Julia Barrett's World

Add some ‘Tell’ to your ‘Show’

Writing books, workshops, tips from pubbed authors will always include that one bit of advice: Show, Don’t Tell.

It’s great advice-for the most part. But in writing fantasy (urban or epic), it creates some challenges for both the author and the reader in the opening chapters of a book.

Have you ever picked up a new book, begun reading it with great anticipation, gotten to about page ten, and realized your eyes have glazed over? But you soldier on, and by page fifteen, your glazed eyes have crossed and are at half-mast. Because-now you’re willing to admit it-you don’t know what the hell is going on in the story and, what’s worse, you don’t care.

That’s the byproduct of too much “show” and not enough “tell” in the beginning of a novel.

I’ve spent the last couple of days judging contest entries for an RWA chapter in the paranormal category. All but one suffered from this problem. They did a great job of starting the story in the middle of a scene. They grabbed my interest. The characters had potential. And then the scene went on…and on….and on…ad nauseum, and after fifteen pages, I had no idea what the characters were gnashing their teeth over, or whether we were going to be dealing with vampires or goblins, or why I should care.

They didn’t need tons of back story-heaven forbid. But, c’mon guys, give me one freaking SENTENCE of context. Ten words of narrative to make all that showing mean something.

This holds true whether you’re writing speculative fiction or “straight” romance or erotica. Definitely start the book in the middle of some attention-getting action. But by the end of chapter one (and don’t make it a really, really long chapter one), make sure your reader has a few things well in hand even if you have to TELL them.

?What world your story is set in. This doesn’t mean you have to be world-building like a sci-fi or fantasy author. If your story is set in modern-day Pigtrot, Mississippi, make sure the reader knows that. If you can’t figure out a way to work it into your action, tell us.

?Who your major players are, or at least your hero or heroine if you’re going to alternate POV chapters, and if you can’t work it into the action for gosh sakes tell us what they do for a living or why they’re in the middle of whatever scene they’re in and a tiny hint at whatever big issue is going to follow them through the story.

? A clear sense of who’s important. In your determination to “show,” don’t have your opening scene so action-packed that you’ve thrown a half-dozen characters into the mix, ten of whom end up to be minor players in your book. Your reader doesn’t know that and will hate you because they’ve tried to absorb info about Uncle Earl-Ray they don’t really need to know. (Okay, I’m Southern, so I have folksy examples?sorry.)

?At least two significant questions unresolved or unanswered. Set up a short-term conflict and a long-term conflict. Often the long-term conflict is an inner one. The short-term can definitely be shown, but usually the inner conflict has to be at least hinted at with a little tell.

Okay, off the soapbox now. A good test of this is to have someone who doesn’t know anything about your story read your opening chapter, then tell you what questions the chapter has raised for them. It should be things that point at the big conflict. If it’s about a minor character, or wondering where it’s set?or they’re so confused they don’t know what to ask or, worse, don’t care enough to ask…well, you’ve probably missed your mark.

Show vs. tell: it’s just not that simple!

BIO: Suzanne Johnson is an author of urban fantasy and paranormal romance. The first two books of her new urban fantasy series set in post-Katrina New Orleans (because, sadly, she was there at the time) will be released in 2012 by Tor Books, an imprint of Macmillan. You can check out her blog at http://suzanne-johnson.blogspot.com or follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Suzanne_Johnson. Suzanne lives in Auburn, Alabama.

a means for women authors, female lovers of science fiction and fantasy, to break into a genre that has traditionally been dominated by men. Now, not all science fiction and fantasy is written by men. The best known female authors, I suppose, are Ursula Le Guin, Madeleine L’Engle, Anne McCaffrey, Margaret Atwood (who I do consider a writer of science fiction), P. D. James (The Children of Men)…can I get a show of hands? I know you all know the names of many more female science fiction/fantasy writers.

