Liv Rancourt's Blog, page 35

The Obligatory New Years Post

Friday, January 4th. It’s a new year. What am I going to do about it? And did I accomplish what I wanted in 2012?

I think every blogger has done or will do a post that addresses these questions. I tried to restrain myself, but I never saw a bandwagon I didn’t like, so here I go. In 2012 I published a number of things – and you’ve either seen each release day announcement here on the blog, or if you’re a newer reader, check my Books page HERE. I got serious about blogging and upgraded to an awesome website designed by Laird Sapir at Memphis McKay. More importantly, my family’s intact, my kids are taller,  the cats and dog are thriving, and I still love my day, er, night job.

My house is a bit of a mess, though.

Here’s a star for Epiphany … along with some hope for spring.

So what’s up for 2013? More publishing and more growing, I hope. I fully expect that by about July I’ll be the shortest person in the house – except for the dog. I’m almost 5’9″, but the 13-year-old seems to gain a quarter inch every night. It won’t be long now…

I’m going to try to organize my writing work a little bit more. There are a number of things I want to focus on: promoting my new release Forever & Ever, Amen, submitting Sisters (after I find a better title), editing Hell…The Story and Choir Camp, and keeping up a consistent blog schedule. I also want to start work on another book in the same world as Forever & Ever, Amen, and keep up with all YOUR amazing blogs. I also want to dedicate an hour a day to reading, so I can keep up on all the fine work I see you producing!

Sadly, all of this might just cut into my SongPop time.

We’re planning to attend a family reunion on Maine next June, and I want to turn it into a tour of the East Coast with a drive down the Appalachian Trail and hopefully a visit or two (or three!) with both old friends and people I so far only know on-line.  Won’t be long till the kids are off in college and whatnot, which makes this a perfect chance for a major family vacation.

And finally, a dream that I’ve been holding close to my heart for awhile now….SOLID SURFACE COUNTERTOP.

See, after fourteen years in a house with 1940′s 4×4 tile in the kitchen, I’m SO ready. I don’t know how I’m going to make it happen, but this is the year. Noni, are you out there? We gonna get this done.

So there you have it. There might be a few other things – laugh more, stress less – admit to myself that I might, in fact, be having hot flashes – take the dog on walkies every day no matter how hard it’s raining. Little stuff. What about you? What are you hoping for in the new year?

Peace,

Liv

Oh, and if you can tolerate just a pinch of self-promo, this jump will take you to the Goodreads page for Forever & Ever, Amen. If you wanted, you could check out my first review and  add it to your ‘to read’ list. Thanks!

 

 

