Thursday, October 20, 2011

The new Florence and the Machine album will come out in a week. Woot! Can't wait. I wrote Love is Darkness to that album. Lucas and Valerie in Cafe Rouge was written while listening to My Boy Builds Coffins. That's the obvious one that comes to mind, anyway.

The title of the third book is Love is Mortal. As far as I know that will finish the series. Obviously, I have to write it first and see what happens but the end is pretty final. The only way it could expand is if the things that need to happen can be wrapped up in one book or two.

As a big Urban Fantasy/Paranormal fan myself I know what I like about the genre. It's an escape, the sex scenes are the hottest around in the romance genre, usually rivaling straight erotica, and the tension is usually off the charts. But often I find that a lot of books use tension or even the blanket 'it's destiny/they just know they're meant to be together' instead of giving us characters who actually belong together or whom we believe will be together in the long run.

I think that's part of the success of Outlander. Everyone believes Jamie and Claire are living their lives and are happy together. As a big believer in HEA's (Happily Ever After's) I think the books that get remembered and loved are the ones that prove to us a deeper connection beyond lust. And yes, I want that for my own writing.

April 2011 I will be attending Romantic Times in Chicago. Are you going? If so, let me know. I would love to chat with fellow readers and anyone who wants to say hi.

And finally, extra big woot, Love is Darkness is #1 in gothic romance, #2 in contemporary fantasy kindle, #3 contemporary fantasy books and is #72 in overall top 100. To which I say-- THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

It's Wednesday and I'm inside (set to the tune of friday i'm in love)

New song that I'm going to be writing to is Til Death by Wynter Gordon. Wynter is the best name for a heroine.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B41bc2WVqh0&ob=av2e

My new character is giving me some issues. He's a cagey sort of fellow. Trying to edit the last 30 of Love is Fear and I'm really beginning to feel bogged down. Oi!

It's also cutting into my TV time. Nikita, Supernatural, VD, Secret Circle. So many shows and they're moldering away on my tivo. But I did see Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Good grief. The world has turned upside down, Kyle is super mean and I actually really like Brandi. Even if she is intimidatingly tall and has a nose that is mesmerizing. I'm pretty sure it's awesome. I can't look away from it.

Kyle was always my favorite. Snarky, great hair...brunette. But now I'm not so sure. And that Dana is just odd. I never actually saw the brown on her nose, but it was there. Must have been good make up covering her up. And her 25k sunglasses made me want to shove her into the pool.

And if I ever meet Taylor I may have to force feed her whip cream. That's not code for something, it's literal. The fat content per ounce is insane.

Is anyone watching Housewives?

Friday, October 14, 2011

Update

Things are quite hectic and exciting for me and I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and write about what's going on so y'all know and so that I remember later :)

Yesterday I got the paperback of Love is Darkness. It needs a few tweaks before it becomes available but it was AMAZING to hold it and look at it. I confess I put it on my shelf between my Harris and Hamilton's just to see how it fit. Sniffle.

I also got a very nice email from Angeline Kace saying congratulations because my book has been ROCKING up the amazon charts (her word and caps!). Our books usually come up together when I check on LID so I know hers is doing incredibly well too.

LID sold almost 100 copies yesterday (the record) and is #7 on 2 categories and #8 on one. It's next to a Kresley and a few Sookie's. Which is mind-boggling. My Werewolf short story is ranked in the top 20 for anthologies and while Amazon still has not lowered the price I have not heard people yet complain about the price-- I'm waiting for it and like to tell myself I'm prepared. But it will still be like a punch in the gut when it happens.

I also got two new reviews that were beyond complimentary and have been trying to soothe myself with them and ignore the 2 star someone gave me on good reads. Apparently there is a thing called a 'thick skin' and it's required to be a writer. No one will tell me where the hell I can get one, though.

What else? Going to a writing conference in Houston next month and am very excited.

Love is Fear is getting there. The first 2/3 of the book are ready for a beta read and if I'm lucky I'll be able to get the last 1/3 ready for a beta read by the end of next week.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

I write romance and let's face it-- Romance is all about the men. Oh, and the women they fall in love with whom we only want to see so we can get a demonstration of just how incredible our hero really is. So I thought I should blog with PICS of a few of my favorite hotties. My husband doesn't believe in a top ten list, which is a shame. Although he'd be more likely to get hit on than I would, so I suppose it's for the best.

1. Nikolaj Coster- Waldau. If you know me, you are now groaning and saying 'oh not this guy again.' You probably won't remember him from a little show no one watched called New Amsterdam (it was terrible) but he is now hottin it up in Game of Thrones and this man has never made incest look so good. Here is my favorite pic as well as the clip where I fell in love with Jamie Lannister (good name, right?!?)

1. brace yourself



And the clip-- it's seriously hot and messed up. He's sleeping with his sister, evil and yet, when he said the line at the of this ep, I became a groupie. (This is the first ep, btw. so if you have not seen it, you're not getting spoiled by my drooling.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6dTjnlZZAU
What the hell, here is another Game clip. Sigh. You like Alexander Skaarsgard? This guy is danish. What's the diff? It's all dark, cold and nordic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IV5RO3O8Rs&feature=related

2. I have a shirt that says rogerer is betterer. And he is. I love Roger Federer. He's graceful and calm under pressure. He's also a family man and devoted. All around class act. If you like the Fed and have not seen his nike commercial where he's attacked, it's kind of funny. Here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js8Dr9BKLHY



3. This one might lose me some credibility. I'm quite conflicted about mentioning it, actually. Coach from Survivor. I know, his weird cockiness was off-putting and he seemed like a total playa but this season he looks so...weathered and dare I say it-- wise. Coach is a bit battered, a bit less sure and I like it. One of my friends was like, 'duh, he's a total romance cover hero.' I was floored by the obvious geniusness (it's a word now!) of that statement.



