Anabelle Bryant's Blog, page 3

Michele Mannon ~ Authors 2 Love ~ Part 2

 

���� Muscles, romance and steamy love scenes…It’s��impossible��not to love��Michele’s novels:��Knock Out, Tap Out, Out For The Count. These novels will leave you wanting more. Focused on the thrilling world of MMA fighting, the heroes and heroines put up quite a fight on their way to love, taking the reader along for every pitfall and victory.

Michele is��super-busy and often the life of the party, but she stopped by and��answered a few questions so we could get to know her and the world she’s created with this trilogy.

Getting To Know You

What do you feel is your best and worst quality?

My best quality is also my worst. I���m a perfectionist. It���s not really something I expect in other people but the bar I set for myself is high. It���s helped me achieve so much in life, like managing two careers. But it���s a quality that drives me nuts as nothing ever seems perfect.

Do you have a quirk you can share?

I have multiple quirks but the one that stands out the most is that I am an amazing whistler. Evidently, my grandmother was a fine whistler and I think it must be in my genes.

Tell me about something you take pride in outside of writing.

I have another full time career working with kids. When they have that ah-ha moment, when something clicks inside and they understand a difficult concept, it makes me very proud.

If money wasn���t an issue, what would you do tomorrow?

It wouldn���t be tomorrow per se because I wouldn���t change what I do on a daily basis. However, I���d take my family on a summertime world tour, beginning in Paris and ending in Sydney.

Getting to Know Your Books

Did you always want to be a writer? Did you pursue a different career? Why?

In a way, I���ve always been a writer. I was the kind of college student who dreaded multiple choice problems because I always narrowed the answers down to two. But give me an essay paper and viola. I still have a story I wrote in high school which was a reinterpretation of Canterbury Tales���the lead heroine worked in McDonalds.

My background is in education. I taught English in Japan for a year. I worked as a marketing manager for a fashion designer in NYC. Believe it or not, all my experiences have come in useful in my writing career.

How did you decide on a genre? What is it about this genre that inspires you?

My MMA sports series Worth the Fight is contemporary romance. Actor Tom ���Gorgeous��� Hardy is behind my writing in this genre (can you tell I am a fan?). I fell in love with a character he played, an MMA fighter in the movie, Warrior. I wanted a brooding sexy beast like him in my book. So I wrote Knock Out, my debut release, that features an MMA welterweight who suffered from PTSD. And, who in my head though not really on the pages looks like Tom Hardy.

I���m an avid reader. It���s difficult to read in the same genre you write in while you���re writing so I���ve been reading a lot of New Adult romance.

What authors do you admire?

My favorite authors are Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Joanna Bourne, and Kathleen Sutcliffe.

What is happening with your writing now? What do we have to look forward to?

Well, I have terrific news to share. The first two books in my MMA series, Knock Out and Tap Out will be available in stores (Barnes and Nobles, Walmart, Target���just to name a few retailers) on February 17th.

TEASER EXCERPT

���What is this?��� she coughed out.

���All you���re gonna get���or maybe not.��� The last bit was said in such a deep, throaty voice, she strained to catch it. It sounded naughty, like he was contemplating tangling his fingers into her hair, pulling her head back, and covering her mouth with his own. Oh sweet pirouette. She felt a little bit breathless at the idea. The booze didn���t help.

Needing something to do with her hands besides reaching across the table and testing out his ���maybe not,��� she fiddled with the hem of her sweater. Her cheeks warmed, nevertheless.

Bio:

Michele Mannon is an avid fan of traveling, skinny cinnamon lattes, and gawking at shirtless men on television–jocks, MMA fighters, vampires, bikers alike. With a love for different cultures and rich “characters”, she earned a degree in French, taught English in Japan, and worked in the NYC fashion industry. Now, she puts her experiences to pen, by creating sassy heroines and oh-so sexy Alpha males, and throwing them into the situations they’d never dreamed of being caught in.

For more information about my books, please visit:

http://www.michelemannon.com or visit me on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/MicheleMannonAuthor

Find Michele’s novels here: http://amzn.to/16PjY7O

Kierney Scott ~ Authors 2 Love ~ Part 1

�� Looking for a HOT read this Valentine’s Day? Don’t miss Kierney Scott’s delectable trilogy ~ Blurring The Line, Holding The Line & Crossing The Line. Kierney is a fellow Carina author and kind enough to stop by my blog for a quick��chat.

