Sara Jayne Townsend's Blog, page 24

Writing Processes – Part 18: Starbucks and Inspiration

(Cross-posted on the WriteClub blog)

It’s been a while since I blogged in this series of posts, but I’d like to pick it up again.

In the last post (some time ago now so here’s a reminder) I talked about the importance of routine.  Part of my writing routine is a couple of early-morning sessions in Starbucks with the NetBook, before I go to work.  It seems to work for me.

The strange thing is, this is now so much a part of my routine that I actually get more done in that hour before work than I do when I have the day off and I endeavour to spend the day writing.  On average, I get 1,000 words written in that hour.  On a really good day, it might be 1,800.

But it has to be Starbucks.  I am never quite as productive if I sit in some other coffee shop.  I can’t really explain why.  Part of it might be that I generally don’t like coffee, unless it’s Starbucks.  And even then it has to be a single shot, with sweetener (or syrup) or I can’t drink it.  Here in the UK, we have Continental coffee chains as well as American ones.  Europeans generally like their coffee far stronger than Americans do.  I can’t drink coffee from other coffee shop chains – I find it too strong and bitter.  But Starbucks soya lattes, I like.  I also like their muffins.  My favourite ones were the ginger ones, which sadly are no longer available here.  But I’ve recently developed a fondness for their new chocolate hazelnut muffins.

So I sit there at 7:30am with my NetBook, my soya latte and a muffin, and as I eat the muffin and wait for the NetBook to boot up, I start thinking about where my characters are and what comes next.  By the time I finish eating, I’m generally ready to start.  Maybe it’s the sugar rush from the muffin, combined with unaccustomed caffeine (I’m generally a tea drinker).  Maybe the fatigue has something to do with it.  Because I have to get out of bed at 5:30am for my writing mornings, I generally start them somewhat sleep-deprived.  I have discovered that this seems to be fairly good for my creativity, particularly when I’m working on a first draft – because I’m writing before the ‘internal editor’ has woken up.

Or maybe it’s just that I’m a creature of habit.  Because these early-morning writing sessions are now an integral part of my routine, when I sit down in Starbucks with my NetBook and my coffee, I expect to write, and I do.

Whatever the reason, it seems to be working for me.  So I shall carry on crawling out of bed in what feels like the middle of the night in order to keep up my early morning Starbucks writing sessions.  The word count is testament to their effectiveness.

Monday’s Friend: Sonya Clark

Today I am interviewing once more the uber-talented Sonya Clark, following the release of her latest novel TRANCEHACK.  Welcome, Sonya!

SJT:  TRANCEHACK is a bit more sci-fi and romance than your previous works have been.  What was the inspiration behind it?

SC:  For starters, I wanted to do something different. I’ve always been as big a fan of sci-fi as I am of paranormal, but I’d never gotten close to writing it before. I had the idea to blend cyberpunk and magic, which is there the book’s title comes from. Trancehacking refers to the particular magical skill in the book of using astral projection to enter cyberspace. I drew inspiration from Neuromancer by William Gibson, and also the classic sci-fi noir film Blade Runner. I wanted to blend magic and technology in a futuristic noirish dystopia.

I also wanted the Magic Born trilogy to be more romance-oriented than the urban fantasy I’d written before. I love reading romance, and loved writing the romantic elements in my urban fantasy. It wasn’t a stretch to put the romance on an equal footing with the rest of the plot.

SJT:  Do you have any little rituals that are part of your writing routine?

SC:  The closest thing I have to a writing ritual is putting together a playlist for the world and characters. Music is my way into a story. Once I know what a story “sounds” like, I can start writing. Figuring out what a story set in the future sounded like was a bit daunting at first, but I found music that worked for me. I listened to a lot of Depeche Mode and a lot of house music while writing this.

SJT:  If you were going away for a year and could only take one book, what would it be?

SC:  This question makes me all panicky. Can I take my Kindle instead? I have no idea. Some of my favourite books are part of a series, so if I could only take one series, I might choose The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. I’d due for a re-read of that one, anyway.

SJT:  All your books feature magic in some form.  What do you think attracts you to writing about magic?

SC:  I find it inspiring. There’s a possibility for endless creativity there, and so much to explore. As much as I know, I could not name *all* of the magical systems practiced in the world. In writing about magic, you’re never going to run out of things to learn and explore.

SJT:  When you set up the magical rules of your world, do you draw from the magic of myths and legend, or do you set up your own system, with your own rules?

SC:  Usually I start with established rules, then make my own to suit the story and my own curiosity. That’s where the combination of magic and technology in the Magic Born series came from. I wanted to explore these ideas and possibilities. For this I didn’t really do any research. I just sat down and made a list of things in city life that might correspond with the traditional magical elements. For example: Fire = neon and streetlight. Earth = concrete and steel. Air = cyberspace and computers. Water = music and crowds. Then I just went from there and figured out how to develop spells and things as needed.

