PATRICIA RICE—ROMANCE ADDICT

It’s my pleasure to have romance author, Patricia Rice. I fell in love with her writing when I read Cheyenne’s Lady and Lord Rogue. I still have a copy of Moonlight and Memories and have read it several times. I have quite a few of her books in my personal library.

Any who have followed Pat’s writing career will tell you it’s impressive, her books seem to get better and better whether historical, contemporary, or with a touch of paranormal. Always, Patricia feeds my need of hot strong heroes, feisty heroines, all set in a good solid storyline and romance. Lots of romance, contented sigh…But, Patricia does have one small, um, problem. But I'll let her tell you about that. 

From one Missouri writer to another, hi Sia! And to your readers—Hello, I'm Patricia Rice, and I'm a romance addict.

Really, I've been hooked on love stories since I read PRIDE AND PREJUDICE in fourth grade. I enjoyed the mysteries of Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie, but I also read them for the boyfriends, the romances, and the mysterious lovers. No one introduced me to Harlequins, so I had to hunt love where I could find it:  in Zane Grey (where the wretched hero always rode off with his horse!) or the Brontes. No author was ever as satisfactory as Austen, but an addiction is an addiction. You feed it where you can.

Not until I was in my twenties did I discover Kathleen Woodiwiss and Patricia Veryan and truly got sucked into real romance novels. They were my mind candy as I completed my accounting degree, took CPA exams, worked what jobs I could find, and raised two kids while my husband was overseas or in school. And then he took a job in a rural area where I had no transportation and no job and no bookstores. I quickly read everything in the library, and I was left with no love stories (and no money!) with two young kids and a craving for adult conversation.

Instead of whining, I took action—I wrote my own books. I’d been reading history since high school history courses had left me unsatisfied and needing more. I had an entire library at my disposal and knew how to use it. This was pre-internet, so I learned inter-library loan. And I started out by writing what I knew, which was Western KY, the area I was living in. That made researching setting much easier.

Back then; I had no way of knowing about Romance Writers of America. I knew no authors. I ran across Writer’s Digest magazines and pored over those. I found lists of agents and began sending them my crazy stories. I copied the names of publishers from the front of books and sent blind proposals across the portal of anyone publishing romance. And once I finished one book, I began another, and started another round of proposals. Did I mention I’m also arrogant and stubborn? I learned a method I still employ today—I draft one book while editing another and sending out a third. Mass production! 

But it all ultimately worked out and by now, I have over fifty published romances under my belt, with no intention of stopping any time soon.  Yes, the market reeks and bookstores are collapsing like old toadstools. Bestseller lists are meaningless and Kindles are taking over the world. But I’m still stubborn, still arrogant, and still writing.

Sia said she’s adding a link to an excerpt of my new book, THE LURE OF SONG AND MAGIC. If you’ve not read me before, I hope you enjoy this sample of my two conflicted lovers. And if you’ve read my MAGIC series (Sourcebooks will be reissuing all of them), you’ll know what I mean when I say the couple in LURE are descendants of the magical Malcolms and logical Ives. I hope to spend many more pleasant days feeding my romance addiction and hope you will, too!

·       How long have you been reading romance? Is it your favorite genre? If not, what is?

·       And is there a particular reason you enjoy reading love stories?

A couple of commenters will win free books, so have fun!

You can read an excerpt, sign up for my newsletter, follow me on Twitter and Facebook or connect with my blog (http:www.patriciarice.blogspot.com) by stopping by my website at http://patriciarice.com . A list of all my books, including e-book reissues is available there. I love hearing from readers, so please feel free to stop by and say hi. And if you prefer DRM-free books, my backlist is available at http://bookviewcafe.com/ebookstore/ and http://backlistebooks.com/ with new volumes going up regularly.

THE LURE OF SONG AND MAGIC 

Her voice was a curse… 

When Dylan “Oz” Oswin’s son is kidnapped, the high-powered producer will do anything to get him back. Desperately following an anonymous tip, he seeks help from a former child singing sensation called Syrene, only to find she’s vowed never to sing again. Immune to her voice but not her charm, Oz is convinced she holds the key to his son’s disappearance—and he’ll stop at nothing to make her break her vow.

