Shehanne Moore's Blog, page 37
March 10, 2014
From Russia with Kate Furnivall -the March author interview
Do you think I wouldn’t? Have a Russian hamster strutting its stuff today that is? Absolutely not. Although it’s my absolute privilege to bring you this fabulous lady… 
Kate Furnivall, New York Times best selling author of more books than I’ve had hot dinners.
To show off a few. And naturally get the low down on her sumptuous settings, sweeping romance and of course, any writing tips. Well, you’d know I still wouldn’t behave, not entirely anyway. Besides you all like the little hamsters…
I’m telling you now though I’ve been hooked on Kate since devouring her first amazing book, The Russian Concubine. Historical fiction–are you kidding? AND written by an outdoorsie. What is NOT to love? Okay, so that was a Russian hamster, Kate was raised in Wales, so that should have read..
And I’m pinching myself black and blue to make sure I’m actually interviewing her today. She’s not just a writer I adore, she’s a writer who made me want to keep going. I never dreamed I’d interview her. So, without more ado OR hamsters except for maybe this trumpet tootling one…gotta have the fanfare…
here she is.
Shey: If I remember correctly, one of the things that drew me to read The Russian Concubine was that your mother’s childhood was spent in Russia, China, India, and this influenced your writing, but recent books are set in Egypt and Singapore.
Is there a reason for that change? Did you just fancy exploring somewhere different?
Kate: You’re right. I wrote four books focused on Russia and China, countries that really spoke to me because of my family connection. But hey, a girl has to move on – especially when her publisher tells her to! My publisher didn’t want me pigeon-holed in readers’ minds as just a ‘Russia’ writer. That was fine by me because I’d got the research bug and I was keen to discover and explore exciting moments in history in other countries. So I let my heart lead me – and it headed straight for Malaya and Egypt. Beautiful bewitching places.
Shey: Ooh…. Absolutely. Wildly romantic too. Do you jet-set to these faraway places? For research purposes of course? I mean you wouldn’t want some reader thinking Wikipedia has it wrong.
Kate: Oh yes, I FORCE myself to jet-set to all the stunning exotic locations for my books. 
Shey: Oh the tortuous, unappreciated sacrifices writers make.
Kate: Terrible.
Shey: Here have a chocolate…the consolations one needs! 
Kate: Yes. To places like the Bahamas, the Valley of the Nile, St Petersburg … the list is endless. It’s a hard life, this writing business.
Shey: Absolutely. Let’s have some wine to go with the choccies…
I’m reckoning a bottle each will ease the suffering.
Kate: I suffer for my art like crazy! Researching Russian vodka or Bahamas beaches is exhausting, let me tell you,
but I do it all for my readers, of course. Hmm, now where shall I go for my next holid…, whoops, I mean research trip. Italy is always magnificent in the springtime ….
Shey: I can recommend Rome. Very nice…. You can meet the Zambian Ambassador there in an Irish bar too..
My writer buddies Antonia and Noelle, would recommend Pompeii and Capri. Of course, I suppose…you could have a series. What draws you to a place? Is it place or story that comes first?
Kate: (Drumming nails) Place or story? To be honest, it’s a close-run
thing. Probably place wins by a hair’s breadth. I find myself drawn to a place, usually because of a historical event that interests me – like the Bolshevik revolution, the terror of the Japanese invasion of Singapore,
or the bizarre murder of one of the world’s richest men in the Bahamas.
Shey: Well Kate, excellent reasons to go do that research.
Kate: I love to delve into the human stories behind the facts, to peel away the layers of deceit and bring the historical events to life. 
Oh yes, and tell a cracking good tale of love and adventure at the same time. If I’m lucky, a story rears up in front of me straight away, and that makes my life easier. But sometimes I have had to launch myself into my research, biting my nails while I wait for a story to come and hit me over the head. Fortunately for me, it always does in the end!
Shey: Thank goodness too or we’d be deprived of your wonderful books! Is there a place you haven’t written about you would love to write about?
Kate: Yes, Africa. 
I adored writing about Egypt – all that camel-riding and felucca-sailing and tomb-raiding. (What I do for my readers!)
But the heart of Africa calls to me. I’ve never had the delight of going there but I can see myself elephant-riding and fighting off crocodiles with nothing but my bare hands and my trusty writing-pen.
(OR IS IT KATE…..sorry!)
Eye-balling a lioness. Oh yes! So I might have to take a safari one day soon. For research purposes – of course.
Shey: Of course. Your readers will be glad at all you do for them.
Kate: Or on the other extreme, there’s Alaska with all that virgin ice …. and maybe a whale cruise ….
Shey: Kate…! Why not both? Do you need an assistant ? Are we going to see a book set on Dartmoor for instance? Come on Kate, I know you’re an outdoorsy. And it is your untamed paradise.
Kate: Dartmoor is on my doorstep. I go there all the time. It’s one of the most awesome places on earth. But are you saying no research trip to an exotic location? Come on! Where’s the fun in that? So no, Dartmoor is going to have to wait its turn way down my list, I’m afraid.
Shey: I know. You could go and live in Alaska, or Italy, and come and research Dartmoor. Problem solved. Of all your books and all your characters, do you have a favourite?
Kate: That’s like asking a mother to choose between her children.
Shey: I know. I’m bad that way.
Kate: I am besotted by them all.But very quietly I will whisper that THE RUSSIAN CONCUBINE is immensely special to me because not only was it inspired by the story of my grandmother and mother as White Russians, but also because it was the start of all this crazy writing business for me. 
The book jumped on to the New York Times Bestseller list and after that my life zoomed off in directions I’d never foreseen.
And the book’s kick-arse heroine, Lydia, is very close to my heart. I lived with her for three years (three books) and she made my days scary!
But another of my characters whom I adore is Georgie from SHADOWS ON THE NILE. I wanted to go on writing and writing him forever, so that I wouldn’t have to say goodbye. When I finish a book, it’s like a bereavement, I miss my characters so much.
