Laura Kaye's Blog, page 85

Developing Characters Through Research, by Lilly Gayle

I'm very pleased to welcomeguest authorLilly Gayleto the blog today!
Lilly's got some great books, cool pictures, and interesting thoughts on writing and researching to share today. Take it away, Lilly:
I'm not much of a plotter. I usually know how I want my story to begin and end. So, I start by typing up a few notes with important details or events I need to occur within the story. Then I flesh out my characters on another page, assigning them physical characteristics and personality traits. For the main characters, I jot down some backstory info. Then, I start writing.
But, then I get to the middle of the story and that's where I run into problems if I didn't also take the time to do a little research BEFORE starting.
When writing Out of the Darkness, my paranormal romance, I knew I wanted to combine a vampire story with the light sensitivity disorder, xeroderma pigmentosum (XP.) And, I knew I wanted my vampire to hate his dark nature and search for a cure. That's when I got the idea for Dr. Megan Harper. So, not only did I have to research vampire myths and legends, I also had to research XP and microbiology. I have a bachelor of applied science degree in radiology, and I took microbiology in school, but I'd never been in a real lab setting.  So, I had to research lab protocols, equipment, and regulations. It took some doing, but the results were worth it. There's an "almost" believable scientific quality to the story. And because of my research into XP and biotechnology, Megan's character has stronger motives and a more clear-cut goal for helping Vincent find his cure.
When I began writing Slightly Tarnished, my historical romance released  June 3, the research came first. I knew I wanted to write a historical. It's one of my favorite genres.  I also knew I wanted to write a Victorian romance rather than Regency. But most of the romance novels I've read are set in Regency England.  I needed information on Victorian England. And being a twentieth century kind of gal, I was curious about the whole bathroom situation during that time. So, I began researching the toilets and sewers of England and found several articles on The Great Stink. Throw in a few articles on Charles Dickens' England and I had a story idea.
Slightly Tarnished isn't the original name of the book and Nikki's character was originally going to be from New Bern, NC instead of Portsmouth Island. But I never got her goals or motivation right.
Editors and agents thought Nikki lacked strong goals and motivation. There were no complaints about Chad. And maybe that was because I did so much research on England. I delved deeper into his backstory so I knew what made him tick. But what motivated Nikki?
It was time to do a little more research. And I started with the North Carolina coast.
If you know where to look, there's a lot of information on North Carolina's coastal communities during the nineteenth century. I live in North Carolina and love the coast, so my husband and I took a few road trips during the re-researching phase of Slightly Tarnished.  We visited the historic waterfronts of Morehead City and Beaufort, and went to the Maritime Museum in Beaufort. Then, we took the ferry to Portsmouth Island.
Portsmouth Island is one of the barrier Islands of North Carolina on Core Banks.  The Cape Lookout Lighthouse is located on the south end of the island and far on the north end, near Ocracoke Island, is Portsmouth Village.
Once a thriving shipping village, a devastating hurricane shoaled Ocracoke Inlet in 1846 opening a deeper inlet in Hatteras. Afterwards, Portsmouth Village became a lightering station where draft boats carried cargo from the heavier ships inland for transportation to the mainland. Then in 1860, many residents fled the island when Union troops marched on the Outer Banks.  They never returned.
Today, Portsmouth Village is a state historic site and many of the original buildings still stand. Walking through the village is like stepping back in time, and it gave me a believable backstory for my heroine Nikki. From there, I was able to create a character with better goals, stronger motivations, and increase the conflict between her and Chad.
Most of my research never made it into the story, but because it was part of Nikki's backstory, it made her a more sympathetic and believable character.

As a writer, what kind of research do you do, and how has it helped you develop your characters?As a readeAuthor of paranormal and historical romance: Where love is an adventure no matter the century

Find Lilly on the Web:
Website | Blog | Facebook

Thanks for visiting today, Lilly! Everyone, leave Lilly some comment love and let her know what you think! As always, thanks for reading,Laura

And the Back to Smut winners are...

