Shehanne Moore's Blog, page 31
September 30, 2014
Getting to Carol Balawyder–the September Author Interview
UHHHH! Before you dudes open your nippy hamstah gubs and say a word about today’s guest and her dog, nicely smelling or otherwise–
Well, that’s as maybe but today’s guest is very special and one you will like when you hear what her book’s about.
Not exactly…. No..
But it’s about dating……..
There you go then. Anyway, not only is our guest a wonderful author with a book about dating, she likes you. 
AND she has a fabulous blog, I just love. So let’s sound it for the one, the only, the amazingly talented and all round nice lady, Carol Balawyder.
Shey. Firstly I want to ask about your blog because you feature some wonderful big hitting writers from the past who were ahead of their time. http://carolbalawyder.com/2014/08/23/...
Why are you so drawn to these writers?
Carol. First, I want to thank you, Shehanne, for having me share the stage with your adorable hamsters and alongside all the amazing writers featured on your blog. It’s a real pleasure for me.
Now back to your question. Authors such as Dorothy B. Hughes
and Evelyn Piper, 
were the queens of pulp alongside their more famous male contemporaries like Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler. I was interested in giving voice to these excellent writers from the past who countered the conventional standards of the time (mid- 20th Century) about women.
I love to do series on my blog. I’ve done Ten Great First Dates, Writers’ Desks, How I Got Published, Nobel Prize Laureates and thought Femme Fatale was a good fit. 
Shey. But Carol Balawyder is also an author. Crime writing,
http://carolbalawyder.com/crime-writings/
short stories, http://carolbalawyder.com/short-stories/
women’s fiction…
http://carolbalawyder.com/womens-fiction/
what’s your favorite genre to write?
Carol. I don’t really have a favorite genre.
It all depends on what is happening in my life and what feeds my creativity at the time. Writing contemporary women’s fiction counterbalances the heaviness of writing about crime. I’d like to think that my writing is an amalgamation of both the crime and women’s fiction genre. Although Getting To Mr. Right is definitely not a crime novel it does bring up some criminal behavior such as incest.
Shey. How much of you goes into your work?
Carol. I am a great believer that you can’t separate the writer from the fiction. I mean, if I am imagining something then it’s already part of me. I drew a lot of my own dating experience and also those of girlfriends’ for Getting To Mr. Right. 
As for the dysfunctional father/daughter relationships, I am still not certain where that comes from. I had a very loving and supportive father when I was growing up, not at all like the fathers in my novel. I worked for several years supervising students in their field work in the area of criminology where I was constantly confronted with the effects of absent parents. I chose to concentrate on the father but a mother’s absence and abuse is just as damaging. Perhaps that might be another book.
Shey. Can you tell us a bit about the heroine in your wonderful new book Getting to Mr Right? As well as just ignore the hamstahs?
Carol. Although I’m not much of a plot planner I tend to do intensive character profiles. Naturally, these profiles deal with the physical aspect of my character but also their past history and future dreams. Several years back, I worked as a counselor in a Community Center for women going through separations. These women were all so broken. They were women who’d placed all their hopes and dreams on one man – their Prince Charming.
So, I decided to transfer this experience to Campbell. In drawing up her family background, I had Campbell’s father abandon her when she was young. I started to read a lot of scientific studies on father absence. Throughout the novel Campbell sites some of these studies as she tries to understand her own failed relationship with men and eventually her fear of commitment as a coping mechanism to her fear of abandonment.
Shey. I’m liking the sound of this Carol. Especially the depth. Now am I right in thinking the book started out as a blog?
Carol. Yes, the book did start as a series of posts on a now closed blog called Writing Scales in which a character, Brenda, wrote about her dating experiences. As the blog evolved more characters began to show up, among them Missi Morgan, in Getting To Mr. Right. After a painful divorce, Missi begins to write about dating again…and yes, Brenda becomes her main character. In looking back on it all I find it intriguing how this novel took shape. I’m not much of a planner and so I just allowed it to organically develop.
Shey, Carol, a lot of aspiring Hoping to find Mr or Miss Right follow this blog, do you have any dating tips?
Carol. I wish I did! I’d apply them to my own life. 
I think it’s really important to remain true to yourself. The only advice I give myself is that a man in my life has to make it better and not worse.
Shey. Come on…. share your best and worst date.
Carol. Missi’s Dating Adventures pretty much sums up all the worst dates I’ve ever had. As for the worst of worst it would be the time a man I was dating wanted me to go to the country to meet his daughter who was leaving for Hong Kong. He didn’t tell me that the country house belonged to his wife and so when I got there the wife was there. It was obvious that the wife was uncomfortable seeing me and I told the guy that I wanted to leave. On the way home I asked him if he didn’t think it hurt his wife for him to show up with another woman. “Why should it,” he answered. “It wasn’t with you that I cheated on her.”
Best date ever? In my dreams! Well Chand in Getting To Mr. Right is my ideal of a Prince Charming.
Shey. What is next for Carol Balwyder?
Carol. Besides trying to get published my crime novel, The Protectors and working on a sequel, I’d really like to try my hand on writing a Femme Fatal crime novel. I also have another idea about a women’s fiction book but that’s still in pre-embryonic stage. I just hope that I’ll have the energy and the drive to do all this.
Shey. I hope so too. I mean, good luck with the writing Carol. You can NOT deprive us fans.
About Carol
Carol lives in Montreal, Canada with her dog, Mister Baudelaire, who, when called comes by the name Bau.
