Cynthia Eden's Blog, page 90

Plagiarism Sucks

(Thank you SO much to the kind folks who alerted me to this situation.)

I'm being plagiarized. It sucks.

I'm not just talking some similarities in a plot line (that can happen). We've all read our share of books with similar story lines.  I'm talking about word for word plagiarism of DEADLY HEAT.

I was alerted that a person using the online name of Misconception76 had posted a story called The Devil's Dance on fanfiction.net. (Here's a link for you:  http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7129614/12/The_Devils_Dance).  At the beginning of her work, she includes this disclaimer:

"The Twilight Series character names belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended."

You see, she's renamed my characters Edward & Bella.  My SSD Agent Kenton–he's Edward. My tough female firefighter? She's Bella.

She changes the names, acknowledges that she's using them from the Twlight books, and then Misconception76 goes ahead to use my entire Deadly Heat story.  She changes the POV (using "I" instead of 3rd person), but everything else is the same. For pages and pages and pages.

She adds comments at the beginning and end of each chapter–talking about how hard it is to write. How the characters can be difficult.

And she steals my work.

Let me just say this–I want readers to like my stories. I want them to care about my characters. To talk about the plots and twists and love relationships.

What I don't want? For someone to steal my work and act like I don't exist.

I work hard on my writing. I often go to bed long past midnight because I'm up pounding out stories. I miss sleep. I miss family functions. I live and breathe my stories.

Please don't steal them from me.

If you want to be a writer, then be a writer.  Use your own imagination and write your own stories. Don't lie and act like something is yours when you've just taken the EXACT words from someone else.

Please, don't plagiarize me.

The Kiss Test

It's Friday, and you know what goes well with a Friday? A giveaway.  Author Lucianne Rivers has kindly offered to give a PDF copy of her new release, THE KISS TEST, to one lucky commenter.  (Thanks, Lucianne!)

Want to learn more? Check out this fun blurb:

THE KISS TEST

Newly divorced Dolores Coffey is determined to prove her ex-husband wrong; she is not a prude! Ready to work on her bedroom skills, Dolores checks into the Massey Institute for Research in Sexuality and Reproduction, presided over by Dr. Charles Massey.

Charles keeps a close watch on Dolores and when she fails The Kiss Test, he makes the prim little Ms. Coffey his first priority for treatment. A series of "accidents" makes Dolores think that someone is trying to take Massey out of the picture. Will either of them live long enough for her to pass The Kiss Test?





And you can check out the excerpt here: http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/excerpt/kisstest.htm

Want to win?  Then leave a comment telling us what makes a story unforgettable for you.  One winner will be selected at random on August 12th at noon Central time.  Thanks!!

About the Author:

Lucianne writes sensual romance for Entangled Publishing and Cobblestone Press. Born and raised in Ireland, she currently lives in New Mexico with her young daughter. Formerly a stage and television actress, she now manages a non-profit and is NM State Champion in her weight class for Olympic-style weightlifting. Long story.

www.luciannerivers.com

twitter: @luciannerivers

facebook: www.facebook.com/luciannerivers

blog: www.viceandvalkyries.blogspot.com

Entangled

There's a project that I'm absolutely thrilled to have participated in this year–it's a paranormal romance anthology with a bunch of fantastic authors:

The best part of this anthology?  All of the proceeds are going toward a great cause.  Here's the official press release for the anthology:

Authors4TheCure Donating Book Proceeds To Breast Cancer Research

Eleven authors have banded together to support breast cancer research with their writing. Authors4theCure, which includes award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors, as well as two breast cancer survivors, is donating proceeds from the sale of their paranormal anthology, Entangled, to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF).

BCRF-funded research has helped save lives and improved the quality of care and rate of survival for tens of thousands of breast cancer patients in the past decade. Their research has revealed that the "cure" is a mosaic made up of as many approaches to diagnosing, treating, preventing and surviving as there are different types of breast cancer. The anthology is also a mosaic made up of many stories donated for this worthwhile cause.

Entangled includes ten suspense-filled paranormal stories from authors Lori Brighton, Michelle Diener, Cynthia Eden, Jennifer Estep, Misty Evans, Nancy Haddock, Liz Kreger, Dale Mayer, Michelle Miles, and Edie Ramer, plus a novella by Allison Brennan. Stacia Kane contributed the foreword and the book's formatting and cover art were also donated to the project.

