For Dear Sir, I’m Yours, Romantic Times gives 4 stars! Review
This story of long-lost love coming into its own is sure to please readers looking for a happily-ever-after ending, with a little spanking and light BDSM thrown in. The grandmother is a gem.
Way to go Miss Belle! Conn feels the need to dedicate an Ode to her.
Hello all. I’m another one of those Carina Press authors. We’re blocking all the intertubes at the moment, aren’t we? 🙂 Before I begin, I’d like to thank Joely for having me here. It really is a pleasure meeting all of you.
I was wondering what to write about, and going through the comments on Joely’s past posts, and I thought of…games. And school. And how things come from unexpected places.
Our son, The Wast, had a problem when he was about six. No matter what we tried, we couldn’t get him interested in learning. He couldn’t count from one to ten and got lost in his alphabet after “B”. There was no dearth of opinions about him, from being autistic to having major nervous system dysfunction to being severely handicapped. And I know this sounds like every parent who believes their child is an Utter Genius, but none of these off-the-cuff diagnoses seemed right to us. He was a bright child, liked to talk and draw, but just couldn’t get his head around maths and language.
Now, my husband J and I like playing games. And one that particularly caught our fancy at that time was “Spooky Castle” from Hamumu Software, a small indie game developer. It doesn’t have spectacular graphics or complex story lines but it was overflowing with fun and humour and, when you’ve had a hard day at work, there’s nothing better than killing zombies, vampires and skeletons with a hammer! The Wast would walk past and give sideways glances to the game as I played. Then he would settle on my lap and watch. It didn’t take too long for him to reach for the keyboard and try it for himself. And then the learning began. “There are three skeletons in that room. Think you’re fast enough to beat them?” “Put the mouse over that monster. Can you read what it’s called? Let’s spell it out first.” And before I knew it, our son was counting and reading with the best of them.
We’re settled in Malaysia at the moment, and we keep hearing about how “computer games” are evil incarnate. The principal at our children’s school even tells the children that if he hears of any of them playing games, he’ll come to their homes and confiscate the equipment! Of course it’s all bluster but, more importantly, it’s a narrow-minded way of looking at things. Of course we don’t let our children play games six hours a day, but surely there’s a happy, child-customised medium somewhere between “all day” and “not at all”?
What does this have to do with writing books? A few things. First of all, you never know where inspiration will come from. Second, what inspires you may not inspire anyone else, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. And, most importantly, try not to accept anything just because it’s accepted wisdom. Think a little. That’s what I like about science-fiction. It makes me think. That’s why I write it.
IN ENEMY HANDS
The Republic had taken everything from Moon―her research partner, her privacy, her illusions. They thought they had her under control. They were wrong.
Srin Flerovs, Moon’s new research partner, is a chemically enhanced maths genius whose memory is erased every two days.
While he and Moon work on a method of bringing dead stars back to life, attraction between them flares, but that poses its own problem. How can their love survive when Srin forgets Moon every two days?
When she discovers the lethal applications her research can be put to, Moon knows she and Srin are nothing more than pawns in a much larger game. Together, they must escape the clutches of the Republic before they become its scapegoats. But there are too many walls around them, too many eyes watching. They want to run, but they’re trapped on a military vessel in the depths of space, and time is running out….
* My website and my blog. You can also track me down on Facebook and Twitter. Just look for “ksaugustin”.
COMPETITION: I’m giving away two copies of IN ENEMY HANDS at my blog, Fusion Despatches. To be in the draw, stop by and comment at the Competition post, telling me at which blog you read about my book. You have till 30 June!
Did the Maya really sacrifice people? Find out in my guest post on fellow Carina Press author Kaz Augustin’s blog!
My only goal through MayNoWriMo was finishing the Maya#2 synopsis. That sounds easy — until you realize I haven’t written the book yet.
So really what I had to do was build my characters, plot out the story, and THEN write the synopsis. I had Tara and Quinn started thanks to an axed subplot from THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN, but they needed significant work in order to carry an entire 60K+ story.
Then, the plotting. My favorite thing to do. Not.
The problem (for me) in writing this synopsis was I couldn’t pare it down to the bare bones, because I don’t have the book. If I came up with a cool development or crucial understanding (for me as the author, whether it would end up directly in the story or not), then I had to write it down, for fear I’d forget if I didn’t. I mean, it might be months before I get back to this book. I know I’ll never remember all those little details.
I’m thrilled to say that I finished the synopsis tonight. *angels singing*
On the down side, it’s a MONSTER. 6K! The absolute longest synopsis I’ve ever written. *boggles* I detailed internal and external conflict; character traits; antagonist motivations; Maya mythology details; the romance arc; and of course, the plot. I used the hero’s journey and mapped out Ordinary World, two major turning points, the Dark Moment, and the final Climax and Resolution.
There’s absolutely no reason I shouldn’t be able to sit down and write this book straight through without any difficulties or confusion thanks to this outline, yet I’m still worried. Have I written this detailed synopsis only to kill my excitement for the story? Nooo, I don’t think so. I’m still excited about the story…just sick of the synopsis.
Of course a 6K synopsis isn’t something I’m going to torture my editor with. *evil laugh* So before the end of the month, I need to revise and strip down to something she might actually want to read instead of all these notes and details for myself. Once I get something useable, I’ll blog more about how I used notecards to plot and write the synopsis.
What a journey this has been! Carina Press launched today with great books from Carrie Lofty, Shannon Stacey, Megan Hart, and Bonnie Dee, just to name a few. Take a look, read a few excerpts, and enjoy 20% off any title purchased.
Oh, and The Bloodgate Guardian (releasing June 14th) is available for pre-order at Carina, Amazon, and B&N!
Austria, 1804
Eight years ago, composer Arie De Voss claimed his late mentor’s final symphony as his own and became an icon. But fame has a price: fear of discovery now poisons his attempts to compose a redemptive masterpiece. Until a new muse appears, intoxicating and inspiring him…
Mathilda Heidel renounced her own musical gift to marry, seeking a quiet life to escape the shame surrounding her birth. Sudden widowhood finds her tempted by song once more. An unexpected introduction to her idol, Arie De Voss, renews Mathilda’s passion for the violin–and ignites a passion for the man himself.
But when lust and lies reach a crescendo, Arie will be forced to choose: love or truth?
***
Most historical romance readers will be familiar with the term “dowry.” In the European tradition, a dowry was a wedding gift provided to the groom or the groom’s family in order to secure the material future of the bride. If her husband died before she did, a woman was able to stave off poverty. This also gave rise to the term “dowager,” which indicates that a widow has had caused the access those dowry funds.
Whether or not her husband or his family safeguarded the dowry for such an occasion is another matter entirely. Also, whether or not the bride deserved the dowry became a consideration. Some families insisted on waiting until the morning after the wedding before accepting a woman’s dowry and all the responsibility and connections that entailed. After all, if she proved less than virginal on her wedding night…
In Austria, where my June 7 release from Carina Press, SONG OF SEDUCTION, is set, and in other Germanic countries, this process of waiting until the next morning became a common custom. They used the term “morgengabe” was used, the literal translation of which is “morning gift.”
In the formal sense, a morgengabe was the culmination of the marriage contract. The engagement had been solidified by the posting of the banns. The vows have been said before a duly appointed religious official. And the wife had proven a virgin on her wedding night. All set! Commence with the handing over of funds and the happily ever after.
In a less formal sense, however, a morgengabe took on personal significance for some couples. A husband might choose to give his new bride a token of his affection and respect upon claiming her purity as his prize. Necklaces, rings and other pieces of jewelry were often used for this purpose, as were parcels of land, livestock and household items.
Arie de Voss, the hero of SONG OF SEDUCTION, was born and raised in the Netherlands, so he had a few questions on this topic. Here he’s asking the heroine, Mathilda, about a particular necklace she wears:
“Who gave it to you?”
“You and your questions, sir,” Mathilda said. “My husband gave it to me. It is my Morgengabe.”