I read Blurring The Line last year and Torres, the rogue/DEA agent/hero, still wanders into my thoughts at times, he’s that unforgettable. I know what you’re thinking, the photo above shows a lovely lady with a sweet smile…don’t be fooled. Her novels will have you overheated and loving every minute of��it.

Getting To Know��Kierney��Scott��

What do you feel is your best and worst quality?��My best quality is my empathy. I have a lot of time for people. I’m not critical and I think that helps people��know that they are valued.��My worst quality? I have far too many to pick from! My husband can’t stand that I leave cupboards open and I forget to turn off lights. I don���t even notice but apparently its annoying.��

Do you have a quirk you can share?��I have��trypophobia. Things with irregular shaped holes make my skin crawl. My version of hell would include lotus pods. I’m feeling unwell just typing this…����

Tell me about something you take pride in outside of writing.��The thing I take the most pride in is my relationships with my friends and family. I am blessed to have wonderful people in my life and I work hard at maintaining strong relationships. Being a good wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend is��very important to me.��

I am also ��proud to be a good citizen. I firmly believe in people taking responsibility for creating healthy communities. I am proud that I do my small part.������

If money wasn���t an issue, what would you do tomorrow?��I am so fortunate to be a writer; it really is my dream job. Everyday I thank the universe for giving me the opportunity to do this.����

Getting to Know Your Books��

Did you always want to be a writer? Did you pursue a different career? Why?��I have always wanted to be an author. I have always been very pragmatic and knew that writing might never pay the bills so I chose a career in education that would allow me the time to write.��������

How did you decide on a genre? What is it about this genre that inspires you?��I have loved romance novels since I picked up my first one at the age of eleven. I thought I would write��historical romance because that is all I ever read but my first editor had other ideas for me. She suggested I write a contemporary romance. I had never read a contemporary romance so she sent me half a dozen Mills & Boons titles and I was hooked.����

My��favourite��thing about romance is the guarantee��of a happy ending. No matter what happens to characters, they will always find someone who loves and respects them. Everyone should be so lucky.������

What authors do you admire?��I have made so many wonderful friends at Carina UK. They are truly some of the most lovely and talented people. And they are so incredibly helpful and supportive. I am very lucky to be part of such a fabulous group of people.����

What is happening with your writing now? What do we have to look forward to?��At the moment I am finishing the final book in The Firing Line Series. It has been so much fun to watch Beth and Torres’ story evolve. They have gone through so much over the course of three books but hopefully it will make the emotional payoff all the better.������

I loved doing the research for this series. I learned so much about the world of��narco��terrorism, everything from cocaine production to money laundering and arms dealing. Basically my browser history would be enough to secure an indictment.��

Find Kierney’s very HOT novels and everything else you want to know here:

http://www.amazon.com/Blurring-Line-Firing-Book-ebook/dp/B00LA0HOMG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1423471903&sr=8-3&keywords=kierney+scott

https://pinkinkladies.wordpress.com

 

Hero Worship ~ Beyond The Pretty Face

Everybody has some kind of hero – a man or woman who inspires dreams, ignites passion or supports determination. For many it may be a family member, spouse or close friend.��For authors, a muse. Others admire athletes, celebrities, scholars and artists, but life seems��more meaningful��when you see in another person, the very goals��you wish to achieve yourself. It makes those goals achievable and life richer.

��In literature, the hero is the epitome of redemption, challenge and success. In romance, every hero deserves an equally motivated heroine to aspire him to reach that goal. My heroes are a composite of opposing attributes. Sensitive and strong, vulnerable and fearless, intelligent until love rocks their world.

Constantine in To Love A Wicked Scoundrel, is a revered libertine, excused of every impropriety because his family is well liked, but��the reader comes to discover things are not as they seem. He has a very sentimental heart and a deep yearning to be loved.

Devlin in Duke of Darkness, is full of secrets. He embraces those secrets, using them as a cloak to hide his painful suffering. Devlin, for all his handsome swagger, is afraid to love. He secludes himself, preferring solitude to the risk of society’s censure.

And then there’s Phineas in The Midnight Rake. A strong, six foot tall, boxer…who hides a gentle heart and injured soul. He fights not just in the ring, but with every emotion��on the path of true love.

