Guest Blogger Kris Fletcher - Double Your Pleasure

Hello, Naughty Novelists and readers! Thanks so much for hosting me today. I'd like to talk about the pleasures of doubling up – and for once, I'm not talking about supervising homework while cooking dinner.

Last July, I finally experienced the moment that every writer dreams about: I got The Call. Harlequin wanted to buy one of my stories for their Superromance line. I was ecstatic, of course, and immediately dove into revising A Better Father. 

About a month later, my agent and I agreed to self-publish one of my other books, Call of the Wilder, so it would be available when the Super was released. It all sounded so manageable back then, with months between me and the release dates. In truth, it wasn't too overwhelming,

That is, until release week.

Two books releasing in one week. Two sets of pages to create and update on my website. Two books to discuss in blogs, to mention on Twitter and Facebook. Two sets of numbers to watch. And, and while this was happening, I also had revisions to do on my November Superromance. And did I mention it was spring break and three of my kids were home all day, every day?

It was a whirlwind of a week, exciting and exhausting and pretty well everything I had always imagined it would be. It also left me feeling great empathy for a character in Call of the Wilder. Our heroine, Gemini Wilder, is the daughter of a long-term threesome. Her mother Cyn fell in love with identical twins. One of them is Gem's biological father, but since they are identical, no one knows which twin fired the winning shot.

Gemini has a few (cough, cough) commitment issues stemming from this family arrangement, and playing with them gave me great delight as I wrote the story. But as I spent release week trying to ensure that both of my stories received the attention they deserved, I found myself wondering over and over how Cyn Wilder managed to juggle two men for thirty-plus years. All I can conclude is that she is a far stronger and more energetic woman than I will ever be!

But tell me, readers: what do you think would be the biggest challenge in building a lifelong relationship with two partners?

Kris Fletcher grew up in southern Ontario, went to school in Nova Scotia, married a man from Maine, and now lives in central New York. She shares her very messy home with her husband, an every-changing number of their kids, and the occasional grand-hamster. Her greatest hope is that dust bunnies never develop intelligence

Dear RT Roomie...

I wrote this tongue-in-cheek post two years ago as we were preparing to attend our first ever RT Booklovers Convention. What's changed in the last two years...? Let's see.. edits for this year are in bold.

I can’t believe in less than two three weeks we’ll be at RT! I’m so excited (and nervous as hell) about going to RT this year. It’s going to be amazing to meet the other Naughty Nine (boo that Kate and Sydney won’t be there, but they’ll be posting “Home Alone” updates from all of us!). ! Okay we’ve already met so I’m not nervous about that but I am excited! Funny that it will be the same Naughties there this year!

For my RT roomie, I thought I would share some things you need to know about me while we are sharing a hotel room at RT:

• 1.      I am not a morning person. If you talk to me, I will hear you but I probably won't answer.  Please don't think I'm being rude, but it's nearly impossible for me to form coherent thoughts let alone verbalize them until I've been up a couple of hours and have had a few cups of coffee.

• 2.      On the other hand, I'm not exactly a night person either. I used to be, but years of getting up at 6:00 AM to go to work have resulted in me calling it a day at about 10:00 pm. However, in the adrenaline rush of the convention and parties, and perhaps with some extra caffeine, I may be able to stay up later—maybe till 11:00. J Well I think we learned from the last two years that I pretty much turn into a late night party animal at RT, although this makes the morning caffeine even more important.

• 3.    I am high maintenance. This means I will hog closet space, bathroom space and bathroom time. I will bring way too many clothes and shoes that I won't wear, and will take up space with my makeup, lotions, potions and hair care products. I apologize in advance! It might be a good idea for us to have a bathroom schedule to ensure fairness and no hard feelings. This still goes (*ahem* shoes)  but again it all worked out the last two years so should be okay this year.

• 4.      I am a shy, reserved introvert. I can do a pretty good job of acting like an extrovert, but it exhausts me. If I have to go back to the room alone to curl up in a little ball, once again I'm not being rude, I just need to reenergize with some alone time.Yep, still true although oddly enough, shy introverted me was the one begging people to go to parties with me...

Okay, this is tongue in cheek but somewhat true! Hopefully not scaring you too much! I'm so excited about RT and I really hope to meet as many people as possible, especially all my "on-line" friends—fellow authors, readers, industry professionals, anyone who wants to say hey! Love to meet you!

Yeah that all still goes! Look for me and the rest of the Naughties at our Cover Model Karaoke party (co-hosted with the Smutketeers) on Wednesday afternoon. Also PG Forte and I are participating in a panel discussion that day Parsing the Smexy - talking about what really defines erotic romance these days. Meg and Erin and I are hosting a bachelorette party to celebrate the release of our Promise Harbor Wedding series - find us in the bar Friday night at 8:00 for fun and fun prizes! And, I'll be signing at both the ebook Expo and the Book Fair, so you can also find me there! 

