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

I’m blogging from the Sheraton, here. I just walked away from my signing table, where people have been super kind in stopping by. Grimspace is selling well. Booksamillion is nearly out of copies, which is awesome. I’ve also met a number of readers who enjoyed the book.

I’m having a good time, but it’s a bit overwhelming. Crowds intimidate me, but I’m doing my best, and I’m having more fun than I thought I would. I thought every moment would seem like work instead of half. *grins* I’ll give a complete report when I have more time.

So tell me what things you guys are afraid of, won’t you? How do you deal with it? There will be a prize involved.

I have Deadline Brain and Book Release Brain right now, which means I don’t have a lot of juice left for meaningful blogging.

In consideration of my current juiceless state, I’m opening this up to questions today. Ask me anything you’d like, (however I reserve the right to not answer any uber-personal questions, of course)! I’ll be around all day (and all week) and will answer your questions progressively in the comment section.

I like to give away chocolate and bath yummies, so I will pick two winners from the commentors by random drawing and announce them the next time I blog here.

Ask away!

Tomorrow, Standoff, the last book in this story arc of my Cascadia Wolves series, releases from Samhain.

I love this cover! Anne Caine does a great job but I must say I’ve loved every single cover in this series. They’ve all been so pretty and done so well - I’ve had great cover mojo.But it’s over. In the last year I’ve ended two series - this one, my Cascadia Wolves and my Chase Brothers books. I’ll continue on with both worlds. In fact I’ve already contracted Unexpected, Megan’s story for August and I really want to write Nathan Murphy’s story to revisit Petal. But while I love series and the sense of home I can build with a cast of characters readers can revisit time and again, I think it’s best if they don’t drag on too long. I want to end when readers want more, not when they’re reading and thinking, “Gah, she really neededed to stop this series two books ago!”

Series enable an author to really dig deep, to create a world built over many books. What that means is I can take a town like Petal and breathe real life into her. I can give Petal traditions like Homecoming, which I’ve come back to in every story. Or in the case of this particular family, the Christmas proposal or wedding. I love that. I love that as a reader! I love how I can take werewolves and create government. Law and order and lawlessness too. I’ve had four books to build a paranormal universe in, which has been a treat. Four books to build the suspense with the werewolf mafia. I’m spoiled and it’s been a great ride.

I think about Nora Roberts’ trilogies and I think she as the right idea. She builds enough to give readers a sense of something big and sweeping and yet intimate at the same time. Very few authors can take it more than four books in the same story setting and make it work over and over. Kim Harrison can (I just finished The Outlaw Demon Wails this last week and OMG! it was fab), Nora as JD Robb can do it with her In Death books - but in a fully realized romance world you don’t see it as often and after book five, it begins to seem all a big stretch (sister’s best friend’s baby sitter’s brother in law’s best friend).  I do love spin offs though! Like I love cupcakes. I’ll eat up every book related to the family Jenny Cruisie introduces us to in Welcome To Temptation (and Davy’s story was so good!), or the Chesapeake books from Nora, or SEP’s Chicago Stars.  There’s something really special about returning to a world you’ve loved so much.

What about you all? What do you like best about series? Do you read them? Which ones?

I’ll give something away and announce the winner next Wednesday.

How about an excerpt?  Behind the jump…
Read the rest of this entry >

First, before I get into what this post is about, I want to make a Public Service Announcement. Grimspace releases in six days (officially), although it’s already out in some stores. There are a number of sites running promos, doing interviews with me, and/or giving away copies of the book. Lauren Dane, Carrie Lofty, and May, are all giving away free loot, so you’ll want to check that out. Look at my Appearances page to see where else you can find more goodness.

Moving on. Today, I’m starting a post series, which will stretch over a number of weeks. See, I got to feeling nostalgic about some of the authors I used to love when I was pretty dang young. In college, years after they came out, I glommed Kay Hooper and Fayrene Preston Loveswept novels like they were crack.

So I hunted up an online used bookstore and ordered a batch of old Fayrene Preston titles. I was curious how their awesomeness would stand up to my fond memories of them — and how an old school romance would compare to the ones we have coming out today. What would’ve changed? Would an alpha from ‘88 be different than an alpha in 2008?

Well, that’s what I’ll be talking about today.

First, let’s take a look at the cover art. (My husband was kind enough to scan the book for me. Thanks, honey!)

We have a classic clinch. Long “Dynasty” hair on the heroine; the dress looks 80s to me, especially the fabric. I think I had something like that for Homecoming in high school! Hero man has wickedly feathered hair, and he looks terribly serious about planting one on the heroine, who may have fainted at the idea of his tongue.