What qualities say hero to you? What makes someone admirable in your eyes? Leave a comment and let me know how you define hero. I’m interested to know.

Meet Me At Midnight…Before the Strike of Twelve

��Midnight;the word conjures images of mystery, romance, and intrigue. A late night seduction, a mission cloaked in secrecy or a truth revealed. Shakespeare called midnight ���the witching hour��� although popular culture has transformed this enchanted strike of the clock into a haunting reality filled with shifters, werewolves and vamps. No matter the portrayal, people have been captivated by the allure of the twelfth hour for as long as time���s been recorded.

For a romance writer, midnight is a little bit magic with an extra portion of enchantment; the late night aura perfect for losing a glass slipper before the spell dissolves, breaking a promise or sealing a vow with a kiss.

In The Midnight Rake, Phineas Betcham reveals his best kept secrets at midnight. Of course to add to the mystery, he confesses them only to himself by facing the emotional torment and painful regret buried beneath a strong veneer during the daylight hours. Some secrets are too painful to admit in the light of day. Phineas, the always polite, respectful viscount, buries his dark past and by doing so, denies himself a happy future.

Until Penelope shows up, unexpected and determined to save her own future…unwittingly saving Phin���s as well.

It���s not every day London���s most eligible bachelor, a sexy boxer with a lethal left hook, is rescued by a petite female with honey blond hair and a heart bigger than most���and Phineas rescues Penelope right back. But isn���t that what love is all about, completing each other, supporting and loving each other? Most especially when your soulmate���s in need!

I hope you read The Midnight Rake and are enchanted with Phin and Penelope���s story. And I hope too, you find an exciting adventure the next time the clock strikes twelve.��

The Midnight Rake available here:�� http://amzn.to/1Bk63nh

 

Happy Reading!

 

A Word About Words and Giving Them To Others

 

�� Words. I love words. I’m surrounded by them whether as a teacher, reader or author. I’m a certified logophile and proud to bear the title. But the words that disappoint me are not on the written page.

I am continually amazing at how many people give their word and feel no obligation to carry out the agreement. Often a victim of viewing others through the lens of my own heart, I’m startled��when others��fail to take��pride in their word.

Many things in life are taken too lightly. Friendship, loyalty, marriage, divorce. In a disposable society, I feel as those so many values have been lessened to a trivial level, one of the saddest casualties: integrity.

~������Giving your word is a social bond of trust������~

When I give my word, it means something. Much different from the imaginary scenes I create in my novels; my word, as a friend, business associate or teacher, means something. It’s a measure of my worth, an indicator of my dedication and a peek into my soul. I don’t take decisions lightly. I’m thoughtful about my commitments and I never take someone else’s request lightly. What I need to learn is that it’s difficult to find people with the same level of consideration.

~���� One thing you can give and still keep is your word���� ~

In the meantime, I’ll continue to be loyal to my friends, supportive, anxious to help and enthusiastic. If I give you my word, you can be sure I’ll do everything in my power to fulfill my commitment. It’s not a bad way to live. Enjoy the day!

On the Verge of Something Big ~ Goals & Dreams

��Happy New Year! What does the new year symbolize for you? I love beginning new things. It could be as simple as opening a book or creating a way to organize, but the start is always the best part for me.

Beginning a new year holds so much potential. I have distinct thoughts and goals for the next twelve months. Most importantly, I need to take a little more time for myself. This past year has been full of excitement, but as always, it’s been easy for me to neglect caring for myself in lieu of other things.��I need to��rethink my daily routine.

How about you? Do you have set goals in mind? Exercise more? Make smarter choices? Spend money in a different manner? Volunteer? Reconnect? Or do you despise traditional resolutions made in January and broken by February?

I once read a saying that epitomizes the��tradition well:

“May your troubles in the New Year last as long as your resolutions”

Not a bad mantra. I’ve tried hard not to let stress get the better of me in 2014 and for the most part I’ve succeeded. It was a promise I made to myself after having bronchitis twice and spending��several months��of 2014 trying to recover.

So as the New Year grows closer and I reflect on the days of 2014, I am mostly thankful and full of gratitude despite any ups and downs. How was your year? What do you hope for in 2015? Do you believe in resolutions or do you handle life as it comes?

I’d love to hear about your plans for the New Year. Most of all, don’t forget to take time for yourself and reflect on the feelings of your heart.