I'm thrilled to announce the winners from my Back to Smut posts over at Sizzling Hot Book Reviews! 
There were 110 qualifying comments on my posts--that's awesome! 
And, the winners are: 
CATHY M (HEARTS IN DARKNESS)KAREN C (JUST GOTTA SAY)LORETTALYNN (FOREVER FREED)
Congratulations! And thanks to everyone who participated in the event and made it such fun!
Winners, look for an email! If you didn't win and you'd like a copy of Hearts in Darkness or Forever Freed, here's a 25% off coupon good at my publisher's website: use code 3b9ceb5854!

I also have 2 ongoing giveaways right now! Check out Lor Mandela (Just Gotta Say, thru 9/12) & Book That Thing (Forever Freed, thru 9/13).
Thanks for reading,Laura

When Embracing Bad is Good, by Shea Berkley

 I'm very pleased to have guest authorShea Berkleyon the blog today!
Shea's celebrating her New Adult Romance, The Marked Son, and she's got a great guest post for us today. Take it away, Shea!







 I'm a good girl. Ask any of my friends. I've paid them handsomely to corroborate that illusion. Seriously, I'm not a drama queen. I like to play nice with others. I like going home knowing I didn't ruin someone's day by being a total witch. Let someone else wear the green skin. I'm perfectly happy being pink.
Yet nice does not a good book make.
Huh, you say? Everyone wants the good guy or girl to win.
Absolutely! But let's break down this concept of "bad is good" as it applies to the story world.

I'm gonna dare to walk the tracks at night and say, everyone understands the concept of sin. Sin is something you do that is seen as morally wrong, something a particular society has deemed unacceptable. When you decided to cross the line from approved behavior into unapproved behavior (sin), you create conflict.
Here's the kicker. What is morally wrong for you isn't necessarily morally wrong for someone else, even within a society because not everyone in a society agrees on what is wrong. This is called a complication. 
As a storyteller, I live to uncover conflict and its complications. I need these about as much as I need air. Without conflict, my story will choke and die. And that death will be wrapped up with a big, fat red bow of boredom. 
Here's the funny part. As a storyteller, my morals are not necessarily my characters' morals. Let me repeat that. My morals are not necessarily my characters' morals. I am a clean living gal. My characters have been known to do and say all sorts of things I would never, in a million, kagillion years, do or say. I've got to get my fingers dirty writing about things that my characters try to keep hidden in the deepest parts of the hearts. I'm creating drama, and drama equals conflict which equals sin, which in turn creates an interesting story. 
In The Marked Son, there is plenty of conflict. I've got selfishness, greed, murder, scandal, lies and a power struggle. Within those conflicts complications arise and further deteriorate an impossible situation because Dylan, our hero, isn't a guy who wants any part of what's been thrust upon him. He just wants to live in peace and have a tiny slice of happiness, something he's never had before. He wants his dreams to become reality. Yet, when his dreams come to life, instead of the happiness he expects, he finds danger and death. 
Here's an excerpt:
Easing back, I press my spine into the prickly bark and rub my hands through my hair. It's obvious they don't know I'm in their world. According to Navar, I'm not even real. Granel is a problem. He believes in my existence and has enough sway over Navar that he's gotten him to at least consider the possibility I'm real and a threat.
After seeing what I've just seen, I've got to get back home now more than ever.
Before I can move, the guard appears, dangling upside-down from the branch above me with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "Hello, mutt."
He cartwheels out of the tree, lands on his feet, and swings his sword in one fluid motion. I dodge the blade and spring to my feet, calling on the tree branches to capture him. The man is quickly tangled, yet with a heavy blow, his sword slices neatly through the wood. He drops to the ground unfazed.
With eyes glittering, he stalks me.
I fumble for the sword Bodog gave me as real fear begins to grow. This guy is a hardened soldier. I don't stand a chance.
I dodge his blade time and again, feeling the whistle of cold steel every time it passes. I manage to pull out my sword and then something unexpected happens. The blade ripples to life with a flash of fire. I thrust the sword in front of me and gape. Holy flaming fire!
The soldier stops and smiles. "Well, well, well. You're full of surprises."
"Just wait. I've got more," I say and shrug with a confidence I don't exactly feel. Hopefully my act has him thinking I'm used to a good flaming sword fight. To back up my false confidence, I find myself lunging forward, my flaming sword slicing toward his head. He spins away and the battle begins in earnest.
I must be crazy. I've never fought with a sword. He acts like he was born with it in his hand. His blade comes frighteningly close to my head and cuts off a few strands of my hair before I push him away. Trees are used as vaulting points. Branches as obstacles. Forest debris whirls. We tussle and my sword flies out of my hand.
Desperate for cover, I duck behind a tree, breathless and sore. I'm at my wit's end. How long can I postpone the inevitable? I duck as his blade swipes at me again. I don't want to die. Not like this. Not here. Not now.
If you're a writer, go ahead and embrace the bad. We learn from our mistakes and most mistakes are messy and ugly. That's life. If you're a reader, take a chance on The Marked Son. I bet you'll find you have a lot in common with Dylan. He's just a guy trying his best to live his life, and even though he resists, he finds the hero in himself that he never knew existed. 

