Eliza March's Blog, page 36

The Next Installment of Defeat The Darkness by Eliza March

To  read this story from the beginning  CLICK HERE

Continuation from HEARTS OF DARKNESS page:




... Before Kyle passed out, his last thoughts were those of relief that the jaguars obeyed the
woman’s command. Later, he didn’t know how much later, he heard Julian whispering his name. “Doctor, you must wake
up. I have bound your wounds, but we must leave this place before the dark one
returns to check on you.”

Kyle struggled to
sit up, but the stabbing pain in his side prevented him at first. Taking his
time moving, he did a quick body check, evaluating his pulse and his vitals. The
evaluation told him he was in trouble.

“I
can’t, Julian. Run for help.”

Kyle was growing
weaker. “The search party went in the direction of the river.”

“No
one will come, doctor. The sound of the jaguar travels in the jungle. The men are
all too afraid. We must find shelter. I will stay with you and see you through
your change.”

“What
change? What are you talking about?”

“You
survived the attack. You will sicken and turn. You will now be jaguar and shift like my people—like my
father.”

“Your
father? You believe your father is a jaguar?” The boy had to be delirious.

“You
are thinking I mean the jungle cat. No, I am speaking of something entirely
different. These that I speak of are men. Men with powers who live apart from
other men. The men of the jaguar
tribe are born shape-shifters. Sometimes our bite can infect another. Until the
dark one came and changed some of them, all of the jaguar people were safe to
be around. You must leave before she finds you and changes you, too.”

“The
dark one? Y-you mean the woman in the camp. The directress?”

A
cold shiver traveled up his spine despite the heat. After his experience in
camp, Kyle could believe almost
anything of her. “But she was here. She ordered the cats to stop attacking me.”

“She
is Amyra de la Santiago, the dark one. Vampire. The
jaguar men she infected are now deadly, out of control, doing only her bidding.
My father’s friends are fighting her and her crazed pack.”

“C-can
you reach them? Get help from your father?”

 The boy shook his head. “I cannot contact him
in his jaguar form. The full moon approaches,” the boy pointed to the overgrown
jungle canopy where only a shadow of light filtered through, “and he has gone
into the jungle to prepare to protect the village from her. The rogue jaguars
will hunt the villagers, and they do not usually leave their prey alive the way
they did with you. When they do, their victims soon die. It is said, if the victim
survives, he will suffer through a painful transition that will leave him maddened.
The dead are the lucky ones. If you survive your wounds, she will come to claim
you before the full moon wanes. You must hide.”

This
was surreal. Kyle couldn’t believe
these stories. “Julian, I need medical
help before I bleed out.” He felt like he was living through some freaky ‘B’
movie as he tried to crawl to the edge of the path. His vision grew hazy, spots
danced through the dim light.

Julian, came to his
side and checked his neck. “You are still bleeding.” He applied pressure to the
wound and asked, “Where is your backpack?”

“I-I
must have dropped it...back in the clearing where I was attacked.”

“Can
you hold your hand here? Firmly! I will return.”

Kyle nodded, not
sure he could stay conscious long enough to keep from bleeding to death before
the teen returned with his supplies.

Julian ran off into
the jungle returning moments later with a handful of plant leaves. He packed Kyle’s wounds with the leaves he’d chewed to a paste.


“This
will help stop the bleeding.”

Within
seconds, the pain leveled out and the bleeding slowed. If he didn’t die from
some damn staph infection now, at least he stood a chance of surviving the
blood loss. Julian finished packing
the lesser wounds and wrapped his larger ones with his torn shirt.

“I
know a cave nearby where you will be safe for a while. It will keep you dry,
and I will make a fire to keep the animals away. Then I will look for your
supplies. Pray the dark one does not find you while I am gone.”

“It
won’t matter soon. The neck wound is bleeding too much. It slowed down, now but
I think I’ve already lost too much blood.” He sensed he was going into shock
from the blood loss.

“Drink
the water. The property in the plant will strengthen you and stop the flow
soon. Wait here, I will gather more plants.”



CHAPTER FOUR







Somehow, Kyle
survived until Julian returned with
his backpack. The jungle remedy had stopped the heavy flow of blood, but Kyle needed to sterilize and bandage the more serious
neck wound. The scratches could do with some antiseptic and an antibiotic
ointment.

