Come to the forums to find out more! Forum registration is free, but required to participate.

Please be aware that the chatroom is addressed and that we are working as quickly as possible so our members will have full access again. There will be moments of outages while we update the database.

Please stay tuned for further updates and details.

I’ve opened a ticket with our hosting provider, Invision Power (the same guys that developed the forum software). I’ll keep updating folks on Twitter with the #RomanceDivas hash-tag. You don’t need to have a Twitter account to keep updated, but it’s a good way to chat with others while we wait for the site to get fixed.

Hopefully they get it back up and running soon. Not the first time it’s crashed during NGTCC, so we may just have more traffic on the forums than usual.

- LINNEA SINCLAIR – Going Deep – Writing Deep POV
- JOEY W. HILL – From epublishing to New York Publishing

I know what I’ll be doing all day. How about you?

Interior Monologue: The Enemy of Romance?
by Donald Maass

Do you skim some romance novels? You are not alone. Do you want readers to skim through yours? Well, duh. Who would?

How, then, do you ensure that readers will devour every word of your novels? The answer is a technique called “micro-tension”. This type of tension is not plot problems, or scene goals, but rather the constant, line-by-line tension that causes readers to worry what will happen in the next few seconds.

Micro-tension can be created in a thousand ways, big and small, but its application to interior monologue is especially important in romance fiction. Romance novels portray the inner life of their characters in rich detail. Intimacy is what romance readers crave and romance novels deliver…

…except of course when we are skimming. A frequent source of the problem is interior monologue that “churns”, meaning that it merely repeats thoughts and feelings that are already obvious to the reader.

Effective interior monologue adds fresh worries, new questions and previously unseen dimensions to the issues at hand. It is not inner turmoil. Inner turmoil makes characters weak and is tiresome to read. Unfolding new dimensions to problems, however, makes characters look smart. That kind of interior monologue is exciting to read. That stuff you don’t skim.

Look at it this way: In a passage of interior monologue are you merely going over what your heroine already feels? If so, then readers are likely to skim. Are you on the other hand adding apprehension, questions and inner conflicts that are new? Ah, now we want to read every word.

The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose and Techniques to Make Your Novel Great
by Donald Maass

Description: In his new book, New York literary agent Donald Maass illuminates the techniques of master contemporary novelists. Some authors write powerhouse novels every time. What are they doing differently on the page? Maass not only explains, he shows you how you can right away use the techniques of greatness in your current manuscript.

Author bio: A literary agent in New York , Donald Maass’s agency sells more than 150 novels every year to major publishers in the U.S. and overseas. He is the author of The Career Novelist (1996), Writing the Breakout Novel (2001), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (2004) and The Fire in Fiction (2009). He is a past president of the Association of Authors’ Representatives, Inc.

The Fire in Fiction from the publisher.
The Fire in Fiction from bn.com
The Fire in Fiction on amazon.com

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Workshops from some of the hottest talent in writing will make you glad you stayed home!
Marley Gibson
Joey W. Hill
Steve Hockingsmith
Carrie Jones
Shayla Kersten
Josh Lanyon
Rowan Mcbride
Jet Mykles
Patti O’Shea
Ona Russel
Linnea Sinclair
Sasha White

Don’t miss it!

I don’t always get the opportunity to come out from behind the publishing curtain. While it’s nice and safe, I like to make the time to show both readers and authors that the "Wizard" is only human. (Thank God not short and green.)  There are vicious rumors going around that I carry a whip and pounce on unsuspecting authors and I hope by a series of blogs here at Romance Divas I can put that crazed, whip cracking Wizard phenom to rest.  If you’ll allow, sometimes I’ll post writing tidbits or do’s and don’ts, but like Shrek I’ve got a few layers and I’d like to show them. (I promise to keep my clothes on though!)

Today’s topic…Personal Pet-Peeves

Another day, another blog post, I’ll talk about writing pet-peeves but today, you get a bit of what ticks Tina off.  When you’re done reading through, let me know if what makes me insane makes you crazy too!  What are some other things that you just can’t stand?  I’ve got a free ebook download from the Liquid Silver library for someone, but you have to post to enter!

1. Road Rage…specifically road rage courtesy of Mr. Burns. Sure, I understand that every other driver on the road is a complete idiot. Yes, I get that the city engineers should go back to school because they can’t plan for the city expanding. HOWEVER, you can not complain to me about how vile traffic is when you only have 15 to 20 minutes of rush hour traffic. You see, I have 45 min to an HOUR of rush hour traffic. I trump you.

2. Grocery shoppers…Why is it that perfectly intelligent people suddenly can’t count to save their life at the grocery store? You have a cart FULL of groceries, yet you insist on unloading in a lane that says both "EXPRESS" and "15 items or less". The sign tells you twice you don’t belong there. In addition to you missing the "signs" you don’t get that the grimace the cashier gives you isn’t because she has a sudden case of stomach pains, it’s because you’ve developed what I like to call grocery-itus. Perfectly normal consumers suddenly can’t count, or leave cold meat in the toilet paper isle. Forget that there’s a little red number ticket stanchion in the deli, a person with grocery-itus can just barge in waiving their "I’m next" fist that hides a non-existent number. My favorite thing since sliced bread? Online grocery shopping that delivers to my door. Heck yeah.

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3. One-Uppers…I can not stand people who have a story for every story I tell. True story…

OU: "Hey Tina, what did you do this weekend?"

Me: "Not much. Hung with the boys, relaxed. Went to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner. And yo…?"

