Happy long weekend everyone! Yesterday here in the land of Canuk we celebrated the birthday of our country. I know that all my American friends will be celebrating their country’s birthday this weekend! I hope so far 2010 is finding you all healthy, happy and if you’re like me, freaking busy!

A lot has been going on in my life. For one, my son has graduated and is now officially out of elementary school. He starts highschool in September and it boggles my mind. When the hell did that happen? He’s got man hair, plays guitar every day, has girls constantly calling on him, his voice is went off the deep end. Sheesh…he transformed overnight it seems.

In my writing life I’m hard at work on Declan’s book, which is my 4th book for Avon. I turned in HIS DARKEST SALVATION (Julian’s book) in May and HIS DARKEST EMBRACE (Jagger’s book) releases this fall. Whew….I swear sometimes I still pinch myself. I’M A WRITER! Weeeeeeeeeee! Anyhoo, this fourth book is a definite transition…a crossover of sorts that will set up the next major story arc. But in the meantime I am just now starting to organize my promo for Embrace. Keep an eye out for an ARC contest and other giveaways! Most like next month….in the meantime, I still don’t have permission to post the entire cover, but no one said I couldn’t show off a teaser! What do you all think?

I love it! it’s beautiful and sexy…..So, Happy long weekend to everyone out there…be safe, be happy and read a book!

Today is the official release day of my first book published as Emma Lang. It’s not my “first” book per se, since I already have over 2 dozen novels/novellas/short stories published, but it’s Emma’s first.

So who’s Emma? Well, Emma is me and I am she.

No I don’t have multiple personality issues, although my DH might argue that point. I am now published as Emma Lang with Kensington. A writer who embarks on a new adventure with a new pen name does it for various reasons. Perhaps she/he wants a new start, or a publisher may request it, or sometimes it’s even the market.

In my case it’s a combination of a few of those reasons. For Kensington, I will now exclusively publish as Beth. However, both pen names will still be actively publishing across the romance world. I promise!

So today is the release date for RUTHLESS HEART, my wild and intense western starring Eliza (a runaway Mormon scientist trying to find her runaway sister) and Grady (a hard, dark hired gun who can’t seem to shake Eliza). It’s fun, sexy, sad, and happy, plus everything in between.

I’ve posted excerpts on my blog over the last week. Please pop on over and take a read to meet Eliza and Grady, and of course, Emma Lang.

Happy Release Day! And to my fellow release buddy, Cynthia Eden! Woot!

First, a quick squee!!

I got my new cover: Pride and Prejudice: The Wild and Wanton Edition

* * * * *

Juliana Stone, Interview

By Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com

Paranormal Romance author, Juliana Stone, has lived an interesting life. This Canadian rock star toured with an all female band before settling down as a wife and mother, though it is rumored she still sneaks out for a gig now and again. However, over the last few years music has taken a back seat to writing. New York Times Bestseller, Christine Feehan, has called Juliana’s newest release, His Darkest Hunger (Avon Books, March 30, 2010), a “fantastic fresh world (that’s) impossible to put down.”

* * * * *

Q: In your book, His Darkest Hunger, you delve into the world of shapeshifters, vampires and black magick. What inspired you to write about this?

Juliana: I’ve always loved the idea of sleek sexy shifters, so when I was deciding on what kind of shapeshifter to feature, black jaguars were my number one choice.

Q: When world building, did you base your story off of known myths throughout history?

Juliana: I knew I wanted to write about jaguars and while researching them came across the Jaguar Warriors and Eagle Warriors from the Aztec culture. They were fierce and became the basis for the world I created.

Q: What myths or legends inspired you?

Juliana: I don’t think any one in particular, but I certainly loved the idea that the jaguar warriors were linked to the dark underworld.

Q: Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the paranormal?

Juliana: I think we love to escape. No, I think we need to escape. I think that most adults are overworked, over stimulated that the world we live in can easily leave us weary. Books, music and movies help us to escape, and the paranormal world takes us anywhere and everywhere, with dangerous heroes and strong heroines. These kinds of stories challenge our imaginations in a way, a contemporary doesn’t. It’s also very rock and roll!

Q: What are your favorite paranormal shows, movies and books?

Juliana: I love True Blood, Supernatural and Vampire diaries. I also love all the Resident Evil movies! As for books there are way too many to name, although Christine Feehan is a fave!

Q: Do you believe in the supernatural? Or are you a skeptic?

