Piper Shelly's Blog, page 267

You name the heroine

Hey friends, readers, fans, and everyone else!

I was thinking of a way to make one or two of you really happy, and simply offering a signed copy of my book doesn’t feel like being enough. So what do you think about this:

I would like to name four female figures in my next project after four of my readers. Girls or women, who would like to be immortalized by being part of a really sweet love story. It’s going to be a paranormal romance, scraping on NA, taking place in Neverland. The characters to name are 6-year-old twin girls, a fairy…and the heroine.

So how’s it? Do you want to lend me your name?

Leave a comment with your (full) name and the figure you want to play titular godmother for. The list is open until the end of the year. Then I’m going to pick the names and will shout them out in the comments and in a new post to let you all know.

Have a wonderful fall!

Piper

The making of PLAY WITH ME

Today I happened to stumble across an awesome review done on YouTube, where the reviewer pointed out that you couldn’t tell through the entire book who Liza was going to hook up with eventually. Believe it or not, there’s a simple reason for it.

I didn’t know either…

When I began telling this little novella in the heroine’s voice, her name was Samantha. And Samantha was always meant to be with Tony. At the beginning as much as at the very end. I brought in this hot guy, Ryan Hunter, just to give the whole book a little spice. The heroine should have a nice time with him, lots of fun, but nothing more. She was never meant to fall in love with Ryan. And that kiss she shared with Tony at the end of the book should have been the final one. The one that brought the two of them together.

But a funny thing happened that changed it all. During a break after I’d written half of the story, I read the book of an author friend of mine. Her heroine was named…tada…Samantha.

Damn, I thought. I can’t do that. Can’t name my heroine Sam right after reading that book. My friend might think I copied her. And that was the last thing I wanted. So I banged my head on the keyboard a few fierce times, trying to come up with a different name. A name that had it all, just like Samantha. It must be simple, there must be a way to cut it short, and it must go well with the last name Matthews. Finally I found what I needed. Liza. Short—Liz. It was perfect. In a simple replace command, I changed all the Sam’s in the book to Liz. Great. Job done. The only trouble with it? My heroine suddenly had gotten an entirely new personality.

That’s what happens when you pick names for your characters. You also pick personalities with that name. Hair color, style of clothes, traits, habits, talents, and moods. For me, it all comes with the name. And Liza wasn’t how I had shaped my heroine so far.

Basically that meant I had to go back to paragraph one and make adjustments. And suddenly, the girl spoke to me in a way that Sam never had. I wanted her to be in love with Tony, but Liza just fell for Ryan. There was nothing I could do about it.

And apart from it all, one thing was crystal clear. Tony would hook up with one girl only. With Samantha. And if there was no Samantha in this book, then he wasn’t going to be the lucky winner in Play With Me.

You see…the simplest thing like renaming the heroine can change a story entirely.

On that note, expect a great story in T IS FOR…

Keep reading! (Preferably my books. )

Cheers,

Piper

Tagged: books

You name the heroine

Hey friends, readers, fans, and everyone else!

I was thinking of a way to make one or two of you really happy, and simply offering a signed copy of my book doesn’t feel like being enough. So what do you think about this:

I would like to name four female figures in my next project after four of my readers. Girls or women, who would like to be immortalized by being part of a really sweet love story. It’s going to be a paranormal romance, scraping on NA, taking place in Neverland. The characters to name are 6-year-old twin girls, a fairy…and the heroine.

So how’s it? Do you want to lend me your name?

Then leave a comment with your (full) name and the figure you want to play titular godmother for. It would be also cool to hear why you want to do this, but it’s not required for you to be picked. I’ll let you know when I start the new book and it’s time to choose a name.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Piper

It’s dark at six in the morning – the summer is over…

Hey everybody! How are you doing?

I haven’t been around as much as I would have liked lately, but a lot happened in my personal summer. Like some of you know, my son had a surgery on his brain to stop his seizures. It’s been a month and a half since that, and so far, he seems to really feel great. Thanks for all your well wishes and prayers, my friends!

