Sandra Cox's Blog, page 276

VBT Tasting Fire

With us today is Shelly Holt. I asked Shelly how she came up with the title of Tasting Fire. Here is her response.
 Titles are one of the last things I do in writing a book or short story.  How can you give your creation an accurate name if you haven't been properly introduced yet? Tasting Fire wasn't always Tasting Fire.  It was first called Leopard's Embrace, in fact on my hard drive are still the first 44 chapters and epilogue labeled as Leopard's Embrace.  I think I went with Dharma's daughters and then Sacred daughter. In the end, I had to basically summarize the book in the title and without giving away the ending (no spoilers here) the basic theme of the book is about enlightenment, (don't worry, it is a romance and there is lots of sex in the book.)  The book is about spiritual, social and ecological enlightment, the term Tasting Fire is referring to the fire of spiritual enlightment. I used many different theologies to help guide the spiritual aspects of the plot.  Hopefully I did a good enough job of weaving them into the plot that they don't come off as too preachy or identifiable.  The beautiful cover art I licensed from talented photographer Michael Tilton Williams is a representation of the Buddhist deity Yamantaka.  He is known as a protector of dharma and slayer of death.  I found the imagery quite appropriate after I researched Buddhist deities and was inspired by the cover when I decided on my title.   I'm really proud of the book and believe it will stand out as a strong, positive, and sexy (did I mention there's lots of sex in it) original tale that will delight and provoke those who read it.
BLURB:

Excerpt
The short ride to Kizhi island was exhilarating on the open hydrofoil.  Kai helped Rae off the boat as it docked at the seven mile long island.  The tour group followed their guide off the dock and onto the island.  They listened intently as the guide in stilted English advised them that the site had become a  world heritage site in nineteen-ninety.  There were more than eighty pieces of wooden architecture that made up the outdoor museum’s collection.  The guide then gestured for the large group to follow him.  The tour group was led up to a magnificent structure.  The center piece of the collection that was known as The Church of Transfiguration.   Rae felt as if she had stepped right into a storybook.  The guide started his official recitation on the history of the structure “the Church of Transfiguration has twenty two onion domes.  It was built during the reign of Peter the Great.  No nails were used in the construction and it was created by using interconnecting wood pieces only.”  Kai stood back taking picture after picture of the breathtaking silver domes.  The guide then indicated for them to enter and put his finger over his mouth to indicate silence.
  As Kai and Rae walked in they could hear why the guide silenced them.  A trio of singers were performing a deeply moving mass.  Behind them a gold leaf Russian icon painting glinted in the light that was streaming in through the dusty windows.  The effect transported the tour group back in time.  They were now in a time before digital cameras, before cell phones, to a time when the Tzars ruled Imperial Russia with an iron fist. 
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
My name is Shelly Holt and I live in the middle of the harsh and unforgiving Mojave desert. I write my stories looking out of a window that shows sweeping desert views. Outside is a barren and severe landscape, yet inside my head lives a world filled with exotic shape-shifters come to life, pulled from the pages of myth and legend, ready to entice and seduce any reader brave enough to take them on.
It's funny, I never wanted to be a writer!  In 7th grade English, we were given an assignment.  We were told to write an original poem and turn it in the next day.  I was determined to turn in not a good poem, but a great poem.  I spent the whole night working on it instead of watching my favorite show, The Waltons.  (Hey! it was 1980.)  I turned it in the next day.  Apparently, I succeeded a little too well and was accused of copying it from a book. (1980 remember, no internet yet).  The teacher stated and I quote "this is too good for a seventh grader, where did you copy it from?"  Well, I didn't write for 30 years after that. In my 40's, after a life changing move to rural Nevada as a caregiver to my father, I realized I needed a way to earn a little money on the side.  I did some research on the internet and read all about a certain little book, about a certain little college student and a handsome billionaire with some ahem! (issues.)  I decided after reading that book, I could do that, and Tasting Fire was born. I'll admit it's been strange revisiting a talent buried deep inside for so long, forgotten, but apparently not lost. It's been an important journey and one I am quite thankful for and excited to see where it takes me.
Shelly Holt
 P.S. Mr. Jordan, I really did write that poem!
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shelly-Holt/443904305648848?ref=stream
Twitter 
https://twitter.com/ShellyHolt9
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Fire-ebook/dp/B0098M7OOQ

Shelly will award a $20 Starbucks GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
  The tour dates can be found here:  http://www.goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/09/virtual-book-tour-tasting-fire-by.html 

 
 

It's The Weekend

Windows 8 & Penny Got Held Back

I am so techno challenged. I put my well-used computer out to pasture and bought a new one that had Windows 8. Yikes! I'm sure somewhere down the road I'm going to be glad. Right now I feel like I need a road map to get from point A to B. It took me hours to figure out how to pull up two different internet sites at the same time. Groan. And then there's going from Word 3 to 10. But hey, at least I can tell immediately what day it is, what time, and what the weather's like. Really, I'm going to like it......
~*~
Penny didn't pass her intermediate doggy obedience class. She's been held back and has to repeat it. Appears, she has a bad case of A.D.D.
 

Under Motivated

I am soooo under motivated these days. I don't want to exercise, I don't want to watch what I eat, I don't have any great desire to write. I just want to sit around read a good book, watch a good movie, and eat bon bons. (Bon bons translates loosely into pizza and chocolate). Have you been there? Know what I mean?  Not that there's anything wrong with being a slug if its for a short period of time, but its not a good idea to be a terrestrial gastropod indefinitely.
What do you do to keep the slug at bay?

Slug: Any of various snaillike terrestrial gastropods having no shell or only a rudimentary one, feeding on plants and a pest of leafy garden crops. dictionary.com

Man Cave

A guy's got to have one.
My brother built his own. I've got two brothers. One's a numbers guy. Don't ya hate it? Numbers and I have never been sympatico. And then there's the other brother who's a bit of a Macgyver. He can build or jerry rig anything.  Seriously. When I told him over the phone that I'd like a closet and bath added to my bedroom, he walked me through measurements then sent me a blue print. When he wanted an executive desk, he designed it and built it himself. Seat covers for the old truck. No problem. He went out bought an industrial sewing machine and made them. The guy's amazing. Anyway, he decided he wanted a man cave, err garage. He set it up where he could change the oil or wash the car then fix dinner or kick back and watch TV. And its clean enough to do both.

Argo, A Must See

I put off seeing this movie because of the R rating and quite honestly, the  previews just didn't do it for me. When we finally did see Argo, it turned out to be one of the best movies, I've seen in a long time. It was both low key and powerful. The movie is about a CIA xfiltration specialist who comes up with a plan to get six Americans out of Iran during the revolution. By the end of  the movie, I was on the edge of my seat. All the actors did a great job. Ben Affleck was stellar. John Goodman and Bryan Cranston also did a great job. The fact that it was a true story made it all the more powerful. I specialize in fiction which is maybe why its so stunning to me that a real person/people could show heroism of such epic proportions.
Argo delivered. But don't take my word for it, see it for yourself.

Weekends and Politicians

For most Americans, Friday afternoons are filled with positive anticipation of the weekend. In Washington, it's where government officials dump stories they want to bury. Good news gets dropped on Monday so bureaucrats can talk about it all week.
John Sununu
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/weekend.html#7Rc8xSBrsj0FXh8W.99
 ~*~


The globe felt toasty warm against her damp skin. Drawn, she splayed her fingers until her palms nestled around it. A delicious wave of heat ran through her, like sitting in front of a crackling fire on a cold winter night. Ecstasy coursed through her body. Transfixed, she watched the glowing green crystal change to blue, its hues dancing and sparking like moonbeams on the water. The crystal pulsed beneath her hand. By degrees, the feeling of warmth disappeared…and fear crept in. Her breath hitched in her throat as the color in the crystal fell away and a face formed. Its blurred outline moved back and forth, wraithlike and then sprang into sharp focus. She felt the color drain from her face, as her nerveless fingers dropped from the ball. The face in the globe belonged to the hard-eyed stranger she’d bumped into outside the shop, only moments before.  THE CRYSTAL

The Fancy Feast Cat

Recognize this kitty?
The Sis has been getting me Fancy Feast Cat Christmas collectibles for years.  Recently, she got her picture taken with one of the Fancy Feast Cats. (As you've probably figured out there's more than one.) Since the company she works for makes pet food, she gets to meet a lot of the celebs in the animal world. Isn't this ball of fluff gorgeous? I had to really study the picture. It looked so perfect, I thought it was a stuffed animal. The Fancy Feast Cats used in commercials that are made in the US, South Africa, Europe or Japan are silver chinchilla Persians. The Fancy Feast kitties that are filmed in Australia are Tiffanies or Burmilla Longhairs.
And that's your cat trivia for the day.

I'm Back...

