JUDI FENNELL—MAKING THE ORDINARY MAGICAL

My guest is the magical Judi Fennell. I just finished reading Magic Gone Wild and I have to say it's my favorite of the Genie books. This story is a genuinely fun read. It made me laugh, go awww a time or two, and I really love Vana and Zack. The chemistry between them is hot but there were some great moments of bantering and laughter. I also genuinely liked Vana's sidekick, a colorful phoenix called Merlin. He was pithy, had some great one liners, but he also had some sweet moments and he added to the story rather than detracted. For sure I love how Judi took an ordinary place and made it mystical. Isn't this cover gorgeous? 

I'll be putting up the Review shortly but I can already tell you it's worth the read and it will make you laugh and feel good as you read it. I don't know if it's Vana's pink smoke or creating magic via a kiss, or her term "holy smokes", could be Merlin, but all the magical ingredients come together so well and make the story so very entertaining! My Amazon Review

Hi Sia, and thanks for having me back to talk about my August release, Magic Gone Wild!

For those of you who have read my other books, you know that you’re in for a trip to somewhere magical, whether it’s a hidden merman’s lair off the coast of NJ or Atlantis, or a magical city in the Sahara desert, you’re going somewhere exotic, right?

Not this time. This time you’re going to northeast Pennsylvania, to one of the old steel towns. Why? Well, it’s actually a place our family visits. We have family in the area and we go up to visit, hike the canyon, swim in the swimming holes and creek (pronounced “crick” up there), stay in the cabin, and eat at Mike & Mary’s. Great family time in the outdoors with lots of hiking, fishing, and kayaking.

What a place for a genie to end up, right?

That little town will never be the same again. Actually, it hasn’t been the same for a hundred years when her previous master took the fall for her, um, shall we say magical mishaps?

Vana, short for Nirvana Aphrodite, and yes, she knows that name is not only a mouthful but impossible to live up to, might have, you know, jumped the gun (er, bottle) a bit on becoming a genie back in the day and didn’t quite finish her training.

The magic… it’s off.

And it did a number on her previous master’s reputation, one the new hero, Zane Harrison, has been trying to live down his entire life. It’s not easy to grow up as the object of ridicule. There was the pink square window in the church his great-grandfather built, or the story of the grist mill that went rolling around town on its own, the flying blueberries, and of course, the infamous vanishing-staircase incident. Zane’s sick of dealing with it so when he inherits the home, he comes to town to get it ready for sale.

Then he meets Vana and his world is turned upside down. (Don’t ask.) She’s beautiful, she means well, but she can’t seem to do anything right.

Well, okay, maybe there’s one thing she can do right. But with the hide-and-seek-playing gargoyles, the anthropomorphic furniture, the crazy stuff that happens in her bottle, and Merlin, the gender-inquisitive, cross-dressing phoenix, who’s always bursting (literally) in and out with his pithy words of wisdom, Zane’s afraid that not only won’t he be able to sell the place, but that maybe he’s suffering from the same affliction his great-grandfather was: Genie-itis.

When I start writing a story, I usually have the opening scene and a basic outline of the plot. I usually know my characters fairly well, though they always surprise me. But as I started this one, knowing that we weren’t going on any fantastical journey, I was a bit worried what my readers would think. Would it be the same experience? The same fun?

And then I wrote it. OMG, I had sooooooooo much fun writing this! Because, in the end, the story is about the characters. For all that we put them in fantastical situations or magical cities, the story is all about the characters. Vana and Zane have the same sorts of problems to overcome on their path to happily-ever-after as my other heroes and heroines. The pursuit of love and happiness, that falling in love feeling…

And, well, yes, maybe I did throw in a wee, tiny trip to the top of Mt. Damavand for a visit with the Fates. Those three had me laughing while I was trying to type fast enough to keep up with them. Now THEY were some characters!

So how to make the ordinary magical? Have the characters fall in love. After all, isn’t that the best magic of all?

• I always love hearing people’s falling-in-love stories. Care to share yours below?

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, INDIEBOUND

MAGIC GONE WILD BY JUDI FENNELL – IN STORES AUGUST 2012

Every Time She Uses Magic Something Goes Terribly Wrong...

