I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH

"I convinced myself I was 'not good enough'...when I finally let go of 'not good enough'...the squashed down writing dream just came bubbling right up to the surface..."

My guest is romance writer, Megan Mulry. The USA Today best selling author had convinced herself she good enough to write story. Guest what? Megan can and writes fun, sexy romantic fiction. Intriguing, no?

Makes me wonder how many writers let the 'I'm not good enough' hold them back?  

It's a pleasure to have Megan visiting with us Over Coffee and she was gracious enough to take the time to answer a few questions for me.   

Thanks so much for inviting me to hang out Over Coffee. I love to laugh and cry (as you can see from my Twitter bio) and I love coffee. And glitches? I got ‘em. So, this should be a match made in heaven.

• How much do current events play into your writing?

A ton! My first manuscript (briefly self-published on a whim in 2010, then withdrawn, and maybe one day—after copious revisions—to be properly published) was inspired by the Lockerbie bombing and Pan Am #103. The entire book sprang from and revolved around that event and how it affected those involved. Later, an obituary about a British aristocrat caught my interest and became the seed that spawned the four books in the Unruly Royals series.

• How often to you get your ideas from what you read or see in the news?

I don’t write suspense very often, but when I weave a suspenseful subplot in (there’s a pretty grisly kidnapping and near-rape in one of my future books) it’s disheartening to realize that anything gruesome I try to invent has already happened. Especially, where I live in Florida, in 2013 there were a spate of horribly tragic domestic murder/suicides. So, I suppose it’s not that I get my ideas from that, but rather that I think, “Oh well, it’s not like I’m writing something preposterous.” (That whole truth is stranger than fiction thing, I guess.)

How often do you see kernel something (via news, a friend’s relaying an incident, the odd online story) and think, wow, that would be cool to write about with xyz additions to make it even better…

Pretty much all day, every day. For example, we moved recently, and of the eight-man-team that moved us, I could probably write a book with each man as the hero. It didn't hurt that they were all super nice, super muscly, and sweating most of the time. But I digress.

• What inspired this series of characters?

The Unruly Royals series was originally inspired by a few articles I had read about the Duke of Norfolk and extended family. Various women I’d met or read about over the years inspired the heroines. Working in New York City and/or London for any amount of time provides a lifetime of dynamic-female-character ideas!

• Have you always wanted to write or was there events that lead you to writing?

I can’t say I always wanted to write, because I had done such a good job of talking myself out of it—I convinced myself I was “not good enough”—but deep down, probably yes, I always wanted to write. So when I finally let go of “not good enough” (*kicks not-good-enough to the curb*) it was like the squashed down writing dream just came bubbling right up to the surface, like, “Hey! Remember me? I’m your dream. Let’s do this!”

• With the book’s release, as you look back, what was the biggest surprise that occurred while you were writing the story?

So many surprises! I guess I had Abby pretty well sorted out (in that she was totally not sorted out and was going to be struggling with her own view of herself and what she really wanted out of life). But the real surprise was Eliot. I had no idea he would be so tenderhearted…for some reason I thought he would be the stereotypical billionaire hard-ass who would be transformed or won over by the heroine. But the more I developed his character, the more it became clear that he had this inner core of intense vulnerability and love. My editor really helped me delve into his family background to reveal why he was the way he was.

• Megan, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions and chat with us! Quite the inspiration. :-)

What fun questions! Thanks so much for taking an interest in my writing and for inviting me to visit!

  

                                                                                                                                                                                                       

BUY: Amazon, B&N, B-A-M,IndieBound

Being royal isn't all it's cracked up to be...

Abigail Heyworth, youngest daughter of the 18th Duke of Northrop, is not your typical British royal—she'll take a recycling drive over a charity ball any day. She can't stand hats and heels. Abby's not getting much sympathy, of course, because everyone thinks the life of royalty is so charmed.

