Off the Keyboard | Award-Winning Author Sarah Grimm

Spotlight On...Casey Clifford

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:34:00 +0000

I hope you'll all help me give Casey Clifford a great big welcome to Off the Keyboard. Casey, please share a little about yourself, your genres, any other pen names you use.

Many know me as Mary Jo Scheibl. I've been a member of RWA since June 1986, WisRWA about the same time, Kiss of Death since a few months after it formed and RWA-WF for the past year or so.

I write using the pen name Casey Clifford. I chose this to honor two women who were mentors and friends and very intelligent. Both of them were trend setters for their time. They were and are survivors and reflect an ongoing theme in all my books. I write Romantic Suspense and Women's Fiction as genres but I prefer to call my writing Wise Women Fiction. :-)

Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming release.

My most recent book, An Island No More was released last Friday, January 27. It's a romantic suspense set in the southeast corner of Wisconsin in my fictional town of Southport as it is located on the shore of Lake Michigan.

What I love about this book is my heroine Maggie Meehan. She's a single parent who's determined to succeed in parenting and with her life goals while being as independent as possible. One of her growth arcs is accepting the truth of John Donne's well known lines "No man is an island." My title emerged from those lines which begin the book. They signify Maggie's character arc as well as the hero, Seth's.

Sounds wonderful! What was the hardest thing for you about writing this story?

I love revision and editing. It's the best part of writing in my estimation. However, I found that part the most difficult for this book because that final revision/editing process occurred within a couple weeks of the death of my adult son. My wonderful editor, Lori Graham, offered to hold back on this stage, but I knew if I did that, I was only prolonging the process of moving on and achieving another goal of which he would have been proud.

Now, just a few days short of a year since Jimbo died, I'm holding An Island No More in my hands. And I've learned once again that nothing will halt my need to write. I also know my characters kept me from becoming a lonely island. They reminded me vividly of the universal truth each of them had to learn in this story unfolds.

I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your son. I can't imagine how difficult that must have been for you. At what age did you discover writing and when were you first published? Tell us your call story.

I can't remember not writing--something. As a child, my summer month's project would be to write a short "play" which then the neighborhood kids would put on for a captive audience. We'd do one a month. Unfortunately, or not, one proud father filmed some of them. They have come back to remind us of our youth because before the man died, he had those skits transferred to tape and then DVD.

My high school and college instructors encouraged me and though I had a career as a professor on summers off I'd write novels. Put them away until the next summer and revise. I retired as soon as I was eligible and started writing seriously and marketing myself. I revised and editing those old stories and wrote more, entered contests, got more involved with my local RWA chapter and another online RWA chapter.

I had a few 'almost there' adventures with major publishing houses; however, something would always happen before a contract came about--such as the editor left or died, the line folded. Finally 5 years after retirement, I was offered a contract for Black Ribbon Affair. I'll never forget that email popping up. My hubby who's always been supportive, broke open the champagne he'd bought that first year of retirement. He was that sure of my success.

Black Ribbon Affair went on to win the Holt Medallion for Best First Book and the Write Touch Readers' Award for Best Romantic Suspense. My second Wild Rose book, An Island No More, is out now. It is also RS.

This past autumn I made the choice to indie publish my Women's Fiction. Two are no available as digital books, Fireweed and Seasons of Wine and Love. I expect my third WF to be available in February. This third book begins a series I refer to as my Dessert Dames, or Double Ds' series. This series centers on a group of life-long women friends in their early 50s. Each book centers on one specific friend faced with a catastrophic and life changing event. How she manages that and how her friends help and support is the unifying theme--oh and the desserts which always help them get through life.

Why did I decide to indie publish my WF? I'm a pragmatist. I've been around long enough to understand just how long traditional publishing takes. I thought about the two women who were my mentors--blazing new paths because they wanted something. I wanted these stories to be read before I die, not after. I'm a seasoned woman. I'm at the age where life is more behind me than ahead. But I'll never be too old to try new things.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Writing takes a lot of time as you know and I stay focused on writing goals. However, I love to read and read mostly RS and WF. I also work on one nonfiction book a month. I love to bake. I enjoy being with my family and friends and doing things with me. I love photography and traveling.

What are you working on right now?

Right now I'm doing final edits/formatting for the February book which I've titled Better Than Dessert. I'm working revising the second in that series, and plotting the third. I'm mentally thinking through plot lines for 2 RS works, a novella and the third in the Affair series. Oh, and PR for everything.

Where can we find you on the web?

I blog every Sunday on my website: http://caseyclifford.wordpress.com I'm on Facebook but don't have a clue about all the other options out there. Probably by next year I will.

Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?

Most importantly, I thank you for this opportunity to meet a new audience and tell them about my writing journey. I believe my writing is such a part of me that I can never walk away from it. Like life, writing has its high points and its low ones. I've mucked around in that slough of despair more than once in my life but that struggle would have been worse had I not known I might use those emotions and that knowledge at some future date in something I write. My writing has served as a lifeline during difficult times, and I've had a few. To me having the gift of weaving words, ideas, emotions into a story readers might love to read energizes me.

And a question I have is--"Do you have any questions for me?"

College professor Maggie Meehan thinks she can tackle any challenge alone, but when an old flame returns to campus he puts her career--and her heart--in jeopardy...

With a daughter to support, Maggie wants the job security that comes from achieving college tenure. The likelihood of that lessens when Seth Baldwin, a man from her past, arrives on campus with tenure and a hefty salary. Sparks blaze between them that have nothing to do with their careers and everything to do with their hearts.

When Maggie's abusive ex-husband shows up making demands and a disturbed student hassles her, Maggie wants to tough it out on her own. But when a series of murders rocks the campus and Maggie is threatened and even assaulted, Seth refuses to let her face the ordeal alone.
Can Seth's love strengthen Maggie enough to overcome a killer bent on her destruction?

Excerpt:

“What I’d really like to know, Maggie, is in which role you think I most resemble him? James Bond, perhaps?”

At that unexpected voice, Maggie’s heart slammed against her rib cage. Her tummy plummeted to her swollen feet. She spotted the Bondish-sly grin accompanying Seth’s words as he walked through the doorway with Emily close behind. Giggling, her daughter looked quite pleased with herself.

“More like his role in Lawnmower Man,” she snapped her conversational dart.

“Ouch…you’re killing me here. Lawnmower Man?”

“On second thought?” She cocked her head. “Maybe more Remington Steele. Inept. But perfectly attired—whatever the occasion or weather. And in reruns.” She eyed Seth’s casual appearance: pressed khaki shorts, polo shirt in a rich teal, comfortable boat shoes, no socks while she was barefoot and bare-faced.

“Reruns! Lawnmower Man. Woman, you show fangs early in the morning.”

“I wasn’t expecting company.” Despite herself, she laughed, and Seth walked across the patio with Emily at his side. He stood next to the lounge and peered down at her. She didn’t squirm but returned his stare. If he made comparisons to last night, he shouldn’t come calling unannounced. The warm morning sun turned her sweaty.

Of course, he looked cool and polished.

“Ahh, Mom needs more coffee. Would you like some, too, Professor Baldwin?” Emily grabbed an empty cup from the table next to the lounge. Maggie nodded and so did Seth.

“If Maggie doesn’t mind?” He stared into her face.

Could he read her emotions? She hoped not. She bit her lower lip, sighed, and leaned her head against the back of the chair. “Bring two cups, please, Em. Professor Baldwin and I have some talking to do.” Her heart hammered in a chest not sufficiently covered—at least with Seth Baldwin around.

“Good, I asked him to stay for breakfast. Is that okay?”

“You did what?”

Emily smile slithered away and Seth looked uneasy—for the first time. “He didn’t accept. After I bring coffee, you can talk and I won’t bother you.” Emily walked away, less confident than before.

“I didn’t mean to cause a rift.”

“I’m sure you have better things to do than join us for breakfast.”

“Actually, I don’t. Mind if I have a seat?”

“Take your choice.” She pointed to chairs several feet away. Contrary as she remembered him, he settled his lanky length at the far edge of her lounge. She ignored the skip in her heart beat.

“I like the view better here.” He grinned which enhanced the smile brackets at his mouth. “Plus we don’t have to raise our voices.”

“Why’re you here?”

“To see you. An added bonus is discovering Emily.” He lowered his deep voice. “I didn’t know you had a daughter, Maggie. She’s delightful, charming, and full of spirit. Just like you…”

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:17:00 +0000

Some of you may have noticed my debut release, Not Without Risk, is disappearing from online stores. No? Well, I’ve noticed it, and let me tell you, it’s a bit unnerving. Not like it’s a surprise or anything, I mean, I asked for it, but still…

Maybe I should start over. A while back I realized I was near the end of my contract with The Wild Rose Press, and I started toying with the idea of not leaving my book with them. What if I took it back? Made a few changes and re-released it out into the virtual world at a new, lower price? I have friends who are editors, a friend who’s a publisher, and hey, I have a sexy cover artist friend! Should I? Shouldn’t I? Chould I?

After much thought, long conversations with my husband, and lots and lots of emails back and forth between me and the gals whose opinions I value the most, I asked for the rights back to Not Without Risk.

*insert confetti toss*

Okay, so it isn’t a celebration yet. In fact, I flip flop between moments of anxiety and fear that I’ve made the wrong decision, to excitement and anticipation. I can’t wait to dig back into RISK! My writing style has changed since I scribbled that tale long-hand during the many, many I hours spent at the hospital with my youngest son. I could cover the logistics of what is different about my writing style, but, YAWN, who wants to hear technical jargon?