“Julian,
can you find my medical supplies in the bag?”

“It is too dark, doctor. We must get you to shelter,
and then I can risk using this flashlight.” The boy spoke very softly.

When Julian
helped him to his feet, he whispered, “Lean on me, doctor. It is only a short
distance to the cave.”

Kyle was
thankful for that and for the assistance.

He wasn’t supporting his own weight. Good thing the
kid could. A few times as they stumbled through underbrush and tangled vines,
he wondered how the boy had the strength to hold him up. Despite having such a
thin, wiry build, the teen was remarkably strong, and at the moment, Kyle was extremely weak.

Evidence pointed to the fact that what the kid was
telling him the truth. There were jaguar shifters, and demons, and vampires,
and lord knew what else. One day, Julian
would shift into a jaguar like his father. And because he had been bitten, he
was going to shift, too

Kyle would
have laughed if he’d had the breath. Ridiculous.

He must have grunted because Julian
whispered, “Keep very quiet, now. It isn’t far. Just beyond that tree there is
a small opening in the rock. You can rest when we get to the cave, and I will
build a small fire to keep the animals away. It will be safer to have to defend
only one position.”

Kyle kept
his voice low. “Good thinking.”

A few steps more. Then Julian
swept aside the vines and helped Kyle
into the small outcropping in the rock wall. He never would have known it was
there, but sighed as he sank to the floor. There was just enough room for the
two of them and a small area to make a fire at the entrance. Kyle wondered if they dared risk it. “Maybe we should
hold off on a fire. We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.”

“It is safe. Vines cover the small holes in the roof,
but they are sufficient to draft the fire. If the dark one comes, she will stay
away from the fire and so will the cats.”

 “If you say
so.” Kyle sat with his back to the
wall. “Hand me my bag will you, please?”

Julian
turned the bag over to him, and he rummaged through it until he found what he
was looking for. He ripped the light metallic paper from the stick and snapped
it. The bright light made him blink.

“This is better than the flashlight. You’ll need the
flashlight to find dry kindling for the fire.”

“I will return shortly,” the boy said, and
disappeared through the cave entrance back into the dark hole of the jungle.

A fever blazed inside Kyle
while he cleaned his wounds in the artificial green light, but he was feeling
better. The glow stick wouldn’t last long, and remembered to have another at
hand for when this one burned out.

It was hard to believe after experiencing the
attack, that his wounds didn’t look as bad. Now that they were cleaned up and he
could see them, most were scratches. The neck bite was the worst, but even that
one didn’t feel as bad as he thought it was when it first happened. There had
been so much blood he thought the wound should have been more serious.

Perhaps the jungle plant did have healing properties.
He should do some research. He was feeling stronger already.

 “Doctor, I
have returned.” The sound of Julian’s voice startled him because he hadn’t
heard the boy approach. Not a twig or brush of the vine revealed his presence.
He walked like the cat he claimed to be.

“There are some power bars in the bag. Go ahead and
help yourself.”

Julian
grinned and dug around until he pulled two out. “Here, you must build your
strength and prepare for the change.”

“The change?”

“Yes. You will begin to feel feverish...”

“I am hot.”

“Ah, you are already feeling the heat?”

“It’s probably an infection from the bite.”

“It is the jaguar fever.”

“Tell me about the plants you treated me and my
wounds with.” The wounds had stopped bleeding. He was feeling better and
healing quickly despite the fever.

“It is called the jaguar bush. The plant only heals
the jaguar. It is working on you. Your small wounds are almost gone.”

The kid was right. As Kyle
watched, the scratches slowly faded as his body temperature rose.

“Only one with shifter blood can survive the bite.
You will begin the change, soon.”

“Change? Into what?”

“There is no need to be afraid. I will give you my
family’s special remedy. I have seen many of my older friends experience this.”


The concept was ludicrous—like some bad late night
movie. Although Kyle wanted to snort, he
wouldn’t insult the young man who’d risked his safety and been so supportive. Instead
he winced through a painful smile and said,  “Then, I won’t worry.”

The boy smiled back at him and straightened his
shoulders.

Kyle tried
to swallow, but his mouth felt parched.

“I think I need water.” He was dehydrated and needed
fluids after all that blood loss. “There should be a container in the bag.”