Great title, though. It directly references the color of the hero’s eyes.

In terms of art style, though, it’s not as dated as some covers I’ve seen. In fact, it immediately brings to mind this more modern cover; the couple has just been updated a bit.

In the Kresley Cole cover, we get grunge hair on the hero as opposed to super-feathered coif. The woman is wearing a backless dress instead of an itchy 80’s lace and lamé creation.

Interestingly enough, I do recall the gold dress on the cover from a scene in the book. So props to the Loveswept art department for paying attention to detail.

Enough about the the external, though, right? Let’s get to the meat of the book! Sapphire Lightning had a particularly unreal air, as compared to modern category romances (except possibly the Presents line, but I don’t read many of those). I think category romances today try to keep things more accessible to the everyday woman, more relatable as opposed to pure escapism.

In Sapphire Lightning, the hero is the CEO of a huge corporation, and he’s filthy rich. He comes from a prominent family, and his bitchy old grandmother is the social arbiter of all things upper-crust in the town where they live. Sounds like a Presents plot waiting to happen, right? Now all we need is a feisty, impoverished single mother to turn his world on its ear.

Well, we get a heroine who is a mother, yes. But she’s not single. She was married to his cousin, who hated his stiff and proper relatives in the States, so he ran away to Ibiza to learn to be an artist, where he met the heroine and married her. Yes, that’s the twist. She’s not poor or feisty. Her father is a renowned artist. Her husband (who died like a rock star in a plane crash) studied with dear old Dad. Her mother is a Pulitzer prize winner novelist.

The heroine herself is accomplished in every possible regard: so perfect, graceful, funny, witty, a tender, loving mother… and she’s also a famous artist in her own regard, but nobody knows her true identity because she wanted to make it on her own, not trading off the reputation of her parents. Naturally, the hero cannot help but be overwhelmed, for he has never been confronted with such a feminine paragon before.

The plot is quite delightfully over the top. Nobody in this backward little town seems to have a clue how they got on before Toni showed up to teach them the error of their ways. She makes people’s lives better just by coming into a room and smiling with her glorious topaz eyes. She organizes a carnival for impoverished and/or sick kids instead of the stuffy old ball they’ve always had before. The ladies of the town social club come to her house and she gets them drunk, so their husbands come to pick them up and everyone is happy because they all have drunken sex and the tight-hipped bitchy women are suddenly easy-going and satisfied. Thank god for liquor!

Toni only came to town to sell off her husband’s house and then she intends to head back to sun-drenched Ibiza to rear their son. The baby is more like a doorstop than an actual child; he serves to show how awesome and selfless Toni is. She’s never tired or irritable or covered in spit.

For his part, Linc makes up his mind to have Toni in a stalker-style way. He sees her on the beach and WHAM. This formerly iron-willed, self-controlled CEO is a yammering fool with sweaty palms and a stiffie that won’t quit. Since he knows everyone in the small town, he calls the realtor Toni has asked to sell her house (Linc has slept with the realtor!) and he bribes her not to list or show the house. That high-handed move immediately put my back up.

But after a while, Toni’s attraction to Linc makes her rethink selling the house. So she calls the realtor and asks her not to show the house, proving our alpha did, indeed, know the little woman better than she knew herself. I sighed.

Toni’s interactions with the hero are delightfully hilarious. I have no doubt that at 16, I would’ve found this book the height of yumminess, but now, many years later, I find it has a high cheese factor as well, all the absurd delight of a soap opera. See, the hero and heroine (Linc and Toni) go back and forth like so:

“I’ve wanted you from the first moment I saw you. Your grace, your charm, your feminine mystique. I must have you!” (Hard punishing kiss)

“No, no, no, no, no! My husband hated you! I was a bad wife to him, and I didn’t love him as I should but I’ll be a good widow, I swear. I cannot make the beast with two backs with the one man he–mmf. Mmmmmm…” (oooh, swoon! Lightning bolts in my girlie parts…)

Then there was some silly melodrama about how Linc had supposedly burned down the shed where her dead husband used to paint in secret. Kyle, the dead husband, was making a portrait of the bitchy old grandmother to win her love, but Linc spoiled all of that. Toni found a letter written by Kyle in his old papers and she couldn’t believe she had gotten down with a man who could do such a cruel thing, so she started avoiding Linc, which broke his sensitive alpha heart.

Later, Toni’s house catches on fire during the carnival (not sure why because they were up on top of a Ferris Wheel, nearly having sex), and Linc runs in to save her artwork because “nothing beautiful should ever be destroyed” and she’s like, “ZOMG, he couldn’t have burned Kyle’s paintings! He values art and beauty! He would never do that! OHNOES, what have I done?! He’ll never forgive me.”

