Emily Cale's Blog, page 7

Happy Thanksgiving!

For those of you in the United States, I wanted to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. This year I'm overseas and not able to celebrate (just another normal Thursday here).

I did break away from my traditional food and go find myself something better to eat for lunch today.
Veg Manchurian (deep fried vegetable balls) and a coke at my desk. Not exactly turkey and sweet potatoes, but it'll do.

Decadent Publishing Giveaway

Decadent Publishing is hosting a month long event titled Give A Reader A Reader. 
The idea goes well with the holidays. If you're here, you probably already know how awesome ebooks are. Before I got my e-reader, these long ventures to India tended to be rougher. I'm nowhere near a bookstore during the week and I can't haul many books over or back. Now, I just download whatever I want as I go. No more missing new releases or finding myself stuck an evening with nothing to read. 
Now you know you have a friend who hasn't caught on yet. Maybe they don't understand or they just haven't gotten around to buying one. Well, win this contest and you can give them their very own Nook. It's the new one with the glowlight things too, so no need to have a flashlight to read in the dark. To sweeten the deal, you'll start them off with 45 ebooks from Decadent Publishing, including one from me. Bonus: you get those 45 ebooks too. Here's a list of what books are included.
It might be a little hard to see, but just trust me. There is a lot of goodness there. So what do you have to do to win? There are a lot of ways to get entries. You can find out all the details here, That same place will allow you to view the blog hop schedule. Follow along and each day there is at least one more chance to win. The schedule is here (I'm on December 8th). So jump to it, get hopping, commenting, Tweeting and Facebooking to win. 
Oh, and we have a video! Did I mention the video?
Okay, I think I am out of awesomeness for today. Be back later for more. 

Texture {Guest Blog: Taryn Kincaid}

Today I have fellow Decadent Publishing author Taryn Kincaid on my blog to talk about her newest releases, Lightning and Thunder. She also has a giveaway running here, so make sure you read all the way to the end!

I’m a pantser. I don’t write many drafts. I write and edit and rewrite and edit as I go. It’s a slow process. But when I finally get to the end, the ms is in pretty much the condition that it’s going to be in when editors and readers see it. Maybe some minor tweaking here and there.
So as I go, I try to weave things in about the characters, to illuminate who they are, what informs them, how they got to the spot where they are when we meet them.
This is what I mean:  In HEALING HEARTS, my Regency romance for Carina Press, the heroine gets her first glance at the hero after his return from war with Napoleon on the Iberian Peninsula, where he was wounded. She adored him when she was a young girl, but now she blames him for her brother’s death at the hands of the French. Instead of musing about his sparkling sapphire eyes she makes it all about the war that affected them both so powerfully:
Thank God she remained too far away to see his eyes. From the rigid set of his jaw, Emma suspected the horrors of war had doused the ready light that had once shined there. She was certain bleak shadows now dulled their remarkable blue the way a pall of smoke turned day to dusk on the battlefield.
And the hero, Adam, thinks of Emma in terms of his own recent experience:
The young woman’s sudden appearance, after she’d remained hidden so long, broadsided Adam like a cannon shot.
He’d sensed her presence but had never actually seen her as anything more than a vague shadow, concealed in the gray mists of dawn as she darted to her secret observation post like a French sharpshooter.
I love metaphors and similes, as you can probably tell. I used to drive my old critique group to distraction with them Why choose one, when you can have 45? Uh, no. One of my wise partners used to call such over-baking “an embarrassment of riches.” 
I still tend to go into overdrive. But writing shorter works, such LIGHTNINGand THUNDER, my 1Night Stand stories for Decadent Publishing, have forced me to writer sparser and cleaner.
In LIGHTNING, there wasn’t word count enough to go into pages and pages of backstory, although the history Lily and Campbell shared was essential to the plot.  They were a couple in high school, but after their first fateful and scorching hot time together on their prom night, Campbell ended up in a coma, Lily vanished from his life, and they hadn’t seen each other in ten years.  A successful architect when the story opens, Campbell has acquired special powers along the way:
He only ever lost himself when he was drawing. Most of the time he was hyper-aware. Scents, sounds, a cornucopia of sensation. But the feel of the pencil in his hand grounded him, the stroke of graphite on paper, one bold line connecting to the next and the next. He could soar, and remain earthbound at the same time.
When writing Lily, a succubus whose difficulties with sex and lightning strikes have made her gun-shy around mortal men, I tried to amp up the references to electricity, especially when describing her reaction to Campbell:
Taken by surprise, her reaction sparked immediate shimmers of electricity. Ozone crackled, brief as a spent match, a mere flicker in the air before her eyes.
The man seemed not to notice her charged reaction. Fingers, strong and firm, meandered up the side of her neck, holding her in place. Small bursts of sizzling arousal popped across her nerve endings. A broad masculine chest grazed her backless cocktail dress, the soft fabric of a dinner jacket and crisper texture of the shirt beneath shocking against her bare skin, setting off a string of firecrackers that jump-started her heart.
And…
Whoever hell this guy was, the megawattage he put out made the small buzz she’d gotten from the Sex on the Beach look like a blip from a fizzing quadruple-A battery.

