by Angela Smith | Feb 6, 2014 | Guests
Today I have Roe Valentine visiting us today. Author of Almost Married. Continue reading below to find out more about her fascinating book, and I welcome her guest post where she talks about overcoming disappointments!
Thanks for visiting us today, Roe!
Blurb:
Realist, Dr. Carla Harris, believes that people create their own fate, through hard work and careful planning. She believes in playing things safe. But, while preparing for her upcoming nuptials she’s forced to confront the most reckless thing she’s ever done, her estranged husband, Jacob.
Idealist Jacob Moreau believes in soul mates, as much as he believes in saving endangered companies. When his long lost wife reenters his life seeking a divorce, he is convinced more than ever they are meant to be together. And he will do—and lose—anything to have her again.
She thought she had her life planned to perfection. He thought they made perfect sense together. Would marrying Jacob be the craziest thing she’s ever done, or divorcing him?
You can add Almost Married to your to-read list on Goodreads
Title: Almost Married
Author: Roe Valentine
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: 27 January 2013
About the Author:
Roe Valentine was born into the right family. Not only does the name Valentine suit her, but her grandmother, unknowingly, introduced the young Ms. Valentine to her first romance novel. She hasn’t read anything else since. She calls herself a romantic at heart and believes that love conquerors all.
The San Antonio native, who now lives in Houston, attempted to write her first contemporary romance novel when she was nineteen years old. That attempt didn’t take, but her story has a happy ending. She kept pursuing the dream until she landed her first publishing contract. Almost Married is her debut novel.
When not busy writing or reading love stories, Roe can often be found in a yoga class or chatting with friends at her favorite coffee shop. Enjoying margaritas with some girl-talk isn’t unusual for her either. For a night in, she watches reruns of her favorite TV shows and, of course, romantic comedies on her Roku, usually with a glass of wine.
Roe Valentine also LOVES talking to readers. You can contact her in the following ways:
– Facebook
– Twitter
– Goodreads
– Website
– Email – info@roevalentine.com
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Almost Married. Here is what you can win: 2 e-copies of Almost Married by Roe Valentine
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What I learned from a big disappointment, by Roe Valentine
Let’s face it, disappointments are inevitable. As a writer, I’ve learned to take my disappointments in stride, because there are a lot of them. Whether it’s disappointment in myself or disappointment that a publisher I want to write for has rejected me (again for the umpteenth time), there is always a silver lining. That’s right, disappointments—in my opinion—are the bumps in the road that actually force you to grow.
This reminds me of when I wrote my first novel when I was 19. I was a sophomore in college and spent the better of the summer sitting in my dorm typing away into the wee hours of the morning, sometimes missing class. When I was finished, I sent it off to all the lines of Harlequin and Silhoutette—of course without proofreading/revising. Back then you sent everything via snail mail, and for months I checked the mail waiting for a response. For some reason I was so sure I would get a contract. And when I didn’t, I was devastated. I don’t remember how many rejection letters I got, all I knew was I decided to give up on writing. But the thing was, I really wanted to be a romance writer. I thought it was a calling. I was so disappointed that all my hard work ended in failure, I put that dream aside for many years. When I was mature enough, I realized, those rejections were the best thing that could have happened. Once I got over the bruised ego, I was able to see that disappointments are a gift.
I say this because, in terms of my rejected novel, I was finally able to see where I was going wrong. I was finally able to see what I needed to work on to get to where I wanted to be, which is published. It was inevitable that I would be rejected that first time, because the novel was quite awful; it makes me cringe when I at a look at it. But, because I was able to learn from the experience, I am now living my dream.
Great post, Roe Valentine! It reminds me a lot of what I went through. Thanks for being my guest today!
And don’t forget to enter to win!
by Angela Smith | Jan 31, 2014 | Books
A few weeks ago, I promised a review of The Latecomer’s Fan Club, by Diane V. Mulligan. I had a few problems getting the book and unfortunately when I did get it, I was so stuck in getting my edits sent to my publisher that I didn’t have time for a review. I did, however, take some time in the evening (during a long and luxurious bath that I desperately needed after my edits) to start reading the book, and I had a hard time putting it down!
The author reeled me in with her complex characters. The issues they went through are what many people experience in life, and she wrote it in an interesting, conflicted, and genuine way. Her writing wasn’t overcrowded with too much writing junk, but a quick and easy read with realistic characters and great prose. As an author myself, I know how important it is to engage readers so they forget they’re reading and feel they’re experiencing the moment. This author did a great job of doing that!
