Having Fun With Donna MacMeans

My guest is Historical Romance author, Donna MacMeans. Aside from being a lot of fun in person, she writes some fabulous books which make you laugh and sigh. I'm happy to be welcoming her back to Over Coffee. Isn't her cover gorgeous?

Thanks Sia for having me here today.


I had so much fun writing this last book, I’m hoping readers will enjoy it as well.  In particular, I had great fun with my hero, Michael Rafferty, and his sidekick Phineas Connor, a secondary character who I’m guessing will have his own book one of these days.  Michael Rafferty is the muscle of the two.  He’s an Irishman who works for British Intelligence.  He’s well-acquainted with London’s underbelly.  The bad guys that live in the sewers there are well acquainted with his fists.  His best friend and associate, Phineas Connor, is a stage magician and a master of disguise.  I patterned the relationship on James West and Artemis Gordon from the Wild Wild West - the TV show, not the movie.

When I first clicked on the men’s relationship, I thought I’d watch some reruns of that show for a little character study.  Somehow I don’t remember the series being quite as campy as it is on my dvds (grin).  Memories work that way I guess.  I remember my brother and I watching the show after school.  James West was like an American James Bond for the Victorian period.  Remember their private railroad car with all the cool gadgets?  I understand that the show is now considered one of the first examples of Steampunk.

            
I also learned that the show was cancelled at the height of its popularity because SOMEONE decided it was too violent.  (Remember when James West punched the woman with the knife in the animated segments?)  Robert Conrad was known for doing his own stunts so I imagine the insurance costs to produce the show didn’t exactly aid its longevity.  Anyway, I don’t have to worry about either of these things in my REDEEMING THE ROGUE.  I’m not sure you can say I have a lot of violence in the book, but there are an awful lot of dead bodies.  This book definitely has a high body count.  Fortunately, the insurance cost for fictional characters is eminently affordable (grin). 

Here’s an excerpt so you can get a taste for the relationship of these two:

The vaguely annoying threat of a knife pressed to the small of his back gave Michael Rafferty pause.

“Your valuables or your life,” a guttural voice hissed.  “I reckon a couple of swanks like you two have nice fat pockets.”

Michael glanced at his associate.  Receiving his slight nod, Rafferty turned abruptly, rapping the miscreant’s hand sharply with his walking stick.  The knife fell and slid along the street.  Deprived of his weapon, the thief resorted to his fists but soon discovered he was out-classed there as well.  Rafferty had the man’s face pressed to the side of a well-appointed Mayfair townhouse with his arm twisted in a painful hold.

“Well done.”  His companion applauded.  “You didn't need my assistance at all.”

Rafferty winced, feeling the sting of a cut on his lip.  The bloody bugger had landed one lucky punch.  Blast that it had been the fist with a ring.


“Some of that famous sleight of hand would have been appreciated,” Rafferty said, shaking his hair clear from his eyes.  “Or is that only for the stage?”

His friend, the renowned Phineas Connor master of illusion, laughed.  “My performance on stage is limited to cards and doves.  You’re the one, Rafferty, known for his fists.”  He glanced at Rafferty’s captive.  “At least among the Irishmen that should know better.”

The man squirmed. “Rafferty?  Is that you?”  He swore like a seaman, which —based on his filthy rags — he could have been.  “I swear I didn’t know.”

Rafferty tugged the crook’s arm higher and heard fabric rip.  “Check his pockets.”

While Phineas rummaged through the man’s clothing, Rafferty glanced around the corner of the building to a line of hansoms in front of a stylish townhouse.  Such an elite gathering might offer temptation for the kind of criminal he held captive.  “This is a dapper neighborhood for a wharf rat like you.”

“I was minding me own business until you two came along,” the thief muttered.

Silver glinted in Phineas’s hand, the contents of the thief’s pocket.  Rafferty gave the man a shake.  “A half-crown?  Who else did you rob tonight?”
 

            “I didn't rob nobody.  That was for a message.  Half now and half when I brings the reply.”