But to Abigail, keeping up appearances is unbearable, while running away doesn't seem to work either. Just when she feels like she's getting whiplash from swinging between flat-out rebellion to miserable capitulation, Abigail meets an all-American self-made millionaire who challenges her on every level.

It may turn out that what Abigail is searching for kind of resembles the American Dream..

                                                                                                                              

Megan Mulry writes sexy, stylish, romantic fiction. Her first book, A Royal Pain, USA Today bestseller,was an NPR Best Book of 2012. Before discovering her passion for romance novels, she worked in magazine publishing and finance. After many years in New York, Boston, London, and Chicago, she now lives with her family in Florida. 

You can find Megan: Facebook – Goodreads - Twitter – Website – Pinterest

BROOKLYN ANN—WRITING THE UNUSUAL

My guest is paranormal author, Brooklyn Ann. She writes fun paranormals with memorable characters, set in both historical and contemporary times, and filled with humor, sass, and a bit of snark. 

Brooklyn was gracious enough to answer a few questions for me.

Welcome back to Over Coffee, Brooklyn! 

In your latest book, Wrenching Fate, you've introduced some unusual job choices for both your hero and heroine. A mechanic with a muscle car fetish? A vampire who is a financial adviser? Both are…hmm…different job choices. What made you decide that?

Akasha's character came to mind when I was in the process of restoring my 1980 Datsun 210. I kept envisioning a character who was much more knowledgeable and stronger than I was, chugging a Coors (ewww) and working on big muscle cars, which I'd always admired. She was always so gruff and angry that I wondered what had happened to make her that way. Well, she showed me, and, well, you'll have to read to find out.

As for Silas, although I'd envisioned him becoming a vampire when he fell on the battlefield in Scotland in 1513, his character seemed more reserved than that of an ancient berserker. As a clairvoyant and a Lord Vampire, he would have to be very good at handling money. The finance industry fit him like a glove. He definitely is a businessman... but he's still a warrior underneath his Armani suits. :)

One thing I admired about your characters (especially the women)—they aren't weak or whiny. They've overcome quite a bit. What’s something you admire about Akasha? About Silas?

I admire Akasha's refusal to take shit from anyone and willingness to do anything to protect those she cares about.

I admire Silas's diplomacy and the way he doesn't judge others.

How did writing this novel differ from writing other books?

For one thing, writing a book that takes place in my own back yard was extremely different from my works set in 19th Century Britain. For another, even though these characters are definitely more "real" in my head, getting them to translate to the page was hard for some reason.

Tell us a bit about you? When you were little what did you want to grow up to be?

When I was younger, I kept vacillating between "Paleontologist" and "Rock star." Alas, neither came to be. I was a mechanic for a few years and now I'm a romance author. I never would have believed it. :)

When you’re not writing or working, what are things you like to do?

I like to work on cars, draw, paint, cook, watch cheesy B-horror movies, and of course, read.

What was the single best or luckiest thing that got you published?

I hate to admit, but I think it was the title I came up with for my first regency paranormal romance, BITE ME, YOUR GRACE. That title was originally a joke title I threw out on twitter, but people liked it so much that I took the dare and queried it under that name. I ended up getting a lot of interest among agents and editors and eventually landed my book deal.

What was the biggest adjustment you had to make in life to include your writing?

I had to cut back on movies and book binges and completely stop doing Karaoke and playing on the dart league. I need all that time for writing, researching, and editing. In short, I became a hermit.

What will we see next from you?

My second historical paranormal romance, ONE BITE PER NIGHT releases in August. 
Here’s the blurb

• Since Sia brought up my characters’ unconventional jobs, what are some of the more interesting character occupations you've seen in romance novels? 

Comment for a chance to win an e-copy of WRENCHING FATE!

                                                                                                                                                      

WRENCHING FATE--Brides of Prophesy I

Silas McNaught, Lord Vampire of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho is elated when he finds Akasha Hope, the woman his psychic visions revealed to him centuries ago. 

