Maddy Barone's Blog, page 47

A Good Weekend

     I love four day weekends. But you know, I’m not sure four days off is enough. I am SO JEALOUS of my friend Jessica, who took Monday and Tuesday off too.

     On Thursday morning I baked a blueberry pie before going and spending 8 hours at my mom’s house. On Wednesday we broke the record for the high temperature. It got up to 59F! Thursday started out pretty nice, but by the time I left my mom’s house at 5:30 pm I could barely see the road because of blowing snow. Gotta love North Dakota weather. You know what they say: if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute. It’ll change.

     On Friday I cleaned my sewing/craft/guest bedroom. Wow, did I have a lot of stuff. I still have a lot of stuff, but at least now I can find it! That was a lot of work, and I haven’t touched the closet yet. But for now this is good enough. When my brother comes to stay for Christmas he’ll be able to walk to the bed instead of crawling over stuff.

     This morning I did a little Christmas shopping. Normally I wouldnt be caught dead shopping the weekend after Thanksgiving. With all due respect for those who consider Black Friday a sporting event that they have taken the gold in, I hate shopping. But I managed to pick up a couple of things for the Toys For Tots and other charity giving. My family is really tough, tho. No spoilers here, in case they are reading.

     This afternoon I signed the contract for Eddie’s Prize. Don’t have any further info yet, like a release date, but that will come in a month or two. I would estimate (purely a guess here) that it will be available sometime around the end of March or beginning of April. It depends on how many revisions and editing passes it requires, and what the publisher’s schedule allows.

     Tomorrow I expect to be a quiet, lazy day. I have church, then a couple of loads of laundry, followed by some reading for my critique group and then knitting with the gals. I have to get going on that afghan that I’m giving away in a few months to celebrate the release of Eddie’s Prize.  In the evening I’ll go back to working on Wolf’s Prize. Hey, a question. Jelly is about 19 in this book, and has completed his vision quest and received his adult name. I was going to call him Spotted Wolf, but then what would his nickname be? Spot is cute, and leads to great opportunities for humor, but … yeah. So then I thought of Stone Wolf. What do you think? Oh, by the way, in Wolf’s Prize he meets the girl who his wolf chooses for his mate.

     Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

The Next Big Thing-Eddie’s Prize

I was tagged by my friend Suzanna Medeiros, author of historical romance, to participate in The Next Big Thing series. Last week she posted about her current Work in Progress, Loving the Marquess. You can followto read her post.

The Next Big Thing is a blog hop of sorts wherein a writer is given the opportunity to answer ten questions about their current work in progress or a work that is already published. They then tag some more people, who will post about their respective WIPs the following week and pass this invitation on to other writers to keep The Next Big Thing going. I have asked Tina Holland and Mary Jean Adams from my local crit group, and Karlene Clark from a neighboring city (only 70 miles away is neighboring in North Dakota!), to join The Next Big Thing and make posts next week. Be sure to check them out next Wednesday!

 

Ready to find out more of what I’m working on right now? Here we go!
10 Questions:
What is the working title of your book?
Eddie’s Prize

 

Where did the idea come from for the book?
My head. I have 6-7 hours a day to zone out while doing boring repetitive work on the computer at the day job.

 

What genre does your book fall under?
Paranormal Romance is the broad genre, but it is also post-apocalyptic, time travel and futuristic.

 

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?
Eddie, the hero, is easy. I imagine Travis Fimmell as Eddie. Lisa is slender, blond, and beautiful, which could be any number of actresses. I don’t know who this lady is, but she’s a dead ringer for Lisa.

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What is a one sentence synopsis of your book?
Transported to a post-apocalyptic future where women are scarce, Lisa finds herself married to a gorgeous stranger.

 

Will your book be self published or represented by an agency?
The other books in the series are published by Liquid Silver Books.

 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Way, WAY too long. I had trouble with this one because I wasn’t sure where to start it. Should I skip for the first several months, since they had been covered in the previous books? No, I decided, then readers might not understand Lisa’s feelings. I started it, deleted, and started again half a dozen times. It’s at the publisher right now, for them to review and decide if they like it as is or if changes need to be made.

