From the old bat's belfry

In this Holiday Season, all is about celebration and lights. Yet the darkness is still there waiting. Do we all carry a pre-civilization memory of the days when our ancient ancestors may have lived in caves and feared the night? Many dangerous beasts roamed the darkness in those ancient times, so there was cause for fear.

Today light is only as far away as the flick of a finger, yet we still fear darkness. With some cause, because danger still stalks the night, some humans being more dangerous than any beast.

If you happpen to believe in paranormal creatures--are they out there waiting in the dark?

Even if you don't believe such creatures ever existed, if you're like me, you still enjoy scaring yourself by reading about them. And in my case, also creating them to try to scare readers,

I've written about both kinds of dark predators--human and paranormal. And ones who are sometimes human, such as were-creatures. Do I believe in these paranormal beings? Yes and no. In real life, no. But while I'm writing about them, yes, they exist for me in all their complexity and unhuman ways, just as all my characters are real to me when I write about them. They have to be, so I can feel what they feel and care about the outcome. Which often makes it hard to leave them behind when I'm through with the story.

I've written about weres: Wolves--Racing With The Moon, The Volan Curse and a number of short stories and novellas. Dragons--Moondark and Darkness of Dragons Trilogy, plus a novella. Beasts--The Moonrunner Trilogy.

A more complicated one was Fire Griffin where meteorite "eggs" hatched into huge ravenous worms that morphed into griffins. These beasts then merged , literally, into whatever human who found the "egg" as symbiotes, enchancing the abilities of humans without harming them.

Others were magic dolls--Hugger Doll. Or vengeful ghosts-The Woman In White.

My preference is to write about were creatures not as evil monsters, but simply a shifter who may or may not be able to control his or her changes. Mine never run in packs, they're individuals who carry the shifter trait for better or worse.

I won't discuss vampires because mine are always evil. I have never been able to view a vampire as anything but dead. Not a living creature. So none of mine have yet been heroes. I use "yet" because I really do never know for sure what I'm going to come up with in the future. Keeps life interesting.

My December book is Ten Past Midnight and dark indeed. Stories in it include madness, a ghoul, an ancient Egyptian monster, and horny aliens. But two of the dark tales do end sort of happy for now.

All my monsters reside at my website: http://www.janetoombs.com/

Connie Chastain Interview

1. Why do you write romance?

Basically, because I love men and I write to honor them.  They are absolutely fascinating creatures.  Women and men are similar enough to understand each other's humanity, but we have differences, too.

Here's how I conceptualize it. We've all seen the astrological symbols for male and female (male, Mars, circle and arrow; female, Venus, circle and cross).

Sometimes you see the circles linked, but I think the depictions of them overlapping, perhaps 75% of the circle, illustrate it best. The area where the circles overlap illustrates how men and women are alike (i.e., the human characteristics we share) and those parts of the circle outside the overlap are how we are different (the sex/gender characteristics we don't share).

I don't think we can even understand each other in those areas. But there's plenty enough commonality within the overlap for us to get along; and the differences, frankly, are what attract us to each other.

2. Are you aware of any themes that run through your stories? If so, what are they?

Several. I didn't consciously plan it this way, but a theme, or at least an element, that runs through my stories is the difficulty people sometimes have accepting forgiveness/redemption after they have wronged someone. This element plays a crucial role in Southern Man, which I self-published, and Storm Surge, which is currently under consideration by a small publisher in a west coast state.  It also occurs in a couple of my mainstream non-romance WIPs.

Another recurring theme or element is criticism of feminism, or at least, radical feminism and third-wave feminism.  I like voting and being paid what my work is worth, but I am irrevocably opposed to the man-hating aspects of feminism, and the more recent hook-up culture feminism that I believe is so harmful to women. (This is primarily the reason for the "controversial" and "politically incorrect" references in my author logline.)

A third recurring theme or element is the American South, its people (especially its men!), history and culture.  Although I'm a lifelong Southerner, except for a five-year sojourn in the Midwest, I'm as fascinated with my region, its beauties, mysteries and contradictions, as any outsider.

Another element is the role religion, specifically Christianity, plays in my characters' lives. I don't write Christian romances--I've read a few and found them, um, well, a bit too preachy. (I realize they may not all be like that.) Current pop culture eschews religion, sometimes ridicules it, and worst of all, frequently portrays religious people as bizarre, even monstrous. I personally don't know any religious people like that, and I frankly resent the portrayal that slanders legions of good, decent people. Regardless of the irreverence in pop culture, religion plays an important role in the lives of real people, though they may not realize it. I try to show how faith manifests in my characters' lives without in-your-face scripture-quoting and such, so my stories are written with a Christian worldview.

Finally, one of the most fascinating elements, something I love to explore, is reality versus appearance.  How a character's life/work/family may look to those outside it contrasted with how the character himself experiences it.  As an example, in Southern Man, the protagonist, Troy Stevenson, for all his sexiness and good looks, is perceived by co-workers to be a rather staid, upright religionist married to a straight-laced little Southern Baptist wife, when in fact they have an extremely powerful sexual bond, and a very satisfying, um, innovative sex life.

3. Do you have a specific writing style?

Yeah.  I tell, don't show, and I head-hop.

Just joking!

My stories are written mostly from the POV of a disembodied, impersonal narrator--but not third person omniscient.  I conceptualize the narrator as a video-camera that shows or tells, whichever does the job best. The camera  floats around and focuses on what it thinks is important for the reader to see/know.  It can zoom out to see a whole room, a whole planet, a whole universe, or zero in on the multicolored flecks in the irises of the hero's soulful eyes....

The narrator will share POV with one character per scene, but only one; that's how I avoid head-hopping.  Critiquers sometimes detect POV "slippage" between the narrator and a character, and if it's too blatant, I'll address it, but I usually let it go. (I've generally found readers to be oblivious to POV issues.)

I try to conform to the simplified writing style advocated by Rudolph Flesch in How to Write, Speak and Think More Effectively.  Short paragraphs, short, mostly simple sentences (in subject, verb, object order) varied with occasional compound and complex sentences.  There's more to it than that, and there are other schools of simplified writing, but this discipline has done more to make my writing viable than anything else I've encountered.

Flesch's book is out of print, but used copies are available, and I recommend it to any writer.  Fiction writers only need to read the first few chapters.

3.  What inspired you to write your first book?

Southern Man emerged as a prequel to Sweet, Southern Boys, a non-romance about three teenage boys in Georgia, growing up best friends, whose lives are ruined when they're accused of rape.  That book was a prequel to Little Sister, which was--oh, heck, never mind.  I started writing Little Sister first, but Southern Man was the first one finished and published, so it's really the first.

It was inspired by a comment made by Reade Seligmann, one of the Duke Lacrosse defendants.  I no longer have the quote, and can't find it online, but he said something like, when he saw pictures of himself on national TV and heard news reports about what he was accused of, "I can't tell you what that did to me inside."

I wanted to tell what it does inside to a good, decent man to be falsely accused of that type of crime.  In Southern Man, the accusation was toned down to sexual harassment because it is set in the early 1980s, when a lot of sexual harassment law and policy was being formulated in the United  States. But the story focuses on the experience of the protagonist, Troy Stevenson--what it did to him inside--and the effects it had on his family.



4.  How much of the book is realistic?

I tried to make all of it realistic; the office politics where Troy works, the viciousness of small-town gossip; the pull and tug of progressivism versus traditionalism.  People might think the adoration of Troy's wife for him is a bit unrealistic--he acknowledges that her love for him borders on idolatry--but even she has her limits, and her near worship of him does cause emotional problems for her.

The only other element I'm concerned about is the realism of the children in the story. I don't have kids. I've never been around them much, and the portrayal of Troy's kids really concerned me; but thus far, I've received absolutely no feedback that the kids aren't realistic.

As for the realism of false sexual harassment accusations, as one of my video trailers alludes to, nearly half of the sexual harrassment complaints brought before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are dismissed after investigation for "no reasonable cause found."

5. Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

No. Except for the Seligmann quote referred to, the story is based only on recent and current cultural trends in the USA.  None of my stories are based on my own experiences, except incidentally.  For example, in Storm Surge, I draw on my experience in property and casualty insurance claims and living through coastal hurricanes, but I made up the specific events of the story.

6.  What are your current projects?

I've just started a paranormal romance with the working title Wrong Turn. It's about a man who doesn't believe in crypto-primates (Bigfoot/Sasquatch) until the woman he's falling in love with is imperiled by them.

The aforementioned Sweet Southern Boys is about three-quarters complete, Little Sister is about a third complete.  The Candidate, a follow-up to Southern Man, is in the planning stages.  None of these are romances but they include romantic elements.

7.  What books have most influenced your life most?

As far as my writing life goes, the earliest books to inspire me were the Nero Wolfe mysteries by the inimitable Rex Stout.  To this day, Archie Goodwin is the only first-person narrator I can abide.  I read The Doorbell Rang when I was about thirteen and at some point after finishing several more of the series, I was thinking in narrative and dialog.

