Musical Marketing Muse by Sara Taney Humphreys

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Musical Marketing Muse by Sara Taney Humphreys

The song that sparked my creative juices and woke up my muse is called "Honey on the Skin". You can find Amy Petty and her spectacular music on her website http://www.amypetty.com/ John connected me with another awesome musical muse. The Strike Nineteens. TSN are a band of adorable guys from Scotland. Ladies...think William Wallace/Braveheart accent....yummy.

Their music is gritty and intense. These darlings actually wrote me two songs! One of which will be on their new album "Screams for Denver" which will be released this Spring. I look forward to checking them out LIVE when they come to the USA later this year.

You can check out their music at http://www.myspace.com/thestrikenineteens Cross marketing with music is fun and a little outside the box...just the way I like it.

Sara Taney Humphreys
http://sarataneyhumphreys.com

SCIENCE FICTION ROMANCE: A MALE AUTHOR’S VIEW

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***

SCIENCE FICTION ROMANCE: A MALE AUTHOR’S VIEW by Robert Appleton

A soccer-mad friend of mine told me about a book he’d read recently, the first book he’d ever read cover to cover. We were in a boisterous pub, but I managed to pick out the words “tragic”, “stars”, and “an action-packed ride”. My eyes lit up. Had he…could he possibly have read…science fiction? It was the last thing I expected, and I’d had no intention of telling him about my latest project. A space opera romance. I mean seriously—it’s dodgy to even mutter the words “science-fiction” in a pub on a Saturday afternoon, let alone tie a pink ribbon round them with “romance.” That’s worse than running in stark naked, waving a scarf for the wrong team, shouting “Drinks are on me!” and expecting not to take an instant beer bath.

Yep, it’s a tricky thing for a thirty-year-old guy to explain—why I write romantic science fiction.

And yes, my friend wholeheartedly recommended his book. Tragic, an action-packed ride, stars. He said it was a great autobiography of a professional wrestler.

So here I am (online), to tell you of my newest passion. Sci-fi romance.

The Mythmakers marks my first real foray into space opera, a sub-genre of science fiction characterized by a predominance of space flight, cliffhangers, and romance. Think Firefly, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica. And though I’ve written science fiction from a female POV before—my Eleven Hour Fall trilogy featured a feisty female survivalist, Kate Borrowdale—this is the first time I’ve put romance front and centre, on an equal footing with the action and the “science”.

Here’s the blurb:

For Captain Steffi Savannah and her crew of deep space smugglers, life has become little more than a dogged exercise in mere survival. Their latest disastrous heist ended with another dead crew member—and no place left to hide. She’s even finding it hard to dredge up any excitement over the giant, crippled ship that appears on their radar, even though it’s the salvage opportunity of a lifetime.


They find that it’s no ordinary alien vessel. It’s a ship of dreams, populated with the last remnants of Earth’s mythical creatures. Including the blond, built, mysterious Arne, one of a race blessed with extraordinary beauty—and few inhibitions. Though he won’t tell her exactly what he is, in his arms Steffi rediscovers something she thought she’d never feel again. Wonder, love…and hope.


It isn’t long, though, before the Royal guard tracks them down, and Steffi and her crew are faced with a terrible decision. Cut and run. Or risk everything to tow the Albatross and her precious cargo to safety.

Sci-fi romance is a genre almost exclusively written by women, about women, and for women. So why do I like it? Well for one thing, it’s a refreshing change from the hero-centric sci-fi books I was brought up with. Don’t get me wrong, John Carter of Mars, H.G. Wells and Jules Verne will always take pride of place on my bookshelf. But the women in those are ornamental at best, not to mention tied to the past.

To me, it’s fascinating to see how women view themselves in situations that call for the type of heroism traditionally expected of male heroes. Take today’s archetypal sf romance heroine—independent, resourceful, good in a fight, aggressively sexual, but also wounded, conflicted, lonely. I look at the book covers and see a woman’s idea of the perfect woman. Sexy, take charge, equal to any man of the future. These books aren’t marketed to men, but the cover models are still hot. The heroine’s sexuality is a potent draw for female readers. Just as the muscular, impossibly handsome Conan and John Carter are to boys and men. This kind of fantasy wish-fulfilment, or hero worship, traditionally a crucial part of male-centric science fiction and fantasy, now has its flipside in science fiction romance.

Unfortunately, most male readers don’t want to read a story told from a woman’s POV. And even less want any truck with the romance label, in any genre. Yet, romance has always been an integral part of pulp sf and fantasy. Every single Edgar Rice Burroughs novel features a man and a woman falling in love. From Flash Gordon to Avatar, romance has helped define the genre.

So why do male readers shy away from modern sf romance? Is it because they’re written by women? Is it because we feel threatened on some level by the tough female protagonists who can beat the snot out of us? Is there too much emphasis on romance, whereas those pulp sci-fi tales of the past, though romantic, never bore the “romance” label?

Sales demographics answer all those questions. Most publishers won’t even consider a sf romance, or any type of romance, unless it’s told from a woman’s POV. It just won’t sell. Women are every bit as protective of their own genres as men. But I wonder how many male readers have given sci-fi romance a real chance? I’ll bet hardly any. They might be surprised, as I was, to find just how brilliant a lot of these female space authors can be. Lois McMaster Bujold, Isabo Kelly, Sherrilyn Kenyon, etc. create fascinating universes and people them with heroines and heroes to rival the top male sf authors. The action is great, the science intriguing, the stories fast-paced and unpredictable. What’s not to like?

