Welcome to Running With Quills, your online newsletter designed to keep you up to date with what your favorite authors (that would be us) are doing throughout the year. Here you will find the release dates of our new books and get information about our backlists. We'll preview our cover art here long before the books hit the stores and we'll keep you informed about works-in-progress and special projects. You'll also receive advance notice of signings and appearances. From time to time we'll give you a peek at our worlds, tell you what we're reading, and introduce you to some new authors.
This is going to be one very short blog, folks. The first volume in my Dreamlight Trilogy, FIRED UP came out in January. The second volume, BURNING LAMP, will be out in April. Meanwhile, the paperback rollover of THE PERFECT POISON goes on sale at the end of March. This has been one busy winter and, yes, I'm feeling frazzled.
Now just to top it off, I find myself on deadline with a book due on Tuesday. Yikes! Tuesday. I simply cannot think rationally about anything except sorting out my very tangled plot. I hope you will understand.
I rarely let myself get up against a deadline like this but here I am. Serious crunch time. Wish me luck.
Time to prioritize. Time to stay focused.
What do you do when you find yourself up against a wall like this?
See the flowers and pretty colors? Yes, I'm anxious for spring!:-)
I have a reissued book coming out at the end of the month. It's "TEMPTED," a compilation of 3 oldies with hideous titles that I did NOT choose. They're "Annie Get Your Guy," "Messing Around With Max," and "Little Miss Innocent?" I know, poo, huh?
But I'm so glad the book is being reissued because readers often ask me about those books.
And the reissue reminded me of how utterly THRILLED I was for that first reissue. It was a milestone of sorts, a sign that my writing had gotten popular enough that it was financially beneficial to the publisher to start reissuing old titles.
That made me think of other monumental career moments... Like first meeting Stella Cameron. That happened before I'd ever published and I was having a complete and total fangirl moment, carrying a bag of my "Stella books" to be signed. I think I'd picked her up at the airport for my local chapter during a conference. I was immediately agog when she stopped to use the payphone to call "Jayne," (yes, you should have seen my face when I realized STELLA CAMERON was in front of me, and she was calling JAYNE ANN KRENTZ, and I was privy to it all. LOL
Later Stella and I talked about my writing and she encouraged me in ways too great to go into. Stella can take a lot of credit for getting me on my published path so I can never think of monumental moments without thinking of her.
And then there's the time I was asked to be in an antholgoy, “Charmed,” with THE Jayne Ann Krentz. Holy cow, yes! Sign me up. I think I danced around the house for a week. I was also in Beguiled (which was first?) with Jayne, but that was a reissue of Jayne's with a new book of mine, totally meant to give me a boost - and it did! I loved my publisher for that.
You should have seen me when I first got to meet Linda Howard. I was totally tongue-tied. Later, when Linda invited me to speak to her chapter and even asked if I wanted to stay at her house... well, let me tell you, THAT was a big moment!
(Just last year at the RWA convention, Linda saw me and said, "Hi Lori," and I said, "Oh my God, you remember me!" LOL Heidi Betts was with me - she's a lovely person - and she said, "Well of course she remembers you. But there was no "of course" in there for me. I'll always be a fangirl for some of my favorite authors.)
Meeting those ladies and finding them so warm, genuine and REAL ranks right up there with the first time I sold, when I first got a multi-book contract, when I first made a bestseller list, and later, when I first made the NYTimes. It's even as grand as now being able to nix titles that I don't like. :-D
What about you? Have you had any great monumental life moments, or career moments? I'm not counting getting married and having kids, though I know those are very special times for many of us.
Have you ever met someone you admire? Were you disappointed or surprised in any way by the person? Have you had an unexpected raise or promotion? Have you ever gotten to rub elbows with someone you consider important or notable in some way?
If not, come join me at the 6th Annual "Reader and Author" Get Together. There'll be over 100 authors there, and publishers, editors, agents, and industry professionals. ;-) You'll get to meet lots of very notable peeps! Of course, there'll be a whole lot of readers, too! Only $50 (to cover your meals) to register for the entire weekend. Deets are here:http://www.lorifoster.com/community/readergettogether.php
Happy almost-to-the-end-of-February, everyone! I'm in south Florida with my husband, son, mother and sister, enjoying a break from winter. We're getting a foot of snow at home today. Nice for cross-country skiing when we get back but right now...I'm at the pool enjoying the Florida warmth and sunshine.
