Book Review: Men Under the Mistletoe Anthology

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Carina Press is offering great holiday anthologies this Christmas.  A Clockwork

My new reading companion

Christmas is a collection of steampunk novellas that I am currently making my way through with yultetide delight! “Holiday Kisses” is a contemporary romance set of four stories that is sitting in my TBR pile.  Lot’s of opportunities to curl up by my fire with hot chocolate, my new puppy, and a romantic Christmas tale.

Men Under the Mistletoe is a four novella collection of M/M romance by four, amazing voices in this genre: Josh Lanyon, K.A. Mitchell, Ava March, & Harper Fox. While the stories are shorter in length, they arre not short on drama, humor, sexy moments, and unforgettable characters.  And the emotion . . . wow.

As I’ve studied the craft of writing and putting my own stories on paper, my criteria of what makes a great story for me.  Sure, I want a happy ending, lots of yummy romantic sexy bits and an intriguing plot.  But, what really gets me about these authors is their enviable ability to put the emotions into every word on the page and get me completely and totally invested in the outcome for the characters.

The theme woven throughout these four stories was one of  the expectation and disappointment that can occur when two people are drawn together but not quite at the same place emotionally.  Time gives all of our destined lovers the chance to grow individually and come together at the right time for a a chance to seize the love of their life – if they can be brave enough to take it.

My True Love Gave to Me by Ava March

The Blurb:  Alexander Norton loathes the festive season. The revelry of the ton is a reminder of Christmas four years ago, when his first love, Thomas Bennett, broke his heart and fled to New York without a word. So when he encounters Thomas at a holiday ball, Alexander is determined not to let on how much he still hurts.

Thomas has returned for one reason only: Alexander. Having finally come to terms with his forbidden desires, he will do whatever he must to convince Alexander to give their love another chance. But instead of the happy, carefree man Thomas once knew, Alexander is now hard and cynical. Saddened to know he’s to blame for the man’s bitterness, Thomas resolves to reignite the passion he knows lies hidden behind the wall of disdain…

Set in the Regency period in London, England this story is full of young love, heartbreak, angst, sweet reunion.  Both characters as full-bodied and completely relatable but at the beginning of the story. Alexander is so much in love that he tries to drag Thomas into that place with him but Thomas isn’t ready and breaks his heart. Now his own man, Thomas is back to get the chance he passed up three years earlier but Alexander is a cynical, cold man and nothing like the open, trusting boy he left behind.

I loved the heartbreak in this story. Both let it manifest in their fear and cruelty and had to navigate the wasteland of their broken hearts to find each other again.

Ava March handles the time period perfectly without weighing down her words with too much historical information. I’ve read several of her books and they are always a delightful read.

 

Winter Knights by Harper Fox

The blurb: Historian Gavin Lowden is in Northumberland on Christmas Eve for two reasons: to find evidence of a romantic bond between Arthur and Lancelot and to finally tell his partner, Piers, that he loves him. Piers has promised to come clean with his conservative family and join Gavin for their first holiday as a couple, but at the last minute, he bails. Devastated, Gavin heads out onto the moors alone, just as snow begins to fall …

Gavin stumbles into an underground chamber, where strange happenings cause him to question what is real and what is fantasy. He’s found by two mysterious men, who offer him a bed for the night — and awaken him to nuances of erotic pleasure he didn’t know existed. Pleasure he hopes to be able to share with Piers.

When Piers learns that Gavin has gone missing, he is desperate to find him. He knows now breaking up was a terrible mistake, and he’s ready to take the next step in their relationship — if it’s not already too late.

If you want to write books and you haven’t read a book by Harper Fox – you need to. She is the master of wringing every ounce of emotion out of her characters but you never feel overwhelmed or melodramatic.  Her characters are real, solid people who try to survive everything life throws at them with grace, dignity and the occasional bout of emotional breakdowns fortified by a few stiff drinks. (Hell – Just read her book, Life After Joe, and you will see what I mean.)

