Anna Butler's Blog, page 29
June 30, 2016
Links to Blog Posts on Writing – June 2016
June’s been an inordinately busy month in RL, particularly with managing my mother’s health care, but it’s thrown up some interesting items in the writing world which have been a welcome distraction. Here’s the best of them.
Pilgarlic – A bald person; or a person who is held in humorous contempt or treated with mock pity. Word means peeled garlic.
Early June buzzed with authors reacting to a professional photographer on FB (someone who you’d think might understand about copyright) putting out a plea for URLs to sites providing pirated ebooks for free. When called on it, she was unrepentant, claiming poverty made her do it and that authors can afford it, they’re so rich. Bollocks, sez I and an awful lot of authors. Here’s three posts, with the best at the top. Sarah Madison’s post went viral, and with damn good reason.
Sarah Madison – Dear Broke Reader, Your Sense of Entitlement Is Killing Me
F E Feeley – You Aren’t A Pirate, You’re A Parasite
Ravenna Tate – How Real Authors Live
Please don’t ever download a stolen book from a pirate site. It’s theft.
JK Rowling on the Benefits of Failure. Her Harvard Graduation speech from several years ago now, but still strikes home.
20 Writing Tips From Famous Authors One of Writers Write’s cool infographics.
Vexed About Voice – Cassandra Kraw writing at Chuck Wendig’s blog.
Yoon Ha Lee: Five Things I Learned Writing Ninefox Gambit
Anne Frasier: Five Things I Learned Writing The Body Reader
Eliot Peper: Five Things I Learned Self-Publishing Cumulus
Steven Spohn: I Am Not Your Plot Device – Spohn guesting at Chuck Wendig’s gaff with a thought-provoking post about people with disablities and how they’re treated in literature.
Body Parts Don’t Do Stuff, People Do – Philip Athens at Fantasy Authors Handbook with an amusing post on independent body parts. I worry how many times in the post Galen got punched in the eye…
Fine-Tune Your Dialogue To Serve Your Story (And Your Reader) – Amy Sue Nathan at Writers In The Storm
Botched Beginnings—Common First-Page Killers – Kristen Lamb with sage advice on getting your story off the ground.
The 8 Worst Clichés In Fiction – Michael Cristiano at A Writer’s Path. Amusing, but right.
Keeping Your Story Real…Even When You Are Lying – helpful post from PJ Parrish at the Kill Zone about writing crime thrillers.
Double Jeopardy: Hooking the Reader’s Brains and Heart – Janice Hardy at Fiction University.
What Are You Really Saying? (The Use of Subtext) – James R Tuck guesting at Fiction University. Some simple but useful tips here. I loved his way of not answering a question in dialogue.
Are You Botching Your Dialogue – great post from Kristen Lamb
From Writers Write:
The Only Character Questionnaire You Need to Complete
7 Simple Things To Remember About Setting
60 Things For Your Characters To Do When They Talk Or Think
How To Convey Setting In Dialogue – Without Sounding Like A B&B Brochure
.
.
What Exactly Makes A Damn Good Story? Plot? Plot is easy. Plot is simple… But Plot is not Story.
Formatting Your Book With Scrivener
Authors Are Paying for Ads and Their Books Aren’t Being Seen – good advice at Indies Unlimited.
Publisher Threatens Writers Association With Defamation Suit After Being Kicked Out For Not Paying Royalties – more developments in the unedifying Ellora’s Cave saga.
Samhain Set To Keep Publishing – but how many authors got their fingers burnt earlier this year when Samhain said they’d be closing down? Many were promised their rights back and have spent money on things like reformatting and new covers, only to find Samhain will be groovin’ on. Can’t see many authors trusting them now.
Think You Couldn’t Possibly Lose Your Amazon Publishing Account? Think Again – the story of one writer’s tussle with Amazon. Take it as an Awful Warning.
Sneaky Money Grabs, An Important Notice on The Non-Compete Clause and Thugs, Lawyers, and Writers – more from Krystine Kathryn Rusch on contracting. This is a series you really should not miss reading.
A Wa
rning About Nondisclosure Clauses – Susan Spann continues her series on contracting at the Writers In The Storm blog. Again a great resource.
The Legal Side of Writing for Anthologies – Susan Spann writing at Writer Unboxed.
Editing Tools – some free and online. I use EditMinion – with care
What Is A Style Guide And Why Do I Need One?
Recommended Cover Artists – with thanks to author Sarah Madison for compiling the list
Black Jazz Design (Garret Leigh)
June 15, 2016
Set Me Free – a heartfelt plea from Kitty Stephens
Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Kitty Stephens, author of Set Me Free.
Hi Kitty, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.
My name Kitty Stephens. I currently reside in Ohio, with my husband, my son, and our three guinea pigs. I’ve been an avid reader since I was very young and started writing when I was around nine or ten. Once I had internet access, I became active in fan communities and started posting my work on various fan sites. Set Me Free is my first book.
Do you have pictures that you use for your characters? Can you share them with us?
I actually don’t! I have an idea of what each character looks like, but I ended up not searching for any likenesses. What I saw in my head was so clear that I felt like I didn’t need them.
What kind of book would you like to write that people would see as a huge departure for you?
Probably a thriller of some kind or something with a lot of character death.
Have you ever killed a character? Was it traumatic for you? If you haven’t killed one, would you ever consider it?
I haven’t killed a character yet! I probably would, if it was dictated by the story. It would be difficult, I love all my characters.
Favorite location you’ve ever written about?
Tybee Island, Georgia. It’s the main setting of Set Me Free, and I feel in love with it as I was doing my research for the book. I want to go there one day.
What’s your favorite season and favorite activity for that season?
I think my favorite season is summer. While I can’t take the heat as much as I used to, I still love to sit outside in the sunshine and read a book. It’s very relaxing.
When an affluent college-bound boy falls for a young artist, he must choose between the life that’s been mapped out for him and the chance at true love.
Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Artist: C.B. Messer
Goodreads
Interlude Press: http://store.interludepress.com/collections/set-me-free-by-kitty-stephens
Amazon: http://amzn.to/20UwPvV
Apple iBookstore: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/set-me-free/id1115847003?mt=11
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/set-me-free-kitty-stephens/1123831417?ean=2940153030029
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/637568
All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-setmefree-2049092-149.html
Book Depository: (will update if it lists prior to release)
IndieBound: www.indiebound.org/book/978-1-941530-80-1?aff=InterludePress
They found a secluded spot to sit off the main drag and scarfed down pieces of pizza and people-watched. Aaron had been full of nerves earlier, but Lucky put him at ease. He had that way about him.
“I’ve got a few minutes left,” Lucky said when they finished their food.
They got up, sipping at their drinks as they made their way through the crowd back toward Lucky’s booth. It was now or never. He had to ask, had to get the words out, or miss his shot.
“Can I ask you something?” Lucky spoke up before Aaron could. Maybe Lucky would… Aaron held his breath, nodding. “It might sound weird.”