Vana wishes she hadn't dropped out of genie training. Now she's determined to get a grip on both her genie magic and her life. But the harder she tries to fix things for her intriguing new master, the more she drives him crazy...

Except There's Nothing Ever Wrong About Him...

Pro–football player Zane Harrison finally has control of the family estate and is determined to put to rest his grandfather's eccentric reputation. Until he discovers that behind all the rumors is a real, live genie who stirs feelings in him he's never known before. The more Zane tries to help Vana harness her powers, the more her madcap magic entangles his heart... EXCERPT

Judi Fennell is the award-winning author of six light paranormal romances, including a trilogy of Mermen-inspired love stories, and three genie-inspired romances. Wild Blue Under won the PRISM Award for Best Light Paranormal from the Paranormal Chapter of Romance Writers of America. A former corporate meeting and convention planner, Judi now writes full time around the hectic schedules of her husband and teenagers. She lives in suburban Philadelphia, PA. For more information, please visit http://www.judifennell.com. You can also find Judi on Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter.

MONDAY MUSINGS—IN AWE OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS

I’m always in awe of creative people. It doesn't matter if it's a book they're writing, a room they're decorating, a new recipe, an outfit or a piece of artwork they're doing; the process is fascinating to watch, as is the end product. Especially those who see a concept and decide they can either do it better or they want to give it a try to see what they can come up with. Creative projects can refresh us. Our creativity in one area can jump start it in another.

I've been watching, with interest, a close friend of mine’s ongoing project over the past few months. Wendy’s renewing her vows next month and wanted to make it special (she tells me she’s as excited with the renewal ceremony as she was with her initial wedding).

The project, I’ve been watching with amazement, is her making her bouquet as well as all the flowers arrangements for her ceremony. Now, I have a brother-in-law who is an award winning designer—very creative and does beautiful work. He also designs floral arrangements for weddings and I’m well aware of the costs involved—even for simple arrangements. The bride’s bouquet usually averages about $150, depending upon the design. Factor in bridesmaids, boutineres, mothers’ corsages, table arrangements, and altar arrangements; you can easily spend $500 to a $1200 on flowers alone (and we won't talk about celebrity weddings). Mind boggling, isn’t it? You add some bling to the bouquets and you’re talking some major money.

Let me show you what Wendy has done.

Basic flowers and a few pieces of basic bling. Nothing remarkable. Sorta blah, but we see enough of the pieces to know where it's going. 


Much like a story we create. The scene has the basic components and then we edit. And this is where the lesson, you can't edit what doesn't exist, really comes into play.

Wendy called this a hot mess. She's editing and shading. 

Here's two of the boutineres
You can click on the pictures
and it will enlarge.

She's taken the basic flowers and bling and she's added a bit more ribbons and bows along with more interesting bling. There are some unique pieces here.

Over time she worked on various pieces of the arrangements, the corsages, boutineres, and the center bouquet. I have a lot of pictures but I'll spare you and show you what she had at the end of her first full edit:

An artist has an inner vision. Taking that vision and tweaking it through various edits until it resembles what we're seeing inside takes time and a certain amount of patience.

So long as our goal is to make our artistic project the best we can make it, we're moving forward. 

Sometimes we look at something and think, this is really nice but something's not working for me. Or something is missing. At this point we start moving or removing parts. As Wendy explained, she looked at it and thought, no, closed her eyes and started cutting. Ouch. That had to be painful. 

When you compare the two you see the work that went into the next edit of the arrangements.

Looks like a treasure chest, doesn't it? I recognize various pieces and I can see where Wendy has moved them for better effect. She's added more color, variety, and texture. The end result is fuller and richer. Not so crowded and the overall edit brought more impact to the piece. 

It's beautiful. 

What a difference between what she started out with and where she ended up.

The creative process is fascinating and reminds me that the process is a matter of stages and steps. It's also a matter of focus and an awareness of our overall vision. We can't lose sight of that or we end up with a mess.

Like Wendy says, everything has edits.

