CLAIMING 2011 as YOUR Year

Well, I'm cutting it down to the wire. Between our chapter contest, traveling, and being ill, I don't have my promised post about how to claim 2011 as YOUR year. Maybe I'll type it on the long drive to my In-Laws Thursday evening. Trying. But if you're reading this...well, let's just say that organization and prioritizing everything I do is on the top of my New Year's resolutions. I wanted this column to be about three major things you can do to achieve a goal. 

Three things that worked for me: Positive thoughts --surround yourself with positive thoughts and people Focusing on one goal--means having to think of it to begin with The creative process --works on more than just writing My friends and the writing community have heard me claim that 2009 was 'My Year.' I sold my first manuscript in November of that year. And since I haven't had time to write the post I really want to...I'm going to let you read the article that changed my life. It may not sound like much. But writing this simple President's column, helped me take the first step toward achieving a 10-year goal: publication. I'll be back throughout the day & weekend. AND I'm going to give away a copy of my upcoming release: .38 Caliber Cover-Up to someone who posts all three days. 

  ~ ~ HAPPY NEW YEAR ~ ~ 

January 2009 The President’s Corner (NTRWA Heart to Heart) Hello fellow chapter mates and welcome to 2009. For six months, I’ve been wondering what I’d write in this column that you couldn’t find in the rest of the newsletter or by reading the website. Six long months and I still feel at a loss. Then I realized it’s 2009. Good grief...2009. I’ve been in RWA without publishing more years than I want to admit. I’ve been writing longer, even though I didn’t know anything about submitting back then. I’ve made life-long friends through this organization and hate that some have set aside their writing for other pursuits. They were good storytellers. I’ve struggled over the last two or three years, being on the cusp of selling. (Or at least that’s how an agent and many friends described it.) I’ve had rejection letters from editors who apologized for not having a place for the book. (Now that will really depress you.) I wondered if I should join the many storytellers who spend their time NOT torturing themselves over every word. NOT worrying if their character is growing. NOT worrying if they’re persecuting two heroic fictional characters enough. I wondered if I should give up. I wondered...about two minutes. Even though the writing hasn’t flowed... Even though I allow volunteer work and family to detour my daily objective of five pages... Even though I fight for every word on the page... I’m a writer. Not just a storyteller, but a writer. The stories have to be on the page for me. I MUST get them on the page eventually. I just have to. And I will sell them one day. So 2009 is my year. It’s my time to get that story on the page and finish projects that deserve to be finished. It can be your year too. Let’s grab it together and do all we can to help ourselves further along the road to publication. And then my last article as President of NTRWA. 

  December 2009 The President’s Corner “So 2009 is my year. It’s my time to get that story on the page and finish projects that deserve to be finished. It can be your year too. Let’s grab it together and do all we can to help ourselves further along the road to publication.” January President’s Corner Goals. Encouragement. Take Action. Keep Writing. Distractions. Recognition. Write some more. Submitting. Waiting. Writing Again. It’s out of your hands. And the next step – SOLD!!! I honestly can’t believe that I can finish my president columns with that elusive word ... sold. Although I’ve been writing a long time (with a few breaks now and then), the journey to SOLD this year was rather fast. Or it seems fast this time. Remember way back to my first January column? I set my goal to concentrate on my story SEE JANE RUN. I analyzed it, made the revisions, and entered the best contest for my story: The Daphne du Maurier (a contest that had been elusive to me for 9 years). I finaled in the Daphne in May. Found out I won the Daphne in July, receiving requests from an agent and editor. I made the last revisions and cut 23,000 words of the story in August. Mailed the requests at the beginning of September. Signed with an agent on October 1st. Sold SEE JANE RUN on November 12th. Have a delivery date of January 15th and a release date for Harlequin Intrigue of September 2010. Whew... It’s incredible... I want it for all of you... Kinda feels like a dream right now. And it was incredible to have an editor say, “We recognized your name, Angi. We know you’re in it for a career.” I’ve wondered how rejections or contest finals that threw my name onto loops or in front of editors would affect my career long-term. Yes, the volunteering came up. Yes, I said I was concentrating on me, now. So as January rolls around again... Set your goals. Remember to write. Seek encouragement and good critiques. Apply what you learn and hone your writing craft. Don’t get distracted. Write some more. Wait for it and remember that selling is out of your hands, but you can do everything possible to put it into the right hands for your story. I hope to see your name in the first-sale column soon!  Angi Platt writing as Angi Morgan HILL COUNTRY HOLDUP, Harlequin Intrigue September 2010 

 Setting your goal for anything in your life is important, but only the first step. You have to believe, take the next step, and achieve. 

 "No. There is no try. Only DO or DO NOT." ~~Yoda

Krista Davis

The "Get to Know You" interviews have been such fun. We hope readers are enjoying the different answers from our guest authors.

Today, it's time to get lost with Agatha award nominee Krista Davis, who writes the Berkley Prime Crime Domestic Diva Mystery Series.
~~


Donnell: Have you ever written a character who wasn’t meant to be a hero/heroine but he/she wouldn’t go away?