Others include Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and the Louisiana novels of Frances Parkinson Keyes,

Robin Lee Graham's Dove. Favorite classics include Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass; Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time.

I could go on, but those are representative.

8. Please tell us about your most recent release and where we can purchase it.

Southern Man is about a devoted family man who is targeted with a false sexual harassment complaint by an amoral young woman and her uber-feminist mentor.

Here's a blurb:

=========

In 1983, in moss-hung Verona, Georgia, the tender and tenacious love between a hardworking man and his adoring wife is tested by sudden adversity.

Corporate executive Troy Stevenson must confront his nascent alcohol abuse or he risks losing the wife, daughter and son he deeply loves. When his latent destructiveness impacts his family, he moves to their weekend cottage to come to grips with his personal weaknesses.

But busybodies at his company assume he left home because his marriage is in trouble. Encouraged by the assumption, co-worker Brooke Emerson, a 1980s material girl romantically obsessed with Troy, attempts to seduce him, setting in motion a chain of events with harrowing consequences for him and his family.

=========

I created a publishing company, Brasstown Books, to bring it to print.  (I enjoyed publishing the book so much, I'd eventually like to do go into that as a sideline and publish other writers' books and stories, both in print and e-book format.)

Here are links to more information about Southern Man on my website:

Summary:

http://conniechastain.com/sm_summary.html

Excerpt:

http://conniechastain.com/sm_excerpt.html

Videos (yeah, plural; four of 'em, ha!)

http://conniechastain.com/sm_videos.html

Reviews:

http://conniechastain.com/reviews.html

Southern Man is available on Amazon.com in print and Kindle versions, and on Smashwords.

Print:

http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Man-Connie-Chastain/dp/061529801X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245882533&sr=1-1

Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Man-ebook/dp/B002Z7G1F4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1259715283&sr=1-2

Smashwords:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/13733

9. Please give us your urls and your publisher’s url.

My website:

http://conniechastain.com

My blog (not entirely devoted to writing):

http://conniechastain.blogspot.com

My publishing site:

http://brasstownbooks.com

10.  Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

Yes. I learned to tell, not show, and to head-hop!  LOL!

Again, I'm kidding.

What I learned is to not let the "rules" put your creativity in a straight jacket.  There were so many false starts with Southern Man, as I sought to conform to the rules ("Open with a hook," "Get straight to the action," "No infodumps!" "Sprinkle the backstory," "Show, don't tell," "No prologues,") that I sometimes despaired of completing the book. At the very least, I feared it would rob the story of my voice, and in that case, I might as well not finish it.

I learned so much about how to craft a story, and it is valuable knowledge, but what I would share with other writers is, listen to yourself. When all is said and done, agent newsletters, editor blogs, crit groups do not write your story. You do.  And only you, so guard your voice.

It was great having you Connie on NN.

Tabitha

The Wacky Misadventures of Four Romance Writers Run Amuck

WARNING: This post breaks most of the writing rules. Every rule broken was done on purpose.

Chapter Three

The four women pushed on past the carnage of the decimated bear. Fur and entrails dripped from the forest around them.

"That’s just gross!" Brenda picked up her dainty booted feet and gathered her silky drac cape closer.

Tabby tried to put on a brave front, while forcing back her rising nausea.

"Let's get a move on, ladies. Ya'll are on my last nerve."

Cindy did a little heebie jeeby dance and dashed past the bear parts strewn about. Strange hissing sounds came from her. Looking like a foil wrapped baked potato, she ran past Penny.

Rolling her eyes, Penny skillfully avoided the worst of the goo.

"Ok, does anyone have a map?" Penny asked.

The forest around lit, with the four separate cell phones accessing the web for links on  how to get through the forest of writers block.

"Lions and tigers and  ... Oh, no more bear," Brenda laughed.

Penny and Tabby smiled, thinking the worst must be behind them.

"I got a bad feeling," Cindy said.

"Nonsense, the map on my phone said all we have to do is press on." Penny told them all.

Tabby wrinkled her dark brows. "Mine said, close my eyes and take a nap."

"The map I found said, go read my favorite book again," chimed in Brenda.

"Yeah, well, I think they're all full of crap. My map said you have to do a little dance." Cindy sneered.

Penny walked ahead of the group, eyeing the quiet forest looming around them. "Cindy is right. Something is not quite right…"

A small sweet voice called out from the distance.

"Grammy." Its haunting sweetness called to Penny. Her body swayed toward the sound.

"Ri?" The voice beckoned, luring Penny into the darkness of the forest.

"Help me, Penny. Help me." The voices changed, echoed eerily. "Edit this, crit that."

The forest morphed into huge dancing punctuation marks. They swirled around her, forming a spinning hypnotic image. Lilting music filled the air. A long squiggly line like those under a misspelled word coiled and danced like a cobra to a flute. The words, it must be perfect, formed in the leaves of the trees, and held Penny spellbound. She began to chant.

"Backspace…backspace… backspace."

"No, Penny. Don't. It’s a trap!" yelled Tabby. She moved forward to stop Penny from the siren's song calling her.

Tabby almost made it to Penny, when her ankle was grabbed by a shiny blue wire.

Wild shrieks ripped from a Tabby's throat. The forest around her was suddenly alive with wires in a myriad of colors, all weaving, and twining around Tabby. She tried in vain to free herself from the electronic ambush. It tugged and pulled at her, hanging her like an ornament in the branches.

Brenda screamed. She wanted to help her friends from the traps that held them. Looking down at the forest floor beneath her, rich dark soil sank into a pit under her feet. The smell of sweet flowers and ripening fruit invaded her senses. From the dirt below, she heard the faint crow of a renegade rooster. It was too late. The soil crept and crawled up her legs, sucking her down into its depths.

Cindy stood like one of the trees around her, frozen in place by terror. How could she help the others? She leaned one way then the other. Unable to fully commit to helping any one individual, she helped none. Just then she was knocked to the ground by a pair of kids' sneakers. One after the other she was pelted by shoes and laundry. Grocery bags wound around her wrists and ankles, and one gagged her. The only sound from her was the muffle grunts when she was stomped on by the endless pairs of kid's shoes.

It looked like it was over for the four. Each one tangled and pulled under by their own personal demons. When it seemed darkest, and our girls were beyond help, four pulses of light glowed. From the light nearest Penny stepped four people. Two looked like they belonged in an ad for corporate life. Mick held his hand out to help Jo step into the spongy forest floor.

"This isn't exactly the best place for these heels. They're Italian."

Mick, ever the gentleman, picked her up in his muscled arms. Behind them came another couple. The woman's arms, laden with delicious smelling baked goods. Raef ran his hands through his hair.

"Not again… Penny... Penny… "

Grace moved toward Penny. "She is in some sort of trance."

Mick, carrying Jo, walked in front of Penny's unseeing eyes.

"Penny? Honey?" Jo reached out to put a gentle hand to her shoulder.

All four turned toward the abyss of the forest were the haunting voices and hypnotic punctuation held fast to their Penny.

"Grace, toss me a fresh loaf of bread," Raef said.

He caught the warm loaf and waved the fragrant bread beneath Penny's nose.

Then together both couples yelled, "PENNY!"

Waking from her dream, Penny shook herself. For the first time, she looked into the faces of the four.

"You had us worried there," Mick told her, readjusting Jo in his arms. He leaned toward her and whispered in her ear.

"Do you think you could write a pair of gym shoes into Jo's bag?"

Penny smiled, and seemed to relax in the safety of her characters.

"Sure Mick. I just did."

Jo looked into her large purse and pulled a nice pair of jogging shoes from the depths. Grace dumped the rest of the baked goods into Raef's arms and went to help Jo.

"I love those pumps. Where did you get them?"

"Macys, twenty percent off. They are comfortable and they make your calves look great."

"You know, I am moving to a small town. Do you think we can go shopping before I move?"

"We have to bring Penny. She is the one who picked out this skirt. It was one of the things that caught Mick's eye," she laughed.

From the second pulse of light nearest Tabby emerged Zan. His tanned skin glowed as if he stepped from a Giorgio Armani commercial. The wind ruffled the half-open silk shirt tucked into his well-tailored trousers. At the site of Tabby, trussed up like a Christmas turkey, he smiled revealing his pearly white fangs. Caprice came up behind him. Her small golden sequined, shift dress glided over the curves of her slinky body. She scrunched her perfect face when she saw the state Tabby was in.

"Move it, angel boy. Can't you tuck those things in to get through the door?"

"Woman, don’t give me your lip."

Lyric and Craigen stumbled from the light.

"Dearest Lord," Craigen exclaimed, rushing to Tabby's side. His mouth fell open as he circled. Tabby hung in the trees by her arms and legs. She was wound tightly with wires and cords from electronics of all kinds.

