Saskia, thanks so much for guest blogging with us!

And now, on to Saskia’s post…

* * *

First up, I want to thank the Bradford Bunch for inviting me to guest blog. You’re an awesome group of writers and this is a real honor. What I’d like to do is chat about what I call “a sense of place.” I’ve also seen this called “setting as character.”

Setting is a crucial element of any project for me, and I truly revel in that part of the writing. Maybe it’s because I’ve lived in many different countries. That’s part of what defines me as a person. Maybe it’s also because many of the books I love from long ago echo the setting as part of the whole, from Agatha Christie’s DEATH ON THE NILE to Susan Johnson’s Russia in LOVE STORM.

When I started writing, however, I wasn’t consciously aware I was striving for setting, particularly. Then I happened to notice I was choosing to adopt different places from project to project. Once I noticed that, I started worrying I was doing it well enough, of course.

My feeling is setting is very similar to historical research, in that the author’s knowledge of the society, customs, and landscape should underpin the story, not overwhelm it. The place and atmosphere should also be integral to the story, and one of my big worries is achieving that. In an article on this subject, author Timothy Hallinan states: “It will play a role in the story. It will affect your characters. In some ways it will reflect them.”

My first novella for Red Sage, “Summer Lightning,” was set on the Northumberland coast of England. This is the most untouched coastline of England and it’s both beautiful and eerie at times, the coastline dotted with ancient castles and long stretches of sandy beach that are all but deserted. My couple met on one such deserted beach on a humid, stormy night. They both care about the place, and ultimately the place had a big part in drawing them back together when a long-distance relationship clearly wasn’t going to work. In UNVEILING THE SORCERESS, an exotic fantasy novel, I explored a fantasyland based on my experience of living in the United Arab Emirates. I was trying to recreate the feeling of living in a place where lifestyle is determined by climate, heritage, and custom.

In my current novel-length release, RECKLESS, the setting moves from the City of London to Barcelona, and then to a villa deeper in the Catalonia region of Spain. The story has a mystery element, and Catalonia is special to me because mystery and seduction truly seem to be everywhere, from the architecture to the sultry eyed locals. I wanted to weave that into the plot, and to the developing relationships. A tall order! As a writer I know I’m always learning, and I know it could always have been better because writing is a constant learning process. However, I gave it my best shot, and if you pick up the novel I hope that you’ll find the flavor of the Catalan region echoes enticingly through the story.

What about you? Are there any books that come to mind when you think about setting? It doesn’t have to be a geographical location. The setting might be a fancy hotel, a sexy nightclub, or an austere block of apartments. Share your memorable book/film settings and I’ll pick one to win a copy of RECKLESS.

Saskia Walker

Holidays tend to put me in touch with the past, but there’s something about the 4th that truly reaches me.  I think its because when I was growing up, the town I lived in went all out in celebration.  I remember, in high school, marching with the band.  I’d chosen the clarinet because I had a long walk after the bus let me off.  One year it was so hot I didn’t think I was going to make it to the end of the parade and am sure it was even worse for the tuba players.  When I was younger, the 4th meant seeing my cousins and running around Nana’s lawn with sparklers stinging our wrists.  We loved setting them off after dark and playing like Tinkerbell.

As an adult, it concerns me that maybe I didn’t instill that reverence for our day of freedom in my sons, but I know they’re appreciative of this country we live in.  These days it seems as if depressing news is all around us: gas and other price increases, the dog days of the political campaign, horrific fires in the state just south of me, etc, etc.  But when all the complaining is done with, IMO this is still the only country I’d ever want to live in.  Freedom is more than a word or even a mindset.  It lives in our hearts, or at least I believe it should. 

I could go on and on and probably get myself in trouble stepping on peoples’ toes.  Instead, I’d like to flip things around and ask readers what the 4th of July means to them.

Vonna

www.vonnaharper.com

Six odd random things about me that you probably didn’t want to know…

1. I’m the most disorganized person ever…yet I’m extremely rooted in routine.  I’m not sure how that works, but somehow it does.  So when someone messes with my mess or bumps me out of routine I get very irritated.  Hmm, OCD much???

2. When I was in high school, I had a big blue mohawk and sometimes my English teacher couldn’t teach because I was too distracting.  (I sat at the front of the class eagerly, so he would make me move to the back)

3. I love teen movies.  I can’t get enough of them.  It’s probably because I don’t want to grow up.  Some favorites: Superbad, The Faculty, The Craft, Cursed, Ten Things I Hate About You

4. I started a writing course by correspondence, but only ever finished one assignment before I sold my first short story to Playgirl magazine.  Needless to say I never finished that course.

5. I wrote screenplays before I ever wrote a novel or even a novella.  I’ve written seven and have been close to selling twice.   It was extremely heartbreaking so I decided to write books instead.   I still have aspirations to screenwrite.   My lifelong dream is to win an Oscar for best original screenplay.

