Julia Gabriel's Blog, page 8
June 20, 2013
Scoop up some sexy summer reading
Let's start summer one day early!
TWO of my my books, Feral and Cupcakes & Chardonnay are FREE over at Amazon today.
Feral is a darkly erotic short tale of wild love and wilder regret.
When Julianne sets off by herself on a hike deep into the Pacific rainforest, she encounters a surprising man who is mysterious, beautiful ... and untamed.
Cupcakes & Chardonnay is a sweet and sexy reunion/marriage of convenience romance set in beautiful San Francisco and the vineyards of Napa.
Three years ago, Suzanne Austin dumped wealthy playboy and wine heir Daryle Catterton— and hasn't regretted it once. Now the owner of the hottest cupcake shop in San Francisco, her only relationship is with her business and she likes it that way ... until Daryle shows up with a business proposal she can't afford to refuse.
TWO of my my books, Feral and Cupcakes & Chardonnay are FREE over at Amazon today.
Feral is a darkly erotic short tale of wild love and wilder regret.
When Julianne sets off by herself on a hike deep into the Pacific rainforest, she encounters a surprising man who is mysterious, beautiful ... and untamed.
Cupcakes & Chardonnay is a sweet and sexy reunion/marriage of convenience romance set in beautiful San Francisco and the vineyards of Napa.
Three years ago, Suzanne Austin dumped wealthy playboy and wine heir Daryle Catterton— and hasn't regretted it once. Now the owner of the hottest cupcake shop in San Francisco, her only relationship is with her business and she likes it that way ... until Daryle shows up with a business proposal she can't afford to refuse.
June 17, 2013
For writers! Building suspense, or you can't tell your story by not telling your story
One of the things I see in beginning writers' work is a fundamental misunderstanding about suspense and how an author goes about creating it in a story. I like to call it "You can't tell your story by not telling your story."
Here are my top 5 rules for building suspense in fiction.
1. Suspense does not come from who your characters are. It comes from what your characters are going to do next. Numero uno rule! It's difficult to move a plot forward if the central question in the story is just who the characters are. That's a passive mystery. Plus, readers need to know who the characters are in order to be interested in them. If I'm not interested in the characters, I'll stop reading.
2. Creating suspense does not mean withholding information from the reader. In fact, creating suspense is the opposite: it requires information. Effective suspense makes me wonder what's going to happen next. I can't wonder what's going to happen next if I don't know what's happening now. This goes for hiding villains, too. A hidden villain doesn't exist. If I haven't seen a character on the page, the character isn't part of the story I'm reading.
Read the rest over at my blog for writers at http://www.authorjuliagabriel.com/2/p...
Here are my top 5 rules for building suspense in fiction.
1. Suspense does not come from who your characters are. It comes from what your characters are going to do next. Numero uno rule! It's difficult to move a plot forward if the central question in the story is just who the characters are. That's a passive mystery. Plus, readers need to know who the characters are in order to be interested in them. If I'm not interested in the characters, I'll stop reading.
2. Creating suspense does not mean withholding information from the reader. In fact, creating suspense is the opposite: it requires information. Effective suspense makes me wonder what's going to happen next. I can't wonder what's going to happen next if I don't know what's happening now. This goes for hiding villains, too. A hidden villain doesn't exist. If I haven't seen a character on the page, the character isn't part of the story I'm reading.
Read the rest over at my blog for writers at http://www.authorjuliagabriel.com/2/p...
June 12, 2013
Most romantic city ... Pittsburgh?
When I write my stories, I generally choose a setting I'm familiar with. Cupcakes & Chardonnay is set in San Francisco. Falling for the Prodigal Son is set on the eastern shore of Maryland (and secondarily, San Francisco). Feral is set in the Olympic National Forest (and its sequel, in progress, in the Washington, DC, area). All of those places have romantic significance for me. I moved to San Francisco when I was 24 because I had fallen in love with a man who lived there. My husband's pa...
May 29, 2013
Nice review in InD'Tale Magazine
Falling for the Prodigal Son got a lovely review, 4.5 stars and a Crowned Heart in the June issue of InD'Tale Magazine.
"Masterfully crafted ... Ms. Gabriel takes her readers on a delicious journey of man vs. woman vs. self with carefully woven conflicts. Her characters are real and her descriptions of them are tantalizing. Kudos!"
"Masterfully crafted ... Ms. Gabriel takes her readers on a delicious journey of man vs. woman vs. self with carefully woven conflicts. Her characters are real and her descriptions of them are tantalizing. Kudos!"
