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Guest & Contest: Terry Spear

May 202013

Love of Storytelling
By Terry Spear

On a dark and stormy night, or not…it can be 110 degrees out and hotter than blazes, or windy and freezing, or raining cats and dogs and the stories come.

I loved, loved, loved to read, and still do. But that’s partly where my love of storytelling came from. My father used to tell stories, too. Oral scary bedtime stories. And he and my mother shared oral family history stories. So storytelling has been in my blood since the time I could formulate my own.

I started out trying to publish first with children’s books because I was teaching my children to read and I again became fascinated with the idea of creating my own stories like I had done earlier in my life. But this time, I was shooting for publication.

Guest & Contest: Heather Snow

contest, guest 25 Responses »

May 132013

I’m thrilled to be visiting Romancing the Book! Jen was one of the first people to welcome me onto her blog last year when I was a debut author, and now that my third and final book in my debut series is on the shelves, it is very fitting that this be the last blog stop as the series comes to a close.

First, a little about me, in case we haven’t been introduced… I’m a sleep-deprived mother of two young boys, known affectionately on social media as The Heir and The Spare. I’m an avid reader…or at least I was before deadlines and diaper duty. Now I’m more of an avid listener—God bless audiobooks! I’m a cat person who somehow just got tricked into agreeing to get a dog this summer (rotten husband…and he said it in front of the boys, who are now over the moon. I would be an evil mommy to say no now…), and I write historical romance with heroines who put the blue in bluestocking, the men who love them and the mysteries they have to solve.

AAD Spotlight & Contest: Melissa Schroeder

AAD Featured Author Spotlight, contest, guest 29 Responses »

May 092013

I came up with the idea for the Santinis not too long after Christmas. I was thinking I needed to honor the twenty years we have spent traipsing around behind my husband. So, the idea to feature four places we have been stationed, through the stories of four brothers who all serve. It ended up being much more than I imagined.

My father, who is a retired Sr Msgt with over 23 years in the service, always said that your present assignment isn’t as great as your last or as exciting as your next. For those of you on the outside, I will explain. I am a stereotypical brat. I loved the military, proudly call myself and my kids brats. I love to move and travel. I have those “itchy feet” many brats end up with. I am always looking for the next adventure, the next fun place to be. Even now as we plan our retirement to Virginia, I am planning a summer of 2014 trip to the coast of Maine. Again, that military brat training. Plans don’t fail. You fail to plan. So, I often resemble that comment from my father. Where I am at is always a drag (except when we were in Virginia which I believe is the home of my heart). Sitting down to write the Santinis, I had to remind myself of things I loved about places I had lived.

Guest & Contest: Tory Richards

contest, guest 25 Responses »

Apr 052013

Recently I queried some of the groups I belong to about what kind of formula they follow when writing for the day. Do they set a daily word count, do they try to get a chapter done each day, or do they focus on the number of pages. Most will have some kind of schedule or plan. I’ve never been one of them. Because writing is a hobby to me and I’m not very disciplined, especially since I retired from Disney.

On that note, I’ve been thinking about it lately. And it occurred to me that when I set my mind to writing, I’ll usually get one or two chapters done in a day. So I wonder, maybe that should be my formula. Set a one chapter a day goal, anything over that is a bonus.

Guest & Contest: Eliza Knight

contest, guest 18 Responses »

Apr 042013

Let’s Take a Trip Through Time…

By Eliza Knight

First I want to thank Romancing the Book for hosting me today! I’m thrilled to be here with you all! Happy Spring—which I can’t believe I just typed considering there is a few inches of snow on the ground outside my window…

I have been drawn to historical romances since my pre-teen years. I have an avid obsession with history. Wish I could travel back in time—even if it was only for an hour, a day, a week. Of course, I’m not sure I’d be able to stay there. I do like showering, gum and internet. I feel naked without my cellphone and I can’t get enough of the Game of Thrones, Spartacus, and The Walking Dead television series. BUT, I would love to walk through the halls of a castle, sit a horse just beyond the battlefield, dance with a warrior and drink wine before a raging hearth while a minstrel regaled me with his musical talents.

Alas, no one that I know has invented an actual time machine—except for authors. Through a book (whether I’m reading or writing), I can be whisked back in time. Anytime, anywhere. Meet engaging, fascinating, daunting, thrilling, charming characters—and introduce readers to the same.