Most creative people I know are creative in more than one discipline. I think the variety adds pleasure to life. Switching from one to another refreshes and revives. Wendy is also an author but what she's created here is awesome.

• What about you? What's in your creative bucket?

FYI: There are a couple of interesting blog hops going on with some lovely prizes:

FOR INFO CLICK HERE

FOR INFO CLICK HERE

Jeannette Murray—Stealing Clothes

I'd like to welcome romance author Jeanette (Kat) Murray to Over Coffee. She's written the first book in her Semper Fi military romance series, The Officer Says I Do. It's a fun romantic read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I like the fact her story accurately depicts military life of family members. You can read my four star review HERE. 

But today she's covering a serious topic—women who steal men's clothes, lol! I, of course, never stole, I mean wore, any of my husband's clothes when he was deployed. Oops, was that lightning? Busted.

Thanks to the Sia McKye for having me! I’m so excited about my first paperback release, The Officer Says “I Do.” I might actually do a dance. Though really, nobody wants me to do that…it’s not pretty.

So instead I thought I would talk about a very serious topic. It’s something that my husband has been battling for months, nay years, and has yet to manage to come out victorious.

The Clothing Stealer.

Oh, that’s me, by the way. *waves* Hey! I steal clothes. But not just any clothes. My husband’s clothes. And only to wear around the house. See, he works nights sometimes, or he’s gone for drill over the weekend, or he’s gone for seven months on a deployment. And while I never suffer too greatly—hey, I’m a lady who likes the bed to myself—one thing I tend to catch myself doing a whole long more than I do when he’s home is wear his clothes.

It starts out innocently enough. A pair of his mesh basketball shorts to mow the lawn in. Mine are all in the wash, so it’s just practical. Then the house is freezing and I’m being cheap and don’t want to turn the heat on, so I use one of his oversized sweatshirts. Then it’s a t-shirt to sleep in, and another sweatshirt to cuddle with…

Before you know it, I’m using his side of the closet more than mine. But why? It’s not like these things make me look good. No. It’s the comfort factor. Despite the fact that I’m an independent woman and can handle myself for months at a time, I subconsciously seek out something familiar. The texture of his shirts, the smell of his sweatshirt, the warmth of layers (since he’s a furnace and I am always freezing).

It was this that prompted me to write about Skye stealing Tim’s sweatshirt and wearing it when he wasn’t looking.

• Ladies, do you ever steal, um, borrow your guy’s clothing?

BUY:AMAZON, B&N,
BAM

The Officer Says I Do

He’s a Marine…she grew up on a commune.

He always puts duty first…she’s a free spirit with an unshakable belief in Fate.

He loves routine and order…she brings chaos and creativity wherever she goes.

They’re going to balance each other perfectly—or drive each other completely, utterly insane…

On a wild pre-deployment celebration in Las Vegas, Captain Timothy O’Shay encounters free-spirited beauty Skye McDermott, and for once lets down his guard. Now his life is about to take off in directions he never could have imagined…Excerpt Chapter

Here’s another short excerpt from when Tim found The Sweatshirt Stealer…

Tim paused, dresser drawer half open. Wait, part of the fun was never knowing? When had he adopted that line of thinking? Consistency. Consistency was his favorite. He liked rules, schedules, stability. He lived his life by it. He breathed reliability.

He shook out a pair of basketball shorts and an old Academy t-shirt and slipped on the comfortable outfit. A night snuggling on the couch with Skye seemed like a great way to end a shitty day.

Maybe he’d even cop a feel, straight out of a middle school handbook.
But when he jogged back down the stairs, hitting second base was the last thing on his mind. 

Skye stood with her back to him, debating the DVDs in the entertainment center. As usual, she swayed from side to side as if she couldn’t stand still, as if some song in her head compelled her to move and dance.

She’d twisted her hair into a knot, though a few tendrils had already escaped and were flowing down around her neck. What he could see of her legs were encased in black leggings, though her feet were bare. But he’d recognize that top anywhere. 

That was his favorite sweatshirt from college. The soft gray material was always a comfort on chilly days. The N with a star on the front was starting to crack and peel off. A size too big on him, it swallowed Skye’s torso whole, falling almost to her knees. He’d lost it weeks ago. Or so he thought. 

