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 This is a wonderful group of women, both published and unpublished, who don't mind sharing what they know and love.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?

It's cold and white today in Music City. The snow fell all day yesterday and all night last night. There were over 100 accidents in Nashville alone because Southerners have no idea what to do when something like this happens.

I left work at 4 yesterday and nearly saw someone slide into the ditch along the interstate before I made it home. I slowed down to less than the crawl I was already doing so he could straighten himself out and then made my way home. And promised myself never to do that again.


Unlike the other idiots on the road, I know my limits and I'll be staying home where it's safe, thank you very much!

But I have to admit. It's so beautiful when untouched my man nor beast.

How about you? Do you drive in the ice and snow or do you prefer to stay home where it's warm and dry?

YAY!

I finally finished a basic plot for my WIP! I'm so excited I can't stand it! I'm doing a happy dance right now. Too bad you can't see it! I do a mean happy dance.

I've never gotten this far before. I seem to always get stuck around chapter 3 or 4. But finally there's light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, now I have to sit down and actually write it, and some of the plot points might change once I get started. But for the most part I'm halfway there!

Doesn't it feel great to get past a hurdle you've been struggling with?

Sleep Writing

You know that state just before you fall asleep? That's where I get my best ideas and where my plots seem to work themselves out. Last night I got an idea for the next step my heroine needs to take before she "gets caught". Only I didn't get up to write it down and this morning it's not as clear as it was.

Since I'm right handed, I guess I'll to have to move to the right side of the bed so I can write while I'm sleeping.

Do you sleep write?

What's Next?

The weekend is gone and another week has popped up in its place. I keep wondering if I'm ever gonna finish this book. I can never seem to get past the first few scenes or chapters. I'm stuck at a point where I can't seem to figure out where the heroine should go next. And I've seen this type of plot plenty of times before so I know what needs to happen, I just can't figure out what this particular story should have happen. It's very frustrating and it's driving me nuts.

What do you do in these situations?

Dream Escape

OMG! It was perfect. The story was great, the scenes flowed flawlessly, the characters and their arc were fully formed. But the moment my eyes opened the entire thing disappeared into smoke and I was left with nothing but the vague impression that I had missed something extremely important I may never get back. How sad!

This ever happened to you?

New Look

In case you didn't notice for some reason, I've given the blog a new look. It took me two days and I'm still tweaking here and there, but it's more or less done. Doesn't it look awesome?!?

While I was at it I also created a whole new website for myself. Check it out by following the links in the bar at the top.

Now, I'm off for food and relaxation. Later, ya'll.

Wicked Wednesday

I declare today "Wicked Wednesday" just so I can post this pic. This is William Shockley who played Hank on "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman". I've been watching reruns of the series and though Hank has his moments he can be a good guy, too. But, mmmm...he's definitely wicked. Wickedly Yummy, that is. Happy Wednesday, everyone!

BRUSH STROKES by Jax Cassidy
Release date: January 10, 2010
Publisher: Amber Heat
ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-627-7 (Electronic)
*Heat warning: erotic, explicit sex scenes, language

For Sage, attending the Parisian sex club, Plaisirs Sombres, was the ultimate fantasy. So when the conservative gallery assistant is cloaked behind the velvet mask, she never expected to be the object of the club owner's desire. Spurred on by D.S. Gregoire's erotic and sensual brush strokes of the exclusive club, she gives into a brief liaison that leaves her breathless and wanting.

For Damien, known to the art world as D.S. Gregoire, his art has always been an adrenaline rush. But when an exotic and mysteriously uninhibited 'sex club virgin' enters his establishment, he is willing to break his club rules for another taste of the dark pleasures she brings him.


Author Bio:
Jax Cassidy followed her dreams to Paris, then Hollywood to pursue a film career but managed to fall in love with penning sexy romances and happy endings—finding Mr. Right was just an added bonus. She writes contemporary, paranormal, and multi-ethnic romances and is Co-Founder of Romance Divas, and award winning writer’s website and discussion forum. Jax is also known as one-half of the retired writing team of Cassidy Kent.

For more information on Jax, please visit her online at www.jaxcassidy.com or www.jaxadora.blogspot.com

OK

Apparently Mother Nature read my post yesterday and decided to put in her two cents worth. We got just enough snow to go all slushy and turn to ice. All the main roads are salted and easy to get over but the residential streets are sheets of ice. We have drivers who can't drive under normal conditions and now they're going to be driving on ice? I should've stayed home in my nice warm bed. Oy Vay!

Ah! The humor of it all!

For the past couple of days the weather service has been predicting a 90% chance of 1-4 inches of snow for our area. There were runs on the grocery stores so people could stock up on Milk, Bread & Eggs. They filled their propane tanks and made sure their generators were working properly. This is the south and no one knows how to drive when it snows (well, they can't drive under normal conditions either, but that's another story), so they take every precaution they can in case they can't get out of their homes for a couple of days.

The school's closed due to the threat of incliment weather and kids were doing the happy dance all evening while parents were fretting over how to keep them warm when they went out to play in all the beautiful wet white stuff we'd have come morning.

This morning, we wake up to...NOTHING! Not a single flake could be seen from my window while I was preparing for work. Not a single flake fell while I drove to work. And not a single flake has fallen since I've been sitting here at my desk.

Don't you just love God's sense of humor?!?! Personally I think it's funny that he looks down on us and says, "Hmmm...wonder if I can make them run to the store for items they can't use if the power goes out? How about snow in the south? That should do it!"

Have a great "No Snow" day, everyone!!