It's here! It's here! Read all about it! 

Love By Auction from Decadent Publishing. 

Come meet Rebecca Hathaway and Mark Passmore as their love is reunited…under extraordinary circumstances.

About:

Intent on leaving the Date for Charity Auction, billionaire Mark Passmore vows not to bid, until he sees the gorgeous blond strut across the stage. Need overwhelms his senses and he has to have her.

Although he’s ended their relationship three years ago, Mark has never stopped loving Rebecca. When he learns the truth of Rebecca’s role in the action, will he forgive her for her betrayal or walk away again?

Excerpt:

Slave? Laughter bubbled to her throat. “What do you mean? Slave for what? Like a chauffeur or butler for the day?”

Erin shook her head. “A slave, Bec. Anything you want him to be. The rest of the night alone with this person to fulfill any fantasy you have.”

Rebecca gasped and shot off the seat. “Why didn't you tell me this before?”

Erin smiled, a nervous glint in her eyes. “If I had told you, then you would have backed out, and Kelly would have won.”

Rebecca started to pace the small patch of carpet behind the chair to the door. Her life was over. Her mother was going to kill her and she'd never be able to show her face in public.

Oh, God. Her brother. She whirled around to face Erin. “You have to get Lucas out of here.”

Erin's eyes widened. “I can't. Then he'll go and tell my parents.”

She glared. “Look, if I'm going down, you're going down with me.”

“Bec, if your mother finds out I was involved, my mother is going to disown me, especially if she can't go to any of Catherine's garden parties.” Erin moved to the vanity table and threw the rest of the make-up back in the cosmetics Caboodle. “You're right. We should just get out of here before Lucas and Mark sees us. At least, I know neither of them won the bid with Kelly.”

Rebecca froze. “You're telling me that Mark bid on Kelly?”

Erin met her gaze in the mirror. “I heard one of them yell out a number from the back.”

Anger turned to rage. Her hand clenched a fistful of fishnet and lace as she stared at her reflection. Her blonde wig shined under the dressing room light, her done-up face emphasizing sultry eyes. Bright red lipstick covered her full lips. The swells of her breasts pushed to her chin, and fishnet garters peaked from under the frilly short layers of her skirt. The image in the mirror reminded her of Marilyn Monroe without the mole at her mouth. Though she looked more like a tramp in high-heels than an ice queen, her costume screamed seduction.

Power bloomed in her gut like a fierce energy uncapped.

A knock sounded at the door. “You're up!”

Rebecca jerked her head toward Erin, whose gaze filled with dread. “Give me my tiara.”

“Yo—you're going out there?”

With newfound confidence, she smiled at Erin.

“I'm taking Kelly down.”

And Mark Passmore is going to see what he gave up.

Hope you enjoy it! And thanks for stopping by! 

Kismet's Revenge is now available in paperback from The Wild Rose Press

Silke has sold her novella "Howl" to Lyrical Press. You can follow her trials and tribulations as a non-US author on her blog – http://www.evilauthor.com
(Especially if you need to know about ITIN's!)

We would also like to congratulate our former member Vanessa, who has just informed us of  her success! She sold "Blood Moon" to Decadent Publishing.

There have been several requests for partials and full manuscripts this month. Watch this space!

And while we are all roasting in the sun… I would like to wish our critters the best of luck with their pitches at RWA National! Have fun, you guys!

Ever heard the term "generic verb?" I confess I didn't until I received a list of things to look for in my newly contracted novel. My publisher doesn't like these generic verbs, and I'm going to wholeheartedly agree.

So what is a generic verb? Lets talk the word "walk." Sure you can say your hero walked across the room toward the heroine, but is it very effective? Does it give the reader any sense of what's really going on, any emotion? No. It doesn't.

But what if I say "he stomped across the room?"

The reader is immediately clued in to an emotion – people don't just "stomp" for no reason.

Similar words would be trudged, lumbered, plodded – all say something about his feelings or his thoughts. There is nothing generic about a man trudging across the street.

Adding just the right word can also change the tone. After all, if someone is skipping into the room or down the street – you probably wouldn't think they were angry, right?  A bounce in their step adds lightness to the scene, while a stalk gives a more determined, deep in thought feeling.

Your challenge today is find those nasy "generic" verbs and replace them with something more meaningful to your story, your scene and your character.

Good luck!