It’s a way to describe who your characters are, set a specific mood around them, tip off the reader to what’s to come.
Want more of Lily and Campbell?
You can find them here: Amazon| Barnes and Noble | Decadent Publishing | All Romance | Smashwords| Bookstrand
Campbell’s brother, Sean, has his own story in THUNDER. Here’s a sample:
Blurb:
Lonely young witch, Veronica Hardwicke, has struggled to get on with her life after the death of the elderly husband who’d left her a fortune and a sprawling estate in mystical Sleepy Hollow. When frightening things go bump in the night on a stormy Fourth of July, who better to call than the sexy developer and contractor, Sean Jones, who's been renovating her mansion for months?

Sean may grace the tabloid pages with a different supermodel on his arm every night, but it's Veronica who drives him nuts. Ignoring his instinct to stay away, he answers her summons.

Will the thundering passion of their 1Night Stand tear down the barriers between them?



Excerpt:Veronica paced back and forth in the grand entry foyer of the Belmont mansion, the kitten heels of her Prada mules clacking on the marble floors.The rest of the place might not be finished, but she’d insisted on having a few rooms completed, so at least she felt like she was living in a home, rather than a massive, never-ending construction project. Well, her contractorhad insisted, even though working around the main entrance and central hallway created more work for him and his crew. But she was forced to admit he was right.Her cell phone chimed on top of the antique credenza shoved flush against one wall. She leaped for it. Probably Geneviève, to regale her with all the fun she was having in Paris. Or Sean, to advise her he couldn’t make it after all. She sighed and read the text message on the small screen. Congratulations, Veronica. 1Night Stand has found your date. Have a good time. With both anxiety and mounting excitement, she stared at the screen and waited. No other info. Outside in the night, thunder boomed. She jumped then laughed at herself. Ghosts are one thing, but freaking out at the weather now? Cripes, you really do need this date! She let her imagination run wild, then texted back for more details: When? Where? Who? An insistent pounding at the front door jarred her out of her fantasy. She swung the door open on another explosive crack of thunder.Sean stood on her doorstep, his soaked T-shirt molding sculpted pecs and abs, his drenched hair flattened over his brow. Rain poured down as he fiddled with his iPhone, a bemused expression on his face. Behind him, jagged arrows of lightning tore the dark sky. He glared at the screen, glanced at her in confusion, then back at the screen.Veronica’s own phone pinged again. Thunder roared. She read the message in disbelief. You’re looking at him. Decadent Publishing | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | All Romance | Smashwords| Book StrandI’ll give away an ebook from my backlist and some Lightning and Thunder swag to a random commenter.

Love Redeemed Blog Tour: Fact Checking {Guest Post by Sorcha Mowbray}

Today I'm hosting fellow Decadent Publishing author Sorcha Mowbray as part of her Love Redeemed Blog Tour. Her book, Love Redeemed, will be releasing on November 27th! Make sure to watch for it. 