Oh, I forgot, they have love scenes. Okay, no way round that then. How about if male authors started getting in on the act? Sci-fi romances with slightly less lovin’, slightly more blowin’ shit up? Then again, male readers don’t like stories written from the heroine’s POV. So I guess we’re basically stuck in the good ol’ days of John Carter saving the planet on his own.

It’s funny, though, that female sf readers aren’t averse to sf with a male POV.

So what kind of protagonist is popular in sci-fi romance?

Personally, I’d rather end up with one of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ princesses—Dejah Thoris, oh yeah!—than a butt-kicking, gun-toting space babe who knows more about warp drives than me. But I’d much rather read about the latter, learn who she is, where she comes from, what she wants from the universe. Women in science fiction romances are much harder to fathom. They’re all the things guys don’t get about women, only twisted around and shoved back in our faces, at light speed.

They’re also funny. They act like pirates and train like GI Jane and fly a ship better than all the blokes. And they’re not always funny intentionally. How many women do you know could trade blows with a man, an average sized man, and beat ten bells out of him? I don’t know a single one. Well in the future, guys have lost their edge, see? Sci-fi romance babes are the next generation badasses. We don’t stand a chance. I’ve always loved Ripley in the Alien films because she’s a survivor first and a woman second. She was kind of revolutionary in the sci-fi genre (at least in movies), but now that character, or elements of her, are everywhere in popular SFF culture. She was a springboard for the tough, larger-than-life space heroines of today, such as Starbuck in BSG.

Steffi Savannah in The Mythmakers falls under that category, though she’s more feminine than either Ripley or Starbuck. She started life on her home world as an optimistic farmer’s daughter, steeped in tradition, and she’d accepted her role in life—to marry, raise a family. But disaster struck, leaving her homeless, an off-world drifter. To make ends meet, she turned to smuggling, and eventually made enough to buy her own ship, the Albatross, and hand-pick its crew. Her love life is confined to one-night stands in space ports and a no-strings sexual relationship with Bo, her loyal-but-not-too-bright cargo chief.

I wanted to strike a balance in Steffi between toughness—to captain her own smuggling ship, she has to be—and vulnerability. She gives orders and listens to advice. She can be cynical, but she also longs to be that wide-eyed girl on the farm again. When she discovers a crippled alien ship in deep space, she’s at her lowest ebb. What she finds on board, however, and who she finds on board, gradually reopens doors in her heart she’d long-since closed.

Some might see it as unusual for a male author to dabble in a female-oriented market, but for me, the best ideas have always come from unusual endeavours. I enjoy the challenge of writing a female POV. And to prove it, I have several more sf romances in the works, including one steampunk mystery I’ve almost completed. Just don’t tell anyone down at the pub, okay?

Click here to read the first chapter of The Mythmakers.

The Mythmakers is available Feb 23 at Samhain Publishing, priced $3.50 (ebook). Later in the year, it will appear in paperback as part of Samhain’s Impulse Power space opera anthology.

To read more from author Robert Appleton, head on over to his website: http://www.robertappleton.co.uk or visit his blog at: http://robertbappleton.blogspot.com

Warriors with Heart by by Cornelia Amiri

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February is the month of love. Since I write Celtic/Romances about long swords, hot heroes, and warrior women, I think about the importance of love to the ancient Celts. They had more types of recognized marriages than any other culture, which tells me they were very big on romance. Under the Brehon (Brehoon) laws of Ireland, there were not one, but 10 types of marriage. I’ll list them.


#1. The man and wife contributed an equal amount of property or finances.


#2. A woman moved to the man's property and contributed little or nothing financially but managed the housekeeping.


#3. A man moved to the woman’s property and contributed little or nothing financially but managed her cattle and her fields.


#4. The husband and wife both had property and managed their own individually, but the children's rights were still safeguarded.


#5. By mutual consent the man and woman shared their bodies, but lived under separate roofs. I call that the have your cake and eat it too marriage.


#6. A man abducted the wife of a defeated enemy. So the woman came to that marriage as a spoil of war.


#7. The man and woman got together only for one night of sex. In modern times we have a slang expression for this relationship, we call it a one night stand. The Celts had an expression as well, they called it a soldier's marriage.


#8. A man seduced a woman by lying to her or by taking advantage of her while she was drunk.


#9. A union by forcible rape. The ancient tale of Camma and Sinorix detail what Celtic women felt about this marriage. After Sinorix killed her husband and forced her to wed him, Camma put poison in the ceremonial wedding cup which they both drank from together. Vengeance against Sinorix was more important than her own life. She used the marriage to get revenge.


#10. Both the man and woman were either feeble-minded or insane.


The Welsh, under the laws of Hywell (whowell) the Good, had the same types of marriages as the Irish, except for # 10.


All types of banter must have occurred regarding these marriages. Going by the way I numbered the marriages, instead of Yo Mama, they might have said something like, “Oh, you must have been born from a number 10 marriage.” And they could have more than one spouse, so an ancient Celtic man or woman could have several combinations of marriages. Can you imagine meeting someone and asking not “are you married?” But “what number marriage do you currently have?” They might reply, “Oh, I have a #1 and a #5 and of course a couple of # 7’s.” . . . And I thought modern day dating was complicated.


To modern man, it seems silly or even cruel to refer to some of these unions as marriages. But it isn’t, because these marriages were not for the benefit of the man or woman, they were for the protection of the children. By recognizing all these unions as legal marriages, the Celts insured there were no illegitimate children. A child born of any of the 10 unions would inherit like any of their parents’ other children. Also the land did not go to the eldest son. The estate was split between all children including the daughters.