I don’t, not when I can talk about my sexy new cover. Wait until you see it! I’ve seen the mock-up and Oh. My. God. It’s hawt! *Sarah disappears to go check the cover mock-up one more time* Oh, yeah. Rawr!

And so, while it’s a bit unnerving to see the book disappear from online merchant shelves, I’m also excited. Geeked, as my niece would say. Not only will I be able to have another go at RISK, I get to give it a hot new cover. And even more thrilling…put it back out there for all of you at a fabulous, new low price!

I don’t have all of the details ironed out, but as soon as I do, I’ll share them with you. Until then, thanks for reading.

Welcome Guest Blogger Joya Fields

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:34:00 +0000

Thank you so much for hosting me here today, Sarah! My debut novel Beneath the Surface released this month and I’m thrilled to be here to chat about using vacations to find settings for books.

Have you ever visited a place on vacation and fallen in love with it? Or toured a city and found so much rich history that you needed to share it? That’s how I found the setting for Beneath the Surface.

Brooke Richards, the heroine of the novel, is an underwater archaeologist. Although I’m a pantser, and I had no idea what was going to happen in the story, I knew Brooke’s profession was going to be a big part of the story, and the setting needed to be near water.

The first thing that popped into my mind was our local beach—Ocean City, MD. But since the story takes place in late September, Maryland wasn’t warm enough. So my thoughts drifted to a place we’d visited a few years back—Flagler Beach, FL. I pulled out some old photos of the beach, and researched it online a little more. Since this is a romantic suspense, I called the local police department to find out about local procedures.

The beach was a gorgeous and unique part of the town, and so were the local establishments. Garrett Ciavello, the hero of the story, and his family, own a restaurant with rooftop seating that overlooks the ocean. Although the Ciavello restaurant is fiction, the restaurant is modeled after a real-life establishment with a breathtaking view of the ocean. My family and I ate lunch there one day with the mid-February warm sun beating down on us and the ocean waves crashing only yards away as we watched.

My memories of our Florida vacation live on through the setting in Beneath the Surface. Writing in little flashes of memory, and researching the spot more extensively, let me relive our fun vacation while creating a realistic setting for the book.

What places have you visited that would make a great setting? I’d love to hear about your vacation memories.

Beneath the Surface

by Joya Fields

THE WILD ROSE PRESS
AMAZON
NOOK

She’s fighting to stay independent—he’s determined to protect her no matter what…

Brooke Richards survived the earthquake that took her parents and most of her leg, but she needs time to regroup. A trip to Florida for a state-of-the-art prosthesis and to visit her best friend Linda seems ideal. But the trip turns traumatic when Brooke witnesses Linda’s boat disintegrating in a fiery explosion.

Police officer Garrett Ciavello believes the blast was intentionally set to hide something Linda found on a dive. When Brooke offers her expertise in underwater archeology, Garrett accepts her help with the investigation. But since his fiancée’s death years ago, Garrett has become overprotective, and as they are drawn to each other, Garrett realizes he will risk anything to keep Brooke safe.

Brooke is fiercely independent. Garrett is fiercely protective. Will they heal each other’s wound and find a killer…before it’s too late?

Excerpt:

For the first time since the accident, Brooke forgot about her leg. Forgot about all she’d lost and focused on the way Garrett made her feel.

She knew she needed to stop him. She should find a way to resist the temptation to be with him. But for a few minutes, she could enjoy the taste of him, the feel of him, couldn’t she?

He dropped his hands to her waist and softened the kiss before trailing a line of kisses down her neck. A weak cry slipped from her mouth. “Garrett,” she whispered.

She should stop this now before it got any more intense.

He lifted her chin and forced her to meet his brown eyes, smoky with desire. Heat spiraled to her middle and she caught a whiff of his sawdust scent.

“I…I can walk you back to your own room before I head to mine.” His voice broke as he whispered.
She swallowed hard. She couldn’t do this right now with him. Too many obstacles stood in their way. But as she looked in his somber eyes, she realized none of those complications were bigger than her need for Garrett.

“Let’s go to your room,” she said, her voice shaking. She moved her hands inside his shirt and ran them over his tight abs and chest. Heat soared through her body at the feel of him. “Together…”

FIND JOYA HERE:

Website: http://joyafields.com/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@joyafields

2011 Best Book Nomination

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

I couldn't be more thrilled to announce that

AFTER MIDNIGHT

has been Nominated for LASR 2011 Book of the Year!

Voting will run February 16 - 29

Spotlight On... Cara Marsi

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:33:00 +0000

My special guest at Off the Keyboard today is multi-published author, Cara Marsi. Cara is here today to tell us about her wonderful books. Please share a little about yourself, your genres, any other pen names you use.

I've always loved romance, from the time I was a young teen. I watched the old romantic comedy movies on late-night TV and I read YA romances, especially the ones by Elizabeth Howard. I loved her books so much I once wrote to her and said I wanted to be a writer but I didn't have a typewriter. She wrote back that I didn't need a typewriter to write. I finally realized by dream of being a published author when my first book was published by Avalon Books. "A Catered Affair" is a traditional sweet romance written under my real name, Carolyn Matkowsky. I have the digital rights now to that book and will be publishing it myself early this year. When I republish it, I'll add back the sex I had to take out for Avalon Books. I now use a pen name, Cara Marsi. I found that Matkowsky was too easily misspelled and was confusing to readers and reviewers so I went with a shorter, easier name. I'm published in romantic suspense, paranormal romance, contemporary romance and romance short stories. I've published a dozen short stories in the confession magazines.

Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming release.

My upcoming release, which I hope will be up by March, is a steamy, contemporary romance called "Storm of Desire" about a couple with a sexual history who find themselves stranded together by a January nor'easter. Needless to say, they can't keep their hands off each other, but they've got other issues that interfere with their chance at happiness.

How did you come up with the title for your book(s)?

"A Catered Affair" is about a caterer so that title was easy for me. "Storm of Desire" takes place during a storm so that one was easy. Usually I struggle with titles. One of my critique partners came up with "Murder, Mi Amore," my romantic suspense set in Italy, and a 2012 EPPIE finalist for best romantic suspense. Another critique partner gave me the title "Cursed Mates" for my paranormal romance about star-crossed lovers from Noble Romance Publishing. My editor gave me the title "Loving Or Nothing," my sexy, sweet contemporary novella which is set in the fictional town of Loving, New Jersey. My online critique group helped with the title for my short story anthology, "A Cat's Tale & Other Love Stories." In addition, I have a romantic suspense called "Logan's Redemption," which was originally published by The Wild Rose Press. I came up with that title all by myself, as my hero, Logan, has a dark past that haunts him. "Logan's Redemption," with a very hot guy on the cover, is available on Kindle, Nook and Apple. All of my books are available for download. "Loving Or Nothing" is also available in print. By the way, the hot guy on the cover of "Logan's Redemption" is a model and photographer from Serbia named Marko Geber. He contacted me when he came across my book with his picture, which I'd gotten from a royalty-free site. He was very pleased that I used his picture, and because of my using him on the cover, he's gotten work for other romance covers. It was very cool hearing from him.

What happened to the first book you ever wrote?

It's still in the proverbial drawer. I want to rewrite that one someday because I love my characters, especially my hero, a very gorgeous and troubled Native American.

What is it about the romance genre that appeals to you?

I love the idea of two people letting go of their fears to take the leap of faith that lets them love each other and want to spend their lives together.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I completed my first manuscript.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I go to the gym five days a week, I read, watch TV, meet with my critique group, meet friends for lunch and dinner. And I do try to spend time with my husband, but he'd argue that I don't spend enough time with him. My son lives 2500 miles away and I miss him. My husband and I share our home with a sweet, fat black cat named Killer. The cat on the cover of "A Cat's Tale and Other Love Stories" looks just like my Killer.

Where can we find you on the web?

Website: www.caramarsi.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/CaraMarsi
Facebook: www.facebook.com/carolynmatkowsky

Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?

What do you like about reading romance? Who is your favorite type hero?

Look for Cara's release, Logan's Redemption, available NOW in paperback from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords.

Doriana Callahan's life is unraveling. Someone is stalking her and sabotaging her father's company; her teenage son is rebelling; and Logan Tanner is back in town. For sixteen years she's kept an explosive secret from Logan, a secret he soon discovers.

Logan never belonged in Doriana's world, but a long time ago he allowed himself to dream of a future with her, until the awful night he was forced to run. Now he's back and he needs her forgiveness, but first he must forgive himself.

Despite the fact that Doriana kept the existence of his son from him, Logan vows to protect her. He races against time to stop the culprit threatening Doriana and works to forge a bond with his son.

Can the love and passion that still burn between Doriana and Logan overcome old lies and new dangers? The clock is ticking on a second chance at love.

Excerpt:

Lisa closed the office door and leaned her very pregnant body against it. A huge grin split her pretty face.

Doriana arched an eyebrow. “You find it amusing that my father overstepped my authority and hired your replacement?”

Lisa made an unsuccessful attempt to look sympathetic. “I know you’re upset with your dad, but he is CEO. So I guess he can do whatever he wants.” Her gray eyes twinkled. “Your father should do more of the hiring around here.”

“What are you talking about?” Doriana asked.

“You’ll see. Should I send him in?”

“Him?”

“Yup,” Lisa said. “Your dad hired a guy.”

Doriana made a face. “I’ve always had a female assistant. What will I do with a guy?”

