Cover Reveal: Geek Groom

Sometimes I need a swift kick in the pants to get something finished. Such is the case with Geek Groom. It's nearly finished. So what better way to ensure that I get it done than to show off the cover, and promise you that it will be available before the end of the month. 

I know. I"m nothing if not silly.

I wish I had a blurb to share with you, but alas, I'm too busy writing the book to write about the book. Instead, I thought I'd share a few of my favourite quotes with you.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, this is the continuation of Jillian and Evan's story that I started with Geek God. 

Finally, a huge thanks to my bestie, Crystal McLellan, for not only designing yet another amazing cover for me, but for letting me hang out with her in her studio while she did the photoshoot. The rings are hers. The dice are mine.

I hope you enjoy!

“When I was a little girl there were a lot of things I imagined I’d be doing in the months leading up to my wedding. Going for a mani-pedi. Check. Trying on a million gowns. Check. Choosing a china pattern. Check. Groping the hairy legs of what I hope are men while trying to determine which one is my clearly up-for-anything groom. Nope. That was most certainly not on the list. ”

— Jillian Carew, Geek Groom

“My love, your family would have to be pretty bad to stop me from wanting to spend the rest of my life with you. Like, lich-king bad. Demon-spawn bad. And even then, I could be swayed to the dark side because you’re a pretty fine temptress.”

— Evan Sharp, Geek Groom

“I know, girls. I know all too well that feeling that hits you in the stomach the first time you lay eyes on him. It doesn’t go away. Sometimes he’ll be putting milk in the fridge and I’ll look at the way his shirt pulls taut across his back. It’s swoon-worthy. But nothing, not his arms, his face, his hair—not even his ass—is as remarkable as the man he is inside. And he’s all mine.”

— Jillian, Geek Groom

Welcome to Historical Wednesday!

I'm so excited to start this new weekly blog. Each week I'll feature a historical fiction author or historian (if I can convince them to come play with us) to share some historical tidbits. 

In case you didn't know, I have an honours BA in History with a minor in Newfoundland Studies. I'm also one thesis away from a Master's degree in History, specifically 19th century gender history with a focus on Newfoundland and England. I'm also about to jump back into finishing the Regency romance that got me blogging so very long ago. (Check out my very first blog post here!)

I thought long and hard about what topic I'd kick off this blog feature with. I mean, I could write about regency England, but I figure I'll have enough regency experts on here that I'll leave that to them. Instead, I'm going to talk about Newfoundland.

Today's topic: The Winter of the Rals, 1817-18

It being November, it's a grand time to jump back into that regency of mine, that has our heroine's father dragging her kicking and screaming out of St. John's, Newfoundland and back home to the motherland. While our dear heroine might not appreciate the forced evacuation, it was a prudent move on her father's part. For that November, in 1817, was the start of what's gone down in our history as The Winter of the Rals (rowdies!). 

St. John's was a town built on the rocky slopes of the hills of Newfoundland and it has been consumed by fire many a time. In 1817 a fire swept though a large portion of the town, destroying nearly 300 homes, plus the all important merchant stores and wharves. More devastatingly, it left  around 2000 people homeless for the oncoming winter. You can see from this sketch, from around 1830, that the town was made of mostly wood. 

Needless to say, the place was a state. The loss of housing was made worse by the terrible winter that followed. What followed was a winter of famine, crime and pure destitution. Even Vice-Admiral Francis Pickmore, the appointed governor of the colony at the time, succumbed to the Winter of the Rals and died in February of 1818. 

A grand jury was appointed shortly after to find ways to prevent another such winter, one where 

"Gangs of half-famished lawless men everywhere threatened the destruction of life and property."

This is a crisis that drives my heroine to England, although she departed just after the fires and before things went from bad to worse.

“...famine, frost, and fire combined, like three avenging furies, to scourge the unfortunate Island.”

— D.W Prowse, A History of Newfoundland

It was a crucial period in our history, one which sent many immigrants on to the mainland of North America. Only the hardy, the desperate, and those truly invested in this place remained. Those that stayed by choice, and indeed, those that stayed by necessity, helped form the world that my heroine returns to. 

Please don't let this doom and gloom cloud your notions of my regency series. While I can't ignore the Winter of the Rals and its aftermath, my story will speak to the resilience of those English, Irish and Scots who would become Newfoundlanders. 

Romance Weekly: November 4, 2014

This week we're talking boyfriends. Specifically, those men we've met on the page that refuse to leave our heads and perhaps fulfill some sort of fantasy for us. 'Tis a hard task, let me tell you, because there are many many characters out there that I've read and fallen for. Narrowing it down to just three (curse you Sarah Hegger for this week's challenge!) was a chore. But here we go. 

Sebastian Grey from Julia Quinn's Ten Things I Love About You. 

I fell for this guy in a different Quinn book, What Happens in London, and was so happy he gt his own tale. What makes Sebastian my ideal boyfriend? Hmmm. Where to begin? He's funny, he's a writer, he's romantic, he knows how to treat a lady. Sure he has some issues, but the real allure of this character to me is that he is a genuine good guy who's had some set backs in life. 

 

 

Ponyboy Curtis from S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders

Okay. So today Ponyboy wouldn't be my top choice, but for most of my teen years, I adored this book, and the movie. Yes. I did see the movie first. And then my crush was on Matt Dillon's Dallas Winston. But it was the early 80s and it was Matt Dillon. Come on! However, I've always been a reader, so I rushed out, found my own copy of the book, and promptly fell in love with Ponyboy. The first person narrative helped me get into this "bad boy with a heart of gold"'s head. It also, I think, is responsible for an unhealthy teenage obsession with batboys. But that's another post. "Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold." 

