BRAIN, DON'T DESERT ME NOW!

TWO giveaways...in ebook form...one of Blue Ribbon to one reader. One of Red Hot to another.

I heard a suspicious whine in the air so I thought I'd better fortify the Over Coffee bar. Hot scones will be out of the oven soon, meanwhile help yourself to the fresh coffee and tea. Made cookies last night and they're great with coffee and kick butt on the whine. Just sayin' 

My guest is romance author, Carolyn Brown. She's been dancin' around with way too many sexy cowboys the past couple of weeks, but I'll let her tell you about that problem...

***

So I was about to send a note off to Sia to ask her for an interview rather than a post. My brain was coming up totally empty and for me that’s a first. I can always talk the ears off a politician so what was wrong with my brain. Did I have something terminal? Good Lord, was I going to blank out on the WIP? It’s only a few thousand words over the half way mark…brain don’t desert me now!

Then that little voice inside my head said, “Hey, you have given your brain cells a workout this past two weeks and they are demanding a vacation? Plus you've been layin’ off sugar and your fat cells are whinin’. The brain cells demand the right to whine along with them.”

One can not argue with the truth but it can be explained.

I was typing along on the third book in the Burnt Boot series and was on top of the mountain. That’s when I hit the half way mark. I've climbed, struggled, slipped in several places and slid backwards in even more. But now I’m on the top. I can see where I've been and where I’m going and the backside doesn't look nearly as formidable as getting to the top.

Then I got the first round edits for Daisies in the Canyon and it does involve more than adding commas and question marks. No problem, put the WIP on hold. I've reached the top so it’s not any big deal, right?’

Wrong! I get half way through the Daisies in the Canyon and I get the first round edits for The Trouble with Texas Cowboys. Both of my publishers are putting out a book next January—one at the beginning of the month; one at the end. So I leave Daisies in the Canyon and work on The Trouble with Texas Cowboys because the deadline for it comes first. Remember now, I was half way through with the WIP, One Cowboy Too Many.

Three sets of characters dashing around in my head which means a lot of hot cowboys. I turned on the fans and drank a lot of really cold water. I could do this. I could eat an elephant a bite at a time. So still no problem, right?”

Wrong again! My awesome editor called to say that since we’d decided to go another route with the last two books in the Burnt Boot series, the launch materials did not fit anymore. So I left behind Daisies in the Canyon, The Trouble with Texas Cowboys and One Cowboy Too Many and whipped out new launch materials. Then I had five sets of characters in my head, all of them involving hot cowboys and I needed more than a fan, dear hearts! Where were those little white pills to prevent hot flashes? I know I had some left in the cabinet.

And that is why my brain cells are whining today! But hey, I wanted to be a writer. I asked all the higher powers to let me be a writer. And now I am one so my brain cells can suck it up and help me think of a decent post so Sia won’t be disappointed. And my fat cells can be

The one and only Chester Fat Boy. He told
Boots Randolph Terminator Outlaw, it was
his turn to be the star.

quiet, too, or I’ll start cleaning house and sweat a few of them out just to show them I’m still the boss.

Oh, and I finished all the edits, the launch materials and worked on a few more new ideas for the WIP. Got to admit I probably couldn't have done it without my muse so meet Chester Fat Boy, who has been beside me every day for two weeks. Yes, he does have his own pillow and yes, he does sleep a lot but he never forsakes me. I bet he’d even have something very interesting to write a post about and he wouldn't whine like my brain and fat cells!

I spent a week in Cadillac, Texas (you can read about it here). Both books are great stories and you have a chance to win an e-book of either, The Blue-Ribbon Jalapeno Society (Book I) or the current book, The Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off (Book II and they can be read as a stand-alone). 

BTW, Sia is never disappointed with any of Carolyn Brown's writing. Just sayin'.

                                                                                                                                                          

BUY: AMAZON, B&N,
CHAPTERS INDIGO ca, INDIEBOUND

More Than the Chili's Heating Up Cadillac, Texas

Carlene Lovelle, co-owner of Bless My Bloomers lingerie shop, found a pair of fancy red-silk panties in her husband's briefcase, and all hell is breaking loose. She custom-made those fancy bloomers herself—and she remembers the bimbo who bought them. If her husband had a lick of sense, he'd known there are no secrets in a town like Cadillac.