Whenever I'm on the road, I love to stop into bookstores. Yesterday I wandered into a nearby Barnes & Noble and snapped up my copy of Stella's OUT OF BODY. That cover just "pops." It was hard to resist so many of the other books with it, but I brought several with me and try to buy only one at a time when I'm on the road. Otherwise I end up with an even heavier suitcase!
I dove right in. OUT OF BODY is a great read. I'm having a blast. Reading on vacation's always fun, but reading a book by a friend makes it even more special. I'll finish it today and wander back to the bookstore and
see what else I find. My sister's reading Sue Grafton's U IS FOR UNDERTOW right now, and my mother's reading a Patrick Taylor book. Zack's reading I, SNIPER by Stephen Hunter, and Joe's reading Robert Crais's new Joe Pike book -- I read it on the flight down here and it's so good.
We walk and read a lot on vacation, but we'll hit Los Olas and maybe the casino, and we're trying new restaurants as well as old favorites...I had fried plantains yesterday. We don't exactly get those in my corner of Vermont. ;-)
Congratulations, Stella, on a wonderful start to a terrific new series. I can't wait for the second book, even if I'm reading it by the woodstove home in Vermont!
Do you like to read on vacation? Obviously Stella's book didn't hang out in my "TBR" pile for long, but what's in your "TBR" pile -- whether you're reading at home, in a hammock on the beach, or on break at work?
I'm popping–and I am not kidding. I am a happy camper, happy as a clam (how do they know they're happy?) And over the moon. Howzat?
OUT OF BODY from the COURT OF ANGELS Series has been released early. It is on sale in all outlets RIGHT NOW and I've seen it.
When I see a new book of mine on the shelves I just stand there “gobsmacked” as they say in some parts of the UK (imagine mouth open and eyes wide). I figure no one near me knows I wrote that book with the perfect cover. so I can wear a silly grin, get inside my own silent bubble inof thrillsville and I'm invisible.
The COURT OF ANGELS trilogy was written last year. Three books in a year is a lot of writing but I had so much fun with this series. And don't think I'm done with these people or the weird stuff they encounter. I have started on the next two stories.
A little excerpt from OUT OF BODY:
Gray cast about, afraid to move, afraid not to move. "Marley," he said quietly. "Marley?" Her eyelids slid shut but her face became rigid. As if she was wide awake and tense inside a sleeping body. Gray saw her breathing grow shallow and rapid. He bent over her. She hardly breathed at all. Automatically he lifted her into his arms. Sharp currents ran through his body.
"You must not interfere."
Gray looked over his shoulder. In the multi-colored haze suspended over the dollhouse she had been working on, a wraith-like series of shapes coalesced into a dim face. He screwed up his eyes, strained to see. Gray-streaked dark hair. Sharp features, he thought.
The pattern of a voice rose out of that rustling, clear and demanding. It came from the direction of Marley's workbench and the hovering face.
Gray held Marley tighter, gritted his teeth at the battering of sensation passing to him from Marley.
He sat down with her on his lap and stared ahead. Like her still-sleeping dog, he waited. Gray waited because he felt he must. At least Marley kept breathing faintly, but she was limp. He was afraid, but not for himself. He wanted to know more about whatever was happening around him
The rustle continued.
His attention rose to the ceiling above the house. The colors there glowed, green, blue, pink.
They throbbed and he heard the sounds take shape again.
"She will live or she will die. She is uniquely gifted. You must only wait and be glad for your own emergence. Be ready to seize your own talents."
This time the words definitely came from the ethereal being.
* * *
I can't say I have ever thought about what it would be like to have an electric reaction (fairly literally) to touching someone who, er, appealed to you. And I'm not explaining more of what happens in the story with that element, but let's just say the results are explosive, penetrating and unforgettable.
In the back pages of OUT OF BODY there is a $1 coupon toward the purchase of OUT OF MIND roughly three weeks later and in OUT OF MIND you'll find a $1 coupon toward the last of the first three books, OUT OF SIGHT.
As Wazoo would say, hoo mama, I'm bubbling away here and need to give you all a break
You can write to me at www.stellacameron.comor join me at Facebook. Send me a tweet at StellaCam over at Twitter where I'm becoming addicted despite once saying I never would...
Most important, I just want you to have as much fun reading these books as I had writing them.