This story mixes questions of faith – spiritual, mystical, historical, and emotional.  There were times in this story where I cried because I just couldn’t see how these two superficially opposite people could ever get together.  The old Patty Smith/Done Henley song kept going through my head – “Sometimes love just ain’t enough”

Add into it the subplot of Arthur and Lancelot and you’ve got a story that will keep you turning the page.

Lone Star by Josh Lanyon

The Blurb:  Growing up in rural Texas, Mitchell Evans’s ambition to be a dancer made him a target. Though he found success in New York City, Mitch is at a crossroads, and heads home for the first time in twelve years to figure things out. When what appears to be a reindeer jumps out in front of his car, he drives off the road and into the path of the one man he hoped to avoid.

The last person Texas Ranger Web Eisley expects to see four days before Christmas is his first love. He hasn’t seen Mitch since they quarreled over coming out to their friends and family years ago. Though he’s not in the closet now, Web has worked hard for the respect of his fellow officers, but he still regrets the loss of Mitch in his life. And his bed.

The attraction between them is as strong as ever, and it doesn’t take long for the men to pick up where they left off. But is love enough to keep Mitch in town in the New Year?

Oh Josh . . . how I love thee . . .  let me count the ways.

Josh Lanyon is a master of the smoothest prose I have ever read. I’ve studied is books to try and figure out how he uses an economy of words that are always so pitch perfect.

This story of reunited lovers in Texas is chock full of everything I wanted in a Christmas tale: reindeer, an old ranch, a cast of secondary characters I want to have their own stories, and a protagonist who is a Texas Ranger – a freakin’ Texas Ranger!

Mitch had to get out of their small town in order to escape the rules preventing him from become his own person. Web stayed right where he was – quietly being his own man on his own terms. Two very different lives but they both recognize the gift of second chances and they might just have the strength to accept it this time around.

 

The Christmas Proposition by K.A. Mitchell

The Blurb: It’s Christmas in Epiphany, Pennsylvania—the busiest time of year for Mel Halner. But running the family Christmas tree farm has worn down his love for the happiest season of all, and lately Mel’s been wondering what if he’d said yes to a ticket out of town with millionaire Bryce Campion three years ago.

Bryce isn’t used to people saying no to him, and he can’t forget Mel or their brief but sizzling affair. He might not have been offering forever, but Bryce can’t understand a guy as sexy and smart as Mel choosing to stay rooted on the family farm over enjoying the high life with him. He’s determined to make Mel see what he’s missed out on the first chance he gets.

K.A. Mitchell always makes me laugh. Everything from a snicker to a full-on belly laugh was wrung out of me by this story. The humorous dialogue and witty repartee gives me perpetual line envy.

Mel is a funny guy stuck in a life that isn’t what he wants and not what he chose. Bryce is a guy who life is all of his own making and he knows what he wants – and that is Mel.

Watching Bryce woo Mel  like an old-fashioned suitor was a toe curling, sigh-inducing adventure.

***

I give this one 5 out of 5 Mermaid flippers.

I heartily recommend this anthology for your bookshelf. This is one that I will pull up on my Kindle year after year.

Robin

 

 

 

Blurb:

Baby it’s Cold Outside

A man receives the gift of pleasure at the hands of two expert lovers. Boyhood sweethearts get a second chance at romance. Two very proper gentlemen indulge their forbidden desires. And a Christmas tree farmer has an epiphany. It may be cold outside but these four holiday novellas will warm you up.

Anthology includes:

My True Love Gave to Me by Ava March
Winter Knights by Harper Fox
Lone Star by Josh Lanyon
The Christmas Proposition by K.A. Mitchell

Why I Empathize with a Serial Killer

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I recently started watching Dexter for the first time. You know, Dexter. That tv series about a serial killer? Not my usual cup of tea, but I have to admit, within minutes of watching the first episode of the first season, I was hooked.