Julian
handed him the canteen. When Kyle
offered him a sip, the boy shook his head. “I will drink from the plants. You
drink your water. Rest. I will guard the entrance.”

“Okay. Julian?
Thank you.” He made a pillow out of his bag then had another thought. “Julian, when will you turn?”

“In the spring. You will not recognize me when I
return from the jungle.” He laughed. “I will have to introduce myself.”

Kyle frowned.
“Will you look like a jaguar? Why wouldn’t I recognize you?”

“I will have a man’s body, no longer this child’s
body.”

“When you shift into the jaguar does it trigger your
human growth change?”

“Yes. I will change into the jaguar and when I shift
back, I will be a fully grown man. Until then, I look just like any other
child. My people keep the jaguar children safe from predators and the dark one.
If we are to survive, the dark one must be defeated. I will fight her as my
father and his brothers do when I am ready.”

“Yes. Yes, you should,” Kyle
said before he nodded off. Was he already accepting the boy’s strange claims?

~~~~~~

Kyle grew
even more feverish and awakened with his joints aching and severe abdominal
pain. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears and although he’d removed
all his clothes except his boxers, his skin felt too tight on his body.
“Water?”

“Doctor, chew this. It will ease the pains.” Julian held out a handful of small purple flowers.

“What are they?”

“They will help you go through your first shift.
Your body is beginning the change. The first time is said to be very painful.
My people use these flowers to help.”

Kyle’s
stomach gripped with another spasm, and he swore his joints were trying to
disengage. He’d never experienced such pain and if the flowers were poison he’d
rather die than remain hurting like this.

“Thanks, Julian.
Let’s hope it helps.”

“It will. You may need more because you are going
through your change very quickly. I will be right back with more.” With that, the
boy disappeared back into the dark night, leaving Kyle
writhing on the cave floor chewing his flowers and hoping they’d ease the pain
or kill him.

Within moments, the pain dulled as the pressure in
his limbs increased. His hands looked like they were curling up with arthritis
and the hair on them looked thicker, longer, and darker. The light in the cave
seemed brighter and hurt his eyes, but he could see into the dark beyond the
cave’s entrance. The plant probably contained a hallucinogen. That would explain
his bodily changes.

Julian
slipped back into the cave without a sound and handed more of the strange
flowers to Kyle. “Eat them. The next
step is the most painful.”

“More painful?” Kyle
shook him off. “It’s affecting my thinking. I’m hallucinating.”

“No, doctor. This is no hallucination. You are
shifting. Your eyes have already changed and your hands are turning. Look at
your nails.”

They were claws.

“Chew these now.”

The boy was right. There was something wrong with
his hands. Kyle decided to cooperate.
He swallowed the remainder of the plants before his body contorted into a ball,
and then he convulsed, arching back. His bones cracked, and his muscles
stretched to their limits.

He screamed out in agony. He wondered how much this would
have hurt without the damn flowers.

Suddenly the pain stopped.

When it did he was on his hands and knees... No. He
was standing on padded black paws. Black jaguar paws.

Julian
looked satisfied—pleased with himself. “Ah, there, the worst is over. Look at
you. You are a magnificent specimen. No wonder the dark one wants you. You are
almost solid black.”

 Kyle understood what Julian
said, but when he tried to speak nothing escaped except a growl.

Now what? The night sounds were more distinct. The
jungle scents filled his head. And he could see beyond the entry.

“Try to think like a man and you can shift back.”

 The reverse
transition wasn’t as difficult as the first shift, but Kyle
was shocked when he ended up naked and on his knees. “I can’t believe any of this.”

“Look at yourself. Your wounds are all healed. The
change often heals the shifter.”

“This is...remarkable.” Kyle
had no other words to describe what he felt as he pulled on the shirt and pants
he’d shed before shifting. “Are you prepared tom go through this? When this
happens to you?”

“Yes. My father and the elders have taken me with
them to prepare me. But I am not the one in danger. Not yet. You are. When the
dark one comes for you, you must fight her. She will try to force you to take
her demon blood. If you do, you will become like her, and you will be hers to command.”

“Why me? Why does she need me when she has all the
other rogues?”

“They are all born shifters—not human. She has not
been able to turn them—make them into the vampire.”

“Why does she want to do that?” Kyle shook his head to clear his thoughts.

“No one knows.”

There had to be a hallucinogen in the plant. All
this was too far-fetched. There was no way he’d shifted into the form of a
jaguar and then shifted back into a man. Except, how did he explain that all
his wounds were healed? The jungle plants could be more potent than Julian knew.





