Jennifer Bray-Weber's Blog, page 92

Link Of The Week

Writers have to research the strangest things.

I’ve found a very cool site that can lead you to a collection of books that cover almost any topic from How To Be Amish to Six Guns And Society. My personal favorites that I found are about disappearing so you can never be found and how to become “unarrestable”.

Do you have a weird topic that needs research? Look no more! Have I got a doozy of a web site for you!

 

http://www.abebooks.com/books/weird/index.shtml

Is your writing in the backseat? by Candi Wall

Most of you can probably relate to what I’m about to share.

It’s the crazy holiday season. From the moment the frozen turkey lands in the refrigerator, it’s like a ready, set, go mark for the holiday insanity.

I spent the week of Thanksgiving, between home, work, shopping and trying to find a few hours here and there to put some words down on a page. At some point on Thanksgiving day (through a gluttony induced comatose state), I realized I hadn’t written more than a few actual words in two days. I did a little editing, I did a little beta reading, but I had a very low actual word count.

What the heck? I have three books to write! And the sooner I write them the better.

So what held me back?

Laundry (Does it never stop?)
Dishes (See question above.)
Work (This is a must until I become rich and famous…Haha!)
Family (Need I say more?)
Friends (Unfortunately, they’re as crazy as everyone else this time of year.)
Animals (They are family, but I have to separate cleaning up dog poop and taking them for walks from the regular family time-sucks.)
Errands (Which takes more time it seems the closer the holidays get.)
Bills (Oh, to spend that money on gifts…)

And that’s just a fraction of what pulls us away from what we really want – and need - to be doing.

The question is, why does writing almost always take a backseat?

The simplest answer is, because it can. Or more accurately, because we allow it to. It’s a reaction. We allow writing to take a backseat to everything else in our life, because we’re able to justify doing it later. It’s why we hear so many writers talk about staying up late to write, or writing in the strangest places. As much as we NEED to put our stories on paper, we tend to allow ourselves to put it away for later. Worse, we minimize it’s importance, most times without meaning to. You see, even if it’s ultra important to us, other people (and issues) in our lives will never understand that. And explaining it – IMPOSSIBLE. You have to be a writer, to understand a writer.

But that’s a totally different discussion for another day.

Back on topic… Some writers are lucky. They’ve carved out a system to incorporate their writing into their daily ritual. I know a few who have this down to a science. They roll with disruptions and shuffle their schedule to get back on track later. I wish I could be like them, and maybe as my publishing career progresses, I’ll find the way. Until then, the plan is to slowly teach myself to say it’s okay to let other things wait until later INSTEAD of the writing.

It’s deadly important to a writer’s career, whether we’re pre-published or already have books out there. If we don’t write the book, there’s no chance it will ever get published.

Care to share your tips for making writing a priority?

Candi

Peace Be With You

To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it’s about, but the inner music the words make.  ~Truman Capote, McCall’s, November 1967

 

For all of our American friends, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! For all of our friends around the world, especially in Gaza and Israel, we wish you much peace, joy, and contentment on this day. Our hearts are with all of our loyal Muse Trackers!

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.

© Max Ehrmann 1927

Hump Day Kick Start – Banquet Edition

Song of the Day: Use Me by Hinder

Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or just a visual treat.

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in America, I’d like to take a moment to say how thankful I am to have all our MuseTracks followers and commenters. Thanks for making this blog so much fun and worthwhile.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program…

It’s a feast, all right. Now it’s up to you to tell me about the diners.

Is it a masquerade? A bacchanalia? Is he a secret agent? An insatiable vampire? Is he the host? What is he thinking? Is he plotting? Peeved? Perhaps the hostess is keeping him waiting and her women are taunting him.

Love to hear your take.

 

It’s Agent Shopping Day – Did YOU make it in? by Candi Wall

UPDATE: MS. JEGLINSKI SENT ME HER REQUESTS. THERE WERE THREE REQUESTS, AND I’VE SENT OUT E-MAILS TO THE AUTHORS WHO GAINED A REQUEST.

MS. JEGLINSKI SAID SHE ENJOYED READING ALL THE PITCHES (SHE ACTUALLY SAID “WHAT A GREAT BUNCH OF PITCHES”)

Good Morning All!

Thanks for participating in Agent Shop.

Business first: As always, I like to remind every one of the importance of following submission guidelines. We started Agent Shop with the idea of helping others. We were all, or are still, struggling artists at some point. We all had to learn, refine, submit and get rejected, often NUMEROUS times, to move forward as writers. But I constantly impress upon anyone willing to listen, the importance of submitting what you are asked for. In other words, following the agent or editor’s submission guidelines to the letter. You need to come prepared! You need to show that you are willing to be a team player. And being prepared, being a team player means following the rules of the treehouse you want to play in.

Okay, now that we have that out of the way…

Number of pitches received: 48

Number accepted: 29

Number rejected: 19

Why were they rejected, you ask?

9 – Too long (some by ONE word. Ugh, those were hard deletes.)
7 –  Missing information (title, name, wordcount… Head-desk.)
2 – Spam/promo (visit-my-site-to-find-out-about-me-type pitches)
1 – Made a comment meant for the blog

 

The winner of a copy of Wolfishly Yours is: MARGAY

The winner of one of the novels in the series is: ANNETTE SNYDER

The winner of A Lady and Her Magic is: SHEILA JAWORSKI

Ladies, please send me your e-mail and physical contact information at dancillaw@yahoo.com and put WINNER – Musetracks in the subject line. I’ll get your information to Ms. Jeglinski.

