Love Darts and Escargot, Anyone?

I spent thirty-four of my education career years in Seattle, Washington.  Think rain and green.  Slugs proliferate in Washington, the ugliest slow-crawlers in the world, naked (without shells) and squishy underfoot.  They come in every color, large and small, some solid and some spotted. 

When we moved to California’s Central Coast, I had no idea that the slugs would follow us in a different form.  Sure enough, we have slugs here in CA, but they travel in their home shells, neatly covered so they look less naked.  Clothed.  Contained.  Proper.  And, guess what…edible! The typical California snail, the Helix is the type genus of the family Helicidae. The best-known species include Helix aspersa, the common, or brown garden snail, which is edible, and Helix pomatia, the Roman snail or Burgundy snail, also edible.

Yes, snail protein abounds in CA.  As I type this blog message I’m gazing at my orange tree, aware that hundreds of edible snails are crawling around on its leaves.  In fact, we Central Coasters agree that we’ve never witnessed snails in such huge numbers as we’ve seen this year.

Now, my husband loves escargot, so he could live off the little guys for some time.  Me?  Not so much.  The butter and the garlic they’re bathed in isn’t bad, but the rubbery texture of escargot puts me off. 

Typical romance writer that I am, the sex life of an edible snail does interest me. Not only are snails bisexual, but they throw love darts at each other.  They are reproducing like mad in my garden (love darts shooting everywhere!) and slowly chomping away at my orange tree.  Anybody want a truckload of edible snails?  Rolynn

SUSPENSE SPIKED WITH ROMANCE

LAST RESORT on sale now, print & download

Wild Rose Press: http://tinyurl.com/682vwgv

Web: http://www.rolynnanderson.com

Blog: http://blog.rolynnanderson.com/

FB: http://tinyurl.com/63vsnmt

Legacy

Last year's Mother's Day was a little too soon to talk about this, but it's been well over a year since my mom's death. In that period there has been a number of developments. I've concluded the disposition of her estate, the family has had time to absorb the extent of her loss, and we are pulling together even closer than we were before.

One nice thing about Facebook is that it allows a glimpse into the lives of the younger generation of family members. I'm enjoying watching them and occasionally participating in their fun. This year they were the ones who started a virtual toast to their grandmother's memory. One of those who participated in this toast was my niece Kim, who just graduated from law school today, one of the many high achievers in my family. I'm very proud of her and I know Mom would have been too.

Part of the legacy in the title of this post is that at least two people in the family have dedicated work to my mom in the last year. My daughter, Liz Shannon Miller, wrote a lovely play about a romance writing mom and her would-be writer daughter, naming both characters after my mom. I think she used some of the loss she felt over her grandmother's death in the play, although she had that deft humorous touch that I love in her writing.

I've dedicated my next Gaian book, Beloved Stranger, to my mom, partially because she enjoyed my not-quite-so-sexy material best and the Gaian series is more sensual than erotic. That book isn't out until August, although I did have an erotic vampire/werewolf story, Shanghaied come out last Friday. 

Mom enjoyed the fact I wrote novels, even if they weren't always to her taste.

I think her favorite book of mine was Christmas With Sarah, a straight contemporary book about a man who'd dropped out of life after his wife's death, but then fell in love with an artist working as a waitress. The original title of this book was "A Man With A Purpose" because the plot revolved around the heroine encouraging the hero to get back to the work he was so good at, reorganizing small software companies so that they survive hard economic times.

One of the things I learned from my mom was that people should have purpose in this life, that it wasn't enough to drift along like a jellyfish. We need goals and accomplishments, regardless of who we are. She raised four daughters, and was involved in the lives of the nine grandchildren and the one great-grandchild that followed. 

What my family accomplishes is part of Mom's legacy. And that's a good thing.

Janet Miller/Cricket Starr

http://www.cricketstarr.com

Blog Tour or Bust!