Cheers,
Stella
Q: What do you think about our starting an online book club for this series? Let me know if I should think about putting some starter questions together. Also we can add your own questions right up front if you have them.
This has been a really weird week. I had a book due on Monday--Wolf Tales 11--and I missed the deadline. I rarely do that because, one, deadlines are important and they're set for a reason. Production is geared to the date a book is supposed to be turned in, and unless I warn my editor way in advance, I can really mess up Kensington's schedule. Did I say this does NOT endear authors to their editors? But, an even more personal issue is that if I'm late on one book, it cuts into the time I have slotted to write the next book, so this extra two weeks I've asked for will probably come back and bite me in the butt around the end of April when StarFire, the third book in my DEMONSLAYERS series is due.
Anyway, the book's late partially because I've been doing a lot of promotional stuff for DemonFire, which is scheduled to release next Tuesday, February 23rd. I've spent so much time writing blogs and "letters to readers" for various websites that it's put me behind and I've been scrambling to finish. Of course, it helps that I finally figured out yesterday how the book should end. (That's a big part of finishing these things.) The plus side of all this is that I've been so busy working on promo and writing WT11 that I haven't had time to worry about DemonFire coming out, which is a VERY GOOD THING.
Plus, I'm going to spend all next week babysitting the grandpuppy in town while our daughter Sarah and her family are in Disneyland, so I'll be too busy consoling Gigi while her family is away to freak out about my first mass market release. Gigi is absolutely wonderful--she's a rescue dog that Sarah found after weeks and weeks of searching for just the right pet for a family with three live wires known as children. She hadn't had much luck--the dogs she saw were either too big or too small or not trustworthy around small kids. Then she found Gigi at a "pet fair." She was filthy and matted and Sarah said she took one look and fell in love. Gigi looks like she should be a big dog, but somehow she got the wrong set of legs, which means she's a big but very short dog. Now tell me, who could NOT love a girl with a face like that?
But I digress...what's made this week so strange is the way my writing has been going on the current book. Each day that I've booted up the laptop and started in on the story, I've had the day's scenes in my head from the get go. Once I've gotten each scene down, I haven't had a CLUE what was coming next. So I'd shut down for the night, and when I got up in the morning, there was the next part of the book. Not my usual process as I generally have a little bit of an idea by the time I'm down to the last three or so chapters, how the book is going to end. Not this time--I didn't know for sure until yesterday, and I'm still not positive how I'm going to get there. It's not that the process has failed me, but it's sure taken a jog. It's left me a bit off balance, but also really excited to see what's going to happen next. I should be done by this weekend and be ready to turn it over to my beta readers. That's when I find out if this new writing method will have paid off or not! (My beta readers are not at all shy about telling me when I've totally mucked up a story. I "think" this is a good thing!)
My publisher has put up a wonderful webpage for me with the first chapters of DemonFire and HellFire, the second book in the series. I hope you'll take a look, and if you're out and about with a camera in your hand and see any displays of DemonFire (it's supposed to make it to grocery stores and Walmarts and Target stores along with bookstores around the country) take a picture and send it to me at kate@katedouglas.com. I'm so excited about having a book out with this type of distribution, I'll be running a contest on my Facebook page and posting some of the photos I get of places where readers have seen it. The winner will get an ARC of HellFire, the second book in the series.
Now I need to get back to work on Wolf Tales 11 and make sure the ending I think it's going to have is the one it's actually going to get. And then I need to think about StarFire and what's going to happen in that one.
And totally off subject, but have I mentioned lately how much I absolutely love my job? I'm sitting here writing this blog with a stupid grin on my face, thinking about what I've got on my schedule that's making me nuts and at the same time how much fun I'm having. I hope the day never comes where I feel jaded by the wonderful opportunity I've been given, to write the stories that pop into my head, and actually have people read them. It's an absolute rush, and I'm thankful every day for such a cool opportunity. It's got to be the greatest career in the world.
So how has your week been? Were you stuck in snow on the east coast, glued to TV and the Olympics, or are you taking your free time (we all have LOTS of that, right?) to read some good books. And if so, what are you reading? I'm waiting for my copy of Stella's OUT OF BODY to arrive. With any luck, it's going to show up AFTER I finish Wolf Tales 11! Wish me luck!
