Bonnie Vanak | The Healing Power of Romance

My December Nocturne, The Empath, is dedicated to my dog, Tia. Someone I know thought that was strange. I didn’t. Tia wasn’t just a pet, but a loyal friend.

One year ago, Tia died from liver cancer. When my husband and I got the diagnosis, our hearts broke. Our wonderful, lively pet who barked with joy when we came home, used to howl when my husband howled with her, jumped in my lap when I wrote and rested her head on the laptop (ever try to write with a 24-pound Shih Tzu hogging the keyboard?) was dying. Typical of Tia, as I sat there crying, she pushed her nose into my face and tried to cheer me up.

I grieved, and began to write.

The story became The Empath. It started with a woman who tries to find a cure for the mysterious disease killing her beloved dog. Gradually the story shifted. The woman developed into Maggie, a veterinarian. She was a Draicon, a werewolf, and the pack’s long lost empath, unaware of her ability to heal. The hero strolled into the story, a powerful warrior werewolf tormented by a dark secret, who longed for peace but forsake it to kill the enemy destroying his pack. The enemy became the Morphs. They were former Draicon who embraced evil to gain power and shapeshifted into any animal form. They turned into army ants, a fire-breathing dragon and bees to attack Maggie and Nicolas.

Maggie finally discovers her ability to heal through touch, and realizes the person in greatest need of emotional healing is Nicolas, her mate. Then I created the mating lock, in which they come together sexually in a pure moment of communion, and exchange thoughts, emotions and powers, the two halves made whole.

I wrote non-stop, sometimes sitting on the back patio, Tia resting her head between her paws while lying at my feet. The story became my balm those months while I visited the vet for new medication to keep Tia comfortable, experimented with food and coaxed her to eat when her appetite waned, and waited, watched and prayed. Not for a miracle, but for strength when the time would finally come for us to make the hardest decision of all.

That decision came December 7. She was in extreme pain. It was the hardest thing in the world, harder even when my mom was dying of cancer. My husband drove the car, as I cradled my whimpering friend in my arms. When our vet went to give her the shot, Tia reached up and licked my husband’s face.

And then she was gone. It was so quiet, except for the sounds of all of us crying.

In The Empath, Maggie’s tremendous powers cure her beloved dog, and heal Nicolas’s spirit, giving him the peace he’s sought for ages. It’s pure romance fiction, a world where the impossible becomes possible, and dreams and hopes come true with the help of love and magic.

For me, that’s the healing power of romance. When all around you is falling apart, and your heart is breaking, you can create a world in which everything turns out all right. And where a friend who was loyal to the end lives on forever in the pages of your book.


In memory of our beloved Tia. (Nov. 1995-Dec. 7, 2006)

http://www.bonnievanak.com/

Colleen Thompson | The Best Job on Earth

As a long-time visitor to the Fresh Fiction site, I’m thrilled to be guest blogging in celebration of my new romantic suspense novel, The Salt Maiden. I thought I’d take some time to talk about why I think writing romantic suspense is the best job ever.

1. Real life can be tough. The news reminds us daily that terrible things can and do happen to good people, and the perpetrators all too often get away with their misdeeds. Not in my books. As tense and harrowing as they can get, by the end of each book, the deserving protagonists will find the happiness they deserve, my version of justice will be served, and the villain will pay.

2. I can indulge my passions and introduce the reader to them. From dogs to the prairies, deserts, and small towns of Texas to a host of fascinating pursuits (lately, I’ve flown in gliders and traveling to research an upcoming book), I can enrich my life – and I hope the lives of others – with the new things I learn while writing each and every tale.

3. I get to wreak havoc (car wrecks, fires, assaults, and an occasional murder-most-foul) in a controlled setting (my office). If someone’s been a jerk to me, I can give a baddie a few of this person’s characteristics (taking care to disguise him/her sufficiently) and exact my fictional revenge. This is great fun – and what a stress-buster.

4. Successfully interweaving mystery/suspense and romance is such a fascinating, challenging endeavor, I never get bored with my work. There’s always something new to learn, some way to make it better.

5. In the course of a day, I might make myself laugh, cry, or catch my breath – when I’m not falling in love with my book’s heroes. As much as I adore my husband, I’m usually ready to run off with each story’s hero by the time I finish writing.

All of this isn’t to say that writing romantic suspense (or anything else) doesn’t have its frustrations, as any other job does. But the perks remind me almost daily that the grass is pretty green on this side of the fence. As long as I’m having fun, I think (or hope!) that my enthusiasm communicates itself to readers and they’ll share a measure of my enjoyment through the pages.

http://www.colleen-thompson.com/

Christie Craig | I Got Lucky—Not that Kind of Lucky!

Yesterday my book, Divorced, Desperate and Delicious was released and I’m tickled pink. This isn’t my first book, but it’s my first novel in thirteen years. Why the long break? Well, I was actively pursuing my career in photojournalism. About six years ago, I decided I was tired of being a one book wonder and fell headfirst into novel writing again. I had totally forgotten how much I loved it. The ideas were pouring out of me, I couldn’t write fast enough. I got book one written, got book two, three . . . I got all the way to book eight. Ahh, but I also got some rejections.

Oh, the editors loved my voice, but my plots were always . . . crossing a line. I was too quirky, too sexy, too suspenseful, too something. Yeah, I know, I’m good at crossing the line and pushing the envelope. It’s just how I’m wired. But then I got lucky. (Not that kind of lucky!) I got the most amazing call from my agent. I hadn’t just sold one book, I’d sold four in one day. Dorchester loved my crossing-the-line, pushing-the-envelope quirky, sexy, suspenseful style. Now that was a good day.

