Lightning Only Strikes Twice On Sale .99 cents!

I’m excited to be here to post a bit about my time-travel on sale for 0.99 – Lightning Only Strikes Twice.

Why Time-travel?

I typically write romantic suspense/thrillers, but this time-travel story came to me in a dream. Just a germ of an idea about two strangers who travel back in time and fall in love in an era that isn’t their own. It swirled in my head for a couple of years until I had the time-travel mechanism figured out, and a first line. From there, the book just took off. Many who don’t typically read time-travel have indicated they’ve enjoyed this particular story. I hope you will too. For only a few more days, Lightning Only Strikes Twice is available for 0.99.

Lightning Only Strikes Twice:

After her grandfather's death, mounting debts force Annie Crawford to sell her inheritance to uphold her family's honor and avoid bankruptcy. Financial stability comes with an even higher price: her heritage. She must rebuild her legacy from nothing.

Purchasing Annie's property means three things to Luke Maxwell: financial burden on Maxwell Development, opportunity to propel his career to the top by developing the old ghost town, and, ultimately, approval to take over his father's company. All of which take precedence over his attraction to the pretty seller.

While touring the property, Annie and Luke are whisked back in time to the 1891 mining community. Together, they endure antiquated hardships and turn to each other for familiarity. Comfort soon becomes passion. As they face a lifetime in the wrong century, Annie and Luke discover a predestined responsibility to the future. Can the love they've propagated in the past take root in the present?

Thank you for spending a few minutes of your valuable time with me today. For more information about any of my upcoming stories, you can check out the book’s website page here. Or sign up for my newsletter here.

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Stanalei Fletcher’s love of writing romance stems from reading favorites such as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Barbara Cartland, and Alistair MacLean. She has over twenty years of training in the martial arts and holds the rank of Sandan, a third-degree black belt, in Aikido.

After a taste of life on both U.S. coasts, she now resides in the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her hero, who is also her best friend and husband. Together they enjoy the open road astride a Harley, visiting museums and exploring ghost towns.

I’d love to hear from you. You can find me at any of the following locations:

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My Writing Nest by Peggy Chambers

Like a lot of authors I use a laptop for my writing. Confined to a desk for years, I don’t want that when I am at home creating. A laptop can go anywhere. When I am alone – mostly on Sundays – I began to write on the love seat where I sit in the evenings and watch TV. It seemed the place to be because for some reason I gravitated to it as my husband gravitated to his chair. We are creatures of habit.

Then I inherited the old recliner that belonged to my father-in-law. It is well-worn burgundy leather that still smells like him when it warms up. It is cozy and comfy and it sits in the spare bedroom with my grandmother’s antique bedroom set. Recently I received a rare gift from an immensely talented artist, Pauline Jones. Pauline and I worked together at Atwoods. She is in charge of the pet department and knows all things pet related. She is the chick lady, the horse lady, and anything else that you need to know. I worked in the corporate office until my recent retirement. She loved my books and one day we traded our art. Her beautiful picture now hangs above my father-in-law’s recliner as a muse over my shoulder as I write.

I find this mostly unused bedroom suits me well. Here I am surrounded by my past, my family, and my friends. My mother-in-law’s roll top desk holds the computer when it is charging, the small table that my father loved to eat ice cream on as a child is in the corner. I have a bench and quilt rack that I created when I took some woodworking classes, and of course there is a bookcase for my grandson when he was young. It holds children’s books so Grandma could read him a story when he spent the weekend. These days he towers above me and is busy on the weekends so he seldom comes to visit. I go to his band concerts instead.

I love this room. My grandson claimed it when he was young and my sister thinks it is hers when she visits. But, it is my writing room. Stacked in the corner are three boxes representing the three published novels I have given birth to and they hold my precious cargo. Things I take to book signings.

I think the recliner and I are well fitted to each other and we have plans for many more books. All we need is time.

Peggy Chambers

click here for more from Peggy

Road Trip Inspiration by DeeDee Lane

When my mother and I took a road trip from Tomah, Wisconsin to Sioux Falls, South Dakota I knew it was going to be an adventure but had no idea it would be the inspiration for a series of novellas. We set out on Interstate 90 to go to the National IFYE conference. IFYE is the International 4-H Youth Exchange and both of us had participated in the travel exchange program. My mom to India in the 1950’s and approximately 30 years later I went to Italy. The conference was a chance for both of us to connect with other IFYE’s and road trip to South Dakota, with the vow to stop where ever we wanted!

To give us a theme Mom brought along the book American Pie: Slices of Life (and Pie) from America’s Back Roads. Author, Pascale Le Draoulec, drove through the US looking for great pie to eat, pie makers to interview and recipes to collect. We knew we needed to pare it down a bit so we focused on the by-ways near I-90 and apple pie. We hoped, and it turned out to be true, that looking for pie would give us the encouragement to look out for other hidden road trip gems.

By the time we reached Mitchell, South Dakota, home of the Corn Palace we were in full adventure mode, apple pie connoisseurs and frankly looking for a stop that had NOTHING to do with pie! After we visited the Corn Palace and marveled at all the creative uses of the corn plant we asked a local for recommendations. She gave us directions and a brochure to the Dakota Discovery Museum another cultural highlight of the area. The brochure described the museum: “Our engaging environment invites you to explore the traditions of Native American culture and early American settlers through artifacts dating from the 1600′s through 1940.” And with that we decided to by-pass the café advertising pie and take in the museum instead.

When we arrived I was immediately drawn to the Blacksmith’s exhibit area which was set up with many of the artifacts used by early Dakota settlers. It was so realistic I could almost hear the neigh of the horse and the clang of steel horseshoes. I remember thinking, “What would it be like if this exhibit came alive and I could just walk into it?” Outside we visited the Historic Village Complex, walking from school house to settler’s home through grassy fields, kept to look like a prairie. Again, I was struck by how amazing it would be to learn history by slipping back in time. From there my imagination took off, adding conflict of course. What if you didn’t want to go back in time? And it just happened? And what if you slipped into another time and found your greatest desire?

Several years later when I was imagining the story of MY MOUNTAIN MAN I was able to create a story that tried to answer these questions.