Carlene's cohorts—and their mamas—plan to exact revenge on Lenny Joe where it'll hurt the most: break his ten-year winning streak at the prestigious Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off. Never before has a woman dared to compete. But the ladies of Bless My Bloomers are cooking up a storm...and it seems the whole town is taking sides in the showdown.

Welcome to Cadillac, Texas, where the chili is hot, the gossip is hotter, and friends stick by each other, no matter what the challenge.

                                                                                                                     

Carolyn Brown is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with more than fifty books published, and credits her eclectic family for her humor and writing ideas. She writes bestselling single title cowboy and country music mass market romances. Born in Texas and raised in southern Oklahoma, Carolyn and her husband now make their home in the town of Davis, Oklahoma, where she continues to write more cowboy romances! For more information, please visit www.CarolynLBrown.com and Facebook.

MONDAY'S MUSINGS—TOOK A TRIP AND NEVER LEFT THE RANCH

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day. Mine was great and I got to spend some time with my mother on Saturday and got to see her mama cat's new litter of babies. She has them in one of her extra bedrooms—now a nursery, lol! That's my mom J.

We have a winner for M.L. Buchman's Pure Heat: Farawayeyes. If you'll contact me I'll arrange for you to pick up your copy. Congratulations!

While I was recuperating and restless I had the chance to read some books that I enjoyed. Somewhere along the way my sense of restlessness was assuaged by my 'travels'. I've been to Texas, Colorado, Montana and slipped up into northwest Canadian wilderness, traveled all the way over to Pennsylvania and up to Maine.  Pretty nifty. Take a trip and never leave the farm, J  I’d thought I share a few with you (All were at least 4 1/2 stars in rating). 

Being restless I wanted something different. Something to pique my interest and divert me from hurting. I do have eclectic taste in reading. And it is very much mood driven. About the only thing I don’t read is horror (sorry horror fans), I don’t care for heavy-duty erotic romance (I like a bit left to my imagination), and kid’s books (my kid’s all grown up). I've read and enjoyed a few YA—but I really have to be in the mood to read YA (preferably when I don’t have a house load of young adults running in and out or playing Dear Abby with me). 

I have a towering stack of TBR books I can read but nothing appealed. Have you had those times? 

A friend of mine who writes sexy and fun cowboys also writes women’s fiction (which I hadn't read yet). She has a great sense of humor and I've laughed a lot reading her books, her turn of phrase, her realistic settings, sense of family and community. I needed some laughter and so I thought, why not?

TheBlue-Ribbon Jalapeño Society Jubilee and the second, The Red Hot Chilli Cookoff, by Carolyn Brown. 

“Welcome to Cadillac, Texas, where the jalapeños are hot, the gossip is hotter, and at the end of the day, it's the priceless friendships that are left standing...”

Oh, I am so glad I passed that welcome sign! That was five days of fun and laughter spent in Cadillac, Texas. Just what the doctor ordered.  What drew me to her stories?  Well, I loved watching movies like Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes, and absolutely loved Designing Woman series on TV. These books encapsulate the best of those shows. The southern humor, laughter and tears, diverse multi-generational women and how they deal with life, and strong friendships that see you through everything life throws you. Scratch the surface of the southern charm and you’ll find some very strong women who can take you to the cleaners without breaking a sweat and smile graciously while doing it, bless their hearts. I have to tell you, I fell in love with the feisty Agnes! The woman is diabolical and Lord love her, she can have my back anytime. She is a character in both books. All I can say is I’m glad I’m not the pretentious Violet (I loved how that played out!).

If you like a face paced page-turner and laugh out loud situations these two stories are a must read this summer.

I tried a new, to me, author, Mark Nykanen. I haven’t read any of his books but that will change henceforth. I read his thriller, Primitive Excellent story. Definitely intense. I like stories that grab from current issues facing us and in this case it was climate control and what dangers could be facing our world if steps aren't  taken to correct consumption. I've read a lot about the issue. But Primitive doesn't preach and it is an involving, multi-layered thriller about climate change theories. It starts with a kidnapping of a well-known model, Sonya Adams, to act as a spokesperson for their group’s agenda and subsequent media frenzy and some darker governmental agencies involved. It kept me turning pages and I liked the growth of Sonya and how she found her own tough core to survive. There is a well-developed layer in the story that says the surface may not show the whole and that’s especially true in the relationship between Sonya and her estranged daughter, Darcy. They seem at first glance to be polar opposites and yet at the core of both are more similar they either believes. Tightly constructed and entertaining story. Makes you think. If you like a good suspense/thriller it’s worth the read!

