Susan Gee Heino talks about the first time.

England, 1816.

ViscountRandolph Dashford isn’t a bad person; he’s simply pretending to be one to avoid matrimony.

Heiress Evaline Pinchley isn’t usually a sotted wanton; she’s merely celebrating her birthday.

One full moon and one empty Madeira bottle later, Evaline wakes to find herself in Dashford’s bed!

While Evaline tries to salvage what dignity she can from this colossal blunder, family secrets and would-be fiancés run rampant around her. Just when it seems she might find a way out of the mess she’s made, Evaline realizes things are worse than imagined.

She’s lost her heart to Dashford, and that could be the biggest mistake of them all.

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“You’re giggling,” he stated.
“I am,” she agreed, and the sound she made then sounded unfortunately more like a snort than a giggle. “But please don’t take it personally.”

“Would you care to share the joke?”

“I was just thinking—” She paused to consider. What had she been thinking? Oh yes, about his godlike shoulders and how she might wish to succumb to them.

“I guess I was wrong,” she amended with another giggle. “I suppose you could have every reason to take it personally. Oh, but don’t be offended. It had to do with your wonderful shoulders and how I wish you weren’t wearing so many clothes.”

Now he made an odd sound. “Funny, I was having rather a similar thought.”

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I just love Evaline and Dashford, the heroine and hero of my December release, Mistress by Mistake. I love them partly because they’re just so fun and so witty and have to work so darn hard to get things together, but also I love them because they are my First. Yes, the hero and heroine in my first published novel.

Evaline arrived in my brain way back in January of 2007. She was kind of pathetic; alone in the world, unloved, and horribly mistreated by everyone. I thought the poor gal deserved a good stiff drink, and that’s what sparked my opening scene when Dashford discovers her a bit tipsy in his garden. I figured since her life had been rather dismal I’d be kind and give her a seriously drool-worthy hero. And I’d make sure the two of them had plenty of laughs—although I don’t think she appreciated all of them right at first.

Now finally my little Mistress and her dashing hero have made their way out into the world. I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to share Evaline and Dashford’s love story with readers. At this point I’ve got another book written that will be out next summer, plus I’m working on my next project, too, getting to know those characters and loving them. But there will never be another Dashford and Evaline.

We all have lots of firsts in our lives; first day of school, first true love, firstborn child, first day out of the house after fighting the flu, etc. In many of these cases we remember that “first” with a special warmth in our hearts. That’s how my Mistress will always be for me. I hope if you get a chance to meet her, some little piece of her will stick in your heart and you’ll remember her fondly, too.

So, tell me about one of your favorite firsts. What was your first car? The first romance novel you ever read? Your first pet? Your first pair of designer jeans in the size you’d been dying to get into? At the end of the week, I’ll select one random winner to receive a copy of Mistress by Mistake. I’ll even send it to you First Class!

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Thank you for visiting with us at Novel Thoughts, Ms Gee Heino!

List of Winners!

Congrats to all the winners!!

 

WendyK

Wins a PDF download of To Be a Mother, a Steeple Hill Mother’s Day anthology coming out in April 2010 by Cheryl St.John

 

Lisa Guertin

Wins a copy of Animal Attraction by Charlene Teglia.

 

Catie James Armenia (new winner as of 12-20-09)

Wins a copy of Venus in Blue Jeans by Meg Benjamin.

 

PatL.

Wins a copy of Heir of the Dog by Judi McCoy.

 

Raelena

Wins a copy of A Witch’s Lament by Catherine Anne Collins.

 

Winners have 48 hours to email me their addresses at mad @ romancereaderatheart.com (without the spaces) to claim their book prizes or new names will be chosen.

Catherine Anne Collins: “Talk does not cook the rice”

When Skye Temple buys a historic house in Salem, Massachusetts, the witch capital of the world, she ignites events that began centuries ago during the witch trials. Salem’s bloody history unfolds with her discovery of ancestral diaries, the murders of local girls, and her attraction to Jerome Phips.