 

 

Lucivar Yaslana from Anne Bishop's Black Jewels series

This was a difficult one for me. There are some terrible things about Lucivar, and yet, the entire time I was reading this series, he's the character that I found the most compelling. Trust me when I say he crept into more than one of my dreams at night. This is a dark fantasy series, where demons and witches are the good guys. He's not the main character, but he's one of the stronger supporting characters and I just love him. He's dark, sexual, brooding, quick to anger, a fierce fighter, and yet can be so gentle. LOVE LOVE LOVE HIM! 

So there you have my choices. Now pop over and see the scrumptious images Rhenna Morgan has paired with her hot choices! 

Romance Writers Weekly: October 28, 2014

This week we are telling ghost stories, real or true. And boy, do I have a tale for you. We were instructed to keep it to under 300 words, so I apologize for skimping on the truly creepy stuff. I could write thousands of words about this tale. 

True story: 

I lived in a haunted house.

The cream house in the centre housed four apartments. I lived on the top floor for a terrifying 8 months. I took this image from Google Earth street view.

The first indication was a huge fight between my sister and I. She claimed my drunken friends and I had nothing better to do that keep climbing up to the 3rd story apartment I was renting and trying to scare her. I told her drunk gals in their early 20s have better things to do with their time than scare baby sisters.

Next indication, my roommate called me frantically one evening to tell me there were about 50 people gathered outside the old victorian house that was now home to several apartments and they were all pointing up at our windows. Turned out it was the local Haunted Hike. What the heck?

Over the eight months we lived there, doors inexplicably opened, the grate in front of the fireplace would often be found on the other side of the room, footsteps lurked outside our door, odd electrical things would happen (my electric piano came on one evening when it wasn’t plugged in), my roommate claimed he was attacked by a hag that tried to choke him, and our cats were freaked out all the time.

But the worst, and most common haunting, was the cries of the babies. Yea. We’d wake to what sounded like babies crying in our chimney. No one in that house had children, let alone babies. Then one day my dad was talking to a retired cop who told a tale of a woman who murdered two babies in an apartment downtown. She burned their wee bodies in the fireplace. The apartment? Mine. I still get chills when I think about it. The only thing that makes me feel better is knowing she was caught. Was she the evil presence that attacked my roomie? 

Have you ever had a ghostly experience? 

Share it in the comments!

Now, pop on over to S.C. Mitchell and see how he's going to scare the bejebus out of us. I'm anticipating a terrifying piece of fiction from him. 

Romance Weekly: October 21, 2014

Hope everyone is enjoying their autumn. This week's challenge has a little bit of seasonal wonderfulness to it, at least in word choice. The creative Ms. Mishka Jenkins came up with this week's challenge: Write a love letter. (Let’s go with 400 words or less). Has to include the words- Sweet, Pumpkin, and Brush. I can't wait to see what the other authors in this group come up with. I wish I could say I was surprised by the direction my letter took, but now that I read it again, I know I'm not. This is a real love letter, to one of the two loves of my life. 

---

Hello my sweet boy,

Maybe one of these days you’ll be sorting through the archaic archives of my website and come across this letter. Perhaps it will be a surprise for you. Or perhaps I’ll have told you all about it at some point. If you’re a grown man by now and I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of your life for this long you likely know that your mother is terrible at keeping secrets.

I think this challenge was supposed to be fiction, but as I sat down this morning, all I could think about was you and the little person I watch you becoming. Right now you have the most angelic face. You also have the most evil laugh. Dancing, singing and drumming seem to be your favourite things this week. And you still hate getting your hair washed. When I come near you with a brush you’d think I was about to chop your head off. I love your little blonde curls, but if this keeps up, I might have to go against my own wishes and get your hair cut.

It’s October here and Halloween is just ten days away. As usual, I’m behind schedule and have no costume for you. If you ever stumble upon pictures of you dressed as a two-year-old Aristotle, you’ll know mommy and daddy wrapped you in a bed sheet at the last minute and tried to pass you off as a philosopher. Man, I hope I don’t end up doing that to you. But in case I do, I’m sorry!

My head is always full of ideas of great and wonderful things for us to do. Roast pumpkin seeds, rake all the leaves into a big jumping pile (this failed not only because of my lack of initiative, but because Hurricane Gonzalo blew them all away), go to the museum… but our days seem to get lost in long snuggly naps and never-ending games of chase and “One more book!”

Every day you surprise me with something new, and I think it’s fair of me to speak for Daddy too when I say that watching you grow and learn and become a little person with will and thought and purpose astounds us. We love you. We love how you change. And we look forward to a lifetime of watching you blow our minds.

Love always,

Mommy

---

I can't wait to read the letters everyone else wrote this week. I wonder how many will be fiction, and how many real? I love seeing the way we can all start at the same place and end up in so many different places. Let's start with Leslie Hachtel and see what kind of love letter she has for us. 

This is the face that I wake up to each day. :) 

Romance Weekly: October 14, 2014

This week we're talking dates. Bad dates. Dare we even say disaster dates? Collette Cameron wants us to share our stories, or if we've been blessed to only have had great dates in our lives, make one up. I wish I had to make one up. But nope. I've had my share of stinkers. But here's the worst.

In case this is your first time reading a blog post by me, there's something you should know. I live in Newfoundland, which is an island off the east coast of Canada. There's only a half a million people on this island even though we're about as big as California and we have some very remote villages with nothing around for hours other than equally small villages. Point is, you don't have a lot of options for date destinations. 

So it's the early 90s. I'm 16 and a guy I'd had a crush on for years had asked if I wanted to go for a drive with him. He didn't call it a date. I don't think anyone used the word date in that community. But when a seventeen year old boy asks a girl to go for a drive, and there's no other friends coming along, that's a date. 