My New Obsession

So my love-hate of deadlines (discussed in a previous post) has morphed into crazy love with hopelessly unrealistic goals, for example, writing a book in a month...month after month after month. It's crazy making! But I think I'm getting off on the adrenaline rush.





To relax, I turn to nature. Or, you know, webcams of nature. It's like soap opera lite...with animals!

Here's my current obsession: http://goo.gl/pkxCW

I've been watching this little barn owl family for a week or so now. It's oddly mesmerizing. And the infrared camera means I can watch all night!

Unlike my secondary obsession: 
http://goo.gl/nGYT2 which is only visible during the day. Sad, no?

Luckily, I can leave the channel open and listen to all the peaceful, woodland sounds while I'm tearing my hair out over my latest WIP. What's your obsession?

Thursday 13: Best Movie Quotes, Part 1

Just like we escape into our favorite books, we love to lose ourselves in movies. We have so many favorites, in fact, that this has to be a two week series to cover our favorite quotes!

In the comments, leave your favorite movie and quote!

1. Long Kiss Goodnight
Oh, no, baby. No, you're not gonna die. They are. Cover your ears. Hey! Should we get a dog?

2. Crazy Stupid Love
FUCK! Seriously???? It's like you're photoshopped!

3. Casablanca
Captain Renault: I am shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.

Croupier: Your winnings, sir.

Captain Renault: Oh thank you very much.

4.Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Morons. I've got morons on my team.

5. Bull Durham

Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.

6. Gone With the Wind

No, I don’t think I will kiss you, although you need kissing, badly.That’s what’s wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.

7. Brokeback Mountain

I wish I knew how to quit you.

8. Notting Hill

I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.

9. Cincinnati Kid

You're good, Kid. But along as I'm around, you're second best. And you
might as well learn to live with it. 

10. The Big Chill

You're so analytical! Sometimes you just have to let art... flow... over you.

11. Clueless
Anything happens to my daughter, I got a .45 and a shovel, I doubt anybody would miss you.

12. Pitch Perfect
I'm going to finish him like a cheesecake.

13. Runaway Bride
I guarantee that we'll have tough times. I guarantee that sooner or later one, or both of us will want to get out. But I also guarantee that if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for the rest of my life.. because I know in my heart you're the only one for me.

Best Friends Forever

 

In college I had three roommates. We laughed, fought, studied, helped each other through heartbreaks, and became as close as a family. Now I’m reliving those days, jungle-style. When we left Hawaii a couple of months ago, we left our place in the hands of my 22-year old stepdaughter. Since she collects friends the way others collect shoes, she soon invited three other young women to join her; they’re all singers and guitar or ukulele players and want to make music together. We're back for a few weeks, surrounded by girl power. Even though these girls are living in the jungle, off the grid, existing on rice and coconuts, some things never change.

Clothes sharing. These days, I rarely borrow someone else's clothes. I know what suits me, what fits me, and what doesn't. Back then, it was all about exploration and trying on identities. And that's how it is for these girls. I can't keep track of what belongs to whom. Neither can they. It's a constant stream of "where's the black dress" and "who had my rainbow socks last?" and “that top looks SO much better on you.” 

Endless nights. Day-um, these girls can stay up late! They head out at 10pm, and maybe make it back by dawn. Or decide to sleep wherever they happen to be. Luckily, none of them likes to drink, or I’d worry. But they love to put together crazy outfits and dance and sing and go on night swims and have crazy Hawaiian adventures like hiking across lava fields under the full moon.

Lack of money. There’s always one girl who has a little more than the others, but generally none of them ever has enough. They’re not here to work jobs, they’re here to practice their music and enjoy their freedom before real life swallows them up. But they’re thrifty and careful, for the most part. They’ll rent a movie for $1 at Redbox, but not for $2.50 at the video store. I remember those days of constant worry about every penny – and how great it felt to finally get a job and have steady money coming in.

Relationships. Oh, the hours spent dissecting the tiniest cryptic comment from a boy. So far there’s been a pregnancy scare, several crushes, the angst of a long-distance relationship and a kaleidoscope of rifts among the girls. One doesn’t cook enough; another skimps on the cleaning. One is a more accomplished musician than the others and gets tired of explaining what B flat is. They always patch it up, because they love each other dearly. But it makes for constant drama.

Drama. I mentioned the drama, right? It’s better than a soap opera here. Four wannabe girl singers surviving in a Hawaiian jungle. That would make a good reality show, don’t you think? I’m definitely enjoying my front row seat. But mostly, I'm relieved that I'm grown up now. My old roommates and I are still friends, minus the drama. I save that for my books.

Do you have happy memories from the early, penniless days of your life? Friends who become closer than sisters, no matter where you happened to be?

