All About the Writing

Cover Reveal: Lord Rakehell's Love

I had planned to wait until this story was finished before showing off the cover, but I don't want to wait any longer! Especially since it seems like another story keeps pushing itself to the front of the writing queue.

I'm still working on the cover copy, which I've included below, but I'm sure it will change. In fact, if you have suggestions for improving it, please share! I'd be thrilled to hear your thoughts.

This is a novella, the first in The Curse of True Love Series, which was originally supposed to commence with Lord Wastrel, but then this story pushed its way to the front of the line. . .

What is it with my impatient stories and their inability to wait their turn?

Anyway, without further ado. . . ta dah!

Carrie Spencer of Cheeky Covers is the one who created this vision of loveliness, and once again I have to applaud her ability to transform my vague, hand-waving instructions into the exact cover I was hoping for. She also does it with patience and aplomb, not to mention speediness and a delightful sense of humor. I love all the covers she's done for me, but I think this new one might be my favorite. (Just don't say anything to Lord Midnight or Summer Lovin', okay?)

And here's the working blurb. Or not working. Maybe a little bit of both. Let's call it a draft blurb.

The Curse of True Love 

Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, is bored. To relieve her ennui, she decides to play matchmaker in Regency London. Unfortunately, bringing these lovers together is not as easy as it seems. . .

He was late to his own wedding

Simon is known as Lord Rakehell, so any sane woman would be wary of wedding a man of his reputation. He loves Georgiana, and is determined to prove it to her, but how can he overcome his wedding-day blunder?

She was heartbroken by the scandal

Georgiana knew the dangers of falling in love with an avowed rake, but she had not expected him to show up for their wedding with ladies-of-the-evening in tow. Now her aching heart must decide if Simon's protestations of love are real, or a means to restore his wounded pride from being left at the altar.

 

5 Sweet Peas for I DO. . .OR DIE

I'm thrilled that I Do. . .or Die received 5 sweet peas from Lady McNeill at Mrs. Condit Reads Books! It's a wonderful review, and I loved seeing her favorite quotes from the story. Now it's my turn to list my favorite quote from her interview: "I Do…or Die is a lovely romantic read and Ms. Cummings has made it onto my auto-buy list!"

*swoon*

Okay, I'm back. Mostly. I'm not sure there are any sweeter words for an author than "auto-buy list".

There's also an interview with the hero, Ryan Nichols, and Lady McNeill has given him an opportunity to describe things from his POV. Check it out. It may be your only chance to hear what he has to say about everything!

Winner of Happy Endings Giveaway Hop

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and commented and/or added Back on Track to their Goodreads list during this giveaway hop. I loved reading all the wonderful things that made you happy this past year, and I hope you have lots and lots more happiness in the coming year.

The winner of the advance copy of Back on Track is Shelly. Congrats, and happy reading!

Six Sentence Sunday: I Do. . . or Die #19

Ah, Six Sentence Sunday. I'm so sad to see you go. As my farewell gift, here's one of my favorite snippets, from Shelby, my commitment-phobe heroine. She's professed her love to Ryan, but this is how she reacts to the next step:

“Shelby, will you marry me?”

My heart thudded, in slow motion, while a combination of fear, and excitement, and dread swirled inside of me.

I could feel my forehead break out in a sweat, and then the room began to oscillate. I squeezed Ryan’s hands, to keep from slipping off my chair.

“Put your head between your knees,” Ryan said calmly, helping me with the task since I was about as useless as a girl could get right then.

“I wish your face was here instead of mine,” I said in a muffled voice.

Thanks to everyone for stopping by. I'm planning to continue some form of Sunday excerpts, and I'm hopeful that others are too.

Also, tomorrow I'll have a character interview with Ryan, at the Mrs. Condit Reads Books blog. It was really fun to do, and it's your chance to hear Ryan's thoughts about everything!

Tracking Your Characters

I joked the other day that I was going to implant GPS trackers in my characters, because I had no idea which direction they were heading.

It can be nervewracking when they set off down a different path than the one I'd initially planned. They give me a jaunty wave and say, "Let us show you what we have in mind", and I try to be brave enough to let them do just that. I remind myself that characters are meant to have a life of their own, and if they didn't, they wouldn't interest writers, or readers.

A TV show I used to enjoy, called Endgame, was about a Russian chess master, Arkady Balagan, who is unable to leave the hotel where he lives because he saw his fiancé get killed right outside the hotel. The last time he was outdoors was when he ran to her exploding car, but it was too late to save her. He is attempting to solve the mystery of his fiancé's death, and each week he also solves a variety of other situations involving hotel guests.

I wasn't sure there would be anything beyond this premise, so I didn't anticipate the show would hold my interest. For example, Arkady walks around the hotel in his bare feet, often wearing lounging clothes of some kind, treating the place as if it is his home, because it is. At first it seems a bit contrived--because it is.

However, the actor brings his own special interpretation to that collection of quirks and personality traits. He manages to inhabit the character so that what was a gimmick at the beginning actually becomes an indelible part of Arkady's persona.

It didn't take long before I was convinced he was acting this way because it's the way he is.