Thanks to everyone for stopping by.

And now we welcome Melissa Jeglinski.

Melissa, the pitches are below. If you find anything that you like, simply e-mail me (dancillaw@yahoo.com) the number, title and what you’d like to see from the author. Please also include how you’d like them to submit it.

Thank you so much for coming and for giving us the opportunity to get to know Lydia Dare.

Happy Shopping!

***

#1 – TOP PITCH SLOT WINNER

Her Unreasonable Doubt

Romantic Suspense with Thriller Elements

91,000 words

Assistant District Attorney Madison Montgomery has a choice: work with an accused killer to save her life, or die.

When Madison is stalked and threatened by some crazed person bent on revenge, she turns to Joshua Baldwin for help, the former violent crimes detective she just prosecuted for murder.

Although he was acquitted, this man she once loved and the only cop she ever trusted is still trying to prove to Madison and the world that despite the evidence the jury was right.

Amid accusations of police corruption, deep mistrust, and unrelenting passion, Madison and Josh navigate a dangerous road toward finding the real killer and the person threatening her and, perhaps, alleviating her unreasonable doubt.

***

#2 –

Once Upon a Masquerade

Historical Romance

115,997 words

Cordelia Clarke has waited over two years for her brother’s best friend to see her as more than a sister to him. The night of the masquerade ball is her chance to show him just how much she has grown, that she is a very desirable woman, and not a dear girl. Wearing a colorful costume, she produces a false French accent, and absolutely leaves her quarry quivering and wanting more.

Absolutely sure that he would laugh at her if she revealed her true identity, she gives him a tremendous set-down, immediately regretting her mistake when he leaves her presence in a huff.

Andrew Daventry, Viscount Sutton is no usual aristocrat. He is polite, gentlemanly, and eager to please those around him. The night of his family’s masquerade ball he meets an enchantress that sets him aflame then rejects his offer to know one another without costume.

Bitter, annoyed and confounded by lust, he takes his mother’s guess list, determined to find the beauty that turned his ordered world upside down. The search leads him to his one and only love, the woman he never knew that he even wanted, until they share a tender unexpected kiss in her parlor.

***

#3 –

A Demon’s Redemption

Paranormal Romance

89,000 words

Lorelei is your typical college student – who happens to have a talent for sniffing out demons and sending them back to hell, kind of like a psychic bloodhound. But once a year, she must help one of the fallen earn their way back into heaven. How do they do that? By atoning for their sins. And so far, everything is working out for her – until she meets Azazel, son of Azazeal, a member of the Underworld hierarchy. Does the demon fall far from the seed? She has a month to find out.

Azazel has always lived in the shadows of his father’s misdeeds. But redemption is his one chance to break free of his father’s sins. If only he hadn’t promised to bring down Lorelei for his bid for freedom. Will he keep his promise to his father – or to the woman he comes to love?

***

#4 –

The Year After

Women’s Fiction

125,000 words

Young, unflappable English professor Maddie has lived her life under her bipolar mother’s shadow. Her world turns upside down when her mother dies and she must choose between the hometown she loves and the cowboy artist who steals her heart.

Maddie returns to her childhood home in the Colorado mountains to find her father posting his profile on singles websites and her sister planning a wedding worthy of a bridal magazine. When a childhood friend shows up to her boozy thirtieth birthday party and looks at her in a way he never did in high school, Maddie jumps at the chance for love. But when her new boyfriend turns into a rogue worthy of a Victorian novel, Maddie finds consolation in her friendship with the mysterious artist Jackson. She determines not to fall for him, even though her eccentric aunts remind her that she’s the only one not getting married. As Maddie adopts the unlikely role of maid-of-honor to both her sister and soon-to-be stepmother, she is forced to confront her mother’s memory. Only then can she embrace love and claim the home and family she’s always wanted.

***

#5 –

My Celestial Love

Historical Romance

85,000 words

Railroad entrepreneur Jack Whitney has staked his family’s fortune on completion of the transcontinental railroad and the land grab that would mean financial security for his family.

Chinese immigrant Bai Yu Hsu faces a bleak future when her father’s death leaves her with his enormous gambling debt – one that must be repaid to the Chinese mob. Forced to sabotage railroad construction to win her freedom and restore her father’s honor, she has no choice but to put her life, as well as the lives of others, in jeopardy. But her resolve weakens when she finds herself falling in love with Jack, a forbidden love with a man she could never have.

Amidst racial tensions and cultural clashes, Jack and Bai Yu find love where they least expect it, but can their love survive when achieving their goal means destroying the other’s dream?

***

#6 –

Sixth Sense

Paranormal Romance

90,000 words

Reluctant psychic Katherine Crystal, dubbed “Crystal Ball Kate,” is thrust into the national spotlight when she accurately predicts that the young son of movie actor Vince Rivers will die in a private plane crash. Skeptical Atlanta police detective Jack Hale—who harbors a deep-seated distrust of psychics—is the by-the-book officer who ignores Katherine’s warnings when she calls to report her premonition. Jack is forced to partner with Kate, who uses her eerie sensitivity to evil to help him catch a serial killer. Their investigation into a mystery surrounding Kate’s birth leads to murder and romance among a secret society of psychics in the quaint spiritualist community of Casa Spirito, Florida.

Sixth Sense just won the Georgia Romance Writers 2012 Unpublished Maggie Award of Excellence in the Paranormal/Fantasy category.