February's been a busy, sometimes up, sometimes down, month for me. It started with a bang with a ski trip (with all the usual suspects) to the Mazama Ranch House in Washington's Methow Valley.
Eat...Sleep...Ski. That's a motto worth living by. Right up there with Write hard. Die free.
It was very cool--and the only opportunity I had to ski this year since, as anyone's who's been watching the Olympics can tell you, the Pacific Northwest is having an El Nino winter of higher than usual temps. My tulips are up, if not yet open, my crocus and Daphne Odora are blooming and my Thundering plum trees are about to burst into bloom. I put in some new ground cover on one of my parking strips this afternoon while my cats raced up trees and pounced on the dirt I displaced. In February. Weird.
My oldest brother broke his leg snowboarding and my husband was held up in Sakhalin, Russia, for an entire week waiting for freaking Alaska Airlines to find his duffle bag with all his tools, so he could board an 18 hour ferry to Iturup Island, get his work done and get home. (the latter hasn't happened yet)
I attended a 90th birthday party up on Whidbey Island for my sister- in-law's mother--a woman I've known since I was a kid--and got to see the new dream home it where it was held.
I received the covers for my next release: Burning Up (September) and 2 reissues: Skintight (June) and Obsessed (August)
HQN, bless em, let me make some changes to Skintight. I wish, wish, wish Kensington would let me edit Obsessed as well, as it's an early book of mine with freshman writer mistakes. I still love the characters and the story, but I've developed my craft quite a bit since then and to be able to strike out a paragraph here or a sentence there would have made the pacing soooo much tighter. But, sigh. It's not to be.
As mentioned, the soul mate's been in Russia since the 2nd, so Valentine's Day was a non-event. But my sweet baby boy took his girl and me to a restaurant called Spring Hill for dinner on the 13th. And oh my gawd their food was good. By sharing dishes we got to taste mussels and clams and pan fried trout, rolls with creamery butter and sea salt, a fuji apple salad, dinah's cheese and handmade tagliatelle with crispy pork shoulder and hen of the woods mushrooms. For dessert we shared bites of popcorn hushpuppies and blood orange sherbert. Got two words for ya, my pretties: Yum-mee. (I really like to eat. Does it show?) If you're ever in Seattle I highly recommend this restaurant. Reservations recommended.
I had a scare with my mom, who has dementia and my brothers and I have made some adjustments in her care. I think we'll be lucky if we're able to keep her in her own home beyond this year.
I've been hard at work on the beginning of Ava's story, but it's slow going. This is not exactly news, as starts are always the toughest for me--starting books, starting scenes or chapters. But especially the book itself. I always have to pick my way through several chapters before I begin to figure out what the heck I'm doing.
It now has a title, though. Drum roll, please, maestro. Rat-atat-atat-atat! "LAdies and GENTlemen! Please direct your attention to the book in ring three! Officially Announcing........rat-atat-atat-atat!.... Playing Dirty! (too much build up, anticlimactic pay-off?)
As you can probably tell, I've been on my own quite a bit this month, so I tend to run on a bit. I was going to add even more, but this thing is turning into a manuscript in its own right and I gotta go catch the women's snowboard cross. So tell me, how's your February been going?
Jayne, here, to introduce a friend and Seattle-area author, Deborah Schneider. Deb is the author of historical Western romance. We haven't seen a lot of Western romance lately. It's good to have a new book in that wonderful sub-genre. Deb is also the 2009 Romance Writers' of America Librarian of the Year and the 2009 Stella Cameron Book Goddess award — yes, that Stella Cameron. Who knew? Visit Deb's website at www.debschneider.com
I’m delighted to be invited to blog today by all these amazing authors. I’m a huge fan of all of them, and like the stars of Wayne’s World, you should visualize me on my knees, bowing down and repeating, “I’m not worthy”.
It’s Valentine’s Day, the one day each year we set aside to send cards, flowers, candy and various other things, (apparently a cell phone is the new “it” gift), to express our love to our significant other.
In a romance novel, we use subtle hints to the reader to explore the couple’s feelings as they move through various levels of intimacy. We build a relationship step by step.
At the first meeting, whether they’re seeing each other across a ballroom, being introduced by a family member, forced to work together to solve a crime or save the world, it’s understood the couple experiences an immediate physical attraction to each other. You convey this to the reader using sensory details.