6. When I saw WANTED in the theatre on Sunday, I got turned on while watching the part where Wesley completely innihilates his enemies.  Lots of gunplay and blood.   I thought it was one of the sexiest movies I’ve seen in a long time.  Hmm, I wonder what that says about me???

Funny thing is, I’m actually getting more work done while watching Brian than I was before I turned him on. Heh. Boy, I wish I could. Turn him on, that is. Yeah, yeah, I know he’s fiction but…did I mention I looooooove me some Brian Kinney?

As Lauren and several others have pointed out so recently, it’s summer. This means I spend a lot of time during the day wrangling kids and running kids around and doing stuff with the kids and playing Wii with the kids…and generally, you know, being a mom. Which means at night, I write.

And finally, finally, after months of struggle, each word like pulling teeth…this story is…

Sweet.

Oh, it’s sweet. It’s like eating candy, licking syrup from a lover’s lips, standing in sunshine after too many days of rain, waking in the night and knowing the alarm won’t go off for another six hours. I’m enjoying it. The words are flowing, the story  makes me happy.

So I’m gonna type type type, type type type! And finish this story so I can go on vacation in a few weeks with a clear conscious! Yay!

And now I’m off to drool over some more BK and write my Mary Poppins Handmaiden — I called her Mary Poppins, you see, because just like MP she swoops in and is all “CLEAN UP THIS MESS, SPIT SPOT!” and the mess gets cleaned up. My goodness, I wish I could be that commanding and be OBEYED!

But isn’t that the joy of writing? Living vicariously through our characters, even for a few minutes? Wheee!

Okay, so it’s late and clearly I’m tired, and Brian Kinney is making me a little giddy. But so is this story, and I can’t tell you what a relief it is!

Yay for me! Yay for dominatrix Handmaidens! Yay for QAF! Yay for late night writing! Yay for summer!

Tell me what you say Yay! About and I’ll put you in a drawing for a signed copy of Tempted.

I know you all have one but…it’s all I got.

M

I don’t think I’ll tag anyone, but if you want to do the meme, feel free!  I’d love to hear six things about YOU! 

Sometimes when you’re caught up in a bunch of deadlines, your to do list takes over your life and you forget the wonder of popsicles and playing in the backyard and a cold margarita or beer on a hot day. So I try, very hard, to remember the magic of sunsets at ten pm and to squirt my kids with the hose for no other reason than to glory in the sound of their suprised, joyful giggles.

In an around three summer book releases and my deadlines. Because goodness, why do this if I can’t be joyful?

Happy summer to you all. Don’t forget to keep some money near the door so you can run with the kids when you hear the ice cream man!

Lauren

(oh and you wanna check out those releases - check my website) To celebrate summer - in this hemisphere anyway - I’m giving away a print copy of Making Chase or What Happens In Vegas - winner’s choice. Just comment here with your favorite thing to do in summer. I’ll choose a winner at six pm pacific/nine eastern, today June 30

**WINNER - is GRETA! Send me your mailing address and your preference between What Happens in Vegas or Making Chase and I’ll get the book your way! laurendane at laurendane dot com

Stacey is another super client of the Lovely Laura Bradford and a fabulously nice person! Welcome to The Bradford Bunch, Stacey. Make yourself and home and have fun!

Stacey’s Terrible, No-Good…Awesome Day!

Hello! Thanks to the Bradford Bunch for having me here, especially to Marissa and Denise for the inviting me to guest-blog. I must admit, I’m a little nervous. For months before Laura signed me, I was reading this blog and feeling more than just a bit wistful, like the dorky new kid longing to be invited to sit at the cool kids table. : ) And wow, now I’m here.

On my own blog, I ramble quite a bit about whatever strikes my fancy from the Battlestar Galactica half-season finale to Regency bathroom habits (nope, I don’t write historicals, I’m just naturally curious about weird things), but here I thought it might be best to focus a little more. I thought I’d tell you about the day I received “the call.”

It was the Saturday before the big Romantic Times Booklovers Convention, one of my favorites to attend, and the day before I was due to fly out. Things were not going well. I’d just learned that my books, The Silver Spoon and Eye of the Beholder, had not been ordered for the book fair (a long and complicated story), which meant I’d have to pay an ungodly amount of money to ship some from my own stash, and my husband, God love him, would have to remember take them to the post office for me in the middle of the week. Eeeek. On top of that, I was still trying to finalize my prep work for the pre-convention writing workshops, pack my clothes, squeeze more promo items into an already overstuffed suitcase, attend my nephew’s birthday party and make sure I’d covered everything at my day job for the week that I’d be gone.

I think, though, it was the laundry disaster that put me over the edge. It probably wouldn’t really even be considered a disaster by most standards, but it was just the final insult on top of lots of injuries. I love pajamas, and as a writer, I spend an inordinate amount of time in them. Therefore, when I loaded my wash into the dryer and found that something blue (!) had faded all over my favorite new pajama top, the one I was planning to take to RT, I went a little crazy. I did not have the time or the money to go out and buy something new, especially a duplicate of something that had been just fine before I made the brazen move of washing it. I stomped around the house and ranted, scaring my dogs (and probably my husband, too).