Dexter is a bona fide serial killer. He gets overwhelming urges to murder and feels absolutely no remorse in taking a human life. In fact, he doesn’t feel any normal human emotions at all and spends most of his life pretending to be a good brother, caring boyfriend, friendly co-worker. (He works as a forensics expert on blood splatter. Cute, huh?) Here’s the twist: he was raised by an honorable cop who instilled in him a rigid moral code, so that Dexter only kills people who “deserve” to die — other murderers, rapists, etc.

Dexter is the ultimate anti-hero. He’s the star of the show, we root for him, and we want him to achieve his goals. And yet, he’s a serial killer. One who takes extreme pleasure in violently dismembering people. (Yes, I have to cover my eyes during the scenes with the whirling chain saw and the spraying blood.)

So how on earth did the writers accomplish this? How did they get me to empathize with a serial killer?

For answers, I turned to Michael Hauge’s recent workshop with the Washington Romance Writers. (For more information, please see his website: www.storymastery.com or his book, SELLING YOUR STORY IN 60 SECONDS). During the workshop, Mr. Hauge listed five key factors for creating empathy and claimed that the hero of every successful movie or novel has at least two of these five. Please note these factors must come into play when the character is introduced. A character arc where the hero eventually learns to be kind may enrich a story, but it does nothing to create empathy for the hero at the beginning of a movie or novel.

1. Make the hero sympathetic/ put him/her in an undeserved situation. In the first episode of this series, we see Dexter going through the motions as he pretends to have the requisite human emotions. He yearns to feel something — anything — and thinks if he goes through the motions often enough, the emotions he pretends to feel might actually become real. We don’t know at this point whether Dexter’s situation is deserved or not, but we certainly feel sorry for him. All of us, at one point or another, have felt like an outsider. We have all pretended to smile or laugh when we really felt like crying.

2. Put the hero in jeopardy. From the beginning of this series, Dexter walks a very fine line between detection and safety. He murders his victims — right under the noses of his coworkers in the police department. He interacts on a daily basis with the very people whose job it is to catch him. According to Mr. Hauge, we empathize with characters we worry about. Because of the very nature of Dexter’s job, we worry from the start that he might get caught.

3. Make the hero likeable/ show the hero to be well-liked by others. Although Dexter hides behind a mask, he is clearly well-liked by the other characters on the show – his sister, his girlfriend, his colleagues. In fact, an early scene in the first episode shows Dexter bringing donuts to the office, while everyone slaps him on the back and tells him what a great guy he is. Moreover, in a poignant moment in the first episode, Dexter says, if I could love anyone, it would be my sister Deb. His words imply that he does not love even his sister, but his actions speak louder than words. He may say he is just pretending, but his actions indicate that he is a caring brother to Deb and a thoughtful boyfriend to Rita. As viewers, we suspect that even though Dexter can’t acknowledge it, he truly cares about these people.

4. Make the hero funny. Dexter himself isn’t funny, but the situations in which he is portrayed are certainly amusing. For example, while his colleagues are disgusted by the blood splatter at a crime scene, Dexter whistles cheerfully as he takes pictures of the murder victim. In another example, after Dexter shows thoughtfulness to his girlfriend, Rita throws her arms around his neck and exclaims something like, “How did I find the last decent man on this world?”

5. Make the hero powerful/good at what he/she does. Mr. Hauge told us that viewers and readers like to root for characters who can “get the job done.” Dexter is extremely good at what he does. His colleagues are in awe of his deep knowledge and instinct concerning blood splatter, and he is a very competent and efficient serial killer. What’s not to like?

So there you have it! Five reasons why I empathize with a serial killer, according to Michael Hauge’s factors.
What about you? Do you like watching Dexter? Who is your favorite anti-hero? Why?

What Do You Do To Get Through The Holiday Season?