Then I was in Las Vegas, of course. PLAY WITH ME was a nominee for the RONE awards. No, I didn’t win, but that’s okay. Being a finalist is more than I would have ever expected. And it was an amazing trip. I met so many lovely people, many of them from the InD’Tale Magazine (the donor of the award) because they invited me personally, just to get to know me. Why? Well, they loved my books, they said, LOL. When they all wanted to take pictures with me, I totally felt like a VIP. Thanks, guys, for giving me a blast in Vegas…

So now that I’m all back – physically and mentally – and have my beautiful new writing room with a new computer (yeah, my laptop died on me the other day…it probably was pissed that I didn’t write in such a long time, ha ha), I’m going to grow roots on my desk chair again and finish a few books I’ve started in spring. One of them being of course T IS FOR…He’s a Total jerk! I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep, but I’ll try to have it ready for you in a couple of months; give or take a few weeks.

Until then, I have a different gift for you. The first is LOVING YOUR LIES. Currently, you can grab a free copy from anywhere in the web. Enjoy! And please post a review if you liked it.

The other thing is a special edition of the Grover Beach Companion books, PLAY WITH ME & RYAN HUNTER. I boxed those books and will have it ready for you within a few days.

Have a lovely fall, all of you!

Piper

A guide to girls for every boy – step 5

Step 5 –

Know what you want

 

If you’re completely sure that she caught the bait in Step 4 and she’s reacting positively to eye contact, then it’s time to let her know that you want more.

Gaze at her for a little longer than just a fleeting look, and when her eyes move to yours, give her another grin or half-smile. But this time you also motion with your finger that she should come over to you.

It depends on the kind of woman we’re talking about, but I’d say only 10% of them will really stand up and walk over to you.

A possible conversation-starter for this case could be:

 

You: Hi. (Drawl the word. Take your time. Slow conversation is like a slow kiss. Very sexy…)

Her: Hey.

You: You have a pretty smile.

Her: (Will smile then and maybe say:) Thanks

You: What’s your name?

She: Kelly (or whatever).

You: Nice. Goes right with your smile. I’m (fill in the blank) …

 

In this case, never tell her that she has pretty eyes, because that’s something so cliché that she might slap you for it. Especially when you’re gaping at her rack instead of her face!

However, be prepared that 90% of the girls won’t approach you at all. They will get really nervous. Excited. They want to be brave enough to find out who you are and what you’re up to.

But in the end, she might very well just shake her head. If she smiles when she’s doing it, you’re the lucky winner of the evening! Because that is your invitation to walk over to her. Not straight away, though. Give her at least five minutes to adjust to the thought that you want to get to know her. Then make a move.

The conversation can start the same way as before, but it’s a good idea to think about what to say before you leave your table. A girl wants to be conquered and seduced, so don’t expect her to do all the talking from now on.

 

For more information on how to make the first move, I suggest reading a romance novel like Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Pay particular attention to the cafeteria scenes. That’s what you want to go for.

This will be my last post in the ten step series. I threw the entire How-to out as a little booklet for men. You can download it here. But don’t forget, it’s just for fun, so don’t take every word in a dead serious way.

 

Cheers,

Piper

A guide to girls for every boy – step 4

Step 4 –

Capture her with a look

Now, if you know how to make yourself laugh in public, cast a glance over at your target every now and then. If you catch her looking at you because you’re the center of everyone’s attention right now, hold her stare for a moment. Tone down the laughing to a full smile, so she knows that she just entered your mind and kicked out everything that was in there a second ago.

Then look away, and within a couple of seconds look back at her. Only move your eyes, don’t ever turn your back on her. When you look away the next time, let a minute pass before you glance her way again.

From here you can go back to checking regularly if she’s looking at you.

If she does – Congrats! You scored!

Next, it’s important to send her the right signs. You can stop fishing for laughs from here but take it easy. Show her – even across the distance – that you’re an interesting guy. One who can have cool conversations with his friends and isn’t the odd one out who just listens and never says a word.

Look at her, even when you’re talking to your friends. If you catch her staring again, hold your breath and cut whatever you were about to say. Dedicate this half second to her. Give her a grin, or better yet, a half-smile with a quick, slight tilt of your head.

How does she react? Does she smile? Does she even blush a little? (Girls under 20 tend to do that a lot.) Does she look away or down quickly and back at you?

This is the first step of flirting, and now that you know what to do, I say, let the games begin!

You can flirt with your eyes for ten minutes or the entire evening, depending on what kind of outcome you go for. In the next step, I’ll tell you how you get closer to your girl.

For more information on flirting in public places, I suggest reading a novel like Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.

Tagged: men - do it right 101

A guide to girls for every boy – step 3

Step 3 –

What a laugh can do

Laughing is a chemical reaction, but I’m not a chemist, so I can’t tell you what exactly is happening in your body when you do it. However, I do know that it means you’re happy and you have a sense of humor. You’re a positive person – and that’s what is important, because it makes you attractive to anyone, no matter what gender.

Every girl prefers a happy man to a grumpy one. A bad mood usually rubs off on others, and no one wants to be in a bad mood. So if you look like Grumpy the dwarf all the time, you won’t make a lot of friends and you sure as hell won’t get the happy girl who’s having a blast with her friends at the end of the bar.

It’s impossible to laugh all the time, and it’s even harder to laugh on demand. So what you’ve got to do is meet your friends in a place where you know she will be, too. And then have some fun. Find a hilarious topic to talk about, make jokes, and play games that make you laugh. Nothing will attract more attention in a room than a group of laughing people. And the good thing about it is that it’s infectious.

 

For more information on the topic, I suggest reading a romance novel like How to marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks. Take notes!

Tagged: men - do it right 101

A guide to girls for every boy – Step 2

Step 2 –

The right smile

Okay, if you heeded my advice in Step 1 and you’re looking seriously nice now, let’s work on your smile. Why? Because it’s the most important thing in the world. More important than the perfect body or a cool hair style. Even more important than designer clothes. It’s your ticket to a girl’s heart. So make sure you’re ready to smile when it’s necessary.

There are three basic ways of smiling:

1. The grin.

Do that when you mock her, when you are being sarcastic (in a friendly way), or when she got the best of you and you liked it. Don’t show teeth here.

What a grin says: You have my attention, and right now I’m thinking about you in a way that would probably surprise you.

2. The full smile.

Use it when a girl is telling a joke or when she just did something funny that isn’t at the same time embarrassing her. (OMG, never laugh at a girl if she just made a fool of herself!) Show teeth here.

What a full smile says: I enjoy being near you.

3. The half-smile.

This one requires a little practice, and not every guy is able to do it. Basically, you just pull up one corner of your mouth, but you also do something with your eyes at the same time. Depending on the situation and on what you want to transmit via body language, you might also quirk or raise your eyebrows with it, give the girl a sideways glance, or tilt your head a little. All these things will make you look sexy and mysterious, and you definitely want that.

What a half-smile says: I’ve chosen you over everyone else.

For more information on the perfect smile at the perfect moment, read a romance novel like Play with me by…umm, me. And guys, practice!

 

Tagged: men - do it right 101

A simple guide to girls for every boy

Hey guys, the following series of blog posts is dedicated especially to you!

Welcome to a short lesson on how to get the girl you want. In 10 easy (or not so easy) steps, I’ll show you what it takes to get any girl’s attention, and how you can seduce her right through to the first kiss. Whatever comes afterward is up to you!

You might wonder what makes me the perfect person to write this little how-to.

Well, for one, I’m a girl, duh! And thus I know how a girl ticks and what she likes to see, hear, or smell.

The other reason is I’m a romance writer, and I have studied the working chemistry between guys and girls for a long time.

Have you ever found yourself thinking, “Why the heck did that girl just pick the guy across the room and not me?” If so, then I strongly suggest you read a romance novel! If more men did that, there would be a damn lot more happy girls on this planet.

But I know that, for a guy, reading a romance is probably the most uncool thing in the world. So I summed up the basics for you in the following steps.

This guide is dedicated to all the males out there, from age 12 to 99, but it’s mostly geared toward young adults in a setting somewhere like a club, a café, or a bar. However, these guidelines to getting a girl’s attention can be tested and practiced anywhere: at school, in the cafeteria, at a swimming pool…Just be creative!

