Spring into #Romance #Blog Tour What am I Working On? #WIP #Author Q&A

My fabulous fellow Kentucky author, Teresa Reasor, has asked me to take part in a blog tour and to tag three authors who might also be interested.

Teresa Reasor was born in Southeastern Kentucky, but grew up a Marine Corps brat. The love of reading instilled in her in Kindergarten at Parris Island, South Carolina made books her friends during the many transfers her father's military career entailed. The transition from reading to writing came easily to her and she penned her first book in second grade. But it wasn’t until 2007 that her first published work was released.

After twenty-one years as an Art Teacher and ten years as a part time College Instructor, she’s now retired and living her dream as a full time Writer.

Her body of work includes both full-length novels and shorter pieces in many different genres, Military Romantic Suspense, Paranormal Romance, Historical Romance, Contemporary Romance and Children’s Books.

For more information about her and her books go to: WEBSITE
Amazon Author Page
Twitter
Facebook
Blog
Goodreads
Google +

Here's mine~

1) What am I working on?
I'm currently editing LOVE BY DESIGN, in preparation for publishing.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I'd like to believe I bring a fresh perspective and mix in a bit of humor and realism to my romance. I want the reader to remember the story long after they've read "The End." I hope that I do that with the written word and keep readers coming back to get to know more of my characters time and again because they can see themselves there, with the hero and heroine, perhaps even friends with them. (What writer doesn't hope for that though?)

3) Why do I write what I do?
It's deeply ingrained in me to believe in a happily ever after or at the least, a happy for now. I believe love exists to remind us that we are not alone in the world, that there's bound to be someone else out there who could use a shoulder to cry on, a soft place to fall when the world becomes too much and a heart to hold us- to embrace us and not only fill us with immeasurable joy, but make us feel that we found something here on earth that's as close to heaven as you can get. Sometimes we're lucky enough to find that a few times in this life, sometimes we pick a few bad apples, but it's nice when we find that "one" that fills the whole bill... Regardless of how we get there or what ends up being our destination, it's life experience and love experience and that's what makes this journey worth it.

4) How does my writing process work?
I have always written somewhere in the middle. I don't really outline, though I do have notes with details, but nothing so much as set in stone. I used to swear I was a pantser but I do have some general idea of where the story's going to go... but I tend to ride the fence and let the characters lead me in the direction they want to go---- most the time. Sometimes I hear them speaking louder than I can bear and they fill me in in great detail and other times they're so quiet that it's like pulling teeth, but I try to allow them the freedom to step into the spotlight when it's time and tell their story the way it's meant to be. That doesn't mean I won't go through round after round of edits later to tighten and give them more focus, but I like to allow the story to grow on the page more organically than with strict guidelines and rules. Just seems more natural for me as the storyteller.

 My 3 fellow tagged authors who will be posting May 19th are-

Sharon Hamilton NYT and USA/Today and Amazon Top 100 Bestselling Author Sharon Hamilton’s SEAL Brotherhood series have earned her Amazon author rankings of #1 in Romantic Suspense, Military Romance and Contemporary Romance. Her characters follow a sometimes rocky road to redemption through passion and true love. Her Golden Vampires of Tuscany earned her a #1 Amazon author ranking in Gothic Romance.

A lifelong organic vegetable and flower gardener, Sharon and her husband live in the Wine Country of Northern California, where most of her stories take place.





Sondra Allan Carr lives in the Bluegrass state of Kentucky with her husband of more than four decades. A proud Boomer who loves to travel, she has watched bamboo grow in China, seen the Taj Mahal floating in the light of a full moon like a gravity-defying UFO, and looked on in amazement as the dawning sun set fire to Ayers Rock in Australia. She believes truth is stranger than fiction and fiction is often truer than truth.

Sondra admits to being a bit of a late bloomer, only recently discovering that she would rather write than eat. She hopes you will buy her books so she can continue to do both.

You can go to her website at http://sondraallancarr.com to sign up for email notification of new books, contests, and giveaways. Her books are available at AMAZON



Jean Thompson Kinsey writes sweet romance and light romantic suspense.  Most of her writing also contains an inspirational message. She lives in Brooks, KY. Her hobbies consist of doting on grandchildren, traveling, reading and writing. Jean has four books published which can be found at Amazon.com and most online book stores. Her stories appear in numerous Chicken Soup for the Soul books.

Visit her blog here:

Jean Kinsey's Creative Writing Desk

Tag! You're it! on #ThursdayswithTaryn @JudyAlter

My dear fellow TMP author and friend, Judy Alter, recently tagged my WIP. As I don't have one at the moment, but will be working on the 4th and final novel in the Pryce of Love Series for NaNoWriMo next month, so I thought I would take this opportunity to get my thoughts flowing about it before I begin writing it.

Judy discussed her current WIP, the next installment of her Kelly O'Connell series, on her Tag! You're it! blog post.

