I’m pretty straightforward about writing. At its best, it is truly magical but most of the time it’s a matter of hard work and perseverence. I don’t personally subscribe to the idea of muses or of a lot of writing rituals. Most of my writing rituals revolve around notebooks and colored 3×5 cards with character notes and story points on them, LOL.

One thing I do truly subscribe to is that each story has a good sense of itself if you just let it. By that I mean, I can plot a story and I usually do have a somewhat solid structure in mind when I write, even an outline in many cases these days because when you sell on a partial or a proposal, you need to sell the idea so you have to write an outline of some sort. So I can have that outline but I know, as I write, things will reveal themselves to me that I had no idea of at the outset. This is something I can’t plan ahead on, it’s something I personally find magical and I never know what or when it will happen in any given story but it always does in some way.

Most often this is about character details, things I didn’t know about my characters until I began to write them. Liv Davis in Chased for instance - I didn’t know her mother had died when she was young and that she’d walled a part of herself off because of it. I didn’t know it until I got about halfway into the writing and it just came out. It happened to me recently with Relentless when I got to know Abbie and her real motivations, who she really was, came to me. It changes the book, layers in it ways you can’t plan in advance.

That’s the beauty of the creative process, it’s like alchemy and I truly love it when it happens. Well sometimes I get annoyed because I’ll have to go back and alter the earlier stuff to adjust for something I learn later on, LOL, but still, it’s wonderful and I love it.

Right now, I’m writing Outshined, a contemporary erotic romance for Berkley and something I hadn’t planned on AT ALL just jumped at me so many times, no matter how many times I tried to fend it off, that I’ve finally given in and let it happen. I now have to hope it works, LOL. Sometimes you have to fight off a story idea that tries to invade your book but other times, I give my story her lead and in the end, I think the story is better for it.

I’m nearing 64,000 words so I’ll let you know when I finish the first draft and go in to edit.

BTW, you have until noon pacific today, August 11 to enter a contest at my blog to win a copy of my upcoming Cascadia Wolves book - Fated.

I was thinking about milestones today. How excited I was when my books first became available on Amazon.com because it was a milestone — it was a place I could say, hey, find my books here. You couldn’t find them easily in the stores but you could get them online.

When the books started becoming available in brick and mortar stores? Wow. Talk about a milestone. Now not only could people buy my books online they could actually walk into the store and find them on the shelf.

So what’s next? What do I look forward to? 

Finding my books in grocery stores and airports. Seeing someone reading one of my titles on a plane or at the beach. Getting a review in a major national magazine. Hitting a bestseller list.

Will my life be complete if I don’t make these milestones? Sure. Of course. It doesn’t mean I’m not successful. It just means I have something to look forward to.

Every step of this journey has led me higher, and when I look back at every step I remember how exciting each one was. I hope I never lose that excitement, no matter how small or vast the leaps. Every step, every milestone, every level I reach — I hope it’s as exciting and breath taking as the one before it.

In other news, go check out www.danehart.com or www.bringmemyhookah.com — Lauren and I have launched a our brand-new, multi-media site for our video blogs, both joint and individual. We’re having a couple contests to celebrate, so stop on by!

M

So far I’ve really been enjoying the summer. I hope you have too. The weather has been mild, for the most part, yet warm enough for swimming and running through the sprinkler. This fills my daughter with lots of joy, joy that I get to partake in too. My world is just about perfect when she’s laughing. When I’m not hanging with my daughter outside, I’m writing.

At the moment I’m working on Witch Fury, the last of the books in the Elemental Witch series. I’m angling toward the end of the book now, gearing up for the fireworks display that will bring the story of the Coven witches, the warlocks, and the daaeman to an end. It’s a bittersweet thing. I’m excited about my next project, yet it’s always hard to say goodbye to characters that you’ve spent years with. It’s hard to close up a world that’s lived in your mind, one that you’ve created and populated and that exists so vibrantly in your subconscious that you dream about it at night.