In my recent release, Promise Me, the hero and heroine meet for the first time late at night, in a hotel kitchen. Amanda can’t sleep and Sam offers to make her a hot toddy.
He was standing far too close to her. Only inches separated them, and she felt a tremor of delight when their fingers touched as she accepted the mug. She was acting silly as a besotted schoolgirl. As she tried not to stare at the chiseled features, golden eyes that sparkled with good humor, and the dark, thick hair that he wore too long to be respectable, she thought perhaps she might discover another use for her bed rather than sleep.
After the first flash of attraction, the couple spends time together, learning more about personal interests, tastes, hobbies and pastimes. The level of intimacy deepens and they begin to trust each other, sharing hopes, dreams and secrets.
At this point, the couple might move to sexual intimacy, with touch, kissing and making love. They could now be expressing their feelings openly or one of them might be holding back, because of fear, misunderstandings, or external circumstances.
Ultimately, the couple reaches the point of unconditional love, when they are willing to make a sacrifice and put the needs of the one they love above their own.
From the shiver of excitement when a couple meets for the first time to the end of the story, a reader picks up a romance novel because they want to follow the relationship that develops between this couple. It’s the slow kindling of love that brings the reader back, book after book to the genre.
Imagine all the small things your loved one does for you, the moments of quiet companionship, the joke when you’re feeling a little down, the movie or song you talk about all the time because it’s so meaningful to you. Whether you are in the early stages of a relationship, or celebrating a silver wedding anniversary, it’s shared memories and experiences that create true romance.
Do you have a favorite romantic memory of “True Romance”? (A Rated G one, please!)
For once I have a really good topic - Valentine's Day!
I also have a new book out, and it hit #7 on the New York Times. Yay. I'm super excited, so I don't really need any other Valentine's Day gift.
Saturday I'll take part in a multi-author booksigning where I'll get to visit with author friends, chat with reader friends, and later see a movie. Nothing too fancy for hubby and me.
But what about you? Do you like flowers for the most-romantic day?
I'm spoiled because Allen brings me flowers all the time, whether it's a special occasion or not. I like any flower that smells good! Favorites are hyacinth, roses, gardenias, and lilies!
Are chocolates more your thing? If so, what kind of chocolates? I'm partial to caramels, or good old Hershey. Yes, I'm a simple gal with simple needs. I also love chocolate cream pie, so in a pinch, that'll do.
Romantic dinners? Or do you have a favorite restaurant?
I really like Olive Garden. Yes, I know, not all that romantic or special, but see above about me being pretty simple. LOL
Movie? I'm DEFINITELY a movie gal, so guess what we'll be seeing for Valentine's Day! Are you ready? WOLFMAN! Oh yeah, I can't wait! Benecio Del Torro makes an awesome wolfman. And with Anthony Hopkins in there, too, we can't miss! The previews look amazing.
BTW, if jewelry is your thing, do you trust hubby to pick out something you'll love, or do you want in on the decision making? Me, I want in! His tastes are not always my tastes, and really, if he gets it for you, you gotta wear it, right? When Allen wants to buy me jewelry, he usually sets up a lunch date out near the jewelry store, then tells me after we eat, "Let's go buy you something." :-) Gotta love the guy for knowing me so well.
So what about you? Any big plans? Memorable Valentine's Days past? Dish!
Hello, friends! I'm presenting my first guest since I came on board with Running with Quills. I'd like you to meet M.J. Rose, an extraordinary suspense author and one of the most creative people I've ever known. Please welcome her to RWQ and feel free to ask her any questions.
Thanks,
Carla
Great Expectations.
I’m all about being happy so I don’t have great expectations… too often they only lead to great disappointments.
Which is why when I got email in April 08 from Warner Bros TV asking if the film/TV rights to my suspense novel, "The Reincarnationist," were available I passed it on to my agent and didn’t think about it again. I’ve gotten those queries before and they’ve never lead to anything.
Two weeks later, my agent, Lou Pitt called to tell we were in “talks”. "But don't get excited,” he said. “These rarely lead anywhere.”
Keeping my nose to the grindstone, I just kept writing my next novel.
Two weeks later, they made an offer to option the book and after a few back and forth phone calls we agreed to a price. At which point he reminded me not to get excited. “Tons of books are optioned every year but few of them ever go any further than that.”
Keeping my nose to the grindstone, I just kept writing my next novel.
