All About the Writing

Six Sentence Sunday: Bad Sex Karma #3

Six Sentence Sunday again! This is from Bad Sex Karma, which I've posted about here and here.

Delia is hiding in the bathroom, after her weasel boyfriend broke up with her at their anniversary dinner. She's wondering why the "What Ifs"--her constant internal companions, also known as Worry, Dread, and Fear--didn't pick up on this potential disaster before it happened.

"How come the bad sex this morning didn't put you guys on high alert?" I growled.

In the next instant I heard a supersonic flush, and a puzzled matron with stiff blue hair waddled toward me from the very last stall, gazing at me with undeniable concern.

I tilted my head and put my hand on my ear, as if my Bluetooth were in place. "I can't hear you very well right now, so I'll have to call you back later, okay?" 

The woman smiled at me, visibly relieved that I wasn't a crazy person, talking to myself.

No, I was just a crazy person, talking to my overactive anxieties instead.

A Hero's Blog Hop: Lord Midnight

Today I'm part of this wonderful blog hop celebrating heroes. 

You'll have a lot of them to choose from, so make sure to visit all of the participating blogs. In addition to individual blog giveaways, there is a grand prize giveaway, with THREE grand prize winners drawn from the commenters at all of the blogs.

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: An amazing Swag Pack

Now for the hero I want to talk about: Gabriel, from my Regency historical, Lord Midnight. 

He's a highwayman, intent on avenging himself against his uncle, who tried to kill Gabriel when he was a child, stealing his title and estates. At first Gabriel plans to seduce Marisa, his uncle's bride-to-be, and he's been witty, charming, roguish, and very willing to explore Marisa's passionate nature. But then he discovers vengeance isn't quite what he expected it to be, and now he needs a great deal more from Marisa:

Gabriel took her face in his hands and gazed into the guileless eyes that robbed him of rational thought. He rubbed his thumbs across the delicate skin covering her cheekbones, marveling once more at her complete lack of fear where he was concerned.

"Angel, trust me, if you will, for the same reasons you have done so from our first meeting."

He watched the emotions flit across her beautiful face. Clearly she struggled, weighing the consequences of his request to trust in him when she had not a single reason to do so. He was asking her to forego a certain escape on the chance that he would—or could—save her from everything she feared.

He opened his mouth to withdraw the offer. He could not force her to make a choice like this, not when it concerned someone she loved so much.

Yet he wanted her to believe in him. He needed her faith in that moment, more than anything else he had ever held dear. He continually asked for her trust, and each time she gave it willingly, without faltering. Yet he had never offered any to her.

Gabriel raised his hand to the strip of leather around his eyes. He hesitated. He had never trusted anyone but his rogues with his identity. Once he removed the mask, Marisa would be able to identify him in great detail should she wish to betray him to the authorities.

Marisa watched him, clearly intrigued.

Gabriel untied the knot holding his mask in place. He lowered the thin piece of black leather, shocked at how vulnerable he felt.

A tender smile lit Marisa's face. She traced her fingers around his eyes, and down his nose, as if memorizing every bit of his features. His heart thumped madly, though whether at her delicate touch or his fear of exposure, he was not certain.

She continued to outline his face with her fingers. He did not want her to stop, yet the waiting for her answer was well nigh unbearable. Her exploration ended with her fingertips against his lips, and he kissed the soft skin, relishing her answering sigh.

I will be giving away a $10 gift card (your choice of Kobo, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble) to help you add some more heroes to your collection. Just tell me who your all-time favorite heroes are, and what makes them so wonderful.

Remember to include your email address in your comment. The grand prize winners will be selected from all the blog hop comments and they will be contacted directly by the blog hop hostess.

The blog hop lasts through Tuesday, July 31st, so go check out all the other heroes here: http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/p/a-heros-hop.html

 

Switching Gears

I've been thinking about changing things here a bit, and one thing I've decided is to do my once-a-week posting on Wednesdays. I used to do the Monday Mojos and Friday Faves, and then I dropped Fridays recently. But now that I'm happily involved with Six Sentence Sunday, I don't have the same amount of time to do the kind of post I'd like for Mondays. (Which is why you haven't seen one the past couple of weeks. *ahem*)

So I'm going to switch to posting on Wednesdays. It works better for my schedule, and I hope it will accomodate yours too.

