We have some winners to announce…
First up, winner of a copy of The Man Tamer by Cindi Myers is: Cherie J
And the winner of a Devyn Quinn book from yesterday’s post is: Sara J.
Congratulations!
Winners, please e-mail using the addy in the sidebar!
What’s everyone up to this weekend? I am busy getting things prepared for my upcoming trip. I didn’t realize I’d have so much to do.
A couple of weeks ago I asked for your questions for Devyn Quinn and she has answered them…
From Cathy M.:
- What’s your favorite way to relax?
Answer: While I don’t own a television, I do own a DVD player and I love to rent movies and my favorite television shows when they come out. Waiting an entire season to see my favorite TV show like Lost or Dexter is hard, but when they come out I go and get them and spend the next few days just reveling in catching up.
- What kind of books do you read for pleasure?
Answer: I write fiction, so I don’t read a lot of it. I primarily read biographies and history and enjoy a wide variety of subjects. I just finished a biography on Diana Ross and am now reading one on the downfall of Elvis Presley. Next will be a bio of William S Paley, founder of CBS.
- What was your favorite book to write?
Answer: I have to admit that Sins of the Night was the fun one for me, as I got to cameo characters from the Eternity series. Since Morgan Saint-Evanston is so serious in his own series, I decided to let readers see another side of the character. It was a hoot to let him cut loose and pull the strings as he saw fit with Devon Carnavorn and Adrien Roth.
From Cheryl McInnis:
- What sort of materials do use for your research; websites, books, films etc… ? And do ever get any negative comments from family or friends due to the “alternative” sort of style of your books?
Answer: I use everything I can lay hands and eyes on. 
The internet is a huge help in research, though I have to take what some websites post with a grain of salt for accuracy. I also use the library a lot and depend on my stack of books on various subjects to get me through in a pinch. Otherwise I just make it up, LOL.
As for the second part of your question, yes I do get negative comments from my family. They do not appreciate that I am a writer, and they especially do not appreciate that I am a writer of gothics or erotica, LOL. For the most part they ignore my career choice and wish I’d get a “real” job.
From Dawn Moentenich:
- How do you deal with distractions like the phone, kids, significant other? Do you find it easier to write some place other than home?
Answer: Some days I pull my hair out over taking care of the demands of a home, pets and parents who have health issues (no hubby or kids, thank goodness) along with the demands of a job. Most days I try to get everything settled before I sit down to write, and that means all the errands are run, the house is cleaned and the cats and ferrets and napping for the day. Then I can write. I usually write through the afternoon and into the evenings, and I’m planted in front of the computer until it feels like my butt has been welded to the chair.
From Greta:
- For a person who has never read one of your books, which book do you recommended they start with?
Answer: I would love to know your read them all and loved them, but for a beginner I’d recommend Flesh and the Devil. It’s one of my favorites, and I’m writing the sequel now, Man After Midnight.
From Jill:
- What/when was the turning point, when you KNEW you had to tell stories (even if no one read them)?
Answer: My turning point began at age 7 when I learned to read. Once I discovered those things on a page were words that I could read and that those words would take my all over the world and beyond, I was hooked on books. I have been a devoted reader since that time. My turning point of knowing that I had stories to tell began when my favorite soap opera character was killed off. I was about 13 and loved the character desperately. I began writing fan fiction to bring him back to life. That eventually evolved into wanting to write my own stories.
- If you had to pick a hero/heroine, who would it be - and why? And no smaltzy answers allowed *lol*
Answer: I must not have enough caffeine in me, as I’m not getting the gist of this question. If you will clarify in the comments section, I will try and answer it.
- If you could do ANYTHING in the world, other than write, what would it be and why?
Answer: I’d want to be a rock star or an actor. Why? Who the heck doesn’t want to be rich and famous <G>
- What is the ONE thing in the world you hate to do? (ie. edit, clean the bathroom, buy groceries, etc.)
Answer: I hate to go to bed. There are days when I want the hours to keep on going, but I’ve run out of time and have to go to sleep. On the other hand, once I am snuggled down, I hate getting up! It’s so hard to drag myself out of bed after a night that’s stretched to dawn!