I was so excited. I mean, I think I first dreamed of marrying him when I was eight. And finally, I was getting my chance. I had visions of him driving us to a spot overlooking the ocean. Maybe we'd listen to the radio. Maybe we'd kiss. Heck, maybe we'd even get out of the car and go for a romantic walk hand-in-hand in the moonlight, the sound of the water gently crashing along the rocks. Yea, I was a romantic even then. 

When he turned off the highway onto a dirt road in the opposite direction of the water I wondered where we were going. And then I saw the sign. Provincial landfill site. More commonly known as the dump. Yes, friends. His idea of a great romantic evening out was parking at the local dump where we would, if we were lucky, get front row seats to the black bears feasting on the garbage. 

I'd read plenty of Sweet Valley High and Harlequin books by then, and no where did the guy ever say "Hey baby, I've got a romantic night of bear watching planned for us up at the dump tonight." 

Did we kiss? No. Did my years long crush float away on the stench-infused wind that blew over the dump that summer night? Hell yea. And did we see bears? Oh yes we did. Right until I demanded we leave when one looked like it was about to walk on top of the car. 

Ah. Teen romance. Some guys just don't get it. Now let's hop over to the always wonderful Sarah Hegger who is sharing a disaster date from a work-in-progress. 

Had it been daylight, this is the sort of romantic backdrop I would have been witness to. 

Romance Weekly: September 30, 2014

As we say here in Newfoundland, "I'm smudderin' with the cold" so if there are typos out the wazoo today, please forgive me. My head feels like it's in a vice and there's a thunder storm in my ears. So without any preamble, here we go. I don't know who to thank for this weeks questions. I could do some internet digging but my head won't abide it. 

1.) Was there a defining moment in your life when you knew you were going to become a writer? If so, what was it?

I don't think so. I've always written stories and believed that one of these days I would have a book in print. I guess that's the optimist in me. My first short story was published when I was in grade six, so I suppose I had an over-inflated ego after that. lol. Seriously though, I think any writer knows somewhere deep inside that they have a story to tell that begs to be written. I think just by sitting down to get those words on paper makes us a writer. Now an author, that's a whole different question. Maybe someone will ask that in the months ahead. 

2.) When you write a story do you see it unfold as one big picture, or do you add layering in subsequent drafts?

It unfolds in one big picture for me. Editing is where I take out the nonsense, or add some more substance. But the story is the story. 

3.) How many drafts do you usually write before you send your work to your editor?

One, maybe one and a half. Quite often my editor gets a draft at the same time my crit partners do. On Geek God I waited until I'd heard back from all my crit partners before sending it to her. I should check with her and see which approach she prefers. :) 

Blah. I've done my duty. Now I"m going to send you off to visit Dani Jace and I'm going to go make some honey lemon tea and steam my head. See you next week when I'm hopefully feeling much better. 

Romance Weekly: September 23, 2014

Happy fall everyone! And what a great intro to my favourite season of the year. Thanks to the always wonderful J.J. Devine for this week's questions. If you've popped over here from LaNora Mangano's page, I have to confess that I loved her answer to the second question. Now let's see what I can come up with. 

1. You’re moving right along with a storyline and suddenly it takes an unexpected twist. Do you go with the flow and follow where the twist leads you or do you conform your story to your way?

As a pantser, I often get led down the garden path by my stories. However, so far I've been able to wrangle errant ideas back inside the fence. I like the surprises that writing this way brings, but I also like to make sure that I'm not destroying the book by letting my flights of fancy  go mad. 

2. What time of year is your best time for writing? Winter, Summer, Fall, Spring?

"All Around the Circle"  by Terry Adey
Churchill Pond, Durrell, Twillingate, NL
September, 2013

I write all year long, but I feel most invigorated in the fall. I love the cool air, being able to work outside with a hot cup of coffee, wearing a thick knit sweater. This is when I get most excited about starting new books. Of my five published books, two of them take place in the fall. Those are the two I started in the fall.

I also find the fall very romantic. Maybe it's the awesome fall moons (Harvest and Hunter are my favourites!) perfect for a stroll, or the spicy lure of cinnamon and all space covering everything from apples to roast.

We have mainly evergreens in my part of the island, so there's not a whole lot of crisp leaves, but the land changes in the autumn. Everything turns gold and red, the sky gets more rustic and I just fall in love with Newfoundland all over again. A lot of people come here in the summer, but I think everyone should visit now. 

3. When looking for a publisher do you choose a traditional press, indie route, or one that does both, ebook and print? 

There's no secret that I'm an indie writer. That's not to say that if one of the big pubs came knocking I'd toss them out the door, but I'd have to consider very strongly what they're offering vs what I can do myself, and at what cost. I love the control I have over my career and I love seeing that my successes are a a result of my work. And if I fail, I have no one to blame but myself. That's liberating. 

Now, please do all my awesome blogmates a favour and hop along to all their posts today. You can start right here with the darling of British Columbia (perhaps my second-favourite province in Canada) Brenda Margriet. 

Romance Weekly: September 9, 2014

We're back to three questions time here on the good old RW blog hop. Thanks to Beth Carter for this week's gems. I think I'm most interested in seeing everyone's answer to the third question this week. If you've landed here from Collette Cameron's blog, you've seen hers and I wish I'd come up with that answer myself. Ah well. Let's get going, shall we, and see what I can come up with.

1. What’s your favorite aspect of novel writing? Dialogue? Setting? Conflict? Narration? Explain.

This is easy. Dialogue. I love the banter between characters. Maybe it's because I talk a lot myself, (and to myself!) but I think so much character is revealed through what they say. And what they choose not to say. So I suppose what I like writing best is dialogue both spoken and in the mind. Here's an example of what I mean from my current WIP, Geek God (available for pre-order I might add!) 