 
YAY, I'm home.The conference was fun but I'm glad to be back.
It always takes me a day to settle into a different place. What about you? Do you have to acclimate when you go somewhere else?The weather was perfect. The last day there, a balmy 70 degrees. I headed home in shorts. MISTAKE. Balmy wasn't exactly how I'd describe the weather when I got home.
There were about twenty folks at the conference and it was very informal, as in the speakers talking barefoot informal.I got some interesting information. Plus it was good to reconnect with a writing community. Its all too easy for an author to become isolated.  I can't speak for anyone else but I tend to hole up like a mole.
The first speaker was Nalini Akolekar (in the green shirt)with Spencerhill Associates. A little tidbit of info. Remember Kate Duffy? She was Nalini's cousin.
Nalini's advice to writers looking for an agent: check their submission guidelines and have your concerns ready.
The next speaker was Liz Pelletier(wearing purple), publisher of Entangled. Liz talked about the print publishing process for the large publishing house. The main thing I came away with: the editor doesn't make the decision to publish you. She makes her pitch to the publisher and it goes up the line several times where numbers are crunched and a decision is made on whether the book will make money for the company or not. If you make the cut, I recommend buying a lottery ticket. You've been very lucky.
Sundays speakers were:
Signe Pike and Sue Grimshaw.  Sue is from Random House and did a teleconference. FYI: You don't need an agent to submit to her Loveswept line.
Also pictured above is Cynthia Cooke (green shirt), author of Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies and
Rochelle French (striped shirt) Entangled Editor
Did I mention the food...Oh my gosh, it was almost as good as being on the ocean. The last brunch consisted of Mimosas (I sipped mine while walking on the beach), homemade casseroles, cinnamon bread and homemade coffeecake. I swear I carted an extra five pounds home with me.
So what is currently hot? Contemporary
What is forecasted to be? Suspense, historical and YA
Specific to YA: Sci Fi
What is soft? Urban Fantasy, fantasy and paranormal (sob)
But if your love is fantasy or paranormal, keep writing it. The pendulum always swing back.

VBT Kira: Daughter Of The Moon

I'm pleased to welcome romance writer Beth Trissel, a blog buddy from Night Writers.
BLURB:
Kira McClure has waited for Logan all those years, passing herself off as odd to keep suitors at bay––and anyone else from getting too close.  Now that he's back, he seems to be the only person capable of protecting her from the advances of Josiah Campbell and accusations of witchcraft.  And to defend the settlers against a well-organized band of murderous thieves.
Excerpt One:   “My secret in exchange for yours.”     Tantalizing.  He was drawing her into his snare, but she couldn’t resist asking, “How do you know I’ve a secret?”
“To begin with, you’re hiding in a tree.  What from, a wild beast?”  “Near enough.  You.”    He smiled.  “Was I to think you a large red bird, or overlook you entirely?”    Drawing her remaining shreds of dignity around her like a mantle, she said, “This isn’t one of my best hiding places.”    “Indeed?  Where are the others?”      “That would be telling.”     The strengthening breeze tossed the branches around them as he considered.  “You never could keep secrets from me, Cricket.  I’ll discover them and you.”   An assertion she found both disturbing and oddly heartening.   His lips curved as if the deed were already done.  “Why were you hiding?  Am I so very frightening?”    “Oh––I feared you were some sort of warrior.”   The humor faded from his eyes.  “I am.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Married to my high school sweetheart, I live on a farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia surrounded by my children, grandbabies, and assorted animals. An avid gardener, my love of herbs and heirloom plants figures into my work. The rich history of Virginia, the Native Americans and the people who journeyed here from far beyond her borders are at the heart of my inspiration. In addition to American settings, I also write historical and time travel romances set in the British Isles.Historical Romance novel Kira, Daughter of the Moon is available in print and eBook from: Want more Beth? you can catch her at Night Writers or the social networks listed below. Amazonhttp://www.amazon.com/Beth-Trissel/e/...The Wild Rose Press http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index... Barnes & Noble http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.c... from other online booksellers.Catch me on my:Blog http://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/Website http://www.bethtrissel.com/Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/bctrisselTwitter https://twitter.com/BethTrisselPinterest http://pinterest.com/bctrissel

Beth will award a digital copy of "Through the Fire" to one commenter, a digital copy of "Red Bird's Song" to one commenter and a grand prize of a $25 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Tour dates can be found here: 
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/09/virtual-super-book-blast-kira-daughter.html