Interview With Judi Fennell, Author of Catch Of A Lifetime

Author: Judi Fennell

Book 3 of the Tritone Trilogy
February, 2010
Publisher: Sourcebooks

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages

Excerpt


Back Cover Blurb:

She’s on a mission to save the planet…



Mermaid Angel Tritone has been researching humans from afar, hoping to find a way to convince them to stop polluting. When she jumps into a boat to escape a shark attack, it’s her chance to pursue her mission, but she has to keep her identity a total secret…



When he finds out what she really is, they’re both in mortal danger…



For Logan Hardington, finding a beautiful woman on his boat is surely not a problem—until he discovers she’s a mermaid, and suddenly his life is on the line.



Judi, it’s always a pleasure to have you here Over Coffee especially to talk about your wonderful books—which I’ve loved, by the way.

Aw, thanks, Sia. It never gets old that people love what you’ve written.

You just had a birthday a few days ago. You were almost a Valentines baby. Did you do anything special?

Actually, I did. I spent it with some of my favorite people – and, no, I don’t mean my family. (We’ve had umpteen snow days it seems like; I’ve spent enough time with them. LOL). I spent it with my fellow Valley Forge Romance Writer chaptermates. It was our monthly meeting and I was giving a presentation. Then we went out to lunch and then I had a book signing. Yes, it was a working day for me, but I love what I do and am feeling a bit shut in since the last event I went to was back in October. Maybe that’s why I’ve registered for 13 events so far in 2010.


Now, Let’s go back in time a bit.

Will you tell us briefly how you became an author?



I’ve always written, but it wasn’t until that fateful day when my youngest was in kindergarten and I woke up and thought, “I wonder what room I should clean today,” that I took a hard look at where I was in life. I love being a stay-at-home mom, but I did not like to clean. It was time to go back to being Judi – which is different from being Mom and Wife. I like all those parts but the “me” wasn’t getting out.

So I got a part time job AND I decided to get to work on getting published. Someone should have told me to do one or the other; but I probably wouldn’t have listened. I loved my part time job, but I love writing even more.



How difficult was it for you to get published?

As for how difficult, well, rejection is never easy. And I’ve had my share. I’ve also had my share of higher-profile exposure to feedback, in that I did three online contests, pre-publication, in the vein of American Idol-like contests. Talk about getting a thick skin quickly. Not everyone got my humor, or liked it. But others did.

Those contests gave me visibility and a writing resume. Other contests and critique groups helped with craft and story. And I went to a lot of writing conferences and workshops. Networking is as important in this career as in any other.

Four years after I joined Romance Writers of America, lightning struck and the perfect manuscript met the perfect editor at the perfect time.



I’ve heard you refer to the first in this series, In Over Her Head, as your talking fish story. How did you come up with this idea?

Originally, In Over Her Head, was part of another series – twists on fairy tales. I’d written Cinda Bella, Beauty and The Best, Fairest of Them All, and decided to “twist” The Little Mermaid. The easiest way to do that was to make him the Mer, and voila! In Over Her Head was born.

I’d finalled and won several contests with those stories; Beauty and The Best was in the third American Title contest sponsored by Dorchester Publishing and Romantic Times Magazine, as well as being the only romance to make the Top 20 finalists of the Gather.com/Simon & Schuster First Chapters Contest, but it hadn’t sold. Came pretty close once but then the editor I’d been working with left, and well, c’est la vie.


So, it wasn't your original thought to make In Over Her Head a Mer series?


No, it was only when In Over Her Head made the Top 5 of the Gather.com/Pocket Books First Chapters Romance Contest, I knew I wanted to focus on the Mer world I’d built and I came up with blurbs for two more stories in the series. That determined the direction of the series.

So, I’d written the first story with an eye toward one series, but then adjusted my focus according to the market. And the Mer series was the one that sold.


Catch of a Lifetime, features Angel Tritone. She’s not the typical Tritone. Tell me a bit about Angel and who she is? Was it her plan to find a human of her own to love?


Angel is the classic middle child. She’s stuck amid over-achievers and is feeling the need to make a name for herself. Humans have always fascinated her and she’s become a scientist in Humanology.

When her brother, Rod, the High Councilman, sets out to create a Mer-Human Coalition to facilitate interaction between the species in hopes of working toward bettering the planet, Angel sees a job description built just for her. Sadly, Rod won’t even let her apply.

But that doesn’t stop Angel. She wants to be somebody and she’s damn-well going to get the chance to do it.

She’d never planned to fall in love with a Human; she wasn’t planning on falling in love for a long time. She wanted to make her mark first. So when Logan comes into the picture, you could say she was feeling a bit like she’d been caught up in a whirlpool.


