Emma Shortt Books

Guest Blog with Adonis Devereux

2012-01-05T22:26:00.001Z

Today I am pleased to welcome Adonis Devereux to my blog. Adonis is the author of Worth his Freedom and Bride for the God King, both All Romance ebooks best sellers. Well I say Adonis is... in actual fact Adonis is two people, a husband and wife writing team, that I've known for a while.

We met pre-Evernight Publishing as part of an online writing group and I was thrilled when they signed with my publisher. They've certainly made a splash, though I have to be honest I have no idea how they write together! I'd strangle the Greek after 100 words... so I'm very pleased that the female half on Adonis Devereux is here to tell us all about how they met--I love courtship tales--and how they started their writing partnership...

Thank you, Emma, for inviting us to your blog today. We are thrilled to be here. As you've said, today the female half of us will be writing.

It is unusual for me to be writing in the singular. Most of the time, I write in conjunction with my darling, but this is a good chance for me to brag about him. You are getting married soon (I am eeeeekkkkk), and just visiting your blog puts me in mind of romance and of my own courtship and marriage.

learned how to play it slow or coy, and I actually told him I did not date casually. (I can practically hear the groans. What sort of girl does that?) He broke up with me right after Christmas holiday. I was heart-broken, but I did not want to embarrass him with scenes; so I behaved myself in true Japanese fashion. I bade him a polite good-bye and when we met behaved with politeness one would give a stranger. I also, stereotypically, cut my hair. The follies of youth!

Then came Valentine’s Day. It was one of the longest six weeks of my life, that time between when he broke up with me and Valentine’s Day. However, during those six weeks, it occurred to him that he did not want to see me with anyone else. When he saw other guys asking me out, he decided to make his move. He asked me out again. I said yes, and we were inseparable after that. We got engaged over that summer, the summer between our junior and senior years. We graduated on a Monday, and that Friday we got married. I can still remember everything about that day. I had powdered doughnuts for breakfast. My matron of honor fixed my hair. It was grey and overcast, but it did not rain until after the ceremony. And he was there, looking absolutely gorgeous in his black tuxedo with tails. At the reception, we stayed long enough to cut the cake and throw the bouquet and garter. Then we went to our hotel. As stunning as he looked in that tux, I could not wait to see him out of it! We moved to Japan the next morning, and we have lived here ever since.

That was almost fifteen years ago. They have been busy years. We have six children (SIX?????). (Did I mention how much I like seeing him without his clothes?) But no matter how busy we got, we always made up stories together. It was something we had started doing even when we were dating, and we never stopped. Eventually, we started to write the stories down, but though we made up the stories together, we usually wrote separately. Until 2011. That was when we decided to write together, and everything just flowed after that. Our first two novels were picked up for publication by Evernight. It has been a whirlwind ride, and we are still trying to keep up. We are currently working on our third novel, and I cannot wait to see it join its older siblings.

Thank you for having me here, Emma. I wish you a happily-ever-after like my own, or like the ones my heroines have; take your pick!

Thank you for coming along!

2011-12-20T22:42:00.001Z

Tammy and June please send me your email addresses with the book of your choice from my backlist, Emma.c.shortt@googlemail.com. X

Final Christmas Giveaway!

2011-12-19T22:57:00.003Z

It's the final day of my giveaway and here's what I'm going to do. Now as some of you may know I have been dieting hard of late. This is what happens when you buy a wedding dress that is a tincy bit on the small side. But heck it was a bargain, and I've already reached the halfway point of my chubb shedding with a whole four months to spare!

I am, however, relaxing my rules over Christmas and I really want those damn calories to count! So I'm after Christmas recipes involving some sort of chocolate. A cake maybe, a choccie bomb, a succulent mouse--give me your best and most decadent recipes! Not cupcakes though, I totally rock at cupcakes!

I'll pick three winners and rather than just deciding which title to give you (which was what I originally planned) each winner can pick any title they like from my back list. Fantasy, contemporary, paranormal--you decide!

Merry Christmas! x

On to the rest of the meal and I have a KISS up for grabs!

2011-12-17T16:55:00.001Z

Yesterday we were talking turkey, and thanks to all those tips I have plan! It will involve bacon and injecting the turkey with various things, including nutmeg--I've never eaten nutmeg but I'm thinking it tastes like nut... or meg... so that's all good.

A huge thanks to everyone who chipped in some ideas, I have them in a little list for future reference, and as I promised there are two copies of Ripley's Reaping to give away. The randomiser has picked Allison and Ursula. So please email me your addresses, ladies, so I can send across.

Next up we need to talk potatoes and veg. Give me some amazing ideas on what I should do to accompany the turkey. How can I mae sure the roasters are golden? The veg crisp? The idea will win a copy of my supernatural romance, The Kiss.

When Eva Diakou is offered a job on the Winterwood estate, she expects nothing but four months of back breaking work. Jobless and lonely, she has little choice but to accept. But things on the Winterwood estate are nothing like Eva was led to believe. Why has she been given one of the plushest rooms? Why is there nothing to do? And why is she so captivated by the strange statues adorning the estate?

Adam Winterwood is paying for a crime he never committed. Trapped for so many years, he is waiting for the one person who can keep him alive...or set him free. When Adam and Eva meet, sparks fly. Yet, neither realizes the sacrifice they will both have to make.

And it will all be decided by The Kiss.

Have a taste of the first three chapters...
Chapter One

“You realize the contract is for four months?”
Eva Diakou, unemployed artist and self-proclaimed cupcake addict, took a deep breath and nodded in what, she hoped, was as a calm and professional manner. “Yes, I read all the recruitment literature.”
“And you understand during those four months you will be expected to stay within the Estate? No holidays? No weekends off? Once you start with us you will not finish until the four months are over. You’ll be paid only at the end of the contract and if you leave before then you get nothing.”
Again Eva nodded. The recruitment pack had made it all perfectly clear, as had the frighteningly well-groomed woman in front of her, for the past half hour.
Four months cut off from the real world. Eva sighed inwardly. It didn’t seem such a bad thing at the moment, especially not considering the pay on offer. “Yes I understand and that won’t be a problem.”
Determined, it seemed, to drive her point home, the woman, who hadn’t bothered to introduce herself, continued. “There will be no telephones, no internet, no contact with the outside world at all. Literally it will be like you’ve disappeared from the face of the earth... for four whole months.”
Ignoring, with difficulty, the fact that her entire social life—if you could even call it that—revolved around the internet Eva forced a smile. “Yes, the recruitment pack explained al that as well. It’s not a problem I assure you.”
The woman pursed her lips and gave Eva a long considering look, Eva tried to seem cool and collected but it wasn’t easy. Nervous and worried, beginning to sweat slightly, and pretty sure the ladder in her tights—her last pair—was snaking down to her knee, Eva superstitiously rubbed moist hands over her skirt and twitched it down. She needed this job, despite the fact it was temporary, like really needed it, and couldn’t afford to blow this interview.
“You’ll forgive me for saying so but you don’t look as though you’d be up for any really physical labor.”
A blush travelled warp speed over Eva’s body and she felt her jaw drop. She clenched and unclenched her fists around the hem of her skirt, wondering as she did so, how on earth she was supposed to reply to that. Bring it on bitch? Nope, unlikely to cut it.
“It’s demanding work, you need to be fairly fit,” the woman continued before Eva had a chance to answer. “Physically fit if you see what I mean.”
Eva barely contained herself from saying something, anything, insulting back. What a bitch. Feeling horribly hot and flustered, and depressingly aware of her tight suit Eva smiled through gritted teeth. Don’t blow this, you need the money, think of the money. “I’m up to the job I assure you.”
“I’m not trying to be rude,” the woman continued. “But there’s little point in appointing you if you’re not comfortable with the level of work.”
Eva held her smile in place, just about. Damn it she knew she was out of shape, was patently aware of the bloody fact and didn’t need to be reminded of it! Especially when compared to her interviewer. She certainly looks like she spends her entire freaking life in the gym. Say walnuts for an ass?
Of course Eva didn’t say any of the retorts she desperately wanted to say. She needed this job, was willing to hold her temper, take the insults and reassure as much as she could. The things I do for rent money. “I’m a very hard worker.”
The woman gave a skeptical look and Eva could do nothing but bite the inside of her cheek and tweak her skirt down a little more. Part of her couldn’t quite believe that she was being grilled over her size. Surely there was some sort of discrimination law or something around that? And it wasn’t like she was fat, curvy yes, but hardly in heavy weight category.
Jobless for the past six months and living on her savings meant that she’d had to change her eating habits, something that had been damn difficult. No more expensive fruit or cuts of meat, it was cheapey meals all the way. And comfort eating much? Yes, bored and a little depressed Eva had turned to the chocolate. She’d added two dress sizes and knew that she looked slightly curvier than the accepted norm, but then Eva was not a girl built to be skinny anyway, her olive skin demanded filling with curves—she just had slightly more than usual right now. The recruitment pack had mentioned ‘in house gym’ and Eva was determined over the next four months, if she got the job, to make good use of it.
“I didn’t mean to imply—” the woman continued and Eva plastered another smile to her face.
“Of course not.” Think of the money, think of the money.
The woman looked down at her papers and shook her head slowly. “It is a physically demanding job, waitress service, bar work and… other duties. You’ll be expected to do a bit of everything, and you should know here and now that I don’t take people on who won’t last the distance. I’m sorry.”
Despite the mega-bitch attitude she did sound sorry and Eva thought she saw a hint of sympathy in her eyes. That could only mean one thing. Shit. She felt the job slipping through her grasp and the familiar I-have-no-money-and-might-end-up-on-the-streets worry take hold. Leaning forward in her chair Eva decided to throw caution to the winds.
“Look I’m up to the work I promise you, I’ll do all the hours you can give me, all the overtime you have. I’ll work hard. I’ll work harder than anyone else you take on. You’ve seen my resume, I have experience in all the areas you need. Before I got my job in the studio,” she paused and shrugged, “well after as well if I’m honest, art doesn’t pay a lot, I worked in pretty much every bar and restaurant around.”
The woman frowned. “There’s nothing worse than taking someone on and finding out a few days in that they’re not right for the work.” She said the word ‘right’ like it was a contagious virus. “I don’t like losing them before the end of the contract. It makes my life too difficult.”
Eva leant forward a little more. Any further and I’ll be practically on her lap. “I need this job, really need it. I’m down to the last of my savings and have no other options. I promise I won’t let you down.”
It stung a bit to be so honest, especially to someone who had passed the boundaries of rude several sentences back, but Eva was desperate. She’d lost her job through no fault of her own in the middle of a global recession, everything had gone to shit including her one opportunity to do the very thing she loved and be paid for it. Jobs were scarce and those in the art world practically non existent. Too many people chasing too few opportunities, and she’d had no luck getting anything. Overqualified, under qualified, not right for the position, she’d heard it all. Four months cut off from the world in the middle of nowhere was not Eva’s preferred option but it was that or going cap in hand to the welfare office—something she was not prepared to do.
The woman frowned. “Don’t you have any family, anyone to help you out?”
“No, there’s no one but me.”
“No boyfriend?”
Is she trying to make me feel worse? “No.”
The woman tilted her head. “So no one to notice you’re gone?”
It sounded a bit depressing put like that but Eva couldn’t escape from the truth. There wasn’t any one to notice Eva’s absence for four months. No mom, no dad, no lover. She’d left all her friends behind when she’d moved to look for work, Facebook aside she was on her own. “No, no one.”
The woman pursed her lips again and said nothing for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only minutes. Eva bit down on her lip and sent out a silent prayer. Please, please, please give me this job... please just a bit of luck for freaking once...
Finally the woman stood up and opened the filing cabinet next to her desk. Ignoring the moisture pooling in the small of her back Eva sat up a little straighter and waited. The woman flicked through a bunch of folders before pulling one out. The folder was ice white and written on it in bold italics... a name, Evangeline Diakou, Applicant.
The woman turned back to Eva, gave one more assessing look and sighed. She rifled through the folder before pulling out a sheaf of stapled papers and paused for one more moment before passing them across. Eva took the papers, ignoring the fact that she’d probably make them damp with her sweaty fingers, and looked.
It was a contract. Her heart skipped a few beats and she was ready to fall over herself with thanks. Thank God. Sweet relief flooded her, at last a job, a chance. A freaking pay check.
Eva looked up and the words tumbled from her lips. “Thank you... really I mean thank you so much. I won’t let you down I promise.”
The woman placed her hands on her hips and smiled in a grim kind of fashion. ‘You start immediately.’

Chapter Two
December 11th 1811

Lord Adam Garret, fifth Earl of Winterwood and sole owner of the Winters Estate, swallowed down his first brandy of the day, ignoring as he did so, the burn in the back of his throat. No matter how many times he drank the damn stuff it still caused his throat to protest. He wondered idly if that was due to his early introduction to the world of strong spirits. He’d been barely eighteen before he was consuming a good half a bottle a day and hadn’t really stopped since. Perhaps he’d irreversibly damaged himself? He was slightly surprised to realize that the thought bothered him.
Looking down at the now empty glass he grimaced. Dregs remained but he couldn’t face another burn so he dropped the delicate crystal on the side table, wincing at the sound of its shattering. Damn glasses, they were too fine, too prone to breaking—like so many things in his home.
Adam was a big man, he’d reached six foot before the age of sixteen and was well muscled. He wasn’t quite sure how that could be the case, he rarely exercised. Regardless he was a man in his prime, a man who broke things... often.
It’s not just things you break, its people too, hearts, honor...
He shook the thought off and eyed the shattered crystal again. Grace would complain tomorrow when she had to clean it up. She’d rally at him for his profligate ways and recklessness and he’d let her. God knows why he did. She was nothing more than a servant in the grand scheme of things. But the relationship between them had developed over the last decade to the point where neither stood on formality. She’d lecture him, he’d take it, go off and do more scandalous things, and she’d lecture him some more.
Sighing at the thought of Grace’s scolding’s Adam sat himself down behind his desk and rubbed his head. It ached again, maybe because of the brandy, maybe because of the late night or maybe because of the company. Truth be told Adam was strongly regretting throwing his latest house party. His cronies had stayed up well past the hours of decency and only the urgings of their ladybirds had convinced them to retire. Adam’s own Cherie Amore, the lovely Lila, had been vastly unhappy at the late hour and it had taken more effort than he wanted to give to placate her.
He rubbed his head again to try and ease the pain and found himself wishing he’d spent the Christmas period in Grosvenor Square. At least there he’d be within easy reach of his clubs and the gaming halls and the countless numbers of women of dubious virtue. Lila’s virtue, though dubious, was entirely too dependent on the latest trinket or false words of affection. Adam could barely utter them anymore and he knew he was tiring of her.
He was so tired of everything.
What the hell am I doing?
The words formed, as they did so often these days, too often. Adam jumped from his chair and found himself brandy in hand before he even knew it was what he intended. The alcohol seemed to be the only way to shut the voice up and God knows Adam wanted it to desist.
“You’re a disgrace to the family name boy.” His father’s words echoed from the bottom of the decanter but he ignored them. He knew he was a disgrace damn it, he didn’t need his father’s shade reminding him of that fact.
“That I am, papa, and don’t you just wish you’d had another son to inherit the estate and the title,” Adam said aloud.
Of course no one answered him, no papa and certainly no brother. There’d been no other heir, everything had fallen to Adam, straight into his lap on his sixteenth birthday. He hadn’t been ready for the responsibility, still wasn’t to be brutally honest. But what choice did he have? The entail prevented Adam doing what he really wanted, which was to sell everything and go to the devil in his own way.
The sunlight glinted off the amber liquid and Adam glanced out of the wide arching windows, slightly startled to see how bright everything was. He could see for miles from his position. The wide sweeping driveway, the magnificent fountain, all was laid out before him. Miles and miles of Winterwood land—all his responsibility. Adam couldn’t even imagine the possibility of a life that didn’t include thousands of dependents, tenants and servants and workers, all looking to him to ensure their livelihood. The prospect was a fairytale, a dream, something he would never have.
“Don’t I wish you’d had another son, preferably before me,” he whispered to his father’s portrait.
Sighing, Adam poured a generous shot of brandy and resumed his place behind his desk. Well, his father’s desk, it had never really been his, wasn’t like he even used it, any work he had to do was done from his own private sitting room. The study was an escape more than anything, a chance for him to hide from the world, from Grace, from Finn, his stoic manager, and at the moment, his house guests.
They’d be up and about soon, wondering what the night’s entertainment was going to be, what delights Adam had in store for them. He had no idea, more of the same probably. An extravagant feast, followed by extravagant amounts of liquor, followed by the sort of goings on no respectable earl would allow. Felton had hinted he’d be willing to swap mistresses for the night and Adam felt sure he’d been vaguely interested when drunk enough. It hadn’t even occurred to him that Lila might not be of the same mind.
Now, relatively sober, the idea held little appeal and Lila’s feelings were slightly more important.
Adam looked down at his brandy, rubbed his aching head again and took a deep breath. Perhaps it was time and more to start listening to the voice in his head? Maybe it was time to stop trying to shut it up with stronger and stronger spirits?
“Time to grow up boy,” his father’s portrait mocked.
Maybe it was time, after ten years, to finally think about sorting himself out.
Adam lifted his glass to the stern gaze of the only steadying influence he’d ever known, and swallowed the drink in one.
“Maybe it is, papa, maybe it is.” And he felt the burn all over again.

Chapter Three

Despite the fact that the recruitment pack had said Winterwood Estate, with a capital E, Eva hadn’t really thought about how big it would be. They’d been driving for over an hour through country lanes all of which the driver, who she’d had been introduced to as Finn, said were part of the Estate. He was an odd sort of man, not overly friendly but not unfriendly either. Eva couldn’t work him out, though of course she was giving it a damn good try.
“Is it much further, Finn?” she asked. Again.
In lieu of an answer he turned off one country lane and joined another. It was so overgrown it hardly counted as a lane in Eva’s opinion. There were no signs and she wondered how the guests managed to find their way.
“Finn, is there another road, like a main road that leads to the Estate?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, I come this way, always have.”
Silence reigned for a moment before Eva took another stab at him. “How long have you worked here?”
He shrugged again and Eva wondered if he disliked personal questions, she was trying to be sociable though, get things off to a good start. They’d already exhausted the weather and local wildlife and she didn’t know what else to talk about.
“Always,” he replied after a moment. “Always on this land.”
“How much land is there?”
Finn shook his head. “I don’t know, miss, it goes on for a good long way, everything you can see and more.”
A lot then. “What is the land used for?”
Finn drove on to what looked like nothing more than a field, Eva couldn’t actually see a lane. “It’s not used for anything it’s just part of the Estate.”
“There’s no farms or anything?”
He shook his head. “There used to be tenement farms a good long while ago but not anymore.”
“What happened to them?”
“Changing times, miss, I suppose.”
Eva thought of all the homeless people in the cities, the cramped apartments and tiny houses. What a waste of so much perfectly good land. Shrugging, because it wasn’t her land lying idle, she pressed her nose to the window of the jeep and inhaled the clean country air. She thought the fields would look lovely in the summer; even now in the chilly winter air they had a certain charm. Eva had always preferred open spaces to the compact close living of most cities and she couldn’t help but grin. At last lady luck had smiled upon her. At last she had a chance to sort herself out. About bloody time.
After signing the contract the woman who finally introduced herself as Grace had called a wiry looking man into the room.
“This is Finn, he’ll take you back to your flat and wait whilst you pack what you need, then he’ll drive you to the Estate,” Grace had said.
Eva was surprised, although Grace had said immediately but she hadn’t thought she meant immediately. “Now as in right now?” she’d asked.
Grace nodded. “The season starts soon and we need to get everything ready. All the other staff are there and I’ll be coming down myself this evening. You’re the last to be recruited, we were getting a bit desperate to be honest.”
Ignoring the slightly veiled insult, think of the money, Eva forced a smile. “The season?”
“Yes we have a three month season for our guests.”
Puzzled but guessing it explained the four month contract Eva frowned. “Doesn’t the season usually mean the summer?”
Grace shook her head. “No, our guests are a bit different. Our season runs from the end of December through to March. We like to make sure our staff are in place a couple of weeks before. We’re a little bit late with you, it’s the eleventh today so you’ll only have just over a week to get settled in before the guests arrive.”
Well that’s Christmas taken care of and the New Year. Eva had always had a hideous time finding something to do during the holidays, now she would be working with other people and not sat alone eating dinner for one.
“I’ve never heard of such a season before,” Eva said. “Is that usual?”
“Some people like a long Christmas and New Year holiday. They stay with us for several weeks”
Long? Four freaking months?
“Right, well okay,” Eva said for lack of anything else to say. Who was she to question it?
Finn had indeed driven Eva to her flat (well Eva called it a flat, it was more like one room and a toilet), where she’d called her landlord and used the last of her savings covering the rent for the next four months. She changed from her too tight suit into comfy jeans and a jumper and packed her one bag with a few possessions, including her laptop. Grace had said no internet access so it was probably pointless taking it but Eva didn’t want to risk leaving it in her room. She did not live in the most respectable area and wouldn’t count on it still being here when she returned.
She wondered, as she was packing, what the big hurry was, and had Eva been a different sort of person might have wondered if she was being sold to a brothel or some such set up. The job was genuine though she knew that, her ‘case officer’ at the job centre had found it for her and Eva knew he vetted all jobs for authenticity before she was sent for interviews.
Eva could only assume that Grace was telling the truth, that the season, weird thought it sounded, was due to start any moment and she needed everyone on board…
Fidgeting in her seat, trying to get a bit more comfortable, Eva felt her stomach give an audible groan. They’d been driving for maybe two hours before even hitting the country lanes, it would be dark soon and she was starving. I hope we get to the freaking house in time for dinner.
“Finn, how much longer?” she asked.
Instead of answering he turned sharply off the field onto a long paved lane, it went on quite some way into the distance, maybe a mile or so. Eva looked around but the lane started from the field, there was no other way that she could see to get to it. There must be another way to the Estate or how on earth would the guests find it?
Trees were planted on both sides of the lane which in the summer would provide a natural canopy. Now, though they were devoid of leaves, with the last days light there was an eerie air to them.
Finn drove slowly, maybe due to the bumpiness of the lane and Eva noticed that every couple of hundred meters or so twin statues flanked them. She thought they might be copies of museum pieces but couldn’t be sure without getting a bit closer. What she could tell though—even from a distance—was that the women were all curvy in a renaissance sort of way, the men all spectacularly muscled and they were all, strangely enough, looking towards the sky.
Eventually Finn turned again and Eva was greeted by two splendidly naked ladies, arms wrapped around one another, and then again by two extremely well endowed men who were... Eva looked closer... locked in quite an intimate embrace.
Despite her hunger Eva’s fingers itched for her sketch pad and she smiled slightly. It had been some weeks since she’d felt the desire to draw or paint or do anything remotely artistic. Losing a job that required it kind of put a dampener on doing it purely for pleasure, the statues though, they were too beautiful not to capture on paper. Eva determined there and then that at some point she would explore the statues in detail and draw them all, maybe with a view to painting them when the four months were over.
One more turn and then the house came into view and Eva couldn’t help but gasp in shock. It was huge, far, far bigger than she had expected. It sat smack bang in the centre of a huge sweeping driveway and it was lovely, there was no other word for it. Built who knew how many hundreds of years ago it was like something out of a fairytale, fountain, turrets and gargoyles included.
“How old is the house?” she asked Finn as they got out of the car.
“I don’t know exactly, miss,” he replied. “It used to be owned by the Earl and was passed down through his family, son to son, Earl to Earl. I believe it was their principle residence, outside of the house in Grosvenor Square.”
“And now it’s a holiday Estate?”
Finn nodded.
“He sold it? The Earl I mean?”
Finn looked around uneasily. “I’m not sure, maybe.”
Eva guessed that the unnamed Earl must have run out of money, something Finn was uncomfortable talking about. So many country houses had been put in trust or sold, they were just too much for the families to maintain. Eva didn’t think there was any shame in that but then she’d been living off out of date food, and squeezing into tight clothes for the last few months. She had little shame left.
“I’ll show you the way in then, miss,” Finn said.
They walked towards the house, Finn gallantly carrying Eva’s only bag, she trying to take in everything at once. The twin turrets seemed to stretch forever, the gargoyles were a perfect shade of white and the fountain... she stopped.
The fountain was breathtaking but what really captured Eva’s attention was the statue sat right in the middle of it. Like the others it too was looking at the sky, unlike the others its modesty was covered by a cloth draped across its hips. It was a he and Eva suspected he had been modeled on Adonis—with one rather large alteration that the alabaster cloth did little to hide.
Her heart raced, adrenaline flooded her and she swallowed dryly.
“Come along, miss.” Finn’s voice reached her and Eva exhaled the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
Shaking herself she puzzled at her own reaction. Sure, decent food was not the only thing she’d had to go without over the last few months but it wasn’t like the damn thing was real. She sighed imperceptibly, there was no denying that the statue was beautiful and the man, were he real, would be something to behold. It was a pity Eva couldn’t see his face, but the body would be enough to grace any canvas.
She hurried after Finn and then asked the question that had niggled her since they turned onto the lane. “Finn, why do the statues all look upwards?”
Finn pushed open the massive double doors of the house and cast her and odd glance. “I don’t know, I never noticed.”
How could he not notice? It’s pretty freaking obvious. “We’re the statues built at the same time as the house?”
“They’re just statues, miss,” he replied casting her, what Eva thought, was an uneasy sort of look. “Pay no attention to them.”
“I was just curious,” she said trying to reassure him. Maybe the statues are worth a lot of money and he doesn’t want her messing around with them?
“Pay them no mind,” he added. “Just ignore them for the time being.”
The time being? Eva wondered what he meant, he wasn’t making any sense, unless, bloody hell Eva hoped she wasn’t expected to clean them. That would be some job and one she wouldn’t relish in the winter air. The very thought of cold water dripping down her arms made her shiver.
“Finn...” she began, but he shook his head and looked at his feet.
“Just leave it be, miss, leave them be. Come on I’ll show you to your room.”
And with that Eva had no choice but to follow.

The Kiss

Help me with Christmas dinner in exchange for books!

2011-12-16T21:35:00.000Z

It's Christmas next week. How the heck did it come around so quickly?! I'm not even close to being ready. Sure I've grabbed a bunch of pressies but there are still more to buy and grocery shopping--well I have Danish cookies, that's about it so far. Still need to get me a turkey and some other dinner bits and bobs, and I really need to give it some thought, because this year I'm cooking the dinner! Now I can cook, actually with some dishes I'm not too bad at all. Things like risotto and erm.. salads, and bacon sarnies, you know stuff like that. But a full on Christmas dinner, well, the pressure is indeed going to be on! I've got it all worked out in my head though, do not fret! I'm going for a turkey as the main part of the meal, with roast potatoes, stuffing, yorkshire puddings and three types of veg. I'm thinking green beans, peas and parsnips. Of course there will have to be gravy (I'm from the north, gravy goes on everything), and mint sauce, I can't eat a roast dinner without mint sauce. I know turkey should go with cranberries but I've never been able to adibe them.

Thing is I've never cooked a turkey before. I vaguely remember having it when I was small but over the last couple of decades it's been beef or lamb or pork. Last year the chap cooked up duck (which went soooo wrong) and beef. Duck aside, Christmas dinner was fab, until the table leg went half way through and collapsed--dinner and all....

So this year, because it's my turn, and I'm sure the family think I'm going to cock it up, I am determined to make it spectacular. Just need to work out a good turkey cooking regime. And that is where you come in. I need tips, advice, recipes! Give me whatever you've got! And in return I shall give you something back. You notice the picture above. Well it is my brand, spanking new release. Ripley's Reaping. This is a Christmas themed book, and I shall not lie, it's a bit of a sniffler. It's probably my favourite story that I've released this year, and I was so pleased when I made the publication deadline by a mere whisper. In exchange for your tips, advice, suggestions etc. I shall give away two copies of Ripley's Reaping to two randomly chosen turkey commenters. And it doesn't end there! Tomorrow I'm going to need more help (with the potatoes and veg), and in return I will be giving away copies of The Kiss. Then on Sunday, we'll be talking Christmas pudding, and I shall be giving away copies of Pleasing the Boss.

So jump on board, help me cook the perfect Christmas dinner and I'll give you books! A fair exchange methinks!

Ripley's Reaping

When Ripley gets her Christmas collection list she expects the usual babies and elderly. After all, thousands of people die every day and this is her job. But what she doesn't expect is number ninety-nine on the list. Nicholas Ryder. The man she loves, the man she wanted to spend forever with...until death ripped her from his arms.

With so many other souls to collect and the reapers of hell on her heels, will Ripley be able to get to Nick in time? And if she does, will she be able to say goodbye all over again?