***

#7 –  

Going Twice

Romance/Contemporary

80,000 words

Dana Packard, hater of loose ends, leaves her thieving groom at the altar and becomes an auctioneer.

Bruce Levinger, insurance adjuster, tries changing up when former kinky girlfriend considers him boring.

At a farm auction Bruce attends in place of his brother, the unlikely pair meets but not before Bruce nearly runs Dana off the road during her morning jog. During the sale, Dana makes sure Bruce pays for his mistake of inattentiveness while driving.

Stubborn Dana and heart-hardened Bruce surprise even their meddling families when they become business partners.

Cooperation teaches them both to look beyond opinions formed in previous relationships and move on to find love again.

***

#8 –

THE CHANNELS

YA paranormal

58,000 words

Sixteen-year-old Hannah Clare can hear people’s thoughts, but a family history of mental illness creates a fine line between what is delusion and what is paranormal. Only Colin’s touch can make the voices melt away, but Hannah’s already heard the one secret she can’t keep:

Colin’s cousin is stalking his next prey.

Small-town secrets and family lies can kill, but it is Hannah who is the huntress now …

***

#9 –

Hand of Miriam

Steampunk Gothic/Paranormal Romance

105,495 words

On an archeological expedition, Bayla Gideon is widowed by the supernatural force that branded her with the Hand of Miriam or knowing eye. Threatened by evil and paranormal creatures, she escapes London to her country estate.

Despondent, she doses herself with a potent mixture of absinthe and laudanum. After a near fatal attack by a demon, she opens the Gemmatridon, the box that confines the golem, a clay man that will protect her. Feeling pity for the enslaved golem, she destroys the box. The golem takes the corporal form of a powerful looking man, a fallen avenging angel.

Amidst their growing attraction, they must stop Jack the Ripper. Especially in danger of mob violence is the poor Jewish community of East London as locals accuse that the ripper is a Jew. The story twists to dangerous levels when inventor, Nimrod Healy’s angel/demon-capturing machine, Solomon’s Lexiconometer, releases the demon king, Asmodeus. The powerful demon once defeated by angel Gesher intends to sacrifice Bayla. The death of a veillier will allow him to mimic the form of Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Edward. If Asmodeus aided by a Grigori traitor is not stopped, demon legions will control humanity.

***

#10 –

Singularity

YA sci-fi

61,000 words

Romeo and Juliet meets Battlestar Galactica: Jules is a Singular, the last of the cyborgs, and an incomplete one at that. Scientists hadn’t finished programming her when the Stellans attack Verona, her spaceship home. After the aliens wipe out her commanding officers, Jules is left to secure the bridge and defeat the Stellans by herself. Without knowing where anything is, how to pilot, or how to conquer the aliens, the outlook appears grim.

Clusters of survivors retreat to the safety of the wards. Jules is determined to do whatever it takes to save Verona, but several run-ins with the charming Meo challenges her human emotions. He’s the son of laborers—noble, brave, and the only person from the eastern wing who doesn’t hate her kind. Unfortunately, love doesn’t fit into the big picture when it comes to Singulars. Directed by master programming, Jules slips onto the invading alien ship to destroy it from the inside.

Her chances of returning to Verona are slim, but when she discovers the truth, she must choose between hard-wired duty and compromised emotions, between accomplishing her mission and risking everything to save those she loves.

***

#11 –

The Invisible City

Historical

98,000 words

Two Irish immigrants, Caitlín Walsh and Jack Doss face a harsh, unforgiving world when they land on the shores of New York City in 1887. Forced to live in Five Points, enduring animals roaming the streets alongside packs of delinquent children and shady adults. Babies crawl in streets of unspeakable filth. Diseases like typhus and cholera are endemic. After being robbed of most of their money their first day, Caitlin and her father have no choice but to take a closet-sized room with a family of five other immigrants. Jack agrees to work as a bodyguard for a dangerous underworld figure and nearly dies twice at the hands of his employer.

He escapes with a price on his head. Raped by her employer, Caitlín is left pregnant. In March, 1888, the great white hurricane roars up the coast, shutting Manhattan off from the world, leaving its residents on their own. The storm of the century traps a very pregnant Caitlín, Jack and Finn, an unscrupulous, acerbic 10-year-old street urchin, in a half-empty stable. Imprisoned, they will only survive by putting aside their differences and working together.

***

#12 –

The Good Girl’s Rebellion

Contemporary Multi-cultural Women’s Fiction

84,000 words

Priya’s a good girl, the kind who obeys her parents because of fierce loyalty, but when rebellion in the form of romantic love throws a wrench into her life, lives will be changed and lost.

Though raised in America, Priya keeps the traditions of her family’s native India and expects to marry her intended. Life is perfect until she meets Tyler—a cocky, sexy Irishman who will do anything to capture her heart. As Tyler wins over Priya, her family’s secrets intensifies her loyalty to her parents. But Priya caves to an equally intense love for Tyler, and her decision to decline her arranged marriage shatters the close relationship with her parents and shoves her into the outskirts of Indian society. The pain of her parents disowning her is a bitter balance to love and liberation, until the scale tips. Her mother is dying, and her final wish is for Priya to marry her intended. In a heartbreaking turn of events, her entire life crumbles.

Torn by guilt and grief, Priya must make the hardest decision of her life.

***

#13 –

Guitar God

YA—Contemporary Fantasy

195,000 Words

Polly’s moment had finally arrived, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Barely a teenager, Polly had reluctantly accepted the role of human guardian of the Green. Now, about to begin college and leave her hometown and all the weirdness behind, fate calls her, except to save the Green she must defeat Isaac, the boy she loves.

