It’s the third Monday of the month and that means……

Once a month, a bunch of authors get together and post excerpts from published
books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You don’t
have to be published to participate–just a writer with an excerpt you’d like to
share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday
site! or click on the banner above.

Okay there seems to be a slight confusion as to where the July post is on the EM page so I found it in archives and thought I would post the link here – http://excerptmonday.wordpress.com/2010/07/

This month I decided to change things up. No Young Adult Paranormal. Instead this is an excerpt from my Historical Romance titled The Rose and the Lion. It’s a back shelf story, and the first one I ever seriously wrote. Enjoy.

“There is more at play than you can even fathom, MacGregor. Your scope is too narrow.” Lendl laughed.

Elisabeth’s gaze froze as if she found the sound familiar.

Shouts of alarm echoed off the corridor walls as racing footsteps pounded and retreated against the flagstone. MacGregor and Lendl stood poised for attack but remained motionless, listening for movement outside the dead Emissary’s suites.

Blood slammed through Iain’s veins. Elisabeth was caught between them and was within a mere hand’s grasp of Lendl. Iain quickly analyzed all possible strategies, quelling the panic to the back of his mind.

As the voices faded, Lendl grabbed Elisabeth and jerked her in front of him. Her head thudded against his shoulder. A silver dagger glinted in the moonlight. The spy pushed the blade against the soft underside of her chin. Lendl backed toward the window, dragging her with him. MacGregor followed inch by careful inch.

Lendl twisted the blade, and she let out a small yelp, causing the deadly point to break the skin. Fear tried to sweep back through Iain’s senses. A warm trickle slid down her throat. Rage boiled in the Scotsman’s stomach. MacGregor changed his stance and lowered, ready to spring and pounce.

“Stay back,” Lendl spat.

He butted against the window, and with his free hand, he unlatched the sash, pushing wide the casement.

“Let her go. This is between you and I. You will not leave the castle alive with her”

“Of that I had no intentions.” Lendl smiled wickedly.

He lowered his hand, and Elisabeth darted for freedom. He lifted a boot and shoved her hard into Iain.

The Scotsman dropped his rapier as she stumbled into his arms. They tumbled into a chair. Lendl pummeled over the casement ledge with one hand and dropped out of sight. MacGregor pulled her up and planted her to the side as he darted to the window.  He slammed his fist on the ledge.

“Bloody bastard is gone.”

Elisabeth gently fingered the scrape under her neck. Iain offered a handkerchief but she slapped away his hand. “You lied to me.”

The corridor hummed with activity as voices carried louder, and the cries of alarm became more distinct.

“I wish I had time to fully explain,” Iain said.

“You are a spy and a murderer. I need no further explanation.” Heat crept up her neck and spread across her face in a crimson stain, hiding her freckles.

“Aye, perhaps, but I did not kill the Frenchman.” Iain scooped up his rapier and slid the blade into the sheath with a singing hiss.

At the moment, he didn’t care what the English lass thought he had or had not done. A pain squirmed in his stomach. He did care that he might not see her again.

“I was foolish to ever trust you,” Elisabeth said, her fingers wrapped around her throat.

Before he could answer, the sound of a large squad of guards halted on the other side of the door. It wouldn’t take them long to break it down. Iain swung one leg over the ledge.

“Where are you going?” She demanded.

“I’ve outstayed my welcome, lassie.”

With one hand braced against the window casement, he coiled the other around Elisabeth’s arm and dragged her to him. She protested with pounding fists against his chest. He just held her more firmly, silencing her with his feverish kiss. His lips pressed roughly against hers, forcing her to sigh. He thrust his tongue deep within her mouth. The sensation weakened his spine and melted the back of his knees. She pushed away and tried to slap him. He leaned outward and held the frame to prevent falling. A laugh burst, sweet and coarse, from the deep hollow of his chest.

“I offer you safe passage back to England, Elisabeth, but we must leave now.” Iain reached out his hand.

“I would rather see you swing from the gibbet.” She stepped away as if she expected him to force her.