Excerpt:

Even through the robe, the feel of Nick’s fingers on her shoulder was like breathing fresh air again after a lifetime spent indoors. Katie Ripley stood stock-still and both cursed and thanked the Hell Reaper for slicing through the heavy material.
“Katie?” he asked, and she shivered all over again at the sound of his voice. She’d missed him so much, for so long, the sound of his voice could easily be enough to undo her.
“Katie, is that really you?”
His voice was hesitant, enquiring, and her heart squeezed even as she blinked back tears. Never in all her fantasies over the last few days had she ever imagined this could possibly happen. That Nick would recognize her, would know her, that she would have the chance to talk to him again as her. Katie not Ripley. Nick’s wife, not Death come to collect his soul. Part of her wanted to stay in what was once their sitting room and turn to him, look into each other’s new eyes, hold each other’s hands, and rediscover one another. But she knew it wasn’t allowed, that there was no time. She had less than a minute to get to the next soul, and Nick wasn’t hers anymore. He had one destination in front of him, and it was one, thanks to her stupidity, that he would have to do alone.
“We have to go,” she whispered.
“But—”
“There’s no time for this right now.”
“But, Katie, it is you isn’t it?”
Heart racing frantically, Ripley closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She so wanted to turn around and wrap him in her arms, soul skin to soul skin. Never had she wanted anything as much in her entire existence. Not even after her death when she’d begged for her old body back. But five years of responsibility weighed heavy on her shoulders, and mere miles away another soul was about to emerge. She had to be there for it.
“I have to take you above now,” she said, hardening herself against the intense wave of longing that filled her.
“Damn it, talk to me,” he said.
He sounded just like he always had, and her breath caught, her head spun.
“Please…Katie, if that’s you….”
His voice broke on the last word, and with it, Ripley’s resolve. Why deny it any longer? Against all the odds he knew, somehow he knew it was her, and it was unspeakably cruel to brush him aside. Ripley turned around slowly and pulled the robe back from her head. His eyes widened and a smile, magnificent in his brilliance, shot across his face. It turned all the little frown lines into laughter lines, and Ripley’s heart thumped desperately.
“Katie,” he breathed. “I knew, as soon as soon as I saw your hair. I just knew.”
“Nick—”
“You came for me,” he continued. “To collect me. Oh God, Katie.”
“No,” she whispered, because she did not like the way his thoughts were going, could not like them. “It’s not like that.”
“I’ve missed you so much,” he said, maybe not even hearing her words. “So much, baby.”
And then before Ripley could do anything, he pulled her into his arms, wrapping her in them so tightly she felt dizzy.
“Katie, Katie, Katie,” he chanted, little kisses peppering over her head, her cheeks, her face.
Her heart thudded, and she closed her eyes as tightly as possible, desperate to keep some semblance of control. Her Nick was kissing her, something she’d thought she’d never get to feel again. The soft touch of his lips, the feel of his breath. Dead they might be, their human bodies no more, but the sensations of the soul were just as intense. Just as real.
A kiss on her cheek, so close to her lips and Ripley shivered. “Nick, you have to stop,” she whispered, though God had to know she wanted nothing more than to let Nick wrap her in his arms, take her lips, and kiss the last five years away.
“I’ve missed you so much, Katie,” he said, pulling her into his arms even tighter—their soul bodies not even a hair’s breadth apart. “The last years without you have been their own kind of hell. I guess I should be upset that I’m dead shouldn’t I? Damn, I don’t even know how I died! But I’m not upset at all. I’m just so thankful. You’re here. You came for me. Everything is how it should be.”
The words tumbled from his lips and dizziness hit her all over again. She pushed back against him until she could look into his eyes. “It’s not what you’re thinking, Nick.”
“We’re both dead now,” he said, again as if he hadn’t even heard her words. “But we’re both still here. Hell, it doesn’t even make sense but I don’t care. The main thing is that we can be together again. Just like we were always supposed to be.”
Ripley shook her head about the same time her heart shook in her chest. “No, Nick. This isn’t me coming to collect you so we can be together again.”
He pulled back, confusion writ plainly across his face. “I don’t understand.”
“I came to collect you because this is my job now, and because of that job….” She paused, so not wanting to say the words she knew she had to say. “We can’t be together.”
“What the hell do you mean we can’t be together?” he demanded. “I’ve waited so long, wanted you for so long. Do you have any idea how I’ve missed you? Longed for you? You took me with you when you went, Katie. You took everything.”
She shivered, desire pushing through all the emotions and rippling over her skin. “I know. I’ve missed you too, Nick.”
“Then why? Why say these things? I just don’t understand.”
Ripley rested her head against his chest, hearing the beat of his soul’s heart quite plainly in her ear. How many nights had she lain on his chest listening to that very same sound? She’d once thought to do so for more than years than were even conceivable to her now. Finally, she took a deep breath and lifted her eyes to his.
“Come,” she said, even though it was against the rules in so many ways. “I’ll show you why, and then you’ll understand.”

Winner

2011-11-14T22:11:00.002Z

Congrats to Ana Torres for winning a copy of Paying her Debt. Ana please comment with your email address!

Sorry to those who didn't win... but it is 15% of right now... :)

Pleasing the Boss Giveaway!

2011-11-13T19:44:00.003Z

When the idea of an 'Office Seduction Series' came to me I knew immediately what the first book in the series of three would be. A week later and I had the outline and plan for Pleasing the Boss. But something wasn't quite right, only when I began to write did I know what that something was. I won't tell you here because I want the style of this book to be a surprise for my readers. Let's just put it this way, some books demand that you write them a certain way. Pleasing the Boss was one of those books.

Now here we are, the day before release, and I'm very nervous about how PtB will be received. I'm certainly not questioning the style I've used, because as I said, it just had to be done that way, but the nerves are beginning to make themselves known! Not least because following up on the success that was the Greek Duo books is going to be VERY hard. Paying her Debt bagged me my PAN eligibility and two best seller stars (Bookstrand and ARE), and Getting her Greek bagged one (ARE). That adds a certain pressure to any new release, but in the same way makes it a little easier. Does that make sense? How to explain... well with Paying her Debt the success was so unexpected that I was just so pleased. I marvelled at the spots it hit and was agog over some of the reviews and emails. Then the sequel came, and I won't lie, I was on THE edge. Because what if it was all a fluke? But no, it was all good. Getting her Greek seems to actually be preferred by some to Paying her Debt--though of course I won't pick between them. So that's the hard bit, following up on that. Maybe people expect a certain style of book from me now? A certain tone and type. But then at the same time part of me thinks, well I know I can write a best seller, and I've had two, so it's not as desperately nerve wracking as it was. Back and forth I go, worry, don't worry, worry, don't worry...

I guess what I'm trying to say that all in all tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day and I'm going to spend most of it eating vast amounts of cake to calm the nerves! Four books down the line and I don't think I'll ever get over the release excitement/nerves/worry/angst that accompanies such a day. So how about I share a little bit of that around? Tell me some of your most nerve wracking moments and I'll enter you in to a draw to win an ecopy of Pleasing the Boss. I'll announce winners at 6 p.m GMT tomorrow.

E x

Pleasing the Boss
A chance meeting in a bar leads to the most erotic night of Pam's life. Only when she awakes Gabe is gone, and naturally she doesn't expect to see him again. Until Monday morning that is, when she arrives at the office... and meets her new boss.

For Gabe one night was never going to be enough. He wants Pam again and intends to have her. Will she be able to look past their working relationship? And if so will she be able to please her boss?

Excerpt

I never expected to see him again before I read the note. Like, ever. I mean, why would I? That’s the whole point of a one night stand, right? The fact you never see them again. The clue is in the freaking name, after all! But there he was, bearing down on me with the scorch still in his chocolate eyes and his hair still begging me to stroke it.
I swallowed, shifted and tried to get my head around it. Gabriel. Here. In my office, Gabriel, my freaking boss. What were the odds?
I thought of his message and groaned. Looks like I’ll be seeing you a lot sooner than you think. Until then, gorgeous, Gabriel.
Of course he’d seen the reports with Ixon blazoned across them. Seen my name there. Pamela Hunt, Head of Research. He’d known we’d be meeting again today. I, however, had not even thought to connect Gabe Janson, my new boss, with Gabriel, my smoking hot one night stand. Shit.
He walked over to my desk, a grin creasing his face. “Pam.”
I nodded, in what I hoped was a businesslike manner. “Gabriel.”
“It’s good to see you again,” he said.
“Likewise.”
He smiled. I smiled too, I totally couldn’t help myself. The tension between us arced and he looked down at my tits. An eyebrow raised, and I only just stopped myself from looking down too. No doubt my nipples were bulleting my top. Big tits, big nipples––that was the way I rolled.
“I’d like to see you in my office today,” Gabriel continued. “Do you have time to fit me in?”
“I believe I have a window already put aside for you, yes.”
“I appreciate that.”
God, my pants were soaked, which was totally inappropriate! But an image of his magnificent dick refused to leave my mind and I only just contained a whimper.
“I’ve set up a lunch as well,” he added. “Just the department heads. How about we meet after that? Does that fit your window?”
“It does indeed.” It didn’t, of course. I’d arranged a 12 o’ clock with Gabriel’s PA, but I’d happily take the other slot. This was my boss now, and clearly we were going to have to do the ‘morning-after’ chat. Only now it was a couple of days later, and we had this new added complication. Shit.
“I look forward to it already, Pam,” he said. I was fairly freaking certain that every one of my staff picked up on the seductive tone to his voice.
I nodded and smiled again. He smiled back. I drenched my pants a second time, and a quick look down showed his shaft, thick and hard in his pants. Dirty, but now inappropriate, possibilities filled my mind and I clenched my legs tightly together.
He coughed, and turned to the rest of the staff. “I’ll be back through about three-ish, to meet everyone properly.”
Heads bobbed, and I couldn’t help noticing four pairs of eyes, belonging to Jane, Sally, Rick and Sasha zeroing on our new boss’s cock. I could hardly blame them. It was fucking obvious, there for all to see. The memory of the feel of it in my pussy hit me, and I gripped the side of my desk. Jesus, it had felt so amazing! If I closed my eyes, which obviously I couldn’t right now, I could almost feel the sensation of him stroking my walls, pulling my clit downwards with each inward thrust.
“I started off in research myself.”
The staff all smiled. Who better than a researcher to understand what we did?
“I hope you’ll throw the odd project my way,” Gabriel continued. “Just to keep my math up to scratch.”
He couldn’t have said anything more perfect and Dave smiled, his curls bouncing on his shoulders, getting his geek on. “We’ve got a really exciting piece of cluster analysis we’re working on.”
Gabriel nodded, reached over and scrolled down our iPod. “Sounds good. Will I hear this in my office?”
Dave’s smile faded. “The walls are pretty thin, sir.”
The office paused, breath held to hear his next words, and I took the opportunity to relax my thigh muscles. “I hope there’s some Stone Roses on there, then,” he said. “But I gotta say, I draw the line at Glee.”
And that was that. The whole office fell for the new boss, nodding and smiling at him and one another. I shifted in my seat as my mind worked through the suddenly-complicated situation my whoreish behavior had landed me in.
“I’ll see you soon, Pam,” he said as he turned to leave, a scorching smile shooting in my direction. My body quivered, remembering that smile as he licked his way down my tits.
I took a deep breath and nodded. What were the fucking odds?

Blog hop winners!

2011-10-22T21:21:00.002+01:00

The winner of an e-copy of Midnight Seduction is Anne Kinahan. The winner of the Evernight Certificate is Books4me. Both winners will be notified by email. Don't forget that winners are still to be announced on the other participating blogs so be sure to check them out.

If you didn't win this time round please keep an eye out for further giveaways, both on here and through my newsletter. :-) And don't forget Mindinght Seduction is still 15% off on the Evernight website.

Thanks for taking part!

Emma x

Midnight Seduction Blog Hop!

2011-10-20T19:48:00.007+01:00

WIN A COPY OF MIDNIGHT SEDUCTION AND A $15 EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING GIFT CERTIFICATE!

No matter what your fantasy, these sinfully naughty tales are certain to keep you reading late into the night...

Midnight Seduction is an exclusive collection of erotically charged stories by thirteen talented authors. From dark angels and vampires, to ghosts and kelpies, this anthology is sure to please paranormal romance lovers everywhere. Fulfill your wanton desires and escape into a world where anything is possible.

Includes my story, The Yearning

If you play with fire you get burnt.... Or in other words, if you go hunting for vampires you get bitten...

One Halloween night Sarah meets the strange and intriguing Anton. It is a mere moment from her life but creates something in her that refuses to be ignored. An urge, a want... a desperate yearning. She hunts for him every year, every Halloween night, the yearning giving her no other choice. But Anton won't let her find him, knowing what will happen if she does.

But others aren't so considerate, and when Sarah meets a monster Anton has no choice but to finally give her what she wants, to finally feed the unnatural yearning.

*EXCERPT*
Sarah could see, as if from a distance, her blood around his mouth and a clump of her hair in one of his hands. The curls were coiling downward, and she was abruptly and strangely fascinated by them.
“Anton?” he asked.
Her gaze found his again and she tried to understand what he meant. Was he Anton? Did he mean someone else? Did it matter?
“I...” she said, and felt little bubbles popping in her mouth. They tasted like blood.
“I see him,” he said. “In your mind.”
Anton. “Don’t...” she tried to say, though she didn’t even know what she meant or if she really said it, and he laughed.
The monster bent down so that he was directly in front of her, and Sarah wished she had the strength to move. There was nothing though, only blackness falling upon her. A ringing filled her ears, and though she didn’t want to, she knew what it meant.
A sob escaped, or maybe she just imagined it.
“Intriguing,” he said and grabbed her hair once more.

To win a copy of Midnight Seduction and/or a £15 Evernight Publishing gift certificate simply follow this blog and leave a comment. In your comment tell me what you're yearning for right now... I'd absolutely kill for some roast beef and gravy...

Once you've done that why not hop to the other blogs in the list below. The more entries the more chance you have of winning!

Lee Ann Sonetheimer Murphy

2011-10-14T19:51:00.003+01:00

Once again my insomnia kicks in and I find myself struggling by on a five hour a night average, if I'm lucky. Last night I think I got about three and a half hours. Apart from the obvious effects of so little sleep, random drooling, squinting at near objects, and zoning out of conversations at awkward moments, I find my lack of sleep has another strange effect on me. It makes me obsess. Now if I was obsessing about say, cleaning, or knitting or some such gadding about, this would not be a problem. I would have an actual thing to show for me sleep deprivation. Like a sparkling house or a selection of knit sweaters.

However I tend to become consumed with an idea. Over the years there have been many things. My preoccupation with the fitting of circles lasted a while--this is the process whereby you find the optimum amount of circles that will fit in a circle of predetermined size. Sounds easy right? Only it's not. Because you can go right down to the smallest of gaps (to the atomic level) between circles and so it becomes increasingly diffilcult to visualize in your mind. You can work it on a computer if you have the right programme, which I didn't. But I knew there had to be a rule and became fairly obsessed with finding it. I knew that I would increase the size of the circle and therefore have space for more within and that would then create a mathematical rule to explain any size circle and any number of circles within the circle. It still eludes me though, so if you have it, I beg drop me a line and tell it to me!

Then onto my strange enthrallment with understanding the idea of colors. I know, scientifically why things are a certain color, but I wanted to find out how you could change, say a book. Not with pain or gloss or whatnot, but at the molecular level. We see the color of things based on the atomic composition of that thing and the way it responds to light. So it is of course possible to change those atoms and therefore change the color of the object. An example being that if you burn wood it changes color. This is because the atoms that make up that wood have been altered in some way. So I can change the color of a book by burning it but that's not what I wanted to do. I wanted to change a square inch of the cover from pink to blue. I have yet to find a way to do that though at the molecular level, and so had to consider other ways to get my blue square inch. And there is another way. This then brings me onto my latest fad. And as the insomnia grows so does my preoccupation with this.

Perception.

Over the years it has nagged at me time and time again. The very idea is wondrous, so wondrous I find myself baffled and yet intrigued by it over and over. Perception. The fact that I build my world by my own perceptions of it.

Let me give you an example. When I look at the table I rest my computer on I see a rectangular wooden structure. I see this because my eyes pick up the visible light from the object. That visual information is then sent along the optical nerve and processed by various regions of my brain. My brain matches this information with that already stored. I have seen many tables over my lifetime and have a plethora of differing forms to make a comparison with. My brain knows it is not a coffee table as it is too tall. It knows it is not circular as the angles are not the same. It computes and tells me, without any conscious effort on my part, that I can see a table.

This all makes sense, yeah?

Now I believe I know the table is made of pine because I am aware of what pine looks like and can feel the grain beneath my fingers. The chairs surrounding the table are also made of pine, as are the bookcases across from me. My brain has processed data about pine before, so it can make a match.

Still making sense right?

But really, how do I know the table is actually there? Or even looks like my brain thinks it does? Bear with me here, I'm not wandering off down some philosophical route. This is real, mind boggling, wtf stuff.

Think about it. My eyes are picking up data based on the visible light spectrum (which is only a small proportion of the electromagnetic spectrum), and sending this to my brain. Yet scientisits have long since believed that what the brain creates from that data is not what the eyes actually see. The stimulus does not match the perception and they have no way to explain what visual processing does to create what is actually seen. Various theroeis have been put forth but no one really knows what's going on. It seems that in a way what we see may not really be based on what is actually there.

Which brings me on to my next point. If my brain is creating images based on stiumli to my retina and data already stored how do I know it is doing it in the same way that everyone else does? I could be gathering data via my eyes that is slightly off the normal range, there could be various reasons for this either biologically or environmentally. Once in my brain the comparisons taking place with data already stored may be based on a faulty data set. I could be comparing the thing I think is a table with images that aren't actually tables, though of course my brain thinks they're tables. For all I know I and several million others might perceive the world differently to the other set of several million, who then perceive it differently to the other set, and so the entire population perceives in differing ways. Now I know I've given you the table analogy throughout but think about it more at an atomic level. Each atom perceived in a slightly different way by each person. It's not even noticeable in the grand scheme of things, I see a table, you see a table, we draw pictures and compare (though of course we can then get into the perception of the picture but I digress) and does not effect day to day reality. But at an almost unoticeable, subconcious level we could all perceive what we believe to be reality differently.

Maybe this explains why some people can see the universe in mathematical terms. They perceive things on a numerical scale and can therefore imagine and theorise in this vein. Or someone very musical. They might perceive shapes and angles in a way that creates musical notes in their brains. Or a writer, they might perceive each length of wood, or each sweep of meadow as a story. Because the stimuli from each atom in our environment is sent in its data form to the brain and we then perceive from this.

Am I making sense...

Playing Favorites

2011-10-08T01:15:00.003+01:00

It's hard not to play favorites with my books. I should love them all equally really shouldn't I? After all every one has come about in its own unique, special way.

The Valentine's Fae (or TVF as it is now known in my mind) was a delight to write. It was my first and I angsted and laboured over it with all my inexperienced passion. Always TVF will hold a little place in me that makes me smile and shake my head when I think of it... but it's not my favorite book.

My Greek Duo books, Paying her Debt and Getting her Greek, should totally bag favoured position, or so you'd think. They're my best sellers. Both achieving the coveted ARE best seller star, and PhD hitting the Bookstrand best seller list for weeks on end. These have received the most reviews and I've lost count of the number of, 'Ohmegawd loved the Greek hotties', emails for these two. These babies are going to pay for most of my wedding. They should be my favorites on that alone, but they're not.

What about the anthology stories? The Christmas Fae (in 'Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas), the one that started it all. Or The Yearning (in the soon to be released Midnight Seduction), my first real literary piece. Both of these hold their own special meaning to me. TCF because it was my road to publication and The Yearning because it shocked even me when it was finished. I call it my grown up story, because its got something to it that makes me tilt me head and pause. One of these should be my favorite right? Only they're not.

Maybe it should be Pleasing the Boss, my soon to be released first book in the Office Seduction Series. This one is durty, and flirty and risky. The style will either intrigue my readers or make them frown. I love it and can't wait to see what people think. Still, it's not my fav though.

No, in the last year one book has taken ahold of my heart and refuses to let go. It hasn't sold a lot of copies, it's way below my Greek Duo books in the sales rankings and I've had hardly any reader emails about it. Doesn't matter. To me The Kiss is my favorite book.

Let me tell you why. The Kiss was inspired by the most beautiful work of art I've ever seen. Antonio Canova's statue of Cupid reviving Psyche with a kiss. As I stood in the Louvre staring at it something pulled inside of me, tourists milled around me, cameras clicked but I was oblivious. I stared and my heart thudded. The Kiss, it will always be The kiss to me now, kicked my muse into overdrive, and I knew that if need be I would labour for months to try and do it justice in a story. Not the story of the statue, Cupid and Psyche, no, just the image of it. Love locked in stone. Love somehow shining out of the alabaster. I had to write it, and within hours a plot came to me that was so unique it thrilled me, the characters arrived in my head fully formed, and when I got home I poured every bit of myself into that book.

I wiled away the early hours of the morning typing and scribbling and considering. I thought about it constantly, it consumed me for so long. And I kept myself going by imagining what my readers would think.

In the first instance the book didn't have a scrap of sex in it. Nothing more than a brush on skin, and a peck on cheek. I wanted to create a grand romance that would clutch at the heart of my readers, make them weep over the pages and I wanted to do that without an sexual contact. I knew though that in that form it would not sell, so I spiced it up, and even then I loved it. The sex became a part of it, molding the story and re-creating it all over again. The grand romance was still there, and I worked out exactly where on my kindle the reader should start crying, and where they should start smiling.

I thought The Kiss would be my defining book. My best seller.

But it wasn't.

The reviews came in and they were excellent. My first reader email came in and she told me that she started crying right at the part where I'd planned her to (that thrilled me to pieces, there I thought my job was done). It all looked fabulous... and I waited and I hoped... but I waited in vain. The Kiss didn't hit any best seller lists, and sales didn't set anything alight. At the time I was crushed. I couldn't understand why no one wanted to read it. This, that I'd put so much of myself in, that I'd given so much to. Why wasn't it selling? My grand, perfect romance. It didn't make sense.

I sucked it up though, a writer has to, and wrote Paying her Debt. And when PhD started flying off the shelves I was so pleased... but a small part of me was frowning. A little bit of my brain was thinking, but The Kiss is better! The Kiss is the book you should be reading! Traitorous of me in a way. Like favouring one child over another but I couldn't help it. Every time another copy of the Greek Duo books sold I found myself wishing it was The Kiss. It is my favorite, there's no escaping that. I think perhaps it will always be my favorite. The book that I put every little bit of myself into. The book that makes me sigh, and wish it had done just that little bit better...

Which just goes to show I guess, that for a writer, in the end, it doesn't come down to the best reviews, or the highest number of sales or even the most reader emails. Some books, like some people, just take ahold of our heart and refuse to let go. And like in real life the bad stuff does not make you love them any less, if anything it makes you love them that little bit more.

Emma x

Evernight Publishing Big Birthday Bash!

2011-09-24T01:13:00.007+01:00

Evernight Publishing is one year old today!!!

During that time new authors have been discovered, best sellers have been created and a whole load of literary love has hit the e-stands. To celebrate Evernight's birthday we have SWAG!! Yes, you heard me right. SWAG!!!

Just follow this blog, and leave a comment (and your email) telling me your favorite couple in a romance book. Elizabeth and Darcy? Kathy and Heathcliff? What about Andy and Alex (from Paying her Debt)? or Cassie and George (from Getting her Greek)? Three winners will be picked at random to win a copy of any book from my backlist--your choice, another winner will be picked to win a $5 Evernight gift certificate...

But oh my, it gets better. At the end of the blog hop three winners will be picked from all the comments, on all the blogs. Those winners will receive either a Kindle, uh huh, an actual Kindle! $50 cold hard cash or a $40 Evernight gift certificate.

The more blogs you comment on in this hop the more chance you have of winning!!! You can see all the blogs below on the linky tool.

And... I know, I know, but there's more! On the last day of this hop, Oct 2nd, all Evernight titles will be 75% off! That means you could buy all my books for less than $10... just sayin'.

So get commenting!

Emma-I'm-overusing-the-exclamation-marks-Shortt :-) x

A Tense Release

2011-09-21T16:58:00.004+01:00

When you have your first book out you cross your fingers and hope for sales. You check Amazon for sales ratings and scroll the lists on the third party distributors, all the while a little tense and a little worried. But even if it does kind of okay you're grateful that someone, somewhere actually brought a copy! At least one person read your book, so be grateful!

Then the second one comes out and it does a little better and you start feeling like you might be growing an audience, so there isn't too much pressure really, you're growing bit by bit and that's all good... the worry eases a little.

Then the third come out, and within a week hits two different best seller lists. You can barely believe it and you refresh the various web pages every hour, shocked to see your book there as a 'hot featured title', 'best selling romance' and such. It's an amazing feeling, almost impossible to describe.

So okay, you had a best seller, time to write the next one. You do, and you send to your publisher, and she accepts it, and then before you know it release day arrives. But it's different now. Wildly different. Because it's not like the early days where you were kind of sanguine about it all. No, you've had a best seller... so you have to have another!
You can't be a one hit wonder, you can't do crappy with this one. Oh no, it must do as well as the other, if not better.

The worry begins, the tenseness. I spent most of last night pacing, and accosting random family members to gather their views. "Do you think it will hit the best seller lists?" I ask chappie. "Ermmm... yeah," he says.
"Yes, but how do you know?" I demand.
"I don't, but ermm.... well... ermmm." Cue him slidling out the room.

"Vix," I say to my oldest as she innocently passes by to grab her homework. "What if it doesn't hit the lists?"
She shrugs. "Whatever."
"No, but seriously," I say. "What if--"
She shrugs. "No one cares but you, mom."

Then this morning came and my publisher emails me. It's up! It's on the sites! But I'm at work and I work for the state, and accessing romance websites so isn't going to fly. There's me feverishly pulling up the distributors on my smart phone and squinting at the screen.

Nothing so far... nothing to give any indication either way... God, it's going to be a tense few days...

Facing a phobia by writing it.

2011-08-28T02:14:00.005+01:00

I get my best stuff in the middle of the night, the early hours of the morning, anytime really where silence surrounds me. I guess this is because my day job and family life forced me to be creative with my writing time. I can't write in the day, or the very early morning, or the evening. So it is night or nothing.

That routine is now firmly ingrained, and as soon as the sky darkens and the silence settles my fingers fly over the keyboard. My very best ideas come in the darkness. As I'm falling asleep, as I'm waking up, as I'm looking at the clock thinking, damn I've got work in five hours.

Tonight is different though, as it has been for the last couple of weeks. Because usually I write about love and happiness and fantasy. Sure I've made myself cry from my writing, but always in a heart broken kind of way. But then I always know what's going to happen don't I? And if I don't like it I can change it... but I digress. The point is over the last couple of weeks I've been trying something different with my writing. I've purposefully chosen to write a book which creeps me out. I mean seriously creeps me out. Night has settled, the wind whips around the building, and I open word and start writing about... zombies...

Not a problem you'd think right? Wrong. Because I'm what some people might call a bit of a freak. Why you ask? Well, truth of the matter is I have a quite horrifying zombie phobia.

Yes I'm being serious. A phobia which doesn't even have a name. Hell even clown phobias get their own name!

Thing is it's not a silly fear, or a bit of worry, but a full blown, oh shit phobia. This goes back to my childhood, where courtesy of some pretty bad parenting, I was forced to watch several zombie movies. I know from watching them now that in reality they're not that scary, but to a seven year old child, they were terrifying. I guess the zombie phobia was created then whether I liked it or not, by some neural interaction I had no control over, and it has never gone away. You could fill a television schedule for several days if you added all my zombie nightmares together, and then some. The bastards always run really fast too!

Now I'm a rational adult as well as a trained scientist. I know in reality the chances of any kind of zombie attack is minimal at best. I'm also pretty survivalist stylee anyway, so if zombies did attack (yeah I really am saying that), I'm probably better prepared than many. I have a plan, I have supplies, and I have zombie slaying weapons. I'd do okay I reckon. Does that lessen the phobia... erm no.

Because that's the thing with phobias, no matter how irrational they are, no matter how many times you tell yourself to stop being stupid, it makes nada difference. According to the American Psychiatric Association, a phobia is defined as, "...an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation. In most cases, the phobia involves a sense of endangerment or a fear of harm. For example, those suffering from agoraphobia fear being trapped in an inescapable place or situation. Symptoms can include breathlessness, panic, nausea, dizziness and fear of dying." Mine tend to be panic and an intense desire to zombie slay. I know right? It's totally fucked up.

So I decided quite recently, as a professional grown up (snigger), a published author, and mom of two, I should really think about doing something about this bloody phobia once and for all. I mean don't get me wrong I'm not suggesting I should ease up on the vigilance, but surely I could minimize my security sweeps?

But how to go about it I wondered, and then it hit me. I would write a zombie book. I would work through my oddness by putting it on paper. Confronting my fear and slaying it! Two weeks in, halfway through the book I have titled Waking Dead, and I won't lie, I am beginning to regret it. Because it's the early hours of the damn morning. The house is silent, the kids are in bed, there's just me keeping watch... and I'm writing about the living, or in my book, the waking fucking dead. Every creek, every bang pulls me from the page and each time a slither of fear snakes down my spine. Not even real fear though, false fear manufactured by the weird neural connections in my brain that allow this phobia to exist.