Women bring a different perspective to science fiction, a softer perspective. Let’s face it, we like a little lovin’ in our sci fi. Check out the following post regarding a podcast on science fiction over at The Sci Fi Brigade - What is the role of sex in science fiction and science fiction romance? - brilliant!

http://sfrcontests.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-is-role-of-sex-in-science-fiction.html

Then check out Smart Girls Love SciFi and paranormal romance, and her entry about genre labels and SFR:

http://smartgirlsscifi.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/genre-labels-how-important-are-they/

This is good stuff.

News: Still sick - I hate this. Puppy Jake is a hoot and he has a new nickname - for all you Giants fans - Buster Nosey! For all of you googling Andres Torres butt, you came to the right place - my guy is back on the field and lookin’ hot…damn hot! So what do you all think of the new Hawaii Five-O? I thought the first episode was a little sappy, but the second episode was good, very good, and I plan to keep watching. The new season of NCIS is starting out with some major bang for it’s buck…and speaking of bang - I loved the season premier of The Big Bang Theory - Mayim Bialik, as Sheldon’s new girlfriend, was hilarious. This will be my TV (father, mother, secret lover) watching until A Game of Thrones begins…oh, other than baseball that is.

The UFO stories yesterday were freaky! Think I’ll throw in the cover of my alien abduction novella, Captured. Here’s the blurb:

Mari never expects to find herself in a cage in a cargo hold on a spaceship. She quickly learns from her captors she’s headed to the meat market. When they try to return her to hypersleep, she resists. After allowing her to stay awake, Mari realizes her survival depends on connecting with the male in charge, Ekkatt. She must make him see her as a sentient being or she will end up as dinner.

Ekkatt has never spoken to any human. They are valued for one thing, the money they bring at auction. The Attun race is vegetarian, but other species prize human flesh and bring in good money. Then the female with red hair speaks to him and forces him to admit she has a name. Mari throws Ekkatt’s entire life into question, the biggest question…can he watch her sold to the highest bidder?

Since I’m too dang sick and brain dead to think of a creative post, I’ll relate my close encounter of the..

which is it? Apparently, according to The UFO Experience, A Scientific Inquiry, I experienced a sub-type of encounter - otherwise known as A Close Encounter of the First Kind. I saw an unidentified flying object. And it saw me. Ooooh…shivers…

I lived in Israel for a year, on a kibbutz at the foot of Mount Gilboa, the mountain where King Saul and and three of his sons were killed in battle. But I digress, what is pertinent is that it’s from the foot of Mount Gilboa that I had my sub-type encounter.

So, picture this…It’s midnight. With my roommate, Ruth, in tow, I hike up to the very foot of Mount Gilboa. We’ve been doing this lately because it’s dang hot in our stuffy little room. We like to hang out in the dark at the old swimming pool - way up there on the edge of the kibbutz - because the only light comes from the moon and the stars. We can skinny dip to our hearts’ content and cool off.

On this particular night, there’s no moon. The sky is a velvet black and we can see the entire Milky Way…I swear - one of the most spectacular sights I’ve ever seen. After our swim, Ruth and I wrap ourselves in towels and climb up the super high diving platform so we can lie under the stars, relax and dream.

From out of nowhere, we both see this round white light dart across the sky. And I mean dart. At first I think, that’s gotta be a satellite, except it’s traveling awful fast for a satellite. Then I know it’s not a satellite because it comes to a dead stop and retraces it’s journey back across the sky, but this time, it zigs and zags like some weird interstellar Frisbee. In the silence of the night, Ruth and I grab for each other. I look at her, she looks at me and we both look up. The round white disc stops directly above our heads, and after only a single second of hesitation, it dives straight for us at an unbelievable, inexplicable rate of speed.

“Move,” I hiss, and Ruth and I throw ourselves down the ladder, half falling, nearly killing ourselves getting down. Screw the towels, we race down the mountainside, naked. I look over my shoulder and the thing is getting bigger and closer. The very air around us begins to vibrate. It feels like my eardrums are about to burst. Ruth begins to slow, she’s not in the same shape I’m in. I grab her hand and pull her along, running as hard as I can. The ground is rocky and uneven. There are snakes and scorpions, but who worries about stepping on poisonous snakes when you’re about to have an encounter of the potential alien abduction kind?