I even mention one of these types of marriages in my Celtic/Paranormal/Romance Queen of Kings, which is about one of the great Celtic warrior women, Macha Mong Ruad. She is the only woman listed among the high Kings of Ireland.

Speaking of warrior women, my February 20th release, Timeless Voyage, is about Anwen, a fictitious Celtic warrior woman who pirates Roman ships off the coast of Ireland in the first century AD. It’s one of All Romance Ebooks 28 Days of Heart books. I’m calling all warriors at heart to join the battle against heart disease by reading Timeless Voyage or any of the romances from All Romance Ebooks 28 days of Heart Campaign. One will be released each day of February so you can read all 28. Show your true warrior woman spirit just like Macha Mong Ruad and Anwen to fight heart disease. Just by reading a good book you can help a good cause.


I am drawing two winners from the comments below so please post a comment. One will win a Paige O’Day Irish Year 2010 calendar of Ireland and one will win a PDF download of Queen of Kings so please include your emails so I can reach the two winners.


Blurbs and links are posted below.
King of Queens – Blurb:


Macha of the Red Braids exudes the essence of female power. Defying and fighting two kings, she takes her father’s place on the throne. With one goal in mind, she uses magic, battles, disguises, and skills of seduction to take the crown as sole ruler, the only woman listed as a High King of Ireland. She builds the famed kingdom of Emain Macha, marking off the borders with the pin of her cloak brooch. Yet a Champion, from the wilds of Connaught, throws the powerful battle queen off-guard when he comes to claim her heart. Has Macha met her match with Nath of Connaught? Will he pass the three trials she has set before him?


http://www.eternalpress.ca/Amiri.html


Timeless Voyage –Blurb:


Love isn’t bound by the limits of time…


Off the mist shrouded coast of Ireland, a pagan lady-pirate, Anwen, captures the enemy, a Roman, Titus Rufius Kaeso. The Celtic warrior woman presses her hard iron dagger against Kaeso’s throat, but her arm does not obey the will to slay him. From time out of mind, memories of fated lovers, druids, and sacrifice, stay her hand. Kaeso is also captivated by dreams of the woman he loved in a previous life, the mirror image of Anwen. But in this lifetime they are foes, Roman and Celt. Can Anwen and Kaeso steer their timeless voyage to a happy destiny or will they be robbed of love once more?
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-timelessvoyage-402751-157.html


Thank you so much,

Cornelia Amiri
http://www.celticromancequeen.com/

Write Like The Wind by Mary Vine

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Write Like The Wind by Mary Vine

It seems to me that some writers can write like the wind, producing two or three books to my one. Some have children, others have full-time jobs, but all have issues that pull them away from the page, yet they are still successful in the field. Perhaps I have only half of the needed talent, while a prolific writer has the whole shebang. I thought this was true once, but not anymore.

It has been said that a successful writer is an organized writer. I consistently have papers waiting to be organized on the top of my desk that are separated into two stacks, one on each side of the computer. After tiring of the mess, I bought a roll top desk to hide it, but every once in awhile I'm overwhelmed by the feeling that I might be missing something important in the pile and straighten it. Certainly, I am not the only writer whose desk is in disarray, many successful authors have an even bigger mess than mine, so I don't think that by organized a tidy desk is what is meant. If this is true, then in what way does organization count, and does organization bring forth speed in writing?

Whether you write as you go or outline your story every step of the way, you'll get the story written, and one way can be just as fast as the other. Since the joy of writing only goes so far before it becomes work, you need to know what you are going to write when you sit down. If you aren't inspired when your butt hits the chair, and you don't know something of where you are going, you'll be staring at a blank page. Distractions here we come.

In those early writing years, I thought that I could only write when I was stress-free, because that's when the inspiration would flow. Then one day a writer told me that the book her fans liked the most was written during a very stressful time in her life. I wish she had added that I would never get any writing done if I waited for a time without stress.

Without inspiration, what is needed is a system. Print off a free monthly calendar online and jot down your plans. Perhaps one page a day to complete your book is reasonable to record, because you can complete 365 pages in a year. Pen in what you will write when you sit down, it doesn't have to be a complete outline, but enough to keep you going. You have to spend time up front to make it work. That is organization.

I set up a writing schedule while working full-time and it is amazing how much more work I've gotten done since. Next, I started to rethink the book-in-a-month challenge, even though I couldn't write a book in a month, I knew I could get several new pages written. While writing, I didn't know if I could salvage any of the story, but found much of it usable when I got a chance to go back through.

One hour a night, five days a week is another easy plan to get more writing done. I discovered that if I wrote at least an hour after work each day, I had five hours of typing in and still had the weekend to spend with my family. If I took additional writing time on the weekend all the better, but if not, I still felt like I'd gotten something done and it was relatively easy to do.

Sometimes, to be visible at home, I take my AlphaSmart (that I bought used for fifty dollars) and type near my husband while he's watching TV. The AS is lightweight, extremely sturdy, smaller than my laptop, and runs forever on a battery. When finished, I plug it into my computer and it sends what I've typed into a document. I've also used the AS in the community while waiting for appointments, or when I travel, helping me write more than I would have been able to without it. Now that's another easy to do plan.