Return for the next installment next Sunday.

All rights reserved. No part of this may be copied or reproduced without the written permission of the author. Copyright 2012, Eliza March 

Defeat The Darkness by Eliza March Read the Advance Chapters

Before the new year begins, I'd like to leave you with another unedited chapter from my upcoming release: 




DEFEAT THE DARKNESS [Hearts of Darkness] 

Chapter One and Two are already available at that page. Here is the link to the continuing unedited excerpts: 

Defeat The Darkness  

by Eliza March 

(all rights reserved, copyright September 2012) 






"Defeat The Darkness" is the first book in my Hearts of Darkness series coming out after the first of the year. 2013 promises to be a great year for this vampire/shifter series. They are darkly erotic romances, with strong tortured heroes and heroines willing to risk everything for love, and the beta readers report they've become addicted to the ensemble cast of characters in these books. 




Two men who love the same woman are willing to die fighting demons--the ones lurking in the dark and their own--in order to keep her safe. Only she's not willing to give either of them up to the shadows without a fight.






So far I've posted: 

Chapter One - New Orleans

Chapter Two - Guatemala

Chapter Three - The Jungle 




Meet the characters:




Kyle Lachlan went south, determined to get away from his rich selfish relatives. Determined his life has to have meaning other than money, he chooses to give back to society by becoming a physician. A year older than Max Hamilton, they hit it off the first night they meet in the clinic. He didn't believe a guy from a socialite Southern family and an old Bostonian blue-blood would have so much in common--including an attraction to the same woman.




Shelby Dillon is brilliant, beautiful, and loyal to a fault. When she followed her long time friend and former boyfriend, Max Hamilton, from a small town outside Atlanta to Tulane Medical School, she never expected to fall in love with his new best friend. New Orleans had always held a fascination for her, but once she succumbs to the irresistible charms of the Bostonian junior resident, Kyle Lachlan, she can't turn back. Despite the similarities in their builds, Kyle's dark good looks are so much of a contrast to Max's.




Max is built like a Hollywood linebacker, broad shouldered, muscular, and fair haired. For a research scientist from a rich old Southern family, his long hair is the only contrast to his perfect grooming and impeccable manners. He and Shelby practically grew up in diapers together, and no one ever doubted their devotion to each other. Only it wasn't enough for either of them.




After high school, she seemed to need something more than he could give her and neither of them knew what it was. A year apart didn't help define what was missing. Once she joins him at Tulane, they are relieved to have each other again. Then she meets Kyle, and Max knows the minute he introduces them that the three of them have made an irrevocable connection. He gives them space to explore their feelings until Kyle volunteers to go on a mission to Guatemala. When he goes missing, Max and Shelby are thrust back together. 




Amyra De La Santiago, the director of the charitable organization that brought Kyle to Guatemala, is more than she appears. She is darkly attractive in an almost frightening way. Kyle finds her beauty daunting and formidable as he fights the sexual compulsion he feels toward her. The ancient vampiress is determined to break him. When she discovers he has survived a jaguar attack, she is convinced he is the only one who can fulfill her needs.. [Book 1, 2]




Victor Salazar, the senior doctor on staff at the medical compound in Guatemala, has secrets of his own, but he befriends Kyle and helps him escape and return to New Orleans.




Dylan MacGregor, [Books 1, 2, 3] the vampire leader of the Parrish in New Orleans accepts Kyle into his care when he returns from Guatemala. He's fostering Jackson, the son of his maker, Nicolai Xenos [Book 2, 4] who went to ground after the death of his mate. Jackson [Book 3] is the first natural born vampire in over a thousand years, the future leader of his mother's wolf pack, and future the head of the vampire council. Years ago, Dylan became well acquainted with the dark side of Amyra De La Santiago.


To begin reading this story CLICK HERE

Merry Christmas

Hot Highland Fling will be available at no charge all day at Amazon. Enjoy a sexy tale on me and have a wonderful holiday!

Eliza

Beyond Grey - Fifty Shades of Red

When I became involved with erotic romance, everyone wanted to know why. After thinking about it, I found I liked writing the details because, for years, I hated those closed door sex scenes in romance novels. If I get to describe the dress my heroine is wearing and the color of her hair, I'm going to give you the rest of the sensual details as well. Here's another thing I'm not fond of: sexual tension. You won't find it in my erotic books. I want my sex early and often in an erotic story. The conflict can be about something else. (GRIN) 




