What do you like to see on a cover?

I've seen a lot of discussion lately regarding book covers. Apparently authors for NY publishing houses have little to no control over their covers. We in epublishing are a bit luckier, in that we (usually) get at least some input into our covers.

So far, I've liked all the covers my books have received from my current publishers. Each cover has featured elements from the story, as well as an attractive layout and font. I did notice that comparing two of my books from the same publisher, the one with shirtless guys on it has sold better. Could the higher sales be because of the cover? Perhaps the blurb or excerpt is the real reason. It's hard to say.

One thing I've learned is that cover art is a very subjective thing. What looks nice to me and would make me want to learn more about the story might not be appealing to someone else.

And so I'm asking all of you for opinions.

Readers: What do you like to see on a book cover? Do you prefer to see people or things? Do you want to see faces, or do you prefer to make your own mental pictures of the characters? Are naked male chests overdone, or not? What do you think about Poser/computer generated people? Does the cover really influence your decision to buy a book?

Authors: What do you like to see on your covers? Are there any things you hate?

Cassandra
www.cassandragold.com
Fantasies: Thanksgiving now available at Red Rose Publishing!

Party Pooped

By AJ Llewellyn
It was my turn to blog here yesterday and I goofed. I posted to the wrong blog!!! That's what happens when you post blogs to five different places each and every week. So here is my Thanksgiving blog that should have gone up yesterday. Sorry folks!
It's never happened before, but there you have it. I'm not perfect (sob)...hope you all had an awesome Turkey Day!

As somebody who grew up in Australia, with no Halloween, no Thanksgiving, no Twinkies or Tootsie Rolls or M&Ms and tiny corner "milk bars" instead of massive supermarkets, moving to California in 1984 was an adventure I have never stopped appreciating.My favorite of all the American holidays became Thanksgiving. Partly because my first Christmas here I was so broke my two room mates and I shared a packet of M&M (plain) between us. We tried desperately not to beat up the fourth room mate who'd eaten our carefully collected stash of vegetables we thought we'd hidden in the bottom of the fridge.The following year, a new friend invited me to Thanksgiving and I met one of the loves of my life, candied yams.I adore Thanksgiving because I always believed all Americans celebrated it. I loved that a total stranger could be included in a family meal and I loved that you couldn't offend anybody the way you can inadvertently offend by saying, "Merry Christmas."So I was stunned on Monday when one of my dearest friends told me her 5 year old son - and my cherished and adored Godson (I have 11 Godchildren by the way) - was caught in the middle of political correctness run amok.I was astounded to learn that a mother at Condit Elementary School in Claremont, CA objected to the school's annual Thanksgiving celebration. For months, these five year olds have been preparing their own Pilgrim and Indian costumes out of construction paper.They love this holiday.It's a long-standing, 40 year ritual for Condit and Mountain View Elementary Schools.According to Mary Raheja, who says she is of the Seneca tribe (They however, say she is not enrolled on their books) it's like celebrating the Holocaust.She wrote this to her child's teacher: "I'm sure you can appreciate the inappropriateness of asking children to dress up like slaves (and kind slave masters), or Jews (and friendly Nazis), or members of any other racial minority group who has struggled in our nation's history."WHAT??!!Raheja found a few parents to side with her while the The school's superintendent David Cash ruled that after 40 years, yes indeed, dressing up for Thanksgiving is racist.How ridiculous!I was so pleased to find on Monday that 90% of the children turned up in their costumes, according to my friend, oblivious to the controversy.David cash was under police guard and heavy public criticism but in the end, Thanksgiving went as planned and I saw the photos. The kids looked adorable and learned a valuable lesson, the art of completing a task and having people admire their handiwork.I was pleased that the entire world has NOT gone mad. These are five year olds. Plenty of time for them to learn what happened AFTER that legendary first pot luck meal.This morning, I lay in bed listening to the news, learning that for the first time ever, a Native American tribe, the Oneidas, is having a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Other tribes have participated before but this will be the first tribal float. I wish I could be there to see it in person and will have to settle for television.I found myself smiling, remembering my first and only Thanksgiving in New York. My brother was living there in a shabby one bedroom apartment on Hudson Street opposite the White Horse Tavern, where Dylan Thomas slipped off his barstool and died.We woke up, played Bob Marley and sloped off to the Parade, caught up in the pageantry...and later on as we strolled through Little Italy, the pastries.That to me is what Thanksgiving is all about. Parties, parades and an extra scoop (or three) of yams with my veggies.Have an awesome Thanksgiving!A.J.