From Teresa W:
- Who is your favorite author and if you could meet them face to face for a sit down who would it be and what would you discuss?
Answer: I would give my right arm to get to sit down with Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes) and discuss his life and his writing style. The man absolutely fascinates me!
From Jolene:
- Do you have a favorite genre to write? Or a new one you would like to try?
Answer: My favorite genre is gothic, hands down. It’s a tried and true formula, but one I love dearly and wish would make a comeback on the marketplace. As for changing genres, I’m going to try what I have tagged “urban contemporaries”. Not sure why I call it that except it’s a contemporary setting with no paranormal elements.
From Amy:
- What inspired you to write your first book?
Answer: One day a character popped into my head and I could not get rid of him. Now when a manic depressive, alcoholic immortal Irish assassin with suicidal tendencies pops into your head, you’re thinking what can I possibly do with such an unappealing character? Unfortunately, Morgan Saint-Evanston insisted he had a story to tell and he wouldn’t go away. I had to write his story to shut him up, LOL.
- What was going through your head when you found out your book was going to be published?
Answer: I was delighted and cried like a baby.
- Which book is your favorite?
Answer: I have to admit that The Keeper of Eternity and The Price of Eternity are my favorites, probably because they are the first books I wrote and had published.
From Trina Pinksen:
First I would love to say thank-you for the free book Sins of the night that I won in the Kate Douglas contest.
Answer: You’re welcome
My question is, I like to write and have written a few short stories, I was just wonder what is the best way to go about making my short story into something more?
Answer: I think the first thing to ask yourself if you are willing to make the commitment of time and effort it takes to sit down and actually do the work. Writing is a lonely business and you’re going to have to spend a lot of time planted in front of the computer all by yourself, making your characters some to life as you expand their world. The time it takes to outline a plot, build a world, build personalities, etc…. is an incredible commitment for someone to make. It isn’t easy and it doesn’t always work out the way you want. Sometimes you have to write a story more than once to get it right. But if you’re willing to do the work, then you will make your short story into what you envision. Might take time, might take 100 versions, but you can do it.
From Cindi Hoppes:
- When did you become interested in reading and writing “dark gothic” literature?
Answer: I came out of the womb with dark and gothic tattooed on my forehead, LOL. I have always loved the gothic genre in films and books and my inborn interest in the occult and the paranormal naturally pushed me in that direction.
From Fedora:
- What’s on your keeper shelf? And do you finish every book you start reading? If not, why do you set a book aside?
Answer: The books I have on my keeper shelf are very few, mostly because I don’t have a lot of room for storage. For those I MUST have, are hardcover, such as Norman Mailer’s Marilyn, a beautiful if inaccurate biography of Marilyn Monroe. The photos alone are worth having the book. Another is a Phantom of the Opera playbook, detailing the history of the Phantom of the Opera, along with the playbook of the famous Webber Broadway production. Several are hardcover travelogues of Ireland and Celtic history. I absolutely must have The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler, the two Carl Kolchak books written by Jeff Rice, who created The Night Stalker series. The books are yellow with age, but I love them dearly. I also have a complete paperback collection of the old Dark Shadows paperbacks that tie in with the gothic soap opera of the early 70’s. Who doesn’t love Barnabas Collins?
As for the second part of the question, no I do not finish every book I start. I hate being bored and if a book starts to bore me, I toss it aside. If the print is too small, I toss it aside. There are too many good books to read for me to waste time on bad ones!
Thank you so much Devyn and to everyone who submitted a question.
As promised, one of the people who submitted a question will win their choice of ONE of the following books:
Sins of the Night, Sins of the Flesh, Trio or Eros Island.
That winner is: Amy
Don’t worry if you missed the giveaway or didn’t win because Devyn has kindly offered the same prize to one lucky commenter today!
So leave a comment or question today and be entered to win your choice of ONE of the following books:
Sins of the Night, Sins of the Flesh, Trio or Eros Island.
I will announce the winner tomorrow so be sure to check back!
You can learn more about Devyn and her books at her site: http://www.devynquinn.com/
Sorry this is a little late…we have been having storms here today and Internet has been spotty 
It’s time for the June Reading Goals Check-In!
See the sidebar for more details on my reading goals for 2008 and to share yours! (Yes, I know, I need to update it)
June was another month filled with great books!
Here is the break down and list of June’s reads for me:
I read 15 books bring the total for the year to 113!
I read 3 eBooks bringing that total for the year to 27!
I also read 5 new-to-me authors bringing that total for the year to 67!
Here is a list of my June reads!
A Soldier Comes Home by Cindi Myers
After the Fire by Kathryn Shay
Brazen by Maya Banks
Circle Star by Tatiana March* (ebook)
Dance with the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Dare to Love by Jaci Burton (ebook)
Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon
More than Love by Lynn LaFleur*
Night Embrace by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon
No Regrets by Michele Ann Young*
Nothing Personal by Elisa Adams
Reckless by Maya Banks (ebook)
Tapestry by Lynn Kurland*, Madeline Hunter, Karen Marie Moning*, and Sherrilyn Kenyon
The Man Tamer by Cindi Myers
*New-to-me author
Like I do each month, I want to share one of my reads with you!
This month I read a couple of great books by Cindi Myers. And one lucky winner will win a copy of one of them…it is The Man Tamer by Cindi Myers! I bought an extra copy back when this book was in stores.
To enter to win, just comment below with “I’d love to read The Man Tamer” or something like that so I know you are interested in winning!
I will randomly draw a winner from those interested and announce it on the blog on Saturday, July 12 !
Please remember to read the contest rules (can be found in sidebar) before entering and remember that it is up to you to return to see if you are a winner!
So how is your reading going for the year?
Read anything you’d like to recommend?
So what is everyone reading this week?
I am still working my way through Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter books…and trying to get ready for San Francisco…yep, I recently found out that I’ll be able to go the RWA convention in San Francisco (I’ll have a special announcement regarding this later this month so keep an eye out).
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Also, one of the Kate Douglas winners already had the books and asked that I draw another winner so that someone else could enjoy these lovely books…so…the new winner from the Kate Douglas post is:
fedora
Fedora, please e-mail me with your addy and your choice of either Wolf Tales V or Sexy Beast IV.
Also, I am still waiting to hear from one of the original winners, so please check to see if it is you.
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Blog readers, check back tomorrow for June’s Reading Goals Check-in and giveaway…and then check back Friday when Devyn Quinn is a guest (and yes, another giveaway 
)
Yesterday, I posted my interview with Mary Connealy and today she is here to guest blog…
I’m the mother of four daughters, no sons. My husband is from a family of seven sons, no daughters. In Petticoat Ranch I felt like I was really writing what I knew. I can bring a lot of authenticity to a novel about a woman with four daughters and a man who’s never been around women.
So it’s time for the sequel, Calico Canyon. What could I do but tell the flip side of the story? Grace Calhoun is a prissy schoolmarm who’s never been around men. She’s forced into a marriage with Daniel Reeves, the father of five sons…her most unruly students. They’re monstrous brats.
Or maybe they’re just boys.
Grace has no idea what boys are supposed to act like, but surely it’s not like these rude, hyperactive, messy little sons she just acquired.
Calico Canyon is written in the same style as Petticoat Ranch but Calico Canyon, though it has suspense elements, is more of a flat out comedy. Those five boys just lent themselves to comedy.
The whole book was tricky because I have no sons. I’ve had exposure to lots of little boys, brothers, classmates, cousins, neighbors, students, nephews. But can I bring honesty to the story?
To bring the authenticity I needed to it I listened a lot to my mother-in-law, Marybelle, the mother of seven sons.
She’s got this great love for her sons but she’s very clear-eyed in her understanding of the behavior of little boys. And Marybelle tells great stories.
I love the story of the time, in response to some article she read, in an effort to make her little sons more sensitive she bought them each a doll. I guess in modern language you might say she was trying to help them get in touch with their feminine side. One of the boys ran the doll around on the floor on its belly making vroom-ing noises. One “rounded up” the doll, found it guilty of heaven knows what and hung it.
