Zara West's Blog, page 30

Host a Great Book Signing Party!

Zara West Suspense

I held my first big book signing party for Beneath the Skin yesterday. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun and a great success!

When I first planned my book signing, I did a lot of research and discovered that there is a great difference of opinion about the best way to launch a book. If you are thinking of hosting a book signing party for a new release, here are five things to consider.

ONE Where should you hold your book signing?

Bookstore: The obvious place is a bookstore. But numerous writers described sitting for hours waiting for the odd customer to arrive. At the same time, people to visit bookstores are readers who are just waiting to discover you.
Library: A library can also work, but again may not have a surfeit of customers.
A Foodery: The next place is a coffee shop or friendly food venue. The problem here is not interfering with the venue’s business. At the same time, if food features at all in your book or especially if that particular business does, it may be the perfect tie in.
A venue related to your book theme: Not interfering in a person’s livelihood is also true for a place that ties into your book. For example, since my book is about tattoo artists, I considered hosting in a tattoo shop or having a tattoo artist present something about their art. A horse riding stable might work for a western. A tea shop for a Regency. A plantarium for a sci fi. A local haunted house for a paranormal. If you have a good relationship with the owner, then these may be good choices.
Your home: You can also hold the book signing at your home or a community center. The problem with this is you will need a lot help with food and entertainment if you are to concentrate on signing books. Advantages are that you have lots of time for pre-set up and you don’t have to lug your books around. You can also serve theme-related food more easily.
Traffic: Wherever you hold your book signing, make sure you are in a high traffic area not in the back in the shadows. For mine, I set up right at the entrance to my house.

TWO Who will you invite?

Friends: People who know you are a writer and who have heard about your trials and errors writing the book are you best supporters. Be sure to include them and encourage them to talk about your book with other visitors.
Family: If you have supportive family members be sure to include them.
Fellow writers: If you belong to a writing group or have friends who have published books. Invite them and then be sure to go to their events in turn.
People who have already read your book (or previous books): If you have friends or relatives who have actually read the book and love it, make sure they share their enthusiasm in the crowd.
The Press: If you personally know a reporter, then start there. If not send out press releases and hope for media coverage. Have a Press Kit made up and available on your website.
Readers: Send announcements to local readers’ clubs and post notices in libraries and colleges. use Facebook, Twitter and any other social media venues you frequent.

THREE Once everyone arrives, what will happen?

Book Reading followed by a question and answer period: This is a tried and true method, but is appealing only to die hard readers and writers.
Video or Slide Show: If you have photos or video related to your book you may want to show these or have them running on a computer or screen during your signing.
Panel Talk: Bring together experts who can talk about topics related to your book.
Games: If the venue allows, consider simple book-themed party games such as BINGO, scavenger hunts, trivia, and I spy.
Music: Consider having a musician play or play a recording of music that inspired you as you wrote the book.
Food: Are there special dishes or foods in your book? Consider offering a sampling if the venue allows.
A Book-Related Activity: Use your imagination and come up with an audience-participation event that will provide fun and relaxation. If your book is set in a particular historical period, you and your friends can dress up in clothing of that period. Guests might be given some inexpensive item like a paper hat, for example. (Oriental Trading is a good source for themed items. Novelties is another) Since graffiti played a role in my romantic suspense, my guests added their “tag” to our graffiti mural as they arrived.

FOUR How will you present your books?

Appearance: Select a thematic color that goes with your book and get a tablecloth in that color. A large plastic tablecloth works wonders and can be reused many times. If possible, be sure it is long enough so you can hide your boxes and paraphernalia underneath. Add color coordinated accessories and signs. (Hint: Make up a book signing box or bag and store all your necessities ready to go at a moment’s notice. To make signs and books stand up easily use cheap metal book ends.)
Dress your books: I ordered gold “signed by” stickers to put on the books. I think they were well worth the cost. They gave a nice finishing touch. (I ordered mine from Ninth Moon. They provided very personalized and quick service)
Swag: Reward your visitors whether or not they buy a book with some special swag item such as a bookmark. In my case, I offered a custom temporary tattoo with the title of my book. To one side, I set up a table where they could cut it out and dip a little water on it to affix it. It’s great to have people wearing ads for your book.
Buyers: When somebody buys your book, make sure they get an additional swag item such as an attractive pen.
Super Buyers: Have something for people who buy multiple copies. In my case, I gave people who bought more than one copy a Mardi Gras type beaded necklace to wear which fit with the festive atmosphere and marked them as special. Buttons, wristbands, a cleverly-worded sticker, or even a live flower can also work.
Door Prizes: Reward attendees by offering a few special door prizes. This is a good way to collect names and e-mails.
Be Ready: Have yourself a comfortable chair and everything you need to sign your books (This is the voice of experience talking – I did craft fairs for many, many years). You may want to set aside a pen in a special color or ink and have a phrase or saying that you will use. Make sure to get the exact spelling of the person’s name. If needed, write it down before signing the actual book.

