Sara Reyes | Do You GLOM?

The decorations at our back!
Originally uploaded by freshfiction

Yikes, it's Saturday and I'm supposed to blog if I can't find a fill-in. So, okay, an eventful week to recap!

First we had our annual Scary Spaghetti Book Club at the Shilhanek house in Garland. LET ME TELL YOU, you needed to be brave to sit and EAT in this decorated to the gills house! Mike S. took his passion for scary stuff and over the years has a collection that is UNBELIEVABLE. Plus it moves, moans, walks, talks and is generally extremely frightening. Even going to the bathroom takes courage! TMI I'm sure, you'll have to meet us in person to get all the "gory" bathroom details!

THE ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER by Angie Fox
Originally uploaded by freshfiction

So, if you don't believe me, check out our photos on Flickr...even my son was impressed! And you know it takes allot to impress guys when talking spooky stuff! BTW, the food was as always amazing and very fattening! The wine helped too *grin*

Well, we had the scary atmosphere and our call-in guest was Angie Fox author of THE ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER

But the best for the week is my glomming of Jodi Thomas. I've only recently discovered her books, say since 2006, so I've got a HUGE back list to pick up and read.

TALL, DARK AND TEXAN, not to be confused in any way with the Diana Palmer romances.

Pat Cat has been helping me find all the books and it's so much fun to sit down with a collection from an author and just dive into that particular author's world. Especially when you'll get glimpses of characters from one book in another and start to wonder "how are they doing?" Yes, I might be strange but I believe well drawn characters continue outside the confines of their pages. Really, they do!!

So I've glommed all the Whispering Mountain books including the final one in the series, TALL, DARK AND TEXAN coming out November 4th (thank YOU, Jodi) which you better not miss! Pre-order it now either online or call your store! I'm serious, this one is SO good!!! Yeah, and the cover doesn't hurt!

Next up was the "Lottery Brides." We found all but the third one and re-reading the excerpt in the back of number 2 was NOT helpful for my mental state. I hope Pat finds A TEXAN'S LUCK really really soon! Then I have the McLain series. I know I own some of those, just where in my collection, I'm not sure. So like I said, I've got some glomming to do!

So, if you've got a minute tell us, do you glom? Even familiar with the term?

See ya on line!

Sara Reyes
FreshFiction.com ... for today's reader
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Readers 'n 'ritas ... celebrate passionate literary obsessions November 13-15, 2009

Angie Fox |Real bikers don’t wear pink - And other lessons I learned on the road

It’s no secret I’m a bit of a girly girl. I like my silver jewelry, I own way too many purses and I can spot a nail salon from 100 yards. So it was a bit of a surprise, even to me, when I found myself calling up Harley bikers and asking if we could get together. Oh and if they could possibly bring their dogs?...

But hey, I’m a writer and research is part of the job. In this case, I’d set out to write a paranormal about a straight-laced preschool teacher turned demon slayer who has to run off with a gang of geriatric biker witches. Plus, my heroine has a smart-mouthed dog that, thanks to her new powers, can talk…and talk…and talk.

In order to get the real story on Harley riders (and their dogs) I went online and learned that there is a nationwide club of bikers who ride with their dogs. So my heroine could have her snow white Harley, and her Jack Russell Terrier too.

Of course I had to meet these hard riding dog lovers. Turns out, they were way more friendly than I’d ever imagined. They invited me into their homes, introduced me to their dogs and, like my heroine, the bikers hoisted me up on the back of a Harley, with a dog in tow.

Things I learned right off the bat:

• After an hour on a Harley, you’ll walk like John Wayne for a week
• Helmets hurt when they are worn backwards
• Dogs love riding motorcycles

Stone, the biker who spent the most time making sure I didn’t fall off his hog, showed me how to ride, invited me to some biker rallies (note to self: don’t wear pink next time), and helped make The Accidental Demon Slayer as real as it can be (for a book about a somewhat sheltered preschool teacher turned demon slayer).

So just when I thought I was writing fiction, it seemed my made-up characters from The Accidental Demon Slayer weren’t so imaginary after all. One of the bikers I met even has a wife who is a biker witch. I’m wondering if she, like my heroine’s biker witch grandma, wears a “kiss my asphalt” t-shirt and carries a carpet bag full of Smuckers jars filled with magic. Maybe I’ll find out on my next adventure.

Enter my ONE DAY BLOG contest for a change to win a sign copy of The Accidental Demon Slayer

Take the What’s Your Biker Witch Name? quiz and leave a comment with your new biker alter ego.

Angie Fox
http://angiefox.wordpress.com/posts/

Angie Fox | How I sold my first book.

Or: Everything I needed to know, I learned from George Costanza

I’ve always loved to read, so it was no surprise to anyone when I eventually decided to write a book of my own. When I did, I attacked it head on. I planned, I worked, I outlined more than any woman should. The end result? I wrote three mysteries that didn’t sell.

I don’t know how many of you watch Seinfeld, but there is a time in George’s life where he decides what he’s been doing hasn’t been working, so he decides to do the opposite. That’s what I did with my books. I’d been writing serious mysteries, with lots of science and research involved. They’d generated some interest, enough to almost, almost sell. But nothing quite happened.

To take my mind off the latest mystery making the rounds with agents, I decided to write something completely different, a funny paranormal romance where I could build my own world and make up my own rules. I fell in love with the idea of a preschool teacher who is forced to run off with a gang of geriatric biker witches and The Accidental Demon Slayer was born.

Instead of a 20-page plot outline, I had a 5-page list of ideas, one of which included “but little did they know, all the Shoney’s are run by werewolves.” Instead of following the rules, I broke a few. Instead of painstakingly writing over the course of a year, I giggled my way through the book and had a complete manuscript in five months.

The opening chapters did well in contests and caught the eye of an editor, who asked to see the whole thing. That same editor bought the book less than a week after I finished it.

I still can’t believe The Accidental Demon Slayer is a July 2008 release.

While I’m not sure Seinfeld is the best place to go for life lessons, I really do think there’s something to be said for following your instincts – in writing and in everything else.

Angie Fox
http://www.angiefox.com/