Still, I have quite a bit of work to do to keep up to the speed of others. I tell myself I'm not in competition because I'm working full time and that when I retire I will be able to write like the wind, however, the saying is true that if you want something done ask a busy person. In actuality, the answer to writing speed has everything to do with why a writer writes. Many of the fastest writers in history wrote for a reason. To keep poverty at bay, writing was approached like a job, not a hobby. Today, the most prolific writers I know approach their work just like anyone in any other profession; they count on the money to pay the bills.

Something (whatever it is) has to drive you to write, to get it done far after the joy of writing has left the room.

In summary, to write like the wind, schedule what you will do each day while still being present for your family, put your butt in the chair, and have a commitment to get it done that will move your writing from a hobby to a serious career.

Mary Vine

http://www.maryvine.com/

Love Heals All Pain by Melissa Miller

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Love Heals All Pain by Melissa Miller

Thanks for having me here today to talk about my latest book “Love Heals All Pain.” I've been writing for about four years. I have written six books to date. “Love Heals All Pain” is published with Hearts On Fire Books.


I am married with two boys. They are 6 and 9 and growing faster than you can keep up with. Both of my boys suffer from asthma. If any of you have children with asthma then you know what they have gone through. It's a scary thing when you sit up all night long listening to your child breath because it just didn't sound right when you put them to bed. They both get bronchitis a lot and take breathing treatments at home on top of the regular medications to prevent attacks, but they are both getting older and I hope that they grow out of it as time goes by.


I love writing. I sit down at my computer and just get away for a few hours. I don't have any set schedule or set any limits. I do it for the fun of it. That would be my advice to anyone just starting out. Keep it fun. Don't stress out about it and the story will just write itself.


You can find me on facebook, myspace, and I have a website where you can read the first chapter of each of my books.

Check out my website: www.booksbymelissa.webs.com


purchase at: www.heartsonfirebooks.com


Love Heals All Pain

A strong woman, Rachel Connors, faces the possibility of breast Cancer. Scared and alone she keeps her fears to herself. Going home to Tennessee for the holidays, she meets Kyle Landers.

Kyle has decided from the beginning not to like Rachel. Her absence has been hard on her family-two loving people who took Kyle under their wing when he had no one. But is his anger misplaced? Is there more to Rachel Connors than he first thought?

Overcoming a rocky beginning, Rachel and Kyle fall in love. But will it last? Can love prevail against the trials they will face?

Melissa Miller

Romance Novel Award Season

Posted by Kimber Chin in Contemporary Romance, Kimber Chin

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I read a romance novel a day so I’m constantly looking for new-to-me authors. That is why I love, love, love award season. This is the time of year (right around now) that review sites and magazines are announcing their Best Of’s for 2009. In these lists of nominees (and later winners), there are authors I’ve never, ever heard of yet someone out there in romance reader land (the happiest place on the planet) thinks they’re the best.

What a gift!

I immediately add these authors and titles to my to be bought list. Because I read so many romance novels, I prefer to look at the nominee lists. After reading them all, I’ll decide the winner for myself. One of my buddies reads a romance novel a week. She reads the winners. Another buddy is perverse (that’s perverse, not perverted). She refuses to read any book up for an award. She leans toward quirky romances not representative of the genre.

There are certain categories I drift to. I like to support new authors so I’ll always pick up Best Debut Book. Historical Romance is another one of my fave’s. Give me a Duke and I’m happy. Give me a scarred Duke and I’m ecstatic. There are also categories that I WISH awards had like Angstiest Vampire or Most Creative Use Of The Word Feisty. Romances are fun. We should have fun with the awards.

Do you pay attention to awards? Are there any new categories you would like to see?

$


Kimber Chin writes contemporary romances set in the sexy world of business. Her novella, Selling Forever, has been nominated for Best Contemporary Romance Of 2009. As Nora Roberts is nominated in the same category, Kimber Chin will demand a recount if Selling Forever wins. To read more about Kimber Chin’s novels, please visit http://businessromance.com/

Dirty Little Secret by Judi Fennell

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Include the first part of your email address with your comment. You need to be a NOR newsletter subscriber to enter. That's how we get your full email address...so you don't have to post it all on the comment. You must be 18 or over to enter and a legal resident of the the USA or Canada. USA or Canada Shipping Only. No P.O. Boxes. No Purchase Necessary. Contest Ends: 2/19/2010

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Dirty Little Secret by Judi Fennell

Tammie, thanks so much for having me back!

The third book in my Mer series, Catch of a Lifetime, is out in stores now, and I'm loving the feedback from readers. So many have enjoyed the world-building and I have to say, I didn't know I could create a world like this.

Why? Well, here's my dirty little secret: I hate descriptive scenes, and to me, that was always the world building part. Sad, but true.

I remember, in the "old days" (AKA the 70s), reading pages and pages of description. I would skim over them. Oh, trust me, I do know all the research that went into those descriptions and, at times, I would read through them, but for the most part, I didn't want to read them. I wanted the action and the passion! The romance!

So when it came time to write about my world, I remembered that I didn't like to read gobs of description and tried to focus on the immediacy of what the characters would be seeing, all the while cognizant of making sure to show the world to the reader.

With Catch of a Lifetime, I had an easier time of scene-setting and world-building than I did with the first book in the series, In Over Her Head, mainly because most of it is set on land which is a common reference for my readers, and I'd already figured out the world in my head. Let me tell you, it's much easier to add on than to start new.

But I didn't want to rehash the same old-same old. We've been to Atlantis in In Over Her Head, so the underwater scenes in Catch of a Lifetime had to be different.