So, let's move our Daredevil into the romance novel. He's the hero who isn't going to think twice, who might hurt the heroine before they reach the Happily Ever After, but somehow can be forgiven. Taking extremes is part of his nature. Actually this reminds me of a story of a MotorCross [I think] racer who died, leaving his family behind. So, right… that doesn't actually represent the romance novel, but I think if we spin real life to fit into our make-believe, this is the guy you'd have. And when he dies, everyone says, "He died doing what he loved." As if that makes it better… then again, maybe it does. See [I'm going to get philosophical on you], we all die. If you think about it that way, why not die doing something you love? Like surfing or bike racing or pirateering–okay, that one's definitely from a romance novel. As a matter of fact, read The Iron Rose by Marsha Canham. It is one of my all-time favorite romance pirate stories. The opening scene in that book IS daredevil. It's a hero with a flare for style who takes ships as a hobby… until he unwittingly takes the heroine's ship!!

ONE MORE DAY! Join me either tomorrow or Thursday at Penny's blog as I wrap up my series on HEROES talking about the warrior. Thanks for being here.

With Love,

Bethanne

Some of the best writers had them. Some of the rest of us still do.

Junot Diaz writes in the bathroom, perched on the edge of the bathtub to find enough solitude to finish a chapter. Janet Evanovich writes strictly from a visual storyboard. Stephen King writes ten pages a day, no matter what. Walker Papers author C.E. Murphy has a computer she writes from named Nook. Nook has no access to the internet, therefore saving the author from the temptation of checking the latest weather forecast in Dubai or looking up a recipe for Bangers and Mash. Agatha Christie once claimed she got her best ideas while standing at the sink doing dishes—she’s also claimed that eating apples in the bathtub helped her creativity.

Rituals and habits serve a variety of purposes for us, besides giving us an excuse to wear that shabby “Cosby” sweater we love so much. (“But it’s my lucky sweater! I have to wear it to finish my book!&rdquo They can be broken down into two camps, for the most part: Environment (nesting, lighting a candle, brewing a pot of coffee) or Behavior (each morning at 5 a.m., 10 pages no matter what).

These habits reduce some of the anxiety that inherently follows when we see the blinking cursor and the blank page…we know we’re safe because we have our lucky mug with us, it’s 9 p.m., and this is what we always do when we write.

Rituals increase our own power and control, and can’t we all use a little more of that in our lives? It’s a sense of ownership…this is our writing. Our world. Our time. Being in our little writerly nest makes us the empress, queen, and lordy mighty dictator for the few sparse moments we have before our kindergartner is attacked by the preschooler. Or before the “other half” needs to check the scores on last night’s game. Our rules. Our time. Nice…

Writers who live by their rituals suffer from less writer’s block, it’s true. Though it may seem like we’re living up to Natalie Goldberg’s “shi**y first draft” mantra, and writing pure junk, writing with a ritual tends to not place so much pressure on the time we are in the chair, keyboard at hand. We don’t have to be brilliant, we just have to be there with our favorite pencil and our Jimmy Eat World (or Bach, or Burt Bacharach) CD playing in our headphones.

So, while it’s still January, maybe it’s a good time to consider our own rituals—both the ones we keep and the ones we’d like to keep this year.

From our own group, here’s a sampling of how members of Passionate Critters create ritual when they write:

Vanessa keeps different playlists for the different books she’s working on. She has a single notebook she carries with her everywhere that houses her ideas, notes, scribbles, etc. Oh, and a complete tea service set up is a must when she writes. Complete with teapot, cozy, sugar cubes, milk, and a cup and saucer.

Silke has a “trusty moleskin—with me always,” she says. And coffee. Coffee is a definite must for her. Oh, and her partner can’t look over her shoulder as she writes. (I can relate. I’ll actually toggle away from my writing to whatever Internet page I happen to have open. No peeking!)

For Jenn, when it comes to naming her characters, she has a ritual she follows every time. She’ll write out each letter of the alphabet and give each character a name that starts with a different letter.

When it’s lights out for the kids, it’s “brilliance on” for Bethanne…who runs a house full of adorable kids and still manages to put awesome stories on to paper.  (I think she ought to host a mini-workshop on that alone. I have two and I want to pull my hair out some days.)

A night owl, Joyce finds the good times roll in the p.m. hours.  She’s also working on a new one for 2010: 1,000 words a day (you’re in great company…that’s exactly what Stephen King recommends in “On Writing&rdquo.

