Jen Winters's Blog, page 14

Monday’s Personal Log, 2

So I read all weekend. I can’t say I was in excruciating pain because to me excruciating implies the kind of pain that makes you want to scream. On a scale of 1-10, it tops out at childbirth 11. But, I was in a lot of pain; the kind that no amount of over-the-counter pain relievers can help; the kind of tramadol does nothing for; I’d say I was/am at a steady 8. Sleep wasn’t really much of an option until utter fatigue just set in and then I dreamed about being eviscerated by a large drill boring holes into me.

So, I escaped the world into fiction all weekend.

Here is my shameless plugs for all wonderful books I read this weekend:

Bearllionaire, Bearlebrity, Bearthlete, Special Offers, Choosing Her Alpha (serialized novel), Make Me Forget, Sylvia’s Torment, The Lady Smut Book of Dark Desires, Abstract Love.

Some of these I was asked to review, so those will be showing up in the upcoming Wednesday’s Reviews, and some of these I stumbled up quite by accident and loved.

Now to go write my reviews.

Oh, and I did publish Kissing the Rain. It’s free on Smashwords. 80 downloads over the weekend. EEK!

Friday Guest Blogger: Aaron Speca

Before we begin, a reminder that Aaron is holding a sweepstakes on his author interview with me. Comment here for a chance to win ecopies of his previous short stories.

Stranger in a Strange Land

 

I want to thank Jen Winters for inviting me to appear on her blog!�� When we were first talking about what I should write here, I was quite honestly at a loss.�� I believe this is the first time I���ve ever guested on someone else���s site, and why in the world would anyone be interested in what I have to say about anything?

 

However, she asked me a question that really got me thinking about a lot of things.�� It was a simple, yet very complicated question.

 

���How do you go about constructing a romance or sex scene?����� Now, THAT is a loaded question.�� In order to get into it, I think there needs to be a little background about how I got into writing in the first place.

 

I hated writing in school.�� It was boring and tedious, and I never felt comfortable with it.�� I trended towards math and science.�� I wasn���t ���artsy���.�� Once I got done with English I never wanted to write again.

 

However, I did love reading.�� I enjoyed a well-constructed story with fun dialog and interesting characters. ��Again, though, I trended more towards science fiction, action, mystery.�� Romance was not even on my radar screen.

 

Then I graduated, and other than technical writing, I didn���t write anything for twenty years.

 

Then, quite surprisingly, through some friends online, I was asked to join a role play writing group.�� Now, this is not role play like Dungeons and Dragons with dice and battles and the like (although I did have plenty of experience with that from younger days).�� The way this works is that you take a character (often from a well-known book or TV series that the group is based on), and you have scenarios, and you write as that character.�� This role play group was for a popular paranormal romance series which I actually had not read, but my friends thought I would be a good fit for it for some strange reason, and they needed guys.�� So I took a crash course in that literary world, and I tried it.

 

And I loved it.

 

No one was more surprised than I was at this turn of events.�� But what I loved about the books I had read (continuity, dialog, plot, characters), I found I enjoyed even more in CREATING those things.�� Before long I was ���writing��� several characters, some from the books and some original creations.

 

���Ok so how does that have anything to do with constructing a romantic scene?��� you might well ask and for good reason.�� Well, you see, when I started doing this RP writing, I knew that it was an adventure/romance series that it was based on.�� And I was adamant that I would be doing ���those kinds��� of scenes, because I didn���t think I could.�� I was focused on the interaction among characters and the action/adventure parts of the stories.

 

But any writer will tell you that characters have minds of their own.�� And eventually, my character was yelling at me that it was time.

 

It was incredibly nerve-wracking to write that first scene, but I did it.�� And it was ��� well, I hate to pat myself on the back, but it was GOOD.�� Of course, it helped to not be the only one writing.�� That might be why I prefer to have writing partners today, even when writing for publication (I currently have two).

 

So to get back to the original question, I think I���ve learned a couple of things about writing these types of scenes.

 

First, there are the physical aspects of it.�� How do the participants move?�� What do they see, what does the room look like, what do they physically feel?�� Does the order of events make sense?�� (For example, I accidentally had the same character take their shirt off twice a few paragraphs apart in a first draft.)

 

Second, and perhaps more importantly, are the emotions behind the act.�� This to me is critical.�� How the characters feel towards each other, and describing that, is what turns it from (to put it bluntly) pornography into romance.�� Relating emotions is incredibly powerful, and if the physical is what provides the backbone and structure of the scene, the emotional component is the finishing touch that can make it truly beautiful.