Here is more information about The Latecomer’s Fan Club. Also, you can find it on Amazon for a steal at 99 cents!
Blurb:
What is it about guys with guitars in their hands that makes them so irresistible, even when they are obviously self-centered jerks? If Abby and Maggie could answer that question, maybe they could finally get over Nathaniel. There’s just something about him when he picks up his guitar and gets behind the microphone, something that makes sensible women act like teeny-boppers instead of rational, self-respecting adults.
Abby was first sucked in by Nathaniel’s rock ’n roll swagger four years ago when a drunken fling turned into a series of drunken hook-ups that became something like a relationship. Now, as New Year’s Eve promises a fresh start, she wants to believe he’s finally going to grow up and take their relationship seriously.
What does Nathaniel hope the new year will bring? An escape from the disappointing realities of his life. He’s thirty-four years old and he’s barely making ends meet as an adjunct philosophy professor, which was always only a back up plan anyway. Nathaniel’s real goal was always to make his living as a musician, but his band, The Latecomers, broke up a couple of years ago, and he hasn’t picked up his guitar in months. When he decides to spend the holiday with some high school friends instead of hanging out at the bar where Abby works, he gets the happy surprise of reuniting with his long-lost friend Maggie. Newly divorced, Maggie has just moved back to her mother’s house to regroup.
Nathaniel and Maggie were supposed to be the ones who left Worcester forever to conquer the world. He was going to be a rock star. She was going to take the world of art by storm. He’s never gotten farther than Boston, and her best effots only left her broke and heartbroken. As they ring in the New Year together, Nathaniel decides it’s time to take control of his life and to start making his dreams come true. He thinks the first step will be easy. All he needs to do is break up with Abby and finally admit his feelings for Maggie. But the new year has more surprises in store, and nothing is ever as simple as it seems.
Excerpt:
People seem to believe—and Maggie herself once thought—that divorce was the result of some cataclysmic event, that a marriage in trouble reached its end like a pot boiling over. But her experience taught her otherwise. It was more like a pot set on a burner to simmer and then forgotten until the contents evaporated and all that was left was a blackened pot. No one ever told you that an argument over how to load the dishwasher could be the end of your marriage. And, Maggie wondered, in cases like hers—the slow simmer and burn of her six years of marriage—how do two reasonable, responsible adults who are clearly incompatible in fundamental ways make the decision to get married in the first place? How in the world had she and Andrew ever thought marriage was a good idea? One night shortly after she filed for divorce, Maggie had called her mother and asked her that very question.
“You married him because you were in love,” her mother had said, but that wasn’t it at all and Maggie knew it. She had never been in love with Andrew. She had been attracted to him. She had been attracted to the lifestyle he could provide for her. But she hadn’t been in love. No, she believed that romantic love was a myth, a fairytale, a childish notion, and she had told herself to be practical. What everyone wants is companionship and financial security, and Andrew could provide those things. She thought Andrew was similarly pragmatic. They were not the sort of couple who said “I love you” a dozen times a day.
And even now, even though it hadn’t worked out, Maggie didn’t think the failure of their marriage was due to a lack of love. She thought she could survive that if other parts of it were okay, but Andrew hadn’t been the companion Maggie needed, nor had she been what he needed. How do you explain any of that at a New Year’s party to someone you haven’t spoken to in fifteen years? How do you explain that you wept in front of the TV during the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton because you couldn’t warn her that she was making a terrible mistake, that she wasn’t going to have a fairytale life as a princess, that the only life she was going to have was the one he said she could have from now on?
When pressed by someone to give a more specific answer, Maggie always chose the shortest version of the story: he wanted children, she didn’t.
Diane Vanaskie Mulligan began writing her first novel, Watch Me Disappear, during an after-school writing club she moderates for high school students. She published it in August 2012. It was a 2013 Kindle Book Review Best Indie Book Award Finalist in the YA category. Her second novel, The Latecomers Fan Club, will be released in November 2013.
Diane holds a BA in American Studies from Mount Holyoke College and a Master’s degree in teaching from Simmons College. When she isn’t teaching or writing, she’s the managing editor at The Worcester Review and the director of The Betty Curtis Worcester County Young Writers’ Conference You can also find her occasionally strumming her guitar and singing at various bars in central Massachusetts, where she lives with her husband.