              “What sort of reply did you expect to a knife in the back?” Rafferty tugged the arm, earning a squeal from the thief.

            “The message weren’t for you.  I was to hand-deliver it to a lady, I was.  I thought you two was easy pickings while I waited for her to show.”

            Phineas retrieved an envelope from the crook’s jacket.  No name or address was noted on the front but a blob of red wax sealed the back.  He bounced the letter off his fingertips.  “Nice quality stationery.  Too nice for the likes of a gutter rat.”

            “Who’s the lady?”  Rafferty asked.  When an answer wasn’t immediately forthcoming, he tugged the twisted arm higher.  “Tell me before your arm leaves its socket.”


            “I don’t know her name,” the cutpurse bellowed, his eyes squeezed shut.  “All I know is she’s dressed in green and she’s going to that party of swells.”  He slid his face on the limestone to point the way with his chin.


            “Barnell said…” His eyes widened and his mouth clamped shut. 

You might notice that Rafferty is a little rough around the edges.  As he’s about to be assigned a mission to masquerade as a British diplomat assigned to Washington DC, he’s going to need some sprucing up.  That’s where my heroine comes in.  Lady Arianne Chambers is the  sister to a duke who agrees to transform the rogue into something more convincing for his mission.  It’s sort of a reverse Pygmalion.  All to solve a mystery and catch a killer.

Publishers Weekly neatly summed up the story this way:  Irish rebellion, smuggled guns, and the assassination of American president James Garfield form a lively backdrop for this sweet, sexy, and smartly told Victorian romance.

Romantic Times gave REDEEMING THE ROGUE a 4.5 Top Pick with the comment: [Redeeming the Rogue] is pure joy; funny, sexy and exciting.”

I hope you will give it a try.  I’m running a contest with a Kindle as a prize.  You can find the details at www.DonnaMacMeans.com.

Plus I’ll give a copy of REDEEMING THE ROGUE to someone leaving a comment that tells me their favorite character(s) from an old TV show.  (Old of course being relative - grin).


Buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound, Powells 

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Before beginning her writing career in earnest, Donna MacMeans kept books of a different nature. A certified public accountant, she recently abandoned the exciting world of debits and credits to return to her passion: writing witty and sensuous romances. Her debut novel, The Education of Mrs. Brimley, won the 2006 Golden Heart for Best Long Historical. Her second book, The Trouble with Moonlight, won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award for historical love and laughter. Originally from Towson, Maryland, she now resides in central Ohio with my husband, two adult children and her kitty keyboard companion, Shadow.

Visit her website at https://www.donnamacmeans.com

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Stephanie Rowe: Letting Go Of The Big Picture

My guest is Stephanie Rowe. She is is a nationally bestselling author of more than twenty books. You would think  writing a new story would be a piece of cake, wouldn't you? Well, you would be wrong as Stephanie shares with us.

I will admit it; I can make myself crazy sometimes. I'm one of those people who has all these goals and all this aspirations and a million things on my plate, and I can let it overwhelm me. And by overwhelm, I mean, paralyze to the point at which I am completely and utterly unable to perform.

Most specifically, it happens to me in my writing.

For example, when I sit down to brainstorm a new book, often I will become overwhelmed with how difficult it is to pull the story together. I feel like I have a hundred feelers out in different directions, and I can't get a handle on how it needs to all come together. I'll start feeling like the project is so huge that I can't manage it. I'll start to wonder how on earth I'm going to be able to pull four hundred coherent pages out of the 80 pages of seeming unconnected brainstorming on my computer.

At that point, I usually decide the idea is unworkable and decide to write a picture book instead. Since I can't draw, that's usually not the best idea, but since I have no standards and no expectations when it comes to a picture book, it feels like a brilliant idea.

But of course, the moment I start working on my stick figures of Pilfer the Penguin, my mind keeps drifting back to that one I've spent so much time on. I feel like the idea should work, but when I think of actually trying to write 400 pages on it, my brain goes numb and I lose feeling in my hair.