Get your copy of The Marked Son at:  Barnes & Noble | Books on Board | Diesel | The Book Depository

You can find Shea at:  Facebook / SheaBerkley.com / Goodreads / RubySlipperedSisterhood.com / Twitter
More about Shea's Books:
Blurb for The Marked Son, Available Now!

KEEPERS OF LIFE - Book One
Seventeen-year-old Dylan Kennedy always knew something was different about him, but until his mother abandoned him in the middle of Oregon with grandparents he's never met, he had no idea what.
When Dylan sees a girl in white in the woods behind his grandparents' farm, he knows he's seen her before…in his dreams. He's felt her fear. Heard her insistence that only he can save her world from an evil lord who uses magic and fear to feed his greed for power.
Unable to shake the unearthly pull to Kera, Dylan takes her hand. Either he's completely insane or he's about to have the adventure of his life, because where they're going is full of creatures he's only read about in horror stories. Worse, the human blood in his veins has Dylan marked for death…
Blurb for Torrein, Coming in November!

What if the only hope of saving a magical world depended on an ordinary boy?
Taelyon is a land divided; its mortals distrust those different than them; its wizards live indifferent to the suffering of others to see the danger on their doorstep.  The battle for dominance is never far off, and death is a daily fear provoked by King Hcaon the Younger's inability to lead.

Torrein's parents are powerful wizards, and Torrein's greatest fear is that he'll be denied the gift of magic.  When magic is denied him, he's chased from his own village by those he used to call friends.  Alone and wandering in a world he doesn't know, Torrein doesn't understand that his destiny is far greater than any he could have achieved if magic had been granted him. What plagues him is a desire he can't have - to be with his family and live his life in peace. 

Peace is not easily found in Taelyon.  The destiny Torrein fights lies in a prophecy soaked in blood.  To claim his rightful power, he must calm his fears and face those who want him and his people dead.  Everyone has been blinded to the real evil in their midst, and it will be a fight till the end of the age to reclaim Taelyon's freedom.  Though it's hard for him to accept, it's up to Torrein to protect those who have been deceived, and to make sure the evil in their midst doesn't destroy them all.

Just Gotta Say Book Trailer & Trading Cards

I have so much to share! And I'm starting with my brand-spanking new book trailer for my contemporary erotic romance that releases 9/30/11 from Decadent Publishing. Take a gander:

So, what do you think? Hope you enjoyed! If that wasn't exciting enough, I also received my new Romance Trading Cards for this book:
  As always, my trading cards are always available for free! All you have to do is send me a self-addressed stamped envelope. Email me to make arrangements!

Just 20 days til the Just Gotta Blog Tour begins with a book giveaway at every stop! Stay tuned right here for all the details!!
Thanks for stopping by!Laura

Welcome Guest Author Stacey Kennedy!