“Sure,” Aaron replied, his heart beating a little faster. He had no idea what was coming now; what could Lucky possibly want from him? A kiss?
“Can you take your picture for me?”
Aaron blinked at him. Lucky tilted his head off to one side and Aaron turned his head the same direction. His gaze landed on a photo booth, realization sinking in. His mouth fell open, unsure what to say. It was a little weird because they barely knew each other, but also flattering.
“I’d really like to draw you again.” Lucky seemed slightly embarrassed. “I mean, I could take pictures on my phone if that’s better for you, but that seemed creepier somehow.”
Aaron couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped at Lucky’s words, even as the idea of Lucky drawing him again and again left him breathless. “Um,” he managed to get out, glancing around at the crowd. A familiar blonde head caught his eye and he nearly choked.
Was Lyn at the carnival? Wasn’t she supposed to be with their mothers?
Aaron pulled Lucky by the hand into the photo booth and slid the curtain shut.
Lucky slid money into the slot as they sat down. His breath caught as Lucky’s hands touched his face gently. “Like this,” Lucky whispered, turning his head to the side. The camera flashed. Lucky’s fingers turned his head to the front, pulling away just in time for the camera to go off again. Once again, Lucky’s fingers turned his head to the side, only now he was facing Lucky, staring deeply into his eyes.
Aaron tried not to hyperventilate as he held Lucky’s gaze. The camera flashed for the last time but neither of them moved.
“Go out with me?” Aaron suddenly blurted out. He had to do something or he might do something even more insane, like kiss Lucky. Aaron so wasn’t ready for that yet. Lucky’s eyes widened and he smiled.
“Sure,” Lucky drawled after a moment. “When?”
Kitty Stephens’ writing aspirations date back to her childhood, when she and her brother would make up stories about characters in their favorite books. She eventually started writing stories in online fan communities, and majored in English at Ohio State University. She lives in Ohio with her husband and son. Set Me Free is her first novel.
tumblr at @kittystephenswrites
Twitter at @KittyStephensWr
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KittyStephensWrites
9-Jun
Happily Ever Chapter, Boys on the Brink Reviews, Book Lovers 4Ever, Havan Fellows
10-Jun
Oh My Shelves, Bonkers About Books, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
13-Jun
Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Unquietly Me, A.M. Leibowitz
14-Jun
BFD Book Blog, Velvet Panic, My Fiction Nook
15-Jun
Anna Butler Fiction, Three Books Over The Rainbow, MM Good Book Reviews
16-Jun
Making It Happen, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Open Skye Book Reviews
17-Jun
The Novel Approach, V’s Reads, Prism Book Alliance
20-Jun
Up All Night, Read All Day, Bayou Book Junkie
21-Jun
Nephy Hart, Love Bytes
22-Jun
Alpha Book Club, Molly Lolly, Divine Magazine
June 5, 2016
Bad Dogs And Drag Queens – Julie Lynn Hayes
What a **brilliant** title! I couldn’t resist saying yes to hosting it here, because, well, brilliant title! And also because Julie is donating 10% of the royalties from this book to No Kid Hungry. (Visit nokidhungry.org for more information about this organization.)
What’s more, let’s do something different, I said. Interviews are a bit meh, so a post on drag queens maybe? A paean to men in bright red lippy? The role of small cuddly dogs in fiction? Maybe, if we want to be serious, tell us more about your chosen charity? Anything you like. Julie took me at my word.
I have a POEM. A for-real poem as written from one MC to the other. Poetry!! And that, my friends, is a first for this blog, and I am stoked that it’s happened. I’m delighted to welcome Julie here and to present to you the poem:
From Vinnie, to Ethan.
He came into my life, but I was blind,
Too blind to see how much he meant to me.
I acted like a dick, I was unkind,
And still he showed his loving face to me.
Afraid to trust, afraid to take a chance
On something I had never felt before,
He gave new meaning to the word romance
And filled my life with love, forever more.
He made me feel that I was worth his love,
He gave me value when I thought I’d none.
We fit together, like a hand in glove,
And when he kissed me, I did come undone.
He is my heart and soul, the air I breathe,
And with him now, I find my life complete.
Vinnie Delarosa and Ethan Thorne are partners—on and off the clock. Federal undercover detectives, they’re part of a covert task force designed to promote goodwill between the feds and local authorities. They lend an unobtrusive helping hand wherever it’s needed. No credit required.
Vinnie and Ethan work primarily in the Southeast region of the United States and live together in Richmond, Virginia. A mugger problem brings them to Roanoke, where Vinnie is thrown out as bait to catch the man who’s been snatching purses in a city park, but they end up with more than they bargained for. Why is Vinnie always the one who has to wear the dress? Ethan says it’s because Vinnie looks much prettier in a skirt. How can he argue with that?
Expecting to return to Richmond afterward, Vinnie and Ethan find themselves assigned a new case instead. They are to go undercover at The Stroll, one of the biggest gay nightclubs in Roanoke. Someone is terrorizing both the customers and the performers. Could they be dealing with a hate crime? Someone has to protect the drag queens of Roanoke, so it’s Vinnie and Ethan to the rescue!
Book Name: Bad Dogs and Drag Queens
Series: Rose and Thorne, Book One
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Paul Richmond
Release Date: May 25, 2016
“Remind me again whose stupid idea this lipstick was,” I huffed under my breath. Without thinking, I licked my lips. They felt greasy, and tasted even worse. I forced myself not to grimace, afraid it might crack the foundation I’d slathered on my face.
“Mine, you sexy beast,” came the smart-ass reply in my ear. “I think you got purty lips, mmhmmm.”
“Fuck you,” I growled. “You should be doing this, not me, and you know it. I did it last time.”
And the time before that. And the time before that. Wait, did I detect a pattern here?
“What I know is you look better in a skirt than I do. And you look damn good out of it too.”
My cheeks filled with heat at Ethan’s words. Luckily the darkness hid a multitude of sins, my embarrassment being the least of them. Hopefully, no one else was listening—I knew I’d never hear the end of it. Just what I needed—to be the object of ridicule of the Roanoke PD.
Julie Lynn Hayes first began publishing short stories and poetry in the 1990’s, when it was a different ballgame altogether, and Ebooks hadn’t been dreamed of yet. That changed in 2010 with the acceptance of her first romance novel. She’s come a long way since that first book appeared, and is finding the journey a very educational one.
She lives in St. Louis with her daughter Sarah and her cat Ramesses. She often writes of two men finding true love and happiness in one another’s arms, and is a great believer in the happily ever after. She likes to write in different genres, to stretch herself in order to see what is possible. Her great challenge is to be told something can’t be done—she feels compelled to do it.
When she isn’t writing, she enjoys crafts, such as crocheting and cross stitch, needlepoint and knitting, and she loves to cook, spending time watching the Food Network. Her favorite chef is Geoffrey Zakarian. Her family thinks she’s a bit off, but she doesn’t mind. Marching to the beat of one’s own drummer is a good thing, after all. Her published works can be found at Dreamspinner Press, eXtasy Books, and Wayward Ink Press.