When real life intrudes

As I writer I can often be found...you guessed it, writing. But what happens when real life intrudes on the muse? I've been asking myself this question a lot lately. It seems like the holidays always take up too much of my time and energy and leave very little left for me to use for writing. Then add someone in the family sick on top of all of it and my muse comes to a screeching halt. That's where I'm at right now. Trying to prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas, plus working my day job and nursing a sick child on top of it all. I've noticed that I don't work well under stressful conditions so you can just imagine how little I'm getting done, as far as my writing career goes, right now. I have so many projects that need my attention but i find myself completely unable to focus. I'm tired and a bit cranky and it's really showing through in my storylines. So I'm thinkingit might be time to take a week off and get things straight. Anyone else having a rough time this winter?
Beth Wylde
Born 2 B. Wylde
www.bethwylde.com
Don't forget to visit my website to take part on my scavenger hunt going on now through December 1st. You can win a free download of your choice from all of my current ebooks.

The First Round is Over

Well, it's over. The first round of voting I mean. The American Title V contest closed the votes on the 23rd of November so now it's sit and wait. I want to thank everyone who voted, not only for my book, In A Lover's Silence, but for all the first lines of the books in the American Title V contest.

The life of a writer is an interesting one. We listen to voices in our head tell us stories that fascinate and intrigue us. Once we have it on paper, it's our internal drive to share what we've created that makes us risk humiliation, insult, and ridicule time after time in an effort to get our work before the readers.

Like any craft, the practice of writing takes time to master, hour upon hour of putting word to page, rewriting, and rewriting, until the original hodge podge of terms and letters is nothing like it's final draft. And it always amazes me when someone who's never tried to write a book decides "it's not that hard--I could write something better..." Ironically, that is how I started (with a little nudge from a friend who challenged me to do just that) but there aren't that many who stick with it.

When you take the time to read through the next round of entries in the American Title V contest, the character descriptions, remember, each of the seven remaining authors sweated blood over the people they created. The next voting session begins in December.

Keep that in mind and when you sit down and read a book or wander through the blogs and post responses, take a moment to consider the time and effort your favorite authors have gone to to get that finished product into your hand.

Buying Books-- Can we do it?

Hey all,


I just read an article on how a poll was taken of romance readers about the economy and whether the downward trend would change the way they purchased books.  The poll taker reported that most of those surveyed said they would find away to feed their book buying habit, which is good news for us in the industry.

But when it comes to feeding your family, or buying gas to get to work, I can see where this might not quite be true.  I know my buying habits have changed in the last six months.  Books included.

I hate it, but them's the facts and reality is ugly sometimes.  Thank God for libraries, or I'd really be in trouble.  LOL

  I know my Christmas wish list is filled with books I'd like to have, much more than usual.  I'm foregoing a lot of other presents, but I NEED my reading material.  I've got a complete list of both e-books and print.  I can't wait for the big day.  I'm starving for some of the ones I've had to put off buying.


Anyway, I was curious as to what other's actually do.  Are you purchasing as many books as you used to?  If not, how do you choose the ones to buy?  Which books are on automatic buy for you?  And what book do you really want for Christmas?

Leave your comments, please.  I'd like to know if the poll taker was right...or just hoping for the best.

Hugs,

CJ England

 

Never anger an elf... we have very long memories.

http://cjengland.com/mylari/eyesoffire.htm

http://cjengland.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CJsaysFollowYourDreams/

Thought I'd phone this one in...

It's the holidays and everyone's probably talking about thanksgiving, Yule or Christmas or whatever tradition you celebrate. I even started early with my red and black Santa hat. Normally I start wearing it just after thanksgiving, but it was so cold Monday that I said "Fuck it," and threw it on.

But this post isn't about that. It's actually about me pimping my newest releases from Total E-Bound becuase as much as I bitch when augthors throw up a cheesey excerpt in leui of something worth value to say it annoys me.

