by Angela Smith | Feb 13, 2014 | Books, Introspective
I was feeling a little discouraged and restless today. Dealing with a sick hen, a sick cat, and me still being somewhat sick on top of work-related issues. Work issues are never fun. And just having too much to do, you know? I mean, too much personal stuff on a day where the sunshine is beautiful and the weather is a perfect 70-something degrees while I’m stuck in a stuffy office building with no windows.
But I received a message that a reviewer had posted her review to Burn on the Western Slope and that she LOVED it. So I click on the link and reading her review made my day, week, and year. It’s a great feeling when a perfect stranger says such nice things about the story you put so much hard work in!
Then I come home to receive a beautiful package from a dear friend (a late birthday present) and I got to visit with my aunt whom I don’t see but for once or twice a year.
And of course I have to mention Valentine’s Day. Whether you love it or hate it, I like that it gives couples who otherwise don’t express their love enough to have a day for themselves. I also love that it can be a day for kids, and for you to express your love to your kids. Yes absolutely that love should be expressed every single day, but it’s nice to have a day set aside, even if it has been overrun with commercialism. So whether you hate it or love it, I hope you enjoy it.
Crimson Romance is celebrating Valentine’s Day throughout the month of February by offering all their first and second year titles for $1.99!
Burn on the Western Slope is part of that special. The story has a Valentine’s Day scene and, to celebrate my awesome review and the fact Valentine’s Day is on a Friday for the first time in years, I have a special excerpt to share with you! Unless you’ve read the book, this is the first you’ve seen this! I hope you enjoy and remember, it’s $1.99 all month long! This excerpt also features Chayton and Naomi, and we see more of them next month in Fatal Snag!
Read the excerpt and don’t forget to head over to Romances with a Little Kick to read from a reviewer who says: “I am excited to have read a new author that has so much power in her writing skills she gave me chills”. Burn on the Western Slope is a recommended read!
EXCERPT:
The décor wasn’t set for sweet. It was set for sexy.
Chayton stood behind the bar with a bright red jersey shirt advertising the number sixty-nine. Only he could look good wearing a shirt like that. With extra help, he tended a flurry of customers. The other bartender was the woman she knew as Simone. The lights flickered off blonde and cherry streaks to make it appear outrageous in an appealing way.
Just the kind of woman Chayton would like. Reagan perceived Naomi’s sigh more than she heard it.
“Ladies, ladies, welcome.” Chayton retrieved two glasses hanging above the counter. “What can I get you? You want to try my Valentine Rose?”
“What’s that?” Naomi asked.
“My specialty. You have to try at least one.”
“Hit me,” Naomi said, and glared when Chayton winked. And here Reagan thought they were getting along.
“And you, Reagan?”
“I’ll try it,” she said, trying not to be too conspicuous as she searched for Garret. Even if it was best he didn’t come, she longed to see him. It wouldn’t be hard to blend in here. Masses of people swarmed the bar and the dance floor brimmed with patrons.
Reagan watched Chayton concoct the beverages. Naomi focused her attention away from the bar.
“I thought you and Chayton were friends,” Reagan said.
Naomi nodded. “We are.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Chayton returned, furnishing their requested beverages.
Reagan popped a couple bucks in the tip jar. “What’s going on tonight?” she asked.
“Entertainment night. Tourists and locals play music, tell jokes, karaoke, whatever they want to do onstage as long as it’s legal. Gets pretty crazy but it’s loads of fun.”
“Where’s Garret?” Naomi asked, as if she knew Reagan was dying to ask but wouldn’t.
He nodded behind them before turning to another customer.
Reagan swiveled her chair to look. Garret stood on stage, a guitar strapped around his neck. The loud music overhead stilled and Garret sat on a chair in the middle of the stage. The lights dimmed.
Reagan swallowed. The pulse in her throat ached. A bright flash of panic seared her eyes. She blinked.
His hair, mussed to perfection, coasted across his forehead and curled at his neck. She resisted the urge to jump him, right there on stage. Her thoughts grew naughtier as she imagined the stage lights illuminating their bodies as they made love.
Reagan gripped Naomi’s hand. “Ohmigod. He sings.”
“That’s yet to be determined,” Naomi said.
“He’s a Greek God.”
“Yes, he is.”
“And I haven’t slept with him yet.”
Naomi coughed as her drink sputtered to her nose. Reagan slapped her back with the palm of her hand. Okay, not the best move if her friend had been choking, but whatever.
“Yet?” Naomi asked.
“I should live a little dangerously, right? I can’t help that the first guy I see is fine, intelligent, and sings. Remember, I’m being wild? Leaving my safe little past behind?”
