Inara Scott's Blog, page 2

Book Release & SALE!

Today is the day! Falling for Mr. Wrong, book three in the Bencher Family series is OUT. It’s live. It’s on your screen, in your e-reader, and ready to be read.

One more time…here’s that gorgeous cover:

And here’s the book! Falling for Mr. Wrong is available at: Kobo, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBookstore

Oh, and the added bonus? Book One in the Bencher Family series, Rules of Negotiation, is on sale to celebrate the release. You can buy it for only $.99 at Amazon , Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and iBookstore.

Falling for Mr. Wrong

As impossible as it may seem, I’ve got another new book coming out…in just a few days! Falling for Mr. Wrong is a contemporary romance that’s the third in the Bencher Family series. You can find out all about the book, including buy links to all major retailers, here: http://www.inarascott.com/falling-for-mr-wrong/.

Here’s the back cover copy to get you started!!

Looking for Mrs. Right…

Single father of three Ross Bencher knows the kind of woman he wants: someone predictable, reliable, and safe, who can give his kids the security they deserve. Someone entirely different from high-altitude mountaineer Kelsey Hanson, who bewitches him with her long legs and wild passion. Kelsey’s about as far from his ideal as a woman can get, but try telling that to his body. Or his heart…

Falling for Mr. Wrong…

When Kelsey agreed to fill in as a temporary nanny for her best friend’s agency, she had no idea she’d be working for drop-dead sexy Ross Bencher, a man she can’t seem to keep her hands off. Kelsey knows if she wants to bring herself—and her father—back alive from the Himalayan Mountains, she can’t afford second-guessing or attachments. But Ross’s blue eyes and strong hands leave her gasping…and questioning everything she’s ever known about love…

Halloween Excerpt from A Sleep So Dark…

For Halloween, I thought it would be fun to post a little excerpt from A Sleep So Dark. In this scene, Cade has just been pulled into Tandy’s dream. Normally when this happens, he is invisible to the dreamer, but with Tandy, everything is different…

***

When he became lucid in the dream, he was in a forest, dark and thick with trees. It was not a Colorado forest. There were no evergreens rising straight and tall against the sky, no carpet of needles to cushion their feet. This was a forest of naked, curving branches. The trees had thick, gnarled trunks and a faint air of menace. Moonlight drifted through the canopy of leafless limbs.

He scanned the area quickly, trying not to panic when he didn’t see her.

He ran a few yards ahead on a narrow path that meandered through the trees. When he came around a sharp corner he saw the pale, silvery glow of a person moving through the colorless forest.

“Tandy?” he called.

The body came closer. Took form. The shape was familiar—small enough to fit in the crook of his arm but strong and graceful, long hair reflecting the moon. She assumed a crouch, tense and ready to run. “Who’s there?

He waved. “Over here. It’s me. Cade.”

“Cade?” She stopped, oddly unsurprised to find him there. “Are you coming with me?”

She could see him. His pulse began to race. They were in a dream together, and she could see him and hear him. Anything could happen now.

They met on the path. He slid his hand down her arm. He felt the firm, sculpted muscles of her shoulder, the soft skin on the back of her wrist, and the calluses on her palm. It didn’t matter anymore, he thought giddily, if he touched her. They were already intertwined. He could take her in his arms and pick up where they left off before they fell asleep. They could lose all control and no one would ever know…

What scares you? (A Sleep So Dark giveaway!)

I’m not a usually fan of scary movies. Nor am I a fan of scary books. Cause here’s the thing: THEY’RE SCARY. And I don’t like the feeling of being scared. So it’s a little odd that I actually sat down and thought to myself, “Hey, wouldn’t it be fun to write a scary, suspenseful, young adult thriller?”

But I’m like that. Unpredictable. Perhaps even a little crazy. And at the time, I thought I’d be writing the book for teens, and would be able keep the scary to a minimum and really focus on the characters and romance.

But as I was writing that book, which became A Sleep So Dark, the need to make it more suspenseful–and more scary–grew. And as the book got more and more scary, I started to freak myself out.

Seriously.

A Sleep So Dark is about dreams. Nightmares, to be precise. And becoming lucid in dreams and nightmares so you can control their outcome. This is a real therapy technique they are using with veterans and other people suffering from PTSD. Teach them to become lucid in their dreams, so instead of it suffering from nightmares, they can turn their dreams into something positive.

Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, all the research I did on becoming lucid in dreams just freaked me out more. I started to get scared to fall asleep, because I worried that I would become lucid but not be able to wake up. And what could be more awful than being trapped in a lucid dream?