Isaac was the kid nobody liked until a mysterious faerie granted him his greatest wish. Now bestowed with incredible musical prowess, Isaac is loved and admired by all. But there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Polly is the only one who can save Isaac’s soul, but her first responsibility is to the Green. Can Polly save the Green and save Isaac as well?

Guitar God is a Jewish, suburban rock and roll fantasy with a 1970s soundtrack. It’s urban fantasy in the suburbs. It’s War For The Oaks meets Portnoy’s Complaint. It’s crossover YA for teens and their parents. It’s a world where the faerie folk walk among us, but we don’t know it. It’s about the magical places where we grew up. Maybe we knew about them or maybe we walked by them every day without even noticing.

***

#14 –

Falling Stars

Hot Rocker Romance (currently self published)

131,357 words

Christopher Mason is a six and a half foot tall lead singer of The Forgotten. He is a groupie loving man whore that is fighting deep dark secrets from the past that resurface as nightmares. Nightmares from a horrific night that changed his life forever. The pain from his night terrors cause him to rely heavily on pills and alcohol to subdue the trauma. But it never does.

Business brings Hushed mentality an up and coming all female band on tour with The forgotten. A well known all male band with top charting hits. A tension filled meeting ensues with the bands but it does not last long. Because honestly how long can a group of sexy men and women last without trying to rip each other’s clothes off? Not long.

Chris is instantly drawn to Hushed Mentality lead singer Mia. Just not in the way you’re thinking. Bottom line. He can’t stand her. In fact he sets out to destroy her and her band mates. Which turns out to be useless because we all know there is a thin line between love and hate.

When his fueled rage turns in to lust, lines are crossed.

***

#15 –

The Found Girl

Contemporary paranormal romance

100,000 words

Jonas Kavanagh’s life was predetermined.

One day he will be king to a magical elf kingdom and he will also be the first in the royal line to take a human as queen. Only two complications stand in his way. First, the human woman fated to be this queen doesn’t believe in love, magic or even the prediction. Second, and far more difficult to overcome, the person assigned the task of finding this human wants nothing more than see Jonas joined with someone else and he possesses enough power to accomplish this.

Alvina McKellen’s life has been one loss after another. Orphaned and unwanted by relatives forced to care for her, then framed by a man who said he loved her, she seeks a new life far from where she began. She sure never expected that new life to involve a frightening man with strange abilities and an unexpected marriage to a supposed king.

Together, a reluctant elf king and a lost girl find passion, love and their destiny together, something not even the most powerful magic of one who would tear them apart can destroy.

***

#16 –

Loving Emmalyne

Paranormal romance

34,000 words

Growing up in a gothic royal castle, young Emmalyne has been in love with the handsome wizard Donovan for as long as she can remember, never believing he is aware of her affections. She watches from afar as he trains to one day take his position beside her cousin, the prince.

Donovan is dedicated to becoming a wise and powerful wizard so when the time comes to serve his friend, Prince William, he will be the best there is. He has more important things to worry about than a small girl’s infatuation with him; namely, exacting his revenge on the vampire Keiron who killed Donovan’s family almost a century before.

When Emmalyne returns to the castle after two years away, now grown, captivating and beautiful, Donovan can no longer ignore what she stirs inside him. However, before he can make Emmalyne his, Keiron again shows up to steal the life of someone he loves.

Keiron is fascinated by the beautiful Emmalyne and instead of killing her; he changes her, making her into a being Donovan hates the most. Years later, Donovan must decide whether his love for Emmalyne is stronger than his hatred of the creature she’s become.

***

#17 –

In the Heart

Contemporary romance/womens fiction

100,000 words

After a tragic shooting claims the life of her fiancé, Celia Bailey returns to her small hometown vowing one day to find love again. A year later, she’s finding it difficult to keep that vow when the man occupying her thoughts and haunting her dreams is a man she knows shouldn’t get involved with.

Toby Colton is about to find his new life turned upside down. He has a steady job as a prison guard and is forming ties in the close-knit community he recently moved to. However, one chance meeting on the side of a road brings a string of complications he never counted on.

For the ex-rodeo rider, Celia is one sad cliché after another: the boss’s daughter…his best friend’s sister…and love at first sight. While the two fight a losing battle to resist their attraction, a scheming and dangerous inmate by the name of Vince Monroe sets his sights on escape—and Celia.

When Toby must risk his own life to save a kidnapped Celia, they learn love doesn’t always play by the rules

***

#18 –

Misty With A Chance Of Shooting Stars

Young Adult

70,000 words

Misty Blake is a girl with big dreams, but her friends are more interested in the catching the newest teen heartthrob or the next episode of Jersey Shore than school or what to do after graduation. She has a plan, win a once in a lifetime college scholarship and get out of this small town before she ends up pushing fries out of a drive-thru. The only thing standing in her way is passing the dissection part of Biology.

Eddie Godwin is what most cool kids consider a nerd. He and his friends are in advanced classes, collect comics, and love online gaming. When a pretty girl with a reputation for being a brainless flirt asks for his help to pass an assignment she already calls stupid he has his doubts.

While Misty does her best to show Eddie she is serious, Eddie finds her reputation is just a front to fit in with her friends.

If the TV show Big Bang Theory collided with the movie Can’t Buy Me Love, you would end up with the cute story called Misty With A Chance of Shooting Stars.