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The season starts the first Thursday of December with our family Holiday Kick-off of Swiss Colony meats/cheeses and goodies along with a Muppet’s Christmas Carol. From then on–I fly by the seat of my pants and hold on tight–sweating until I know I have all my shopping done, the accounts balanced and everything baked and delivered. Then I take a breath and enjoy.
For most of us the holiday season is filled with parties and planning, shopping and baking like we’re Pros, while still trying to juggle our normal routines of working, writing and family obligations.
So how do we cope at this wonderfully hectic time? I try to take a few minutes each day (when I find myself alone) to sit with a cup of tea and just stare into space at the lit Christmas tree. But that only suffices for a few minutes.

Each year I try to plan days for certain things to be done–a baking day, shopping day or days, and one to wrap the gifts. It’s helpful and I’m heck at making lists (thank God for whomever invented the yellow legal note pads). My husband knows I have a system and method to my madness and tries to stay out of my way. 🙂

So what do you do to help you along? I could always use some great ideas!

Give Me Some Cheesy Christmas Songs, Please!

Kimberly MacCarron, mermaids, ,

I love Christmas music.  There.  I admit it. 

As soon as the leftover Thanksgiving turkey is tucked away in the fridge, it’s nonstop Christmas music for me.  Some might say it’s tacky or overly sentimental or just plain cheesy, but I can’t help myself. 

Then I wondered why.  I realized that it’s the writer in me that loves the Christmas music, and the songs I love best contain a story—whether it’s funny or sad or sweet, it’s the story that gets me every time.

I’ll Be Home for Christmas, written in 1943, tells the story of a World War II soldier writing to his family.  Although it was written during a time when many of us hadn’t even been born, we can all relate.  Many have different reasons for not being able to spend the holidays with the ones they love.  Maybe they were deployed.  Or they can’t afford a plane ticket or haven’t accrued vacation leave.  Maybe divorces and custody issues play a part.  No matter the reason, we can all relate.  And if you listen to the lyrics and can keep a dry eye when Bing Crosby croons at the end, “I’ll be home for Christmas…if only in my dreams,” then you’re heartless. 

On the flip side of the sentimental song, I also love Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.  It, too, tells a story.  And it throws a few good lessons in there for good measure.  Don’t overindulge in eggnog.  Don’t forget your medication.  And, for God’s sake, don’t wander out into the snow, especially when Santa is recklessly driving a sleigh.  It also presents the listener with a question.  What would you do with Grandma’s gifts?  Open them or send them back?

The song that grates on my nerves is The Christmas Shoes.  That one gets me—but not in a good way.  It’s so overly sentimental and designed to pull at my heartstrings.  When I know that’s what’s being done, I resist at all costs.  I. Will. Not. Be. Moved! The boy in line buying shoes for his dying mommy doesn’t do a thing for me, story or no story.  I’m not so sure Jesus will be all that impressed with her new shoes.  There.  I’m going straight to hell in a handbasket.  During the Christmas Season no less.

I remember sitting at a church puppet show when I was in second grade and watched the performance of Mommy kissing Santa Claus.  I was absolutely appalled.  Appalled!  I looked around at the adults chuckling, and I remember distinctly feeling like they were all messed up.  Why would it have been funny if Daddy had seen Mommy kissing Santa?  Isn’t it still cheating even if it’s with Father Christmas?  I asked my mom about it in the car on the way home, and she looked troubled, too.  She never did answer my question.  But, again, the story is what got me.  

I love the sentimental songs.  One of my favorites (and my mom’s) is Merry Christmas, Darling by the Carpenters.  When Karen Carpenter sings in that sweetly melancholy voice about “being apart, that’s true” but “on this Christmas Eve, I wish I were with you…” Oh.  That’s so heartbreaking.  They could be apart for any reason, and it always gets me.  He could have died.  He could be deployed right now.  He could have moved on to a different relationship, and she could be a psychotic stalker, but the words are so beautifully sung that none of that matters.  The story remains for you to fill in between the lines.  It can be your story.  Or your sister’s.  Or the crazy lady next door. But, it’s someone’s.  

My two favorite songs of the season are relatively new.  Believe by Josh Groban goes hand-in-hand with one of my favorite movies—Polar Express.  It’s a movie about growing up, of letting magic slip away and giving up dreams.  But, there’s a positive side.  You can find the magic again.  I love the lines:  “Believe in what you feel inside, and give your dreams the wings to fly.  You have everything you need…if you just believe.” 