Shey: Yeah, it’s hard to say goodbye. Kate, it’s hard to say goodbye to you too today when I could chat for the rest of it. I want to thank you for coming , for your time. It’s been an absolute blast having you. One last question. Is there any advice you can give an aspiring author other than … don’t do it?
Kate: Five Tips:
Read loads.
Write a story you feel really passionate about.
Don’t give up.
Don’t ever give up.
Don’t ever ever give up.
I leave you with two quotations that I love :
‘Work is more fun than fun.’ – Noel Coward
‘I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.’ – Jerome K Jerome.
Shey: Lol. Love it.
That’s it ladies and gentlemen. Except to say that Kate’s wonderful books are available worldwide from every retailer you care to name!
She’s an amazingly nice lady and it’s been my absolute thrill and pleasure to have her here. TO find out more about Kate try here.
http://twitter.com/KateFurnivall
Shadows on the Nile
‘I’ll find him. I will.’It’s 1932 and 27-year-old Jessica is living London life to the full when her younger brother Tim, an ancient Egyptian archaeology expert, goes missing. Teaming up with Sir Montague Chamford – who can resist neither a damsel in distress nor the chance of adventure – Jessie vows to find her beloved brother.
Following the clues Tim has left in his wake, Jessie and Monty head to Egypt. In the relentless heat of the desert, romance is kindled between them, but danger also lurks in every shadow. And then Jessie starts to wonder how much Monty really knows about her brother’s disappearance . . .
A dramatic story of adventure, excitement, love and romance can all be found in the Shadows on the Nile.
Filed under: Author Interviews, heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: Egypt, Kate Furnivall, Locations, Russia, Singapore, The Jewel of St. Petersburg, The Russian Concubine, The White Pearl, writing
March 5, 2014
Building the Brand…the best laid plans of hamsters and men
I talked yesterday about bagging the back story, so I really was planning on giving the hamsters a break today, let them go play in the wheel or tear chunks out of each other, or something. But there are days one should celebrate in this crazy biz. Days when you open your inbox
and see….
Night Owl Romance is a pretty prestigious US. site. Getting reviewed there is tough enough. Getting a Top Pick award from a top reviewer is..
Especially when you’d no idea your publisher had subbed it.
No. Brand is what I’m here to say. You see I never thought I’d write genre romance. Are you kidding? If there were images of fanged, gothic hamsters, you’d be seeing them now. Ah, the library I wrote…….
But…
So I thought I might write ….
So I did. And then I thought. 
Holy moly. Several times too.
Talk about trying to fit the mould when I have always been the cross between the Mad Hatter and Wednesday Addams at the tea party.
Now, getting and putting books out there that are not traditional period romance –Scottish and Regency–has not been easy.
I still feel it is vital to go with your gut, think of your niche, and build your brand to find that same niche. Otherwise you’re just a sad old record stuck on someone else’s tune–someone who can sing far better too. And identifying your brand you should stick to it and not go hopping all over the place after the latest trend.
My brand isn’t traditional romance and I wanted to go out there on that, all or nothing, with the black humor, the ballsy bad boys and girls, with backgrounds that would make your hair stand on end. I’ve been out there nearly a year now, sometimes finding the going……
But I’m happy that reviewers are starting to get what I try, even if I may fail, to specialize in. That is difficult, flawed people, ruthless anti -alphas and ballsy heroines who utterly refuse to bow to what life chucks their way, to the anti alpha either. And I wanted to share Night Owl Romance’s review about my drug addict bad boy and my self harming bad girl cos I’m out of wine and I’ve no other way of celebrating!
Loving Lady Lazuli London Jewel Thieves, #1
As a fan of Regency romances, this is the type of novel that I thought would appeal to me. I was most assuredly not mistaken. This novel is not by any stretch a typical Regency romance. Oh, don’t get me wrong. It has all of the characteristics of a great romance, which it most definitely is. It’s also significantly darker than most Regency romances I’ve stumbled across. I loved the characters…., and the story? Well, let’s just say that it was not what I expected, and it was a very pleasant surprise. This book has earned a very treasured place on my bookshelf, and I have absolutely no doubt that other readers will adore this book as much as I did.
It’s been ten long years since anyone has heard from the notorious Sapphire, jewel thief. The Last time Sapphire was heard from, Lord Hawley was left holding the proverbial bag as the infamous jewel thief escaped. Time has passed, and now Lord Hawley has returned home to his ancestral lands and reclaim what is rightfully his. Or so he believes. During an impromptu welcome home party in his honor, a young widow captures his attention. Her name, he learns, is Cassidy. Lord Hawley is almost certain Cassidy is Sapphire, and sets about trying to ensnare the beautiful young widow. Cassidy sees the trap, and flees. She knows that she must find a way to prove her claim is valid, and still avoid the gallows. As the sparks fly between Cassidy and Lord Hawley, each has their own deep secrets in their past that must remain buried. Who is Cassidy, really? Will Hawley ever catch Sapphire and clear the suspicion around his name? Come along on a fantastically fun adventure that is not to be missed.
http://www.nightowlreviews.com/v5/Reviews/Hitherandthee-reviews-Loving-Lady-Lazuli-by-Shehanne-Moore
Filed under: heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: Etopia Press, Loving Lady Lazuli, Night Owl Romance, Shehanne Moore, writing
March 4, 2014
I did kiss you ten years ago in that coach…bagging the backstory
You just knew you’d be seeing them again, didn’t you? Toasting hamsters was the deal between me and Noelle Clark, awesome writer of Rosamanti, for starters…
(Amelia Curzon, awesome writer of Mungai and the Goa Constrictor, you can come out of hiding now. I was only joking about having boozing hamsters along to your interview…) 
Before we go further let me show you…. 
…..my daughter and her partner’s resting in peace hamster, over whom there was a custody battle at one stage…..