The thought not only tickled the back of his mind, but settled some place quite a bit lower. Unfortunately, he was not in the habit of kidnapping.

***

****

“Links to other Excerpt Monday writers

Note: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and
be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.

WELCOME to those coming back and those who are new! We hope you find some fun and fabulous free reads.

Don’t forget to come back for the first Monday of August for New Release Monday. See what’s coming out and enter to win a free basket of New Releases.

As always, your hostesses Bria Quinlan (PG13) , Alexia Reed (R), Rachel Jameson (PG13) and Kendal Ashby (R) thank you for stopping by!

Joining us this week:

Jaleta Clegg, Science Fiction (PG 13)
Penny Dune, Romantic Suspense (PG 13)
Kaige, Historical Romance (PG 13)
Debbie Mumford, Contemporary YA Fantasy (PG 13)
Jeannie Lin, Historical (PG 13)
Jeanette Murray, Contemporary Romance (PG 13)
Dara Young, Steampunk (PG 13)
Ryan, Mystery (PG 13)

Kendal Ashby, Contemporary Romance (R)
Stephanie Draven, Paranormal Romance (R)
Lauren Fraser, (R)
Cate Hart, Historical Romance (R)
KJ Reed, Erotic Romance (R)
Ali Katz, Contemporary M/M (R)
Cherrie Lynn, Paranormal Romance (R)

Sara Brookes, Urban Fantasy Romance (NC 17)
Carly Carson, Futuristic (NC 17)
Lisa Fox, Paranormal/erotic romance (NC 17)
Bryl R. Tyne, Contemporary M/M/M (NC 17)

Only One Week Left in the Contest!

It’s a Twitter follower contest! @briaquinlan, @catehart, @mgbuehrlen and I (@dyromance) were talking about unrealistic goals. We decided to set an unrealistic goal for Twitter followers and then see if we could get it. So now it is up to you all to help us meet our #unrealisticgoals! Don’t forget to tweet about the contest to earn an extra entry each week!

Last week’s winners to be announced soon!

Rules:

• Winners will be chosen from new and existing followers. For each person followed, you will earn additional entries. So if you follow one person = 1 entry. If you follow all 4 of us = 4 entries.
• One additional entry per week will be added for retweeting the contest information. Use the #unrelisticgoals hash tag and be sure to post a link to your tweet in your comments each week.
• You must post on one of our blogs what your Twitter name is, which prize you want for that week, and provide a link to that week’s tweet about the contest. That means you will need to post in one of our blogs each week of the contest to get your first choice of prize.
• Winner’s names will be drawn and they will be contacted via direct message on Twitter.

Prizes:

Week 1 Giveaway (2 Winners)

1 Custom Tshirt (this is the approximate image, but since it is custom on my hoodie, it may vary)

The Bride’s Farewell by Meg Rosoff

Week 2 Giveaway (2 Winners)

1 critique of a query Cate Hart

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Week 3 Giveaway (5 Winners – 1 winner of 3 books, 1 winner of 2 YA books, and 3 winner of one critique)

Mistress by Mistake by Maggie Robinson  

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Dead by Midnight by Beverly Barton

Party by Tom Leveen (YA)

Stolen by Lucy Christopher (ARC) (YA)

1 10 page critique by Cate Hart (will critique whatever you like, but experience is in YA)

1 10 page critique by MG (no erotic romance, please)

1 10 page critique by Bria Quinlan (no erotic romance, please)

Note: The critique winners will need to coordinate with Cate, MG, and Bria to coordinate with their schedules.

Time frame:
June 14th and to July 2nd = 3 weeks

Our Blogs:

Cate Hart http://catehart.com/ – you’ll want to leave a comment below on my page, too!