My next project is another series, this time one based on pre-Celtic myth. Before the year is out I plan to write a novella set in this new world and get a good start on the first full length novel of the series. Right now I’m reading and researching, taking notes and building my world. I’m reading some Yeats (apparently he believed in faeries. Who knew? Maybe you did, but I didn’t). I’m also finishing up Gods and Fighting Men, by Lady Gregory.

So, I’m closing up one world and opening another.

But before you see that new world, there will be two more Elemental Witch books released. In fact, here is the cover for Witch Heart, the third in the series. Pretty, huh? The cover artist is Tony Mauro. I think I’ll keep it.

With the immense powers of an earth witch, Claire isn’t destined to be a demon’s handmaiden. Yet this has been her fate since she was six, when her warlock mother brought her to Eudae. Now at thirty-one, she’s about to discover her true power—and how far others are willing to go to take it away…

As part of a mission with the Coven, Adam Tyrell rescues Claire from her enslavement—and finds himself immediately taken with the beautiful witch. But this charming playboy soon learns that it’s easier to steal Claire from demons than win her heart, for her life as a servant has ravaged her spirit. But with Adam determined to protect her from the warlocks who want to harness her magick for evil, Claire’s resistance starts to give way—and they find themselves in the heat of danger, surrendering to the lure of their deepest desires…

Witch Heart will be out on January 6, 2009. This year is flying by so fast, it seems like the release date will be here in no time.

The winner of my contest from the last time I posted, by random drawing, is Rachael. Congrats! You’ve won your choice of Witch Fire, Witch Blood, What Happens in Vegas…. or something from my Ellora’s Cave backlist. Just send me an email at anyabast(at)gmail.com

How about another contest? Why not, right? This time the prize will be Magical Seduction, my anthology with Cathryn Fox and Mandy Roth. One random poster will win.

Out of all the parts of a story I might find myself struggling to get down, it’s always the beginning that leaves me obsessing for days, if not weeks. I just want it perfect. Something to grab the reader and keep their attention engaged till the chapter end and hopefully long after. Of course, I realize what grabs one reader might not grab the next. But perhaps there are certain elements that are more liable to gather a stronger audience in short order.

I would love to know what grabs you? What kind of story opening is most likely to get you reading and keep you reading? Are you a fan of the opening murder scene? Perhaps a steamy scene that starts right in the heat of the moment? Or a life altering decision?  Do you like a bunch of narrative up front so you know the characters ASAP, or would you prefer to get to know them over time and instead have the story be what starts out ASAP?

I just got my hands on author copies of Sweet and Sinful, my next Aphrodisia which is out in mid to late July. From all those who comment, I will select two winners to receive signed copies. One thing, It is an erotic romance, so if you do win, be prepared for plenty of steamy heat!

~ jodi

*****WINNERS******  I had so many wonderful comments, I had to pick two names.  So drum roll please….   Jolene, and JC, you’ve won any book from my backlist.  Please email me at vivi@vivianna.net to claim your prize.   Let me know which book you want!

I’m off to the zoo today with the kidlet for a fun filled adventure.   I love the zoo.  When I was in my early twenties and lived downtown I used to go to the zoo, especially in the summer, almost every day and watch certain animals.  They always filled me with a sense of peace.  I need some of that today.

My awesome web diva Frauke always does up these amazing interactive excerpt booklets for me for my Valorian Chronicles website.  I love them.  She’s so freakin’ talented.

So just yesterday she completed one for my upcoming Nocturne VEILED TRUTH.   Check it out!  It is so cool.

So in the event, I think I will give away some books.   Let me know what you like about the excerpt, whether it’s words or the pictures, I will toss your name in a hate for a chance to win one of my books–Hell Kat, Inferno, Blood Secrets, Dark Lies.  I will pic a winner tomorrow.

So it’s Monday and June already. Where did the time go? I’ve got a book due July 31 - Relentless, it’s moving along nicely and I’ve reached the beginning of the real meat of the story so it’s all about pacing right now and trying to keep all the story threads in order. After July 31 I have another deadline in mid September and then another in October and another in January.