Krista: I wouldn't categorize Humphrey as a hero - maybe he will be someday! He had an overwhelming crush on my protagonist, Sophie Winston, when they were in grade school. She barely noticed him. In THE DIVA RUNS OUT OF THYME, Sophie's mother invites him to Thanksgiving dinner as a surprise. Humphrey means well, but he's socially inept. All he wants is to find someone to love, but he's always looking for love in the wrong places. I never meant for him to become a regular, but his awkwardness became endearing, and he grew on Sophie and me.

Donnell: What is your favorite cheese?

Krista: Fromage Affinois Poivre. It's rich and creamy with a zing of peppercorn. I don't dare indulge too often!

Donnell: Tea or coffee?

Krista: Definitely tea! My favorite is Newman's Own Organic Black tea, hot, with skim milk and sugar. In the summer, I take it straight -- iced, plain, no sugar or lemon, though I do like to make iced tea out of two bags of black tea and one bag of raspberry tea for a little fruity flavor.

Donnell: What’s in your refrigerator right now?

Krista: Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and I'm having my annual party with house guests for the weekend, so the fridge is full. New Year's Eve dinner will be fondue, so there's Gruyere and beef, mushrooms, and red peppers. We're in the south, which means we'll be eating black-eyed peas in a vinaigrette, spinach, and ham on New Year's Day for luck. I had a Christmas cookie recipe contest in December and froze lots of cookies so I could serve them on New Year's weekend, including the fabulous Quadruple Chocolate Chip cookies. I'm always experimenting with recipes for my books and trying them out on my poor friends, so there's also a cheesecake that I'm planning to flambé.

When I don't have guests, the fridge is usually stocked with more mundane things, like lots of celery (my big snack food), black olives, sweet potatoes (for my dogs), Asian pears, and chicken.

Donnell: Is Elvis really dead?

Krista: He'll never be dead.

Donnell: What does it mean to love someone?

Krista: Accepting them just the way they are. Dogs do it the best. They don't judge or try to change us. They love us no matter what.

Donnell: Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

Krista: I walk away from the computer and undertake some neglected household project. That usually lifts the fog, and I'm able to work through my problem. Of course, there's a down side because I leave a mess behind when I run back to the computer in the middle of cleaning a closet or working in the garden.

Donnell: What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Krista: I'm not sure this is a quirk, but I was surprised to learn it about myself. I *have* to know who the murderer is and exactly how and why he/she committed the murder before I start writing. I run away shrieking at the thought of outlining, but I have to know about my killer before I can start.

Donnell: Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Krista: I was certain I would be brave and learn from critical reviews. Unfortunately, while I so appreciate the lovely things reviewers say (and there have been some wonderful reviews), it's the harsh words that ring in my head over and over again. One complaint in particular stuck with me, and before I knew it, I was changing characters and plots to overcome that criticism, even though I didn't agree with it. I mentioned it to my editor (a very wise woman), who asked, "Are you writing your books for that one person?" Her question hit home. Of course I wasn't writing for one person, and certainly not that one! I adopted a line from Sara Lee -- everybody doesn't like something. It's so true. I don't like all books. It would be unreasonable to expect everyone to like my books. However, now that I know how easily I'm influenced, I have become cautious about reading negative reviews.

Donnell: What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing/researching a book?

Krista: As you might imagine, mystery authors research ways to murder people. So there I was, innocently researching arsenic, when I found a study analyzing the amount of arsenic found in grocery store chicken. Turns out we allow chicken farmers to add arsenic to chicken feed! Who knew?

Donnell: What’s the first thing you do when you finish a book?

Krista: Clean house. Ugh.

Donnell: Dog person or cat person?

Krista: Both! I'm a total pushover for anything with fur. I could easily become the little old lady with a houseful of rescued cats and dogs.

Donnell: Which is your favorite language other than your native language?

Krista: French is so melodious, how could I not love it? I'm big on German, though. Many of my relatives live in Germany, and I've spent wonderful vacations there.

Donnell: If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why?

Krista: I would love to see Egypt in the 1930s and 40s, when Agatha Christie traveled there. Such fascinating and adventurous people toured on steamers, like in DEATH ON THE NILE. How exotic!

Donnell: How much money does it take to be happy?

Krista: More than I have! LOL! I think money makes life easier and makes us feel more secure, but I don't think it necessarily leads to happiness. Plenty of people with modest amounts of money are happier than the incredibly wealthy.

Donnell: If you couldn’t be a writer anymore, what profession would you take up?

Krista: Dog and cat rescue. I suppose that's not a profession, but if there were no other considerations, that's what I would love to do.

Krista Davis writes the Domestic Diva Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime. Her first book, THE DIVA RUNS OUT OF THYME, was nominated for an Agatha award. Her most recent release is the fourth book in the series, THE DIVA COOKS A GOOSE. Krista now lives in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia, but her mysteries are set in quaint, historical Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia.

Learn more about Krista's books by visiting her website http://kristadavis.com/ or pay a visit to Mystery Lover's Kitchen, where mystery writers cook up crime . . . and recipes! http://mysteryloverskitchen.com/

Also, one lucky commenter today will receive The Diva Cooks a Goose!

KRISTA'S QUESTION FOR READERS: DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PROTAGONIST IN THE DOMESTIC DIVA SERIES?

Thanks for joining us, Krista. Join us tomorrow, Friday, December 31st as the Get Lost Crew's own Angi Morgan explains "How to Claim 2011 as our Own."

