Stuff Your Stocking!


Welcome to my part in Drea Becraft’s Holiday Blog Hop!

December 16th -18th

Just in case clicking on the Holiday Blog Hop button doesn’t work. The hop starts here:

http://thebloghopspot.com/event-page/

For my prizes, I’m offering the handmade ornament seen hanging from my snazzy Rose Anderson pen below — a bunch of grapes for the wine lover out there — suitable for tree or anywhere! :D And, winner’s choice of an ebook copy of either Dreamscape or Hermes Online. The winner will be randomly chosen from all comments left this weekend.

So without further ado, let me offer some holiday gift making ideas and after, an excerpt from my most recent novel.

I’ve always made my own gifts for family and friends. To me nothing better shows the depth of my feelings for them than spending a portion of my life (aka my limited time on earth) to craft something just for them. We all only get so much time.  I’m an upcycler and repurposer. I love making nice things from things. Doing this keeps stuff out of the waste stream a little longer too.

I’m going to give a few of my best without pictures. Hopefully, I’ll describe them in detail enough, you’re able to follow along. If you’re stuck, email me and I’ll talk you through ~  roseanderson4858(at)yahoo(dot)com

The Secret Book ~
This book innocently sits on the shelf with the rest of your library, but when you turn a few pages, you’ll discover this crumby old book is actually a secret compartment. It’s a box made out of a book and the cover is the lid. Sneaky ;)

  • You’ll need a thick old and boring looking book. Try a thrift store or the library a free or an inexpensive discard.
  • Modpodge and applicator (foam or bristle brush)
  • An Exacto knife or box cutter blade.
  • A sheet of foil or waxed paper

Flip open the book and go at least ten pages in. Mark the page by tucking your sheet of foil or waxed paper inside and close the book. This is what you should see – ten loose pages and a protective sheet of foil or waxed paper. The rest of the pages will be the box. Now apply a liberal coating of Modpodge to the edge below those ten pages. Put something heavy on top, smooth any blobs with the brush or foam applicator and wait about an hour for it to dry.

The book will be stiff now except for those few loose pages at the front of the book. Determine the size of the compartment your book will have within its pages. Trace out a smaller rectangle and carefully use the Exacto blade or box cutter to cut out as many pages as you’re able to at one time. Keep on going until you almost reach the back cover. Once you have a nice deep center cut away, paint on the Modpodge to seal the raw edges just like you did to the outside. Using the scrap pages you’ve cut out, paste these over the raw edges inside with more Modpodge for a nice finished look. Leave your book open to dry. And there you go — a very cool looking, infinitely useful, gift. :)

Repurposed Stationary Set ~
I started this project by buying a sustainably grown bamboo pen for my daughter (off ebay). Then, using two sizes of opened and flattened envelopes as templates, I made crazy envelopes out of full page magazine ads and Patagonia catalog pages. I fine line of regular old Elmers glue sealed my new envelopes. I could have used a glue stick but having had glue stick projects come unglued before, I opted for the sure thing.  I bought a recycled paper writing tablet and made a custom cover for it from a very nice picture I found online depicting the recycle symbol as the top of a stylized tree. I also found a Save a Tree/ Reuse Paper self-inking stamp. I bundled up the envelopes in two stacks and put it all into a cigar box that I covered with cancellation marks from all over the world. It was one of my more fun projects that looked like it came from one of those fancy and pricey catalogs.

Ransom Note Refrigerator Magnets ~
Picture one of those TV crime show ransom notes where the words are glued together from newspapers and magazines. Now picture these individual letters sticking to the front of your refrigerator. Cool huh? Being a Scrabble fan I was confident words could be made if I followed the number and ABC count of Scrabble letters. I also added questions marks and exclamation points for emphasis. ICutting large alphabet letters from cereal boxes, glossy sales papers and magazines, I stuck them on peel and stick magnet sheets. I bought those, but it’s also a great way to use up those freebie ad magnets and out of date magnetic calendars. Just carefully peel away the text or picture to get to the sticky base underneath.  Tip: arrange them this way and that to save space. I then use a matte finish Modpodge coating. After they dried, I cut them out.  They came out really nice and got a lot of laughs.

Snowmen vs. Santas Checker Set ~
A friend of mine drinks different types of beer and saves bottle caps of all colors and brands for me. A few years ago I thought up a twist on an old standard game – checkers. You’ll need:

  • 24 bottle caps. Be sure they’re not bent.
  • 1 bottle of clear Diamond Glaze (check your craft store) or two or three bottles of cheap dollar store clear nail polish
  • 12 pictures of Santas and 12 pictures of Snowmen thought really it could be anything as long as there are 12 of one and 12 of the other. I cut mine from a catalog with vintage pictures but you could also check the dollar store for inexpensive holiday greeting cards. It’s possible to cut the small circles (bottle cap size) by hand by tracing a quarter. Or buy yourself a nice quarter-sized hole punch. I eventually did that. Much easier and super fast.
  • Glue

Once you’ve assembled your supplies, dab a dot of glue inside the bottle cap and carefully center the picture inside. Smooth out any bubbles and lumps. Allow to dry then slowly fill the bottle cap with Diamond Glaze or nail polish. I found simple checkerboards at my local dollar store and used those to go with my games. You can easily make your own. A search online will give you the exact count of squares needed.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these fun little projects. :) Happy Holidays!

~~~

Dreamscape is a ghost story, a love story, a time travel of sorts, a murder, a mystery and reader’s Easter egg hunt. Peppered throughout are clues leading the reader to a story behind the scene.

My blog is full of reviews and interview if you’d like to know more about me as well as what other readers have thought about both of my books.

Dreamscape Excerpt (PG)

Lanie returns from her blind date. Keyed up by fending off her date’s attempt to get cozier than she’d like, Lanie thinks a cup of tea might settle her down. She has no idea Jason has been waiting all night for her return. At this point she’s unaware her new house is haunted ~

“You’re tired, you should rest,” he whispered. He could see the suggestion taking root in her mind. Putting her nearly full cup in the sink, she headed to bed.
Watching her sleep, Jason sat beside her a long while thinking on how lovely she looked tonight. He would have loved to have been the man to take her out on the town, to the theater perhaps. Out for dinner, certainly. If his own kisses had swelled those luscious lips, he would have ventured from her sweet mouth to the tops of those exquisite breasts so tantalizingly displayed in the décolleté of her neckline. His entire being desired to lose himself in the living heat of her. There was simply no stopping himself from caressing her, having lost that particular battle of conscience the first night she lay in his bed. He’d convinced himself that as long as he kept his baser needs to himself, touching her while she was completely unaware was a harmless compulsion.
Materializing just under the linens, his glowing form lit the sheet like a Japanese lantern. He whispered to her unconscious mind as she lay curled on her side, “Lay back for me, sweetheart, let me look at you fully while I feel how warm you are.”
Unconsciously responding to his suggestion, she rolled on her back, one arm tossed casually over her pillow.
Once more marveling that he was able to touch her at all, he swept her raven hair back from her lovely face, his thumb lightly tracing the delicate arch of her eyebrow. Touching her skin was like touching a rose petal in his garden, a warm sun-kissed rose petal. Gliding his hands over her warmth, he caressed her trim belly and arms all the while carefully avoiding the dove-soft breasts as any gentleman might unless given leave. Though it was true she hadn’t granted leave for any touching, the fragment of his gentlemanly comportment quickly faded as her living heat seeped into him.

~~~

Rose Who?

Hello, I’m Rose Anderson, the author of scorching romances Dreamscape and Hermes Online. You can find me just about anywhere these days. Here are several of my links. I’d love if you’d stop and check out my books or just say hi. :)

My blog: http://calliopeswritingtablet.com/

My page at my publisher’s site: Siren-Bookstrand_RoseAnderson

My book trailers:  MusesWritingTablet

Yes I tweet, let’s be friends! @roseanderson_  (notice the _  at the end)

And we can be friends here too! Google+ Circles (I’m not on Facebook)

~~~

The Stuff Your Stocking Blog Hop runs all weekend.

Check out the other talented authors participating

http://thebloghopspot.com/event-page/

And come back tomorrow for more!

Don’t forget to comment for a chance to win!

:D

The Romance Reviews

Holiday Blog Hop this Friday


The Romance Reviews

Don’t forget ~ Drea Becraft’s Holiday Blog Hop

starts this Friday and runs all weekend.

December 16th -18th

 Just in case clicking on the Holiday Blog Hop button doesn’t work. The hop starts here:

http://thebloghopspot.com/event-page/

For my prizes, I’m offering the handmade ornament seen hanging from my snazzy Rose Anderson pen below — a bunch of grapes for the wine lover out there — suitable for tree or anywhere!  :D And, winner’s choice of an ebook copy of either Dreamscape or Hermes Online.

More coming in a day or so……………….

 

Pie helps


The Romance Reviews

Did you ever fool yourself into thinking you were on top of something only to discover the small details dribbled through the sieve? In this case the sieve I’m speaking of is my brain.  Yes I know I’ve been sick but I’m almost 100% now.  Unfortunately the medicines for my lungs have given me a sieve for a head. I went days without being able to hold a thought, but I muddled through anyway. I’m reaping the mental side effects now.

I contemplated my last post while I busied myself making gifts for my family and friends – finding six attention grabbing sentences from Hermes Online for the next Six Sentence Sunday. It was hard to choose, for one, that’s a scorcher of an erotic romance and I’ve no idea how to set my blog for the over 18 crowd.

So I carefully picked my sentences and the day happened to coincide with Victoria Bliss’ Sunday Snog. It seemed like a win win. I advertised it from google+ to Twitter and then went to see if my link was active on the Six Sentence Sunday site.

Nope.

I goofed by erroneously thinking it was a one time sign up for as long as the Six Sentence Sunday ran. And as I had already done that once, I didn’t give it another thought.  Realizing something was up, I sent an email and asked to be squeezed in, though I knew it was a long shot because things like this are defined by rules for a reason. They need to be fair to all. And just as I figured, I was politely and nicely denied but encouraged to sign up for this coming Sunday.  And so I have tonight. I made a post it note for myself to remind me they’re taking the holidays off so I don’t mess up again.

~~~

Dreamscape got a wonderful review today over at Nikki Barret’s Storm Goddess Book Review Blog. Apparently she doesn’t give stars, but who needs them when the words are so nice? :D

http://stormgoddessbookreviews.blogspot.com/2011/12/book-review-dreamscape.html#comment-form

I have to say that is the most reader active blog I have ever been reviewed on. My review even had comments! To date none of my reviews have had comments by blog visitors. It was a surprise.  Here’s the very nice review:

My thoughts:  I am a sucker for a ghost story, especially in a romance. Dreamscape definitely caught my attention.  The fast paced, never ending action kept my interest. I had to know how this author was going to pull this one off, with the hero being a ghost and all.  At times, the book confused me, so readers may want to pay close attention so to not lose track of what’s going on.  Once I got a handle on things and how the dreams and reality worked, I was well on my way to staying up all night, wanting to finish this book

The ending surprised the heck out of me. I didn’t expect it to turn out that way, but was glad to know things worked out as they did.  Dreamscape is a paranormal romantic suspense all wrapped up in one amazing book. Rose Anderson is a new author to me, and with such an impression left on me with this book, I am yearning for more paranormal romances from this talented author. Anderson’s characters stuck in my head when I had to tear myself away from the book, and every time I had a distraction, the book lured me back to it. I’ve been looking for a great story featuring a ghost for awhile, and this one fed my addiction very well.