MG Buehrlen CONTEST PAGE HERE Official home page – (http://www.mgbuehrlen.com/Home.html)

Bria Quinlan CONTEST PAGE HERE Officail home page – (http://briaspage.wordpress.com/)

Danielle Yockman CONTEST PAGE HERE Official home page – (http://dyockman.wordpress.com/)

Info on each of the books:

Mistress by Mistake by Maggie Robinson (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6954705-mistress-by-mistake)

Scandal Is Only The Beginning…

Charlotte Fallon let her guarded virtue fall once–and she’s paid dearly for it ever since. She swore she’d never succumb to men’s desires again. But even a village spinster’s life miles from temptation can’t save her from a sister with no shame whatsoever. Or a heart that longs for more, whatever the cost…

Sir Michael Bayard found more than he expected in his bed when he finally joined his new mistress. He’d fantasized about her dewy skin and luscious curves, assured her understanding that what passed between them was mere dalliance. But he didn’t expect the innocence and heat of her response in his arms. Nor her surprisingly sharp tongue once she was out of them…

A few days of abandon cannot undo the hard-learned lessons of a lifetime. Nor can an honest passion burn away the restraints of society’s judgments. Unless, of course, one believes in nonsense like true love…

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6696602-infinity)

At fourteen, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough and savvy, his quick sarcasm is the stuff of legends. . .until the night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity.

Nick quickly learns that the human world is only a veil for a much larger and more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the undead.

But before he can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students are turning into flesh eating zombies. And he’s next on the menu.

As if starting high school isn’t hard enough. . .now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chainsaw from the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is he supposed to do that?

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1137215.Boneshaker)

In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska’s ice. Thus was Dr. Blue’s Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born.

But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead.

Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue’s widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenaged boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history.

His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive.

Dead by Midnight by Beverly Barton (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6712415-dead-by-midnight)

IN MURDER

The last sounds Dean Wilson hears are a clock striking twelve and a killer’s taunting words. And his death is just the first. One by one, victims are stalked and shot at close range. Only the killer knows their sins, and who will be the next to die at midnight…

AND IN LIFE

In the ten years since her Hollywood career imploded, Lorie Hammonds has built a good life in her Alabama hometown. When the first death threat arrives, she assumes it’s a joke. Then she gets a second note. Sheriff Mike Birkett, her high-school sweetheart, has avoided Lorie since she returned to Dunmore, but when investigators uncover her connection to a string of recent murders, he’s drawn into a case that’s terrifyingly personal.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

With every murder, the killer edges closer. Soon Lorie’s will be the last name left on his list. Her only hope is to unearth a deadly secret-before the clock runs out for good…

The Bride’s Farewell by Meg Rosoff (ARC) (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6013847-the-bride-s-farewell)

On the morning of her wedding, Pell Ridley creeps out of bed in the dark, kisses her sisters goodbye and flees. She takes the only thing that truly belongs to her: Jack, a white horse. The road ahead is rich with longing, silence and secrets, and each encounter leads her closer to the untold story of her past.

Stolen by Lucy Christopher (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6408862-stolen)

Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don’t exist – almost.

Party by Tom Leveen (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6251198-party)

It’s saturday night in Santa Barbara and school is done for the year. Everyone is headed to the same party. Or at least it seems that way. The place is packed. The beer is flowing. Simple, right? But for 11 different people the motives are way more complicated. As each character takes a turn and tells his or her story, the eleven individuals intersect, and reconnect, collide, and combine in ways that none of them ever saw coming.

The winner of the T-shirt is :

Jennifer Keller – Dragonsfire

And winner of the free book :

Julie Taylor

Don’t forget that it’s Round 2 and we have more prizes this week!

So retweet and post to any of our blogs for a chance to have your name in the drawing!

It’s time for a little Contest!

It’s a Twitter follower contest! @briaquinlan, @catehart, @mgbuehrlen  and I (@dyromance) were talking about unrealistic goals. We decided to set an unrealistic goal for Twitter followers and then see if we could get it. So now it is up to you all to help us meet our #unrealisticgoals! Don’t forget to tweet about the contest to earn an extra entry each week!