I hope you’re ready, because we’ll begin with lesson one straight away.

Step 1 –

Appearance

What do you look like?

You think I’m kidding? I’m not. Seriously, what do you look like?

Stand in front of a mirror and honestly judge yourself. Are you a good-looking young devil with rippling pecs under your shirt and stone-hard abs? (Ooh, we girls like that!)

Or are you a little overweight, maybe with pimples on your face, and shorter or much taller than the average guy your age? If you belong to the lucky group I mentioned first, you can skip ahead to Step 2. If not, let’s work a little on your appearance and your self-esteem at the same time.

Here’s my first piece of advice for you: Pep yourself up.

If you’re a little (or a little more) overweight, then go find a gym and do a workout at least twice a week. Get the right shoes and run a mile every evening. It’s hard, I know. But if you endure, you’ll not only have a better chance with the girl you’re in love with, but you’ll also feel a lot better – physically and mentally. It will give your self-esteem a boost! And that comes in handy in flirting with girls.

Right. What about your clothes? Can you honestly say that you run with the crowd? Because if you stand out, then it better be in a good way. Think about what guys your age usually wear and then decide if you fit right in.

Personally, I prefer blue jeans – they can be baggy or stone-washed – and a nice button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. Mmm, that’s a yummy look that hardly any girl between 16 and 40 can resist.

But of course you can wear anything you want as long as it’s appropriate for the time we’re living in. Don’t think you look cool if you’re a live copy of Austin Powers. Seriously, don’t!

Hair: that’s a very important matter. Any hair can be cool hair, as long as you take care of it. Don’t let it grow without attention because you don’t know what to do with it. Get a nice haircut, one you really like on yourself.

If you use gel, don’t ever overdo it. There’s nothing more disgusting than hair that looks like it’s been drenched in spar varnish – except maybe hair that hasn’t been washed in days. Girls like to run their fingers through a guy’s hair, so make that easy for her.

What could also be a really cool feature is a tattoo or piercing. It tells her that you’re not a sniveling guy and that you can commit to something. But the important thing here is again: don’t overdo it. Of course there’ll always be those who love their men inked from head to toe or those who don’t like any ink at all.

Basically, one nice tattoo in a cool place will do the job. It’s an attention catcher and something she’ll remember about you. But don’t get me wrong. I’m not advising you to get a tattoo tomorrow, or pierce your eyebrow straight away. It’s just an additional feature that, if you’re the kind for it, may leave an impression.

Get the picture? Good.

For more information on the kind of looks that girls like about guys, I suggest reading a romance novel like Rule by Jay Crownover. You might want to take notes for later!

Stay tuned for step two in a few days.

Tagged: men - do it right 101

You name the heroine

It’s the last night before a new year starts for me, and I feel like I should say something. But what exactly? Hmm…

First off, I want to thank whoever is out there for taking care of my son everyday. The surgery went well, Kevin woke up all right, he spoke, he could move, and he recognized me immediately. He had a murderous headache, but even that went away after a few days. Or most of it. Now it’s just waiting to see if he still has his seizures. God, I hope not…!

Further I want to thank everyone who turned my 32nd year into something really special by reading my books, falling in love with all the people who live their lives on the pages, writing awesome reviews, sending me lovely emails and cool feedback. You all made me feel like I was good at what I love to do, which is the best thing that can happen to any author out there.

But I don’t want this post to be simply a shout-out of gratitude. Let’s turn this into something more, shall we? I was thinking of a way to make one or two of you really happy, and simply offering a signed copy of my book doesn’t feel like being enough. So what do you think about this:

I would like to name four female figures in my next project after four of my readers. Girls or women, who would like to be immortalized by being part of a really sweet love story. It’s going to be a paranormal romance, scraping on NA, taking place in Neverland. The characters to name are 6-year-old twin girls, a fairy…and the heroine.

So how’s it? Do you want to lend me your name?

Then leave a comment with your name and the figure you want to play titular godmother for. It would be also cool to hear why you want to do this, but it’s not required for you to be picked. I’ll let you know when I start the new book and it’s time to choose a name.

Have a wonderful summer night!

Piper