She must have had it for a while now. How long had she been wearing it? 

And why did the thought of her in his clothing turn him on so much? 

“Where did you get that?” 

She whipped around, her knot of hair bobbing. Following his gaze, she glanced down at the sleeves that dangled over her hands, too long for her arms by half. 

"Oh. Um.” Her teeth caught her bottom lip like they always did when she was worried.

“I’m not mad. Just, where did you find it? I thought it was lost.”

“It was in the laundry basket one day.” Skye crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself. “I was cold with the AC on so high, but I didn’t want to turn it down, since you’re always so warm when you get home. And it smelled like you…” Her voice trailed off as if she just realized what she’d said. Then she shrugged. “I wear it to bed a lot. I get cold at night.”

The sweatshirt was like a brand. His mark. His woman. Whatever tentative hold he’d had on his urges, his cravings collapsed faster than an untrained platoon of privates. He took the three steps across the room and grabbed her by the shoulders, hauling her into his body. She grunted but didn’t resist.

And when he lowered his lips to hers, she rose up to meet him.

~*~*~*~*~

Kat (or Jeanette!) spends her days surrounded by hunky alpha men…at least in her imagination. In real life, she’s a wife and a mother, keeping tabs on her husband of six years, her three year old daughter and the family dog, a lovable (but completely stupid) Goldendoodle. Hang around long enough and you’re guaranteed to hear at least one or two stories about these three…

What’s with the two names? Great question. Kat (or Jeanette) writes for a few different publishers. And due to the timing of some releases, two names just seemed like the right option. But Jeanette (or Kat!) can assure you, no matter which pen name you’re reading, you’re going to get sexy contemporary love. 


You can find her:


Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter.

CAROL KILGORE—CRIME WITH A KISS

 ICED COFFEE FOR A HOT DAY

My guest is romantic suspense author, Carol Kilgore. Carol hails originally from Texas, seems overly fond of Tiki Huts, has a great sense of humor, and a heart the size of Texas. I first met her as a fellow blogger and I've enjoyed reading her blog and getting to know her. This is not her first visit to Over Coffee. You may remember reading a story she wrote, SECRETS OF CHRISTMAS, as part of my Holiday Shorts I do each  December. 

It's my pleasure to have Carol back with us and this time with her debut, In Name Only.  

Thank you, Sia, for hosting me today. I'm very happy to be here and to share some things about me and about my debut novel, IN NAME ONLY.

My personal style is eclectic. I like to mix it up. If I wore a uniform, I would most likely pair it with frilly and/or colorful undies. I would know.

Bear with me. You'll see where this is going.

If our home came close to having a design style, it would be something like eclectic coastal contemporary, even though we no longer live at the coast. We have art and accessories from other places we've lived—like the New Mexico mountains and New York City—and a few family pieces mingled with an overall contemporary look.

It's the same with my blog, Under the Tiki Hut. It's all about the beach, which I love. I'm a Native Texan and write stories set in Texas, so the beach I most often see in my mind is a Texas beach, where tiki huts are also called palapas. But that doesn't mean you see my beach. I try to maintain a Tiki Hut feel for any beach anywhere. From Fiji to Oregon to Maine to the Irish Coast and back again.

So it follows that this eclectic mix extends into my writing as well. I mix a cup of this, a dash of that, a spoonful of the other into a blend I call Crime Fiction with a Kiss. Always at least one crime; always a love story.

Besides being eclectic, I'm also a little OCD about research. Not only do I love the process, I want to make sure all the facts in my fiction are correct. I don't claim to be perfect—no doubt readers will find things I got wrong. And there may be other things that slip past.

Here are a few of the many things I researched for IN NAME ONLY:

Local Trees. In Chapter One of IN NAME ONLY, Summer leans against a palm tree. The palm started out as a mesquite tree (pronounced mess-KEET) and would have remained a mesquite except for one tiny problem—I learned mesquites have long thorns. Ouch!