"Ge ma oot off here," Tabby mumbled. Her eyes flashed angrily, the blackberry stuffed in her mouth making her words difficult to understand. Craigen pulled a small glowing dagger from his belt he wiped the blade across his denim clad leg.

"How the hell did you get yourself into this mess?" Lyric asked. Her arms crossed over her dark business suit.

She threw Craigen a surprised look. "Well, what are you waiting for? Cut her loose. You too, Choppers."

Zan's deep chuckle brought a blush to Caprices face.

"You going to help? He asked her. His smoldering gaze undressing her in his mind.

Caprice looked away from him. Her face burnt with thoughts of Zan. "Let the FBI chick do it. I just had my nails done." For effect, she blew on her perfectly manicured fingers.

Zan leaned close to her sniffing the air around her.

"Those better be dry by the time were though here, or you're going to smudge them on my back."

"Cut the crap, Sauvé, and help me get our Tabby out of this," Craigen said.

Lyric pulled a well-concealed switchblade from inside of her blouse. She cut the wires imprisoning Tabby. Craigen's brows came together in concentration. Each slice of his dagger, gently done with care for Tabby's safety. Zan sauntered up to Tabby. His gaze locked with hers. He moved with deliberate sensuality. Dipping his head toward Tabby's neck, his warm tongue pulled a wire from her skin and his fangs sliced it cleanly. He growled and went after another.

"Good Lord vampire, you're not being graded on this." Lyric smirked.

Caprice stamped her Prada flats and warned Zan with a look that could have lit the sun.

Zan laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "I can't help it. I'm that good."

Tabby finally breathed a sigh of relief as the three of them freed her from the last of the wires. Craigen pulled her into his comforting arms, and kissed the top of her head.

"All safe, precious."

Brenda's head was just slipping beneath the shifting dirt. Her hands clawed wildly at the ground. Mel threw himself to the ground followed closely by Breeana. The two of them desperately tried to dig her from her impending grave. Mel shoved his hands deep into the earth and pulled with all his might. Brenda's head pulled free of the ground. She sucked in a huge breath, choking and spitting dirt from her mouth.

"What the hell is this?" Breeana pulled a potato from beneath the ground.

A rag tag group of vampires dropped down beside Mel and joined in the fight against the dirt that was still trying to pull Brenda away.

Kal watched from the sidelines. A plate of nachos balanced in one hand. The other hand dipped a chip into the cheese and popped it into his mouth.

"Kal! … A hand here? Mel complained.

Kal passed the plate of nachos to Ace and pulled a small garden shovel from his back pocket. He joined the crew of vigorously digging vampires.

"Ace!" yelled Mel.

"What? Save a human or a plate of nachos?"

"Ace," the others warned.

"I'm thinking," he snarled back.

Sin swore and fell back as he pulled a screeching rooster from the dirt.

"What the bloody hell is this?" He directed the comment at Breeana.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"You’re the vet."

"So, I didn’t put the damn rooster there."

Mel tugged harder, readjusting his grip under Brenda arms. Brenda cried, her arms wound around Mel's neck.

The small silver shovel in Kal's hands pitched the dirt away from Brenda's body. The speed of his hands helped uncover her. Mel continued to tug her from the cloying ground. Sin and Black's grasp on Brenda helped Mel pull her from the ground.

Breeana let out a blood-curdling scream as the head of a small miniature horse broke free of the mud and reached out to bite the back of Brenda's jeans.

Brenda and Breeana shrieked in tandem as the horse's teeth tried to pull Brenda back into the ground.

Kal thumped the horse on the face with the garden shovel.

"Stop that. You'll hurt him," Breeana moaned.

"He is trying to eat Brenda," Kal exclaimed. "What do you want me to do, give him a reward?"

"Kiwi, let go," screamed Brenda as her legs flayed to gain purchase on the shifting ground.

At last, the group of vampires pulled Brenda from the dirt and dragged her away from the pit where the horse and chicken still eyed Brenda. An evil laugh echoed from a group of raccoons at the edge of the forests, strawberries, and raspberries clutched in their paws.

"That is just freakin weird," Kal said to Mel

Ace threw the empty plate toward the raccoons, scattering them.

Wiping his hands on his jeans, he crouched down where Mel still held Brenda in his muscled arms. His large hand picking chunks of mud from her hair.

Brenda wiped her mouth on her dirty arm and immediately spit the dirt from her mouth.

"Ack.".

Ace looked into Brenda's dirt smudged face.

"You’re a mess, human."

"Thanks for the help, jerk," Brenda grumbled. "Just wait," she warned, pulling debris from her scraggly tangled hair and smoothing the bedraggled cape over her legs.

The last of the lights flared as an endless horde of people spilled forth. Miles, barefoot, skipped to where Cindy was drowning beneath shoes, laundry, and backpacks. The trees around them jingled with the sound of car keys. Each key lit with an address... an eerie sick green light cycled on and off in the branches, spelling out the words taxi. Andros pulled a pulse rifle from his belt and one by one picked off the car keys from the branches. They dropped harmlessly to the forest floor.

Miles leaned over Cindy, flashing her a bright smile and a wink.

"Got yourself in a bit of a pickle, eh?"

Georgia shook her head and began to pull the shoes off the heaping pile.

Tally took a laser scalpel and carefully started to cut away the plastic grocery bags from Cindy's wrists. The pungent odor of burning plastic tainted the air.

Miles pulled out a tennis racquet and began to toss shoes in the air and swat them away…yelling, "Fore," as he did.

"I've got a hell of a serve," he boasted. Georgia laughed up at him and gave him the next shoe to smack.

Rory set up a perimeter around the whole group, signaling to a group of commandos to lay low and keep their eyes open.

Jonas stood behind Andros and scored his shots.

"4.5, 3.7," he laughed

"Close your face, boy scout."

"Like you know what a boy scout is," Jonas smirked.

"I am capable of reading your human script. Now let's get that fool out of the way and see if we can't uncover Cindy."

Andros and Jonas joined Miles in pulling the hundreds of shoes off her. Once free, Andros held out a hand and pulled Cindy to her feet. Dusting herself off, she surveyed the group around them. Each of her fellow writers was pulled free of their troubles by the very characters each created. The voices of the characters refused to be ignored. The humans, vampires, and aliens gathered around their writer and jealously guarded them. Now flesh and blood, none of them would go unheard. Whatever lies ahead in the dangerous forest of writers block, they would all go as a group. There was safety in numbers, and the characters were not about to let the forest swallow them up. Even if it meant holding the hand of their writers, this dedicated and boisterous group would not be put back on a shelf.

"Let's head out. I'll take point," said Rory. An enormous gun, skillfully handled. She aimed into the dark recess of the forest.

"We're all in this together, and need each other," Tally put in. Her gentle look passed over the whole, strange lot of writers and characters.

"Me wanker is yodeling. I've got to drain the hose," Miles remarked.

Andros, shaking his head, walked past him. "Idiot."

By Cindy Pahl

Emma Paul Interview

Why do you write romance?

I didn’t really start with romance as a preference.  In fact I was more of a straight fantasy writer, my first works had no romance at all.  It wasn’t until my late teens and early twenties that I got into romance novels.  I was one of those people who got embarrassed by the cover art, the kind with Fabio embracing a very enraptured damsel in distress…yeah…once I finally got over the initial “its not for me it’s for my mother” phase, I found that I loved reading Romance, and started to experiment by combining my fantasy stories with elements of Romance.  And voila… a bond was created.



What romance subgenres do you write in? Why?

I have written contemporary shorts. However, my favorites are science fiction, fantasy and paranormal.  When I started writing, it was more for my one sanity than anything else.  All my stories have a piece of experience from my past in them, the genre is often my own need to escape from or at least to some degree change the out-come of a painful memory.  My imagination is my freedom and my escape. I love creating new worlds and alternate realities.  I think that if I didn’t write I would probably be schizophrenic.

What inspires your stories?

I really believe the question should be “What doesn’t inspire me to write.”  Every day life.  My own battles, my growth as a person, as a woman.  I find inspiration in everything I do, I read and the people I meet along the way.  Life is a journey.

What is your writing schedule?

Late evening until early hours.  I’m usually wired.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

I started reading Erotica about five years ago and have added quite a bit of eroticism to most of my works.  Sex sells. But I write it because…well…who doesn’t love hot, heart pounding sex? I also have a passion for painting and roller coasters…

Do you have any other passions besides writing? If yes, what are they? Why?

Other Passions besides writing?…?  I suppose art history, and UFOology…love me some CSI and crime dramas too. I’m a really criminal justice fanatic. It’s actually what I majored in College.

Are you aware of any themes that run through your stories? If so, what are they?