Another new to me author, but not for long, is Melinda Leigh. I read her romantic suspense, Midnight Exposure. Another multi-layered page-turner. I really liked the reasons for the creepy villains actions. She developed that well without tipping her hand by prematurely revealing him (I knew one character had to be involved but minute clues said he wasn't the main bad guy and that kept me guessing for awhile). You really got to see the bad guy’s arc and goals and motivations. Still a very creepy guy but very well done. This one starts with the disappearance of two hikers, which is blamed on the snowstorms in the Maine wilderness, but it’s oh so much more. Add in the attempted kidnapping of visitor, Jayne Sullivan, a tall red-headed beauty who is a part time tabloid photographer, a reclusive sculptor with past, and sparks fly. There is a well done happy ever after but not before some serious danger to traverse and problems, one of which is to keep Jayne out of the hands of a creepy Druid with an agenda. I really enjoyed the story—clever in execution and fast paced with a good romance attached. Hope you will, too.

So, how was your Mother's Day? Do anything fun? Read any good books you'd like to share?

 

WHEN COWBOYS START TALKING

 I love writing romance because it’s about emotions and relationships. Human nature hasn't changed a bit since Eve coveted the fruit in the Garden of Eden. - Carolyn Brown

My guest today is, New York bestselling romance author, Carolyn Brown. I absolutely adore Carolyn. She's funny, sassy, and even her self proclaimed evil streak makes me laugh. 

Carolyn always has a fun story to tell. What makes it even better is she writes some fun stories, too. Hot and sexy and filled with people so real I swear she's been visiting another dimensions as a fly on the wall. I know if I could just find that door I could go visit with these people. Haven't found the door, darn it, but I do have Carolyn visiting today to tell us how her latest series came about.

Shhh, don’t tell anyone.

I have voices in my head.

They showed up a few months ago and refused to leave. I’d just finished the last Spikes & Spurs book, and suddenly four cowboys took up residence in my head.

These cowboys were rich beyond imagination which was unusual. Most of the time when cowboys start talking to me, they’re just good old hard working ranchers, but not so this time. My first thought was that this was going to be a wild bunch who’d be hard to control and I decided that I wasn't going to pay any attention to them. The last thing I needed in my head was a bunch of unruly cowboys but they followed me around every where I went. The manager of the local grocery store aimed all the cameras in the store at me when I walked through the doors because I argued with the cowboys quite loudly in the store and things did get heated when they didn't get their way.

But hey, they insisted I buy such things as extra cocoa to make chocolate sheet cakes and blackberries for cobblers. Then I had to eat them because I couldn't bear to see good food go to waste. Which resulted in weight gain and none of my clothes would fit.

It came down to a choice. Write the story or get banned from the grocery store. And I do like to eat!

Finally, I sat down and said, “Okay, tell me your story and introduce me to those ladies you've been all moony-eyed over.”

OMG!

Now that I said I’d listen to their story, I had sexy cowboys in my dreams.

I ran out of hot flash pills in one week after Colton Nelson decided my dreams would be a good time to tell me all about how he became a billionaire. There he was in living color in those tight jeans, shirt sleeves rolled up to his bulging biceps…and believe me, my eyes had trouble staying above the big belt buckle.

I swear that cowboy sat on my pillow and whispered in my ear. And when he got to the spicy scenes about him and Laura, well, dear hearts, I blushed scarlet. Husband woke up and thought I had a hot fever and it took a fair amount of persuasion to keep him from rushing me to the hospital emergency room.

When I finished Billion Dollar Cowboy, I thought I’d have some peace and dreamless nights.

But Natalie brought her pink pistol and a baby boy named Joshua into my head. If I didn't tell the story then poor little baby Joshua was going to grow up without a father. Believe me, I've never worked with a more stubborn pig-headed cowboy than Lucas. He and I clashed horns on aisle five in the Wal-Mart store and I had to go back to the books, pick up a copy of my latest book, show them my photo ID and prove that I was really a romance author before they’d let me leave the store…without the straight jacket.