• Shark Fishing.  A lot of guys in South Texas fish for shark from the Padre Island National Seashore beach. You can watch a short video at Texas Shark Fishing to see the last part of the process of bringing the shark to shore. It's a catch and release video of a 12-foot tiger shark. It may take the fisherman hours to reach this point. Look at the size of the man and look at all his gear. I spent the better part of a couple of days researching equipment for this sport, which ended up having only a few mentions in the story. But it was fun to learn!

• Firefighters. Lots of information on firefighters is available on the web. I spent many days reading. I also talked one-to-one with some real firefighters with the Corpus Christi Fire Department who told me how they do things there.

• The Federal Witness Security Program. Not much out there, and nobody was talking. Which would make me pretty darn happy if I were in the program. So I felt free to draw upon my imagination.

• Padre Island. And of course, I spent time on Padre figuring out where everything in the story would physically be located. You'll need to make your own visit to the Island to find out which locations are real and which are specially created for IN NAME ONLY.

If you happen to see Summer Newcombe while you're there, say hi for me!

BUY: AMAZON

IN NAME ONLY


No home. No family. No place to hide. For Summer Newcombe, that's only the beginning.

The night Summer escapes from a burning Padre Island eatery and discovers the arsonist is stalking her, is the same night she meets Fire Captain Gabriel Duran. As much as she's attracted to Gabe, five years in the Federal Witness Security Program because of her father’s testimony against a mob boss have taught her the importance of being alone and invisible.

No matter how much she yearns for a real home, Summer relinquished that option the night she killed the man who murdered her father. But Gabe breaks down her guard and places both of them in danger. Summer has vowed never to kill again, but she's frantic she'll cost Gabe his life unless she stops running and fights for the future she wants with the man she loves.

~*~*~*~

Carol Kilgore is a Texas native who has lived in locations across the U.S. as the wife of a Coast Guard officer. Back under the hot Texas sun in San Antonio, Carol writes a blend of mystery, suspense, and romance she calls Crime Fiction with a Kiss. She and her husband share their home and patio with two active herding dogs, and every so often the dogs let them sit on the sofa.

Learn more about Carol and follow her here:
Blog: http://www.underthetikihut.blogspot.com

Website: http://www.carolkilgore.net
Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads: 

MONDAY MUSING: ME AND MURPHY

This is one of the hottest summers we’ve had in Missouri, for sometime. Certainly the heat started way earlier than the normal for Missouri. We normally don’t get triple digits until the third week of July and it continues, with rain and the cooler 90’s off and on. But this year? We’ve been sun baked with triple digits since mid June and very little rain on top of that.

Sigh. Murphy and me have had a ball.

Me and Murphy were dancing when my small non genetically modified corn crop decided to die—even though I was watering it. I had the plot farther away from the water source—hey we usually have rain and who knew there wouldn’t be anymore after the first of June. Peppers didn’t make it—either planting, the pole beans are scarce, the Zucchini, usually prolific gave me only a few fruits, same with the yellow squash. Bugs had a field day with what was there. Second crop of tomato plants were looking lush and good. Then the locust/grasshoppers discovered them this past week. Lots of green leaves one day and the next almost stripped to the stem. The veggies planted in containers so far seem to be doing okay if I can keep the dang bugs away. But they’re a late crop. I had my well-established Echinacea plot nearby the tomatoes and they are alive but not a petal is in existence. Yep, munched—ditto on my roses and two formerly gorgeous flowering Mulberries. Nasty little Japanese beetles have gorged on anything with flowers. UGH.

This was the year for new trees and flowering bushes. All four butterfly bushes died, ditto the two red maples, and I have one snowball tree, barely hanging on —out of 3. Apple trees, which flowered nicely this year, have already lost most of their leaves and whatever fruit is growing is very small. My poor Hostas are positively puny looking. None of the new barnyard Hollyhocks came up. All the old ones did but very short termed flowering. Much of the new stuff I had planned out over the winter and placed in various places in my yard just didn’t make it. My yard isn’t small and even with my John Deere rider it takes three hours to cut the lawn. Of course, right now I’m saving lots of gas since I don’t have any thing beyond greenish yellow crunchy grass. Trust me, it doesn’t need cutting. I need to talk to my tax person, to find out what is a tax write off. I know my hay is. Very little protein in that hay—what little we got.

