It's my turn to pose the question on Romance Writers Weekly! Winter means different things to different people. What do you love about winter? Why not share some of your favourite winter photos from previous years. Have you ever written a book set during winter? If you joined me from Jenna Da Sie welcome! In Northern British Columbia, winter usually means lots of snow. And cold. But our coldest days are often the most beautiful, with bright blue skies and wonderful sunshine. Lately our winters have warmed up and are greyer and wetter than usual. I'm actually hoping this year will be more normal, with crisp, cool temperatures and light, fluffy snow. I wanted to celebrate our Northern BC winters, so I set When Time Falls Still in the depths of the dark months. Justice and Charlotte spend a few days at an isolated cabin. After all, what's more romantic than being curled up with your lover, all warm and cozy next to a cracking fire?
Do you get snow in your neck of the woods? Or is winter what those of us in the North would consider summer? Keep the hop going with a visit to A.S. Fenichel.
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This week on Romance Writers Weekly, Lyra Parish asks: When you release a new book, do you have a release day tradition? If you joined me from Leslie Hachtel,welcome! Well, this is going to be short and sweet. The answer is – No. I think one of the reasons I don't have any traditions is that two of my three release days have been scattered over months. My first release, Mountain Fire, came out on Kindle Unlimited on October 1, 2012 – but in e-format and print on January 8, 2013. My most recent release, When Time Falls Still, was released in print a few weeks before its April 4, 2016 e-book release. Only Chef d'Amour was released all at once. I suppose I could have had two celebrations for each release – after all, there's no law against that! I think I need some ideas on how to celebrate a new book - maybe S. C. Mitchell does something exciting. See his blog here! For the month of October, I am part of a wonderful initiative. Visit the website of Romance Has a Heart and send a little love - and a great read - to support a survivor, patient, caregiver or family member who has been touched by cancer. More than 100 authors have donated more than 2000 books - including Kristan Higgins, Nalini Singh, Grace Burrows, Romance Writers Weekly members and alumni - and little old me! Five copies of When Time Falls Still are available for to send to someone who needs an extra bit of love in their life. Summer is winding down. This week on Romance Writers Weekly, we ask: What's your favorite summer activity? Can you do it at home or does it require travel? Did you get to do it this year? Does the activity ever make it into one of your books? If you joined me from Leslie Hachtel, welcome! Our favourite summer activity is camping, and has been ever since the kids were babies. There were a few years when we didn't get out as often as we'd hoped, especially when the kids were in high school and busy with sports. But now that they are pretty much off on their own Mr. C and I have been taking advantage of every weekend we can. We don't usually go too far. There are many, many beautiful places to camp within two hours of our house, so we tend to stick in that area. But this year we did pull the trailer to a few new places during ten days of holidays in July. It's a great way to see the world – I can't wait to do it more! So far, I haven't written about trailer travelling in any of my books. But in my first romance, Mountain Fire, my heroine spent time alone on a mountain in an abandoned fire-spotting station. And in my most recent release, When Time Falls Still, my hero and heroine spend a few sexy days at his rustic cabin on a remote lake. So camping has made it into my stories – just not the kind we usually do. We are still hoping to get out at least one more time before the Northern BC fall gets too cold. But the days are definitely getting shorter already. I'm not ready for summer to be over! I wonder what Carrie Elks' favourite summertime activity is. She lives in England. Do you think camping is something she might do, too? Find out here!
