Sara Reyes | Readers 'n 'ritas...WHAT Did YOU Miss?

The inaugural Readers 'n ' ritas was a blast. Readers came from all over Texas and Oklahoma and it wasn't just for the Texas / OU game although their fans were in abundance as well! Authors came from as far as NYC. It's amazing what a gathering of like minds can do!

Cover Creation Checking out cover theories.
Originally uploaded by freshfiction

From the first panels we knew it was a hit -- I mean seriously, when women gather around the speakers table at 9am on a gorgeous Saturday morning and eagerly start discussing book covers along with examples of how a committee designed the cover for ECSTASY or enjoy a bit of show-and-tell with cat litter and dryer sheets you know it's at least to first base, maybe even second! And by the time the third workshop was over, we were all friends...the kind that talk to each other and even feel comfortable enough to disagree! The best kind of friends.

And learning about new authors and books is never a bad thing, even if you have to start early in the morning! Isn't that why they have hot coffee ready?

The Rowdy Table: Jodi Thomas and Dianna Love
Originally uploaded by freshfiction

After a morning of learning about taking care of your books (and removing stubborn stains, how to be a reviewer, the process between the most important element of a book -- the cover and melding friendships, it was time for lunch! Of course we had the "nice" tables and then there was the "rowdies!" With Jodi Thomas and Dianna Love as leaders, that table was the noisiest one during the lunch! I'm not sure why but could it be the charm of the ladies? They also seemed to have tons of fun!

Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dianna Love and Candy Havens
Originally uploaded by freshfiction

Following lunch we had more workshops and even a little pampering at the Arbonne Pampering Zone. Getting to test out rubs, lotions and aromatherapy even while indulging in a relaxing foot bath! All gratis. It was heavenly!! And then there was the anticipation of the book trade. If you've never gone to a book trade you're missing out on SO much good stuff and hidden treasures. It's one of the fun things we do each month at our tea meetings: you bring in books you're ready to give to a good home and you find treasures in return. And best of all, there were other readers who could give you the scoop on new authors and books to try! From the look of bags and bags of books that went off to new found readers, a fun time was had by all.

Come on Dakota, we're waiting
The regulars are from left: Rosemary Clement-Moore, Dianna Love, Lauren Willig, Candy Havens in front, Jaye Wells, Michele Bardsley and then the stubborn Dakota Cassidy. I'd say it was the margaritas, but I know Dakota!! 
Originally uploaded by freshfiction

But then it was time for a little margarita therapy and snacks. I mean, seriously, after a day of meeting new friends, learning new books and techniques a girl needed some chips. salsa and MARGARITAS! Eventually everyone made it to our section of the lobby where delectables awaited and margarita pitchers were replenished. It was time to chat, sip and laugh!Then it was time for dinner and an evening of comparing notes, the drawing of the raffle baskets and the results of the silent auctions. No one went home empty-handed. After dinner we all made it back to the lobby to talk until it was time to collapse!

See you all next year...November 13th to 15th...for a whole weekend of readers and authors!

Sara Reyes
Readers 'n 'ritas
http://readers-n-ritas.org
Check out our Readers 'n 'ritas fun!

Georgia Romance Writers - Moonlight and Magnolia

Faye McMichael
& Teresa Medeiros
Originally uploaded by freshfiction

Moonlight and Magnolias is close to my heart since I am a Georgia girl born and raised. This conference is for writers: published, unpublished and just getting, started. This was my 3rd M&M conference and as always a pleasure to ttend. I want to thank the committee for allowing reshFiction.com to attend and the warm reception I received.

I ran into some old friends and new, I don’t want to start mentioning names for fear of leaving someone out. I’m at that age where remembering things is not one of my best traits. Of course my husband says I can remember every one of his screw ups. But I did get as many pictures of authors as possible and we’ve put them up on Flickr.com/freshfiction so be sure to stop by and correct the names of those we got wrong.

Faye McMichael
& Jenna Petersen
Faye is being stalked by Jenna Petersen in Atlanta
for the Moonlight and Magnolias conference.
Originally uploaded by freshfiction

I will say seeing Jess Michaels/Jenna Petersen was a treat as she and I have a running joke about who is stalking who. It was decided since she was in my home town she had to be the stalker this time. I promised to return the favor.

It is so nice to see authors sitting down with writers who are just getting started and sharing their experiences and expertise in order to help newer writers achieve their dream. If you ever want to attend a writing conference
Moonlight and Magnolias would be the one as the writers here are so friendly, it’s that southern charm thing.