Which I thought was sort of backward thinking. I mean, if Linc really hated Kyle, maybe he wouldn’t give a shit about his paintings. Or maybe Linc was just trying to impress the chick he wanted to keep boning until they were old and gray? So she goes to Linc and tells him about her epiphany, and he’s like, “Hmf, it’s too little, too late!” And stalks off, despite the fact he had been Hoovering her hooters up on a Ferris Wheel ten minutes before.

Anyway, it turns out that the bitchy old grandma burned down the shed because she was mad Kyle wouldn’t go to business school, and she thought if she destroyed his work, he’d get over his artsy fartsy phase.

A lot of stuff didn’t add up or make sense, but it was a fun book in a totally “Dynasty” way. They finally got together when she groveled for doubting him and proposed marriage, after turning him down numerous times. Would I say it holds up to modern romance novels? Probably not. But it was a fun trip to the past nonetheless.

What about you guys? What old favorites have you re-read that made you go, I liked this?!

More updatey than on an actual topic… 

The 70 Days of Sweat writing challenge starts March 1 - are you ready for it? This will be round three of the challenge. I started with the first one and each time it’s been incredibly good for me and my creative work. Being accountable in public with myself really helps me stay on track and keep my focus. It’s like a food diary when you’re on a diet or watching what you eat and it keeps me honest with myself and it enables me to keep writing in a place of importance in my life.

Over at my blog, the ever so lovely Laura Bradford has been answering questions. If you’re curious about what an agent’s day is like or if you’re looking for some advice, head on over and check out the posts. I’ll be doing another one with her this upcoming Wednesday!

And on Tuesday, I’m doing a review of fellow Bradford Buncher and all around fabulous person Ann Aguirre’s Grimspace. I’ll also be starting a contest so head on over to check out the rules this week!

Megan Hart and I finished up Taking Care of Business and sent it to our editor at Black Lace. I so can’t wait to hear what he thinks of it.  Now I’m working on Sensual Magic, my novella for the second Spice Vegas anthology.

There’s a whole slew of new reviews up at my website and on Valentine’s Day I was fortunate enough to win two CAPAs - one for best contemporary romance for Making Chase and the other for best paranormal erotic romance for Fire and Rain. It was a very nice thing and congratulations to Cynthia Eden for her win for best anthology for her Secrets volume!

Now I’m off to hang out with my husband for a bit. I’m going to run a contest to win an ARC of Cascadia Wolves: Standoff - At noon on Wednesday the 20th I’ll choose a winner at random from the responses here. Tell me something good about your life lately - you know if there’s a good movie you saw, or book you read, the CD you can’t stop listening to, a test you aced, weddings, engagements, whatever. Lay something happy on me!

 WINNER: VIA RANDOM.ORG - is comment 17 - Jessie!  Jessie, email me with your choice of format and I’ll get the book your way! Congratulations!

I know. That’s totally “un-romance author” of me, isn’t it? Romance and love are supposed to be what we eat and drink to stay alive. According to some publications we’re supposed to have uber-frilly bedrooms, walk around in a silky come-hither pegnoirs and wear those high-heeled slippers with the feathery fluff on top. (See? I don’t even know what they’re called.)

Well, friends, I am a romance author and I have two words for you — pajama pants. I love my pajama pants. Combined with the perfect old, washed-many-times sweater and some big, fluffy socks, they make the perfect writing outfit to wear all day. Glamour? Zee glamour has left the building. Actually, it was never in the building.

My bedroom is designed for comfort — not romance. It’s designed for my husband and I to get a good night’s sleep, snoring among the five cats also sharing the bed. Did I mention the German Shepherd/Husky mix on the doggie bed in the corner?

But other than having people presume that because I’m a romance author I know of all things romantic and Valentine Dayish, I don’t like V Day because, well, have you ever met a day more perfectly designed to make singletons feel like crap? Or a day better set up to throw a spotlight on the shortcomings of some relationships?

And pity the poor guy who merely forgets the flowers.

Then there are the people who say something along the lines of, “Oh, we don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. That’s just a made up holiday created by the greeting card company.” Pish. Posh. *dismissive wave of hand* Some of them really mean it and I believe them. (A few of them.) The rest are all saying that while glancing out the corner of their eye in hopes of getting a Valentine from someone.

Ugh. Valentine’s Day should be renamed Insecurity Day.