 

The first time one of my partners and I submitted a short story, got it published, and then waited for that first review was one of the most anxious times I have ever experienced.�� This is an excerpt from that review, and what a relief it was ���

 

As for the tupping ��� I’m always anxious reading love scenes from authors whose style I’m not familiar with. In my opinion, [especially] with romance themed stories, this is an integral part and can make or break the tale. So with teeth clenched I forged ahead, preparing myself for some cringe worthy love scene that will put a sailor’s mouth to shame. So imagine my surprise when it turned out to be romantic and beautiful and I’m glad that my worst expectations didn’t come to pass. Probably Patricia wrote it because it sounds like a woman’s POV, sexy but cerebral. LOL sorry Mr. Speca but my faith in men and romance is limited to fiction right now. ��� Talk Supe review of ���Tears of the Mermaid��� by Aaron Speca and Patricia Laffoon

 

This is still one of my favorite reviews of all time, because it spoke to exactly what I believe, that sex scenes are about much more than the physical act itself.�� I didn���t even care that the assumption was made that I didn���t have anything to do with writing it (in actuality, it���s kind of a backhanded compliment).

 

It is a challenge being a male romantic author, but it���s definitely a challenge I am enjoying.

 

Follow me and my writing partners Patricia Laffoon and Dawn Treadway here:

Blog: https://aaronspeca.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/aaronspeca

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aaron-Speca-Author/216515161730857

FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/writingtrinity/

About Me: http://aaronspeca.blogspot.com/p/about-me-us.html

 

Excerpt from the yet-to-be-published ���Heart of the Mermaid���, the first book in ���The Realmwalker Prophecy��� series from Aaron Speca and Patricia Laffoon ���

Rudy leaned back against the pillow and smiled. ���Aye, ma���am. And I���m sorry if I offended you.��� He took up the bowl and spoon and began to eat, taking several spoonfuls in rapid succession. He forced himself to slow down. ���Were there any other survivors?���

She was so distracted by watching him move that she almost missed the question. The way his muscles flexed in simply lifting a spoon to his mouth. What was it about this male that set her on edge so? He hadn���t done a thing, but she felt like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, not knowing which way to jump first. This did not sit well with her; she had seen many a male pass through her outpost and never had an inclination towards any of them. The human males she had come across were mostly crude, belligerent, arrogant. Truthfully, so were many of the Mermen. But this man with his soft words and gentle touches compromised her mental and emotional state.

She looked into his eyes, and saw the sadness there accompanying his query. ���No. There were none but you that I saw. We weren���t in a position for me to do a lot of looking around.���

He stopped eating and set the bowl aside, looking down. She could see the pain he was in. Not merely physical, as that was obvious from what she had seen when she had first cleaned him up. Emotional, too. She had witnessed firsthand that look in the eyes of the older Mer warriors, the ones who had seen too many battles and lost too many comrades. He was too young to have that look about him, and it touched her deeply. Surely some of those lost men from his vessel were his friends.

He reached for her hand and their fingers interlaced completely naturally. He looked back up to her and their eyes locked. ���So what happens now?��� The question was so innocent yet laced with so much potential. He reached up with his other hand and slid a lock of hair away from her face.

She looked down at their intertwined fingers. Hers had slid into his as if they were meant to be that way. Her heart felt like it was going to flip right out of her chest and that was when she decided. She might not have him forever, but she had him right now and that was all that counted. She gave up the pretense that this male didn���t matter, that he hadn���t stolen her heart the first time she saw him, and in that moment she knew her life would never be the same. ���What happens now? We wait and you heal.��� She sat on the bed and then leaned down into his embrace and a soft sigh escaped her lips.

Review: Taken By the Huntsman, Mistral Dawn

Taken by the Huntsman by Mistral Dawn

After several weeks of retweeting this book, I finally buckled down and bought it. I can say without a doubt that is one buy I have no regrets about.

Taken by the Huntsman is a paranormal romance set mainly in Fairie, the realm of the Fae. The Huntsman kidnaps his soulmate, Cassie and takes her to his castle in Fairie as a means of protection for her. While this book could have easily fallen into the Stockholm syndrome trap, Mistral Dawn does a fantastic job of keeping well away from that horror and instead creates a love story about two stubborn personalities that collide in an unexpected, adventurous way.

I did think that the beginning was a bit slow, but once you get through the explanations of Fairie, what you get is a wonderfully descriptive show of what Fairie looks like, how dangerous it is, and the kinds of creatures that you might find there. This story is not dialog driven but is rather driven by internal narrative and mind-blowing details. You will find yourself immersed in the characters and setting, and discover the poetry of the fantastical land of Fairie.