But here I am doing the same thing. Why am I selling out, you wonder? Becaues I'm on deadline with a story for Total E-bound that I am not really in the mood to write! I have two more shorts due for Renaissance E-books as well, TOastmasters Meeting to prepare for on Saturday, Cashflow game afterwards, and I've been ordered by my Dommes to take Sundays off.

plus today is Friday when I wrote this, that means I have a brutal chest routine to do since I started a body building routine a few weeks ago to pump up my chest. Remember a few blog posts ago, we talked about health and author care? Well I take my words seriously!

I DO practice what I preach. In fact, I even bought new lingerie. This charcoal gray pair of panties has cute little lace around the edges and will look just awesome on me, despite the one added feature I have that most of you don't...but enough about that.

But enough about that. None of you give a shit about the blathering of an author's life, though you should. We're people too. *sniff sniff8

Highly sensitive people mind you, but people too.

aww fuck it, now i need a drink. I'm upset.

Here's an excerpt from "Light and Shadow" while I go get hammered and deal with my "deep depression" over the fact that you don't think we're people. We are damnit! Not people that Simi eats (like the Simi reference?) but people the Simi likes...or would if she were real *sniff sniff*

*Note* Author has been under high stress and reading the JR Cigar catalogue where the "editor" is very tongue in cheek. Plase forgive the Sascha, he is not Lew...

Getting my feet wet!

Tomorrow’s the big day. A book release? No.

Tomorrow, I must give my first presentation in front of my Louisville Romance Writers group—Yikes!

For those that don’t know. I’m an introvert. Blogging about myself is tough…public speaking is a nightmare. However, I accepted the position of President-Elect, which will lead to a position as President of the group in 2010 so I must persevere. It’s a small group, about 30 members. Probably only about a dozen members will attend.

The topic sounds easy enough. My journey through ebook publishing and promo. It’s an hour-long presentation. If I speak slowly, what I have written so far may take me ten minutes. I hope they have a lot of questions.

I’m catching a cold too. I think by tomorrow, I could be too ill to do the presentation. LOL Did I mention I’m a chicken too?

Sigh! I’ll muddle through the hour because I take my responsibilities seriously. It’ll be good for me.

Other news of the week:

Prey has a hot cover (see below) and a release date of 2/13/09.

I signed a new contract with Ellora’s Cave for Companion Operation, a sci-fi erotic romance.




Have a great weekend,

Laura/LA Day
Website

Movies......Twilight

OK so I know I'm not alone in looking forward to this movie. I have seen so many clips on line and it just looks amazing.

These books that the movie is based on have taken over. It is the biggest thing since Harry Potter.

This past week the cast was in Toronto at Much Music and the streets were packed. People stood out in the cold and rain just to get a glimpse of the cast members.

You can bet that once the movie comes out it will stay at number 1 for a long time.

I will try to read the first book before I go to see the movie. I will most likely wait a few days since the theaters will be jam packed.

How many of you have read the books? Are you planning on going to see the movie?

I think it is always interesting to see how a book is brought to life on the big screen. Sometimes they get it right and sometimes they don't.

Over the years there have been many books that got turned into movies. Some of the best ones were books. I know that the movies don't always include everything that is in the books but the best part about that is the viewer will want to know more and will go out and read the book.

Are there any books that you would love to see made into a movie?

For me it's too many to name but my first book would be any of the Sherrilyn Kenyon Dark Hunter books. She is just the best....

Plus it would be amazing to see my own books as movies....Who knows..maybe one day..

Savannah

http://www.savannahchase.com/

American Made

The holidays are looming closer and closer and the news is full of worldwide economic woes. Things aren't predicted to get better in the coming year..only worse. The big three automakers, GM, Chrysler, and Ford are on the verge of bankruptcy and looking for a bailout.My husband and I were watching a news show last night and debating the issue. Are you talking about these things in your homes too? These are terrible economic times, aren't they?

Weeks ago Congress approved a $700 billion bailout of our banking system. Huge controvery. And now they are faced with another decision. These mega-giant automakers have known for YEARS they needed to re-tool and get on the same page as the Japanese and German automakers but they continued to push their SUV's and trucks and ginormous cars. Fuel efficiency? Nope. They didn't do much of that either. I live in Texas and nearly everyone drives big pickups and Suburbans. Several years ago, we switched to more fuel efficient cars. My husband and I both drive German made cars and our kids drive Japanese cars. Do I feel guilty for not buying American? Not really. The product we needed and wanted wasn't available. If American companies built something really cool that gave us the great gas mileage, we would've bought these in a flash.So now these companies are in big trouble and want us to bail them out. Do we DO it??? Consider what happens if we DON'T. Millions of people will lose their jobs not only on the assembly line but all these folks who work in related industries will be unemployed. These blue collar folks will lose their health care and possibly their homes. So do we bail out the big dogs and save these people? Personally, I don't give a damn about those big wheels at the top but the workers will suffer tremendously. What a mess! Any thoughts about this?

