Susan Hanniford Crowley's Blog: From Nights of Passion Blog, page 247

Lazy Daze of Summer Weekly Paranormal-Scope by Susan Hanniford Crowley

While I am not qualified in any way to read neither stars nor planets, I am intimately linked to the paranormal in the world in many ways. So are you.

The paranormal scope is for entertainment purposes only and is not meant to guide your life by.

The week for:

Aries:

Pixies love to bite toes.  Use bug and tick repellant when walking through the woods. It works on pixies too.

Taurus:

Vampires still strut their stuff tonight.  They are great dancers but like to bite.  Wear a scarf and order Italian for dinner.

Gemini:

Goblins are looking over some new investments. Get all the facts before investing.

Cancer:

Werewolves are warm, cuddly and loyal so think twice before turning down such a prize.

Leo:

Shapeshifters love art.  Time to visit from museums or join an art class. Be creative and have fun.

Virgo:

Elves love shoes.  Time to buy new ones.

Libra:

Whales sing and the warm breezes blow.  Enjoy the fine weather while you can.

Scorpio:

Sharks are everywhere.  Lay low this week.

Sagittarius:

Pixies are spreading a path of good luck for you. Follow it.

Capricorn:

Dragons tell you the secret.  Let it go!  It’s that easy.

Aquarius:

Gnomes are really into home décor.  Find a new way to arrange your rooms for a freer flow.

Pisces:

Pegasus wings you to new heights. Enjoy the view and the perks.

-Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

New release: Vampire King of New York now in print at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Also in ebooks.

New release: Mrs. Bright’s Tea Room now in Amazon Kindle

Filed under: Susan Hanniford Crowley, vampire books, Vampire King of New York In Print, Vampire Maximillion Vander Meer, Weekly Paranormal-Scope

Outlander: Historical Romance at Its Best

Did anyone else watch the premiere of Outlander last night? :)

I’ve been waiting for this for almost a year, ever since my dear friend and CP Kary Rader told me they were making it into a series.  I even arranged to come back from my cabin in the woods a day early so I could watch it.

I had seen the trailers and hoped against hope that they would do the book justice.

I told my husband Friday to go on and get the Starz channel, which we don’t usually have.  He said the woman at Direct TV said they had had a jump in sales of Starz just so people could watch Outlander. LOL

OMG.  It was fabulous. It did what few period dramas tend to do:  be true to the book and have superior production values. The amount of detail that went into the settings and costumes was enormous, but it puts you immediately into the period (both WWII and Jacobite Scotland).  I remember one of the promos for the series had cast members saying that they really felt like time travelers when they stepped on the set, because the details were so authentic.

And the casting, to my eye, was brilliant. Tobias Menzies, menaces beautifully as Jack Randall.  He doesn’t make Frank Randall terribly sympathetic, however, but then I never found Frank very appealing in the book either.

 

Sam Heughan, as the ultimate hero, Jamie Fraser, is gorgeous to behold and so far lives up to the very big reputation of the handsome young Scott.

 

But I found the casting of Claire Randall,  especially wonderful.  Caitriona Balfe immediately shows us the strength that Claire possesses, an essential characteristic.  And she did something for me the books didn’t do for a long time:  made the character likeable.  I’ve never been a fan of Claire (I’m on Book 4 right now and she’s finally managed to grow on me), but in Outlander I really resented how much Jamie sacrificed for her because I simply didn’t feel that she deserved such unswerving devotion, based on the choices the character made along the way.  Watching the story unfold with these skilled actors, though, has given me a better appreciation for the situation Claire finds herself in and why she so desperately wants to return to her own time.

I’m not sure how long the Starz series will last.  There are currently eight Outlander books, so if Starz wanted to they could certainly make us all very happy with a run of at least 10 years.  I hope they at do manage two or  three seasons, so I will once again have an hour a week to look forward to, when I can time travel back with Claire to the gritty and brutal and  wonderful world of Jamie Fraser’s Scotland of the 1740s.

Historical romance at its best.

Filed under: Historical romance, Jenna Jaxon, Review

Keeping Clear Why You Write by Susan Hanniford Crowley

I write in two genres and as a cross over author.  I’ve been asked by more interviewers than I can count, “Why do you write?”  I always give the same answer: “Writing is like breathing.  Writing is my life.”  For me, whether I’m writing science fiction and fantasy or a paranormal romance, I must do it.  I always love doing it more than anything.  The act of writing for me is a lot like the act of sex, sheer fun!