Facebook
Facebook Author Page
Twitter
Blog
Goodreads
23-May: Open Skye Book Reviews, My Fiction Nook, Multitasking Mommas
24-May: Velvet Panic, Nephy Hart, Louise Lyons
25-May: Happily Ever Chapter, Books A to Z, The Novel Approach
26-May: Parker Williams, Man2ManTastic, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
27-May: Divine Magazine, A.M. Leibowitz
30-May: Jessie G. Books, Inked Rainbow Reads, Wake Up Your Wild Side
31-May: Outrageous Heroes, Bayou Book Junkie
1-Jun: Hearts on Fire, Nautical Star Books, Prism Book Alliance
2-Jun: Rednecks and Romance, MM Book Escape
3-Jun: Emotion In Motion, Bonkers About Books
6-Jun: Anna Butler Fiction
7-Jun: MM Good Book Reviews
8-Jun: The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat
9-Jun: Unquietly Me
10-Jun: BFD Book Blog
13-Jun: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews
14-Jun: Molly Lolly
15-Jun: Love Bytes
16-Jun: Havan Fellows
17-Jun: Alpha Book Club, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings
June 1, 2016
Shadowboxing with Anne Barwell
She’d win. I’m a complete wuss. I had to resort to underhand methods to get Anne into the hot seat to answer a few questions. Fighting dirty’s the only way.
So over to Anne, to tell us about Shadowboxing.
What inspires you to write?
I get twitchy when I haven’t written for a while. It’s one of the things I find difficult when I have a new book coming out. Although I know promo is necessary, it takes away a big chunk of writing time.
‘What if’ is a question that fuels a lot of my writing. Often, I’ll see or read something and wonder what would happen if…. Before I know it, characters have shown up and want their story told. I have more stories to tell and only so much time in which to write so I have a few waiting in line…
I also love exploring characters and their worlds. I love dropping them into situations and finding out how they’ll react. It’s one of the reasons I love fantasy, although what I’m writing at present isn’t fantasy. Although I like to plot out a story, the characters often do their own thing and I find myself going along for the ride. It can be challenging, but also a lot of fun.
Since there is always another story to tell, what are you working on now?
I’m currently working on two stories.
One is Comes A Horseman, book 3 of my WWII Echoes Rising series. While the first two books were set in Germany, most of this one takes place in France so I’m learning a lot more about the country, its history, and language. It’s also the final in the series so I’ll be sad to say goodbye to these characters, although I suspect they might turn up in a free short story here and there.
The other is a contemporary for Dreamspinner Press’s World of Love series. I’m co-writing Sunset at Pencarrow, which is set in Wellington, New Zealand, with Lou Sylvre. Lou and I have written together before—we have a historical with a dash of fantasy set in 1745 in Scotland called The Harp and the Sea we’re part way through. It’s fun writing something set locally, and being able to share a bit of New Zealand through the story.
Which is your favourite character? Who was a joy to write (and why?) and who were you glad to see the back of (and why!)?
It’s difficult to choose a favourite character—it’s like choosing a favourite child. The easiest characters to write in Shadowboxing were Kristopher, the German scientist whose decision triggers a lot of the action in this book, and Matt, the leader of the Allied team sent to retrieve the plans for a device that could change the outcome of the war.
This story is, in a big way, Kristopher’s, and he grows a lot over not just during this book, but the series. I do find, however, he tends to go ‘off script’ at times, but I don’t argue with him. I tried once, and the story ground to a halt until I gave in. While he can be a bit naive at times, and stubborn, he’s trying to do the right thing and that drives a lot of his decisions. Meeting Michel makes him question a lot of things about himself he should have a long time ago. He’s also a musician, and I’ve enjoyed writing that part of him as it’s something we share.
Matt starts off as a bit of a joker, but he’s hiding a lot of pain behind his humour. He’s a strong person, and has had to be. I felt bad for what I put him through in Shadowboxing—he’ll be feeling the repercussions of it for a very long time, if not the rest of his life.
The character I’ll be pleased to see the back of is SS Obersturmführer Reiniger. Although he’s working for SS Standartenführer Holm, the two men are very different. While Holm is convinced his reasons for tracking down the fugitives are noble, Reiniger just enjoys hurting people. Unfortunately Kristopher and Michel make an enemy of him early on, and it’s something that will come back to bite them later. Reiniger holds grudges and is really not a nice person. I’ve just written two scenes from his point of view for book 3. I should probably worry about how easy they were to write, but I was glad when they were over. Ugh.
Which secondary character would you like to explore more? Tell me about him or her.
Zhou Liang is not really a secondary character in Shadowboxing as he plays an important part. After his parents died he was raised by his Chinese grandmother. He has PhDs in Physics and Linguists, and his role on the team is to authenticate the plans they are sent to retrieve. As the story, and the series progresses, his character grows a lot, and he also finds love, as often happens in times of war. He begins as more of a loner but finds, despite himself, that his working relationship with his team grows into a deep friendship. I love his dry humour, and pithy remarks.
I’d love to explore more of his life before Shadowboxing and after the war. Growing up in Britain during that time as a child of a Chinese father and a British mother wouldn’t have been easy. There’s a story there, as there is for after the series. His experiences have changed him, as has his relationship with someone who wouldn’t be very welcome in post war Britain.
Tell me something about yourself that will surprise me.
Not sure if surprise is the right word, but… there are a few things about me that tend to sneak into my writing.
I’m a huge geek, and as well as reading and watching a lot of SF and fantasy I love graphic novels and manga. I used to be up to date with my anime watching, but over the last few years I’m very far behind, so my favourite shows are older ones. I read a lot of graphic novels, especially DC’s Bat family. If Nightwing (Dick Grayson), or Robin II(Tim Drake) are in a story, I’ll pick it up to read. I also love Marvel’s “Young Avengers”, and Billy/Teddy AKA Wiccan/Hulking in particular.
I play in an orchestra in my down time, and played piano for church for years. I’ve also been a rehearsal pianist for music theatre and the gang show, and played violin in the band for a couple of shows. I’ve snuck in a few literary, geek, and musical references into my books, and it was fun finding musical and/or poetry to use as code or code phrases in Echoes Rising.
What’s your biggest vice – shopping, coffee, shoes?
Books. I can’t resist them and working in a library is like someone with a sweet tooth working in a chocolate factory, but far worse a temptation as I never get sick of books.
If a story looks interesting I’ll read it, although I have a weakness for fantasy, science fiction, and historical in particular. Graphic novels are a big downfall, and so is stationery when it’s on sale. I’m a little addicted to stationery. It’s not possible to have too many notebooks and pens, right?
I have several overflowing bookcases, and still not enough room. Decluttering doesn’t include books, and after trying that many years ago then discovering the books I’d got rid of, and thought I’d re-read through the library, were no longer available. I learnt my lesson, but I’m trying to behave myself with DVDs. Not sure it’s working, but my collection of those is only growing slowly compared to the books so…
Berlin, 1943. An encounter with an old friend leaves German physicist Dr.