I've Been Nominated for 5 REC Awards! Please Vote!

Paige is unavailable so I'm posting this for her.

I'm so excited! I've been nominated for five awards at the Romance Erotica Connection, and I'd so appreciate it if you would vote for me!

If you aren't already a member, you need to join the REC Yahoo Group to vote, then just click on the link to 'Polls' to vote!

REC

Categories I'm nominated in:

Erotic Romance - Paranormal COVER OF THE YEAR
Animal Attraction by Paige Tyler

Erotic Romance - Paranormal NOVEL OF THE YEAR
Animal Attraction by Paige Tyler

Cover Artist/Editors COVER OF THE YEAR
Animal Attraction - Rika Singh

Erotic Romance - Paranormal BEST MALE CHARACTER
Hunter McCall - Animal Attraction by Paige Tyler

Erotic Romance - All Other Genres COVER OF THE YEAR
Cindra and the Bounty Hunter by Paige Tyler

Thank you so much!

*hugs*
Paige

"Stories so hot, they'll make your cheeks blush!"

Visit my website.

NaNoWriMo - What Gets You Revved?

How many of you are doing NaNo? How many are feeling good about how you’re doing? What is your secret to success?

I’m having a great time this year, but then again, I get a rush out of NaNo and have each time I’ve participated. This is my third year, and I will blow the roof off this sucker once more.

I have lots motivating me. First of all, my very first NaNo project will be available in print December 1. Exactly two years after I completed my first NaNo. Woot! Yes, Frozen, a book given 4 stars by Romantic Times Book Reviews, is my first print book. I’m so excited my family can hardly stand me and my RWA chapter is ready to dunk me in the next frozen pond they can find just to get me to chill a little. Unfortunately there's just such a pond not far from my house...

Last year I worked on a couple of projects, finishing one and starting another. Both of those are contracted by Lyrical Press as well. Chinook Wine and Sink Her (named a Reviewer Top Pick at Night Owl Romance Reviews recently) was started during NaNo and finished this last summer when I drove to Circle, Alaska to put the final details in. The electronic version went on sale in September, with the print version available this coming March. The other book I worked on, Cowboys Dream Too, can be picked up in ebook next April.

So yes, NaNo has been good to me.

What’s on the docket for this year? An off-planet, futuristic with a taste of the old west custom of mail order brides. Actually, I’m starting Book 2. More to come on the actual plots of books 1 and 2 later. We’ve reached the midway point of the month and I’m 30,000 words into my project. And I owe it all to my friends.

This year I didn’t start out quite as jazzed. I had no plot, no idea, was in fact planning to work on another idea I came up with last year. But nothing was gelling, at least not the way I was expecting it to.

This is where my friends come in. Many of them are writers too. One in particular, had a goal to finish a book by the Emerald City conference so we starting doing NaNo-like word challenges. We’d pick one day a week and we’d write. Phones were ignored, and people were told to go away. We were writing. We’ve done this by IM, in person at one another’s homes, and even out at a deli with free refills at the fountain. What works for us, is for 30 minutes we write. No talking, chatting, wandering around trying to work through problems. Write. Fingers to the keyboard and moving for 30 minutes. At the end of 30 minutes, we’d break for 15-20, compare word counts, bio break, get snacks, then at the sound of Go! We were off again. For 30 minutes.

I now know my average is somewhere around 750 words in thirty mins. I’ve gone over 1000 (while writing a fight scene) or slogged along around 300 words (Okay, so sometimes you have to take a phone call – like when DH is bringing home dinner). But every 30 minute session carries us both closer to our goal. Currently the goal is 2000 words or more a day. I tend to do 3000 over the course of an afternoon. I’ve gone over the 5000 word mark, but that’s not so common.

