IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Creative Passion-- "the magical place between reality and imagination"

It's my pleasure to welcome back romance author, Joanne Kennedy. Not only does Joanne write about sexy cowboys but she's a bit of a philosopher.

I really enjoyed Joanne's thoughts on talent being a gift we can't squander without consequences to our psyche and how for some, deep happiness only comes when we find an outlet for our creative passion. And how important it is to take time to express that creativity, whether it's through hobbies or creative pursuits such as writing, painting, or music. Whatever our passion is; we need to take the time to express it.

I thought I'd share her thoughts with you.


The Declaration of Independence declares, among other declarative things, that we all have a right to "the pursuit of happiness." For some of us, that run is harder than it is for others, but we all enter the race. Some of us rush headlong toward bliss; others hang back, helping those who aren't as fast. And some of us trip and fall right out of the starting gate, sprain our ankles, and have to crawl the rest of the way.


Being the first to cross the finish line doesn't matter in this race. It's a long run, so what matters is finding out what kind of runner you are so you can enjoy the trip. Are you a speed racer who won't be happy unless you're whipping past the competition? Or are you a helper, who finds his or her victory in making sure everyone has a fair chance? Or are you like me, standing in the middle of the track, watching the runners flow around you while you figure out how to immortalize the moment in a painting or story?


Chances are, you won't win that way. But it's the way you're made, and you can't do a thing about it. No matter how hard you try to be a rabbit, you're a dreamy, slowpoke turtle.

But if you stop trying to win the race on the rabbit's terms, chances are you'll be a happy turtle. And happiness is, after all, what we're chasing.

For creative people, finding deep happiness means finding an outlet for the creative impulse that pokes at our subconscious all day long and keeps us up at night. I ignored that urge for years, doing my best to bolt for everyone else's concept of the finish line. Sure, I drew a little, painted a little, wrote a little, but mostly my dabblings didn't seem practical, so I set my foot against the starting block and shoved off for a career in management. I was successful enough, and I earned all the rewards I thought I wanted, but I couldn't help feeling like I was missing something. I interpreted that dissatisfaction as ambition, and pursued promotion and success with more fervor. I didn't realize I was getting further and further away from what I was supposed to do.


But I had to make a living. We all do. And making a living from your creative passion isn't easy to do. I know so many people - artists, musicians, writers - who are trapped in everyday life when all they want to do is spend time in that magical place between reality and imagination where they can lose themselves in the lilt of a song or the sweep of a paintbrush or the magic of a fictional world.


When you're working for a living, taking time to nurture your creativity sometimes feels like self-indulgence. After all, your family needs you. Your work isn't finished. And you've got to get up in the morning and go to your day job. You don't have time to play around with paint or strum your guitar or write stories.


And it's not like those things are your only source of happiness, right? There are magical moments in every life: pushing a child on a swing, wading through a field of wildflowers, laughing with someone you love, or even just curling up on the sofa with a good book. Scattering these moments of simple happiness through your life will keep the crazies at bay. But unless you find that deep, core happiness that satisfies your heart and soul, you'll feel an elusive sense of dissatisfaction that keeps your joy from being quite complete.


Listen to your heart and do what you were meant to do. Talent is a gift, and squandering it has consequences. If you can create things that make others happy - a song that makes them tap their feet, a book that makes them laugh, a painting that lights up a room - it's something you have to do. If your gift is great enough to help people see what matters in the world, it's your duty to do it.


So whether you're just starting the race or standing three feet from the finish line, take some time to express yourself. Write. Quilt. Plant gardens. Paint. Your family needs you, but they need you happy. Your children need your time, but they also need to see how important it is to follow their dreams. And your day-to-day work, whatever it is, will be better and infinitely more satisfying if you use it to earn time to enjoy the race in the way that's best for you.

What's your creative passion and how do you express it?

 ~ * ~ * ~

Excerpt (this is on the publisher's website, scroll down below the book cover and select excerpt tab in the box.)

Cowboy Trouble Back Cover

Atlanta journalist Libby Brown’s transition to rural living isn’t going exactly as planned. Her Wyoming ranch and its picturesque outbuildings are falling to pieces all around her. So is her resolution to live a self-sufficient, independent life–thanks to the irresistible allure of her neighbor’s fringed leather chaps and the town sheriff’s shiny badge. When the town’s only unsolved mystery falls in her lap, Libby can’t resist partnering up with the hunky sheriff to search for a missing teenager–but her neighbor, rancher Luke Rawlins, has other ideas.


Luke is a genuine Wyoming cowboy who looks like Elvis, talks like John Wayne, cooks like Martha Stewart, and is almost impossible to resist. While Libby adjusts to a life where high fashion means wearing your Wranglers in “slim fit” instead of “cowboy cut,” her small-town beat leads her deep into the heart of her new hometown, where she discovers that everyone has their secrets, and some of them are as dangerous as they are surprising.

Purchase: Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble

Joanne Facebook, Casablanca Author's Blog

Joanne Kennedy lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming with two dogs and a retired fighter pilot. The dogs are relatively well-behaved.

Joanne  has worked in bookstores all her life, in positions ranging from bookseller to buyer. In 2004, she stepped down from managing a Barnes & Noble and wrote a book. Five years and three manuscripts later, her first book, Cowboy Trouble, was released by Sourcebooks Casablanca.


A member of Romance Writers of America and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Joanne Kennedy won first place in the Colorado Gold Writing Contest and second in the Heart of the Rockies contest in 2007. Her first novel, Cowboy Trouble, was released by Sourcebooks Casablanca in March 2010, and will be followed by One Fine Cowboy in September 2010. 
 

When brilliant, beautiful graduate student Charlie Banks comes to Wyoming for a conference on horse communication, the last thing she expects to get is a lesson in love from sexy horse trainer Nate Shawcross. While Nate's always had a way with horses, it's the women in his life who have left him with romantic scars. But when Nate enlists Charlie to help him rehabilitate an abused stallion, she can't help but be wooed by his soft touch and gentle voice. And though he's been burned in the past, Nate is finding it harder and harder to hide his heart from the sexy greenhorn.
 
Available for preorder.

Sunday Afternoon Delights?

My apologies to all. We've having spotty to NON-existent internet due to a series of thunderstorms that have hit us the past few days. I had no internet access until this evening.

Delight isn’t the first word that comes to mind, but it certainly was…exciting. My heartbeat was definitely elevated. Tornadoes have a way of doing that to a person, as do severe thunderstorms and an ear tuned to our battery operated radio. We were without electricity too.


I will admit I had another form of delight in mind. While I was napping my muse provided me with the solution to a problem I had been having in a scene. You know, one of those you can see clearly but can’t get it right with words. So I was eager to get to work, once I had my freshly brewed coffee. Regardless of the time of day, that first sip of coffee is always wonderful and I tend to savor it. I’m looking outside but not really focusing on what I saw since my mind was already playing leapfrog with ideas. It was about that time the computer weatherbug started chirping which told me something was up.


There were three warnings in a space of three minutes. On went the radio and we hear about golf ball sized hail, tornadoes sited and moving our way, flash flood warning due to the heavy output of the storms. Yikes. So began the mad scramble to batten down the hatches, put my car in the garage and fasten the storm latches, and bring in some of the animals.


My husband remarked, as my son and I came back into the house, “I have feeling this one going to knock out power.” We always have about 70 gallons of water in storage, but we like to put up ten additional gallons of fresh drinking water. He no more than got that done and out went the electricity. We’re always prepared with lighting as we have probably eight lanterns filled and ready at any given time along with dozens of fat plumber candles. We also have a propane cook stove. It was only a little before 4 so there was no need to light anything and the electricity was only out for forty-five minutes. Phone and internet, however, still isn't up.


It was eerie, but beautiful, sitting outside and seeing the trees reacting to rotation winds high above us and hearing the distinctive sound of tornado winds off to the northwest and sure enough one was sighted 4 miles away but coming in our direction. It chose pop over or go around our little valley. We weren’t being brainless by sitting outside as the basement door is only a few feet away. But you could hear it above in the clouds a few minutes later. It was at that point when I gave a to the basement warning.


The topography of where we live isn’t flat. We have tall hills filled with forests all around us. Last year, two tornadoes happened to find the one opening to our valley and roared through, but it’s rare, thankfully.

The aftermath was gorgeous though. About 5 the sun came out in the west behind us and bathed the trees and fields in golden light. The rim of the valley to the east and to the south lightning still flashed against dark blue gray skies. But what a sight to see how very green and gold the trees were in the east against stormy skies and the sun shining behind us. The rain was still falling  softly overhead; the rich smell of rain-drenched earth was a feast for the senses (in the picture above the haze is actually rainfall). The birds came out of hiding, singing and chattering away as they took baths in the mud puddles. They were oblivious to the four cats and two humans sitting ten feet away and watching.

I happened to look up watched a rainbow form. So vivid and stunning. A few minutes later, another rainbow formed. We had fully formed double arches over us and it looked like a faint third was trying to form. I can’t remember the last time that happened. It was beyond words and they stayed in place at least twenty minutes—long enough for me to get my camera and snap pictures. My mind tries to store sights and sounds. You never know when you can use them later in your writing.

I was just fascinated by the variety of light and shadow in this shot of the double rainbows.

I didn’t get much writing done, but I do believe the afternoon was filled with delights after all.

Some upcoming guests: Wednesday is the fabulous Joanne Kennedy. I'll also be interviewing Pamela Palmer this month and Janet Evanovich. Other guests, Loucinda McGary, and Mary Wine to name a few on the list.

Interview With Kilt Kilpatrick, The Manny Diaries

My guest, Kilt Kilpatrick, is a fine Celtic swordsman who happens to write erotic romance. His debut novel, published by Ravenous Romance, is The Manny Diaries.

