing the ground rules forbid getting involved with an assignment—Alice is tempting, but he’d rather not stay on Earth.
But Luke brings Alice more than inspiration. He reawakens her heart. Now Alice has to convince him he’s her greatest wish. With a little Christmas magic, can she convince him to break the ground rules and stay?

The Phantom Paragrapher: VBT# Dating 911- Kathleen Grieve

The Phantom Paragrapher: VBT# Dating 911- Kathleen Grieve: Today's VBT# is authoress Kathleen Grieve and her new novel Dating 911 . This tour is part of the blog Coffee Beans and Love Scenes. Syno...

Black Friday Sale on All TWRP Titles!

Go get 'em while they're hot!

Taking A Moment To Introduce Myself

I’m Darcy Lundeen, a romance writer, and I’m feeling totally psyched (okay, and just a little nervous, too) because my first novel, "Finding You Again," will be released in digital form in January by The Wild Rose Press.

I’m just checking in to say hello, and because I love my cover, I also can’t resist posting it.  It was created by Kim Mendoza, an obviously magnificent artist who I think brilliantly captured the giddy romantic sensation of reconnecting with a past love.

Lastly, I want to wish everyone a safe, happy and blessed Thanksgiving with the people you love.

Darcy

New Review for "Across the Winds of Time" by Bess McBride

I'm so pleased to share a lovely review of my latest release "Across the Winds of Time" with you by Robin at Romancing the Book at http://www.romancing-the-book.com/2011/11/review-across-winds-of-time-by-bess.html#more . Robin said it reminded her of "The Ghost and Mrs Muir." What a wonderful compliment!!  Thank you, Robin.

Bess McBride

Adam's Treasure Proud to be an American Historical

Excerpt:

Never, in her wildest dreams, did she imagine witnessing something like this. Seeing the four naked Indians toss Adam off the bank and into the river had frightened her beyond measure. When she saw that he could not swim, she had considered saving him, but the Indians had pushed past her.
In moments she realized that they had decided, for some unknown reason, to teach Adam Skelding to swim. The rest of the afternoon she sat under the oak trees and watched the antics of five very naked men.

Now, the man who captured her attention the most lay next to her. Water glistened on his olive skin. She couldn’t keep her gaze off the hills and valleys of the muscles across those broad shoulders, back, and tight rear end. He breathed hard, making everything ripple just slightly. Entrancing to witness.

With effort she focused on his face, but he had closed his eyes.

“Adam?”

“Mmmph?”

“Why did they do that?”

The Indians had also emerged from the water and donned their loincloths and moccasins once more. The eagle, which had remained perched in one of the trees nearby during most of the day, lifted from its leafy shelter and circled the group of Indians.

First one blue eye opened and then the other. Rolling on his side to face her, Adam propped his head on his hand, resting his elbow on the ground.

“Because I could not swim. Black Wolf and the others knew this.”

“How did they find out?” Marilla hoped he would confide in her enough to tell his story. Curiosity just about ate her up.

He sighed and rolled onto his back, totally distracting her once more. His manhood grew stiff…and big…and swollen, unlike the Indians. She swallowed hard. He appeared not to notice her interest and seemed very comfortable lying nude.

“During the war, my partner, Pamela, and I worked in Richmond. We discovered that the Confederates had built a secret weapon. We had to get that information to the North. But after learning about this weapon, Pamela disappeared. One of my agents saw her leaving town with a Confederate officer. I thought she had been kidnapped, so I rode to the rescue, fool that I was. In the struggle I ended up in the river. Black Wolf and his friends arrived in time to pull me out of the water.”

Sitting up, Adam reached for his shirt, which Marilla had spread to dry on the grassy bank, and started to dress. She found herself wishing he wouldn’t cover his magnificent body, but said nothing to stop him. The idea would be unseemly.

Adam turned away and headed toward the Indians, who had gathered around the wagon to feast again, feeding scraps to the bird on Black Wolf’s arm. Marilla watched him walk away. He had loved Pamela. His obvious pain said so.

A combination of guilt and self-doubt hit her hard. Her Carl was gone, too. It had hurt at the time to lose him in the war, but her grief had faded quickly…too quickly. Maybe she didn’t really know what love meant.

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Links to Buy Adam’s Treasure

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Adams-Treasure-Diane-Wylie/dp/1601547536/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275605869&sr=1-6

Barnes and Noble

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Adams-Treasure/Diane-Wylie/e/9781601547538/?itm=2&USRI=Diane+Wylie

TWRP ebook

http://www.thewildrosepress.com/adams-treasure-p-4051.html?zenid=1991f2359a47790200bf700f9f17bb0e

TWRP Print

http://www.thewildrosepress.com/adams-treasure-paperback-p-4064.html

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I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek!

Hugs,

Diane Wylie

http://www.dianewylie.com

The First Five Pages

I love this time of year. The days are getting shorter, leaves are falling, and the holidays are just around the corner. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite celebrations. I began working at The Wild Rose Press around this time several years ago. My name is Anne Seymour, and I currently work as an editor on the Crimson Rose line. I always love a good mystery, especially when the hero is as hot as the suspense.

The one aspect, in my opinion, that marks the difference between just a manuscript and a GREAT MANUSCRIPT is THE FIRST FIVE PAGES. During this critical point in a story, the author must pull the reader in and hook their interest, or the reader will become apathetic toward the characters—and probably not finish reading the book.

Sounds shocking, right? How can an author open a grand story, introduce sympathetic characters and evil villains, begin the action and conflict, but yet confine all above mentioned aspects to a mere FIVE PAGES? An insurmountable task one might say, right? But maybe not; let’s discuss the basics now.

First, we must unlearn all that we have learned previously about writing. I studied all the great works in Literature during college. James Fennimore Cooper, Herman Melville, Henry James, etc. wrote stories in omniscient point of view employing the writing method of “telling” the action instead of “showing” it. This technique removes the reader from the action of the story instead of insisting the reader to take part with the characters in the act. A reader must be immersed in the action and emotionally involved with the characters by the end of the fifth page of a story. Make the reader unable to do anything but participate with your characters.

Next, find an opening line that will grab attention. For example, “Take it easy. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.” Sunny jerked her arms back hoping to slow the pace of the large-framed detective who continued to drag her from the bar with unwavering force. “Calm down, Wildcat. You’re only making it harder on yourself.” He didn’t slow his stride, or ease the firm grasp he had on her arm as he walked beside her.” In this example, (Some Like It In Handcuffs by Christine Warner—coming soon from The Wild Rose Press) the author introduces the hero and heroine within the first four sentences while adding humor and sexual tension. The reader is hooked now, determined to learn more and join the story.

Finally, make sure to include ONLY necessary information at this time. The first five pages are not for any of the following:

n Back-story: while back-story will be needed in any novel, it should never appear in the first five pages! Use back-story sparingly and only when needed throughout the novel, but never allow it to be longer than a few paragraphs at a time.

n Secondary Characters: Introduce these characters later in the story. Reserve the main characters (hero, heroine, & villain (if there is one)) for the beginning.

n Descriptive or Non-Action Scenes: Describe the setting later. The first five pages should not be filled with paragraphs of how beautiful the sky, trees and meadows are. Also, no Non-Action scenes! Start with a fight scene, a murder, etc. Grab attention.

While this is a brief overview, I hope I’ve mentioned good points to consider. If any are interested in another more in-depth discussion, please comment and let me know. I would be happy to offer another blog discussing this further. Until then, enjoy the season and keep writing!

Anne Seymour