So my Mom and I never ate pie in Mitchell but we discovered a road trip gem and eventually made it to our conference in Sioux Falls. And on the closing banquet night when we could choose between a slice of delicious looking apple pie or a raspberry sorbet… both of us chose the sorbet.

DeeDee Lane
http://www.deedeelane.com

Coming Soon To The Wild Rose Press

My Writing Abode by Linda Nightingale

My Writing Abode

I recently moved to the Burbs—a suburb of Houston—from a condo in the Medical Center to a house. With four books out, one soon to be released by The Wild Rose Press and another under contract with TWRP, I feel like my office is now an author’s den. I have a bookcase and filing cabinet, a desk with a laptop and an additional filing cabinet on top of which is the printer. Totally out of character is an old cedar chest which belonged to my mother, housing some quilts that she handmade. Truth is, I had no other place in the house for it, but it is too dear to part with.

On the walls are colored prints of three angels done by Ruth Thompson: Michael, Gabriel, and Uriel. Long ago, I bought these at a sci-fi con. See why they can be inspiring?!

So, in this room overlooking my backyard, I write books and copy for an advertising agency. I even have a title with the agency, Content Strategist, but I have the luxury of working from home in my robe and slippers!



















The book soon to be released is Love For Sale—sentient androids, completely humanlike, programmed for love. We are in edits on my book about the horsy set called Gambler’s Choice, a gothic romantic suspense. Gambler’s Choice is the name of the horse in the book, but the name comes from a class in horse shows. The class is a timed event and at the end of all the riders’ rounds, the fences are raised for those riding a clean round (didn’t knock down any fences). I’m very excited about both books and am happy to be a Rose.

Please visit my new and improved website for a continuing free read called Vampyre Interlude. http://www.lindanightingale.com. You can find me on Twitter at @LNightingale. Visit my blog at https://lindanightingale.wordpress.com/ . I have some interesting guests who usually give away great prizes, including gift cards.


Linda Nightingale
@LNightingale - Twitter
http://www.lindanightingale.com

Interviewing a Princess by Susan Sheehey

Interviewing a Princess
Susan Sheehey
www.SusanSheehey.com
*Originally posted on Smart Girls Read Romance on April 10th, 2015. http://smartgirlsreadromance.blogspot.com/2015/04/interviewing-princess.html 

In researching for PRINCE OF SOLANA, I had the rare privilege of interviewing a princess of Namibia, Ms. Nene Nwoko. I stumbled across her name from another writer in our critique group who took an acting class with her and was kind enough to share her information with me.

Who gets to speak with real royalty? Research gold for my series!

Right before our call started, I was suddenly nervous, getting to speak to a real princess. I had a list of questions written out, by topic, hoping not to take up too much of her time or ask the wrong question. I didn’t want to blow my only chance at this incredible research opportunity.

First of all, Nene was a joy to speak with, extremely personable and seemed down to earth. She had a slight accent, but was fluent in English and sounded like she grew up in the States. Nene briefly explained her family, and while drastically different than the scenario I’ve depicted in my series, I couldn’t pull the phone away from my ear.

Her father is the brother of the current king in Namibia. The king (her uncle) has more than twenty wives, and over fifty children. The family tree and dynamic she explained were fascinating.
They aren’t ultra-wealthy, like the royals of the UK or Denmark, and many of her family members live in the United States (herself included). They lead normal lives with families, jobs, and careers. Amazingly enough, she lives right in my homestate of Texas.

Though she is married, she explained an interesting custom that the eldest daughter of the king traditionally never marries. Her cousin is a representative of the royal line, and the eldest son inherits the throne. Nene is an actress, model, and entrepreneur. She formed and runs a commercial advertising and marketing firm.

When she asked about the books I’m writing, she was genuinely intrigued, especially since it was an international setting (though far from Africa).

Overall, the interview lasted about an hour, and several of my questions had her laughing. Such as were they restricted by what clothes they had to wear, or what places they could go to (much like my interpretation of the British Royal family). I felt like such a newbie, but she was more than gracious enough to answer my questions.

After the interview, I had some valuable research for my series, and I laughed at how nervous I was before the phone call. One of the biggest things I learned was that you never know who will cross your path in the simple conversations you have every day. Just put yourself out there—put your work out there—and see who’s reading.

Susan Sheehey
www.facebook.com/SusanSheehey

150th anniversary of Lee’s surrender to Grant

April 9, 2015 marks the 150^th anniversary of Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House, effectively ending the American Civil War.   What not many people realize is that it was not in fact the complete end of the war, and several skirmishes and battles followed because Lee surrendered only the Army of Northern Virginia, not all Confederate forces.  General Joseph Johnson, with whom Lee’s forces had been trying to link up, presided over a very large force in North Carolina.  For a while, Johnson agonized over whether to surrender or fight on.  Many of his starving troops were eating the bark off trees and picking through horse manure for bits of oats and corn but still wanted to continue the fight.  With no hope of reaching supplies, and with soaring desertion rates, a couple of weeks after Appomattox, Johnson too surrendered. 

The passions that drove the Civil War were epic—as was the cost in lives.

If you add up the number of American men killed in the Revolutionary War, along with The War of 1812, The Mexican War, World War I, World War II, The Korean War, The Vietnam War, The Iraq War, and the War in Afghanistan, more American men died in the Civil War than in all the other wars in which America fought combined. 

The passions of that tragic war, the determination, rage, treachery, and deceit, are captured in Point Blank:  A Novel of the Civil War by Carmine Sarracino, which will be released in the future by The Wild Rose Press.  Follow Louisa March, modeled after Louisa May Alcott, as she serves as a volunteer nurse in a hospital in Washington just after the horrific battle of Fredericksburg. Idealistic and naïve, she struggles to overcome challenges of espionage, drug trafficking, war profiteering, and murder that tempt her to run away from it all and return to her comfortable home in Massachusetts. 