Which scene do you like the best in your story?

Are you really going to make me pick? I can’t. Each one has its highs and lows. Some were harder to write than others. Some have so much emotion that it makes me catch my breath, or makes me smile with happiness. And then there are the scenes that make me flat-out laugh out loud.

Nope, I can’t pick. Just like I can’t pick which character is my favorite, or which book is my favorite. Or which of my kids.

What was the hardest thing for you to write in this book or this series?

In this book, the story actually veered down a path that I hadn’t wanted it to go. There’s a young boy—Logan’s son Michael—who ended up being kidnapped by a man named Curtis. I write comedy; I couldn’t come up with any way to make that kidnapping humorous. And I’m a parent; inherently I shy away from thinking that situation could be humorous at all.

I had to reevaluate the story that I’d originally envisioned. Oh, I hadn’t thought of including a kidnapping, but the antagonist kept heading toward that no matter how many times I re-wrote it.

So, I ended up getting rid of him and finding another antagonist. This one a shark. Who, yes, does lure Michael into the ocean, but not with the intent to kidnap him like the original villain had done.

I have to say, it was an angst-y time, reworking the story, but I’m much happier with it in the end. And I had a heck of a good time with A.C., the shark.


You’re very involved with RWA. You are president of your Chapter and do quite a bit of travel. This year you’re doing some special things at the conferences, aren’t you?

I’ve been invited to speak at the first Velocicon conference in March, I’m doing a presentation at the Liberty States Fiction Writers Conference and my research workshop with authors Stephanie Julian and Melissa Mayhue has been selected for RWA National Conference.

This will be my busiest year yet with conferences. At present, I’m registered for 13 events. And looking forward to each one! There will be some meet-ups with long-time online friends, and catching up with those I only see at conferences. Plus all the writerly and readerly interactions. I love this job!


You’re wife, mother, a chapter president, and author. Good god, when do you have time to write?

It’s my job. I don’t get in the car and commute to an office, but I do go to my office. And I put earphones in. If a kid comes in, there better be blood trailing from some appendage. Otherwise, I’ll talk to them when they come home from school, but then I go back to work.

I also have the most supportive husband who tells me to head to my favorite bookstore when deadlines hit and I’m in my one-track mind mode. I’ll head there for 13 hours at a pop and he’ll handle the house and kids.

I couldn’t do this without him.

Given your writing schedule and deadlines, what do you do to relax and recharge?

I vegetate in front of reality television. It’s my guilty pleasure and I make no apologies for it. I need to watch something that I don’t have to concentrate on a story. I have a group of girlfriends who have been watching Survivor ever since the ending of the second season. We get together almost every Thursday night, even when the show is on hiatus. It keeps us sane.


You have a new series coming out about a society of Genies. I love how you write about mythical creatures co-existing with us. When will this series debut?

I Dream of Genies comes out January 2011. It was a blast to write and I could never have seen where that story would take me. I’ve pulled elements of Middle Eastern and Egyptian mythology in and combined with the pop culture references of I Dream of Jeannie. It was a lot of fun.


You've been a busy lady. I'd love to bottle your energy and drive, I'd make a fortune on the market. LOL

I will say, from what I've read of Genies, we're in for a treat. I love the premise and damn, you sure know how to tell an entetaining story.

I'm thinking, if I believed in reincarnation, Judi must be Queen Scheherazade, and I, like the King of old, am eagerly looking forward to her thousand and one tales of magic and adventure.

Thank you, Judi, for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with me.

• I have two copies of Catch Of A Lifetime to give out to two commenters today.
  

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Judi Fennell is an award-winning author. Her romance novels have been finalists in Gather.com’s First Chapters and First Chapters Romance contests, as well as the third American Title contest. She spends family vacations at the Jersey Shore, the setting for some of her paranormal romance series. She lives in suburban Philadelphia, PA.

Find Judi Fennell on her website, on twitter, on Facebook, on Goodreads

To Tommy, With Love

My guest today is, Charlee Boyett-Compo, the creator of the Reapers™, badass Alpha male shapeshifters with black hair and amber eyes that turn blood red when they are angry. Handsome, deadly men with tortured souls and the only thing that can tame them is the female destined to be their mate. Only she can save her warrior from himself.

• Reapers™ can be found in several series: DemonWind™ (futuristic assassins), WesternWind™ (whip-wielding, six-gun shooting lawmen of the Old West), WindVerse™ (intergalatic warriors), and BlackWind™ (contemporary fighters of evil). The WesternWind™ werewolf Reaper™ series has been Charlee's bestselling series since 2005.
  

Her stories are of love and passion and happy ever after endings--but the characters work hard for the HEA. In my opinion, to write believable love and passion, once must first experience it.