Rules:

• Winners will be chosen from new and existing followers. For each person followed, you will earn additional entries. So if you follow one person = 1 entry. If you follow all 4 of us = 4 entries.
• One additional entry per week will be added for retweeting the contest information. Use the #unrelisticgoals hash tag and be sure to post a link to your tweet in your comments each week.
• You must post on one of our blogs what your Twitter name is, which prize you want for that week, and provide a link to that week’s tweet about the contest. That means you will need to post in one of our blogs each week of the contest to get your first choice of prize.
• Winner’s names will be drawn and they will be contacted via direct message on Twitter.

Prizes:

Week 1 Giveaway (2 Winners)

1 Custom Tshirt (this is the approximate image, but since it is custom on my hoodie, it may vary)

The Bride’s Farewell by Meg Rosoff

Week 2 Giveaway (2 Winners)

1 critique of a query Cate Hart

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Week 3 Giveaway (5 Winners – 1 winner of 3 books, 1 winner of 2 YA books, and 3 winner of one critique)

Mistress by Mistake by Maggie Robinson  

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Dead by Midnight by Beverly Barton

Party by Tom Leveen (YA)

Stolen by Lucy Christopher (ARC) (YA)

1 10 page critique by Cate Hart (will critique whatever you like, but experience is in YA)

1 10 page critique by MG (no erotic romance, please)

1 10 page critique by Bria Quinlan (no erotic romance, please)

Note: The critique winners will need to coordinate with Cate, MG, and Bria to coordinate with their schedules.

Time frame:
June 14th and to July 2nd = 3 weeks

Our Blogs:

Cate Hart http://catehart.com/ - you’ll want to leave a comment below on my page, too!

MG Buehrlen   CONTEST PAGE HERE     Official home page – (http://www.mgbuehrlen.com/Home.html)

Bria Quinlan    CONTEST PAGE HERE     Officail home page – (http://briaspage.wordpress.com/)

Danielle Yockman     CONTEST PAGE HERE    Official home page – (http://dyockman.wordpress.com/)

Info on each of the books:

Mistress by Mistake by Maggie Robinson (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6954705-mistress-by-mistake)

Scandal Is Only The Beginning…

Charlotte Fallon let her guarded virtue fall once–and she’s paid dearly for it ever since. She swore she’d never succumb to men’s desires again. But even a village spinster’s life miles from temptation can’t save her from a sister with no shame whatsoever. Or a heart that longs for more, whatever the cost…

Sir Michael Bayard found more than he expected in his bed when he finally joined his new mistress. He’d fantasized about her dewy skin and luscious curves, assured her understanding that what passed between them was mere dalliance. But he didn’t expect the innocence and heat of her response in his arms. Nor her surprisingly sharp tongue once she was out of them…

A few days of abandon cannot undo the hard-learned lessons of a lifetime. Nor can an honest passion burn away the restraints of society’s judgments. Unless, of course, one believes in nonsense like true love…

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6696602-infinity)

At fourteen, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough and savvy, his quick sarcasm is the stuff of legends. . .until the night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity.

Nick quickly learns that the human world is only a veil for a much larger and more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the undead.

But before he can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students are turning into flesh eating zombies. And he’s next on the menu.

As if starting high school isn’t hard enough. . .now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chainsaw from the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is he supposed to do that?

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1137215.Boneshaker)

In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska’s ice. Thus was Dr. Blue’s Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born.

But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead.

Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue’s widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenaged boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history.

His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive.

Dead by Midnight by Beverly Barton (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6712415-dead-by-midnight)

IN MURDER

The last sounds Dean Wilson hears are a clock striking twelve and a killer’s taunting words. And his death is just the first. One by one, victims are stalked and shot at close range. Only the killer knows their sins, and who will be the next to die at midnight…

AND IN LIFE

In the ten years since her Hollywood career imploded, Lorie Hammonds has built a good life in her Alabama hometown. When the first death threat arrives, she assumes it’s a joke. Then she gets a second note. Sheriff Mike Birkett, her high-school sweetheart, has avoided Lorie since she returned to Dunmore, but when investigators uncover her connection to a string of recent murders, he’s drawn into a case that’s terrifyingly personal.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

With every murder, the killer edges closer. Soon Lorie’s will be the last name left on his list. Her only hope is to unearth a deadly secret-before the clock runs out for good…

The Bride’s Farewell by Meg Rosoff (ARC) (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6013847-the-bride-s-farewell)

On the morning of her wedding, Pell Ridley creeps out of bed in the dark, kisses her sisters goodbye and flees. She takes the only thing that truly belongs to her: Jack, a white horse. The road ahead is rich with longing, silence and secrets, and each encounter leads her closer to the untold story of her past.

