Just Kiss Already Blogfest

I found this Just Kiss Already Blogfest , literally, a few minutes ago and decided to join in. Sounds like fun! And I loves me a good kiss. So, here's my entry. This is from my soon-to-be-on-submission fantasy novel, The Dragon Queen.


A little background: Jade, a self-professed dragon lover, has just become betrothed to the dragonslayer, Drake. She's afraid of him, doesn't like him, and yet cannot escape her marriage. This scene takes place just a few hours after the marriage contract has been signed.

I didn’t understand the way he acted around me, or the way I reacted to him. I looked up into his warm, honeyed eyes. The resulting flash of heat trembled through me, turning my insides to liquid. And, quite suddenly, the fear diminished into nothing more than wariness. That was better. I could live with wariness.

“Jade.” His voice was a husky murmur.

I knew what he wanted, and I waited. Waited for the fear to return. But there was nothing. Just the twinge of anticipation. The mumbled warning to be cautious.

He pressed closer to me. Our bodies brushed and, even through the material of my dress, I felt seared. With the gentlest touch, he tipped my head back.

“Jade.” My name sounded like a prayer and a curse all at once, tumbling from his lips. His head lowered and I could feel his breath on my mouth.

“Drake,” I sighed. And desire swept me away. The moment his lips touched mine, I was lost, drunk, delirious. My lips softened beneath his, parted. His tongue swept in to taste my mouth. It was just the lightest caress, but it turned my bones to water. And I clung to him, allowing him his sinful dance, wanting to join in but unsure of the tempo of the music.

“Jade,” he whispered against my lips. “Beautiful, beautiful Jade.”

I think I might have kissed him back then if I’d had the chance, but we were torn apart by a condescending titter. 

Love is a Rifle

I'm trying to embrace the quirkiness that is my life. Usually, I try to bury my redneck roots under a mountain of books and education and refinement. I enjoy red wine and dark chocolate and intellectual discussions. I also enjoy a cold beer, crass jokes, and walking around barefoot.

I am also a burgeoning romance writer. I've choked on this for a long time. I didn't WANT to be a romance writer. Sure, I like to read romance, but I thought it wasn't "serious" or "literary" enough to be worth the effort. It's "fluff" and I didn't want to write "fluff."

Yet I couldn't stop myself.

The same thing goes for my redneck roots. I try to ignore them as best as I can, but they still break the soil and trip me up. It doesn't help that I married a redneck either who NEVER LETS ME FORGET where I came from.

So, what does this blend of redneck heritage and romance writing have to do with a rifle? Just that when it comes to real love, you can't make this stuff up . . .and it's pretty dang hard to write a romance that rings true.

My darling husband and I had agreed that this V-day was going to be low-key because we're still playing catch-up from all of our wedding expenses. Except yesterday he comes home with a card, two chocolate bars, and a rifle.

Yes, a rifle.

Nothing says "I love you" better, does it?

Nope, mine doesn't look like this. I wish.

Hubby: Look what I got you, darling! Isn't it just beautiful? And you can kill almost EVERYTHING with it. Even an elk! We should go elk hunting. [He strokes the stock like it's a kitten.]

Me: Oh . . .thanks, hun. That was . . .so sweet and thoughtful of you. I've always wanted to kill an elk. [Mutters] Just never realized it until now, I guess. [Takes the gun] Wow, it's . . .heavy. [mutters] And is probably going to knock me on my arse the first time I shoot it. Fun!

The refined, educated, snobby part of me wants to bury the entire gift and the conversation that came with it under a rock and pretend that, instead, he brought me a dozen of roses. Instead, I decided to embrace the gift (and the warped sense of romance that brought it to me) and repay the favor.

So I'm bringing home a bottle of cabernet sauvignon and a dozen roses for my husband. I'm sure he'll love them.

Try writing a romance more realistic than that!