Liz Talley

Get Lost in A LITTLE TEXASHarlequin SuperRomance, January 2011
ISBN-10: 037371680X


"You did what?" Kate Newman asked, tossing aside the letter from the IRS and shuffling through the papers piled on her desk. Maybe she would find something to negate what she'd read. Something that would magically make the whole tax mess disappear. "Tell me this is some kind of joke. Please."

No sound came from the chair across from her. She stopped and looked up. "Jeremy?"

Her friend and business partner sat defeated, shoulders slumped, head drooping like a withered sunflower. Even his ever jittering leg was still.

She picked up the letter again. Only one question left to ask. "How?"

A tear dripped onto his silk shirt before he lifted his head and met her gaze with the saddest puppy-dog eyes she'd ever seen. Jeremy enjoyed being a drama queen, but this time the theatrics were absent. He shook his head. "It's Victor."

"Victor?" she repeated, dumbly. "What does he have to do with the salon? With paying our taxes?"

The small office at the rear of their salon seemed to rock as the reality of the situation sank in. IRS. Taxes not paid. Future in peril. Kate grabbed the edge of the desk and focused on her business partner.

He swallowed before replying in a near whisper, "He's got cancer. It's in his bones now."
"Cancer?"

"He's dying."

Her legs collapsed and she fell into her swivel chair. "Oh, my God. What kind?"

More tears slid down Jeremy's tanned cheeks. He closed his eyes, but not before she saw the torturous pain present within their honey depths. "He was diagnosed with testicular cancer two years ago. He underwent treatment, and the doctors said he was in the clear. We didn't think it was a big deal. We never even told anyone. But six months ago, the cancer came back. And you know when he lost his job, he lost his insurance."

Kate couldn't think of a thing to say. Her feelings were swirling inside her, tangling into a knot of sorrow and outrage. How could this happen? How could Jeremy's life partner be sick and her business at risk? The world had tipped upside down and now Kate was hanging on by her fingernails.

"I didn't know what to do. He was so sick…is so sick, and there was all that money sitting there in the bank. I thought I could pay it back in time. Kate, he's my life." Jeremy's last words emerged as a strangled plea before he broke into gut-wrenching sobs. "Please forgive me, Kate. I needed the money for his chemo. To stop the cancer. It didn't work."

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the leather chair. She wanted to cry, to express some emotion, or punch Jeremy in the mouth. But all she felt was emptiness. Then fear crowded her heart, choking her with the sour taste of failure. How could she have let this happen? Why had she assumed Jeremy was taking care of their taxes?

"I don't know what to say, Jeremy. I'm seriously contemplating murder."

His shoulders shook harder.

Shit. As angry as she was with him, she knew she'd have done the same thing.

The sunlight pouring in the window seemed way too cheerful for such a day. It pissed her off, so she jerked the blinds shut. "Why didn't you tell me? Let me help you before it came to this?"

His sobs subsided into an occasional sniffle. She knew he hurt badly. His partner meant everything to him. The two men had been together for four years—they'd met at the launch of Fantabulous, Jeremy and Kate's high-energy salon located on the outskirts of Las Vegas. Jeremy and Victor had hit it off immediately, acting like an old married couple almost from the beginning. They were the happiest couple she knew.

"I couldn't. Victor is so private and didn't want anyone to know. He was adamant about it. You're my friend, but he's my partner. I promised, and until now, I kept the promise."

His eyes were plaintive. He could offer no other explanation and Kate couldn't blame him. She'd felt much the same way her whole life. Private. Elusive. Never one to offer up a motive.

"I don't expect you to forgive me, Kate, but there was nowhere else I could go for the money. I even called my parents." Jeremy's long fingers spread in a plea.

"They wouldn't help you," she said, shifting the colorful glass paperweight her friend had given her for Christmas. She wanted to yell at this particular friend, get it through his gel-spiked head, that somehow she would have helped, but it was too late.

"No. Didn't even return my call."

"So what are we going to do? Can't we stop this? Put the IRS off somehow?" Kate knew she sounded desperate. She felt frantic, sick. Vomit perched in the back of her throat. Although Vegas had taken a huge hit economically, they'd been making it, but money wasn't flowing the way it had when they'd first opened.

"I talked to my friend Wendell. He's a bankruptcy lawyer. He said if we could scratch up ten thousand, we might hold them off then see where we stand. He also said we might cut a deal with the IRS and pay a lesser amount on the back taxes."

"Ten thousand?" she echoed. She only had about three thousand in savings and she'd been dipping in to cover extra expenses for the past few months. She didn't own anything she could use for collateral, and they'd put a second mortgage on the salon for an expansion right before the economy tanked. She looked down at the three-hundred-dollar boots she'd bought before the holidays and thought she might be ill on them. She felt stupid. Dumb. She should have been better at saving her money.

Jeremy dropped his head into his hands.

"That feels like a fortune. I don't have it right now. No one does in this economy. The banks won't give us free suckers anymore, much less a loan," Kate said.

"I don't have the cash, either," he said. "I mean, obviously."

She pushed her hands through her hair and looked at the IRS letter. It ridiculed her with its tyrannical words. She wanted to rip it up, pretend it was a silly nightmare. Lose her business? Ha. Ha. Joke's on you, Kate, baby.

But no laughter came. Only the heavy silence of defeat.