To his surprise, Akasha is infuriated when Silas interferes with her life. Furthermore, she is nothing like the sweet woman he’d envisioned. Instead she's a foul mouthed mechanic and, due to being the accidental result of a military experiment, she possesses the strength of ten men ….and government agents are looking for her. 

BUY: Amazon, Apple (ibook store),B&N (Nook and Print)
Kobo Google Play



                                                                                                                                            

A former mechanic turned paranormal romance author, Brooklyn Ann lives in the beautiful city of Coeur d’Alene with her son, her cat, and a 1980 Datsun 210. She can be found online at http://brooklynann.blogspot.com as well as on twitter and facebook.

Published by SourcebooksBITE ME, YOUR GRACE (April 2013)
ONE BITE PER NIGHT (August 2014)BITE AT FIRST SIGHT (To be announced)    Published by Broken AngelsWRENCHING FATE (February 2014)IRONIC SACRIFICE (To be announced)

BUILDING ANTICIPATION IN YOUR STORY

A story is more than a series of events tied together or slapping a pat ending on the work and calling it a book. There has to be continuity and a reason for events and the reader has to be with you and with your characters to be satisfied. We have to prime and keep them involved enough to continue turning those pages. 

Professional editor, Beth Hill, talks about the importance of building anticipation in our readers so they want to know what happens next. 

Beth's blog, The Editor's blog, is listed as one of the 50 best blogs by and for editors (by Online Universities.com).  

When readers anticipate that something is going to happen to characters they've  come to know, come to like and maybe admire—whether or not they know for sure what that something is—those readers get involved and stay involved in a story. So anticipation is an emotion you want to induce in the reader.

As a writer, you have to be the one to fold in that sense of anticipation.

So how do you set up anticipation for the ending? You build it into every chapter and scene.

Ways To Build Anticipation

~  Set a clock ticking or a calendar’s pages turning—indicate a time or occasion by which the main character must succeed at his tasks in order to save whatever needs saving . . . the world or his child or his marriage. Periodically remind readers of the clicking clock and/or keep the calendar pages turning visibly—keep readers aware of the passage of time. 

~  Hint at possible outcomes and indicate what could happen if certain acts are not completed. 

~  Show negative outcomes for small infractions of the rules (stated or implied) so that character and readers anticipate even worse outcomes for large infractions. 

~  Connect events so that one leads inexorably to the next. Show those connections. Have readers anticipate even more connections because they've seen how events are linked, how events lead to particular outcomes. 

~  Set into motion a chain of events that cannot be stopped or slowed. 

~  Introduce inevitability—one circumstance, if it comes to pass, will inevitably produce the next. 

~  Show characters fighting with everything they have to stop or derail the inevitable. Show the cost characters pay for fighting against a certain happening or event. Show the toll it takes. Make the anticipated outcome have an effect on the story’s current events even as they unfold. 

~  Give characters new resolve as the story marches on—give characters reasons to keep going. Give characters new tools to use in the fight. Show a character’s inner strength coming out as the story heads toward the end. 

~  Don’t let characters go too long without thinking or talking about a future they are trying to head off or the one they are trying to create. Show characters planning for a future after the anticipated big moment. Show them planning celebrations of success as well as future battle campaigns in case they fail. Keep characters aware of the future—through dialogue or actions or thoughts—so that readers are also aware and anticipating. 

~  Show a character’s emotions when his actions bring the unwanted showdown closer. Conversely, show a character’s relief when he does something to delay the feared ending. Keep characters emotionally involved in anticipated outcomes so that readers will likewise be emotionally invested. 

~  Introduce surprises, both positive and negative, to keep characters off balance, to make them have to recalculate possible end scenarios and re-evaluate their commitment. This will keep readers aware of the end the characters anticipate. 

The point is to set up anticipation and maybe even dread in both characters and readers. Keep them pushing toward or pulling away from those outcomes. Make possible consequences drive action and response.