No more info for a few more weeks then Lou called to tell me Warner had sent the book to writer David Hudgins (Friday Night Lights). If he liked it they were gong to ask him to write the pilot. “But you know a lot could fall apart between now and then. So don’t expect much.
The idea was not to do a straight adaptation of my "Reincarnationist" novels (The Reincarnationist, The Memorist and the forthcoming The Hypnotist - due in May) But to use my premise -- past life research at aninstitute being utilized to solve mysteries and to help people deal with psychological traumas.
Keeping my nose to the grindstone, I just kept writing my next novel. And kept writing it over the next few months and David signed on to be the show runner and wrote the script and Warner Bros started shopping it and the studios bid on the pilot and Warner’s made a deal with Fox TV and Lou called to tell me that they were shooting a pilot. Six weeks from Feb – March 09.
Keeping my nose to the grindstone, I just kept writing my next novel. And kept writing it over the next few months and David signed on to be the show runner and wrote the script and Warmers started shopping it and the studios bid on the pilot and Warner’s made a deal with Fox TV and Lou called to tell me that they were shooting a pilot. Six weeks from Feb – March 09.
“But the chances of the pilot getting picked up are tough. Only one in four make it. Lots of pilots are shot and never see the light of a TV screen,” Lou said.
No problem…I was an old hand at this “no expectations” thing by now… though I will admit going down to Baltimore to see the filming was exciting beyond what I’d imagined. A cast and crew of 250 people working for two months based on an idea I came up with. It seemed impossible and I was really humbled by it.
And then on May 15th, all those "nevers" met their match when Lou called. I was in a cab at 23rd and Park ...not that I remember or anything. The cab driver thought that something terrible had happened because I screamed and then started to cry when Lou told me to tell me Fox had picked up "Past Life" and the series based on my novel would hit the small screen sometime in 2010.
That sometime is now. “Past Life premiered after American Idol on Tuesday night at 9(EST) and will now be on Thursdays at 9 (EST) through mid March."
Of course the great expectation thing isn’t over…now they are all telling me that what really matters is that we get picked up for a second season and 50% of shows never do.
So how to handle it? Nose to the grindstone I’m writing my next novel… but every once in a while I stop to pinch myself because if you’d asked me 10 years ago when I self published my first novel, Lip Service, if this is what I expected to happen…I wouldn’t have dreamed it. So much for great expectations.
If you’d like to download a 100 page free sampler of The Reincarnationist, The Memorist and that novel I was writing during all this- The Hypnotist - please visit. http://www.reincarnationist.org/?page_id=444
M.J. Rose is the bestselling author of eleven novels including THE REINCARNATIONIST (2/23/10 in paperback), chosen by Booksense/IndieNext as one of 2007's Best Suspense Novels, THE MEMORIST (3/28/10 in paperback) a People Magazine Book of the Week, and THE HYPNOTIST (4/28/10), of the acclaimed suspense series that looks at how our past lives impact our present lives.
Well, READING RELIEVES STRESS is not exactly news to most of us, but now I’m reading this information as if the rest of us haven’t been picking up books to “get away from it all” for just about as long as we can remember.
However, if there should be anyone who hasn’t realized the deeply beneficial results reading induces, now you know. Which brings me to my Court of Angels and the first book in the series, OUT OF BODY.
Neat segue, huh? Except that I believe there will be more than a few moments when the book produces more excitement than peace:) If I’m wrong, I haven’t done my job.
An even more blatant commercial here: If you are moved to pre-order the books from your favorite source, that would be great.
Special collector’s packets are available only through the book shops listed at www.purplepapayallc.com . For copies that I’ll sign for you, please use Seattle Mystery Bookshop, also listed at Purple Papaya or go directly to www.seattlemystery.com . They are happy to mail to any location.
Switching topics just a little. Wazoo and her “friend,” Nat Archer, want to take over the keyboard for an instant and I’m going to give in to them to get a little of that peace I mentioned.
Wazoo and Nat Archer here. We got two words for you, “WHO DAT!”
Stella back again. Okay, anyone know what that means?
Peace and regular excitement to all,
Stella
Q: What is your favorite way of dealing with stress/tension/the blahs? I’m always looking for more techniques.
Okay, for absolutely no reason other than the fact I'm wired weird, I've been thinking about secondary characters and what it is about them, at times, that gives them the power to hijack a story. As writers, we've all had it happen, but why is that? Where do they come from?No. Don't tell me. I probably don't want to know, though I must admit, when it happens it's almost always a good thing.
In DemonFire, I knew I was going to have my protagonists travel to the mythological world of Lemuria, but I had no idea what a big part of the series my Lemurian characters would play.For the record, the legend of Lemuria is real. Lemurians were supposedly forced from their island continent by a huge cataclysm, similar to what happened to Atlantis. Unlike the Atlanteans, though, Lemurians ended up relocating to a new home inside the dormant volcano known as Mount Shasta. They supposedly live in rooms lined with gold and jewels, and on occasion their jeweled homes are visible to the local residents if the sunlight hits the mountain just right. Looking at the picture I took of Shasta last year, it's easy for me to imagine an entire civilization deep inside that huge old volcano, but I digress...
When I was working on DemonFire, I met Alton. He's the son of the Lemurian leader, heir to the Chancellor's seat on the Ruling Council of Nine, but as the son of an immortal, he knows the potential for job advancement isn't all that great. He gets caught up in the battle between Earth and demonkind, but he doesn't do it from the sidelines. Nope. He goes and falls in love with a human woman.
Ginny Jones was another minor secondary character, sort of the foil for my heroine, Eddy Marks. Mouthy and hard-headed as she is, Ginny doesn't stay in her supporting role for long, though she really doesn't want anything to do with that big, tall blond guy who claims he's Eddy's friend from college. Yeah, right... like she's gonna believe that? Here's a quick look at what happens when the secondaries start jostling for the lead spots in a book:
She brushed her hands over her face, scrubbed at her eyes. Planted her hands on her hips and glared at Alton.
Standing behind Ginny, Ed shrugged helplessly and shook his head. They couldn’t let her remember what she’d seen.
Alton wasn’t sure it would work, but he reached for Ginny, lifted her up to her toes and leaned over and kissed her. Their mouths connected, hers slightly parted in shock, his firmly covering her soft, full lips and he poured the strength of his hypnotic powers into her startled mind.
She fought him for but a second, until the strength of his mental touch calmed her, confused her, left her breathless and wondering who she just kissed and why. Alton felt her confusion, sensed her blossoming desire and realized he could end the kiss at any time.
Slowly, reluctantly, he moved his lips over hers for one, last taste and then set her gently back on her feet. Ginny blinked, touched her fingertips to her mouth and then turned away.
Ed gently took Ginny’s arm and walked with her into her house.
Alton waited impatiently. He refused to think about the kiss, but it had been the only way he knew of to overwhelm her strong will. He couldn’t risk her recalling that she’d almost been killed by a concrete statue of a grizzly bear.
One that was powered by not one, but four demons. Four of the evil beings, cooperating...demons, working together.
It was worse than he’d thought.
So was his reaction to the woman. Ginny. Her name was Ginny and his kiss had made her forget.
Unfortunately, the taste of her lips, the soft curve of her breasts against his chest, the taste of her sweet mouth, was all he could think of. He’d never reacted to any female on such a visceral level, especially one so inappropriate. He had no time for a human woman. None at all for one with a will as strong as Ginny’s.
If you want to get to know Alton and Ginny, along with Dax, Eddy Marks, Eddy's dad, Willow the will 'o the wisp or Bumper the mutt, look for DemonFire, my first mass market release coming out on February 23rd, and there are first chapters of both DemonFire and HellFire posted at Kensington's site. And if you're at all into photography and want a chance to win an ARC of HellFire, Alton and Ginny's story, I'm doing sort of a fun contest--asking for readers to take photos of DemonFire wherever they see it displayed and send them to me at kate@katedouglas.com. I intend to post them on my Facebook page and the reason I'm doing this is to see all the different places the book shows up.
I'm published in trade erotic romance, and those books have limited distribution, so I'm absolutely jazzed about seeing my newest book in places where a lot of people go to buy books--like grocery store racks and Walmart or Target, and I can't wait to see what kinds of photos readers send me. If you want more details, join my newsletter. There's a link on the front page of my website. Or, you can find out more on my Facebook page.
So tell me--are there any secondary characters you've fallen for? Hoped they'd get their own story? So far I've been lucky--whenever I've read one, they've usually had a book written at some point, and whenever I meet one in my own work, they generally haunt me until I give in. They're tough, I tell ya. Tough and persistent, but that's probably what makes them so endearing!
She's baaaaaack! Join me in giving the always fun Kristan a big Quills welcome!
Thanks as ever to the lithe and beautiful Susan Andersen for inviting me to be here! Of course, I had to remind her that yes, she really did offer to have me back on RwQ, but lucky for me, I keep meticulous records and had the hard evidence. It’s truly a pleasure to be back, and a little surreal to be in even the virtual presence of such amazing authors.
When I think about romance novels, oneof the things I love best is when the hero and heroine are going to have a very hard time getting together. I think there are two fundamental questions that we author folk have to answer. The first is, Why are these two absolutely perfect for each other? And the second, of course, is, Why are these two so very, very wrong for each other?
In The Next Best Thing, my fifth romantic comedy, we find Lucy, a young widow. She deeply loved her husband, Jimmy, who died in a car accident five years ago…but it’s time to move on. She wants kids. She wants a husband (sort of). Someone she won’t love that way, because she never wants to have her heart crushed again. She figures she’ll pick someone decent, someone nice…but not The One. Husband #2 doesn’t have to be all that special. It’s fine. Lucy doesn’t need much.
First order of business, stop sleeping with Ethan, her dead husband’s brother. See, Ethan and Lucy have been friends for years. In fact, Ethan introduced Lucy to his big brother, and the rest was history. A few years afterJimmy’s death, Lucy and Ethan start the privileges part of their friendship…and things start to get complicated.
So obviously, it’s got that so wrong feeling…not just her friend, but her brother-in-law! Not only that, but…well, Ethan’s very loveable. Because she (A) doesn’t want to kill him…there’s something of a family curse, you see, and (B) isn’t looking for love this time around, she cuts the benefits package, and off she goes, looking for Mr. Not-Awful.
Now let me just state for the record that I’ve always imagined being widowed. My mom was widowed young, so it’s regrettably easy to picture. And McIrish, my sainted husband, is a firefighter. And yes, he has a very good-looking younger brother. I mean, McIrish is very cute and I love him very much, etc., etc.…but his brother is gorgeous! Six-foot-three, blue eyes, black hair, killer smile. Have I mentioned that he’s single? And so nice. Imagine my conversation with said relation one fine day as he, McIrish and I drove merrily along on our way to the beach.
Brother-in-law: “So, Kristan, what’s your new book about?”
KH: “Oh, it’s about a young widow who’s trying to move on a few years after her husband dies.”
B-I-L: “Cool. Who’s the hero?”
KH: “The dead husband’s younger brother.”
Uncomfortable glances exchanged between brothers. Silence ensues.
KH: “Who’s hungry?”
The Next Best Thing is further complicated because Ethan, our hero, is tired of living in his brother’s shadow. Over the years, Jimmy’s become a bit of a saint, and if Lucy wants to find someone else, fine. Well, not fine, of course. Ethan loves Lucy…he can’t help it. But if she’s moving on, he’ll try to find something else, too. But you know how it goes. The heart wants what the heart wants. Throw in some fabulous desserts — Lucy’s a pastry chef — an Italian restaurant, a Mafia don of a cat, a tiny town off the coast of Rhode Island, and I think you’ll have a lot of fun with The Next Best Thing.
So here’s a question for you…have you ever fallen for someone who really seems off limits? A priest, for example? Your friend’s honey? Your sister’s ex? I’ll send a signed copy of The Next Best Thing to one of today’s responders. Alas, I did ask my gorgeous brother-in-law if he’d be willing to date one of the responders, but he took the high road and refused to let me auction him off. Sorry. You’ll have to settle for a book.
I have a reissued book coming out at the end of the month. It's "TEMPTED," a compilation of 3 oldies with hideous titles that I did NOT choose. They're "Annie Get Your Guy," "Messing Around With Max," and "Little Miss Innocent?" I know, poo, huh?
I'm popping–and I am not kidding. I am a happy camper, happy as a clam (how do they know they're happy?) And over the moon. Howzat?
I also have a new book out, and it hit #7 on the New York Times. Yay. I'm super excited, so I don't really need any other Valentine's Day gift. 
Good Morning, my flowers:
However, if there should be anyone who hasn’t realized the deeply beneficial results reading induces, now you know. Which brings me to my Court of Angels and the first book in the series, OUT OF BODY.