Entangled will release September 12, 2011, and it will available as an ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and other online retailers.

***

I was so honored to be included in this anthology, and I want to send a special thank you to Edie Ramer and Misty Evans for all of their hard organizational work.

When the anthology goes on sale, it will be priced at $2.99 (I believe this will be the price until November).  So be sure to get your copy early!

My contribution to the anthology is A BIT OF BITE, an 11,000 word story about a sexy wolf and the human sheriff who just may have to take him down.  Here's a little teaser from my tale:

***

"Would you really shoot me, baby?"  Doubt cloaked his whisper.

Ava risked a fast glance at the deputy. Right. Figured Ken hadn't even heard the wolf's approach. He was too busy talking on his phone and trying to keep his lunch down. "Don't test me," she snapped back to the wolf. Sure, they might have been lovers once—once—but that was over. She had a job to do.

She'd do it. A sexy werewolf wouldn't stop her.

Julian cocked a dark brow, but he also stepped back.  Good.

"Now put your hands up," she ordered him.

Smiling a bit, he raised his hands.  In the early light, she didn't see any blood beneath his nails. Nails, not claws. The claws would only come out when he shifted.

"Want to tell me what you're doing here?" Ava asked.

He shrugged but kept his hands up. "I just followed the scent of blood."

Supernaturals enjoyed the scent of blood far too much.

So she had a dead human, one who'd had his throat ripped open, and a werewolf, right at the scene of the crime. She also knew for a fact that said dead human had been planning to interview Julian last night.

Things weren't looking good for the wolf right then.

And it wasn't like she had a whole lot of options.  Sighing, Ava pulled out her cuffs. "These are gonna sting," she warned him.  Silver cuffs.  Because of their enhanced strength, werewolves could break free of almost anything else instantly.

He dropped his hands. "You aren't serious."

She was. Did it look like she was joking? "I need you to come to the station with me. You can either come willingly…" Then she'd leave the cuffs off, at least for the time being. "Or I can take you in the same way I do other paranormal suspects."  She had a little more freedom than the sheriffs who only patrolled human counties and captured mortal criminals.

When the monsters you hunted could kill with claws and fangs, new rules had to be made.

The blood had drawn out a werewolf, but, even though the smell was like pure ambrosia to a vampire, she knew none of the undead would be coming to join their little party.  Everyone knew vamps and sunlight didn't mix.

She'd get to them, though, soon enough.

Julian glanced toward her patrol car. "You don't want to make a mistake here, Sheriff."

Oh, wait, she wasn't "baby" anymore? If the big wolf wasn't careful, he'd hurt her feelings. "I know claw marks when I see 'em," she told him, still holding tight to her cuffs. "As far as I know, there's only one wolf pack in Mississippi."  Nothing happened in that pack without his approval. Nothing.

His gaze, bright blue, came back to her.

"Now, Alpha," if he was gonna be all formal, then she could be, too. "Will you play nice and get in the car, or do I have to cuff you?"

Sirens wailed in the distance. Had to be her back-up racing toward them. The deputies always responded quickly when it was a supernatural call.  Humans had to stick together.

"When have I ever played nice?" Julian growled the words.

Right. Of course, the guy wouldn't make this easy.

She locked one cuff around his wrist. There was a slight sizzle as the silver burned his flesh.  His gaze held hers. "You don't want me as an enemy," he warned.

She reached for his right hand. She wouldn't put the cuffs behind him. Ava figured she owed him that much. "Sometimes it doesn't matter what we want." Since that night they'd shared, she'd learned that bitter lesson.  Her hand curled around his wrist.  Staring into his eyes, she snapped the other cuff onto his wrist. "Alpha Julian Kasey," she'd do the legal bit to make sure she covered her ass, "you're a paranormal person of interest in a murder investigation and, as such, you're now in supervised custody."

His lips curled in a very slow, wicked smile. A smile that showed the sharp edge of his canines.  "Later, when you look back, this is the moment you'll regret."

Maybe.

But… "Right now, looking back," she shouldn't say this, she shouldn't, but the words and anger couldn't be held back, "the moment I regret was hooking up with you at that godforsaken bar."

The faint lines around his eyes tightened.

"And if I find out that you're behind these killings…" She shook her head. "Then what happened between us won't matter at all.  I'll still lock you up." She had a job to do. People who counted on her. A hard case of lust and need for a dangerous werewolf couldn't distract her.

Not when human lives were on the line.

***

Hope you enjoyed the preview of ENTANGLED. I'll be adding a page for it to my site soon.  Have a great day!

(And one more note–I'm giving away an ARC of ANGEL OF DARKNESS over at Micole Writes Romance today–head over for your chance to win.)

Big Romance Giveaway Fun

Want to win some books? (Ah, I do love free books).  Then check out this exciting contest:

(I've taken this information from the lovely Ashley March's site.  Thank you, Ashley!  This is a great contest–with lots of books to  be won.  Hope you can enter!)

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Five huge romance fans who just happen to be romance authors as well have decided that we want to give you the opportunity to receive complete, SIGNED backlists of one of your very favorite authors (and yes, that means EVERYTHING they've ever written).

The romance fans/authors who are participating are: Ashley March, Shana Galen, Lila DiPasqua, Vanessa Kelly, and Heather Snow.

The complete, SIGNED backlists they're giving away are books from the following authors (henceforth known as "The Amazing Authors"):

Lisa Kleypas

Julia Quinn

Elizabeth Hoyt

Cynthia Eden

Julie Garwood

Before we can give these awesome prizes away, though, we need you to show how fanatical of fans you are. Since we know that you're already following The Amazing Authors on Facebook (you are, aren't you??), all you need to do is follow the authors who want to give away these complete, signed backlists to you. We all have to reach a certain number of followers; once that happens, then we will run a Facebook giveaway on our individual pages where you can enter to win the complete, signed backlists from the Amazing Authors.

(Please note, you must follow and enter on each of the five Facebook pages to be eligible to win each backlist. The giveaway won't happen until AFTER the goals are met for ALL of us, and the giveaways will be open to US and international residents! All books will be in English as print books; if any books in the Amazing Authors' backlists are currently our of print, used books will be purchased for those titles so that the backlist will be complete.)

Ashley March (must reach 2500 total "Likes" in order to give away Lisa Kleypas backlist)

Shana Galen (must reach 2000 total "Likes" in order to give away Julia Quinn backlist)

Lila DiPasqua (must reach 3500 total "Likes" in order to give away Elizabeth Hoyt backlist)

Vanessa Kelly (must reach 2000 total "Likes" in order to give away Cynthia Eden backlist)

Heather Snow (must reach 2500 total "Likes" in order to give away Julie Garwood backlist)

Those are the rules! Tell your friends, tell your family, tell any fellow romance fan you know. Soon, 5 lucky winners will win a complete, signed backlist from a favorite author!

My Fallen

Hi, everyone! Hope you're gearing up for a great weekend.  ;) I just wanted to pop in and say that if you would like to receive some ANGEL OF DARKNESS trading cards, just shoot me an email at cynthia@cynthiaeden.com. Be sure to include your mailing address so I can get the cards right out to you.

Some people have asked how many books will be in the Fallen series. Right  now, I am working on the fourth book.  Here are the titles for the tales:

ANGEL OF DARKNESS

ANGEL BETRAYED

ANGEL IN CHAINS

AVENGING ANGEL  (Here's a little note…AVENGING ANGEL is the only story in the series to feature a Fallen Angel heroine. She's pretty fierce–I like her!)

In addition to the trading cards, I'm working on other promotional items for the Fallen series. I'll be giving away some of these items on my blog, Twitter, & Facebook soon.  I'll also be attending several conferences next year (RT in Chicago, Silken Sands in Pensacola, Florida, and Authors After Dark in New Orleans) where I'll be giving away lots of Angel goodies.

Have a great weekend!

Would You Want to Know?

Hi, everyone!  Today,  urban fantasy & paranormal romance author Rosalie Lario is my guest. I was lucky enough to read an early copy of Rosalie's book, BLOOD OF THE DEMON, and I loved the tale. I can't wait to read more of her work.

Rosalie, thank you for joining us today!

***

First I'd like to say thanks so much, Cynthia, for having me on your blog. Today I'm here to talk about my brand-spanking new release.

Blood of the Demon features Brynn Meyers, a (mostly) human woman who is thrust into the world of the supernatural when a demon with designs on Earth decides to use an ancient spellbook (the Book of the Dead) to raise an army of zombies. The problem? The resurrection spell can only be recited by the heir to the creator of the Book—and that's Brynn.

Brynn's whole world is turned upside down when she learns there are multiple dimensions from which different species of beings derive (demons, shifters, vampires, fae: you name it). Inter-dimensional travel is governed by a political council of elders called the Elden Council. Though most humans don't know it, New York City contains one of the portals allowing for travel between dimensions, and a lot of the people walking the streets aren't at all human. Once she learns all of this, her life will never again be the same.

I can't help but wonder, what if there really were multiple dimensions from which all the creatures that we think of as mythical originated? What if they had the capacity to blend in with humans so most people would never know the difference? Would I really want to know?

I like to think that yes, I could handle that type of knowledge without completely freaking my s***t out. But I honestly don't know if that's true. Having to wonder if the next person I met might be a demon who delights in eating human flesh, or a vampire who can't live without human blood… yeah, maybe those things are better left unknown. So what about you? Would you want to know?

Everyone who tells me their preference in the comments will be entered to win a PDF copy of Blood of the Demon!

BLURB FOR BLOOD OF THE DEMON: Keegan lives to exact revenge on the evil demon who sired and abused him. When his father devises a plan to bring on the apocalypse, he and his three half-brothers, interdimensional bounty hunters for the Elden Council, are charged with capturing and delivering their father for punishment.

Art gallery owner Brynn Meyers has no idea that her ability to read memories embedded in objects and drain people of their life force means she has demon ancestry. Unfortunately for Brynn, she's also the key to raising an ancient zombie army, which puts her on every demon's Most Wanted List.

And no one wants her more than Keegan's father.

Keegan must protect Brynn from his father by any means necessary, but he'll have to learn to harness the other half of his genetics—the far deadlier, uncontrollable half—when he starts to fall for the one woman standing between him and the vengeance he so desperately seeks. The one woman he'll never be able to resist.

Find out more at http://www.entangledpublishing.com/blood-of-the-demon or at my website www.rosalielario.com.

ANGEL OF DARKNESS Excerpt

I sent out an early ANGEL OF DARKNESS excerpt to my newsletter members (See? All the more reason to join my newsletter!), and now it's time to share the excerpt here on the blog.  Hope you enjoy it!

Unedited excerpt from ANGEL OF DARKNESS (Kensington Brava, 11/29/11)

He'd been created for one purpose—death.  He was not there to comfort or to enlighten.

Keenan's only job was to bring death to those unlucky enough to know his touch.

And on the cold, windy New Orleans night, his latest victim was in sight.  He watched her from his perch high atop the St. Louis Cathedral. Mortal eyes wouldn't find him. Only those preparing to leave the earthly realm could ever glimpse his face so he didn't worry about shocking those few humans who straggled through the nearby square.

No, he worried about nothing. No one. He never had. He simply touched and he killed and he waited for his next victim.

The woman he watched tonight was small, with long, black hair, and skin a pale cream.  The wind whipped her hair back, jerking it away from her face as she hurried down the stone cathedral steps.  The doors had been locked. She hadn't made it inside.  No chance to pray.

Pity.

He slipped to the side of the cathedral, still watching her as she edged down the narrow alley way.  Pirate's Alley.  He'd taken others from this place before.  The path seemed to scream with the memories of the past.

"No!"

That wasn't the past screaming.  His body stiffened.  His wings beat at the air around him. It was her.

Nicole St. James.  School teacher.  Age twenty-nine.  A woman who tutored children on the weekends. A woman who'd tried to live her life just right…

A woman who was dying tonight.

His eyes narrowed as he leapt from his perch.  Time to go in closer.

Nicole's attacker had her against the wall. One of the man's hands was over her mouth, the better to make sure she didn't scream again.  His other hand slammed against the front of her chest and held her pinned against the cold stone wall.

She was fighting harder than Keenan had really expected.  Struggling. Kicking.

Her attacker just laughed.

And Keenan watched—as he'd always watched. So many years…

Tears streamed down Nicole's cheeks.

The man holding her leaned in and licked them away.

Keenan's gut clenched.  Knowing that her time was at hand, he'd watched Nicole for a few weeks now.  He'd slipped into her classroom and listened to the soft drawl of her voice.  He'd watched as her lips curled into a smile and a dimple winked in her right cheek.

He'd seen laughter in her eyes.  Seen longing. Seen…life.

Now, her green eyes were filled with the stark, wild terror that only the helpless can truly know.

He didn't like that look in her eyes. His hands clenched.

Don't look if you don't like it. His gaze jerked away from her face.  The job wasn't about what he liked.  It never had been.

There'd never been a choice.

They have the choices. I only have orders to follow.

That was way it had always been.  So why did it bother him, now?  Because it was her? Because he'd watched too much? Slipped beside her too much?

Temptation.

"This is gonna hurt…"

The man's grating whisper scratched through Keenan's mind. Neither the attacker nor Nicole could see him.  Not yet.

One touch, that was all it would take.

But the time hadn't come for her yet.

"The wind's so loud…" The man lifted his hand off Nicole's mouth. "No one's gonna hear you scream anyway."

But she still screamed—a loud, long, desperate scream—and she kept fighting.

Keenan truly hadn't realized she'd struggle so much against death.  Some didn't fight at all when the time came. Others fought until he had to drag them away.

Fabric ripped. Tore.  The guy had jerked her shirt, rending the material. Keenan glimpsed the soft ivory of her bra and the firm mounds of her breasts.

Help her. The urge came from deep within, but it was an urge he couldn't heed.

"Don't!" Nicole yelled. "Please—no! Just let me go!"

Her attacker lifted his head. Keenan stared at him, noting the gaunt features, the black hair, and the eyes that were too dark for a normal man.  "No, baby. I'm not lettin' you go."  The guy licked his lips. "I'm too damn hungry." Then he smiled and  revealed sharpened teeth that no human could possess.

Vampire. Figured. Keenan had been cleaning up their messes for centuries. A mistake. That's what all those parasites were. An experiment gone wrong.

Nicole opened her mouth to scream again and the vamp sank his teeth into her throat. Then he started drinking from her, gulping and growling and Nicole's fingernails raked against his face as she struggled against him.

But it was too late to fight.  She'd never be strong enough to break away from the vampire. She was five feet six inches tall. Maybe one hundred thirty five pounds.

The vamp was over six feet. He was lean, but muscle mass and weight didn't really matter—not when you were talking about a vamp's strength.

Keenan stared at the narrow opening of the alley. Soon, he'd be able to touch her and her nightmare would end.  Soon.

"You're just going to stand there?" Her voice cracked.

His head whipped back toward her.  Those green eyes—fury and fear—were locked on him.

Impossible.

She shouldn't see me yet. It wasn't time.  The vamp hadn't taken enough blood from her.

Nicole shoved her hands into the vampire's chest, but he kept his teeth in her throat and didn't so much as stumble. Her neck was tilted back, her head angled, and her stare was on—

Me.

"Help me." She mouthed the words as tears slipped down her cheeks. "Please."

She could see him.  Every muscle in Keenan's body went tight. "I will."

ANGEL OF DARKNESS (Want to win an ARC?)

Today, I'm helping JoJo celebrate her blogoversary–and one commenter at JoJo's Book Corner will win an ARC of ANGEL OF DARKNESS (scheduled for release on 11/29).  So come on by and help us celebrate!

Publishing Talk: Self-Publishing and Traditional Publishing

Okay, all of the info that is to follow is just my opinion, based only on my personal experience. Because some folks have been asking me about my take on self-publishing versus traditional publishing, I figured I'd share my thoughts.  So here they are.

***

When I think of self-publishing and "traditional" (NY) publishing, I don't see this as an either/or situation. Some authors may–that's fine. Again, these are my opinions and folks are certainly entitled to have their own take on this situation.  For me, publishing comes down to this:

I want to reach readers. I want to attract new readers. I want to deliver quality stories to my readers. I want to keep my readers coming back for more books. I want my readers to tell their friends about my stories. I want them to enjoy my books.

It's all about the readers.

When I decided to self-publish BOUND BY BLOOD (paranormal romance novella) in early April, I published the story because I wanted to provide my readers with a bonus read that hadn't been scheduled for the year and because I hoped to reach new readers with the low price point that I used for the book (.99).   I believe that self-publishing and traditional publishing both can work for the author.  As I said, I want to reach as many readers as possible.  My print books get into the stores, and they reach readers who want print copies of my books.  My .99 novella reached those readers who read primarily on their ebook devices–folks who didn't mind spending a small amount of money to try out a new-to-them author.

Currently, BOUND BY BLOOD has sold just under 14,000 copies.  With my publisher's permission, I included an excerpt from NEVER CRY WOLF at the back of BOUND BY BLOOD.  The thought process here?   I suspect you know where this is going…it would be free promotion for NEVER CRY WOLF.  BOUND BY BLOOD featured a werewolf hero, so did NEVER CRY WOLF.  If folks enjoyed BOUND BY BLOOD, it stood to reason that they might also be interested in checking out NEVER CRY WOLF.

Did that strategy work for me?  Well, ebook sales are exploding right now–that's for sure.  I don't have concrete numbers to share with you (sorry, it will take months before I get royalty statements for NEVER CRY WOLF), but I can tell you what I saw during the book's release. For the first week that NEVER CRY WOLF was out, it stayed in the top 100 Nook Books list at B&N.  This was the first time that any of my books had made the top 100 for Nook Books.  And to stay there for the first week?  Yes, I was very happy with that information.  As for Amazon sales?  Well, a month after it's release, the book is (numbers change so this will alter throughout the day) ranked #899 on the Kindle.

My ebook sales are showing an upward trend, definitely.  Is it because more folks are switching to ebooks?  Certainly part of the upswing. Is it because folks read BOUND BY BLOOD and decided to give NEVER CRY WOLF a try?  I think that helped the initial swing–I think it helped b/c Amazon and B&N both send out those lovely emails that say, "Since you read…" (and suggest folks try my latest release).

What does all this rambling talk mean?  Well, it means that I believe an author's self-published works can lead to additional sales of her traditional stories. I believe that an author's traditional sales can lead to more sales of her self-published works. I don't think one method is better than the other. For me, they both work very well together.

Now, let me spend a few moments talking about price point.

BOUND BY BLOOD is available for .99. Why .99?  Well, because this story is 20,000 words, a novella. I wanted to price the novella affordably. I also believe that if you are a reader looking for a new author, you are more likely to spend .99 on an ebook.  After all, you only have .99 to lose if you don't enjoy the book.  Low price points are good tools for attracting new readers.  They certainly attract me when I'm looking for something new to read on my Kindle.

As far as the actual method of publishing–it was easy.  Amazon has a series of videos that walk you through self-publishing on their site.  I'm a visual learner. If I see something being done, I understand and can learn faster. Those videos were super helpful for me.

I realize that this post is getting long, so I'll end things here for now. (Though I may be back with a 2nd part tomorrow.)  If you have any questions for me about my self-publishing experience, please ask.

Thanks!!

IN A TREACHEROUS COURT: Guest Post & Giveaway

Today's special guest is an author not to be missed. Michelle Diener's debut IN A TREACHEROUS COURT, promises to be a fabulous tale of adventure and action.  I am super excited for Michelle's upcoming release, and I'm very glad that she's guest blogging with me today.  Welcome, Michelle!

RULES OF BEHAVIOUR

Thank you to Cynthia for inviting me back to blog! As I count down to August 9th, the release date of my debut historical novel, In a Treacherous Court, which is set in the court of Henry VIII, I thought I'd get everyone into a courtly mood by doing a show and tell on some of the quotes I have at the start of each chapter in IN A TREACHEROUS COURT.

I couldn't use the language of the time in the book (it would be like reading a book in Shakespearean English), but I wanted to set the scene, give readers a taste of the cadence and poetry of the speech of the time and some context to the rules and mores of behaviour under which my characters would have lived. My solution was to use quotes from THE COURTIER, an Italian book on courtly manners written by Count Baldessar Castillo around the time IN A TREACHEROUS COURT is set, which was translated into English by Sir Thomas Hoby a number of years later. The book is in four parts, and the first part is really the 'quick guide' or cheat sheet for the rest of the book, containing the main DOs and DON'Ts on how to behave at court. It was great fun choosing a rule for a courtier (my hero, Parker) and a rule for a lady in waiting (my heroine, Susanna) for the start of each chapter.