Kristopher Lehrer with doubts about his work. But when he confronts his superior, everything goes horribly wrong. Suddenly Kristopher and Michel, a member of the Resistance, are on the run, hunted for treason and a murder they did not commit. If they’re caught, Kristopher’s knowledge could be used to build a terrible weapon that could win the war.
For the team sent by the Allies—led by Captain Bryant, Sergeant Lowe, and Dr. Zhou—a simple mission escalates into a deadly game against the Gestapo, with Dr. Lehrer as the ultimate prize. But in enemy territory, surviving and completing their mission will test their strengths and loyalties and prove more complex than they ever imagined.
Series: Echoes Rising: Book One
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publication Date: 31 May
Cover Artist: Reese Dante
Michel froze when several gunshots pierced the quiet Berlin night. “Kristopher…,” he whispered. No. Please no.
Beside him, Matt’s head jerked up. He swore loudly. A few moments later, another lone shot followed the first couple.
Walker and Palmer skidded to a halt, doubling back from where they’d gone on ahead.
“Elise’s Kaffeehaus.” Walker panted, trying to speak and catch his breath simultaneously. He and Palmer appeared to be much younger than their companions; Michel wouldn’t be surprised if this was their first assignment in the field. “Gestapo….”
“Matt….” Ken’s previous harsh timbre was replaced by something much gentler, but Matt ignored him and shook his head.
“No.” His voice shook, his words partly echoing Michel’s thoughts. “Not Elise. Please, not her, not now.” Matt leaned heavily against a nearby lamppost, his eyes glazed over.
“We don’t know who fired the shots, sir.” Palmer took over the explanation. At least he could pass for German if he stayed quiet and kept his head down. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that, but there were no guarantees as to which way a particular mission might go. Michel had had that fact reinforced on more occasions than he cared to remember, but too many lives depended on them with this one. It had to succeed. “The Kaffeehaus is swarming with Gestapo, but there is no sign of anyone else.”
“We need to ascertain precisely what has happened before we move in. In order to do that, we will have to get closer.” Ken took charge—although Matt was the ranking officer, he appeared to be in no state to give orders. Whatever his relationship to Elise, this was not the time for him to be dwelling on what might be happening in the Kaffeehaus. Getting Kristopher and the plans to safety was still their priority.
“It’s damn obvious that someone’s been shot.” Matt visibly pulled himself together, although his voice hitched slightly before the word “shot.” “We need to get in there quickly in order to minimize damage. Gabriel, take Walker and Palmer and secure the back entrance. Lowe, Zhou, you’re with me. We’ll secure the front.”
“What if there’s another exit?” asked Liang, disengaging the safety on his handgun.
Matt shook his head, his matter-of-fact tone verifying prior knowledge of both the Kaffeehaus and its owner. “There isn’t. Not unless Elise has done some major renovations, which I doubt.”
“We’re probably more than outnumbered by Holm and his men.” Michel pointed out the inadequacies of the plan. “It would be more sensible to size up the situation first, as Lowe suggested, before we move in. The shot might be merely a warning. We don’t know for certain that someone is injured. If Dr. Lehrer and Elise have been captured, it would pay to wait until….” His voice trailed off, a grotesque image entering his mind—Kristopher lying on the floor of the Kaffeehaus, his fair hair stained red with the blood dripping from a single bullet hole to the temple. Michel quickly pushed it away. Holm needed Kristopher. He wouldn’t risk killing him. Elise could be used to ensure Kristopher’s cooperation. It made more sense that they were both still alive.
“I don’t care.” Matt’s previous calm was replaced by an edge of desperation that made him both unpredictable and dangerous. “I’m not just sitting here and waiting. To hell with procedure.”
Anne Barwell lives in Wellington, New Zealand. She shares her home with two cats who are convinced that the house is run to suit them; this is an ongoing “discussion,” and to date it appears as though the cats may be winning.
In 2008 she completed her conjoint BA in English Literature and Music/Bachelor of Teaching. She has worked as a music teacher, a primary school teacher, and now works in a library. She is a member of the Upper Hutt Science Fiction Club and plays violin for Hutt Valley Orchestra.
She is an avid reader across a wide range of genres and a watcher of far too many TV series and movies, although it can be argued that there is no such thing as “too many.” These, of course, are best enjoyed with a decent cup of tea and further the continuing argument that the concept of “spare time” is really just a myth.
Anne’s books have received honorable mentions four times and reached the finals three times in the Rainbow Awards. She has also been nominated twice in the Goodreads M/M Romance Reader’s Choice Awards—once for Best Fantasy and once for Best Historical.
Blog: http://anne-barwell.livejournal.com/
Website: http://annebarwell.wordpress.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/anne.barwell.1
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115084832208481414034/posts
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4862410.Anne_Barwell
Dreamspinner Press Author Page: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/AuthorArcade/anne-barwell
DSP Publications Author Page: https://www.dsppublications.com/authors/anne-barwell-49
May 31, 2016
Links to Blog Posts on Writing – May 2016
We have a mixed media collection this month, mainly because I really could not resist Peter Kay’s wonderful collection of this month’s word and then ran across (or re-ran, to be accurate) one of Pixar’s videos on storytelling.
Mondegreen – to quote Wiki: a mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase as a result of near-homophony, in a way that gives it a new meaning. Mondegreens are most often created by a person listening to a poem or a song; the listener, being unable to clearly hear a lyric, substitutes words that sound similar, and make some kind of sense. American writer Sylvia Wright coined the term in her essay The Death of Lady Mondegreen, published in Harper’s Magazine in November 1954. The term was inspired by “…and Lady Mondegreen”, a misinterpretation of the line “…and laid him on the green” from the Scottish ballad The Bonnie Earl O’ Moray.
Pixar – What Makes a Story
Pixar’s 22 Rules For Good Story Telling
What does it mean to be a writer and a perfectionist? Colleen Story at Writers In The Storm, with a very good article about those of us who are a little bit anal about things.
When the Emperor is Naked, Tell Him Beth Hill at The Editor’s Blog on not getting too cosy in critique groups.
30 Practical Ways To Beat Writer’s Block Amanda Patterson at Writers Write.
Science Explains Why People Who Love Writing Are Smarter – A laudable article at I♥intelligence.com. Smirks.
Kat Howard: Five Things I Learned Writing Roses And Rot
Leah Rhyne: Five Things I Learned Writing Heartless
How Strong is Your Dialogue? How to Fix Common Dialogue Problems and
Making Fiction Come Alive! Using the Senses for Maximum Impact
– Alex Limburg guesting at Kristen Lamb’s blog.
How to Write Characters Who Don’t Sound Like You – Janice Hardy at Fiction University.
Margie’s Rule #15: What’s the Visual? – Margie Lawson with advice on the old show-not-tell chestnut.
What to Do When Your Novel’s Too Short – Janice Hardy at Fiction University. Mind you, I usually have the opposite problem…
3 Mistakes that Will Make Readers Want to Punch a Book in the Face – Kristen Lamb on stupid or passive protagonists and plot twists that break the rules.