SJT:  Because I know you’re as big a Buffy fan as I am, and that you are re-watching the series, I have to ask this question.  How would you explain Buffy to those people who have never seen it and say, “isn’t it like Twilight?  Girl in love with vampire?” (let’s assume we can’t hit them over the head…)

SC:  Are you sure we can’t hit them over the head?

SJT:  Let’s pretend we can’t!

SC:  Ha ha. I would start by saying, Buffy is actually more like “vampire in love with a girl.” This is very much her story, she is the central character and the character with the most strength. She is the one pursued by her vampire lovers Angel and Spike. She is the one in both of those relationships with the power. I know it doesn’t always seem that way, but I’ve thought this for a while and now that I’m rewatching the series from the beginning, I still think this.

There are lots of other differences, too. Buffy never lets her romantic life rule her like Bella did. She still has her friends and family. Of course the biggest difference is that Buffy has purpose to her life. I could understand how the first couple of Twilight books could be found compelling, but the fact that Bella didn’t seem to want anything out of life, that she seemed directionless and purposeless without a boyfriend – at first blush I found that weird, and then the more I thought about it, I found it disturbing. Buffy always struggles for normalcy in her life, but she never shies away from her calling as a slayer, either. She knows that this is the greatest purpose in her life, for better or worse.

SJT:  It’s been a rather busy year for you.  What’s next for you, writing-wise?

SC:  The second Magic Born book is in edits right now and scheduled for release next summer, and I’ll soon be starting the last book in the trilogy. I’ve got some other irons in the fire, as well. Mostly my goal is to just keep telling stories.

TRANCEHACK BLURB

It’s 2065. Those born with magic abilities live in government-run zones, without rights or freedoms. Fear of magic created this segregated world and fear keeps it intact.

A high-profile murder brings Detective Nathan Perez to Magic Born Zone 13. He’s had little experience with the Magic Born and isn’t sure what to expect during his first encounter with a witch, but he never thought he’d be so drawn to her.

Trancehacker Calla Vesper uses magic to break into computers and aid the Magic Born underground. She has no interest in helping a cop, even if he is smoking-hot, but money’s tight and Nate offers a tidy amount for help navigating the Zone. Calla’s determined to keep it all business, but sparks start flying before the investigation even gets started.

When Calla’s trancehacking and Nathan’s investigation uncover a conspiracy, Calla becomes a target. Nate can protect her by keeping her role a secret—but then who will protect Nate?

Available in digital format from Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online book retailers.

About Sonya Clark:

Sonya Clark grew up a military brat and now lives in Tennessee with her husband and daughter. She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance with a heavy helping of magic and lots of music for inspiration. Learn more at http://www.sonyaclark.net. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Imaginary Friends: Sonya Clark

Today I am interviewing once more the uber-talented Sonya Clark, following the release of her latest novel TRANCEHACK.  Welcome, Sonya!

SJT:  TRANCEHACK is a bit more sci-fi and romance than your previous works have been.  What was the inspiration behind it?

SC:  For starters, I wanted to do something different. I’ve always been as big a fan of sci-fi as I am of paranormal, but I’d never gotten close to writing it before. I had the idea to blend cyberpunk and magic, which is there the book’s title comes from. Trancehacking refers to the particular magical skill in the book of using astral projection to enter cyberspace. I drew inspiration from Neuromancer by William Gibson, and also the classic sci-fi noir film Blade Runner. I wanted to blend magic and technology in a futuristic noirish dystopia.

I also wanted the Magic Born trilogy to be more romance-oriented than the urban fantasy I’d written before. I love reading romance, and loved writing the romantic elements in my urban fantasy. It wasn’t a stretch to put the romance on an equal footing with the rest of the plot.

SJT:  Do you have any little rituals that are part of your writing routine?

SC:  The closest thing I have to a writing ritual is putting together a playlist for the world and characters. Music is my way into a story. Once I know what a story “sounds” like, I can start writing. Figuring out what a story set in the future sounded like was a bit daunting at first, but I found music that worked for me. I listened to a lot of Depeche Mode and a lot of house music while writing this.

SJT:  If you were going away for a year and could only take one book, what would it be?

SC:  This question makes me all panicky. Can I take my Kindle instead? I have no idea. Some of my favourite books are part of a series, so if I could only take one series, I might choose The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. I’d due for a re-read of that one, anyway.

SJT:  All your books feature magic in some form.  What do you think attracts you to writing about magic?

SC:  I find it inspiring. There’s a possibility for endless creativity there, and so much to explore. As much as I know, I could not name *all* of the magical systems practiced in the world. In writing about magic, you’re never going to run out of things to learn and explore.

SJT:  When you set up the magical rules of your world, do you draw from the magic of myths and legend, or do you set up your own system, with your own rules?

SC:  Usually I start with established rules, then make my own to suit the story and my own curiosity. That’s where the combination of magic and technology in the Magic Born series came from. I wanted to explore these ideas and possibilities. For this I didn’t really do any research. I just sat down and made a list of things in city life that might correspond with the traditional magical elements. For example: Fire = neon and streetlight. Earth = concrete and steel. Air = cyberspace and computers. Water = music and crowds. Then I just went from there and figured out how to develop spells and things as needed.