I'm honored Charlee was willing to share her own love story with me. This blog's Valentine's dedication is to Tommy, the love of her life.

I am the proud and humble owner of five large scrapbooks, the first of which was started in December of 1965. On the first page of that first scrapbook is a Christmas card from that year. Each page of those scrapbooks holds Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Birthday, Anniversary and Christmas cards. There are 252 such cards plus dozens of others. There was never a year missed. There was never an occasion missed. The other cards are Get Well, Congratulations, or simply a verse that was appropriate when the card was given. In all, there are over 300 colorful cards. The last card, however, can’t be placed in the scrapbook because it’s a musical card and it holds a very special place in my heart.

On April 18, 2009 I became a widow. My husband of 43 years…my most precious Tommy whom my readers knew as Buddha Belly…passed away quietly after a brief two month devastation caused by lung cancer. Not a smoker, the cause of his death was determined officially by the Veterans Administration as a direct result of exposure to Agent Orange when he served duty in Vietnam. No matter the cause, he was gone and with him my life changed with that one last breath he drew into his embattled lungs.

Out of the blue, the illness had struck. They doctors tell me he was dying before he even knew he was sick. That’s the brutality of cancer. He was diagnosed on February 18th. As I sat in our bedroom that afternoon…crying, terrified, numb…I looked at the Valentine’s Day card he’d given me a few days earlier. It would be the last gift he ever gave me.

It was a musical card. On the front is says: “If I had nothing else but our love”… On the inside, it finishes with “I would still have everything I need”. As you open the card, the song plays: “I would give you my heart until the end of time. You’re all I need: my love, my valentine”. He signed it as he had every card he’d ever given me: “With all my love, Tompe” and the date February 14, 2009. He had no way of knowing that his end of time was rushing out to take him.

Tom was a staunch supporter of my writing. He encouraged me from the very beginning. He had faith in me when I had no faith in myself. He cajoled me to query time after time after time…even when it seemed no one would ever take a chance on me. He was the first to read each and every thing I wrote. He bragged about me to anyone who would listen…and some who really didn’t want to. He carried my business cards, promotional postcards, and bookmarks with him everywhere he went. He handed them to his clients, to anyone he saw reading a book. He was there for me at every book signing I ever had. He went to every convention. He was my self-proclaimed agent and promoter. His pride in me could be seen in his beautiful hazel eyes…the corneas from which were the only things salvageable at his death. It makes me proud that those gleaming eyes now help others to see, to read.

Since his death, I have been in a state of flux. Depressed, moody, unable to concentrate for long at a time, I start a project but quickly lose interest. There’s no one to share it with now so it’s not as important as it once was. A new review holds no thrill because I can’t show it to the love of my life, my soul mate.

For the longest time I couldn’t make myself sit still long enough to put words to screen. I turned down requests to review my books. I turned down interview requests and opportunities to be on internet radio. I shrugged off promotion of any kind. Basically, I was shooting myself in the foot professionally but I really didn’t care.

How does a writer write with a broken heart? When there is only numbness and aching depression and the direction has gone from her life, what road looks interesting enough to venture down? From what well can she bring up the waters of creation when she fears her very soul has withered on the vine?

Having a pushy editor didn’t help. If anything, her goading only made me dig my heels deeper into the mud of my own disinterest. I know she meant well but her opinion in the grand scheme of things was nothing more than a single drop into that murky well of emotions I was experiencing. I ignored her as I ignored everything else around me.

So how do you deal with a tragic event that stops cold the ability with which you were graced? How do you go from apathy to engrossing interest when all you want to do is curl into a fetal position and whimper?

I can tell you it isn’t easy. It gives you an entirely different perception of the term writer’s block.

For years I’ve always answered the question of whether or not I believed in writer’s block by maintaining that it was nothing more than an interruption in the natural flow of creativity. Writer’s block is the ringing of the doorbell, the trill of the telephone, the dog wanting in/the cat wanting out, the demand of a significant other or a parent or a child to be cared for. Such interruptions take the writer out of the here and now of invention. It knocks them off course.

It took me eight months before I finally sat down at the computer and called up the book I’d been working on when Tommy got sick. I read through the 80+ pages, saw they needed a little extra oomph to them. So I took one chapter at a time and added a clarification here, a little dialogue there. I went back over that same chapter four or five more times until it ‘spoke’ to me in the voice I was so accustomed to hearing when I wrote. When I was satisfied that chapter was the best it could be, as well edited as was possible for me to make it, I moved on to the next chapter.