I recommend this book highly to any reader that wants a great story, characters that are well created and easily to relate to, a spell binding plot that grabs your attention from the spot and doesn’t want to let go until the end. My advice? Don’t miss Dreamscape.

And here are some review reader comments:

  1. All right. I’m sold. This book sounds too good!
  2. Good review. Yes, gotta love a romance with a ghost in it.
  3. Thanks for the review! I love a good ghost story too, and mix it with a romance and it’s win-win! Will have to check this one out :)
  4. Holy cripes, I have to buy this book. Sounds like it is right up my alley!
  5. This book sounds very cool.
  6. Great review. I’m going to check it out.

Now that brings a smile. A big one.

:D

~~~

A while back I had an Author Spotlight over at Joyfully Reviewed. My books haven’t been reviewed there yet, but the Spotlight seemed like a good idea. The site is awesome for helping readers find the next great read. Well known and well-respected too. I recommend stopping by. http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/

Regular visitors to my blog, you’re probably tired of these, but interviews and guest blogs play such a big part of my life right now. I do try to expand or expound to make my replies interesting. So many of the interviews have similar elements. This one is filled with interesting questions. So without further ado, here it is:

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: ROSE ANDERSON

And now an interview with the woman I don’t want to ever have against me in Trivial Pursuit©…. Rose Anderson….
Rose what is your most current work out?

Dreamscape is my most recent release through Siren-Bookstrand.

Tell us a little about Dreamscape, what inspired you to write it?

Outwardly, Dreamscape is a ghost story set between two time periods, but on the inside it’s actually an Easter egg hunt. Easter eggs, in this sense, are intentional hidden messages. I tried to make them as visible as I could and in such number that readers would say to themselves, Was that intentional? It must mean something! Growing up, I was a huge fan of author Agatha Christie’s work. I remember reading And Then There Were None as a child. I didn’t fully comprehend the nuance of the story at the time, but after seeing the movie adaptation, Ten Little Indians, several years later, I reread the book. To my surprise and delight, it was filled with pointing fingers and arrows and some were veiled and some were out in plain sight.

Avid readers, or even avid movie goers, should be able to pick out the clues by the third Easter egg. By then, I imagine their minds are saying, huh? Did she mean to write it that way? At least I hope they do! Those intentional hidden messages point to the truth.

The story revolves around Dr. Elaine (Lanie) O’Keefe and her recent purchase of the derelict mid-Victorian Bowen mansion. She has plans to renovate the property into a free clinic. This is no ordinary mansion in two key ways – Since she was a small child, Lanie has been dreaming of the house, as if she lived in the Victorian era. And, as is often the case in the many small towns across America, old abandoned houses are jokingly labeled haunted houses. There’s just one thing, old Bowen Mansion is haunted.

Jason Bowen, a doctor in his own time and a ghost in this one, roams the house contemplating his own murder in the century before. He has no recollection of the deed, only that his new wife and her lover are responsible. He soon becomes fascinated by the woman who’s moved into his house. What begins as an innocent experiment to touch her warm skin while she sleeps, leads to Jason’s discovery that, as pure energy, he’s able to ply Lanie’s synapse and live again through her dreams. He’s surprised to discover those dreams return him to the days leading up to his murder. Only this time, Lanie is there by his side. The questions now are: Can a ghost find love among the living? And, if so, what of that little insurmountable matter of Jason being dead?

Believe it or not writing Dreamscape all started with a case of writer’s block. I often ask friends and family for writing prompts when my mind draws a creative blank. A poet friend and I were chatting one day and I mentioned how I liked writing the impossible and making it possible. He asked for an example and those two questions popped into my head — There you go — Dreamscape.

When you start writing, do you already have the story plotted out or do you let the characters dictate what will happen?

I’ve likened the whole fiction writing process to a mild form of schizophrenia.
In the truest sense, I’m one of those by-the-seat-of-my-pants writers. It always starts with a question or a concept like what got me creating Dreamscape. Before I knew it, Jason Bowen materialized right before my mind’s eye. Lanie followed, as did the Danowski family of tradesmen who came to renovate the house. My characters always tell me who they are, who they’ll meet, and where they’re going. Sometimes my imagination will go off on a tangent and before I know what’s happening, I’ve written a neighbor stopping by to borrow a cup of sugar something. Very few of those drop-in characters stick around. Unless they have large personalities, they eventually disappear into the pages never to be seen past my self-editing. It happens like this – for Dreamscape, I was just writing along and suddenly an unsavory character emerged to allow Jason to face a point of decision. It was a good and necessary bit of concept so the bad guy stayed.

What inspired you to write in your genre? Is this the genre you started writing in or have you morphed to this one?

No, a curious turn of events put my feet on this path and it all happened in a two-week period of time. I can’t speak for anyone else out there, but when the Fates, or the Muses as the case may be, use synchronistic prodding, I listen!

I’ve actually been writing a non-erotic series (my as-yet-unnamed Magnum Opus) for the last 3 ½ years. Up to this point in my life, I’d never considered writing in this sub-genre. But erotic romance is very popular right now and was the quickest way I could think of to establish a footing. Very few people know I’ve entered the realm of romantic fiction, and fewer still know my creations fall under the erotic romance heading. From the very first step of this amazing journey, my romances have forced me to learn the writing business. Erotic Romance is the uber-genre. This fast growing romance sub-genre is the perfect hand in the glove of all the new technology out right now. Those Nooks, Kindles, and Kobos allow these juicy flights of fancy into the privacy of our homes. And they come sans their brown-paper wrappings for the mailman and nosy neighbors to speculate about. When my magnum opus is finally ready to be published, I’ll actually know what I’m doing! And hopefully when I set off to the Big City to peddle it, I’ll have a bulging portfolio of published work to show I have some wherewithal as an author. That’s the plan anyway.

Do you have a favorite character you have written?

My non-erotic series has a fabulous family of men and I adore all of them. I’d have to say of the two books I’ve published, it would have to be S from Hermes Online. That is one smooth-talking, sensual, sexy man. S and I took part in a character interview a few months ago and he told me even more about himself. I found I liked him even more than when I dreamed him up. That man’s a keeper.

Who was the toughest character for you to “get right” that you have written so far?

Hands-down it has to be the man I’m writing right now. He’s been out of society for the last three thousand years. I’m finding it incredibly difficult to write a modern story with someone with no modern perspective or reference point. But I enjoy the heck out making the implausible plausible and the impossible possible. It stretches my creativity to meet challenges like this, but I know I’ll work it out eventually.

Do you draw inspiration for your characters from real life? Any fun stories you could share?

I do because it’s easy to draw from the familiar. If readers knew me, they’d recognize my furnishings, my pets, the many cars I’ve owned, and even things about themselves. My life makes cameo appearances in one form or another in all of my books. Anything funny my characters do, chances are I’ve either done it or someone close to me has! My husband and friends tease me about me putting their lives in my stories. They’d be surprised to know how much of that is true and in ways not easily discernable to anyone but me. Hehehe. Oh, they’re never in my stories in their entirety, only pieces of their personalities, style, humor, and mannerisms are.

In addition to being fleshed out by small slices of my friends and family, my heroes and heroines are all composites of who I am. Imagine a conversation with a little girl and you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up. Depending on her age, she’ll be a princess, a nurse, a veterinarian, a doctor, an astronaut, an archeologist etc. My characters are what I’ve always wanted to be in nearly every stage of my life but for one reason or another, my path led my feet elsewhere. They play instruments I’ve never learned to play. They have careers and adventures I considered once. They have my values, my fears, my wit, etc. And the personal bonus here is they aren’t shy and reserved like I am in real life. I suppose a better way to put it is they’re all made up of interests and dreams that I never actually made happen in my life as I’ve matured and traveled on.

As for bad guys, well, I think my bad guys make J.K Rowling’s Voldemort look nice. But yes, even my bad guys are me. If you think about it they’d have to be some part of the author’s mind. How else could they write them into being? My bad guys have the worst attitudes, negative behavior, and desire for self-gratification that I’ve ever seen in human beings thrown in for good measure. And they always tell me where to go with their development just like my other characters do. Sometimes I surprise myself. I’ve even given myself goosebumps a few times.

What do you find the hardest part of writing?

The promoting! I had no idea this was part of the whole author experience. I never really gave it much thought before I jumped in. I’d rather be writing than coming up with creative marketing, because on any given day there’s only so much creativity to go around. At least that’s how it works in my head. But on the plus side, my promoting has taught me so much and put me in contact with some pretty terrific people. I’m happy.

Name one thing that your readers would be surprised to know about you.

Hmm, it’s difficult to pick one out of all the odd things I do or have done. My interests are vast, my pursuits varied. I’ve done dozens of crazy off-the -all things. Surprising might be that dog napping incident (The poor dogs needed immediate help.) Or the wild foods dinner where I ate cicada and rice filled dolmas and thought them delicious before I knew what they were. (It’s true, they tasted like roasted cashews. Although tasty, I just couldn’t get past the spiky little legs that stick in your gums.) But as odd as these are, they don’t surprise the people who know me. They’d say the most unusual thing about me, is the fact I read encyclopedias for leisure reading. (Doesn’t everyone?) The entire A to Z World Book encyclopedia took me nearly six years. I collect encyclopedias. My oldest set was an encyclopedic dictionary from the 1880’s (but I had to get rid of them because they brought bookworms into the house. Rereading this paragraph I’m compelled to say, holy cow, what a weirdo I am. LOL

Do you have a guilty pleasure?

I have several! The most regularly fed guilty pleasure is combing flea markets for treasures. I have one nearby that runs from April to November and my husband and I go to just about everyone.

What do you need before you start writing? Anything that is just a must have or the creative juice don’t flow?

Before I get down to serious writing, I kiss my husband and see him out the door, walk and feed my dogs, and then pour myself a cup of coffee. I can’t say I need any of these things before I write. But I sure do like a kiss, followed by a perfect cup of coffee.

Does music influence your writing? If so, do any of your stories have a theme song?

Not in my erotic romance, but the Magnum Opus has Tri Martolod sung by Breton Celtic Harp musician Alan Stivell. I found him singing it on youtube. It’s a beautiful piece that set my mind right into Celtic Bretagne.

If your story was optioned for a movie, who would play your characters?

Wow. I’ve honestly never considered that before. For Dreamscape, I suppose James McAvoy could be a terrific brooding ghost because he thoroughly gets into every part he plays and does this great broody scowl. Thinking on this, I have no one in mind for Lainie but she does have black hair and big blue eyes. I’d be so tickled if Hollywood ever considered such a thing. I’d take just about anyone.

Where were you when you got your first contract? Who did you tell first?

I was sitting at my computer checking my emails when the contract from Siren-Bookstrand came. My husband was the first to know.

How old were you when you read your first romance book?

I was twenty-seven and in the middle of World Book’s B volume at the time. My sister lent something by Janelle Taylor for my long train ride home. It was the second book in a series. Of course I had to find the others. While tracking those down at the library, I found A Rose in Winter by Kathleen Woodiwiss. I’ve been a fan ever since.

What author causes you to “go fan girl”/ squeal over/anticipate upcoming books?

Hands down, anything by Diana Gabaldon. I’m a great fan.

If you still have one of those pesky non writing jobs what is it?
I write full time now but I juggle many balls. I recently ended a job I’d been at for the last eleven years so I could write fulltime.

What are you currently working on, and what else is in the wings?

At this time, I have three stories going — one from the wilds of the upper Midwest, one on the Isle of Skye, and of course the large and cerebral Magnum Opus. The first is soon approaching its conclusion but I’m enjoying the concept so much, I may very well write a small series along the same lines. A concept hit me between the eyes last night and it’s all I can do to keep myself from starting another book before the others are done.

If you could co-write with another author who would it be?

I haven’t read many in this erotic romance genre, but I’d say it would be Jane Leopold Quinn. I discovered upon reading her works, that she chooses the exactly phraseology I would choose. I can tell we share the same wit and see the world in the same colors. Outside of erotic romance, I’d love a go with Michael Crichton or Dean Koontz. I’m a detail person and all three of these authors write in exquisite detail. It would be an easy fit and an honor to coauthor with them.

How do you pick your characters names?

I occasionally pick names by their meanings. It’s a small homage to the character’s personalities. Most times I hold the image of the character in mind and then go looking through baby name sites. I have two with 20,000 and 10,000 names each to draw from. The internet is filled with fabulous names.

Do you prefer the love at first sight approach or a steady growth throughout?

My husband caught my eye the moment he walked into the room. He had a presence about him that was noticeable. I fell in love with him in a span of day afterward, but that spark definitely lit in that moment. We’ve loved each other a long time. So yes to both. I try to ignite that spark for my characters, and then stand back and let the fuse burn.

What is your reaction to people who say one of the following…”Oh you write romance, I thought you were a real writer”, “Romance isn’t a real writing career” or the ever popular “Oh, one of those books?”

LOL. I haven’t encountered any of those yet. I’m more nervous about the “Oh you write erotic romance. That’s like porn isn’t it?” In truth, I wish my kids and sensitive family members will never read my books, or at least wait until I’m dead before they do. But I’m not embarrassed by this choice. I’ve worked harder to get here than I’ve ever worked for anything anywhere.

Where can readers find you?

I have a new website in the works and I’ve devoted my entire blog to this amazing author journey I’m on, including any laurels or skinned knees and elbows I’ve picked up along the way. It’s certainly a way to get inside my head! Leave messages, I love to hear from visitors. Here are a few of my other links. I’m all over the place!

My Blog: Calliopes Writing Tablet

My Book Trailers

Follow me on Twitter

Join my circle of Friends on Google+

And for the silly side – What is your favorite type of chocolate?

I’d never refuse a nice rich ganache to go with a side of sliced banana and a wedge of pound cake. Great, now I’m craving. I suppose I’ll write it into my next book.

There, that wasn’t so bad was it? I loved the Trivial Pursuit comment. LOL Good god I’m such a nerd, and admitting it in several of these interviews has brought about some enlightening  introspection to say the least. :)

