On the Crystal Coast of North Carolina, in the small town of Emerald Isle…

Juli Cooke, hard-working and getting nowhere fast, marries a dying man, Ben Bradshaw, for a financial settlement, not expecting he will set her on a journey of hope and love. The journey brings her to Luke Winters, a local art dealer, but Luke resents the woman who married his sick friend and warns her not to hurt Ben—and he’s watching to make sure she doesn’t.

Until Ben dies and the stakes change.

Framed by the timelessness of the Atlantic Ocean and the brilliant blue of the beach sky, Juli struggles against her past, the opposition of Ben’s and Luke’s families, and even the living reminder of her marriage—to build a future with hope and perhaps to find the love of her life—if she can survive the danger from her past.

Grace is giving away an eBook copy of BEACH RENTAL. To get your name in the drawing, all you have to do is leave a comment. A winner will be chosen at random and will be notifiied via email. Please leave an email addy if it is not available on your profile.

Please tell us about yourself and what made you start writing?

I’ve always been a big reader and, for many readers, at some point that translates into a desire to write a story.  In fact, I’ve written all of my life, completing a novel and some short stories over the years, but until I found the writing communities online, and via those, writing groups in my geographic area, it was very much an on and off effort. About five years ago, I picked up writing again and vowed not to give up despite rejections. With the help of my critique partners and writing buddies, I’ve kept going.  That first novel is in a cardboard box; the novel I wrote five years ago waits on an external hard drive for a rewrite.  Beach Rental is actually my fourth novel. My third, Kincaid’s Hope, will be released in January 2012, also by Turquoise Morning Press.

For most of my life, creative expression has been a war between writing and artistic output. Oh, for more time in the day! Writing and drawing and painting, textile crafts and needlework, photography and graphic art…even choosing the right color of paint and putting it on the wall just so, can be a creative event. Everything around us feeds the writing or the design. And all that we take in from the world strives for expression. At this time in my life, I think I’ve found the best balance of both art and fiction, but it’s always good to stay flexible!

How long did it take before you were published? Was it everything that you thought it would be?

Beach Rental was released in July. It’s been an educational experience, for sure. How long did it take to find publication? I’d have to begin the count five years ago. For Beach Rental, specifically, which was written throughout most of 2010, the contract offer came in December of 2010.

It’s been an education and adventure and certainly full of highs and lows. I learned that finding publication only sets up a whole new set of goals and worries, triumphs and fears. The editing needed before publication and the marketing post-publication competes with the need to be writing the next book. Perhaps it would be easier if I didn’t work a fulltime job besides, but I’m not sure of that. Sometimes we use our time better if we have less of it to waste.

Do you love the ePublishing / small press platform and are you going to pursue traditional publishing in the future?

For a new author, I think the small press platform may be the gentlest introduction to publishing, although that’s just a guess since I haven’t experienced a release with a traditional publisher.  I’d like to find out how it goes with a traditional publisher. A big benefit of a small press is the individual attention given to the writer and having a direct line to the publisher. In fact, my publisher contracted for my books and later signed me as a cover artist, too. I can use my art background and graphic skills and my writing, too! Is that the best of both worlds, or what?!?

Can you tell us a little bit your new release? How did you come up with the idea?

I spent a holiday down at Emerald Isle on the Bogue Banks in North Carolina. One week at a duplex on the ocean, what a setting! The island of Bogue Banks lies east/west. You walk to the sunrise in the morning and to the sunset in the evening. I’m a dedicated beach walker, so that’s hard to beat.

I had a setting, but not a story or characters.

I met a young woman who would have had lots of potential if she’d grown up differently. People are more than genetics—we are also products of our environment. And then several of my friends died of pancreatic cancer. They were full of love and life and were the epitome of selflessness during their last months. I wondered what would happen if I brought a dying man together with the girl who had no prospects for a happy future? What could he bring to the relationship that would impact her life and future in an enduring way and what gifts could she give him?

You’re an artist, what types of work do you do and in what way do you incorporate your love of art into your writing?

I sketched in pencil and painted in oils for many years, then shifted to photography and digital art.  But working a fulltime job and writing as a second fulltime job doesn’t leave much time for anything else. Perhaps because my art doesn’t find much expression otherwise, it shows up in my books. In Beach Rental, Luke owns an art gallery (I always wanted to do that) and Juli takes art lessons from Anna at Ben’s urging. Art is venue through which Juli gains confidence in herself and where she also finds comfort when the challenges mount.

Do you have a daily ritual to get you in the “writing zone”?