Last night I crossed over the 30,000 word mark. I’m ahead of the pace by 5000 words. A little behind where I was at this time last year, but you know what? I’m going to make it. I have no doubt about it. And when I’m done, I’ll have another book just about completed. Okay, so I can’t seem to write under 100k by much. I’m working on that.

I want to hear your NaNo stories. Are any of your published or about to be published books a direct result of the NaNo challenge? What are you working on this year and where are you? How’s it going? Flowing? Fighting you? We’re happy to welcome anyone who wants to join our timed sessions. All it takes is YIM and a desire to push yourself and set a new benchmark for a personal best.

Morgan Q. O'Reilly
Get Some Tonight
Webpage: http://morganqoreilly.com/
Blogs: http://themorgandiaries.blogspot.com/
http://lyricalpress.blogspot.com/
http://midnightseductionauthors.blogspot.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/morganqoreilly
http://www.myspace.com/themorgandiaries
Bebo: http://www.bebo.com/MorganQO6
Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/sheamcmaster/shelf
Forums: http://www.lyricalpress.yuku.com/
http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/board

Chasing Rainbows

What are your most outrageous dreams? Part of what I love about writing romance is the power to give characters a dream and then vicariously experience that dream coming true. Sometimes I even get jealous of them - in romance, the end of the story is always happy, an artifact of the punctuation mark we place at the end of the book. In real life, characters have to face what happens next.

But some of my most outrageous dreams have in fact come true. Being a published author, for example - something I hardly dared hope for when I penned my first attempt at a novel at age thirteen (well, two chapters worth, anyway). I set the dream aside and pursued a “serious” career through my early adult life. Now I have four novels published, more on the way, and ever more characters and their dreams clamoring to get on the page.

Another dream - being an award-nominated author - came true last month! A sweeping romantic suspense with a powerful story of love and healing, my new Awe-Struck release Detour Ahead was nominated for the Best Suspense/Mystery Romance award at NOR. Voting is open till December 31st, and you can help make that dream even more real by voting for it.



Here’s an outrageous dream - my book in the movies. Does anyone else do this? As I write, I’m actually envisioning the plot unfold on the movie screen - often with famous actors as the characters. Daisy’s hero in Willow Smoke, for example, is a younger Richard Gere. I’d love to see my plots morphed into screen plays and produced on film.

Okay, hasn’t come true yet - unless you count YouTube. I’m thrilled with this trailer created by Cassidy McKay for Detour Ahead. Since she was also the cover artist, she had access to the components of the cover, and I love how she captured the feel of the book!



So yes, I’ll chase those rainbows. Here’s what Daisy’s hero has to say about that:

"Listen kid, if you hang around me much, you'll have to get used to expanding your dreams. I don't dream small. It doesn't take any more time to dream big than small."

Here’s to dreams!

Book trailers!

What do people think of book trailers? Do they influence your book purchases?

I had a wonderful book trailer made for me by my editor, and it got me thinking about the Internet as a media for discussing and showcasing books. Have people used book trailers before as a marketing tool? Or have you yourself viewed book trailers on YouTube or elsewhere? What did you think of them? Did they influence what you thought about the book at all?

Here's both the YouTube and my website hosted versions (the website is better):

A much better quality video is here:

http://www.adriannebrennan.com/trailers/BOTDM-Trailer4.WMV

Love & Magic,
-Adrianne
http://www.adriannebrennan.com

DIFFERENT GENRE

I just finished another M/M story ( Partners) for my publisher Romance Divine. At first, I thought it might be hard to write M/M, but once I got into the story, the plot unfolded in my head and the characters came to life.

I’ve also tried a couple of M/F/M stories. One is Elevator Ride to Ecstasy and the other Double Your Pleasure. I find this type of genre a little more complicated to write. You have an extra character to give a personality and have to deal with any little quirks the threesome might bring to life in how they act toward one another.

The name of my next M/M story is Secrets, coming out before the end of the year. I’m hoping this one will go over as well as the others.

I usually write erotic contemporary romance, but I guess I’ve found a new niche in the writing field.

I thought I’d post the three covers of the books I mentioned above. Trying to promote the three is my main goal. LOL
You can find Partners M/M and Double Your Pleasure M/F/M @ www.romancedivine.com, http://allromanaceebooks.com and Amazon.com Kindle Books.
The last is Elevator Ride to Ecstasy M/F/M @
www.eXtasybooks.com.