Well besides the hot romance and sexy alpha heros…I would say my characters tend to be sassy, with much quirky personalities.  The heroine especially.  I like to created a heroine with “real women” physical traits. On occasion I will have a supermodel type, but she always has some weird personality trait that makes her relatable to the reader.  My hero is usually hot, hot, hot…hot…did I mention hot…oh yeah I give them the brains with all that brawn.



What is your favorite comfort food?

Chocolate covered raisons and pizza…

What relaxes you?

Snuggling with my baby, family time and of course reading.

What is your favorite fairy tale? Why?

The ugly duckling, because you can never judge a book by it’s cover.  Inner beauty never fades.

What do you enjoy doing, when not writing?

Watching cartoons, reading Comic books and playing my daughters DSI.

What would you like readers to take away from your stories?

I would love for readers to remember my stories, and read them over and over again.  I try to write vividly and with emotion, so my readers will be able to live the story through the characters and worlds I create.

It was great having you on NN Emma.

Tabitha

The Wacky Misadventures of Four Romance Writers Run Amuck

Chapter 2

WARNING: This post breaks most of the writing rules, lol.

Penny, Cindy, Brenda, and Tabby, gazed past the brick wall into the thick forest beyond. Fir and cedar trees towered over them, lining both sides of a gravel path.  Branches interlocked to form a canopy overhead, allowing only intermittent patches of blue sky to peek through the tightly woven cover. What little light penetrated the needles struggled to reach the forest floor.

The four women glanced to their right, then left. Odd trails, possibly made by animals or other writers who came before them, meandered past the wide tree trunks in all directions, only to be swallowed up by the gloom. A feeling of danger permeated the heavy air.

Penny shouldered her large purple backpack and walked to the beginning of the rocky passageway. She stopped. “Did any of you think to bring a flashlight?”

“No,” Cindy said as she took a step back.

“Figures.” Penny turned to the group. “We need some light.”

Brenda laid a soothing hand on Cindy’s arm. “Hey, if we’d have known we were going to be roaming through the lost freaking woods, we’d have brought a damn flashlight.”

Tabby brushed past Brenda and Cindy. One of her white feathered angel wings skimmed Cindy’s cheek, and her halo made from green Christmas garland, bounced with her quick stride. She stood beside Penny and pointed to a wooden sign. “It says, follow path to unblock writer’s block.”

The group stared at the sign.

“Do we have to go in there? It’s so dark,” Cindy stated.

Penny jerked her thumb toward Cindy’s rhinestone studded belt. “What’s that?”

Cindy unhooked a plastic sword from her belt. “It’s my light saber.”  She pushed a button and the sword let off a blue glow.

As Penny reached for the light saber, she said, “That’ll have to do.”

“It’s mine.” Cindy hid it behind her back.

“Fine. You go first then.” Penny moved to the side, giving Cindy a better view of the sinister woods.

Cindy tossed the sword to Penny.

As they made their way, Cindy whispered to Tabby, “What is this place?”

“I think this is Writer’s Block Woods. I’ve heard of it, but I thought it was only a legend.”

“I’ve heard tons of writers have lost their sanity in here,” Brenda said. “I wonder if their minds are still floating around, waiting for unsuspecting victims.”

Cindy covered her mouth, stifling a scream. The silver glittery balls held up by pink pipe cleaners, swayed above her head.

Brenda held her Dracula cape out to the side and opened her mouth to show off her set of dollar store plastic fangs. They fell out. She quickly picked them up and put them back in. “Maybe the lost minds will try to suck out your brain.”

Cindy’s body, clad in a silver jumper, trembled. “Do you think they could?”

Tabby shoved Brenda. White feathers from her angel wings fluttered to the ground. “Stop scaring her.”

“Will you idiots hurry up,” Penny called. “Unless you want to be left behind.”

The three caught up and they continued on with the journey.

After walking a short distance, the foursome stopped.

Tabby glanced around. She noticed a dark shape slumped against a mossy tree trunk beside the gravel lane. “What’s that?”

They stepped closer.

Cindy screamed and covered her eyes.

The shape was a mummified woman wearing a moldy yellow sweater and dirt encrusted tan slacks. Her skin looked like dried leather, shrunken to her bones. Moss grew around the black eye sockets.  Boney hands lay in her lap with her fingers curled into balls. Sticking out from between her fingers were long strands of blond hair—the same color as the hair on her head. Bald patches showed against the dried scalp.

Brenda glanced at Tabby. “Yikes.”

Tabby gingerly touched the bald spot on the back of her own head, and then ran her fingers through the brunette strands, pulling out a clump. Her wide eyes filled with panic. “Oh shit.”

“What . . . what do you think happened to her?” Cindy asked as she peeked through her fingers.

Penny knelt beside the corpse and rummaged through her backpack. “Pretty obvious. She got lost in Writer’s Block Woods and couldn’t find her way out.” She pulled out a silver hat with red and green flashing lights on the rim and placed it over her dark hair.

Brenda laughed. “What the hell is that?”

“It’s my thinking cap.”

Tabby and Brenda laughed so hard tears streamed down their cheeks.

Penny narrowed her eyes. “Are two fools done?”

They wiped the mascara from under their eyes and nodded.

“We should move on.” Penny hoisted up her pack. “I have a bad—“

A menacing growl filled the eerie woods.

Cindy squeaked and grabbed Tabby’s arm, almost knocking them both to the ground. Cindy peered over Tabby’s shoulders. “What was that?”

The growl sounded again. The hair on all four women stood on end as if a static charge had surged through them.

Penny stepped forward. “I’ve no clue, but we should check it out. But stay quiet.”

Tabby grasped Penny’s arm and jerked her to a stop. “Are you insane?”

Cindy sunk to her knees, mumbling something about kittens and butterflies.

“You want to get over your writer’s block, don’t you?” Penny asked.

“Yeah, but I can’t write if I’m dead!”

Brenda drew her cape around her. “Yeah, maybe we should head back.”

Penny walked ahead. “Just know if you turn back now, you’ll never get over your writer’s block.”

Looking at each other, Tabby and Brenda knew Penny spoke the truth. They reached down and helped Cindy to her feet.

Cindy stumbled away from them.  “Please tell me we’re going back. I don’t want to know what made that sound.”

“Come on,” Tabby murmured. “We have to keep going.”

The four women continued down the trail. They came to a deep bend, stopped for a moment to gather their courage, and then slowly trudged onward. When they rounded the corner, they halted once more.

Stretched across the path was a large deadfall, and sitting on top was the largest bear any of them had ever seen. Blue ribbons of electricity wormed through the bear’s silky brown fur like snakes. The bear turned its enormous head toward the women, electricity snapped and crackled with its movements.

The scent of ozone clung heavy in the air. The taste tingled on the women’s tongues.

Penny cleared her throat. “We’re looking for the way out of this forest. Can you help us?”

The bear lifted a massive paw and inspected its razor sharp claws. “It’s back the way ya came.”

“Begging your pardon, but no it isn’t. We just want to get to the other side.”

The bear growled a deep sound that rumbled the ground beneath their feet. Its red eyes narrowed to deadly slits. “This is my last warning, turn back.”

The women huddled together.

“Now what?” Brenda whispered.

Penny thought for a second. “Maybe your characters can help.”

Tabby smiled and nodded. “Craigen, we need your help.” A dark, sexy angel materialized beside her. He stretched large white wings above his head, flapped them twice, then folded them over his back. His white robes shimmered in the dim light.

“Mel, we could use your strength,” Brenda said. Beside her, a tall vampire appeared. His shaggy black hair reached his broad shoulders. His cunning silver eyes turned serious as he gazed at the bear.

For the first time since they passed the brick wall, Cindy laughed. “Andros, help us please. Oh, and bring the biggest gun you have.” The sexiest alien alive took shape behind her. His orange tinted skin enhanced his dark hair and rich mysterious eyes. In his hands he held a futuristic gun the length of his muscular arms. The barrel was clear, showing the inner workings. The words, Wunderwaffa, DG2 were stamped on the side.

The bear roared with laughter as its red gaze took in Craigen and Mel. “Oh, this is just perfect. You two answer to the God of light, while I answer to the God of darkness. You both have no power here. This forest is made up of my master’s emotions: fear, doubt, and despair.” The bear inhaled. “Ahhh, the air is ripe with it.”

Craigen’s face blanched. He turned to Mel. “He’s right. Our powers won’t work in this evil place.”

Mel’s brows lower. “Shit.” He glanced at the women. “Sorry, ladies, but there’s nothing we can do. This is your battle to either win or lose.”

“Well, then, it’s up to my Andros.” Cindy hugged him around his waist then stepped back. “Blast that bear to smithereens.”

Andros pulled an energy cell from his pocket and screwed it into the top of his gun like a light bulb, then flicked a switch. Blue electricity course through the barrel. He raised the gun and pointed it at the bear. “Say goodnight, Johnboy.”

The bear stood on its hind legs and spread its paws wide. “Go ahead. Shoot me. I’ll absorb the energy and become even stronger.”