We reach the edge of the kibbutz and squeeze between two storage buildings. We crouch there, staring into the sky. The white, round disk hovers maybe a hundred, two hundred yards above us and then, with an abruptness that leaves both of us stunned, it withdraws, moving directly back up into the sky until it’s no bigger than a marble. It turns and speeds off, vanishing behind the mountain.

Hearts pounding, panting from our run, Ruth and I sneak back to our room and we swear to each other that we will never talk about it and that we’ll never, ever go back up to the pool at night. Ever. Ever. Ever.

It was several months later that I had the weird experience while working in the chicken farm, the experience I think was the inspiration for my book, Captured. Of course, remember…I can’t remember…my memory was wiped.

I’m so pleased to have Tina Donahue here to talk about the powerful world she’s created

In His Arms.

Villains you love to hate

In my recent erotic romance In His Arms, I wrote one of the darkest villains I had ever imagined

. . .Anthony Karam. A ruthless monster that captured the essence of what I feel is pure evil.

Because there is so much suspense within the story, I wanted the reader’s first glimpse of Anthony to be memorable, but not over the top. So often in real life, monsters look just like everyone else. In many cases, they’re handsome, allowing them to move freely among their victims, to captivate them with a smile, to entice them with words they long to hear.

To illustrate what I mean, here’s the blurb for In His Arms, and an excerpt:

BLURB:

Owned by one man, loved by another. . .

Abducted and delivered into sexual slavery, Lori has surrendered her will in order to survive. For more than a decade, she’s been known as Summer, a lovely submissive, her owner’s possession until he gives her to his newest lieutenant, a mysterious man called RJ. Commanding and virile, RJ dominates without cruelty and possesses without threat, engendering a mixture of safety and passion. In his strong arms, Summer enjoys carnal pleasure she’s never known and tenderness she’s craved. In his heated gaze, she experiences a sense of recognition she doesn’t immediately understand until it proves dangerous in a way she could never have imagined. Bound by desire and their growing love, RJ traverses the shadowy world of human trafficking, risking all for Summer’s freedom only to learn she harbors a fateful secret that threatens to tear her from him, leading to an irrevocable event that risks both their lives.

EXCERPT: (In this scene, RJ and Summer have just arrived at Anthony Karam’s opulent estate)

Hogan went to a set of double doors, their dark wood carved extravagantly, the same as the one at the front of the house. He opened them onto a lengthy, rectangular-shaped room topped by an arched glass ceiling and ringed by columns. Vines snaked up the supports, the verdant leaves thriving in the moist, warm interior that smelled of chlorine. Frail threads of steam rose from the Olympic-size pool. No one swam inside. The placid water reflected the muted light seeping through the glass roof.

RJ glanced at Summer. Head turned to the right, she stared. Color tinted her cheeks. Her lips parted.

He followed her gaze to a sizeable spa at the far end of the room. Vapor rose from the churning water. Within it lounged Anthony Karam.

Eyes closed, head tilted back, he’d draped his arms across the lip of the tile floor, long fingers drooping over the sides. In his mid-thirties, he had the exotic good looks Hollywood leaned toward in casting movies about terrorists, a romantic fiction that the men were more misunderstood than dangerous, their smoldering sensuality irresistible to women.

Anthony wore his wavy black hair short. Heavy dark brows complemented his olive complexion, beard-shadowed face, strong nose and cruel mouth, the bottom lip plump, nearly pouting. His Adam’s apple quivered with his swallow. The light coating of hair on his chest sparkled with the spa’s spray. Fingers curled into loose fists, he managed an abbreviated stretch. A large silver ring, its design unknown to RJ, glinted around the middle finger of his left hand. His right pinky was missing.

Hogan went to the man first, his approach noticed by Anthony who parted his heavy-lidded eyes, their color as dark as his hair. Positioning himself to the left of his boss, Hogan held his hands behind his back and waited.

Anthony ignored his trusted lieutenant and RJ. His attention went directly to Summer, his gaze touching her eyes, throat, chest, coat and bare legs, lingering there, his eyes seeming to undress her further.

