Category Archives: Writer Wednesday

Writer Wednesday: Meet Tamara Shoemaker

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Tamara ShoemakerWoo hoo! Today I welcome personal friend and writer extraordinaire Tamara Shoemaker! Tamara and I have known each other only a year, but I swear I can’t remember life without her. She’s a hoot, y’all.

Tamara’s not technically a romance writer (I’m still trying to lure her over), but there’s plenty of romantic tension laced throughout her fantasy and mystery books. I know, because I’ve read them – and was a beta reader for Soul Survivor, about which you’ll read below. And which you should definitely preorder, because it’s good.

So without further ado, here’s Tamara. Or at least three things about Tamara.

Name two things people don’t know about you.

1.) I’m afraid this secret may have leaked out, but I’ll make it official here: I’m extremely claustrophobic, so I can’t read books having to do with space (no oxygen) or underwater adventures (same problem). Also, closets bother me. And thick blankets. And corsets.

BREATHE!

2.) I love cooked spinach but only if I smother it in mayonnaise. I’ve taught my kids to love it, too. My husband thinks I’m an alien from Planet Gross Things (but there I go talking about space).

BREATHE!

Name one interesting thing you learned in researching/writing your last book.

I got to discover some of the intricacies of what a psychotic break looks like. It was fascinating delving into the mind’s psyche and breaking it down piece by piece, and then with a few keystrokes, melting reason and logic into a few brilliant, broken puddles. I had way too much fun with that.

*Note: I should make it clear that I am not currently, nor have I ever, suffered from a psychotic break.

What one piece of advice do you wish you’d had when you were first starting out?

I love stories with romance threaded through them, and so of course, I twist romance into all my books. In my first book, my two characters played a romance that was flat as cardboard—no romantic tension, no play in their interaction with each other. They could have been one person. It wasn’t until later (with loads more experience under my belt) that I figured out that the romance in a story is just as important as the plot itself. So that means lots of time planning the nuances, the ups, the downs, the frustrations, the joys, but always, ALWAYS, maintaining the fine balance of ROMANTIC TENSION.

Soul Survivor Tamara ShoemakerPreorder Soul Survivor today!

Soul Survivor is my latest release, a Christian mystery/suspense book set in the Blue Ridge mountains around Asheville, NC (where I grew up). It features Eden Grey, a young woman who attempts to flee her past and the killer it brings by taking shelter in a renovated manor run by her old high school flame. As tensions mount, Eden wonders who she can trust, whether seeming friends or hidden enemies. Will she escape with her life? And yes, of course, there’s romance. 🙂

Soul Survivor is available right now for pre-order, and will hard-release on May 1, 2015. Check out the link for more info: http://booklaunch.io/route11publications/54f9939d66e3bff92b26b195

Thanks, Tamara! I’m so glad you could join us.

 

Writer Wednesday: Meet Alexa Day

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Alexa Day 1-800Welcome back to Writer Wednesday! Today we talk with Alexa Day, writer of “Romance served hot … with a swirl!”

Alexa is a fellow Virginia Romance Writer whom I met In Real Life at the Charlottesville Festival of the Book LoveFest – Huzzah! So settle in, and hear what Alexa has to say about her love of romance, and her latest release, 1-800.

Which type of romance do you love most, and why?

I like those really nontraditional romances, the ones where the hero and heroine are already together but having trouble, or the edgy ones involving complicated themes and ideas like dubcon or sex for money, or the ones with older characters or lesser known periods in history. Romance in the real world looks more like those nontraditional stories, and older people and kinky people and people in rocky relationships find real sexy love, too! We have so much power to change the world’s perception of what romance is, and I’d like to see us pushing the envelope more. Everyone deserves that HEA, and everyone wants to see herself reflected in these stories. 

What fellow romance author do you recommend reading, and why?

I have to recommend two: Cara McKenna and Megan Hart. They’re both writing the sorts of stories I love to read, with very complicated romance situations, characters who seem like the cool people you want to know (or maybe already know) personally, super hot sex, and really tender emotions. You can’t go wrong with either of them.