Lisa giggled. “Trust me. You’ll figure out what to do with this one.”

“This pregnancy is affecting your brain.” Doriana pushed away from the desk and stood.

Lisa gave her a sly smile. “When you see your new assistant, you’ll know what I mean.”

Doriana sighed. “Wait about five minutes before sending him in.”

“You need to primp,” Lisa said.

“What?”

Laughing, Lisa opened the door and squeezed out.

Rubbing her aching temples, Doriana sat down and swiveled her chair to face the large window that took up an entire wall. Smog blanketed the Philadelphia skyline, obscuring her view of Billy Penn atop City Hall. She missed old Billy’s comforting presence, especially now.

She needed time to mentally prepare to meet the temp her father hired She did her own hiring for her department, but her dad had insisted on this temp. Why?

Her gaze drifted to the long table under the window. Family pictures rested on the marble top. Most were of Josh growing up. She smiled, remembering how Franco wanted to name his new nephew Noel because he was born on Christmas Eve.

She couldn’t believe Josh would be sixteen next month. She bit her lip as an ache, sharp as a stonecutter’s chisel, stabbed her. Nearly sixteen and out of control. When had Josh stopped being her sweet, lovable little boy and turned into the arrogant, rebellious almost-man who fought her every chance he got? A hellion who reminded her more of his father every day.

Thinking of Josh’s father brought the old, familiar pain. She’d never revealed the identity of her son’s father to anyone. Seventeen, scared and humiliated, she couldn’t admit that her baby’s father had walked away without a word.

Inhaling deep breaths, she counted to ten. It didn’t help. Nothing helped these days. The demands on her time gave her constant headaches. Her son needed her, but so did Dad and the company, especially with the recent setbacks.

The intercom on the desk shrilled. “Doriana,” Lisa said from the outer office. “You have that meeting in a half hour. And Mr. Tanner is waiting.”

Doriana’s hand froze over the reply button. Tanner? Long hours had her imagination working overtime.

“Doriana?” Lisa said.

Doriana shook herself back to reality. “I didn’t forget about the meeting. Please send in Mr..., the temp.”

Wearing her best professional smile, Doriana stared at her office door. Of course it couldn’t be him. It couldn’t be him. The refrain ran through her head like a mantra.

The door opened and her gaze connected with gold-flecked hazel eyes. Josh’s eyes. No, Logan’s eyes.
“Hello, Dorie.” His voice, deeper than she remembered, held the rough edge that had so excited her as a teenager. He closed the door softly and leaned against it, a black-clad Adonis who, despite the years and the hurt, took her breath. Unmoving, he studied her.

Was he looking for the young girl he’d romanced, then abandoned? That girl died the night her son was born. Their son. Anger and bittersweet sorrow roiled Doriana’s stomach. She brushed hair from her face with a shaky hand.

“You look good,” he said.

So do you. She couldn’t say the words. Pulling her gaze from his, she glanced toward the window. The pictures. Josh. Fear splashed over her like ice water from the Delaware River. One look at the pictures and Logan would know. She wasn’t ready for this.

Resolve stiffened her spine. She would protect her secret and her son until she discovered why Logan was here. “Is this some sort of joke?” she asked, returning her attention to Logan. “What are you doing here?”

“Working for you, last I heard.”

Six Sentence Sunday 1/22

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Six Sentence Sunday! Wow, it feels like months since I participated. Has it really been that long?

Today I decided I'd share with you the first six from my WIP, Midnight Heat.

Dominic Price was fantasizing about another man’s woman. Not just any woman. No, the one on his mind was the wife of the sorry bloke sitting not four feet away, his gaze on the mobile phone near his feet as if he could will the bleedin’ thing to light up.

He was on the twelfth day straight of his imprisonment in the basement recording studio. Nerves were frayed, tempers short, and the ability to string notes together into a proper melody, long gone. If it were up to him, they’d have thrown in the towel hours ago.

Be sure to visit all the other Six Sentence Sunday Authors. You can find a list of them at the OFFICIAL SITE.

Guest Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:30:00 +0000

I'm blogging at Reading Between the Wines Book Club today about how I choose my titles. Stop by and say hello.

Gone Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:47:00 +0000

I am blogging today at Emma Lai Writes, introducing you to Isabeau Montgomery, unconventional heroine of AFTER MIDNIGHT. Stop by and say hello.

STOP SOPA. STOP INTERNET CENSORSHIP.

Welcome Guest Blogger Terry Odell

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Please help me welcome Terry Odell. Terry is here today with a fantastic post about writing "those" books. Welcome Terry.

Thanks so much to Sarah for inviting me to be her guest here today. A little about me. I did NOT write my first book in crayon. I didn't major in English. (I was a Psych major/Biology minor). As a matter of fact, I was a card-carrying AARP member before I even considered writing. But now, I've got 7 novels and an assortment of short stories published. Almost all of them are romance.

So, you write "those" books…I'm sure any romance author has heard it, clearly from someone who's never read a romance. (Confession – I was halfway through writing my first manuscript before I'd read a romance. I thought I was writing a mystery!) Well, yes, I do write "those" books. My publishers call them "Romantic Suspense." Me, I like to think they're "Mysteries With Relationships."

I think one of the lines of demarcation between a mystery and a romantic suspense is the sex. If you're a romance writer, eventually, you're going to have to deal with that moment of relationship consummation. If you're a mystery writer, sure, you can have sex scenes, but the relationships can develop over a series of books, and usually the relationship is secondary, so the sex tends to be more "in passing" rather than a milestone. But in all of my books, the characters have to earn that moment together.

I've been places where readers will ask, "Is there sex in your books?" When I answer in the affirmative, some grin and say, "That's great!" and snatch the book up. Others frown and walk away. I sent a reviewer—who said he reviewed romance as well as mystery—one of my romantic suspense books, figuring it covered both his genres. He refused to review it because it was, in his words, "Porn." Yet the publisher had labeled it "sensual".

I've got some good friends who write erotic romance. As with any book, there are some I enjoy, some I don't care for. For me, a lot of it boils down to vocabulary. Sometimes, it feels like I'm reading an anatomy text. Others, it's just a word that I react to differently. Everyone has trigger words, and there's nothing right or wrong about using them. You just have to know readers will react differently depending on their prior conditioning. For me, there's nothing erotic about the word "pussy" … I get the picture of two sleazy guys in a bar asking the bartender where they can get some of the same. Yet for others, it's a perfectly acceptable word with positive, even sensual, connotations.

In my first book for Five Star, my editor warned me against using the word "penis" because she said their final copy editor wouldn't approve it. She said their readers didn't mind blood and gore in mysteries, but were more picky about the romance vocabulary. (For the record, in my third book with them, the word is there. I didn't avoid it, and the new editor didn't cut it.)

The beauty of the genre is that there's something for everyone. And I'm not ashamed to say I write "those books."

And, here's an excerpt from FINDING SARAH, that book I thought was a mystery when I was writing it. In this scene, Randy and Sarah have finally earned the right to be together. They've had dinner, then returned to his house, ostensibly for ice cream to end the meal, although they both know where the night is going. This excerpt ends at the bedroom door. However, in the book, the reader gets to follow them inside.

He opened the door for her and turned on a lamp by the couch. "You want dessert now?"

"Right after the ice cream."

Randy chuckled. "I'll serve. How about we eat on the couch?"

Sarah settled on the couch and toed off her sneakers and socks while she adjusted the three-way bulb in the lamp to the lowest setting. Candles would be better, but she hadn't thought to bring any.

Randy appeared with two sundaes. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing."

"That was not a 'nothing' look, that was a 'something's missing' look."

"I thought candles would be nice. But they're not important. The moonlight is enough."

Randy set the ice cream on the end table and disappeared down the hall, returning in a moment with a green foil gift box. He arranged half a dozen pillar candles on the coffee table and lit them. The scent of vanilla filled the air. Sarah turned off the lamp and picked up her bowl. An ice cream purist, she turned the spoon over as she put it into her mouth so that the initial sensation on her tongue was the creamy richness of the ice cream. She grinned as Randy followed her example, eyebrows raised.

"This way, you don't get the metallic taste of the spoon," she explained. The scent of the candles intensified the vanilla flavor of the ice cream.

Randy nodded in agreement, matching her bite for bite.

Sarah scraped the remains of the sundae from her bowl. She licked the spoon, enjoying the chocolate's creamy sweetness. She glanced at Randy, sitting beside her in the flickering light. A flush rose to his face as he set his bowl on the coffee table. Lowering her spoon, she glued her eyes to his and let her tongue dance circles around her half open mouth while she savored both the chocolate sauce and the thought of his mouth against hers. The look in his eyes made her forget the chocolate. Her breath quickened.

Randy dipped his fingertip into the chocolate residue in her bowl and brought it to her lips. Her tongue swirled around his finger. He pulled his hand away and covered her lips with his own. She pressed deeper into the kiss, her tongue feeling the chill in his mouth turn hot. Somewhere in the distance, she felt him remove the bowl and spoon from her fingers, heard the soft thud as he placed them on the coffee table, but the kiss took on a life of its own, transcending awareness of anything else.

He pulled her on top of him so that she straddled his lap. She leaned her head into his chest, listened to the pounding of his heart, the rapid rhythm of his breathing. His hands sent shivers down her back as he reached under her sweater and unfastened her bra. Murmurs of pleasure intertwined as one. She wanted his hands to envelop every inch of her. Shifting herself closer into his body, she began rocking gently, her mind oblivious to all but the fluttering sensations building deep within her.