By the time I finished with the last chapter I had written, the fire was once again in my soul and the story was beginning to unfold in my mind’s eye. I felt the difference within me. I was writing again. I was doing what Tommy always said I was born to do. I was creating characters and dialogue, building onto the world I had created in the nine other books of that series. I was fleshing out my hero and adding depth to my villainess. I was making my heroine a strong, sexy woman who was not too stupid to live.

As my fingers flew over the keyboard, I swear to you I could hear Tommy cheering me on in the background. He is the reason I returned to writing. He would have expected no less of me and so for him….

I write.

Everything is for him.

What do you do to get back on track with writing or with life after emotional upheavals?





Charlee Boyett-Comp is a prolific author of over 60 full length books in her Reapers series. The first Reaper™ novel, BLOODWIND, was written in 1996 and was released by Dark Star Publications in 1998. Prime Reaper Kamerone Cree, the black-clad warrior known as the Iceman, started a franchise for me and my Reapers™ can be found in several series: DemonWind™ (futuristic assassins), WesternWind™ (whip-wielding, six-gun shooting lawmen of the Old West), WindVerse™ (intergalatic warriors), and BlackWind™ (contemporary fighters of evil). The WesternWind™ werewolf Reaper™ series has been her bestselling series since 2005.

"I hope you'll try one of my signature Reaper™ novels soon."

You can visit with Charlee on her website. She has several background pages on each series.

Creating A Romantic Tryst For Two (with recipes)

Valentine Day is always special. While it’s nice to go out to dinner, some just love to make a nice romantic evening of it at home. Cold and snowy outside, warm and cozy inside with no fuss or worry about travel in inclement weather.

With a little preparation, an evening at home can be a special romantic tryst; no matter how long or short of time you’ve been together. An early dinner, followed up with some favorite romantic movies. It sets the mood for love and romance.

I thought I’d share a restaurant quality dinner that is special in our house. You can make it fancy or relaxed.

A candlelight dinner with a nicely set table makes it special.

Fillet Mignon

Ingredients

• 2 (4 ounce) filet mignon steaks


• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to taste
  salt to taste.


• ½ cup balsamic vinegar


• ¼ cup dry red wine (I used a Merlot instead or for different taste you can use sherry)


• ¼ cup of crumble blue cheese (or you can use Gogonzola)


• 1 tablespoon of sugar (I used brown sugar but white works too)


• 2 cloves of garlic-minced
  

Let the filets rest at room temperature for an hour prior to cooking. Salt and pepper. Broil to desired taste. Place on a warm plate to rest and distribute the juices evenly.

In a saucepan add Balsamic vinegar, wine, minced garlic, sugar and reduce to a thick syrupy mixture—about 10 minutes. (Don’t reduce too far or it could burn) About half way through this process, lightly top the fillets with cheese and place it in the broiler a couple of minutes until the cheese melts.



Place steaks on a warmed plate, drizzle some of the balsamic syrup mixture over the top of the steaks and serve. You can put the remainder of the mixture in small serving cups and place beside the plates.

• Side suggestions:

• I served it with Steamed Asparagus and Red Potatoes. It would go well with a salad and baked potatoes too or a nice rice dish.
  

Wine:
A nice Cabernet Sauvignon

Strawberry Tiramisu for Two

Ingredients

• 1 pint fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur
• 18 ladyfingers
• 1/3 cup chilled espresso
• 1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  

Directions

• Cut off the tops of the strawberries and slice the berries. Reserve 2 large whole berries for garnish.


• In a blender, place 2 cups of strawberries and 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar; blend to puree and set aside.


• In a medium bowl, combine mascarpone cheese, 1/4-cup cream, 1/4-cup sugar, and liqueur; beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes until thickened.


• Place 6 ladyfingers on a serving plate and brush each with approximately 1-teaspoon cold espresso coffee. Spread or pipe out 1/2 of the cheese mixture over the ladyfingers, and layer with half of the sliced strawberries.


• Repeat with the next 6 ladyfingers, espresso, remaining cheese mixture, and sliced strawberries; top with remaining 6 ladyfingers.


• In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/4-cup heavy cream with 2 tablespoons sugar; beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until just whipped, approximately 1 minute. Spread cream evenly over top layer of ladyfingers.


• Dust cocoa over whipped cream, and garnish with 2 reserved strawberries. Pour strawberry puree onto two serving plates. Cut tiramisu in half, and place onto puree.

There is actually enough left over for seconds or for later. Nice with a good cup of coffee snuggled up watching some movies.

Romantic Movie Suggestions:
Sleepless in Seattle

Serendipity

Lake House

Casablanca

Princess Bride

50 First Dates

• What are some of your favorite Romantic Recipes or Movies?
• WRITERS: How you add sensual touches (using the senses) to your writing when writing Romance?