 

~ Have Yourself A Magical Holiday ~ Then & Now ~

��Christmas is my favorite time of year. Even before I began writing Regency romance, I was interested in holiday customs and entertained a vision of an idyllic English Christmas. Wow, was I surprised to discover many enduring traditions threaded through our present life are vastly different from those associated with the classic Regency ideal depicted in novels and cinema.

Aristocratic celebrations of Christmastide and the happenings often described were not commonplace during the Regency. Like many historic recollections, the holidays have become romanticized to fit neatly into our perception; still if one digs into research, a glimpse of past to present is there.

Christmas was mostly a country celebration. Lighting of a Yule Log for good luck and feasting on pig or turkey, accompanied by plum pudding, were practices one would expect in rural England. Londoners, while they may have come together with friends to share a meal, were not enraptured with prolonged celebrations of the Christian holiday.

Rural England practiced more of the customs we associate with traditional Christmas. In the country, simple decorations were hung on Christmas Eve and stayed up until Epiphany. These adornments included evergreen boughs, holly, rosemary and hawthorn.

Adults gave gifts to children, rarely exchanging with other adults, and Christmas cards were unheard of at this time. There might have been singing, although most carols we enjoy now were not part of the celebration, and evening hours were often spent reading prayers.

An endearing tradition that dates back to the Regency is kissing in the doorway, although you would be caught under the ���kissing-bough��� rather than a sprig of mistletoe. The kissing-bough was made of evergreen and apples, sometimes decorated with paper flowers or dolls to represent Mary, Joseph and Jesus.

One of my favorite aspects of Christmas is decorating the tree. So much so, I have a tree in every room of my home. As much as I adore writing about Regency England, I would have been sadly disappointed had I lived during the time period as Christmas trees did not become a widespread custom until years later. When trees did become popular, ornaments were simple. Candles, small paper folding, and bits of yarn were used to make decorations. Some historic recollections explain the presence of a Christmas tree during the Regency period only if the family had a connection with America or Germany.

All this modern day mumbling about whether to say ���Merry Christmas��� or ���Happy Holidays��� did not exist in the early 1800s and people greeted each other after church with ���Happy Christmas���. The following day was dedicated to Boxing Day, a tradition where ���boxes��� or gifts were given to servants and others who served the family.

There was little chance of experiencing a white Christmas as England���s weather proves warm and damp during December, but with a stretch of imagination (so easily provided by fiction authors) sledding and skating, more common in England during January and February, could be incorporated into the ideal holiday setting with a ���sudden unsettling cold spell���.

Another heartwarming tradition still enjoyed today, belongs to the heart of the home, and with my love of gingerbread suits me fine. The spicy smell of freshly baked cookies is an instant trigger to childhood memories. People of Regency England also enjoyed the treat along with baked apples, bread pudding and sugarplums. At least there���s one connection to the past that has endured with accuracy.

Whatever your traditions, new or old, I hope you have a lovely holiday and enjoy the spirit of inspiration far into the new year.

 

 

 

Thanksgiving ~ Count Blessings Not Calories

���We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.��� ��� Thornton Wilder

Thankfulness. Feelings of gratitude. Awareness of all the gifts, advantages and treasures within our reach. Most of the time we rush through life anxious to achieve, compete or begin���but how��often do we stop to appreciate all we���ve been given.

No doubt, life overwhelms, yet I try to live with abundant gratitude. I am thankful not one November holiday, but each morning, afternoon and evening. I have good health, a loving family, amazing friends, rewarding professions and a plethora of gifts in my life.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.��� ��� Albert Einstein

Sometimes I think a person���s good intentions become lost in the frantic��responsibilities��of adulthood. We forget what a gift it is to have food to eat, a home to live in, and purpose in life. We forget how many others want or need these same things. We take it all for granted, but how quickly these gifts can be altered. Life is uncertain. Don���t forget to count your blessings.

���Some people have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life, with awe, pleasure, wonder, and even ecstasy.��� ��� A.H. Maslow

I���m thankful for the large things in life, but I appreciate the small moments too. Daisies, ladybugs, a well written paragraph, a rainbow on my commute home, a smile from a stranger, a perfect cup of coffee, a long laugh or good night���s rest. Sometimes the small things give us the strength to endure the larger things.