There was a time, I couldn't talk about my books above a soft whisper in polite company. After Fifty Shades, everyone wants to talk about them and is anxious to hear my opinion. They can't wait until my next book comes out. So I'm not siding with the literary group when it comes to the uproar over Publishers Weekly naming E.L. James 2012 Publishing Person of the Year. Frankly, the controversy baffled me, and their snobbery made me see fifty shades of red. 




What was her actual affect on the industry? After I read the details about how Ms. James got started and the history of the Fifty Shades books, I agreed with Publishers Weekly--her success had a major influence on the erotic genre and about how books, not only get contracted, but how they go viral. What an innovative beginning! 




Times are changing and publishing is changing with a rate of speed no one person can anticipate. How "Fifty Shades of Grey" went from an auspicious start as "Twilight" fan fiction, to a record breaking best-seller and an anticipated movie, is a fascinating story. It proves there's no right or wrong way to do anything anymore. Several years ago, Amanda Hocking proved serializing books on her blog and sharing them could lead to success down one road; E.L. James set about sharing her stories another way by building a readership in fan fiction. When her story proved too racy for the "Twilight" group, she moved it to her own website and built a following of readers and fans. What had been called "Master of the Universe," back then, later developed into the Fifty Shades trilogy. James has been criticized for her lack of literary expertise, and her books for their topic and simplicity. But what I see is an author who wrote characters readers became committed to and a growth arc in their relationship that took a taboo subject, such as BDSM, and drove it (if not the practice, at least the ability to discuss it) into the mainstream market place. 




How? James made it believable. She created a psychological erotic romance with sympathetic characters and enabled the average person to empathize with their circumstances. For more information about the article, click here Publishers Weekly Link 




Dual Bondage


For more information about my erotic books, check them out at the top of this page. If you are curious about BDSM, so is my heroine in Dual Bondage: Roped and Tied.


      

Do you know who I really am? My other pseudonym...

This month my alter ego, ELIZABETH MARCHAT, is participating in The Romance Reviews Year End Splash Party  





Read about her below; she's the more conservative personality.



The EVENT is giving away books and prizes. So go to their site to play and a chance to win. See the hundreds of participating authors and visit their BLOGS. At the end of next week I'll be giving away one of my ebooks to a randomly chosen reader who comments on this Blog. Good luck!



Here's a little about Across A Crowded Room 





After anti-terrorist agent Jason DesJardin survived the explosion that killed Emily Holmes’s father, he went deep undercover. Guilt and his dark past kept him from returning for her. When Emily discovers ties between the old bombing and the terrorists, she finagles an assignment to Jason’s next mission. The balance of world power drops into her inexperienced hands, and she is forced to play a dangerous game of seduction with Mosel Reinhardt, the notorious international arms dealer. Is Reinhardt peddling the nanotech chip technology, or are Emily’s instincts about him correct?



The mission heats up when Jason finds he can’t resist Emily—agency computer genius gone femme fatale—any more than Mosel can. After years of waiting to have her again, the tables turn. Jason is unwilling to share her now, but will he be able to watch her seduce Mosel in order to find her father’s killer? Would she stop if he asked her?



This book is available in all e-formats and Trade Paperback.


CLICK HERE FOR ADULT EXCERPTS




Amazon Kindle Edition Regular $6.99

Amazon Paperback $15.50

Barnes and Noble Paperback and Nook version $15.50 and $6.99

SirenBookstrand All eBook Versions $6.99





Purchase Across A Crowded Room or watch trailer and read more HERE








Elizabeth Marchat, Author Bio



Elizabeth Marchat has been writing professionally for over seven years. Her first novel was published under a pseudonym, and since then she has published six more.



Ms. Marchat belongs to several professional writer's groups and lives in Florida with her husband and her daughter’s cat. She writes daily and enjoys reading and plotting with her author friends.





Author's Profile





Q: Where do you get ideas for your plots?



A: I try to let my characters play out the scenes as I imagine they would, but when they don’t keep the story going, I ask my plotting group for help. Thank goodness I have such a wonderful support group to turn to.



Q: Do you write about people you know?