Fact Checking…we all have to do it! It is amazing to me how much information is out there, and how much misconception. Some of that misconception I blame on poorly researched historical romance, some on low quality academic sources, and some just plain old ignorance.
I was a history minor in college, so needless to say I could spend hours sifting through research. Now, the internet is both a blessing and a curse. I do a fair amount of my research online. Most of it really, after all I’m not writing an academic paper on the cultural and sexual proclivities of Victorian England. But, I do like to get my information right.
How do I do that? Well, when I find information I find useful I consider the source first. Who wrote it? Did they cite sources? Are they credible? And then I go one more step and I look for corroboration from at least one other unrelated source. When multiple people draw the same conclusions I find the information much more reliable.
This is a practice I learned in college, because folks—the internet isn’t the only place to get erroneous information. History books get it wrong too. The truth of the matter is, the human race has not always diligently recorded things in the past. Historians must often take what information they do have and hypothesize or extrapolate from there. As new information is discovered what we believe to be true can change.
History is changing all the time.
There are whole periods of history we can’t be sure of due to a lack of documentation. We may find artifacts and other evidence, but without a detailed written account much of what we know is a best guess. So I caution that any research must be carefully done and the sources carefully considered. And, as a reader, just because you’ve read a thousand historical romances (yes, I believe some of you have read that many!) doesn’t mean you know all that there is to know about a period. New information is always coming to light. 
So stop and consider the fact you are questioning, maybe do a little research before waving the historically incorrect flag. And always remember, this is fiction. As authors, we sometimes take artistic license in order to make things work and there are a lot of things we just don’t know about day to day life.
What are some historical facts you’ve learned from reading romance? Maybe share something you’ve seen portrayed incorrectly?
Bio Sorcha Mowbray is a mild mannered office worker by day…okay, so she is actually a mouthy, opinionated, take charge kind of gal who bosses everyone around; but she definitely works in an office. At night she writes romance so hot she sets the sheets on fire! Just ask her slightly singed husband.She is a long time lover of historical romance, having grown up reading Johanna Lindsey and Judith McNaught. Then she discovered Thea Devine and Susan Johnson. Holy cow! Heroes and heroines could do THAT? From there, things devolved into trying her hand at writing a little smexy. Needless to say, she liked it and she hopes you do too!


Website | Twitter | Facebook| Pintrest | GoodReads | Kindlegraph
Love Redeemed Blog Tour & Giveaway:At each stop of the blog tour I will give away a copy of Love Revealed (Book 1) of the series. At the end of the 11 day tour a grand prize of a $25 All Romance eBook (ARe) store gift card and one copy of my back list will be given away to one lucky winner.

Rules (Cause you know there have to be rules!)
1. Winners of the individual blog stops will not be eligible to win the grand prize
2. One comment per stop will be eligible for the drawings (so be sure to answer my questions!)
3. The contest is open internationally
4. Commenters must include an email so they can be contacted
5. Any prize not claimed within 48hrs will be subject to forfeiture and a new winner drawn
Love Redeemed (Book 2, The Market Series) Brennan Whitling wants for nothing but the love of a good woman. He has a close family, good friends, and a successful textiles import business. But, a beautiful and elusive young woman he has only seen from afar haunts him. Until a chance meeting leads to far more than dinner.
Serena Freemont has only ever known the life of a prostitute. When an invitation to dinner by a handsome gentleman provides her an opportunity to experience life as a young lady, it’s too tempting to pass up. Much like the man issuing it. After a night of passion she must disappear or face his reaction when the truth is revealed.To find happiness Serena must shed her past long enough to realize she is worthy of a future. To win her heart, Brennan must show her the redemptive power of love.