What is the hard part?  Keeping clear.  What do I mean by that?  In an author’s life, there are the pleasantries and there’s the muck.  I enjoy the readings, being on panels, and the  signings at conventions. The sf community also embraces paranormal romance and steampunk romance. Being that I came from that community to begin with makes it a comfortable place for be and let my hair down.  Giggles.  I enjoy meeting readers at romance conventions, being on panels, and attending Q&As.

What is the muck?  Figuring out my taxes has been made easier by my cousin who is a CPA.  The taxes and deductions possible and not can be dizzying.  Promotion is another muck.  If you not with a big publisher, for the most part, the author is responsible for their own promotion.  My new publisher Soul Mate has been outstanding with opportunities and I thank them for the event they held for their authors at Romantic Times in New Orleans.  But as an author, you can never tell how much promotion is too much, what is absolutely necessary, and how much time you should be doing interviews, appearing in social media, whether you should or not try new venues?  Even if you love doing promotion, which I happen to, it’s still time away from writing.  Every single author I know would always choose writing.

I’m a social media publicist at my day job, so I’m exhausted when I get home and would rather write.  You will see me on Facebook saying sometimes that I’m not going to be seen for a while as I’m going into the writer’s cave.  There’s something about that dark cool cave that rejuvenates the spirit and psyches you up for a great story.  Charlaine Harris told me that she doesn’t know how the end will happen exactly until she gets there.  She knows the general end but not the details. I’m the same way.  I’m walking around corners with my characters. Writing is a constant rush, an adventure that keeps me wanting to know what comes next.

A big part of keeping clear is ignoring negativity.  Vampire King of New York was on the top #100 Best Selling Vampire Romance for three months in a row on Amazon Kindle.  When I sent that out as part of my publicity packet, one publication actually cut out the word “best selling.”  I didn’t put that term in.  Amazon Kindle did.  So I had to ignore something that was a huge accomplishment for me was not being acknowledged and move on.  I know an author that got a negative review in Romantic Times, and it really upset her, but she’s managing to move on.

With Vampire King of New York, I’ve received private emails from readers who love King Max for all his fun and compassion and courage.  I cherish all those emails.  In general, the book has gotten fine reviews and has moved my career surprisingly forward.  I’ve even unintentionally converted a person who hates vampires to loving my vampire books.  She didn’t know vampires could be like that.  It’s important to keep the “words” from other that inspire you and ignore the rest.

Keeping clear means to focus on the reason you have for writing.  My only reason for writing is to have fun!

P.S. I am giving away a print copy of Vampire King of New York on Goodreads. Visit this link for the details: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/102543-vampire-king-of-new-york

-Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

http://www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Filed under: romance, Social Media, Susan Hanniford Crowley, vampire books, Vampire King of New York In Print, Vampire Maximillion Vander Meer, vampires, What inspires you?, Writing Topics

Day Job vs. Night Job by Stacy Hoff

My day job is unlike my night job. By night, I write romance. By day, I’m a lawyer. Yup. Been one for two decades. Handling contracts. Negotiating deals. In other words, I’m as non-romance-y as one could be between the hours of nine-to-finish.

I guess that’s why romance is such an attractive genre to me. I love the chance to explore feelings instead of just writing emotionless words. Because emotions make people who they are.

Writing gives me the chance to explore my own feelings, too. How I see the world. How I want the world to see me. So at night I draft my scenes, my characters, and their journey arcs. All by the seat of my pants. Because I can’t know how, and why, my characters grow unless I grow along with them.

Maybe one day I’ll learn how to plot a novel before I sit down to type it. I’ve heard many authors extol the virtues of plotting. But to me, it seems like I’d be giving short shrift to my characters’ journeys by forcing on them a pre-determined destination.

Tell me about you. Are you all about the journey, or the destination?