Juliana: Nope, totally believe. Saw a ghost for reals when I was a teenager.

Q: Have you ever had a paranormal experience?

Juliana: When I was about 12 I was visited in my room by a very old lady. A picture had fallen off the wall and woke me up and there she was at the end of my bed. She was dressed very old fashioned and just stared at me. It scared the crap out of me at the time. I remember I could see her feet as if she was floating off the floor. Months later my father was knocking down walls to make a room larger (we lived in a century home) and in the walls were pictures, photos of young children and old fashioned cars….and guess who was in them?

Q: What kind of paranormal creatures do you wish you could meet?

Juliana: I would love to meet a shifter, any kind will do.

Q: If given the chance, would you become a shifter?

Juliana: I think it would be amazing to have such strong magick that you could actually change your physical body into something dark, sexy and strong!

Q: How would you react if you came face to face with a vampire?

Juliana: I’d probably say “Holy F—k” and hope like hell it was a friendly!

Q: What does the future hold for your jaguars?

Juliana: The Jaguar Warriors is my first series for Avon and it revolves around three sexy brothers. I’ve very excited to tell all of their stories. There will be the whole end of the world thing for them to deal with, but hey, they’ve all got strong women in their corners ready to deal.

Q: Have you ever been to a psychic and/or a past life regression? What did they predict for you?

Juliana: I went to a psychic once….she told me I’d outlive 3 husbands! LOL, I never did tell my husband that particular piece of info.

Q: Have you ever been abducted by aliens?

Juliana: Um, that would be a big NO…at least not that I remember….although there is that strange mark on my…

You can learn more about Juliana and her books at her website, www.julianastone.com.

Hi everyone,

I’m sorry for the late night post, but I’m on the road for a couple of weeks and you know how traveling goes. I had a twenty-two hour day yesterday, and it’s been another long one today.

So I hope you don’t mind if I do a little cross posting. I started a discussion over on another blog about facing our fears as writers, and I thought it would be interesting to continue the discussion here.

So here’s the original post. I hope you enjoy it.

I attended a great workshop this last weekend. A lot of what the speaker talked about was facing your fears in the publishing industry. At the same time, a friend of mine just sold, (Yay!) but was just beginning to feel the stab of terror that goes through you when it first sinks in that you are going to be published. It got the wheels turning in my head.

The truth is, published authors are afraid, more often than not. We live in a constant state of “What if?” and in our minds, the answer to that question is seldom good.

I wanted to explore some of those fears to see if we can shine a light into the dark corners of the publishing closet no one ever wants to speak about. Maybe we will discover the monsters there are really just an old pair of boots and a long forgotten teddy bear.

Fear: Now that I’ve sold, people are going to read this. What if it’s not good enough?

This is a very real fear. Unfortunately, it is one that will haunt an author the rest of her career, because it doesn’t go away with the next book. “Well, they loved that one, but now everyone is going to think this one is crap.” And on and on it goes. Once a book is in print, it is fixed, and it is out there. You can’t control how people are going to react to it. Some people will love it, others will hate it, and you have to live with the pressures of both reactions.

If we dig into this one a little, what we’re really worried about are the people who don’t like it. Why are we afraid someone won’t like our book? I think the old, the book is a part of us, and therefore they don’t like us, thing is a little too simple. I think this goes deeper than that. I’ve felt this fear. I admit it. For me, the deepest darkest pit of this fear is a fear of failure. You sink your heart and soul into writing, and to have others have a negative reaction to it feels like I’ve failed to do what I set out to do. That stings. Once the sting fades, it compounds.

What if a lot of people are having this reaction to the book? What if they start talking about it? What if that negative buzz undermines my editor or agent’s faith in my work? What if they drop me? How will I start over if they do? And then we’re a neurotic puddle of self woe crying on the phone to our critique partner about how our career is over.

Let’s take a look at that fear for a moment. The terrifying thought, “My career is over.” It seems like all publishing fear roads end at that one place. What a horrible place. Why?

For me, it’s fearing that I’ll lose something when I’ve invested so much of my time, and myself into it. People will say, “but you can always write.” Yes, I can, but I will forever do so thinking that I couldn’t really hack it. When I was toward the end of the long wait to get published, I nearly gave up. The only thing that kept me in the game was this mule-like stubbornness that insisted I would not throw away an eight year investment of my time and effort without it paying off. I knew the only way it would truly be over is if I quit.