Faye McMichael
& Sandra Chastain
Originally uploaded by freshfiction

I had the pleasure to talk with Sandra Chastain and hear
the beginning of the Moonlight and Magnolias conference and how they still have the original $1,500.00 donated to them from Oglethorpe University. The donation was a first for a romance writing organization.

Teresa Medeiros gave a wonderful talk at the luncheon, which I attended with Fresh Fiction reviewer Jude Gregoire. Ms. Medeiros was such a warm and funny speaker she had the full attention of everyone in the room. I even liked her talk over the “to die for chocolate desert.” This is saying a lot from a die-hard
chocolataholic.

I will have to say that by the time the Maggie Awards were presented I was glad to sit down. This is the Oscars for romance writers and I was thrilled to be able to attend. I so admire writers I just can’t image sitting down and writing a book. How authors come up with page after page of text that keep readers glued to the book is amazing!

Thank you M&M for allowing FreshFiction.com to be a part of such a professional and well organized conference. We’ll see you again next year!

Faye McMichael
Content Manager

FreshFiction.com

Pamela Ford | How would you change your wedding?

I went to a wedding last weekend. The ceremony was lovely, the bride and groom, Dan and Lindsay, a striking couple very much in love, the reception elegant, the atmosphere festive. But, I got to wondering…if people could go back and do their wedding all over again, what would they change? Soon, I was asking the question out loud. Leaving out the jokester who replied, “I’d change the groom,” here are some of the answers I got.

Katie, who married three years ago, wishes she had videotaped the ceremony so she could see everything she missed as she waited in the back room and as she walked down the aisle, too filled with excitement to notice much.

Don, who married 55 years ago at the Carmel Mission in California, would go back and hire a professional photographer because the friend who took their pictures set the camera on the wrong speed and every picture was blurred.

Teri, married 17 years ago, wishes she’d bought a wedding dress off the rack instead of having hers made. The seamstress kept insisting the dress was almost done and when she finally let Teri try it on the day before the wedding, not only was it too big, but half the lace and the collar were missing. The next morning, the seamstress arrived with the dress unpressed, partially-fixed, and the hem falling out.

Which brings me to you. What would you change about your wedding if you could go back and do it all over again?

Weddings are at the center of my new book, THE WEDDING HEIRESS, which got 4-1/2 stars from Romantic Times BOOKreviews. Delaney is an upwardly mobile career woman who doesn't believe in happily ever after – even when she has to return to her hometown to plan weddings in order to get her inheritance. Going home brings her back in contact with Mike Connery, the girlhood crush she's never gotten over. Good thing Mike doesn't believe in happily ever after either. Or does he?

I’m celebrating the release with two contests – the first runs from October 15-31; the second from November 1-15. Stop by my website www.pamelaford.net/, read the excerpt and enter to win.

Now, don’t forget to take a moment and tell us about how you would change your own wedding!

Pamela Ford

www.pamelaford.net/

pamelaford@pamelaford.net

Linda Wisdom | Jazz Is Back and In Need of a Good Night’s Sleep

I was barely halfway through writing 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover when I knew a second book had to follow and I could see her haunted by horrific nightmares, Fluff and Puff, her mischievous bunny slippers would be in big time trouble and while she and Nick are making things work between them, there were still some outside forces threatening their peace. Oh, did I mention that Irma was demanding an updated wardrobe? No? Well, that too. Just how much multi-tasking can one witch do when she’s seriously sleep deprived?

But we are talking about Jazz who can eliminate a curse with a few words, work up a flick of a finger to banish a headache – even if she still can’t cure the common cold – and deal with Dweezil’s problems with a business rival without breaking a nail.

It’s just too bad she can’t figure out who, or what, is causing the nightmares that plague her and Nick where he tears out her throat and since witch’s blood is deadly to a vampire, not a good option, and Nick dreaming of Jazz having the perfect soccer mom lifestyle while he hides in the shadows. Or why Fluff had to cough up a button belonging to a WereWeasel carnie as proof that he and Puff dined on the Ferris Wheel operator, an act that’s an automatic death sentence. So now they’re in bunny slipper jail while Jazz sets out to prove they had better taste than that.

Authors have to love their characters. And some we even hate because they’re someone meant to be hated. I have to say that Jazz is one that I completely relate to. She does and says things I can’t, but she’s always been someone I’d love to hang out with. She has her issues, a serious Starbucks addiction and never ever infer that witches and brooms go together.