How to Write Mind-Blowing Plot Twists—Twisting is NOT Twerking – a followup to the last link, Kristen expands on the points on plot twists.
Defy Reality, Become An Artist – “Forget perfection. You can’t control success. You aren’t anybody else. You are you. It doesn’t matter if anyone believes in you. Let their disbelief charge your batteries. You can believe in you.”
Writing Dialogue, And How It Relates To Plot And Character What it says on the tin. “Dialogue that moves nothing forward is a problem. Dialogue has to move the needle. It has to invoke or inspire change in some direction.”
Crotch-Punching The Creative Yeti: Exploding More Writing Myths “Writing a book is like forging a sword. But writing a good book is like forging a magic sword.”
Self-Publishing: How to Promote Your Book With One Easy Photoshop Technique – fascinating ideas here for creating images with your book cover using Photoshop templates.
First Steps in Formatting for Print and Using Font Styles When Formatting for Print – first two in a series of techie posts at The Editor’s Blog, for those of us self publishing and wanting to use Lulu or Createspace etc to produce print books.
Why Instagram Works for Writers – Sierra Godfrey Fong at Writers In The Storm with tips for working yet another social media site. One that, apparently, only works with mobile devices. Looks at old, old Blackberry and sighs. Not with mine, obviously.
Why Your Author Blog is Stuck & What To DO – Kristen Lamb (who’s one of the most successful author/bloggers) with some ideas for freshening up your online platform. I’m glum over her dictum that the blog should be the first page of your website, because many other people say the *books* should be on the first page, and you can’t have both. What to do, what to do?
Secrets to Turning Your Facebook Page into an Epic Marketing Tool – Penny Sansevieri at Writers In The Storm.
Goodreads Deals: A New Way to Promote Your Ebooks to Millions of Goodreads Members (U.S. Market)
Finding Your Audience Part 1 – Pre-Launch Steps – Angela Quarles at the Fiction University asking “Is there a market for my beetle shifter coming-of-age dystopian?” Well, you had me at beetle shifter…
Authors on Twitter: 43 Stunning Header Image Examples collected by Diana Urban at BookBub.
Mythbusting The Amazon Algorithm – Reviews and Ranking For Authors Frankly, this 
post at selfpublishingreview.com made my head hurt, but for the geeks amongst us, this is manna from heaven.
E-book Sales Decline Continues – an analysis from Publishers Weekly. But this covers the big publishing houses, who charge large amounts for their ebooks, and not indies, who tend not to. Moral, anyone?
Going Independent – from award-winning novelist, Dana Stabenow
Agents and Estates / Long-Term Thinking: The Option Clause / Long-Term Thinking: The Non-Compete Clause / The Grant of Rights Clause Kristine Kathryn Rusch continues her essential-reading series of posts on contracting issues. Seriously, read these.
Royalty Clauses in Publishing Deals: How (& How Much) Authors Get Paid – over at Writers In The Storm, Susan Spann has also been blogging about contracts. Another series of posts worth a read.
May 27, 2016
Antonia Aquilante’s ‘The Scholar’s Heart’
![Scholar'sHeart[The]_FBbanner_DSP](https://annabutlerfiction.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/scholarsheartthe_fbbanner_dsp.jpg)
I’m delighted to welcome Antonia back to the blog today, to tell us about her latest release, The Scholar’s Heart.
Youngest son of a royal duke, Etan is a scholar at heart who juggles his work for the prince with his studies of the history and legends of Tournai, something of particular interest to him because he shares the magical Talent that runs in the royal bloodline. Etan’s peaceful world turns upside down when his best friend—the man he secretly loves—unexpectedly marries a woman. Though Tristan values his friendship with Etan and has always been attracted to him, he is a dutiful son, raised to shoulder responsibility for the family business one day. That day comes far sooner than anticipated, and he makes a deathbed promise to his father to marry the woman his father chose and become head of the company and family.
A year later, Tristan is a widower with an infant daughter and a mother who demands he marry again quickly—something Tristan resists. Circumstances throw Etan and Tristan together, and even as they succumb to the desires they’ve always harbored, Etan battles his feelings, wary of being cast aside again. When Tristan’s daughter is kidnapped, Etan and Tristan must come together to find her, find the person responsible, and support each other through the ordeal… and maybe beyond.
Series: Chronicles of Tournai
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Anne Cain
Release Date: May 30, 2016
Length: Novel (294 pages)
Goodreads
Dreamspinner Press ebook
Dreamspinner Press paperback
Amazon
AllRomance
Kobo
Barnes & Noble
Apple
His wife was dead.
Tristan kept hearing the words echoing in his head in his mother’s emotionless voice. She’d only said it a few moments ago, but it was the last thing he’d heard clearly. Everything else his mother was saying— something about arrangements to be made—had to filter through that statement, that dawning knowledge, that Dariela was dead.
“What happened?” he asked, cutting her off midsentence.
She drew herself up and back. “It’s not appropriate to tell you the details of—”
“My wife is dead,” he said, biting out each word. “I will know how it happened.”
Mother stared at him mulishly for a moment, then nodded. “She bled too much during the birth. The midwife couldn’t stop it.”
“And the healer?” Amory had sent the head of the palace healers to attend Dariela at the birth. Surely Jadis could have done something.
Mother sniffed. “We sent him away when he arrived.”
For a moment, he couldn’t find his voice. “You sent away the most powerful healer in Tournai? Who was graciously sent to us by the prince’s consort?”
“A man had no place in that room. Only women should be present. Family and midwives. That’s how it’s done—how it has always been done.”
“And Dariela might still be alive if you’d consented to doing it differently.”
Mother looked away, as well she should. “We don’t know that,” she said after a pause, her voice stiff.
He dismissed that with nothing more than a glare. He wanted to be compassionate, wanted to believe his mother might feel guilty for her choice—certainly Dariela’s mother, presumably still upstairs with her daughter’s body, had to be devastated—but Dariela didn’t have to die. A healer could have saved her.
He might not have loved his wife, but he’d liked her, and she had deserved a better chance. A chance to know her child at least.
Mother had started speaking again, explaining their choice, it seemed, but he didn’t need to hear her justifications. “What about the baby?”
He’d heard a baby’s cry not long ago. He’d expected someone to rush down to tell him the happy news but there had only been silence until his mother appeared.
She stopped speaking, her brow furrowing.
“Mother, the baby?” he prompted.
“The baby survived. A girl.”
A girl. He had a daughter. “Where is she?”
“With her nursemaid, but I’ll have her packed up quickly.”
“Packed up. Why?” His confusion seemed to surprise Mother for some reason.
“So I can take her home with me.” Mother said it as if it were utterly obvious, but Tristan was still confused.
“Why would you do that?”
Now Mother looked confused. “Because you can’t take care of her yourself, not with Dariela gone.”
“I don’t see why not. We’ve hired a nursemaid and a wet nurse.”