I'm so pleased to welcome guest authorStacey Kennedyto the blog today!
Stacey Kennedy's urban fantasy/paranormal and erotic romance series have hit Amazon Kindle and All Romance Ebooks Bestseller lists. If she isn't plugging away at her next novel, tending to her two little ones, she's got her nose deep in a good book. She lives in Ontario, Canada, with her husband. Be sure to drop her a line at www.staceykennedy.com, she loves to hear from her readers.
Book Description:Can the whispers of evil be hushed by love, or will it be lost forever…
Nayeli has been locked away, hidden from the world in a mental institution, all due to the whispers of evil which have corrupted her mind. Unbeknownst to her, the voices that have plagued her are a gift given to only one kind―Watchers.
Griffin, her Seeker, is about to break this cage of imprisonment woven around her and give her a new chance at life. But when a demon leaves the confines of Hell to create havoc in Louisiana, will his love for Nayeli free her wounded heart, or will she succumb to the whispers which threaten to steal her soul?
*WARNING: Explicit sex between a timid Watcher and a gorgeous Seeker, and a ceremony that will certainly raise eyebrows!
Are You Ready for this Teaser Excerpt???:
A noise drew Griffin away from his thoughts. He glanced over his shoulder, and Nayeli stood behind him, a stunning beauty. The women had obviously not only let her shower, but had given her clothes and makeup. He thought her beautiful before. Now, she was breathtaking, wearing a black camisole and jeans. Her dark hair fell soft and silky over her shoulders. Her eyes appeared sexy outlined by dark eye-shadow. Her cheeks were rosy, and her lips an enticing soft pink. He'd questioned if he could love—Am I capable—now he had no doubt. This woman belonged to him. "You're back," he said gently.
"I'm back," she whispered, now standing in the middle of the room.
He could see her tremble, the fear of what was to come reflected in her eyes. He'd rectify that. She might be afraid of his touches for now. She probably worried that this would hurt, but he would bring her to a point where she begged for his advances. Bring her to a state where she whispered his name from her pouty mouth. "Come here, Nayeli."
She paused, a moment that left Griffin's breath in his throat. Her soft green eyes were wide and looked worried. "I…I…"
He let out a long breath and went to her. With each step he took, she reciprocated by taking a step back. He stopped, not wanting to startle her. "Why do you fear me?"

She looked away from his gaze to the prevalent bulge in his black shorts that appeared the moment he saw her. "It's not you so much, as that."
Withholding his grin was near impossible. He began his approach to her again in slow, steady movements. She continued her movement backwards until she met the wall with a loud thud. She gasped.
"You fear it now, but in time, you will grow to crave it."
"I'm not sure I can do this," she whispered.
He closed in on her, stopped in front of her, and looked down into those eyes that could melt his soul. "You can." He gave her a firm look. "And you will."
"But I…"
He leaned down close to her mouth, and her breath came out in quick pants he was sure were due to fear. "Nayeli, you're safe with me. I have waited years, more years than you could fathom, to have you just like this. I'm only pleased that no one has shared your bed. You have a right to be nervous, even a right to fear what will happen here, but this has to be done, not only for you to join our house, but because I cannot wait another moment not being connected to your body."
"Will it…" She looked up to him with sweet innocent eyes. "Will it feel good?"
He grinned. "I will ensure it does." Then, he ran his finger along her soft rosy cheek. "Of course, it may hurt a little at first, but I promise to erase that pain with pleasure."
A little smile lifted the side of her face. She stepped in closer, and her body came tight against his hardened length. "Well…that doesn't sound so bad."
He arched his brow, grinning in return. "No, it doesn't." Then, he leaned down and captured her lips, gentle at first, testing her ways. His hands came up around her face as he titled her head back, bringing her mouth higher to meet his. Slowly, she succumbed and parted her lips, and he continued with open mouth kisses. He worked his mouth along with hers in a manner that would weaken her in the knees.

BUY WHISPERS OF EVIL Cobblestone  | ARe

Ooh! What a great excerpt! What was your favorite part? Let Stacey know!
Thanks for reading,Laura & Stacey

Six Sentence Sunday #26

Yay! It's Sunday! Happy September! I'm happy to share six more from my 9/30 erotic romance release JUST GOTTA SAY. In these six, Callie Davis receives an offer from her roommate she just can't refuse, or can she?

"Damn, seeing you like that, knowing you were pleasing yourself to the idea of multiple guys? We're a bit insane right now, because we've all fantasized about you—god, have we. So, we're offering." Jack grinned and kissed her temple. "I promise you nothing will change if we do, or if we don't. Because the three of us, we're yours for life, in whatever way you want us."