 

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre.
I feel a little uncomfortable comparing my writing to anyone else. If they are way better than me (and they probably are, since I’m still pretty new at writing for an audience), then I feel presumptuous. If they are even newer than I am at professional writing, then I feel like I’m being condescending. So I guess I’ll just skip this question.

 

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
A girl I work with is named Lisa Hill. We were (and still are!) so stressed out at work that as a joke, I began writing crazy love stories to perk us up.  It just sort of took off. I had no plans to get them published, but Lisa and others nagged me– No, not nagged. They encouraged me to submit the first one. I did, not expecting it to be accepted. Now this is book 4 in the series.

 

What else about your book might interest the reader?
If you like stories where women are considered precious becauSe of their rarity, you might like this series. If you’ve read the other books in the series, you might like to see how previous characters are doing.

 

Mini Excerpt:
      A couple of men came out onto the wide covered porch. The wagon stopped about ten yards from them. One of the men, big-bellied with brown hair and a grizzled, graying beard, came down the steps to stand a few yards away from the wagon.
      One of the Odessa guards stepped forward to shake the man’s hand. “Mayor Madison,” he said loudly, and then lowered his voice to speak further.
      Lisa exchanged a half-laughing, half-horrified look with Carla. Mayor? He looked like a beer-bellied, aging hippy with a hangover. Carla stood up and swung herself over the side of the wagon, landing on the dirt driveway with easy grace. Lisa doubted she could do that even if her feet hadn’t been killing her.
      The second man flowed down the steps with the lithe grace of a cat and when the sun hit him Lisa caught her breath. His hair was golden, a halo of waves around his face. His face was elegant, sun-kissed to a creamy golden tan, perfect in each clear-cut feature. As a model, Lisa had worked with many handsome men, but none of them could top this one. Such beautiful blue-green eyes with dark lush lashes shouldn’t belong to a man. That wide, gracefully curving, kissable mouth made Lisa wonder what he would taste like. He could almost be called pretty, except that his jaw was hard, his chin square and his shoulders broad.

Tuesday Truth: 11/20/12

Is it possible to have strep throat without a fever or even feeling really lousy?

On Friday around lunch time at work I felt like I had swallowed a peanut and it had gotten stuck halfway down my throat. I hurt a bit when I swallowed. By the time I left for home the side of my neck, right up under my jaw, was feeling a bit tender. By saturday, when I called my mom, the peanut had swollen into a sharp edged marble and my throat really hurt to swallow. But no fever, and other than the sore throat I felt fine. My mom, the retired nurse, told me to get my butt to the doctor right away. I was reluctant to spend more money at the doctor, but she was really insistent, so I went to the walk in clinic.

The doctor took one look at my throat and said it was strep. He took a culture, just to be sure, and it came back positive in a few minutes.

So, there you go: it is possible to have strep throat with no fever or even feel really lousy. I’m on the road to recovery. My throat is still a bit ouchy, but other than feeling really tired, I’m doing okay. I plan to get lots written this weekend on Ellie and Quill’s story.

Tuesday Teaser: Wolf’s Prize

Here is a little snip from Book 5.  A man named Jeremy has been sent to Taye to tell him that his little cousin Ellie needs help. Enjoy!