A local police officer, Jerome has returned to Salem vowing to uncover the truth of his mother’s disappearance during a ritual gone horribly wrong 30 years ago. His suspicion of Skye and her family’s history keeps tension between them high.

Burdened with the birth-task of the Goods to keep an ancient knife protected, Skye gains a new understanding of her powers, while the need to avenge his mother’s death drives Jerome. Past and present collide in a final ritual between evil, love, and honor.

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In case you’re not familiar with the reference, the above caption is a Chinese proverb. It’s also the title of a book that I was introduced to many (many, many) years ago by someone I dated briefly. I credit him with directing me to take that first step down the pathway to enlightenment. And I’ve been on the journey ever since.

The message is a simple one and can be applied to most aspects of a person’s life. In my case, I take the message and add a sentence, so it can sound something like this… does not cook the rice, so stop talking about exercising daily, and do it. Of course, it could just as easily work like this… does not cook the rice, so quit saying you need to eat better, put the chips back on the shelf and buy some darned vegetables. Or… well, I’m sure you get the idea.

My favourite, and the one that applies to the context of this blog, is…Talk does not cook the rice, so get off your butt and write. Ummm, I suppose get ON your butt and write is more appropriate. With the hectic schedule that seems to be so common in today’s world, it’s near impossible to find time to write and not feel guilty about taking that time. Yes, guilty. Hours, days, weeks, months spent writing a manuscript, trying to get it published and then, when you do, maybe making enough money to pay for the advertising you do to promote the book.

Why?

The answer to that question will be different for everyone. Whatever the reason is, we write. And we love it. I’m blessed with a husband who encourages me and I can’t imagine how much more difficult this whole writing thing would be if my husband wasn’t behind my efforts.

So, my questions to you are:

What motivates you to write?

How would you finish the sentence… Talk Does Not Cook the Rice?

Thanks to Romance Reader @ Heart for having me here and best wishes to all over the Holiday Season.

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Thank you for visiting, Ms Collins!

Leave a comment to enter the drawing for a copy of A Witch’s Lament, and visit Ms Collins’ website to learn more about her work.

Judi McCoy looks back

The holiday season is a great time for writers, for all of us really, to look back over the past year and decide if they’re happy with that they’ve produced. Be it an essay, a short story, or a novel, it’s good to figure out if the work we’ve done had meaning or a point, were we proud of what we accomplished, or did it simply make us smile.

Well, the last year has definitely left me proud and smiling. I left me crying to, because I lost something very important in my life. I lost my Rudy, a dog I’d raised from a pup until he passed away 13 years later. Rudy was my inspiration and my joy, and I miss him each and every day. And that makes things difficult, because he’s one of the lead characters, the star actually, of a new series I started. The books are my first step into mystery and Rudy is the star.

I transitioned from straight romance, all right, paranormal romance, to mystery with a pause. I don’t like killing or gore. I don’t like guns or violence of any kind. But I was a bit bored by straight, all right, paranormal, romance, and wanted to do something different. It was then I remembered an old idea I’d had and brought it out. I ran the thought of compiling a mystery by my agent before I wrote a word. Helen said yes, and when I talked it over with Rudy, he said yes, too.

Once I decided that Ellie, my New York City dog walker, would never have to see any of the gory details, the rest was easy. Ellie and Rudy would stumble across the bodies or be drawn in some way, and their hunt would begin. Book one, Hounding the Pavement, was easy to write once I decided how to kill the victim. Rudy was with me through the entire writing phase, so I knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it.

Book two, Heir of the Dog, started out easy, but when fate stepped in and took my darling boy away, my career stopped cold. Could I finish this book without him? Did I even want to? I worried over it for weeks, cried every day, prayed to God Rudy was in heaven, because if I got there and he wasn’t, well, it just wouldn’t be heaven for me. And as each day passed, I came to my senses a little more. Of course I was going to finish this book, and the next. Rudy was the star. How better could I honor him, than keep him shining in the eyes of my readers?