Suffice to say, this book was tough to write. But it was incredibly fun to write something totally different than I ever have before. And in doing so, I discovered that I do enjoy scaring myself–I just happen to do it by sending myself headlong into new projects, pushing my boundaries, and forcing myself to grow as an artist. And this was definitely a book that did all of those things.

(And, to be honest, I threw in some romance, a hot guy, and kissing. Because those are my favorite parts.)

So here’s the really amazing thing. I assumed no one would actually be scared by my book. But according to the reviews, A Sleep So Dark is “weird but wonderful…full of chills, thrills, and suspense…” And “a scary nightmare of a story with murder, mayhem, and a unique element of the supernatural…”

Which makes me glow with pride–I did it! I managed to not only get over my fear of writing about scary stuff, I managed to create something new and suspenseful along the way! Whee!

To celebrate this accomplishment, and with Halloween just a few days away, I’m giving away a signed printed copy of A Sleep So Dark. All you have to do is leave a comment telling me what scares you!

A Sleep So Dark is coming…

In five days, A Sleep So Dark goes live!! I’ve been posting pictures and snippets of it on my Facebook fan page, but here’s a longer excerpt to get you in the mood for the book that early reviewers are calling a “perfect read for Halloween“!

They spooned together, Tandy’s back pressed into Cade’s chest. His legs scooped under hers, surrounding her with the heat from his body. He held her tightly, as if he planned to never let her go.

“I don’t want to fall asleep,” she whispered, a fresh wave of fear bringing tears to her eyes. “I don’t want to dream. I don’t want to die.”

“Whatever happens, you have to trust me,” he whispered into her ear, his face resting in the curve of her neck. “Watch for me in your dream. I’ll be there for you.”

Impossible as it seemed, his words didn’t shock or alarm her. Sleep was coming for her, dragging down her lashes and filling her brain. She fought to keep her eyes open and watch the flickering shapes on the ceiling, but Cade’s embrace slipped around her like a cocoon. His body poured over her fear and doubt and enveloped her in a honeyed warmth.

She didn’t know how long she could last. She fought to remain conscious.

The darkness was coming.

A Sleep So Dark

BIG NEWS!!

I know many of you found me from my latest books (Rules of Negotiation, The Boss’s Fake Fiancee), which are adult romances, but I actually started publishing with a little young adult series called The Talents (a.k.a. Delcroix Academy, but we won’t get into all that…). I love writing both adult and young adult, but my schedule over the past couple of years forced me to focus on one, which means that I haven’t released a YA for over a year.

Well, young adult fans, I have great news! In October, just two months from now, I will be releasing a new young adult novel! It’s a paranormal YA thriller, called A Sleep So Dark. It’s a new style for me, and I’m incredibly excited about sharing it with you. Here’s the blurb:

Haunted…

After watching her mother die in a car accident, sixteen year-old Tandy McIntyre is plagued by violent dreams. Terrified to sleep and losing her grip on reality, she agrees to attend an experimental group retreat with Dr. Robert Gillman, an expert in lucid dreaming.

Trapped…

In the bitter cold of a Colorado winter, Tandy follows Dr. Gillman and his enigmatic son Cade as they lead a group of troubled teens into the wilderness. There, Dr. Gillman claims he will teach them to control their unconscious minds and master their dreams. But when the dreaming and the waking collide, will Tandy ever be safe again?

Don’t Fall Asleep…

 

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be announcing spots for a review team (yay for free books!), blog tour, and cover reveal. If you know you want to get in on the fun, just email me at inara.scott@gmail.com, or stay tuned for the announcements!

Don’t Fall Asleep

BIG NEWS!!

I know many of you found me from my latest books (Rules of Negotiation, The Boss’s Fake Fiancee), which are adult romances, but I actually started publishing with a little young adult series called The Talents (a.k.a. Delcroix Academy, but we won’t get into all that…). I love writing both adult and young adult, but my schedule over the past couple of years forced me to focus on one, which means that I haven’t released a YA for over a year.

Well, young adult fans, I have great news! In October, just two months from now, I will be releasing a new young adult novel! It’s a paranormal YA thriller, called Don’t Fall Asleep. It’s a new style for me, and I’m incredibly excited about sharing it with you. Here’s the blurb:

Haunted…

After watching her mother die in a car accident, sixteen year-old Tandy McIntyre is plagued by violent dreams. Terrified to sleep and losing her grip on reality, she agrees to attend an experimental group retreat with Dr. Robert Gillman, an expert in lucid dreaming.