And my favorite Christmas song of all time?  Drum roll, please…  My Grown-Up Christmas List.  Holy Cow.  I can’t keep a dry eye.  Seriously.  I get chills and my heart feels like the Grinch’s—growing three times the normal size during that one song.  My favorite version is Kelly Clarkson’s, when she sings about writing to Santa with childhood fantasies but now, as a grown up, her wish list is different.  She wants “not for myself but for a world in need.”  To me, it’s the epitome of the season.  Moving from selfish requests—wrapped presents—to righting the wrongs of the world. 

So, what are your favorite songs, and why?  That’s the important part.  I don’t want to hear that the 1984 version of Do They Know it’s Christmas? is the best.  I want to know why.  Because it’s chock-full of super star musicians or because it tells of the famine to hit Ethiopa in that year and our power to help those suffering? 

When you decide your favorite, maybe you’ll realize that often it’s the story behind the tune that touches your heart.  And what better time to have music touch your heart than Christmas? So, give it up!  What’s your favorite Christmas song and why?

I wish you a Merry Christmas… I wish you a Merry Christmas…I wish you a Merry Christmas… and a Happy New Year!

 

Favorite Holiday Movies

Kerri Carpenter, mermaids, ,

I find it tough to be a writer during the holidays. With the shopping and the baking, festive movies and parties, writing time can take a serious backseat. So this year, I figure I’ll just go with it – there is nothing wrong with enjoying the season. Without further ado, here is a list of some of my favorite Christmas movies.  

1.   A Christmas Story

Nothing makes me laugh like this movie. It’s not only a favorite holiday movie, it’s an all-time favorite. There are so many quotable lines I could seriously write a whole thesis on this film. (And I know you’re all saying, “You’ll shoot your eye out,” right now. Admit it!) Whoever decided to play it nonstop for 24 hours on Christmas day was a genius!

2.  How the Grinch Stole Christmas

I’m talking about the cartoon, not the one with real people. What’s not to like about this movie? It’s short, it’s sweet and it makes my heart grow three sizes too big as well.

3.  Holiday Inn

I remember the first time my parents showed me this movie. I quickly got over my aversion to black & white because it’s so fantabulous! Plus, my mom and I like to guess what color all of the gorgeous costumes are.

4.  White Christmas

I find myself very drawn to White Christmas. The dance scenes are amazing and I would kill to be as thin as Vera Ellen.   And I love when Bing Crosby says, “what’s the beef” and how the train looks all clean and fun. Those were different times.

5.  Elf

Elf is so funny! But I think my favorite thing about it is how committed Will Ferrell is to the role of Buddy the Elf. He believes he’s Buddy and so do I. “Santa!!!!!!! I know him, I know him!”

As a self-appointed Christmas movie aficionado, there are many, many more movies I could have listed (Bill Murray’s Scrooged, Miracle on 34th Street). But I just wanted to give you the basic idea. No matter what you like watching this time of year, I hope you have a wonderful holiday and a fabulous New Years!

What is your favorite holiday movie?

 

 

You Can Hate Marketing. Seriously. It’s Okay.

Marketing, mermaids

Today I am launching a new series at my blog about branding and website development. Why? Because I’m working with a design team on my new author website. It’s an exciting project, but it’s also something I need to do. Why? Because I believe effective branding, effective web presence, social media and finding my audience niche can’t wait until my first book is published (yep, without a single nibble I’m just putting it out there). I’ve got to get the waters primed, and now is the time.

Don’t believe me? Bored already with the constant chatter about what you need to do from what you don’t? If you write, and intend to get published or are published – you must market your brand. Period. No excuses (I won’t go on and on about how much I HATE excuses…but that’s for another journal entry).