Excerpt:“Are you all right, Miss?”For a moment, for this moment, she was a normal young woman experiencing the attentions of a handsome young man. Heat crept up her cheeks as he held her hatbox out, and the burning had nothing to do with the sun. “I-I— Yes, I am. Thank you.” His blue-gray eyes seemed to bore into her. “I am so glad. I was sure you were a goner there for a moment.” He flashed a brilliant grin liquefying Serena’s insides instantly. “Please let me introduce myself. I’m Mr. Brennan Whitling of Whitling Textiles Importers and Wholesalers.” “How do you do, Mr. Whitling?” Serena allowed her lips to curve up ever so slightly. “I am Miss Serena Freemont.”“It is a pleasure. Might I interest you and your”—he glanced around the bustling street as his grin faded in confusion— “chaperone in a cup of tea?”A wave of horror swept over Serena. Chaperone? Harlots did not require one of those. “Oh, Aunt Henrietta is in the bookstore, and I fear she will be in there a very long time. I am certain she won’t notice if we slip off for a quick spot of tea.” “Excellent! There is a lovely little shop just up the street.” A beautiful smile spread across his face, causing her pulse to quicken. He escorted her up the block where they stopped at a quaint little teashop. They settled in at a table and ordered a pot of tea. “What has you on Bond Street today, Mr. Whitling?” They sat in semi privacy at the back of the shop.“Oh, I was visiting some of my customers and taking new orders. I am very glad I was there to help you, and by virtue of said assistance make youracquaintance.” Did his already deep voice grow huskier? Their tea service arrived, dispelling the moment. “As am I. Landing on my backside in the middle of the street would have been rather embarrassing. But in truth, thank you for your assistance today, and now the tea.” She lifted her freshly prepared cup to her lips and took a dainty sip from the delicate china. Through lowered lashes, she watched his graceful movements as he prepared his own. “It is my pleasure on both accounts. You seem familiar to me. Have we met somewhere before? A ball perhaps?”

Literary Lagniappe

Lisa Fox and I have a bad habit of kicking around crazy ideas when we get together. It could be the massive amounts of alcohol or the carbonation from the champagne, but either way the goofiest things get thrown out.

A few of those things are actually coming to fruition. Starting with our new promo website, Literary Lagniappe.



Our idea behind this was simple. We wanted a place for romance authors to share a behind the scenes look into their writing. Just like the DVD extras that are fun to watch, this is supposed to be a fun place for readers to come and peek behind the curtain...or laptop.

We can't make it work without other authors though. We've got a section on the website for authors looking for promo spots and a calendar that lists open dates (plus upcoming guest spots). Right now, we are sticking to Tuesdays and Thursdays for posts, but that might change somewhere down the line. If you're interested, contact us and we'll get you hooked up.

In the meantime, make sure you are following us on Twitter and Facebook so you can stay up to date with the latest and greatest happenings. 

Lions and Tigers and Lizards?

So, among the many creatures who I am forced to share my time with in India, my little lizard are perhaps the friendliest. Unlike the frogs, I let them stay in my room. They don't make noise, they don't hop around, and they mostly stay out of sight.

I complained via chat to my friend Liia Ann White that the lizard who was currently in my room was being rather noisy, because he kept bumping in to the AC unit. She asked for a picture and I couldn't quite get one (those things are fast).

Last night on my way to bed, I stopped off in the kitchen to wash out the mug I'd been drinking tea from. Without looking, I walked over and poured the remaining liquid into the sink. This was followed by a terribly unladylike shriek when a lizard actually jumped from within the basin.

Apparently one of my little friends likes to hang out there and enjoy himself. Or, maybe he would if he could get back out. I think the edges are a little too slippery.


Either way, it gave me a minute to catch a couple photographs of one of my little friends.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to build some sort of ramp to get a lizard out of my sink...

The more things change...

Some days, walking around India feels like being on another planet. Everything is completely foreign and I can't find a single thing that even remotely reminds me of home. A restaurant serves Thums Up instead of Coke, Oatmeal comes in hot pepper flavor but not fruit, and the whole place seems like it might explode at any minute.