Trapped…

In the bitter cold of a Colorado winter, Tandy follows Dr. Gillman and his enigmatic son Cade as they lead a group of troubled teens into the wilderness. There, Dr. Gillman claims he will teach them to control their unconscious minds and master their dreams. But when the dreaming and the waking collide, will Tandy ever be safe again?

Don’t Fall Asleep…

 

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be announcing spots for a review team (yay for free books!), blog tour, and cover reveal. If you know you want to get in on the fun, just email me at inara.scott@gmail.com, or stay tuned for the announcements!

What Were They Thinking?

This is a fun thing to say while shaking your head at the rampant stupidity of…well…someone else. One likes to think that you will never have the occasion to say, “What was I thinking?” with such mystification (though anyone who was a teenager in the 80s likely says that when perusing their high school yearbook). But today, I’m wondering if this is what everyone will be saying, some day in the future, about romance writers circa 2013.

I say this after hearing and reading about the dominant theme at the 2013 RWA National Conference, which seems to be, “write more, publish more, and then when you’re done with that, write another one.” One month is the optimal time to wait between new releases. Two months, max. Keep the machine pumping. Publish everywhere you can. If you can’t crank out a novel every month, publish a novella. Can’t produce five books a year? Wait to publish until you have a big backlist, then push them out every couple of months (where you go from there, I’m not sure, unless you’ve been writing a solid decade and have enough titles to last you for a few years).

Now I’ve been a romance reader for almost thirty years. I’ve read and loved a lot of books. But even just a few years ago, no one expected their favorite author to give them something new every two months. You got a book a year from your favorite author, and you were a happy camper. Today, expectations have changed. We get one book in a series and we want the next. Immediately. We tweet/Facebook/email our favorite authors and tell them we want more. Authors feel the pressure from fans, editors, and peers to publish more more more. Classes in “fast drafting” are everywhere. Check Twitter at any given moment and I guarantee there’s an author out there cranking out 1,000 words an hour on a 1k1hr challenge.

Seriously, people, what the hell are we thinking?

I know. You’re feeding your family. You’re pleasing the fans. You’re struggling to make a living. This is what the audience wants. This is what readers demand. It’s exciting. You love to write. I get that. I do.

But really? I mean, really? Can we step back and take a little gut check here? Does anyone really believe that the quality of a book written in a month is anything comparable to the book written over six months? Does any author really think they can push out ten books a year FOR TEN YEARS and keep each one of them creative, fresh, and different?

I’m not saying I’m not falling prey to this epic “quantity is everything” push. I wrote a book in the month of July, and honestly, it was fun. I enjoyed forcing my brain to work all day long and going with the flow of the story instead of endlessly rethinking and revising as I went. And I’m not sure that story completely sucks, either (at least, my darling critique partner says it doesn’t, and that’s good enough for me). But I’m lucky enough to have a day job to go back to in the fall that will exercise another part of my brain and give the romantic trope/sex scene/plot point/witty dialog/big black moment/happily ever after part of my brain a rest. I can’t imagine doing that every month, or every two months, for the rest of my writing career.

I know some Harlequin authors have been working like this for many years. But as an industry trend, I think this five-books-a-year thing is new. And I think in ten years, when we look back on the books we’ve been churning out like magazine articles, we’re going to regret it. I just don’t believe quality is going to keep pace with quantity, and even worse, I think as authors we are going to burn ourselves out at a record pace.

I see this as a sort of grand experiment. How many books can a romance author write in a year before she is plum out of new words? Before she uses the exact same phrase to describe an orgasm that she’s used in five previous books? Before she realizes that this hero is saying/doing/thinking the same things the last hero did?

I hope we don’t get there. I hope we realize how crazy this is before we’ve exhausted ourselves and our creative juices.

Before we end up disappointing our readers by giving them less than what they deserve.

Living with Migraines

Hello Friends!

Many of you know that I am a frequent sufferer of migraines. In my fight against headaches I have done acupuncture, practiced yoga, suffered through massages (haha), gotten cranial sacral therapy, and experimented with many more treatments that we don’t need to discuss on the internet.

About fifteen years ago, my migraines were totally out of control, and I had a pretty much constant headache. Today, I only have headaches about once a week, and they are well treated by prescription medications. (Thank you, Maxalt!)

Getting my headaches under control was a multi-year battle that took a lot of work. I’ve learned that I need to get regular sleep, can’t watch movies in theaters because of the lighting, and definitely can’t watch fireworks. One of the most important things I learned is the value of a migraine-friendly diet. I’m always amazed when I talk to people who suffer from migraines when I learn that they don’t know how significant food triggers can be, and how much of a reduction in their headaches they might be able to achieve by eliminating certain foods.