         
        The Wolfe compound was large and well guarded by a solid stone wall eight feet high. It looked to Jeremy like Mrs. Overdahl hadn’t exaggerated her cousin’s wealth. Only a man of means could hold a place like this. Jeremy presented himself at the gate and waited for the small reinforced window in the gate to open to ask his business.
            The face in the small window was cold with suspicion. “Who are you and what do you want?”
            “I’m Jeremy Potter, here on business from Mrs. Overdahl, Mr. Wolfe’s cousin. I have an urgent message from her.”
            The gate was opened instantly and two very large dogs pressed against him, herding him into the compound. His horse came with him, snorting uneasily. A cluster of half-naked Native American men stood watching him. One of them looked him over.
            “Give me all your weapons.”
            Jeremy silently handed over his pistol and his knife, and waved a hand at the rifle in the saddle scabbard. “That’s all.”
            The guy nodded. “Snake, Blaze, take him in to see the Chief. Paint, look after his horse.”
            Two men flanked Jeremy like guards. When he got into a large room with a big fireplace he understood why he was being treated like a possible threat. Beside the fireplace sat a hugely pregnant woman with long brown hair. Standing protectively beside her on one side was a fiercely scowling man, and on the other side a three-year-old boy scowled just as fiercely. From the looks of their faces, they were obviously father and son. Several men lounged around the room, bodies appearing relaxed, but eyes keenly watchful. Their stares made Jeremy want to squirm. He turned his attention back to the man beside the woman.
        “Mr. Wolfe?”Jeremy asked.
        The man gave one sharp jerk of his head.
        “I’m Jeremy Potter. I work for the Ryan Thomas Trading Company.” There Jeremy stalled briefly. “Your cousin, Mrs. Overdahl, sent me with a message for you.”
        “Oh, thank goodness!” said the woman. “We haven’t heard from Ellie in ages. How is she?”
       When Jeremy hesitated, the weight of the eyes on him grew heavier. “She’s well,” he said carefully. “But she needs your help.”
        Taye Wolfe leaned forward, dark eyes hard under lowered brows. “What do you mean?”
        Jeremy swallowed. “Her husband has died, and she has been sold to the Trading Company to be taken to Ellsworth. The men there are having a Bride Fight in a week or so …”
        A snarl jerked Jeremy’s head around. He saw nothing but men with angry faces. No longer lounging in relaxed sprawls, they looked ready to spring. Most of the men were clearly Native American, but one of them had curly brown hair rather than straight black hair. He was on his feet, practically shaking. With rage? Jeremy was certain it was rage that clenched his fists and jaw. Jeremy hesitated before turning his back on the man.
        Taye Wolfe’s set, angry face wasn’t any less scary. A bead of sweat rolled down the back of Jeremy’s neck.
         “Where is my cousin?” Wolfe rasped.

Happy Saturday!

Today has been a good day so far! I slept until 7:45 am, got up and had cereal and tea while I goofed around on the internet, then began working on the first clue for a mystery shawl knit-along. Lace knitting and I are not friends, so it took me several tries to get the clue completed. But it’s done now, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

What’s a mystery knit-along? Well, a designer will offer a pattern either at a reduced rate, or for free, and people can sign up to knit it. The designer will send out portions of the pattern (called clues) at weekly intervals. until the whole pattern is done. Last week we got a pattern for a gauge swatch, which included some of the stitch patterns this shawl will use, like double increases and nupps. A nupp is 7 stitches all purled together to create a puffy stitch. it’s tricky, and my nupps look rather inebriated, leaning over to the side instead of sitting neatly on top of the knitting. It’s sad. Here is what I have so far:

Last Saturday I received and R&R for Eddie’s Prize, so I’ve spent the last week in major revisions. Last night I re-submitted it to the publisher. Several scenes have been cut, including a lengthy one between Sky, Rose and others which I will be sending out in my newsletter in the future.

What this means is I have time now to play with yarn and read for fun! (I’m going to totally ignore the cat hair on every surface and the fact that the apartment is in dire need of cleaning) Off now to start Lord’s Fall from Thea Harrison. I LOVE her books!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

What is an R&R?

An R&R is usually a good thing. It stands for Revise and Re-submit. If you receive an R&R, rejoice! That means someone saw something in your story that they really liked, but they had suggestions for how the story can be improved.

That is what has happened with Eddie’s Prize. I submitted the manuscript on October 24, and last weekend I received a very nice email telling me they really liked the story. They had a list of changes they’d like to see made, however, before they would offer a contract. So, I’m going to be pretty busy for the next week or so, making revisions, cutting some stuff (which will appear later in the newsletter) and hopefully whipping Eddie and Lisa into publishing shape. My goal is to have the revisions completed by this Sunday night. Wish me luck!

Tuesday Truth: I Love My Crit Group

Back at the end of January 2011 I got an email from a woman named Tina Holland, inviting me to join a local critique group here in Fargo, ND. Boy, was I excited! I’d heard of Tina Holland. She was a romance author with Liquid Silver Books. I was going to meet a real, live romance author!

You see, I felt so alone and isolated from other writers. I had tried to join a local crit group a few years before,  but sadly, that group was made of people who sneered at the romance genre. They were “real” writers. So I tucked my tail between my legs and went home. This one, I hoped, would be different. After all, Tina Holland was a romance author, too, and with years more experience in the publishing world than I had.