You can’t believe the list of stitches and resulting from from fights and dare devil behavior and general mayhem. One son was hanging by his fingertips from the eaves of her house, one went head first through a window, one backed over the other with a tractor, one swung a hoe back to whack a week and smashing the hoe into his brother’s head. The boys all lived but there are lots of stitches and blood in Marybelle’s stories.
She says she can laugh now, but at the time it wasn’t a bit funny. Like the time one started walking home from the movies. The movie wasn’t close to over. It’s a ten mile walk home. He had to walk across a highway. Marybelle was waiting for him and his four big brothers in the coffee shop next door to the movie. He was four.
She thinks boys are different than girls. It’s hard to convince her it’s all nurture and not nature. But really how hard did she try except for the dolls, huh?
I dedicated Calico Canyon to Marybelle Connealy, my mother-in-law and one of my very favorite people on the planet.
So what do you think? Are boys different than girls? How? How much is nature or nurture?
If you have boys and need advice, go ahead and ask. I can’t help you, but I can check with my mother-in-law and get back to you. If you’ve got girl problems, bring it on. I am a master.
Thanks, Mary!
Readers, you can learn more about Mary and her books at her website: www.maryconnealy.com
And check back later this month when I post my review of Calico Canyon!
In the meantime, how about answering Mary’s questions?
Please welcome, author Mary Connealy back to the blog! Mary has a wonderful new release called Calico Canyon out this month.
Welcome. Please tell us a little about your book.
Calico Canyon – Lassoed in Texas Book #2 is a suspenseful, inspirational, historical western, romantic comedy.
I took prissy, Miss Calhoun, the school marm from Petticoat Ranch, and shoved her, completely against her will, into an all-male world.
The thing with trying to do this is to focus on their complete fish-out-of-water story, make it as extreme as possible and still have the hero be heroic, the heroine be delightful and loveable. Not that easy when she doesn’t understand anything about his wild, ill-mannered boys, less about him and nothing about marriage.
The foundational trouble between Daniel and Grace isn’t the fact that they loathe each other—although that’s huge.
It’s the fact that Daniel completely blames himself for his first wife’s death in childbirth, plus how brutally hard it was for him to survive with newborn triplets. She had a hard time with the twins birth and Daniel swore there’d be no more babies. But he was weak and his wife wanted to be ‘close’ to him. And then he lost her. He is so deeply traumatized by it that he won’t risk having another woman carry his child. But once he calms down and quits thinking like a coyote who might well gnaw his foot off to escape from this marriage trap, he discovers a powerful attraction for his new wife.
So there’s a war inside Daniel and, torn between desire and terror, he handles it like any good romance hero…as badly as possible.
Parrish is the villain in Calico Canyon, Grace’s adoptive father. She’s hostile to men because of her upbringing with an abusive father. Parrish lived well off the salaries of the young girls he forced to work in a carpet mill.
So Grace has a very dim view of men and she expects only bad things from her new life surrounded by six of them. It takes a lot to convince her she hasn’t fallen into a rat hole and ended up married to the King of Rats.
If you’d like to read the first chapter of Calico Canyon you can find it here.
What inspired the story?
In Petticoat Ranch—Lassoed in Texas Book #1 I talked about a man who’d never been around women, dropped into an all-girl world, so I decided to do the flip side of that story in Calico Canyon
Calico Canyon is a sequel to Petticoat Ranch, but are they stand-alone books?
I’ve been told they stand alone well but readers who have read both said they loved seeing the McClellen girls from Petticoat Ranch again. So, you’ll probably enjoy Calico Canyon even more if you’ve read Petticoat Ranch
What is your favorite scene of the book?
I suppose the wedding scene is my favorite. The wedding scene is complete chaos with nine characters, all talking over the top of each other. No one is keeping track of EVERYTHING the others are saying. So when one of Grace’s soon-to-be sons asks her if she wants to leave as bad as he wants her to leave and the parson says, “Do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband.”….well, when Grace says, “I do.” The parson thinks she’s talking to him. He’s halfway back to town before Daniel breaks the news to her that she just married him.