So, to return frame one…the back story, before we get anywhere near the what happens next as regards frame 2… you know one hamster is going to be left thinking…
while the other hamster is gonna be shouting
and guzzling itself senseless on el stupido hamster’s wine
and turning into el beefo hamster in the process.
Why?
Well, one hamster is obviously a greedy, eye on the main chance and I’m having it too, hamster while the other is a whisker short of a beard. Or maybe the other is just a nice little hamster who believes in world peace, the druids of Stonehenge and letting every other hamster rob them blind.
Why?
Well, I might know sod all about it, I think that’s where the backstory comes in.
To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born
Except Dickens had the very good sense to skim the unimportant events. When it comes to backstories, how much do we put in…especially when characters were also involved with one another in the backstory?
Why?
I guess that when it comes to backstories, and what you keep and what you throw into the mix, you keep the moments that shape your character…in terms of the story you’re telling and if your characters have shared history, like Dev and Saff,
Fury and Flint too,
you make sure that also connects with the plot.
But the important thing is don’t clunk, don’t info dump–we don’t need to know what they had for breakfast forty years ago and DON’T keep going over and over it. Think Titanic, think what goes in the life raft and what is simply gonna sink the ship.
It’s the future your reader is interested in. Not the past.
“Yes, you were quite right about that. About me too. I did kiss you ten years ago in that coach. I put my hand down your trousers too, for which I do most heartily apologize.”
She should. Truth shouldn’t be any of it. Was she going to apologize for that too? There must be a way of turning this round, so he could take something more than capitulation and a pair of burned trousers from the situation.
Seconds ticked by while she stood there coolly, the velvet folds of her gown inches from where he knelt. “But you knew that already, so I don’t imagine it’s exactly a surprise.”
Well, damn it. It wasn’t, was it? Was she going to take that as well? Rub his nose in the fact the pretense was so paper thin it was all right to be done with it? He averted his gaze.
“The Wentworth emeralds—”
“The emeralds?”
The best thing he could think of saying and she had to start back like that as if a stray spark had burned her.
“What about the emeralds?”
As if she thought he still had them. The hole they’d burned in his pocket, why the hell would he? Or maybe it was the chamber maid she wanted to blame?
“Are you meaning before or after you put them in my pocket?”
Copyright Shehanne Moore Etopia Press
Filed under: heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: Backwtories, Etopia Press, Loving Lady Lazuli, Romance Writing, The Unraveling of Lady Fury, writing backstories
February 25, 2014
But if it’s not kisses is it hisses in Romance Writing?
All right. You knew it was coming.. ... After the last post, you know you did.
Yes. Emancipated hamsters.
I nearly devoted this post to NOT letting them take over your romance novel. But I have done that twice already with regard to secondary hamsters…oops.. characters.
http://shehannemoore.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/the-necessity-of-seconds/
Do you know I even menshied…NO. Not Harrison the Hamster…
Can we get this right please? So if you wanna know about that…go here
http://shehannemoore.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/knowing-youre-the-bellboy/
This post is about the development of hamster and hamster,
sorry, hero and heroine in romance writing. You see, no matter how sweet the little hamsters are…
kissing and that.. Please can you note…
his claw in her hair. Or maybe it is her claw in his, her being a bit of a beefer hamster? And him being kind of bouffoned?
The thing is, the point I am trying to make here–of course there is one–hamsters may look cute but even if Google doesn’t say so, my understanding is they will fight to the death over that last straw end, half a piece of peed on popcorn and who is having first turn of the wheel.
That is before we get anywhere near whose cage it is really.
The point is…imagine these hamsters were human, just for a second.
Okay?
I know I occasionally like to with my heroes and heroines…….
What are the hamsters doing? Well they are guarding themselves and their pissy little bit of turf.
Now, start imagining your hero and heroine that way.
Hmmm?
Enough said about what we need re character development arcs etc, etc, etc, and why?
With it, when writing it, should we let our hero and heroine go there willingly?
Or should we throw a few emancipated hamsters in their way?
PLEASE NOTE NOT HAMSTERS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF THIS BLOG> WHEN IT COMES TO MY BOOKS AND MY HEROES AND HEROINES< THAT IS ANOTHER MATTER.
Filed under: heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: Love, Romance Writing, writing, Writing tips
February 19, 2014
Of Course It’s Love. The Gin, Martini, Cointreau of Romance Writing.
Puhew. Vallie’s Day is past, I can wipe the slavers re all these first kisses—yeah getting a lot of romance writers in one place certainly makes for some hot reading. And when the media, all these nice little boards I made for them, comes up blank..well… Time for a Janet
And a Greeting Teeny….
Sounds a bit like a cocktail—
…which is what this post is about. The last in these …ahem…extremely helpful posts kickstarted by the My Writing Process blog hop.
So of course it’s love after that first kiss….Right? I mean this is romance. This is the hero and heroine. So it has to be. But keeping it going is where the Gin, Martini and Cointreau of romance writing comes in. It’s the cocktail it’s so easy to forget to savor to the full when we write. As I said last post, romance writing is simple as
…..RIGHT?
Hmm. Let’s start with the plot.
With
And let’s not forget……
Now…….
Chapter one.
Well no. Because actually all of that was
Why? Because it’s forgotten the vital Gin, Martini Cointreau ingredients, what the story is really about, that is your two leads and their goal, their motivation and their conflict.
These are people of wealth ..ahem and taste…ahem ahem…
These are the overall goals. But as the story progresses, goals change as do conflicts. It’s a useful rule of thumb to start each scene asking yourself what is the gin, martini, cointreau? What does each character hope to gain and stand to lose here by the interaction with one another? That can be something quite ordinary.
Saff goes rooting in amongst Dev’s things convinced he’s hiding opium from her. In fact what he’s hiding not only leads to the mother and father of all rows, but leads to the pivotal moment in the next scene. 
Within the outer conflict, you have the inner conflict.
Substantial stakes are story drivers. But they’re not the only ones….. 