He sits by her when she writes and she consults him about her characters to which he always wags his tail. He’s her biggest fan! He’s only four months old and is teething so, as you can see by the photo, is always chewing at something. Never mind buying him expensive dog toys – he loves socks and pages of her manuscript!
Visit Carol’s at www.carolbalawyder.com
Campbell’s research into the father/daughter dynamic and how it affects a woman’s personal choices proves that Prince Charming is nothing but a myth. In a few months, she will receive international recognition for her work.
As part of her study, Campbell gives workshops to help women still seeking Mr. Right. Her latest group is made up of three women: Missi Morgan, who can’t seem to let go of a philandering spouse; Suzy Paradise, a self-proclaimed queen of online dating; and Felicity Starr, whose life and career are dictated by a controlling father.
In the midst of her study, a charming and personable man enters Campbell’s life, putting her theories in shambles. Not only does she now question the validity of her research, but she must choose between her career and having her own Prince Charming. This personal dilemma makes it difficult for Campbell to give these women advice, as she encourages them to find their own paths to happiness and helps them set themselves free.
Filed under: Author Interviews, blogging, heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: Carol Balawyder, Crime writing, dating., Dorothy B Hughes, Evelyn Piper, Getting to mr Right, women's fiction, writing
September 24, 2014
A Whole New League…with Anne Lange.
Pre-Order: https://www.totallybound.com/sliding-into-home
Blurb
Can an injured ex ball player convince the woman he wakes up married to in Las Vegas to take a second chance on him ?
After spending the last four months drowning his sorrows over the end of his baseball career, Jack Bishop finds himself winging through the blue skies to Las Vegas, not so ready to spend the weekend with some woman his best friend set him up with. He expects a paid escort. What he gets is the woman he walked away from ten years ago to pursue his passion, and she’s not very happy to see him.
Devyn Tate believes she’s quite capable of finding somebody to take her out to dinner. She’s no longer looking for a lifelong promise. She has a commitment onlytoherbattery-operated toy to fulfill that particular need. Yet her friends have managed to talk her into spending the weekend in Las Vegas, on a blind date of all things. They promise the guy is trustworthy. They insist that she should have fun. Unfortunately, fun is not what she envisions when she discovers Jack Bishop lying on the floor of her suite in nothing but his underwear that’s on backward, and she has a wedding ring on her finger.
Author Bio 
Shoes are her addiction, but books are her passion. Anne Lange grew up with a love for reading. If you take a close look, she’s got either a book, her Kindle or her Kobo—maybe all three—tucked into her bag or a pocket when she leaves the house. You know, just in case there’s time to sneak in a chapter or ten. Anne reads many genres of romance, but prefers to write sexy stories, often with a dash of humor, and usually with a side of those sinful pleasures your mom never told you about.
Oh, and always a happily ever after.
While embarking on this wild journey of becoming a romance author, Anne juggles a full time job and a family. Not always successfully. Who needs a clean house every day? And what’s wrong with cereal for dinner? She lives in Ontario, Canada with her wonderfully supportive husband, three awesome kids who are growing up way too fast, and Rocky the bearded dragon.
Author Social Links
Web Site | Facebook | Twitter@Anne_Lange| |Goodreads | Pinterest | Amazon
Email: Anne_Lange66@yahoo.ca
Filed under: Author Interviews, book tour, heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: Anne Lange, Erotic Romance, Sliding into home, Totally Bound Publishing, writing
September 19, 2014
Hamstah Greetings from the other side.
Okay fellahs, I’m sure it wasn’t.
Now, let’s not man any barricades.
Fine….then on you go, instead of being happy in your nice new house. What was the move like? Well, let’s just say I don’t think the removal men will be queuing up to offer estimates to move us again. Not after there wasn’t enough room in the van for all our stuff and the boxes all burst in the rain leaving Mr Shey and his 1500 magnificent books lying in the gutter–
like that time when I did drama and the cast and their 80 magnificent costumes got flung out of a hotel, also in the rain….
The settees wouldn’t come in the door, and oh, did I mention internet access? We’d none for two weeks there except in the local library which –alas –deemed you hamstahs unsuitable content.
But hey, I’m back now and I’m gonna continue too!
Filed under: blogging
September 4, 2014
It’s Picture Perfect with Nikki Dee Houston
Errrrr…..how about no? I want to have some readers at the end of it.
SO I’ll have one reader? Nah. Not even for Ralpha-man.
Well, that was kind of hard after you did this with it. 
Yeah. Too bad you’re also an even bigger eater of them. I’ve heard of the dog ate my manuscript but not that I ate my own one. Even August Strindberg and James Joyce set a match to work they thought sucked. They didn’t stuff their gubs.
Ok, so where were we? Yes. Nikki Dee Houston’s new book, it’s set in the art world, so what can we expect?
Come on dudes, this is Nikki Dee we’re talking about.
Chelsea, Nikki’s heroine, is the surprising one…
Yep, she’s the artist…. and very serious about her craft too…..
Stuart, the male nude model at life drawing classes has the perfect body. Chelsea can barely contain her desire as she studies his smooth, waxed, muscle-toned physique and then attempts to commit it to canvas.
Then there’s the model….No-one else would either…..And where’s the rest of your horn? Don’t tell me you ate that too?
No, this is the model…
Of course their relationship is purely platonic…
and very, very professional as also happened with many great artists and their models….
and the book is all about art…..Painting, painting and panting… SORRY..painting…
Nikki Dee. Many sales when it releases tomorrow! See yah all again….next week. Same blog. Diff place!
