AND THE BAND PLAYS ON...OR NOT

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Fresh Flowers, Good Coffee, and Conversation--Life is Good!

My guest is romance author Addison Fox. She discusses the divergence of expectations and reality. There is also a chance for a commenter to win a copy of her latest book in the Zodiac series, Warrior Enchanted. I can tell you she writes a great story!

I always had this very grand vision about being a writer. I saw this delightful version of myself sitting in a coffee house, earbuds in my ear with some beautiful classical piece playing and endless hours with nothing but my keyboard for company as I wrote my books.

Um….yeah.

So I love coffee and almost always have a cup next to me when I start my writing day (then switch to hot tea around Noon). But the few times I’ve tried writing IN the coffee house….I got about 6 words written.

Six. Maybe ten if it was a good day.

And the music…..well, in THAT part of my grand vision I forgot the fact that I hate having earbuds in my ears. Hate, Hate, HATE….like “I wish I could pull my ears off” sort of hate.

So there goes that lovely thought, too.

And the whole “oodles and oodles of time” concept….well, I haven’t seen “oodles” since I was about four. And even then, there were play dates with my sister and Sesame Street watching parties and a great new Dr. Seuss to catch up on. You know, I was busy.

But here’s what I learned when I stopped thinking about my “vision” of writing and actually began “sitting-in-the chair” and writing. I discovered that the idea we have about things are seldom the way those things actually are. (I think there’s a bigger life lesson in there, but I suspect that’s a whole ‘nother blog!)

The wonderful and wacky things that make us who we are don’t change when we pursue various interests in our life.  While I consider myself a very social person, I don’t like having people around me when I’m working.  And I’ve had sensitive ears since I was a small child, so voluntarily putting things in my ear canals…yeah, not so much. And the whole time crunch. No one has lots of time – we make time for the things that matter.

Instead, the big takeaway I learned is that you need to forget your vision for something and get to the place where you’re DOING the thing instead. And funny enough, you’ll figure out exactly HOW you’re supposed to be doing it.

Your way. The way that makes you feel comfortable and productive and happy.

I very rarely write outside my home. Instead, I park myself behind my desk, a small lamp nearby and not a shred of music playing anywhere. And whether I have thirty minutes or eight hours, I enter my zone because I’m in a place that feels private and comfortable and quiet and all mine.

And that is exactly the way it’s meant to be.

• So what about you? Where have your expectations not matched reality and you discovered what a good thing that was.  

One lucky poster will win a copy of my new release, WARRIOR ENCHANTED.

BUY ONLINE: AMAZON, B&N, POWELLS

WARRIOR ENCHANTED Addison Fox Available in stores and online.


Pisces warrior Drake Campbell and his zodiac brethren have driven themselves to the edge. He'd love to take comfort in the arms of the woman he cares for, if only she would lift her emotional barriers to him.

White witch Emerson Carano has more to worry about than the Pisces warrior. Their affair may be red-hot, but she keeps the sexy man at arm's length to avoid getting hurt. When her estranged brother, Magnus, suddenly reappears—wielding a dangerous dark magic—Emerson has no choice but to ask Drake and his brothers for help.

Long-buried secrets and dangerous alliances will threaten the very foundation of the warriors while striking at the heart of Emerson's carefully constructed world. Can she put aside her fears to join forces with the only man who can help her—even if her own family must pay a terrible price?

Addison Fox is the author of the Sons of the Zodiac paranormal romance series for NAL as well as the upcoming Alaskan Nights contemporary trilogy, which launches with BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE in November 2011. You can find her at her home on the web, www.addisonfox.com, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. Addison lives in New York City.

Life Really Is In the Details

It's my pleasure to welcome romance author Addison Fox, back to OVER COFFEE. This visit she's sharing her contemporary Alaskan Nights series. 

Her topic is one of interest--details. It's the little details that make characters all the more real to readers. The author's experiences in life also add a layer of reality to the characters.

  

As a writer, there are very few dreams that strike harder than the dream of being able to write full time.  It’s a common enough theme at writers conferences, with workshops abounding on “How to Quit Your Day Job,” “Writing Around Responsibilities,” and “How to Write With Children.” The imagined joy of being able to write all day fuels many an author through the long hours of doing the many things that can keep you away from the computer.

And while there are many authors who are able to write full time, I bet each and every one of them could still tell you all about the distractions that keep them from the keyboard.

The reality is, life is distracting. And being a writer (or any other profession), means you work around the craziness to continue performing at a high level. While these little ups and downs are a part of life, when you’re an author, they become fodder for whatever your imagination can conjure up. And there’s nothing more fun than taking a personal experience and twisting it to see how your characters would react to the same. Because of life’s little ups and downs, I know how my heroine feels when…

She gets rear-ended in a thunderstorm….or gets flirted with by a cute guy while waiting at Starbucks…or she has to walk up four stories because the elevator’s out in her apartment…or she watches a friend get married…or she gets a new puppy…or she loses a loved one…or she falls in love.

Or…or…or…

Whatever your “or” is, the experiences we have each day help to shape us. They make us who we are and add to the vibrancy of what we write.

So I offer up this challenge. Next time you see a butterfly on a flower or have a flat tire, chalk it up to research and file that moment away.  You never know when your characters might need it!

Come join us over coffee today and fill us in on some of the experiences that have shaped you. One lucky poster will win a copy of my new release, BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE.

Happy Writing!