What one piece of advice do you wish you’d had when first starting out?

My author journey started when I entered a pitch contest, for which I did not have to have a completed manuscript. I definitely didn’t think I’d win, so when I did and the editor asked for my full manuscript, she had to wait a pretty long time for me to finish. On the one hand, I wish someone had told me to have that book done when I entered, but if I’d waited and not entered that year (the last, I believe, for that contest), I wouldn’t have gotten the chance!

About Alexa’s latest release, “1-800”:

All Jason wants is the perfect gift for his perfect fiancée, but where’s he going to find a present special enough for the love of his life? To his surprise, the answer is on TV — along with some very sexy saleswomen and some unusually detailed product demos. Shopping channels have never looked quite like this!

Find 1-800: Amazon, B&N, ARe

Want to know more about Alexa Day herself? Visit her here: Website :: Facebook :: Twitter

Writer Wednesday: Meet Angel Nicholas

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Welcome to Writer Wednesday, a new weekly feature in which I’ll be introducing you to one new author (mostly romance, occasionally other genres).

Author Angel Nicholas
Author Angel Nicholas

Today we meet the fabulous, and slightly shoe-obsessed, Angel Nicholas! Angel and I met in one of those roundabout ways (meaning I bumped into her on social media, but don’t remember the whens or the hows). She’s a hoot, y’all!

Here she shares with us a little about herself, as well as info on her latest release, Sweet Deception. Enjoy!

Which type of romance do you love most, and why?

I love all romance, but my favorite is romantic suspense. The suspense adds a wonderful tension to the romance, and the romance softens the suspense. It’s the perfect marriage!

 Name two things people don’t know about you.

1. When I was six, I almost drowned in a very muddy Missouri river while floating in innertubes with extended family. I was saved when I bumped into my mother’s leg. She grabbed ahold of me and my grandpa carried me from the river. I still recall the very distinct color of the water.

2. I’m the middle child and only daughter, so I suffer both middle-child and only-child syndromes. Yep, I’m an invisible princess!

 What one piece of advice do you wish you’d had when first starting out?

Writing is a business. Learn as much as possible about marketing your book to the public, and stay on top of the trends. Knowledge is power.

Bonus answer:  The more knowledgeable you are about writing, the more complex it becomes.

Angel Nicholas Sweet Deception Cover SWEET DECEPTION

The thought of adventure makes her break out in hives. His dangerous job makes avoiding relationships easy. This unlikely pair will rock the criminal underground…and each other.

http://www.angelnicholas.com/books.html

Thanks for stopping by, Angel, in spite of my appalling lack of cute footwear. Always a pleasure, m’dear!

Writer Wednesday: Meet Kathryn Barrett

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Kathryn BarrettWelcome to Writer Wednesday!

This week we’ve been graced with a visit from the lovely Kathryn Barrett, author of contemporary romance. Kathryn and I met in person at the Love Between The Covers romance conference, and I’m delighted we’ve continued our acquaintance online in the time since.

Here she shares with us answers to three writerly-related questions, and tells us about her newest release.

Name one interesting thing you learned in researching/writing your last book.

For my last book, Redemption, I had to learn about the two careers of my main characters. Claire worked in a department store and Matt was a film actor/director. So I finally put my business degree to good work as I imagined what those board meetings would be like, with talk of same-store sales, marketing campaigns, etc. (and yes, much of it was left on the cutting room floor, so to speak!). I also learned about the film industry and the technical details of filming. It was fun figuring out how this beautiful, fictitious department store in Philadelphia could be utilized as a film location!

What one piece of advice do you wish you’d had when first starting out?

I wish I’d known that knowing grammar and basic writing skills wasn’t enough. I’d written loads of non-fiction: articles, essays, and I totally kicked butt writing papers in college. But when I tried to write fiction, I had to learn a whole new way of writing, and just knowing how to construct a sentence didn’t cut it. Plotting, characterization, scene structure, and so much more goes into writing a novel—but fortunately I found many books on the craft of writing fiction that helped.