Like a bolt of lightning, desperation struck. Once again she was a girl lying in the small bed inside her grandmother's tinfoil trailer, praying she'd have enough to make the payment on her class ring. Praying she'd have enough to buy a secondhand prom dress. Praying no one would find out exactly how poor Katie Newman was.

Her unfortunate beginning had made her hungry, determined to never feel so insignificant again.
She had to get out of the salon.

She snatched her Prada handbag from the desk drawer.

"Where you going?" Jeremy's head popped up. He swiveled to watch her stalk out of the small office.

"Anywhere but here," she said, trying to keep the panic from her voice. She felt as if someone had her around the throat, closing off her oxygen. She could hardly take in the temperate air that hit her when she flung open the back door.

"Kate! Wait! We have to tell Wendell something."

"Tell him to go to hell. I'll rot before they take the salon," Kate managed to say through clenched teeth. And she meant it. She didn't care what Jeremy had done. She wasn't going to lose her business. She'd go Scarlett O'Hara on them if she had to. The image of her clutching a fistful of deposit slips in the bank lobby crying out, "As God is my witness, I shall never go hungry again!" popped into her mind. She saw herself sinking onto the bank's cheap Oriental rug, tears streaming down her face.

She yanked open the door of her cute-as-a-button powder-blue VW Bug, plopped her purse on the seat and slid her sunglasses into place. "Screw 'em. I ain't giving in. Even if I have to sew a dress from my stupid-ass curtains, I'll get that money."

She wasn't making sense. She didn't care that she wasn't making sense. She needed money. She needed it fast.

And there was only one way for her to make money fast in Vegas. Blackjack.

Three hours later, Kate slid onto a leather stool in the casino lounge. For all the clanging and clinking going on outside the bar, it was eerily quiet in here. Curved lamps threw soft light on the polished dark walnut tables scattered around the room. Kate had chosen the nearly empty bar over a cozy table. She needed to be close to the liquor.

Blackjack had not been her friend. In fact, blackjack had taken her last hundred dollars and bitch slapped her.

"What'll it be?" said the bartender. He wore an old-fashioned white apron that suited the Old World ambience of the place. Soft music piping from the speakers settled over the few patrons.

Kate pursed her lips. "Grey Goose, twist of lime, three cubes of ice."

"Nice. I like a woman who drinks like a man." The voice came from her left. She glanced over at the guy.

"I wasn't aware vodka was a man's drink," she responded with a lift of one eyebrow, a move she'd perfected in junior high school.

"Touche," he said, sliding a predatory smile her way. He looked good. Toothy grin, disheveled brown hair, five o'clock stubble designed to make him doubly irresistible. Any other time and Kate might bite.

But not tonight.

She gave him a flashbulb smile and turned ever so slightly to her right. Stay away, buddy.

But he was like any other man—couldn't read a woman's body language. She felt him scoot closer.

The bartender set the glass in front of her. Without hesitating, she picked it up and downed the vodka in one swallow. It felt good sliding down her throat, burning a path to her stomach.

"And you drink like a man, too," her unwanted companion said.

Kate turned toward him, not bothering to toss him a smile this time. "How do you know I'm not a man? We're in Vegas."

His eyes raked her body. "I can see you're not a man."

Kate narrowed her eyes. "Good vision, huh? Well, don't trust your eyes. Don't trust anybody, for that matter."

She didn't say anything else, just turned from him and studied the way the light illuminated the bottles lining the mirrored bar. It made their contents glow, made them seductive.

Bars of "Sweet Caroline" erupted from her purse and she rifled through it until she found her cell phone. A quick glance at the screen and she knew her friend Billie had finally got around to returning her earlier call. Finally. She could seriously use a sympathetic shoulder. And not of the rumpled, sexy, "can I buy you a drink" variety.

She punched the answer button on her iPhone. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Oh, my God, I'm like so having an emergency here." Billie's normally sarcastic tone sounded like neurotic chicken. A whispery neurotic chicken.

"What's going on?"

"He freakin' proposed!"

"Nick?" Kate asked, picking up the fresh drink in front of her.

"No, the Easter Bunny," Billie huffed into the phone. "I'm in the bathroom. Oh, God. I don't know what to say…I think I'm hyperventilating."

Kate pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it. Where was her calm, self-assured friend? The one she needed now that her business was doomed? "Okay, first thing, head between your knees."

"The toilet area's not real clean. I'm gonna stand."

Kate wanted to scream that she'd lost everything today and didn't need to hear about Nick and his damned proposal. But she didn't. Instead she said, "Okay."

"Kate, he has a ring and everything. He actually got down on one knee." Billie's voice now sounded shell-shocked. "I didn't know what to do."

Kate picked up the vodka and tossed it back. It felt as good going down as the first one. "So you said."

"I said I had to go pee," Billie whispered.

Kate couldn't help it. She laughed.

"Don't you dare laugh, Kate Newman!" Billie snapped. "This is not funny."

Kate sobered. Well, kinda sobered. The vodka was working its magic. "You're right. It's not funny. It's sweet."

"You can't be serious," Billie whispered. "He's talking marriage. Marriage, Kate!"

Kate heard something muffled in the background, then Billie's quick intake of breath. Then she heard Billie call, presumably to Nick, that she'd be right out.

"Okay, stop chewing your hair."

"What?"