I’m heading to Ohio for the Lori Foster Reader Get Together next weekend and I’m very excited. I get to see many of my friends and I always make new ones. If you’re going to be in the area, please come by the signing on Saturday to say hello. I won’t get a lick of writing done, but i’ll have a good time, LOL.

I made a book video for my July release, Reading Between the Lines and I’m now officially addicted. You can check it out at my Lauren blog if ya like.

I also managed to read Lisa Kleypas’ Sugar Daddy and LOVED it and Noelle Mack’s Wild and also enjoyed it very much. Don’t know what I’ll read next, my tbr pile is huge!

Writing life is uber busy and that means I’m happy because to me, busy means I’m selling books and people seem to like them.

I’ve been so busy I haven’t been online as much to look at blogs but a quick peek this weekend has reaffirmed that as a good thing. Oy, authors, come on. Just you know, maintain in public. No, it’s not always easy to be gracious but unless someone brings it to you, why on earth would you go trolling at other blogs to seek out drama? Just. Stop.

Stop whining about bad reviews in public! Everyone gets bad reviews. Nora Roberts, most likely the most well known author in romance and one of the very top sellers absolutely gets bad reviews. I see her on blogs and I never see her whining about bad reviews. I get em and I know every single author on this blog as received them. They come with the territory. Sometimes they’re spot on and hit on a weakness. Sometimes they hurt like whoa! Sometimes they’re nasty and personal. Sometimes it’s clear the reviewer hasn’t read the book. But always, they’re reader opinion. Shrug.

I’m not saying authors can’t speak online about things they find important. I’m not saying we have to be Stepford Authors either. But I’m saying hold your sh*t together in public because you cannot win. You will always look thin-skinned and it’s not going to change any minds.

The “back” key is one of my favorites on my keyboard. You have the luxury of hitting back and not revisiting places you don’t like. Being in the public eye to a certain extent means you have to deal with all sorts of stuff. Most of it is pretty darned cool but some of it is unpleasant. Shrug. Thicken up your skins and grit your teeth. Save the hissy fits for your BFF via IM or you’ll be the new blog fodder and while you can amuse yourself by thinking any publicity is good publicity, it’s just not.

Ugh. Okay to wash away the rantyness of the end of this post, how about a contest? Tell me about your TBR list and some stuff you’ve read recently and enjoyed. I’ll choose a winner, or maybe even two this Thursday afternoon and post the winner.

Good luck!

**WINNER - I’ve been away since 4 am Friday, excuse the delay, I just walked into my door twenty minutes ago - KAMMIE - you’re my winner. You win a copy of any available book on my backlist in whatver format they’re available in.  Just email me your choice and I’ll get it your way!

I have been feeling rather adrift lately. I am in that between contracts stage. I get here every spring and spend the month (sometimes two) that I go without a contract, reassessing my career. Am I happy with where it is going? Do I want to try something new? Will my readers feel disappointed if I head in another direction? I never quite know the answers to these questions, but I also do generate a proposal or two during the down time.  So far those proposals haven’t become published books, but I remain hopeful.  At the moment, I am working on two very different concepts–one, a contemporary romance with a smaller feel and two, a chick lit paranormal with a feisty, much grander scale. In a way, both books are calling to me. But then, so is just getting away from it all for a few weeks.

I can’t really get away from it all right now.  I have too much happening later this year that demands using my time off from the day job then (more on that to come).  So I am taking several mental respites, both via reading a lot of books and also by daydreaming about exotic locales.  I don’t know if it’s truly exotic, but I’ve always wanted to venture to Australia.  Also topping my list are Scotland and Ireland.  These are the settings in history that I’ve always adored.  Honestly, though, I am a history buff, so I would love to get away to anywhere with great history.

What about you? Do you have a dream destination? Or are you planning a dream vacation? Or maybe you just got back from one. I would love to hear about it! Living vicariously through others–real or fictional–is almost as good as experiencing it firsthand.