 By day, Kilt is a serious non-fiction writer, but by night all his wickedness comes out in his erotic romance. Actually, Kilt is a fascinating person, very intelligent (his bio makes me dizzy), and he has a wonderful sense of humor, which permeates his fiction.


Kilt was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.



Céad míle fáilte romhat, a Kilt!

• Tell me a bit about Kilt. I know you have a gorgeous woman in your life. She won you in a wicked sword fight, right?

I really do! And you know, you’re not far off… Inara and I did meet through sword fighting, and we’ve had some wicked sword fights ourselves, too. I have the scars to prove it… (And did you know she’s a former Hollywood stuntwoman? Among other roles, she was a fight captain for the cult classic Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness)

I did, Kilt. She shared a few pictures. My son about fell out of his chair when he saw her in her costume, lol!

• Seriously, are you a swordsman? Where did you learn? Is this fencing with foils or if you were whisk back and time would you be able to handle swords or rapiers?

That’s a big ole yes. I started fencing with foils, eppes and sabers in college twenty-seven years ago, but then I got into Florentine style – which is where you have a real sword in one hand and a real dagger in the other. Very fun! I've also been working with cloak-and-dagger, and on a style of my own using two shortswords. And no mask or jacket, just a padded vest, so I’m ready for my time machine trip…

Hmmm, I have a few things to say about sans mask, Mr. Kilpatrick, but at least you wear a vest.
  

• As you know I have a penchant for men in kilts, oo-la-la, and I know you’re Celtic. Do you actually wear a kilt or is it something worn for special occasions?

I love wearing my kilts. I have four of them, including a big ole Braveheart style Feilidh-Mór great kilt. It’s basically just 5 yards of Scottish tartan wool that I have to spread out on the floor, painstakingly fold all the pleats, and roll myself in it like a big burrito.

For more ordinary occasions, I wear one of my beloved Utilikilts or my all-Ireland tartan kilt.

Oh, I know all about *pleating*, my brothers have, what they will proudly tell you, are *real* kilts, lolol! I will admit I’m pretty good at unrolling the kilts too. ;-)

• I’m thinking storytelling comes natural to some Celts, but when did you start telling and writing stories?

It must be in the blood – I’ve been writing stories as long as I can remember, and even when I was a kid, I always thought I would be an author – though I always thought I’d be a science fiction writer!

• What made you want to write romance and in particular, erotic romance? I know very few men who do.

A totally unexpected twist of fate. I’ve actually been primarily focused on a nonfiction biblical history project for the last ten years, a critical examination of the historical evidence for Jesus. But then one day Inara and I each wrote a sexy short story for one another. Her story was “Champagne,” which became the novel of the same name and is still my favorite of hers. Unknown to me, she also submitted my story to Ravenous Romance.com; they liked the way I write, and the rest is history. And I have to say; I’m totally loving writing erotic romance! I love how many different genres you can explore with it, and let’s face it, I love being able to put all that sex, lust and steaminess in the writing.

• You possess a good sense of humor, Kilt, and from what I’ve seen of your book; you utilize that sense of humor with Evan. What do you like about Evan?

Thanks, Sia! I tried to give Evan as much of my sense of humor as I could. I like that Evan is smart and funny, and still at heart a vulnerable guy who’s trying to find true love and keep going despite setbacks and the general weirdness of life.

• Now comes the tough questions; what made you pick this particular story to tell?

Honestly, I didn’t think I could write a full-blown romance novel, let alone a m/m novel; it was Lori Perkins who twisted my arm and said she knew I could do it. And once the cast of characters came together and I fell in love with them, that’s when it really did come together.

It sounds like a story that made you stretch as a writer. Not a bad thing.

• I have to tell you most stories with gay characters are *coming out* stories. And frankly, they get old after awhile. How would you classify this one?

This is the story that happens after you come out of the closet. There’s no long hand-wringing, agonizing over “Oh, oh, am I gay, or am I straight?” Instead, it’s “Okay. I’m gay. Now what do I do about it?”

• Good for you! My opinion is, people are people. We're hardwired to want to find love and happily ever after. That's true regardless of our sexual orientation.

Incidentally, there is a lost first chapter that tells the coming–out story that Trini and Evan hint at in the opening of the book. Watch out for that coming as a stand-alone short story from Ravenous…

• What’s the difference between a sexy (and they have some pretty hot sex scenes) romance story and an erotic romance?

I think “erotic” can cover a multitude of sins that you wouldn’t generally find in a straight-up romance; and I’m a big fan of sin…

Ahem...is this where I admit to a very cool black tank top that says, "I feel sin coming on...?" LOL!

• What’s next for you, Kilt?

At the moment I’m getting the 2nd annual Atheist Film Festival together in San Francisco, and finally getting that historical Jesus book published. Then there’s some new RR anthologies coming I’m excited about – and I promised Lori to write another m/m novel; I’m thinking of doing a paranormal... It’s going to be a busy year!