***

#19 –

Saving Grace

Paranormal Romance

90,000 words

Just because you’re soul mates doesn’t mean you’re meant to be together.

Evelynn Brierre and Sam Derevenko are soul mates. Not in the “you complete me” sense, either. Evie literally has the other half of Sam’s soul. Souls are recycled each lifetime, giving mates a chance to find each other over and over again. While this seems like the makings of a romantic comedy worthy of John Cusack, the repercussions more resemble something Guillermo del Toro would create.

A few centuries ago, Sam became a vampire and brutally killed Evie in a fit of bloodlust. Every life since, history has repeated itself, each time more gruesome than the last. This life time is their last chance to make things right or they will be banished to the Wasteland, a place far worse than any mythological hell.

Saving Grace is a humor-infused tale of love, redemption, and sacrifice. Evie and Sam don’t have a traditional love story, which makes them all the more real to me.

Their happily-ever-after isn’t instant, and there will be much blood, heartbreak, and tears before they reach it.

***

#20 –

The King’s Mistress

Historical/Fantasy

70,000 words

Bethina Lydia Fortescue, the Lady Godwin, adored her king as no other for twenty years. But the king is dead, and as his mistress she is no longer wanted at court, or so she thinks.

Honorable Sir Arthur Jeffries, newly appointed to the Princess Meredith’s corrupt council, needs help. He begs Lady Godwin to return as the princess’ tutor, hopefully to lead the gawky teenager through the political and romantic minefield of suitors that will attend her Birthday Ball in just a few days.

Sir Arthur’s brilliant mind and body attracts Bethina, but before she can permit herself the indulgence of another grand affair, she must first uncover plots to assassinate the princess, expose treason within the Council and do something with all those dreadful gowns. Sir Arthur manages his obsession with Bethina’s outrageous wardrobe, cunning wit and voluptuous body while he interviews an aging prince, a young duke and the evil Lord Hunley as potential grooms for his princess.

Bethina and Arthur come together as servants to their country’s crown, joined through a lifetime of bitter and shrewd experiences and discover that when the princess takes a husband, they will have only one thing left to live for: love.

***

#21 –

Of Ice and Ashes

YA Fantasy

86,000 words

Years after a toxic explosion disfigures hundreds of survivors, a town leader declares they are diseased, dangerous, and must all be purged. Seventeen-year-old Wren knows she’s the only truly dangerous survivor, and must brave brutal guards and the malicious leader herself to find the others. If she fails, she’ll burn with them.

#22 –

Bright Star

historical/paranormal Romance

98,000 words

Pandora Mavros is on the hunt for one of her own. A high ranking Siren has gone rogue, murdering innocent men. Her mission is to locate the rogue and the artifact she has stolen. If she fails; the destruction of her people will follow. The licentious and dashing Alexander is a complication she is definitely not looking for. Could he be working for the rogue?

Alexander Knight is searching for his business partner who mysteriously disappeared and with him the ancient map of the elusive island of Eudora. Alex doesn’t need the impediment of his desire for the mysterious and guarded Pandora, but something or someone is forcing them together. Is she his salvation? Or the destruction of everything he holds dear?

***

#23 –

Amorous

Contemporary/Sci Fi Romance

80,000 words

Sofia was having the worst day. First her car seems to have finally given up the ghost and gasped its final breath. After a grueling commute through slush and frigid temps she walks in on her boyfriend becoming intimately acquainted with Stephanie, her Supervisor. To add insult to injury, Stephanie then explained that she was being downsized. Finally home she finds a large cat-like creature half frozen and injured on her balcony. What else can go wrong?

The people of Felinus are in jeopardy. Havardr is chosen to investigate an uninitiated planet where a comrade had disappeared. Ensnared, he awaits his fate till the most delicious scent empowers him to escape the trap. Severely injured, he follows the scent to a tiny house. There he discovers the most delightful surprise of all……

***

#24 –

Piper Girl

YA Science Fiction

75,000 words

Set in a poverty-stricken barrio in Los Angeles, Piper Girl offers a modern twist on The Pied Piper fairy tale. When an explosion at Dyna Research Labs releases crazed rats into the slums, seventeen-year-old Marisa offers to help rid her neighborhood of the rodents. As a former circus performer, she was known for her magical ability to charm animals with her silver flute. Marisa not only succeeds in luring the rats, she discovers she can control people with her music. Intrigued by her powers, a high-level scientist offers her a tempting reward if she’ll come to Dyna and serve as his personal lab rat. But when Marisa learns the truth about his research, she realizes her sanity–and even her life–could be at risk.

***

#25 –  

You Know My Name

Dark romantic thriller

60,113 words

Facing certain death on a cold winter night, Gemini Michaels seems to have used up her nine lives. The victim of violence perpetrated by her own father Jacob, when she is thrown over bridge she is certain her time has come. Aidan Wells is a rogue operative haunted by the face of a child from his past. And when he sees grown up and going over the side of the Kennedy Bridge he dives in after her in a desperate attempt to rescue her.

Jacob Michaels is an evil man who touch reaches high into corridors of power. He serves the dark desires of men with the women he enslaves. And his daughter is not immune from his touch. Enraged by his daughter’s survival and Aidan’s interference he makes it his mission to end them permanently.

As Gemini and Aidan race towards safety and a mission of their own to take Jacob down can they survive long enough to find their happily ever after? Or will Jacob succeed in smothering out his daughter’s last hope of a free life.