Stolen by Lucy Christopher (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6408862-stolen)

Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don’t exist – almost.

Party by Tom Leveen (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6251198-party)

It’s saturday night in Santa Barbara and school is done for the year. Everyone is headed to the same party. Or at least it seems that way. The place is packed. The beer is flowing. Simple, right? But for 11 different people the motives are way more complicated. As each character takes a turn and tells his or her story, the eleven individuals intersect, and reconnect, collide, and combine in ways that none of them ever saw coming.

So today I started really buckling down into my new WIP CONJURED. I’m a visual learner, and a visual writer. That being said I MUST have pictures to write to, just like a soundtrack. So I started thinking about the process of creating a truly memorable character.

Recently, I came to the conclusion that with a degree in Theater I focus on the characters first when sitting down to create a new story. I imagine a certain type character, perhaps pulling a unique name from thin air and dreaming up that character’s world.

Today’s post is all about that process.

My writing process is about as scatter-brained as I am, but nine times out of ten, I have the new characters sketched loosely in my mind before I ever set down a clean piece of paper. For BROKEN, I had a sticky note for over a year on my laptop that read “Angels – a new story.” I had the germination of the type of paranormal character I wanted to write, I just didn’t have the vehicle (Heehee) yet to get them there.

I actually started writing CONJURED before BROKEN. I had intended for CONJURED to be an adult para romance. I was sitting outside late one fall night, staring at the stars and my very favorite constellation – Orion. A million connotations floated through my mind about the origins of that cluster of stars – especially the Greek myth surrounding Diana and Orion. And then poof, I began to wonder more about that story and who the fabled Orion was. From there I decided that I wanted to create a knight with his name. He had to be larger than life just like the constellation he was named for, so his parents were legends too – Tristan and Isolde. And in a matter of five minutes I had created the back story and conflict for my new main character and hero.

So first part of the process, come up with a unique name or stereo type and begin the thought process. This when reading classic fairy tales or ancient myths comes in handy. Some authors use a baby name website or book. To be honest I don’t unless I need a secondary character’s name. I put much more thought behind my main character’s names. My heroines, even with a plain name like Sarah, has that plain name for a reason.

I usually will write a good 5000 words into the beginning of the new WIP before I began to get a taste of my characters. By this I mean, what they look like, how they speak, some of their idiosyncrasies. These are some of the things that help develop their inner turmoil/conflict and help determine the choices they will make through the story. For BROKEN, I wanted to focus on Caleb’s eyes. One of the first scenes I wrote I had him with a halo – only glowing in the dark at night. But I thought it was kooky, and deleted that instantly. But I wanted something else that glowed, shifted, and embodied his ethereal presence on earth – so I chose his eyes. Beside, I’m a sucker for a man’s eyes. The second thing I knew about Caleb was that he had a tattoo because the second scene I wrote for BROKEN was him revealing to Sarah his angel wings. I wanted them to be hidden to human eyes. No spoilers but with that revelation about his body – tattoos – I knew that he had to be a little hard edged. The next thing I knew about Caleb, pulling from some angel lore, is that he was an inspiration to humans – or that was his job. So why not inspire musicians. Angels are supposed to have the most beautiful voices. Ah, and so my little rockin’ angel was formed.

So after you’ve found a unique place to get an idea, write and write until your characters begin to show their attributes. Those quirky behaviors can lead to…

(sorry I will get back to this post..my computer and Wordpress crashed in the middle of writing it – but don’t worry, I have some great stuff planned. Sorry for the inconvience)

I always intended to post a playlist for my novel BROKEN, eventually even breaking it down into characters’ personal songs. When my book is published, the actual chapter titles will be bits of songs, most of which were on my very first playlist.