Guest & Contest: C.H. Admirand

AAD Featured Author Spotlight, contest, excerpt, guest 24 Responses »

Apr 032013

Good Morning Jen, thanks so much for inviting me to guest blog today. April is a busy month for me writing-wise as I get ready to attend Barbara Vey’s Reader Appreciation Luncheon in Wisconsin and RT BookLover’s Convention in Kansas City, MO. I received the books I ordered to give away to readers at Barbara Vey’s Luncheon and two of the events I’ll be taking part of at RT: The Cowboy Corral (a Reader Event) and: Afternoon Delight (for Booksellers and Librarians).

Sooo many events during the year geared just toward Readers who love Romance. But I have noticed that there don’t seem to be any where I live. And being that I’m not a fan of flying, my hubby usually drives with me. After attending his first RT a few years ago, he discovered that he loves working behind the scenes with Johnny Jones, setting up. A HUGE undertaking, but JoCarol Jones and her crew are amazing!! So he makes sure to take part of his vacation to go with me every year. But the funny thing is—we NEVER see each other there except at night when we’re both dead-on-our-feet! Wait, that’s not entirely true—sometimes we pass one another in the hallway! LOL. He keeps telling me when I’m a New York Times Bestselling author, he’ll quit his job and drive me around. From his lips to God’s ears.

Guest & Contest: Eliza Daly

contest, guest 39 Responses »

Mar 292013

Writing Outside the Box and My Comfort Zone

I usually write lighthearted women’s fiction and romantic comedies, like my debut novel released last October, Under Her Spell. While writing my first romantic suspense, Identity Crisis, I soon realized that cracking jokes when my hero and heroine were running for their lives wasn’t going to work. Sure, even suspense novels need a light moment now and then, not only to allow the reader to take a breath, but also the writer. However, comedy doesn’t really set the right tone for a romantic suspense. I challenged myself by writing Identity Crisis. I wrote outside my comfort zone and grew as a writer.

I start a new book by brainstorming pages of what ifs. What if you woke up tomorrow and discovered you were placed in the Federal Witness Security Program (WITSEC) when you were too young to remember? I quickly realized that my brainstorming ideas for Identity Crisis were heading down a darker path than my usual comedies, so I set my brainstorming aside for a few days. However, there is no turning off my muse. She was intrigued by the whole WITSEC idea and insisted this was also the perfect opportunity for me to put years of art forgery research to good use. So I appeased her by writing the first chapter, then the second, and before I knew it, I’d completed the rough draft. I found three major differences between writing comedy and suspense.

Guest & Contest: Trinity Blacio

AAD Featured Author Spotlight, contest, excerpt, guest 14 Responses »

Mar 252013

Writers Vs. Cats

Do you own a cat?

I have two and have always had a feline companion. As cat lovers know, these small creatures have many personalities. One minute they will be sitting in your lap purring up a storm, the next they’re biting and kicking you with their back feet wanting to play.

How do you think writers have to come up with story lines?

People have many personalities, just like cats. One minute we are writing away and we look at the phone next to us and growl. Who the hell has the never to disturb us while we are working? The thought of stomping on said phone comes into play.

Guest & Contest: Jillian Stone

contest, excerpt, guest 12 Responses »

Mar 222013

Musing on the Eccentric, Enigmatic, Dark Hero

First of all, I want to thank Romancing the Books for inviting me to guest blog today! As some of you already know, I have an affinity for the Byronic hero––the natural born iconoclast, who embraces his inner recluse and makes few apologies for his eccentric, often anti-social behavior. For those of you who are not familiar with the Byronic hero, here’s a list of attributes, compliments of Wikipedia:

The Byronic hero typically exhibits several of the following traits: Arrogant, cunning and able to adapt, cynical, disrespectful of rank and privilege, emotionally conflicted, bipolar or moody, having a distaste for social institutions and norms, having a troubled past or suffering from an unnamed crime, intelligent and perceptive, jaded, world-weary, mysterious, magnetic and charismatic, rebellious, seductive and sexually attractive, self-critical and introspective, self-destructive, socially and sexually dominant, sophisticated and educated, struggling with integrity, treated as an exile, outcast or outlaw.

Guest & Contest: Heather Thurmeier

contest, guest 14 Responses »

Mar 202013

Returning Characters

It’s never easy writing a series, but sometimes it can be downright tricky! In my Reality TV Romance trilogy, a few of the characters continue through the whole series, which is great for readers who love (or hate if we’re talking Zoe Oliver!) the characters from the first book. But for the writer, having return characters can add a whole level of complication to the writing process.

In Falling for You, we met Cassidy, Paige and Zoe as contestants on the reality TV show The One. And we also met some production people like Chip, Evan and Spencer. When I started writing the second book in the series Stuck on You, I thought it would make life easier to have these characters appear in the book. I mean I already knew who they were, and how they acted, and what they looked like.

Boy was I wrong.

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