Addison

Baby It’s Cold Outside

After a frantic call, Sloan McKinley travels to the heart of the Alaskan wilderness to be there for her best friend, who’s just inherited property in the small town of Indigo. The last thing she expects is to be lured by the town’s matriarchs into their annual contest to get their grandsons married off.

But Sloan can’t deny the appeal of the rugged local men-Walker Montgomery in particular. Soon she finds herself falling in love with the wild outdoors…and with one of Indigo’s most beloved residents. There’s just one question that remains: is the town’s most confirmed bachelor ready to get caught? A brief Excerpt

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Addison Fox can’t remember a time when words weren’t part of her life. An avid reader, her love of the written word started at the tender age of one with The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear (a poem she could recite by heart to any family member who would listen.) Dr. Seuss, C.S. Lewis, Judy Blume and a host of others quickly followed until she discovered THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR by Jean M. Auel while writing a paper at the library in the seventh grade. Although not a classic romance, Ayla and Jondalar’s love story moved her firmly into the romance section and she hasn’t looked back!

Her paranormal romance series, The Sons of the Zodiac, launched with NAL in March of 2010. The series recounts the adventures (and path to true love!) for an immortal band of warriors, granted the powers of their astrological signs and charged with protecting humanity. 

Beginning in November 2011, Addison will have a new contemporary series on shelves as well.BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE is the first in the Alaskan Nights series. Set in the fictional town of Indigo, Alaska, a couple of city girls are about to learn that the wide open spaces of Alaska just may hold everything they’re looking for.

You can find Addison: 

Website, Facebook, Twitter,

Most Magical Place on Earth

It’s my pleasure to welcome paranormal-romance author, Addison Fox, to Over Coffee. I hadn’t read any of her books and then I read an interview where she talked about her Zodiac Warrior Series and Warrior Betrayed. I decided to order the first in the series, Warrior Ascended. I glanced through it and had to exert all my discipline to keep myself from going beyond the first chapter until I finished the book I’m reading for review. Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy, lol!


Addison joins us to talk about another life long love of mine, libraries. Don’t you just love the smell of a library? Many a happy hour has been spent in my local library exploring exciting worlds and people. I’ve never been able to go into a library and check just one book…




Sia - thanks so much for inviting me to guest today on Over Coffee! I’m really looking forward to spending the day with everyone!


I know the blog is about sharing the laughter and the tears, but I’m a lifelong “look-on-the-bright-sider” so I’d much rather talk (or type!) about the laughter and the triumphs. I had the most wonderful experience this week and wanted to share.


Although I’ve been writing through most of my adult life, as I tell anyone who will listen, I’m a reader first and have been since I could turn the pages in a book. I have books scattered all over my house, in my purse, on my night stand, in my work bag….you get the picture! As a crazy book lover, I’m also a huge library lover. As far as I’m concerned – and no disrespect to the Mouse - libraries deserve the moniker “Most Magical Place on Earth.”


I had the opportunity to speak to a group at the Clarendon Library in Brooklyn this week and it has been one of my most enjoyable experiences to date as an author. To sit and share my love of books and writing with a group of people was such a wonderful experience. To engage and interact with fellow book lovers in an environment that’s devoted to words and learning was just amazing.


It’s also gotten me thinking about libraries in general. What a truly awesome thing – that we have these places in our communities filled with books and knowledge and access to information. For everyone. All at the swipe of a card. As an author, the thought that my books can be included in “the collection” is some serious happy-making.


As an author, I am privileged to have stories living in my head. These amazing, heroic men and women show up in my brain and let me hang out with them for several months as their story unfolds in my mind. Sure, there are moments it’s nerve-wracking. And sure, there are days the words feel like their locked in cement. But when I’m writing, I get to visit worlds only as grand and fun and unique as I can imagine them. As a lifelong reader, I know the joy that I’ve taken in countless hours of reading through the years. To think that my words might give that same sort of enjoyment to another is the deepest honor I can think of.

• So what about you? Have you been to the library lately?

If not, maybe the next time you have a free weekend you may want to go over and spend an hour or two getting lost in the stacks. I promise – it’s magic!

WARRIOR BETRAYED May 2011

Millennia ago, the Goddess of Justice created a race of fierce Warriors, each imbued with a special power of the Zodiac, charged with protecting humanity from the darkest of evils.

Forty years ago, Eirene, the Goddess of Peace spurned her position to run away with a mortal. Furious with her daughter, Themis set a curse upon Eirene’s unborn child; to one day replace her mother on Mount Olympus.

Montana Grant lost contact with her mother many years ago. Now as she struggles to lead her late father’s shipping company, she’s also dealing with the sudden reappearance of her mother. The frail woman is spouting nonsense about Mount Olympus, immortal warriors, and long-standing curses. But after suspicious activity puts the company’s future – and possibly Montana’s life – at risk, she decides to take her mother’s last bit of advice…

When Montana asks Quinn Tanner for help, she confronts the sexy security executive about his secret identity: He’s a Taurus Warrior. Quinn denies it, but he can’t deny his powerful attraction to the high-powered heiress. With worldwide peace in the balance, it’s up to Quinn to help Montana rise to her destiny – even as they’re falling in love…Excerpt

Buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders Available e-format and mass paperback

~*~*~

Addison Fox is the author of the Sons of the Zodiac paranormal romance series for NAL as well as the upcoming Alaskan Nights contemporary trilogy, which launches with BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE in November 2011. You can find her at her home on the web, www.addisonfox.com, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. Addison lives in New York City.