Just before Andros pulled the trigger, a dark haired, sexy human man materialized beside Penny. “Stop,” he shouted.

Andros lowered the gun. “Why?”

Raef addressed the group. “Think for a second. The bear seems to be made of electricity so it won’t hurt it.”

Brenda smacked her forehead. “That’s right. Like an electric type pokemon, electricity won’t work.”

Raef frowned. “Ah, yeah, something like that.”

“A water type pokemon would.” Brenda looked around. “But we don’t have one—I mean any water.”

Raef gave Penny a sideways glance and smiled.

Penny smiled back and reached into her pack and pulled out a super soaker.

The smug look on the bear’s face faltered. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, wouldn’t I?” She aimed her water gun and pulled the trigger, shooting out a powerful stream of water.

The liquid hit the bear between the eyes. Its body jerked and did the funky chicken as water and electricity mixed. The men grabbed the women and pulled them to the ground as the bear exploded in a shower of sparks.

When it was over they all stood.

Penny placed her gun back in her pack and zipped it up. “Thanks Raef.”

“Don’t mention it,” he replied. “Call if you need me.” He disappeared.

Andros looked at Cindy and touched one of her glittering balls. “What the hell are you wearing?”

Cindy smoothed her hands over her silver jumper. “It’s my space suit. All people in space wear this.”

“If you ever dress me in something like that, you’ll have writer’s block for eternity.” Andros disappeared.

Mel kissed Brenda’s cheek. “Until we meet again.” He vanished.

Tabby hugged Craigen before he too vanished.

Brenda walked over to Penny. “Hey, Troll. How come you packed a water gun, but not a flashlight?”

Penny laughed. “I’m not sure.” She adjusted her thinking cap. “We should get a move on,”

The women climbed over the large deadfall and continued with their journey.

To be continued . . .

Come back for part three written by Cindy Pahl on Tues. the 21st.

By Brenda Dyer

The Wacky Misadventures of Four Romance Writers Run Amuck

WARNING: This post breaks most of the writing rules. Every rule broken was done on purpose.

Chapter One

Tabby walked into her office determined to get some writing done today. Nothing was going to stop her. Opening the door, her mouth dropped. Sure nothing was going to stop her but that giant brick wall looming before her. Releasing a sigh as tension radiated up her spine.  The computers were on the other side. This was just great. Backing up into the wall she slid to the floor and entangled her fingers in he hair.

“Hey…what the hell is that?” Brenda asked wide-eyed.

Looking up, Tabby, noticed her partners in crime had arrived.

Sarcasm spewed from Tabby’s mouth. “Ahh…looks like a brick wall.”

“What are we going to do?” Brenda questioned as she looked to Tabby.

“I don’t know. My first reaction was to pull out my hair!”

“I don’t think that is going to do anything.”

“Well, too late.” She turned to show the ladies a huge bald spot on the side of her head. The light bounced off her shiny scalp.

Laughter echoed off the walls of the large office.

“Hey fang girl, shut it. This isn’t funny!” Tabby looked down at the clump of hair on the floor.  Tears pooled in her eyes. No, damn it. She was not going to cry!

“Well at least I don’t come to work in angel wings and a halo.” Brenda put her arms out and flapped them like a bird. Her black cape fluttered with her movements.

Tabby pointed a finger at Cindy. “She’s the one wearing the silver jump suit and glittery bouncy balls on her head. She looks like a bad SyFy movie threw up on her.” Three sets of eyes glared at Cindy.

“What? It inspires me. I have to engross myself in the world I write.”

A laugh came from the back of the room. “I’m the only normal one here.” Penny smiled.

All three ladies squinted at Penny. “Shut up!”

“Guess the truth hurts.” Penny shrugged. “How are we going to get over that wall?” She glanced at Tabby.

“Hey, why do I always have to fix everything?” Tabby pushed to her feet and blew out a breath.  “Never mind I will do it.”

Tabby smiled. “Watch and learn. As paranormal and SyFy writers we have other worldly characters with amazing powers. You only have humans in contemporary.” Smug satisfaction tugged at her features. “Craigen can get us through that wall.” A sexy angel appeared. Tabby stared as her breath stuck in her throat. He was gorgeous. Tall dark and handsome didn’t even begin to describe him. “I need you to teleport us through that wall. I’ll go first.”

Craigen nodded his head and wrapped his arms around Tabby. Mmm…he smelled good. She closed her eyes and trusted her strong angel would do as she asked. He could do this she just knew it. Craigen lifted her into the air and they started to levitate towards the wall. Tabby hit the wall with a loud thud and bounced off landing on the floor. She lay sprawled out on the carpet. Her head ached and she looked up to find Craigen gazing down at her.

“Sorry, Tabs, that’s one strong wall. I have never had that happen before.”

“Yeah, whatever. Just go.” It was bad enough everyone was laughing at her.

“My turn! My turn!” Brenda chanted as she jumped up and down. “My vampire can do it. Mel.” A tall sexy dark haired vampire appeared. “I need you to break down that wall.”

Mel smiled. “No problem.” He cracked his knuckles as he stepped up to the wall and proceeded to punch the bricks.

Tabby felt her blood boil. Why did vampires have to be so sexy? It was so easy to fall head over heels in love. She was jerked from her thoughts by Cindy’s cry.

“Oh my God!” Cindy ran to Brenda. A brick had hit her right between the eyes.

“Is she okay?” Penny asked.

Brenda grumbled and sat up. Her hand flew to the large lump forming on her forehead. “What happened?”

Tabby rolled her eyes and glanced up at the ceiling. “Your big bad vampire didn’t break the wall. He only managed to knock you on your ass with a flying brick.” All eyes turned to Mel. He just shrugged his shoulders and disappeared. Tabby reached a hand down to helped Brenda up and tossed her the vampire fangs that had fallen from her mouth.

“Okay, I got this.” Cindy replied.  “My alien and his high tech equipment can take down that wall. Andros.”  A very sexy orange tinted alien appeared. “I need you to demolish that wall.”

Tabby wondered how an orange alien could be so sexy but damn he was hot as hell. She snapped her mouth shut and looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Nope they were all starry eyed too. Lost in their own personal fantasies. Penny was the only on that didn’t seem to drool at the sexy Andros.

“No problem.” He withdrew a sliver gun from a holster on his hip and pointed it at the wall. It made a hissing sound as it warmed up. He rolled his shoulders as a cocky grin graced his chiseled features.

“I don’t think this is a good…” Tabby and the others were struck with bolts of electricity that bounced off the wall before she could finish her sentence. She shook the fog from her head and glanced around. “Damn it, Cindy!”

Andros put his metallic gun away. “What the hell is that wall made of?”

“Sorry.” Then Cindy burst into laughter. “Its made of all the stresses that we let get in the way of our writing.”

He raised a brow as his eyes bore into the four women. “You ladies have some serious issues. I’m out of here.”

Tabby then realized their hair was standing on end and smoke was wafting off their heads. Penny’s body spasmed as the electricity dissipated. “Well that’s what you guys get for laughing at my bald spot! Now we all are having a bad hair day.” Tabby burst out laughing as she watched the ladies all get to their feet.

Penny shook her head. “That’s it. Time to call in the human. Evidently none of your guys can get the job done. And I am not letting any more of this insanity continue. I may write with you guys but I’m not dying with you!” She stood and dusted off her clothes. “Raef.” A very handsome dark haired man appeared.  All the women’s mouth’s dropped. A smug smile tugged at the corners of Penny’s mouth. “He’s not too bad for a human, huh?” Everyone just shook their heads. Raef cleared his throat. “Oh, sorry, I need to know the best way to get through that wall.” Penny replied.

“Why do you have to go through it? Can’t you just go around it?” He raised a single dark brow and crossed his arms over his chest.

All the ladies looked at each other. “Hmmm…why didn’t we think of that?” Cindy laughed.

“Yeah, that’s a great idea. See, humans use logic, not powers. Lets go!” Penny looked to the right of the looming brick wall to find a long winding road that disappeared into a dark forest.

“You want us to go out there?” Tabby pointed and shook her head. “No way! There might be lions and tigers and bears out there.”

Penny ran her hands trough her crispy hair. “We have an angel, vampire, alien and if need be a human with amazing reasoning skills. We will be fine. Plus it will be a great adventure. We can’t just sit here and hope that wall disappears. We have to be stronger than the wall.”

The ladies all looked at each other.  “I don’t think we have a whole lot of options here. Looks like we go through the forest.” Tabby reached out shaky hands to Brenda and Cindy.

To be continued…

Come back Friday the 17th for part two of our crazy journey written by Brenda Dyer.

Happy Reading and Writing,

Tabitha Blake

Brenda Dyer Interview

1)    WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE READERS TO TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR STORY?