I’ve met two people in my career (I’ve been doing the marketing thing for consumer products companies and nonprofit organizations for twenty plus years) who are standouts on the nuances of marketing. My mentor in Chicago, who tried to teach me as much as he could. Bless his heart. And a woman who started a nonprofit business and just didn’t give a damn about anything but selling her product. She was successful, but I’m not sure if the price was worth it (okay, I am sure, it was–for her).

The thing to know though is that neither one of these people were authors. They both are incredible writers, but not romance authors. That is a special world and as competitive as any other business niche in today’s marketplace – a marketplace that on the outside appears to be jammed with opportunity and easy access because of tools like the Internet and social media. But is that true? Nothing is easy, but for it to be right, it doesn’t have to be hard.

To get started on branding you need to know you — the author you.

Answering that question will help you build a brand, or strengthen your existing Internet presence by giving you more ideas on ways to reach your target audiences through those existing distribution channels (I just had to use that phrase:)…you know, blog, twitter, Facebook, etc (Social media stuff is always a good place to begin).

Check out some websites and blogs I think kick a** when it comes to branding.

Legend the Series – when I visited this blog in April 2011, the book deal had been announced a few months earlier (as much as a year earlier), and the site kept adding features until launch day.

Vanessa Barneveld – an unpublished author, but also a Golden Heart winner – her site has strong branding that let’s you know about the author and the flavor of the books immediately.

Romancing the Palate – a blog by a published author offering a topic/niche that dovetails into her stories, and thus helps to build a consistent identity for her ‘foodie’ angle included in her novels (she recently sold her first full-length book).

Quiet Laughter – a blog by an author who is interested in exploring the differences in cultures, catches the eye, but also imaginatively utilizes a simple blogger template.

Now tell me the first thing that comes into your head when you think about marketing…and no cursing (or at least not too much cursing)…

If you’d like to read a bit more about developing your brand, visit my blog and check out today’s post on BRANDING and Why I HATE Marketing:)…

Congratulations! The WINNER OF THE DECEMBER GIVEAWAY IS LANA!!! Please contact us today with your mailing address so we can drop the AMAZON gift card in the mail ASAP!

December Giveaway Day!!!

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It is the season to be giving, right! So, we are giving away a $35 Amazon gift card!!!  

It’s December and the big holiday season is upon us. As you might imagine, the Waterworld Mermaids aren’t ones to swim away from celebrations, if you know what I mean. So, we want to add a tiny bit of holiday cheer and a big thank you to those who enjoy stopping by and visiting with us in our pond. Also, it’s fun to give stuff away! So here’s how we are going to play.

Since I’m posting and I’m all about urban fantasy novels (for the moment), I need your help. If you would like a chance to win a $35 Amazon gift card, please comment by answering one of the questions shown below (or both–we don’t mind):

What is your favorite urban fantasy novel or urban fantasy author of 2011?

What makes a bad boy hero sizzle or fizzle in a romance novel?

(The winner will be chosen at random from all ‘commenters’ who answer at least one of the questions above.  I’ll post the winner’s name here tomorrow morning when I blog the first in a series on brand marketing and creating the ultimate author’s website (how much fun is that!). To be selected for the $35 Amazon gift card, I am open to bribery, flattery, or general praise about anything I may attempt to do in the future or have considered in the past. Too much? Okay, So no, it’s pretty straightforward, nothing will help you win but the luck of the draw. So, good luck, have a great day, and enjoy the holiday season!)

Janet Evanovich Swims with the Mermaids

Interview, Writing

Sometimes you just connect with a character. That’s me with Stephanie Plum – of course, I finally married my Jersey boy, but Stephanie and I definitely have the car problems in common. Don’t even get me started on the time I was stranded on a lonely stretch of  I-80 in Nebraska with a smoking engine. Not good.

So imagine how excited I was to get to interview Janet Evanovich. Yeah, I squealed and I’m only slightly ashamed to admit. The woman is a writing hero of mine. Reading her books featuring Stephanie Plum, Alex Barnaby and Elizabeth Tucker make me happy. Usually, I tear through them in one sitting carried along by the action, humor and story twists.