If you’re looking to get chummy with our little green friend, envy, you should take a peek into Rachel’s uber-structured, uber-productive system.  She’s up at 5.a.m and whether its having the laptop with her while warming the house with the wood stove, she’s always working. Always, it seems! Up until 1 or 2 a.m., she squeezes the most out of her days and has the productivity to prove it.

Nina doesn’t start writing a new project until she hears distinct conversations between her characters in her head—a great trick. How many times have we had a “great idea” and rush into the writing, only to have no clue what our characters sound like?

And as for me , well, I have a goofy sort of ritual. I have a red pashmina scarf/wrap thing that I started wearing around the office a while back while I edited. It was a joke, really. It was meant to keep people at bay while I was working on deadline and it seemed to work. It also earned me the nickname “The Red Baron” because I must have looked a little like Snoopy when he’s fighting on his dog house. So I took the scarf home with me and now I either have it on, or with me when I write. (I fiddle a lot when I’m thinking, so sometimes I just play with or chew on the ends. Eww. Gross. I know.)

My goal for 2010 grew out of my first few weeks here at Passionate Critters. Instead of a daily goal, there’s a “weekly goal” board and I’m finding it much, much easier to accomplish a weekly goal. I beat myself up when I fail at stringent daily quotas…but this weekly method? It seems perfect for a writer like me who can have slow days (500 long, arduous words) or Rachel-esque productive days (1,500+).

So revel in your rituals. Notice them. Appreciate the uniqueness of them. And use them. And if you don’t have any yet, create some. It’s a great month to get started.

Right. We try that again!

Happy 4th Birthday, PC!

It's been a while!

I'm going to quote Debora here, because, well…

On January 7th 2006 we started the PC Yahoo group – but Jennifer, Cyn and I had been crit partners for a while before that!  I believe before the year was out we had moved to a free forum with this one hot on it's heels!
Wow, ladies…
Thanks for the support, the good times, the laughs and the professional guidance!
I count you as some of my closest friends.

Gosh, Deb, guess what? We feel the same way.

Some of us have been here from the beginning, some almost from the beginning, some took a break and came back, some never left, some have been around a while now, some just joined.

We are currently up to 18 members (ergo, applications are closed) and our last four new victims recruits are still finding their feet, but we're all in it for one thing:

Cake!

Err. Wait. No. That's not it.

Cake fights!

Ok. Maybe not.

Hunks!

Okay.

All kidding aside…

We're all about books, writing, publishing, critting and most of all — we support each other.
(Unless there's a hunk around. Then all bets are off and it's every woman for herself. )

Happy Birthday, PC!

Follow the link below to the original review on Long And Short Reviews.
(All links open in a new window.)

Kissing Trick by C.D. Yates

Kissing Trick by C.D. Yates
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full (235 pages)
Heat: Spicy
Rating: 4 Books
Reviewed by Fern

Reggie Snow is the author of the popular YA Paddy Dimple series. Her childhood, best friend, Dr. Patrick "Trick" McCullough is a former playboy, current OBGYN. They've each got some image problems. She's unexpectedly pregnant, not a great thing for a woman who's primary audience consists of impressionable teens. And he's on the nurses' naughty list; always a problem for a randy man who's seen most of the single women in his small town naked without sleeping with any of them. Besides, Trick's starting to realize it might be time to settle down if he wants to increase his patient list to include the pregnant mamas waddling around town.

That can be fixed…

They decide to work together by playing married until Reggie's baby's born. She hopes that her pregnancy won't bag her latest book's sales or encourage young adults to have unwed pregnancies. He hopes a family-man image will destroy his bad-boy bachelor reputation so he can deliver babies and heal more women in his small town of Hadley Falls, Vermont.

As long as they don’t fall in love…or into bed. Easy to say, until she starts kissing Trick.

Kissing Trick is a delightful story about friendship, devotion, and trust. Author C.D. Yates has twined a tale about best-friends that are brought together by circumstance, but are drawn to one another by love.