Here goes my 10 questions:

1. What is the title of your book? Heart of the Surf
2. Where did the idea for the book come from? It sprang from Noah Pryce, the hero in the 4th book of my Love By Series. As his family situation grew and I realized he was just one of five boys, raised by their single mother, I knew the other four brothers would have to have their own stories. Mark, who's the baby, and a surfer, is the last of my boys, so it's time to tell his story.
3. What genre does your book fall under? contemporary romance, but I like to believe that all my stories aren't just romance novels, but Life stories with heart. Their pasts aren't always spotless and sometimes it comes back to haunt them. Sometimes it's just a matter of the hardships they face that get them to their Happily-Ever-Afters. (I have high aspirations of transcending genre boundaries, can you tell? LOL)
4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Oh, already I envision Mark Pryce played by Supernatural's Jared Padalecki, with soft tumbling sun-bleached wavy hair, a tan and that ultra cute dimpled smile. Alexa Stevens- his love interest, and his surfing competition, would be played by Kaley Cuoco, who plays Penny on The Big Bang Theory- a blonde, young and hip SoCal chick. She could give him a run for his money in the dimples department and together I think they'd make one really cute couple.
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of the book? For Mark Pryce and Alexa Stevens, the stakes are high during an invite-only surfing competition, but the title isn't the only thing at stake—they could both lose their hearts, to each other.
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agent? I'm hoping to self-pub both the Love By Series and the Pryce of Love Series, in consecutive order, though I have no scheduled release dates at the moment.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I haven't started this one yet, but it will be my current WIP as of November 1st when I start writing it for NaNoWriMo 2012. I'm hoping to have 50,000 written by the end of November, and finish it before the year is over.
8. What other books would you compare this to in your genre? I'm honestly not sure. There are so many wonderful contemporary authors out there but I'm not sure who I could compare my own stories to.
9. Who or What inspired you to write this book? Mark and Alexa. They've slowly been feeding me info about themselves and I know they're story needs to be told just as much as Mark's brothers, just as much as my Galloway sisters from the Love By Series and any other characters who've egged me on to put down their story to paper or screen.
10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest? The heroine was a teenage mother, so there will be tension. Mark's a good guy, but Alex's young daughter might not necessarily see him as a good guy, but rather the intruder who's trying to come between her and other mother.

I'm tagging 5 other authors and I will let you know when they post to their blogs. I'm hoping all 5 will participate! Would love to hear how things are going on their WIPs!
 Okay- I'm going to start adding links below-

1. Teresa Reasor
2.  
3.  
4.  
5.  

777 Challenge~ I've Been Tagged! #writing #excerpt #WIP

 (my interpretation of Ben and Sunni)

Just discovered that I was tagged by Devon Matthews for a 777 Challenge. The challenge is to go to page 7 of your current work in progress and post at least 7 lines from the page, then tag 7 other authors and challenge them to do the same on their blogs. So, here we go.

My work-in-progress (WIP) is still a contemporary romance set in California. Ben runs "Ben There, Ate That" a bar and grill- one he's trying to "go green" with by hiring Sunni, who lives at the "Ripple on the Pond Commune" where they grow everything organic, to help him design and set up a rooftop garden for the restaurant. My 777 comes from the moment at the commune after Ben and Sunni first meet. Wolf, a fellow commune member who's close to her age and has a thing for her,weighs in on his instant dislike of Ben. This scene is only a few pages after the Six Sentence Sunday I shared today.


From Perfect Recipe for Love, Page 7

Wolf was three years her senior, the same age as her sister Autumn, but for some reason he had attached himself to Sunni from childhood. Now their parents’ teasing had grown to be the bane of her existence. If she wanted to do work outside the commune, it was easy to see why.

Wolf wouldn’t give her a moment’s peace.

If Autumn hadn’t already attached herself to another young man from a different family within the commune, this wouldn’t have been a problem. Her parents would have tried to pair Autumn with Wolf instead.

Sunni wasn’t sure it would have mattered. She was like a magnet for him and always had been. The idea of him touching her in any way that implied intimacy set the gag reflex into motion. He was like an older brother, dorky and not too bright.

“I don’t want to leave you alone. You are my Sunflower.” The words made her cringe.

Why had her parents insisted on naming her Sunflower with a last name like Fields?

“I am not your sunflower, thank you very much.” She dumped the manure into the compost heap.

“Oh, come on… you know I pick you…” The sticky sweetness of his words implied so much, but the warmth of his firm fingers grasping her hips and pulling her backside against him was where she drew the line.

Flailing, she ripped his hands off her hips. Sunni turned and pounded her fists into his chest.

“Would you take a fricking hint, Wolf? I want you to leave me alone.”

Holding up his hands as a sign of defeat, he backed away.

“Geez. Touchy much?”

He marched away, disappearing into the barn and apparently out to the fields to see what the other folks were doing.

Sunni fumed as she shook the wheelbarrow out and then stomped off toward the creek.

Wolf had destroyed her perfectly good morning with his appearance. Not to mention he ruined the little sexual fantasy she had been building up in her mind about Ben Pryce.

The idea of belonging to any man sounded like a nightmare. Wolf didn’t get that she wasn’t his possession to play with. Communal living had many benefits, but becoming Wolf’s wife was one thing she didn’t see as a benefit at all.

“I’d rather be left for the coyotes…” She grumbled, squatting down to unlace her filthy boots.

Stripping all her clothing off, she left it lying at the creek’s edge. A dip in the cool water was just the thing she needed to release the tension and give her a quiet moment or two to fantasize what it would be like to let Ben have his way with her, arrogant attitude and all.
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 Here's my list of authors I tag to do the 777 Challenge:


J.M. Madden
Cherie Marks
Donna McDonald
Katherine Lowry Logan
Krista Ames
Madison J. Edwards
Ruth J Hartman


Hoping they'll participate in the challenge and give us a really great 777 scene to whet our appetites. :D