For the first time ever my own writing has scared me. I open the page to continue the story and trepidation hits me. I have to mentally psyche myself up to write the zombie scenes, and even when I'm killing them off I'm thinking about puss and blood, and gore and such. And worse I can't even judge the effect it will have on others because my own reactions aren't really normal. My beta reader has refused to read any more after suffering a zombie induced nightmare the day of reading so I'm kinda sailing in the wind. I add humor in an effort to force myself into it. I sprinkle in the romance to make me smile, and I've (for the first time ever) written the ending already, just so I know my hero and heroine survive, but throughout all of this two questions refuse to be answered.

Am I really doing this phobia any good? And will my readers even like what I've done?

And here's the worst bit I need a yes to those two questions, I really do. Because this book, the first book, immediately turned into five books. Waking Dead bled into Waking Alive, and then Waking Human came to me, oh and what about Waking Changed I had to do that, and finally I needed to finish it all didn't I? So there had to be Waking Up.

Five zombie books, each becoming increasingly scarier, increasingly zombier. It's going to take me ten months to write them all, and several more to promo them. But I feel like I have to do this. I must face the phobia head on. I must somehow create love out of the horror! If not for me now, then for the characters which are already running round my brain.

I WILL do this!

Whether I have any readers left at the end, well, that's as much a mystery as the phobia itself...

Emma x

It's subjective... right?

2011-08-23T12:52:00.002+01:00

So you spend years and years toiling away at your craft. You probably started off pretty shaky, but over time you leaned all the little tricks and such a good writer needs. Your writing improves bit by bit and eventually you hit the submission circuit. If you're very lucky, and very determined, you find yourself a publisher. You have the amazing moments when cover art comes and you get your first edits, and it is all so exciting and real you know? Finally you are a published writer!

Then it's released and you know the hard work of promo is just starting, and you also know that the thick skin you developed on the submission circuit has to thicken up again.... because it is review time.

My publisher sends my books out to about fifteen review sites. Places like Nocturne Romance Reads, Night Owl Reviews, The Long and Short of it etc. I then add my book to Manic Readers and offer it up to a few more. I'll also go out of my way to try and bag reviews with Romantic Times (who are super, duper fantastic) and a couple of others. Now I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure that reviews influence purchasing decisions. I know before I was published I was, and still am, a voracious reader, but I knew of none of these sites beyond RT and DA. I'd buy after an RT recommendation but other than that? Not really. It's the blurb that gets me every time, and the review does not influence me... except maybe if it is really bad. Then I buy just to see! I've brought two books after reading scathing reviews by Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. I just had to see if they were as bad as they had been badged.

Still, sales aside, reviews give you external validation. They let you know if you're going in the right direction and it always feels amazing to get a good review. Not so amazing to get a bad one.

Reviews, ratings... if there's one thing I've learned in the nine months since I've been published it's that the whole process is hugely subjective. Let's take my latest book, Paying her Debt. I've had some truly amazing reviews. One in particular still makes me smile.

"Parts of the story will make you hot, parts will make you cry, and parts will make you mad. The author does a great job making you care for her characters and how everything works out. I’d definitely read something by Emma Shortt in the future." Nocturne Romance Reads

How freaking cool is that? But then I've also had some which have made me scowl. 2 star review anyone?

I guess my point is that two different people can read the same book and have wildly different opinions, and that's fine, that's as it should be. Everyone's life experiences will influence what they do or don't enjoy in a book. Take me for instance, I LOATHE reading about weak willed heroines. If the heroine doesn't stand up for herself I'll stop reading. That's my personal preference. I also hate reading about cocky heroes with zero redeeming features. He can be arrogant and dictatorial, but I have to see something beyond that ya know? If I don't I stop reading.

And again the thick skin has to come into play. As an author you can't brood over a bad review, well not for more than a few minutes, because the fact of the matter is you can not please everyone. Some will like, some will love and some will hate. You have to take what you can from a bad review, if say there's some advice in there regarding your writing. For instance one review site slated The Valentine's Fae because of my reluctance to put some parts in italics. They were internal thoughts, but then my writing style, whilst in 3rd pov, pushes the boundaries of that a little and I rarely use italics if I can get away with it. This review site did not approve of that, and I took from it that I should get rid of all italics! Go all out ya know?

But then I've had other reviews which just weren't constructive at all. You hated it? Fine. Tell me why. Give me something to work with. *Sigh*. I guess it is just a question of taking the bad reviews on the chin, smiling over the good ones and writing some more.

You can't please everyone can you? But you know what, you can please yourself, and if you can write something you're proud of, that your publisher raves over, and sells, sells, sells, then the reviews are just an added bonus. Good or bad.

Emma x

Buy my books please don't pirate them!

2011-08-21T16:28:00.000+01:00

I'm signed up to Google alerts to keep a track of my books. This lets me know when reviews come in or people are discussing my books. It's a really handy feature and without it I'd have to spend hours every week trawling through the search engines. I always get excited when an alert comes through because it means someone has posted something on the net about one of my books.

I got one of those alerts today and I clicked through to see what it could be... It was a torrent site. On that site there were several copies of Paying her Debt, several copies! PDF, Zip files the whole shabang. I gaped at the screen for a moment and scrolled down, shocked at what I was seeing. Now don't get me wrong this is not my first experience of piracy. I get web hits every month or so with the search terms, 'The Kiss free read', 'Download The Valentine's Fae for free' and so on. But this is the first time I've seen a whole screen with copies of my book ready and waiting for someone to download.

It gets worse. On this site when someone has succesfully downloaded a file a thumbs up gets posted. You can use this feature to keep track of how many times a file has been downloaded. For Paying her Debt there have been over 700 successful downloads. SEVEN HUNDRED! That is, in terms of my royalty rate, over $1400, not to mention the money my publisher would have made, which then gets invested in supporting other upcoming writers, and encourages them to contract my next book! The Kiss has been downloaded several hundred times as has The Valentine's Fae and Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas. All in all over $3000 worth of my books have been downloaded illegally, and that doesn't even take into account other sites they might be on... to be honest I'm not even going to look, it's too depressing to see where else they might have been stolen from.

Yep, I said stolen, because that's what ebook piracy is!

I write the books, my publisher puts money in to pay an editor, to create stunning cover art and to market. The final product belongs to both of us. We've worked hard to get it out there... and in return we sell it. That's how the system works. And you know what really annoys the hell out of me? They're not even freaking expensive! The vast majority of my books sell for less than five dollars. Most distributors give discounts at certain times, so you can sometimes pick them up for less than a large mocca. And I do giveaways all the bloody time! To be honest if someone emailed me and said how much they'd like to read my books, but couldn't afford them, I'd probably give them free copies!

I want people to read my books, it's why I write. But at the same time I want to be able to write full time, and to do that I need to make enough money to pay my rent and feed my children. If everyone who had downloaded my books paid for them I'd have made enough money to live off for two months. That would have allowed me to write another two books and get a little closer to writing full time. As it is right now I write into the early hours of the morning and keep my fingers crossed they'll sell... Now I'm not stupid enough to think that everyone who has illegally downloaded my books would have paid for them... but if just ten percent had...

So basically this is a call out, rant, moan, grouch, to anyone who might be considering illegally downloading one of my books. Please take a moment to think about the hard work put in by the author (in the very early hours of the morning after a full day at work) and the money spent by the publisher. We do this because we love it, but we'd quite like to be paid for our efforts so we can do it some more... just think about that

Emma x

Christmas Anthology Call for Submissions

2011-08-08T21:11:00.002+01:00

STOCKINGS AND SUSPENDERS
Edited by Emma Shortt

ALL sub-genres of Erotic Romance (m/f, m/f/m) with a holiday theme.

Stories must have a HEA or HFN ending.

5-10K in length.

Send your query letter and full manuscript to:
evernightsubmissions@gmail.com

Enter "Holiday Antho" in the Subject Line

Deadline: September 9th

Editing M/M

2011-08-07T23:49:00.007+01:00

I've been editing for a while now and I've enjoyed working with all sorts of authors in all sorts of romance sub-genres. Urban fantasy, paranormal, erotic, contemporary and even F/F. I've written in most of these genres myself and I'm an avid reader of them. From that perspective editing them has been, whilst not easy for me (it should be a challenge right?), it's been overall a pretty smooth experience. Maybe I'm lucky and just have super fab authors, either way I've enjoyed every single book I've worked on.

My last editing project was another thing entirely.

Lorenzo il Magnifico is M/M. For those of you who might be unsure what that is in a nutshell it's Gay romance, two men falling in love and doing the durty.

Now I didn't foresee a problem with editing this at first, romance is romance right, regardless of the gender? Until I got the MS that is. Then, I'll admit, I had to take a deep breath and wipe my fevered brow.

You see M/M romance (the kind Tristram writes at least) doesn't work in the same way as F/M. For one thing the heat level was off the chart! Evernight heat scales go from 1 to 4 and as soon as I read Lorenzo I thought, sheez, can we create a 10 for this? Don't get me wrong I've read heat level 4 F/M but it's not quite the same.

Next the sex was different to anything I've ever worked with before. Tristram created erotic scenes that I had to read and read to get my head round, and I was flailing a little. I'm not a guy, and I'm not a gay guy so more than once I had to email Tris and say, do gay guys really do this? I could shock a gigolo with some of the conversations we've had over the last few weeks, and I have a new appreciation for the whole mechanics behind gay lurve. Again I'm a very lucky editor because Tristram La Roche is gay. He has the inside scoop so to speak, and so in this situation the author was leading me. I had to take his advice on whether a or b worked and whilst that's not unusual in my relationships with my authors--we have lots of back and forth--I did feel a little lost. I kinda like to know what I'm talking about so my guys and gals can ask me questions, not the other way around!

We also had to decide on a direction to take this in. Tris wrote a gritty, realistic novella and my first impulse was to, well, feminise it I guess. I wanted to take out the shocking sexual scenes and replace them with gooey romance.

Tris gacked at the very thought!

Back and forth we went and in the end we agreed it was one or the other, all out either way. In the end we went for gritty. Let the chips fall where they may I said, and damn they've fallen.

Lorenzo il Magnifico is real. It's hot and it's durrrttty, and you know what, in the end, the experience was educating for me in many ways. So thanks to Tristram for bringing me up to speed in the M/M world and being another fab author to add to my ever growing list of fabness.

I love this book and you know what, I'm pretty sure you will too.

Emma x

Buy Lorenzo here.

Giveaway Winner!

2011-08-01T22:09:00.001+01:00

Thanks to all who stopped by for my 'surviving my first reading giveaway'. I wish I could give everyone copies of all my books but, alas, my publisher would tell me off! So I popped you all in the randomiser and the winner is Lorraine!

Congrats Lorraine!

Emma x

Author Reading Giveaway!

2011-07-31T16:41:00.003+01:00

It all started a few months back when one of our local activists, Rebecca Condron, contacted me to request a book to review. I sent her The Valentine's Fae which she really liked. We kept in touch, she reviewed The Kiss, and then next thing I knew she invited me along to something called The Liminal... turned out it was to be my first ever author reading.

Now I'm a romance author so this was all a bit strange for me. Firstly I knew that there were certain parts of my books that I couldn't really read aloud and secondly me, Emma, is not me Emma Shortt, author of racy novels. How was I going to handle this?

I guess like a lot of authors these days the vast majority of my promo is done online. Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, cyber release parties, Goodreads etc, and there from the comfort of my desk I can create my author persona. I can be the author who writes about love and sex without anyone seeing my blush or my giggles, in real life that doesn't happen. I'm right there, being both me and the author--and that's very difficult. Add in the fact that I'm hugely socially awkward and we're looking at a geez shit moment. I've always found it very difficult to talk to people I don't know and it is not unknown for me to break things, trip up or put my foot so far in it never emerges again. Suffice as to say, all things considered, I was a little worried!

So I spent a fair bit of time panicking about how it was all going to go and then I realized, mere hours before the event was due to begin, that I hadn't even picked a part to read. Now maybe I'm a bit strange but once my book is published I never go back and read, like ever. Once it's hit the distributors stands it is out of my hands and I don't want to read it again. I'd probably want to change something or wish I'd added x or y. So I had to suck that up and pick some extracts. In the end I went for chapter twenty-two from The Kiss, an atmospheric chapter with minimal dialogue (I worried I'd have to do the voices!). Then I was asked to do a second reading so I frantically flipped through my Kindle until I found a nice chapter from The Endless Days of Death (not yet released). All in all I think it went quite well, they clapped at least.

I finished the evening by giving out my little magnets and chatting, and it was much easier than I thought it would be. I didn't say anything I shouldn't have or break anything, okay well there was a glass at the end, but I saved it before it hit the floor. And now it's over and I have to say I'm feeling much more comfortable about doing it again.

So to celebrate making it through my first reading I'm offering a free book to my readers. Join my blog followers and leave a comment and I'll pop you in to the randomiser to win any book of your choosing from my backlist in e-form.

Until next time... Emma x

Beneath the Romance - Menage

2011-07-24T12:11:00.005+01:00

Ménage à trois is a French term which originally described a domestic arrangement in which three people indulging in sexual practices occupied the same household – the phrase literally translates as "household of three". In today's terms, the meaning of the phrase has been extended to refer to the actual sexual act between three people, otherwise known as a threesome.

The word menage, minus à trois, can now encompass sexual relations between several people. In terms of romantic literature this is a sub-genre that is booming. MFM, MFMM, MFMMM, the opportunities are endless. Siren publishing is the leading house in terms of menage romance but you can usually find menage romance from several other publishers. To understand this genre a little better I invited along bestselling author Stacey Espino.

Stacey is multi-published by both Siren and Evernight Publishing. She is an Amazon, Bookstrand, Mobipocket and All Romance ebooks bestseller. If anyone knows menage it's Stacey!
Stacey, tell us a little about the genre you write in.
Menage romance involves three or more. I only write one woman with two or more men (three seems to be my fav number right now). It's a very popular genre. It's one of those things that most women will only experience in a romance novel, so the escape and fantasy potential are huge. One lover is nice, but two or more giving you their undivided attention and hours of mind-numbing pleasure...well, yeah, there is great appeal in menage romance.

What attracted you to this genre?
I started writing it as a challenge to myself. I love a writing challenge and getting more than one alpha male to agree to share one woman was a big task. The dynamics, characters, and sex scenes, just came naturally to me and I haven't stopped writing menage romance since.

Who are some of your fav authors writing in this genre?
Many of my author friends write menage, so I don't even know where to begin. Tons of talent out there!

What do you think attracts readers to it?
It's the ultimate fantasy. More than one man wanting you, desiring you, and giving you satisfaction you never knew existed, has great reader appeal ;)

How do you see this genre evolving?
This genre isn't going anywhere. There are even some extreme lines with five or more men. For me, I think four is my limit. I have no plans to stop writing myself. I'm writing a western and a paranormal menage as we speak.

To find out more about Stacey you can visit her website www.staceyespino.com

Beneath the Romance - Interracial

2011-07-17T14:01:00.005+01:00

Within days of her first book release, Tempting Mr. Parker, Delilah Hunt became a bestseller. Her unique spin on interracial romance put her on the top of the All Romance eBooks and Bookstrand charts.

She's followed this success with Riding the Storm and Wyoming Triple Heat, so of course when it came to finding an author to talk about the sub-genre of interracial romance I asked Delilah along. As well as being an amazing author Delilah is also one of the loveliest writers you'll meet, and I'm very pleased to have her long on Beneath the Romance.

So tell us, De, about the genre you write in.
I write in the interracial genre, relationships revolving around black women and white men. I love to put real life scenarios into my work and mix it up a bit with some highly detailed and graphic erotic scenes. I’ve recently started writing ménages, and found it be quite a lot of fun when there is one woman being adored by two, three or even more men.

What attracted you to this genre?
I am involved in an interracial relationship myself. I am black and originally from Jamaica, while my husband is white, born in Germany. It just felt natural to write in this genre. Also there is such a lack of interracial relationships in mainstream romance, I felt that we needed a bit more representation to show that these relationships are normal and the main focus of the storyline does not have to be based on problems found due to race, but rather everyday issues that couples across the board face.

Who are some of your fav authors writing in this genre?
Oh heavens, this is going to sound absolutely horrible of me, but I don’t have a favorite author in this genre. It’s actually only recently that I became aware this genre even existed. I’m a big fan of the Harlequin style romances. I tried searching for interracial books written in that style, but I had a hard time finding them, especially ones with erotica involved. So I thought, okay, why not give it a go. I will say this however, the first I/R book I ever read was written by Eve Vaughn and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

What do you think attracts readers to it?
LoL. Honestly I am not sure. I’m the type of reader who will read anything once the blurb sounds good. Perhaps some of the women are involved in interracial relationships, some might not be, but just want to see if it’s a good read. Either way, I’m just happy people are reading my words!

How do you see this genre evolving?
This could just be a dream and wishful thinking, but I see this genre evolving into mainstream. I see the interracial romances featured alongside all the other romances without some sort of special category. At least I hope it will happen soon.

You can find out more about Delilah by visiting her Evernight page. And if you're looking for other IR authors why not take a look at Avril Ashton and Shyla Colt.

The Golden Formula

2011-07-16T03:57:00.002+01:00

I'm three books and an anthology into my publishing ride and events this week have left me wondering...

Let me give you a little background as to why. In Feb my fantasy romance, The Valentine's Fae, was released. It did very well in terms of reviews, averaging 4.75 stars outta 5. In terms of sales it did okay but wasn't a massive seller. Now I pimped this baby to death! Review sites, guest blogging, featured ads--you name it, I did it.

Then in May my supernatural romance, The Kiss came out. Again this has done very well in terms of reviews, averaging out at 4 stars of 5. Again I hit the pimp trail, guest blogs, review sites, an ad on one of the biggest blog sites, hell even Romantic Times reviewed! It outsold The Valentine's Fae, but again the first two months sales have been okay, not amazing. I wasn't as worried about this one as I was TVF. Maybe because it was my second, because it is a very unusual story, and because I kinda thought it would be a slow seller but consistent, time will prove me right or wrong on that.

Now on Wednesday my third romance, Paying her Debt, came out. This was a completely different type of story for me and I wrote this one specifically with sales in mind. Its a contemporary romance and waaayyyy hotter than anything I've ever done. I was writing for both the market and myself--where with TVF and The Kiss I wrote because I wanted to, with no specific expectation of being published, or who might read.

Paying her Debt has, two days after release, outsold all my other books completely--by quite some margin I believe. I'm currently number 71 on the Bookstrand Bestsellers list, and I've had more readers emails about this one in two days than the five months since TVF came out.

So what's happened?

I can't be sure, not at all, but I think it comes down to the following golden formula;

A kick-ass cover. My cover for Paying her Debt fits the contemporary romance genre perfectly. (Thank you Dara!)

An intriguing title.

A red hot excerpt posted on all the distributors sites

A different, but sort of familiar, twist on a love story which sizzles!

Now I know few authors have a say in their cover art. I'm totally spoiled at Evernight Publishing, we get THE most amazing cover art! So this one might be difficult to influence. I've loved all my covers and The Kiss cover remains my favorite. But in terms of this market maybe it wasn't ideal for immediate sales.

Now for the title. This is totally within the author's remit to make amazing. For instance it didn't really occur to me that The Kiss title might have already been used in a romance novel. It was! And that might have had an effect in terms of searches for my book, ease of listing etc. It needs to be something intriguing, something suggestive, something to make people think, hmmmm...

Excerpts? Well I've always posted quite sweet excerpts... never again! This market demands SCORCHING excerpts from their authors. This is what makes people buy, and so from here on out my motto will be 'the hotter the better'.

Readers like contemporary romance, they eat the darn stuff up! So whilst paranormal, supernatural, fantasy etc does sell well, I'm beginning to wonder if contemporary romance sells the best. Certainly the authors I know who sell the most write contemporary, menage, shifter type stuff or m/m. Maybe this is what the market currently demands? Now don't get me wrong I like writing supernatural and paranormal romance and will continue to do so... but right about now my brain is ticking over all the contemporary plots I have on my computer and wondering which one I should write next...

Overall I guess the point I've taken from all of this (and I don't think this counts if an author is already well known) is that these first few days are the hot zone. This is the point which either makes or breaks your book--and again I'm talking very specifically about this market and new authors, and hell I could be wrong! But it seems to me that if you get just one thing wrong in the golden formula your book will disappear into the archives along with the other 500 or so that came out in the same week. Yeah 500! That's the competition! I'm at the point of thinking promo is all good and well, and it gets you sales--of course it does. The guest blogs, the website, your blog, reviews, the ads--it all helps. But it doesn't do anything for that first 24 hours. Reviews take time to come in, ads have to be timed exactly right and few blogs get hits in the thousands. The first 24 hours count! The time when your book is featured on the distributors main pages. It's the window!

The golden formula needs to be perfect for those 24 hours... either that or this is a fluke... and then, well, I've got nothing!

Winner - Paying her Debt

2011-07-14T19:14:00.002+01:00

Hi all,

The winner, as picked by the randomiser, is Sam Crescent.

I wish I could give everyone a copy :( but my publisher would tell me off!

Big thanks for stopping by and if you do buy Paying her Debt I really hope you enjoy it!

Thanks again

Emma x

Giveaway - Paying her Debt

2011-07-13T17:47:00.003+01:00

Today my contemporary, erotic novella, Paying her Debt is released! To celebrate I'm giving away an e-copy to one lucky winner. Simply leave me an answer below to the following question.

What does the Greek word Yiayia mean?

You'll find a clue in the following excerpt...

It came to him. The obviousness of what had happened—like a remembered dream. He couldn’t explain why he knew it to be true, but he did. Certainty filled him and he cursed again.
The girl…. Aghast, he ran his fingers through his hair, playing the scene out in his mind. He’d bent down to pick up her tampon, trying in some way to ease the embarrassment he saw quite clearly on her face. His wallet must have fallen out—that was the only explanation, right into her open bag!

The girl he just fired had his wallet. But she had more than that. She had his Yiayia’s ring. The one he was supposed to give to the woman she insisted he would find in this small town. The one he promised his beloved grandmother he would look for.
The woman he meant to take as his wife.

Oh, and just to whet your appetite here is the blurb for Paying her Debt.

Fired from the job she so desperately needs, Andy Jones is shocked to find a wallet stuffed full of cash. It belongs to none other than Alexander Ioannou, millionaire extraordinaire, and the man responsible for her firing.

Alexander comes looking for the woman he suspects of misappropriating not only his funds, but his grandmother's ring. He's shocked to find it’s the woman who has been haunting his dreams.

Rather than turn her in, Alexander thinks of more interesting ways for Andy to pay back her debt…

And if you can't wait until the competition is over you can buy Paying her Debt from www.evernightpublishing.com, AllRomanceEbooks, Amazon and 1PlaceforRomance, or join me at The Romance Studios tomorrow for my release party where you'll have another chance to win a copy!

Emma x

Review: Last Caress

2011-07-11T22:14:00.006+01:00

The vampire waits for her because he has no choice. Her name is Maribel but what he wants from her should never be mentioned by name - like her blood, her sex, her death.

When hunger and loneliness sent Jared stumbling through his home town one night, he found himself face to face with the woman who was once his destiny. He longs to take her; change her, yet he knows that she will hate him for it. He has forever to make her forgive him, but is that long enough?

I'm not sure quite how to describe Luxie Ryder's latest story. I think I'll start with the first words that come to mind.

Dark. Haunting. Creepy.

And yet beneath those words there's something else.

Sexual. Provocative. Beautiful.

I love it, its as simple as that. The first time I read it a shiver went through me and I hastened to read it again. There is something in this story that struck a chord with me, and whilst it is far from the sort of vampire, dare I say romance?, that I usually read, I thought about it afterwards. To my mind this is the mark of a good story. When you think about the characters afterwards, wondering... I said romance didnt I? And though you might not get that at first, it certainly does have a romance to it. A creepy, dark kinda romance but one all the same.

I definitely recommend this short read. It will excite and haunt you, and you'll think about it for a good few hours afterwards.

Beneath the Romance - Historical

2011-07-10T17:20:00.005+01:00

The first time I read The Earls Prize by New York Times bestselling author Nicola Cornick I knew that it would stay with me forever as the bar for a Regency romance. I hit Amazon, brought a whole bunch more of her books, and then hit Facebook. It was my intention to track Nicola down and tell her how much I enjoyed her work.

I've messaged other authors, less successful ones than Nicola I should add, in the past to tell them I enjoyed their work and never heard back. Nicola was something else.

She was, is, absolutely lovely and so humble. She responded to my message, interacted with me on Facebook (as she does so many of her friends) and when my first novella came out she blogged about it for me (that was a total squeeeeee moment). In fact she was responsible for my first ever piece of fan mail. A reader brought my book after seeing it on her site. You simply cannot ask any more than that from one of your favorite authors. Not only has she taught me how to write a Regency romance the right way, but she's shown me exactly how a successful author should interact with her fans.

So I am ecstatically pleased to have Nicola on Beneath the Romance today to talk about the historical genre. She's joined by another of my favorite authors, Jayne Fresina. Jayne writes for Evernight Publishing and her historical romances are HOT. If you haven't read A Private Collection yet I would highly recommend you do... like now.

Now I know what you're thinking, two amazing authors in one blog? Well, sigh, I spoil you I know!

So ladies, tell us a little about the genre you write in.
Nicola? I write historical romance, set in the “long” Regency period, roughly from 1790 - 1820. It was Georgette Heyer who is credited with inventing the entire Regency genre and in the 90 years (I can’t believe it’s so long!) since she started it has proved enduringly popular with readers.

Jayne? Well, I write historical romance. If I knew why, I could find the cure. It keeps me up late at night and drives me out of bed at the crack of dawn. It makes me forget to take the dogs out, cook dinner or put the laundry in. Some days I don’t even shower. I find my husband scribbling notes that begin – “Your addiction has affected me in the following ways—” and I fear the cameras of “Intervention” are not far behind.

What attracted you to this genre?

Nicola? I love the Regency as a historical period and wanted to write about it. It’s an era that seems to be on the cusp of the modern world, with extremes of glamour and squalor and at the same time huge change and development in politics, arts, technology and just about every other aspect of life. I think it must have been a very exciting time to have lived and I wanted to capture some of that feeling in my books.

Jayne? When I began writing I tried my hand with all kinds of genres – horror, sci fi etc – and then I found my niche in historical romance. As I child I loved libraries and museums, so I suppose the two things just connected for me. And my sisters and I sat goggle-eyed before the television, completely absorbed in costume dramas – sweeping epics like “North and South”, mini-series like “A Woman of Substance” and Victorian sagas like “Upstairs Downstairs” and “The Duchess of Duke Street”. That’s what happens in a house full of girls I suppose. We were always creative, always dressing up, enacting scenes from The Sound of Music (I never got to be Maria did I, Lynne?) and learning how to amuse ourselves long before there was Wii and XBox. Yes, I am that old! As a stripling of fifteen I discovered Jane Austen, Mr. Darcy and “Pride and Prejudice”. It was all downhill from there. I’ve often thought I was born in the wrong era. I much prefer the clothes of earlier centuries. All those layers just set the scene for romance, passion and intrigue. Despite the tight corsets and strict moral codes that try to hide, tame and subdue what’s going on beneath, human nature, temptation and, of course, love, always win out in the end. Writing romance there’s always a happy ever after. Who wouldn't want to write that? I like to imagine that whoever reads my books is able to escape into another world for a while and come out of it feeling good. If I know I made one soul happier for a day, I’m thrilled. Reading was so important to me growing up. The cogwheels in my mind were almost always clicking away in some imaginary world I’d read about or created myself. Today I like to think the stories I write are giving someone else that same occasional relief from everyday routine and dreariness. When you think about it, a good book is a really cheap vacation and you don’t even have to pack a suitcase.

Who are some of your fav authors writing in this genre?
Nicola? When I first started reading Regencies my favourite authors were Alice Chetwynd Ley and Sheila Walsh and their books are still on my keeper shelves. Stephanie Laurens was my predecessor at Harlequin Mills & Boon and she was a huge inspiration to me. When I discovered the US Regency authors my reading kind of exploded – I was in Regency heaven! Mary Jo Putney and Jo Beverley are enduring favourites of mine, I love Eloisa James’ books for their sheer wit and joy and there are a whole raft of other authors whose books I devour – Louise Allen, Cara Elliot, Anna Campbell, Laurel McKee… I could go on… And on!

Jayne? I love the classics – Austen, Hardy, Bronte, Gaskill, Du Maurier – but from today’s authors I like Susan Johnson, Stephanie Laurens, Virginia Henley and Jude Deveraux. I don’t have a favorite. I tend to choose by the book blurb rather than by the author’s name on the cover. Oh, book blurbs! How we sweat over getting those just right!