The wet nurse had been at both his mother and Dariela’s mother’s insistence. Dariela had wanted to nurse the baby herself but had been overruled. “They’ll be doing far more than I will for her, but she will stay in her own home.”
“But, Tristan, really.”
“You should get home, Mother, before it gets too late. Dariela’s mother can stay as long as she likes with Dariela, of course.”
She protested that she should stay or take the baby with her, but Tristan managed to bundle her off home in the carriage. He scribbled a quick message to Amory about what had happened and apologizing for his mother’s disrespect in rejecting the healer, and sent it to the palace.
Only then did he climb the stairs to the nursery with slow, heavy steps. The distance to the room they’d set aside as a nursery seemed far greater than it was, and yet even dragging himself down the corridor, he arrived at the closed door all too soon. He took a deep breath and forced himself to open the door and walk inside.
The nursemaid, whom his wife had liked immediately, was a slightly plump woman with a kind smile. As he stood in the doorway, she turned and bobbed a quick curtsy. She gave him her condolences, but he had eyes only for the small, white-wrapped bundle in her arms. Trepidation and curiosity warred within him, churning and twisting in his guts. Finally, he stepped forward, raising his arms awkwardly as he said, “May I….”
“Of course, sir.” She came to him and transferred the baby into his arms smoothly. If she noticed his lack of confidence, she said nothing. “I’ll be just in the other room if you need me.”
Before Tristan could protest, she had left the nursery, going into her own small bedroom and shutting the door. A cold shock of panic froze him to the spot. He hadn’t meant for her to leave. He had no idea what to do with a baby. She was so light in his arms. So fragile. What if he hurt her?
She made a little snuffling sound, and he reflexively looked down. His first look at his daughter’s face… and he tumbled headlong into love.
Antonia Aquilante has been making up stories for as long as she can remember, and at the age of twelve, decided she would be a writer when she grew up. After many years and a few career detours, she has returned to that original plan. Her stories have changed over the years, but one thing has remained consistent – they all end in happily ever after.
She has a fondness for travel (and a long list of places she wants to visit and revisit), taking photos, family history, fabulous shoes, baking treats which she shares with friends and family, and of course reading. She usually has at least two books started at once and never goes anywhere without her Kindle. Though she is a convert to ebooks, she still loves paper books the best, and there are a couple thousand of them residing in her home with her.
Born and raised in New Jersey, she is living there again after years in Washington, DC, and North Carolina for school and work. She enjoys being back in the Garden State but admits to being tempted every so often to run away from home and live in Italy.
She is a member of the Romance Writers of America, the New Jersey Romance Writers, and the Rainbow Romance Writers.
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads
May 23, 2016
Carrie Pack’s “In The Present Tense” – with cat pictures!!!
Welcome today to Carrie Pack, with news of her latest release In The Present Tense.
Carrie came to talk to about herself and about her new release and started by telling me a little about the book: “In the Present Tense is my second novel and it features my favorite sci-fi trope: time travel. It is the story of a young man named Miles whose dissociative disorder manifests itself as shifts in time. Miles tries to balance reconnecting with his former love Adam with his love for his wife Ana. Along the way, he finds out there is much more to his condition than meets the eye.”
And I nodded sagely about how fascinating that is – because like Carrie, I love me some time travelling. But of course, I also wanted to know a bit more about her, and Carrie had to confess, “I am a crazy cat lady, though and through. Well, it would be more accurate to say we’re a crazy cat family. My husband is actually a much bigger softy when it comes to our pets than I am, and that’s really saying something. He’s the reason we have at least two of our cats. Right now we have four: The Beef, Zooey, Squishy, and Lulu. And they are spoiled rotten.”
At which point there was much squeeing and demands for pictures. So here we have a post with the most gorgeous cats, each with Carrie’s explanation of who each one is. We have not forgotten the book, you understand, and below the cats you can find out more about Miles and his dilemma, and read an excerpt.
But first… cats!
“I’ve had the Beef since before my husband and I started dating. He’s the senior cat in our household and is pushing fourteen years old. His name was originally Killer—ironically named because he was afraid of his own shadow—but my husband renamed him The Beef and it stuck. He’s about 20 pounds of pure fluff and not much else.”
“This little love muffin is Zooey and she’s The Beef’s cuddle buddy. She’s a rescue that melted my heart when she reached through a cage and petted me while making eye contact. When she wants to be held, you *will* hold her… and look deep into her eyes while she paws the air and purrs.”
“Squishy adopted my husband from between two truck tires. He went in search of a high-pitched meow and found the tiniest kitten squawking her head off at him. If he hadn’t found her, she would have been squished, hence the name. She has an attitude problem, but she secretly loves us. Or so we keep telling ourselves.”
“And then came Lulu—the baby of the family who thinks she’s a dog. She growls at the mailman and follows me around the house. Heaven help me if I shut a door and she’s on the other side. Her favorite pastime is lounging on my face and purring.”
Miles Lawson goes to sleep dreaming of a future with his boyfriend Adam, but wakes to find he is married to Ana, an acquaintance from high school. When he learns he has been time traveling, Miles is consumed with finding a cure for his rare condition—and finding his first love. But will he be able to convince Adam he is telling the truth before it’s too late?
Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Artist: CB Messer
Interlude Press: http://store.interludepress.com/search?q=In+the+Present+Tense
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1T0HsbU
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-present-tense-carrie-pack/1122958656?ean=2940152470178
Apple iBookstore: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/in-the-present-tense/id1059526936?mt=11
All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-inthepresenttense-2036688-341.html?referrer=55feb862851f8
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/593337
Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/In-the-Present-Tense/9781941530788
Indiebound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781941530788?aff=interludepress
Miles sat there and tried to make out shapes and colors in the dark room as he searched his brain for a memory of anything.
Nothing looked familiar. His desk, his drum set, the sheets—all gone. Not one thing looked the way it had when he’d fallen asleep, and Ana certainly hadn’t been in his bed.
He tried to replay the previous day’s events, but everything seemed fuzzy, like a fogged bathroom mirror that he couldn’t wipe clean.
Why was everything so fuzzy?
Last night… What happened last night?
Adam had come over and they were watching TV together, and Adam had given him a small stuffed giraffe because Miles was scared about having surgery. He reached for his left arm, expecting to find the cast that had been there for the last two months, but it wasn’t there. His heart began to beat so loudly he glanced over at Ana to make sure she was still asleep.
Unable to determine what had happened to his cast, Miles resumed his tally of the previous evening’s chain of events. At around ten-thirty, his mom said Adam had to leave because they had to get up early to go to the hospital. He had taken his pain meds and gone to sleep with the phantom of Adam’s goodnight kiss on his cheek. He’d been happy.
He’d gotten a text from Ana earlier in the evening, but she was only wishing him luck with the surgery. She hadn’t come over. In fact, as far as Miles knew, Ana had been several hours away in her dorm room.
So how had she gotten into his bedroom? And who had changed his sheets?