It certainly sounds like it Kilt. I wish you the best, my friend. Thank you for taking the time to chat a bit with me.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

The Manny Diaries back cover Blurb:

 

Young art student Evan Ross falls out of the closet and into the fire when an unexpected sexual encounter with a friend changes his life forever. His rocky - and surprisingly hot - search for true love and a real job (not necessarily in that order) takes him on a series of romantic adventures and misadventures, from the lofty hills to the seedy streets of San Francisco.



When he lands a job as a male nanny for a precocious 8-year old, his career and romance paths start to converge - and he finds himself falling for a dead-ringer of his dream man, Clive Owen. The only problem? It's the girl's straight father.

Can he land his dream job and his dream man? THE MANNY DIARIES is sexy, warm and hilarious novel with a supporting cast of quirky, lovable characters, a fun pace, and a true-to-life setting.

Excerpt

Buy: Amazon  Ravenous Romance

 

Kilt Kilpatrick is the pen name of an Irish author sometimes called "the Ferris Bueller of San Francisco." When he's not writing sexy stories for Ravenous he is a nonfiction writer, public speaker, Bay Area event organizer, and somewhat oxymoronically, a biblical historian and atheist activist.


He is linguistically promiscuous; he is conversant in Irish Gaelic and bits and pieces of about two dozen other languages, including Welsh, Breton, Hungarian, Japanese, Arabic, American Sign Language, Cherokee, Klingon and Elvish. He loves reading, movies, dancing, sex, and has been a saber fencer for over 25 years.

He lives in San Francisco with his steady girlfriend and # 1 fencing partner Inara Lavey; who is also a Ravenous Romance writer. And yes, he does wear kilts. If you know anybody like that, it's probably him.


Titles by this author: The Manny Diaries, Bedknobs & Beanstalks: Anthology of Gay Erotic Fairy Tales (Contributor), Hungry for Your Love (Contributor), I Kissed a Girl: A Virgin Lesbian Anthology (Contributor), I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus (Contributer), Threesomes: An Erotic Anthology (Contributor)

Interview with Dorchester's Fresh Blood Finalist—LISA KOOSIS

I’m amazed how many contests there are in existence for writers to enter. Many aspiring authors choose to enter contests to receive feedback on things they’ve written with the view to improving their work enough to eventually win the big prize of a publishing contract. There are various contests out there. Some small contests online and through various magazines, some larger contests provided by writing associations, like RWA. Then there are the colossal contests like Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award, started in 2007, American Title Writing Competition, based loosely on American Idol and these two bring in thousands of entries.


I’ve had various friends compete in small and large contests. I competed in Gather’s First Chapters Romance contest, which was also big and similar to ABNA and to lesser degree, ATWC. All three of these contests have a base in not only writing skills, but also the writer’s promotion abilities and popular vote does come into play at one stage or another depending upon the sponsors and rules. I will say it’s a rather insane way to get a publishing contract. I’m glad I did it; I learned an amazing amount about good writing and the importance of promotion.


Not long ago, Dorchester Leisure, Rue Morgue magazine, horror fiction web site ChiZine, got together for “Fresh Blood,” a new writing contest specifically for unpublished horror authors. I know little about this contest other than it’s similar to Amazon, Gather, and American Title, with thousands of entries. Writers not only have to be able to write well but be able to promote themselves and their work because there is also an element of popular vote.

The prize? The winner will have their book published by Dorchester's, Leisure imprint, and see their book in bookstores in 2011.


My guest is Lisa Koosis, one of two finalists in Dorchester’s Fresh Blood contest. Lisa was nice enough to let me pick her brain.

• Tell me a bit about Lisa Koosis.

First of all, thank you so much, Sia, for having me on your blog.

• Oh, it's my pleasure, I assure you. So tell me about you.

A little bit about me… Let’s see… I’m a native New Yorker. I grew up on Long Island, so you’ll see the influence of the shore in a lot of my writing, and I currently live in the Hudson River Valley with my family and a bunch of furry, four-legged friends. I’ve been self-employed for the last few years, which has really given me the opportunity to pursue my writing dream, mainly concentrating on my short fiction. I’ve been fortunate enough to have had stories published in a number of great speculative fiction magazines and anthologies like Abyss & Apex, Murky Depths, Meadowhawk Press’s Touched by Wonder anthology and recently, Blade Red Press’s Dark Pages anthology, among others. I’m also a bit of an internet junkie and a hopeless multitasker.

• Have you been writing long? What’s your preferred genre and why?

I’ve been writing for a long time. In elementary school, when the teacher would assign the class a creative writing assignment, the other kids would turn in a paragraph or two, and I’d be the crazy kid churning out pages-long epics about talking dogs and mer-folk. I honestly can’t remember a time when I didn’t write.


My penchant (as you might have guessed by my cringe-worthy early efforts) is for speculative fiction. I’m not so good about sticking to one genre--you’ll find me moving around among science fiction, fantasy, and horror, sometimes even mainstream—but I just love those crazy, magical, surreal elements.

• Do you belong to any author/writing associations?

No. Ironically, my only professional sales have been in mainstream short story markets so I haven’t yet qualified for membership in HWA or SFWA, which would be my goal.