SJT:  Because I know you’re as big a Buffy fan as I am, and that you are re-watching the series, I have to ask this question.  How would you explain Buffy to those people who have never seen it and say, “isn’t it like Twilight?  Girl in love with vampire?” (let’s assume we can’t hit them over the head…)

SC:  Are you sure we can’t hit them over the head?

SJT:  Let’s pretend we can’t!

SC:  Ha ha. I would start by saying, Buffy is actually more like “vampire in love with a girl.” This is very much her story, she is the central character and the character with the most strength. She is the one pursued by her vampire lovers Angel and Spike. She is the one in both of those relationships with the power. I know it doesn’t always seem that way, but I’ve thought this for a while and now that I’m rewatching the series from the beginning, I still think this.

There are lots of other differences, too. Buffy never lets her romantic life rule her like Bella did. She still has her friends and family. Of course the biggest difference is that Buffy has purpose to her life. I could understand how the first couple of Twilight books could be found compelling, but the fact that Bella didn’t seem to want anything out of life, that she seemed directionless and purposeless without a boyfriend – at first blush I found that weird, and then the more I thought about it, I found it disturbing. Buffy always struggles for normalcy in her life, but she never shies away from her calling as a slayer, either. She knows that this is the greatest purpose in her life, for better or worse.

SJT:  It’s been a rather busy year for you.  What’s next for you, writing-wise?

SC:  The second Magic Born book is in edits right now and scheduled for release next summer, and I’ll soon be starting the last book in the trilogy. I’ve got some other irons in the fire, as well. Mostly my goal is to just keep telling stories.

TRANCEHACK BLURB

It’s 2065. Those born with magic abilities live in government-run zones, without rights or freedoms. Fear of magic created this segregated world and fear keeps it intact.

A high-profile murder brings Detective Nathan Perez to Magic Born Zone 13. He’s had little experience with the Magic Born and isn’t sure what to expect during his first encounter with a witch, but he never thought he’d be so drawn to her.

Trancehacker Calla Vesper uses magic to break into computers and aid the Magic Born underground. She has no interest in helping a cop, even if he is smoking-hot, but money’s tight and Nate offers a tidy amount for help navigating the Zone. Calla’s determined to keep it all business, but sparks start flying before the investigation even gets started.

When Calla’s trancehacking and Nathan’s investigation uncover a conspiracy, Calla becomes a target. Nate can protect her by keeping her role a secret—but then who will protect Nate?

Available in digital format from Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online book retailers.

About Sonya Clark:

Sonya Clark grew up a military brat and now lives in Tennessee with her husband and daughter. She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance with a heavy helping of magic and lots of music for inspiration. Learn more at http://www.sonyaclark.net. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

A Few Words On Self-Publishing

(Cross-posted on the WriteClub blog)

The rise of the e-book has led to an increase in self-publishing.  Never has it been easier to self-publish your book.  In fact all you actually need to do is format your manuscript correctly, add a cover image, upload it to Kindle and there it is, available to download to whoever wants it.

This is a pretty controversial subject.  A lot of people in the publishing industry are of the opinion that every self-published book is badly written and badly edited, and anyone with any modicum of talent will eventually be picked up by a “proper” publisher.

The self published authors tell a different story.  Most of them have been discouraged by years of rejections, convinced that their book is not necessarily bad, but not marketable enough to be picked up.  Sometimes there is truth to this belief.  Of course there are a lot of delusional people out there as well, but that’s digressing a bit.

When I first started submitting novels to publishers, over 25 years ago, the process was very different.  To get a publisher you had to get an agent.  That meant sending in the first three chapters, by mail, including a stamped self-addressed return envelope.  To get the latter meant standing in line at the post office with your open envelope, having it weighed to find out how much postage would cost, buying that amount twice, then having to remove the SAE to put stamps on it, seal your envelope, and then put stamps on the outer envelope.  And then a couple of weeks later you’d get home from work to discover a brown envelope with your handwriting on the doorstep, and your heart would sink because you knew that it was another rejection.

And after all that, the pages would come back having been all creased and curled in the mail, and not in a fit state to send out to anyone else and so as well as having to buy so many stamps you were spending a fortune on paper and ink (I had an Amstrad PCW in those days – it used a dot matrix printer).

Vanity presses we knew to avoid at all costs, and self publishing wasn’t a terribly attractive option, because you had to lay out costs for printing and typesetting, and find somewhere to store the finished product, and anything self-published was perceived to be of insufficent quality to find a publisher

The publishing industry has changed since then.  There are a lot more small independent presses around willing to take a chance on new writers, and you don’t need an agent to submit to them, but it seems to be getting harder for new writers to break into the big established publishers – unless they are showing signs of being the next JK Rowlings or Dan Brown.  And online e-publishers like Amazon and Smashwords are making it far easier to self-publish e-books.