What’s your favorite romance novel of all time, and why?

I would have to say Paradise by Judith McNaught. I picked it up in the base exchange when my husband was serving overseas and I had two toddlers at home. I stayed up all night reading it, laughing, crying, and then laughing again. I was so emotionally affected by that book that I was determined I would write a book that would touch someone else the same way.

Kathryn’s Latest release:

Redemption Cover Kathryn BarrettRedemption is the story of a relationship that re-blossoms ten years after it ends in disaster—a disaster that was filmed in Technicolor, as it unfolded on a movie set. Now Claire Porter has just started a new job as CFO of a Philadelphia department store chain when she learns that a film company wants to use the flagship store as a location for their new film. She is determined to keep this from happening, and to keep the star of the film, Matt Grayson, out of her—and her son’s—life.

Find Kathryn at her website, on Facebook, or on Twitter, or check out her Amazon page.

Thanks so much for spending time with us, Kathryn!

Writer Wednesday: Meet Elizabeth Johns

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Welcome to Writer Wednesday, in which you’ll meet a different romance writer each week and learn a little (just a little) about them.

Writer Elizabeth Johns
Elizabeth Johns

This week I’m glad to welcome Elizabeth Johns, whom I met at the recent Love Between the Covers romance conference in DC. She was sitting directly ahead of me, and while we were waiting for the conference panels to begin, we chatted a bit, discovering along the way that she also writes Regency romance, and uses the same editor (Tessa Shapcott) as I. Is that kismet or what?

Here Elizabeth shares with us answers to three (plus a bonus!) questions, and then reveals a bit about her latest novel.

Elizabeth Johns Surrender The PastWhat inspires you to write?

I wrote my first book out of a personal need to share a traumatic experience and how I finally learned to overcome it. The subsequent books were spawned from that, but I try to have some type of good message included—with an HEA of course!

Name one interesting thing you learned in researching/writing your last book.

I think I have a much better appreciation for what the conditions of war were like. The battle scene of Waterloo was only one chapter in the book, but getting into the weeds while researching made it more real. I cannot fathom living out in the open, walking miles upon miles to fight and then having to endure the poor medical care in the field.

Elizabeth Johns Seasons of Change

What fellow romance author do you recommend reading, and why?

Other than Austen (naturally), I adore Georgette Heyer. Her witty dialogue blows me away, and she transports me back in time while creating realistic characters.

What one piece of advice do you wish you’d had when first starting out?

Don’t be afraid to reach out to the community and be involved. I have been overwhelmed by the kindness and help from readers and authors alike.

Tell us about your latest release…

Elizabeth Johns Seeking RedemptionBook 3 in the Loring-Abbott Series, Seeking Redemption

At nineteen, Lady Lydia Markham was beautiful, bookish and naïve. Her sheltered, loveless upbringing had not educated her in the ways of the beau monde, or the men who inhabited it. So when she met Nathaniel, Lord Fairmont, it was all too easy to be swept away by his rakish charm and good looks. She was devastated when he did not propose marriage, but joined Wellington’s army instead.

Six years of battle has changed Nathaniel: older, wiser, the conqueror of the addictions that drove his misspent youth, he’s avowed to start afresh. But a chance meeting with Lydia unnerves him; she is so very keen to speak to him, yet he cannot fathom why. Has she waited for him all these years? He is unfit for her and is focused on making amends for another’s life that he ruined, and he urges her to forget him.

Nathaniel’s indifference leaves Lydia heartbroken, but she reaffirms her vow to begin anew. Unfortunately, she needs Nathaniel’s assistance. If ensuring his aid means following him to the Continent, where he’s gone to fight Napoleon with the Household Guards, then so be it. But will he help once he knows her secret?

Find Seeking Redemption here: Kobo, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, amazon.com, and amazon UK.

Want to connect with Elizabeth? Find her on her website, or on Facebook. Check out her Amazon page for links to Surrender the Past and Seasons of Change.

Thanks so much, Elizabeth!