What do you think attracts readers to it?
Nicola? I think readers love the Regency genre for the same reasons that I love writing it and also because it has been made so accessible by classic TV series and authors such as Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. I think people enjoy the glamour – the balls, the gowns – the fairytale elements of high society and also the fact that the books depict a society with very clear rules. There is a code of behaviour in the books that appeals to people, especially at times when the world seems a complex and uncertain place. The Regency hero will always hold a fascination for readers, I think. The reason – because he knows how to behave! There’s a huge appeal about a man of honour and integrity who has perfect manners and is sexy as all get out. So the Regency genre is exciting, glamorous, different enough from our age to intrigue and close enough to be tantalisingly familiar.

Jayne? I believe readers are attracted to historical romance for the same reasons I write it. The world is familiar and yet different. It’s an escape without going too far. It’s a world we too might have experienced if we were born earlier and we know that people did live and breathe back then, so even though it’s fiction it’s grounded in a certain degree of reality. Back then people shared laughter, grief and love just as we do now, so we can relate. And maybe the story really happened – maybe two people really did find love that way. How do we know they didn’t? It’s just another version of “what if” that stirs the imagination. And “what if” is truly how every good romance begins.

How do you see this genre evolving?
Nicola? Good question! Actually I’m hopeless at making predictions on subjects like this! With more and more people reading in electronic form shorter books seem more convenient and so I can’t see a return in popularity of the longer historical romance although I do enjoy a big, sweeping story. Writing books in a linked series is proving popular and successful at the moment and this is one way to get complexity of background and characters within a shorter format so there may well be more linked books. At present a sexier type of historical is popular with editors and again I’m not sure we’ll see a return of the more traditional Regency. There are also more mash-ups aren't there - historicals with strong erotic and/or paranormal elements in them, for example. I definitely see that as a developing theme in the genre.

Jayne? As the genre evolves I really wish there could be some relaxing of the rigid “formula” guidelines that publishers currently adhere to for romance. In life love comes in many different formats and combinations, so it would be nice if books could reflect that. Not everyone meets the love of their life within the first three chapters or solves all their problems, including the cat’s cough, in fewer than 100,000 words. I think with the growth and success of e-books, the publishing world has opened up a lot – and loosened up too. It’s being proven every day that readers want choice and it’s not true that they will only lay out their hard-earned moolah for a certain type of story – that they expect the formula and they won’t buy anything else. I say if you don’t give the readers anything new to try, how do you know they won’t like it? Why does romance have to be regimented? Anyway, I have faith that the formula will be discarded one day soon. Free the Writers!! Save the Readers!!

You can find out more about Jayne and Nicola by visiting their websites.

www.jaynefresina.com

www.nicolacornick.com

Blog hop winners!

2011-07-09T16:26:00.003+01:00

I popped all you lovely ladies in the randomiser and the winners are Judy and Darcy! I wish I could give a copy to everyone who stopped by. A huge thanks to you all!

Oh and don't forget to stop by next Wednesday for the release of Paying her Debt. I'll be giving out a copy of my new book as well as some other prizes.

Emma x

Evernight's Sizzling Summer Blog Hop Giveaway

2011-07-05T00:26:00.005+01:00

Join the Authors of Evernight Publishing as we turn up the heat on summer.

Have your bikini ready, the perfect spot pool side,but wait nothing to read? We can remedy that. your chance to win is only a click of your mouse away. Starting Tuesday July 5th and going through to Friday July 8th Evernight's Author Blog Hop Giveaway is loaded with prizes sure to keep the sizzle going long after summer is gone.

Here is the list of the prizes you can win! Just follow the blog and leave a comment. :-)

Shannan Albright - 1st prize: PDF of Dark Passion Rising PLUS $15.00 Amazon Gift Card
2nd prize: PDF of 'Twas A Dark and Delicious Christmas
Karyn Gerrard - PDF of Timeless Heart
Carolyn Rosewood- PDF of Hunted -Due for release in July
L Saint James- PDFof Master of Mine
D.F.Krieger-PDF of Sail My Oceans
Angelina Rain- PDF of Master Mine
Kelly Yerkle- PDF Timless
Emma Shortt- PDF of The Kiss or The Valentine's Fae (your choice)
Stacey Espino - Any 2 books from her backlist
Pepper Anthony - PDF Naked Treats
Claire Matthews - PDF Intimate Friends - Due to release in August
Alexandra O'Hurley- PDF The Lottery.
Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy- PDF's Love Tattoo AND Love Scars
Delilah Hunt- PDF Riding the Storm
Fionn Jameson - 3 PDF's of Blood Wish and 2 PDF winners for her Blood Martyr Series 1-5
Avril Ashton - PDF Make Me Sweat

Just Released / Coming Soon!
Emma Shortt- Paying her Debt
Stacey Espino- Freya's Mates
Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy - Love Scars
Carolyn Rosewood - Hunted
Alexandra O'Hurley- Night of the Dragon

Beneath the Romance - Futuristic

2011-06-20T22:52:00.004+01:00

If you could skip forward into the future what would you find? Have a think about that for a minute... just imagine it... what would it be like...

I bet a whole bunch of possibilities have occurred to you, a million different scenarios. Because when you get right down to it we have no idea what might happen in ten, twenty, or even a hundred years.

Maybe the world will end, giving us some sort of grim dystopian reality, or maybe aliens will land turning us all into sex-slaves. The options are literally, endless.

Now take all these options, mix in some romance, and we have one hot sub-genre, futuristic romance. To get the skinny on this I've invited along the delicious Alexandra O'Hurley, whose blog, Oh Alex, is a must read.

So, Alex tell us a little about romance in the future.
My most recent novel, The Lottery, is my first and currently only futuristic erotic romance, I also write paranormal (aliens and shifters and fallen angels, oh my!) and contemporary pieces. Here's a little about my futuristic story...

Living in a world where men were treated like a rare commodity, Ethan Spears did what he could in order to survive. But when the proverbial rug was pulled out from under him, desperate measures called for desperate actions. To save his sister, he entered The Lottery, offering himself to one woman for a year.

Karlyn Bowman was a rebel in her family, choosing not to climb the corporate ladder in order to pursue her love of art. Lonely, ostracized by the family who should have loved her, she pushed forward trying to become a success. When her friend gives her a lottery ticket to cheer her up, she puts it aside and forgets it. Imagine her surprise when the knock came to her door and her life—and his—were changed forever.

Sounds intriguing. I've just downloaded it damn it, my tbr pile is tottering over!

Now tell me, what attracted you to this genre?
To be totally honest, the storyline itself required this story to be sent into the future. I really enjoyed being able to twist our current world on it's ear a little and be creative with the setting.

Who are some of your fav authors writing in this genre?
Michelle Pillow and Stormy Glen.

What do you think attracts readers to it?
It's outside the norm - so different than our day to day lives, it allows for real escapism. But that can be what detracts some readers from really sinking their teeth in too.

I read in a review for The Lottery that the reviewer rarely read futuristic because they tend to be so over the top that it takes away from the story. But that in my case, I didn't veer into never-never land, so it made it more believable and she was glad she read it. The story takes place in a world where men are in limited supply - and I wanted it to take place on Earth. Pushing the storyline ahead 100 years made sense.

I have to agree with the reviewer - some of the futuristics I have read have been so far out of reality they were hard to connect with. This isn't a genre that fall into every story, but it was fun pushing myself to try something new. But don't count out another futuristic story someday down the road!

How do you see this genre evolving?
Futuristic Erotic Romance is still a very small percentage of the Erotic Romance Market right now, it seems readers either love it or hate it. I think it will continue to truck along with its die hard fans.

Thank you for your time Alex!

Come back next week for a little historical...

Beneath the Romance - Fantasy

2011-06-12T15:53:00.004+01:00

Fantasy is a fairly booming industry. Movies, roleplay, comics... and most of all books. Anyone who has stayed up late in the teen years reading Lords of the Rings will know what I mean, or how about the superb Game of Thrones? There's an amazing choice of fantasy literature, and happily, over recent years this has expanded to include fantasy romance.

Fairies, eleves, trolls, magicians, enchanted princesses... all of these elements could be found in a fantasy romance. Like any other sub-genre fantasy romance follows the same basic structure--hero, heroine, conflict, happy ever after and such forth--just a bit a bit more fantastical! How about a hot fairy and a a sexy dragon tamer? Or a young prince seducing a curse maiden? It's all out there.

So to find out more I've invited author Anna Keraleigh along to tell us a bit more about this sub-genre.

Hi Anna, can you tell us a little about what you write.
I write in the Fantasy genre. Fantasy uses magic or other supernatural elements and is usually inspired by folklore or mythology. In this genre, the word impossible doesn’t exist, improbable sure but nothing is ever impossible. Dragons breathe fire, fairies seduce young maidens, trolls attack magical kingdoms, it’s all possible in fantasy.

What attracted you to this genre?
Reality, sometimes it just plain sucks and I wanted a way to bend the rules, to exist outside of the norm. I fell in love with fantasy. It's the most amazing feeling to let all those crazy ideas loose and twist them into a story.

Who are some of your fav authors writing in this genre?
Laurell K. Hamilton is one of my all time favorites, her Merry Gentry series is spectacular. Anne Rice, Ursula Le Guin, and so many more are merging today, it’s fantastic.

What do you think attracts readers to it?
Again reality, I know when I read for pleasure I want to be whisked into another world. I want to avoid the chaos on the news and the trouble with the economy. For a few hours a day, all the world fades away except for the heroine and her handsome hero.

How do you see this genre evolving?
It has been gaining in popularity over the recent years and I hope it continues to do so. Let’s get rid of the movies that remake old stories and reality tv. I hope we can delve into a fantasy novel and eventually movies so that for those few hours, life is a series of fireworks.

Thanks for stopping by Anna!

You can find out more about Anna here.

Reality Bites

2011-06-04T20:58:00.004+01:00

There comes a point in every authors life when reality hits. The Geez-Louise moment when you realize that it is actually real.

This point is different for everyone. It might be when you receive your first edits from an actual honest to God editor. It might be when you open your inbox and find your cover art, melting when you realize how perfect it is. Or it might be when you get your first ever reader review.

I've had a few Geez-Louise moments but the monumental one came the other day, and it was then that I actually stopped for a moment and thought, Oh my God I'm actually freaking published.

I think up until this point I've been so crazy busy I haven't had a spare moment to pause. My first work was published in December and since then I haven't stopped. It's only now, with The Kiss that it has hit.

The reason for this is quite simple. I hit the Holy Grail of reviews. Romantic Freaking Times baby!

For those of you who aren't familiar with the romance world Romantic Times (RT) book reviews are the numero uno. They've reviewed pretty much every author that I love, and they're responsible for the RT awards (I will win one!). I make many of my book buying choices based on their reviews and features, and on Wednesday they reviewed The Kiss.

I can't even begin to state how chuffed I was when I opened their website and there, sat on the left hand corner was my book cover, with the words 'web exclusive review' underneath. Reality bit me right about then and I paused and thought, wow this is it.

RT gave me 3/4.5 stars for The Kiss, sure I'd have liked 4.5 but I am not going to complain at all! Here's what they said;

"In this very unusual story, readers are taken from the past to the present in alternating chapters. The scenes in historical England as well as in contemporary times give readers deep insights into the characters’ motivations and feelings. While the story’s short length means some questions go unanswered, Adam and Eva’s compelling dilemma is intriguing. Not everyone would make the choices that these characters make, but it is hard not to root for these star-crossed lovers."

Squuueeeee!

And it gets better. All this week RT are hosting a giveaway for me, winners will receive a digital copy of The Kiss. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to go here and answer the question.

Good luck!

Emma x

F@~k you, romance haters!!

2011-05-30T22:24:00.003+01:00

We're about halfway through the Beneath the Romance series, and when I started it you might recall I regaled you with a fact...

Romance makes up 13% of all fiction sales. Yep THIRTEEN PERCENT. 1 in 10 of all books sold are romance, so you'd kinda think, would you not, that this would mean such a hot genre is well respected, well considered and appreciated. Well let me tell you a story, a true story that happened to me a few months ago... I'd almost forgotten about it but events today have smacked it back into the front of my mind.

I was in a group and we were talking books, as we often do, and a friend in the group asked when my latest was due out. Obviously appreciating the interest in my work—-which to be fair needs all the freaking interest it can get—-I launched into my sales pitch. This is ingrained now you understand. Someone asks and off I go. I can’t bloody help myself, I’m like one of those wind up clocks, you turn me and I ain’t stopping till the mechanism burns out.

So, someone, who I shall call the romance-hater--and I don't even know who the hell she was--turned to me whilst I was in full freaking sales flow, and said THE words. The sentence which gets my attention like a fat woman at a cupcake sale (I can say that because I would be one of those women, so no snark comments okay). The words? Well here they are. Oh you write that sort of stuff…

Cough, splutter, excuse me? I stopped and gave her the death star glare, because I knew, as did everyone else (I could tell from the drop a match in the gasoline silence), that she was disparaging my profession. It's a look, a tone, a slight smirk that gives it away and they were all there in abundance.

Ten books, who knows how many thousands of words and sleepless nights, and yet by a mere handful of words I had been consigned into the literary heap of ‘those sort of books’, and damn I had to climb my ass out. I smiled sweetly, a tricky proposition for me, and replied that yes, I do indeed write that sort of stuff—so there. Okay, I didn’t add the ‘so there’, that would have been childish of me, and I professional author that I profess to be, am better than that. Right?

Anywhos she smirked back and moved on before I could say anything else, and I was, once again, left ranting at the injustice of it all. I mean come on, how many times have I heard the same thing over and over again? It’s like people think that someone who writes romance or erotica is somehow less than someone who writes a boring literary tome. Who decided this huh? Who came to the conclusion that a genre that sells over 13% of all fiction, is somehow less worthy of attention that any other?

I wanted to ask the romance-hater if she’d ever tried writing a whole chapter of sex. Because there are only so many ways to describe it you know, and ten books down the line it starts becoming a little tricky. Has she ever tried to tenderly convey a first love scene, bring to life a fantasy that thousands of women would like to try out but don't quite know how, or explain the joy of oral sex to someone who might not be too keen?

I wanted to ask if she’d ever spent hours devising ways to make people fall in love. The most magical of emotions in your hands, waiting for you to bring it to life. Scenes to make people smile, and gasp and sigh in satisfaction--it takes time and love and a real empathy. If you don't feel it you can't write it.

I wanted to enquire if she’d ever created something that makes someone smile, that gets a wife frisky enough to give her husband some loving, or a single woman decide to ask her workmate out tomorrow? If she’d ever labored over a manuscript until her eyes blurred and her fingers burned with cramp, all the while imagining what your readers will think. Will it inspire them? Will it arouse them? Will it make them fucking happy?!

No? Well then all you romance haters, shut the fuck up.

Beneath the Romance - Erotica

2011-05-30T18:18:00.005+01:00

Erotica, whilst not strictly romance, still deals with the interaction between a man or a woman, or sets thereof. I wanted to include this genre in Beneath the Romance as there is often confusion about what it really means, what sort of stories you'll find and whether it is simply porn.

To help chart this sticky territory I invited author Tiffany Riesz along. Tiff lives in Lexington, Kentucky with two roommates, two dogs, two cats, and one hedgehog which doesn’t belong to anyone who lives in the house and no one is actually sure how he got there.

She graduated with a B.A. in English from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and is making both her parents and her professors proud by writing erotica under her real name. She has five piercings, one tattoo, and has been arrested twice.

When not under arrest, Tiffany enjoys Latin Dance, Latin Men, and Latin Verbs. She dropped out of a conservative southern seminary in order to pursue her dream of becoming a smut peddler. Johnny Depp’s aunt was her fourth grade teacher. There is little to nothing interesting about her. Still, if she couldn’t write, she would die.

So Tiff, tell us a little about the genre you write in.
I write erotica. Under my real name by the way. My specific area of expertise is BDSM erotica. A lot of readers and even some writers lump erotica in with romance and consider erotica just romance with more sex. It isn’t. Romance is about two (or more) people falling in love with each other. Erotica is about a character’s sexual journey, which may or may not lead to true love, marriage, etc. It may even lead them away from traditional love and marriage.

What attracted you to this genre?
One of my agent’s other clients writes erotic romance (that’s a hybrid of romance and erotica—same basic structure as a romance novel but allows for more freedom in the sex scenes). I was talking to her about two male characters in her book who are sharing the same woman. I asked if the men would have sex with each other. She said she didn’t think so as she didn’t know if she could get away with that in an erotic romance novel. As my work is marketed as erotica and not romance, I have complete freedom to do whatever I like with my characters. If readers are offended, it’s their own fault for reading an erotica novel and not say, an Amish romance.

Who are some of your fav authors writing in this genre?
I love classic erotica—The Story of O and The Sleeping Beauty Chronicles. When The Story of O came out, people were outraged and thought some evil man who hated women had written this violent tale of the subjugation of a woman. Turns out a woman wrote it as a love letter to her married lover. Never underestimate the erotic imagination of a smart woman in lust. And when it comes to smut, Anne Rice can do no wrong. If you haven’t read The Sleeping Beauty Chronicles, I weep for you. Reading those books in high school opened my eyes to a whole new world I didn’t know existed and yet would soon discover I belonged in.

What do you think attracts readers to it?
Of all genres erotica probably has the most going for it—it has sex, violence, lust, love, and surprises. Romance is formulaic but an erotica novel can begin and end almost anywhere. Readers who are tired of seeing feisty, smart, and passionate heroines turn into boring wives and mothers at the end of their fictional journeys come to erotica and discover women who want more than just Mr. Right and 2.5 kids.

How do you see this genre evolving?
I’m not sure how erotica will evolve but I know how I want it to evolve. I’d like to see erotica writers learn from Sarah Waters, author of Tipping the Velvet. That book is about a lesbian woman in Victorian England discovering who and what she is and how to love another woman. Sarah Waters did meticulous historical research and created a moving, passionate, and erotic story. Yet you could take out every single sex scene in the book and still have a world-class story. I’d like to see more erotica writers using sex to enhance an already fabulous story without letting the sex be the story. Most erotica I’ve read lately, if you removed the sex scenes, the book would be one-tenth as long and patently unreadable. The main character of my novel The Siren (coming out from Harlequin Spice in Sept 2011) is an erotica writer. She calls what she does “literary friction.” And that’s my genre too.

You can find out more about Tiffany by following her on Twitter, where her Tweets have been known to leave me agape and looking over my shoulder to make sure the kids aren't around.

Win a copy of The Kiss!

2011-05-24T22:45:00.002+01:00

Stop by Happily Ever After Reviews before the 27th March 2011 and you can win a copy of The Kiss! Simple follow the blog and leave a comment.

All feedback is very welcome!

Emma x

Beneath the Romance - Erotic Romance

2011-05-23T00:15:00.007+01:00

Erotic romance is very different to erotica.

Erotic romance, as defined by Romance Writers of America (RWA), are stories written about the development of a romantic relationship through sexual interaction. The sex is an inherent part of the story, character growth, and relationship development, and couldn’t be removed without damaging the storyline. So, in other words the sex is essential, but re-read that sentence because this definition also makes something else very clear. It's not just about the sex.

Erotic romance is by its very definition still a romance. Which means the couple are expected to develop a relationship as well as get the nasty on. A reader will still want to see complex characters, a well driven plot and a happily ever after... just with some hot, steamy loving as well.

If it's erotica you'd like to know more about, well don't fret, we'll be covering that one off next week with the fabulous Tiffany Reisz. But this week we're sticking with the HEA and I've invited along Carolyn Rosewood and Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy to tell me more.

Carolyn, why erotic romance?
A romance novel is all about emotion and falling in love. As adults, part of our relationships normally include sexual encounters. There is no act you can perform with another human being that is more intimate than making love. When I read a romance with emotional hot sex scenes, I'm not only turned on, I become much more invested in those characters, and in the outcome of their relationship. Because I believe in writing what I myself would like to read, my characters have sexual sparks that fly fast and hard between them. I love to build the tension and show the chemistry that makes them throw caution to the wind in order to be together. It's the same kind of rush you'd get having sex with your lover in a public place, or at least someplace you're likely to get caught. You're willing to risk it in order to be with that person because you love them so much, and you can't keep your hands off each other. That's how I like to write my characters, because I want my readers to experience that same rush.

Lee Ann, what attracted you to write in this genre?
I read almost anything but the entire romance genre has always been a favorite. I never minded - in fact, enjoy - some sensuality and erotic moments in a love story. I also had older cousins who happily loaned me their books with erotic scenes so I got hooked early!

Carol, what do you think attracts readers?
The thrill of sex. When I read a particularly vivid intense love scene, my empathy for the characters increases. I want them to be together. Readers are drawn to erotic romance because once those characters make love, the stakes are always higher for them, individually and as a couple. They have more to lose. The sex heightens every conflict that comes after those scenes because now that they've made love, they're emotionally invested in each other in a way they weren't before.

Lee Ann?
Sex is a part of life and love so it's natural that many readers want erotic moments in their reading!

And how do you both see this genre evolving?

Carol?
We write about relationships between consenting adults. My hope for the genre is that authors will continue to push the boundaries and keep writing male/male romances, female/female romances, menages, and multi-partner romances. These stories mimic life. Why not give everyone something they can relate to and enjoy?

Lee Ann?
I think that the ebook revolution will make it easier to find new authors and more works in the erotic romance genre. For some people, it's easier to buy books online and download them to a e-reader if they're embarrassed what people think about their reading choices.

That's certainly true! It's far easier to read something with a muscled-hunk on the cover via e-reader, and I think Lee Ann has hit on something here. The ebook revolution will open up a whole lot of options for both readers and authors of erotic romance. And one thing is for sure, this sub genre of romance is not going anywhere.

Don't forget to stop by next week when we'll be talking erotica with Tiffany Reisz...

The Kiss

2011-05-17T17:48:00.003+01:00

Did you know that scientists have undertaken brain scans on people when a romantic relationship begins? Apart from the whole how and huh of that--i.e. who goes to a scientist and says, oh, I'm beginning a romantic relationship, scan me--some amazing things have been revealed.

For instance studies have found that after that "first magical meeting or perfect first date," a complex system in the brain is activated that is essentially the same thing that happens when a person takes cocaine.

Almost immediately the brain begins to create neural connections which encourage the release of certain hormones, such as dopamine and serotonin. These chemicals are the 'feel goods', and work on the reward part of the brain.

So basically falling in love is akin to taking a powerful drug which makes you very, very happy. This does not surprise me. Anyone who has fallen in love knows that the beginning of the relationship is something unlike anything else. The emotions, the excitement--it's all new and amazing.

And then there is the kiss...that moment when you first press lips with the person all those dopamines are pulsing for...

I think I always assumed that everyone kissed, as far back in history as one might chose to go, but surprisingly that is not the case. For instance before the 20th century Japanese society was completely ignorant of the kiss, except that between a mother and her infant. In certain African societies no one kisses, not mothers to their children, not even lovers.

The Greeks and the Romans were pioneers of the kiss, lovers, family members, even business acquaintances kissed. This, along with the march of these civilisations, spread throughout Western society to what we see today. A situation where pretty much everyone kisses!

Yesterday I kept a little count of all my kisses and from eight in the morning until two the next morning I gave out or received at total of twenty three kisses. That's like over one hundred and fifty kisses a week! Multiply that by a year, by a decade and we're talking a whole lot of kisses.

In my novel, The Kiss, which is out tomorrow (the 18th May 2011) from Evernight Publishing a kiss plays a major part, it is both a beginning and an end. So how about you tell me about your most amazing or memorable kiss and what sort of beginning or end it made for you...

Beneath the Romance - Contemporary

2011-05-15T19:13:00.006+01:00

It's the type we know best, that sub-genre of romance that just 'clicks' with us all. And why? Well because it's real life of course. I mean sure we might all fantasize about vampires chomping our necks before giving us a good seeing to, or a duo of werewolves insisting we're their mate, or a space faring captain rescuing us from evil aliens. But we all know in reality that those scenarios are not going to happen. In contemporary romance there's always a chance it might... that Greek playboy demanding a night of passion, having to go on the run with a spy, the two new flatmates wanting to share... there's always that possibility...

As a reader I love nothing better than immersing myself in a story with alpha men and sassy heroines, all in a setting that is familiar to me. But what about the authors? What's their motivation for writing in this sub genre? Well I asked two fab multi-published authors to tell us just that. So a big welcome to Luxie Ryder and Pepper Anthony.

Luxie, tell us a little bit about contemporary romance. Contemporary Romance is the kind of romance we all know the best! Each of us can tell our own special story to tell about about how we met our partner, all of them set in modern times. Contemporary romance is can be about anything. Some of my stories deal with fantasy situations such as dating a Rock star in For One Night Only, or the superstars of Ballroom in Dance Like Nobody's Watching, but others are about normal people in exceptional circumstances like Betsy in The Cowboys and the English Teacher.

And Pepper?
I write shorter, contemporary fiction, anywhere from 5,000 to 40,000 words. My stories are on the steamy side. Sometimes I’ll add a little taste of BDSM, or invite a second man into the bed, just to keep things interesting, but most of my stories center on one man and one woman, like in Naked Treats, working things out in the time honored way.

Luxie, tell me what attracted you to this genre.
The first thing that attracted me to this genre was the ability to write stories about the romance to be found everywhere, even in mundane, otherwise routine lives. But I've also written about extraordinary situations in paranormal romances like my latest Evernight release, Soul Bound, or my vampire novel from Total-E-Bound, Worth Dying For. Whatever the sub-genre, they all have one thing in common - they are set in modern times. To me, there are few things sexier than a 21st century man.

Pepper?
When I fantasize, I like to think about things that could actually happen in my own life, the more realistic, the better. And I like shorter, simpler stories that keep the plot focused on the sexual tension building between the two main characters.

I would agree with you both on these points. Fantasizing makes the world go round, and with contemporary romance it seems so much more possible than in say, paranormal or fantasy.

Luxie, what do you think attracts readers to the genre?
I think people find Contemporary romances so easy to relate to because, with the exception of the names of the places and characters, it could be story of how we met the loves of our lives. But we also love to imagine ourselves in the exciting locations and interesting situations that we see on TV and in movies and books. For those of us who haven't experienced a menage with two cowboys or been swept of their feet by a vampire like Hallie in Sacrifice, and it's the closest we can come to knowing how it might feel!

Pepper, what are your thoughts?
I suppose other readers are attracted to this genre for the same reasons I am: these stories could actually happen in our own lives. What could be hotter than imagining a sexy hunk walking right in to my every day life and turning everything upside down?

And how do you both see the genre evolving?
Luxie? The genre will of course evolve because time marches on! I see many more romance writers trying to shine a light on modern day issues, and some stories give us a fascinating insight into unconventional relationships. Personally, I'd love to see more epic, sweeping romances - modern stories with the feel of Gone with the Wind or The Thorn Birds.

Agreed!

Pepper?
There are already different “flavors” of contemporary fiction, i.e. BDSM and ménage. I would guess paranormal elements will continue to bleed across as well. And I would imagine the stories will only get hotter as erotica comes to be more acceptable. Pushing that heat level is bound to expand the boundaries of the contemporary genre. Who knows what story line creative writers will come up with next?

Thanks both for this insight. Remember you can find both Pepper and Luxie on Facebook, Twitter and Blogger.

Join me next week where we will be looking at Erotica, with a whole host of authors getting involved.

Beneath the Romance - BDSM

2011-05-08T17:41:00.014+01:00

BDSM... a sub-genre of romance that I didn't know too much about until very recently. A little research, a few gasps later and I've got the low down for you. So what is it all about?

Well, put simply BDSM is an erotic practice or expression that involves the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy role-play. Yep, it's pretty filthy, but the main point to grasp is the C word... consensual. We're not talking rape here, we're talking sex with an added kink.

The origins of BDSM are a little obscure, but one thing is sure, and that is the fact that such sexual practices are prevalent throughout history. The Kama Sutra for instance describes numerous activities which could be considered BDSM, including biting and pinching during sex.

The acronym BDSM is made up of various words.

B stands for bondage, we're talking chains, ties, ropes, that sort of thing. This may involve handcuffs, lashing of limbs together or tying of persons to an object, such as a bed or a chair.

D stands for domination, the kind where one protagonist takes the upper hand with the other. Generally couples fall into one role or the other, dominant or submissive.

S and M stands for sadomasochism. This is the practice of applying or enjoying pain for sexual gratification. From love bites (yes hickeys are S&M) to paddles--the concept is wide an varied.

To try and understand the whole shabang a little better I invited authors, Angelina Rain and London St James to talk me through this sub-genre.

Hi London, tell me why you write in this genre.

I guess I write in this genre because I have naughty thoughts, LOL…. But in all seriousness I love to write about romance, throw in some erotica and maybe shock people a little bit. I like to read a story that not only takes me on a journey but makes me think and turns me on, so I try to do this when I write. Take the reader on a journey which makes them think and turns them on as well.

And Angelina, what is about BDSM that intrigues you?

