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?

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

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.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

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/.

A Novel Ending

From time to time I like to feature professionals to share their experience and knowledge with us. Whether we're just beginning with our writing or are published, there is always the world's largest room--room for improvement.

My guest today is Beth Hill. She is a fabulous writer you may recall her Christmas Story, Christmas Cookies and Holiday Joy, December 23, 2009. Beth is also a gifted editor with the knack of working on a manuscript like a sculptor does on a block of fine marble. She takes good material and makes it better. The resulting piece of art is something to behold. We have been known to say, “Beth is a Goddess!” And since she works magic, sees the issues and solutions so clearly, she truly is one.

I invited her to visit with us Over Coffee to share some of her insights and practical wisdom with us. I’ll be running several of her articles in the coming months.

Today, her topic is endings and how to satisfy our readers.


As a writer, what do you owe your reader?

A fast read? A world of escape? Adventure or thrills or beauty he can’t experience at home?

Do you guarantee 300 flawless pages with characters who overcome odds or solve the mystery or promise to love forever?

Maybe your stories teach a lesson, open eyes, spark conversations over late-night coffees or breakfast-table cereal.

No matter where you take the reader, what you drag him through or under or around, you must see that he’s satisfied. Ensure that at the moment he reads the final page, he feels the satisfaction that yes, this story could only end this way.

When the hero limps home with a prize many times more valuable than the one he sought, when the amateur sleuth cracks the case that stumped professionals, when love succeeds where animosity failed, then the reader feels the world is back in balance. The ride is over. And it’s been a rewarding one.

You want him to feel his foray into your fictional world was worth every minute that he spent with your characters. That it was worth passing up every other endeavor he missed or put off in order to read your book.

But a satisfying ending is not easy to write. You must answer major plot questions without rehashing every event. You must remember to pull Aunt Edna off the roof where you stashed her when the terrorists took over her home. You must have given your readers something to love in both hero and heroine so that when you tell them they’ve fallen in love for life, the readers believe, can actually feel the love.

Your mysteries must not have been so simple they could be solved by page twenty. Your leads must face conflict and emerge victorious, even if they’re beat up by the time they reach the end.

Even if your story doesn’t include a happily-ever-after, is the end still inevitable? Did you plan each step so the reader feels that sense of certainty when he reads the final pages?

Authors don’t owe their readers a happy ending (unless it’s an expectation of the genre). They don’t owe annihilation of all evil. They don’t owe restoration for every injustice faced by their characters. But they do owe their readers satisfaction, a completion of the contract entered into when the reader laid out money and/or time to live in the writer’s world for a couple hours. It is justice, of a kind. Fair dealing between writer and reader. And if it’s done well, this completion of the author/reader contract, the writer has reason to hope the reader will both recommend the novel and look for more from the same author.

Authors owe their readers a good read. A satisfying ending is one way to ensure that good read. A reader will forgive; maybe forget, a saggy middle if the end sings. But there’s no remedy for a bad ending. The bad taste remains in the reader’s mouth with nothing good to wash it away, except maybe a different novel with a more satisfying ending. But what writer wants to send his readers from his worlds to those of another writer?

Please your readers. Pay them back for their investment in your book. And invite them into your next story by giving them the expectation that each novel will not only take them on an adventure, but also return them to their world fulfilled and rewarded for having lost themselves in yours.

Checklist for reader satisfaction:

• Is the end inevitable? (Or would
  other endings make more sense?)

• Was the end hard won? (Or did the hero fall
  into his triumphs?)

• Does it make sense by every measure? (Or were
  vital steps glossed over?)

• Is the end long enough—deep enough—for the length
  and breadth of the novel? (Or does a 400-page novel get a two-paragraph resolution?)

• Are major plot points addressed without being
  overemphasized? (Or does the ending drag?)

• Are burning questions answered? (Or
  are they relegated to nothing status by the end?)
  
  

To set up the satisfying ending, be sure:

• The main character is someone the reader identifies
  with.

• Conflict and tension are present and
  dynamic.

• Reader emotions are engaged.

• Pace varies.