For the first few meetings, we were a little careful with one another. Some of us had never been in a crit group before and weren’t sure how to critique someone’s work. We didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. There were seven of us, and we wrote in a few different genres, including poetry. We decided to call ourselves Word Weavers.

It wasn’t long before we learned how to critique effectively, but there were a few bumps along the way. We lost our leader due to health problems, and another woman left in a huff because she felt unappreciated. I believe she became increasingly unhappy as we learned to give tough critiques. Instead of just saying how much we loved this or that, we also began pointing out where improvements could be made. I don’t think she liked that.

When you’re a writer, you must learn to accept criticism. You may disagree with a critique, and that’s fine. You can say thank you and ignore it. But arguing and insulting the person who is giving the critique isn’t helpful. It’s taken us a little time, but my Word Weavers Crit Group has settled into a respectful and helpful groove. I really appreciate all their helpful advice.  They have put up with my whining about Eddie’s Prize and helped me brainstorm through problems. They are sort of like cheerleaders, and sort of like mothers. They tell me I can do it, and they tell me I better do it.

To have a group of fellow writers to meet with is a great thing. I take my hat off to these ladies, who tell it to me like it is, and give it with a dose of praise.

 

Word Weavers:

Tina Holland – Erotic Romance Author

Mary Jean Adams – Historical Romance Author

Michelle Kent – Paranormal Romance Writer

Athena Hill Gracyk – Fantasy Writer/Poet

Kat Smith – Flash Fiction Writer/LARP game writer

Simone James – Contemporary Romance Writer

 

Shawl Winner!

The winner of the little shoulder shawl I knit by hand is Jessica B! I have emailed her and will have the shawl sent off to her as soon as possible!
Congrats, Jessica!

The Bewitching Blog Hop! (and a sneak peek at Glory & Shadow)

 

Welcome to Maddy Barone’s stop on The Bewitching Just Romance Me blog hop. If you have fallen off the tour or want to join, just click here. On this bloghop you can win free books, gifts cards, and a new Kindle Paperwhite ereader.
The prize I’m giving away to one commenter on this post is a cute little shawl I knit myself. See? The perfect thing to keep your shoulders warm. If you would like to win, just leave a comment below. As always, those who are signed up to receive my newsletter are entered twice in the drawing. I will announce the winner on Sunday night before 9pm central time.

  

And to get you in the mood for Halloween, here is a snippet about Glory and Shadow, a year after they have mated.

               

Glory folded her arms, considering the exterior of the small house her mate had built for her. It was painted white, with a wide porch of natural wood on three sides, and a chimney made of native Black Hills stone climbing the fourth. A wisp of smoke rising from the chimney showed white in the sapphire blue of the late afternoon sky. Glory stepped back a few yards, looking at the postcard-perfect view of the house against the reds and golds of the autumn foliage. It was cute. Glory didn’t do cute. How could she turn cute into scary? Halloween was only two weeks away. Except for last year, she’d always gone all out decorating for her favorite holiday. Last year … Well, last year she’d been too busy to do anything for Halloween. Between surviving a plane crash, meeting and marrying a hunky werewolf, and finding out she’d gone forward to a time after Armageddon, she’d completely lost track of the days.

 

But this year would be different. Glory put her hands on her hips, strolling from one end of the house to the other, considering where the spider webs would look most effective.

 

“Sunshine.”

 

At the scolding sound of her hunky werewolf’s voice, Glory turned to see him walking toward her from his mother’s house a hundred yards away. Shadow was, as always, all but naked in just moccasins and a breechcloth. His hair, black and thick and heavy, hung down his back to his butt, leaving his broad, beautifully muscled chest bare. At six feet and six inches tall, he was the only man who made Glory feel petite. Hell, he was six inches taller than she was, and almost outweighed her. The fierce Lakota Wolf Clan warrior, who was a terrifying sight in battle, tenderly cradled a pink and blue bundle in one arm.

 

“Sunshine,” he scolded again. “You are supposed to be lying down, resting.”