"Do you love him?" Kate asked.

"Yes. I totally love him," Billie whispered. "Then say yes."

"Are you joking?" Billie said. "Did you just tell me to say yes? You don't believe in marriage."

It was true, she didn't—well, at least not for herself. Love was fairy-tale bullshit. She shouldn't be giving relationship advice to a dead cockroach, much less a living, breathing friend. "I don't. But you do."

The line remained silent.

"Can you imagine waking up with him every morning even when he's old and wrinkly and…impotent? Can you imagine watching your grandchildren together? Filing joint taxes? Painting a nursery?" Kate couldn't seem to stop the scenarios tumbling from her lips. "How about picking out china patterns or cleaning up your kids' vomit—"

"Okay. I get it. Yes," Billie said.

"Then hang up, open the door and take that ring."

Kate punched the end button and tossed the phone on the bar. If Billie was so stupid as to reject a man who loved her despite her seriously weird attributes, then she deserved to stay locked in Nick's bathroom. With pee on the floor.

When she looked up, the bartender and her previously pushy friend stared at her as if she'd lost her mind. Well, she had. And her business along with it. And now Billie wasn't even available to her. Kate was on her own.
Like always.

Before she'd hit the ATM machine several hours earlier, she'd contemplated borrowing the money she needed from Billie. As a successful glass artist with international acclaim, her friend had steady cash flow even in a bad economy. But Kate never asked for help. And to do so now, with a friend, felt not cool. With a possible wedding on the horizon for Billie, ten thousand would be hard to spare. Besides, if she were going to borrow money, it would be from her absolute best friend who lived in Texas and was loaded to the gills with old oil money. But Kate had never asked Nellie to help her before, not even when Kate had dropped out of college her freshman year to go to beauty school and spent three months eating bologna and ramen noodles.

She couldn't bring herself to do it. Kate had always relied on herself to make it through whatever problem arose, and this was no different.

But what would she do? There was no way the salon could generate extra income in the coming months. It was post-Christmas and debt squashed unnecessary services for regular customers. Many spas had closed their doors and many friends had gone from esthetician to cocktail waitress in the past few months.

ABOUT MY FRIEND, SUPERROMANCE

AUTHOR LIZ TALLEYFrom the time she learned to read to the present, Liz Talley has always had a fascination with books. As a child she read Little Golden Books instead of napping. And, oh, the first time she read a romance - The Thornbirds – she was hooked. She ate up the Superromances on the shelves of her aunt's used bookstore, borrowed her grandmother's medical romances, and poked through her dad's westerns for the "romantic parts" (which lasted about a page).

Of course, it never occurred to Liz to write a book until her college roommate said, "You read so many of those things, why don't you write one?" The idea stuck with her. After a stint as an English teacher and stay at home mom, Liz found writing a great way to avoid an ever-growing pile of laundry. After a Golden Heart final with a Regency romance, Liz started her career in contemporary romance on the same day she met her editor. Coincidence? She prefers to call it fate.

Liz lives in North Louisiana with her high school sweetheart, two beautiful children and a menagerie of animals. She serves as the president of her local RWA chapter and Vice-president of the Golden Network. She loves strawberries, fishing, retail therapy, and is always game for a spa day. When not writing, she can be found working in the flowerbed, doing laundry or driving carpool.

ON THE RIGHT: Liz at the 2010 Harlequin Author Party. 
BELOW: Liz & me at the 2010 RWA Golden Heart/RITA Awards. ~ ~ ~ ~ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading?
AMY: The first book I remember reading was The Little Engine That Could, which is a great first book to remembering reading. It’s a great book for writers to keep beside them because the “tracks” to publication are fraught with all kinds of crazy turns and steep hills, but if you can remember to just keeping going, reciting in your head “I think I can, I think I can” then you’ll reach the top before you know it. Great analogy for writers…okay, and people everywhere. The first romance I remember reading had a nurse, an doctor and a fast little convertible. I have no idea what the name was, but I was hooked.

ANGI: What’s your favorite fairy tale?
AMY: Beauty and the Beast. I love finding something beautiful and unexpected beneath the surface, and that fairytale delivers. I particularly love the Disney version with dancing candlesticks and French maid dusters. I try hard to portray the same elements in my stories. I think my upcoming January release has that “beneath the surface” element in that my heroine Kate is one tough cookie on the surface, but underneath she’s lonely, scared and hurting. A Little Texas is her story of emptying her heart of anger and filling it with the love of family and one particularly sexy man.

ANGI: What was the first story you remember writing?
AMY: The first story I remember writing where I got that writer’s high was in 10th grade English. We were to write a creative writing piece. I wrote one about a prisoner who’d escaped and was being chased in the woods. I remember writing about his heart racing and the hounds barking. Then he stumbles upon a serene old chapel in the woods. He takes refuge there and instead of hiding, he is compelled to sink to his knees and pray for the first time in a long time. When I finished the three page short story, I remember thinking, “Man, this is good.” I got an “A” on it, too.

ANGI: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
AMY: Hmmm…that’s tough. I truly love Sense and Sensibility. I also love Notting Hill. Bridget Jones Diary ranks up there, too. Can you sense a pattern? Yeah, I love Hugh Grant. But, he’s not my type. I just like him. Like I want to hang out with him.