 

The surrounding forests are stressed. Lots of protective thinning and die off. Vegetation is dying. The lack of water is problematic.  Lower pond is just about dry except a tiny section near the even tinier seeping spring. Yep, I found Murphy's footprints down there, too. Normally, I have five or six feet of water in the middle even in the hot August sun. A healthy creek surrounds the property like a U and it’s low right now as well. We didn't have much of a snow pack this winter although we did get rain. I have a very deep well and we sit on a chunk of dirt floating (okay, sitting) on water, still, we need to be judicious with water use.

 

I’ve basically realized what veggies I get this year will be a bonus. There is next year, right? Okay, I’ve accepted that. Mostly. Damn Murphy anyway!

Then Murphy, that scheming rogue, had to have a Sunday dance. My central air ceased blowing cool air at about 3:00 this afternoon. Fan works fine. The cooling part? Nope.  Monday through Wednesday we’re due temps over a 100. No window units. Yippy-kai-yay. It’s supposed to drop to 70 tonight and there is a relatively cool breeze blowing and all the fans I have are currently sucking in the cooler air. The house is well insulated and I’ll close all the windows by 9:00 a.m. and it will be cooler inside than outside—outside 101 inside maybe 88 if I’m lucky.

AC tech is scheduled to come out at 7:00 am tomorrow. There is water on the floor of that section of basement. Let’s hope all I need is a line unclogged.  Or something simple because replacing that Trane isn't something I want to have to do. That would suck big time.

Hey, anyone want Murphy? I can tell you he is a great dancer. Anyone?

COFFEE, CHOCOLATE, AND A PIECE OF WESTERN AMERICANA

Welcome historical romance author Rosanne Bittner to Over Coffee. I've read many of her books over the years and I'm glad to see she's reissuing her classic western historicals as well as writing new stories for us to enjoy. On my keeper shelf are two of my favorites by Rosanne: Song of The Wolf and Tame The Wild Wind.

• Do you have a favorite Rosanne Bittner book?

Author Rosanne Bittner here – and I like this blog title – Sia McKye’s Thoughts … Over Coffee.  I am a true coffee addict – black and strong – along with dark chocolate  - so I’m revved up on caffeine most of the time.  As I write this there is a cup of coffee at my side and a box of chocolates on my desk!

I am so happy that you asked about my books!  I have been writing for 30 years and have had 57 books published, all involving historical America!  This month (July 2012) I am celebrating the reissue by Sourcebooks of my novel THUNDER ON THE PLAINS for their Casablanca line. THUNDER is a captivating love story with a “to die for” hero and a heroine of amazing courage and determination, all set against the true history of the building of America’s first trans-continental railroad. Be sure to come to my month long virtual 4^th of July party at http://rosannebittnerbookparty.blogspot.com/ and enter a contest to win a free copy of THUNDER ON THE PLAINS as well as the grand prize of a Kindle Touch!

AMAZON, B&N, BAM

Sunny Landers is utterly devoted to her father's dream-a transcontinental railroad that would run from Chicago to the Pacific. Journeying west on a wagon train, she discovers for herself the glories of the unsettled country...and the unsettling half-Cherokee, Colt Travis. He was like the land of his birth: handsome yet wild, imposing, and dangerous. Against an endless horizon, Colt opens her heart to a passion she never dreamed possible. But in a country torn apart by war and progress, can they ever find a way to stay together?

A sweeping frontier romance and unforgettable novel of love from the bestselling author of Tennesse Bride. Heiress Sunny Landers is devoted to her father's dream of building a transcontinental railroad. And on the wagon train West, she discovers the glories of the unsettled country and Colt Travis, the frontiersman who would be her destiny.

Following is a short excerpt from THUNDER.  It should be noted that Sunny is our heroine, an extremely wealthy young woman who has inherited the unlikely position of being a key figure in the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad.  Colt (our hero) is an Indian scout (half Indian himself) who works off and on for the railroad builders and who comes from a far different world than Sunny.  Various circumstances keep throwing these two together, and in spite of the unlikely chance either of these two could belong in the other’s world, a deep passion and desire that they feel for each other keeps getting in the way of common sense, until finally … one afternoon … caught alone out on the prairie … (Colt has pulled Sunny onto his horse in front of him) –

*     *      *      *

“Tell me, Colt.  What does an Indian do with his captive?” 

