Romance Divas Divine Blog

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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

Writing Paranormal Young Adult Fiction with Some of The Hottest Authors in the Genre

May 28th-30th at Romance Divas

Featuring:

Rachel Caine

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Cassandra Clare

Lucienne Diver

Christopher Golden

Jeff Mariotte

Alyson Noel

Rosemary Clement-Moore

This workshop will take place at the Romance Diva Forum. All are welcome. To get access to the forum you will need to register.

Forums down, but tech is on it

They’re up!

Follow http://twitter.com/Kristen_Painter to get updates.

Compromising Positions has released!

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

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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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Enjoy!

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.

We all know how glamorous a writer’s life is, right? We roll out of bed bright and early and the muse is already whispering in our ear. We breakfast on healthy and nutritious food which magically appears before us. We may wave farewell to family, and then sit down to pour out page after page of incredible prose, beautifully constructed dialogue and a magnificent novel. Emails pour in from adoring fans, royalty cheques from doting publishers and our agents and editors cheer and applaud when we hand in our draft.

Err… no. Not really. I mean it would be nice. Especially if the food would prepare itself and the house would take care of its own cleaning. If someone could throw in the odd massage it might sound like heaven!

Writing is hard. There. I’ve said it. The secret is out. Combining writing with Real Life is very hard. Instead of a work-life balance we’re more talking about a work-life-more work-mild insanity with added paranoia balance when few others will actually accept that it’s anything more than sticking some words on paper.

Add a full time job and perhaps a family into the mix and it really starts to get interesting. For example, right now, my four year old daughter is leaning over the keyboard suggesting that I should press some other buttons, the ones with the funny characters on them. Right at this moment! Her head is in my face and she’s determined to help.

For every writer, Real Life has to be dealt with. Sure your hero and heroine may be falling in love while battling legions of the undead, but if a pipe has burst in the basement, an urgent bill needs paying or “Binky the duck” is missing, you’ve got to deal, and quickly. Recently on the ‘net, there have been a series of articles and posts by eminent writers detailing how fans don’t seem to understand this, which boil down to when a book is late, there’s no point in haranguing your favourite author, telling them to sit down and write the thing and stop blogging, working on other projects, going to football games, or spending time with their families.

Writers need support – from friends, family, fans and anyone else willing to give it. Other writers often “get” the situation better than most people. Family and friends love us to death, but while launch days are exciting and they’ll plug your book to the ends of the earth, sometimes the grind of what writing means on a day to day basis is beyond understanding. I am very lucky. I have a husband who does get it and can ward off the attack of the small child with the over-eager typing fingers (He gave her a fuzzy felt game just now. She’s sitting on the floor making pictures. She likes him!)

Sites like Romance Divas provides this in a way few other venues can. It’s multinational – writers from all over the world meet here and exchange ideas. It’s a caring, nurturing environment where writers encourage each other from the beginner to the long-term professional. And at times, it’s a madhouse where you can just unwind with friends and have a laugh.

Everyone needs support. It can come from anywhere and can be the smallest gesture – from a cup of tea or extracting five children for the afternoon, or a friendly line or two in chat.

Where do you get yours?

———-

R. F. Long writes fantasy and paranormal romance. Her novel “The Scroll Thief” and her novella “The Wolf’s Sister” are currently available from Samhain . Please visit her at her website or her livejournal .

I’ve updated the March writer’s contest calendar with extended deadlines.  Good luck with your entries!

“The Scroll Thief” by R. F. Long

Genre: Fantasy-SciFi

ISBN: 978-1-60504-395-1

Length: Plus Novel

Price: 6.50

Publication Date: February 24, 2009

Cover art by Anne Cain

Love is the wiliest thief of all.

A Tale of Ithian

Malachy and his sister rely on his talents as a thief to survive the dangerous streets of Klathport, former capital of the once-great kingdom of Ithian. Stealing a few papers should have been a simple job. Instead, it nearly costs their lives and throws them into an improbable alliance with a shape-shifting official, a desert tribeswoman, and a healer of enchanting beauty.

Cerys is far more than a simple healer—and the roots of her mission go deeper into the past than anyone can know. She needs Malachy’s skills to recover a stolen scroll, one that can be used to rewrite history and, in the wrong hands, release the dark powers of the Demon Realm.

Her mission was supposed to atone for a dreadful, long-ago act. Instead, it unleashes a chain of events which sees them pursued through city and desert by the fearsome Dune Witch and a killer known only as His Lordship. Romance, tragedy, and adventure blend in a tale of a magical land on the brink of war, and five unlikely allies who, by putting their lives—and their hearts—on the line, have the opportunity to finally set things right.

But at a terrible cost.

Warning: Contains scenes of graphic violence and torture, captivating magic and beauty, two dashing heroes, three gutsy heroines, several love stories and a heartbreaking sacrifice.

Read An Excerpt Online