And that's when I look up and see the sign that I carefully penned and hung on the china cabinet that is directly across from the sofa where I like to work. It says, in bright purple marker:

One minute at a time.
One word at a time.

One small step at a time.

Keep your vision big, but your focus small.

The first time I read it, it doesn't register because I'm too busy feeling overwhelmed.

The second time I read it, it doesn't register because I'm too busy feeling overmatched.

But the third time I read it, I pause. I take a deep breath. And I realize what it means.

It means that although, yes, I need to ultimately write 400 pages that are wonderful, amazing and make my editor do the shriek with delight, the truth is that I don't need to worry about that right now. Right now, my only job is to relax, decide I'm going to have a little fun, and commit to spending thirty minutes playing around with the ideas.

Thirty minutes of play.

I can do that. No pressure to deliver. No pressure to have answers. No pressure to get it right.

Just thirty minutes of having a little fun.

Sometimes, I will even set the timer on my phone, and force myself to play with the idea for a half hour before I can take a break, worry about how it's going, or even think about writing the book.

Little by little, step by step, word by word, once I let go of hugeness of the task and focus only on a little, manageable bit, I can start to move forward again. Something meshes, and I chuckle. I have a cool idea and I jot it down. I don't worry about how it will all fit together. I don't worry that I've been brainstorming for four weeks and I still don't have a story. I simply play.

And then, out of the blue, the ideas will all start to come together. Once that happens, I will go from a state of seeming utter chaos to a complete story mapped out in a day or two without even trying. Why? Because I stopped trying so hard. I stopped putting so much pressure on myself to go from 0 to 100 in one step, and instead, I let myself go from 0 to A to Texas to 53.4 to tulip gardens and around and around until suddenly I found myself standing on 100.

It's not always easy for me. In fact, I just had to go through this latest exercise with my most recent book. Six weeks of brainstorming, a number of days of sheer panic, followed by a deep breath, retreat and relax. Then all of a sudden, click, click, click, everything fell into place and four days later, I'm 20k words into a book I gave up on several times.

• What tricks do you use to help yourself get through the tough moments when you're struggling to accomplish something big or important to you?

Leave a comment and be entered to win a copy of Touch if You Dare.
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Touch If You Dare--Soulfire series, Book #2

To save their respective siblings, Jarvis Swain and Reina Knight will have to team up to trick Death himself.

Who better than a bad-ass warrior on a mission? Jarvis Swain is the ruthless, confident aggressor Reina knows she needs at her back--someone even she can't screw up. This unlikely darkside duo with impressive deadly superpowers of their own may just prove that two wrongs together can be more than right...Excerpt 

Buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million

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Stephanie lives in New England, and spends every day doing her best to fill it with people, observations and activities that uplift her soul, which include writing, tennis, friends, and  her amazing family.
Four-time RITA® Award nominee and Golden Heart® Award winner Stephanie Rowe is a nationally bestselling author of more than twenty books. A life-long reader, she began crafting stories at age ten, but didn't realize it was her dream until she was an adult.


Once the light dawned, she immediately left behind "work" as the world defines it and went to "work" as she defines it, which means getting up every morning with a smile in her heart so she can spend the day doing that which makes her spirit sing.


Stephanie believes in learning to listen to your heart in order to figure out what your dreams are, and then opening yourself to the inspiration that will direct you there. She believes we all deserve the right to enjoy life, and for the ride to be as easy as we want it to be, and that we all should accept nothing less than making our dreams come true. Find Stephanie on her website http://www.stephanierowe.com and on Facebook

MONDAY MUSINGS: Wading Into The Deeps—Conflict And Drama

A Tsunami Storm--notice the person standing there? 

There is no doubt that JR Ward is a successful author. But did you know, at one point she found herself without a contract and having to reinvent herself as a writer?

JR had some success in writing romance but she had a problem with setting a strong black moment, personally didn’t like conflict and so had some problems inserting it into her stories. She says, “I was trying manufacture specific endings and forcing characters into places I thought they should go—as opposed to just letting them do what they’re going to do and getting out of the way.” (Oh, I have so been there and done that!)