A wave of possessiveness rolled through RJ…surprising, primal, unstoppable. He wanted his reaction to have everything to do with a bruised ego, another man staring so openly at a woman who seemed to want only him last night and her craving the man in return.

In the depths of his mind, he knew better. His intense attraction to Summer, unlike anything he’d experienced with his ex or other women, fueled his response and fed his desire. Last night, he hadn’t been able to get enough of her. Each hour he’d touched her and tasted her caused her to burrow more deeply into his world.

Hands at his sides, fingers loosened to hide what he felt, he watched the nonverbal exchange between Summer and Anthony. She seemed to wilt beneath the man’s steady scrutiny. Out of fear or desire? RJ wasn’t entirely certain, resolved to change both.

Plainly satisfied with his effect on her, Anthony’s eyes moved to RJ. He gave him a sleepy smile. “My friend.” His melodious voice could have belonged to an actor or singer rather than a trafficker of human flesh. Eyes drifting back to Summer, he continued to speak to RJ. “I trust you enjoyed yourself last night?”

Summer’s blush deepened. Her focus remained on Anthony.

RJ pushed back his mounting jealousy. “Very much.”

“Tonight will be better.” Anthony’s tone and broadened smile held a wealth of carnal promises.

With a smile, Anthony can order an execution or beating. He’s a villain that many of my fans have said they won’t soon forget.

Buy Link: http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8593-50-in-his-arms.aspx

Email: tina@tinadonahue.com

Website/blog: www.tinadonahue.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/tinadonahue

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000458023097

To celebrate the release of In His Arms, I’m offering a contest today. One lucky commenter will have her choice of one of my following books**:

• 1. Lush Velvet Nights – ebook
  2. Adored – ebook
  3. Deep, Dark, Delicious – ebook
  4. Close to Perfect – mass market paperback
  5. Bad Boys with Red Roses – trade paperback
  6. Take My Breath Away – trade paperback

** Winner chosen at random. Winner in continental US has her choice of one of the six. Winner outside continental US has her choice of one of the ebooks

From Susi -

After reading the blurb for this book I had to swallow real hard. I wasn’t sure if I would be up for this. I’m not at all fond of rape in books. I hate when authors use this as a way to make their heroine more vulnerable. It is, at least for me, not a topic that should be talked about lightly. It’s something that will influence you and your life severely and it’s nothing you can just forget or ignore easily. That being said I have to say it’s the first book I ever read about that topic that didn’t made me hate it. Julia handled this topic with so much care and thoughtfulness, it was bearable for me to read about it. Yes, It broke my heart and made me cry but I found it was handled in away that me believe it’s real- with all the pain, hurt and humilation it involves. I don’t think this topic should be banned from books and Anytime Darlin’ showed me that there are books out there who do it right.

As you perhaps noticed I really did like this book. It was a wonderful emotional read- a rollercoaster ride that will take you from heartbreakingly sad to nearly high of joy. Anytime Darlin’ made me feel and that’s one of the things I love most about books. Julia’s writing drew me in completely and I couldn’t put this book down. I have already spent hours discussing this book and it still hasn’t let go of me. Definitely a keeper on the top of my shelf.

Thanks Susi - I love the fact that you said you’re still talking about the book - that means the world to me!

And thank you all for your lovely, funny comments yesterday about my adventures. I owe some of you books and I’ll get them to you. Don’t you hate it when you’re at this really fantastic part of your new work in progress and you get so dang sick you can’t even look at it? Aarrrrgh! Hubby is still sick too - in his entire adult life, he’s never been so sick. Whoever gave him this virus, or whatever it is, should be incarcerated.

So here I am minding my own business, on assignment in San Fran, when I’m attacked by a homeless woman.

Let me start at the beginning…

I had to go into the city today because even though I’m sick, I promised my daughter I’d go to a Trunk Show. It’s like this, my oldest daughter is getting married next year and when she was here a couple weeks ago, she and her sister went into the city to a designer bridal boutique where they were told that the designer would be in town for two days and two days only in September to showcase his Mother of the Bride dresses. Normally they don’t carry his Mother of the Bride dresses, only his wedding gowns. So, being the good little mother that I am, I made the mandatory appointment to meet with the designer and his staff and check out his Mother of the Bride dresses. Now this is important…pay attention…my daughters made me do this because:

a. I hate dresses.

b. I don’t own any dresses.

c. I don’t buy dresses and

d. I don’t wear dresses.