 

Follow me on: twitter.com/authorStacyHoff, web: stacyhoff.com, facebook/authorStacyHoff

 

Filed under: Characters, contemporary romance, creative writing, Emotions, romance, Writer's Life, Writing

Do Authors Realize Their Talent by Gerri Brousseau

On Tuesday night while channel surfing I happened upon part two of a PBS program about the life of Mark Twain. I have been to the Twain house in Hartford, Connecticut, so even though I hadn’t seen part one of the program, I felt compelled to watch it.

By the time part two began Twain had already met with success as a writer, was very wealthy, and had purchased the home in Hartford. The narrator talked about Twain’s constant obsession with increasing his wealth and his fascination with new mechanical devices. Rather than continuing with his writing career and giving attention to his publishing house, Twain instead invested thousands and tens of thousands of dollars in fly-by-night inventions, which in the end turned out to be the cause of him having to file bankruptcy. As I watched the program and it came to its end, I couldn’t help but wonder why he simply didn’t just keep writing.

The program talked about the death of one of his three daughters, the death of his wife, and the second daughter’s battle with epilepsy. Throughout his life, he suffered from bouts of depression.

Twain seemed to have a need to always be the center of attention and went to such extremes that his eccentric behavior at the wedding of his only living daughter was the last straw for her, and she and her husband moved to Europe.

If you are a writer, you know that it is a solitary profession. However, during this period of his life he was totally alone, and still he couldn’t write. I can relate to having periods in time where the words just won’t come, but for him it was the beginning of the end. Apparently he wrote several partial manuscripts, but never finished them. I felt so bad for this man who at one time had it all. But that’s not the end of the story for him. He did gain fame and notoriety once again and by the time of his death was a world renowned figure having had meetings with the King and Queen of England, Gandhi, and several other prominent people.

It was interesting to see the life of one of America’s most famous authors, but what I enjoyed most about this program was hearing the content of some of his personal letters to his wife and some of his personal musings which were written in the margins of his manuscripts. His tongue-in-cheek sense of humor had given rise to some of our most memorable quotes, and these amusing anecdotes were no less entertaining. So if you do hand write your manuscripts, leave those little musings you write in the margins. One day, someone may find them entertaining.

Mark Twain was never one of my favorite authors, but I do have a new appreciation for him after seeing this program. He was a survivor. He was a writer, a wordsmith. He had a way to turn a phrase that still keeps us smiling long after his death.

This made me think. I wonder if he realized that he had such a talent. I wonder if any author realizes their own talent. Do you think Steven King, James Patterson, RJ Rowling, or Nora Roberts realize how talented they are?

Filed under: romance

What It Takes

Writing is hard. A simple statement but a very true one as any of you writers out there can acknowledge. There is the whole craft of writing itself that is just plain difficult. You start out with a story that seems to evolve no matter how you plan it and as you get pulled into it, it really gets hard to look at it objectively, to see the grammatical errors, the plot holes, the two-dimensional characters—if there are any of these things, as well as a whole lot of other possible issues.

As I’ve watched my second son grow in his 2-3 weeks of life and my toddler learn time in again, I can’t help but draw a parallel between my sons’ resiliency and that of a writer. Not only must a writer learn the craft, but they must learn to navigate the publishing industry, learn to take the bad reviews with the good, learn to take criticism with praise and learn to please their readers while remaining true to themselves and their stories. They must be resilient to survive. Some writers are able to do this better than others, some are naturally more skilled or write more commercially acceptable stories and therefore don’t have as much hardship to navigate, but overall, most writers must overcome these and/or other obstacles at some time or other.

My words today are fact and I don’t have any sort of advice on how to avoid these unwanted experiences, but I will tell you writers to hang on in there. Don’t give up and for those criticisms or opinions you do receive, take them for what they are in many cases, a gift to help you improve. You do have what it takes to be a writer!

Good luck and happy writing this week!

Filed under: Toni Kelly, Writer's Life

Books on the Backlist by Mandy Rosko

Before I begin, my ego demands that I put up the German version of my cover for The Princess’ Dragon Lord, which really just looks exactly the same with the exception of having the title in German :3

Lol, I had to do that. Anyway, what this post is really about is the giant backlist of books that I have to read. To clarify, not have to, but want to, but there’s just so many to get through that I don’t even know where to start anymore. Not that I’m complaining, but I’m beginning to think that I have a giant shopping addiction considering that I still find myself going to the bookstore to browse, and sometimes walk away with new stuff, even though I still have piles of books to get to and review that I got from RT.