For a moment everything went silent for Colt. Nothing existed but the utterly beautiful woman in his arms … her blue eyes … her golden hair.  He moved a hand to rest against the flat of her belly.  “He takes her to his tipi and makes her his slave,” he answered, his voice gruff with passion. 

She touched his face.  “That’s what I want you to do with me, Colt.  Make me your slave – today, tonight, tomorrow.” 

He shook his head.  “Sunny –“ 

She touched his lips.  “Don’t say it, Colt. I don’t know what’s right and wrong anymore, and today I don’t care.  I just want you.  I’ve always wanted you. My first time just can’t be with anyone else.  I –“ 

His kiss cut off her words, a deep, hot kiss that removed any remaining inhibitions. She could barely get her breath for the thrill of it, the ecstasy of his hand moving to her breast, the ache of womanly desires that surged in her when his tongue moved between her lips. 

  Dancer moved slightly, and she clung to Colt.  He left her lips for a moment, keeping one arm around her as he slid off the horse and pulled her after him.

*       *        *        *

          You will have to read the book to enjoy this wild love scene in the prairie grass!

I have always wanted to write, although it took me until I was 34 years old to believe I could really write an entire novel.  In the 4^th grade I wrote my first little love story – Mr.and Mrs. Quack – about two ducks!  I also wrote poetry – tons and tons of it.  Sometimes I think I should put all of it together in a little book of poems.  Maybe I’ll try that.  I was the editor of our high school newsletter – editor of a house organ where I was once employed – and I took a correspondence course in creative writing over 40 years ago.

          I have always been captivated by America’s history and read stories about nothing but pioneers and Indians.  When I read a book called A LANTERN IN HER HAND by Bess Streeter Aldrich – and then the wonderful saga THE PROUD BREED by Celeste de Blasis, I realized I had to try my hand at writing a novel.  After 9 tries, I finally sold my first book, SWEET PRAIRIE PASSION, which became the first book of what turned out to be a 7-book series (SAVAGE DESTINY) which after 30 years is still selling!

I try to write every day, and in the beginning when I was still working full time I often stayed at the computer (back then it was a typewriter!) until 2:00 a.m. and then get up by 5:00 a.m. to get my family off to work and school and myself to work.  I got little sleep but managed to make it through the many other challenges that came along – all because I loved what I was doing and I love telling “true” American history through my fictitious stories, full of romance and adventure.

          Next spring book #58, a brand new book by Rosanne Bittner, will be published by Sourcebooks – PARADISE VALLEY.  I hope you will watch for it.  Just keep watching www.sourcebooks.com as well as my own web site www.rosannebittner.com for details!  And be sure to check out my blog at www.rosannebittner.blogspot.com.

Award-winning novelist Rosanne Bittner is highly acclaimed for her thrilling love stories and historical authenticity. Her epic romances span the West—from Canada to Mexico, Missouri to California—and are often based on Roseanne’s personal visits to each setting. She lives in Michigan with her husband and two sons. 

THE WHISPER OF BALANCE— AMANDA USEN

Please welcome romance author, Amanda Usen, to Over Coffee. Amanda is a writer, chef, and a romantic. She even brought us some fancy cappuccino to share with us. Isn’t that cup of cappuccino pretty—you almost want to frame rather than drink it, lol!

I love her thoughts on attitude and balance—a writer needs both to be successful.  Balance tells you when to step away and refill your creative well and the need to stay connected to your life. Most writers I know are balancing jobs, family, and writing. Balance keeps you from burning out. It helps when you have your own personal hero (who is also a talented chef) whispering balance in your ear.

Sia has been talking a lot of good sense about attitude lately. I don’t think an hour of the day goes by that I don’t ponder some form of that concept myself. In fact, in a recent e-mail to my agent, I typed, “Writing is such a head game!” It all comes from within. If, like me, you depend on outward signs of success to help you feel positive and triumphant, you might be in serious trouble if you want to be a professional writer. In fact, as my high school BFF told me last week, “I think if you wanted easy, you picked the wrong profession.” She also quoted Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird, to me – a great book to read for writing inspiration.