My question for the day is about the genre that you write. Has anyone ventured away from their familiar genre and tried writing something altogether different? If so, did you find the new genre satisfying to write?
Mary Suzanne
http://www.Mary-Suzanne.blogspot.com

http://www.webspawner.com/users/romancewriter/index.html

Interesting MSA Author Facts...

Us Midnight Seductions Authors are quite and interesting group. Did you know Wendi Darling collected miniature frogs? I’m a collector of many things so I can so relate to that. Among other things I collect Raggedy Ann dolls and squished pennies. And my grandson’s nickname is…you guessed it- Frog! Tess MacKall once threw a four-carat diamond ring into the Potomac River! Wow, I’d like to dive for that piece of jewelry. Relationships can sure make us do crazy things. I once learned how to skateboard down a very steep hill to impress a boy. Jade Twilight once ate a cricket for a dollar. Now that lady will do anything for money. Well, okay she was only ten at the time! That makes her an enterprising young lady! I like the way she thinks. At one point in my life I put together small, plastic car parts that couldn't be done by machine. A great at home job right? Wrong, I got like thirty dollars a bag. We're talking lawn and garden size bags here! Lizzie Black once dated a man thirty-eight years older than her. According to her she likes ‘em aged like fine wine. I’d have to agree with her on that one. Older men do make better lovers. I don't believe I've ever gone out with a younger man. How many of you knew that Savannah Chase has collected over 4000 autographs from several well known people. Stars, singers- you name it and she'd got it. I have one autograph and that's Charlie Daniels. It's a good one and I stopped right there. I would so love to look at Savannah's collection.

I love learning new things about people, especially those that I like and admire. I've made some great friends online and many of them are part of this great group of authors. As I'm writing I'm also realizing that I too have to reveal something that no one knows about me. Hmm, what to tell? And then it came to me. Some of my fondest memories are of when my son was young. We had the best times ever. Now that he has a son of his own I hope to repeat that. So, here's something most don't know about me- I was a temporary pageant mom. Yep, I entered my son in a pageant at the fair and he came in third. He also won the famed title of Little Mr. Walmart. I was the proudest mamma ever. We soon found out it wasn't our thing- he refused to do anymore! hahaha I don't blame him.

So tell us something we don't know about you? C'mon, we won't tell anyone!

Kissa Starling

Invite for New Group...

Yup, another group.
Like the banner says we specialize in covers, but if you check our main page you'll see we offer days for everyone.
Join early because we'll be holding a Grand Opening Party Nov. 26th

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Books_Cover_2_Cover/

The Wandering Kat - A Dedication To Oreo

One of my cats, Oreo, died recently. I'm still very upset over it. She was my favorite cat. She used to sit on my chest all the time. I wanted to write to everyone about her, since she is the basis for the cat in my story "The Wandering Kat", which appears in my short story collection, "Summer Heat: Steaming Stories for a Hot Summer Afternoon". The image above is of Oreo, taken a few years ago. She was a tiny little kitty who couldn't have weighted more than three pounds, but she could eat twice her weight in people food, especially chicken breast. She was also very territorial. Once, when she was outside, she chased a neighborhood cat across the roof and then across the street. You could hear her squawking four blocks away. She really hated that cat.

She is the mommy cat of the other four in our brood. She's been an indoor cat for the past two years, but for the eight before that she was an outdoor cat, and not because I wanted her to be. She would find any way to sneak outside, even if it meant clawing through the window screen to get out. She loved to play "chase me around the yard", "chase me up the tree", and "chase me on the roof". I drew the line at the last two. I don't do trees or roofs.

She was a little, tiny black and white long-haired cat who reminds me a lot of Sylvester from the old classic cartoons. Plus she was the scruffiest cat I had ever seen. No matter how often she groomed herself, she looked like a mess.

If you'd like to read "The Wandering Kat", you may buy it from eXcessica.

http://excessica.com/index.php/books/summer-heat-by-elizabeth-black/

"The Wandering Kat" is a cougar story about an older women, named Kat, short for Katherine, who wanders outside to look for her cat, Oreo, who escaped from the house again. She meets up with hunky, younger, next-door-neighbor Lance, and it looks like Oreo will help her make Lance her lover. Do they find Oreo? Read the book and see!