Now before I head out, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that What Happens In Vegas… has had its official release date yesterday. Woohoo! I’ve long been a subscriber to eHarlequin and today I got an email that featured a few of the new releases, and Vegas was among them. How lovely!   To celebrates its official release, I will select a commentor or two to receive a signed copy of Vegas.  How about the books go to the person who takes me away in the grandest fashion? grand doesn’t have to mean extravagent either. And, yes, feel free to make it up. Definitely, do have fun along the way!

~ jodi 

HUGE congrats to Denise Agnew who finaled in the Passionate Plume Contest! Go Denise! The book she finaled with was Male Call, the first book in her Hot Zone series available from Samhain. I read it and I LOVED it. Woot!

Her sexy letters are his only lifeline in his dangerous world…

Successful computer software engineer Eve Carmichael melts under yet another hotter than hot letter written by Reserve army soldier Sean O’Callahan. Yet Eve can’t take the thought of his life in danger overseas, and she resolves to get a sex life—and a life period. That means forgetting Sean before anything bad can happen to him. To celebrate her thirty-fifth birthday, Eve plans a trip to Male Call, a male review club. Still, she worries about Sean. She hasn’t received a letter from him in too many weeks. And oh, how she longs for those flirtatious, hot letters.

Sean finds Eve’s letters to be the only lifeline in his increasingly chaotic world. As their feelings grow hot and heavy, he can’t wait to return home and kindle that pure firepower.

When Eve receives a letter from Sean saying he’s been wounded, her fears are realized. But fate and a little mischievous planning by her friends will serve up the greatest surprise of all.

You can buy it here.

Other books in the series. Aren’t these some HOT covers? Wow!

You can buy them here, here, and the next one here- on sale May 20!

Here’s a new release from more Bradford Bunchers!

Behind closed doors, the real games begin…

Winning it big.

That’s the name of the game at Las Vegas’s Liege Hotel and Casino, where the hottest fantasies hinge on a roll of the dice…and the tantalizing knowledge that anything could happen before sunrise.

Cocktail waitress Carinna wants a man to tie her up, not tie her down. Little does she know that her most willing partner yet has something else planned for this fiery Latina bombshell.

Dahlia is a burlesque dancer with a brain for business and a bod for sin. Her latest admirer may be a sweet-talking Casanova, but despite what he thinks she’s not giving anything away free.

Meanwhile, Amy has the perfect plan to rob the Liege Casino blind…until the intimidating owner catches her red-handed. Now she knows she’s going to pay… with both pleasure and pain.

Professional shill Cassidy is ready to experience a breathless rendezvous with her “friend with benefits.” But when he proposes five delicious nights of sexy blackjack, the stakes have never been so high.

Can be purchased here or here.

And last, but certainly not least is Cynthia Eden’s new release! Woot!

In her sexy and suspenseful new novel, Cynthia Eden introduces readers to a seductive world where powerful night creatures ignite dark, dangerous hungers…

Dr. Emily Drake’s patients tend to be a little unusual. Instead of the typical therapist’s caseload of midlife crises and mother fixations, Emily treats vampires with blood phobias and sex-demons looking for meaningful relationships. But her gift for recognizing and healing the Other—those creatures of the night that most humans don’t even know exist—requires a few house rules. First: Never trust a shifter. Especially not one like Detective Colin Gyth whose gold-flecked eyes and predatory air make Emily realize how much she’s been longing to lose control…

Colin can’t believe the doctor he’s been assigned to work with on the Night Butcher murder investigation is the one person who could expose his true identity as a wolf shifter. Smart, sexy, and stubborn as hell, Emily brings out the alpha male in Colin, unleashing a wild, heady desire that takes them both over the edge.

But in the shadows, the Night Butcher waits…eager to spill Emily’s blood and taste her terror. And he’ll use any means to destroy her, including the one person she has grown to trust…

You can buy it here or here.

Right now I’m writing a book in my Cascadia Wolves universe so I’m in a paranormal state of mind afer having written some futuristics and a contemp or two. I love paranormals, they’re such great fun to read and write.