She has a fantastic support system with vampire Nick, mortal Krebs, ghostly Irma and her fellow witches, Stasi and Blair, who drop everything to come to her rescue when she needs them most. And in her mind, that was the longest forty-eight hours of her life! Sorry for not saying more, but I don’t want to give it away.

I enjoy writing and reading about characters I can relate to in one sense or another. And a spot of magick makes it even more fun.

What about you? Are there characters that psyche you up too?

Enter my ONE DAY BLOG contest for a chance to win a sign copy of Hex Appeal

Linda

Wicked By Any Other Name , March 2009
Hex Appeal , November 2008
50 Ways to Hex Your Lover , March 2008

Amanda McIntyre | Time Keeps on Tickin

Is there ever enough of it? It seems our lives fairly leap from one moment to the next, barely allowing the time to savor the moment, sometimes even “taste” it! Parenthood, careers, schedules, social lives, volunteer work—it wraps us up so tight sometimes that we long to stand alone on a mountaintop and scream to release the stress! (Okay, that may be “my” vision and yours may be different.)

REALITY ALERT: (not for the faint of heart)

But in reality, I have to ask myself would I want it any other way? Here is a glimpse of my past week—Deadline of a novella, football game (away) Band contest (45 minutes drive each way) -parent-sponsored/served lunch, transporting grandmas to and from contest parade and field contest-sitting all afternoon waiting for your band to perform, drive home, launder kids clothes, pack to leave Sunday morning-them going to a two day choral festival, us to see oldest son on opposite side of the state. Pick up another son next day, and transport him back home to participate in a football game-where we sat most of the game watching him play in the pouring rain. (They won, that made it all worthwhile) Pick up other child who stayed for evening choral performance at around 1 A.M. form the school. Stave off severe colds for both sons so they can participate in State vocal auditions. Band marching contests each weekend in October, two football games per week. Early morning band/Show choir/All State rehearsals—after school Football/All-State/band lessons….oh and homework and youth group.

Get new editor (mild shock) meet friend for dinner (postponed to Thursday lunch as she missed her plane) prepare family and myself for my business trip Friday –Monday. Drive to St Louis and back on Monday—still have deadline and we pretty much start most of the above all over again…

Now I am positive many of you could rival that few short days without batting an eye. It’s the world we live in, isn’t it? But it surely makes those moments—seeing your kids joking and laughing with each other, having your oldest son and his friends around a table enjoying a meal together, the beauty of a sunset from the deck of a good friend’s house—even more special.

Amid the chaos of days like I’ve listed above, those moments are mixed in, sometimes barely detected if we aren't looking. Often times, when it’s least expected and I am reminded of one of my favorite movie scenes from the flick, Parenthood (Universal 1989) with Steve Martin and Mary Anne Steenbergen. This scene follows a myriad of confusion and chaos within the household and there is tension between the husband (Martin) and his wife (Steenbergen).

To me it exemplifies how one can choose to view whether the “grass is truly greener on the other side of the fence”-as it were…

Grandma: "You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster."

Gil: "Oh?"

Grandma: "Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride!"

Gil: "What a great story "

Grandma: "I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it."

What a wonderful POV and its one I hold dear, because in truth, would I want my life any other way? Nope, I just hang on and enjoy the ride!

A wild ride! Diary of Cozette (Harlequin Spice-Books) continues to do well and I am beyond thrilled! I received the cover art for my next SPICE book TORTURED (a medieval set in the Dark Ages! August 2009)

Until next time! Enjoy the ride!!

Amanda McIntyre

Wicked Historical ~Sexy Contemporary
MIRROR, MIRROR September/08
DIARY OF COZETTE October /08 / SPICE-Books Pre-order!
THE BOY'S CLUB Oct/eHarlequin FREE read
"An intoxicating read! I couldn't put it down!"~ Renee Bernard, USA Today Bestselling Author
"Beguiling! 4 stars!" RT BOOK reviews
www.amandamcintyre.net/ * lustintime.blogspot.com/* www.thefaerycourt.com/

Tessa Radley | O for a beaker full of the warm South…

I wasn't thinking about Keats' Ode to a Nightingale when I first started to write MISTAKEN MISTRESS. But when I conceive of a story one of the first things that I have to decide is where to set the book. For me, the atmosphere of the setting will permeate the entire story.

The Saxon Brides is about a family who run a vineyard, Saxon's Folly. So I knew I wanted the homestead to have a sense of family history and go back at least a couple of generations. I had a great deal of fun researching the locations where I could possibly set the books.

My first thought was of the Napa Valley. I'd read about it, but because I like to be able to visualize the place where the story takes place my big stumbling block was I'd never visited the Napa and I wasn't going to have time to go stake it out.