So, I hauled myself out of my sickbed, took some Tylenol, jumped in the shower and headed down to catch the Vallejo ferry to San Fran only to find that the Vallejo ferry building is being remodeled, there is only one ticket kiosk open, and even though I’m twenty-five minutes early and usually the Ferry is empty as a tomb on Saturdays - even when the Giants are playing in town - today every single person living south of the Oregon border woke up and decided to take the ferry into San Fran. OMFG. I made it onto the ferry with 30 seconds to spare and thank god I did because I was in no condition to drive to the city.

We arrived at the Ferry Building in San Francisco - which, as any of you living in the Bay Area know, is a zoo on Farmer’s Market day - an amazing zoo, but a zoo nonetheless. But, pushing my way through the crowd, I stop to check out the produce and I decide if I get back in time, I’ll buy sweet corn, red carrots and purple okra. In that order. Oh, and some jujubes - ANYBODY WHO CAN TELL ME WHAT A JUJUBE IS WINS ALL FOUR DAUGHTERS OF PERSEPHONE BOOKS.

I cross the Embarcadero and thread my way past the craft vendors when all of a sudden, I see IT. A necklace calls to me and I glance up at the sign on the booth - good juju necklaces $30 - oh man, I have to have it. The vendor and bead-worker (?) beadist (?) is a sweet guy from Rwanda with a soothing accent. He and I talk for a while, and I figure if he can survive Rwanda, his necklaces definitely have good juju. He puts this gorgeous piece of hand-beaded jewelry in a little bag for me and I stick it in my purse - I don’t put it on because I know I’ll just have to take it off at the Trunk Show.

I find the bridal place with only a few wrong turns and I sit and watch the tableau - it’s fascinating. First of all, the designer is this great Latin guy who speaks Ladino. IF ANYBODY CAN TELL ME WHAT LADINO IS, YOU WIN A COPY OF BEAUTY AND THE FEAST. How do I know he speaks Ladino? Because there’s a whole family speaking Ladino meeting with him right before me and I listen in. And she - the bride - is getting married in Croatia. Croatia? And I’m looking at the mother of the bride and the short dress she likes and I think…If she’s brave enough to put that sucker on, then for sure I can try something on…maybe they have a plain paper bag in my size. Why am I schooching toward the door? Omg, he sees me scooching toward the door! He’s coming this way and he’s really cute and perfect and I hope gay.

Why do I hope this designer is gay? Because if he’s gay, and this is most important, his fashion sense will be a bazillion times better than mine. But also because if he’s gay, he won’t look at me and say, Eww! He’ll look at me and think, How can I make this look good?

Let me tell you, until you’ve gone to a Trunk Show and had a gay designer and his staff squeeze you into size 6 dresses, all with built-in corsets (that one’s for you, Kat!) you haven’t lived. Now I know what you’re thinking…you’re remembering the snarky line from The Devil Wears Prada - “Six is the new fourteen…” Who the fuck cares? Not only did he make me feel beautiful, I looked at myself in the dress he chose for me - and in my own eyes I looked beautiful. It’s like a dress Sigourney Weaver wore once to the Academy Awards, only mine is better - it’s sort of a sapphire blue with touches of opal, off the shoulder and so flow-y. I can’t wait to wear it with my cowboy boots! I get it in two months - he’s making one just for me. My designer measured me. Shucks…

So happy good juju me, strolling back to the Ferry Building, feeling pretty damn perky despite being sick, with plenty of time left to shop for produce and maybe grab a late lunch. I’m thinking - Hey, girl, let’s get out the necklace and put it on! Sure! Why not? Just as I reach into my purse, somebody grabs me by the shirt and yanks me backwards, screaming right next to my ear…CUNT SLUT DYKE CUNT SLUT DYKE! I spin around, ripping my shirt from a dirty hand, and there’s this homeless crazy woman with Satan eyes trying to grab me and she’s getting ready to spit on me. Oh hell no - nobody spits on me. I don’t know where her spit’s been. I shove her backwards and she falls on her ass and spits at me anyway - I jump to the side. She misses so she aims for me again. I take off, looking for a cop and I find one a block away. I tell him what happened to me.