I’ve always been fascinated by the unexplained and the paranormal. I remember, back in the stone ages when I was growing up, there was a show called In Search Of hosted by Leonard Nimoy. Man oh man did I love that show!

            It’s the question I think. The idea that there are things out there in the world that we can’t explain. I’m also totally enamored of shows about deep sea trenches because of all the cool stuff down there seven miles deep that we simply just guess about because there aren’t enough answers yet. Mysteries are delicious! The dark is just a big question, isn’t it?

            So it’s no surprise to me that I love writing paranormal books. Part of it is the way a lot of paranormal mythology connects with deep seated cultural and societal ideas. We’re afraid of what is different even as it compels us. We want to know, even though we have to peek through our fingers, heart beating fast, stomach churning with fear and yet, excitement about the unknown.

Vampires are the uber-villain—even as they’ve become the uber-sexy alpha hero. The teeth sliding over the skin is an ultimately intimate and dangerous act, especially in today’s climate. To give someone the very thing that keeps you alive is romantic as well as something that could also rob you of your existence. A vampire can be very strong and yet filled with anxiety over what he or she is. It’s fodder for the best kind of wounded hero, for the male who will move heaven and earth to protect his mate and of the woman (or man) who’ll give up their life for that love. How much more of an epic tale of love can you get?

The challenge is in how to get the human and the vampire together. Or how to bring two vampires or supernatural creatures together and make it work. It’s a great twist on the general romance conflict trope.

And werewolves, oh sigh. Werewolves are wonderful to write because they’re about embracing touchstone ideas - the strong male, the mate bond, feral sexuality, etc. There are people who don’t like the one true mate storyline (preferences folks, everyone’s got em!) but I love it. I love the idea of *knowing* someone is meant for you.  I also love the whole wildness, and uber-protectiveness of the alpha werewolf male (and female). I love that pushy, big guy arrogance and control freak attitude almost as much as I love writing the woman who will knock him down a few pegs. 

I love the foundational love of creation and nature the Fae represent. I can delve into Celtic or Slavic mythology and bring out the same basic stories about the shining folk. The Fae are about earth, they’re about nature and what I find the most fun is dealing with balancing responsibility of being so powerful with protection. Protection of love and family and protection of humans.

And all these ideas give you great villains. Because in a real sense, the paranormal isn’t so supernatural at all. It’s part of our subconsciousness as human beings. So we’re scared because who hasn’t had some sort of experience they couldn’t explain, be it lights in the sky, something mysterious happening in a graveyard or at home, that sort of thing? Being scared by a story is nearly as delicious as being titillated by one so the combination of the two is like a lemon cupcake – perfection.

What do you all like?  Tell me and I’ll enter you in a contest to win a bunch o goodies I pick up at RT! I’ll choose a winner upon my return April 21. Most likely I’ll pick more than one because there’s loads of books and swag. But at the very least one! 

 I am really bowled under with deadlines right now—two at the day job and two writing deadlines, all of April 1. In other words, I am in need of lots of inspiration to help me keep my head above water. One thing that always helps with the day job is just knowing I need a paycheck, so I have to do the work to get paid. With the night job (writing), inspiration comes from the obvious of happy readers, getting paid again (always a much-needed blessing), and also keeping my muse happy.

Of course, my muse doesn’t always make it easy for me to keep her happy. She likes to be fickle and make it hard to impossible for me to concentrate enough to get my work done. Or make me focus more on being tired than on the end goal of meeting these deadlines so I can take off a week for pure R&R when all is wrapped up. In these moments, I need all the added inspiration I can get. I have always loved inspirational quotes in these times. A handful of some of my favorites follow…

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

“The best way out is always through.” -Robert Frost

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.” -Confucius

Do you have any favorite inspirational quotes, be they from famous people or family, friends or even yourself? Share them with me, and I will draw a random commenter to receive an e-ARC of Hot For It, which releases from SPICE Brief April 1st… just on time for my week of R&R to kick off!   :grin: 

~ jodi