I enjoyed writing this story, and I bet Oreo would love it if she could read.

I just wanted to let everyone know about Oreo, and that she has died. She was a fun little kitty cat. My favorite cat.

----------------------------------
Elizabeth Black
http://trishwilson.typepad.com/blog
http://www.romancewiki.com/Elizabeth_Black
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/elizabeth_black/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LizziesSexyNewsletter
http://www.myspace.com/elizabeth_a_black

Menage. Is this your fantasy?

The ménage a trois has been the subject of previous blogs here, but considering it is the hottest thing in erotic writing today, I'm going to talk about it.

How do I know it's popular? One of my publishers is clamoring for ménage. Apparently, their readers can't get enough of them. However she doesn't just want any old menage. She wants mmf, mfm, fmm, mmmf or fmmm. Now I have no idea how these differ—maybe someone can tell me—but I do know they all mean one gal and two or more guys getting it on. In other words, the gang bang is in vogue and not with men readers—women readers.

Does that mean men and women aren’t so different after all? Let’s face it, threesomes are the acknowledged number one fantasy of the heterosexual male. Has the ménage been the secret fantasy of women all these years? More to the point is it your fantasy? Are there any women out there who would admit to having or even living this fantasy?

I have written a ffm ménage into at least three of my stories, although two of them ended in a permanent polyamory. The closest I have come to a fmm though was in my feisty book, Fortune Cookies, where a frolicking foursome takes turns splitting into various threesomes, while the excluded participant films the encounter.

Obviously, the idea of having more than one sex partner per encounter is tantalizing to both men and women. As a man, I can vouch for the draw of this for males and as an erotic romance author I can understand the attraction for women.

So, this brings us to the point of my article. Since ménages have taken the ER world by storm, I’m thinking of joining the ménage party. The problem I’m having in my mind is creating a scenario where a woman enjoys two or more men in a permanent hea setting or even hfn.

I’ve always been told that readers would accept secondary characters sleeping around, but the heroine and hero must be faithful. Are morals changing? Can the heroine sleep around? Can she bump and grind with two or more partners? Does it have to be permanent or at least with strong feelings or can it be casual gratification? Something to experience once or twice and return to a normal life. And can a married woman do this without her husbands knowledge? If no, does it make a difference if he’s been unfaithful? Another thing I’m curious about is, can the woman be a submissive, accepting multiple partners at the instruction of her superior?

These are some of the answers I’d like to know as I confront the very complex issue of sexual nirvana for women with gobs of guys.

Visit my website at www.deedawning.com for the latest on my work, a free read, book trailers and an opportunity to earn a free gift.

Point of View

I've been writing a book from male point of view and I'm wondering what everyone thinks. When we read romance, we generally see the woman's point of view with a smattering of male pov thrown in for balance. It used to be completely done from a woman's perspective, but not anymore.

I find that more and more authors are including male pov and it has become quite necessary to the story line--especially in erotic fiction. It's absolutely sexy to read a love scene from a man's point of view.

There are times when I read male point of view and I can still see the hand of a female writing it. It's essential for an author, if she is female of course, to put her mind into a man's and write the way a man would think, see, feel, hear, touch, etc.

For those women authors who feel they need help with their male pov, I suggest you let a man you trust read your words. That's what I did the first couple of times I tried it. I got some really great advice. Men say things a certain way. They feel the sex so differently from women. And it's important to capture that feeling.

As for my work in progress from male pov, well, it's first person too--only the man's perspective. It's coming along nicely and I've been told by a couple of men that I was somehow able to climb into their minds and get to the heart of their thoughts. Nothing better than having a man tell you something like that.

How do all of you feel about writing male pov and for you readers, do you prefer male pov to female?

Anticipation... is it worth the wait?

I can't decide whether I like anticipating something or not.

I love the butterflies and tingling when I think of something new coming up. The feeling of a new love calling, or a new book coming out, or a planned outing that means something special gets the blood flowing and can make a grin come out on even the most pessimistic person's face.

Anticipating a great date, an upcoming birth, or buying a house... anticipation is everywhere. It's what keeps our lives interesting and gives you something to look forward to!

However, my eldest son announced recently that he is getting married. Yikes. Talk about a rude wake-up call. I thought when he started college that I was getting old... now with the possibility of 'grandparented-ness' looming in the vague future, the excited youth hiding inside of me is facing mortality.