Her love for a war-weary, badly wounded Union soldier, however, keeps her in the hospital—and in the midst of the high drama of this most deadly conflict.  Her limits are tested every day:  first by the gruesome wounds she must tend but then by the collapsed social barriers that put her into situations of sexual temptation she could never have imagined back home in Boston.  Fiercely determined to be strong and succeed, she is challenged at every step of the way.  Only her love for Cole Morgan, a Union soldier who was nearly dead when she began caring for him, inspires her to find strength deep within herself that she did not know she possessed.  The enemies the two confront are as darkly powerful as their love for each other, especially Dr. Stephen Valentine, a drunkard, spy, and war profiteer,  and Eustace Light, an albino Confederate sniper with preternatural vision, almost superhuman marksmanship, and an unquenchable hatred for Yankees.

Colby Wolford

Historical Editor

The Wild Rose Press

Finding humor everywhere

I'm a fan of humor. With my writing I try to put in as much of it as I can. I believe you can find something funny about everything (okay, I'm including hysterical laughter in that belief). Believing in humor can take you from crisis to comedy. It's hard to fight laughter. You can do it, but you only end up looking ridiculous. I found a perfect example of this truth when I was fortunate enough to be able to spend two weeks in Poland.

Poland wasn't somewhere I'd ever thought of going. At the time I worked for a museum and the trip was an exchange program between my museum and a sister one in Lodz. My gracious hosts took me all over the country in those two weeks. I saw castles, historical sailing ships and some of the most beautiful chapels in existence. I also saw the gnomes of Wroclaw.

Much of Poland's history is laced with sadness and oppression. The people of Wroclaw, however, found a way to lighten that burden through humor. The original gnomes were the work of the Orange Alternative Movement of the 1980s. Its members painted bright orange gnomes on buildings as a way of protesting the absurdity of the communist edicts they were forced to live under. The silliness of the paintings were a way to help the people of the city cope with their oppressors.

In 2003, the Wroclaw city council commissioned local artist Tomasz Moczek to create a memorial to the original gnomes. Moczek sculpted a series of gnomes which were then placed all over the city. They are quite popular and tourists are given a map of their locations so they can enjoy them as they stroll through the city. To me they are also a testament to the strength and endurance of the Polish people. In spite of all the tragedy they have endured as a country, they have the gnomes to put a smile on their faces.

Debra Doggett

To check out Debra's Books, click here

A Taste of Hope by Doreen Alsen

Where do you get your ideas?

I get this question all the time. Most of the time I have no clue. But with my latest book, A Taste of Hope, out on April 8, 2015, I can draw a map about this book beginning inkling of an idea to the words “The End” on the last page on the manuscript.

My heroine, Hope Monahan, initially showed up in Mike’s Best Bet, the first book in my At The End Zone series, set in my fictional town of Addington, Massachusetts, on the north shore of Boston. We don’t actually see Hope. She’s a caterer who works out of her kitchen and is famous for her version of shrimp in puff pastry. She also stays low key in the second End Zone book, What Ian Wants, but the shrimp puffs show up on the buffet table at a couple of gala events.

Finally, in Charming Dave, the third End Zone book, we meet Hope. Her business has grown to the point where she’s opened her own Earth to Table restaurant called Hope’s.

Even though her life progressed in the course of the books, I didn’t plan to write a book for Hope. Just wasn’t there on my radar screen.

Then I went to RWA National in 2011 and went to listen to an editor/agent panel. It came to the part of the panel when the panel talked about what they were looking for, what they’d like to see. One of the agents said that she was crazy about reality shows and competitions. That’s when Lucien Durand, the hero of A Taste of Hope tapped me on the shoulder.

He let me know that he was the Gordon Ramsey of Cajun cooking and would love to show Hope how to cook. Lucien owns several restaurants world wide, all called L’Enfer, a.k.a. Hell.

International playboy chef versus small town locovore chef? Absolutely.

Thus No Hope in Hell was born.

Hope and Lucien led me on a merry chase. I couldn’t trust a word Lucien said for like the first six chapters of the book. Then two secondary characters, Shane Baker, Hope’s sous-chef, and Angelique Durand, Lucien’s baby sister started acting up.

Since we couldn’t use Hell on the cover of the book, No Hope in Hell became A Taste of Hope.

Here is one of Hope’s favorite dessert recipes:

Rose and Champagne Sorbet

Ingredients: 2 cups of gently packed rose petals from culinary grade (pesticide free) roses – Hope grows her own.
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of caster sugar (superfine sugar)
3 cups of cold water
3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup brut or extra dry champagne
1 tablespoon of Nielson-Massey rose water
orange zest, or thin strings of orange peel

Directions: Process the rose petals with the sugar in a food processor until the mixture turns into a smooth paste. Stop the scrape down the sides if you need to. Add ½ cup of the water and process again, about 10 seconds. Add in the remaining 2 ½ cups of water, the orange juice, champagne and rose water.

Pour the liquid through a fine sieve. Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

While the sorbet freezes, candy the orange zest or orange peel strings and some rose petals. Garnish the finished sorbet with the orange peel and rose petals.

Doreen Alsen
Books by Doreen Alsen

Felicity’s Power: Coming face-to-face with a lover forty years later…

Felicity’s Power: Coming face-to-face with a lover forty years later…

Sure, meeting an old lover is a dramatic situation, all right — but Felicity Powers never shies away from drama. Sure, she’s forty years older. Sure, she’s not the auburn-haired rebel Marek Sumner once loved. Sure, their long-ago romance came to a disastrous end. But she’s never stopped loving Marek, and she wants to know if they can make their wonderful love story work again. And, for that, all she has to do is jump on a plane, cross half the world, and go to his book signing in San Francisco. Of course, it’s a mad plan, but Felicity has always believed that, if you want something, go out and fight for it. Yes…sometimes you don’t win. Nobody wins all the time.

Marek Sumner has never forgotten Felicity — how could he? She came searing into his life like a burning comet, they lived together, loved. Then, one day, the romance was over. Felicity was gone again, off to discover the world, to push life to its limits. And Marek had stayed in San Francisco to finish his degree, become a professor. How could their romance have lasted? They were so different.

Then, on this sunny evening forty years later, the door opens, and Felicity and Marek are face-to-face once again.

J. Arlene Culiner
www.j-arleneculiner.com
To Purchase

Diane Burton: Fiction Fanatics Feud

Diane Burton: Fiction Fanatics Feud: Welcome to Fiction Fanatics Feud! Have fun by answering Feud questions, getting to know new authors, AND winning prizes!!! For det...