Book Review: Some Girls Are

Once I find an author who rocks my socks off, I tend to pick up all their books and devour them like a pint of Cherry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream. That's what led me to Courtney Summers' Some Girls Are. I read Cracked Up To Be and LOVED it. It was powerful, it was unique, it was so utterly YA and yet completely NOT what most YA delivers (a cheesy romance that would never last IRL). Summers' stories are about girls trying to find themselves in the midst of inner and outward turmoil. Discovering the best and worst facets of their personality and, ultimately, growing up.

But there are still boys. Of course there are boys. What teenage girl can live without a boy, right? But Summers' romance is like the chocolate drizzle on a sumptuous sundae (okay, I want ice cream now). It's not all about the lusty moans and starry eyes (if at all). Summers' romance is--OMG--REALISTIC.

Realistic romance! What a concept!

According to the book's blurb:

Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder.  Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around.  Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge.  If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day.  She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully.  Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.

Since I'm a character junkie, this book was totally right for me. Regina is so REAL. I started off not liking her, not feeling sorry for her, but just sort of pitying her. But one thing Summers does well is flesh out her characters. No one (not even the antagonists) are shallow, superficial or one-dimensional. No one is wholly evil or wholly good. It's like--say it with me--REAL LIFE.

The one thing that kept me from giving this book five stars was the ending. It almost seemed too easy. But I've spent a lot of time thinking about it and now I'm not sure if it was as easy as I thought or if it, too, was just realistic. After all, some things (even feuds) just sort of lose steam after a while, right? But, bloodthirsty wench that I am, I wanted a few more cat-fights before things settled. Sigh.

Rating (out of five stars): 4.5
Recommended: Yes. Please, please, please read this if, like me, you're sick of emo vamps, brawny werewolves, sexy faeries and CONTRIVED LOVE TRIANGLES. Here's a dose of real life for you.

I Live in the South for a Reason . . .

. . . And it's not for the snow.

Normally, I like snow. I think it's beautiful. Pure. It reminds me of fairy tales, princesses locked in ice castles and little fairies dancing on snowflakes. But then I grew up and, well, when you work in the news field, your work doesn't halt just because a foot of snow decided to drop on your doorstep. Bleh.

But what's really ticking me off is that I've been busy planning a fundraiser for a sick coworker and the snow keeps messing with my plans. I had to reschedule it because there was no way I was driving to work in the dark on ice-covered roads in order to get everything set up for our breakfast benefit. So, it's supposed to be this Thursday. So what's on the way? You guessed it! More snow!

Sigh.

But there is good news! Because of the snow, now I don't have to go to Missouri for my cousin's wedding this weekend. Hehe. Now, before you go wagging your fingers at me, let me say that I could not only NOT afford to go (but was going to anyway) but I'm not fond of this cousin and was only going because I love my aunt and uncle (who came to my wedding, just them, not the cousin). That's it.

So today I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with snow. Loving it, because it got me out of going to Missouri and hating it because it's messing with my fundraising plans. Grr.

Anyways, I apologize for being scarce hereabouts. It's like every time I get on here my brain turns to mush and I just start drooling all over the keyboard. This blog, really, has presented its own case of writer's block. Meh.

I guess I could tell you what I'm doing tonight. I'm baking cookies. Chocolate chip cookies and no-bake cookies! Yummy! They're for tomorrow's bake sale for said sick employee. All I have to do is not eat them all. Hmm, I think I need to buy some gum to keep my mouth occupied.

As for my writing . . . you know how it goes. Life gets in the way sometimes. But I've been smoothing over Dragon Queen's rough edges, so it should be ready for querying soon. Gulp. Now I just have to grow a pair before I send then. Lol.

Book Review: The Devil Wears Plaid

I'll admit, only my love for Teresa Medeiros stories enabled me to pick up this book. The title, The Devil Wears Plaid, makes me cringe. It's cheesy and unoriginal and, really, Medeiros could do so much better.

But, I'm a diehard fan, so I tried to ignore it the best I could and get into the story.