We all know it’s going to be love in a romance. And maybe it is love even after that first kiss BUT we do need a reason to keep reading. I am pantser when it comes to writing but I do believe in getting the cocktail and the checklist out prior to starting chapter one. The wine too!
Filed under: heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: Conflict, Goal, Motivation, Romance Writing, writing 
February 14, 2014
But is it love? The low down on these first kisses
All right, so it’s that day. You know the one we either love, hate or dread, depending on how we’re placed.
Oh, all right, just teasing….
But love it, loathe it, whatever it, we can’t ignore it any more than we can that first kiss. So what I’m doing today is asking along a very special group of romance authors from various kinds of romance, to answer some tres simple questions to do with first character kisses in their chosen work. let’s face it, ut is so-oh easy to write romance…NOT.
… Let’s just see how these answers all differ shall we? As well read a few hawt kiss extracts! Kicking off with the lovely Antonia Van Zandt….Happy Valentine’s day to you all by the way,
Why did you choose Vienna Valentine?
This novella actually ends on Valentine’s Day but the events leading up to it start during a blazing hot June in Vienna.
On a hot summer’s night in Vienna, wolves dream of passion…
But do they dream of love?
When and where did that first kiss occur?
Karl and Nina’s first kiss takes place in a friend’s apartment. Their first meeting was, to say the least, unorthodox. (This is a very naughty book!). Nina hasn’t been able to get him off her mind since she first laid eyes on him. She simply has to see him again…
Well, Antonia, having seen the muse, no wonder…Okay, what happens next?
As for what happens next… as I said, this is a VERY naughty story.
Oohh.. But is it love at this point?
It should have been a simple, enjoyable holiday romance, but Nina finds out that there is more to Karl than she could ever have realized. When he is severely injured in a fight, she realizes the depth of her feelings for him. But she has to love him enough to leave him behind in Vienna and return to England. (I’m not saying why because that’s a spoiler). But here’s an extract that shows her feelings about that moment when she does know…
‘When they asked me at work how my holiday had been, I told them it had been wonderful. At least part of it was true. But as the weeks drifted by and became months, with no word from Karl, I began to lose hope.
I had no way of contacting any of them. I didn’t even know any of their last names, much less where they would have gone after the hotel. Had Karl even survived his ordeal? Did the police catch up with Jakob? Was he arrested for murder? I checked the Vienna newspapers online, but couldn’t read well enough to learn very much.
As summer gave way to autumn and then winter, I resigned myself.
Even if Karl had made it, he had probably decided our relationship was doomed before it had even properly begun.
Christmas came and went. The weather grew colder around the middle of January and snow fell day after day, freezing overnight. Wrapped up in my own miserable thoughts, I barely noticed. I was too busy being in love with someone I would never see again.’
Vienna Valentine is available from
Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk Amazon.ca Barnes and Noble Kobo
AND NOW from Sharon Struth
Why did you choose to call your book THE HOURGLASS?
The Hourglass title first came about when the book’s hero—an author—rises from the darkest moment of his life over his wife’s death and finds therapy in writing a dark thriller about a serial killer who uses an hourglass as part of his killing ritual. CJ is in a very dark place.What he fails to see, but learns as he deals with the heroine—a psychologist he’s hired to help him with his latest book—is that there’s always room in our lives for second chances and the hourglass is made to turn, restart time.
When and where did that first kiss occur?
Brenda has been hired by CJ to help with a profile in one of his books. As a trained psychologist, she sees the punishment he’s put himself through over his wife’s death and believes it’s carried into his characters. She has no idea why and presses him to tell. He cannot tell her the truth, but her persistence makes him furious. The role he played in his wife’s accidental death one he’s never forgiven himself for. 
Brenda has been forced to live with the suicide of her husband, a man who would never discuss his problems. Forcing CJ becomes a vehicle to deal with her own past. The fight gets nasty and Brenda’s about to leave, realizing her true feelings for CJ are getting in the way of the work relationship. Only he doesn’t let her leave and instead, take her into his arms and kisses her. 
What happens next?
‘She moaned, low and guttural. CJ’s strong hands traveled the curve of her waist. She pressed herself to him, urging for more. He possessively reached around and pressed his hand firmly to her backside, pulling her hips against his body. Every nerve ending sizzled, untouched for too long. CJ finally pulled back and gazed into her eyes. He traced the side of her face with a single finger, one possessing the power to further weaken her knees. “I’ve wanted to do that for some time.”
“Me too.”
The doorbell chimed.
CJ’s forehead furrowed. “I’m not expecting anyone.” He kissed her softly. “I’ll be right back.”
Brenda ran her fingers beneath her lower lashes to wipe away any signs of tears. The next words she heard sounded like shattering glass.
“Surprise!” Autumn’s high-pitched voice resonated through the house.
OOOPS. His girlfriend walks in.. Right. 
At this point in the story, is it love?
I believe it’s right on the edge of love, where they both want it to be but know they each have some personal issues to address before they can commit to each other.
Awww. When it is love and how do we know?
CJ makes a horrible mistake in drinking, an unforgiveable in Brenda’s world. She’s had to face alcoholism in her life. More than once. Yet together they face hard moments about each other’s pasts. I believe when they come clean with each other, can accept the others problems with forgiveness in mind, is when the foundation for their moment of true love rises.
Amazon Barnes & Noble All Romance E-books Kobo
NUMBER THREE IS NIKKI DEE!
Why is this story called All Fired Up? (Like I don’t know)
Sparks fly right from the get go. Cindy is a feisty gal, used to defending herself from men having grown up with a brood of teasing brothers. She’s no wilting lily. So being the first female firefighter at Hillwood Station doesn’t faze her at all.
The more they try to douse the flames, the hotter it burns.
Cindy also has a high libido. She loves men. She loves…sex.
When she spots a hunky, handsome, muscle-bound Adonis peering at her from a glossy Firefighter calendar, she is interested. Very interested.
Well… I can’t think why…….