Only he can make her sing… 

She knows the devastation her talent can bring. There’s more than a child’s life at stake, but Syrene cannot unleash her dangerous siren’s voice upon the world, even for a man who is impossible to deny…Excerpt

BUY: AMAZON, BARNES n NOBLE, BOOKS A MILLION, CHAPTERS INDIGO ca

With five million books in print and New York Times and USA Today’s bestseller lists under her belt, Patricia Rice’s emotionally-charged contemporary and historical romances have won RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice and Career Achievement Awards and have been honored as Romance Writers of America RITA finalists in the historical, regency and contemporary categories. 

A former CPA, Patricia Rice currently resides in St. Louis, Missouri. For more information, please visit http://www.patriciarice.com/ or follow her on Twitter, @Patricia_Rice. 

MONDAY MUSINGS: The Quiet Life—Except When Its Not

I'm in a hot spiced tea mode today :-)

My week is off to a good start. I had a quiet, house all to myself, Sunday. No TV going, which tends to drive me nuts. I could think and putter around doing various needed things. It was wonderful. I’m a person who loves my quiet time. It refreshes me.

To top it off, it was a beautiful sunny day. Mild temperatures that made me think of spring which is a good thing because I’m planning out my herb garden, a small corn field so we can be assured of corn without nasty GMOs and built in pesticides—I’ll take bugs, thank you very much. I’m also planning some vertical gardening with tomatoes near my climbing roses. I’m going to try planting my crookneck, acorn, and butternut squash vertically. Did you know that every part the squash plant may be eaten, including the leaves and tender shoots, which can be cooked in omelets or made into soup?

Planning involved new rabbit hutches going in, and where; I need to prepare the area where the lambs and beef steer will be, and make the chicken laying area better and safe from possums and pesky predator types.

What can I say? I lead a rather quiet life, lol! Oh, it has its spurts of excitements, like times when I have a house full of teens, or a weekend of them (such as this past one).  Friday afternoon to Sunday at 10 am. Friday night movies and about anything they can get their hands on to eat and it gets loud and boisterous with guitar hero contests (I’m stuck on medium), water rifle battles, in January no less, I passed on it. Catch me in April, guys.

 

Picture from IMDb

Saturday, we (hubs and I) fixed popcorn and tea and watched Abduction (teens were in another room watching some scary flick). Very good movie. Good cast, great action, and probably a sequel will come to the screen. While I don’t watch a lot of movies this was one that sounded intriguing and would keep my interest and it did. I also want to see: Real Steel, with Hugh Jackman, Unknown, Liam Neeson.

And now you understand why I appreciated having a quiet Sunday.

I've finished up two great reads, The Avenger, a thriller by Jo Robertson, where a very smart serial killer has to be brought down.  Getaway (not yet released), another thriller, by Lisa Brackmann, set in Mexico involving an American who inadvertently gets caught up in a battle between good guys and bad guys set around the Mexican drug cartel trade. If she could only figure out which side really are the bad guys. Both are well written and kept me turning pages.  I also started a very good book, Cassa Fire, by Alex Cavanaugh (thankfully in print form as my Kindle has mysteriously disappeared). I can tell you, I’ll be reading more of his books. I love sci-fi set around space travel and exploration. This one is feeding that love. Contented sigh. Then again, I guess it’s not a big surprise, as I love Star Trek—all except Enterprise, which I couldn’t get into. So Alex’s story fits right in. 

Like I said, my life isn’t exactly the most exciting to most people but it suits me fine (Hey, I did my time living in cities, suburbia, and being on the go a lot).

Honestly, I love the country life and I enjoy peace and contentment that come with it.

• What about you? How was your weekend? 
• Any good books or movies you want to recommend?

  

REBECCA YORK: Become A Writer? No Way!

My guest is USA Best Selling romance author, Rebecca York. Those of you who have read her wonderful stories know she writes, romance, suspense, and paranormal. Very talented lady. Rebecca has written a new detective series, Decorah Security. I have the opportunity to read (Squeee!) and review these three stories. Dark Moon is the first in this series and where I'm starting. So stay tuned for them. I love the touch of paranormal in these.