I finished The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby and declared I was taking a week off and going to the beach. Yeah, right! The first scene from The Cowboy’s Mail Order Bride popped into my dreams. Thank goodness I wasn't in Wal-Mart because Greg thought Emily Cooper was a stripper and nothing would change his mind. Emily said I couldn't have a week off and leave her on the porch with a sexy cowboy who expected her to start taking her clothes off.  So I wrote while I watched the ocean waves slap against the sand.

The fourth cowboy said not to be even thinking of a vacation, that he and his twin daughters had been patient long enough. And besides there was that poor woman in a tattered wedding gown asleep on his porch. I had another choice. I could write How to Marry a Cowboy or I could take his daughters for the summer. I’d done already found out in the first three books that Lily and Gabby were a hand full so I started writing. The twins told me that if I didn't get on the ball they were bringing their tom cat and their two young goats to my house with them. Believe me! I wrote until the wee hours and I helped Annie Rose all I could so I didn't have to keep those two ornery girls.

The rough drafts were written. The store manager was happy. Wal-Mart was happy.

And then four more cowboys showed up! Shhhh…don’t tell anyone.

                                                                                                                                              

BUY: AMAZON, B&N,
WALMART

Billion Dollar Cowboy

A Billionaire Can Buy Anything...

Colton Nelson was twenty-eight years old when he won the Texas Lottery and went from ranch hand to ranch owner overnight. Now he's desperate to keep the gold diggers away. It shouldn't be too hard to find a pretty girl and hire her to pretend to be his one-and-only.

Or Can He?

Laura Baker's got mixed feelings about this—she's on the ranch to work, not to be arm candy. On the other hand, being stuck for a while in the boondocks with a gorgeous cowboy isn't half-bad.

What neither Colton nor Laura expects are the intensely hard lessons they have to learn about the real cost of love...Excerpt

                                                                                                                                           

CAROLYN BROWN—DUMPING THE SMUG

Having New York Times bestseller, Carolyn Brown, visiting today is like having a friend over for coffee and a chat. I love the world Carolyn creates for each of her stories. Her storytelling is a joy to read because she makes her people so real—not perfect because that would be boring. You meet her character types when you stop in the local cafe for lunch, the cashier at the grocery store, the teller at the bank, the hunk who loads your hay. All real and chocked full of life's attitudes.

Her topic is one I think all writers and readers can  relate to—a lesson in becoming smug. C'mon, admit it, we've all had our smug moments, haven't we?

Good morning, Sia! I’ve got a cup of coffee and I want to thank you so much for inviting me back to your blog site to promote One Hot Cowboy Wedding which hit the shelves just this week. It’s the fourth in the Spikes and Spurs series which hit the ground running last June with a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, Love Drunk Cowboy. It’s Ace and Jasmine’s story and there are three more to follow it so keep the country music playing and your boots shined.

Those next three plus my debut women’s fiction book are what I want to discuss with the readers today because they’ve taught me an important lesson about getting too comfortable and sure of myself.

Smug!

That’s the only word for the way I was feeling right after the first of the year! I was Superwoman. I had finished all but one deadline ahead of time. My new woman’s fiction had even been rewritten and I’d spent a few minutes with my fabulous editor and the Sourcebooks staff coming up with ideas for a knock-your-socks-off title.

Yep, smug! Bright shiny, diamond studded smug!

And then the phone call came…

My editor had read my cowboy holiday book and it didn’t have enough Christmas in it. Could I get the third book in the new three book deal ready right quick and could it please have snow and Christmas trees and lots of holiday cheer in it? We’d slip it into the first slot where the former Christmas book was and push the other two up to slots two and three.

Yes, ma’am. No problem.

Smug had tarnished a little.

And…

Oh, my! There was an AND! The original Christmas book would now need some major rewriting because it needed what little Christmas stuff was in it played down and turned into a straight rodeo romance. And there was a chapter that had too much back story so could we please do something with that?

Yes, ma’am. No problem.

Smug lost a few diamonds.