Footsteps approaching make her look up – into the green eyes of the calendar model! It’s him! Only it also happens to be her new boss – Captain Dave Johnson!
When and where did that first kiss occur?
On her way to Zumba obviously…
Does she go? I mean what happens next?
I really can’t say too much. Suffice to say, Captain Dave and Cindy are compatible in the bedroom department.
Cindy also faces some testing times as the new recruit at the fire station. It’s a hot and dangerous job after all. No – I mean being a fire fighter is a hot and dangerous job. But Cinders, as they call her, is equal to the task. Of fire fighting. And other stuff.
But is it love?
Cindy isn’t in the market for love.
What!!! Well, when it is love, how does Cindy know?
When the mutual admiration they have for each other on a professional level merges with the hot chemistry they share outside of the fire station.
Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble All Romance eBooks
Number Four is Really Usual
Now I did say various kinds of romance. Next up, the lovely Aubrey Wynne has a most unusual romance where the hero is in love with a………….. portrait. 
Why did you chose to call your book, Merry Christmas, Henry?
I changed my title several times. The Portrait didn’t seem to jump out at anyone. Then I tried Christmas At The Museum but it reminded everyone of the movie. So third time was a charm.
When and where does that kiss occur?
There is not an actual kiss in the story because he is in love with a painting.
WHAT?
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I created a scene where Henry imagines kissing the woman in the painting. It was great fun getting back into his head and finding out how it felt for him.
You mean you did wrote that kiss there specially? Aww.. What a sweetie! 
What happens next?
He becomes obsessed with Rebecca (yes, he even names her.)
Dare I ask….is it love at this point in the story?
Absolutely, it’s love at first sight. He never gives up on this woman.
Can you share the moment of realization?
To me, that’s love: not being able to live without someone.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GHWQHYS
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Merry-Christmas-Henry-Aubrey-Wynne-ebook/dp/B00GHWQHYS
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/merry-christmas-henry-aubrey-wynne/1117352015?ean=2940045373494
Melange Books, LLC: http://www.melange-books.com/authors/aubreywynne/merryxmashenry.html
Now for something naughty
So ANNE, naughty blog buddy, why did you choose Friends with Benefits
Can a summer of sexual exploration, lead to an unconventional forever
Actually, in this case it has few meanings within the story. Let’s see, Tyler O’Neil has a friend who has awesome carpentry skills, so Tyler gets a new deck for his hot tub.
Carpentry skills…WINK? 
Connor needs a place to stay, so his friend, Tyler, finds him a bungalow right near where he lives. Tyler asks Connor to help him fulfill a few of Angela’s (Tyler’s wife) fantasies – ah, benefits galore for Connor J. Tyler’s friend, Scott, hooks them up at an exclusive club…the list of benefits just goes on and on J
When and where did that kiss occur?
In my case, the story is a ménage, so I’ve got two kisses for you. Since the first kiss between Tyler and Angela (husband and wife) actually happened a long time ago, before the story takes place, I’ll tell you about their first kiss in the story. It happens after he gets home from a business trip, and takes place in their hallway after he walks through the front door…
What happens next?
Well, he pushes her back into the family room, strips most of her clothes from her body, and decides to have an appetizer before dinner.
A martini of course. So, is it love at this point?
Oh yes, it’s definitely love at this point. He’ll do anything to make her happy.
This brings me to Connor, Tyler’s good friend. You see, Tyler wants to fulfil a few of his wife’s fantasies, so he invites Connor to help him with the task.
Now, the first time Connor and Angela kiss, is in her backyard, in the pool, after he spent a few hours sweating under the hot sun, working in her yard (building that deck)
.
What happens next?
They have sex in the pool, of course.
Of course.
Is it love at this point? No. Not even close. It’s her living out her stranger fantasy with the blessing and full support of her husband.
When it is love and how do we know?
It’s not love until much later in the story, after he’s willing to walk away from his best friend in order to preserve Tyler and Angela’s reputation in the community, and for her when Connor’s ready to walk out of their life. She realizes then how very much she’d miss him if he was gone
Amazon Barnes and Noble All Romance Ebooks Kobo
Now be dragons….
Jane Hunt, why did you call your book The Dragon Legacy?
‘The Dragon Legacy’ revolves around an apocalyptic battle for the last dragon egg buried over a millennium ago by Lukas the dragon lord. I chose this title because the hero of the story is a dragon. ‘The Dragon
Legacy’ is to protect the human world and will be lost if the dragon egg
hatches and falls into evil hands.
Where and when is that kiss?
Chapter two sees the first kiss between Lukas and Fleur. Alone for the first time they kiss outside Fleur’s room at Hallow’s House, the venue for the murder mystery weekend.
What happens Next?
As the kiss deepens and his control is threatened Lukas’ rationality kicks in. He remembers where they are and what he is really there to do. He ends the kiss despite Fleur’s reluctance.
What a gent! But is it love at this stage?
Lukas doesn’t understand his feelings for Fleur but he knows duty comes first and lust or love will weaken him. Something he won’t tolerate. Fleur’s emotional response to their kiss overwhelms her. She must discover why Lukas both attracts and repels her. So if it is love at this stage neither Fleur nor Lukas recognise or accept it.
So, when is it love? Give us the low down.
Fleur knows she loves Lukas when she accepts his dragon identity.
Lukas suspects Fleur is his soul mate shortly after their first kiss and in his heart he wants her to be. He ignores his feelings. It is only when Fleur proves her strength and her ability to exist in his paranormal world that he accepts he truly loves her.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Dragon-Legacy-Jane-Hunt-ebook/dp/B00H9K29SU
Now for Noelle
Why did you choose Rosamanti?
Rosamanti is a villa. A 400 year old villa. In its lifetime, it’s witnessed its fair share of happiness, sadness, loss, even violence. When you’re 400 years old, you gain a bit of wisdom.
Rosamanti seems to have a hand in causing good things to happen to good people who deserve happiness.
Do you believe in magic? I do.
When and where did that first kiss happen.