In further celebration of all things erotic and wonderfully smutty, feel free to drop over to the Back to Smut event at Sizzling Hot Book Reviews! 70+ authors are guest blogging through the 7th and giving away prizes, including me!
Don't forget to read the Other Sixers' Posts and follow the #sixsunday hashtag on twitter!
Thanks to all who read and comment! It's always appreciated! Happy Labor Day weekend!Laura

Back to Smut Erotic Romance Bash!

Hey guys! Happy Labor Day Weekend! 
To celebrate, I'm one of 70+ authors posting hot reads and cool giveaways as part of the Back to Smut Erotic Romance Bash! 
The kids are back to school, and now us moms can play. So I'll be hanging all weekend over at Sizzling Hot Book Reviews, the great site hosting the event. Don't miss out on the chance to win one of my books, as well as many other great prizes! Thanks for reading,Laura

Melanie Card's Take on Plotting and Pantsing

I'm so excited to host fellow Entangled Publishing author Melanie Cardon the blog today! She's got a great post, plus don't miss her yummy excerpt, down below!
Thanks Laura for inviting me to be your guest. I'm so excited to be here. Today I'm chatting about my writing process. Which actually isn't quite true, I'm really chatting about my process right now and the process I used while writing my debut novel WARD AGAINST DEATH.
There's always this question going around writers' group about are you a pantser or a plotter? Is one better than the other? More efficient? More open to creativity? And the real answer is that there isn't one answer.
[image error] For me each book is different (I tried my hand at a number of books before I sold. Some hopefully will never see the light of day, others maybe we'll see on shelves soon.) When I started writing WARD AGAINST DEATH, I was a pantser.
A pantser is somebody who writes by the seat of her pants. She doesn't have a plot laid out beforehand, she just looks at the blank page sets fingers to the keyboard and starts writing.
A plotter on the other hand is somebody who plots the book out before writing.
I had set myself the goal of trying to write a first draft in a month (a fun challenge just to see how far I could get, for those familiar with NaNoWriMo, an unofficial one because it wasn't November) One month later, I had most of a book... and it was a complete mess. Which is kind of what's expected when you do a book-in-a-month challenge. But I had missed some major plot holes and that required me to toss 100 pages and rewrite a large section of the book.
In response to that, I tried plotting. My next writing attempt I sat down and did a detailed plot of the book. Figured out the characters' motivations, what each scene would look like, where they'd peak and fall, etc. That I think was the hardest book I've ever written and the one that I think needs the most work (I should probably just shove it in a box, put it under my bed, and consider it an unsuccessful experiment.)
But what I learned through the process is I, like many writers, fall somewhere on the continuum of pantser vs. plotter. There is no one way to write a book and as I continue to write books, I discover that each book develops in different ways. Sometimes I just need the four or five significant events and can fill in the rest. Other times, the book just flows and I'm almost done before I realize I need to figure out where the story is going.
There are still times when I plot the book out, but I don't think I'll ever do as detailed a plot outline as that failed experiment. For me, my characters have a tendency to do something or say something I hadn't intended them to do which changes the direction of the plot (usually for the better).
I'm sure many a writer has blogged about pantsing vs. plotting. And, just as every writer is different, there will be as many answers to the question, what type of writer are you? In the case of writing, I'm a fan of do whatever works. And I learned by writing Ward Against Death things that work for me and don't work for me.
Thanks for joining me today. I think the biggest thing I learned from the pantsing vs. plotting adventure was not to think of myself as one thing or the other. Some books I'm more pantser than plotter, some books more plotter than pantser. Do whatever works and have fun writing.
So, what's your take on the great pantsing vs. plotting debate?
Connect with Melanie:  Facebook   /  Twitter @melaniecard   /  Goodreads / MelanieCard.com

Melanie has always been drawn to story telling and can't remember a time when she wasn't creating a story in her head. Her early stories were adventures with fairies and dragons and sword swinging princesses.
Today she continues to spin tales of magic in lands near and far, while her cat sits on the edge of her desk and supervises. When she's not writing, you can find her pretending to be other people with her local community theatre groups.