#26 –

Grand Duchess

Contemporary Romance

100,000 words

On August 12, 1904 Alexei Romanov, the last recognized heir to the Empire of Russia was born.
Two weeks before his fourteenth birthday, he was apparently murdered. Many were unconvinced he had been murdered along with his family.
Rumors of Alexei’s survival began to circulate when the bodies of his family and the royal servants were located. Alexei’s remains were missing, along with those of one of his sisters.
On 23 August 2007, a Russian archaeologist announced the discovery of two burned, partial skeletons at a bonfire site near Yekaterinburg that appeared to match the site described in Yurovsky’s memoirs.
This revelation did not convince everyone, however, and some still insist that Alexei survived somehow.

Ana Federova is a princess. She just doesn’t know it yet. When Yuri Vasilev, the Russian president, realizes the solution to his image problem rests in the twenty-two year old American school teacher Ana, he puts plans in motion to bring the last Grand Duchess of Russia home. What he doesn’t count on is Ana being a young woman with a mind of her own and plans that don’t include being his perfect princess.

***

#27 –

Saving Sarah

Contemporary YA

60,000 words

When Sarah was five, her older brother, Ed was abducted trying to protect her.

Now he has disappeared again, and 16 year-old Sarah will do anything to get him back, even if it means risking her family, her friendships and her life. As she slips deeper into her brother’s world of drugs and crime, Sarah discovers that Ed isn’t the only one who needs saving.

#28 –

The Truth

Adult/Young Adult Fiction: Science Fiction

73,000 words

Buried secrets. A lifetime of lies. A stranger and the girl who will save them all. In GameChanger: The Truth twenty-two year-old Zoelie Page uncovers the truth about her past, her family and her future as she works with an FBI agent to pull off the mission of the century.

After of a decade of cryptic dreams Zoelie Page meets a man who promises to help her find Gabriel, who has been missing for a year and is a man only Zoelie can remember.

Weeks after meeting the man in the grey hat Zoelie finds herself at his home. He reviles the truth about Gabriel, her dreams and top-secret government mission to start a colony on the distant planet, Maia and destroy Earth.

In the next few months, Zoelie and Nikolai fight each other, the government and attempt to uncover her family inheritance. It’s a race against the clock for the unlikely lovers. Even with help from Nikolai’s friends and the ghosts of Zoelie’s family the mission is near impossible.

When push comes to shove, the two are forced to make a tough decision: stay together risking the world or separate to secure save it.

#29 –

Judas in Heaven

Christian Fiction

50,250 words

Can Judas receive forgiveness for all that he has done?

Judas in Heaven follows the life of Judas Hooker as he makes one terrible decision after another. All the while, Jesus stays in the periphery of his life, thanks to his best friend, Charlotte. During the course of his youth, Judas got into drugs and the addiction lasted into his adulthood. As he advanced in age, Judas’ transgressions advanced in complexity and he was often left in very compromising positions. To boot, his best friend Charlotte was living a story-book life married to a great guy who had very strong Christian values.

Eventually, when he hit rock bottom, Charlotte and her husband are able to convince Judas to attend church and his life begins a slow transformation. However, he never understands the love and grace of Christ until catastrophe strikes, caused by another one of Judas’ bad decisions. However, just as Jesus remarked that Judas Iscariot had to do what he did so that prophesy could be fulfilled, perhaps Judas Hooker did what he did so that God could work through his life as well. After all, God is able to work all things together for good.

***

Hope to see you all again at a future Agent/Editor Shop!

It’s Pitch Day at Agent Shop! by Candi Wall

OKAY – WE’RE NO LONGER ACCEPTING PITCHES. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE! THE PITCHES THAT MADE IT THROUGH ALONG WITH THE WINNERS OF THE BOOK GIVEAWAY WILL BE POSTED IN THE MORNING.

Good Morning everyone!

It’s pitch day at Agent Shop. Re-read the rules! I HATE deleting pitches because of foolish mistakes, I really do. The tab above has all the rules! Pitches aren’t posted here. You HAVE to send them to candi_agent_shop@yahoo.com or they don’t count. They have to be 200 hundred words or less, not counting the info you HAVE to include. Please, please, please, follow the rules!

Now that we have that out of the way…

I’m super excited to welcome Melissa Jeglinski, literary agent with The Knight Agency as our guest agent this month. She’ll be here tomorrow to look at the pitches that make it in today!

But today, while we’re waiting and crossing fingers, we have her clients (Lydia Dare is actually a writing team.) Lydia Dare as our spotlight author.

Check out this cover!

Regency England Has Gone To The Wolves!

It Takes A Beast…

Grayson Hadley is in his own special hell-being treated like a wayward pup by the tutor employed to turn him into a true gentleman. So when he meets a hot-blooded American beauty with the mark of a Lycan, he’s only too glad to slip his leash.

To Bring This Lady To Heel

Accustomed to running wild in the swamps of Louisiana, Miss Liviana Mayeux is shipped off to her grandfather’s in London to learn a thing or two about polite society. At first she scoffs at the English Lycans’ apparent tameness. Little does Livi realize how very close she is to unleashing the passion that lies just beneath the surface…

Here’s what they’re saying about Lydia Dare’s novels:

“A fast-paced, sweet story…the sensuality attains just the right level to make a gal want a wolf of her own.”-Booklist

“A true enchanting delight…I swear Lydia Dare just keeps getting better and better.”-Yankee Romance Reviewers

“A sensual, fun, witty romance.”-Night Owl Reviews

“Completely entertaining and fun.”-Long and Short Reviews: Best Book of the Month

You can find Lydia Dare here:

Links to author’s website: www.lydiadare.com

FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lydia-Dare/125491317473003

Twitter: @lydiadare

 

As always, we’ll be giving the Top Pitch Slot to one lucky comment that uses the words WOLF and DARE, but there’s more! If you use those words in your comment, you’ll also be entered into a random drawing for Wolfishly Yours, a couple others in the series and a copy of Tammy Falkner’s A Lady and Her Magic!