When I think about the “My career is over,” fear, I think about what it would mean to lose part of my self identity as an author. I aspired to become this. If it goes away, what then am I? Nothing?

That’s terrifying.

But it isn’t the truth. If we can conquer this fear, we can conquer all the lesser ones. So let’s tackle it.

If this goes away, what then am I?

Well, I’m alive for one. I am kicking, I am breathing, and I’m pretty sure absolutely no part of the publishing process has the physical power to actually end my life, save winning the Rita, which would give me a heart attack.

I’m a strong woman who has had to face the potential loss of something far more precious than a publishing career. Some things in life just far outweigh all of this, and it’s good to keep it all in perspective. This fear can never crush me, because I’ve faced worse, and I’m still sane and standing.

I’m still a creative woman with something to give, and so long as have the ability to improve and the will to fight, I have the ability to open new doors of opportunity for myself in any field I choose, including this one. My publishing career will never be over so long as I don’t give up. Never surrender.

I’m happy. The flowers are blooming, I have enough to eat. I have a great family and good friends. So long as my belly is full and my feet are dry, I’ll consider myself one of the very very lucky in life, and I’ll appreciate it to the end of my days.

So armed with the knowledge that even if the publishing path takes me to that dark dead end. I’ve got the heart, the grit, and the resiliency to turn around and take another fork in the road. I’ll try and try again, because in the end, I’m a writer. It’s who I am, and what I do.

So I’ll do it.

Fear won’t stop me. It will touch me, but it won’t defeat me.

That’s a choice, and I’m making it.

How about you? What do you fear? How do you face it?

Let’s turn this into a little non-professional therapy session. I’ve got a feeling we all need it sometimes.

Jess

So I am redoing our house, bit by bit, from top to bottom. To my surprise, I’m enjoying the process quite a lot. I love seeing my ideas come together, getting rid of things that don’t work and adding those that do. This actually reminds me quite a lot of revision, only it’s my house that I’m changing from its draft form. My plans are actually quite ambitious.

Before I am done, I will have reupholstered every major piece of furniture, including sofa, loveseat, armchair, dining room chairs, and my office chair. The latter now matches the sofa and loveseat; all are done in this fabulous mocha that’s faux-suede and is scotchguarded so it will be easy to clean. The dining room chairs are now claret (same fabric) instead of dirty beige. Where my office used to be, I have cleaned that space out and moved my desk into the front room. That will be a guest room by the time I’ve finished with it. Right now there’s just an easy chair (in dirty goldenrod), bookshelves and a sidetable. I’ve gotten sheets and pillows and a rug in a really fun pattern. I’ll be combining stripes and dots in an interesting way in there. The room will be red and gold. I just need to buy the daybed and then have that chair reupholstered in the same claret cloth as the dining room chairs.

But wait, there’s more! We’re also redoing the back garden. It’s such a small space (maybe 12 x 30) that previously I had decided it wasn’t worth bothering with. I’ve since changed my mind. The reason for that is because a storm blew down the privacy fence we had at the top of the brick wall that separates us from the other houses. Since we’re in the mountains there are houses above us (the land is kind of terraced) so that taller fence was to block the houses above from peering down into our garden. Turns out, I don’t care so much about that. I’m not going to run around naked out there. That privacy fence was also incurably ugly, made of green, latticed vinyl with barbed wire on top. Between that and the grim, mismatched red/rust paint on the brick wall that encloses our back garden, it was like prison yard. But when the storm came and blew down that privacy fence, suddenly I could see the sky. Sunlight streamed in. A tree that had been struggling to grow shot up and become impressive (really fast!) Turns out we had a pomegranate tree in our backyard, but they need lots of heat and light to thrive. Now it is. We could see trees and flowers in the neighbors backyard. Ivy is starting to come down.

The back garden now has some rustic charm. At that point, I decided to redo it completely. We had the scrap fence hauled away and yesterday, the gardener painted the ugly, ugly brick wall in a fabulous Mediterranean cream. It makes such a difference; you have no idea how much brighter and bigger the area looks already and I’m not nearly done yet. The gardener is going to spray for pests since we intend to use the space (we have a clay tile patio back there but it was so ugly, who would want to sit on it?), cut the grass and then tell us what supplies he needs us to purchase so he can lay some concrete walls to build some raised flowerbeds. (This is necessary to protect the landscaping; otherwise the dog will just dig all our new flowers up.) I spent the afternoon one day last week researching drought-resistant plants, so I now have a list of things I want in the back courtyard. They include catnip, bougainvillea, verbena, sweet alyssum, honeysuckle and jasmine. There are more on the list, but that’s what I can remember off the top of my head. Once we have the landscaping finished, I’m getting a yard swing to put on the patio because it’ll be a space we can enjoy for the first time since we’ve moved in here.