[image error]WARD AGAINST DEATH: CHRONICLES OF A RELUCTANT NECROMANCER - Book OneTwenty-year-old Ward de'Ath expected this to be a simple job—bring a nobleman's daughter back from the dead for fifteen minutes, let her family say good-bye, and launch his fledgling career as a necromancer. Goddess knows he can't be a surgeon—the Quayestri already branded him a criminal for trying—so bringing people back from the dead it is.
But when Ward wakes the beautiful Celia Carlyle, he gets more than he bargained for. Insistent that she's been murdered, Celia begs Ward to keep her alive and help her find justice. By the time she drags him out her bedroom window and into the sewers, Ward can't bring himself to break his damned physician's Oath and desert her.
However, nothing is as it seems—including Celia. One second, she's treating Ward like sewage, the next she's kissing him. And for a nobleman's daughter, she sure has a lot of enemies. If he could just convince his heart to give up on the infuriating beauty, he might get out of this alive…

Mmm, what an excerpt:
He looked at her with his brown eyes, and she knew she'd found her moment. She set her cup aside and knelt at his feet, clasping his hand between hers.
"You're right. This is our first good lead and we should follow it. But it can wait a moment. We're celebrating you. And you haven't finished your drink."
"That's because you topped it up."
She smiled and sat back on her heels. "Because I plan on getting you drunk and taking advantage of you."
He laughed and took a long swig from his cup. "No, really, I should—"
"No." She skimmed her hands up his thighs to his waist and leaned in, brushing her nose against his. "Really."
He gasped and flushed. The strength of her advance was risky, but she no longer had time to play it slow. She knew he found her attractive. Now was her only opportunity.
"Celia." His voice wavered on an uneven breath. "I..."
She ran her hands up his chest, along his neck, and cupped his jaw between her palms.
If she closed her eyes, she could imagine Ward was the innocent, honest man she'd believed.
Beneath her fingers, she could feel his noble heritage, the chiseled lines of his cheeks and jaw. His betrayal hurt more than she thought possible, and she pressed her lips to his before she could change her mind.
He froze, and his lips trembled under hers. It was too fast, too soon, and she eased back. But he caught the back of her head with his hand and deepened the kiss with a sudden, intense need, sending a shock of pleasure through her.
Celia gasped, caught off guard. She shouldn't have been. When Ward decided to do something, he committed fully to it. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave Melanie some comment love!Laura

Welcome Guest Author Brooke Moss!