NO KISSing Allowed…

So how ’bout this for some fun? 40-some bloggers all posting scenes where the hero and heroine DON’T kiss. I think it sounds like a hoot, myself, so here’s my entry. It’s a short snippet from my 1/21/13 release, Forever & Ever, Amen. Molly’s got problems, and Cass is her guardian angel, more-or-less, except for here when he takes his duties a tad more, um, physically…and just for clarity’s sake, Ford’s her evil ex-husband, and Zepar’s the evil-er demon that’s after her soul…

~~~

Flora’s bedroom door slammed shut. A good mom would have helped her process her feelings. Shit. Maybe Molly could offer to pay for her therapist in a couple years.

Molly went into her own room and pulled a clean nightgown out of the dresser. From behind her, she heard a soft cough.

“You sure look pretty tonight,” Cass said.

Molly looked down at her jeans and purple sweatshirt and snorted. “It’s good to see you, too,” Molly said, taking in his green polo and softly glowing gold earring. It brought her eye to the gold ring on her own finger.

Cass’s cellophane form was leaning against her bedroom door. “Everything okay?”

“Sure, fine. I mean, Ford brought a date to the game, and Zepar was there, and Flora’s barely speaking to me, and something’s up with Jamie and…and…” She started to choke on the words.

“Breathe, Molly.”

“No one’s called about any of the résumés I’ve sent out, and I must be crazy to think I’ll make it going into business for myself.” Once she got started, it was easy for Molly to make a long list of all the things that were wrong.

“Things’ll work out.” Cass sounded reassuring.

“Okay, stop. You’re doing exactly what he said.”

Cass crossed his arms. “Who said?”

“Zepar. It was…well, I went back to the garden center, and Violet called to the spirits, and Zepar showed up. He knows, Cass.”

“Knows what?”

“What scares me the most.” She choked on the words. “One of my kids…”

She dropped her head into her hands. “You didn’t tell me he could take my soul.”

“Aw, don’t…” He paused as if making a decision. “Keep your eyes closed for a minute.”

Molly’s eyes were closed anyway, but she nodded. She felt a gust of air that made her skin tingle like a handful of blowing sand, and then she heard a quiet scraping sound, like metal sliding over concrete. Then footsteps. Then arms wrapped around her, real, solid arms. She stiffened in surprise.

“Shh, sugar, keep ‘em closed,” a voice said right in her ear. She caught a whiff of a familiar deep forest scent, and she relaxed into the strength of his chest, her hands resting on muscular forearms and his warm breath rushing by her ear. It crossed her mind that having a strange man show up in her bedroom should be a scary thing. She wasn’t frightened. The static in her head quieted for a moment and she let go, simply enjoying this moment of relief. Then his hands moved, tugging on her shoulders, turning her so she faced him. She almost opened her eyes.

“Mm-mm, don’t.” His voice whispered in her ear. She rested her cheek against his shoulder and reached out, tucking her arms around his waist. Usually when Ford held her, the top of her head was just past his nipple line and all she could hear was the beat of his evil heart. It was nice to feel like an equal. One of her hands slipped down ‘til her palm rested on a tight, muscular butt. She jerked it back to safe territory and felt his chuckle through her sternum.

She didn’t need to open her eyes to know it was the angel holding her. Right then she didn’t care how he was doing it. The tenderness and warmth that he wrapped around her was enough.

“You’re real,” she said, keeping her voice low enough that only he could hear her. He bent his head down so that her lips almost touched his cheek as she spoke.

“You needed a hug, sugar,” he whispered back.

Molly smiled into his blond curls. “I’m pretty sure this is the nicest thing that’s happened to me in days.”

Cass chuckled. “I don’t know. You’re pretty resilient.”

“I don’t suppose any of the things that happened today counted as the third trial.”

Several beats went by. “Sorry about that.”

Molly blew out a sigh. “Not your fault.” A sob tried to sneak through, but she cleared her throat to squash it down. “Um, does Zepar have a cell phone? Because I’m pretty sure I got a text message from him tonight.”

Cass ran his fingers through the curls at the back of Molly’s neck, and she let one hand drift up over his shoulder.

“What?” she asked, the velvety warmth of his skin distracting her from his answer.

“I said you must be really pissing him off.” Cass laughed softly. “Text messages are pretty ghetto.”

“Great. I have to cross the one demon who doesn’t play by the rules.”

“Sometimes to do what’s right you have to break the rules.” His hand cupped her chin, then a finger tipped her face up. By the warmth of his breath on her lips she knew that he was going to kiss her. Startled, her eyes popped open. There was a flash of green and gold and a sprinkle of airy sand. She was alone in her room.

~~~

How’s that for a tease? If you’re up for more, jump HERE for a complete list of all the bloggers who are playing along today. Oh, and leave a comment here with your favorite near-miss kiss scene. I’ll send a $5 Amazon coupon to one lucky commenter. Have fun!

Peace,

LivMolly’s a forty-something single mom who goes out for Happy Hour and comes home with a helluva hickey. Turns out, it’s a demon’s mark, and she’ll have to face the three things that scare her most to get rid of it. Cass is the angel assigned to help her, but he’ll never take a seat in the celestial choir if he loses his heart to the lovely Molly. She’s got bigger problems. She stands to lose her soul.

Available 1/21/13 from Crimson Romance.

Happy New Year!

New Years Resolutions Till They Melt

I’ve been a very laggard blogger lately, but between holiday festivities, working the day job and actually WRITING, I haven’t had the time or energy to spend on it. I did want to wish everyone who stumbles on this little post a fabulous 2013. This last year was the usual mixed bag of high and low, but as I look out at my two healthy kids and my ever-patient husband, I gotta think there was more good than bad. I hope you can say the same.

Real quick, I want to blow a little glitter at the NO KISS Blogfest that’ll be happening here and on 36 other blogs in just a couple of days. All of us will be posting clips, but NO KISSing will actually occur.

Can you stand it?

And I thought I’d throw in a $5 Amazon giftcard for one lucky blog commenter, so keep an eye out for the post. You can jump here to see a list of all the participating bloggers. And now, go pour yourself some champagne. Have a happy and safe New Years Eve…

Peace,

Liv

Six Sentence Sunday

So here’s another snippet from Forever & Ever, Amen. In this one, Molly starts off a Monday morning meeting with her boss, Diana, who’s something of a force of nature…

If Audrey was fighting against time, her boss Diana was engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Diana had been a cheerleader in high school, and she still kept herself a tight size six, though age had carved ridges in her muscular shoulders and around the veins in her hands. She liked edgy designers and angular haircuts, and knew exactly how to work the gifts that God had given her. The neckline of today’s outfit plunged a millimeter shy of tasteless, and Molly was pretty sure her cleavage had been cryogenically preserved in 1989. Molly felt like a sparrow sitting down with a hawk. A hawk with killer legs.