Picture Perfect
Chelsea is lonely, loveless, and horny as hell since her boyfriend dumped her. Her good friend from the office, Troy, suggests she take up art classes in the hope of meeting a nice guy. He knows what she needs, and he doesn’t want to spoil their friendship by having to do it himself. Stuart, the male nude model at life drawing classes has the perfect body. Chelsea can barely contain her desire as she studies his smooth, waxed, muscle-toned physique and then attempts to commit it to canvas. She acquaints herself with every gorgeous inch of his body, and although her skills as an artist fall a bit short, the vision of Stuart’s torso is wonderful fodder for her nocturnal fantasies. She feeds sumptuously, sating her ravishing hunger, quelling her desires. But it’s not enough. She needs more. She needs the real thing, not just her fantasies.
Etopia Press
Amazon
Amazon.uk
Amazon.au
Amazon.ca
Amazon.de
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
Out on September 5, 2014
Published by Etopia Presshttp://www.etopiapress.com/
Contact Nikki Dee Houston
nikkideehouston.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NikkiDeeHouston84
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NikkiDeeHouston
About Nikki Dee Houston
Nikki Dee Houston is a businesswoman by day, an erotic romance writer by night, and a lover all the time. She lives in an idyllic location in a modest beach shack near the sea. Nikki loves to write Erotic Fiction – the ‘behind closed doors’ stuff, where the readers can really get involved with the characters in an intimate way. She believes that a good Erotic Romance story must have a strong romantic element, engaging characters, an interesting storyline, and some sizzling hot, steamy sex scenes. Nikki never underestimates the expectations of erotic romance readers and ensures she delivers on all counts.
Filed under: artists, heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: art, art models, artists, Etopia Press, Nikki Dee Houston, Picture Perfect, Romance, writing
September 1, 2014
Seven facts about Snotra from The Viking and The Courtesan
Wow….where have I heard that before?
Too right it should have been. As if any of these lovely ladies whose posts are up today—three of them are anyway, Sharon’s was already up–would be anything like Snotra.
Seriously Erin, Aubrey and Mishka are following on in Sharon’s footsteps and their posts have serious wow factor.
http://aubreywynneauthor.com/2014/09/01/meet-my-characters-blog-hopmeet-rolf-from-rolfs-quest/
http://awriterslifeformeblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/meet-my-character-blog-hop/
http://www.authorerinmoore.com/1/post/2014/09/meet-my-characters.html
What characters. I can well recommend Erin’s book 
and I can’t wait for the other two now! Going back to Sharon who kindly invited me onto the hop, I’m loving her book.
In your hamstah dreams, little buddies.
I’ll put it to the vote…..
Now…a Malice and Snotra extract. From that first meeting to be precise….
“Good Gna…a… troll. No! No!”
“Snotra..”
How far did Malice’s heart go out, knowing how viciously people had whispered about her? Actually? Not at all. Why should it? All was fair here in love and war and as Gentle’s flattening of her on the deck had shown, this was war.
Snotra? A madam? She just needed a little cultivating. That was all.
And wasn’t Malice, as the owner of Strictly just the one to do it too?
“No! No! I won’t have it. A troll! Good Gna, a troll. Oh… Oh…”
It was astonishing, wasn’t it, that at that moment, as he grabbed Snotra by the arm—he tried to anyway–Snotra began to shriek, scream and back away. She held her fingers out too.
A sign was a sign in any language. Maybe this one wasn’t quite as crude as some Malice had seen when she was little and some of the local children had spat at her calling her a witch and a gypsy. Maybe it wasn’t crude at all. More a sort of save me from that troll sign. Still Malice must consider, seeing as it was inches from her own nose—why on earth was Snotra making that sign at her?
Coming soon from
Filed under: heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: Aubrey Wynne, blog hop, Erin Moore, Lady Malice, Mishka Jenkins, Sharon Struth, Snotra, Soul Mate Publishing, The Viking and The Courtesan, writing
August 29, 2014
Meeting Elaine…the August Author Interview
Fellahs, what have we agreed? Not just about hamstah week? That there wasn’t going to be one?
No. I wasn’t bad.
No. Elaine is a very nice lady.
Not necessarily. The correlation between being good and having It’s Hamstah week is non existent. 
Do you really want to know? Now then, today’s guest is the lovely Elaine Jeremiah, who just released her second book.
Not exactly. In fact Elaine’s book is about a purty interesting subject as you’ll see if you button your big hamstah beaks and read on. What is more it is my pleasure to invite the lovely lady here today, so let’s go with it. Take it away the Dook…
Shey. So Elaine, let’s forget this book stuff. Tell us about you. I mean I can’t believe you have this dog called Dug. And we are very fond of dogs called Dug here after a certain Dug took over the Naughty Christmas Blog Hop. 
But I called a dog that in one of my books!
Elaine. I live in the UK in the city of Bristol, the biggest city in the south west of England, with my husband and our dog who is indeed called Dug! Dug will be four years old in October. He’s a beautiful golden retriever and he’s lovely. But he was VERY difficult to train as a puppy – basically you couldn’t teach him anything he was so excitable. So he’s actually a lot better now, especially to cuddle. As a puppy he was all teeth and claws.
I haven’t always lived in Bristol – I actually grew up about a hundred miles away near Southampton where I was born. But my husband is pretty much properly a West Country man. I’ve lived in Bristol ever since we married – so that’s 12 years now. And I love it. It’s a great city with friendly people and loads of places to shop, which suits me just fine!!