She ran her fingers through his hair, caressed the velvety softness behind his ears, rubbed her hands up and down his back, began working his shirt free of his pants. His hands moved to her chest, kneading her breasts, rolling her nipples under his thumb. Sparks shot through her at his touch. She reached to unbuckle his belt, to touch him, to share the pleasure.

"Sarah," he gasped. "Wait." He put his hands over hers.

She let go of his belt, unable to speak. He couldn't have changed his mind. Not now. Randy put his hands at her waist and shifted her down toward his knees.

"You're making me … I'm so … I'm not sure I can … Oh, God, Sarah, I don't want to spoil it for you. It shouldn't be this quick."

She slid off his lap and ran her fingers across his lips. His breathing was rapid and shallow. She extinguished the candles and extended her hand. "We said we were going to do this in a proper bed. Will you take me there?"

FINDING SARAH is available as an e-book from most e-tailers. There are also some out of print copies still out there (some of which are at my house, and I'm happy to autograph them for readers.)

For more about Terry and her books, visit her website at www.terryodell.com

She'd also love for you to follow her blog, Terry's Place, www.terryodell.blogspot.com
You can find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/terry.odell
And at Twitter, she's @authorterryo

The Page 99 Test ~ Not Without Risk

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:14:00 +0000

The Page 99 Test is simple: After reading page 99, would you want to turn the page and keep reading? About a month ago I posted page 99 of my contemporary romance, After Midnight. Because it was so much fun, I thought I'd do it again.

Let's have a look at my romantic suspense, Not Without Risk:

    As her legs suddenly went weak, Paige forced away the thought. She couldn't get involved with him. Couldn't let herself care.
    She dragged in a shaky breath. "I'm sorry I've wasted your time."
    Justin set his jaw. His hand curled against his thigh. "I never said you were wasting my time."
    She'd been so afraid, coming out of a nightmare then hearing someone move around downstairs. So sure of what she'd heard, certain of someone in her studio. Now...
    Maybe it had been a dream, or the panicked imaginings of an exhausted mind. Paige didn't think so, but couldn't be certain. "I must be overreacting."
    "It would be understandable."
    She closed her eyes against the kindness she heard in his voice. They snapped open at the feel of his finger beneath her chin. He tipped her face to his. "Then there's the broken bottle in the darkroom. Imagination doesn't explain that."
    Relief filled her, driving away some of her tension. Maybe she wasn't losing her mind, after all. "Thank you."
    "For what, doing my job?"
    "For answering my call, even though you were probably busy with something else. For believing in me. Again."
    "We aren't going to start this again, are we? I wasn't busy." Justin explained as he lifted his hand and traced his fingertip along her jaw. "I had dinner with my mother earlier. On my way home, I stopped off for a drink. That's where I was when you called."
    Paige took a deep breath, trying to slow her racing heart. The caress of his fingers across her skin made her pulse trip. "I'm glad." She wasn't supposed to care where he went or who he spent his free time with, but she had to admit to being thrilled he hadn't been on a date. Just the thought of him touching another woman the way he touched her now made her stomach clench painfully.

So what do you think? Would you keep reading?

Want to join in the fun? I'd love to read your page 99.

Post it on your blog and let me know where to find it.

Balancing Life and Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Today it's my pleasure to host author Marie Astor. Marie is in the middle of a blog tour promoting her new release, On the Rim of Love. Welcome. Marie.

Marie will be awarding a custom made jewelry set (necklace and earrings) to one randomly chosen commenter so make sure and leave her a comment. (US / Canada only)

Balancing life and writing – I have a one-line answer to this topic – it is hard!

If it were up to me, I would be writing non-stop, with perhaps short breaks for sleep, but I have a family and I have friends and all the obligations with come with being an adult.

I can certainly relate to the plot of Inkheart by Cornelia Funke where the author of a book finds himself transported into the world of his own creation. When I am working on a novel, the plot and the characters become as real to me as my own life - I find myself drawn into a self-created world where I am listening in to every scene, every thought – the trick is not to get sucked in or risk becoming a social recluse, which is a fate that I’m pretty sure no one would like to fall victim to.

So, my advice on balancing life and writing? Take breaks! Don’t forget your friends, remember to surprise your family with doing something special for them, like making pancakes and eggs for dinner (yes, breakfast food for dinner!) or heading out for a picnic on a sunny day. But what about writing? you say, don’t you need to have a schedule? Yes, it certainly helps to have a schedule and most of the days I follow a very rigorous schedule – I try to devote at least two hours a day to writing – it may be in the wee hours or the morning or it may be at night and sometimes in the afternoon – the schedule will wary depending on the hectic demands that life throws my way each day. But, every now and then, I’ll take a break and let the day shape itself. I always carry a small notebook with me, so that I can jot down any ideas that spring up in my mind, and I find that when I’m out and about with my family and friends, ideas become frequent guests.

I’d like to thank Sarah for inviting me to her blog and giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts on this exciting topic. Wishing everyone happy writing and reading!

On the Rim of Love
by Marie Astor

BUY IT ON KINDLE

BY IT ON NOOK

Maggie Robin has been dating the irresistibly good-looking, successful Jeffrey Preston for two years. But when Jeffrey proposes marriage a week after Maggie’s college graduation, she is no longer sure if she wants to marry a workaholic TV producer.

Her doubts culminate when during a ski trip to British Columbia, Maggie meets Taylor Denton, a handsome, free-spirited big mountain skier who is the complete opposite of Jeffrey. It does not take Maggie long to realize that she has fallen in love with Taylor and she decides to break off her engagement with Jeffrey. But just when she thinks she has found the love of her life, an ill-fated misunderstanding tears Maggie and Taylor apart.

A week later, Maggie is told that Taylor has died in a tragic ski accident; yet, her heart refuses to believe in Taylor’s death. When Maggie returns to Taylor’s native town, she learns that Taylor is indeed alive, but has been seriously injured. Resolved to bring her lover back to life Maggie stands by Taylor’s side, convincing him to embrace life again.

Marie Astor is a die-hard romantic who wholeheartedly believes in true love, which is why she writes in the contemporary romance genre.

Marie is the author of contemporary romance novels, On the Rim of Love, Lucky Charm, and a short story collection, A Chance Encounter and Other Stories.

In addition to being a writer, Marie is an avid hiker, an excellent swimmer, a good skier, and a capable badminton player.

Currently, Marie is working on her next novel - stay tuned for details! If you would like to receive updates about book releases and events, please visit Marie’s website at: www.marieastor.com or visit Marie at her Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/marieastorwrites.

Website: http://www.marieastor.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marieastorcollection

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/marieastor

Snippet Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:20:00 +0000

Since I've spent so much time lately talking about my newest release, I thought I'd go ahead and change things up today and share with you a snippet from my debut romantic suspense, NOT WITHOUT RISK.

Good God, she was beautiful. And strong, stubborn, driven—things that he never imagined he could find so alluring. Still teasing himself with the feel of her beneath his fingertips, he trailed his hand down her throat toward the gentle swell of her breast above the neckline of her blazer. His palm itched to continue on, to cup her. He wanted his hands on her, wanted his mouth on her.

He fought back the urge by reminding himself that Paige had wants of her own. She wanted her life back. The life she had before St. John’s murder, before the threats and the fear. The life she’d had before him. It would do for him to remember that.

Instead, he chose to recall the taste of her. Her throaty moan of approval as his mouth had taken hers. The way her body had strained against his, seeking release, a release she craved as badly as he. Emotion pulled at him, threatened to drown him. Scared the hell out of him the way those photos had just a few hours ago.

Justin hadn’t known a man could want like he did. He wanted her even though she made him wish for things he’d never even considered, things he wasn’t certain he even believed existed. He wanted to risk, to reach for that ever-elusive something that snaked through him whenever she set those green eyes on him.

Damn, but just admitting that to himself made him wonder if he’d lost his senses completely. He’d been trained not to risk. In his line of work, risk could get him killed. Yet ever since that fateful evening some six months before, the feeling that he was missing out on something in life ate at him.

Her eyelids eased open. Justin went from staring into her sleep-softened face to staring into the endless green of her gaze. A smile curved her lips, lit her up from the inside out.

“Justin.”

He didn’t know which he liked more, the way she said his name, or her smile. His pulse kicked into high gear. Desire sucker-punched him in the gut. “Were you expecting someone else?”

She sat up slowly, her fingers moving to his jaw. Her gaze slid to his mouth as she traced his smile, dipped her thumb into his dimple. “Hmm…your smile is incredible.”

“Is it?” Justin held perfectly still, worked to draw oxygen into his suddenly deprived lungs as she eased her body closer and closer. Her thigh pressed against his, her breasts brushed his chest.

“So is your mouth,” she murmured, her voice like a caress across his flesh. Leaning into him, she used her teeth to nip at his lips, following the sharp bite with a swipe of her tongue.

Leave her alone, the voice of reason whispered, but Justin ruthlessly shoved the thought aside. Blood pounding, mind reeling, he settled his left hand at her waist, slid it up to cup her breast through her jacket and captured her moan with his mouth.

Gone Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:23:00 +0000

I am blogging today at Keeping a Pulse on Life and Romance. I'm talking about the importance of music in my life and how my love of it led to AFTER MIDNIGHT. Stop by and say hello.

Ring in the New Year with a book!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:06:00 +0000

'Tis the season of giving. Of family gatherings, parties, and...reading? I wish! Amidst all the cleaning, wrapping, the cooking and travel time, reading drops to a spot just below sleeping on my list. Until now.