He says, “I saw that woman and I was wondering if I should keep an eye on her. Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? Are you shaken up?”

“No, not really.” (because her demon-spawned saliva missed me)

“Is she still back there?” He’s looking over my shoulder.

“No, she vanished into the crowd.”

“Do you want to file a complaint?”

“Will it do any good? Will it get her any help?”

He shakes his head.

“Then no. What’s the point?”

He tells me he’ll be on the look out for her. I thank him and find a place out of the way. I pull the necklace from my purse and stare at it for a few moments - after checking to make certain crazy lady is nowhere in sight. Is the necklace good juju or bad juju? Did she try to stop me from putting it on because it’s good juju? Or did she attack me because the necklace attracts bad juju? Or am I an idiot for even wondering?

Okay. I am the decider. I put the necklace on. I buy my ears of corn, the last bunch of red carrots and the last two pints of purple okra. I get a half-bag of jujubes. I wander to the back of the Ferry Building and the guy from the Hog Island Oyster Company treats me to two freshly shucked raw oysters with mignonette sauce just before they pack everything away. I head back to the front, knowing I have over an hour to kill, when I realize it’s two minutes before the bus back to Vallejo leaves. It will get me home an hour and ten minutes earlier than the ferry. I go for it. Easy peasy.

You tell me…good juju or bad juju? Wear the necklace or don’t wear the necklace? And why am I living Mia Watt’s life? These things only happen to her!

I mean, when you’re sick, what the hell else is there to talk about?

Mandi, at Smexy Books, wrote an interesting review of the first two books of Daughters of Persephone, Exile and Return. She liked the sci fi despite the fact that sci fi isn’t really her thing. She thought the story was good. And that’s huge for me, because the book is a futuristic SFR - Science Fiction Romance. I was going for a good, solid science fiction story. She said, and I quote:

“I liked this sci-fi world Julia Rachel Barrett has set up. I don’t read a lot of sci fi and I always get a little nervous that I will have no idea what is going on, but this one is pretty straight forward (with a glossary at the beginning that is helpful!) The idea that women have no rights, yet Aja is so strong and bursting to take full command of her powers is an interesting plot. There are some nice twists that come in regarding her family in both books. There is an evil villain that is set up well and even better, family members who have not so nice motives of their own.”

Thanks for the compliment, Mandi! She also posed a valid criticism, an issue I deal with when writing because of my own preference in romance. Here’s another quote:

“My biggest complaint is the romance. Now I know this is a sci-fi so romance doesn’t have to be prominent – but Ms. Barrett does set us up from the beginning with a romantic plot. What I wanted was there to be more conflict, or build up to the hero and heroine getting together. I have the same complaint in both books- very early on in the story, the heroes and heroines get together and that is that.”

Many, if not most, fans of romance like tension, sexual and/or romantic tension in their romance - and lots of it! I do too, when the tension is written well. I doubt Mandi will go on to read books three and four, Reborn and Red Demon - actually my two favorite books of the series. They are darker stories and there are questions about whether or not our heroes and heroines will get together. As my husband says, when the heroine has sight and can see her true mate coming, there is no question mark. His complaint about the first two books was the same as Mandi’s, but he loved books three and four.

It’s all on me. Sometimes I just like sex, no preamble, no pussyfooting around. Give it to me! Give it to me now! I’ve read too many forced come hither/go away scenes and I’m not a fan. However, Mandi’s criticism is very valid, and timely! I’ve been working on a contemporary filled with sexual tension and humor! Ya’ll made me do it - you told me to write a story about my canoe trip from hell, so watch out, here it comes and man, is it a sexy beast!

when you’re significant other is sick.