Once she lost her contract she had some serious thinking to do. JR started began to read books on craft and even went so far as to take books she enjoyed and deconstructed them chapter by chapter. Her focus was on how to identify, magnify, and resolve conflict between characters. Granted, she ended up tossing much of the formal stuff and *rules* out of her writing process and plots but the studying changed the way she looked at her writing.

JR’s story resonated with me, especially conflict. I’m one that doesn’t like a lot of drama and conflict in my personal life and will go out of my way to avoid it. It’s called looking for and maintaining a peaceful environment—give me lots of sunshine and butterflies.

This is a good thing for my personal life but bad for my stories. 

Conflict and drama are necessary components for a good story. I’m learning that big and messy is okay as is upping the stakes by by adding some hefty thunderstorms of adversity. There’s nothing wrong in pulling out the darker emotions or putting characters in emotional or physically precarious situations. I haven’t gotten it all down but I've been practicing and I’m getting more comfortable in the emotional deeps.

I understand what JR Ward is coming from when she says: “I used to hate conflict. Now when I write, I wallow in it…going dark was something I was steered away from. Now that’s where I’m most comfortable—because I know the inevitable redemption at the end burns all the more brightly for the contrast.”

What about you? Are you comfortable in depths with emotional conflicts? Dramas and the dark places? Or are you inclined to explore those conflicts with humorous situations and laughter?

What are some things you’ve had to overcome to make a better and more satisfying story? 

• .This week's guests OVER COFFEE: Wednesday, Stephanie Rowe and Friday, Donna MacMeans

World Building With Jennifer Estep

My guest today is Jennifer Estep. She's a USA Today bestselling author of the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, the Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series, and the Bigtime paranormal romance series.


I'd say she might know a bit about successful world building in a story. I had a chance to pick her brain a bit about world building in her Mythos Academy series.

Most of us associate world building to paranormal and Sci-Fi. How important is world building to a story? 

JE: World building is always important in a story, no matter what genre you’re writing in. You always want to transport readers to another place, whether it’s a small town, an alien planet, or a medieval castle. You want to make folks feel like they are right there in the story with your characters, having a burger and fries at the local diner; or exploring a hot, muggy, tropical rainforest; or even feeling their toes go numb as they trudge through a mountain blizzard. You want people to connect with your characters, and bringing your world to life is one way to help do that.

However, I would say that world building is a little more important when you’re writing a fantasy/sci-fi book. Readers who enjoy those genres expect to see a lot of magic, sorcery, science, technology, etc. You have to create a world where those things are possible, and then make readers feel like they are in the middle of your world, whatever and wherever it is.

While you were writing Touch of Frost, did you already have an idea in mind for a setting/location for Mythos Academy or did you have to do some research for it?

JE: The great thing about writing fantasy is that you get to create your own world. I didn’t really do any research about the setting/location. I knew that I wanted Mythos Academy to be a private/boarding type of school with a Southern, mountainous setting, so I came up with Cypress Mountain, my fictional suburb that’s supposedly near Asheville, North Carolina.

After that, it was just a matter of deciding what sort of buildings the academy needed and how I could use the buildings and their descriptions to give the whole campus a dark, creepy, mythological feel.

Is Mythos Academy patterned or inspired by any building/structure you've visited or come across?

JE: No, the academy isn’t really patterned on any specific building. But several years ago, I visited the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee, which I thought had some really cool architecture. Visiting the Parthenon reminded me how much I’ve always liked mythology and made me think that it would be fun to write a mythology-based story someday. And now, I have.

How do you decide what to include in your description of Mythos Academy (buildings, etc)? Was it difficult to write Mythos Academy at all?

JE: It wasn’t too hard for me to dream up the academy. Since it’s a school setting, I knew that there needed to be some school-type buildings, so I designed an upper quad where students spend most of their time. The quad features five buildings – the Library of Antiquities, the dining hall, the gym, the math-science building, and the English-history building.