“What’s up?” Molly perched on one of the two Danish office chairs that fronted the desk, sitting right on the edge with her feet just resting on the floor. She tried to frame her face with friendly enthusiasm, so that Diana wouldn’t see how nervous she was.

I totally don’t blame Molly for being nervous. Diana’s kind of scary. Of course, you’ll have to read the whole thing to find out how much trouble she causes Molly.



Peace,

Liv

I’ve Got Cover Art!

And hey, here’s the front cover for my January release, Forever & Ever, Amen. Ain’t it pretty? That’s what a romance novel cover SHOULD look like. Although the guy’s got his shirt on…hmm…nah, not worried. He’s perfect for my book. Don’t forget you can jump HERE for a sneak peek at the first chapter.

This is so exciting!!

The Next Big Thing

Real quick, I wanted to announce that Vonnie was the winner of a copy of The Santa Drag from last week’s SMP Christmas Blog Hop. Go HERE to see the list of grand prize winners! And thanks to everyone who visited as part of that hop!!

The Next Big Thing is a blog hop that’s been traveling from site to site, and I was tagged by the lovely Jillian Chantal. The game is that I answer ten questions about my current WIP, then tag five other bloggers to play the next round. You should totally check out Jillian’s blog (HERE), and then peruse the list of bloggers at the end of this post.

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book?

Sisters

It used to be Diva, but I wanted to broaden the focus to both sisters. It’s a WORKING title, and I expect it to change. Any ideas?

Where did the idea come from for the book?

In my mind, I saw a woman sitting in front of a mirror in a tiny dressing room, getting ready to go on-stage. She was fighting stage fright, but there was more to it than that…

What genre does your book fall under?

It’s an urban fantasy with strong high fantasy elements. I mean, for 2/3 of the book they’re in faerie, traveling by horseback and fighting with bronze blades and whatnot. There’s also a healthy helping of romance. As there should be.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I’m big on creating Pinterest boards for each of my projects. You can check out my Sisters board HERE, and see who some of the characters are. Funny story…my friend Amanda (who has an awesome blog HERE) is way more culturally literate than I am. I’m forever sending her links to THE perfect picture for whatever character I have in mind and she’s always like, “Yeah, and that guy was great in the movie, too.” And I’m like, “He was in a movie? He’s an actor?” Sometimes I wonder if I live in a box.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Tamsyn takes after the human side of the family, while Kat got the fae genes, and if they can keep speaking long enough, they might be able to save the world.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I pitched it at a conference in October and the editor asked for the full manuscript. We’ll see…

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

A year? Maybe longer. I think I started working on it in 2008.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

It’s along the same lines as Seanan McGuire’s Toby Daye novels, with more of an ensemble cast. I have a pretty good idea of where the sequel would go, and some loose thoughts on the book after that.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I’m pretty close to all my sisters, and wanted to write something that captured the dynamic of that relationship, the whole ‘sometimes you’re best friends, sometimes you hate each other’ thing.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Well, the query is supposed to do that, right? Here’s the first part of it…

Tamsyn’s mother raised her to believe that she got the human genes, while her sister Kat takes after the fae side of the family. Mom didn’t tell them they possess a valuable skill. As long as one of them is in faerie and the other in the human plane, they can keep the crossing between worlds open.

That skill’s a poorly-kept secret, and now the sisters have been targeted by a group of extremist fae who want to shut down the crossing because they hate the way humans abuse the earth. If the fanatics are successful, everything on the human side will die.

!!!

Well that’s a problem, isn’t it. What do you think? If you’ve got any hot title ideas, leave them in the comments.

Here’s the list of the five (okay, six) bloggers who I’ve tagged for the next round. Cruise by their sites – they’re a fun bunch!

Tami Clayton

Cora Ramos

Laird Sapir

Kim Moser Griffin

KH LeMoyne

Mona Karel

And here are the rules for you to copy and paste for the next round.

Rules of the Next Big Thing

***Use this format for your post

***Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (work in progress)

***Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book?

Where did the idea come from for the book?

What genre does your book fall under?