• Have you entered many writing contests in the past?

I love writing contests, and contests have been kind to me. My first published short story came about through a contest. Several years ago I placed second in The Poughkeepsie Journal’s Talespinners short story contest. This year, I was the grand prizewinner in Family Circle’s fiction contest. It’s a little bit ironic because in both of those contests I won with mainstream stories that were way outside of my comfort zone. In fact, each year those contests served as a challenge, a reason to push myself and stretch my boundaries. I think contests like that keep my writing fresh and new.


I’ve also entered Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award competition all three years with widely varying results. The first and third year I didn’t make it past Round 1. Last year, I made it all the way to the semifinals with the novel that’s now a finalist in the Fresh Blood contest. ABNA was an excellent experience because I not only came away with more confidence in the novel, but also with feedback that allowed me to make the novel even stronger.

• What made you decide on an author promotion styled contest to enter?

I hate the thought of a missed opportunity. I want to keep putting my work out there. I want to push as hard as I can toward my goals. I plan on entering the Amazon contest every year as long as they run it. And when I came across the information for Dorchester’s Fresh Blood contest, I knew I just had to submit an entry even if it meant I would have to give myself a crash course in author promotion.

• It’s always fascinating to me to see how an author chooses a title, why did you choose the title Heart Of The City?

Funny you should mention the title, because if you read the comments of the judges, it’s probably the thing they like least about the book. It’s a good thing to know, and I’ve learned through short stories that it’s never wise to get too attached to a title.

In Heart of the City, Charlie and Eva travel from city to city in a world devastated by Charlie’s creation, the Phoenix Particle, and with every place they visit, the heart of that city becomes a part of Eva. Though I’m not a city person myself, I’ve always been fascinated by cities and how they each have distinctly different personalities, different hearts. Walk down a street in Boston and it has a completely different feel from walking down a street in New York. In Heart of the City, the hearts of those cities and how they change Eva become a crucial part of the story.

The book is also a bit of a love letter to New York City post-9/11, when the world got to see not only tragedy but also the heart of New York, so the title is also a bit of a nod to that.

• This contest is largely decided initially by judges, correct?

Yes. The good folks at Dorchester Publishing, ChiZine Publications and Rue Morgue Magazine decided on the Top 10 based on the submitted manuscripts. From there, a panel of judges, which included editors and published novelists, determined the Top 5.

• Promotional votes play what part?

Promotional votes began once we hit the Top 5. After that, it became an American Idol styled contest where the contestant with the least amount of votes got eliminated each month.

• You’re one of the finalist, how does that feel?

It feels a little surreal. Or maybe a lot surreal. I took a gamble entering this contest because I’d always considered Heart of the City more science fiction than horror, so I really never expected to make it too far. To make it to the Top 10 was huge. To make it to the Final 2 is an amazing feeling. I grew up reading Leisure Horror novels, and to be this close to getting a publishing contract with them...I don’t even have words for how good that feels.

• I’ve read the judges critiques. Over all, you have some high praise for the professional polish of your work. How do you handle the negatives?

They promised us at the start of the contest that they would be brutal, and sometimes they have been, but I find that I’m okay with the negatives. I think, in part, being a short story writer has prepared me for the editorial criticism. I’ve worked with zero-sugarcoating critique groups (which I wholeheartedly recommend), and I’ve been out there submitting my work and collecting rejections for years as a short story writer, so I’m no stranger to the tough stuff.

And that adage about being our own worst critic…well it’s true, at least for me. I’m always tough on myself, so the judges can give it their best shot, but they’ll never be tougher on me than I am on myself!

• So, if after reading the first two chapters I want to vote for you, how would I go about doing it? Is it hard and involved?

Voting is about as simple as it gets. All you have to do is send a blank email to freshblood@chizinepub.com with “Fresh Blood Vote - Heart of the City” in the subject line. It’s as easy as that. They’ll accept one vote per unique email address and voting closes on July 14th at midnight EST.

• What are some of the good experiences that have come from this contest?

On the whole, this contest has been an exceptional experience. It’s been a crash course in the art of self-promotion and networking, which I needed. Plus, no matter what happens, I’ll come away from it with feedback from a field of professionals, feedback that I know will help me to make the novel even stronger.


But I think the best part about it has been the people I’ve met through the contest, the community of writers that I’ve connected with while trying to drum up support for Heart of the City. Seeing people who hadn’t even known me before the contest going above and beyond to support and encourage me, well that’s a feeling like no other.

• What difficulties have you faced and how have you over come them?

Self-promotion has never come easy for me. For a long time in my life, my writing was something I kept private. Even friends I’d had for years often didn’t know that I was a writer. So having to go to the opposite end of the spectrum and push so hard to promote myself was really very difficult. I’m a pretty determined person though, and I want very badly to succeed as a writer, so I did my best to learn as I went and to just go with it.

• Any lessons learned from this experience?