How do you stay chained to that intangible creative force in the face of reviews, promotion, day jobs, demanding children and partners, edits, rejection and days when there are no words in your head? Coffee helps.  J  Some days it feels like too much pressure. I think that’s why Olivia, my heroine in Luscious, came into being the way she did. I am a hardcore pantser; my stories create themselves on the screen of my subconscious as I write. Olivia has reached her limit. Her marriage is over. She hates her job. Her two best friends have fallen in love with each other. She decides to quit, to give up on her current life, to go to Verona and tell her parents she doesn’t want to run the family restaurant anymore and to figure out how to pick up the pieces after she has a nice, wet meltdown in Italy.

Of course, it’s a romance – so her meltdown doesn’t proceed exactly as she plans. Also, I’m a romantic, so she has to rediscover her mojo with the help of one sweetheart of a hero, her divorce lawyer Sean. I depend a lot upon my own hero, my husband, to keep me from flying apart, too. He is the one whispering balance in my ear when I’ve been sitting in front of the computer for three days straight, trying to finish a story. Yes, you have to show up every day, but you also have to know when to take a break and fill the well. You can’t write when you’re tapped out. At least, I can’t. And it becomes progressively harder to break out of the chair the longer I’ve been sitting there.

The urge to check e-mail, check stats and rankings, tweet, Facebook or tackle the next item on the to-do list is nearly overwhelming…until I get away from it for a while. I get into the kitchen and start cooking. I go to yoga and reconnect with non-mental muscles. Recently, I went to LA to celebrate 40^th birthdays with the friend I mentioned above. We ate and drank our way through her city, and I returned home full of positive energy for writing. Sometimes I have to get away from work to remember why I want to write in the first place. I can’t chuck it all and start over, like my Luscious character Olivia does, but I can force myself to take breaks from the pressure. The work isn’t going to go anywhere while I’m gone, and it is vital to my creative core to remind myself that there is more to my life than putting words on the page. I crave the pages, the external signs of progress and success, but when I lose sight of the other things that make up my life—cooking, children, exercise, reading, loving, sunlight—the words slow down, then stop. Balance, my hero whispers. Balance.

AMAZON, B&N, BAM

Luscious 

by Amanda Usen

Eat, play, love

Plain old ice cream just isn't going to cut it. To beat these blues, chef Olivia Marconi needs the good stuff: rich, creamy tiramisu gelato. And no place better to get it than Italy. 

But a fresh start is nearly impossible with Sean Kindred dogging her every move. She's been burned by his too-hot-to-handle antics before. Though there's no denying the man can still get her all fired up. 

Could a weeklong affair finally turn into something more lasting...or will it all go up in flames? 

Excerpt chapter

Since I never forgot what they taught me in school, I write what I know. Here is an excerpt from one of my favorite scenes in Luscious, where Olivia gets her groove back in the kitchen 
Excerpt 2 


There are so many things in life that can pull our focus from positivity.

• Have you ever lost your mojo? Your balance? Your groove? How? 
• And what did you do to get it back? 

Leave a comment below, for the chance to win a copy of Luscious.

Thanks for having me on the blog today, Sia. I always enjoy sharing a cup of coffee with a fellow attitude adjuster! J

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Amanda Usen knows two things for certain: chocolate cheesecake is good for breakfast and a hot chef can steal your heart. Her husband stole hers on the first day of class at the Culinary Institute of America. They married after graduation in a lovely French Quarter restaurant in New Orleans. After enjoying the food and the fun in the Big Easy for a few years, they returned to Western New York to raise a family.

Amanda spends her days teaching pastry arts classes at a local community college and her nights writing romance. She’s a member of the Romance Writers of America ® and theWestern New York Romance Writers. When she’s not writing, teaching or baking, she can usually be found chasing the kids around the yard with her very own scrumptious husband.


You can find Amanda: Facebook, Website--be sure to check out her recipe page!