_______

“Oh. What’s up tonight?” Please let that have sounded casual. Just because my head is screaming: What? You’re not staying?

“Dungeons & Dragons.”

You know when your face reacts before you have a chance to get your shit together? That’s what’s happening right now. I think my eyes might have even bulged. I want to sound cool, but I can’t help myself.

“Adults play D&D?”

“Plenty of us do. What do you think happens to the kids who played it in their parents’ basements when they grow up?”

“They grow up?” My cousin played that game when he was a teenager. He and a group of his nerdy friends all hanging around a table rolling dice and talking about orcs and not letting girls play. Nerds. Geeks. Whatever. I wondered now if he still played.

“And how is it any different than still playing video games?”

“It’s totally different.”

“It’s not. It’s way more social than hanging out home alone with just a TV and console. I’m hanging out with people, talking, eating, drinking and having fun.”

What’s curious in this discussion is that he’s not getting angry or embarrassed. He seems to have no problem with admitting that he does this.

“How does it work?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your game. How does it work?”

I don’t know if I’m asking because I want to know, or if I’m just trying to keep him here a bit longer. One thing is certain. It’s clear that he’s not interested in me that way. If going and playing a geek game with his geek friends seems better than hanging out with a woman who’d done her damnedest to look as sexy as she can, then I’ve already lost this battle.

He might look like God’s gift to women, but clearly there’s a very good reason why he’s single.

What if he’s gay? Maybe Dungeons & Dragons is code for an all-male orgy.

_____

2.How do you choose the setting for your plot? Are they always similar settings or does it vary? (i.e., small town, big city, castle, etc.)

There's no secret about my setting. It's always Newfoundland in some way. Even if I have my characters travel a lot (like Jack and Daphne in Hard As Ice) my books are Newfoundland stories. I mean, look at this. How can I NOT write about this setting? 

3.I’m a big six-word memoir fan. (Hemingway even wrote one.) Describe your writing day using just six words.

“Moments of insanity. Hours of despair.”

And there you have it. Another week here and gone. Be sure to pop over and see Carolyn Spear's answers. Her six word answer is also very very true. Also, I think her website is beautiful! If you think so, you should tell her. 

Chef D'Amour: A Sizzling New Contemporary Romance by Brenda Margriet

I'm thrilled to have Brenda Margriet on the blog today to share some of the images that helped fuel her imagination while working on her new release, Chef D'Amour. (CLICK HERE TO GET A COPY!) Brenda is a member of the Romance Writers Weekly group that I love so dearly, plus she's Canadian. And did I mention she's an awesome author pal of mine? Three for three. And this new book makes it four for four for reasons why she rocks. 

It's been a while since I've done one of these picture blogs so let me remind you how it works. I asked Brenda a bunch of one word questions about her book and she had to respond with a very short answer and a photo. I loved her answers! Hope you do as well. 

Book? Jemma's new job on a TV reality show has one rule: no fraternizing with the cast. Easy! Until she meets Paul, the show's sexy CHEF D'AMOUR.

Click the cover to go pick up your e-copy! 

Jemma? Paul's wicked fairy – persnickety, loyal and independent to a fault.

Love this hair style! Wish I had a nice angular face to pull it off. 

 Paul? The good son trying to prove his worth to his father – who falls in love with a woman no one would have chosen for him, even himself.

Brenda says he's good, but I see a hint of naughty in those eyes. 

 Allure? The one thing she wants – the one person she can't have.

 Kitchen? Thirteen women vying for Paul's heart by cooking creative, romantic meals – but the one he wants won't let him get close.

I secretly dream of being Masterchef: Canada. Um. Guess it's not a secret anymore. 

 Next? Meet Justice Cooper – a reserved security guard whose life turns topsy-turvy when he meets an ambitious, career-driven university professor.

Yes yes yes! Please make "next" happen very soon. 

 Brenda? Pursuing a life long dream, while doing her best to appreciate every instant of the life she already has.

Click on Brenda's beautiful scarf (I think it's a pashmina) to go to her website to read an excerpt of Chef d'Amour,. now available in print and ebook from The Wild Rose Press, and all major ebook retailers.

Link to Wild Rose Press:  http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=1012

Romance Weekly: August 26, 2014

This week the ever-curious Kim Handysides has asked us to share the story of our first kiss. Sadly, I can't fulfill Sarah Hegger's wish that mine is a better experience than hers. No my friends, I think it's worse. Oh my. There are some things best forgotten, as far as I'm concerned. But in the interest of sharing, I'm going to bite the bullet and relive that experience. 

Forgive me for not being super creative in my telling this week but with a toddler home and lunch to prepare, there's not a whole lot of time to be creative. So here's the truth, in all its unromantic glory. 

I was in grade nine and had the world's biggest crush on a "bad boy." You know what it's like when you're a teen. The adults say "bad boy" but all you see is the "heart of gold". Ahhh, fourteen-year-old blinders. What a terrible thing you are. 

My bad boy lived around the bay, which is what those of us who grew up in St. John's called any place that wasn't. My grandmother was from there and I often spent my weekends and summers hanging out with my cousins. Now the population of this town is maybe 300. And before I could date anyone, I'd have to ensure that I wasn't related to them. So while in retrospect, this guy wasn't prime boyfriend material, he had one big positive going for him. He wasn't a distant relative. 

