New Book Trailer for Frozen Assets

New Indie Published Books Go Live!

Finally, both Millicent and Frozen Assets have gone live! For now they're up at Smashwords. Frozen Assets is up on Amazon and Millicent will probably be there tomorrow. Here are the links as they stand now--please note I have included a coupon code for Millicent on Smashwords. Use it if you buy it there (all formats but Kindle/mobi/prc, and get the book for $1.00).


Smashwords
Coupon Code at Checkout (for it discounted to $1.00): RW33Q
Amazon Kindle




Amazon Kindle
Smashwords

Find out more about the new series at www.TheCashChroniclesSeries.com

Interview with Stormy Knight

Stormy Knight is an author of erotic romance and erotica. Her newest work, Red Hot Lightning, a Dirty Bits short story, is available from Sapphire Nights Books. This is my first erotica author on the blog. She is a longtime friend who also writes as herself in another genre.

How did you come up with the title of your book?
Having sex during a thunderstorm has always excited me. I also heard a Mystic Moods song one time that had the thunder in the background while moans can be heard from two lovers in the throes of passion. Of course, it didn’t hurt something similar happened to me a long time ago, so, I can say there’s a kernel of truth in this story.

What is Red Hot Lightning about?
It’s about a woman who has had bad luck in relationships and now has gone a long time without sex. Spurred on by the relentless heat and spiraling tension, she decides to do something about it. She remembers a man has recently given her an invitation to visit, and she doesn’t think he wants her over for tea.

What made you decide to write erotica?
Can I say it was because I hadn’t done it? (grins) I’ve written all types of romance but not this one. I heard Sapphire Nights Books, www.sapphirenightsbooks.com, had an open call for submissions and thought, why not? I’m a male/female erotica kind of girl and don’t think I’ll never get too kinky with my writing, but I believe readers will find it extremely hot.

What are your current projects?
I just finished a novella, All for Lust, the first in what I hope will be a series of three(or maybe more, because I really want to bring back the man who is the love interest in book one). Here’s hoping my editor likes it.

I’ve also submitted another Dirty Bits short story.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Making sure there’s enough sex and it’s varied. I have had a very eventful “dating” life in my past, so I’m no angel. But, I’m still learning about all sorts of things I never tried. Who knew?

Do you have any advice for other writers?
Make sure you really know how to write and practice your craft a lot before you try to submit anything. Don’t think you can throw a lot of sex at the public without a story to hold it together. Did I mention your characters have to be well-developed?

Can you share a blurb with us (G-rated, please)?
Skye Miller is so tense, not even a full set of tennis can unwind her tight muscles—her tension heightened by a raging summer storm that grips the town. But a hot and sweaty set of tennis is not the physical exercise she craves, nor will the pounding rain erase her pain. Thank the sex gods above she remembers a possible remedy just up the street. And he’s already posed the invitation.



Available at:

Smashwords
AllRomance Ebooks
Amazon Kindle
Barnes & Noble Nook

Follow me at http://twitter.com/steamystormy
At my website: www.stormyknight.net
And my blog: http://steamystormyknight.Blogspot.com

Broken Hearts Blogfest

Sorry folks, late today. Here is my post from It's Magic. It's now available in print and online at lost retailers. After you read and/or comment go on to the next blog in the hop by clicking the button in the right sidebar.:

There are many ways in which dogs are superior to their male owners. In previous chapters, I have touched on some of these traits.

Now we will discuss the most important way in which dogs excel: they cannot tell a lie.

A dog hates to admit the truth, especially when it might get him in trouble, but who doesn’t? The real difference between man and his dog is the dog can’t tell a lie.

His body language tells the truth. His tail tucks between his legs. His ears flatten to the sides of his head. His jaw droops. He refuses to look you in the eye, not wanting to see disapproval or disappointment there.

The dog is smart.

Men on the other hand, can be dishonest. They can and do look you in the eye and lie without a trace of remorse. They have become virtuosos of the falsehood.

Here are several of the ways they disguise their deceit:

1. Act like he doesn’t know anything about what happened. This is very effective when they’ve ruined something you own. Say, heaven forbid, you let them near the laundry and they shrink your angora sweater. A man’s response? “How was I supposed to know? It was in the bag next to the washer.” The fact the bag is marked ‘Dry-cleaning’ is not considered relevant.

2. Change the subject when you ask a question. To be fair, this isn’t lying, just not telling the truth. This is what I call “a dishonest omission.”

3. Take the offensive. When you aggressively pursue the truth, the man will turn on you, finding that one kink in your armor and attack. The hoped for result is making you feel guilty.

4. Some men swear they’re telling the truth, while you know they’re lying. These men could be caught naked in bed with a woman and would declare the bedmate was suffering from hypothermia, and he was doing his best to keep her alive. Should you point out that it’s ninety degrees outside, they will attack claiming you’re selfish and don’t care if the woman dies. These men should be avoided at all costs. You’ll never be sure when what they said is reality or well-crafted dishonesty.


After saving her manuscript, Kasey closed the document on her computer. No question about it, she could kick herself for allowing herself to have dreams of what could be fill her mind, and then have them smashed, dashed, and crushed, to bring an acidic bite back to her writing.