You can always change either the climax or the story events so that the two truly match—you can’t produce a climax or ending that you didn't build toward. Sure, you can tack on the ending that you want, but if you didn't create anticipation for that ending, the reader won’t believe in your story’s conclusion; you've got to have a setup that matches the end.

But endings should come naturally out of the elements that you mixed into the story.

Include anticipation in your writing so that readers have reasons to stay involved and turning pages.

                                                                                                                    

I love the written word, the ability we have to create worlds and emotions with well-chosen phrases. It’s my intention to share tips and insights and encouragement with writers at all levels, to help you craft stories that will entertain and satisfy your readers. That will help satisfy you as writer as well.

I am both writer and editor. My editing focus is on long fiction, primarily novels. I also mentor beginning writers.

Beth has many articles on writing craft on her website A Novel Edit, and she covers craft and other subjects on her blog, The Editor's Blog.

JADE LEE—THE BIGGEST SURPRISE

I'm delighted to have, Jade Lee, visiting with us today Over Coffee. Her stories have brought me quite a few hours enjoyment. 

Jade's topic today is all about surprises our characters present when writing a story. Even those writers who don't plot have certain story points and the ending in mind when they start. Having Jade discussing how her stories surprise her, certainly explains a few things I didn't see coming, but thoroughly enjoyed as I read.   

There's a moment in every story that surprises me. In the previous book (What the Bride Wore), it was when the hero Grant refused to tell his brother why he'd been missing for five years. I'd expected that information to come out early in the book, but he just stuck to his silence until a pivotal moment later.

Like many of my books, Wedded in Scandal had a delightful character as a surprise. For those who have read it, Edward wasn't supposed to be there at all, and yet he was so amazing, he became the hero of Engaged in Wickedness. But this book's surprise was a first for me. In What the Groom Wants, the startling moment was the entire back third of the book. Yeah, the ENDING was surprise.

Seriously, my reaction as I was writing it was WTF? But sometimes (rarely) the words just flow and I was typing something that felt right even if it had nothing to do with my outline.

So here's what I planned: Radley my hero finally faces off with the villain Damon and he defeats the bad guy in a show of manly prowess. We've all seen that before, right? It's a good, classic ending to a romance novel. I wrote it down on my outline and that's what my editor expected.

But what actually appeared on the page had my editor calling me to say, "This is not what we discussed, is it? Nevermind, I don't care. I love this ending, but I never saw it coming."

Neither did I, but the more I looked back at it, the more it made sense. My heroine, Wendy, is a woman who bargains to survive. As in: I'll give you A, if you give me B. And if you don't cheat me, we'll both come out ahead. That's great, but she's a seamstress in love with a duke. (He wasn't a duke when they met. In fact, in his heart, he's still just a seaman). So how does she make herself the equal of our hero?

My plan was that she finally just gets over herself. She says, "hey, if I'm what you want, then I love you too." Again, that's a classic romance moment. But Wendy ended up being too strong for that. She set about systematically making herself the equal of a duke. How does she do that?

SPOILER ALERT: She takes over a financial empire. She just...flat takes it over. With the aid of the constable and his men, a Cardinal in the Church of England, and quite a few of the previous book's people, she organizes a coup that lets her bring a great deal of money and power to the marriage. Suddenly, she becomes a good bargain for a duke.

So the ending became Wendy using all the myriad different characters I'd set up in the previous books and creating the future she wanted. With Radley's help in the end. And a great deal of love.

Honestly, I would like to think I was smart enough to plan this on my own. No such luck. I hadn't even expected the other characters to make an appearance, much less show up in the final scene ready to defend our heroine to the death.

But sometimes, writing just works that way. Divine inspiration or luck, I don't care. I just hope it happens again.

• Writers: Have you ever had a story surprise you by taking a different path than what you had planned?

• Readers: Do you like stories that take you by surprise?

                                                                                                                                                          

BUY:Amazon, B&N, B-a-M, Chapters/Indigo, IndieBound

WHAT THE GROOM WANTS

An honest love...