I also plan to write about topics that will be more specific to my books, not just writing in general. I'm going to be immersed in various aspects of the publishing process in the near future, and I'd love to share that with you. Hopefully you'll find it informative and entertaining!

Thanks for accompanying me on this writing journey. I've been blogging now for over three years, and it's been fun getting to know everyone. I'm looking forward to the next three years!

Six Sentence Sunday: I Do or Die #9

I haven't gotten tired of saying this yet, so I hope you'll indulge me when I mention, once more, that I've contracted with Crimson Romance to publish my romantic comedy, I Do. . .or Die. I know Shelby and Ryan have entertained you via six-sentence snippets in the recent past, and I'm excited that the entire story will be available to read in one sitting in the near future!

In today's bit, Shelby has managed to get her heart involved, even though she didn't mean to, and she's trying to convince herself it doesn't hurt when she and Ryan go their separate ways:

I stepped back, reminded of why this was a short-term thing, and had been from the very beginning.

In the next instant I felt my heart cry out, "I told you so!", as if I didn't already know how foolish I'd been, indulging in silly little scenarios of happily ever after.

Me? Long-term? Please. I've had colds last longer than my relationships.

Thanks again for stopping by, and for celebrating with me. I'm looking forward to everyone's six sentences today!

A Contract for I Do. . .or Die

I'm so excited to announce this news. I've just signed a contract with Crimson Romance for I Do. . .or Die, which means that Shelby and all her craziness will be out there for everyone to read in the near future. I love this kooky character so much, and I know she's endeared herself to many of the Six Sentence Sunday commenters, so I'm looking forward to everyone else reading this story.

Here's the blurb, so you can see what it's about:

"Always a bridesmaid, never a bride" is Shelby Atwood's personal credo. She's managed to avoid commitment all her life -- no pets, no plants, not even a long-term lease. Heck, she's had colds last longer than her romantic relationships. How could she be any other way when she has a gigolo for a father?

But then gunfire erupts at the latest wedding she's been talked into, and it ends up being the best thing to happen to Shelby's love life. Detective Ryan Nichols is assigned to the case, and when the shootings don't stop, he becomes her 24-hour bodyguard. Shelby wouldn't mind except Ryan is too appealing, too sexy, and too happy to remind her of the raucous bachelorette party when she mistook him for a stripper.

Shelby's plan is simple: find the shooter, have a fling with Ryan, and return to her non-committal life. Unfortunately, the shooter is very elusive. Shelby's feelings for Ryan are way more than adrenaline-fueled lust. And returning to her normal life is now impossible since, despite her lifelong resistance, she's managed to put her heart smack dab in the line of fire.

Okay, I need to get the celebratory coffee drinks set up, and I've planned a huge virtual dessert banquet for everyone. Thanks for celebrating with me!

Six Sentence Sunday: Bad Sex Karma #2

Another Six Sentence Sunday--no wonder it's my favorite day of the week!

I've included another snippet from Bad Sex Karma, where the heroine Delia has just been dumped by her boyfriend at their anniversary dinner. She's in the bathroom, trying to figure out what to do next:

Unfortunately for me, I still loved the man who had just crushed my heart and tossed it to the ground. It would be so much easier if I could hate him, but I hadn't had time to make the switch. Bradley had gotten a headstart and was raring to move forward, while I was still in the warming-up phase known as "breakup foreplay". 

I could just sit here in the bathroom for a while longer, nursing my broken heart out of the sight of all those prying eyes in the restaurant. If I went back to the table now, my reddened eyes would give away my distress, although I could say I was suffering from allergies.

Allergies to assholes.

Thanks for stopping by each week, and for all your lovely comments. I really appreciate them, and I look forward to reading your six sentences every Sunday.

Six Sentence Sunday: Bad Sex Karma

This is a story that is near and dear to my heart. It got me back to writing, after a long hiatus, and it's the book that made me realize I'm a pantser--and proud to be one.

It starts out with the heroine, Delia, going to a fancy schmancy Boston restaurant with her boyfriend to celebrate their five-year anniversary. She worries that he's going to propose, but he surprises her by breaking up with her instead:

"Why today?" I cried, causing the blue-haired matron at the next table to frown in my direction. I lowered my voice, even though I fought the urge to flip her off. "It's our anniversary, for God's sake--did you think you had to end it on the same day it started?" 