Check it out:

Yeah, that’s a lot, and those aren’t even part of my main shelves. That would’ve meant adding too many pictures.

Audiobooks, which I once went to so I could get my story intake even faster in a time where being able to just sit down and read is becoming a luxury that’s more and more scarce, is suffering from something similar to this. I woke up one day and realized that I have a giant backlist of audiobooks that I need to listen to, and all of them are great looking books that sound so exciting and romantic and all the things that I love. I guess I need to get on my bike some more and just ride around listening to them. This could be more of a comment about the level of exercise I tend to get than anything else, but that’s getting off topic.

There’s no way I can be the only one who does this. When I go in Pinterest and see all kinds of pictures of books filling the walls, being made into furniture or stuffed into the back of vans during a big sale, then I’m thinking that I’ve got it pretty mild compared to everyone else.

What about you?

 

Cheers

Mandy Rosko

Connect with me online:

Facebook

www.goodreads.com/Mandyrosko

Twitter: @rizzorosko

Mandyrosko.com

Newsletter: http://rizzorosko.com/contact.html
Filed under: Mandy Rosko, Reading, romance

Nights Of Passion Virgin

Be gentle with me, please, since this is my first time posting on Nights of Passion.

When I began writing The Duplicitous Debutante, which is being released on September 1, I had a very clear impression of what my heroine would be like. The series is about one family in New York, and the various siblings have been popping in and out of the previous five novels, so I knew Rosemary’s goals and motivations. But my hero was an unknown. He had to be manly, strong, sensitive and handsome. He would not be intimidated by a strong woman. It was a tall order.

I decided to make him a fencer. Not only would fencing improve his physique and his mental sharpness, the analogies between fencing moves and courtship moves was irresistible. With my hero taking shape in my mind, I had to quickly research where one went to obtain fencing instruction in America during the late 1850s. I discovered the Ivy League colleges did not have fencing clubs until later in the century, and was informed by Eton that they had a club which formed sometime in the late 1800s, but it was still too late for my purposes.

In desperation, I reached out to the Museum of American Fencing in Shreveport, LA. The curator there is a gentleman named Andy, and he provided invaluable advice for the book. He told me the fencing capital in the United States in the late 1850s was New Orleans, where fifty fencing masters lived and provided instruction. Most were of French origin. So my hero became half-French, and a badass fencing instructor, well able to match wits, and swords, with a strong woman such as my heroine. You just never know where research may lead your story line. That’s half the fun of writing historical romance.

Here’s the blurb for The Duplicitous Debutante:

In 1859, ladies of New York society were expected to do three things well: find a husband, organize a smooth-running household, and have children.

 

Rosemary Fitzpatrick’s agenda is very different. As the author of the popular Harry Hawk dime novels, she must hide her true identity from her new publisher, who assumes the person behind the F. P. Elliott pen name is male. She must pose as his secretary in order to ensure the continuation of her series. And in the midst of all this subterfuge, her mother is insisting that she become a debutante this year.

 

Henry Cooper is not the typical Boston Brahmin. Nor is he a typical publisher. He’s entranced by Mr. Elliott’s secretary the moment they meet, and wonders how his traditional-thinking father will react when he brings a working class woman into the family. Because his intentions are to marry her, regardless.

 

Rosemary’s deception begins to unravel at the Cotillion ball, when Henry recognizes her. The secretarial mask must come off, now that he knows she is a member of New York society. But she can’t yet confess who she truly is until she knows if Henry will accept her as F. P. Elliott.

 

The more time they spend together, the closer they become. But when Rosemary reveals her true identity to him, will Henry be able to forgive her or has her deceit cost her the man she loves?