In Capri obviously, out on the headland with a full moon climbing in the sky!
What happens next?
After they lay back on the turf, their kiss becoming more passionate? He cooks for her, gives her a whole cellar of gorgeous wine, charms her with his smooth Italian ways, makes her laugh again.
But it is love at this stage?
Well, he makes her feel very good, very warm and very happy.
When it is love, how does Sarah know?
http://www.amazon.com/Rosamanti-Noelle-Clark-ebook/dp/B00GYI958U/
And lastly……………..
Well, obviously I have to be there somewhere….
Why did I choose Loving Lady Lazuli?
It’s me new release, so why not!
Where and when did that first kiss happen?
Well now, sticking to the very first kiss, that was in the backstory, in a coach, on Christmas Eve.
What happens next?
She vanishes into thin air don’t you know, after sticking a stolen necklace on him.
But is it love?
You know, it probably is. That night ruins both their lives, so how can they forget each other. 
When is it love? And how do we know.
The first would be telling but how’s this for the second.
SO…actually Cass is right about that!!
http://www.amazon.com/Loving-Lazuli-London-Jewel-Thieves-ebook/dp/B00HW9QTP2/
Have a great day and thank to all my gorgeous ladies for helping me celebrate.
Filed under: heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: All Fired up by Nikki Dee Houston., Anne Lange, Antonia Van Zandt, Aubrey Wynne, First Kisses, Friends With Benefits, Jane Hunt, Loving Lady Lazuli, Merry Chrsitmas Henry, Noelle Clrak, Romance, Rosamanti, Shehnanne Moore, Shjaron Struth, The Dragon Legacy, The Hourglass, Valentine's Day, Vienna Valentine
February 13, 2014
You Are Hereby Ordered….
…………..to fall upon the rebells, the McDonalds of Glenco, and put all to the sword under seventy. You are to have a speciall care that the old Fox and his sones doe upon no account escape your hands, you are to secure all the avenues that no man escape.’
Early in the morning of 13 February 1692 thirty-eight MacDonalds from the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by their guests. Another forty women and children died of exposure after their homes were burned.
The whole male population under 70 years of age, amounting to 200, would probably have fallen to the fire and sword letters. But a party of 400 soldiers dispatched to carry out the orders, were prevented by the severity of the weather–always dicey and wildly changeable there, especially on higher ground–
as you can see by this photo of the way they would have come….from reaching Glencoe until eleven o’clock that night. This was six hours after the first shots were fired. By then the Macdonald men, warned of both the danger they were in and learning of the fate of their chief–the old Fox–had fled to the snow encrusted hills. 
The Lost Valley is cited as a possible hiding place. I am telling you I would not fancy parts of the one- slip- and- you’re- finished, path in the dark and the snow, not even with the thought of a government broadsword threatening certain places….
(The Lost Valley)
Of course those bits of path probably weren’t so eroded then as now. The fact there is now a bridge over the steeply walled gorge at the start, and steel ropes and fence posts too, gives some idea of the difficulty though.
Letters of “fire and sword” against the Highlanders were as common as Campbells.
What made this one a deed written in infamy was the fact the soldiers had accepted hospitality, had stayed with their hosts for approximately a fortnight.
(The Glencoe Monument)
It was a very convenient way of getting into the fairly impregnable glen itself and while there, of putting the inhabitants at ease. Of course there were soldiers who warned their hosts, just as there were soldiers who broke their swords rather than use them.
Books galore have been written featuring the massacre–my lord, amn’t I being awfie sensible today? AND back on all things Scottish. Even Sir Walt got in on the act. 
SO you won’t be surprised to know my very first stab at writing a novel aged all of thirteen, was an epic with the massacre as a backdrop. Or that my second published book, His Judas Bride—bet Kara and the Wolf are glad I am not sharing secrets of their love life today, like I did the other day with my latest hero and heroine–is set in Glencoe.
Of course I renamed it Lochalpin but the idea of a small clan, an impregnable glen, all found its way in as did many of the places, including the Lochan….
which okay, wasn’t around in 1692. I set this little scene there too…..
“What are you so desperate to know for? In a hurry to meet that charming sweetheart of yours, are you?” His face was such a grim triangle between the curtain of hair, she wondered if it was in fact politic to open her mouth. She didn’t see why she shouldn’t though. Anything to ease what had somehow taken up residence inside her. Even if it meant drawing this man like a gloveless falconer, with a honeyed hand.
She cleared her throat. After all, his contempt made it easier to also clear herself of these stupid feelings that had risen in her in that yard. To acknowledge she didn’t belong and it didn’t matter. Belonging wasn’t what she was here for.
“Actually, I am, sir. Yes. Indeed I confess to being agog with curiosity. Deprived by not meeting him yesterday and being happily wed to him by now. I know we’ve only been riding for about two hours now, but will I see him by nightfall, do you think?”
“Like having nightmares, do you?”
“Not really.” Holding out her honeyed hand was certainly taking a bit of doing, especially when it was savaged like this. “That’s why I’d like to know if I’ll have to spend another night in your company or not.”
He snapped his brows lower. “My company?”
She nodded. Why not? Lochalpin was beautiful. The snow-capped peaks, inky blue mist, the trees towering like silent sentinels around her. What she saw, reflected in the plate-glass surface of the loch, was so stunning, she could understand her father coveting this place. Even if his real desire was to walk among the other clan chiefs as an equal. By far the most stunning thing here was this damnable specimen. Of course, if she’d now to lay odds on his arm muscle tightening as he tugged on his own reins, on that smile, denting his faintly stubbled cheeks, she’d be rich.
“That’s the first I knew you spent a night in my company. Did I fall asleep and miss something here, Princess?”
To love, honor, and betray…
To get back her son, she will stop at nothing…
For five years Kara McGurkie has preferred to forget she’s a woman. So it’s no problem for her to swear to love and honor, to help destroy a clan, when it means getting back the son she lost. But when dire circumstances force her to seduce her fiancé’s brother on the eve of the wedding, will the dark secrets she holds and her greatest desire be enough to save her from his powerful allure?