I would like my readers to come away with a sense of satisfaction of a story well told—LOL, or shown as we writers are always prodded to do. But more than that, I hope my readers feel the deep love my hero and heroine share. Also, I would love for readers to think of my characters even when they are finished the book. Think of them and smile.

2)    DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER PASSIONS BESIDES WRITING? IF YES, WHAT ARE THEY?

I love gardening. I get so much joy out of it. For me, a perfect summer morning starts with my coffee out on the deck, looking at all my flowers, smelling the different fragrances, and watching the bees and hummingbirds. I also like to grow my own vegetables. I get such satisfaction from making a raspberry pie from my own raspberries, or having fresh peas from the garden, or potatoes. I love it!

Another passion of mine is drawing and painting. I'm terrible at drawing people—unless they are cartoons. I stick to animals usually: horses, birds, and wildlife, like deer or raccoons, but let's not talk about raccoons, lol. I'm at war with them right now over my raspberries.

3)  IF YOU HAD ONE WISH, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

One wish, huh? Well, if this was real life, I would have to say world peace. LOL, makes me sound like a contestant for Miss America. But since this is for the interview, I'm going to say my one wish would be for my novel to get published and for readers to LOVE it. LOL, I guess that's two wishes, eh?

4)    WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW? WHY?

This is an easy question to answer. The show Supernatural. The reason for this is simple: two hot—and I mean hot—guys fighting evil. Sam and Dean Winchester fight all manner of paranormal creatures. This is right up my alley!

5)    ARE YOU A CAT OR DOG PERSON? DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS, AND IF SO, PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THEM.

I'm a cat person. We have four. Their names are: Author, Tinkerbell—we call her T—Neens, and a beautiful black and white cat we rescued. We named him Lucky. Along with our cats, we have two miniature horses named Kiwi and Ebony, a miniature goat named Cody, chickens, two budgies, and fish. I think that's it. Let me go check . . . . yep, that's it.

6)    WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

I live in Canada on Vancouver Island. It is located on the west coast. I absolutely love it here—well, except for all the rain we get in the winter. The weather here is very mild. We rarely get snow in the winter, which bugs me cause I love snow, but I'm sure I wouldn't if we had it month after month. The summers are beautiful.

7)    WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE YOUR FIRST BOOK?

What inspired me, hmmm? Well, I guess what inspired me was a romance novel I read—it was fifth in a series, my favorite character—and I was so disappointed with the way it ended so I wrote my own ending, lol. Then something really strange happened. Ideas started popping into my head. Not about the novel that had annoyed me, but something totally different. I ran with it, and before I knew it, I was writing the rough draft for my MS. I've never aspired to be a writer, in fact, I hated creative writing back in high school.

8)    IS THERE A MESSAGE IN YOUR NOVEL THAT YOU WANT READERS TO GRASP?

You know, I never thought there was a message in my novel until I read this question. And yes, there is a message I would like readers to grasp. Tolerance for other races and how damaging rumors and lies can be. In my novel once upon a time, vampires and humans shared the earth as friends—two different species working together in harmony. That fell a part when when demons—housed in human bodies—whispered lies to humans, saying the vampires were trying to kill them so they could take the earth as their own. Humans believed these lies and turned their backs on vampires and started executing them until vamps went into hiding. The world went downhill from there. Vampires and humans became estranged from then on.

9)    NAME ONE PERSON THAT YOU FEEL SUPPORTED YOU OUTSIDE OF FAMILY MEMBERS.

You!

10) WHAT WAS THE HARDEST PART OF WRITING YOUR BOOK?

The hardest part of writing my book has been the whole thing, lol. Writing doesn't come naturally to me. It's hard work, but I so enjoy it.

11) DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING FROM WRITING YOUR BOOK, AND WHAT IS IT?

Yes, I learned that I can accomplish anything if I set my mind to it. I know this sound cliché,  but it's the truth.

Thank you very much, Tabby, for giving me this opportunity. I enjoyed it very much.

It was great to have you Brenda.

Tabitha

U-Tube and Romance

This week I thought I would give you all a little laugh. We get made fun of a lot as romance writers but sometimes we have to laugh right along with them. Hope you enjoy these clips from U-Tube. I know I did. They had me rolling on the floor laughing. Oh and the Bing commercial is just there because I love a sexy vamp.

Tabby

Plus And Minuses

I was thinking about some of the men I read about in my paranormal romances. They are strong and very sexy. The dilemma I came across was would we really want our men to have some of the supernatural powers some of them possess? So I decided to way the good with the bad. So here is just a few of the powers I see a lot in paranormal romance.

Empathy

Definition-Cognizant of and comprehending the needs, feelings, problems and views of others.

Plus

Ok, this sounds good. It would be nice for our men to understand the feeling we try so hard to get across to them. They never seem to get it. It can be very frustrating at times. Now we don’t even have to voice our problems they just know. They feel everything we do and just get it. WOW!

Minus

Ok, maybe that isn’t so great after all. Now he knows everything you feel. There is no privacy and you are an open book. You no longer have your private feelings and we all deserve to have some feelings kept to our selves. Your feelings can be so intense at times. Who hasn’t felt something we wished we hadn’t and felt regret for it.

I think keeping them guessing is a good thing. It seems to me if you know everything about someone it would become boring real fast. So personally I don’t think I would like my man to have this particular power.

Telepathy

Definition-The transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the five senses.

Plus

Ok, doesn’t sound so bad. He could transfer thoughts and feelings to you without even talking. I think this would be really fun if you had it too. You could carry on conversations without anyone even knowing. Now that would be fun. Secret conversations and maybe a little naughty talk thrown in there too. LOL

Minus

Ok, now the down side. Now you would know how he really feels. That can be good or bad. Admit it ladies sometimes we don’t want to know the truth. A little white lie every once in awhile is ok. The biggest question is do you really want to know what runs through you man’s mind every second of the day.

I think I could deal with this one, if we both had it. It would be fun to be able to communicate without others knowing. Knowing his every thought might be a little hard to deal with but hopefully you aren’t together every moment of the day, and he knows how to control his thoughts around you. If not he would learn that lesson fast. LOL

Memory Manipulation

Definition-The ability to erase or enhance the memory of another.

Plus

Ok, this might be a good one. He could erase all the bad things you have gone through in your life. You know all the thing you wish you could forget. Not to mention the things you have done in your life you wish you hadn’t. LOL We all have a few of those. Hey he could erase those mistakes from others that know about them. WOW! Wouldn’t that be wonderful? It would be like a fresh start.

Minus

Ok, now the negative. He would be able to erase anything he wanted to from your memory. And if he did how would you even know? Scary…that’s a lot of power to give to another. You would have to really trust your man to be alright with this little gem of a power.

I don’t think I would be ok with this one. Some things I have been through in my life would be nice to forget but I don’t know that I could trust anyone that much. Maybe I have trust issues or I’m just a realist. LOL I will leave that for you to think about.

Teleportation

Definition-A method of transportation in which matter is dematerialized, usually instantaneously at one point and recreated in another.

Plus

Ok, this one is going to be good. Being able to just pop in and out, wouldn’t that be fun. Let’s go to Paris for the day and poof your there. Amazing! No packing or planes, just a thought and your at the Eiffel tower. Spend the day anywhere in the world you want in a blink of an eye. Talk about romantic…you could see the most romantic places on the planet on a whim. What do you want to do today? Go to Rome…ok, Poof.

Minus

Ok, there is always a down side. Damn, I hate that! Well let’s talk about it. He could pop in and out at any time. The one thing I think I would really hate would be if you had a fight and he just disappeared. Grrr! That would be very aggravating. You’re in a heated fight and then he’s just gone. You’re left talking to yourself and have no clue where he went. And you know alpha males their temper always gets the best of them.

I am on the fence about this one. I would really like the dashing off to anywhere I wanted to go in an instant. I would be amazing but then there is the abandoning me in the heat of an argument, that would be hard for me, When I am upset I want to figure out the problem. How many times does your man not want to talk? And wished he could just avoid the conflict. Now he has a way to do it and theirs nothing you can do about it. Hmmm?

Immortality

Definition-Endless life or existence.

Plus

Ok, here’s the great part. You are with a man that will never die. You will never lose the love of your life. The great thing is in most cases he can also make you immortal. You would never die and would stay young and beautiful forever. WOW! As women we always worry we are getting old and wrinkled, but now we have found the fountain of youth. These worries have been vanquished from our lives. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Minus

Ok, you knew this was coming. Everything good has to have a bad side. Now you have to come to terms with living forever or getting old while he stays stuck in time. You will grow old and he will stay young and vibrant. Well maybe you are ok with the living forever part and accept his proposal. That’s when your family comes into the picture. They will eventually die and you will watch generation after generation pass on. In one story I read the heroine asked if he could change her whole family. He laughed and said no…I’m sorry it doesn’t work that way. This is a really tough one.