LINKS:
http://www.dvmulligan.com
http://www.amazon.com/The-Latecomers-Club-Diane-Mulligan/dp/1492221996/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383078097&sr=8-1&keywords=the+latecomers+fan+club
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-latecomers-fan-club-diane-v-mulligan/1116995396?ean=2940045290449
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/360992
https://twitter.com/Mulligan_writes
by Angela Smith | Jan 28, 2014 | Introspective, Relationships, Writing
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Sex. It’s a part of love or at least it should be, in my opinion. So why is it so hard to write about?
My biggest concern when writing sex scenes is my thoughts on who is going to read it. I know it’s crazy, but once I do get out of my character’s head and back to reality, I think about my aunts, uncles, cousins, sister, and friends who will read what I wrote. To me, it’s my character’s POV but I know in reality, my family will realize I wrote that because they don’t understand how it to be inside a character’s head. Hopefully, they’ll be in the POV and won’t even think about me writing this, LOL. But it’s still a thought, a dread, a fear of writing that particular scene that keeps me doubting on how to (or even if I should) write it.
Sex, even creative sex, is a magical part of a relationship, which is why I like to include it in my stories. Some books have a lot of sex, some books have a little sex, and some are spicier than others. Most of the time, we don’t talk about it with others. But when you’re writing about it, it feels like others are going to think these terrible thoughts about what kind of person you must be. Writers, am I right?
In talking with several writers, I realize there are many different approaches to writing a sex scene, and many different opinions regarding the writing and reading of sex scenes. One writer even said she didn’t think they were as necessary today, and the popularity of sex scenes was fading.
I disagree. Personally, I like them when they aren’t long, arduous, or graphic. I like a little shock, but I prefer to read about the emotive part of the sexual experience. With the build-up of tension between two characters that are falling in love, closing the door on a sex scene doesn’t feel right to me. Of course, there are some novels where a sex scene wouldn’t move the story forward, and that’s perfectly okay.
I have written some sweet stories with absolutely no sex (none yet completed or published at this time but maybe hopefully in the future). However, my romantic suspense stories always have some sex scenes as long as it moves the story (and the relationship) forward. There’s no point in having a sex scene just to have a sex scene.
Also, I believe writers are afraid of writing sex scenes. Partly because of what I just admitted to you about family, and partly because they have no idea where to start. That’s when, as a writer, you have to get out of your head and get into your character’s head. Don’t overthink it. And remember, there’s always a rewrite and plenty more rewrites.
What about you? How do you feel about sex scenes in a romance novel?
by Angela Smith | Jan 24, 2014 | Writing
A writer’s worst nightmare: to be or not to be grammatically correct.
Yeah, those little green squiggly lines in Microsoft Word can be annoying. But how many bestselling books have you ever read are grammatically correct? Sometimes being the smartest person in the room is an annoyance to the average reader.
Will it make me look stupid if I’m not grammatically correct?
In my opinion, sometimes it’s worse, on the page, to be grammatically correct. Yet there are so many people, especially nowadays because they’re afraid grammar is falling by the wayside, who become the “grammar police” and fix every single grammatically wrong sentence structure in a story that it doesn’t even feel like a story anymore.
Now, is the above sentence grammatically correct?
A normal person doesn’t think, read, or write grammatically correct. Whether they should or shouldn’t is beyond the point. If we follow all the grammar rules, there are many things writers shouldn’t do. Obviously, there are rules that will MAKE US LOOK STUPID if we don’t follow them, but following certain rules make us appear stuffy.
For instance, commas vs. semicolons.
I cringe when I see a semicolon, even when I know it’s correct. When I’m in a person’s head, their POV, that person is going to think in clipped sentences and sometimes way too long in the eye of an erudite. Characters don’t think in terms of semicolons or what is right and wrong in grammar. Characters have their own way of speaking, of thinking, and a good author will follow that way despite what the grammar police say. Look at the bestselling authors of this century, even the last century. Semicolons are rarely, if ever, used.
I once had an editor who corrected my sentences to semicolons on almost every single page. I had to ignore them. Sometimes, I changed them, depending on the sentence or the way it was said. Sometimes it challenged me to think of a different way of saying the sentences altogether. And I finally had to write a “letter to the editor” and let them know why I chose to ignore the changes.