Then there are the days where I kind of wish that the familiar would stay away. Over the last four years, every trip I've made has been met with more American chains opening up branches in India. Starbucks recently opened its first store in Mumbai and has plans to open several more over the next year. I love a good cup of coffee (hard to come by over here), but I also love some of the places I can go here that are chains and fabulous, but not reminiscent of home. Cafe Coffee Day has stores all over the city, which means I can usually find one and know exactly what I'm getting. It's uniquely Indian, which is what makes it kind of fun. I then discovered that Dunkin Donuts already has stores in the works here as well.



Not to mention the fact that the first Wal-Mart store, known here as Best Price, have opened up in India. I thought stuff here was already pretty cheap, but apparently it's not good enough.



Everyone loves the comforts of home. You can bet that the first thing I do when I hit a Western airport on my way home will be hunt down a familiar brand and gorge myself on the foods and drinks that I've missed. Still, when I'm traveling, I prefer to enjoy some of the more exotic and local brands. It's what makes going home to all that other stuff so sweet. 

Updates!

I thought I'd throw a few updates here on my blog on life in general and what I have in the works.

Life updates:

I'm in India. Did I mention that? It's my 5th trip in the last 4 years, so I've sort of gotten used to it. It's all part of my final stretch to actually completing my PhD (supposedly going to end in April). So, if you don't see me around much, it's only because my time schedule is completely off.

What I'm working on:

I've got two stories in the works at the moment. The first is an M/M shifter story (tentatively titled Midnight Mating) that is nearly finished. I've been editing it a lot as I go, so it shouldn't be too much longer until it is out on submission.

The second is a rewrite of an M/F short story titled Mr. Fix It that I wrote a while back. My plans for it didn't work out, so I've been expanding it into a novella. It's got about 6K more to go before it done, so I'm hoping to get it ready for my beta readers in the next week.

Next up:

I haven't forgotten about my Rodeo Stars series. I've been scheming with it for a while and I'm ready to start putting the finishing touches on book 2 and send it off to a publisher. 

At the 1NS blog today...

I'm over on the Decadent Publishing 1NS blog today talking about all the decorations that I've been forced to put up over the years. Come visit me.

Wanna see my frog?

If you follow me on Twitter (and really, why wouldn't you?), you might have seen me whining about frogs yesterday.

Background: I am currently on my 5th (my God, has it really been that many) trip to India. While here, I'm in a rural area and live in very basic, but comfortable, accommodation. That said, it tends to have its quirks. See: Frogs.

So, it's the rainy season and that means that every time it rains (which is roughly 50 times a day), the frogs come out to play. This is standard and I've even mentioned it before. What isn't standard is them being in my bedroom.

I returned from dinner last night and opened my door to find a shadowy object sitting in the corner by my bathroom. I instantly froze, trying to decide what I was going to do next. Did I leave something there? Did I have a mouse? Giant spider? I managed to get past it to turn on the light and discovered a little frog. Not exactly dangerous, but I really didn't want to keep him. I also didn't want to keep the one I discovered on the other wall a few minutes later.

Frantic IMs were sent to my husband which read: Call Wife. This is not a test. This is an emergency. There are frogs in my room.

A minute later, my cell phone rang (it's easier for him to call me on it than it is for me to call him). While I'm explaining the situation and devising a plan, he decides that I need to pictures. In the process of getting out my camera, they both managed to hop into holes in the wall (they are repairing these soon, but basically the wall has separated from the floor and there is a 1-2 inch gap between them running around the perimeter of my room) (sounds totally safe, right?).

After a few minutes, I gave up. I crawled into bed, under my bed net and went to sleep.

2AM. For no apparent reason I was wide awake, rolled over and saw one of my froggy friends sitting in the middle of the floor. A quick picture and thirty minutes of dancing around trying to get him into the pitcher that I could use to get him outside later, I had one less frog in my room (I still haven't seen the second again).

Normally, going to work at least means that I am safe from these things. Nope, walked into the office this morning, went to use the bathroom, and there was a little frog staring at me. Guess I better start enjoying my new friends. They seem very intent on sticking around.

Oh, and since the post promised it, here is a picture of my new BFF.