OU: interrupting "Ruby Tuesdays, oh my God, this one time we were back home for the holidays. My sister, you know the one I told you has a boyfriend who works for the train station, she wanted to go to Ruby Tuesdays…"

15 Minutes later OU is still talking and I’m fake laughing.

OU: "Anyway, glad you had a good weekend."

Now, to the casual observer of this conversation you might be thinking, "That’s not One-Upping?!" True, one instance of relating a story to something I said isn’t One-Upping. Now take this scenario and multiply it times 100…in one day. *head meet desk* I finally couldn’t stand it anymore and told OU that he has a story for every story, he denied it.

Until today. Score 1 for Tina.

4. Hacking Lugies…My day job is with 12 men. 12 salesmen, ranging in ages from 25 to 39. Men are disgusting. I could spend days telling you about the Frat house/Day Care environment I work in, but the biggest, most disgusting thing those guys do all the time is snort their snot up into their brains, back down to their throats, roll it around as if they were tasting wine, and then swallow. ‘Nuff said.

What about you? Let me have it, what bugs you?

Tina

Tina Burns, Publisher for Liquid Silver Books, has been in the ePublishing industry for five years plus and an avid reader for as long as she can remember. Her experiences have taken her from proofreader, editor, Author, and Author PR to where she is today. She lives in Arizona where she’s a busy mother of two rowdy boys and happily married to her opposite. Her inbox is always open – tina@liquidsilverbooks.com

They’re up!

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Compromising Positions

Falling in love is the last thing on his busy agenda…but compromising positions can lead just about anywhere.

David Strong knows how to do a lot of things—run an international fitness company, finesse stock portfolios and stay out of emotional entanglements. That is, until he gets tangled up with Sophie Delfino and her Sensational Sex workout. He’s supposed to help her demonstrate Kama Sutra positions for her couples’ yoga class. The rigorous postures require more than just physical control. And his co-instructor unexpectedly tests his control to the limit.

Sophie’s been fantasizing about David since her teens, but she never dreamed she’d actually be expected to run through her intimate desires—with an audience! The class is very professional, tame even—or it would be, if she’d been in any of the positions before. But she hasn’t—except in her wildest fantasies about David. Sophie knows she wants David in every way, and she’s flexible enough to use whatever she has to get him.

David can’t afford any unexpected distractions. Besides the sensual positions he has to endure without embarrassing himself in public, there’s an embezzler stealing from his company. And then there’s Sophie—who is well on her way to stealing his well-guarded heart.

Warning: This is one exercise program you won’t need to consult your doctor before beginning…unless he’s hot and available for house calls. The Kama Sutra isn’t for the prudish or faint of heart, and neither is this story.

Read An Excerpt Online
~~

“Soul Stealer” by Kimberley Troutte

Buy from MBaM!

Read An Excerpt Online

Genre: Paranormal Romance

ISBN: 978-1-60504-473-6

Length: Novella

Price: 3.50

Publication Date: March 17, 2009

Cover art by Angie Waters

When Death falls in love with a saint, there’s holy hell to pay.

Sara Lane expects to die young, but when the time comes, she’s not ready. She needs two more weeks to finish a homeless shelter before winter sets in and people die on the streets. Who does a girl have to sleep with to live a few extra days?

How about the sexiest, most dangerous of all bad boys—Death himself?

Cain’s job as a designated death dealer is clear. Kill and move on. Don’t get attached. Don’t feel. But when Sara pleads to cut a deal for more time, Cain is tempted by an unexpected craving for this beautiful, courageous woman. As their lips meet, her life force shakes him to his bones, seals the bargain—and breaks all the rules.

Keeping Sara alive is a dangerous proposition. The Powers That Be are furious and unleash bloodthirsty demons to steal Sara’s soul from Death—the one man who’s hell-bent on saving her life.

Warning: This book contains the sexiest of all bad boys, a woman desperate to get what she wants, deadly soul-sucking demons, surprise visits by Biblical characters, frog grenades, very bad dogs, sacrifice, redemption and eternal love.

Read An Excerpt Online

~~

Consort by Kim Knox

November Eve. The Hunt Ball. And to prove her right to rule, Tate must capture a mate. It should’ve been simple. Snag a vampire barely turned and have him kneel and swear devotion to her. But Fate has other plans…and one of them involves the powerful son of the ruling Queen.

Jager, a vampire she’s hungered after for years, allows himself to become her prey. But with his promise of sinful, wicked pleasure comes a catch. Jager only wants her as his slave. Nothing more.

Tate has no plans to bow down to him…until Jager shares a shocking truth with her. Suddenly Fate is playing hardball.

There’s a naughty excerpt here and you can buy it here
~~

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Perfect Formation
KB Alan

Friends for much longer than they’ve been lovers, Taryn and Richard enjoy each other’s company while looking for “Mr. Right”. When they meet Caleb the attraction is instant and mutual–for all three.

Caleb wines and dines them then shows them how good it can be if they trust him to lead the way. One night is all it takes to prove that the three of them are a perfect match, at least in the bedroom.

Taryn has to decide if explosive sex and the feelings that are quickly overtaking her are worth the risk of losing it all–she knows only too well that you can’t count on fate to always go your way. Richard sees Caleb and Taryn as the perfect couple but isn’t so sure there will always be room for him. Caleb has to suppress his urge to tie them both to the bed until they understand that they belong with him, but if they don’t come around soon, he’ll be pulling those ropes out after all.