ANGI: What’s something you’d like to tell your fans?
AMY: Do I have fans outside of my mother? LOL. If I have any, I think I’d like them to know how dear my characters are to me. I feel like I know them. Like really know them. Oak Stand feels like my hometown. I wish I could get my hair trimmed at The Curlique and roll my buggy down the aisles of the Shop and Save. I want to sip tea with Margo on Tucker House’s front porch and swap cookie recipes with Ester. I think we writers get so attached to our characters it feels real. Which is why I get defensive when careless reviewers post things like “I don’t get her” or “I think the name of the town is stupid.” It feels like someone calling your baby ugly to your face. It hurts. So we authors are a bit vulnerable when it comes to our “babies.”

ONE OF LIZ'S YOUNGEST FANS READING HER BOOK.

ANGI: Do you write while listening to music? If so what kind?
AMY: Nope. I can’t. I get so distracted, even by instrumental music. I do, however, get inspired by music when I’m plotting. Which is usually while I’m driving, or showering, or sitting in carpool.

ANGI: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?
AMY: Type “The end,” push back my chair, and give it a Rocky double fist pump. It always feels good.

ANGI: If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why? AMY: Definitely the Middle Ages. I love castles and knights and crofters and Scottish Lairds and those stiff collars the ladies wore. But, maybe the later Middle Ages/Early Renaissance. Put me in London. I’d want to be a Lady’s maid at court. Just let me take a bar of soap, some antibiotics and a razor with me. Okay, and maybe some deodorant. And a toothbrush. You know, I’m really happy with where I am right now. LOL.

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK -- AMY’S GOTTA ANSWER
QUESTION: Is there a real Bubba in your life?
ANSWER: Absolutely. My brother Blake serves as my inspiration for Bubba. Blake stands 6’3” and a good 320lbs, if not more. He’s huge, strong and has a sweet heart. His beard is red and his head mostly bald. He has bright blue eyes and hands the size of a small chicken. He drives a gooseneck trailer for oil and gas companies making deliveries. He hunts, he fishes, and he loves dogs. He’s getting married on January 15th. He’s a wonderful Christian man who had given up whiskey and honkytonks, for a family and horses. Every time I write Bubba, he talks, acts and says things like my brother.

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?I’ve told you about a real life person I based a character on, so if you could write a character based on someone in your life, who would it be and why?

BE CERTAIN to leave a comment today. Liz is graciously drawing for a copy of Vegas Two Step (the first book set in Oak Stand and Liz's debut SuperRomance) along with a $10.00 gift card to Barnes and Noble.

You’ll want to look at more of Liz’s books on her website: Liztalleybooks.com and to “friend” her on Twitter and Facebook: amyliztalley. Be sure to add GetLostInAStory to your FB LIKE pages and receive notification of today’s winner of VEGAS TWO STEP & the Barnes & Noble gift card.

A VERY BIG THANKS TO CYNTHIA D'ALBA for gathering the initial interview from Liz. I failed to mention that Cynthia will be conducting some guest interviews but had to leave town during Liz's. Cynthia will be with GLIAS on Wednesday, January 5th with Vicki Lewis Thompson.

Krista Davis will join us tomorrow and Angi will be blogging throughout New Year’s weekend about CLAIMING 2011 AS YOUR YEAR. So be sure to join us again. ~~til this weekend, Angi

Alix Rickloff

Get Lost in This Story…

The magic she tries to hide…

Born a lady, but reduced to surviving in the slums of Dublin, Catriona O’Connell has been hired to steal a mysterious book from Aidan Douglas, Earl of Kilronan. But Cat is secretly Other, an age-old mixture of Fey and human—something Aidan recognizes immediately when he surprises the lovely young burglar in his library, about to steal a magical diary.

…is the magic he desperately wants.

From the moment Aidan sees her, Cat’s spirited beauty enchants him, but her uncanny abilities are what he truly needs, for Cat can understand the mystical language in the diary he inherited from his murdered father. So Aidan makes an offer: translate the book or be thrown in prison as a thief. And as Cat slowly deciphers each page, she and Aidan are drawn together by passion . . .and into the violence of the Other world that is the Kilronan legacy. Can they defeat those who seek the book, or are their lives in even greater danger than their hearts?

Today, we welcome paranormal historical romance author Alix Rickloff to the blog! Alix has never been able to decide who she enjoys reading more; Austen or Tolkien. That lifelong indecision drove her to create stories of her own, combining those distinct loves. Her writing awards include a final in the Golden Heart, while Romantic Times Magazine calls her work both compelling and original.

Her latest series set in Regency Ireland, The Heirs of Kilronan, follows the children of the old Earl of Kilronan as they struggle against the fallout from the evil their father unleashed before his death.

EARL OF DARKNESS featuring Aidan Douglas, the eldest son and heir to the title earl of Kilronan, is the first book in the series which releases TODAY! The second book, LORD OF SHADOWS is due to be released in July 2011 with the third and final book, whose title is still under consideration, coming out in January 2012.

So, let's meet Alix!

Heather: What’s your favorite movie of all time?

Alix: Can I have three movies? I absolutely adored Peter Jackson’s LOTR trilogy. The casting was spot-on (Viggo Mortensen was delicious as Aragorn), the adaptation of Tolkein’s books to the screen was fabulous, and the attention to detail was amazing. I still use the soundtrack from those movies to inspire my own muse.