Book three, Death in Show, started out slow, because I had to write the entire book with my boy looking down from above. But once I began, I knew he was there pushing me to do my best. So the murder was committed in front of a thousand fans. That story will be out in June, and for those of you who, like me, don’t approve of blood and gore, don’t worry. When the victim drops you don’t see a thing.

When my agent received a call from my editor, informing her that they wanted to give me a second three book contract, the plot thickened. If I committed to THREE more books, I’d be fixed, entrenched firmly in the mystery genre. And firmly committed to writing about my boy. For me, it was a huge decision to make. But Rudy stepped in and convinced me I had to continue. If I didn’t he’d be lost and his star would stop shining for the world, even though it would still shine for me.

And so I’ve continued to write, but I’ve coined my own genre. It’s Romantic Mystery With a Dog and No Blood or Gore. And maybe, someday, if Rudy has his way, that title will sit atop a set of shelves in one of the ‘big’ bookstores. And Rudy’s picture will be next to the sign.

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Thank you for visiting Novel Thoughts, Ms McCoy!

Leave a comment to enter the drawing for one of Ms McCoy’s novels–visit her website to learn more about her work!

Meg Benjamin heads for the hills…

Available now from Samhain Publishing!

There’s no room in her life for love. Love has other ideas… If Jessamyn Carroll had only herself to consider, staying in Pennsylvania after her husband’s death would have been a no-brainer. Her vindictive in-laws’ efforts to get their hooks into her infant son, however, force her to flee to a new home. Konigsburg, Texas.

Peace… at least for now. She’s even found a way to make some extra money, looking after sexy accountant Lars Toleffson’s precocious two-year-old daughter. She finds it easy—too easy—to let his protective presence lull her into thinking she and her son are safe at last.

Lars, still wounded from enduring a nasty divorce from his cheating ex-wife, tries to fight his attraction to the mysterious, beautiful widow. But when an intruder breaks into her place, and Jess comes clean about her past, all bets are off. Someone wants her baby—and wants Jess out of the picture. Permanently. Now Jess has a live-in bodyguard, whether she wants him or not. Except she does want him—and he wants her. Yet negotiating a future together will have to overcome a lot of roadblocks: babies, puppies, the entire, meddling Toleffson family—and a kidnapper.

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All three of the books I’ve done for Samhain have been set in a small and thoroughly mythical town called Konigsburg in the Texas Hill Country. Now Texans know all about the Hill Country. It’s one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state. But most non-Texans have no idea where the Hill Country is or even what it is. So I sometimes find myself explaining the whole area, although trying to explain it is a little like trying to explain a good sangiovese—some things are just better experienced. So, anyway, if you’re reading Be My Baby (a very nice idea, may I say) and wondering what’s going on, here’s a quick rundown.

The Texas Hill Country is located northwest of San Antonio and slightly west of Austin. The hills in question are large and made out of limestone, which means they have interesting contours, caves, and natural canyons carved by rivers like the Guadalupe. Highway 281 runs along the backbone of the Hill Country, from San Antonio to, more or less, Fort Worth. But it’s more fun to take some of the scenic byways that twist and turn through the limestone hills—I personally recommend the Willow City Loop outside Fredericksburg. In a good wild flower year, you can see fields of bluebonnets so thick they look like lakes in the distance.

The thing that really makes the Hill Country worth visiting, though, are the towns. Fredericksburg, Marble Falls, Boerne, Gruene, Comfort, Johnson City, Blanco, Mason, etc., etc., etc. Most of them have tourism as at least part of their economies, which means good restaurants, quaint bed and breakfasts, and, these days, wineries. The limestone soil of the Hill Country is ideal for wine-making and the Hill Country has a high concentration of the state’s wineries and a lot of its vineyards.