Basically, these buildings tie in with everything that students would normally do, as well as some things that only the Mythos kids do. These buildings give students a place to eat (the dining hall); a place to go to classes (English-history and math-science); a place to train with weapons (the gym); and a place to study and socialize after classes (the library). There are also student dorms on campus, along with some other outbuildings.

I decided to use these buildings because I thought I could stage a lot of different scenes in and around the various buildings – everything from Gwen doing weapons training with the other students in the gym to her wandering through the library to her walking across campus late at night.

Complete this: Mythos Academy would cease to exist if _____ is missing. (Can be a person, place, an object, etc.)

JE: The Library of Antiquities. The library is a seven-story tall building with towers, parapets, and balconies. Gwen says it looks like something out of an old, Gothic horror movie. The library is also covered with statues of mythological creatures like gryphons, gargoyles, dragons, chimeras, and more, which adds to the creepiness factor. Inside, the library features hundreds of thousands of books, along with glass cases that contain artifacts that have been used by various gods, goddesses, heroes, and more – things like armor, weapons, jewelry, etc. There are also marble statues of gods and goddesses on the second floor balcony of the library.

The Library of Antiquities definitely the centerpiece of the academy and where a lot of the action in all the books in the series takes place. It’s also a place where the kids can Hang Out and Be Seen, as Gwen puts it.

Any advice for writers on how to effectively build worlds for their books?

JE: I think you just have to think about your story, your characters, and go with your instincts. What do you want your setting to be? How will it impact your characters and the overall story? Where are the places that your characters are likely to interact? What can you do to make these places special, interesting, unique, and memorable? How can you give a house or restaurant or graveyard a distinct look, feel, and personality of its own and make it almost become another character in your story?

Those are some of the things that folks might think about when it comes to world building. Also, you don’t have to go overboard on the description of a house, restaurant, etc. Small, subtle touches here and there can really add up and give your world/book a lot of atmosphere and personality. 

Jennifer, thank you so much for taking time from your busy schedule to be here and share your thoughts on the importance of building a believable world regardless of the genre we write.

Touch of Frost Available July 26th

Gwen Frost is an outsider at Mythos Academy, a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword. Gwen is an outsider both to the students of the Academy and the rest of the world. But when her gift of psychometry - the ability to know an object's history just by touching it reveals dark undercurrents and danger afoot, she has no choice but to get involved. EXCERPT

BUY: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, Borders

Available in both print and e-format. You can also read the prequel, First Frost for 99 cents from the above on-line stores in e-format..

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Jennifer Estep is a Southern gal through and through. Sassy, sarcastic, and just a tad crazy.  She happens to think the greatest thing ever created was a library. Indoor plumbing is a close second, though. She has a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism, and a master’s degree in professional communications. Currently, I’m an award-winning features page designer for a daily newspaper.

Jennifer has worked as a features writer and page designer for a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper and has more than 10 years of journalism experience. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and other writing groups.

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Jennifer’s books have been featured in Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, Southern Living, and a variety of other publications. You can follow her on Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter.

Teapots, Chicken Bog and PJs

My guest today is USA Bestselling author,Catherine Mann. She shares some thoughts that aren't new to any of us in today's world. Seems like we all have too much to do and not enough time to do it all. Catherine also shares an excerpt of her newest series on Elite Forces.

Raise your hand if you’re overworked, stressed, maxed out and need a vacation?

Okay, I’m confident hands are shooting up fast. Mine sure has been raised especially high this week. Already exhausted and irritable, I raced through chores tonight while desperately searching for an idea for this blog that’s supposed to promote my new pararescue (PJ) series.

One of my kids walked by with a question – and I shushed her as I changed over laundry loads, needing to get back to the meal cooking on the stove. She did hush (probably because of the steam blasting from my ears as hot as the pan threatening to boil over!) As she walked away with her head down, my gaze gravitated to my teapot with four angel faces.

The laundry fell out of my hands and my eyes filled with tears.