I have to admit my tune has changed on the self-publishing front.  If you get bored of being told what you’re writing isn’t going to sell, then self publishing becomes an attractive option.  But it is true that there are a lot of self-published books out there that are badly written and badly edited, and really aren’t helping to dispel this notion that all self-published books are rubbish.

In my opinion, there are three crucial things that a writer should do before they even consider self-publishing.  In order of importance, they are:

1.  When the manuscript is finished, send it to some beta readers to read and comment.  Heed their comments and re-write the manuscript.  Criticism can be hard to take, but most writers are too close to their work to be able to judge it obectively.  A writing group is really helpful for this.  If you can’t find one locally, go to an online writers’ forum like Absolute Write.  You’ll pick up valuable advice on the writing process anyway, and you will undoubtedly find a few helpful souls who are willing to give you an email crit.

2.  Pay a professional editor to edit your manuscript.  This can be expensive, but you need to invest in it, and it will set you apart from the rank amateurs.  No matter how good you think you are at spelling and grammar, there’ll always be something you overlook.  Just about every self-published book I have ever read contains at least one instance of “it’s” when should be “its” – for the record, the former is a contraction of “it is”; the latter means “belonging to it”.  If I come across this in any published book, I’ll be grinding my teeth and probably won’t finish reading it.

3.  Ensure your book has a professional looking cover.  And this does not mean you playing around with clip art and a graphics programme for half an hour.  Pay an artist, or someone with professional experience in creating cover images.  If you don’t know anyone, ask around your social network for a recommendation.

There’s nothing wrong with self publishing your own book as long as you’ve done these three things.  Yes it means forking out cash, but you are investing in your reputation as a writer, and if readers buy your book and enjoy it, they are likely to recommend it to others – and nothing beats word of mouth when it comes to book sales.

If every self-published author did these things, we would go a long way towards changing the perception of self-published books as all being rubbish.  There are some brilliant self-published e-books to be found in the Kindle Store.  But sometimes you have to sift through a lot of mud to find the golden nuggets.

Let’s work towards a world where there’s more gold than mud out there to find.

 

Dr Who

It’s the 50th anniversary of the TV show ‘Dr Who’, and the UK has Who mania.  The anniversary episode airs here tomorrow night, and it has been much hyped.

So I thought a post about this unique TV show was appropriate.

‘Dr Who’ first aired on British TV in 1963.  The story goes that this little quirky science fiction show about an eccentric alien time traveller became so popular, that when its star William Hartnell decided he wanted to leave the show, the producers were so reluctant to finish the series they came up with the idea that since the character wasn’t human, he could regenerate into someone else so they could carry on with the series.   They subsequently cast Patrick Troughton as The Doctor.

Every British kid has grown up with Dr Who since 1963.  I know my dad has watched every episode.  My earliest memory of the show is the episode in which Jon Pertwee regenerated into Tom Baker.  That was 1974 – I would have been four years old.  I remember it nonetheless.  Tom Baker is the Doctor I grew up with – he played the part from 1974 to 1981.  Sometimes it scared me silly (“The Hand of Fear” gave me nightmares for weeks), but I watched it every week anyway.

At the end of January 1980, we moved to Canada.  At that time, ‘Dr Who’ wasn’t on over there.  I pretty much missed everything between Peter Davidson and Sylvester McCoy, until I moved back to England in 1988 – until the early 1990s, when we got cable TV, and UK Gold repeated them all, and I was able to catch up.

Then there was a one-off TV movie, featuring Paul McGann as The Doctor, released in 1996 but set in 1999.  It had American backing, was heavily Americanised and a lot of fans think it took too much creative licence to be true to the series.

Then in 2005 the series was relaunched again, internationally.  Suddenly Americans and Canadians were big fans of ‘Dr Who’.  Following Christopher Eccleston’s departure David Tennant played the role for five years, and when he left it was Matt Smith.

In my opinion, there are two types of Dr Who fans.  There are those who have been following the series since its early days.  And there are those who have been following it since its 21st century relaunch.  This latter category of fans were a bit floored in a David Tennant episode when he made passing reference to having been a dad – the reaction was, “What?  Where’s that come from?  You can’t leave it there!”  Those of us who have been with the show since the early days know that The Doctor’s first companion was his granddaughter Susan, and therefore we already know he must have been a dad once.

The fans who have only been watching it in the last eight years are getting a different sort of experience.  The 21st century ‘Dr Who’ has a bigger budget, more spectacular special effects and far more complex story lines.  The last couple of years have been even more complex.  Once upon a time, you could sum up ‘Dr Who’ in one sentence:  “Eccentric 900-year-old alien travels through space and time in a space ship that looks like a police box”.  Try and sum up the last two seasons of ‘Dr Who’ in one sentence, and you’ll struggle.

There has also been a precedent, in recent years, to cast young good-looking men in the role of The Doctor, and have attractive female companions who he gets to snog.  This is, as I understand it, to attract more young women into watching the show, but it has given it a whole new dimension that just wasn’t present in the old days.  Could you imagine Tom Baker’s Doctor snogging Sarah Jane Smith?  It was unthinkable.  He just wasn’t that sort of Doctor.

