Vixenwriter

I wrote 12K this weekend with the help of my dude who gave me scads of alone time holed up in the bedroom so I could finish Making Chase. I’m about 2K away at this point from finishing and I’m pretty pleased at this point. I’ll need to print it out and do a read from beginning to end on paper to see where it’s going but it feels coherent at this point. Interesting though, there’s a fist fight and nearly another in this book. I don’t normally do that and of all the brothers, this one is the least likely to plant a fist in someone’s face. Still it works for him.

The heroine is “plus sized” or “rubenesque” or as Tate says, “fluffy” and when I write fluffy heroines I try to make them approach their size from different perspectives. I don’t write self loathing heroines, it’s not something I do. She doesn’t “find her beauty through the eyes of a man” or lose forty pounds or whatever either. She’s beautiful and she knows she possesses qualities that make her special.

At the same time, Tate knows that she’s with this man who’s been with many extraordinarily beautiful women and she knows she’s not the same on the outside. There’s a struggle with this because of course Matt’s sisters-in-law, especially Cassie and Liv are really stunning and Tate is put off by it. Still, she gets over it because Matt loves her. And not in a I was awful until he loved me sort of way, but when someone looks at you like you’re the best and most wonderful thing ever, those other beautiful women out there aren’t so daunting. It’s a fine line but I hate it when a larger heroine is written and she’s redeemed through the man – like being fat is a moral failing.

I just hope I write it right! Because Tate is a fun character but she’s broken too in many ways so I want to celebrate the parts that aren’t broken and write the parts that are.

So yesterday was aggrivating during the early part of the day. First my webhost’s servers went down for several hours so I couldn’t get to my email, messageboard or any other part of my website including the blog. But we had a sitter coming and four hours to ourselves (happy sigh) so that wasn’t going to stop me – even after the espresso machine went wonky and died.

On the trip out, my dude and I went to Waldenbooks at the Southcenter mall. There aren’t enough words to express my joy in a bookstore that’s welcoming to local authors and authors of all genres in general. They went out of their way with me, their manager, Beth, went above and beyond the call in working to help me set up signings there and was just really wonderful. Contrasted with the comment that my books and readers weren’t consistent with “shared community values” of a certain other manager and chain, this experience was really heartening and I left with several books I’d been looking for and a spring in my step and tentative plans for two signings – one this summer and one in November.

I also got two new dresses, one for RT (which I need to get shoes for) They’re going to be perfect for summer – or April in Houston. We also got a new espresso machine with a coffeemaker along side. It’s ginormous but really cool.

We wanted to get out and see The 300 but the lines were so long we wouldn’t have been able to see the showing during the time we had a sitter. Next time though! Still, we came home, had dinner, got the kids ready for bed, I wrote and later in the evening we watched Dresden and BSG – all in all, yesterday was a very good day!

I’m working on figuring out what I’m going to read for tomorrow’s reading at Babeland. I’m not sure just yet.

Got a review of Chased from Talia at Joyfully Reviewed! It’s totally wonderful so thanks to JR and Talia both. She says in part: Chased is extraordinary. Completely different from the previous two installments of Ms. Dane’s, Chase Brothers series, I found myself enthralled with Marc. A total ladies’ man to the core, I was at first as unsure of him as Olivia. Charming to the core, his wooing of Liv was exquisite.

Happy Monday all! Don’t forget you’re all invited to my reading tomorrow night at Babeland!

So I’ve been meaning to write about my experience with the Bare Escentuals face powder – I love it! It goes on quickly and easily, it gives great coverage but it still sheer enough that it doesn’t look like pancake and it’s very light. I don’t feel like I’m wearing makeup at all. I also picked up some of their eyeshadow and powdered eyeliner and give that a thumbs up too.

Let’s see, other stuff…oh I finished my synopsis and partial of After the Fire (contemporary menage erotic romance) and sent it to my agent. We’ll see where that goes.

Now I’m back to Making Chase again, which is nice since I’m in a contemporary state of mind. I’m hoping at my current pace to be finished by mid-march.

Watched Dresden and BSG. Love me some Dresden but I have to say I was disgusted by the sudden turn in Roslyn’s character in the last five minutes of the show. Not so much by what she did, which should have happened in the first part of the show, but by the fact that the change in her behavior wasn’t supported by the writing at all.

In fact, the whole episode annoyed me greatly. I’m not a Roslyn fan, I thought she was all woo woo the first season, and then she was weak the next which led to the whole New Caprica debacle and now I don’t know what she is but I do know she’s still annoying. She’s all over the place character wise and the writing makes no sense. Last night, well, really the last two seasons, I’ve wanted to shove her out an airlock. The last two episodes drove me crazy. I know there’s a meta story arc happening and it’s all very big picture, but the Dr. Phil nature of things and the lack of substantive character motivation is making me crazy.