One scene shows him getting off the elevator, walking into the hotel lobby with his bare toes held apart by cotton balls since he just got a pedicure. It fits his personality perfectly. He's arrogant, and abrasive, insistent on getting his way, even when he's in the wrong. Yet we know he's in emotional pain from his fiancé's violent death, and we sympathize because he is doing his best to handle it, even if it is imperfectly.

These are some of the reasons he's endeared himself to me, so I continued watching the show, just to see more of his character and what he would do. (Unfortunately the show was cancelled after one season, so after getting attached to all of the characters, I was forced to let them go.)

With my books, I know just a small portion of my characters when I sit down to start their story, and I never know exactly what they'll do after I set them down in that first scene.

They reveal bits and pieces to me as I go along, showing me what they're feeling, and telling me what motivates them. Soon I can see them as fully-developed vibrant characters. I may have to revise that initial scene, but it's worth it, because it gives me a chance to watch them grow into their personalities.

They become people worth caring about, and it's my job to develop their story to fit who they really are. So while I may grumble about not knowing where they're headed, I'm actually having lots of fun chasing them around, following them while we both discover who they are.

Just don't let them know that.

Six Sentence Sunday: Back on Track #4

It's the next-to-last Six Sentence Sunday. A moment of silence please. *bows head* *wipes away tear*

This has been a fun week for Back on Track. I got to see it listed on the Samhain website for the first time--although it was funny to see the name "Amanda Cummings" instead of mine on the book page! (My name is definitely on the book cover, which is what counts.) You can read the first part of Chapter 1 there if you'd like.

And it was exciting to see a review of Back on Track from Fresh Fiction. I didn't know they had reviewed it, so it was a lovely treat to stumble across that.

Also, you can enter to win a copy, two months before it is released, by checking out the Happy Endings Giveaway Hop.

Finally, here's my snippet, where Allie and Matt, the baseball pitcher, have just outrun some of his fans. They're hiding in a tiny bathroom on the train so they can indulge in some private kissing:

“Perfect,” she murmured, right before she captured his mouth with her own. His lips were soft yet insistent, as if he’d been wanting this as long as she had. She wrapped her arms around his neck, stroking the tendrils of hair that escaped his hat, wishing he wasn’t wearing the thing. He must have read her mind, because he snatched it off and tucked it into his back pocket without moving his mouth from hers.

“What a pro,” she murmured.

“An all-star,” he said with a grin against her lips.

Hope you have a great Sunday, Sixies! Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Endings Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the Happy Endings Giveaway Hop, hosted by Nat from Reading Romances.

This is my first time participating in one of Nat's hops, although I was recently a guest on her blog. (You may remember my post where I argue that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas romance. It is. Go check it out and you'll see what I mean.)

Anyway, this past year has been one big happy ending for me. I sold two books, and one of them, I Do. . . or Die, was released in December by Crimson Romance. It was actually the second book I sold, but the first one published. The first book I sold, Back on Track, will be the second one published.

What can I say? I don't do things in a linear fashion!

To celebrate, I'm offering as a prize one e-copy of Back on Track, which will be released by Samhain as part of the Strangers on a Train series on April 2nd. It involves a hunky baseball pitcher, and a woman determined to get him to pose for her celebrity beefcake calendar, and the Napa wine train. . . Anyway, it's not released yet, so one lucky winner will be able to read it two months before it's published.

To enter, just leave a comment below on what has made you happy this past year. For an additional entry, add Back on Track to your Goodreads Want-To-Read list. 

Thanks to everyone for stopping by. This is also my first time using Rafflecopter, so fingers crossed that it all goes as planned!

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

First Chapter of I Do. . .or Die

I'm on a fun blog today, D. Renee Bagby Presents First Chapters, which highlights the first chapter of a different romance book every single day.

I Do. . .or Die is today's first chapter, so feel free to stop by and give it a look. You can also read other first chapters that have been presented, and see a list of upcoming books. There are a lot of great ones to hook you!

Interview at Romance Reviews Today

I'm interviewed at the Romance Reviews Today blog. Stop by and you can learn a little more about me, and my books. I also mention my muse, Endora, who will be working very hard with me today. Well, that's my plan. . .

Six Sentence Sunday: Back On Track #3

Here's another snippet from my upcoming Samhain novella, Back on Track.

In this scene, Allie and Matt are having lunch on the Napa wine train. Earlier, she told him she used to date Matt Kearns, the famous baseball pitcher, who just happens to be, well, him. Matt is intrigued by Allie, so he plays along, not knowing that she knows who he really is. . .

The food was incredible, the sort of gourmet experience Allie rarely indulged in, since she usually ate takeout in her office while working into the wee hours. And sitting across from the most handsome man she’d ever met, chatting about the luscious scenery while drinking glasses of Napa’s finest—well, that was definitely another plus to the whole dating thing.

She’d never think of an amuse-bouche the same way again.

Matt set down his fork. “I want to hear more about you and Matt Kearns.”

“I’m starting to think you’ve got a crush on him,” she said as innocently as she could.

Thanks again for stopping by. It's hard to believe we're almost to the end of Six Sentence Sunday. It's been so much fun!

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