In the UK, you can generally tell people’s age by which Doctor they grew up with.  Tom Baker remains my favourite – he was constant throughout my childhood.  David Tennant is a close second, but it’s a different league because he is one of the new incarnations of The Doctor.

The much-anticipated 50th anniversary episode is on tomorrow night, and sneak previews have been promising.  I remain optimistic that this show will marry the old series with the new – and therefore unite all fans.  That’s a tall order, I know, for a TV show.  Whether or not it will deliver, remains to be seen.  Every ‘Dr Who’ fan in the UK will be glued to the TV tomorrow night.

As a further homage to ‘Dr Who’, it seems appropriate to end on this Youtube video, which merges every single sequence of opening credits, from 1963 to 2013.  You can tell from this how the show has changed over the years.  At some point in the 1970s, it changed to colour.  The sequence from the Paul McGann film has a definite ‘Hollywood’ influence.  Sylvester McCoy’s opening sequence has a suspiciously 1980s flavour.  And the practice of including the current face of The Doctor in the credits, which was dropped in the 21st century series, returns for the last season of Matt Smith’s run – hinting of a return to the original storyline.

So, fellow, Who fans, I want to hear from you.  What’s your earliest memory of  The Doctor?  Though I ask you not to comment on the 50th anniversary episode for the time being, at least – let’s avoid spoilers for those who will be catching up with it later!

Burns Bass

This is my Burns bass. It’s a 1962 Vista Sonic Sunburst. It used to belong to my dad, who played bass guitar in a band in the 1960s. He told me he bought it in Tin Pan Alley in London, one day when the neck of his previous bass broke and he needed to find a new one in a hurry because he and the band had a gig to play.

When he found out that I was learning to play bass, he gave it to me, as he hadn’t played it in years. For that reason, I will never sell it.

It’s a bass with attitude. It’s heavy, and it’s loud. I have yet to find a proper gig bag that it fits in, because it’s got a long neck and a big headstock. It’s older than me, and probably in better condition.

Note the sticker of the dude playing guitar. If you think he looks a bit 1970s, you’d be right. When I was about eight years old I had a book of stickers, for colouring in and sticking on things. I coloured in the guitar dude, and dad asked if he could have it. He stuck it on the Burns, and it’s been there for the last 35 years.

Whenever I take the bass out on open mic nights it always gets attention. Proper rockers know what it is, and that it’s rare.

So the bass is something special. I wish I could say the same about my playing.  But I’m still learning, and I’m learning right-handed in spite of being left-handed (as it happens you need both hands to play bass guitar, but I might tell that story some other time). I do open mic nights with Hubby, and our friend Julia, who does vocals.

I’m going to leave you with a video of an open mic performance from earlier this year, in which I do my stuff on the Burns. This is a rendition of Mudcrutch’s “Lover of the Bayou”. And on this one, Hubby does most of the vocals.

Yes, I know I look very serious. I was concentrating hard.

On A Roll

(Cross-posted on the WriteClub blog)

With two finished novels out on sub, it was time to begin in earnest a new project.

I’ve mentioned in passing a collaboration with Hubby. Who, it has to be said, is not a writer. However, after 30 years of running Dungeons & Dragons games, he’s become very good at plotting – especially with our group, who frequently decide to go off and do something that’s not actually in the module, which means he often has to do some spontaneous plotting to keep the game going.

The WIP is a crime thriller set in the late 1960s, and is about a young woman with aspirations to be a rock musician. The novel takes her from California and the Monterey pop festival in 1967 to the emerging and influential music scene in London. On the way she gets mixed up with gangland London, in a search for a friend who’s gone missing.

This project is in its early stages.  Hubby and I have been working together on the plot outline, and I’ve been doing the writing thus far. Though I am relying on his expertise on references to bands and songs of the late 60s, and what make of guitar bands of the time would be playing, as he knows a lot more about this than I do.

Thus far I’ve been struggling with the first draft. The first 20,000 words took months to write, and I was struggling to find the voice of the main character.

But suddenly, I’ve found the story and the character, and the novel has become much easier to write.  In the last two weeks I have written as many words as I did in September and October combined.

The project is in its early stages, and I am reluctant to say too much about it as anything can happen between now and the end of the book. But thus far it’s going well. I am on a roll.

Here’s hoping it continues.

Monday’s Friend: Gemma Brocato

Today I’m pleased to welcome romance writer Gemma Brocato to the blog, promoting her new book COOKING UP ROMANCE. Welcome, Gemma!

A Love of Reading

By Gemma Brocato

Thanks for hosting me today Sara. It’s a pleasure to be here.

It’s possible that I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I remember a paper I wrote in fifth grade. It was springtime in the Midwest, which meant the weather was cool and often rainy. I wrote about how I loved the way the newly budded trees stood out against a stark gray sky, highlighted by the sun as it peeked out once the storm had passed. My paper came back with a comment from the teacher that I had a gift for description. However, I received a bad mark on the report, because I was supposed to write the building of the Panama Canal. Oops!

Even as long ago as the fifth grade, I’ve loved to read. I cut my teeth on Dick and Jane books, admiring their adventures, feeling bad about the trouble they occasionally got into. I think I wanted to name our first dog Spot.

By the time I was in third grade, I was checking out Nancy Drew Mysteries from the school library, then moved on to the You Were There Series (anyone remember Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys?). In junior high school, I’d moved on to Georgette Heyer and found I was spoiled for anything except sweet romance stories.

By the time I hit college, I forced myself to expand my horizons by vowing to read one biography for every five novels I read. I discovered Ingrid Bergman and Edith Piaf the same summer I stumbled on to Stephen King, Bram Stoker and Dean Koontz. Trust me when I say my imagination was significantly scarier than any movie produced from those books. It’s no small wonder that I switched back to reading romance novels when my mother let me read her copy of Ashes in the Wind, by Kathleen Woodiwiss.

At that point, I was toast. My nose was constantly buried in a book, almost always a romance novel. It’s no small wonder I chose to write romance. Many exceptional authors have influenced my writing style; Johanna Lindsey, Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz, Elizabeth Lowell, Sophie Kinsella, Nicholas Sparks, Gemma Townley, to name a few.

And I’m still reading. I love my Kindle, because when I travel, I no longer have to find room for three or four books in my suitcase. I can take the hundreds I have in my carousel. And that leaves room for me to pack extra shoes (my other passion).

Gemma’s contemporary romance COOKING UP LOVE is now available from Lyrical Press. 

Blurb

Jemima George leads a charmed life as a personal chef and assistant to reality television’s latest darling. But that changes in a New York minute when her Aunt Caro dies under odd circumstances, bequeathing her a small restaurant. Jem plans to sell the café and continue her life in NYC, until a dramatic phone call from her cheating boyfriend convinces her to experiment with the ingredients for happiness and accept her Aunt’s legacy. Throwing herself into remodeling the restaurant with the help of the town’s delicious contractor, Jem revamps the menu and renews her faith in herself.

Jack Kerrigan considered Caro a surrogate mother and hates the idea that the café could be sold. He doesn’t need the remodeling project, but if it means Caro’s beautiful, fascinating niece will stay to run the restaurant, he’s all in. He wouldn’t mind being savory to Jem’s sweet.

Jack’s brassy ex-wife is cooking up a scheme of her own, where Jack tosses Jem like a salad and comes back to her. Fold in a creepy attorney hiding secrets of environmental mayhem, add Jem’s claustrophobia, half-pint niece and nephew twins, one mysterious lockbox, and bring to a boil–a recipe for romance.

A Lyrical Press Contemporary Romance

Excerpt From Cooking Up Love

Jem sighed and gestured to herself. “Look at me! Jack, I’m a mess. Suddenly, I’m living in an upside-down world. I liked my life in New York, and now I’ve willingly traded it for operating a business I have no real experience at, in a town whose entire population is roughly equivalent to the number of residents on the city block where I use to live. I don’t know anyone here, except for you. And Sam. And, I don’t know you all that well.” She folded her arms across her rib cage and gazed at the ground. “I never thought I’d be the kind of woman a man would use and cheat on. What pisses me off is how he made me feel when I ended it. Now, instead of riding into the sunset with the man I thought I’d share my life with, in the city I called home, all I’m left with is doubt.”

“Jem–”

“I don’t trust–”

“Me?” he asked softly.

She lifted her head sharply, surprised by the hurt in his voice. How could he think that? She had more faith in him than in herself. She shook her head vehemently, eager to make him understand. “No! Me. I don’t trust me. And you don’t want that. You don’t want me.”

“As you said, you don’t know me well enough. How can you possibly know what I do or don’t want?” He stepped toward her.

She took a step back, maintaining their distance. “Let’s just say you shouldn’t want me. Wanting me comes complete with my neuroses. I hate small spaces and feeling like I’m trapped. I’m ‘freakishly’ tall–Phil’s words, not mine, built more like a boy than a woman worth touching. I no longer trust myself when it comes to making relationship decisions. Honestly, I don’t know when or if I ever will. For now, we should just stick to business. It’s safer for me. It’s safer for everyone.”

Panic clouded her vision and she wished her words back in her mouth. God, what was she doing? Was she really pushing away this wonderful, charming and sinfully gorgeous man? Shivers raced through her at the knowledge that she might be more damaged than she thought.

Her regret about her feelings had to be obvious, but she prayed the resolve she felt was as unmistakable. Phil’s infidelity and harsh words had shaken her normal self-confidence. She hadn’t lied when she told Jack she didn’t trust herself.

She dragged her eyes away from his and whispered, “You should be grateful. Hell, you should be running out the door, thanking the gods you escaped involvement with someone as messed up as me. I’m not going to change my mind. Please make this easy on both of us, Jack. Walk away.”

His challenging look told her he thought she was wrong; his grip on the kitchen chair in front of him turned his knuckles white. Looking across the barrier of the table, determination clearly readable in the set of his lips and tension in his shoulders, Jem knew she hadn’t convinced him.

He glanced away and rolled his shoulders. “Everyone has issues to deal with, Jem. I’ve found it’s easier if you share with someone, and deal with them together. As far as Phil’s ridiculous judgment that you’re too tall and built like a boy, the man’s a douchebag. I say we fit. You fit perfectly in my arms. I’ve never been attracted to any boy the way I’m attracted to you.”

He laughed. “Yeah, that didn’t come out quite the way I meant it. I can be whatever you need me to be: contractor, friend…lover, I hope. When you get to know me better, you’ll know how patient, how determined I can be.” He closed his toolbox and pulled on his jacket as he spoke. “For now, I’ll settle for business associate, and hopefully, friend. I don’t know you, but I like you. And this might be an understatement, but I’m attracted to you. More than attracted.” He glanced over his shoulder at her a last time as he walked through the kitchen door. “And this, between us, this attraction…this heat? It’s a long way from over.”

Author Bio

Gemma’s favorite desk accessories for many years were a circular wooden token, better known as a ’round tuit,’ and a fortune from a fortune cookie that said she was a lover of words; some day she’d write a book. All it took was a transfer to the United Kingdom, the lovely English springtime, and a huge dose of homesickness to write her first novel. Once it was completed and sent off with a kiss even the rejections, addressed to ‘Dear Author’, were gratifying.

After returning to America, she spent a number of years as a copywriter, dedicating her skills to making insurance and the agents who sell them sound sexy. Eventually, her full-time job as a writer interfered with her desire to be a writer full-time and she left the world of financial products behind to pursue an avocation as a romance author.

Her gamble paid off when she was a 2012 Finalist in the prestigious Golden Pen contest for Romantic Suspense and she received contracts for her first and second book.

Connect with Gemma on Facebook, Twitter, @gemmabrocato or on the web at www.Gemmabrocato.com

Buy Links

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Up-Love-Gemma-Brocato-ebook/dp/B00G36CD0K/

Kobo  http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/cooking-up-love-3

Barnes and Noble  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cooking-up-love-gemma-brocato/1117213296

iTunes  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/cooking-up-love/id688219548?mt=11

Monday’s Friend: Daisy Banks

Today I’m pleased to welcome Daisy Banks to the blog, to talk about a uniquely British tradition. Welcome, Daisy!

Bonfire Night

By Daisy Banks

I love this time of year. The excitement of Halloween has just passed and now we in the UK have something else to look forward to, Bonfire Night on 5 November. As I child I adored Bonfire Night. The explosions of colour and sound were a delight. My brothers and I would collect as much scrap wood as we could get our grubby little hands on to make a bonfire. We always made a Guy to go on the top, often utilising an old pair of my father’s overalls to form the body. Some of our creations were quite realistic.

The excitement in our house grew with each passing day and when the fireworks were bought we’d look at the enticing little packages eager to see what they might be called. The names conjured all kinds of expectations: Demon Flight, Flowerpots, Helicopters, obviously a variety of rockets, and my favourite Catherine Wheels. Purely to keep us quiet my mother would produce small packs of Bengal Matches and we would be allowed to light a few to watch the coloured smoke drifting in the breeze. We might even get a sparkler or two to make patterns in the air during an evening before the great event.

Bonfire night itself was always wonderful; only once in my entire childhood was the great event rained off. Most Bonfire nights we were lucky, the evening would be clear, crisp and often very cold. The fire would be well stacked, our Guy heaved up onto the top in pride of place and then the blaze would be lit. My brothers and I circling it as the flames climbed higher.

The fireworks were part of the moment and lit our garden with a multitude of colours, and we’d watch other rockets competing with ours as they headed up into a starry night. My memories are vivid of the event.

It’s odd to think all this joy and excitement is part of a national act of remembrance of the grim death of one political activist in the seventeeth century.

A legacy of my memories of Bonfire Night has found its way into one of my stories – To Eternity, the sequel to my Werewolf Story Timeless.

Here is a snippet from the work in progress. I’m hopeful this will be available to buy in the New Year.

Thanks for hosting me Sara-Jayne.

Excerpt from work in progress: To Eternity

Magnus glanced at the lively bonfire and accepted Sian’s arm laced through his.

“We can get some mulled wine, sweet toffee popcorn if you want and the fireworks are due to begin in about five minutes.” Her eyes shone bright and her infectious excitement stilled his ponderings and raised his smile.

“I haven’t had mulled wine in an age,” he said and let her lead him on.

“Oh, Magnus, look. Candy floss.” Sian pointed to a stall where the bright pink confection shuddered on sticks and was also bagged up ready for sale.

“Would you like some?”

Her smile rose, spread wider. “Please. Don’t you like it too?”

He shook his head. “I’d prefer to buy it for you. Let’s get that and then find somewhere to stand to get a good view of the fireworks.”

They did and ten minutes later, while Sian finished the last of the candy and he sipped a glass of warm mulled wine, the first rocket soared into a clear, dark winter sky as though it wanted to reach the furthest stars.

The small crowd of on-lookers responded to each element of the display, children yelled while their parents made appreciative sounds. Sian nestled in his embrace. He rested his chin on her shoulder. She stood a little lower than usual, in Wellington boots instead of her normal heels. Another flash of electric blue bloomed into a cascade of violet and orange sparks dancing into the night.

A contentment of sharing this experience with her mellowed his usual concerns at being at such a public event.

The other people here offered no sidelong glances, no questions were asked and he relaxed further. Together he and Sian stood in the same way many couples did, cuddled close, arms entwined, their heads close together as the fireworks crackled and roared into the cold night. He’d no doubt the couples around them loved, old or young, newly-wed, or those who’d been together for years, they loved and had the knowledge they were free to do so.

A freedom denied to him and anyone who might love with him.

To find out more about Magnus and Sian, you can read the beginning of their story in Daisy’s book Timeless. Buy link here: http://amzn.to/HkWhHX

Learn more about Daisy and her writing at the following links;

Blog    http://daisybanks.wordpress.com/

Website http://daisybanksnovels.yolasite.com/

Twitter @DaisyBanks12

Facebook http://on.fb.me/18iRC35

Pinterest http://bit.ly/16sF1XG

Free firework images from: www.iceflowstudios.com

BristolCon 2013 – Roundup

(Cross-posted on the WriteClub blog)

I usually follow up a Con with a write-up, and so here is my take on BristolCon, which took place on Saturday 26 October.

Hubby and I travelled down from London by train on Friday afternoon, as soon as I was able to get away from the day job.  It was actually quite a pleasant journey, taking just about two hours on a train we could pre-book seats on.  The hotel, we were pleased to find, was a five-minute walk from Bristol Temple Meads Station, and was modern and comfortable.  It was also conveniently located for the Town Centre and close to bars and restaurants, for those who want to take a break from the Con.

The Con officially began at 10 am on Saturday morning, running two concurrent threads.  I was on one of the opening panels – the panel on Innovative Deaths, moderated by Anne Lyle.  We discussed ways of killing people for over 45 minutes.  Fortunately we didn’t seem to scare the audience too much – or at least that was how I interpreted it, as nobody ran out screaming.

After that I caught some of the ‘My World is Not Your Sandpit’ panel, about fan fiction, in which a rather energetic debate took place.  I have to say I missed the beginning of this panel, but what I saw clearly defined the two sides of the argument.  One side was that if the fan fiction writer is not making any profit from their writing, and the original creator of the world is done writing books about that world, should they not be flattered by enthusiastic fans wanting to play in their sandpit?  The opposing viewpoint was that anyone other than the creator is not going to get the world right because so much of a created world never makes it into the book, and a writer is never really done with their world.  It was an interesting discussion and I must confess I can see the point of the writers who say they don’t want anybody else playing in their sandpit, because it’s theirs.  Though the chance to be adored enough for someone to want to play in my sandpit would be a fine thing.  It was also pointed out in this panel that fan fiction is an evolutionary stage of the young writer, and this spoke to me as well.  Fortunately my Star Wars fan fiction was written in the days before the Internet and will never be aired in public.

After that I stuck around for the panel on the Evolution of Genre, where among other things the influence of ‘real-world’ problem on genre was discussed.  Apparently zombies do well during periods of high unemployment and financial restraints.  Vampires apparently do well during periods of affluence.  What this says about us I don’t know.

After taking a break from watching panels I joined the other authors for the ‘mass signing’, for which we’d all been encouraged to bring books to sell at the committee table.  A member of the writing group who’d bought a copy of SOUL SCREAMS a while ago came to get it signed, but unfortunately I sold none of the copies I’d brought with me.  Which was a bit crushing, frankly.  Obviously I need to step up my promotional efforts.

My final programme item was to moderate the small press panel at 4pm.   I had done some homework on this, and I already knew I had a fantastic panel.  Cheryl Morgan, who runs Wizards Tower press.  Chrissey Harrison, independent film maker and small press publisher.  Jonathan Wright, journalist and editor.  David R Rodger, self published science fiction writer.  I think we gave the topic a good airing, all my panel members engaged in the conversation and we had a reasonable number of people in the audience.  And to be honest, I quite enjoyed moderating.  I think I’d like to do it again some time.

With my commitments over with I sat back to enjoy a couple more panels, venturing into the larger programme room for the ‘Beyond Arthur’ panel, moderated by Gaie Sebold, and then the panel saying farewell to Iain Banks, moderated by Cheryl Morgan.

And then it was back to the bar, to see out the day with more chat, more food and more wine, and to relax before our train home Sunday morning.

BristolCon is a small local Con, running for a day to be deliberately attractive to people in South West England who can attend without having to book hotel accommodation.  Although small I found it a very well run and friendly Con, especially welcoming to small press and self published writers.

Next year’s Con has been set for 18 October 2014 in the same great location.  I am intending to come back next year.

If you can get to Bristol I thoroughly recommend this Con.  It’s a fantastic experience.