That's all I got for now. But if you've got a hot guy, display! I love a good ogle. I'm more likely to have five good ogles a day then five fruit and veg.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Vampire Diaries

I went through a phase where my love of VD waned. I almost stopped watching it, let episodes build up on my tivo for quite awhile and saw lots of things that I was bored with and couldn't foresee changing. For example-- Jeremy and Bonnie. Oh God, someone please kill Bonnie. That girl has no chemistry with any actor she gets paired with. It's almost bizarre how flat she is. Versus someone like James Marsters from Buffy who had so much charisma that even though he was supposed to be staked at the end of his solitary episode, he became a recurring character, then a character, then the love interest and (truthfully) stole the show by the end of season 7. Bonnie ain't gonna do that.

My other issue that made me yawn-- Stefan and Elena. Oi, so boring. Yes, they were in luuvv and it bored the shit out of me. Poor Damon was murdering up a storm, being a consumate bad-boy, never wearing any clothes and brooding and yet we were stuck with two characters who the writers didn't even have kiss for several episodes because they were so boring.

Well, that's all changed now! Watching VD is no longer like having VD, it's awesome! It's like it got a massive shot of penicillin and is ready to start whoring around.

1. Klaus-- he was a bit weird, I didn't know how attractive he was, the accent was peculiar and now, I like him. Not only is he super evil but he has feelings. He's brought Stefan with him and wants companionship. It's not a lot and it's probably like having Stalin as a friend (fine until your dead) but it gives him a depth that I appreciate.

2. Rebecca-- Oh, Rebecca where do I start. Thank God! She is a game changing character, that I already like and because she has prior dibs on Stefan it's somehow not as bad that she's back. I can't wait to see where this plays out because Paul Wesley is HOT and getting down with another vampire will give him the chance to be rough, passionate, uncontrolled and villainous instead of mopey and depressed. Like Angel when he's Angelus. Angelus was a crack-up.

3. Tyler and Caroline-- The sex was hot, but truthfully, I suspect they'll be the next oh-so-boring-couple we're stuck with for a season or two. Can she drink his blood? If he bites her she'll die. speaking of, how come she can kiss him? His saliva is ok so long as it's not in her dermal layers? Hmmm.

4. Damon and Elena, these two are so made for each other, they've shacked up in real life. Stefan is moving on to paler pastures and now that he's moved on we won't look at Elena and think 'what a slut! Stefan needs you!' we can now think, 'Get Damon back in those bubbles!' I'm excited b/c obviously Damon isn't the white picket fence guy. He's the guy you stab with the white picket fence. I saw an interview with Ian where he said playing vulnerable Damon was uncomfortable. Fantastic! I can't wait!

5a. The guy from Supernatural is here! Speaking of charismatic actors. Every once in a while an actor comes along that is so good I think 'how come this fool doesn't have his own show?' and I confess with some smugness that usually I think this and then they get their own show. My unrelated example-- Garrett Dillahunt who was so good on Deadwood he was brought back as another character when he was killed off. (that was kind of hilarious) he then went on to Terminator Sarah Connor where I swooned over his mechanical ass and now he's on Raising Hope.



5b. Okay, that was a slight straying off topic-- the guy from Supernatural is here! Oh, Sebastian Roche. He's so good, such a funny actor that I kind of have a crush on him. And he's turned up as a baddie bad enough to make Klaus and Rebecca scared. AWESOME!

'Supernatural' Angel Heads to 'The Vampire Diaries'




And the 1930's. With the exception of Boardwalk Empire, everytime a show goes to the thirties I fall asleep. Didn't Picard go to the 30's all the time? Anyway, this one was good. One of the best things about vampires is what they have lived through. I like seeing their history and knowing what they've survived. (Eric's past, Angel's past as a loser-- those, for me, are usually the best episodes). Not only because I like history but b/c it gives us a massive insight into our characters.

A vampire's past needs to reveal some aspect of their personality that makes the reader go 'whaaa?' I tried to do this in Love is Darkness, showing that Lucas is not only the lonely guy who's been bored for awhile but that somewhere in the last 800 years he was motivated by love. Marion's daughter Margaret was a young girl that reminded him of his own dead family. I even have a scene for it, but i'm not sure if it's going to make it into the second book. Mainly because it requires more jumping around in time and the feedback on that makes me think it hasn't been quite as successful as I had hoped.

Anyway, I'm now beyond excited for VD, I want VD, and if they could just bring back Elijah (who is another charisma character--I thought he was super hot) I'll be all set.

Thoughts on the twisty turnings of VD? Cause I'd love to hear them! If I can youtube up some clips of these fine male specimens I will. Sigh

Here is a 30 second clip of Castiel and Sebastian on Supernatural http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPqP87rNuMA&feature=related

If you've got some time here is a 4 minute Sebastian clip from Supernatural, which if you have not seen and don't know why anyone watches it-- this will inform you. It's freaking funny and the boys are hot. plus lots of monsters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbAMe-2Wbts

Couldn't find anything good for Garrett, plus looking at Terminator Sarah Connor clips makes me want to down a bottle of prozac. That show being cancelled really left a scorch mark on my soul.