Shey. it’s a city with a big history of trading and sea-faring, but it’s also the birthplace of Hollywood star, Cary Grant.
And, not content with that–Bristol that is, not you lot, there’s the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
where Ralph Bates, Peter O’Toole, Kenneth Cope, Patrick Stewart, Jane Lapotaire, Pete Postlethwaite, Jeremy Irons, Greta Scacchi, Miranda Richardson, Helen Baxendale, Daniel Day-Lewis and Gene Wilder–puhew– studied their craft. (To name but a few.)
The comedian John Cleese was a pupil at Clifton College. Do you have a favourite amongst these?
Elaine. Oh gosh that list makes me feel so ignorant lol!!! I knew about Cary Grant and I was aware that a lot of well-known actors trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School but I didn’t know all of those you mentioned had. One actor with a Bristol connection I must mention is Bob Hope.
Bob Hope actually lived for a while down the road from where I live now before his family emigrated to the States when he was very young. There’s actually a (rather tacky-looking) plaque to him at the entrance to St George Park where I walk Dug!
Shey. Wow! How did I miss him? Paleface Potter was such a brill cheesy film! 
What is it with Bristol? The drinking water? 
Elaine. It’s hard to narrow down choosing a favourite because they’re all great, but I did like Patrick Stewart in Star Trek and other things. He’s an amazing actor.
Shey. Abso. With great gravitas. But on with this deah, deah, gal. This new book—your second, I believe—Reunion of the Heart, can you tell us a bit about it?
Elaine. Well without giving too much away, it’s a romance about a young woman, Anna, who’s invited along with her best friend Melissa to their secondary school reunion. (In case you don’t know the UK school system, secondary school is for 11-16 year olds.)
Anna’s reluctant to go; she was very unhappy there and is worried it’ll bring back bad memories for her. But Melissa encourages her to go so they do. Anna sees Will there – a guy she was at school with who made her life a misery. She finds it hard to cope seeing him there, but he’s different from how she remembers him. I don’t want to say too much more, but the reunion acts as a catalyst for change for Anna and she’s surprised by the direction her life takes.
Shey. Great idea for a book especially as school days can make fond memories, or not so fond. How was that for you?
Elaine. Erm… not so good. I had a really tough time at school, especially at secondary school. In some ways I guess you could say I drew on my own experiences a bit when writing this novel. Although in the novel Anna experiences things I didn’t.
Shey. Well, I was kinda an absent pupil but I’m sorry to hear that Elaine. Personally I’ve never been to a reunion. I guess it’s to do with whether you feel you belong there or not. Have you? 
Elaine. No, I’ve never been to a reunion.
Shey. I don’t blame you if your school days were tough. What are your thoughts on them generally?
Elaine. I was actually invited to one – to my first secondary school that I went to. I switched schools when I was 13. But I turned it down, as I said my schooldays were not happy ones and although it would have been interesting to see my ex fellow pupils all grown up, I decided I’d rather not. 
My thoughts on school reunions? Well I guess it comes down to how you got on when you were at school, if you were happy or not. I think that sort of determines how well it will go for you. Like my mum said to me – I may have been curious about what my ex fellow pupils were like now, but they too would be scrutinising me. 
So I think for some people, like myself, who’ve had a bad experience, it’s best not to go there. But it certainly makes for an interesting storyline which is why I wanted to explore it in this novel.
Shey. Totally agree. SO moving swiftly on, tell us about the important stuff. Your hero? Just how delicious is he? (You’ll note we‘re not much into heroines here….)
Elaine. Oh he’s very delicious. I’m not going to tell you his name for fear of giving too much away! But he’s tall, with a great athletic figure, a defined and sculpted body with dark eyes and dark curly hair which curls around his temples. He dresses well and his clothes cling to his body in all the right places, as my heroine Anna notices.
Shey. Oh she wouldn’t be the only one…
Elaine. He’s very creative too and did a degree in fine art, specialising in jewellery making. Now he owns his own jewellers.
Shey. Oh he sounds delicious. A sort of …gem.. Not looking at any jewel thieves here. You’ve chosen to go down the self-publishing route. What advice would you give anyone considering this?
Elaine. Don’t expect success overnight. It can be a rewarding experience, but you’ve got to be prepared to work hard and realise that sales of your book may not come easily. I think it definitely helps to have more than one book out there. Once you’ve published more than one, there’s more scope for people to read your latest book and think ‘I’ve enjoyed this one, maybe I’ll read their other novel’.
Shey. So, what’s next for Elaine Jeremiah?
Elaine. Well I’m currently job hunting. I want to work part time as an admin assistant ideally, so I’ll still have plenty of time for writing. Writing-wise I’m working on another novel; I’ve done over 20,000 words on it. It’s another romance set in a school, but this time my heroine’s a school teacher. And she’s very different from Anna in ‘Reunion of the Heart’ – a lot feistier. I’ve deliberately set it 20 years ago as that is when I was at secondary school so that’s what I remember. I’m really not at all on the ball when it comes to technology in schools and what they’re like today! So I thought it’d be better to set it back in the day so that I know a bit more about what I’m writing.
Shey. A lot of aspiring writers follow this blog, any advice for them?
Elaine. Keep persevering, keep aspiring, don’t let go of your dreams. I dream of making it big in the writing world, I think as authors we all do, but even if you don’t make it THAT big, you can still make a little splash whose ripples can have a bigger effect. I’m not giving up – nor should you!