~~~

I recently did a guest post over at Cynthia Selwyn’s Passionate Heart blog. http://cynthiaselwyn.blogspot.com/ She has the Make Mine Easy Monday slot open to authors because she wants a break from blogging. This is a brilliant set up on her end — have quality posts and not have to write them! I hope to have a day like that set aside for my website. lol You thought I forgot about the website didn’t you? No, I’m just waiting on the 8-day week to fit it all in. Here’s my post:

MAKE MINE EASY MONDAY with author, Rose Anderson

Don’t you just love this time of year? Remove the consumerism — that rush to buy gifts with money the shoppers don’t have. Take out the trappings and the hard sell angles that make people crazy enough to use pepper spray to buy an XBox. If you listen, you’ll hear quiet. All of nature is settling in for the deep winter to come.

The shorter days, with their dark mornings and early evenings, extend the quiet of the night. We’re inching toward the shortest day of the year on December 22nd. The sun is moving to its lowest and weakest point in the northern hemisphere until it barely appears during the winter solstice. There’ll be only nine hours and twenty minutes of daylight in my area that day. This is the turning point of the year. The romans called it Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. After the winter solstice, the light will grow stronger and brighter to a full twelve hour day on the spring equinox in late March.

Though it’s months away, spring can take its time coming. Growing up in Chicago I got used to my seasons being defined and coming in fours. I relish the cold grip of winter because to me this is the introspective time of year. In my country home, the cold air slips through the nooks and crannies and brings a desire to simmer a pot of homemade soup or to bake a pie or make bread just to add a little warmth to the house.

It’s time to dress the little dog in her hoodie, and I can’t help but smile. The big dog takes the cold in stride. Both dawdle on their walks these days as cold air and frosty ground make scents and smells keener. The deer, coyote, and fox all come close to the house now. The big dog takes that in stride too. The little dog is outraged at the audacity of the wildlife. She patrols from window to patio door lest the outdoor offenders even think about coming inside. Her hoodie makes her look tough and ready for action.

I’m a very warm sleeper, the sort who kicks off the covers all night long. I laugh when I tell friends I’d be comfortable sleeping naked on an ice floe, but it’s true. I prefer the bedroom window open in winter. When I was a teen, I’d leave my window open wide and snuggle into my linens with my dog at my feet. My room would get so cold I’d have frost on my doorknob in the morning. I don’t do that anymore. My husband would be too uncomfortable.

I love when he gets into bed before me. I especially love his gasp as my cold skin comes in contact with his. It’s payback, you see. As an undergrad at night school all those years ago, he drove our old beater of a Datsun back and forth to school, 63 miles one way and 63 back, three days a week. There was a small hole in the car’s floor and the heater barely worked. I’d be in bed by the time he came home frozen.

Living in an old farmhouse without heat on the second floor bedroom was my alternative to the open window. The ice cold room with the breath stealing cold bed was heaven to a warm sleeper like me. It didn’t take long to warm the space between the covers with my body heat and I’d listen to the sound of the far off train whistle carried on the cold night air. When my husband returned home from school, he’d strip down and slide under the covers then press against me to thaw. After the initial shock, we’d melt together. I loved it.

So with cold wind howling outside and in, I think I’ll bake an apple pie.

Yes, pie helps. That’s it for now. :)

 

Another Six Sentence Sunday!


The Romance Reviews

The idea is to find six interesting evocative sentences from your novel and put them out as a teaser. Here’s a bit from Hermes Online.

Setting the stage ~

Blurb: Left bruised and brokenhearted after a cruel breakup, Vivienne Bennet finds herself mired in a world of self-doubt. To her surprise, she receives an email that challenges her to rediscover the sensual woman she once was. Together Vivienne and the enigmatic man known only as S embark upon the world of anonymous Internet communication where suggestive emails lead to erotic chat, where cybering leads to Skype, and C2C sends both into the arms of a love they’d believed lost forever

:) At this point, S asks Vivienne to write him a kiss.

So, being filled with possibility as I was, the ride home from work had my lips tingling as scenes from the world’s best movie kisses played over my head. To me the best were desperate I’ll-die-if-I-don’t-kiss-you kisses. My mind played with the concept for a mile or so.

Once in my life, and granted it had been nearly a half dozen years ago, I had been kissed just like that. The kind of kiss that throws your back to the wall and sends buttons flying from clothing in a fevered race to shed them just so your skin could make contact with his, to send that kiss to every nerve in your body.

Yes, I’d felt that once.

~~~

Tempted?

I hope so! :D

Check out the other talented writers taking part in Six Sentence Sunday. Find them here:

http://www.sixsunday.com/

~~~

And….to take part in talented author, Victoria Bliss’ Sunday Snog (LOL), here’s the kiss Vivienne crafted. I hope you enjoy! http://www.victoriablisse.co.uk/ Stop by, Victoria as a very nice kiss posted today from  her holiday novel, Always Christmas in Lincoln.

I flexed my fingers and crafted a scene from the sizzling phantom fire playing over my lips.

Having experienced amazing kisses in my life added just enough realism to the blend of movie kisses. I told the screen, “So, you want a kiss, eh? Then what will you think of this?”

S,

There is so much more to kissing for the first time than meets the eye. The would-be lovers laugh and smile and delight in each other’s company. They talk, getting to know each other, trying to find the choicest morsels of their life and personality to share. They might hold hands for hours as they wander here and there. And when they sit side by side, perhaps on a bench at a museum, they’ll look in feigned interest at the passersby, glance again and again at the exhibit, but not really seeing it. First, one will turn inward, the movement slight, barely noticeable. And then with no clear knowledge of doing so, the one will magically mirror the other. Their knees may touch, and one set of clasped hands might rest innocently upon a knee.

And then a noise, a temporary distraction, might take their attention for a second, and both heads will turn to the sound, inadvertently closer now than before. When one turns back, their faces will be mere inches apart. Their eyes, green and gray, will hold each other’s gazes, darting from one sparkling pupil to the other. They might unfocus to drink in the entire face for a second, perhaps lingering on the person’s smile before meeting the gaze once more, a gaze noticeably warmer than a moment ago.

One face may turn a little, and in mirrored image, the other follows, only slightly tipped in the opposite direction. And the eyes ask the silent question as two thoughts become superimposed—“May I kiss you?”-“Will you kiss me?” The answer is subtle, missed by nearly everyone passing by, everyone save the smiling elder couple holding gnarled hands and assisted by their canes. Perhaps they, too, once shared a kiss sitting there, or plan to again later. But locked in their own world, they don’t notice the elder pair walk by.

They are aware now only of each other, aware of little things, the flush on her cheeks, the gleam in his eye, the color of her moist lips, the imperceptible flare of his nostrils as he subconsciously reminds his body to breathe. They touch now. The kiss is at first soft, the lips asking permission for the firmness they crave. Another kiss grants this and another and another as faces turn to fit around chins and cheeks and noses. And then loose and pliable, those lips part now to make way for tentative tongues. These too begin their searching, gently at first then becoming bolder as they instinctively react to the warmth of each other’s mouths and thrust as hands cup cheeks and arms wind around shoulders, drawing each other ever inward into the private space that shuts the waking world out and lets the dream begin.

V

~~~

  Another 5 Stars for Hermes Online
Timely to the Six Sentences and the Snog, Hermes Online picked up a 5-star review from talented author and book lover Toni Sweeney recently. http://www.tonivsweeney.com/  Here’s what she said:

Viv Bennet’s self-esteem is at an all-time low; she’s just been dumped by her boyfriend who, in his own words, was “forced” into an affair because Viv is “so dull.”  In that frame of mind, she’s surfing the ’Net one night when she decides to check out a site a friend recommended, one which allows viewers to post their own erotic writing.  Viv reads some entries.  She decides she can write as well as some of those, and she rounds up an old story she wrote and posts it.

In a short time, she starts getting comments, and one in particular, signed by the mysterious
“S” intrigues her so, she replies.  “S” is verbally fluent, flattering, and charming on the computer screen, and before she realizes it, Viv is answering him, and looking forward to his replies.  “S” makes Viv feel alive again, and that perhaps her worth as a woman is more than she herself has come to expect.  He’s actually courting her and she’s allowing it, and without their actually meeting, these two people are falling in love.  And then, they decide to meet…

MY OPINION: Where to start…?  It’s not often a story actually hits home but this one certainly did. It’s an erotic story to be sure, but in many ways, it’s also a very sweet love story…of a woman and her Prince Charming in this day of impersonal, Internet connections.  Rose Anderson’s tale touched me because I met the man I love online, and though we never got as graphic as Vivienne and S, we chatted, we met, and we stayed together until he passed away.

This was one story I didn’t want to put down until it was finished because I had to know, without waiting for another night to pass, whether Viv and “S” would meet and what would happen if they did.  Would he be as she envisioned him or would the real man be a disappointment after the way her mind had painted him?  Knowing the quirks of writers these days, I kept expecting there to be some twist at the ending, that “S” would turn out to be a fifteen-year-old boy or a serial killer or something just as devastating. Without giving a Spoiler, let me say that attentive readers will spot that one sentence telling them how the story’s going to end.  Look for it, but if you don’t find it, it doesn’t matter.  You’ll enjoy what happens anyway.

An excellent story.  A lovely story.