Absolutely. I’ve learned to have more confidence in myself and in my work, and that sometimes I just need to get out of my own way. I’ve learned that it’s okay to let people know how important something is to me. I’ve learned that there are great people out there who are willing to share their experiences and their expertise to help out a fellow writer. I’ll take those lessons with me now and apply them to whatever comes next.

• Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Lisa. I wish you the very best in this contest.

Question to readers and authors: What benefits have you had entering contests?

Here's the blurb on Heart Of The City:

The Phoenix particle, created to burn out and replace damaged DNA, should have been the medical breakthrough of the century. Instead, it was the beginning of the end, its fires decimating person after person and city after city with a ferocity its creator could never have imagined. But cities don’t die so easily. The Phoenix particle was engineered to remember, and in the ashes, the particles remain, carrying within them the genetic blueprint from the billions fallen prey to the burning. And the Phoenix still has a mission, to pass on that information.


Eva Moline—immune to its devastation—is the perfect conduit for the Phoenix. She’s prepared to help put the world back together in any way she can, even when she feels the Phoenix at work inside of her, somehow sentient, somehow knowing. As the children of the Phoenix grow to term in Eva’s womb, so does the essence of each city become a part of her. And as Eva joins the creator of the Phoenix in a cross-country journey from city to ruined city, she must decide whether she’s recreating a world or giving birth to monsters.

Excerpt

Lisa Koosis & Taffy

Originally from Long Island, Lisa A. Koosis currently lives in New York’s historic Hudson Valley. She was recently named the grand prize winner in Family Circle's 2009 fiction contest. Over the past few years her short stories have appeared in an assortment of publications including Abyss & Apex, Meadowhawk Press’s "Touched by Wonder" anthology, Susurrus Press’s “Neverlands and Otherwheres” anthology, and Murky Depths. In 2006 she was awarded second place in Poughkeepsie Journal's Talespinners short fiction contest, which was judged by a celebrity panel including bestselling author, Da Chen, and Michael Korda, former Editor in Chief of Simon & Schuster. Mr. Korda called her work, "sharply written and nicely conceived." Lisa is a dedicated and prolific writer of speculative fiction, and a former fiction manager at Barnes & Noble.

Find Lisa online.

It's A Grand Old Fourth and "Research" Fun

Hope everyone enjoyed all the bing, bang, and boom of fireworks this past weekend. From what I’ve heard from various friends, outside picnic tables were groaning from all the food with lots of laughter and family fun.

My mom had a swimming/BBQ party on Saturday. My mom had 6 boys and 3 girls. All but three have children—at least two or more, except me, with one. My mom has eleven grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Even a small family gathering, meaning not all her children, is a big thing. So we tend to do potluck and since we never know for sure who will bring friends—especially the younger generation—we tend to bring extra. We only had a small group; twenty but had enough food to have fed easily twice that amount. We Celts are big on family, food, music, and fun. We had all that as per usual. No fireworks, but plenty of everything else.

 

I had a ball in the pool with the littlest of our clan, my 7-month-old grandniece, Nikki, who thinks she’s part fish. *eyeroll. I spent most of the time trying to keep her face out of the water. Good luck with that. She wanted to do what big sissy, two and a half year old Joss was doing or she wanted to get to great grandma, or my son, Jake. Nikki watched him swim under water grab his aunt; Nikki’s grandmother and I saw that measuring look in her eyes. Ohhh no you don’t you little mer-baby. She wanted to though. Teach me to read aloud from Judi Fennell’s Mer books when she was a tiny thing.

My husband had planned to take our son and I to a big firework display, but my son opted to stay down with his cousins. They live within walking distance of Skyfire, one of the biggest firework shows in their county, held at the local airport. So we decided to stay home. Not that I missed out on fireworks. I may live in the middle of nowhere, or as I call it, out beyond the back forty, but I have neighbors within a mile radius that do some awesome fire power every year. All I have to do is go out in the yard, pull up a chair and watch the three pyro-neighbors try to outdo each other. At this rate, I’m going to start selling tickets, lol! My horses are not thrilled with all the noise, even as far away as the neighboring ranches are, and tend to stay up in the home pasture. Poor babies.

Writing? Pffft. Not this weekend, but I’m jumping into it the rest of the week.

• So, how was your weekend? C’mon, share some stories. :-)

Help me ease my conscience so I can pass off all the activities, more than listed here, as research. Yeah, that’s what it was, a research weekend.

Well, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. :-D

Thank you for the Award, Hawk!

• This week: Will be announcing winners of Kathryne Kennedy's, Fire Lord's Lover.

See my Review of Wild Irish Sea by Loucinda McGary.

•  
• I have a friend I'll be interviewing with regard promotion styled contests.

• Friday, I have Debut erotic romance author, Kilt Kilpatrick. He should be fun.

Melding Life And Wrting

It's my pleasure to have, Kathryne Kennedy, visting with us today. Kathryne has the knack of creating magical worlds and inviting you to come play. She's a wonderful storyteller with a great sense of humor and the ability to connect you with her characters and world.