That's the great part about writing paranormal - I could make up whatever I wanted. And since we'd already been to Ceto's palace in the first book, I got to give her a new palace in Catch. New fish, new construction,  a whole new look. And it was fun.

I hope people don't skim over those passages, but I've realized that if they do, they must still be "getting" the world. Still seeing the scene. If they weren't, they'd be devouring each and every word to see what I wanted them to. At least, that's my theory; you'll have to tell me if it's true or not.

Here's a passage from Ceto's second palace. What do you think?

****

      Harry followed him down a long, domed tunnel decorated in abalone and oyster. Chandelier squid mantles, lit by hatchetfish and strung with pearls, dangled from the ceiling, making the whole place sparkly and girly. Ceto had invested heavily in her palace—taking the I-am-goddess-hear-me-roar thing a bit too seriously, in his opinion.

      The tunnel opened into an amphitheater—which it had once been. Ceto floated—of course—on a raised dais made of glass, beneath which the most colorful of the local tropicals swam. Ionic columns held a canopy of sailcloth above her head. Probably stolen from one of her victims—she did love to live up to her Queen of the Bermuda Triangle reputation. Her chair was a sea sponge she’d bewitched into a throne for that very purpose. Ceto liked true creature comforts.

      “Ah, Harry. To what do I owe the pleasure?” She swept a taloned—that is, manicured—hand before her, indicating the kowtowing area of the orchestra pit in front of her.

      When the previous dynasty had ruled Atlantis, this building had been the in place. Full of hedonism and free spirits, it’d been their final corruption. The gods had reclaimed the throne for Poseidon’s heirs and moved Atlantis under Bermuda, giving Ceto, he’d heard, the opportunity to get this place for a song. Literally.

      Harry tried to keep the smile off his face. The orchestra pit. She was really overdoing it. But Harry went along with it. Sometimes playing to her vanity was the best offense.

      “Good day, Ceto. You’re looking lovely, as usual.” Her malachite hair squirmed around her head, also as usual, and her twin tails shifted through the full spectrum of colors. The false image of relaxation didn’t fool Harry for a second.

      No one showed up at any of Ceto’s palaces without reason. This wasn’t a swim-by visit and they both knew it.

      Harry settled himself in the pit as best he could while still managing to writhe enough to keep water moving over his gills. It was the one thing he hated about being a shark. Other fish could remain still, but sharks, for whatever reason, weren’t granted swim bladders. If he stopped moving, he’d drown. Rumor had it that some ancestor had annoyed a god so severely that the god had forced this on the shark’s descendants. Probably a Great White.

      “Ah, Harry, such a charmer.” Ceto motioned for one of her Serving Nautiluses to offer him a snack.

      Harry didn’t have as much luck keeping the smile off his face this time. The cephalopod acted as if Harry was going to take a bite of him. A little too self-important was that Nautilus. They were even worse tasting than Bipeds.

      Harry shook his head, and the Nautilus left as fast as his gaseous escape mechanism—very appropriate term in Harry’s opinion—would allow.

      “Thank you for your hospitality, Ceto, but I’m here on an urgent matter.”

      “Oh?” The sea monster leaned forward, her shell-fillers almost spilling out of the Human top she wore.

      He didn’t get the fascination she had with their clothing. It tasted awful, was a pain in the tail to pick out of his teeth, and ruined the presentation as far as he was concerned. Still, whatever floated her boat.

© Judi Fennell, Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2010
***

So, what about you? Like 'em, hate 'em? Are there other parts of stories you skim? Why do you?

CATCH OF A LIFETIME BY JUDI FENNELL—IN STORES FEBRUARY 2010!

She’s on a mission to save the planet…

Mermaid Angel Tritone has been researching humans from afar, hoping to find a way to convince them to stop polluting.

When she jumps into a boat to escape a shark attack, it’s her chance to pursue her mission, but she has to keep her identity a total secret…

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

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

The third novel in Judi Fennell's mermaid series, a fresh, exciting, and different entry in romance fiction!

About the Author

Judi Fennell is an award-winning author. Her romance novels have been finalists in Gather.com's First Chapters and First Chapters Romance contests, as well as the third American Title contest. She spends family vacations at the Jersey Shore, the setting for some of her paranormal romance series. She lives in suburban Philadelphia, PA. For More information, and a chance to win a romantic ocean getaway, visit www.judifennell.com.

5 Quick Tips for Great Sex by Kim Switnicki

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5 Quick Tips for Great Sex


In times that are stressful, it’s hard to think of romance and how to have a fun and sexy time with your mate. In fact, it may be hard to come up with new and creative ways to add spice even when things are going well! Here are five tips sure to help you make a lasting impression on your sweetie this Valentines’ Day. Don’t just save them for the month of love though, mark some time in your date book or calendar right now to put some attention on your intimate relationship. Both you and your partner will never regret it.

1. Write a sexy love note in a way you haven’t ever done before tonight! Dig out an unused lipstick (or pick one up from a dollar store in sinful red) and use it to write a naughty suggestion on a steamed up bathroom mirror. You can also load your lips with the color, find a fancy piece of decorated paper (or even a big Post-it note or words cut out from a magazine glued to plain paper!) and jot down a suggestive idea like “I’m waiting for you to make me moan later” or “I can’t wait to see you tonight-as long as you’re completely naked so I can …” or some other teasing bit of fun, then slip the note in a little envelope and seal it with a big juicy smooch from your lipstick laden lips. He’s sure to respond.
   