Friday, I'll share a few more recipes for a special dinner Tryst.

• 
  

Confessions Of A Romance Author--WHY I Write Romance

My guest is, Holly Jacobs, award winning Romance author writing for Harlequin and Avalon.

Have you ever wondered: What draws an author to a certain genre? Holly talks about why she loves to write Romance.

I’m going to make a confession here...I love science fiction and fantasy. Love it. Battlestar Galactica was one of my favorite shows, and I’m hoping Caprica lives up to its predecessor’s reputation...oh, there is a good chance some of you are zoning out right about now. And you’re asking why a sci-fi geek is here to talk about romance. I’ll confess, I love science fiction, but I write romance.

• Why?
  

Because it’s all about the people. And as a writer, that’s what I want to explore. Frankly, I could spend a lifetime trying to figure out love. And no dissing of science fiction here–but I think that understanding love is so much harder than understanding aliens.

Why do two people fall in love? Why will they work so hard to overcome obstacles? It’s a mystery. One I try to unravel for two characters at a time. No more. No less. Because each relationship has it’s own magic. Two people who are so similar they belong together. Two people who are so dissimilar, and yet the belong together. People who have to overcome horrendous obstacles to be together. People who are together so easily as friends only to discover they are more than that...and that discovery tends to beget new problems they never faced as friends. People who make love work despite crazy families, despite kids in the mix, despite...

Okay, you get the pictures. Love is inexplicable. It’s hard. It’s never the same.

• That’s why I write romance!

Think about your friends. People you swore would be together for life and aren’t. People who had everything stacked against them and do make it. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. And that’s what I love to explore as an author.

This month’s release, A ONE-OF-A-KIND FAMILY features Liam, who’s shouldered the burden of caring for a very special brother, Colm. He’s created a comfortable life for them both–a safe life for them. Then Anna Chapel enters their lives and encourages Colm to expand his horizons.

Can Liam expand his horizons, too? Expand them far enough to include Anna?

Happy Valentine’s!

Confession time: What draws you to romance?

PS. I do love science fiction, but I do love reading romance, too! I wanted to be clear about that! LOL

Since selling her first book in 1997, Holly Jacobs has sold more than thirty books. Her first sale to Harlequin was a 2001 Duets book, I Waxed My Legs for This? and she's gone on to write for Silhouette Romance, Harlequin Flipside, Signature Select and Harlequin's new Everlasting Love line. Her category romances have made Waldenbooks' Bestseller List and won numerous awards, such as the Holt Medallion, Booksellers' Best, Golden Quill, Golden Leaf and Madcap Awards. Her 2004 book, Found and Lost, won Romantic Times BOOKreviews' award for Best Harlequin Flipside of 2004, and that year Holly received the same journal's prestigious Career Achievement Award for Series Love and Laughter. She's presented more than thirty workshops on a variety of writing related subjects ranging from topics like writing romantic comedy to time management across the U.S.

http://www.hollyjacobs.com/

Road Trips, Blizzards, And Truth Stranger Than Fiction

It's my pleasure to have Lori Foster as my guest Over Coffee. I thoroughly enjoy Lori's books. Although I've only recently discovered them and quite by accident.

One day, making a trip with some co-workers to a three day seminar, I realized I left my book at home. The car group stopped at a little mom and pop store that had a small selection of book. A few I had already read, most were authors I hadn't heard of. A book caught my eye by an author I hadn't read before. It was Lori Foster and the book, Too Much Temptation. I read the back cover and thought, wow, this sounds like a fun read. It was. After that I bought several of her back list, like Jude's Law and Murphy's Law. Then I read one of her Mixed Martial Arts books and loved it.

I'll admit it, I'm hooked and I'm really looking forward to Drew's story (excerpt link below).


Like most authors, I sometimes need a break from writing. Not often, because whenever I’m away from writing too long, I start to get antsy. Usually, even when upsetting things happen, my writing is my escape, my entertainment.

But losing my dad... that was a blow. He passed away on the 11th, and I’ve been struggling with writing ever since. I did manage to finish my last single title not too far behind the deadline. But then I was supposed to do a novella that is now late. (It was originally due Feb 1st!)

So anyway, hubby and I decided on an impromptu trip to Tennessee to look at gorgeous lakefront vacation property. Usually a short road trip will rejuvenate me and I get back ready to leap into a story. This time, I came back exhausted!

See, we blundered into one of the worst winter storms Tennessee has ever had! It didn’t really hit until we’d cleared Ohio and Kentucky – two states that know how to deal with snow. We had already travelled too far to turn back, so we pushed on – past a lot of semi tractor-trailers that were overturned, in a ditch, upside down and demolished, past several police cars that had slid off the road, past numerous cars that had spun out of control – too many to even keep count – and past a horrifying accident that involved an ambulance upside down in a ravine. We said a quick prayer that the ambulance hadn’t already been carrying an injured person.