Life Changes and Following My Dream by Linda Nightingale

Last year, I retired from a career as a Legal Assistant to pursue writing full-time. I am happy with a capital H. I had 4 novels published, but The Wild Rose Press contracted my sci-fi romance, Love For Sale--sentient androids indistinguishable from human sold as loving, devoted companions and lovers.

Then, too, I got my dream job. A friend introduced me to the head of the advertising agency her company uses. I am now writing copy for Digital Impact Agency as a Content Strategist. So, I have my love for writing mingled in two different directions. I'm reading the galley for Love For Sale and am already working on the sequel, Love For a Song. I hope I've found a home in the Garden.

My cover for Love For Sale, created by the very talented Debbie Taylor, is splendid and really captures the essence of the story. I created a book video myself!! Amazing!! Here's the YouTube


Visit with me on my website: http://www.lindanightingale.com. I welcome emails!

Character Interview - Storm Rising by Rachael Richey

Interview with Judy, best friend of Abigail Thomson, heroine of Storm Rising
Rachael Richey
http://rachaelricheybooks.weebly.com/

So Judy, you’ve been friends with Abi for many years. What can you tell us about her?

Abi and I have been best friends since our first day at school when we were four. We hit it off straight away and very soon became inseparable. Abi’s always been the more…. adventurous… of us. I seem to have spent most of my life either keeping her out of trouble, or extricating her from trouble! She seems to have a knack for getting herself into a tight spot. I like to think I’ve been a good influence on her, managing to steer her away from some very tricky situations on occasion! I haven’t always managed to stop her doing the things, but I usually manage to rescue her. As a teenager she was pretty high maintenance, and very volatile – I think she’d be the first to agree with me – but these days she’s not so bad. Not quite anyway.

Were you with her when she first met Gideon?

Yes, in fact I think it was my suggestion that she might like him. I have to say I did regret that a bit for a while, but she would always have done what she wanted anyway. He and his band, NightHawk, were playing at our school Christmas dance, and he came and talked to her afterwards. All the boys in the band had gone to the local boys school, so we knew them a bit already, but they were a few years older than us.

I gather Abi didn’t really get on with her parents. What can you tell me about that?

Well, she and her mother had always fought a bit. Her parents were quite old when she was born, and I don’t think they were really in touch with teenagers. She got on better with her father, but I don’t think they were ever really close. Then later, when…. when it all happened…. then she really fell out with them. Both of them.

When what happened?

I don’t think it’s my place to tell you that. Suffice to say she left home as soon as she could and didn’t go back until her mother died.

And has your friendship survived all that’s happened over the years?

Yes. We had a couple of years when we didn’t see each other so much. I had just got married and had a baby, and I think Abi felt she was intruding – but we sorted it out and now we’re as close as ever. Closer even.

What happened when Abi went to her mother’s funeral?

Again, I don’t think it’s my place to tell you that. Her father asked her to go and help him sort out her mother’s things, and she reluctantly agreed. What happened after that…… well that’s where Storm Rising comes in.


Rachael Richey
http://rachaelricheybooks.weebly.com/
Storm Rising

Celebrating 10 years as a reporter/writer by Laura Freeman

Impending Love and War at http://goo.gl/atFMe4 published by The Wild Rose Press
@LauraFreeman_RP
Facebook.com/Laura.freeman.5648
Authorfreeman.wordpress.com

Celebrating 10 years as reporter
I am a reporter with the Record Publishing Co. and wrote this column, which appeared in the Hudson Hub-Times newspaper at http://goo.gl/B07yFo
By Freeman of the Press
My tenth anniversary as a newspaper reporter with Record Publishing Co. arrives Feb. 1, 2015.
Since my beat has covered city Council meetings in Tallmadge and Hudson, that amounts to roughly 500 meetings I’ve attended. Covering government stories means I’ve reported on governors, senators, congressmen, judges and too many candidates to count, learning more about politics than any class in school.
Want your voice heard? Speak at a Council meeting during public comments. The meetings are televised, sending your message to viewers, the city officials and your city representative.
Will it result in change? Sometimes, the argument is more emotional than practical and fails, but other times words have impact. I know. I write them.
Someone asked me how I make sense out of the meetings. The hardest part is filling in the blanks — the things not said by members of Council. Sometimes a handout, resolution or phone call answers the questions. But time reveals whether the decision was good or bad.
Another key to writing a story, any story, is to focus on the problem. What are Council members talking about? What is the decision they have to make? The answer is the story.
Another part of being a reporter is community news. I’ve seen businesses open, close, celebrate anniversaries and change ownership. Mayor William Currin is a familiar face at ribbon cuttings.
I remember when Main Street Cupcakes opened and I sampled some of the cupcakes. There were some doubts a cupcake-only business would survive, but it’s thriving.
Some businesses, like Hershey’s and The Learned Owl Book Shop, changed owners, while Lager & Vine took on a new name with new ownership.
Hudson is known for its events, fundraisers and holiday celebrations. I was around when the Fourth of July fireworks were canceled in 2006 due to a lack of funds, but they’ve returned every year since. The worst experience occurred on a warm summer night when the last blast exploded into a torrential downpour, sending everyone dashing for their cars.
Other holidays included children dressed in Halloween costumes and an annual stocking contests with the Green decorated for Christmas. The biggest festivals were the Harry Potter celebrations when thousands dressed as characters from the J.K. Rowling books. It was my job to attend, but it also was fun to share in the enthusiasm of the crowd.
Schools and children are a major focus in the community. I’ve interviewed young entrepreneurs who sell lemonade; students testing the water in a stream restoration project at the high school; future lawyers in a courtroom practicing for a mock trial; actors preparing for a play or musical; and photographing graduates stepping on stage to receive a diploma.
A favorite past time is covering the annual Challenger game when Special Olympic kids play football against the Hudson Hawks seventh-grade team. High school players help mentor, and the band and cheerleaders encourage everyone as they score. Plan to attend in August.
Those are the happy memories. Others are sadder. The deaths of men and women I’ve come to know — Mayor John Krum, Council member John Jeffers, Peter McDonald, Dick Malson and others who have impacted the community and left a mark.
The most difficult job was covering the funeral of U.S. Marine LCpl. Daniel Nate Deyarmin Jr., 22, killed Aug. 1, 2005, in Haditha, Iraq. He was the first casualty in our coverage area and, unfortunately, not our last. I also covered the funeral of U.S. Army 2nd Lt. David Rylander, 23, of Stow, who was killed May 2, 2012, in Logar Province, Afghanistan.
I covered five murders — Philip and Sarah Gehring who were murdered in New Hampshire by their father, who drove across the country, burying them in a clearing off Terex Road; Marci Kornblut who was murdered by her husband; and Patricia and John Knudson murdered by her son and his brother.
Then there are the children with cancer or some other life threatening disease. And although you hope your words help them fight the battle, some lose the fight.
The biggest challenge is to make the words count, influence or impact others. I hope I have succeeded most of the time and will continue to reach out in print. Thank you for reading.