It's New Year's Eve and while a lot of my friends are planning on attending yet one more party, I'm planning on spending the evening at home. Reading. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? It does to me. Before I can do that, I need to do a bit of shopping. You see, my Kindle Fire is a bit empty right now. So last night I logged onto my laptop and guess what I discovered?

My books, along with many others, have been reduced at The Wild Rose Press and Amazon. Shopping for new books just got a lot more FUN!

AFTER MIDNIGHT

Thirteen years—that's how long Isabeau Montgomery has been living a lie. After an automobile accident took her mother's life, Izzy hid herself away, surviving the only way she knew how. Now she is happy in her carefully reconstructed life. That is until he walks through the door of her bar...

Black Phoenix singer/front man Noah Clark came to Long Island City with a goal—one that doesn't include an instant, electric attraction to the dark-haired beauty behind the bar. Coaxing her into his bed won't be easy, but he can't get her pale, haunted eyes nor her skill on the piano out of his head.

Can Noah help Isabeau overcome the past? Or will her need to protect her secret force her back into hiding and destroy their chance at happiness?

He leaned into her. “If you still want me to stay away from you, you’d better tell me now.”

“Noah?”

“Yeah?”

“Kiss me.”

She didn’t have to ask twice. He dipped his head, settled his lips on hers and plundered. He dragged her against him, and drank in the hot, potent taste of her as he fed on her mouth like a starving man.

She softened, a tiny sound of passion slipping up her throat—an urgent invitation. His pulse leaped. So did other parts of his anatomy. Her fingers burrowed through his hair.

He deepened the kiss, stroking his hands down the sides of her body to settle on her hips. He used them to guide her as he stepped forward once, twice, until her back settled against the trunk of the maple. Awash in the smell of her, the feel of her, he pressed closer, until no space existed between them. Her breasts flattened against his chest, her hips arched into him. Heat from her body flowed into his, sparking a fire. His heartbeat echoed in his head.

"After Midnight is an emotional, beautifully constructed contemporary romance...I quickly became captivated by Ms. Grimm’s vivid descriptive prose and exemplary characterization." -- 5 Bookies and Best Reads of 2011, Book Lovers, Inc

New Reduced Price at AMAZON / THE WILD ROSE PRESS

NOT WITHOUT RISK

The last thing he wanted was what he needed most...

Six agonizing months after a slug collapsed his lung, Sergeant Justin Harrison manages to return to the one place where he shines—the San Diego homicide division. Nothing will stand in the way of proving he is fit for active duty. Especially not the long-legged brunette who just stumbled into his crime scene.

Photographer Paige Conroy spent years hiding from her past. Then a late night telephone call brings it crashing back. An old friend is in town and needs her help. When she arrives at his hotel room four hours later, he's dead. Suddenly, she's the target of a madman, and Paige must turn to Sergeant Harrison for protection.

But who is the bigger threat to her... the faceless assailant she fears will steal her life or the dark-eyed detective she knows could steal her heart?

Each stroke, each caress of her hand pushed his blood pressure up another notch until he had to steel himself from closing the distance and pulling her into his embrace.

Want consumed him. He wanted her hands on him, not just on his car. He wanted to taste her, feel her, to fist his hands in her hair and sink into her warmth. It’d been too long, far too long since he’d been with a woman—six months, ten days and twenty-two hours to be exact, and he missed it. He missed it more than he missed nicotine, more than he missed being able to draw a deep breath without the slightest twinge of pain.

"Ms. Grimm takes readers on an amazing journey, a trip where her wonderful talents as a storyteller bring the tale to life...If you, like me, enjoy fast paced, nail biting, page turning, edge of your seat suspense, then by all means get on board and try Not Without Risk."-- BEST BOOK of 2010 Nominee, Long and Short Reviews

New Reduced Price at AMAZON / THE WILD ROSE PRESS

Welcome Guest Blogger Liz Flaherty

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:45:00 +0000

Thanks for having me, Sarah. I hope you had a great Christmas.

Before the lights have even dimmed on the Christmas tree—which they seem to do the minute the presents have gone from underneath—I begin thinking about the New Year. I don’t make resolutions anymore, at least not out loud where anyone I don’t pray to can hear me, but I do contemplate what I might do differently after the ball drops. Here is my list so far.

I will write every day. Unless I don’t feel like it, then I will sew. Either way, I will Have A Good Time.
I will laugh out loud every day.
I will find the joy in whatever I’m doing and pursue it.
I will sing because I like it. I’m not any good—matter of fact, I’m beyond awful, but the term “joyful noise” crops up occasionally in the Bible, and I’m pretty sure it’s about me.
If I screw up, which I’m assuming I will do on a regular basis, I will not beat myself up over it.

Oh, there, that’s it for me, and I think that last one is most important. One reason I will screw up so often is that I’m not good at very many things (This is fine with me, by the way; I have no problem with average.) and if I stop making messes, it means I will have stopped trying new things. This takes me back to Number Three, about finding…well, look up there, you can see it. Or to Number Two, because maybe laughing at myself is a central part of the laughing. Or Number Four, because any time I sing, it is a screw-up. Or Number One, because both my quilts and my books have…er…errors in them, but they are such fun to create. They are all about Having A Good Time.

Of course, there are caveats that go along with it. You know, Don’t Hurt Anyone. Don’t…well, I guess that was the one that counted. Happy New Year. Have A Good Time.

Oops, almost forgot (well, okay, not really), One More Summer will be out from Carina Press on January 2. Here are some Buy Me! links. I hope you do and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by.

Carina Press / Barnes and Noble / Amazon

I’d love to have you visit my website http://lizflaherty.com/ or http://wordwranglers.blogspot.com/ where I hang out with some of my best writer friends.

Grace has taken care of her widowed father her entire adult life and the ornery old goat has finally died. She has no job, no skills and very little money, and has heard her father's prediction that no decent man would ever want her so often she accepts it as fact.

But she does have a big old house on Lawyers Row in Peacock, Tennessee. She opens a rooming house and quickly gathers a motley crew of tenants - Promise, Grace's best friend since kindergarten, who's fighting cancer; Maxie, an aging soap opera actress who hasn't lost her flair for the dramatic; Jonah, a sweet gullible old man with a crush on Maxie.

And Dillon, Grace's brother's best friend, who stood her up on the night of her senior prom and has regretted it ever since. Dillon rents Grace's guest house for the summer and hopes to make up for lost time and past hurts - but first, he'll have to convince Grace that she's worth loving...

Excerpt:

“This is supposed to be a prom.” Dillon pushed aside his dessert plate. He gestured toward the backyard. “The dance floor waits.”

Grace got to her feet. “Remember how fragile these glass slippers are.”

He nudged one of her bare feet with the toe of his sandal. “Damn near invisible too. Isn’t technology something?”

Dillon and Steven had placed citronella torches in the yard, and the scent of the oil blended with that of the flowers. The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” filled the air and Dillon put his arms around Grace’s waist. Gently, not pulling her close. She rested her hands lightly on his shoulders, suddenly shy. Other than aerobics classes in the church basement that Promise had dragged her to, she hadn’t danced since high school.

As they moved across the lawn, however, his arms tightened and her hands crept up around his neck, the left one with its glaring white bandage held palm out. His muscled legs moved against hers, but the motions they made were liquid, graceful, and she wished whimsically for a waltz and a flowing dress.

The song changed, and he sang close to her ear. The grass dance floor was cool and damp beneath her feet, the star-filled sky a splendid ceiling, the flickering torches the most romantic of lights, the subtle scent of roses a seductive aroma. Almost against her will, Grace’s eyes drifted closed as his lips lowered to hers. The ambiance was lost on Grace as Dillon’s kiss took over her senses. All she felt were his hands splayed on her back, his body flush with hers. All she smelled was the pleasant mingling of charcoal smoke and Irish Spring soap that lingered on his shirt and his skin. She tasted only his mouth, flavored with wine and coffee, and she couldn’t get enough of it.

After the third kiss, when her insides were a roiling mass of sensation and emotion, she murmured, “Geezy Pete.”

He said, “You got that right,” and stroked a hand up her back. “What’s this? You didn’t wear a bra to the prom?”

She brought her injured hand into his line of vision and waggled it. “I couldn’t fasten it.”

His hand came around between them to cup one small, denim-covered breast. “What a shame.” He found her nipple and worked the bead of its tip between his fingers.

A low moan slipped uncaught from her throat. Clutching her composure like a lifeline before it disintegrated completely, she said, “The music’s stopped.”

“Do you really think so?” he whispered, and teased her lips with the tip of his tongue until they opened.

They had danced their way to where they stood among the trees. When she opened her eyes again, she caught sight of a torch to their left, anchored into the ground beside the single step that led inside the gazebo.

The gazebo.

“No decent man in his right mind’s going to want you, girl.”

“No, Papa,” she whispered, caught in the horror, and moved restively in Dillon’s embrace.
“Gracie?” His voice was soft, gentling.

“I need to go in.” The words sounded much more urgent than the situation demanded, but she couldn’t unsay them.

“Okay.” He answered immediately, and turned her toward the house, but didn’t release her. “I’ll take you back.”

Steven and Promise weren’t on the back porch. The candles had been snuffed, but the dishes remained on the table. “Leave them,” Dillon said, leading her firmly past the mess and into the house. “Steven and I will take care of it. You go on up.”

She nodded and moved toward the stairs, but turned when she stood on the second one. “Dillon?”

“Yeah?” He smiled at her, the expression not erasing the frown of concern between his eyes.