~~~

As promised, here’s another guest post I had posted at Leagh Christensen’s blog Romance Book Craze. She’s an avid reader (300 books a year!) and has great insight for the next great read. Hmm…I need to ask if she’d read mine. Anyway, here’s my interview:

Rose Anderson Interview and giveaway!

Hello Rose! Thank you so much for being here today.

Thanks for having me Leagh!
Why don’t we start off by you telling us a little bit about yourself.

I’m a relatively new author trying to learn how to balance promotion with actual writing. I’ve two books in print since March 2011 and several more irons in the fire.

What is your normal day like?

I think my day is pretty dull actually! I get up, make coffee, drink coffee, walk dogs, feed dogs, play with dogs (if I don’t then I’m hounded with squeaky toys until I do). Then I see to the details of being a new author. Any given day I might have 60 or more emails or I might have a guest post to write or an interview to complete. I’ll try to get to my own blog if there’s time. Whew. By ten o’clock I’m writing my work in progress. If the Muse is on my side that day, I might get several chapters completed. I’ve recently added a stint on the treadmill to my daily repertoire because sitting all day is turning my muscle to mush and a recent study says that is seriously unhealthy for my kidneys and my heart. If I could figure out how to duct tape my laptop and coffee cup holder to my treadmill, and have the dogs in tow behind me, I’d be all set!

What are some of your favorites ~ music, movie, drinks, foods, etc. Dislikes?
Oh my, where to start?
To combat shyness, I had a two semester stint as a DJ back in college so I love just about all kinds of music. My favorite anytime music would be Celtic instrumentals and American bluegrass.

There are a few movies I never tire of and it’s too hard to pick just one – Lord of the Rings (all 3), Harry Potter (all), Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Master and Commander, Carnivale (all), and Horatio Hornblower (all)

As far as potent drinks go, I’m a lightweight! I do enjoy a Fuzzy Navel (peach schnapps and orange juice) now and then. I also enjoy lemon in any form from lemonade to limoncello.

Foods would have to be the foods of my youth, those comfort foods everyone grew up with.  From my mother’s side of the family it would have to be spaghetti and meatballs. From my father’s side of the family, it would have to be sauerkraut. I wouldn’t walk away from a plate of either. lol

Dislikes?

In music: I do not like rap, whiny country music, ear puncturing heavy metal (unless there’s actually a rhythm there), and some improv jazz.

In movies and books: I really dislike gratuitous violence. If violence is necessary to the story, then sure put some in. I’ve read an author not long ago who uses violence as filler to her stories. It doesn’t move the tale along. In many cases it had nothing to do with anything happening. At that point it merely appears to be torture and gore taking up so many pages to make a book longer. I recently saw the movie The Immortals. I had such high hopes for the story of Theseus but unfortunately I had to endure Mickey Rourke, as King Hyperion, torture, maim, and murder a poor soul once every five minutes. One time to illustrate what a bad guy he was would have been sufficient, twice even. I can extrapolate when someone is baked alive, I don’t need to experience it on the big screen nor need to see the aftermath just to remove any doubt that it just happened. Wow, how’s that for opinionated? LOL I wonder if Roger Ebert would agree with me.

In drinks: I don’t like Guinness or hazelnut coffee.

In foods: I can’t stand cilantro and a small piece will ruin anything for me. Also, having been force fed liver as a child, I wouldn’t touch organ meats with a ten foot pole. Other than these things, I think I’m fairly easy going and willing to give most anything a fair shot.

Tell us one unusual thing about yourself

This is funny. I’m sitting here writing this and my husband is sitting across from me working on his own book. I just asked him, what’s one unusual thing about me? He said, look around! Ok then. I am a collector. I love old and odd things. My kitchen and dining room walls are filled with kitsch. I’m drawn to 1930 -40’s pottery with their bold bright glazes and little things like Crackerjack toys and wiener whistles. I’m like a magpie. :)

Since it is the holiday season, what is your favorite thing about the holidays and which holiday is your favorite?

Christmas Eve is my favorite thing about the holidays of the winter season. When I was a child, my family celebrated on Christmas Eve. When my four siblings had all gone their separate ways, my older sisters always had the party at their houses. As time brings changes to all families when loved ones are lost, we eventually found ourselves with nowhere to go that night. So my immediate family decided we’d open our home to friends who also had nowhere to go or no family to spend Christmas Eve with. For nineteen years we’ve hosted this party. Last year we had 38 people crammed into my small house. This year I expect 42…so far. There are a lot of people with no one to spend the holiday with. I’ll often get asked if there’s room for one more.

I make all the food, and as everyone should have at least one gift for Christmas, everyone who comes gets a little brown paper goodie bag. My daughter handles the wish basket where people write out their wishes for the coming year. They say whether or not these wishes can be shared later in the evening and they’re always anonymous. Sometimes we sing, mostly we just laugh and enjoy each other. This big extended family is precious to me.

Next to Christmas with family and friends, Halloween is my favorite.

Do you have any traditions that you follow?

Well we do cut our own tree. That was hard for me initially but I began to look at tree farms as open space habitat and the tree itself like a rose. They’re grown to be cut and in the interim between planting and growing large enough to make an appealing Christmas tree, they provide shelter and seeds. The goal for our family is to find an old bird’s nest for luck. If we find one in a tree, it doesn’t matter of the tree is perfect or homely. That’ll be the one for us. More than once we’ve decorated a Christmas bush or Christmas telephone post. Occasionally we’ll get a tree that looks the part. :)

Ok so now onto the book…

DREAMSCAPE is a book with a ghost hero, what prompted you to write about that?

I have a poet friend, a penpal, and he and I were exchanging emails one day and got on the subject of the impossible scenario. I remembered the old black and white movie The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Now there was an impossible love story. I thought I could make that work. I like writing challenges of that sort.

Can you tell us a bit about the book?

I’ll give you the blurb. Blurbs are so hard to write and this one sums up the story perfectly:

Unable to deny his own translucence, Dr. Jason Bowen determines his lack of physical substance could only mean one thing—he’s a ghost. Murdered more than a century before, Jason haunts his house and ponders the treachery that took his life. When Lanie O’Keefe arrives with plans to renovate her newly purchased Victorian mansion, Jason discovers, ghost or not, he’s still very much a man. Despite its derelict condition and haunted reputation, Lanie couldn’t be happier with her new home, but then she has no idea a spirit follows her every move throughout the day and shares her captivating warmth at night. Jason soon discovers he can travel through Lanie’s dreams and finds himself reliving the days before his murder with Lanie by his side. It took one hundred and twenty years for love to find them, but there’s that insurmountable little matter of Jason being dead.

Is this a series and if so, how many books are you planning?

No, Dreamscape is a story that ends with the last chapter. My next story coming soon is a two-book tale.

Where did the character and plot ideas come from for this book?

I’m one of those write by the seat of my pants authors. I literally start writing and the characters come in from the sidelines and tell me who they are. Lanie, the modern woman is a doctor on a mission to rehab an old Victorian property into a living space for her and the old coach house into free clinic. Jason Bowen is also a doctor of the Victorian era. They had a lot in common but were separated by death.

I started out just writing a love story along the lines of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. But as I completed the second chapter, I realized my ghost didn’t know how he came to be a ghost. It was a mystery. I recalled that as a child I enjoyed reading Agatha Christie, and the idea for the rest of the plot just popped into my head. Dreamscape is a contemporary erotic romance but it’s also a ghost story, a murder, a mystery, a suspense, a time travel of sorts, and on top of all that, it’s a literary puzzle. Under Agatha’s influence, I decided I’d make it an Easter egg hunt for my readers. Going back to the first two chapters with that in mind, I inserted clues. I’ve laid out so many clues, a savvy reader could uncover the story running behind the scenes. Most readers who comment are blown away by the ending because they thought it was going one way, then they changed their mind and thought it would go another way. In the end, it goes Jason and Lanie’s way. And it’s a surprise! :)

What was your favorite part of this book, without spoiling it for your readers of course?

Jason has no recollection of his murder and not knowing has dogged him for one hundred and twenty years. Once he realizes he can ride Lanie’s dreams to his time period, he looks for every opportunity to do so. My favorite scene takes place in Jason’s past where he and Lanie overhear a conversation between his wife and her accomplices as they plot his death and their reasons for it.

Are you planning on continuing with more stories like this one?

I might write another literary puzzle one day, but I don’t see another ghost story on the horizon. For now I’m finishing book two of my shape shifter series. Then after that it’s back to my novel set on the Isle of Sky – I was nearly half-way into that one, but the shape shifter knocked hard on my imagination and demanded his story go first. And unless the Muse has other plans and gives me another story to write, I’ll finish my 4-year-in-the-making, 5-book, as yet unnamed Magnum Opus. In between, I’ll publish three childrens’ books. Whew. I’m busy!

Thank you so much for being on my blog today. It was a pleasure having you!!!

Thanks  again Leagh. I appreciate the time it took to come up with such interesting questions! Should anyone be interested in my books or in contacting me, I can be found just about anywhere these days. Here are several of my links. I’d love when people stop and say hi. :)

My blog: http://calliopeswritingtablet.com/

My page at my publisher’s site: Siren-Bookstrand_RoseAnderson

My book trailers:  MusesWritingTablet

Yes I tweet, let’s be friends! @roseanderson_  (notice the _  at the end)

And we can be friends here too! Google+ Circles (I’m not on Facebook)

On the mend, Guest spots, & Upcoming goodies


The Romance Reviews

Well my health has improved thanks to powerful medicines. Not fun when asthmatics get chest colds that lead to pneumonia. It certainly didn’t do much for my ability to think! I couldn’t draw a deep breath, couldn’t string together two words intelligently either. Addled and befuddled, I found myself with several guest blogs to write and all posting at once! I’ve mentioned before my strategy on getting my name out there. Most authors I know personally take advantage of guest blogging. It helps the blog owner because blogs are time consuming undertakings to keep up, not to mention the vast consumption of creativity in a person such as myself.

I’ve temporarily put my novel on hold until after the holidays. I make most of my gifts and I don’t want that creative spark utilized on anything but gifts for loved ones.

In the Holiday spirit, I’ve entered Drea Becraft’s Holiday Blog Hop!

December 16th to 17th

I can’t seem to get my blog to take the links as I give them, so here it is again just in case clicking on the Holiday Blog Hop button doesn’t work. The hop starts here:

http://thebloghopspot.com/event-page/

For my prizes, I’m offering one handmade ornament for the wine lover out there — suitable for tree or anywhere! (notice the snazzy Rose Anderson pen)  :D And, winner’s choice of an ebook copy of either Dreamscape or Hermes Online. (Next year my back list will be bigger!)