I'm so very excited to welcome fellow Entangled Publishing author Brooke Moss to the blog today!  Welcome, Brooke!  Please share a little about yourself, your genres, any other pen names you use.
Thanks for having me here today, I am thrilled to be sharing The What If Guy with you!
My name is Brooke Moss, and I live in eastern Washington state with the husband I lovingly call my nerd, a very lazy dog, and our four lovely (crazy) children. I write contemporary romance and romantic women's fiction, my debut book, The What If Guy, came out on August 2nd, and I have a trilogy coming out during summer of 2012.
Awesome! The What If Guy is at the top of my TBR pile—looks like so much fun! Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming release.
[image error] The What If Guy tells the story of single mother, Autumn Cole, who is returning to her miniscule hometown of Fairfield, Washington to reluctantly reclaim her role as daughter of the town drunk. Her live becomes even more complicated when she discovers that her son's history teacher is none other than Henry Tobler, the college sweetheart she left behind, but never stopped loving.
Sounds so good! Which character is your favorite and why?
I love all of my characters, because they all were parts of the whole that wound up being my debut novel! Though…in all honesty…I have a certain fondness for Autumn's son, Elliott, who is twelve. He is based on my oldest child, who marches to the beat of his own drum and has an incredibly sarcastic wit. I loved Elliott.
Oh, man, kids can be such wonderful scene stealers, can't they? As the author, what surprised you about this story ?
When I set out writing this story, I had no idea that Autumn was going to be a single mom after getting pregnant in college. When I wrote that part, I actually gasped. I was shocked! I had no idea that it was going to happen. I guess Autumn had a story to tell… J
That's really cool! Just shows how a story takes control sometimes! Will there be any sequels or other books in the same series?
I am planning on eventually writing Layla Deberaux's story, who is a character in The What If Guy. Plus, I would like to tackle the loose end that is Autumn's mother. Ultimately, I would love to make a Fairfield Series. But right now, I have to finish the WIP I am currently working on, and I need to finish the trilogy coming out next summer.
Sounds like a busy schedule! What was the hardest thing for you about writing this story?
Billy Cole's struggle with alcoholism struck a cord with me. It was an emotional subject matter to write about, and a very cathartic process. I'm glad I tackled it.
Good for you. What are you working on right now?
Right now I am working on edits to the Secret Series (trilogy), as well as an amazing WIP that I am incredibly proud of! I can't wait to share it with the world!
Oh, I'm so intrigued! I guess I'll be good and wait patiently! *stares at Brooke* What happened to the first book you ever wrote?
It is still sitting here in my office, all 250K words of it. J It is not fit for human consumption. I can promise you that.
Hello Tome, how are you? That's kinda awesome! What do you find easiest and hardest to write?
Easiest would be dialogue between lovers or friends. The back and forth banter. I love that. The most difficult for me is writing and condensing backstory. My editors can attest to that.
LOL Have you incorporated actual events or people from your own life into your books?
Yes, I most certainly have. But I keep that info close to my heart. If you read my book and think you see a piece of yourself in the characters, I want to keep you wondering…                                                                                          I like that. Is there a theme or message that runs through your work?
Definitely. I write characters that are real. When a woman talks, she doesn't sound like a thesaurus. We don't all sound like Jane Eyre. When my internal dialogue is running amok, I don't speak eloquently. I speak like a normal, everyday woman. I make jokes, silly observances, sarcastic and snarky quips, and I whine. I strive to write characters who are real. The theme for all of my books is: real stories, about real women, in real situations that could really happen.
And I'm sure that makes your characters ones readers can readily identify with! What would your readers be surprised to learn about you?
That I studied art and wanted to become a children's book illustrator or a cartoonist. I still draw, but not nearly often enough. I had grand dreams of living in a loft in Seattle, working as a freelance artist, and living off of coffee and cigarettes. Good thing it didn't work out.
That's pretty cool! Which romance book or series (or other genre, if you don't write romance) do you wish you had written?
Oh, that's an easy one…I wish I'd written any one of Kristan Higgin's books. She is a genius. Her work is evocative and multi-layered, yet…completely hilarious and sentimental at the same time. I admire her work in so many ways. Plus…word on the street is, she wears fabulous shoes.
LOL Nice! Of all the characters you've ever written, who is your favorite and why?
Vincent Youngblood. He is the hero in the WIP I am currently working on. He is wonderfully handsome and charming, but wounded and flawed, and I am so excited to share him with the world.
Can't wait! Okay, now, just for fun: Milk chocolate or dark chocolate? Dark, dark, dark!!
Salty or sweet? How about both?
Bed or kitchen table? Hmmm…I prefer against the wall in my office. Oh wait, are we talking about where to store my favorite books?
Beach or mountains? Mountains. The greener the better. I am a Washington girl through and through!
Give or receive? Always give. Always.
[image error]

What would you do if your "what if" guy showed up at the lowest point of your life?
(Autumn Cole clocked hers with an encyclopedia.)
After losing her job at a swanky Seattle art gallery and finding out her father has been hospitalized, single mother Autumn Cole reluctantly returns to her tiny hometown of Fairfield, Washington to put the pieces of her life back together.
Her disgruntled twelve‐year old son isn't thrilled about going from hip to hick, but Autumn's got it worse. She resumes her role as the daughter of the town drunk, promptly facing a crisis with her father that's been decades in the making.
Running into Henry Tobler, and nearly breaking his nose, is almost more than she can handle, but can rediscovering love–and herself–with her "what if" guy teach Autumn to forgive before it's too late?