“Thank you. The ‘prom’ was wonderful.” Without waiting for a reply, she ran the rest of the way up the stairs.

Welcome Guest Blogger Louisa Masters

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:57:00 +0000

'Twas the day after Christmas and all through the house, chaos ruled.

I don't know about your house, but the day after Christmas, mine resembled a bomb site, and I didn't even host Christmas!

I spent Christmas Eve at my parents' place and stayed over, Christmas lunch with one aunt, and dinner with another. Most of Christmas Eve day I was baking, so there's a pile of dishes that was left to air-dry on the draining board. I'm actually quite impressed that I washed them right away!

Gifts are scattered haphazardly around the room, the result of several stop-ins to drop off presents and pick up more between events. Torn wrapping paper is piled mixed in with the piles.

And, of course, there are rolls of wrapping paper, ribbon, tape and scissors on the table, where I left them after I finished wrapping the last of the presents.

The fridge groans with the amount of food packed into it—leftovers sent home with me. Even as I write this, my stomach growls at the thought of the truly excellent ham waiting for me. The Christmas tree looks forlorn without gifts beneath it, as if it knows it's time on display is nearly over for another year.

I look around and dread the thought of putting everything back in order. Instead, I'm going to settle comfortably onto my couch and find something to read. Naughty? Perhaps. But after the crazy lead-up to Christmas, culminating in the chaos of the last two days, I think I'm entitled to a little indulgence. Don't you?

If anyone else feels like being a bit naughty, Inter-Office Relations is a great way to indulge. The best part is, it's short enough to lessen the guilt!

With her resignation submitted, Jeannie Price has one last task she’s itching to perform before leaving her job. After months of sitting next to hot, sexy colleague Tim Harding, it’s time to turn fantasy into reality with a scorching invitation to collaborate on matters of the flesh in Conference Room B. Then she can walk away without regrets.

Tim’s dreams of wild, sweaty sex with Jeannie come true when he accepts her offer, but he’s stunned to learn she doesn’t want to see him again after their steamy tryst. She may be trying to brush him off as just one more item on her To-Do List, but he’s determined to convince her there’s nothing taboo about inter-office relations.

You can buy Inter-Office Relations here, or read an excerpt here. I'll be selecting one lucky commenter to receive a title of their choice from Sarah's backlist. I won't be choosing until midnight Thursday, so there's plenty of time to recover from Christmas!

Big thanks to Sarah for hosting me, and I hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

Happy Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 13:08:00 +0000

Here's wishing you a happy and hopeful year end and start for 2012.

Welcome Guest Blogger Jennifer Ann Coffeen

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:51:00 +0000

All I want for Christmas is… a final, completed, fully edited draft with no typos, plot holes, or one dimensional characters. Oh! And a great love scene.

I know, I know, Santa can’t work miracles. But I can always ask, can’t I? I’ve been wrestling with the third draft of my latest WIP since it was still warm enough to wear open toed shoes (and I live in Chicago so that means something). My deadline for the final final draft was Labor Day, which stretched into Halloween, and now Christmas is fast approaching and I am still stuck. This draft refuses to end! Are my characters not working? The plot confusing? Or it is a curse from that barista I forgot to tip back in June?

I decided the only way to find out is to go back to basics.

1. Ask your characters what they want. Sounds simple right? I’m always surprised by how quickly my character’s wants can become muddled on the page. Sure my heroine wants the hero, everyone knows that! Except for my heroine. What she really wants is to marry the dashing Viscount who dresses divinely, writes her poetry, and has only recently become engaged to another woman.

2. Outline your plot. I am the last person to take this advice. I like to keep the writing process as messy and creative as possible until the very end. It’s a strong signal that I’m nearing the end though when I just can’t seem to move forward because my plot (or lack of) is slowing me down. At some point in the process you have to make sure A leads to B, C, and D. For some writers that means creating a beautiful outline complete with color coding and charts. For others it means jotting your storyline down on a napkin. Do whatever works for you, but if you find yourself stuck in a draft, try outlining the plot.

3. It’s time for a reader! And I’m not talking about your mom. 9 times out of 10 when I can’t move forward with a draft it’s because I’ve become too close to it. I need a fresh pair of eyes, someone I trust to understand my vision for the story but not mince words when it comes to critique. If you belong to a writing group try asking for readers, or even find a trusted friend. Sometimes entering your first chapter in a contest is a great way to get some feedback.

“The French Blue diamond must be destroyed.” Haunted by the words of her dying father, Lady Madeline Sinclair arrives for the London Season with more than parties and the latest fashion on her mind. She has sworn a vow, and the beautifully headstrong and fearless Madeline will allow nothing to distract her…until she meets the infamous Lord Colin, Duke of Douglas, a man known for his scandalous past engagement. With a dark grin and stormy eyes, he threatens to make her forget her duty, along with her manners.

Bound together by the mysterious diamond, Madeline and Colin soon succumb to the passion raging between them, even as the diamond eludes their grasp. But the true threat lies in the hands of an enemy whose dangerous obsession with the past has the power to destroy them both.

Available at The Wild Rose Press .

Open Promo For Authors ~ January Releases

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:45:00 +0000

Welcome to Open Promo for Authors! Once again I've decided to open the floor (or blog post as the case may be) and allow you, my fellow romance authors, a chance to tell me about your book. Do you have a new release next month? Then I want to hear about it!

I do have a few pesky rules though:

The book has to be a romance. I don't care what genre romance, but my readership is romance so we're going to give them what they love.

You can post for yourself or you can post about a fabulous new book you can't wait to get your hands on and you think we should all run out and buy.

If you include a short excerpt in the post, please include a rating AT THE BEGINNING of the post. Let's be thoughtful of those readers who are uncomfortable with some heat levels.

Also, I reserve the right to delete a post if it promotes objectionable content. (incest, rape, etc.)

Simple enough, right? Post away!

The Page 99 Test ~ After Midnight

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 11:57:00 +0000

The Page 99 Test is simple: After reading page 99, would you want to turn the page and keep reading?

Let's have a look at my current release, After Midnight:

His mouth curved. "I guess it was."

"He loves you, he didn't want to see you waste away."

His smile faded as he gazed at her. She curled her left hand around his wrist. "What's the matter?"

"Henry's not a young man any more. I'm worried about him. I could see the last time I spoke with him that his health is failing."

Without thinking, he slid her hand down and linked her fingers with his. She ached for him, knowing how difficult it was to lose a loved one. "When is the last time you saw him?"

"Right before I moved to the new house. About six months ago."

"You should go see him again, once your demo is done."

"I plan to." He shifted their joined hands, used his free hand to trace the length of her pinky and ring finger. "Your fingers are cold."

"They always are. They sustained too much damage in the accident."

"Any nerve damage?"

"Yes. Not the way you'd think though. They're actually more sensitive than the other fingers." Overly sensitive. The brush of his fingertips sent a shock of electricity up her arm, jolting her already raw nerves. Her body hummed as his warmth began to seep into her hand, then into her bloodstream.

"It's a miracle you can still play at all," he commented softly.

Her stomach crawled into her throat. At one point in her life she would have agreed with him, but that time was long past. "I don't play anymore."

His hand tightened on hers as she tried to pull away. "Because you choose not to."

"Yes."

"But you regained the ability, should you ever change your mind."

She met his gaze. "I won't change my mind."

So what do you think? Would you keep reading?
Want to join in the fun? I'd love to read your page 99.
Post it on your blog and let me know where to find it.

Going Indie with Catherine Bybee

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:41:00 +0000

Hi Sarah, thank you for having me here today.

I’m going to talk a little bit about Self Publishing… or going Indie as people are starting to say.

I need to start by saying that Self publishing isn’t for everyone. An author may think that if they self publish they get to skip a few steps, get published faster. Although there is some truth to the ‘getting published faster’ part, there are more steps to doing it yourself than there is when going with a publisher. However, and this is a BIG however, Indie publishing means you need to hire a editor, hire a cover artist… might even have to hire someone to format your work. You have to set up all of your reviews and do all of your promo without the help of a publisher.

There is a ton of work…. However, the pay off can be huge.

I decided to self publish Wife by Wednesday not because I couldn’t sell it, but because I wanted to get it out there. I wanted control over my release, over the price, over how many copies I gave away. I could have sold Wife to any number of small press publishers and done just fine with it. But I wanted something else… I wanted more readers that happen when you price a book low enough to get it into new reader hands. This was my first contemporary romance, my readers were paranormal readers, time travel readers… erotic readers. I needed to find new readers. Indie publishing was perfect for this book.

Did I say the pay off can be huge yet?

Let me tell you just how huge.

Wife by Wednesday made the Amazon Bestseller list for contemporary romance just 35 days from her release. I released Wife on Oct 5th. By Thanksgiving I had made the #1 position in Romance on Amazon… then in the next couple days made the #2 spot on ALL ebooks on Amazon.

Are you seeing the HUGE part yet? Getting on these bestseller lists gives the ball a steeper hill to roll down, or for me up… up in readers, up in sales. I managed these lists by having a marketable product, great cover, and a .99 cent price. For me this worked and I can now call myself a USA Today Bestseller.

I’m so happy I made the decision to go Indie… so happy I didn’t stray from my path and go a more traditional route.

So if you’re tired of hearing the word no from publishers yet everyone who reads your work says they think it’s good (Not your Mom, she’s always gonna tell you what you want to hear) then what do you have to lose?

Go Indie.