At that point or shortly thereafter, I decided it would be a good idea to check email. Um, yeah. That’s when I saw Laura’s email in my inbox, and I thought, “Oh, #$@#.” Because everyone knows, right, that a phone call means good news and a letter or an email means bad news? At least, that’s what I thought. My head, at that moment, was a wild mess inside, and I could barely breathe, thanks to the crushing disappointment. I’d been so hoping that it would work out. (No, I hadn’t actually opened the email yet.)

Keep in mind, I’d been querying for a variety of books off and on since 2003. Almost everyone had something positive to say. Great characters, good voice, tight writing, BUT…it’s not exactly what I’m looking for, I don’t have the kind of time needed to devote to your career in this stage, and, my personal favorite, I just didn’t fall in love with it. Ouch. By the time 2008 rolled around, I was beginning to feel like the longest-running subscriber on the agent equivalent of match.com. “You’re such a nice girl, but…”

The worst part was, I’d been assigned to speak on a panel at the RT pre-con about how to get an agent. Prior to this point, the plan was merely that I would relay my experiences so far, what I’d learned, and how I was hopeful for the future. After this, I just didn’t know if I could pull that off and be believable. Or, at least, not break down into sobbing hysterics and ask a group of stunned beginning writers, “Why doesn’t anybody like me?” or some other such melodramatic nonsense.

Then, I opened the email. “I loved your book. Let’s talk at RT.” Seriously, it was like the Hallelujah chorus sounded and a bright light shone from above. Okay, so it might have been my iPod and, you know, the afternoon sun, but so what, it counts!

After that, there was much screaming and rejoicing. The dogs were scared…again. And my poor husband, who had not learned to differentiate between screams of “An agent likes my book” and “I just saw a mouse and am now standing on my desk chair,” came racing to investigate.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

The lesson is, I guess, to be patient and persistent. It’s worth the struggle to find someone who believes in what you write. Also…the Clorox bleach pen works wonders on removing set-in blue stains from a favorite white pajama top, if you were wondering. : )

Stacey’s Bio:

As an award-winning corporate copywriter, Stacey Klemstein has written about everything from backhoe loaders to breast pumps. But she prefers to make things up instead.

From her first childhood scribbles about a magical necklace that would turn people into cats, Stacey has long been fascinated with what happens when the “ordinary” bumps up against “out of this world.” What if aliens landed on Earth? What if the afterlife is really just another dimension?

She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Greg, and their two retired racing greyhounds, Joezooka and Tall Walker. When she’s not reading or writing, you’ll likely find her parked in front of the television with her Roswell DVDs, staring rapturously at Jason Behr.

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

As kids we often dream of things we want to do as adults, when we reach that magical age where so many opportunities open to us. As we become older we often forget that childhood wonder and stop dreaming. As a writer I’m always dreaming about something. As an author who loves to write suspense, I think of some pretty bizarre scenes on a daily basis. And I mean daily!  Here’s some scenes I don’t plan to reenact, even if my characters might.

1. Travel down the Amazon in a rowboat. Or any kind of boat for that matter.
2. Ride in a helicopter. Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m not fond of helicopters.
3. Walk out on the glass observatory at the Grand Canyon. I’m going there this summer but skipping the stepping off the edge into nothing experience.
4. Wrestling a Komodo Dragon.
5. Jumping into a river of piranhas.
6. Swimming with a shark.
7. Skydiving.
8. Hunting real animals with my compound archery bow. (My bow is for target shooting only, thanks very much.)
9. Seeing a bear in the wild.  We have them in the area, but I’d rather not see one up close.
10. Seeing a mountain lion in the wild. Yep, we have them in the area, and I’d rather not see those up close either.

Hey, maybe I should write a heroine that is chicken of everything! Just kidding.  Tell me a few things you plan to never do, and you may win a free download of my Ellora’s Cave jungle adventure JUNGLE FEVER (warning, erotic romance content.) I’ll select a winner at the end of the day. Happy adventures and happy dreaming!

Denise A. Agnew

Step off the edge…

Into dark, delicious adventure…

www.deniseagnew.com

I also have several story ideas that are clamoring in my head. I’ve gotten lost in my thoughts a few times this week because I’m trying to pick and choose among these stories, and that getting “lost”–it’s resulted in my husband having to call my name several times…and him asking if I’m listening to him, at all? (The answer: No, um, sorry.)

Since I’m not contributing a particularly earth-shattering post today, I thought I’d give away a prize. Want an autographed copy of HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT ? (That’s the first in my Midnight trilogy; MIDNIGHT SINS is the second installment…) Then just tell me your favorite horror movie of all time. (I’m looking for some weekend movies!) I’ll be back on Friday to pick a winner.

Thanks!