I love the idea of rough sex. The idea of having no control as you’re commanded to perform a certain sexual act thrills me. I think a little hint of pain makes the pleasure so much stronger.

Yes, there is certainly is from what I can gather on the BDSM sites. Yes there are sites, many, many of them--and of course I had to check them out, for research purposes of course! Biting, scratching, spanking, take your pick. There's even a wide range of sex toys specifically for inducing pain in your lover. Paddles, spiky vibrators, the list goes on.

What do you think attracts readers to this London?

The forbidden or taboo of it. We all want we can't have and are attracted to the thought of the forbidden. Besides, what better way to lose yourself for a few hours than to read a few stories and imagine...

Angelina?

The unpredictability of it. In romance, most sex scenes are pretty much the same. It starts with kissing, as clothes are slowly discarded. Then his mouth and hands usually travel to her neck, collarbone, breasts, and you know where else. With BDSM, it’s completely different. I think the idea of using toys in fiction also attracts readers.

Yes, as I said the toys are everywhere. Check this out, and if you can tell me what it is (in the comments box) there's a copy of Master of Mine in it for you. No cheating and looking it up please!

Angelina, how do you see this genre evolving?

There’s a lot of growth in this genre. There are really endless possibilities as to how to write a BDSM sex scene and I plan to explore them all.

London?

I do see this genre evolving, becoming more and more popular. Who knows how big this genre may get? But I do see the possibilities becoming endless for BDSM writers

Want to know more? Then do a quick Google search, BDSM really is everywhere, and the opportunities for both writers, and readers are numerous!

Until next week when we'll be looking at contemporary romance... with even more amazing authors to talk you through it.

Beneath the Romance - Alternative

2011-05-01T16:38:00.009+01:00

Today, for this, the first Beneath the Romance installment we're looking at alternative romance. The sub-genre that explores gay and lesbian fiction, commonly known as m/m and f/f. Alternative fiction, generally, only includes two protagonists, m/m/f, f/f/m, m/f/m, and such all comes under the heading of menage or multiple partners.

We're talking romance here, the kind between two women or two men, and to help us understand this market I am pleased to welcome two authors, Xondra Day and Tristram La Roche.

Xondra writes m/m romance and is multi-published with Evernight Publishing and Total E-Bound, her titles include Beyond Friends and The Blood Between. Tristram has his first m/m novella, On My Knees, out this summer with Etopia Press.

Tristram tell us a little bit about the genre.

My stories are about real gay men. To my mind, writing gay fiction is no different to writing any other sort of fiction. A 'good book' shows us real, believable characters and looks at how they interact with each other. To my mind, too many 'gay stories' are over romanticised and almost patronise gay men. Gay men are just like other men. The only difference is that they... well, that's obvious.

Typing m/m romance into Google produces forty-two million results, f/f produces thirty million. Clearly the market for both is booming. So where does the interest for these genres come from? Xondra what attracted you to alternative romance?

When I started writing, I first wrote m/f romance. I started reading m/m out of pure curiosity, and found that I enjoyed the genre a lot. Most of my life has been spent living within the gay community with many gay friends, so, I decided to give it a try. I have not looked back since.

Tristram?

Being gay doesn't mean you have to read gay fiction and it certainly doesn't make up the majority of my own reading, but I started to have a look at some of the books that are available and found that a lot fell into two camps. First, there is what I would call porn; not well written and lacking any discernible plot, staggering from one orgasm to the next. Second, some quite well written material but with dubious characters and sex scenes. One thing I noted was that many women writers of the genre talk about painful erections. Erections are not painful, as any man - unless he has something wrong with him - will tell you. All this started me thinking that I should put my fingers to the keyboard and write what I know, bringing to the stories the same 'rules of writing' that are applied to any other genre. My first novella, On My Knees, was immediately signed to Etopia Press and is due out in June, so the readers can give their verdict!

Xondra do you think it's harder writing m/m romance as a female author?

It hasn't been my experience thus far. I do sometimes worry about being realistic. I don't want to offend anyone, especially the community I often write about.

Female m/m authors are increasing week on week. A search of some of the highest selling ebook distributors shows that the top ten lists are chock-a-block with m/m romance, the majority written by women.

Xondra what do you think attracts readers to the genre?

I’m not sure. I think it could be many reasons. No doubt some like the heat factor and the fantasy of two guys being involved with each other. I will admit for me, I’m just a sucker for a good romance.

Tristram?

I think it's pretty obvious that gay men read it because it is about them. I was puzzled at first why heterosexuals, especially women, are attracted to it in droves. I think it's probably a lot to do with curiosity and no doubt is driven by the same thing that interests many heterosexual men in lesbianism.

So how do you see the genre evolving? Tristram?

I think it will soon be part of mainstream fiction. If you think that only 30 years ago the British Government was still legislating against homosexuals, and now look at where we are. If we can come so far in three decades, the wider enjoyment of 'gay literature' can only be a matter of a short time. If gay people can read and enjoy straight books, watch and enjoy straight drama, why can't everyone enjoy everything? What matters in this, as in everything in life, is quality.

Xondra?

Right now, the genre seems to be existing mainly through e presses. I would like to see more bigger mainstream places publishing m/m. I think it would be great to be able to walk into a bookstore and see a shelf of books displaying the best of the best within the genre.

There is so much talent out there, and I feel a large part of it goes unnoticed. For me, that’s sad.

There certainly is, as Xondra has said, a lot of talented authors out there writing m/m and f/f. Can you both tell me about some of your favorite authors Tristram?

Top of my list at the moment is James Lear. I read his book The Back Passage and laughed out loud. It's a sort of Agatha Christie parody, incredibly well-written and with some very explicit, realistic sex. His ability to throw in superb one-liners just at the right moment is a joy to read. To this I would add Marguerite Labbe and Michael Schiefelbein. Though Schiefelbein writes gay horror, it is not only good horror but the gay relationships and sex are dealt with perfectly.

Xondra?

I haven’t really stuck to just a few authors. I am still experimenting, and I buy whatever fancies my eye and catches my interest. But if I had to pick two, they would be Amy Lane and Marshall Thorton who both write very original characters, and interesting storylines.

So, there we have it, a little insight into the world of alternative fiction from two very talented authors. To find out more about either Xondra or Tristram you can find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Join us next week where we'll be looking at the world of BDSM...

Beneath the Romance

2011-04-21T21:51:00.005+01:00

Romantic fiction holds the largest share of the consumer fiction market, a 13.2% share in fact. The bookshelves heave with bodice rippers, and Kindles fairly explode from the masses of love downloaded to them. The romance market shows no signs of slowing, and ebook sales in particular are increasing at a phenomenal rate. But have you ever wondered about the huge range of books available? A simple Amazon search returns tens of thousands of results, and the choice is simply staggering.

Romance may be one genre but there are so many sub-genres within it. From alternative to post-apocalyptic, times have certainly changed from the early days of syrupy-sweet stories, where the heroine smiles and simpers and the hero beats his chest. It's possible, these days, to find any story you want within romance. Whether it be a deep space adventure with a kick-ass heroine, a regency scandal with a brooding lord, or a world of fantasy complete with blushing fae, it's out there waiting for you.

But where to start? Well... to help you navigate the tempestuous waters of the romance world EmmaShorttBooks is pleased to give you a new blog series, Beneath the Romance.

Starting on May 1st 2011, and continuing every week thereafter for the next couple of months, I will be exploring the many romance sub-genres. From menage to fantasy, I'll, hopefully, introduce you to each delightful world, and leave you eager to know more.

I have a facts and figures for you, stats and charts... but even better I have a shockingly amazing set of authors lined up to tell you about their experiences writing the books you love. Nicola Cornick, Seleste DeLaney, Delilah Hunt, Stacey Espino, Xondra Day... good grief the list goes on! In all honesty it may be too many fab authors for one blog to handle, fingers crossed Beneath the Romance is up to the job.

So it's time bloggers to crank up the heat, layer on the love and get yourself ready. We're not just going romantic, we're going beneath it... who knows what we'll find?

Emma x

Evernight Authors on YouTube!

2011-04-02T00:59:00.005+01:00

The Evernight Authors (including moi) have created a YouTube channel. This is so you, the lovely readers, can view all the Evernight book trailers in one place. You can find the channel here, and we're already filling up fast with amazing trailers for some amazing books. If you have a YouTube account why not stop by and subscribe? We've also created an intro video, shown below, which showcases the wide range of Evernight titles available.

Making a Book Trailer

2011-03-27T16:47:00.013+01:00

People are kinda torn on whether book trailers are useful. Some think they're a bit silly, others enjoy them. My take on it is that anything that might sell a copy of my book is worth doing. I've created trailers for both The Christmas Fae and The Valentine's Fae, and despite the fact they've only had a couple of hundred views, my thinking is that if 1 in every 10 viewer bought a copy... well that's okay with me.

I've recently created a trailer for the Evernight Authors group. They're quite possibly one of the best bunch of authors I've ever met, and I wanted something that showed off all our fab books. This led to a few chats about how the hell do I make a trailer for my book? And so today I'm going to go through the very basics of doing just that.

I should fess up right off the bat that I'm not an expert, not by any means! But I enjoy doing it and am happy to share what I've learnt so far. First off I can only advise on Windows Movie Maker, do not confuse it with Windows Live Movie Maker, which is a bit crappy. My daughter uses Sony Vegas but I've no idea how to even open that one, so WMM it is. Most PCs will have WMM. If you have a Mac then I can't help you. WMM looks like this...

You'll notice that the left hand side shows all the tools available to you, such as import media, effects, titles etc. The middle area, media view, shows any media you've imported, and the right side is a preview of your video, vid view. The most important part is at the bottom, this is your timeline--it's where you create the video.

Importing media

Your first step is to import any media you will be using in the video. Pictures, songs, video clips. For ease of use on your first vid stick to pics and one piece of music. Click on 'import media' and search for any pictures and music you will use. Once you import them you will see them in media view. I should say here that you need to make sure you hold copyright for any pics or music you use. If you do use music which you do not hold copyright for you should state that in the vid info, along with 'no copyright infringement intended, music belongs to xxx'. YouTube do tend to delete vids with copyrighted music, or upload them without any audio--so bear that in mind.

Once you have your media imported it's then simply a question of dragging and dropping this media into the timeline. Pics go in the 'video' line, music goes in the 'audio' line.

Drag them in the order you want them, as shown below.

You can click also on timeline and swap to storyboard to make sure your media is laid out as you want it to be. This view is a little easier to work with. Swap back by clicking at any time.

For audio if you want to use part of a whole song just play it, and when it gets to the part where you want it to stop press pause (as shown to the left). Then click 'split' just below the vid view box. Delete the portion you don't want to use.

Adding titles

You can click on 'add titles and credits' to pop a title in.

You can also use this feature to add titles before pictures, and credits at the end. This part is all self explanatory. There are options to change the font, the text colour and add some animation in. Just play around with it and see what you can do.

Adding transitions and effects

You can add transitions in between your media. These really help to spice the video up. Simply click transitions in the tools and play around with whats there. Again you just drag and drop into the timeline.

You can also add effects to each media clip. Again the option is in tools, but I find it easier to right click each media clip and do it from there. Again have a play around with the various options.

Publishing the video

Once you're happy with your end result you will need to publish it. Simply click 'file' and on the drop down menu click 'publish movie'. A pop up box will appear, click 'playback for this computer' followed by 'next', then 'publish'. The video will save in your videos file.

From here you can upload it wherever you want. Though it makes sense to have a YouTube account to host them all in one place for you.

So that's about it! A quick guide to making a book trailer. If you have any questions, tips or advice please leave a comment below. And you can check out my vids on YouTube under EmmaShorttBooks.

E x

Interview with my Vampire...

2011-02-28T19:36:00.003Z

Is a vampire's love worth dying for?

Malachi Bane had been condemned to live forever without the woman he would love until the day he died. He waits out eternity in isolation, on a small island in the Maine Archipelago. When a visiting couple threatens his peaceful existence, Bane prepares to kill them if he has to, in order to defend his home and protect his privacy. Instead, he is compelled to save the life of the woman he has become strangely fascinated with, not realising the consequences of his actions at first.

Amber Kirkwood isn't impressed by Bane's macho attitude and has no idea how she got embroiled in the mess her life has become. Her rescue from the island and subsequent arrest for her colleague David's unexplained death, sets off a chain of events she has no control over and no desire to be a part of. On top of that, she is then kidnapped by Bane and held hostage so he can protect her from Katerina, the vengeful female who created him and has never forgiven him for leaving her.

When the physical and emotional bonds begin to grow between the unlikely couple, Bane longs to 'change' Amber, in order to save her life and keep her with him forever. But she fears for her immortal soul and, with so much at stake, Amber can't be sure that what she feels for Bane truly is worth dying for.

Interview with My Vampire

Luxie:Dear Readers. Please say hello to my guest Malachi Bane, a former Louisiana Plantation owner from the 18th century, who is now a vampire, currently living on an island in the Maine Archipelago. Welcome Mr. Bane.
Bane: Thank you.
Luxie: May I call you Malachi?
Bane: I'd rather you called me Bane.
Luxie: Of course. And you can call me anytime you like.
Bane: Why?
Luxie: Just my little joke. I'm nervous.
Bane: I don't understand-
Luxie: Just forget it, ok? Now, Malachi... sorry, I mean Bane...what was the first thought that went through your head when you laid eyes on Amber.
Bane: How I could end her life without frightening her.
Luxie: What?!
Bane: Please forgive my blunt answer. I did not intend to shock you. She and her friend intruded upon my privacy and threatened my solitude. You must understand - I am a soldier and a vampire. Until I met Amber, humans were always only prey or adversaries.
Luxie: But you don't feel that way anymore? I mean...should I be worried?
Bane: You have no need to fear me. I learned to control those urges a century ago. But when I am threatened or challenged, it is harder to remember the vow I made to never again hunt humans for food.
Luxie: Phew! Ok and your second thought?
Bane: My second thought was that I was naked.
Luxie: As in no clothes?
Bane: Those who live alone have no need for clothing.
Luxie: You never wear clothes?
Bane: Not when I'm alone. Is this really what you wanted to talk to me about?
Luxie: You mean to tell me that you ramble around on that almost inhabitable island
stark naked? What about sunburn or frost bite? You're a gigantic motherfu...I mean, you're a big guy. There's a lot of you to burn.
Bane: The cold doesn't affect me at all. However, were I to spend too much time in the sun, sunburn would be the least of my concerns.
Luxie: So what does Amber think of that?
Bane: I have not told her. She is blaming herself for enough as it is.
Luxie: So she is a fugitive from the law after being falsely accused of David's death and is practically your hostage, but she thinks it's her fault?
Bane: No, she blames me for that. And she is right. This is my doing.
Luxie: You caused this?
Bane: When I changed my mind about killing them and had to save Amber's life, I didn't have time to worry what David might see me do. It took every ounce of my enhanced speed and strength to save her. When I realised what he had seen, the only way to silence him would have been to kill him, but I let him escape in order to raise the alarm and bring help for Amber.
Luxie: Did that help arrive?
Bane: Yes, the next day - after I'd spend a night tortured by her nearness and vulnerability. She began to hallucinate and thought I was her dead husband. Amber clung to me, her body entwined with mine as she stroked my hair. I tried to pull away but she always became distressed, so I simply endured the agony of being close to her and did not leave her side until the helicopter arrived.
Luxie: So Amber was rescued but what happened to David? He got to the mainland obviously, so how did he die?
Bane: The fool caused his own death and put Amber in mortal danger. It was indiscreet of me to allow a human to see what I was, but if David had simply been grateful rather than greedy, he would still be alive today. By calling the press, he threatened to expose The Fratia. Ulrich, our leader, would never allow that.
Luxie: Your people - The Fratia - killed David?
Bane: Ulrich only ordered that I ensure their silence. It was his daughter, Katerina who had David killed. She will do the same to Amber if she gets her way.
Luxie: But why does Katerina care about Amber? More to the point, why do you?
Bane: Katerina doesn't care, not directly. The events coming to a head now were set in motion many centuries ago. Katerina was my maker and I defied her by leaving her. She has never forgiven me, nor allowed me to find love. When she heard of the risks I had taken to save a woman, especially a mere mortal, she became irrationally jealous and ordered them killed without her father's knowledge. I've already slaughtered three good men in order to protect Amber and I'd kill every last one of them before I let Katerina take her.
Luxie: Don't you simply need to get word to Ulrich?
Bane: The old fool would never deny his daughter to save the life of a human. No, I had no choice but to get her out of Augusta and take her to my island. It's the only place I have a chance of protecting her.
Luxie: And you Bane, why do you care what happens to Amber?
Bane: Amber is the bravest, most compassionate woman I have met in either of my lives. She is beautiful, funny, intelligent and spirited. It would be a sin for one so special to die because of me. It should not happen. I will not allow it to happen...
Luxie: You seem quite taken with her.
Bane: I must confess, the thought of any harm coming to her tortures me. I...I asked her to stay with me...forever. To let me change her so we can be together always, but she refused. She considers it suicide and fears for her soul. She does not want to offend her God.
Luxie: It makes you angry that she is a Catholic?
Bane: Amber would give up eternity in exchange for a fairytale.
Luxie: So what happens now?
Bane: I fear the end is near. Solomon, my brother in arms and the only vampire who is my equal will no doubt be sent to the island. I know Katerina - she thinks I will give Amber up rather than kill my friend. She is wrong but it doesn't matter because I cannot be sure I will win.
Luxie: What will Solomon do to Amber if he wins?
Bane: We will never know, because I will never allow him to take her life. Unlike me, Solomon relishes what he is and will allow his nature full reign. I will never submit her to that fate. I vow that if the end ever comes and all seems lost, I will do the deed myself. Only I will ensure she feels no pain and has no fear.
Luxie: I pray it doesn't come to that...
Bane: More prayers? Do humans cling to the myth of a deity because reality is too horrific to bear?
Luxie: I know what I believe, and it seems Amber agrees with me. Speaking of Amber, where is she now?
Bane: She was sleeping when I left her side. I must go - we have so little time left that I am loathe to waste more of it. I bid you goodbye.
Luxie: Goodbye Bane, and good luck.

Worth Dying For is available from Total-E-Bound on 28th February 2011 at
http://www.total-e-bound.com/

You can visit me at http://www.luxieryderonline.com/

Encounters of the Indecent Kind

2011-02-17T23:18:00.002Z

Sometimes a woman needs more than a lover…

Independent, lustful ladies find pleasure and intrigue with more than one man, from a scandalous vacation in Australia, to a forced seduction at a cabin in the woods. A witch needs to break a shameful spell, and an older woman slakes her sexual needs with two younger men. Cougars purr with unrequited desire and werewolves compete for the love of their mate. Satisfaction is just a sigh away as a surgeon bends the rules for her patient, and an over-stressed boss finds more than a little peace with secret admirers.

Find out what wicked delights await you with Indecent Encounters, an eight author anthology...

And today I have on the blog Angelina Rain, author of The Problem With Love Spells which is part of this delightful collection.

Hi Angelina, thanks for stopping by! So... how did your writing path start?
I’ve always enjoyed writing be it short stories or teenaged poetry, but it was always more of a hobby than anything. It wasn’t until last year that I actually decided to write something with the intent of publishing it.

How long before you were published?
I did a lot of writing in my teen years but I didn’t try to publish until last year. My first submission led to a contract.

What do you prefer writing straight romance or erotic?
I like both but even my straight romance has steamy intense love scenes in it.

Where do you get your inspiration from (lol)?
Good question. Honestly, I don’t know. Some of them are fantasies. Some of them come out of nowhere. Some are based on dreams I’ve had. I admit the menage research was done by watching a few porno movies.

Tell me a little bit about Indecent Encounters.
It’s a menage erotica collection made up of eight short stories written by eight talented ladies. My short story, The Problem With Love Spells, is about a witch who casts a spell that leads a vampire and a werewolf to her bed.

What's the most indecent thing you've ever done?
It’s actually a very funny story. One day I wanted to surprise my hubby so I put on this red fishnet dress, high heels, and laid down on the kitchen countertop waiting for him to finish with his shower and surprise him with after work sex. While we were in the act, on the countertop (it’s painful on the lower back so be warned), the dog started going crazy but we ignored him. Later that night my hubby got a phone call from a friend of his who apparently stopped by and heard us doing it. It gets worse. The dog apparently ran to the window and parted the blinds with his snout, and my hubby’s friend saw us doing it.

Damn gotta love that :-)! Tell me about your most exciting encounter, doesn’t have to be a sexed up one!
A few years ago a couple of soap opera actors were in town and I just so happened to be at the same place where they were doing their promotion stuff. One of the guys was very HOT and I became star struck. I wanted to ask him questions about acting but while attempting to ask for his permission to “Talk” to him, I accidently told him I want to “Stalk” him. He wasn’t amused. Actually, he thought I was downright insane.

Insanity, leads me nicely to my next question, peanut butter or nutella?
Peanut butter (snap :))

Diet coke or pepsi?
Both. I alternate.

One place in the world you HAVE to go.
Everywhere! I never got to travel when I was a kid, so now as an adult, I want to travel everywhere at least one.

What's next for you?
A lot more books, hopefully.

Thanks again!

Angelina is also holding a giveaway of one free copy of Indecent Encounters to any random person who comments. She will choose the winner two days after the post... so come on ladies get commenting!

Musing on Valentine's

2011-02-11T22:37:00.005Z

It's Valentine's Day on Monday and for several reasons I'm looking forward to it.

Firstly I'm hoping for a spike in my book sales, The Valentine's Fae is pretty topical and I hope my readers will have a gand. It's weird when you hope for sales, because, for me at least it's not about the cash aspect. I want people to read the story, get to know the characters and enjoy the beauty of their relationship.

Secondly something is a-coming on Monday. Something I've been working on and waiting for. It's been a little delayed for several reasons, but at last it will be out. The title of this post should give you a clue and I'll post more details on Monday, however, I can say in advance, it's all about the romance...

Thirdly this will be my third Valentine's with my man. I never got the whole thing before, truth be told I found it a little depressing and cliched (okay, I did get a car one year but still..). Now though it's something I look forward to. I remember our first Valentine's, we hadn't been together very long and were in the blase kind of phase. He was all, "Are we doing Valentine's?" And I was all, "Oh no that's all nonsense." Even at that point he must have known me better than I did because pressies and a lush night were forthcoming. The following year again, I got a bunch of stuff that was both cute and thoughtful and we had a fab time. This year I know, despite the fact I'm away for the day, that he'll send me cutesy texts all day and on Tuesday we'll give each other inexpensive, personalised pressies. Being in love is beautiful, you really feel it during days like this.

So, in honour of Valentine's, the book and the Monday release, I've decided to post a list, and I'm apologising in advance for my extreme soppiness, but if I can ever get away with it now is the time!

So here we have it, reasons (of the non dirty kind) why I lurrrvvveee my man...

*He gets on with everyone in my life, even when I know he doesn't like them, he makes the effort.

*I can take him anywhere and he'll be pleasant and chatty, even if it's really boring.

*When my family visit he cooks for them, even when he's only had five hours sleep.

*Every night when he gets home from work he charges my Blackberry for me. He does this because he knows I'll forget and then panic when my battery dies.

*He cooks for me because he knows I can't cook for myself without stomach ache or mild food poisoning.

*He gives me brain rubs every day. This is like deep Indian head massage style... the overworked brain appreciates it!

*He rubs my feet when they're tired, which is often.

*I get back strokes every night to fall asleep with.

*He's an amazing step-dad, even though he never imagined being one, slowly but surely - kind of without him realising, he's become one.

*He does all the washing up.

*He buys me books!

*He reads my books, even though he hates romance.

*He gets me coke, chocolate and chips in the early hours of the morning.

*He insists my 'chubb' (which he calls the curves lol) is cute.

*He tells me I look perfect everyday, even when I look like death warmed up.

*He spends hours de-tangling my hair for me... you've seen the pics, you know that's no easy job.

*He does 'Trash TV Tuesday' with me and rarely complains.

*He's the most tactile, affectionate man I've ever met.

*He is the Cupid to my Psyche.

I could go on but I think his ego will be big enough after this! So I shall pause here and ask instead that you drop me a comment. Tell me what it is that about your other half that makes your heart skip a beat. Give me your best Valentine's stories, fill my blog with lurrveee.

I'll post the best on Monday with a link to the Monday suprise.

Lots of love

Emma x

Release pressies

2011-02-03T22:24:00.002Z

Tomorrow is release day for The Valentine's Fae...nervous... eeek... nervous... eeek, and to say thank you to my readers I'm offering a giveaway.

Let me know if you've grabbed a copy of The Valentine's Fae and I will pop you in the draw for one of five pressies.

Shan't tell you what the pressies are - they'll be a suprise! But I will say I have different pressies based on your location. A bunch of my readers come from the US, and I'd have a hard time shipping perishables over (ooohhh nearly gave one of the pressies away there), some from the UK (I can be a bit more creative) and some from who knows where.

So buy my book and you'll be in with a chance to win. Excellent reviews may also bag you an extra treat!

Say bribery? Nah... encouragement! :)

Emma x

A dream author...

2011-02-02T19:42:00.004Z

I remember when I started editing, a friend of mine said something along the lines of, 'Oh I don't envy you, those writers and their egos.'

Being a writer myself I found this hilarious. Most writers I know are filled with self doubt, yes, they might have a good ole ego, but the am-I-good-enough-will-people-like-me-oh-my-god is always present.

I've yet to work with an author who wasn't worried about sales, their writing, the public's perception... I'm filled with the same kind of worries myself.

The last few weeks have been an interesting experience. Not only have I been getting my own book, The Valentine's Fae, ready for publication, I've also been working with someone has become, one of my fav authors, and a good friend.

A.D. Blackburn's debut novel, Possession, is released today and I've had a blast. Annie has been a dream of an author to work with. Willing to take advice, happy to make changes. Her story was intriguing when I got it and after several weeks of hard work we've turned it into something amazing. I can't say enough nice things about this talented woman or her writing.

Annie is the sort of writer who creates the most engaging characters, the sort you think about when the book is finished. She's built a fantastic cast and I can't wait to read the next in the series.

I urge you to buy her debut novel and enjoy the exciting world she has created, Possession will leave you thrilled right through and chomping at the bit for more.

I'd also like to say a huge thank you to Annie for being such a doll, she deserves a success - so please, let's give her one.

Emma x

Pimp Baby Pimp!

2011-01-27T22:33:00.004Z

Writing a book is only the beginning, almost like the foreplay. It's what comes after that is really hard... selling the damn thing.

These days almost all authors have to do their share of marketing, the publisher does their bit certainly (if you have a good one), but the author has to pull their weight - if they want to sell a decent number of books.

It's difficult for a newbie author to know where to start and I'm feeling it. In some ways I'm luckier than most, I've had a short in a recent anthology (Book of The Week @ Whipped Cream reviews may I add), I've been editing for some time, so know all the review sites and how to twist an arm and I'm... well... there's no other word for it... shameless. Honestly I could sell sand in the Sahara or ice in the Artic.. you get the picture.

I've spent the best part of this week pimping, and then pimping some more. Really I've turned into some sort of internet-ho. The piccie above is one example of my efforts, a little jpeg that I'm asking all friends to post on their blogs. There's blog tours, author spots, Facebook and Goodread events, book trailers, tweeting, reviews, interviews... the list goes on.

It's exhausting. Hours and hours a day do I spend begging favours and promising the moon to people if they'll promote me and you know what I'm on it. The end goal is 5000 copies sold by the time my next book comes out (Mayish), that should bag me a decent fan base for future books and enough cash to pay my daughters university fees for about... ooohhh... six months :).

But what about those authors who have slightly more shame than me and don't much like being told to bugger off? In this brave new world they'll surely struggle? If you're a shy, retiring type, or someone who isn't internet savvy it must be an absolute nightmare promoting yourself. Yet, what are the options? These days you have to become more than just a writer, you have to become your own champion. You have to be brazen and shameless and willing to be told no/get lost/leave me alone time and time again.

It's almost like Darwinism in action in the literary world.

Survival of the fittest only this is Survival of the shameless.

The tables have turned...

2011-01-07T22:26:00.003Z

I'm nearing the end of the final edits for my next book. The Valentine's Fae is due to be released mid February so I'm up against the clock. It's been an interesting experience for me because all of a sudden the tables have turned.

I like to lay claim to being a pretty decent editor myself, so I'm kinda embarrassed to admit that when I first opened the file and saw my editor’s many, many red pennings I felt my eyebrow lift.

My first thought was, ‘well hmmm I'm not sure that's quite right'. I'd done what I thought was a very thorough edit. I assured my publisher, quite blasé like, that it would only need one quick editing round. Looking back I'm fairly sure she was giggling away when she read the email.

Because the truth is my editor Kim has done a cracking job. She picked up on things that had completely escaped my notice. Too much use of the passive voice, the odd bit of punctuation gone awry, overuse of the exclamation point - the list goes one. As I read through the file I found myself wondering how on earth I’d made such basic mistakes – mistakes I would have been highlighting vigorously for my own authors.