It's my turn to kick off the blog hop this week! I chose a non-writing topic: What kind of animal person are you? Do you have pets? If so, how do they influence your writing, or don't they? What is the most unusual pet you've had, either as a child or adult? I grew up with animals. When we lived in town, we had a cat, and once we smuggled in a bantam chicken (I named her Henny Penny) into our backyard for a few months. But once we moved to what we called our hobby farm when I was 9 we started collecting in earnest - chickens and ducks and horses and goats and rabbits and cows (not really pets – we didn't name them so we didn't have to worry about eating them). Two unusual pets do stick out, though. My grandparents had a Yellow-headed Amazon parrot, and we inherited him. Peterwas in the family for thirty years or so, and was definitely a one-woman (my mother) bird. What a crank pot he was! We also had a chinchilla. My mother rescued him from a local farm – he had deformed legs and the other chinchillas were picking on him. We named him Rocky. But chinchillas are social animals, and he died of a lonely heart only weeks after we adopted him. As an adult, I've always had at least one cat. If there is such a thing as reincarnation I want to come back as a spoiled domestic feline like our Gilligan. Nothing to do but eat and sleep and be cuddled! Our family has also had two dogs. Our first, Kasey, was a black labrador/retriever cross that we adopted at the age of 5, and who gave us almost 10 great years. When she passed on, we waited a couple of years before we decided to get another dog. While I've never worried about leaving a cat along all day while we were at work, it just doesn't seem right to do to a dog, especially a puppy. And that's where Aspen comes in. She's our newest family member, a beagle/spaniel cross. We've never had a puppy before, so it was a bit of shock having a "newborn" for a few weeks. But she's settling in wonderfully. When it comes to pets and my writing, I've only given one of my characters a pet. Justice, from When Time Falls Still, has a Bernese Mountain dog names Chaucer. Some of my readers have said that Chaucer steal the scenes he's in, and I had a lot of fun writing him! As I write this post, Aspen is wandering around the backyard keeping herself occupied with rawhide bones and old gloves and ropes. She and I are the only ones at home, and I have to admit – while a home needs a cat, a dog is definitely good company, too. The next stop on our blog hop is A.S. Fenichel. Is she a dog or a cat person? Find out here! This week on Romance Writers Weekly, Leslie Hachtel asks: What memories of summer make you feel good all year 'round? Here in Northern BC, there certainly are parts of winter I absolutely love. Fresh, clean snow shining on a cold, bright blue day is a wonderful image to take out and remember, even in the heat of August. But there is definitely something special about summer memories. Maybe it’s the laziness that a hot sun and cool breeze invokes. Maybe it's the chance to get together more often with friends and family outside of the usual hectic school year. No matter what it the reason, the memory of summer that make me feel good all year round is time in our boat with Mr. C. Whether we're alone or with friends and family, fishing or exploring, remembering our time out on the water is always sure to lift my spirits, not matter how depressing and gloomy the day is. It's not a big boat. It's not a fancy one. We don't always go to the same lake and don't always have the best of weather. Sometimes we have trouble at the dock, sometimes the motor doesn't work or the gear gets mangled. But we always enjoy our time together – and that's the best memory of all. Feel free to leave me a comment about your favourite summer memory. And after you've done that, be sure to hop over to Leslie's blog. Since she was the one to propose this topic, I'm sure she's got some great memories she wants to share. You'll find her thoughts here. This week on Romance Writers Weekly, Carrie Elks asks: Spring is all about rebirth, and I always think it's a much better time to make resolutions than at New Year. With that in mind, if you were to make any new resolutions what would they be? They don't have to be writing - related! It’s perfect timing for Carrie to be posting our topic this week, as she has a new release coming this Thursday! It’s Canada Square, the third in her Love in London series (but makes a great stand alone read as well – I should know, I read it). Be sure to come back to visit my blog this Thursday, April 7, as Carrie will be visiting. Now on to today’s topic: I agree with Carrie. Spring is a better time to make resolutions than January 1st. In Northern BC, January 1 is one of the darkest days of the year and winter has such a grip that I will make any promises to myself just to get out of the doldrums. But in springtime, I am much more cheerful, so my goals are more reasonable. Resolution #1: Go for more walks Like many people, my main resolution is to be more active. We are planning on get a dog soon, to replace our old Labrador mix who passed away more than two years ago. I love to go for walks with a dog – they are always so interested in everything and are great examples for living in the moment. Resolution #2: Get outside more See, this is definitely one resolution I wouldn’t make in the winter! I love to write outside, but beyond that, I enjoy puttering in my garden, camping, swimming, fishing and more. Resolution #3: Promote myself as an author better I am still a little shy about telling people I write books. But now I’ve got three available (so excited for people to read When Time Falls Still, which released yesterday!) and I feel like I have something substantial to share. Many people only right one book, but I’ve built my credibility with three published, a fourth on the way this fall, and a fifth in the editing process. Writing novels is no longer something I’m trying to do – it IS something I DO, and want to keep on doing. So it’s time to take the cover off my light and shine! Next up on the hop is Gemma Brocato. What springtime resolutions will she be making? Birthing a book is a long process! I looked back in my records, and I did preliminary work on When Time Falls Still in December 2013. Actual writing began in March 2014. That's a more than two-year gestation period! Which is why I am so excited to be able to say - it's here!!
From April 4 to 15, you have a chance to win an e-copy of When Time Falls still. I'm giving away 5 copies!
You can enter the draw here on my Facebook Author Page! 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! Today on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, J.J. Devine asks: What inspires you? Music? Reading? Movies? People in your life? Situations in life? What gets you motivated to sit down and write? If you joined me from Leslie Hachtel, welcome! A great way to get inspiration is to ask "What if?". I saw a sports blooper where an NBA player trying to save the ball ran over a waitress delivering beer to courtside seats. What if he's horrified by what he did? What if he seeks her out afterward to apologize? What if she's a single mom who despises the whole professional sports scene? What if there are sparks neither of them can ignore? Long road trips inspire me. I'm usually in the passenger seat, so I have lots of time to dream and wonder. Signs are great for discovering new and unusual names. In fact, my hero in When Time Falls Still, to be released this spring, was named after "Justice Motorcycle Repairs."
When it comes to being motivated to sit down and write, a bright and warm summer day calls me into the backyard to write in the sun. Alternately, a cold and snowy winter's day gets me snuggling with a blanket on my knees and my fingers on my keyboard. For most days, however, I need my inner voice to guilt me into writing. I'm with all the other writers who have said "I don’t like to write, but I love having written!" I can enjoy my day so much more when I've finished my daily quota! How does S. C. Mitchell get inspired? He's your next stop on the blog hop! Social media has dramatically changed how writers interact with readers. Snail-paced fan mail has been usurped by instant reviews, posts and tweets. It has also changed how writers interact with agents and publishers. They are less the men and women behind the curtain a la the Wizard of Oz, and more often people we follow on Twitter and like on Facebook.
Writers used to be told to have our Elevator Pitch ready – a short blurb of our story that could be given to an agent or publisher when we have them trapped in an elevator, riding from one floor to the next. Now we have the Twitter Pitch – 140 characters or less! Agents/Publishers create a hashtag and follow the pitches on twitter, watching for retweets and favourites to see what resonates with other writers and readers. This week we've been challenged to Twitter pitch our WIP or latest release. I’ve done this a couple of times, and trust me – it is HARD! It’s especially hard when you need to take into account the hashtag you must include or no one will see your tweet (I made up one, to keep in the spirit of the game). If you joined me from Kate Robbins blog, what did you think of her pitches? Sound intriguing, don't they? I figured if I’m going to go through this exercise, why not take advantage of it? So I am going to post 2 different versions of pitches for each of my finished manuscripts. Which one do you like best? NO LIFE BUT THIS (contemporary): #RWWPITCH Can the shifting sands of a vacation affair become the rock on which a life-long relationship is built? #RWWPITCH She’s a reserved quiet soul. He’s an adventurous, cheerful womanizer. Together they ignite a passion neither is ready for WHEN TIME FALLS STILL (romantic suspense): #RWWPITCH She’s on tenure track until a sexy campus security guard distracts her, yet more than her heart is in danger at this university. #RWWPITCH Does a university professor dare put passion over ambition? Or will she lose more than her heart to this sexy security guard? Let me know your favourites in the comments. Then be sure to hop on over to Xio Axelrod's blog. She's the one who set this topic for this week, so I have high expectations. :) |