Heather: What’s your favorite fairy tale?

Alix: Beauty and the Beast. The idea of a woman’s love healing a man who’s been damaged in some way is a theme I’ve used over and over in my own writing.

Heather: Where do you read and how often?

Alix: I usually read in bed before I turn out the light. That is unless it’s a book that completely takes me over in which case I read everywhere and without stopping until I’m finished. Family? What family?

Heather: What sound or noise do you love?

Alix: Spring peepers. When they start singing I know winter’s almost over.

Heather: Do you write while listening to music? If so what kind?

Alix: See answer to question #1. Yes, I use music to inspire. It can be anything from the soundtracks to LOTR or The Last of the Mohicans to Enya, Wagner, or Muse, depending on the scene and the emotional impact.

Heather: Be honest, when reading 1^st person...do you miss the hero’s POV?

Alix: Yes. I like knowing what the man is thinking. I’ve begun to notice author’s writing the heroine’s POV in 1^st and the hero’s in 3^rd. I guess that’s one way to get around that problem.

Heather: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?

Alix: Breathe a great big sigh of relief.

Heather: What do you do to unwind and relax?

Alix: No surprise—I read. Or enjoy a family movie night at home complete with popcorn.

Heather: Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Alix: Oh, I so wish I could say I ignored reviews and never let them influence me. But the sad truth is that I do read them. And no matter how many fantastic reviews I receive, it’s always the one negative comment that sticks with me for days.

Heather: Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?

Alix: Coffee. Cream and sugar first so when I pour the coffee in, it’s instantly stirred. A trick I learned from my husband.

Heather: Dog person or cat person?

Alix: Cat. I love their independence.

HEATHER’S GOTTA ASK –ALIX’S GOTTA ANSWER J

Heather: So, we know you write regencies with that “Something Other”. If YOU could have a “something other” element or power in your life, what would it be?

Alix: That’s an easy one—the ability to clone myself.

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?

Since the holidays have just passed, I want to know what everyone’s favorite gift was this year.

WILL YOU HAVE A DRAWING FROM THOSE LEAVING COMMENTS?

Yes, I will give away a copy of EARL OF DARKNESS to one lucky commenter.

Thanks for coming by today, Alix!

If you’d like to learn more about Alix, visit her website or find her on Facebook.

www.AlixRickloff.com

www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Alix-Rickloff/101434889914147?ref=ts

www.BlameItOnTheMuse.com

Readers, don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance at the drawing.

We will announce a winner here and on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Get-Lost-In-A-Story/

You can also follow us on Twitter @GetLostInAStory

Maria Geraci

GET LOST IN FABULOUS WOMEN'S FICTION

Today, Maria Geraci, author of Bunco Babes Tell All and Bunco Babes Gone Wild, is here to tell all, (to go a little wild), and to celebrate the release of her latest novel, The Boyfriend of the Month Club.

Maria Geraci was born in Havana, Cuba and raised on Florida’s Space Coast. She lives in Tallahassee, Florida with her husband and children where she works part time nights as a labor and delivery nurse. During the day she avoids housework by writing fun, romantic women’s fiction.

The Boyfriend of the Month Club
Berkley Trade Paperback
December 2010

At thirty, Grace O’Bryan has dated every loser that Daytona Beach has to offer. After the ultimate date-from-hell, Grace decides to take matters into her own hands and turns her dwindling book club into a boyfriend club, where women can come together to discuss the eligible men in their community. Where are the real live twenty-first century versions of literary heroes such as Heathcliff and Mr. Darcy?

Could it be successful and handsome Brandon Farrell, who is willing to overlook his disastrous first date with Grace and offers financial help for her parents’ failing Florida gift shop? Or maybe sexy dentist Joe Rosenblum, who’s great with a smile but not so great at commitment? Unfortunately, just like books, men cannot always be judged by their covers.

“Romance readers will revel in the Austen-perfect happy ending and the warm friendship among members of the club.” Publishers Weekly

“Geraci (Author of Bunco Babes Tell All) is not the first to compare her characters to Mr. Darcy and his brethren, and while this device isn’t unique, her quirky characters and colorful setting certainly are.” Booklist

You can read Chapter One of The Boyfriend of the Month Club right here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now we reach the part of this post during which, like her bunco babes, Maria tells us all!

Maria, how often do you read and to you have a particular place where you love to read?

I read as often as I can, and I read anywhere I can. But I think my “favorite” place is in bed. No matter how tired I am, I absolutely cannot fall asleep without reading, even if it’s just a page or two.

I'm the same way.  If you couldn’t be a writer anymore, what profession would you take up?

I still work part-time as a labor and delivery nurse (I have 2 kids left to get through college!) and I love doing that too. Being a part of someone’s “big” day gives me a great high.

I can only imagine the uplifting and heartbreaking drama in a job like that. But, on to something really important.... Is Elvis really dead?

Of course not. He works as a sushi chef at Osaka’s (that’s my local Japanese steak house). He’s pretty awesome with a pair of knives.

Sounds fishy. :) What’s your favorite cartoon character?

Speedy Gonzalez. I even do a little “tribute” to him in my latest book.

What turns you off like nothing else?

Arrogant, rude people.

Tulips or roses?

Neither. I’m a daisy girl.