As prolific an author as Rebecca is, there was a time the idea of writing the stories playing out in her head was an impossibility in her mind. Why? I'll let Rebecca tell you about that.


Welcome, Rebecca! I've enjoyed your books over the years. I'm so glad to have you visiting today!

Sia, thanks so much for having me.

I’m the person who thought she could never become a writer.  Since I’m dyslexic, I had a hard time learning to read (partly because they were only teaching the memorize-the-whole-word method), and I’m a terrible speller.  Stories buzzed around in my head, and I acted them out with my dolls, but I never thought I could become a writer because I got slammed for my deficiencies by so many teachers.  (I’m the kid who was called up to the front of the room so the teacher could yell at her in front of the whole class.)

Kids react to that kind of treatment in various ways.  It hurt, but it also made me stronger and determined to succeed.

After I got married and had children of my own, I wanted a part-time job.  When I took a seminar at my local community college aimed at women who looking to enter the work force, I kept coming out high in writing interest.  Also, one thing they emphasized in the seminar was that if you wanted to work part-time, you’d have to go out and dig up a your own job.

Which led me to my idea of writing a newspaper article about the seminar.  Luckily for me, my husband volunteered to correct my spelling and typos.  And luckily for me, he’s been proofreading for me ever since.

It took me about twenty-five hours to write that article, but I sold it to a local paper and went on to write hundreds more articles.  I read some of them in a writing seminar at the same community college.  Other people in the class were writing novels, and I wanted to try one, too.  But the idea of working on such a large project scared me.  I told myself that a chapter of a book was no longer than the articles I’d been writing.  At the same time, I decided to make sure I could plot at least a quarter of the story before I started writing.  Even back then, I was more comfortable outlining before I jumped into the writing.

I wrote my first book, a children’s science fiction novel called INVASION OF THE BLUE LIGHTS (now available as an e-book), in that seminar.  I read chapters in the class and revised.  Then I revised a lot more before I sent the book out.  It was rejected four times, until an editor at Scholastic held it for nine months before sending me a two-page single-spaced revision letter.  I was smart enough to know that was a good letter and revised the manuscript according to her suggestions (adding some new scenes of my own). She bought it, and I became a published author.

I’ve been writing actively for the past–um–40 years.  And I’ve been very lucky in my career.  I went from kids’ science fiction to romance, to romantic suspense, to paranormal romantic suspense (with a significant side trip into cookbooks).  Recently, I’ve also written a couple of fantasy historical novellas for Carina Press.  DARK MAGIC was out last year, and SHATTERED MAGIC will be out in late summer.

I can see the publishing industry changing.  There’s more opportunity for authors to follow their own bliss rather than write to a publisher’s specifications.  In line with that observation, my most exciting recent project has been a new detective series called Decorah Security.  I’m putting the stories out myself on Amazon, BarnesAndNoble.com and other e-book outlets

I wanted to launch with three titles.  While I was writing two Harlequin Intrigues (SUDDEN INSIGHT, out in January, and SUDDEN ATTRACTION, out in February), I wrote a Decorah novel, DARK MOON, a novella, CHAINED, and a short story, AMBUSHED.  They’re all tied to a security agency run by a crusty old Navy Seal, Frank Decorah.  His agents have paranormal powers or take on paranormal cases. (Each of them are linked to Amazon where you can read the blurb and purchase) 

All three are available wherever e-books are sold.

I’m also currently working on an exciting new romantic suspense series.  Because it’s still under wraps, I can’t say much about it yet.

• How do you feel about the e-book market?  
• Are you trying out some of the books available electronically?

Sudden Attraction 

They were never supposed to meet. Hidden on a New Orleans plantation were secrets Gabriella Bodreaux was never supposed to uncover, either. And after Luke Buckley saved her life, she couldn't get him out of her head...and she couldn't get out of his. 

At the slightest touch, they established the most intimate connection of their lives. So vulnerable, so dangerous...so right. Now they knew everything about each other—almost. 

He came with a secret identity, but wasn't the type of man who would run away from trouble. He could keep her safe. But when being together meant exposing themselves to more danger than either could prepare for, they had to reconsider just how "chance" their meeting really was....Excerpt 

Do check out  Sudden Insight and read the excerpt.