Radley Lyncott has been in love with Wendy Drew as long as he can remember. When he went to sea, she was too young to court. Now that he’s returned to take up his Welsh title, he is appalled to find that debt has ruined the Drew family, and—even worse—Wendy is being courted by another man.

Or a dangerous attraction?

Family comes first for seamstress Wendy Drew, who is forced to settle her brother’s debt by working nights at a notorious gambling den. But her double-life hasn’t gone unnoticed—she has captivated none other than Demon Damon, a nefarious rake who understands Wendy’s darkest desires and is hell bent on luring her into his arms.

Available in stores February 2014

                                                                                                                                                     

USA Today bestselling author Jade Lee has been scripting love stories since she first picked up a set of paper dolls. Ball gowns and rakish lords caught her attention early (thank you Georgette Heyer), and her fascination with the Regency began. An author of more than 30 romance novels and winner of dozens of industry awards, she finally gets to play in the best girl-heaven place of all: a Bridal Salon! In her new series, four women find love as they dress the most beautiful brides in England. Lee lives in Champaign, Illinois. 

You can find Jade:

WEBSITE, FACEBOOK, GOODREADS, TWITTER.

MONDAY'S MUSINGS—WHEN ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE

One moment I’m sleeping peacefully and with the next breath I’m jerked awake by a cacophony of sound. The slam of adrenaline hits so hard it’s like fire coursing through my veins. Deep breath, hand to the chest to keep my heart in place. Seconds to identify the sounds and decide the action needed. My existence is reduced to strobe light flashes of action and reaction.

That’s what it’s like to wake up to all hell breaking loose.

One hand hits the light switch the other has already grabbed my pants. I’m aware of Dan ratcheting a round in the chamber before he grabs his clothes. I hear the snarl of my son’s pit bull. The hair on the back of my neck prickles. The Danes are going into attack mode.

I jam my feet into boots while loading the shotgun. Dan’s already out the door, gun loaded and ready, his flashlight spearing the blackness of the cold night. I hear the snick of safety off from my son’s rifle. His pit is going nuts in his bedroom. Outside the Danes are snarling and slamming against the fence engaged in a fight with coyotes and in the background a call to the pack floats on the air. Doctari bugles a challenge with his mares behind him. All faces are pointed toward the confrontation a hundred yards away.

We wade through the ground fog in hunting mode listening to dangerous dogs in protection mode. A high-pitched yelp of a wounded canine. The smell of blood. The echo of gunfire. Howls of the pack calling retreat. The snorting and stomping of alert horses. Eerie eyes where there shouldn't be eyes. 

When hell breaks loose it’s a mêlée of confusion, flashes of movement, and sound.

It’s been a hard winter. Food has been problematic for the packs, although they rarely come into the home pasture and my cats know not to venture into the pastures on winter nights. My first flare of worry was for my horses especially with Doctari’s challenge even though I know that coyotes don’t normally go after something that big, even as a pack, unless it’s badly wounded and looks easy to bring down. The home pasture is Doctari’s territory. He was confronting home invaders of the canine variety. He doesn't tolerate any threat to his mares by canines. I've seen those powerful legs and hooves in action a couple of times when strays have thought it fun to chase the horses. Let’s just say a couple of those strays didn't get back up.

Later investigation showed the clear blood trail from the open pasture to the Dane pen. It was a tale of a fierce fight between the two fleeing Raccoons and what we suspect were a few of the pack’s yearlings with a few of this year’s pups. A fatally wounded Raccoon ran for cover into my Dane pen to escape. The sound of battle through the fence between my Danes defending home ground and the Coyotes determined to get their meal.  The added din of a cornered and terrified Raccoon entering the mêlée and protecting its mate. She escaped, he, unfortunately, did not.

Unforgettable sights, sounds and smells. Things like this are the stuff of movies or books.