ENJOY THIS EXCERPT FROM THE WHAT IF GUY:

 I knocked on the door of room five. Elliott briefly slipped his hand into mine and whispered, "Love you, Mom." I squeezed his hand. "Love you, too, buddy." "Come on in," a male voice called. The classroom looked and felt exactly the same way it had when I was a kid, including the judgmental stares from the students. With his back to the class, the teacher scribbled a makeshift map on the whiteboard at the front of the room. All of the students' eyes shifted to Elliott. Some looked at him with interest, but others already glared with disapproval. I wished that El hadn't been wearing his yellow and black checkered vest and a bow tie when I'd thundered down the stairs to find him waiting at the front door, tapping his foot. What had been stylish in his funky Seattle school was a blinking neon sign declaring I'm an oddball at a small country school like this. "Um, hi?" Elliott's voice cracked. "I'm Elliott Cole, and I'm, uh, new." Pride swelled in my chest, and I beamed at my son. I leaned down and whispered in his ear. "You're awesome, El. I love you." He gave me a stiff nod. "Thanks." "Welcome, Elliott, it's good to have you." The teacher spoke in a low, gravelly voice. I straightened and smiled at the teacher. "Thanks…" All the oxygen left my lungs, and I stood paralyzed. The class became silent. Elliott's teacher and I stared at each other, dumbfounded—mouths open, hands half-extended, eyes round and wide like headlights set on bright. My insides vibrated like the engine of an idling grain truck. All in response to the teacher, who gawked at me with what appeared to be the same mixture of shock and disbelief. Elliott's teacher was Henry Tobler. "What are you doing here?" I whispered. I regretted my words the moment they came out. I should have said something eloquent or profound. Something that would have made seeing each other for the first time in over a decade less awkward. As if that were remotely possible. Henry's eyes, that rainy-day shade of gray, narrowed, and a line formed between his eyebrows. "I work here." I couldn't help staring. Henry looked like a teacher, but no teacher I'd ever had at Palouse Plains. He wore a grayish-blue button-down shirt, untucked, and a worn, olive-colored sport coat. His wavy, brown hair was cut shorter than I remembered. Even at ten o'clock in the morning, he sported a sexy five o'clock shadow that made my stomach twist. I remembered those whiskers well. He still resembled the young man I'd made eyes at across the lecture hall during college, so long ago—his face chiseled and rugged-looking. Back then, a perpetual smile had teased at one side of his mouth. Now, I saw no hint of that smile. But his eyes still revealed his emotions, no matter how hard he tried to hide them. I wish he'd outgrown that, because his eyes screamed, I'm not happy to see you. "Y-you're a teacher now?" I stammered. "I've always been a teacher."             "Right, but…"

Brooke writes complex, character-driven stories about kismet, reunited lovers, first love, and the kind of romance that we should all have the chance at finding. She prefers her stories laced with some humor just for fun, and enough drama to keep her readers flipping the pages, and begging for more!
When Brooke isn't spinning tales, she spends her time drawing/cartooning, reading two books a week (ask her who her faves are), watching movies then comparing them to books, and, of course, wrangling four kids, one hubby she lovingly refers to as her "nerd", and attempting to conquer the Mount Everest of laundry that is the bane of her existence.

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Six Sentence Sunday #25

This week, I've got six more from my debut erotic romance, JUST GOTTA SAY. The reason? Today I'm one of the featured authors in Decadent Publishing's Erotic Romance Blog Tour. More on that below... So, our girl Callie's still fantasizing about her roommates, for now:

While none of the scenes featured more than two guys with a woman, she began writing in a role for a third man, and those were the images that made her juices flow the hardest and her orgasm approach like a freaking freight train. Movie Jack and Movie Noah just weren't complete without Movie Lucas—the long-time source of all her orgasmic dreams before her accidental voyeurism.Lucas Branson, whose broad shoulders, big hands, and too-infrequent smiles owned her, whose short, brown hair curled at the ends when he let it grow at all, and whose hazel eyes reflected the anguish he carried inside. She'd never known anyone who looked so tough and serious on the outside, but was so broken-up and vulnerable on the inside. Sometimes her arms ached from the need to hold him, and she couldn't restrain herself—she'd hug him and make a joke about it or roll her eyes like it was no big deal. No, nothing was complete without Lucas.

If you'd like to read more JUST GOTTA SAY, see the grand debut of the story's book trailer, OR enter to win a copy of the novella, go check me out today on the Decadent Erotic Romance Blog Tour!
Thanks, as always, to all those who stop by and read / comment each week--it's the highlight of my Sundays. Don't forget to check out the Other Sixers' posts and follow the #sixsunday hashtag on twitter!
Thanks for reading,Laura