Buy: Amazon  Barnes and Noble, eHarlequin

~*~*~*~

Ever since she can remember, Rebecca York has loved making up stories full of adventure, romance, and suspense. As a child she corralled her friends into adventure games or acted out romantic suspense stories with a cast of dolls. But she never assumed she could be an author because she couldn't spell. Her life changed dramatically with the invention of the word processor and spelling checker--and the help of her husband, Norman Glick, who spots spelling errors from fifty paces away.

She and her husband live in Columbia, Maryland. They have two grown children, Elissa (a librarian) and Ethan (a Foreign Service Officer), and two grandsons, Jesse and Leo. Rebecca holds a B. A. in American Thought and Civilization from The George Washington University and an M. A. in American Studies from The University of Maryland. She heads the Columbia Writers Workshop.

Find Rebecca: Website (which is worth checking out1) Facebook, Twitter.

A YEARNING TO BELONG

Karak Chai (recipe above in recipe tab)

My guest is multicultural author Zvezdana Rashkovich. She lived for many years in Portland, Oregon but her roots are Croatian/Serbian. Zvesdana's led a nomadic life both as a child and as an adult. She and her husband are currently posted in Dubai.


Zvezdana speaks of her road to publication. It's a fascinating story. Zvezdana will be checking in but keep in mind the time difference between Dubai and here.

When I was younger I had an inexhaustible faith in all things. I thought my life would turn out exactly as I planned. Some of it did, but other imaginings became distant memories of a young girl. On many long idle days I would daydream by the banks of the Blue Nile…surrounded by the soothing hum of the river, the swish of cornstalks my stepfather had planted and by the tender warmth of African sunshine. Before Africa there was the Balkans…the land of my grandfathers…the comforting bosom of my grandmother.

I cannot remember a time when I didn’t want to write. Maybe my mother’s dramatic imagination, her quest for answers in distant places and among unfamiliar cultures led me to believe that it was my idea. When in fact, it had been hers all along, nourishing my mind, guiding and prodding. Her own unconcluded dreams somehow transferred…onto her daughter.

In any case I wrote. First little things. This and that. I wrote in Serbo Croat and when I learned English in a private school in Tripoli, Libya words poured out easier in that language.

Throughout my teens, I wrote. Still have those stories…some that surprise me because they were so well researched. But always stories of girls and women challenged by some unknown location, a place they had to adapt to…to learn to love. Only later would I realize that these girlish scribbling were my way of coping with displacement, with isolation and estrangement from my own homeland after my mother married my Sudanese stepfather, thus creating an irreversible course in my life.

As time passed I stopped sitting by the Nile and instead got distracted by other events. Michael Jackson, Madonna, the boys who honked at us in front of our all- girls’ Catholic school in Khartoum…my disintegrating family life as my stepfather left my mother, me and my two very young siblings. On a neglected farm…with little money and much heartache on our part.  I wrote enormously long entries in my diary during that period. I still read them today and blush at some of the absurdity, worries and made-up scenarios that had frightened me.

I got married and moved to the USA. The city of Portland in Oregon possessed a charm suited to my character at the time. It wasn’t as multicultural as my previous life in the Sudan had been. But I was taken by the city’s literary vibe, by the down to earth residents, the thriving art scene and the rainy foggy days…subsequently conducive to the activities of reading and writing.

As I raised four children, attended college, worked as a legal and medical interpreter in the USA, that old craving still niggled at me. It flickered on and off like a neon sign at the back of my mind. Write it said in persistent yellow letters.

When my oldest child left to university, I got a new computer and desk, and settled them by my bedroom window in Dubai. Then, just like that, overnight it seemed…it happened. I started writing a novel.

 

The realization that my lifelong quest was finally taken seriously, that I was doing that which I previously only dreamt of was exhilarating but riddled with awkward, tricky obstacles of which I was not previously aware. To write a ‘first’ full-length novel was not as easy as I had envisioned. It was an extraordinary but also gut-wrenchingly demanding journey on which I had embarked equipped with passion only.

Compounded with a busy life…children, husband, and all the other things that fill our existence…it seemed insurmountable. Many thought it must be the hormones; the middle age crisis or that I had unreachable aspirations. Those who knew me well though, never doubted me. Encouraged, supported, and loved by my mother, children and husband I plodded on. One word at a time.