Author Gwen Hayes turned me on to iLike. It’s a great little site where you can create playlists and share. (HERE’S Gwen’s website and playlist for her new YA Paranormal.) So I created the first list of songs that motivated this story.

This is a love story between an angel (of musical inspiration) and a teenage girl – music has been very important to the development of these characters and this story…..

So a brief explanation of some of my choices. Right off the bat, I knew that I would be listening to the Foo Fighters – a.) they’re my favorite band, b.) I always imagined Caleb sounding and playing a little like Dave Grohl. The second group that was on the repeat loop was Evanescence. I LOVE Amy Lee’s voice, and thier haunting lyrics and melodies felt right for the story and for Sarah’s voice.

I needed songs that either captured the bottled-up feelings of my characters, or an explosive action sequence, or lighter comic scenes.

I chose to listen to the Lost Boys soundtrack for the final battle sequence, layered with 3 Doors Downs “Not My Time.” I also listened to early 80’s bands like the Cult, the Smiths, and the Church when writing the developing romance scenes between Sarah and Caleb. I also needed some classical music and Beethoven and Mozart felt most natural.

So here’s my playlist for your listening pleasure. And please support the artists on the list; they’re awesome.

My post is up today on Victoria Janssen’s blog. This week she is talking about vampires : why we love them and why we write them. In a word I love them, and right now, my favorite fictional vampire is Damon Salvatore.

Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore

Check out Victoria’s blog HERE.

Here’s the address, please help Nashville and bid or donate directly to the Red Cross.

Do the Write Thing For Nashville : HERE

Red Cross Nashville relief site : HERE

Here are some pictures I took on my phone from the Beech Bend Neighborhood just the other night. They aren’t great, but it shows you what it looks like all over Bellevue and pretty much all of Middle Tennessee. It looks like a war zone.

Mounds of debris on the curb in the Beech Bend neighborhood.

Recently agented YA author, JA Souders is hosting a fabulous Secret Agent Contest. It’s too late to enter this one, but I’m sure she’ll have more.
Check out the entries and give some great feedback. Mine’s in there
Check out her beautiful site HERE. The entries are on her blog page, HERE.

And just ot get you motivated….a little picture of my favorite vampire……and my visual inspiration for my character….

Please help Nashville by donating to the Red Cross. You can go HERE.

Here are pictures of Opryland Hotel

This is a view of downtown Second Avenue seen from the pedestrian bridge that goes over to the Titan’s Stadium. 

Titan’s Stadium across the Cumberland River looks okay, but all of First and Second Avenue Downtown Nashville is underwater.

The past two days have been crazy. I am very fortunate that I live on a hill, but people I know and care about have been deeply affected by the recent flooding Nashville and Bellevue in particular. We haven’t seen this kind of rain in over half a century. The sad thing is that just about all these families didn’t have flood insurance. It wasn’t needed, the Harpeth is a small tributary of the Cumberland River, heck many summers we have complained at how low the river was and how it was impossible to go canoeing down it. Now, people have lost their homes and it is going to be a long struggle to get things right. On top of all this, Opryland Hotel was flooded. I was going to RWA Nationals in just a two months at the Opry. It will be moved now, but where?

Okay so the reason I am posting is to put up the Red Cross’s website so that you can donate. Right now the Red Cross is asking for monetary donations as opposed to other things because they just don’t have a place to put it. They don’t even have enough shelters for all the people that are homeless right now. And that doesn’t included people traveling and were stranded on the three major interstates in and out of Nashville – I40, I65 south, and I24 south. Or the 1500 visitors staying at the Opryland Hotel.  Please help if you can. Nashville needs this. For the first time the Volunteer State is asking for your help.

Here is the Red Cross website :  http://www.nashvilleredcross.org/general_calltoaction.asp?CTA=1&SN=8522&OP=8919&IDCapitulo=78T3Z2WSK0