It was a harrowing ride – what should have taken 6 hours ended up being almost 9. Given the pile-up of snow on either side of the road, there was only enough room for one vehicle. You couldn’t see the exits even if you wanted to take one, so forget potty breaks. The wiper blades kept freezing over, meaning we could barely see out of the windshield. Hubby drove hunched over the steering wheel, holding it in a death grip.

When we did finally reach the hotel, it was all but buried so we had to plow our way into the parking lot, and then got snowy to our knees getting in the door.

As I took my two little Chihuahuas in and hubby was unloading, we realized we’d forgotten the suitcase holding our clothes.

We had the bag with our shower supplies, my hair stuff (brushes and blow dryer) and make up, and a mostly-eaten bag of snacks. We had several other bags filled with things that my doggies needed. THEY were set, with their cushy bed, their leashes, their food, water bowl, medicine, blankets, a variety of treats, etc...

Of course, once at the hotel, we weren’t about to head back out in search of food or clothes. The room was awesome, but I was uncomfortable and hungry and I wanted clean socks! Thank heavens the internet worked! I’d have gone bonkers if I had to do without that, on top of not eating and not having cozy PJs.

Everything was so snowed-under, that even that next morning we couldn’t get out to see the vacation property. The roads were all but shut down, and you can imagine that roads surrounding new building sites near a lake sure wouldn’t have been a priority for road crews.

Totally bummed, we ate a wonderful breakfast supplied by the hotel, and then headed back home. It was again rough travel until we hit Kentucky, then smooth sailing. But along the way... I got a neat plot idea! See, that novella I have to start is all about spring break and flings and I can’t think of a better way to get things going than to have my couple get sidetracked by a snowstorm when they’re expecting sandy beaches. Heaven knows, I’ll have plenty of experience now to pull from! Every complaint you just heard from me will be in that story!

So now you know, much of what’s in my books is complete and total fiction, but every so often, some of it is based in fact! I’m not going to tell all of the “real” parts, but this time, I don’t mind sharing. LOL.

• Do you use real experiences in your writing?
• How much ofreal life goes into YOUR writing?
  
  
  
  Back Cover Blurb:

SBC president Drew Black is as controversial as they come. But the hot-headed entrepreneur is a perfect match for his popular sports club venture: uncompromising and extreme. Maybe too extreme. With a reputation for saying what he thinks, Drew's been causing a lot of friction. That's why someone's been called in to clean up his image—before he does any permanent damage.

The lucky lady is Gillian Noode, a PR expert who's smoothed out the rough edges on many a man. But Drew is rougher than anyone she's ever met, and he refuses to change for any woman, for any reason. To make matters more complicated, Gillian's starting to like him raw. Now, opposites aren't only attracting, they're igniting. But in the rising heat, which one of them will end up on top?

First Chapter Excerpt


Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has routinely had 6 to 10 releases a year and has become a Waldenbooks, Borders, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martins, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain. She is currently with Berkley/Jove.

Lori believes it’s important to back to the community as much as possible, and for that reason she ran special contests in conjunction with a publisher, facilitating many first sales for new authors. She routinely organizes events among authors and readers to gather donations for various organizations.

Along with her good friend, Dianne Castell, Lori hosts a very special annual “Reader & Author” event in West Chester Ohio. Proceeds from the event go to benefit worthy causes, including the Hamilton County YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter, the Animal Adoption Foundation, and The Conductive Learning Center for children with spina bifida and cerebral palsy.

In 2007, Lori put together “The Write Ingredients” a cookbook of recipes donated by popular authors. Proceeds from the cookbook go toward Lori’s ongoing “Troop project” of collecting and mailing fun, and sometimes necessary items to our troops.

In 2008, Lori coordinated eleven other authors of her choosing, and through Berkley, arranged for the publication of a special anthology of novellas about empowering women. Proceeds from the anthology will go to the Battered women’s shelter.

In 2009, another anthology with Lori and a new set of authors will be published with proceeds to benefit The Animal Adoption Foundation.

Stop by Lori's website for the lastest from LL Foster and Lori Foster

Keeping the Balls In The Air

My guest is Cecilia Tan. Cecilia writes Erotic Romance and Sci-Fi, sometimes writing on more than one project at a time.

As writers, we have often have to juggle our life tasks to be able to write. Many authors work full time, others work part time and raise children, or taking care of parents, spouses receiving medical treatment, or jobs and college.