:) Just leave a comment on my blog hop post one or both days (not this on one!) and I’ll pick one random winner after the blog hop is over.

~~~

I recently did a logline. What’s that you ask? A logline is a one-sentence summary of your script or novel. It’s like that short blurb in movie guides that, in as few words as possible, tells you what the movie is about and lets you decide if you’re interested in seeing it or not. It’s the grabber. An author I know, the multi-talented Lynn Crain, recently created The Log Line Blog. Here, in a short squib  of words, authors can showcase their books. I will say it’s hard to condense your entire book into one sentence. If done well, they’re memorable. Remember this one? A young man and woman from different social classes fall in love, must outwit her abusive fiancé, and find a way to survive aboard an ill-fated voyage at sea. (Titanic)

http://theloglineblog.blogspot.com

I took mine from the blurb I wrote for Dreamscape. Blurbs are next to impossible to write all on their own. Loglines are harder because I only had 25 words to sum up this 73,800-word book! It went like this:

It took one hundred and twenty years for love to find them, but there’s that insurmountable little matter of Jason being dead.

I recommend stopping by The Logline Blog. You might just get hooked on the next great read. Like mine! :D

~~~

So, as I mentioned above, in my over-medicated state, I racked up several guest blog posts at once. Here’s one of the most recent, and I’ll post more in a few days. Some questions are answered more than once, though I do try to change it up and bring in new perspectives and angles, and the hosts do a terrific job coming up with interesting questions to ask. I’ve said before, it’s not easy writing about me, not being repetitive is even more difficult when the questions are so similar at times. But these questions sure do make me think!

Here’s my gest post over at award winning author Tina Donahue’s Sweet-N-Sexy Divas blog http://sweetnsexydivas.blogspot.com

How do you usually come up with a story idea?  Dreams?  Writer’s journal? Eavesdropping on conversations?  Newspaper?
First off, thank you for having me Tina. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your interview.  :)

I keep what I call my idea book, a small pocket notebook, in my purse for inspirational moments. Any idea gets jotted down when it comes. One might pop into my head at a stop light when my mind is chatting away with itself. Or I could be enjoying the company of friends and the conversation captures my imagination and momentarily takes my mind elsewhere.  You can say I sort of eavesdrop, on the world around me and myself!

Who or what inspires you when your creative mojo is lagging?
My husband and friends will occasionally say, “You know what you should write…?” and their enthusiasm for their idea helps stir my imagination.  It sounds odd to say that, but it’s not so much the concept they think will be a good fit, but rather it’s their enthusiasm that does it. When my muse is off inspiring others and the mojo is lagging, I’ll generally read one of my own books or short stories from the beginning. Writing is such a mutable thing. Rereading my own work will immediately send me into mental rewrites. When my mojo is jazzed up again, I’ll move back to my work in progress.

Who is your Yoda—your seasoned mentor?
I fell into a small author’s group the month after my first novel released and they’ve been an amazing resource and safety net for me. I don’t know how I managed this other than it was certainly a case of right place right time. I’d read everything I could get my hands on about the publishing world and discovered that’s not such a good idea because there are so many conflicting pieces of information out there. I was painfully lost. Most of these authors have several books under their belts and I’ve learned so much from their wealth of experience. I hope to meet them in person one day.

What importance do you place on writing workshops?  What workshops would you recommend to us?
I’ve only had one and I found it useful in that it unexpectedly gave me the topic for my current work in progress. I’m embarrassed to say, after that initial lightbulb went off over my head, I kind of dropped the class. I was too busy writing a book! Twice I’ve tried to take a creative writing class at my local community college and both times the class was canceled. I consider myself an intuitive writer as far as creativity goes, but boy I could use a little polish on my Chicagoese grammar. I no longer live in the city, but having grown up there devils my writing from time to time. People would laugh if they knew I took pains not to say things like “where’s my keys?” instead of “where are my keys?” This thing is, I know these little gaffs are not proper speech but they slip in so easily that I’ll have to read my work aloud to find them. It’s a pain in the butt!

As far as workshops go, I’d really love to see a formula broken down. I’m not a formula writer myself, but I’ve read many such novels over the years. I hear of authors cranking out a new book every quarter because they use formulae. I’d like to see how that’s done.  I’d love to see a workshop on shoestring promotion too.

What person would you like to thank for inspiring you in your writing aspirations?  How did this person help you?

My husband first and foremost. He’s an amazing essayist and can turn a phrase like no one’s business. When personal computers were just becoming common, we discovered the theatrical world of online role play. And what a stage it was! At any given hour of any given day one might converse with a shape-shifting shaman, a knight of the realm, or a barbarian slave girl with jingling bells on her ankles. Often misspelled words hastily typed out in the chat rooms described scenes and appearances equivalent to anything played at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. We had fun with it.

Word lover that I am, I found I had a knack for crafting detailed fantasy worlds. At my husband’s urging I entered a contest he’d found and it happened to be for erotic fiction. I never expected it to go anywhere, but I did like to dazzle my mate so I gave it my best. To my surprise, I won first place. Up till then, I’d only read romance and written children’s stories.

Have you ever used songs for inspiration?

I’ve used Celtic music for my large, four-years-in-the-making, series.  And one of my characters loves Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma

Do you play music when you write?  If so, what kind?  Or, do you have to have silence or background noise to set your writing muse free?

I generally write in silence. For me, too much external stimulus coming into my creative sphere is a distraction.

Do you read in a different genre than you write?  If yes, why?  If you read in the same genre that you write, do you feel that it influences your writing in any way?
I’m an informational reader but go on these fiction binges once a year. When the binge happens I’ll plow through everything from Harry Potter to Sherlock Holmes and I won’t stop until the need for fiction subsides. I’ve found recently that too many romance novels mess with my own style. I take romance in smaller doses now whereas before I’d read every book Kathleen Woodiwiss, Judith McNaught, or Johanna Lindsey ever wrote in one long stretch.

What is your process from idea to first draft?
I’m a linear pantzer! As an intuitive composer, I literally walk forward into the story and keep on walking until it tells me it’s done. Along the way I find doors and windows open and give me direction. People appear from time to time to give me options. Being without an outline does occasionally have its sticky points. I’ve had to eliminate more than one character who innocently stopped by to borrow a cup of sugar. It’s weird how that works. I really don’t know where those people come from! I compare it to the TV series Happy Days, where Ritchie’s older brother Chuck just stops coming to the dinner table one day and is never mentioned again for the duration of show.

Have you ever given assistance to a struggling new writer?  Has another writer ever come to your aide?  How?
Like many publishers out there, Siren-Bookstrand has a group page everyone can communicate through. Every week new authors come on and introduce themselves. I’ve tried to be helpful where I can because I remember what it was like to have no idea what to do next. I’ve dedicated my blog to the entire author journey too. Anyone interested can find out what I’ve learned since I stepped onto this path. Like I mentioned above, I belong to a great author’s group. We all help each other and are very supportive in any area. Again, I got lucky.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishments in your career so far?                                                                 Oh just being in print! More than twenty years ago, I wrote and illustrated books for my children. Many years later, I wrote a youth novel. Unfortunately I didn’t publish any of them. That’s going to change in 2012! I have a little wherewithal as a writer now. I know I can do this. With my brand new backbone in place, I plan to self-publish them all. :)
If you won the big lottery, what would you do with the money?  Would give any of it to charity?  If so, which one?
I’d buy a piece of land for my husband to retire on and build an energy efficient home to grow old with him in. But with the rest, I’d create an endowment. Each year I’d send grants to people doing good things for the environment, for animals, and for people. Right now I support the NDRC — The Natural Resources Defense Council. They’ve done great things to protect wildlife and wild places by taking offenders to court. I also support Heifer International and Oxfam. I give when I can and I’d love to be able to give more. For anyone interested, the Animal Rescue Site is a click site that donates money to shelters and there’s nothing for you to do but click on the site once each day. Free Rice is a similar site that donates bowls of rice to the world’s hungry.

What is the best advice you want to give to a new writer?                                                                                                           They should keep in mind that not all of their books will be a good fit with every reader out there. I’d say not to take it too hard when the inevitable poor or snarky review pops up. Books are no less works of art than masterpieces in oil or stone. So new writers, please remember that reviews are simply opinions. Revel in the good ones because they feel great. If you’re lucky the bad ones will come with constructive criticism and that’s not really a negative thing. Once problems are out in the open and you know what they look like, they can be avoided in your future writing.

Above all, don’t let nasty reviews get you down. If they have nothing of value to impart and are simply mean-spirited, consider them to be the power plays they’re intended to be and don’t waste valuable time thinking about them. You have writing to do! I read this comment once: Books outlast their deriders. That’s an interesting thought, eh?

If you could choose an animal for a mascot, what animal would it be?  What do you admire about this animal?  Do you feel you have qualities similar to this animal?  If so, what are they?

Wow, this is honestly something I have never contemplated before. I love all animals and my house is full of creatures that have blessed me by sharing their lives with mine. I’d say my twelve-year-old Labrador retriever is my mascot. I have chronic health issues and she looks after me. She’s joyful and loving, protective, loyal, friendly, funny and playful and has an amazing capacity to understand what you’re talking about. You’d have to see it to believe it. She has the largest vocabulary I’ve ever known a dog to have. It breaks my heart to see her graying muzzle and know one day not all that far in the future, she’ll leave. I’d know I’ve done right by the world if I managed to have half the qualities she has.

If money, education and fear factors were set aside, what three careers would you like to attempt other than writing
Science — I’d be a research biologist to find cures for our ill planet. Music — I’d be drummer with Mickey Hart or a folk singer. Philanthropist – I’d go all over the world and give my massive, self-sustaining, Scrooge McDuck zillions to worthy causes. ;)

If money, talent and fear were no object, what big adventure would you like to have?
I’d be a world traveler. I love architecture, especially ancient works on ground considered sacred by every group inhabiting the area through time. Early religions fascinate me.

What characteristics do you like to instill in your heroes? What characteristics do you feel are necessary for a good heroine?                                                                                                                                                                                                           I adore men and my appreciation comes through in the romantic way I craft them. They’re intelligent, capable, and confident. They’re also witty, brave, sensual, and have a presence. My hero knows how fortunate he is when my heroine returns his affection.

I like to create characters to identify with so my heroine is my hero’s soul mate, his equal in every way that matters. My heroines have all the same attributes and they have a great sense of humor too. Yes, she’s the loveliest woman he’s ever seen, but she so much more and he recognizes and appreciates it. As a result, he’s drawn to her like the proverbial moth to flame.

If you had the power to change two things in the world, what would those two things be?                                        I was the helpless bystander watching two beloved sisters die to catastrophic diseases. I would see terrible diseases cured. If I could, I’d heal the earth’s ecosystem

If could have a super power for a day, what would it be?  Why?                                                                                                   Oh, definitely time travel.  I’d go back in time and change things that have done nothing but set humanity back. I’d correct things that never should have occurred like the burning of the Library at Alexandria. I’d correct the series of events that took woman from her rightful place beside man and made her his property. I suspect if that were possible there wouldn’t have been wars. Greed would have no footing. And suffering in all of its forms for man and animal would end.

Something new this week ~ Six Sentence Sunday!


I’m trying something new this week — Six Sentence Sunday!
The idea is to find six interesting evocative sentences from your novel and put them out as a teaser. Here’s a bit from Dreamscape.

Setting the stage ~

Blurb: Unable to deny his own translucence, Dr. Jason Bowen determines his lack of physical substance could only mean one thing—he’s a ghost. Murdered more than a century before, Jason haunts his house and ponders the treachery that took his life. When Lanie O’Keefe arrives with plans to renovate her newly purchased Victorian mansion, Jason discovers, ghost or not, he’s still very much a man. Despite its derelict condition and haunted reputation, Lanie couldn’t be happier with her new home, but then she has no idea a spirit follows her every move throughout the day and shares her captivating warmth at night. Jason soon discovers he can travel through Lanie’s dreams and finds himself reliving the days before his murder with Lanie by his side. It took one hundred and twenty years for love to find them, but there’s that insurmountable little matter of Jason being dead.