He threw off the covers and stood up, noticing he was only wearing a tight-fitting pair of boxer briefs instead of his usual basketball shorts.
He looked around the room for anything familiar, but it was still dark out, and all he could see were shadows and vague shapes. On the dresser opposite the bed, he found a few framed photos. Squinting to see without turning on a light, Miles studied the images carefully.
As his eyes focused, he recognized a couple of the photos. One was from last year’s prom: Adam wearing that ridiculous corsage Miles had bought him, Ana being dipped by her date, David, as all four of them smiled widely in front of a cheesy faux tropical scene. One of the frames held a collage of photos of his and Ana’s friends. He recognized Adam, Lucky, Antonio, Dahlia and Brienne. But the last one, the largest of all the photos, was of him and Ana—her in a flowing white dress and him in a black suit, both wearing broad smiles and flanked by Miles’s parents and a woman Miles had only seen once: Julia Espinosa, Ana’s mother.
A loud clatter echoed through the bedroom as the frame hit the edge of the dresser and fell to the hardwood floor. This wasn’t his room, and he didn’t remember that photo being taken.
“Go back to sleep,” Ana mumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow.
“Ana,” he whispered, risking her full anger, but unable to stop himself, “we’re married.”
“Thanks for the update. Now go back to sleep before I divorce your dumb ass.”
He dropped to the floor on his knees, barely even noticing the sharp pain of bare skin hitting the hard surface.
Married. To Ana?
What the hell had happened?
Carrie Pack is the author of Designs On You and a part-time college professor who recently left her job in marketing to actively pursue her writing career. Carrie lives in Florida, which she fondly calls America’s Wang, with her husband and four cats.
Facebook Author Page
Twitter
Pinterest
19-May: Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance , Oh My Shelves , Happily Ever Chapter
20-May: The Novel Approach , Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words , Velvet Panic , Havan Fellows
23-May: Anna Butler Fiction , Outrageous Heroes , Alpha Book Club , Jessie G. Books
24-May: Unquietly Me , Dawn’s Reading Nook , BFD Book Blog
25-May: Inked Rainbow Reads , Divine Magazine , Boys on the Brink Reviews
26-May: Love Bytes , Louise Lyons , A.M. Leibowitz
27-May: My Fiction Nook , Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings
30-May: Bayou Book Junkie , MM Good Book Reviews
31-May: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews , TTC Books and More
1-Jun: Prism Book Alliance , Molly Lolly
May 21, 2016
Oooooh!!! MORE Shiny! And voting…
I’ve been amusing myself over the last couple of days with deciding on making myself a publishing company.
Between writing chapters of The Dog Who Ate Millions, and refining the final draft of the fourth Shield book (The Chains Of Their Sins), I’m trying to write one short story a month until I have enough for an anthology. I intend to wrap FlashWired up into it, as one of the stories is a semi-humorous account of how Cal and Jeeze finally get together, so is set a few months or a year before FlashWired itself. I have a lot of fun coming up with names for stories, by the way, so if I tell you that particularshort story is called Worm’s Eye View, then I’ll leave the reason for that to your fertile imaginations and say only that it involves wings, if not exactly beaks.
The other stories are sort-of set in the Shield Universe, and is a planned trio of shorts depicting the destruction of Earth some ten thousand years before Bennet’s adventures with Flynn and the Maess. Two are complete: Overthrown by Strangers and Habitation of Dragons, and to my immense surprise, turned out to be f/f. Which I’ve never written before. Not explicit, but still. A new departure for me. Different.
I’m most likely to self publish these, since I can’t imagine a publisher being interested in them, and since Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs insists on sending me emails as if I were a small business, why not *be* a small business? A small press. A very small press. With one author on the books.
As I mentioned in my last post, one of my great passions in life is haute joaillerie – exquisite, criminally expensive jewellery. I particularly love tiaras, which (as the great Geoffrey Munn has it) scintillate shamelessly. I also love my niece, who’s had a happy turn of phrase since childhood, and one of my abiding memories is her account of a school visit to the Tower of London where she saw “the Queen’s glass hats.” AKA, the Crown jewels.
So, in honour of tiaras, in honour of Sally’s felicity with words, I will publish my anthology later this year under the aegis of the Glass Hat Press.
And here’s where you come in.
A couple of years ago, in Houston, I had the great good fortune to drool over see Faberge’s Josephine (or Leuchtenberg) tiara for myself. It’s one of the world’s most famous tiaras, since the briolettes (the oval, hanging diamonds) were given to Napoleon’s Josephine after the divorce by the then Tsar of Russia, passed down through her family and returned to Russia and Faberge’s workshop when her grandson, of the ducal Leuchtenberg family, married one of the Tsar’s descendents. Using them, Faberge created a small, but devastating lovely tiara. Here it is, in either a negative image on a white background that has then been considerably tarted up in Photoshop , or the original on the black background:
Which one would you wear to the ball? Vote HERE!
May 14, 2016
Ooooooh! Shiny!
D and I have been spending time getting to know our new home and the countryside around it. We live in Nottinghamshire, a county chock-full of history. Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest is a bare ten minute drive away—what’s left of his forest, anyway. We’re slap bang in the middle of the Dukeries, the part of the county where the great estates of no less than four Dukes all rubbed shoulders. The Dukes of Portland (Welbeck Abbey), Newcastle (Clumber Park), Kingston (Thorsby Hall) and Norfolk (Worksop Manor) all lived cheek by jowl here, and each of their houses is within twenty minutes of us.
Welbeck Abbey. Image licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
I was at Welbeck Abbey yesterday, arguably the most interesting house and interesting Duke—the 5th Duke was rather eccentric, and built a mass of below-ground rooms, including a ballroom, library and billiards room. The dukedom died out in the 1990s, and the house is now owned by the Earl of Portland, which was the older title in the family stable. They’ve just opened a wonderful museum and gallery. Not very big, but full of the most wonderful collection of paintings and miniatures, silver plate and this:
The Portland diamond tiara, by Cartier, c1902. commissioned by the 6th Duke of Portland for his wife, Winifred. The Duke supplied the diamonds hanging in the circles, which had been cut in the 17th Century. More history here: Winifred was one of the canopy bearers for the anointment of Queen Alexandra at the coronation of Edward VII, and wore this tiara. And there’s a charming, amusing story about the Duke waiting for her to finish dressing one evening when they were going out to dine, and sitting on a chair without looking first. He sat on the tiara. Both it, and the Duke’s posterior, were apparently undamaged.
See? History no matter which way you turn, and in the smallest objects.
It’s a seriously lovely piece. Until you see a diamond tiara in the flesh, so to speak, you can’t really imagine how very sparkly it is. How ooooooooooh shiny!
I adore jewellery, you see. The real, criminally-expensive stuff that the French call haute joaillerie; the wonderful pieces by Cartier, or Mellerio, or Boucheron. I hasten to add that I don’t own any of it personally, but when I am very rich I am going to go out and buy myself a tiara. A real one. One by Cartier that I can wear while I’m doing the housework.