Beyond their amenities, though, these Hill Country towns also won my heart by being, well, contrary. Texas is a big place. North Texas is different geographically and culturally from South Texas, East Texas and West Texas. The Hill Country, however, has a long-standing history of cussedness. Hill Country Freethinkers from Comfort tried to join the Union Army in the Civil War (and were slaughtered by Confederate Texans for trying). Hill Country Lutherans bucked the trend of other counties dominated by Baptists by embracing viticulture and fine dining. Hill Country merchants are as likely to speak German as Spanish, and these days are quite likely to speak both.

My favorite Hill Country story comes from the time the DH and I stayed in a small Hill Country town one weekend. We were looking for a particular winery we’d heard about—very hard to locate but supposedly well worth the effort. We found them in the middle of town; in fact, we stayed in a bed and breakfast cabin they owned next door. The winery manager told us the restaurant attached to the winery was the best in town, and he advised us to come early to dinner “because we get really busy later on.” We came over around six and ordered our food. The waiter handed us the wine list. We stared at him. The county was supposed to be dry. He explained that since the restaurant was attached to the winery we could order a bottle (but not a glass) of wine with dinner from the winery store. The Texas legislature, in one of its more interesting moments, had decided that wineries could serve wine on the premises. The restaurant was more or less on the winery premises. And since the winery was quite small, they sold wine from all the other Texas wineries in the region along with their own. We ordered a bottle and sat back to watch. By seven the place was packed with citizens, all with bottles of wine and nachos or anticuchos or quesadillas. The citizens of the county, which extended a ways beyond the town, had decided to save everyone’s moral character by making alcohol illegal. The citizens of the town had decided they didn’t want to be saved and had found a perfectly legal way around it.

So now when you read about Konigsburg in Venus In Blue Jeans or Wedding Bell Blues or Be My Baby, you’ll know, sort of, where I’m coming from. Viva the Hill Country!

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Thank you for visiting, Ms Benjamin!

You can learn more about Ms Benjamin’s novels by visiting her website. And leave a comment to enter a drawing for a download of the first title in the Koninsburb books, Venus in Blue Jeans.

Charlene Teglia: “Time flies–and much faster when you are busy!”

Today in bookstores near you!

They guard humanity against supernatural threats from the five gateways into the world. The Shadow Guardians: a vampire, a werewolf, a demon, a dragon and a fae are united in brotherhood – and war. Shadow Guardian Kenrick is an alpha werewolf forever in his prime. When Sybil, a beautiful apprentice witch, unknowingly opens a realm to the Otherworld, there is a sudden influx of demons – and it’s up to Kenrick to help her stop them. Soon their passion flares and Kenrick desires Sybil as his mate. But to form their union, Sybil faces the ultimate test: She must bind herself to the Shadow Guardians by sharing herself with all five warriors.

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December came a lot faster than I expected this year. It’s been a busy year, with school changes and job changes and a move to Michigan. It seems like the last time I blinked, it was the first day of school. Now the Christmas break is fast approaching.

Of course, during that time I’ve had my head down writing, so it’s not surprising it went by in a blur. I’ve nearly completed a new contemporary series for Samhain along with the sequel to Animal Attraction, Red Queen. Two Knights in Camelot released from Ellora’s Cave. I participated in the Mammoth Book of Special Ops Romance that comes out in the spring of 2010, and contracted a story for the upcoming Mammoth Book of Hot Romance. I contributed to All Romance EBook’s 28 Days of Heart promotion to benefit the American Heart Association with an erotic retelling of the myth of Persephone and Hades. That’ll release in February of 2010.

On top of the new work that’s releasing in the near future, this year I’ll have had a total of 5 print releases and 3 ebooks. That’s a pretty full year.