The main characters in IN A TREACHEROUS COURT are based on real people. My heroine, Susanna Horenbout, was trained as an artist and illuminator in her father's studio in Ghent (in modern day Belgium), and art historians are sure she was sent over to Henry's court ahead of her father and brother. The hero is John Parker, one of Henry VIII's 'new men', courtiers who were not noblemen, but in the meritocracy Henry was trying to establish, loyalty, and usefulness, could definitely overcome a lack of blue blood. They are both outsiders, but talented enough, and intelligent enough, to find a place for themselves in the world they find themselves in.

The Count Castillo's advice on the fitting and proper behaviour for those who wanted to advance at court just worked so well. Where I could, I tried to match up the quotes (sometimes tongue-in-cheek) to what was happening in the scenes of that chapter. Some of my favourites include:

The Chiefe Conditions And Qualities In A Courtier: Not to be a babbler, brauler, or chatter, nor lavish of his tunge.

Of The Chief Conditions And Qualityes In A Waytyng Gentylwoman: To shape him that is oversaucie wyth her, or that hath small respecte in hys talke, suche an answere, that he maye well understande she is offended wyth hym. (LOVE this one! )

The Chiefe Conditions And Qualities In A Courtier: To be handesome and clenly in his apparaile.

Of The Chief Conditions And Qualityes In A Waytyng Gentylwoman: To be heedefull and remembre that men may with lesse jeopardy show to be in love, then women.

The Chiefe Conditions And Qualities In A Courtier: His love towarde women, not to be sensuall or fleshlie, but honest and godly, and more ruled with reason, then appetyte: and to love better the beawtye of the minde, then of the bodie.

Of The Chief Conditions And Qualityes In A Waytyng Gentylwoman: Not to be lyghte of creditt that she is beloved, thoughe a man commune familierlye with her of love.

As you can tell, the Count Castillo had some great advice for the men and women of court .

Seeing as we're talking about advice, what's the best piece of advice you've ever received? There is a giveaway of a pre-release copy of IN A TREACHEROUS COURT to one randomly-drawn commenter (US residents only, unfortunately).

Looking forward to hearing some great advice!

Michelle Diener

Michelle Diener lives in Australia with her husband and two children. She's worked as an editor, a publisher, managed a small IT business, and now writes full time. Her debut historical novel, IN A TREACHEROUS COURT, is due out with Simon & Schuster's Gallery Books on August 9th, and the second book in the series, KEEPER OF THE KING'S SECRETS, is due for an early 2012 release. You can find out more about her at her website (http://www.michellediener.com), her group blog (http://www.magicalmusings.com) or follow her on twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/michellediener ) or Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Diener/196593580366013)

About the book:

Henry VIII's most lethal courtier and his newly appointed artist become the only thing keeping him on the throne – and if they survive, neither will ever be the same.

John Parker is one of Henry VIII most useful courtiers — utterly merciless and completely loyal. But one small favour for his King will pull Parker into a deadly plot against the throne, one that will test his courage, his resolve, and most especially, his heart.

A commission from Henry VIII should have been the crowning achievement of Susanna Horenbout's career, but before the beautiful and talented artist even sets foot in England, she finds herself in possession of a secret that could change its history. With Parker as her only protection against killers who will stop at nothing to silence her, Susanna has to trust the dangerous, enigmatic courtier. She's used to fighting in a man's world, but she never expected to be fighting for her life.

What people are saying about IN A TREACHEROUS COURT:

"IN A TREACHEROUS COURT is an action-adventure-mystery-historical that grabs the reader on page one and doesn't let go. It reminds me of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE in the way it captures the "feel" of Tudor England, moving with equal aplomb from royal palace to refuse-clogged London street to leaky rowboat on the Thames." Kate Emerson (Author of BY ROYAL DECREE: Secrets of the Tudor Court)

"Awesome! History woven flawlessly into riveting fiction." Tammy J. Schneider (Special Features Editor and book reviewer at "Affaire de Coeur" magazine)

"Just when readers think there is nothing new to be learned about Henry VIII, debut author Diener delivers a taut suspense . . . that will keep you turning the pages." Kathe Robin (4 star review in RT Magazine August 2011 issue)