So when, in The Gilded Scarab, I needed to find a way for Rafe Lancaster to finance the purchase of his coffee house, what better way than for him to find that his that his inheritance from his mother is her jewel box, and far from it having a few gewgaws that might be worth a few hundred guineas, it has some very fine pieces indeed. Very, very fine pieces that he sells for thousands of guineas to the head of his House, The Stravaigor. The drawback is that this puts him an obligation to his House that he will, one day, come to regret.
In his mother’s jewel box, Rafe finds a ruby grande parure. The language of jewellery is French, and a parure is a jewellery set: several (or all!) pieces from tiara, necklace, earrings, bracelets, ring, devant de corsage and brooches. The one owned by Elizabeth Lancaster, Rafe’s mother, is particularly fine, with rubies of a true pigeon’s blood red, and made by one of the oldest of the French jewel houses, Mellerio dits Meller.
Mellerio has a long history, going back to 1613 when Queen Marie de’ Medici granted special privileges to the Mellerio family permitting them to carry cut crystal, trinkets and other small goods between said town of Paris and elsewhere throughout the kingdom without let or hindrance by any person. From this small beginning, the Mellerio family very soon became jewellers to an illustrious clientele.
Almost every royal house in Europe has a bauble or trifle made by Mellerio. Elizabeth’s jewels are modelled on the ruby parure owned by the Dutch royals. This is the tiara from the parure, which has some very fine rubies indeed. Even in 1899, you’d pay a pretty penny for an item like this. Certainly enough (almost) for Rafe to buy a coffee house in central Londinium, just beside the Britannic Museum.
But more importantly, although Rafe doesn’t know it yet , the jewellery has a significance he can’t even begin to guess at. As Rafe himself says, when he sees the parure for the first time: How on earth had my mother acquired these jewels? I’d expected one or two good pieces—she had been the wife of a wealthy country squire, after all. But the jewelry was far more than I’d anticipated, far more befitting someone in a much higher social position. I’d have given my pension to know where it had come from.
Let’s just say that this is one of the breadcrumbs I left in The Gilded Scarab, that will be picked up in The Dog Who Swallows Millions. And let’s also just say that this may be a bet Rafe would prefer to lose…
_________________________________________________________________________
Sign up HERE for my newsletter and I’ll send you a FREE copy of FlashWired
May 9, 2016
Power Play with Avon Gale
I’m really pleased to host Avon here today. She’s a new, young author in the genre who’s already won plaudits and awards for her work. It’s delightful to see her success. Today, we’re showcasing her latest release, Power Play by interviewing not Avon, but one of her characters, coach Misha Samarin:
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a hockey player. I think maybe I wanted to play goalie, but I did not like the attention so I chose defense instead. I wanted to come to America, play for the NHL and win the Stanley Cup.
What do you value the most in your friends?
Determination.
What is your favorite song?
I’ve never been one to notice music much, but Drake has introduced me to the Arctic Monkeys and the Decemberists. I much prefer riding in the car with him and his “emo rock”, as Max calls it, than Max’s boyband fixation.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Max would say that I should be less broody. I sometimes wish I could be more of an optimist like he is. But maybe he is optimistic enough for the both of us.
What word or phrase do you overuse?
“Do it again.” I say this a lot to my players when I am frustrated, and to Max when I’m frustrated for other, more enjoyable reasons.
A freak accident during the Stanley Cup Playoffs put an end to Max Ashford’s hockey career. Despite everything, Max gets back into the game he loves—only this time, behind the bench as an assistant coach of the Spartanburg Spitfires, the worst team in the entire league. But nothing prepares him for the shock when he learns the new head coach is Misha Samarin, the man who caused Max’s accident.
After spending guilt-ridden years for his part in Max’s accident, Russian native Misha Samarin has no idea what to do when he’s confronted with Max’s presence. Max’s optimism plays havoc with Misha’s equilibrium—as does the fierce attraction that springs up between them.
Not only must they navigate Misha’s remorse and a past he’s spent a lifetime to forget, but also a sleazy GM determined to use their history as a marketing hook. But when an unwelcome visitor targets the team, Misha revisits his darkest days, which might cost him and Max the beginning they’ve worked so hard to build.
Book title: Power Play
Series: Scoring Chances
Book Number: Three
Can be read as a standalone
Dreamspinner
Amazon
All Romance E-Books
B&N
iBooks
“I’d never watched this, you know.”
“The YouTube video?” Misha had seen that too. It was filed with angry commenters yelling that he should be deported back to Russia.
“The hit.”
Misha blinked. “You’ve seen the commercial, though. Yes?”
“Yeah, I wish I could say I haven’t seen that. But I meant, I didn’t watch this until a few months ago. They played that game on the NHL channel, so I watched it.”
It never occurred to Misha that Max wouldn’t have seen it, but then he remembered that Max was the hero, not the villain of the story. Misha watched the hit play out on the screen. What must that feel like, to watch the moment it all ended? When Max hit the ice, did he know that game was his last? Did Misha know it was his? How had he felt? He couldn’t remember.
The scene switched to the replay. Misha watched dispassionately, retreated into the blinding pain of his migraine, and told himself that it was all right to suffer, that he should, that he deserved it.
Max paused the video. “Look. See what I have there?”
Misha blinked. He had not expected questions. “I—what?”
“The puck, Misha. The puck. Your hit wasn’t late.”
Oh. “Yes. I know.”
Max stared at him. On the television screen, their younger selves were suspended at the moment everything changed.
Avon Gale was once the mayor on Foursquare of Jazzercise and Lollicup, which should tell you all you need to know about her as a person. She likes road trips, rock concerts, drinking Kentucky bourbon and yelling at hockey. She’s a displaced southerner living in a liberal midwestern college town, and when she’s not writing you can find her at the salon, making her clients look and feel fabulous. She never gets tired of people and their stories — either real or the ones she makes up in her head.
Facebook
Facebook Author Page
Twitter
Pinterest
Join Avon’s mailing list: http://eepurl.com/bGLSrD
9-May: My Fiction Nook, Open Skye Book Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Oh My Shelves
10-May: Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Joyfully Jay, Jessie G. Books, Rednecks and Romance, Anna Butler Fiction
11-May: MM Good Book Reviews, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Posy Roberts, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
12-May: Love Bytes, The Novel Approach, Unquietly Me, Happily Ever Chapter
13-May BFD Book Blog, The Hat Party, MM Book Escape
16-May Havan Fellows, Divine Magazine, Outrageous Heroes, Prism Book Alliance, Boys on the Brink Reviews
17-May 3 Chicks After Dark, Full Moon Dreaming, Butterfly-O-Meter
18-May Foxylutely Book Reviews, Three Books Over The Rainbow, V’s Reads
19-May Book Lovers 4Ever, Charley Descoteaux, Mikky’s World of Books, Carly’s Book Reviews
20-May Making It Happen, Kirsty Loves Books, Bayou Book Junkie
21-May A.M. Leibowitz, Alpha Book Club, Molly Lolly, Man2ManTastic