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Include the link of who tagged you and this explanation for the people you have tagged. Be sure to line up your victims in advance

Six Sentence Sunday

I know the Six Second Sunday is an official blog thing and should be linked back to other blogs and whatnot, but hey, I’m a rebel. What can I say?

Here are six sentences from my January release, Forever & Ever, Amen. If you like it, you can find the whole first chapter HERE. I hope to be able to show off the cover art soon. It’s really cool!

Peace,

Liv

Molly’s a forty-some single Mom who goes out for Friday Happy Hour and comes home with a helluva hickey. Turns out it’s a demon’s mark, and she’ll have to face the three things that scare her most to get rid of it. In this snippet, her daughter Flora’s seeing a new side of Mom…

“Um, okay. Just let me get up and dressed and…” Molly stopped struggling to sit up when she heard Flora gasp.

“Gross, Mom, you’ve totally got a hickey on your neck.” Flora was nearly squealing by the end of the sentence.

“I do not.” Molly put on her best mother’s voice.

“Do too. Jamie, come see this. Mom’s got a hickey.”

“Flora, stop it. Jamie, I do not have a hickey.”

…My True Love Gave To Me…

 

Do you remember your first Christmas with the one you love? Did you buy him – or her – a gift? What did they give to you? I do remember the first Christmas with my husband, and while I don’t remember what I got him, I know exactly what he got me. I’m wearing it right now. It’s a blue topaz necklace on a silver chain, and the reason I remember it so clearly is that when he handed me the box, I about had a heart attack. All I could think was that it was a ring.

I wasn’t ready for a ring.

I mean, we’d talked about getting engaged, and I was generally inclined to pursue that option, but somehow seeing that black velvet jewelry box freaked me out. Too much too soon!

Well, to make a long story short, that was Christmas of ’94. Obviously I got over it, and I’m looking forward to something sparkly under the tree this year.

What about you?

While you’re coming up with your Christmas list, check out some of the other stops on the Still Moments Publishing Christmas Blog Hop. Jump HERE for the list of all the stops. There are some lovely prizes, so be sure to leave a comment here and on all the blogs on the hop. I’ll be drawing a winner for a copy of my holiday short story, The Santa Drag, too!

Things aren’t always what they seem, and this shopping mall Santa has secrets only her true love can reveal.

And, because it’s not Christmas without a little music, here’s a link to one of the songs from my all-time favorite Christmas album, Oy To The World by The Klezmanauts. Yes, Klezmer Christmas carols. Is there a problem with that?

Peace,

Liv

 

Shout-Out Time!

Shout-out #1

This week was a wild one, so I just now chose the winners of the two prizes I offered at the Black Friday Blog Hop last week. Belinda won a $5 Amazon gift card, and Dita won a copy of my holiday short story, The Santa Drag. Congratulations to both of them, and thanks again to EVERYONE who visited. It was a lot of fun!

Shout-out #2

My friend Jillian Chantal’s holiday short story, The Gambler’s Inheritance; Christmas On St. Charles Avenue, is available FREE from Desert Breeze Publishing . I think there’s an end-date on this offer, but can’t remember for sure. Maybe Jillian’ll stop by and enlighten us…I love her Gambler stories…

New Orleans, Christmas Eve, 1947: Brothers, Dirk and Beaumont McSwain are both about to become fathers. Dirk’s wife has had a number of miscarriages and at thirty-six years old, is afraid this is her last chance for a healthy baby. Bo’s wife is pregnant for the first time. Both are due to give birth soon. The brothers arrange a surprise ride for their women in Papa Noel’s sleigh which is actually a horse drawn carriage with fake reindeer. The evening starts out merry and bright but before the night is over, they will need a Christmas miracle.

Go HERE for your free copy.

 

 

 

 

 

Shout-out #3

Editor Rayne Hall has made Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft FREE (more FREE = more GOOD) this weekend. At this very moment, it’s the #1 fantasy anthology in the Kindle Store. So there’s that…

Go HERE for your free copy...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shout-out #4

Now, I haven’t been keeping up with my own blog, because I’ve been trying to focus on writing. It’s, like, the reason we’re all here, right?  I have done a number of guest posts in the last couple weeks, and thought I’d post links to a few of the more recent…

My post on Christine Hughes’ blog talks about the similarities between the way writers and actors develop their characters.

My post on Linda Adams’ blog includes some general guidelines for writing fight scenes.

and

I answered that age-old question, Why Write Romance? in two very different ways for Debbie Christiana and Elizabeth Fais.