So when I found myself alone with him at the back of the school, the moon shining bright, my braces barely visible in the darkness, all of my teenage hormones were jittery in anticipation of kissing this boy. He was sixteen, the object of desire for many a girl, and to me, resembled Bruce Springsteen. (Remember those blinders I told you about? Clearly they were messing with my mind.). Regardless, at that moment, on a cool November Newfoundland night when you could see your breath and frost was thick in the air, I had my first kiss. 

In my mind it was going to be spectacular and romantic. By now I'd watched enough movies and read enough teen romances to expect knee-popping, heart-soaring instant love and chemistry. In reality, it was wet. Wet and loud. Almost as if a frog was trying to swallow my head. It just wouldn't end. The too thick tongue. The over-abundance of lip chewing. And above all else, the noise. And still, I kept kissing him. Because he was cute. And I was young and stupid. And also, hind-sight is 20/20. I hadn't kissed any good kissers yet to know that this was terrible. And it would be almost two years before I actually had a good kiss. 

There you have it. Blech. As far as first kiss stories go, this was a case of kissing the frog that never turned into a prince. 

Let me help you get this image out of your mind. Hop over to Leslie Hatchel's blog and we'll all hope there's something much more romantic and far less sloppy in her tale! 

Romance Weekly: August 19, 2014

Oh what fun this week's challenge was! I can't wait to pop around and see what everyone else came up with. 

The idea (from the fabulous brain of Susan Peterson Wisnewski): Write a piece of flash fiction (less than 150 words) using these three words: chocolate, candle, scarf. 

Oh what fun this was. In the end, I not only managed to keep it short (58 words!) but turned it into a visual piece. I didn't have Paul Wesley in mind when I wrote this (let's face it, I'm way more into Damon than Stephan on The Vampire Diaries)  but once I started searching for images to put with the piece, he fit the bill nicely. 

In case you can't see the image above, here's the story without the image.

Like a moth drawn to the flame of a single candle, I chase him. Run my fingers through his chocolate brown hair and offer my heart if he will just stay one more day. Tug at his thick scarf, a vain hope I can physically keep what I’ve emotionally lost. He concedes. But I know he’s already gone.

Now hop along and check out what my fellow Romance Weekly authors did with these three words, starting with Mikki Cober!

Romance Weekly: August 12, 2014

Welcome friends to another week of Romance Weekly. I love Tuesdays. Why? Because I love popping around to see what all my fellow RW pals are saying. I also love the comments they leave. And I love having the push to blog, because let's face it, I suck at it most of the time. If you're popping over from Meggan Connors' blog, what do you think of her alien encounter at Starbucks idea? I think it's great! 

Now, on to our questions of the week! 

1. Does humour help or hinder you in your creative process?

I try not to think about it. I like it when readers say they laugh while reading my books, but I honestly don't try to set out to write funny things. Certain situations or phases might strike one reader as funny, while another might laugh at something else. I like that there's humour in my writing, but it's not deliberate. If I had to think about being funny, it would definitely hinder my process. Plus, I'm not funny in real life. At all. I'm much better with the written word than the spoken. Trust me. 

2. What is a favorite go-to book or movie you use to unblock a problem in your writing?

It depends on the piece I'm working on. When I was stuck on Asher's story in 21 Century Rake, I listened to Sean McCann's "Help Yourself" album a lot. With Geek God, I got a bit obsessed with The Mindy Project (and I'm now in love with Danny Castellano), which helped because it showed me that even smart girls can be stund (that's a Newfoundland word ya today!) sometimes. But for the most part, I don't go in search of things to help. Rather, I talk it out with my fellow writers or hubby. And I just keep writing scenes until something makes sense to me. 

3. What’s the most inspiring book you’ve read this week or month that’s generated a new idea?

LOL. My last inspiration came from the Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook. Seriously. Cause I play it weekly, and one night as I lay in bed wondering why I was stumped with a WIP, a new idea came to mind. And it's totally based on my real-life geek existence, and D&D. That's where the Forever Geek trilogy idea came from. 

Admittedly, my answers this week are kinda blah. Great questions, I just didn't have earth shattering answers. Still, I love my Tuesday blogging and the pals that go with it so instead of skipping out because of lack-lusted answers, I just barrel on. :)

See you all next week. And in the meantime, pop over to one of the newest members of the Romance Weekly clan, Xio Axelrod, and see her answers to these questions. I think this might be her very first week blog hopping with us! Yay Xio! 

Romance Weekly: August 5, 2014

Food! I love food. Which is why I'm so excited for this week's question. Just one. Very simple. And totally worth blog-hopping for. I mean, writer or not, everyone is looking for the answer to this important, daily question. If you've come here from Fiona's page, welcome. At the time of writing this post she hadn't posted her post, so I can't comment on what deliciousness she has on offer when she answered this week's tasty question:

What's your go-to 15 minute recipe?

I've got several depending on if I'm feeding myself, or the whole family. You can't go wrong with homemade pizzas made on Nann bread. Quick and yummy. I also love pork burgers on the BBQ with souvlaki seasoning. I buy mine from my sister, who sells Epicure Selections (my fav. spices!) Toss some lettuce and tomato with balsamic vinegar and oil to add as a topping and it's heaven. I also love to fry up some hamburger meat with onions, stir in ketchup and mustard and then serve it over chips (french fries), however,  baking the chips in the oven takes longer than our 15 minute goal, so that recipe is out. 

But here's my favourite go-to dish. My hubby doesn't like this (he's strictly a tomato-sauce guy) and I don't know if the wine cooks off quickly enough for the baby, so this is what I treat myself to on a evening when it's just me and I want a quick, gourmet meal. Yup, I've even made this and eaten it right from the stove as I wrote or edited at the laptop perched on the kitchen counter. 