No sleep. Running to the pharmacy. Making chicken soup. Doing all the chores by yourself…and then you wake up with a scratchy throat…Ce la vie!

It’s been a busy week and I’ve spent most of it distracted. Pauline Baird Jones had a very poignant post about turning fifty-five and the closing of doors. She says, and I’m quoting a portion of her post -

“But I am living with-to some extent-diminishing possibilities. Doors are closing or are already closed. There are some things I will never do. I’m not saying my life is over, by any means, but it is winding down. I’ve seen pieces of that bucket list movie and have tried to think what I’d put in mine, but I’m kind of relieved to find out that I’ve lived a full and (mostly) happy life. I have no desire to jump out of airplane or climb anything to feel like I’ve lived, because I have already lived the life I wanted to live. My bucket list would have been quieter anyway, since I’m an unapologetic hermit.”

I read her post and I cried. Not for Pauline, she seems content, but because there comes a time in all our lives when we do reach a point of diminishing returns. I’m not there yet, even my parents aren’t there yet, for the most part, but I have had to accept changes. Because of my knee surgery, I will never run or downhill ski again - not that I particularly enjoyed running, but when you can’t do something, you notice. On the other hand, I can do pretty much everything else I want to do. There are so many things I hoped for and wished to do when I was twenty-one…I had so very many dreams, but I didn’t have the money or the time or even the strength, courage and maturity to live them. I’ve grown up a lot in the intervening years, and my dreams have changed. There’s a song that expresses my feelings about life, Why, by Annie Lennox, and here are some of the words -

“This is the book I never read
These are the words I never said
This is the path I’ll never tread
These are the dreams I’ll dream instead
This is the joy that’s seldom spread
These are the tears…
The tears we shed
This is the fear
This is the dread
These are the contents of my head
And these are the years that we have spent
And this is what they represent
And this is how I feel”
Do you know how I feel?

See you tomorrow - Julia

Wonderful author Stacey Espino is my guest today. She has a new release, her second book in her Fearless series, Fearless Love. The concept of the story is fascinating!

“The idea for the Immortal Love series came to me in a dream. The more I thought about the idea, the more it intrigued me, and I had to write about it. My paranormal romance series is based on three races of demons. Fear, Aggression, and Lust. However, I follow the love lives of the Highland brothers (Fear Demons). I began with Delius’ story in Fearless Desires. He’s the only one that has an issue with his heritage.
Everything began with the concept that the emotion, Fear, had a body, could be a male capable of love.
In Fearless Love, the second stand alone novel in the series, I focused on Javen, the most ruthless Fear Demon. To compliment his personality, I created a heroine that is meek and mild, not common for me. But, she balanced him out nicely.
I love reading paranormal romance, so writing about it is a joy!

Thanks for having me on your blog, Julia.”

http://www.bookstrand.com/fearless-love

Blurb:

[Siren Classic: Erotic Paranormal Romance, Vampires, Demons]

Javen Highland is the most ruthless Fear Demon and has the reputation to back it up. He keeps away from love, seeing it as a vulnerability. When a breathtakingly beautiful vampire steals his blood, she also captures his heart.
Javen’s new mission is to convince the blonde beauty that her bite is erotic, not painful. If he doesn’t succeed, he could lose her forever. Emma doesn’t realize just how persuasive Javen can be. He’ll have to show her over and over exactly how good it feels to sustain her with his blood.

A Siren Erotic Romance

Remember Stacey’s first book in the series, the yummy Fearless Desires!

Nervous, excited, anxious, happy, worried, stressed, relieved…

My first menage so yeah, I’m kind of a wreck, wondering how it will be received. Here’s the blurb and the buy link and you can read an adult excerpt over there…yum! http://www.bookstrand.com/one-four-all

From the Urban Dictionary: Haunted by a bad vibe or aura. Can be used as a noun or an adjective.

From the Online Slang Dictionary: Verb - An action that is likely to be harmful in a “karmic” way, that is, a harmful action that may bring about the same action on oneself. Noun - Bad energy.