Sorta. It’s been a week. Busy, some really good, some really bad – all over the map so I’m glad to be easing out of it.

Anyway, I normally do Booktalk today but I haven’t read anything new this week. I’ve done edits and written and gone to bed. That’s it. Still, I’m really into Making Chase now! I’m so happy about this book. I’ve been sort of dragging my feet and working around it but once I started on it earnestly, Tate just grabbed me. Tate and her family are really the heart of this book. Matt is just realizing how much he likes her, not that he likes her likes her just yet but that’ll be soon enough.

BTW, Taking Chase won the CAPA for Best Romantic Suspense! I was thrilled enough to have been nominated in three categories but to have won? Wow. There were some fabulous books and authors nominated this year so I’m touched, honored and humbled that I won. Thank you to all the reviewers who nominated and voted for me and thank you to everyone who has congratulated me as well, that’s been such a lovely part of my week.

And as a nice little bonus, Taking Chase is out in paper on Tuesday the 20th! Wooot!

Let’s see what else? OH! My Harlequin contracts finally arrived. OMG! SQUEEE! It’s real! It’s real and like a lot of pages and it has a force majeur clause. This always makes me laugh because I have leftover oddness from my law school days. I laughed when I saw it in my mortgage too (although I was also sort of giddy then as well)

So Taking Chase will be out in paper on February 20! Even more thrilling is that the pre-order page is up at amazon! Yay!!

It’s a fun thing because I just finished the first round of edits on Chased, Marc’s book and I started Making Chase last night. Each one of these men has been so real for me and their women too. I’m truly going to miss Petal when I write “the end” on Making Chase.

How is everyone today? It’s coooold! It started out at 50 and now it’s 38. They’re expecting snow tonight, more snow tomorrow including “thundersnow” Thunder snow? Jeebus! It’s usually so mild here but it’s been like, “TERROR WINTER!!!” Um, no thank you. I’ll take 50 and rainy please. My husband says it’s already snowing at his office.

I’m so so close to finishing my revision on Blood Moon. Like eight pages away. But a complicated sex scene snuck up on me as I was finishing last night. Oops. This couple is, well, they can’t keep their hands off each other but this last big scene is a menage of sorts. Well, not of sorts, it is a menage but anyway, you’ll see when you read it.

My two year old drew on her teeth with markers. Yes, she now looks like a prospector, complete with crazy hair. I wet it, put it up in a cute pony tail, she coos and pulls it down ten minutes later. I did hold her down and brush the ink away but her lips are still black. Mother of the year, people, I tell ya.

I heard the Pearl Jam cover of Love Reign O’er Me (The Who) and hooooley shite! I believe it’s my favorite cover ever and I need to buy it so I can listen to it until I hate it. Ed’s voice sounds so good. And I love Pearl Jam, I do, ask anyone who knows me. But their website sucks. Is there any info about the cover on it anywhere? No. They did a revamp of it last year and it’s a thousand times better than it was before, but it still sucks. You know, um, actual news is good, LOL.

Okay, I’ve babbled enough for now. I’ve put up excerpts of Chased and Sword and Crown at my messageboard if you want to go and check em out!

2006 has been an amazing year for me. Probably the best year of my entire life. 2005 was hard, lots of high highs and very low lows but 2006 I think was the year I finally hit my stride and met a lot of goals I had for myself.

January – I spent a lot of time recovering from the end of 2005, LOL. I got a new website design from the most incredible Frauke and Croco Designs. I sent out Giving Chase to Samhain, got a cover for Sleight of Hand.

February - Sleight of Hand released from Whispers – my first release of 2006 and my first novella! I hit the first major block in writing Threat of Darkness (way back then) and I worked on Tri Mates.

March – went to Las Vegas with Megan and Anya and had such a great time. Celebrated Megan’s book deal with Spice, Anya landed an agent and shortly thereafter I did too. It’s been a very good year for the Mavericks! Got the idea for GWAB.

April – Cascadia Wolves: Enforcer released from EC. Tri Mates is contracted. I sent in Thrice United to my editor as well. Got some pretty covers as well.

May - Offered contracts on Thrice Bound and Reluctant. Got edits on multiple books. Finished Sword and Crown

June – Giving Chase releases! Sudden Desire releases – both are new arenas for me – romantic suspense and a contemporary quickie – both did very well but Giving Chase did so well it renewed my confidence. Anya Bast sold two books to Berkley – Witch Fire comes out in June of 07! Taking Chase was contracted.

July - my hard drive died and I lost pictures of my children. Oh that sucked! I wrote and wrote and wrote.

August – Vengeance Due released. I took my first solo vacation with my husband in over a decade – to Las Vegas. Got the idea for Stripped. Dealt with the death of our hard drive, took a family vacation. My four year old turned 5, my 1 year old turned 2. My agent hooked me up with Jodi Lynn Copeland and Anya Bast to pitch a Vegas themed anthology and I start writing Stripped.