   Distance is no excuse. In fact it can even be a bonus. Sending sexy text messages, leaving suggestive voicemails and slipping romantic notes into your lover’s clothing after it’s packed up for his business trip can add spice back to a ho-hum relationship. Let your imagination stir up your erotic energy and have fun with it!
   
   
2. The next time you make love, bring your lover to a new location. I don’t necessarily mean new heights of ecstasy, though that is always a fun goal, but try to ease him down to the end of or edge of the bed or sit him down on the side of it and straddle him for something new and yet powerfully intimate. Try bringing him into the laundry room to help you ‘fold the clothes’ when you really want him in there to rest you against the washer while it’s on a spin cycle or push him down into the pile of clothes or bedsheets and have your way with him. He may be much more inclined to help with the laundry in the future. Another option is taking his hand and leading him from your tried-and-true-bed into the living room. Watch his mouth drop as you let go of his hand, bend yourself forward over the back of the couch, gently lift your nightie up over your bottom (adds to the effect so plan in advance) and ask him if he likes what he sees. Ooh la la!
   
   
3. Add some dominatrix flare the next time he arrives home from work. Modify this as required. Join him at the door, take his briefcase and anything else out of his hands. Lean him against the nearest wall, slip off his tie and wrap it slowly around his head covering his eyes like a blindfold. Then grab his hands, one on either side of him and bring them both up over his head and whisper in his ear “Do you want more, big boy?” If you end up doing this while he’s sitting down on a couch or chair, straddle him and kiss him like you did when you first met. If he’s (still) standing, use one of your hands to keep both his wrists above his head while you take your other hand and leisurely roam all over his body, squeezing gently. Be sure to stay away from between his legs for as long as possible. Make him moan for it…
   
   
4. You can also spice things up by picking up funky costume pieces at your local dollar or thrift store for some romantic role playing. A colored wig or tiara, a feather boa and beads, or even nurse’s accessory kits for kids can help you release your inhibitions while you dance for him, act out some fantasies or play doctor. Having fun in the bedroom is truly one of life’s joys – and it’s free!
   
   
5. Lastly, rent 3 or 4 steamy movies (you can Google ‘steamy movies’) and have them cued up (either on a VHS tape or use the scene selection mode on the DVD menu) so you and your lover watch only the hot scenes. See if they add a spark to your evening or at the very least, get your own creative juices flowing so you start creating some steamy scenes of your own.

Kim Switnicki

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“Tough times shouldn’t slow down your sex life. Whether you’re stressed at work, worried about global warming, concerned about the stock market, anxious about your bills, or frustrated with your kids, great sex with your partner shouldn’t fall off your priority list.”

—Kim Switnicki 

GREAT SEX FOR HARD TIMES

The Stimulus Package You’ve Been Waiting For

by Kim Switnicki

 

Stress is present in all of our lives, whether it is from work, family or simple everyday situations. Plus with the current poor state of the economy, many of us can’t help but feel anxious and fatigued more often than we would like. Luckily, Kim Switnicki—an international speaker, sex educator and coach—is here to help.

In GREAT SEX FOR HARD TIMES: The Stimulus Package You’ve Been Waiting For (January 5, 2010; Berkley Trade Paperback Original; $14; ISBN: 978-0-425-23280-4), Switnicki points out the benefits of sex (like lowering blood pressure, improving cardiovascular health, and burning calories) and shows readers how to banish the stress of hard times in the most fun way possible—with great sex!

Over the past 25 years, Kim has helped thousands of women have a deeper connection with their bodies in order to achieve the passionate sex they want and the satisfying relationships they have always dreamed of. GREAT SEX FOR HARD TIMES is the ultimate solution for achieving great sex and romance on a budget as it is filled with dozens of “Quickie” and “Cash-Saver” tips. Each chapter even offers “Sexy Challenges” that will encourage and empower readers to bring more fun, more intimacy and more excitement into their bedroom. After all, just because the economy is suffering doesn’t mean one’s sex life has to suffer too!

Unlike other sex books that give unrealistic suggestions—expensive getaways, fancy lingerie, and unfeasible sexual positions that the average person can’t master—in GREAT SEX FOR HARD TIMES, readers will find:

• How to mix food and sex for a fantastic recipe for pleasure
• Seven simple ways to make your bedroom a sensual boudoir
• Top five dollar store finds for kinky fun
• Illustrated examples of sexual positions that can increase your pleasure
• Five romantic accessories you didn’t even know you already own

Great sex is one of the keys to having a long and strong marriage or partnership and with GREAT SEX FOR HARD TIMES, Switnicki will open readers’ eyes to endless sexy possibilities, making this new book a must-have for every bedroom.

# # #

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
KIM SWITNICKI has over 25 years of experience helping women end their suffering and embrace the satisfaction they deserve. She is internationally accredited by the International Coach Federation and a member of the SIECCAN.
 Author website: www.greatsexforhardtimes.com

 

GREAT SEX FOR HARD TIMES

The Stimulus Package You’ve Been Waiting For

by Kim Switnicki

Berkley Trade Paperback Original; January 5, 2010; $14.00

ISBN 978-0-425-23280-4

Visit our website at www.penguin.com

 

Penguin Group (USA) Inc. is the U.S. member of the internationally renowned Penguin Group.  Penguin Group (USA) is one of the leading U.S. adult and children's trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and trademarks, including Berkley Books, Dutton, Frederick Warne, G.P. Putnam's Sons, Grosset & Dunlap, New American Library, Penguin, Philomel, Riverhead Books and Viking, among others. The Penguin Group is part of Pearson plc, the international media company.