I can think of ten more scenes I love, another favorite is at the end when Grace and her adoptive father have it out in a way that makes her five sons proud…and teaches them to fear her at the same time.
How has real life (if at all) influenced your writing?
Petticoat Ranch is my husband, a man from a family of seven sons, no daughters. We now have four daughters. Watching him interact with the girls is pretty funny. A lot of humor of that book was inspired by him.
Calico Canyon is my husband’s family. His mom is the best story teller in the world, especially little boy stories.
Book three, Gingham Mountain, coming in February ’09 is my family. I’ve from a family of eight children, boys and girls both and that’s why we’ve got in Gingham Mountain. So stand by for my humor, action and chaos.
Is there anything you’d like to write, but haven’t?
I wrote for ten years before I got my first book published. When I got my first contract I had twenty finished novels on my computer. And they’re in all genres. I love to write. It’s what I do for entertainment. I figured that as long as no one was going to publish me anyway, I might as well write whatever interested me. I’m doing long, historical romantic comedies now for Barbour, I’m contracted for eleven of them. So for now, I’m writing in that style and I love it. Barbour has two other fiction lines, Heartsong Presents and Heartsong Presents Mysteries and I’m writing books for those lines too, so Barbour is being great about letting me try other things.
What is next for you?
Alaska Brides comes in August, it contains my novel Golden Days.
A three book series, short contemporary, for Heartsong Presents releases to their book club in October, November, and December. Then Gingham Mountain is coming in February. The cozy mysteries release as an anthology in June ’09 called Nosy in Nebraska. Those books are a lot of fun. To find out more about these books check out my website. I’ve got a short description of each of them. http://www.maryconnealy.com/books.htm
Is there anything you’d like to ask my blog readers?
Have you noticed that all the sudden the western romance is making a comeback? Just in the last few years they’re really hot again. Do you read historical romance? Are they westerns or regencies or do you read contemporary. I’d like to hear what genre you love.
For me it’s about action and comedy in any genre. If they’re sassing each other and falling in love while running for their lives, then I’m happy.
I read widely and those elements can come in any genre.
I just finished Cyndy Rutledge’s One Night Stand. I loved it, Cyndy.
I’ve got a sister-in-law who reads historicals only, she makes exceptions but that’s what she loves. She wants escape from a stressful job and she finds it in a different time. So my question to your readers is, ‘What are you looking for in a book?”
Thanks, Mary.
Readers, check back tomorrow when Mary guest blogs.
Until then go ahead and answer her questions…
Here is a review for a book I read a while back…
Out of the Ordinary by Susan Morgan
Aislinn O’Connell’s ordinary life changes forever when she is taken hostage during a brutal attack by a well-armed group of rebels bent on revolution. Caught with her, undercover government agent John Starke must use every skill at his command to help them both survive the terrible dangers lurking at every turn.
Held as prisoners of the fleeing rebels, Aislinn and John are taken to an isolated stronghold and must struggle to survive a brutal, unforgiving camp at the mercy of the bloodthirsty rebels. Without help or hope of rescue, the pair is all that stand between a leader bent on revolution and his ultimate plan of destruction and devastation.
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Aislinn O’Connell and John Starke are among the many hostages taken at a shopping mall by rebels fighting for their Cause. When law enforcement storms the mall, the surviving rebels escape taking Aislinn and John along with them. Taken to the group’s hideout, Aislinn and John are brought closer by their long imprisonment as both fight for survival. Together they must find a way to bring down their captors in order to save themselves and the rest of the country from the rebels’ horrific plans.
Out of the Ordinary is a fascinating story with a complex plot and intriguing characters. The action of the story grabs the reader from the first page leaving you anticipating what will happen next. The harshness and cruelty of the captors has realism to it that comes across very well and which added to the story. Aislinn and John were an interesting couple and their strength during this difficult time was admirable. I enjoyed watching the characters grow as individuals and together as they survived and dealt with all life threw at them. Out of the Ordinary is definitely an entertaining read with an unexpected conclusion.
You can learn more about this book and author here: http://www.susanmorganonline.com/