There is a much work involved with creating a new series. It's not only one story you have to concern yourself with, but several. By the time an author has sold the series, they must not only define the world and its laws, but give a character sketch of each set of characters in the projected series, and a brief synopsis of each of the projected stories within the series.

So how does an author juggle their life and the life of the world of characters?


A big hello to Sia and all of her readers! It’s a pleasure to be back here again.


It was suggested that I write a post about how I juggle my writing life and my real life, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don’t necessarily juggle. It’s more of a melding of the two.

The great thing about being a writer is that you can work anywhere, and inspiration comes at any time. The most common places for me to have sudden inspiration is in the shower (which is why I keep a notebook in there, although my bathroom floor has a tendency to get soapy and wet), that fuzzy state between waking and sleeping, while I’m talking with my family about my latest book, and whenever I just relax and rest. It’s almost as if the back of my brain is constantly working and it just takes a nudge to allow it to come out.


So truly, I guess I’m thinking about writing all of the time, especially when I get caught up in a new magical world like the one I created in The Fire Lord’s Lover. It explains many things. Like, why I have a tendency to wander off in the middle of a conversation, and have to ask my friend what in the world I was talking about to get back on track. Or why I have a tendency to walk into the corners of walls, or forget why I went into a room, or where I was going.


Is that why writers are thought of as a bit kooky?


Or is it just me? Maybe other writers have a way to juggle both worlds and I just haven’t mastered the trick of it yet. But I can see someone make a gesture and I’ll immediately think of how I can incorporate that into my character. Or watch people interact and think of how charming that would be for my hero/heroine. Or fall in love with a character from a movie and launch into an entirely new world with evolved characters of my own. Or see a wedding and wonder what characteristics made these two fall in love with each other and how they managed to overcome any obstacles in their way. Or suddenly wonder why things are the way they are, and what could change to alter the world as it is? Or see a single girl, and create a man that would be perfect for her. Or vice versa.


I lived, breathed, and slept The Fire Lord’s Lover. I can’t turn the creativity on and off, although there are times when my imagination stalls, and other times when it jumps so far ahead of me that I can’t see the ending of where it’s taking me.


But despite looking like a bit of an airhead most of the time, I have to admit that I love it. There’s an old saying that life is what you make it, and I think that’s true. What you carry around in your head, what thoughts you choose to focus on, becomes your life; because it’s the way you perceive your world (that half-empty, half-full glass of water thing).


For me, I carry around love stories, new worlds of magic, characters that charm me, adventures that I can lose myself in. My life is wonderful, no matter what I’m doing in the ‘real’ world, so maybe not being able to juggle is a good thing.

• If you’re a writer, do you find yourself thinking about your writing most of the time?
•  
• Or if you’re an avid reader, do you find yourself remembering a great scene from a novel you just finished reading?

I’d love to hear about it!

~ * ~ * ~* ~

Fire Lord's Lover

If his powers are discovered, his father will destroy him...

In a magical land ruled by ruthless Elven Lords, the Fire Lord's son Dominic Raikes plays a deadly game to conceal his growing might from his malevolent father, until his arranged bride awakens in him passions he thought he had buried forever.


Unless his bride kills him first...


Lady Cassandra has been raised in outward purity and innocence, while secretly being trained as an assassin. Her mission is to bring down the Elven Lord and his champion son. But when she gets to court she discovers that nothing is what it seems, least of all the man she married...


Then Dominic and Cassandra together discover an unspeakable evil, one that threatens the destruction of the magical realm they would give their souls to save... Excerpt

See my review (4 1/2 stars a great read, must have book) for this series and book at Night Owl Reviews

Buy: Amazon,  Barnes and Noble,  Borders, BooksAMillion,  Chapters/Indigo.

Kathryne Kennedy is a multipublished, award-winning author of magical romances. She’s lived in Guam, Okinawa, and several states in the U.S., and currently lives in Arizona with her wonderful family—which includes two very tiny Chihuahuas.

She welcomes readers to visit her website where she has ongoing contests at: http://www.kathrynekennedy.com/.

Oh YES, I Can!

My guest is romance author, Marie Force. Readers may be familiar with Line Of Scrimmage and Love At First Flight. Marie writes with humor and creates memorable characters.


Recently Marie branched into Romantic Suspense. She had a particular premise in mind for a series but was told it wouldn’t work. Never tell a stubborn Celt it can’t be done, as she explains:




“You can’t write a romance series that features the same couple in every book. You just can’t.”

I love the word “can’t.” I really do. Telling me I can’t do something is like dangling a red blanket in front of a bull. It just makes me want to scream CAN SO at the top of my lungs. But rather than getting mad after everyone and her sister told me I couldn’t do it, I decided to get even. I wrote FATAL AFFAIR, intending for it to launch a series featuring Washington, D.C. Police Lieutenant Sam Holland and her love interest, U.S. Senator Nick Cappuano. I worked hard in FATAL AFFAIR to surround Sam and Nick with a rich cast of supporting characters, and I put them in a city that will provide endless sources of story and conflict for my fearless duo as well as their friends and family.