Then there are couples like my friends who plan out what they’re going to do for months beforehand, carefully choosing the perfect gift to give their sweetie. They genuinely love seeing their beloved’s eyes light up at the object of their desire being pulled from a red box and wrapped in red tissue paper. They go out to dinner, celebrate their relationship, gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes over candlelight and glasses of champagne. The day after Valentine’s Day, they start planning for the next one.

Me? How do I feel about Valentine’s Day? We don’t celebrate it. (But if my husband forgets the flowers, his ass is grass.)

How do you feel about V Day? Are you a fan or a detractor? There’s a prize in it for a couple commentators.

Yes, dear readers, I’m doing a meme voluntarily. I found this one via random web meandering, and I don’t think I’ve done it. My version is modified from the original, which was long and boring.

Here’s the fun part. Instead of tagging people to do it on their blogs, I want you to do it with me in comments. So tag — you’re all it! Throughout the day, I’ll give out random prizes like books and gift certificates. You never know who will win or why. (Or what, for that matter.) It all hinges on my mercurial nature. Mwahahaha!

Why am I doing this? Well, I’m so excited about Grimspace’s release (and the fan mail I’ve been receiving from folks who won ARCS) that I can’t think of anything else, but I don’t want to spend ten paragraphs blathering about that. What’s squee-worthy to me might be tiresome for others, and I don’t want to bore y’all. So we’ll do this meme. Prizes awarded. Fun had by all!

Last Book Read: Chill Factor by Rachel Caine

Last CD Purchased: James Blunt, All the Lost Souls

Last Song Listened to: James Blunt, Same Mistake

Last Thing Cooked: Thai peanut noodles.

Last Thing Eaten: A nectarine.

Last Thing Bought: Marzipan for my husband.

Last Game Played: Neverwinter Nights 2

Last Delightful Surprise: The title / theme for my Corine Solomon books.

Last Embarrassing Experience: Being so nervous about having my author picture taken that the photographer asked me if I needed to take a walk to relax. It only got better when my husband examined the first shot and said, “Honey, you look like you’re about to cry in this one!” Sigh.

Last Achievement: Figuring out how to fix the end of BLUE DIABLO (formerly Corine Solomon, book 1)

Now it’s your turn. (Last means most recent, of course.) Feel free to ask about any of my answers as you do your memes, if you want more info. Let the games begin!

No, it’s not Grimspace.

Rather, I should say Annie Dean has a book coming out tomorrow. While you don’t need to have read The Average Girl’s Guide to Getting Laid to enjoy My Valentine, you might find it helpful, if only to see the full dynamic between our hero and heroine, Darnell Valentine and Maya Hanoush. In My Valentine, you’ll find out where that unresolved tension comes from.

First, here’s the blurb:

Then…

Once upon a time, a lady named Beatrice loved a dissolute lord, who gave her a child and never knew. They shared a brief, magical affair that ended at sword point. And on Valentine’s Day, after watching the man she adored breathe his last, she died for their love.

Now…

Darnell Valentine used to be a geek. His life is pretty good these days, other than the odd déjà vu and the occasional sense he’s been there and done that. He has just one significant problem — he’s been in love with Maya Hanoush forever. And she won’t give him the time of day.

But he has a funny feeling time is running out, so this year, he’ll claim Maya as his own. He somehow sees the way things should be, instead of as they are. Can a beta go alpha and teach his woman she can trust him with her very soul this time around? Only if they put the past behind them for good.

Maya Hanoush has no trouble getting men, but she can’t keep them. For reasons she doesn’t even understand, she keeps Darnell at arm’s length. Though they’ve been friends since childhood, she always feared taking the next step with him.

Lately, she’s been having crazy dreams and flashes of things she shouldn’t remember, things that never happened. She might just be losing her mind.

Ancient secrets, treachery, longing and despair lie between them, unresolved, unseen, and unsung, adding to the weight of a secret shame Maya guards like a junkyard dog.

But if she doesn’t put the pieces together in time, she’ll lose him forever. Again.

***

Sound hot? If you’re in the mood for smoky, erotic interracial paranormal / reincarnation romance, you won’t want to miss it. This goes on sale tomorrow, but I feel like giving some lucky winner a sneak peek today. So I’m holding a quickie contest. That’s right: twelve hours, no more, no less. And the lucky person who makes the 50th comment wins a copy of My Valentine. It will take skill, timing, and a touch of luck, but it should be fun!

My comments count toward the total, but I won’t win, naturally. So let’s rack ‘em up.

(You can talk about anything you want in comments, as long as you’re posting five words or more. No spamming, no random links. We’re gonna have a conversation!)