Somebody sent me some serious bad juju! I’m not kidding. It started yesterday…out of the blue this bad feeling came over me like a dark and ominous cloud covering the sun. Totally weird. My daughter called to ask what was wrong with me because she got this real bad feeling out of nowhere. Bad juju…I’m a believer.

Has this ever happened to you? I don’t know if it’s random negative energy circling around my locale or bad juju specifically directed at me. If you want my honest opinion, this is bad juju specifically directed at me and I don’t appreciate it.

If ya’ll wouldn’t mind, send me some positive vibes please. I need to have my energy cleared.

Tomorrow - the big release day! One Four All! Go menage! For an adult excerpt: http://www.bookstrand.com/one-four-all

I’ll be blogging here,, at Stacey Espino’s place and over at Tina Donahue’s site, where I’m giving away a copy to one lucky person who leaves a comment! Links tomorrow and thanks, ladies.

If anyone received an ARC of All Four One, there are errors in they typeset!

Please let me know and I’ll send you the corrected version.

Sorry!

Ticks, spiders and gum. Shudder…spiders are okay as long as they aren’t on me. I found one in my hair ten minutes ago. That’ll teach me to do yard work.

Coming in two days. I’m both nervous and excited. Other than that, I don’t want to say too much…the evil eye, you know! Even hubby says he’s excited to read it, on his Kindle, of course.

If you look to the right, you’ll see that I have a new category on my links - Funnies. Check out these young artists. They’re doing some great stuff.

Not much else happening, other than the WIP, which is coming along well and which I hope to have finished in another month or so, and the puppy, who is also coming along well - I think I should enroll him in school because he’s very smart. We have to pay attention or he’ll make up some creative game that involves destroying some part of our house and/or property, like, say, cleaning out all the shelves in my pantry and stashing everything beneath the deck or piling it on the basketball court.

Today Jake took it upon himself to rearrange my antique books, as in, he buried them in the backyard. Yeah, Byron is a little the worse for wear. At least the signed charcoal sketch of the poet is still intact. Well, the books are old…

So, what’s new with you? I’d love to hear! julia

THIS makes me happy. A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin, is in production. Winter is coming to HBO in 2011. I cannot wait to be chilled to the bone by this incomparable deep dark fantasy.

http://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/index.html#/game-of-thrones/about/video/winter-is-coming.html/eNrjcmbOYC7ULMtMSc13zEvMqSzJTHbOzytJrShRz89JgQkFJKan+iXmpjLns0knlpbkF+QkVtqWFJWmsjGyMXIyMgIAdc8XOA==

So ends an era.

At least that’s what it feels like to me. I haven’t watched regularly in recent years, but I grew up with As the World Turns. My grandmother watched, my mother watches and I loved sick days so I could stay home from school, lay on the couch wrapped in a quilt, and watch, as my mother called them…her stories. I used to think I was introduced to the romance genre by Linda Howard. Now I know the truth. I was introduced to romance by Soaps.

What I watched was the titillating, the forbidden. Unlike mainstream television, in my mom’s stories women were sexual beings. People had affairs and premarital sex. Women bore children out of wedlock and even more scandalous, children fathered by men other than their husbands. Whoa!

My mom and grandmother would discuss the characters as if they were neighbors and friends.

“Did you see what she did? Oh, that Susan. If I were Kim, I’d…” and their discussions might last for hours. True love waited just around the corner, but there were obstacles and challenges and lies and betrayal, and there was always the villain to come between our two protagonists. In it’s heyday, As the World Turns was positively yummy!

Yesterday I shed a few tears. I knew the show was coming to an end so I made certain to watch the last few weeks. How sad. I know the prevailing opinion is that Soaps are passe, that their glory years are long gone. I disagree. I think that’s a bunch of crap. T’was bad writing killed the Soaps, not viewers.

Many thanks to Steph at fangs, wands, and fairy dust for the unexpected plug yesterday so I’ll plug her right back. She’s a True Blood and vampire devotee. http://fangswandsandfairydust.blogspot.com/

Also, thanks Susi, book blogger extraordinaire over at http://thegeekybookworm.blogspot.com/

and author Katalina Leon, http://www.katalinaleon.com/

ya’ll know why!