Why I Wrote Black Dragon Blood by @AnitaPhilmar

Everyone wants to know why an author decided to write a particular story.

Today, I wanted to share "Why I decided to Write Black Dragon Blood."

At the time, I had never written an erotic story. Wasn't sure that I could even do it?

Yes, it had to have hot sex scene which I love, but it needed even more.

 So, I decide to create another world, one where the men were stronger, faster, and braver. These men had eaten the meat of Dragon's. They had incorporated the dragon's power into their DNA.

 Yes, but they also needed conflict, something that challenged them.

Of course, my first thought was women. Yeah, ladies, don't we love to test the depths of a man's love.

Next, I wanted a little murder, mystery and a bad guy. All were needed to create a story to push the limit and create a romance that readers could enjoy.

 When I looked at the challenge a woman could present, I decide Amanda had to have decided years ago that men were the last thing she wanted.

Why?

Well, her first husband had been murdered, and because of his death she'd lost her child. Why you might ask? In this world, men provide nutrition to their unborn baby by having sex with their wives. Okay, see the reason for have lots of hot sex, regularly.

Amanda's second husband is also dead. Makes one wondered why, doesn't it?

So when William, the head of the Black Dragon Council wants to marry her, you can see why Amanda is not overjoyed by the offer. She decides to put into question her ability to bare William's child and exits stage left in a hurry.

William can't let it go and follows her.

Now, the story unfolds.

 I love this story so much I had to go back to the Black Dragon world in two more books. I've even consider writing more because I love the men and women, who live there.

Read the 1st chapter of any of my books on my website, http://www.anitaphilmar.com/bookpg.html

Purchase at Purchase the Paperback book from:
The Wild Rose Press
Amazon

ebook:
The Wild Rose Press
Amazon

Audio: Amazon
Anita

World-Building by Trish Arcangelo

World-Building
Trish Arcangelo
www.trisharcangelo.com

One of the things that drew me to the sub-genre of fantasy romance was world-building. Within it lies absolute freedom. There are no rules, you get to create a setting of your very own. No other story by any other author has ever occurred in this time or in this place.

Unfortunately, one of the things that terrified me about the sub-genre of fantasy romance was world-building. It is daunting. There are no rules, no well-beaten path, NO comfort zone. My mind jumped to epic worlds like George RR Martin’s Westeros or JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth. I can’t create anything that cool, I said to myself. I’m not that creative…

Now, as I sit back and look at my carefully drawn map of Dominion, The Dark Isle (setting for new book Darkness Embraced) I’m still torn. I’m proud of it even as I nervously anticipate readers’ reactions. Will they enjoy this place as I do? Will it feel real to them as it does to me? I hope so. I’m very excited to share it. The map can be found on my website:

http://www.trisharcangelo.com/the-dark-isle.html

The creation of The Dark Isle was no Big Bang, it was a process of many months. I drew it out with pencil and paper and then added to it slowly over time --- a town here, a body of water there. Now it feels as familiar to me as my hometown. It has pros and cons, beauty and ugliness. But it's the place where Dredd and Ivy live there own love story....

Trish Arcangelo
www.trisharcangelo.com

I Will Be The One by Larry Farmer

I can’t say this turmoil I faced now upon my arrival in the Philippines didn’t concern me, but mostly it excited me. This wasn’t what I came here for, but it added to the allure. How could anyone be content back home, with life as usual, when there was a whole world around? A whole world I was now a part of.

To Purchase

Why I Write by Kevin V. Symmons

People who know I came from a successful business career often ask me this question.  The easiest way to begin is to answer in the reverse. I do not write to gain fame and riches though I would love to have a New York Times number one best-seller and the royalties and adulation it would bring. I do not write so that I can hobnob with the cool kids or the inside sanctum of the literati. I do not write so I can talk on national TV with Matt Lauer or Oprah... Don't misunderstand me all those things would be great fun and I have no lack of ego so they would admittedly be gratifying. I have had the good fortune to be successful in my pre-writing life so putting words to paper does not feed the kids or pay the mortgage. I don't write to earn a living.

So then—you're asking by now why do you spend thousands of hours brooding over a novel crafting it till you're satisfied it's a piece worthy of sending to your readers?

The answer is patently simple... I love telling stories and (hopefully) the enjoyment they bring. I always have. I am a baby-boomer and grew up on folklore of WWII so I wrote my first short story about PT boats when I was twelve. I was enough of a nerd and a mediocre athlete so I toiled over the school paper while others wore the highly coveted school letter on their jackets.

I had the great good fortune to have emotive, enthusiastic English teachers in high school and at the undergraduate collegiate level who pushed and prodded me to the limit, bless them. Life, the military, and my growing family precluded any idea of seriously pursuing writing as anything other than a pastime or part of my job, but I always joked that someday I would write a great American novel knowing it had been done more than once. 

I had the good fortune to leave my business early and low and behold though it took many false starts, rejections, and the bolstering loyalty of supportive family, friends, and fellow authors, after several years my long dormant dream became a reality when I got what's referred to in publishing as "the call!"

And though I write slowly, I've averaged about a novel a year over the last five. Three have been published, two have been Amazon best-sellers and my debut novel was a finalist in a prestigious awards competition.

So why do I continue? Well... though I haven't had that date on the Today show yet I have achieved some recognition, made so many wonderful writing friends I've lost track, helped to run a respected writing organization, and even taught creative writing at the junior college level.

And though I am not Mary Higgins Clark or John Grisham I have had my share of rewarding "fan" encounters. I could go on, but I hope you get my point. I began this journey because I loved telling my stories and somewhere along the line it seemed that those who read my work liked them, too.

Part of it is ego. Everyone who crafts a story and asks another to read it feels he/she has something worthy of telling. But much of it is simply the enjoyment of discovering that some readers out there have enjoyed our work enough that it gave them pleasure and perhaps a respite from this fast-paced, chaotic, often frustrating world.

Matt and Oprah... eat your hearts out. NY Times book editors I have not thrown in the towel but for now, I'm happy doing what I do. Perhaps we'll have a date sometime in the future...

Enjoy this interesting winter!

Stay safe, warm and dry!

Kevin V. Symmons

http//:www.ksymmons.com

ksymmons@comcast.net

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers: BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--THE MARTINI CLUB

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers: BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--THE MARTINI CLUB: Left to Right: Alicia Dean, Amanda McCabe, Kathy L Wheeler, Krysta Scott Alicia Dean is one of the members of the Martini Club. The ...

A visit with Jessica Long - From the novel Solo

We’re thrilled to be talking to Jessica (aka Jesse) Long from Kevin V. Symmons, latest novel Solo.  It is a pleasure to have her with us today at Pimp That Character!

Thank you for your interview, Jesse.  Can you tell us your story? Why yes. I was raised in Portland, Maine. My dad died when I was four. My mother found a man she thought was kind but turned out to be anything but. He and my older brother, Ryan, had a confrontation and they fell down a staircase and both died as a result. The one legacy my real father left me was my love for serious music. When I was 10 a kind and talented woman named Pauline Richards heard me sing and become my mentor and vocal coach. Her tutelage and sponsorship helped me gain acceptance at Boston’s New England Conservatory.

Can you tell us about one of your most distinguishable features? My voice… may coach and teachers think that one day I could achieve greatness as a lyric soprano… Oh. I’m sorry! I know that sounded really conceited but… well I just hope they’re right!

What would I love the most about you? Listening to me sing 8 bars of any piece of music!

What would I hate the most about you? My drive! My desire to be the best! Some people call me arrogant but I call it self-assurance. I’ve found that to succeed that you can take no prisoners.

What makes you laugh out loud? My four-year-old daughter Ali. When I’m bummed or down she never fails to bring me back.

What is in your refrigerator right now? Cold spaghetti and half a quart of chocolate chip ice cream.

What is your most treasured possession? The 8-track tape player and collection of Verdi, Puccini and Wagner my dad left me when he died. I’d listen to it endlessly and picture his face when he smiled.

What is your greatest fear? Failure. If I don’t succeed as a vocal performance major at NEC my future will be bleak. I’ll spend my life as a short order cook and waitress.

Do you think the author portrayed you accurately? Yes… damn him. It was like that damn guy Symmons could read my mind… get inside my friggin’ head. It drives me crazy!

Who is your best friend? My mother Alice. I’ve never made many friends my own age. Never had the time or the interest. Second place… Pauline, my teacher and vocal mentor.

To see all of Kevin's books 

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19th Century wisdom...

Great inspiration from the 19th century for my novel "Impending Love and War" published by The Wild Rose Press http://goo.gl/tqyeQN
The historical romance is set in 1860 in the fictional Ohio town of Darrow Falls. Abolitionists Cory Beecher and slave owner Tyler Montgomery should never fall in love, but they do.

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” - Harriet Beecher Stowe

“Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker a lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.” - Abraham Lincoln

“There is no freedom on earth or in any star for those who deny freedom to others.” – Elbert Hubbard, 1859-1915

“Everyone is a moon and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” – Mark Twain

Laura Freeman
Facebook.com/Laura.freeman.5648
AuthorFreeman.wordpress.com
@LauraFreeman_RP

Are you a snob? I am.

by J. Arlene Culiner
http://www.j-arleneculiner.com/index.html


I’m a snob, aren’t you? Of course you are, no matter how fair-minded you believe yourself to be. We’re all human (I’m assuming, perhaps rather snobbishly, that our pets can’t read this article) and at one point or another, we’ve all looked down on someone, judged them to be inferior because of education, or looks, or taste, or behaviour, or speech, or a million other reasons.

Sure, some people really do behave badly, or are less educated, or are just terrible-looking. But how many times have we judged someone’s worth on…well…those pretty flimsy grounds? And how many times have we had to revise our opinion, eat our words, bury those first impressions and discover what the person in front of us — the one with the terrible chartreuse nose, pink eyes, pointy ears and long brownish fangs — is really like. Plenty. If your experience is anything like mine, you might have found yourself enjoying, even really liking, the person you were willing to reject.

So why are we snobs? Because we often feel insecure. Because we like to feel we’re superior. Because we don’t like challenging our own, carefully constructed opinions. Also because we don’t understand — don’t want to understand — another way of life, other values.

Being confronted by a snob is certainly an unpleasant experience, but that’s exactly what happens to Sherry Valentine, the heroine of my new release, A Swan’s Sweet Song. Sherry, a country music star, walks into a radio station, meets Carston Hewlett…and…well, he’s condescending, superior and arrogant. He’s not a bad guy. He’s kind, he’s creative, he’s pretty gorgeous, he’s talented, he’s gentle. But he’s also a highbrow, a well-known intellectual playwright. To him, country music belongs to the world of low-brow entertainment.

The problem is, Sherry and Carston are also very attracted to each other: fascination at first sight, you can call it.

So how does Sherry handle the situation? She does what we should all do when meeting a terrible snob: show our humanity. And when Sherry conveys her passion for music, Carston realizes how silly he’s been. That, even if their lifestyles, their backgrounds, are so very different, they can learn so much from each other.