I wrote that book, I loved that book, and my agent loved it, too. Knowing the series idea would be a tough sell to romanceland, I decided to start book 2 just to make sure I could get this plan to work the way I thought it would. (Another no-no in the writing world: starting book 2 before you sell book 1. Did someone say, “can’t”? Hmmm, thought so.)

We put FATAL AFFAIR out on submission and guess what we were told? You just can’t write a romance series featuring the same couple in every book. You can’t. Ouch. I mean, I knew it, but I still hoped someone might be willing to take a teeny tiny risk that maybe, just maybe, I COULD write a series featuring the same couple in every book. That maybe, just maybe, rabid romance readers would connect with this couple and want more, more, more! That maybe, just maybe, as a rabid romance reader myself, I knew what it took to make this work.


Meanwhile, back at book 2, I was finding it downright difficult to keep up the conflict in the relationship of my newly in love couple. You know that stage—the rose-color glasses phase when everything is hunky dory? Well, of course I couldn’t let them be TOO happy, now could I? I was 50,000 words into FATAL JUSTICE and being challenged like I’d never been challenged before when I got the official word that FATAL AFFAIR hadn’t sold.

What’s a girl to do?

Well, scream and yell and punch a few things (not people, don’t worry, although I did give my kids a heads up that it was a good day to steer clear of Mom :-). After the hissy fit subsided, my mulish Irish pride kicked in, and I set out to finish that second book.


After a significant amount of bone marrow and brain matter was donated to the cause, I finished with a scene that is probably my all-time favorite in any of my books. It took me a full year to write FATAL JUSTICE—four times longer than it took to write FATAL AFFAIR—and I finished with tears on my face because before I even wrote the words “THE END,” this book I loved with my all my heart was dead on arrival. No one would ever see it.

A year later, I sold FATAL AFFAIR to Carina, which opened its doors promising to blow the lid off the publishing world. And last week, on the fifth anniversary of the day I wrote “THE END” for the very first time in my life, Carina bought FATAL JUSTICE—eighteen months after the DOA day.

Guess what?

OH YES, I CAN!


I couldn’t be more delighted to have found a home for these two books, and hopefully more to come in this series. I couldn’t be more delighted to be working with editors who can see the potential and possibilities for Sam, Nick, and their cast of supporting characters (yes, I’m talking to you, Angela James and Jessica Schulte!). I couldn’t be more delighted to be working with the savvy, professional, incredibly author-centric group behind Carina as well as the Harlequin team supporting this effort. Every aspect of my association with Carina has been a delight.

And how about that cover?

Whoa! They gave me everything I asked for and then some!

When someone tells you that you can’t do something? Do it anyway. You just never know where it will lead you.

What about you? Have you ever been told *it can't be done*, and proven them wrong?

~ * ~ * ~

Fatal Affair

On the morning of the most important vote of Senator John O’Connor’s career he is late—again. His best friend and chief of staff, Nick Cappuano sets off to O'Connor’s apartment expecting to roust him from bed and hoping he is alone. But what Nick finds is that O’Connor, the handsome, amiable Senator from Virginia, has been brutally murdered, and Nick’s world comes crashing down around him. Complicating the disaster, the detective assigned to the case is none other than Sam Holland, Nick’s one-night stand from six years earlier, the woman who broke his heart and haunts his dreams. With six years worth of unfinished business hanging between them and more than a few scores to settle personally and professionally, Nick and Sam set out to find the senator's killer while trying—and failing—to resist the overwhelming attraction between them that seems to have only grown over the years.


It soon becomes clear that the senator’s past holds secrets that not only led to his death but now endanger Nick and Sam as well. Working together to find a killer and to rediscover the love they thought they lost long ago, they must put the past behind them and build a future that offers a world of new opportunities for both of them—including an offer from the Virginia Democrats for Nick to finish the last year of John’s term.

Excerpt

Buy

Marie Force’s first romantic suspense, FATAL AFFAIR, will be out June 21, 2010 from Carina Press. Book 2 in the Fatal Series, FATAL JUSTICE, is coming soon from Carina. She is also the author of LINE OF SCRIMMAGE and LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT. Of LINE OF SCRIMMAGE, Booklist said, “With its humor and endearing characters, Force’s charming novel will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, reaching far beyond sports fans.” Wild on Books said, “LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT by Marie Force is most definitely a keeper. It is an astounding book. I loved every single word!” A third contemporary, EVERYBODY LOVES A HERO, is due out Feb. 1, 2011. Since 1996, Marie has been the communications director for a national organization similar to the Romance Writers of America. She is a member of RWA’s New England, From the Heart and Published Author Special Interest Chapters. While her husband was in the Navy, Marie lived in Spain, Maryland and Florida, and is now settled in her home state of Rhode Island. She is the mother of two children and a feisty dog named Brandy.
 

Find her at www.mariesullivanforce.com,

on her blog at http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com,

on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Force/248130827909

and on Twitter at twitter.com/MarieForce. Marie loves to hear from readers. Contact her at marie@marieforce.com.