Deadly Ever After; Fun, Fairytales & Murder

This was the weekend for Music City Romance Writer's annual retreat and I had an amazing time. This is a wonderful group of women, both published and unpublished, who don't mind sharing what they know and love. Writing. Just sitting back and listening to them talk gave me a lot of insight into the life of a writer, as well as how to be a better writer myself. There were great workshops and lots of fellowship. I can't wait to apply what I've learned to my own writing.

Our final act this weekend was to discover who murdered Sheharazad. I've never done a murder mystery before and being the shy quiet type that I am I was also terrified. But I made it through and had a blast. We all dressed up as characters from literature and fairtyales. I was Little Red Riding Hood, the innocent little girl from the woods. I loved getting dressed up and into character. And I can't wait to see what we do next year.

Check out this pic of all the group partipants. Aren't we all adorable?

Retreat Update

Retreat is awesome. Learning great stuff, enjoying the company of great writers. I'll post pics as soon as I can get them done. Stay tuned.

Retreat! Retreat!

This weekend is MCRW's annual writing retreat. About 16 of us are going to Natchez Trace State Park for a weekend of food, fellowship, and creativity. I've never been to anything like this so I'm excited. There will be workshops and plotting help as well as a Murder Mystery dinner. I'm playing Little Red Riding Hood and my costume is all ready to go. I can't wait. I need as much help as I can get with my writing and this weekend proves to be all that and more. Not to mention I'm taking an extra day off work just because. Come on Friday!

The Olympics and Writing

I read a blog post this morning that got me thinking. It was essentially about how the olympics is a lot like writing. You have to keep at it, even when you fall, and soon enough your persistence will pay off. But I'd like to expand on that a little today.

Why do we care that these particular olympic athletes win? What makes us root for them? Well, I think it's because we learn so much about them through the media. We know their background and what it took for them to get where they are. We relate to their drive and ambition and their dreams of olympic glory. Because, don't we all have dreams we want to accomplish, even if they only involve getting out of bed and going to the grocery store?

It's the same with the characters in a story or novel. We relate to those characters because we're privy to their thoughts and we feel what they feel. We want them to achieve their goal, be it finding the perfect love, or catching the man who killed their family, or even believing in themselves. When I find a really good story and I immerse myself in it, I often put myself in the place of the protagonist. And when the story ends and the protagonist has achieved what they set out to do, I feel as if I've gone through the battle with them. And it's a great feeling and is often why a book remains on my keeper shelf.

So, when working on your story or novel, make sure you're creating characters that your readers will relate to. Round them out and make them the type of person we all want to be a little bit like. Find the characterists that will make your readers cheer them on.

This Just In

Wicked Wednesday is back with even more hot stuff. Wouldn't you just love to wake up to this ---

or this ---

or even this ---

Bet you weren't expecting that were you. But right now I'd prefer a nice warm beach to a hot body. Winter is kicking our butts this year and I'm so sick of snow I could scream. So, warm sand and surf is definitely on my mind. Of course I wouldn't kick a hot body off the beach chair next to mine, either.

How about you? Tired of winter yet?

Another Snowy Day in Nashville

Well, I made it to work. We woke up this morning to ice and snow again. This has been the worst winter I can remember. I don't think I've ever seen this much snow in a single year. It's nuts. It's cold and it's wet and it's cold. Yes, that bears repeating. I'd love to curl up with my blanket and read a good book or take a nap, but that's not in the cards for me today. Gotta work. But at least it will be a slow day and that's a good thing, because it's also Monday.

Good With His Hands
By: Michelle M. Pillow

Photographer Teresa Kelley is on assignment to shoot old ghost towns and desert scenery. What she doesn’t anticipate is that scenery including the delicious Max Draper. The sizzling desert sun isn’t the only thing heating up the abandoned mining town when the hot, muscled and oh-so-sexy mechanic offers to give her a hand. Dusty floorboards and ghost tales aside, Teresa finds herself on the other end of the lens when she and Max are caught in flagrante delicto by an unexpected…assistant.

Read More/Buy Now: http://www.jasminejade.com/pm-8087-139-good-with-his-hands.aspx

JUST RIGHT

The sexy tale of Goldie and the three werebears

When Goldie Lockwood gets lost hiking and comes upon an isolated cabin, little does she know it belongs to three hot and hunky werebear brothers. The guys aren’t thrilled to discover Goldie ate their food and slept in their beds. Not wanting to go to jail, she suggests the men punish her for her naughty misdeeds—with an arousing round of spanking.

Goldie loves getting spanked and decides that after having her bottom warmed, she needs a little sex to make the night complete. The only question is whether she’s going to sleep with one of the brothers—or all of them.


Read an Excerpt
http://www.paigetylertheauthor.com/ExcerptJustRight.html

Buy it at Ellora's Cave!
http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8035-50-just-right.aspx

What's in a Name?

Got this from urbandictionary.com. Seems to fit me pretty well. *smile*

A girl who is known for being beautiful both inside and out. Usually on the shy side, they can come off as boring. However, once a Charlotte opens up, she is charming, kind, intelligent and funny. Usually have great smiles. The girl that all the guys are secretly in love with. Said to be very good in bed. Charlottes are fun-loving and enjoy being around people. Loves to party but is very chill, most Charlottes are not wild and crazy. They have a good sense of the world around them and love their family and friends. Anybody would be lucky to have a Charlotte in their life.

What does your name say about you?

RWA National Conference Registration Opens Today

I registered this morning for RWA. I even volunteered for Registration Help on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. I'm looking forward to all the workshops and meeting all the authors I talk to online everyday. And then there's the Literacy Autographing on Wednesday evening. That should prove to be a ton of fun.

What about you? You ready for nationals?