Upon reflection, you can imagine all sorts of things out there in the dark. Things that grab at you from the ground, shape shifters, vampires, home invasions, an army on the move, anything your imagination can conjure up could be there hiding in the ground fog of the night.

• So, how do you use these moments of life?

• Do they stir your imagination? Do they find their way into your writing?

                                                                                                                                 

~Upcoming guests~

Wednesday, February 19th: Jade Lee talking about the moment in every story that surprises her.

WHEN DAILY LIFE TURNS INTO FICTION

My guest is romance author, Elizabeth Michels. Her topic today is using bits of life and experiences in our writing.

First of all, thank you for having me here to celebrate the release of Must Love Dukes.  I feel as if I've been wandering aimlessly toward this moment for years and I’m happy to share it with you! Why was I wandering aimlessly?  Let me explain… There are little shards of my life, people I've met, experiences I've encountered sprinkled throughout this book, and really any book I write.  I started writing during nap times just after I had my little boy.  Before that, I was a small business owner sentenced to bed rest during pregnancy and given piles of romance novels for company—not too shabby a sentence, right?  *grins* My point is that I haven’t always been a writer, but I have always been a reader and an observer of life.  And often that surrounding life shows up in the fiction I write.

There is one scene in Must Love Dukes that practically wrote itself after visiting my in-laws for the weekend.  It had been a difficult week for various reasons I won’t get into here and to compensate for the unfortunate turn of events my mother-in-law decided to fuss over my husband and me while we were crawling into bed at night.  It was absurd.  I remember her piling more and more and more blankets on us while we looked at each other, shaking our heads as we wondered what was happening.  She claimed that the guest bedroom was drafty and we were cold—even though we were comfortable.  She would leave the room and then minutes later return with another layer of blankets... 

In Must Love Dukes this turned into Devon’s mother calling for food to be brought in and checking the windows for drafts when she knew her son was in emotional turmoil.  He is protesting while she flits around the room in a frenzy of activity, calling in maids as she attempts to fix things that aren’t broken because she can’t fix what is truly wrong in her son’s life.  Sound familiar?

 

And then sometimes inspiration is more abstract and yet still based in daily life all the same.  At the heart of Must Love Dukes is Lily’s struggle to hold on to her family heirlooms while her brothers seek to auction off everything to the highest bidder—including her.  Disagreements over inheritance seem to plague every family at one time or another, causing rifts between siblings, driving proper ladies into a life of crime.  Alright, so maybe not all ladies at war with their brothers turn to thievery to solve their problems, but Lily does just that.  Only unlike real life inheritance battles, Lily’s journey leads her into peril when she steals from the wrong man—the Mad Duke of Thornwood.

Many of the family dynamics I enjoy writing about in my books occur today just as frequently as they did in Regency England.  Must Love Dukes does have twirling ball gowns and a swoon-worthy mad duke bent on revenge, but it also has people trying to navigate the path to happiness and love in life.  Finding one’s way down this path often requires sacrifice, hard decisions, and occasionally, it requires setting hunting dogs on unwanted suitors in a ballroom…Oh, you’ve never been in that situation?  Well, maybe not everything in my stories is based in the life I see around me, but I think that’s the enchanting part of reading a book—never knowing what adventure will be on the next page. 

• What inspires you in your daily life?

                                                                                                                                                      

BUY: Amazon, B&Noble,Chapters/Indigo, B-a-M, IndieBound

MUST LOVE DUKES

The Mad Duke leaned in closer, his lips gently brushing her ear, and whispered, "I dare you."

She Can't Resist the Dare…

Lillian Phillips could not imagine how her quiet, simple life had come to this. Blackmailed by the Mad Duke of Thornwood into accepting one wild dare after another...all because of a pocket watch. Desperate to recover her beloved father's pawned timepiece, Lily did something reckless and dangerous and delicious—something that led to a night she'd never forget.