FIVE Don’t forget to market your book

Make Contact: Live book signings are ideal for making direct contact with your potential readers. Take time to talk with each person. Tell interesting stories about yourself and how you came to write the book. Ask your buyers about themselves and what they like to read and store that information for possible follow up books.
Collect Readers: Have a sign up sheet or some other way to collect names and e-mails and get people to subscribe to your newsletter. At my signing, I used the door prizes as a way to encourage people to sign up for my Readers Club.
Encourage Reviews: Mention to buyers that if they love the book, would they consider posting a review online. In my case, I inserted a flyer with directions on how to actually post a review on Amazon. Most people had never posted one so they appreciated the directions.
Record: Take photos to post on your website and in social media. Write down things that went well and things to improve for your next book signing party!

Have you given a book signing party?
How did it go?
What suggestions do you have?

Your comments are always appreciated.

 

 

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Awesome Romance Author *Helper* Rayne Hall

Zara West Suspense

My Awesome Romance Author is a little different today. Today I am featuring Rayne Hall whose motto is: “I help good writers become great!” I first met Rayne through an online course I took titled  ‘Writing Scary Scenes.” I loved the course and went on to buy several of her books. Since I was in the middle of writing a fight scene, I found her Writing Fight Scenes book especially helpful.

Rayne Hall is full of great tips and has a wonderful sense of humor which comes through in her books and her twitter posts which feature her black cat Sulu and are always good for a laugh. She has even written a book called How to Train Your Cat to Promote Your Book: Have Fun with Your Feline, Go Viral in Social Media, And Sell More Books. 

Rayne’s books cover everything an author needs to know in concise, clear language and with great examples. Yesterday I bought her newest book Getting Book Reviews. I can’t wait to put her ideas into action since Beneath the Skin comes out next Friday. And as Rayne points out those first several reviews on Amazon make a big difference because everybody reads them.

 

Learn more about Rayne Hall here.

Find her books here.

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Awesome Romance Writer: Jo Beverly

Zara West Suspense

This week’s Awesome Romance Writer is about an author who has had a profound effect on me as a reader and as a writer. NY Times Bestselling author and Romance Hall of Fame for Regency novelist Jo Beverly is one of the first romance writers that I read and was inspired by. She passed away on May 23rd. This blog post is in her honor.

Born in England, Jo Beverly had a degree in English history and wrote romances set in medieval England, the Georgian period, the Regency as well as several fantasies. Each of her stories contain carefully researched details and unusual facts. In A Lady’s Secret, a Georgian playboy meets up with an Italian girl running away from a convent. With the “help” of a papillon dog he carries in his pocket, he helps her reach England. Their wonderfully described trip across France is based on the 1770 Gentleman’s Guide in his Tour through France Wrote by an Officer…  

A ground-breaking writer, Jo Beverly was one of the first authors to put sex scenes in her books and to portray couples in unusual situations. In An Arranged Marriage, the first of her novels that I read, the hero marries a young girl after his identical twin brother gets her pregnant. But he cannot give her the love he wishes because he is in the middle of seducing a French spy to attain secrets for the government. His emotional torment is vividly portrayed as his duty to his country conflicts with his honor as a husband.

In An Unwilling Bride, an independent woman’s rights school teacher and follower of Wollenstonecraft is pressured into marrying a duke’s heir by the selfish duke, and it is the hero’s mistress who teaches them how the compromise and find a loving relationship. In A Most Unsuitable Man, a heiress sets her sights on a duke only to be attracted to a penniless seventh son with a mentally ill brother. Beverly provides a vivid picture of how mental illness as addressed in this period.

Jo Beverly also had the ability to infuse her stories with humorous touches. Another of my favorite reads is Secrets of the Night. Set during the Georgian period, Lord Brand Malloren is left for dead. Suffering from amnesia, he is taken captive by a masked woman who in between discussions of farming and horse breeding seduces him.

My favorite of all her works is Forbidden Magic. In this story with paranormal elements, a lewd shelagh (an Irish pagan naked stone female statute) grants wishes, but always with a nasty twist. The hero is a bizarre, but kind-hearted Earl who goes by the name of Sax. He has a pet parrot, a rescued dog, and a household of loyal deformed and reformed servants who furnish it with oddities he can break when he has an anger fit. His conniving grandmother has picked a wife for him he cannot abide. Instead, he marries penniless Meg who has a young brother and sister to care for and who believes the surprising marriage is the result of her wish on the shelagh. Waiting for the nasty twist to happen, Meg digs herself deeper and deeper into trouble from which the Earl joyfully and humorously extracts her. Eccentric Sax, with his humor and kindness ranks high as one of my all time favorite heroes.

But every one of Jo Beverly’s heroes is amazing whether they are dragons, fairies, dukes, ex-military, spies, smugglers, opium addicts, or penniless younger sons. And you can be sure, each one gets the one woman meant for them.

Who’s your favorite Jo Beverly romance hero and heroine?

I’d love to get your comments

 

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Awesome Romance Author: Robin Mullins

Zara West Suspense

Introducing: Robin Mullins
Looking for a great romance author to read? This week my guest author is Robin Mullins, a fellow Wild Rose Press romance author. Here is what Robin says about writing romance.

Before we get to me shamelessly plugging my new release, I’d like to get something off my chest. I write romances because I like to read them. More than once, however, I’ve found myself in the position of defending my genre.

Yes, it happens repeatedly. After admitting that I write romance/vampire/paranormal novels, it no longer surprises me to see a hint of censure or derision in peoples’ eyes. It makes me feel as if I’ve suddenly disclosed something sordid or embarrassing about myself. Although most people try to be polite, their expressions reveal their distaste as they ask the inevitable questions. “Romance? Really, vampires?”

It makes me wonder when vampire/romance became the most disparaged of the book genres.

Yet even those who know and love me have cornered me on occasion to earnestly ask, “Why do you waste your talents on fluffy romance books about vampires?” or “You’re too smart and talented to be writing what you do. Why don’t you write something that matters or means something?”

When faced with such condemnations, I always get this mental image – one where I’m sitting in a crowded, support-style meeting surrounded by other maligned romance authors.

We open our session with the pledge: “I write romance and that is good. It provides a service that’s not understood. Contemporary, Western, historical, paranormal, et al. Love is universal, it touches us all.”

One by one the attendees stand and give their names. When it’s my turn, I stand to announce, “Hello. My name is Robin and I write vampire romance.”

“Hello Robin,” the group solemnly intones as I quickly sit back down.

“Robin, you’re fairly new,” the moderator smiles encouragingly as she motions for me to join her at the front. “Come on up here and tell us why you write in the romance genre.”

This is an unexpected development and does not make me happy. I hate speaking in front of large groups. Feeling trapped, I slowly rise, and reluctantly join her at the podium.

Silence falls as I hesitate for a long drawn out minute. Finally, I start by saying, “I write because…well, it’s a like a food craving. You know what I mean? Stories are constantly bubbling up and all around inside me. Writing them down is the only thing that satisfies the craving. I’ve got to get them out.” With that admission, I look up, hopeful that I’ll see at least one amongst the sea of faces that can relate. I’m gratified to see several nods of encouragement, and it helps me continue in a stronger voice, “Sure I’ve had my share of hardships, and I’ve overcome a lot of them. I’ve dealt with being broke, body image problems, psycho co-workers, divorce, and being a single mother. There’s probably a good story in there.

But, here’s the kicker, I don’t want to write about my life. I’ve lived my life.” Again I look out over the other authors and see understanding. “I want the fantasy. Simple entertainment,” I stop for a moment and try to gather my thoughts. “Maybe, I’ll never receive critical acclaim for writing about falling in love or vampires or witches…so what? I’m okay with that. All I want is for my books to give both me and the reader a fun-filled avenue of escape. I consider fluffy romance books like my favorite television sitcoms. They, like my books, give me and hopefully the reader, the opportunity to temporarily divert us from daily life. Give me a little humor, some adventure, a scene or two of toe-curling sex, and the illusion of happily ever after.”

My heart feels lodged in my throat and I swallow, “So I guess what I’m really trying to say is—I write what I want to read. I want to chuckle while I’m taken away like Calgon. And if that happens for one of my readers? Then I’ve succeeded, I’ve achieved my goal, and I’m happy.”

So write on fellow romance writers. Write on.

For those of you that ARE interested in romance and vampires, read on for a blurb and an excerpt from A VAMPIRE TO BE RECKONED WITH…

Blurb:

Vampire Metta Blautsauger is known as the family airhead and she works hard to keep up the façade. It’s the perfect cover as she goes from dispensing her own brand of justice as a vigilante to an agent for Orcus, the Nosferatu shadow agency.

Captured, tortured, and left for dead, she is forced to leave both the agency and Lucas O’Cuinn, the mentor she’s grown to love.

For the last century, she’s struggled with regret and boredom. Then her life is given new meaning when four mortal ministers ask her help in stopping a human trafficking ring. If Orcus discovers her unsanctioned involvement, they will brand her as a rogue. The penalty is death. It’s only a matter of time before Lucas arrives—stake in hand.

Lucas O’Cuinn has waited ninety-eight years for Metta’s return and he’s run out of patience. It’s time she remembers she belongs to him.

Excerpt:

It was him. After a hiatus of ninety-eight years and giving up hope, he now stood a few feet behind her, having apparently appeared out of nowhere. Her heart stalled, she wheezed from shock, and stared into a face she’d never thought to see again.

The wretched witch had been right and her blast from the past had arrived.

The sight of her old field master set off a myriad of emotions, brutally ripping through her defenses. She stumbled through the mental minefield and each misstep sent more explosions surging through her. Hell, she’d rather face Mateo Osvaldo and his entire Toltec army than her former Orcus Master, Lucas O’Cuinn.

One errant thought kept circling back through the jumble. Why couldn’t this meeting have happened when she wasn’t looking like a drowned rat—make that a frozen, drowned rat.

“Metta,” he said her name softly, almost caressingly.

She refused to acknowledge the split second of elation the sight of him gave her. Instead, she took refuge in anger as it chased at the heels of joy, clinging to the bitter resentment the long years had taught her. Of course, where he was concerned such conflicted feelings were nothing new. Their relationship had been a constant push-pull series of emotional knots.

In his larger-than-life way, he’d been both her hero and enemy. Damn him. What was he doing there?

“Lucas O’Cuinn,” any effort to sound tough was ruined by her chattering teeth. She hoped he didn’t see the wave of hurt, guilt, and fear crushing in on her with all the raw energy and destructive force of a collapsing dam.

His eyes flashed when she’d said his name, and the sound of it hung in the air between them. When he finally spoke, however, he sounded maddeningly calm—his nod so genial they might have been nothing more than chance acquaintances passing in the park.

“I go by Luke Quinn now.” He shrugged off her questioning look, “it’s simpler. More in keeping with the times.”

Run, her mind shouted when his gaze narrowed, his expression shifting into one that didn’t bode well for her. But it was too late to flee. The little bit of good sense she had left was extinguished by emotional flood waters, and the rampaging waves ruthlessly obliterated each coherent thought in its path.

Maybe that’s why she suddenly dropped her hands to her sides in a defeated manner. Pure instinct took over when he got within striking range, and she drove her fist into his gut, surprising them both. He grunted as air shot out of his lungs, doubling his body over as he tried to catch his breath.

Her natural predisposition rushed into play, insisting she take advantage of his forward momentum and bent over posture. Almost by rote, she thrust her shoulder into his chest, at the same time grabbing his extended arm. Her knees bent forward as she seamlessly rolled him up and off her hip.

Much like that first time, his feet left the ground, and he went flying.

Her self-congratulatory sneer slackened into shock when he landed on his feet…

This is the third installment in the Blautsaugers of Amber Heights series. It can be read as a standalone but starting from the beginning to see the story unfold.

BUY LINKS:

WILD ROSE PRESS

AMAZON

B&N Nook Book

Keep up with me on my blog and FB page.

https://www.facebook.com/REMullinsauthor

http://www.remullins.blogspot.ca/

I also post on the 20th of every month at:  http://rosesofprose.blogspot.com/

 

 

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Awesome Romance Author: Nina Barrett

Zara West Suspense

Introducing: Nina Barrett
Looking for a great romance author to read? This week I interview Nina Barrett, a fellow Wild Rose Press romance author. Here is what Nina says about herself and her writing:

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hi, I’m Nina Barrett. I had a career as a public school teacher, focusing on early childhood education and am now having a blast writing contemporary romances. I’ve always wanted to be a writer. My mother read to me nightly and on long car trips – Mother Goose, Thornton Burgess, later introducing me to the classics – Little Women, Treasure Island, Heidi. I loved going to bed at night and lie there making up stories. I’d be out west with Roy and Dale or in Sherwood Forest with Robin Hood.

I live in southwest Ohio. My hometown was recently featured on the cover of Ohio magazine. I enjoy traveling – I’ve been to the top of Masada in Israel and the bottom of the great pyramid at Chichen Itza. Advocating for autism research and education is a passion.

When did you start writing and when did you finish your first book?

I completed a mystery in junior high – an Agatha Christie type mystery story and exchanged stories and poems with a high school friend. After finishing college and surviving a divorce, I began life as a single mother teaching in a small town. I loved teaching, but it wasn’t enough. Teaching was what I did; a writer was what I was.

I wrote stealthily at nights and in the car while my son was taking swimming or piano lessons. A newspaper article about the Antioch Writers’ Workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio mentioned a scholarship being offered to an unpublished writer. I submitted a piece of writing without much in the way of expectations.

Sometime later a letter in reply arrived. Someone actually liked it.  Actually a committee and I had won the scholarship. I was privileged to attend the workshop and take a class with Sue Grafton, the writer in residence. The experience encouraged me to continue writing and submitting to agents and publishers.

Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?

It took a while…

Rejections slips piled up. I returned to Antioch and took a class with romance writer Jennifer Crusie who is as empowering and supportive as she is talented. I had grown up relishing the novels of such writers as Phyllis Whitney, Mary Stewart and Daphne duMaurier. I began reading what was currently available in the field of romantic suspense and completed my first romantic suspense manuscript.

Which was promptly rejected. Through my local RWA chapter, I learned of a small e-publisher opening for business and soliciting for manuscripts. To my amazement, I received the call and in June 2012 my Western romance, Marriage Made in Haven was released by Musa Publications. Since then my romances Return of the Dixie Deb and A Man to Waste Time On have been published by the Wild Rose Press. On April 27th, my latest Renegade Heart was released.

Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published?

Oh, yes. As Sue Grafton told us at Antioch – every writer has a suitcase full of unsold manuscripts under his bed. Mine are shelved in a closet upstairs. Maybe someday they’ll find a home.

Do you have an advice for aspiring writers?

Finish your book, write another, network, lean on others’ shoulders, never give up.

Is there anything you want to say to your readers and fans?

I’d love to hear from you. I know a lot of words, but not the ones to fully express my thanks to those of you who read and enjoy my work. You can contact me on Facebook at Nina Barrett or by email, nina@ninabarrett.net!

Can you tell us about your forthcoming book?

Renegade Heart was released on April 27th by the Wild Rose Press. It is available through Amazon, at the Wild Rose website and as an e-book at Barnes and Noble. Below is the blurb:

As if Vegas didn’t have excitement enough, December brings the National Finals Rodeo to the city. In charge of the Imperial Hotel’s participation as a host hotel, Kerstin Hennepin is rushing to a meeting when a fall sends her tumbling into a stranger’s arms. And he’s in no hurry to let her go.

Jake Aaron is a troubleshooter for the rodeo. Or maybe he’s just plain trouble. Their attraction is electric and one close encounter leads to another, but Jake comes with questions. True he’s busy handling the offstage antics of rowdy rodeo contestants, but does his job also include romancing a young barrel rider and carrying a concealed weapon?

With the finale of the rodeo approaching, Kerstin is running out of time to find the answers she needs. But her search for the truth reveals more is going on behind the scenes than on the arena floor and she and Jake are squarely in someone’s crosshairs.

Have thoughts or questions for Nina? Post your comments below.

 

 

 

 

 

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Beneath the Skin Book Trailer

Zara West Suspense

How I Made a Book Trailer for Beneath the Skin!

Book trailers are the hot new thing in book marketing. With my background in making videos, I just had to try my hand at creating one for Beneath the Skin. It was terrific fun!

How I Made the Book Trailer

This is the first time I have used Windows Live Movie Maker. I have only used iMovie before. In general, the process was very much the same, but the choices for transitions and text features were different so I had fun trying out different combinations. But that all came much later.

To begin the process of making the book trailer for Beneath the Skin, I started out by watching hundreds of book trailers on YouTube. All I did was search on the term Book Trailer. That uncovered a wealth of examples.

The first thing I discovered was that there are tons of book trailers being created by students in schools. What a great take on the book report! Here is a great trailer for Roald Dahl’s The Witches made with PhotoStory 3.

The second thing is that the majority of trailers being made are for Young Adult books and are being produced by the major publishing houses who have created “channels” that will appeal to their readers. An example of this is HarperTeen. These often include interviews with the authors.

The third type are book trailers created by the authors’ themselves. Since I was making my own, I concentrated on the last, particularly those featuring Romantic Suspense novels like my own. I really loved the wonderful trailers done by bestselling author Casi McLean. You can check out her trailers here on her channel.

I wrote down the common features and what I liked and didn’t like about each one. Next I clicked second by second through several and recorded how long each image was on the screen and what was in each image. Based on that I came up with the following list:

Breakdown of a Romantic Suspense Book Trailer

Most of the book trailers I examined were about 1 to 2 minutes long.
Each one started with a title frame that usually included the author’s name, the book title and perhaps a teaser word or phrase.
Most included a mix of action video and stills. Some also had color photos mixed with black & whites.
The text was brief but hit all the major points: The romantic couple. The problem. What was stopping them, and what would happen if they didn’t solve the problem. At the end there was usually where to buy the book and maybe the author’s website.
All of them had music that flowed with the pictures.

Tips for Designing a Book Trailer

The follow are a general set of directions for a book trailer. They do not cover the actual how-to-technology for movie editing software. You can find numerous how how-to videos on YouTube. Rather, these are design tips you may find helpful.

Start with the music. Select a piece of music that matches the theme of your book. Because of copyright issues, I searched through free music offerings and was able to find several sites that had free-downloads. Bensound.com is one such source. Purple-Planet.com is another.
Get pics and vids. Next collect a group of photos and video clips you think you might use and put them in a folder on your computer. One good source of copyright free pic and vids is Unsplash.com.
Choose your movie editor. Now open your movie editor and upload the visual you want for your opening.
Title it. Insert your intro caption into the visual.
Treat it. Select your text treatment and your transition treatment.
Use music as your guide. Now here’s the trick. Put in the music track. This will help you place the remaining pics/vids and captions so they flow with the rise and fall of the music.
Build your show. Now put in each pic/vid, the transition (visual effect), and text effect.
 Check timing. Adjust the timing of each, and put in your ending Where to Buy clip.
End softly. Insert a black clip and fade the music out at the end. Voila! You’re done.

Enjoy my book trailer for Beneath the Skin.

I’d love to hear your comments!

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Beneath the Skin now available for Pre-Order

Zara West Suspense

Beneath the Skin is Here!

Look what arrived yesterday! A whole box of my hot off-the-press romantic suspense Beneath the Skin. I have published books before, but I think this was the most exciting of all my books. It has taken me seven years to move from non-fiction writing to fiction writing. I have taken hundreds of courses and workshops and made a trillion false starts. I wrote three early novels, before getting this one published. So yes, Beneath the Skin is special. The cover is also absolutely beautiful. Thank you Wild Rose Press for publishing my book!

Beneath the Skin’s First Sale

So what was the first thing I did when the boxes were delivered. Opened them of course! And I had to share. So I ran outside and caught the postal carrier lady who was gabbing with my daughter at the mailbox to show her what was in those heavy boxes she’d just lugged to my door. And guess what? She bought the first copy.

What’s Next?

I getting ready to release the book trailer for Beneath the Skin. This is a new challenge for me. Be looking for it. meanwhile…

Pre-order Beneath the Skin from:

Remember the release date  for Beneath the Skin is June 17th!

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Awesome Romance Author: Brenda Moguez

Zara West Suspense

Introducing Zara’s Awesome Romance Author: Brenda Moguez
Looking for a great romance author to read? This week I interview Brenda Moguez, a fellow Wild Rose Press romance author. Here is what Brenda says about herself and her writing:

About me, my day job, and what I do when I am not hanging out with my words.

I recently posted in my diary (aka Blog) some tips on overcoming shyness. While I am not truly shy, I do struggle to share the details of my life and especially asking for help. I was raised by a strict Latina matriarch, who instilled independence and silent pride. Both are excellent attributes and helpful navigating the obstacles in life, but they’ve been a hindrance in my embracing social media. I think to myself, who wants to know I was involved in an international scandal and survived the NatWest Tower bombing, or about the night I  faced down a half dozen or so M16s?  Who hasn’t?

I do have a day job, which means writing happens every day whenever I find minutes –wherever I happen to be sitting.  When I was living in London, thousands of miles from my family home in Southern California, I embraced Par Avion stationary. The paper-thin tablets and envelopes went with me everywhere. I got in the habit of writing letters on the train, in a bistro, in a train station or waiting for a bus. Anywhere. It was excellent training for a working writer.

When I am not writing diary entries or penning stories, I read and listen to books, watch movies, and some television. I am prone to daydreaming between my passions and my other jobs, wife and mother.

How did you choose the genre you write in?