Thank God, the book was back on track. Rising from her chair, she ambled from her office and down the front hall. Now, if only she regained control of her life.
Without thinking, she headed for the one place that never disappointed her--the kitchen. With soup spoon in hand, she opened the freezer. Retrieving the half-gallon of Rocky Road ice cream, she prayed she’d left enough from last night’s binge to satisfy tonight’s depression.

Complementary or Opplementary

Please welcome guest blogger, Kat Duncan, who graciously has joined us today to share a writing tip from her upcoming class at Savvy Authors.

A story needs people (characters). The story people need something to do (premise). Which comes first the premise or the people?

Well, my grandfather used to say, "If we had some tea, we could have tea and toast. If we had the toast."

I like to go opposite to the crowd. Most writers start with the premise. Let's try starting with people. We need at least one main character (protagonist). Two is good, since this is probably a romance novel. By the way three is not a crowd in romance. Three is either the antagonist (villain) or a ménage.

The story people have to interact. So you have to decide: are these people complementary or opplementary? Do they complement each other the way Jack Sprat and his wife did? (y'know the you eat fat and I eat lean folks). Complementary characters get along, share common goals and generally help each other.

Or are the characters opplementary? Opplementary people don't get along. They don't see eye to eye. Like Jack and the Giant (y'know the beanstalk guys). This applies to antagonists too. Just because a character is the villain, doesn't mean he can't get along with the protagonist. The scariest villains are characters the protagonist trusts - or thinks he trusts.

Once you decide whether the characters are complementary or opplementary, then you need a premise for them to tangle with. The premise puts the characters in a stressful situation. Stress is good. No stressful situation. No story. The stress can be mild or strong. You don't need to invent wild, mystical places (though it's great if you can) or have lots of shootouts, murders and disasters (though that's fine, too). Statistical analysis of the top ten stressors in life are:

1. Spouse’s death
2. Divorce
3. Marriage separation
4. Jail term
5. Death of a close relative
6. Injury or illness
7. Marriage
8. Fired from job
9. Marriage reconciliation
10. Retirement

So you can start there if you have no other ideas. Any character exposed to these stressors will react by changing behavior. Notice that these stressors are all external happenings. Mental stress goes with the premise, but it rarely works as the premise itself.

Your next job is to decide what is making the character behave that way (the way he's reacting to the stress). Is this the usual way the character behaves, or is it different? Think about who they are and what might make them react this way. For example how would your character react to being fired from a job? Would he be angry, relieved, fearful?

Next, have a look at what the character was expecting to happen versus what did happen. Again, complementary and opplementary can help you out here. If what they were expecting was opplementary, then it was unexpected and they don't like it. If what they were expecting was complementary, then it was unexpected and they do like it.

Notice the unexpected part. We don't want predictable things happening to characters.
Now you've got the proper ingredients for a story:

Complementary or opplementary people reacting to some kind of unexpected stressful situation.

Here are the four parts you need:
1. Complementary or opplementary characters
2. Reacting to
3. an unexpected
4. Stressful Situation

Thanks for stopping by. Share your comments here today and check out my year-long novel writing course that begins in May at Savvy Authors. You can also find me on the web at http://www.katduncan.net/writeabout

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kat Duncan obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and German from Regis College in Weston, MA. She is a Fulbright Scholar who spent a year in West Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall. She recently obtained her Master's Degree in Special Education from Gordon College in Wenham, MA. She is a full-time tutor to students from elementary through college and beyond in reading, writing and math. An active member of the New England Chapter of RWA, and RWA-PRO, she has written a series of popular newsletter articles on grammar and style. She has presented a grammar and writing workshops for beginning writers both locally and online. With seven completed manuscripts and numerous short stories she uses a spreadsheet to keep track of her multiple submissions to agents and editors. Her debut book, a romantic suspense novella, titled Fifty-eight Faces, is due out January 12, 2011 from The Wild Rose Press.

Is Time Travel Sci-fi?

Not too long ago, the owner of one of my listservs asked this question: is time travel classified as science fiction? There were mixed answers, but many proclaiming to be science fiction purists said "no." This, to me, makes no sense. I mean, even Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is considered a sci-fi fantasy. So why would so many proclaim it as not of the genre? This is my conclusion: time travel in fiction is more than sci-fi. It is cross-genre and anything that can't be easily classified as one thing is shunned as fitting at all.

I have a new book, make that old book totally re-edited and now a debut book at Black Opal Books. Craigs' Legacy was co-written with Linda Campbell under our pen name, Terry Campbell. It is the story of a modern day financial whiz who is pushed back through time by the ghost of a Confederate Colonel to save his life against three Union deserters. Is it possible? Not that we know of. Was techologically advanced equipment not yet known to man used? No,he pushed her back into an old wardrobe. But, did her body actually pass through a wormhole or cosmic string? Who knows? We may find out one day it can be done.

However, the story itself, though demonstrating how changes in our past can influence the present and the future, is a romance, is an historically-accurate account of times as they existed in 1864 Virginia, is a fantasy in that a woman can find her true love and hold on to it through time.

I am pleased it can be offered as a book that crosses four distinct genres.

Buy links:

Amazon

All Romance Ebooks