A: Places? Yes. People? Absolutely not. Not that I wouldn’t like to meet some of my heroes, but usually my characters are composites, a mixture of character traits. The same can be said about the plots. Some things come from experience, but most are just products of my vivid imagination.



Q: How much research do you do when you write?



A: I’d probably do even more because it’s always interesting to research, but sooner or later I have to write the book. When I’m finished, I always have way more information than I need for my stories.



Q: Did you always imagine yourself writing?



A: I think I’m like so many people who’ve said, “I should write a book,” but then don’t make the time. Marriage, business, and five children were great excuses. Those were some of mine. Then one day I just did. I focused on fiction and spent some time learning about the process, studying my craft. I don’t think the learning and refining process will ever stop and found my niche with romancen.

Hearts of Darkness

"Defeat The Darkness" is the first book in my Hearts of Darkness series coming out after the first of the year. 2013 promises to be a great year for these shifter/vampire books. The series are darkly erotic romances, with strong tortured heroes and heroines willing to risk everything for love. The beta readers report they've become addicted to the ensemble cast of characters in these books. 



"Defeat the Darkness" by Eliza March

copyright 2012 all rights reserved




Two men who love the same woman are willing to die fighting demons, the ones lurking in the dark and their own, to keep her safe. Only she's not willing to give either of them up to the shadows without a fight.


NEW ORLEANS


The afternoon
air sizzled in the New Orleans
summer heat. As the rain started, Shelby inhaled the steamy
air from the open balcony and stared out unfocused. The light rain hit the hot
pavement on the empty street below while the fan inside the room blew warm air
over her naked skin. She pulled her hair up off her neck and tied it into a
loose knot on top of her head, determined not to give up this fight without
another attempt at changing Kyle’s
mind. There was still time to convince him to stay or take her with him.

“I have to
admit, I love the view.” His deep voice sounded raspy from sex and sleep. But it
startled her never-the-less, even though she knew he’d been on the verge of
waking when she slipped out of bed. Kyle’s
accent revealed more than a hint of his upper crust Boston accent, it revealed his arousal. The
timber carried across the room sending a trill of excitement through her, along
with a spark of heat. 

The
expression on Kyle’s face made Shelby’s
heart clench when she took a quick glance over her shoulder. She turned
completely around to confront him, her arms crossed over her chest. With his
eyes barely opened, he turned his head completely in her direction while he
sprawled sexually spent in post coital bliss on the trashed bed. The expression
he wore revealed how much he enjoyed casually studying her.

Her soul ached because the man, who’d become like the air she breathed and the beat her
heart kept pace with, was leaving her in the morning. When the knot in her throat tightened,
she sighed to prevent the ache from turning into a torrent of tears. Squaring
her shoulders and swallowing her sorrow, her voice turned husky.

“Looks like an orgy hit that bed.” She hoped he didn’t hear the crack in her voice.

“The way my
body feels, one did. Several times, if I recall.” Kyle
lifted his head up off his pillow to look around and nodded. “It is a
mess. You can be a very wild girl when you put your mind to it.”

“Me—?" She turned
away and stared back at the view outside. In order to compose herself, she
blinked several times and cleared her throat. "You're the one who pulled out the handcuffs?”

“Okay, us.”
His low chuckle forced her to turn back in his direction. “We’re two crazy,
wild, consenting adults.”

“And you,
sir,  have quite an imagination.”

He jangled the handcuffs still attached to the
headboard.  “I’m warning you, darling, if
you don’t cover up, some early morning passer-by may start throwing beads up at
you.”

His direct
gaze took her all in and filled her with lust. What was she going to do without
him for six months?

Not now. Don’t think about
that now and ruin the day.

There was
still time to change his mind on their last day together before he left for Guatemala.

“Let them,” she said. “I need to accessorize.” 

...Want to read more? ...continued here Hearts of Darkness

Eliza March Writes Related Books: Plotting Them Together or Separately