September – Reluctant releases. I get deep into writing and editing. My agent pitches the What Happens in Vegas anthology and Goddess With a Blade.

October – Threat of Darkness and I continue to be at odds. I pick it up and put it down several times. Finally, at month’s end, I figure out the problem and finish up in relative ease and get it to my editor. Did edits for Sword and Crown and Taking Chase.

November - Tri Mates releases and I find out Thrice United will also release. On the same day Taking Chase releases. November was a very, very busy month. I SOLD STRIPPED TO HARLEQUIN SPICE! I sold Ascension and Threat of Darkness to EC and I got started on Chased. All told, I wrote right about 90K words in the month of November between original wip, edits, etc. November was a month that was incredibly productive and also gave me so much to be thankful for. It fueled me and got me back on track.

December – Finished Chased, finished a revision of Enclave – crits, more revision, off to editor and agent. Nearly done with partial of The Others, started revision of the next book after Ascension that is currently without a title. Wonderful holidays with my friends and family. Three CAPA nominations.

All in all, I’ve got a whole hell of a lot to be thankful and grateful for. Yes, I have worked damned hard, but without my family, without my readers and my friends, without my editors and my agent who all believe in me and support me – I don’t know where I’d be, but not here, looking back at a year of wonderful moments and successes.

As a way to say thank you, I’m going to do a contest. All you need to do is comment on the blog. Between now and January 3 – I’ll take the commenters and toss em into the randomizer and pick three winners who’ll win one of their choice of my available titles – including paper. Good luck!

Cassie Gambol is on the run. In what seems like another lifetime, her ex-husband nearly ended her life and effectively ended her successful career as a vascular surgeon. But even though the justice system found him guilty of attempted murder, he fled while awaiting sentencing and Carly Sunderland became Cassie Gambol.

Fleeing Los Angeles, she heads to small and off the map Petal, Georgia to start her life again.

Shane Chase, a man who’s held himself away from commitment since his fiancée dumped him several years before knows the beautiful newcomer is hiding something. He’s wildly attracted to her strength and her underlying vulnerability as well.

But the last thing Cassie wants is another big, overwhelming man who wants to control her life. A battle begins between Shane, who knows what he wants and Cassie, who knows she needs to do everything she can to keep a distance between herself and the very handsome sheriff.

But Cassie’s ex is back and he wants her dead.

It all started with a deck of tarot cards. Holly knew she had some kind of magical gift but she had always been forbidden to even speak of it by her now-deceased mother. Alone and suddenly free to explore her curiosity, Holly spreads the cards and has a vision and the first piece of the puzzle falls into place.

But there’s no forgetting that she’s got a past and a lot of unanswered questions, and her ignorance is putting her at risk. It’s a journey that takes her from Seattle to New Orleans, where she confronts her past and embraces her future.

Dayquil is a nasty substance. Orange, viscous, blech! The only reason I take nyquil is that it knocks me out and gives me sleep of the dead. But dayquil has made me nausated and dizzy. Or eh, maybe the plague that’s infested my system has made me nauseated and dizzy and dayquil does nothing to impede the killing of every cell in my body. Doesn’t help that all three kids are home sick today although thank god they are all watching cartoons and not fighting for the moment.

I’m at the Samhain Cafe on and off this afternoon. Despite feeling slightly “on another plane of existence” ish today, it’s been fun. I’m fixin to give some more stuff away soon. Yahoo is lagging which is par for the course I suppose but only by about 20 minutes, which for them isn’t bad at all.

Both Taking Chase and Thrice United release tomorrow! I’m pretty thrilled when I don’t feel dizzy enough to fall out of my chair. Excerpts are up at my website if you’d like a sneak peek.

Oh and a nice surprise via an unexpected review for Taking Chase!

Maura at The Romance Studio gives Taking Chase 4 1/2 hearts and says in part: I really enjoyed my second trip to Petal. The inhabitants are friendly and quirky and the Chase brothers are definitely worth revisiting. Cassie is an incredibly vivid character and the reader will be able to see her progress both mentally and in her romantic life with Shane. I like the way she refuses to let anyone boss her around and the way she stands up to the very intimidating Shane. Shane has his own issues with trust, but he makes a big effort with Cassie, he becomes a much better person than in the last book. Polly is as colorful as ever and the suspense over whether the ex husband will finally find Cassie will keep the reader at the edge of her seat. I can’t wait for the next one!

Okay, not so wild really, LOL!

Next week I’ve got two new releases – the second book in the Chase Brothers series – Taking Chase and the fourth book in the Witches Knot series – Thrice United. You can read excerpts by clicking on the titles above.

Some appearance/Chat stuff: