Beer, chocolate, nude photography and hot surfers

My latest book With Strings Attached is the first in a three book series, San Amaro Singles. For anyone who worries about starting a series before all the books are out, all three books definitely stand alone and are mainly linked by the location, which is the fictional California city of San Amaro, and by some of the secondary characters who appear in each story.

San Amaro is a touristy, beachy city, loosely based on Huntington Beach, La Jolla and Santa Barbara. I’ve set many of my books in Santa Barbara, because I’m so familiar with it and it’s probably my favourite place in the world. But there isn’t a lot of surfing in Santa Barbara, so I put San Amaro further south on the coast.

 San Amaro is home to one of the biggest events on the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour. The ASP is a real organization, however the San Amaro event (the Jackson Cole Open) is fictional. Jackson Cole is a casual clothing manufacturer based in San Amaro and they sponsor the event. They also sponsor Dylan Schell, a professional surfer who grew up in San Amaro.

In With Strings Attached, Book 1, we meet Matt Ferber and Corey Fenwick. Matt owns Laguna Dorada, a popular brewpub in San Amaro. Corey is a chocolatier, producing hand-made luxury chocolates. They’re both passionate about their careers, both loving to create something new, in Matt’s case a new ale or lager, in Corey’s case a new combination of chocolate and other ingredients.

Dylan Schell is Matt’s best friend. They grew up together in San Amaro, spending a lot of time surfing. But Dylan went on to make surfing his career, and he’s on the ASP World Tour, trying to win, when he gets seriously injured. He’s grounded for a while so he comes home to San Amaro to recuperate.

In Book 2, How to Love (June, 2013) we meet Jules Stockwood. Jules is a photographer who does portraits and some commercial photography, and beneath her studio is a small gallery where she displays and sells some of her more artistic photographs. Her nude photos have become very popular, but she needs models willing to pose nude. When two hunky guys, Mike and Carlos, move into the house next door, she thinks she’s struck photography gold.

Carlos and Mike moved into the house next door to Jules, but on the other side of them is Matt Ferber’s house. The “Surf Sisters”, Arabella and Jaden, run a surf shop and school at the beach, and they live on the beach near Matt and Carlos, and Mike and Jules, and hold wildly popular beach parties.

In Book 3, Slammed (September, 2013) Dylan returns to San Amaro a year later for the Jackson Cole Open. He’s really feeling it’s his turn to win, and it would be amazing to be the home town boy who wins the event. But he’s been living life a little wild lately, trying to bury all the bad stuff in his head, and his sponsor, Jackson Cole, isn’t too happy about that. Assistant Marketing Manager Brooke Lowry is assigned the job of polishing up Dylan’s image and keeping him out of trouble while he’s in town.

So we do get to visit with the characters from each book again, with most of the overlap being between Book 1 and Book 3, but each story stands alone.

So what's your favourite kind of pie?

Friday Book Club: New-To-You Authors

Welcome to our Friday Book Club Challenge!

This month we're talking about new-to-you authors and the Naughty Nine have been busy playing catch up with our reading between writing projects. Here's what we read for this month's TBR challenge:

Erin - I just finished Down For the Count by Christine Bell who's new to me--yummy hero!! The heroine isn't tough enough for me until the very end.

Kate - I haven't finished it yet (deadlines = no reading time), but I am loving Double Down by Katie Porter. Hot, sexy, fun!

Kelly - I mentioned last month that the first book of the year I read was Motorcycle Man by Kristen Ashley. That was also a new to me author, and was my first  of her books (Now I've read 4!) . I really loved it and now I know why people were calling her books "crack". I tried to think about what it is that makes them so addictive. A lot of it is the characters, both male and female main characters are likeable (and the guys are super masculine, dominant and sexy). There are also lots of intriguing secondary characters.

Since the books are all in first person, it takes some skill to bring out all the nuances of other characters when you can't get inside their heads, and I really admire that. The plot events are a little crazy and over the top and there are laugh out loud moments, but also tender and emotional moments, which I also really enjoy. Some of the books I read were the self-published versions, and oh yeah there are lots of editing issues, which usually drives me nuts, often to the point of not being able to finish a badly edited book, but this one didn't bug me that much. I understand these have been contracted by a publisher and are being edited and re-released. I just hope they don't edit them to the point of smoothing out her unique voice.

Kinsey - I just finished Tad Williams' Dirty Streets of Heaven and I cannot wait for the sequel. He's a very well established, best selling fantasy author but I don't do high fantasy, so I've never read him. DSOH is about an angel who's been posted here to Earth for a long time - he has no recollection of how long, or where he was before that - and it's his duty to represent people immediately following their death as they are sentenced to Heaven, Hell or Limbo. And he stumbles across a somewhat confusing conspiracy between a demon and one of the higher up angelic beings. Honestly, I have to go back and reread it before the sequel comes out.

It's compulsively readable, refreshingly original, and has a lot of humor.

Meg - I'm working on Lord of Illusion by Kathryn Kennedy (like Kate I don't have a lot of time right now and it's a long one). It's a fascinating mixture of historical and fantasy/paranormal. Her world-building is first rate.

Skylar - Hailey Edwards is a new-to-me author and I'm so glad I discovered her. Soul Weaver, the first book of hers that I read, is a wonderful fantasy romance. The hero and heroine are engaging, memorable, and beautifully flawed--this is a must-read!

Sydney - I just finished Branded by Keary Taylor, the first book in her YA Fallen Angels trilogy. It really hooked me from the start and kept me reading to see how things were going to play out. Strangely enough, it has a similar plot element to the book Kinsey just read :) The romance is sweet and engaging and you can't help but root for them to be together. First person POV's can really be hit or miss for me, but this one worked well and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book. Best part, it's currently free on Kindle!

What about you guys? What new-to-you authors have you read?

NEXT MONTH'S CHALLENGE: Read a book set somewhere warm/tropical!

Nine Nights In New Orleans - Sax On A Stick

Sax On A Stick

 

by

 

Kate Davies

 

 

He arrived before sound check.

The bar was almost empty, just a couple of old timers at the table near the window, nursing drinks that had long turned to melted-ice-water. The bartender nodded briefly at him as he made his way to a two-seat table along the far side of the dance floor. He sat, easing back into the wooden chair as he checked the angle. Yeah, even once the dancing started he'd have a perfect view of the stage.

Taking out his phone, he checked it for non-existent messages, figuring if he looked busy no one would pay attention to him sitting here well before the show was even scheduled to start.

It was a transparent and slightly pathetic effort, but worth a try.

The bartender crossed the dance floor, beer in hand. "Here you go, man," she said, her blond hair swinging as she set it on the table. "Your usual."

He smiled awkwardly up at her. Dammit. He couldn't decide if that was awesome customer service, or if he'd just been outed as the creeper who'd been stalking this band for the past several weeks.

 

Probably a little of both.

 

"Thanks," he finally said, digging into his back pocket for his wallet.

 

She waved him off. "I figure you're gonna be here for a while. Want to start a tab?"

 

He nodded. Sure, why not. It would definitely make things easier.

 

"What's your name?" She smiled at him. "So I can put it in the computer."

 

"James," he finally answered. "James Michel."

 

"Not Bond?" She teased. With a wink, she headed back to the bar. Over her shoulder, she added, "Let me know when you need another. It'll get pretty crowded in here soon."

 

Yeah, he knew. It was why he had been arriving at Dupre's earlier and earlier each week. It was the only way to make sure he had a good viewing spot.

And as lovely as the young lady was, he wasn't here to scope out the bartender.

 

No, he had his sights on someone else.

 

The thump-thump of an electric bass pulled his attention back to the stage, where one of the musicians was already warming up. Crap, was it that late already? He checked his watch. Still a little over an hour until the show started.

 

Well, the official show. For him, the show started...

 

He looked at the stage again. Another musician was pulling his instrument out of the case and fitting it together.

 

Yep. The show started right...about...now.

*



The Businessman was here again.

Breaux glanced at the small table out of the corner of his eye, pretending to focus on setting up his sax.

It was a good cover. He could put that beauty together with his eyes closed.

He didn't know the guy's name. He didn't know for certain that he was a businessman, for that matter.

But it seemed like a pretty reasonable guess. Button down shirt, sleeves rolled up partway in deference to the heat, khaki pants, nice watch that he was currently checking again.

One minute later than the last time you looked, boo.

 

His sandy blond hair was cut short, barely brushing the tops of his ears. Breaux couldn't tell if his eyes were blue or brown - he'd never sat close enough for anyone to see from on stage - but even from this distance he could tell the guy had the longest damn eyelashes he'd ever seen.

 

When he'd first started showing up at their weekly gigs, Breaux had assumed he was there to meet women. God knew there were enough of them who came to the shows. But he never danced, never picked anyone up, just sat there nursing his beer and watching the band.

 

Watching Breaux.

 

Frankly, he was tired of it. And tonight he was going to do something about it.

To Read More, Click Below.

Fifty Shades of Magic Mike

 

Have you seen Magic Mike, and if so, what did you think? I was looking forward to this movie like nobody’s business, and finally got a chance to rent it the other night. I have to say that it wasn’t what I expected. The docu-style, handheld camera work came as a surprise, as did the long single-camera takes. I wasn’t expecting the romance to be such a big part of it. There was less Joe Mangianello than I expected. And I didn’t expect to be so blown away by Channing Tatum’s dance moves. Overall, I liked it more – or maybe just in a different way – than I anticipated.

Then I read a quote from Steven Soderbergh about why he thought it was so popular. I quote:

“A few months earlier, these 'Fifty Shades of Grey' books came out. Suddenly, the whole issue of female fantasy was part of the cultural conversation [and] we were able to draft off of that. It really helped us enormously."

And I got a little irritated. Is he saying that “female fantasy” was never part of the “cultural conversation” before? Hasn’t he noticed how we women appreciate a sexy movie star of the opposite sex just like the men do? Have women not been attending Chippendale’s shows? Was The Full Monty not a massive hit? Has he never been to a bachelorette party? Hasn’t he heard of the existence of erotica written or filmed for women? Hasn’t he seen my Facebook feed?

Is it really news, in 2013, that women appreciate male bodies and feel free to express that? What the heck? I’m glad he made millions of dollars by somehow accidentally exploiting this fact, but I think it’s a little weird it took him by surprise.

Steven, you’re a great director, but hello. Female fantasy was around long before Fifty Shades of Grey. It was part of the “cultural conversation” long before that (Anais Nin? Anne Rice? Any random beefcake fireman calendar? Romance novels, which celebrate female fantasy, have accounted for about half of all books sold for quite some time. We’ve been enjoying our fantasies all along, thank you very much. We don’t need a “cultural conversation” to give us permission to watch a movie filled with sexy male eye-candy. In my opinion, Magic Mike would have been just as successful if Christian had never met Anastasia.

But what do you think? Did Fifty Shades help Magic Mike at the box office?

Guest Blogger Donna Cummings - Bribing the Muse

Oops, did I say bribing? I meant motivating. Although in the case of my muse, she would be offended if she thought I was trying to motivate her. She would love the thought of a bribe though.

Before I get too far, I should probably introduce you to my muse, so you have a better idea of what I'm working against. I mean, with. What I'm working with.

I call her Endora, and if you're familiar with the name, it's because you've watched the TV show Bewitched. She's the perfect blend of disdainful and annoying, and she has the dreadful ability to disappear when you need her and re-appear when you don't. I've written about her so many times, she thinks she's the heroine of my writing existence. I should probably correct that notion, only -- well, she is capable of magic.

And that's why I keep her around. She loves waiting until the last minute to show up with her toybox of great ideas. So while I'm gnawing on the last centimeter of fingernails I've got, wondering how I'm going to finish whatever project I'm on, she's off somewhere having fun, enjoying my pacing and fretting and anguish. When I finally give in to utter despair, she swoops in, sprinkling ideas into my brain, cackling at how I believed she had deserted me.

She hasn't failed me -- yet -- and even though I know she enjoys this game of chicken we play, I am determined to get the upper hand. So now I'm trying bribes, to see if I can lure her into the writing cave before she realizes what I've done.

Here are a few things that usually work:

1. Books. And more books. As cantankerous as Endora is when it comes to a writing routine, she does love books. And she loves when I've got my Nook stuffed with things to read. Even more than that, she loves when I promise her something new that she's been hinting that she needs. So we tend to have a lot of conversations that include the phrase, "I'll buy you that book as soon as you [insert impossible writing task here] by the end of today."

2. Favorite TV shows. Endora likes to rejuvenate herself by watching certain shows on Hulu, although if I left her in charge of the schedule, there wouldn't be any writing time included. She would plop herself on the couch, watch every episode of Scandal and Nashville, and then disappear in that infamous puff of smoke, leaving me to flail around, wondering how she got the best of me once again. So now *I* have custody of the Hulu password, and she has to demonstrate her writing prowess before I succumb to her entreaties.

3. Chocolate and coffee. I'm kidding. This is Vitamin C for both of us, something we need on a daily basis. So it's no use as a bribe.

4. Pinterest. Yes, Endora loves to look at pretty pictures. And the beauty of it is it inspires her without her even realizing it. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, so if she can check out a few pics, it gives her a chance to replenish the 1k she just spilled out. Sometimes it also stimulates a new story idea into being, which is an added bonus. Just so she doesn't catch on, though, we'll call it "research". Especially when it involves man candy.

So that's how I bribe/inspire/motivate my muse, at least for now. What are your favorite techniques for getting your Muse to cooperate?

Bio: I have worked as an attorney, winery tasting room manager, and retail business owner, but nothing beats the thrill of writing humorously-ever-after romances.

I reside in New England, although I fantasize about spending the rest of my days in a tropical locale, wearing flip flops year-round, or in Regency London, scandalizing the ton.

In addition to I Do. . .or Die, a romantic comedy recently released from Crimson Romance, my available books are Summer Lovin', a free romantic comedy novella, and Lord Midnight, a Regency romance. My contemporary novella, Back on Track, part of the Strangers on a Train collection, will released from Samhain on April 2, 2013.

Links:

Website/blog: www.AllAboutTheWriting.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/@BookEmDonna

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Donna.Cummings.Author

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5349107.Donna_Cummings

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/bookemdonna

I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips... and other important things you should know

I’m going to say right up front that the inspiration for this post was a post by author Delilah S. Dawson.  I read her blog post the other day and knew immediately it was worth repeating.  

You can find her whole post here:  

The Best Way to Help Your Favorite Author:

http://delilahpaints.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-best-way-to-help-your-favorite.html?m=1.  

Please go read it… and buy one of her books while you’re there J

I think one of the reasons the post spoke to me was because I’m also a reader.  Obviously.  All  authors are readers.  And it hit me that I never did any of these things for my favorites before I was an author and really “got it”. 

In fact, I still don’t do it as much as I should.  For instance, Susan Elizabeth Phillips.  If you know me at all, you know that I’m a huge fan-girl of SEP.  Have been for YEARS.  I’ve read every one of her books more than once.  When people ask me who I read, she’s at the top of my list.  If I need a feel-good read, she’s my girl.  I’ve given her stars on Goodreads.  

BUT I haven’t reviewed her books, or posted Facebook posts about how much I love her, or Tweeted that one of her books just rocked my world.  I also don’t necessarily make a point of buying her book on release day, nor do I pre-order her books. I buy them all... just not necessarily on release day.  So, I'm not helping her hit the bestseller list.  Obviously, she makes it there without me :) but what if all of her readers though "oh, I'll get it eventually"?  She wouldn't be there without her readers.   I've also never written to her about how much she’s made me smile over the years. 

Why not?  

Because I'm a bad, bad reader! :)

Just kidding.  I buy her, I talk about her.  But I don't think about my efforts actually making a difference.  I don’t think about her needing all of that from me.  But you know what?  She does. 

All authors need readers to read their books.

How can you talk about something that you haven't read?  Exactly.  Adding a book to your To Read Goodreads shelf is great... but not as great as actually reading it, reviewing it, posting about it, talking about it... and hopefully convincing others to try it as well.

All writers need sales.  

That means buying their books.  

Not just borrowing them and definitely not downloading them for free...that's pirating (and another post for another time.  Just don't do it.  Please.).

Remember, sales allow writers to keep doing what they do best rather than going to a job at Pizza Ranch that takes time away from their keyboards.

All writers need good reviews and tweets and Facebook posts. 

This is how more readers find out about the author... and that's good for the readers and the writer alike.  I love nothing more than hearing about a new-to-me author from someone on Twitter, hitting the Buy button on my Kindle, and staying up all night long with a fabulous story I wouldn't have known about otherwise.

All writers need fan mail.

Whether you prefer to e-mail, tweet, Facebook post or maybe even send an actual letter or card (gasp! :)), authors LOVE to hear from readers.  I guarantee that telling an author that her/his story touched you, made you smile, kept you up all night, or kept you company is the  best way to get that writer back on their computer, writing a new book.

So, I’m going to try to make that all up to Susan.  I love her books.  I can’t put them down.  I love her heroes, I love her heroines more.  I think she writes endings better than almost anyone.  So… if you’re looking for a fun, contemporary read, please pick one of her books up!  My favorite is, and has always been, Heaven, Texas.  All the Chicago Stars books are wonderful, though.  And another all time favorite is Ain’t She Sweet.

You can find out all you need to know about her here:  http://www.susanephillips.com/


Now, excuse me... I have a gushy fan-girl e-mail to send to one Ms. Phillips.

I hope you'll all consider doing the same for the authors you love!

My love affair with deadlines.

There once was a time when I stayed as far away as I could get from anything that resembled a deadline. This was back in the day when I maintained a more-than-respectable daily word count almost without effort. I moved cross-country—twice! Driving each way—without it noticeably changing my output. I went on vacation, worked full-time, parented teens all without it impacting how much I wrote. And in my pride and ignorance I naively assumed it would always be like that.  

Oh, how wrong I was.

In a way, what happened to me is a lot like what happened when my daughter was three years old. She’d always been an outgoing, confident, non-clingy child (unlike her older brother). Then we moved. After that, if she could have figured out a way to Velcro herself to my leg, she would have done so. I remember complaining to her pre-school teacher after enduring several months of separation-anxiety-tantrums, “You don’t understand. She’s not like this!”

To which she very sensibly replied, “I think you have to accept the fact that she is like this now.”

Understandably, I was horrified by this idea. Unfortunately, she seemed to be correct. Ultimately, I was proved right—but I had to wait until my daughter turned nineteen before I could say,“I told you so.” Which actually came out sounding more like, “Waaaah!” because that was the point at which she blithely traipsed off to Europe—completely on her own, without understanding more than a handful of words in any language other than English—and ended up staying away for almost two entire years.

But I digress.

The thing is, when I was effortlessly turning out massive amounts of words-on-paper, I had no need for deadlines—either self-imposed of otherwise. The very idea of them irked me. I figured I was a responsible adult and I didn’t need anyone (including myself) telling me how and when to do what I knew I needed to get done. Besides, for most of my life, my main role model (and I’m using the term very loosely here) for how to handle deadlines has been my sister. She’s always loved deadlines—much like Douglas Adams.

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”

 I’m convinced my sister looks at each deadline as a game in which the object is to find the absolute last minute in which a project needs to be started in order to finish in time—without leaving a single moment to spare. That kind of thinking made me crazy. Still does.  

But over the course of the last year or so,  I’ve realized that deadlines don’t have to always be the stick, sometimes they can be the carrot as well. They can be the goal you aspire to—like an inanimate exercise buddy that helps get you out the door for your daily run. And so I’ve developed a new appreciation for deadlines.  It’s a very zen appreciation, actually.

Deadlines are likes waves. They can be exhilarating—like the perfect swell you look for when you surf. One that propels you forward, carrying you gently into shore. But they can also be terrifying, a tsunami powering down on you even as you race up the beach in an effort to keep from drowning.

Needless to say, I’m gonna try to stick with surfing.