I've always been able to multi-task, but after reading what Cecilia does and how she does it, I know the men in the white coats would be coming to take me away, if I even tried to follow her schedule, lol!


I've always been a juggler, and by that I mean a multi-tasker, although I did learn to actually juggle when I was younger. I think my brain just likes lots of variety in stimulation. It's why I like tasting menus at restaurants better than just one big serving of something great. A little of this, and a little of that, and always more coming... but you never get bored or tired of any one thing that way.

I get the workaholic multi-tasking streak directly from my mom. When I was a kid she was always doing a million things, balancing shuttling me and my brother around with cleaning the house, working part time, running fundraisers, being band booster president, teaching classes for the Girl Scouts, being a quit-smoking counselor, and still getting dinner on the table every night so we could sit down as a family together.

But lately I haven't just been juggling my fiction writing with freelance editing, volunteer work, and a few other part-time jobs (teaching tae kwon do and doing massage therapy), but juggling multiple writing projects. It's exciting and a little scary at the same time.

I told a friend that I was writing two romance novels simultaneously, as well as an erotic serial, and a couple of short stories, all at once (not to mention my baseball blog, tea blog, et cetera...) and she told me her head would explode if she tried to do that. I pointed out, reasonably, that she did quite well in college while taking four classes per semester, and for me that's a lot of what it is like.

Some days I work more on one project, some on another. The real secret is that whenever I get blocked on one project, I can "procrastinate" writing it by writing one of the others! It is a lot of balls to keep in the air, and when Christmas came, all the balls hit the floor for a bit and it took me a few weeks to get them all back in the air again. Oops.

One character in particular was trying to hold me hostage. Kyle, the main character of my Magic University paranormal romance series, just would not do what I wanted him to do. He reached a certain point in his book and then just dug in his heels and wouldn't go any farther.


Magic U is probably one of my most ambitious projects in 20 years of professional writing, because it is a four book series. It was a more intricate level of plotting than I've done before, and of course I can't go back and change things in the earlier books now that they are out. It was while writing book two, The Tower and the Tears (which literally just launched last week! Excitement!) that I realized just how complicated a multi-book project really is, especially in terms of the kind of character development that can take place over multiple years/books.

Kyle's book, of course, was the one with the nearest deadline, but I had to just take a deep breath and let him stew on the back burner for a while. I concentrated on getting ahead in The Prince's Boy instead, a serialized m/m romance I've been writing and posting as I go along. Doing a serial is kind of a high-wire act because I have to get a new chapter out every week. And what if Prince Kenet decided to dig in his heels like Kyle did? I'd really be up a creek. Fortunately for me, Kenet cooperated, and I wrote several chapters ahead on his story while I had the "free" time.

Kyle and I eventually came to an understanding about what was going on inside his head, and in his heart. I'm not giving anything away by saying that in the Magic University series, part of our hero's fantasy quest is the quest for true love. It being a quest, he isn't going to find it in the beginning of the story, but toward the end. As such, he ends the first book somewhat on the lonely side.

Well, actually, that is the problem. Some traumatic things happen to him in his freshman year of college, and I had planned that by the time I started book two, for his sophomore year, that he'd have gotten over them. As it turns out, he hadn't gotten over them at all. If anything, he was in denial about not having gotten over them, too, so with both him and me in denial... we had a lot of baggage that needed to be dealt with once it had dragged the story to a complete halt.

Of course, one of the things I like best about writing romance is I know my readership won't shy away from emotional highs and lows; they come to me for the rollercoaster ride, and so when a character has a lot of emotional baggage to deal with, ultimately it's like handing me more wool to weave. I can keep layering in more and more...

Until the deadline comes, anyway. And then I have to tear it free and hand it to the editor.

• How do you multi-task your work or writing projects?

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Cecilia Tan has been writing professionally since she was a teenager, which she definitely isn't, anymore. She is the author of several romances for Ravenous Romance, including her "Harry Potter for adults" the Magic University series and Mind Games, as well as the BDSM sci-fi adventure Royal Treatment just released from Torquere Press. Her literary erotica has been published nearly everywhere. She loves tea, baseball, cats, and books, and more of her thoughts on these and other subjects can be found at her blog: http://blog.ceciliatan.com/.

Dream Man--Review

Dream Man
Wild Rose Press
Nancy Parra
$6.75
(304 pages) Spicy

A NO NONSENSE WOMAN…

Dr. Eva Stanford only wants to help her patient sleep through the night. Little does she know that the old woman holds the secret to a thirty-year-old mystery that threatened the political life of a presidential candidate and Eva’s own family.