I, for one, am counting the days until the sequel is released. Find this book on Amazon, here.

Ten on Tuesday: Interview With Aaron Speca

Please welcome Aaron Speca, the first in my new author interview series, Ten on Tuesday, where I�� ask authors ten questions for your entertainment, enrichment, and enjoyment.

 

You write PNR with a couple of ladies. Do you read it as well?

Yes, in fact, reading the Dark Hunters series by Sherrilyn Kenyon is what got me started in writing at all.�� My first foray into fiction writing was doing some role play fan fiction in the Dark Hunters world.�� I also enjoyed Charlaine Harris���s Sookie Stackhouse series.�� To me, these are more adventure/romance than straight romance.

Who are your top three favorite authors?

So I will go with the most influential writers I can think of in my own writing, and it���s an odd combination.�� Sherrilyn Kenyon, of course, as the first PNR writer I really got into and thus her writing has been a tremendous influence.�� I got to meet her briefly once and she is a wonderful person.�� Isaac Asimov is one of the great science fiction storytellers of our time.�� His ability to easily write a future world and make it completely believable was amazing.�� And ��� believe it or not Stan Lee (and the other writers at Marvel Comics).�� Comic books may get disparaged in some circles, but the serial nature of those stories and the way events interconnect and get referenced sometimes years later is something that I would like to try to bring to any series I attempt.

Have you ever thought of striking out on your own?

Not as yet.�� I mean, I have some ideas, but I���m not ready to take on that mantle on my own for a myriad of reasons.�� Eventually, I���m sure I will partake in a solo effort.

What do you think you bring into your books that your co-authors could not do without you?��������

Wow, that���s a tough thing for me to answer without sounding like I���m patting myself on the back!�� I think, though, if there���s one thing I am very conscious of in developing a story, it���s continuity.�� Nothing turns me off a story faster than a story that breaks its own rules.�� So, I do sometimes pick up on something where I will say, ���Ok, why did that just happen?�� What about this other thing that happened about four chapters ago?����� And then we will work together to work it out.

What is that one moment you have had as a writer that made you realize you were actually a real author?

Some might answer this question with when they signed their contract, or when they saw the book on Amazon.�� But for me, it was that first review, and that it was a very positive review.�� To have someone say ���I really enjoyed this and this is why ������ is an incredible feeling and nothing ��� NOTHING ��� can ever take that away. ��The second moment was getting that first royalty check, even though it was small. ��One of my favorite quotes is one from Stephen King ��� ���If you wrote something for which someone sent you a check, if you cashed the check and it didn���t bounce, and if you then paid the light bill with the money, I consider you talented.����� I use that quote all the time to encourage both myself and my writer friends.

Have you quit your day job yet or are you planning to anytime in the future?����������

I have three kids ��� there���s no way I can afford to quit my day job.�� So I will keep plugging away at this writing thing.�� I do believe slow and steady wins the race.�� I understand and accept that I cannot be nearly as prolific as some of these other full-time authors out there.�� So I will focus on making each story the absolute best story it can possibly be.�� If that means it takes four years and counting (like ���Heart of the Mermaid���), then it will take four years.

What drives a romance for you and makes it something you want to read/write?

The emotional commitment of the two main characters.�� There can be all the attraction in the world, but for me it is the emotional component that drives the romantic part of any story.

What are you working on now?

The first book in the ���Progeny of Sin��� series by Dawn Treadway (lead author) and myself, ���Dark Dreams���, has been accepted by HarperImpulse (imprint of Harper Collins).�� Right now they are working on cover art and we are awaiting a release date.�� Dawn and I have broken ground on the sequel to that book, ���Dark Fate���.�� The paranormal romance series follows a family of demons that have escaped from the hell-like realm of Sheol and now protect humanity from the denizens of that realm.

The first book of ���The Realmwalker Prophecy��� by myself and Patricia Laffoon, ���Heart of the Mermaid���, is now in the hands of the publisher and they are considering whether or not to accept it for publication.�� There���s a lot I don���t want to give away about the series as a whole, but the first book is an adventure romance that takes place in what we know as the 18th century Caribbean, between a sailor and a mermaid.

Tell us a little about your previous works and how we can get our hands on them.

Unfortunately, the publisher of the two anthologies that we appeared in previously is no longer in business, thus those anthologies are now ���out of print���.�� However, we have the rights to those works and since we have no plans to republish them as stand-alone works, I���d like to announce a little sweepstakes here on your blog!�� Anyone who comments here with their favorite mermaid (TV, book, movie, whatever) and why will become eligible for a random drawing to receive electronic copies of the short stories ���Tears of the Mermaid��� and ���Heart of the Mermaid��� by Aaron Speca and Patricia Laffoon, featuring special covers created by our friend Sessha Batto.�� These two stories are what led to ���The Realmwalker Prophecy��� series concept.