Note: This is not my picture. I totally swiped it from the net, and the blog of someone who likely has an even better recipe than I do! Click the image to go to The Messie Kitchen blog.

Angel hair pasta in a white wine, garlic, cream sauce

There are many recipes out this for this, likely better than mine. But I can toss this together so quickly that I just wing it every time. I'm not big on measuring things so add depending to taste. Here's what I do when I'm making just enough for me. 

Must-have ingredients

1 Shallot/Onion

1-2 cloves of garlic depending on the size

butter to fry it all in

white wine (whatever is in the fridge, nice and cold so I can drink while I cook)

sour cream or yogurt

angel hair pasta or another skinny spaghetti-type pasta that cooks in just a couple of minutes

PLUS: You can totally add in chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, whatever you want. I like to keep the palate white/brown so I don't get colourful, but there's nothing stopping you other than the time it takes to cut and cook more ingredients. 

What I do

1. Put some water on to boil. Add salt and oil if you feel like it.

2. If you're using chicken or shrimp, cook that first in butter with salt and pepper. Set aside when done.

3. Melt a nice bit of butter in a frying pan.

4. Cut shallot and garlic into wee little bits and add it to the frothy yummy butter

5. When the onions are looking cooked, pour in wine till the bottom of the pan is covered. I use a deep frying pan about 8 inches around so I let the wine be about half an inch high.

6. Crank up the heat and let it reduce by half or until you don't want to wait any more. 

7. Toss your quick cooking pasta into the boiling water. 

8. Add a spoon of sour cream or yogurt. Stir and reduce heat. 

9. If you have meat set aside, toss it in the sauce. If not, just toss the pasta into the sauce once it's cooked. 

10. Stir it around, sprinkle on some salt and pepper, and eat. Civilized people will put it in a bowl and likely add some parmesan cheese or something. Hungry writers might just eat it from the pan.

I used to order variations of this when I'd go out to a fancy restaurant. But now that I know how little effort it takes, I can't justify paying $20 or more for something I can cook in about ten minutes.

You might be tempted to stop the blog hop here and go make this, but don't! Instead, go see what Raine Balkera is suggesting. I'm betting my supper tonight is somewhere down the path of this blog hop! 

Romance Weekly: July 29, 2014

I've missed the last few weeks because I was on holiday in Ireland. But what a great week to come back. Today we're doing things a little differently. Instead of answering three questions, we're just tackling one great one. 

What are your top ten romances of all time?

I'm going to keep my answers to books, because if I were to incorporate movies and real life and plays etc, my list would go on forever. So here they are in no particular order because I can't refine my mind that much!

The Time Traveler's Wife

By Audrey Niffenegger

Buy on Amazon

Gone with the Wind

By Margaret Mitchell

Buy on Amazon

Ten Things I Love About You

By Julia Quinn

Buy on Amazon

A Duke of Her Own (Desperate Duchesses)

By Eloisa James

Buy on Amazon

Rules of an Engagement

By Suzanne Enoch

Buy on Amazon

Outlander

By Diana Gabaldon

Buy on Amazon

Into the Wilderness

By Sara Donati

Buy on Amazon

Forever Amber (Rediscovered Classics)

By Kathleen Winsor

Buy on Amazon

The Hazards of Hunting a Duke (Desperate Debutantes)

By Julia London

Buy on Amazon

The Parson's Daughter

By Catherine Cookson

Buy on Amazon

As I was making this list, I was amazed with how easy these titles popped to mind. And I know why. There's a trend with all of these romances. Each and every one of them was recommended to me by my grandmother, my muse and mentor in all things related to romance novels. She's why I write. She's why I read. And she's why there's still a gaping hole in my heart whenever I think of her. I write using my real name because I'm proud of what I write. But if I ever do need a pseudonym, it will be her name I use. 

Now, enough of my emotional ramblings. I sure didn't think I was going to get sappy making a list. I think I'll pop on over to the brilliant and lovely Brenda Margriet now the once and see what fabulous list she concocted for us. 

Room to Write: A peek into an author's writing space

I asked some of my fellow Passionate Kisses box set authors to share with me where they write. I've been thinking a lot lately about life as a writer before having a child and after. Back before him, I was big into finding the "right" writing environment. I had idea sod what my writing space should look like, and what I should do for inspiration. But now that I'm a full time author/full time mom, my writing space has turned out to be anywhere I happen to be with a free moment. 

It was this curiosity that led me to wonder where other contemporary romance author get creative.

First up, Jessi Gage. I'm leading with Jessi because when she sent me her photo it reminded me of one of my favourite places to write in the house. Can you spot the similarity?

Jessi Gage's neat writing space. If you wanna check out what she creates from here, click on her nice red sofa and you'll go straight out to her Amazon page. 

My not-so near writing space. And no, the smurf has no significance other than that's where the wee one's hat happened to be resting while I was writing. Sorta creepy.

This what Jessi said about her space.

"Here’s where the magic happens for me, LOL! It’s central to the huge messes my kids create every day, so I can pick and choose which areas to clean (or not to clean) as my muse dictates."

Then we have Sydney Holmes. What I love about Sydney's space is how upfront it is about a common writer's addiction: coffee and places to drink it. 

Click Sydney's coffee house photo to check out her Amazon page.  And nice computer, my friend. Very nice. ;)

This photo was taken pre-baby when I had the luxury of hiding away for a week in the woods to do nothing but write and drink coffee. Ahhhhh. Still, wouldn't trade what I do now for anything in the world. 

ere's what Sydney had to say about her coffee shop writing.

"What's not to like, it's clean, smells delicious and not my car!"

Since Sydney mentioned cars, my next photo of my space will prove that yes, writers do write in their cars. Often. 