A MAN WITH A DREAM…

FBI Agent Nate Cancaid has a reoccurring dream of a woman with dark hair and blue eyes whose murder he is unable to prevent. When the blue-eyed doctor enters his office, he feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

A MYSTERY THAT TRANSCENDS TIME…

It’s bad enough when Eva’s patient claims that Eva and Nate are her married assistants, but coincidences grow too complicated for her scientific mind when some of the clues come straight out of Nate’s dreams. Can Eva keep from losing her heart to a man of intuition or has fate already dealt her a losing hand?

EXCERPT:

Nate thought about how beautiful Eva was...

How soft, how she held him close and tore him apart bit by bit. But she never promised him anything. That simple truth was hard to swallow. He was the one who pursued her. He was the one who pushed her into his bed. All she did was ask him to help her client.

It was no wonder she came at him like she did this morning. In her mind, the sex was good, but that was all they had. He pounded the pavement beneath him and scowled. No, it was more than that and he knew it. Nate swore she knew it too. They could pretend otherwise, but it didn’t make it any less real. It complicated things. She was hip deep in this damned mystery and he felt fate closing in around him.

Fate was a tricky thing. Sometimes free will wasn’t strong enough to combat it.

How the hell was he going to keep her safe? She didn’t want him around her twenty-four-seven. And yet that was what he needed to do if he was going to keep the dream from coming true. Speeding up, Nate turned a corner and headed home. He was certain of one thing. He shouldn’t have let Eva go to the clinic alone.

Available to buy in paperback or e-book format: Dream Man

My Thoughts:

I’ve read and enjoyed other books written by Nancy Parra. Dream Man wasn’t all what I expected it to be. I expected a contemporary romance. What I got was a tightly written, very entertaining, suspense. I made the mistake of opening it just to see the opening scene before I went to bed. It grabbed me and didn’t let go. I read a fourth of it before my eyes simply would not stay open. I read the rest the next day in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down. Nancy has a way of developing interesting characters and this was the first real suspense of hers I had read. I had no idea she could write such a gripping story.

This is well written suspense involves politics, love, and an unsolved, thirty-year-old cold case. While I won't give away any spoilers, I will say the premise of using dreams is fascination and current.

The story begins with a mystery. An older woman has been sleepwalking and brought to the sleep Clinic for help. Mrs. Patterson, who during the day, is an innocent and sweet grandma, but during her deepest sleep cycle and becomes someone totally different for an hour or two. Further more, she claims to be someone who has been dead for thirty years. How is that possible? This is the riddle facing Dr. Eva Sanford.

Eva can’t make up her mind whether her patient is a multiple personality or is it an elaborate charade. If it’s the truth, then it’s a very dangerous one. Eva’s family is well connected politically and Eva is well acquainted with that world. She knows that this secret can bring down a presidential candidate. A candidate with connections who will do whatever it takes to see their *boy* as the President of The United States, and if it’s the truth, already has several dead bodies hidden. If Eva pursues this, she knows that not only is life of her patient, Mrs. Patterson, in danger, but so is Eva’s.

Eva contacts Nate Cancaid, an FBI agent specializing in solving cold cases. He’s a very much “just the facts ma’am” man who doesn’t believe in anything woo-woo—except he’s had a reoccurring dream every night and at the same time, for years. Coincidence or Fate?

Nate reluctantly meets with Mrs. Patterson’s alter ego and is unnerved when she recognizes him. How is that possible? He’s never met her before. He’s convinced it’s some sort of sophisticated hoax, because the truth isn’t possible, or is it?

What I enjoyed about Dream Man is as each piece of the puzzle falls into place the tension tightens and danger stalks Eva and Nate. My background is in psych and the dialog is realistic. You know Eva is a doctor from the way she speaks. She uses current terminology, as does Nate.

Both have issues and internal conflicts that both have to work through for their relationship to succeed. Eva swears she’ll never marry and doesn’t believe in happy ever after—she’s never seen it in her world where marriages are bartered for the good of the political party. Love has nothing to do with it.

Nate, due to his reoccurring dream, has sworn off blue-eyed brunettes for fear she’ll die if he marries one. Yet he recognizes Eva as the one for him. Externally conflicts come from someone who will do anything to keep the secret behind the thirty-year-old cold case buried. It’s a race against time.

Dream Man was a joy to read and I have to say, kept me on my toes right up to the denouement.

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Nancy J. Parra holds a Bachelor’s degree in journalism but turned to writing fiction when she discovered it was more fun to interview the people in her head. She lives in the Midwest with her wonderful husband. Since her two, almost-perfect children have left the nest; Nancy now fills her free time nurturing a mutt named George Bernard, and a bichon-poo, named Gracie Lou.

Nancy is currently hard at work on her next book. She loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at her website http://www.nancyjparra.com/.