 

Where can we stalk–erm, follow your work online these days?

Blog: https://aaronspeca.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/aaronspeca

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aaron-Speca-Author/216515161730857

FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/writingtrinity/

About Me: http://aaronspeca.blogspot.com/p/about-me-us.html

Thank you, Aaron!

Thank you everyone for reading; the contest will run from Tuesday Feb. 17th until Monday, Feb. 23. Aaron will be back on Friday for a special guest blog!

Monday’s Personal Log

This past week I experienced a death in my family, sort of. My sister-in-law’s grandmother passed away. To say this is hard on her might be an understatement. Grandma Mae was her anchor after the death of her mother when she was a young teen.

I am not a very emotive griever. Grandma Mae took me and my daughter in like we were blood. She was a light in this world that is rarely found. Her joy was tangible. She always had an encouraging word and a hearty laugh. And I will miss her, but I have to say, I am not good at grieving. I don’t have tears for the dead and I have a difficult time summoning tears for the living too. I just am not an emotive person most of the time. My experience with loss has been good. My maternal grandmother died and wanted a dance for her funeral, her soul mate soon followed and it was a relief for all of us, especially him. My paternal great-grandfather died and we had a worship service. All of my experience with death has never included a real funeral.

So when I went to the perfectly Catholic funeral mass for Grandma Mae, I did not know what to expect, though I was mindful that I might be bored. However, it turned out that the funeral mass was engaging and cathartic. If I hadn’t been wrangling my kids the entire time, I think I would have enjoyed it more.

Enjoyed a funeral mass…

Is that weird? I enjoyed a funeral. There weren’t a whole bunch of weepers because every person there was assured of Mae’s afterlife. We all know that Mae was a lover of Christ and a worshipper of God and she is safe in the arms of her God right now. The funeral extolled her virtues in this life and encouraged her friends and family to remember her with great love and affection and to be like her in our own lives. It was wonderful. I can now say that, though I am not Catholic, they do funerals right, I think.

Ok, ramblings on death are over now. Back to your regularly scheduled programming…

Guest Blogger: Adam Croft

I would like to introduce Adam Croft, author of��Kempston Hardwick mystery series. I asked him to talk about how his career as and author has evolved.



How I Launched My Career as an Author and Why I’ll Always Feel Like a Fraud

I’m often asked what the turning point was which made me realise a career in writing was viable. That’s actually a far trickier question to answer than it seems. All I know is that I’m still becoming more and more certain with every day.

Writing is something I’ve always wanted to do with my life, ever since I can remember, but it wasn’t until I sat down to write my first book, Too Close for Comfort, that I actually started to act on that desire. Even when I’d finished writing it and published it on Amazon Kindle, I still thought it was just something quite nice to have done. It never struck me that I’d just launched a new career and way of life which was to change me forever.

The book was live on Amazon for a couple of months, doing not very much. It was 1st April 2011 when I woke up and checked my sales, as I told myself I’d do on the first of every month (after all, I was only getting a couple of sales a week so there wasn’t any point in checking more frequently). I thought it was an April Fool’s joke at first: the book had seen over 7,000 downloads overnight and was sat at the top of Amazon’s bestseller chart.

I get a lot of people asking me for marketing advice and help on promoting books. There’s a good reason why my blog doesn’t often focus on marketing and promotion: I don’t know any more about it than the next author. The truth of the matter is that I still don’t really know where all those sales came from. I wish I did, but all I could do from then on was to continue writing and writing. That’s still my biggest piece of marketing advice when I can give it. The best thing an author can do is write, publish and repeat (there’s even a very, very good book on author marketing titled just that).

My other big tip would be that you must��treat writing as your prime (if not sole) focus in life. I dedicate absolutely everything to writing and drama in some form or another. It’s what I live and breathe. As much as you might only be able to manage an hour here and there to write, you simply must find more time for it. It’s a lifetime’s journey and you need to treat it as such. For me, this absolute dedication makes things even more exciting and keeps reigniting my passion for writing and drama, day after day. It took me a long time to realise that. In the meantime I spent two or three years in a deep pit of depression, during which time I seriously thought about killing myself on more than one occasion. Dark times, but I’ve since realised it was my mind telling me it absolutely needed��to live and breathe writing and drama. Ever since I embraced that, the depression has all but disappeared.