Shey. it only remains for me to thank you for giving your time today. Oh and wish you luck.
Meet Elaine here
Twitter: @ElaineJeremiah
After a messy breakup with her boyfriend, Anna is feeling fragile. So when her best friend Melissa suggests the two of them go to their school reunion, she’s reluctant as Anna’s school days weren’t her happiest. The evening is going well until she meets the boy who made her school life hell.
But the grown up Will is different and Anna is surprised by the direction her life takes. The reunion sets in motion a series of events that lead Anna to realise things will never be the same again.
‘Reunion of the Heart’ is a romance that will lead you to ponder whether love can atone for past mistakes.
http://elainejeremiah.co.uk/
Buy reunion of the heart here.
http://www.amazon.com/Reunion-Heart-Elaine-Jeremiah-ebook/dp/B00ML03PZO/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408095134&sr=1-3&keywords=elaine+jeremiah
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reunion-Heart-Elaine-Jeremiah-ebook/dp/B00ML03PZO/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408091492&sr=1-3&keywords=elaine+jeremiah
Filed under: Author Interviews, heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: Bristol, Bristol Old Vic, Elaine Jeremiah, Reunion of the Heart, Romance, School reunions, Self publishing
August 24, 2014
Meet my Characters Blog Hop. It’s Sin Gudrunsson from The Viking and The Courtesan
Correct. Now….
First, a bit of info about Sharon Struth, apart from the fact she’s one of my besties.
Author Bio:
Sharon Struth is an award-winning author who believes it’s never too late for a second chance in love or life. When she’s not writing, she and her husband happily sip their way through the scenic towns of the Connecticut Wine Trail. Sharon writes from the small town of Bethel, Connecticut, the friendliest place she’s ever lived. For more information, including where to find her other novels and published essays, please visit her at www.sharonstruth.com
Thanks, Sharon, for the invitation.
Now, I’m supposed to choose one character from a work-in-progress or a recently published book and answer seven easy questions. 
Look, fellahs, I am trying real hard to ignore you here, so can we just can it? Viking week is what we agreed on.
Got it? Thank you. And too right I am doing this twice. Shaz asked and I don’t let a buddy down. Yeah okay as well as being a blabby big mouth. I’ve already introduced Malice, 
heroine of my recently contracted to Soul Mate Publishing book….
Now I’m continuing…right, by answering set questions…
What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?
Sin Gudrunsson is a purely fictional creation…Alas….
When and where is the story set?
It’s a timeslip romance alternatively set in London in 1819 where there’s a complete absence of hamsters and Norway in 898 where there’s an even more complete absence of hamsters.
Next… (Listen pal, I set this in Denmark till a certain giraffe incident had me making my humble protest!)
What should we know about him/her?
Apart from the fact he’s sumexy as hell? And hot in bed? Well Sin is a Viking obviously but a very conflicted individual. Lands and farms always passed down to the oldest son and Sin, being the second son, has suffered a ton of hardship in his life because of that. And cos his older brother was a shit to him, his mother, sisters and younger brother basically. As a boy Sin knew starvation.
What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?
Actually little fellahs I don’t want to give away too much but you’re not exactly far off the mark.
so some of his conflict comes from the fact he’s now trading in slaves, raiding, doing everything to ensure his future.
But in a word, what messes up his life, what is his conflict…..Malice. Till she happens he has other plans…
Not the thing to say to Malice.
What is the personal goal of the character?
Sin wants to marry his childhood sweetheart.But Snotra’s twice dissed him for richer men. So now he’s suddenly good enough cos she’s penniless, he’s rich from slaving and he wants to keep her on her toes as well as ensure he is good enough.
Is there a working title for this novel and can we read more about it?
Right now it’s just been contracted by Soul Mate Publishing, which I’m excited about. I’ve not written the blurb yet, but I am using this tag line at the moment -
Don’t you little dudes get ANY fancy ideas here ok…. I do NOT expect to see Hamstahs scrawled across that promo card or you know where you’ll be.
Free to a good home is where you’ll be. Now I know I did this hop a few weeks back, this time I am passing to two lovely ladies I adore… And also the equally adorable Mishka who just forgot first time around, she was so busy writing! If you have a moment please pop by their blogs next Monday to meet their characters. Also puleaze note all you aspiring authors, one of these gals has a spesh giveaway! Which one is it and what is it?
ERIN MOORE
Erin writes sensuous paranormal romances set in exotic locales. Her latest book is a sexy minotaur shifter story in Crete. A regular blogger for Marketing for Romance Writers as well as Heroes and Heartbreakers, she is sadly neglectful of her own blog. She lives in Atlanta with her two little paranormal beings and one unruly husband.
Find her free short story, To Love A Shaman, at www.AuthorErinMoore.com . She’s also frequently on Twitter and Facebook.
And right now, she is giving away up to 10 critiques of a first chapter with a newsletter subscription (via her website or Facebook).
YEP Erin is starting a newsletter and if you pop over to her blog and sign up she also has a giveaway–ten first chapter critiques!! So I wouldn’t even wait till next week here! I’d pop over and sign up.
http://www.authorerinmoore.com/
AUBREY WYNNE
Aubrey Wynne resides in the Midwest with her husband, dogs, horses, mule and barn cats. She is an elementary teacher by trade, champion of children and animals by conscience, and author by night. Obsessions include history, travel, trail riding and all things Christmas. She is a proud member of the Coffee Talk Writers. Her debut story, Merry Christmas, Henry, was published in November 2013 by Melange Books, LLC and won E&P Reader’s Choice Best Short Romance 2013.