To save his people, neither will he…
Callm McDunnagh, the Black Wolf of Lochalpin, ruthlessly guards heart and glen from dangerous intruders. But from the moment he first sees Kara he knows he must possess her, even though surrendering to his passion may prove the most dangerous risk of all.
She has nothing left to fear except love itself…
Now only Kara can decide what passion can save or destroy, and who will finally learn the truth of the words… Till death do us part.
Filed under: Glencoe, heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: Glencoe, His Judas Bride, Letters of Fire and Dword, Shehanne Moore, the Massacre of Glencoe
February 10, 2014
A kiss is still a kiss- why I write Smexy romance
Firstly I really to apologise to those of you who received this earlier. it was quite a new departure with wordpress to press publish and have a post wiped. The drafts too. That was after binning several because the media wasn’t showing. Anyway, this week is the biggie in the Rom writers’ calendar. So I m shelving the films right now in favour of getting ready for
when the above good ladies are going to share first kiss extracts from one of their books. Plus what happens next AND is it love or lust, the million dollar question?
Instead I want to go back to the My Writing Process idea….the following lovely ladies have their posts up by the way…
http://t.co/pCH9iJ4b6y Elyzabeth M Valey
Jane Hunt http://t.co/Iy6JD2Cg5F
http://t.co/RsvaD5wHEW Anne Lange
I may have talked why I write why I write but that was more how I fell into it. What I want to talk is why I write sex. It comes up in the conversation and some
some
some
Yes, but do people really want that one erstwhile mate wanted to know. Another family member that I didn’t use words like…you know.. (I didn’t. Know that is. She might have meant different ones.) My daughters probably think…
I’m telling you now I’m not ashamed of what I write. If folks want to get sniffy that’s up to them. It was my conscious decision when I set out to leave the bedroom door open.
I’m not saying I have a burning need to do that which is why I try not to be gratuitous. HONEST.
Anne Lange– I said that without blushing! 
Oh okay there’s seven scenes in my new release
That still doesn’t make me gratuitous. Just a believer in the fact if you shut the bedroom door you’re not getting that glimpse of your hero and heroine. And I’m not meaning if they’re hawt stuff between the sheets, smexy as hell, or not. I’m talking their hopes, fears, dreams, emotional involvement. Not only do I believe you can’t separate these things, don’t tell me sex is not a fabulously powerful bargaining counter.
In Loving Lady Lazuli, we have a man who is a roué. A woman whose experience isn’t what you might think. All he quickly wants is to end his inconvenient, getting in the way of his thirst for revenge, fascination for her. He never wants a woman for more than one night. So he’s hundred percent sure that’s what’s going to happen.
But she hates to be owned. She also hates to seem less than what she is, to look stupid in any regard. Some of these seven are a disaster. He can’t believe the mess even he starts to make of these ones as the battle for control, who has it and who wants it back, hots up.
What I’m really looking at how a man like that could want a woman like this in the long term and how we can be assured of that HEA because I’ve never bought the idea that someone who knows their stuff could be satisfied with someone who doesn’t.
As for the bargaining counter bit. Well, of course Sapphire is going to turn that round on Hawley after he gives her the ultimatum about being his mistress or dangling on the end of a rope. She’s too smart not to the second she learns his life threatening secret and you can guess what her own ultimatum involves. I call it
smexucation
When it comes to women getting what they want, to return to my first picture, as this little progression clearly demonstrates, we learn at an early age…But now she gets the racer
by fair means or foul…..He tries to look dead chuffed about how badly he’s been had with that grotty dinky toy…….
Filed under: blogging, heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: Etopia Press, Loving Lady Lazuli, Shehanne Moore, writing eroic romance, writing romance 
February 7, 2014
Not as promised….
Settle. I know I said films But do you have any idea of the kind of week it’s been? Galleys and wips….and all that? Sounds kinky, it’s not. And desiring to clear off today for a little ….
Oh all right. A lot. A Shey pub crawl in fact. What is hair for if not for letting down?
SO instead……I have places…..what more can you want? Don’t answer. Especially as ok…it IS a reblog from a post I did a year ago. Also it will soon be that big day in the Romance writer’s calendar. Even for a dark, twisty one like me…
I’m planning on having a pile of writers here as you can see
They’re going to be talking about those literary first kisses…. Now come on, you do not want us spilling more about our own. Lust? Love? Or what? Anyway, it being that romantic time…what could be better than romantic places…in–still being true to Rabbie — Scotland.
No. Being a visitor centre this isn’t my favorite. Not that I’ve anything against them, apart from the fact you can’t get parked and then people stand on your feet when you do. Guided tours now… Did I really just say the Scots weren’t romantics? Well, I don’t know about that but Scotland was the only place in Britain where you could marry at the age of 12 without parental consent. What was more you didn’t need a priest or a minister. Just a blacksmith to perform the ceremony, so keen were we Scots to – quote my hero – get to it.
Oh please, don’t ask me why this is here – apart from the fact it’s beautiful. I mean no famous star-crossed Scottish lovers met here that I know of. But there is a song. And the song is famous. And it is about two lovers, so…of course it’s here.
Hotly rumored to be the place the English princess Margaret, first clapped eyes on Malcolm – the third Scottish king of that name, after a storm drove her ship north. Margaret being a very pious woman I am behaving myself. Whatever the truth of that storm story, the uncouth warrior king and her polar opposite, adored her for the duration of their married life.
All right, I’m not sure about Lady Devorgilla loving her man so much she carted his embalmed heart about in a silver box with ivory trimmings. Personally it sounds a bit like the kind of thing some of heroines might do but not because they’re in any way in love. But how can I ignore a title like that?