Terry Spear: Brain Fog

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Win a paperback copy of Legend of the White Wolf.

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Terry Spear: Brain Fog

When we write, it’s easy to get stuck on a part of our novels: where to take the hero or heroine now; how to deepen the motivation, the characterization, the plot; how to resolve this issue, or add more conflict. And so sometimes it’s like this huge crevice splits the world in two. And I’m on one side, and the rest of the story is on the other. But how in the world do I connect the dots, cross that crevice, and reach the end?

Truly? I wasn’t thinking about my current work in progress, Taming the Highland Wolf, which I’ve just started writing, but this blog, and four others I needed to write today.

Yep, it’s not just about writing the books, but writing the promotional blogs that can stall us. I did what I normally do when I’m not able to move forward:  ate lunch, cleaned a little, worked on the new book, and answered some blog comments. So that did it, right? Snapped me right out of this blog fog I’m in?

Nope. :) So I called my son about Dragon Age, the Role Playing Game we both got for Christmas and I asked him how in the world I kill the drakes in the cave before I can fight the really big dragon. When I phoned him, I told him right up front I was calling about something really important. :) He laughed. When he was a kid, his boyfriends thought it was so cool to have a mother who loved to play RPGs too.

Anyway, after killing the drakes, I saved the game, will leave the big dragon for later, because I still have five blogs to write today. And answered a couple of blog comments, and wrote up author notes for another story, researched a little to make sure my information was accurate, then it was time to write this blog again.

Nothing. So I decided to write about brain fog. And it worked! Sometimes just writing about nothing will help us to cross that crevice and get us going again.

Did I get stumped when I was working on Legend of the White Wolf? I can’t remember any specifics that far back! Really!

Oh sure, there are times I’m wondering what to do next to get my characters into more of a pickle of a mess. Things are getting too quiet. Need strife. And then I brainstorm, sometimes by myself, sometimes with others. And then there are times when I’m trying to figure out how to get them out of the pickle of a mess I just got them into. It can be a lot more difficult than you think. Make the solution too easy, and it’s like that was too convenient. Too difficult, and it’s like that was too complicated. But still, we need to create problems for our characters.

Then we need some loving, and it’s got to be in the right place, at the right time, for the right reason. Or maybe not exactly for the right reason. Romance writers can get away with this. But sometimes that can stump us. Don’t want to just throw it in there for the sake of having some loving.

Sometimes I get stumped on how I want to begin a novel, or how I want to end it.

In any of these problem areas, trying to come up with alternate scenarios can help to break down the barrier that keeps us from writing the story. Sometimes a little research will give us a wealth of information that will be fun to include and can send us in the right direction.

So if you have brain fog, don’t let it get you down. Somewhere, somehow there’s a solution! We just have to work at it until we find it!

Do you ever have trouble with fog on the brain? 

LEGEND OF THE WHITE WOLF—IN STORES FEBRUARY 2010

Award-Winning Author introduces the next installment of her paranormal romance series

A 2008 Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year Award Winner! 

Night Owl Romance Reader Choice Award for Best Paranormal 2008

In this fourth in Spear's series, Private Eye Cameron MacPherson and Faith O'Mallery are both on quests that lead them into the world of magical wolves...

Cameron arrives in the Canadian Arctic to search for his partners in his P.I. business who are late returning from a hunting trip. Faith is there to discover what her father had seen in the same area years earlier that had made him lose touch with reality—man-wolves, he called them.

The two tumble into an icy world of enemies bent on destroying the lupus garou kind. As they turn into lupus garou themselves, and bond with the pack that only they can rescue from destruction, Cameron and Faith find their soul mates in each other.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry Spear has an MBA from Monmouth College.  As an eclectic writer, she dabbles in the paranormal, historical and true life stories for both teen and adult audiences.  She is the author of Winning the Highlander’s Heart and The Vampire in My Dreams (young adult). Spear lives in Crawford, Texas.

You can find Terry at the following places:

www.terryspear.com    

http://www.wickedlyromantic.blogspot.com/  http://casablancaauthors.blogspot.com http://fierceromance.blogspot.com  http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#/home.php?ref=home  http://shapeshifterromance.wordpress.com     

What Is SteamPunk? Steamed and SteamPunk Q & A by Katie MacAlister

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Win a copy of Steamed by Katie MacAlister - Provided by her publisher!

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STEAMED AND STEAMPUNK Q&A


You have questions, Katie has answers!

Q: WHAT THE HECK IS STEAMPUNK?

A: The word “steampunk” was first bandied about in the late 1980s when a new type of fantasy/scifi book emerged. The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling was really the biggest driving force in bringing steampunk to the attention of readers; their book was an alternate history take on the Victorian era, in which a steam-powered computer plays a big role.

The steam in steampunk refers to that steam-power aspect of the societies portrayed in the books; often in historical contexts (such as Victorian times). If you think back to Jules Verne’s books, with its airships and rockets to the moon, and Captain Nemo’s wonderful gadgets, you have the birthplace of steampunk.

The punk element was originally a reference to the fact that the books of the late 1980s and early 1990s didn’t fit in with a typical fantasy/science fiction categorization. They were different, and dipped into all sorts of elements like alternate history, fantasy, and lots of tips of the hat to the Jules Vernian “scientific romances” of the previous century.

It’s my opinion that steampunk has changed in the last couple of decades. I see the punk part of steampunk as being the adventurous element of the books, everything from grand, epic adventures that send characters careening across continents, to quieter, but no less fascinating, adventures of the spirit. I believe that nowadays, it’s the “man against the world” aspect that brings the punk to steampunk.