My first novel, Dubai Wives, was a labor of visualizing such a story, planning, and observing. The characters were born out of a lifetime of immersion in a multicultural, multifaith existence, juxtaposed against the contradictory attitudes and lifestyles of Dubai.

A product of a nomadic background…a divided sense of identity…of third culture…I am fascinated, moved by stories of lives changed by their displacement, their yearning to belong…to adapt.

By those subtle and intricate threads that bind and unite us wherever we happen to be on this planet.

• Readers: 
• How have you dealt with the feeling of displacement? Perhaps moving to a different state or country, as a child, or adult, for a job, adventure, or military service? 
• What common ties have you seen regardless of where you live?

DUBAI WIVES

Dubai: Here, many say, anything is possible. 

It’s a world of clashes, of contrasts. Incredible wealth and beauty coexist with unexpected poverty and heart wrenching wickedness. 

Spectacular palaces hide within, surrounded by their flawlessly landscaped gardens, shining domes, and dancing fountains. Possessively tucked away and watched over by grim security guards behind walls and ornate engraved iron gates. 

These walls are necessary because they guard their occupant’s secrets… 

Dubai Wives weaves a complex multicultural tale of unraveling secrets and diverse, flawed characters. The lives of eight women collide in this opulent, culturally vibrant city on a journey of sisterhood, friendship, love, betrayal and the heartbreaking choices of its residents. 

We see Jewel, a beautiful but frustrated wife to her powerful Emirati husband, and Tara, a devout Muslim with a passionate secret, and Liliana, a tragic dancer in the seedy clubs of Dubai. A stirring tale encompassing, tradition, identity, and faith, Dubai Wives takes the reader into the hidden world behind the walls of lavish mansions and into the back alleys of Dubai, from the hills of Morocco to the glittering lights of the Burj Al Arab. It paints a portrait of a world where no one is who they seem to be...and where everything is possible. EXCERPT

BUY: AMAZON, AMAZON.ca, BARNES and NOBLE, Chapters Indigo, ca

I was born in Croatia to a Croatian mother and Serbian father. My mother married a Sudanese when I was seven and their mutual fascination with travel and adventure led us all on a series of travels and expat posting first to Libya, then Iraq.

Later, we settled in Sudan after an overland trip by ship, car and train across Eastern Europe, Egypt and the Sahara. Here started my introduction and fascination with multiculture and particularly with the Arab world.

Immersed in my stepfather's family, culture, religion and language I was fortunate to attend an International Catholic school for girls, attended by a beautiful vibrant community of multicultural and multi-faith students.

When I was twenty two I married a Sudanese/Egyptian and we moved to the United States in a quest for education, ended up staying for a decade and started our family at the foothills and forests of Mt. Hood in Oregon.

Middle East beckoned us again due to its proximity to our families back in Sudan, Egypt, Croatia and Serbia. We wanted our children to grow up understanding more of who they are and where they come from.

Thus begun our fifteen year stint in the Gulf. First in Qatar, which I love dearly and still call home, and then Dubai, a vibrant city of many possibilites and contradictions.  

I am a mom to four gorgeous third culture children, wife, and sister to four amazing multiracial siblings...daughter of an extaordinary woman.

I am an Adult Third Culture Kid, freelance writer, blogger, teacher and Interpreter...I am also the author of a novel 'Dubai Wives' which was a product of my observations and fascination with identity, culture, biracialism and the hidden passions, aspirations and dreams that drive women in particular and people in general.

Currently, I am working on a novel 'Africa in the way I dance' set in 1970's Sudan. The novel, based partly on my life growing up on a farm by the Nile aims to portray the marvelous complexity of that fascinating country and its people as told through the eyes of a thirteen year old European girl.

Find Zvezdana: Website, Facebook 

C.H. Admirand: I Will Conquer Or Perish

Western romance author, C.H. Admirand, is visiting with us today with her hot new contemporary romance series, The Secret Life Of Cowboys: Dylan.


One of the misconceptions about authors is the idea that they just sit and write their stories with ease and get paid big bucks. Cushy job, eh? Ask any author about that and you'll liable to reduce them to tears—of laughter. Getting published is hard, no matter how good your story is. Once you're published then comes the deadlines, the edits from hell, whole chapters, perhaps even several chapters need to be rewritten, the editor doesn't like the ending, the middle, the beginning, or the character or his/her name. Yikes!


C.H. talks a bit about her journey and her life of ease.


Welcome, C.H., I'm so glad to have you visiting!

Thanks for inviting me to blog today, Sia, it’s so wonderful to be here. It took me a bit of time to decide what to talk about today because I think my characters are far more interesting than I am. After attending Lora Leigh’s RAW in October, I know that readers do like a glimpse into the life of the author.

For those that don’t know me, I’ve been writing for the Library Market and Small Press for the last twelve years. I was delighted to publish my first book, The Marshal’s Destiny, in 2000, and devastated when I didn’t sell the second book in my Irish Western Series. More than once, I tried to quit, but the voices of characters demanding to have their stories told wouldn’t let me.

   

Nora Roberts is one of my heroes; it was her article in The Writer’s Digest that kept me going, she said that writers need the 3 Ds to succeed: Drive, Discipline, and Desire… To that I add Determination. While I wrote, I attended workshops and conferences, honing my craft—you cannot improve if you stop writing. But I also dug deep and kept my Purcell ancestor’s motto where I could see it every day: Aut Vincam, Aut Periam–translation: I will either conquer or perish! So I kept writing, submitting, receiving rejections, and six years later, I not only sold my second book, but five more!

I met Deb Werksman by chance at the NJRW Conference a few years ago after an unplanned trip to a ladies club during RT Booklovers Convention in Houston and a lesson well-learned—that I’m not the ladies club type—but helped me come up with the plotline for my hot cowboy trilogy and deal with my embarrassment at the time. I was there physically, but my mind was in the fictional town of Pleasure, Texas that my mind had just created. It was a blast writing about the Garahan brothers: larger than life, tall, dark, and gorgeous Texas cowboys.

This year had a really rocky start: our three-month-old grandson was hospitalized with a respiratory virus, but is finally home and recovering beautifully. The dog we adopted (after losing our 12 year old family member, Ginger, the day after my December 15th deadline) had fear/aggression issues and bit my husband and one of our sons. Although she didn’t break the skin, combined with the reality that she was terrified of my guys (they all wear black leather jackets and boots—and are not quiet), had us seeking help from a professional dog trainer (a first for us after 28 years of raising dogs) to evaluate the dog. She didn’t recommend having the dog around children, a red flag for us with our new grandson, and stressed that although the situation could be managed with her guidelines; the dog may not change and might always be afraid of my guys. She felt the dog showed bite inhibition by not breaking the skin, which is a good thing. We gave it a week, but the dog only grew more aggressive and fearful. It broke my heart, but after consulting with the trainer again, I called the shelter and they agreed that it would be best to return the dog before the situation escalated.

So right now, I’m surfing the internet for dogs in need of a good home when I should be working on the revisions for my November book. It’s hard to explain why I can’t seem to focus now that Ginger is gone, but at odd times, I hear her moving around the house and racing down the stairs when I open the door to feed the birds…it’s all in my head…or is it in my heart? I guess I won’t be able to concentrate until we fill that empty void in our lives with a dog that wants to be a part of our family.

I’m struggling, but optimistic that we’ll find the right dog for our at times busy (aka loud) and other times quite (aka tomblike) home. I need to get back in the groove because 2012 is going to be beyond busy for me. Dylan book two in The Secret Life of Cowboys, just released January 2nd, Jesse, book three, releases July 2nd, and A Wedding in Purity, the first book in my new Small Town USA series, releases in November. Then there are the 2nd and 3rd books in the Small Town series that are due in May and September…good grief I’d better get my head on straight now!

Thanks for letting me ramble on today, Sia. 

• For animal lovers out there, how have you coped with the loss of a furry family member? How long did you wait before filling that empty void in your life?

Meet Jamison, aka Jamie January 14th

As CH mentioned, she has a new furry baby. I asked for some pictures and she provided these. Isn't he a darling?

==========

DYLAN 

BY C.H. ADMIRAND – IN STORES JANUARY 2012

                                                                     

There was nothing he couldn't tame...

Dylan Garahan might be an old hand at lassoing fillies, but one night at the Lucky Star club, and he ends up wrapping his rope around someone that even his formidable strength can’t tame. She’s wily and beautiful… and she’s his new boss. Dylan’s had his heart broken bfore, but even an honest cowpoke has to wrestle with temptation…

Until he got his lasso around her...

Ronnie DelVecchio might be fresh off the bus from New Jersey, but she’s a hard-edged businesswoman and has had her fill of men she can’t trust—although she might consider getting off her high horse for that big handsome rancher with a Texas drawl. Excerpt (on amazon)

 Buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Chapters Indigo.ca

#~#~#

C.H. Admirand was born in Aiken, South Carolina. She has published 9 bestselling novels for the library market. Her Secret Life of Cowboy series, published by Sourcebooks Casablanca includes Tyler (available now), Dylan (in stores January 2012) and Jesse (in stores July 2012). She lives with her husband, who is the inspiration for all of her heroes’ very best traits, in northern New Jersey. For more information, please visit http://www.chadmirand.com/ or follower her on twitter, @chadmirand. 

A World of Magick With Linda Wisdom

I'm so happy to have Linda Wisdom visiting today. I enjoy her books. Good stories with a touch of whimsical, a hefty dollop of bubbling magic (not to mentions some red hot romance), and she makes me laugh. A lot. Linda cracks me up on so many levels and I genuinely like what I know of her. 


I find myself reassuring authors, more than a few times, that telling us a bit about themselves means giving us insight to who they are and not a list of likes and dislikes, or their deepest darkest secrets. Many of us who write are rather introverted, but it's fun to see how authors, like Linda, view their writing, and how life experiences shape how they treat others and how they develop their characters and the landscape of their settings. I love Linda's characters. Now, I understand why they're so real and fun. Why friendships are important to them, why the characters have the pets, foibles and all, that they have. They're important to Linda and that's reflected in her wonderful stories. One of these days, I'm going to pull up a chair at a conference and bask in Linda's wonderful sense of humor and find out more about her critters.  

Thank you so much Sia for having me here!

Anyone who’s known me for a long time is aware I’m actually very shy. Ask me about myself and I sort of stare at the floor. I’m not trying to be difficult, but I can’t imagine anyone wants to know about me.

Ask me about my critters and I’ll talk your ear off. Ask me about my books and your other ear will follow ear number one. And you’ll be running for the hills.

I think it also has to do with something that happened in 1983 when I was still a newly published author with my third book just out. I was at a very large group signing and met an author who I’d enjoyed for some years. I was so excited to have a chance to meet her and tried to do my best not to gush. The minute the woman learned I wrote category romance I was suddenly relegated to the lowest of the low. She was so rude to me that I couldn’t believe anyone would act like that. I didn’t read her books after that. That could be why I feel better when my books speak for me.

Perhaps it’s because I’m an only child that my characters have always been real to me. I see them in 3-D inside my head and there are times when I’m positive Fluff and Puff the magick bunny slippers are roaming the house, Irma’s taken over the passenger seat in my SUV, or Maggie’s on duty if I’m running errands after dark. Who knows, maybe Lili’s around when I’m sick and Cleo’s crooning the Soft Kitty song.

Whether writing or reading, the characters are important to me. They are what rounds out the story.

I can sit here and talk about Lili, how she came about in my head (you have to admit it’s kind of funny to have a witch doctor heroine), what kind of man will enter her life, and what creature will be her sidekick.

Lili made her first appearance in 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover as wallmail correspondence between her and Jazz. I wasn’t entirely sure when her book would appear in the series. I have a file with notes, ideas of her story, and creature thoughts.

I also knew it meant deciding what historical facts I’d weave into the book. One I won’t mention since it has to do with the plot and one of the characters.

Creating an asylum as dark and disgusting as I did was actually easy. A movie I’ve watched more than once is Bedlam, starring Boris Karloff. A “hospital” housing the mentally ill in ways no one would want to comprehend. A Demon Does It Better was the perfect background for an asylum and easy to create a demon hero who was literally branded a homicidal maniac. Especially, when you consider the hospital was ultra-modern and the dungeon was still back in the 1700s. Although there is the hospital greeter, a vulture perched over the hospital doorway announcing everyone will die. Yes, he’s a bit of sunshine.