     Most published authors have done some kind of blog tour, myself included. It usually takes a lot of work, contacting various bloggers and fellow authors to see if they have room to host you, and then writing your posts and hoping that someone shows up to read them. It's something of a crap shoot, honestly.
     I'm not saying I've discovered the magic answer. But, I am trying something different. I decided this time around to have someone handle the tour for me. In other words, I contracted with someone to arrange for me to hit a certain number of spots, which also include several reviews. The key for me was the reviews. If I can pick up several reviews from this tour, then I will consider it money well spent. Even if it doesn't pan out, it's been a learning experience and that's positive as well.
     For this tour, I hooked up with Innovative Online Book Tours. They've been fantastic so far, very responsive and very proactive. It's been a pleasure working with Vickie and Shauni,
     Although I have a really busy schedule (see below), it turned out to be a mix of interview, blog posts, and just excerpts and blurbs. In other words, I did not have to write a gazillion guest blog posts or give away tons of books at every stop.
     I'm hopeful that this blog tour will lead to more sales. It's what every author hopes for. I won't know for a few months if this investment was worth it, but I'm crossing my fingers that it is. Just looking at the list of promo places makes me giddy with the possibilities. ( :
    And today, I just saw my first review and it's a total thumbs up!!! From bodicerippers the reviewer had this to say:

Shadow Visions is the second book in the Shadow Warriors series by Gabriella Hewitt. It is a wonderful original story that is refreshing to read. Ixa is spunky and funny, while Manuel is sexy and stern. A nice easy read that wraps up the story flawlessly. If you are looking for a book that has a story unlike any you have read but still gives you the happily ever after that we all want and love, this is the book for you.

     If you want to check out the blog tour for my second Shadow Warrior novella SHADOW VISIONS, you can join me at any of these blog stops:

Click here for the links:

May 6th I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read!
May 7th A Soul Unsung
May 8th Killer Fiction
May 10th Ramblings of an Amateur Writer
May 11th Simply Ali
May 16th Bodice Rippers, Femme Fatales and Fantasy
May 18th Tea and Book Guest Blog
May 21st I Just Wanna Site Here and Read
May 25th Books Reviewed by Bunny
May 25th Sapphyria’s Steamy Book Reviews
May 29th Wonderland Reviews
May 29th Reviews by Molly
May 31st Adventures of a Frugal Mom
May 31st Good Choice Reading

JUNE
June 5th Journey with Words
June 5th Understanding Shae’s Story
June 7th Ramblings from this Chick
June 7th Reviews by Molly Guest Blog
June 11th Storm Goddess Book Reviews
June 11th Wickedly Bookish
June 13th Miraculous
June 13th Fictional Candy
June 13th Adventures of a Frugal Mom
June 16th A Soul Unsung
June 16th Indie Writers Review
June 16th Wickedly Bookish

Joanne shares Dave Barry: "Should a Woman be Mysterious?"

Hi Everyone, It's the 8th of the month, and time for me to share another hilarious Dave Barry excerpt. This one is about women and mystery. Hope you enjoy a chuckle and please leave a comment: "After my wife's knee operation, the surgeon had good news and bad news. The god news was that the operation went fine. The bad news was that he had taken color Polaroid photographs of the inside of her knee. Suddenly, with no advance warning, he was thrusting these at me, right there in the waiting room. "And THIS," he was saying quite enthusiastically, like a man showing pictures of his trip to Yellowstone, "is her ligament stump." I don't know about you, but I think there should be a certain amount of mystery about a woman." Me again: Does this sound like your husband/significant other? How is his bedside manner?

Write What You Know

By Dawn Marie Hamilton

Write what you know. How many times have you heard that bit of advice?

I write Scottish inspired fantasy and paranormal romance. Knowledge of Scottish history is easily acquired by reading. Time travel, magic, fae creatures and shapeshifting vampires—not exactly subjects learned during a lengthy corporate career. Research helps, but imagination plays a larger role in creating fantasy and paranormal elements.

How do you persuade readers to suspend long-held beliefs and accept the fantastical?

It's all in the worldbuilding…and the details. The details are where real life is inserted.

Having been a County Cooperative Extension master gardener, I know a wee bit about gardening. Gardens are where magic happens in our busy world of today. So I incorporate gardens into my stories. Sometimes in a large way, where the characters are gardeners. Other times in a small way by incorporating gardens into the setting.

At the cottage, Laurie offered them a nightcap, pouring each a glass of port. They wandered into the garden to enjoy the beautiful evening.

"Do you feel the magic in the air?" Caitrina asked.

Douglas peered at the moonlit sky and chuckled. "Aye, lass. Strong magic."

An uneasy sensation crept through Laurie as she glanced around.

Caitrina grasped her hand. "Come. I want to show you the foxglove we planted. They flowered."

Walking with Caitrina to the back gate, Laurie sensed something strange. She frowned when she smelled a familiar exotic fragrance on Caitrina. "What the hell?"

A tinkling sound confirmed her fear.

The gate swung open.

He [her dream lover] stood just beyond the garden gate.

Her pulse raced. Yanking her hand away from Caitrina, she stepped back in panic.