There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.��� ��� Ralph H. Blum

On Thursdays I practice Random Acts of Kindness all day. This is not to say I miserly conserve my kindness on other days of the week, but on Thursdays I give myself a mental nudge to do a little extra. Try a little harder. Make someone else���s life a little brighter. The beauty of��this endeavor is that it reciprocates the same in my life as well.

Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.��� ��� The Hausa of Nigeria

I am filled with gratitude. As a first grade teacher, I am surrounded by six-year olds anxious for Christmas and presents. They want so many things, unaware that the best gifts can���t be purchased – that presents should be spelled presence; knowing the good in one���s heart. I strive to instill a feeling of appreciation for the intangible and encourage their personal presence.

I hope you have peace in your heart and gratefulness for all your gifts this holiday and always. Happy Thanksgiving with heartfelt gratitude ~��Anabelle

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anticipation ~ Hurry Up & Wait

Anticipation. Some say it sweetens the reward. I walk a fine line between excitement and hesitation. Uncertainty and��anxiousness mixed in uneven relation on any particular day will set my mood and have me rereading my work to prove or disprove my emotions at the moment.

In two months my third novel will be released – The Midnight Rake. Phineas’ story is unlike my first two. Phin is a honest, good-hearted man. He’s not the popular bad-boy womanizer (Constantine in To Love A Wicked Scoundrel). He’s not the emotionally depressed recluse (Devlin in Duke of Darkness). Phineas follows all��of society’s rules. He takes care of his friends. He is a loyal, loving son to his overbearing and at times, hard-to-handle mother. Creating a heroic lover from this odd collection of attributes became a harder challenge than I ever anticipated.

Of course, once he meets Penelope,��life takes a drastic shift. Brave, beautiful Penelope is pursuing an insurmountable task and Phin wants no part of it. Somehow he lands right smack in the middle.

I discovered as I wrote the story that having��my hero��challenge every belief ingrained in��his personality��caused an interesting conflict not often explored. Penelope presents Phineas with a problem he knows not how to solve…at least without breaking a few rules along the way, among other things.

How far would you go once you fell in love? How many rules would you break? How much would you compromise your reputation and your lifestyle as you’ve always perceived it? Interesting queries…

And then there’s the matter of Phin’s secret. Did I forget to mention it? Funny how the past has a way of resurrecting itself at the most inconvenient times. Most especially when you’ve discovered, despite your strongest rebellion, that you’ve fallen in love.

The Midnight Rake promises an unexpected and pleasing departure from other brooding Regency heroes. I hope you’re looking forward to Phin’s story as much as I am.

Oh and there’s a parrot. ;)

The Midnight Rake ~ January 13th��from Harlequin Carina

Don’t miss Phin’s story. He’s been there to help his two closest friends find true love. Now it’s his turn to discover Happily Ever After.

 

List Maker more than Risk Taker ~ Just Be-Claus

I love lists. There, I said it aloud. I’m a list maker – highly organized and slightly annoyed when the world doesn’t adhere to my neatly arranged order. Similar to Santa and his never ending catalog, I make lists for every area of my life. I like my lists, I love my lists…I need my lists.

Amidst all my pen jotting, I enjoy the sense of accomplishment derived in every strict black line eliminating a task on my inventory of aspirations. Another dragon slayed, another victory won. It’s a ridiculous fascination…but one I own proudly. A part of my personality. A glance into my psyche.

Writing lists to get things done is not only a source of organization. Its about goal setting and planning. Its about developing a strategy and managing time. Its about control and a way to make my world more manageable…more acceptable, because otherwise I’d become completely overwhelmed.

As a dedicated list maker I’ve become hardly a risk taker in my effort to remember everything I need to do from shopping and cleaning, to sorting tasks for today, tomorrow, next week. I have lists for long and short term goals, lists for “when I have the time“, “some day in the future“, and “if all the planets align“.

Sheepishly I confess, there are lists within my lists…sub-lists where I mark points not to forget as if my lists are a living entity who in themselves need lists to stay on the straight and narrow. There is no hope for my malady…a desire to keep life neat and tidy, but I continually try; never thwarted.

Because…

When things go awry I simply make a new list. Who doesn’t love the crisp freshness of a brand new draft written in demanding black ink? It taunts “Go ahead, I dare you…finish every item. Then what are you going to do?” Oh, I love a good challenge, don’t you? Now I’m off to get to work. My list awaits.

A silly list just for fun…although a few ideas are tempting.