MISHKA JENKINS
Romance Writer, reader, and a woman who either dreams too much or just the right amount, Mishka is passionate about her craft and recently released four books – romance in a variety of sub-genres, including The Heart of the Arena and The Queen’s Jester. The Bristol lass is also a prolific blogger and valiant supporter of other authors.
http://awriterslifeformeblog.wordpress.com/
Filed under: heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: blog hop, Meet my character, Romance Writing, Soul Mate Publishing, The Viking and The Courtesan, Time slip Romance, Vikings
August 22, 2014
It’s so NOT hamstah week…
Hey, hey, hey, who said anything about that?
I don’t care what it is, this is not on…..
Do I really need to answer that? Sorry fellahs, but would she really do everything she does….to safeguard one of you?
Well, you like to think so. But just step back and ask yourself? Do you think that Sapphire would come back to Berkshire and stick it out against the one man in England who can identify her to prove you are her hamster? 
I don’t think Lord Hawley would appreciate a hamstah in his trouser pocket. I’m not even going there. And Kara would hardly try taking down a clan to get her hamstah back before you even go there.
Okay, well guys, you are making two points here.
One, The fact is I did use animals in His Judas Bride, largely to show that the hero was not quite as ruthless as all that. He has a dog, a sort of half wolf, half savage, half legged thing that is HIS dog and it’s one of the things Kara notices about him. He may curse at it and tell it to shut up but he is unfailingly kind to it. SO animals do have their uses.
Oh, for heaven’s sake, just look at all the books that have been written about animals…
and let’s not forget ones like
and even
And do I make a song and dance re the lack of humans?
The fact is someone who does not realize animals all belong with us on the planet is a sad person.
That’s point one. TWO, that sorry, your story stakes have to be high as Everest, they have to be do or die stakes when it comes down to writing about why people do the things they do, why they will go to the wire, why they will go over that edge if need be. A reader must not only identify with the stakes, they must identify with the character that way. So ask yourself about these stakes at the start. it is not enough to have a plot. A plot is just a plot. You need to flesh out the stakes and the conflicts.
And really, really, REALLY sorry fellahs, but I don’t know you cut it with your er…. pitch….which isn’t to say you don’t have your uses. Goodness did I say two points. No that’s a third. 
Just not enough to cut it for a week……
Filed under: heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: Etopia Press, His Judas Bride, It's so not hamstah week., Loving Lady Lazuli, Shehanne Moore, The Unraveling of Lady Fury, writing, Writing stakes
August 19, 2014
It’s Girl Tuesday with Jane Hunt
Nonsense, Hamsta Dickens. I am sure the publishing world awaits your opus. I was just a bit busy on Friday visiting the lovely Elyzabeth M. Valey.
Indeed, it was for her new Happy Hour Feature, as you can see,
http://t.co/wKpJa3KOw2 where we discussed the history of the Singapore Sling for everyone’s literary benefit. The lovely Jane Hunt, author of
was invited for It’s Girl Friday yoinks ago.
Before my 3 weeks 3 books blogs, but she’s been kinda busy.
Then someone had to write Fury’s latest blog post for her. ..
http://furiousunravelings.wordpress.com/2014/08/17/did-anne-bonny-really-die-in-south-Carolina/
Talking Fury, I want to thank the wonderful author of Heart of the Arena and three other books, Mishka Jenkins for her review.
Captain Flint is specially pleased to get in on the action there Mishka. So, on the mop up of outstanding blog posts, today we bring you….
So Jane, are your heroines nice or bad?
In the books that I’ve written so far I wouldn’t describe my heroines as nice 
(no one wants to be described as ‘nice’ do they?) but they’re not gratuitously bad either.
That’s not to say they won’t cross the line if the situation warrants it.
They have qualities and flaws found in many young women.
I like to explore how seemingly ordinary women react and develop when faced with extraordinary creatures, worlds or situations. I love living vicariously through my heroines. I don’t get out much!
In a word, or maybe ten, how would you describe them?
Independent, strong willed and courageous and in the beginning a little naïve.
The heroines in The Dragon Legacy series encounter paranormal creatures both good and evil. To survive in this world they need to be all of the things above.
Why do you choose to write heroines who are not nice but not bad either?
I like these character traits. My heroines can want and love the hero without doing what he thinks they should do. Love affairs are much more fun when the couple fights for supremacy and eventually (if they want a happy ever after) compromise.
When faced with a situation that scares them it’s okay for the heroine to be frightened but even better if she can use that fear to get the outcome she wants. Naivety makes the heroine vulnerable. If she is all knowing there wouldn’t be the journey of discovery that I love my heroines to experience.
What kind of hero do you match them up to?
I write romance so I should say Alpha and my heroes do have alpha qualities but even in a paranormal world characters can’t be two dimensional they have to have weaker traits and I like to explore some of these through my heroes.
In successful relationships one partner is often stronger but not all the time it depends on the conflict faced and what is at stake. The most important thing is that the hero and heroine are strong together.
This doesn’t stop my heroes being sexy and arrogant all of them are. But they can also be jealous, revengeful, thoughtless and depressed.
A line from the book to describe your heroine.
The Dragon Legacy Series – Book 1
‘Fleur stepped forward. Her actions went against every instinct for self-preservation, but she must save the infant dragon from Xavier.’
Her favourite line or motto?
Fleur from ‘The Dragon Legacy’. “I know what I want.”
Tips on creating a believable good or bad heroine?