“It turns out I’m a really boring workaholic with no hobbies or special interests. My favorite exercise is shopping and my drug of choice is Cheeze Doodles,” Janet writes on her website. “I read comic books and I only watch happy movies. I motivate myself to write by spending my money before I make it. And when I grow up I want to be just like Grandma Mazur.”

Can the world really take a real-life Grandma Mazur? Oh hell yeah. I for one can’t wait for it. But until that happens, grab a cup of coffee – or if you’re like Lulu a plate of ribs – and spend a few minutes with Janet.

Set the scene for us, where are you and what are your three favorite objects within arms reach.

Coffee cup, computer keyboard and my pet bird Ida’s cage. I’m in my office in Naples, FL.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? Why?

I’m both. I start with a brief outline that gives me room to roam.

How often do you write and do you keep a set schedule? Do you ever start to get the shakes if you don’t write? 🙂

Seven days a week — usually eight hours at a clip. I don’t get the shakes, but I do feel the hot breath of the next deadline on my neck.

What is your celebratory treat for finishing a book?

Shopping!

For the sake of this question, your best friend is single, which one of your heroes would you set her up with?

I suppose Ranger. Then she can fill me in on all the details.

Stephanie Plum is such a popular character, do you find it challenging to break out and write non-Plum books? What kind of push back do you receive from your readers?

Yes, it is challenging, but I love the other characters and the worlds they inhabit. With regard to my new Diesel series, the vast majority of feedback is positive.

What was the last non-romance book you read that you’d recommend?

Anthony Bourdain’s Medium Raw.

What are your favorite pair of shoes and how do they reflect your personality?

My canvas tennies. I like to be comfortable.

What kind of support do you have as an author to help you with your website, e-mails, promotion and all the other non-writing parts of being a successful author?

I get great support from my daughter Alex who handles everything electronic and my son Peter who runs the business side of things.

With the increase in e-books, digital publishing, self publishing and all the changes in New York, where do you see the industry going and what are you doing to prepare?

I think we’re going to see more e-book publishing as time goes on. But whether they’re digital or ink on paper, readers will continue to read. I just have to keep writing the best books I can.

***

Janet, thanks so much for stopping in at the Waterworld Mermaid lagoon! I can’t wait to read Explosive Eighteen. And for those of you who are as big of fans as I am, visit the Avery Flynn website to watch the trailer for One for the Money, which will be out Jan. 27. I think that calls for a Mermaid night out.

Romantic Suspense Rules and All the Others Drool

mermaids, Writing

Yeah that’s right, I’m throwing down the gauntlet you historical queens, contemporary babes, urban fantasy badasses, chick lit divas, inspirational ladies, m/m wenches , paranormal chicks, science fiction damsels, erotica dames and every other romance genre out there. Why? Because today, Dec. 1, is Kiss of Death Day and Kiss of Death members everywhere are celebrating the romantic suspense genre.

To celebrate romantic suspense day, here are some of my favorite quotes about suspense.

“This suspense is terrible, I hope it will last.” – Oscar Wilde

“We all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour; in other words, we are the hero of our own story.” – Mary McCarthy

“What great romance doesn’t have suspense in it? Whether a spy thriller in Regency times, a paranormal romance with a revenge-seeking zombie, or a traditional serial killer after the heroine, romance relies on suspense, leading the reader through the trials of the heroine and hero to see if they will get their happily ever after ending.” – Kiss of Death President A.J. Brower

Often, I’ll find myself reading with one hand clamped over my mouth as my heart pumps so fast blood is rushing like a tsunami in my ears. The only down side is not getting enough sleep because I have to know how the hero and heroine will catch the serial killer/kidnapper/madman and finally figure out they were meant for each other.

Over on Twitter, Kiss of Death members and romantic suspense lovers are Tweeting about why they love romantic suspense using the hashtag #romanticsuspense. Help us to make that hashtag trend on Twitter by Tweeting about why you love romantic suspense.