To backtrack, I have over a dozen teapots, each with a story about how it came into my life. But the angel teapot… well, it’s special.

On the surface, it means a lot to me because my husband bought it for Mother’s Day, the four angel faces representing our four children.

However, the teapot has an even deeper significance. If you’ll notice in the photo, the teapot doesn’t have a lid. And it never will again.

Years ago, a dear friend of mine – Jeri - was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. Determined to stay active as long as possible, once she became wheelchair bound, she took pottery classes. Jeri asked a mutual pal of ours to sneak the lid from the angel teapot out of my house so she could make matching teacups. Jeri wanted to thank me for the chicken bog (a Southern recipe) that I often made for her, the one food she could stomach after chemo and radiation.

Jeri’s health faded faster than expected. She wasn’t able to make the cups.
As I went to see her in the hospital for the last time, on my way I mailed a manuscript to my agent. Usually when I sent off a manuscript, I would anxiously wait to hear back, wishing away the weeks, craving that sale call. But when I mailed the manuscript that day, I vowed to myself I would never again wish away time when Jeri would give anything for one more day with her husband and children.

Later, our friend who’d snuck the teapot lid from my house called to arrange to return the lid. I told her to please keep it. And I would keep the teapot open as a reminder of Jeri and the importance of cherishing each moment.

Tonight, the pot on my stove is full of chicken bog again for another family friend with cancer, the wife of my kids’ coach. My angel teapot is open. The laundry still isn’t finished. But I hugged my teenage daughter and listened to the song she wanted to share with me.

Then, I came downstairs to write this blog. And as I thought about Jeri, I also recalled the book I dedicated to her years ago, one of my early Wingmen Warriors books – FULLY ENGAGED. It features a breast cancer survivor heroine/pilot who falls for… a PJ. A pararescueman/parajumper. (http://www.catherinemann.com/fully-engaged/ )

Life came full circle for me in that moment as I thought about that PJ hero and how I’m now in the middle of launching an entire series about PJs. There it was. My blog topic – I needed to write about angel baby teapots, chicken bog for friends, PJ stories that celebrate heroes. How life weaves itself together if we take the time to celebrate each thread, each moment.

So right now, I’m celebrating the chance to blog (I do love to write!) I’m also grateful to have teenagers who do want to talk to me – most of the time. And I’m grateful for each of you who came over to read what I had to share today. Thank you. Truly.

• What is something or someone you’re grateful for this week?

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COVER ME BY CATHERINE MANN—IN STORES JULY 2011

It should have been a simple mission…


Pararescuman Wade Rocha fast ropes from the back of a helicopter into a blizzard to save a climber stranded on an Aleutian Island, but Sunny Foster insists she can take care of herself just fine…

But when it comes to passion, nothing is ever simple…

With the snowstorm kicking into overdrive, Sunny and Wade hunker down in a cave and barely resist the urge to keep each other warm… until they discover the frozen remains of a horrific crime…

Unable to trust the local police force, Sunny and Wade investigate, while their irresistible passion for each other gets them more and more dangerously entangled… Excerpt (bottom of website page) Book Trailer

BUY: In stores or online and print or e-book.  Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million

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USA Today bestseller Catherine Mann has over two million books in print in more than twenty-five countries.  A RITA Award winner, she resides in the Florida panhandle with her military flyboy husband, their four children, and an ever-growing menagerie of pets.  Find Catherine on Facebook at Catherine Mann (Author) and Twitter @CatherineMann1.  Or check out her website at: http://www.catherinemann.com/. 

BASKETS, BOOKS, AND BAKING...A Writer’s Collection Of Hats.

My guest is the award winning romance author, Holly Jacobs. She shares her thoughts on her daily *water cooler* chat breaks and the various hats we tend to wear.


Like all women, I wear a lot of hats. I’m a wife, mother, daughter, granddaughter, friend, sister-in-law, aunt... I’m also a splitter of wood, a dogwalker, and a basketweaver. I’m a writer, an off-key kitchen singer, and speaking of kitchen’s, I’m a baker and a cook. I’m a sci fi geek. I’m a... Okay, you get the point, I’m a lot of different things to a lot of different people.