And that’s just since Thanksgiving…

My last shout-out is for my $0.99 short story, The Santa Drag.  Things aren’t always what they seem, and this shopping mall Santa has secrets only her true love can reveal.

Peace,

Liv

 

For Science! A Twilight Review…again…

Real quick I want to thank all the amazing folks who stopped by and commented last Friday for the Black Friday Blog Hop. Here’s a link to the grand prize winners! I’ll be announcing my winners in just a little while, as soon as I contact them.

So last week the incredibly creative Laird Sapir and I were bemoaning the fact that we were both too busy to do our blogs justice. We decided that since I love her stuff and she likes mine, we’d swap, therefore filling a gap in our schedules. She chose a post that was built around a very funny video, while I went for a two-fer. It’s a review of the first Twilight book, written by our friend Mike Shulenberg. I could not resist the opportunity to have such a topical – and awesomely funny – post.

Now here’s what Laird & Mike created…

 

The idea to review Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight came from a recent post on Laird’s blog where she confessed the series is something of a guilty pleasure for her.  The ebook version of Twilight happened to be on sale that same day.  I commented that while the book was alien to my peculiar tastes, the alluring sale price tempted me with its siren call.

Recognizing the hand of destiny, Laird suggested I review the book on her blog.  Because I’m interested in reading outside my usual genres more often, I agreed to this bold experiment.

For Science!

Before reading Twilight, my knowledge of the franchise consisted of two concepts—that some sort of vampire/human/werewolf love triangle was involved, and, rather than combust into flames and ash when exposed to sunlight, vampires sparkle.

“Sparkly vampires?” I asked my friend when he informed me of this.  “Really?”

“Yeah, man.”

Then we both shook our heads and despaired.

Promo pic from the new movie. You can tell Bella’s a vampire because they’ve washed her hair.

But this knowledge did not deter me from approaching the experiment with an open mind. For Science! Twilight chronicles the exploits of Bella Swan, teenage girl and crime-fighter high school student.  After moving in with her father and acquiring a rumbling, gas-guzzling truck that shakes the earth beneath its monstrous tires, she begins attending school.  She soon meets Edward Cullen, a pale specimen of marble perfection compressed into vampire form.  While Edward regards Bella with apparent disgust, his compelling vampire magnetism consumes her, and it is not long before romantic repartee ensues.

But when danger threatens in the form of James, a diabolical vampire nemesis, will their young love be enough to ensure Bella’s survival?

Bella’s pleasant, easy-going demeanor and lack of a cannibalistic instinct make her a likable character.  But her main flaw, a physical clumsiness so severe that it could potentially transform her into an unintentional assassin, is almost too extreme to be credible.

For the first half of the book, Edward does not treat Bella in a nice manner.  He glares at her, speaks to her through clenched teeth, and overreacts to innocent things she says with undeserved anger.

“Don’t go for that guy,” I urged her.  “Find a nice zombie or a leprechaun instead.  Neither are known for their dark angst and either would make a better sidekick than Edward.”

But Bella refused to listen and before long, she and Edward are a crime-fighting duo couple.  Edward takes her into the forest and demonstrates his sparkly quality in what must surely be a revelatory and shirtless scene in the movie.  He also reveals his habit of sneaking into Bella’s bedroom while she’s asleep so he can gaze upon her.  Pretty creepy.

You would never catch a leprechaun doing that sort of thing.

As the crime-fighting romantic relationship between Bella and Edward develops, the plot lacks sufficient conflict and complication to propel the story forward.  Twilight misses an opportunity when Edward brings Bella home to meet his vampire family, who think Bella is more enjoyable as a person than as a snack.  One of their number, Rosalie, could have created more complication, but she is underutilized.

Conflict escalates with the appearance of the sinister vampire James, who hunts Bella with the intent to inflict suffering upon her.  The narrative builds to an exciting climax and is the best part of Twilight, though it cheats by glossing over the physical confrontation between Edward and James.

Overall, Twilight held my interest enough to carry me through to the end.  I found more to like than I expected, so it was not a bad read, and it never compelled me to gnaw my own arm off to escape.

Thank you so much for reviewing this literary masterpiece, Mike, and I, for one, am glad you did not have to gnaw your arm off.  You can follow Mike on twitter @mikeschulenberg, and his stellar blog is most definitely worth a visit – check it out!  What do y’all think of Mike’s review? Have you ever reviewed something you’d never thought you’d read? Ever read anything that made you want to gnaw your arm off? Let’s hear your stories!