Today on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, Tracey Gee challenged us to write a Flash Fiction. No set length, but we must include the following: Kevlar, elbow(s), pinking shears, and a copy of The Great Gatsby. For bonus points, we're supposed to intro it with a haiku or limerick (as you can tell, I skipped that part). What did you think of Leslie Hachtel's post this week? If you missed it, be sure to hop all around the blog to get to her! Okay, here goes my contribution: Christine sat surrounded by shreds of paper. If she'd been in a better mood, she might have likened it to snowflakes or flower petals. But at this moment, it reminded her more of shrapnel from a road-side bomb. A Kevlar vest might have protected her from that, while nothing was stopping the static-y bits and pieces from adhering to her sweater, her jeans, her hair and even her elbows. I'd love to hear what you think! Let me know in the comments. then be sure to hop on forward to Dani Jace and see what she's done!
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Today on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, A.S. Fenichel asks:
What's the craziest thing you've ever done in the name of researching a book. Or...what's the craziest thing you'd like to do to research a book. One of the reasons I love to read (and write) is because I can live a dangerous and exciting life without leaving my couch. So when it comes to research, I'm not too adventurous! In No Life But This (which I hope to release later this year) my hero and heroine go paragliding. Well, you'll never catch me jumping off a cliff. But YouTube has plenty of videos of people who are crazy enough, so I watched those to at least get some feel for the experience. Like most writers, though, I do blend my own experiences into my stories. No Life But This is set in the Azores. My husband has family there, and we traveled there in 2013. It was such an amazing place I simply had to work it into a book somehow. And this summer we plan on going whitewater rafting, which I'm sure will come in useful some day. But for now, Google is my friend when it comes to research. Sorry for the very boring post this week. I hope Jenna Da Sie has something wild and crazy for you to read about! Check out her blog here. This week on the blog hop, Jenna Da Sie asks: Book covers: what do you like to see on Romance book covers? Both characters, one character, shirts off, fully clothed, faces, silhouettes? What turns you off from choosing one? I hope you hopped here (how's that for alliteration) from Kate Forest's blog. If not, be sure to complete the loop so you can see what kind of covers she like best! As for me, I am definitely into covers that don't scream "traditional" romance. Even on recently written historicals, which can be forgiven having the heroine show a bit of leg and the hero appearing masterful, I prefer the understated to obvious. I was recently working on the cover for my first ever self published works – my short story The Life She Had Before and my soon to be released novel When Time Falls Still. Choosing the exact cover image was hard! I looked for inspiration, and these are some of my favourites:
So, based on the above, I guess I like the faceless heroine theme the best! :) Although I think the Girl on the Train cover is probably the cleverest - such a sense of movement in the font!
The cover on Leslie Hachtel newest release, The Dream Dancer is stunning. Click to her blog here to see it. I wonder what other book covers she likes? This week on the blog hop, the lovely and talented Kathryn Renard asks: Who's your celebrity crush and what makes/him her crush-worthy? Or, which character have you written that you have a crush on? I have to go backward and read Kathryn's post. Since this was her idea, I'm very interested to see who she crushes on! As for me, I have a weakness for smart, resourceful and cunning characters. Add in a hint of sarcasm and I'm hooked. That's probably why Harrison Ford tops my list of celebrity crushes (sorry, am I showing my age? Wait, it gets worse – I named my cat after him!). After all, he portrayed two such iconic characters.
As for crushes on my own characters, that's a bit trickier. Not because I don't crush on them – after all, I spend months writing about them, so I'd better like them! If I had to pick, today's favourite might be Justice, from my soon to be released contemporary suspense When Time Falls Still. He's the strong, silent type, who hides his caring, protective heart under a blunt, gruff exterior. He gave up a professional hockey career when his father was paralyzed in a work accident and is raising his son as best he can despite being divorced from the boy's mother. Then Charlotte, a workaholic university professor comes into his life, and he finds one more person who needs him. Especially with an assailant stalking women on campus…
I wonder who Marc Stevens has a crush on. Keep moving along the hop to find out! |