Which of your characters would you most like to invite to dinner, and why?

I would most like to have dinner (and especially dessert) with Charlie O’Bryan (the brother of my main character in The Boyfriend of the Month Club). While writing the book I developed a little crush on him. I wish I could have written more scenes for him, but he was a secondary character and I had to trim pages in the end.

Oh, I already hope that Charlie gets to be a lead in another book! What do you like on your burger? (and do you take your burger veggie or beefy?)

This is a really important question. Hamburgers are my favorite food. The perfect burger is a nice big hunk of meat, cooked medium rare on some really good, fresh bread (slightly toasted) with a little catsup, some thinly sliced onion, pickles, lettuce and one slice of tomato. And absolutely no cheese. Not ever.

Why am I suddenly hungry? What soundtrack or playlist do you recommend for your current release?

Anything by Colbie Caillat. She’s awesome.

Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?

Coffee. With just one packet of Splenda and lots of half and half. My husband likes to say that I take a little coffee with my cream.

What would you say is your most interesting quirk?

Well, I don’t know if it’s interesting, but I talk to myself. Like all the time. It took my husband a long time to get used to it. He’d come home from work and ask who was at the house, because he’d hear me talking to someone. Now, after 25 years of marriage, he’s surprised if someone real is actually there.

GOTTA ASK -- GOTTA ANSWER ☺

What’s your idea of a fabulous girls’ night out?

Dinner at a really good restaurant, followed by a few drinks, then maybe either a play (I love musical theatre) or some karaoke. Of course, Bunco is always fun too!

MARIA'S JUST GOTTA ASK HER READERS:

If you could be any literary heroine for a day, who would you be? And why?

Thanks for stopping by and sharing, Maria!

You can find Maria on the web here:

Website http://www.mariageraci.com/
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/MariaGeraciBooks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MariaGeraci

Maria would like to offer a copy of her latest book, The Boyfriend of the Month Club, to one lucky commenter!

How The Grinch Stole My Heart

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” ~~Dr. Seuss, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS 

 Macy's Thanksgiving parade started off the Christmas TV season for me when I was young (waaayyy before Cable, but definitely after Howdy Doody). There were a couple of things I always looked forward to: Miracle on 34th Street (the original of course) and an annual Christmas party with Mr. Peppermint. 

Mr. Peppermint was a local Dallas actor who had a children's morning show. He dressed in a red & white stripped suit, straw hat, and carried a red & white stripped cane. My grandmother took us to the Christmas party in downtown Dallas...he was normally the emcee who introduced Santa. One year, my sister and I walked to the front to receive our candy cane and I asked Mr. Peppermint if he knew how to catch a squirrel (I think I was 5). He laughed so hard he took me to the microphone and I told the audience. I have vivid memories of that night...one picture. 

Miracle on 34th Street -- no one needs a reason to watch Maureen O'Hara's heart start "believing" in Santa. And then there's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I'm not really certain I really knew Dr. Suess before that. I probably did. My mother read to me all the time, took us to the library, I constantly had books checked out from school. But I didn't own many books. The Grinch just might be the first "bad boy" who gained a soft spot in the corner of my heart. 

Okay here's the story plug--.38 Caliber Cover-Up will be released electronically January 1st and on book shelves February 8th. My "bad boy" Erren Rhodes makes an important appearance in Hill Country Holdup before his "heart growing" story. But on with THIS blog... The big stinkin' Grinch stole my heart when I was young. I love how Boris Karloff narrated the TV special in 1966. I don't really think anyone can top that version. And do you know who sang the song? I can't make you wait (anyone can Google it): Thurl Ravenscroft. Don't know him? He's better known as the voice of Tony the Tiger in TV commercials. How does anyone sing that low?! Seeing the Grinch come to life... seeing his heart grow... Well, it changed the way I looked at "bad boys" forever. 

            Merry Christmas ~~ Angi 

“You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” ~~Dr. Seuss

Cat's Old/New Christmas Tradition

Everyone has Christmas traditions they grew up with.  For me it was the vacation my parents and I took every year to Florida. 

Early the Saturday morning after school let out, my mother would bundle me into the back seat of the car and we would hit the road.

Since we started our journey in Minnesota, the temperature was always below freezing.  Of course my dad would have started the car ten minutes earlier so the inside was beginning to warm, but a chill still clung to the vinyl.

My heart would beat a little faster as he backed out of the driveway.  In three days we’d be surrounded by sunshine and palm trees.  I couldn’t wait.   I'd usually spend the first two days of on the road with my nose buried in one of the nine or ten library books I'd brought along, but at the beginning of day three, we'd hit the Florida border and I'd peer out the window, eager for my first glimpse of a palm tree. 

I have lots of memories of those road trips.  I don’t remember much about the rest of the year, but those two weeks, especially the drive down to Florida, those days are vividly etched in my mind.

So, this year, I decided to share my warm weather Christmas tradition with my daughter.  As I write this, we’re poolside on Sanibel Island, Florida, surrounded by palm trees wrapped in Christmas lights.

We’ve seen dolphins frolicking, gone kayaking through the island’s nature preserve, and spent hours on the beach.  The island will be packed with tourists a month from now.  For the moment, it seems as if we have it to ourselves.

Do you have a special family Christmas tradition you've passed down to the next generation that you can share with us?