Creating a heroine with good or bad character traits relies on personal experience, people you’ve encountered in your day to day life and imagination.
I base my characters on people I’ve met.
I aim for realistic heroines so that the reader can step into their shoes. The conflicts my heroines face are extraordinary, especially in my fantasy/paranormal series. My heroines meet adversity head on and survive or fail and learn from the experience, a great way to reveal a heroine’s true qualities.
THAT’S IT FOLKS, except to say Jane Hunt is one of the nicest, most helpful and supportive ladies going. She does a ton to help others. Her next book will soon be out. The Dragon Legacy is her first book
Blurb
‘When emotionally fragile Fleur Curwen decides she wants excitement in her boring life she signs up for a Murder Mystery Weekend in the wilds of the English Lake District. She enters a paranormal world where
danger and death are common occurrences.
Demon slayer Lukas Draco is a loner. He lives by two simple rules: No
emotional entanglements and duty must remain his first priority. His
beliefs are challenged when he’s inexplicably drawn to Fleur, a human
woman with an unusual psychic aura. Sparks of sexual attraction ignite
threatening both his search for the dragon’s egg he buried a thousand years ago and Fleur’s life. Under the cover of a murder mystery weekend an apocalyptic hunt begins’
Author Bio: As a child Jane had a complete stable of make believe horses and her imagination remains as vivid. Now it creates characters and scenarios which provide the inspiration for her stories.
She is so excited to finally have career as a writer.
Her love affair with the written word started as a teenager. She secretly dreamed of writing the romantic novels she loved to read. Life had other plans for her. Marriage at twenty-one whilst still at university launched her into a career in health service management. She often thought about writing in her spare time but her career and two wonderful children kept her occupied 24/7. Illness forced an abrupt end to her career. Always the optimist she seized the opportunity to write full time in 2012.
The Dragon Legacy is her first published novel and she is excited to be sharing it with a wider audience.
When not writing she enjoys reading, book reviewing, social media and walking in the countryside. She is passionate about animal welfare.
Connect with Jane Hunt on Social Media:
Jane Hunt Writer Facebook Page
The Dragon Legacy Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/JaneHuntWriterBookReviews
Buy the book here.
August 14, 2014
The Far Side of Kate Furnivall
Oh, quit coming it. AND DON’T even think about saying what you think of them. As if I would do such a thing when we have a guest, a very special guest on their release day and what we do for guests is hang out banners, crack open the bubbly and things.
I hope you are meaning the jerseys. MY God, weren’t you the ones who invited Kate here? Hmmmm?
Of course you do. That’s better. Except you better not be planning anything other than a few balloons.
Kate is one lovely, awesome lady and I’m thrilled to have her back here to spill beans on her new UK release…TODAY!!
A gorgeous cover for a gorgeous book. (She’s also been working flat out on her next one, as well as promoting this one big time.)
Hmmmm. Getting suspicious here. Very, very suspicious.
Also, why this one is top of TBR pile is, it’s set in the Bahamas at the time of a certain famous murder…
Having cued the scary music, let’s not hang about. ….
Firstly, Kate, let’s start with ‘Set in the Bahamas 1943’, now we know you don’t have a time machine, so of course this did not mean a research trip, now did it?
Kate. ‘Research trip’ is so totally the wrong term. It’s called ‘suffering for one’s art’. All those white-sand beaches I had to walk. All those rum punches I was obliged to test out. As for snorkelling on a coral reef, how could I possibly know that it was unnecessary for my book unless I’d tried it first? See what I mean? Sheer suffering.
Shey. That beach defo has blisters on it. You can see. Your feet do. Your fingers do. The palm trees even. The suffering is shocking.
Well, then Hanstah Dickens you should NOT have eaten your manuscript.
This book is a world away from many of your other settings, what inspired you to set a book there? Was it that you just desired, indeed you needed, to suffer even more?
Kate. Are you kidding? Did I mention the white-sand beaches, the rum punches, the coral reefs, the skies so blue you could drown in them. No, no, of course that’s not what got me all fired up about jetting off to the Bahamas. What on earth made you think that?
Shey. My fervent imagination.
Kate. It was a real life murder story that occurred there in 1943 that drew me to the glossy sun-soaked Bahamas. It had all the ingredients for a great book – passion, mystery, glitz and royalty glamour, scandal and hatred, and above all, greed and gold.
All I had to add was a love story. Hey presto! My next book, THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN.
Shey. Is your book based on the famous, or infamous, Harry Oakes case? 
Or is it a backdrop to the story?
Kate, Spot on, hamstahs! You’re not as dumb as you look.
It was indeed the notorious murder of Sir Harry Oakes, one of the richest men in the world, that got me going.
Shey. I knew it!
Kate. To be honest, it was a car that started me on the trail. Not any old car, no sir. It was a glamorous American coffin-nosed Cord automobile 1936. 
Many years ago, because of my love affair with that car I was lucky enough to get to know James Leasor who owned one. He wrote a heap of successful action-packed crime novels. But he also wrote a non-fiction book called ‘Who Killed Sir Harry Oakes?’
Out of politeness I read it. Oh my, I was hooked. To my surprise, when I came to start plotting my next book twenty years later, the questions about this mysterious unsolved murder elbowed their way to the front of my seriously overcrowded mind and that was it. I was up and running. Well, flying, to be more exact. Straight to the Bahamas. To solve a mystery that no one else had been able to solve. Just call me Kate Sherlock. But I promise you that it is woven in with a passionate love story – and there’s no Reichenbach Falls!