According to the book's blurb:

Emmaline Marlowe is about to wed the extremely powerful laird of the Hepburn clan to save her father from debtor’s prison when ruffian Jamie Sinclair bursts into the abbey on a magnificent black horse and abducts her in one strong swoop. Though he is Hepburn’s sworn enemy, Emma’s mysterious captor is everything her bridegroom is not—handsome, virile, dangerous . . . and a perilous temptation for her yearning heart. Jamie expects Emma to be some milksop English miss, not a fiery, defiant beauty whose irresistible charms will tempt him at every turn. But he cannot allow either one of them to forget he is her enemy and she his pawn in the deadly Highland feud between the clans. So why does he still want her so badly for himself? Stealing his enemy’s bride was simple, but can he claim her innocence without losing his heart?

Okay, the blurb made me cringe a little, too. And the first chapter made me cringe again. (Not a very promising start.) The first part was pretty good and a bit funny, but as soon as the male love interest entered, I ended up rolling my eyes every other sentence. Yes, it's a romance, but would a girl who thinks she's about to be killed, kidnapped, raped, maimed etc? really notice her potential kidnapper's brawny forearms to such detail? It made the whole scene (which would have been a good one) feel forced and the attraction more than contrived. It started to feel as if someone was beating me over the head and screaming, "This is romance novel! Get it? Get it?"

But I had faith in Ms. Medeiros, so I kept reading.

The story got better, if a bit predictable (but, let's face it, I don't go into historical romance without EXPECTING the predictable). As more of Jamie's (totally coincidence that I'm reading two books set in the Scotland of old with male MCs by the name of Jamie, I swear) motives are revealed, the story picks up speed and a little more depth and soon I became just another reader along for the ride.

The ending, and Emma, pleasantly surprised me and left me with the happy afterglow (um, yeah) of a good romance novel. It's an enjoyable fluff read, and definitely not one of Medeiros' best. Still, it gave me what it promised.

Rating (out of five stars): 3
Recommended read? For those looking for a story with entertainment value, but not necessarily one that delivers anything exceptional or thought-provoking.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

I'm pretty sure all my passion/enthusiasm for writing got sucked up by my fitness routine. My writing has flagged. My stories garner only my passing interest, but start talking to me about diet and exercise and OMG I could gab for HOURS.

Now, before you accuse me of buying into the New Year's Resolution Hype, I've been pretty health-conscious for  the past few months (pre-wedding, even). It drives my darling husband a bit crazy (he cannot, for the life of him, understand why I want to try to kill myself with P90X every night...and he's a Marine). But, thinking on it, I guess I've always been shy when it comes to talking about what I'm working on writing-wise. I have my moments when I've gotten super excited and can't SHUT UP but most of the time I'm pretty reserved. I'm still that little girl on the outskirts of the playground hoping someone notices me and wants to play, but too afraid to go ask someone myself.

Yeah, I know it's silly.

Also, I have several short stories out on submission and I'm afraid to blab about them because I don't know if I'd be breaking some obscure (or not so obscure) publishing rule. So, I'm zipping it.

But I guess I could tell you what stories I have out...maybe? Mmkay. Well, I have a zombie story on submission (craps, forgot to check on that one's status!), a sci-fi story out on submission and whole pile of rejections.

But the funny thing about those rejections? They don't sting so much for short stories. Not sure why. Maybe because they are more like my stepchildren. Sure, I care for them, coddle them, guide them through their teenage angst, but I'm more than willing to boot them out of the house when they come of age. My novels, however, are my babies. It breaks my heart to think of someone NOT loving them (as they obviously did NOT love FURY (another story for another time)). So, I'll admit I'm a bit timid  and not sure if I'm altogether ready for another novel submission. And I have realized that, if anything, you NEED to be SURE that your baby (novel) is ready to fly.

I need to distance myself from them a bit before I can throw them from the nest, I guess.

So I apologize if I'm coming across as lets than enthusiastic about writing. I'm still enthusiastic, I'm just being a bit more secretive about it.

That Song in My Head

Have you seen Disney's Princess and the Frog? If not, you should. It's not only super cute with excellent animation, but has an awesome storyline with the some of the more complex characters I've seen from Disney.

And now I introduce you to the song that's been stuck in my head this morning:





Dig a little deeper!