Guest Blogger Jenna Bayley-Burke - Pin Me

Some people are Twitterholics, others Facebook stalk like a CIA agent. Me? I’m addicted to Pinterest. But that’s okay you see, because I’m working.

Not really. I know I have a problem no amount of Man-Pleasing Chicken or Sesame Street cupcakes will solve. There is no redeeming reason for my I Should Make This board that collects ideas like marshmallow guns (for the kids, really) and lawn Yahtzee. That’s just a time suck. I know this, and embrace it.

But I am totally making a case for Pinterest as a brainstorming tool. Since joining the pintastic palace, I’ve created boards for stories I’m writing and it really has saved me time. Stay with me here. Not only does it create a great visual storyboard, but the pictures are linked back to the original articles.

The Caribbean Christmas board had plenty of gratuitous Ryan Reynolds eye candy, but those links to Anguilla maps, crochet patterns and sail boats? Priceless! I don’t know a shroud from a forestay.

I was so excited to write Caribbean Casanova, I went a little pin crazy and wound up with more ideas than I had room for (Anguilla dolphins will show up in a later Under the Caribbean Sun story, I promise). But all the pictures and links made it easy to change gears from rainy Oregon to sunny Anguilla.

Do you Pinterest?

By day, Jenna is faster than a speeding toddler, stronger than a stubborn husband, able to leap tall Lego structures in a single bound…but by night, while the family sleeps she writes romance novels where no one ever has to scoop up after the dogs, change diapers, clip coupons, drive carpool, do laundry, mop floors, get silly putty out of hair, vacuum, empty the vacuum bag (gross!), exercise, count calories, apply Band-Aids, clean up puke…wait where was this going? Oh, Jenna writes romance because it is glamorous. Just ask the dogs.

How Long For Love?

Okay, I’m not talking endurance here, so get those images right out of your brain (heh, heh). What I’m asking is how long does it take for two people to fall in love? Not in like, not in lust, not in attraction, but in the real deal? This question came up big time in my latest book Bolted, Book 2 of the Promise Harbor Wedding.

My heroine, Greta Brewster, is in a quandary. Her marriage has just ended in divorce, and she’s afraid to tell her mother about it since her mother had warned her not to jump into marrying someone she’d only known for a couple of months. Greta puts off having The Talk with her mother after she returns home for her brother’s wedding. Then said wedding goes south, spectacularly (check Kelly Jamieson’s Jilted, Promise Harbor Wedding Book 1, for all the gory details). Greta decides to go for a drive rather than saddling her mother with another piece of bad news and, well, things happen. She ends up staying for a week at a hotel in a town a few miles away, serving as their chef and falling into a relationship with a hunky archaeologist whom she rescues from a hole in his own dig.

And therein lies my own quandary. Greta has given herself a week to stay at the hotel before she returns home to Promise Harbor and faces both her mother and her future. During that week she discovers that said archaeologist, Hank Mitchell, is actually a hell of a guy. Is a week long enough for a hero and heroine to fall in love? If they do, will readers believe it, or will they assume I’m blinded by my own romantic soul?

Frankly, I wasn’t sure myself. I usually favor slightly longer relationships. My heroines and heroes get to know each other before they have sex, and it usually takes them even longer to commit. In this case, I had the added problem of Greta’s earlier break-up after an impulsive wedding. What were the chances that this time she’d be willing to commit herself to a relative stranger?

In the end, I came up with a sort of tentative answer that I hope will satisfy most readers. I’m enough of a romantic that I want my H/H to be happy. And I’m enough of a romance writer to believe absolutely in HEA. But I have to admit I’m still a little doubtful myself. Are you still willing to believe in Love At First Sight? Can people fall in love in a week, or do you find yourself shaking your head at the whole idea?

Here’s the blurb for Bolted:

Sometimes you have to get lost before you can find yourself.

The Promise Harbor Wedding, Book 2

Greta Brewster McBain in a bind. Two, if she’s really counting. First there’s the can-barely-breathe, bridesmaid’s dress from hell. Second, the stranger who just carried her “perfect” brother’s fiancée out the church door has made it impossible to tell her own mother about her own divorce.

Rather than confirm her reputation as the family screw-up, Greta takes a drive to clear her head.

Trapped in a hole and unable to reach his cell phone, Hank Mitchell is resigned to becoming a permanent part of his own archeological dig when help arrives—in the form of a woman who looks like a Gone With The Wind refugee. Behind the ruffles and lace, though, is something he appreciates: a woman who isn’t afraid of a little dirt.

Their instant connection draws Greta into the eccentric world of the Hotel Grand, where she impulsively trades her hoopskirts for an apron. Soon things are getting hot, not only in the hotel kitchen, but in Hank’s arms...

Warning: Contains hot moonlit sex, a melancholy turtle, two wisecracking seniors, and the world’s ugliest bridesmaid dress.

Buy It