I don’t think I would want to be immortal. Having the man you love in your life forever would be amazing. Being young and ageless a dream of many women. But the fact you have to watch your family pass on would be devastating to me. I think I would say no to this one.

Conclusion

Now that I look at them all, I think I like my life just the way it is. Fantasy is great and all, but then when you analyze it, it’s a lot to take in. There are so many things that are affected by these immortal powers, its startling. Now I think I know why these guy’s women are always so frustrated. So next time your reading and the heroine is getting on your nerves, you know the one you want to just get over it and be accepting. Think about the turmoil her emotions are in. Every good thing has a bad side and these decisions are really hard to make.

Question?

What powers do you find appealing?

What powers do you find not so appealing?

Be creative they don’t have to be the ones I talked about. They can be anything you want them to be. Heck make some up. LOL

Happy Reading and Writing,

When night falls passions blaze.

Tabitha Blake

Make The Voices Stop

Lately I haven’t had much time to write and my characters aren’t very happy about it. I continually hear them screaming at me, that is when I can hear them over the kids. LOL! I have only written one chapter in a week’s time and it is gnawing at me. I…

(Craigen) “You need to toughen up woman and get on the ball. You think you have a tough life? Have you looked at mine lately?” He leaned in the doorway, brows raised and his arms crossed over his chest.

“Crap! Craigen, you scared me to death! What do you want? I'm trying to write a blog here.” A sigh escaped my parted lips as I leaned back in my chair.” This was all I needed, more distractions.

(Craigen) “Oh, you have time to blog but no time to write the rest of my story. There is a demon out there that needs to be dealt with. He is murdering women remember?”

“Yes I know that, I wrote the story. But right now I need to get this blog finished. So give me a break and…”

He crossed the room, snatched my laptop, then stared me down with his intense green eyes.

“Give that back.” I reached for the computer but he held it up and out of my reach. A cocky smile curved the edges of his lips.

(Craigen) “Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that. What is wrong with your head? To write such an evil and vile being? It is rather disturbing!”

“If it wasn’t for Nyx you wouldn’t have met Lyric, and if I remember correctly, you really seem to have taken a shine to her.” I put my hand out. “Give me the damned laptop! I am too busy for this nonsense.”

He tossed the laptop on the desk and turned his back.

(Craigen) “I am merely protecting her. Nothing more. This is about you helping me kill Nyx!”

“Oh, did I hit a nerve?” A giggle sprang from my mouth.

(Craigen) “Don’t play games with me woman. Just get yourself together and write the damned story already. My hand itches to smite that vile demon.” His fist slammed into the wall.

“Hey, you need to stop acting like a spoiled child. I have enough kids in this house.” I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself.

(Nyx) “Did someone call me?”

“Oh, great!” Just what I needed Craigen and Nyx in the same room. The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife. “I don’t need your vile thoughts distracting me right now! I'm busy.”

An evil smile crossed his lips and those eyes. Damn it! Those eyes.

(Craigen) “So help me Nyx, if you so much as touch her I will kill you right here!”

(Nyx) “I was talking to Tabitha. I know my sweet, I have that affect on women. They all want me and I think you do too.” He leaned against the wall and crossed his legs at his ankles.

“I…uh…well…”

(Nyx) That’s what I thought. Say it beautiful. Mind, body and soul.”

His eyes never left mine and the urge to say it pulled at me. My body heated and I wanted to reach out and draw him close. “Mind…”

(Craigen) “Stop this now! Nyx I am so going to kill you and do it slowly. There will be no mercy, you will pay for your crimes. Tabitha snap out of it! I won’t let him have you too. Without you all hope is lost.”

I shook my head to clear the fog. “Sorry, I don’t know what came over me. Thanks Craig.”

(Craigen) “I don’t remember saying you could give me a nick name. So just cut that crap out.”

“You are so touchy. Chill out.” I lowered my head into my hands as a twinge of a headache pulsed at my temples.

(Nyx) “Its okay, your time is coming beautiful.” He pointed at Craigen. “He can’t watch you all the time. I have the perfect place for you.” His palm rested on his chest. “I was thinking right over my heart.”

“You vile bastard, leave!” My anger raged out of control and I reached for the paperweight on my desk. He ducked and it crashed into the wall, shards of glass fell to the floor.

(Nyx) “For now, but I will win in the end. I always do”

“I am writing this story and you will definitely not be wining this one. I have a evil plan of my own for you.”

(Nyx) “Oh, I like a strong and confident woman. It is so much more fun breaking them.” An evil smile curved his features and his eyes turned crimson.

My breath caught in my throat. “Damn it Craigen! No throwing knifes. That flew right past my head.”

(Craigen) “Sorry, but he was getting too close. I had to do something. I don’t want to worry about you having a mental bond with him too. Anyway, I got rid of the demon scum.”

“Yeah, well thanks. Now can I get back to my blog?”

(Lyric) “Did she start writing again?”

I slumped over, crossed my arms on my desk and lowered my head. “Great.”

(Craigen) “No she is writing a blog. Whatever the hell that is. I guess it is more important than catching a killer.”

(Lyric) “There is nothing more important than catching a killer.” Her eyes bore into me. “What is wrong with you Tabitha?”

“Maybe if you guys would go away for the next twenty minutes, I could finish this and write the next chapter. But at this rate I am not going to get anything done. You know your love scene is coming up in about two more chapters.” A grin tugged at my features. I knew that would at least get rid of Craigen.

(Lyric) “Really?” Her eyes glazed over. “I…uh…”

(Craigen) “No way!”

“Why you guys are obviously falling in love?”

(Craigen) “That’s fine Tabitha. I'm out of here. You better hope he doesn’t come back because I am pissed and I may not come to you rescue!”

“I think I can handle Nyx I did create him.”

(Craigen) “That is one of the things that makes me wonder about your mental state.”

“Okay, I have had enough! Craigen I will call you when you are needed.”

(Craigen) “Women! You need to get your head straight and get this story finished before I lose my patients with you!”

“Well, at least he is gone.” Two down one to go.

(Lyric) “Do we really get a love scene?”

“Yes, hun and it is going to be amazing.”

(Lyric)” I don’t think he thinks so.”

“He will, you drive him crazy. He just refuses to see it, but I will make sure he does. You deserve a good man, and Craigen is one of the best. He will give in. I promise.”

(Lyric) I…will..uh…leave you to do that blog thingy you are doing.”

“Hey, Lyric, hun, be careful. You almost ran into the door.”

(Lyric) “Yeah, sorry.” Giggle.

“Okay where was I. Yeah, I haven’t gotten much writing done. Wait what was that noise? “Nyx, what do you want?”

(Nyx) “You.”

“Oh, really, you smell so good. Don’t look at me with those sexy blue eyes. I swear if you don’t leave I will kill you in the next chapter!”

(Nyx) “Fine. But your time is coming.”

“Okay, to hell with the blog, guess I have to go and write the next chapter before they all drive me insane. See the crap I have to deal with? I’m not even alone in my own head. Sorry about the blog guys.”

(Craigen) “See, knew we could get her back in the game. She really needs to stop slacking.”

(Lyric) “I think we need to give her break. She has been so busy lately. You want her to write the story well don’t you?”

(Nyx) “I don’t really care as long as I win in the end.”

(Craigen) “Keep dreaming, Nyx. You lost the first time we battled and it won’t be any different this time.”

(Nyx) “We’ll see.”

“I would say you guys need to learn to get along but that will never happen. So I need you to all shut up!”

(Craigen) “Fine we don’t want to drive the writer of Soul Extraction crazy. She already has a few screws loose to even invent this story. We’re out of here.”

Happy Reading and Writing,

Tabitha Blake

Pictures are left Craigen, middle Nyx and right Lyric.

The Tortured Hero (Picture is Craigen From Soul Extraction my Current WIP)

Today I thought I would talk about how I created the hero in my current wip, Soul Extraction. He is the epitome of the tortured hero. Poor guy is a mess but a very sexy mess. It takes many layers to create a true tortured hero and you have to peel the layers away as the story progresses. Opening one wound at a time and a good character will fight you all the way. If your character has a damaged past they are going to refuse to tear down walls and be open, even with the woman they believe could be the love of their life. Most tortured heroes would rather walk away with their defenses up than give in and open themselves to the possibility of getting hurt again. This is where you find the battle of wills begins. However, remember this creates tension, which is good. It can be helpful when it comes to conflict, sexual tension and internal conflict. It ratchets the story up to a new level.

What makes a good tortured hero? Well he is someone that has had a tragic past and wants to put it behind him and forget it. The problem lies in the fact that it isn’t that simple. Every time he turns around there is something that reminds him about the agony he carries with him. Most of these heroes try to shut themselves off from the outside world and live a solitary life. The problem is they still want the companionship but don’t know how to get over the emotional rollercoaster they ride everyday. That is where the heroine comes in and he is torn and usually fights the feelings the meeting opens up in him.

