Cate Masters's Blog, page 85

Are you connecting?

A bit long at 20 minutes, this poignant and funny talk by Brene Brown provides insights into how writers can connect with readers by expanding perceptions.



Likewise, J.J. Abrams entertains and enlightens in this 18-minute talk that delves into his love of unseen mystery, the driving force behind the creation of the TV series Lost, Cloverfield and Alias.

New cover for Tonight You Belong to Me!

Woot! How cool is this cover? I'm so excited for this story, I can't wait till it's released as part of Decadent Publishing's 1NS series.
Here's a peek at the (as yet unedited) blurb:Danny O'Malley's screwed. The love of his life, Jillian Jones, tossed him out, thinking he'd cheated. They'd moved to Las Vegas together, hoping to find their big break at the Castillo Resort. Now he's in deep with a loan shark to pay for the 1NS date with Jilly, his last chance to win her heart again.
Jillian Jones wants to see Sin City – in her rearview mirror. Agreeing to a blind 1NS date as a favor to a friend on her last night in Las Vegas, she melts when Danny plays their song: Tonight You Belong to Me. Thinking one night reliving the past won't hurt, she ends up in bed with Danny. But when two thugs break in demanding money, Jilly finds she might go out with a bang in an unexpected way. Can she save him, and their relationship?

Visiting with Angela Guillaume today

I hope you'll pop over and say hi! Angela has a beautiful blog, and is fun to hang out with. So come on over! :)

Two new contracts!

In the mood for a little trip down the Vegas strip? I am! I am over the moon. When I learned of Decadent Publishing's 1NS series, it sounded so fun, I had to write one. Well, I found it a little bit addicting, so one turned into two.


I was ecstatic to get the emails last week saying Decadent loved my stories too! The first, Tonight You Belong to Me, is a contemporary inspired by the song of the same name. I'm also addicted to Eddie Vedder's Ukelele Songs and his version of the song with Cat Power is so bittersweet. But I'll let you judge:





*sigh* Even with no graphics, it's wonderful, isn't it? Tonight You Belong to Me's heroine is a sassy Southern girl, not unlike my wonderful mother-in-law Grace, to whom I'm going to dedicate the story. Her verve and feistiness always inspired me. :)


The second story's a fantasy with some historical and time travel elements. A Hard Day's Knight gives a little nod to my Beatles obsession from my youth, as well as my love of Arthurian tales. Along with Tolkien, I loved reading books like The Once and Future King about Arthur and Merlin. This story centers on Lancelot and Guinevere and the evil sorceress Morgan le Fay. Set in modern day, it still throws in some medieval magic. It was such a lot of fun to write!



Have you checked out Decadent's 1NS series yet? The stories all look fantastic!

Seventh Heaven an EPIC Award finalist!

Woo hoo! I nearly didn't enter this story, because I'd re-released it after the rights returned to me from The Wild Rose Press. But Seventh Heaven's a wonderful little story, set in the Sixties in my hometown of Lambertville/New Hope. And now it's a 2012 EPIC Award finalist! I'm so proud of it! 


Reviewers have called it "a wonderful story"; "an uplifting romance set in a turbulent, unique time period. I did not want it to end"; "a read that will leave you on the edge of your seat. The deep and powerful setting of this story had me wiping away tears while cheering James on";  and "This book brought about emotions that I found refreshing. Cate Masters is a gifted writer who wrote this book with talent and marvelous imagery. I could almost see, taste, hear and touch what was occurring in "Seventh Heaven." If you are looking for a book with a wonderful plot that is very well written as well as being entertaining, "Seventh Heaven" is the book for you."

For the trailer, I photographed my hometown of Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA (twin towns, separated by the Delaware) because that's the setting for the story. A cool place, even before the Sixties. :) 
The image on the new book cover, above, is also a light from the bridge spanning Lambertville and New Hope.

Death's paramour - the angel Azrael

Another Six Sentence Sunday! Yay! Thanks to everyone who visits, and especially for your comments. 
Here's another peek at Death Is A Bitch, now making the submission rounds. According to The Dictionary of Angels, Azrael is the patron angel associated with the process of death and dying. Affairs in the workplace can be complicated, but Death can't resist Azrael:

Their intense feelings caused the universe to react by churning up its own excitement.
Azrael held her closer, his hands exploring everywhere, and clouds rushed together to roil in a heated embrace. She wrapped herself around him, opened herself to him and the winds swept hot air crashing into cold.  Desire sizzled through her, and lightning crackled through the charged atmosphere. They moved with the rhythm of his wings, beating faster and faster as they streaked as one through the black night. Glimmering stars swirled past, and the planets hummed in delight.
Be sure to check out all the fantastic offerings by participating SSS authors! Have a great week!