I didn’t choose the genre. The first novel happened to be romantic. I’ve come to feel that the story reveals itself to me and later after it unravels itself, I write it. I don’t think of myself as a formulaic romance writer, mostly because I don’t believe love is predictable. I don’t intend to limit myself to a genre, nor do I believe a writer has to check a box. An artist is only constrained by her/his imagination and any innate fear of trying something outside of their respective comfort zones.

Where do you get your ideas?

The story fairy delivers a fresh flock of ideas every Friday. I comb through the box and pick out the ones of interest. Ok, kidding. Don’t you wish the answer to the most asked question was that simple? My first book came to me from the song, You Were Always on My Mind, but the next two I wrote had nothing to do with music. Some authors go looking for stories, others stumble upon an idea and work it through until they have a strong story worth writing. Me, I am a little of both but mostly my ideas for short stories, blog posts, and the three novels I’ve written so far have come to me haphazardly. I tend to start with a character and the first line. Once those two come together, I set about timelining the story.

Do you ever experience writer’s block?

No, I do not, but I can slip into a funk and lose focus. Neither has anything to do with writer’s block. So far, I have not been empty of thoughts nor challenged to write, but if I am feeling blue or distracted by the enormity of life, my fingers will hover over the keyboard. Even today, when I lifted the cover on my Mac it took considerable effort to focus. The first line was the hardest to get down but once I managed the eight-word sentence the words clattered to the head of the line screaming, “my turn, my turn, pick me, come on, pick me first.”

Do you work with an outline, or just write?

I will start with a visual timeline, which is as close to a formal outline as it gets for me. A couple years back I heard about the application, Aeon Timeline, and have been hooked ever since. I dump my thoughts out into what I believe is the logical order for the story, but the flow will undergo several changes. I allow myself the freedom to drift, amend, and adjust as I am writing. An outline is just a guideline and if it needs to be altered, I will make changes. I will also just write when an idea is too vivid to wait for a formal process.

What project are you working on now?

I just finished writing my third novel.  Logline : Timid twenty something falls for urban Prince, hesitantly says I do, is whisked from L.A. to London and finds herself caught up in scandal.

  Will you have a new book coming out soon?

Yes, towards the end of of 2016. But my most current book is Nothing Is Lost in Loving. Here is more about it

Nothing Is Lost In Loving

 The story: When Stella Delray unexpectedly loses her job a week before Christmas, which is also the anniversary of her husband’s death, she is forced to stop talking to his ashes, come to terms with her loss, and get her life back on track for her young son’s sake as well as her own. She never expected that posting an ad on Craigslist would send her into the arms of not one but two men, one of whom is her former boss. Now she’s working as an admin for a retired Broadway star, bookkeeping for an erotic video production company, and writing love letters for the mysterious “Oaklander.” Adding to the craziness of her new life, her monster-in-law resurfaces and the father-in-law she never met shows up on her doorstep. With the guidance of her best friend, Bono, Stella will learn to redefine the rules she’s always lived by.

 

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10 Characteristics of a Great Romance Hero

Zara West Suspense

Who makes a great romance hero?

Here are ten things every romance hero needs to have.

Deserving: Every hero needs to deserve our empathy. There has to be something about him that makes us root for him, even when he does unlikable things. It may be that he has had a traumatic childhood or gut-wrenching experience in war, or maybe he has a worthwhile goal, or he has a likable personality. What ever it is, it causes us to empathize with him as he struggles to attain his goal.
Believability: The hero’s thoughts, actions, and reactions must make sense.
Mystery: Every character, but especially the hero, must have something hidden in their background – a secret, a horror, a wish – that propels them to act in certain ways and which when it is revealed enhances and explains the core of the person.
Uniqueness: The hero needs a special skill, ability, occupation, heritage, talent, or quirk that makes him stand-out from every other romance hero ever written.
Ability to love: Although the hero may start out rejecting the notion of love, the capacity to commit heart and soul to another person must be part of his core values.
Bravery: A true hero takes action to protect what he loves and believes in even if he is terrified or it risks his life or property or future happiness.
A Dream or Goal: Without a hero’s dream or goal, there would be no story. That doesn’t mean the hero always gets what he wants. Sometimes that goal is the wrong one.
An Obstacle or Enemy: There is no need to be a hero if getting what you want is easy. There have to be people getting in the way, throwing in monkey wrenches and other annoying things that block the hero from reaching his goal and create conflict.
Flaws: No human is perfect, especially romance heroes. They may be handsome and likable and brave, but they also have to be real people who burn the dinner, stub their toes, and are late to important dates.
Ability to Grow and Change: It is not just enough for the hero to know his goal is a mistake or that he has flaws or he’s defected the enemy. He must use that knowledge to change into a better man, a man more worthy of love, than he was at the beginning of the story.