Caitrina pushed her forward through the gate. Terror forced the air from Laurie's lungs.

Nothing held her back, no barrier. She fell forward over a precipice into a swirling fog, down...down...down through a tunnel. The walls spun and she plunged downward, faster and faster, toward a blinding, bright light that continued to move out of reach.

Sucked through an opening into the white brilliance, she choked on the scream in her throat, cringing against the intense noise assaulting her ears.

She spun, or everything around her was spinning, she wasn't sure which. Her sensitized skin tingled as if touched by an electric charge. Then, the bright, white light exploded into a million fragments of brilliant color, a dazzling kaleidoscope, and she was falling again.

Down...down...down, the speed of her descent increased. Water flowed below her, a stream. She plummeted toward it. Bracing herself, she thought she'd crash into the rushing water, only to propel across it. She hit the ground hard and saw nothing more. 

…excerpt from Just Beyond the Garden Gate, an unedited Garden Gate manuscript.

ANTS AND SELF-DOUBT by Vonnie Davis

I like flowers with  a strong bouquet, or smell. Lilacs, lily of the valley, hyacinths and peonies, to name a few. Peonies are a common flower in South-Central Pennsylvania where I grew up. What I remember most, next to their delicious smell, were the ants. The buds seemed to attract large ants who slowly crawled over them as if it were their job to open every bud on the bush.

What was the ants' purpose? They were only present during the time the blossoms opened. 99% of the time, the flower held no attraction for the insects. So why did they come?

The Heartland Peony Society says this is a natural and temporary activity. It is believed that peonies produce small amounts of nectar and other ant attractants to encourage ants to help in opening the dense double flower buds found in many peonies. Once the buds have opened, the ants disappear.

If only our self-doubts were the same way. They come to us like those pesky ants on the peonies and crawl over our dreams and ambitions. What if I can't finish this book? What if I can't get a contract? What if I can't sell any books? What if the book I just published is the only one I'll ever be able to write? Oh, yes, the creepy-crawly sensations of self-doubt.

I remember shortly after signing my first book contract, Ms. Self-Doubt knocked at my front door with a three-piece set of luggage. She sashayed into my home as if she were my honored guest. "Oh, I'm here, my poor dah-ling." She breezed air-kisses off my cheeks. "I know you're thrilled with your little contract, but I've come to help you accept Storm's Interlude was the only book you'll ever be able to write."

I kicked her out to the curb--her AND her three-piece set of luggage. I can joke about it now, but at the time I really struggled with self-doubt. And, if truth were told, I still do. I suppose it's odd for me to say that with three more projects under contract. Still, my debut book has garnered some lovely reviews. What if the next ones don't? What if a reviewer says a subsequent book didn't live up to the promise of the first? Could happen, right?

I think all artistic people struggle with inner fears and nagging self-doubts. They are the ants of our creative flowers. Only by facing them can we overcome. Keep working. Keep writing. Keep moving your artistic career forward. Work through those self-doubts. Send those ants on their way.

May is Blooming

Not in my garden! I have a black thumb. Nothing I plant grows. I always tell my kids they are lucky they survived childhood because everything I try to grow; dies. :)

No, my writing and producing books is blooming. I have two self-published books out, one out in a couple of weeks, and the paranormal romantic suspense, the book of my heart will be out by month's end. Dangerous Shift is the story I always wanted to write when I decided to pursue writing as a career. It is hot and sexy, scary and dangerous, and totally out of the box according to my husband. LOL After that I will start plotting a new series about a single mommies club and my zombie romance.

So, by the end of May I will have two more books on my virtual shelf, with more coming soon. These days I feel like I have a barren lawn and the little sprouts are popping up here and there, the green so noticible among the brown, more of them every day. Not a green, sweeping fairway, but the promise of one.

I'm very much a creature of seasons. Winter and I are not friends. I read alot, not write alot. I hibernate until spring arrives with warmer weather and pretty flowers and blooming trees. This year I feel like I might have the growing thumb after all, only for books and stories, not plants and trees.

Is there a time of year that your writing blooms?

Jill James, author of Tempting Adam and The Second Chances series at Amazon and BN.com

Writing Lesson in Music Class

As mentioned in my last post, I'm taking piano lessons. With five kids, my immigrant parents couldn't afford them. Now that I have lots of time on my hands, I'm treating myself to something I've always wanted to do.

In the last while, I've attended quite a few musical performances. Some of astonishing virtuosity. Others...not so much.

One virtuoso we were privileged to hear is Thomas Pandolfi. Totally blew me away. Between pieces, Thomas chatted about his work with Chopin's études.