Available September 2011

Until Facebook and Twitter, most people knew me by a handful of titles, but certainly not by all. Most of my readers might have realized I had kids since kids are so prominent in many of my books, but they might not have known I bake bread. Some people might have known that I have a slight (stop laughing, slight is accurate, I mean, the water in a swimming pool seems slight when measured against an ocean) coffee addiction, but might not have realized how much I enjoy home improvement projects.


Here’s the thing, writing is a solitary occupation, and Facebook/Twitter have become my daily water cooler. I love to go hang out with friends there. And while I love talking about my books and do tweet about new releases (tweet...tweet...A Father’s Name is out in September!!), and awards (A One-of-a-Kind Family just won RomCon’s Readers’ Crown, a Golden Quill Award and Write Touch Readers’ Award) even I can’t manage to talk about my books daily. And really, even if someone enjoys my books (and I hope many do) I can’t imagine they’d want to read tweets on them daily. So I do a lot of water cooler talk. Some are simple observations...garden talk, travel talk. Some is even more inane...today’s tweetable insight? I had homemade granola for breakfast. Not the most scintillating thing! LOL But it’s oh-so good. I’ve been making granola the last few months, and love that I can make it to taste. Not exactly a book related tweet, is it? But I do enjoy talking about things I enjoy. I bought a new artisan bread book and until summer’s heat dissuaded me, was making bread daily. And when I bought Beverly Lewis’s cookbook and fell in love with the Golden Angel food cake in it (yes, you can use egg yolks in an angel food cake!), I had fun talking to friends about the recipes.

And then there’s the basketmaking. I started taking classes a year ago, and I make a few baskets a month. I love the creativity of it. If you get good enough at it, it’s an artform. I’m still a novice, and my baskets are the fingerpainting of basketweaving, but I really enjoy the process. And so far, my Facebook/Twitter friends don’t seem to mind when I tweet my basket joy.


I have a lot of fun sharing glimpses of all the hats I wear with friends. And I love learning about them as well. I love getting glimpses of other people’s lives. I enjoy looking at pics of grandkids and sunsets. And I enjoy hearing who baked what, and who loves Mondays as much as I do. (My Monday Glee isn’t shared with everyone...I know, who knew?? LOL) And I love hearing about other people’s pets. I have two dogs, Ethel Merman and Ella Fitzgerald, and frequently puppysit my daughter’s two dogs, Boogers and Cosmo. I love dogs. And without FB, I might not have realized how many other people adore their pets, and I might not have read about how committed Catherine Mann is to fostering dogs. And I’d always loved Cathy’s books, and Cathy herself, but getting introduced to this particular “hat” she wears made me respect her even more!

That’s the things, watercoolers and Facebook/Twitter–they are places where you can learn more about people than just their work. I think they’re a great way to discover the many hats writers wear. My many and varied interests are reflected in my books. In the series I just sold, I have a character that works at/owns a coffeeshop, one who is a partner in a café, and one who owns a vineyard and is starting a winery. Yes, my love of coffee, food and wine is showing! And my Facebook and Twitter friends aren’t shocked! LOL


I’m sure as that September release date for A Father’s Name draws closer, I’ll talk about the book. I might reveal that because of my husband’s affinity for the Teutul’s motorcycle show, American Choppers I was inspired to make my heroine, Tucker, a graphic artist who does specialty painting on motorcycles and other vehicles. (And speaking of the Teutul’s, I’d really love to sit down with Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. wearing my Mom-hat and tell them both to get over it and make up!)


Now, everyone reading this blog wears multiple hats. Most you wear without really thinking about them.

But come on over the watercooler and share a “hat” that your friends might not know you wear.

Holly is a happily married mother of four. She and her family live in Erie County Pennsylvania. She writes for Harlequin, Silhouette and Avalon Books and has sold over 2 million copies of her books worldwide. You can visit Holly at http://www.hollyjacobs.com/, at Facebook or on Twitter

Real Housewives? Meet The Real Duchesses Of London

Before there were Housewives there were The Real Duchesses of London...