Next, I considered the Barossa in Australia. It's awesome. Named for the Battle

of Barrosa which Colonel Light, Surveyor General of the day, fought in during 1811, it boasts some of the oldest existing Shiraz vines in the world.

And then of course there is the Loire Valley with its fertile valley and rich history…those chateaux, the Frenchmen, the romance...it nearly won.

I finally settled on the Hawkes Bay region in New Zealand simply because it is one of my favorite places on earth. I adore the art deco jewel that is the town of Napier. And it's a place I've taken to visiting fairly frequently so when I close my eyes I can visualize the hills, the sea, the sky and the vines.

Against this background I could see Alyssa, the heroine of MISTAKEN MISTRESS, striding up to the Victorian homestead and gate-crashing a masked ball at the winery. I could imagine the reaction of Joshua, my hero, to this woman who wasn't leaving until she'd gotten what she came for.

Do you have a favorite place? One that you escape to when you lean back and close your eyes? And if you could choose to visit a region anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Once you've posted your comment you might want to check out my October contest being run by Fresh Fiction for a chance to win a $15 Barnes & Noble Gift card and my BILLIONAIRE HEIRS trilogy. Click to read an excerpt from my October book MISTAKEN MISTRESS.

Tessa Radley

Carly Phillips | Luck

I don’t have my own good luck charm, per se, but I do operate on the presumption of superstition in some ways. And sometimes, thankfully, luck pays off for me! I definitely don’t like to presume good things will happen, I like to hope. I’m afraid of jinxing something. Can you really do that? I rarely tempt fate. But it’s an interesting concept, isn’t it? Luck?

LUCK is fickle. And yet many of us believe. When I ask myself why, I realize it’s because of HOPE. It’s the possibility that Lady Luck will step in and pick us up that provides a ray of hope. LUCK causes us to play the lottery, pick up a heads up penny, read fortune cookies, and many more crazy, superstitious things. It was the concept of LUCK that drove the idea for my new LUCKY series, starting with LUCKY CHARM.

Fortune hasn’t been so kind, however, to the men in the Corwin family. And Derek Corwin is the latest to cross her path. Long ago, as revenge on a Corwin who stole her son’s fiancée, a witch proclaimed an eternal curse that every Corwin male who married for love would be destined to lose his woman and his fortune. Derek thought he could outsmart the long-standing Corwin curse by breaking up with Gabrielle, his first love – and marrying someone else. Now, divorced and broke, all he has left is his teenage daughter and a healthy respect for ancient sorcery. But then Gabrielle returns, determined to defeat the curse and rekindle their passion. But will her stubborn streak and her unwavering love be the lucky charm Derek so desperately needs?

After Derek comes Mike Corwin in LUCKY STREAK, June 2009 and Jason Corwin in LUCKY BREAK, October 2009.

I wanted to extend LUCK to my readers so I’ve created an on-going contest which encompasses all three books in this series for those who read them. I call it the “Lucky You” Contest. Put your own lucky charm to work for you! In 1 page or less, tell me about the one special item that brings you luck and why it holds that “lucky” place in your heart! Six lucky winners will receive a special gift! For more information on how to enter, visit www.carlyphillips.com/.

So, what do you all think of LUCK? Does it exist? Are you at all superstitious? Or do you meticulously plan?


Carly Phillips

Sandi Shilhanek | Reviewing

This past weekend I did something I can only remember doing one other time. I started a book and did not finish it. Worse yet, was the fact it was a review book. I always feel the need to finish a book I guess I have what might be considered an optimistic outlook that the book surely has to get better, thus my continued need to read.

The book I was reading for review was a bound and printed ARC (Advanced Reader’s Copy) and full of typos which as you know from a previous blog I don’t usually notice, but these were so glaring that they totally prevented me from being able to get a good reading flow going. My second problem with this particular book was that the storyline seemed to go from one idea to another without any really rhythm. These two issues made me decide to ask the person in charge of reviews if I truly had to read and review this book.

Luckily for me she did release from having to read this book, and I can move on to the next. Unlike what I think most people will do I think I shall put a bookmark in this book, and at some point in the very distant future I might pull it out and give it a skim to find out for sure how it ends, as it was the last book in a trilogy.

So this inquiring mind needs to know are you a die-hard finish to the end no matter what person, or are you of a mindset that there are so many good books to read why bother with a lesser one? What do you do with the unfinished ones? Do they go to the shelf for another try later, or move on to a new home?