I'd known he was a neat freak, but this bordered on obsessive compulsive.

My head throbbed at the unfairness of it all.

I didn't want to sit here, pretending to eat a pleasant meal with my snake of an ex-boyfriend, yet I was pretty sure they wouldn't let me stab him repeatedly with my dinner fork until the tines broke off.

Thanks for stopping by. I'm travelling and may be a little late getting to everyone's posts, but I can't wait to read them! 

Signing the Contract

What an exciting moment, signing a publishing contract. For the first time. And hopefully for the first of many times.

And yet, as exciting as this moment is, it hasn't quite felt real. I'm still sitting here in my jammies, cajoling the characters in my current WIP, tweeting about coffee-related silliness on Twitter, and then all of a sudden I realize, "Hey, I just signed a contract. For one of my stories. To be published."

It's a completely different experience than I imagined.

For one thing, the contracts arrived via email, which makes sense in this day and age, and I do like instantaneous communication. Heck, who has time to check the snail mail box everyday? But it was kind of strange when I signed the forms and returned them--online. I also got an instant reply saying the forms were received, so there was no wondering or waiting or chewing of fingernails. In addition, there's a copy sitting in my email inbox that I can refer to whenever I want.

Absolutely no paper was used in the execution of this contract.

Which means there were no papers for me to misplace and then scramble around trying to find, hoping I wouldn't have to ask for another copy while covering up my extreme embarrassment at losing something so important. There was also no need for a trip to the post office, which I usually dread and put off until even later than the last minute, waiting in line longer than if I'd gone when I should have in the first place.

I didn't have to look for a pen, either. Which I can never find, even though I've accumulated easily forty-eleven billion of them in my lifetime. And when I do find one, it has run out of ink, because I always lose the cap, especially when it's in my purse--the better to stab me with when I'm frantically searching for a pen to sign very important papers.

No wonder this doesn't seem real. It was easy. Easier than easy. It was quick and efficient.

Which leaves me lots of time to think about how exciting this whole experience is.

Six Sentence Sunday: Back on Track

I mentioned last month about my sale to Samhain, for a novella titled Back on Track. It's part of an anthology called Strangers on a Train, with awesome stories from Ruthie Knox, Samantha Hunter, Cara McKenna, and Serena Bell. Since I recently got the contract to sign, as well as a release date (April 2013), I thought I'd celebrate by sharing a snippet of the story for Six Sentence Sunday.

First, here's the blurb: 

Allie Whittaker hasn’t had time for dating—she’s too busy getting her fledgling marketing company off the ground. All she needs to hit a home run for her business is for baseball superstar Matt Kearns to agree to be on the cover of a charity calendar. Unfortunately, Matt has refused even to talk to her. When she sees him on an afternoon train tour, Allie decides to tell him three things about herself—including one lie—as a way of getting close. 

Matt Kearns is in a slump, worried that his career might be over. A Napa Valley wine tour isn’t enough to take his mind off his troubles, but sexy Allie is. When she tells him she used to date baseball player Matt Kearns, he decides to play along. But pretty soon the truth comes out, and they find they are playing for keeps.

In this scene, they are still getting to know each other. Matt has been having fun asking Allie what it was like when she dated the famous baseball player Matt Kearns (himself), and Allie's having just as much fun making up lies about the man she's never met until today:

"He’s probably got all kinds of weird superstitions, too,” Matt said with a great deal of glee in his voice. "Does he wear mismatched socks that haven’t been washed in months--just to keep a winning streak alive?"

"No," Allie said, biting back a smile, "he actually wore smiley-face footie socks, with a little pompon in the back."

He choked but covered it up with a cough into his fist. "Why would he do that?"

"He said it made him happy."

The Romance Reviews (TRR) Sizzling Summer Reads Party

The Romance Reviews (TRR) Sizzling Summer Reads Party is being held the entire month of July, and there are over 400 authors and publishers participating, with over 400 prizes to be won. The Grand Prize is a $100 gift certificate. There are lots of fun activities planned, so stop by the event, and stop by often!

You can enter to win a copy of Summer Lovin' by answering the Q&A posted on the event page. (If you don't know the answer, I've got a hint for you, in this excerpt.) Go check out the Q&A, and get ready for a month-long fun event!