Just in time for Halloween

In the mood for some stories you can sink your teeth into? Or maybe a few that will sink their teeth into you? :)

Well, you're in luck! Now you can get Love Bites, an anthology of paranormal romance shorts, from Smashwords. For free!

The anthology includes:

Classified by Jay Di Meo
Sefu's guardian angel is supposed to keep him safe, but who'll keep him safe from the angel?

Dragon Race by Barbara Elsborg
In this race between lovers, who wins and who loses?

Jacquelyn in the Box by D.L. Jackson
What would you give up for love?

Laying Claim by Cate Masters
A curse for one means salvation for both, Celia finds.

Run by Arlene Webb
A run for charity turns deadly, and two strangers learn they have a lot more to give than blood.

Banned Books Week kickoff!

Tomorrow begins Banned Books Week! I find it unbelievable that others still attempt to control what we're able to read. So in the spirit of banning banned books, let's all read one!

I'm part of the Banned Books Week Blog Hop, hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. Thanks so much for putting this blog hop together, Kathy! When I last checked, more than 200 blogs had signed up, each with a giveaway or some sort of information about Banned Books Week.


I'm celebrating with a giveaway of the set of Twilight books, on the list of challenged reads for several years. NOTE: This giveaway's open to U.S. residents only, sorry.

To enter, all you need to do is comment on this post, and be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. The blog hop runs through Oct. 1, so I'll announce a winner on Oct. 2.


You can find lists of books challenged by year here.

You can find more information at the Banned Books Week site, or at the American Library Association. 

 

Happy birthday, Bilbo and Frodo!

I don't know how I've missed this all these years. I'm a huge Tolkien fan, and couldn't get enough of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion when I became a teenager. 
Apparently, others have celebrated September 22 as Hobbit Day, and the corresponding week as Tolkien week, for decades. Bilbo and Frodo's shared birthday, September 22 is the date of The Long Awaited Party.
I hated the cartoon version, so waited anxiously for Peter Jackson's movie version to come out, ready to declare it a sacrilege against the trilogy. Thankfully, it was amazing. Aragorn and Legolas especially, lol.  In some ways, it's a shame, because Tolkien's works are best experienced through reading. 
What about you? Are you a Tolkien fan?

Blog award

I have to admit to being a terrible award recipient. I love the idea of blog awards but my time online's so limited these days, it's a challenge to keep up with them. 


But LD Masterson was so kind in awarding my blog The Irresistibly Sweet Blog award, I'll pass it along. 

Rules: 

1. Thank and link to the person who nominates you - Thanks so much, LD Masterson! LD has a wonderful blog - you should check it out. 

2. Share seven random facts about you - Here they are - hope they don't put you to sleep:

I love to experiment in the kitchen but rarely do because my family's so picky. However, I occasionally will spring a new dessert on them (hey, if they don't like it, more for me! There's a method to my madness, bwahaha). In fact, that award button's making me hungry right now.

I could write until the day I die and still not finish everything I want to do. In fact, my muse will probably continue to toss ideas at me post-mortem. Maybe that will be my hell.

I love love love to be in exotic places, but hate to travel. Quite the conundrum.

I think it's important to challenge myself. There's a great saying: Do one thing every day that scares you. Except bungee jumping. I see no benefit in that, but plenty of bruising.

The older I get, the more afraid of heights I am. Not sure why, as I have no more common sense now than when I was ten and jumped off my parents' roof. Luckily, we lived in a rancher, not a three-story home. Or the top floor of an apartment building.

Most of my career has centered around media-related jobs - I've worked for an online political news site owned by AP, was the Membership and Member Services Director for the state newspaper association for many years, and briefly wrote as a freelance journalist.

The above, coupled with the fact that I attended Catholic school for the first eight grades, explains why I'm such a stickler (yep, I'm anal) for grammar and spelling. Math, not so much.

3. Pass this award to five new blogging friends - And here they are:

Susan Kelley/Gourley
 
Arlene Webb


Barbara Elsborg

Chrystalla Thoma


DL Jackson

(Sorry about the weird spacing. Blogger's such a bugger these days. I tried to fix it, I really did.)

4. Contact and congratulate the awarded bloggers - I'll rely on their web alerts to do that, so if they don't reciprocate, that's okay too. But I heartily encourage you to check out each and every one of the awardees.

But seriously, as of today, I'm making it official. This blog is an award-free zone. Your comments are award enough! I do appreciate your kindness, though, and hope you'll stop by to say hi often. :)