Patrick, aka Trick, is a man that has the power to make you swoon and laugh at the same time. He’s comical, witty, and utterly charming. And it’s a good thing, because his counterpart, Reggie, is equally snarky and sarcastic. She’s always seen Patrick as a handsome man, but never as a potential lover. Once she does, sparks fly and pages sizzle. I enjoyed the playful banter between them, and snickered gleefully through a large portion of the story. Their adoration for one another is evident, and goes a long way in making the story not only believable, but memorable as well. It takes a special kind of man to marry a woman that he cares for that is carrying the child of another man, and Trick not only steps up to the plate, he hits a homerun straight out of the ballpark. He’s never noticed Reggie as a woman before, but once he does, he’s not willing to let her get away.

There are other elements throughout Kissing Trick that add to the richness of the plot and character development, namely Reggie’s abandonment issues and Trick’s history of being a player, and it ensures you’ll remain invested in the story from start to finish. Patrick isn’t the only one that shines. When Reggie moves past the taint childhood heartbreak, she’ll come into her own and embrace the happiness that Trick extends.

If you’re looking for a spicy story with equal portions of heart and humor, Kissing Trick is a book you’re bound to enjoy.

Yes, I love those rainy days and nights.  There is something magical and romantic about walking in the rain with the one you love under a big umbrella. Even sitting by the window and watching the drops cleanse the earth and refresh the spirit. The most relaxing thing in the world for me is listening the gentle patter of rain against the roof or skylight just above my bed when wrapped in my guy's arms.

When was the last time you ran through a puddle – on purpose? Remember being a carefree kid and stomping in the puddle?

As for inspiration for plotting? Rain? Well, yeah. Just sit, listen and let your body and mind run wild through the drizzle. Put on your favorite rain coat and go for a walk in the summer rain – don't think about your troubles, don't think about your plot…just let the water sing to your soul. Running water can have an amazing effect on your imagination, if you listen to it. It's natural, it's a force of nature that can be both refreshing and deadly, depending on the circumstances.

Now take your character and put them in the rain. How do they react? Do you have the primadona who is horrified her hair will frizz? Are there bad memories of a storm as a child? Does your hero want nothing more than to drag the heroine into his arms and kiss the rain from her lips?

Next time it rains, make use of all of your senses and enjoy!  And to really set the mood – here's some inspiration from the Neil Sedaka.

Every romance writer has heard these comments a thousand times. Some try to argue against them, but many prefer to ignore the critics and put their energies into producing and selling lots of books.

But is it true? Or, do romances in fact address some of the same issues as literary novels, but in a manner which allows the reader a choice: just relax and enjoy the love story, or engage their mind with the questions raised.

Let’s take my latest release, SECRETS OF THE PAST, out from The Wild Rose Press a few days ago. Romantic suspense. Is it all about the hero and heroine meeting and having a few nail biting obstacles along the way, before they confess their love and settle down together?

No. Not to me. There are serious themes beneath, for those who wish to explore them.

Plot aspect: The heroine is the daughter of a wealthy family, and all her life she has been successful. When she sets up a business on her own, she fails. She has to accept that what she thought of as her own achievements were in fact a result of her privileged background. She must adjust her idea of herself, and learn to live with financial hardship.

Questions: Do we really know who we are? How close is our idea of our identity to that of others? How easily do we adapt when our world changes? Does learning humility make you a better person?

Plot aspect: The hero’s parents disappeared when he was a child. Rumors claim that he murdered them, but powerful family friends and the local police covered up the crime.

Questions: Do we have a right to make decisions that affect others so deeply? Is hiding the truth always going to leave a festering secret which in the end destroys the people it meant to protect? How does a shared secret tie people together? Can the past ever be left behind?

Plot aspect: The reclusive hero sees the heroine and sets out to take care of her, fixing up her house, keeping an eye on her.

Questions: What is the difference between a stalker and a guardian angel? Is there any real difference between the two in intent and action? Or is it all in the mind of the recipient, whether the attention is welcome or not, how the recipient feels about the perpetrator?

Plot aspect: The heroine falls in love with the hero at first sight, and then finds out that he may be a murderer.

Questions: Is there love at first sight? And if such love does exist, can it be renounced if the object proves undeserving? Does love ever depend on a deserving object? Or is love so blind that it simply exists, unconnected to the qualities of the person to whom the love is directed? Is love inspired by deeds and qualities, or a random gift of fate?

Back to the opening argument: Are romantic novels trash or literature?

You read. You decide. And let us know.

Buy SECRETS OF THE PAST from The Wild Rose Press!

PS – Romance writers do admit to the happy-ever-after aspect.