 

“I will. I just wanted to think about how to decorate for Halloween.” She lifted her lips for his kiss and twitched the edge of the baby blanket aside to peek at their daughter’s face. “Hey, there, little Miss Vicki,” she cooed.

 

 “Sh, she’s sleeping.” Shadow hooked his free arm around her waist and towed her up the steps of the porch into their house. “I thought you wanted to call her Victoria.”

 

“Well, yeah.” Glory watched him set the baby down in her cradle with as much care as if the afghan Lisa Madison had made was wrapped around nitroglycerin. “Victoria for my grandmother, Jillian for Jill and Tara for your mom. But Victoria Jillian Tara Wolfe is a big mouthful for such a little thing.”

 

Not that Vicki had felt that little while she was being born. The books in Kearney’s library that talked about the joy and beauty of childbirth were lucky she wasn’t allowed to burn them. Joy and beauty, her ass. Still, Glory didn’t remember the pain nearly as vividly she remembered the expression on Shadow’s face: terror and joy and awe, all mixed together, as he held the screaming scrap of humanity that was his daughter in his big hands. Glory wished cameras still existed. She never wanted to forget that sight or that moment in time.

 

“Hm … I wonder what she should be for Halloween? I think I could put together a little witch costume. Do you think we could get a pointy hat to stay on her head?”

 

“Sunshine, she’s only five weeks old.”

 

Glory reluctantly agreed. “She’s too young this year, but soon she’ll be going all around the neighborhood Trick or Treating, going to parties, playing with the boys …”

 

“PLAY—” Shadow remembered to keep his voice low. “Playing with boys?” he hissed, his eyes taking on that weird werewolf glow.

 

“Uh-huh. You know, Chase and Raven and Matt.”

 

His eyes went back to normal. “Oh, her cousins, you mean.”

 

Glory hid a grimace. Their daughter was going to have a hell of a time finding a boy brave enough to date her. That was years away, though, and Glory’s thoughts were on something in the here and now. She watched her mate put another log on the fire, admiring the way the muscles in his back bunched and smoothed as he moved. Her mate was mouthwateringly sexy. “For this year, I have the perfect costumes for us.”

 

He turned in a flare of hair, eyes wide in apprehension. “I don’t wear costumes,” he warned her.

 

“Good,” she purred. “I like you naked best. I thought I could be Little Red Riding Hood and you could be the Big Bad Wolf.” She let her fingers comb through his hair, smooth down his chest to the knot of the cord that held his breechcloth up. “But I don’t have a costume, so I guess we’ll just have to pretend. If I took off my clothes, could you pretend to take a red cloak off me?”

 

He swallowed hard. “Sunshine, is it too soon? It’s only been a few weeks.”

 

“Almost six weeks. Jill says everything has healed up just fine after the birth.” She succeeded in loosening his breechcloth. It dropped, showing that though his words were reluctant, his body wasn’t. She took him in her hand. “I’ve missed you, Big Guy.”

 

His teeth caught her earlobe. “I’ve missed you, Sunshine. I’ll go slow, I promise.”

 

 “Go as fast as you want, but remember the baby’s sleeping. Don’t roar and howl at the end like you always do.”

 

“Me?” He let go of her ear to give her a wolfish grin. “Who is it that screams my name when she comes?”

 

She faked a scowl. “I’m not anywhere near as loud as you.”

 

Shadow lifted her lightly into his arms and shouldered his way into their bedroom. “We’ll see,” he threatened.

 

Glory surrendered to his hands and mouth. This was a contest she could live with. And if she lost, well, she could live with that too.

 

Twenty minutes after their bedroom door closed, a roar and a scream woke the baby. In the cradle her grandfather had carved for her, Victoria blinked peaceful blue eyes, shoved a tiny fist into her mouth and fell back asleep.

 

 

 

 

Win a Handknit Shawl or a Kindle Paperwhite

Starting this Friday, the Bewitching blog hop by Just Romance Me will begin. The grand prize will be a Kindle Paperwhite ereader, and there will be free books galore, gift cards to Barnes & Noble and Amazon, and a little shawl I knit myself. Bloggers will have excerpts of their books, eye candy and short short stores for you to enjoy. I have written a short snip of Glory and Shadow one year after the crash. Jump onboard any time on Friday through Sunday afternoon for your chance to win.