I read a lot. And I read a lot of bestsellers. Most authors are bestsellers for a reason, whether you like them or agree with the fad or not. So my suggestion to would-be authors is to read those best sellers, figure out what it is that makes them work, and don’t always listen to the rules! Sometimes that means disagreeing with your editor! After all, a good editor will know the grammar rules, and will try to follow them despite how you feel it makes or disrupts the story! But a good author will know when it’s time to ignore those rules.
That being said, I have to say that authors who chose to be grammatically correct, if you’re doing well, then by all means you should keep doing what you are doing! Maybe times are changing, but I haven’t seen it and I refuse to follow in those footsteps. The grammar rules of yesteryear don’t always apply to the way we read today, and neither does it mean we are stupid or disrespectful for not following them. And if I’m going to lose a reader because they don’t like my grammar, then I’ll probably gain five more because they weren’t annoyed with my grammar. And yes, I have been annoyed by reading too many semicolons. I would rather read the wrong word than too many semicolons.
If in doubt, do what the bestsellers do. Not what the grammar police tell you to do.
by Angela Smith | Jan 8, 2014 | Guests
Welcome to today’s tour, Fatal Trust, by Diana Miller!
Diana will be awarding a $25 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click the banner above to follow the tour, hosted by Goddess Fish Promotions!
Fatal Trust Blurb:
Stepping her perfect Jimmy Choos into place beside Ben Gallagher’s wounded Nikes, straitlaced Philadelphia lawyer Catherine Barrington is surprisingly unable to resist the disarming small-town mechanic’s charm. He’s one of the heirs to the vast fortune left by his eccentric grandfather Max, a bestselling horror writer, and she’s there to carry out Max’s last wishes. Routine enough…except that inheriting comes with a catch: none of Max’s heirs will get a penny until they’ve lived together for two weeks in the shadow-filled rooms of his mansion in the wooded hills near Lake Superior.
From beyond the grave, a letter from Max insists that his death was no accident, sending Catherine undercover—and way out of her comfort zone—to catch the killer. Posing as Lexie, Ben’s cocktail waitress girlfriend, Catherine soon finds herself trapped with the feuding clan at the sinister Nevermore manor. To save her own life, she’ll have to confront the murderer, as well as her growing attraction to Ben—a top suspect.
Fatal Trust Excerpt:
Ben draped an arm around Catherine’s shoulders, pulling her against his side. He smelled like pine soap, which surprised her. She’d expected some men’s cologne with a virile name and an overdose of spice and musk. “Why don’t you get me another drink, Lexie? She’s a cocktail waitress,” he told Cecilia.
That’s right—she was supposed to be Lexie the cocktail waitress. Catherine gave him a tight smile. “I’m off duty.”
“I promise I’ll make it worth your while,” Ben said, his voice lowered suggestively.
She was also supposed to be crazy about him, so instead of telling him where to stick it, she raised her chin. “I came out here to give you emotional support. Not to wait on you.”
“Good for you, Lexie,” Cecilia said. “Ben always dates twits who do whatever he wants. He needs someone who’ll stand up to him.”
Ben sighed as if he’d been ordered to haul stones across the Sahara for a new pyramid rather than his own glass across the room for a refill. “With the two of you ganging up on me, I guess I’ll get my own drink.”
“Bring me a glass of cabernet while you’re at it,” Cecilia called after him.
“They got me.”
The words came from the man who’d just stumbled into the parlor. His light brown hair was all wild wisps and spikes, one sleeve of his suitcoat was torn, and his shirt had been pulled from his trousers.
And he was covered with blood.
“They came out of the trees,” he wheezed out. “I couldn’t stop them. I tried, but I couldn’t.”
“Help me.” His voice was just above a whisper. “Please.”
Then he collapsed in a bloody mess on the parlor floor.
When she was eight, Diana Miller decided she wanted to be Nancy Drew. But no matter how many garbage cans she dug through, conversations she “accidentally” overheard, and attics she searched, she never found a single cryptic letter, hidden staircase, or anything else even remotely mysterious. She worked as a lawyer, a soda jerk, a stay-at-home mom, a hospital admitting clerk, and a conference host before deciding that the best way to inject suspense into her otherwise satisfying life was by writing about it.
Diana is a five-time nominee for the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award, including for Fatal Trust, and won a Golden Heart for her debut novel Dangerous Affairs. She lives in the Twin Cities with her family.
Diana Miller’s Website
Diana Miller’s Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Trust-Kindle-Serial-Miller-ebook/dp/B00FX7SLLA/ref=zg_bs_5044445011_8
Diana Miller’s Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/dianamillerwriter