This isn't the first time I've discussed writing two or more books at a time, but it'a the first time I'm truly in the midst of finishing one and having the next two sequels on their way to completion as well. I've been through a rough year writing, bouncing from one story to another. The reason I didn't stick with one and finish it was because the inter-relationships between these stories didn't divulge themselves until recently. One morning, all of a sudden my characters from one story showed up in this WIP and everything began to make sense. Things started to come together, and I wanted to shout out with joy. The moment when you realize things are going to work out like this is an "ah ha" moment. And although I never recognize it until it happens, it's almost as if I subconsciously had a plan. I just wish I knew it ahead of time. If I was sure it would come together with each book when I get to that point, I'd relax and let things work themselves out. I wish I could have confidence the story will unwind the way it is meant to and the characters will weave the plot for me while I become their conduit.








Unfortunately, things are not that easy. I still wake up thinking through each scene, as the characters move in and out of the stories. Every once in a while, I see the potential link between certain characters or plots and tie them together. I'm always surprised, because it's not like each story isn't pre-plotted. I have a detailed synopsis for them and usually research their backgrounds and names. In these synopsis, I have a simple plan for linking them together, but once I'm into the stories, I usually find opportunities to introduce some twist that ties them up. It's my favorite part of writing...well besides having those affairs with my hot heroes. GRIN.

Hot Highland Fling is Free this Friday

On Black Friday don't miss the last day to download your free copy of Hot Highland Fling from Amazon. It's my after Thanksgiving gift to you. I hope you'll all have a safe, blessed holiday.

Do you take a chance on a new author?

With the onset of all the Free reads at Amazon, finding a new author you like should be easy. Instead I think it may be more difficult. Sure the free reads and the $.99 price points bring those books to the forefront and make it financially inexpensive to peruse them. But the system is flawed. I don't know about you but I'm getting picky about what free reads I download. Is there something wrong with this picture?



I'm to the point where I'm scrutinizing the free and inexpensive reads more than the higher priced books.



What about you? How do you choose what books to read?

Moving beyond #BreastCancer with #NaNoWriMo

Yes, I even have a temporary cover for this book and no words. I haven't gotten beyond the synopsis and character development. So I joined NaNoWriMo to give me the kick in the butt I need to move on this year.






For those of you who may not know, indulge me. I discovered I had breast cancer in January. It hit me like nothing else ever has. I'm invincible. I'm a mother of five, I've run businesses, managed all sorts of projects, but I never thought I would be the someone in the group who got cancer--as if there's a type!. I wasn't as much scared as I was hysterical by not having any control. Through the year, I've focused on doing what I had to do to take the next step forward. The support for breast cancer patients is the best. Thank you everyone who ever supported breast cancer research. It seems so inadequate to say that when I've seen such massive benefits and changes happening. 





The surgery was almost too easy and so was the radiation. The outcome too good. I did end up having side effects from the medication I'm supposed to take for five years so we switched to another. Needless to say, I've been preoccupied. But I'm doing well, so it's no excuse. Because writing makes me happy and I should do something that makes me happy. Only I can't. 






I used to wake up with my characters acting out or up, preparing me for my day of writing. This year I woke up every day trying to remember what doctor or therapist I was going to see, what medication I had to take and what time. My characters hid behind medicinal smelling medical walls and I couldn't seem to be able to coax them out until the other day. I woke up thinking about one of my books and I was so happy I wanted to dance! A huge break through! Then nothing...






A friend of mine, a fellow author came over for a plotting session, changed all that. (Thank you, Donna) She forced me to think about all my WIP, and I have ten I'm embarrassed to admit. Some farther along than others, but one is now calling to me. I woke up thinking about the characters and what has to happen to them. I love it. But I know to keep moving forward I need discipline, commitment, focus. I took the plunge and made a ridiculous commitment to participate in NaNOWriMO. I just signed up. In the ninth hour before November starts, I set up my account. The synopsis and character sketches are done and I'm ready to write this book. I will be committed to fifty-thousand words this month and I have to get a head start because I am supposed to have cataract surgery on my right eye in three weeks. The race is on. Now that I've outed myself, I feel I'm answerable to you all if I don't perform. So don't let me down. Hold me accountable. 






Breast cancer month is over, but if you haven't scheduled your mammogram DO IT NOW. Mine saved my life and many others I know. It's nothing to be afraid of. Face it, fight it ... and in my favorite words...fuck it! Move on! I am. (I want a t-shirt with that guy and my logo in pink)