Aristides Stavros is such a hero. Read his and Melissa’s story in  Beneath the Skin. Available for Pre-Order from Wild Rose Press.

Who is your favorite romance hero?

Leave a comment below.

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Awesome Romance Authors

Zara West Suspense

Starting today, I will instituting a new feature to appear on Wednesdays: Awesome Romance Authors. This is a chance for you to meet some really inspiring romance authors and learn what makes them tick as well as discover some great romance novels to read.

It seems only fair that I kick off the whole sham-bang by sharing a bit about myself. So here we go…drumroll…

Awesome Romance Authors Introduces: Zara West

You have a long history of writing award-winning nonfiction, what made you decide to write a romantic suspense novel?

 Romantic suspense is my favorite sub-genre of romance.  I like how the mystery and suspense elements add conflict to and deepen the love story. At the same time, I wanted to do something a little different. Most romantic suspense features heroes and heroines in the military or in law enforcement or in special ops. I choose to look at the seamier side of life and explore what happens when ordinary people come within the cross-hairs of underworld criminals who don’t care who they hurt to get what they want.

What was the greatest challenge in writing a novel?

 I discovered that fiction writing is very different from non-fiction. You need a whole other toolbox. Non-fiction writing is about sharing information. Fiction is about stirring the reader’s emotions. I had to learn how to change the informative writing style I used successfully in my non-fictional work to an intensely intimate approach that puts you right inside the character’s head so you hear, see, smell, taste, touch, and feel what the character is experiencing.

Your novel   Beneath the Skin   is set in Williamsburg Brooklyn. What made you choose that setting?

Beside the fact that I am a native New Yorker, Williamsburg, Brooklyn is home to a thriving art culture. Street art can be found around every corner. Artist studios and galleries abound. But with spectacular views of Manhattan, it also has all the ambiance of life in an urban center. Sparkling new condos rise along the East River alongside abandoned rusting factories. Quiet residential streets lead to thriving commercial areas when the food from all nations can be found. And there are at least ten tattoo studios in the neighborhood.  It seemed just the place that fine artists, street artists, and tattoo artists would congregate.

Art plays a major role in the story. What inspired you to mix graffiti artists, tattoo artists and fine art?

As a professional artist in a craft field—weaving, I have always been annoyed at the distinction made between various art forms. All art is creative. What makes an image on a piece of canvas worth more than one on the side of a building or one tattooed on to someone’s skin?

In Beneath the Skin, I introduce some of this dichotomy. In the next books in the series I dig deeper into each of the art forms. The heroine in Close to the Skin, second in the series, is a tattoo artist who aspires for the recognition and fame her brother has earned as a fine artist. She hopes to achieve this by designing the tattoos for a new TV series.

Where did you get the idea for the paintings, the hero Aristides Stavros, creates?

I had a very close friend, Reiner Strub of Freiburg, Germany, who passed away last year. We met in Greece where he had a summer art studio with a view of the sea. He painted the most magnificent landscapes of the rolling hills and inlets of the Argolis coast. But they were not just simple landscapes. If you looked carefully, the hills were actually nudes.

Will there be a sequel to Beneath the Skin?

Beneath the Skin is one in a series of four romantic suspense novels in The Skin Quartet. The second book, Close to the Skin, which is Bella and Vernon’s story comes next. Within the Skin, Toro and Tejeda’s story is the about a female graffiti artist who pretends to be a man in the pursuit of fame and fortune. And the last book, Jana and Paulo’s story, Under the Skin, is about the theft of a fine art collection.

Zara West is the author of a brand-new romance novel: Beneath the Skin

The story…

Ex-Olympic wrestler and reclusive billionaire artist Aristides Stavros has one mission—to rescue his sister, a popular Williamsburg, Brooklyn tattoo artist from the old enemy who has kidnapped her. But at every turn he is confronted by anthropologist Melissa Dermot. Is she just an innocent girl in over her head or is she working for the international crime boss holding his sister? Only one thing is certain, when Ari holds the beautiful Asian-American in his arms questions of guilt and innocence fade against an undeniable fiery attraction. But can their wild passionate love survive the tangled web of long hidden secrets, intentional deceit, and murderous revenge that lie just beneath the surface?

Beneath the Skin is now available for in paperback  and e-book from Wild Rose Press

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