May 24, 2013
Cupcakes & Chardonnay, Feral now Nook Books
For those of you who are Nook readers, Feral and Cupcakes & Chardonnay are now available as Nook ebooks at www.bn.com.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend, everyone!
Have a great Memorial Day weekend, everyone!
May 7, 2013
Feral now available on Smashwords
My erotic short romance, Feral, is no longer exclusive to Amazon. You can pick up a copy at Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
I will let you know when it is available on BN.com, Kobo and iBookstore.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
I will let you know when it is available on BN.com, Kobo and iBookstore.
April 29, 2013
New review for Cupcakes & Chardonnay
Cupcakes & Chardonnay scored a lovely review over at InD'Tale Magazine
"This is a sweet story about two people given a second chance at love ... a nicely satisfying read that leaves the reader craving some cupcakes!"— InD'Tale Magazine
If you're interested in the latest indie romance books, InD'Tale Magazine is a must-read!
"This is a sweet story about two people given a second chance at love ... a nicely satisfying read that leaves the reader craving some cupcakes!"— InD'Tale Magazine
If you're interested in the latest indie romance books, InD'Tale Magazine is a must-read!
April 4, 2013
If you have Feral on your bookshelf, get it free thru Friday!
My short erotic romance, Feral, will be coming off Amazon's KDP Select soon so I'm using up the last 3 free days today, tomorrow and Saturday. Last chance to get it for free!
5 Stars! "This one is beyond great! A little story full of emotion and heat, one that I highly recommend. As I've said with the last few shorties I've read that were good I wish wish wish there were more of this one. I want more!"
Get it on Amazon this week: http://amzn.to/12kTkMJ
For those of you who read on Nook, Kobo or Smashwords, Feral will be back in those stores (as well as the iBookstore) next month. Cupcakes & Chardonnay will also be back on those platforms next month, Falling for the Prodigal Son in early June.
Thanks for reading! (And I love reading your reviews -- the good, the bad and the ugly. They make the next book better!)
5 Stars! "This one is beyond great! A little story full of emotion and heat, one that I highly recommend. As I've said with the last few shorties I've read that were good I wish wish wish there were more of this one. I want more!"
Get it on Amazon this week: http://amzn.to/12kTkMJ
For those of you who read on Nook, Kobo or Smashwords, Feral will be back in those stores (as well as the iBookstore) next month. Cupcakes & Chardonnay will also be back on those platforms next month, Falling for the Prodigal Son in early June.
Thanks for reading! (And I love reading your reviews -- the good, the bad and the ugly. They make the next book better!)
April 1, 2013
Happy Manday ... Oz Edition
I went to see Oz, the Great and Powerful over the weekend, which I liked and my husband didn't. I guess James Franco's charms were lost on him. :-) Plus, I really like Rachel Weisz.
In honor of the movie, James Franco is the star of my Manday Pinterest board today: http://bit.ly/16fqspG
Has anyone else seen Oz? What did you think? Thumbs up or down?
In honor of the movie, James Franco is the star of my Manday Pinterest board today: http://bit.ly/16fqspG
Has anyone else seen Oz? What did you think? Thumbs up or down?
March 28, 2013
Falling for the Prodigal Son FREE on Amazon thru Sunday
Last chance to get Falling for the Prodigal Son free!
What could be more embarrassing than having slept with your boss ...
All Sterling Matthew wants is to get his family's inn back on sound financial footing—and then leave sleepy St. Caroline for good. He expected the inn's staff to resist the business changes he has to make. What he didn't expect was to find skinny, gawky Lucy Wyndham all grown up.
... when you both were teenagers?
For years, Lucy wondered whether she'd ever catch another glimpse of the tall, quiet boy she'd crushed on at the Chesapeake Inn's summer camp. Now he's her boss—and determined to get rid of the camp to improve the inn's bottom line. But Lucy is just as determined to save the camp, even if the price is her job ... and her heart.
http://amzn.to/16NhtPz
What could be more embarrassing than having slept with your boss ...
All Sterling Matthew wants is to get his family's inn back on sound financial footing—and then leave sleepy St. Caroline for good. He expected the inn's staff to resist the business changes he has to make. What he didn't expect was to find skinny, gawky Lucy Wyndham all grown up.
... when you both were teenagers?
For years, Lucy wondered whether she'd ever catch another glimpse of the tall, quiet boy she'd crushed on at the Chesapeake Inn's summer camp. Now he's her boss—and determined to get rid of the camp to improve the inn's bottom line. But Lucy is just as determined to save the camp, even if the price is her job ... and her heart.
http://amzn.to/16NhtPz