What it comes down to, I believe, is that we simply can’t read our own work the way we can someone else’s. We don’t have the same objectivity. After months of creating the story, sweating over it and loving it, you lose all ability to look at it in a rational light. The second exclamation mark in one chapter becomes invisible, the use of ‘was’ twice in the same paragraph somehow masquerades as an ‘is’, and the damn semicolon has managed to hide behind a comma. In love with my characters and my prose I just don’t see it.

What this has highlighted to me is that every author, even one who works as an editor, needs an editor of their own. This is an inescapable fact. You have to have someone professional to guide you and give you the objectivity you have lost.

Which leads me onto the world of self-publishing. Now I’ll say right here and now that unlike a lot of people in the writing world I have no problem with an author self-publishing, whatever works for you. But it occurs to me that many self-published authors will not have had the services of a good editor, and this to me is where self-publishing could easily fall down.

How on earth can you publish something when you lack the objectivity necessary to look outside of the story? If any self-pubber reads this I’d be really interested to know.

Just as a little test, damn curiosity forcing me to it, I skipped on over to Amazon and downloaded a couple of free self-published books. I could have cried over one. The story was so good, the concept so intriguing. Why, oh why, I asked my Kindle did you self-publish? It was riddled with basic errors, a couple of small plot holes and a lack of development for a couple of characters. These things cold have been fixed so easily by a good editor and the book could have been excellent. Alas it is now too late.

So yes, a good editor - worth their weight in gold, thanks Kim!

Gotta love those reviews...

2010-12-10T20:09:00.003Z

On the 3rd December 'Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas was released. A thirteen author anthology from Evernight Publishing, it included my story The Christmas Fae. I was very excited to see it out in the world and that excitment has increased since release.

We've had some excellent reviews, pop 'em all together and we've got ourselves a 5 star book. I couldn't ask for more for my first foray into the romance world. And it gets even better... the anthology is now out in print!!! Yes, that's right, barely a week after release a print version is available!! Having an e-book is, to me, absolutely wonderful, but to see it in print is amazing.

So big thanks to all the other authors in the book, we created a cracker!

Guest blog with Yolanda Sfetsos

2010-12-06T00:04:00.004Z

I've been a very lucky editor over the past few months, I've thoroughly enjoy all the books I've worked on, and that was because they were all written by the very talented Yolanda Sfetsos.

Yolanda is a multi-published author and she has a real talent for crafting engaging characters. Her latest releases, The Soul Dealer: Deception, The Soul Dealer: Redemption and The Demon of Christmas Past are all available from Evernight Publishing. If you asked me to pick a fav... well, I couldn't they're all fab! But if you really pushed me, like throw me off a bridge pushed me, I guess I'd have to plump for The Demon of Christmas Past, simply because of the time of year. It's a cracking holiday read... available now... yes, yes, I'm pimping...

Anyhoos I have Yolanda here today to answer some q's for me. Let's give her a big welcome...

ES: G'day Yolanda (she lives in Australia, I'm keeping it authentic), can you describe a day in your life for me?
YS: Emma, thank you so much for having me over here today.

Okay, my days are always different. No day of the week is exactly the same… but I do try to write something every single weekday. That can be first draft writing, revision, editing, or updating websites for promo.

I like to allocate certain projects for myself and set weekly/monthly goals. I’m very determined to keep/meet my personal goals. The only reasons that might make me miss them are unexpected things that pop up in real life, my daughter being on school holidays, or edits.

I always make room for edits, they’re a priority.

Basically, I get stuck into it as soon as hubby leaves for work, which is pretty early in the morning. Then I try to squeeze in as much as I can before my daughter gets up—which includes blogging—and when she does, it’s time to get breakfast for her, as well as help get her ready, and then head out to drop her off at school. That’s when I go for a walk around the river. I sometimes squeeze in a yoga workout too, but after that it’s time get stuck into the writing (stuff) again.

I usually keep going until it’s time to head out in the afternoon, only stopping for a quick lunch. Oh, and I like to keep Twitter open most of the day, so I can pop in and chat, or keep up with what’s going on in the world. :)

ES: Ah the joys of social networks, where would we be without them... so how did you find your way to becoming a writer?
YS: Becoming a writer was actually the easy part. I started writing stories when I was a teenager. I spent a lot of time on my own and always enjoyed reading. So it didn’t take long for me to start writing horror stories, with elements of romance.

After high school, reality hit me and I started working full time in an office. It took up a lot of my time, but the writing never really stopped. Still, I didn’t spend as much time as I wanted doing it.

Actually, it wasn’t until after my daughter was born that I got serious about writing and overcame my fear of submitting.

ES: What’s the best part of your job?
YS: There are a lot of awesome parts. Being a writer is awesome!

I love getting ideas. I love the excitement of taking notes and constantly thinking about the characters and story that I want to write. I enjoy the research, the writing, even the revision. It’s so awesome to see a rough story slowly develop into a novella or a novel. It’s a journey of the mind that I really enjoy and can’t imagine not doing.

And then of course, after submitting, I love waiting to hear back. If I’m lucky enough to get a contract, I also enjoy everything that comes with that—cover art, new covers, editing, and the release.

Yeah, there’s a lot to love. :)

ES: What’s the worst?
YS: I think that would be the waiting. There always seems to be so much waiting. Oh, and the self-doubt… which is something that never goes away, unfortunately.

ES: You got that right :). Where do you get your inspiration from?
YS: I find inspiration from everywhere and everything—music, art, books, anime, dreams, walking... There’s inspiration all around me, all the time. I just have to keep my eyes and ears open enough to capture it.

ES: Seeing as how I tend to attract a lot of newbie writers to this blog (might be due to the name) what advice would you give them?
YS: Oh gosh, I would tell them to never give up. That’s actually something I tell myself too.

Also, keep writing and reading, reading and writing. Then do it some more…

There’s so much to learn, and be willing to listen when someone offers you an opinion or help. The more you write and pay attention to detail, the better your writing style and voice will evolve. The more you do it, the better you’ll find your own voice, too.

ES: When you write, do you go with the flow or write a detailed outline?
YS: I’m not one for detailed outlines. I can’t say I’ve ever done that, actually.

I usually start with an idea and build up from there. I take a whole bunch of notes and let the idea percolate for as long as it needs to. By the time I sit down to actually write the story I have a whole bunch of notes and a pretty good idea of the main story and what’s going to happen. Sometimes I know more than others, but every single time I get stuck into it, I find that new things pop up. This happens during revision too. Heck, it’s even happened during edits. ;)

ES: You're multi-published, of all your work, which story do you like best and why?
YS: Um…I don’t think I can answer this question. :(

Every story I write has something special or intoxicating, something that pushed me to make the commitment of not only writing it, but following it through all the way to the end.

So, I’m going to cheat and say all of them. Lol.

ES: Tsk, tsk Yolanda! Ok then how about this, do you put anything of yourself into your stories?
YS: Well, I think that without intentionally doing it, I manage to put a little of myself into every story I’ve ever told. And probably will continue to in the stories I write in the future.

It’s nothing huge. I never base any of my characters on myself, my life, or anyone I know. Most of my stories have something supernatural/paranormal in them, and that’s because the otherworldly is something that intrigues me and gets my muse tingling.

ES: Do you read books like you write?
YS: I read lots of books in a variety of genres. Some of which I write. It’s hard not to read in the same genre, since I seem to enjoy jumping from one to the other, and even blending them together.

As for my favorite authors, they’re Clive Barker and Stephen King. I’ve loved their work since I was in my teens and was greatly inspired by both of them. Although, I do have to admit that I have a whole heap of other authors on my automatic-buy list!

ES: Thanks for being here today Yolanda!
YS: Thanks so much! This was a lot of fun.

So there you have it folks - a big thanks to Yolanda for coming today and check her books out ASAP by clicking here!

The Christmas Fae

2010-11-28T23:17:00.003Z

On the 3rd of December my story The Christmas Fae will be published as part of the Evernight 'Twas a Dark & Delicious Christmas anthology.

Here's a teaser vidoe to whet your appetite...

Perfect Score for Sue

2010-11-21T17:54:00.005Z

A huge welcome to Susan Roebuck, one of my Litopia buds, who has joined us today to talk about her new book, Perfect Score.

Howdy Sue, ready to be grilled? :)

Emma asks... How long ago did you start this book?

Sue... From the time it took to publish? About two and a half years I would think. It took about 18 months to write (because I was working at the time) and then from November which was the acceptance time to the following September for publishing. So, as everyone says, don’t give up the day job.

Emma... How many re-writes etc?

Sue... I really think you’re going to be sorry you asked this. I have twenty-seven versions of the book! That’s not complete rewrites but major changes. It didn’t start off to be an M/M book but it just evolved like a baby evolves, like the world evolves, like a language… As you’ve not doubt already guessed, I’m a terrible plotter and just let it all come out. I did stick “post-its” around the edge of my computer to make sure the dates all coincided and I wasn’t a year or two out anywhere. But, having complete character outlines, like where they went to school? Forget it.

I’m afraid I went against all the writing rules: I have a prologue, an epilogue, I have alternating chapters from first person POV and third person POV. But all reviewers have said it works very well (well – you try and get into Sam’s muddled head. His part had to be in third person). In fact one reviewer recently said it was “an atypical adult read”. She got that one right.

Emma... How did the story idea start?

Sue... A couple of years ago I was staying near the site of the famous 1969 Woodstock Music Festival and I became a huge fan of Bob Dylan and I bought all his music and his biographies. He fascinated me. Then I read “On the Road” by Kerouac and I adored it. I know that’s an earlier period but it interested me too. I also read Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye” and couldn’t get that kid’s voice out of my head (maybe Alex talks a bit like Holden).

You probably don’t recognize any of that in “Perfect Score”, but that’s how it started, I promise (told you it had many versions).

Emma... Do you plan your writing or are you a panster?

Sue... I more or less answered that in number 2 but yes, a definite panster. I’m sure the die-hards will criticise that but it’s how I do everything. I’m a terrible planner, although I did make sure I had the time-line right in “Perfect Score” by putting notes around me when the characters were born, when they met etc. I am writing another novel now and I know how it begins and how it ends, but my mind’s like a cat’s cradle about the middle. It’s going to be a question of “wait and see”.

Emma... Tell us a little bit about the process to publication

Sue... First of all I just wrote. I knew nothing at all about publication and decided (here’s my lack of planning again) that I’d think about it when the book was finished. Probably a mistake because perhaps I should’ve reviewed the market and written a vampire book or one on angels – something everyone’s buying now. I just wrote what I wanted to.

When it came to publication I bought the Writer’s and Artist’s Handbook and marked the agents I saw who dealt in romance. I sent off a couple of submissions and was horrified at the problems of sending them by post – not only was it expensive (I live in Portugal) but there was no way I could get the stamps here for the reply.
So I set about marking the ones who received emails. And, at the time, very few UK agents did accept email submissions, much to my surprise.

By that time I’d joined Litopia Writing Site and, from the discussions and advice, I learnt so much about the submitting process and I hang my head in shame at the ones I’d first sent out. I also got excellent help from both sides of the Atlantic and so I decided to submit to the US – after all, the book’s set there. It was good to see so many agents and publishers who accepted email submissions, but the process is not so easy because it is slightly different in the US.

The British ones usually want a short synopsis (one/two pages – sometimes more). In the US, it’s your “pitch” that’s more important. After thirty rejections (which really are hell to receive) I received two acceptances on the same day. They were e-publishers and I decided to go for the larger of the two (I feel awful about the other one – she sent me a Christmas card).

Emma... Tell us a little bit about promotion and marketing of your book

Sue... Awe-Struck Publishing has been faultless, I think. It’s a small press (an imprint of Mundania Press) but it’s far from a one-man show. It has a large editing and art department. Of course I received no advance, but that’s normal these days, but I do receive 50% royalities paid quarterly. I signed a legal contract first, then they designed a cover (using my outline of the story) and I have to say I love it – and so do many others who’ve seen it. My editor (Marie Dees) was professional and extremely good. We worked very well together. Once all the edits were done, they set a publication date and released it on that very day (21st September).
As a small publisher, they do have a promotions department but, as with even the bigger publishers these days, I do have to promote the book too. That means I need a “platform”. If it was a printed book, I could do book tours and book signings, but this is “virtual”. I have had some reviews from review sites the publisher used, but I’ve also found some of my own. Remember : as in publishing – never pay for a review. I also use Facebook, Twitter, my blog (http://lauracea.blogspot.com), write on other blogs, joined Yahoo groups. I think there’s going to be an article about me in Writers’ News (a printed magazine) but otherwise everything written about me is online.

Here in Portugal, people had never heard of e-books and if I show mine to anyone on my Kindle, they say, “Oh let us know when it’s published”. “It is published,” I wail. The UK is also a little like this. My mother lives in Norwich and she and her friends have never heard of e-books before and are very ignorant about them. My mother keeps telling me she’s looking for my review on the Daily Mail and a friend there won’t even go to my blog in case she gets a virus!

However, the US seems to be totally at ease with e-books, e-readers and e-publishing. I never believe that e-books will take over from printed books but, let’s face it, they’re much handier. One discussion I participated in recently (from the States) the conclusion was that people buy more e-books nowadays and will only buy a printed one if it hasn’t been e-published.

Emma, it really has been a pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much and good luck with your own anthology!

Thanks for your time Sue :) and if you'd like to buy Sue's book visit here.

Finding my way back

2010-11-13T00:08:00.006Z

Mid this year my faith in the world of publishing and perhaps my own writing was floundering. I'd spent the previous four years working on various projects, and although I'd had some success with short stories, articles and editing work, in my darkest moments, I was beginning to wonder of IT was ever going to happen. IT being a published book.

I've always been a firm believer that you should write what you enjoy and decide the genre and market after the fact. But this belief of mine was getting lost. Because I'd always created books for the YA market I started believing that I was a YA writer and was, unconsciously perhaps, starting to write for that market alone and not considering anything beyond it. This was a problem, because whilst I produced sci-fi, horror and paranormal books, the underlying theme was always romance. Romance in YA is tricky, it's very difficult not to make it too trite or too shocking and I was finding the process frustrating and a little restrictive. I wanted something different, yet I didn't know what.

So I found myself avoiding it, making excuses not to work on my YA WIPs. I'd start a new project, get 10k and get bored. I was lost, not sure how to move things forward, to turn myself into the writer I thought I should be.

I voiced my concerns to the boyf and he, as he often does, gave me the exact advice I needed. "What do you enjoy reading?" he asked. "What do you spend vast amounts of money on?".

These were not hard questions to answer. Whilst I enjoy a wide variety of literature and spend most of my 'me' cash on books, it was true to say that of my 1500 or so books well over two thirds or so are romance. Paranormal, historical, erotica... the list goes on.

"What's the first book you ever properly finished?" he continued. Again I knew the answer, it was a post-apocalyptic romance (I loved that book). Created for the YA world I had to edit it to death to tone down some of the more intimate scenes.

"What's this all saying Em?"

I knew what it was saying, it was something that I had considered on many occasions but never let myself follow. Should I be writing romances for the adult market? Should I be aiming to emulate some of my favourite authors, the people that make me smile?

Should I write what I wanted to and let the damn chips fall where they may?

"Write me a grown up romance," the boyf demanded, and so I did.

It's a few months later now and that conversation has changed my writing world. I can't stop writing, the ideas are constant and the process is so enjoyable. I wake up thinking about writing, fall asleep thinking of writing. It's like I've fallen in love with it all over again.

I've discovered the writer that I am and I've found my genre. It's roma, roma, ma... all the way. That might mean it's sci-fi or horror or cyberpunk, but it will always have the romance flowing through it and the market is ADULT.

So, what has this new found me meant? Where to start!

Since the conversation I've secured a position as an editor with Evernight Publishing, a romance and urban fantasy publisher. I've edited three books so far and I've had a ball. And on December 3rd my first 'grown up' i.e. quite filthy, romance story will be published. The Christmas Fae, is part of a thirteen author (we're calling ourselves the fabulous thirteen) Christmas romance anthology. More FairyTales will follow and you can find more info here.

My website has been re-jigged and, at last, this blog is no longer To Stalk a Publisher. Because the stalking is done, the publisher has been found and it's onwards and upwards from here. I can't even begin to convey how happy I am, how excited and how much I'm looking forward to the future.

Emma Shortt, romance writer, yeah - that sounds about right.

Pain Grillé aux Cèpes?

2010-10-10T13:42:00.011+01:00

I'm very pleased to say that one of my favourite books of the year is out in paperback!

You'll remember that I blogged about The Tapestry of Love a while back. The author, Rosy Thornton, gave us a lovely interview about the book and the process of publication. It was a real pleasure to talk to her, mainly due to the fact that I genuinely loved the book.

However I have to say (and I reckon Rosy would agree with me) that the hardback version was a wee bit expensive. Don't get me wrong I like a nice hardback book gracing my shelves, but sometimes they can be a bit pricey and it's neccesary to wait for the paperback version.

Well wait no longer. It's now available on Amazon for just £6 (click here) - yes £6, a bloody bargain.

I rarely, if ever, urge my blog chums to buy certain books but this is one where I'm going to. It's a lovely read, well worth the money in its paperback form.

I also have a freebie to offer you! Beyond the story itself the book weaves wonderful scenery and more importantly some wonderful foodie moments. Now if you're mentally obese like me, you'll appreciate a bit of food action spicing up the story and Rosy incorporated some intriguing dishes into hers. Devils at Horses Heels perhaps? Pain Grillé aux Cèpes maybe? Spatchcocked Guinea Fowl with Rosemary? Wild Boar Stew? Pan Fried Trout? The list goes on and Rosy has created us a fantastic recipe book - with all these dishes and more.

So how to get your hands on it? Here's the deal, leave a comment below requesting a copy or email me on shortt.stories@gmail.com and I'll send it across to you.

I's love to hear how you get on with the recipe's and photos would be very welcome (actual dishes sent through the post even more so). I'll post all that get sent across on here and the very best in my next newsletter.

Until next time x.

A little edit, a lot of fun

2010-10-08T21:32:00.006+01:00

What seems like just the other day, I saw an advert on a publisher’s website, the advert was requesting applications for editors. The publisher was Evernight, a brand spanking new romance and urban fantasy e-publisher, and I thought I’d try my luck.

I was chuffed when Evernight offered me the position, happily accepted and it’s been non stop from there. I got my first author last month and I was VERY nervous when I opened word to read her book. I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy it – and how could I edit something I found boring or dull?

How relieved was I when I began reading?! The book, The Soul Dealer - Deception was intriguing and I was pulled in from the very first page. The story raced along and before I knew it I’d finished and was wondering what there was for me to do. A second read was needed and that was when I began thinking and wondering and imagining - what could we do to make the book shine even more than it already did?

I was very, very lucky to have been given a writer, the wonderful Yolanda Sfetsos, who was eager for suggestions and happy to make changes. Together we did two thorough edits, upped the word count and made it a bit racier. I’m really pleased with the end product and oddly proud of my author!

Editing a book (that's not yours) is a strange process if you’re a writer. You’re on the other side of the desk and it’s a bit weird at first. You have to put all ego aside, there’s no use thinking, Oh, I’d do it like this or I wouldn’t have put that bit in. The temptation to re-write scenes must be ruthlessly subdued and you have to work to make your author shine. You have to remember that it’s NOT your book, it’s theirs and your job is to preserve their voice. Again I’ve been very lucky with this first book because my author’s voice was so strong and she was happy to take all suggestions on board. I can't imagine what it would be like to have a difficult author and luckily, I'm not going to find out just yet. My second book is the sequel to The Soul Dealer - Deception, and I was absolutely thrilled to be have been given it. Not least because I was desperate to read it! Again I've not been disapointed and we'll be beavering away on it over the coming weeks, to polish it for publication.

In the meantime, The Soul Dealer - Deception, has been released today and I would urge you to go and buy it. It's a really excellent read and it's one of those ideas that, as a writer, you wish you'd had yourself. It's available on Evernight's website, www.evernightpublishing.com or from the following distributors, Amazon Kindle, RomanceEbooks, AllRomanceEbooks , OmniLit and BookStrand.

Alternatively I'll be offering a copy for free, yes free! Yolanda will be guest blogging with me soon and I'd like your questions for her. You can read more about her here, and questions about this book or any of her other works are welcome. The winner will be chosen at random from everyone who leaves a comment with a question. Questions can be left here, on my Facebook page or on Litopia.

Until next time x.

Say hello to Marcus Rivers

2010-09-08T20:12:00.004+01:00

Hi guys, as promised an extract featuring my hero, as named by my fantastic blog readers. I've included the chapter before otherwise the second doesn't make sense! Excuse the formatting issues - bloggers fault - and any typos or grammar bads, this is still in edit stage. Enjoy x

Chapter One

Laird Kilpatrick undid his kilt before the astonished gaze of Lady Malvers. She gulped unsteadily and tried to hold on to what little of her reason was left. It was true! What she’d suspected about her Scottish captor had been true all along. There was nothing under his kilt, nothing but what the good lord had given him and the good lord had been generous indeed.
‘You like what you see eh lass?’ Kilpatrick asked in his Scottish burgh.
Lady Malvers nodded, blushed and nodded again.
‘You’ve been wanting this, waiting for it?’
‘Yes,’ she admitted because she had, she’d wanted him from the moment she’d set eyes on him across the smoky ballroom.
‘Then take it,’ he said and she could do nothing else but reach forward...
‘Miss Williams? Miss Williams?’
Lucy Williams, wanton reader of erotic literature tore her gaze away from the page to see her boss – Mr Tweedy - glaring down at her. He held a sheaf of papers in one hand and a notebook in the other. With his tie was askew, his suit looking a smite rumpled and several beads of sweat forming on his forehead Lucy thought it would be a slight understatement to say that he did not look happy.
‘We’re supposed to be in a meeting Miss Williams,’ Tweedy said. ‘I’ve been waiting for you for the past half hour, we’ve all been waiting.’
Lucy shot a quick glance at her watch and felt her stomach drop to her knees. It was half past two, the meeting of department heads had started a half hour ago – a meeting she should have been in.
‘I...’ she stopped and swallowed. What could she say? That she’d completely forgotten? That she’d been far too immersed in the world of Laird Kilpatrick and his bulging kilt? That’d go down well.
‘Tell me Miss Williams how we’re supposed to meet if you’re not there to take the minutes?’ Tweedy continued. ‘I don’t need to state the obvious but that is your job, you are supposed to be my administrator and this is not the first time you’ve forgotten that fact.’
Lucy, as was her habit when nervous bit down on her lip. ‘Sir I...’
‘I thought you might be having another of your spells.’ Tweedy interrupted, ‘but instead I find you reading. Reading!’
Ignoring Tweedy’s reference to her ‘spells’ - and the fact that he made reading sound like some sort of exotic undertaking - Lucy took a deep breath and tried to think of some sort of excuse, a tricky business when clearly there was no excuse to be had.
‘I’m sorry sir, time just...’
‘Give me the book.’
Wishing to do anything but that Lucy gripped the book a little tighter.
Tweedy pursed his thin lips and glared. ‘The book Miss Williams, now.’
Seeing no alternative beyond making a dash for it, a dash that would have to include a run past Mrs Lane – whose size alone would block any exit - Lucy handed the book across. Tweedy dropped his sheaf of papers on Lucy’s desk, rubbed a hand over his sweaty forehead and held the book aloft. He gave the cover and its topless male subject one astonished glance before flipping it over to read the blurb. Lucy could see his lips moving over the phrases ‘erotic feast’ and ‘sensual seduction’ and almost died with embarrassment.
‘Laird Kilpatrick’s Lady?’ he asked in apparent disbelief.
Lucy’s hands stilled on the papers she was trying to put back in order. ‘Umm, yes sir.’
It didn’t end there; Tweedy flicked the book open until he landed on the creased page she had been reading. It had become a habit over the years, the page corner turned down before closing so that she did not lose her place. It was suddenly a habit she wished she’d never acquired.
Tweedy’s mouth dropped open and Lucy guessed he had reached the point where Laird Kilpatrick’s ‘member’ was being given a good seeing to. She would never live this down, never.
‘Well Miss Williams,’ he said, snapping the book shut. ‘I had no idea your literary tastes were so... diverse.’
Lucy coughed and raised one shaking hand to her head. ‘No sir.’
‘An odd choice of literature indeed,’ Tweedy grimaced before passing the book back across. It took only a moment for Lucy to slip it back into her vintage puffball bag – out of sight where it should have been all along. Damn the writer she thought, she’d been desperate to find out if Lady Malvers submitted to Laird Kilpatrick that she’d planned a quick read whilst everyone was at lunch, but as always she’d become immersed and time had slipped away.
‘Even odder that you would think it acceptable to miss a meeting in order to indulge in that... book,’ Tweedy added.
Lucy bit her lip. ‘Sir I lost track of time, I apologise.’
Tweedy shook his head. ‘It’s not the first time though Lucy is it? You’re often late, often disorganised, you have one of your dizzy spells and nothing gets done.’
Lucy shifted uncomfortably in her chair. It was true that she wasn’t exactly punctual but then she wasn’t a morning person. It wasn’t like she deliberately got up late it just took her so long to wake up and then to get ready – time just slipped away. And yes maybe she was disorganised but not purposefully – in fact she tried really hard not to be, she was always writing lists and making up folders to keep track of things. And the dizzy spells – well they were hardly her fault, not something she could control.
‘It won’t happen again sir,’ Lucy said for wont of anything else to say.
‘No Miss Williams it will not,’ Tweedy replied.
‘I’ll work late tonight sir to make up the lost time’ Lucy added, ignoring the fact that if she did her journey home would be undertaken in the dark – a scary prospect. Lucy lived in one of the seedier areas of town and tried not to walk the streets at night, they weren’t exactly safe, especially not in five inch heels.
‘Miss Williams I don’t think you understand,’ Tweedy said.
‘Sir?’
‘It won’t happen again because you’ve left me no choice.’
Lucy’s stomach once again hit her knees and she knew what Tweedy was going to say before he even started, hadn’t she been expecting it long before now? Hadn’t this been the longest she’d lasted in a job? Six whole months, it was her own personal record.
‘Sir I really am so sorry it was just a mistake, I just lost track of time,’ she said – she’d need a reference after all.
‘Miss Williams...’
‘I know I’ve messed up Mr Tweedy, it was stupid mistake.’
Tweedy nodded his agreement. ‘That it was Miss Williams.’
Lucy put her head in her hands and waited for the words.
‘I’m afraid Miss Williams that you’re fired.’