• Action is seen, not only talked
  about.

• The story is layered, so the reader must be
  satisfied by several outcomes on several levels.

• The ending grows out of earlier
  events.
  

As a writer, what do you do specifically to insure your readers are satisfied with your stories?

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Beth Hill is a freelance fiction editor who loves to bring out the best in every manuscript. At the same time, she’s eager to share tips with writers so their subsequent novels will each be stronger than the last.

You can find Beth at A Novel Edit.

She edits full-length fiction manuscripts and also offers an edit of those important first thirty pages, especially helpful to those submitting to agent or publisher, or entering a contest.

SEXY VAMPIRES WITH LANA GRIFFIN

Dusk Book Blurb:

Alexandra Leveau comes from an ancient voodoo priestess clan that's been feuding with sexy vamp Vadim Blerinca's family for centuries. The mysterious "bad blood" between the Leveaus and Blerincas is what keeps Alexandra and Vadim burning for each other, yet it also makes them a very dangerous match: by making love, each could kill the other.

Added to the erotically charged mix are Alexandra's ex-boyfriend, the poetic wraith Skipp, as well as a gargoyle who is devoted to Alexandra and will kill anyone who tampers with her. Add one more wraith to the mix plus an insane vamp sire and the true Venus de Milos. Now mix in elements of murder and mystery: the deaths of elderly citizens for unknown reasons.

A sexy, romantic romp of forbidden love and lust!


My guest today is Lana Griffin. She's the author of twenty-one books and has created pseudonym Lana Griffin for her paranormal erotic romances. She's a busy author with three more books scheduled for this year. She also has a great sense of humor, which I love.

Her topic is what makes a hero, especially a Vampire hero, sexy and hot.


My thanks to Over Coffee for hosting me today. DUSK (Ravenous Romance, 12-30-10) is my first erotic romance novel.

DUSK is a sexy vampire tale, in which an ancient voodoo priestess and her vampire lover must overcome their "bad blood" to save the lives of ordinary humans.

Amazon, Lana Griffin Author, Ravenous Romance

In keeping with the topic of sexy vampires, today I’m going to talk about quantum physics, and what you, as romance readers, can do about it. I mean, how erotic is quantum entanglement? Does the thought of it get your heart beating, or what?

Okay, I didn’t think quantum physics would turn you on. It doesn’t turn me on, either.

So just what does make your heart race? For me, it has to be a sexy vampire, a cute guy, someone rugged, strong, and sure of himself. If he’s sensitive and he loves me, so much the better. Most important, he has to be hot. Passion is critical.

So let’s review (do you see how simple quantum physics can be?):

• Nibbles on my neck? √

• Eyes glow when he sees me? √

• Hot hot hot? √

• Hypnotic? √

• Immortal? √

• Nocturnal? √

• Sexy as hell? √

And did I mention, hot hot hot? (I guess you know what’s on my mind.)

Let me tell you, ladies, I really don’t care if he can fix the plumbing or mow the lawn. He doesn’t have to cook gourmet meals for me. For all I care, I’ll eat Fritos while he drinks blood.

There’s something about vampires that appeals to all of us. Yet when writing a vampire romance novel, the author has to inject something new to the mix. If she doesn’t do that, her story will feel stale.

With DUSK, I decided to add some love triangles, and along with my lead vamp hero, I made my heroine an ancient voodoo priestess and gave her a longtime lover, who just happens to be a poetic wraith. I even tossed in a gargoyle, who falls in love with the true Venus de Milos: hey, they’re both statues, so why shouldn’t they fall in love? Finally, I gave DUSK an underpinning of mystery to drive the plot.

• My goal is to entertain readers. So if you read DUSK, I hope you like it.
  

• Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, there’s absolutely no quantum physics in it!

• What do you think makes a hero sexy and hot?

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LANA GRIFFIN is the alter ego of a New York Times Best-Selling author. Her work has been published in approximately twenty languages. Publishers Weekly listed one of her books as a 2009 Best Seller. She's particularly fond of anything involving vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, wraiths, and other paranormal entities.