Yes, it happens to the best of us. With my youngest recently turning 4 yrs old, I didn't really consider myself in the 'possible grandparents' age group. Guess it's time to wake up, huh? I'm anticipating his wedding next year - with some trepidation.

So what are you antipating? Share! Share!

And then come join Amanda Burns and I tonight for our double release party tonight on the Midnight Seductions list for our books, The Midas Touch (Forbidden Publications) and Detour Ahead (Awe-Struck Books)!

It's Friday November 7 from 8 to 10 pm Eastern (5 to 7 pm Pacific) at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MidnightSeductions/

Free books, goodies, gold, and excerpts, we hope you'll join us.

When plot bunnies attack...

In the past few months, I've been swamped. I had to finish up a book I'd promised to one of my publishers for a series they're starting in 2009. Then a release date and two sets of edits piled on. Needless to say, I put my WIP aside and dove in.

Recently, I decided I needed to pick up my WIP again. I'm over 28k into it, and I really love the characters. Just as I was getting started, however, it happened...
I was attacked by a plot bunny! Worse yet, it was an EVIL plot bunny--the kind that won't let you think about anything else. I reluctantly put aside my WIP once more so I could get something down on the plot bunny story (now WIP #2), hoping it would let me work again if I did.

And now I'm not working on either story. *Sigh*

But don't worry. I will finish WIP #1. I'm not letting any bratty little plot bunny boss me around!

Unless it multiplies...

Anybody out there got any ideas for getting rid of an evil plot bunny (or five)?

Cassandra Gold
www.cassandragold.com
Fantasies: Thanksgiving coming later this month from Red Rose Publishing!
In a Wolf's Eyes now available from Cobblestone Press!

It's Started...The dreaded Shopping of the Holidays

Has anyone else noticed that the “holidays” are almost here?

I picked something up for Christmas last week for my son and mentioned it to my friend and she’s like…oh you started Christmas shopping.

I’m like, no I didn’t I just picked it up for him for Christmas.

She’s like, Yeah, that’s Christmas shopping

…OH CRAP, it is, it is *running around like chicken in the rain* AHHHHH. It’s started, it’s started!

LOL, yeah, so okay, I freely admit it this week. I did start Christmas shopping.

After working in retail for so long, I do try and have everything done before the BIG PUSH, and I never, ever go out on the day after Thanksgiving. Unless it’s to eat leftovers, LOL.

So have you guys even thought about starting shopping?

I’m going to shamelessly promote on two ends here.

I have a Naughty & Nice Shoppe on my website, for ADULTS.
All kinds of goodies ranging from books to toys, and candles to music.
So stop by if it interests you.
http://astore.amazon.com/casaseerwrofr-20

I’ve also started edits on my manuscript Destined to Mate, coming soon with the

http://www.wilderroses.com/ of The Wild Rose Press. I’m so excited, I was up until 2 this morning working on it.

So I hope everyone has a great day!! It’s a little cloudy here in my part of FL today.

Visit C.A. Salo's Website

C blogs at: http://authorcasalo.blogspot.com

The Art of Sex Fantasies

Have you ever fantasized stepping into a painting?

As an art student, Melissa Hopkins in Smoldering Passion has studied the French Impressionists, so when she’s approached for ideas about art-related sexual fantasies that viewers might find appealing, she immediately has a vision: Two fully clad nineteenth century Parisian gentlemen are enjoying a luncheon in a woodland clearing - and they’re accompanied by a fully nude woman in the foreground and a scantily clad second woman wading in a stream in the background.


Perhaps you recognize this? It’s Édouard Manet’s 1863 Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe - “Luncheon on the Grass” - an oversize canvass that caused a scandal when it was hung in Paris in that year’s exhibit and catapulted its painter to fame.


Melissa’s fantasies, of course, hinge on the question of what will happen next, with all the delectable possibilities and combinations a foursome can offer, and she’s eager to reconstruct the scene in real life.

I’ll leave it to readers to find out what happens when Melissa enters her art fantasy world - but I’d love to hear what famous painting you’d love to step into, and why!

Adriana

Smoldering Passion is available NOW at Whiskey Creek Torrid

Excerpt

Adriana’s Website