Given that I’ve been living with this for so long, and so many fellow writers are sufferer of migraines, I thought maybe it would be worthwhile for me to share some of my food suggestions and tips, and maybe even a few recipes.

So, this will be the first of other blogs, maybe with some regularity if you all find them helpful.

I’ll start with the basics: food can trigger migraines. The trigger mechanisms vary enormously, so I’ll just summarize some of the most common triggers for migraine sufferers:

-red wine

-MSG

-aged cheeses (basically anything other than cream cheese, ricotta, and fresh mozzarella)

-citrus fruits

-ripe bananas

-processed meats (particularly those containing nitrates or nitrites)

-nuts

-chocolate

Basically, if it’s fun, it’s on the list! Ha! Seriously, if you want a comprehensive list of potential triggers, this list from the University of California at Berkeley was my Bible when I first started trying to identify my own triggers. Be aware that triggers are different for each person. My biggest triggers (that I’ve identified) are LIMES, PASSION FRUIT, AGED CHEESE, WINE, and PEANUTS. You may find that you are particularly sensitive to certain foods at certain times–triggers work in combination with each other, so peanuts may be a trigger for you on a day when you haven’t gotten enough sleep, or are at the wrong point in your monthly hormonal cycle, or also have a chocolate bar. This sucks, because it makes it harder to identify your triggers.

But if you’re a migraine sufferer, like me, you’ll probably find it’s worth eliminating ripe bananas rather than suffer a migraine.

I hope this was helpful–look for more recipes and tips in the future!

Authors–What Do You Really Want?

For those of you who are “skip to the back of the book” kind of folks, I’ll cut right to the chase:

More.

That’s what most of us really want, isn’t it? That’s the monster we’re fighting. The “more” monster. The drive that says when you finally get exactly what you wanted it isn’t enough. And really, that’s the demon that remains to be slain at the heart of our lives–and our publishing careers. The drive for more that makes it impossible for us to enjoy our success and figure out what will really make us happy.

Let me slow down and start from the beginning. I started writing in 2005. My goal at first was simple: to write a book. But then I wrote the book and realized that writing the book wasn’t really what I wanted. I wanted to get published.

Back then, publishing meant Big 6, which meant I needed an agent. So threw my heart and soul into getting an agent. Eventually, after a whole lot of rejections, I got an agent. Then I got The Call–from Disney-Hyperion. I was to be published. Twice.

So I got what I wanted, right? I should have been done? Happy?

Ha! Now that I achieved that goal, I wanted something new: to quit my day job. (Did that.) To make money. (Got a nice advance.) To sell more books. (Yep.) To hit a list. (Oops, not there yet!)

Get the idea? Like many of you, I’m sure, I have this constant drive to set new goals and achieve new things. Write more, different, better books. Hit some milestone in sales. Save for retirement. There are things about that drive that are wonderful. It keeps me working hard, writing more books, and constantly striving to make myself a better author, publicist, and businesswoman.

But what about the happy part? What about the content? See, this drive also brings the worry. The disappointment. The “I’m not there yet”. The feeling that I haven’t quite succeeded. The belief that “if only I get this one thing I’ll be done”–but then, of course, the one thing changes.

A blogger once asked me about an award I’d won, saying, “was that when you knew you’d made it?” I laughed and responded flippantly, “Have I made it yet?” But the flippant response wasn’t flippant at all. I really don’t feel like I’ve made it. Because there’s always a new goal on the horizon that I haven’t quite achieved.

For authors, I think this “more” drive is particularly destructive because it gets in the way of understanding–or even asking–what will truly make us content and happy. Once we get published, we need the next contract. If we get a good review, we need 10 more. If we are in e-book, we want mass market. If we are mass market, we need Walmart. If we sell 10,000 books, we need 100,000. But each of these new goals comes with a price, and we never really ask if the price is worth it. What do we leave behind when we change publishers for the next big deal? What relationship with an editor is sacrificed to get our books in Walmart? Why does it matter if we’re in the supermarket? Who the hell really cares if the Big Six ever really know your name?

The other day, I read this lovely quote from the Dalai Lama:

When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, ‘Oh yes – I already have everything that I really need.’”

Publishing today offers too many option to keep running on someone else’s hamster wheel. My challenge to myself–and all the other writers out there–is to figure out what you really want. The next time you look at your Goodreads page, or stalk yourself on Amazon, or push your agent for a new contract, or kill yourself trying to figure out what you need to do to hit a list, ask yourself, “Why do I want this? When will I be content?” If the answer is more, go back to the drawing board. Because more isn’t a way to joy. Find your path to joy, and then follow it with all your heart.