Cleo was easy since I wanted a diva kitty and giving her Cleopatra’s heritage made it fun.

A Demon Does It Better is special for two very good reasons. It’s dedicated to my mom who passed away last fall and to a wonderful friend, Beverly Barton, who I also miss every day.

This is what I can talk about. Characters, families and friends who all seem to be intertwined.

What does it mean to you? Would you prefer knowing everything about the author (although please don’t ask my weight or how I lost my virginity! No joke. Someone did ask me that once!) or about the books?

 A DEMON DOES IT BETTER BY LINDA WISDOM – IN STORES JANUARY 2012 

 A madhouse is not place for a curious witch…

After more than a century, Doctor Lili Carter, witch healer extraordinaire, has returned to San Francisco and taken a job at Crying Souls Hospital and Asylum, where something peculiar and wicked is happening. Patients are disappearing, and Lili wants to know why.

 And double dangerous for a demon…

Lili finds herself undeniably attracted to perhaps the most mysterious patient of all—a demented but seriously sexy demon named Jared. What’s behind the gorgeous chameleon demon’s late-night escapades?

 Before long, Lili and Jared are investigating each other—and creating a whole new kind of magic. Excerpt

BUY: AMAZON, BARNES and NOBLE, INDIGOca 

~*~*~*~ 

Linda Wisdom has published more than 70 novels with 13 million copies sold worldwide including traditional, paranormal, humor, action/adventure romance, and romantic suspense. Her bestselling books have been nominated for RT Book Reviews awards and the Romance Writers of America Rita Award. She lives with her husband in Murrieta, California. For more information, please visit www.LindaWisdom.com.

MONDAY MUSINGS: Conspiracy To Fix E-book Pricing?

There has been a lot of chatter on blogs and social media about the price of e-books. In particular, charging the same price for an e-book as the hardback print book. Sometimes, the digital costs more than print books and the publishers themselves set those prices.

You remember the hoopla this past year between Random House and Amazon over the lower prices Amazon was charging for e-books and Random House insisting on higher prices (among other things).

I knew Apple (with the ipad) was willing to price e-books at the higher price from big publishers (and their “agency-model business”). What I didn’t know was Apple was paid a 30% of revenue for cooperating with the higher e-book pricing.

What I found interesting was the European Commission (Press release statement)  launched an investigation to look into whether Apple and the big 5 publishers were in cahoots with anti-competitive practices.

“The Commission will in particular investigate whether these publishing groups and Apple have engaged in illegal agreements or practices that would have the object or the effect of restricting competition…The Commission has concerns, that these practices may breach EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices (Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union – TFEU).”

Apparently, the UK’s Office of Fair Trading had been also investigating the matter, prior to the Commission’s investigation, “whether arrangements for the sale of e-books may breach competition rules.”

Conspiracy to fix prices is a pretty telling accusation. The target of this alleged conspiracy: Amazon. In the UK, Amazon dominates the book market selling 70% of the e-books bought there.

Not that Amazon is sitting on its hands over this. They’re fighting it claiming the readers are the ones to suffer with such publisher ‘deals’ by paying higher prices for e-books.

And this is a point stressed by Amelia Torres, spokeswoman for European Commission,

“This is an important issue for consumers, for people like me and you who love to read books, including on an electronic platform.”

The other side argues that such publisher deals is a good thing because it keeps Amazon from crushing the e-book industry.

Whether you’re a publisher, author, bookseller, or reader, e-book pricing is a touchy subject these days

Dan Gillmor’s book blog (12/23/10) calls it, “The great ebook price swindle

Publishers are facing an uncertain time in the digital world – but increasing the prices of their ebooks is a retrograde step.” You can read his thoughts on this. 

Personally, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t buy e-books priced over $10 and I rarely buy print books over $10. I’ve been visiting used bookstores more. As one blogger pointed out, why pay over $10 for e-book when I can buy the same book in print from the used section on Amazon. She makes a good point.

What are your thoughts?