That nearly brings us to the end of my recitation. Only not quite. Inside the house, we’ll be having a carpenter come in to build some custom end tables and bookshelves and a hutch where we can keep the cat food out of the dog’s reach. Once we get that done, I want to do repaint the upstairs and have all the awful carpets torn out, and replace them with wood laminate. If we get all of this done? I absolutely will not be moving because this house will then be perfect. Andres says we can use the land we own up on the mountain to build a cabana-style house. We’ll put in a pool up there and make the house adjacent with, like, a bedroom loft and a big party room. He intends to send the kids there to rock out with their friends on weekends, when they’re old enough. If that comes to pass, we’ll be the coolest parents ever.

So apart from writing, that’s how I occupy my time these days. And I am profoundly enjoying seeing the house go from worn and grubby to pretty and refreshed. How do you feel about DIY projects? I am not very handy and most of my time is spent working, so I mostly hire the work done. What’s the most ambitious project you’ve ever tackled? And what changes would you like to make to your home? If all goes well, I will post some makeover pictures next month!

“Have regrets. They are fuel. On the page they flare into desire.” — Geoff Dyer

When people ask me to tell them a little bit about myself, my brain goes through a sudden onslaught of stages. First, and most obvious, blank. I stare as if my eyeballs would, at any moment, leap out of my skull and attach like quivering jelly monsters to the face of any who stand before me, face-sucking little globes of confusion. Terminal overload. Does not compute. +++ Divide By Cucumber Error. Please Reinstall Universe And Reboot +++ Etc.

Once my brain has finished flailing about in the death throes of all logical thought—a process that takes forever in my head but only a few seconds of panicked laughing outside it: “Heh, heh, me? Oh, gee, well, yes, okay…”—it shifts gears into a categorical search through the filing cabinet that is my brain. It’s worth pointing out two things: 1) my brain apparently does not understand the alphabet, and 2) my having a filing cabinet for a brain is sort of like having a closet where you shove everything inside it so the rest of the place looks nice for company. So, I’m furiously trying to pluck something random from the mess of thoughts and ideas all cluttered together under Q, while sorting through old jackets and thinking, “What the hell? When did I get this?”

Finally, I pull together some old stand-bys (who were probably off getting coffee somewhere with a couple of hot metaphors, thus explaining their lateness): Me? Oh, sure, okay, well, I’m a paranormal romance author. I write about really hot guys and ballsy women and there’s usually lots of sex, too. No, romance, I said. Yes, happy ending. Um, I adore animals—I have three cats and a rabbit—and I’m married to a man that adores me. What? Oh, yes, I adore him too, of course… Um… I love cherries and tea. Every week, I dress up like a crazy person (a crazy person who is the type to dress up, I don’t actually dress up like a crazy person—crazy people wear all sorts of things, don’t they?) and play Let’s Pretend with a bunch of people who are either too old to be doing it or too young to care.

While that person nods (usually mystified by the very strange, circular way I present conversational gambits to them), I think about all the other things I don’t say. Things like how when I was a very little girl, my parents divorced and moved far away from each other. How I never understood certain truths about human behaviors until I was much, much, much older, and by then, the choices I’d made were done. How I used to tell people who asked that I regretted nothing about my life, for all the choices made and events that had happened had shaped me into the steady person I am now.

And how that was a lie. Read the rest of this entry >

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, so here’s 3000, and it won’t take you any time at all to read this post! Here are a trio of new covers I recently received I’m thrilled to share. Which one is your favorite? Any Wicked Thing will be out next March from Berkley Heat. The Brava anthology releases November 30, and Mistress by Midnight is out on December 28. Mark your calendars, LOL!

(cross-posted from Phantasmic Fiction)

Plotting or pantsing? Ah, the classic debate among writers.

Pansters, or people who write by “flying into the mist” (a.k.a by the seat of their pants) claim that real writers don’t plot; it spoils the fun. Why even do it at all if you already know every word you’re going to write? Besides, a plotter is just a control freak with an organization fetish.

On the other hand, folks who plot say that pantsers write themselves into corners. That their lack of planning ends up costing them re-writes down the road. Pantsing is sloppy; the thrill of making it up as you go along is just a selfish indulgence—an insult to those who take the time and care to plan.