Shey, I think they just have called you that! You’ve two completely contrasting female leads, can you tell us a bit about them and why you chose to make them so different from each other?
Kate. Dodie and Ella. My heart was torn between the pair of them. Dodie Wyatt is young and from the wrong side of the tracks. Feisty, angry at life, a loner. She’s got a lot to learn. Lives in a shack on the beach. And then there’s Ella. She has it all. Married to a wealthy diplomat, she has time and money to play Lady Bountiful to the natives and to the brave boys in uniform far away from home. But she is bored and restless. Her marriage is an empty champagne glass. Life’s party is over.
Shey. Ooooh, liking, liking…..
Kate. When these two women clash swords, sparks fly and it changes their lives. I made Dodie and Ella very different from each other, yes, that’s true. But as danger stalks into their lives (watch out, hamstahs) it is what they discover that they have in common that carries them through the dark times of THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN. Cut their wrists and they both bleed the same colour blood.
Shey. I guess that is very true of people and a good vein to tap into. Oops. Of course, there’s also something about island life, isn’t there?
Kate. Oh yes, indeed! Island calypso music, island beaches, island hammocks slung between palm trees in the shade. Island rum. 
Island colours are vibrant – more blues and reds and shimmering greens than you thought ever existed. Island community spirit and island backsides – both as big and warm as their hearts.
But toss a coin and you get the flip side. Isolation. Claustrophobia. Unemployment. Everyone dipping fingers into everyone else’s business. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Time to peel away the layers and find what lurks underneath. All taking place during an intense time of wartime turmoil. Oh yes, did I mention island rum, hamstahs?
Shey. I think you did. They spent time with a pirate recently and have turned into rum lushes. Such is life. Can you tell us a bit about the guys in these lovely ladies’ lives?
Kate. The guys. Bring ‘em on. As different and as difficult as their women. Flynn Hudson is an American with an uneasy edge to him. Tall and lean. Hard core tough guy who is more at home in the icy backstreets of Chicago than in the blinding sunshine of Nassau. He rates courage in a person. It’s what really counts when the going gets tough – which it always does when Flynn is around.
Shey. Woh. I’m swooning for Flynn. Kate. Then he meets Dodie, an outsider like himself. She changes his world.
Shey. Hmm. Too bad. Must see what I can do about that.
Kate. Dan Calder is a police detective. Disciplined, orderly, his mind as sharp as his gun holster. He has an earthy sense of humour and a way of talking that captivates Ella. He makes this elegant classy lady revel in getting down and dirty. And then there are the handcuffs ….
Shey. Oh can it, Tink. Do you like hamsters? We of course mean …Excuse me fellahs, who the hell put that question there? How excited are you to see this one in print?
Kate. Excited is too puny a word for it. Let’s try thrilled, jubilant, electrified, quivering, galvanised, enraptured … Yep, now we’re getting there. And that’s just how I feel about hamsters! Oh yes, the book too.
Shey. Kate, do ignore them. How long did it take you to write the book?
Kate. Too long. Deadlines come and go – like the island wind ….. Under a year.
Shey. Any major stumbling blocks?
Kate. I always have stumbling blocks. So what’s new? In this book, dealing with real historical people like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor was tricky at times.
Shey. I always think it’s hard to write the ‘realies.’ People nearly always have opinions on them. So, moving swiftly on, do you have a favourite island?
Kate. I like the idea of an island – in theory. Love its isolation. But I’ve hardly been to any. Sicily was stunning and was stampeded by wild flowers in May.
But in the deep recesses of my heart, I do stark and windblown. I live for my days spent on Dartmoor. So I think a Scottish island might suit me just fine, though I’ve not ventured to one yet. Or Iceland? Hmm, volcanoes there. I wonder what roast hamster tastes like.
Shey. Oh don’t worry. I’ve stood on one. A volcano I mean. Burnt my foot too. Any advice for aspiring writers on choosing a location? Like I was aspiring then and that was plainly a bum move on my part.
Kate. Choose a location you love. If you love it yourself, it will come alive in the book and you’ll make your reader love it too. And if you want to sell books by the shed-load, the sunnier the location the better! Hamstahs, get your bikinis on.
And there we have it folks. It just remains for me to wish Kate a wonderful print release day on this book. I’ve loved this lady’s books for years. I just know this one is gonna be one fabulous read. Congratulations Kate and thank you. With beautiful blue skies, sandy beaches and glorious sunshine, the Bahamas is a slice of heaven. But in 1943, the world is at war and even paradise isn’t safe . . .
Twenty-three-year-old Dodie Wyatt thought she had escaped her turbulent past – but one night her peace is shattered when she chooses to help a man she finds stabbed in an alleyway.
On the other side of Nassau, wealthy diplomat’s wife Ella Stanford plays the role she has been born into, throwing herself into charitable work and charming her husband’s powerful friends. But she has secrets to keep – and those secrets could put her life in danger.
When one of the richest men in the world is found dead, these two very different women – Dodie, a shy introvert, and Ella, a confident socialite – are drawn together. With the unstable island spiralling into violence, deceit, greed and death, Dodie and Ella have only each other to rely on, as their lives are torn apart . . .
Find out about best selling Kate here.
check out The Far side of the Sun here.
Filed under: Author Interviews, heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: Bahamas, Epics, Harry Oakes case, Kate Furnivall, Little Brown, The DUke and DUchess of Windsor, The Far Side Of The Sun, Writing tips