Anyway, for this blog, in addition to telling you a bit about myself, I wanted to tell you about another crossing-the-line/good-day/got-lucky experience. Not that kind of lucky! Well, not exactly that kind of lucky. It did involve some smoldering hot men, and there were clothes being removed, but before you jump to any conclusions, let me explain.

My hubby, (see hubby was with me) and I had gone to Galveston, Texas for a seafood dinner. When we arrived at the restaurant, we noticed they were filming Good Morning Houston across the street. That was interesting, but what caught my eye, was the fire truck filled with some very hot men. (And I don’t mean there was a fire around either.) They were almost too yummy to be your average fight-a-fire-Joe. And I just so happened to have my camera with me. So, I thought…hey, I could snap a few shots.

Then I . . . well, I crossed the line. I mean both figuratively and literally. You see they had sort of taped off this section to keep the average public out. But since when did I consider myself average? So I did it. I crossed the line and put my camera up to my eye and snapped a quick shot. Oddly, the strangest thing happened. All the guys started taking their clothes off.

Hard to believe, isn’t it? I know, I couldn’t believe it either. I looked around to see if anyone else had noticed this bizarre occurrence, but no one seemed to think it was strange. So I did what most of you would have done. I put the camera back to my eye and kept shooting.

A gentleman came up and interrupted me and wanted to peek at my press pass. You see, the firemen, were part of the 2008 Galveston Firemen Calendar, and they had been expecting a photographer to come out to snap some “sexy” shots. And seeing that I looked professional, and knew my way around a camera, they thought the show was on. Let me tell you, it was a nice show. Anyway, these images are too good not to share. And considering all the proceeds of the calendar go to support a children’s fund, well, it’s all for a good cause.

For more information about the calendar you can check out: http://www.galvestonfiredept.org./

And to check out more about me, my book video and hear about my next release, pop over to my website, http://www.christie-craig.com/ and my group site where I blog with five more Dorchester Divas, http://www.killerfiction.net/.

Enter my ONE Day ONLY! Christie Craig contest.

Lucy Monroe | James Bond Meets the Geek Squad

Cue the James Bond music and call the Geek Squad! If you like your espionage with thrills, romance and a touch of humor look no further. You'll find sensuality and sass in my new high-tech action romance, DEAL WITH THIS.

It’s lights, camera, action as this novel brings you inside the Vancouver film industry. It’s a fun look at the industry itself while taking you through a rollercoaster ride of spy action and hot romance. And maybe just a little humor.

Michelle Buonfiglio of Lifetime TV's Romance: B(u)y the Book says, "Lucy Monroe excels at creating alpha bad boys and authentic erotic romance." And Romantic Times gave DEAL WITH THIS four stars calling my characters "sexually empowering." Truth is, the love scenes sizzle and I worked to make the characters the highlight of every scene. My “alpha bad boy” Alan goes undercover to find out who is trying to auction off international secrets and finds himself on the set of a scifi TV show with the star of the show, Jillian, set to help him whether he likes it or not!

I am especially pleased with this novel because of the character development of both the hero and heroine. Alan isn’t a typical “alpha male”, but has layers of complexity to him that allow him to appreciate Jillian’s independence and accept himself without having to be in charge all the time - though he certainly takes his turn. (I'll leave it to your imagination or reading the book to figure out what that means. ::g::) Jillian is strong, sassy, fun and loveable. She won't faint at the sight of a gun and she doesn’t mind talking about sex, needs and what she really wants.

Throw in a scifi TV show, producers, spies, anti-gravity planes and really hot love scenes and you’ve got DEAL WITH THIS! Out now!



To celebrate, I'm having a month long party on my personal blog (http://lucymonroeblog.blogspot.com/). Pop by, say how-do and get entered for one of the many drawings for prizes happening.

Tracy Anne Warren | Back to Back to Back . . .

Trilogies are an interesting beast—especially back-to-back trilogies. Readers enjoy them since it means they don’t have to wait long between books to find out what happens in a series they’ve discovered and come to love. On the flip side, it does mean that once the trilogy is concluded, it’s over for a good long while––at least if the follow-up trilogy is another back-to-back.

That’s the situation that occurred with my first two trilogies––both of them written back-to-back-to-back! After the best-selling success of my debut Trap Trilogy, I was excited when my editor told me she wanted a second back-to-back trilogy. I rubbed my hands together and got right to work. But that excitement was soon tempered with expressions of frustration from some fans who wanted more books as soon as possible. While the time between trilogies seemed a bit too long to a few of my readers, it seemed very brief to me as I hurried to write three new books in the shortest amount of time I could manage. Still, in the intervening months between trilogies, my readers have been wonderfully supportive and patient, eagerly counting down the days with me!

I’m happy to confirm that the wait ended last month with the October 30th release of My Fair Mistress, the first book in my new Mistress Trilogy! In that story, young, aristocratic beauty, Julianna Hawthorne, risks her reputation and her heart by agreeing to spend six months as the mistress of Rafe Pendragon, the man who holds her brother’s gambling debt. I adored this story with its elemental conflicts of power and sacrifice as well the chance to explore the lengths to which people will go to protect and cherish those they love. Similar themes and lots of good, sexy fun continue when Rafe’s rakish best friends struggle against the inevitability of love, starting with Ethan’s story in The Accidental Mistress––which, thanks to the back-to-back release schedule––will be in stores starting November 27th. Tony’s tale follows on December 26 with His Favorite Mistress––a day-after-Christmas present, as it were.

So which release schedule do you like best? Books that come out in quick succession, but which may entail a longer wait in between new trilogies or series? Or a more frequent schedule where a new book in the same series is available every six months or so?

http://www.tracyannewarren.com/