And…

The woman’s fiction book still has too much romance so it will have to have some tweaking and we’re pushing the publication date up to January, 2013.

Yes, ma’am. No problem. But dear hearts, even though it’s been my dream to write women’s fiction in like, forever, it’s not easy to change horses in the middle of the stream. I’ve written more than sixty romance books and it’s wired into my brain to give everyone an HEA. But still it was yes, ma’am, no problem. I could do this if I wanted to fulfill my in like forever dream.

Smug was getting really dull.

And…

The book that used to be in the second slot that had been moved to the third slot would have to have some reworking because of the time sequence. Secondary characters would change and believe me, the readers would KNOW if things weren’t right.

Yes, ma’am. I can do that.

Smug was thrown into the scrap metal heap.

I have tunnel vision so I focused on the first job at hand, then the second and the third. Now it’s down to one project and I’m so glad for my publisher’s and editor’s insight because what has come out of that phone call is not one but four books that are stronger and hopefully more enticing to my readers.

Smug has been erased (by a black permanent marker) from my dictionary. And my readers can look forward to Mistletoe Cowboy, Creed Riley’s story in October; Just a Cowboy, Gemma’s story in December; the woman’s fiction in January and sometime in the spring Dewar’s story (title hasn’t been decided).

I’ll be around all day to answer questions and I do believe there are a couple of books to be given away so if you want your name in the hat for them, please comment. Spikes and Spurs now has seven books in the series…

• what makes you continue to come back and read books about rough old sexy cowboys and sassy women? 

• What would you like to see in the future? More Spikes and Spurs, or are you ready for a new series?

ONE HOT COWBOY WEDDING  IN STORES APRIL 2012

                     

A marriage made in Vegas...

Hunky cowboy Ace Riley wasn't planning on settling down, but his family had other plans for him...The only way to save his hide, and his playboy lifestyle, is to discreetly marry his best friend, Jasmine King.

Can't possibly last…

Feisty city–girl Jasmine as just helping out her friend—that is, until their first kiss stirs up a whole mess of trouble, and suddenly discretion is thrown to the wind.  EXCERPT

One hot cowboy, one riled up woman...

And they'll be married for a year, like it or not!

Buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Chapters Indigo ca

Carolyn Brown is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with more than forty books published, and credits her eclectic family for her humor and writing ideas. She writes bestselling single title cowboy and country music mass market romances. Born in Texas and raised in southern Oklahoma, Carolyn and her husband now make their home in the town of Davis, Oklahoma, where she continues to write more cowboy romances! For more information, please visit www.CarolynLBrown.com.

Carolyn Brown On Being 'Gracefully' Challenged

We have two copies of Darn Good Cowboy Christmas to give to two commenters today.

My guest is romance author, Carolyn Brown.


Hold on a moment while I have a brief fan-girl moment-squeee! Okay, I'm better now. 


If you have to ask me why the squee, then you haven't been reading her books. Not only is she a fabulous storyteller, but she has some the sexiest and fun loving cowboys this side of the Rio Grande--both sides, if you want my biased opinion. Her towns and citizens feel so real I just know all I have to do is find a map (trust me, I've been looking) and I can go visit with them. I absolutely love the way they talk and the expressions used. It would be fun to head over to the O'Donnell house for Sunday dinner and listen to the music afterward--I'd even put up with Colleen to do that, LOL! Carolyn tends to make me laugh--a lot.


Today, she talks about a glitch she faced not so long ago, that wasn't very funny, but how she tells it in retrospect, is.

Happy Holidays everyone! Thank you, Sia, for inviting me to stop by your site today! Halloween is over. Thanksgiving is right around the corner and after that Christmas. And I have a brand new Christmas book on the market, Darn Good Cowboy Christmas.

Liz has been raised in a traveling carnival and the top thing on her list has been a house with no wheels. Her Uncle Haskell gave her the house, a barn and twenty acres. The next thing on her list was a cowboy of her own. Will the very sexy Raylen O’Donnell be that cowboy?

A few years ago it was doubtful that I would ever write another book. Talk about a glitch that put me quite literally out of the deadline world for a while. I had one that writers shiver about.

It was all Husband’s fault. He had house shoes that he just slid his feet down in and shuffled along like an old man. Well, in his shuffling he kicked some of the air from the living room into the kitchen without telling me that it was sitting there, precariously at the end of the bar.

Now, realize that I am gracefully challenged and even a little bit of air that’s been moved from one place to another is a disaster and I tripped and fell! Splat! Right there in the kitchen floor!

My left arm is the stupidest part of my whole body. I say this because it thought it could hold all of me up and prevent me from bashing my brains in on the kitchen floor. The silly thing hit the floor and I heard a loud crack and saw a lot of blood.

Husband said that we had to go to Beloved Daughter’s house and tell her about the accident before we could go to the hospital. So there I was sitting in the passenger’s seat of the pickup truck with my feet on the dash while he tells her that he thinks my arm might be broken. No, he did not tell her that it was all his fault and that I was already cussing those damn house shoes. That’s when I pushed my feet against the window to get away from the pain and made the prettiest spider web cracks all over the whole window.

We drove twenty-five miles to the hospital with him looking between the cracks and worrying that I’d never be able to type again. He sure didn’t want to live with me if that was the case. He pulled up to the emergency room doors and I let myself out of the truck with my good arm, started through those big double doors (I understand now they lock them) and the receptionist yelled at me that I have to fill out papers before I was allowed back there.

“Tell Husband to fill them out. I have to get this fixed so I can write a book,” I told her.

The triage expert had the audacity to ask me why I thought my arm was broken. I figured he had cow chips for brains so I peeled the towel off and held up the bloody mess. His little eyes popped out and he blanched. Then he asked me how much I weighed. Again, not so smart! I lied by ten pounds or maybe it was twenty. I figured I had the right since my bone was poking out of the skin.

They took me to a room to wait for the surgeon and cut my favorite denim jumper and my shirt off my body. I told them I’d just kicked the windshield out and they’d best leave my new bra alone so they laid the scissors down and backed away slowly.

I went to surgery and that’s when they told me that the “knockout medicine” was given based on weight. And I panicked! I had lied about my weight and I’d wake up too soon! There would be a mess in operating room four that no one would ever forget.

Being drug sensitive, I went out like a light and woke up several hours later, looked at my arm and knew I’d never type again. But in six weeks the apparatus came off and the cast went on and I told my fingers if they didn’t type, they’d listen to me bitch until the undertaker laid me in the casket and crossed them over my chest. They believed me and hence, Darn Good Cowboy Christmas, my tenth cowboy romance and fifty-fourth book is now on the shelves.

• The heroine of my book, Liz, wanted a house with no wheels and a cowboy. 
• I wanted to be able to type again. 
• What’s on your list this year?

Darn Good Cowboy Christmas   

by Carolyn Brown—In Stores NOW!

 He’s One Hot Cowboy

Raylen O’Donnell is one smokin’ hot cowboy. He could have any woman he wants, but he’s never been able to forget a certain dark-haired girl who disappeared from his life. So when she suddenly returns to the ranch nexct door, Raylen’s not fixing to let her get away again…

And She’s Out for a Sizzlin’ Christmas

Raised in a traveling carnival, Lizelle Hanson thought all she wanted was a house that didn’t have wheels and a sexy cowboy for her very own. But settling down’s going to take some getting used to, and cathing Raylen, the hotter-than-hell cowboy next door, might just take a little holiday magic…Excerpt 

BUY: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million Available in both print and ebook.

Carolyn Brown is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with more than forty books published, and credits her eclectic family for her humor and writing ideas. She writes bestselling single title cowboy and country music mass market romances. Born in Texas and raised in southern Oklahoma, Carolyn and her husband now make their home in the town of Davis, Oklahoma, where she is working on her next book, One Hot Cowboy Wedding, which will be in stores in April 2012.

For more information, please visit http://carolynlbrown.com/.

Hi-ho,The derry-o A NaNo-ing I Go

November is National Novel Writing Month, or as most call its, NaNo. This is my second year of Thirty days and nights of literary abandon--aka insanity.

I have on my author info the following: "Sia McKye claims, other than being insane to sign up for this, she's pretty normal. Sia writes paranormal and contemporary romance. She also has a successful Blog where she features various authors and their books. Sia should know all about writing, after all she's done, but when contemplating that concept, tends to laugh manically." 

I'm pretty much focused on meeting my writing goals and all my spare time is being used in doing so. If you don't see me on line or blog hopping much (the great time thief) you'll know why.

I'm mostly a pantzer, meaning I have a general idea of where I'm going and what will happen, but the specifics are subject to change as the characters develop their own mind and personality. I've had a few surprises along the way. I'm over 10k consecutive  words into this story. I've hit a few glitches and brick walls. Ouch. When that happens I've been known to pound my head on the wall and ask myself why in the hell do I put myself in this sort of position to begin with, LOL! But then a funny thing happens. My mind just skips ahead and I find myself writing other scenes that I will have to connect to the overall story later. I probably have another 15k of scenes like that. What I've discovered is I can come back to where I left off and I can move forward again.


I have a couple of writing buddies who take several weeks before NaNo to prep for their story. They get their research in order, figure out scenes, characters, and plot points. A couple of them will finish their 50k by mid month. They are leaps and bounds ahead of me and that's okay. 


I've been researching the background for this story for months. My research file over 8 MB thick covering history, languages, old legends, and the region of my setting--including maps--fauna and flora and the habits of such. While I've actually lived in the state the story takes place in and know it well, there was still much I didn't know. It was fun. But now comes the building the story and weaving the characters into the world. 


My goal is to achieve the 50,000 words. Me and the writing support critters are working hard towards accomplishing that.

• How about you? Are you a participant? How's it going?
• You can find me on NaNo site as Sia McKye. Buddy up with me!

This week's guests: Carolyn Brown-Wednesday and the Magically Delicious, Judi Fennell-Friday 


A couple of things to make you smile:

 

                                                

Monday Musings: Enriching Your Writing—Colloquialisms

The Internet has made the world much smaller. This is true especially when it comes to really seeing the differences in the word usage and slang between English speaking countries. To be honest, even within a country there is various regional slang and dialects. We can tell where a person is from by the way they speak. This is truly apparent in a country as large as The United States.

Slang doesn’t bother me so long as it isn’t in professional writing or spoken in a professional setting. Of course I tend to cringe when I hear phrases like, 'he ain't got no business coming down on me'. I tend to correct my son when I hear him use the wrong verb tense or a word in the wrong context.

The use of slang, colloquialisms, and clichés can add flavor to your writing, so long as those devices aren’t over used. It can also characterize your setting and add to your characters—without getting into a bunch of backstory. The use of slang and colloquial phrases are usually confined to character speech (or inner thoughts) and not to the whole manuscript.

Not every character will speak in the same manner (and wouldn’t it be boring if they did). The big city girl comes to the country for a job or another purpose. She uses proper English in her speech but hearing the way others speak can add conflict in her perception of the people or another character she comes into contact with. She might perceive them as uneducated and this could cause her to make judgments or underestimate the other character(s). That can work both ways, of course.

There are those who don’t agree with using slang, colloquialisms, or clichés and that’s fine, but even some of the classic literary giants, if you will recall, used them.

A street-smart punk isn’t going to speak in perfect English and if the author, critique partner, or editor tries to force that on the character it will make the character flat and unrealistic. Someone from the Deep South isn’t going to use his or her words or even the same sentence structure as someone from, fill in the blank____ Maine, California, Upper Midwest, Western states, Pennsylvania Dutch country, does. Those differences can be used to give flavor to our characters and settings.

An author who does this well, in my opinion, is Carolyn Brown. She writes about people from Texas and Okalahoma in small town and ranch country. She gives richness to her stories with the use of colloquial phrases and regional slang. Her writing pops with location, setting, and realistic people. I laugh because it captures that area so well. Even if you’re not from or never visited the area it works. She doesn’t waste time defining the phrases or words she uses but the context in which they’re used is self-explanatory.

Judi Fennell is another who uses well-placed slang, colloquial phrases, and clichés. Her stories play on pop culture and so it works. In her Mer series, she doesn't waste time explaining terms like shell fillers. It’s obvious by the way she uses the term what it means. There is quite a bit of humor attached to her plots and characters and her skillful play on words only enhance her writing. Judi makes up slang and colloquial phrases to fit her world and does it well.

Neither of these authors over uses these devices but they both know how and when to use them effectively.

If you write Regencies, you automatically use syntax of the era as well as the slang. It gives the feeling of place and time. Military suspense, thrillers, or romance use slang or jargon because the military has its own terminology as does law enforcement. Someone writing sci-fi or paranormal will create his or her own world jargon and slang.

I think it’s perfectly legitimate to use colloquial speech and clichés in your writing to add texture to your story so long as the terms fit and aren’t use merely as a form of laziness.

 

·        Do you use, colloquialisms, and clichés in your writing?

·        How do you decide when and how to use them?

Getting Lucky—Review

~Sia McKye~


Romance/Contemporary
By: Carolyn Brown
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Release: December 2009



BLURB:

ONE HOTHEADED SCHOOLTEACHER WHO DOESN'T TAKE GUFF FROM ANYBODY...

Single mom Julie Donavan is looking for a place to start over. As soon as she meets the absolutely infuriating, oh-so-sexy cowboy next door things quickly go from bad to worse...

ONE STUBBORN COWBOY WHO'S MORE THAN WILLING TO CROSS HORNS...

Single dad "Lucky Griffin" Luckadeau thinks his new neighbor is scheming to steal his ranch out from under him to benefit her own daughter. But when his daughter, Lizzy, decides she wants the new little girl who lives on the feuding property to be her friend, or better yet her sister, the sparks fly.

These two stubborn hotheads, who irritate each other beyond endurance, refuse to admit that it's fate that brought them together. And running from the inevitable is only going to bring a double dose of misery…

"Chalk up another great story by Carolyn Brown! I was immersed…right from the very first page."

Roundtable Reviews

My Thoughts:

There are authors who write good stories and build good characters. Carolyn Brown writes an excellent story and creates characters so alive you think you could sit down and chat with them. Her dialog is snappy with liberal use of humor and Texas speak. Definitely a must read book.

She captured my interest the first page. I couldn't help but laugh when I read Julie's thoughts about Griff and her reactions. And boy howdy, sparks do fly between these two.

I absolutely adore the ladies of the Lackadeau family. Their tart sense of humor and way of looking at things. A strong bunch of ladies with strong opinions but Julie can more than handle them; she sets them back on their butts. With out giving away spoilers, there is a favorite scene (actually one of several I loved) in the book, where Griff's sister has made some assumptions and Julie calls her on it. Then promises to wipe the yard with her. Julie, being a schoolteacher, uses the techniques one uses with little kids, you know, three occurrences and you're in trouble? Through out the book you'll see Julie put up one finger, or two...cracks me up.

"You like my sister?" Julie was amazed.

"Of course. We have a lot in common. She's not trying to take my baby brother for a cheap ride to the altar." Melinda said.

Julie held up two fingers.

"I'm glad I'm going home. I've had to grow three new tongues just to keep from biting mine off to keep you off my back..."

Julie giggled...

There's a lot of good bantering between all the characters and some of the situations Carolyn puts her characters into are real and hilarious.

For sure the course of true love doesn't run true. Both Griff and Julie have some real issues to settle, but you sigh and wish for more when you reach the happily-ever-after and the end.


I have to admit, I've taken a real liking to Alvera, I wonder if she could give me lessons on handling the Clarice's of the world, lol!

Carolyn Brown is firmly on my authors to read list! She writes wonderful contemporary Romances.

~*~*~*~*~*~

• Getting Lucky is the last book of Carolyn's Lucky series. The first, which I haven't read yet, but I will, is Lucky In Love, the second is One Lucky Cowboy, and this one, Getting Lucky.
  

• All three stories center around three cousins: Beau, Slade and Griffin. They are all hot-headed, sexy-as-hell ranchers who meet their matches in Milli, Jane and Julie, sassy southern women.
  

Carolyn says, "...they are inspired by every cowboy in Texas and every woman who knows her mind and stands up for her rights."

• Carolyn is working on another series for Sourcebooks. The Honky Tonk Series, a four book series, will debut with I Love This Bar in June 2010, followed by Hell Yeah, My Give a Damn’s Busted, and Honky Tonk Christmas. Each book is set in the Honky Tonk, an old beer joint in Mingus, Texas (Population 238) and is filled with quirky characters, hunky cowboys and brassy bar maids.

Check out her website at carolynlbrown.com

© Sia McKye 2009 all rights reserved