He has a Reputation for Scandal…

When Devon Grey, Duke of Thornwood, runs into a mesmerizing, intoxicating, thieving woman who literally stole from his bedchamber—with his new pocket watch—Devon plots his revenge. If the daring wench likes to play games, he's happy to oblige. After all, what's the ruse of being the Mad Duke if you can't have some fun? But the last laugh might just be on him...

                                                                                                        

 

Elizabeth Michels grew up on a Christmas tree farm in rural South Carolina. After tip-toeing her way through school with her focus on ballet steps and her nose in a book, she met a boy and followed him a thousand miles away from home to Kansas City, Missouri, before settling down in North Carolina. She attended Park University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in Interior Design. Elizabeth is a lover of happily-ever-afters; she invites you to read her stories, get lost, and enjoy. For more information, please visit http://www.elizabethmichels.com/ and http://www.badgirlzwrite.com/.

MY LIFELONG ROMANCE WITH WRITING

My guest is historical and romance author, Christy English. She's been in love with writing stories since the tender age of 8 when she concluded that writing was a whole lot harder than she first thought. Still, her love affair with words kept her at it until she finally got it right--years later. I, for one, am glad she persevered! 

When I was four years old, I asked for a typewriter for my birthday. And due to the love and devotion of my parents, I got one: a bright, shiny yellow one.

At this point in my life, I knew the alphabet and had begun to learn to read, but writing was a far distant goal...something that at that point had never consciously occurred to me. I did think it odd that the letters were all out of order on the key board. To be honest, I still don't know why the keyboard is like that. I am not even sure why i wanted that typewriter. I just knew that I did.

When I was 8 years old, I finished reading one of my library books and for the first time in my life, I thought: "I can do that." I got about five chapters into my novel, handwritten in poor, painstaking script, one page per "chapter", and then I gave up. It seemed that writing was much harder than it looked.

From the time I was 12, I began to have characters show up with stories to tell, dancing in my head. I know that sounds a little nuts, probably because it is, but those of you who are writers will know what I mean. And when these characters showed up, I started writing their stories down. I never foisted these hideous works of "art" off on other people, except for a couple of devoted friends (LaDonna and Laura, you know who you are.) Those two patiently read and praised stories that were so bad, they would peel paint of the walls. Trust me when I say that telling a good story is a  skill that takes YEARS to learn. Or at least, it took me years to learn how to do it.

So now, when I look at MUCH ADO ABOUT JACK, my fifth novel, and my third romance, I think of all the truly terrible writing I used to do, and I am amazed that I finally got better. Amazed and grateful.

If we focus and work hard, we can produce good writing. Storytelling is a joy, for the teller and, hopefully, for the reader. 

Good luck and many blessings on all of you who are writers, too, published and yet-to-be-published. Hang in there. If I can do it, so can you.

                                                                                                                                                    

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MUCH ADO ABOUT JACK 

How to Become London's Most Notorious Widow:

1. Vow to NEVER remarry

2. Own a ship and become fabulously wealthy

3. Wear the latest risqué fashions in your signature color

4. Do NOT have a liaison at the Prince Regent's palace with a naval captain whose broad shoulders and green eyes make you forget Rule #1

Angelique Beauchamp, the widowed Countess of Devonshire, has been twice burned by love, and she is certain that no man will ever touch her heart again. But that doesn't mean she can't indulge a little—and it would be hard to find a more perfect dalliance than one with the dashing Captain James Montgomery.

After a brief torrid affair, James tries to forget Angelique and his undeniable thirst for more. The luscious lady was quite clear that their liaison was temporary. But for the first time, the lure of the sea isn't powerful enough to keep him away...

                                                                                                                         

Christy English is happiest when she is dreaming. Her dreams have taken her to the royal court of Henry II in THE QUEEN’S PAWN, to medieval Paris in TO BE QUEEN, and now to Regency England in MUCH ADO ABOUT JACK, LOVE ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT, and HOW TO TAME A WILFULL WIFE, where she loves to watch her characters find true love, often in spite of themselves. 

Please visit her on her blog, Facebook, or  Twitter