Good luck to everyone, a huge thanks to our visitors, and this means….

GO!

Happy pitching to you all,

Candi

MuseTracks Guest – Eliza Knight – Highland Striptease

Good grief, my buddy Eliza Knight is at it again! Check out what’s got her riled this time. I’m already fanning myself.

Highland Striptease…

By Eliza Knight

Have you seen Magic Mike? If you haven’t… please do yourself a favor and watch that movie!!! It was totally a hot display of gyrating, perfectly formed male bodies, and I admit to drooling shallowly over their sexiness… So much so I’m going to have a party with my girlfriends—we’ll watch the movie and drink cocktails just so I can see it again .

The only thing that would have made that movie better was if the hotties were in kilts! Seriously, could you imagine? Whew! *Fanning self frantically*

Besides the erotic movements that simulate sweaty sex, what makes stripping so sensual? To me, it’s the anticipation, the heat of it, the imagining what’s underneath and just how far they’ll go.

I’ve used the art of Highland stripping in most of my stories. I like my heroines to watch each and every move as the hero slowly reveals his flesh. To see every inch of skin and wonder what it will feel like under her fingertips. In my novella, Take if Off, Warrior, the heroine actually mistakes my Highland hero for a stripper—he’s traveled forward in time and heck, she’s planning a bachelorette party! That was a fun story to write!

In the second book of my Stolen Bride series, THE HIGHLANDER’S CONQUEST, I really tried to slow down my hero Blane’s undressing the first time they made love. It upped the tension and anticipation for my heroine. Every sound, movement is intensified too by her own fear, desire and curiosity.

Here’s a look!

“You came back quicker than I thought.” She found her eyes wondering over his shadowy form, still soaked with fabric clinging to him. Her breaths quickened and she pulled the blanket up to her mouth, trying to hide the way she licked her lips, yearning for what she couldn’t have. Then she said something she’d never in her wildest dreams imagined saying to a man, but what was worse was the images that flashed in her mind. “You’d best take off your clothes.”

Without taking his eyes off her, Blane tossed his pack somewhere into the back of the cave. She heard it bounce with a soft thud. Eyes wide, frozen in place, she watched as he unlatched the pin from the plaid at his shoulder, letting the fabric drop. Her gaze locked on the fabric of his shirt, clinging indecently to his broad chest. Blane’s nipples, tiny dark dots, were taut. She couldn’t recall a man’s nipples ever having the effect on her that his were. Then again, had she really witnessed many naked chests? Her breath caught, insides quivered. The wet shirt followed the dips and ridges of his muscles and her hands itched to reach out and stroke each one. With deliberate slowness, Blane reached up and untied the strings at his neck, allowing her to see actual smooth, muscled skin. Her mouth went dry.

Aliah’s feet remained rooted in place. She felt ethereal in this magical place. The sound of the waterfall, the silvery light of the moon, this man, so unbelievably handsome and with a look of sensuality upon his face geared just for her…

Part of her knew this was wrong. That to feel the way she did, both physically and emotionally, was bound to get her into trouble. But she didn’t care. She wanted to watch him undress. Wanted to touch him. Wanted to tell him how much she loved him. To show him how much they made sense. Blane would only fight her on it. Some part of him wouldn’t allow her in. The damaged part that he’d hinted of. Consciously he would push her away, she knew that. ’Haps though, she could show him the right of it. Show him how much being together would only make their two worlds perfect.

Aliah took a step forward, faltered as he reached for the edges of his shirt and pulled it up over his head. That too he tossed. Her eyes were riveted on his flesh—smooth, muscled flesh. A long scar curved wickedly over his ribs, intimating at some deeper struggle. A male had never entranced her more.

Blane’s eyes were still connected with hers, as if he challenged her to continue watching. She was up for the task, her lip curling slightly in invitation. A shudder of pleasure passed over her at the boldness of her actions. She was tempting this man. Blane had already called her temptation itself once… Now she toyed with him, wanting to see just how far he’d go.

His fingers fiddled with his sporran, undoing the leather strap, he tossed it somewhere. The corded belt came next and with it…his plaid pooled at his feet. Aliah’s eyes widened, stretching so far open she swore they’d pop from her head.

Blane was naked. Gloriously, frighteningly, naked.

Nude, muscled flesh.

Aliah’s breath caught. Her heart stopped.

So tell me, have you seen Magic Mike? Do you think there should be a sequel with Highlanders in it?

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The Highlander’s Conquest, Book Two: The Stolen Bride Series 

What is a Highlander to do when he falls for the daughter of his enemy?

Highland warrior, Blane Sutherland, has one mission: disguise himself as an Englishman, cross the border and retrieve Lady Aliah de Mowbray. Always up for a challenge, he agrees, pursuing his conquest with vigor—and trying to deny the powerful desire that eclipses him each time he touches his charge. A rogue of the highest order and a younger son, he has nothing to offer a lady but a broken heart.

And what is a lady to do when she cannot trust her heart?