Hey. At least I'm eating fruit while I write in my car. That's progress. 

Then we have Allie Boniface, who has the closest thing to a home office of all the photos sent to me. And I need to apologies to Allie right now. She didn't sent me this picture in this messed up angle. But it's late, my blog isn't cooperating, and I have packing to do for a trip, so I'm giving up trying to fix it and will just ask your indulgence to twist your head a little. 

Ah cats and their love of taking over our workspace. If you're not a cat owner you don't understand just how common this is for felines. It's like they know we need to work and aren't having any of it. To see what Allie has created with Hannah along for the ride, click the kitty and you'll be transported to her Amazon page. 

Allie says of her space:

"Though I sometimes work on my laptop, lately I've been writing on my desktop in my home office. My writing coach, Hannah, is a big fan of ebooks, as you can see. She'd much rather sit on the printer than have me use it!"

And now we get to Liz Kelly. Ahhhh, Liz. Who gives us the glamourous side of being an author. When I saw this photo I immediately wrote to tell her to expect me there soon. All I can say is "Heaven".

Seriously Liz? I'm officially jealous! No wonder her books rock. Click on any of the beauty above and pop over to Lis's Amazon page. 

Here's what she says about this spectacular space:

"For 8 months out of the year my office is poolside in Naples, Florida.  I swear, sitting her the stories just write themselves."

Honestly, I don't think I'd get out of the pool to write. I'd need to invest in a waterproof laptop. In case you're wondering where she spends the rest of the year (the summer) she heads to Chicago. 

So there you have it. Four of my Passionate Kisses pals and their writing spaces. Thanks so much to Jessi, Sydney, Allie and Liz for sharing with me. 

Finally, once last photo from one of my favourite places to write, even though I don't get there often. I'll leave you with this little piece of heaven in Newfoundland. 

I love being surrounded by tress and silence. 

Into the Darkness: J.J. Devine's hot new release

My fellow Romance Weekly pal J.J. Devine has a new novel out today! And I'm thrilled to share a bit about Into the Darkness with you today. 

I asked J.J. to sum it up in a couple of sentences and here's what she said to entice me!

“Witches and vampires can only be found in make believe worlds, right? This is exactly what Raven thought before that fateful night when her mortal world came crashing down around her, bringing to her fingertips the fate of two very different worlds, vampires and witches. ”

— J.J. Devine

Now I'll be the first to confess that I'm a sucker for witches and vampires (thanks Anne Rice for that!) and so it's no wonder that I'm frothing at the mouth to get my hands on this. I have an excerpt below but if you want to jump right in and pick up a copy, click on the image here and you'll go right to J.J's Amazon author page. 

If you want to find out more about J.J. Devine and her books, here are some links to all the fantastic places you can reach her. Tell her I sent you. ;) 

Website:

http://definingjjdevine.weebly.com/

Blog:

http://definingjjdevine.weebly.com/ramblings-of-a-writer.html

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/JJDevineAuthor?ref=ts&fref=ts

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/JjDevine2010

Good luck on your release day, my friend. And for you, dear readers, enjoy this nice juicy excerpt. Happy reading! 

Excerpt from Into the Darkness by J.J. Devine

Raven awoke with a start. A single candle penetrated the darkness engulfing her. Her body began to tremble as she assessed her strange surroundings. She smelled Dragon; he was close. Her body hummed its need for him. What happened tonight? Where am I?

Tremors overtook her, remembering the events of the night. What had she become involved with? Vampires? Witches? And who were they trying to fool? Moreover, for what purpose?

Dragon’s heady scent filled her senses, drawing again her craving for blood. If she was the daughter of a vampire, as Tristan would have her believe, then why did she not have fangs?

Romance Weekly: July 8, 2014

Welcome welcome welcome! I'm so excited to talk about characters and new projects today. If you're popping over here from the talented and creative Fiona Riplee's blog, so glad to see you. :) I just love her posts.  I like that you've come here from Fiona because that's the name of one of my characters I'm talking about below. 

Now, because I have lots of writing to do today, let's get into the questions, shall we? 

1. How did you go about choosing the names for your characters?

Naming characters is hard work. Sometimes, if you're lucky, a name comes to you from the beginning and you just know that's it. Cam and Elsie. Daphne and Jack. Asher/Ted. But Fiona had many names. When I first wrote her back in 2002 she was Brenna. And then when I started reworking the book, she was everything from Anna to Grace. I wanted a name that sounded good with Dillon, and yet fit her personality. In the end, I put myself in the position of her parents. What would people who named their second and third daughters Grace and Hannah name their first. Fiona made sense to me then. Right now I'm struggling to name the hero in my Forever Geek trilogy. He started off as Evan. Right now he's Grant. Stay tuned when the book goes live cause his name could be anything yet. I even asked my friends on my Facebook page to suggest names. Nothing has stuck yet. 

2. Where did the inspiration for your current book come from?

Ahhhh. Geek God. How excited I am to be talking about this WIP. If you've been following this blog for months you'll notice how frequently my WIP has changed. About two weeks ago, as I worked to finish the Ida novella, or start a novella about Asher and Grace, I realized that I needed a little break from Heart's Ease. I was lying in bed with my geeky hubby and baby and I thought about what it was like to fall in love with a geek. The trilogy came to life in that moment. I was awake until 3 am writing lines of dialogue, little insights, etc. Since that night I've almost got the book finished (maybe by today!), have worked with my cover designer and did a photo shoot and designed all three covers, have named the books, and am basically in love with this fun, sweet contemporary series. I can't wait to share it with you!

3. What methods do you use to ensure you have no plot holes (journal, storyboard, outline, editor, etc.)?

Here's my fine-tuning process, in this order: Crit partner, editor, alpha readers, beta readers, read out loud. 