Q: WHAT IS STEAMED? IS IT PARANORMAL? FANTASY? HISTORICAL OR CONTEMPORARY FICTION?

A: It’s a blending of all four elements. Steamed is set in contemporary times (2010), with a contemporary protagonist in Jack Fletcher, who is a nanoelectrical engineer. But somehow, Jack gets zapped to an alternate version of his reality, one that is steampunk in nature, which is where the other main protagonist, Octavia Pye, resides.

In Octavia’s world, history didn’t happen as it did in ours; the British empire is still reigning strong with William VI, the English emperor in charge of the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Prussia. Canada, the US, and Mexico have banded together, and are collectively referred to as “the Americas,” and are not favored very highly by the British empire due to lengthy wars.

There is another emperor, a Moghul one, who is determined to take over all of Europe, and a well-organized group of revolutionaries known as the Black Hand who want to topple William.

So Steamed has a contemporary hero, an alternate history, a heavily steampunked world, and a heroine who just wants to hold things together. Don’t worry that you’ll have to remember everything—there’s a glossary in the back of the book with definitions, and explanations about who’s who and what’s what.


Q: WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR WRITING A STEAMPUNK BOOK?

A: Anyone who’s ever read one of my contemporary books will be aware of the fact that I have a deep and abiding love of history, and my natural geekiness led me to be instantly attracted to steampunk when I first encountered it (which was the graphic novel and later movie of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen).

I wanted to explore my own version of steampunk, and Octavia and Jack burst into mind with all sorts of tantalizing possibilities. I love the ability to tweak history around a bit, and play a really long round of the “What if that didn’t happen, but this did...” game.


Q: IS STEAMED A STAND-ALONE OR PART OF A SERIES?

A: My intention is to write a series based on the characters introduced in Steamed. There is a lot of things going on in Octavia’s world, and I envision it taking several books to explore all of it.


Q: WILL OCTAVIA AND JACK BE BACK IN SUBSEQUENT BOOKS?

A: They will, although I am not sure if they will return as narrators, or as secondary characters. At this point in time, I suspect that each book in the steampunk series will have a different narrator (or sets of narrators), but that’s not set into stone. It really depends on whether or not the story demands a continuation with previous narrators.

© Katie MacAlister - Use of this Q & A oked by her publisher for this blog post only.

Love for all Time by Ryshia Kennie

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Love for all Time by Ryshia Kennie

My new book "Ring of Desire" is launched and to celebrate I'm holding a Valentine's Give Away contest.  Contest open up to and including February 14, 2010.  Stop by my website at www.ryshiakennie.com and enter for a chance to win a prize package that includes a DVD of that timeless love story, "Gone with the Wind" as well as a book or two that I consider keepers.

Speaking of timeless, that’s how my latest release, “Ring of Desire” went from medieval historical to medieval paranormal.  I wanted a love for all time.  I mean really, how romantic is that?  The only way it could be more is to add a castle or two.  I’ve always loved castles and although I’ve seen plenty in my time, I wanted something more.  Something old and shrouded in history, maybe a forgotten keep, moss-encrusted, dank, dark and mysterious.  But I wanted the love for all time too. 

Not going to happen with a mortal bunch.  So I thought the only way you’re going to get that is go paranormal.  And so began the Ancients, beings that lived forever except for one glitch - they were also beings that when things didn’t go their way believed in a good old-fashioned curse.  So much for immortality at least for the resident humans – but I digress.

To begin with “Ring of Desire” was solidly medieval despite my desire for a love for all time.

Here’s how it all began.  1072 England - I researched politics, dress, speech and customs and loved every minute of it.  So, with a medieval background firmly in my mind, a hero begging to leap into action and an opening scene ready to go, I began to write.  And that is when everything changed.  The Ancients appeared.   “The One.  The One,” they whispered every time my beleaguered hero made an appearance.

I was hearing voices! I admit the far reaches of my imagination can be a busy place, but the voices were totally unexpected and now they were populating my story.

What the heck was that about?  Even in the opening scene as my hero, Giles, rescued Vala from a watery death, there was the whispering and hints of something else.  I was as baffled as Giles and writing stopped for a bit as the plot had to be reworked to accommodate what was obviously a hint of magic.

But it was more than a hint of magic. Ring of Desire took me totally by surprise from its final name to the outcome of the story.  It was one of my favorite stories to write.

The Ancients and their magical dynasty took the story to a place I originally didn’t consider.  But in the end, “Ring of Desire” is still a story of overcoming the odds and trusting enough to love.  It is literally a love affair that runs through time.

Do you believe in love for all time?

I’m looking forward to your comments.

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Ring of Desire

Whispers of an ancient magic drew them together

In the medieval land of Hafne, a curse has swept through the land leaving it barren and without hope. As one of the chosen, Vala watches for signs of the prophecy and with it, the owner of a ring who is destined to fight by her side and drive away the darkness. The newly arrived Norman enemy is an unnecessary complication in Hafne—and in beautiful Vala’s heart.

An unspeakable evil fights to keep them apart.

Giles arrives with his Norman men in time to rescue a mysterious woman from a watery death. Holding Vala in his arms, the stirrings of destiny and desire begin, binding him to a prophecy of which he surely wants no part—binding him to a search for his true origins and a fight to save his soul and hers.

Ryshia Kennie

http://www.ryshiakennie.com