I freely admit it. I am a Bravo Real Housewives junkie. I did hide it for awhile, feeling there were so many other things that I could be watching -- and that I probably should actually be writing. It always seemed slightly discreditable, like eating ice cream in bed. And it certainly didn’t help that my husband would roll his eyes and say -- that again -- when I turned it on.

And then I realized what a great character study it was. Yes, all these women know they are being filmed and would probably act differently if they weren’t -- and yes, it is clear that the conflict is set-up to create better television. However, even with the set-up, real personalities definitely shine through. (Have to admit that it is just hot, catty, and fun as well.)

I particularly felt that way with The Real House Wives of Beverly Hills. They almost all lived in what could truly be called palaces (the beginnings of my The Real Duchesses of London idea) and they were clearly all appearing on Real Housewives simply because they wanted to. It was interesting to watch who wanted to play peacemaker, who wanted to be a peacemaker, and who wanted to pretend to be queen and live in her mansion on the hill. And then there were the clothes -- and the shopping -- and the jewelry.


Watching them play dress-up is what truly formed my idea. I watched these women getting ready for party after party (only to be outdone by the NY Housewives this last season) and it reminded me of what life must have been like during the Season in Regency England. I started to imagine a bunch of Regency women being filmed as they went about their daily lives and squabbled and made up.


Obviously, I couldn’t have the benefit of filming during the Regency and so I turned to my other, and much less disreputable, favorite, Downton Abby. I’d loved watching the original Upstairs, Downstairs when I was a child, and Downton Abby reaffirmed my love of watching the servants watching their "betters".

I began to wonder if I couldn’t have the servants watching my duchesses the way TV viewers watch Housewives. It was so much fun thinking about what was really going on in my duchesses’ lives, compared with what the maids thought was happening. I’d love to play around with this idea at longer length someday.


In the meantime, some of the characters from The Real Duchesess of London also appear in my release this coming October, What a Duke Wants.

Thanks you for having me over for coffee, Sia. It’s been fun.

I’d love to give away a copy of the first of my Real Duchesses novellas and one of the cute t-shirts with the cartoon from the book trailer.

And all I want to know is: Mr. Darcy? Or Jaime from Outlander? I definitely have my own favorite in mind.

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THE REAL DUCHESSES OF LONDON
Regency England just got real(ity)



Episode 1: How Kathryn Got Her Passion Back (June 2011)


Kathryn, Duchess of Harrington, has the perfect life: a handsome duke for a husband, riches to spare, a house in Mayfair, and the right group of friends. The only thing she doesn’t have is her husband in her bed. But she’s about to change that. Enlisting the aid of her best friend, Linnette, who knows about these things even though she’s a duchess herself, Kathryn begins her seduction plan.


But Linnette knows a secret and it involves Kathryn’s husband. And, when that comes out, Kathryn’s marriage isn’t the only thing at stake. Can you say Afternoon Tea Catfight?




Episode 2: The One with the Fake Baby (August 2011)


Rumors abound – everyone has heard that Linnette, the Dowager Duchess of Doveshire is pregnant. Beautiful, young, with more freedom than any respectable woman should want; Linnette is no stranger to a little gossip. But her friends can't help her brave the fallout, because this time Linnette has done something naughty...

BUY: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders

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Most days Lavinia Kent loves her life and knows that she has found her own happily-ever-after with her husband and three children But on those other days (you know which ones!), she is very glad for the wonderful romances, sensuous gowns, and tall, sexy men that fill her mind – and then her computer.

Lavinia lives in Washington, DC, with her family and an ever-changing menagerie of pets. She attended Wellesley College as an undergraduate and holds an MBA from Georgetown University.

What a Duke Wants is Lavinia’s fourth book from Avon Romance. She also has a fun and sexy serial of e-novellas, The Real Duchesses of London, available from Avon Impulse.

.Lavinia Kent WEBSITE

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