As the year winds up, I like to look back and see what I’ve done, what’s ahead, where I might need to adjust my direction. The winter is a great time for rest, re-evaluating and planning the work for the year ahead, for celebrating all the good things the past year brought and enjoying family and friends. Winter brings a pause in nature and I think creative cycles have a pause, too. As life gets hectic that pause might be brief, but we can take moments to be still and just be. That pause is part of what brings about new growth and new work and new opportunities in the new year to come.

Reading is my favorite way to just stop the busyness and take a little time out. To encourage you to take time to pause no matter how hectic your December is, comment to win a copy of Animal Attraction.

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Thank you for visiting Novel Thoughts, Ms Teglia and best luck with your release!

You can learn more about Ms Teglia’s work by visiting  her website.

Cheryl St. John on Judging a Book by its Cover

Mariah Burrows has everything she wants: a position in her family’s brewery, a wonderful son and a large, loving family. True, she is living a lie; there is no Mr. Burrows off in the Alaskan gold fields, just an old friend who writes dent, miner Wes Burrows discovers he has a “son” and decides to come “home” for his wife and child. Wes simply wants the boy to have a father, but once he meets the headstrong, beautiful Mariah, he wants more then a pretend marriage. To letters to her son. After an acciher surprise, Mariah likes Wes. He fits in with her family and slowly makes his way into her heart. Though she is happy, her sister-in-law is suffering, and when things go from bad to worse, Mariah realizes the kind of wonderful man she has.

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Last fall when I saw the cover for Her Montana Man, December ’08, for the first time, I was ecstatic. I didn’t think it could get any better. And then this fall I saw the cover for Her Colorado Man (which are completely unrelated stories, by the way). I experienced a moment of pure cover elation. Cover love. Cover adoration. I love this cover.

Winners from last week!

Congrats to all the winners!! 

Marelou

Wins a copy of Sold To The Laird and a totebag by Karen Ranney.

 

Martha Lawson

Wins a copy of Shoot To Thrill by Nina Bruhns.

 

Becky Jean

Wins a copy of Dating Outside Your DNA by Karen Kelley.

 

Quilt Lady

Wins a copy of Divorced, Desperate and Deceived by Christie Craig.

Cybercliper

Wins a copy of A Storm of Passion by Terri Brisbin.

 

Winners have 48 hours to email me their addresses at mad @ romancereaderatheart.com (without the spaces) to claim their book prizes or new names will be chosen.

Reading Challenges for 2010

I’m still plugging away on my Fall into Reading Challenge that ends later this month (have read 8 of the 16 books on my list) but I’ve already been looking at challenges that will be starting in 2010.

Terri Brisbin tells us a story

In the first of a breathtaking trilogy set against the stark beauty of medieval Scotland, one man discovers a surprising past, a remarkable gift—and a terrible destiny…

Once, Connor believed that his ability to see the future would grant him everything. Instead, it landed him in a prison of his own making. Summoned by the Lord of the Isles to serve as his counselor, Connor gains wealth and prestige, but with every vision, his own sight dims. Even so, Connor doesn’t grasp the terrible consequences of his gift until he’s wounded by a young woman who blames him for her family’s massacre.

Moira curses herself for failing to kill the Seer—especially when she learns her punishment is to be given to him as a slave. Far from the proud, arrogant tyrant she imagined, Connor is a tortured man with a dark sensuality that tempts her night after night. But freeing him from a strange power that is spiraling out of control will mean forsaking her vow and risking her heart for the one man she has sworn to destroy…

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Let Me Tell You a Story… or How I sold my first Brava book!

If you ask any published author, she will tell you about her first sale and usually it’s a different path from any other writer’s. Some write for many years before selling, others are a first-book sensation. Some methodically pursue that first sale, some happen on it almost by accident. Some network and schmooze to find the best agent and editor and others know no one in the industry until they sell. But all sales/contracts to write usually involve three common elements: ability, talent and opportunity… oh, and being ready to take advantage of opportunity when it presents itself.