A Contemporary Romance with a dash of humor and a whole lotta sexy…

Blake Harrison:
Rich, titled, and charming… And in need of a wife by Wednesday so he turns to Sam Elliot who isn’t the business man he expected. Instead, Blake is faced with Samantha Elliot, engaging and spunky with a voice men call 900 numbers to hear.

Samantha Elliot:
Owner of Alliance, her matchmaking firm, and not on the marital menu... That is until Blake offers her ten million dollars for a one-year contract. All she needs to do is keep her attraction to her husband to herself and avoid his bed. But Blake’s toe-curling kisses and charm prove too difficult to combat. Now she needs to protect her heart so she can walk away when their mercenary life together is over.

Amazon / Nook

Welcome Guest Blogger Jeanette Grey

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:05:00 +0000

These Words Aren't Precious

Three separate times in my life, I decided I was going to be a WRITER. One of those serious ones that bleeds for her art. The first time, I was sixteen, and I immediately went out and bought a fancy leather-bound journal and a fountain pen.

I still have that journal. I even wrote in seven of its pages.

The second time, I was twenty. Cue another expensive journal, another pen. This time around, I also started a Word document and made a whole new folder on my computer for all my genius words. I filled ten pages that time and started three documents, each less than three pages long.

It's hard to quantify exactly why those efforts went so wrong, but I think the fancy journals had a lot to do with it, even if the end they were just symptomatic of a bigger problem. Every word I wrote was belabored because it had to be good. It had to be genius – worthy of my ambitions and of those elegant, hand-made paper pages.

At age thirty, I looked at my life and didn't like what I saw. All the little stories that had been running through my head for the past decade started whispering to me more loudly. And then, one day, I started scribbling them down. There were no pretty notebooks or cool pens. I wrote on the backs of crossword puzzles and the edges of receipts. On loose leaf paper and my husband's graph paper pads.
My words didn't matter. And because of that, my ideas became free. And suddenly, for the first time, my stories came to life.

Somehow, that new mentality carried over, even when I started writing on my computer. Once I decided my words weren't precious, it not only got easier to write them, it also got easier to rework them, rewrite them or just plain delete them.

So this post is in celebration of letting go, throwing carefulness to the wind, and seeing where just playing can get you. How many people find their soulmate after they stop looking? Or get a promotion after they decide to just be themselves at work?

Or write their first book, right after deciding their words weren't precious at all?

Plix spends her lonely, gritty life trying to solve the mysteries her father left behind. Armed with a variety of cybernetic enhancements and a talent for getting into places she shouldn’t be, she searches for clues to his murder—and who’s responsible for poisoning her city.

Waking up on a street corner with her brain wiring fried to a crisp, she figures she must have gotten close this time. There’s only one man she trusts to pull her back from the brink: a tuner who can retrieve the evidence hidden deep in the recesses of her mind. A man she dares not let too close to her heart.

When Edison downloads a secret SynDate schematic from Plix’s burnt-out circuitry, he knows with dreadful finality that nothing—not even the fiery kiss he’s been holding back for years—will stop her from pursuing her quest past the point of insanity.

All he can do, as he helps her plan her final mission, is ease her pain, watch her back…and hope one of them doesn’t pay with their lives.

Buy your copy today at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Samhain Store.

After brief, unsatisfying careers in advertising, teaching, computers, and homemaking, Jeanette Grey has returned to her two first loves: romance and writing.

When she isn’t writing, Jeanette enjoys making pottery, playing board games, and spending time with her husband and her pet frog. She lives, loves, and writes in North Carolina.

She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Carolina Romance Writers.

Website: http://www.jeanettegrey.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/jeanettelgrey
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jeanettelgrey
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4507045.Jeanette_Grey

Spotlight On...Calvin Davis

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:15:00 +0000

Welcome, Calvin. Tell us about The Phantom Lady of Paris and where we can find it.

Who is the Phantom Lady of Paris? I knew her well. I lived several years with her, haunting me day and night. Contrary to what her name might suggest, she was not some paranormal creature prowling the streets of the French capital, or a blood-sucking vampire, the type quite popular in fiction. On the contrary, in my novel, the Phantom Lady was a somewhat ordinary, but a highly extraordinary female who lived in the City of Light. Why was she there? That she would not reveal to anyone. Not even to Paul, the man she fell in love with.

The reason for her being in France, aside, she was quite a woman, with many of the good and bad attributes mankind possesses. At times she was whimsical. Other times, morose. She was a walking contradiction. (Aren’t we all?) But always, she had compassion for the disposed and voiceless. She struggled to find meaning for her existence. (Like the writer and, no doubt, the reader.) The Phantom Lady possessed a passion for life. She had a sense of humor. She could laugh at herself, at Paul, her lover, and, as equally important, could chuckle at life and its multitude of ironies.

What distinguished the Phantom Lady of Paris from others was the rare dream she pursued. Not unlike most, she yearned to be free. But she sought a special kind of liberation, the freedom, she said, an eagle feels when “flying mountain high, soaring above snow-capped peaks,” merging with the infinity of space, time and self: silent and alone…but free. She shared her dream with Paul, her American lover. At the close of the novel (after French police investigate her and after she and Paul are trapped in a Left Bank student riot), she discovered the freedom she sought. But it came not in the way she hoped.

The Phantom Lady of Paris is available on Amazon.com (in softcover and e-book form). It is also available through Barnes and Nobles website and the Second Wind Publishing Company website.

How did you start writing?

My desire to write came when my high school English teacher introduced me to Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and to Moby Dick, The Scarlet Letter and other classics. Following the meeting, I realized that such works are potent forces with the explosive power of several mega-ton nuclear bombs. I fell in love with words, their sounds, definitions, music, and poetry. I fell in love with how a good writer could compose a symphony using only the instruments of words, could score word-concertos filled with crescendos and whispering lyricism Doubt the latter? Consider this: “But soft, what light through yon window breaks. It is the east and Juliet is the sun.” That is music, sensual music. Words, I realized, were beautiful things. I wanted to explore them, to use them…to write a novel. At the time, I didn’t know how difficult doing that would turn out to be. Since then, I have written three: The Event at Fourteenth and U, a Christmas Story (available through Amazon. com); Love in Opposing Colors (an interracial love story, available through the author at caldavis307@yahoo.com) and finally, the Phantom Lady of Paris. It took five years to finish the Lady, and I feel it comes close to accomplishing what I had in mind when I set out to write it: pen a novel that is a verbal concerto of words with a heart-touching final movement.

As an author, what makes a book great in your eyes?

A great book or play is one that that haunts you long after you put it down. It illuminates the human condition, dealing with things that all mankind has dealt with since the beginning of time: greed, love, hate, altruism, betrayal, loyalty, guilt, conscience, etc. Case in point: recently in Washington, DC, a man approaches a cop and turns himself in, saying he committed a crime fourteen years earlier and was tired of looking over his shoulder, tired of the guilt. Maybe if the criminal had read the Scarlet Letter or Macbeth when a teen, he might have known the excruciating penalty conscience exacts, a punishment that never lets up and is far more severe than any judge can order. Knowing this, perhaps he wouldn’t have committed the crime.

If someone wrote a biography about you, what should the title be?

My Life? Ups and Downs, Smiles and Frowns, Cheers and Tears. Bumpy, Yeah, But What a Ride!

An educator, Calvin Davis spent a year in Paris (1968-69), during most of which time he sat at outdoor cafes on boulevards Saint Michel and Saint German, observing the endless streams of passing humanity and writing The Phantom Lady of Paris, all the while downing countless cups of midnight-black java. The experience taught him a lot about writing and also how to wear out the seats of a half dozen trousers. So, he’s out of six pairs of pants. No big deal. That’s a small price to pay for bringing such a wonder child into the word…the remarkable phantom lady of Paris.

Calvin Davis is also the author of two other novels; Love in Opposing Colors and The Event at Fourteenth and U: A Christmas Story.

Spotlight On...Linda Engman

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:25:00 +0000

Today I have fellow Wild Rose Press author Linda Engman with me at the keyboard, talking about her wonderful new release, Manhattan Holiday. Welcome Linda, what surprised you the most when you became a published author?

I have to say I was surprised how many people it takes to get a book from manuscript form to a published novel. At my publisher, The Wild Rose Press, there is my wonderful editor, senior editor, copy editor, talented cover artist, marketing, promo, and office staff, besides many others involved---and all were dedicated and truly behind each of my romance novels all the way. I can’t thank them enough.

Tell us about Manhattan Holiday and where we can find it.

Manhattan Holiday is a sexy, fun, fantasy come true kind of romance set amongst a backdrop of snowy Manhattan at the holidays. It takes place over a New Year’s weekend. The hero, Roman Vasquez is powerful, sexy, and knows just how to wrap a woman around his finger. Needless to say my no nonsense heroine, April Sutton is not impressed and is a good match for him. She agrees to help him out of tight situation and ends up married to him. I had so much fun writing this story I didn’t want it to end. I’m thinking of writing another set in Manhattan at the holidays.
Readers can find it in eBook/Print at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and at The Wild Rose Press.

Here's the Blurb:

Get Ready For a Very Romantic Holiday

Recently jilted, legal assistant April Sutton is ready to find a way to forget her ex-fiancé and the heartache she’s been carrying around snowy Manhattan. With the New Year holiday approaching she’s determined to restart her life. Never in her wildest dreams does she expect a last minute marriage to dynamic Roman Vasquez, along with a sultry weekend trip and a romantic dream wedding, to do the trick.