As someone who started out pantsing and switched to plotting, I’m here to tell you that plotting has saved my life. The peace of mind it’s provided is…priceless. No longer do I work in chaos. Everything has a place, and there’s no struggle with plot holes or dead ends. Don’t believe me? Here are some photos to prove my points…

First, here is my office after I became a plotter. Cleanliness is next to godliness…

Color-coordinated sticky notes make for controlled plotting…

The color-coordinated stickies are converted to a neatly typed outline…

Once the outline’s done, that’s it. The book practically writes itself. I never have to go back and make changes to my original perfect plotting. So what’s this big pile of messy notes, you ask? Oh, it might look disorganized to the untrained eye, but it’s, uh, well…

When you’re a plotter, there’s no more staring at the computer screen, wondering what to write next. No struggling with writer’s block or unforeseen plot snags. No distractions…

And just a few short weeks later, the book is complete, exactly how I planned it. And how’s this for something unexpectedly extra: remember that perfect outline a few photos up? Well, a synopsis is now a snap because I haven’t changed a thing since I typed it up when I started. Wasn’t that easy?

So, there you have it. Clearly, plotting is the only way to write. I hope all you pantsers out there have now seen the light, and that I’ve converted you to a better way of writing. Good luck, and God bless.

XOXO,

Jenn

Earlier this year I was contacted by representatives for Adam’s Media about working on a new project for them. Agents and Editors and negotiations later, I had a new contract! This is something a little different for me, but I’m really hoping people will enjoy it and give it a try. Ok, ok, so here’s the deal: I’ve been hired to basically rework one of my favorite books of all time - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen!!!

I know, OMG, Austen!

No, I’m not adding zombies and ghosts. What I am doing is heating things up a little and exploring more of the unspoken romances. How did Charlotte really become engaged to Mr. Collins? Just how innocent was Lydia when she ran away? Will Elizabeth wait until the wedding night? Will Jane?

You know the writing…
You know their story…
You know how they fell in love…
Now it’s time to discover what you don’t know!

When I was first approached to work on this project, I was thrilled at the prospect of being allowed to play in Jane Austen’s world. I’ve been a fan of Austen’s since I discovered her books hidden on the shelves of the High School library, and have the greatest respect for her talent and imagination. The love story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy is easily one of the greatest romances ever written and I, like many Pride and Prejudice fans, long to know more, to peek behind the veil of this complicated relationship into the lives and private thoughts of these beloved characters—especially the enigmatic and often misunderstood Fitzwilliam Darcy.

The book keeps the storyline and style of Austen with the sizzle and romance we expect today. I really hope you enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed working on it.

Oh, and by the way, the last I heard, the publisher said they’re calling it: Pride and Prejudice, Wild and Wanton. I’ll announce as soon as I have a cover and release date, but I believe it will be this fall!

You can keep up to date about this on my website and blog: www.michellepillow.com

If you haven’t figured it out. I love the news. Not everyone does, but I do. My father has always been a news junkie and I grew up watching it. As a kid, it’d be on while the family sat around eating dinner and back then it gave me nightmares. Seriously, all the talk of plane crashes and people breaking into houses. I could barely go to sleep at night. And yet as I grew up I kept watching. My teen years, before going to jazz choir in the morning and my dad left for his job at the bank, we’d eat breakfast and watch the news together.

Now I’m an adult (sort of, I guess we can call me that ) and my kid and I watch the news together. The good and the bad. Though, there’s probably more bad lately. But there’s good, too. My kid and I discuss what’s going on, and sometimes talk about what we can do to help (like with Haiti). In between bouts of writing, it’s habit command tab my screen to the internet to check what’s going on in the news (okay, and my email. And facebook. And–ok you get the picture). I follow probably at least 10 news sources on twitter and retweet. ‘Like’ them on Facebook. I’m a junkie.

I was teased by one of the newer Bradford girls Karina that my retweets of the news are so depressing So I set out to find her, and all those who hate the bad news, the happy stuff. And here it is. http://www.happynews.com/

Sometimes I think being such a news junkie has probably hardened me a bit to the harshness of what goes on in the world, but I can’t stop. When I went to Atlanta for RWA, I even toured the CNN news center and it was a highlight of the trip. Yeeeah. Check out that cheeseball grin I’ve got. I was STOKED.

Anyone else a news junkie? Or am I just an odd duck?