And, that’s what they do, and they do it beautifully too. But there are also quite a few surprises in store for both of them…

Riverboats and the Showboat Affair

I’ve always had a fascination with river boats, especially the old-fashioned paddlewheel kind. Think showboats such as regularly cruised the major U.S. rivers between 1830 and the 1870s.
Unfortunately, the first showboats didn’t resemble the Cotton Blossom made famous in stage and movie adaptations of Edna Ferber’s novel of the same name. They were long, flat-roofed barges pushed by a small tugboat. Folks along the river paid in produce as well as money to be transported into another realm by the company of actors and actresses who lived on the boat. A British actor, William Chapman, Sr., birthed the first showboat in Pittsburgh in 1831. During the Civil War, these floating theatres suffered a brief decline but revived again in 1878 to entertain with melodramas and vaudeville acts. In 1926, Edna Ferber’s novel hit the American scene, and the next year Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II adapted it as a stage musical. Three movie versions followed: 1929, 1936, and 1951, the latter possibly being the one most remembered today. Not all of the productions were true to the original story line, but each tugged at the heartstrings of the theatre-going public. Probably the song most associated with the musical Show Boat is “Old Man River”, and Paul Robeson told a story in song in 1936. William Warfield’s outstanding rendition in 1951 still echoes. My first experience with a river boat resembling the Cotton Blossom came in the summer of 1967 when I traveled up the Congo River to do summer school for a group of missionary children. However, the two-night trip reminded me more of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness as I stood at the rail watching the village fires in the distance. Later, my boys enjoyed a short excursion on the Mississippi River on a boat docked in Vicksburg. It doesn’t run anymore. But it was in Branson, Missouri, when I enjoyed a dinner theatre evening on the Branson Belle as it cruised Lake Taneycomo that I thought again of Magnolia, Gaylord Ravenal, Cap’n Andy, and the tragic Julie LaVerne. Thus was born The Showboat Affair (authored as Gwyneth Greer). Jean and Nick remain close to my heart, though in truth they didn’t sail away to the rising strains of Hammerstein’s magnificent music. It was a fun write and, I hope, a fun read.

Judy Nickles/Gwyneth Greer
Vintage Romance/Romantic Suspense/Cozy Mystery
"...a good clean read"
www.judynickles.com

Courthouse scenes from Impending Love and War

I received a letter from the Summit County Prosecuting Attorney Sherri Bevan Walsh congratulating me on the publication of my first novel. How great is that?

In Impending Love and War the hero, Tyler Montgomery, has to defend Noah St. Paul in the Summit County courthouse to prevent him from going to jail and paying a fine for helping runaway slave, Tess, his wife, and their baby, Adam. Information about the original courthouse, which was in the same location as the present one, was on display while I was covering a criminal case as a reporter for the Hudson Hub-Times. Tonight I'm watching #ToKillaMockingbird by Harper Lee. Greatest courtroom scene with #GregoryPeck. What is yours?

Impending Love and War is published by The Wild Rose Press and can be ordered in print of ebook at http://goo.gl/CFQBd1

Laura Freeman
Impending Love and War
@LauraFreeman_RP
Facebook.com/Laura.freeman.5648
Authorfreeman.wordpress.com

Star Crossed Lovers Reunite by Doreen Alsen

One of the things I love about reading a book series is to find out what characters from the older books are up to. Whether a series by a single author or a multi-author series, I have to read every book.

My first book with The Wild Rose Press was the first in a series that took place in a sports bar in a fictional college town on the shore of Nahant Bay, just north of Boston. After that book, Mike’s Best Bet, came out in 2010 I had a lot of questions about other characters in “Mike,” some of which were answered in the next two books, What Ian Wants (also 2010) and Charming Dave (2012).
But most people wanted to know if a pair of teenagers in the book, Jeff and Beth, would get a HEA. Of course they would! I didn’t plan on writing Jeff and Beth’s book so soon. I wanted them to grow up a little bit.

The universe didn’t care about what I wanted. The Wild Rose Press put out a call for books in a multiple author series set in the fictional town of Lobster Cove, Maine. It turned out that Jeff and Beth’s story was a perfect fit for Lobster Cove.
See, in Mike’s Best Bet, at the ages of 18 and 16, Jeff got Beth pregnant. Her father went totally ballistic and wanted to have Jeff arrested, so the two teens eloped to Maine, in the middle of a blizzard. The kids got caught and were dragged back to Nahant Bay. Beth’s father packed up his family and Jeff never saw hide or hair of them.

The two spent so many years apart, longing for each other. Eventually, they tried to get on with their lives, but no one brought them the true joy they’d felt that one night in Lobster Cove.
So seeing all the wonderful possibilities of colliding Lobster Cove with Nahant

Bay, I waved my magic wand and SORASed, a.k.a. Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome, and wrote Jeff and Beth’s story set in Lobster Cove ten years after Mike’s Best Bet, had taken place.
The whole time I wrote about Jeff and Beth and Lobster Cove I thought I was writing a secret baby story, the kind of plot with which I’ve long lost patience. However, as the story progressed, I realized I was writing a reunion book, telling about two high school sweethearts finding each other. First love became forever love.

So please enjoy your visit to Lobster Cove and then take a walk in the past, in Addington, Massachusetts on Nahant Bay, just north of Boston, where Beth and Jeff got their start in Mike’s Best Bet, What Ian Wants, Charming Dave. Don’t forget to keep a weather eye out for A Taste of Hope, the fourth in the Addington books, coming up soon from The Wild Rose Press!


Doreen Alsen
doreenalsen.com

The Groundhog Predicts a Best Seller??

     The groundhog once again noticed his shadow--predicting six more weeks of winter. (When did this not happen? Perhaps in the Great Depression when he was too thin to see his shadow?)  An intuitive writer always notices "signs & omens"--good and bad.  Always the optimist, on Groundhog Day I received word from The Rose Garden that my novel, "THE ACCIDENTAL WIFE" will be released in 6 weeks--(drum roll here)--on March 18, 2015. Perhaps at the trill of the new season's first robin?

       From start to finish, my book has had a remarkable journey beginning life as a short story--The Teacup--which placed in several contests. It took four months to fill The Teacup with 88,000 words and polish it up for submission after a judge suggested the story begged to grow into a novel.
     After meeting Rhonda Penders at a Kansas City Writer’s Conference, TWRP captured my attention. It had been awarded Best Publisher for several straight years--in a poll taken by Preditors and Editors. Rhonda was professional and charming, even suggesting I send her the novel when finished. I did, and once the contract was signed, Allison--my assigned editor--and I began to work on it in mid-October, 2014. Three months later we were at final galley and cover selection stage. The cover artist for my book, Debbie Taylor, also places often among the leading Cover Artists in the annual Preditors and Editors poll.

     For two years prior, I had haunted several writer's conferences all over the U.S.—and one in London--building a case for timing and a publishing method that was the best fit for me. (The scales for Self Published or Traditional were beginning to level off that last year.)
     The Wild Rose Press red-lined most of the "cons" I had on my Pro & Con list for the Publishing models. The process went faster than I expected; no year-long dragging it out. An agent was unnecessary, which should mean better royalties. They have worldwide distribution, uncommon to many smaller presses. They offer weekly chats, author loops, and recommend workshops that every writer can learn from. They are respectful and communicative. As a newbie, I fired off several email questions that were answered by my editor or the staff—same day, often same hour.  Best of all, I was included in decisions and choices--writing blurbs and choosing excerpts, even choosing the final cover, though I was told I was closing in on the "nit picky zone after multiple tweaks."

     I can see why The Wild Rose Press has 800 writers in their Rose Garden, and why they win Best Publisher awards. Maybe...if their model would be imitated, there would be fewer consolidations, chapter elevens, or dissolutions in the publishing world. Less dissolution among authors, as well.

     James Barrie, who wrote Peter Pan, once said God gave us memory so we could have roses in December. Had Barrie been born 100 years later, his fantasies might have found a bed of roses in the WRP garden. Just think--roses all year long! Even the groundhog would revel in that bit of sunshine.

Cj Fosdick,

Newbie at Large

In the Land of Mist and Magic by Mary Gillgannon

I've been fortunate to visit Ireland three times and my latest book, Call Down the Moon, was inspired by a lot of what I saw on those trips. Although the book, a reincarnation/time romance, takes place mostly in contemporary Denver, it begins (and ends) in Ireland. But a far different Ireland than the one that exists today.

Call Down the Moon begins in dark age Ireland. People have lived here several thousand years already, and the land is dotted with tombs and stone monuments from long-forgotten cultures. Some of the ancient beliefs linger, but most tribes have converted to the new faith of Christianity. Years of human habitation has already dramatically altered the land.

But there are still wild places where few people venture. Deep valleys, dark forests, hidden caves.

It's in this timeless realm of trees and rocks and water that my heroine Aisling grows up, among a sect of priestesses, the Nine Sisters, who honor the old ways and preserve the ancient magic. By tradition, they are healers, and that's why Irish prince Connar mac Donal dares to venture into their hidden world. His foster brother Fergus is near death from a hunting injury, and Connar knows the Sisters are his only hope.

When Aisling and her birth sister Siobhan greet Connar and lead him to the Sisters' cave, the connection between Aisling and Connar is immediate and profound. Connar knows he is entering a forbidden, haunted realm, and normally he would be terrified. But Aisling's gentle manner and tranquil beauty reassure him. They reach the cave and the older Sisters begin to work their magic. During the unsettling ceremony, Connar focuses on Aisling and feels the link between them grow stronger, so strong that he will be compelled to defy his father and seek out Aisling again and again.

They are soulmates, their spirits so deeply bound together that Connar believes nothing can part them. And when the conflict between the Sisters and his tribe results in Aisling's death, Connar is desperate enough to do anything to be reunited with her. Even use magic to travel to the future to reclaim his beloved.

The story then switches to 21st century Denver, a distinctly less mystical and, except for the majestic Rocky Mountains on the horizon, less picturesque setting than dark age Ireland. But even in Denver, the magic of that ancient world still lingers, and when Aisling, now Allison, meets Connar, the memories of her long-ago life begin to return to her, sometimes with terrifying clarity.


But you'll have to read the book to find out the rest!


Mary~
To find out more on Call Down the Moon - Click here
http://marygillgannon.com

Luke's #1 Rule

I like to say that Luke's #1 Rule is a mash up of "The Brady Bunch" and "Sex and the City" (if the city was a small town...) because it straddles that zone between motherhood and falling in love. There are pet rabbits and homework and snacks and there is sexual attraction and sexual tension and eventually...sex. So there are children in the house and there is sexual chemistry and how does one keep those two things in their own boxes exactly? While it seems obvious that a single mom who is dating seriously and in love will be having sex at some point, the children are also important characters in the book, so it can feel tricky. It isn't, really. It's life.

Parents don't stop having sex because they produce children, although I'm sure the kids would be okay with that and in fact assume it is the case. It's the same for a single mom; she has to be selective and careful and make sure her children are clueless about her extracurricular activities, just like any other parent would be. In my book, I use some well-timed visits with Grandma and to the boys' father and that's pretty much how it worked in life. Because I was, at one time in the distant past, an actual single mom, and I did marry again.

My real-life ex-husband was not an irresponsible addict, like Spence in the book, but just the opposite. We in fact had joint custody. How that worked when the boys were young was week-to-week. So I'd see my boyfriend on weeks the children were with their father until I was sure he was "the one" and then I gradually incorporated him into our lives as a family.

It's a bit like mixing romance and suspense. These people are in fear for their lives but they stop every so often for a passionate embrace. There are writers who work the timing out perfectly and there are writers who don't. I tried to be sensitive to the kid element, making sure the new love intersected in appropriate ways at the right times.

I wanted to write about blending families because it's a tough situation for so many people. Married couples with children will divorce and many of them will become blended families. It's not easy. I did not tell my own story, because I write fiction, not memoir, but I can say from experience that blending family comes with a whole slew of problems. I thought by adding some of issues I didn't personally experience, like alcoholism, drug addiction, job complications, and family relocation, I could shed some light on a romantic problem that isn't often addressed, the problem of a single mom getting another shot at true love.

Why is this a problem? I didn't know it was until I had been remarried for a few years. One day out of the blue, my husband said "You know, I had one rule when I was dating. No single moms." I laughed, because that's exactly what I had been when we married. It took me a while, but finally asked if he'd mind if I used that premise for a novel. I swore I wouldn't tell OUR story. It would be totally different. And it is. Well, except for Dumpster the Amazing Rabbit. He was real.

To learn more on Cynthia's Books
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