An etude is a study, or exercise, composed to develop a particular technical skill like moving one hand over the other. Thomas also mentioned studies by Hanon. In 1873, Charles Louis Hanon wrote a book of finger exercises for beginners like me.

Recently, my piano teacher assigned me some studies written by Carl Czerny (1791 – 1857). Beethoven was Czerny's teacher. Czerny in turn taught Franz Liszt who went on the write some real finger-twisting studies.

The music I'm using has been studied by countless students before me and will likely be played by countless more after me. Though Thomas is a genius, he likely played them, too. The continuity is awe-inspiring and comforting.

Everybody starts in the same place.

So what's all this got to do with writing?

Jane Austen, Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are familiar names to writers of romance, paranormal and mystery genres.

It doesn't matter if a book is issued in vellum, parchment, paper, or bytes, all writers are part of the continuity of the story.

And whether that story is told in music or words, we all start in the same place--with a wish in our hearts to entertain.

© Joan Leacott 2012, x-posted at joanleacott.com

I lost my mind at RomanticTimes!

Okay, okay, yes, I've read the other posts about RomanticTimes, but I had to write this one any way.  Why?  Because why not?

I've never attended a live writers' conference.  Online, yes, and as much fun as those were--networking with other authors and online classes, the energy of RT absolutely blew me away.

I ran around like a preteen at a Justin Bieber concert!  Ridiculous.  No time for eating or sleeping.  I swear I'm five pounds lighter.

And did I mention that I only signed at one event instead of both because J.R. Ward and Anne Rice and Charlaine Harris and Nalini Singh were signing, and of course, I had to stand on line :-)

I hate that I didn't get to meet any of the members of FTHRW while I was there, but below are a few pictures of some of my favorites!

Although I've only seen one season of TrueBlood, I've read every Sookie novel!  Love them!

Okay, I think the goober smile says it all!  ReShonda Tate Billingsley, Brenda Jackson, Kimberly Kaye Terry and me!

Yes, that's Anne Rice!

Can you see me back there?  Patricia Rosemoor, Sherill Bodine, and Rebecca York!

I really do have too many pictures, so I'll stop here.  I had the best time, and I look forward to attending again next year.  I hope that I'll get to see you there.

Why do we go to conferences?

(apologies in advance. I am once again traveling and will be in transit when this comes out, so I can't comment. I'll try to come back and check in when I settle back down again).



Like some of you out there, I got back from RT a week or two ago. That is one heck of a conference: non-stop socializing, really, with readers, other authors, friends.

I used to go to the RWA National Conference, but I don't go any more. I used to want to Learn: go to workshops and try to figure out this whole publishing thing. I took notes, read the programs, debated which session to go to, and ultimately, ended up sitting in and listening as closely as I could, because I was sure I'd find The Secret there.

Nope. It wasn't there. So I stopped going to Big Conferences, and, after I was published, I went to small ones where I could connect with readers. It made sense. I was with a small publisher and I couldn't compete at big conferences with the Big Name Authors. Small conferences are fun and I enjoy it, but something was missing. I missed that connection with other authors, people who understood what I was going through as a published author.

This is the first year I've been in RT in a while, and I realized that's why I like conferences like that: to connect again with people who have been on the same journey as me, those who have published, are trying to get published, and are considering new publishing opportunities.

But regardless of how much I enjoy hanging out with my friends, conferences are draining experiences. There's the travel, and the socializing, and the strange beds and food, etc. In fact, I wrote a series of conference mysteries ("Writing Can be Murder") in which I kill off various authors at different conferences (one of which I based on RT). In the books I tried to capture the swirl of emotions that teem at these kinds of venues: anxiety, nervousness, joy, concern, ennui, bravado ... you name it, the emotion is there. Every person at a conference is in a different "Place" -- trying to be published, trying to get close to a cherished author, trying to climb the success ladder ... you name it, it's there.

I realized this year that I'm going to conferences (one or two a year) just to be among people who get it, who know what it's like to be published, to be seeking readers, to want to put your words out there for others to read. It's important to connect again with others like yourself and get that support. Online groups like FTH are great, but there's something about that face-to-face chat in the bar with someone that is priceless.

I hope you get a chance to attend a few conferences and hang out with your peers. It can be a blast -- and don't worry, I promise I won't kill you off in a book!

Want to read my mystery about murder at an RWA-type conference? Check "Autographs"

Want to read about a murder at an RT type conference? Check "Surf"

How about a small conference (totally made up)? Check out "Mayhem"