Chapter Two

Lord Rivers gazed out of the window of his London townhouse. He wasn't gazing at anything in particular despite the fact that there was much to attract his attention. A well known peer and his wife were arguing as they alighted from their phaeton - no doubt over the behaviour of the lady in question - a ‘lady’ known throughout the tonne as a lightskirt who continually subjected her husband to all manner of humiliations. Two young bucks were drunkenly weaving their way down the street - probably on their way to lose the family fortune to a card shark and a merchant was grinning as he left Lady Carthers house, doubtless pleased to finally have extracted payment from one of the most close fisted women in the tonne.
Lord Rivers though aware of all this activity did not acknowledge it; he was lost in thought, his mind a whirring pool of motion as he contemplated the most momentous decision of his life. A decision he’d spent weeks wrestling with, weeks trying to talk himself out of – until finally he could deny it no longer.
‘You’re decided then?’ asked the one person Rivers would have allowed to interrupt his thoughts.
Rivers shook his head to clear it and turned away from the window to smile grimly at his younger brother. ‘I think so.’
‘It’s a big decision to make Marcus – a very big decision, are you sure?’
Rivers shrugged. ‘It’s time Toby surely? You’ve told me over and over again that you do not wish to remain my heir – what other choice do I have?’
‘You could wait a few more years, I’d accept a few more years of heridom if I absolutely had to,’ Toby answered. ‘You’d still have to do it of course but you could leave off until the last minute?’
‘If I did that I’d wait forever.’
Toby smiled at his older brother. ‘That you would. So do we have a name for the lucky lady, your future countess?’
Rivers walked over to the sideboard and poured himself and Toby a good sized shot of the finest brandy in London. He had a name, of course he did but he was reluctant to say it. It was ridiculous really saying the name wouldn’t make a difference either way but something made him pause.
‘Marcus?’ Toby prompted. ‘Have you decided on a lady or are we to spend the next few weeks picking our way through the insipid debutantes in one god awful ball after another?’
Rivers grinned. ‘I’ve decided Toby fear not. I’ve no intention of subjecting you to such an awful fate.’
Toby accepted the drink and swallowed the lot in one relieved gulp. ‘Well that’s something to be thankful for at least. I can think of nothing worse than having to run the gauntlet of matchmaking mamas, truth be told I’d rather face a cavalry charge.’
‘I’d rather you never face that again brother,’ Rivers replied softly.
Toby leaned over to grip his brother’s arm, their eyes met and understanding passed between them.
‘I’m back now Marcus, in just about one piece – the frogs won’t have a chance to finish the job.’
‘God be praised for that. If I’d known what you were up to when told me you were touring...’ Rivers shook his head. ‘Touring indeed! If only I’d known, I’d never have allowed it, never have allowed you to join the blasted army, Bonaparte or not!’
‘Exactly why I didn’t tell you brother,’ Toby replied, shaking his empty glass. ‘You’re far too authoritarian for your own good and I had to make my own way.’
Rivers leaned over to refill both their glasses and shook his head ruefully. ‘You certainly did that brother.’
‘But that’s all behind us now,’ Toby added. ‘I’m back just in time to see you leg shackled, something I wouldn’t have missed for all the lovely French women in the world.’
‘I doubt that,’ Rivers laughed. ‘I’ve seen a fair few French women in my time.’
‘Don’t I know it brother, your reputations probably as bad over there as it is here, war and all.’
‘You exaggerate,’ Rivers rebuked. ‘My rake days are as behind me as your fighting days are.’
‘I beg to differ – about the rakish behaviour that is,’ Toby replied. ‘And I give thanks that you’re not going to expect me to limp my way around a ballroom making everyone uncomfortable.’
Rivers grimaced. ‘You’re a hero Toby, no one would mention your wounds and the limp is getting better every day.’
‘Perhaps.’ Toby shook his head and smiled slowly. ‘But enough of this, a name? Who are you saddling me with as a sister?’
‘Well...’ Rivers began but the word had barely left his lips before a loud crack – almost like the sound of a thunder but sharper - startled them both. Brandy sloshed over Rivers hand and he cursed.
‘What the hell was that?’ Toby said, his gaze going to the window.
Rivers shook the brandy off his hand. ‘I don’t know, sounded almost like a cannon but...’
‘Looks like some sort of commotion over by Lady Carthers,’ Toby said as he limped to the window.
‘Probably another merchant she hasn’t paid,’ Rivers replied. ‘I’m tempted to pay them my bloody self so they don’t block the street up but Lady Carthers is rolling in it – why she doesn’t just pay up I can’t fathom.’
‘I don’t think it’s a merchant Marcus, it looks like... I don’t know...’
Rivers pushed his brother gently aside so he could look, the problem was immediately obvious.
‘Is that a fire on the street?’ Rivers asked.
‘It’s... a ball of smoke.’ Toby replied.
‘A ball of smoke,’ Rivers breathed. ‘I’ve never seen such a thing.’
‘It’s a perfect ball,’ Toby said, the bafflement in his voice obvious.
The brothers looked out of the window together, both of them trying to take in the strange sight before them.
‘I don’t understand it, there’s nothing on the street to burn and nothing emits smoke in a perfectly uniform way.’ Toby said but his words were lost as Rivers headed straight out of the door.
The entrance to Lady Carthars house was completely hidden by the ball of smoke, no not a ball Rivers thought, a sphere. He stared at it in wonder trying to understand. Toby was right, nothing emitted smoke in a uniform way – it just wasn’t possible. And furthermore – Rivers looked closely – it didn’t even look like smoke or – he breathed deeply – even smell like it.
‘What the hell...’
He stepped closer, waved away the ‘smoke’ directly in front of him but couldn’t see a thing. The smoke or whatever the hell it was obscured his vision, he had no idea what was causing it. He walked around the ‘sphere’ trying to see through it but it was no use.
‘Marcus!’ Rivers looked back to see Toby limping out of his door.
‘You stay right where you are,’ he shouted.
‘Marcus!’
‘Stay,’ he repeated.
He took one more look and realised that there was no choice, he had to walk into it. If, and it was now looking unlikely, something was burning in the centre, it was a danger for the whole street – a danger he had to take care of.
He started off cautiously, arm over his mouth but his breathing wasn’t impaired. The sphere was not made of any smoke Rivers had ever seen before. It became denser the further inwards he moved - spreading out like a rising sun, Rivers didn’t understand it. He walked through it, turned and walked back. There was nothing there, nothing in the middle. No known source.
‘There’s nothing there!’ he yelled to Toby.
Toby limped slowly down the steps, as if to come over but River’s shot him a stern look. ‘Stay where you are.’
Rivers turned again and made his way to what he thought was the centre of the sphere. It was still empty – just the strange smoke.
‘What the hell,’ he repeated.
Without warning a flash of blinding blue light erupted and Rivers raised his hands to cover his eyes. A scream pierced the silence and the next thing Rivers knew a heavy weight was falling into his arms. He tightened them automatically, looked down and gasped in shock. Seconds passed and Rivers tried to understand what had happened. Seconds during which the strange smoke began to clear, to dissipate as if it had never been.
‘Marcus?’
Rivers tore his eyes away from his burden to see Toby limping forwards.
‘Did you see that?’ Rivers asked, ignoring that fact that Toby had ignored him again.
‘See what?’ Toby replied.
‘The light? The blue light?’ Rivers said. ‘You must have seen it?’
Toby shook his head, the smoke almost completely dissipated now, there was no flash of light to be seen – it was like nothing had even happened.
‘I can’t move as fast as you Marcus I’m sorry,’ Toby rebuked. ‘I got here as soon as I could. What happened, what caused the smoke and where did she come from?’
Rivers looked down at the woman in his arms and shook his head. ‘She came out of nowhere Toby, I have no bloody idea what caused the smoke, there was nothing to cause it. There was a light and then... you didn’t see the light?’
‘No.’
‘It was blinding,’ Rivers insisted.
‘The smoke was clearing but perhaps I wasn’t quick enough,’ Toby replied. ‘Never mind that for the moment Marcus - what about her?’
The brothers looked down at the woman in Rivers arms. She was unconscious, unnaturally long lashes brushing her cheekbones, raven hair spread over Rivers arms. She was also wet, as though she'd been in a rain storm. It hadn't rained in weeks.
‘Is she alive?’ Toby whispered.
‘Yes,’ Rivers replied. He could see her chest rising and falling and, he swallowed, he could see a fair bit more than he would have expected.
‘What the hell is she wearing?’ he bit out. ‘This shirt, if you can call it that, is nearly see-through! And what the hell is that under it, some bit of red lace!’
‘And tight fitting trousers, very tight fitting’ Toby said. ‘How peculiar.’
‘We need to get her home before someone sees her in this state,’ Rivers said. He looked around quickly but besides themselves no one was in sight. He wondered briefly why no one else had seen the sphere of smoke.
‘All well and good Marcus but we have no idea who this woman is,’ Toby stated. ‘And is that an earring in the top of her ear?’
Rivers too had seen the strange piecing and didn’t know what to make of it.
‘And those boots, or shoes, or I don’t know what you’d call them... they look lethal!’ Toby continued.
Rivers looked down at the strange black boots, with their deadly looking spiked heels and strange silver linear decorations, almost like a row of closed teeth. ‘I know precisely who she is,’ Rivers said shaking his head at the oddness of it all.
‘You know her? Well who the hell is she?’
Rivers straightened and lifted the raven haired woman with him. ‘This brother is the woman we were discussing mere minutes ago.’
Toby blanched. ‘You don’t mean?’
‘Yes,’ Rivers confirmed.
He looked down again at the woman in his arms. She was paler than he remembered, her hair slightly darker than he had thought – but she was beautiful, he had not been mistaken about that.
‘This brother is the woman I intended to make my countess. Allow me to introduce you to Miss Lucy Williams.’

Name, Award and a Job!

2010-08-29T22:18:00.007+01:00

I have a whole bunch of news for you today so this is a triple blog I guess.

Right, first off a big thanks to Kate, aka The Scribbling Seaserpent, my writing bud and fellow Litopian mod for giving me the Lovely Blog award. Now it's traditional at this point for me to nominate other blogs for the award, however I would like to ask all my followers, who are on Stumbleupon, to include everyone on my bloglist in their favs. If you're not on Stumbleupon www.stumbleupon.com I urge you to join. It's a fab way of driving traffic to your own site and finding some new and useful sites to explore.

Secondly a big thank you to everyone who suggested a name for the male character of my new paranormal romance (tentatively called The First Rip). I had over 70 suggestions in all and I've been hard pressed to decide which one to go with. From Kevin to Bran, the names were varied indeed! Having chosen my name I've spent the last week writing him into the scenes. Once you know a characters name it changes things, my man now behaves a little differently than I expected - so I'll be posting an excerpt and a thank you to the suggestee very soon.

Thirdly, it seems my writing career has taken an unexpected yet wonderful turn. There's a brand new romance e-publisher on the block, and I'll be working as an editor with them. Evernight Publishing will be launching by the end of the year, publishing all sub-genres of romance and urban fantasy Evernight will be bringing the hottest romance right to your e-reader. You can learn more here www.evernightpublishing.com and I'll keep you updated with news from the other side of the publishing door.

In the meantime please keep your eyes peeled for my newsletter, which will be out any day now - if you haven't signed up to receive it email shorttstories@gmail.com and I'll add you to the distribution list. Also look out for a new House of Burning Bras blog post Sixteen and Skint which I'll be posting mid-next week.

Until next time, take care all x

Name my male character little devils

2010-08-15T19:01:00.007+01:00

I work best when on a deadline, I've long since known this. When left to my own devices I tend to put things off, oh I'll clean the fridge next month, I'll do some washing next week, I'll go grocery shopping at some point, oh I'll write tomorrow etc - you get the picture.

I once went for over a month without writing a single thing - nothing, nada - not even a blog post. Now don't get me wrong whilst the break was nice the ensuing guilt was terrible. I felt like a little devil was watching me, aware of my inactivity and cursing me for it. Since then I try to write something every week, whether it's a chapter or a blog or even an article - I have to do something.

Trouble is when you don't have a book deal in the wings there's no one to motivate you but yourself. So whilst you tell yourself to write something every week you can do say, a random chapter for a book you never finish, or an article that will never be published and still feel like you're being produtive.

Are you though? I kinda don't think so.

For me it's only been a productive week if I've done something on my current novel. Anything else is just distraction. Take this last fortnight, I had two weeks off work and I was there thinking ah ha I shall do at least 25k before I go back to work. Well I barely hit 7500 and the guilt has already set in.

So with this in mind I've decided to set myself some tight deadlines and I'm going to ask you guys to help. The first deadline will be to finish my current paranormal romance by the end of October - ready for an end year submission.

So where do you fit in? Well I'm gonna ask for your input - I feel that if I've got you guys on board with me I'll be pressured to get the job done. You'll become my little devils.

So first off I need a name for my main male character. I've been considering a few but nothing has stuck, at the moment he's just X and it's hard to get excited about X. So give me a name by leaving a comment here or on my FB page and I'll post a snippet of him for you to read. The only point to bear in mind is that this is a romance, he is smoulderingly hot and the name must sizzle.

This will be the first little devils input and they'll be more to come...

The Tapestry of Love

2010-08-01T11:59:00.007+01:00

I'm always astounded by how weird it is to have friends who are published authors. I often get a jolt when I walk in to Waterstones and see a friends book on the shelf or better yet when I have them sat on my own shelves to read as I wish. It also means that I have access to a whole bunch of authors who I can tap up for various publications like MUSE, my newsletter and this blog. Last week saw David Bridger guest blogging on To Stalk a Publisher and this week I have really hit the ball out of the park. Rosy Thornton is my guest today and I am absolutely delighted to have her take part.

It all began on wednesday when a package came through my door, you'll recall that I wrote a brief blog about it just to whet your appetite. Well it was a book (I love receiving literature through my letterbox) and not just any book but a review copy of Rosy's latest novel, The Tapestry of Love.

I started it on wednesday night and by the early hours of Thursday I'd finished. It really is one of those books that just flows through you and urges you to keep going until the end. I love books like that, it feels like the author has done you a favour in some way.

So what's it about? Well first off I thought ToL (as I now think of it) was a romance, I expected romance to be the dominating theme, how wrong I was. This book is much, much more than a romance it's a journey of finding oneself, at a point in life where you imagine to already have done so.

The book starts with our heronie Catherine, a divorcee with grown up children on her way to her new home in rural France, the Cevennes mountains in fact. She's starting over, beginning a new life, a different life. I always enjoy reading about new starts, they speak, I think to somethng inside each of us that yearns to run off to the mountains or the beach or the jungle and begin again. Catherine is doing just that and from the very opening chapter Rosy sets the scene splendidly. Chapter two keeps you exactly where you want to be, her first interaction with a native is wonderfully written and this is the bar (a high one) that the rest of the book follows. There's one part in the last but one chapter that I'm desperate to copy here for you because it is so beautifully written and it's one of those bits that you'd imagine working perfectly in film. Alas I can't, it would spoil the story for you, I'll ask instead that readers tell me if they can spot it once they've read the book and drop me a comment letting me know what you think it is.

Again in the intrests of not spoiling the story I'm not going to tell you the plot - I'll say only that it deals with family ties, the pangs of absence and the wonderfully tentative beginnings of new love - because I'm imagining that after reading this and Rosy's interview below that you are going to click here and go buy it.

It's a perfect book to take with you on holiday, forget the trashy romances that'll be forgotten the next day. Rosy's book, Catherine's story will stay with you long after the holiday has finished. Also as a side note the cover is lush and the book will look cracking on your shelf.

So Rosy is here to answer a few of my questions... here goes...

Hi Rosy, thanks fo joining us today let's start the ball rolling by asking how long have you been writing for and what got you started?
I only began writing fiction six years ago. It came completely out of the blue, after watching a television programme! I loved the BBC’s adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘North and South’ in 2004; I went online to discuss the serial, discovered Gaskell fanfic, and thought I’d have a go at writing some. Three months later, I found I’d written a full-length pastiche sequel to ‘North and South’! It was utter drivel, of course – but by then I’d been bitten by the writing bug, and I carried straight on to write my own first ‘proper’ novel, ‘More Than Love Letters’ – which, Gaskell geeks will spot, contains more than a few nods to ‘North and South’.

How tough was the journey for publication for you?
It took just over a year, in all. I did find an agent to represent my Gaskell pastiche, but it didn’t attract a publisher, and that agent didn’t like ‘More Than Love Letters’ at all and gave me leave to try to find another agent for it. That was a slog. I think I approached every fiction agent in the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, and was rejected by all of them! Then, by mistake, I wrote to an agent (Robert Dudley) who, at the time, was listed only as representing non-fiction. By pure luck, he happened to be looking to move into fiction, and liked the manuscript, so he and I set out as fiction virgins together. I worked through two major edits under his guidance (he is a fabulous editor!) and then he sent out the book – which was eventually taken, a few months later, by Headline.

Tapestry of Love is book number four for you, how does it feel to have those four books sat on your shelf and know that they're all yours?
It’s very unreal, to be honest. Mainly, I think, because I reached my forties without ever thinking of writing fiction. For my day job I am a legal academic, and have published a lot of extremely dull things about law. Lawyers are such pedantic analytical thinkers, famed for lacking imagination or creativity. I could define and classify things, make distinctions, split hairs – but I had no idea at all that I might be able to invent a story. I still have no idea where it came from.

An unusual question but... do you have all the covers blown up and adorn your walls with them (I'd be strongly tempted to and the cover of ToL is lovely).
LOL! No – I must admit I hadn’t thought of this! Though I did have a mug made for a friend of mine with her book cover on it when her first novel came out. You’re right, though – the cover visual for ‘The Tapestry of Love’ is utterly gorgeous. (Even if it is clearly a doorway in Provence and not in the Cévennes.)

You've picked quite an unusual setting for the book, how did that come about?
I had a fortnight’s family holiday in the Cévennes twenty years ago and have never been back, but for some reason the region just found its way under my skin. Maybe because it is the most beautiful place on earth!

Catherine comes across very much as a woman opening a new chapter to her life and setting in to the unknown, have you drawn on your own experiences for this, if not how did you convey the trepidation and the alieness of the situation?
I suppose on one level we all know what it’s like to take a step into the unfamiliar and be an outsider: every time we move house, begin a new job. But for the specifics of moving to France I had good examples to draw on, because my family have all made the same journey. My brother married a Frenchwoman and lives in the Rhône-Alpes; he runs his own small business and I pumped him for information about the nightmares of French bureaucracy. My parents moved to Loire Atlantique when they retired, to a crumbling old stone house, so I have also stolen some of their experiences, mainly in the realms of plumbing and electrics.

At first I took this book for a romance but it is much more than that, how central was the romance aspect to you - the writer - in the story?
I suppose the inclusion of a romance gives a story shape. I am a confirmed ‘pantser’ – that is, I don’t plan my novels, I just write them by the seat of my pants – and knowing that there is a love story to develop does give me a sense of at least one direction in which the book will move. But for me – as for Catherine – the romance did not become the central preoccupation of her new, emerging life. The book is as much about isolation and loneliness, but also about family and friendship, belonging and community and how we out down roots in a place, and about the relationship of man to landscape, as it is about romantic love.

You convey a real sense of emotion, the book really makes the reader feel the situation, it's a skill few writers posses. Has that developed over time with each book?
I think perhaps, with increased confidence, I’ve become less afraid to have a go at conveying emotion. My earlier books were funnier, I’ve noticed – as if somehow I had to be at least partly sending myself up all the time. ‘The Tapestry of Love’ has some elements of humour but they are now far lower in the mix. Maybe I’ve become less afraid to take myself seriously now and then.

The family ties, the absence and the worry it produces in Catherine, again was that drawn from personal experience?
None of the specifics of Catherine’s situation are drawn from my own life. But I’m a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend. Anxiety for loved ones, the pain of absence, bereavement and loss - these are things familiar to all of us.

What's next in the pipeline?
I don’t want to say too much for fear of jinxing things, but I have one completed manuscript currently with my agent (rather more sad and serious than any I’ve tried before), and am half way through a new novel, which has gone back in the other direction: lighter and funnier, a retro ‘rom com’ set in 1980.

I'm giving you that link again lovely blog readers just in case you missed it, click here to buy and if after you've read ToL you fancy reading a bit more of Rosy then I would suggest Crossed Wires.

Oh, how could I forget! Rosy also featured in issue one of MUSE, so skip over here to read more about her or better yet visit her website.

Something through the letterbox...

2010-07-28T20:03:00.003+01:00

I had a bloody awful day at work today, rushed home to take the girls to Cheerios and make dinner and clean up and wash some clothes for work tomorrow... and... and... well you get the picture.

So there was I as frazzled as my cooking when I spotted something on my doormat. Now this produced a fair bit of excitment in me and frazzalage forgotten I picked it up. I do love receiving packages and this is because I don't tend to get many. There's Amazon of course - they're pretty regular through the letterbox and the odd other bits around xmas or birthday times but other than that - nothing. So there I was with my unknown package when I spotted the postmark, I realised then what it might be.

I'm not going to say what yet because I'm planning a pretty spectacular blog over the weekend so I'll ask you only this... is there anything more perfect than receiving literature through your letterbox?

Guest Blog - She's a beauty

2010-07-22T20:44:00.005+01:00

Today is my first ever guest blog and damn have I got an exciting author for you. I'm very pleased to welcome paranormal romance writer David Bridger, David has just had Beauty and the Bastard published with Liquid Silver Books and he's here to answer my questions.

Hi David, tell me about the story...

Saul the Bastard is a fallen angel who works as a bounty hunter for powerful urban demon families. He's hardhearted, ruthlessly efficient, and privately tortured. Rebecca Drake, a modern day demon princess whose family pretty much runs her city, is a successful fraud investigator and a self-sufficient woman. And she is being hunted by dangerous desert demons.

When Rebecca’s family hires Saul to protect her, they are both unhappy with the arrangement at first, but before long sparks fly as they try to resist their strong mutual attraction. For the first time in living memory, Saul has someone to love; someone he is scared of losing; someone the desert demons have marked to be their next sacrifice.

How long did it take you to write?

I wrote it in three months over last summer. It was like being lifted by a storm and carried along at full pelt. My crit partner and I were both writing exciting stories, and we were both convinced the other's story would be their breakthrough story. We aimed to exchange, crit and edit a minimum of one chapter from each story per week, come hell or high water. In the event, we were both right about the stories. Hers got her a top class agent and mine got me my first publishing contract.

How many times round the publishing bandwagon before it was accepted?

I knew right from the start that Beauty and the Bastard would be a paranormal romance novella, and that its best fit would be in romance genre epublishing. I subbed it to the five most established and successful epublishers in the romance industry. Three of them were interested. I chose Liquid Silver Books because their acquisitions editor's vision for the story was closest to mine.

So you're a chap writing romance, tell us how that happened?

I've always been a romantic. I was a sailor for years, and sailors are all romantics at heart. I realised after a while that everything I wrote contained a great romance. It mightn't always be the main storyline, but it was always there. They were never smooth romances. My lovers tend to be difficult people living through difficult events. Eventually it became obvious that my best writing happened when I focused on paranormal romance and urban fantasy.

What else is in the pipeline?

I'm writing another Angels and Demons novella now, set in the same world but featuring a new cast of characters.

Where can I buy it from?

Beauty and the Bastard is available from Liquid Silver Books: Click here

So ermmm... what are you waiting for folks, hop over to Liquid Silver and grab a copy.

You've Got a Weblink

2010-06-05T14:15:00.006+01:00

Today is the day (finally) of my newsletter launch. I know I promised it last year but events have got on top of me and this is the first opportunity I've had to get it moving.

So what is the newsletter? Well 'ShorttStories' as it's called is all about the writing. It will include news updates from moi, fiction pieces, book reviews and a chance for YOU to get involved.

Issue One is now available here and I will shortly be setting up an RSS feed so that it drops directly into you portable device.

So enjoy and all comments would be very much appreciated, just email shorttstories@gmail.com

Emma x

MUSE

2010-05-23T00:39:00.002+01:00

It's been a while since I blogged on To Stalk a Publisher, if you follow my blogs you'll know why. Last year I created The House of Burning Bras and have blogged myself silly over there (if you haven't joined... why not hmmm?!) but something is happening on Monday, something so monumentous I had no choice but to crack open the stalker page and type away.

I'll take you right back to many many months ago in a Litopian chatroom. Myself and a bunch of writing chums were throwing around ideas to raise some much need Litopian funds and I found myself suggesting an ezine. It was a throwaway comment but one that we all soon seized on. Weeks later and it evolved from being a possible revenue source to something we all wanted to do just for the hell of it. The months sped by and before we knew it an editorial panel was put together. The panel was made up of myself, John Quirk, Jamie Mollart, Dave Bartram, Cath Murphy and Geoff North. All of us writers, all of us keen to make something special... and then MUSE was born.

MUSE we decided would be a magazine by writers for writers, a chance for the reader to immerse themselves in the literary world. I hoped we would create something amazing but I didn't realise just how amazing it was going to be.

Our first issue is due out on Monday (I'm bouncing off the walls with anticipation) and you can download it here (for free) http://www.litopia.com/muse-ezine.

It includes, just to whet your appetite... interviews with the likes of Lee Child, Bernard Cornwell, Charlaine Harris and RJ Ellroy. (I have to say even I'm shocked at the number of big name authors who came on board). We have fiction from Litopians, book reviews, Granny Bates and much more. It's estimated that 25,000 people will read MUSE (my biggest audience to date) and I feel very lucky to have been involved.

We're t-minus one day till launch, make sure you're on board!

Just not feeling the lurve

2010-02-17T20:53:00.003Z

At the moment I'm part way through writing a book that I feel is something special. A Drop of Amber came to me quite suddeny one day - fully established in my head like a perfect little bubble of thought. I rushed to get it all out before I lost it. I wrote and I wrote until my typing fingers ached and my brain went fuzzy and when I hit the 30k mark I could write no more. Since then it's all gone kind of 'meh'. I look at what I've got and find myself unwilling to go on. In an effort to get back on track I wrote myself a little checklist and tried to take a step back to view it objectively. I asked myself;

Do I have something original - yes
Is it commercial - yes
Is it pitched at high sales market - yes
Is it in a well established, popular genre - yes
Am I telling or showing - showing
Do I have a likeable MC - yes
Do I like the story - yes

So what you ask me is the problem? Why have I suddenly stopped? Well you know I've always said writing is a lot like being in love and just like that emotion (that none of us understand) there are highs and there are lows. You have moments of intense happiness and moments of deep depression - maybe you can't even have one without the other? At the moment I'm feeling like a girl whose just found out her husband is a bigamist. I am just not feeling the luurrvvveee.

I've tried to understand why I am not feeling it and you know what I think it comes down to? I'm not enjoying the process. I was so eager to get the story out that I missed the honeymoon period and went straight to living together (with all the bad habits and toilet seats left up and pants on the floor). And then too because I know the story already - strange as this may sound - it feels like I've already finished, already read it and so the eagerness is not there.

Still part of me wants to keep going, part of me knows I have something good here and if I can just get past this I can create something special.

Thoughts anyone...?

New post follow the link...

2009-11-24T17:43:00.000Z

www.houseofburningbras.blogspot.com

Readddddyyyyy OK!!!!

2009-11-23T18:37:00.004Z

Readddddyyyyy OK!!!

‘Are you packed mom?’ Vics demanded.
It was Thursday, four o clock and I was trying to finish a really dull work report. ‘Umm yes,’ I lied.
She fixed me with a stern glare, well I imagine she did because we were on the phone and I couldn’t actually see her but had I been able to I’m pretty sure she would have been glaring.
‘We’re leaving tomorrow Mother – I think you should start packing.’
Ah – I’d become ‘mother’. I’m only ‘mother’ when the girls want to moan about something or remind me of my motherly duties i.e. handing over cash or cleaning their rooms.
‘Yes, yes don’t worry it’s all in hand,’ I insisted.
Of course it wasn’t, the weekend had sort of come upon me without me really noticing. Now I had no choice but to face the horrible truth. It was THAT time again... the cheerathon.
For you lucky lucky readers who have no idea what I’m talking about I’ll fill you in. My daughter is a cheerleader; I’m admitting it right now, no shame, no shudders. She cheers, for what I don't know. Not for a team or a club or anything - in fact now I think about it the only thing they cheer is themselves.
Brighton was the destination, perfect in the spring or the summer - not so perfect with 40mph winds and spray that soaks through your hoodie right in to your soul.
Our aim, the Southern Classics, the cheerleading competition of the year. 50 squads battling for supremacy – the winning squad reigning victorious for a whole six months.
A whole weekend of approx 1000 girls ranging from 5-18, a whole weekend of glitter and sparkles and pinkness and shrieks and giggles and screams and ah gods the pain.
‘Are you sure you really want me to come?’ I’d asked a few weeks previously. ‘You’ll be with your friends and stuff and probably won’t want me there.’
She’d brushed my feeble escape attempt aside. ‘Yes mom I want you to come, I love you being there.’
‘Yes but...’ I’d added.
She changed tactics with the speed of an attacking cobra. ‘Are you saying you don’t want to then mom? Are you saying you can’t be bothered to watch me perform?’
‘No of course not,’ I’d hastily reassured her.
It was a lie.
The cheerathon happens twice a year – 4 days in total – 40 hours of nonstop cheer mixes (youtube them and feel my pain) and chants all starting with Reeeaddddyyyyy OK!
Lest you all think I’m some monster sending her young child alone to the southern edge of our country I should point out that Vics is fifteen. She was going with her whole squad – like a hundred of them and was fully chaperoned. She knows I loathe the whole cheer thing with a deep and desperate intensity yet she insists I attend every performance. Perhaps she wanted my company you may think, well.... erm no. I think I was graced with about an hour of her presence (awake) all weekend.
‘I don’t know why you wanted me to come,’ I moaned on the second day. ‘You don’t even sit with me.’
‘Mom!’ She exclaimed – hands on hips, eyebrows raised. ‘Don’t be so sad I can’t sit with you. My friends will laugh. No one sits with their moms!’
‘Fine,’ I replied. ‘I’m fine on my own anyway.’
She turned to walk away but not before her eyes fell upon my book.
‘Ohmygod mom are you reading a textbook?!!! A textbook?!!!!’ She screeched.
I looked down at the offending book. ‘Yes, look there’s this really interesting article on the alignment of the galaxy with...’
Vics looked around frantically and hushed me with her hands. ‘Mom why can’t you be like the other mom’s and read Heat or something?’
‘Now princess don’t start me on the whole celebrity thing, the ridiculous circus that...’
‘Shhhh, shhhh,’ Vics whispered.
She looked me up and down and sighed, I knew exactly what she was thinking. Vics is a girly girl. She loves to wear shiny clothes and make-up and all that nonsense. It pains her greatly that I often leave the house in combats, a hoodie and uggs with nay a scrap of make-up in sight.
‘Just... just try and be normal mom,’ she pleaded.
And that pretty much summed up the entire weekend. You see I’m not stupid I know full well that I’m like a hard boiled sweet in a field of deluxe chocolate. The other mom’s are like an alien species to me. They stand at the sidelines and cheer along with their daughters. They wear t-shirts saying ‘Cheer Mom and Proud’ or ‘Ava’s Mom’.
I’m sorry but really who cares whose mom you are – I don’t even know who Ava’s is! Who, I ask you can possibly spend five hours talking about dresses and glitter and whether the last basket toss was high enough.
Maybe it’s harsh of me but I look at these moms primping and fussing over their pre-teen daughters and think dear lord woman you need to get a hobby.
It’s all so American, so pointless and so false. The teams all cheer each other even though they hate one another. Individual cheerleaders in the squad bitch about one another.
‘She’s such a show off and that dress... well I wouldn’t you know – not with those thighs.’
‘I know, no wonder her jumps are so low.’
I heard those pearls of wisdom from two eleven year olds, that’s right ELEVEN.
‘You’ll be fine just take some calpol and put a bit more glitter on,’ said one mom to her small daughter. The child was clearly ill – snot dripping everywhere and tears trailing down her face.
‘That’s right big smile now don’t let the squad down!’
Yes she was one of those t-shirt wearing woman.
Anyway the whole weekend was painful and boring and I have told Vics in no uncertain terms that it’s my last one ever... EVER!
‘Don’t worry mom,’ she replied as she back-combed her pony for the millionth time. ‘Next time we’ll get you a cheer mom t-shirt, that way you won’t feel left out....