These six sentences come from several chapters into the novel. At this point Lanie has lucidly entered her Victorian dream world. There Jason tries his best to explain the truth of him in her modern world. He’s a ghost.

~~~

He searched for the best way to explain all as he knew it. “The truth of me, Lanie, is I am an ephemeral spirit of current and force no different than electricity or magnetism and as unsubstantial as smoke. As such, I’ve traveled your dream world with you.”

“You’re saying you’re able to jump into my dreams?” She sat up and faced him. What she’d always thought to be her dreams were really their dreams?

~~~

Fun huh? Check out the other talented writers taking part in Six Sentence Sunday. Find them here: http://www.sixsunday.com/

More blogging coming later this week…and another six next Sunday!  :D

Aching wrists, numb butt & smiles all around


I managed to survive another promotion blitz this past Thursday. What a fun day Fall for Romance (FFR) was. Fun and engaging guests, fun and fabulous author buddies. It was one terrific concerted effort. All told we had approximately 100 guest, well over 1000 posts or in my case emails (yeah no kidding). At one point we were getting about twenty posts a minute. I was totally wiped out at the end. My wrists ached, my butt was numb, and I knew it was time for me to go to bed when I ran a contest without key information. As soon as I clicked send I thought, uh oh. I hurried to send off another.

We had contests, giveaways, excerpts, family recipes and even had a few guests share recipes with us. We shared how our stories evolved, and Missy Martine did a terrific Holidays Around the World presentation. We stuffed our Fall for Romance files with pictures of all sorts, many more recipes, 1st chapters, excerpts, free reads and short stories, our assorted links of where we and our works could be found, and more. The Summer Love-In was so popular we left the doors open so people could come back and download our offerings. We did the same thing this time but made sure there were extra goodies in the files too.

So, my blog visits jumped significantly, as did my friend requests for google+ and Twitter. (Not related to the Fall for Romance – but I even have a few low-profile celebrities following me. It’s mind blowing.)

Anyway, two hours in and yahoo crashed on me. I couldn’t get into the yahoo group page where the FFR was taking place. I was locked out of email. Screaming YAHOOOO like Captain Kirk screams KAHN, I quickly shut it all down, ran to walk the dogs, ran to microwave some soup, ran to the bathroom, ran to refill my water glass, running back in, I sat with my bowl of soup in front of my computer and powered up. No email. Sheesh. Am I doomed to do these promo blitzes with obstacles strewn before me every time?? For the Summer Love-In, we had a regional power failure to contend with. Who knows what or who’s to blame this time.

I frantically searched online for a way to get into Yahoo Classic (the email program yahoo should have left alone because it worked). I found an obscure post someone had written and jumped on the link. I got the mail to work in its ancient form but it would only let me see one email at a time. I switched back, then realized I only had partial working email. On a normal day, I can tweak fonts to bold, italic, size etc. My fonts were small. As far as I could tell some sentences were a size 8. I could barely read it. This text is 12 point. I shut everything off and tried again. I still had partial working email but at least the font appeared normal, on my end anyway. By the time I got back on, the soup was cold, and the inbox was stuffed with 80+ emails. I started at the top and speed read and deleted my way down the list. Caught up again, I jumped in. Mind you yahoo mail has been just fine for months. If you’re ever wondering about what the heck is going on with your yahoo email, look here: http://downrightnow.com/yahoomail   Yes, it craps out so often that a site devoted to watching it happen sprang up. Why do I use it then? It’s all about the loops — those groups devoted to books, including my publisher all use yahoo.

Now under normal conditions (e.g. no act of god, Dr. Evil, or act of yahoo), I could go through the yahoo group’s page to do the FRR but it’s slow and as people rarely trim posts/emails, what you get is a thread…a very long thread. In other words I could open an email/post that started the day off, and people responding to it, and replying to each other on that same post create these massively huge posts that translate to massively long emails. I find those really easy to get lost in and I feel if readers are coming to an event, in part to see me, then the least I can do is try to not get lost. In email (on a good day) I can see at a glance what the topic is and catch who is talking to me directly. **Any authors reading this right now, I recommend email as the way to go rather than threads and posts in yahoo groups.

Sometime this week, I’ll send out my swag (I love that term for promotional items) :) I even had requests for bumper stickers! My soon-to-be famous goodies need to be autographed and I need to head into town for mailers. The post office will be closed so I’ll use the time to pack everything up. I gave away a lot of stuff. Several readers participated in my contests and won t-shirts and tote-bags. Lots of ebooks too. I sent most of those out that night.

I’ve been here and there around the web and some exciting things are coming down the pike. I’ll mention these as they happen or as they near. Last week I was over at a fun site owned by sassy and talented authors Marie Sexton and Heidi Cullinan. Here’s the link — fun stuff there. :)
http://cupoporn.net

I held a contest there. How many pink hearts are in both of Rose Anderson’s book trailers?

Here’s what Marie said the next day:

For Rose Anderson’s book, we had quite a few entries, although only three of you had the right answer, which was 95! We put those three into a hat, and the winner is Sarah!

I love that there were “quite a few entries” :D   Sarah got her ebook prize last night. The day before that contest, I wrote a post there for their regular feature Thursday’s Things ~

I love a man’s hands. Sure, everyone enjoys a handsome face, a tight physique, a beautiful pair of eyes. Who wouldn’t? We’re designed by nature to be drawn to healthy and strong characteristics. How else would the species continue optimally if not for this unconscious selection? A man’s hands, provided they’re not long-nailed or belonging to Ichabod Crane, always turn my head. Pair them with corded forearms and strong wrists and mmm mmm mmm, you had me at hellooooo.

I prefer them large and capable, the clean fingernails trimmed reasonably. I like them expressive, their occasional gesture emphasizing the statement or encouraging the conversation.  I like them rough, not so hard that their skin is like boot leather, but rough like they know what it’s like to pick up a shovel or a hammer even if they spend all day typing on a keyboard or playing a piano. I love when they’re gentle. There’s nothing so sexy as when these masculine hands pat a child’s back, tuck a strand of hair behind an ear, or carefully tend an animal.

My father was of the opinion that a man had to have a firm handshake. I concur. I love watching men shake hands. A man doesn’t have to break the fingers of the hand he’s clasping, but his handshake should be strong enough to show his vitality. I just love that. In my mind it’s a throwback to the days when knights participated in tournaments, though I’m sure the handshake goes back far longer than that. It is a good way, after all, to judge if the man you’re meeting is a force to contend with should the meeting go badly. Enjoying this little show of prowess is another instance of a woman being drawn to the strongest male in the vicinity.

I love lacing my fingers in a strong, neat, expressive, lightly calloused, gentle, and capable hand. Especially if I can feel the love there in the warm, safe, confines. And lastly, I love when these hands roam. Oh yes I do.

~~~~

Oh yeah. A flight of fancy took me. *grin*

 

My next novel is done but I’m not sure what to do with it. Do I send it to Siren-Bookstrand? Do I send it elsewhere? Do I give self-publishing a go? Questions questions. An author friend sent me a link today leading to a contest run by the publishers of such literary giants as JK Rowling, Stephan King, Terry Pratchett, and Dan Brown. It’s free to enter up to 7000 words of a work in progress or completed book, and Random House and Orion Publishing will give it a review if it’s chosen. I might just go that way with this next novel just to see what happens. So much to think about.

~~~~

The guest blogging has been going well and I have spots all the way into April. I’ve simply had no time to work on my website though it is finished and waiting for a host service. I may go back to BlueHost. Their friendly tech support is notable. I want to be able to do more. I’d like my site to host all the fabulous authors out there who are looking for a little extra exposure. I have a healthy little readership here and would love to showcase these talented writers. Speaking of talented writers and hosting…I was a recent guest at Rebecca J Clark’s blog. http://rebeccajclark.blogspot.com 

I’ve been to her Shy Writers blog before, but this time around I took part in Friday Firsts. Here’s my post:

Friday Firsts
First five sentences of…DREAMSCAPE

“I’m so excited, Ben, look!” Lanie held out her trembling hand. “I’m shaking all over. I’ve never been inside the gate before.”

Looking up at the massive house with its several boarded windows and shutters barely attached, Ben Danowski turned to her in surprise. “Lanie, are you sayin’ you bought this place without looking inside?”

(Becky here: Actually, this is six sentences, but who’s counting…)

Dreamscape is available now from Siren-Bookstrand, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other fine online stores.

FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT ROSE

1. Tell me about the first novel you ever wrote? Whatever happened to it?

My very first novel was a labor of love written approximately fifteen years ago. My husband and I were involved in the restoration of a pre-Civil War house. It was a plain little structure. As far as the history in our area goes, this type of structure was what was built after log cabins. The humble little building was filled with curiosities, namely a trap door in the floor and a hidden room in the cellar. Needless to say it took my fancy.

I love history, so does my husband. We already had a lot to go on when we started working on the restoration project. We knew who the families were when the house was built, we even knew who the builder was. Together we researched and learned all we could about the various farm family neighbors living nearby when the house was newly built. Communities were tight back then. If you were to drive down the back country roads here, you’d find roads and cemeteries with blended names – the many families related to one another through marriages that took place in the 1800’s.

My story took the original family, a few of their children and several neighbors and coupled this information with known abolitionist happenings in the area. In my mind, the mysterious room and the trap door to get into it became a haven for a family of run-away slaves. And for all we know, my little work of fiction is based in fact. The oldest residents in the area remember hearing about a secret room and they called it a hidey hole. This term will get some notice in places of high abolitionist activity.

My story centers on the original family and the dangerous steps they took to see another family to freedom. In this tale, a modern brother and sister discover their family’s role on the Underground Railroad through a journal hidden in a secret room discovered by accident. The two stories entwine as greed battles with good.

I submitted it all over the place using an entire tree’s worth of paper because this was the time before electronic submissions. I never heard a peep. That was disheartening. I tried again this year with a single submission and the courteous publisher actually sent me an email saying it was a wonderful little story but unfortunately the market now was looking for the next Harry Potter. He said I might consider e-publishing or self publishing because it was unlikely to be picked up in this market at this time. It was nowhere near the scope or imagery of Harry Potter. My little story was a Youth story along the lines of Little House on the Prairie. He added another useful bit. He said with Kindles coming down in price, the industry would be seeing them in the hands of children soon. It might do well in that format. His comment was invaluable. I’ll be doing exactly that soon. Not as Rose Anderson though. :) It wouldn’t do to mix my writing.

2. What was the first Rated R movie you ever saw?

The first movie I snuck into acting older than I really was, was the Exorcist. Scared the bejeezus out of me too. The first legitimate R-rated movie was Roman Polanski’s MacBeth. Marvelous movie that. I love Shakespeare. All these years later, I found MacBeth online and watched it again. It’s still a very cool, true to the story rendition of the Bard’s work.

3. What’s the first thing you do when you start writing a new story?

The very first thing, I build the world in my mind. For Dreamscape I’ve been in enough terrific old houses to be able to draw from it visually. I could see the gingerbread, those intricate over-embellished bits of molding and trim the Victorians were so fond of. Having rehabbed old houses, I can envision the jagged panes of glass on the broken windows, the smell in the musty old cellar, the view from the high cupola at the top of the house.

Once the world is set, characters will come walking into it. Before long they tell me their problems or conflicts. I soon discover their likes and dislikes and they’ll eventually tell me where they want to go and who they want to meet. I’ve been told this is writing by the seat of my pants. I’ve found that no matter how hard I try to use an outline, my characters will hijack my best attempt and have their way anyway! I surrender to them and hope they do well by me. :)

~~~

:)   It’s funny, when I write I fall into this stream of consciousness mode.

Stream of consciousness is the continuous flow of sense‐perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and memories in the human mind or a literary method of representing a blending of mental processes in fictional characters, usually in an unpunctuated or disjointed form of interior monologue.

Hell yeah, that’s exactly what happens! I wrote Dreamscape without punctuation in my mind. When it came down to posting the first “six” sentences, I saw six. I actually gave her seven. Becky’s a good sport. :)

~~~~

Not long ago I had a guest spot over at Jude Mason’s blog. I’d read other guest author posts there and loved her Q&A. Jude’s got a great sense of humor. Stop by today to see the hysterical video clip about the importance of proofreading. I loved it!

http://jude-mason.blogspot.com

Here’s my interview over there:

Welcome Rose Anderson

I’m pleased to have Rose Anderson with us this week, a truly interesting and talented woman who I’m really glad to meet. Welcome Rose!

1.  Most people envision an author’s life as being really glamorous. What’s your take on this? Can you tell us something unglamorous you did within the last week or so?

Before I begin Jude, I’d like to thank you for hosting this interview today. I very much appreciate your time and I’ve enjoyed your interesting and fun Q&A.

Something unglamorous eh? Just this morning, my husband asked me what my readers would think about me lounging around all day in baggy old clothes. LOL I hardly “lounge around all day” but I do dress in comfortable clothing when I write. Why wouldn’t I? I think my readers would see the sense in it.

I’m a natural redhead with gray eyes. With this genetic distinction comes fair skin that sunburns easily. Growing up in the days before sunscreen, as a little girl I’d get burn upon burn just playing outside. Add to that a rather stupid attempt to gain the highly touted Coppertone tan in my teens, and it’s a recipe for skin damage. Several days ago I went to the dermatologist because I found several suspicious spots over the summer. Sure enough, these pre-cancerous monsters had to be frozen with cryotherapy. I’m glad I went because this stuff can turn deadly. Unfortunately the timing is terrible. I have two social functions this weekend and I look like I’ve been brawling. Yes, it’s been a very unglamorous few days.

2. Plotter or pantzer?

I definitely write by the seat of my comfortable baggy pants. <grin> Even when I try to plot the story, it takes on a life of its own and I resume pantzing! An interesting idea will pop into my head and before I know it I have a character or two and they’ll start talking to themselves and each other. When they walk forward in their world, for one reason or another conflict comes in from the sides and they must react to it. The strange thing here is, I really don’t know how the story will end until they end it. They take over my brain until they’re done with me. I’ve heard other authors refer to this state of mind as a form of possession.

3. If you could invite any famous person, dead or alive, for dinner, who would it be and what would you eat?

Oh this is a tricky one. As I’m terribly shy, I’d rather have a dinner party, then I can pop in and out of the conversation but not have it depend upon me to keep it going.  At the table I’d sit Thomas Jefferson, Leonardo Da Vinci, Lao Tzu, King Solomon, Jane Austen, Astronaut Jim Lovell, Oprah Winfrey, René Descartes, Thoth, John and Abigail Adams, and President and Mrs. Barack Obama. Can you imagine how fabulous that conversation would be? I think I’d have a Mongolian Hot Pot — hot stock and small bits of food to cook in it — or perhaps a fondue. Slow meals are great for keeping a dinner conversation going.

4. What do you hope to achieve in life and when will you know that you have been a success?

I’d like more than anything to become successful enough to buy a nice piece of land for my husband to retire on. That’s been my goal from the start. Second to that, I’d like to set up a foundation that gives grant monies to people and organizations that do good things for the environment, animals, and mankind. Think of it like picking up Ben and Jerry’s torch and running with it.

5. Are you in love? Have you ever been?

Yes I am. I’ve loved this man since I was nineteen years old. My soul mate and I have been together nearly 35 years and he’s my best friend too. You can’t get better than that.

6.  What would you like to share with new writers? Any suggestions or advice?

I’d say they need to keep in mind that not all of their books will be a good fit with every reader out there and not to take it too hard when the inevitable poor or snarky review pops up. Books are no less works of art than masterpieces in oil or stone. And beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When I began this amazing journey back in March of this year, I learned I had a narrow window of opportunity to find reviews for my book. I did a little digging around the internet to learn all I could about reviews. I read a few dozen and found many thought-filled assessments by obvious booklovers. Some lower-rated reviews offered constructive criticism and I realized they’d be useful to the author, if the authors took them to heart. They were things like: The story dragged in chapter two, or The point of view shifts were confusing at times.

Then to my dismay I read some very nasty reviews. The one that stood out went something like this: This author should have their fingers broken so they can’t write another piece of sh*t.  All I could say was really? Was it that bad to say that terrible thing? Especially in the Romance Genre! How could another person’s work of art evoke that kind of emotional response? It’s not like seeing something that turns your stomach with its shock value. It’s not like watching a tank ready to crush a student in Tiananmen Square, witnessing that hapless truck driver in Los Angeles getting his head koshed in with a brick, or viewing a monk setting himself on fire in protest. It’s a romance novel that on some level just didn’t do it for the reader. That’s all. And really, even doing it for the reader is a personal thing. One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.

So new writers, please remember that reviews are simply opinions. How many people do you know with opinions different than your own? Revel in the good ones. They feel great! Consider the bad ones. If you’re lucky, they’ll come with constructive criticism and that’s not a bad thing because sometimes authors are just too close to the story to see gaffs and gaps. Once they’re out in the open and you know what they look like, these glitches can be avoided. And above all, ignore the nasty reviews. If they have nothing of value to impart and are simply mean-spirited, consider them to be the power plays they are, and then move on.

7. If you had one wish, would you give away? Why or why not and to whom would you give it?

If I had one wish, I wouldn’t take it for myself. As a helpless bystander, I watched two beloved sisters die to catastrophic diseases. I would use my one wish to remove suffering in all its forms from all of earth’s creatures – hunger, abuse, disease, etc… etc …etc.  Of course the planet would spring back to life. In lieu of that, I’d wish for a genie in a lamp that gave me unlimited wishes and fix things that way.  :)

8. If you found that, for one reason or another, you couldn’t write anymore, what would you like to do instead?

I love making things but after 38 years of rheumatoid arthritis, my hands don’t always cooperate with my creative spark.  I really enjoy making things with my computer. I’d go into graphics.

9.  What are you working on now? Can you tell us a little about it?

I have several books simmering away right now – a five-book non-erotic romance series I’ve been working on for four full years now, a magical story set in the Isle of Skye, and I’m getting ready to submit one to my publisher that tracks an urban legend in my area. There’ll be two books to that story. I’m half way through book two now. I’ve been busy!

10. What do you enjoy doing with your spare time, your non-writing time? 

My husband and I go to flea markets on most Sundays. He’s searching for old correspondence. I collect little trinkets like Cracker Jack toys, political buttons, and pickle pins. Sometimes we get lucky. I like to sew and recently discovered repurposing. In other words, I’d buy a vintage table cloth or wool sweater and use them as fabric to make napkins or mittens etc. Were I to be summed up, I guess you’d call me a dabbler. I have many interests and am just as happy doing one as another.

~~~~

TTFN — As Winnie the Pooh’s friend Tigger would say, Ta Ta For Now.

 

Today’s the day ~ Fall for Romance!


Today’s the big day. Months of planning go into one of these engaging and interactive events. Months of determining what to share and what to give away. It’s exhausting but in a good way. Like the holidays. :) Come on over. Here are the details:

Here’s your Official Invitation to our One Day Only Event – Today November 10th.

Stop by Ahead of Time to Sign up, then Come Join the Fun!
We’d love to Share the Day with You. We’ll have Contests, Prizes,
Promotional Freebies,  Excerpts, Giveaways,& lots of Laughs!
The Door Opens at 11:30 and it All begins at Noon Today.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FallForRomance/

Time to remember


So this past weekend’s Trick-or-Treat Blog Hop was fun.  I ran the numbers today and it looks like 104 new visitors to my blog. I received wonderful comments on and off the blog and aside from getting new subscribers here, I had more than a dozen people enter my contest. I’ll pick a winner later today using the ol’ pull a name out of a hat trick.

Author Drea Becraft, the mastermind behind the hop, sent an email round yesterday asking if anyone was interested in doing it again for the holidays. I told her I’d take part. I’ll be better prepared too.  There’s just something like a visit to the dermatologist and cryotherapy on pre-cancerous spots that throw one’s week completely off kilter.  I live with the redhead’s curse of fair skin. One too many sunburns in my life did some accumulative damage and started some serious changes here and there and necessitated my seeing a specialist.

With the freeze-burned skin across my nose, I look like I’ve been brawling. Not a pleasant thing. Covering it with makeup was like looking at special effects latex. I gave up and went uncovered to the two social functions I had this Friday and Saturday past. Today I went to stand before my county board to get an official proclamation for all my years of work for the county. (I officially retired in October) It’s an honor, but I’m not looking my best. They took pictures too. Ugh. I can’t wait to see myself in the newspaper.  :(

I’m one of those “I am what I am” women, though I’m able to “clean up nice” when I want to.  :)   People often tell me I don’t look my age. I’ve had strangers flip out when my half-grown kids called me mom. One woman wanted to know what game my daughter and I were playing! Creepy. I got carded all through my 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s. It was far more irritating when I was younger and grocery shopping with my little kids. It was flattering after I turned 35! The last time someone asked me for my ID was when I turned 50 and was buying wine and beer for company I was having over that evening. I like to think she was checking my age to see if I was old enough to buy alcohol rather than checking to see if my address was the same as the cemetery.  :D

The fact my freeze-burned skin is bothering me is definitely something to think about. I’ve never considered myself overly concerned with outward appearances. I emerged from the gene pool looking just enough like my grandmother to be happy. Grandma was the most beautiful spirit inside and out. If I manage to pull off a 10th of what she was (in looks and sweetness), then I’d be happy. Grandma was on my mind today because I set out my altar last night. This dear old soul passed away nearly 40 years ago and watches over my family from wherever it is the energy of her soul resides. Today and tomorrow we celebrate Día de los Muertos – Day of the Dead — a perfect time to remember my Grandma and all of our loved ones, remember and honor them with joy rather than sadness.

In cultures all around the world, it is believed that this is the time of year when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the departed lifts. Or, as these worlds are thought to sit side by side, the walls separating them become permeable. We set up our altar each year and on it set pictures of dear significant people no longer in our lives — mothers, fathers, sisters, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, nephew, friends, and beloved pets are set out and remembered – with joy. It’s said the souls of our loved ones come to visit during this time.  So some altars are set for a party, the menu — the beloved’s favorite food and drink.

We’re fortunate to have this terrific fair trade store with goods from all over the world. They sell the classic Mexican and South American necessities for a proper Día de los Muertos altar. We try to add to our festive collection each year and have collected many tiny skeletons, including a full mariachi band similar to this one.

You can buy your own here: http://www.mexicoetc.com/leather.html

~~~

Coming soon  ~  Fall for Romance!!

Bewitching Trick-or-Treat Blog Hop ~ Happy Halloween!


I love this time of year. I love the colors, the frosty crisp smell in the air, the holiday traditions, all of it. Even my hair has taken on its autumn pelage and gone darker. I don’t know if it’s a redhead thing, a trick of light, or just a peculiar trait for a peculiar person, but people comment on it every year and have my entire life. It’s as predictable as the changing seasons. I heard “Hey your hair is darker all of a sudden” just last week. It was the first of many such comments to come. And come May, it’ll be, “Hey your hair is lighter. Did you dye it?” Nope. It just is.

It’s been busy around here (good grief I say that a lot). I’ve been lucky to have several guest blog posts coming up. Of course I’ll give the links as they go live, and after they’ve had their run, I’ll post them here.

In the meantime, I’m taking part of Drea Beacraft’s blog hop – my first ever blog hop. What’s that, you wonder? Think of all those WebRing links on the bottom of webpages you’ve visited. It’s pretty much the same thing. One blog leads to the next, that leads to the next, that leads to the next, and so on. The theme is Halloween. If you’ve stumbled here, I can’t seem to get this catchy little button to work as a link to get you moving through the blog hop,  so try this:

http://dreabecraft.com/events-2

There are dozens of talented authors involved and you just might find some fabulous books to read.

In honor of the hop, I’m offering up goodies!

The first is an ebook copy of Dreamscape (18+ content warning: erotic romance)

And…

A Love Waits in Unexpected Places t-shirt. (Comment below and the winner will be randomly chosen.)

And…

You get a ghostly bit from Dreamscape.

And…

You get a fun peek at a Halloween bit from my four-year-in-the-making unnamed Magnum Opus (the MO if you’ve never been here before). So far this is a 5-book series. The way it’s going, my kids will publish my 25-book unnamed series posthumously.

LOL I crack me up.  :D

Dreamscape Excerpt. In this scene, the rehabbing of the old mansion continues. Dr. Lanie O’Keefe and her best friend Lexie are clearing the cellar that appears to be intentionally piled from floor to ceiling with debris. At this point, Lanie doesn’t know the ghost of Jason Bowen plies her synapse as she sleeps and rides her dreams to the days leading up to his murder 120 years before.

Frustrated by a skeletal armchair with its rotted horsehair cushions and sharp uncoiled springs jutting out in every conceivable direction, Lexie asked, “How did Ben’s brother figure this cellar would be ready to go on Monday?”

Lanie answered from somewhere on the other side of the stack, “We’re almost done. Monday will be tight time-wise, but if I can get most of it out they can rake the floor before the cement comes. Remember, Ben said to leave the heaviest stuff for them.” Loaded up with two broken apple crates, a base to a kerosene lamp and the other leg of the footstool she found in the past hour, she set them on the top stair and said on her way down, “Why do you suppose it’s stacked with garbage like this?”

“I’m wondering that myself. This is nuts!” Lexie pulled hard on the last word, and the spring that was entwined around the handle of an old milk can tore from its mooring and freed the chair. “Take that, you sorry son of a gun!”

Gun. Lanie started. The word sparking a memory, she turned to her friend in the process of dragging the heavy, rusted milk can toward the stairs. “Lex?”

“Yeah?”

“I want to tell you something before Pete comes back.” She looked up the stairway to be sure they were alone. Pete was busy hauling the junk from the stairs and sorting it into whatever pile category was best. So far, most of it was slated for the scrap man’s pile. “I’ve been dreaming of Jason Bowen and the house for the past two nights.”

Lexie sniffed. “Yeah? That’s not unusual for you. It’s only been how many years?” She sneezed loudly from behind the pile, once, twice…

Lanie waited. She never heard her friend sneeze less than three times in a row. Predictably the third followed. “Bless you!”

The traditional sneeze wish was met with a gurgling honk somewhere behind a broken window shutter speared by an old corn broom. “Ugh. Thanks. I’m gonna give myself whiplash sneezing like that.”

Lanie laughed.

“So you’ve been dreaming like always.” By Lexie’s calculation, Lanie had been dreaming this stuff for twenty years. “And?”

“Yes, well in this one dream he opened a desk drawer and showed me a gun.”

“That’s odd. You haven’t dreamed of guns before have you? For what purpose?”

“No I haven’t, and I don’t really know why. He also told me that his wife was cheating on him with Richard Mason.”

Lexie shook her head. Armed with details from the Historical Society, Lanie’s imaginative dreams had taken a definite direction. While she did think her friend’s peculiar dreaming bordered on bizarre, she only ever believed they were just dreams, a subconscious relating of facts and fancy gleaned from life. Still, Lanie believed her dreams were portents of something greater, and since they were friends these dreams deserved her respect as did Lanie’s desire to talk about them. Trying not to sound like she was indulging a fantasy, she said, “Well, we guessed that might be the case, didn’t we?”

“The desk has this trick drawer that a hidden drawer opens into. That same desk is upstairs and it does have a secret drawer. I opened it like he showed me.”

Lexie froze. These dreams got more and more peculiar as time went on. “Did you find the gun?”

“No.”

Removing the broom and shutter, she finally accessed the milk can and dragged the heavy thing across the hard-packed dirt floor. “Holy shit!”

“What? Lex, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Do I need to get my kit? Lexie answer me!”

“I found your gun, and the person it might have been used on.”

~~~

:) I hope you enjoyed that little teaser. If you’re interested here are related details:

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~~~

And now, a never before offered peek at the unnamed MO –  a bit I may or may not keep in the series. I haven’t decided. I warn you, it’s unedited. The following is the chatter in my head in its pure form. Sometimes my characters force these moments on me. LOL

The Story of Stingy Jack and How he Tricked the Devil ~

Settling onto her father’s lap with her popcorn ball, Aggie asked her elder cousin, “So what story are you sharing tonight Maddock?” It was difficult biting without front teeth, but the six-year-old’s incisors gave it their best.

Until that moment he hadn’t decided. Maddock leaned close. “I’m thinking the story of Stingy Jack…do ye know that one Aggie?”

Thinking her snaggle-toothed grin as adorable as Maddock obviously did, Connor laughed. Aggie looked up at his face with a happy grin. “Is it a funny story Dad?”

He winked at Maddock, and gave her a hug. “Wait and see.”

Maddock chuckled. “So once there was a blacksmith named Jack. Everyone from miles around called him Jack ye see, for this was in the days when no one used last names…”

Aidan leaned to whisper to Liam, “I thought Jack was a farmer.”

An accomplished storyteller, Maddock used the moment to his advantage. “Aye, he was a farmer too. And a good one at that because he could shoe his own oxen.” He met the eyes of the children around the fire. “Now, Jack had a wonderful sense of humor and loved playing tricks. He found it great fun to paint a white stripe down the back of his neighbor’s housecat, or bore a hole in a water bucket.”

The children laughed.

“But Jack never harmed a soul. Besides that, he was a very careful man — careful with his beasts, careful with his craft, and careful with his coin. Some say too careful with his coin. While he wasn’t a stingy man in his business, he was a stingy man in the pub.

Well, one evening when the animals were bedded down, and the coals of his forge banked well, Jack grew thirsty and thinking a pint might do him good, he headed straight to the pub. But who do ye think he met there?”

Aggie and Mac asked at once, “Who Maddock?”

His eyes were bright when he addressed the twins, “The devil himself!”

Liam whispered to Aidan, “Didn’t the devil meet Jack on the road?”

Maddock coughed. “Aye well, the devil gets around, no?” So, Jack sat himself down at a table and had several pints of stout ale. Desiring another, he opened his purse and found only enough coin for the drinks he’d had.

Now the devil saw all the empty glasses that sat before Jack, and thought he’d be an easy soul to take for his own. Pulling up a bench, the devil sat beside Jack as he turned out his pockets looking for coins he’d left at home. So busy he was, he didn’t realize at first just who now sat beside him. The devil said, ‘Ye look troubled laddie. Can I help ye?’

‘I had a long and thirsty day. I worked the iron and I worked my fields. Now I’m too tired to go home for more money, but it’s thirsty I am.’

The devil stroked his pointy beard. ‘I’d like to help ye laddie, but I dinna help unless there’s something in it for me.’

Jack pretended to be confused and befuddled by drink. Taking notice of the pointy beard, he looked at the floor and saw the cloven hoofs. He knew who the devil he was talking to!”

Chuckles and giggles went around the fire at the play on words.

“Now, Jack was in the mood to play one of his tricks. He knew this creature could turn himself into any form he wished and he thought a moment before saying, ‘I’d sell my soul for once more coin to buy another pint.’

Well, no finer words could be spoken to a devil out hunting souls. He said, ‘Ah, there is something I can do for you after all laddie. I’ll turn myself into a coin so you can buy your last drink, then I’ll change myself back and your soul will come with me to Hell.’

Jack scratched his nose, then he scratched his chin, then he picked up his empty glass and drained the last drop from it. He licked his lips looking wistfully at the jug the barmaid carried. Then meeting the devil’s eyes said, ‘I’m in the mood for a good bargain such as that!’

In a flash, the devil changed himself into a gold coin. And just as fast, Jack grabbed it up and stuffed it into his wallet!”

Aggie was wide-eyed. “Couldn’t the devil get out again?”

Maddock chuckled, “Oh no, ye see inside that wallet was a copper sator square.”

Aggie turned to her father. “I don’t know what a sator square is, Dad.”

“It’s a very old luck charm honey.”

Maddock nodded, “Aye, and it bound the devil inside Jack’s wallet for ten whole years.”

Aidan whispered to Liam, “Didn’t Jack trick the devil up a tree?”

Narrowing his eyes at the pair, Maddock continued, “At the end of ten years Jack opened the wallet and said, ‘Ye won’t be taking my soul to Hell will ye? Make your vow devil, tis the only way I’ll be releasing ye.’

The devil laughed, ‘Damn my eyes you’re good. Yes, ye have my word on it!’

With that Jack released him. So years and years passed and eventually Jack grew to be an old man. One day the devil appeared and said to him, ‘I’ve been a watchin’ you since the day you released me Jack. So ye love playing tricks, do ye?’

Jack chuckled, “Aye. As long as they bring harm to none, I do.” He’d always loved a good prank, ye see, but was always careful not to hurt another in the process. That’s a good way to be no?”

The children nodded.

“Well, do ye believe it, the old devil laughed! ‘I like tricks myself’, says he. ‘If I canna make ye stay with me, at least come for a visit. We can discuss the fine art of trickery and maybe I’ll get some new ideas.’

Jack thought a moment. He was an old man with nothing better to do. He no longer worked the forge and farm. That hard work now belonged to his strong sons and grandsons. As long as he didn’t have to stay to in Hell, he might enjoy listening to the devils exploits now and again. Especially in the fall when his old bones ached and the heat would feel good. He said, ‘Alright. If I don’t have to stay, I’ll visit ye.’

Reaching into his pocket, the devil pulled out an ember that would never burn out. He handed it to Jack who promptly dropped it on the ground.

Blowing on his singed fingers, Jack tipped his head to the ember and asked, ‘What am I supposed to do with this?’

“Alive or dead, your soul canna see to find its way unless I bring ye myself. Carry this with you and for one night each year you’ll be able to find your way to my world and back.”

‘Fair enough.’ Jack told him. Taking an old turnip from the field, he carved out the center and then whimsy took him and he carved out eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Placing the ember inside, he made the little lantern’s face glow.

Understanding lit Aggie’s eyes. “Jack o ‘lanterns!”

“Aye, and every year you’ll see Jack walking at night with his smiling lantern lighting his way to Hell.”

Aggie gave Maddock a great gap-toothed smile.

~~~

It’s never been shared with another soul.

I hope you enjoyed that despite grammatical insults and head hopping.

Think of Dr. Leonard McCoy: I’m a creative writer Jim, not an English professor!

Happy Halloween!