“Okay, so you’re ready to make the first move?”
“Give me a few more of these,” Reagan said as she held up her drink, “and I will.”
Link to $1.99 Amazon Burn on the Western Slope Page
by Angela Smith | Jan 30, 2014 | Guests
Today, I am featuring Andrea R. Cooper as a guest, who talks about merging genres. But first, a little about Andrea:
Growing up in Houston, Texas, Andrea has always created characters and stories. But it wasn’t until she was in her late twenties that she started writing novels.
What happened that ignited the writing flame in her fingers? Divorced, and disillusioned by love songs and stories. They exaggerate. She thought. Love and Romance are not like that in the real world. Then she met her husband and realized, yes love and romance are exactly like the songs and stories say. She is now a happy wife, and a mom to three kids (two boys and a girl).
Andrea writes paranormal and historical romance. When not writing or reading, one may find Andrea dancing in Zumba.
She believes in the power of change and counting each moment as a blessing. But most importantly, she believes in love.
Merging Genres, called hybrid genres or cross-genre, is not a new phenomenon. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a romantic tragedy. Star Wars is a blending of Science Fiction (space, spaceships, etc.) with Fantasy elements (The Force, Princess rescuing, etc.).
Romance writers have been merging genres for years. Romance with suspense and/or crime becomes a romantic suspense novel. Paranormal romance is, typically, has one main character is a nonhuman and the other is human. Historical romance subdivided into eras or even time-travel.
There are many mixed genres some are: dark fantasy (fantasy and horror), comic science fiction or fantasy (comedy with science fiction or fantasy), tragicomedy (tragedy and comedy). I know tragedy and comedy sound like opposites, the 1956 movie The Visit incorporates both of these.
Newer hybrids are science fiction horror or crime and horror. So how would a crime and horror novel work? One example would be a crime with a villain who is a monster or demon.
Another example of a hybrid genre is a fantasy and paranormal like mine, The Garnet Dagger. The world, magic, and quest are all fantasy. The hero, though Elvin (fantasy character), is bitten by a vampire (paranormal character) and becomes an amalgam: the Vaer. Instead of craving blood, it is the life-essence or soul he devours by touch.
Now that you know a little about what merging genres, how do you write one?
• Think/Imagine the story you want to tell. The characters, setting, etc.
Or outline. Whatever you do for your writing now, try that. Alternatively, do the opposite if you feel stuck. Brainstorm about the different genres. It would be best in my opinion to start with two you love.
• Write the story. Don’t try and force a hybrid. Let the story flow.
• Re-read the story to see if it flows, or to sprinkle in more elements from another genre. For example, on my historical romance, Viking Fire, one of the villains is a spy in the clan. I didn’t plan this, but I let it come naturally as I wrote. When I did the edits, I added in a little more detail to amplify this aspect.
• Don’t overdo it. Unless the story logically takes both genres equally, it would be best to start with one main one and add more of the secondary genre as needed.
• Read other hybrid genres. See what other authors have done. Write down what you like and don’t like about their mixing.
You might not have to start from scratch if the task of merging genres is too daunting. Dig up an old manuscript you have in a drawer or an unfinished one. Read it over with the thought of adding another element to it. Recently, I did this with a Native American historical romance I wrote years ago, and adding in a paranormal aspect slipped in easily.
I cannot stress the value of another opinion or more. If you are thinking of creating blended genres, ask a source you trust or several. A critique group, beta readers, etc. are excellent resources when trying something different.
If the idea of hybrid genres appeals to you, do research, practice, read. Perhaps you’ll discover a new merging of genres that is as unique as you are.
Viking Fire Blurb:
Chapter One Ireland 856 CEIn 856 CE, Ireland is a land of myth, magic, and blood. Viking raiders have fought the Irish for over half a century. Rival Irish clans promise only betrayal and carnage.
Kaireen, daughter of Laird Liannon, is suddenly forced into an arranged marriage with her sworn enemy, a Viking. She refuses to submit. With no mention of love, only land and the protection of her clan, she endeavors to get her betrothed banished from her country. Will love find its way around her stubborn heart?
Bram, the Viking, finds himself without future or inheritance as a younger son in his family. A marriage to the Laird’s daughter would grant him land if he swears fidelity and if his men will fight along with the Liannons against any foe—Irish or Viking. However, the Laird’s feisty daughter only holds animosity for him and his kind. Is marriage worth the battle scars of such a relentless opponent?
With the blame for a rival laird’s death treacherously set against the Liannons, Kaireen and Bram must find a way to lay aside their differences as an unforeseen darkness sends death snapping at their heels.
Viking Fire Excerpt:
Chapter One Ireland 856 CE
“I renounce Father for this.” Kaireen threw the elderberry gown. Dressed only in her
leine, she glared at the new gown on the stone floor.
“Shame on you and your children for speaking such.” Her handmaid, Elva, gathered the damask and then dusted off the rushes. “It’s a wonder one of the clim has not scolded you from your hearth for such talk.” She wore her white hair twisted in a chignon, underneath a linen head cloth. Strands of white hair poked out the sides of her covering.
“No, curse Father for a fool.” She plopped on her bed and a goose feather floated away. With a huff, she leaned against the oak headboard. Red curtains puffed like a robin’s chest around oak poles supporting her wooden canopy.
Her bare feet brushed against the stone floor. Why was she not born plain like her two older sisters? Already they had married and expected their second bairns by spring. Well, at least so far she had enjoyed twenty years of freedom. Neither of her sisters had had matrimonial dreams of love matches. Both were arranged marriages.
“You know your da arranged a marriage within a season.” Elva smirked.
Kaireen shook her head. “To another land holder,” and waved a hand in disgust, “not t-this heathen. Twice they raided our land in the last month alone. Many a raid has come from them. Now father wants me as wife to one of them?” She clenched her fists. “No, I will not marry this Viking.”
Elva smiled, reminding Kaireen of the rumors of her handmaid’s uncanny foresight.
Whispers of Elva making strange things happen and often blamed as the cause of
Kaireen’s stubborn refusal to behave as a laird’s daughter should.
“You’ve not seen him yet.” Elva wiggled her brows.
“So?” Kaireen shrugged. “I would like to never see him.”
“Well then, would you not like to know if you have a handsome husband or not?” She waited for her response, but Kaireen scowled at her. Elva chuckled. “I would rather get a good look at him now than the morning after.”
Kaireen’s ears heated. “I am not marrying.” She shook her head for emphasis. “So there will be no morning, nor night, nor wedding.”
“If he is handsome, I may fight you for him.” Elva smiled, deepening the wrinkles around her eyes.
“Welcome to him either way.” Kaireen laughed.
Viking Fire Buy Links:
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The Garnet Dagger Blurb: Everyone knows what happens when a vampire bites a human…but what if the victim is Elvin?
Forbidden to cross the Elvin barrier into human lands, Brock cannot sate his curiosity. Cursed by a vampyre bite that forces him to feed on the life-essence of others, he is unable to touch another without taking their life. Chained by prophesy, he must find a witch, pierce her heart, and draw her blood for his cure.
Celeste must escape the monks who have held her prisoner for years. Her magic has been kept dormant by her captors. An ancient powerful Warloc craves her powers. If he succeeds in devouring her magic, she and his world will die.
When Brock falls in love with Celeste before realizing her demise is his cure, will love triumph over his desire to be healed? Will he risk everything to save her from a Warloc, an oath breaker, who also wants her dead?
The Garnet Dagger Excerpt:I’ve known death. For over half a millennia, I escorted many to death at the end of my sword. In the eyes of the dying, I watched it shroud them. Foolishly, I thought many more eras would pass before death came for me. It came so swiftly that I could not run; I could not escape. At a village, dressed in human clothes, I took in everything. By observing for eons, I understood and spoke their language. The world of mankind fascinated me. Their hobbled homes burrowed into the ground.
Rocks crunched on top one another with thatched roofs woven from straw. Never had I seen a home or inn that was higher than three levels, as if they were afraid of the sky. I delayed my return to my people as I watched human jugglers bounce torches and knifes. It was autumn equinox and the festivities would continue well into the night. Children laughed as they chased each other. A trail of leaves from their costumes twirled after them. It was dark when I reached the forest. Since I was already late, I hiked uphill to a shortcut rather than take the long path back home. I didn’t need to alert any of my kind near the barrier at this hour. Liana would wonder why I was late.
Tonight was the two month anniversary of our hand twining ceremony. One more month as was custom, and then we’d be wed. A gasp rustled through the trees. The roots shot a warning through to me with stifled caution. Adjusting my pack, I continued on instead of changing back into my Elvin clothes. After I passed the border which kept humans from entering our land, then I’d change. In the distance, I heard a groan. Curious, I spun in the direction of the sound. The autumn wind breezed through my worn human clothes, chilling me. But someone needed help. I turned in the direction of the sounds. Whatever made the noise should be a few yards ahead.
I hiked slower than my normal speed, so as not to startle whatever human called out. My leather boots crunched upon dried, diseased leaves and bark. Horrified, I glanced up. Branches twisted around each other to suffocating. Lifeless limbs cracked in the wind. Flesh of the trees sloughed off in layers, exposing its bones. Gashes hollowed out chunks of warmth. Fragments of leaves clung to finger tips, marking sepulchers of the dying trees. Trees mourned with wails like splitting wood, and I brought my hands over my ears. I must flee before I became infected, they told me. Flee before the stain of this defilement creeps into you, they warned. Trees spoke to my kind, always had. Yet these trees were in such agony of death that I could not breathe. Felt as though my lungs had folded in on themselves, like a moth unable to break loose from its cocoon.
Nothing I could do for them, and if I lingered too long, whatever disease gnawed upon them may choke me. Where would I go if I carried something so foul as to devour trees from the inside out? I’d never return to Tamlon if I brought this infection with me. I drew away, but a movement at the base of a decaying tree to my right caught me. My night vision picked up the sight of a human. His sallow face seemed to glow in the moonlight. Poking out from rags lay his arms and legs, which resembled skin stretched over sticks. So cadaverous was his face, I’d have thought him dead if he hadn’t moved.
“Please,” he said and his voice sounded like cicada’s vibrations, “help me.”
“What ails you in this troubled place?” I wondered if my voice, foreign to my ears in speaking the human’s language, revealed my nature.
“I am lost.” His dark eyes crinkled around the corners. “Without strength to rise. If you would but assist me up, I’ll be on my way.”
I’d never touched a human on purpose before. Was it that that gave me pause, or dread that stilled my heart? My feet itched to flee. As soon as I helped him, then I’d leave. I gritted my teeth and reached a hand down.
His gnarled fingers snapped on my arm, making me wince. Jerking me forward, his face contorted. Surprised by his strength, I fell beside him. Blackness curled around me. Teeth, fangs, broke through the skin on my neck. Then I knew him for what he was, a vampyre.
The Garnet Dagger Buy Links:
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iTunes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndreaRCooper.author
Twitter: @AndreaRCooper
Author Website: www.AndreaRCooper.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6934877.Andrea_R_Cooper
Blog: http://andrearcooperauthorblog.wordpress.com/
by Angela Smith | Jan 20, 2014 | Introspective
It’s a new year, and my new year has started with getting my first round of edits sent to my editor so that we can stay on target with my March 17 release date. What better way to start the New Year than with a new publishing contract, right?
Because my birthday is twenty days after the New Year, I rarely start contemplating my new goals (forget resolutions!) until after my birthday. That gives me a few weeks to ease into the new year without feeling guilty. And right now, my goals are pretty much what they’ve always been: write, exercise, eat healthy, spend more quality time with family, travel more, laugh more, and continually learn something new. I’m always open to learning.
But because I am touting my author tagline as “Solving the mystery of love with romance novels”, my goal for this blog is to feature more posts about love and relationships. I believe in love, but I also believe love is work, just like anything else. Being single is work, so why not work just as hard at being married as you would if you were single? My plan is to offer my love and relationship advice on the last Tuesday of the month.
This year I will celebrate my twenty-year anniversary to the love of my life. Doesn’t mean we don’t irritate each other (at least once a week) but we do continue to enjoy each other more than we irritate each other. There’s a lot of love advice out there, and I don’t always agree with some of it, but I have plenty of my own advice I could share about love and relationships. So this year, I hope to do just that.
I have no idea what we’re going to do for our 20th year anniversary. Any ideas? I have six months to plan it, so I better start now!
I will also continue to post guest posts of authors because it’s a treat for me to help others as they bring their dreams to fruition.
My husband thinks I should share more about my writing experiences. Lord knows I have enough that could potentially help others as they trod along a path of writing and publication. So my plan is to share more of my writing and publication experiences.
Lastly, I have a full-time job that takes away from my writing career, and it’s not something I can do anything about at the moment. It’s not that I don’t love my job, but I love my writing better. Unfortunately, right now I don’t get a choice in the matter. So my job sometimes makes it difficult to write and post as often as I would like. My biggest goal this year is to make time to blog, but the writing must always come first! And, because life is too short to worry, I have to make time for myself and my family. I’m working on a schedule and hope to be better about blogging.
We’re already over two weeks into the New Year, and it’s been great so far! It’s going to be a big year in a lot of ways:
• My sister turns forty. She has recently moved and is not close by, so I need to come up with something bit (and fast) to make her day special.
• I celebrate my 20 year anniversary.
• My 2nd book is being released in March.
• I will attend RWA Nationals this year, since it’s in Texas.
• I will attend the XGames this year, since it’s in Texas (and hubby and I are huge fans).
• We wanted to start building a house, but not sure that’s going to work out. Might just do some remodeling and definitely must replace our roof!
Cheers to 2014, and Happy Birthday to Me!