Bombs & Books

2009-11-07T19:15:00.000Z

Bombs & Books

Make me a devil mother!!!!

2009-10-30T22:11:00.001Z

So it’s the day before Halloween and there I am getting ready to gut a pumpkin when my youngest daughter enters the room, hands on hips glaring in my direction.
‘Bear?’ I ask as I eye up where to make the first incision. I should insert here that I really wanted to put an apron on and turn the dining table into a squash-type operating room but was banned by my teen daughter Vicci, who rolled her eyes, declared me ‘sad’ and encouraged me to ‘get a life’.
‘Mom!’ shrieks Sarah (who we all call Bear, Sarah-Beara, get it...?). ‘I just thought to myself that maybe you haven’t thought ‘cause you’ve been too busy,’ (pointed nod in the direction of my laptop) ‘writing! – But what AM I wearing for Halloween?’
I freeze guiltily, so consumed with my pumpkin prep I hadn’t given much thought to costumes and such.
‘Erm hmmm Bear, erm are you trick or treating?’ I ask.
I hope that she says no, I mean really can there be anything worse than standing in the cold dressed as a demon (they always make me dress as a demon) whilst kids flitter about consuming vast quantities of sweets – which I should add they NEVER share - and stabbing me with their little devil horns.
‘OF course I am mom,’ Bear replies as if it should have been obvious to me. ‘I’m going to get LOADS of sweets and eat them all and be sick.’
Well that’s settled then – who am I to argue with such a declaration?
‘What are you thinking of going as?’ I ask.
Her face lights up with satisfaction. ‘A devil!’
Now the thing is she’s a devil every single year - on Halloween I mean - not generally in life... well not all the time at least. The amount of red jeans and t-shirts I’ve brought is staggering and every year she gets her little pumpkin trick or treat bag out and insists I paint her face and make her look as evil as possible. Now you’re probably thinking thumbs up, if it’s the same outfit every year no doubt I have all the stuff to hand, what’s the prob?
Hmmmm... now this is where I’m starting to look at the clock and do some mental calculations and panic. You see we moved last year and as part of my ‘life makeover’ i.e. too lazy to pack properly I chucked or gave loads of stuff away. At the time when I was stuffing the detritus of my life into black bag after black bag I remember thinking, you might regret this Em and now that moment has arrived. In my mind’s eye I’m seeing a flash of red and a little horn peeking out of the bin and thinking sh*t.
‘Right then well we should erm go the shop then,’ I say.
‘I want to look like a grown up devil this year mom!’ Bear insists. ‘I’m not a baby anymore – I want to be a proper devil!’
I remove my surgical gloves with a satisfying smacking noise, pop the pumpkin to one side and ask my ten year old ‘grown up daughter’. ‘What does a grown up devil look like then?’
She puckers her little brow in consideration, ‘Like a... DEVIL!’
Five minutes later were standing in the Seasonal aisle in Morrison’s along with a million other we-forgot-as-well-until-five-minutes-ago parents. The Halloween stand has been turned into something resembling a jumble sale and I eye it in horrified fascination. I mean really I am not exaggerating when I say that parents are elbowing each other aside (politely of course this is middle class England after all) and foisting their children right in to pluck out the juiciest plums. Werewolfs, witches and other bizarre creatures scuttle past me holding swords and pumpkins aloft in victory.
‘A devil then mom,’ Bear says to prod me into action.
I can’t help but notice that she, clearly being rather cleverer than I, has taken refuge next to the Christmas display which is still relatively quiet.
‘We could just use lipstick?’ I suggest.
‘I need horns mom, EVERYONE knows that devils have horns and a stick and a cape!’
A cape? Since when did devils have capes? I shake my head knowing that it’s easier to just go with my orders.
‘I’ll grab anything that’s red and chuck it out to you then,’ I say and she nods in agreement.
‘Yes, just go for red but not blood I don’t want to be a vampire, Vicci’s being a vampire,’ (her older sister, teen twilight addict and general vampire devotee) ‘and they’re rubbish – especially Edward Cullen!’
I had tried to get Vicci to dress as a character out of one of my books but apparently it doesn’t count because no one would know who she was.
‘You can tell them,’ I’d suggested. ‘And give them one of my little website cards.’
Suffice as to say she’d refused and I was now inclined to agree with Bear. ‘You’re right Vic’s would have looked much better as a disaster survivor.’
‘Mooooommmmmmm!!!!!!’ Bear wails as the crowds move in even closer.
I eye the throngs again and wonder - am I going to be brave enough to jump into the melee and search out the devil?

2009-10-30T00:53:00.002Z

Someone has been an extremely lazy blogger of late and thought it was about time to get things updated and make a solemn promise not to be so lazy again.

So what has been happening in my little literary world? Well I'm happy to report some pretty exciting developments;

1, In September my short story Snowman was published by the fall edition of Midnight In Hell E-Zine www.midnghtinhell.com, I was very pleased to see it out there and the editor's note that it was '...a touching tale by a debut Midnight In Hell writer' was very nice to see. Skip on over and have a read - all comments appreciated.

2, The Litopia E-zine Muse has now kicked into gear and I'm very pleased to say that I am on the editorial panel and will be contributing some pieces. We're hoping for some really big name author interviews, tips for writers as well as some fab fiction and articles. Those of you who are familiar with Litopia will know that Muse is going to be a real showcase and I'm very honoured to be involved. Watch this space for the first issue due out in the new year...

3, Tonight I had a new - nerve wracking - experience when I took part as a guest panel speaker on Litopia After Dark. This podcast reaches upto 50,000 listeners and as the newbie on the panel I was very very nervous. Stumbled a bit in places but hopefully for my first showing it wasn't too bad and they'll invite me back! Big thanks to Jai, Dave, Martyn and Peter for going easy on me and rescuing me when I was tongue tied. You can listen to the podcast here http://www.litopia.com/podcast/category/litopia-after-dark/ - comments as always are appreciated.

4, I've finally - after about 150k worth of words and many headaches settled on my new project. The Amber Droplet is coming along nicely and I'm planning to have a first draft in the new year... again watch this space.

I think that's all for now, for my next blog post I'm working on something a bit more fun than a list of my news so come back soon!

Em x

The site has been chizzazzled

2009-07-31T23:30:00.002+01:00

Hi all,

It is the first anniversary of my website - a whole year running and the site has seen a massive 5789 visitors with page views in the tens of thousands. A big thank you to everyone who has visited and passed the link to their friends.

So a new year it is and a new update was due. I have been working my little socks off to chizazzle the site. It has had a complete overhaul and new features include;

Book reviews page
Articles features page
Shortt stories update
Newsletter sign-up
Oooo and lots of new banners and spangly things

Please take a look and if you're shopping on Amazon please do so through my site, all profits raised will be donated to Litopia, the coolest writing community on the web.

I'm twittering

2009-06-17T23:30:00.002+01:00

Hi all, I'm now twittering, find me under emmashortt - and join my followers x

Short story is published

2009-06-15T17:49:00.002+01:00

I'm happy to say that my first short story is now live, http://www.literarymama.com/fiction/archives/002487.html please read and enjoy - all comments appreciated x

Snowman

2009-04-17T23:55:00.002+01:00

I am very happy to say I have had another short story accepted for publication. Snowman (which will be familiar to my Litopia friends from another one of our short story challenges) will be in the fall edition of Midnight in Hell magazine.

Two down, three to go! And a big thanks to the weather for inspiring this one.

Em x

Update

2009-03-28T19:09:00.004Z

It's been a while since I've found time to post on my blog so I'm happy to start this one with some good news. I've recently had a short story accepted for publication by a literary magazine www.literarymama.com. I was really pleased that the piece was accepted as it was part of the Litopia short story challenge for Pinter house. The title is 'He Waits Helplessly' (my Litopia friends will know it as The Gift) and I'd urge you to go and have a look once it is published in June. I gave myself a challenege of five short stories published this year and five non fiction articles - so this one starts the ball rolling!

Other news? Well I have finished a complete edit of Immune, www.emmashortt.co.uk/immune more show less tell and I plan to send out some submissions to a few indie publishers at the beginning of next month. I am also chugging along very nicely on my new WIP, Fallen Angel - I'll post a sneak peek soon.

Lastly I have to say it's damn good to be back in the saddle. x x

Tough times ahead? :(

2009-02-13T22:27:00.002Z

'The worst recession ever...' Those were the words spoken by one of the leaders of the area in live in. The worst ever, was she right? I don't know - I really don't, but it got me thinking about the economic slowdown and what that means for us writers.

I have to fess up straight away that in my normal day to day life it seems difficult to believe there is a full blown recession on. People are still parked in front if their flat screens, with their sky dishes, their high speed broadband and their two cars out front. The supermarkets at least seem as busy as ever and none of my friends or colleagues are tightening up in any way. A recession always brings images, to my mind at least; of bread and dripping and grey smocks and hand woven wollen clothing and SPAM - winding queues from the job centre, strikers out in force, awful haircuts etc and I'm not seeing any of that. I'm seeing people still in their designer togs, still splashing out on pricey meals and buying extravagant valentine gifts.

So from my perspective, where is this recession... is there even one? Well yes, it seems that the headlines are difficult to ignore. Woolworths, Adams, store after store shutting their doors, mass unemployment - shares tumbling. I don't even want to consider what my pension looks like. It is happening, it's not just media scare-mongering. The greedy bankers (trying to build an economy on credit?!?!) and our ineffective government (selling our gold shares when the market was at an all time low... need I say more) have put our country in one of the most worrying positions in more years than I have been alive.

So rant over, what does this mean for us writers?

Worst case scenario: Book stores will be more cautious about the amount they order, they'll want better deals - buy one get one half price etc - they'll ask for bigger percentage discounts. This will be passed on to the publishers who will be squeezed and less likely to take a risk on an unknown unproven author. They'll be looking for the next 'big thing' - though how they'll know what that is I have no idea. Authors may get smaller advances, may have to accept lower royalties. And then the agents, they'll have to work even harder to promote the authors they do have so may be less inclined to take on new authors. Slush piles will get even bigger as authors battle to capture the attention of agents/publishers. More people will try their hand at writing - thinking it's a get rich scheme (boy they're sooo wrong) making the slush piles even huger and wearying the agents/publishers to the point of exhaustion and then in all that there's us. The writers who work so hard, the writers who are hunched over their computers for hours on end - editing and worrying and re-writing the query letter for the hundreth time and fiddling with the synopsis in the very early hours and putting their very heart and soul into every single word that drips onto their page... where are we in all of this, do we even have a chance...

Best case scenario: If you write something that is special, something that is different, new and refreshing. Something that tugs at the heart strings or brings a smile to the face of a tired agent then there is still a chance. When all is said and done if you have the talent, if you believe in yourself then the recession will matter very little. There is always room in the world for someone who belongs - someone who is doing what they were born to do. If you are meant to be a writer then a writer you will be. So stick at it, make sure you query letter is as polished as it ever can be. DO worry and fiddle with that synopsis, read it back to yourself aloud - make it perfect! Check your grammar, your spelling, check everything. Agents/publishers will be looking for a reason to reject - do not let yourself fall at the first hurdle - make your pitch as fabulous as possible and then sit back eat some spam, itch away at those wollen pants and remember the hard times wont last forever.

Emma x

The Roaring Fire

2009-02-06T23:02:00.005Z

Sometimes in life when you have a million and one things to do you have to prioritise. The more important things get moved to the front (in my case moving house, settling my children in to their new home, a huge workload in my paying job etc etc) whilst other things get moved to the back.

It's easy to imagine that writing could be one of those things that could shift easily to the back. It's just a hobby, it's not that important etc are some of the comments I have heard. But this is so far from true.

In my case at least the act of writing, putting my thoughts and ideas into a story is like a little fire in my brain. When I'm writing regularly the fire burns merrily in the corner. It's a constant burn, almost like I'm feeding it a steady supply of fuel. When I am not writing something every day you would expect almost that the fire would stutter and begin to dim, but no that is not what happens. The fire turns into a blaze, it roars and screams at me to feed it. The thoughts and ideas explode around in my head begging to get out. The fire is like their mental manifestation consuming my brain and seeking release. Writing will not let me put it on the back burner, it will not let me de-prioritise it.

Is this a good thing..?

I think it must be - the things that consume us in life are surely the things that are the most important. The fire has to be fed and so feed it I will.

A new cover from Andre

2009-01-19T20:47:00.004Z

When I finished Immune I created myself a little cover to go with it. I hated giving out beta copies without something on top - jumping the gun a wee bit I know but it felt more like a 'book' to me that way! Anyhow my cover was nothing fancy by any means, I put it together on Word with clipart and then somehow(I can't recall how exactly) I managed to turn it into a jpeg and post it on my website. http://emmashortt.co.uk/immunecover.aspx.

Now just the other day a lovely chap called Andre from my Facebook group To Stalk a Publisher e-mailed for some advice about the length of his novel. I replied with the advice I have been given by my Litopian crew and he e-mailed me back with a thank you and a little present.

That little present was a new cover for Immune. Andre had taken the original one and done some whizzyness to produce me the cover above. I have to say I really like it - It was kind of strange to have someone creating a cover for a book I love so much and one that I happened to write!

So a big thank you to Andre for his creativeness.

Tagged

2009-01-08T18:29:00.003Z

I've Been Tagged by Kate

So Kate tells me this is how it works: Display the award. Link back to the person who gave you this award. Nominate at least 7 other blogs. Put links to those blogs on your blog. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated. You can only answer in one word.
1. Where is your cell phone? Here
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair colour? Black
4. Your mother? Birmingham
5. Your father? Dead
6. Your favourite thing? Passion
7. Your dream last night? Absent
8. Your dream/goal? Published
9. The room you’re in? Kitchen
10. Your hobby? Writing
11. Your fear? Zombies
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Published
13. Where were you last night? Kickboxing
14. What you’re not? Nasty
15. One of your wish-list items? Happiness
16. Where you grew up? City
17. The last thing you did? Type
18. What are you wearing? T-shirt
19. Your TV? Off
20. Your pet? Deceased
21. Your computer? Fab
22. Your mood? Mischevious
23. Missing someone? No
24. Your car? Parked
25. Something you’re not wearing? Earmuffs
26. Favourite store? Waterstones
27. Your summer? Difficult
28. Love someone? Possibly
29. Your favourite colour? Black
30. When is the last time you laughed? Just
31. Last time you cried? Earlier
And I will tag...

Richard Donna lynn Brian Pete Richard John

Open my book, open my heart...

2009-01-03T19:27:00.002Z

I was intrigued by a thread from a Liopian friend regarding romance in his WIP. It immediately made me think of Immune and the high levels of romancation involved. I remember when I sent it to my brother to read, he phoned back and after giving me some great feedback said to me, Wow I didn't realise you were such a romantic - you kept that one quiet didn't ya. I of course cringed whilst blushing furiously. They're just characters, it's not real!

Now I do quite a good job as the cynical I-don't-do-romance type (whilst stashing my steamy books under my bed)but I've now realised that my books totally blow my cover. They are chok-o-block with sighing and longing and lurve. I've come up with some lines and then re-read them a few weeks later and been like, Em - no you didn't really write that did you?!?!

And now I'm thinking, geez if someone reads my book they're gonna know I'm a total fraud, the whole - they're-just-my-characters-I-would-never-say-anything-like-that defence is pretty shaky.

I'm considering a pen name.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T21:58:00.002Z

A very happy new year to everyone. I hope that 2009 brings you everything that you hope for.

Emma x

It's time to kick it baby

2008-12-20T20:37:00.004Z

Right it's the end of the year and there's nay a publisher in freakin sight. I haven't captured an agent... ok there might be one or two in my scope but no capturage as yet. So it is time to up the ante.

Gawd I can't even tell you how much I loathe the whole-everything-is-out-of-my-hands feeling. I'm sending out my submissions and waiting and waiting and biting off my electric blue/emerald green/pulsating purple/blue me away/risque red etc nail varnishes and developing a worrying nervous tick. It's time to try and wrestle back some control.

I sat down today and thought okkkaayyy, I can write, I like my books, I love creating them, people DO want to read them - I have a list of buyers, I have my teen readers e-mailing me and moaning for copies... something's got to be done. So I drank quite a bit of diet coke, ate too many celebrations and played 'Listen' by Beyonce about twenty times and then I decided on a plan of action.

When it comes right down to it an agent takes on your project because it will make them money, as of course they should. That is their job, they need to buy food for their cats and pay their book store bills just like the rest of us. Ergo an agent will take you on if you can show them that baby you can ring those tills. A publisher will publish your book because they want to sell lots of copies and make lots of money - this you see is how awful celeb autobiographies end up taking up space in our bookstores.

So it's obvious right, I need to show said agent and then said publisher that I can produce the dollars.

How to do so? Well here comes my plan of action... dem dem dem... reader-recruit.

Now I'm coining this as an official term, reader-recruit will henceforth be known as the strategy undertaken by an unpublished authour to collect such a vast amount of future readers that an agent's eyes will pop in glee and a publisher will sign her to a five book deal instantly whilst bouncing around in a state of hyperactivity. The author will show gleeful agent and bouncing publisher an excel sheet containing thousands and thousands of names (real ones) all of readers who have been recruited to the cause. These readers will all be salivating for a copy, they will be waiting and ready to buy on release date... and there you have reader-recruit.

Now I'm not going to go into my reader-recruit strategies in detail - 'cause they're techy and kinda boring but suffice to say they involve a banging website, an OH-SOMEONE-HELP-ME kinda blog, Bebo fan groups, Facebook sign up to the cause groups, Myspace bulletins and various other web-related publicity tools.

So far reader-recruit is at 476 people (web addresses harvested from my site, fans from the Immune group on Bebo and fans from the newly launched WE WANT IMMUNE PUBLISHED' Facebook group)and baby it's gonna rise - the target is 1000 by Jan.

So c'mon pledge yourself to the list - join the cause - be part of reader-recruit.

P.S. I have a rather fab GothEmBlack varnish I want to wear, my pale nails are crying out for it - only with your help may they wear varnish again!

Vampore Bore...

2008-12-11T21:24:00.002Z

I love vampires, I mean really - they're my favourite ever mythical creatures. The fangs, the good looks the whole broody element... sigh.

However it seems to be really difficult to create an original vampire novel. You write about a ass kicking heroine and she's compared to Buffy, you write a smouldering hottie and he's compared to Edward Cullen and accents... nuh hu you're entering Dracula territory here.

So what's the solution? Well I am going to have to write a vampie novel - just gonna have to. I won't be happy till I do but how to make it original? I cannot have a weepy, wimpy heroine, nope my female heroes have to be strong and tough and a bit rebellious (I have to set an example here) and I cannot have an fugly vampire hero, he simply has to be hot and smouldering and a bit tortured whilst of course still chugging down the blood - and they have to be mortal enemies who will fight each other to the death whilst being overwhelmed with desire for one another.

A bit copycat, a bit generic - it kind of seems that way doesn't it... so how about I make my heroine another mythical creature - a Fairy or a Furie or something similar. And how about I make my vamp hottie a prince about to be crowned the vamp king. And let's throw in that she's been trained her entire life to hunt and kill him and that he plans to torture her to death before swilling her mythical blood. And then they meet and whoa hoo... the chemistry.

Throw in a mutiny so that they're set on the same side - having to depend on each other for survival, loathing each other whilst falling into the abyss... how is this sounding, am I exciting anyone here...?

All about the emotion

2008-12-10T19:16:00.004Z

I've often wondered how the emotional state of the author affects the emotional state of the writing. Can you ever truly write about heartbreak unless you've had your own heart pummeled? Can you ever really convey the dizzying effects of love unless you've fallen yourself?
When you are a bit depressed is it better to write the black parts of your WIP? If you're all happy and loved up does that make the love scenes all the more poignant - more meaningful?

It's a tricky area and I guess I only have my own experiences to answer it. I know that when I am feeling a bit bleak I cannot write a happy cheery scene, when I'm in love I want to write about that and not about anything depressing. So does it therefore mean that happy people can't really ever write a really dark book and that chronicly sad types can't really get away with writing an uplifting story?

I honestly don't know. It may just be that this is a very personal thing - something that is different for each writer. Maybe like how some writers can get away with writing about an area they've never visited and some can research a certain profession and then sound like they've been pickling gherkins since the year dot.

Prehaps when you get right down to it it's the emotions themselves that matter, whether an author has experienced them or not - if they can make you believe they have then is that job done?

If only we could all do this...

2008-11-30T00:00:00.001Z

Just imagine sending a similar response to an agent...

Copyright www.truckerfun.com

Updated Website

2008-11-28T19:23:00.011Z

I am so exhausted I can barely type so this is just a quick one to let everyone know that I have updated and refreshed my website www.emmashortt.co.uk
This bout of websiteitis was induced by an agent telling me one of the main reasons he replied so promptly to my submission was because he liked my website... ooh I thought and skipped across to have a look... and then stayed there until the early hours of this morning re-freshing and re-spunking.

I've also taken on board some advice given by our Litopian agent, things such as navigation, clarity etc. I hope it's a lot easier for everyone to get around now and more importantly enjoy.

Let me know what you think.

The Thud of Fear

2008-11-18T19:07:00.005Z

It is the sound that strikes fear into the heart of every writer, the sound then sends your stomach dropping to your knees and the 'OHGODNOTAGAIN' reflex kick into action. It is a sound now burned into my brain.

The Thud of the rejection on the floor. (Yes I'm capitalizing it - it's worth a capital T! The emotion alone that sound enduces demands a capital.)

I'm now on my fifth Thud - I escaped three thanks to a late postie. Those lovelies involved a phone call from my teen, 'Erm mom... there's like a brown envelope and erm it's, well, I think it's a rejection - shall I open it?' Chewage of lip, shudder ever so slightly, it might be good news, it might, it might!!! 'Yes open it, read it, quick, quick WHAT DOES IS SAY??'
Suffice as to say the 'it might' turned quickly into 'it isn't'.

I have found two Thud created reactions within me. The first is a defensive type retort, well yeah ok but you'll be sorry one day, you'll so regret refusing me!Just wait till I sell millions! The second, why, why, what did I do wrong, why don't you like it? Can't you see what I see? Two very different reactions but in essence both the same.

8 rejections, 8 Thuds - when is it all a Thud too many? Well the answer is not quite yet, my teen had some rather comforting words for me today. 'Mom you will get published one day - of course you will! Someone will snap you up... the chances are you'll be mad by then from all the rejection and stuff and I'll have put you in a mental institute but don't worry I'll make sure you have a computer so you can write more books.' 'Yes,' I replied, 'but no one will buy books from a mad author.' 'No that's fine,' she assured me, 'I'll take the credit for all your work - you know as a favour...'

As that didn't quite bring me the feelings of joy she intended this little quote did:

"No one put a gun to your head and ordered you to become a writer. One writes out of his own choice and must be prepared to take the rough spots along the road with a certain equanimity, though allowed some grinding of the teeth."
Stanley Ellin

Either or - but the Thuds can take that!

The first and the third

2008-11-12T08:54:00.005Z

I recently started my new project, it's tentatively titled Fallen Angel and already I'm in love it. Before you ask I will confirm that yes it is another teen romance because despite being a bitter old cynic I can't seem to stop writing them.

So far this project had been interesting in more ways than I bargained for. All my projects so far (bar one and it doesn't count) have been written in the 1st person. I've always really liked this style because it allows me to really get inside my main characters head - I can put across all her feelings and hopes and dreams (it's always a she) but Fallen Angel has two main characters, Astrid and Sebastian and I wanted to write from both of their POV's.

Ha ha you say - you know where I'm going with this then. Well first off I 1st POV'd them both, to me it was all perfectly clear - I knew who was who, what was what and how Sebastian and Astrid were thinking etc - and if I knew then of course everyone else would yes... well actually no. I posted these first very rough chapters in my house at Litopia for crit and the message was CONFUSION! Who is who? Which bits are Astrid, which are Sebastian - clearly it was not working.

Some sage advice, much thrumming of fingers on keys, sighing at monitor and eating too many caramel crunchies later and I came to the inescapable conclusion that I was gonna have to 3rd POV the lot. So I have.

And this is what I have learnt, it is far harder to write in the 3rd person than it is to write in the 1st. 1st person POV is almost like diary writing, you can just waffle on, pretend you're the character and it all word vomits out - 3rd person POV is not like that at all. You have to think a lot more about your prose, you have to think about the clarity of it - it can't be all he thought, she said etc you have to really labour on it.

Fallen Angel is going to be a very interesting experience for me and I have no doubt that it is going to improve my writing skills tremendously. I'm several chapters in now and already I can see that it reads better from this change... so the point of this rambling post - well it's just to say to all those 1st POV addicts out there that sometimes it's worth thinking about doing something different even if it is more challenging.

Instead of aiming for 1st - hit a 3rd!

Vamp It Baby

2008-10-30T00:33:00.000Z

So I've always been a bit of a vampire obsessee, ever since I was a tween... Other girls wanted to be the prima ballerina, I wanted to be a vampire.
Growing up on a steady diet of Anne Rice and Dracula I suppose it's not really suprising. I remember the first time I read Bram Stoker - ah love at first word! And then I discovered Anne Rice, I loved them all but Interview with the vampire was my absolute, 100% fav.

The first ever book I wrote was called 'Crimson Wars' and it was a vamp-human war type novel. It was truly appalling - I was fifteen years old and honestly looking back not only do I cringe, I shudder. It's like a little window to my mindset at that point in my life. I splurged out all my racing teenage hormones onto those pages, laid down all my supressed longings and fell in love with my male lead.

Cringe once more...

So where is this leading you might ask? Well two things really. One, there seems to be a bit of a ressurection of vamp lit at the mo - ably led by Twilight (which yes I love, yes real men sparkle, yes Steven Strait should have been Jacob... sigh, swoon... I digress). Kresley Cole is also one of my fav vamp story tellers. Her stuff is a wee bit racy but it's good. So rise of the vamp yada yada - and that brings me to number two.
I've had a vamp novel bubbling away in me for some years now - it's shaped itself in my mind and is likely to be another horror/love fest. But is it the right time to write it? In terms of my target audience (the tween) I could never beat Twilight, it would be impossible. So what to do... jump on the bandwagon or let it bubble away a bit more...

I'm torn I must admit. There's no desperate hurry I know, I still need to get Immune published ASAP and I've started a new WIP, Fallen Angel and then there are the hundred other projects racing away in my mind... but the pull of the vampiric is strong... so should I wait or should I bite...

Thoughts appreciated...

Falling For The Fiction

2008-10-20T23:07:00.001+01:00

When I first started writing Immune I created a character called Grey. He was the third character I created and I had this set idea in my head of what he would be like. He was going to be a stern authority figure who was holding my lead character back, he was going to be a bit mean, a bit angry and a bit difficult to handle. In short I didn't imagine that he was going to be very likeable.
But something strange happened to Grey as I tried to write him. The words changed and morphed until he began to turn into something else. As hard as I tried I couldn't pull him back - he resisted me until he became a hero figure who saved my lead again and again. I could almost feel him grinning as the words came out - laughing softly and telling me, yep that's who I am, suck it up and write it out.
Now all these months later he has become one of my favourite ever characters, I know who he is, how he thinks, what his favourtie books are etc... and if truth be told I have become a wee bit smitten by him...
Now I know what your thinking it is the height of absolute sadness to fall for a character - nevermind one you've created yourself. He doesn't exist! He's not real yada ya. You're not telling me anything I don't know! Smitten - subject closed.

So my sad smittenishness got me wondering... (my own desperate need to get a life aside) how much of our own wants and desires do we project into the characters we create. Does a shy author create rebellious heroines because she longs to be a bit of a rule breaker herself? Does a retiring author create dashing male leads because he sees himself like that? Do we create our male leads to be the sort of men we actually want in our life? How much of ourself do we put into our characters?
So here's the challenge - I want all you writers out there to read over your latest creation and ask yourself these questions. Why is your character like that? What does it say about you? Why have you made him/her that way?

Ask and wonder... and try not to fall for the fictitous along the way!