Becky Lower Author Bio:

 

Becky Lower has traveled the country looking for great settings for her novels. She loves to write about two people finding each other and falling in love, amid the backdrop of a great setting, be it on a covered wagon headed west in the 1850s or present day middle America. Historical and contemporary romances are her specialty. Becky is a PAN member of RWA and is a member of the Historic and Contemporary RWA chapters. She has a degree in English and Journalism from Bowling Green State University, and lives in an eclectic college town in Ohio with her puppy-mill rescue dog, Mary. She loves to hear from her readers at beckylowerauthor@gmail.com. Visit her website at www.beckylowerauthor.com

 

Filed under: creative writing, historical intrigue romance, historical romance, publishing, research, romance, romance novels, Writing

Goodreads Contest & the Weekly Paranormal-Scope by Susan Hanniford Crowley

Goodreads Book Giveaway


Vampire King of New York
by Susan Hanniford Crowley

Giveaway ends August 11, 2014.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to win

While I am not qualified in any way to read neither stars nor planets, I am intimately linked to the paranormal in the world in many ways. So are you.

The paranormal scope is for entertainment purposes only and is not meant to guide your life by.

The week for:

Aries:

Stars twinkle at your this week and fill your life with joy and good luck.

Taurus:

Fire salamanders dance.  Candles cast a lovely glow but be sure to blow them out at night!  Let the night embrace you.

Gemini:

Trolls are children of the Earth and love gardening and keeping secrets.  Trust a friend.

Cancer:

Imps can be a problem.  They think even people get hurt it’s fun. Avoid them whenever possible.

Leo:

Fallen angels usually fall on their heads.  Keep and umbrella with you to protect yourself.

Virgo:

Boating is fun in this hot weather but stay away from a river called Styx.

Libra:

Take a lesson from Triton, son of Poseidon.  Triton blew on his twisted conch shell and frightened away the giants. Take up a musical instrument.

Scorpio:

Sirens drag sailors to their deaths.  But one has flung you back to shore.  Take advantage of your second change.

Sagittarius:

Minotaurs can be messy.  Housecleaning is in your future.

Capricorn:

Sleep among the stars and let dragons sing you to dream.  You are exhausted and need to log serious sleep time.

Aquarius:

Zephyrus are blowing toward a new opportunity. Go with the flow.

Pisces:

According to Vertumnus, eating more vegetables and fruit will improve our life.

-Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

New release: Vampire King of New York now in print at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Also in ebooks.

New release: Mrs. Bright’s Tea Room now in Amazon Kindle.

Filed under: romance, Susan Hanniford Crowley, vampire books, Vampire King of New York In Print, Vampire Maximillion Vander Meer, vampires

Cabin in the Woods

I’m so sorry this post is late coming, but this week I’m visiting friends at their rustic cabin in the woods of upstate New York. It’s a yearly sort of retreat I go on, visiting my friends and getting to write to my heart’s content. It’s wonderfully peaceful, my friends pamper me with food, and I always get a huge amount of work done.

The downside is the cabin has no electricity or running water. When I said rustic, I meant rustic. As a result, I bought a power station (huge battery pack) to run my computer, cell phone, and cpap machine. Unfortunately, the cpap pulled so much power last night, I couldn’t charge my computer and cell phone (my hotspot internet connection up here). I had to use other means to power up, which took all morning, but now I’m back and wanting to tell you about this wonderful writer’s retreat.

I’m housed in a small guest cabin maybe a hundred yards from the main cabin—which was originally a hunting cabin. It always reminds me of the playhouse my father built for me in my back yard when I was a child, and which I was never allowed to sleep in. So living here for a week is a time travel back to my past in that way.

One of my friends here is also a writer—his books are similar in nature to Tom Clancy although he’s now written a mystery series sent in late Victorian England. So we are always trading stories about the writing business and publishing woes. :)

My days have a wonderful routine: rise at about 7, walk the dog, breakfast, work on the “project of the day” which yesterday was picking blueberries. Today was Sunday and we read instead for our day of rest. After lunch I go off to the guest cabin and write to my heart’s content until I’m called to pre-dinner wine and conversation, then after supper we have a game of Bananagrams (sort of like Scrabble but not) and then I’m off to the cabin again to write or read or sleep as I wish. Usually I write until the computer dies then read a bit and go to sleep.

Later this week I’ll go in to Old Forge, to the wonderful hardware store where I get my Christmas cards for the year and lots of pine scented or balsa scented sachets for my drawers and other fun things. We might also go on a shopping expedition later in the week or split wood. There are so many things to do, but mostly I get to write, so this trip is one of my favorites each year.

I’ll be home next Sunday, with electricity, so ‘til then, have a great writing week!

Filed under: Jenna Jaxon