In order to meet the New Year’s Eve deadline of his grandfather’s will, successful developer Roman Vasquez will do whatever it takes. Even if it means giving up his bachelor status and convincing an unwilling April Sutton to tie the knot. Although he finds all it takes to persuade her is—one kiss, a contract, and the wedding of her dreams.

Will Roman and April keep it all business...or let the magic of the holiday season, along with meddling friends, family, and hidden feelings turn their temporary whirlwind marriage into everlasting love?

Manhattan Holiday sounds like a book I need to read! Why did you choose your genre?

I’ve always loved reading contemporary romances so it was a natural fit when I started writing to choose this genre. I love creating sexy rugged hard working heroes and fashionable career-minded heroines. My first two books I’ve Got You and Falling For You are set in a small town and Manhattan Holiday of course in a big city.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Definitely when I signed that first contract for I’ve Got You. Although whenever I do an interview such as this, or write an article, I also really feel like a writer.

What comes first, plot or characters?

I’d have to say characters. Usually I’ll come across an interesting character and the story takes off from there. That was the case in my first three romance novels. The romance I just finished and sent off to my editor is another matter. My teenage daughter wanted me to write a story about a wedding planner and I thought it was a great idea. This story is a sexy, sizzling, fun book where the heroine, a wedding planner, gets a little too involved in one of her weddings. The hero is a sexy secondary character from MH. Sorry, that’s all I can say for now.

What are three things you wish you’d known before you began your writing career?

To have a website in place before you contract, be prepared for lots of promoting, and never feel the need to follow what others are doing.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I love to shop with my daughter, have lunch out with my girlfriends and my two sisters, chat with my mom on the phone, play tennis, hike, and ski with my family. My great love is photography. I also love to read and cook when I have the time. Mostly on the weekends.

What’s next for you?

I’m writing another sexy contemporary romance as we speak, a follow up to the wedding planner story, and I have the first of my four Navy SEAL’s romance novels just about ready to send off. It’s an exciting and busy time for me.

Where can we find you on the web?

Readers are welcome to visit me at www.lindaengman.com
I update my website monthly with new information, reviews, and fun things on my blog. You can also find me on Facebook. I love it when readers send me friend requests.

Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?

I don’t have any questions but I’ve sure had lots of ladies asking about the gorgeous man on the cover of Manhattan Holiday. I’ve even had women ask if he’s real. Yes! Cover model Jimmy Thomas and I are even Facebook friends…and he’s as nice as he is handsome.

Thanks Sarah for having me here today. I’ve had a great time and happy holidays! Linda

It is a very nice cover! Thanks for visiting with me today, Linda.

Spotlight On...Vonnie Davis

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Grimm) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:53:00 +0000

I'm so excited to have the fabulous Vonnie Davis with me at the keyboard today. Vonnie not only shares with us an emotional excerpt from her book Storm's Interlude, but she's agreed to give a copy of the book to one lucky commenter.

Welcome, Vonnie! What surprised you the most when you became a published author?

The reviews. When I received my first one, my heart beat so hard and heat infused my body like a super hot flash. My eyes quickly skimmed over it, looking for words like junk, boring, inept, horrible. But the reviewer liked it, and I was thrilled. The second positive review was an even bigger shock, and so on. I guess I didn’t expect anyone to enjoy what I’d written. Aren’t we usually our own worst critics? I know I am.

I'm definitely my worst critic. Tell us about Storm’s Interlude and where we can find it.

Nurse Rachel Dennison comes to Texas determined to prepare her new patient for a second round of chemo. What she isn’t counting on is her patient’s twin brother, Storm Masterson.

Despite her initial attraction, Storm has two things Rachel can’t abide: a domineering personality and a fiancée. Half Native American, with the ability to have "vision dreams," Storm dreams about Rachel for three nights before her arrival. Both are unprepared for the firestorm of emotions their first encounter ignites.

Ultimately, it is Rachel’s past—and abusive, maniacal ex-boyfriend—that threatens to keep them apart…and Storm’s dreams that bring them together again.

Buy Links for The Wild Rose Press

For Amazon

What is the most emotional scene you had to write in this piece?

The scene I refer to as “the closet scene.” Rachel opens her closet to find her maniacal ex-boyfriend standing there. Writing violence is not my thing, but I forced myself to do it. I had to, Sarah.

In doing my research about domestic violence I noticed only six states have a felony statute on strangulation, a terrifying crime that research has shown affects about one of every five battered women. SIX states! Can you believe it?

Only six? That's heartbreaking.

Not only that, but many emergency room personnel and first responders don’t recognize red eyes as a sign of strangulation. They often figure the woman has red eyes from crying. Strangulation forces blood into the white of the eyes and also damages the wind pipe and vocal chords, altering the victim’s voice for months.

It infuriates me that legislators don’t see non-lethal strangulation assaults as one of the “red flags” of deadly family violence. The more I read about this, the angrier I got. So, for all the victims of such abuse I had to incorporated strangulation and its long-lasting effects into my story—and I cried as I pulled all those emotions from my soul to write that scene. I had to avenge battered women, you see. Had to.

Excerpt:

When Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding out for a Hero” floated from her stereo speakers, Rachel turned up the volume to enjoy the effects of the drums in the song. Pretending she was pounding the drums with imaginary drumsticks, she turned to open the closet door to choose something to wear to dinner —and gasped a silent scream.
Phillip stood before her.
Silent.
Ominous.
Menacing.
Her mind tried to accept what her eyes saw—and couldn’t. She wanted to scream, but fear, cruel and strong, jumped up and grabbed her by the throat, squeezing and blocking air to her lungs. A squeak escaped, but before it morphed into a scream, Phillip had one hand over her mouth and the other viced her windpipe. She hit, scratched and kicked; futile attempts for he easily overpowered her. “Surprised to see me, bitch?” he hissed in her ear. “Didn’t I tell you I’d come for you?”
In the midst of their struggles, they fell to the floor. She rolled over in an attempt to escape. “Storm!” Damn those drums! No one could hear her over them. Phillip grabbed her ankle and twisted it. Pain ripped up her leg like a buzz saw. He was going to dislocate her knee. She rolled over, easing the pain. He struck her face. Another scream escaped seconds before he covered her mouth again. He punched her stomach, momentarily knocking the air from her.
With one hand over her mouth and his other clamped around her arm, he yanked her from the floor and tossed her onto the bed, where he held her down with brute force. She tried to break free, but his hold was too strong. Could anyone hear their grappling over Bonnie Tyler singing and all those pounding drums? If only she hadn’t turned up the volume.
She struggled to escape, struggled to live. He sat on top of her, his eyes full of maniacal rage. She pushed and hit. “You’ve become a fighter, I see. I wasn’t expecting that. I’ll show you what happens when a woman fights back.” He circled his iron-like fingers around her throat and slowly began to choke her. He reached into his back pocket for a roll of electrical tape, bit off a strip and pressed it to her mouth. She’d seen this expression of madness before and knew what was coming.
How would anyone hear the beating she was about to receive over the volume of the music? Why hadn’t she played Brahms or Mozart? His hold over her windpipe tightened. He punched her in the eye, and she saw a shooting shower of stars. His second blow landed on her jaw. Her lip split. Blood trickled down her chin. Through his beating, her mind raced, trying to come to grips with the shock of finding him in her closet. How had he gotten inside the ranch house? Didn’t anyone search her room?

Wow, what a powerful scene, Vonnie. I can see why that would be difficult for you to write. Whew, I hope that bas...ahem, Phillip...get's his in the end.

Cast the movie. Who would you choose to play your hero and heroine?

I don’t know. I’m so out of touch with young actors. I do have pictures I used as visuals as I wrote.

I LOVE visuals. And holy cow what a visual! Helllooooo, Storm!

And this beauty must be Rachel.

Very nice, Vonnie. Thanks for sharing.

What comes first, plot or characters?

I get a germ of an idea for a plot and then ask myself what kind of characters would bring it to life. I tend to create my characters from the inside out. I ask myself what my character’s points of pain are. We all have them: Past experiences that push our buttons. Using myself as an example, don’t treat me as if I’m stupid. Why? I stuttered as a child and was regarded by many as being non-intelligent. I had to work extra hard to get stellar grades to show my teachers I was not mentally-challenged…just tongue-challenged. **grins** Storm’s point of pain is his mother abandoning him when he was younger. Rachel’s points of pain are her past abuse with an ex-boyfriend. Once I get those things nailed down, I decide on education levels, how they earn their living and finally how they look.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

If I’m not writing, I’m reading. Why life revolves around words.

What’s one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you?

I used to write plays for a non-profit theatre group and I’m also a trained draftsman, or would that be draftswoman?

That's so cool! What’s next for you?

I have a short story under contract with The Wild Rose Press for their Honky Tonk Hearts series—Those Violet Eyes. I’m expecting edits soon for Mona Lisa’s Room, the first book in a trilogy. I’m frantically writing the trilogy’s second book, Rain is a Love Song. This is requiring great effort on my part, because I have two short stories bouncing around in my head, getting louder and demanding my time. I want to stop this project and work on the short stories for a couple days. But since my agent has Rain on her reading schedule for the week of December 19th, I must keep writing it. She does a strict edit of my books. Just when I think I’m getting stronger as a writer, she sends me back a manuscript marked up with a gazillion edits…sigh…so much for my ego.

Where can we find you on the web?

www.vonniedavis.com
www.vintagevonnie.blogspot.com

Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?

Yes, lots, but I’ll try to control myself. What types of stories pull at your heartstrings? Which do you enjoy more? A book that makes you laugh or one that makes you cry?