I work my day job during the week and write in the evenings and on weekends and holidays. I don’t have a ritual or process for writing in the evening. I just jump into it in the best way I can. But on Saturday morning, I stay in my jammies and park my butt in my desk chair and start writing and keep writing for as long as I can. Once I’m dressed and looking respectable, I’m too easily distracted.

How do you stay inspired?

Honestly, I don’t. It’s often a struggle. Sometimes I feel uninspired and, as Rachel in Wynnedower’s Stranger (my WIP) says, “I feel as flat as a blowup snowman with a bad leak on a cold morning.” Generally, something comes along—an intriguing person, an interesting setting or a concept that digs it’s sharp little teeth into my imagination and won’t let go. Faith is the most important thing, I think—the knowledge that just when I think I’m almost on empty, something else always comes along. Faith keeps the panic at bay.

What is the most difficult part of your writing journey? What is the most exciting part?

Writing and writing. Some days it’s exhilarating; some days it’s grim. Beyond that, the most difficult part for me is sending my work out to face rejection or acceptance. Sometimes the what-ifs are overwhelming. The best advice I can give is to follow your heart and head. First person or third? Too much narration? Breaking rules? Remember, you can’t satisfy everyone at any time. Just do your best, protect yourself from naysayers and sustain your hope and faith.

What personal goals have you made for yourself this year?

Survive my debut release. Complete my WIP. Complete revisions on my upcoming release. Do all of the aforementioned and also market my current release. Last and most elusive: Stay sane.

Those all sound like writing goals, don’t they? Except the last one. So, I guess my person goal this year is to stay sane.

Any last words for your readers?

Beach Rental, Kincaid’s Hope, and Wynnedower’s Stranger are books about people and relationships foremost, but strong settings and suspense are also important to me. I hope you’ll give these books a try (Kincaid’s Hope in late January) and will let me know your thoughts. I want these stories to move the reader and if the characters linger after the last page has been read, then I’ll be thrilled. It’s reader feedback that keeps me going in those uninspired or difficult times. Thanks to everyone who’s let me know they enjoyed Beach Rental!

What should we expect from you in the future?

Fiction with romance, suspense and inspiration, always with a strong heroine at its heart…Please visit me at www.GraceGreeneAuthor.com

Grace Greene writes fiction with romance, suspense and inspiration, always with a strong heroine at its heart. Vivid settings and quirky secondary characters round out the stories and there’s a happily-ever-after ending—most of the time.

Grace is also an artist and photographer. She is drawn to houses and landscapes that ooze character and is fascinated by history and human nature. When she’s writing, all of these interests show up on the page.

BEACH RENTAL is her debut release. Her next novel, KINCAID’S HOPE, is scheduled for release in January 2012. In KINCAID’S HOPE, Beth Kincaid finds that swearing off the Kincaid temper and creating the perfect life free from untidy emotionalism has its own dangers and can even get you killed.

A Virginia native, Grace lives in central Virginia. Stay current with Grace’s releases and appearances at www.GraceGreeneAuthor.com

Faking It blurb:

What happens when an uptight writing professor and an escort become friends?

Thirty-four-year old professor Andi Cutrone has broken up with her fiancé in Massachusetts , moved back to her native New York, and wants to be a better lover. So after meeting Devin, a handsome, charming escort, she proposes an unusual arrangement: lessons about writing in exchange for lessons about sex. When Devin accepts Andi’s proposal, he draws up a contract in which the two are forbidden to see each other socially. There’s just one problem: Andi also wants Devin.

Halfway into their arrangement, Devin and Andi break the rules of their contract and begin spending time together outside their weekly tutorials of drafting essays and dancing while stripped down. As they grow closer, Andi struggles to hide her feelings from Devin and accept herself as just another client while Devin attempts to maintain a “business as usual” attitude. Enter Sam, a New England professor with whom Andi begins a long distance relationship.

As their protective layers peel away, Andi and Devin discover each other ‘faking it’ and hiding their true selves from the world. However, once fully uncovered, both must decide how (and with whom) they will honor these truths. Will she give up her New York life for Sam? Will she hold out for Devin? Is it even possible to be in love with two men?

Faking It is a witty, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heart-wrenching story about relationships, writing, and getting real.

You can check out Elisa Lorello’s website here or buy Faking It for your Kindle for under $3 here! Leave a comment to enter yourself in the contest.

Please contact romancedivas @ gmail.com (<—-email without the spaces) to claim your prize if I haven’t contacted you already.

Tawny Weber Contest
Winner: Beth Andrews

Miranda Neville Contest
Winner: Jennifer Brodie

RG Alexander Contest
Winner: Dawn

Vonna Harper
Winner: Joye

Vanessa Kelly Contest
Winner: Cories

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

Site registration is free – if you aren’t already a member of the best free romance writing community on the web, sign up today!

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