Making writing your life isn’t just about spending as much time with pen on paper (or fingers on keyboards) as you can. It’s about being in the sphere; talking to other writers, voraciously consuming as many blogs and books on the craft as your brain can muster. I absolutely love it when readers and writers and anyone else with a passion for books and drama gets in touch with me. Writing is a lonely, solitary business and that small bit of contact with someone else who has a shared passion is invaluable.

In short, you have to ask yourself the question: Is being a writer the single most important thing to you in your life? Ponder it for a minute or so. If your answer is ‘yes’, the ball’s firmly in your court. Make the most of every second.

What are you working on now?
��
I’ve just finished the fourth Kempston Hardwick mystery, The Thirteenth Room, which is out on Tuesday and is available to pre-order from Amazon here:��http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TFFT6VA

Tell us a little about your previous works and how we can get our hands on them.
��
I write two main series ��� some gritty crime thrillers and a series of cozy British murder mysteries. You can find them by searching Amazon for my name or by looking on my website:��http://adamcroft.net/books/

Where can we stalk–erm, follow your work online these days?

I’m on Twitter: @adamcroft, Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/adamcroftbooks and my blog is at http://blog.adamcroft.net. Please do get in touch ��� I love hearing from other readers and writers.

Review: Alpha Contender vol. 1-4 by Terry Bolryder

Ok, ok, ok. I was sick yesterday. I still had my parental duties, but my sister-in-law and brother agreed to take my kids for the afternoon. So in an effort to stay awake, I decided to read a serial I’d picked up ages ago and hadn’t gotten around to reading. I figured I would enjoy a cheesy PNR more if I was sick. I really thought it would be a cheesy PNR and it kinda was, but I was seriously surprised.

Alpha Contender is a serial in 4 volumes. The first is free, however volumes 2-4 are .99c each. Altogether you pay about 3 bucks for a novel length 4 part serial. They are also on Kindle Unlimited, which I think I am deciding I need to actually take the dive and get.

So, my review: Pretty damn good! I’d give the whole serial 4.5 stars!

First, amazingly, there were few if any spelling/grammar/typo issues.

Second, the cheese was perfect! Yes, it is a novel that is advertised as BBW/M and she did a great job making Misty an incredibly sexy woman without turning BBW into a fetish. Bolryder also managed to write a nice romantic novel without participating in the sex-scene tropes that many authors fall into. Her description is steamy, tasteful, and (mostly) true to life.

The story was absolutely not predictable to me. I couldn’t tell who were the good guys and who were the bad guys until they were revealed, but of course you know��from the start Lindon is the romantic hero, and you definitely fall hard for him.

Altogether, 4.5 stars for a novel I didn’t think I would like as much as I did. I have already bought her follow-up works and am looking forward to the reads.

 

Interview: Jen Winters

jenwintersne:

I’m having a great birthday! Check it out!

Originally posted on Kelly D. Smith :

Today we have Jen Winters here to talk about her writing routine, her tips on self publishing and many other things! Let���s all give a warm welcome and jump right into the interview! (You know me, not one for small talk)

Welcome Jen! How did you start writing?

Funny story (and by funny I mean AWKWARD): I was a fifteen-year-old whose BFF still played with My Little Ponies. It was actually like an RP game and it got to the point where we would have to stop what we were doing the moment someone walked into the door, so we switched to writing everything out and then it just evolved into story-telling and book writing. Before I published Kissing Demons, I had probably written over 70 books in spiral bound notebooks with my BFF.

What genre would you say you write?
I promote my work as paranormal romance, but because���

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It’s My Birthday Giveaway!

I’m so excited for my birthday today that I am giving away 2 FREE copies of Kissing Demons!

To enter, like my Facebook page or follow my blog and leave a comment saying hello!

Contest runs from 12am until 11:59 February 9, CST.

Announcing: Cressida McLaughlin & HarperFiction Deal!

Originally posted on romance festival:

Kate Bradley at Harper Fiction has bought World rights for two books from debut author Cressida McLaughlin. The first will be published as a series in four separate e-book instalments and will tell the heart-warming and witty story of a young woman, Cat, who sets up a dog-walking business in and around the locale of Primrose Terrace. The series will follow the lives and loves of the residents and their adorable doggy charges and will appeal to fans of Lucy Diamond, Cathy Bramley and Trisha Ashley.

The first e-book,��Wellies and Westies, will launch in spring 2015 and will be followed with��Sunshine and Spaniels,��Raincoats and Retrievers��and��Tinsel and Terriers��over the coming year. A complete physical edition,��Primrose Terrace,��will feature all four instalments plus extra bonus material and will be published in November 2015.

Bradley says: ���Series publishing has really taken off recently and���

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