Now get busy and head over to J.J. Devine's blog to see how she answered these questions. AND be sure to pop back here tomorrow because I'll be sharing the blog with J.J. as she dishes about her new release, Into the Darkness. Meow! This is gonna be fun. 

OH! And since it's July, that means our six month Romance Weekly anniversary is swiftly approaching. We're having a big party on July 29th and giving away so many great books and prizes! Check out this rafflecopter below for your chance to enter! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Romance Weekly: July 1, 2014

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian peeps. And happy nearly July 4th to my American friends. For those of you elsewhere, happy summer reading season. Hope you've all found some great new reads to sink your teeth into as you relax in the heat. 

For those of you that made your way here from my new bud, Vicki Mixon, a big welcome! I have to say that I love that she has a character named Scar, don't you?

Now enough preamble. I'm excited to jump into this week's questions so let's get er done, shall we?

1.   Do any characters you've written into your books remind you of yourself? Explain which ones and why.

Not as a whole. There are characters who do have bits of me in them, but none of my characters are me, that's for certain. Let's see if I can identify which traits each of my four heroines have that I can identify with.

Elsie. Hmmm. She's way to organized to be like me. But we are both short. And she loves berries. Oh, yea. Now I remember. There's a scene where she talks about how terrible she is at berry picking because she eats more than she picks. That's me. 

Daphne. I think the only thing she and I have in common is a love for bright, bold colours. And comfy dresses. Other than than, I can't think of a thing. After all, I'm certainly not a peeping tom. ;)

Fiona. I wrote Fiona when I was 27 years old. In retrospect, she has some of the younger me wildness. And like Fiona, I adore folk music. But I can't play to save my soul.

Grace. Ahhhh. Grace. Grace's love of romance novels and role playing games are totally stolen from my life. But again, I think it ends there. 

2.   Was there a teacher or mentor in your life who helped nurture your writing?

Nurture my writing, no. Nurture my creativity, totally. My grade five teacher was awesome (most of my teachers were). Every friday afternoon the last hour of school was dedicated to skits, dances, poetry readings, whatever we wanted. I often hosted a weekly version of the school news and also acted out ads for various products. One time I built a cardboard car and did an ad for a Ford Festiva. Why, I don't know. I was a weird kid, I think. No wonder I grew up to be both a journalist and a copywriter. Thanks Mrs. Roche. 

3. Every author has that moment when they doubt their ability to write. When that happens to you, how doyou pull yourself up by the bootstraps and continue? What do you do to inspire YOURSELF?    

How timely is this question or what? This happens to me quite often. Normally just after I've published a book. I can't stand to go back and read a newly published book because all of a sudden I feel as if I could have done so much better. But my husband is how I pull myself together. He's my biggest fan, and he's very good at pointing out to me all the good things that I need to keep in mind when I write. He'll read me reviews, or even bits from a book that he knows that I was excited to write at the time. And when I feel like I just can't write one more word, he's there to let me off the hook and remind me that it's okay to take a break and wait to be inspired. As for me inspiring myself, I think about my goals. Why am I writing? Who am I writing for? What would I be doing if I wasn't writing? And above all else, would I be happy? (Hell no!) That reality check gets me going again. 

Now, don't stop here! Make your way over to Susan Peterson Wisnewski's wicked blog and see how she answered these very questions. And while you're there, make sure you enter her Goodread's giveaway for her novel, Chasing the Rainbow.

Happy romance weekly blog hopping all. And remember, we love to get comments. It makes us very happy romance writers. And a happy romance writer is a productive romance writer. 

Romance Weekly: June 24, 2014

Thanks to Collette Cameron for this weeks questions, and thanks to Jo Richardson for linking to me this week. At the time of writing this post, her post wasn't live yet so I can't give you any insight on her answers (in case you didn't land here from her blog!) but I'm sure they are awesome? Why so sure? Because while here on the blog you get to know us authors, we are also getting to know each other pretty well, and I'm thrilled to say that the Romance Weekly group of writers are turning into some pretty great pals. So yay for that. And now, on to this weeks questions: 

1. How do you respond to someone calling your writing smut or demeaning your work in some other way?

Luckily, no one has dared call my work smut to my face. If they think it, then in all likelihood they haven't even read my books. There's a difference in demeaning the genre, which happens (see this post) and demeaning my work in particular. The most I've had happen is well-meaning people ask me when I'm going to write "a real book." That hurts a bit. My books are real books. I know they mean when are you going to write the historical fiction that you've been thinking about for years. But what they don't realize is that even those books are romances. I just smile, try and educate them on the romance genre, and move on. 

2. When critiquing or beta reading, do you ever find the voice of the other author creeping into your writing?

Not really. I wish I had a longer answer here, but I don't. 

3. What’s one quirky thing you do or must have around you while writing?

I make faces and touch myself. NOT that way! Geesh. Dirty minds! ;) But I find I'm mimicking the actions of my characters to see how it feels, how to describe it, etc. I also wiggle in my chair a lot and wiggle my fingers above the keyboard as I think. I'm a bit of public show when I'm writing in a coffee shop, I bet! 

And now, let's head over to Veronica Forand to see how she's answered these questions. She's new to the group so she'll likely have a fresh new take on these questions. AND a big congrats to Veronica, who just signed a three novel contract with Entangled Publishing! Well done you! I'll be pimping her books when they come out, you can be sure of that! 

Speaking of pimping, just a tiny reminder about the Passionate Kisses Boxed Set, just .99 cents right now for 10 novels. 

And Collette Cameron's The Vicount's Vow is also on sale for .99 cents. You should get both of them. :)