Craigen from Soul Extraction has many such wounds and is torn between the past and the present. A former angel that is now labeled one of the fallen. In his grief, he turned to drinking to ease his pain, which works until he is summoned by God to take down Nyx a sexual demon steeling women’s souls. Nyx is part of the reason he ended up one of the fallen. Three hundred years ago, he was sent to earth to catch Nyx. Craigen finds himself protecting a beautiful human and looses his heart to her. Following his heart he falls in love and is chased from the heavens by Michael the archangel. She becomes pregnant and dies in childbirth, leaving a gaping wound in his heart. He has lost everything, the love of his life and his angel status, a cruel reminder of his mistakes. Then he is called to take Nyx out for the second time and if he does, he will be welcomed back into heaven with open arms. But in the process, he meets Lyric the heroine and everything spins out of control again. He tries to push his feelings aside but they gnaw at him continually. When Nyx come after Lyric his protective nature takes over. He refuses to allow the past to repeat its self.

I love to write the tortured hero. All my heroes have had past that have left a deep seeded wound. In my opinion, they make the best heroes and bring tension to the story. A sexy hero that fights his feelings makes for some great sexual tension. They also demand the reader to sympathize with them, it makes them real. Flaws bring out the reality of the character. We are all flawed in one-way or another and a perfect hero is not very believable. I like my heroes to be damaged because it makes the tension high and the passions even higher when they go over the edge. They have been denying their feelings for so long that when they finally let loose watch out it is going to be intense.

To write a good tortured hero you have to have a good back-story. The thing is you also have to write it good or it is just an info dump. You have to weave it in little bits at a time and not just one big clump of info or you are going to loose your reader. In my wip S.E. the info about Craigen comes out in small bits all through the story, not in one big lump of info. This is very important. You also have to remember there has to be a reason to tell the back story, not just okay I’m going to give up the back story here just for the heck of it. In Soul Extraction Lyric tells her back story after she is attacked by Nyx and Craigen asks why she became a FBI agent. He is trying to distract her from her racing feelings. The problem is he opens up a whole other situation as he listens to her reasoning. This does not happen until chapter twelve so by this time you know Lyric and like her. This is very important, if the reader does not know the character yet then they won’t care about the back-story. There is a method to the madness of writing back-story.

When I start to write a character I look for things that will inspire me. I look to movies, music, and books. There is so much in this world to inspire you. Sometimes it may just be a walk in the park or sitting alone with your thoughts. I also love to search for pictures of my characters to look at while I write. It makes my characters come to life, for me at least. I find myself looking at them and waiting to hear them speak to me. I also do character charts for each of my characters and this breathes life into them too. It answers questions about them you never thought to ask.

Here are some links:

The song that reminds me of Craigen, poor thing. He lost the only woman he ever loved and she haunts him now. This song is perfect for the emotions he carries with him.

My Immortal/ Evanescence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5anLPw0Efmo

Character Chart, it will be the first one that comes up. It is a great tool, keeps you on track, and helps when you wonder the little things about your characters.

www.epiguide.com/ep101/writing/charchart.html

I would love to hear what you think about reading or writing the tortured hero. Do you think they bring more tension to the story? I personally want a strong alpha with a tortured past.

Till Next Time, Happy Reading and Writing,

Tabitha Blake

Why Do Women Find Vampires So Sexy?

I decided as a paranormal writer to tackle the question everyone is asking and scratching their heads about. Why are women so fascinated with vampires? Well vampires have always had a following, so it’s not a new trend. The difference is men told most vampire stories and they depicted the vampires as a blood sucking monsters. The vampire was known as evil, scary and repulsive. Then women writers decided to reinvent the vampire. They became suave, charming and the bad to the bone alpha males women are going crazy over. They are sexy, romantic, powerful and the ultimate bad boys.

Women have always been attracted to the bad boy type. What woman doesn’t like a guy in a leather jacket, tight jeans, and throw in a scar or two and you have the ultimate bad boy persona. That’s nothing new look at James Dean he was one of the first bad boys. Bad boys are the ultimate challenge, they do what they want, when they want and no one stands in their way. They are dark and mysterious, you never quite know where you stand with them. They keep it fun, exciting, and just a little bit dangerous. Women want to tame the savage beast. For any woman to bring a man like that to his knees it must be love. I have to admit I love to read about a dominant alpha male. I like them strong and demanding. I think it is an escape from the norm and is the fantasy of many women now hooked on the vampire craze.

Women love a man that demands respect and oozes confidence. Vampires are the ultimate when it comes to power. They are physically stronger, faster and are hard to kill. The only way to kill a vampire is burn them or remove their head, they can survive almost anything. Women thrive on knowing their man can protect them and these guys are like Mac trucks. Don’t ever mess with a vampire’s mate if you plan to live to see another day. A vampire will gladly give his life to keep the woman he loves out of harms way. Women love a man that would be willing to die for them, it is the ultimate sacrifice.

Vampires are hopeless romantics, they cherish their women. They know how women want to be treated, but I guess when you have lived for hundreds of years there is plenty of time to figure it out. The thing about vampires is they have only one true mate. Not to say there haven’t been a long list of women in their life, but what do you expect from a man that is hundreds of years old? They can make the direst situation romantic that is true chivalry. How can you not fall madly in love with a man that has searched for hundreds of years for you? You are the only one that he wants to spend eternity with. One of the biggest pluses is a vampire never cheat once bonded, you are the only one they will ever want. Their love is eternal and knows no bounds. Women want a prince charming and the vampire comes quite close.

So I don’t really think it is the vampire women are looking for, it is the traits of the vampire they are after. Women want to be swept off their feet. They want a whirlwind romance. They search for a man that is strong and can give them the security to know he will always keep them safe. I think taming the bad boy is a challenge and adds a little bit of danger to the mix. As a writer, my bad boy characters keep my books exciting and the heroine guessing what will happen next.

So, what is so bad about being powerful, almost immortal, always in control and incredibly desirable? Well according to many vampire lovers nothing. They are one of the most seductive creatures in paranormal romance and my personal favorite. What do you find sexy about vampires?

Happy Reading and Writing,

Tabitha Blake

The Creep Factor

It takes a little bit of a dark side to write a paranormal romance. You have to push the limits of a regular romance into the odd and unexpected. Its more than just writing a vampire or werewolf novel, readers expect to read something new and exciting. You have to weave a dark and twisted tale to keep the reader interested. Because if you don’t you fall into the category of just another vampire or werewolf tale. They want a new spin on the old traditional creatures and I don’t blame them. When I read a paranormal novel that takes the same basic creatures and turns them into something I never expected, curiosity draws me in.

Examples:

A vampire that faints at the sight of blood.

Vampires that are from Atlantis.

Vampires that drink only bagged blood.

Demons that run a demon hospital.

Vampires that can go out in the sun.

Demons that fight for good and not evil.

These are just a few that take the mundane and change it up to keep it interesting.

I am asked all the time where did you come up with that idea. The problem with answering that question is I don’t really have a good straightforward answer. Usually I just say from the dark recesses of my mind. I definitely have a dark side to my mind. I really enjoy the creep factor and that is the reason I write paranormals. I love to watch horror movies and thrive on the moments that make you jump. One of my crit partners is always telling me, “it’s a great story but really creepy.” When I hear that, I get overjoyed because I have done my job well.

One of my favorite parts of writing paranormals is the fact that there are no set rules. Your characters can be anything you want them to be. How can someone tell you your wrong when you are writing about mythic creatures? You are only limited by your imagination. The only rules you have to follow are the ones you apply to your story. You can’t tell the reader one thing and then halfway through tell them something different. Then you loose the reader but this goes for all stories. A reader wants consistency. They need balance to the story to make it believable and yes, even a paranormal needs to be believable. Your characters need to be consistent through out the story or readers start to question you as a writer.

My favorite part of writing isn’t what you would think it is. Most would say it is all about writing the dark but sexy hero or heroine. Well for me it is all about the resident evil in my books. I love to write the vile bad guy, I thrive on his dastardly deeds. I’m not sure what that says about me. HaHa! The evilness just flows from my mind to the keyboard and I tend to write the bad guy well. My bad guys are some of the vilest people that you would ever meet. They live to destroy and have no mercy for anyone. It is somewhat scary I guess I have a true dark and demented side that comes out in my work. Nevertheless, I think all authors are just a little twisted. How do you explain the stories we weave? Not everyone is capable of telling a tale like we do and some of us are just more twisted than others. I fall into the more twisted than others category. On a scale of one to ten, I would be a twelve. Of all the genres to write this is the only one I want to ever write. I feel joy when I weave a great paranormal tale. Now that we have journeyed through the dark corners of my mind and you know the creepy side of Tabitha, I hope you come back next week for more. If you dare to delve deeper into what makes me tick.

Happy Reading and Writing,

Tabitha Blake