Aliah is skeptical of the English noble who has come to take her to her father and sister in Scotland, but she pushes her doubts aside. Without word in months, she must make certain her family is safe, then she can return to England to join the convent to which she has sworn to pledge her life. But then her escort reveals his true self—he’s a Highlander and his kisses are more seductive than the sweetest of wines.

Surrender never tasted so sweet…

Read it!: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Eliza Knight is the multi-published, award-winning, Amazon best-selling author of sizzling historical romance and erotic romance. While not reading, writing or researching for her latest book, she chases after her three children. In her spare time (if there is such a thing…) she likes daydreaming, wine-tasting, traveling, hiking, staring at the stars, watching movies, shopping and visiting with family and friends. She lives atop a small mountain, and enjoys cold winter nights when she can curl up in front of a roaring fire with her own knight in shining armor. Visit Eliza at www.elizaknight.com or her historical blog History Undressed: www.historyundressed.com . Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizaknightauthor . Twitter: @ElizaKnight

Someone Must Die

Song of the Day: Ten Ton Brick by Hurt

I’m emotional. More so than my half-crazed normal daily allotment.

There I was, minding my own business doing my damnedest to meet a NaNo word count for the day when the unthinkable happened. A sudden realization side-swiped me. I was going to have to kill one of my characters. Not just any run-of-the-mill extra in the cast. Noooo…. Someone who is well-liked by both the characters in the book as well as readers of my Romancing the Pirate series. Someone I like.

Keep in mind, I don’t write thrillers, horror, or suspense. I write high seas adventure and romance. People die, especially the bad guys. But not someone who is in my core group of characters. The realization hit so hard, I was knocked for a loop. It couldn’t be! It mustn’t be! What am I going to do? How can I let this happen?

I began floundering for a way out. What if someone else died instead of Well-Liked Character? Yeeessss…*kneads hands in maniacal way* Or maybe I could just maim him. Or… what if…what if…what if I just rewrite the entire scene to save Well-Liked Character.

I was grasping for straws and did what any desperate author does when faced with such a cataclysmic emotional derailment. No, I didn’t hit the bottle. I hit Facebook. I asked the masses for sage advice, aka wild-ass opinions. Should I kill my lovable fellow or pick some hapless bystander to take to fall? I probably should have hit the bottle instead. Rum is good at any time of day.

The response were all over the place. But I was thrilled with how many people weighed in. Some were silly. Others, brutal. Many of my author friends chimed in with their thoughts, so graciously pointing out the tight rope I walked. That precarious dilemma of either upsetting loyal readers or missing the emotional impact of the scene.

Secondary characters have value. They are imperative to the hero and heroine’s journey, whether as antagonists or protagonists.  Secondary Characters add dimension and complexity to the story.  Well-liked secondary characters are like a cozy blanket, familiar and welcome.  Readers don’t want to be sucker-punched losing someone they’ve grown fond of who could go on to bigger and better things. And Well-Liked Character does have future plans.

I remember a book I read where a secondary character died an avoidable death near the end of the story. I remember feeling so betrayed.

But on the flip-side, why should anyone care if a nameless/faceless stand-in gets whacked? Would their death give the same degree of reaction or consequence as losing a friend? Of course not.

Needless to say, as I read the comments both for and against sending Well-Liked Character to his maker, it became clear what I had to do. Flip a coin. Okay, not really.

I sucked it up and put myself back there, back deep into the scene. The critical moment had come. I removed myself, my wants, my emotions, and watched the inevitable unfold as a spectator. Well-Liked Character must die. I didn’t want him to, but there was no other way. It had to be. His death will escalate the stakes for the survivors. The impact will be greater. He will be a martyr for the story.

He’s not the first character I’ve killed—I’ve killed many. Oh yes, this author has a dark side. But Well-Liked Character is the first one that I will mourn.

Have you ever mourned for a character, either one you read or written? If so, who? Share your thoughts, I’d love to hear them.

Link Of The Week

 

Have you ever wondered how you go about creating a great query? Wonder no more!

Janet Reid, a famous literary agent, has a spot where you can learn all about writing great queries and even have the chance to have yours critiqued! I love her site and have used it as a reference guide quite often. Enjoy.

http://www.queryshark.blogspot.com/

 

Pre-Agent Shop Weekend – by Candi Wall

I’m super excited about this month’s Agent Shop, because Melissa Jeglinski with The Knight Agency is our guest and she’s super excited! She told me so!

Please be sure you check her profile at The Knight Agency to find out what kind of books she’s interested in.

I hope you’ve been working on your pitch and have read all the rules. Pitch Day is Nov. 17th at approx. 10:00am EST. Once I post the word GO, you are free to send me your pitch at candi_agent_shop@yahoo.com . Only the first thirty viable pitches will make it, but send your pitch in until you see me post the word STOP on the home page of Musetracks. I always accept more than the first thirty because as you’ll see, I often have to delete pitches that didn’t follow the rules. And I don’t give second chances.

We’re spotlighting one of Melissa’s clients, Lydia Dare and her (their – they are actually a writing team!) newest release WOLFISHLY YOURS. Lydia Dare will be giving away a copy of WOLFISHLY YOURS along with several others in the series, plus Tammy Falkner’s A LADY AND HER MAGIC!

Check Lydia Dare out here:

www.lydiadare.com

FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lydia-Dare/125491317473003

Twitter: @lydiadare

As usual, we’ll be giving the top pitch slot to one lucky reader if they leave a comment on pitch day. The only rule? The comment HAS to have the words WOLF and DARE in the comment in some form.

See you all next weekend!