Glencoe
Okay, Glencoe has had some bad press lately, with the Savile abuse scandal and climbers killed there last year on the Bidean and Buchaille. But those who know it will argue it deserves its tag as most romantic place in Scotland. And I am one of those. And the most romantic place in it is the Lochan. You can read of it here. All right a bit of self promo – it’s on this blog.http://shehannemoore.wordpress.com/2012/09/10/she-had-seduced-him/
We also know Glencoe had bad press before in 1692.
Filed under: Glencoe, Lists of Tagged: First Kisses, Glencoe, Gretna Green, Loch Lomond, Romance writers, Scotland, St. Margaret's Hope, Sweetheart Abbey, The Lochan
February 2, 2014
My Writing Process…
I interrupt this all things Scottish series cos you know me–big gub–who couldn’t just say….
to the lovely and talented Sharon Struth
author of 
and lander of a 3 book contract –oooh– when she asked me to join the My Writing Process Blog Hop, I said…
SO here I am. Answering the specified questions and handing on the baton to three other lovely authors who will each post about their writing process on their blogs, next Monday. Ooh lucky them! You can check Shaz’s answers to the set questions here.
http://www.sharonstruth.wordpress.com/
as well as the answers of Ellen Butler http://www.ellenbutler.net/ and another fab writer pal, Noelle Clark, who Sharon also chose. http://noelleclark.blogspot.com/2014/02/my-writing-process-blog-tour.html
All brill when it comes to showing how things work….or don’t.
What am I working on?
Right now? Finishing that cup of coffee, the bag of peanuts and NOT eyeing up the vino. Sorry was I meant to be discussing my writing process? Do I have one? Oh. Okay. I am working on book 2 of 
….Splendor, who is not actually a Starkadder Sister as such, more their general do-it-all skivvy, and her obviously sizzling (Ahem) romance with the somewhat difficult and a tad bad tempered Earl Stillmore.
But also–why stick at one–a sumexy little, presently at 80 thou words, something involving a sumexy bed-slave owning Viking….
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Okay? In a nutshell? I think The Book Review probably says it better than I can.
‘If you are looking for the traditional regency period historical romance, you won’t find it here. This is one of the darkest Historical romances I have read in a good long while.’
I guess I just don’t do flounces very well and I don’t have my characters falling easily either. To quote another reviewer on Amazon -
Ms Moore specialises in thrawn, feisty, troubled characters who refuse to bow down to what life throws at them.
My absolute preference is for flawed people because let’s face it, we are all flawed in some way. No-one is perfect. Every saint has a past. Every sinner has a future. Think of the realism it adds. Does my sumexy new hero, Hawley, go down on bended knees to declare his undying love for Saff for her cooling hand on his brow—— 
—–he suffers battlefield flashbacks coupled with paralyzing fevers caused by his opium addiction and a poisoned leg? No. What he goes is titz cos she’s used all his shaving water.
In terms of plotting….To me… 
Completely… Cos I am, so why not think outside the square? Throw the pieces in the air, do the exact opposite of what is expected? A bed-slave owning Viking? I know what you’re thinking this is going to be about and how it’s all going to pan out. But you’re wrong.
Why do I write what I do?
Lol. Because what I would like to write doesn’t fit neatly into tropes and genres. For example you get told that you can’t have a book with several mains when it comes to characters nowadays. Pass.
But there it is. I loved books like 
Again the kind an author would get told to red pen these days .It’s got to be about one main….
Romance as a genre, is so popular you can break into it. And believe me I despaired of ever breaking into print. Period. I had to think long and hard about tailoring my writing, learning to write a romance –it’s actually not easy–and ok, doing it my unflouncy black-humoured way because that’s the niche I want to carve for me. The bits of me I didn’t want to sacrifice to get into print. I chose historical because my passion is the past. Lol. Probably I was influenced by all these creaky old movies I adore…. 
Beautiful women, Handsome men.
Let’s face it, the fundamental things apply, whatever.
Of course I have a little raunch in it. Why not? That’s fundamental too!
How does your writing process work?
Er…… does it ? Do I have one? Well. I sit down and I hit a few keys. Then I go have a coffee. Then I go have another. 
Honestly? I have no idea where I am going next. Something comes on the page and I think WTF? Hawley is an opium addict? Fury got up to stuff in Jamaica? The Black Wolf gets it page one the heroine is a lying be-atch. What?
Scenes never go the way I want them. Right now I am ready to blood eagle that damned Viking. Instead of being nicey-nicey to the heroine -FINALLY- as I’ve set it up for him to be, he went and got in another fight with her. Don’t ask. So long as I get there in the end is all that matters.
So now I am handing the baton on to three lovely ladies who will post next Monday. Please check them out! They are worth it!
My Naughty Days of Christmas blog hop buddy. Anne Lange
Anne is a wife and mother who works full time and lives in Canada. Books and shoes are her passion.
She started writing in late 2009, realized she needed to figure out what in the world she was doing, and began her trek of workshops and networking, and writing. She finally got her break in October 2012, when Etopia Press asked if they could publish her novella, Worth the Risk. Her second book Friends With Benefits was recently released.
My doodle buddy . Elyzabeth M. Valey
Defined as weird since she was about eight, Elyzabeth honors the title by making up songs about her chores, doodling stars and flowers on any blank sheet of paper and talking to her dog whenever he feigns interest.
Losing the battle to the voices in her head is her favorite pastime after annoying her younger sister with her singing. Writing stories full of passion and emotion where love conquers all is her happy pill and she’ll forgo sleep to make her readers live the dream. www.elyzabethmvaley.com/
The latest addition to Lady Fury’s book club. Debut author- Jane Hunt.
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. The Dragon Legacy is Jane’s first published novel and she is excited to be sharing it with a wider audience.
When not writing Jane enjoys reading, book reviewing, social media and walking in the countryside. She is passionate about animal welfare. She is mum to two children and was, of course, a child bride. www.jolliffe01.com/
Filed under: writing Tagged: Anne Lange, blog hop, Elyzabeth M. Valey, Jane Hunt, Sharon Struth, writing processes 