Arie winced. Since his crass drunkenness at the Venner ball, he had been reluctant to revisit the topic of her late spouse. “Will you make me ask the meaning of yet another word?”
“No.” A faint smile curved her lips. “You must ask someone else, because I won’t explain it.”
The woman. Her mysteries. Those infernal glimpses she provided into her genuine character. Arie hoarded them all.
“Then who shall I ask?”
Mathilda leaned close enough to make her words heard. “You seem a resourceful enough man, Herr de Voss. You’ll think of something.”
What he does once he learns the significance of the morgengabe, however, is not the most graceful thing a hero has ever done. It’s a good thing he’s so cute and talented…
***
Born in California, raised in the Midwest, Carrie Lofty (http://carrielofty.com/) met her husband in England–the best souvenir! Since earning her master’s degree in history, she’s been devoted to raising their two precocious daughters, wrangling the talented authors of Unusual Historicals (http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/), and writing romance. You can find her on Twitter (http://twitter.com/carrielofty), her Facebook fan page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carrie-Lofty/115375868486813), and her blog (http://lovelysalome.blogspot.com/).
“Historical romance needs more risk-takers like Lofty.” ~ Wendy the Super Librarian
Sorry for my slow blog and e-mail responses lately. I’m still trying to recover from MayNoWriMo and Coyote Con, which means I’ve got a thousand things I didn’t do last month that I have to get through now.
First and foremost, I finished the first-round edits on Victor (HURT ME SO GOOD) and sent them back to my editor tonight. I’ve also got several guest blogs I’m working on for the Carina launch and release of THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN on June 14th. Whew!
Not to mention the MayNoWriMo prizes still need to be divied up.
Meanwhile I’m *this close* to finishing my synopsis, while I’ve started a new holiday novella that I’m shooting to finish this month. I’m also excited about the opportunity to have a Writer Wednesday workshop at Debuts and Reviews (date TBD) on sex scenes.
AND, the monsters are out of school so we have the fun chore of shuttling them to activities. Luckily we were able to hire a very reasonable babysitter to help out during the day. Tonight, I took all three monsters to a “finger weaving” class at Yarn Worx where I took my knitting class. The two oldest have finished their scarves, and I’m still helping Littlest with hers (she was right on the border of being old enough to attend). Overall they really enjoyed it, and the scarves are really, really pretty considering how easy they were to pull together. Picture forthcoming once I help the youngest finish hers.
So let me get back to work! I have a shipment of stuff going out to tomorrow, so if I still owe you a book, it’s coming very soon!
I want to appropriately thank everyone who helped me polish Victor before I turned him in to my editor. If I’m missing anyone, PLEASE, please shout out and correct me! Also let me know how you’d like to have your name in the dedication (whether full name, real or pen, shortened). Right now I have:
Sherri, Pearl, Nicole, Susan, Christine, and Sharon
Thank you!
I’m in the final sweep of first-pass editor notes before sending Victor back in, so I do have a little time to handle corrections if I’ve messed anything up.
The winner of Shadowlight and Dreamveil is: SPOT! Please drop me an e-mail at joelysueburkhart AT gmail DOT com with your snail mail address. Thank you to everyone who entered!
I hope you’ve enjoyed the MayNoWriMo guest posts and the interesting panels at Coyote Con (the transcripts will remain up all year). I met so many new people this month, and it was incredible to watch them reach their goals or learn something new about themselves and their writing process. I’m working with Deena to possibly set up some new group functionality that will allow all the Coyote Con people to remain connected until next May. (Once we finalize a few details, I’ll post the writing group link here so you can join if you’re interested.)
As for me: I didn’t finish my synopsis.
However.
I expanded characterization for Quinn and Tara, wrote up backstory for them, and sent both through the Emotional Toolbox. I have my major turning points outlined with supporting notecards. Plus, I do have 1754 words toward the synopsis — it’s just not *finished*.
All in all, I’m pleased with the story and the plotting effort so far and I shouldn’t have any problem wrapping things up and getting it to Alissa in June. Also in June, I’m going to try and write 30K holiday novella. *dies*
No rest for the weary!
